Hong Kong: Policy Address consultation begins

The Government launched the public consultation for the 2023 Policy Address today.

Chief Executive John Lee will deliver his second Policy Address on October 25 and he earnestly invites members of the public to give their views.

My team and I will continue to listen carefully to your views and do our utmost for the people's livelihood and the economy, he said.

More than 30 consultation sessions will be held with the aim of listening to the views and suggestions of Legislative Council members, representatives of various sectors and the public. Mr Lee and his governing team will also conduct district visits to meet the public and representatives of different sectors to gather views through multiple channels.

"My team and I, with the people of Hong Kong, have come out of the pandemic in the past year. We have been carefully listening to the voices from the people along the way and implementing concrete measures to further improve governance, create strong impetus for growth, address people's concerns and difficulties in daily life as well as uniting the community, so as to build a better Hong Kong together," the Chief Executive said.

"Looking ahead, we will continue to work tirelessly and proactively to integrate into the overall development of the country. We will leverage Hong Kong's unique advantages of enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world, with a view to better serving Hong Kong citizens and fostering the city's development, he added.

People can give their views through the Policy Address website, the dedicated Facebook page, by email, by phone at 2432 1899 or by fax at 2537 9083.

This story has been published on: 2023-07-31. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Chinese premier meets with Guyanese president

Xinhua) 08:39, July 31, 2023

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali in Beijing, capital of China, July 30, 2023. Ali, who is visiting China, attended the opening ceremony of the 31st summer edition of the FISU World University Games. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

BEIJING, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali in Beijing on Sunday, saying that China is willing to work with Guyana to promote relations between China and Caribbean countries, and to jointly safeguard the common interests of developing countries.

Li said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties more than five decades ago, China and Guyana have always treated each other with mutual respect and equality. The political mutual trust between the two sides has become even firmer as time goes by, he said, adding that the practical cooperation has achieved fruitful results, setting an example of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation between countries with different social systems, histories and cultures.

Li expressed China's readiness to continue to make joint efforts with Guyana to develop bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, and promote the building of a China-Guyana community with a shared future.

He pointed out that China firmly supports Guyana in pursuing a development path that is suitable for its own national conditions. Taking the Belt and Road Initiative as an opportunity, China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Guyana in economy, trade, agriculture, energy, green development and other areas.

China stands ready to work with Guyana to promote relations between China and Caribbean countries, meet global challenges together, safeguard the common interests of developing countries, and improve international fairness and justice, Li said.

Noting that China is a strategic partner of Guyana, Ali said that Guyana spoke highly of China's great achievements in advancing modernization, and thanked China for helping Guyana with its economic and social development. He welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Guyana.

Ali said that Guyana appreciates China's important role in international affairs, and is willing to work with China to practice multilateralism and jointly address the global challenges of energy security, food security and climate change.

Ali, who is visiting China, attended the opening ceremony of the 31st summer edition of the FISU World University Games in Chengdu, capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a co-chairman of President Bidens reelection campaign, on Sunday suggested it may be worth looking at a code of conduct for family members of presidents.

NBC Meet the Press host Chuck Todd asked Coons if Congress should try to address creating a code of conduct for presidential family members, including sons and daughters of sitting presidents.

That may be worth looking at, because frankly, as you referenced, Jared Kushner wasnt just a private citizen, Coons said, referring to former President Trumps son-in-law.

Todd responded, So if youre outraged about Hunter Biden, you should be outraged about Jared Kushner.

You cant pick and choose, Coons said.

Coons also mentioned that the Senate has been working on trying to get the Supreme Court to adopt a code of ethics, similar to how members of Congress have to disclose their assets and stock holdings.

Coons comments some as Bidens son, Hunter Biden, has been in the spotlight over his legal issues. The younger Biden appeared in a Delaware court last week, where his plea deal on federal tax and gun charges was put on hold by a judge who questioned the scope of the agreement.

Hunter Biden has faced other legal issues over a daughter he has in Arkansas. The young girls mother filed a paternity suit against him in May 2019, and he appeared in court this May. In June, he reached a settlement in his child support case after being ordered to sit for a deposition under oath to answer questions about his finances.

The president made his first public remarks about his 4-year-old grandchild Friday, after silence from the White House over the young girl.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden has decided to keep U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado, overturning a last-ditch decision by the Trump administration to move it to Alabama. The choice ended months of thorny deliberations, but an Alabama lawmaker vowed to fight on.

U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Monday that Biden was convinced by the head of Space Command, Gen. James Dickinson, who argued that moving his headquarters now would jeopardize military readiness. Dickinson's view, however, was in contrast to Air Force leadership, who studied the issue at length and determined that relocating to Huntsville, Alabama, was the right move.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details of Bidens rationale for the decision.

In announcing the plans, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said the decision was based on an objective and deliberate process informed by data and analysis. He said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin supported the presidents decision.

Reaction to the decision came fast and was sharply divided, as Colorado lawmakers praised it and Alabama officials slammed it as a political maneuver. This fight is far from over, warned Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

Biden, said the U.S. officials, believes that keeping the command in Colorado Springs would avoid a disruption in readiness that the move would cause, particularly as the U.S. races to compete with China in space. And they said Biden firmly believes that maintaining stability will help the military be better able to respond in space over the next decade. Those factors, they said, outweighed what the president believed would be any minor benefits of moving to Alabama.

Biden's decision enraged Alabama lawmakers and is sure to fuel accusations that abortion politics played a role in the choice. The location debate has become entangled in the ongoing battle between Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville and the Defense Department over the move to provide travel for troops seeking reproductive health care. Tuberville opposed the policy is blocking hundreds of military promotions in protest.

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The U.S. officials said the abortion issue had no effect at all on Biden's decision. And they said the president fully expected there would be different views on the matter within the Defense Department.

Tuberville, in a statement, said the top three choices for Space Command headquarters were all in Republican-leaning states  Alabama, Nebraska and Texas  and bypassing them looks like blatant patronage politics.

Formally created in August 2019, the command was temporarily based in Colorado, and Air Force and Space Force leaders initially recommended it stay there. In the final days of his presidency Donald Trump decided it should be based in Huntsville.

The change triggered a number of reviews.

Proponents of keeping the command in Colorado have argued that moving it to Huntsville and creating a new headquarters would set back its progress at a time it needs to move quickly to be positioned to match Chinas military space rise. And Colorado Springs is also home to the Air Force Academy, which now graduates Space Force guardians, and more than 24 military space missions, including three Space Force bases.

Officials also argued that any new headquarters in Alabama would not be completed until sometime after 2030, forcing a lengthy transition.

Huntsville, however, scored higher than Colorado Springs in a Government Accountability Office assessment of potential locations and has long been a home to some of earliest missiles used in the nations space programs, including the Saturn V rocket. It is home to the Armys Space and Missile Defense Command.

According to officials, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who ordered his own review of the matter, leaned toward Huntsville, while Dickinson was staunchly in favor of staying put. The officials said Austin presented both options to Biden.

In a statement Monday, Kendall said the service will work to quickly implement Biden's decision, adding that keeping the command in Colorado will avoid any disruption to its operational capability.

The decision was hailed as a victory in Colorado lawmakers and condemned in Alabama.

For two and a half years weve known any objective analysis of this basing decision would reach the same conclusion we did, that Peterson Space Force Base is the best home for Space Command," Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., said in a statement. Most importantly, this decision firmly rejects the idea that politics  instead of national security  should determine basing decisions central to our national security.

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said the decision restores integrity to the Pentagons basing process and sends a strong message that national security and the readiness of our Armed Forces drive our military decisions.

Rogers, meanwhile, vowed that his committee will continue an investigation into the matter, calling it a deliberate taxpayer-funded manipulation of the selection process. He added, Its clear that far-left politics, not national security, was the driving force behind this decision.

Republican Alabama Sen. Katie Britt echoed his sentiment, saying it was irresponsible for Biden to yank a military decision out of the Air Forces hands in the name of partisan politics. She said an Air Force evaluation of the potential locations ranked Huntsville first, adding that the decision should have remained in the Air Forces purview.

___

Associated Press writer Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Ala., contributed to this report.
FIRST ON FOX  The President's Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) unanimously recommended renewing FISA Section 702  a contentious national security authority allowing warrantless surveillance of non-American citizens outside the U.S.  but it raised an alarming history of FBI search violations, including improper queries on Americans, as a significant obstacle to public trust and congressional approval. The program is set to expire in December.

In an unsparing critique of compliance shortfalls, the PIAB recommended 13 reforms primarily geared toward resolving the FBI's damning history of abuses, which it attributed to the agency's "pervasive lack of understanding regarding query standards an abundance of complacency and a lack of urgency to comply."

Officials told Fox News that President Biden authorized the release of the PIAB's analysis and findings, which acknowledge widespread bipartisan skepticism about the programs merits, as well as challenges in conveying the grave consequences of its expiration to lawmakers.

Fox News has learned nearly 60% of articles in the president's daily intelligence brief have stemmed from Section 702 information. The material is said to inform every substantial national security decision by the U.S. government.

PUBLIC TRUST IN FBI HAS REACHED 'THE RED ZONE,' US INCHING CLOSER TO 'MAYHEM, CHAOS, ANARCHY:' WSJ COLUMNIST

"This analysis warns quite starkly that failure to reauthorize Section 702 would be one of the worst intelligence failures of our time," one U.S. official said, "except this intelligence failure would be a known goal. We'd basically be shooting ourselves in the face and handing a huge victory to China, Russia, terrorists, and fentanyl smugglers."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The program, which is designed to filter out communications of U.S. persons, spies on foreign sources through backdoors in telecommunications networks and other electronic communications companies. However, it has drawn scrutiny for sweeping up communications from Americans in contact with foreign targets, referred to as "incidental collection."

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For the past three years, FBI searches of U.S. persons within the database made up one-quarter to one-third of its overall queries  except for 2021.

For the past three years, the FBI's searches of U.S. persons within the database made up between one-quarter to one-third of its overall queries  except for 2021. That year, a series of batch queries  amounting to 1.9 million U.S. person searches  accounted for more than half of the queries conducted by the FBI. The assessment stated that the high volume of 2021 searches was conducted to identify U.S. victims of a cybersecurity breach.

The intelligence community has defended the query and review of this lawfully-collected data to rapidly determine whether Americans are a potential victim or partner in nefarious foreign activity. Section 702 cannot be used to target collections on U.S. person communications.

WRAY DEFENDS FISA, SAYS LAW USED TO 'DETECT AND THWART' CHINESE HACKING OF US CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

The partially redacted report reveals several intelligence successes stemming from Section 702 information, including thwarting a planned 2009 suicide bombing in the New York City subway and averting plans for a vehicle bombing at a Christmas tree lighting in Portland, Oregon, the following year. It further concludes that Section 702 was essential to preventing cases of undisclosed cyber-attacks against critical U.S. infrastructure, locating prominent international terrorists, identifying threats to U.S. troops, and enabling the seizure of fentanyl and fentanyl production materials.

However, the PIAB analysis also highlights a series of compliance mistakes, a lack of strong oversight, and inappropriate use from by the FBI. It deems the FBIs reform efforts insufficient to ensure compliance and earn public trust.

The partially-redacted report concludes that Section 702 was essential to preventing cases of undisclosed cyberattacks against U.S. infrastructure, locating international terrorists, identifying threats to U.S. troops, and enabling the seizure of fentanyl and fentanyl production materials.

While the board found no evidence of willful misuse of the FBI for political purposes  noting that the Department of Justice has identified only three incidents of intentional misconduct among millions of FBI queries  it references a damning secret court order written last year and released by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in May.

The order details thousands of FBI search violations, including probes connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol, riots following the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and approximately 19,000 improper probes of donors to a congressional campaign.

FISA COURT OPINION REVEALS A US SENATOR, STATE SENATOR, STATE JUDGE GOT SWEPT UP IN 702 QUERIES

One FBI analyst, according to the document, conducted three batch searches amounting to more than 23,000 separate queries to probe for foreign influence within a group believed involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach. Although the search returns were not reviewed, the court deemed that there was "no specific factual basis to believe the queries were reasonably likely to retrieve foreign intelligence information or evidence of crime."

Separately, more than a dozen searches purportedly to uncover foreign ties among individuals suspected of involvement on Jan. 6 were also deemed improper because the analysts could not recall why they queried raw FISA information.

Many of the violations predated reforms implemented by the FBI in the spring of 2021, but the court conveyed a cavalier attitude by the FBI  sometimes at the management level  defending the misuse as proper. In some instances, the FBI explained that they were determining whether the individuals had foreign ties; in others, the FBI viewed the situation in general as a threat to national security.

JORDAN DEMANDS WRAY AMEND TESTIMONY ON FBI POLICING OF MISINFORMATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA

One such example details a pattern of violations by the FBI between 2016-2020, when the agency regularly queried police homicide reports including victims, next-of-kin, witnesses, and suspects, without reasonable basis. "The FBI, however, maintained that querying FISA information using identifiers of the victims  simply because they were homicide victims  was reasonably likely to retrieve evidence of a crime," the opinion states.

The Presidents Intelligence Advisory Board seeks to remedy public distrust via its recommendations, the most significant of which would direct the attorney general to remove the FBIs authority to conduct queries unrelated to national security.

The PIAB is now seeking to remedy public distrust via its recommendations, the most significant of which would direct the Attorney General to remove the FBIs authority to conduct queries unrelated to national security.

Other recommendations include streamlining standards across all four intelligence agencies using Section 702 to include a two-person approval for checks pertaining to U.S. persons.

Notably, the Board considered  but did not recommend  requiring probable cause for inquires on U.S. persons. The basis for that decision cites obstacles to meeting the legal threshold before discerning whether the subjects of the searches are victims being targeted by a foreign actor, or if they are participating in the crime. One partially-redacted example details an incident involving foreign state cyber hackers, explaining the FBIs immediate need to query that data to mitigate the hack.

US WILL BECOME 'NATION OF CHUMPS' IF CONGRESS ALLOWS FBI'S WARRANTLESS SURVEILLANCE OF AMERICANS, TURLEY WARNS

"A warrant, or any other court order, required for every U.S. person query conducted would undoubtedly slow down FBI and the intelligence agencies ability to do their jobs. The FISC is also not resourced to process the volume of warrants that would be required," the report states.

The PIAB admits that public trust has been eroded by the governments inability to estimate the scope of incidental collection on U.S. persons, in part because it would require a manual review of material which is not authorized. Combing through it, if only to generate that estimate, could constitute a violation of privacy, they said. However, the writers point to legal precedent upholding the Constitutionality of Section 702 surveillance, which targets foreign actors who do not have Fourth Amendment protections.

The FBI told Fox NEws that the PIAB report "highlights how crucial Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is to the nations security, including to the FBIs efforts to protect Americans from foreign threats, and recognizes that the reforms put in place by the FBI have yielded substantial compliance improvements."

"We agree that Section 702 should be reauthorized in a manner that does not diminish its effectiveness, as well as reassures the public of its importance and our ability to adhere rigorously to all relevant rules," the bureau said. "We look forward to engaging with Congress on the recommendations in the PIAB report, and appreciate the Boards professionalism, expertise, and judgment in conducting this important assessment."

The PIAB admits that public trust has been eroded by the government's inability to estimate the scope of incidental collection on U.S. persons, in part because it would require a manual review of material which is not authorized.

Officials who discussed the material on background with Fox News could not estimate how much improper incidental collection would be mitigated by the proposed changes, noting that the aim is not to minimize the amount of data collected, but to curtail the misuse of it. Officials also said the Board did not recommend limiting the number of people who can access the database, but they believe strengthening benchmarks for its use and improving compliance may have the same effect.

"We do think that there are ways legislatively to bolster confidence and address the source of the problems," one official told Fox News. "Attorney approval for batch queries, Deputy Director approval for sensitive queries. The fact that you lose access to it if you dont get the requisite training, or if you have compliance errors."

The PIAB also hopes the recommended creation of a new counternarcotics certification before the FISA court will be seen as an important cause in the upcoming Congressional fight.

"Given the enormous threat that the American people face from drug cartels, who are smuggling fentanyl into the United States the Board found it important for there to be an explicit court-established certification to combat synthetic opioids," one U.S. official said.

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
President Joe Biden has decided that the headquarters of US Space Command will remain in Colorado and not move to Alabama, two US officials told CNN on Monday, reversing a decision by then-President Donald Trump.

US Space Command, which is a joint command and separate from the US Space Force military branch, is currently housed in Colorado Springs, but the Air Force recommended near the end of Trumps presidency that the command be moved to Huntsville, Alabama.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall recently recommended to Biden that the headquarters be moved to Alabama in line with the initial Air Force recommendation, according to two US officials. Former Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett also chose Huntsville as the preferred location for SPACECOM headquarters in 2021.

But Biden ultimately followed the advice of the head of Space Command, Gen. James Dickinson, who argued that the headquarters should remain in Colorado because it will be fully operational in August and moving it now would jeopardize military readiness, one official said.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin did not make a recommendation, but presented Biden with both Kendall and Dickinsons advice.

Following the announcement, Kendall said he will fully support the presidents decision. The Department of the Air Force will now work expeditiously to implement the decision, he said.

The move is sure to anger Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, who is continuing a hold on senior military nominations that is now impacting more than 300 flag and general officers over the Pentagons abortion policy. Tuberville has been an outspoken proponent of moving SPACECOM to Alabama. But US officials have previously told CNN that they had concerns about Alabamas reproductive health policies and what it would mean for servicemembers there if SPACECOM were moved to Huntsville.

The Department of Defense informed Tubervilles office and the rest of the Alabama congressional delegation of the decision Monday afternoon before the news was announced publicly, an administration official said.

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Tuberville said the decision was a disastrous choice and called it shameful that the Biden administration announced its decision while Congress was on recess.

This is absolutely not over, Tuberville said in a statement. I will continue to fight this as long as it takes to bring Space Command where it would be best servedHuntsville, Alabama.

The US official said that several issues factored into Bidens decision, including quality-of-life for servicemembers and families, including quality of schools and military housing. But the official said the most significant factor considered was impact to operational readiness to confront space-enabled threats during a critical time in this dynamic security environment.

Alabamas congressional delegation expressed outrage at the decision on Monday.

Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama said in a statement that Biden irresponsibly decided to yank a military decision out of the Air Forces hands in the name of partisan politics.

I am outraged to hear that the Secretary of the Air Force allowed politics to circumvent his, and the Department of Defenses, own basing selection process that determined Huntsville, Alabama as the preferred location of SPACECOM, Republican Rep. Robert Aderholt of Alabama tweeted.

Huntsville is currently the home of the Armys Redstone Arsenal, which includes the services Space and Missile Defense Command. Colorado Springs is home to Peterson Space Force Base, previously known as Peterson Air Force Base.

Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Republican from Colorado and chair of the House Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces, hailed Bidens decision to keep Space Command headquarters at Peterson Space Force Base, calling it the most viable option and the best permanent home for the militarys newest combatant command.

We live in dangerous times and we do not have the luxury of starting over with the headquarters in another location, said Lamborn in a statement Monday. National security is too critical to allow for any delays.

The Associated Press first reported the news Monday.

The decision sparked a fierce debate among lawmakers who demanded Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall decide where the permanent base would be. Current text of the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which has not yet been passed into law, would require Kendall to submit a decision before the Air Force could access funds for construction on SPACECOM headquarters.

Tuberville has advocated for the move to Huntsville, saying it is the best place for SPACECOM. He also said in a video released in June that Biden was looking to buy votes with our national security by keeping the command in Colorado.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

CNNs Arlette Saenz contributed to this report.

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President Biden overturned a decision from the Trump administration to relocate the temporary headquarters of Space Command to Alabama, deciding instead to keep the base in Colorado.

The decision was made because Biden believes keeping the HQ in Colorado Springs, rather than relocating it to Huntsville, would maintain stability and not impact readiness, according to a senior U.S. official.

The senior administration official said Biden consulted with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other military leaders before deciding to keep the base in Colorado permanently.

Gen. James Dickinson, the head of Space Command, also helped to convince Biden to not relocate the base, according to the Associated Press.

U.S. Space Command headquarters is set to achieve full operational capability at Colorado Springs later this month, according to the senior administration official.

The official said moving the headquarters to Alabama would force a transition process that does not allow the new base to open until the mid-2030s.

The President found that risk unacceptable, especially given the challenges we may face in the space domain during this critical time period, the official said. Locating Headquarters U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs ensures peak readiness in the space domain for our nation during a critical period.

Bidens reversal is likely to spark the fury of Alabama Republicans who have for months feared the administration would scrap the relocation plan.

Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers (R), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has been investigating the delay behind the relocation plan, which was first put in motion when Space Command was resurrected in 2019.

Former President Trumps decision to temporarily establish a headquarters in Colorado and relocate Space Command to Alabama was criticized as a political choice based upon a more favorable constituency in the Yellowhammer state.

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Since coming into office, the Biden administration ordered reviews of the decision, none of which found anything improper in Trumps decision, though they found the former president could have followed better practices in the process.

The delayed relocation reached new heights over the spring when NBC News reported the Biden administration was considering scrapping the relocation plan because of restrictive abortion laws in Alabama.

Rogers and other Alabama Republicans objected to any such plan, saying Huntsville, also known as Rocket City, was selected based on its merits and in a fair process, while pointing to the reviews that found nothing improper.

The House version of the annual defense bill that passed earlier this month includes provisions that slash funding for the Air Force Secretary until the administration makes a final decision. Its unclear whether Rogers will be satisfied with a reversal.

Other Alabama politicians, including Gov. Kay Ivey (R), quickly blasted the the decision as political. Alabama overwhelmingly voted for Trump in the 2020 election and has two GOP senators, while Colorado voted for Biden and has two Democratic senators.

Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) said the base Redstone Arsenal in Alabama was the correct location based on its merits, arguing Biden has irresponsibly decided to yank a military decision out of the Air Forces hands in the name of partisan politics.

The Presidents blatant prioritization of partisan political considerations at the expense of our national security, military modernization, and force readiness is a disservice and a dishonor to his oath of office as our nations Commander-in-Chief, she said in a statement.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby reiterated during an interview with CNN on Monday that the presidents decision was entirely due to national security considerations, pointing specifically to the rising threat from China.

This was really a decision based on one thing and one thing only for a president and that was operational readiness, Kirby said. He took the inputs of many leaders across the Department of Defense that when it came down to it, he believes that its in the best national security interest of the country if we leave Space Command in Colorado.

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennett (D) joined officials from his state in celebrating Bidens decision.

Over the past two and half years, we have repeatedly made the case that the Trump administrations decision to relocate U.S. Space Command was misguided, the senator wrote on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Todays decision restores integrity to the Pentagons basing process and sends a strong message that national security and the readiness of our Armed Forces drive our military decisions, he added.

Updated at 5:34 pm ET.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
President Joe Biden has determined that Colorado Springs will be the permanent headquarters of U.S. Space Command, reversing a Trump administration decision to move the facility to Alabama, the Pentagon announced Monday.

The decision will only intensify a bitter parochial battle on Capitol Hill, as members of the Colorado and Alabama delegations have spent months accusing each other of playing politics on the future of the four-star command.

The command was reestablished in 2019 and given temporary headquarters in Colorado while the Air Force evaluated a list of possible permanent sites. With an eye on Russia and China, its job is to oversee the militarys operations of space assets and the defense of satellites.

Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Biden notified the Department of Defense on Monday that he had made the decision, after speaking with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and weighing the input of senior military leaders.

Locating Headquarters U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs ultimately ensures peak readiness in the space domain for our nation during a critical period, Ryder said in a statement. It will also enable the command to most effectively plan, execute and integrate military spacepower into multi-domain global operations in order to deter aggression and defend national interests.

Austin, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and U.S. Space Command chief Gen. James Dickinson all support Bidens decision, Ryder added.

The news, which wasfirst reported by The Associated Press, brings to an end months of speculation about whether Biden would reverse President Donald Trumps decision to move the command. The Air Force initially recommended the command stay in Colorado, but later selected Alabama after a high-level meeting at the White House in January 2021, during the final days of the Trump administration. Trump latercredited himself for single-handedly putting the command in the red state.

Upon taking office, the Biden administration launched its own review of the decision. The Air Force was supposed to make a final determination by December, but a delay fueled months of political feuding. Members of the Colorado delegation claimed Trump decided to move the command to Alabama in order to reward a red state, while Alabama lawmakers said Biden was playing politics in holding up the decision.

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The most significant factor Biden weighed in making the decision was the impact such a move would have on the militarys ability to confront the changing threat from space, according to a senior administration official, who like others was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations.

Keeping the headquarters at Colorado Springs maintains operational readiness and ensures no disruption to its mission or to its personnel, according to the official. The command is set to achieve full operational capability this month, the official said.

A move to Alabama, by contrast, would have forced the command to transition to a new headquarters in the mid-2020s, and the new site would not have been open until the early to mid-2030s, the official said.

The president found that risk unacceptable, especially given the challenges we may face in the space domain during this critical time period, according to the official.

Biden made the decision after consulting with Austin and reviewing the advice of his military leaders, the official said.

The move quickly prompted outrage on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers from Alabama, including Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, have been outspoken in urging the Defense Department to make the move. Tuberville is already engaged in a pitched battle with the Pentagon over its policy granting leave to troops who must travel to seek an abortion, and is holding up the nominations of more than 270 senior offices until the policy is rescinded.

Its clear that far-left politics, not national security, was the driving force behind this decision, House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said in a statement. The Biden administrations shameful delay to finalize the permanent basing decision for U.S. Space Command warranted the opening of a Congressional investigation. I will continue this investigation to see if they intentionally misled the Armed Services Committee on their deliberate taxpayer-funded manipulation of the selection process.

This fight is far from over, he added.

Colorado Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, meanwhile, hailed the decision. They argued that Bidens move removed politics from the militarys process of deciding where bases should go, and Bennet called Colorado the commands rightful home.

In an interview on Monday evening, Hickenlooper said that Tubervilles holds on military promotions, while very frustrating, did not affect the decision-making process at all. Theres been intense speculation in the Senate that the Alabama senators battle against the Pentagons abortion policy could drag down Alabamas bid.

On a bad day it bugs the living daylights out of me. But it's completely separate from Space Command, Hickenlooper said. In my opinion, I believe that's how the Defense Department looked at it. And I think that's how the White House looked at it.

Instead, he said, the importance of Space Command with regards to the war in Ukraine and getting the base up to full operation capacity was of top importance. Hickenlooper also mentioned that the administration would lose huge amounts of civilian workers if it moved the base to Alabama  which would further hamper getting the headquarters up to speed.

The first-term senator said the decision was not made in regard to accessory issues; the real question was full operational capability, where is the best location for space command?

From when Trump made this decision, the world changed, Hickenlooper said. It was no longer a theoretical need that we be at full operational capability. We're in a conflict right now, there's a global conflict with Ukraine. And we've got to make sure that we are fully prepared at all times. Our entire military defense is based on our assets in space.

Bennet said in a statement: Over the past two and half years, we have repeatedly made the case that the Trump administrations decision to relocate U.S. Space Command was misguided. Todays decision restores integrity to the Pentagons basing process and sends a strong message that national security and the readiness of our armed forces drive our military decisions.

And Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) said on social media: This is a big win. Colorado has become home to some of the best & brightest minds working in our space & aerospace industries. Allowing U.S. Space Command to continue its vital work, uninterrupted, here in Colorado will help ensure its continued success.
By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden on Monday described how he once bloodied the nose of a neighborhood bully when he was a wee lad, egged on by his Irish-American mother.

Biden, who gives few one-on-one interviews and holds few news conferences, taped an extensive interview with British podcaster Jay Shetty, whose "On Purpose" is the No. 1 mental health podcast in the United States, according to analytics firm Chartable.

Biden, who grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, said he was once attacked by a neighborhood bully in the alley behind the house, and his mother, Catherine Eugenia Finnegan, advised him how to respond:

"My mother said, 'Joey go back out there. Wait until he walks up to you, and as soon as he does, smack him right in the nose. Ill give you 50 cents.'"

"I said, 'Why Mom?'"

"She said, 'You won't be able to walk in that alley again if you dont.'"

"I was scared to death. I walked down, popped him in the nose, it bled and he ran, and I thought, 'Huh,'" said Biden.

Biden, who has emphasized compromise in his dealings with Republican opponents and foreign peers, told Shetty how he approaches negotiating.

"I try to understand what is motivating the other person when I'm doing things internationally or personally," he said. "There's a shot even with the bad guys that you can break through and get something done."

Biden in the podcast also said, "I have seven grandchildren." He publicly acknowledged his seventh grandchild for the first time on Friday in a statement to People Magazine. The 4-year-old girl is the child of Biden's son, Hunter, who settled a years-long court battle over child support in June.

Biden explained to Shetty why he was acknowledging the seventh: "Being there is important and makes such a difference."

Biden revealed that he watches little television but has a steady stream of movies for watching in the White House theater. One that is on the list but he hasn't seen yet: "Oppenheimer," about the development of the atom bombs dropped on Japan in World War Two.

(Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Heather Timmons and Leslie Adler)
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden sit under an umbrella in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on July 30, 2023. JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

The president and first lady are on vacation at their beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

The Bidens purchased the six-bedroom home in 2017.

The first family's children and grandchildren often visit, and Biden rides his bike around town.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are currently vacationing at their beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

After arriving on Friday, the two were spotted reading on the beach on Sunday and riding their bicycles in Gordons Pond State Park on Monday. They will remain in Rehoboth Beach through the week.

Take a look at the quaint beach town where the president and first lady escape the pressures of the White House.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden purchased a vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, in 2017.

The Bidens' vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Mark Makela/Reuters

"Throughout our careers, Jill and I have dreamed of being able to buy a place at the beach at home where we can bring the whole family," Biden said in a statement in 2017, according to Fox News. "We feel very lucky that we're now able to make that happen and are looking forward to spending time with our family."

Biden's primary residence is a 6,850-square-foot home in Greenville, Delaware, according to Reuters.

The six-bedroom, 5-bathroom features personal touches.

A sign reading "Beau's gift" outside the beach house owned by the Bidens. Mark Makela/Reuters

Delmarva Now reported in 2017 that the Rehoboth Beach property has three fireplaces, two large porches, outdoor showers, an elevator, and a dog-washing station.

A sign reading "Beau's gift" also hangs on the front of the house, honoring the Bidens' son Beau who died of brain cancer in 2015.

Biden told CNN in 2016 that he considered selling his Greenville home in order to pay for Beau's cancer treatments, but then-president Barack Obama made him promise not to and offered to lend him the money, instead.

The Bidens' children and grandchildren are frequent visitors to Rehoboth Beach.

Joe Biden walks on the beach with his daughter Ashley Biden (right), granddaughter Natalie Biden (center), granddaughter Naomi Biden (second from the left) and her husband (then fiance) Peter Neal (left) in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

The Bidens have seven grandchildren.

Biden's son Hunter and his ex-wife Kathleen Buhle had three children together: Naomi, Finnegan, and Maisy. He had another son, Beau, with his wife Melissa Cohen, whom he married in 2019.

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Hunter also fathered a daughter named Navy with Lunden Roberts, a former stripper, in 2018. Biden publicly acknowledged his seventh grandchild for the first time in a statement to People magazine on July 28, saying that "Jill and I only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy." He added that Hunter and Lunden are "working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of their daughter."

Beau was married to Hallie Biden and had two children, Natalie and Robert "Hunter" Biden II.

The small beach town has a population of 1,108 people, according to 2020 census data.

Shops in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Alex Brandon, File/AP

Rehoboth Beach is located in Delaware's Sussex County on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.

Locals can occasionally spot Biden riding his bike in Rehoboth Beach's Gordons Pond State Park.

People watch as President Joe Biden goes on a bike ride in Gordons Pond State Park in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, in May 2023. Carolyn Kaster/AP

In June 2022, while in Rehoboth Beach to celebrate his 45th wedding anniversary, Biden fell off his bike while approaching members of the public.

"I'm good," Biden said after the fall. "My foot got caught."

A White House spokesperson said in a statement that Biden did not require medical attention, Insider's John L. Dorman reported.

He also attends Mass at St. Edmond's Catholic Church.

St. Edmond's Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Joshua Roberts/Reuters

Members of the Secret Service stand guard outside the church during the service.

The Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk features a mile-long stretch of restaurants, arcade games, shops, and amusement park rides.

The boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Alex Brandon, File/AP

Biden keeps the outer Oval Office stocked with salt water taffy from Dolle's Candyland, a sweet shop located on the boardwalk, The Washington Post reported in 2021.

Browseabout Books on the town's main street sells books authored by the Bidens and other themed merchandise.

Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Mark Makela/Getty Images

The bookstore sells Biden-themed mugs, socks, earrings, hats, and even an orange Gatorade-scented candle since it's Biden's favorite drink.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A woman celebrating her birthday with a drive past Floridas Lake Apopka saw a rotting alligator start to move again, and things only got stranger from there.

Closer inspection revealed the 9- to 10-foot alligator was actually in the mouth of an even bigger gator, which was dragging it backwards across the lake.

One alligator preparing to eat another and a stunned Dawn Jarman couldnt help but pull her phone out and start recording.

I was with two friends and we just happened to drive up at the right time. We were freaking out, of course, because it was a National Geographic moment, Jarman told McClatchy News.

Dawn Jarman was celebrating her birthday with a drive past Floridas Lake Apopka when she saw one alligator dragging another.

My friends and I thought that it was just a dead gator sitting in the water. As soon as we stopped the car to look at it, it started moving and we realize there was another gator holding onto the tail, we were freaking out to say the least. ... There were quite a few excitable four-letter words.

Floridas male alligators are known to battle over territory and mates, and Jarman guesses it may have been a turf war that turned deadly.

The dead gator gave off a putrid odor, she says, but was still intact which tells me it probably was only dead for a couple of days at most.

It happened Friday, July 28, and she says the group watched from their vehicle until the alligator came to a lengthy stop in the water, then they drove off.

Lake Apopka, about 15 miles northwest of Orlando in Orange County, is home to hundreds of alligators, surveys have shown. The largest alligator found in Florida  17 feet, 5 inches  was killed in the Apopka area, according to the University of Florida.

Jarman, a Florida native, shared her videos with the 12,900 members of the Birds and Wildlife in Florida Facebook group, where commenters called her an alligator whisperer for catching such a rare scene.

Thats as Florida as Florida gets! one commenter posted.

Couple checks potential new car for oil leaks  and finds creature lurking underneath

Florida crocodile relocated 95 miles away was back again 2.5 years later, study shows

Rare American crocodile caught in Florida drainpipe, police say. It was 9 feet long
Downside Abbey and School in Somerset - Getty

Theres a small cemetery in the grounds of Downside Abbey. Surrounded by a thick hedge, and overlooked by the stout neo-Gothic bulk of the abbey tower, it contains rows of metal crosses. Since 1794 when the Benedictine community came to Britain from Catholic France, its where most of its monks have been buried. They would join as novices in their early 20s and know that, decades later, that is where they would end up.

No longer. For the last two years, there have been no monks at Downside boarding school near Bath, which was founded in 1814. In 2020, after a damning enquiry into historic abuse at the school and the discovery of inadequate safeguarding, the monastery and school separated. Monks were taken off the teaching staff; locks installed between the school and the monastery. And on 12 March 2022, the monks left for good. The Community of St Gregory  as the monks of Downside are now called  is temporarily lodging at Buckfast Abbey in Devon while they ponder the future.

As a pupil at Downside in the late 2000s, I walked past the monks graveyard most days for seven years. (My brother also attended and my mother taught there.) I was an awkward fit and most of my peers were wealthier than me; their parents could afford the 12,000-a-term fees outright, rather than relying on a teachers discount.

Yet the monastery was one of the best parts of my school experience. Youd catch sight of the abbey on the way back from playing sport, its tower lifted in the sun, surfing on waves of Somerset green. And the monks in their floor-length black habits were singular, fascinating men. Despite their cloistered lives, they appeared more worldly than our lay teachers: as happy discussing the intricacies of Sanskrit as they were chatting about the latest Scandi crime series. They felt essential to the fabric of the place.

In the late 1970s, a boy who Ill call Charles arrived at Downside. As was usual, he was sent to the junior boarding house, sleeping in a dorm with 30 other boys. Its housemaster was a monk called Dom Denis. He was a large, ebullient man who kept a train set in his study, where he would invite boys to play with it and drink cocoa.

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'The monks in their floor-length black habits were singular, fascinating men. Despite their cloistered lives, they appeared more worldly than our lay teachers' - Getty

One night, Charles told me, Denis came into the dormitory and sat by his bed. He slipped his hand under the covers and fondled his penis. That first time, Charles was too frightened to make a sound. But when Denis came back on subsequent nights, he shouted. Denis fled. Charles was 12.

Soon afterwards, Denis was moved away from the junior house. But the memory of what happened lingered. Charles became a difficult pupil  smoking, drinking, causing trouble. And the abuse shadowed him into adulthood. Drinking led to stints in rehab. Relationships floundered. At his lowest, Charles tried to kill himself. He considered legal action against the school, but without corroborating witnesses his lawyer advised him to drop the case. Instead, he flailed, haunting Facebook forums for ex-pupils and leaving angry messages on the schools voicemail. For years I wondered whether I made it up, he says. [But now], its about saying, this was sexual abuse. It was horrific and it happened to me.

This is the first time Charles has spoken to a journalist, he says. He wasnt involved with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), which published its final findings in October last year, and his alleged abuser, Dom Denis, is not named in it. Instead, the report dealt with nearly a dozen cases of sexual abuse and inappropriate behaviour at Downside.

Perhaps the most serious of those involved Fr Nicholas White. He taught geography and, the inquiry found, throughout the 1980s he repeatedly molested the children in his care. One of his victims told the inquiry that White had taken pity on him when he had first arrived at Downside. After winning his trust, White took him alone to the monastery library and touched him inappropriately. The boy told his father, who complained to the Abbot, John Roberts, who promised to sort it out. He didnt.

When the boy returned for senior school, he found White was his housemaster. Soon after, the abuse began again. I remember very clearly walking down corridors with him on the way to the monastery library and passing monks and other teachers, and just thinking, Does nobody know?, he remembered. There was an enormous blindness at play.

In the years afterwards, White was shuffled from institution to institution, diocese to diocese, and during this time, the inquiry found, the community sought to keep his crimes from the police. In January 1999, White returned to Downside where his fellow monks tried to limit his contact with pupils.

Eventually, White was arrested in 2011; three boys came forward to describe how he abused them. He was charged with 10 offences, pleading guilty to seven of them. He was sentenced to five years in jail. He died in 2016. I think there was a tremendous naivety on the part of the authorities, a belief in the power of redemption, one of his victims told the inquiry. If you have an organisation that neatly partitions good and evil, then, as a young child, you believe that stuff; [you believe] these guys are the representatives of God.

The monastery and school separated in 2020 after the enquiry  on 12 March 2022, the monks left for good - Alex Ramsay / Alamy

Earlier this year, I put a call out on the Facebook page of the Old Gregorian Society, Downsides old boys network. I wanted to understand how such abuse was allowed to happen.

More than a dozen responded. None shared as vivid experiences of assault as Charles. And most told me they had relatively happy memories of the school. Yet I was struck by the imprint Downside had left on them. They were successful men in their 50s and 60s  accountants, entrepreneurs, senior Army officers  but, five decades later, they still carried the school inside them.

According to many, the Downside of the 70s and 80s was a hard place. Hierarchies were rigid, discipline harsh and violence common. The pupil body was vast  more than 600 boys were crammed into five houses. Each house was supervised by a monastic housemaster who was the king in their castle, remembered an ex-teacher. Some housemasters had a reputation for kindness and taking an interest in their charges, encouraging them to pursue music and theatre. Others kept order through indifference and barely concealed thuggery.

Charles described elaborate initiation rituals, such as crucifixion, where younger boys were strapped, sometimes naked, to their bed frames by prefects and older boys. Occasionally, boot polish would be rubbed on to their genitals  something known as blacking. Yet the violence wasnt confined to the pupils: Charles recalled one occasion when he mucked around during mass. Afterwards, his housemaster, red with rage had come at him with a rugby boot  a beating which left him curled in a corner. It was, he said, a culture of abuse.

Of the other Old Gregorians (OGs) I spoke to, some had their own stories of ordeals that went beyond laddish horseplay. One told me of an incident where older boys put a plank of wood over a younger one as he sat in the bath, holding him choking in the darkness until he was incoherent.

Fagging, too, was common; in fact, some OGs celebrated it as a system that encouraged friendships between older and younger boys and as a surefire way of ensuring protection from bullies. It wasnt seen as extraordinary in any way, one told me. Yet people today would look back in horror. He pointed out that Downside was far from unique. Indeed, other public schools of the era had worse reputations for cruelty.

It was my first time returning alone and as I saw the abbey tower looming over the countryside, my stomach lurched - Downside School

The former teacher identified Downsides financial problems as the root of this Lord of the Flies atmosphere. In the 60s, the school was known for its academic success; its monastic teaching staff were hard, brilliant men who had come of age during the war. By the mid 1970s, though, many had died or retired. And under the lax regime of the headmaster Dom Raphael Appleby, complacency set in. The school coasted and pupil numbers fell. The culture was completely isolationist, the former teacher said. Downside was geographically, but also socially and intellectually, removed. [It was] a parallel universe.

In 1980, a new headmaster, Dom Philip Jebb, was brought in to steady the ship. He encouraged the harsh discipline, many OGs recalled. So much so, in fact, that soon after he was appointed, hundreds of boys stormed into the central quad at night and began shouting no more st in protest. (The kitchen staff misheard this cry as no more chips.)

Under Jebb, pupil numbers rebounded. But by the teachers telling, this contributed to abuse going unnoticed  there were simply too many boys, and power was concentrated in the hands of too few monastic housemasters to ensure proper safeguarding.

Sex, too, was a feature of school life. Unrepressed sexual tension stalked the corridors of Downside, remembers one of the OGs.

Relationships between boys were common. Especially in Junior House, there was quite a lot of it going on, he told me. In this atmosphere, the peculiar became quite normal, another recalled. Multiple OGs talked about Fr Cuthbert, who ran the sacristy. He would invite boys for coffee and biscuits in his study. The purpose of these sessions, an OG remembers, was to find out how often you wanked. Another remembers that Dom Denis was nicknamed Dodgy Denis by the boys  something others have corroborated. At the time, you went away and laughed about it with your mates, he says. [But] you ended up leaving school with a great deal of confusion and a whole lot of guilt.

Still, even those with ambivalent memories say they hadnt witnessed the kind of abuse laid out in the inquiry. As with any institution, you live in your bubble, one remembers. You put up your barriers and learnt how to survive. But the IICSA reports conclusions hit many in the OG community hard. I believe in forgiveness and reconciliation, and the school is in a much better state now, a source said. But it happened, didnt it? It happened  and you cant pretend it didnt.

A Benedictine monk hears confession - Getty

I drove to Downside on a temperamental February day where clouds chased sunshine across the sky. It was my first time returning alone and as I saw the abbey tower looming over the countryside, my stomach lurched. Going back to school is never a simple business.

I met the headmaster, Andrew Hobbs, in his office with an expansive view of the sun-drenched quad. Broad-shouldered and tall, hed been a Cambridge rugby blue, and would be intimidating were it not for a swift smile and ready laugh. When I was at Downside, he taught classics and was later deputy head. In 2018 he became the schools second lay headmaster in its 209-year history.

The decision of the monks to leave was a surprise. It was the right one, though, he felt: The monasterys upkeep is massive  its not the right place for a diminishing number of elderly monks. And if were being absolutely honest, considering the inquiry, all the history, the time for Benedictine monks to run schools has passed.

Still, he says, losing them felt like a bereavement, adding, You mourn the loss, but it leaves you space to grow into.

Hobbs joined the school in the late 2000s  long after the abuse took place. Yet as its headmaster, he gave evidence to the inquiry. What happened at Downside was very humbling and difficult, he reflects. But there are a lot of institutions, with the same history, who havent been put in the spotlight yet. That ours is out in the open leads in a strange way to a process of renewal.

I took a tour with two current pupils. The inquiry, and its accompanying media storm had, they said, largely washed over them; they could only think of one student who had been withdrawn after the revelations broke. Wandering the school, though, I felt as though Id fallen down a rabbit hole: like Alice, I was awkward, clumsy, too big for its suddenly shrunk corridors. But the strangest part was looking out towards the monastery knowing it was locked and empty. Hobbs told me hed considered whether it might become a hotel  or, his preferred option, a prep school extension. But it wasnt his decision to make: the English Benedictine Congregation owns the entire site, and the school rents from the monastery; it will be the monks who will decide its fate.

On my brief tour, the school felt like a brighter, happier place than when I attended. The absence of the monks, however, was echoing. What was their future? Hobbs wasnt sure: You have to shake off the dust for a bit before you can have a clear idea of what the path ahead is like. Before long, well know what they are going to do.

Headmaster Andrew Hobbs joined the school in the late 2000s  long after the abuse took place - Downside School

A month later, I went to Devon to ask them myself. The Community of St Gregory now has only 14 members; eight live in a retreat centre at Buckfast Abbey, the rest are working or studying in parishes and monasteries elsewhere. The morning I visited was fresh and spring-like; the rambling grounds glowed in the sunshine, the nearby River Dart could be heard beneath the birdsong.

The Abbot, Dom Nicholas Wetz, elected in 2020, had come from Belmont Abbey as prior administrator. He gave me coffee and led me into the chapter house. I hadnt met him before. The previous Abbot, Aidan Bellenger, who served when I was a pupil, had left a few years before, renouncing his vows and going to live with his partner. Soon we were joined by three other monks  Dom Leo, Dom James, and Dom Anselm. They were familiar faces: Leo was my headmaster, James had been a school chaplain and Anselm was a teacher. The atmosphere was warm but wary; despite many requests, this was the first time theyd spoken to the press.

Were a declining community, noted Abbot Nicholas. So one of our ideas was to work with another community to rediscover our monastic roots. [Moving to Buckfast] wasnt about saving ourselves. The whole church is going through a difficult time. Monastic life is going through a difficult time. So were trying to discern what our mission is now.

The decision to leave Downside was a practical one, he said. We didnt move because there was a school next door  it had nothing to do with them.

The creaking monastic buildings, echoed Dom Anselm, were simply not fit for purpose. He pointed out that they went without hot water for months over the winter of 2021 because they couldnt get parts for a broken boiler during lockdown. The buildings are there to serve the monks  not the other way around, he noted.

How was the IICSA report received by the community? Abbot Nicholas began to read from the statement they gave at the time. We welcome the report published today by the independent inquiry

He finished. Paused.  what can we say? Anything we say will be misinterpreted. All we can express is, well, sorrow. Were genuinely sorry for the failings of the past. And well keep reaching out to anyone who has suffered. Were not moving on. We still live with it.

I asked about the OGs descriptions of life at the school in the 70s and 80s. Its difficult to compare us with other schools at the time because there was a zeitgeist, said Dom Leo, who was also a student at Downside. Things are much less laissez-faire now than they were then. Sometimes I look at schools today and think, I couldnt stand it [as a pupil]  youre not allowed to do anything, you have to be registered to go for a walk even.

Some OGs were upset by the monks leaving. Did they ever worry about how their departure might be taken?

Dom Leos response was unexpectedly sharp. The connection isnt broken or anything. But its like [being upset] when you return home and your parents have repainted your bedroom. Refusing to move on is the worst thing you can do  you cant live in the past.

When I mentioned the schools future, though, he softened. Downside is a place that speaks to lots of people, especially at times of some trauma in their lives. As for their future, The best we can do is be a good community and see if that generates something.

School days are the first chapter of your life. To rewrite them means to rewrite something foundational about yourself.

Perhaps this is why so many OGs greeted the reports findings with such anger, confusion  and guilt. Its a survivors guilt about having a relatively normal childhood at a place where awful, abnormal things were happening. A guilt I shared.

Fundamental to the Catholic conception of the world is the idea of penance and forgiveness. But in Downsides case, these notions are unclear. After all, how can you forgive a collective history of hunches unchased, and blind eyes turned? Who has the power to absolve an entire institution? It seems to me only the victims have that power  and none has yet been willing to do so publicly.

Towards the end of my visit to the school, we walked past the monks graveyard. It was smaller than I remembered and the hedges could have done with a trim. A wind blew  but otherwise all was quiet, and still.

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LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivian President Luis Arce will attend next month's BRICS summit in South Africa as the South American country looks for stronger partnerships and investments to help boost commodities exports and develop its emerging lithium industry, the foreign minister said on Monday.

"We seek to move towards sustainable, inclusive development and to strengthen cooperation ties with these emerging economies," Bolivian Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta said at a press conference.

The Bolivian president will join senior officials from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) at the geopolitical bloc's Aug. 22-24 annual meeting in Johannesburg, where a top issue for discussion will be whether to admit new member countries.

More than 40 countries have expressed interested in joining the BRICS group of nations, a top South African diplomat said this month.

While no official list has been published, countries that have shown interest in the past range from Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Egypt to Iran, Cuba, and Kazakhstan.

At a July meeting of the South American trade bloc known as Mercosur, Arce said that Bolivia was seeking strategic alliances with BRICS countries and new partnerships that challenge the existing global economic order.

Bolivia last week said it was working to complete more of its financial transactions in Chinese yuan, echoing BRICS leaders who have touted aims to decrease their dependence on the U.S. dollars.

BRICS members China and Russia have recently stepped up investments to develop Bolivia's huge lithium resources, including three deals with two Chinese firms and a Russian firm worth a total of $2.8 billion, signed this year.

(Reporting by Daniel Ramos; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
McSharry, who comes highly recommended in his field, lost his job at an American software company as a result of his offence - Hampshire Police/Solent News & Photo Agency

An IT boss attacked his wife after she fell asleep while they were watching a film.

Paul McSharry battered Carolyn, his wife of 22 years, and claimed that she had disrespected him by nodding off during the movie, a court heard.

In a petty nothingness of irritation, the high earner woke Mrs McSharry  an academic  up, told her to get upstairs and then pushed her to the floor.

He then hit her repeatedly and throttled her.

As she tried to scream, he covered her mouth with his hand and accused her of being not nice to me, also asking: Are you going to be a decent wife?

She managed to escape and locked herself in the bathroom, before messaging a friend, who called the police.

The 46-year-old, who is also a published author and panellist, was jailed for three years and six months after admitting to intentional strangulation and threats to kill.

Sentencing McSharry at Southampton Crown Court, Hants, Judge Christopher Parker KC said he had battered and bullied her remorselessly.

Threat of significant further violence

The court heard that the incident took place on March 21 this year at the couples home in Chandlers Ford, Hants.

Prosecuting, Keely Harvey said there was a threat of significant further violence having caused very serious distress to his wife, who wondered what was going to happen to her.

She added that McSharry, a high earner, didnt like any drinking and would go crazy if his wife had a drink.

She said: The relationship had been suffering for several years prior to the incidents.

The court heard that after the attack, Mrs McSharry sent a friend a number of voice recordings she had been covertly taking.

The concerned friend then rang the police, who came and arrested the IT worker.

In the recordings, played in court, he can be heard saying that he was going to kill Mrs McSharry  who has a PhD in chemistry  and that she was the one making him do this.

Great shame

When interviewed, McSharry, a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, gave a prepared statement, initially denying ever threatening or assaulting his wife.

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Mitigating, Audrey Archer said he feels great shame at the way he behaved that evening and had been seeking help while in custody.

Judge Parker KC said: On the night of the 21st, over a petty nothingness of irritation, you lost your temper, and you battered and bullied her remorselessly. You told her you were pleased that you hurt her.

I have no doubt that untreated and allowed access back to your wife, you would represent a very serious danger to her  not just to her health and wellbeing but to her life.

McSharry, who has 15 years of experience as an IT professional, comes highly recommended in his field, with his bosses at VMware commending him on his LinkedIn profile.

McSharry lost his solution architect job at the American software company as a result of his offence.

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RANDOLPH  A Boston man has been charged with fleeing the scene after striking a police cruiser that was stopped to assist a broken-down motorist, police said.

A Randolph police officer responded to North Main Street about 8 p.m. on Saturday during the weekend's storm to assist with a vehicle that had run out of fuel in the left lane.

"While assisting the disabled vehicle, a 2014 black Jeep, traveling northbound, crossed over the double yellow line and struck the stopped cruiser," Police Chief Anthony Marag said in a written statement. "After striking the cruiser, the vehicle fled the scene and continued driving northbound."

The officer, who was inside the cruiser when it was struck, was evaluated at the scene, but declined further treatment, Marag said.

Police say the oncoming Jeep struck a stopped Randolph police cruiser on North Main Street and then fled the scene on Saturday, July 29, 2023.

A second officer arrived on scene and attempted to stop the vehicle.

"Out of caution for the safety of the officers and other drivers, a decision was made not to initiate a pursuit and responding officers continued to assist the disabled vehicle," Marag said.

Police say they used photo evidence to obtain the license plate number and the suspect vehicle was quickly identified.

About half an hour later, Detective Sgt. Jason Fisher and Detective Christopher Jones located the vehicle unoccupied near the registered owner's address near Wellington Hill Street in Boston.

"Upon locating the vehicle, detectives found it to have damage consistent with the crash," Marag said. "The vehicle was taken to the Randolph Police Department and impounded."

Police say the registered owner and alleged driver turned himself in on Sunday morning.

The suspect, a 29-year-old Mattapan man, has been charged with unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of a crash with property damage and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

Police say he was not identified because a criminal complaint had not yet been issued.

The suspect will be summoned to Quincy District Court to face the charges at a later date.

Enterprise senior reporter Cody Shepard can be reached at cshepard@enterprisenews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Police: Boston man struck Randolph cruiser, fled scene
Mayor Michelle Wu on Monday signed an executive order eliminating the use of fossil fuels in new construction and major renovations of city buildings.

Joining Wu for the signing ceremony were Green New Deal Director Oliver Sellers-Garcia, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, the Operations Cabinet and local climate, and labor advocates.

A statement released by the mayors office said that Wu is demonstrating her commitment to accelerating climate action by requiring that all new municipal buildings and major renovations operate without fossil fuels, reducing emissions from Bostons building sector while creating high-quality jobs, improving public health and quality of life, and advancing racial and economic justice.

The executive order will take immediate effect, exempting projects currently in procurement, design, or construction.

Week after week, we see the signs of extreme heat, storms, and flooding that remind us of a closing window to take climate action, Wu said in a statement. The benefits of embracing fossil fuel-free infrastructure in our City hold no boundary across industries and communities, and Boston will continue using every possible tool to build the green, clean, healthy, and prosperous future our city deserves.

With the implementation of the executive order, all new buildings will be planned, designed, and constructed so that HVAC, hot water, and cooking systems will not combust or directly connect to fossil fuels for all municipal buildings.

In addition to applying to all new buildings, it also impacts alterations where structural work is planned in 75% or more of the buildings square footage, officials said. Any project that replaces a buildings heating, ventilation, air conditioning or hot water system, or cooking equipment must eliminate fossil fuel combustion in the affected system.

As part of the Green New Deal for Boston, we are taking an all-of-government approach, finding ways for our Cabinets and departments to play a role in climate action, Sellers-Garcia said in a statement. This Executive Order directs and empowers the Operations Cabinet and facilities managers across the City to lead the decarbonization of our building portfolio. In addition to new buildings, this order applies to major renovations because, often, the most sustainable way to make a green building is not to start from scratch.

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In Boston, municipal emissions constitute 2.3% of all of Bostons carbon emissions, and over 70% of the Citys emissions are from buildings, officials said.

Through the executive order, the city is leveraging the opportunity to ensure every new capital investment in new construction or major renovation project catalyzes the decarbonization of Bostons building sector by constructing or retrofitting buildings to eliminate the use of fossil fuels in building operations, city officials said in their statement.

This Executive Order puts in place a clear path to decarbonizing the Citys building portfolio, officials said in their statement. As the owner of over 16 million square feet of property, the Citys commitment to fossil fuel free buildings will add substantial demand to the many trades and professions that are part of the green building ecosystem. The City will lead by example with its own buildings, and will contribute to the creation of new jobs in the building trades as well as building design and maintenance, expanding local opportunities to strengthen workforce development programs, apprenticeships and other training pipelines for Boston residents to gain access to high-quality employment in the building sector.

PowerCorpsBOS supports these workforce development efforts by training Boston residents for jobs that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in large buildings by learning skills to maintain building operations at peak efficiency, officials said. The program is a partnership led by the Worker Empowerment Cabinet and the Environment Department in collaboration with the Department of Youth Employment and Opportunity, and Boston Centers for Youth & Families. The third cohort of the program began last week.

The executive order will improve public health and save the City money, city officials said in their statement. Highly efficient fossil fuel-free buildings create immediate health benefits for building occupants by improving indoor air quality, increasing resilience, and lessening the symptoms of existing respiratory and other health conditions. These buildings will also be cost-effective to operate in the long run, reducing municipal energy costs and creating cost savings that can be reinvested in local municipal services.

To support the implementation, the Operations Cabinet will be launching a Facilities Condition Assessment that will identify decarbonization projects, officials said. The FY 24-29 Capital Plan includes $132,510,000 for building design projects that will advance decarbonization.

The order follows the Citys Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance, officials said. This ordinance sets emissions standards for large existing buildings, requiring all covered buildings, including municipal buildings, to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Police in Boston have arrested a wanted man who allegedly stole a truck with a toddler inside before dropping the young child off at a busy intersection earlier this month.

Cristofanes Christopher Mendes is slated to be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on charges including reckless endangerment of a child, larceny of a motor vehicle, and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in connection with a kidnapping incident that occurred on Friday, July 14, at Geneva Avenue and Leroy Street in Dorchester, according to the Boston Police Department.

Mendes, who was added to the departments Most Wanted List last week, was arrested without incident in the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Chesterton Street in Roxbury around 10:30 a.m. Monday.

Officers responded to the intersection of Geneva Avenue and Leroy Street on the afternoon of July 14 for the reported kidnapping. The victimized family told police that they had pulled over to tend to the 2-year-old when the suspect entered their truck and sped down the road with the baby still inside.

Surveillance video showed the stolen truck fleeing down Geneva Avenue toward Bowdoin Street as the family tried to chase down the alleged kidnapper. The truck is then seen returning moments later and speeding down the wrong way of a one-way before opening the front door and dropping the car seat holding the child on the street corner. A woman then swoops in, picking up the child from the curb.

The stolen truck was found abandoned an hour later on Columbia Road, a mile from where the alleged kidnapping took place, Boston police said.

An investigation remains ongoing.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Yobro10 | Dreamstime.com

Several schools in London, England, are offering summer literacy lessons that are open only to black students to "accelerate progress in reading and writing whilst also developing the children's knowledge of black history and culture." They are not offering a similar program for white students even though educational achievement is lower for whites from a disadvantaged background than for students from other ethnic groups from a disadvantaged background.

The post Brickbat: Separate and Unequal appeared first on Reason.com.
Sheri James (center) was escorted down the aisle by the doctors who treated her cancer, Van Morris (left), and Emma Holliday right). Jason Robles Photography

Sheri James said the doctors who treated her cancer walked her down the aisle at her wedding.

Sheri told ABC's David Muir she couldn't imagine her wedding without the doctors who saved her.

She told ABC that she became cancer-free after three months of treatment in 2021.

A bride said she couldn't imagine walking down the aisle without the doctors who treated her cancer.

Sheri James, 70, told ABC host David Muir that they were by her side as she married her partner Bill, 77, in New Bern, North Carolina, on June 1, as Good Morning America's Yi-Jin Yu reported.

During the ABC segment on Wednesday, Sheri said she was escorted down the aisle by Dr. Van Morris and Dr. Emma Holliday, who she said treated her for squamous cell anal cancer in 2021.

Sheri told ABC that she attempted to end things with Bill at the time of her diagnosis in 2021 because she didn't want to hold him back from his dream of traveling, but she said he "refused" and stayed by her side throughout treatment.

Sheri James walks down the aisle at her wedding. Jason Robles Photography

Sheri and Bill traveled around 1,500 miles from her home in Seven Springs, North Carolina, to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where she received chemotherapy and radiation treatment between February and April 2021, she told ABC.

She added that Holliday and Morris had told her they hoped she would be cancer-free six months after treatment. But to their surprise, the cancer was gone three months after treatment, Sheri said.

"I could not even envision getting married without them," Sheri told ABC of her doctors.

She added that it was a "no-brainer" to celebrate surviving cancer with her doctors by her side on the special day.

Holliday told ABC that they often don't get invited to weddings.

"As oncologists, we unfortunately are much more likely to get an invitation to a funeral than a wedding. So, this was just such a beautiful and a joyous celebration, and to say it's something that I'll never forget, those words don't even do the feeling justice," Holliday told ABC. "It's truly amazing."

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"It was among the easiest questions I've ever been asked as a cancer doctor by a patient," Morris told ABC of Sheri's invitation to escort her down the aisle.

Sheri and James are photographed with Dr. Van Morris and Dr. Emma Holliday after their wedding. Jason Robles Photography

Images from the ceremony taken by wedding photographer Jason Robles show Sheri in a floor-length, sleeveless wedding dress with a sheer, pink shawl draped around her shoulders, while Bill wore a black tuxedo and vest, a white shirt, and pale-pink tie.

Holliday wore a knee-length, blush-pink gown with a white corsage, and Morris wore a black tuxedo with a white shirt, pink bow tie, and pink corsage to match Sheri's bouquet.

Sheri isn't the only patient to include medical professionals in her wedding.

Earlier in July, USA Today reported that a couple wed in a hospital in Georgia where the groom was being treated for severe chemical burns.

The groom works as a nitride operator and had been severely injured after slipping in hot molten salt on June 30, the publication reported. The couple weren't able to have their wedding at a venue in Georgia on July 22 as planned, according to USA Today, so staff organized a hospital ceremony and planned the decor and food catering.

Read the original article on Insider
A First Class cabin on a British Airways plane. British Airways

A plus-sized passenger was stuck in his seat for three hours after the plane landed, The Sun reported.

He was seated in 1A, which is typically reserved for British Airways Executive Club Gold card holders.

Emergency services had to remove a door and hoist him out of his seat, The Sun reported.

A plus-sized British Airways passenger got stuck in a first-class seat after his flight landed in the UK from Nigeria early on Saturday morning, The Sun reported.

The newspaper reported that the passenger was wedged in his seat for about three hours after the 6 -hour flight from Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos landed at London's Heathrow Airport at 5.10 a.m.

The passenger was seated in 1A, a much-desired seat that is typically reserved for Executive Club Gold card holders, The Sun reported.

The cabin crew got involved and tried to calm the passenger after he realized that he was unable to leave his seat, but they were unable to shift him, the outlet said.

Emergency services were then called to get the passenger out, with an engineering note outlining the plan.

The note, reviewed by The Sun, reportedly said: "A volumetric passenger is stuck in seat 1A. The plan is to remove the suite door and use a hoist to eject [him] from the seat."

The door was ultimately removed and the passenger was extricated from his suite using the hoist, the outlet reported.

Business Class Experts, a travel website, says that seats in British Airways First Class are nearly two-feet-wide.

British Airways did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Last month, CNN reported on plus-sized passengers calling out US airlines for the shrinking width of airplane seats and the requirements that larger passengers pay for an additional seat.

Read the original article on Business Insider
British Ambassador reveals reasons behind Russias abduction of Ukrainian children

Russia is illegally involved in replacing and deporting Ukrainian children with the sinister motive of exterminating the next generation of defenders of Ukraine, and the abduction of children is also part of the Russian invasion plan.

Thats according to British Ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons, who made the claim in an interview with military news outlet ArmyInform on July 29.

Stealing children is also part of the invasion and it hurts actually to talk about it in that way because, you know, these are people's kids and I actually can barely stand the thought that children are taken away either forcibly or under the, you know, pretense that they're going to summer camps or that they're going somewhere for their health or even if they are going to summer camps or for their health, Ambassador Simmons said.

It's both made bureaucratically difficult for families to bring them back, or (the children) are subject to an extraordinary, relentless range of brainwashing (by the Russians).

Read also: 34 children kidnapped from village near Kherson and taken to Russia by invaders

The diplomat said she believes that the issue of child abduction is not new, as Ukraine has seen (this) over the years.

Simmons adds that kidnapping creates a psychological barrier between children and their parents.

This issue of taking child away children away is not a new thing. (It) creates psychological barrier between the kids and their parents, Ambassador Simmons said.

We know that there are children who come back from some of those engagements thinking that, you know, fighting Ukraine is the right thing to do. And so Ukraine inherits not just one but two issues here. One is the need of course to return those children to their families but the other is the psychological journey to undo the harm of that brainwashing.

The ambassador said that the Kremlin's plan to deport Ukrainian children is cynical and terrifying and it aims to eradicate the next generation of defenders of Ukraine.

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Read also: Ukraine repatriates 371 forcibly deported children  Zelenskyy

All of it adds up to a story which is utterly horrendous, it's horrendous on every conceivable level and for me it's an issue that doesn't  it's not even one that requires much discussion, Ambassador Simmons said.

Stop stealing Ukraine's children, allow those children to return, allow parents to be able to reclaim their children, and allow Ukraine to grow. It's pretty clear that if you steal children from the country  you are doing it to cut off at the knees the idea that there is a viable Next Generation that will defend the country. It's appalling at every level.

She emphasized the urgency of the issue and called for Russia to end this disturbing policy and immediately reunite children with their parents.

Russian and Belarusian Involvement in Stealing Ukrainian Children

The abduction of Ukrainian children has garnered international attention, with The Hague's International Criminal Court issuing an arrest warrant for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin on suspicion of war crimes related to child deportation.

Read also: Ukrainian woman trying to return children illegally deported from occupied territories detained in Moscow

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe also recognized the forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia as genocide in a resolution adopted on Apr. 27.

According to Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, nearly 20,000 children have been taken from the occupied territories of Ukraine by Russian forces, with around 6,000 being held in re-education camps.

Read also: Russia changes names and birthdates of kidnapped children to hide the genocide, Vereshchuk

Belarus, in cooperation with Russia, has played a role in the forced transfer of Ukrainian children, with approximately 2,150 children over the age of six deported to Belarus since September 2022.

The European Parliament estimates that the number of Ukrainian children illegally resettled to Russia may range from 16,000 to 300,000, with reports of such abductions dating back to 2014, following the occupation of Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

Recently, the head of the Belarusian Red Cross, Dmitry Shevtsov, admitted his agency's involvement in the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children, leading the ICRC to initiate an investigation into these facts.

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
David Hunter leaves Paphos District Court in Cyprus after he was released from custody - Victoria Jones/PA Wire

A British man has been released from a Cyprus prison after being sentenced to two years for the manslaughter of his seriously ill wife.

Retired miner, David Hunter, 76, admitted suffocating Janice, his wife of 52 years, at their home on the island, after she begged him to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer.

On Monday, judges at Paphos District Court imposed a two-year jail sentence on Hunter, who, having already spent 19 months in custody, has already served the majority of his sentence.

Hunter was released from custody on Monday morning after Cypriot prison authorities officially calculated his release date, his legal team said.

Thank you all so much, Mr Hunter told awaiting reporters after the sentence was handed down.

Asked how he was feeling upon his release, Hunter said: I cant describe it. Im sorry. I wish I could, I wish I could find words to describe it but I cant.

When youre under pressure for two years, not knowing which way its going to go...

He added: Id like to say thank you to all the people whove donated to me, and especially my mates and my workmates. I dont know where I would be without them.

Mr Hunter's wife Janice suffered from blood cancer and 'begged him' to end her life

Hunters daughter Lesley Cawthorne said she was elated and relieved at the release of her darling dad.

The past 19 months have been a living nightmare for our family but today is the start of us being able to rebuild our lives.

She said the sentence will allow her family to finally grieve for her dead mother.

After speaking to Hunter over the phone, Ms Cawthorne added: Speaking to my daddy was the most amazing thing. I feel like my heart has been put back together.

Judges previously found him not guilty of the more serious charge of premeditated murder.

Hunters legal team had argued he should be given a suspended sentence, in a case which is a legal first in the country.

In mitigation last week, his defence lawyer, Ritsa Pekri, said his motive was to liberate his wife from all that she was going through due to her health conditions.

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The court heard it was Mrs Hunters wish to die and that her husband had only feelings of love for her.

Mr Hunter and daughter Lesley Cawthorne who said his release felt 'my heart has been put back together'

Hunter, from Ashington, Northumberland, told his trial, which lasted for more than a year, that his wife cried and begged him to end her life.

He broke down in tears as he said he would never in a million years have taken Mrs Hunters life unless she had asked him to.

He showed the court how he held his hands over his wifes mouth and nose and said he eventually decided to grant her wish after she became hysterical.

The court heard he then tried to kill himself by taking an overdose, but medics arrived in time to save him.

Judge Michalis Droussiotis said the case was not typical as Hunter ended his wifes life on the basis of feelings of love, with the aim of relieving the person of their suffering that came due to their illness.

He reiterated that taking away human life, even with the intention of relieving suffering, is a crime.

He refused the defence teams application to suspend Hunters prison sentence and said an immediate jail term was unavoidable.

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Brooklyn Dancer O'Shae Sibley Stabbed to Death for Voguing at Gas Station

O'Shae Sibley, the Brooklyn man fatally stabbed for voguing at a gas station near Coney Island on Saturday night, is being remembered as an accomplished dancer, choreographer, and activist, while his murder is being investigated by the NYPDs Hate Crimes Task Force.

Sibley, 28, was found by authorities with a stab wound to the abdomen at a Mobil gas station in Midwood around 11:15 p.m. on Saturday night.

According to the NY Post, the video reportedly shows Sibley and three other men wearing bathing suits while gassing up their vehicle. Sibley can be seen voguing along with one of the other men when a group of men by the stations store entrance shout words at them. Sibley and his companions approach the group and words are exchanged. The conversation grows heated but breaks up after several minutes. Moments later the groups clash again, and a physical fight breaks out. Sibley is stabbed and staggers to a sidewalk where he collapses as his assailants disperse.

Sibley was taken to Maimonides Medical Center but could not be saved and was pronounced dead.

According to multiple reports, one suspect said he was against the group for suggestively dancing in public wearing only bathing suits. The suspect and the others in his group also were allegedly shouting antigay slurs at Sibley and his friends.

Sibley was well known in the ballroom community, CBS News reports.

The case has been referred to the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force for investigation as a possible hate crime, but police have made no arrests or released the identity of potential suspects.

Friends of Sibley recalled a talented artist who used his craft to advocate for social change.

Director and choreographer Kemar Jewel told the NY Daily News Oshae had participated in several marches over the years.

He also volunteered at dance studios to help teach folks, Jewell recalled. He volunteered at youth centers and he offered free classes and stuff. He definitely loved to give back.

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Jewel worked with Sibley for over ten years and featured the Philadelphia native in the nearly seven-minute-long 2021 video Soft: A Love Letter to Black Queer Men, which Sibley co-choreographed.

He was really good at adding ballet stuff to a tap number or voguing to a hip hop number, Jewel said, later adding, He really, really loved Soft. He helped to talk me through it and breath life into it.
Broward Schools may overhaul the way it runs its school police program, creating its own force of sworn officers rather than outsourcing to local law enforcement agencies.

The school district already has a small police department known as the Special Investigations Unit, which handles employee investigations and some security services. But the School Board may greatly expand its efforts, creating a full-service department within three years to equip its campuses with its own school resource officers.

There is major value in improving safety with direct board oversight and integrating police in our schools and local communities so parents are reassured about the safety of their children, Board member Torey Alston told the Sun Sentinel.

Alston brought up the idea at Tuesdays meeting and a majority of board members expressed interest. The School Board expects to discuss it more at an upcoming workshop later this year.

Although its more common for school districts to use outside law enforcement, school police departments have become more common in recent years. Some, like Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Sarasota, are full-fledged police departments, while others, like Orange County, use a hybrid model that use both their own officers plus ones from outside agencies.

Right now, the Broward school district contracts with 13 different municipalities, which provide school resource officers from city police departments or the Broward Sheriffs Office.

Theres no consensus among experts about which model works best, noting the quality and level of service can vary from one district to the next.

Curtis Lavarello, executive director of the Sarasota-based School Safety Advocacy Council, has worked as a school resource officer in both Broward and Palm Beach counties.

He said he likes the idea of a school police department if its done right and thats a big caveat. It can come off the tracks very quickly if training, resources and quality control arent maintained, he said.

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Rising costs

While Broward school officials say they are happy with the service provided by the 200 school resource officers on campuses, costs have skyrocketed in recent years, from $46,252 per officer in 2017 to $61,200 in 2021 to $103,000 this past school year.

Cities want even more for the coming school year.

Whatever amount that we end up going with, well be back next year because that number will grow, the cost will grow, said Brad McKeone, police chief for Coral Springs, recently told the School Board. At some point, there will be a cost on this side that is not affordable to provide security at the level I think that we all want.

The $103,000 Broward spends per officer is already significantly higher than many other districts that use outside agencies, a district analysis found. For example, Lee pays $50,000 to $61,391 per officer, Charlotte $69,082, Orange $60,000 and Seminole $54,000.

An outlier is Monroe County schools, which pay $121,947 per officer to the Sheriffs Office and $158,724 to the Key West Police Department.

Local law enforcement officials were insulted earlier this year when the district offered $73,000. They asked for $103,000 for the 2022-23 school year, which the School Board agreed to in April.

Now at least one city, Hollywood, wants to increase that to $166,959 and has asked the school district to pay for two supervisors at a cost of $208,261 each.

Related Articles

The best approach?

Board Chairwoman Lori Alhadeff said shes spoken in the past with Jaime Alberti, chief of safety and security, about having a police force and thought it was a good idea.

Now we are being propelled forward to actually execute this and have a plan, and were going to need to set aside funding, Alhadeff said.

Exactly how much it would cost and whether it would be cheaper are still unknown. Superintendent Peter Licata said he has started studying that. He was recently from Palm Beach County School District, which has its own police force.

Are we able to spend the same kind of money but have employees of our own that may understand the system of schools versus police activity-type things, Licata said.

Not all School Board members support the idea. Allen Zeman told the Sun Sentinel that he doesnt think the School Board will ever be able to build a police force of the same quality as local law enforcement agencies.

Its a tremendously bad idea, Zeman said. If we have another horrific instance on our school, the preponderance of response will come from a city police force or the Sheriffs Office. If it happens in Coral Springs, it will be Coral Springs police. If it happens in Fort Lauderdale, it will be the Fort Lauderdale PD. We need to solidify our relationship with the cities.

But Licata said hes been impressed with the school police force in Palm Beach County. He said the officers serve as mentors to kids. They are part of before- and after-school activities and really know the children, know the families, know the community, he said.

Sarah Mooney, chief of the Palm Beach County police department, said those same qualities can happen with outside school resource officers if a school has the same ones every day. But she said theres more consistency in service when the officers are part of one department.

When it comes to the dynamics and expectations of the officers, we answer directly to the superintendent and School Board, she said. If theres something they want us to do or not do, were accountable to them, as long as its legal and lawful and not outside our jurisdiction.

But some question whether thats the best approach.

The independence is lost, said Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who chairs a commission that has made school safety recommendations in the wake of the Parkland tragedy. The police chief is working for the superintendent who is working for the School Board. Personally, I dont think thats necessarily a great thing.
Debbie and Frank Strang bought a former RAF radar station 15 years ago

A husband and wife are on the verge of opening a spaceport on a tiny island.

Frank and Debbie Strang bought a former RAF radar station on Unst in Shetland about 15 years ago with an idea to turn it into an eco-tourism attraction.

But the plan changed when the UK government was looking for potential sites for vertical launches of small rockets carrying satellites.

The Strangs could now be just weeks away from seeing the site secure a spaceport licence.

By next summer, they hope that three rocket launches will have been completed at the facility on UK's most northerly inhabited island, which is home to fewer than 700 people.

The site, and overall project, is today owned by SaxaVord Spaceport, which was set up as a stand-alone company with the Strangs as founder shareholders. It now has 400 shareholders and more than 80 staff.

Frank is the chief executive and Debbie runs visitor management, while a team of people from engineers to stewards is working towards getting the spaceport operational.

"I never thought I would be involved in space," Debbie said.

"Even though we are five years into the journey, I still find it surreal but incredibly exciting that we are working on this."

Frank added: "We have fought and bit and scratched to get to the point where we are at now, with the help of an awful lot of people.

"It's been a long journey, but as my granny would have said: nothing comes easy."

The couple met when they were RAF officers serving at Lossiemouth air station in Moray, on Scotland's north-east coast.

Debbie, 58, is originally from Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, while Frank, 65, hails from Dornoch.

They bought SaxaVord radar station for an undisclosed sum at a time when the Ministry of Defence was shutting down and selling off land and properties.

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The couple's original vision was to create a visitor attraction to support Shetlands' wildlife and eco-tourism.

German company Rocket Factory Augsburg could launch from the site early next year

But then the UK government's Pathfinder mission to create spaceports across the UK opened up a new opportunity.

With help from Shetland Islands Council, the Strangs gauged industry interest in a spaceport on Unst before starting the hard work of persuading Shetlanders, planners and investors to come onboard.

Frank said: "The biggest challenge was people believing that we were real.

"Gaining planning permission was a long process, but once we got through that work started immediately."

Debbie added: "I think the biggest challenge, and it continues to affect us daily, is that every element of the spaceport development is being done for the first time, and there is no UK pool of people from which to recruit.

"To overcome this we have recruited very able people with transferable skills who are adaptable, determined and patient to work with the myriad of public agencies to find out how we plan, develop and build the spaceport.

"They are an incredible team of professionals and the company has a skillset and knowledge that would be difficult to find anywhere else."

Map

SaxaVord Spaceport is mostly privately funded, with investors including Danish billionaire and Highland landowner Anders Holch Povlsen's company Wild Ventures Ltd. Mr Povlsen opposed a similar spaceport plan near his Highland estate in Sutherland on environmental grounds.

To date, the project has secured 20m in equity, 10m in debt and loans, along with a large development bond.

The spaceport's workforce has grown from six to 82 full-time roles, with more than 30% of the staff coming from Shetland.

Next year there could be as many as 130 people working at the site.

Within the next four to six weeks, the project hopes to reach a crucial milestone by gaining a spaceport licence.

Further licences will be needed for launches, rockets and satellites.

A mock-up of a rocket launch from SaxaVord Spaceport

Four other spaceports are planned for Scotland - Space Hub Sutherland in the Highlands, Spaceport 1 in the Western Isles, Prestwick Spaceport in South Ayrshire and Spaceport Machrihanish in Argyll.

Elsewhere in the UK, there is Spaceport Cornwall in south west England and plans for Spaceport Snowdonia in Wales.

The first launch from Unst is expected to take place by the end of this year.

It will be a test mission to send a rocket made by German company HyImpulse up to a height of 29 miles (47km).

Another German company, Rocket Factory Ausburg (RFA), is planning an orbital launch early next year, followed by a Lockheed Martin/ABL Space Systems launch later in 2024.

Some testing has already been possible at the site ahead of planned launches

Satellites put into orbit around the Earth could be used for communications and monitoring climate change.

Rocket engine tests have already been conducted on a completed launch pad.

"At the moment we take one step at a time," Debbie said.

"While the launch is the vision that the whole team works towards, it is still difficult to imagine being in Unst, listening to the countdown and waiting for a safe and successful launch."

Analysis by Laura Goodwin, Innovation correspondent, BBC Scotland

Getting to the most northern point in the UK is a bit of a mission in itselfa flight from mainland UK - then one ferry and then another ferry before you arrive in Unst.

However it's remoteness is one of the reasons Unst could soon be something of a super highway into space.

Frank Strang and I are standing on the very top of launch pad Fredo, named after the late son of Anders Povlsen, one of the spaceport's biggest investors.

One day soon they hope a rocket will launch into space from this very spot, carrying small satellites which could be used to improve connectivity or monitor climate patterns.

Location, location, location, Frank tells me is key.

Surrounded by miles of water and with relatively quiet airspace, Unst, he says is in the goldilocks position. Just right.

But as others have shown, successfully getting rockets into space is a tricky business and the team still need the correct permissions from the civil aviation authority before they can even try.
Map of Burundi

Burundi, one of the world's poorest nations, is struggling to emerge from a 12-year, ethnic-based civil war.

The country's early history and role of the three main ethnic groups - the Twa, Hutu and Tutsi - is highly debated.

Since independence in 1962 it has been plagued by periodically violent tensions between the usually-dominant Tutsi minority and the Hutu majority.

A civil war, sparked off in 1993 made Burundi the scene of one of Africa's most intractable conflicts.

Read more country profiles - Profiles by BBC Monitoring

REPUBLIC OF BURUNDI: FACTS

Capital: Gitega (political), Bujumbura (economic)

Area: 27,834 sq km

Population: 11.8 million

Languages: Kirundi, French, English

Life expectancy: 62 years (men and women)

LEADERS

President: Evariste Ndayishimiye

Burundi's President Evariste Ndayishimiye

Evariste Ndayishimiye took office in June 2020, a week after President Pierre Nkurunziza died suddenly in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Ndayishimiye had won the May presidential election, and was due to take office in August.

The opposition condemned the election, in which Mr Ndayishimiye had the backing of his fellow former Hutu rebel leader Pierre Nkurunziza, as rigged. Mr Nkurunziza was the first president to be chosen in democratic elections since the start of Burundi's civil war.

MEDIA

Burundi's main independent radio station African Public Radio, damaged during the attempted coup in 2015

State-run outlets dominate the media. Journalists operate under strict press laws and face harassment over their coverage.

US-based NGO Freedom House says: "Freedom of expression is constitutionally guaranteed but severely restricted in practice by draconian press laws and a dangerous operating environment for media workers."

Many journalists have fled the country since 2015. Radio is the main source of information for many Burundians. Many privately-owned stations were shut after the 2015 coup attempt.

TIMELINE

The commercial capital, Bujumbura. Burundi is one of the world's poorest nations in terms of GDP per capita, according to the World Bank

Some key dates in Burundi's history:

16th Century - Emergence of the Burundian state. Over the following centuries, the Kingdom of Burundi or Urundi expands, annexing smaller neighbours.

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1884 - German East Africa Company is active in the African Great Lakes region.

1890 - The kingdoms of Urundi (Burundi) and neighbouring Ruanda (Rwanda) are incorporated into German East Africa.

1914-18 - World War One: East African campaign see German forces defeated by British, Belgian and allied troops. Belgian army occupies both Burundi and Rwanda in 1916.

1922 - Ruanda-Urundi becomes a Belgian League of Nations mandate.

1959 - Influx of Tutsi refugees from Rwanda following ethnic violence.

1962 - Burundi and Rwanda become independent as separate nations.

1965 - Parliamentary elections see Hutus win a majority in parliament, but King Mwambutsa appoints a Tutsi prime minister. #

Hutu-dominated police attempt coup. The Tutsi-dominated army, led by Michel Micombero, carry out reprisals in which up to 5,000 people are killed.

1966 - Michel Micombero carries out coup, abolishes the monarchy and declares himself president. He promotes African socialism and receives support from China.

1972 - Hutu-led uprising in the south. The Tutsi-dominated government uses the army to combat the Hutu rebels, killing between 80,000 and 210,000 people. Thousands of Hutus flee to Zaire (now DR Congo), Rwanda and Tanzania.

1976 - President Micombero is deposed in a military coup by Jean-Baptiste Bagaza.

1981 - A new constitution makes Burundi a one-party state under Uprona.

1987 - President Bagaza is deposed in a coup led by Pierre Buyoya.

1988 - Some Burundi Hutu refugees make an incursion from Rwanda into northern Burundi and massacre Tutsis. Thousands of Hutus are killed in subsequent military reprisals.

1992 - New constitution providing for a multiparty system is adopted in a referendum.

1993 - Melchior Ndadaye, leader of the Hutu-dominated Front for Democracy in Burundi (Frodebu), wins first democratic elections and becomes first Hutu head of state, leading a pro-Hutu government. He is assassinated in a failed military coup after three months in office.

1993-2005 - Burundi Civil War: In revenge, some Frodebu members massacre Tutsis, and the Tutsi-dominated army begins reprisals. Burundi is plunged into an ethnic conflict which claims some 300,000 lives. The question of whether the killings of Tutsis arose from a planned genocide or from spontaneous violence remains heavily disputed.

1994 - Parliament appoints Hutu Cyprien Ntaryamira, as president. Aircraft carrying Ntaryamira and Rwanda's President Juvenal Habyarimana is shot down over Rwanda's capital Kigali, killing everyone and triggering genocide in Rwanda in which 800,000 are killed. Parliament speaker Sylvestre Ntibantunganya appointed president.

1995 - Massacre of Hutu refugees leads to renewed ethnic violence in the capital, Bujumbura.

1996 - Ex-president Pierre Buyoya again seizes power in a coup.

2001 - South Africa-brokered talks lead to installation of transitional government, but main Hutu rebel groups refuse to sign a peace deal and fighting intensifies.

2003 - Domitien Ndayizeye - a Hutu - succeeds Pierre Buyoya as president, under terms of three-year, power-sharing transitional government inaugurated in 2001.

President Ndayizeye and Hutu rebel group Forces for Defence of Democracy (FDD) leader Pierre Nkurunziza sign agreement to end the civil war. Smaller Hutu rebel group, Forces for National Liberation (FNL), remains active.

2004 - UN force takes over peacekeeping duties from African Union troops.

2006 - The last major rebel group, the Forces for National Liberation (FNL) and government sign a ceasefire. Sporadic clashes recur over the next two years.

2007 - UN ends peacekeeping mission and refocuses its operations on helping with reconstruction.

2009 - FNL lays down arms and officially becomes a political party.

2010 - President Nkurunziza re-elected in uncontested poll after main opposition parties boycott the vote.

2013 - Former FNL reber leader Agathon Rwasa, resurfaces after three years in hiding and says he will stand in the 2015 presidential election.

2015 - Constitutional Court rules in favour of President Nkurunziza's decision to stand for a third term, which sees him again elected. Opposition leader Agathon Rwasa describes the result as a "joke".

2015-2018 - Prolonged unrest and fighting between army and rebel groups in Burundi sees over 400,000 refugees flee to neighbouring countries.

2017 - Burundi becomes the first country to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC).

2018 - Burundi issues international arrest warrant for former president Pierre Buyoya over killing of President Melchior Ndadaye in 1993. Buyoya's supporters say move is politically motivated.

2019 - Capital moved to Gitega, although Bujumbura remains the commercial capital.

2020 - Former Hutu rebel leader Evariste Ndayishimiye takes office as president, a week after President Pierre Nkurunziza dies during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mayor Misty Buscher has been named a 2023 Edgar Fellow.

Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher is among the state's public policy leaders selected to participate in this year's Edgar Fellows Program, designed by former Gov. Jim Edgar.

Forty elected and appointed officials from all levels of government, leaders of non-profit and labor organizations and business leaders make up the class which will meet for the first time at its Executive Leadership Training Program held Aug. 6-10.

The program, started in 2012, is housed at the University of Illinois Systems Institute of Government and Public Affairs in Urbana-Champaign.

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Buscher, who was elected April 4, joins several other mayors from around the state in the class, including Julie Moore-Wolfe of Decatur.

Also representing Springfield are Jelani Saadiq, director of Government Relations at Advance Illinois, and Annie Thompson, deputy press secretary, for the Attorney General's office.

The initiative seeks to inspire "respectful and collaborative leadership to address the states significant challenges.

Gov. Jim Edgar served from 1991 to 1999.

Ward 9 Ald. and Mayor Pro Tem Jim Donelan was an Edgar Fellow in 2022 and filled in Buscher about the experience.

"It was an invaluable experience," Donelan said. "It's a leadership program, but you get to hear from people from all walks of life: elected officials, appointed officials, community officials. I can't say enough about it. I'm the (executive director of the Township Officials of Illinois Risk Management Association) and it's changed my approach with our members (in trying) to find ways to get them more involved in what we do. The benefits are just countless.

"The focus of the program is to provide individuals with more leadership skills on how to solve issues together rather than passively bickering and fighting."

With Buscher going through the program, "it's only going to benefit her and it's only to benefit the city of Springfield, absolutely," Donelan added.

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Ward 9 Ald. Jim Donelan was an Edgar Fellow in 2022.

This year's Edgar Fellows were chosen from a field of over 200 nominees and reflect the state's political, racial, ethnic and geographic diversity.

Each year, the Edgar Fellows Program brings together a group of leaders, with different backgrounds and different politics, from across Illinois, the former governor noted in a news release. They share and learn from those different life experiences, but they also find out that they have more in common than they might realize.

With each class, it has been gratifying to watch people who were strangers on Sunday become good friends by Thursday. Its what the Edgar Fellows Program is all about, finding common ground and respect, so that our fellows can work together to help shape a better Illinois.

Edgar served as governor from 1991 to 1999.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

Here is a full list of 2023 participants:

Brian Burian, Homer Glen, Chief of Staff for Senate Republican leader John Curran and Illinois Senate Republican caucus

Mayor Misty Buscher, Springfield

State Sen. Javier Cervantes, D-Chicago

Mary Coyle Sullivan, Darien City Council member

Clint Drury, Executive Director, West Central Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council

State Sen. Paul Faraci, D-Champaign

State Rep. Bradley Fritts, R-Dixon

State Sen. Ann Gillespie, D-Arlington Heights

Kristin T. Givens, Associate General Counsel, State Farm Insurance Companies

Monica Gordon, Cook County Commissioner, District 5

Carol Greenlee, Associate Director, Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale

State Rep. Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar, D-Chicago

Thomas Haine, States Attorney, Madison County

State Sen. Erica Harriss, R-Glen Carbon

State Rep. Norma Hernandez, D-Melrose Park

Ross Kwasneski, Assistant Director of state legislative and political affairs, Illinois State Medical Society

State Sen. Seth Lewis, R-Bartlett

Camile Lindsay, Oak Park, First Assistant Deputy Governor for public safety, infrastructure, environment and energy

John Mitchell, Director of college savings, Office of Illinois Treasurer

Mayor Julie Moore-Wolfe, Decatur

Tiffany Moy, Chief of Staff for Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch

Patrick OBrian, Clerk and Recorder, Fulton County

Anthony Quezada, Cook County Commissioner, District 8

Aimee T. Ramirez, Manager of policy and advocacy, The Chicago Community Trust

Erika Ramsey, Auditor, Vermilion County

Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati, Moline

Kristin Richards, Director of Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

Nora Cay Ryan, Chief of Staff at Chicago Federation of Labor

Jelani Saadiq, Director of Government Relations at Advance Illinois

State Rep. Jennifer Sanalitro, R-Hanover Park

Carina E. Sanchez, Executive Director, Public Building Commission of Chicago

Annie Thompson, Deputy Press Secretary, Office of Illinois Attorney General

State Rep. Dennis Tipsword, Jr., R-Metamora

State Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva

Kiran Velpula, Peoria city councilman at-large

Kimberly Walz, Regional Director, state and local government relations, Walgreens

Mayor Scott Wehrli, Naperville

Ryan Whitehouse, Associate Director of local government and political engagement, Illinois Farm Bureau

Desmon Yancy, Chicago alderman, 5th ward

State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield IL Mayor Misty Buscher is a 2023 Edgar Fellow
[Source]

A fireplace store owner in Great Falls, Virginia, is under fire for his racist behavior toward an Asian woman after bumping into her car.

What happened: The woman, who filmed the altercation, accused Aspen Green Gasworks owner Charles Chuck LaGoe of hitting her car while she was at a red light.

Yesterday, while I was waiting at a red light, I had an unfortunate experience where my car was abruptly struck from behind, causing my head to hit the steering wheel, the woman wrote in a statement uploaded by her friend to TikTok.

The woman said she stepped out of her vehicle to assess the situation. However, LaGoe allegedly accused her of causing traffic and instructed her to move to the side of the road. When the woman called the police and asked LaGoe for his information and insurance, he started yelling at her and said he had to leave to pick up his daughter.

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I realized I couldnt reason with this individual so I promptly dialed 911 for assistance, the victim said, adding that LaGoes behavior might have been due to alcohol consumption.

LaGoe can be heard in the video making derogatory and racist remarks, including calling her a f*cking dumb gook and telling her to speak English even though she already was.

@peonynguyen42 #dmv #washingtondc #usatiktok #racist #racism #maryland  original sound - Peomy #greatfalls  I dont want to post it here but his attitude was unacceptable. This is the reason I share this to everyone so if his friends and family see this. Today I got into a car accident. This guy hit my car really hard from behind while I stopped at the red light. His car hit me so hard that I hit my head to the wheel and the car was moved toward. When I step out to talk to him about what happened, he then starts acting and saying racist thing to me while I try to get his information. He then tried to make an excuse to pick up his daughter while I am calling to police and want to run.! What will you do with this situation ??? virginiacourt #virginia

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White man who is above the law: Although it is currently unclear how the situation was handled by the police, social media users were immediately able to identify the man and his business.

X users criticized LaGoe and expressed anger over his racist behavior towards the Asian woman.

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This is not acceptable behavior from an old man. He clearly only respects white women, one user said.

White man who is above the law, another user wrote.

The interaction was also uploaded to YouTube, where viewers condemned the male Karens disrespectful and privileged behavior.

More from NextShark: American English teacher among group arrested in Taiwan for operating an amphetamine factory

Negative reviews: Some internet users also targeted LaGoes fireplace store, with many people leaving negative reviews on Aspen Green Gasworks Yelp and Google review pages.

This company is trash. ANYONE who continues to support people like the racist owner are just as horrible as he is, one review read, according to Sportskeeda.

Xenophobic owner and most likely employees as well. Saw his behavior on TikTok. Disgusting!!! He should be ashamed, another review said.

Google and Yelp have since disabled reviews for the business.

LaGoe has yet to publicly comment on the incident.

About Aspen Green Gasworks: LaGoes business, which was created in 2007, has a showroom in Herndon and in Arlington County. Aspen Green Gasworks is known for its gas fireplaces, gas grills and stoves and tankless gas water heaters.
A 72-year-old man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of killing a Nevada City man on a rural Nevada County road.

Nevada County Sheriffs deputies received a report 11:24 p.m. Saturday from a passing driver that a man appeared to be dead, lying on on the side of the road at Tyler Foote Crossing Road and Black Sands Mine Road, north of Nevada City.

Deputies arrived and found the 61-year-old man on the ground outside his vehicle, the Sheriffs Office said. The vehicle showed signs of damage to the exterior.

The identity of the man has not yet been released.

Detectives determined his death was a homicide, the Sheriffs Office said.

Anthony Eric Stewart of North San Juan was identified as a suspect and arrested Sunday on suspicion of murder.

He was booked into the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility and remains in custody without bail.

Determination of the victims cause of death is pending an autopsy, the Sheriffs Office said in a news release. The investigation remains active and ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Nevada County Sheriffs Office at 530-265-7880.
California state employees in 22 departments are spending more than 90% of their days working remotely, according to Department of General Services data from its dashboard.

State agencies underwent a rocky migration to work-from-home three years ago with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. But since early last year, many departments have been requiring workers to come back to the office. The Public Employees Retirement System ordered most employees back for three days a week. The Franchise Tax Board currently requires teleworker-eligible staff and supervisors to work in-person at least two days per week.

Data from the Department of General Services telework dashboard paints a mixed picture. Many departments allow some employees to work remotely, but few state employees can still do their jobs from home 100% of the time.

The data represents 112 of 146 departments and covers about 198,000 employees out of the states roughly 218,000. While the Department of General Services dataset remains incomplete, it provides the most detailed picture available of department-by-department telework practices.

The latest available data, from May, shows that more than half of the 112 participating departments allow the vast majority of their employees  more than 90%  to work remotely. But only 18 of those departments let their workers telecommute 90% or more of their workdays.

Data for June will be available in mid-August, according to the dashboard.

As the downtown workforce gradually returns, some areas of downtown are starting to bustle again with daytime activity. The Downtown Sacramento Partnership sponsors two weekly farmers markets  on Wednesdays on Capitol Mall and on Thursdays at Cesar Chavez Plaza  in the hopes of drawing office workers back to the downtown core.

The advent of large-scale telework among state employees is a huge challenge for our downtown and the small businesses that depend on a steady flow of customers, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said. Steinberg has previously called on Gov. Gavin Newsom and the heads of state departments to bring state workers back to their offices at least a few days each week.

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The mass exodus of office workers from downtown during the pandemic forced the area to reinvent itself and find new ways to bring in revenue, said Mike Testa, president of Visit Sacramento. Testas organization focused heavily on marketing Sacramento as a leisure destination, and also a place for businesses to host their conventions. The Golden 1 Center also turned downtown into a destination for sports.

That one piece that I hope were not missing is that local presence of office workers downtown, Testa said.

Brady Yates, a personnel analyst with the State Water Resources Control Board, works from home almost every day. She loves it.

On Thursdays, shell drive about 6 miles from her home in the Greenhaven neighborhood to her office downtown. Parking costs $10 a day  more than it used to, Yates says, now that more people are driving in.

I can handle one day a week, said Yates, whos worked with the water board for more than 10 years. But I dont need to come in any more than that.

The board is one of 49 departments that granted telework eligibility to 100% of its employees in May.

Yates enjoys seeing her colleagues in the office on Thursdays. Sometimes, a group of them will walk a block to the once-a-week Bodega Days market in Cesar Chavez Plaza.

Yates hopes her department will continue giving workers the flexibility to report remotely on most days. But she acknowledges that agencies could decide to change the rules at any moment.

Tracking remote work in California state government

All departments are required to provide telework data for the previous month by the end of the next month, but 34 didnt for the month of May, according to the dashboard. The Department of General Services, which maintains the dashboard, has asked those departments to provide missing data, spokesperson Fallon Okwuosa said in an email.

California departments are free to set their own telework policies, and theyre not required under state law to specify how many days employees must come to the office.

While some department directors allow full-time telework, others require employees to come to the office for one day or more each week, even if their work can be performed remotely, often citing work culture and collaboration as reasons to call in staff.

Many state jobs cant be performed remotely though, especially in prisons, hospitals and other public safety departments. Most agencies have at least a few jobs that can only be done in-person.

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which reported the largest number of total state employees in the dashboard, only allows about 12% of its more than 37,000 employees to work remotely.

In contrast, Caltrans, the second-largest department to report data, allows about 60% of its nearly 22,000-person workforce to work remotely.

Which departments are most supportive of telework?

Excluding departments that have fewer than 20 employees, there are 63 departments where more than 90% of employees were eligible for telework. All but 12 departments had a telework rate greater than 50%, meaning that most telework-eligible employees spent more than half of their workdays telecommuting. The telework rate can be viewed as a proxy for the number of telework days allowed per week: An 80% telework rate translates to four telework days per week, 60% to three days, etc.

Employees in only two departments managed to avoid going into their offices for the entire month of May (all employees were remote, and they all worked 100% of their days remotely). Those were the California Workforce Development Board and the California Privacy Protection Agency. Both have fewer than 100 employees.

Use the table below to see what percentage of employees are eligible for telework in each department, and also the departments telework rate:

The Bees Phillip Reese contributed to this story.
Update: Raymond R. Smith, 62, was identified as the victim of the shooting, police said Monday.

Police are investigating Kansas Citys latest homicide after a man was found lying on the ground outside a home in the Palestine West and Oak Park Northeast neighborhood Monday morning, a police spokesman said.

Someone called police about 11:15 a.m. saying they looked out a window after hearing gunfire and saw a man lying on the ground in front of a home in the 3800 block of Bales Avenue, said Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department.

Arriving officers were directed to the victim, who was unresponsive. Emergency medical workers took the victim to a hospital where he was soon declared dead, Becchina said.

The killing marks the 118th homicide in Kansas City so far in 2023, according to data tracked by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings. There were 93 killings by this time last year, which ended as the second-deadliest year on record with 171 killings.

In 2020, 182 lives were lost, the most homicides ever recorded.

Detectives and crime scene investigators collected evidence at the scene of Mondays homicide and looked for possible witnesses. Detectives hope someone was in the area and heard or saw something.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Kansas City Police Departments homicide unit at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information submitted anonymously to the TIPS Hotline.
Local children watch firefighting efforts amid heavy smoke from the Eagle Bluff wildfire

Evacuations were ongoing on both sides of the US-Canada border as dangerous wildfires continue to spread in the Pacific Northwest.

US residents near Oroville in Washington state were told to leave their homes on Sunday to escape the Eagle Bluff fire.

Some evacuation orders were lifted on Monday in the Canadian town of Osoyoos.

Four people have died fighting fires during Canada's worst wildfire season on record.

The American Red Cross said it had set up an evacuation centre in Oroville, a town of nearly 1,700 people about four miles (6.4 km) south of the border.

Osoyoos in British Columbia is a town of 5,500 people about two miles north of the border.

"This fire has been going for less than 48 hours but it feels like two weeks," Mayor Sue McKortoff said at a media briefing on Monday.

She called progress fighting the fire "an amazing feat", but noted conditions are expected to be hot and dry over the coming days.

Just under 200 properties were under evacuation orders in and around Osoyoos as some people were allowed to return home on Monday.

People in another 2,635 properties have been told they might have to leave on short notice.

Map: Osoyoos and Oroville on the US-Canada border

The fire caught some tourists off guard, including Walter Wells and his wife, who were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.

On Saturday afternoon, he spotted some smoke on the horizon in Osoyoos, he wasn't too concerned because it was coming from "a fire far away in the US", he told the BBC on Monday.

The couple went out for dinner and dancing, but late in the evening they looked across the water and "we were stunned", he said.

"There are hills just west of Osoyoos and a range of hills to the south," he said. "There's this huge, massive line of orange. Fire was just cresting the hill."

Fire crests the hills in Canada, where hundreds have been evacuated

When they got back to their hotel it was under an evacuation alert. Less than a mile to the west people had been asked to leave their homes because of the threat.

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"The mountain was on fire and I was terrified," he said. They considered leaving but decided to stay the night in the hotel. It was a sleepless one.

Fire crews worked overnight and on Sunday, the couple watched water bombers working to control the blaze.

But as smoke settled over the town the couple left, driving north that afternoon to stay at a family cabin.

They drove 57 miles (92km) before the air was clear, Mr Wells said.

In an update on Monday, the BC Wildfire Service said the 1,450 hectare (3,600 acre) fire did not grow overnight but remained out of control. It is about two-and-a-half miles southwest of Osoyoos.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

More than 1,000 wildfires are currently burning across Canada, and 664 are classed as "out of control", according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

A third of the fires are alight in British Columbia, the country's westernmost province.

Fires in eastern Canada blew huge clouds of smoke over heavily populated areas and significantly worsened air quality in eastern and central North America earlier in the year.

Among the firefighters who have died while tackling the blazes was a 25-year-old who died on Friday in north-eastern British Columbia.

"I am heartbroken that another firefighter was lost protecting our communities and our province during this devastating wildfire season," said Bruce Ralston, the province's forests minister.

So far this season, Canadian wildfires have burned more than 31 million acres of land - more than the area of Cuba.

July is set to be declared the world's warmest month on record, according to scientists, and some experts think it could be the warmest month in 120,000 years.

Climate change increases the risk of the hot, dry weather that is likely to fuel wildfires.
By Anna Mehler Paperny

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's new justice minister said on Monday that the government will act to address the heightened sense of insecurity felt by certain sections of the population, though "empirically" it is unlikely Canadians are less safe from crime, he said.

Arif Virani, a Toronto member of parliament, was appointed justice minister in a broad cabinet shuffle by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week.

Virani, who came to Canada as a refugee from Uganda in 1972, said high-profile attacks on public transit in Toronto and elsewhere have contributed to a perceived lack of security.

"I think that empirically it's unlikely" Canada is becoming less safe, Virani told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

"But I think there's a sense coming out of the pandemic that peoples safety is more in jeopardy."

According to Statistics Canada, the country's police-reported crime rate increased 5% last year, with the violent crime rate increasing 2%.

An April poll by Leger found nearly two-thirds of Canadians surveyed thought crime had gotten worse where they lived.

In March a 16-year-old boy was stabbed to death at a Toronto subway station in what police called a random attack. The following month a 17-year-old was stabbed and killed on a bus in Surrey, British Columbia. Calgary police sought suspects in what they said were random attacks on transit this past spring.

Virani said the government also wants to target root causes of criminality such as housing and health.

Virani is a lawyer by profession and this will be his first cabinet position. But he said he has experience as parliamentary secretary on the justice file.

He will take on the government's bail reform legislation that would shift the burden of proof onto some defendants trying to get released pending their trial.

Asked if there was evidence indicating bail reform legislation is necessary or will help, Virani said the government heard calls for tighter bail rules from "quite a unified group of stakeholders."

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"That evidence cannot be denied ... A responsible government needs to be in tune to what Canadians are seeking."

Also in the new minister's file is medical assistance in dying.

The government has yet to decide whether to allow advance requests for assisted death and whether to allow people under 18 to access medical aid in dying if they are deemed to have decision-making capacity.

Canada will allow people whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness to access assisted death starting in March.

Virani would not give a timeline for this decision but said his government is considering how to balance autonomy with protection.

"What we're always trying to do is ensure that were providing people with autonomy and freedom of choice and empowering their dignity but at the same time protecting those who are vulnerable."

(Reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny in Toronto; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
gavel

CANTON  A 16-year-old boy who is accused of killing his father on July 4 has been put on house arrest with a location monitor, 24-hour supervision and limits on who may visit him.

Stark County Family Court Judge Rosemarie A. Hall on Monday granted a defense request to have Daman Dillard released from the Multi-County Juvenile Attention Center with these conditions:

He is to live with his older sister.

He is to be supervised at all times by that sister or other individuals who are on an approved list.

Only his mother and 13-year-old sister may visit, and then only for up to two hours a day. They are prohibited from discussing the case or the past. They are permitted to speak about the present or future.

He is to have no contact with the news media or social media.

Any letters sent to the defendant are to be screened by the guardian ad litem who is appointed to represent his interests in court.

He is prohibited from having a phone or phone conversations.

Defense attorney Bernard L. Hunt asked for Dillard to be released from the attention center. He said other residents may say or do things that are not in his best interest, or might challenge him.

Melissa Day, chief of juvenile division of Stark County Prosecutor's Office, opposed the request for release. She said most of the people in Dillard's life are witnesses in his case.

Hall ordered a psychological assessment and family history for Dillard. She told his older sister to enroll him in an online school.

Court-appointed guardian: Canton teen accused of killing father lived in abusive home

911 call: 'My son just shot his dad': Mother tells 911 dispatcher about fatal Canton shooting

She told the defendant, his family and other supporters present at Monday's hearing to follow orders of his release. She said any violation would result in his return to the attention center.

Dillard is accused of shooting Musa El Bey, 50, several times at a home in the 1300 block of Seventh Street NW.

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His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 25.

Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com.

On Twitter: @nmolnarTR

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Daman Dillard, who's accused of killing father, placed on house arrest
In a letter sent to Attorney General Merrick Garlands office Monday morning, a local district attorney is requesting a federal investigation into Florida Governor Ron DeSantiss migrant relocation program that saw dozens of migrants dropped off at Marthas Vineyard airport last year.

Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert J. Galibois said in the letter the 49 immigrants who were transported to the Vineyard from Texas were inveigled into making the journey by the DeSantis administration. Similarly, DA Galibois claims the Florida governor planned, initiated, funded with taxpayer dollars, and executed this scheme by means of fraud.

My office posits that, due to the interstate transportation of these migrants, this alleged scheme remains available for federal prosecution, DA Galibois wrote.

Earlier this month, California Governor Gavin Newsome, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and the Sheriff from Bexar County Texas called for a federal criminal and civil investigation into incidents of migrant relocation by the DeSantis administration.

In regard to Marthas Vineyard, DA Galibois says hes requesting the DOJ assist him in providing certified translators and transcriptions of the interviews conducted with the migrants soon after they deplaned on the island.

These interviews...would provide crucial support for my initial assessment as to whether further investigation is warranted, he said.

Migrants flown to Marthas Vineyard file lawsuit against Florida Gov. DeSantis

In the closing of the letter, DA Galibois echoed the sentiments shared by public officials from California and Texas, noting it is unconscionable to use people as political props and maintains his office stands ready to cooperate with federal authorities.

Boston 25 News has reached out to Governor DeSantiss office for comment.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

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When in the film industry, Dwight Hwang worked so much he barely saw his family. Now he makes gyotaku art to raise awareness of fishery issues and both his wife and son help. (Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times)

After gently placing the rockfish onto the table, Dwight Hwang paints the top layer of fish with a light layer of onyx Japanese sumi ink. Next, he carefully presses a delicate sheet of washi (mulberry paper) over the fishs scaly surface to make a print in a video for Positively Groundfish , a nonprofit educating consumers about West Coast fisheries.

Its essentially the Japanese version of taxidermy, says Hwang, a Korean American artist and fluent Japanese speaker, about the Japanese art form of gyotaku  fish rubbing in Japanese  a way that local fishermen would commemorate their catches before eating the fish. Photography was limited, and this 19th-century practice is a faithfully recorded document.

The art form is simple but difficult to master. First, paint one side of the fish with sumi ink, place washi paper atop, then use your fingers to press over the surface to make a print. Hwang sticks to three traditional ingredients to remain faithful to the classical technique hes lovingly borrowed from another culture: the ink, the paper, and the fish. He restricts himself from fixing mistakes or adding embellishments besides painting in the eye. His deceased fish models are mostly sourced from fishmongers and commercial captains such as Rex Ito at Primetime Seafood and Tommy Gomes .

Dwight Hwang, helped by his wife, Hazel, lowers a piece of calligraphy paper onto a sheephead that has been painted with ink. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Dwight Hwang paints a sheephead with ink. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

His marine-focused art has gained fans among restaurateurs, art collectors and hotels such as the Four Seasons Sensei Lanai in Hawaii and Wynn Las Vegas. Through his work, he shares his passion for the sea and highlights the Japanese cultural love and admiration for simple, fleeting pleasures while sparking conversations about the vulnerability of marine life due to human interference and our changing oceans.

I love anything fish related; its how Im wired, says Hwang. During a seven-year stint in Tokyo as a film storyboard artist, he was excited to discover gyotaku prints displayed in sushi restaurants and tackle shops. He became obsessed with the art form, learning techniques in his free time from YouTube videos. It took about three years for me to finally get something that looked like a fish, he said. Thats when it started to get exciting.

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Finding this new passion made him realize that, after working for more than 20 years in the movie industry, he was burned out and rarely saw his kid. After his wife, Hazel Hwang, persuaded him to pursue gyotaku as a career, his first client was Patagonia, which purchased his Trout Leaping Towards Dragonfly piece for the book cover of  Simple Fly Fishing  in 2018.

Hwangs naturalistic artwork reminds the fly-fishing reader to be more mindful that fishing isnt possible without a healthy river system, says Karla Olson, books publisher at Patagonia. We want readers to recognize the need to protect the places where they play  many of which are under threat.

Read more: He wants L.A. to love macaws as much as it loves dogs. Will free flying do the trick?

That first piece led to a multicity tour teaching gyotaku workshops at Patagonia stores, exposing new audiences to the art form. In Toronto, Hwang collaborated with local marine biologists and activists to highlight an epidemic of salmon milking, in which migrating female salmon are killed for their eggs. I saw pictures of salmon carcasses with bellies ripped open, littering local riverbanks, parks and trails. Patagonia wanted us to print one of these desecrated salmon in front of an audience, says Hwang.

That salmon was tough to print, with bloody exposed wounds and guts. With the help of his wife, he printed the fish from a bottom-angled perspective to highlight the cut belly, which is more complex than the traditional technique of printing the flattest side of the fish. The resulting piece is haunting, the delicate black and white fish deformed with jarring splotches of dangling brown guts.

Dwight Hwang, lifts the dorsal fin of a sheephead as he applies the inked marking. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Other times, his art is more uplifting, as with a print of Californias critically endangered giant sea bass.

The artwork starts a wonderful dialogue, not only because of its endangered status but for the excellent conservation work, says Hwang.

That conservation work has helped giant sea bass numbers rebound so much since 2004, when they were first listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources , that some marine researchers have recommended reevaluating their status .

Although obscure in the United States, gyotaku, a form of taxidermy originally practiced by fishermen to commemorate their catches, is common in Japan. Here are two of Dwight Hwang's gyotaku works. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

I try to work with artists like Dwight who can translate our data in a way thats accessible, says Sarah L. Mesnick, ecologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries division Fisheries, who collaborates with artists to create educational and outreach materials. Scientists can tell you about sardines, anchovy and mackerel, but its just a long list of names and data. By coupling our scientific work with artists, we can transmit messages in a format the public finds fun and fascinating, so I see art as a bridge between science and the public.

Hwang made a particularly visceral piece in collaboration with scientists in 2022 after a rare and monstrous angler fish washed up in Newport Beach. There are only about 30 specimens in collections worldwide, but this was the third time one had appeared on a beach in California in a couple of years.

The fish is bizarre, both cute and demonic, and the texture feels like youre dipping your hands into jello covered in cactus spines. Its really weird, and printing it is particularly challenging; its as if the fish doesnt want to be printed, says Hwang.

His work was displayed at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, inspiring discussion about why the anglerfish keeps washing up in California. It also brings up the vast mysteries of the ocean and the world, reminding us that there is a larger world of organisms besides us, says Hwang.

Read more: 11 stunning Malibu beaches you can definitely visit  even if they look private

Besides the riddles of the ocean, Hwangs work often hits closer to the heart, as when he and his wife went to La Jolla to print the eye of a deceased dolphin calf, which looks similar to a human eye.

Dwight Hwang stamps his signature on one of his art pieces. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Dwight Hwang poses with some of his gyotaku art. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

At a Santa Barbara Maritime Museum exhibit featuring the eye print in 2019, Hwang observed visitors discussing the calfs death. Some mourned the baby dolphin, but plenty of folks related to the mother, who has to live with the memory of her babys death, says Hwang.

Although his work is meant to remind viewers to value lifes fleeting moments, its also reoriented his own priorities.

Im my own boss and spend 24-7 with my wife and kid, a huge contrast from being on sets from 12 to 16 hours per day, Hwang says.

His 10-year-old son Weston is also well-versed in gyotaku. During public demos and workshops, hes right next to me, helping out and advising, Hwang says. I couldnt ask for anything better.

Sign up for L.A. Goes Out, a weekly newsletter about exploring and experiencing Los Angeles from the L.A. Times.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Cardi B is a suspect for battery after throwing her microphone at a fan who tossed a drink at the rapper in the middle of a performance. TMZ reports that the mic hit the person who threw the drink at Cardi B then bounced and hit another woman in the crowd. At this time, it is unclear which of the women reported the incident to the police.

The Up rapper was performing her hit song Bodak Yellow at Drais Beachclub on Saturday when the incident took place. After the audience member threw the drink at her, Cardi B stopped her performance, threw her microphone and proceeded to berate the culprit.

Cardi B throws microphone at audience member who threw a drink at her. pic.twitter.com/alLgHMFshb  Pop Base (@PopBase) July 30, 2023

The video has been viewed on Twitter over 100 million times and the incident has become an instant meme. The incident has also quickly fed into the rising trend of badly behaved concertgoers, throwing objects at artists onstage.

In the past few months, artists like Bebe Rexha and Lil Nas X have been thrown objects while they were performing, with Rexha sustaining serious injuries.

A Possible Misunderstanding

The Cardi B incident has been garnering immense interest and renewing conversations around concert etiquette. The viral video shows Cardi B onstage, throwing her microphone at the culprit shortly after the drink landed on her. Another video posted on TikTok by user, @mayaahk shows another angle where the culprit, after throwing the drink proceeds to apologize for their behavior. The video continues as the culprit was escorted out by security while Bodak Yellow continues to play in the background.

Late Sunday, another video of the incident surfaced online where Cardi B encourages fans and attendees at the Drais Beachclub to throw some water on her. In the video, Cardi B can be seen dancing as attendees throw drinks and water to help her cool off. In the same clip, she goes on to tell the audience that she essentially wanted them to splash her underparts and not her face.

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A new video shows #Cardi B telling fans to splash water at her. pic.twitter.com/tj8RnBFRKY  Juice Pop (@TheJuicePop) July 30, 2023

The statement, which she reportedly made after the microphone-throwing fiasco, suggests that she may have thrown the microphone earlier because the drink landed on her face and hair. Cardi B is yet to release a statement on the matter but she retweeted one of her fan pages that shared the video.

The post Cardi B Suspect in Battery Case After Throwing Mic in Vegas appeared first on 21Ninety.
The Carter Center is calling on the U.S. government to extend its earthquake exception to sanctions on Syria, as the humanitarian carveout nears its Aug. 8 expiration date following devastating earthquakes earlier this year. File Photo by Abir Sultan/EPA-EFE

July 31 (UPI) -- The Carter Center is calling on the U.S. government to extend its earthquake exception to sanctions on Syria, as the humanitarian carveout nears its Aug. 8 expiration date following deadly quakes earlier this year.

The Carter Center, a nonprofit and nongovernmental organization to advance human rights, urged the United States on Monday to follow Switzerland's model of an open-ended timeline after two devastating earthquakes -- with magnitudes of 7.7 and 7.6 -- killed more than 60,000 people in Syria and Turkey on Feb. 6. The quakes, and the nearly 2,000 aftershocks which followed, impacted more than 13 million people across 10 provinces.

The 180-day humanitarian exception to U.S. sanctions on Syria was released several days after the quakes hit and authorized "for 180 days all transactions related to earthquake relief that would be otherwise prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulations." The sanctions were first imposed in 2011, after the Syrian civil war, to ensure the Syrian government stopped using violence against its citizens.

According to the center founded by former President Jimmy Carter, the United States' General License 23 has made an impact by "removing obstacles to financial transactions tied to relief efforts," allowing goods and services from the United States -- that would otherwise be banned -- to flow in response to the deadly quakes.

"Our sanctions have longstanding authorizations, longstanding carveouts, to see to it that humanitarian aid is allowed to go into Syria," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in February, when GL 23 was announced.

The Carter Center on Monday urged the United States to follow Switzerland's model of an open-ended timeline after two devastating earthquakes -- with magnitudes of 7.7 and 7.6 -- killed more than 60,000 people in Syria and Turkey on Feb. 6. File Photo by Turkish Defense Ministry

But the Carter Center said Monday the exception's six-month timeline is not long enough to carry out "all necessary relief efforts," which include food and shelter for displaced people, healthcare services and safe drinking water.

"Many relief operations, such as rebuilding hospitals and replacing complex medical equipment, will take years to complete," the center said in a statement.

While there is no word yet on whether the United States plans to extend GL 23, the Carter Center called its extension a "much-needed measure."

"By adopting an extended and open-ended approach, the U.S. government can demonstrate its commitment to alleviating the suffering of the Syrian people and contribute significantly to the ongoing humanitarian efforts in the region."
Looking for a new workout? Or a new pet? Surprisingly, you can find both at the Humane Society of Charlotte.

The local nonprofit organization is offering cat yoga classes, featuring several cats from the shelter. Think slow flow yoga focused on balance, flexibility and mindfulness while surrounded by adorable kittens roaming around the room.

This unique yoga experience isnt just a chance to get a good workout while playing with cats that need new homes. Organizers say its an ongoing fundraiser to help support the Humane Societys cause and boost adoption rates.

There are multiple cat yoga classes offered this summer and fall.

The shelter has multiple cats that are up for adoption, but during this time of year, theres usually an uptick in the number of pets that need new homes, especially cats.

Summer time is kitten season, so we do see a higher number of cats in the summer months, a spokesperson from the Humane Society of Charlotte told CharlotteFive. It definitely helps to get the cats in a room full of people who could be potential adopters.

Multiple cats up for adoption roam around during the cat yoga classes.

[RELATED: Which restaurants in Charlotte are dog-friendly? Heres where you can eat with your pup.]

Each cat yoga class, taught by local instructors, will typically have about three to four cats from the shelter that will be participating and playing during yoga. All pets at the shelter are available on a first-come, first-served basis, but if you happen to fall in love with a feline stretching out next to you during a downward dog pose, youll be able to go through the adoption process after any class.

Cat yoga classes will be offered this summer and fall.

Stretch and support a good cause

Even if you dont adopt a cat, proceeds from the cat yoga fundraiser will help benefit the Humane Society of Charlotte. There are multiple classes through the rest of the summer and fall you can still sign up for:

Aug. 5: 11 a.m.-12 p.m.; 1-2 p.m.

Sept. 23: 11 a.m.-12 p.m.; 1-2 p.m.

Oct. 28: 11 a.m.-12 p.m.; 1-2 p.m.

The cat yoga classes are open to all ages, but those 16 and younger do require supervision from a parent or guardian. Registration is required, and you can sign up for any of the classes online.

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The cat yoga classes are open to all ages but those 16 and younger do require supervision from a parent or guardian.

Just make sure to bring your own yoga mat, some water and the energy to work on your cat-like reflexes.

Get your puppy cuddling zen on with this Charlotte dog rescues yoga class
An Ocala woman has been indicted with one count of wire fraud related to the Coronavirus Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act US Attorney Roger B. Handberg said.

>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<

According to the indictment, between April 2, 2021, and April 6, 2021, 30-year-old Passion Lajodia Jackson of Ocala devised a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Jackson applied for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan under the CARES Act Investigators said.

Read: Man injured, suspect at large after shooting in East Orange County, deputies say

It is alleged that Jackson made false representations and provided false documentation to obtain the loan, according to US Attorney said.

The United States is seeking an order of forfeiture for at least $20,132, which represents the unlawful proceeds of the offense charged in the indictment.

Read: Two found dead after shooting in Orange County deputies say

This case is being investigated by the FBI.

It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hannah Norwalk U.S. Attorney investigators said.

Read: Two Florida men were arrested after drug houses raided in Flagler County

In May 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across the government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justices National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 8667205721 or click 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.
A Midlands congregation that voted to split from the United Methodist Church in June has decided to join a new denomination.

Worshipers at the former Chapin United Methodist Church  which has since changed its name to Chapin Christian Community Church  voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to join the Foundry Network, a loose collection of churches that have come together after many split off from the larger Methodist denomination.

Chapin was one of more than 100 churches across South Carolina that formally left the United Methodists in June over concerns about doctrinal differences with the denominations national leadership. Like many of those churches, the 3,500-member church then entered what Pastor Jody Flowers called a 40-day discernment period to decide what kind of relationship it wanted to have with similar-minded churches.

We didnt want to be independent on an island, Flowers told The State after Sundays vote. So we thought where could we go where we could be the biggest blessing, hopefully be an encouragement to other churches, and be blessed and learn from churches larger than us.

A group of church members studied whether Chapin should join the Global Methodist Church, largely made up of conservative churches that had previously left the United Methodists; the older evangelical Free Methodist Church; or the smaller Congregational Methodist Church.

They ultimately settled on the Foundry, a looser affiliation of like-minded churches that will leave Chapin with more autonomy.

We wanted to see what would fit best with us, said Paul Allen, retired minister for congregational care, who served with the group looking at Chapins options for a new affiliation. Allen addressed a church meeting two weeks ago to formally recommend the church join the Foundry Network.

The Foundry Network, which only got started last year, takes its name from an 18th-century meeting group set up by Methodism founder John Wesley in a foundry in England where cannons were manufactured.

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We see in them relationships that we think will match up well with us, Allen told the congregation. Were not an island to ourselves, and were not starting from scratch.

Flowers said Chapin examined a dozen similar churches around the region to decide what kind of relationship would work for them. He expects ministry leaders at the church will have a monthly Zoom call each month to share ideas with their counterparts at other Foundry churches, and a big conference annually.

Money the church used to pay in apportionments to the United Methodists will now stay with Chapin under the new arrangements, Allen said.

The separation from the United Methodist Church comes with a name change for the local Methodist congregation, part of a trend of churches moving away from denominational labels to make it easier for new members to find their way to the church. Church leaders said they also wanted to move away from the recent controversy around the split from the larger United Methodist denomination.

The move comes as the national United Methodist church is split between those who want the denomination to move in a more accepting direction for LGBTQ members and more conservative congregations that are seeking to move away from the denomination for the same reason.

Many issues highlighted by the departing churches center on LGBTQ issues. The split is similar to those in other major Protestant churches in recent years that have faced internal struggles over whether and how to welcome LGBTQ people into the church. As some churches have named openly LGBTQ clergy or blessed same-sex marriages, other believers have peeled away from established denominations they feel no longer share their values.

The departing churches will owe the United Methodists a 10% tithe based on the value of the property, plus any unpaid apportionment giving, 12 months worth of additional apportionment and a withdrawal liability equal to the churchs proportion of any unfunded pension obligations.

In the end, 90% of the Chapin church members who opted to support joining the Foundry Network, 323 out of 359.

Chapin church leaders emphasized that the change will allow them to keep their focus on the local congregation off Lexington Avenue.

Us is the more than 3,500 people from various faith backgrounds, that make up Chapin Christian Community Church, said lay leader Becky McCormack, who also served with the study group. So when it comes to the new church alignment, thats something we had to remember.
CHARLEVOIX  A Charlevoix man was arrested on Saturday, July 22, and then again the following Thursday, and both instances involved the suspect fleeing from police.

According to the Charlevoix County Sheriff's Office, William Conklin, 33, of Charlevoix was arrested downtown after a high speed car chase on the last night of the Venetian Festival on July 22.

Just before 2 a.m. on July 22, Charlevoix County Sheriff's Deputy Mike Frazee was on patrol when he saw a gray Infiniti SUV traveling south on U.S. 31 within city limits, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

The SUV was traveling at a high rate of speed and driving down the center of the roadway. When Frazee pulled out onto U.S. 31 behind the SUV and attempted to catch up to the vehicle, the driver quickly accelerated away.

Deputy Frazee activated his lights and sirens and a chase ensued through the north downtown Charlevoix neighborhood area. The SUV ran several stop signs, reaching speeds up to 80 mph on Burns and Division streets where speed limits are 35 mph or less.

According to the affidavit, at one point the SUV went airborne and the driver nearly lost control as he "blew through the stop sign at Division Street."

Eventually, the SUV was unable to stop at an intersection on Mercer Boulevard, where he drove straight into the lawn at 9566 Pleasant St. He ran over a street sign and a satellite dish in the process.

Frazee exited his patrol vehicle as the driver, identified as William Conklin, was getting out of his SUV. Conklin refused to put his hands behind his back and Frazee had to "take him to the ground" to handcuff him, according to the affidavit.

Conklin had a PBT (preliminary breath test) blood alcohol content level of .269%. The Michigan legal limit is .08%.

During the arrest, a bag of a "white crystal-like substance" was also found in Conklin's front pocket. Conklin said he was doing controlled buys undercover in cooperation with law enforcement, according to the affidavit.

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At the Charlevoix County Jail, the affidavit noted that "Conklin's behavior became increasingly aggressive and uncooperative." Conklin allegedly made "baseless threats to harm Deputy Frazee's career" and then he "bashed his head against the patrol vehicle's window, causing a gash to his forehead." Conklin was transported to Munson Charlevoix Hospital for his self-inflicted wound.

Conklin was charged with eight offenses for the July 22 arrest, including felony possession of a controlled substance methamphetamine with a maximum sentence up to 20 years in prison, a felony charge for fleeing a police officer, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and assaulting or resisting a police officer.

He was released on a $45,000 bond.

However, he was arrested again on Thursday, July 27 for failure to comply with the bond orders.

In the second incident, Conklin was chased on foot by officers and apprehended in front of the farmers market in downtown Charlevoix. According to a statement from the Charlevoix County Sheriff's Office, the chase was initiated when deputies went to arrest Conklin for his felony warrant and he fled on foot.

Records indicate that Conklin has at least three prior felonies.

As of publication, he remains in the Charlevoix County Jail awaiting a hearing on Aug. 8. His pre-trail court date is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 22.

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Conklin is the biological brother of the wife of Charlevoix County Prosecuting Attorney Kit Tholen. In response to the situation, Tholen commended the work of the officers involved and said he has filed a petition with the Michigan Attorney General to assign a different prosecutor to handle the case.

According to Tholen's statement, he does "not have any affinity for (Conklin) or any loyalty to him whatsoever."

"As I expect anyone would be, I am completely outraged at his horrible behavior and fully believe that he is richly deserving of a serious consequence and lengthy prison incarceration," said Tholen.

Tholen added that, "He has been charged to the fullest extent of the law and I want to assure the public that he is absolutely not receiving any special treatment."

"If any Charlevoix County resident wants to speak with me personally to be assured that he is not receiving any special treatment, or to be assured of my integrity, or to be assured of my offices transparency, I ask that you please call me. I will speak with you or call you back."

 Contact reporter Annie Doyle at (231)675-0099 or adoyle@charlevoixcourier.com. Follow her on Twitter, @adoylenews

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Charlevoix man arrested after fleeing from police twice
Chinese flag

Beijing will tighten control over the export of some UAVs and related equipment in order to prevent their use for military purposes, Reuters reported on July 31, citing Chinas Commerce Ministry.

Read also: FM Kuleba denies China backs slicing up Ukraine in Russias favor

The ministry announced that restrictions on exports of equipment, including some drone engines, lasers, communication equipment, and anti-drone systems, will come into effect on Sept. 1.

The statement adds that the export controls will also affect certain consumer drones, and no civilian drones can be exported for combat purposes.

"China's modest expansion of the scope of its drone control this time is an important measure to demonstrate our stance as a responsible major country, to implement global security initiatives, and maintain world peace," a Chinese spokesperson said.

He noted that the Chinese authorities have already informed the respective countries and regions about this decision.

As Reuters points out, this move takes place in the context of tension in China-U.S. relations regarding access to technology, as China has a large drone production industry and exports it to several markets, including the United States.

Read also: Emerging Chinese threat to NATO and the EU

U.S. lawmakers have reported that more than half of drones sold in the United States are manufactured by the Chinese company DJI and they are the most popular drones used by public safety services.

On July 31, DJI stated that it always strictly adheres to and ensures compliance with the laws and regulations of the countries or regions in which it operates, including China's export control requirements.

Read also: Ukrainian diplomat says Minsk-Moscow-Tehran-Beijing alliance is threat to global security

"We have never designed and manufactured products and equipment for military use, nor have we ever marketed or sold our products for use in military conflicts or wars in any country," the company said.

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In April, China's Commerce Ministry stated that Western media is spreading "unfounded accusations" that China exports drones to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine and added that they will continue to strengthen export control over drones.

Washington and its allies have repeatedly stated that China is considering supplying weapons to Russia. Beijing has consistently denied any such plans, and Ukrainian authorities say theres no evidence China is arming the Russian military.

Read also: Russia preparing new attacks on Ukraine's energy facilities, military intelligence says

At the same time, a recent Politico report noted that China continues to supply Russia with non-lethal dual-use equipment. In 2023, the import of drones from China to Russia amounted to over $100 million, which is 30 times more than their imports to Ukraine.

On July 27, a U.S. intelligence report stated that China is helping Russia evade Western sanctions and is likely providing military technology to Moscow.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Two new leaders have been appointed in the military - AFP

China has replaced the missing head of its nuclear missile force as president Xi Jinping carries out his first major military shake-up in years.

Wang Houbin has taken over from General Li Yuchao as the commander of the Peoples Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF), state media announced on Monday, a day before the anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA).

Mr Wang had been deputy commander of the Navy since 2020 and had previously served as its deputy chief of staff.

Meanwhile, Xu Xisheng, an air force officer and party central committee member, was named the forces political commissar, replacing General Liu Guangbin.

Mr Yuchao and Mr Guangbin have been missing for several months amid what intelligence sources claim is part of an investigation into the alleged leaking of military secrets.

It comes during an anti-corruption drive in the armed forces and a push by Beijing to ensure the PLAs complete loyalty to the party and Mr Xi himself.

Overseeing the Rocket Force is a crucial role with far-reaching responsibilities as it is in charge of land-based nuclear deterrents and conventional ballistic missiles.

The overhaul is the first sudden shake-up of its kind since Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong, former deputy chairs of the Central Military Commission (CMC), were removed from their posts and subsequently prosecuted on corruption charges in 2014.

Those changes were part of a push by Beijing to reassert its control over the armed forces.

Neil Thomas, a fellow on Chinese politics at the Asia Society think tank, described the latest changes as very unusual.

This all but confirms a purge in the PLA Rocket Force, he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Low political trust

Rocket Force New commander Wang Houbin is from the Navy, new political commissar Xu Xisheng is from the Air Force, appointing two outsiders is very unusual, suggesting low political trust and hinting at the scale of corruption in nuke/ICBM programs.

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Mr Thomas added the moves could possibly be connected to the death of ex-PLARF deputy Wu Guohua on July 4.

He said there had been no mention of Mr Guohuas death until July 27, leading to speculation about his circumstances.

Cited illness, but widely rumored to be suicide due to corruption probe. All raises questions about the true state of Chinas nuclear arsenal & missile programs, Mr Thomas said.

Mr Xi has repeatedly urged the military to deepen war and combat planning to increase the chances of victory in actual combat to safeguard Chinas sovereignty and territory.

China says it will also not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states or nuclear weapon free zones.

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The battle between two of China's largest e-commerce firms is heating up, as they take the cutthroat tactics that have long been around in the country to the international markets they both covet.

Chinese e-commerce deals giant Pinduoduo's affiliate, Temu, which is aggressively expanding overseas, recently filed a court document in the U.S. accusing fast fashion giant Shein of anti-competitive practices. Specifically, Temu claims that Shein has been "forcing exclusive dealing arrangements on clothing manufacturers."

"For a long time, we have exercised significant restraint and refrained from pursuing legal actions. However, Sheins escalating attacks leave us no choice but to take legal measures to defend our rights and the rights of those merchants doing business on Temu, as well as the consumers' rights to a wide variety of affordable products," a Temu spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch.

"Our legal measures aim to bring the other party back to the rule-based fair competition, which will benefit all participants in the ecosystem, including consumers, suppliers, and service providers."

In response to Temu's accusations, Shein said it "believe[s] this lawsuit is without merit and we will vigorously defend ourselves.

From China to the world

Temu's allegation against Shein is reminiscent of Alibaba's infamous "choosing one from two" policy, where vendors were asked to sell exclusively on Alibaba's platforms and skip its archrival, Pinduoduo. As part of its sweeping crackdown on the tech industry, the Chinese government launched a probe into Alibaba in late 2020 over its monopolistic practices.

Since then, China has proposed an anti-monopoly law to rein in the power of its consumer internet giants. The question is whether China will take action on the ongoing battle between Shein and Temu, neither of which sells products directly in China.

Shein's holding company is domiciled in Singapore, though it has a significant operational footprint and sources mainly from manufacturers in China. In an effort to ramp up global expansion, the entity behind Temu and Pinduoduo recently made Dublin its base.

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A closer look at what Shein and Temu are fighting over -- clothing manufacturers -- reveals an interesting detail. Besides price control, why would Shein keep such a tight grip on its apparel suppliers, given the abundance of resources in China? A post on Xiaohongshu, China's lifestyle and experience sharing community, offers a clue.

The author of the post, who appears to be a Temu seller, claims that her jeans factory is having trouble procuring cotton that's not produced in Xinjiang, the major source of cotton in China. For context, the U.S. fashion industry now must wean itself off Xinjiang cotton after a law came into force in 2021, giving U.S. border authorities greater powers to block goods linked to alleged forced labor in China.

The exclusivity requirement isn't only about cotton. As of May, Shein has required all of the approximately 8,338 manufacturers supplying or selling on its platform to sign exclusive-dealing agreements, preventing them from selling on Temu or supplying products to Temu sellers, according to Temu's filing.

These approximately 8,338 manufacturers represent 70-80% of the total number of merchants capable of supplying ultra-fast fashion, Temu claims.

The legal dispute between Shein and Temu is not one-sided. Back in March, Shein made accusations that Temu willfully and flagrantly infringed Shein's exclusive and valuable trademark and copyright rights, and engaged in a scheme to boost its own growth in the U.S. by impersonating [the] Shein brand on social media, trading off of the well-known Shein trademarks, and using copyrighted images owned by Roadget as part of [its own] product listings."

The article was updated on August 1, 2023, with statements from Shein and Temu.
China's cozying up to its tech firms again after a massive crackdown wiped $1.1 trillion off the valuations of major firms in the sector. Ying Tang/NurPhoto/Getty Images

China's tech crackdown wiped $1.1 trillion off the valuation of its Big Tech firms.

But authorities in China are easing up and clamoring for tech investments recently.

China's economy is struggling to recover after three years of on-off COVID-19 lockdowns.

China cracked down on the country's tech sector in 2020, taking down its Big Tech, whose market value has been wiped by $1.1 trillion.

But now, authorities are laying out the red carpet for the same firms because the economy is in deep trouble.

Local governments in China are wooing tech giants with at least five recent deals to build on the so-called "platform economy," the South China Morning Post reported on Sunday.

Beijing-based Qihoo 360 recently signed an agreement with the government of Hangzhou  home to Alibaba  to boost cybersecurity, according to a local government notice on Friday.

And gaming giant NetEase signed an AI and esports partnership with the Hangzhou government earlier in July.

Meanwhile, Yin Li, Beijing's Chinese Communist Party chief pledged to support the consumer tech sector in a Thursday meeting with e-commerce giant JD.com, consumer giant Xiaomi, and Kuaishou  a key short-video competitor to ByteDance.

And just a few days earlier, Beijing mayor Yin Yong assured outgoing Alibaba chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang and Lei Jun, Xiaomi founder, and CEO, that the "private economy plays an important role in boosting the high-quality development of the capital city."

Other cities like the northern port city of Tianjin and southern tech hub Shenzhen have also scrambled to ink deals with tech giants in a flurry of recent deals, per the SCMP.

The country's state planner even praised Alibaba on July 12, saying the e-commerce giant had become a key contributor to key priority sectors, such as autonomous driving and chip development. That's a big U-turn from China's crackdown on Alibaba founder Jack Ma and his companies after he criticized Beijing in an October 2020 speech.

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The Chinese government's opportune interest in its homegrown tech companies comes just as its economy  the world's second-largest  struggles to recover from three years of on-off COVID-19 lockdowns.

China may even be on the edge of deflation, Insider reported.

Recent economic indicators from China have been disappointing, with manufacturing activity contracting for a fourth straight month in July, according to official statistics released on Monday.

It so desperately wants to revive the economy that Beijing has been reversing major policies it pushed during the COVID-19 pandemic, hinting that it could relax regulatory curbs on the property sector too, Insider reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Locations like New Mexico's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant could get green energy facility makeovers courtesy of the DOE.

Government-owned land, previously home to Cold War-era atomic weapons manufacturing facilities, could soon receive new, green leases on life. According to an announcement on July 28, the US Department of Energys Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative has identified five sites across the US, totalling roughly 70,000 acres, to be potentially utilized for massive solar, wind, and nuclear energy projects.

As Reuters notes, some of these locationssuch as Richland, Washingtons now-decommissioned Hartford Sitewere first built in the 1940s to produce plutonium and uranium for the Manhattan Projects atomic bombs. Other locations such as New Mexicos Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), however, are much more recent projects. Established in 1999, the WIPP is the countrys only deep geologic nuclear waste repository, and includes over 185,000 containers filled with transuranic-contaminated clothing, tools, rags, residues, debris, soil and other items roughly 2,000 feet underground, according to its official website. Additional sites that will potentially receive green renovations include the Idaho National Laboratory, the Nevada Nuclear Security Site, and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

[Related: What Oppenheimer doesnt tell you about atomic bombs.]

We are going to transform the lands we have used over decades for nuclear security and environmental remediation by working closely with tribes and local communities together with partners in the private sector to build some of the largest clean energy projects in the world, US Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said in an official statement.

The DOEs Cleanup to Clean Energy is part of federal agencies ongoing response to President Bidens December 2021 executive order directing them to use 100 percent renewable energy sources by 2030. To help meet the goal, Executive Order 14057 directed officials to authorize the use of property assets including land through leases, grants, permits, or other mechanisms.

As the federal government ramps up such projects, private industry is also looking to renovate similarly outdated and retired sites on their own. Earlier this year, the company charged with demolishing the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station in Michigans Van Buren county announced revamped intentions to restart the 800 megawatt facility. If successful, it will mark the first time a US nuclear reactor restarted after losing its fuel and operating licenses.

Although there are currently no detailed plans or construction timelines currently available, based on the executive orders directives, its safe to say these DOE green renovation projects should be up-and-running by the end of the decade.
A closing notice remains taped to a stop sign Monday at the entrance to Yellow Corporation's Copley facility a day after the company announced to workers that it was shutting down.

Hundreds of Yellow Freight employees at company locations in Copley, Green and Richfield were left jobless Monday after the stunning collapse of one of the nation's largest trucking companies.

"The company has always been in financial trouble, but the ship sunk quick," said Lee Volkov, whose last day at the Richfield location was Friday.

Local employees on Monday said the situation deteriorated quickly last week. On Friday, the company said it was ceasing normal operations and its locations nationwide would be closed.

The Teamsters union, which represents about 22,000 Yellow workers nationwide, said it had been notified Monday the company would file for bankruptcy, confirming media reports over the weekend.

Dock worker and Burbank Village resident Keith Stephensen said he started with Yellow Freight 35 years ago in New York and has been at the Copley location for 16 years.

"I thought I'd leave on my own terms, not theirs," he said Monday at the Teamsters Local 24 location on West Market Street in Fairlawn. "We gave and we gave."

Ed Dodson, business agent for Teamster Local 24, enters the union office Monday in Fairlawn after Yellow Corporation announced it was ceasing operations.

Teamsters rep says union sacrificed for survival

Over the years, the company's union members have made significant concessions in wages  15% at one point, said Local 24 business agent Ed Dodson  and benefits, hoping the hauler would maneuver its way out of a lingering financial quagmire.

But in Copley on Monday, the end of Yellow was starkly evident.

The company's location on Oh Avenue was blocked by trailers, with a sign posted at the guard gate referring to the company's demise.

"All company operations have ceased as of Sunday, July 30, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. EDT," it read.

Semi truck trailers block the entrance to the Yellow truck terminal Monday in Copley after the company announced it was ceasing operations at noon Sunday.

'Things could have been different'

Road driver Jeff Rose, a Creston resident who worked for 32 years with the company, said he had worked at the Copley and Richfield locations.

Like others, he was forced into a situation that Yellow employees had hoped to avoid: searching for a new job and preparing to file for unemployment benefits.

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"I've been applying, hoping to find a decent job," he said. "I don't really want to move  but if I have to, I will."

Rose said he moved to Ohio from a Yellow Freight job in Colorado in 1997 and didn't relish the thought of relocating again.

"It's a shame that it came down to this," he said. "Things could have been different."

That opinion was shared by other employees Monday who talked about their time with the company.

Many said a purchasing binge in the early 2000s, including Akron-based Roadway, started a long chain of financial woes that ultimately led to Yellow's collapse.

"The resentment of this ... goes back to the people running this company when Yellow acquired Roadway," Volkov said.

Volkov said signs of the company's demise were evident last week, even before the Friday announcement.

"We were doing deliveries only to try to clear out the system so there wouldn't be a lot of deliveries left," he said. "By Tuesday night, they had given up on picking up any new freight."

Teamsters Local 24 member Keith Stevenson, a 35-year dock worker at Yellow with 16 years of service at the Copley terminal, discusses the companys shutdown.

Decades of loyalty dwindle to scramble to stay afloat

As the company's financial position crumbled, Yellow began penny-pinching, workers said, refusing to buy such staples as new safety vests and adequate cleaning supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I had to fight with the company to get cleaning supplies," Stephensen said.

Mechanic Anthony Flores, a Goodyear Heights resident who worked at the Copley location, said it became increasingly difficult to repair Yellow trucks.

"These past two years, getting parts for vehicles was getting harder and harder," he said.

Travis Bornstein, president of Teamsters Local 24 and principal officer, said much of his membership had spent decades with the company.

Now, many local workers in their 50s are facing the prospect of starting over.

"The membership is disgruntled," he said. "These guys have made huge sacrifices for this company  wage, pension, work rule concessions. They believed they (had) done everything they could to keep this company in business."

Signs that were posted at noon Sunday informed Yellow employees in Copley of the company's decision to cease operations.

A network of co-workers and friends

Jamie Anderson, a road driver based in Philadelphia, used to come to the Copley or Richfield terminals three times a week.

Anderson called Copley Friday to say goodbye, but received a recorded message and couldn't get through to the dock.

Anderson said drivers delivering to Copley would be shuttled to the Radisson Hotel in Fairlawn.

"At any time, there were 50-75 drivers at the hotel," Anderson said.

Dodson said Yellow's collapse would affect more than its employees.

"It's a big impact in the area," he said.

He said the company had been remiss in keeping its 22,000 union workers aware of its intentions, including its local employees.

"I've got guys showing up for work because they didn't get the message," he said.

Teamsters Local 24 member Charles Ferrell of Copley discusses Yellow's shutdown Monday in Fairlawn.

Navigating an uncertain future

Charles Ferrell, a Copley resident who worked at the Copley location, said most of the remaining less-than-truckload companies are not unionized, creating more difficulty for workers who can't retire.

"They're afraid we're going to come in and try to organize," he said.

Ferrell said that despite Yellow's woes and a consensus among local workers that it had been mismanaged, the job was worth keeping.

"By far, this job was the best job I ever had in my life," he said.

Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Yellow workers in Copley, Richfield and Green dismayed by shutdown
Make sure you have your books and anything else you'll need to make a strong start to the semester.

Make sure you have your books and anything else you'll need to make a strong start to the semester.

Its not just college students: Professors feel excitement before the first day of school, too. That first class is imbued with a sense of hope and possibility that simply cannot be replicated.

While instructors are eager to dive in and get to know their students and start discussing the material, there are logistical and procedural things that they need to address first. At least part of the first class is generally spent going over the syllabus and explaining how to do things like hand in assignments. This can mean a lot of information coming at you fast  but, luckily, there are a few things you can do beforehand to feel prepared and less anxious.

We asked professors what they recommend that students do before that first class meeting. Here are their suggestions:

Read the syllabus, if its available to you, as well as any pre-reading the professor has assigned.

One nice thing about the first class is that its usually light on note-taking while the professor reviews the syllabus, which you can often familiarize yourself with beforehand if you have access to it.

Reading the syllabus is the best way to set yourself up for success in the class.

Its a very simple and straightforward thing to do that will enable students to understand the schedule, the policies and procedures, all kinds of things! It will help the student more effectively navigate the class, Nadia Singh, a professor of biology at the University of Oregon, told HuffPost.

Reading the syllabus is also a way to show your professor, and your classmates, that you respect their time. [It] will benefit the entire class because it means that class time, office hour time, etc. wont be devoted to explaining things that are covered on the syllabus, said Singh.

If there was a reading assignment for Day 1, youll want to make sure to do that as well so that you are able to follow along and contribute your ideas in class.

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Order the books you will need for the course.

If there wasnt reading assigned for the first class, there certainly will be for the next one, and you dont want to delay your ability to get it done.

Before the first day of class, Id love it if students ordered their required textbooks, and if they were having financial aid issues, that theyd email me so I could make plans to get them access to required readings, Anna Rollins, who teaches English and directs the writing center at Marshall University, told HuffPost.

This ensures that students dont get behind from the very beginning. It allows them to participate more fully in class discussion, she said.

It also prevents you from having to play catch-up once you do have the books.

Log on to your university email account.

I would also love it if students knew how to use/were regularly checking their university email, said Rollins.

This is usually the primary way that you will be communicating with your professor, so its important that youre able to use it and are checking it regularly. You dont want to miss any important announcements. Note that professors often will send a welcome email before the first class meets that may contain key information as well as the syllabus and any reading you need to complete before that first class.

Come prepared with a game plan.

The back-to-school jitters are very real, even for college students.

Everyone, including the professor, is feeling a range of emotions on the first day of class: excitement, nervousness, tiredness, anxiousness, uncertainty, imposter syndrome, said Khalid White, a professor of African-American studies at San Jose City College.

I believe the more you come into the class with a game plan, and the more prepared you are, you will feel much better about taking space in the class, he added.

Think about why you are taking the course. Is it a requirement for your intended major or in alignment with your career goals? Or maybe this is the first opportunity youve had to pursue a topic youve always been interested in. Keeping this in mind can help strengthen what White described as the belief that you belong and deserve to be there.

White also recommends that students sit up front and take the time to introduce themselves to the professor after the first class.

Commit to starting strong and keeping up with assignments.

Students dont intend to begin the semester by getting behind on the reading, but its a common pitfall. College classes often meet only once or twice a week, which can create the illusion that theres lots of time to catch up before the next meeting. Its easy for students to slide into a backlog so deep it feels impossible to dig their way out of. This kind of overwhelm can lead to dropping classes.

Students also may be accustomed to frequent check-ins and quizzes from their high school teachers, and have a hard time adjusting to being held accountable for coursework in a new way.

But theres no way around it: The best way to be prepared for class is to complete the reading assignments. For this reason, its critical that students let their professor know right away if access is an issue.

Successful students, Rollins said, also have the organizational skills to plan ahead and to use a calendar so they can anticipate the various demands on their time and energy.

Adopt a positive growth mindset.

Once students have the readings or other required materials and a plan for accomplishing assignments, the next thing they need for success is the right outlook and attitude.

Preparation is a skillset and its a mindset. Self-confidence and positive self-talk are a part of that skill set. An I can attitude is part of that mindset, White said. Even if these dont come naturally, he continued, they are skills that you can grow just like academic ones.

A growth mindset is also really important, said Singh. Unlike a fixed mindset, this is the belief that effort, not simply innate talent, will allow you to master new skills.

White said that such a mindset is one thing his successful students share. These students, he explained, show effort, consistency, and an I can and I wont give up attitude.

Bring curiosity and an open mind.

R.J. Thompson, who teaches web design, graphic design, marketing, advertising, and visual storytelling at Point Park University, University of Pittsburgh, West Virginia University and the Community College of Allegheny County, also encourages his students to view each course as a journey leading to personal growth.

I want my students to feel comfortable and safe in taking risks and experimenting and learning through failing forward, Thompson told HuffPost.

Some of his best students, he said, were willing to take risks and move outside of their comfort zones in order to discover new things about themselves.

Singh concurred, saying its important for students to have the ability to challenge their own ways of thinking.

While skills can be built over time, and goals clarified, curiosity is something that students should bring to the table in order to get the most out of their classes.

I dont expect a college student, at any level, to have their future figured out. I just want them to know that figuring out their future is something they want to do. Thats the path, Thompson said. It all comes back to a mindset of curiosity. Being willing to zig instead of zagging all the time. A willingness to break pattern.

Related...
Remember that sweet little family bakery in Collinsville I wrote about a few months ago?

You know, the one on Beltline Road with the pretty pink door. Where Yummy Donut Palace used to be.

Anyway, Azucar, Old City Bakery, has new owners. And it recently reopened for business.

Collinsville residents Noemi Carrillo and Salvador Abeja, are the proud new owners of Azucar, Old City Bakery.

Noemi Carrillo and Salvador Abeja, the new owners of Azucar, Old City Bakery in Collinsville

A new adventure

Carrillo and Abeja invest in businesses and properties and try to keep an eye out for new opportunities.

When they decide to invest in a new venture, they try to keep things local, said Carrillo, and support the community.

One morning, she saw a post on the Azucar Facebook page that the original owners were closing the bakery and were open to selling the business.

Carrillo had never been to the bakery but wanted to learn more about it.

She reached out and arranged to meet with owner Jeanetta Mitchem, who opened the business earlier this year with her daughters, Brooke Romero and Morgan Hurtado.

With an appointment set, Carrillo came from her office at Bakos License & Title in Collinsville, which she owns and where she works as an insurance agent for the state of Illinois, to meet with Mitchem.

Apparently the meeting went well because about 20 minutes later, the bakery was hers.

Incredibly excited about this latest adventure, Carrillo did admit there was that what-did-I-just-do moment.

But it didnt last.

Carrillo and Abeja are always trying new things, and Azucar is just the latest one.

Their other business investments include the aforementioned license and title service and some rental properties.

Abeja also works in construction.

They sell or rent out the houses they flip, according to Carrillo, which is fun because you never know what youre gonna find.

And theyre parents too, so all-in-all theyre pretty busy.

Carrillo plans to keep the bakery much as it was under its previous ownership.

The decor at Azucar remains the same after the bakerys change in ownership.

The decor is the same  the painting of the bull on a green couch that I really like is still there.

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Even some of the culinary delights on offer will be familiar to customers who enjoyed them before.

Carrillo is able to do this with the support of family members, who offer to help.

They support us so much, she said, adding that they wouldnt be anything without them. The family supports them in every crazy adventure we take.

Carrillo is working at the bakery with her sister-in-law and nieces.

They all work hard, putting in all their skill and knowledge to make the bakery the best it can be, according to Carrillo.

The pastry case full of baked goods at Azucar in Collinsville

Bringing traditional flavors to the community

Upon entering the bakery, the first thing I noticed was the amazing smell of baked goods.

It didnt have that oh-my-god-thats-a-lot-of-sugar scent. The scent had more of a freshly baked bread with a touch of sweetness to it.

It was glorious and almost makes me wish I still ate dairy and eggs.

Carrillo is going for old-fashioned ideas and creating foods that honor both Latin and American tastes, as well as her heritage.

Many of the sweets are older, traditional recipes from her culture. Her family comes from north central Mexico, Abejas family from south central Mexico.

The bakery also has American traditional sweets, according to Carrillo.

On the menu are conchitas  or conchas, Spanish for shell  a Mexican sweet bread that gets its name from its seashell-like appearance.

Conchitas, or Mexican sweet breads, are made from scratch in-house at Azucar, Old City Bakery.

Azucar offered these under its previous ownership. At that time, they were supplied by Lillys Panaderia in St. Louis.

Today, conchitas are made in-house, said Carrillo, as are most of the goods available at Azucar.

We make pretty much everything from scratch, she said.

A few items are outsourced because they currently lack the necessary kitchen equipment.

But they make as much as they can in house and use local ingredients whenever possible.

We want to sell quality, said Carrillo.

Azucars other goods include turnovers (sweet potato, pineapple, and other seasonal produce), rice pudding, banana bread, zucchini bread, Spanish-style cheesecake, gooey butter cookies, cheese danish and the most popular item  bread filled with jalapeno and cream cheese.

The jalapeno and cream cheese bread is the most popular item at Azucar, Old City Bakery in Collinsville.

Keep an eye out for other items that will soon be available, such as apple fritters, pound cakes (pecan and vanilla) and cornbread.

Carrillo said they also bring in tamales from her moms restaurant, La Esquinita Mexican Market and Restaurant, also in Collinsville.

With a new Starbucks getting ready to open a couple of doors down and a Scooters Coffee not too far from there, the drinks at Azucar are pretty simple. (Which works for me. I take my coffee black, no sugar.)

Theres a tea station with a variety of teabags and a coffee station. Both stations have cream, sugar and sweeteners.

Boba teas, horchata and seasonal fruit-based refreshments are also available.

Carrillo said they might offer hot chocolate in the fall.

She doesnt want to think of Starbucks as a competitor. Her hope is to complement the coffee company.

Theyll have the coffee; well have the pastries, Carrillo said.

A bit of background

Azucar, Old City Bakery originally opened March 17 in Collinsville.

The family business was owned and operated by Mitchem and daughters Romero and Hurtado. The bakery was a passion project for the women.

And for a while the business seemed to be doing well.

But in June, a Facebook post shared that the business was struggling.

We have not been having the easiest of times recently & we have been faced with a tough decision, stated the June 17 post. We either close our doors or we get rid of donuts all together and put our focus more on our pastries and cakes.

The post also stated that Mitchem is a cake maker. Cakes were the foundation for the business, and donuts were never part of the plan.

We wanted to do cookies and our cakes and add in some Mexican treats and culture, continued the Facebook post. As we ran into obstacle after obstacle attempting to open the bakery to begin with, we were advised to add donuts to our menu. We felt as a bakery, we really had no choice.

In the long run, the inclusion of donuts took time and resources away from the other goods the owners wanted to offer.

So donuts were dropped from the menu.

Then the bakery had to close due to illness, according to Facebook posts the following week.

On June 28, the decision to close was announced on the Facebook page. Included in the message was the offer of the business to anyone interested in owning a bakery.

Two days later, Mitchem, Romero and Hurtado made one last announcement.

Azucar was sold to Carrillo and Abeja, who reopened the bakery on July 14.

I wish them well, said Mitchem of Carrillo and Abeja in a brief phone call.

View of the counter area at Azucar, Old City Bakery in Collinsville

Open for business  again

Carrillo said the mornings are busy, but people are still learning about the business.

She said they want everything they do here to benefit the community, the county and the state that have already given them so much. She wants to honor that.

Were so thankful, said Carrillo. Everyones welcome to our shop.

About Azucar, Old City Bakery

Azucar, Old City Bakery is located at 410 Beltline Road in Collinsville. Hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday.

Azucar is currently accepting cash only until the point of sale system is set up.

For information and updates, call 618-223-1322 or check out the Facebook page.
Douglas Skypirate

The Douglas Aircraft Companys World War II-era XTB2D-1 Skypirate torpedo bomber was a giant of a carrier-based aircraft. Measuring 46 feet long and 22 feet high, the aircraft's wingspan was a truly impressive 70 feet. By comparison, the jet-powered A-3 Skywarrior  the heaviest airplane to ever operate regularly from an aircraft carrier  had a wingspan only slightly longer at 72 feet, 5 inches.

The Skypirate was designed to add greater torpedo and bombing options to the Navys air arm as the service began constructing larger carriers in the aftermath of the Battle of Midway, which took place in June 1942. While considerable interest was given by the Navy to developing a large torpedo bomber during the war, only two prototypes of the Skypirate were ever completed. By the time it first flew in May 1945, the aircraft was effectively obsolete.

Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department

In order to understand the circumstances surrounding the Skypirates misfortune, we first need to look at the makeup of the Navy's pre-1942 torpedo bomber fleet.

Well before the development of the Skypirate, the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) began exploring options to replace its Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo bombers, which had been in service since 1937. In 1939, a competition for such an aircraft was held  Grummans XTBF-1 Avenger and Chance Voughts XTBU-1 Sea Wolf (which was eventually produced by Consolidated Aircraft) were the main contenders.

U.S. Navy Douglas TBD-1 Devastator (BuNo 0322) of Torpedo Squadron Six (VT-6) pictured in flight, probably over Virginia, c. 1938/39. U.S. Navy

Grumman signed a contract to produce the XTBF-1 Avenger prototype in April 1940. In December 1940, the service placed an order for 286 TBF Avengers. The first flight of the XTBF-1 prototype subsequently took place on August 1, 1941. By December of that year, a second prototype had been accepted, and in January 1942 the first production TBF-1 joined the fleet. During the first six months of 1942, 145 TBFs were delivered to the Navy.

A Grumman TBF-1 Avenger, seen in mid-1942. Hans Groenhoff Collection, Smithsonian Institution

In terms of dimensions and performance, the Avenger measured a little over 40 feet long and around 16 feet high. The aircraft boasted an empty weight of 10,545 pounds and a maximum weight of 17,895 pounds. Thanks to its 1,900-horsepower Wright R-2600-20 engine, it had a maximum speed of 275 miles per hour at 16,500 feet and a cruise speed of 147 miles per hour. The maximum range was around 1,000 miles. Moreover, the crew of three  pilot, gunner, and radio operator/bombardier  were offered protection by two .50-caliber forward-firing machine guns, one .50-caliber dorsal gun, and one .30-caliber ventral gun. Avengers were capable of carrying a single 2,000-pound bomb or torpedo, or four 500-pound bombs.

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Although the Avenger went on to become the Navy's standard torpedo bomber throughout the remainder of the war, its introduction to combat during the Battle of Midway proved scathing. Five of the six TBF-1s assigned to Torpedo Squadron (VT) 8, operating from land, were shot down by the Japanese. The lone survivor was heavily damaged. The Navy's TBD Devastators also performed poorly during the battle. From a total of 41 Devastators, no successful torpedo hits were recorded, while a total of only six aircraft returned to their carriers. The Navy began retiring its fleet of Devastators in the aftermath of the battle, with the type being completely retired from service by 1944.

Of course, BuAer had already opened a competition for another dive bomber prior to this, in 1941. Douglas engineers and designers, led by Edward Heinemann, eventually won that contract with their XBT2D-1 prototype  tentatively named Dauntless II  which would subsequently be ordered into production post-war as the Douglas AD-1 Skyraider.

The first prototype Douglas XBT2D-1 Dauntless II, BuNo 9085. In this photograph, the airplane has a propeller spinner, subsequently deleted. San Diego Air and Space Museum archive

However, the Battle of Midway underscored the need for a torpedo bomber with even greater weapons load and range. At the same time, the Navy also began to expand the size of its aircraft carrier fleet  both numerically and in terms of the physical size of the vessels. Production of the large Essex class carriers had already begun by this stage, and, on August 1, 1942, the Navy ordered production of the first Midway class carrier, USS Midway (CV-41). Until the mid-1950s, Midway was the largest vessel in the world. It was anticipated that a large new torpedo bomber, even bigger than the winning entry for the 1941 torpedo bomber competition, would also operate from those carriers.

USS Midway off Virginia, Norfolk, with a deck full of SB2C Helldiver bombers, May 1947. National Archives

Douglas was officially given the go-ahead by the Navy to begin designing such an aircraft in November 1942. From the start, as William Norton notes in his book, Experimental & Prototype Aircraft Projects: Fighters, 1939-1945, Heinemann, the Douglas lead designer, and Bob Donovan, the chief engineer, leaned towards a single-engine aircraft. The original concept featured a bomb bay as well as a defensive tail gun.

In its final concept, the XTB2D-1 was indeed colossal. It featured an aforementioned wingspan of around 70 feet  with a total wing area of 605 square feet. Its huge slab-sided tail was a full six feet taller than the Avenger's. This was substantially more than the Avenger's 54 foot span. The aircraft boasted an empty weight of 18,405 pounds and a maximum weight of 34,760 pounds. In terms of performance, the XTB2D-1 had a maximum speed of 340 miles per hour, reduced to 312 miles per hour when carrying torpedos. Its cruise speed was 168 miles per hour. The service ceiling for the aircraft was 24,500 feet, while its maximum range was 2,880 miles  1,250 miles with torpedoes.

BuAer line drawing of the Skypirate, c. 1944. Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department

The XTB2D-1s extremely powerful engine  Pratt & Whitneys 3,000-horsepower Wasp Major XR-4360-8 with supercharger  required an eight-blade, 14.3-foot-diameter Hamilton Standard contra-rotating propeller system. The aircraft was designed to carry two torpedoes off a Midway deck or four from ashore. The bomb bay featured in the original design was eliminated, with torpedoes/bombs carried externally via low-mounted wings. As part of the final concept, four .50-caliber machine guns in the wings were supported by a pair of .50-caliber machine guns in an upper powered turret. Another .50-caliber would be remotely fired from a fairing below the fuselage. A total of 527 pounds of armor plating protected the crew.

As Norton highlights, the aircraft also introduced a number of innovations. For one, the Navy specified a unique exhaust system for the engine, in which exhaust ports from cylinders in alternating rows were combined to reduce the effects of backpressure. Backpressure is defined as the "exhaust gas pressure that is produced by the engine to overcome the hydraulic resistance of the exhaust system in order to discharge the gases into the atmosphere."

Moreover, the wings featured slotted flaps, with the center segments serving as dive flaps and the outboard segments also acting as ailerons. The slotted flaps could be drooped slightly, Norton notes, and would relieve stress at high speeds or when turning.

The Skypirate's distinctive propellers and wings. Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department

The aircraft had a tricycle landing gear, which was very uncommon for carrier-based aircraft of the era. Better visibility forward and easier weapons loading were just some of the benefits of this configuration, but front gear had to be very stout to handle the potential landing loads. An autopilot and a deicing system were also to equip the Skypirate, which were cutting-edge for their day.

In March 1943, 23 pre-production aircraft (BuNos. 89097/119) were ordered by the Navy. However, progress soon slowed on the project, in line with delays to the construction of Midway. When construction on the vessel recommenced in October 1943, efforts to continue with the large torpedo bomber picked up again. On October 31, the Navy ordered two XTB2D-1 Skypirate prototypes (BuNos. 36933/4) as well as a static article.

Skypirate prototype seen from the front. Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department

The first XTB2D-1 prototype was rolled out on February 18, 1945, at El Segundo, California  the planned dorsal turret and ventral gun position were never fitted. That aircraft subsequently flew on May 8, 1945. Flight testing was delayed by various problems. A flight test in June 1945, for example, saw the inboard flap segments depart the aircraft  the pilot was successfully able to land the plane, however. In August, propeller issues caused all flight tests to be suspended until well after the war. Although work did resume in 1947, albeit at a slow pace, the program was closed out, with the order for 23 pre-production aircraft canceled.

The Skypirate's design team poses with the first prototype on rollout day. Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department

Only two XTB2D-1 prototypes were ever built and were eventually reduced to scrap in 1948, but the cancellation of the Navys Skypirate program was not because of the teething problems experienced during testing. After VJ-Day, the services requirements had simply moved on. While some consideration was given to turning the aircraft to anti-submarine warfare and electronic warfare missions, this never materialized. By the wars end, the service simply had too many aviation programs to sustain going into the post-war period. The age of the jet and turboprop engine was also dawning.

If nothing else, the short-lived XTB2D-1 Skypirate program demonstrated a number of innovative design features in a truly colossal carrier-based airframe to boot.

Contact the author: oliver@thewarzone.com
Stamford Police Chief Timothy Shaw remembered Rev. Jackson as a vital member of the Stamford community.

Connecticut State Police are investigating after a patrol vehicle in Stamford fatally struck a beloved pastor while he was checking his mail, CNN reports.

Rev. Tommie Jackson, 69, was crossing the street just before 4:15 p.m. on July 26 on Wire Mill Road when a cruiser driven by officer Zachary Lockwood struck him, according to a statement from the Stamford Police Department (SPD).

Credit: CBS News screenshot of Rev. Dr. Tommie Jackson, who was struck and killed by Stamford Police officer.

Connecticut State Police Lt. Katherine Cummings said during a news conference that Lockwood attempted CPR until medics arrived. Jackson was pronounced dead at Stamford Hospital, People reports.

Cummings said Lockwood hit the reverend while responding to another motor vehicle incident in town. According to the accident report, Jackson was attempting to cross the street after getting mail from his mailbox.

State police said Lockwood made an evasive steering maneuver before hitting Jackson, People reports.

At the time of the collision, Lockwoods emergency lights were activated, Cummings said at the news conference, according to People.

Jackson worked for Stamfords Urban Redevelopment Commission, which oversees redevelopment and renewal projects, according to the citys website. He also served as reverend of the Rehoboth Fellowship Church and the Faith Tabernacle Church.

The Stamford Police Commissions vice chair is Jacksons wife, Dorye, according to CNN.

Attorney Darnell Crosland is representing the family and noted during the press conference that his clients have more questions now than we have answers, CBS affiliate WCBS-TV reports.

The very people that you rely on to protect you is now responsible for taking the life of one of the leaders of our community, and we want answers, he said.

As People reports, Lockwood has been with the department since April 2022. He is now on paid administrative leave following the fatal vehicle accident.

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Hundreds gathered at the government center in Stamford on Friday night to pay their respects to Reverend Jackson, Fox 5 reports.

According to People, Mayor Caroline Simmons said at Fridays press conference that Jackson was a beloved member of our faith community.

Governor Ned Lamont shared a statement on Twitter mourning Jacksons death, writing: He has made such an impact on Stamford, bringing peace and comfort to those in need and advocating on behalf of underserved communities.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those impacted by this terrible tragedy, the Stamford Police Association posted on Facebook, CBS News reports.

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The post Community mourns Reverend Tommie Jackson killed by police car appeared first on TheGrio.
Rapides Parish Sheriff Mark Wood (center) talks about an arrest and seizure of guns and drugs in Alexandria last week. With him (from left) are Grant Parish Sheriff Steven McCain, interim Alexandria Police Department Chief Chad Gremillion, Rapides District Attorney Phillip Terrell and Woodworth Mayor David Butler.

A felon on probation is behind bars again after a tip led investigators to his home, where they found weapons, armor-piercing ammunition and more than 5 pounds of crystal meth.

Brock Lennon White, 42, was arrested July 26 after several months of investigating spurred by community complaints about possible drug dealing at his Leon Drive home in Alexandria, off Heyman Lane.

He was booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center #1 on a probation violation, as well as charges of possession of body armor, possession of a stolen firearm, six counts of carrying a firearm with drugs, six counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, four counts of drug possession and having improper window tint.

Bail was set at $550,600, but there is no bail set for the probation violation.

White pleaded guilty in November to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but that sentence was suspended. Instead, he was placed on three years supervised probation.

Rapides Sheriff Mark Wood said some of the ammunition recovered from White's home is made specifically to penetrate through body armor.

A search warrant served at White's home after he was arrested during a traffic stop found two 12-gauge shotguns, two AR-15-style rifles, an AR pistol, a handgun, a Mini Draco AK-47 pistol, magazines and a "large assortment" of ammunition.

The weapons, body armor vest and some ammunition was on display Monday morning as Wood and others announced White's arrest. He called it "a lot of firepower."

"These rounds here?" said Wood, gesturing to the table. "They will penetrate our vests. That's what they're for."

Alexandria Police Department Interim Chief Chad Gremillion agreed, saying there's "a lot of evil to be done with this."

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He commended the cooperation between all the different law enforcement agencies that comprise the Rapides Area Drug Enforcement unit. "We stand together, united in all of this," he said.

Grant Parish Sheriff Steven McCain spoke about the weapons that were found, saying what looks like an AR-15 actually is a 12-gauge shotgun with a high capacity magazine for ammunition. The armor-piercing bullets are shot from a modified pistol, he said.

"The work that this team does matters," said McCain. "It truly is making a positive impact in our community, and it's only done by working together."

He also lauded the work of Rapides Parish Assistant District Attorney Tom Wells, who reviews the cases and files asset forfeiture motions with courts in both parishes.

Rapides District Attorney Phillip Terrell said they going after dealers' bank accounts and other property serves a purpose.

"We seize the guns. We seize their cars. We seize their dope, and we seize their money," said Terrell. "And we do that for a reason."

Dealers sell drugs to get money, he said, and taking that money away is how you hurt them.

"You don't get to them just by putting them in jail because they deal dope from jail," he said. "So you take away their money. That's how you get them."

When assets are seized and sold, money from that goes back to the sheriff's office and other agencies. Woodworth Mayor David Butler said his police department recently received equipment bought with proceeds from asset forfeitures.

In addition to the 5.3 pounds of crystal meth, other drugs found at the home included marijuana, 35 Alprazolam pills, 15 oxycodone pills, cash and various drug paraphernalia.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Tips lead to Alexandria man's arrest, seizure of drugs, guns and more
On the night of June 26, 1863, a Confederate Navy raiding party boldly sailed into the harbor at Portland, Maine, aboard a captured fishing schooner. They hijacked the Caleb Cushing, serving in the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service (predecessors of todays Coast Guard). The Cushing was the largest Union warship north of Boston.

When the wind died the following day and they could not outrun pursuing steamboats, the raiders scuttled the cutter before being captured.

This bit of derring-do was organized by young Charles W. Read, who graduated last in his class from the Naval Academy in 1860. A Mississippi native, he joined the Southern cause, and within two years he became known as the "Seawolf of the Confederacy" for his exploits and daring. Clearly, he did better at sea than in a classroom.

Hijacking the revenue cutter capped a three-week run during which he and his small crew captured 22 prizes from the Chesapeake to Maine. They terrorized Union merchant shipping while spreading fear among Northern communities from Virginia to Maine.

A drawing from the July 11, 1863, edition of Harpers Weekly reads, An illustration of the explosion of the revenue cutter Caleb Cushing near Portland.

Lieutenant Reads plan and tactics

While serving aboard the Florida down South, Read proposed a daring scheme to his captain. Next time we capture a fast merchant vessel, let me go aboard with a small crew and convert it into a raider. The Yankees will never suspect until its too late.

Reads plan was simple: wreak havoc among Union shipping, then, when his raider became too recognizable, scuttle it and take over a different ship.

The July 11, 1863, issue of Harpers Weekly explained:

 they captured the bark Clarence on May 6, which was converted into a pirate and Lieutenant Read was put on board.  She burned three vessels, then [on June 12] captured the Tacony to which craft Read transferred his crew and guns and burned the Clarence.

Tacony caused the most destruction, and according to a 1909 report in U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings,  by the 26th of June there were forty-seven armed vessels scouring the seas in every direction for this bold little rover. Even the practice ships from the Naval Academy, with the midshipmen aboard, were sent out.

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Why residents of Northern cities panicked

Most historians consider June 1863 to be the high-water mark of the Confederacy. Gen. Robert E. Lees gray-clad Army of Northern Virginia was invading, marching through Maryland and into Pennsylvania.

With most of their military units already deployed to counter Lees advance, the last thing local officials needed to worry about was a threat from the back door.

On June 22, Read upped his game. He seized the Isaac Webb, westbound from Liverpool to New York. This was no run-of-the mill merchantman; it was a transatlantic passenger ship with more than 700 souls on board.

In exchange for a $40,000 ransom bond, Read allowed the ship to continue its journey.

When the Isaac Webb reached New York, the howls for federal protection increased. Insurance rates were skyrocketing, and some captains declined journeys until the threat was neutralized.

The raid on Portland

The Taconys final prize was the schooner Archer, taken June 25. Read wrote in his journal:

The latest news from Yankeedom  they have a description of Tacony and overhaul every vessel that resembles her. During the night we transferred [to] the schooner Archer. At 2 a.m. we set fire to Tacony.

No Yankee gun boat would ever discover or suspect us; therefore, I think we will dodge our pursuers 

The following night Read sailed Archer right into the Portland harbor.

Portland was a lucrative target, especially since two steamers were moored there. Read planned to seize one as his next raider and shell the city as he left. With a steamboat he could geometrically increase his seizure of sailing vessels and make it even more difficult for the Union Navy to catch him.

He had to modify his plan once he realized he did not have enough time or engineering manpower to fire up the cold boiler of a steamship.

Plan B was to seize the revenue cutter.

An illustration from the July 11, 1863, edition of Harpers Weekly shows the Confederate privateer Tacony burning a merchant vessel and "preparing to make a foray among fishing craft.

Threat to Rhode Island?

Newport Mayor William H. Cranston telegraphed the Navy on June 25,  a rebel pirate, supposed to be the Tacony, destroyed several fishing vessels outside our harbor yesterday. Will you not give us an armed steamer? Our harbor is one of the most important of the coast.

In his diary Read had written, It is my intention to go along the coast  burning the shipping in some exposed harbor and cutting out a steamer.

He could have chosen Newport just as easily.

If Confederate pirates could capture a 100-foot schooner under the nose of Union forts in Maine, they could strike anywhere.

President Lincoln gets involved

Hearing about the Portland raid, Rhode Island Gov. James Y. Smith sent a telegram to President Abraham Lincoln, expressing grave anxiety about the unprotected condition of Narragansett Bay.

There is nothing to prevent a rebel incursion through the West Passage, exposing [Providence] to destruction.  I respectfully request immediate authority to construct, arm and man suitable earth works at the expense of the federal government 

The White House responded the same day, granting permission and funding. (As an aside, can you imagine the bureaucratic process such a request would have to go through today?)

According to the 1864 book "Rhode Island in the Rebellion," a detachment was to be stationed at the Bonnet near the South Ferry on the Narragansett shore, covering the approach to the West Passage.

Lt. Charles W. Read, pictured in 1860 while still in the Union Navy. According to a classmate at the Naval Academy  he racked up a prodigious number of demerits for fighting, profanity, failure to pass room inspection, and other infractions. His lack of discipline and his single-minded self-assurance came close to ending his naval career before it began.

Smith ordered to duty a light battery under Col. Edwin Gallup [Providence Marine Corps of Artillery] and a company detailed from the 1st Regiment of R.I. Militia composed of students in Brown University under Capt. John Tetlow.

Tetlow, still an undergrad, was experienced in the field. He had volunteered for the 10th R.I. Volunteer Infantry, which served for three months in the summer of 1862 defending Washington. Tetlow graduated as the valedictorian of Browns Class of 1864.

Bonnet Shores: More than a beach getaway. Exploring its Revolutionary roots

Who were these Brown University cadets?

When war broke out in 1861, a patriotic fervor swept Brown, and the students created a military organization. They quickly recruited 78 college mates, who added military training to their academic workload. They borrowed weapons from nearby Rhode Island militias, and when it was too cold to drill on campus they used the 1st Light Infantry Armory, at the corner of Weybosset and Dorrance streets.

The students elected their own officers, a common practice in early militias. They soon became recognized for their mastery of drill and basic soldiering skills. In the spring of 1863, the cadets were absorbed into the R.I. Militia, becoming known as Company I, First Regiment, Second Brigade.

All of a sudden, they were in the real Army.

A typical Rhode Island Light Artillery piece in 1863. The limber is the two-wheeled cart supporting the trail of the cannon. The caisson is the second cart designed to carry ammunition, normally the resupply for the ammo box on the limber. From this image, one can see how the logistics of getting six of these from Providence to Bonnet would be complex. Moving them around on a battlefield was another story.

Return to Bonnet Point  the stories come together

This reorganization coincided with the reports of Rebel Pirates operating a few miles off the Rhode Island coast. A Confederate raider was reportedly nearby, with her prow turned toward the peaceful waters of the Narragansett.

Rhode Island's knowledgeable and efficient state archivist, Ken Carlson, dug out an 1863 military file titled Defenses of Narragansett Bay: June 27  July 18, 1863.

These 18 pages of orders and reports offer a fascinating snapshot of this little-known deployment.

The cannons and men (three sections of two guns each) went to South Ferry by tugboats, while the horses took a special train on the Stonington railroad.

Unfortunately, however, this file does not shed much light on the nature of the new battery installation. It is not clear whether Gallups men reused the Revolutionary era earthworks or constructed new ones nearby.

Bonnet Battery Park in Narragansett has the remaining earthworks of a Revolutionary War-era gun battery that helped protect Narragansett Bay from the British. During the Civil War, it held a new battery installation to guard the West Passage against rebel pirates.

They selected a site about 2 miles south of the ferry on the so-called Bonnet, which commands the bay, and at which point any vessel can be reached with the guns under my command.

The ammunition boxes held sufficient ammunition to meet any emergency  solid shot, shell, shrapnel and canister.

On July 15, after the threat had abated, the former cadets were relieved from duty. Their orders included the paragraph: The commandant of the post takes this opportunity to express to the officers and men of Company I his sincere thanks for their gentlemanlike conduct and soldierly bearing during their stay at this camp, signed Edwin Gallup, Lieutenant Colonel, commanding.

They returned to Providence and delivered up their arms and equipment, thus ending their military adventure at the Bonnet.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Confederate piracy: How Bonnet Shores helped protect Narragansett Bay
Photo: Michael M. Santiago (Getty Images)

Rep. Yvette Clarke wasnt exactly surprised when ex-President Donald Trump used an AI voice cloning tool to make Hitler, Elon Musk, and the Devil himself join a Twitter Space to troll Florida governor Ron DeSantis earlier this year. The former president wasnt fooling anyone with the doctored screenshot, but Clarke worries similar political deepfakes will be weaponized to create general mayhem in whats already shaping up to be a maddening 2024 election season. Without proper disclosures, Clarke, who has spent years warning of the danger of unchecked AI systems, says a skilled agent of chaos could even cause voters to stay home on election day, potentially influencing an elections outcome.



There are other folks in different laboratories, tech laboratories if you will, creating the ability to destroy, deceive, disguise, and create general mayhem. Thats some peoples 24-hour job. Congress hasnt been able to keep up with a regulatory framework to protect the American people from this deception, Clarke said in an interview with Gizmodo.

Read more

The New York Democrat believes her recently introduced REAL Political Ads Act could solve part of that problem. The relatively straightforward legislation would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to add language requiring political ads to include a disclosure if they use any AI-generated videos or images. Those updates, Clarke said, are critical to ensure campaign finance laws keep pace with AI and prevent further erosion of trust in government.



My idea is very simple. It doesnt brush up on First Amendment rights. Its simply to disclose, where political ads are concerned, that the advertisement was generated by artificial intelligence. Now, what happens after that remains to be seen. Im not here to stifle innovation or creativity, or ones First Amendment rights, she said. She added that she is not necessarily convinced that Congress will have a serious discussion of the ramifications of AI, but she is hopeful.

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Since Clarke introduced the legislation in early May, Trump, DeSantis, and even the Republican National Committee have all released ads and other political material fueled by generative AI. Though most of the examples so far have come from one end of the political spectrum, Clarke says the issue affects everyone because deepfakes dont have a party affiliation.



Others are taking notice. On the state level, legislators in more than half a dozen states have proposed legislation targeting deepfakes used for everything from political campaigns to child sexual abuse material. On the federal level, the White House recently met with leaders from seven AI companies and secured voluntary agreements from them on external testing and watermarks. Clarke applauded the efforts as a strong first step in ensuring safeguards for society.

None of this is necessarily news to Clarke though. The congresswoman was one of the first lawmakers to propose legislation requiring creators of AI-generated material to include watermarks. That was back in 2019, long before models like OpenAIs ChatGPT and Googles Bard became household names. Four years later, she is hoping her colleagues have taken note and will seize on the opportunity to get ahead of deepfakes and AI-generated content before its too late.

Imagine if we wait for another election cycle. By then there will be some other iteration. It will be AI 2.0 or 2.5 and well be catching up from there, she said.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Deepfakes have been circulating in politics and the public consciousness for some time. Why did you decide this was the right time to introduce the REAL Political Ads Act?

Innovation has taken us to a whole new level with artificial intelligence and its ability to, mimic, to fabricate scenarios, visually and audibly, that pose a real threat to the American people. I really knew that after seeing the RNC [Republican National Conventions] depiction of Joe Biden that it was out there, that the weaponization was here. In that case, they put a small disclosure on their video but I know that there will be others who wont be as conscientious. There will be those who intentionally throw up fabricated content to disrupt, confuse, and create general mayhem during the political season. We kinda got a sense of that during the era of Cambridge Analytica and the 2016 elections so this is the next-gen if you will.

Youve been at the forefront of proposed deepfake legislation for years now, often ahead of most of the other members of Congress. What do you think of the sudden explosion of interest in generative AI and new evolving deepfake capabilities?



It was inevitable. While Im here legislating, there are other folks in different laboratories, tech laboratories if you will, creating the ability to destroy, deceive, disguise, and create general mayhem. Thats some peoples 24-hour job. So Im not surprised, but Congress hasnt been able to keep up with a regulatory framework to protect the American people from this deception. The average person isnt thinking about AI and isnt necessarily going to question something that jumps into their social media feeds or is sent in an email by a relative.

I really feel like Congress has got to step up and at least put a floor to conduct on the internet. Otherwise, we are really dealing with the Wild Wild West. My idea is very simple. It doesnt brush up on First Amendment rights. Its simply to disclose, where political ads are concerned, that the advertisement was generated by artificial intelligence. Now, what happens after that remains to be seen. Im not here to stifle innovation or creativity, or ones First Amendment rights.

Whats the nightmare scenario you see if deepfakes are allowed to influence politics unchecked?

We dont want to be caught flat-footed when an adversary outside of our particular political dynamic, or an international adversary, decides to detonate a deepfake ad and injects it into our political discourse to create hysteria among the American people. Imagine receiving a video on election day that shows flooding in a particular area of the country and it says, todays elections have been canceled so people dont vote. Its not farfetched. I think there are a whole host of nefarious characters out there both domestically and internationally that are looking forward to disrupting this election cycle. This will be the first election cycle where AI generative content is out there to be consumed by the American people.



Were slowly seeing an erosion of trust and integrity in the democratic process, and weve got to do everything we can to undergird and strengthen that integrity. The last few election cycles have sent the American people for a loop. And while some people are determined to hold onto this democracy with all thier might, there are a lot of folks who are becoming disaffected as well.

Deepfake technology has gotten much better in recent years but there also seems to be a stronger appetite for conspiratorial thinking as well. Are these two elements potentially feeding off of each other?

Weve reached a new high or a new low depending on how you look at it of propagandizing our civil society. The problem with deepfakes is that you can create whatever scenario you want to validate whatever theory you have. There doesnt have to be a factual or scientific basis for it. So those who want to believe that theres a child trafficking ring and a pizzeria in Washington D.C. can actually depict that through a deep fake scenario.

I think the abrupt adoption of virtual lives as a result of the pandemic opened us up to much more intrusion into our lives than ever before. Some people dibbled and dabbled with search engines and with social media platforms before but it wasnt really what they did all day. Now, you have folk who never go into an office. Technology firms know more about you now.

What type of political appetite is there amongst your colleague to move forward with AI regulation generally?

Theyre far more conscious of it. I think having the creators of AI systems come out with concerns about how their technology can be used not only for good but also for nefarious interests, has also percolated amongst my colleagues. Im getting lots of feedback from colleagues, primarily younger colleagues and colleagues who are Democrats. Thats not to say there arent those on the other side of the aisle who have taken notes. I just find that the agendas for what we are pursuing in terms of policy are divergent.

Divergent in what ways?

Well, right now my colleagues on the Republican side are doing culture wars and were doing policy. They [the Republican Party] dominate the agenda. We should have a law of the land around data privacy by now. That is the nugget, the algorithm that then creates the AI. Its all built upon the individual data that we are constantly pumping into the technology. Our behavior is being tracked and based on that products are being developed and our own information is used against us.



This year both the Trump and DeSantis presidential campaigns have already published deepfake political material, some more obviously works of parodies than others. What do those examples tell you about the moment?

Were here. At the end of the day my legislation didnt come out of thin air, we knew what the capabilities of the technology were. Now were in the age of AI where the amount of mega data that goes into systems is at your fingertip. I think about all of the emails and social media links that I receive in a day. People will be inundated with political content and Im sure a certain portion of it will be AI-generated.

How confident are you that Congress can make meaningful strides in limiting deepfakes before its too late?

Well, Im going to do everything I can to continue to shine a light on and address this issue through legislation. My proposed legislation is a simple solution and it needs to be bipartisan because deepfakes dont have a party affiliation. It can impact anyone at any time, anywhere. Im not necessarily convinced that well have an opportunity to take it up in this Congress. My hope is that in the next Congress, well have a suite of policies that really addresses our online health.

Im open to any point in time that it gets done, but just imagine if we wait for another election cycle. By then there will be some other iteration. It will be AI 2.0 or 2.5 and well be catching up from there. And its not relegated to one political party or another. As a matter of fact, its not even relegated to just Americans. Any source from anywhere in the world can be, disruptive. The North Koreans can get involved or the Iranians or the Chinese, or the Russians. Were all connected.

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A hospital hallway is shown in this file photo.

A new Montana law will provide sweeping legal protections to health care practitioners who refuse to prescribe marijuana or participate in procedures and treatments such as abortion, medically assisted death, gender-affirming care, or others that run afoul of their ethical, moral, or religious beliefs or principles.

The law, which goes into effect in October, will gut patients ability to take legal action if they believe they didnt receive proper care because of a conscientious objection by a provider or an institution, such as a hospital.

Medical conscience objection laws have existed at the state and federal levels for years, with most protecting providers who refuse to perform an abortion or sterilization procedure. But critics say the new Montana law, and others like it that have passed or been introduced in statehouses across the U.S., goes further, to the point of undermining patient care and threatening the right of people to receive lifesaving and essential care.

I tend to call them medical refusal bills, said Liz Reiner Platt, director of Columbia Law Schools Law, Rights, and Religion Project. Patients are being denied the standard of care, being denied adequate medical care, because objections to certain routine medical practices are being prioritized over patient health.

This year, 21 bills instituting or expanding conscience clauses have been introduced in statehouses, and two have become law, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization that advocates for reproductive rights. Florida lawmakers passed legislation that allows providers and insurers to refuse any health service that violates ethical beliefs. Montanas law goes further, prohibiting the assignment of health workers to provide, facilitate, or refer patients for abortions unless the providers have consented in writing. South Carolina, Ohio, and Arkansas previously passed bills.

Montana law doesn't apply to emergency room care

Supporters of the Montana law, called the Implement Medical Ethics and Diversity Act, say it fills gaps in federal law, empowering more medical professionals to practice medicine based on their conscience in circumstances beyond abortion and sterilization.

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The bill applies to a wide range of practitioners, institutions, and insurers, encompassing just about any type of health care and anyone who could be providing it. The exception is emergency rooms, where the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act takes precedence.

We have technology that is pushing the limits of what is maybe ethical, and that is different in everybodys minds, said Republican state Rep. Amy Regier, who sponsored the Montana bill. Having extra protections for people to practice according to their conscience as we continue down that path of innovation is important.

Claims the bill discriminates against patients frustrate Regier, who said its about protecting health care providers. Because someone has a conscientious objection to a specific service, they should be able to practice that way, she said.

A hospital building is shown in a file photo.

Bills go beyond abortion to include other services

In 1973, federal regulations known as the Church Amendments were implemented after the Supreme Courts Roe v. Wade decision made abortion legal nationwide. Under the Church Amendments, any institution that receives funding from the federal Department of Health and Human Services may not require health care providers to perform abortion or sterilization procedures if doing so would violate their religious or moral principles. Additionally, providers who refuse to perform these services may not be discriminated against for their decision.

Since then, at least 45 states have enacted their own abortion conscience clauses, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Of those, only 17 mandate that patients be notified of the refusal or limit the clauses use in the case of miscarriage or emergency.

A March 2020 article in the American Medical Associations Journal of Ethics said, Clinicians who object to providing care on the basis of conscience have never been more robustly protected than today. Legal remedies for patients who receive inadequate care as a result have shrunk significantly, the article said.

But the wave of medical conscience bills introduced in statehouses since that article was published go beyond abortion to include contraception, sterilization, gender-affirming care, and other services. Opponents such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, and the Human Rights Campaign have been vocal opponents of this trend, criticizing it as a backdoor way to restrict the rights of women, LGBTQ+ community members, and other individuals.

Still, lawmakers across the country insist the right of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other medical providers to practice medicine in alignment with their beliefs is being infringed.

FILE - Surgical instruments and supplies lay on a table during a kidney transplant surgery at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington D.C., Tuesday, June 28, 2016. The Biden administration said Wednesday, March 22, 2023, that it will attempt to break up the network that runs the nations organ transplant system as part of a broader modernization effort. (AP Photo/Molly Riley, File) ORG XMIT: WX108

Some health care practitioners would just be done practicing medicine if forced to perform certain procedures such as abortion, Regier said. That, to me, is what limits patient care.

Many of the most sweeping bills are backed by organizations that have promoted the conscience agenda nationwide, such as the Christian Medical Association, Catholic Medical Association, and National Association of Pro-Life Nurses. Other groups launched a joint effort in 2020 with the explicit purpose of advancing state legislation that makes it easier for health care providers to refuse to perform a wide range of procedures, including abortion and types of gender-affirming care.

The organizations that started the initiative are the Religious Freedom Institute in Washington, D.C.; an Arizona-based nonprofit called the Alliance Defending Freedom; and the Christ Medicus Foundation in Michigan. According to its website, the coalition bolsters efforts to pass more sweeping medical conscience legislation, using methods including print and digital media campaign strategy, grassroots organizing, and advocacy. After successes in Arkansas, Ohio, and South Carolina in 2021 and 2022, it turned to Montana and Florida. Regier said there are a number of different organizations pushing this type of legislation, including the Alliance Defending Freedom.

Some contend laws intended to expand conservatism

Most of these conscience laws are part of an arsenal to further social conservatism, and they are often religiously motivated, said Lori Freedman, a researcher and associate professor at the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health at the University of California-San Francisco.

Although federal law is meant to ensure people receive lifesaving care in an emergency, Freedman said, there are cases in which patients dont receive the care they should, simply because they dont clear the bar of what a facility considers an emergency.

While experts warn of the potential patient health consequences of these medical conscience bills, some academics say placing a providers choice over their patient's rights is itself a threat.

These bills do not protect religious liberty because they make it impossible for people to follow their own religious and moral values in making major decisions, Reiner Platt said.

Pharmacy in Midvale, Utah.

About 1 in 6 patients in the U.S. are treated in Catholic health care facilities, according to Freedman. Many of those venues strictly regulate or prohibit certain procedures, such as abortion, but do not necessarily disclose that to patients. As of 2016, more than 25% of hospital beds in Montana were in such facilities, according to the ACLU. Freedman determined through her research that about one-third of people whose primary hospital was Catholic didnt know of its religious affiliation and therefore were unaware of those limitations on their care.

The problem can extend to secular medical institutions, too. According to the AMA Journal of Ethics article, there are no rules requiring a patient be informed a provider is practicing conscientious objection, which means the patient might unknowingly receive substandard care and even be harmed by the providers refusals.

As much as we like to think about these providers and their opinions, so much is determined at a larger, structural level, Freedman said. Abortion has been stigmatized, marginalized, and constrained, and plenty of hospitals and physician groups have made great efforts to make a very safe service somehow illegal to provide within their context.

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 at KFF  the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Conscience' bills let medical providers opt out of giving health care
John Roca/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

A $30,000 phone bill Rudy Giulianis former consulting firm has ignored for the past two-and-a-half years has ballooned to nearly twice that sizeand the former tough-on-crime federal prosecutors flagship post-mayoral venture is now in default.

A $57,655 judgment was entered Friday in New York State Supreme Court against Giuliani Partners LLC after it failed and refused to pay any of its invoices to Georgia VOIP provider Momentum Telecom over nine months in 2020, plus a one-time early termination fee, totaling $30,396.77.

Momentum later revised that figure upward to $43,950. With interest ($12,831.03), along with costs and disbursements ($873.83), Giuliani Partners owes almost $60,000.

Justice Suzanne J. Adams affirmed the default judgment on July 21. If Momentum still cant collect, Giuliani Partners property can be seized to settle the debt. Giuliani stepped down in 2007 from his eponymous company amid accusations of unethical dealings involving the government of Qatar. However, Giuliani Partners has remained active, receiving payments from entities affiliated with Donald Trumps political campaigns as recently as 2021, according to CNN.

Giuliani, whose fateful decline was put into hyperdrive by his close affiliation with, and buffoonish championing of, Donald Trump, founded the company in 2002 after his two terms as New York City mayor. He obtained special permission from New York City in 2001 to start Giuliani Partners, which focused on security and emergency management, prior to leaving office. It has serviced clients including defunct investment bank Bear Stearns and embattled Oxycontin manufacturer Purdue Pharma.

One of Giulianis initial hires was former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who would later go to federal prison on corruption charges. Keriks replacement was a retired FBI agent once accused of swiping numerous souvenirs from Ground Zero in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. In 2003, Giuliani brought on a close friend named Alan Placa, the former vice-chancellor of the Diocese of Rockville Center, who had resigned that year over allegations of child abuse.

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Giuliani Partners does not have an attorney listed in court records related to the case, and does not appear to have filed a single response to any of Momentums claims. A Giuliani spokesman said he did not immediately have a comment to provide when reached on Monday.

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Decca Muldowney/The Daily Beast

New details emerged in the stabbing death of Cashapp founder Bob Lee at a preliminary hearing for his alleged murderer, Nima Momeni, in San Francisco on Monday.

Witnesses and investigators laid out a gruesome play-by-play of Lees final hours during the hearing, speaking at length about the blood coating the streets following the incident and an argument that may have led to the fatal attack.

Officer Cedric Hood with the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) described responding to the scene of Lees stabbing and finding him unresponsive and bleeding uncontrollably from the chest and the hip.

A SFPD crime scene investigator, Rosalyn Clark, then described finding a trail of blood drops and smears spanning an entire city block, allegedly left by Lee as he desperately sought help after being stabbed in the early hours of April 4.

Clark testified that the suspected murder weapon, a blood-stained four-inch kitchen knife, was found abandoned by police in a fenced-in CalTrans parking lot on the same street.

The prosecutor, Omid Talai, previously said Lees DNA was found on the blade of the knife, while Momenis was found on the handle. Prosecutors allege the knife itself was taken from the apartment of Khazar Elyassnia, Momenis sister.

Momenis sister, and her relationship with Lee, is at the center of the case. Lee and Elyssnia were casually sleeping together, according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal. Elyassnia was the subject of a dispute between Lee and Momeni in the hours preceding the murder, prosecutors have alleged. On April 3, the evening before he was killed, Lee attended a house party with Elyssiana, according to the Journal.

Later that evening, Momeni approached Lee and asked whether his sister was doing drugs or anything inappropriate, according to court records. Lee told Momeni that nothing inappropriate had happened, the records say.

Murder Suspects Lawyer Says CashApp Founders Autopsy Like a Walgreens of Recreational Drugs

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In court, Talai played surveillance footage from April 3, showing Momeni entering Millenium Tower, a luxury high rise building in downtown San Francisco where his sister lives. Four hours later, the footage showed Lee entering the same building. Just after 2 a.m. on April 4, the two men rode down in the elevator together and appeared to get into Momenis white BMW and drive away, according to the footage.

It was only minutes later, according to prosecutors, that Momeni stabbed Lee on a deserted street near the Bay Bridge, then threw the knife away. Footage played in court showed Lee stumbling down Main Street, and finally collapsing.

Following the stabbing, police unlocked Lees phone and found a text message from his sister, in which Elyassnia said, I know nima came wayyyyyy down hard on you And thank you for being such a classy man handling it with class.

Momeni sat in court wearing an orange jumpsuit, flanked by his new legal team. He seemed to take an active role in his defense as the hearing unfolded, scribbling in a yellow legal pad and passing notes to his new attorneys.

Mahnaz Momeni, the mother of Nima Momeni, who is accused of fatally stabbing Bob Lee. Decca Muldowney/The Daily Beast

In May, Momeni parted ways with his previous attorney, Paula Canny, who later cited a conflict of interest. Momeni is now being represented by four attorneys; Saam Zangeneh, Bradford Cohen, Zoe Aron and Tony Brass.

Zangeneh, a Miami-based attorney, describes himself as a legal sicario on social media and, like Momeni, is of Persian descent. Cohen made his name representing rappers like Kodak Black and Lil Wayne, who both received pardons from former President Donald Trump.

In fact, there were so many lawyers in court representing Momeni that an extra table had to be brought in and the judge helped carry in an extra chair. By contrast, the prosecution was represented by a single lawyer, Omid Talai, an assistant district attorney with the San Francisco District Attorney's office.

About a dozen friends and family of Bob Lee, including his ex-wife Krista Lee, his father Rick Lee, and his brother Tim Oliver Lee sat on one side of the courtroom. On the other side, dressed all in white, sat Mahnaz Momeni, the mother of Nima Momeni.

Notably absent from the courtroom was Elyassnia, Momenis sister.

Momenis defense attorneys took aim at the SFPDs investigation, questioning how and why certain pieces of evidence were treated.

Theres areas of concern in this investigation, Zaaganeh told reporters, citing specifically that the handle of the suspected murder weapon was tested for DNA but not for fingerprints.

The defense attorneys were particularly interested in a homeless individual who police located only 40 feet away from where Lee died. Officer Hood, who responded to the scene of Lees murder, said the man had been found lying behind some trash bins.

He didnt give a clear, rational statement on why he was where he was, Hood said.

It was a person who was at the scene, and I dont think enough attention was put with regards to who this person was, Zaaganeh said.

The hearing is expected to continue on Tuesday.

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Temptations Cabaret has filed a federal lawsuit against Tarrant County and its top officials

In a complaint submitted to the Texas Northern District Court on July 14, lawyers for the club claim Tarrant County is violating the patrons First Amendment right to receive the constitutionally protected expression offered by Temptations.

The Tarrant County Sheriffs Office received received 134 calls for service from the club in 2022. Since 2018, four people have been shot and killed at Temptations. Last week, a man who fatally shot two people at Temptations in 2018 was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Those who live near the club, which is across the Fort Worth city limit at 12291 Camp Bowie West Blvd., submitted 33 public comments to the commissioners court during a May 16 meeting asking for the club to be shut down.

The countys sexually oriented business board responded by pulling Temptations sexually oriented business permit in June on the grounds that the club was within 1,000 feet of residences. The board also instituted new rules regarding how long sexually oriented businesses can stay open and what time they need to have their parking lots cleared.

In Texas, some strip clubs operate as BYOB, or bring your own beverage. As a result, they are not subject to the regulations that come with alcohol permitting. Dancers are not allowed to perform topless if the club has a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission permit.

In the lawsuit, lawyers for Temptations also argue the new sexually oriented business rules were targeted toward the club.

Under this content-based regulation, sexually oriented businesses must shut down between 1 a.m. and 10 a.m., the complaint reads. However, fast food restaurants, diners, non-adult nightclubs, drugstores, bars, convenience stores, gas stations, grocery stores, non-adult bookstores and other retail businesses that do not offer constitutionally protected sexually oriented expression are not required to close.

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The complaint reads that the club had also worked to make sure patrons and neighbors to the site were safe.

Despite having the security measures in place and demonstrating its commitment to the safety of its patrons and neighbors, Tarrant County responded with a litany of measures openly and expressly targeted at closing down this business, the court complaint reads.

Lawyers for the club wrote in the complaint they had filed suit to prevent the irreparable harm new regulations may have on the club, its employees, its patrons and its dancers.

The state had previously filed a public nuisance lawsuit against Temptations on behalf of district attorney Phil Sorrells in an attempt to permanently close the club.

Tarrant County filed a motion to dismiss the federal lawsuit Friday, writing in a filing that Temptations was tolerating rampant crime and that the new regulations were designed for crime at all sexually oriented businesses in the county.

Commissioners will discuss the case in closed session during their Tuesday meeting.
Dmytro Kuleba

Ukraine and Croatia have reached an agreement to use Croatian ports for the transit and exports of Ukrainian grain, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a message on the ministrys website on July 31.

We have agreed on the possibility of using Croatian ports on the Danube and the Adriatic Sea for transporting Ukrainian grain, said Kuleba.

Read also: Ukraine, US to work on ensuring grain exports to Africa, Asia, says FM Kuleba

We will now work on figuring out the most efficient routes to these ports and fully utilize this opportunity.

Kuleba added that every contribution to the unblocking of grain exports is a real and effective contribution to global food security. He also thanked Croatia for its constructive assistance.

Read also: African leaders lean on Putin to return to the Black Sea grain deal  report

Kuleba and his Croatian counterpart, Gordan Grlic Radman, also discussed military aid Zagreb could provide Kyiv with, with "specific agreements that will be implemented soon," according to the Ukrainian official.

Read also: Pope Francis condemns Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports grain terminals

The ministers also discussed military aid from Zagreb to Kyiv. Kuleba revealed that there are "specific agreements that will be implemented soon."

On July 17, Russia has left the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI), meaning that grain exports from Odesa and nearby ports could no longer be guaranteed, placing numerous countries across the glove at risk of food shortages and rising prices.

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
Heather Morgan and her husband, Ilya Lichtenstein, are expected to plead guilty to bitcoin laundering. AP Photo/Elizabeth Williams

The "crypto couple" Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan are due for a plea hearing on Thursday.

The couple are expected to plead guilty to orchestrating a $4.5 billion bitcoin-laundering scheme.

They were arrested in 2022 following what the DOJ called its "largest financial seizure."

The husband and wife ensnared in charges related to a $4.5 billion bitcoin-laundering scheme are due in federal court on Thursday for a hearing and expected to plead guilty to orchestrating an elaborate plot to sell bitcoin that was stolen during the 2016 hack of Bitfinex.

Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, an eccentric couple known for walking a leashed Bengal cat in Manhattan and for Morgan's rap performances under the name "Razzlekhan," were arrested in February 2022 following what the Department of Justice said was its "largest financial seizure ever." The second largest occurred later that same year, when the feds seized $3.36 billion worth of bitcoin that had been stolen from a dark-web site years earlier.

Lichtenstein and Morgan, Federal prosecutors have alleged, "employed numerous sophisticated laundering techniques," creating fake identities to set up online accounts, depositing the funds into virtual currency exchanges and dark-web markets, and converting them into other virtual currencies  all to cover their tracks.

Lichtenstein and Morgan are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Together, the charges carry a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.

An attorney for both Lichtenstein and Morgan did not respond to a request for comment ahead of Thursday's plea hearing.

Olivier Douliery/Getty Images

The saga began in August 2016 when the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex was hacked. As Insider previously reported, Lichtenstein and Morgan were not accused of carrying out the hack itself, but as a result of the hack, 119,754 bitcoins were moved into an outside wallet Lichtenstein controlled.

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That bitcoin amounted to $71 million by January 2017, at which point the IRS began tracing thousands of transactions moving through dozens of accounts  eventually landing in Lichtenstein's and Morgan's personal accounts.

At the time, the couple said the bitcoin came from investments that predated 2015, but Lichtenstein kept highly detailed notes about the scheme in cloud storage, which authorities eventually gained access to. Among the documents authorities found was a list of 2,000 virtual currency addresses and their private keys, all of which could be traced back to the hack. Authorities also found a spreadsheet with login information for cryptocurrency-exchange accounts, with notes about which accounts were frozen.

Prosecutors also alleged that Lichtenstein and Morgan had been planning to flee to Russia under new identities.

Authorities found a folder in Lichtenstein's cloud storage labeled "personas" with information on how to use the dark web to obtain fake identities. While executing a search warrant on the couple's home, authorities found hollowed-out books, dozens of electronic devices, a bag labeled "burner phones," $40,000 in cash, and foreign currency.

Since their 2022 arrests, Morgan has been on house arrest on a $3 million bond, and court records said she had a new job as a "growth marketing and business development specialist" at an undisclosed tech company. Lichtenstein, whom prosecutors have described as a flight risk over his Russian citizenship, has remained incarcerated.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Curtis Graves, Civil Rights Activist And Father Of RHOP Star Gizelle Bryant, Has Died At Age 84 | Prince Williams via Getty Images

Civil rights activist Curtis Graves, the father of reality TV star Gizelle Bryant, has died at age 84. Bryant, a star of The Real Housewives of Potomac, announced the somber news on her Instagram page.

Thank you for being the best Dad that a little girl could ever want or need, I will miss you everyday of my life, she captioned a photo of herself with her father and her three daughters.

Bryants daughter Grace went to her Instagram Story to post a photo she took with her grandfather at her high school graduation in June, Bossip reported. The family often raved about the civil rights champion through the years.

My dad was very involved with the Civil Rights movement years ago in Houston, Bryant said during an interview with Bravo in 2020. For my daughters, this is third generation. My dad was working 60 years ago and he worked with Martin Luther King. For me, my second job out of college was working for the national headquarters of the NAACP and now its my daughters.

Graves, who served as a member of the Texas House of Representatives, also worked with NASA for 30 years. The trailblazer first served in NASAs Academic Affairs Division, then worked as the agencys Director for Civil Affairs. After he retired from NASA in 2003, Graves focused on his love of art, working full time in fine art photography. Congress honored Graves in 2015, recognizing him for his distinguished public service career.

On behalf of the people of Marylands Eighth Congressional District, and in anticipation of his seventy-seventh birthday on Aug. 26, 2015, I would like to thank Curtis M. Graves for his lifelong career of public service and for his many contributions to our nation, said Chris Van Hollen, who was Marylands U.S. Senator at the time. I wish him and his family all the best in the years to come.

Many of Bryants fans were introduced to her father when he appeared on The Real Housewives of Potomac. Bryant said she was inspire to work for the NAACP after college because of her father. The reality TV star also made her father proud when she stepped up as a leader during the global protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in 2020.

My kids researched and found this peaceful protest that we attended today. It was organized by teenagers and was 2,000-3,000 strong, Bryant said during a demonstration in 2020 according to Bravo. My girls made our signs and wanted to be the 1st ones there. You have to talk to your children so that they understand because they too want their voices heard.
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP)  A Cyprus court sentenced a British man to two years in prison for killing his wife in their retirement home to spare her the pain from her illness, but prison authorities freed him Monday because of time he already had spent behind bars.

Defense lawyer Nicoletta Charalambidou told The Associated Press that Cyprus Prisons Department authorities tabulated the time 76-year-old David Hunter had spent in custody since the December, 2021, killing and decided to release him immediately.

The court had earlier this month convicted Hunter of manslaughter after accepting testimony that his decision to suffocate his wife Janice was a made on the spur of the moment because he could no longer stand seeing her weeping in pain from a type of blood cancer she feared would develop into full-blown leukemia.

State prosecutor Andreas Hadjikyrou told the AP that the court took into account that Hunter, 76, acted out of love to save his wife. She was suffering from a blood ailment when he closed her mouth and nose with his hands as she sat in a recliner in their Paphos home.

It also took into consideration Hunters advanced age and that he had no previous criminal record.

Justice Abroad, a group that defends Britons facing legal troubles in foreign countries, welcomed word of Hunter's early release.

This has been a tragic case and difficult for all of those involved with it, but todays decision was the right one and allows David and his family to grieve together, said Michael Polak from Justice Abroad.

Hunter had faced a charge of premeditated murder, but the court found in its July 21 ruling that the prosecution didnt prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was premeditation in his actions.

The court had accepted witness testimony that Janice feared her blood ailment would develop into full-blown leukemia and had repeatedly pleaded with her husband to take her life because she didnt want to share the fate of her sister, who died of the disease.

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Hunter attempted to take his own life by consuming a large amount of pills after suffocating his wife, but medical staff saved his life.

The court cited expert testimony that Janice Hunter suffered from myelodysplastic syndrome, a type of blood cancer which to a large degree  as much as 45%  could turn into leukemia, although there was no proof that she had indeed developed the disease because no definitive tests were conducted.

But the court said both husband and wife believed that Janice would develop it because of her sisters fate.

David Hunters earlier assurances to Janice that he would help her fulfill her wish to end her life and not suffer anymore didnt indicate any premeditation, the court said.

Hadjikyrou said defense lawyers had rejected a plea deal in December 2022 for the defendant to plead guilty to manslaughter because they insisted the facts of the case include an agreement Hunter and his wife allegedly made for him to take her life. He said the court didnt accept that such an agreement had indeed been made.

Charalambidou said it was the Cypriot attorney-general who scrapped the plea deal because he wouldn't accept as fact that Janice had repeatedly asked her husband to take her life.

Hadjikyrou said the Cyprus attorney-general has 10 days to decide whether to appeal the sentence.
A Massachusetts district attorney has joined a growing list of officials calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis program relocating recently-arrived migrants from the Texas border to Democratic strongholds  including the 49 people sent to Marthas Vineyard last September.

In a letter sent Monday, Cape and Islands District Attorney Rob Galibois called on U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate allegations that the migrants were deceived into making the trips from Texas to California and Massachusetts by a team of recruiters hired by the state of Florida.

DeSantis and his administration planned, initiated, funded with taxpayer monies, and executed this enterprise, Galibois wrote. My office posits that, due to the interstate transportation of these migrants, this alleged scheme remains available for federal prosecution.

Galibois call echoed a letter sent last month by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Javier Salazar, a sheriff in Bexar County, Texas, where the Marthas Vineyard migrants were recruited.

READ MORE: Sadistic lie. Venezuelans flown to Marthas Vineyard search for a way off the island

Neither the Department of Justice nor DeSantis office immediately responded to the Heralds request for comment. In the past, DeSantis has said the program was intended to call attention to the border crisis and protect Florida from an influx of migrants coming in through the U.S. southern border with Mexico

Last month, DeSantis visited Texas, where he was briefed on the activities of Florida law enforcement officers who were sent to help secure the border.

Of the individuals our law enforcement have apprehended at the border, more than 70% said they ultimately wanted to go to Florida, DeSantis said during a press conference.

DeSantis so-called migrant relocation program, which was recently expanded, has cost taxpayers at least $1.5 million since it launched last year. The state has not provided a full breakdown on how money was spent.

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Last September, 49 asylum seekers landed unexpectedly in Marthas Vineyard saying they had been recruited for the flights with false promises of jobs, housing, education and other government support. All of the migrants  most of whom were from Venezuela  were certified victims of a crime by the Bexar County sheriff, who recently recommended criminal charges against those involved in their recruitment. The Bexar County district attorney is now considering the case.

Bonta launched a similar investigation in California in June after dozens more migrants were recruited by the Florida program and sent unexpectedly to Sacramento.

Galibois  who took office in January and was not the district attorney at the time of the Marthas Vineyard flights  announced his own investigation into the operation on Friday saying in a statement that it was his obligation to to investigate any potentially criminal activity that occurs within my jurisdiction.

In his letter to the Department of Justice, Galibois asked for assistance in his investigation by helping his office obtain certified transcripts of the migrants testimony, most of which was given in Spanish.

Migrants, their faces obscured, outside the plane that ferried them from Texas to Marthas Vineyard, Massachusetts. Florida taxpayers paid for the charter.

The migrants attorney, Rachel Self, said most have remained in New England where are they are receiving support, including access to online banking and other necessary services.

Once housing and pro bono attorneys were coordinated they got settled in. But its a long journey, Self said.

Self commended the Massachusetts community for helping people in need but said her clients still face many challenges. The biggest, she said: They are still waiting for work authorization.

If the government would issue people work authorization on arrival, a lot of these service-provider issues would go away, she said.
Photo by Raphael Wild on Unsplash

Manifesting prostitution law rejected. The Dallas County Criminal Court of Appeals has struck down a law against "manifesting the purpose of engaging in prostitution." The law "is seeking a shortcut that trespasses on the constitutional rights of Dallas citizens," wrote Judge Kristin Wade in her decision. The statute was "overbroad," she argued, because "it punishes constitutionally protected conduct as well as illegal activity."

The Dallas law is separate from Texas' main prohibition of prostitution. The latter prohibits engaging in, offering to engage, or agreeing to engage in sex acts for a fee. The former prohibits looking like you might be about to do so.

Under the Dallas law, it was a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 to loiter "in a public place in a manner and under circumstances manifesting the purpose of inducing, enticing, soliciting, or procuring another to commit an act of prostitution."

Laws like thesesometimes called "manifesting" for the purpose of prostitution, sometimes "loitering" for prostitution purposesare common in cities and states around the country. But there's been a growing movement against these laws, which make it easy for police to hassle and arrest people without cause.

In 2021, New York state repealed its loitering for prostitution statute. California did the same in 2022.

Such laws basically let police arrest people that look to cops like they're sex workersa situation that has led some opponents to label them "walking while trans" laws, given how likely they are to be used against transgender people. Police may also use them to arrest people who have previous prostitution convictions, or anyone whom they think is dressed too provocatively or lingering on the street too long. The criteria for arrest depends much more on what cops think is going on than what's actually going on.

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This can lead to their use against people who aren't engaged in prostitution at all. Or it may lead to police arresting sex workers who, yes, sometimes engage in prostitution, but without having to actually prove that they're doing so at the time of arrest.

In other words, it lets police circumvent due process.

The Dallas statute specifically stated that "among the circumstances which may be considered" a violation is "that such person is a known prostitute or panderer."

Other circumstances include "repeatedly beckon[ing] to, stop[ping] or attempt[ing] to stop, or engag[ing] passers-by in conversation, orto stop motor vehicle operators by hailing, waving of arms, or any other bodily gesture."

The case that led to the law being struck down involved the arrest of Iqbal Jivani, who "was in a known prostitution area and stopped to engage passers-by in conversation," per a police complaint. Jivani's lawyer argued that the arrest violated Jivani's Fourth Amendment rights.

"Municipal Court Judge Jay Robinson found that the charge did not violate the Fourth Amendment, but said the ordinance was unconstitutionally vague and overbroad," reports The Dallas Morning News. "The Dallas city attorney's office appealed, and Wade affirmed Robinson's ruling."

"Everything about this ordinance is highly dependent on the mindset of an arresting officer," wrote Judge Wade. Under the right circumstances, she noted, a woman in a high-crime area could be arrested for trying "to summon a cab if a police officer is watching."

FREE MINDS

Court upholds right to call neighbor a "red-headed bitch." A new decision from an Ohio appellate court is "good news for the First Amendment, and apparently bad news for redheads," writes Jack Greiner of The Cincinnati Enquirer:

The court overturned a disorderly conduct conviction stemming from a Marysville man calling his neighbor a "red-headed bitch" in a dispute over access to a driveway. In the court's view, the circumstances did not amount to fighting words. [Dan Foley] stated he was on his property and [Cody] Gibson was on his own property when Gibson called him a "redheaded bitch." Foley testified that Gibson did not approach him, and he estimated that Gibson was 4050 yards away at the time of the incident. Finally, Foley confirmed he did not say anything to Gibson in reply, and he stated he did not try to fight Gibson or "cuss him out." Gibson essentially admitted to the facts elicited in Foley's testimony. At the conclusion of the evidence, the trial court found the state had "proven beyond a reasonable doubt that there was a likelihood that using that language between neighbors would result in a violent response." Accordingly, the trial court found Gibson guilty of disorderly conduct as charged in the complaint, fined him $58, and ordered him to pay court costs. Gibson appealed and found a friendlier audience in the higher court. The question for the appellate court was whether the use of profanity without more constituted "fighting words" that would survive a First Amendment challenge.

FREE MARKETS

Another example of "bipartisanship is just another word for terrible ideas." Last week, Sens. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) and Elizabeth Warren (DMass.) announced a bipartisan attempt to launch a Digital Consumer Protection Commission (DCPC), which would have "the power to sue, write rules and even shut down internet platforms," as Joe Lonsdale, managing partner at 8VC, writes in The Wall Street Journal.

"I've spent my life building technology companiesnot in Big Tech, but taking on Big Tech through entrepreneurship and innovation," Lonsdale writes. "I invest in and engage in partnerships with hundreds of other entrepreneurs to build technology for America. The DCPC is a terrible idea." He adds that the agency "would be a disaster for tens of thousands of small and medium-size technology businessesthe beating heart of our innovation ecosystem."

Reason's Liz Wolfe wrote about the Warren-Graham plan last week, noting that the senators complain a lot about tech companies but fail to make much of a point:

"Google uses its search engine to give preference to its own products, like Google Hotels and Google Flights, giving it an unfair leg up on competitors," they continue. "Amazon sucks up information from small businesses that offer products for sale on its platform, then uses that information to run its own competing businesses." "Apple forces entrepreneurs (and thereby consumers) to pay crushing commissions to use its App Store," even. But they fail to argue for how consumers are made worse off by these purportedly destructive tactics. Google Flights makes travel planning far easier than the days before search. No person is prevented from going directly to an individual airline's website to book their flight if they prefer. Amazon has increasingly started developing Basics, its generic brand of commonly purchased household goods (just as Target has Target Brand products on offer); if someone needs a phone charger, they can get it more cheaply and quickly than ever before. As for Apple, of course other app developers must pay to place their products in the company's digital storefront; how nice that customers have access to products made by developers other than those at Apple!

QUICK HITS

Today's big admissions study offers a new answer to the Q: How much does getting into a Ivy-style college actually matter? A: Attending fancy college instead of state flagship has ~no effect on *avg* income but greatly increases chance of getting rich or joining "elite" firm pic.twitter.com/SVDHBxucRs  Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) July 24, 2023

 Say goodbye to permissionless travel.

 Yesterday a vehicle crashed into a group of six migrants outside a North Carolina Walmart. Police are calling it an "intentional assault."

 "Evangelical military vets are using 'counterterror' internet surveillance techniques to help police get search warrants against sex workers," reports The Intercept.

 Studies keep finding that social media algorithms don't increase polarization. Why is the press so skeptical?

 "Trump's PAC, Save America, has reportedly paid over $40 million in legal fees so far in 2023; more than the campaign raised during the second quarter of the year," reports Axios.

 The New York Times profiles Techdirt founder Mike Masnick.

 Reason's Nick Gillespie talked with author Jean Twenge and me about generational differences.

 Protectionist laws will not save local news, writes the Reason Foundation's Max Gulker.

The post Dallas Law Against 'Manifesting' Prostitution Declared Unconstitutional appeared first on Reason.com.
The Lunar Prospector spacecraft, seen here in an artist's rendering released by NASA, ploughed into a crater in the south pole of the moon in an attempt to stir up lunar soil in search of water. File Image courtesy of NASA

July 31 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1498, on his third voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Trinidad.

In 1556 Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order of Roman Catholic missionaries and educators, died in Rome.

In 1792, director David Rittenhouse laid the cornerstone in Philadelphia for the U.S. Mint, the first building of the federal government.

In 1964, Ranger 7, an unmanned U.S. lunar probe, took the first close-up images of the moon.

The now-demolished Philadelphia Mint in 1908. On July 31, 1792, director David Rittenhouse laid the cornerstone in Philadelphia for the U.S. Mint, the first building of the federal government. UPI File Photo

In 1974, Watergate figure John Ehrlichman was sentenced to prison for his role in the break-in at the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist. He was in prison 18 months. Ellsberg was the Pentagon consultant who leaked the "Pentagon Papers," documents about the war in Vietnam.

In 1991, the U.S. Senate overturned a 43-year-old law and voted to allow women to fly military warplanes in combat. The House had already approved similar legislation.

This is the first image of the moon from a U.S. spacecraft which was taken by Ranger 7 on July 31, 1964, about 17 minutes before impact. The large crater at center right is Alphonsus. File Photo courtesy NASA

File Photo by Staff Sgt. Marleah Robertson/U.S. Air Force

In 1992, a Thai Airways International jetliner carrying 113 people crashed as it tried to fly out of bad weather that prevented it from landing in Kathmandu, Nepal. There were no survivors.

In 1999, NASA intentionally crashes the Lunar Prospector spacecraft into the moon with the hopes of discovering evidence of water. Researchers said it didn't reveal any such signs.

In 2011, with default by the U.S. government just days away and after months of frustrating debate, U.S. President Barack Obama and congressional leaders announced an agreement that would raise the debt ceiling by up to $2.4 trillion in two stages, enough to keep borrowing into 2013.

UPI File Photo

In 2014, officials reported the number of people killed in a 3-week-old Israeli-Hamas Gaza conflict had risen to 1,360 Palestinians and 59 Israelis, including 56 soldiers.

In 2021, American Katie Ledecky became the first swimmer to win the Olympics gold medal three consecutive times in the 800-meter freestyle at the Tokyo Games.

In 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that the United States had killed the top al-Qaida leader in a drone strike in Afghanistan. Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took over after Osama bin Laden's death, was believed to be one of the central planners behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States.
AMMAN (Reuters) - Hundreds of residents of a main Palestinian camp in Lebanon fled on Monday as fighting between mainstream faction Fatah and radical Islamists raged for a third day, residents and security sources said.

The fighting wrecked a ceasefire agreed on Sunday between rival Palestinian groups that included representatives of pro-Iranian Hezbollah group and its ally Shi'ite Amal movement that hold sway in southern Lebanon.

At least 11 people have been kllled and 40 wounded in the clashes that broke out in Ain el-Hilweh camp, near the southern coastal city of Sidon, over the weekend, security and Palestinian sources said.

On Monday, the warring groups fired rocket-propelled grenades at each other in the crowded alleys of the camp. Both sides blamed the other for the breach in the ceasefire.

Palestinian sources say the latest round of fighting on Saturday was triggered by a security clamp-down by Fatah, the main faction in the camp against hardline Islamists who have a foothold there.

A death of a militant led to attacks on Fatah outposts.

Fighting intensified on Sunday after a Fatah commander was killed in an ambush set up by militants and where three of his companions later died from wounds in what seen as a reprisal for the Islamist militant's death the day before.

More than 2,000 people were forced to flee, seeking safety, said Dorothee Klaus, head of UNRWA, the U.N.agency responsible for the welfare of Palestinian refugees, which runs basic services in the camp with over 50,000 inhabitants.

It had opened schools to accommodate displaced families, Klaus said.

Shrapnel injured several Lebanese soldiers outside the walled camp were the army control access for people in checkpoints outside.

Some 400,000 refugees live in Lebanons 12 Palestinian camps, which date back to the 1948 war between Israel and its Arab neighbors. The camps mainly lie outside the jurisdiction of Lebanese security services.

(Writing by Suleiman Al-Khalidi, Additonal reporting by Nidal Al Mughrabi in Gaza and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
A family fight turned deadly when a man was stabbed by his brother early Monday morning, the Lexington Police Department said.

At about 3:20 a.m., officers responded to reports of a disturbance in the Victorian Lakes neighborhood at 4801 Sunset Boulevard, police said in a news release. Thats Phase I of the Victorian Lakes Motor Home Park, about 2 miles from Exit 61 on Interstate 20.

When they arrived, officers found the body of a man who had been killed lying in the driveway of a residence, according to the release.

The Lexington County Coroners Office has not publicly identified the victim.

Officers learned that several family members had been involved in a physical fight, and the victim was fatally stabbed by his brother, police said.

No other injuries were reported.

The brother remained at the scene and was taken to the Lexington Police Department for questioning, according to the release. No arrests have been reported by police.

Lexington police are investigating a death.

Officers are working to determine what led up to and what happened during the fight, according to the release.

Police said they believe multiple witnesses were at the scene during the fight and left after the stabbing. Police are looking for those witnesses, and anyone who was at the scene, or has information is asked to call police at 803-359-6260 or 803-358-7262, CrimeStoppers at 888-CRIME-SC or submit an online tip.

Along with police and the coroner, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating the death.

As the investigation continues, traffic will be affected as police said the road near the crime scene will be closed for several hours. Drivers are asked to avoid the area.
A house in Kryvyi Rih after a Russian missile strike

The number of victims of a Russian ballistic missile strike on a high-rise apartment building in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, has now risen to five.

One child is among the dead, the head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration Serhiy Lysak said in a post on his channel on Telegram.

"Five dead, including a child. Its already known there are 64 people injured. Among them are two boys and three girls, aged from four to 17 years old," Lysak wrote.

The oblast governor added that most of the wounded were being treated at home, but that more than 20 are in hospital.

Read also: Kryviy Rih missile attack death toll rises to four, including 10-year-old child

The owners of local Telegram channels reported from the scene earlier that rescuers had retrieved the body of another person from the rubble of the partially collapsed, nine-story apartment building.

The head of the multiple trauma department at Kryvorizka City Clinical Hospital No. 2, Yuriy Pashkov, said that 20 wounded people had admitted to the hospital  13 men and seven women. Of them, three patients are in serious condition, and 14 are in a moderate condition.

Several people are in intensive care, doctors say. As a result of the attack, people received shrapnel wounds, bruises to soft tissues, multiple blunt traumas, and fractures of the lower limbs.

Russian forces launched a missile attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih on the morning of July 31. They hit a high-rise building and an educational institution. The Ministry of Internal Affairs said all necessary services are working at the scenes of the Russian missile strikes.

Read also: 7 wounded, 1 in intensive care after Odesa Oblast drone attack

What is known about the number of dead and wounded

As of 4.36 p.m., five people are known to have been killed in the July 31 Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih. Among the dead is a 10-year-old girl, who was killed together with her mother when her apartment on the eighth floor of the house was demolished by the Russian missile strike.

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The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ihor Klymenko, said that Russia attacked the city with two missiles. One hit a four-story building of an educational institution (technical school of the Polytechnic Institute). He said there are probably people there still trapped under the rubble.

The second missile destroyed the corner section of a nine-story apartment building, from the 4th to the 9th floors, and started a fire. There may still be people trapped under the rubble. Rescue operations are ongoing.

Dmytro Lubinets/Telegram

Kryvyi Rih: photos and video of the consequences the Russian missile strike

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy showed a video of the consequences of the Russian strikes on Kryvyi Rih.

"In recent days, the enemy has been stubbornly hitting cities, city centers, the president wrote in a message posted on social media. Attacking civilian objects and housing. But this terror will not frighten us or break us. We are working, and saving our people.

Serhii Lysak / Telegram

Serhii Lysak / Telegram

Serhii Lysak / Telegram

Serhii Lysak / Telegram

Serhii Lysak / Telegram

How did the Russians strike?

Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said on Ukrainian national television later on July 31 that according to preliminary data, the Russians most likely attacked Kryvyi Rih with ballistic missiles.

"You know how dangerous ballistic weapons are, how quickly they can arrive and how destructive they are, Ihnat said.

We have to wait until the remains of the missiles are found at the scene, and then we can finally say what it was."

Dmytro Lubinets/Telegram

Earlier, the local authorities of Kryvyi Rih announced there had been explosions in the city. Before that, the Ukrainian Air Force warned that there was a threat of a Russian ballistic missile attack, in particular on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
MIAMI  The third and newest co-defendant in former President Donald Trumps classified documents case was unable to be fully arraigned Monday after failing to secure local counsel.

Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira only heard the charges against him and received pre-trial orders, including turning over his expired passport, after his Washington, D.C.-based attorney John Irving told the court that his client couldnt find an attorney authorized to practice in the South Florida district, and requested an extension.

Magistrate judge Edwin Torres granted the extension to August 10, and the arraignment will take place at the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Fla. Judge Shaniek Mills Maynard is expected to be the magistrate judge on duty that day, Torres said.

Torres initially asked De Oliveira to secure a Florida-based attorney by Thursday but Irving said he had a personal conflict and next week would be better.

Torres had De Oliveira step up to the lectern. The defendant was somber but, when asked, said he understood the charges against him. He wont be asked to enter a plea until his next court appearance in Fort Pierce. De Oliveira was released on bond.

Prosecutor Jay Bratt asked the court to impose the same pre-trial conditions Trump faced, which bar him from discussing the case with others. Bratt told the judge he already provided the list of witnesses to the defense.

The Department of Justice accused De Oliveira, 56, of trying to delete security footage investigators sought when they were working to uncover evidence regarding Trumps alleged hoarding of classified materials. The DOJ on Thursday charged De Oliveira with conspiracy to obstruct justice, lying to the FBI and destroying evidence. De Oliveira was charged as part of a superseding indictment that also accuses Trump of asking a staffer to delete security video footage to obstruct federal investigators.

In addition, Trump also faces new charges that include possessing and sharing a highly classified war plan.

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Trumps trial is tentatively set for May 20, 2024  a date at which the Republican nomination for president is likely to be already decided. The former president is the clear frontrunner in the race, though he faces dozens of counts against him in an indictment brought by the Justice Department's special counsel, Jack Smith.

Justice Department prosecutors allege Trump withheld classified records from the government after leaving office and attempted to obstruct their return. Hes now facing 32 counts of willfully retaining national defense information under the Espionage Act and another eight counts connected to alleged obstruction of justice.

De Oliveira, a Portuguese immigrant, worked at Mar-a-Lago for more than a decade after starting out as a maintenance worker and then becoming a valet, according to numerous news reports and the indictment. He was promoted to the role of property manager in January 2022.

DOJ alleges in its indictment that De Oliveira told an IT employee that the boss wanted security video footage deleted after investigators subpoenaed it.

Torres is the same magistrate judge who oversaw the arraignment of Walt Nauta, Trumps personal aide who is also a co-defendant in the case. Federal prosecutors allege that Nauta helped pack Trump's boxes of documents before he left the White House and repeatedly moved them around Mar-a-Lago at the ex-president's request.

The trial will be overseen by Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee whose court is about two hours north of Miami, in Fort Pierce.

Cannon has played a part in the case before. Legal experts were baffled last year when she approved Trumps request for a special master  a type of impartial outside arbiter  to sift through and filter out documents the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago. An appeals court overturned the ruling.

Both Trump and Nauta have pleaded not guilty in the case.
Heavy fighting continues on the Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka fronts, but the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to liberate another 14.6 square kilometres over the past week.

Source: Hanna Maliar, Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine, on Telegram

Quote from Maliar: "The enemy continues to focus its main efforts on the Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka fronts, and heavy fighting continues.

More than 170 engagements took place between Ukrainian and enemy troops on these fronts over the past week."

Details: Maliar said that the Russians tried to conduct assaults and look for weaknesses in the Ukrainian defence on the Kupiansk front. In particular, they were actively advancing in the areas south of Novoselivske. The Russians wanted to push Ukrainian units beyond the Oskil River barrier but were unsuccessful. Maliar emphasised that the Defence Forces are holding back the Russian troops.

On the Lyman front, the Russians tried to push Ukrainian troops out of Serebrianka Forest, but to no avail.

On the Bakhmut front, the Russian invaders tried their best to stop the Ukrainian offensive for a week, but the defenders gradually advanced and liberated 2 square kilometres over the course of the week.

In total, as Maliar stated, the area liberated on the Bakhmut front is 37 square kilometres.

On the Avdiivka and Marinka fronts, the occupiers tried to advance to establish full control over Marinka and encircle Avdiivka, but were unsuccessful.

In the south, the Ukrainian Defence Forces continue to advance on the Melitopol and Berdiansk fronts. Maliar stressed that the defenders were successful in the areas of Mala Tokmachka and Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and Ukrainian troops are consolidating their positions.

The defenders liberated 12.6 square kilometres over the week. In total, Ukraine's defenders have already recaptured 204.7 square kilometres in the south. Mine clearance activities are currently underway in these areas.

Background: On 27 July, it was reported that the Ukrainian Defence Forces had liberated the village of Staromaiorske in Donetsk Oblast.



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A Columbus mans fate was in the hands of a jury Monday after attorneys made their closing arguments in the murder trial of Jordan Jamal Seldon, accused of killing rapper Jaylin Jaquan Bart Williams during a failed robbery in midtown.

Seldon, 24, faces life in prison if convicted of fatally shooting Williams on his front porch on Wallace Drive four years ago, on Aug. 1, 2019. Police say Seldon and two other men intended to rob the 21-year-old of any valuables he had on him as he stepped outside the house.

Their attempt to ambush Williams backfired when Williams pulled his own gun and started shooting, triggering a gunfight that prompted his would-be robbers to flee, leaving Williams dying on his porch, shot through the heart with a 9-millimeter bullet, authorities said.

Afterward Seldon and accomplice Christian Desean Patrick ran back to Patricks car on East Lindsey Drive and fled, according to Patricks testimony last week. They abandoned cohort Gerald Wayne Reed III, who left his phone in Seldons car and lost his shoes running away, so he began walking the neighborhood, after 11 p.m. on a rainy night, asking residents if he could use their phone, police said.

The neighbors called 911, and officers questioned Reed that night before releasing him at the Fairview Drive home of then-girlfriend Anna Elizabeth Stecenko, who drove him back to Wallace Drive to collect a gun and camouflage jacket he had hidden in a vacant house there, she testified.

Stecenko and Reed disassembled the .45-caliber Glock and hid it in Harris County, where investigators later recovered the firearm. They also found Williams 9-millimeter pistol that jammed during the shootout.

But the 9-millimeter used to shoot Williams was never found, and Patricks testimony that Seldon was armed with the weapon was crucial to the prosecutions case.

So, prosecutor Lewis Lamb agreed to dismiss Patricks charges in exchange for his testimony, though Patrick admitted his role in the foiled robbery that led to Williams death.

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Though Reeds statements to police led to their unraveling the robbery scheme and arresting four suspects, including Reed and Stecenko, Lamb never called Reed to testify, relying instead on Patrick and Stecenko to tell jurors what happened.

Defense blasts testimony

Defense attorney Mike Garner emphasized that in his closing, telling jurors that the law said they could not convict his client solely on the uncorroborated testimony of a co-defendant, and that Patrick and Stecenko were not credible witnesses.

Defense attorney Mike Garner makes his closing argument Monday morning. 07/31/2023

The testimony of an accomplice alone is not sufficient to warrant a conviction, the attorney said.

Then he asked the jurors about the prosecutors case. Do they have an independent witness in this case? No, not a single witness.

He said Stecenko repeatedly lied to police before.

She has lied from beginning to end in this case. If jurors thought it a reasonable possibility that Stecenko lied on the witness stand, then they had enough reasonable doubt to find Seldon not guilty, he said.

Garner maintained that Seldon was not there when the shooting happened, and that another man police have not charged killed Williams.

Reed and Stecenko are not on trial because each pleaded guilty to lesser charges last year, agreeing to testify in the trial if summoned:

Stecenko, 24, pleaded guilty only to tampering with evidence, and faces 10 years in prison with six to serve.

Reed, 25, pleaded to aggravated assault and using a gun to commit a felony. He faces up to 25 years in prison.

They are to be sentenced after the trial. Patrick, who has spent four years in jail awaiting trial, is to be freed afterward, said his attorney, Angela Dillon.

Lamb is the district attorney in Americus, Georgia, who was assigned the case because Columbus District Attorney Stacey Jackson in his former private practice represented Patrick, presenting a conflict of interest.
A mother and daughter who were allegedly sexually assaulted during a flight claim Delta Air Lines not only did nothing to stop their attacker, but actively enabled him by over-serving him drinks.

The victims, a mother and her teenage daughter, have sued Delta for gross negligence, according to Fox Business. The complaint was filed in the Eastern District of New York and seeks compensation for the victims.

The lawsuit claims that attendants on a flight between JFK Airport and Athens Greece  a nine-hour flight  "blatantly ignored" the victims' pleas for assistance and continued to serve an allegedly already drunk and belligerent man seated next to them.

Over the course of the trip, the man was reportedly served 10 vodka drinks and a glass of wine, according to court documents viewed by Fox Business.

"The intoxicated Delta passenger appeared to be getting drunker and drunker as the Delta flight attendants continued serving him alcohol," the lawsuit claims.

The litigation claims that the man's aggression increased alongside his intoxication, manifesting in him allegedly inappropriately touching and verbally harassing the women during the flight.

The man, allegedly from Connecticut, reportedly made "obscene gestures" at the victims, and demanded personal identifying information from the daughter. The girl's mother stepped in to tell the man she was a minor, to which he allegedly yelled that he did not care and then tried to grab the mother's arm.

The victims reportedly told the flight attendants that the man was making them feel unsafe and asked that they move him and stop serving him alcohol. The attendants reportedly told the women to "be patient."

An attendant did eventually address their complaints, and told the alleged drunk to "stop talking" to the victims. That resulted in the man becoming angry and allegedly yelling out that the victims were "f****** b*****."

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The lawsuit also claims that the incident caused the teen girl to experience a panic attack. She put her head in her mother's lap for comfort, after which the man allegedly reached under her shirt and touched her bra clasp. The girl fled her seat. Once she was gone, the man allegedly touched the mother's leg, running his hand up her thigh, until she too fled her seat.

After the alleged sexual assault, the mother said she again pleaded with the flight attendants to change their seats, but they were again told there was nothing that could be done.

A man on the flight stepped up and offered to switch seats with the teen girl. He sat between the drunk man and the mother for the remainder of the flight, according to the lawsuit.

Once the plane landed, Delta reportedly allowed the man to leave the plane without notifying the local police or US authorities about what happened. Instead, they offered the mother and daughter 5,000 airline miles as recompense.

What happened to them during a flight was not just a nightmare, it was completely preventable, Evan Brustein, the victims' lawyer, told the New York Post.

Delta offered a statement to Fox Business regarding the lawsuit.

Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and our people, the company said.

The Independent has reached out to Delta Air Lines for comment.
TikTok content creator Ally Shapiro shares how Delta Air Lines taped her window open during an eight hour flight (screengrab/AllyShaps)

A Delta passenger has shared her experience of being asked to tape up her window with a safety card during an eight-hour flight from France to New York after her window shade didnt work.

Ally Shapiro, a content creator, posted about her experience  sharing video from the plane showing that there was no window shade in her window on the flight.

Were on an eight-hour flight from Nimes to New York, and this is my window, she said in the video, gesturing to an unfinished porthole window that had no shade. No window shade nothing, for eight hours, and its like a $4,000 ticket on Delta so thank you Delta.

In a follow-up post, that was viewed more than 1.4 million times, Ms Shapiro shared that she had to take matters into her own hands and create her own window shade  with Delta flight attendants giving her tape and safety books so that she could put together a makeshift blind.

When you pay for an extremely expensive international flight thats 8 hours long you would think a window shade would be included... they offered me tape and safety books (ironically) so I could tape it myself, she wrote alongside a TikTok video in which she filmed herself taping a makeshift window shade.

I used to be a very loyal Delta customer, but this was just insane. They made us remove it before landing because management would be upset... shouldnt they be upset for having a broken window and not letting us switch seats? she added.

Her post garnered more than 66,000 likes and over 500 comments  with many people asking whether the airline had offered to refund her or move her seat (she confirmed that neither of these options was on offer).

Delta did not immediately respond to The Independents request for comment.
(Bloomberg) -- Denmark will explore possible legal grounds to block public burnings of the Koran as the Nordic country tries to defuse escalating tensions with Muslim nations.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The Danish government wants to intervene in situations where other countries, cultures, and religions are being insulted, and where this could have significant negative consequences for Denmark, the foreign ministry said in a statement late Sunday. Desecration of holy texts could also have major security implications, it said.

Koran burnings in Denmark and neighboring Sweden have sparked protests in Iraq and in the Middle East, a throwback to 2005 when a Danish newspaper published 12 drawings of the Prophet Muhammad, which set off a diplomatic crisis. Back then, Denmarks government said the cartoons were protected by freedom of speech and said it couldnt intervene.

The new move would be made within the framework of the constitutionally protected freedom of expression, the ministry said in the statement, without providing details.

Jens Elo Rytter, professor of constitutional law at the University of Copenhagen, said in an interview with broadcaster TV2 it will be difficult for the government to implement a general ban against burnings of the Koran within the current legal framework, after a broad majority in parliament in 2017 scrapped the countrys blasphemy law.

Denmarks move comes ahead of a meeting between 57 governments of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation later on Monday, held in response to the burnings of the Koran in Denmark and Sweden. Several Danish opposition party leaders have condemned the proposal, saying it is a betrayal of freedom of speech and giving in to violent actions.

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Neighboring Sweden last week warned of a deteriorating security situation after disinformation campaigns fueled hatred across the Muslim world. Since January this year, burnings of the Koran in the country have also impeded its process to become a member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Sweden abolished blasphemy laws in 1970 and recent attempts by police to block public desecration of holy scriptures have been struck down by administrative courts ruling that freedom of speech must be prioritized, barring any immediate safety threat. The government has said it is reviewing laws on public order in the wake of recent events, and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Sunday discussed the issue with Denmarks premier, Mette Frederiksen.

Sweden and Denmark are two of the worlds most well-functioning democracies, standing up for the freedom of speech and assembly, Kristersson said in a Facebook post. Individual countries may not choose the exact same path going forward but we share the analysis that this is a dangerous situation and that measures are needed to strengthen our resilience.

The burnings in Denmark have been carried out by small groups of people from far-right movements. A resident from Iran has also set fire to the bible and the Torah outside of Israels embassy in Copenhagen in a retaliation protest.

These actions play into the hands of extremists, the foreign ministry said in the Sunday statement. They sow division at a time when we need to stand together, and they benefit the countries that want to drive a wedge between the West and the Global South.

(Updates with comments from legal expert in 5th paragraph, Swedish government from 8th)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
By Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Johan Ahlander

COPENHAGEN/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -More Koran burnings took place in Sweden and Denmark on Monday as the governments of the two Nordic countries said they were examining ways to legally limit such acts in a bid to de-escalate growing tensions with several Muslim countries.

Denmark and Sweden have seen several protests in recent weeks in which copies of the Koran were burned, or otherwise damaged, prompting outrage in Muslim countries and demands that the Nordic governments put a stop to the burnings.

The Danish government said on Sunday it would seek to find a "legal tool" that could enable authorities to intervene in such protests, if deemed to entail "significant negative consequences for Denmark, not least with regard to security".

"The fact that we are signalling both in Denmark and abroad that we are working on it will hopefully help de-escalate the problems we are facing," Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told journalists following a meeting with foreign policy speakers of parliament on Monday.

"It is not because we feel pressured to do so, but it is our political analysis that it is in the best interest of all of us," Rasmussen said. "We shouldn't just sit and wait for this to explode."

Even so, Koran burnings took place in both countries on Monday. In Stockholm, an Iraqi refugee behind several protests in recent weeks appeared to burn a copy of the Koran outside the Swedish parliament. In Denmark, anti-Muslim protesters burned the Koran outside the Saudi Arabian embassy in Copenhagen.

The Nordic countries have deplored the burnings of the Koran but cannot prevent it under constitutional laws protecting freedom of speech.

However, both governments have now said they are considering legal changes that would allow authorities to prevent further burnings in special situations.

The Swedish government said this month it is examining a similar solution, but right-wing parties in both countries have denounced the initiatives, with some saying freedom of speech cannot be compromised.

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Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said on Monday that he had sent letters to all 57 countries in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to explain Sweden's right to assembly and condemned Islamophobic acts.

OIC foreign ministers convened in an extraordinary session on Monday to discuss the recent developments where it strongly condemned the Koran burnings.

It also said in a statement after the meeting ended that it called upon member states to take appropriate action, whether political or economic, in countries where the Koran is being desecrated.

After the meeting, Billstrom and his Danish counterpart Rasmussen separately wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that they would continue their dialogue with the OIC.

Billstrom also wrote in his post that Sweden would study the resolutions and recommendations made by the OIC carefully.

(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard in Copenhagen and Johan Ahlander in Stockholm, additional reporting by Moaz Abd-Alaziz, Adam Makary, Marie Mannes; editing by David Evans and Bill Berkrot)
RYE, N.H.  Ron DeSantis campaign reset doesnt appear to include more directly taking on Donald Trump.

After two days in which Trump roasted DeSantis and his lagging poll numbers from stages in Iowa and Pennsylvania, the Florida governor kicked off his campaign reboot in New Hampshire by trotting out well-worn rebuttals of the former presidents rhetoric.

If you're up by so much, you would not be worried about anybody else, DeSantis told reporters after a campaign stop here on Sunday. So the fact that I'm taking the incoming from all of these people, not just him, but a lot of the other candidates, a lot of media  that shows people know that I'm a threat.

Trump warned Iowa Republicans not to take a chance on DeSantis at the partys Lincoln Day dinner in Des Moines on Friday, and mocked him with nicknames like Ron DeSanctus. He continued to disparage DeSantis at a campaign rally in Pennsylvanias Erie County on Saturday.

But DeSantis is declining to respond with similar ferocity. He didnt mention Trump by name at the Iowa Republicans gathering on Friday. And he tread familiar ground in New Hampshire on Sunday, telling a crowd in Rye that Trump didnt follow through on promises about draining the swamp, building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and eliminating the national debt.



I deliver on my promises, DeSantis said, adding, in another common refrain: If you elect me, you get two terms, not just one term.

Later, asked by a POLITICO reporter how he plans to go after Trump, the far-ahead frontrunner in the GOP primary, DeSantis gave much the same answer.

When he hits me with the juvenile insults, I think that helps me. I don't think voters like that, DeSantis said. I actually don't mind it at all. I think it's just a reminder why there's so many millions of voters who will never vote for him going forward.

DeSantis is expected to start drawing sharper policy distinctions with Trump, beginning with the economic plans hes slated to start rolling out on Monday in New Hampshire, an adviser told POLITICO last week.

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The Florida governors cautious approach to Trump comes as his campaign undergoes an otherwise significant recalibration, cutting costs and shedding more than a third of his staff as he remains stalled in polls and wealthy donors start looking at other candidates. DeSantis continues to sit in second place in polls of likely GOP primary voters in New Hampshire, where he is in the midst of a multi-day campaign swing.

Meanwhile, lower-tier candidates have begun taking more direct aim at Trump, as the GOP presidential field continues to grapple with how to approach the polling frontrunner, who still commands the support of a sizable portion of the partys base.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, one of the partys most outspoken critics of Trump, has qualified for the first debate, next month. But former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas was booed at the Republican dinner in Iowa for saying Trump is running for president for a third time to stay out of prison.
The DeSantis campaign labeled Susan B. Anthony List, a conservative anti-abortion organization, as a D.C. interest group after the organization blasted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for his stance on abortion.

He does not kowtow to D.C. interest groups, Bryan Griffin, press secretary for DeSantis, said in a statement. This unjustified attack on him is another example of the D.C. political games that have seen conservatives falter in Washington while Governor DeSantis has produced unmatched conservative victories in Florida.

The president of the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America group said that DeSantis should be the National Defender of Life in a statement Monday.

A pro-life president has a duty to protect the lives of all Americans, Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement.

Gov. DeSantiss dismissal of this task is unacceptable to prolife voters. A consensus is already formed. Intensity for it is palpable and measurable, Dannenfelser continued.

DeSantis, a GOP presidential candidate, signed a six-week abortion ban for Florida in April, a change from Floridas prior ban on abortions after 15 weeks. Since then, he has dodged questions on whether he would sign a six-week federal ban on abortion if elected to the White House.

Im going to be a leader with the bully pulpit to help local communities and states advance the cause of life, but I really believe right now in our society, its really a bottom-up movement and thats where weve had most success, DeSantis said in an interview with Megyn Kelly on Friday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
In todays newsletter: Mar-a-Lago's property manager is expected to make his first court appearance today after his indictment in the Trump classified docs case. Pro-coup protesters waving Russian flags attacked the French embassy in Niger. And when to spot August's spectacular supermoons.

Heres what to know today.

Protesters attack French embassy in Niger, our team was in the capital as it unfolded

Thousands of protesters supporting a coup in Niger took to the streets and attacked the French embassy as West African governments warned of possible military action to restore democratic rule.

Protesters, some waving Russian flags, filled the streets in the capital, some running, others riding motorcycles, and many packed into vehicles. They blocked cars at traffic circles, backing up traffic on side streets.

This is Morning Rundown, a weekday newsletter to start your morning. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.

As the demonstrations unfolded in Niger, West African nations held an emergency summit in Nigeria and announced sweeping sanctions on Niger unless President Mohammed Bazoum was released from detention and returned to power.

An NBC News team reported from Niamey, Niger as it unfolded. NBC News is the only American television news organization with reporters on the ground in the capital.

Further down: When to catch a glimpse of the two supermoons in August.

Newly indicted Trump employee doesnt have a Florida lawyer ahead of his first court appearance

Carlos De Oliveria, who was charged in a new indictment alongside former President Donald Trump, has not secured a Florida-based lawyer ahead of his first court appearance today.

Prosecutors charge that the Mar-a-Lago property manager attempted to delete surveillance footage at the former presidents Palm Beach club after the Justice Department sought to obtain it. But without a lawyer who can practice in Florida, the judge may not proceed with De Oliveiras arraignment.

Story continues

What does Ron DeSantis have riding on the debates? Maybe everything.

Many are looking at Aug. 23, the night of the first Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee, as the event that could re-establish Ron DeSantis as a strong alternative to Trump  or, if things go poorly, deliver a death blow to an already ailing campaign.

DeSantis campaign has taken a beating since his official launch in May. His performance has not met the early hype and high expectations that he was the best GOP contender to beat Trump.

Todays Talker

Supermoons to serve up a double treat for stargazers

as a rare blue moon is expected in August. The first supermoon will be seen Tuesday evening as it rises from the southeast, appearing slightly bigger and brighter than normal. At the end of the month, the second supermoon will be even closer. We wont see two supermoons in one month again until 2037, according to Italian astronomer Gianluca Masi.

Politics in Brief

GOP congressman condemned: A freshman Republican lawmaker received bipartisan condemnation after he allegedly yelled at a group of high- school-age Senate pages for defiling the Capitol on Wednesday. New details shared with NBC News paint an even more disturbing picture of what took place that night.

The White House: Joe Bidens campaign co-chair, Sen. Chris Coons, said on NBCs Meet the Press that it may be worth looking at a congressional code of ethics for presidential family members.

Trumps defamation lawsuit: A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Trump filed against CNN in which he claimed that references in news articles or by the networks hosts to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election as the Big Lie was tantamount to comparing him to Adolf Hitler.

Staff Pick: One doctors tie to Ukraine

Connor Berlin's ancestors fled Ukraine over 100 years ago after an antisemetic pogrom. Today, he is using his vacation time to return to the country and use his skills as a brain surgeon to help the war effort. Despite an overbearing workload and having to treat ''haunting'' injuries with outmoded tools, he says the work of his local team and the sacrifice of the soldiers he treats is an inspiration. He hopes his tale of return after his family's tragedy will inspire others to do the same. - Elizabeth Both, associate platforms editor

In Case You Missed It

Idaho mother Lori Vallow faces up to life in prisonas she is sentenced in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a bizarre case.

A federal lawsuit was filed against Delta accusing flight attendants of failing to intervene after a male passenger was served at least 10 alcoholic drinks and then groped a mother and her 16-year-old daughter.

Pakistans government has vowed to hunt down those behind a massive suicide bombing that targeted a rally of a pro-Taliban cleric yesterday.

A 6-year-old girl died in Arizona in a boating accident after her mother accidentally struck her with a boat propeller.

The operator of an Ohio animal rescue organization face felony allegations after authorities said they discovered 30 dead dogs and 90 more malnourished dogs.

Madonna said she feels lucky to be alive after she was hospitalized for a bacterial infection that forced her to postpone an international tour.

A Georgia resident has died from a rare brain-eating amoeba after they were likely infected while swimming in a freshwater lake or pond.

Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

Looking to beat the heat while enjoying the sand and the surf? A quality beach umbrella is essential. To help you navigate the many choices out there and determine the best beach umbrella for your needs, Select spoke to experts about the different types available and what to consider when shopping for one.

Sign up to The Selection newsletter for exclusive reviews and shopping content from NBC Select.

Thanks for reading todays Morning Rundown. Todays newsletter was curated for you by Elizabeth Both. If youre a fan, please send a link to your family and friends. They can sign-up here.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
The nations leading anti-abortion group on Monday called Gov. Ron DeSantis failure to support federal abortion restrictions unacceptable  a blow for the Florida Republican, who has passed one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America was responding to DeSantis recent interview with conservative commentator Megyn Kelly, in which the governor said abortion policy would be best decided by the states.

Ive been a pro-life governor, said DeSantis, who signed into law a controversial six-week ban on the procedure in Florida. Ill be a pro-life president and Ill come down on the side of life.

DeSantis told Kelly he would be a leader with the bully pulpit to help local communities and states advance the cause of life, but that he lacked confidence that Congress would do anything meaningful on the issue.

I really believe now in our society its really a bottom-up movement, and thats where weve had most success.  Iowa, South Carolina, Florida  and I think youre going to continue to see a lot of good battles there.

In response, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, criticized the governor, saying that calling for abortion restrictions despite obstacles in Congress is where presidential leadership matters most.

Gov. DeSantiss dismissal of this task is unacceptable to pro-life voters, Dannenfelser said. A consensus is already formed. Intensity for it is palpable and measurable. There are many pressing legislative issues for which Congress does not have the votes at the moment, but that is not a reason for a strong leader to back away from the fight.

SBA Pro-Lifes condemnation of DeSantis federal abortion policy comes as his campaign is leaning more aggressively on courting the evangelical vote in Iowa in an attempt to close the increasingly wide gap between him and Donald Trump. SBA Pro-Life has been critical of the former president as well as other candidates in the race  including former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley  for failing to adopt the 15-week standard the group has called for 2024 Republican candidates to embrace.

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While SBA has vowed to oppose any candidate who doesnt embrace that 15-week standard, the group hasnt yet taken any public steps to do so besides issuing statements condemning candidates remarks.



Bryan Griffin, press secretary for DeSantis campaign, in a statement to POLITICO touted his record in Florida, saying the governor delivers results and acts, especially when it comes to protecting life.

He does not kowtow to DC interest groups, Griffin said. This unjustified attack on him is another example of the DC political games that have seen conservatives falter in Washington while Governor DeSantis has produced unmatched conservative victories in Florida."

When DeSantis formally announced his presidential bid in May, SBA sang his praises. Dannenfelser heralded the governor for transforming the Sunshine State from a late-term abortion haven to one of the best states in the nation for unborn children and mothers.

Despite Trumps appointments of conservative Supreme Court justices that paved the way for the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year, the former president has since kept a distance from the anti-abortion movement  touting his work in the past but suggesting the issue is for states to decide.

Dannenfelser in April called Trumps position a morally indefensible position for a self-proclaimed pro-life presidential candidate to hold. A few weeks later, however, Trump attended a meeting with Dannenfelser, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, after which she called the meeting terrific.

A person with knowledge of the meeting previously told POLITICO Dannenfelser and others involved in the movement were holding out hope that Trump would eventually embrace their 15-week standard  though he has still failed to do so.

And after Haley repeatedly declined this spring to get behind a specific federal policy proposal to restrict abortions, she too got dinged by SBA. After holding an abortion policy speech at the groups Arlington headquarters in April  one where she also declined to embrace the 15-week standard they expected  Haley, in an interview on CBS Face the Nation in May, said most federal limits were not realistic, given gridlock in Congress. Dannenfelser responded at the time, calling Haleys answer not acceptable.

Former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), meanwhile, have each said they would sign a 15-week national abortion ban into law, though Scott initially waffled on how far he would go as president if presented with a federal abortion law.


(Bloomberg) -- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called Monday for ending Chinas preferred trade status and suggested he might replace Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as part of an economic agenda aimed at reviving his flagging presidential campaign.

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In a speech outlining his economic plan, DeSantis also promised to boost economic growth and make permanent full expensing, a part of the tax code which tries to encourage companies to invest in the US. He said he wants to increase domestic energy production and expand disclosures by banks.

We have to restore the economic sovereignty of this country and take back control of our economy from China. The abusive relationship, the asymmetric relationship between our two countries, must come to an end, DeSantis said before a crowd of over 100 people at a warehouse in early-voting New Hampshire.

DeSantiss economic agenda is a mix of traditional Republican economic orthodoxy like lower taxes and less regulation, with populist themes of being tougher on China and easing Americans student loan debts. He has said he wants to boost US growth to 3% each year. DeSantis aims to expand his message beyond touting his accomplishments in Florida and speak to a broader audience.

The Florida governor is seeking to reboot his campaign at the insistence of donors worried about a cash crunch and sliding poll numbers. Contributors have urged DeSantis to pivot to topics such as President Joe Bidens handling of the economy and away from the culture-war issues that allowed him to build a national profile but have failed to help him chip away at Donald Trumps growing lead in the GOP primary.

A New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday highlights the challenge for DeSantis: 54% of likely GOP voters backed Trump, compared to 17% for DeSantis. Trumps 37 percentage-point lead over DeSantis, who has consistently placed a distant second, is the largest in the survey so far.

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Still in a speech focused on the economy, DeSantis repeatedly highlighted his Florida record and appeared most animated discussing his fights over cultural issues. He hailed the US Supreme Courts ruling ending affirmative action in college admissions, Florida reopening schools during the Covid-19 pandemic, and efforts to restrict the states pensions from considering environmental, social and governance investment strategies.

Read more: Trump Widens Lead Over Flagging DeSantis Among Likely GOP Voters

But that approach may have limits as DeSantis looks to close the gap with Trump. The New York Times poll found 38% of potential Republican primary voters would support a candidate who promises to fight corporations that promote woke left ideology, while 52% said they would back a candidates who says government should stay out of deciding what corporations can support.

A centerpiece of DeSantiss economic agenda is a harsher stance toward China, including banning goods made with stolen intellectual property, imposing restrictions on US companies sharing critical technologies and barring the sale of assets such as farm land to Chinese Communist Party members or affiliates, according to a copy of the proposal.

The elite sold a bill of goods when it came to China, said DeSantis.

They said if you granted China special trading status and put them in the World Trade Organization, that China would become more democratic, he added. China has become more authoritarian, more powerful and more ambitious.

Ahead of his remarks, DeSantiss rivals, including former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, expanded their own plans for countering the worlds secondlargest economy.

Central Bank

DeSantis also vowed to appoint a Federal Reserve chair who will focus on maintaining a stable dollar instead of the political pressures of the day, implying he would replace Powell, whose term isnt up until May 2026.

The Fed needs to have a limited role in this country. Its not accountable to the electorate, DeSantis said. I will appoint a chairman of the Federal Reserve who understands that.

The governor said he would work make permanent tax cuts passed during Trumps tenure. DeSantis also pledged to undo all of Bidens executive orders as well as his efforts to push Americans to buy more electric vehicles.

Bidens job-crippling and ideological regulations and executive orders will be reversed by me on day one, he said.

The agenda also proposes boosting apprenticeship programs and making universities responsible for the loans their students accrue while allowing Americans to discharge student loans through bankruptcy  an effort to draw a contrast with Bidens push to cancel student debt. Bidens proposal, which would have provided relief for more than 40 million people were tossed by the Supreme Court earlier this year.

In recent weeks, DeSantis has fired more than one-third of his campaign staff, curbed travel to focus on fund raisers and early voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire and increased his interactions with the national press after months of his staff ridiculing and shunning reporters.

Democrats were quick to cast DeSantiss agenda as extreme.

Floridians are begging him to address the catastrophic economic failures hes left them, including some of the fastest-rising housing costs in the country, skyrocketing property insurance rates, and exorbitant health care costs. At the same time, DeSantis has lined the pockets of Floridas wealthiest and biggest corporations with tax giveaways, said Ammar Moussa, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee.

(Updates with additional details on speech, polling in paragraphs 7-8)

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Ron DeSantis (left) and Donald Trump (right). Scott Olson, Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

A member of DeSantis' team called out Trump on Twitter for spending over $40 million on legal fees.

The Washington Post reported that Trump's PAC has spent more on legal fees than any other expense.

Trump is currently battling criminal indictments and civil lawsuits.

Florida Governor and 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has found a new line of attack against Donald Trump: his $40 million in legal fees.

Donald Trump's PAC has spent $40.2 million this year to fund the former president's extensive legal battles and those of his advisors, people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post. That's the PAC's greatest expense during the 2024 presidential campaign, The Post reported.

In response to The Post's report, Andrew Romeo, a spokesperson for the DeSantis campaign, tweeted, "Trump has spent over $60 million on 2 things: falsely attacking DeSantis and paying his own legal fees, not a cent on defeating Biden. DeSantis' sole focus, by contrast, has been campaigning for this country's future, defeating Biden, and reversing the decline of America."

A member of DeSantis' campaign declined to comment further. Members of Trump's campaign team did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Trump's legal battles have been piling up  earlier this year, he was indicted on charges related to a $130,000 payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels, and in June he was indicted on charges connected to his handling of classified documents.

He's also being investigated in Georgia on allegations that he tried to interfere with the 2020 election results, and in Washington, DC, in connection with the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis addresses attendees during a campaign event in Rochester, N.H., on July 31, 2023. AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Ron DeSantis has sought to paint himself as a protector of middle-class values in the 2024 race.

He has touted his family's blue-collar background and spoken of the culture shock he faced at Yale.

But Trump retains a huge 65% to 9% edge over DeSantis among GOP voters making under $50,000, per a new Times/Siena College poll.

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida wants you to think of him as an everyman.

He may have graduated from both Yale University and Harvard Law School, but before attending those elite institutions, he grew up in working-class family in Dunedin, Florida, where in high school he worked for as an electrician's assistant. He wants middle-class Republicans to think of him as their champion, emphasizing his push to reopen public schools and small businesses early in the pandemic.

But a new New York Times/Siena College poll illustrates DeSantis' daunting challenge in making inroads among working-class Republicans, as former President Donald Trump leads the governor among likely GOP voters making less than $50,000 by a 65% to 9% margin  a whopping 56-point advantage for the former president.

Even among GOP voters making over $100,000, which had previously been a brighter spot for DeSantis, he trailed Trump, albeit by a narrower 23 points (46%-23%).

Overall, Trump retains a sizable edge in the GOP primary, with 54% selecting the former president as their top choice, followed by DeSantis at 17%. Former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, and former Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina are each sitting at 3% support among likely primary voters, with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Gov. Chris Christie both at 2% support among likely voters.

So while DeSantis has struggled to cut into Trump's working-class support, he has also struggled to counter the former president in the GOP race as whole, despite most in the party believing that his entry into the presidential field would shake up the race and even potentially dislodge Trump from his longtime frontrunner status.

But as the Times/Siena College poll shows, Trump still appears to retain a majority of support despite numerous challengers in the race, and he holds sizable advantages in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, the key early-voting states that will almost surely determine which candidate will have the momentum needed to capture the GOP nomination.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a new economic plan Monday as part of his 2024 presidential bid that includes a goal of easing the path for student loans to be discharged through bankruptcy.

DeSantis declaration of economic independence includes 10 pillars that he says will reverse the decline of our nations struggling economy and fight for the middle class.

One of the pillars includes reforming the education system to make universities, not taxpayers, responsible for the loans their students accrue and to allow those loans to be discharged through bankruptcy like any other loan.

It is currently possible to get student loans discharged through bankruptcy, according to the Department of Education's website, but the process has proven to be difficult. Under current department guidelines, student loan borrowers must, in addition to filing for bankruptcy, demonstrate to a bankruptcy court why repaying their student loan would cause "undue hardship."

"I have sympathy for some of these students because I think they were sold a bill of goods. I think these universities knew that they could take all this federal loan money," DeSantis said Monday at a campaign event in New Hampshire. "So we need to do things to make it better for our students to be able to have pathways for success, but it starts with holding these universities accountable."

President Joe Biden has made sweeping efforts to forgive some student loan debt for borrowers, though the Supreme Court struck down his proposed program last month. Millions of borrowers are set to resume student loan payments this fall after a hiatus that has been in effect since 2020.

DeSantis' plans come as the governor is under fire for new teaching standards that require middle schoolers to be instructed that slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit. Many Black Republican lawmakers, such as Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), have taken issue with the new standards.

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The economic plan is the third major policy announcement DeSantis has made since launching his campaign  following his plan to secure the border and a plan for a mission first military  and comes as he continues to lag in polls. In a new New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday, former President Donald Trump held a 37-percentage point lead over DeSantis in the GOP presidential field.

The same morning as DeSantis' unveiling event in New Hampshire, the state's governor, Chris Sununu, told conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt that DeSantis "shouldn't worry about policy stuff."

You are the leader, you are the winner, youre the person that is going to inspire the rest of the party to get bigger and more excited, said Sununu, who recently announced he will not run for reelection in the Granite State. So its really about, kind of, a little bit of that charisma and leadership that theyve got to show to folks one-on-one.

DeSantis said Monday that he rolled out his economic plan to declare "economic independence from the failed elites and policies that have harmed this nation's middle class."

"We are not cogs in a global economic empire," DeSantis said, adding: "The goal of our Declaration of Independence is simple. We the American people win, they lose."
This is how the City of Detroit's ill-considered three-year prosecution of the leaders of the 2020 George Floyd protests is going:

Tristan Taylor and Nakia Wallace, co-founders of the activist group Detroit Will Breathe, pleaded no contest to the low-level misdemeanor of loitering, receiving delayed sentences. A no contest plea settles a case without an admission of guilt, and the delayed sentences mean that by spring, the charges will be dismissed.

A judge dismissed misdemeanor charges this spring against two more Detroit Will Breathe protesters, Bryan Silverstein and Lloyd Simpson, ruling that after 33 months, the city had violated the activists' right to a speedy trial. The city appealed the dismissals, an extremely unusual course of action  in 2021, 6,345 non-traffic misdemeanors were dismissed by judges in Detroit's 36th District Court, according to state records; in all of Wayne County, just 61 misdemeanor dismissals were appealed that year.

This resource-strapped city has dedicated significant resources to a thus-far fruitless effort to win convictions against these activists.

Why?

Detroit officials have declined repeated requests to explain the city's legal strategy, but the disposition of Taylor's and Wallace's cases  and its determination to reinstate the charges against Silverstein and Simpson  offers one interpretation. As part of the plea deals, a city attorney explained in a hearing earlier this month, Wallace (and Taylor, a month before) agreed not to sue the city.

Detroit Police officers make arrests during the fifth day of protests against police brutality on Tuesday, June 2, 2020.

Again, that is. In 2021, Detroit Will Breathe won a judgment against the city of Detroit in a civil lawsuit over brutal tactics used by police during the 2020 protests.

Regardless of the city's motives, it is time to stop.

Two city task forces?

After George Floyd was murdered in May 2020 by Minneapolis police, Wallace, Taylor and others formed Detroit Will Breathe, leading more than 100 consecutive nights of largely peaceful protests.

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The tactics police employed to break up the protests underscored the case for reform: Video from the protests showed cops lobbing canisters of tear gas and blasting activists, sometimes already handcuffed, with pepper spray, aggressively taking down protesters and making seemingly indiscriminate mass arrests. Police body camera footage shows officers excitedly discussing the harsh treatment they had administered.

Hundreds of activists were charged that summer, mostly with misdemeanors like violating curfew or disorderly conduct. But by February 2021, charges against almost all of the activists, barring Taylor, had been dismissed by judges or at the city's request, largely for lack of evidence.

That should have been the end of it.

Nakia Wallace, 24, of Detroit , cofounder of Detroit Will Breathe, holds a press conference in front of the Shelby Twp Courts with other DWB members demanding felony charges be dropped or dismissed against Black Lives Matter protestors and that Shelby Twp Police Chief Robert Shelide resign or removed after posting OracistO tweets on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021.

Months before, the city had begun to review video footage from the protests, looking for grounds for new charges.

A different city task force, working at the same time, reviewed the same footage of the same protests, seeking evidence for the city's defense in Detroit Will Breathe's civil suit.

But these were two separate operations, testified Lawrence Garcia this spring. The head of Detroit's law department in 2020 suggested that it was simply a coincidence that the first task force turned up supposedly incriminating footage only of Detroit Will Breathe leaders or plaintiffs in the civil suit, while the second task force seems not to have provided material to refute the plaintiffs' civil claims.

When the last charges against activists had been dismissed, the city sent out a news release. Few took notice when the law department refiled charges against Wallace, Simpson and Silverstein two months later.

Before accepting the plea deal, Wallace's attorney had argued in court that the city's continued prosecution of her client was vindictive, that Wallace was being targeted because she led the protests and was a plaintiff in the successful civil suit. The plea deal preempted a judge's ruling on that contention.

More: Detroit's old Chinatown building demolished despite calls to consider preservation

More: Where is Jimmy Hoffa? A look at searches in Michigan

It's worth noting that without the threat of prosecution, neither Silverstein nor Simpson has an incentive to release the city from legal liability.

"When the city's decision to appeal Mr. Simpson's case is viewed in conjunction with the extremely low rate of misdemeanor appeals as well as the city's decision to otherwise make plea offers contingent on defendants willingness to waive their right to sue the city or individual officers, the city's goal appears to be shielding itself from liability, said Simpson's attorney, Allison Kriger of LaRene and Kriger PLC.

"Essentially, it suggests there is conflict of interest here. In prosecuting these cases, they can't focus on the traditional prosecutorial role, which is to make sure justice is done.

Why plead?

Taylor became active in the 2020 protests because he didn't have faith in the criminal justice system. The last three years haven't changed that.

"There's something really troubling about police being able to use force to police those protesting to criticize them," he told me earlier this month.

Pleading guilty was not an option, Taylor said: "We didnt want the city to be able to set a precedent for legal repercussions for people who are standing up against the police. Even our deal was ensuring we didnt have to plead guilty. We didnt want the city to set that precedent, and we are concerned that they did attempt to do that."

But he was willing to plead no contest.

None of the four activists the city has so intently pursued had prior criminal records. Pleading guilty to even a misdemeanor is life-changing, limiting a person's ability to find work or housing.

"We dont think, quite frankly, that real justice can be had through the courts or through capitalism," Taylor said. "Sure, the city paid us (after it lost the civil suit), but every single police officer that committed brutality against protesters still has their job. Thats why we settled. The fight against the police, for real justice, is going to happen on the streets, not in the courts."

Absolving the city of civil liability for how it managed these prosecutions  well, Taylor said it's about what he'd expect.

"That, to me, speaks volumes about what the plea deal was about, and why the city was so aggressive in going after Nakia and myself and other protesters," he said.

'The city should be embarrassed'

Nancy A. Parker of the Detroit Justice Center, a member organization of the Detroit Coordinated Defense, who represented Wallace, says she's pleased the case has finally been resolved. But, she said, it shouldn't have come to this.

"This was purely vindictive on the part of the city, and a complete waste of resources: Money, time, labor, every staff person who was dragged into this because the city refused to concede a battle it had already lost is a poor reflection on the city," Parker said. "The city should be embarrassed. After a federal judgment that lambasted them for all the constitutional violations it inflicted on non-violent protesters, you go to these lengths to prove what point?"

That's part of what rankles, said Matthew Dupree, who is representing Silverstein. Dupree has served as house counsel  a public defender in 36th District Court for eight years.

"I tried an armed robbery case Wednesday in which the Detroit Police Department had not taken fingerprints at the crime scene, despite being at the crime scene," Dupree said. "The DPD does not have the resources to do basic investigation on a gun crime  armed robbery  but it has the resources to pursue these cases for three years? ... Of all of the things they could be focusing those resources on, its this?"

The sound of silence

The city can't say how much it is spending on these prosecutions  a spokesman says the Law Department doesn't track costs that way  but I can spitball it for you: Too much.

"These young people are part of an organization where folks were not only demanding accountability, but good use of resources. We're dealing with an eviction problem here, people need houses, people need jobs, people need services," Parker said. "Instead of attending to those real problems, the city had no qualms wasting hard-earned taxpayer money on these frivolous charges."

Thousands of metro Detroiters protested that summer. More sat on the sidelines, some outright hostile to the activists' cause, some reluctant to endorse the movement's most uncompromising positions.

It doesn't matter.

Whether you believe that police ought to be reformed or defunded or abolished or left intact, the constitutionally protected right to demand government redress of grievances is at the heart of what it means to be an American.

Detroit's persistent silence about the protests it attempted to quell, and the activists it continues to pursue, speaks volumes.

Nancy Kaffer is the editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press. Contact: nkaffer@freepress.com. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters. Become a subscriber at Freep.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Opinion: Detroit never going to admit it is wrong on protest charges
FIRST ON FOX: House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said Devon Archer confirmed in his appearance Monday that President Biden "lied to the American people when he said he had no knowledge about his sons business dealings and was not involved."

Comers comments come after Archer, a former business associate and longtime friend of Hunter Biden, sat for hours before the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door hearing Monday.

DEVON ARCHER: HUNTER BIDEN, BURISMA EXECS CALLED DC TO GET UKRAINIAN PROSECUTOR FIRED

Archer said that Hunter put his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, on speakerphone while meeting with business partners at least 20 times. Archer described how Joe Biden was put on the phone to sell "the brand."

"Joe Biden was the brand that his son sold around the world to enrich the Biden family," Comer said. "When Joe Biden was Vice President of the United States, he joined Hunter Bidens dinners with his foreign business associates in person or by speakerphone over 20 times."

"When Burismas owner was facing pressure from the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the company for corruption, Archer testified that Burisma executives asked Hunter to call D.C. after a Burisma board meeting in Dubai," Comer continued.

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"Why did Joe Biden lie to the American people about his familys business dealings and his involvement?" He asked. "It begs the question what else he is hiding from the American people."

EXCLUSIVE: JOE BIDEN ALLEGEDLY PAID $5M BY BURISMA EXECUTIVE AS PART OF A BRIBERY SCHEME, ACCORDING TO FBI DOCUMENT

Comer said the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability "will continue to follow the Bidens money trail and interview witnesses to determine whether foreign actors targeted the Bidens, President Biden is compromised and corrupt, and our national security is threatened."

Archer's attorney, Matthew L. Schwartz, the managing partner of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, released a statement Monday following his client's testimony.

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"We are aware that all sides are claiming victory following Mr. Archers voluntary interview today," Schwartz said. "But all Devon Archer did was exactly what we said he would: show up and answer the questions put to him honestly and completely."

Schwartz added: "Mr. Archer shared the truth with the Committee, and we will leave to them and others to decide what to do with it."

Comer detailed the "key takeaways" from Archers hours-long testimony Monday.

Archer, who served on the board of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings alongside Hunter beginning in 2014, told lawmakers that the value of adding Hunter to the board was to build the companys "brand."

Archer, according to Comer, confirmed that then-Vice President Joe Biden was "the brand."

Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, arrives at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, July 4, 2023.

Archer also testified that "Burisma would have gone out of business if the brand had not been attached to it."

Archer said he believed that Hunter Biden being on the board and the "Biden brand" contributed to Burismas longevity, according to Comers office, and suggested that people would have been "intimidated to mess with Burisma legally because of the Biden brand."

HUNTER DEMANDED $10M FROM CHINESE ENERGY FIRM BECAUSE 'BIDENS ARE THE BEST,' HAVE 'CONNECTIONS'

Meanwhile, Archer testified about an interaction in December 2015, involving Burisma CEO Mykola Zlochevsky and Vadym Pozharskian executive at the firm.

Archer said Zlochevsky and Pozharski "placed constant pressure on Hunter Biden to get help from D.C." in getting Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin ousted. Shokin was investigating Burisma for corruption.

According to the source, Archer testified that on Dec. 4, 2015, Hunter Biden, Zlochevsky and Pozharski "called D.C." to discuss the matter. Archer testified that Biden, Zlochevsky, and Pozharski stepped away to take make the call.

It is unclear if Hunter and the Burisma executives spoke directly to Joe Biden on the matter.

At the time, though, Joe Biden was in charge of U.S.-Ukraine policy for the Obama administration.

A source said that Archer testified that just days later, on Dec. 9, 2015, Joe Biden traveled to Ukraine and made a speech. Biden, during the speech, said the government needed to fix the Ukrainian prosecutor's office.

"This is the most revealing aspect of Archers testimony and maybe the most important in our entire investigation so far," House Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan told Fox News Digital.

President Joe Biden (L) and Hunter Biden (R)

The testimony comes after Fox News Digital first reported on an unclassified version of an FBI-generated FD-1023 form, which contained allegations that Joe Biden and Hunter Biden allegedly "coerced" Zlochevsky to pay them millions of dollars in exchange for their help in getting Shokin fired.

BIDENS ALLEGEDLY 'COERCED' BURISMA CEO TO PAY THEM MILLIONS TO HELP GET UKRAINE PROSECUTOR FIRED: FBI FORM

Biden has acknowledged that when he was vice president, he successfully pressured Ukraine to fire prosecutor Viktor Shokin. At the time, Shokin was investigating Burisma Holdings, and at the time, Hunter had a highly lucrative role on the board receiving thousands of dollars per month. The then-vice president threatened to withhold $1 billion of critical U.S. aid if Shokin was not fired.

Biden allies maintain the then-vice president pushed for Shokin's firing due to concerns the Ukrainian prosecutor went easy on corruption, and say that his firing, at the time, was the policy position of the U.S. and international community.

Comer said that the December 2015 phone call from Biden, Zlochevsky and Pozharski to D.C. "raises concerns that Hunter Biden was in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act."

Federal prosecutors during Hunter Bidens court appearance last week, in which he pled not guilty to federal tax crimes and a felony gun charge, hinted that the Justice Department is investigating Hunter for potential violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Meanwhile, Comer said that Archer testified that Hunter Biden put then-Vice President Joe Biden on the speakerphone during business meetings over 20 timesdespite the White House, and Biden himself, denying ever having been in business with Hunter or having ever been involved.

The phone calls and meetings, according to Archer, included a dinner in Paris with a French energy company and in China with Jonathan Li, the CEO of BHR Partners a joint-venture between Rosemont Seneca and Chinese investment firm Bohai Capital. BHR Partners is a Beijing-backed private equity firm controlled by Bank of China Limited.

Archer also testified that then-Vice President Biden had coffee with Jonathan Li, the CEO of BHR, in Beijing. Then-Vice President Biden even wrote a letter of recommendation for college for Lis daughter.

BIDEN WROTE COLLEGE RECOMMENDATION LETTER FOR SON OF HUNTER'S CHINESE BUSINESS PARTNER, EMAILS REVEAL

Fox News Digital first reported that Biden wrote the recommendation letter last year.

Other "key" takeaways, according to Comer, included that Archer confirmed Joe Biden was referred to as "my guy" by Hunter Biden.

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 31: Devon Archer (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Archer also testified that in the spring of 2014, then-Vice President Biden attended a business dinner with his son, Hunter, and his associates at Cafe Milano in Washington, D.C. Elena Baturina, a Russian oligarch who is the widow of the former mayor of Moscow, attended the dinner.

"Notably, the Biden Administrations public sanctions list for Russian oligarchs does not contain Baturina," Comers office said.

The White House reacted to Archer's testimony Monday afternoon.

"It appears that the House Republicans own much-hyped witness today testified that he never heard of President Biden discussing business with his son or his sons associates, or doing anything wrong," White House spokesperson Ian Sams told Fox News Digital. "House Republicans keep promising bombshell evidence to support their ridiculous attacks against the President, but time after time, they keep failing to produce any."

"In fact, even their own witnesses appear to be debunking their allegations. Instead of continuing to waste time and resources on this evidence-free wild goose chase, House Republicans should drop these stunts and work with the President on the issues that actually impact Americans daily lives, like continuing to lower costs, create jobs, and strengthen health care," Sams said.
Devon Archer testified Monday that Hunter Biden and top executives of Burisma Holdings "called D.C." in 2015 to ask the Obama administration to help fire the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the firm, a source familiar with his testimony told Fox News Digital.

Archer, a former business associate and longtime friend of Hunter Biden, testified for hours before the House Oversight Committee Monday.

Archer testified that Hunter put his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, on speakerphone while meeting with business partners at least 20 times, and said Joe Biden was put on the phone to sell "the brand." Archer was on the board of the natural gas firm along with Hunter Biden.

He also testified about an interaction in December 2015, involving Burisma CEO Mykola Zlochevsky and Vadym Pozharski  an executive at the firm.

WITNESS SAYS JOE BIDEN TALKED TO HUNTERS BUSINESS ASSOCIATES; GOP SEES SMOKING GUN, DEMS DOWNPLAY

Devon Archer, left, and Hunter Biden, right

Archer said Zlochevsky and Pozharski "placed constant pressure on Hunter Biden to get help from D.C." in getting Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin ousted. Shokin was investigating Burisma for corruption.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

According to the source, Archer testified that in December 2015, Hunter Biden, Zlochevsky and Pozharski "called D.C." to discuss the matter. Archer testified that Biden, Zlochevsky and Pozharski stepped away to make the call.

It is unclear if Hunter and the Burisma executives spoke directly to Joe Biden on the matter.

At the time, though, Joe Biden was in charge of U.S.-Ukraine policy for the Obama administration.

A source said that Archer testified that just days later, on Dec. 9, 2015, Joe Biden traveled to Ukraine and made a speech. Biden, during the speech, said the government needed to fix the Ukrainian prosecutor's office.

"This is the most revealing aspect of Archers testimony and maybe the most important in our entire investigation so far," House Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan told Fox News Digital.

Story continues

BIDENS ALLEGEDLY 'COERCED' BURISMA CEO TO PAY THEM MILLIONS TO HELP GET UKRAINE PROSECUTOR FIRED: FBI FORM

The testimony comes after Fox News Digital reported on an unclassified version of an FBI-generated FD-1023 form, which contained allegations that Joe Biden and Hunter Biden allegedly "coerced" Zlochevsky to pay them millions of dollars in exchange for their help in getting Shokin fired.

Biden has acknowledged that when he was vice president, he successfully pressured Ukraine to fire prosecutor Shokin. At the time, Shokin was investigating Burisma Holdings, and at the time, Hunter had a highly lucrative role on the board receiving thousands of dollars per month.

The then-vice president threatened to withhold $1 billion of critical U.S. aid if Shokin was not fired.

Biden allies maintain the then-vice president pushed for Shokin's firing due to concerns the Ukrainian prosecutor went easy on corruption, and say that his firing was the policy position of the U.S. and international community.

That form said Pozharski said the reason Hunter Biden was hired was "to protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems."

REPUBLICANS ERUPT OVER 2015 EMAIL EXPOSING 'ULTIMATE PURPOSE' OF HUNTER'S INVOLVEMENT WITH BURISMA

Fox News Digital has reported that on Nov. 2, 2015, Pozharskyi emailed Hunter Biden, emphasizing that the "ultimate purpose" of the agreement to have Hunter on the board was to shut down "any cases/pursuits against Nikolay in Ukraine," referring to Zlochevsky, who also went by Nikolay.

Joe Biden (L), Hunter Biden (C), and Devon Archer (L)

The White House has said President Biden was "never in business with his son."

Archers testimony comes as part of the House Oversight Committee's months-long investigation, which Republicans say has yielded evidence related to the Biden family's alleged foreign business schemes  including that the Biden family and its business associates created more than 20 companies and received more than $10 million from foreign nationals while Joe Biden served as vice president.

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said that some of these payments could indicate attempts by the Biden family to "peddle influence," and said the family appeared to take steps to "conceal the source and total amount received from the foreign companies."

Meanwhile, the White House released a statement following Archer's testimony:

"It appears that the House Republicans own much-hyped witness today testified that he never heard of President Biden discussing business with his son or his sons associates, or doing anything wrong," White House spokesperson Ian Sams told Fox News Digital. "House Republicans keep promising bombshell evidence to support their ridiculous attacks against the President, but time after time, they keep failing to produce any."

"In fact, even their own witnesses appear to be debunking their allegations. Instead of continuing to waste time and resources on this evidence-free wild goose chase, House Republicans should drop these stunts and work with the President on the issues that actually impact Americans daily lives, like continuing to lower costs, create jobs, and strengthen health care," Sams said.

In February 2022, Archer was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for defrauding a Native American tribal entity and various investment advisory clients of tens of millions of dollars in connection with the issuance of bonds by the tribal entity and the subsequent sale of those bonds through "fraudulent and deceptive means," according to the Department of Justice.

The Justice Department, over the weekend, sought to set a date for Archer's sentence to begin.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  An escalating dispute over a gas field in the Persian Gulf poses an early challenge to a Chinese-brokered agreement to reconcile regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Saudi Arabia and neighboring Kuwait jointly claim the offshore Al-Durra gas field. Iran says it has rights to the field, which it refers to as Arash. The two sides held talks in Iran in March but were unable to agree on a border demarcation.

A spokesman for Irans Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kanaani, said the country would not tolerate any infringement on its rights, echoing remarks by the country's oil minister the previous day.

We have expressed our readiness to engage in dialogue with the Kuwaiti side," Kanaani told reporters Monday. But if there is no interest in mutual utilization of this joint field, the Islamic Republic of Iran has naturally put the exploration and utilization of the resources on its agenda.

Kuwait's oil minister told Sky News Arabia last week that his country would commence drilling and production without waiting for a deal.

Saudi Arabia has sided with Kuwait, saying the two countries have exclusive ownership of the field, and has called on Iran to return to negotiations.

Saudi Arabia and Iran, which have backed opposite sides in conflicts across the Middle East and accused each other of destabilizing the region, formally restored diplomatic relations in April following a seven-year freeze. They have since reopened embassies and welcomed senior officials on visits.

But they continue to back opposite sides in Yemen's civil war, which is ongoing despite a 15-month cease-fire. Saudi Arabia is also in negotiations with the United States over potentially normalizing relations with Israel, which Iran's leaders have said should be wiped off the map.

Any step in the direction toward normalization of ties with this aggressive regime will only serve to give it more leeway to commit more atrocities against the Palestinian nation," Kanaani, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said.

Story continues

It's unclear whether the dispute over the gas field, which goes back to the 1960s, will escalate beyond rhetoric. But tensions are already high in the Persian Gulf, where the U.S. is building up military forces in response to what it says is Iran's unlawful seizure of oil tankers and harassment of commercial vessels.

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait agreed last year to jointly develop the gas field. Kuwait said at the time that they aimed to produce 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 84,000 barrels of liquefied gas per day. Iran denounced the agreement as illegal and said it should be included in any such plans.

A military conflict over the field is highly unlikely, but the race to develop disputed hydrocarbon resources in the Persian Gulf has the potential to seriously undermine the cause of regional detente, said Alex Vatanka, the director of the Iran program at the Washington-based Middle East Institute. Meanwhile, the heavily sanctioned Irans inability to join this race from a commercial standpoint shows how the Islamic Republics foreign policy has debilitated its massive energy sector.
A school bus driver has been arrested after DNA helped officials identify him as a suspect in four cold case rapes, New Mexico prosecutors said.

Ralph Anthony Martinez, 61, who works as a bus driver for Albuquerque Public Schools, has been identified as a suspect in four cold case sexual assaults from 1988, 1989 and 1991, the Bernalillo County District Attorneys Office said in a July 27 news release.

Albuquerque Public Schools did not immediately return McClatchy News request for comment.

The school district told KRQE that Martinez, who was hired in 2018, has been put on leave, pending the findings of an investigation. The district told the TV station that it requires all employees to complete a background check before they are hired.

Investigators with the district attorneys office collected DNA from a steering wheel, gear shift and switches in a school bus Martinez drove, prosecutors said.

Testing showed the DNA matched DNA collected from the sexual assaults from more than three decades ago, according to prosecutors.

Decades-old rapes

In the first rape Martinez is accused of, a 19-year-old woman was sleeping in her Albuquerque home in October 1988 when he broke in and raped her at knifepoint, prosecutors said.

Martinez is also accused of a 1989 sexual assault of a 59-year-old woman who is no longer living, prosecutors said.

In two separate incidents days apart in August 1991, Martinez is accused of sexually assaulting a 35-year-old and 18-year-old after breaking into their homes while they were sleeping, prosecutors said.

Martinez is facing four charges of second-degree criminal sexual penetration (deadly weapon), online jail records show.

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New Jerseyans walking into an exam room with a bad case of the flu, back pain, stomachache or any number of other ailments have for years now increasingly been evaluated, diagnosed and treated by a nurse practitioner working with a physician.

Now that collaboration may be coming to an end, and nurse practitioners could soon see patients without any doctor oversight.

New Jersey is poised to become the latest state to grant full practice authority to nurses with advanced degrees, a move that supporters say will cut down on unnecessary delays, shorten wait times for care and give more residents access to more affordable care.

Doctors have launched an all-out war against the measure, with more than a dozen New Jersey medical societies banding together under the "Access to Care Coalition," enlisting lobbying and public relations firms, and launching a robust website laying out their argument.

Dr. Mike Ruzek, president of the NJ American College of Emergency Physicians

They say the move would water down the level of care to patients and allow hospitals and other employers to hire nurse practitioners instead of better-trained and better-paid physicians to cut costs. The bill would remove any doctor involvement in reviewing a prescription from a nurse practitioner before it is issued.

"Allowing for the removal of physicians from the care team places patients lives and health at risk," said Dr. Mike Ruzek, president of the New Jersey Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians. "While we value [nurse practitioners], I believe the inclusion of a physician as part of a care team is a safeguard for patient care."

Amita Avadhani, a critical care nurse practitioner at Princeton Medical Center, said nurses in New Jersey already do almost everything a doctor does, especially in primary care settings.

Nurse Practitioner Amita Avadhani supports giving full practice rights to advanced practice nurses in New Jersey.

Current regulations are akin to "requiring you get a permission slip from someone in your neighborhood in order for you to legally drive your car, she said. Youve already completed drivers education and passed the required exams. The Motor Vehicle Commission has issued you a license, and your neighbor wont drive your car or ride along. But without their permission slip, it would be against the law for you to pick up your kids at school or drive to work.

Story continues

Doctor shortages

The movement to grant nurse practitioners "full practice" privileges began 30 years ago in less densely populated states such as Alaska and Oregon, where many residents didnt have access to doctors. But more states have begun to allow the practice, including New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and 23 others.

The movement comes as the U.S. faces a shortage of between 37,800 and 124,000 physicians within 12 years, according to a report by the Association of American Medical Colleges. New Jersey is one of nine states projected by the federal government to have a shortage of primary care physicians and physician assistants as soon as 2025.

The wait times to see a doctor are at an all-time high as New Jersey's population grows  especially with a projected sharp rise in the number of senior citizens expected in the years and decades to come. The average wait for a physician appointment for the 15 largest metro markets in the U.S. was 26 days in 2022, up from 24 days in 2017 and 21 days in 2004, according to a survey by the search firm Merritt Hawkins.

Story continues after chart

Meanwhile, the number of nurse practitioners  called advanced practice nurses in New Jersey  has soared over the past two decades from 106,000 nationwide in 2004 to 355,000 last year.

Nurse practitioners must have four years of college, followed by a two- to three-year graduate program in advanced nursing. They must pass national certification board exams and maintain board certification throughout their careers, including taking continuing education courses to renew state licenses.

Doctors say that pales in comparison with their training: four years of college, four years of medical school and then three to seven years of intense, supervised residency, depending on the specialty.

What does the bill do?

Currently, advanced practice nurses in New Jersey can see and treat patients but must have a "joint protocol" with a physician to prescribe medicine or a medical device.

The bill  S1522  essentially eliminates the need for a joint protocol, allowing nurses to write prescriptions independently after two years or 2,400 hours of working collaboratively with a doctor. The bill also makes a provision for nurse anesthetists to work "without any requirement for supervision by a licensed physician."

New Jersey has already been allowing nurse practitioners to act independently of doctors for more than three years under an emergency executive order issued during the COVID-19 pandemic that Gov. Phil Murphy has yet to rescind, despite the urging of doctors.

Michele Acito, Nurse Practitioner at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck.

Supporters say the three years has been enough time to show there is no widespread decrease in care. Opponents say few practices have actually allowed nurse practitioners to operate without a doctor's oversight during this period.

Doctors vs. nurses

Nearly every medical society in New Jersey, representing a variety of physician specialties, is against the measure. Those who support it range from nursing associations to Planned Parenthood and AARP.

At a legislative hearing in December, both sides spoke strongly of how the measure would affect care.

Dr. Camille Green, an internist in Hunterdon County, told the panel that she likely saved the life of a patient after realizing her nurse practitioner colleague missed that the patient likely had diabetic ketoacidosis on a lab report. Dr. Walter Lapicki, an anesthesiologist, recounted how he saved the life of a 2-year-old in the emergency room, when the child was was choking on a peanut, because he had sufficient training in other disciplines. Make no mistake, they are not and will never be the expert physicians," Lapicki said of nurse practitioners.

Doctors said a cash-strapped hospital or other provider would hire more nurse practitioners over doctors. The median salary for a nurse practitioner in the U.S. is about $121,000, federal data shows. Primary care physicians make between $199,000 and $242,000 nationally, according to the data. Nurse anesthetists make $196,000 nationally, and anesthesiologists make $331,000.

Doctors cite a 2022 study by two Stanford University researchers that said patients treated by nurse practitioners at a Veterans Affairs emergency room had increased medical costs, longer hospital stays and "less favorable patient outcomes."

The American Association of Nurse Practitioners counters with data showing that primary care nurses bill for fewer tests and image studies than primary care physicians do.

Marcel Kaganovskaya, a Bergen County-based family and mental health nurse practitioner, said he rarely sees the physician with whom he is supposed to collaborate. The physician is not involved in his patients' care on a regular basis, he said. But lab tests and other paperwork are often sent to the physician, causing a delay for Kaganovskaya's patients, many of whom are children and already have a three-month waiting list to see him.

Other New Jersey nurse practitioners told the panel they would likely seek more work in neighboring states like New York and Delaware that allow full practice. Pennsylvania does not allow it.

One of the biggest supporters of the measure is a physician, Dr. Vicente Gracias, a professor of surgery and vice president of health affairs at Rutgers. In the end, more providers will provide more care just like the docs," he told the panel.

Will the bill pass this time?

The legislation has had other iterations in past years but has never advanced far in either house. However, unlike past versions championed by Democrats, the current bill has bipartisan support. Its 20 co-sponsors are a mix of Democrats and Republicans, including some of the most liberal and conservative lawmakers in the Senate.

Observers believe it has a better chance of being approved with the two-year, lame-duck legislative session closing out in January, when bills are often hurried through the Senate and Assembly.

The biggest supporter of the bill, state Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, chairman of the Senate's health committee, said it helps tackle a serious problem

This is not a shot at doctors and the work they provide," he said at the committee hearing. "It adds to the pool of individuals that can provide the care that we need at the right time, whether its primary care or mental health that we are in short supply.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Doctors vs. nurses: NJ at center of debate over who can treat patients
Three people have been accused of second-degree murder in connection with last weeks shooting of 28-year-old Dominique Green, Kingston police said.

Shaliza Dhanraj, 26, of Rotterdam; Maliek Fredericks, 25, of Schenectedy; and Nyqwan Monroe, 25, of New York City, are each charged with one count of second-degree murder and two counts of first-degree burglary, a police department statement on its Facebook page said.

At Kingston City Court arraignment, the accused were remanded without bail to the Ulster County jail, according to the police.

At about 9:20 p.m. Thursday, police said, officers and other emergency personnel responded to a report of a gunshot victim on Prospect Street near Greenkill Avenue and found the victim dead from a gunshot.

Background: Kingston police investigating homicide; 28-year-old man shot to death

The police did not give details in their statement of how they say the shooting occurred or what the three people's roles were.

A lawyer or lawyers for the accused could not be immediately reached for comment.

Kingston police said they were assisted in the investigation by town of Ulster police, the Ulster County Sheriffs Department, the state police, city of Schenectady police, and the Ulster County District Attorneys office.

Michael McKinney is a breaking-news reporter with The Journal News, Poughkeepsie Journal and Times Herald-Record of Middletown.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Kingston shooting: Three people charged in 28-year-old's death
Political strategist Donna Brazile on Sunday blasted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a GOP presidential candidate, for defending his states controversial new education guidelines on slavery and pointed to this latest controversy as evidence that DeSantis is asleep at the switch.

In a panel discussion on ABC Newss This Week, network contributor Brazile questioned DeSantiss defense of his states slavery curriculum, which tells teachers to instruct students on how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.

Brazile, who served as the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee in 2016, said she wasnt surprised DeSantis had to cut a third of his campaign staff  especially amid pushback from even Black conservative lawmakers to his positioning on the slavery curriculum.

DeSantis, the guy who is asleep at the switch  I mean, are we surprised that DeSantis cannot capture the imagination of the Republican base? Brazile said. At a time when America is still trying to figure out how to heal itself from its past, DeSantis is willing to go out there and essentially say, People benefitted from slavery. Really? Who the hell has he been talking to?

When Tim Scott, one of his opponents, when you see members of Congress, the five Black conservatives, saying, Stop, stop, stop. So Im not surprised Mr. DeSantis is having a problem catching fire.

I had to say that because Im a descendant of slaves. We did not benefit from slavery, Brazile continued. And if Mr. DeSantis cannot wake up and figure out that he needs another message, other than attacking people of color, gay people, trans people, then he is going to continue to fall as a result.

DeSantis, who once posed a real challenge to Republican front-runner Donald Trump, has since fallen in the polls. He recently laid off 38 staff members as the campaign sought to reboot itself.

Generra Peck, DeSantiss campaign manager, said in a statement at the time, Following a top-to-bottom review of our organization, we have taken additional, aggressive steps to streamline operations and put Ron DeSantis in the strongest position to win this primary and defeat Joe Biden. Governor DeSantis is going to lead the Great American Comeback and were ready to hit the ground running as we head into an important month of the campaign.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A New York state amusement park ride sent guests spinning backwards for nearly 10 minutes after it malfunctioned, footage captured of the incident shows.

Video obtained by USA TODAY shows guests on board The Music Express ride at Rye Playland screaming after it malfunctioned on July 23 and would not stop spinning in reverse past its allotted stop time.

"It's stuck," a passerby is caught on video saying as he watched the chaos unfold at the park in Rye, outside New York City along the Long Island Sound.

'Pull the plug," someone else says in the footage. "There's no plug? This is why you don't get on these rides."

A New York state amusement park ride sent guests spinning for around 10 minutes when it malfunctioned in late July 2023.

Giovanni Martinez-Roman told ABC 7 his cousins were on the ride and it felt like it took forever for it to stop.

"They absolutely did not have the proper protocols to stop the ride I believe the workers handling the ride should know what to do in a case like that," Martinez-Roman told the outlet.

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An electrical malfunction

Playland Park told USA Today in a statement the glitch was due to an electrical issue.

The park's general manager, Jeff Davis, told ABC 7 the emergency stop button didn't work so park employees called maintenance to disconnect the power.

The park released this statement:

"Our operators appropriately followed those protocols which led to our maintenance team ultimately shutting down power to the ride. Playland always has EMS on site when the park is open, and EMS responded, evaluated all guests, and determined that there were no injuries. Playland is working with the manufacturer of Music Express to address the issue while it remains closed. We are looking forward to reopening the ride once it successfully passes all tests and inspections."

Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rye Playland ride malfunctions, keeps riders spinning for 10 minutes
Lori Vallow Daybell, known as the Doomsday Mom for her extreme religious beliefs, denied murdering her children and her husbands previous wife in a bizarre and grandiose statement in an Idaho courtroom Monday as she was sentenced to life in prison.

Vallow Daybell was convicted in May of murdering her two children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua Jaxon JJ Vallow. She was also convicted of conspiring in the murder of Tammy Daybell, who died in 2019. Daybell was married at the time to Chad Daybell, now Loris husband.

Prosecutors had earlier announced that they would not be seeking the death penalty, and on Monday, Vallow Daybell was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Jesus Christ knows that no one was murdered in this case, Vallow Daybell insisted during the hearing, before claiming that the spirits of Tylee, JJ and Tammy Daybell had visited her. She said shed died in 2002 while giving birth to Tylee, and that shes since had access to heaven and the spirit world.

JJ and Tylee disappeared in September 2019, inspiring a nationwide search. Vallow Daybell did not participate in the search or answer questions about her childrens whereabouts, instead fleeing to Hawaii with Chad Daybell. JJ and Tylees bodies were found on June 9, 2020, on Daybells property in rural eastern Idaho.

Lori Vallow Daybell sits during her sentencing hearing at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho, on July 31.

Lori Vallow Daybell sits during her sentencing hearing at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho, on July 31.

On Monday, Fremont County District Judge Steven Boyce also ordered Vallow Daybell to serve an additional two life sentences for conspiracy to commit murder, and 10 years for collecting public-funded assistance payments for the children after they were dead, which Boyce described as blood money.

The most shocking thing really I can imagine is that a mother killed her own children, Boyce told Vallow Daybell, and you simply have no remorse for that, even sitting here today.

Story continues

Vallow Daybell claimed that because of her communications with Jesus Christ, she has received many angelic visitors. She repeatedly said that her children and Tammy Daybell  whom she called her friend  were happy and extremely busy, and that theyd reassured Vallow Daybell she was blameless.

According to Vallow Daybell, JJ visited her as an adult spirit and told her, You didnt do anything wrong, Mom. Its OK. I love you and I know you loved me every minute of my life.

He is busy. He is engaged. He has jobs that he does there and he is happy, Vallow Daybell said of her deceased son. His life was short, but his life was meaningful.

One of the times that Tylee came to me as a spirit after she died, she said to me, Stop worrying, Mom. We are fine, Vallow Daybell said.

Boyce told Vallow Daybell that shed justified her crimes by going down a bizarre religious rabbit hole, and clearly you are still down there.

The judge said he would never forget the pictures hed seen of the crime scene, and noted how traumatizing it must have been for the law enforcement officers who found the bodies and witnessed the autopsies  and for the jurors who saw those pictures and learned the details.

Police found JJs body wrapped in black plastic and buried near a pond beneath soil, rocks and wood paneling. Tylees remains were found next, in a pet cemetery near a fire pit.

While JJs body was mostly intact, investigators said that at the second burial site they initially found only clumps of rotted flesh, charred flesh ... a piece of broken charred bone sticking up through the dirt, [and] bone fragments in the soil. A melted bucket contained other remains, including organs. Underneath the melted bucket, investigators found the partial remains of a human skull, as well as a jawbone and teeth.

I dont believe that any god, any religion would want to have what happened here, Boyce told Vallow Daybell. Your crimes are heinous and egregious.

Chad Daybell is scheduled to be tried separately for the same crimes next spring.

In Vallow Daybells April murder trial, witnesses testified about her claim that she was a goddess and Chad Daybell was a prophet. They used their fanaticism to justify their greed and their desire to marry each other, prosecutors said, getting rid of their then-spouses and Loris youngest children after claiming they were possessed by demons that needed to be cast out.

Chad and Lori made bizarre claims to family and friends about the victims becoming zombies possessed by evil spirits, but prosecutors said their motivations centered on money, power and sex. The couple, witnesses testified, said they had been chosen to lead the 144,000 faithful during the second coming of Christ.

While you were enjoying your new life in Hawaii, countless law enforcement officers, family members and volunteers were searching for your children, Boyce said. I dont think to this day you have any remorse for the effort and heartache you caused for others who looked for your children when you knew where they were and knew they were dead.

Kay Woodcock, JJs grandmother, described the nine-month period the children were missing as pure hell in a victim impact statement at Mondays sentencing. She said Vallow Daybell took everything from JJ before she killed him.

She stole JJs dad on July 11, 2019, Woodcock said, referring to the late Charles Vallow, JJs father and Loris previous husband before Chad Daybell. Woodcock noted that Lori didnt take JJs to his fathers funeral.

She tried to sell his service dog, his best friend, Woodcock said. She took him from everything he knew and moved to [Rexburg, Idaho] ... How did JJ cope with being autistic and a child, to have no routine? How much grief and fear did he feel?

Tammy Daybell died on Oct. 19, 2019. Shortly after, on Nov. 5, Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow had a private wedding on a beach on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. They remained there until February 2020, when Lori was arrested on felony child endangerment charges and extradited to Idaho.

Tammy Daybells death had originally been attributed to natural causes, but the finding was changed to homicide after her body was exhumed in December 2019.

Samantha Gwilliam, Tammys sister, read a statement from her father and a statement of her own.

You are not exalted beings and your behavior makes you unable to be one, Gwilliam said, addressing Vallow Daybell. Why Chad? He was an average guy. He has no wealth. You could have divorced and lived your perverted life, but you lied. You profited from four peoples deaths ... Tammy is irreplaceable and she is 1,000 times the woman you could never be.

In addition to the crimes for which Vallow Daybell was convicted in Idaho, she is charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the fatal shooting of Charles Vallow in Arizona in July 2019. She also faces attempted murder charges there for the attempted shooting of Brandon Boudreaux, the ex-husband of Loris niece Melani Boudreaux, on Oct. 2, 2019. Boudreaux was uninjured.

Loris brother Alex Cox admitted to killing Vallow, claiming he acted in self-defense. Cox is believed to have played a role in the other killings, as well as the attempted shootings of Boudreaux and Tammy Daybell, who said someone shot at her in her Rexburg driveway 10 days before her death.

Cox died at his Gilbert, Arizona, home in December 2019, at the age of 51. His wife testified that just before his death  which was attributed to natural causes  Coxs last words were I think Im being their fall guy, referring to Lori and Chad.

Lori Vallow Daybell is set to be extradited to Arizona for those cases, but no trial dates have been scheduled.

Related...
Madison County Sheriff's Office/Handout via REUTERS

After hours of harrowing statements detailing how Lori Vallow Daybell murdered her two children and conspired to kill her husband's first wife, the Idaho doomsday mom on Monday indicated she wanted to speak.

Dressed in an orange-and-white striped prison jumpsuit, Vallow immediately teared up as she began to speak in her own defense at a sentencing trial in Fremont County Court Monday. Still seated and flanked by her two defense attorneys, Vallow began by reading a quick scripture and expressing her grief for the 2019 deaths of her two children7-year-old Joshua JJ Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryanand her husband's late wife, Tammy Daybell.

But, she clarified, Jesus Christ knows that no one was murdered in this case.

Jesus knows me and Jesus understands me. I mourn with all of you who mourn my children and Tammy, Vallow said. Jesus Christ knows what happened here. No one was murdered. Accidental deaths happen. Suicides happen.

The acknowledgment was among several shocking statements Vallow made during her nearly 10-minute rant, where she also described a near-death pregnancy she experienced and claimed she has spoken to all three of her victims since their deathsadding that the trio is busy and happy in the spirit world.

But Judge Steven Boyce did not buy Vallow's statement, offering a searing admonishment of her behavior before sentencing her to five life sentences without the possibility of parole.

You justified all this by going down a bizarre, religious rabbit hole & clearly you're still down there, Boyce added, stating that Vallow has no remorse for her actions. The judge, when rendering his sentence, ordered that three of Vallow's life sentences will run consecutively.

The sentencing is the culmination of a surreal trial involving religious extremism, demon zombies, and marital strife. In May, Vallow was convicted of all charges in connection with the 2019 deaths of her two children and Daybell. The murders occurred just before Vallow and her husband, Chad Daybell, got married and fled to Hawaii.

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In her statement, however, Vallow claimed that she has spoken with her children and Daybell, whom she called a wonderful friend. In one conversation she claims to have had with her 7-year-old son, Vallow said JJ insisted that she did not do anything wrong. She concluded her statement by stating that she looks forward to being reunited with the three.

I know where they are now and what they're doing. I know how wonderful heaven is, and I'm homesick for it every single day, she added.

The brother of Vallow's late husband, Charles Vallow, described the courtroom on Monday as very tense. But after Boyce rendered his verdict, Gerry Vallow told The Daily Beast via text message, he felt relief and a sort of closure.

She got what she deserved, he said, adding that Vallow's statement was proof that shes loony tunes because you cant talk to dead people.

Prior to Vallow's statement, several family members of the victims offered a different perspective on the heinous crimesand how she should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Samantha Gwilliam, the sister of Tammy Daybell, called Vallow a liar, adulteress, and [a] murderer and said, No angels are coming to rescue youan apparent reference to Vallows apocalyptic religious beliefs.

You will live in your prison cell for the rest of your life, she added.

Vicki Hoban, one of Tammys aunts, told Vallow she hopes the rest of the 49-year-olds life is filled in fear and you live every day terrified for her role in the savage murders of great people. In a statement read by Madison County Prosecuting Attorney Rob Wood, Vallow's son also offered a heartbreaking analysis of his life since 2019.

Ive lost my entire family in life. I've watched everything crumble and be shredded to pieces. I have lost my sister, brother, father, and mother. I have lost cousins and family, friends and everything in between, Colby Ryan, who was not present in court, said in the statement.

The harsh words, however, did not seem to visibly affect Vallow. Throughout the statements, she was seen looking away, talking to her lawyers, and smiling.

Vallows defense attorney, John Thomas, acknowledged that there is a lot of hurt surrounding this case and admitted that he has been praying for weeks about the outcome of his case. He added that he is aware that his client is perhaps the most hated woman in America and maybe even the world, but that those negative views of Vallow will not bring closure or justice.

We need peace to replace the hurt, Thomas said after quoting Martin Luther King Jr. Lori is a very misunderstood person She is about love. She has redeeming values.

Chad Daybell Wrote Romance Novel About Relationship With Lori Vallow, Witness Says

Throughout the six-week trial, prosecutors argued that Vallow and her husband, Chad Daybell, were driven to kill by their beliefs in a renegade branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a need for money to start their new life. To prove their case, 60 witnesses testified before the jury about a slew of evidence that showed Vallow was the one common thread between the three murders.

There is literally zero evidence that [Vallow] has remorse or responsibility, Wood said on Monday while arguing for a life sentence.

The murders, prosecutors said, came about a year after Vallow and Daybell first met in 2018 at a Utah religious conference. At the time, Daybell was a popular Mormon author, and Vallow was a devoted fan. The pair, who were both married to other people at the time, quickly fell in love and began a secret affair, which several witnesses said was centered on religious extremism.

Melanie Gibb testified that Vallow, her former friend, believed she was one of the 144,000 people who would be on Earth for the second coming of Jesus Christ. Vallow also began to preach about a light and dark scale and that those on the latter would become zombies, Gibb said.

Prosecutors also showcased harrowing evidence about the three murders, including how Vallows son was found smothered with a white plastic bag duct-taped over his head and found in Daybells pet cemetery in June 2020. The most damning piece of evidence against Vallow, a DNA expert testified, was a piece of her hair that was found stuck on the duct tape used to wrap JJs buried body.

Dr. Garth Warren, who works for the Ada County Coroner's Office, also testified that Tylee was found in a fire pit near her brotherbut that her remains were so badly dismembered and burned that he could not determine the cause of her homicide.

Prosecutors also provided details on how Tammy Daybell was murdered for the first time, revealing that she asphyxiated in her Idaho home about a month after the children were murdered. Two weeks after Tammys death, which was initially deemed due to natural causes, prosecutors said Daybell flew to Hawaii to marry Vallow in November 2019.

A month after that, police started to realize that JJ and Tylee were missing. Vallow and Daybell notably did not answer questions and told conflicting stories about the childrens whereabouts.

I Put a Face to Evil: Lori Vallow Juror Speaks Out

Vallow was finally arrested in Hawaii in February 2020, sparking investigations into her and her family.

But the sentencing does not mark the end of the road for Vallow. She is facing a separate trial in Arizona after allegedly conspiring with her brother to murder her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, in July 2019. Her brother, Alex Cox, died of a blood clot months after the incident, which he claimed was self-defense. Lori Vallow has also been indicted in Arizona for conspiring to kill her nieces former husband, Brandon Boudreau.

Daybell, whose trial was severed from Vallows prior to her trial, is set to face a jury next June. He is charged with similar crimes in connection with the three murders and faces the death penalty.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Chicago police officers arrested 40 people in the South Loop late Sunday after hundreds took part in the latest teen trend gathering in the citys downtown area.

The large group gathered near West Roosevelt Road and South Canal Street and mobbed a nearby convenience store as a series of fights broke out, officials said. Officers started to make arrests around 8 p.m., police said, after those in the group refused orders to leave the area.

Police records show that CPD Deputy Chief Jon Hein declared a mass arrest situation at 9:22 p.m.

Large youth gatherings downtown have remained a vexing problem for police for the last decade. Organized over social media, typically during the warm summer months, the crowds of teens have sometimes turned violent.

Our posture has been tolerance, and usually when we say that its curfew and we ask them to disperse, they do. Yesterday, they, so to speak, crossed a line, CPD Superintendent Fred Waller said at a Monday news conference.

It should send a message to the families and to the parents, Waller added. We know everyone doesnt have a predictable home life, but were trying to deal with the youth in a certain way, to try to offer other things for them to do and other avenues (aside from) arrests  But this group got so out of hand that we had no choice. We had street intervention people out there also who helped us, but it just got so out of hand that we had to effect some arrests.

Of those arrested, 30 were juveniles between 12 to 17 years old, according to CPD. Those arrestees were each charged with reckless conduct, a misdemeanor.

Seven other teens, boys and girls ranging in age from 14 to 17, were arrested and face charges including unlawful use of a weapon, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, obstructing identification and resisting arrest, according to CPD.

Officers recovered several illegally possessed guns as well, according to police.

Sundays gathering came about three months after another such gathering downtown led to a disturbance and fights breaking out near Millennium Park, during which three teens were wounded in two separate shootings.

As the search for the next permanent CPD superintendent continued earlier this year, leaders of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability said that strategies to quell youth gatherings downtown were a topic during the candidate interview phase of the search.
Police are searching for the driver of this black, midsize SUV after they say it struck a group of migrants outside a Walmart in Lincolnton, North Carolina, on Sunday.

Police are searching for the driver of this black, midsize SUV after they say it struck a group of migrants outside a Walmart in Lincolnton, North Carolina, on Sunday.

Police in North Carolina say an SUV struck six migrant workers outside a Walmart store on Sunday in what appeared to be an intentional assault.

The six people were transported to a local hospital with various non-life-threatening injuries following the incident in Lincolnton, a town northwest of Charlotte, around 1:17 p.m., police said.

Surveillance video obtained by NBC News shows the vehicle turn toward a parking spot outside the store as if to park. But instead of stopping, the vehicle drives over a tree-lined median where the group was standing near a parked bus and strikes them. The vehicle is then seen driving away from the scene.

Authorities are requesting help identifying the vehicle and driver, who was described as an older white male. The vehicle was a black, older-model, midsize SUV with a luggage rack.

The motives of the suspect are still under investigation, police said in a statement.

Police in Lincolnton did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

In May, an SUV slammed into a crowd of people waiting for a bus outside a migrant shelter in Brownsville, Texas, killing eight people and injuring 10 others.

Police said they were investigating witnesses claims that the driver, George Alvarez, made anti-immigrant statements after attempting to flee the scene. Alvarez was also accused of having cocaine, benzodiazepines and marijuana in his system.

A motive for the Brownsville incident, which resulted in multiple manslaughter charges, was not immediately known.

Related...
Excessive speed in the Tri-Cities was not limited to the Columbia River this weekend.

The Washington State Patrol caught several drivers during the Columbia Cup hydroplane race weekend blowing away speed limits on state highways around the area.

Trooper Chris Thorson with the Washington State Patrol stopped three drivers in a short period speeding along Interstate 82, according to a Twitter post on Sunday afternoon.

Not impressed with the speeds coming into the Tri-Cities, Thorson wrote. Just my stops alone have been 115, 100 and 95 mph. ... Three in a row on Interstate 82.

While it will take a few more days before the state patrol has a full count on the number of speeders, Thorson said they saw aggressive and reckless driving all weekend.

Many of the speeders were driving in the 90s and 100s, with the highest clocked at 115 mph.

The annual Water Follies Columbia Cup and STCU Over the River Air Show brought an estimated 60,000 to the Kennewick and Pasco shorelines for the three-day event. And Richlands popular Art in the Park event added thousands more to the roadways.

The state patrol planned ahead for the traffic by bringing in additional troopers to monitor the highways. That included support from motorcycle troopers and an airplane.

While speeds were up, the state patrol didnt see an increase in crashes this year. There were 21 collisions, one fewer than last year. And Thorson said none resulted in serious injuries.

Three of the crashes were caused by drunk or high drivers.

Troopers arrested nine intoxicated drivers, which also was drop from 13 last year.

In all, 11 drivers were booked into the Benton County jail since Friday for DUI and three were arrested in Franklin County, jail records show.

Columbia and Wade parks

The action in Columbia Park stayed mostly on the water, Kennewick police Commander Christian Walters told the Herald.

Officers responded to only a few calls over the course of the weekend and no one was arrested at the park, where temperatures stayed in the low to mid-90s.

Kennewick Fire Chief Chad Michael said few people needed medics or to be taken to the hospital this weekend.

Pasco police Sgt. Tom Groom said they received no calls for problems at Wade Park. And aside for a few minor disturbances, he characterized the weekend as pretty low key.
The drought-stricken Colorado River is in critical condition. Almost two years ago, the federal government declared the first ever shortage on the river, triggering cuts to water supplies in the Southwest. Today, the river remains unsustainably low. The Colorado is the lifeblood of the region. It waters some of the country's fastest growing cities, nourishes some of our most fertile fields, and powers $1.4 trillion dollars in annual economic activity. The river runs more than 1,400 miles, from headwaters in the Rockies to its delta in northern Mexico where it ends in a trickle. Seven states and 30 Native American tribes lie in the Colorado River Basin. As we first reported in 2021, the river has been running dry due to the historically severe drought.

The majestic, meandering Colorado River that cut through these red cliffs, carving the Grand Canyon, is a wonder of nature and human ingenuity. The Glen Canyon Dam created Lake Powell and 300 miles down river Lake Mead sits behind the Hoover Dam. These reservoirs are now being sucked dry by 40 million different straws - that's the number of people in booming western states who depend on the Colorado to quench their thirst, power their homes, water lawns and splash in the sun. Its waters irrigate farms that produce 90% of the country's winter greens. To all these demands add the stress of a 23 year drought - as dry as any period in 1,200 years - and you have a river in crisis.

Lake Powell

Bill Whitaker: These white bathtub rings; is-- is this where the water used to be?

Brad Udall: Absolutely.

Brad Udall, a climate scientist at Colorado State University, went out on Lake Powell with us.

Bill Whitaker: So all of this would have been underwater?

Brad Udall: Yeah.

Bill Whitaker: So what does this tell you about what's happening on the Colorado River?

Brad Udall: Well, it's a signal of the long-term problem we've been seeing since the year 2000, which is climate change is reducing the flows of the Colorado significantly.

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Brad Udall

Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the two biggest reservoirs in the country, were nearly full in 2000. By 2021, they'd fallen to about 30% capacity.

Brad Udall: The lake's now 155 feet below full. It's dropped something like 50 feet this year.

Bill Whitaker: And it's still dropping?

Brad Udall: Yes. And that's when power generation actually becomes to come into question.

Bill Whitaker: So it drops so low that it may not be able to generate--

Brad Udall: It may not be able to generate power--

Bill Whitaker: Hydroelectric power?

Brad Udall: Yeah.

Brad Udall has strong connections to the river. As secretary of the interior, his uncle, Stewart Udall, opened the Glen Canyon Dam. His father, Congressman Mo Udall, fought to channel river water to Arizona. As a young man, Brad was a Colorado River guide. Today he analyzes the impact of climate change on water resources.

Bill Whitaker: Is the west on a collision course with climate change?

Brad Udall: In some ways yes, but we have fully utilized this system. We've over-allocated it, and we now need to think about how to turn some of this back. 'Cause the only lever we control right now in the river is the demand lever. We have no control over the supply. So we have to dial back demand.

Seventy percent of Colorado River water goes to agriculture. When the federal government declared the water shortage, it triggered mandatory cutbacks. Pinal County, Arizona got hit hard.

Waylon Wuertz

Waylon Wuertz: Pinal County alone, we're gonna be losing 300,000 acre feet of surface water. That's water that would be delivered from Lake Powell, Lake Mead. As part of the Colorado River. 300,000 acre feet is 98 billion gallons of water.

Waylon Wuertz farms 500 acres in Pinal County, south of Phoenix. His family has tilled soil here for four generations. It's some of the most productive land in the state. Crops from Pinal County are shipped all over the country. Wuertz grows gourds, cotton and alfalfa  profitable, but thirsty crops and his allotment of Colorado River water is being cut by 70%.

Bill Whitaker: This is Colorado River water?

Waylon Wuertz: Yeah, kinda the-- the lifeline of our-- irrigated ag here.

Bill Whitaker: This comes straight in from Lake Mead?

Waylon Wuertz: Correct. This is-- through hundreds of miles of canal system. It's-- made its way down here to Central Arizona.

Bill Whitaker: And what percentage of your water is supplied by this canal?

Waylon Wuertz: It's been close to 50% of the water that we've used to-- to farm here. And-- this next year it's probably gonna drop down to about 20% of the water that we use.

That's 1/7th of what he was getting a decade ago. To use less water and make ends meet, Wuertz sold more than 300 acres to a solar farm. He dipped into retirement funds to repair and restart old wells. He laser leveled his fields to make irrigation more efficient.

Bill Whitaker: But it's just not enough in the middle of this drought.

Waylon Wuertz: No, it's not enough.

So, he told us he'll have to leave 150 acres uncultivated.

Waylon Wuertz: What you see green here is eventually gonna die. I hope we'll have enough water to plant it in the future. But more than likely it's gonna stay brown for quite some time.

Amelia Flores

Amelia Flores: All the water users are gonna have to give up something to keep that water in the lake.

Amelia Flores is chairwoman of The Colorado River Indian Tribes, a reservation of four tribes a few hours west of Phoenix, with the oldest and largest water rights in Arizona. After being moved to reservations, Southwest tribes got rights to about a quarter of the river's flow, but government red tape and lack of infrastructure have prevented them from using their full allotment. Flores told us until this drought, tribes were never included in water negotiations.

Bill Whitaker: Why had you not had a seat at the table before this?

Amelia Flores: Because the tribes have always been overlooked in the policymaking and-- and in-- in the law of the river. But that day has come to an end.

When western states first divvied up the Colorado River in 1922, and later, when the federal government built the Hoover and Glen Canyon Dams, the future seemed boundless and manageable. Through negotiation and court battles, states worked out agreements  the law of the river  to split the water equally between upper and lower basin states. The lower states use just about all their allotment and it's fed their tremendous growth. The upper states have never used their full share. Now, they are booming and say they need the water they've been promised.

Bill Whitaker: I can see the bathtub rings around here too.

Zach Renstrom: We're trying to keep every drop of water we can into this reservoir for next year's drinking water.

Zach Renstrom manages the water system for Washington County in southwest Utah. St. George, the county seat, is one of the fastest growing metro areas in the U.S. Its population grew 29% this past decade. The state of Utah gets about a quarter of its water from the Colorado, but most of Washington County has only one source, the Virgin River, which fills this reservoir.

Zach Renstrom: So right now we're in the process of implementing really strict conservation measures. And if the cities don't adopt those standards then we'll be out of water very quickly.

Bill Whitaker: What is very quickly?

Zach Renstrom: Within the next five to ten years.

Zach Renstrom with correspondent Bill Whitaker

So, in the midst of this drought, Utah is proposing to build a $1-billion to $2-billion pipeline able to bring 27 billion gallons of water a year from dwindling Lake Powell. Utah says it's entitled to the water by law.

Bill Whitaker: You're talking about siphoning off water from a lake that's already at a critically low level to help a city grow in the desert.

Zach Renstrom: Every state on the Colorado River was allotted so much water and a water budget. And so with their water budget the state of Utah has decided that it wants to use a portion of its water here in St. George, Utah.

Bill Whitaker: But it was a budget that was set when water was plentiful. It isn't anymore. What is Utah hoping for?

Zach Renstrom: Utah wants the right to do what every other basin state has done. We want to make sure that we have water for our future, for a hotter dryer scenario that's coming up.

JB Hamby: Building a multibillion dollar pipeline to pump out more water from an already rapidly declining reservoir simply doesn't make sense in the 21st century.

JB Hamby is vice president of the board that runs California's Imperial Irrigation District, one of the richest agricultural regions in the country with the single largest allocation of water on the entire river.

JB Hamby: There's a lot of urban growth and sprawl occurring in other parts of the Colorado River Basin that's really not necessarily sustainable.

Hamby says California's Imperial Valley farms have cut water usage almost 16% since 2003, but points out as the population of St. George, Utah grows, so does its water use.

JB Hamby: We need to think and rethink about how we grow and if we grow and where we grow.

Bill Whitaker: St. George would say that they're not asking for more. They're asking for what they need.

JB Hamby: I think what we all need to have is a reality check, here, and recognize that we live in an era of limits right now and that's not going away anytime soon. In fact, it's only going to get worse.

JB Hamby

A big part of the problem is the law of the river itself, a hodgepodge of rules and regulations pieced together over the course of a century. For example, after all the litigation and negotiations, the law ends up allocating more water than actually flows down the Colorado. And this: in times of shortage, channels that provide more than a third of Arizona's water must run dry before California is required to cut back.

Bill Whitaker: So, so wait a minute, Arizona is being called on to cut its water intake before California has to give up even one drop?

Brad Udall: Pretty amazing. It can't work in today's world. And it's in some ways a little microcosm, right, of this whole law of the river with these systems that have been put in place that just don't work. They can't work. And that's why a rethink's needed.

One example of rethinking: the Colorado River Indian Tribes agreed to leave fields uncultivated, leaving 48 billion gallons  almost three feet of water  in Lake Mead. The state of Arizona agreed to pay them for their losses.

Amelia Flores: My people want to help during this drought. We want to save the river, because for centuries the river has always taken care of us, so now, we have to take care of the river.

Brad Udall: That's what negotiations are all about, right? It may be there are ways to conserve and figure out how to get the same goods and services for less water. Let's let ag grow crops that use less water. Let's figure out how to make cities use water as efficiently as possible. So, I mean, we need some optimism here, right?

Waylon Wuertz: This desert ground...

But as we saw at this meeting of Pinal County farmers, optimism is in short supply.

Waylon Wuertz: The farmer who's prepared the whole life, worked the land, farmed the land is getting the short end of the stick.

Farmers here and across the Southwest feed the country. But it takes more than 2/3rds of the Colorado River to produce the bounty. With lake levels dropping, Arizona farmers like Waylon Wuertz fear their fertile fields could become desert again.

Waylon Wuertz: You're gonna see drastic cuts, a drastic change of what next year has to bring. And for my particular family farm, we're doing all that we can to keep it going. But I have a feeling it's just a matter of time before none of this exists.

This past January, Waylon Wuertz lost his entire Colorado River allotment, but his farm got a reprieve from an unusually wet winter. The Colorado is still in dire straits. In May, Arizona, California and Nevada agreed to conserve nearly a trillion gallons of water by the end of 2026, hoping the unprecedented cutback will stabilize the river.

Produced by Marc Lieberman. Associate producer, Cassidy McDonald. Broadcast associate, Emilio Almonte. Edited by Sean Kelly.

Not enough water to go around: Colorado River Basin, ravaged by drought, plans for a drier future

Uncovering Black cemeteries paved over in Florida | 60 Minutes

Charles Barkley: The 60 Minutes Interview
Burmese pythons, like this record-setting 19-footer that was captured in Big Cypress National Preserve in July, are an extreme threat to Florida's ecosystems.

On a recent trip to the Amazon jungle, I realized the threat of deforestation, invasive species infiltration and loss of biodiversity is a real threat to Floridians too.

Florida's unique ecosystem is under threat from the irresponsible actions of pet owners who release exotic animals into the wild. This practice, known as pet dumping, has led to the establishment of non-native species that wreak havoc on the delicate balance of Florida's native flora and fauna.

In this article, we will explore the consequences of irresponsible pet ownership and the devastating effects of released exotic pets on Florida's ecosystem.

Invasive species and habitat destruction

When exotic pets are released into the wild, they often thrive in the favorable climate of Florida, outcompeting native species for resources.

Invasive species such as Burmese pythons, green iguanas and lionfish have rapidly multiplied and spread, causing significant damage to the state's ecosystems. These invaders disrupt food chains, destroy habitats and displace native species, leading to a loss of biodiversity and ecological imbalance.

Predation and competition

Released exotic pets often become predators or competitors to native species that are ill-equipped to defend themselves against these new threats.

For example, Burmese pythons, originally from Southeast Asia, have decimated populations of small mammals in the Everglades, including raccoons, rabbits and even deer. Green iguanas, native to Central and South America, consume vegetation, damaging native plants and impacting the food sources of native herbivores.

Disease transmission

Exotic pets can introduce new diseases and parasites to native wildlife, which might have no natural defenses against these pathogens.

For instance, the Gambian pouch rat, an invasive species in Florida, carries a parasite that causes a potentially fatal disease in native snails and birds. The spread of diseases through these non-native species can have cascading effects on the entire ecosystem, leading to population declines and even extinctions.

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Economic impact

The presence of invasive species in Florida has significant economic consequences. The state invests millions of dollars each year in efforts to control and eradicate non-native species.

Invasive species damage agricultural crops, impact recreational activities such as fishing and boating and harm the tourism industry, which relies on the state's unique natural beauty and biodiversity. The financial burden of managing these invasive species falls on taxpayers and local communities.

Is your dog scared of storms? Holistic treatments could be the answer

Conservation efforts and responsible pet ownership

To mitigate the devastating effects of released exotic pets, it is crucial to promote responsible pet ownership and support conservation efforts.

Implementing stricter regulations on the ownership and trade of exotic pets can help prevent the release of these animals into the wild. Education campaigns should raise awareness about the potential consequences of pet dumping and provide resources for responsible pet rehoming or surrender.

Additionally, supporting organizations that focus on invasive species management and habitat restoration is vital for preserving Florida's unique ecosystem.

Irresponsible pet owners who release exotic pets into Florida's ecosystem pose a significant threat to the state, disrupting food chains, destroying habitats and leading to the loss of biodiversity. The consequences of pet dumping extend beyond ecological damage, impacting the economy and the well-being of local communities.

Mitsie Vargas

By promoting responsible pet ownership and supporting conservation efforts, we can work toward mitigating the effects of released exotic pets and preserving Florida's unique and fragile ecosystem for future generations.

Mitsie Vargas of Orchid Springs Animal Hospital in Winter Haven is a fellow of the American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture and author of "Alt-Vet: The Revolutionary Pet Care and Longevity Solution."

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: When exotic pets are introduced to Florida, we all lose
The Fremantle Highway was carrying around 500 electric vehicles when it caught fire (Handout)

A cargo ship packed with electric cars ablaze off the Dutch coast has been towed to a new temporary position, authorities said Monday, racing to prevent an ecological disaster.

The 66-kilometre (41-mile) operation to move the Fremantle Highway vessel began on Sunday and was carried out "without any problem", the Rijkswaterstaat national water management agency said.

The cause of the fire that broke out last Tuesday remains unclear, though the vessel's owner has said one of the electric vehicles on board may have been the source.

One sailor died after he and 22 others were rescued from the burning ship that had forced some crew members to jump overboard. Most have since been released from hospital.

The cargo ship is now 16 kilometres north of the islands of Schiermonnikoog and Ameland, but concerns remain about the impact of pollutants on the waters and a nearby archipelago of ecologically sensitive islands in the Wadden Sea.

Its new position is better suited "for the different scenarios and weather conditions expected", the authorities said, with Dutch broadcaster NOS adding that the ship is also now out of busy shipping lanes.

A vessel specialised in responding to oil spills is stationed nearby, and authorities are hoping to be able to inspect the cargo ship soon.

It had nearly 500 electric vehicles on board when it caught fire.

In March 2022, a cargo ship carrying some 4,000 Volkswagen cars, including some electric models, caught fire and sank off the coast of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean.

jcp/js
Heineken decided to leave the Russian market in 2022

Dutch beer giant Heineken has written off its Russian business, having as yet been unable to finalize a deal to sell it, according to the company's semi-annual report.

"Recent events in Russia show that it has become even more difficult for businesses to obtain permission to exit assets, Heineken said in the report.

We announced that we submitted an application for approval of the deal back in April, and we continue to work to close the deal."

The brewing company reflected in the report a full impairment of Russian assets worth EUR 201 million, of which EUR 113 million were accounted in June 2023.

The fact that the Dutch company Heineken decided to leave Russia was reported back in March of last year. However, in February 2023, the Dutch publication Follow The Money accused Heineken of dragging its feet and continuing to operate in Russia despite its promises to leave.

Read also: Belgium to brew Ukrainian Chernihivske beer, with profits going to Ukraine

While the company took its same-name flagship Heineken brand off the market in 2022, it also pushed another brand Amstel, and introduced new products, including Black Sheep stout, which took market share from the Irish product Guinness after it exited the market, Follow The Money reported.

A number of big Western names exited the Russian market after Russia launched its full-scale invasion and war on Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Many sold their businesses to new Russian owners, who continued to operate them much as usual. Fast-food giant McDonalds, for instance, sold its franchise chain, which was quickly rebranded into a Russian clone Fkusna. I tochka selling nearly identical products.

On July 16, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the transfer to "temporary state management" of large assets of the food industry - LLC "Pivovarna kompaniya Baltika" and JSC "Danone Russia."

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Northern China on rainstorm red alert

08:51, July 31, 2023 By ZHANG YU in Shijiazhuang and DU JUAN in Beijing ( Chinadaily.com.cn

A man rides a bike amid the rain in Beijing, capital of China, July 30, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Thousands of people were evacuated from flood-prone areas as heavy rainfall triggered by Typhoon Doksuri  the fifth typhoon of this year  lashed Beijing and its surrounding regions, including Tianjin and Hebei province, on Sunday.

The deadly storm, which first careened into southern China's Fujian province on Friday and then swept through the country's northeastern belt, prompted high-level emergency responses against potentially hazardous conditions including flooding and landslides.

The National Meteorological Center renewed a red alert for northern China at 6 pm on Sunday. The red alert is the country's highest level of warning for rainstorms. This is the second time a red alert has been issued since the warning mechanism was put in place in 2010.

More than 27,000 people were evacuated from flood-prone areas of Beijing as of Sunday morning, local flood control authorities said.

Heavy rainfall and rainstorms have been forecast since Saturday in Beijing, Tianjin and most cities in Hebei, as well as parts of neighboring Shanxi, Henan and Shandong provinces. Central areas in Hebei, which are close to the mountains, and western parts of Beijing are likely to receive very heavy downpours, the center said.

Zhang Linna, chief forecaster at the Beijing Meteorological Service, said that heavy rainfall in the capital has been mainly triggered by the combined effect of "a low-pressure trough", which developed after Doksuri's intensity weakened, and "the warm, humid air outside the subtropical high".

According to the forecasting service, Beijing will receive heavy downpours till Tuesday night, with its western and southern areas being battered by "extraordinary rainstorms".

The city's flood control headquarters issued a Level-I emergency response for flooding at 7 pm on Saturday and advised nine key measures to avoid incidents.

All scenic spots, parks and forestry farms as well as guesthouses in Beijing were directed to close down, residents were advised to stay indoors and work from home, and schools were ordered to suspend offline classes and outdoor events.

The precipitation in Beijing this time has the potential to break records, local weather authorities said. The intensity of precipitation will decrease from Wednesday, when the city is expected to see light or moderate rainfall.

In Hebei, the province's meteorological service said that several cities, including Shijiazhuang, Langfang and Baoding, are expected to see "extraordinary rainstorms" on Monday, and the accumulated precipitation in some places could top 600 millimeters.

In Fujian, over 1.45 million people were affected by the typhoon and more than 360,000 residents had been evacuated as of Saturday night.

Hu Meidong in Fuzhou contributed to this story.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
After months spent fighting off the sale of 100 acres of land and development that residents believed would lead to their displacement, Eatonville Mayor Angie Gardner is working to rally support for an idea that she says could protect the future of the town.

Gardner wants to see the historic Black town form an Eatonville Community Land Trust. If successful, a community land trust (CLT) would ensure the availability of affordable housing for generations, make homeownership more feasible for lower-income residents and create a pathway for development without gentrification, she said.

It would begin to stabilize the land ownership in the town, Gardner said, adding that more than 60% of residents in Eatonville rent. It will allow the town to acquire land, not to just land bank, but for the purpose of getting that land developed all while still having and saving it for our future generations.

More than 300 CLTs have been created nationwide with about 20 in Florida. The American CLT model was born out the Civil Rights movement and was designed to help Black Americans gain economic freedom, said Camille Reynolds Lewis, executive director of the Hannibal Square Community Land Trust in Winter Park.

Reynolds Lewis attended a recent Eatonville Community Redevelopment Agency meeting to share information about CLTs, which Gardner said she hopes will be one of several meetings the town hosts to inform residents.

The primary mission of a land trust is homeownership, Reynolds Lewis said. The basic principle is that if someone is buying a home in a community land trust, they buy the home and they lease the land.  Its similar to a condo situation.

This kind of arrangement automatically reduces the financial burden of home buying because the price of the land is removed from the overall price of the home, Reynolds Lewis said. The trust then leases the land to the homeowner for a nominal monthly fee  about $50 per month in the case of the Hannibal Square CLT.

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Homeowners who buy into a CLT program must also agree to only sell the home for a certain amount above what they paid, ensuring that they can see a return on their investment and making certain that, even if housing values skyrocket, that home remains accessible and affordable for the next generation of buyers.

The idea of holding the land in community land trusts, which are always nonprofit organizations, is to make sure that the co-op, the whole group (of CLT homeowners), continues to have control over what happens with the properties or the land, Reynolds Lewis said. Community land trusts are a very good way of staving off gentrification. And everyone who owns a home in the community land trust is a member of the community land trust. Its not some entity thats handling everything. Everyone who is there is part of the membership. They vote on what happens.

Thats part of the reason Gardner finds the idea so attractive for Eatonville, a town where more than 60% of homes are occupied by renters and, in many cases, owned by people who dont live in Eatonville.

Thats a dangerous situation for us to be in when you talk about culture and heritage, Gardner said. The owners (of rental properties often) have no connection to the town except for that piece of land. But we know that houses change ownership pretty regularly. So by having this community land trust, we can purchase those homes.

Once the homes are purchased, they would be placed in the CLT and, based on the terms of the CLT, the home could only be sold to someone who would use it as their primary residence, not as an investment property.

With each purchase, that land now comes back to the town, Gardner said. And now, well be building primary ownership, homesteads instead of perpetuating rental properties. And thats going to not only help stabilize our community but it will also be a way for us to allow time for those generations that left to come back and start looking and see that theres hope. Theres a way they can get a home now in the town of Eatonville.

The plan for a CLT in Eatonville is still in the early stages.

The catalyst for Gardners interest in CLTs was the uncertainty over the future of the 100 acres of land once occupied by the Robert Hungerford Normal and Industrial School, which was taken off the market when a planned sale to developers fell through amid a groundswell of community opposition.

Orange County Public Schools owns the property and has so far refused to donate it to the town or a land trust despite government and resident support of a donation.

School district can donate Hungerford land, legal experts say

But another property could soon become the launching ground for the towns CLT if Gardner can rally support. Earlier this year, the town won a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to purchase a motel near the corner of West Street and Kennedy Boulevard to transform it into affordable housing.

The town council is set to approve the grant for the purchase of the property at a council meeting on Aug. 1. Gardner said she hopes to see that land placed into a land trust so that it can remain affordable for Eatonville residents in perpetuity.

dstennett@orlandosentinel.com
X Eyes

San Franciscans are already bidding adieu to the strobing "X" sign that sat atop the Twitter headquarters, which came down earlier today after the city launched an investigation into the eyesore.

As the San Francisco Standard reports, the sign was removed from the roof of the Elon Musk-owned company's HQ after complaints from neighbors about its annoying, uber-bright strobing effect.

Not long after the sign was erected, the city launched a probe into whether it was installed legally. When government inspectors came to check it out, they were twice denied access to the roof as part of their probe, according to a complaint from the city's Department of Building Inspection. As one of the city inspectors noted in the official complaint, an employee who blocked access to the roof of the building claimed the strobing monstrosity was a "temporary lighted sign for an event."

Flashing Lights

As the building's neighbors told local news, the strobing sign  which was only up for a whopping three days following the hasty rebrand a few days before that  was a major nuisance.

"It was so bright that it was actually hurting my eyes a little bit," Miao Gong, who lives nearby, told SF's Fox affiliate KTVU. "I think if it had just stayed on, I could've ignored it, but because it kept flashing, it was hard to ignore."

Footage taken after the sign's removal reveals that the only remaining vestige of the erstwhile "X" sign are the two posts on which it was installed.

After the name change last week, eagle-eyed X-watchers noticed that crews were removing the "Twitter" sign from the side of the site's Market Street headquarters  a move that was also done without a permit, and which now seems to leave the building nameless.

More on X: Indonesia Blocks Twitter, Thinking the "X" Was a Porn Thing
Elon Musk at the Viva Technology conference in Paris, France, June 16, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

Elon Musk denied Ukraine's request for Starlink access near Crimea last year, per The New York Times.

Ukraine wanted to send an explosive maritime drone against Russian ships, the Times reported.

Some Ukrainian officials and world leaders worry about relying on Musk's technology, the report said.

Elon Musk denied Ukraine access to his Starlink satellite system near Crimea last year when the country wanted to send an explosive-filled maritime drone against Russian ships, The New York Times reported.

According to the Times, Ukraine asked Musk for Starlink access near Crimea, but Musk refused, two people familiar with the discussions said. He later said the company's satellites could not be used for long-range drone strikes.

Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014 and is the site of a major Russian naval base. It also serves as a key part of the Russian military's supply chain. Ukraine has vowed to take it back.

Ukraine has increasingly relied on Starlink for its internet and communications since Russia's invasion in February 2022. The system, which has thousands of satellites in orbit to provide internet services even to remote regions, is often the only way for conflict zones to get internet access.

Musk said Starlink was activated in Ukraine in February 2022, and Ukrainian officials said that by early May it had about 150,000 daily users.

Soldiers told the Times that Starlink enables drone pilots to find and strike a target in about a minute, compared to the 20 minutes it took before using the technology.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's digital minister, told the Times that the "huge number of lives that Starlink has helped save can be measured in the thousands."

But Ukrainian officials are also concerned about relying too much on Starlink and have reached out to other satellite internet providers. However, none of them can match the level of connectivity that Starlink gives, they said, according to the Times.

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Fedorov called Starlink "the blood of our entire communication infrastructure now."

Ukraine's concerns are mirrored elsewhere.

The Times reported that world leaders and militaries are worried about Musk's "erratic and personality-driven style."

And some countries have questioned Musk's control of Starlink with US officials over the last year and a half, the Times reported. The EU is planning its own rival satellite internet system.

SpaceX, Musk's company that develops and launches Starlink satellites, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, which was sent outside of normal business hours.

Musk's relationship with Ukraine since the Russian invasion has not always been easy.

Last year he floated a peace plan that Ukraine criticized as it involved handing over Ukrainian territory to Russia.

And Ukrainian officials said in September that Musk had blocked Starlink internet access in Crimea, saying he was concerned about escalating the conflict.

Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the leader of Ukraine's Armed Forces, asked the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark A. Milley, about Musk in a March 17, 2023, call, the Times reported.

Zaluzhnyi noted that Ukraine's fighting was reliant on Starlink for communications and said he wanted to make sure Ukraine kept getting access and how to cover the cost, three people with knowledge of the conversation told the Times.

Zaluzhnyi also asked if the US had an assessment of Musk. US officials didn't answer the question, the Times report said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Workers dismantling the "X" sign on the roof of X headquarters in San Fransisco on Monday. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A new "X" sign appeared atop X's San Francisco headquarters Friday. It was gone by Monday.

The sign garnered complaints from city officials and neighbors, who criticized its brightness.

Elon Musk rebranded Twitter to X earlier this month.

The large sign Elon Musk had installed atop X's San Francisco headquarters has already been removed after irking neighbors and raising concerns with city officials. It was up for just three days.

On Monday, photos of construction workers dismantling the sign reached social media, where users continued to discuss Musk's decision to rebrand Twitter as X. NBC's Scott Budman said that the X sign had been removed. He also shared a video showing a construction crew working on the building's original Twitter sign.

Representatives for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It's the latest update in the ongoing saga involving X's San Francisco headquarters. After the sign was installed Friday, photos and videos of it went viral as users of Musk's app discussed the new look. One viral post said that the sign  which had bright and sometimes strobing lights  was aimed directly at the building across the street.

"I would be fucking LIVID. Imagine this fucking X sign right across from your bedroom," the post read.

Christopher J. Beale, a journalist and audio engineer for KQED, responded to the post by sharing a video of the bright sign from a window in his home. Beale told KTVU in an interview that he lived across the street from X's headquarters.

"Around 11 last night they had it at full blast, strobing, and it lit this entire area up like it was daylight," he told the outlet. Even with the blinds down, Beale said, "it was to the point where we couldn't even watch the movie we were trying to watch in the living room and we had to move to the other side of the apartment."

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Workers attempted to remove the original "Twitter" sign last week. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Separately, city officials also voiced concerns about the new sign and Musk's attempts to remove the original Twitter sign.

When construction workers attempted to remove the original sign last week, the San Francisco Police Department intervened and stopped the crew from completing the job. The department said that officers responded to "a possible unpermitted street closure" but later concluded that the "incident was not a police matter" because no crime was committed.

City officials also stepped in when the new "X" sign was installed, according to the Associated Press. The outlet reported that the city of San Francisco opened a complaint and launched an investigation over a potential permit violation.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Editors note: The Kyiv Independent is not disclosing the full names or deployed positions of the Ukrainian soldiers interviewed in the story due to security concerns amid the ongoing war.

Donetsk Oblast  The narrow, partly destroyed road through the Serebrianskyi Forest in the northern part of Donetsk Oblast is constantly targeted by Russian artillery, tank, mortar, and rocket fire.

The road is one of the very few pathways Ukrainian troops can still use to reach their front-line positions near the Russian-occupied town of Kreminna on the Lyman axis.

"The fire is so dense that if they wanted to, they could hit everything," said Vitaly, a 27-year-old acting platoon commander with the 63rd Separate Mechanized Brigade, while driving to the front-line position through the forest. "They are throwing all they have at us."

For Ukrainian troops near Kreminna, the task is to hold on to positions as long as possible while hoping their comrades deliver results on other axes where the Ukrainian counteroffensive is ongoing.

Here, just a few hundred meters away, Russian forces are on the offensive. And they are intensifying their artillery fire and approaching Ukrainian positions, according to soldiers on the spot.

The map shows the front-line situation on the Lyman axis as of Aug. 1, 2023. (The Kyiv Independent)

Soldiers who spoke with the Kyiv Independent said that despite constant assaults, Russian troops have only advanced about 500 meters over the past two months  the distance of roughly five football fields.

It's a push and pull, the soldiers say. The Russians are always looking for weak points.

Russians have been amassing forces in the northeast over the recent weeks, with the Ukrainian military reporting that Moscow has gathered over 100,000 personnel, more than 900 tanks, 555 artillery systems, and 370 rocket systems in the northeastern Lyman-Kupiansk direction.

The soldiers with the 63rd brigade, stationed here, say it has been a challenge to hold on with very few resources  an ongoing problem that has only worsened with time.

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"There are not enough evacuation cars. Not enough thermal imagers, Vitaly said. Not enough people  that is the primary problem."

Trench forest

The Serebrianskyi Forest, now riddled with trench lines, was already gone when Vitaly's 63rd Separate Mechanized Brigade was transferred to the Kreminna front from Bakhmut in March.

The soldiers said that their experience fighting near Kreminna has been tough because there is nowhere to hide  especially compared to Bakhmut, a city in Donetsk Oblast once home to 70,000 people, which had many high-rising buildings that defenders used to shelter. It slowed down the siege of the city, ultimately stretching it to 10 months.

Near Kreminna, the bare, burned-down trees make it easy for both Ukraine and Russia to spot each other's equipment and infantry positions  a major headache for both sides.

Russia is sending waves of assault groups of up to 10 people, attacking from various directions. Ukrainian soldiers say that Russians had a brief pause in the attacks in June, but got back at it again in July  increasing their frequency and intensity.

Before each assault, Russian forces use aerial reconnaissance drones to locate Ukrainian positions. They also send small infantry groups to gather information, such as to observe break schedules and how rotation works  and sometimes begin shooting to find Ukrainian positions based on the return fire.

Russian snipers also operate nearby, especially at night, targeting Ukrainian positions.

Read also: Inside Ukraines costly mission to grind down Russia near Bakhmut

Once the intelligence assessment is over, artillery, tank, mortar, and Grad rockets begin bombarding Ukrainian positions. The Russian assault groups always have enormous artillery support, the soldiers said.

Cluster munitions are also used regularly, according to them.

Artillery stops firing only when Russians are already nearby  leading to a close-range shooting battle.

The Russian assault soldiers can shoot just as well as the Ukrainians, making it an equal fight, according to 59-year-old soldier Dmytro.

Vasyl, a 29-year-old infantryman from Lviv, said it's extremely difficult because Russia often jams the radio connecting the front-line positions to the headquarters during assault operations.

Even if the Russians don't completely shut off the radio network, missing a few words of the command can be detrimental, he said.

"Some information comes in, some doesn't come at all. Every word from the radio is important information," Vasyl said.

While his unit has been able to hold the position thus far, Vasyl said it had taken a heavy toll near Kreminna.

When they arrived at the Kreminna front in March, his unit had 80 infantrymen  though an infantry company should have 100-120 people, according to Vasyl.

And five months into the fighting, the unit had 34 active service members  the rest were killed, severely wounded, or missing, he said.

Denys, an infantryman with the Dnipro Battalion who was also deployed in the area, said the only thing that helps survive is digging deep into the ground.

According to Denys, it's almost impossible to prepare a very good dugout in the forest, and there are other complicating factors as well  rain, mud, and mosquitoes.

"Sometimes, the mosquitoes are more annoying than the Russians," he joked.

"The survival chance of infantry in urban conditions is higher than in the forest," Denys said. "It's easier to be killed in the forest. There is no place to hide."

Fighting with little resources

Russia has outgunned Ukraine throughout the entire war.

Now, with Ukraine concentrating a magnitude of firepower on the southern and eastern fronts, soldiers near Kreminna are facing an unprecedented lack of manpower and fire support.

This leads to stretched hours on the front line  with 59-year-old Dmytro saying that he stood 22 days on the first line of defense without rotation or a proper break.

The assaults and artillery fire are endless. "We defend, they back off, and then again artillery begins working, and it's like that constantly," Dmytro explained.

Vitaly, who helps evacuate the injured, says some of the losses could have been avoided if there were more armored vehicles that could get close to the positions through the forest.

Another problem is with thermal imagers: Each position only has one device, bought by either soldiers or volunteers, while it needs two or three, soldiers say.

The soldiers add that communication appears to be poor, with their own fire support often hitting close to their trenches.

Mortarmen Serhiy and Anton with the 63rd brigade, who are located over a kilometer back, say that it is difficult to hit the required target as Russian infantry stands close to Ukrainian positions.

Aerial reconnaissance is key in this regard, the two point out.

The more fire support the infantry has, particularly heavy artillery, the better they will be protected because the Russians would be afraid to bring their equipment closer, Serhiy said Ukrainian soldiers in all parts of the front line have consistently said they dont have enough.

Russians, they said, always seem to have an endless supply of men, ammunition, and equipment.

Read also: Ukraines counteroffensive lurches forward: Key moment looms as more forces committed

______________________________________________________

Note from the author:

Hi, this is Asami Terajima, the author of this article.

Thank you for reading our story. Despite fending off intensifying Russian offensive with limited resources, the way the soldiers supported each other touched my heart. To help the Kyiv Independent continue telling stories that may otherwise be untold, please consider becoming our supporter.



Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Online marketplace Etsy is facing growing calls for sellers to boycott the site for withholding their money.

A reserve system meant some sellers had 75% of their takings frozen for 45 days, leaving them struggling to trade.

Furniture seller Stephen James is one of the hundreds who have joined social media groups calling for other sellers to come off the platform in protest.

It is not clear how many would join in any boycott. Etsy said it would continue to review its reserve system.

It added that it took seller feedback seriously and that payment reserves were used to "keep the marketplace safe" and cover any potential refunds.

Small Business Commissioner Liz Barclay told the BBC her team were receiving a rising number of complaints about Etsy.

They had also noticed a growing number of people joining social media groups to discuss a strike or boycott.

On Facebook, the Etsy Reserve Strike group has more than 800 members and many are sharing tips on moving to other online platforms to sell their goods.

On Reddit, a thread known as a sub-Reddit, has been set up called r/EtsyStrike. The online group Not on Amazon has also become a place where Etsy sellers are airing their complaints.

A strike or boycott of Etsy would mean a seller would put their store on holiday mode, effectively stopping people from buying from them.

It is not clear how many people in these social media groups are sellers and how many of them would join a strike.

But with just under a million users in the UK, a boycott could dent the amount of commission and fees which Etsy received from each sale. Etsy told the BBC it had six million sellers worldwide and that only 2% of those active had reserves on their accounts.

Stephen James, 52, from Shropshire, said he would join any Etsy sellers strike or boycott after saying the reserve system left his furniture business with "only two planks of wood".

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He said he was unable to buy any more material after a reserve led to 3,000 of his takings being withheld.

Stephen said the reserve hit "out of the blue", just when he was scaling up his business. He now only has two members of staff, instead of three.

When the reserve began, Stephen wrote to his buyers explaining what was happening. He said some buyers were "disgusted" by Etsy's approach, and cancelled their orders on his Etsy store.

Stephen is now building his own website to sell his furniture.

What is Etsy and who owns it?

Etsy is an online marketplace that allows independent sellers to set up their own shop. It specialises in bespoke items, handicrafts or things not usually available in High Street shops.

Etsy Inc. is a US-based company which trades its shares on the NASDAQ stock exchange in New York, where it listed its stock in 2015. Etsy's shares currently trading at $99 each - a far cry from an all time high of $294 during the Covid pandemic in 2021.

Its biggest shareholders are major financial institutions such as Vanguard Group, BlackRock and JP Morgan.

The company is led by chief executive Josh Silverman who has worked at an eclectic mix of businesses such as online auction site eBay, the internet chat firm Skype and American Express. He has been chief executive since 2017.

It was originally founded in 2005 by Rob Kalin, Chris Maguire, Haim Schoppik and Jared Tarbell who started the business from Mr Kalin's Brooklyn apartment. None of them remain with the firm.

Julia Aufenast, 50, has been selling semi-precious gems on Etsy for 13 years and had a reserve imposed and removed without explanation.

"I have over 30,000 sales and really good feedback. Not only did they put my shop in reserve but they forced it into vacation mode," she said.

Ms Aufenast said she was able to continue trading online using her own website and PayPal account.

"But I did think about people who don't have that, and how on earth they manage to pay their bills let alone buy new supplies," she said.

Ms Aufenast stays in touch with other sellers on Facebook who are co-ordinating a boycott of the platform. She said she was prepared to stop selling on Etsy in protest but understands it would be painful for smaller sellers.

"There is nothing like Etsy and so it's not easy to find some other marketplace to sell with," she said.

'Only income'

Small Business Commissioner Ms Barclay told the BBC Radio 5 Live's Wake Up To Money show she found the situation "really concerning".

"In some cases people are saying: 'we can't afford to feed the kids over the weekend'," she said.

"A lot of people set up in the pandemic and Etsy is their only source of income," she added. "Women, ethnic minority and neurodiverse people found that Etsy's way of working really fits them and their lifestyle - they are going to find it really difficult to carry on."

Ms Barclay added that she had heard of many cases of sellers' takings being held on reserve from outside of the UK too.

She said sellers have told her there were increasing calls for them to take a united stand against Etsy.

"There are all sorts of groups being set up," she said. "There's the Etsy strike group which had 740 members by Friday afternoon. There all sorts of groups arising and a lot are saying 'I've been a seller for years, I'm no risk'. In some cases, sellers will have money held until October."

Other, smaller platforms such as OneFayre and Mayfli are now being sought out by sellers as an alternative.

A spokesperson said: "The vast majority of sellers receive their funds when they make a sale rather than having to wait until the buyer receives the item, like they might with other selling platforms."

They added: "As always, we will continue to iterate and improve upon our programs, including payment reserves, in order to support our sellers."

The BBC understands Etsy is in talks with the UK government about the payment reserve system.
The test images bristle with stars despite portraying tiny sections of space - fractions smaller than the part of the night sky occupied by the Moon

Europe's new space telescope, Euclid, has returned its first images.

Engineers switched on the cameras of the 1.4bn (1.2bn) observatory to begin a phase of testing and captured a wide vista of stars and galaxies.

Once properly set up, Euclid will start building a 3D map of the cosmos in an effort to tie down the nature of so-called dark matter and dark energy.

Together, these phenomena appear to control the shape and expansion of everything we see out there.

Quite what they are, however, is highly uncertain.

Neither dark matter nor dark energy are directly detectable, which means Euclid will have to use roundabout methods to glimpse their properties.

The telescope was launched on 1 July from Cape Canaveral in Florida, US.

It was despatched to an observing position about 1.5 million km from Earth on its night side - a popular location for space observatories because it sits in a gravitational sweetspot that means less fuel is needed to keep a craft on-station.

This place, known as the "2nd Lagrange Point", also doesn't suffer from the swings in light and temperature experienced by telescopes orbiting close to Earth.

The new super-space telescope James Webb is another inhabitant of this parking spot.

The test images released by the European Space Agency on Monday come from both of Euclid's cameras.

There are a lot of streaks in the VIS imagery caused by cosmic rays. They can be eliminated

It's got a visible light (the light our eyes sense) instrument, called simply VIS; and an infrared (longer wavelength light than our eyes will sense) instrument referred to as NISP, or Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer.

The sample pictures from both cameras contain countless stars and galaxies, even though they are tracing a patch on the sky that is smaller than the full Moon.

Interestingly, if you look closely at the VIS imagery, you can see lots of little streaks. These are tracks left by high energy particles, or cosmic rays. They strike the camera's detectors at all angles to leave lines of various lengths.

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When Euclid commences its 3D survey, scientists will remove these artefacts by stacking several exposures on top of each other.

The European Space Agency says mission managers had a bit of a scare when they first examined the VIS pictures because it was evident stray sunlight was getting into the camera through some gap in the hardware. By turning the space observatory, they were able to block the contaminating light.

The issue should not affect Euclid's survey, provided the telescope is only used in specific orientations.

Engineers have several more months of commissioning before the telescope can be released to go after its two targets.

Dark matter is the matter that cannot be detected directly but which astronomers know to be there because of its gravitational effects on the matter we can see.

Galaxies, for example, could not hold their shape were it not for the presence of some additional "scaffolding". This is presumed to be dark matter - whatever that is.

Although this material cannot be seen directly, the telescope can plot its distribution by looking for the subtle way its mass distorts the light coming from distant galaxies.

Dark energy is a very different concept from dark matter.

This mysterious "force" appears to be accelerating the expansion of the Universe. Recognition of its existence and effect in 1998 earned three scientists a Nobel Prize.

Euclid will investigate the phenomenon by mapping the three-dimensional distribution of galaxies.

The patterns in the great voids that exist between these objects can be used as a kind of "yardstick" to measure the expansion through time.

Euclid won't be able to say definitively "this is the nature of dark matter and dark energy", but what it should do is narrow the scope of the models and ideas that flood current thinking. It will focus the attention of theorists and experimentalists.

The development of the VIS instrument was led from the UK.
(Bloomberg) -- The Rhine River has been a reliable shipping lane for centuries, helping spawn industrial giants along its banks. But those days are coming to an end, and the scramble is made all the more urgent as Germanys government fails to keep pace.

Most Read from Bloomberg

With water regularly receding to levels that impede shipping from late summer through the fall, companies up and down Europes most important trade route are rushing to adapt, underscoring how the climate crisis is hitting even advanced industrial economies.

BASF SE is re-routing logistics to trains and trucks. Plastics maker Covestro AG has contingency plans that include shifting some production to Belgium. Manufacturers are stockpiling supplies, utilities are storing extra fuel, and freight operators have started overhauling fleets with barges able to navigate shallow water.

The costly and cumbersome workarounds are aimed at avoiding widespread shutdowns due to disruptions in the critical transport artery  a dilemma thats becoming more frequent as warmer winters mean less snow to maintain levels during dry summer months.

After brutal heat waves scorched southern Europe, the river at Kaub, a key waypoint west of Frankfurt, has hit levels this summer that mean some ships could carry only about half of normal capacity. While recent rains have eased the strain, even small changes can have a major impact. A drop of 10 centimeters (four inches) means about 100 fewer tons can be transported per ship, according to Florian Rothlingshofer, director of Swiss Rhine Ports.

What we might experience today as the exception will become the norm in the future, Christoph Heinzelmann, director of Germanys Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute, said in an interview. With that, more limitations will arise.

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Overhauling the Rhines fleet of 8,900 ships for shallow water could total around 90 billion ($99 billion). And thats just part of the costs to keep commerce flowing. Theres extra inventories and the space to store them, as well as government plans to reengineer the river, which are slow in coming.

Initiatives have been in the works for years and include early-warning systems and dredging a tricky 50-kilometer stretch that runs from the baroque Biebrich palace near Mainz to just past Kaub and the legendary Lorelei cliffs  a project the German government estimates will cost 180 million.

After last years drought, Chancellor Olaf Scholzs administration sought to speed up efforts, but thats now stalled due to infighting and bureaucratic inertia, adding to challenges facing Europes largest economy.

Read More: Germanys Economic Malaise Evokes Sick Man of Europe Era

The Rhine snakes its way nearly 800 miles from the Swiss Alps through Germanys industrial heartland before emptying into the North Sea at the Dutch port of Rotterdam. It conveys more than 10% of Swiss trade and about two tons per German resident every year. Thats now under threat.

In late summer, snow melt no longer plays a major role for the Rhine and that supply of water was exhausted even earlier this year, according to Dennis Meissner, a forecaster at the German Federal Institute of Hydrology. So high temperatures are mainly a driver for low flow, he said.

An initial warning sounded in 2018, when the Rhine reached historic lows and transport on the river all but ceased  shaving 5 billion off German industrial production. Since then, levels have more frequently constrained capacity. Last year, Germany recorded the lowest volume of trade on the Rhine and other inland waterways since at least 1990, according to the German statistics agency.

The river is largely irreplaceable for sites like BASFs sprawling facility in Ludwigshafen. The worlds largest chemical plant  occupying 10 square kilometers along the river  loads and unloads about 15 barges a day, accounting for about 40% of its transport volume. BASF uses an early-warning system that predicts issues six weeks in advance. Its increasingly looking to shift transport to rail and is adding loading points to be more flexible.

Germanys largest steel mill is even more exposed. Located in Duisburg at the confluence of the Rhine and Ruhr rivers, Thyssenkrupp AGs facility requires 60,000 tons of raw materials a day. Halting barges would require 2,000 trucks, and abandoning the Rhine entirely isnt feasible, according to a company spokeswoman. River barges remain the most efficient, economic and ecological mode of transport, she said.

Covestros plants in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia get a majority of their raw materials and convey about a third of their finished goods via the Rhine. The company has a task force that springs into action when water levels get critical. Measures include renting more ships to allow for lighter loads and shifting production to other locations in Germany and Belgium.

Read More: A River at Europes Heart Gives Riled Farmers a Climate Solution

Companies have little choice but to invest to secure operations. The main strategy is to horde supplies and build as much redundancy into logistics operations as possible. Freight companies are ordering redesigned barges like the Stolt Ludwigshafen. The 135-meter long ship, which was christened on BASFs behalf in May, is broader than conventional versions and so can navigate low water more safely.

But costing at least 10 million each, its a pricey switch. And the transition is only just beginning. Freight operator HGK in Cologne operates 350 barges on the Rhine and other European rivers, but only four are low-water vessels with three more under construction.

Theres also limited capacity. Dutch shipbuilder De Gerlien van Tiem, which built two ships for Covestro, says its order books are full until the end of next year.

Political support isnt likely anytime soon. Plans to ease Rhine shipping have been caught up in bickering among the three parties in Scholzs ruling coalition.

Waterways havent yet been fully included in a law designed to accelerate the approval of crucial infrastructure projects because the Greens pushed back against the pro-business Free Democrats over concerns about the environmental impact of dredging. Without the legislation easing bottlenecks, the dredging of the key middle Rhine stretch wont happen until after 2030 at the earliest, according to Germanys inland shipping association BDB.

Deepening the shipping channels around Kaub remains one of Germanys most important transport projects and the initiative still benefits from government efforts to set a four-year limit on certain approval processes, a spokesman for the transport ministry said in response to Bloomberg questions.

While Germany has vowed to increase inland shipping along with rail cargo to clean up its transport sector, its not backing that up. According to the governments long-term spending plan, it expects to invest 270 billion in transport infrastructure by 2030  nearly half is earmarked for roads and less than 10% for waterways.

In November last year  after the Rhine was again affected by drought  the transport ministry convened a so-called acceleration commission consisting of representatives from federal and state governments, Rhine-based manufacturers as well as environmental groups. Proposals were supposed to be presented by mid-2023, but are now expected in September.

In contrast to Germanys slow approach, Switzerland has already carried out a dredging operation to ease access to its Rhine ports. The plan was anchored in a 2014 climate report, with approval granted in 2017 and the project completed in February 2019.

While Scholzs coalition says it wants to take the lead on climate policy, its not following through fast enough, according to Claudia Kemfert, professor of energy economics at the DIW research institute in Berlin

At the moment, no state acts with the necessary urgency  unfortunately not even Germany, she said. We have an enormous obligation because we are so emissions-intensive and are not living up to our responsibility of recognizing this climate emergency as real.

--With assistance from Samuel Dodge, Demetrios Pogkas, Monica Raymunt, Paula Doenecke, Jack Wittels, Kamil Kowalcze and Priscila Azevedo Rocha.

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EVANSVILLE  Two parents have been arrested after their infant suffered "life-threatening injuries," including a skull fracture and subdural hematomas, according to investigators with the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office.

The child, a boy who hasn't been publicly identified, isn't likely to survive, Sheriff Noah Robinson said. His exact age wasn't listed.

According to a news release from the sheriff's office, Cheyenne Elmore-Sitz, 23, and 31-year-old Javontae Goldsby both face charges of neglect of a dependent resulting in catastrophic injury, a Level 1 felony, and aggravated battery, a Level 3 felony.

Neither of their cases appeared in court records as of Monday afternoon. Both have denied hurting the child.

Elmore-Sitz and Goldsby called 911 just after 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and said the boy wasn't breathing, the release states. As the child lay in his crib, Goldsby administered CPR until EMS and Evansville Fire Department officials arrived. They were able to restore a pulse, and the child was rushed to Ascension St. Vincent and placed on a ventilator.

After he was stabilized, he was taken to Peyton Manning Children's Hospital in Indianapolis and put on life support.

The boy reportedly suffered a skull fracture, subdural hematomas, retinal hemorrhages and subarachnoid bleeding  injuries "consistent with violent shaking and/or an impact," the release states. Doctors diagnosed him with a traumatic brain injury.

"The injuries were found to be consistent with abusive head trauma and were described by doctors as inflicted injuries," the release states. ".... Medical personnel advised that the infants life-threatening condition would have been obvious around the time the infant was reportedly put to bed."

According to the release, neither Elmore-Sitz nor Goldsby could explain the boy's injuries, and they reportedly gave "conflicting statements" over who put the boy to bed.

Both were arrested Monday and placed in the Vanderburgh County jail without bond. Their charge on the website was listed as "neglect of a dependent causing death," but Robinson said the boy was still alive as of Monday afternoon.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville parents arrested after infant suffers serious brain injury
Rod Lamkey/Pool via Reuters

Former White House doctor and current Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) was attempting to help a 15-year-old girl who was having a medical emergency during a rodeo in Texas on Saturday when he was briefly detained by cops, his office confirmed to The Daily Beast.

A spokesperson for Jackson confirmed the incident took place during a concert at the White Deer Rodeo on Saturday night on the outskirts of Amarillo. They described a very loud and chaotic environment in which Jackson was taken into custodybut never arrestedand quickly released once the situation was explained.

The incident began after Jackson was summoned by someone in the crowd to assist a 15-year-old girl who was having a medical emergency nearby, his office said.

The GOP congressman had sat in the stands during the entire rodeo, in full view of the assembled crowd, and was not drinking, his spokesperson added.

Trumps Ex-Doc, Ronny Jackson, Promised to Help Pharma Execs. They Then Bankrolled His Campaign.

They described how when Jackson arrived at the scene, there was a relative, who happened to be a nurse, already providing assistance. Dr. Jackson explained that he was a physician and asked her if she needed help, and she said yes.

The relative did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Daily Beast, but they posted on Facebook shortly after the incident describing the teens status and the scenerelaying at length a scuffle between authorities and Jackson, during which he was allegedly thrown to the ground.

A comment in the Facebook thread from the relative also revealed the teen is now awake and alert.

The statement from Jacksons office also appeared to confirm the report.

While assessing the patient in a very loud and chaotic environment, confusion developed with law enforcement on the scene and Dr. Jackson was briefly detained and was actually prevented from further assisting the patient, Jacksons statement said, noting that there were no uniformed EMS providers on the scene at that time.

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He was immediately released as soon as law enforcement realized that he, as a medical professional, was tending to the young girls medical emergency.

In a follow-up Facebook post, the relative thanked Jackson personally for his act of kindness and assistance in taking care of our 15 year old at the White Deer Rodeo. The relative wrote that they worked very well together communicating during this medical crisis that occurred, adding, thank you so very much for being where you were needed with your Healthcare Professionalism!

Ex-Trump Doc Suggests on Fox That Bidens on Drugs

The local sheriff confirmed to The Texas Tribune that a person was temporarily detained and that the department is reviewing the incidentbut did not confirm Jacksons identity. The sheriff declined to comment further on the matter and did not respond to request for comment from The Daily Beast.

The Tribune notes it is unclear who detained Jackson due to the sheer number of authorities on scene.

Jackson joined the White House Medical Unit as a physician in 2006 and served under three presidents, though it was Trumps tenure in the White House when Jacksons political aspirations really began to flourish.

He was first elected to the conservative, predominantly white 13th Congressional District in 2020 and re-elected in 2022, setting up a potential U.S. Senate run in 2026. He is one of Trumps most vocal allies and a known supporter of the former presidents 2024 comeback campaign.

In March, Trump named Jackson as part of his Texas Elected Leadership Team, made up of elected officials from across the state of Texas.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Fighting back tears, OShae Sibleys best friend described on Facebook Live the horror of watching his pal die in his arms  but vowed gay New Yorkers will not cower in the face of hate.

They killed my brother right in front of me, Otis Pena said in the nearly 15-minute long video he posted hours after Sibley was stabbed to death at a Brooklyn gas station.

Im covered in his blood. They murdered him because he was gay, because he stood up for his friends ... Im trying to put pressure on the wound. Theres blood squirting everywhere.

Thats all I had, bro. Pena added. He didnt deserve this. He was a beacon of light...We may be gay, but we exist. Were not going to live in fear. Were not going to live hiding.

Sibley, 28, a professional dancer who has performed at Lincoln Center as part of an all-queer dance group, was with four friends, including Pena, when they pulled into the Midwood Mobil station at Coney Island Ave. and Avenue P about 11 p.m. Saturday. They were all shirtless in swim trunks returning from a fun-filled day at a New Jersey beach.

While one got gas, some of the others started dancing, drawing the attention of another group of men.

Lets just get gas right here, Pena said on Facebook Live. Two blocks from my house and they murdered him. They murdered him. They murdered him.

According to a witness, the other men identified themselves as Muslims and were especially offended by the small tight trunks one of Sibleys friend was wearing.

This guy was dancing in underwear and the suspect was like, Why are dancing in your underwear? said the witness, Summy Ullah.

The tensions escalated from there, with the wanted killer using his phone to record Sibley and his friends.

Yall stabbed my brother in the chest saying We Muslim, we dont let gay st around here, Pena says in the video. Were gay. Were just here. Its no animosity.

Sibley, according to Pena, told the men We may be gay, but were listening to our music  but its no hate. Its all love.

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When the man recording the group walked off Sibley chased him and was stabbed, video obtained by the Daily News shows.

You stabbed my brother and I seen him wobbling, Pena said. I had to run to him and hold his wound as blood is dripping on my hands. And his blood is my clothes.

Just because he is trying to let people know that were gay, we exist, we dont disrespect, he added. You all killed him.

Medics rushed Sibley, stabbed in the upper body, to Maimonides Medical Center but he could not be saved.

Every time before I go to sleep I would call OShae and we would have a conversation. Just Hey bro, you good? Every day, every day, every day, Pena recalled. I miss OShae. When I go through st like this the person I called was always OShae.

The killer ran off and is being sought.

OShae was the salt to my pepper, the peanut butter to my jelly, Pena said on FaceBook Live. We were just having a good time ... They killed him. They killed him. Right in my face. Right in my arms.

Ill be damned if I sit my a down and just chill, Pena added. Yall f---ed with the wrong one because yall took him from me. And thats all I had. Everyone knows OShae was my plus one. OShae was me. Aint no Otis without Shae. That is all I had, bro. Thats all I had. Thats all I had.
Hallucinating artificial intelligence can tank a court case by creating fake case citations that leave the lawyers open to sanctions or the proceeding itself vulnerable to being overturned, a former litigator said.

Last month, a judge handed down a $5,000 penalty on a law firm representing Colombian airline Avianca Inc., which used ChatGPT to write its legal brief, but the AI included fabricated judicial decisions.

A similar case happened in South Africa, and the judge and magistrate overseeing the cases ripped the law firms in their decisions.

"There is potential harm to the reputation of judges and courts whose names are falsely invoked as authors of the bogus opinions and to the reputation of a party attributed with fictional conduct," the judge presiding over the Avianca case wrote. "It promotes cynicism about the legal profession and the American judicial system."

"WHAT IS AI?"

Artificial Intelligence smartphone app ChatGPT surrounded by other AI apps in Vaasa, on June 6, 2023.

Jacqueline Schafer, CEO and founder of Clearbrief, an AI-powered platform that essentially fact-checks legal briefs, said this issue will continue to happen because of the time pressure that lawyers face.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"There's a big temptation to use things that can just write it for you," Schafer told Fox News Digital during a Zoom interview.

NY POLICE USED AI TO TRACK DRIVER ON HIGHWAYS AS ATTORNEY QUESTIONS LEGALITY

"We're likely to see these stories continue to pop up. That's why it's critical for law firms to thoroughly review all of their pleadings before filing, even if they think they have banned ChatGPT in their firm."

Schafer, who began her career as a litigator in New York before becoming an assistant attorney general for the states of Alaska and Washington, created Clearbrief in 2020 to catch mistakes or bogus cases in AI-written briefs.

WATCH: SCAFER EXPLAINS HOW CLEARBRIEF WORKS

"The challenge we have with generative AI like ChatGPT that creates instant written work is that it will do things like completely make up fake case citations and invent facts," she said.

Story continues

"A user can, for example, ask AI to write them a legal analysis of Arizona law, and ChatGPT will write something that seems elegantly written, and it may even include citations that look totally real."

FOX NEWS DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE: CRUZ SHOOTS DOWN SCHUMER EFFORT TO REGULATE AI: MORE HARM THAN GOOD

It can trick even the most experienced lawyers if they don't "take the time to painstakingly check over every case and statute and look it up manually," Schafer said.

In the South African ruling, the presiding magistrate essentially said the same thing in his ruling: "When it comes to legal research, the efficiency of modern technology still needs to be infused with a dose of good old-fashioned independent reading."

Issues arise when legal professionals secretly use AI-powered programs like ChatGPT, Schafer said.

"Ironically, we need AI to help us detect the AI hallucinations," according to Schafer, who said that's the genesis behind Clearbrief.

"I meet with major law firms every day who are dealing with two problems," she said. "They are terrified of using generative AI that writes the whole document for you if it introduces embarrassing errors that will get the firm sanctioned.

"But they also are facing pressure from their clients to use AI technology to be more efficient and cut down their bills. So the legal industry is doing a lot of work right now to identify tech that can solve both problems."
Donald Trump Scott Olson/Getty Images

A Mar-a-Lago employee responsible for overseeing the surveillance camera at the Florida club received a letter from federal authorities last month indicating that he is a potential target in the ongoing criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving office  but he hasn't been indicted alongside other aides that allegedly took part in efforts to obstruct the government probe, according to CNN.

Yuscil Taveras, who has been identified as "Trump Employee 4" in the updated indictment, received the letter when Trump was first indicted in June.

Though it remains unclear whether Taveras is cooperating with prosecutors, certain new allegations against Trump included in a recent superseding indictment filed last week were partially derived from the information he provided during that interview, according to CNN.

"Taveras is almost certainly cooperating because if he was served a target letter, he wouldn't talk to the government unless he was proffering evidence or attempting to cooperate," former federal prosecutor Christine Adams, a partner at Los Angeles-based Adams, Duerk & Kamenstein, told Salon.

Otherwise, Taveras wouldn't want to talk to the government because anything he said could be used against him, she added. "The government tries to protect the privacy of people who are not charged."

The indictment alleged that Taveras was approached by a fellow employee, Carlos De Oliveira, asking him how to delete surveillance video at Mar-a-Lago in late June 2022, following a subpoena for security footage.

De Oliveira, who is a third defendant in the case, said "the boss" wanted the footage deleted after Taveras said "he would not know how to do that, and that he did not believe that he would have the rights to do that," according to the indictment.

Prosecutors claimed De Oliveira insisted "the boss" wanted the server deleted and pressed Taveras asking the IT director, "what are we going to do?"

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Unlike De Oliveira and Trump's longtime valet Walt Nauta, Taveras is not currently facing charges in the classified documents case despite having been informed he is a target in the probe, CNN reported.

Taveras can be useful in the case as he can authenticate the surveillance footage that prosecutors will use in court, particularly the surveillance footage of Nauta and De Oliveira moving boxes, Adams pointed out.

"Prosecutors can correlate that footage to what was occurring around the same time, which was that Trump and Nauta had talked on the phone before the boxes were moved, and before an attorney was scheduled to arrive at Mar-a-Lago to review the documents," Adams said.

Since prosecutors don't have direct evidence of what Trump and Nauta discussed, they have to use circumstantial evidence to prove that Trump told Nauta to move the boxes, she added.

"Testimony from Taveras authenticating surveillance footage of the boxes being moved and authenticating the time stamps for when the video was captured would be key to proving that Trump ordered the boxes to be moved to hide evidence," Adams said. "It's the timing that matters."

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira are all charged with two counts of obstruction stemming from allegations that they tried to delete surveillance video at Mar-a-Lago.

The Trump campaign issued a statement after the indictment was released on Thursday saying that the charges were designed to "harass" Trump and his supporters.

"Deranged Jack Smith knows that they have no case and is casting about for any way to salvage their illegal witch hunt and to get someone other than Donald Trump to run against Crooked Joe Biden," Trump's campaign team said.

Taveras changed lawyers after receiving the target letter. His attorney Stan Woodward, who was paid by a Trump-aligned PAC, also represented Nauta, which presented a conflict, sources told CNN.

"The government needs other people who can testify to what the defendants did and what they said," Adams said. "Taveras was at the property. He might have observed other events connected with moving the boxes or he may have been present during other conversations that could shed light on the intent of removing the documents. He might have incriminating text messages."

Read more

about the Mar-a-Lago investigation
An out-of-control blaze burning in northern Washington state exploded in size, crossed the Canadian border and set off a cascade of evacuations over the weekend.

The so-called Eagle Bluff Fire has burned thousands of acres on both sides of the border and forced hundreds to evacuate their homes since it ignited Saturday in Washingtons Okanogan County.

Evacuations were ordered on Saturday for more than 700 properties in the Canadian town of Osoyoos, British Columbia, after the fire crossed the border. By Monday, that number fell to 192 properties after firefighters made progress fighting the fire, with an additional 2,635 properties in the area under an evacuation alert to be ready to evacuate should conditions change.

There are no active evacuation orders for the Eagle Pass Fire in the US, but at least three structures had burned in Okanogan County, Washington, and portions of the county were under a Level 2 evacuation notice  Be Ready to Evacuate  according to fire officials.

An air tanker drops fire retardant on the Eagle Bluff wildfire after it crossed the Canada-US border from the state of Washington and prompted evacuation orders in Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada, July 30, 2023. - Jesse Winter/Reuters

The fire exploded in size due to dry, warm and breezy conditions and has burned through more than 10,000 acres. At least 3,500 acres have burned in Canada alone. The fire remains completely uncontained in both countries, according to Washington and Canadian fire officials.

Wind gusts are expected to ease over the area by midweek, which could lend a helping hand to firefighters.

The Eagle Bluff Fire is one in a series of large fires that ignited across the Western US in July. At least 64 large fires are currently burning across nine states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center, including the York Fire, which continues to rage in Southern Californias Mojave National Preserve. Still uncontained, that fire has already burned 77,000 acres in California and is closing in on the Nevada border. Weather conditions gave firefighters a slight boost on Sunday night as some rainfall moved through the area and helped slow down fire activity.

The United States fire season has been pacing below average in terms of acres burned so far this year. As of July 31, 1.1 million acres have burned across the US in 2023, according to the National Interagency Fire Center  well below the 5.7 million acres that had burned to-date in 2022.

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The US wildfire season may pick up pace as August arrives. Much of the Pacific Northwest is dry and hot, which is expected to continue through the summer, leaving room for increasingly dry fuels and easy wildfire spread.

While the US wildfire season has started out slow, that is not the case for Canada, which is in the middle of its worst fire season on record. Hundreds of fires burning across Canada have spread several rounds of hazardous smoke across much of the northern tier of the US this summer.

As of July 26, more than 30 million acres of Canadian land  an area roughly the size of Mississippi  have been scorched by wildfires so far in 2023, according to Environment Canada.

At least three firefighters have died this summer battling Canadas wildfires, including a blaze in British Columbia known as the Donnie Creek Fire which claimed the life of a firefighter last week.

I am heartbroken that another firefighter was lost protecting our communities and our province during this devastating wildfire season, Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests said in a statement on Saturday.

Before this year, the worst wildfire season in Canada in terms of acres burned occurred in 1989 when more than 18 million acres were scorched, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

CNNs Melissa Alonso and Joe Sutton contributed to this report

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
The News

Extreme heat is gripping huge swaths of the globe, and July 2023 is on track to be the hottest month ever recorded.

As people around the world struggle to manage the intense temperatures, the heat has revealed many nations unpreparedness to deal with a changing climate. Meanwhile, existing inequalities  especially along class, race, and gender lines  are worsening.

Weve collected key insights you should read about who suffers most as temperatures climb.

Insights

Its clear that people in the U.S. are experiencing heat differently. Columnist Tish Harrison Warren recently observed that in the same Texas county where she spent a hot day by the pool, a construction worker died from heat-related injuries. Migrants, people with inadequate housing, and outside workers are at greater risk of dying from extreme temperatures. Extreme heat also disproportionally impacts Black and Latino families. When people die from heat, theyre often dying of poverty, Warren notes. Heat deaths expose deep societal inequality. Soaring heat deaths represent a societal failure.

Women, particularly in Nigeria, India, and the U.S., suffer more when temperatures soar. A recent report found women in those countries lose a collective $120 billion from the impact of heat annually, typically due to the cost of lost work hours. Since women around the world earn less than men and handle the bulk of household labor, they are often more exposed to heat and heat-related injuries, despite often working indoors. Just 4% and 9% of women in Nigeria and India respectively have access to air conditioning while they work.

Know More

In Phoenix, Arizona, residents have spent a month in the grips of record-high temperatures. At least 25 people have been killed by the heat, and hospitals are admitting patients with burns from scalding hot asphalt.

Elsewhere, the heat has fueled forest fires. In Canada, a firefighter died battling the Donnie Creek wildfire in British Columbia, the largest in the provinces history. In Europe, fires have swept across Greece and parts of Spain and Italy, leading to thousands of evacuations.
Facebook user Jamil Ahmed

Claim:

A series of images that went viral in July 2023 authentically depicted elderly women with giant, crocheted cats.

Rating:

Rating: Fake

Context:

The series of images in question was created by Lydia Masterova using artificial intelligence (AI) software.

In July 2023, a series of images went viral depicting elderly women with what appeared to be giant crocheted cats.

The images were reposted on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, and 9GAG, gaining millions of views. We also found them on Chinese and Russian-speaking websites.

The pictures in question were originally posted on July 3, 2023, by Instagram account @ai.artandcat. In the bio section of that profile, we found a link to a Facebook page titled, "Lydia's AI Art and Cats," with a user named Lydia Masterova marked as the page's owner. Masterova had a history online of sharing AI-generated pictures.

Masterova's images of crocheted cats had telltale signs of being generated by artificial intelligence (AI) software. For instance, the women in the photographs had abnormally large hands or an incorrect number of toes. Each picture depicted an elderly lady with white hair; however, the women did not appear to be the same person as various characteristics, such as their hairstyles and eyeglasses, varied significantly.

(Instagram account @ai.artandcat)

(Instagram account @ai.artandcat)

AI-detection tools, such as AI or Not and IIlluminarty, confirmed the images were created using artificial intelligence software. Therefore, we have rated this claim as "Fake."

In July 2023, Masterova shared a message via her Instagram account and Facebook page that introduced herself and explained that she started creating AI-generated content to distract herself from the war in Ukraine, which is where she is from:

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Here's a bit about me (and giant crochet cats). My name is Lydia, and I'm from Ukraine . A couple of months ago, to distract myself from the horrors of war, I immersed myself in the imaginative world of AI. Before that, I was a cat photographer and had always loved cats and animals in general, so it was only natural to start with them. At first, I incorporated cats into paintings by famous artists, hence the word "art" in my page name. However, I soon realized that almost everyone had already drawn the Mona Lisa with a cat or as a cat. Then, I attempted to draw hybrids of cats and other animals, but AI struggled to achieve that.

When my parents, family, and friends in Ukraine were under bombing, I thought posting random stuff on my Facebook account was inappropriate, so I created a new page and Instagram account.

And now, let's talk about these giant crocheted cats!

She said her passion for various crafts inspired her to create the images of crocheted items. Since posting the images, she acknowledged they have circulated online without proper attribution, or disclaimers to note that they're not real.

In the Instagram and Facebook post, she said she did not write captions for her original posts sharing the AI-generated images because "it's considered a bad form to use watermarks" in online groups dedicated to such content, and she did not have access to a computer to do so. The message continued:

I used to do lots of various crafts, from crocheting and knitting to sewing soft toys. Now, I draw whatever comes to my mind first. During my vacation in early July, these crocheted cats were born. In AI groups, it's considered a bad form to use watermarks. It was very late at night, and I couldn't access a computer, so I posted them on my page and in the Midjourney Cat group without a caption. By morning, I found that the images had spread across various pages and groups. People from Europe, Asia, Australia, and even South Africa write to me saying they find these cats in crochet groups. I never posted them as actual crochet, and unfortunately, I can't do anything about it. Every day, I come across posts with titles like "My 80-year-old grandma finally finished her cat," and so on. Someone even posted it on National Geographic. When I tried to message them, 90% didn't reply, and a couple of times, I received rude responses, claiming that since it's AI, I have no rights to these images. But a few pages did credit me in their posts, though still with headlines not of my creation. Lesson learned. Now, I'll always add captions.

The cat photographs aside, most of Masterova's images on Facebook and Instagram appeared to have a watermark, including a series of elderly women riding what appeared to be crocheted motorcycles. That series was captioned, "Badass grandmas on their crochet bikes."

(Facebook page Lydia's AI Art and Cats)

Masterova said the viral crochet images have brought her new attention online, including from people who do not like her work:

Before the crochet cats, I had around 100 followers, and now the haters have come. Some send me to hell, others wish for my hard drive to burn, and some think using AI is stealing from real artists. It's just a hobby. I don't sell anything. I don't make money. I simply come up with nonexistent things, using my imagination. If someone doesn't like it, they can always scroll past it.

As AI-generated content becomes more prevalent on social media, it's worth knowing how to spot such images. We encourage you to read our tips.
(Reuters) - A suicide bombing that killed at least 45 people at a political rally in Pakistan on Sunday has again brought into focus the challenges in keeping Islamist militants at bay.

Pakistan has seen a resurgence of attacks by Islamist militants since last year when a ceasefire between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamabad broke down.

Following are some details of Pakistan's tussle with hardline Islamists:

* Militants have mainly operated out of Pakistan's former tribal areas that border Afghanistan in the northwest. This region was known as the semi-autonomous Federally Administered Tribal Areas until a 2018 merger with neighbouring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

* The region saw an influx of Islamist guerrilla fighters in the 1980s, and the Taliban and al Qaeda after the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan began in 2001.

* The TTP, which has carried out some of the bloodiest attacks inside Pakistan since its formation in 2007, is an umbrella organisation of various hardline Sunni Islamist groups operating individually in Pakistan.

* Since the TTP is formed of several groups, some of which have splintered previously, it makes it difficult for Pakistani authorities to hold peace talks with them. The group has distanced itself from Sunday's attack and its spokesperson has condemned it.

* TTP attacks are mostly directed at Pakistan, unlike the other big militant threat in the region, Islamic State (ISIS).

* ISIS affiliate Islamic State in Khorasan (IS-K) bombed a Shi'ite mosque in Pakistan's Peshawar in 2022, killing scores of people.

* The IS-K has been more active in Afghanistan than in Pakistan. There have been reported defections from the TTP into IS-K and some splinter cells have started to work closely together.

* A newly founded militant group called Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP) has also carried out a string of attacks in the country, most recently killing 12 soldiers at a Pakistani military base earlier this month.

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* Little is known about the TJP and whether it operates under any larger militant group.

* Sunday's explosion took place in the former tribal area of Bajaur. The party targeted, the conservative Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), is known for its links to hardline political Islam and is a major ally of the coalition government.

* The JUI-F and its chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman were previously attacked because the party opposes local Islamist militants, saying their armed campaign against the state doesn't constitute a Jihad - a fight against opponents of Islam - analysts say.

* The party, however, supports the Afghan Taliban movement and calls it a just fight against foreign occupation.

* Islamist militants aim to overthrow the Pakistani government and install their own brand of strict Islamic law in the predominantly Muslim country of 220 million people.

(Reporting by Shivam Patel; Editing by Peter Graff)
Austin Salyer was a stellar student at Texas State University. Originally from Highland Village, a small town in North Texas, he had dreams of becoming a military officer.

Five semesters into his college education at Texas State, the 20-year-old made the deans list.

He was just doing tremendous, said Austins father, Rodney Salyer, in an interview with the Star-Telegram.

Austin was in the universitys ROTC program for a year when he signed his commitment papers on Sept. 9, 2021, to serve in the military.

Austin went to sleep the night of Sept. 15, 2021, excited for his first day of training with his new platoon. He contracted to commission as an officer in the Army after graduating from college. He was so excited, he had bought a new set of Army boots worth $200.

He was supposed to report to his road march  a several mile-long march bearing heavy equipment  at 5:45 on the morning of Sept. 16, 2021. But when no one had heard from him that morning, Austins mother, Bonnie Salyer, decided to call a close friend of his.

Austin Salyer (middle), from Flower Mound, was part of the ROTC program at Texas State University. He signed a contract in 2021 with the Army as an officer days before he was negligently shot in his sleep.

A friend of Austins called the maintenance worker of the off-campus housing  The Lyndon apartments  where he lived to check on him. While everybody figured he overslept, Austins friends and the maintenance worker were the first to discover him unresponsive in his apartment and called police for help.

Police arrived at the apartment complex about 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 16, 2021, according to the incident report. Callers told police Austin was not breathing, according to call logs from the San Marcos Police Department.

Austin was fatally shot in his sleep. He was found in the hallway leading up to his bedroom, where he collapsed after getting out of bed after he was shot, the incident report stated.

A bullet hit Austins left arm and traveled through his chest, lungs, and all the way to his right arm, according to Tarrant County Medical Examiner Kendall Crowns.

An hour after police responded to the scene at the apartment complex, Austins neighbor, 21-year-old Gabriel Nathaniel Brown, turned himself in to the police. He told police he did not commit a crime, but that he shot Austin by accident.

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The events leading up to the shooting

According to police reports, Brown told investigators that he had just received a micro conversion kit for his pistol.

A micro conversion kit is used to turn a firearm into an automatic weapon, described by Brown as a submachine gun.

Brown stated that the night before Austin was found shot in his apartment, Brown was trying to install the kit when the weapon fired.

He told police that he had just recently received the pistol and never fired it before. He called his father on the night of Sept. 15, 2021, while he was installing the kit and was showing it off, Browns sister told police.

I put the conversion kit on and I guess one got stuck in the head because I never pulled the trigger but it dislodged, Brown said. His girlfriend and sister also were in the apartment next to Austins, where Brown lived with his girlfriend, at the time he discharged the gun.

I honestly dont know what happened because I am not very familiar with guns. Im going to be completely honest with you, that was my first handgun purchase, Brown told police. Like I said, this is a complete accident.

Brown said that he saw a hole in his apartment wall from where the gun fired that night. He said that he looked through the hole but that it did not appear to go into the next apartment. He also told police he called Austin multiple times on Snapchat and knocked on his door at around 2 a.m. to see if he was home and okay.

Brown also told police he did not hear any noises coming from Austins apartment and that he believed the bullet did not cause any injuries.

According to what Brown told police, the gun went off around 12:30 a.m. that night. Police reports state that the gun fired between 12 a.m. and 2 a.m.

When Brown did not get a response to the Snapchat messages, he went to apartment 555 and knocked on the door and did not get a response. He said the reason he never called police or came in last night is because he had no idea Austin was in the apartment and had been shot, police said in the report.

When Austins friends arrived at his apartment to check on him the following morning, Brown realized something had occurred and also entered the neighboring unit, finding Austin dead, according to the police report.

He left Austins apartment, called his father, put his gun in his backpack and left to turn himself in to San Marcos police.

Gabriel Brown sentenced for negligent homicide

The case was presented to a grand jury, which indicted Brown in April 2022 on a charge of criminally negligent homicide.

Brown entered an open plea, in which the defendant waives the right to a jury and pleads guilty with sentencing to be determined by a judge in hopes of getting a better deal than the prosecution might offer.

In Texas, criminally negligent homicide is a state jail felony with a maximum sentence of two years in jail and a $10,000 fine. The minimum sentence is 180 days.

Brown was sentenced to a two-year jail term on Feb. 3, 2023, but had the sentence probated by Hays County District Court Judge Sherri Tibbe to serve five years on probation and 180 days in the county jail.

According to the initial docket entry of the punishment, the 180 days in jail were to be served in increments of 18 days twice a year over a span of five years.

But less than a month after the hearing, Tibbe submitted a docket entry amending the jail time from 180 days to 90 days, leaving Brown to serve nine days twice a year over a span of five years. Brown will report to the jail each year on Austins birthday and the date of the shooting, according to court records.

Court documents do not explain why the sentence was changed. Tibbe declined to be interviewed or provide a comment to the Star-Telegram.

Bonnie and Rodney Salyer feel the court failed to serve justice in the negligent shooting of their son. Now, they are fighting to hold the justice system accountable.

Rodney and Bonnies concerns with the justice system







Over and over again, weve been failed, Rodney said in an interview with the Star-Telegram. The whole thing has been so wrong that all we have left to fight for is the principle.

For Rodney and Bonnie, injustice began the day their only child was found dead in his apartment.

After Austins parents received a call notifying them of his death and had their bags packed to make the drive from Highland Village to San Marcos, a detective said, No, dont come, when they asked if they could go to their sons apartment.

The detective told them, Youll just have to wait out in the parking lot, according to Rodney.

Instead he told us not to come. Thats one of our biggest regrets. That we didnt immediately go down there. We look back and were like, How could he have told us to not come? Rodney said.

After learning Brown agreed to an open plea deal, Austins parents began coordinating with the prosecuting attorney, Catherine Schneider  who was later dismissed from the case  to discuss a time to meet to prepare, to which she responded she could meet a day before the sentencing hearing on Jan. 6. The hearing was later rescheduled for February.

When they requested to meet with more time in advance, Schneider responded to Rodney in an email, I know this is hard for you all, and Im not trying to minimize your loss but, rather, explain where Im coming from and keep in mind that I do not work for you all and cannot legally give you my entire trial strategy for your approval or disapproval. We have given this case much more attention and time than an average case and will continue to do so. But you have to understand there is not a lot that we can change.

That was very insulting for us, that it didnt feel like it was being taken seriously, Rodney said. I mean, I get it. Shes busy. Shes got all this caseload and what have you, but weve lost our only child. Weve lost our son. Were trying to get some sort of justice.

Schneider declined to provide a comment to the Star-Telegram.

After learning that the judge changed the jail portion of Browns sentence from 180 days to 90 days, the prosecutor told Rodney and Bonnie in an email that it could not be legally possible for the sentence to be changed without both parties present.

Rodney believes that a matter of commitment from all parties involved was lacking in Browns case.

You cant give a strong sentence because you cant really give the time and effort, Rodney said. The more people that come through the system, the less time they have for a judgment. The less punishment, the less people are deterred from committing a crime. You get to a point where nobodys getting justice.

Hays County District Attorney Kelly Higgins took over the case and Rodney and Bonnies next step was to schedule a hearing to try to keep the original 180-day sentence. Tibbe denied the motion to review the punishment.

The court made periodic surrenders to the county jail a condition of probation. It is the terms of those surrenders that is in controversy, Higgins said in an emailed statement to the Star-Telegram. There were no other offenses to be charged in this case. It was a terrible accident resulting in the loss of a beloved and admired young man.

Almost two years after Austins death, Rodney and Bonnie have decided to take matters into their own hands by pursuing legislation.

For us, this is making something horrible that we should be able to grieve and try and move forward into something that were having to fight and relive and try to get some modicum of justice, Rodney said.

Enforcing the law and Rodney and Bonnies support from the community

As Rodney and Bonnie continued to push for a review of the judges sentencing, Higgins told Rodney in an email on April 20, From my view, there is nothing requiring review within the case itself. The only controversy in my view is the erroneous sentencing. There were mistakes made within the sentencing hearing, to be sure. In the end, the sentence is what the judge wanted it to be, despite the failure to pronounce it in open court.

Higgins told us that he would fight for (Austin), Rodney said.

After meeting with a senator to discuss their concerns, the Salyers were recommended to have the case reviewed by another district attorney.

All they have to do is change it back to 180 days and were done with this, Rodney said.

Although feeling let down by the justice system, Rodney and Bonnie received support from local law enforcement.

While it may have been the 50th time Im working with a survivor, it better feel like the first time for that family or those members, said Matt Carmichael, Texas State University police chief.

I think thats where we can sometimes lose sight and, quite honestly, it can be that were not providing a level of service because maybe were disconnected, Carmichael said about law enforcement working with surviving families of victims.

While Texas State University police were not involved in Browns case, Carmichael has been an advocate for Austins parents.

These are good people who lost their only child and they dont feel served, Carmichael said.

Additionally, the TSU police department established an award in Austins name.

Carmichael believes victim advocacy is an area that the justice system and police need to work on the most.

When a case is adjudicated, that family still needs advocacy, he said. We can do better.

Austin was also recognized by Texas State police in the Leave No Victim Behind 2020 annual conference that was held at his university.

The conferences philosophy is to create a non-traditional conference environment that focuses on delivering best practices from those who have experienced or responded to major violent incidents. Victim advocates, local law enforcement, attorneys, and other professionals are invited to attend and speak at the conference.

Its not just about Austin. Its not just about us. Its about the example that theyre giving to the community, said Rodney about the justice system. Its just really disappointing that our system is not fighting for accountability. Thats really what it comes down to, is accountability.

Rodney and Bonnie have also hoped to receive support from Jennifer Lundy, the executive director at Texans for Judicial Accountability, which aims to demand change and accountability in the justice system.

The organization is currently trying to make complaints against judicial officers public through the State Commission on Judicial Conduct after they have been investigated, as complaints are currently private, according to Lundy.

There are some egregious complaints and we dont know who did it, Lundy said. That keeps them, in my opinion, from doing the right thing because it really doesnt matter what they do Weve got to make a change there.

Our judges are elected, which is why we need to be able to see what theyre doing, Lundy said. Its a state position and an elected position, and it serves greater scrutiny. I think itll make a big difference in the way we are treated.

Additionally, they filed a lawsuit on May 10 in a Bell County District Court against Gabriel Brown; his father, Gregory Keith Brown; and his former girlfriend, Chantel Monique Veal, alleging their involvement in the wrongful death of Austin. They are seeking over $1 million in monetary relief for the pain and suffering both they and Austin suffered as a result.

Gabriel, Gregory, and Veal all denied the allegations in their response to the lawsuit and are representing themselves.

After filing the suit, Rodney and Bonnie ended up meeting with another district attorney, who is helping them continue working with senators to rework legislation on gun laws.

Thats our next goal, Rodney said, is to try and work with some folks and see what we can do to fix some of these problems.
A federal lawsuit was filed against Delta Air Lines on Tuesday, July 25 accusing flight attendants of failing to intervene after a male passenger, according to the lawsuit, was served at least 10 alcoholic drinks and then groped a mother and her 16-year-old daughter.

The plaintiff in the suit, filed in the Eastern District of New York, was identified only as the parent of the teenager. According to the filing, the girl and her mother were traveling to Athens, Greece, from New York City on a nearly nine-hour flight last year when the incident occurred.

A woman who was assigned the seat next to her daughter, who was in the middle, switched with an unidentified man in order to sit next to her husband, the suit said. The family is referred to by initials throughout, with N.A. referring to the girl while her mother is identified as A.A.

Before the plane even departed, the man allegedly asked the flight attendant for a vodka on the rocks.

Over the first three hours of the flight, the Delta flight attendants served the intoxicated Delta passenger approximately 10 vodka on ice drinks, the lawsuit said.

The male passenger appeared visibly intoxicated, slurring his speech and continually attempting to get the teenagers attention the more he intoxicated he became, the lawsuit said. When the girl asked him to stop talking to her, the man became aggressive and yelled at her.

He then demanded to know where she lived, identifying himself as a Connecticut resident, and wanted to know her address, according to the filing.

N.A. was frightened by his personal questions, tone and body language and turned her back to him to tell her mother that she was scared, the suit said. When N.A. turned away from him, the intoxicated Delta passenger began grabbing N.A., putting his hands on her back.

The girls mother also intervened, begging the man to leave her daughter alone.

They both told the man that the girl was a minor and still in high school, but he reached over and began pulling and pushing at the mothers arm, according to the suit. The mother spoke to a flight attendant, saying the passenger was very drunk and was making both her and her 16-year-old daughter feel unsafe by yelling, making obscene gestures and touching her daughter inappropriately.

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According to the suit, the flight attendant simply told her to be patient before walking away.

When the man went to the bathroom, the girls mother once again spoke with the flight attendant and pleaded with staff to stop serving him alcohol. But upon his return the man had a glass of red wine with him, according to the lawsuit.

Later on, the girl laid her head in her mothers lap in an effort to ignore the man when he allegedly put his fingers underneath her shirt and up her back.

N.A. was frozen as she felt the intoxicated Delta passengers hand fingering her bra strap and moving over her body, the suit said. N.A. was trembling, petrified and crying and finally got the courage to jump out of the seat and out of his reach.

The man then put his hand on the mothers thigh and moved toward her vagina, the suit said. The girl and her mother then spoke to both the head flight attendant onboard the flight and the pilot, who both, according to the lawsuit, said there was nothing they could do.

Another passenger saw both the mother and daughter crying and offered to switch seats to sit next to the drunken passenger after learning about the situation, according to the lawsuit.

Despite the flight attendant telling the family she had asked for volunteers to switch with them, the passenger who offered to change seats told the girl and her mother he had not been asked or heard an announcement for volunteers.

The man was allowed to leave when the plane landed in Greece and no police were called despite the mothers request that authorities meet them in Athens, the lawsuit said.

Delta declined to comment on the litigation but a spokesperson told NBC News in a statement Sunday that the airline has zero tolerance for customers who engage in inappropriate or unlawful behavior.

Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and our people, the spokesperson said.

The lawsuit, which seeks $2 million in damages, accuses Delta of violating New Yorks human rights law by failing to protect them from sexual misconduct. It also alleges negligence by Delta staff in continuing to serve the passenger despite Federal Aviation Administration policy on serving intoxicated passengers.

This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Manhattan Project site

As Oppenheimer, the biopic about atomic bomb creator Robert Oppenheimer, continues to draw huge audiences into theaters, another story about the bomb project is coming to light: Eight women who worked on it were subjected to a federal government investigation because they were believed to be lesbians, and some of them lost their jobs amid the homophobic hysteria of the time.

The project that developed the bomb was known as the Manhattan Project, and the women have been dubbed the Manhattan Eight by the Seattle Times, which conducted an extensive review of records related to them through the GovernmentAttic.org website. Five of them worked at Los Alamos in New Mexico, three at a site called Hanford in Washington State.

During the early years of the weapons program, from 1943 to 1953, homosexuality was regarded as a less-than-ideal trait in Manhattan Project employees but not a disqualifying factor, providing some grace for lesbian and gay employees, the Times reports. A group of lesbians, all wearing red hats, often socialized at the La Fonda hotel in Santa Fe, near Los Alamos.

But in 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued an executive order denying security clearances for people who were suspected of sexual perversion, supposedly because it would make them easy targets for blackmailers who could weed out government secrets. The orders effects were weakened by a Supreme Court decision in 1973, automatic denial of security clearances ended under President Bill Clinton in 1995, and the order was completely lifted under President Barack Obama in 2017.

But while it was in force, queer federal government employees were investigated by the FBI, and many of them lost their security clearances and their jobs in whats become known as the Lavender Scare. (Oppenheimer himself eventually lost his clearance because of a previous association with the Communist Party.) The FBI had been investigating government employees for suspected homosexuality even before the order was issued, but as noted, being queer didnt automatically prevent a person from receiving the security clearance needed for employment in sensitive areas.

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Three members of the Manhattan Eight, identified by the Times as Annie, Betty, and Fran, obtained jobs at Los Alamos even though the FBI had already uncovered contained derogatory information indicating possible homosexual tendencies, according to an Atomic Energy Commission memo quoted by the paper. The records identified all eight women only by letters, and the Times assigned them first names beginning with those letters.

Based on the extent of the FBIs focus on her, Annie may have been Americas most wanted lesbian, the Times reports. She started work at Los Alamos in 1943, then a couple of years later transferred a military installation in Okinawa, joining the woman who was believed to be her lover. In 1949, she began working at Hanford. The FBI was following her every move. She was denied a security clearance in 1953 and was fired from Hanford.

The woman known as Betty left the project in 1953 and wouldnt be considered for reinstatement based on the FBIs findings, the Times notes. Another one, Claire, who worked at Hanford, ran up against a serious question of eligibility for continued security clearance, according to a document quoted by the Times. The government wanted her to cooperate with another investigation, but she apparently did not. At least one other of the eight, Helen, a nurse at the Los Alamos Medical Center, resigned voluntarily. The fate of the others is unknown. The information may be in records that are sealed until 2030, the Times reports.

The [Atomic Energy Commission], in saying these people are going to be security risks, theyre damning them. Youre also lumping them in with groups that might wish the U.S. and its allies harm, Robert Franklin, assistant professor of history at Washington State University, Tri-Cities, and assistant director of the Hanford History Project, told the paper. Theyre not enemies, but the fact is they could be compromised just because of who they are.

Its deeply unsettling and really should be a cautionary tale, he added. They wouldnt have been a risk if we had been able to accept people for who they are.
This photo taken on July 20, 2023 shows the opening ceremony of the 6th China Xinjiang International Dance Festival in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Before her departure back home, Russian dancer Sofia Efremenko conveyed her gratitude, describing her week-long stay in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region as "amazing and unforgettable," and expressed a strong desire to visit the region again in the future.



The 17-year-old dancer, with members of her song and dance ensemble "Zorenka," was in Xinjiang to take part in an international dance festival, which will last until Aug. 5.

The 6th China Xinjiang International Dance Festival has attracted over 1,000 artists from countries and regions in Asia, Europe and Africa, and they are expected to stage some 60 well-known performances. Additionally, the festival provides a unique opportunity for the participants to experience the beauty of Xinjiang and explore all that this remarkable region has to offer.

Art transcends borders

Some 2,000 years ago, Zhang Qian, an envoy of China's Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD), made his maiden visit to Central Asia via Xinjiang, and initiated a trade route that later became the Silk Road.

The story has been transformed into a dance drama and was performed on the opening night of the dance festival.

"Everything was very readable and insanely beautiful, including the costumes, the setting and the work of the choreographers," Efremenko said.

In a captivating hexagonal pavilion at the Xinjiang Art Theater, the dance troupe members from the Bunditpatanasilpa Institute of Thailand and the Muqam Art Troupe of Xinjiang Art Theater came together to put on a remarkable performance.

Amidst the mesmerizing ambiance, Chinese musicians skillfully tapped the tambourine and plucked the strings of the traditional folk musical instrument, Rewap. As the music gradually intensified with a faster tempo, Thai performer Suwannee Choosen matched the rhythm, accelerating the motion of her Saw duang, or Thai fiddle, with graceful bow strokes. The harmonious blend of cultures and musical talents created a captivating symphony that enchanted the audience.

"When I first heard the sound of Rewap, I found it somewhat unique," said Choosen. "When it was accompanied by the sound of Saw duang, the ensemble turned out to be harmonious and enjoyable."

The Thai dance troupe is one of the 11 foreign troupes participating in this festival. In addition to showcasing their own unique dance styles, the performances of some countries artfully incorporated elements from other nations, creating a delightful fusion of cultures on stage.

Djurabaeva Khosiljanova, a member of the Dance Troupe of Uzbekistan National Grand Theatre "Tumor," said their troupe rehearsed for more than two months and incorporated Chinese dance in the performance, with the melody of the Chinese folk song "Xi Yang Yang," or "Full of Joy."

The dance drama "A Dream of Red Mansions," adapted from the Chinese classic novel that tells the stories about the rise and fall of four noble families, was also performed at the ongoing festival.

"Dance is a language and a way of communication. Swaying, raising hands and other moves express our understanding of the famous work to those who love dance and art," said Li Xing, the director of the drama.

According to Wang Yongge, a professor at Xinjiang Arts University, the festival serves as a communication platform, fostering dance performances, encouraging theoretical research and promoting collaboration among relevant higher education institutions.

Enthralled by The Sleeping Beauty performance by the Ballet Troupe of the National Grand Theatre of Belarus, He Yihang, a resident of Xinjiang's regional capital Urumqi, could hardly contain her excitement, exclaiming, "It felt like a dream come true! We can enjoy the world's top art performances at home."

During this vibrant dance carnival, theaters have been bustling with the enthusiastic presence of both locals and numerous tourists from various parts of China, all coming together to revel in the joyous aura.

A glimpse of real Xinjiang

After a day-long air journey, Nomthandazo Mlungwana, the project manager of the South African dance troupe, along with her fellow members, arrived at the Urumqi Diwopu International Airport to a delightful welcome from their Chinese counterparts. A dancer from Xinjiang Art Theater, donning a doppa with diversified patterns and a pink robe, presented a bouquet of flowers to Mlungwana.

Soon after, the Chinese and South African artists danced in perfect sync, swaying and swishing to the music's rhythm.

"We feel at home here," said Mlungwana, adding that they were "all fascinated by Xinjiang folk dances."

Ho Ho-Fei, a senior dancer from the Hong Kong Dance Company, who had previously studied Xinjiang dance and seen people dancing during festivals, said: "Xinjiang dance exudes confidence and joy that runs through Xinjiang people's blood and bones. As the music starts, they move naturally."

Inside the Xinjiang Art Museum, a multimedia screen showcased dancers in action, and Efremenko and her peers eagerly attempted to imitate their moves. The screen showed people of different ethnic groups of Xinjiang singing, dancing and celebrating the harvest.

"Xinjiang is doing a good job in protecting and promoting multi-ethnic cultures, and in a high-tech way; impressive," Efremenko said.

Yelubay Kenzhaliyev, head of the State Dance Ensemble of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Saltanat," said: "Xinjiang is not like what I had thought. It is modern and fashionable."

As the dance festival progresses, more artists, including those from the Republic of Korea and Georgia, are expected to arrive. Their journey to Xinjiang holds significance beyond mere performance and art, promising enriching cultural exchanges and lasting connections.

The festival's organizing committee received a heartfelt message from Mlungwana on Wednesday. She said the members of the South African troupe were deeply moved by the warm hospitality and enthusiasm shown by the people of Xinjiang.

"We treasure the profound friendship of the Xinjiang people, and will always remember and spread it when we get back home," the message read.
Photo 215853907  Rik Trottier | Dreamstime.com

A White House advisory board has recommended that Congress place new restrictions on the FBI's access to a foreign surveillance tool to prevent the bureau from using it to spy on Americans' electronic communications.

That surveillance programauthorized by Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)was intended to track foreign spies and potential terrorists but has predictably morphed into a way for law enforcement agencies to get a warrantless peek at Americans' phone records, emails, and other electronic communications. In the report published Monday, the White House's Intelligence Advisory Board said the FBI's use of the databases created by Section 702 should be limited to investigations dealing with foreign intelligencethe same standard that is used at the other intelligence agencies with access to that data.

"FBI's use of Section 702 should be limited to foreign intelligence purposes only and FBI personnel should receive additional training on what foreign intelligence entails," the report recommends. The report says the FBI has made "inappropriate use of Section 702 authorities, specifically U.S. person queries."

While the full scope of Section 702 data collection remains unknown, there's no doubt about the FBI's aggressive use of the database. In 2021, for example, the FBI ran more than 3.3 million queries through the Section 702 database, according to a government transparency report. Separately, a 2021 report from the secret federal court responsible for adjudicating FISA-related matters documented 40 instances in which the FBI accessed surveillance data as part of investigations into a host of purely domestic crimes, including health care fraud and public corruption.

The FBI imposed new internal restrictions on the use of Section 702 surveillance last year, but the new White House report says those changes are "insufficient to ensure compliance and earn the public's trust."

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Indeed, the public (and Congress) ought to be wary of the FBI's promises to police itselfand of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court's (FISC) ability to hold the bureau accountable. As Reason's Scott Shackford detailed in 2021, the FBI had promised the FISC in the wake of the Carter Page scandal that it would change procedures to stop snooping on Americans. The FISA court rubber-stamped those changes.

But the new White House report suggests the FBI is still up to its old tricks with regard to Section 702. As the Associated Press notes, the report details how the FBI used its access to the database to run queries for "a U.S. senator and state senator's names without properly limiting the search, looking for someone believed to have been at the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and doing large queries of names of protesters following the 2020 death of George Floyd."

Those latest revelations show that "the Federal Bureau of Investigation simply cannot be trusted with conducting foreign intelligence queries on American persons," wrote Matthew Guariglia, a senior policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which advocates for privacy in online communications, last week. "Regardless of the rules, or consistent FISC disapprovals, the FBI continues to act in a way that shows no regard for privacy and civil liberties."

The FBI's ongoing misuse of the Section 702 database has become a hot-button political topic, particularly among Republicans who are unhappy about the bureau's surveillance of former President Donald Trump's allies, including Page. A group of six Republican lawmakers led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (RFla.) and including Rep. Thomas Massie (RKy.) have introduced a resolution calling for Congress to allow FISA to expire at the end of the year. Meanwhile, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have spoken out about the need for reforms to Section 702 in advance of the December deadline for the program's reauthorization.

The federal intelligence community seems to be taking that threat to its snooping seriously. Monday's report claims that blocking the reauthorization of the spying program would be "one of the worst intelligence failures of our time." In a statement, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Congress should reauthorize the program "without new and operationally damaging restrictions on reviewing intelligence lawfully collected by the government and with measures that build on proven reforms to enhance compliance and oversight."

It would appear that the FBI's abuse of Section 702 to spy on Americans' communications has exceeded even the intelligence community's willingness to defend such unconstitutional techniques. As such, revoking the FBI's ability to use the Section 702 database to investigate routine crimes ought to be the starting point for congressional negotiations over the future of the program.

The post FBI Made 'Inappropriate Use' of Foreign Surveillance Program To Spy on Americans appeared first on Reason.com.
Lilly Esaau is a certified nursing assistant at a nursing home. She spends several hours a day at the DeSoto County Library catching up on paperwork and continuing-education classes online, because she has no internet connection at home.

No internet. At all, she said. Maybe I can get on the neighbors Wi-Fi, but its off and on.

She takes it all in stride. Ive worked here about 12 years. Im used to it.

Shes not alone. According to a recent survey in DeSoto County, 80% of residents and businesses responding said they have access to the internet. And of those, about half say their connection speed was less than 10 megabits (mbps) per second, barely enough for one person per household to be logged in at a time.

And that is far below what the federal government says should be the standard for Americans. The Federal Communications Commission says the minimum speed for broadband is at least 25 mbps and actual upload speeds of at least 3 mbps.

To that end, the Biden administration is pumping billions into programs administered by state governments to add broadband infrastructure in underserved and unserved areas.

At a June 26 news conference, President Biden declared high-speed internet is no longer a luxury but an absolute necessity, and said he would work to have every household in the nation would have access by 2030 using cables made in the U.S.

Money earmarked for DeSoto, Manatee

In May, Floridas Office of Broadband awarded $60 million in federal grants to 22 projects in 19 counties.

It includes $4.9 million to add 13 miles of fiber optic cable to 497 homes west of the municipal airport in southeast Arcadia, with download and upload speeds of 1 gigabyte per second.

It also includes $1.5 million to install 42 miles of fiber optic lines with similar download and upload speed in east Manatee County, to 261 unserved locations in Duette, Parrish, Rubonia and Willow.

A chart from an internet survey showing internet speeds of respondents in DeSoto County. DeSoto County

The grants were announced after DeSoto County formed a group of community and business leaders. This Local Technology Planning Team conducted a survey of internet usage and needs. The county then offered advice and assistance to internet service providers, who then bid on the projects.

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We are kind of the conduit between the (state) Office of Broadband and then, really, the boots on the ground at the local level, Sondra Guffey, DeSoto Countys economic development director, said.

The two companies awarded the contracts to install the broadband facilities were IBT Group, USA, LLC in Arcadia; and Charter Communications LLC in Manatee County. Both projects are scheduled to be complete by the end of 2026.

Rural realities

The internet survey conducted last year by DeSoto County revealed what most already knew  large areas of the county go without service, and what service exists is not dependable.

Were finding that a lot of them (survey respondents) werent using the internet as much as probably people who have good service, Guffey said. It goes hand in hand. If you have good service, you use it more.

The need was clear during the COVID-19 pandemic when people were isolated at home.

I guess, you could say, a good result of COVID is a recognition of how dependent we are on broadband and the recognition that the rural areas are really suffering.

As economic development director, Guffey says the lack of connectivity works against the county. I dont have any firsthand knowledge that could say yes, you know, we lost two businesses. I cant say that, she said.

A chart from an internet survey showing reasons why some respondents do not have internet access in DeSoto County. DeSoto County

What I can say is, that we probably dont even get on the radar screen now of some of these companies that need it.

Guffey says with more money likely coming for broadband infrastructure, the county is looking at where they would like to see it happen.

From our perspective, we would really like to get State Road 70 served, and U.S. 17. That would be really important because thats where the core business is going to be, she said.

You get to Lake Suzy, thats a big population cluster, she noted, and its moving up that way from Lake Suzy up Kings Highway.

Theres also growth in the Fort Ogden and Nocatee areas, she said. So if they can get those ... hit the population clusters, I think that would make the most sense.

Meeting the communitys needs

Local resources, like the county library, are trying to fill the gap by providing high speed internet and computers during business hours and beyond.

DeSoto County librarian Linda Waters says her staff is doing everything they can to provide an oasis in a digital desert. Some of them, this is the only place they have to come, Waters said.

She says when people without internet access come to the library, they often dont have the computer skills to do basic tasks. That where the library staff steps in to help.

One staffer recently spent three hours with a truck driver to submit a job application that the company would only accept online. We do our very best to help them do whatever they need to do, Waters said, whether it is filling out their food assistance program applications, signing in for their health appointments, or setting up their (email) accounts.

The library is a busy place during the school year, too. We have a number of young students whose families dont have Internet at home, she said. We have students who come in sometimes after their parents get off work at 4:30-5 in the afternoon. Theyll come in for about 45 minutes to finish up a paper, to get the illustrations they need for their science project.

Waters says the library keeps its Wi-Fi on even after their doors close. Its a well-known secret that the signal is usable in the parking lot if you park close enough to the building. Its available 24/7 if you need it  11:00 at night, to get that assignment turned in or to finish that test. Its here for you.

We want to say yes to everyone who has a need, Waters said. And so we work very hard to try to make that possible.

You can reach Jim DeLa of the Community News Collaborative, at jdela@cncfl.org
LAS CRUCES  A federal judge sided with federal officials last week, saying that a federal agency can not be held liable in the shooting death of a New Mexico State Police officer.

The judge dismissed a lawsuit on Wednesday filed by the widow of Darian Jarrott, who was killed by Omar Cueva on Feb. 4, 2021, along Interstate 10 near Deming during a traffic stop. Las Cruces police killed Cueva after a second shootout on the freeway near Las Cruces.

After the incident, Jarrott's widow, Gabriella Jarrott, filed lawsuits against New Mexico State Police in state court and Homeland Security Investigations in federal court, alleging the agencies were partly responsible for Jarrott's death. The lawsuits said that officials failed to adequately inform Jarrott about Cueva even though they had reason to believe he was willing to kill police officers.

The dismissal comes a few weeks after a state court moved forward with accepting a settlement. Court filings in that matter show that the parties held a settlement hearing on July 17 and appointed another lawyer to oversee the interests of Jarrott's children, who are named as potential recipients of the settlement.

But back in federal court, U.S. District Judge Kea Riggs found that the government was immune in the case.

"The Federal Tort Claims Act waives the United States' sovereign immunity for certain tort claims," Riggs wrote. "However, Defendant asserts that sovereign immunity has not been waived here due to the 'discretionary function' exception."

The Federal Tort Claims Act sets procedures for suing the federal government in some instances and waives the federal government's blanket immunity (known as sovereign immunity). But this has some exceptions, including the 'discretionary function' exception.

In this case, Riggs found that HSI agents acted on their judgment (thus performing a 'discretionary function') when they allegedly held back information that could've better informed Jarrott.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Federal judge nixes Darian Jarrott lawsuit as state court moves toward settlement
This article was originally published in Arkansas Advocate.

A federal judge temporarily blocked portions of the law that would have changed how Arkansas libraries handle controversial material and put the availability of certain books in the hands of elected officials.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks granted plaintiffs request to enjoin two of the five sections of Act 372 of 2023, which would alter libraries material reconsideration processes and create criminal liability for librarians who distribute content that some consider obscene or harmful to minors.

Brooks decision means much of Act 372 will not go into effect in the next few days as originally scheduled.

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The 18 plaintiffs include libraries, bookstores, advocacy groups and individual library patrons. Lead attorney John Adams argued at a hearing on Tuesday that Act 372 unfairly restricts librarians speech and is unclear about how librarians can avoid the criminal charges put forth in the law.

Brooks concluded that the challenged portions of the law were too vague and could lead to arbitrary interpretation and content-based restrictions that violate the First Amendment right to freedom of expression, which would cause the plaintiffs irreparable harm.

The Central Arkansas Library System and its executive director, Nate Coulter, are two of the plaintiffs. Coulter said in a statement Saturday that he was extremely pleased and gratified by Brooks ruling.

Im relieved that for now the dark cloud that was hanging over CALS librarians has lifted  they will not be threatened with jail for making books available to our patrons, Coulter said.

He also said he appreciated Brooks affirmation that the librarians only enemy is the censor who judges contrary opinions to be dangerous, immoral, or wrong.

Supporters of Act 372, both in public and in the Arkansas Legislature, have said the policy is necessary to keep pornographic content out of childrens reach. Opponents of the law have said it will be used to reduce access to content that reflects the general public, such as the LGBTQ+ community.

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The Crawford County Library System moved childrens books with LGBTQ+ topics to a segregated social section, accessible only to adults, at all five branches in December 2022 after county residents objected to their availability at multiple quorum court meetings. County officials have cited the law as a reason to keep the books segregated.

The plaintiffs challenging Act 372 chose to sue Crawford County and Crawford County Judge Chris Keith, in addition to the prosecuting attorneys in each of Arkansas 28 judicial districts.

In a ruling separate from the one granting the injunction, Brooks denied the Crawford County defendants request to dismiss the case against them alone.

Unjustified burden

Defense attorneys for both the state and Crawford County argued Tuesday that the plaintiffs claims were merely speculative or hypothetical, but the plaintiffs proved they will suffer imminent, particularized injuries under the challenged portions of Act 372, Brooks wrote in his 49-page ruling.

He said he saw merit in the plaintiffs claim that libraries and bookstores may eliminate many, if not all, books from their collections that contain any sexual content in order not to run afoul of the new law.

If merely having a book accessible on the shelf where a minor can reach it will potentially subject librarians and booksellers to criminal penalties, such books may simply be removed, Brooks wrote. As a result, these patrons claim their First Amendment right to access non-obscene (i.e., constitutionally protected) reading material will be dramatically curtailed.

A 2003 state law banned displays of reading material deemed harmful to minors, a phrase included in Act 372. Then-Gov. Mike Huckabee signed the 2003 law; his daughter, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, signed Act 372 in March.

The Arkansas Supreme Court struck down the previous law in 2004, partially basing the ruling on the fact that the law did not differentiate based on childrens ages.

Brooks upheld this precedent in his ruling, saying that both the previous law and the current law were too broad, especially since the 2004 ruling already determined that harmful to minors includes a broad category of protected speech, he wrote.

Take for example, a paperback romance novel, which contains descriptions of sex, Brooks said. It is unlikely young minors would be interested in reading such a book, but if for some reason it were made available to them in bookstores or libraries, booksellers and librarians could possibly face penalties  depending on how that term was construed.

Keeping all individuals under 18 away from books that are not appropriate for younger minors would likely impose an unnecessary and unjustified burden on any older minors ability to access free library books appropriate to his or her age and reading level, Brooks wrote.

One of the plaintiffs is 17-year-old Hayden Kirby of Little Rock, who stated in court documents that she often goes to the library unaccompanied by a parent and would have trouble finding library materials at her reading level if they were relocated on the basis of being unsuitable for younger minors.

Appropriateness

Act 372 requires a committee of library staff, selected by head librarians and representative of diverse viewpoints, to be the first to review library materials challenged on the basis of appropriateness.

If a challenger disagrees with the library committees decision, city or county elected officials will have the final say on where material is placed.

Brooks called this portion of the law very poorly drafted, especially since it provides no criteria to guide the governmental bodys evaluation.

Perhaps any vagueness may be chalked up to the General Assemblys haste to enact Act 372, but the lack of clarity seems to have been by design, he wrote. After all, by keeping the pivotal terms vague, local governing bodies have greater flexibility to assess a given challenge however they please rather than how the Constitution dictates.

Since the law does not define appropriateness or cite libraries material selection criteria as a guide, Brooks said it is difficult, if not impossible, to assess a challenged books appropriateness without considering its content, message, and/or viewpoint.

Act 372 prohibits material from being withdrawn solely for the viewpoints expressed within. Brooks ruling repeated his statement from Tuesday that the word solely implies material could be relocated for several reasons, including its expressed viewpoints.

He also repeated that requiring a diversity of viewpoints on the initial review committee would not matter if the viewpoints within the challenged material would be irrelevant to the committees decision.

Act 372 did not pass the House Judiciary Committee in March until it had been amended to say library materials would be relocated to an area inaccessible to minors, not removed from the premises, if elected officials find them to be obscene.

However, the law contemplates challenges to appropriateness writ large, not just with respect to minors, Brooks wrote.

The law, then, must allow for withdrawal, he said. Otherwise, where would such a book  deemed broadly inappropriate for all readers, regardless of age  be placed?

Brooks also said the states attorneys did not prove a compelling state interest for the challenge procedure outlined in this portion of Act 372.

Crawford County

Adam Webb, the Garland County Library executive director and one of the plaintiffs against Act 372, said in court documents that the library received a blanket request to remove all books with LGBTQ+ characters. Webb said he declined the request and expected those books to be challenged under Act 372.

In contrast, the creation of social sections at Crawford Countys libraries was a compromise in light of public outcry about LGBTQ+ childrens books, the library systems then-director said.

The social sections are evidence of Crawford Countys interpretation of the challenge provision of Act 372, Brooks wrote in his ruling.

Attorneys for the Crawford County defendants argued Tuesday that the plaintiffs had no standing to sue them. Brooks disagreed in his denial of the defendants motion to dismiss them from the case, since the county and its county judge will be responsible for implementing Act 372 if it goes into effect and if appeals reach the county government.

Their lead argument is that Plaintiffs have no First Amendment right to receive information in a public library and that Crawford County may legally censor and deprive the public access to material at any time and for any reason, Brooks wrote. They cite no authority for this position.

The county and Keith, along with the countys library board and interim library director, are facing a separate lawsuit from three parents who argue that the social sections violate the First Amendment.

The rest of Act 372

Three sections of Act 372 will go into effect this week since they have not been challenged in court.

The law removes schools and public libraries from the part of Arkansas state code that previously exempted them from prosecution for disseminating a writing, film, slide, drawing, or other visual reproduction that is claimed to be obscene under existing obscenity laws.

The states definition of obscenity is that to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to prurient interest, with prurient meaning overtly sexual.

Act 372 did not change the definition of obscenity, but it adds the loaning of library materials to the statute governing the possession and distribution of obscene material. Employees of public or school libraries that knowingly distribute obscene material or inform others of how to obtain it would risk conviction for a Class D felony, the law states.

The new law also changes the way that school libraries handle challenges to material, similarly to the laws blocked section pertaining to public libraries. School librarians would create committees to review challenges, and if the committee does not relocate a book, the challenger could appeal the decision to the school board.

Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com. Follow Arkansas Advocate on Facebook and Twitter.
Helping Alex Murdaugh commit crimes is costly.

Prosecutors are asking a federal judge to order convicted ex-banker Russell Laffitte to pay $3.5 million in restitution for money he stole from his former bank, Palmetto State Bank, and Murdaughs former law firm, Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth and Detrick.

Of that total, Laffitte should pay $2,348,868 to his former bank in Hampton and $1,207,016 to the law firm, prosecutors said.

The restitution sought by federal prosecutors was made public Monday in court filings in U.S. District Court in South Carolina.

Laffitte, 52, is scheduled to be sentenced to prison Tuesday in federal court in Charleston by Judge Richard Gergel.

Prosecutors announced last week in a court filing they want Gergel to give Laffitte at least nine years in prison for committing multiple counts of fraud while helping Murdaugh steal money for years from Palmetto State Bank.

(Laffitte) made tens of thousands of dollars for doing nothing but enabling Murdaugh to steal, prosecutors wrote.

Laffittes lawyers oppose such a stiff sentence and ask for a sentence of three to five years in prison.

Mr. Laffitte is deserving of both mercy and leniency. Because of his conviction, Mr. Laffittes career, at least with respect to banking, is finished, Laffittes lawyers Mark Moor and Michael Parente wrote in a sentencing memo filed late Monday.

Laffittes lawyers continued to portray the ex-banker as a victim manipulated by Murdaugh, saying that for his failures, he is deeply remorseful and ashamed. However, he did not knowingly conspire with Mr. Murdaugh to steal money from any of the victims.

The lawyers also said they intend to present letters describing Laffitte as a man with impeccable family values, high integrity, and pristine character. Moreover, many of these letters attest to numerous charitable and selfless acts that Mr. Laffitte has done for the community in Hampton County. Laffitte still contends he is innocent despite his conviction, they said.

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Mr. Laffitte did not understand the scope and structure of the criminal activity, did not plan or organize the criminal activity, did not have discretion, and did not know it was criminal, but rather acted at the behest of Mr. Murdaugh, and did not greatly profit off the scheme. Mr.Murdaugh was, at all relevant times, a practicing attorney and certainly understood the illegality of his own actions, while Mr. Laffitte had no legal training, the defense memo said.

A federal jury in Charleston last November convicted Laffitte, former CEO of Palmetto State Bank, of six counts of financial crimes, including bank and wire fraud. Government witnesses testified that Laffitte and Murdaugh carried out elaborate theft schemes using the banks various accounts and procedures to hide the thefts.

Much of the stolen money came from settlement funds Murdaugh had won in lawsuits for various former clients, Murdaugh persuaded the banker to set up conservatorships for his former clients using the settlement money, which Murdaugh then plundered for his own use. Laffitte also profited off the scheme because he collected tens of thousands of dollars for overseeing the various conservatorships.

After the thefts became known, Murdaugh and Laffittes victims made claims against the law firm and the bank  claims which were paid. The $3.5 million in total restitution will go to compensate the law firm and the bank for claims they have paid, according to prosecutors memos.

The prosecutors are assistant U.S. attorneys Emily Limehouse, Kathleen Stoughton and Winston Holliday.

Murdaugh, convicted in March of the double murders of his wife, Maggie, and son Paul, is serving two consecutive life sentences for the killings. Charges against him for financial fraud at Laffittes bank are pending in both state and federal courts.
An Anoka man who federal prosecutors say talked about joining a loosely organized anti-government extremist movement has been sentenced to nearly 6 years in prison for illegal possession of a machine gun and distribution of methamphetamine.

Darrian Mitchell Nguyen, 50, pleaded guilty to the charges in March and was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court in St. Paul. Hell be on 10 years of supervised release after his prison term.

According to court documents, the FBI began investigating Nguyen in April 2022 after a buyer was arrested for possession of meth in 2020 and became a paid informant. He told agents that Nguyen said he had amassed a cache of weapons to be prepared for violence and talked about joining the Three Percenters, a loosely organized anti-government extremist movement; federal officials noted they didnt have information he had joined a militia group.

The informant told FBI agents that Nguyen, who had a Three Percenter flag in his garage, talked about shooting or blowing up liberals. He mentioned Black Lives Matter members as being targets.

At the FBIs request, the informant met with Nguyen on July 13, 2022, to settle a debt from 2020; instead Nguyen asked for two fully-automatic assault rifles. Later, in text messages, Nguyen asked for four auto sears and a short-barreled rifle equipped with an auto sear, which allows a semi-automatic gun to fire continuously like an automatic.

Nguyen also texted a link to a Facebook post of a nearly seven-minute video of a prominent Donald Trump supporter spouting conspiracy theories around the FBIs search of the former presidents Mar-a-Lago home. Nguyen later told the informant he believed Trump should lead a coup detat.

During another meeting, Nguyen told the informant he was making and selling meth and showed him a hidden room in his garage where it was stashed. He sold the informant 7.1 grams of meth for $300.

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Nguyen was arrested Oct. 4 at his home during the planned the weapons deal. Law enforcement recovered the auto sears and machine gun, as well as an additional 22 firearms from a hidden room inside the home, including an unregistered short-barreled shotgun.

Minnesota court records show Nguyen did not have a previous criminal record, other than misdemeanor driving offenses.

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Reuters/Eric Thayer

The Mar-a-Lago employee in charge of the Florida clubs surveillance camera system received a letter last month from federal authorities suggesting that he is a potential target in the ongoing criminal investigation into former President Donald Trumps alleged mishandling of classified documents, CNN revealed Sunday.

Yuscil Taveras, who the network identified as Trump Employee 4 in Thursdays revised charging document against Trump, met with and provided testimony to investigators that led, in part, to the new indictment filed last week.

The document, which also added a third defendant to the case, Mar-a-Lago maintenance worker Carlos De Oliveira, outlined an instance in which Taveras was approached by De Oliveira and urged to delete security footage from the clubs servers.

De Oliveira told Trump Employee 4 that the boss wanted the server deleted, the indictment reads. Taveras responded by saying he didnt think he would have the rights to do thatwhich prompted De Oliveira to press him, at one point asking, What are we going to do?

Despite the request, it does not appear any footage was deleted.

A statement issued by Trumps campaign team following the indictment called the new charges nothing more than a continued desperate and flailing attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their Department of Justice to harass President Trump and those around him.

Deranged Jack Smith knows that they have no case and is casting about for any way to salvage their illegal witch hunt and to get someone other than Donald Trump to run against Crooked Joe Biden.

Taveras has not been charged in connection with the caseand it remains unclear whether he will be.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Carol Yepes/Getty Images

Some people say they feel physically better after spending time in salt water.

Being near the sea can have mental health benefits, too, doctors say.

Using salt water for healing is known as thalassotherapy.

When Reina Sultan spent time in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, earlier this summer, she noticed she felt better than anticipated.

"has anyone with POTS/hEDS noticed that going in the ocean makes them feel wildly better?," she wrote on Twitter. "like i get 2-3 days of feeling like i am not chronically ill when i swim in the ocean and idk if its the salt or the pressure or what but even my joints feel better."

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, known as POTS, and hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, known as hEDS, are neurological conditions that can cause joint pain, dizziness with movement, and fatigue. The tweet took off, with many others with chronic illnesses saying that their symptoms felt better for days after they'd been swimming in salt water.

Doctors say that Sultan is onto something  a phenomenon known as thalassotherapy, or using salt water for healing, that dates all the way back to the ancient Greeks.

Saltwater has physical and mental health benefits

Anecdotal stories of feeling better in or near salt water  like Sultan's experience  are common, says Stewart Parnacott, a personal trainer and nurse practitioner with Baylor College of Medicine.

"There is some scientific basis to support these claims," Parnacott said.

A 2021 scientific review found evidence that indicated thalassotherapy was associated with improved symptoms in patients. It was particularly effective for people with certain skin conditions and inflammatory diseases, the review suggested.

"Saltwater contains various minerals and trace elements such as magnesium, potassium, and calcium, which are believed to have potential health benefits," Parnacott said. "These minerals may promote relaxation, reduce inflammation, and support skin health when absorbed through the skin during activities like swimming or spending time at the beach."

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Being near the beach can have mental-health benefits too

As anyone who enjoys a summer trip to the sea has probably realized, being near the ocean can also benefit mental health, says Dr. Elliot Dinetz, a specialist in functional medicine who is an assistant professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

"On the mental health front, being near the ocean, a phenomenon often referred to as the 'blue space effect,' has been linked to reduced stress levels and overall mental well-being," Dinetz said.

A 2021 study that included more than 16,000 people in 18 countries indicated that spending time near blue spaces, including lakes, rivers, and oceans, was associated with improved well-being. Another study suggested ocean sounds, like the crashing of waves, could also promote mental health and relaxation.

For the most benefit, get moving near water

While sitting on the beach or floating can be super relaxing, Dinetz says people often get the most benefit when they move their bodies.

"Activities such as swimming or walking on the beach increase these benefits by improving cardiovascular health and promoting the release of endorphins, the body's natural mood boosters," he said.

If you don't live near an ocean or salt lake, don't worry, Parnacott says. You can get many of the same benefits from visiting a lake or river  or even a pool in a pinch.

"Bodies of water, whether freshwater or saltwater, have inherent qualities that offer health benefits," he said.

Low-impact exercises like swimming or water aerobics are beneficial for joint health and cardiovascular fitness, while the buoyancy of water reduces the impact on joints, making it an ideal option for individuals with certain musculoskeletal conditions, he says.

"Both freshwater and saltwater environments can offer unique benefits for physical and mental well-being," Parnacott said. "Finding balance and taking time to unwind in nature can significantly contribute to a healthier and happier lifestyle."

Read the original article on Insider
Ukraine received a grant of $1.25 billion from the U.S. through the Multi-Donor Trust Fund of the World Bank, the Finance Ministry announced on July 31.

This is the fifth package provided to Ukraine under the Public Expenditures of Administrative Capacity Endurance (PEACE) in Ukraine, designed to support Ukraine's social and humanitarian expenditures.

In particular, the funding will be used to cover social assistance for internally-displaced persons (IDP), people with disabilities, low-income families, and other social payments.

The ministry noted that in 2023, Ukraine received $8.45 billion in direct budget support from the U.S. Since the start of the full-scale war, Washington has provided Kyiv with $20.4 billion in grant funding, the ministry's press release said.

The PEACE project in Ukraine was established in June 2022 to help the country in supporting around 13 million beneficiaries, including 10 million pensioners, 500,000 education employees, 145,000 government employees, 56,000 emergency workers, and over three million social assistance beneficiaries and IDPs, according to the World Bank.

On June 21, the World Bank announced a tranche of $1.75 billion for emergency assistance to Ukraine under the PEACE project. The package included a $500 million loan from the World Bank guaranteed by the U.K., a $1.25 billion grant from the U.S., and a $15 million grant from Finland.

Read also: Halushka, Shevchuk: A call to put Russian assets toward Ukraines reconstruction

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Nine state residents and the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee filed a lawsuit Monday to stop the nations first openly religious charter school from operating.

Oklahomas Statewide Virtual Charter School Board had voted 3-2 last month to approve the application of the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School.

The plaintiffs, represented by organizations including Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union, are arguing the board violated the Oklahoma Constitution, the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act and several of its own regulations when it approved St. Isidore.

Among the reasons the lawsuit says the school is unlawful are policies that could deny students admissions for sexual orientation or a difference in beliefs. It says St. Isidore will provide a religious education and indoctrinate its students in Catholic religious beliefs.

A school that claims to be simultaneously public and religious would be a sea change for American democracy. Its hard to think of a clearer violation of the religious freedom of Oklahoma taxpayers and public-school families than the state establishing a public school that is run as a religious school, said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Were witnessing a full-on assault on church-state separation and public education  and religious public charter schools are the next frontier. America needs a national recommitment to church-state separation, Laser added.

The residents filed in the District Court of Oklahoma County to stop funding to St. Isidore and block the charter school board from doing business with the school.

The Hill has reached out to St. Isidore for comment.

News of a suit from these organizations comes as no surprise since they have indicated early in this process their intentions to litigate. We remain confident that the Oklahoma court will ultimately agree with the US Supreme Courts opinion in favor of religious liberty, said Brett Farley, the executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma.

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Ryan Walters, state superintendent of public instruction for the Oklahoma State Department of Education, said in response to the lawsuit that It is time to end atheism as the state sponsored religion.

Suing and targeting the Catholic Virtual Charter School is religious persecution because of ones faith, which is the very reason that religious freedom is constitutionally protected, Walters said in a statement.

A warped perversion of history has created a modern day concept that all religious freedom is driven from the classrooms. I will always side for an individuals right to choose religious freedom in education, he added.

The lawsuit had been expected as the proposed school caused quite a stir when it was approved, even among other charter school advocates.

This decision runs afoul of state law and the U.S. Constitution. All charter schools are public schools, and as such must be non-sectarian. Charter schools were conceived as, and have always been, innovative public schools that provide an alternative for families who want a public school option other than the one dictated by their ZIP code, Nina Rees, president of the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools, said after the board voted.

St. Isidore went through a months-long process to get approved, with its application originally rejected by the charter school board. The school has already indicated it is ready to take a lawsuit all the way to the Supreme Court.

Were not surprised by the threat of a suit, but we will be preparing if they choose to file one, Brett Farley, the executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, said back in June. This is a question that ultimately needs to be answered by the courts, perhaps by the US Supreme Court.

Updated at 5:09 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
China's appointment of Liu Liehong, former chairman of State-owned telecom operator China Unicom, as the head of its yet-to-be-officially-unveiled national data bureau is expected to lead to better integration, sharing, development and application of the country's data resources and develop the digital economy, experts said on Sunday.

They noted that Liu has more than three decades' experience in the electronics and information technology industry, and his appointment on Friday is in accordance with China's intensified efforts to promote digital development and accelerate the construction of basic systems for data.

Liu, 54, was appointed as chairman of China Unicom in August 2021. He took over the role after serving as vice-minister of industry and information technology from June 2020 to August 2021. Prior to that, Liu was the deputy head of the Cyberspace Administration of China from July 2018 to June 2020.

Liu's experience in holding key positions in government departments and working in the information and communication sector will help improve the governance efficiency of data resources, facilitate the standardized circulation and trading of data, and better implement the nation's big data strategy, said Pan Helin, co-director of the Digital Economy and Financial Innovation Research Center at Zhejiang University's International Business School.

Pan emphasized that data, as a new type of production factor, has been rapidly integrated into areas such as production, circulation, consumption and social services, adding that activating the potential of data elements is key to boosting the growth of the digital economy.

Wang Yong, deputy director of the Institute of Economics at Tsinghua University, said, "Liu's experience and vision will be conducive to pushing the country to further optimize the allocation of data resources, in addition to bolstering the digital transformation in traditional industries and promoting the in-depth integration of the digital and real economies."

China announced plans to establish a national data bureau in March.

The bureau, to be administered by the National Development and Reform Commission, will be responsible for advancing the development of data-related fundamental institutions and pushing forward the planning and building of a digital China, the digital economy and a digital society.

Ouyang Rihui, assistant dean of the China Center for Internet Economy Research at the Central University of Finance and Economics, said, "The establishment of a national data bureau is of vital significance in speeding up the building of a unified domestic data elements market, promoting the circulation and transaction of data and laying a solid foundation for the high-quality development of the digital economy."

More efforts are needed to promote the classification of data resources and confirmation of data-related rights, as well as to explore a data pricing mechanism and value assessment system, Ouyang added.

In February, China rolled out a plan for the overall layout of the country's digital development, vowing to make important progress in the construction of a digital China by 2025.

Data elements are playing an increasingly prominent role in promoting China's digital development, and safeguarding data security in the process of data transactions poses a huge challenge for enterprises, said Qi Xiangdong, chairman of Chinese cybersecurity company Qi-Anxin Technology Group.
Rafaela Vasquez, the backup Uber driver in the autonomous vehicle, avoided a negligent homicide charge related to the 2018 crash that killed 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg. AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

A woman behind the wheel of a self-driving Uber that hit a pedestrian has been in legal limbo ever since.

The operator faced negligent homicide charges after a 2018 crash killed 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg.

Rafaela Vasquez on Friday pleaded guilty to endangerment in the case, avoiding prison time.

A guilty plea entered Friday offered an answer to the once-hypothetical ethics question of who is responsible when a self-driving car kills a pedestrian.

Rafaela Vasquez, who was behind the wheel of a self-driving Uber SUV that struck and killed a pedestrian in March of 2018, pleaded guilty to endangerment related to the case, avoiding prison time.

She was sentenced to three years of supervised probation, according to a plea agreement released by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office

Investigators examine a driverless Uber SUV that fatally struck a woman in Tempe, Arizona. National Transportation Safety Board via AP

Vasquez had been charged with negligent homicide after investigators said she had been watching a video on her phone at the time of the crash and didn't brake in time, Insider previously reported.

The Uber system detected the victim 5.6 seconds before the crash, The New York Times reported but failed to determine that she was a bicyclist or that she was headed into the vehicle's path.

The victim, 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, was the first known pedestrian fatality related to a fully autonomous vehicle crash. She had been pushing her bike through a crosswalk before the impact occurred.

Interior view of Rafaela's vehicle moments before the self-driving Uber SUV she was operating fatally struck a woman in Tempe, Arizona, in what was the first death involving a fully autonomous vehicle. Tempe Police Department via AP,

Two years prior, Joshua Brown of Canton, Ohio, was operating a semi-autonomous Tesla when he was killed in a crash in what was the first death attributed to self-driving technology, The New York Times reported.

Since then, according to Department of Transportation statistics from January, carmakers have reported a total of 419 vehicle crashes involving semi- or fully-autonomous vehicles, including 18 fatalities.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Five employees of a south Florida school district, including a principal, have been charged with felonies for failing to report the alleged sexual assault of a 15-year-old student in 2021, according to court records.

The arrested employees, who worked at Palm Beach Central High School at the time of the alleged crimes, are Principal Darren Edgecomb, Assistant Principals Daniel Snider and Nereyda Cayado De Garcia, former guidance counselor Priscilla Carter and chorus teacher Scott Houchins, according to local outlet CBS12.

Edgecomb, Snider, Garcia, Carter and Houchins were arrested on July 24. They still work for the Palm Beach County School District, but in "positions that do not involve student contact," according to a letter sent to parents by Regional Superintendent Valerie Zuloaga-Haines.

Police revisited the incident after it was reported to authorities that the officials were "criminally negligent" in their failure to report the alleged assault and to report the student's suicidal intentions, according to court records. That failure resulted in the teen "having significant trauma and lack of confidence in her educators," per the documents.

FLORIDA EX-TEACHER'S ASSISTANT ARRESTED FOR 'SEXUAL OFFENSES' AGAINST STUDENT, ATTEMPTING TO KISS HER: SHERIFF

The student reported that she and her female friend went swimming at Lake Worth Beach in April 2021 with two boys from Palm Beach Central, including one who had been the student's boyfriend for about a week, according to an investigation report reviewed by The Palm Beach Post.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The two pairs split up to walk along the beach separately, the report states, when the girl and one of the boys sat down on a sheet, under a towel. The male student reportedly began touching her in her genital area, initially with consent.

After a few minutes, the victim reportedly said she wanted to stop, and the boy initially did so. But he started again and allegedly did not stop even when she tried to push his hands away.

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Later, when the four teens were waiting for rides home while wrapped in towels, the boyfriend reportedly again began to touch the girl's genitals without consent. She fought him, but he allegedly continued to forcibly touch her for about 10 minutes, per the investigation report.

NEARLY 350 K-12 EDUCATORS ARRESTED ON CHILD SEX CRIMES IN 2022

Lake Worth Beach in Florida

Records reviewed by The Palm Beach Post show that Snider first became involved after the girl's 15-year-old female friend reported the alleged assault to him in August 2021. When detectives visited the school to speak to the boy, Snider reportedly told them that they would not be talking to the claimed assailant because he had an attorney.

Snider told police, according to records, that he was not a mandated reporter because he was a relative of the accused boy. A school police officer told responding deputies that the male student "was a good kid from a good family."

CBS12 reported that one of the students involved is the child of one of the arrested employees.

The female friend provided Snider with a written account of the incident that identified the alleged assailant, which Snider shared with Edgecomb. However, neither would report the incident to authorities.

Edgecomb would later tell law enforcement that he "felt that a sexual assault did not occur, based on his investigation."

Carter was reportedly aware that the girl attempted suicide on a school trip to Washington, D.C., and that it was not her first attempt, but did not report it.

Before alerting Snider, in June 2021, a friend of the girl (it is unclear whether it is the same friend who witnessed the alleged assault on the beach) penned a letter to Houchins outlining her concerns for the girl, whom she said was assaulted by two boys (it is unclear whether this referred to the April incident) and had been harming herself as a result.

Although she was confident that he would make sure it was "routed properly," according to court documents, the teacher did not report the assaults to the Florida Department of Children and Families as mandated by law.

LOUDOUN COUNTY SCHOOL OFFICIAL FOUND NOT GUILTY OF PERJURING HIMSELF IN DISTRICT SEXUAL ASSAULT PROBE

The letter ended up with Carter in the guidance counselor's office, per court documents. The counselor did not ask the student about the reported sexual assault, only about whether she was having suicidal thoughts and felt safe in her relationship. The student replied that she felt safe because the boy she was dating was not the boy who assaulted her.

Carter later told law enforcement that she was told by her superiors to stay out of the matter because it was being investigated by authorities.

Edgecomb and Carter were given a bond of $10,000 each, while Garcia, Houchins and Snider were given $3,000, ABC 7 reported.

Although the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office has found probable cause that the reported crime occurred, the male student, who was under 18 at the time, was never charged.

Garcia reportedly said she wanted the parents of the girl to report the alleged assault, and that the school had not done so because they did not feel she was unsafe, per court documents.

The original assault case has not been pursued  although the student's parents reported the alleged assault to police on Aug. 20, 2021, they decided not to pursue charges to spare their daughter the prolonged legal process as she made "therapeutic progress," according to a criminal affidavit filed against Edgecomb.
War in Ukraine (Clea PECULIER)

A missile strike on a residential building in Ukraine killed six and wounded dozens on Monday, as Russia said it stepped up strikes against Ukrainian military facilities in response to attacks on its territory, including Moscow.

Two missiles landed close to the centre of the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rig just after 9:00 am (0600 GMT), Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko wrote on Telegram.

Among the dead were a 10-year-old girl and her 45-year-old mother, while 75 people were injured, according to local authorities.

One of the strikes hit a large nine-storey residential apartment block, punching a huge hole in the facade that destroyed flats on several floors and sparked a fire.

Firefighters used a cherry-picker crane to direct jets of water at the fire, while the emergency ministry said part of the building had collapsed while the rubble was being cleared.

As the toll of the strike rose, Russia said it had intensified attacks on military infrastructure in Ukraine after increasingly frequent drone assaults blamed on Kyiv.

Russia on Sunday said it had downed Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and annexed Crimea in the latest wave of drone attacks.

- 'Act of desperation' -

"Against the background of the failure of the so-called 'counteroffensive', Kyiv... has focused on carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure," Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday.

In response, "the intensity of our strikes against Ukrainian military facilities... has been considerably increased," Shoigu said.

Sunday's drone attack damaged two office towers in a Moscow business district, shattering several windows and leaving documents strewn on the ground.

The capital and its environs, lying about 500 kilometres (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border, had rarely been targeted during the conflict until several drone attacks this year.

Following the strikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Sunday that war was coming to Russia.

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"Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia -- to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process," Zelensky said.

The Kremlin responded Monday, describing the strikes on the capital as an "act of desperation" by Ukraine following setbacks on the battlefield.

"It is obvious that the counteroffensive is not a success," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that the situation was "very difficult" for Ukrainian forces on the front.

"All possible measures have been taken to defend civil infrastructure" against Ukrainian strikes, Peskov added.

Ukraine began its long-awaited counteroffensive in June but has made modest advances in the face of stiff resistance from Russian forces on the frontline.

- Zelensky's hometown -

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was born and grew up in Kryvyi Rig, said Russians were "continuing to terrorise peaceful cities and people".

The strikes in the city also damaged an academic building, according to the head of the city's military administration Oleksandr Vilkul.

In the southern city of Kherson, Russian shelling killed four and injured another 17, said the head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andriy Yermak.

"The enemy is hitting residential neighbourhoods," Yermak said.

Meanwhile, shelling by Kyiv's armed forces killed two people and wounded six in Ukraine's eastern city of Donetsk, which is controlled by Russian forces, Moscow-installed authorities said.

"A bus was destroyed by the shelling... Two people died and six were wounded," the Russian-installed head of the Donetsk region Denis Pushilin said on Telegram.

Russian forces had repelled Ukrainian attacks in the east and south of the country, while it continued its own offensive around Kupiansk, the defence ministry said in its daily briefing.

sea/brw/gw
"X" really does mark the spot  for a city investigation. The company formerly known as Twitter has rebranded to the letter, placing a massive light-up "X" on top of their San Francisco headquarters, apparently without a permit.

The long-standing sign identifying the headquarters as Twitter came down last week as Elon Musk announced the social media site has officially rebranded to "X." The site's parent company had already been renamed to X Corporation as Musk said he wants to create "the everything app."

"The Twitter name made sense when it was just 140 character messages going back and forth  like birds tweeting  but now you can post almost anything, including several hours of video," Musk said. "In the months to come, we will add comprehensive communications and the ability to conduct your entire financial world."

But the new sign at the company's San Fransico headquarters wasn't exactly installed up to code, according to the city.

San Francisco's Department of Building Inspection launched a complaint against the company on Friday, saying the sign had been installed without a permit. The city agency said that an inspector "spoke with Tweeter [sic] representatives and Building maintenance engineer representatives," who declined access to the sign but said that it's "a temporary lighted sign for an event."

The city inspector said they explained to the company representatives that the structure had to be taken down or legalized to be allowed to remain up.

The inspector returned to the site on Saturday in an attempt to regain access to the sign.

"However, upon arrival access was denied again by the tenant," the city complaint says.

It's not just city officials who have an issue with the new sign.

Video from San Francisco resident and digital journalist Christopher Beale shows the lights in the sign pulsing brightly across the street of his home, saying, "this is my life now." At another point, the lights of the giant "X" were seen strobing.

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"It's hard to describe how bright it made this intersection," he said in a video shared by CBS News Bay Area reporter Betty Yu. "But it's way up off the street and it's still just like a flash of lightning going off. We came home and tried to watch a movie and it was flashing through this window so bright that even with the shades down, it was so distracting that we had to leave the room and go to the side of the apartment that doesn't face their building."

X logo installed atop Twitter building in SF; city to investigate permit violation@realchrisjbeale said: It's hard to describe how bright it made this intersection it's was still just like a flash of lightning going off. @KPIXtv https://t.co/YXuzzv3TCs pic.twitter.com/Ww10HWFXLd  Betty Yu (@bett_yu) July 30, 2023

Patricia Wallinga, who also lives across the street from the sign, said she thought the lights were "lightning" or a "police siren."

"I was very confused," she told CBS News Bay Area. "...This building, it's largely rent controlled. There are a lot of seniors who live there, I'm sure, I'm absolutely sure that this is a danger especially to them. ... It's such a clown show."

Normally buildings are given notice of a permit application for such things and have the ability to approve or reject it, said George Wolf, an attorney who specializes in construction law.

"Somebody could file a lawsuit over it as public nuisance," he said. "I think it's very, very reckless to do things this way. Most people abide by the law, I'm sure there's exceptions for entrepreneurs. It just sounds like it's just his normal means of doing business. Break things and try and fix them later."

Legal analysis of Lori Vallow Daybell life sentence

Watch: Lori Vallow Daybell speaks, receives life sentence for murder of children

Workers using ChatGPT and other AI tools to save time
Little Liberty Belle Garcia arrived in the world at a Hollywood hospital in August weighing only 1 pound 5 ounces. A month later, Cheyenne Tomblin was born at a Boca Raton hospital weighing 12 ounces, about the size of a can of soda.

By being born tiny and months early, they both faced incredible odds to survive. In Florida, the difficult struggle of such babies is happening more often with the number of low birthweight newborns rising and surpassing the national average.

In 2021, 9% of babies born in Florida weighed less than 5 pounds, an increase from 8.7% in 2019, a troubling trend considering birthweight is one of the strongest predictors of an infants health.

Florida is a state where a lot more work needs to be done to help children and families, said Norin Dollard, senior policy analyst and Kids Count director for the Florida Policy Institute.

Florida ranks 31st in the country in child well-being, doing well in education but lagging in health issues, according to an annual report released recently by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The 2023 KIDS COUNT Data Book report measures states on a series of indicators, with Florida ranking fifth in education, 37th in economic well-being, 33rd in health and 32nd in what the foundation calls family and community. The state has seen worsening patterns in child and teen deaths, as well as in children and teens who are overweight or obese, but there has been some improvement in the rate of teen births and children living in high poverty areas.

Florida worse off than the US average

When it comes to low-birthweight babies, Floridas 9% rate exceeds the national rate of 8.5%. By arriving into the world so small, a baby may have a harder time eating, gaining weight, and fighting infections.

These babies are more likely to have to do a NICU stay, where they might be on a ventilator or need additional interventions to make sure their organs are where they need to be, said Caroline Valencia, director of maternal infant health for March of Dimes, South Florida. But there also are long-term implications, potential cognitive delays and health risks that can be with them rest of their lives.

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Liberty Belle Garcia spent four months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Joe DiMaggio Childrens Hospital and Cheyenne Tomblin went home after six months in the NICU at West Boca Medical Center. Both underwent multiple surgeries, physical therapies, and needed help breathing.

Valencia said there is a critical connection between infant health, maternal health and the health of a family. A March of Dimes Florida report card released in November found nearly a quarter of mothers in Florida had inadequate prenatal care. In addition, for each of the last five years, the state lagged the nation in the number of doctors who care for pregnant mothers.

Do Florida moms have nowhere to go?

Some women may be at particular risk for pregnancy complications if they have conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes.

Its important to make sure we get maternal health ramped up, Valencia said. When the mom is at risk for her health, it also increases the risk for the baby to be born pre-term. It starts with mom.

March of Dimes will release a report on Aug. 1 that identifies areas of Florida with little or no access to maternal and reproductive care  where women have to go long distances to get care or give birth. Nationally and in Florida, labor and delivery units are shutting their doors, and fewer doctors are going into the demanding, high-risk profession.

In Broward County, Rose McKelvie, administrator of womens & childrens services at Broward Health, said her health system already has identified such an area in Broward. Specifically, Broward Health learned a Lauderdale Lakes region had no obstetrics care, which is why the hospital system is building a family health center.

We know there are areas of Florida and in Broward where we need to get more providers on the ground so women can access prenatal care, McKelvie said. I think most of these babies born pre-term are because mom has a complication.

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Pregnancy visits by phone

In its 2023 budget, the state allocated $12.7 million to improve maternal health outcomes in Florida through telehealth care. McKelvie said Broward will be one of 20 counties that gets some of the money and will look at how pregnant woman can get early care from a doctor by phone. It will take time but we think we will see a difference. We have got to try something different.

Dr. Thresia Gambon, president of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said pregnant women in the state often are uninsured and dont realize they can receive health coverage for prenatal and postpartum care through Medicaid. That thinking decreases access. I would like mothers to be seen in their first trimester and throughout pregnancy.

As a Hialeah pediatrician, Gambon said babies born pre-term or with a low birthweight need close monitoring throughout their childhood for signs of delayed development. However, she said, their first year is most critical. If you are looking at extremely low birth rate babies, they have higher morbidity and mortality in the first year of life.

Like McKelvie, Gambon sees where the focus needs to be: It almost always goes back to mom didnt have adequate prenatal care.

Sun Sentinel health reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com.
A new college entrance exam that has become popular among Christian schools and conservative political groups may soon expand its footprint to include Floridas public universities  following a boost from the DeSantis administration.

The Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the states public universities, is expected to vote at its August meeting on whether to accept Classic Learning Test scores for admissions, in addition to the SAT and the ACT. If the board approves it, Florida would become the first public university system in the country to accept the test.

The Classic Learning Test, or CLT, was created in 2015 as an alternative college entrance exam rooted in a teaching model that emphasizes the humanities, morality and classical literature. The test has found favor in recent years among some conservatives as an antidote to progressive influence, and it is now accepted by more than 200 predominantly private universities.

Floridas consideration of the CLT follows a high-profile dispute between the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis and the College Board, which administers the SAT, over an Advanced Placement African American history course offered by the organization. After he accused the AP course of left-wing bias, DeSantis said Florida would look for alternatives to other College Board products.

Since the AP spat, Florida has accelerated the rise of classical education and the CLT. DeSantis signed a bill this year that opened the states Bright Futures college scholarship program to accept Classic Learning Test scores, in addition to ACT and SAT results, to determine eligibility.

After DeSantis appointed several conservatives as trustees of New College of Florida, in Sarasota, the public liberal arts school announced in May that it would accept the CLT.

He wants to sort of shove his thumb in the eye of the College Board by essentially saying: We dont need your SATs anymore, either. We dont need your African American studies course, and we dont need you, so go away; we found an alternative, said Chester Finn Jr., a top official in the Education Department during the Reagan administration.

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Jeremy Tate, the founder of the CLT, said whats happening in Florida is part of a broader movement in education circles frustrated with progressive influence.

A top official at the Florida Education Department tweeted this year, CLT not CRT! referring to critical race theory, an academic study of racisms pervasive role in society, which the state banned from public schools.

Its certainly a lot bigger than just the test itself, Tate said. I think everybody knows theres something deeply, deeply wrong in mainstream education right now.

The College Board said in a statement to NBC News that because standardized tests can be such keystones for students career trajectories, its critical that those tests are well researched and carefully developed to ensure fairness, and it said it has a team of experts to evaluate its exams.

The College Board posted an analysis this month that criticized the CLTs methodology and rigor.

The ACT, a nonprofit organization, declined to comment.

Tate, the CLT founder, said the College Board has been trying to discredit his exam by saying it needs more participants to be proven. But that, he said, is untrue.

They want to say unless you have 500,000 data points then any of your research is completely inaccurate, and thats a good way to keep competitors out of the market, he said.

The CLT was designed to eschew the Common Core curriculum standards and intentionally favor Aristotle, Benjamin Franklin and Jane Austen over 20th century progressive authors, Tate said. Christopher Newport University in Virginia became the first public university to accept the CLT in 2018. It quickly caught on with home-schoolers and private Christian schools and colleges.

Tate, a former college counselor with a masters in religious studies, declined to share how many students take the CLT annually. He added that hes talking with officials in two other states in addition to Florida, which he declined to identify.

The primary difference in the CLT lies in its choices for literature. The exam may include passages from Pope John Paul II or the Christian author C.S. Lewis, which Tate said prompted one public university to explicitly tell him thats why it wont use the CLT. Tate said that to censor the entire Catholic and Christian tradition, as he accuses the SAT and the ACT of doing, excludes important influences and foundations of Western civilization.

When Louisiana Christian University, in Pineville, began accepting the CLT in 2018, a top admissions official at the private school told a reporter, We are very intentional about our Christian faith here, and the classic learning style and CLT dont shy away from religion, religious topics or ethical topics.

Similarly, Sarah Clark, the head of enrollment for Southeastern University, in Lakeland, Florida, said in an interview that her institution began accepting the test to expand its exposure to its target audience, which is largely the Christian and home-school population.

Out of 86 people on CLTs advisory board, 59 are part of Christian organizations, such as religious schools, education groups and publishing companies. Ten board members work for conservative political groups, such as Kevin Roberts, the president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, and Chris Rufo, a right-wing activist who has advised the DeSantis administration. The board also includes professors from Harvard and Princeton, as well as Green Party presidential candidate and left-wing activist Cornel West.

But backers of CLT worry that the momentum among red states  in particular Florida, where DeSantis is a major GOP presidential contender  is giving classical education an undeserved political reputation.

You dont want them battling against each other like the SAT is the liberal test and CLT is the conservative test  I dont think thats a great place to be, said CLT board member Jessica Hooten Wilson, a literature professor at Pepperdine University, in Malibu, California. Hooten Wilson, who considers herself a moderate, said the CLT strikes a middle ground because it doesnt leave anybody out, including religious thinkers.

Critics remain unconvinced.

Akil Bello, who ran a test preparation company and is a senior director at the civil rights education group FairTest, said the CLTs focus on classical texts and century-old teaching methods doesnt serve students well.

It pretends that we havent moved forward 50 years and technology isnt entirely different than it was and the way students interact with the world isnt entirely different than it was, Bello said. The older the language you use, the more likely youre not evaluating a students ability to understand whats read  youre evaluating their comfort with Old English.

Finn, the former Reagan administration official whos now a senior fellow at the right-leaning Thomas B. Fordham Institute, said that hes not opposed to the CLT but that it has arrived amid momentum to do away with college entrance exams because of criticism that they skew toward wealthy students who can afford tutoring. The SAT and the ACT are already used by such a massive market share that the CLTs influence is trivial at this point, he said.

Were talking about a puppy dog alongside two horses, he said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Ohio has nearly 1,000 battle flags and about half of them, including most of the pre-World War II flags, are curated and maintained by the Ohio History Connection, a statewide organization tasked by Ohio law with preserving and maintaining Ohio history.

On a Civil War battlefield, the sight of a blue Union battle flag with an eagle seal flying in the wind meant you were surrounded by 1,000 of your closest friends.

And in the midst of a battle  with muskets cracking all around and thousands of men moving at once  a regimental flag was essential for knowing where to go and when to retreat. The flags inspired pride and represented the unit, something men were prepared to die for.

Men died protecting those flags, Sgt. Joshua Mann, historian for the Ohio National Guard, said. I dont think there's an object that identifies with a unit more than their flags ... When you think about the history of a unit, that's what draws you to telling the story.

Today, in the era of mechanized warfare, the battle flag has taken on more of a ceremonial significance rather than a tactical one. For the Ohio National Guard and the Ohio History Connection, the retired battle flags are in a new battle: preserving their history into the future.

The Ohio Adjutant General's Department, which is responsible for the command of the Ohio National Guard, owns nearly 950 battle flags going from the Mexican-American war to today. Over half of the flags, including most of the pre-World War II flags, are curated and maintained by the Ohio History Connection, a statewide organization tasked by Ohio law with preserving and maintaining Ohio history.

Raising the standard of history

Around a dozen preserved Civil War battle flags are on public display in the "Follow the Flag" exhibit at The Ohio History Center, with most being stored off site. Made of a delicate silk, the flags were produced in New York City, Philadelphia and Cincinnati, Ben Baughman, Ohio History Connection curator said. Many flags used by Ohio regiments were made in Cincinnati.

Ben Baughman, a curator for the Ohio History Connection, sits in an exhibit of Ohio battle flags from the Civil War era. Battle flags were used by military regiments for unit cohesion and as a symbol of regimental pride.

In battle, they would be carried by a soldier alongside the United States flag. Once assigned to a unit, a battle flag gained character as regiments emblazoned their service record onto their flags, sometimes stitching on the names of battles it had been at and sometimes painting them.

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One flag on display is the Fifth United States Colored Troops', which was formed in January 1864 as the 127th Ohio Volunteer Infantry at Camp Delaware, in Delaware, Ohio, one of the few in the country for training Black soldiers.

The regiment saw service throughout the end of the war, including occupying trenches while the Union besieged the Virginia cities of Petersburg and Richmond (the Confederate capital), according to the National Parks Service. In December of 1864, they joined a campaign into North Carolina.

"Imagine a group of African American soldiers, they're fighting in Wilmington, North Carolina, they're in the South  that's really sobering," Baughman said.

With the end of the war at hand, the men of the regiment witnessed the surrender of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston and his army at Bennett Place, North Carolina, in April 1865, which was the largest surrender of the entire war. The regiment lost 249 men to wounds and disease during their 16-month service.

Another flag on display at the exhibit is the 88th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (OVI), known as the "governor's guard," a unit exclusively stationed through the war at Camp Chase in what today is Columbus' Hilltop neighborhood.

The regimental flag of the 88th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, known as the "governor's guard," a unit exclusively stationed through the U.S. Civil War at Camp Chase in what is today Columbus' Hilltop neighborhood. The preserved 88th OVI regimental flag is one of nearly a dozen on display at the Ohio History Connection "Follow the Flag" exhibit.

Camp Chase was one of the largest Union Army prisoner-of-war camp, housing thousands of captured Confederate troops during the Civil War. More than 2,000 soldiers are buried at the cemetery, most Confederate soldiers there died of poor conditions and disease while in prison. Eighty soldiers of the regiment also died of disease during the war.

The 88th OVI's battle flag, like many others in the war, features a "swallowtail" guidon design, which some experts say was a key source of inspiration for the unique Ohio state flag, which debuted in 1901.

Saving the flags

Baughman said the Ohio History Connection has been working since the late 1960s to preserve the antique battle flags, many of which were on display in the Ohio Statehouse rotunda until 1970.

Use in battle, and exposure to the elements over the years, have left some of the battle flags in tatters, and others in various states of disrepair.

"Once it's gone, it's gone," Baughman said.

Initial preservation efforts began with a commission authorized by the State Adjutant General, in consultation with the National Park Service, to glue the flags to nylon with a water-soluble glue. Now the Ohio History Connection sends flags to West-Virginia-based Textile Preservation Associates, which removes the nylon and glue and places the flag in a nearly invisible mesh before framing them.

Ohio History Connection Curator Ben Baughman shows flags from the Civil War era that display moments of Ohio History from that time period.

Only 28 of the over 500 flags in the Ohio History Connection collection have been fully preserved. Depending on the size and condition of the flag, the full conservation costs can run from $6,000 to $30,000.

"It's not cheap," Baughman said. "Of course, we'd like to do all the flags, but it's cost prohibitive."

Individuals or groups can contribute to the flag conservation fund in two ways: by donating any amount to go to the general flag conservation fund or they may adopt a specific flag. A minimum donation of $1,000 is required to adopt a flag.

Unit flags are still a respected and revered tradition in the United States armed forces, Mann said. Still often made of silk to this day, the Adjutant General's Department wants to preserve current unit's battle standards from damage, theft and destruction so that future generations have connections to those who serve today.

A Soldier from the 612th Engineer Battalion holds the battalion colors during a transfer of authority ceremony with units of the 1st Cavalry Division on Feb. 5, 2005, in Iraq.

We have canteens, and helmets and boots in our collection that help tell a story, when you think about the flags  it tells a better story, Mann said.

From time to time, flags end up in the possession of families even though they are exclusively the property of the armed forces. If a family has a flag, Mann said, he wanted them to know that their "home is with the Army."

My goal today is to collect those objects, preserve them, so that when someone is looking back at a flag in the war on terrorism  (they) have that same connection that families have with a flag that was at Gettysburg, or Antietam or Chickamauga, Mann said.

@Colebehr_report

Cbehrens@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How Ohio preserves nearly 1,000 battle flags from Civil War and beyond
PHOENIX (AP)  A record string of daily highs over 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) in Phoenix ended Monday as the dangerous heat wave that suffocated the Southwest throughout July receded slightly with cooling monsoon rains.

The historic heat began blasting the region in June, stretching from Texas across New Mexico and Arizona and into Californias desert. Phoenix and its suburbs sweltered more and longer than most, with several records including the 31 consecutive days of 110 degrees Fahrenheit-plus (43.4 degrees Celsius) weather. The previous record was 18 straight days, set in 1974.

The streak was finally broken Monday, when the high topped out at 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42.2 Celsius) at 3:10 p.m.

The high temperature for Phoenix today is 108 degrees, Jessica Leffel, meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said at 5 p.m.

The record streak of 31 straight days of 110+ degree temperatures has ended., the weather service said on social media. The high temperature at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport reached 108 degrees this afternoon, which is only 2 degrees above normal.

The reprieve was expected to be brief, with the forecast calling for highs again above 110 for several days later in the week. And National Weather Service meteorologist Matthew Hirsch said August could be even hotter than July.

But residents and visitors were taking what they could get.

Its not going to last more than a couple of days, but Im enjoying this break, said Christine Bertaux, 76, who was cooling off Monday at a downtown day center for older people who are homeless.

It has been REALLY hot here! said Jeffrey Sharpe, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, who was in town for a long weekend that on Monday included watching his sons two poodles frolic in a grassy dog park. But today it was about 85 degrees, more like Wisconsin.

Phoenix also sweated through a record 16 consecutive days when overnight lows didnt dip below 90 degrees (32.2 degrees Celsius), making it hard for people to cool off after the sun went down.

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In California, Death Valley, long considered the hottest place on Earth, flirted in July with some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded, reaching 125.6 degrees Fahrenheit (52.5 Celsius) on July 16 at the aptly named Furnace Creek.

The planets hottest recorded temperature ever was 134 F (56.67 C) in July 1913 at Furnace Creek, according to the World Meteorological Organization, the body recognized as keeper of world records.

And in Nevada, also on July 16, Las Vegas briefly reached 116 degrees (46.6 degrees Celsius) to tie the record for that date set in 1998.

The heat in Phoenix began to ease slightly last week with the citys first major storm since the monsoon season began June 15.

The Southwest heat wave was just one kind of extreme weather events that hit the U.S. in July. Fatal flash floods swept people and cars away in Pennsylvania, and days of flooding led to dangerous mudslides in the Northeast.

At several points during the month, as many as a third of Americans were under some type of heat advisory, watch or warning. While not as visually dramatic as other natural disasters, experts say heat waves are deadlier  heat in parts of the South and Midwest killed more than a dozen people in June.

Rudy Soliz, who manages the center where Bertaux was cooling off, said those who visit to get a meal and cool off out of the sun have been having a very hard time this summer.

Older people have a harder time with the heat, there are a lot of diabetics, people who take medicines, he said.

The heat has been pretty bad this summer. Weve made at least five 911 calls from here this July for people who got heat stroke, said Soliz. Theyve found a couple of bodies around here this month but its not clear yet if they died from the heat.

Maricopa County, Arizonas most populous and home to Phoenix, reported 25 heat-related deaths this year as of July 21. Another 249 deaths are listed as under investigation, and results from toxicological tests that can take weeks or months after an autopsy could lead to many being confirmed as heat-related.

Maricopa County reported 425 heat-associated deaths in all of 2022, with more than half in July.

R. Glenn Williamson, a businessman who was born in Canada but has lived in Phoenix for years, said he really noticed a temperature difference Monday morning as he washed his car in his driveway.

Now we have to get rid of the humidity! Williamson said. But honestly, Id rather have this heat than a Montreal winter.

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Costley reported from New Orleans.

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Follow Drew Costley on Twitter: @drewcostley.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Jury selection was set to begin Monday for Wayne Williams, a former Duval County Public Schools janitor accused of 11 counts of sex crimes with a child.

Instead, Williams entered a plea of guilty to a charge of lewd and lascivious molestation and prosecutors dropped the remaining counts against him.

Judge London Kite sentenced Williams to 51 months in the Florida State Prison system. He was given credit for 265 days served.

He will also have to complete a sex offender program when he is out of prison.

This is a developing story.

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A former Georgia police chief was arrested on child sexual abuse charges, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

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On July 17, the Houston County Sheriffs Office called in the GBI to investigate a child abuse complaint.

Houston officials said the complaint was filed with the sheriffs office involving allegations that 79-year-old George Johnson, the former Warner Robins police chief, abused a teenage girl.

The investigation revealed that the incidents occurred in Houston County and Pulaski County starting in 2022.

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Both Houston County and Pulaski County sheriffs asked the GBI to oversee the investigation since the alleged incidents happened in two different jurisdictions.

The GBI states that Johnson was the chief of Warner Robins police during the late 80s and early 90s.

Johnson was arrested Thursday morning. Hes charged with incest, sodomy and sexual exploitation of a child.

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You are here: China

China's Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) on Sunday evening issued a red alert for mountain torrents.

From 8 p.m. Sunday to 8 p.m. Monday, mountain torrents are expected to hit certain areas of Beijing, Hebei and Shanxi.

Local authorities are advised to strengthen real-time monitoring and flood warning procedures amid measures to prepare for evacuation.

The CMA simultaneously issued a yellow alert for floods on some small and medium-sized rivers in parts of Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi and Henan, and renewed an orange alert for floods in southwestern Beijing and in central parts of Hebei.

Parts of Beijing and Hebei face waterlogging risks from 8 p.m. Sunday to 8 p.m. Monday, the CMA also warned.

China has a four-tier weather-warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A witness in a Republican-led congressional probe said on Monday that Hunter Biden sought to create an "illusion of access" to his father Joe Biden while doing business in Ukraine but that the then-vice president played no role in any deals, according to a Democratic lawmaker.

Former Hunter Biden associate Devon Archer appeared for a closed-door interview led by staff from the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee, which Republican lawmakers hoped would shed light on unproven allegations that Biden was directly involved in his son's business dealings in Ukraine.

Democratic Representative Dan Goldman, who attended the interview, told reporters Archer provided no evidence of wrongdoing by the elder Biden.

The interview focused on the 2010s, when Hunter Biden sat on the board of the Ukraine energy company Burisma and his father was vice president under President Barack Obama.

"He had to give the illusion of access to his father and he tried to get credit for things that Mr. Archer testified Hunter had nothing to do with," Goldman said.

Republicans allege that the elder Biden played a conscious role in his son's business dealings and profited from transactions. The White House has said Joe Biden was never in business with his son.

"The witness stated unequivocally that there is no evidence in his possession or his knowledge that Joe Biden ever discussed business with Hunter Biden, Joe Biden ever did anything on behalf of Hunter Biden's business interests," Goldman said.

But Republican Representative Andy Biggs, who has co-sponsored legislation to impeach Biden, said Archer's testimony implicated the president and quoted the witness as saying Burisma could not have survived without the "Biden brand."

"Archer talked about the 'big guy' and how Hunter Biden always said, 'We need to talk to my guy,'" Biggs told reporters. "I think we should do an impeachment inquiry."

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Committee chairman James Comer said: "Joe Biden was 'the brand' that his son sold around the world to enrich the Biden family."

Goldman, the Democratic representative, said the then-vice president's interaction with his son's business associates was just "casual," however. Archer told investigators that Hunter Biden spoke with his father daily while serving on the Burisma board and had the elder Biden talk to his associates and others by speaker phone about 20 times over 10 years.

"It was all casual conversation, niceties about the weather, what's going on. There wasn't a single conversation about any of the business dealings that Hunter had," the New York Democrat said.

Burisma played a central role in Trump's 2019 impeachment over his alleged efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate the Bidens and help him win re-election. A Republican-majority Senate later acquitted Trump.

The House investigation has intensified since Trump's federal indictment in June.

Claims of Biden wrongdoing in Ukraine have been contradicted by former Trump insider Lev Parnas, who helped one-time Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani try to dig up damaging information about the Bidens in Ukraine.

The House Oversight Committee has heard testimony from two Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers who say their investigation of Hunter Biden was stymied by the U.S. Justice Department, though the Trump-appointed prosecutor in that case has denied that his work was interfered with.

Biden's son appeared in court last week amid expectations that he would plead guilty to two tax charges and avoid a gun charge. But the judge in the case said she could not accept the plea agreement with prosecutors. House Republicans launched a probe into the plea deal on Monday.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has warned that Republicans could begin an impeachment inquiry against President Biden if the federal agencies fail to cooperate with oversight committees looking into his administration and family's business dealings.

Trump, the leading 2024 Republican presidential candidate, went a step further this weekend at a rally in Pennsylvania.

He called on Republicans to withhold military aid to Ukraine until the Justice Department, FBI and IRS "hand over every scrap of evidence they have on the Biden crime family's corrupt business dealings."

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone, Lisa Shumaker and Rosalba O'Brien)
Earl Buford Jr., a former Pittsburgh Bureau of Police chief, died July 25.

Buford, who served as the bureaus police chief from 1992 to 1995, was the second minority in the history of the Pittsburgh police to hold the position of chief, according to the announcement from Pittsburgh Public Safety.

Buford grew up in East Liberty and attended Westinghouse High School, joining the U.S. Army upon graduation in 1960. He joined Pittsburgh police in 1968, rising through the ranks from patrolman, detective, sergeant, commander, and assistant chief of investigations before being named chief.

Buford retired from the department after 28 years of service.

His full obituary can be found here.

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Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia would have to use nuclear weapons if Ukrainian forces threaten Russian territory in their ongoing counteroffensive, in a message on his social media accounts Monday.

Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russias Security Council and a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons during the war.

Imagine if the offensive, which is backed by NATO, was a success and they tore off a part of our land, then we would be forced to use a nuclear weapon according to the rules of a decree from the president of Russia, he said Monday.

There would simply be no other option. So our enemies should pray for our [warriors success]. They are making sure that a global nuclear fire is not ignited, he added.

Medvedev was apparently referring to Russias nuclear weapon use policy, signed by Putin in 2020, that says Moscow may deploy nuclear weapons Russias nuclear weapons when the very existence of the state is put under threat.

Russia has illegally annexed entire regions of eastern Ukraine amid the war, claiming they are now part of Russias homeland. Ukraine has also recently ramped up attacks on Crimea, which Russia has occupied since 2014, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv would increase attacks within Russia.

Medvedev was vague about what land would risk a nuclear response if lost. He has frequently telegraphed his threats of nuclear warfare, often bolstering actions or declarations from Putin, including when the current Russian president last fall said nuclear weapons were not a bluff.

Putin has doubled down on his nuclear blackmail in recent months, transferring tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus. The weapons have a smaller yield upon detonation than larger weapons of mass destruction, but they still have devastating capabilities.

Putin has in part justified the transfer of the tactical weapons because the U.S. holds low-yield nuclear bombs in European allied nations.

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Ukraines counteroffensive is making progress in major advances around the city of Bakhmut in eastern Donetsk and in the southeastern Zaporizhizhia region.

Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar said Monday that Kyiv has liberated about 15 square miles around Bakhmut and more than 77 square miles in the south.

Ukrainian troops are moving toward the cities of Melitopol and Berdyansk in Zaporizhizhia, where they hope to cut off a land bridge from Russia to the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014 but considers its territory.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former Warner Robins Police Chief George Johnson, who was sent to federal prison for his involvement in a blackmail scandal in the early 1990s, was arrested last week on child sex abuse and incest charges, the GBI said Monday.

The Houston County Sheriffs Office received reports of a child sex abuse case on July 17 and later learned it allegedly involved a teenage female, the GBI said in a statement. Investigators believe the alleged abuse happened in Houston and Pulaski counties and that it may date back to early last year.

The GBI obtained arrest warrants for Johnson, 79, Wednesday after Houston Sheriff Cullen Talton and Pulaski Sheriff Danny Brennan requested that the GBI investigate. The Houston County District Attorneys Office will prosecute the case, the statement said.

Johnson, who was the police chief in Warner Robins during the 80s and 90s, was convicted in a blackmail-videotape scandal involving him and other city officials.

Johnson, along with then-mayor of Warner Robins Ed Martin and police Maj. Gary Frost, tried to force City Council member Bill Douglas to resign by mailing him a video showing him in a compromising position with a woman other than his wife.

Johnson was sentenced to 18 months in prison for extortion, conspiracy and lying to a grand jury, among other charges.
A Carmelite nun who sued Bishop Michael Olson over his investigation into a report that the prioress of a monastery broke her vow of chastity said she and the other nuns had considered Olson a friend and ally who protected their prayerful way of life.

But that changed on April 24 when Olson and several officials from the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth showed up at the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity in Arlington to question the Rev. Mother Teresa Agnes Gerlach, said Sister Francis Therese, who has been helping care for Gerlach as she experiences health issues.

Olson was looking into a report that Gerlach broke her vow of chastity with a priest. He said she would have to turn over her cell phone and computer as part of the investigation. Later, the diocese publicized details of its investigation.

Gerlach, 43, and Francis Therese later sued Olson and the diocese for $1 million, alleging that Olson defamed Gerlach, invaded their privacy and stole personal electronic devices.

Olson eventually dismissed Gerlach from the order. She has appealed that decision to the Vatican.

As the caretaker for Mother Teresa Agnes its like a crucifixion seeing her dragged through the mud. They could have asked her how she was doing, Francis Therese said.

A Tarrant County judge dismissed their lawsuit on June 30, ruling the court did not have jurisdiction in a church matter. The nuns attorney said Monday they would not appeal the decision, clearing the way for the Vatican to review the matter. It had said it would not act until the civil case was concluded.

Late last year, Gerlach told the vicar general of the diocese, the Very Rev. Jonathan Wallis, that she had broken her chastity vow with a priest from outside of the diocese. The nuns consider Wallis a friend, and Gerlach thought she was speaking to him in confidence, Francis Therese said.

She said Gerlach was taking medication for seizures and was not in her right mind. That should have been obvious to Wallis, she said.

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Even though I knew very well and could see that she was not doing well during those days, he seemed oblivious, Francis Therese said. For heavens sake he has known her for years, of course she wasnt thinking right! What she was saying to him was mostly in her imagination.

When Olson came to the monastery on April 24, Gerlach had just returned from a medical procedure and was still under the the influence of anesthesia and pain medication, Francis Therese said.

Wallis testified during a June 27 court hearing that Gerlach told him on three occasions  outside of confession  that she had broken her chastity vows.

Olson said during that hearing he followed procedures in canon law and consulted with the Vatican when he investigated Gerlach.

During the interview with the Star-Telegram, Francis Therese described how a priest, known to them as Father Bernard Marie, sent an email to the nuns asking for prayers because of a health condition. The Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, later identified him as the Rev. Philip Johnson.

What I understand is that this priest texted her asking for prayers, Francis Therese said. Somehow in the course of the text exchange something inappropriate was said. It was never in person.

When she realized it, she became very distressed. She is a religious, she is a consecrated woman, and she takes her vocation very seriously. She didnt resolve it in her own mind without counsel. Innocently, she went to Father Wallis.

Francis Therese said Wallis knew of the reverend mothers physical condition but was not compassionate toward her.

A beautiful spirit

Sister Francis Therese said she came to the monastery in 1977, and Gerlach joined in 1998 after she graduated from Dallas Ursuline Academy when she was 18.

Francis Therese said she was asked to assist with Gerlachs training as a novitiate.

Gerlach showed a special talent for caring for the elderly nuns, including two reverend mothers who died, Francis Therese said.

The sisters elected Gerlach as reverend mother two years ago because of her leadership talents and her beautiful spirit, Sister Francis Therese said.

When Gerlach began to have health issues, she wanted Francis Therese to help with her care. She uses a feeding tube because her stomach is paralyzed after a botched surgery, and she uses a wheelchair because of her weak condition, Francis Therese said.

Francis Therese said that on Jan. 2, Olson came to the monastery and asked the reverend mother to step down because of her health.

We told him, Bishop, we dont want her to step down, Francis Therese said.

She said the bishop goes in to a temper tantrum when hes told no.

The fact that I said no to him ticked him off, she said.

Meanwhile, the nuns attorney, Matthew Bobo of Fort Worth, said Monday the nuns hope the Vatican will reverse Olsons actions and that the daily Mass for the laity that Olson removed during his investigation will soon be reinstated.

The diocese said in a statement that Olson remains the superior of the monastery and Gerlach remains on administrative leave during the appeal.

The status quo for Mass will remain during the canonical appeal, the diocese said. Daily Mass will continue to be provided for the nuns, it said.

Sister Francis Therese said the nuns beg God for mercy.

Only divine power can cause the bishop to reverse his actions, she said. He certainly owes the reverend mother a public apology, but I know that will never come.
Among the dead were a 10-year-old girl and her 45-year-old mother, the head of the city's military administration Oleksandr Vilkul said in televised comments (Handout)

At least four people were killed including a 10-year-old child after a Russian missile attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rig on Monday, officials said.

"There's already four dead in Kryvyi Rig," Sergiy Lysak, the head of the military administration for the Dnipropetrovsk region, wrote on Telegram.

Among the dead were a 10-year-old girl and her 45-year-old mother, the head of the city's military administration Oleksandr Vilkul said in televised comments.

The other two victims were two men, while another 53 people were injured, Vilkul said.

"(Several) people may still remain under the rubble," he added.

Part of a nine-storey apartment block hit by the strike collapsed while the rubble was being cleared, the emergency ministry said.

Two missiles landed close to the centre of the city just after 9:00 am (0600 GMT), interior minister Igor Klymenko wrote on Telegram.

One of the strikes hit the residential block, punching a huge hole in the facade that destroyed apartments on several floors and sparked a fire.

Firefighters were using a cherry-picker crane to direct jets of water at the fire.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was born and grew up in Kryvyi Rig, said Russians were "continuing to terrorise peaceful cities and people".

The strikes also hit a crossroads and an educational building, Zelensky said.

Vilkul said the second damaged building was part of the Kryvyi Rig Professional College of National University of Economics and Management.

The strikes came after a missile attack last month destroyed a five-storey apartment building in the city and killed 12 people.

am/sea/gw
Four volunteer soldiers from the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment were killed in the war in Ukraine. [Kalinouski Regiment is a voluntary Belarusian regiment that officially became a part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in March 2022  ed.]

Source: Kalinouski Regiment on Telegram

Details: It is reported that volunteers from the Litvin and Volat battalions were killed. The regiment keeps in touch with the relatives of the victims, but does not disclose their call signs for the safety of relatives.

Quote: "Kalinouski Regiment grieves together with all the Belarusian people, who are facing another loss. With losses in the war for independence of Ukraine and Belarus. We will never forget our brethren and, no matter what, continue our way to victory over the bloody empire.

Sooner or later, the names of the victims will be proudly announced in their native Belarus! They will be heard in street names, history textbooks, and songs of their native people."

Background:

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!






Four members of the FOX Weather family shared their experiences in the media industry at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists convention on July 13.

FOX Weather meteorologist Marissa Torres moderated a panel called "Weathering it together: Latinx representation in journalism, weather coverage and connecting stories." As the only weather-related panel at NAHJ, it explored the impact of Hispanic and Latinx community representation in the weather and climate industry.

Panel speakers included FOX Weather meteorologist Craig Herrera, FOX Weather correspondent Nicole Valdes and FOX Weather senior producer Valeria Lacourciere.

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FOX Weather meteorologist Marissa Torres and Craig Herrera, alongside FOX Weather correspondent Nicole Valdes and FOX Weather senior producer Valeria Lacourciere speak at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists convention on July 13, 2023.

"Attending this years NAHJ Conference on behalf of FOX Weather was an incredible opportunity," Torres said. "It allowed us to share all the hard work weve put forward over the past year and a half, as well as connect with our Hispanic/Latinx community."

A large part of making that connection involved Torres and her fellow panelists sharing personal experiences, not just about how they each honed their craft as journalists but also how their cultural backgrounds informed how they navigated the media industry.

One example involved Valdes and her work on the documentary "FOX Weather Reports: Ruin and Resurrection," which covered the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017.

Valdes noted how she sought to balance her role as a correspondent reporting on the storm and her personal ties to the island, particularly as some of her own family members were affected by the hurricane.

"What I learned as a journalist is that having a connection to your story is not a weakness, its a strength," Valdes said. "It made the story better, and my interviewees knew they could trust me as my family lived it."

FOX Weather meteorologist Marissa Torres and Craig Herrera, alongside FOX Weather correspondent Nicole Valdes and FOX Weather senior producer Valeria Lacourciere speak at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists convention on July 13, 2023.

"It became my superpower in reporting that I hoped would resonate with Hispanic journalists at the NAHJ conference," she added.

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However, finding a balance between being true to yourself and your cultural background while being a media professional has been a challenge for some at times.

Lacourciere spoke about how, early on in her career in Connecticut, she "de-hispanified" her name because her colleagues had difficulty pronouncing it. Rather than call her "Valeria," they defaulted to calling her "Valerie," and eventually Lacourciere settled on "Val."

"It was a choice I made to be accepted," she said.

At the panel earlier this month, Lacourciere reclaimed her name, introducing herself by saying, "My name is Valeria, and it feels so good to be able to say it that way."

"It truly was a special moment for me to be accepted  just as I am," she recalled. During the panel, she also spoke about her experience as a woman and as a Latina in the news and how, despite being the only representation in her newsroom, she leveraged her background to help Hispanic community members be seen in local reporting.

For Torres, representation is a critical component of the media industry, particularly when it comes to reporting the news.

FOX Corporation members at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists convention on July 13, 2023.

"Proper representation and diversification in the newsroom and on-air is vital to our success on this national platform, and Im proud to be a part of a group that reflects that very thing," she said. "We still have work to do, but being at this conference and having those important, sometimes difficult, conversations is what will ultimately contribute to our success."

This honesty about the struggles and successes of the FOX Weather panelists struck a chord with panel attendees, many of whom approached the panelists after the event had ended, according to Herrera.

"We had some awesome people, both recent college graduates and some people still in college, who came to us after and talked with us for several minutes, many of them looking for guidance," he said. "I think we made some good connections. We were the only weather-related panel, and I was proud FOX Weather was the only group with such a panel."

Held in Miami, the convention was hosted by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. According to the NAHJ website, the organizations mission is dedicated to the recognition and professional advancement of Hispanic students, professionals and educators in the journalism industry.
Russian flags and anti-French slogans at a pro-junta rally in Niamey on Sunday (-)

After bust-ups with Mali and Burkina Faso, France is now watching its relationship with Niger spiral downwards following the Sahel's third military takeover in as many years.

The same scenes that have played out in Niger since the July 26 coup have been eerily witnessed in its two neighbours, where elected leaders were tossed aside in 2020 and 2022.

In each event, France -- the former colonial power and ally in the fight against jihadism -- becomes the target of crowds chanting anti-French and pro-Russian slogans, followed by verbal broadsides from the new junta.

President Mohamed Bazoum, a linchpin in France's strategy in the Sahel, was overthrown last Wednesday by members of his guard.

A day after hostile demonstrations outside the French embassy triggered a warning from Paris, the putschists on Monday accused France of seeking to "intervene militarily" by plotting with the head of Niger's National Guard.

Coups in the Sahel "are supported by a fringe of the population which have already shown a hostile attitude to French or Western presence," said Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, a researcher with the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank.

"Anti-French talk, or anti-French politics, have been around for a long time," a study published last month by the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) said last month.

"However, they are no longer limited as they were in the past to the intellectual elite but have also spread extensively among the working classes, particularly in urban areas."

In the capital Niamey, a stronghold of Bazoum opponents, there seemed scant support for France's policies in Niger even before the coup.

France was accused of failing to eliminate jihadists who had been rampaging across the country since 2015, and attacked for a diplomatic style deemed opaque or arrogant.

- Disinformation campaign -

Against this background -- and in a country where some two-thirds of the population are illiterate -- conspiracy theories have flourished.

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"Opinion is widespread in the public that French troops are only going to conflict zones to provide arms for the jihadists," Rahmane Idrissa, a researcher at the African Studies Centre at the Netherlands' University of Leyden, said on his personal blog.

This idea "is not based on facts but on feelings, and sadly you don't counter feelings by offering factual proof."

Countries in the Sahel have become an information battleground, with Russia accused by France of leading a campaign of denigration.

Bazoum took a risk by agreeing to host France's reconfigured anti-jihadist force in the Sahel, which quit Mali last year after the Bamako regime brought in Russian paramilitaries.

"Bazoum teamed up with France over the head of public opinion," said Nigerien analyst Amadou Bounty Diallo.

In November 2021, a French military convoy that was pulling out of Mali was blocked by demonstrators at Tera, in western Niger.

Three of them were killed, by shots that the Nigerien government attributed to French troops.

- Election hopes -

"Mr. Bazoum was unable to clearly show the Nigerien public that he had an independent relationship with western partners -- in public opinion, he looked like someone who was very close to France," said Ibrahim.

Bazoum was feted internationally after winning elections in 2021, opening the way to Niger's first-ever peaceful transition of power.

He won in a second-round runoff with 55 percent of the vote, defeating an opposition that had criticised ties with France deemed too cosy and complicit.

France is a major provider of financial aid to Niger, which has since been suspended, but trade ties these days are "extremely thin", said Alain Antil, head of the Sub-Saharan African Centre at the IFRI think tank.

"Niger is no longer a strategic partner for uranium, as it was able to be in the 1970s and 80s," he said.

clt/stb/ybl/ri/bp
Frank Lloyd Wrights most recognized designs are the stark white, tubular-shape Guggenheim Museum on Manhattans Upper East Side and Fallingwater in rural Pennsylvania, where a waterfall literally runs through the home he designed for a department-store magnate in 1935. These grace puzzles and calendars, as proof they are now commercially known. Yet, to really understand Wrights ethos, its also important to study the 800-acre Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin. At his 37,000-square-foot home, school, and studio, Wright could freely design new concepts and not risk client dissatisfaction. He designed to human scale (Wright was around 5'7"), did open floor plans, a cantilevered roof, and brought the outdoors in with walls of windows, as neighbors were non-existent and he was the homes inhabitant.

Manhattan, Upper East Side, Museum Mile, view of The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (Architect: Frank Lloyd Wright) Photo: Getty Images

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Photo: Getty Images/Mondadori Portfolio

The bulk of Wrights Wisconsin homes fall under two timelines: 1902-1917 (including six American System-Built Homes on a Milwaukee block) and 1937-1959 (including his first Usonian: the Herbert and Katherine Jacobs I house in Madison, completed in 1937).

Photo: David Heald

Photo: David Heald

Wright was born in nearby Richland Center on June 8, 1867, two weeks before the summer solstices light would flood the upper Midwest. Like Spring Green, Richland Center is within the Driftless Area, home to one of the largest concentrations of organic farms in the US with 200 certified-organic farms in Vernon County alone and an hour north of Taliesin. (Fun fact: 300 certified-organic acres are also at Taliesin, where architectural fellows once harvested strawberries and potatoes.)

Living on 800 acres with multiple generations of his family, there was no shortage of green spaceand he drew upon this pastoral surrounding in his designs. At Taliesin, the story began long before Wright, explained Caroline Hamblin, program-services manager who has lived at Taliesin since arriving from Germany in the 1980s, on a recent behind-the-scenes tour for Wright in Wisconsin members. And [it] really deeply influenced Wright. It was the only place not flattened during the Ice Age and (home to) some of the most ancient prairie species, even today.

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Photo: John W. Moore

This urge to preservenot destroynature runs deep in Wrights commissions. The Herbert and Katherine Jacobs II House in Madison, Wisconsin, (completed in 1948) is built into a grassy hill and a solar-hemicycle design. A roof overhang invites warmth in winter but blocks heat from reaching beyond the window wall in summer.

Back at his Taliesin home, Wright removed interior walls and created walls of windows to further frame nature views. He also played around with light. What Wright knew how to do is bring in light from different angles and up high, Hamblin says. Never did he coax direct light into a living space.

Even before that Usonian Style, he detoured from convention and placed the front door on the side of the home, partially concealed, forcing the visitor to experience landscaping and a quieter spot than the bustling sidewalk before entering. This side entrance also created an opportunity for his compression-and-release style of architecture, where a low entryway led to a room with high ceilings.

Photo: Courtesy of Wingspread

Photo: Courtesy of Wingspread

Another mantra of Wrights, organic architecturewhere the projects built in harmony with the siteclearly stems from living on 800 acres. There isnt a home he designed where natures not peering in, whether through walls of windows in the living room or clerestory windows in a hallway. In his studio in Oak Park, Illinois, a willow tree was not sacrificed: an interior passageway was built around it. And at Wingspread, a 14,000-square-foot home built for the Johnson family (of S.C. Johnson fame) in Wind Point, Wisconsin, in 1939, Wright came up with a new fireplace design. Why not have birch logs the height of the two-story fireplace stretching vertically into the airinstead of calmly lying horizontally? (This worked well until those logs started to burn and risked falling into the room.)

Milwaukee Cityscapes And City Views Photo: Getty Images/Raymond Boyd

Falling Water Photo: Getty Images/Richard T. Nowitz

Pushing boundaries like this was normal to Wright, such as when parishioners from Milwaukees Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church visited him at Taliesin to discuss the design hed drafted. Heres your church, he reportedly quipped, placing a saucer on top of a teacup, not at all different from what one sees today in the 1961 design.

In a letter titled Why I Love Wisconsin that published in Wisconsin Magazine in 1932, Wright wrote, I, too, am by birth and nature a Wisconsin radical. Radical is a fine word meaning roots. Being radical I must strike root somewhere. Wisconsin is my somewhere. I feel my roots in these hillsides and I know those of the oak that have struck in here beside me. The oak and I understand each other.

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

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The Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan is increasing the risk of military conflict in the Taiwan Strait by seeking support from the United States, a Chinese mainland spokesman said on Saturday over the recent US announcement of military aid for the island.

In a statement, Chen Binhua, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, expressed Beijing's strong opposition to the US arming Taiwan after it was reported that the White House had announced on Friday that the US would provide Taiwan with military assistance worth up to $345 million.

Chen said that the DPP authorities stubbornly adhere to their separatist agenda and constantly seek US military aid, aiming to achieve "Taiwan independence" through force.

"These actions are turning Taiwan into a 'powder keg' and exacerbating the risk of military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. If the DPP authorities continue on this path, the younger generation in Taiwan will only become 'cannon fodder'," he said.

Emphasizing that "Taiwan independence" is a dead end, Chen denounced the DPP authorities for spending the Taiwan people's tax contributions to buy arms from the US. Even so, they cannot shake Beijing's firm determination to resolve the Taiwan question and achieve complete reunification of the motherland, he said.

According to media reports, the US arms assistance to Taiwan will be delivered under the Presidential Drawdown Authority. Through the US National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, the US Congress authorized up to $1 billion worth of weapons aid for Taiwan using the drawdown, a fast-track authority that has been exercised a number of times to send arms to Ukraine. Using a drawdown will let the US sidestep the often-lengthy process of contracting and producing weapons.

The White House announcement said the aid going to Taiwan will include "defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training", but didn't specify what weapons will be provided. On Tuesday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill, titled "Taiwan International Solidarity Act", which is aimed at supporting the island's participation in international organizations.

Taiwan's pro-reunification Labor Party said in a statement on Saturday that the legislation revealed the malicious intentions of the US to manipulate international relations without any political integrity.

"For the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, we should reject foreign interference in the Taiwan Strait, and refuse to be a pawn of hegemony. The peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait should be maintained by the Chinese people on both sides," the statement said.
Staff went all out for my birthday when I traveled solo to the Maldives. Patience Chigodora

My 26th birthday trip to Paris with my friends fell through so I went by myself.

I was nervous, but I loved it and felt empowered and special on my trip.

Now, I try to travel solo for my birthday every year.

Years ago, as my 26th birthday approached, I decided to take myself to Paris. Although I'd initially invited friends, circumstances changed, and I embraced the idea of going solo.

It turned out to be the best decision ever.

Uninhibited by others' budgets or plans, I completely indulged during my birthday celebration abroad  waking up whenever I pleased, exploring different places, finding free activities to enjoy, and trying out diverse restaurants.

Initially, I was concerned about feeling self-conscious while being alone on a trip, but I quickly realized people are generally preoccupied with their own lives and not concerned about others' vacations. And I noticed how many others were traveling solo, too, whether for adventure or business.

I've since fully embraced the idea of a solo birthday celebration. It's freeing and empowering to mark the occasion on my own terms without relying on anyone else.

Now, I've celebrated my birthday around the globe

The sense of freedom I got from traveling solo only pushed me to make birthday trips like this one a tradition. Patience Chigodora

After my unforgettable trip to Paris, I continued my solo adventures, exploring Lisbon, Zimbabwe (where I combined solo and family time), and my favorite so far  the Maldives.

Initially, I had pictured traveling to the Maldives with my future spouse for a honeymoon. But I realized I didn't need to wait for a partner to experience such a dream destination. Instead, I chose to embrace the beauty of the moment and celebrate with myself, for myself.

Traveling solo for a birthday comes with perks, too. I make it known ahead of time to staff at restaurants and hotels that it's my birthday and I've gotten to enjoy many free desserts with sparklers  a small but delightful treat.

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Traveling solo has empowered me and given me a new sense of freedom

the writer smiling with a view above lisbon

Places like Zanzibar, Tanzania, and South Africa are next on my travel list.Patience Chigodora

Solo travel has helped me feel invincible and capable of anything. These trips are also a special way for me to express self-love while celebrating getting another year older. After all, the relationship I have with myself is the most important one.

I encourage others to embark on their solo-travel journeys  and, if it seems overwhelming, start small by going to the movies or a local restaurant by yourself. Build up to a longer solo trip, whether it's a weekend nearby or an international holiday.

For my next birthday, I have my sights set on exploring Africa's rich cultures on my own.

Read the original article on Insider
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, center, arrives to the Fulton county courthouse, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, in Atlanta. A grand jury being seated Tuesday in Atlanta will likely consider whether criminal charges are appropriate for former President Donald Trump or his Republican allies for their efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia.

New charges appear to be around the corner for former President Donald Trump in Georgia. Over the weekend, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis reaffirmed that she will announce charges in her investigation into election interference by September 1st.

The work is accomplished, Willis told 11alive. Weve been working for two and half years. Were ready to go.

Read more

For folks who need a quick refresher, Trump and his allies are being accused of trying to illegally overturn the 2020 election in Georgia using false electors. These false electors planned to pledge for Trump, giving him Georgias electoral votes, despite the fact that Biden won the state.

Spoiler alert: Biden ended up winning anyway. But because this country generally frowns upon election stealing, Trump and his allies (at least the ones without immunity deals) are in a ton of legal jeopardy.

Trumps Hail Mary attempt to wiggle out of trouble fell through this week. On Monday, Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled that Trump could not legally challenge Willis investigation before charges were brought.

Trumps defeat means we could potentially see new charges directed at the former President and his allies in Georgia any day now.

Charges are quickly piling up for Trump and those around him. Last Thursday, federal prosecutors on Trumps documents case added additional felony charges against Trump and two of his Mar-a-Lago employees. The additional charges mean that the President is currently facing 40 federal criminal counts. Those charges dont include the 34 counts of felony counts brought against Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. An additional indictment is also looming in Special Counsel Jack Smiths January 6th investigation.

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In Georgia, Willis has warned her staff to stay alert and safe as she no doubt prepares for the worst once she announces charges.

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A 22-year-old Georgia man is back behind bars after he was arrested for reckless stunt driving for the third time.

The Columbus Police Department posted photos over the weekend of Caiser Veasley spinning out in a shopping center parking lot.

Police said they got numerous complaints about street racing and car clubs laying drag in privately owned and publicly operated parking areas across Columbus.

TRENDING STORIES:

One of the photos shows Veasley hanging out the car window, possibly recording himself on a cell phone.

Its important to note that if a person is declared a habitual violator of Reckless Stunt Driving, with three guilty convictions within a 5-year period, their vehicle may be seized as it is considered contraband, the police department said in a Facebook post. Lets prioritize safety and responsible driving in our community. Reckless actions such as stunt driving and speeding put lives at risk and have serious consequences.

IN OTHER NEWS:
Russia's total losses in Ukraine exceeded 246 thousand killed

A total of 490 occupiers were eliminated in Ukraine over the past 24 hours with total Russian losses now exceeding 246,000, the General Stuff reported in its morning update on July 31.

Read also: ISW explains Russian milibloggers silence on attack on Chonhar bridge, Putins comments on counter-offensive

Total military losses of the Russian Federation are now as follows:

Personnel: 246,190 (+490),

Tanks: 4,211 (+6),

Armored combat vehicles: 8,188 (+10),

Artillery systems: 4,816 (+21),

Multiple Launch Rocket Systems: 699 (+1),

Anti-Aircraft Missile Systems: 460 (+1),

Aircraft: 315 (+0),

Helicopters: 311 (+0),

Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs): 4,017 (+6),

Cruise missiles: 1,347 (+40),

Ships / Boats: 18 (+0),

Automotive equipment and tanks: 7,292 (+17),

Specialized equipment: 715 (+4).

At the beginning of June, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in the south and east of the country, liberating occupied territories and consolidating its positions on the frontlines.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov stated that the recent modest successes of the Ukrainian forces were just a preliminary "preview" of a much larger offensive yet to come.

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
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) said her team has wrapped up their work on the investigation into former President Trumps efforts to reverse the 2020 election results in Georgia, and she reaffirmed her commitment to announce charging decisions by Sept. 1.

The work is accomplished, Willis told local news station 11Alive on Saturday. Weve been working for 2 1/2 years. Were ready to go.

Some people may not be happy with the decisions that Im making, and sometimes, when people are unhappy, they act in a way that could create harm, Willis added.

Ahead of the anticipated charging announcement, local law enforcement officials have been working to increase security in the area, an effort Willis praised in the interview. Willis spoke to local reporters at a back-to-school event where she distributed free school supplies.

I think that the sheriff is doing something smart in making sure that the courthouse stays safe, Willis said, noting that she wrote a letter to the sheriff about security efforts.

Im not willing to put any of the employees or the constituents that come to the courthouse in harms way, Willis added.

The probe has been going on for more than two years. Among other things, the case has involved the phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) in January 2021, in which Trump requested Raffensperger find the necessary votes in his state to reverse President Bidens victory.

Trump has sought to block the investigation from proceeding. On Monday, a Georgia judge rejected one of the former presidents attempts to dismiss the probe.

The movants asserted injuries that would open the doors of the courthouse to their claims are either insufcient or else speculative and unrealized, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney wrote in the nine-page ruling.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Georgia judge on Monday denied an attempt by Donald Trump to halt Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis's investigation into whether the former president and his allies interfered in the states 2020 presidential election, calling his allegations of wrongdoing in the probe "overwrought."

In a nine-page ruling Monday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney found that neither Trump nor Cathleen Latham, a Trump "alternate elector" challenging the probe, had legal standing to block the investigation at this point.

He said their claims are insufficient" because "while being the subject (or even target) of a highly publicized criminal investigation is likely an unwelcome and unpleasant experience, no court ever has held that that status alone provides a basis for the courts to interfere with or halt the investigation.

The ruling is the second against Trump on the issue in two weeks. The Georgia Supreme Court denied a similar request from Trump on July 17. A third petition to the Fulton County Superior Court is pending, with a hearing scheduled for Aug. 10.

In his Monday ruling, McBurney suggested his ruling should make the third action moot.

He noted that Trump could raise the same concerns to the courts after he's indicted, but said it's premature for him to do so now.

Guessing at what that picture might look like before the investigative dots are connected may be a popular game for the media and blogosphere, but it is not a proper role for the courts and formal legal argumentation, McBurney wrote.

"There will be time and forum in which Trump and Latham can raise their concerns about the constitutionality of the special purpose grand jury statutes, about the performance of this particular Special Purpose Grand Jury (and the judge supervising it), and about the propriety of allowing the Fulton County District Attorney to remain involved with whatever criminal prosecution  if any results from the work of this Special Purpose Grand Jury. That time is not now and that forum is not here.

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"Should either (or both) movant be indicted, they can raise all these issues (as they undoubtedly will) before the judge," he wrote.

The district attorney's office declined comment on the ruling. Representatives for Trump and Latham did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case and maintains Willis, a Democrat, is leading a politically motivated witch hunt against him.

Willis has indicated that she could seek indictments in the case in the first half of August.

Trump has also been notified by special counsel Jack Smith that he's a target in his federal investigation into interference in the 2020 election. Trump has denied wrongdoing and accused Smith of "election interference" since Trump is now running for president.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A Georgia judge has rejected former President Trumps efforts to quash an investigation into his efforts to overturn the states 2020 election results.

The movants asserted injuries that would open the doors of the courthouse to their claims are either insufcient or else speculative and unrealized, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney wrote in the nine-page ruling.

They are insufcient because, while being the subject (or even target) of a highly publicized criminal investigation is likely an unwelcome and unpleasant experience, no court ever has held that that status alone provides a basis for the courts to interfere with or halt the investigation.

The ruling is the second roadblock for Trump in his efforts to dismiss the probe, after the states Supreme Court earlier this month rejected another suit seeking to block it.

That court had in part rejected Trumps arguments while noting the matter before McBurney.

McBurney presided over the grand jury who were presented evidence by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) who has advised court officials she could bring charges in the high-profile case the second or third week of August.

Trump has also sued Willis and McBurney in another third suit filed alongside his petition to the state supreme court  an additional attempt to nix the investigation beyond the matter McBurney addressed Monday.

Petitioners every attempt to seek redress in the normal course have been ignored, and the District Attorney has given every indication that the injury is imminent, Trump wrote in the petition earlier this month.

McBurney also determined that Trump didnt have standing to sue to quash the investigation, noting that the former president can only theorize that he will be named in an indictment.

The professed injuries are also speculative and unrealized because there is, as of yet, no indictment that creates the genuine controversy required to confer standing, McBurney wrote.

Updated at 12:04 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Fani Willis David Walter Banks/Getty Images

Fulton Country District Attorney Fani Willis said she is "ready to go" in her ongoing grand jury probe into former president Donald Trump's role in challenging the results of the 2020 presidential election.

"Some people may not be happy with the decisions that I'm making," Willis told Atlanta news outlet 11Alive, speaking candidly about the potential indictment she could be handing Trump in upcoming weeks. "And sometimes, when people are unhappy, they act in a way that could create harm."

While Willis did not go into further detail, she observed that she and Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat have taken measures to increase security in the courthouse.

"I think that the sheriff is doing something smart in making sure that the courthouse stays safe," Willis said. "I'm not willing to put any of the employees or the constituents that come to the courthouse in harm's way," she added.

In regards to impending charges against the ex-president, which would tack onto Trump's already swollen legal record in recent months, Willis stated that she would provide an answer by September 1.

"The work is accomplished," Willis said, "We've been working for two-and-a-half years. We're ready to go."

Willis is reportedly considering charging Trump and his associates under Georgia's RICO statute, which does not "require prosecutors to demonstrate an underlying criminal enterprise, only the commission of a range of illegal acts that furthered a single criminal goal," The New Yorker noted.

Volkan Topalli, a professor of criminology at Georgia State, told the outlet that the breadth of the law can create a "whirlpool" effect in conspiracy cases.

"If you capture one person in the whirlpool, everyone else gets sucked in along with them," he explained.

Norm Eisen, who served as Democratic counsel during Trump's first impeachment, told the outlet that it's "almost as if Trump and his alleged co-conspirators utilized Georgia's RICO statute as a punch list for election interference in the state after the 2020 election."

Story continues

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

Eisen noted that Trump had a long list of allies helping his scheme, including former chief of staff Mark Meadows and attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Kenneth Chesebro and John Eastman.

"Trump converted a political campaign into a criminal organization," he said.

Topali said that Willis is stretching the RICO statute beyond its traditional applications but argued that "Georgia is the most dangerous prosecution for Trump" and will be boosted by parallel prosecutions in other jurisdictions.

"Every previous and ongoing prosecution provides evidence and data and strategy to the ones that follow," Topalli said. "So Fani Willis is in a good position here."

Read more

about Fani Willis' probe
Getty Images

A Georgia resident died from an infection caused by a brain-eating amoeba.

The Georgia Department of Public Health said it was most likely a result of a swim at a freshwater lake or pond.

Earlier this week, a two-year-old boy died as a result of an infection.

A Georgia resident died from a brain-eating amoeba infection, the Georgia Department of Public Health announced Friday, making it the second death to be announced this week.

According to the press release, there have been five other cases of infection caused by Naegleria fowleri  the scientific name for the amoeba  recorded in Georgia history. There have been 157 in the US since 1962, per the CDC.

"A Georgia resident has died from Naegleria fowleri infection, a rare infection which destroys brain tissue, causing brain swelling and usually death," the health department confirmed in a news release. "The individual was likely infected while swimming in a freshwater lake or pond in Georgia."

The ultra-rare infection has become more common in different parts of the United States as a result of warming temperatures but is most commonly found in the South. The amoeba thrives in warm freshwater lakes and ponds.

Infections can occur after the amoeba enters the body via the nose and travels to the brain. The amoeba can then cause a brain infection known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis.

On July 24, authorities announced that two year old died from the same infection after visiting a hot spring in Nevada with his family.

And earlier this year, a person who flushed their sinuses with tap water in Florida also died from the infection.

Read the original article on Insider
Photo: RiverNorthPhotography (Getty Images)

On July 27, 2023, a 24-year-old man named Thomas Milner died of possible electrocution after jumping into Georgias disgraced Lake Lanier.



A family friend jumped in to save the man, saying that he felt a burning sensation in the water. He immediately got out to turn off the power box that brought electricity to the dock for the boat lift and then jumped back into the water, managing to pull the man onto the dock. Unfortunately, Milner died from his injuries the next day.

Read more

Number of deaths

If youre familiar with Lake Lanier, you already know that the reservoir claims the lives of many visitors every summer. Six lives have been lost in 2023 at the lake. According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, 140 died in Lake Lanier between 1994 and 2022.

There are so many deaths that myths have emerged about the body of water, including people believing it is cursed due to the racially charged historical tragedy that occurred before the reservoir was constructed.

Oscarville

Part of that mythology is the history of Oscarville, Ga., a small hamlet about an hour north of Atlanta in Forsyth County. Whats certainly true is that Oscarville was a thriving agricultural town in the late 1800s and early 1900s that used to stand where Lake Lanier is today. What used to be Oscarville was flooded by officials who created the man-made lake, Georgias largest, to create a source of hydroelectric power for the Atlanta area, although the lake is now one of the more popular recreational bodies of water in the state.



Whats less clear is about the why Oscarville was vacated and flooded and Lake Lanier was essentially dropped on top of it.



In 1912, a white woman named Mae Crow was found dead and presumed raped in the woods near Oscarville, which prompted swarms of white people to travel to the town, after they accused three Black men Rob Edwards, Ernest Knox, and Oscar Daniel. Edwards was lynched and Knox and Daniel were executed after a jury trial. White people harassed and killed the Oscarville residents and burned down the local church where people were taking refuge. 1,000 surviving residents fled to nearby cities.

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After Oscarville

By the 1950s the Buford Dam was built and then the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed Lake Lanier shortly after, swallowing Oscarville. But local historians dispute the connection between Lake Laniers creation and the racial strife in Oscarville from the early 1900s, according to the Washington Post:

There is a longstanding myth that the body of water was created to flood a predominantly Black town in Forsyth named Oscarville, but the Atlanta History Center contends that the characterization of Oscarville as an all-Black town obliterated by floodwaters isnt accurate. The center says that although there was an exodus of Black residents from Oscarville and other areas of Forsyth County at the start of the 20th century, Oscarville was a predominately White town. Additionally, Oscarville was emptied before the Industrial Bureau and the Chamber of Commerce met in April 1947 to move forward with building the Buford Dam, which would pool water to form the lake.

Today Lake Lanier is an important body of water, providing a source of drinking water for almost 5 million people. But its mythology, and deadly record of strange accidents, endures.



Petition to shut down recreational activity

In May 2023, fashion designer Tameka Foster and the ex-wife of Usher started a petition to close Lake Lanier until safety measures are implemented. In July 2012, her 11-year-old son Kile Glover lost his life while tubing on the lake. She has since gathered over 5,000 signatures from people who also want to drain, clean, and restore the lake for the safety of future visitors.

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Judge's gavel

A Gillespie man was committed to the Illinois Department of Human Services for his role in the death of his 79-year-old mother in late 2019.

The commitment of Clinton S. Sanders, 39, was ordered by Seventh Judicial Circuit Associate Judge Joshua A. Meyer in Macoupin County Court last week. It was not to exceed 60 years from the date of the incident, according to a news release from the Macoupin County State's Attorney's office.

At a May 24 bench trial before Meyer, Sanders was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the Dec. 15, 2019, death of Sandra J. Sanders of the 400 block of East Easton Street.

More: Gillespie shaken as son is charged with murder of his mother

Clinton Sanders was charged with one count of first-degree murder.

Sandra Sanders died of blunt force trauma to her head and neck.

Clinton Sanders lived with his mother, a former librarian. He was arrested at the home on Dec. 16, 2019.

Sandra Sanders was found outside of her residence under a deck after Gillespie Police were called for a welfare check. While receiving medical treatment, she was able to identify her son as her attacker. She later died at Carlinville Area Hospital.

During the trial, expert opinions containing evaluations of Clinton Sanders and a review of psychological records showed he was experiencing acute psychosis onset by multiple mental health disorders, including schizoaffective disorder. That disorder preexisted the incident, according to the release.

At Wednesday's commitment hearing, the State proved Sanders' mental illness posed a threat to himself and others.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Gillespie IL man committed to state for role in death of his mother
By Pavel Polityuk

KYIV (Reuters) - A 10-year-old girl and her mother were among four civilians killed in a Russian air strike on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's home town on Monday, officials said, while his forces reported new incremental gains along the front line.

Zelenskiy, who had described Sunday as "a good day, a powerful day" at the front, said Monday's Russian strikes had hit a residential and a university building in Kryvyi Rih, the steel city where he grew up, far from the front line.

"This terror will not frighten us or break us. We are working and saving our people," he said on the Telegram app.

A senior defence official said earlier that Ukrainian forces had recaptured nearly 15 square km (5.8 sq miles) of land over the past week from Russian troops, who occupy almost a fifth of Ukraine in its east and south.

The gains make a total of more than 200 sq km retaken in the south since the Ukrainians launched a major Western-backed push against Russian forces early last month, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on the Telegram messaging app.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told a military conference Ukraine was "desperately hurling new forces" into attacks on Russian positions, but had failed to advance and was wasting billions of dollars of Western weaponry.

Reuters could not immediately verify either side's report.

In Kryvyi Rih, smoke billowed from a gaping hole smashed in the side of a nine-storey residential building, and another four-storey building was almost levelled, video footage posted by Zelenskiy showed.

Emergency services said at least 43 people had been wounded.

"Tragic news. Four people have already died in Kryvyi Rih," Serhiy Lysak, the regional governor, wrote on Telegram. The city's mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said they included a girl, 10 and her 45-year-old mother and there could be as many as eight people trapped under the rubble.

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Two more civilians were reported killed in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, now on the front line after being recaptured from Russian forces in November.

An early-morning rocket attack killed a 60-year-old utility worker and wounded four others as they were out on the street doing their jobs, the regional military administration said.

A 65-year-old man driving his car was badly wounded in the second strike and died as an acquaintance tried to rush him to hospital, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram.

In Ukraine's Russian-occupied eastern Donetsk region, the Russian-installed governor said two people had been killed and four injured in Ukrainian shelling of what he said was a civilian bus in Donetsk city, the regional capital.

There was no comment from Russia or Ukraine on the other side's reported civilian casualties.

ANTI-DRONE DEFENCES

Russian forces have levelled residential areas across eastern and southern Ukraine since they invaded more than 17 months ago. They conducted systematic strikes on Ukraine's power grid over the winter and this month started knocking out its grain export facilities.

Moscow says it does not target civilians in what it calls a special military operation to denazify and demilitarise its neighbour, portraying Ukraine's moves away from Russia's orbit towards the European Union and NATO as an existential threat.

Russian territory has been largely untouched by the conflict, beyond sporadic drone and missile strikes on oil and military infrastructure that Moscow has blamed on Ukraine, and brief incursions across one part of their common border.

Ukraine rarely comments on strikes on Russian territory, which have recently begun to include drone attacks on Moscow.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would take extra measures to defend against such strikes, after drones hit Moscow's financial district on Sunday. Russia said it had brought down three drones and no one was hurt.

Ukraine did not directly claim responsibility for the attack but Zelenskiy said the war was "gradually returning to Russia's territory - to its symbolic centres".

His government, which calls Russia's invasion an imperial-style land grab, has reported slow but steady progress in its counteroffensive, saying that Russian mines and fortifications along the front line are proving a challenge.

A senior Ukrainian official reported heavy fighting in the northeast on Sunday, with Kyiv's forces holding their lines and making gains in some areas. Russia's military said it had halted Ukrainian forces in the region.

(Additional reporting by Anna Pruchnicka, Ron Popeski and Nick Starkov; writing by Tom Balmforth and Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Rudy Giuliani | Theodore Parisienne/TNS/Newscom

Late Friday night, a federal judge in Florida tossed a lawsuit in which former President Donald Trump argued that CNN had defamed him by labeling his stolen-election fantasy "the Big Lie." A few days earlier in a different defamation case, Rudy Giuliani, who as Trump's lawyer helped propagate the claim that systematic fraud delivered the White House to Joe Biden, belatedly admitted that he had falsely and repeatedly accused two Georgia election workers of participating in that imaginary conspiracy.

Whatever you think of the notion that people have a right to protect their reputations in court, the conjunction of those two developments starkly illustrates the difference between use and abuse of defamation law as it currently stands. Trump has a long, astonishingly petty history of filing (or threatening to file) frivolous defamation claims against critics who irk him, and his CNN lawsuit was dismissed for an entirely predictable reason: He failed to allege that the channel had published verifiably false statements of fact about him. In the lawsuit against Giuliani, by contrast, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss (who are mother and daughter) plausibly allege that he defamed them by publicly claiming they had deliberately introduced and processed thousands of phony Biden ballots.

Trump's lawsuit, which he filed last October, cited four CNN articles and one broadcast.

In a January 25, 2021, essay under the headline "Trump's big lie wouldn't have worked without his thousands of little lies," CNN Opinion contributor Ruth Ben-Ghiat called Trump "a leader of authoritarian intentions and tendencies," likening him to "China's Xi Jinping" and "Hungary's Viktor Orban." She said "Trump's 'Big Lie'" about the election was "a brazen falsehood with momentous consequences."

In a July 5, 2021, piece, CNN Editor-at-Large Chris Cillizza explicitly invoked Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. Cillizza began by quoting something Trump had said at a rally in Sarasota, Florida, two days before: "If you say it enough and keep saying it, they'll start to believe you."

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Although Trump was talking about deceptive claims by Democrats, Cillizza suggested that observation described what Trump himself was trying to do by claiming the election had been stolen: "One can only hope that Trump was unaware that his quote was a near-replication of this infamous line from Nazi Joseph Goebbels: 'If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.'" In another CNN essay two months later, Cillizza said Trump "continued to push the Big Lie that the election was somehow stolen despite there being zero actual evidence to back up that belief."

On CNN's State of the Union in January 2022, Jake Tapper said Trump was "continuing to push his big lie," a phrase he used several times. The following month, CNN published another Cillizza piece complaining that "Trump's election lie is on the march." Citing a "new poll" indicating that "Trump['s] 2020 election lie is working," Cillizza bemoaned "the insidiousness of Trump's big lie," saying "his false claims are wheedling their way into the consciousness of the public."

The gravamen of Trump's complaint, as summarized by U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal (a Trump appointee), was that "the use of the phrase 'the Big Lie' constitutes defamation per se because it 'create[s] a false and incendiary association between the Plaintiff and Hitler.'" Trump claimed that phrase is defamatory because it "has incited readers and viewers to hate, contempt, distrust, ridicule, and even fear," thereby "causing injury to the Plaintiff, the Plaintiff's reputation, and the Plaintiff's political career."

Based on CNN's use of that phrase, Trump claimed, "viewers and readers 'understood that Plaintiff would be Hitler-like in any future political role.'" Trump said the resulting damages exceeded $75,000, and he sought punitive damages of $475 millionreminiscent of his half-billion-dollar claim against a financial journalist who dared to suggest that Trump's fortune was smaller than he asserted.

"This case involves political speech of the highest order," Singhal notes. "The First Amendment 'has its fullest and most urgent application precisely to the conduct of campaigns for public office,'" and the speech that provoked Trump's lawsuit "involves reporting and commentary on Trump's challenges to the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election."

The fatal problem with Trump's complaint, Singhal says in dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice, is that it "alleges no false statements of fact." The comments that offended him "are opinion, not factually false statements, and therefore are not actionable."

While "Trump argues that CNN's motivation for describing his election challenges as 'the Big Lie' was to undermine Trump's political standing," Singhal adds, "political motivation does not establish falsity." And although "the Court finds Nazi references in the political discourse (made by whichever 'side') to be odious and repugnant," he writes, "bad rhetoric is not defamation when it does not include false statements of fact."

The accusations that Giuliani lodged against Freeman and Moss, by contrast, were false statements of fact, as he now concedes. In the December 2021 lawsuit that the two women filed against Giuliani and One America News Network (OAN) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, they noted that Giuliani had repeatedly claimed surveillance video from Atlanta's State Farm Arena, where Fulton County absentee ballots were tallied, showed that election workers, including two individuals eventually identified as Freeman and Moss, intentionally counted a massive number of phony ballots.

On December 3, 2020, Giuliani and other members of Trump's legal team testified before the Georgia Senate about alleged election irregularities. A Trump campaign representative said the purported fraud at State Farm Center involved 18,000 ballots. She referred to "suitcases of ballots [stored] under a table, under a tablecloth"; identified the election workers as "the lady in purple," "two women in yellow," and "the lady with the blond braids also, who told everyone to leave"; and stated that "one of them had the name Ruby across her shirt somewhere."

Giuliani amplified those claims on Twitter that day. He retweeted a post in which fellow Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis averred that "thousands of ballots" were "pulled from under a table in suitcases and scanned." And he claimed the evidence of that crime was irrefutable: "The video tape doesn't lie. Fulton County Democrats stole the election. It's now beyond doubt."

The next day, Giuliani sent three tweets in the same vein. He asserted that "the Georgia middle of the night theft of thousands of votes changes everything." He said questioning that conclusion was "like disputing a bank robbery when you have 4 cameras showing the robbery." And he promoted a podcast in which he said he would "examine the VIDEO EVIDENCE."

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (a Republican who supported Trump's reelection) and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation looked into these claims and found no evidence to support them. In a December 4, 2020, tweet, Gabriel Sterling, Georgia's voting implementation manager, said "the 90 second video of election workers" that supposedly proved outcome-altering fraud actually "shows normal ballot processing." He elaborated on that conclusion in a lengthy Newsmax interview that evening.

In his tweet, Sterling cited a debunking by Lead Stories. Georgia Public Broadcasting and PolitiFact weighed in with their own refutations. At a December 7 press conference, Raffensperger and Sterling reiterated the conclusion that Giuliani's allegations were without merit.

Undeterred, Giuliani identified Freeman by name during a December 23, 2020, podcast, describing her as someone with "a history of voter fraud participation." Not only were there fake ballots, he said, but they were counted multiple times. "It's quite clear, no matter who they're doing it for, they're cheating," he added. "It looks like a bank heist."

On another podcast two days later, Giuliani said "Ruby Freeman and her crew" got "everybody out of the center" with a "false story" about a "water main break," and then "all of a sudden the crooks sprang into action." He repeated the story during a December 30, 2020, podcast and an OAN interview the same day. "For a hundred years," he said on OAN, "this film will show" that "there was an attempt to steal" the 2020 election.

Trump brought up the debunked claim yet again during the notorious January 2, 2021, telephone conversation in which he urged Raffensperger to "find" the votes necessary to overturn Biden's victory in Georgia. Based on "the tape that's been shown all over the world," Trump referred to "the phony ballots of Ruby Freeman," which he said totaled "18,000." He called her "a professional vote scammer and hustler," saying that "reputation" was "known all over the internet."

Raffensberger patiently rebutted that claim once again: "You're talking about the State Farm video. And I think it's extremely unfortunate that Rudy Giuliani or his peoplesliced and diced that video and took it out of context." The "full run of the tape," he explained, showed that nothing untoward had happened. When Trump asserted that Georgia election workers "put the votes in three times," Raffensperger replied that no such thing had happened: "We did an audit of that, and we proved conclusively that they were not scanned three times."

Two days later, Sterling held another press conference to rebut the allegations that Trump had made during the phone call. Although Trump's lawyers "had the

entire tape," he complained, they "intentionally misled the State Senate, the

voters and the people of the United States about this."

Giuliani continued the deception in OAN interviews the same month, that June, that July, and that December, less than two weeks before Freeman and Moss filed their lawsuit. OANwhich had repeatedly accused Freeman by name, including segments in which Giuliani did not appearreached a settlement with her and her daughter in May 2022. That left Giuliani as the sole remaining defendant in the case.

Last Tuesday, Giuliani filed a "nolo contendre stipulation" saying he was "desirous to avoid unnecessary expenses in litigating what he believes to be unnecessary disputes." Although he "believes that he has legal defenses to this Complaint," it says, he "does not contest" that he "made the statements of and concerning the Plaintiffs" and "does not dispute for purposes of this litigation" that "the statements carry meaning that is defamatory per se." The stipulation adds that "to the extent the statements were statements of fact and other wise actionable, such actionable factual statements were false."

Giuliani's nevertheless says his stipulation "does not affect" his "argument that his statements are constitutionally protected statements or opinions." But he does not contest "the factual elements of liability" for "intentional infliction of emotional distress and other related tort claims," although he is not conceding that his actions "caused Plaintiffs any damages" or agreeing on "the amount of any damages."

What were the consequences of being "known all over the internet," as Trump put it, for engaging in a massive election fraud that never happened? "As Defendants' false accusations began to spread across the internet," the original complaint says, "Ms. Freeman received at least 420 emails and 75 text messages, including one that read, 'We know where you live, we coming to get you.'" A local police officer "answered more than 20 harassing calls on Ms. Freeman's cell phone," and she was "ultimately forced to change her phone number and email address." Strangers "camped out at Ms. Freeman's home and/or knocked on her door." She received pizza deliveries she never ordered and abusive Christmas cards.

On January 6, 2021, the day of the Capitol riot by Trump supporters, the complaint says, "a crowd surrounded Ms. Freeman's house, some on foot, some in vehicles, others equipped with a bullhorn. Fortunately, Ms. Freeman had followed the FBI's

advice and had temporarily relocated from her home. She was not able to return for two months." She later installed "eleven cameras and three motion sensors in an effort to safeguard her own home." She "has lost friendships" and was "forced to deactivate the social media pages for herself and her business, Lady Ruby's Unique Treasures, a pop-up clothing boutique."

When "people recognize her in public and call out her name, Ms. Freeman is fearful," the complaint says. "Her experiences over the months since Defendants' defamation campaign began have taught Ms. Freeman to be distrustful of strangers and concerned for her safety. To this day, Ms. Freeman continues to receive threatening communications." The fallout for her daughter has been similar.

It took nearly three years for Giuliani to admit that the video he claimed would go down in history as evidence of a stolen election did not show what he repeatedly insisted it did. Meanwhile, the stolen-election narrative that he and Trump promoted had real consequences for real people, as illustrated by this case, the jaw-dropping $788 million settlement that Fox News agreed to pay for amplifying their claims, and ongoing litigation involving companies and individuals they falsely accused of participating in a vast criminal conspiracy.

That's leaving aside the distrust, acrimony, and violence that Giuliani et al. fostered by stubbornly insisting, against all evidence to the contrary, that Trump actually won reelection. But the real outrage, according to Trump, is that critics dared to call him out for his wild allegations.

The post Giuliani Admits His Oft-Told Tale of Georgia Election Fraud Was Not True appeared first on Reason.com.
A Goldman Sachs senior analyst vanished after leaving a New York City concert early Saturday morning, weeks after another man who disappeared from the same venue turned up dead, according to police and his friends.

John Castic, 27, was last seen about 2:30 a.m. outside The Brooklyn Mirage near the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn after an electronic music show, according to police.

A missing-person flyer says he was wearing a navy and white button-down floral shirt.

"One of my best friends, John Castic, went missing after the Zeds Dead show Friday night in NY," his friend, Sara Kostecka, wrote Monday on Facebook. "Any information would be greatly appreciated, as well as sharing this to anyone in NYC that might have seen him."

ALLISHA WATTS: NORTH CAROLINA POLICE SEARCH FOR WOMAN WHOSE CAR WAS FOUND 2 DAYS AFTER SHE WENT MISSING

She added that she had heard rumors about patrons being asked to "hop in a taxi/cab from some creepy people" near the music venue.

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"Im supposed to walk with him in my brother's wedding next week  we just want to find John," she added.

MODERN DAY HUCKLEBERRY FINN VANISHES OFF GRID FOR OVER MONTH

He was reported missing Sunday, according to the NYPD. Another of Castic's concerned friends, Jonah Shales, told Fox News Digital that his phone died at some point after he left the venue and hasn't been on since.

"Were absolutely very worried about him," Shales said. "No one has had any contact with him.

Castic, who graduated from DePaul University, started working for Goldman Sachs about a year ago, according to his LinkedIn profile.

A representative for Goldman Sachs didn't immediately return a request for comment.

Another 27-year-old man tried to attend a concert at The Brooklyn Mirage on June 11 but was turned away because he allegedly appeared to have consumed alcohol, per EDM Identity.

The online publication, which covers the electronic dance music industry, reported that Karl Clemente was found dead in a creek near the venue a week later.

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Kostecka told Fox News Digital she has known Castic for seven years and that he has never been unreachable. She is fearing the worst.

"I know theres been a series of young adult males, mid 20s, going missing and ending up in bodies of water in Chicago recently," Kostecka said, referencing the Smiley Face Killer theory. "Im praying this isnt related, but I fear it is."

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Citizen sleuths have speculated online that a serial killer is responsible for nearly a dozen bodies pulled out of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan in 2022.

The NYPD confirmed that Castic was reported missing but did not have an update on his case.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) delivered a blistering critique of Donald Trumps address at the GOPs Lincoln Day Dinner in Iowa.

Sununu, appearing on Sundays broadcast of ABC News This Week, ripped the former president for giving the worst speech.

It was the worst 10 minutes, said Sununu. He came out. He read from a binder. He didnt look up. He didnt smile. It was absolutely dead speech.

This is not the Donald Trump of 2016. Dont fool yourself, he said.

Trump doesnt have the energy, the governor added. He basically is droning on for 90 minutes on his long-form speeches about his legal battles as opposed to talking about the future of this country, solving the problems of this country, which is what all the other candidates are doing.

Sununu, who instead of launching his own 2024 presidential run has opted to campaign against Trump, said the ex-president brings a lot of drama to the table, but like boring soap opera reruns.

Last week, Sununu predicted the election wont be come down to either Trump or President Joe Biden.

Watch the video here:

This is not the Donald Trump of 2016, GOP Gov. Sununu tells @JonKarl.



He doesnt have the energyHe basically is droning on for 90 minutes on his long form speeches about his legal battles as opposed to talking about the future of this country. https://t.co/szX6hFTOyOpic.twitter.com/6qN0nafyP8  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 30, 2023

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Special counsel Jack Smith's team obtained a search warrant in January for records related to former President Donald Trump's Twitter account, and a judge levied a $350,000 fine on the company for missing the deadline to comply, according to court documents released Wednesday. The details were included in a ruling from the federal appeals court in Washington over a legal battle surrounding the warrant that has played out under seal and behind closed doors for months. The appeals court rejected Twitter's claim that it should not have been held in contempt or sanctioned.
FIRST ON FOX: A Republican congressman is introducing legislation that would take the assets of cartels and drug smugglers and divert them into funds to construct a wall at the southern border and to fight the ongoing fentanyl epidemic.

Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, is introducing the Build the Wall and Fight Fentanyl Act, which would allow for any assets seized from drug cartels -- or the money from their sale at an auction -- to be diverted into two funds.

Those two funds would be established in the Treasury and would be called the "Southern Border Wall Fulfillment Fund" and the "Combating the Fentanyl Epidemic Fund."

Those funds would include assets seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Both funds would be run by the Department of Homeland Security.

WHITE HOUSE RECOGNIZES BEST OF THE BEST OF LAW ENFORCEMENT IN FIGHT AGAINST FENTANYL, DRUG TRAFFICKING

Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, walks down the House steps of the Capitol on Thursday, May 18, 2023.

The fentanyl fund would establish a grant to be awarded to eligible entities to help address the crisis -- which kills over 70,000 Americans each year. Fentanyl, which can be fatal in small doses, is created in Mexico using Chinese precursors and then smuggled into the U.S. The entities can include state and local law enforcement, health services, rehabilitation facilities and drug-use prevention advocacy organizations.

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Meanwhile, the Biden administration ended the Trump administrations project to build hundreds of miles of wall at the southern border. It has been one of the policies that has brought criticism from Republicans -- who blame the administration for the border crisis the country has faced since 2021. Multiple 2024 Republican presidential candidates have pledged to restart wall construction if they are elected.

"Criminal drug traffickers have smuggled enough fentanyl into our country to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States, and tragically, too many families know the pain of losing a loved one to this deadly crisis. We must fight fire with fire to protect our families, our children, and our communities," Feenstra said in a statement.

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DOJ TO SUE TEXAS OVER FLOATING BORDER BARRIER; ABBOTT SAYS 'SEE YOU IN COURT'

Feenstra said he is "committed to delivering real solutions to the border crisis by beating the drug traffickers at their own game and using their illegal financial gains to finish the border wall and support our families."

OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SAY BORDER IS IN CRISIS OR MAJOR PROBLEM: POLL

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., an original cosponsor of the bill, said that the fentanyl epidemic is "directly linked to our open border."

"Since the Biden administration has failed at properly addressing these two crises, Congress must use innovative solutions to help secure our country. The Build the Wall and Fight Fentanyl Act provides a path to dedicate seized assets from traffickers towards making our nation safer," he said in a statement.

A Border Patrol agent walks between a gap along the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico in Yuma, Arizona, on June 1, 2022.

It marks the latest in a number of solutions proposed by Republicans in Congress to the ongoing crisis. Republicans unveiled and later passed a sweeping bill in the House that would overhaul the asylum system while injecting significant funding into border security measures.

The Biden administration has claimed that an immigration overhaul to a "broken" system is needed and has called for the passage of a bill that expands lawful immigration pathways and legalizes millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S. It has so far failed to pick up Republican support.

The administration has recently sued Texas over its efforts to build a floating border barrier along the Rio Grande.
How can Ron DeSantis regain momentum in the 2024 GOP presidential primary?

A key ally suggests jokingly that the Florida governor needs to get indicted, just like his chief rival Donald Trump.

Ive said we gotta figure out, we got to find some judge in Florida thatll indict DeSantis quick, to close this indictment gap, said GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who served with the candidate in Congress and has endorsed his campaign. Its a truism that anytime someone is being persecuted, their camp rallies to their defense.

Massie, one of only a handful of U.S. House members to endorse the Florida Republicans campaign, said he was joking about having DeSantis indicted. But his assessment came as the governor struggled in polls of the Republican primary, which show him slipping further behind the former president both nationally and in key early states like Iowa. Many Republican strategists credit Trumps gaining strength to a pair of indictments that many GOP voters perceive as unfair and politically motivated.

DeSantis, meanwhile, suffered through staffing cuts of his own last week and renewed questions about whether he remains the most viable alternative to Trump in the Republican field.

Massie spoke to McClatchyDC during a wide-ranging interview last week, sharing candid assessments about the frustration he assumes DeSantis must be feeling about the state of the Republican primary, why the governor might thrive during presidential debates, and what DeSantis personality is really like behind closed doors.

What follows is an abridged transcript of the interview, edited for length and clarity.

Question: You once memorably said in 2017, referring to Libertarian and Republican voters, that they voted for Donald Trump because they were looking for quote, the craziest son of a bitch in the race. Is Trump still that guy?

Massie: Well, just to clarify a little bit, I think I said they werent looking for the libertarian principles. ...

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Yes, he still is. Theres no doubt. But hes also the most indicted candidate. And I think thats our problem now.

Question: There has been a response from some Republican voters that Trumps indictments are an example of what they see as unfair prosecution, and that seemingly makes them want to support Trumps campaign more. If youre Ron DeSantis, or any GOP candidate in this race, how do you navigate that?

Massie: Its very difficult. ... I feel sympathy for Trump. And I understand why people are gravitating towards him in this time. Its a referendum on the swamp versus Trump, and its seen as, if you dont support Trump in this moment, some of the voters see it as being swampy. If youre not with him, you must be with the other guys. And it makes it tough.

Ive said we gotta figure out, we got to find some judge in Florida thatll indict DeSantis quick, to close this indictment gap. Its a truism that anytime someone is being persecuted, their camp rallies to their defense. [Laughs]

RELATED CONTENT: DeSantis campaign reset, sounds like familiar pitch at high-profile Iowa GOP dinner

Question: Short of DeSantis being indicted, though, how can he regain momentum in this race? Because his poll numbers have sagged over the course of this year.

Massie: It feels weird to say this, but Im just going to say it. I think Ron DeSantis has to weather out these indictments.

I think Rons taken the right path, which is to be sympathetic to the former presidents plight.

To more fully answer your question, theyre retooling, the DeSantis campaign. Hes made some changes. [Hes] on the ground a lot more in Iowa, it seems to me. And also he made the decision not to go in front of the legacy, mainstream media, and do the long-form open interviews on camera. But now hes doing that. I think those are the right decisions.

Question: You are one of the few people in Washington who knows Ron DeSantis well. How do you think hes feeling now? Do you think hes been at all caught off guard with how difficult and competitive a presidential primary can be?

Massie: Let me think about that.

Ron DeSantis is a conservative, and I dont know if he was in the Boy Scouts, but hes a Boy Scout kind of guy, where theres a clear line between right and wrong.  If youre asking me to guess what hes thinking, hes got to be frustrated that somebodys thats being accused of breaking the law is benefiting from that accusation, and [that] less than Boy Scout-like behavior is being rewarded in this race. Thats gotta be frustrating to him.

And also to be asked to defend the person hes running against has got to be frustrating, I would be frustrated if I were in that situation.

These may be  process crimes, where [Trump] didnt respond to a subpoena in the timely fashion, he didnt give over the documents in the right way. But theres still infractions. Now, they may be infractions for something that wasnt a crime to start with, but theyre still some infractions here on Trumps part. And the fact hes benefiting from that has got to be frustrating.

READ MORE: Trump property manager released on bond in Miami, faces formal arraignment next month

Question: Right now, Ron DeSantis is being criticized a lot for the way hes managed his campaign. How do you think hell respond to that?

Massie: He is decisive but not impulsive. So hes got, unlike Trump, hes got a filter. Trump can switch positions twice in a day. And Ron is not like that.

Obviously, hes been moved off of some initial positions, but because hes listened to people, for instance, like whether to go in front of the networks and newspapers and do long-form interviews. Hes been moved by that, but it takes a while, and thats not a bad thing, to take a month or two to change your tack or direction. It seems to me like he has been persuaded to change course by his donors and close advisers. What hes not changed, though, is policy. Were still talking about the best way to run a race and get elected. I havent seen any switches on policy, per se.

Question: In a past interview, you explained how youve seen up close how the governor responds to criticism, even forceful criticism. Why is he so intractable?

Massie: He does his homework before he takes a position. Like some politicians just sort of wade in intuitively on what feels right. And then when they get whacked, theyre like, Whoa, maybe I made a bad decision going in on this. But he went to Yale and he went to Harvard. Hes no dummy. He doesnt operate on intuition as much as he does on research. So if hes done the research, and if hes formed an opinion, its because hes looked at a lot of facts. I dont think youre gonna move him off of it easily.

Question: DeSantis has a reputation among some Republicans as being personally stiff in private conversation. You guys have spent time together; how would you describe him in more private moments?

Massie: I went down to Florida with a few of his other advisers. And this was still before the campaign had kicked off. And we spent a day  [May 5, according to a Massie aide]  going through all the policies, all the possible policy positions. And about a dozen of us in the room, and we had we came in for breakfast to get the day started, and Ron and Casey [DeSantis] had been somewhere the night before and had come in late. So, sitting there with these giant binders, I mean, these binders were four inches thick. I set my breakfast on it, and like, it was close to my face  and it had, like, 40 tabs in it. And, Im like, This is gonna be a long day if we were gonna be using these binders.

And Ron walks in. And theres this whiteboard in the corner of the room, and he goes over to grab the dry erase marker. And hes like, All right, lets get started. And he draws, like, I want to say he draws 16 different squares on the whiteboard. And hes like, OK, what are all the policy areas? And he starts putting in topics at the top of all 16 boxes. And we spent the whole rest of the day, never opened the binders, thank God, and he led the discussion.

[Massie explained the boxes would be labeled as foreign policy, guns or other subjects]

So he would start filling out the box with his position and then he would turn to the room and hed say, OK, what else, what else belongs in this box? And what do you all know about this topic? Thats Ron DeSantis. We never used the binders. He used the dry-erase board. He ran the meeting. He listened to everybodys input. And by the end of the day, we had a dry-erase board that was full of all of his policies. And he knows it inside out, front to back, top to bottom.

If hes ever put in a situation, like a debate, where he has to draw on that, nobodys going to exhaust his knowledge. President Trump, even after being president, couldnt have put 20% of the policy stuff on the whiteboard that Ron DeSantis did.

Question: But does a breadth of policy knowledge help you win in a GOP primary?

Massie: Its not even a necessary condition for winning an election to know that much about policy, right? I just think it would be very refreshing to have a president who doesnt get snowed every time on all these policies, because of whoevers in the room with him last, which is what I felt like happened with Trump sometimes.

Question: Can DeSantis overcome Trump and win this race with that sort of logical, methodical mindset?

Massie: I dont know. Its not enough right now in the polls. But I think its the only way you can beat him. I dont think anybodys gonna get in the race whos crazier than Donald Trump and out-crazy him. I dont think anybodys going to get into the race whos more persecuted by the swamp or the establishment than Donald Trump and get more sympathy than Donald Trumps gonna get. I think there are some other cats and dogs in this race and their strategy is definitely not working. I wont say their names on the record.

But I think its the only strategy that can work. ...

So I think the DeSantis approach to this, a methodical approach to this, making sure that you have enough money to get through Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina is a good one.

When we spoke last, there wasnt a clear third place. There was no other contender for second place. And were still where we are, even though the distance between first and second has grown. And I think Rons gonna try to close that gap.

Question: How would you handicap his chances?

Massie: [Laughs] No, I wont.
You won't have to look far to find one of the densest great white shark populations in the world, as researchers recently discovered an abundance of the toothy fish teeming off of Cape Cod .

"Cape Cod is the only area in the region where researchers can feasibly monitor the population, and our estimates suggest that the Cape is among the larger white shark hotspots worldwide, which is good news from a conservation standpoint," lead author study Megan Winton said in a University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth interview  from which Winton is expected to earn her Ph.D. this year.

Winton and fellow researchers estimated that over 800 individual great whites resided in and/or migrated through the iconic Massachusetts beaches between 2015 and 2018. The cold-blooded animals feast on gray seals in the summer and fall months when the water is relatively warm.

GREAT WHITE SHARK ENCOUNTERS INCREASING DUE TO WARMING SEA TEMPS

"Our estimate of 800 (3931286) individuals for the 4 yr survey period is comparable to but larger than most previous estimates for other white shark aggregation sites near pinniped (carnivorous aquatic mammal) colonies conducted over similar time frames," states the study published in Marine Ecology Progress Series.

"Studies conducted over multiple years off South Africa, central California, South Australia and Guadalupe Island, Mexico, have estimated aggregation sizes from 78 to 1279 individuals," authors continued. "This suggests that Cape Cod is among the larger aggregation sites worldwide, especially considering that our estimate is likely an underestimate."

The study is groundbreaking as the first-ever white shark population estimate for the Northwest Atlantic.

"There was never a population estimate for white sharks in the Northwest Atlantic," Winton told National Geographic in the "Return of the White Shark" documentary, where she talked about her research. "Its one of the most mysterious populations of white sharks on the planet."

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SPOT THE WHITE SHARK! MANY CAN'T IN THIS PHOTO TAKEN OFF CAPE COD

File: A great white shark swimming.

"Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water," the memorable line from the movie Jaws may not have told the entire story. Great white sightings and interactions were rare in Cape Cod before 2017, said the study.

"White shark populations throughout its circumglobal range declined as commercial and recreational fisheries and shark control programs expanded during the latter half of the twentieth century," authors wrote. "In some regions, it is estimated that white shark abundance decreased by as much as 7090% before protections began to be put into place in the 1990s by both individual countries and international treaties."

The sharks made a rebound. Shark numbers actually increased every year of the study. To measure the effectiveness of the protections and manage future conservation, scientists need better population estimates. A recent survey of white shark scientists found that the top research priority. The Cape Cod population made a comeback after the return of gray seals, thanks to the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act.

PHOTOGRAPHER RECREATES JAWS POSTER WITH GREAT WHITE SHARK IN THE WILD

A Great White shark photographed near Guadalupe Island recreated the "Jaws" movie poster art. (Image: Euan Rannachan)

"As recovering populations return to regions where they have long been rare or absent, increased interactions between sharks and humans can create conflict and undermine public support of conservation policies," warns authors. "Although the overall risk posed to recreational water users remains low even at aggregation sites, the sensational media coverage that typically accompanies white shark sightings and attacks on humans generates fear and can skew perceptions of risk."

Beaches closed last year several times due to shark sightings in the area. In one week in August 2022, officials confirmed over 20 great white shark sightings off the Cape.

"We realized that it was important to start thinking about public safety," Greg Skomal, another study author, stated in the TV documentary. "We started really looking intensively at the predatory behavior of the white shark."

STAY SHARK SMART: WHAT TO KNOW WHEN YOU HEAD INTO THE WATER

Beachgoers refrain from venturing too far out into the water at the Cape Cod National Sea Shore in Cape Cod, Massachusetts on July 15, 2022.

He said researchers need to learn more about the "when, where and how" white sharks hunt and attack their prey.

"If we find patterns in behavior, then we have an ability to predict or forecast where these animals are likely to be relative to human activities," he added in the documentary.

The last fatal shark attack on Cape Cod was a boogie boarder in 2018. The September attack was just 30 feet off the beach, and that was the state's first shark attack fatality in 82 years, according to the Boston Herald.
NICOSIA (Reuters) - Greece and Cyprus on Monday welcomed moves by Turkey to boost relations with the European Union, but said rapprochement should be gradual and not unconditional.

European Union foreign ministers said on July 20 they were ready to re-engage with Turkey, but stopped short of offering Ankara a clear resumption of membership talks.

Turkey has been a candidate for EU membership for more than two decades, but talks stalled in 2016 over the bloc's concerns over the rule of law and human rights in the country.

The division of Cyprus between its Greek and Turkish Cypriot populations, a source of friction between Greece and Turkey, has also been an impediment.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, whose countries are both EU members, said they welcomed a Turkey-EU re-engagement but that it had to be "gradual", and, if necessary, "reversible".

"Those two words should guide us. We can be optimistic, but we are not naive," Mitsotakis told reporters after meeting Christodoulides in Nicosia, Cyprus's ethnically-split capital.

The two terms have been built into European terminology over Turkey for some years, reflecting in part the long and convulsed journey of the country in attempting to join the bloc.

Christodoulides said launching a positive agenda with Turkey also implied "positive moves" on Ankara's part over Cyprus.

"It's important that our EU partners are also taking the same view," Christodoulides said.

Cyprus was divided after a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a Greek Cypriot coup engineered by the military junta then ruling Greece. It is represented in the EU by an internationally-recognised Greek Cypriot government.

On-off peace negotiations in the past focussed on uniting the island under a two-zone federal umbrella endorsed by the United Nations. In recent years the Turkish Cypriot side has advocated a two-state settlement, rejected by Greek Cypriots.

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"Any partitionist thoughts of two states is completely off any agenda of discussion, and I want to be very clear on that," Mitsotakis said.

As recently as last Friday, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said a resumption of peace talks on Cyprus would be possible only if the Greek Cypriots accepted sovereign equality.

(Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Conor Humphries)
A Greyhound bus passenger was fatally stabbed by another rider during a late night trip in Pennsylvania, according to police.

The bus was traveling along U.S. Interstate 376 on the night of July 30 when a passenger began harassing other riders and causing a scene, Pennsylvania State Police said in a news release, adding that there were 37 passengers on board.

The bus departed Pittsburgh at 10:15 p.m. and was bound for Washington, D.C., with three stops along the way, KDKA reported.

About 15 minutes after the bus left, at 10:30 p.m., the suspect pulled out a 5- to 6-inch knife and repeatedly stabbed another rider in the neck, police said.

The victims name was Cozell McQueen, WPXI reported.

Witnesses said the suspect was seated next to McQueen when he attacked without any provocation, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the TV station.

Despite their injuries, the victim got out of their seat, went up to the bus driver, told them what happened, and police were called, a Greyhound spokesperson told McClatchy News in an email.

The driver pulled off onto a shoulder, and officers came aboard, the police release said. The victim and the suspect were both taken to a hospital, but McQueen died from his injuries.

Police said the suspect, who they did not identify, was taken into custody. News outlets identified the suspect as an 18-year-old man from Detroit.

Police did not disclose any specific charges.

Greyhound is fully cooperating with authorities to assist in any way possible, the spokesperson said. The safety and care of our customers and employees remains our top priority.

An investigation is ongoing, police said.

McClatchy News has reached out to Pennsylvania State Police for an update on the investigation.

Greyhound passenger stabs driver, security guard over luggage dispute, Texas cops say

72-year-old vanishes after being dropped off at Greyhound station, Louisiana cops say

Man stabs woman on Greyhound before barricading himself inside bus, Texas cops say
Chants of freedom echoed through the streets outside an aid facility in Haitis capital, Port-au-Prince, on Monday where just days earlier a New Hampshire nurse and her daughter were kidnapped by armed men.

Nurse from New Hampshire and her child kidnapped in Haiti, nonprofit says

Hundreds of Haitians marched through the gang-ravaged zone, bursting with anger at the abduction, which has become a symbol of the worsening violence plaguing the Caribbean nation.

New Hampshire woman Alix Dorsainvil had been working as a community nurse for the religious and humanitarian aid group El Roi Haiti when she and her daughter were taken from its campus on Thursday, the organization said. She is the wife of its founder, Sandro Dorsainvil.

Witnesses told the Associated Press that Dorsainvil was working in her organizations small brick clinic when a group of armed men burst in and seized her. Lormina Louima, a patient waiting for a check-up, said one man pulled out his gun and told her to relax.

When I saw the gun, I was so scared, Louima said. I said, I dont want to see this, let me go.

Other members of the community said the unidentified men asked for $1 million in ransom, something thats become standard as Haitis gangs turn to slews of kidnappings to line their pockets and bleed the country dry. Hundreds have been kidnapping in Haiti this year alone, figures from the local nonprofit Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights show.

Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, gangs have taken over much of Port-au-Prince, killing, raping and sowing terror in communities already suffering endemic poverty.

The same day that Dorsainvil and her daughter were taken, the U.S. State Department issued a do not travel advisory for Haiti and ordered nonemergency personnel to leave amid growing security concerns. In its advisory, the State Department said that kidnapping is widespread, and victims regularly include U.S. citizens.

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The violence has stirred anger among Haitians, who say they simply just want to live in peace.

Protesters, largely from the area around El Roi Haitis campus, which includes a medical clinic, a school and more, echoed that call as they walked through the sweltering streets wielding cardboard signs written in Creole in red paint.

She is doing good work in the community, free her, read one.

Among the protesters was Jean Ronald, a local resident who said the community has significantly benefitted from the care provided by El Roi Haiti.

Such groups are often the only institutions in areas far beyond the reach of the law, but have increasingly had to shut down operations as violence has deepened. The closures often leave thousands of vulnerable families without access to basic services like healthcare or education.

Earlier this month, Doctors Without Borders announced it was suspending services in one of its hospitals because some 20 armed men burst into an operating room and snatched a patient.

As the protesters walked through the area where Dorsainvil was taken, the streets were eerily quiet. The doors to the clinic where she worked were shut, the small brick building empty. Ronald and others in the area worried the latest kidnapping may mean the clinic wont reopen. Such closures

If they leave, everything (the aid groups programs) will shut down, the Haitian worried. The money they are asking for, we dont have it.

Shortly after, protests dispersed.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller refused to confirm Monday whether the abductors had made any demands, or to answer other questions.

I will say we are aware of the reports that two US citizens were kidnapped in Haiti. Obviously, the safety and security of American citizens overseas is our highest priority. We are in regular contact with the Haitian authorities. Well continue to work with them and our US government interagency partners, but because its an ongoing law enforcement investigation, theres not more detail I can offer, Miller wrote in a statement Monday.

In a video for the El Roi Haiti website, Alix Dorsainvil describes Haitians as resilient people.

Theyre full of joy, and life and love. Im so blessed to know so many amazing Haitians, she says.

Dorsainvil graduated from Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts, which has a program to support nursing education in Haiti. Before that, she went to Cornerstone Christian Academy in Ossipee, New Hampshire which offers pre-K through eighth-grade education.

Pray that God would keep her safe, be with her through this trial, and deliver her from her captors, the school said on its Facebook page.

Dorsainvils father, Steven Comeau, reached in New Hampshire, said he could not talk.

El Roi Haiti celebrated the nurses work in a statement over the weekend.

Alix is a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family, El Roi president and co-founder Jason Brown said in the statement. Alix has worked tirelessly as our school and community nurse to bring relief to those who are suffering as she loves and serves the people of Haiti in the name of Jesus.

Earlier this month, the National Human Rights Defense Network issued a report warning about an upsurge in killings and kidnappings and the U.N. Security Council met to discuss Haitis worsening situation.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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J. Robert Oppenheimer at the Guest Lodge, Oak Ridge, in 1946 (left). Mushroom cloud of 'Gadget' over Trinity, seconds after detonation (right).

J. Robert Oppenheimer is one of the most important Americans, and perhaps people, in history. As the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory during WWII, he was a critical member of the Manhattan Project and instrumental in the creation of the worlds first nuclear bombs. Oppenheimer was even nicknamed the father of the atomic bomb. Despite his accomplishment, Oppenheimer's security clearance was unjustly revoked after the war. This went uncorrected for 55 years after his death.

In 1904, Oppenheimer was born in New York City to a German Jewish family. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in chemistry in 1925 and earned his PhD in physics from the University of Gottingen in Germany two years later. When Oppenheimer was recruited into the Manhattan Project in 1942, it was neither his immigrant background nor his study abroad that delayed his clearance; it was his association with communists.

Unlike Oppenheimer, Einstein was never given a clearance due to his birthplace and political ideology (Public Domain)

In the 1930s, Oppenheimer supported many progressive, left-wing causes. His views on social reform were later classified as communist in nature and he backed his views with financial contributions. Oppenheimer notably donated money to the Republican faction of the Spanish Civil War which included communist and socialist groups. This money was channeled through known or suspected members of the Communist Party USA. However, Oppenheimer denied ever being a member himself.

In 1936, Oppenheimer began a relationship with Jean Tatlock, a known communist and writer for the Western Worker communist newspaper. Three years later, after Tatlock broke up with Oppenheimer, the scientist began a relationship with Katherine "Kitty" Puening, a former Communist Party member. Neither of these relationships helped Oppenheimer's security clearance, especially after he briefly rekindled his relationship with Tatlock during his marriage to Puening. Beyond his romantic relationships, Oppenheimer's own brother was also a former Communist Party member.

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Oppenheimer (right) and Groves in 1942 (Public Domain)

It took Brig. Gen. Leslie Groves, Jr., director of the Manhattan Project, to get Oppenheimer his clearance. "In accordance with my verbal directions..., it is desired that clearance be issued to Julius Robert Oppenheimer without delay irrespective of the information which you have concerning Mr Oppenheimer. He is absolutely essential to the project," Groves wrote. Unfortunately, his essential contributions to the bomb didn't protect Oppenheimer from political persecution after the war.

Chief among Oppenheimer's political enemies was Rear Admiral Lewis Strauss. As the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Strauss strongly opposed the exportation of radioactive isotopes to other countries. Oppenheimer testified before Congress and humiliated Strauss, calling the isotopes "less important than electronic devices but more important than, let us say, vitamins." Oppenheimer also actively opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb which Strauss supported. As a result, Strauss pressed hard for Oppenheimer's clearance to be revoked.

Oppenheimer (second from the left) with the rest of the General Advisory Committee of the Atomic Energy Commission (Public Domain)

In November 1953, William Borden, the former executive director of the Congressional Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, wrote a letter to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover accusing Oppenheimer of being a Soviet spy. This led to an investigation and, in April and May of 1954, a secret security hearing. In addition to the revelation of a story that he fabricated to protect a communist friend, Oppenheimer's extensive associations with current or former members of the party were levied against him and his security clearance was revoked. This ended Oppenheimer's access to government atomic secrets and his career as a nuclear physicist.

Although he was later given the Enrico Fermi Award, a presidential award for lifetime achievement in energy, Oppenheimer never regained his security clearance. On December 16, 2022, over 55 years after his death on February 18, 1967, Oppenheimer received some justice. Citing that "the AEC failed to follow its own rules" in the Oppenheimer investigation and hearing, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm vacated the 1954 decision to revoke Oppenheimer's clearance. Although there was no new adjudication, the secretarial order formally recognized Oppenheimer's unjust treatment and the government's persecution of a man who served his country faithfully.
Vice President Kamala Harris is doubling down on her rebuke of new Florida education guidelines that call for the teaching of how enslaved people benefited from slavery.

In an interview Monday with ABC Newss Linsey Davis, Harris dismissed allegations that her response to these guidelines is ideological posturing.

I think that this is just a matter of whether one chooses to speak fact and truth or not, and its pretty much that simple, said Harris. I dont think this is up to any ideological debate to say that people who were enslaved did not benefit from slavery, period.

It almost seems ridiculous to have to say what I just said, that enslaved people do not benefit from slavery, Harris continued. There are so-called leaders, extremists, who are attempting to require in our nation an unnecessary debate with the intention, I believe, to try and divide us as Americans. Stop. Stop.

Harris has been among the top voices to criticize Floridas new education guidelines, going as far as to accuse the Florida Department of Education and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) of creating a revisionist history.

They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us, and we will not stand for it, Harris said earlier this month at Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.s 56th national convention in Indianapolis. We who share a collective experience in knowing we must honor history and our duty in the context of legacy.

Later, the nations first Black vice president traveled to Jacksonville, Fla., a predominantly Black city in the Sunshine State, and accused Republican leaders of pushing propaganda on children.

Black leaders around the country have condemned the lesson, along with another lesson that discusses how acts of violence were perpetrated against and by African Americans, including the Tulsa Race Massacre and the 1920 Ocoee Massacre.

DeSantis, who is campaigning for president, has defended the guidelines, saying that the states education department did a good job with those standards.

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He has also accused Democrats, including Harris, of lying about Floridas educational standards to cover for their agenda of indoctrinating students and pushing sexual topics onto children.

But the growing criticism has also come from within DeSantiss own party. Black conservatives have called for the standards to be reviewed.

Its unclear if the guidelines will be changed at all, but the fallout so far has come as DeSantiss competitors for 2024 have begun to gain on his second-place position for the GOP nomination.

Harriss comments with Davis are part of a larger interview set to air Monday night. The full interview will include her thoughts on reproductive rights and the way Black history is taught in schools.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Gov. Maura Healey listens as Liz Hamilton, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester, addresses a Safer Communities roundtable at the organization in Worcester Monday.

WORCESTER  Gov. Maura Healey visited Worcester Monday to convene a meeting with community partners and public safety officials from across the state to discuss community partnerships designed for violence prevention.

During the event, held at the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester, Healey announced the state has invested nearly $1.5 million in federal grants for violence prevention, response and community engagement efforts through the summer and fall, a time when violence in the state normally peaks.

"We know all communities are different. There's some commonalities among communities, but this cannot be a one-size-fits-all application," Healey said. "Which is why they're targeted, distributed across communities so that you're able to tailor it to what fits the needs within your communities."

Liz Hamilton, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester, addresses a Safer Communities roundtable at the organization Monday.

The Worcester County District Attorney's office, known as the Middle District Attorney's office, will receive $100,000 in grant funding through the Safer Communities Initiative.

The initiative is run by the Office of Grants and Research, which is part of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. It requires district attorney offices to dedicate awarded funds to violence prevention, intervention or diversion programming.

The remaining funds will go to support enforcement, prosecution and youth programming for state police.

Gov. Maura Healey speaks during a Safer Communities roundtable at the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester Monday.

The program provides funding to district attorneys and state police.

Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said the funding will help officials in Worcester County apply new understandings of trauma to respond and reduce levels of violence among youth, such as intervention and prevention programming.

"The money's going to support 250 kids," Early said. "I can tell you what the headlines would have been like if you didn't get to these 250 kids. It doesn't take an active imagination."

Gov. Maura Healey speaks during a Safer Communities roundtable at the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester Monday.

According to a release from the governor's office, grant-funded enforcement efforts resulted in the removal of 95 illegally possessed firearms in the state as well as the seizure of approximately 44,000 grams of heroin and fentanyl, 2,900 grams of cocaine and crack and 4,000 grams of marijuana from July to December 2022.

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District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. speaks during a Safer Communities roundtable at the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester Monday.

The following agencies are also grant recipients:

Berkshire District Attorney's Office with $99,933

Essex District Attorney's Office with $100,000

Hampden District Attorney's Office with $100,000

Middlesex District Attorney's Office with $100,000

Norfolk District Attorney's Office with $96,329.57

Northwestern District Attorney's Office with $100,000

Plymouth District Attorney's Office with $100,000

Suffolk District Attorney's Office with $100,000

State police in Boston with $210,000

State police in Lawrence and Brockton with $170,000

State police in Springfield/Holyoke with $160,000

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Healey touts violence prevention grants at Boys & Girls Club of Worcester
Evan Avant assembles the iron framework for a billboard in Oklahoma City, Okla., July 27, 2023. (Brett Deering/The New York Times)

As much of the United States swelters under record heat, Amazon drivers and warehouse workers have gone on strike in part to protest working conditions that can exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

On triple-digit days in Orlando, Florida, utility crews are postponing checks for gas leaks, since digging outdoors dressed in heavy safety gear could endanger their lives. Even in Michigan, on the nations northern border, construction crews are working shortened days because of heat.

Now that climate change has raised Earths temperatures to the highest levels in recorded history, with projections showing that they will only climb higher, new research shows the impact of heat on workers is spreading across the economy and lowering productivity.

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Extreme heat is regularly affecting workers beyond expected industries such as agriculture and construction. Sizzling temperatures are causing problems for those who work in factories, warehouses and restaurants and also for employees of airlines and telecommunications firms, delivery services and energy companies. Even home health aides are running into trouble.

Weve known for a very long time that human beings are very sensitive to temperature, and that their performance declines dramatically when exposed to heat, but what we havent known until very recently is whether and how those lab responses meaningfully extrapolate to the real-world economy, said R. Jisung Park, an environmental and labor economist at the University of Pennsylvania. And what we are learning is that hotter temperatures appear to muck up the gears of the economy in many more ways than we would have expected.

A study published in June on the effects of temperature on productivity concludes that although extreme heat harms agriculture, its impact is greater on industrial and other sectors of the economy, in part because they are more labor-intensive. It finds that heat increases absenteeism and reduces work hours, and concludes that as the planet continues to warm, those losses will increase.

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The cost is high. In 2021, more than 2.5 billion hours of labor in the U.S. agriculture, construction, manufacturing and service sectors were lost to heat exposure, according to data compiled by The Lancet. Another report found that in 2020, the loss of labor as a result of heat exposure cost the economy about $100 billion, a figure projected to grow to $500 billion annually by 2050.

Other research found that as the mercury reaches 90 degrees, productivity slumps by about 25%, and when it goes past 100 degrees, productivity drops off by 70%.

And the effects are unequally distributed: In poor counties, workers lose as much as 5% of their pay with each hot day, researchers have found. In wealthy counties, the loss is less than 1%.

Of the many economic costs of climate change  dying crops, spiking insurance rates, flooded properties  the loss of productivity caused by heat is emerging as one of the biggest, experts say.

We know that the impacts of climate change are costing the economy, said Kathy Baughman McLeod, director of the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center and a former global executive for environmental and social risk at Bank of America. The losses associated with people being hot at work, and the slowdowns and mistakes people make as a result are a huge part.

Still, there are no national regulations to protect workers from extreme heat. In 2021, the Biden administration announced that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration would propose the first rule designed to protect workers from heat exposure. But two years later, the agency still has not released a draft of the proposed regulation.

Seven states have some form of labor protections dealing with heat, but there has been a push to roll them back in some places. In June, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law that eliminated rules set by municipalities that mandated water breaks for construction workers, even though Texas leads all states in terms of lost productivity linked to heat, according to an analysis of federal data conducted by Vivid Economics.

Business groups are opposed to a national standard, saying it would be too expensive because it would probably require rest, water and shade breaks and possibly the installation of air conditioning.

OSHA should take care not to impose further regulatory burdens that make it more difficult for small businesses to grow their businesses and create jobs, David Addington, vice president of the National Federation of Independent Business, wrote in response to OSHAs plan to write a regulation.

Marc Freedman, vice president of employment policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said, I dont think anyone is dismissing the hazard of overexposure to heat. But, he said, is an OSHA standard the right way to do it? A lot of employers are already taking measures, and the question will be: What more do they have to do?

The National Beef slaughterhouse in Dodge City, Kansas, where temperatures are expected to hover above 100 degrees for the next week, is cooled by fans, not air conditioning.

Workers wear heavy protective aprons and helmets and use water vats and hoses heated to 180 degrees to sanitize their equipment. It has always been hot work.

But this year is different, said one worker, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution. The heat inside the slaughterhouse is intense, drenching employees in sweat and making it hard to get through a shift, the worker said.

National Beef did not respond to emails or telephone calls requesting comment.

Martin Rosas, a union representative for meatpacking and food processing workers in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, said sweltering conditions present a risk for food contamination. After workers skin a hide, they need to ensure that debris doesnt get on the meat or carcass. But when its extremely hot, and their safety glasses fog up, their vision is impaired and they are exhausted, they cant even see what theyre doing, Rosas said.

Almost 200 employees out of roughly 2,500 have quit at the Dodge City National Beef plant since May, Rosas said. Thats about 10% higher than usual for that time period, he said.

But even some workers in air-conditioned settings are getting too hot. McDonalds workers in Los Angeles walked off the job this summer as the air-conditioned kitchens were overwhelmed by the sweltering heat outside.

There is an air conditioner in every part of the store, but the thermostat in the kitchen still showed it was over 100 degrees, said Maria Rodriguez, who has worked at the same McDonald's on Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles for 20 years but walked out July 21, sacrificing a day of pay. Its been hot before, but never like this summer. I felt terrible  like I could pass out or faint at any moment.

Nicole Enearu, owner of the store, said in a statement, We understand that theres an uncomfortable heat wave in LA, which is why were even more focused on ensuring the safety of our employees inside our restaurants. Our air conditioning is functioning properly at this location.

Tony Hedgepeth, a home health aide in Richmond, Virginia, cares for a client whose home thermostat is typically set at about 82 degrees. Last week, the temperature inside was near 94 degrees.

Any heat is a challenge in Hedgepeths job. Bathing, cooking, lifting and moving him, cleaning him, he said. Its all physical. Its a lot of sweat.

Warehouse workers across the country are also feeling the heat. Sersie Cobb, a forklift driver who stocks boxes of pasta in a warehouse in Columbia, South Carolina, said the stifling heat can make it difficult to breathe. Sometimes I get dizzy and start seeing dots, Cobb said. My vision starts to go black. I stop work immediately when that happens. Two times this summer Ive had heart palpitations from the heat, and left work early to go to the ER.

In Southern California, a group of 84 striking Amazon delivery workers say that one of their priorities is getting the company to make it safe to work in extreme heat. Last month, unionized UPS workers won a victory when the company agreed to install air conditioning in delivery trucks.

Heat has played a tremendous role  it was one of the major issues in the negotiations, said Carthy Boston, a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters representing UPS drivers in Washington, D.C. Those trucks are hotboxes.

Many factories were built decades ago for a different climate and are not air-conditioned. A study on the effects of extreme temperatures on the productivity of auto plants in the United States found that a week with six or more days of heat exceeding 90 degrees cuts production by an average of 8%.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Navistar is installing a $19 million air conditioning system at its IC Bus factory, which produces many of Americas school buses. Temperatures on the floor can reach 99 degrees. Currently, the plant is only cooled by overhead fans that swirl high above the assembly line.

Shane Anderson, the companys interim manager, said air conditioning is expected to cost about $183 per hour, or between $275,000 and $500,000 per year  but the company believes it will boost worker productivity.

Other employers are also adapting.

Brad Maurer, vice president of Leidal and Hart, which builds stadiums, hospitals and factories in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, said managers now bring in pallets of bottled water, which they didnt used to do, at a cost to the company of a few thousand dollars per month.

Rising heat around Detroit recently caused his employees to stop working three hours early on a Ford Motors facility for several days in a row  a pattern emerging throughout his companys work sites.

It means costs go up, production goes down, we may not meet schedules, and guys and women dont get paychecks, Maurer said.

Labor experts say that as employers adapt to the new reality of the changing climate, they will have to pay one way or the other.

The truth is that the changes required probably will be very costly, and they will get passed on to employers and consumers, said David Michaels, who served as assistant secretary of labor at OSHA during the Obama administration and is now a professor at the George Washington School of Public Health. But if we dont want these workers to get killed, we will have to pay that cost.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
The line of enquiry that suggested sabotage, which could have led to the helicopter crash in Brovary, Kyiv Oblast, in January 2023, which killed the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has not been confirmed. The conclusions of the pre-trial investigation will be announced in the near future.

Source: Ukraine's Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin in an interview with Ukrinform news agency

Quote from Kostin: "As of now, I can say that the versions related to sabotage or attempts on the lives of public figures [regarding the helicopter crash in Brovary  ed.] have not been confirmed. We will announce the final conclusions of the pre-trial investigation in the near future."

Details: Kostin pointed out again that at the beginning of the investigation, four main lines of enquiry were developed: an attempt on the life of public figures, including an act of sabotage; the downing of the aircraft; a conflict situation on board; or a pilots mistake, technical failure of the vessel, improper flight planning, non-compliance with flight rules and difficult weather conditions.

Kostin said the investigation, which is being carried out by specialists from the interagency investigation team of the State Bureau of Investigation and the Security Service of Ukraine, is ongoing. The Prosecutor General's Office provides procedural guidance.

Airbus Helicopters specialists, as well as specialists from the Ministry of Defence, the National Police and the National Guard, are involved in the investigation.

As of today, all the necessary technical documents have been collected, and the necessary examinations are being completed.

Quote from Kostin: "With the help of our French partners from Airbus, the flight data recorders were decrypted. Based on the collected data, a 3D modelling of the tragic flight was carried out."

Background:

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Tesla owners said some people make a series of faux pas when they first buy an EV. PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images

Tesla owners shared some common mistakes new electric vehicle owners sometimes make.

Earlier, they sounded off on some of the unexpected headaches of owning a Tesla.

Now, Tesla veterans say newbies should be aware of Supercharger etiquette  and offer other tips.

As electric cars become more popular and Tesla is set to open some of its Supercharger network to other automakers, some new EV owners have yet to master the learning curve.

Tesla veterans broke down some of the common faux pas new owners make in a series of conversations with Insider  from charging etiquette to taking proper care of an electric car. Earlier, they sounded off on some of the unexpected headaches of owning a Tesla.

Here's what Tesla owners wish new drivers understood about joining the EV community:

Don't park next to someone at Supercharger unless you absolutely have to.

Tesla owners recommend you leave a space open between chargers whenever possible to avoid slowing the speed of the charge. Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

"Just like anything, there is basic etiquette," said Nelson Jackson, a Model S owner. "Tesla etiquette is: Don't park next to someone else at a Supercharger because if you're sharing a stall, you just slowed down their charge."

Tesla charging stations have stalls that are labelled with a number and the letters "A" and "B." If two drivers are plugged into a stall with the same number (for example, 1A and 1B), it will cut the charging speed in half since both EVs will be taking from the same power source, according to Clean Technica.

The more chargers at a location, even if they're spaced out, the slower the overall charge will be as well.

Tesla owners say they often use the company's internal navigation system to find charging sites with less traffic to avoid slower chargers.

Stay in your lane at charging stations.

Most Superchargers have spots that you have to back into. Tim Levin/Insider

Tesla owners say it can be infuriating when another EV owner parks sloppily or takes up more than one space at a charging station.

Earlier this year, tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee said a Supercharger "descended into chaos" when it was opened to non-Tesla EVs that had to take up multiple spots in order to get the charging cord to reach the vehicle. Tesla has since updated some of the stations it opened to non-Tesla EVs with longer cords to help address the issue.

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Most supercharging stations require Teslas to back into the spot for the Supercharger cord to reach the vehicle's charging port.

"You can always tell it's a new Model 3 owner when they try to pull forward into a spot," Nelson said. "It's pretty clear to everybody else that the stalls are perfectly designed to back into."

Don't leave your car while it's charging.

Tesla owners say it irks them when people leave their EV in a charging spot after it has finished charging. Celal Gunes/Getty Images

"It really bothers me when people just leave their cars at a charger and go off and do something else," tech YouTuber Austin Evans told Insider. "It's pretty inconsiderate  essentially using it as a parking spot when the battery is full."

Tesla owners receive alerts through the carmaker's app when their car has finished charging and the company also charges owners an "Idle Fee" at Superchargers of 50 cents per minute or $1 per minute when the station is at capacity.

Read the instruction manual and get to know the infotainment system.

You're driving a computer-on-wheels, after all. Take the time to learn it, Tesla vets say. Business Insider

"Most people with an ICE vehicle don't look at a manual because everything is pretty much the same across the board," Steve Almassy, a Model S owner, said, referring to a gas-powered car.

"With a Tesla, you basically have a computer on wheels that you have to figure out. So you need to take the time to sit down and go through all the things on the infotainment system and read up on all the new features or you'll be missing out."

John Brusniak, a 70-year-old Model S owner, said it took time to figure out how to activate some of the vehicles features, including car wash mode, a feature users can access via the car's infotainment system that closes all windows, locks the charge port, and disables windshield wipers.

Don't overcharge your EV.

It's best not to charge your Tesla past 80% in order to maximize the lifetime of its EV battery. Tesla

Robbie Mack, a former Tesla salesman and owner of a Model S, said many new owners don't understand that its best for the vehicle to avoid charging it to 100%.

The car's battery will degrade faster if it's charged to 100% and it's best to keep it as close as possible to 50%, according to Clean Technica, which puts the ideal charge percentage at 80%.

Instead, Tesla owners can set the vehicle to stop charging around 80%. Tesla also recommends owners avoid keeping their vehicle's charge below 20% for an extended period of time.

Get a home charger for your Tesla.

Tesla owners say it pays to get a home charger. ChargePoint

Most cars come with a Level 1 charging cord, which can plug into a 110-volt household outlet and slowly trickles electricity into a car's battery, but it only adds a few miles an hour to the car's battery life.

Many drivers prefer faster methods. A Level 2 home charger can charge the vehicle to 80% between four to 10 hours, according to the Department of Transportation. It can cost between $250 to a few thousand dollars to set up, but can save owners $1,000 to $1,200 per year in fuel costs, according to Consumer Reports.

Many Tesla owners compare charging their EV to plugging in their phone at night  simple and efficient.

Plan your road trips well when driving an EV.

Tesla owners say you can have a successful road trip in an EV as long as you plan ahead. Matthew DeBord/Business Insider

Over the years, EV owners have shared horror stories about trying to find chargers on long road trips.

While Tesla owners possess a distinct advantage when it comes to using the Supercharger network over far less reliable public chargers, Tesla owners say it's important to plan well ahead for charging stations on road trips.

"If you don't plan ahead you could easily get stranded," said Nick Caraciolo, a Model 3 owner based in Canada. "You need to be aware of where all the stations are along the way and plan your stops accordingly. I've gotten to the point where my backup stations have backups."

Do you own an electric car or work at Tesla? Reach out to the reporter from a non-work email at gkay@insider.com

Read the original article on Business Insider
A battery-operated camera was found hidden inside a port-a-potty at a Wisconsin beach, police said.

A beachgoer discovered the camera Tuesday, July 25, and alerted police, WISN reported.

Officers with the Oconomowoc Police Department responded to Bender Beach at about 1:15 p.m. that afternoon, according to a news release.

Officers confirmed a camera was secured in the toilet, police said, and was visible when the seat was lifted.

The police department said it confiscated the toilet, and investigators are analyzing it.

There are just so many levels of ick, Kathleen Heckenkamp told WITI. Its very upsetting to me that, in our own neighborhood, theres something strange going on.

The City of Oconomowoc Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department has checked all city bathrooms and port-a-pottys for cameras, police said. City workers will continue monitoring public bathrooms for suspicious activity.

The city also has encouraged businesses to be vigilant in the inspection for hidden devices, and officials said people should keep a look out for cameras.

If you find a hidden camera, contact police.

Oconomowoc is about 35 miles west of downtown Milwaukee.

Man hid camera in bedroom and bathroom of home to film kids, Alabama deputies say

High school coach hid a GoPro in girls locker room, WI cops say. 18 victims possible

Teen spots phone recording her in gas station bathroom, Utah cops say. Employee arrested
A popular narrative suggests young people are liberal and getting more liberal. Thus, social media buzzed when a chart surfaced in spring that seemed to suggest 12th-grade boys had become overwhelmingly conservative.

As with many Reddit posts and viral tweets, the truth was more complicated. But the numbers do say this: Twelfth-grade boys are nearly twice as likely to identify as conservative versus liberal, according to a respected federal survey of American youth.

In annual surveys over the last three years, roughly one-quarter of high school seniors self-identified as conservative or very conservative on the Monitoring the Future survey, a scholarly endeavor that dates to the 1970s. Only 13 percent of boys identified as liberal or very liberal in those years.

The figures represent a striking shift in the political views of boys. As recently as the late 2000s, liberal boys occasionally outnumbered conservatives. Back in the Carter era, both boys and girls leaned liberal.

Nowadays, it is girls who are drifting to the left. The share of 12th-grade girls who identified as liberal rose from 19 percent in 2012 to 30 percent in 2022. Only 12 percent of girls identified as conservative in last years survey, administered by the University of Michigan.

Young women, too, are trending liberal. Women ages 18 to 29 are more likely to identify as liberal now than at any time in the past two decades, according to Gallup surveys. Young women are almost twice as likely as young men to claim the liberal tag, a widening gender gap in political beliefs.

The political leanings of young men have changed little over the past two decades, according to an analysis by the Survey Center on American Life. Last year, 43 percent of young men identified as moderate, 31 percent as conservative and 24 percent as liberal. Twenty years earlier, the numbers were more or less the same.

But the leftward drift of young women alone has sufficed to move the needle on young adults as a whole. Generation Z favors liberalism over conservatism by a 48-to-33 margin, according to NBC News polling from 2022. Ten years earlier, young adults split evenly between the two political camps.

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The rightward drift of high school boys is comparatively subtle. Indeed, when it comes to politics, most boys seem reluctant to pick a side. In the 2022 Monitoring the Future survey, the largest group of senior boys, more than two-fifths, claimed no politics at all, answering the liberal-conservative question with none of the above or I dont know. Nearly one-fifth identified as moderate. Only 36 percent selected liberal or conservative as an ideology, and only there did the trend emerge.

Jean Twenge, an author and professor of psychology at San Diego State University, presented the data in her new book, Generations. To spotlight the growing gender gap, she couched the numbers in a chart that split boys and girls along ideological lines, omitting moderates and the undecided.

Among liberals, the future is female, she wrote. And among conservatives, the future is male.

In April, someone posted Twenges chart to Reddit. The image also circulated widely on Twitter, the platform since rebranded as X. Other researchers took note.

The chart gave the impression, at least on first glance, that two-thirds of 12th-grade boys were now conservative. In the small print beneath, Twenge noted that she had omitted moderates.

The full story is messier and murkier. High school seniors, boys and girls alike, are more likely to claim no political identity than to throw in with either liberals or conservatives.

Much has been written about the liberal drift of young women. The Donald Trump presidency mobilized millions of women, outraged over words and alleged deeds that, to Trumps critics, suggested an unrepentant misogyny. More women embraced liberal politics in response to the conservative drift of the U.S. Supreme Court, a movement emblemized by a 2022 ruling that struck down the constitutional right to abortion.

Less has been said about the politics of 12th-grade boys.

Trump himself may be a key to the conservative trend in that group. The 45th president energized male voters with his rhetoric: his overt hypermasculinity, as one NPR analysis put it, and his frequent use of language one might overhear in a high school cafeteria.

Donald Trump talks like a high school student. Maybe theres a connection there, said Robert Palacios, 21, a student at the Catholic University of America and president of District of Columbia College Democrats.

If you grew up playing video games that were not age-appropriate, and you were sitting in the [virtual] lobby, screaming at the mic, Trump was your president, said Ethan Benn, also 21, a student at the George Washington University (GWU). He really channeled that energy.

More broadly, the conservative wing of the Republican party has made pointed appeals to disaffected men of all ages.

Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other conservative beacons have derided woke ideology, accusing the left of overreach in seeking redress for injustices involving race, gender and sexual orientation.

Liberal politicians, of course, are just as eager to win the vote of young men. Yet, the progressive agenda seeks equality in gender and race, a platform that costs them some male support, especially among white people. In the 2020 election, Black and Hispanic men voted for Joe Biden at much higher rates than non-Hispanic white people, according to Pew Research data.

As one recent Politico article put it, Democrats have a masculinity problem.

I believe that traditional notions of masculinity are much more accepted within conservativism, while feminist values are clearly one of the driving forces of liberalism, said Delano Squires, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

I could see male and female students saying, Im choosing sides. Do you want matriarchy, or do you want patriarchy?

Defenders of the patriarchy reach young men where they live, on social media and in gaming circles. Benn, the GWU student, notes a sort of intersection of Internet culture and gaming culture with conservative politics that draws some apolitical young men into conservatism.

Conservative icons Dennis Prager, Ben Shapiro and Steven Crowder boast millions of followers on YouTube, a platform whose ads and viewing suggestions make it easy for a young, male YouTuber to get sucked into a very conservative sphere of politics and media, Benn said.

You could be watching a video about the latest Star Wars movie, and then the next video would be, Heres how women are ruining Star Wars, he said, referencing his own experience. Even if you arent seeking it out, it will come and find you.

That said, Benn doesnt remember many of his high school friends talking much about politics.

Neither does Tyler Brown-Dewese, 20, a student at American University (AU).

Brown-Dewese identifies as a Bill Clinton Democrat. Back in high school, however, he was a conservative.

I went to an all-boys Catholic school in New York, and so, a majority of us were Republicans, he said. Classmates took their cues from parents, friends and social media sites such as Millennial Republicans. Thats an Instagram page I still follow, Brown-Dewese said.

But that is not to say he and his friends spent the lunch hour discussing politics. A lot of them werent politically active, he said. They didnt want to talk politics. But if you brought it up, they were going to defend Trump.

Brown-Deweses own politics drifted left when he arrived at AU. What changed me was, I go to the most liberal university, he laughed. Had I known that, I probably wouldnt have gone.

Though he is now a Democrat, Brown-Dewese doesnt really like the word liberal, and he suspects other young men feel the same way. Generations of conservatives have equated liberalism with weakness.

Asked to estimate the quotient of liberal women at AU, he laughed again.

Oh, my goodness. All of them?

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A man looks up at a dark castle against a sky full of shooting stars

Attention all R.A. Salvatore fans: the fantasy author will be returning to the world of DemonWars next year with a sister series, kicking off in April with Pinquickles Folly. Simon & Schusters Saga Press will be marking the occasion by re-releasing all seven previous DemonWars books with updated covers. Today, io9 is excited to share sneak previews of both the new book and the new covers.

Heres more details on Pinquickles Folly, the first book in Salvatores new trilogy. Its due out April 16, 2024.

Read more

In Pinquickles Folly, New York Times bestselling author R. A. Salvatore returns to his signature world of Corona, introducing a dynamic new part of the southern coast never written of before as a great starting place for readers in the DemonWars Saga: The Buccaneers. The first adventure in the Buccaneers trilogy begins in the free sea outside of the control of the usurping Xoconai empire, where the dwarven powrie pirates and merchants sail. But the golden-skinned Xoconai have begun to encroach upon these waters behind the rapacious attacks of the frigate Crocodile, helmed by Captain Aketz. But when forced to submit, these sailors choose to live, free to do as they please, without some fool or another pretending to hold power over them.

Fantasy master R. A. Salvatore brings together a misfit band of Xoconai, powerie, and human sailorsonce enemies, now fierce friends with a common enemy, and the spark of rebellion in this action-packed piratical adventure.



Here is the exclusive excerpt from Pinquickles Follyfollowed by its cover, and then all the new covers (and their release dates) for the previous DemonWars novels. The new cover designs and illustrations are by Damonza.com.







CHAPTER 4



THE SWORDFISH AND THE CROCODILE

Captain Aketz of the Cipac lowered his spyglass and looked to Ahmaddi, the skinny Behrenese man standing beside him.

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Ahmaddi shifted nervously, which brought a little grin to the face of the Xoconai captain. Aketz Fiatl was not a tall and thick man, standing just over five feet. Few had expected him to survive his earliest days, so sickly was he, and never in his life had he been physically imposing. But he more than made up for that with the severe widows peak of his raven hair and the set of his small black eyestoo close together beside his thin, long, and hooked nosewhich verily glowed bright red as if with unrelenting anger. The ability of Captain Aketz to shatter the nerves of those around him had only grown with his reputation as he sailed these eastern waters, offering no quarter to those who would impede the glory of the growing Tonoloyan empire.

Aketz tried not to laugh and break the spell, but the mans appearance alone amused him. This one was so skinny indeed that his black hair and beard extended out beyond his shoulders!

What is her name? Aketz asked.

The Swordfish.

And her captain?

Jocasta. Captain Jocasta. She hails from my village.

And she is a buccaneer? She sails her ship under the red n black?

The small man shifted in a strange and jittery fashion but nodded emphatically.

Or is she just a woman who scorned you? asked Cayo, the Cipacs first mate and high priest, who was standing just to the side.

I would not lie to you. Why would I lie to you? Ahmaddi stammered.

For the reward, of course, answered Cayo. And for revenge.

No, no, she did not scorn me, Ahmaddi said. No, no. She dishonors my village, but only because she is a pirate.

If she is a pirate from a village within Behren, does she not sail with a Letter of Marque and Reprisal from Chezru Chief Brynn Dharielle? Captain Aketz asked.

Ahmaddi swallowed hard, his obvious weakening his claim. He was turning in a pirate and he wanted the reward, and more than that, he wanted to stay in the good graces of the ferocious Captain Aketz.

So how does that dishonor your village? Is she not in service to your queen?

Not all of Behren agrees with Chezru Chieftain Brynn, Ahmaddi quietly replied.

More likely, the reward of gold allows Ahmaddi to care less about such politics, said Captain Aketz, and he snapped his telescoping spyglass closed and shook his head, starting away.



But that does not take the name of Swordfish off her stern, Ahmaddi pleaded.

A name that means nothing to us, Cayo answered as the captain walked away. The tall and broad-shouldered first mate hunched his golden-colored robes to make himself appear even larger, then leaned over Ahmaddi, making the man appear, and clearly feel, even smaller.

Because she is new to the waters, Ahmaddi sputtered. She is just out . . .

Convenient, said Cayo. And you, of course, knew of her, and her intent, before the Tonoloya Armada had ever heard of the ship? Before a single report of a skirmish?

Sister ship to Port Mandu, Ahmaddi blurted, and Cayo fell back.

What did you say? demanded Aketz, who was several steps away.

Jocasta . . . now Captain Jocasta, who was first mate of Port Mandu, Ahmaddi explained. Captain Wilkie Dogears caught her a ship. That ship, the Swordfish. She is his second, his escort, his flank, his . . . The man held up his hands, searching for a word to better explain in this language, Xoconai, which was not his native tongue.

Aketz came forward again and telescoped his spyglass, suddenly very interested once more. He had never heard of the Swordfish, but the Port Mandu was a different matter altogether.

Who have we aboard who knows anything of Captain Wilkie and his crew? Aketz asked Cayo.



I will see, the man replied, and rushed away.

You believe me now? Ahmaddi asked.

Aketz turned a scowl his way, sized him up and down without bothering to hide his contempt, then went back to his spyglass.

I will be given the reward, yes?

If you do not shut up, you will get wet. Very wet, and very quickly.

Ahmaddi swallowed hard yet again and shifted from one foot to the other, something he continued doing for some time, until First Mate Cayo returned to the captains side.

The Port Mandu was known to have a Behrenese first mate, Cayo confirmed. He turned to look at Ahmaddi as he finished, A Behrenese woman named Jocasta.

Your fellow augurs would minimalize my efforts here to secure the seas, Aketz remarked.

Captain?

They seek better ways to move the gold. They fear the pirates.

No, Captain Aketz, Cayo answered, shaking his head vigorously. They know that the buccaneers must be defeated fully and forever, and that Captain Aketz and Cipac are the spear to skewer the foul sidhe.

It was a rehearsed line, Aketz recognized. There was a measure of truth to it, perhaps, but he knew that his superiors in Entel were growing frustrated by the continual nuisance of the buccaneers, particularly because of their alliance with the dangerous kingdom of Behren. In normal times, Aketz would have monitored the Swordfish, perhaps approached and boarded her to ensure that she had no ill-gotten loot aboard.

But these were not normal times. He needed a prize. A kill.

Full sail, Aketz ordered. Keep us just to her starboard. Do not let her turn for the shallows.

Aketz didnt bother to look over at Ahmaddi anymore, but he didnt try to suppress the grin on his face, even though he knew it would put the little snake of a man more at ease. He couldnt deny the truth of this opportunity. Wilkie Dogears had finally been caught in an act of piracy, only a few weeks before perhaps even the incident that had allowed him to acquire this ship. Ever had the Polite Pirate escaped Aketzs wrath, and so he would again if Aketz allowed some time to pass, some time for Wilkie to once again charm with gold those Xoconai captains and merchants who listed the wanted buccaneer outlaws. The sister ship to Port Mandu would be a prize in this short window of opportunity, no doubt, and Port Mandu a bigger one still.

He considered the possibilities. He could shadow this square- rigged sloop and hope it would lead him to Wilkiehe had no doubt that the Cipac could sink them both in a single battle. But no, he decided. Hed take this ship alone and get his answers from any who survived the battle.

The Swordfish wasnt going to see land again, he decided.





Excerpted from PINQUICKLES FOLLY by R.A. Salvatore. Copyright  2024. Reprinted by permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Pinquickles Folly by R.A. Salvatore is out April 16, 2024. Pre-order a copy here or here.



Pinquickles Folly cover

Image: Saga Press/Simon & Schuster

The Demon Awakens (Book #1)

Image: Cover design and illustration by Damonza.com

On sale January 16, 2024.



The Demon Spirit (Book #2)

Image: Cover design and illustration by Damonza.com

On sale January 16, 2024.



The Demon Apostle (Book #3)

Image: Cover design and illustration by Damonza.com

On sale January 16, 2024.



Mortalis (Book #4)

Image: Cover design and illustration by Damonza.com

On sale February 20, 2024.



Ascendance (Book #5)

Image: Cover design and illustration by Damonza.com

On sale March 19, 2024.



Transcendence (Book #6)

Image: Cover design and illustration by Damonza.com

On sale March 19, 2024.



Immortalis (Book #7)

Image: Cover design and illustration by Damonza.com

On sale March 19, 2024.



Update, July 31, 6:30 p.m.: This post was updated to include the Pinquickles Folly cover as well as the specification that Simon & Schusters Saga Press is releasing the books.

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Ascension Hall on the campus of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio on Sept. 17, 2020.

Two of the top five highest-paid private college presidents reign from Columbus-area schools, but most other local presidents fell much lower on the pay scale.

A Dispatch analysis of 19 Ohio private college and university presidents' compensation packages at local schools and select others from around the state found that most did not exceed $1 million in 2021, the most-recently available year.

Compensation data were compiled using each school's Form 990  a form filed by most nonprofit entities and reported by the calendar year with the Internal Revenue Service  compiled by ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer database.

In 2021, presidents at Capital University, Columbus College of Art & Design, Ohio Dominican University, Ohio Wesleyan University and Otterbein University earned less than $500,000. Franklin University's full 990 filing was not immediately available.

The only two local presidents to earn more were Denison University President Adam S. Weinberg and and former Kenyon College President Sean Decatur.

Weinberg, who has led Denison since 2013, took home a total $1.2 million in 2021, making him one of the highest-paid private-college presidents in Ohio. About half of his total compensation came from his $594,383 annual base salary, with the rest coming from benefits, other earnings and a $51,000 bonus.

Decatur earned $666,052 in 2021, with the majority of that coming from his $374,424 base salary and a $166,297 bonus. Decatur left Kenyon College in December 2022 to lead the American Museum of Natural History.

The highest-paid Ohio private-college president in 2021 was University of Dayton's Eric F. Spina, who earned more than $1.2 million in total compensation with a nearly $900,000 base salary.

In central Ohio, after Weinberg and Decatur, the highest-paid private-college presidents were: Ohio Wesleyan President Rock Jones with a total compensation package of $457,255; Otterbein University President John Comerford, $418,973; Capital University President David Kaufman, $361,156; Columbus College of Art and Design President Melanie Corn, $345,577; and Ohio Dominican University President Connie Gallaher, $174,103.

Story continues

Even the highest-paid local presidents have small salaries compared to some of their peers nationally. Stephen K. Klasko, president of Philadelphias private Thomas Jefferson University, earned more than $5.3 million in 2021.

Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. Sign up for Extra Credit, her education newsletter, here.

shendrix@dispatch.com

@sheridan120

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Who are the highest-paid private university presidents in Ohio?
[Source]

A 140-year-old historic building in Detroit's former Chinatown was demolished despite efforts from the Asian American community and the city council to save it.

The demolition: The two-story building located at 3143 Cass Ave. was completely razed on Saturday after the city issued a demolition citation in May, according to The Detroit News.

Saving the building: Asian American advocates and preservationists had been trying to save the building since May. Last week, the city council reportedly voted to pause the demolition for a historical and cultural review.

For many Asian Americans in and around the city of Detroit, this building represents where many of their relatives first placed their roots, State Sen. Stephanie Chang wrote in a letter to city officials. Located in the center of what is historically known as Chinatown, this property began as a residence in 1883 and was eventually purchased by the Chinese Merchants Association in 1963.

More from NextShark: Hawaiian Filipino American Wins Miss Teen USA 2020

Overruling the city council: However, the citys corporation counsel overruled the citys decision, noting that the council resolution lacked legal impact.

Without proper designation as an historic district, the City must proceed with addressing blight in the interest of public health and safety, Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett said, according to The Detroit News.

Dangerous building: In 2018, city officials declared the old building dangerous, having a partially collapsed roof and interior damages. The vacant building has reportedly been owned by individuals linked to Olympia Development of Michigan since 2004.

More from NextShark: Asian student stabbed by alleged bully at New York high school

Olympia Development reportedly agreed to demolish the building and hired demolition contractor Farrow Group Inc. to do so.

In addition to the recent approval of 10 new and historic developments in The District Detroit, we continue to work closely with the City of Detroit on developing a broader plan for all our real estate holdings, Olympia spokesperson Allison Gabrys told Detroit Free Press.

Story continues

Now that the building has been demolished, advocates reportedly plan to hold a news conference on Monday to discuss plans for the location.

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Russia asked China for military, economic assistance after Day 1 of Ukraine invasion, US officials reveal
Michele Davis knows all about the oppressive July heat, on record as the hottest in Central Floridas history.

Davis sleeps on the streets of Parramore, amid a growing population of unsheltered people. Shes been unhoused for four months for the first time in her life. She came to Orlando with her fiance to be near his mother who has health issues.

Its miserable, said Davis, 50. When that sun starts beaming, its difficult for you to lay down because the sun is right on you. And the ground is hot.

This summer, the streets are more treacherous than normal, with Florida off to its hottest start of the year in history. In July, temperatures averaged 85 degrees. Heat indexes in Orlando have surpassed 100 degrees 32 times so far this year, and have been at least 103 degrees 15 times, said Will Ulrich, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.

The extreme summer  and the threat that climate change could fuel hotter temperatures for years to come  has regional leaders considering forming hot-weather plans to better support vulnerable groups like the unsheltered.

Thats something the community really needs to explore, said Martha Are, CEO of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida. Were in an unprecedented situation where we need to consider options.

The region has winter-weather plans when temperatures dip below 40 degrees, which includes opening overnight shelters. Plans are also put in motion ahead of an arrival of a hurricane or tropical storm, to keep people out of dangerous winds and torrential rains.

Unlike those weather events, the hottest times of the day come during normal business hours when public buildings, shopping centers and other cool spaces are open to provide potential respite.

In the meantime, homeless services providers across the area are opening their doors and allowing people into air conditioning during the day, fundraising to put together cooling kits to distribute and adjusting protocols to keep people cool.

Story continues

At the Christian Service Center, which sits next to Exploria Stadium at Ground Zero for homelessness in Central Florida, people are welcomed in daily for meals in the air conditioning. The facility has new white tents to help people stay out of the sun, and when the heat index reaches 103, a second air-conditioned space is opened to keep people cool with a television, ice and water.

Eric Gray, the CEO of the nonprofit, said he and his staff began taking a closer look at the needs of their clients in the summertime about three years ago when the daily visits by the Orlando Fire Department began to multiply.

We werent seeing heat stroke, we werent seeing people sweating and passing outwe were seeing more heart attacks, diabetic shock, asthma attacks, Gray said. The only variable change was the heat.

Gray said the heat index is measured in a shady area, meaning in sunny places, it feels even hotter.

Agencies like the Osceola Council on Aging, Samaritan Resource Center, HOPE partnership and others are taking similar steps of opening their doors during scorching daylight hours, Are said.

Not only are more people unsheltered in Central Florida  up 75% since 2019, according to the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida  but also more elderly people are sleeping on the streets as well, Are said.

That population has higher rates of chronic illnesses, and also takes medications that either must be stored at certain temperatures or can make someone vulnerable to heat illness or dehydration, Are said.

The most recent federally mandated Point-In-Time count showed 64 people age 65 and older unsheltered in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties, and 146 people between 55 and 64 years old, according to the Homeless Services Network. The count is considered an undercount because of how difficult it is to find homeless encampments.

Earlier this summer, Seminole County temporarily activated its extreme weather plan, which calls for its libraries to serve as cooling centers. The plan is enacted when the heat index surpasses 108 degrees.

Even getting out of the sun for short periods can help stabilize body temperatures during a heat spike. Symptoms like nausea, dizziness and muscle cramps are indicators of heat exhaustion, said Dr. Max Baumgardner, medical director for AdventHealths Seminole County emergency departments.

Among all patients, AdventHealth, Central Floridas largest hospital system, has seen a 20% increase in cases of heat exhaustion in its emergency rooms in May, June and July this year, said Tom Johnson, a spokesperson for the system.

Meanwhile, its Centra Care urgent care facilities have documented a 115% increase in heat-related illnesses over the past two weeks. Its unclear what share of those cases are people who were unsheltered.

Homelessness in Central Florida is only expected to increase in the coming years, a product of rising rents, stagnant wages and a shortage of affordable housing. Are said rents have climbed $481 since 2019, far above what many can afford, but shelter space hasnt increased, highlighting the need for more housing.

What we have now is a lot of people who were living in our neighborhoods who have lost their housing just because the rents have gone up so much, she said.

In four months on the streets, Davis said the heat is taking its toll.

She never throws away an empty water bottle, which she fills at the Christian Service Center, and often sits under tents outside of the campus near fans. She has high blood pressure and cant stand the heat for long periods.

I have to have air conditioning, 24/7, she said. If I dont have that, Ill pass out.
Inbound tourism will remain one of the main drivers of Hong Kong's economy, the government said Monday (Bertha WANG)

Hong Kong's economy expanded by 1.5 percent in the second quarter, data released Monday showed, indicating slowing growth after a robust start to the year.

Vast swathes of Hong Kong's economy were shut down in 2022 as the government grappled with a deadly Covid wave by imposing travel restrictions and banning large gatherings around the city.

After its reopening, the economy bounced back in the first quarter, growing by 2.7 percent on year.

But the "momentum softened on the back of the strong rebound in the preceding quarter," a government spokesman said Monday in a statement.

Imports and exports posted double-digit declines over the period, decreasing by 16.1 percent and 15.3 percent respectively, the data showed.

Private household spending grew by 8.5 percent, down from last quarter's 13 percent increase.

Finance Secretary Paul Chan had warned in a blog posted Sunday that Hong Kong's economy "may be slightly slower" than the three months before.

He attributed the slowdown in household spending to changes in consumer habits after three years of pandemic living, but said the economy was still on track to improve.

"Looking ahead, inbound tourism and private consumption will remain the major drivers of economic growth for the rest of the year," said the government spokesman.

"The improving economic situation and prospects should bode well for domestic demand, though tight financial conditions may impose constraints."

Hong Kong entered a deep recession in 2019 and 2020 after the former British colony was roiled by pro-democracy protests and the start of the pandemic.

The city found brief respite in 2021, as its strict Covid-19 controls largely kept it virus-free, with the economy rebounding by 6.4 percent -- gains that were later wiped out by the 2022 outbreak.

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At about summers halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say.

Killer heat. Deadly floods. Smoke from wildfires that chokes.

And theres no relief in sight.

Expect a hotter-than-normal August and September, American and European forecast centers predict.

We are seeing unprecedented changes all over the world, said NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt. The heat waves that were seeing in the U.S. and in Europe, in China are demolishing records left, right and center. This is not a surprise.

Read: Study reveals extreme heat costs healthcare system $1 billion each summer

Imperial College of London climate scientist Friederike Otto said examining whats causing heat waves is boring in a way since it keeps happening. Yet she added that it matters because it shows again just how much climate change plays a role in what we are currently experiencing.

This story, these impacts, are going to continue, Schmidt said. Were going to be seeing this pretty much this year and into next year with a natural El Nino warming of the Pacific adding to the overwhelming influence of human-caused climate change largely from the burning of coal, oil and gas.

Heres a rundown of the summer of Earths discontent.

Read: Black bear goes for swim to cool off from the heat

RECORD-SHATTERING HEAT

Globally, June this year was the hottest June on record  and scientists say July has been so hot that even before the month was over they could say it was the hottest month on record. But its individual places where people live that the heat has stuck around and killed.

Phoenix, where the last day of June and each day of July has been at least 110 degrees (43 degrees Celsius), set records for the longest mega-heat streak and longest stretch when the temperatures didnt go below 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius) at night.

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El Paso, Texas, had 44 days of 100 degree (37 degree) heat. Schools closed in Nuevo Leon state in northern Mexico a month earlier than usual as temperatures reached 113 degrees (45 Celsius).

Read: Biden announces measures to address extreme heat

Farther east, Miami added humidity to high heat for 46 straight days of feels-like temperatures of 100 or more.

Beijing had its own record streak with at least 27 days of 95 degrees (35 Celsius) in July, after a three-day streak of at least 104 (40 Celsius) in June. And the country set its all-time highest temperature on July 16 in remote Sanbao township with 126 degrees (52.2 Celsius).

Heat records fell all over southern Europe. Sardinia, Italy, hit 117 (47 Celsius). Palermo in Sicily broke a record that goes back to 1791 by a whopping 3.6 degrees (2 degrees Celsius). Temperatures hit 115 (46 Celsius) in Gytheio, Greece.

Read: Like a hot tub: Ocean hits 101.1 degrees south of Miami

Spain reported nearly 1,000 excess deaths from the heat, mostly among the elderly, by mid July.

In Argentina, where its mid-winter, temperatures were above 89.6 (32 Celsius) four straight days in June in the northern part of the county. One July night in Buenos Aires didnt get below the 70s (low 20s Celsius).

TOO MUCH RAIN

More than 10,000 people had to be evacuated in central Hunan province in China where heavy rainfall caused at least 70 houses to collapse. In Yichang, rain triggered a landslide that buried a construction site and killed at least one person.

Australias Queensland outback got 13 times its normal monthly July rain in just one day.

Read: Orlando hits highest temp of the year: How to keep kids safe in the heat

Thousands of people were evacuated from Delhi in India as rains caused flash floods and landslides. Elsewhere in the country at least 100 people were killed by the downpours.

In the United States, sudden heavy rain killed people in Vermont, Connecticut and Pennsylvania with tragic stories of children washed away in flooding.

WILDFIRES AND SMOKE

Too little rain in Greece and Spain fed wildfires that proved difficult to fight. In the Canary Islands, a fire caused 4,000 people to evacuate, others to wear face masks and had 400 firefighters battling it.

Hot and dry conditions caused about 160 wildfires to break out in Israel in early June.

But what really brought fires home happened in parts of Canada where few people live. Rare far northern Quebec wildfires triggered nasty smoke that inflicted the worlds dirtiest air on cities like New York and Washington, then switched to the Midwest.

As of late July more than 600 wildfires were out of control in Canada. A record 47,490 square miles (123,000 square kilometers) burned, and fire season isnt near done. Thats an area larger than the state of Pennsylvania or North Korea.

Read: 9 tips to prevent dehydration in extreme heat

WATER TEMPERATURES

Water temperatures in the Florida Keys and off the Everglades hit the high 90s (high 30s Celsius) with Manatee Bay breaking 100 degrees twice in what could be an unofficial world record for surface water temperature, although thats in dispute.

The North Atlantic had hot spots that alarmed scientists. The worlds oceans as a whole were their hottest ever in June and got even hotter in July. In Antarctica, sea ice smashed record-low levels.

Ocean temperatures take a long time to warm up and cool down, said University of Northern Illinois meteorology professor Victor Gensini. So it doesnt look good for the rest of the summer, he said.

Read: Central Florida outdoor workers plan days around beating extreme heat

A HOT FORECAST

We are favoring above normal temperatures for the next three months, said NOAA Climate Prediction Center meteorologist Matt Rosencrans.

The only potential relief he sees, especially in the hot Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, is if a hurricane or tropical storm moves through.

The peak of hurricane season in September hasnt even started.

When going through the litany of this summers weather extremes so far, University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann had one question: How on Gods Earth are we still burning fossil fuels after witnessing all this?

Read: Phoenix breaks decades-old record with 19th day of scorching heat

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Researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report from New York. ___

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Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears

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Reps. Barbara Lee and Mark Takano

As trans rights are under assault nationwide, NMAC, one of the nations leading LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, held an emergency roundtable on Capitol Hill with members of Congress and policy experts to call for urgent action to protect health equity for transgender Americans on Thursday. Democratic Reps. Barbara Lee, Mark Takano, and Sara Jacobs of California attended and spoke to a packed briefing room.

The director of the National Coalition for Justice and Equality Across Movements at NMAC, Toni Newman, welcomed those in attendance and praised the congressional support for the roundtable.

Regardless of your race, sex, and gender, you deserve health equity, Newman said in her opening remarks. This is why we have brought everyone here, and we thank you for coming today to discuss these very important issues and concerns in the seat of American political power here in the [Rayburn] House building. We hope that this conversation will open minds, educate and enlighten individuals who are listening to a false narrative about transgender Americans.

Lee laid out the stakes in the current Congress.

Ive spent my entire life fighting for justice and for the trans community, for the LGBTQ+ community, for rights and justice and equity, Lee said. The growing threats against the trans community [and] LGBTQ community, theyre unconscionable.

She added, These bills that are anti-trans coming forward now in every committee  as a member of the Appropriations Committee this year  has just been horrendous to hear the debate of some of the MAGA extremist Republicans who really dont even care in terms of what they say about the transgender community.

Fan Liang, assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Johns Hopkins and medical director at the Center for Transgender and Gender Expansive Health, explained that she could speak for hours to explain and disambiguate what gender-affirming care is and what it isnt. She put the debate into perspective.

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If you or a loved one need a pacemaker, and what if you were being told that there was sweeping legislation across the country that was going to prevent you having access to this lifesaving intervention, how would you feel? How would your loved ones feel? How would you go about planning your life, and how would you react? she asked. This is the exact scenario that the transgender and nonbinary population is facing at this very moment.

Jacobs, whose brother is trans and who has a gender-nonconforming sibling, said its been challenging to hear her GOP colleagues attack trans people in funding bills recently.

I sit on the House Armed Services Committee, and it was really disheartening to me that this year, instead of debating real issues and working towards ensuring our national security in the National Defense Authorization Act, my colleagues used that time to ban gender-affirming care, drag shows, and Pride flags, and to demean the trans community in how they were talking about [them].

She added, These things actually are going to hurt our military recruitment and our national security when what we were supposed to be doing was figuring out how to improve our national security. So clearly, we all have a lot of work to do to change the trajectory that were on to fight back against these horrible policies. And honestly, I think a big part of our work is naming the bigotry for what it is but then using our platforms to educate people, educate my colleagues, all of our colleagues, and also to not forget to celebrate the beauty and strength of the trans community.

Takano, elected in 2013, is the first gay Asian American in the U.S. Congress. When he first ran for Congress in the 1990s, his Republican opponent outed him, making his sexuality a campaign issue.

Takanos opponents accused him of having a homosexual agenda during that contentious 1994 election. Pink political mailers asked Takano if he could represent Riverside (part of Californias right-leaning Inland Empire region) or whether hed represent San Francisco values once elected.

His story reflects an understanding of representation and allyship.

I want you to know that Im committed to having a trans person in Congress because Im tired of talking about and for trans people, he said. We need a trans person in Congress to talk.
Houstons New Superintendent Faces Backlash For Eliminating Librarian Roles From Schools | Capelle.r via Getty Images

Mike Miles, the new Houston Independent School District superintendent, is receiving backlash for passing a new program terminating librarian positions from 28 schools this upcoming school year.

This new decision is a part of the reform program for the school district called New Education System that Miles created and is rolling out ahead of the new school year, Click2Houston.com reported. Out of the 276 school campuses within HISD, 85 schools have agreed to participate in his program, which resulted in 28 schools removing their librarians. Although these employees can transfer to new roles within the district, all library staff in the 57 other schools will be determined individually.

This new library model has been discussed for the last several years as the previous superintendent, Millard House II, fought to keep librarians as he deemed them necessary for schools, according to retired HISD Teacher in Charge of Library Lisa Robinson.

My heart is just broken for these children that are in the NES schools that are losing their librarians, Robinson told Click2Houston. The mandate for librarians had been put back in place. With one swipe of a pen that has been destroyed.

Miles himself said the reading proficiency levels of students up to fourth grade arent meeting the required standards for success as theyre dragging behind not only in the state of Texas but the entire nation.

With the alarming news that students are behind, former HISD librarian and library services manager Janice Newsum thinks the decision can only add to the current reading problem the teachers and students are facing.

When students engage in reading as an activity of choice, they are not only building that reading muscle, but they are also developing their vocabulary they are understanding a bit about the world that exists outside their block radius, she said.

The outlet reported Mayor Sylvester Turner is another person who opposes the superintendents new direction, especially since most schools removing librarians are in underdeveloped communities where Black and brown families are the majority.

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You dont close libraries in some of the schools in your most underserved communities, and youre keeping libraries open in other schools, Turner said.

Now that students wont use the schools library spaces for research, reading, or supplementing teachers lessons with support, among other functions, the open spaces will now become team centers, where students can work collectively or solo during the day while simultaneously being used as an additional in-school detention area where students in trouble can learn virtually.

On Thursday, Miles shared his vision for the NES program and took questions from attendees to address the many concerns during a community meeting. He said hes transforming the traditional library and focusing on teaching students how to read.

Its about where are you going to put your priorities, he said. How are you going to work in a different way to get our kids what they need?
Illustration by Yahoo News; Photos: Getty Images

One month after the Supreme Court struck down the Biden administrations student debt forgiveness plan, the White House rolled out a new website to push an initiative aimed at helping borrowers.

The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan expands options for low-income borrowers and was first reported by CNN on Sunday afternoon. The Biden administration has attempted to find alternatives to reduce student loan debt to fulfill a campaign promise after an initial plan to relieve up to $20,000 in student loans for millions of borrowers was struck down in late June.

The SAVE plan will cut payments on undergraduate loans in half compared to other [income-driven repayment (IDR)], ensure that borrowers never see their balance grow as long as they keep up with their required payments, and protect more of a borrowers income for basic needs, the Department of Education said in a statement about the new program.

Student loan repayments are set to begin again in October. They were paused in spring 2020 as part of the COVID-19 relief package and extended by both former President Donald Trump and Biden via executive actions.

Whats in the plan

While the new plan doesnt fully go into effect until July 1, 2024, the Department of Education is enabling some benefits before student loan borrowers have to begin making repayments this fall that were paused due to the pandemic. If they sign up for the plan this summer, they could see changes to their bill by then.

The SAVE plan will dramatically increase the number of borrowers who can qualify for $0 monthly payments on their loans, offering further assistance to 1 million borrowers, the Department of Education estimates. Borrowers making less than $15 an hour will qualify for $0 payments, and those arent eligible will still save at least $1,000 a year on payments, compared to the existing Revised Pay-As-You-Earn (REPAYE) plan.

Under the new SAVE proposal, any loan interest not covered by a borrowers monthly payment will not be charged by the Department of Education so that the overall loan wont increase just because of unpaid interest.

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A married borrower now wont have to include their spouses income, as previously required under REPAYE, even if they filed taxes separately.

New graduates at Rutgers University in New Jersey. (Seth Wenig/AP)

One of the biggest changes to come next July is that borrowers who qualify will be required to pay only 5% of their discretionary income, versus 10% under the current REPAYE plan. And some borrowers could see their remaining debt forgiven if they made the equivalent of 10 years of payment and their principal balance was $12,000 or less.

Similar income-driven repayment plans like SAVE have been created by the Department of Education but none have been threatened by successful legal challenges.

Earlier this month, the Department of Education announced it was forgiving $39 billion in student loan debt. The plan targeted those who had been in repayment for 20-25 years, helping approximately 800,000 Americans.

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania estimates that the SAVE plan will have a net cost of about $475 billion over 10 years. Bidens student loan forgiveness program struck down by the Supreme Court was expected to cost around $400 billion. Natalia Abrams, president and CEO of the Student Debt Crisis Center, told Yahoo News that 45 million Americans owe a collective $1.7 trillion of federal loan debt.

How to enroll

The beta version of the website for the program is available at https://studentaid.gov/idr/. Filling out an application takes an average of 10 minutes, according to DOE. While the forms need to be recertified annually, borrowers can opt in so its done automatically.

The beta website will be fully launched in August and anyone who enrolls before then wont need to enroll again. Borrowers who are already enrolled in the REPAYE program will be switched automatically to the SAVE plan.

The previous White House attempt

Last August, Biden announced his plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student loan debt for millions of Americans, an attempt to fulfill a campaign promise and appease some top Democrats who had been outspoken on the issue, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Republicans protested the plan, with some saying it was a handout to the wealthy and others saying it would hurt military recruiting. Polling, however, showed plurality support among Americans for the plan.

After several Republican-led states brought suit against the plan, the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, voted to strike it down, leaving 26 million Americans who had applied for the student loan relief out of luck.
No explosive device was found at Hulen Mall after a person on Sunday called to report a bomb was at the southwest Fort Worth shopping complex, authorities said.

The threat was made about 5:30 p.m. to the mall in the 4800 block of South Hulen Street.

People fled and some reported that they thought they heard gunshots, according to a news release from the Fort Worth Fire Department. Investigators said that they found no injuries and no evidence of a shooting and they believe the sounds were slamming doors.

Fort Worth police SWAT team officers and fire department canines swept the mall.
 Flash

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani in Beijing, capital of China, July 30, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese Premier Li Qiang met on Sunday with Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani in Beijing.



Li said China and Mauritania, both developing countries, have held similar positions on many international and regional issues, supported each other and forged profound friendship. The two heads of state held a fruitful meeting and jointly made new plans and arrangements for the development of bilateral relations.

China is willing to work with Mauritania to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, continue the traditional friendship, seek greater synergy in development strategies, share development experience and achievements, and push friendly cooperative relations between China and Mauritania to a new level, said Li.

Noting that China greatly appreciates Mauritania's consistent unequivocal support for China on issues concerning China's core interests, Li said China will continue to firmly support Mauritania in safeguarding its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and taking a development path in line with its own national conditions.

The two sides should take the opportunity of signing the plan on advancing Belt and Road cooperation to expand pragmatic cooperation on agriculture, fishery, animal husbandry, energy and infrastructure construction, to better achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, Li said.

Li called on the two sides to strengthen cultural and people-to-people exchanges on health, education, political parties and localities, and build a bridge of friendship between the two countries. China will continue to provide support to Mauritania's development and revitalization within its capacity.

Noting that Mauritania-China relations are based on mutual respect, mutual benefit and win-win results, Ghazouani said the friendship between the two countries is profound and solid. Mauritania thanks China for the strong support for its independence and development, and fully agrees with the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.

Mauritania firmly abides by the one-China principle and is willing to deepen cooperation with China in such fields as agriculture, mining, new energy and infrastructure construction, and will push for further development of bilateral relations, said Ghazouani.

Ghazouani, who is visiting China, attended the opening ceremony of the 31st summer edition of the FISU World University Games in Chengdu, capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province.
WASHINGTON  Country music star Craig Morgan had decided to step away from the military after more than 17 years of service, including nearly a decade on active duty.

But fans in the historic halls of the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday night were in for an unprecedented surprise, when Morgan, 59, was sworn in as a warrant officer with the U.S. Army Reserves  becoming the first person to commission at the home of country music  Nashville, Tennessee.

I feel like an 18-year-old kid, I can tell you, Morgan said in an interview with NBC News ahead of the ceremony. Im excited, nervous. But humbled. Im humbled for the opportunity.

One year ago, after Morgan performed at a military fundraiser, he had told Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., that leaving the military early was his biggest regret.

As a, you know, throwaway comment I said, Id love to finish my commitment  thats a 20-year commitment to our country, and I want to finish that, Morgan recalled of their conversation. Soon after, Blackburns team connected Morgan with officials from the Department of Defense.

Craig Morgan, right, at Camp Casey in Dongducheon, South Korea, in the late 1980s. (Courtesy Craig Morgan)

Amid projected shortfalls across several military branches, Morgans personal ambitions fell secondary to the main reason he decided to serve again. I feel like if a guy like me, who has the career that I do, can go in and participate  anybody can do it, he said Friday while on a tour bus in Britt, Iowa.

Morgan, who grew up poor, said the military opened doors for him: If you join the military, youre going to be afforded opportunities and situations for you to enhance and grow your life that you cant get in the civilian populace.

The Army missed its recruiting goal of new recruits by 15,000 last year, and is on track to miss its goal by 10,000 this year, according to recent congressional testimony from Army Secretary Christine Wormuth. The Navy and Air Force also expect to fall short of their recruiting goals.

The military has fallen victim to politicization in recent years, with some Republicans attributing far-left woke policies  like once-mandatory Covid vaccinations, abortion access, and LGBTQ inclusivity  as a lynchpin for why recruitment is at a historic low.

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Wormuth rebuked those claims in June, telling MSNBCs Morning Joe: We are a ready Army, not a woke Army. She also told reporters that the drip, drip, drip of criticism about a woke military is having some counterproductive effects on recruiting.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., at the Capitol on July 19, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images file)

Previously a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Blackburn told NBC News on Friday that she believes young people do not have an emphasis on doing for others that there ought to be, adding: People who go into the military are selfless and they put others before themselves.

Morgan echoed Blackburns comments, but struggled to pinpoint an exact reason as to why the military is not able to attract sufficient recruits. Budgets are important. Military force buildup is important, he said.

I also think it has a lot to do with this right here, Morgan added, holding up his iPhone during the virtual interview. Theyre great if used properly. But theres also something to be said about having to talk to someone, having to rely on someone, having to support someone.

The Tennessee native  who tragically lost his son, Jerry, in a tubing accident in 2016  said those who refuse to join the military due to political disagreements need to put all of that aside.

Craig Morgan holds an American flag at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on July 29, 2023. (Chris Hollo / Grand Ole Opry)

I might not agree with everything this administration does, but I still go do my job and be all I can be so that I can be all I can be for everyone else, he said.

In front of the American flag on stage where he swore in Morgan, commander of Army Forces Command, Gen. Andrew Poppas, said: Every soldier who enters the Army has the opportunity to become the best version of themselves, and Staff Sgt. Morgan is no exception.

Poppas added that he looks forward to seeing what he [Morgan] accomplishes and how he impacts other soldiers around the Army.

Morgan will be assigned to Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, where he will be stationed two days out of every month. The musician is currently on his God, Family Country tour across the country.

Havent sung in uniform in a long time, he said, performing his hit "Soldier" for the roaring crowd.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
(Bloomberg) -- Thousands of Hungarian students will probably lose access to the European Unions Erasmus+ scholarship program after the government failed to address concerns about the countrys universities, a top EU official said.

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The EU suspended 21 universities from the program, which funds scholarships for EU students to study in other countries, in January. The bloc cited risks of corruption and conflict of interest after the schools were put under the management of public foundations set up by Prime Minister Viktor Orbans administration and run by ministers from his ruling Fidesz party.

The government missed a May deadline to address the EUs concerns, EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn said in an interview. Now its probably too late to resolve the issue for the school year starting in September, meaning Hungary wont get new funds.

I am rather doubtful that we can save the scholarships for the winter semester because honestly, if we agree on something, then it has to be implemented, Hahn told Bloomberg News last week on the margins of a meeting in Salzburg, Austria.

The Erasmus decision represents one of the most visible consequences for Hungary in its dispute with the EU, which has repeatedly warned Orbans government that it can lose funding because it isnt meeting the blocs standards on tackling corruption and upholding the rule of law.

Its part of a wider dispute with the EUs executive body, the European Commission, which has frozen as much as 32 billion ($35 billion) in assistance earmarked for the country of 9.7 million.

As many as 13,000 Hungarian students take part in Erasmus+ each year. More than two-thirds study at the universities now managed by the public trusts, meaning more than 8,000 may not be able to study abroad if the issue isnt resolved, according to Marcell Budai, a spokesperson for HOOK, Hungarys largest student organization.

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The usual procedure would have been to have an agreement and everything sealed by the end of May, the beginning of June, because the assessment and confirmation period is the end of June, the beginning of July, Hahn said.

Hahns comments contrast with statements made by Hungarian officials. Most recently, Gergely Gulyas, the minister for the prime ministers office, said there was a chance that a deal could be reached by the end of October. He has called the blocking of Erasmus funds unacceptable.

Previously, the Hungarian government said that it could change its laws so that cabinet ministers arent allowed to serve on the boards of the public trusts that manage the universities, but such changes havent taken place.

It is not a miracle to solve this issue, Hahn said. We have informed them several times what our expectations are. Nothing has changed.

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Former Hunter Biden business associate Devon Archer said during closed-door testimony that Hunter included President Biden on a number of phone calls that presumably included business associates, according to one lawmakers account of the testimony, a revelation that is likely to fuel Republican attempts to link the president to his sons business dealings.

But the Democratic lawmaker said that Archers testimony to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee did not show that the president was involved in Hunter Bidens business dealings.

The witness indicated that Hunter spoke to his father every day, and approximately 20 times over the course of 10 year relationship, Hunter may have put his father on the phone with any number of different people, and they never once spoke about any business dealings, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) said.

As he described it, it was all casual conversation, niceties, the weather, Whats going on? Goldman said, adding that, There wasnt a single conversation about any of the business dealings that Hunter had.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who was also in the interview, told reporters that Archer had revealed new information but declined to elaborate further.

The readout of the testimony appears to partially back up House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comers (R-Ky.) statement to the New York Post last week that he expected Archer to discuss the times he has witnessed Joe Biden meeting with Hunter Bidens overseas business partners when he was vice president, including on speakerphone.

Asked last week about allegations that the president had communicated directly with his sons foreign business associates, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the president was never in business with his son.

The interview follows a letter from the Department of Justice over the weekend, regarding Archers sentencing for an unrelated matter, that is adding to GOP claims of government obstruction of their investigation into the Biden familys business dealings  even as Archers attorney beat down the speculation.

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The Justice Department (DOJ) in its letter requested that a judge set a date for Archer to start his one-year prison sentence for his conviction for defrauding a Native American tribe, despite Archers counsel saying it was premature to do so because of an anticipated appeal and an error in sentencing.

That set off alarm bells in the GOP.

I dont know if this a coincidence, or if this is another example of the weaponization of the Department of Justice, Comer said Sunday on Fox News.

Other Republicans went further, accusing the DOJ of explicit interference in the GOP-led investigation. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said lawmakers should return from an August recess for emergency hearings if Archer did not show up.

But Archers attorney stressed the letter would not impact his planned interview, which had been rescheduled multiple times since Comer subpoenaed him in June.

We are aware of speculation that the Department of Justices weekend request to have Mr. Archer report to prison is an attempt by the Biden administration to intimidate him in advance of his meeting with the House Oversight Committee on Monday, Archers lawyer Matthew Schwartz said in a Sunday statement, first provided to Politico. To be clear, Mr. Archer does not agree with that speculation. In any case, Mr. Archer will do what he has planned to do all along, which is to show up on Monday and to honestly answer the questions that are put to him by the Congressional investigators.

The DOJ said in a subsequent letter that it was not requesting that Archer surrender before his expected congressional testimony.

His appearance went on as scheduled. A smiling Archer did not answer shouted questions as he arrived at the interview with his lawyer Monday morning.

The interview will consist of four hours of questioning divided evenly between Republicans and Democrats and is expected to end mid-afternoon. In addition to Jordan and Goldman, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) attended the Archer interview.

I believe he can tell us things we havent heard before, Biggs said.

Goldman cast doubt on the GOP attempts to link the president to his sons business dealings.

Were all waiting for any pin, whether it be a linchpin or other pin, to figure out how this is connected at all to President Biden, Goldman said.

Updated at 2:02 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Hunter Bidens longtime friend and business associate Devon Archer is set to testify before the House Oversight Committee Monday as part of the panels investigation into the Biden family ventures and whether President Biden was involved.

Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., subpoenaed Archer last month for testimony as part of his months-long investigation, which has yielded much evidence related to the Biden family's alleged foreign business schemes. At least three previously planned depositions were canceled by Archer for personal reasons.

DOJ REVEALS HUNTER BIDEN STILL UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION FOR POTENTIAL FARA VIOLATIONS

Archer is reportedly preparing to testify that President Biden met with dozens of Hunters business associates while he was serving as vice president between 2009 and 2017 information that, if true, puts into question the White Houses repeated assertions that Biden was "never in business with his son," never spoke with his son about his business dealings, and never had any knowledge of them.

President Biden, Hunter Biden and Devon Archer

Archer is expected to detail the meetings he witnessed in which both Bidens  Joe and Hunter  attended. Those meetings either took place in person or via telephone. Archer is also reportedly expected to testify that Hunter would introduce his father to foreign business partners or to prospective investors.

Archers intimate knowledge of the business arrangements and Joe Biden's alleged involvement come after years of working alongside Hunter Biden.

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DOOR MAY BE OPEN TO IMPEACHING BIDEN FOR MISDEEDS COMMITTED PRIOR TO PRESIDENCY: LEGAL EXPERTS

Archer served on the board of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings with Hunter beginning in 2014. He also co-founded investment firm Rosemont Seneca alongside the presidents son and Climate Envoy John Kerrys stepson, Christopher Heinz. Archer served as managing director.

Archer also co-founded BHR Partners in 2013  a joint-venture between Rosemont Seneca and Chinese investment firm Bohai Capital. BHR Partners is a Beijing-backed private equity firm controlled by Bank of China Limited.

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Archer was forced to resign from BHR Partners in May 2016 after he came under federal investigation.

Archer in February 2022 was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for defrauding a Native American tribal entity and various investment advisory clients of tens of millions of dollars in connection with the issuance of bonds by the tribal entity and the subsequent sale of those bonds through "fraudulent and deceptive means," according to the Justice Department.

Devon Archer golfing with Joe Biden and Hunter Biden in 2014.

Archers testimony comes as part of Comers investigation, which has revealed that the Biden family and its business associates created more than 20 companies and received more than $10 million from foreign nationals while Joe Biden served as vice president and tried to conceal the source of those funds.

BIDEN FAMILY RECEIVED MILLIONS FROM FOREIGN NATIONALS, TRIED TO CONCEAL SOURCE OF FUNDS: HOUSE OVERSIGHT

Comer said some of these payments could indicate attempts by the Biden family to "peddle influence" and said the family appeared to take steps to "conceal the source and total amount received from the foreign companies."

The committee has also zeroed in on a key FBI document  an FD-1023 form  containing allegations that Joe Biden, while serving as vice president, and Hunter Biden "coerced" Burisma CEO Mykola Zlochevsky to pay them millions of dollars to help get the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the firm fired.

At the time, Joe Biden was in charge of U.S.-Ukraine policy for the Obama administration. Biden has publicly boasted about his success in having that prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, fired, though supporters say removing Shokin was U.S. policy at the time.

The committee is likely to press Archer on whether he had any knowledge of any alleged payments to the Bidens, as he also sat on the Burisma board.

President Biden and his son Hunter Biden

Sources told Fox News Digital that FD-1023 document is part of an ongoing federal investigation.

"Joe Biden lied to the American people when he said he knew nothing about his sons business dealings. Evidence continues to be revealed that Joe Biden was very much involved in his familys corrupt influence peddling schemes and he likely benefited financially," Comer said in a statement ahead of Archers deposition. "This includes deals with a corrupt Ukrainian oligarch and a CCP-linked energy company that generated millions for the Bidens and undermined American interests."

Comer added: "It certainly appears that Joe Biden and his family put themselves first and Americans last, but corporate media and the Justice Department continue to cover up for the Bidens."

Comer vowed that the Oversight Committee "will continue to follow the facts to provide the transparency and accountability that the American people demand and deserve."

"We look forward to speaking soon with Devon Archer about Joe Bidens involvement in his familys business affairs," Comer said.

As for Archer, his attorney said there have been "many leaks and much speculation" about Archers potential statements to the committee, but said Monday, "Mr. Archer will get to speak for himself."
Hunter Biden was spotted in the early hours Friday morning as he arrived at a California airport less than two days after he contradicted his father's claims about nobody in the Biden family receiving "money from China."

The first son made his first appearance in a Delaware federal court on Wednesday, pleading not guilty after Judge Maryellen Noreika rejected a proposed plea deal that was criticized by Republicans as too lenient. Less than 48 hours later he would be spotted shortly before 1 a.m. PT at the Los Angeles Van Nuys Airport after getting off a private jet, according to photos obtained by Fox News Digital.

One photo shows Hunter talking to a man with a New York Yankees baseball cap before later embracing him for a hug.

DEVON ARCHER, THE MAN WHO WILL TESTIFY TO CONGRESS ABOUT HIS BUSINESS DEALINGS WITH HUNTER BIDEN: WHO IS HE?

Hunter Biden was spotted arriving at Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles early Friday morning.

Hunter Biden embraces a friend upon arriving at a Los Angeles airport.

Other photos, which were first reported by the New York Post, show a man who got off the private jet while carrying a camera with him. It is unclear if he was filming interactions between Hunter and the other passengers. Hunter was also spotted hugging at least one other passenger before his two-SUV motorcade left the airport.

HUNTER BIDEN CONTRADICTS DAD'S CLAIM NOBODY IN FAMILY 'MADE MONEY FROM CHINA'

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A man who was on the private jet with Hunter Biden is shown carrying a camera.

Hunter Biden was spotted arriving at Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles early Friday morning.

Hunter's arrival in Los Angeles came after prosecutors said in their proposed plea agreement with him that he received $664,000 from a "Chinese infrastructure investment company," according to the official court transcript.

Hunter then confirmed to the judge that he earned $664,000 from a company he formed in 2017 with the chairman of the CCP-backed CEFC.

"I started a company [in 2017] called Hudson West, Your Honor, and my partner was associated with a Chinese energy company called CEFC," Hunter said.

"Who was your partner?" the court asked.

"I don't know how to spell his name, Yi Jianming is the chairman of that company," Hunter responded.

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"$664,000 from a Chinese infrastructure investment company  is that one of the companies we've already talked about?" the judge continued.

"I believe so, yes, Your Honor," he said before adding, "I believe CEFC."

DEMOCRAT CONGRESSMAN ACKNOWLEDGES IT'S 'CLEAR' HUNTER BIDEN BROKE LAW: 'SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE'

Hunter Biden chats with a friend after arriving at a Los Angeles airport early Friday morning.

Hunters confirmation in the courtroom that he made more than a half-million dollars from a Chinese company directly contradicted President Bidens previous denials that his family made money in China.

"My son has not made money in terms of this thing about, what are you talking about, China," then-candidate Biden told then-President Trump during an October 2020 debate.

"The only guy who made money from China is this guy," Biden said at the time, referring to Trump. "Hes the only one. Nobody else has made money from China."

Biden denied the allegations again this year after the House Oversight Committee said that subpoenaed financial records revealed members of the Biden family received more than $1 million in payments from accounts related to Hunter's business associate Rob Walker and their Chinese business ventures in 2017.

"Thats not true," the president said March 17.

JUDGE ORDERS HUNTER BIDEN TO LOOK FOR JOB, LAY OFF DRUGS AS CONDITIONS FOR STAYING OUT OF JAIL

Hunter Biden is shown hugging another friend on the tarmac at a Los Angeles airport early Friday morning.

Hunter was expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax as part of the deal to avoid jail time on a felony gun charge. However, the court hearing got contentious when Noreika pressed federal prosecutors on the investigation and questioned whether there was the possibility for future charges, and she asked prosecutors if Hunter Biden was currently under active investigation. Prosecutors said he was but would not answer specifically why the president's son was under investigation.

Federal prosecutor Leo Wise, however, confirmed to Noreika that the DOJ is still investigating Hunter Biden over a potential Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) violation. According to the DOJ, a willful violation of FARA could result in up to five years imprisonment and $250,000 fine or both. Hunter would end up pleading not guilty after Noreika could not accept the plea deal.

According to the judge, Hunter must "actively seek employment," abstain from drugs or alcohol, submit to random drug testing and not possess a firearm as conditions for staying out of jail.

Fox News' Brooke Singman, Joe Schoffstall, Jessica Chasmar and Bradford Betz contributed reporting.
A registered nurse who worked in a Texas hospitals intensive care unit is accused of stealing fentanyl that was meant for patients, federal authorities said.

The nurse pleaded guilty on July 27 to obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Texas.

In pleading guilty, the 41-year-old woman from Annona said she stole the opioid medication at various points during her time with the hospital, including on April 25 and 26.

Authorities said she took the fentanyl from vials, then replaced the drug with a liquid containing sodium chloride, or salt.

The womans defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on July 31.

The nurse faces up to four years in federal prison, according to the release.

Fentanyl is associated with a high likelihood of dependency, abuse, and addiction, according to the American Addiction Centers. Many patients given the drug for severe pain, typically during cancer treatment of after surgery, need addiction treatment even after following doctor instructions.

As many as 15% of medical workers will abuse drugs or alcohol during their career, according to the AAC. Healthcare workers stealing fentanyl has been a major issue concerning patient safety in hospitals.

The theft and replacement of fentanyl (usually with saline) causes suffering to the patient that is unknowingly untreated for their pain, while the healthcare workers who steal fentanyl for personal use are at risk of overdose, the AAC said.

Annona is about 150 miles northeast of downtown Dallas.

Nurse secretly replaced hospital fentanyl and used superglue to cover tracks, feds say

Emergency room nurse stole pain meds every shift and gave patients saline, feds say

Patients in pain given diluted morphine as nurse took the rest for herself, feds say
Lori Vallow Daybell, earlier convicted of murdering her two children in 2019, on Monday was sentenced to life in prison without parole. File Photo by Ada County, Idaho, Jail

July 31 (UPI) -- An Idaho judge on Monday sentenced Lori Vallow Daybell to life in prison without parole after being found guilty of murdering her two children as part of what prosecutors called a "doomsday cult."

Judge Steven Boyce of Idaho's 7th Judicial District passed the sentence on Vallow Daybell after an Idaho District Court jury found her guilty on May 12 of murdering her two children in 2019.

In passing the life sentences, Boyce said aggravating factors in the bizarre and sensational case far outweighed any mitigating factors, chiefly because Vallow Daybell had not displayed any contrition for the killings and instead insisted they were justified by her religious beliefs.

"You simply have no remorse for what you did," Boyce said. "You haven't said you're sorry."

"It is a loss for everyone," he added. "It is the most shocking thing that I can imagine. A mother killed her own children, and you have no remorse for it."

Vallow Daybell was found guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of Joshua "J.J." Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, whose remains were found on a property belonging to Vallow's husband, Chad Daybell.

The 50-year-old woman also was convicted on one felony count of conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Tammy Daybell, the then-wife of Chad Daybell, who was found dead on Oct. 19, 2019. Her death was originally ascribed to natural causes but later found to be caused by asphyxiation.

She received a life sentence on that count, as well.

Both Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell, who is being tried separately, faced possible death penalties in connection with the children's slayings. Both are members of an offshoot sect of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Chad Daybell is the author of more than a dozen apocalyptic-themed novels, which have been described as religiously extreme.

During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that the two belonged to a Christian fundamentalist "doomsday cult" in which they expressed beliefs that dark spirits can possess bodies and should be cast out and that Vallow believed she would help bring about "the end of days."

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The pair also were participating an in extramarital affair, and Vallow saw Tammy Daybell as a romantic rival, they said.

Lori Vallow Daybell also faces charges in Arizona, where prosecutors accused her of conspiracy to commit murder in the death of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, who was fatally shot by her brother in 2019.

She is expected to be extradited to Arizona following her sentencing in Idaho.

Before Monday's sentencing, dozens of people camped out overnight outside of the courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho, in hopes a getting a seat at the hearing, KSL-TV reported.

Before the sentencing, the court heard a victims' impact statements, including one from Tammy Daybell's aunt, Vicki Hoban, who addressed Vallow Daybell directly by saying, "You are now going to pay the price. Although not sufficient in this life, it's all that we can do."

Vallow Daybell, herself, also spoke before the sentencing, marking the first time she had done so during the proceedings.

"Jesus Christ knows that no one was murdered in this case," she said. "Accidental deaths happen."

Boyce, however, noted their bodies were found in a shallow graves "dead, burned, mutilated, dismembered, and buried like animals."
Just Stop Oil activists have provoked a backlash after disrupting events from Wimbledon to Pride parades - Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

Doom-mongers do more harm than good, the United Nations new climate change chief has said.

Prof Jim Skea, the newly elected head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), warned that apocalyptic messaging merely paralyses the public and fails to motivate them to protect the planet.

It comes amid a growing backlash to activists such as Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil, who have disrupted events from Wimbledon to Pride parades.

The Scottish physicist also said that the world warming 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, to which the 2015 Paris Agreement pledged to limit global temperature rises, was not an existential threat to humanity.

His comments come days after he began leading the IPCC, the largest international research collaboration in the world with 195 members, having written the UN bodys 2018 special report on 1.5C global warming.

But Prof Skea, who previously taught at Imperial College London, had a key message for those using deathly scenarios and statistics to try to engage the public.

Professor Jim Skea said there is not an existential threat to humanity - FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images

If you constantly communicate the message that we are all doomed to extinction, then that paralyses people and prevents them from taking the necessary steps to get a grip on climate change, he said.

In another interview with the German news magazine Der Spiegel, he admitted that we dont know exactly when the world would warm by 1.5C, an incredibly symbolic target, but that individual years could exceed it as early as this decade.

World wont end

He added: Nevertheless, we should not despair and fall into a state of shock when the world exceeds 1.5 degrees.

Every action we take to mitigate climate change helps. Climate protection is always cheaper and protects people from the dramatic consequences of global warming. This is all the more true if we have exceeded the Paris climate target.

The world wont end if it gets more than 1.5 degrees warmer. However, it will be a more dangerous world. Countries will struggle with many problems, there will be social tensions.

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And yet this is not an existential threat to humanity. Even with 1.5 degrees of warming, we will not die out.

He said that the most important way to limit climate change was the expansion of renewable energies, which replace climate-damaging coal-fired power plants, gas heating or oil in industry and transport as well as farming, but longer-term hi-tech solutions such as underground CO2 storage were needed.

New infrastructure

But he cautioned: In order for us to be able to live in a more climate-conscious manner, we need a whole new infrastructure. People will not switch to bicycles if there are no bike lanes.

This cannot be done without a democratic consensus on how to move, heat or eat in the future, he said, but we have the scientific evidence on our side so there is much less need for discussion than 20 years ago on the reality and consequences of climate change.

Counter-protest

He made the comments amid a growing fallout over the actions of environmental activists. Just Stop Oils disruption has caused a counter-protest group titled Just Stop Stop P------ People Off, set up by two YouTube pranksters, who have halted one of the groups road blockades and set off panic alarms at a banquet gathering of activists.

It comes after climate scientists played down warnings about the imminent collapse of an ocean system, imagined in the film The Day After Tomorrow.

A paper published in the journal Nature suggested the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation was likely to collapse by 2057, and possibly as early as 2025.

Dont despair

But scientists said the paper was far too simplistic, with Richard Betts, the head of the Climate Impacts at the Met Office Hadley Centre, saying: Theres still not evidence that were kind of past the point of no return in terms of devastating impacts.

On the basis of one paper, dont despair.

The UK, US and the European Union have committed to net zero by 2050, but the lifestyle changes required to achieve this are proving controversial.

Last week, more than 40 Tory MPs and peers called for Britains 2030 ban on the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles to be pushed back, and Chris Stark, the Governments official climate adviser, accepted that we have not seen yet the move to a cheap electric car.

Meanwhile, Lord Hammond, who was chancellor at the time the UKs net zero target was enshrined, warned last week that successive Conservative prime ministers have been systematically dishonest with the public about the trillion-pound cost of achieving the goal.

But Prof Skea insisted he was an optimist and has learned to live with these realisations and does not wake up in crisis mode every morning.

Man has his future in his own hands  we can all make decisions that make our world safer and better, Prof Skea added.

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.
I've lived in Barcelona since early 2020. Oleg Senkov/Shutterstock

After growing up in Los Angeles, California, I moved to Barcelona, Spain, in early 2020.

Life abroad has brought many unforeseen challenges, like only seeing my family once a year.

It was harder to open a bank account and find an apartment in a new country than I expected.

After taking annual vacations to Europe for over a decade, I followed my dream and moved abroad right after my 32nd birthday. I initially did a six-month stay in Bordeaux, France, before heading to Barcelona, Spain, in early 2020.

Leaving Los Angeles and building a new life here hasn't been all rainbows and butterflies  the coronavirus pandemic hit three weeks after my arrival  but I'm so grateful that I've put down roots here. Now, I'm engaged, I found steady work as an English teacher, and I'm pursuing my passion for music.

Looking back, here are the 10 things I wish I knew before moving abroad.

Living so far from home has made me realize that I can't always be there for people when they need me, and vice versa.

I stayed in Barcelona throughout the pandemic, when the city felt very empty and quiet. Jordan Mautner

The majority of my close friends and family members are approximately 6,000 miles away in Los Angeles. If something were to happen to me, it would take them 14 hours to get here.

During the early months of the pandemic, I was in constant fear that I wouldn't be able to help my loved ones if they got sick. I also had to factor in quarantine guidelines since I'd be traveling from outside of the US.

Luckily, nothing serious happened to my friends or family during the pandemic, but I still deal with some lingering stress and fear from that time.

The time difference between Los Angeles and Barcelona makes it hard to stay connected with friends and family.

Some of my friends from Los Angeles have visited me in Barcelona. Jordan Mautner

I talked with some of my friends and family members daily when I was living stateside. I knew the nine-hour time difference between Barcelona and Los Angeles would be challenging, but I couldn't have imagined just how much it would affect my life.

We still chat whenever we can, but it's difficult to find a time that works for everyone. When I take my lunch break at 1 p.m., my best friend is fast asleep in Los Angeles, where it's 4 a.m. And we tend to have different energy levels when we do talk since it's the beginning of her day and the end of mine.

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If I need to reach family or friends in Los Angeles on short notice, there's a good chance they'll be unavailable because of the massive time change. I've found it's best to schedule the calls ahead of time.

When my friends have visited, it's been so wonderful to connect with them in the same time zone, enjoying coffee together in the mornings and a glass of wine together in the evenings.

I inevitably end up missing a lot of important milestones, like weddings and birthdays.

I don't get home to Los Angeles as much as I'd like. Jordan Mautner

When I moved abroad, I wasn't sure how long I'd be gone. I told myself that I'd go back to visit Los Angeles after a year, but that became difficult during the pandemic. So, I recently returned to Los Angeles for the first time in three years and found that so much has changed.

Many of my friends have had children, weddings, or huge career breakthroughs. I wish I could've been there to celebrate these special occasions, and I wish they could've been in Barcelona to celebrate my birthday and accomplishments.

I've vowed to prioritize more frequent trips to Los Angeles to make up for lost time, however, long flights and pricey tickets make it hard to visit more than once a year. Luckily, when I get to see my friends in person, it feels like no time has passed, even if our lives have changed.

Because flights are so expensive around the holidays, I rarely get to spend them with my family.

I celebrate Christmas with other expat friends in Barcelona. Jordan Mautner

Before I moved, I didn't realize that I'd often spend holidays alone or with other expats. Ticket prices can be outrageously expensive during the holidays, making it unrealistic for me to travel during this time.

I've made the best of it by introducing Thanksgiving to my friends from around the world and learning about their Christmas traditions.

I still can't help but feel homesick, as I miss my mom's Christmas brunch and my annual Friendsgiving celebration. Though I'm grateful for new, multicultural traditions, I hope I can make it back home for the holidays soon.

When I'm feeling homesick, I have a hard time relating to my friends from Spain and other parts of Europe.

I've met so many people from around the world since moving to Spain. Jordan Mautner

It took time to make new friends, but after about six months in Barcelona, I'd started to form a solid group. Many of my friends were from Barcelona or nearby European countries. At times, I found it hard to relate to them since I felt so far from home.

Thankfully, I met my fiance the first summer I lived in Barcelona. He's also an expat and arrived in the city around the same time as I did, so we bonded pretty quickly.

Barcelona is a pretty transient place, which makes it hard to form lasting friendships.

The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain. Jordan Mautner

Like so many large cities, Barcelona is transient. It's a melting pot of many cultures, making it an exciting place to live, but not everyone is looking to settle down here.

I've made some friends who moved away after six months. I'm always sad to see them go, and it can be hard to put effort into making new connections when you don't know how long someone plans on staying in the city.

It didn't take long to learn that living in a foreign city is vastly different than visiting one.

Living abroad brings many of the same small inconveniences as living in the US. Jordan Mautner

When I thought about living in Europe full-time, I pictured myself sitting at a cafe, sipping wine, and journaling. All of these things do happen, just not on a daily basis.

Living here is very different than vacationing here, and I still deal with day-to-day stresses. I have to work, commute during rush hour, and do laundry, just like I did in Los Angeles.

Finding an apartment and opening a bank account in Barcelona was much more difficult than I expected.

Hunting for apartments in Barcelona wasn't easy or straightforward. Jordan Mautner

Not only were all of the documents in a language I didn't speak, but also the requirements for opening a bank account and finding an apartment were different than they were in Los Angeles.

To open a bank account, I needed a lot of documents I didn't have right when I moved to the city.

The apartment hunt wasn't easy either. When I first arrived, I stayed in an Airbnb and then rented a room from a friend, but eventually, my partner and I wanted to find our own place.

I was shocked by how expensive moving into an apartment was in Barcelona. We found that many apartments required two months of rent, a deposit, and a real-estate agency fee. We had to cough up a lot more money than we expected.

I haven't been able to find familiar over-the-counter medications in Spain.

A pharmacy in Barcelona, Spain. Jordan Mautner

There was something comforting about knowing exactly which over-the-counter medicine to take in the US.

Because I wasn't able to find Advil, Midol, or Pepto Bismol in Barcelona, I've had to learn from scratch what works for me. The pharmacists here have been incredibly helpful, but I still miss the comfort of some of my go-to medicines in the US.

Starting over in my 30s made me feel stressed and insecure, and I constantly compared myself to other people.

My quality of life has improved since moving from Los Angeles to Barcelona. Jordan Mautner

I had a well-established life in Los Angeles, with a full-time job, an apartment, and friends. When I moved to Europe at 32, I had to start over, which gave me a lot of insecurities. I started comparing myself with others all the time.

Starting over in a new city meant I had to work my way up from the bottom. When I moved, I had a part-time teaching position and a dream to pursue music.

I always imagined my life to be more stable in my mid-30s, but I chose to take a different path, I've learned to accept that I can't have it all and that stability comes with time.

Life abroad isn't always easy, but it's worth every single challenge I've faced.

I met my partner shortly after moving to Barcelona. Jordan Mautner

Although moving abroad has its fair share of struggles, my overall quality of life has tremendously improved. Barcelona's walkability, sunny weather, and beaches have all been game changers.

I also live steps from a labyrinth of delicious restaurants and chic bars that generally tend to be more affordable than similar spots in Los Angeles.

Even though I'm homesick sometimes, I'm glad I took the risk of moving to a different part of the world.

Read the original article on Insider
For the first time since 2004, Tuolumne County residents have the opportunity to contribute to the creation of a community wildfire protection plan, or CWPP.

In California, where the threat of wildfire season seems to grow each year, the conversation  conducted during a series of workshops with county and fire officials  is seen as a necessary step for the county to get a share of federal money, as well as other resources.

Our hope for this plan is it will provide a framework for us to identify our most critical priorities and priority landscapes, so that we can work collaboratively together, said Sean Hembree, an analyst with the Tuolumne County Office of Emergency Services. We dont want this just to be a document that goes on a shelf somewhere and doesnt get addressed again until its time for the update.

At the first of the workshops, hosted by Twain Harte Bible Church, residents told county leaders their concerns. For some, their chief worry is evacuation.

When you cant get out, where can you go? Nan Fuller, a resident, asked in a breakout group.

Issues raised by others included maintenance, road closures and gaps in communication with residents

The plans main objectives include removing fuels like dry vegetation, supporting community and individual efforts to prepare for fires and maintaining environmental health.

What a protection plan must be and do

The Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 gives communities with a protection plan priority access to federal money. The plan must be based on collaboration between local and state representatives with the input of federal representatives and other stakeholders. It also must prioritize reducing fuel like overgrown vegetation and describe ways for community members to decrease the flammability of structures.

CWPPs have sort of been evolving since that original (forest restoration) act, theyre becoming like these vehicles for more than just the original intent, said Darlene Rini of the engineering and consulting firm Jensen Hughes. Were trying to get more understanding of the community side and the different variety of vulnerabilities and risks.

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In 2004, residents contributed to the creation of the North Half Tuolumne County CWPP, which only partially covered the county. This plan will cover the entire county, carving it into six planning units.

A map of the CWPP planning units created by Turlock GIS.

Rini said the divisions were created using a combination of populated areas and major topographic features, such as watersheds and transit corridors.

Planners already have engaged with key agencies, including Cal Fire, the U.S. Forest Service and the Tuolumne Band of Me Wuk Indians. This summers four workshops are intended to draw public input from residents.

Summer and fall temperatures will continue to increase, increasing the fire risks countywide, according to projections from Jensen Hughes.

Highlighting concerns and finding solutions

Residents from various neighborhoods expressed concerns over evacuation routes. Consultants from Jensen Hughes said concerns over those routes, as well as egress and funding, are common themes across CWPPs. They said informing the public of evacuation routes is a primary objective in developing the countywide plan.

The county is addressing egress and ingress improvements for our county. Of course, theres a very high cost for widening the roads or creating secondary evacuation routes, Hembree said. However, we are looking into the opportunities that we have to improve our health and safety, including modifications to local laws that would make evacuation easier.

In addition, Hembree said the county is pursuing grants that would assist with roadside brush removal, which would prevent excessive heat for evacuating traffic and allow first responder access.

One workshop participant said vacationers may not know how to get out during a fire as they are unfamiliar with local routes. During the 2013 Rim fire, access to Yosemite National Park through Highway 120 was closed and some park visitors were confused about the fires impact. Later, during the 2018 Donnell fire, visitors at Pinecrest could see smoke coming from the Ferguson fire, another major burn.

Hembree said Tuolumne Countys high number of tourists does complicate evacuations. Many of the visitors arent even necessarily aware that theyre within Tuolumne County and wouldnt necessarily know how to access good information in an emergency incident, he said. So were looking at better ways to reach out to that population and make sure that theyre safe and dont create complications for evacuating or egress scenarios.

Residents also raised concerns over management of vacant lots, shelters for communities and improved communication with the public.

Participants emphasized the need for residents to comply with fire safety standards, such as maintaining 100 feet of defensible space  a corridor around buildings clear of dry vegetation. The National Fire Protection Associations Firewise USA program helps communities organize and prepare for fires by providing information on such things as vegetation management, creating emergency responder access and construction with fire-resistant roofing, siding and decks.

For firefighters, our three main concerns, always, its going to be life safety, property preservation and then environment preservation, said Jacob Johnston, a fire captain who attended with a group of firefighters from the Cal Fire station in Standard.

Johnston said some community members have expressed concern with the cost of fire-protection efforts. We have all these great ideas, but how do we fund it and how do we maintain that over time? Rini said. Its always easy enough to get funding in the short term, but a lot of these programs need long-term funding and thats still a big challenge.

Fire hazards are expected to be high this season because some parts of the county have more grass and other vegetation from the wet winter. This new vegetation will dry out as temperatures rise, creating more fuel.

We would like people to sign up for our community emergency alert (www.tuolumnecounty.ca.gov/1170/Emergency-Alerts), where they can access the best and most current information on what the public should be doing, where there are areas that need to be evacuated, where there are areas that maybe can wait so that those critical areas have road access to leave the community or the area, Hembree said.

The final report of the CWPP will be done by December, but it may take longer for the main agencies to sign off on it. Residents can contribute to the plan at cwpp.tuolumnefiresafe.org or by emailing cwpp@tuolumnefiresafe.org.
West African bloc imposes sanctions on Niger military leaders after coup

Xinhua) 09:11, July 31, 2023

ABUJA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional group of 15 countries, agreed to impose sanctions on Niger's military leaders involved in a recent coup at an emergency meeting held here on Sunday.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, also chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the ECOWAS, denounced the coup, saying the regional bloc "rejects coup and interruption to constitutional order."

"As African leaders, it is our responsibility to foster stability and progress," Tinubu said, noting that the ECOWAS advocates collaborative efforts to ward off coup on the African continent.

The regional bloc said in a statement that the military junta in Niger must cede power in a week and immediately release and reinstate the country's elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, or the ECOWAS will take all necessary measures necessary to restore constitutional order in Niger, including the use of force.

ECOWAS leaders agreed to impose financial and travel sanctions on Niger's military leaders involved in the coup, and also a no-fly zone over the country. They also decided to freeze Niger's assets in the central and commercial banks of the ECOWAS countries.

Niger's Defense and Security Forces said late Wednesday that soldiers in the country had overthrown Bazoum, hours after the president was allegedly held hostage.

Two days later, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, former leader of Niger's presidential guard, was named "president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland" and signed an order to suspend the Constitution and dissolved the government, empowering the council to exercise all legislative and executive authorities.

The United Nations Security Council on Friday strongly condemned the military coup, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the president, and underscored the need to protect him, his family and members of his government.

The African Union Peace and Security Council on Saturday demanded the Nigerien military restore constitutional authority within 15 days.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
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This photo taken on July 28, 2023 shows a street view of Niamey, the capital of Niger. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional group of 15 countries, agreed to impose sanctions on Niger's military leaders involved in a recent coup at an emergency meeting held in Abuja on Sunday.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, also chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the ECOWAS, denounced the coup, saying the regional bloc "rejects coup and interruption to constitutional order."

"As African leaders, it is our responsibility to foster stability and progress," Tinubu said, noting that the ECOWAS advocates collaborative efforts to ward off coup on the African continent.

The regional bloc said in a statement that the military junta in Niger must cede power in a week and immediately release and reinstate the country's elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, or the ECOWAS will take all necessary measures necessary to restore constitutional order in Niger, including the use of force.

ECOWAS leaders agreed to impose financial and travel sanctions on Niger's military leaders involved in the coup, and also a no-fly zone over the country. They also decided to freeze Niger's assets in the central and commercial banks of the ECOWAS countries.

Niger's Defense and Security Forces said late Wednesday that soldiers in the country had overthrown Bazoum, hours after the president was allegedly held hostage.

Two days later, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, former leader of Niger's presidential guard, was named "president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland" and signed an order to suspend the Constitution and dissolved the government, empowering the council to exercise all legislative and executive authorities.

The United Nations Security Council on Friday strongly condemned the military coup, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the president, and underscored the need to protect him, his family and members of his government.

The African Union Peace and Security Council on Saturday demanded the Nigerien military restore constitutional authority within 15 days.
The Department of Education released a beta website Monday for the Biden administrations new income-driven student loan repayment plan, known as the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan.

A beta version of the updated [income-driven repayment (IDR)] application is now available and includes the option to enroll in the new SAVE Plan  the most affordable repayment plan yet, the department said on the site.

Previously, the administration had numerous IDR options for borrowers, which advocates have said led to a confusing system for borrowers.

The new SAVE plan will replace the Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment (REPAYE) plan, one of the most widely used of the four IDR options available to borrowers. The other three IDR plans will be phased out or limited by the department.

The SAVE plan will make three significant changes this year compared to the REPAYE option. The first raises the income exemption from 150 percent above the poverty line to 225 percent, meaning a single person earning less than $32,800 would have $0 monthly payments under the plan.

The plan also wont allow unpaid interest to grow if a person is making their monthly student loan payments. Lastly, spousal income for borrowers who are married and file separately will not be included.

The website  first reported by CNN  shows a demo of the application process, where some information, such as tax returns, can be automatically inserted due to information the government has on file for a borrower.

When fully live, millions of borrowers will be able to complete the new application in ten minutes or less and will never have to reapply, a Department of Education official said. The new IDR auto-recertification feature will prevent borrowers from the risk of missing their annual IDR recertification date, which has caused millions of borrowers each year to delay their time toward forgiveness and incur additional interest charges.

The website will fully launch in August after the department has time to assess the sites performance during the beta launch.

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Those on the previous REPAYE IDR plan will be automatically enrolled in the new plan and do not need to use the launched application.

Other aspects of the SAVE program will be implemented next year, such as payments getting reduced from 10 percent to 5 percent of income above 225 percent of the poverty line for undergraduate loans.

The SAVE plan, touted as the most generous IDR plan by the administration, is expected to cost between $150 billion to $350 billion per year, according to varying estimates.

The launch of the SAVE plan comes two months before borrowers end their three-year-long pause on student loan payments and begin President Bidens on-ramp repayment system.

Under the system, interest will still accrue, but borrowers will not be penalized in other ways such as credit score ratings for not paying their student loan payments until September 2024.

Updated at 4:56 pm ET.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Gov. Ron DeSantis repeatedly says he opposes indoctrination in schools. Yet his administration in early July approved materials from a conservative group that says its all about indoctrination and changing minds.

The Florida Department of Education determined that educational materials geared toward young children and high school students created by PragerU, a nonprofit co-founded by conservative radio host Dennis Prager, was in alignment with the states standards on how to teach civics and government to K-12 students.

The content  some of which is narrated by conservative personalities such as Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson  features cartoons, five-minute video history lessons and story-time shows for young children and is part of a brand called PragerU Kids. And the lessons share a common message: Being pro-American means aligning oneself to mainstream conservative talking points.

We are in the mind-changing business and few groups can say that, Prager says in a promotional video for PragerU as a whole. He reiterated this sentiment this summer at a conference for the conservative group Moms for Liberty in Philadelphia, saying it is fair to say PragerU indoctrinates children.

Its true we bring doctrines to children, Prager told the group.  But what is the bad about our indoctrination?

In April 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 7, known as the Stop WOKE bill, in Hialeah Gardens.

The governors office and the Florida Department of Education declined to say how PragerUs mission and statements align with state law and DeSantis vow to ensure Florida classroom instruction does not indoctrinate or persuade students to accept a specific viewpoint.

PragerU is not an accredited university and it publicly says the group is a force of good against the left. Its a nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles that produces videos that touch on a range of themes, including climate policies (specifically how energy poverty, not climate change is the real crisis), the flaws of Canadas government-run healthcare system (and how the American privatized system is better), and broad support for law enforcement (and rejection of Black Lives Matter). In some cases, the videos tell kids that their teachers are misinformed or lying.

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Time-traveling brother and sister Leo and Layla are the main characters in animated videos that take them back into history to meet important people. In this video, they meet Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Some videos talk about the history of race relations and slavery. In one video, two kids travel back in time to meet Christopher Columbus, who tells them that he should not be judged for enslaving people because the practice was no big deal in his time. Columbus argued to the kids that he did not see a problem with it because being taken as a slave is better than being killed.

In another video entitled A Short History of Slavery and narrated by Owens, she says that the first thing kids need to know is that slavery was not invented by white people and that it also took place in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. She also says white people were the first to put an end to slavery when it was abolished by Britain in 1834.

After centuries of human slavery, white men led the world in putting an end to the abhorrent practice. That includes the 300,000 Union soldiers, overwhelmingly white, who died during the Civil War, Owens says, while adding that no one regardless of skin color stands guiltless, noting that white slaves have also existed.

In a statement, Florida Department of Education spokesperson Cassie Palelis said the state agency reviewed PragerU Kids and determined the material aligns to Floridas revised civics and government standards.

PragerU Kids is no different than many other resources, which can be used as supplemental materials in Florida schools at district discretion, Palelis said. She added that PragerU Kids did not submit a bid to be included in 2022-23 instructional material list, but did not answer when asked if it had submitted a bid for the 2023-24 school years.

Florida approves PragerU content for use in schools

That type of content can now be used in Florida classrooms at the discretion of schools. The option is becoming available as the DeSantis administration and Republican lawmakers add other right-leaning educational choices to students, including a Classic Learning Test, revised K-12 standards and an overhaul of college-level course offerings.

Adrienne McCarthy, a Kansas State University researcher who co-authored a case study on PragerU after viewing hundreds of its videos, said in an interview that the content has a very strong agenda.

The videos have this very strong us versus them dichotomy, and its usually the evil, immoral leftists versus the moral Judeo-Christian right, McCarthy said. They are attacking culture and trying to change rhetoric.

With colorful animation, catchy melodies and adventurous child protagonists, the content is seemingly harmless and friendly, she says. But she argued the content could potentially serve as a gateway for right extremism.

If were teaching ideologies that overlap with far right groups, and that becomes normalized, then its easier for those far right groups to become more brave and grow, McCarthy said.

Melissa Streit, the chief executive officer of PragerU, said in an interview that the groups content is meant to create an even playing field in schools  and that the only ones accusing them of indoctrinating students with a right-wing ideology are probably the teachers unions, which she said dont want to lose control of the system.

Teacher unions have criticized the organization. In a video posted on TikTok, Florida Education Association President Andrew Spar said the group has a political agenda as it goes over some of its content.

We believe in teaching an honest history, a complete history. We believe in teaching the truth, Spar says in the video. Teachers are not pushing an agenda, they are pushing to educate children. This [PragerU] is pushing an agenda. You dont have to take my word for it,check it out for yourselves. This is part of the agenda of Ron DeSantis.

Streit defended the groups content and messaging in a phone interview.

To label PragerU as right wing, one should also label at the same time virtually 80% of whats in American schools right now as extreme left wing, Streit said. The ideology that we promote is a pro-American ideology, the ideology of which America was essentially built upon that has created this nation. But we are not a political enterprise, we are a pro-American enterprise.

This is a promotional image provided by PragerU.

Conservative activism in education

Streit said PragerU Kids was launched two years ago. At about the same time, groups like Moms for Liberty stepped into the mainstream political world, and school board meetings across the country become engulfed by partisan culture wars as parents and activists debated pandemic restrictions, race and gender issues.

We launched because we realized that there are many parents who want their kids to learn more than what theyre learning in schools, Streit said. We are very, very big believers in education choice, and we believe that parents should be involved and have the right to really make sure that their kids are learning what it is that they believe that they should learn.

In Florida, the state approved the content to be used as a supplemental material in classroom instruction. It does not mean that PragerU will be writing the curriculum at a school, but that if a school approved the use of the material, a teacher could use it as an aid to teach a class.

The materials could be used starting in the upcoming school year, but some districts  including Broward, Miami-Dade, Pasco and Pinellas  say that curriculum guides remain under development and that no decisions have been made to accommodate PragerU content.

They said they have no plans to review the materials for inclusion, unless PragerU submits a bid to be considered.

Streit said the group believes in transparency and that anything that would be made available to classrooms would be made available online for parents to see.

Time-traveling brother and sister Leo and Layla are the main characters in animated videos that take them back into history to meet important people. In this video, they meet Thomas Jefferson.

The groups website, prageru.com, includes links to dozens of video clips, its mission and information for those who want to learn and donate to their cause.

It also includes a list of its presenters, which include conservative activist and Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk; David Rubin, a conservative commentary and political supporter of DeSantis, and Will Witt, a long time influencer for PragerU and the editor-in-chief of the conservative media outlet The Florida Standard, an outlet DeSantis and his office turn to frequently to amplify their message.

The website does not include information on who is creating the content or its reference sources.

When asked for more information on the content creators, Streit said there are a lot of people involved with different expertise, but that the group does not intend to disclose their names or credentials on their website because we live in a world where people attack people who they disagree with.

Time-traveling brother and sister Leo and Layla are the main characters in animated videos that take them back into history to meet important people. In this video, they meet Supreme Court Justice John Marshall.

How PragerU came to Florida

Streit has found supporters in Florida. She said talks of bringing PragerU Kids to Florida  the first state in the nation to approve its content  began over the summer with Education Commissioner Manny Diaz and K-12 Chancellor Paul Burns.

The state did not approach us, Streit said. I would say that we got to know each other through mutual friends and we started talking about how we can be helpful. It is not that they came and applied for us to do something.

Before the initiative was launched in Florida, Streit said she also crossed paths with Floridas first lady, Casey DeSantis. Streit did not specify when or where, but she said that is how she learned that the DeSantis family showed PragerU videos to their young kids.

So I imagine that if he thinks its good enough for his own children, why wouldnt it be good enough for other Floridians? Streit said.

DeSantis office did not respond when asked if this was true.

Tampa Bay Times reporter Jeffrey S. Solochek contributed to this report.
Since the beginning of 2022, Russia has forcibly mobilized from 55,000 to 60,000 men in the occupied territories of Ukraine, military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Cherniak said on July 30.

"The occupiers caught people on the street, they came to the few businesses that were still working and forcibly took people away - they simply dressed the people up and sent them to the front," Cherniak told Donbas Realii, a project of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

"They (Russian forces) promised that the mobilized would be on the second or third line, but in reality, people ended up on the front line."

In particular, Russia is mobilizing students residing in occupied Ukrainian cities into its military, according to the intelligence official.

"A person went to class in the morning and two days later they are already fighting (against Ukrainian forces). Strictly speaking, Russia does not consider the residents of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts as human beings, so the occupiers do not care, the laws do not apply. The only real possibility [to survive] is to surrender immediately, at the first opportunity," Cherniak added in the interview.

Russia currently occupies parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Mykolaiv oblasts as well the entire Crimean peninsula.

Read also: Ukraines counteroffensive lurches forward: Key moment looms as more forces committed

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Ihor Klymenko

The Interior Ministry has drawn up a series of plans to prepare for blackouts going into the heating season, said Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko at a meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities on July 30.

"During each blackout, we increased law enforcement patrols. The police worked extra hard around the clock. These measures helped to avoid a spike in criminal incidents during prolonged blackouts," Klymenko said.

Read also: Ukrainian state energy company warns of challenging winter season

Klymenko said this plan would be used again if Russia's attacks on crucial energy infrastructure causes blackouts.

Read also: Ukraine can expect more blackouts this winter  but how many and for how long?

He said that over 2,200 mobile and stationary Points of Invincibility and heating points will be open to the public. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine will operate over 1,200 of these facilities, and another 1,000 will be operated by the police.

"We have a clear list of intersections where traffic control is required. During blackout patrols, police teams will ensure their routes are closer to grocery stores, pharmacies, and other vital facilities. If necessary, police and rescuers will use loudspeakers to inform the public about the situation," the minister said.

Klymenko noted that critical infrastructure security is a top priority. He said that 113 regional and local infrastructure facilities are under the protection of the National Guard. Over 8,300 critical infrastructure facilities and public services are under police supervision as well.

Read also: US provides backup generators for Ukraine's nuclear plants amid blackout threat

The minister added that he is also establishing a coordination headquarters to ensure a fast response to emergencies. These will be based at the Center for Analysis and Forecasting and at regional ministry units, and will include representatives of local authorities.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
New Delhi  Indian authorities suspended internet service and deployed thousands of paramilitary and police forces Monday to the northern state of Haryana as deadly sectarian violence spread toward India's sprawling capital city. At least one person was killed and 20 others injured in the clashes that erupted Monday afternoon.

Two police officers were among the injured, officials said. Several cars torched by angry mobs.

The violence started after the right-wing Hindu groups, Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, led a religious procession through a Muslim-majority part of Haryana's Nuh district.

Indian media said the clashes began after a video was posted on social media by Monu Manesar, a member of Bajrang Dal who's wanted by police as a suspect in the murder of two Muslim men whose bodies were set on fire in February. Manesar announced plans to join the religious procession in the video  seen as a direct challenge to the local Muslim community.

Members of the far-right Hindu activist groups Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal burn an effigy representing Islamic terrorism in Gurugram, outside India's capital city of Delhi, to protest the murder of a Hindu tailor, in a June 29, 2022 file photo. / Credit: Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times/Getty

"Our first priority is to bring the situation under control. We are appealing to all to maintain peace. We are also trying to send forces by helicopter," Haryana home minister Anil Vij was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency.

Police used teargas and fired rounds into the air to disperse crowds as the clashes spread to the Delhi suburbs of Gurugram, Faribad and Palwal. The police also banned assemblies of four or more people in the violence-hit areas.

The Haryana state government said it was banning all mobile internet and SMS services in Nuh district until August 2, "in order to stop the spread of misinformation and rumors through various social media platforms."

India has grappled with sectarian violence since former colonial power Britain divided the country into modern-day, Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan in 1947.

The partition of the country prompted a mass exodus of tens of millions of people and is considered one of the deadliest mass-migrations in human history, with an estimated one million people believed to have been killed in an initial bout of sectarian conflict.

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But Hindu-Muslim tension in India has been on the rise in recent years, with hundreds more people losing their lives, including more than 50 who were killed in riots that erupted in Delhi in 2020.

Watch: Lori Vallow Daybell speaks, receives life sentence for murder of children

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Hundreds of books would be banned in Urbandale schools, providing the first full scope of just how many titles could be removed from schools under a new Iowa law that forbids teaching about gender identity and prohibits publications that depict sex acts.

The Des Moines Register obtained a list of 374 books that the Urbandale Community School District believes could violate Senate File 496, which, among other changes, requires teachers and administrators to review their libraries and classrooms for books that depict sex acts and prohibits them from buying them in the first place.

The law also prohibits schools from providing instruction about gender identity or sexual orientation before seventh grade, which Urbandale officials believe includes books, according to instructions provided on the list.

Teachers in the school district of about 4,000 students northwest of Des Moines have been instructed to remove those books, which include children's picture books, titles with LGBTQ themes, and classics like "Ulysses," "The Catcher in the Rye" and "The Color Purple."

"I'm familiar enough with lists from other states that I wasn't necessarily surprised," said Sara Hayden Parris, the founder of Annie's Foundation, a group that opposes book removals, and whose children used to attend Urbandale schools. "But it's still shocking and sickening to see the books on there."

Dena Claire, spokesperson for the Urbandale district, said the list is meant to provide guidance to K-12 teachers about books that might violate the state law.

In the absence of state guidance, the district said in a Monday statement, officials did not want to put teachers in a position where they had to guess.

"We had to take a fairly broad interpretation of the law knowing that if our interpretation was too finite, our teachers and administrators could be faced with disciplinary actions according to the new law," the Monday statement said.

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The list does not necessarily represent current books in the district system  in fact, many of the books did not appear in a review of online school library catalogs. But if a book on the list is present in a classroom or library collection, Claire said, it must be removed.

Claire also said the list is not all-inclusive and is subject to change.

Republicans redefine what is 'age-appropriate' in schools

The Republican-majority Legislature passed Senate File 496 this year and Gov. Kim Reynolds signed it in May. It took effect July 1, but penalties for educators who keep these books in their classrooms or school libraries will not take effect until Jan. 1, 2024.

The education bill redefines what is "age-appropriate" for Iowa schools. Another existing Iowa law defines sex acts as sexual contact between two or more people, such as penetration with a penis or touching one's genitals at the direction of other person.

Proponents have said the changes protect children from pornographic material and political agendas, while opponents said the changes amount to censorship and discrimination against LGBTQ Iowans.

When legislators debated the changes this spring, much of the focus was on a handful of contemporary books that explore sexuality and LGBTQ stories, such as the memoirs "Gender Queer" by Maia Kobabe and "All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson, which contain overt images and descriptions of sexual activity.

Books being challenged in Iowa school districts include "Gender Queer," "The Hate U Give," "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian," "Lawn Boy," "Hey, Kiddo," and "All Boys Aren't Blue."

But the Urbandale list shows the law could have far-reaching implications, banning picture books, novels that have been in library circulations for decades, and titles that parents haven't challenged in recent years.

The Register is aware of roughly 60 book titles that have been challenged in Iowa school districts the past three years.

More: Iowa schools are pleading for state guidance on ban on books with sex. Will it come too late?

What titles are on Urbandale's banned book list?

The Urbandale list does include some of the most challenged and controversial books in Iowa in recent years like "Gender Queer" and "All Boys Aren't Blue," as well as "Tricks" by Ellen Hopkins and "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas.

But many of the listed books are for children, including some picture books that deal with gender identity:

"I Love My Colorful Nails" by Alicia Acosta and Luis Amavisca, about a boy whose classmates laugh at him because he likes to paint his nails.

"Ho'onani: Hula Warrior" by Heather Gale, about a Hawaiian child who dreams of leading the all-boys hula troupe at her school and who feels in between wahine (girl) and kane (boy).

"The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish" by Lil Miss Hot Mess, a founder of Drag Queen Story Hour, a nursery rhyme book about a drag performance that riffs on "The Wheels on the Bus."

Some, like "You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P!", don't appear to directly be about LGBTQ issues. The children's novel is about a girl whose sister is born deaf. The narrator has two aunts who are married to each other.

More: See a searchable database of the books on Urbandale's list

There are books about real-life public figures who are LGBTQ, such as:

"Mayor Pete: The Story of Pete Buttigieg" by Rob Sanders, about the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who ran for president in 2020 and became the transportation secretary under President Joe Biden. Buttigieg came out as gay during his time as mayor; he and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, have two children.

"Sharices Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman" by Sharice Davids, a congresswoman from Kansas who is openly LGBTQ and Native American.

"Rainbow Revolutionaries: 50 LGBTQ+ People Who Made History" by Sarah Prager.

There are classic novels, including:

"The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood.

"Beloved" by Toni Morrison.

"1984" by George Orwell.

Popular young adult novels, such as:

"The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green.

"The Perks of Being A Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky.

"Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer.

Children's books that depict LGBTQ families:

"And Tango Makes Three" by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, about two male penguins who hatch an egg.

"Heather Has Two Mommies" by Leslea Newman, about a girl who is being raised by two mothers.

"The Adventures of Honey & Leon" by Alan Cumming, about two rescue dogs shadowing their two dads on a trip across the sea.

Coming-of-age stories about LGBTQ teens, such as:

The "Heartstopper" series by Alice Oseman.

"Drama" by Raina Telgemeier.

"The Other Boy" by M.G. Hennessey.

And hundreds more that Urbandale believes might be illegal under the new law.

What would happen to books in Urbandale that are removed?

Like other districts across the state, Claire said Urbandale has not received state guidance about how to implement SF 496 ahead of the first day of school. Urbandale is unique in that it has a year-round elementary school that started July 27, so the district looked at other states with similar laws to create the list.

Most other districts in the Des Moines metro start classes Aug. 23. But although the Iowa Department of Education has promised to issue guidance on how to implement the new state law, none has come yet.

Claire said there is a process for staff to either question a book's presence on the list or recommend books that might apply.

Books removed from school libraries, and books in classrooms purchased by the school will be stored in a central location. Teachers may take the books they bought home with them.

Claire said the district will continue to comply with the law and the timeline as written.

Republicans say the list shows the law's intent; Democrats say it's an unintended consequence

Iowa Senate Education Committee Chair Ken Rozenboom, R-Oskaloosa, had not reviewed a copy of the Urbandale list by a Wednesday interview, but responded to a reporter's description.

Iowa Sen. Ken Rozenboom, left, speaks with Sen. Jeff Taylor during a recess in the Senate chambers at the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines on Thursday, April 1, 2021.

Rozenboom said the intent of the law wasn't just to remove inappropriate books from schools, but to prevent schools from buying them  even if that means a list of hundreds. He said he believes the guidelines in the law about sex acts and gender identity as inappropriate for schools are clear.

But Iowa House Majority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said the long list is a "natural consequence of a bill that was passed for political headlines instead of students' best interest." She called the bill broadly written as it remains unclear what books qualify.

Konfrst said the issue is taking up time that educators could be using to instead prepare for the school year.

School board member: my family is not age-inappropriate

Urbandale School Board member Dan Gutmann said the list is problematic to him as an educator, as a school board member and as a member of the queer community.

His first reaction when given the list was "Wow."

He pointed to the "Mayor Pete" book about Buttigieg, a prominent public figure whose life and family reflects his own, and that Gutmann doesn't believe would violate the ban on books with sex acts. "Mayor Pete" is a picture book that details Buttigieg's life, from his childhood in the Midwest to his run as the first openly gay man to seek the Democratic nomination for president.

Daniel Gutmann

Gutmann said he did not know about the list until a reporter sent it to him, and that he would have wanted the district to seek more guidance from the school board about implementing the new law to make sure it was not exceeding its scope.

In the law, he sees a silencing of the LGBTQ community.

"I was a child sitting in an elementary school at one point. I'm also the father of a student," Gutmann said. "I take offense to the idea that my family is age-inappropriate. I find that incredibly offensive."

Chris Higgins covers the eastern suburbs for the Register. Reach him at chiggins@registermedia.com or 515-423-5146 and follow him on Twitter @chris_higgins.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: School district flags hundreds of books for removal because of Iowa law
JERUSALEM (AP)  Israel's Supreme Court said Monday that a full panel of 15 justices would hear petitions in September against a contentious law that was passed last week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and which has spurred mass protests.

The law was one of a series of proposed changes to Israel's judiciary put forward by Netanyahu's government earlier this year that seek to curb the power of the Supreme Court. The judicial overhaul plan has been met with months of sustained mass protest against the legislation and drawn criticism from the White House.

Critics of the overhaul say that the package of laws would concentrate power in the hands of the ruling coalition and erode the system of checks and balances between branches of government. Proponents say the measures are necessary to limit the power of unelected judges who they say are overly activist.

Netanyahu and his allies passed a law last week that removes the high court's ability to annul government decisions considered unreasonable. The reasonableness standard was implemented by the Supreme Court earlier this year to thwart the appointment of a Netanyahu ally as interior minister after he had recently pleaded guilty to tax offenses.

The court said the hearing concerning the law striking down the reasonableness standard would take place on Sept. 12 with a full bench of 15 justices. The Supreme Court typically hears cases with smaller panels of justices, but appears to have opted for a full complement of judges because of the highly delicate nature of the matter.

The Netanyahu administration's push to overhaul the judiciary has deeply divided an already highly polarized country and sparked the longest sustained protests in the country's history.

Netanyahu and his allies took office in December after the country's fifth election in under four years, most of them referendums on the longtime leader's fitness to serve while on trial for corruption.
Consequences of the attack on the Chonhar Bridge on June 22

The lack of reaction of the Russian milibloggers to Ukraine's July 29 attack on the Chonhar bridge may indicate that the Kremlin has ordered them to keep quiet on certain topics, experts from the U.S. think-tank the Institute for the Study of War or ISW have said in their latest report on Ukraine.

ISW analysts said they had not seen any discussion of the strike among Russian milibloggers, which they said was a "noticeable inflection" compared to the Russian coverage of similar topics.

The milibloggers also failed to pick up on a claim by the Russian-appointed head of the occupied part of Kherson Oblast, Volodymyr Saldo, that Russian forces had shot down 12 Ukrainian Storm Shadowcruise missiles that had targeted the railway bridge at Chonhar.

ISW cites a local Telegram news channel as the only source that commented on the strikes, which shared statements by Russian tourists about the closure of the bridge.

At the same time, the institute noted that after the first strike on the bridges at Chonhar on June 22, Russias milibloggers were "outraged" and "concerned," and they generally regularly comment on both successful and unsuccessful strikes by Ukraine on Russian logistics. The ISW experts therefore consider it unlikely that they will fully ignored the new attack.

"General fear of Kremlin punishment would not likely result in such near-universal lack of coverage of a dramatic event, however, and it is more likely that a specific Kremlin directive not to cover disruptions to critical GLOCs (Ground Lines of Communications) caused this lack of reporting," ISW experts concluded.

Read also: Ukraine's slow counteroffensive could jeopardize continued US military aid  report

The institute also analyzed the latest statements by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin at the Russia-Africa summit about Ukraines counter-offensive, in particular, the Russian dictators complaints that the Ukrainian military campaign is preventing negotiations to end the war, and that Moscow cannot cease-fire as its forces are being attacked in Ukraine.

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ISW experts pointed out that the Russian army were continuously attacking in Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts even before the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, which the Kremlin leader, of course, did not mention.

Russian officials have previously weaponized the mention of negotiations in order to accuse Ukraine of being the party unwilling to enter into negotiations discussions, and Putin is likely using discussions of the Ukrainian counter-offensive to undermine reports of Ukrainian battlefield successes and accuse Ukraine of continued lack of interest in a potential negotiations process, the ISW report said.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have suggested that the Kremlin has instructed Russian "milbloggers" (military bloggers) not to cover disruptions in critical land lines of communication, including the attack on the Chonhar Bridge by the Ukrainian Defence Forces.

Source: ISW

Details: The analysts stated that the lack of reaction from Russian so-called military bloggers to the Ukrainian strike on the Chonhar Bridge is a noticeable shift in Russian coverage of the war in Ukraine and may indicate that the Kremlin has instructed Russian military bloggers to avoid covering such topics.

The ISW pointed out that the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced on 29 July that the Defence Forces had successfully attacked the Chonhar Bridge.

The ISW did not observe any discussion among Russian military bloggers about the Ukrainian strike or their promotion of the statement by Vladimir Saldo, a collaborator and Kremlin-appointed leader of occupied Kherson Oblast, that Russian troops had intercepted 12 Ukrainian Storm Shadow cruise missiles targeting the bridge.

At the same time, Russian military bloggers reacted to the Ukrainian strike on the Chonhar Bridge on 22 June with widespread indignation and concern.

Russian military bloggers regularly comment on both successful and supposedly unsuccessful Ukrainian strikes on Russian logistics.

The ISW has previously assessed that some Russian military bloggers may shape their coverage of the war in Ukraine in a way that is more supportive of the Kremlin's narrative because they fear punishment from the Kremlin.

However, ISW said, a fear of punishment conducted by the Kremlin would hardly have led to such an almost universal lack of coverage of an important event. It is more likely that the reason for this was a specific instruction from the Kremlin not to cover disruptions in the operation of critical land lines of communication.

ISW noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin cunningly presented Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive operations as impeding the prospects for negotiations.

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Putin accused Ukraine of mounting a large-scale offensive so that Russia will not have any opportunity to discuss a ceasefire while its troops are defending against attacks by Ukrainian forces.

ISW noted that Russian troops conducted attacks in Luhansk and around Donetsk almost all the time even before the Ukrainian counteroffensive began, but Putin, of course, did not mention this.

ISWs report indicated that Ukrainian forces carried out counteroffensive operations on at least three areas of the front, and on some fronts they gained significant success.

To quote the ISW's Key Takeaways on 30 July:

The lack of Russian milblogger reaction to a Ukrainian strike on the Chonhar Bridge represents a notable inflection in Russian reporting on the war in Ukraine and may suggest that the Kremlin has directed Russian milbloggers to refrain from covering certain topics.

Russian President Vladimir Putin disingenuously framed the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive as inhibiting prospects for negotiations.

Ukrainian forces conducted counteroffensive operations on at least three sectors of the front and made claimed advances in some areas.

Russian forces conducted offensive operations along the Svatove-Kreminna and Avdiivka-Donetsk City lines and did not make any confirmed gains in these areas.

Ukrainian forces conducted offensive operations southwest and northwest of Bakhmut and made claimed gains in this direction.

Ukrainian forces continued offensive operations in western Donetsk Oblast and western Zaporizhzhia Oblast and made claimed marginal advances.

Russian sources claimed that Russian forces counterattacked and regained lost positions in western Donetsk and western Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

Russian sources claimed that Russian officials plan to regulate civilian volunteers who take supplies to Russian forces in Ukraine.

Ukrainian partisans reportedly sabotaged Russian military equipment in occupied Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast, on 29 July.

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STUTTGART, Germany  France and Italy will see major midlife upgrades to their Horizon-class frigates after co-contractors Eurosam and Naviris were awarded a 1.5 billion (U.S. $1.7 billion) deal earlier this month.

The international entity Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation signed a contract with the two companies executives on July 18, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between France and Italy in June, OCCAR and the companies announced July 31.

Naviris  which is a joint shipbuilding venture between Frances Naval Group and Italys Fincantieri  and Eurosam  consisting of the French and Italian arms of MBDA  will lead the industry teams for the midlife upgrades. The work covers four refurbished Horizon-class frigates to be delivered to the two navies between 2027 and 2030, per OCCAR. The Horizon class of ships were originally built between 2000 and 2010 to provide the two nations with new ships specifically for air defense.

The refurbishment will include anti-air warfare capabilities, including a new-generation Principal Anti-Air Missile System and Long-Range Radar, provided by MBDA France and Italy alongside Thales. Other contractors on the program include Leonardo and Sigen  a consortium comprising Frances Thales and Italys Elettronica SpA.

The new system will be designed to defeat capabilities including missiles (hypersonic, ballistic, supersonic sea-skimmer, high velocity cruise), unmanned aerial systems, and highly maneuverable aircraft, said Thales in a press release.

OCCAR and Navaris signed a contract in 2020 for a feasibility study phase focused on identifying solutions to upgrade the frigates anti-air weaponry to increase their capabilities through the end of their life cycle. The refurbished frigates will go to Italy first  with the Andrea Doria delivered by the end of 2027 and the Caio Duilio by mid-2029, per OCCAR. The Forbin and the Chevalier Paul will then be delivered to France by the end of 2029 and the end of 2030, respectively.
 Flash

This photo taken with a mobile phone shows an ambulance arriving at the blast site in Pakistan's northwest Bajaur district on July 30, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

At least 35 people were killed and over 200 others sustained injuries on Sunday after a blast ripped through a political rally in Pakistan's Bajaur district, an official of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province told Xinhua.



The official from the governor's office in the provincial capital Peshawar said that local authorities had confirmed that 35 people lost their lives, fearing that the death toll might further rise as at least 50 of the injured are in critical condition.

The official said that the governor has advised all the authorities concerned to provide the best available treatment to the wounded and, if needed, they should arrange for airlifting them to other cities, including Peshawar and the capital Islamabad.

Nasir Mehmood Satti, an official at the Regional Police Office of Malakand division, told the media that the attack took place when a convention of political workers of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) was being held near Shanday Mor area on the Munda Khar road of Bajaur.

The police officer said soon after the blast, police, security forces and rescue teams rushed to the site, started a rescue operation, and shifted bodies and the injured to nearby hospitals.

An eyewitness Akbar, who attended the event, told local media that he heard a big blast and saw bodies, the injured and blood.

"I joined other locals to shift bodies and the injured to the hospital. This is a great cruelty on innocent people," said Akbar, while appealing to the public to rush to the hospital for blood donations.

According to the police, it was a bomb blast, and the bomb disposal squad is working to find out whether it was conducted with a planted device or it was a suicide attack.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the attack and expressed grief over the losses of lives.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast yet.
Italy just slammed China's trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, saying it was an 'atrocious' decision to join and that it's barely benefited from the deal. Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

Italy is having second thoughts about joining China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Its defense minister just slammed the deal for being "improvised and atrocious."

Italy was the largest economy to sign the pact in 2019 and is currently weighing how to exit without damaging relations.

Guido Crosetto, Italy's defense minister, just slammed his country's decision to join China's Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, describing it as "improvised and atrocious."

The country's now mulling a diplomatic exit by the end of 2023.

Crosetto  a part of the new far-right administration which came to power in 2022  made these remarks in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. He said the pact had multiplied China's exports to Italy, but made little difference to Italy's exports to China, according to a Reuters report Sunday.

First announced in 2013, the BRI is China's ambitious infrastructure mega-project aiming to link over 100 countries across Europe and Asia through trade, including Indonesia, Poland, and Egypt. The Centre for Strategic and International Studies reported a broad range of estimates for how much China was investing in the project, from $1 to $8 trillion.

When Italy pledged to join China's BRI in 2019, it was the largest economy to do so. It remains the only G7 country that has signed on to the initiative.

However, since then, Italy's imports from China have almost doubled, but the European nation's exports to China have barely increased.

Italy's exports to China rose to 16.4 billion euros, or $18 billion, in 2022, from 13 billion euros in 2019. On the other hand, China's exports to Italy rose from 31.7 billion euros in 2019 to 57.5 billion euros in 2022, Reuters reported, citing data from Italy's economic observatory.

Italy's current prime minister Giorgia Meloni was highly critical of the deal before her 2022 election but has since been making mixed signals.

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Meloni said in May that "it is possible to have good relations with Beijing" without the BRI, Politico reported. Italy and China's deal expires in 2024 and will automatically renew unless either country informs the other it intends to pull out in advance.

Italy is likely to exit BRI by the end of the year, Eurasia Group analysts said in a Friday report seen by Insider. "Meloni's priority is to bolster her standing with Washington and other allies, even at the risk of retaliation," the analysts wrote.

Since its inception, the BRI has been plagued by "buyer's remorse," with 35% of all BRI projects affected by major issues, according to a 2021 study by research lab Aid Data.

These issues have led to suspensions or outright cancellations of projects while ensnaring countries in steep debt to China, per the study.

Read the original article on Business Insider
(Reuters) - Shares in Johnson & Johnson were down 4.1% on Monday and looked set for their biggest one-day percentage loss since June 2020 after a U.S. judge shot down its second attempt to resolve tens of thousands of talc-related lawsuits.

Johnson & Johnson has now failed twice to resolve talc suits by offloading the related liabilities into a new company and placing it into bankruptcy. Lawsuits had alleged baby powder and other talc products sometimes contained asbestos and caused mesothelioma, ovarian cancer and other cancers.

J&J has said its talc products are safe and do not contain asbestos. The company said it would appeal Friday's dismissal, which imperils a proposed $8.9 billion settlement aimed at stopping new lawsuits.

In January a U.S. appeals court had also shot down J&J's earlier attempt to offload lawsuits via bankruptcy, in the first major repudiation of an emerging legal strategy with the potential to upend U.S. corporate liability law.

"In our view the talc litigation remains an overhang on the stock," wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Terence Flynn in a research note after Friday's ruling.

The stock last traded at $167.33 after hitting its lowest level since July 20.

Flynn, who rates J&J stock 'equal-weight,' has a $187 price target on the stock compared with the median Wall Street price target of $180, according to Refinitiv which shows 23 analysts covering J&J.

In August 2022 J&J said it would stop selling talc-based baby powder globally in 2023, more than two years after it ended U.S. sales of the product.

(Reporting By Sinead Carew, editing by Deepa Babington)
One of the four people accused of killing a Columbus rapper during a botched robbery in 2019 spent hours on the witness stand Friday recounting the robbery scheme and the fatal midtown shooting that followed.

Christian Desean Patrick is the only suspect whose charges are to be dismissed in the death of Jaylin Jaquan Bart Williams, as two others have pleaded guilty and the fourth, Jordan Jamal Seldon, 24, is on trial for murder, aggravated assault and using a gun to commit a crime.

Prosecutor Lewis Lamb has said he agreed to dismiss Patricks charges because the 25-year-olds testimony is crucial to the case against Seldon. Though hes to be freed, Patrick so far remains in the Muscogee County Jail.

Patrick was among the last witnesses, as closing arguments in the case are expected Monday.

Besides Patrick and Seldon, Gerald Wayne Reed III and his then-girlfriend Anna Elizabeth Stecenko were accused in Williams homicide, but they have pleaded guilty to lesser charges.

Stecenko, 24, testified Thursday that her only role in the crime was to help Reed hide the gun, as she refused to join in the robbery scheme.

She pleaded guilty only to tampering with evidence, and faces 10 years in prison with six to serve.

Mike Garner, defense attorney for Jordan Jamal Seldon, 24, questions a witness Friday afternoon. Seldon is on trial for murder, aggravated assault and using a gun to commit a crime. 07/28/2023

The scheme

Patrick testified that he learned of a plan to rob Williams when he and Seldon were hanging out at a Schatulga Road residence he described as a gambling house where people often gathered to socialize. Stecenko dropped Reed off there on Aug. 1, 2019, to meet him and Seldon, he said.

Gerald Reed came to the house and told us he had a lick, Patrick said, explaining that hit a lick is street slang for committing a robbery.

They took Patricks Hyundai Accent to the neighborhood where Williams lived on Wallace Drive, first parking on Melrose Drive, where they could watch Williams home, then moving to East Lindsey Drive, which Patrick described as a back street.

He said Reed had told his accomplices that Stecenko would lure Williams from the house to be robbed, but she refused to join them. So they waited for Williams to come outside, with Reed carrying a Glock .45-caliber pistol and Seldon a black 9-millimeter, he said.

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Patrick said he was not armed, as his role was to take any valuables Williams had as Seldon and Reed held the victim at gunpoint.

When they saw Williams on his porch, around 11 p.m., they approached the house from the side, with Reed going first and Seldon second, Patrick said.

I never went, he said. I waited on them to go first.

Williams also was armed, with a 9-millimeter pistol, and an exchange of gunfire ensued.

Patrick did not wait to see what happened, he said.

After I heard gunshots, I got up and took off running, he testified.

He and Seldon ran back to the car, while Reed ran in another direction, he said. They did not await his return, and drove back to the house on Schatulga Road, where Patrick dropped Seldon off and went home, he testified.

None of the would-be robbers was wounded, but Williams was hit at least twice by 9-millimeter bullets, one penetrating his heart, a medical examiner testified. The 21-year-old bled to death, she said.

The prosecutor has said Seldon had to have fired the fatal shots, because Patrick testified that Seldon was the only suspect with a 9-millimeter.

But Patrick did not testify that he saw Seldon shoot Williams. Jordan just stated that someone got hit, he said.

Jordan Jamal Seldon, 24, is on trial for murder, aggravated assault and using a gun to commit a crime in a Columbus, Georgia courtroom. 07/28/2023

The aftermath

Police said they learned of the robbery scheme after questioning Reed, who was found wandering the neighborhood that rainy night without his shoes, having lost them when he ran away.

Having left his cell phone in Patricks car, Reed hid his gun and a camouflage jacket in a vacant house, and went around knocking on doors, asking to use a phone, investigators said. Officers picked him up after the neighbors called police.

They did not arrest him right away, however, and later released him at Stecenkos home on Fairview Drive.

Stecenko testified Thursday that she and Reed then returned to the Wallace Drive area to get Reeds jacket and gun, and took the pistol to her mothers home in Harris County, where they disassembled and buried parts of it.

She later told police where to find that evidence, and police recovered the weapon, matching it to some bullet casings found at the scene. They did not find the 9-millimeter that Seldon allegedly used.

Like Seldon, Patrick also was charged with murder, aggravated assault and using a gun to commit a crime, before his defense attorney Angela Dillon struck a deal to have those charges dismissed, in exchange for his testimony. He has spent four years in jail awaiting trial.

Like Stecenko, Reed also pleaded guilty in May 2022. The 25-year-old faces up to 25 years in prison on charges of aggravated assault and using a gun to commit a felony.

Neither Reed nor Stecenko will be sentenced until the trial ends. All their other charges will be dropped, authorities said.

If convicted, Seldon faces life in prison. The 24-year-old has claimed he did not participate in the robbery and shooting and wasnt there at the time.

Lamb, the district attorney in Americus, Georgia, was assigned the case because Columbus District Attorney Stacey Jackson in his previous private practice represented Patrick, presenting a conflict of interest.
Police have arrested Chetan Kumar, a constable with the RPF

A constable with India's Railway Protection Force (RPF) has been arrested after he shot dead four people on a train near the city of Mumbai.

Authorities said the accused, Chetan Kumar, killed a senior RPF official and three passengers.

They said they are investigating his motive and trying to identify the dead passengers.

RPF personnel are tasked with the protection of railway passengers and property in India.

The shooting took place around 05:30 local time (midnight GMT) on a train travelling from Jaipur in the western state of Rajasthan towards Mumbai city in Maharashtra.

Mr Kumar first opened fire on Tikaram Meena, an assistant sub-inspector with the RPF, before shooting three other passengers, according to an RPF statement.

The incident occurred just after the train passed the town of Palghar, around 96km (60 miles) from the state capital, Mumbai. Mr Kumar then pulled the in-house alarm chain - used to stop trains in case of emergencies - and tried to escape, according to a statement from the Western Railways. He was arrested in the outskirts of Mumbai.

"The incident is very sad," Neeraj Verma, general manager of Western Railways, told reporters. "We have not received any information about any argument between the RPF constable and the assistant sub-inspector."

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By Martin Quin Pollard

BEIJING (Reuters) - It's been just over three weeks since China increased checks on Japanese food imports over radiation concerns, but Kazuyuki Tanioka is already fearful for the future of his upscale Beijing sushi restaurant.

Like most restaurants in China, Tanioka's eight-year-old Toya has struggled with years of COVID-19 restrictions, which only began to ease late last year.

Now it is facing a shortage of both customers and seafood ahead of Japan's plans to empty into the sea treated radioactive water from its disaster-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant.

"I'm very worried about whether we can continue," said the 49-year-old chef-restaurateur from Kumamoto, southern Japan. "The inability to import food ingredients is truly a life or death situation for us."

China is the biggest importer of Japanese seafood. Shortly after the 2011 tsunami and earthquake damaged the Fukushima plant, it banned the import of food and agricultural products from five Japanese prefectures. China later widened its ban, which now covers 10 out of Japan's total of 47.

It has remained Japan's biggest seafood export market.

The latest import restrictions were imposed this month after the United Nation's nuclear watchdog approved Japan's plans to discharge the treated water. China has sharply criticised the move, which has also faced opposition at home, saying the discharge endangers marine life and human health.

Imports have since all but ground to a halt, with some Japanese officials fearing the worst is yet to come. The more stringent Chinese checks have led to massive delays at customs, and the strident warnings have kept customers away: posts and hashtags saying Japanese food is radioactive and should be boycotted are rife on Chinese social media.

"China is saying it is contaminated water, while Japan claims it is purified water," said Kenji Kobayashi, 67, another Japanese restaurant owner in Beijing, who has lost up to a third of his customers this month.

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"The difference between the two perspectives is vast, and it affects the level of understanding."

ALTERNATE SOURCES

Seafood suppliers are also struggling.

Wait times at Chinese ports have gone up from between two and seven days to around three weeks, a spokesman for a large seafood trader said, adding that the company plans to get around these restrictions by diverting shipments to a third country. The spokesman declined to name the company, fearing backlash from Chinese officials.

"Right now we have no shipments to China," said Tamotsu Fukuoka, director and general manager of sales at Aomori Chuosuisan Co, a seafood wholesaler based in northern Japan.

"If the products get stopped at customs, we would have to spend a lot for the yard and storage fees, and that's something we don't want to see."

While Japanese officials have appealed to their Chinese counterparts, especially in their second-largest market Hong Kong, to avoid a ban, several Chinese diners said they approved of more stringent checks. "Any government should be responsible for the safety of its citizens," said Duan, a patron at a Japanese restaurant in Beijing. "Because of the government's policies, we feel at ease."

With Japan due to begin discharging the Fukushima water in a few weeks, some Japanese restaurateurs said they are adapting their menus and sourcing ingredients from elsewhere to survive.

"Our main focus is to source seafood within China or sourcing from other foreign suppliers," Tanioka said. "If these efforts succeed, there is a possibility that our business can continue in the future."

(Reporting by Martin Quin Pollard; Additional reporting by Chris Gallagher, Tom Bateman, Mariko Katsumura and Kantaro Komiya in Tokyo, Xiaoyu Yin, Justin Fung and the Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Miral Fahmy)
The actor behind Jar Jar Binks suffered from severe depression and contemplated taking his own life as a result of backlash to the controversial Star Wars character.

A self-described enormous Star Wars fan growing up, actor Ahmed Best told The Guardian the incredible opportunity to be part of the franchise, and as such a historic character  the first fully CGI one to boast a prominent role in a live-action flick  turned out to be a nightmare.

In addition to critics slamming Jar Jar as the most annoying character to ever grace the big screen, websites like JarJarBinksMustDie.com were inspired by widespread disdain for the fictional figure.

Academics and critics alike viewed Jar Jar as racially offensive  the stereotype of the noble savage or the carefree Jamaican minstrel. The fact that media also pounced on writing about the backlash didnt help, Best said, especially when his contact information was leaked and death threats followed.

It was the lowest Ive been in my life, the actor-turned-producer and director told the outlet, recalling that he nearly jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge one night due to the belief that hed consented to having his identity as a Black man exploited.

Best said he wanted to show people what youre doing to me. And when Im gone, then youll feel exactly what I went through.

In 2018, Best took to social media with a picture of the bridge to tell the world what the emotional toll had nearly led him to do. The vulnerability not only led many younger Star Wars fans to offer love and support, but others who once criticized the character to apologize.

Jar Jar Binks debuted in 1999s Episode I: The Phantom Menace, when Best was 25 years old.

We were doing something that was going to change cinema history, he said, speaking about the groundbreaking CGI technology at the time. Even the software was written on my body. Theres still that legacy code in CGI packages today. My physical DNA is in every single CGI character since.

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But then Jar Jar made smaller appearances in 2002s Episode II: Attack of the Clones and 2005s Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

Here I am, a significant character who changed movies, and then Im a footnote  I barely appear, Best said of his role being shrunk down further and further.

Best has since gone on to reclaim his place in Star Wars history, boasting the Mandalorian role of Grogus (Baby Yoda) savior, Kelleran Beq  a move he said gave me that affirmation of You were always doing the right thing ... It wasnt you.

Best speaks more on the subject of making movie history, enduring hate, and eventually making a comeback on the new podcast The Redemption of Jar Jar Binks.

I want folks who listen to recognize what I contributed to the history of cinema, he told The Guardian. Culturally, Black invention has been repeatedly erased from history and that is an injustice. Since 1997, no other Black man has ever played a main CGI character and thats a travesty.

_____
Editors Note: If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 (or 800-273-8255) to connect with a trained counselor or visit the NSPL site.

A New Jersey school district has agreed to pay $9.1 million to the family of a girl who died by suicide after she was bullied at school, the familys attorney said.

The settlement comes after Diane and Seth Grossman sued Rockaway Township School District in 2018, claiming that, despite repeated complaints, Copeland Middle School administrators did not do enough to prevent their daughters death.

Twelve-year-old Mallory Grossman took her own life in June 2017 after being bullied in school and cyberbullied by classmates throughout the school year through text and Snapchat messages, according to the lawsuit filed in New Jersey Superior Court.

The Rockaway Township School District superintendent told CNN the district had no comment on the settlement, which was reached in court Wednesday.

It is the largest bullying settlement in the country, according to Bruce Nagel, an attorney for the Grossman family. The size of the settlement speaks volumes with regard to the admission and the responsibility of the schools, he told CNN.

This settlement should send a strong signal to schools around the country that bullying is an epidemic and schools have a responsibility to protect our children, Nagel said.

Seth and I are satisfied with the settlement, ready to put this part behind us and move forward, continuing to lend our voice to the epidemic that is stealing our childrens future, Dianne Grossman said in a statement. We hope all schools, (Boards of Education) and administrators will take a look at their current policies & make the necessary changes to protect all students, as it pertains to bullying and cyberbullying.

Schools can take steps toward meaningful change by removing access to phones during school hours and making it clear to parents how to appropriately report their concerns, Grossman said Monday on CNN This Morning.

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Schools get caught up  is it bullying? Is it not bullying? she said. In our family, we dont care what you call it. We just want the teasing, the harassment, the intimidation, the exclusion  we wanted all of that behavior to stop.

Seth Grossman remembered his daughter as a lover of the outdoors, sports, cheer and gymnastics. She excelled at it. It was kind of her safe place, he said Monday, adding she also helped raise money for a summer camp for kids with cancer.

She made her mark in her short 12 years, he said.

The issue of bullying in schools has taken on a new dynamic since the rise of social media, experts say.

Before social media, there might have been an unpleasant interaction at school and thats mostly where it stops, Nikki Pagano, a licensed clinical social worker in Charlotte, North Carolina, previously told CNN. Now, that interaction carries over to home and is inescapable. Instead of one person making you feel bad, there may be something posted online and peers may be seeing or even liking this post.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has taken measures to address bullying concerns in schools. In January 2022 he signed a measure, dubbed Mallorys Law, requiring school districts to provide specific consequences in anti-bullying policies for students harassing or bullying a classmate, according to the New Jersey state legislature.

From the minute that Mallory passed away, we hit the ground running and we started a nonprofit. I travel to schools I tell Mallorys story, Dianne Grossman said. If the schools dont get it, then maybe the parents and the kids will.

Grossman said she hopes Mallorys story will help other children and their parents.

Shes telling all of the kids  and particularly the kids that are being bullied  that you do have people in your life that love you, and self-harm is no answer to any issue that youre having.

CNNs Michelle Icard contributed to this report.

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The Japanese man accused of attacking passengers and setting a Tokyo train carriage on fire while dressed as the fictional supervillain Joker in 2021 was sentenced to 23 years in prison on Monday.

The Jokers sentence: Kyota Hattori, 26, was found guilty of attempted murder by the Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court, with Judge Yu Takeshita noting that the attack was an indiscriminate crime with a selfish motive that targeted many passengers who happened to be on the train, according to The Associated Press.

The court ruled that Hattori attempted to kill people, including a 72-year-old man he had stabbed with a 30-centimeter survival knife, by spraying oil in a train carriage and lighting it on fire.

The attack: The incident occurred on a train heading to Tokyos Shinjuku neighborhood at around 8 p.m. on Halloween in 2021. Hattori was dressed as the Joker in a purple suit and green shirt. The fire on the train car ended up injuring 12 other passengers.

More from NextShark: Man accused of throwing liquid on 2 Asian women on NYC subway charged with hate crimes

Hattoris motive: Hattori told the court that he carried out the attack because he wanted to receive the death penalty.

According to prosecutors, Hattori wanted to die after learning that his ex-girlfriend married someone else. Around the same time, he was also told that he would be transferred to a different post in his company due to a work problem. When his attempt to commit suicide was unsuccessful, he resorted to hurting others in hopes of being given the death penalty.

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More from NextShark: Power Rangers' reunion special trailer reveals fate of original Yellow Ranger Trini

Although the 26-year-old admitted to stabbing the senior and setting the train car ablaze, he previously pleaded not guilty to murder intent over the arson.

Increased safety measures: Due to the incident, train operators in Japans major cities have increased safety measures, including adding security cameras and conducting frequent safety drills.

More from NextShark: Rude, Genderless Giant Penguin With Millions of Fans is Now Korea's Biggest Star
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, lambasted the Biden administrations Federal Trade Commission for allegedly obstructing GOP House oversight, and is now seeking additional communications suggesting progressive activists aligned with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., threatened a senior official to fall in "lockstep" with FTC Chair Lina Khan out of concern for "optics."

Fox News Digital obtained two letters that Jordan sent Friday, as chair of the House Judiciary Committee, one to Khan, the other to FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya.

In the first, Jordan responded to a letter Khan sent earlier in the week accusing the Republican of launching a "campaign to intimidate and harass" career agency staff by threatening to subpoena FTC employees. Jordan, in turn, accused Khan of "repeated efforts to chill the Committees oversight by lodging frivolous accusations of ethical violations against the Committees professional staff and grossly mischaracterizing the Committees actions."

"The accusations in your recent letter are baseless and legally deficient," Jordan wrote. "The oversight you are blocking concerns your mistreatment and mismanagement of career FTC employees, and your unusual response to this oversight, forces us to examine whether you and your senior staff are attempting to obstruct the Committees oversight to prevent potential embarrassment. This concerted effort to obstruct the Committees oversight must stop."

WARREN, GRAHAM INTRODUCE BILL TO ESTABLISH NEW FEDERAL REGULATORY COMMISSION TO POLICE BIG TECH

House Judicary Committee Chair Rep. Jim Jordan grills Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan during a hearing on Thursday, July 13, 2023.

Jordan said Khan and her senior staff are attempting to obstruct the committees oversight into the FTC.

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"The Committee requires testimony from the FTC employees we have previously identified. Up to this point, you have baselessly refused to make these non-SES employees available, despite the Committees repeated efforts to accommodate the FTCs interests. Your continued refusal to make these employees available will force the Committee to compel this testimony," Jordan warned.

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The Republican demanded Khan provide all documents and communications referring or relating to "the committees requests for transcribed interviews with FTC employees" as well as "the FTCs response to the Committees oversight of allegations of poor staff morale, mismanagement, and a toxic work environment within the FTC" no later than 5 p.m. on Aug. 11.

He also reminded Khan that "every federal employee has a right to speak freely with Congress without interference from his or her employer," noting how each annual appropriations bill states that a salary of a federal employee may be withheld for threatening agency staffers from coming forward.

JORDAN PRESSES FTC CHAIR ON ELON MUSK 'OBSESSION' AS TWITTER ASKS COURT TO END GOVERNMENT DATA OVERSIGHT

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan testifies before the House Judiciary Committee on July 13, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

In the letter to Bedoya, Jordan argues that "recent disclosures of ex parte communications  including communications from your cell phone and email account  suggest there was an attempt to compromise your work as a commissioner."

The Republican cites emails that could suggest progressive activists outside the FTC and aligned with Warren pressured Bedoya to continue "in lockstep" with Khan.

Two of such activists named were Dan Geldon, Warrens former chief of staff, and Progressive Change Campaign Committee co-founder Adam Green.

Geldon allegedly spoke "about backing Lina" on certain matters in exchange for support during Bedoyas confirmation.

Jordan asked Bedoya to provide copies of all sworn statements related to FTC ethics and communications between him and his staff with Geldon and Greens agents also by Aug. 11.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren's former chief of staff and another progressive activist allegedly pressured FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya to support Lina Khan.

"Although your cover letter revealing the ex parte communications says that you made no such representations, at a minimum the documents suggest a pre-existing relationship such that Mr. Geldon felt free to threaten you about your decisions as a Commissioner and remind you of a supposed discussion about the importance of following Chair Khans lead," Jordan wrote. "Mr. Green likewise felt at liberty to remind you of the importance that optics of being aligned with Chair Kahn, and that you need to be a strong supporter of her. In short, these ex parte communications raise a potential appearance of partiality and prejudgment in any number of matters before the Commission."

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"Unfortunately, this episode is just one of the more recent examples of a pattern of concerning behavior and decision-making at Chair Khans FTC," Jordan said. "Recent reporting revealed that Chair Khan declined to follow an ethics recommendation from the FTCs Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO). You supported Chair Khan in her decision in that matter  a stance that may take on more significance given your ex parte communications regarding the importance that activists outside the FTC place in your being aligned in lockstep with Chair Khan and the need to play a strong role alongside Lina Khan."

Reached by Fox News Digital, the FTC confirmed receipt of the letters but declined to comment. Warren's office did not immediately return a request for comment.
Two men facing child rape charges will not be tried together, a judge ruled Friday.

Stonie Butler, 29, is charged with five counts of rape and five counts of gross sexual imposition. Co-defendant Stephen Hughes, 24, faces three counts of rape and three counts of gross sexual imposition.

They are accused of raping three children under the age of 7 between 2018 and 2020 in Mansfield.

Gavel and scales

Richland County Assistant Prosecutor Lauryn Calderhead asked that the defendants be tried together. She said doing so would save time for the court, which is backed up, and the prosecutor's office while also diminishing having to inconvenience witnesses.

But Calderhead said the most important factor was protecting the children from having to testify twice.

"They have already been traumatized enough in their little lifetimes," she said. "Two will be testifying to extreme sexual assaults. It (having two trials) would traumatize them twice."

At issue was the right to a speedy trial. Under Ohio law, a defendant is entitled to a trial within 90 days of his or her arrest.

Butler, whose defense attorney is Josh Brown, wants to exercise that right. His trial is scheduled to start Tuesday, which would be 62 days after his arrest, Common Pleas Judge Phil Naumoff said.

"I don't want the cases joined," Brown said. "We intend to proceed to trial."

Defense attorney Ben Zushin is representing Hughes. Zushin, who appeared by Zoom video conference, said he is not prepared to go forward on Tuesday and has a conflicting trial starting Monday.

Naumoff asked him how long he would need to get ready for trial. Zushin said he didn't know.

"We're still in the exploratory phase to see if we need an expert witness," the defense attorney said.

Calderhead said the transcripts from an initial trial could be used against witnesses for any inconsistencies in a second trial. Naumoff told her sworn testimony was sworn testimony.

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Assistant Prosecutor Matt Metcalf, co-counsel on the case, asked if the matter could be put on hold until both attorneys could be present.

Naumoff pointed out his court has another trial resuming in mid-August and a murder trial scheduled for the end of the month.

"The beginning of October is my outside time frame," the judge said.

Calderhead asked the judge to balance the rights of the defendant with those of the alleged victims.

"Defendants have rights in these cases," Naumoff said. "Like it or not, the state has to recognize that. ... I will not join these cases."

mcaudill@gannett.com

419-521-7219

Twitter: @MarkCau32059251

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: 2 child rape suspects will not be tried together, judge rules
We are entering a new phase of the grand jury investigation into the 2020 election in Fulton County.

There could be an indictment any day in the investigation into whether former president Donald Trump tried to overturn Georgias 2020 election.

Two grand juries have been seated and are meeting this week. Only one of them will be hearing evidence in the case.

A judge ruled on Monday that Trumps latest motion to toss out that evidence and the district attorney will not happen.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurneys ruling effectively shut the door on Trumps efforts to have District Attorney Fani Willis removed from the case and to suppress any and all the evidence uncovered by the special purpose grand jury.

Former DeKalb County District Attorney J. Tom Morgan told Channel 2s Richard Elliot that he agreed with that ruling, saying Trumps demands were premature.

What the judge said is that this motions not ripe. And its not. There has not been any indictment, Morgan said.

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Meanwhile, Fulton County continues to prepare for those potential indictments with orange barricades surrounding the courthouse for security.

Willis reported she received a racially offensive email over the weekend, prompting her to warn other county officials to take care.

I am sending this to you as a reminder that you should stay alert over the month of August and stay safe, Willis said in a memo.

Trumps attorneys had accused Willis of having conflicts of interest, saying she showed bias against him.

But McBurney found no bias and instead, called out Trump for his own criticisms of Willis, like this comment he said at a previous rally:

In the wings, theyve got a local racist, Democratic district attorney in Atlanta who is doing everything in her power to indict me over a perfect phone call, Trump said.

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Of that criticism, McBurney wrote, The drumbeat from the district attorney has been neither partisan nor political, in marked and refreshing contrast to the stream of personal invectives flowing from one of the movants.

I think what he was trying to say is whats good for the goose is good for the gander. Be careful, Morgan said.

Willis office had no comment on Mondays ruling. Elliot also reached out to Trumps Georgia attorney Drew Findling, but he did not respond.

RELATED NEWS:
Errol G. Frank III listens as Stark County Common Pleas Judge Frank Forchione sentences him Monday for shooting and killing Melvin H. Stevenson in March. Frank is married to Stevenson's ex-wife.

CANTON  A 29-year-old Canton man has been sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 20 years, for killing his wife's ex-husband and related crimes.

Stark County Common Pleas Judge Frank Forchione sentenced Errol G. Frank III on Monday on charges of murder, felonious assault, tampering with evidence and gun specifications in connection with the death of Melvin H. Stevenson.

Stevenson's mother told Frank she forgives him for killing her 36-year-old son on March 22, the day the fatal shooting occurred on Peel Place at O'Jays Parkway NE.

'If you don't know God, find Him.'

Ada Stevenson-Ezeanyika, mother of Melvin H. Stevenson, speaks at Monday's sentencing hearing for Errol G. Frank III in Stark County Common Pleas Court.

I forgive you and I love you," said Ada Stevenson-Ezeanyika. "And I pray that God blesses you.

The Cleveland woman gave Frank advice for prison.

Its my deepest prayer for you, is that when you get there, teach the younger generation thats coming through there something so that they dont wind up doing life. Keep your head up. Stay prayerful. If you dont know God, find Him.

I sincerely pray for you that when you get in there, that you learn something and find some peace because once you take somebodys life, you have to deal with that the rest of your life. And thats going to be the hardest part ... having to deal with that," Stevenson-Ezeanyika said.

An apology to the family

Given the chance to speak in court, Frank apologized to the Stevenson family. He alluded to his own family's prior loss.

"As a parent myself, and watching what my mom went through after losing my brother, I know theres no easy way to bury your child," the Canton man said. I wish things could have happened differently to where everybody walked away unharmed.

"Not only did you guys lose a son, a brother, but my mom could ultimately lose another son today. My daughter can grow up fatherless due to the situation. Im beyond sorry for the hurt that Ive caused on you and your family. If I could take it back, I would, because Im not the person that they made me out to be," Frank said.

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Nicole Fredd, the first wife of Melvin H. Stevenson, speaks to Errol G. Frank III at his sentencing hearing Monday in Stark County Common Pleas Court.

Nicole Fredd, Melvin Stevenson's first wife, said that while Frank would still be able to talk to his daughter, the child she shared with Stevenson would never get that chance.

You took her father away. You robbed her. You robbed all of us. And theres nothing I could say thats going to bring Melvin back. Im going to have a hole for the rest of my life that will never be filled.

Previous wound reopened

Eunique Stevenson, a cousin to the deceased who said she grew up as his sister, said his death forced her to relive the pain suffered in 2011 when his brother Leonte Stevenson died after being shot in a robbery.

Eunique Stevenson, cousin of Melvin H. Stevenson, speaks to his killer, Errol G. Frank III, at Monday's sentencing hearing in Stark County Common Pleas Court. Frank was sentenced to life in prison.

I do pray for you family, that they can find some peace," she told Frank. "I hope that your apology was genuine.

She said she will no longer receive the birthday greetings she got from her cousin every year.

At his jury trial, Frank said he had been afraid of Stevenson, who was the subject of a protection order obtained by Frank's wife. Frank claimed he shot Stevenson in self-defense.

Story 'had more holes in it than a pool table'

Errol G. Frank III reads a statement to the family of his victim Melvin H. Stevenson during his sentencing hearing before Stark County Common Pleas Judge Frank Forchione on Monday.

Dennis Barr, who heads the Stark County Prosecutor's Office Criminal Division, said Frank hunted down Stevenson and executed him.

Before pronouncing the sentence, Forchione offered his deepest sympathy to Stevenson's family.

He then addressed Frank, telling him that the story he gave in court sounded like something from Disney.

"It had more holes in it than a pool table," the judge said.

The verdict: Jury finds Canton resident Errol Frank guilty of murder for killing wife's ex-husband

Self defense claimed: Errol Frank takes stand in murder trial, gives new account of fatal shooting in Canton

'Nothing but broken hearts'

My mom always used to always tell me life is a series of choices," Forchione said. "I just cant imagine why you, at this young of an age, would want to throw your life away. You made such a bad choice over a ridiculous situation," which, he said, was a violation of a temporary order that was someone simply politely asking to get his stuff.

"This case, to me, as I watch it, it's just nothing but broken hearts. I mean, the Melvin Stevenson family, they have their hearts broken today. His daughter's heart's broken."

Forchione said Frank's own daughter's heart had been broken, along with those of his other family members.

"These two daughters' hearts are going to be broken every holiday, birthday, father-daughter dance, for nothing. And I see this time and time again in my courtroom," Forchione said. "There's just too many guns, too many killings and I've had enough of it. If I have to pass out life sentences like Halloween candy, I will."

Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com.

On Twitter: @nmolnarTR

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton man sentenced to 20 years to life for killing wife's ex-husband
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1934-present

Judi Dench Today: Worsening Eye Condition Hampers Her Acting

Oscar-winning actor Judi Dench, 88, revealed in an interview with Notebook magazine on July 30 she is barely able to see because of her macular degeneration. I mean I cant see on a film set anymore, she told the Daily Mirror publication. And I cant see to read. So I cant see much. But, you know, you just deal with it. Get on. The actor was first diagnosed with the degenerative eye condition in 2012.

Who Is Judi Dench?

Dame Judi Dench is an actor who made her stage debut in Hamlet in 1957. After building a following for her theater, film, and TV roles, she gained international recognition in the 1990s as a character in the James Bond film franchise. Dench won an Academy Award in 1999 for her supporting role in Shakespeare in Love and earned additional nominations for her work in Chocolat and Philomena, among others. The octogenarian is still acting today, and her most recent movies include Belfast and Allelujah.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Judith Olivia Dench

BORN: December 9, 1934

BIRTHPLACE: North Yorkshire, England

SPOUSE: Michael Williams (1971-2001)

CHILDREN: Finty Williams

ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Sagittarius

Early Years

Judith Olivia Dench was born on December 9, 1934, in North Yorkshire, England, to parents Reginald, a doctor, and Eleanora. From an early age, Dench received considerable exposure to the world of acting. Denchs father was the resident doctor for the Theatre Royal in York, and it wasnt uncommon for her to tag along during his visits there.

Even as a young girl, Dench showed a passion for performance. She loved to dress up and sing as her mother played the piano. Her first foray onto the stage came with the York Mystery Plays, where Eleanora helped out with the wardrobes and her father also did some acting.

Dench attended an all-girls Quaker school, then followed with a brief stop at the York School of Art before changing course and heading off to Londons Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art. The decision, Dench would later say, could be blamed on her brother, Jeffrey, another aspiring actor who also attended the school and pushed his sister to pursue stage work. Id never have thought of acting if it wasnt for Jeff, she has said.



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Professional Acting Debut: Theater and TV Roles

Denchs innate talent and versatility were hard to ignore. She made her stage debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Production Company at the Royal Court, turning heads as Ophelia in Shakespeares Hamlet. Dench continued work with the Old Vic for another four years.

In 1961, Dench joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, the start of a 30-year run with that playhouse that would see the actor take on every leading female Shakespeare role.

But Dench wasnt just content with Shakespeare or drama. In 1959, she made her television debut in the series Hilda Lessways. She stretched herself even more by taking on comedic work, including stage productions of Oscar Wildes plays. In 1968, she had a starring role as Sally Bowles in Cabaret.

Movies and Oscar for Shakespeare in Love

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The 1960s brought Dench to the big screen, as well. Her performance as a young wife in Four in the Morning (1965) earned Dench her first British Academy of Film and Television Award. Other strong performances in additional British movies followed. Coupled with her continued stage work, Denchs name only grew in stature in her native England.

Gaining a foothold with American audiences was another matter. Denchs early play work had brought her to the States, and she later earned more of an international following as the star of the TV romantic comedy series As Time Goes By. However, it was her role as M, James Bonds boss in GoldenEye (1995), that established her as a legitimate Hollywood presence. Dench reprised the character for another six Bond films, ending with the 2012 release Skyfall.

In 1997, she endeared herself to movie audiences in her first leading role as Queen Victoria in the biopic Mrs. Brown. But it was another royal performance, this time as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love (1998), that proved Oscar-worthy. Despite an onscreen time totaling just eight minutes, Denchs performance was so dazzling she walked away with the Best Supporting Actress Award. The movie swept both best actress categories, as Gwyneth Paltrow won for her lead role as well.

Other memorable roles followed in films such as Chocolat (2000), Iris (2001), Mrs Henderson Presents (2005), and Notes on a Scandal (2006). Dench joined an ensemble cast of acclaimed British actors for the surprise 2011 hit The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and returned for its 2015 sequel, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. She also delivered a moving performance as the titular character of Philomena (2013), based on the book about a mothers real-life search for a son given up to adoption.

In 2015, Dench co-starred opposite Dustin Hoffman in the adaptation of Roald Dahls Esio Trot. In 2016, she appeared in Tim Burtons film adaptation of Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children, and the following year, she earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance as Queen Victoria in Stephen Frears Victoria and Abdul, a film about the unlikely friendship between the Queen and one of her Indian subjects.

After pairing with director Kenneth Branagh for an update of Murder on the Orient Express (2017) and the Shakespeare-focused All Is True (2018), Dench headlined a star-studded film adaptation of the Broadway musical Cats (2019) as Old Deuteronomy. Her most recent movies include Oscar-nominated Belfast (2021), Allelujah (2022), and Spirited (2022).

Awards and Achievements

In 1996, Dench won an unprecedented two Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Actress and Best Actress in a Musical. Two years later, she took home an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Shakespeare in Love. In 1999, Dench earned a Tony Award for her leading role in Amys View.

Denchs approach to her work is unusual. She famously doesnt read parts before accepting them, choosing instead to rely on the word of her friends and colleagues to help her make a decision. With her stage work, she often comes to rehearsals not having read the entire play. Not reading pushes me to a kind of dangerous edge, and there is something in me that needs that, she has explained.

Its hard to argue with the results. Over the course of her career, Dench has been recognized like few other actors. Along with her 1998 Oscar, shes received seven additional Academy Award nominations, including five for Best Actress. Shes also won two Golden Globes, six Lawrence Olivier Awards, and 10 British Academy of Film and Television Awards.

In addition, Dench was named an Order of the British Empire in 1970 and honored with the title of Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1988. She was recognized with a Fellowship at the Royal Society of Arts in 2006, as well as a Fellowship from the British Film Institute in 2011.

Personal Life: Husband, Daughter, and Grandson

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Dench married actor Michael Williams in 1971. The couple worked several times together, including in the British television series A Fine Romance and the 1999 film Tea with Mussolini. The two remained together until Michaels death from lung cancer in 2001. Dench and Williams had one daughter together, the actor Finty Williams.

Williams and her son Sam maintain a very close relationship with Dench, which Williams described as three-way Velcro. Sam moved in with Dench during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with the pair later went viral for a series of TikTok videos they made during lockdown.

Dench hasnt remarried is in a relationship with David Mills, a dairy farmer and wildlife conservationist, that dates back to 2010. She affectionately calls him her chap.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Dench is believed to have a net worth of roughly $45 million as of July 2023.

Health: Eye Condition and Surgery

In 2012, Dench was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration but has continued to act. However, she was forced to give up driving as her vision worsened, and in July 2023, Dench revealed in an interview with Notebook magazine that she can no longer see on film sets and has to rely on her photographic memory. Its the most terrible shock to the system, she has said of the condition. Ghastly. Its terrible to be so dependent on people.

In 2013, Dench underwent knee replacement surgery after suffering from chronic pain.

Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesnt look right, contact us!



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(l-r) Marcus Decker and Morgan Trowland were told in April that they would spend half of their sentences in prison

Two Just Stop Oil activists who scaled the Dartford Crossing bridge have lost their Court of Appeal bid for reduced sentences.

Morgan Trowland, 40, and Marcus Decker, 34, were suspended over the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge for about 37 hours.

Trowland was jailed for three years, and Decker for two years and seven months, following a trial.

Their appeals were rejected by three senior judges, who said the sentences were "not excessive".

At a hearing in London last week, the protesters' lawyers made a bid to challenge the "extraordinary length" of Trowland's three-year sentence and Decker's jail term of two years and seven months.

But Lady Justice Sue Carr, sitting with Mrs Justice Johanna Cutts and Mrs Justice Justine Thornton, said: "This was very serious offending by repeat protest offenders who were trespassers and on bail at the time.

"Whilst the protest was non-violent as such, it had extreme consequences for many, many members of the public."

Just Stop Oil said it was horrified by the original sentences

The judges acknowledged the "long and honourable tradition of civil disobedience on conscientious grounds" and that the sentences handed to Trowland and Decker went "well beyond previous sentences imposed for this type of offending".

But Lady Justice Carr said the jail terms reflected "Parliament's will" under new laws enacted under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act last year which introduced a new "fault-based public nuisance offence for what obviously will include non-violent protest behaviour, with a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment".

Protesters gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice before and during the hearing

Structural engineer Trowland, of Islington in north London, and Decker, a private tutor of no fixed address, climbed the bridge's cables at about 04:00 BST on 17 October and were eventually brought down using a cherry picker crane at about 17:30 the following day.

The southbound A282, the designation for the road on the bridge as it connects the M25 motorway between Essex and Kent, was reopened at about 21:00 - 41 hours after the demonstration began.

Story continues

In April, a jury at Basildon Crown Court found them guilty of causing a public nuisance by a unanimous verdict.

Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830
Kentucky Commissioner of Education Jason E. Glass will leave his position on Sept. 29 to become associate vice president of teaching and learning at Western Michigan University, according to a news release Monday.

GOP lawmakers and politicians had urged his ouster earlier this year over his inclusive LGBTQ stances and other positions in a contentious political climate.

Glass was appointed commissioner in 2020 by the Kentucky Board of Education and his four-year contract was set to expire in September 2024.

One down, one to go, Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Daniel Cameron said in a statement following Glasss announcement. Andy Beshears Education Commissioner told teachers that if they expressed concern about radical gender ideology, they needed to find another job. That wasnt the right answer. The right answer is for Jason Glass and Andy Beshear to find other jobs. Todays news brings us halfway toward that goal, and Im ready to help Andy Beshear find another job this November.

The Republican Party of Kentucky on Monday threw barbs: Jason Glass appears to be taking his own advice to find another job. On Election Day, well help his boss do the same, a Twitter post said.

State Sen. Mike Wilson, R- Bowling Green, a member of the legislative Education Committee, wished Glass well.

But he was less than complimentary in a statement.

In the search for an interim and replacement commissioner, the Kentucky General Assembly encourages KDE to consider candidates capable of putting their partisan politics aside and focusing solely on the best interest of students, parents and teachers, Wilson said. The next Kentucky education commissioner will inherit historic dysfunction and learning loss within our education system.

It is incumbent upon the next commissioner to initiate a new culture within the department and construct an environment reflective of Kentuckys values, Wilson said.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who is running against Cameron, thanked Glass for his service to Kentucky.

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I will call on the Kentucky Board of Education to conduct a national search to find the right person to fill this important role and continue to move our education system forward for children across the commonwealth, Beshear said.

Glass called these past three years a remarkable journey and thanked the Kentucky Department of Education employees for their service and those working in education roles across the state for their continuing efforts to serve students.

I have a heart full of gratitude, Glass said.

Republicans threw barbs at Glass after the announcement Monday.

In the search for an interim and replacement commissioner, the Kentucky General Assembly encourages KDE to consider candidates capable of putting their partisan politics aside and focusing solely on the best interest of students, parents and teachers. The next Kentucky education commissioner will inherit historic dysfunction and learning loss within our education system, said state Sen. Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, who serves on the legislative Education Committee.

It is incumbent upon the next commissioner to initiate a new culture within the department and construct an environment reflective of Kentuckys values.

The commissioner oversees Kentuckys K-12 school system and its 635,000 students, as well as acts as superintendent of the Kentucky School for the Blind, the Kentucky School for the Deaf and 53 area technology centers.

In a letter to Kentucky Board of Education Chairwoman Lu S. Young, Glass said he is committed to working diligently to ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities and to provide any necessary support to whomever is selected as an interim or new commissioner.

I am confident that the exceptional team we have built together will continue to lead the charge toward a brighter future for Kentuckys educational landscape, Glass said.

In a message Monday to his education colleagues, Glass said, As we move forward, I urge you to continue fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation and inclusivity within your school districts.

Young said Glass will leave a positive and lasting impact on public education in Kentucky.

The Kentucky Board of Education selected Dr. Glass to be our commissioner at a very turbulent time in the world, Young said. He led deftly through the challenges of the pandemic and two major natural disasters while, at the same time, galvanizing support across schools and communities around a bold new vision for learning and teaching in the Commonwealth.

Young said the state board will hold a special-called meeting in mid-August to determine next steps and a timeline for moving forward with an interim commissioner once Glass leaves. No action will be taken at the regular August 2-3 meeting.

Sharon Porter Robinson, vice-chair of the KBE, applauded Glass for his commitment to student success and his innovative approach to education.

Under his visionary leadership, his program United We Learn has gained momentum in schools, districts and communities across the Commonwealth as we collectively reimagine teaching and learning, she said. Kentucky has made significant strides in advancing educational opportunities for all students, enhancing teacher development programs and fostering a culture of collaboration with various stakeholders.

Glass arrived as commissioner six months into the COVID-19 pandemic and made strategic responses to ensure that learning continued and that the health and well-being of students and educators remained a top priority. His departure comes as Kentuckys schools continue to recover after the pandemic and natural disasters, a news release said.

Glass, a Brandenburg native, previously served as superintendent of Jeffco Public Schools in Colorado for three years and was superintendent of Eagle County Schools in Colorado from 2013 to 2017. He also was an administrator at the Colorado Department of Education and was Iowas chief state school officer from 2010 to 2013. He began his career as a social studies teacher at Hazard Independent Schools.

In 2016, former President Barack Obama nominated Glass to the National Board for Education Sciences.
Kevin Costner visits Ukraine

Famous Hollywood actor Kevin Costner is currently in Ukraine and has met with Mykhailo Dianov, an Azovstal defender, who posted an image of the two together on Instagram.

The two can be seen posing aginst the background of St. Michael's Cathedral in the center of Kyiv.

"Have you recognized him?" Dianov captioned the photo.

In the comments, Dianovs followers were eager to know if Costner had really come to Kyiv, which he confirmed.

Read also: Orlando Bloom shares impressions of meeting Zelenskyy, First Lady

Costner condemned the Russian aggression against Ukraine in March 2022 and branded it as a 'disgrace'.

"Its a shame that somehow we think weve come so far in the world, and its just evidence of one country trying to dominate another one to expand their border, threaten people theres going to be women and children and men and lives shattered, cut short for what?

Whats happening right now is a disaster, its shameful, and I hope that leaders around the world evolve.

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
Woman with computer and calculator

Banks offering unjustifiably low savings rates to their customers will face "robust action", the UK's financial watchdog has said.

The Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) warning came as part of a plan to ensure banks are passing on interest rate rises to savers.

Under new rules that came into force on Monday, banks must prove they are offering their customers fair value.

Separately, a campaign to help those struggling with mortgages has started.

Lenders have launched a series of adverts promoting the support available to mortgage holders if they are have difficulty with repayments.

'Fair value'

The Bank of England has now raised its base rate 13 times in a row in an attempt to reduce inflation, and is expected to increase it again on Thursday.

However, while interest rates on mortgages have risen quickly, savings rates have not grown as fast, particularly for easy access accounts.

Earlier this month, the bosses of major banks and building societies were quizzed by the FCA over concerns that savings rates are too low.

The FCA found that nine of the biggest savings providers, on average, only passed on 28% of base rate rises to their easy access accounts between January 2022 and May 2023.

There was a slightly bigger increase for notice and fixed-term deposits, which saw 51% of the base rate rises passed on.

The regulator has now set out a 14-point plan to make sure that interest rate rise are passed on to savers "appropriately".

It says firms offering the lowest savings rates "will be required to justify by the end of August how those rates offer fair value" or face action.

The FCA will also publish an analysis every six months of firms' easy access savings rates, in a list from best to worst.

Sheldon Mills, executive director of consumers and competition at the FCA, said: "We want a competitive cash savings market that delivers better deals for savers, where interest rates are reviewed quickly following base rate changes and firms prompt savers to switch to accounts paying higher rates.

Story continues

"We welcome the progress that has been made so far but this needs to speed up."

To ensure banks comply, the FCA will be using new consumer protection rules which came into force on Monday.

The new Consumer Duty has been billed as the biggest shake-up in regulation for the finance industry in decades.

It aims to ensure people are treated fairly and are served by financial products they can understand,.

The duty should end hidden charges and make sure providers of products such as savings accounts and mortgages inform people of any better deals available.

Cost of living: Tackling it together

What happens if I miss a mortgage payment?

A shortfall equivalent to two or more months' repayments means you are officially in arrears

Your lender must then treat you fairly by considering any requests about changing how you pay, perhaps with lower repayments for a short period

Any arrangement you come to will be reflected on your credit file - affecting your ability to borrow money in the future

Read more here

The FCA said it should also help people like Samantha, who was a victim of financial domestic abuse. Her ex-husband had opened two overdrafts worth 1,000 in her name.

"I was asked multiple times on different calls to give my bank card number, balance and details of recent transactions, but I had no access to these accounts. There was no understanding or empathy at all," she said.

"I'm very lucky that I have a strong network of support around me. I can't imagine how hard it is for people who don't have any support because even with it I was pushed to my limits."

However, there have been questions raised about whether firms are suitably prepared for the changes.

Andrew Stevens, from services company Quadient, said that many banks were still failing to effectively communicate with customers. For example, its research suggested that only 8% of consumers could fully understand updated overdraft charges.

Eric Leenders, managing director of personal finance at UK Finance which represents the banks, said he believed the changes would be more "evolution, not revolution".

"Some changes will already be evident, others I'm sure consumers will see in the months and years ahead," he told the BBC.

Mortgage help

The advertising campaign launched by lenders on Monday for those struggling with mortgage repayments will flag up measures such extending mortgage terms or switching to interest-only repayments temporarily.

The move comes after bank bosses met the chancellor last month to discuss ways to help mortgage holders.

Mortgage holders with variable or tracker mortgages have seen their monthly payments soar in recent months. While most homeowners with fixed-rate deals have been shielded by rate rises, people looking to renew, along with first-time buyers, have been met with much pricier deals.

Despite this, the latest Bank of England data showed the number of mortgage approvals rose to 54,700 in June, which was the highest figure since October last year when the housing market was being affected by the fallout from the mini-budget.

Consumer lending also jumped, the Bank said, with net borrowing of consumer credit rising to 1.7bn in June, the highest since April 2018.

UK Finance, which represents banks, said its "Reach Out" campaign aimed to encourage those struggling with their mortgages to contact their "lender early on if they are worried about making their payments".

In the year to January 2023, UK Finance said lenders helped more than 200,000 borrowers who were unable to meet their full mortgage payments.
Grant Rosendahl is so bullish on the planned mid-September debut of his new restaurant concept that hes already expanding.

At least in his mind.

I wouldnt be surprised if we open four to five more of them, he says.

Two years after successfully navigating chain-filled Meridian with il Sugo Italian Kitchen, Rosendahl is headed to the intersection of Eagle and Overland roads with a second venture: Tommys Italian, 2976 E. Overland Road.

It could be the start of his own local chain.

Its going to be il Sugos kickass younger brother, Rosendahl promises.

Instead of a traditional restaurant like il Sugo  with wine glasses and linen-covered tables  Tommys Italian will be a scoop and serve operation, he explains.

Chicky Parm ($12.95) is one of the entrees that will be served at the new Meridian fast-casual restaurant Tommys Italian. It includes pesto linguine, two fried chicken tenders, marinara and parmesan. Grant Rosendahl/Tommy's Italian

Located next to another local outfit, Coned Pizza, Tommys will offer a premise similar to il Sugos  choose your pasta, choose your sauce. But it will be a counter-order operation. The restaurant will include maybe 20 seats, Rosendahl says. Everything will be packaged in takeout-friendly containers.

Food wont be cooked on site. Instead, il Sugo, 1407 W. McMillan Road, will serve as a commissary. That means customers will feast on the same delicious, housemade sauces offered at il Sugo.

Tommys is a fast-casual concept, so the pasta wont be the same locally made noodles as il Sugos. But were gonna have a good product, Rosendahl promises  an Italian import. The choices will be linguine, fettucine, penne and a gluten-free penne (for an extra buck).

Working your way down the counter at Tommys will be like ordering at Chipotle or, speaking locally, Paddles Up Poke. Possibly even simpler. The total number of items at Tommys, including add-ons, will be roughly a dozen, Rosendahl says.

At this stretch Italian concept, he explains, customers will be able to customize and upgrade with extra goodies  whether its fried or roasted chicken tenders on top, or a side Caesar salad.

In the mood for an unusual combo? Penne noodles with, say, pesto sauce and fried chicken? Youll be able to concoct that.

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But the plan, Rosendahl says, is to sell four $12.95 signature dishes the most.

The Tommys Original, for example, will be linguine, bolognese, meatballs and parmesan  and a slice of garlic toast, which comes with all entrees. Or grab Chicken Fettucine Alfredo ($12.95): fettucine, roasted chicken, creamy alfredo sauce and parmesan.

Tommys Italian will dish up tasty entrees in ready-to-go containers such as the Tommys Original (linguine, bolognese, meatballs and parmesan.) Grant Rosendahl/Tommy's Italian

The Half & Half will be divided between fettucine alfredo and bolognese, with two fried chicken tenders and parmesan. And the Chicky Parm will be pesto linguine, two fried chicken tenders, marinara and parmesan.

Customers will be able to upgrade any entree to a combo  with a salad and drink (iced tea or Coke products)  for $3.95.

Tommys Italian is a business model that we want to track, Rosendahl says. And if it works, then we can cut and paste it to the next place.

This Tommys Italian is kind of the future of where were going to go with our business, explains Rosendahl, who opened the first il Sugo in downtown Boise before closing it to focus on the Meridian expansion.

If all goes well, Tommys  named after Rosendahls 2-year-old son  will grow into a familiar brand across the Boise metro area.

Theres a big possibility of us being back in Boise, Rosendahl says. Theres a possibility of us being in the Star and Eagle area.

 Instagram: @tommysitalian.
The American nurse kidnapped with her child near Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince Thursday first visited the country soon after the 2010 earthquake and "fell in love with the people," according to the nonprofit organization where the woman works and where her husband serves as director.

El Roi Haiti, a Christian humanitarian organization, has identified the woman as Alix Dorsainvil. She and her child were kidnapped from the organization's campus near Port-au-Prince on Thursday morning "while serving in our community ministry," the organization said. Her husband and the child's father, Sandro Dorsainvil, is the organization's founder and director of operations in Haiti.

Originally from New Hampshire, Dorsainvil has lived and worked as a nurse in Port-au-Prince since 2020 at the school run by El Roi Haiti, which aims to expand access to affordable education and teaches a faith-based curriculum, according to the nonprofit.

"We are now entering day 5 since our dear friend Alix and her child were kidnapped," the organization said Monday. "As our hearts break for this situation we also continue to pray for the country and people of Haiti and for freedom from the suffering they endure daily."

Alix Dorsainvil, photographed on an unspecified date. / Credit: El Roi Haiti

Dorsainvil first visited Haiti while she was in college, not long after the devastating 2010 earthquake killed thousands of people and caused widespread destruction. She spent her breaks and summers returning to the country, El Roi said. Once she started her career as a nurse, she would fund her own trips and travel to Haiti as often as she could. She married her husband in 2021.

"She had lived in Haiti for multiple years, showing love and care in a variety of ways before coming on staff with us, but has had a heart for the hurting since she was a child," the organization said.

News of the kidnapping comes at a time when gruesome crimes and gang violence are rising in the city.

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Federal officials in the United States confirmed they are aware of the kidnapping report and in contact with Haitian authorities.

"We are aware of reports of the kidnapping of two U.S. citizens in Haiti," a spokesperson for the State Department said in a statement to CBS News on Friday night. "We are in regular contact with Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them and our U.S. government interagency partners. We have nothing further to share at this time."

The State Department advises Americans not to travel to Haiti. The agency last updated its travel advisory for the country at the end of July, maintaining its Level 4 risk assessment meaning "do not travel" while noting that kidnapping in Haiti "is widespread, and victims regularly include U.S. citizens."

El Roi reiterated its request that people refrain from speculating about the kidnapping on social media and direct all questions to the organization's board instead of Dorsainvil's friends and family.

 Emily Mae Czachor contributed to reporting.

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According to a news release from the National Retail Federation "back-to-school spending is expected to reach an unparalleled $41.5 billion, up from $36.9 billion last year and the previous high of $37.1 billion in 2021.

ASHEVILLE- As the 2023-24 school year approaches for Western North Carolina schools some sooner than others, the Citizen Times compiled a list of important information for parents and students including school supply costs, start dates and after-school program options. 

How much do school supply costs?

According to a news release from the National Retail Federation, has been collecting data on back-to-school shopping since 2003, "back-to-school spending is expected to reach an unparalleled $41.5 billion, up from $36.9 billion last year and the previous high of $37.1 billion in 2021. Back-to-college spending is expected to hit $94 billion, about $20 billion more than last years record."

United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County is working to help local families, as back-to-school shopping can be financially daunting.

United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County has done a school supply drive for 17 years.

The nonprofit has held a school supply drive for 17 years. In that time, it's given out over 23,000 backpacks to students in the community, Audrey Blackburn, volunteer engagement manager at United Way told the Citizen Times.

July 21 was the last day of fundraising, which brought in a little over $67,000, filling 2,300 backpacks this year, Blackburn said.

United Way doesn't distribute the backpacks directly to families and children, but instead works with 35 nonprofits, and seven community schools in Asheville and Buncombe including Asheville, Enka, Owen, Erwin and AC Reynolds middle schools and North Buncombe and Asheville/SILSA high schools.

There are three categories for the drive: elementary, middle and high school, each one slightly different.

"We work with teachers and school administrators, and we've got our own community school coordinators, and they helped us look at last year's supply list and through their best guess came up with what they think will be needed this year," Blackburn said.

She said that the retail value of the backpacks and all of the supplies in it, normally comes to around $75, but United Way is able to get it all at cost, which is around $30, allowing them to fill more backpacks and get more supplies for students.

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"The fun part is that we ask the people in the community to help us pack the bags. It actually takes three full days to do it, and so we need around 230 volunteers over the span of three days," Blackburn said.

"Pack and Sort" event in 2022, hosted by United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County.

The "pack and sort" event takes place July 31-Aug. 2. The volunteer slots are already filled but there is a waitlist option available by visiting the 2023 School Supply Drive - Pack and Sort Event | Hands On Asheville-Buncombe website. The backpacks are filled on the bottom floor of Harrah's Cherokee Center on Hiawassee Street.

What's on a school supply list this year?

The Citizen Times looked up examples of school supplies lists at Asheville and Buncombe schools and calculated the price of each product that could be purchased at Walmart. Although supplies can be purchased at many stores, including Target, Staples, Amazon and Best Buy.

Asheville City Schools: 2023-24 school year for a first-grader at Claxton Elementary School.

Primary notebook: $2.97

Two wide-ruled composition notebooks: $6.56

One 1-inch binder with protective screen on the front and pockets: $3.28

Two boxes of 24-count Crayola crayons: $1

Three plain color plastic folders with prongs: $1.50

One box of tissues: $1.68

One box of Crayola Markers: $1

One box of glue sticks: $4.47

One pack of clear sheet protectors: $2.44

Two bottles of hand sanitizer: $4.88

Two pack of fine-tip black expo markers: $4.88

One pack of sticky notes: $2.98

One pack of Ticonderoga pencils: $3.97

Two containers of disinfectant wipes: $4.72

One can of Lysol disinfectant spray: $7.63

Asheville City Schools spokesperson Dillon Huffman told the Citizen Times in a July 24 email that often different community agencies and local businesses will reach out and see what the schools need in terms of supplies.

Buncombe County Schools: 2023-24 school supply list for a ninth-grader at TC Roberson High School.

One backpack: ranges from $15-$40

One package of No. 2 pencils: $3.97

One supply/pencil pouch: $1.97

One pink or white eraser: $1.48

One package of loose-leaf paper: $3.74

One package of dividers: $4.48

One 1-inch, three ring binder: $5.82

One handheld pencil sharpener: $1.71

One package of pens: red, blue and black: $9.16

One package of colored pencils: $2.38

One package of highlighters: $2.47

One package of markers: $2.47

One 12-inch ruler, inches and mm: $1.92

Six pocket folders with assorted colors: $3.62

Four single subject spiral notebooks: $5.92

One package of sticky notes assorted colors: $5.97

One pair of headphones: ranges from $6-$30

One student planner: $7.84

One USB flash drive: $10.88

One pocket dictionary: $5.95

One pocket Thesaurus: $5.95

One TI Calculator: $10

One package of masks: $5.96

One personal size hand sanitizer: $2.44

One package of disinfectant wipes: $3.38

Buncombe County Schools spokesperson Stacia Harris said in a July 24 email that each of the schools have a supply closet and counselors, social workers and staff are able to provide school supplies to students as needed throughout the year.

The NRF has been collecting data on back-to-school shopping since 2003 and in the two decades since, this year is by far the most expensive.

Asheville City School District

School resumes for the 2023-24 school year on Aug. 28. Find the 2023-24 school year calendar at ashevillecityschools.net.

In the 2021-22 school year, ACS had 4,218 students and 10 schools, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

More: New Asheville City Schools superintendent talks achievement gap, putting students first

Buncombe County School District

School resumes for the 2023-24 school year on Aug. 28. Find the 2023-24 school year calendar at buncombeschools.org.

NCES 2021-22 data shows Buncombe had 45 schools and 22,298 students.

Madison County School District

School resumes for the 2023-24 school year on Aug. 21. Find the 2023-24 school year calendar at www.madisonk12.net/.

NCES 2021-22 data shows Madison County had seven schools and 2,137 students.

More: All Madison County Schools students to receive free lunches in 2023-24

Henderson County School District

School resumes for the 2023-24 school year on Aug. 14. Find the 2023-24 school year calendar at hendersoncountypublicschoolsnc.org.

Henderson County had 23 schools and 12,768 students, according to NCES 2021-22 data.

More: Asheville City Schools votes to privatize school meals for the 2023-24 school year

After school programs

In Asheville City Schools, every elementary school has at least one on-site afterschool option for students, according to Huffman.

In terms of Buncombe County Schools, Harris said "community partners like the YMCA and Head Start provide those types of programs. They are not at every school, but they are strategically placed to be convenient to several schools."

Asheville City Schools Foundation runs an after-school program for students in sixth grade up to 12th grade, called "In Real Life."

IRL opened around 12 years ago and served 140 students last year. The program is based in Asheville Middle School  Program Director Gregory Hall told the Citizen Times on July 25 that IRL provides a "safe space for students after school."

It runs from 3:30-5 p.m. after school Mondays through Thursdays and is priced on a sliding scale.

"We just ask families to choose which option works best for their family. We don't ask questions around their financial situation, and we will never turn child away," Hall said.

The maximum price starts at $75 for eight weeks and can drop to about $10. There is also a free option for families who need it, according to Hall. IRL also feeds the students snacks and has various activities such as bike riding, cooking classes and pottery.

For more information contact Executive Director Copland Arnold Rudolph at copland@acsf.org or 828-350-6174.

United Way offers "Community Nights" once a week. It's where families can come and get a free meal. There are tutors there that are free to help students with their homework, and they have games and fun activities for families.

"Not only do we want the families to be able to have time outside of the home to bond with each other, but we also want them to get to know other families in their own community and start to build a support system," Blackburn said.

Learn more about Community Nights and where they are being hosted at Community Nights (Featuring Homework Diners) | United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County (unitedwayabc.org)

More: Hillcrest Head Start opens after being forced to close last year: Who can sign up?

McKenna Leavens is the education reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at mleavens@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter @LeavensMcKennna. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville-area back-to-school dates, school supply tips
With at least three public protests involving the burning of the Quran in Sweden, questions on the freedom of speech and protecting religious minorities are making headlines in Europe.

CBS News reported that two protesters Monday burned pages torn from a Quran, the Muslim holy book, outside the Riksdag, the Swedish parliament, in Stockholm, marking the third demonstration of its kind over the last month. These Quran-burning demonstrations have sparked protests in predominantly Muslim countries, including one instance where demonstrators breached the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad.

Heres what to know about the fight over Quran burnings:

There have been at least three reported burnings

An Iraqi man living in Sweden burned a Quran outside a Stockholm mosque in June in a demonstration that prompted protests in Baghdad. The same man, Salwan Momika, also stomped on and kicked a Quran outside the Iraqi Embassy earlier this month. Both demonstrations were approved by Swedish police.

CBS News reported that two men, Momika and Salwan Najem, kicked and stomped on a Quran Monday outside the Riksdag before taking pages from Islams holy book and lighting them on fire. Najem had also joined Momika during his Quran-burning demonstration in June.

In Demark, an ultranationalist group also burned a copy of the Quran and an Iraqi flag outside the Iraqi Embassy in Copenhagen, the Danish capital, earlier this month. This demonstration also prompted calls for protests in Iraq, where protesters tried to storm Baghdads Green Zone that houses foreign embassies.

Denmark weighs a ban on Quran burnings

Denmarks foreign minister said Sunday that the government will look into making it illegal to desecrate the Quran and other religious books outside foreign embassies.

Foreign Minister Lars Lkke Rasmussen said in an interview with the Danish public broadcaster DR that burning holy books creates more division in the country. He also said that the Cabinet of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is hoping to find a legal tool that will protect both the freedom of expression and address the desecrations of holy books.

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That is why we have decided in the government that we will look at how, in very special situations, we can put an end to mockery of other countries, which is in direct conflict with Danish interests and the safety of the Danes, Rasmussen said.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a statement Sunday that the government is analyzing the legal situation in connection to the burnings of the Quran.

Over the past day, I have been in close dialogue with the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, and the Swedish government has discussed with the Danish government, against the background of the burnings of holy scriptures that are occurring, he said.

We are currently in the most serious security situation since the Second World War, and as for Sweden, we are aware that states and state-like actors are actively exploiting the situation, he added.

The burnings have drawn international attention

The leader of Lebanons Shiite militant group Hezbollah called on Muslims to punish those who help organize attacks on the Quran if governments refuse to do so.

Hassan Nasrallah said in a video address that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and its members should send a firm, decisive and unequivocal message to these governments that any repeat of the attacks will be met with a boycott over the burnings of the Quran. The organization was slated to host an emergency meeting Monday to discuss the latest burnings.

Irans Ayatollah Ali Khamenei similarly said the insult to the Holy Quran in Sweden is a bitter, conspiratorial, dangerous event. It is the opinion of all Islamic scholars that those who have insulted the Holy Quran deserve the severest punishment.

Iraq and member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation sent a letter to Sweden on Sunday to condemn the recent burnings of the Quran.

Sweden, along with many other Western countries, does not have a law banning the burning or desecration of religious books, including the Quran.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Monday it needed to learn more about the purpose of talks planned in Saudi Arabia about the war in Ukraine, but Ukraine made it plain Russia was not welcome at the meeting.

The meeting was first reported last Saturday in the Wall Street Journal, which said Saudi Arabia would invite Western states, Ukraine and major developing countries to talks focusing on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's peace plan.

The paper said Kyiv and Western countries hoped that the talks could lead to international backing for peace terms favouring Ukraine.

Asked about the WSJ report, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: "Of course, Russia will follow this meeting. We need to understand what goals are set and what will be discussed. Any attempt to promote a peaceful settlement deserves a positive evaluation."

Peskov, however, also restated Moscow's position that it currently saw no grounds for peace talks with Kyiv.

"The Kyiv regime does not want and cannot want peace, as long as it is used exclusively as a tool in the war of the collective West with Russia," he said on a call with reporters.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrado said he was willing to attend provided both Russian and Ukrainian representatives were present.

"If there's acceptance from both Ukraine and Russia to look for solutions to achieve peace, we'll participate," he told reporters in Mexico City. "We don't want the Russia-Ukraine war to continue, it's very irrational."

Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy's chief of staff, said Ukraine would be "boundlessly happy if West, East, South and North work in this format towards renewing a system of world security".

"But this is a forum of responsible states who stand by international rights and the U.N. statutes. And that's why Russia won't be there," Yermak wrote on Telegram alongside a dispatch on the Mexican president's remarks.

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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has previously expressed a readiness to mediate in the conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that an African initiative - calling for confidence-building measures followed by a cessation of hostilities - could be a basis for peace but that Ukrainian attacks on Russia made this hard to realise.

Zelenskiy's plan, proposed earlier this year, calls for the withdrawal of all Russian troops and restoration of Ukraine's post-Soviet borders. He rejects any notion of a ceasefire that would leave Russia in control of nearly a fifth of his country and give its forces time to regroup after 17 months of war.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Gareth Jones; Editing by Ron Popeski and Stephen Coates)
Russian forces have attacked Kryvyi Rih using two ballistic missiles: one hit a residential high-rise building, and the other hit an educational institution. Four civilians have been killed, a child among them. Rescue workers are searching for people under the rubble.

Source: Ihor Klymenko, the Minister of Internal Affairs, on Telegram; Colonel Yurii Ihnat, Speaker of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on air during the national 24/7 joint newscast; Pershyi Miskyi ["The first in the city"], Kryvyi Rih media; President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Facebook; State Emergency Service on Telegram; Prosecutor General's Office

Quote from Klymenko: "Kryvyi Rih. The Russians attacked the city with two missiles.

One missile hit the four-story building of the educational institution. There are probably people under the rubble. Emergency workers and police are working at the scene.

The second missile destroyed the section from the fourth to the ninth floors of the residential building. A fire broke out. As of 10:15, one person has been killed, and 10 residents have sought medical help."

PHOTO: LUBINETS ONTELEGRAM

Details: Rescue workers are currently putting out the fire and clearing the debris.

Later, during a national 24/7 joint newscast, Klymenko reported that the missile strike had killed two people and injured 20 others.

He added that about five to seven people are trapped under the rubble.

The Prosecutor Generals Office reported that 25 people have been injured, including four children.

PHOTO: MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS

The number of wounded in the missile attack on Kryvyi Rih had increased to 53 people.

People sustained lacerations, cut wounds, fractures and mine-blast injuries.

Vilkul said that at least eight more people may be under the rubble.

Yurii Ihnat, Speaker of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reported that the Russians probably attacked using ballistic missiles.

Pershyi Miskyi ["The first in the city"], Kryvyi Rih media, says that explosions rang out even before the air-raid siren was issued.

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Flats from the third to the ninth floors were destroyed in one of the entrances of a residential high-rise building. In addition, windows in neighbouring houses and premises were shuttered by the blast wave.

PHOTO: MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that on the morning of 31 July, the Russians bombarded Kryvyi Rih and Kherson.

Quote from Zelenskyy: "Residential buildings, a university building and an intersection were hit. Unfortunately, people are killed and wounded. There may be people under the rubble. My condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones because of Russian terror."

Details: The president stressed that rescue workers and all necessary services are responding at the scene.

He also added that he had already held talks with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Security Service of Ukraine.

"In recent days, the enemy has been stubbornly hitting the cities and the city centres. They are attacking civilian objects and housing. But this terror will not frighten us or break us. We are working and saving our people," Zelenskyy concluded.

PHOTO: MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS

The State Emergency Service reported that a child born in 2013 was saved from a high-rise building. The extinguishing of the fire with the involvement of a crank lift continues, door-to-door inspections are being carried out, and the population is being evacuated.

The State Emergency Service has set up a tent to provide psychological assistance to people.

Floors two to four were destroyed as a result of the strike on the four-storey building of the educational institution; three people have been injured.

photo: Prosecutor General's Office

Background:

On the morning of 31 July, Russian forces shelled the centre of Kherson with Grad rockets, killing a civilian and injuring four others. The killed and wounded were employees of a utility enterprise of the Kherson City Council.

Later, explosions were heard in Kryvyi Rih; the Russians launched a missile attack on the city, hitting a residential high-rise building.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
Ukraine and Croatia have agreed on using Croatian ports on the Danube River and the Adriatic Sea to export Ukrainian grain, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on July 31.

"We will now work on planning the most efficient routes to these ports and making the most of this opportunity. Every contribution to unlocking exports, every door opened is a real, effective input to world food security," Kuleba said following negotiations with his Croatian counterpart.

Croatia offered its rail network and ports as an alternative export route for Ukrainian grain after Russias one-side termination from the Black Sea Grain Initiative on July 17.

The initiative, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July 2022, allowed Ukraine to continue exporting its agricultural products during Russias full-scale war and played a crucial role in stabilizing food prices worldwide. After Moscow's withdrawal from the agreement, wheat prices rose sharply.

Read also: Timothy Ash: Solutions need to be found for grain exports

Bulgaria also suggested that its transport infrastructure could be used for Ukrainian grain shipping while the European Union pledged to continue helping with Ukraine's exports via "solidarity lanes," created in May 2022.

During the July 31 negotiations, the Ukrainian and Croatian foreign ministers also discussed military aid for Kyiv and Zagrebs part in implementing Ukraines peace formula.

"The Croatian side has confirmed its readiness to participate in the implementation of several points of the peace formula: regarding food security, energy security, restoration of respect for the UN Charter and territorial integrity of Ukraine, achieving justice for Russian crimes and preventing ecocide. We are very grateful," commented Kuleba.

In addition, the officials talked about preparations for the International Donor Conference on Mine Action in Ukraine, which will be held in Zagreb in October.

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Motherland-Mother monument

Work is continuing to decommunize Kyivs iconic Motherland Monument, the 102-meter-tall Soviet-era statue looming over the banks of the Dnipro River, which bore the Soviet crest on its shield.

Workers were filmed on July 29 removing part of the Soviet crest on the shield, which is to be replaced by a Ukrainian Tryzub (trident) state symbol. Work on the rebranding of the monument, which has glared at Kyivs east bank since 1981, is to be completed by Ukrainian Independence Day, on Aug. 24.

The monument will also be renamed Mother Ukraine, however a decision on this has yet to be approved by the Culture Ministry, Yuriy Savchuk, the general director of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II said in an except from an interview with Ukrainian Radio.

The full interview is to be released in full on July 31.

Read also: At least 34 monuments to Russian poet Pushkin dismantled in Ukraine in past year

Savchuk said that there are strong reasons for renaming the statue, and said that this was not merely a formality.

We had a meeting of our museums academic board, and important decisions were made then. One of them is the renaming of the Motherland Monument as the Mother Ukraine Monument," he said.

He said he hopes that the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy will approve the academic boards decision before Aug. 24 when Ukraine marks its Independence Day. However, for the renaming to take effect, an appropriate administrative act needs to be issued by the ministry.

"There should be an appropriate administrative act, which is an order of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy... I always emphasize the interrelationship of these processes  changes in the coat of arms on the shield and the installation of the trident, renaming of the monument, renaming of the museum, expanding of its functions, new concepts, new meanings, new public standing," Savchuk said.

The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine reported that workers began dismantling the coat of arms of the USSR from the shield of the Motherland-Mother monument Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine/Facebook

The Motherland Monument is a significant Kyiv landmark, and it is thought to be the tallest monumental sculpture in Europe.

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Read also: Monument to Russian poet Pushkin dismantled in Zhytomyr

The push for renaming gained momentum after a voting process in Diia (a mobile app, a web portal and a brand of e-governance in Ukraine since 2020) on July 21, 2022. Almost all voters wanted to replace the Soviet coat of arms on the Motherland Monument with the Coat of Arms of Ukraine.

On May 3, 2023, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law allowing the dismantling of Soviet and imperial cultural monuments. Subsequently, on July 13, the State Inspection of Architecture and Urban Planning issued a permit to replace the coat of arms on the monument's shield with a Ukrainian trident.

On July 30, 2023, the Culture and Information Policy Ministry posted photos on Facebook to announce the start of dismantling the Soviet coat of arms from the shield of the Motherland Monument.

Work has begun to dismantle the Soviet coat of arms from the Motherland Monument as part of the Trident of the Motherland project. By Independence Day, on Aug. 24, the monument will officially receive a new symbol  the Ukrainian trident, the ministry said.

Photographer Yan Dobronosov also published on his Facebook account the photos of the process of removing the coat of arms of the USSR from the shield.

Also, a video of the start of dismantling works appeared online, where workers remove elements of the coat of arms of the USSR on the monuments shield.

On July 26, the Culture Ministry said that it had begun the process of preparing for the removal of the Soviet coat of arms from the monument. All funds for the work were provided by patrons, and the total cost of the project is estimated at UAH 28 million (over $761,000).

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Dominic De La O, charged with first-degree murder in the death of Alamogordo Police officer Anthony Ferguson, pleaded not guilty to that charge and others during a hearing July 31.

De La O was also charged with tampering with evidence, aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He also faces charges of resisting, evading, or obstructing an officer, criminal trespass, improper equipment and driving a vehicle at night without lighted lamps.

Judge John P. Sugg of New Mexico's Twelfth Judicial District Court ruled De La O be held in jail on no bail or bond.

De La O allegedly killed Ferguson in July 15 after an attempted traffic stop with a shotgun.

More on the De La O case:

Sugg said that the trial for De La O will likely take place in 2024.

Juan Corral can be reached at JCorral@gannett.com or on twitter at @Juan36Corr.

This article originally appeared on Alamogordo Daily News: De La O pleads not guilty to first-degree murder
Later in life, Tony Bennett had a strong connection with Lady Gaga -- the pair are seen here performing at the Grammys in 2015, when they won for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for "Cheek to Cheek" (Robyn BECK)

Lady Gaga, who was Tony Bennett's friend and collaborator in the final years of the hitmaker's life, over the weekend hailed their "magical" relationship and urged others not to "discount your elders."

Bennett died at 96 on July 21, having lived with Alzheimer's disease for years.

In 2014 he became the oldest person ever to reach number one on the US album chart through a collection of duets with Lady Gaga, with whom he also won a Grammy in 2022 for their album of Cole Porter standards.

"With Tony, I got to live my life in a time warp. Tony & I had this magical power. We transported ourselves to another era, modernized the music together, & gave it all new life as a singing duo," Gaga posted in a lengthy ode to Bennett on Instagram.

"But it wasn't an act. Our relationship was very real. Sure he taught me about music, about showbiz life, but he also showed me how to keep my spirits high and my head screwed on straight."

Among Bennett's many gifts was his stage presence: with a welcoming smile and dapper suit, he sang with gusto and a smooth vibrato in a strong, clearly enunciated voice.

His death prompted an outpouring of gratitude for his life and work, with Elton John calling him "irreplaceable" and President Joe Biden saying "he himself was an American classic."

Gaga's partnership with the legend was seemingly improbable -- she the boundary-pushing pop star and he the aging crooner -- but in her homage to Bennett she said "our age difference didn't matter."

"We were from two different stages in life entirely -- inspired. Losing Tony to Alzheimer's has been painful but it was also really beautiful," she said.

"An era of memory loss is such a sacred time in a person's life. There's such a feeling of vulnerability and a desire to preserve dignity."

In her message Gaga urged people to keep their elders close: "Don't leave them behind when things change," she said.

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"And pay attention to silence -- some of my musical partner and I's most meaningful exchanges were with no melody at all."

"I love you Tony."

mdo/mlm
Editors note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal.

More details have emerged on the Lake County development that will host a new Portillos restaurant.

SEE: Massive aquarium to soon replace former Daytona Mall

Clermont city records show that Maitland-based Equinox Development Properties Inc. is behind plans for Clermont West, a 7.1-acre retail development along State Road 50  just east of its interchange with U.S. Highway 27. The centers first confirmed restaurant is the popular chain known for its Chicago-style hotdogs and beef sandwiches.

Genny Hall, a senior vice president and partner for Equinox, confirmed the developers project and noted it closed on the acquisition of the land July 21. Lake County records show the property traded hands for $6.4 million.

Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journals website.

Click here to download our free mews, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.




Drone Strike Zelensky Moscow

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the latest drone strike to hit targets in Moscow with a warning of further attacks on Russian territory, including military infrastructure. Zelensky refrained from accepting full responsibility for yesterdays drone attack on the Russian capital, but Ukrainian officials are increasingly referring more explicitly to these events, which have stepped up notably in recent weeks, with four waves having struck the capital region this month.

https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1685487038521393152?s=20 https://twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1685465412430188545?s=20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMhxpSm8-7c

Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia  to its symbolic centers and military bases, Zelensky said, in his nightly video address on Sunday. This is an inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process, the Ukrainian leader added.

https://twitter.com/business/status/1686017728518492160?s=20

The warning came after the latest drone attack on Russias capital region that occurred on Saturday night.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, three drones were shot down over Moscow, in what the ministry described as an attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime.

The Russian Ministry of Defense states that one of the drones was shot down by air defenses over the Odintsovo district, a western suburb of Moscow. As The War Zone has reported in the past, ground-based air defenses in central Moscow have been beefed up, including positioning Pantsir gun/missile short-range air defense systems on the roof of the defense ministry, as well as other buildings.

https://twitter.com/Archer83Able/status/1616110132630372360?s=20 https://twitter.com/GuyPlopsky/status/1663552371958611976?s=20

The other two are said to have crashed into the Moscow City business district, the same source claiming that these vehicles had been jammed before they came down.

https://twitter.com/sambendett/status/1685615712822329346?s=20

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Photos and video showed one of the drones slamming into a modern skyscraper, the IQ-Quarter, which is less than 3.5 miles from the Kremlin. The impact and detonation of that drone tore off part of the skyscrapers facade and smashed windows, leaving the building burning and debris strewn across the street below.

Police officers block off an area around a damaged office block of the Moscow International Business Center (Moskva City) following the drone attack in Moscow on July 30, 2023. Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images

According to Russias state-run TASS news agency, which cited emergency officials, one security guard was injured in the strike on the IQ-Quarter.

Its unclear if the drone was intended to hit the IQ-Quarter, or whether, in line with the Russian Ministry of Defenses account, the vehicle was brought down short of its target by electronic jamming. However, the state-run RIA-Novosti news agency reported that the buildings tenants included several government agencies. Jamming of drones attacking the Russian capital is something that has also been reported in the past, as evidenced in the tweet below.

https://twitter.com/UKikaski/status/1663479304850747393?s=20

As a result of the drone strikes, commercial flights were temporarily suspended in and out of Moscows Vnukovo Airport, while the airspace over Moscow and surrounding regions was temporarily closed. This is now a routine response to attacks of this kind in the capital region.

At this stage, its unclear what type of drones were used in the latest attack on central Moscow, although there has been recent speculation about the use of a locally developed type named Bober (meaning Beaver), which you can read more about here. This drone, with its characteristic canard configuration, was apparently used in the July 24 raid on Moscow as well as in the earlier multi-drone attack on the Russian capital on May 30.

https://twitter.com/AzovLife/status/1685823968358301696?s=20 https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1683306381225361408?s=20

While Ukrainian officials didnt directly acknowledge responsibility for the drone attacks over the weekend, Zelenskys barely veiled reference to them was notable. Earlier drone strikes on Russian territory were often met with no comment at all from the Ukrainian authorities.

Yurii Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said that the raid on Moscow was a consequence of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

All of the people who think the war doesnt concern them  its already touching them, Ihnat said yesterday. Theres already a certain mood in Russia: that something is flying in, and loudly. Theres no discussion of peace or calm in the Russian interior anymore. They got what they wanted, he added.

https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1685684230196473856?s=20

Meanwhile, there is no doubt that Ukraine and/or Ukrainian interests are behind the attacks, which have become a more regular occurrence, especially targeting the Russian capital, in parallel with Kyivs counteroffensive launched in June against Russian forces on Ukrainian territory.

Previous drone strikes on Moscow include the dramatic incident on May 3 that targeted the Kremlin itself. On that occasion, as we reported at the time, President Zelensky actually denied his countrys involvement. Nevertheless, the raid was a significant statement of intent, revealing the vulnerability of Russias center of power to attacks by slow and low-flying drones.

https://twitter.com/minna_alander/status/1653788108771532803?s=20

A more complex drone strike on Moscow followed on May 30, this time involving multiple uncrewed aerial vehicles. While its unclear exactly how many drones were involved and whether any reached their intended targets, Baza, a Telegram channel with links to the Russian security services, said that more than 25 Ukrainian drones were used. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that eight drones were shot down or otherwise diverted from their intended targets.

This month, meanwhile, has seen a relative spike in drone attacks on the Russian capital region. There have been reports of four such raids, including on July 24, when two drones struck central Moscow, causing damage to two non-residential buildings. As you can read about in our coverage of that attack, one of the buildings hit was around 1.2 miles from the Russian Ministry of Defenses headquarters. That wave of attacks was unusual in that they came after President Zelensky promised what he called a retaliation to Russian terrorists for Odesa, after the Kremlins forces struck the Ukrainian port city repeatedly in recent days.

https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1682996731993026560?s=20

While the various drone strikes on the capital region have not been notably effective in terms of damage or lethal in terms of human casualties, they send an obvious signal about Moscows vulnerability to these kinds of air attacks. Each time a building in the capital is hit, whatever the level of destruction, it serves as a significant propaganda coup for Ukraine.

Its also noteworthy, on this occasion, that President Zelensky has not only referred much more explicitly to the drone attacks than in the past but also that he has highlighted the apparent threat of similar attacks on symbolic centers and military bases in the future.

Military bases, specifically airfields, on Russian territory have come under attack in the past, as well, with mixed results. These have come under attack from a variety of different weapons, allegedly including short-range ballistic missiles, teams of saboteurs, and also adapted Cold War-era target drones carrying warheads on one-way missions. In addition, more familiar suicide drone attacks have apparently been directed against military infrastructure, including airbases, on Russian territory.

In fact, only last week, it was reported that Russia is seeking to establish a second airbase for its fleet of Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers, in the Far East of the country. While this is clearly tied to the expanding Tu-160 force, it seems possible that the vulnerability of Russian Long-Range Aviation bases in the west of the country is also driving a rethink of how these critical assets should be deployed for their own protection.

https://twitter.com/KomissarWhipla/status/1683377862324150274?s=20

In addition, of course, there have been many Ukrainian drone strikes against Russian-occupied Crimea, with both uncrewed aerial vehicles and uncrewed surface vessels having been used repeatedly.

It remains to be seen what kind of reaction the latest drone attack against Moscow will bring from Russia, although its authorities have, in the past, promised revenge for these kinds of raids.

In response to the drone strike against Moscow on July 24, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russias Security Council, issued a dark warning of Russia expanding into new types of target sets to hit back at Kyiv.

We also need to select non-standard targets for our strikes, not just storage sites, energy hubs, and oil bases, the TASS news agency reported Medvedev as saying. There are other places where nobody would be expecting us and where strikes would have a widely felt impact, he added.

https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1683477896390746112?s=20

Whatever happens, it appears inevitable that Russia will face more attacks of this type, with President Zelenskys warning coming only a week after similar statements from Ukraines Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. In response to a drone attack on Crimea, Fedorov took to the Telegram messaging app to say: No matter what happens there will be more of this.

https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1683499872035454976?s=20

As time goes on and Ukraine's expertise in unmanned aerial vehicles expands, both in capabilities and volume of production, the problem could compound for Moscow. We have already seen the shift away from fixed-wing drones available to the public turned into improvised weapons to purpose-built very long-range types. Then the real question becomes can Russia's air defenses adapt fast enough to such a threat, especially if it begins showing up more frequently in greater volumes? Given what we've seen so far, that seems unlikely.

All this is about bringing the war home to the Russian people and putting pressure on the Putin regime. Exactly how successful that will be is still unclear, but we are likely seeing just a glimpse of what's to come.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com
The workplace safety argument between the U.S. Department of Labors OSHA division and Dollar General in Florida continues at the same rhythm: The federal office cites a Dollar General store or more for violations, proposes a fine, and the discount store chain fights the citations and fines.

Among the latest citations: The employer did not provide employees with a working lavatory, exposing employees to adverse health effects and sanitation hazards.

Thats among the seven citations from a Jan. 18 OSHA inspector visit to the Brandon Dollar General at 459 W. Brandon Blvd. in the Tampa Bay area, citations that added up to proposed fines of $186,023. Dollar General had the options of paying the fine; requesting an informal meeting with the area OSHA supervisor, which sometimes ends in a settled fine; or contesting the citations, which will delay the fine until the case is closed even if the citations eventually get upheld.

Dollar General, as many companies do these days, contested the citations, as many companies do and Dollar General itself did with a basket of alleged Occupational Safety and Health Administration violations in 2022.

READ MORE: OSHA: Unsafe Dollar Generals in Florida, other states worth $2.7 million more in fines

As a growing retailer serving thousands of communities across the country, Dollar General is committed to providing a safe work environment for its associates and shopping experience for its customers, Dollar General said in an emailed statement.

We regularly review and refine our safety programs, and reinforce them through training, ongoing communication, recognition and accountability. When we learn of situations where we have failed to live up to this commitment, we work to timely address the issue and ensure that the companys expectations regarding safety are clearly communicated, understood and implemented.

The Labor Department begs to differ. In announcing the most recent citations in Brandon and Dade City, the agency noted in Florida, Alabama and Georgia alone that Dollar General stores racked up $10 million in proposed penalties between Feb. 1, 2022, and April 20 of this year.

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After more than 200 failed inspections, Dollar General cannot claim that they misunderstand federal safety requirements. At this point, we can only conclude that they choose to continue exposing their employees to hazardous conditions, OSHA Area Director Danelle Jindra said. Dollar General must make changes to correct these recurring violations before a worker is needlessly injured or worse.

The single citation in the Dade City store at 14645 Seventh St. concerned an exit route blocked by U-boats and rolltainers. That proposed $156,259 fine mirrored a citation and proposed fine in Brandon as a Repeat-Serious citation. OSHA cited Dollar General locations in Lady Lake, Florida; Adams, New York; and Dalton, Georgia for the same thing.

Two other citations OSHA found in Brandon that exposed employees to fire and electrical hazards:

Extension cords were used as a permanent method and daisy-chained to power a microwave, refrigerator, freezer and as a substitute for fixed electrical wiring.

The temporary power strip was not used in accordance with its instructions ... and was daisy-chained with two extension cords on the working floor surface while stockroom and office operations were being performed.

Workplace safety complaints can be filed to the Occupational Safety Health Administration online, by calling 800-321-6742 (OSHA), faxing or emailing your local OSHA office or showing up at your local OSHA office.
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Kansas City Democrat, has been trying to figure out when people stopped feeling shame.

On Thursday night, ahead of President Joe Bidens speech celebrating the 75th anniversary of President Harry Trumans executive order desegregating the military, Cleaver told Biden that he feels like the country is re-litigating the issues of that time. He said there doesnt seem to be a sense of shame around discrimination any more, the way there was for many years.

But he cant seem to place when the sense of shame disappeared.

Im hearing now from African Americans more than any time, maybe in my adult life, who are saying all of our hard won freedoms are now in jeopardy, Cleaver said last week. Because I dont see any I dont see many Republicans standing up and pushing against whats happening.

Earlier in July, far-right members of the U.S. House were able to secure amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act  the annual bill authorizing the Department of Defenses programs  that eliminated funding for the militarys diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, restricted abortion rights for women in the military and restricted transgender healthcare for military members.

And then last week, the Senate passed with bipartisan support its own version of the NDAA, which included an amendment from Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Missouri Republican, that required an audit of the Department of Defenses DEI office and prevented any new hires in the office until the audit is finished.

Its so strange that it just so happens that this week we will be celebrating Truman, who he thought was paving the way for future freedoms, Cleaver said. He never imagined, I dont think, that the old battles would come again.

Trumans name was heard frequently in Washington last week, as the Truman Library Institute held events across town marking the 75th anniversary of the executive order.

The order came on the heels of World War II, when many Black veterans were fighting for Double Victory, victory over the fascist governments overseas and victory over racism and discrimination at home. Pressure from Black voters and violence against Black veterans spurred Truman, the grandson of slave owners, to create a Civil Rights commission that offered concrete recommendations, like calling for equal voting rights and for the Department of Justice to create an office that would focus on violence against Black Americans.

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When Congress failed to act, Truman issued two executive orders  one desegregating the federal workforce and one desegregating the military.

In his speech at the National Archives Thursday night, Biden marked the significance of the order, saying it made the military stronger. He said he believed America was still in a forward march toward its North Star.

But something dangerous is happening. Ive worked across the aisle my entire career; I think my colleagues will attest to that. I have good friends that are Republicans. We disagree, Biden said, before referencing his friendship with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The Republican Party used to always support the military, he added. But today, they are undermining the military.

He went on to criticize Sen. Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, who is holding up more than 300 Senate confirmations of Department of Defense nominees because over the militarys policies on abortion. He also mentioned Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, criticizing him for holding up a fist in solidarity to protesters on Jan. 6, 2021 shortly before the Capitol riot, and Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, for saying the military is becoming less capable.

Frankly, they have no idea what in Gods name theyre talking about, Biden said.

Schmitt, a freshman who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been vocal about his opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion programs, as conservatives have increasingly pushed back on diversity initiatives in schools, particularly efforts to provide a more nuanced view of historic injustices in the United States.

Neither Schmitt, nor Hawley attended the Truman events in Washington  the Senate voted late into the night on both Wednesday and Thursday.

At the Capitol, Schmitt said he believes that the military should have people from all races and genders and that the military should be doing more to recruit from historically black colleges and universities. But he said he believes there is a difference between having a diverse military and DEI.

DEI is a philosophy based in cultural Marxism where you divide people, you separate people, Schmitt said. Its this sort of race essentialism. And I think thats disruptive. I think thats poison in our military, which has been this great meritocracy. So thats my objection. Its divisive.

DEI initiatives have become a frequent target for conservatives who have pushed back on critical race theory, a law school level concept that explores systemic racism in American institutions. While most of the challenges to DEI initiatives initially focused on public schools and higher education, Republicans have begun challenging diversity initiatives in federal programs.

Hawley also said there shouldnt be DEI initiatives in the military, saying he believes its an effort to have severe race consciousness.

DEI is either quotas, which are unconstitutional now, at least in higher education context. Or it is the theory that America is systemically racist, I mean it comes out of that sort of whole body of thought, Hawley said. And so I just, I disagree with it.

Alex Burden, the executive director of the Truman Library Institute, said current political battles of the NDAA and, in Florida, over the school curriculum, make learning about Truman and his executive orders more relevant than ever.

This ongoing struggle to provide full opportunity and full access to all Americans is still ebbing and flooding, Burden said. And I think its important to look in the rearview mirror and understand what has happened in the past, and that this is kind of a long timeline, and that people will need to continue to pay attention to these issues.

At a Truman Institute Library panel on Friday morning at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, panelists talked about the continued importance of diversity in the military, 75 years after Trumans order.

The military has to pay attention to diversity as it attempts to recruit a new generation, said Anthony Woods, the secretary of Marylands Department of Veterans Affairs who was discharged from the Army under the Clinton era Dont Ask, Dont Tell policy that prevented LGBTQ people from serving openly in the military. He later joined the U.S. Army Reserves after the policy was overturned.

Woods said the military has failed to meet its recruitment goals in recent years and that the military is an ideal place to integrate cultural and social issues.

Its filled with leaders who understand the art and science of leading people, Woods said. And theres nothing better at bringing people together than being united around a common purpose and a common mission.

Earlier in the week, a panel talked about Black service members from the American Revolution to World War II, prior to military desegregation. One panelist, who studies the Civil War, pointed out that the military was more segregated in the 1940s than it was in the 1860s.

Cleavers father and two uncles served in World War II and his family benefited from their ability to capitalize on the GI bill, even though some college options were still limited for Black veterans at the time. He said the battle over the NDAA, which is typically passed with large bipartisan support, is embarrassing the country.

Its the first time, people are openly saying we may lose our freedom, because theres no no longer any embarrassment, Cleaver said. For a time, people who had you know, archaic views camouflaged them or said nothing went or with the crowd. But now, the covers off.
One of Californias most recognizable and at-risk trees has just received special legal protections to ensure its longevity.

The Western National Joshua Tree Conservation Act was passed in the state legislature as part of a recent budget agreement. This act prohibits the unpermitted killing or removal of the Joshua tree and necessitates the development of both a conservation plan and funds to help protect the species.

This legislation is significant because it marks the states first legislation to protect a climate-threatened species. The western Joshua tree has a limited range between Joshua Tree National Park and the San Gabriel Mountains and has been under persistent climate threats in recent decades.

A 2019 study by UC Riverside revealed that, as things stood at the time, a mere 0.2% of the habitat in Joshua Tree National Park would remain viable by 2070. With a best-case-scenario and the most minimal warming possible, only 19% of the land area would be viable.

Warmer and drier conditions limit the trees ability to sprout and survive. The annual precipitation in the park has dropped by 39%, while average temperatures have risen upward of 3 degrees between 1895 and 2016.

Although the legislation doesnt address the climate threat, it does protect the western Joshua tree from another persistent threat: development. Close to 40% of the western Joshua trees are found on private land, which has succumbed to home builds and development pressure.

Other unlikely opponents include renewable energy companies, which had plans to build solar arrays and increase Californias green energy economy.

Its been a long journey to get here, Brendan Cummings, the conservation director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said. We can finally move on from the debate over whether Joshua trees should get protection to focusing on actually implementing measures to help ensure that they get through the very difficult decades ahead.

Join our free newsletter for cool news and cool tips that make it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.
Heres a look at how Pennsylvanias members of Congress voted over the previous week.

HOUSE

SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS: The House has rejected the Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act (HR 1338), sponsored by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. The bill would have created a new system at the Federal Communications Commission for licensing commercial satellite communications networks. Rodgers said it sought to provide certainty to satellite operators by setting out clear performance objectives for satellite communications systems. An opponent, Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., faulted the bills assigning of authority over space safety and orbital debris to the FCC, which Beyer said would only detract and divert attention and resources from the FCCs primary mission of assessing applications to use the electromagnetic spectrum for communications purposes. The vote, on July 25, was 250 yeas to 163 nays, with a two-thirds majority required for approval.

YEAS: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Bucks; Mike Kelly, R-Butler; Chrissy Houlahan, D-Chester; Brendan Boyle, D-Philadelphia; Lloyd Smucker, R-Lancaster; John Joyce, R-Blair; Guy Reschenthaler, R-Washington; Dan Meuser, R-Luzerne; Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Delaware; Chris Deluzio, D-Allegheny

NAYS: Reps. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia; Madeleine Dean, D-Montgomery; Scott Perry, R-York; Matt Cartwright, D-Lackawanna; Glenn Thompson, R-Howard; Susan Wild, D-Lehigh; Summer Lee, D-Allegheny

CHEMICAL FACILITIES AND TERRORISM: The House has passed the Protecting and Securing Chemical Facilities from Terrorist Attacks Act (HR 4470), sponsored by Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., to reauthorize, through fiscal 2025, the Homeland Security Departments Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards program. Lee said: This program must be reauthorized by July 27 to ensure these standards of protection against cyber and physical risks remain in place. The vote, on July 25, was 409 yeas to 1 nay.

YEAS: Fitzpatrick, Kelly, Evans, Houlahan, Dean, Perry, Boyle, Cartwright, Smucker, Joyce, Reschenthaler, Thompson, Meuser, Wild, Scanlon, Lee, Deluzio

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REPAIRING WEST POINT DAMAGE: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., to the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (HR 4366), that would shift $103 million of military construction spending to cover repairs after flooding damage earlier this month at the Military Academy at West Point, New York. Ryan said: Allowing West Point to be hamstrung by such significant damage imperils our military readiness, and we must ensure the institution has the resources it needs to urgently repair and rebuild and get back to their mission. The vote, on July 26, was 394 yeas to 19 nays.

YEAS: Fitzpatrick, Kelly, Evans, Houlahan, Dean, Boyle, Cartwright, Smucker, Joyce, Reschenthaler, Thompson, Wild, Scanlon, Lee, Deluzio

NAYS: Perry

NOT VOTING: Meuser

FIREARMS BACKGROUND CHECKS: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., to the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (HR 4366). The amendment would bar funding for the Veterans Affairs Department to add a veterans name to the Justice Departments National Instant Criminal Background Check System for firearms purchases if the veteran has assistance from a fiduciary. Bost said the lack of legal review of the current process of adding names meant the same veterans who protected our constitutional rights are now losing theirs because they need a bit of help managing their finances. An amendment opponent, Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., called it a partisan stunt and claimed that only under a discrete set of circumstances for a very discrete population does the Veterans Health Administration report veterans to NICS. The vote, on July 26, was 228 yeas to 206 nays.

YEAS: Kelly, Perry, Smucker, Joyce, Reschenthaler, Thompson, Meuser

NAYS: Fitzpatrick, Evans, Houlahan, Dean, Boyle, Cartwright, Wild, Scanlon, Lee, Deluzio

MASK MANDATES AND THE VA: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont, to the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (HR 4366) that would bar funding for the imposition of mask mandates related to COVID. Rosendale said: Denying a veteran medical care over a personal decision is outrageous. We owe it to care for our nations heroes and to provide them with the best possible care, not stigmatize them over masking decisions. An opponent, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., said that with the amendment, extreme MAGA Republicans are once again trying to prevent people  trying to make sure that we have more people get sick rather than fewer. The vote, on July 26, was 223 yeas to 211 nays.

YEAS: Fitzpatrick, Kelly, Perry, Smucker, Joyce, Reschenthaler, Thompson, Meuser

NAYS: Evans, Houlahan, Dean, Boyle, Cartwright, Wild, Scanlon, Lee, Deluzio

CLEAN ENERGY AND THE MILITARY: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., to the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (HR 4366), that would bar funding for adopting a President Joe Biden executive order for developing clean energy industries. Zinke said the order, by increasing military reliance on electricity and renewable energy, was moving to more dependency on our allies and what could be our adversaries, including China. An amendment opponent, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., said: The focus on elevating fossil fuels and thwarting the advancement of clean energy will not help this nation build a strong economy for the future. The vote, on July 26, was 222 yeas to 212 nays.

YEAS: Kelly, Perry, Smucker, Joyce, Reschenthaler, Thompson, Meuser

NAYS: Fitzpatrick, Evans, Houlahan, Dean, Boyle, Cartwright, Wild, Scanlon, Lee, Deluzio

SPENDING ON VA, MILITARY CONSTRUCTION: The House has passed the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations (HR 4366), sponsored by Rep. John Carter, R-Texas. The bill would provide fiscal 2024 funding for the Veterans Affairs Department and related agencies, as well as $17.5 billion for military construction programs. Carter said it keeps our promises to veterans, and we do more to help veterans in the Pacific. We also ensure taxpayer funds will be used appropriately and effectively by increasing oversight of several programs. An opponent, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said the bill cut military construction funding by more than $1.5 billion, and claimed it falls short of our commitments and backtracks on our promises to our veterans, our service members and their families. The vote, on July 27, was 219 yeas to 211 nays.

YEAS: Fitzpatrick, Kelly, Perry, Smucker, Joyce, Reschenthaler, Thompson, Meuser

NAYS: Evans, Houlahan, Dean, Boyle, Cartwright, Wild, Scanlon, Lee, Deluzio

LESSER PRAIRIE-CHICKEN RULE: The House has passed a resolution (SJ Res 9), sponsored by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., to disapprove of and void a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule putting populations of the lesser prairie-chicken on threatened and endangered species lists, with accompanying environmental regulations for chicken habitat. The vote, on July 27, was 221 yeas to 206 nays.

YEAS: Kelly, Perry, Smucker, Joyce, Reschenthaler, Thompson, Meuser

NAYS: Fitzpatrick, Evans, Houlahan, Dean, Boyle, Cartwright, Wild, Scanlon, Lee, Deluzio

LONG-EARED BAT: The House has passed a resolution (SJ Res 24), sponsored by Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to disapprove of and void a Fish and Wildlife Service rule listing the northern long-eared bat as an endangered species. A resolution supporter, Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., said the rule and the agencys approach to managing bat habitat will prove to be unlikely to benefit the bat but is guaranteed to leave our forests unmanaged, unhealthy and vulnerable to catastrophic events such as wildfires. An opponent, Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., said: We should be strengthening and supporting ESA (Endangered Species Act) science and implementation, not pecking at it in order to destroy ESA. The vote, on July 27, was 220 yeas to 209 nays.

YEAS: Kelly, Perry, Smucker, Joyce, Reschenthaler, Thompson, Meuser

NAYS: Fitzpatrick, Evans, Houlahan, Dean, Boyle, Cartwright, Wild, Scanlon, Lee, Deluzio

SENATE

NATIONAL SECURITY AND U.S. ADVERSARIES: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to the National Defense Authorization Act (S 2226) that would create a Treasury Department program requiring U.S. companies to notify Treasury of their planned investments in national security technology sectors in China and other countries considered to be of concern to the U.S. Cornyn said: We policymakers need to know what American companies are doing to help finance an aggressive, authoritarian adversary. The vote, on July 25, was 91 yeas to 6 nays.

YEAS: Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa.; John Fetterman, D-Pa.

FARMLAND SALES: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., to the National Defense Authorization Act (S 2226), to place the agriculture secretary on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and have the committee bar China, Russia, North Korea and Iran from purchasing U.S. farmland and agricultural businesses. Rounds said the ban will make our homeland more secure. The vote, on July 25, was 91 yeas to 7 nays.

YEAS: Casey, Fetterman

DEBT AND MILITARY MEMBERS: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., to the National Defense Authorization Act (S 2226), to increase protections given to members of the military against harassment by debt collectors. Warnock said such harassing actions undermine our national security by distracting our service members from focusing on their mission and caring for their families. The vote, on July 26, was 95 yeas to 2 nays.

YEAS: Casey

NOT VOTING: Fetterman

AUDITING AID TO UKRAINE: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., to the National Defense Authorization Act (S 2226), that would have established an Office of the Lead Inspector General for Ukraine Assistance. Wicker said creating an office with a direct connection to the heads of the Defense and State departments would deliver true oversight of spending on the Russia-Ukraine war. An opponent, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said: There is no gap in U.S. authorities, presence or even additional resources for our oversight efforts that this amendment addresses. The vote, on July 26, was 51 yeas to 48 nays, with a three-fifths majority required for approval.

NAYS: Casey, Fetterman

FLAGS AT GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., to the National Defense Authorization Act (S 2226), that would have put restrictions on the display of any flag other than the U.S. flag, or flags representing other government entities, at government buildings. Marshall said: Wouldnt you think that, to honor America and those who serve, especially for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and the Gold Star families, our country should honor one American flag? An amendment opponent, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., claimed the restriction is about not being able to fly the Pride flag at government facilities. The vote, on July 27, was 50 yeas to 49 nays, with a three-fifths majority required for approval.

NAYS: Casey, Fetterman

FOREIGN AID CONDITIONS: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., to the National Defense Authorization Act (S 2226), that would have blocked the provision of special drawing rights aid from the International Monetary Fund to countries deemed to be perpetrators of genocide or sponsors of terrorism. Kennedy said a remedy was needed for the current situation of Iran and other U.S. adversaries being able to access low-cost IMF funds to support such activities. An amendment opponent, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said it violated IMF rules, and therefore would harm the Treasury Departments ability to respond to deficit in the global supply of reserves on a global crisis. The vote, on July 27, was 51 yeas to 47 nays, with a three-fifths majority required for approval.

NAYS: Casey, Fetterman

9/11 HEALTH CARE FUNDING: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., to the National Defense Authorization Act (S 2226), that would amend an existing law to increase funding for a program for treating victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Gillibrand said: In 2011, when Congress created the World Trade Center Health Program, which provided medical treatment and monitoring for the survivors, it was not fully funded then, and we are hoping to get closer to fully funding it with this addition. The vote, on July 27, was 94 yeas to 4 nays.

YEAS: Casey, Fetterman

2024 MILITARY SPENDING: The Senate has passed the National Defense Authorization Act (S 2226), sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. The bill would authorize about $845 billion of fiscal 2024 spending at the Defense Department, military construction programs and $32 billion of spending on military-related programs at the Energy Department. Reed said: The bill authorizes a record level of investment in key technologies like hypersonics and artificial intelligence and makes real progress toward modernizing our ships, our aircraft and our combat vehicles. The vote, on July 27, was 86 yeas to 11 nays.

YEAS: Fetterman

NOT VOTING: Casey
Lawmakers recently passed a bill that indefinitely stops Leland from annexing land.

State lawmakers passed a bill in July stripping voluntary annexation power from the town of Leland, a move that could impact the towns growth indefinitely.

For over a decade, municipalities in North Carolina have grown largely by voluntary annexations, and fast-growing Leland has been no exception.

Heres what you need to know about the new law and how it could impact Leland and other Brunswick County towns.

How was the bill passed?

In February, Republican Senator Bill Rabon introduced Senate Bill 79 in the state senate, which looked to place a moratorium on the town of Lelands authority to annex land. That bill was making its way through the general assembly when House Bill 267 was edited to include language concerning Leland that was largely similar to that in Senate Bill 79.

Previous coverage: What you need to know about a newly passed bill that strips Leland of its ability to annex

House Bill 267 initially only concerned a deannexation in Holly Springs, removing a Wake County property from the corporate limits of the town. A second part was added to the bill shortly after it was introduced concerning Leland.

The part of the bill that affects Leland  entitled Leland Annexation Moratorium  does not indicate when the power to annex land would be restored to the town. The bill does not impact any petitions for voluntary annexations executed by March 1 of this year.

The bill passed by a vote of 63-39, largely on party lines with Republicans in favor.

What was the towns response?

Local leaders seemed surprised by the passage of the moratorium.

Following the passage of the bill, the town released a statement indicating its disappointment with state lawmakers.

The town of Leland is disappointed in the decision by the NC General Assembly to restrict the personal property rights of landowners by preventing them from voluntarily annexing into the town," the towns statement said.

Voluntary annexations occur at the property owners request. The town has seen an abundance of such requests in recent years, which leaders attribute to the towns services, utilities and amenities.

Story continues

Why was the bill passed, and what does it mean for Leland?

While Rabon and other supporters of the bill have not replied to StarNews requests for interviews, the bill speaks for itself and seems to be an attempt to slow the towns rapid growth.

Leland was incorporated in 1989. In the last 20 years, the small town has grown by 20 square miles. Much of that growth was possible through voluntary annexations of land previously in unincorporated Brunswick County.

In roughly the last year, the town annexed nearly 2,500 acres of contiguous land and another 922 acres of noncontiguous land.

The passage of this bill restricts Lelands ability to extend its physical footprint, and it does so indefinitely. The bill does not indicate when Lelands ability to annex may be restored.

Does this happen often?

According to the UNC School of Government, annexation moratoriums have rarely been placed on individual localities since the state legislature restricted forced annexations in 2011.

This attempt by Rabon to indefinitely strip the town of its ability to annex land isn't his first to slow the towns growth.

Last year, Rabon introduced Senate Bill 911, which looked to limit the towns ability to annex noncontiguous property. An amended version of the bill became state law in June 2022, reducing the maximum distance a property proposed for annexation can be from the town's border from 3 miles to 1.5 miles.

STAY CONNECTED: Keep up with the areas latest Brunswick County news by signing up for the Brunswick Today newsletter and following us on Facebook and Instagram.

Still, the town continued to grow, annexing nearly 3,500 acres of land since the passage of that bill.

What could this mean for nearby towns?

With Leland stripped of its annexation power, it could make way for the nearby, smaller towns of Belville and Navassa to grow by annexations.

Nearby Belville was incorporated 12 years before Leland but hasnt seen the kind of growth Leland has. Mayor Mike Allen said the town grew from roughly half a mile to some two miles in area, but that growth occurred within its first two decades of existence.

Thats because in the early 2000s, the two towns reached an agreement that limited their annexation boundaries, Allen said. That agreement ends this year, and Allen said Belville intends to begin annexing land quickly.

Jamey Cross covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at jbcross@gannett.com or message her on Twitter @jameybcross

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: What to know as Leland loses annexation power
The House and Senate left Washington for the month of August with a lengthy, time-sensitive to-do list waiting when they return, including multiple key health care priorities.

There will only be three weeks before the end of the fiscal year to get everything done, and just 11 legislative days when both chambers will be in session at the same time.

Congress faces a Sept. 30 deadline to reauthorize a sweeping pandemic preparedness bill, fund community health centers and renew opioid addiction services.

But the largest looming deadline is the appropriations bills to fund the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which are tied up in the House amid disagreements over abortion policies and spending levels.

GOP leaders scuttled a vote planned for Friday on legislation funding the FDA and the Department of Agriculture after moderate Republicans objected to a provision that would reverse the FDAs decision to allow the abortion pill mifepristone drug to be dispensed through the mail and in retail pharmacies.

House Freedom Caucus members have also been demanding even deeper spending cuts than agreed to in the bipartistan debt ceiling deal.

The Labor-HHS bill advanced through a House Appropriations subcommittee earlier this month, but hadnt even made it to the full committee before recess. The Republican-led House bill would slash or eliminate funding from a range of programs that deal with everything from family planning to teen pregnancy and even HIV.

Both FDA and HHS funding bills face a major fight in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where the Appropriations Committee has already passed its own version by near unanimous margins, owing to an agreement by Democratic and Republican leaders not to insert poison pill amendments.

House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.) argued in a floor speech that lawmakers should stay in Washington to strip out the toxic, divisive, bigoted riders in the bills, and ripped Republicans for delaying votes until September.

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Pandemic preparedness

The House and Senate are taking different tracks in the reauthorization of the pandemic preparedness bill, complicating its path forward.

The Senate advanced a bipartisan version of the Pandemic All-Hazards Preparedness Act out of committee, but the House is divided. House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans advanced a bill on party lines after Democrats introduced their own version.

The primary disagreement is over drug shortages. Democrats are clamoring to give FDA more oversight authority to address the shortages, but Republicans are insisting on keeping the issues separate.

The Senate version contains some provisions addressing drug shortages, but only one involves beefing up FDA authority.

Congress is under pressure to stem drug shortages amid reports of doctors rationing cancer drugs and other medicine. Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee have said they are committed to dealing with the problems, but that it shouldnt be part of the preparedness bill.

Energy and Commerce Committee GOP leaders released a discussion draft Friday of drug shortage legislation focusing on the economic reasons for shortages, including giving some generic drug manufacturers the ability to raise the cost of their drugs if hospitals keep prices artificially low to the point where theres no economic incentive to produce or sell them.

Health centers

Legislation to reauthorize funding for community health centers also faces partisan challenges. But in this case, the House cleared its bill on a bipartisan basis, while the Senate is still working through disagreements, highlighting the work to be done.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, originally wanted tens of billions of dollars more for the centers. He was asking for $130 billion to fund the centers over the next five years as well as $60 billion to help grow the health care workforce.

But Sanders ended up canceling a planned markup during the last week of July. Raising some eyebrows, Sanders said he is working with Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) to craft a bipartisan bill that will be ready by the first week of September.

Separately, Sanders and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued a joint statement pledging to partner and work toward legislation in the fall aimed at addressing primary care and other health care workforce shortages.

Opioids

At issue are several provisions of sweeping legislation signed into law in 2018 called the Support Act, which aimed to tackle the countrys drug overdose epidemic.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced a bipartisan reauthorization and expansion bill, but advocates are concerned the Senate is behind.

HELP Committee ranking member Bill Cassidy (R-La.) introduced his own version of the bill July 20, but hearings wont be scheduled until September. Cassidy has warned that the committee is wasting time on partisan bills instead of easy bipartisan wins, such as the Support Act.

Insulin/PBM reform

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has said for months that he wants to move legislation that would cap the cost of insulin at $35 per month for people with private insurance.

Theres hope to combine it with legislation reforming the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry into a package that could get bipartisan support.

But theres no looming deadline and no guarantee it will get taken up in September.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who is a co-sponsor of one of the insulin bills with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), said she still has Schumers support heading into the fall but has not heard anything about timing.

Multiple committees have advanced PBM reform bills in both the House and Senate, so they will all need to be combined into one floor-friendly package.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A group of Republican lawmakers is pushing Defense Department leaders to retry Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for desertion after his conviction was thrown out by a federal judge last week.

Five military veterans  Reps. Mike Waltz, R-Fla.; Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas; Jake Ellzey, R-Texas; Ryan Zinke, R-Mont.; and Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa.  sent a letter to both Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding an immediate review of options for a new trial for Bergdahl, calling it a matter of fairness and justice.

Bergdahl pled guilty to desertion in 2017, but his conviction was thrown out in July on a technicality. Hed left his military base in Afghanistan in 2009. He was captured by the Taliban and held captive for nearly five years. Hundreds of troops spent thousands of man hours looking for the missing soldier, and military officials said several were wounded in enemy attacks.

Bergdahls actions endangered and potentially got his comrades killed, the GOP lawmakers wrote. This outcome dishonors those who served and died alongside Bergdahl, and by omission condoning such behavior, puts the lives of future American soldiers in peril.

Judge vacates Bowe Bergdahls desertion conviction

Bergdahls conviction carried with it a dishonorable discharge and a $10,000 penalty but no jail time, given the years he spent being tortured by hostile forces.

But on July 25, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton ruled that conviction was invalid because the military judge who presided over the court-martial  Jeffrey Nance  failed to disclose a personal conflict of interest: his application to the executive branch for a job as an immigration judge.

Former President Donald Trump was outspoken in his criticism of Bergdahl both before his election in 2016 and during his time in office. Walton ruled that Nances failure to disclose a job application with senior Trump officials created the appearance of impropriety.

New military justice rules set to go into effect with Biden order

Both Department of Justice and Department of Defense officials have declined to speak publicly on possible next steps in the case. The lawmakers behind the letter said that simply allowing the case to fade away is unacceptable, and asked for a new trial as expeditiously as possible.

Bergdahl, now 37, has kept a low profile since his return from Afghanistan. He had testified that he left his post to complain about a toxic leadership climate in his unit. Bergdahl was only freed after the release of five senior Taliban leaders by then President Barack Obama.
CHICAGO (AP)  A leading anti-abortion organization criticized Republican Ron DeSantis on Monday for not supporting a national ban on the procedure, calling the Florida governor's position unacceptable as he seeks the GOP nomination for president.

The president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an influential player in conservative politics, took issue with DeSantis' statements in a recent interview in which he declined to back a national abortion ban. SBA President Marjorie Dannenfelser said the anti-abortion movement and Americans across the U.S. deserve a president who will boldly advocate for a ban on abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy.

A pro-life president has a duty to protect the lives of all Americans. He should be the National Defender of Life," she said. Gov. DeSantiss dismissal of this task is unacceptable to prolife voters. A consensus is already formed. Intensity for it is palpable and measurable. There are many pressing legislative issues for which Congress does not have the votes at the moment, but that is not a reason for a strong leader to back away from the fight. This is where presidential leadership matters most."

DeSantis' campaign called the statement unjustified.

Governor DeSantis delivers results and acts, especially when it comes to protecting life. He did so in Florida by signing the heartbeat bill and will be a pro-life president," Press Secretary Bryan Griffin said. "He does not kowtow to DC interest groups. This unjustified attack on him is another example of the DC political games that have seen conservatives falter in Washington while Governor DeSantis has produced unmatched conservative victories in Florida."

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America was responding to a recent interview in which Megyn Kelly asked DeSantis if he would support a national abortion ban. The U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v. Wade, the roughly 50-year-old ruling that established a federal right to abortion. Susan B. Anthony has said it would not support any White House candidate in 2024 who did not at a minimum support a 15-week federal ban.

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In the interview, DeSantis noted he signed legislation in Florida to ban abortion at six weeks of pregnancy but suggested that individual states should decide the issue. He said he is pro-life but added that he is running on doing things that I know I can accomplish.

Democrats say the Supreme Court's decision and Republicans' focus on restricting abortion rights have helped motivate voters to favor more liberal candidates, and the party believes it will be a major factor again in 2024. Abortion rights were on the ballot in six states in 2022, and in every contest voters opted to protect them. In the battleground state of Wisconsin, a liberal candidate who made abortion rights a centerpiece of her campaign won an April election for a seat on the state's highest court.

A recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that the majority of U.S. adults want abortion to be legal at least through the initial stages of pregnancy. About two-thirds of Americans said abortion should generally be legal, but only about a quarter said it should always be legal and only about 1 in 10 said it should always be illegal.

About half of Americans say abortions should be permitted at the 15-week mark, though 55% of those living in states with the most restrictive laws say abortion should be banned by that point, the poll found.

The criticism from a powerful organization comes at a tenuous time for DeSantis, who is seen as the top rival to former President Donald Trump for the GOP presidential nomination, but who has been running a distant second to Trump in public polling. DeSantis' campaign has been working in recent weeks to improve his trajectory and reboot his campaign, including cutting staff.

He is not alone in drawing criticism from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, however. The group also was critical of Trump for not supporting the 15-week federal ban.

Trump has defended that position, noting he appointed the Supreme Court justices who made it possible for Roe v. Wade to be overturned. Trump also has said that Republicans' focus on restricting abortion

Some other Republicans seeking the nomination support the national ban. Former Vice President Mike Pence said he would go further, endorsing a ban at six weeks of pregnancy, or before some women know they are pregnant.

He told The Associated Press that abortion should be banned when a pregnancy isnt viable  a standard that would force women to carry pregnancies to term even when doctors have determined there is no chance a baby will survive outside the womb.

___

Associated Press reporter Michelle L. Price contributed from New York.
A leading national opponent of public pensions and government agencies prioritizing investments with environmental and social justice goals recently joined the board overseeing Kansas public pension system and its $25 billion in assets.

Derek Kreifels became a member of the Board of Trustees of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, commonly called KPERS, on July 21 after he was appointed by Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican.

Kreifels is the CEO and co-founder of the Shawnee-based State Financial Officers Foundation, a national group aggressively opposed to public investments in companies guided by environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, factors. The broad term encompasses consideration given to climate change and social issues in making investment decisions.

Republican officials across the country have condemned the practice and 14 states, including Kansas, passed anti-ESG laws this year, according to a report released by Pleiades Strategy, a firm that encourages action on climate change. ESG critics say investment decisions should be guided solely by fiduciary responsibility.

The investment decisions of public pension systems in particular are economically significant because they collectively hold about $5.3 trillion in assets. Over time, changes in the systems investment strategies could affect corporate decision making.

While Kreifels is already a prominent face of the anti-ESG movement, the KPERS board appointment gives him the power to directly influence a public pension system with billions in investments and more than 325,000 members.

I think that its any pensioners duty to be laser-focused on fiduciary responsibility, said Kreifels, who served as assistant Kansas state treasurer from 2010 to 2016, a period spanning Democrat Dennis McKinney and Republican Ron Estes tenures as treasurer.

Any time that any issue, whether its ESG or something else, comes up that starts to potentially influence an investment decision that isnt fiduciarily focused, it would be an issue.

Story continues

ESG supporters warn the GOP-backed measures risk a focus on short-term returns at the expense of long-term benefits. For example, clean energy investments now may not lead to large returns immediately but could eventually prove valuable as society transitions away from fossil fuels in the decades to come.

The whole anti-ESG mindset to me, I think, its very short-sighted. The real benefit of information on ESG is it gives fund managers and companies an idea of what and how a potential company youre going to invest in  what their future could hold, said former Democratic Kansas Treasurer Lynn Rogers.

If companies arent taking environmental and other factors into consideration, I think long-term investments in those companies are going to be difficult to sustain, Rogers said.

As a trustee, Kreifels is only one voice on a nine-member board. The board includes Republican Treasurer Steven Johnson, four members appointed by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, two members elected by pension system participants and a member chosen by Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, a Republican, in addition to Kreifels.

But Kreifels joins with an outsized bully pulpit. From his position leading the State Financial Officers Foundation, he speaks frequently about what he views as the dangers of ESG.

In a February article in the conservative magazine National Review, Kreifels recounted actions across the country in 2022 to fight the use of economic, social and governance factors in investing. While its front-page news today, not too long ago few Americans had heard of the term ESG, he wrote. He wrote that ESG opponents cant rest until they have regained control from those who would hijack them for political purposes.

Kreifels this spring appeared on the podcast of Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist who is a highly popular commentator among some conservatives, where he noted the oil and gas industry is the signature industry in some states.

Were saying, look, were market participants, too. We dont have to use your bank or your fund manager to manage our billions of dollars in business if we think youre actually trying to hurt the primary industry of our state, Kreifels said on the podcast.

A New York Times investigation last year found a coordinated effort among Republican state treasurers to thwart climate action at the state and federal level, and placed the State Financial Officers Foundation at the center of the endeavor.

In a statement, Hawkins said Kreifels experience and qualifications make him an outstanding addition to the board.

Kreifels helped form the State Financial Officers Foundation in 2012 while working in the Kansas State Treasurers Office. He holds a bachelors degree in communications and public relations from Wichita State University and a masters degree in management from Friends University in Wichita. He was also secretary of the Kansas Republican Party from 2013 to 2017.

There is truly no one better to ensure that KPERS is serving the long term financial interests of state retirees and not those of radical special interest groups, Hawkins said.

Rep. Rui Xu, a Westwood Democrat and the ranking minority member on the Kansas House Financial Institutions and Pensions Committee, hesitated to comment on Kreifels appointment given that he doesnt know him, but he said he hopes Kreifels adheres to what I think we all want, and that is maximum returns for KPERS.

Kreifels joined the board less than a month after a new Kansas law went into effect designed to limit the influence of ESG within government. The law, HB 2100, requires KPERS and its investment managers and contractors to operate solely in the financial interest of its participants. It blocks state agencies from granting preferential treatment or discriminating against businesses based upon environmental, social and governance criteria.

Kelly allowed the bill to become law without her signature, though it passed in largely party-line votes that fell short of a veto-proof majority. In a statement this spring, the governor said she had reservations about the potential unforeseen consequences of the legislation on state and local governments.

Ernie Claudel, a member of the KPERS Board of Trustees who also helps lead the Kansas Coalition of Public Retirees, said he doesnt think the Legislature realized the ramifications of the anti-ESG bill. He warned that if the investment returns begin slipping, employers will have to contribute more to the system.

Youve got to be careful, Claudel said. You dont want to get the dominoes falling the wrong way.

The law doesnt go as far as a version of the bill passed by the Kansas Senate that would have also ordered KPERS to divest from investments with foreign adversaries, as defined by federal regulations. As of March, that list included China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

KPERS Director Alan Conroy testified in opposition to an early version of the bill, saying in written comments that the pension systems board has carefully built an investment portfolio to provide the highest returns while minimizing risk. He wrote the Legislature already addressed social investing when it passed a law in 1992 prohibiting investments if the sole or primary purpose was for economic development or social purposes.

All investment decisions are made for the sole purpose of providing promised benefits, Conroy wrote.

Kreifels said the new Kansas law represents really good work by legislative leaders. He demurred when asked if the law should go further.

The Senate members and the House members have to do what they feel like is the best interest of their districts, the best interest of their constituents and I dont pretend to know what that is, Kreifels told The Star.

Kelly Arnold, a former KPERS trustee and former chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, said he was excited to learn of Kreifels appointment, given both his past experience in the Kansas State Treasurers Office and in his role with the State Financial Officers Foundation. Arnold expressed support for the new state law.

Because it keeps the focus of the KPERS trustees on that goal of having the best return for the members money and not politics, said Arnold, who is also the Sedgwick County clerk.

Xu said the legislation was unnecessary. Like Kelly, he said he worried about unintended consequences.

It was just kind of a reactionary piece of legislation to what talk show radio hosts were doing, Xu said.
An injured man is shifted to a hospital after a blast targeting a gathering of Islamic political party Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Sunday. Photo by Arshad Arbab/EPA-EFE

July 31 (UPI) -- At least 54 people had died by Monday, including five children, and more than 100 were injured after a bombing at an Islamist political gathering over the weekend that targeted one of the country's major parties.

The explosion happened about 4:10 p.m. local time Sunday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Bajaur district, in northwest Pakistan, where hundreds of party workers and local political leaders were gathered for a convention of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl.

The bomb detonated as one of the Khar party leaders was speaking to the unwitting crowd, killing Khar General Secretary Maulana Ziaullah Jan, and District Press Secretary Mujahid Khan, along with Khan's son.

Investigators with the Pakistani Counter Terrorism Department were examining the crime scene Monday as District Police Officer Nazir Khan announced the arrest of several suspects, whose identities were not released.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police said the Islamic State was involved in the attack, but no militant group had claimed responsibility amid a recent wave of terror bombings across the country.

People shift coffins outside a hospital following a suicide bombing that targeted the Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam political party in Bajaur, Pakistan. Photo by Hanifullah Khan/EPA-EFE

Those injured in Sunday's blast were rushed to hospitals in Bajaur and surrounding regions, while some of the critically wounded were airlifted to hospitals in neighboring Peshawar.

The Bajaur district borders Afghanistan near Peshawar and was once a major stage in the global war on terror.

Investigators said they uncovered terrorist activity in the Bajaur district and surrounding regions in June when federal agents killed three suspected ISIS militants.

Terror strikes across the country have killed at least 389 people since peace negotiations with ISIS broke down last November.

In January, an explosion inside a mosque at a police compound in Peshawar killed more than 80 deputies.

A bombing last week inside a mosque in the Jamrud area of Khyber district killed a police officer.

Many of the dead in Sunday's blast have not been publicly identified as the remains of 36 victims were handed over to relatives.

Peshawar Corps Commander Lt. Gen Hassan Azhar Hayat visited Hospital Khar to offer condolences to family members and to console the wounded.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the explosion, along with former Premier Imran Khan, KP Gov. Ghulam Ali and caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan.
Samantha Lee/Insider

People can change for the better. But you shouldn't wait for them to improve if there's no evidence that they want to try, therapist Jaime Mahler said. Alyssa Powell/Chelsea Jia Feng/Insider

People can change their behaviors to be better partners, but it requires radical honesty and communication.

To avoid false hope, understand what you desire in your marriage and find out if your husband agrees to grow with you, a therapist said.

Have a question for Julia? Fill out this anonymous form. All questions will be published anonymously. You can read more Doing It Right here.

Dear Julia,

I'm surrounded by my husband's narcissistic family. They always find a way to be inconsiderate and disrespectful towards me, then twist my reaction to make it seem like I'm the problem. I know what they're doing, and I see that my husband lets it happen.

Deep down, I know that my husband is narcissistic like the rest of his family. But his narcissism isn't as extreme, so I tell myself that he's just insecure, defensive, and confused about how to fix things. It's easier to play along with narcissists than go against them, so who can blame him?

I love him and know he needs emotional security more than a normal person because of his family. So is it wrong to accept my marriage as it is, instead of breaking free?

I'm aware of my worth, but I'm also a woman in love. And I have hope that if I stick by my husband through all the bad moments, he'll eventually realize he should stop being insecure and defending his family drama.

Is there any hope for my narcissistic husband?

- North Carolina

Dear North Carolina,

I can relate to the desire you have to make your relationship work despite its imperfections.

Hope and love are powerful emotions, and I can remember times I enjoyed being consumed by those feelings. But I also recognize times when I held onto hope and love so tightly that I didn't realize I was holding myself back. Letting go was painful, but I'm better for it.

I wondered if you could be in a similar situation, so I spoke with Jaime Mahler, a therapist who specializes in helping people heal from narcissistic relationships, about your question. She told me that the fear of being alone often drives us to accept less than we deserve.

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According to Mahler, cultural norms often have us believing that tolerating and enduring a just-alright relationship is worthwhile. But we should challenge that idea if we want to live our best, most self-actualized lives, Mahler said.

She said that taking time alone to understand the marriage you want, conveying that to your husband, and being honest about the results can help you decide how to move forward.

Consider if you want to change your relationship standards

When we hear about people ending or leaving relationships, we tend to fixate on the most egregious situations like abuse and cheating.

But it's also OK to end things for less extreme reasons, like noticing that your negative feelings about them outweigh your positive feelings, or, in your case, that you don't like how they consistently allow their family to treat you.

That doesn't mean you should run at the first sign of a partner's toxic habits or behaviors that rub you the wrong way, Mahler said. But if you hold onto hope that your partner will change without the evidence that they're trying to, you could end up losing yourself in your marriage, according to Mahler.

"You have to have a standard so you can say to yourself, 'What am I willing to endure? Where is my line?' Because if you don't, your partner can give you the bare minimum and you'll accept that as love," Mahler told me. "In reality, loving is not the same as enduring."

That's why she suggested taking some time alone to ask yourself if you genuinely want to make your marriage better. If you feel too exhausted to try, or are unsure that you could work on things without growing resentful, those are signs you're likely in the wrong relationship, Mahler said.

But if you do want to try, reflect on the patterns and behaviors you and your husband have fallen into. According to Mahler, name-calling, blame-shifting to shirk accountability, and swearing are a few examples of toxic behaviors that partners can fall into, regardless of whether they're a diagnosed narcissist.

She said that you should be honest about which behaviors you want to stop doing yourself, plus which of your husband's behaviors (and his family's) are hurting you.

How to decide if it's worth holding out hope

Once you have a clear idea about what needs to change in your marriage to make it feel loving and worthwhile, discuss these points with your husband, Mahler said. She said that people often avoid these talks out of fear, but they're an essential part of any healthy relationship.

"Most people don't want to know that their partner genuinely doesn't want work on making the relationship better, so they don't have these conversations," she told me.

If you avoid learning your husband's truth, you could be holding onto false hope that he will change in the ways you desire. And there's nothing stopping you from doing that.

But if you want to live up to your worth right now, you have to hear how he truly feels about the changes you want to see, even though you could end up disappointed, Mahler said.

I'll never forget when I gave up my own false optimism and allowed myself to feel disappointment in a (now ex) partner. It shattered my entire world, but eventually I felt hope again. This time, it came from knowing the type of relationship I really wanted, and the just-alright things I would never settle for again.

So never give up hope, North Carolina. Just make sure you're investing in the right kind.

As Insider's resident sex and relationships reporter, Julia Naftulin is here to answer all of your questions about dating, love, and doing it  no question is too weird or taboo. Julia regularly consults a panel of health experts including relationship therapists, gynecologists, and urologists to get science-backed answers to your burning questions, with a personal twist.

Have a question? Fill out this anonymous form. All questions will be published anonymously.

Read the original article on Insider
The sister of a California man who was shot and killed by his tenant asked the man convicted in his slaying Monday not to apologize to her family.

Deborah Goldberg, the sister of landlord Daniel Stein, holds up a photo of her slain brother as she gives her victim impact statement in court Monday in Akron. Summit County Judge Joy Malek Oldfield sentenced Pursley to 18 years to life in prison for the October 2022 shooting death of Stein.

Do not speak of any regret, Deborah Goldberg told Eric Pursley during his sentencing in Summit County Common Pleas Court. There is nothing you can say or anyone else. Nothing can undo what you did.

As she spoke, Goldberg held up photographs of her brother, Daniel Stein, with family and friends.

These are all we have left, Goldberg said sadly. This is what you did.

Eric Pursley talks with his attorney Pat Summers on Monday, July 31, 2023 in Akron, Ohio. Summit County Judge Joy Malek Oldfield sentenced Pursley to 18 years to life in prison for the October 2022 shooting death of his landlord Daniel Stein.

Pursley, 23, of Akron, was found guilty on July 21 of murder and a gun specification for fatally shooting Stein, his landlord, in October 2022.

More: 'I had to defend myself,' testifies Akron man convicted of murder in landlord's shooting

Judge Joy Malek Oldfield sentenced Pursley to life in prison with possible parole after 18 years.

Pursley, who claimed self-defense, plans to appeal.

Pursley was behind on his rent, prosecutors say

Pursley was arrested following the shooting death of Stein, 58, of California, at about 1 p.m. Oct. 5 at Pursleys apartment in the 600 block of Sumner Street.

Prosecutors say Stein went to Pursleys apartment to talk to him about being behind on his rent.

More: Akron man claims self-defense in shooting death of his landlord

Pursley claimed he was refusing to pay because of problems with the apartment, including an issue with mice.

Pursley testified that Stein was being aggressive toward him and his asked his girlfriend to get his gun from a gun safe. He said he loaded his gun in front of Stein, figuring this would get him to back off. Instead, he said, Stein charged at him, and reached for his throat.

Pursley said thats when he fired a single shot that killed Stein. He then called police and told them hed shot Stein in self-defense. When officers arrived, he had his hands in the air and showed them where the gun was on the ground.

Prosecutors said the evidence didnt support Pursleys self-defense claim.

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Jurors find Pursley guilt of one type of murder and not another

Jurors found Pursley guilty of murder that means causing a persons death as a the result of a felonious assault with a gun specification, which carries with it additional prison time, as well as two counts of felonious assault.

Jurors found Pursley not guilty of murder than involves purposely causing a persons death.

The two types of murder have the same penalty.

Steins friends and family mourn his loss

Assistant Prosecutor Elliot Kolkovich said during Pursleys sentencing that Stein, who owned several rental properties, had gone to check on his properties hundreds of times before and never had any issues.

The only reason we are here today is because of the defendants choice and the defendants conduct, Kolkovich said.

Family members of both Pursley and Stein sat in on the trial and attended the sentencing.

Sherman Couch, a long-time friend of Steins, said their families grew up together and Stein was the center of those connections.

Moving forward, we have to find a way to heal and put scar tissue on that loss, Couch said. That process is ongoing.

Goldberg read a statement from Robert Stein, the middle of Daniels three sons, who said he could write a book about the wonderful things his father did for his family, friends and people he didnt know.

Robert Stein, who formerly lived in the house where his father was shot, recalled a Thanksgiving when they finished their dinner and his father suggested that they take a meal to a homeless man hed seen begging on the side of the road. He said he went with his father, who got out and handed this man the meal.

This is the man who was taken from us, Robert Stein said. This the man the world lost. The world needs more men like my dad.

Goldberg said her brother was just doing his job, checking in with Pursley about the rent he owed. She said her brother wasnt looking at Pursley when the shot was fired, and she wonders if Stein may have dropped his phone or the tape he brought to attach an eviction notice to Pursleys door.

You did not just murder my brother; you executed him, she said. Well never know. Now, you are a convicted murderer. You murdered our future with Daniel and future memories.

Pursley regrets what happened, attorney says

Pat Summers, Pursleys attorney, said Pursley had a gun to protect his family and obtained it legally. He said no one else was there that day besides Pursley and Stein to see what transpired between the two men.

He did not want this to happen, Summers said. This was not a cold-blooded killing.

Summers said he advised Pursley not to speak about the case because he plans to appeal. In light of Goldbergs request, Summers said he thought it might be best if Pursley made no remarks.

I know hes remorseful and sorry for what happened, Summers said.

Pursley declined to speak.

Oldfield told Pursley she doesnt accept his explanation for what happened. She said if Pursley had time to ask his girlfriend to get his gun and load it, he had time to call 911 if he was feeling threatened.

Thats the responsibility of a responsible gun owner  a last resort before taking someones life, she said.

Oldfield said she is sad for both the Stein and Pursley families because each suffered a loss.

Pursley mouthed, I love you, to his family members in the courtroom.

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Eric Pursley gets life in prison for shooting death of his landlord
Earlier this year, a Presidential Advisory Board recommended that the Biden administration celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of approval of the Global Positioning System as an official government program. Such a celebration should highlight the programs achievements and its many contributions to the world.

At the same time the National Space-based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Advisory Board warned GPSs capabilities are now substantially inferior to those of Chinas BeiDou. It urged the government to use the event to launch an initiative to regain U.S. PNT [positioning, navigation, and timing] leadership and ensure resilient, reliable PNT for critical infrastructure and the larger economy.

Reinforcing its message, the board recently posted a white paper Celebrating the GPS 50th Anniversary: Recommitting to U.S. Leadership in PNT.

The paper cites many of the critical technologies GPS underpins and calls it an essential yet silent utility. Among the benefits mentioned are revolutions in agriculture, transportation, and telecommunications, along with vast improvements in areas as diverse as financial services, construction, and electrical grid operations. GPS has created new businesses such as Uber and Lyft and transformed American society for the better.

At the same time, the white paper warns, GPS contributions to Americas global leadership and economic prosperity have not gone unnoticed by our allies and adversaries.

The role of GPS and PNT in Great Power Competition is significant, according to the board.

Europe, Russia and China have all deployed their own satellite navigation systems as a way to protect their national security and reinforce their positions as world powers.

Europe offers use of its system to other nations as a civilian supplement to Americas military-operated GPS.

China aggressively markets its BeiDou satellite navigation system as newer and, in many locations, more accurate alternative or replacement for GPS. A recent Harvard paper documented how China is using it as an integral part of its Belt and Road and Digital Silk Road efforts to expand its soft power around the world.

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Both China and Russia also recognize GPS and PNTs role in hard power.

Signal jamming

China has regularly jammed GPS signals in the South China Sea as part of its illegal extraterritorial claims around the Spratly Islands. And it has regularly spoofed, or sent false GPS signals, to conceal the real locations of ships. This was most likely in an effort to avoid sanctions for importing Iranian oil.

Russian forces in Ukraine regularly jam GPS signals to degrade the effectiveness of US-provided precision weapons and defeat drone attacks. And just before the war began Russia destroyed a retired satellite boasting it could shoot down all 32 GPS satellites and blind NATO. A threat taken seriously by the White House, according to a National Security Council official who described GPS as a single point of failure for the nation.

Observers have questioned what impact this threat has had on Americas response to the invasion and on-going conflict.

Chinas and Russias threats to GPS are particularly of concern because both those nations have national terrestrial alternatives to GPS and GPS-like systems while the U.S. does not. Thus, if either nation were to seriously disrupt GPS, the U.S. would not be able to achieve the same impact by responding in kind. This disparity between capabilities is seen by some analysts as ripe for exploitation, something that could lead to an escalating series of responses and a shooting war.

To address these challenges the Advisory Board recommends the administration convene a White House summit celebrating U.S. achievements with GPS and launch new era of innovation and prosperity. The event should have three goals, it says.

Critical infrastructure

First, to raise public awareness of GPS contributions and importance to America and the world. While most people understand that GPS is based on satellites and helps them navigate, few, including policy makers, understand the key role it plays in supporting virtually all technologies and critical infrastructures.

The summit should also lead to improvements in the way GPS and PNT efforts are led within the government with appointment of a senior responsible official. Leadership is currently vested in a very senior cross-department committee that advises the Executive Office of the President. The committee rarely meets, and its senior co-chairs have not participated in decades. Observers have often commented that a critical national capability like GPS and PNT must have focused, day-to-day senior leadership.

Finally, the board says, the summit should Lead to implementation of a systems approach to a resilient national PNT architecture to underpin national security and economic prosperity.

This, experts say, would involve establishment of services that worked with GPS and provided similar information, but from different sources and by different methods. Time signals from the National Institute of Standards and Technology could be delivered by fiber and terrestrial broadcast, for example. Navigation information to complement GPS could be provided by terrestrial broadcasts. Satellites orbiting closer to the earth and less susceptible to interference than GPS could also be part of the solution.

None of these technologies are new, and all are relatively inexpensive. The only thing needed, according to many experts, is government focus and leadership.

The alternative is for the U.S. to continue falling behind China and others in area in which it has led the world for over fifty years. This would also perpetuate significant risks to national and economic security.

The administration has not yet responded to the Advisory Boards January recommendation, nor its May white paper. Sources say a response is being coordinated and should be available before the board meets again in December.

Mr. Dana A. Goward is President of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation, and is a member of the Presidents National Space-based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Advisory Board
The NYPD has begun encrypting scanner radios that the press and the public have used to monitor basic police communications for more than 90 years. While the desire to put such communications on an impenetrable private channel is understandable, transparency has well served the city for generations. It should not be rolled back.

Scanner radios have been a fixture in newsrooms going back forever. On these devices, which are tuned to a special frequency  and smartphone apps that aggregate their feeds  journalists and the public hear crime reports and police being dispatched in response to those reports. (The new-ish smartphone app Citizen, which informs people of reported crimes in progress near them, also relies heavily on police scanners.)

Now the nations largest police department is considering encrypting these communications; as a start and without warning, six Brooklyn precincts went behind a dark blue curtain earlier this month.

Before going further down this road, the Adams administration, new Police Commissioner Eddie Caban (who says not to worry, the new technology is just in the testing phase) and the civilians who oversee the departments operations must do an honest assessment of what will be gained and what will be lost.

Yes, police will gain the peace of mind of knowing that no one else is listening in. Theyd know that scanner frequencies cannot be breached by outsiders, a practice that in the past has led to some mischievous pranks. With no one able to hear cop-to-cop communications, theres far less chance that bad guys can interfere in their operations or target officers.

But the fears of police having their work compromised have hardly ever come to pass  while the benefits of transparency are enjoyed every day. On police frequencies, members of the media and gadflies attuned to public safety operations get wind of important stories in the public interest that would otherwise escape notice. They get the information they need to get to the scenes of crimes in timely fashion to gather facts and photographs. They hear the first, unfiltered version of crime reports, including police shootings of civilians, which is essential given that when police departments are in sole control of the narrative, they have an understandable incentive to recount events in a way that makes them look good.

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Encryption enthusiasts cite the fact that many other cities have already taken the plunge toward secrecy, in some cases throwing the press a bone by letting them listen in on a 15-minute or 30-minute delay. But public access was no major hindrance to New Yorks record crime decline in the 1990s, and its no drag on the NYPD as it manages to drive down shootings and homicides. This is a problem in search of a solution.

Saying the quiet part out loud, one City Hall official told amNY: Whether crime is up or down, if the press shows photos of people being shot, stabbed or robbed, it gives a bad impression of the city and so the mayor would prefer to limit those photos. In other words: Inconvenient truths that make the citys leaders look bad are better off unreported. We couldnt have come up with a better argument for letting the public and press hear the scanners.

___
The Democratic candidate for governor of Mississippi appears to be embracing a rallying cry used by opponents of President Joe Biden, though perhaps in a joking way.

Brandon Presley, who is trying to unseat Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, has co-opted the phrase Let's Go Brandon in a recent social media post, playfully pointing to a billboard displaying the Let's Go Brandon phrase in Lauderdale County as a sign of support for him.

Critics of Biden began using the phrase in 2021, as a coded substitute for an attack on the president that included profanity.

"Proud to see the great support in Lauderdale County!" Presley posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, over the weekend.

Proud to see the great support in Lauderdale County! pic.twitter.com/tEQnhTf09S  Brandon Presley (@BrandonPresley) July 28, 2023

It is unclear who paid for the billboard. While it is styled similarly to the campaign logo of former President Donald Trump, it is marked simply as "paid for by supporters." A spokesperson for the Presley campaign confirmed that it did not pay for the billboard, and they were also unaware of who funded it.

It is not the first time Presley has embraced the fact that his name is included in the attack of his fellow Democrat. In December, before Presley had officially announced his candidacy, Corinth Alderman Chip Wood, a Republican, posted a photo on what was then Twitter with a homemade bumper sticker on his car. The sticker read "REPUBLICANS FOR PRESLEY LET'S GO BRANDON."

"Any idea where I can get one of these for some friends?" Presley responded, to which Wood said he could get Presley as many as he needed.

Biden has also attempted to turn the phrase around, as his social media and those of his supporters have begun referencing "Dark Brandon" in memes about the president's accomplishments.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Does Presley's campaign say Let's Go Brandon in Mississippi gov. race?
WEST PALM BEACH  A Lake Worth Beach teenager confessed last week to killing a boy two years older than him during a fight in Greenacres in 2021.

Rudis Villatoro, who was a freshman at Lake Worth High School when he fatally shot 16-year-old Eduardo Cruz in the chest, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in exchange for a six-year prison sentence Thursday. County Judge Sherri Collins gave him credit for the nearly two years he has spent in jail since his arrest in 2021.

Cruz's father spoke quietly to the judge and Villatoro, now the same age Cruz was when he died.

"For what he did to my son, this is nothing. This is no punishment," the father said. "My life is torn apart. My family also. He killed him."

Collins, who stood in for Circuit Judge Scott Suskauer on Thursday, expressed her sympathies before sentencing Villatoro to prison. The teen listened with his hands clasped, clad in the red jumpsuit reserved for juvenile offenders.

Related: Jury acquits man of murder 6 years after West Palm shooting  but he's still bound for prison

Teen boys antagonized one another at movie theater

Investigators said Villatoro and Cruz were strangers to one another when they got into a verbal spat outside a Lake Worth Beach movie theater on Aug. 15, 2021. Villatoro, 14 at the time, told his cousin about the encounter later as they began the drive home.

He said Cruz had stared at him and called him names when the younger boy didn't look away.

"Do you know who I am?" Villatoro said the older boy shouted. "What are you staring at?"

At the intersection of Lake Worth Road and South 57th Avenue in Greenacres, Villatoro pointed to a blue car with its bumper stuck on the raised curb and the teenage driver inspecting it. That was the stranger from the theater, Villatoro said.

His cousin pulled his car in front of Cruz's and shouted at him from the open window: "Do you have a problem with my cousin?"

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Do you know her: Delray police release rendering of woman whose remains were found in suitcases

Witnesses told investigators that the older teen seemed confused until the back passenger window rolled down and revealed Villatoro. Cruz approached the car then, opened the back door and began swinging.

Assistant State Attorney Chrichet Mixon said Villatoro pulled a gun from his pocket and shot Cruz in the chest as the older boy tried to pull him out of the car. Cruz staggered back, slammed the car door shut and started to walk, then run, away.

Nearby surveillance cameras recorded Villatoro as he stuck his arm out of the car and shot at Cruz once more. He missed, and his cousin drove them away, shouting: "Why the (expletive) did you do that?"

Defense attorney said shooting was justified

Responding deputies found Cruz collapsed in a nearby bush. Paramedics pronounced him dead soon afterward. Investigators received a call from the mother of Villatoro's cousin that evening informing them that her son was involved in an incident and wanted to speak to law enforcement.

Villatoro's cousin described the shooting, telling officers he thought his cousin would fight Cruz  not shoot him. Villatoro's arrest report does not say how or why the teen had a gun to begin with.

Judge rules: Stop institutionalizing disabled children against parents' wishes

Deputies arrested the 14-year-old and charged him with murder. He'd anticipated their arrival, sending a message to a friend on Snapchat: "What should I do after they get me?"

Tell the officers you blacked out, the friend wrote back. Assistant Public Defender James Snowden opted for a self-defense claim instead, asking Suskauer to drop the charge. Snowden called it a justifiable use of force. Suskauer disagreed.

Mixon reduced the charge to manslaughter from murder in exchange for Villatoro's guilty plea Thursday. The teen also pleaded guilty to delinquent possession of a firearm and shooting a gun from a car, nodding along to each charge. He nodded some more as the judge encouraged him to pursue his GED while incarcerated.

"I hope you can make the best of whatever services are available in the Department of Corrections," Collins said. "Take advantage of them while you're there, because you're not going to be doing much of anything else."

Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County judge sentences Lake Worth teen for killing Eduardo Cruz
Disney+ has released the trailer for season two of Loki, teasing Ke Huy Quans Marvel debut and the return of Jonathan Majors supervillain He Who Remains.

More than two years after its 2021 series debut, Loki picks up following the events of its predecessor, Avengers: Endgame (2019). In the latter, Tom Hiddlestons God of Mischief worked with the Time Variance Authority (TVA) to stop superhero variants from causing mayhem in different timelines of the multiverse.

In the new teaser trailer for Lokis second season, Owen Wilsons Mobius and Loki (Hiddleston) pay a visit to Marvel newcomer, and recent Oscar winner, Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All At Once).

At the end of the first season, Loki found himself stuck in an unrecognisable universe ravaged by the death of He Who Remains (Majors).

Ive been pulled through time. Between the past and the present. If what I saw is true... there is nothing that stands between this world and utter destruction, Loki says in a voiceover.

Scenes of other returning characters, including Eugene Corderos Casey, Gugu Mbatha-Raws Ravonna and Sophia Di Martinos Sylvie, are shown in the trailr.

Jonathan Majors and Ke Huy Quan in Loki season 2 trailer (Marvel Entertainment and Disney+)

Meanwhile, Victor Timely, a variant of He Who Remains, makes his grand entrance following a tease in season one.

Its him, Loki announces. War is on its way.

Lokis six-episode second season premieres on Disney+ on 6 October.

Majors return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe follows his characters brief debut in the finale of the first season. He later featured in the new Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which came a month before the actor, 33, was arrested and charged with strangulation, assault and harassment.

Hes since been accused of additional alleged abusive behaviour from past romantic partners.

Majors attorney has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing by the actor and maintained that the charges against him are false. However, he has been dropped from several projects.
July 31 (UPI) -- The Australian Space Agency said a mysterious cylinder that washed up on a beach earlier this month has been identified as debris from an Indian rocket.

The agency said on social media that the object found earlier in July on a beach in Green Head, Western Australia, is "most likely debris from an expended third-stage of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle" launched by the Indian Space Research Organization.

"The debris remains in storage and the Australian Space Agency is working with ISRO, who will provide further confirmation to determine next steps, including considering obligations under the United Nations space treaties," the agency tweeted.

A U.N. agreement from 1968 requires recovered space debris to be returned to its country of origin.
Garrick Jackson said he stopped into the new Natures Table in Macon anticipating something tasty and healthy.

His son, a Mercer University student, had told him about the new restaurant at 781 Spring St., Suite 104, and had shared a bite of the Natures Table Mediterranean chicken wrap he was enjoying.

On his first visit, Jackson opted for the California club sandwich and side of pasta salad.

Delicious, he said.

Garrick Jackson looks up while placing an order at the new Natures Table restaurant at 718 Spring St., Suite 104, in the retail space below the Lofts at Navicent in Macon.

A recent visit

I had to agree. I also tried the California Club on a recent visit to the new spot below the Lofts at Navicent.

Billed as healthy food, this yummy and filling Natures Table sandwich did not disappoint with its generous helping of turkey, avocado, turkey bacon, lettuce and tomato on fresh multi-grain bread.

The sandwich has 365 calories, 7.8 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 44 carbohydrates, 33.5 grams of protein, 3.6 grams of fiber and 2.5 grams of sugar, according to Natures Table nutritional values. The only caveat for me was the sodium content was high at 1,208 milligrams.

I also ordered an eight-ounce fruit cup that offered a mix of cantaloupe, honeydew, grapes, kiwi and strawberries. Natures Table nutritional values are based on the mix including pineapple and without kiwi, but I expect the nutritional values are still pretty close at 66 calories, 0.3 grams of fat, 21.7 milligrams of sodium, 16.3 grams of carbohydrates, 1.3 grams of protein, 1.9 grams of fiber and 13.9 grams of sugar.

For Weight Watchers fans, the California Club came in at nine points and the fruit cup at two points with nutritional values rounded to determine WW points. A few vegan-friendly and gluten-free options also can be found labeled as such on the menu, with nutritional information readily accessible online.

The cost was reasonable at $15.42 for the sandwich and fruit cup. There was no charge for the cup of water.

Noting that some restaurants charge more for healthy food options, Jackson said he thought prices were reasonable also.

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A California Club sandwich and a fruit cup at the new Natures Table at 781 Spring St., Suite 104, below the Lofts at Navicent in Macon.

From salads to acai bowls

The menu includes a variety of sandwiches, including several that are toasted, signature salads, acai bowls, wraps, protein bowls and sides such as soup, chili, fresh fruit and featured salads such as a pasta salad.

Our menu is pretty balanced, said franchisee Terrell Robertson, CEO of Robertson Holdings Inc. You can find something for everyone.

The Macon location is the first Natures Table in Middle Georgia and the first of three Natures Table stores that Robertson plans to open, including one in Warner Robins.

The restaurant also offers fruit smoothies made with 100% real fruit juice or yogurt smoothies made with fat-free yogurt. Among the fruit smoothies are two no-sugar-added smoothies.

Additionally, the menu includes two fruit and smoothie options as well as nutritional boosters such as protein powder and high energy, immune and multi-vitamin and mineral blends.

Unique to the Macon store and less than a handful of other Natures Table locations is fresh-made juice. These are made with raw vegetables and fruits and without the addition of water, milk, sugar or anything else, Robertson said.

Terrell Robertson, Natures Table franchise, looks up from a huddle with employees and a Natures Table corporate representative.

Franchisees faves

Robertsons favorite juice is apple, pineapple, kale and ginger.

It just picks you up, Robertson said.

His favorite smoothie is the yogurt-based Cocolada with pineapple, coconut and banana.

I dont even like coconut so that lets you know how good it is, he said.

His favorite wrap is the Sesame Thai that includes chicken, Napa cabbage, brown rice, carrots, scallions, almonds and sesame Thai sauce.

The crunch is just right, said Robertson, who noted that the sauces are made fresh in store daily and also may be served on the side.

Another favorite, he said, is their award-winning Baja Turkey Jack sandwich, with turkey, pepper jack cheese, tomato and avocado jalapeno mayo.

Unlike some other Natures Table locations, the Macon store does not serve breakfast.

An acai bowl at Natures Table, a new restaurant near Atrium Health Navicent in Macon. (This photo has been cropped.)

In addition to dine-in and takeout, the restaurant offers online ordering, a scan code to order in advance as well as by text naturestable to 33733. The options allow customers to schedule a time for pickup, or delivery via Uber Eats and DoorDash.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.,Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday. The number is 478-733-4582.

Some fruit and salad options at the new Natures Table at 781 Spring St., Suite 104, below the Lofts at Navicent in Macon.
A sobbing Lori Vallow read out a Bible quote at her sentencing hearing as she broke her silence for the first time over the horrific murders of her two children and her lovers wife.

In a bizarre statement, she claimed that no one was murdered in this case  including her murdered children Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow and her friend Tammy Daybell.

Jesus knows that no one was murdered in this case, she said.

She claimed that she has had many communications from people in heaven.

Because of these communications I know for a fact that my children are happy, she said.

The 50-year-old convicted killer appeared in Fremont County Courthouse in Idaho on Monday morning to be sentenced for the murders of her two youngest children Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua JJ Vallow, 7, and conspiracy to murder her new husband Chad Daybells first wife Tammy Daybell.

Sitting slouched cross-legged at the defence table, Vallow kept her head down and refused to look her victims devastated family members in the eyes as they gave heartwrenching impact statements to the court and as prosecutors asked that she spent the rest of her life behind bars with no chance of parole.

In a defence statement, Vallows attorney John Thomas asked the judge to give her hope that the most hated woman in America could one day be free from prison.

Following the statements, Vallow was asked if she had a statement to make.

In a bombshell move, she addressed the court  giving her first comments ever about the murders of the three victims.

Vallow claimed that she died when she gave birth to her daughter Tylee and from then on, she knew she had been to heaven.

She went on to claim that Tammy was my friend and that the 49-year-old woman  who was murdered in her bed  had visited her since her killing.

JJ has visited her too, she claimed, saying that he told her you didnt do anything wrong mom.
Lori Vallow Daybells own words sealed her fate at sentencing Monday.

Vallow Daybell, who killed two of her children  JJ Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16  and conspired to kill Tammy Daybell, took the opportunity to defend herself before she was sentenced.

Her words showed that she still has a shocking lack of remorse and continues to be under the influence of delusional religious views.

Jesus Christ knows the truth of what happened here, Vallow Daybell said in court. Jesus Christ knows that no one was murdered in this case. Accidental deaths happen. Suicides happen. Fatal side effects from medications happen.

She went on to tell the court that JJ and Tylee and Tammy Daybell, as well as angels and Jesus Christ, himself, visited her from heaven. She said JJ, Tylee and Tammy Daybell are all happy and busy in Heaven. She insulted the family of Tammy Daybell by calling her my wonderful friend.

Its the kind of delusion that landed her in prison, and its the kind of delusion that will keep in prison for the rest of her life  three times over.

Judge Steven Boyce rightly sentenced Vallow Daybell to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, citing, in part, Vallow Daybells continuing delusions and her utter inability to claim responsibility or show remorse for her actions.

You killed those children, according to the states theory and I believe it, to remove them as obstacles and to profit financially, Boyce said before sentencing Vallow Daybell. You justified all of this by going down a bizarre religious rabbit hole and clearly you are still down there.

The sentencing of Vallow Daybell finally brings a close to a bizarre, brutal, unimaginable case of murder.

The sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole also brings justice.

Hopefully, it also brings some semblance of peace to the families of JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan and Tammy Daybell.

Its true, as Vallow Daybells lawyer pointed out during Mondays sentencing hearing, that hate will never bring closure or peace.

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But justice can bring at least a semblance of closure and peace.

With the death penalty off the table, sentencing Vallow Daybell to the maximum was the best the court could do.

Anything less would have been short on both closure or peace.

It is the most shocking thing, really, I can imagine, is that a mother killed her own children and you simply have no remorse for it even sitting here today, Boyce said. Theres no remorse for what you did. After all of this evidence through trial, you havent shown any remorse. You havent said youre sorry. You havent done anything to seek leniency from this court.

And since she sought no leniency from the court, it is only fitting that the court showed her no leniency.

Statesman editorials are the unsigned opinion of the Idaho Statesmans editorial board. Board members are opinion editor Scott McIntosh, opinion writer Bryan Clark, editor Chadd Cripe, newsroom editors Dana Oland and Jim Keyser and community member Mary Rohlfing.
Lori Vallow Daybell, whose children's 2019 reported disappearance sparked a nationwide search before their bodies were discovered months later buried on her husband's Idaho property, was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no possibility of parole, the maximum sentence, in the murders of 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua "JJ" Vallow.

In the weekslong trial that stretched from April into mid-May, she was also found guilty of conspiracy in their murders and the murder of her husband Chad's first wife, Tammy Daybell, along with grand theft related to the theft of Social Security payments for the children.

She received life sentences without parole on the charges of murder in the deaths of JJ and Tylee and conspiracy to commit murder in the deaths of both children and Tammy Daybell, her ex-husband's first wife. Three of those sentences are to be served consecutively. She received a sentence of 10 years for the grand theft conviction and was also ordered to pay more than $60,000 in fines, civil penalties and restitution.

"You had so many other options. You could have gotten divorced; you could have found someone else to take care of those kids. And as the state was able to prove at trial, you chose the most evil and destructive path possible," said Judge Steven Boyce, before he imposed the sentence.

"You justified all of this by going down a bizarre religious rabbit hole, and clearly you are still down there," he said.

Witnesses had testified that Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell had fringe religious beliefs, and Vallow Daybell had discussed casting out demons and her belief that people had been replaced by evil spirits, referring to them as "zombies."

Vallow Daybell, who did not testify in her own defense, elected to give a statement in Monday's hearing.

"Jesus Christ knows the truth of what happened here. Jesus Christ knows that no one was murdered in this case," she said.

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She claimed to have communicated with the spirits of her murdered children and her "eternal friend" Tammy Daybell.

"I've had many communications with Jesus Christ, the savior of this world, and our heavenly parents. I've had many angelic visitors, who came and communicated to me, have even manifested to me. Because of these communications, I know for a fact that my children are happy and busy in the spirit world," she said. "Because of my communications with my friend Tammy Daybell, I know that she is also very happy and extremely busy."

Prosecutor Rob Wood had asked the court to sentence Vallow Daybell, 50, to life without parole, saying that society needs to be protected from a defendant who was willing to murder her own children. Defense attorney John Thomas asked the court to sentence Daybell to a fixed term of 20 years, with an indeterminate term of life for all five counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Judge Steven Boyce had ruled that immediate family members of the victims could offer victim impact statements at the sentencing hearing, including Daybell's son Colby Ryan, who submitted a statement to be read into the record; Samantha Gwilliam, Tammy Daybell's sister; Tammy Daybell's aunt Vicki Hoban, and JJ Vallow's grandmother Kay Woodcock.

Gwilliam first read a statement from her father, Ronald Douglas, who wrote on behalf of himself; her mother, Phyllis, who died earlier this year; and Gwilliam, who had testified in the trial.

"She had been murdered by those who saw her as an obstacle to a plan  you planned her murder just as much as you planned the murders of your own children and your previous husband. Why? Why plan something so heinous?" she said in her own statement, her voice full of emotion.

"Because of the choices you made, my family lost a beloved mother, sister, aunt and daughter. She is irreplaceable; she is 1,000 times the woman you will ever dream of being ... because of you and your desire to get what you want at any cost, my family has been ripped apart," she said.

Hoban, who spoke in depth about her niece, said that Vallow "turned her home, where she lived and slept, into a cemetery for two innocent and beautiful children is one of the most horrific things I could think of. Tammy would have been horrified to know what you've done."

Kay Woodcock, Charles Vallow's sister and the biological grandmother of JJ Vallow, who was adopted by Charles and Lori Vallow, could be heard weeping during her statement. She called Vallow Daybell a "money-hungry, power-mongering monster."

Woodcock said she would have given Vallow Daybell the $1 million from Vallow's life insurance if she had let Tylee and JJ live. Instead, Woodcock said, she did not ask.

Woodcock said Vallow Daybell was driven by greed and a need to be the center of attention.

"Lori is undeniably a monster. A monster that has not taken any responsibility or shown an ounce of remorse for her vile actions. She deserves to never again breathe oxygen as a member of a free society," she said.

Ryan testified against Vallow Daybell during the trial, and the jury heard an emotional jailhouse phone call of him confronting her about the children's murders. In his statement read to the court, he said "my siblings and father deserved so much more than this. I want them to be remembered for who they were, and not to be just a spectacle or headline to the world. Tylee was sweet and kind, funny and bold, and she deserves to be seen as such. JJ was the most fun, sweet and silly kid I've ever known  loving and so smart. He deserves to be seen as such."

The defense called no witnesses in the trial. Vallow Daybell had pleaded not guilty.

Some testimony centered on the extreme and apocalyptic religious beliefs of the couple, including in "zombies" and casting out of "evil spirits," while other witnesses recounted gruesome details of the children's deaths and burials.

While Boyce blocked video recordings and live broadcast of the trial, the verdict was livestreamed.

Vallow Daybell also faces separate charges in the July 2019 death of her husband, Charles Vallow, who was shot by her brother Alex Cox. Cox claimed he shot Vallow in self-defense and was not charged in the shooting. He died in December 2019, after the children had been reported missing but before their bodies were found on Chad Daybell's property.

What did Lori Vallow Daybell do? A full timeline of the "doomsday mom" case up to her guilty verdict

Vallow Daybell has been charged in Arizona with conspiracy to commit murder in his death. She has also been charged in Arizona for conspiracy for the 2019 attempted shooting of Brandon Boudreaux, who was married to Vallow Daybell's niece. Boudreaux testified in the Idaho trial.

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office told CBS News in May it would begin extradition proceedings following her sentencing in Idaho.

Chad Daybell during a hearing on Aug. 4, 2020, in St. Anthony, Idaho. / Credit: John Roark / The Idaho Post-Register via AP, Pool

Chad Daybell also faces first-degree murder and conspiracy charges in Idaho the deaths of Tammy Daybell and Vallow Daybell's children, but he waived his right to a speedy trial and is scheduled to be tried April 1, 2024. Unlike his wife, he faces the death penalty.

The two were not permitted to meet or coordinate their defense.

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Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole after her conviction earlier this year in the murders of two of her children and for conspiring in the murder of her husbands first wife.

Vallow Daybell received a sentence of life in prison for the murders of each of her children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua JJ Vallow, as well as for the conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Tammy Daybell, the first wife of her husband, Chad Daybell. Those sentences will be served consecutively, the judge ruled, with two additional life sentences and a sentence of 10 years for grand theft to be served concurrently.

A jury in May found her guilty on all charges, including two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of conspiracy in the deaths of the children and Tammy Daybell, whose loved ones gave emotional testimony Monday underscoring the lasting toll of Vallow Daybells crimes.

Tylee and JJ brought so much light into this world, Colby Ryan, Tylee and JJs older brother, said in a victim impact statement read by prosecutors Monday.

Tylee will never have an opportunity to become a mother, wife, or have the career she was destined to have. Shell never be able to have the life she deserved, Ryan wrote. JJ will never be able to grow and spread his light with this world the way he did. He will never have a chance to grow up.

I want them to be remembered for who they were, he added, and not to be just a spectacle or a headline to the world.

In determining the sentence, Judge Steven W. Boyce said he weighed the defendants lack of a prior criminal record  the single most mitigating factor in the case, he said  but noted she now stood convicted of the most serious charges and had shown no remorse.

Murder is the most serious offense, and the most unimaginable type of murder is to have a mother murdering her own children, and thats exactly what you did, he said, addressing Vallow Daybell. You were involved in and guilty of conspiring to murder  Tammy Daybell, who had children of her own. And despite the jury convicting you with overwhelming evidence, you still sit here before the court today and said you didnt do it.

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Vallow Daybell on Monday denied having killed her children and cited religious texts and beliefs.

She said she had spoken to Jesus, her children and her husbands wife after their deaths and said they were happy and extremely busy in heaven.

Lori Vallow Daybell looks at notes during her sentencing hearing at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho, on Monday, July 31, 2023. - Tony Blakeslee/Pool/East Idaho News

Jesus Christ knows that no one was murdered in this case, Vallow Daybell said. Accidental deaths happen, suicides happen, fatal side effects from medications happen.

In his ruling, the judge said, I dont believe that any God in any religion would want to have this happen.

The children were last seen in September 2019, and Tammy Daybell died the following month; Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell were married weeks later. In June 2020, law enforcement authorities discovered the remains of Tylee and JJ in Daybells backyard in Fremont County.

He is to be tried separately in April 2024 on two felony counts of conspiracy to commit destruction; alteration or concealment of evidence; and two felony counts of destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence. He has pleaded not guilty.

I miss my sister every day. I will grieve her  for the rest of my life. I will always remember that, Samantha Gwilliam, Tammy Daybells sister, said during her own victim impact statement at the Fremont County Courthouse. As for you, I choose to forget you. And as I leave this courtroom today, I choose to never think of you again, Gwilliam said, addressing Vallow Daybell.

Lori Vallow Daybell's children, Joshua Vallow, 7, and his sister, Tylee Ryan, 16, went missing in September 2019, according to the Rexburg Police Department. - Rexburg Police Department

The May 2021 indictment against the couple said they did endorse and espouse religious beliefs for the purposes of justifying or encouraging the killings of Tammy Daybell and the children. At trial, prosecutors portrayed the couple as having apocalyptic religious beliefs, believing themselves religious figures who had a system of rating people as light or dark, East Idaho News reported.

Boyce said he believed the states case that Vallow Daybell murdered her children to remove them as obstacles and to profit financially, calling it the most evil and destructive path possible. And she justified their killings by going down a bizarre, religious rabbit hole, Boyce said. And clearly you are still down there.

What did Lori deprive the world of?

Vallow Daybell pleaded not guilty, and while her attorney Jim Archibald acknowledged his clients interest in religion during the trial  particularly the end of times  he said she was a kind and loving mother.

Some people could care less about biblical prophecies; some people care a lot about it. Thankfully in this country we get the freedom to choose, Archibald said in his own opening statement, according to East Idaho News.

Vallow Daybell was also convicted of grand theft for, according to the indictment, collecting Social Security benefits on behalf of her children after their deaths. Prosecutors said she didnt report her children missing in order to keep collecting the money, East Idaho News reported.

In the wake of the verdict, Vallow Daybells attorneys filed a motion for a new trial, court records show. The state objected, and the court ultimately denied the motion.

The case  which was featured in a true crime Netflix documentary  began unfolding in late November 2019, when relatives asked police in Rexburg, Idaho, to do a welfare check on JJ because they hadnt talked to him recently. Police didnt locate him at the familys house but were told by Vallow Daybell and Daybell he was staying with a family friend in Arizona, according to authorities.

When police returned the next day to serve a search warrant, Vallow and Daybell were gone. They were found months later in Hawaii, in January 2020, while the search for the missing children was unfolding back home.

By that time, Tylee and JJ had been dead for months, according to prosecutors. Madison County prosecutor Rob Wood said Monday that Tylee was believed to have been killed between September 8 and 9, 2019, and JJ between September 22 or 23.

Kay Woodcock, JJs grandmother, testified that her regular phone calls with her grandson dropped off after the death of Vallow Daybells ex-husband, Charles Vallow, East Idaho News reported.

The last conversation she had with JJ was on August 10, 2019, Woodcock said, when she spoke to him during a short call that lasted less than a minute. She attempted over the next few months to contact her grandson, but never got any response from Vallow Daybell, she said.

Kay and Larry Woodcock, the grandparents of JJ Vallow, embrace after Kay Woodcock's statement Monday. - Tony Blakeslee/Pool/East Idaho News

During the trial, a lot of information was shared about JJs death, Woodcock testified Monday. Today, I want to share how he lived, she said, recounting how her grandchild, who was born 10 weeks prematurely, triumphed in his seven years, reading at a middle school level by the time he was 4 years old.

I continually wonder what he would have become. What type of man would he be? What did Lori deprive the world of?

Vallow Daybells ex-husband was seen in body camera footage released by Arizona police telling authorities as early as January 2019 that he could not get in touch with the children. Their marriage had rapidly deteriorated, he said, adding, she thinks shes a resurrected being and a god.

CNNs Camila Bernal, Sarah Moon, Eric Levenson, Emma Tucker, Ashley R. Williams and Steve Almasy contributed to this report.

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Lori Vallow Daybell received multiple life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole in the deaths of her two children and that of her husbands previous wife, a case that drew national intrigue after her children disappeared nearly four years ago.

Vallow Daybell was convicted in May in the murders of her kids, Joshua JJ Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, as well as conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Tammy Daybell. Judge Steven W. Boyce ordered she serve consecutive life sentences on the individual murder charges because the crimes occurred at different times.

Before her sentencing, Vallow Daybell addressed the court claiming that a near death experience allowed her to communicate with the spirit world.

Image: Lori Vallow Daybell sits during her sentencing hearing at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho on July 31, 2023. (Tony Blakeslee / EastIdahoNews.com via AP, Pool)

She told the judge that she knew for a fact that her children and Tammy Daybell were happy in heaven. Tylee and Joshua have communicated with her that they are happy after their deaths, Vallow Daybell said.

Jesus knows me and Jesus understands me, she said. I mourn with all of you who mourn my children and Tammy. Jesus Christ knows the truth of what happened here, Jesus Christ knows no one was murdered in this case. Accidental deaths happen, suicides happen, fatal side effects from medications happen.

Boyce noted that Vallow Daybell's last mental health evaluation showed that she suffered from "hyper religiosity" and "unspecified personality disorder with histrionic and narcissistic features," according to the judge. But she also refused to comply with court ordered screening that may have mitigated her sentencing, Boyce noted.

"After all of this evidence and trial you haven't shown any remorse," Boyce said. "You haven't said you're sorry. You haven't done anything to seek leniency from this court."

Tylee is Vallow Daybell's biological daughter from her third marriage to Joseph Ryan, who died of a heart attack in 2018. Joshua was adopted in 2014 by Lori and her fourth husband, Charles Vallow.

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She and her fifth and current husband, Chad Daybell, were accused of being obsessed with doomsday prophecies and believed that people could become "zombies" possessed by evil spirits.

Joshua Vallow and Tylee Ryan. (Fremont County Sheriff's Office)

Prosecutors read a statement Monday by Colby Ryan, Vallow Daybell's adult son, who said that his mother's actions have kept him from being able to share his life with the people he loved the most.

"My children will never know their uncle, their aunt or grandfather, or even their grandmother," he said in the statement. "Tylee and JJ brought so much light into this world. With their lives stolen, I'd like to share this: I believe nothing could or ever will be the same."

Prosecutors described Vallow Daybell as a woman who would "remove any obstacle in her way" and would use "money, power, and sex to get what she wanted" during the weekslong trial earlier this year. Her attorney argued that she was a loving mother who became intrigued in biblical prophecies about the end of the world.

Authorities first began the search for Tylee and Joshua in November 2019, after several family members contacted authorities concerned that they hadnt seen or spoken to the children since September. Police said that Vallow Daybell and her husband lied to authorities about the children's whereabouts during the investigation and failed to comply with court orders to physically produce the children.

Their remains were found the following year, in June 2020, on property owned by Chad Daybell in Fremont County, Idaho. Court documents said that Joshua, who was adopted and had special needs, was buried in a pet cemetery, and that Tylees remains were dismembered and burned in a fire pit.

In October 2019, Tammy Daybell was found dead of what were believed to be natural causes at the time. Investigators later exhumed her body and conducted an autopsy, which ruled her death was a homicide.

Vallow Daybell married Chad Daybell just weeks after his previous wife's death. Prosecutors said during her trial that she took part in the conspiracy to kill Tammy Daybell so that she and Chad Daybell could be together.

Chad Daybell, a self-published author who wrote doomsday-focused fiction, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges.

Charles and Vallow Daybell were married in 2006 and were estranged by 2019, when divorce papers were filed. According to police documents obtained by NBC affiliate KSL, Charles Vallow learned that his wife was having an affair with Chad Daybell in June 2019 and was shot by his brother-in-law, Alex Cox, weeks later.

Vallow Daybell and Cox were questioned at the time but werent charged, as they claimed self-defense. A grand jury charged her with conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree nearly two years after his death, the Maricopa County Attorneys Office said.

She will be tried separately, in Arizona, in that case. Cox died in December 2019 from a pulmonary embolism.

Kay Woodcock, Charles Vallows sister and Joshua's biological grandmother, cried in court Monday during her victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing.

"The grief my family and I have endured is immeasurable as Lori cruelly took my big brother Charles, my adorable grandson JJ, and my beautiful niece Tylee, and sweet Tammy  whose family I've come to know and love," Woodcock said. "Lori is undeniably a monster."

Her husband, Larry Woodcock, spoke to reporters following the sentencing and did not speak highly of Vallow Daybell's statement in court.

"That was a bucket of s---," he said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Cult mom Lori Vallow is back in court today to be sentenced for the murders of her two children in a dramatic case that gripped the nation.

Vallow, 50, was convicted in May of killing her seven-year-old son Joshua JJ Vallow, 16-year-old daughter Tylee Ryan, who vanished without a trace in September 2019. She was also found guilty of conspiring to kill her husband Chad Daybells first wife, Tammy, who died in October 2019.

The verdict came after prosecutors convinced a jury that Vallow and Mr Daybell conspired with her brother Alex Cox to murder Tammy, JJ and Tylee as part of their bizarre cult beliefs  but also for financial purposes so that they could collect Tammys life insurance money and the childrens social security and survivor benefits.

Vallow will appear before a judge in the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, on Monday for sentencing, where she faces the possibility of life in prison.

Before the sentence is handed down, the court will hear victim impact statements from several family members devastated by the harrowing saga thats seen countless twists and turns over four years.

05:58 , Namita Singh

Good Morning. Welcome to The Independents live blog for Monday, 31 July 2023, where we will provide the latest in the sentencing of Lori Vallow.
Lori Vallow was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole on five separate counts for murdering two of her children and conspiring to murder her husband's first wife in 2019.

An Idaho jury in May found Vallow, 50, guilty of multiple counts, including two counts of first-degree murder, for the 2019 disappearances and deaths of 7-year-old J.J. Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, allegedly with help from her husband, Chad Daybell. Vallow also conspired to kill Tammy Daybell, Chad's first wife, in October 2019.

"You removed your children from their home in Arizona, alienated them from friends and family  and you brought them here to murder them. You had so many other options.  You chose the most evil and destructive path possible," Judge Steven Boyce said Monday. "I dont think to this day you have any remorse for the effort and heartache you caused."

He added that her crimes are "heinous and egregious."

LORI VALLOW TRIAL: 'CULT MOM' TO BE SENTENCED MONDAY IN MURDER OF HER 2 CHILDREN, HUSBAND'S FIRST WIFE

Lori Vallow was found guilty of killing her children, J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan.

Vallow has already spent more than 1,200 days in local jail prior to her sentencing without any issues with other inmates, Boyce said.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"You do have mental health issues," he added. Her current diagnosis from February states that Vallow suffers from a "delusional disorder" mixed with "hyper-religiosity" and a "continuous and unspecified personality disorder" with narcissistic features.

J.J. and Tylee were found in shallow graves on Chad Daybell's Rexburg, Idaho, property in June 2020, months after they disappeared from their home in September 2019. The 16-year-old's remains were burned while the 7-year-old was bound in duct tape.

Lori and Chad Daybell were accused of killing 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old J.J. Vallow in 2019.

"J.J. and Tylee could have been [with] us, living happy lives. Instead, she took all that away, all because she is a money-hungry, power-mongering monster," Kay Woodcock, J.J.'s grandmother, said in a Monday statement read aloud in court.

Story continues

LORI VALLOW TRIAL: HEAR CULT MOM AND HER SISTER SPEAK AFTER VALLOW'S CHILDREN FOUND DEAD

Prosecutors Rob Wood and Lindsey Blake said in May that they were "very pleased" by the verdict in Lori Vallow's trial.

"We told you this was about money, power and sex. We talked about religion, but this was not about religion. This was about money, power and sex," Wood said in his closing statements.

HAWAII POLICE SERVE SUBPOENA TO BIKINI-CLAD LORI VALLOW RELAXING POOLSIDE: VIDEO

Vallow and Daybell met in 2018 at the Preparing a People conference, where they bonded over their apocalyptic religious beliefs and shared the idea that they had been married in a past life, as FOX 10 Phoenix first reported.

An Idaho jury in May found Lori Vallow guilty of multiple counts, including two counts of first-degree murder, for the 2019 disappearances and deaths of two of her children.

They referred to each other as Biblical figures named James and Elena and discussed their beliefs that people can have light or dark spirits  some so dark that they could be considered zombies who needed to be removed from Earth, prosecutors said, according to FOX 10.

"You are not exalted beings, and your behavior makes you ineligible to be one," Tammy Daybell's sister, Samantha Gwilliam, said in a Monday statement read aloud in court. She added that Chad was an "average guy" who made Vallow feel "special and singled out."

"You tell yourself that you were high spiritual beings who would live together through time. You felt powerful. This, too, is a lie," she continued, speaking directly to Vallow. " You are a liar, an adulteress and a murderer. Because of the choices you made, my family lost a beloved mother, sister, aunt and daughter. She is irreplaceable. She is one thousand times the woman you will ever dream of being."

Lori Vallow is shown in a new mug shot taken after her murder conviction.

Meanwhile, Vallow's defense team attempted to push blame on Daybell in their closing statements, saying that Vallow "spent her whole life protecting her children."

"Lori wants to tell you how much she loves Jesus.  But is she a leader or follower? Shes not leading anyone. Shes a follower of Chad," defense attorney Jim Archibald said in closing statements. "She thinks Chad is a follower of Jesus. But hes not. Hes a follower of the storm."

While J.J. and Tylee were missing in 2019, and directly after Tammy's death, Vallow and Daybell married in Hawaii in November of that year.

LORI VALLOW CASE: JJ VALLOW'S GRANDMOTHER DOESN'T RECOGNIZE SO-CALLED CULT MOM SMILING OUTSIDE COURT

Months later, in June 2020, Idaho authorities located J.J. and Tylee's remains buried on Daybell's rural Rexburg property.

The Ada County coroner testified that J.J. died of asphyxiation by a plastic bag and Tylee died of homicide by unknown means due to the fact that her remains were dismembered and badly burned before they were buried.

"Tylee, J.J. and Tammy cant tell us what happened. But their bodies do," Wood said in his closing arguments.

LORI VALLOW TRIAL: IDAHO CORONER REVEALS JJ VALLOW AND TYLEE RYAN'S CAUSES OF DEATH

Vallow was also found guilty of grand theft after she collected J.J.'s and Tylee's Social Security benefits  allegedly with help from Daybell  between Oct. 1, 2019, and Jan. 22, 2020, after their murders .

Authorities arrested Vallow in February 2020 and Daybell in June 2020. Vallow and Daybell were initially scheduled to have a joint trial, but Vallow refused to waive her right to a speedy trial while Daybell did not.

Daybell has yet to face trial for his charges in connection with the murders of Tylee, J.J. and Tammy Daybell.

He and Lori Vallow were indicted in late May 2021 on multiple counts each of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft by deception, and first-degree murder related to the deaths of Tylee, J.J. and Tammy Daybell, officials announced at the time.

Arizona officials in June 2021 also indicted Vallow in the July 2019 murder of her ex-husband, Charles Vallow. Vallow's brother, Alex Cox, allegedly shot Charles Vallow to death in Arizona, claiming self-defense. His death was ruled a homicide in 2021.

Vallow has two pending conspiracy-to-commit-murder cases out of Arizona.
Paul Ramirez, 54, waters the backyard at his home on St. Louis Street in Boyle Heights in May 2022 as his dog Bandit tags along. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

More than a year after instituting the strictest water conservation orders Los Angeles has ever seen, the L.A. Department of Water and Power announced Monday that it was loosening watering rules for its 4 million customers.

Effective immediately, all Angelenos can return to three-day-a-week watering schedules after being placed on two-day-a-week limits in June 2022, the agency said.

Officials attributed the change to this year's wet winter, which boosted supplies and replenished reservoirs that had been drained by three years of severe drought.

"We want to thank our customers for continuing to lead on conservation and helping us exceed our water conservation goals," Anselmo Collins, DWP's senior assistant general manager of the water system, said in a statement. "Over the past year, Angelenos reduced their water use an additional 10%, which is a remarkable achievement considering this was on top of the substantial long-term water conservation our customers had already achieved."

Read more: DWP customers in L.A. face two-day-a-week water restrictions, with eight-minute limit

Prior to the change last June, Angelenos had been under a three-day-a-week ordinance since 2009. The city's return to the less restrictive phase of its Emergency Water Conservation Ordinance means customers with street addresses ending in odd numbers can water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and customers with even-numbered addresses can water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Watering must be done before 9 a.m. or after 4 p.m. "when the evaporation rate is appreciably lower than during the middle of the day," the agency said. Hand watering is allowed every day during those hours if the hose is equipped with a self-closing water shut-off device.

Last year's tightened rules were issued amid the driest three years ever recorded in California, which spurred a statewide drought emergency and a call from Gov. Gavin Newsom asking that urban residents voluntarily cut back by 15%.

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The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California  the massive wholesaler that supplies the DWP and dozens of other agencies in the area  declared its own water shortage emergency last year and placed 6 million people under unprecedented restrictions, including one-day-a-week watering limits in many areas. The MWD rolled back that order in March.

Despite its change, the DWP said water conservation continues to be a priority. Outdoor watering is still limited to eight minutes per station on permitted watering days, or 15 minutes twice a day with sprinklers that use water-conserving nozzles.

Watering continues to be prohibited within 48 hours of a measurable rain event, and hosing down driveways and sidewalks is not permitted. No water should leak from a pipe or fixture and no water should flow off of properties, the DWP said.

"We encourage all Angelenos to keep saving water wherever possible, while we continue to invest in developing our local water supplies to adapt to our changing climate," Collins said.

Read more: 'Nature gave us a lifeline': Southern California refills largest reservoir in dramatic fashion

Gregory Pierce, director of the Water Resources Group at UCLA, said reverting from two days back to three is "reasonable as a short-term measure." But he warned that as global conditions continue to get hotter and drier, residents probably shouldn't get used to the more flexible schedule.

"I would prefer if the language were more like, two days is what you should expect  it's going to be more common in the future  but we can allow three in the short-term because of this unusual water year," Pierce said. "I'd prefer the framing of two days as default, three as exceptional."

Indeed, forecasters say 2023 may be one of the hottest years ever recorded  if not the hottest  and that 2024 will be even hotter because of global warming and the arrival of El Nino.

What's more, the Colorado River  a water lifeline for California and the West  has lost about 32.5 million acre-feet of water since 2000 because of climate change and remains perilously low. This year, California, Arizona and Nevada agreed to significantly reduce their use of that water in the coming years.

The DWP said it will continue to patrol the streets of Los Angeles to enforce its watering restrictions. The agency also offers incentive programs for turf replacement and water monitoring devices to help residents reduce their use, officials said.

But while Californians made a significant effort to conserve during the most recent drought, they ultimately fell short of Newsom's 15% goal. Between July 2021 and March of this year  when the governor rescinded his request  statewide savings were about 7%, or about 9 fewer gallons per person per day, a Times analysis found.

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.
Jessica Boutte stood in court and addressed her fathers killer.

He was a brother. A cousin. An uncle, she said of Hancock County Deputy Lt. Michael Boutte, who was shot and killed in the line of duty two years ago.

He was a son.

He was a grandfather of seven.

Since his death, Boutte said, our family has broken apart.

In a long-awaited moment of justice on Monday, Joseph Michael Rohrbacker pleaded guilty to capital murder in the 2021 killing of Boutte. Bouttes family and old colleagues gathered in Harrison County Circuit Court in Gulfport to bear witness to the killer, who will now spend life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Through quiet sobs, his children spoke of grief that consumes them.

My father has always been and always will be my hero, said Michael Boutte Jr. He taught me how to be a man.

Jessica Boutte and Michael Boutte Jr. listen as Joseph Rohrbacker pleads guilty in the killing of Lt. Michael Boutte at Harrison County Circuit Court in Gulfport on Monday, July 31, 2023.

Boutte responded on Feb. 1, 2021, to a home on Earl C. Ladner Road in the Necaise community in Hancock County. He was the first deputy on the scene of a 911 call that reported a suicide threat.

But before Boutte could even leave his car, Rohrbacker shot him. Boutte was 57.

His death shocked family and friends and led to outcry from many on the Coast. Through grief, his colleagues have remembered Boutte as a caring, smiling veteran.

They have called him exceptional, have said he forged friendships with people he met on the job and went beyond his calling  like when he rented a pressure washer to clean mold from an old womans house, or when he devoted hours to a search for a lost turtle.

He was a 20-year veteran of law enforcement. He had moved to Mississippi in 2012 and worked for the Picayune Police Department, Picayune School District Police and Hancock County Sheriffs Office. He was also an Air Force veteran who deployed in Operation Desert Storm.

Its heartbreaking, said District Attorney Crosby Parker. I wish I could say this helps with closure. But closure is going to take a long, long time.

He was just a wonderful person, said Hancock County Sheriff Ricky Adam.

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He would help people with flat tires, whether he was on duty or not. He was fair and honest. And kind, Adam said. Very kind.

Hes just one of those guys -- you gotta love him.

Hancock County Sheriff Ricky Adam listens as Joseph Rohrbacker enters his guilty plea in the killing of Lt. Michael Boutte at Harrison County Circuit Court in Gulfport on Monday, July 31, 2023.

His children sat among a group of law enforcement officers in court. They said their father was someone they depended on, someone who took care of their children and their grandfather -- who since Bouttes death has also passed away. Jessica Boutte said some days, she struggles to even get out of bed. She stopped working for a year.

I feel so lost without him, she said. He would often take her car, fill it with gas and get the oil checked when she visited him, all before she even woke up. He loved me and he made sure that I knew it, she said.

The love he had for his family had no end, Boutte Jr. said. He paused to gather himself.

There is nothing in this world he said, that can replace something of that magnitude.

Joseph Rohrbacker listens as family members of Lt. Michael Boutte read letters describing how Bouttes loss has impacted them during Rohrbackers guilty plea and sentencing for the killing of Boutte at Harrison County Circuit Court in Gulfport on Monday, July 31, 2023.
Madonna has praised her children for stepping up to support her while she suffered a health scare last month.

In June, the Vogue singer, 64, developed a serious bacterial infection which saw her admitted to hospital and spending several days in intensive care.

She later confirmed she was on the road to recovery and recuperating at home, after being forced to postpone several dates of her Celebration world tour.

On Sunday (30 July), Madonna shared a series of photos to Instagram showing her posing with and hugging her son David, 17, and daughter Lourdes Leon, 26.

Love from family and friends is the best medicine, she wrote, explaining that she had been reflecting after being out of hospital for a month.

As a mother you can really get caught up in the needs of your children and the seemingly endless giving but when the chips were down my children really showed up for me, she wrote.

I saw a side to them I had never seen before. It made all the difference."

The singer has six children: Lourdes, Rocco, 22, David, daughter Mercy James, 17, and twins Stella and Estere, both 10.

Madonna added that love and support from her friends also got her through the difficult period.

The veteran singer also shared an image of her holding a Polaroid which she revealed was taken by Andy Warhol of Keith Haring wearing a jacket with Michael Jacksons face painted on it.

She hailed the three artists as a perfect triangle of brilliance who touched so many lives including my own.

The singer thanked her manager Guy Oseary for the present, adding: I sobbed when I opened this gift because I realised how lucky I am to be alive. And how fortunate I am to have known these people and so many others who are also gone.

Singer is now planning to begin her tour in October (Getty Images)

She continued: And thank you to all my angels who protected me and let me stay to finish doing my work!

At the time of her medical incident, Madonna had been scheduled to begin her greatest hits tour, titled The Celebration Tour, in Canada on 15 July.

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She was forced to postpone the shows, and announced last month that she now planned to kick off the show in Europe in October. The North American leg of the tour will be rescheduled.

Billed as a "one-of-a-kind experience", the tour is also set to feature special guest Bob the Drag Queen, a winner of RuPauls Drag Race.

It will be Madonnas first tour since her Madame X shows, which ended in 2020, though some performances were called off due to knee and hip injuries.

Additional reporting by Press Association.
CHARLOTTE  Darrell Smith, a talented and musically gifted junior at Sexton High School, had just received his driver's license on the day he was gunned down in early 2021 over a bag of marijuana, his mother, Stephanie Marie Smith, told a judge on Monday.

The Lansing 16-year-old was fluent in Japanese and had a lot of scholarship money waiting for him, his mother said.

Darrell Smith

"It was the hardest thing I've ever had to experience," she said. "I expected great things from my son."

Eaton County Circuit Judge Janice Cunningham went along with Stephanie Smith's request that she levy the harshest possible penalty on 20-year-old Deshown Ernesto Clark Jr., who was convicted of first-degree felony murder in Darrell Smith's death.

Clark, who was 18 at the time of the incident. was sentenced to 40 to 80 years on the murder charge and the mandatory two years for felony firearm possession. The firearm sentence is consecutive to the murder sentence, meaning Clark will have to serve at least 42 years in prison, with 614 days of credit for the time he's spent in jail.

First-degree murder carries mandatory life in prison without possibility of parole, but Clark was sentenced under a 2022 Michigan Supreme Court ruling that life without parole is not proportional for 18 year olds because the mitigating circumstances of youth are not factored in. If prosecutors decide to seek a life-without-parole sentence, they must prove by clear and convincing evidence that sentencing a young person to die in prison is constitutional. Otherwise, judges should set a minimum sentence ranging from 20 to 40 years, the justices held.

The Eaton County Prosecutor's Office disagrees with the state supreme court's stance but accepts that Clark would be sentenced to a term of years, Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor Adam Strong told Cunningham on Monday. He, too, asked Cunningham to impose the 40-year minimum sentence on Clark.

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"I think you are a dangerous young man," Cunningham told Clark on Monday, saying she didn't see much hope for rehabilitation considering Clark's prior record and lack of successful treatment in the juvenile system. "I think you need to be incarcerated."

The shooting happened March 31, 2021, in the area of Burneway and Seaway drives in southwest Lansing. Smith was shot in the chest and died that night at a hospital.

Clark maintained his innocence but was convicted after a jury trial in May. He told Cunningham on Monday he was denied a fair trial.

The judge disagreed, saying the jury concluded Clark deliberately shot Smith during a marijuana buy.

"Taking a gun to a drug deal is a very bad idea, but it also shows there was some kind of intent there," Cunningham said.

Clark had several prior juvenile court adjudications, including for home invasion and assaulting a police officer, and the treatment was unsuccessful, the judge said. He was under court supervision when the shooting happened, she said.

Stephanie Smith, who carried a large, framed photo of her son into the courtroom on Monday, said she is "really pissed off at the system."

"If the system had done their job, that man wouldn't have been out there to kill someone," she said. "He should never have been out walking the streets."

Contact Ken Palmer atkpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj

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This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Man, 20, gets minimum of 42 years in prison for killing of 16-year-old boy in Lansing
A Minnesota State Trooper shot and killed a Black motorist early Monday morning after the agency said he fled a routine traffic stop on Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis.

Although authorities have not named the motorist, family members identified the driver as 33-year-old Ricky Cobb II, of Spring Lake Park. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner also confirmed that Cobb died Monday. The State Patrol revealed that the shooting was captured on body camera and squad car dash cam footage, and promised to release it soon.

Cobb is the latest Black motorist killed by law enforcement in the Twin Cities following high-profile incidents dating back several years that drew intense protest, including the shooting deaths of Philando Castile in Falcon Heights and Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center.

On Monday afternoon, the State Patrol issued a statement outlining their version of events that led to the fatal shooting on westbound I-94 near 42nd Avenue N. According to the statement, state troopers spotted a Ford Fusion with no taillights travelling north near Lowry Avenue just after 1:50 a.m. and pulled the driver over. During the stop, troopers learned that the motorist was "wanted by law enforcement in Ramsey County in connection with a felony level violation." (The State Patrol did not detail what that violation was.)

"As the troopers worked to detain the driver, the driver refused to exit the vehicle," the statement continued. "Troopers were attempting to remove the driver from the vehicle when the driver drove away."

At some point, a trooper fired at the motorist, the statement said. Three troopers since have been placed on standard administrative leave. They have yet to be named. It's not immediately clear how many of them troopers fired their weapons  or exactly what triggered the use of deadly force.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) responded to the scene to investigate what the State Patrol originally dubbed as "use of force" incident.

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Cobb was wanted for questioning in relation to an alleged violation of a standing domestic order for protection. The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office on Friday issued a 72-hour request for agencies to pick up and hold Cobb related to that felony-level violation, according to a department spokesman. The order, which grants law enforcement probable cause to detain individuals, would have expired later Monday morning.

Cobb's stepmother, Kashina Cobb, told the Star Tribune that she doesn't know specifics about the encounter.

"I don't want to blame the police or anything," she said. "I don't know what has transpired. I'm trying to process what happened."

Kanisha Cobb confirmed that the "felony violation" referenced in the State Patrol statement involves an active order for protection in Ramsey County taken out by a woman who is the mother of the Cobb's 6- and 5-year-old children.

"We weren't on the best of terms," Kashina Cobb said, "but we loved him."

Cobb's friends and family took to social media Monday to share an outpouring of disbelief and grief for Cobb, who was memorialized in photos and videos dancing and mugging for the camera with his friends and siblings, and posing both nattily dressed in a suit as well as at a worksite, wearing safety gear and holding a giant wrench.

"Watch over us my brother," his sister Octavia Ruffin wrote.

The State Patrol finished outfitting its department in body cameras last May and troopers are now required to activate them during most interactions with the public, including during traffic stops and crash investigations. Body cameras are supposed to automatically turn on if a trooper draws a Taser or service handgun.

Troopers involved in Monday's stop had body and squad car cameras activated at the time of the shooting. Col. Matt Langer said his agency is "working expeditiously to release the video after providing the family an opportunity to view it."

In a brief interview, Cobb's father, Ricky Cobb, said the family is "just waiting for the report" in order to learn what happened to his son.

"He just bought the car several months ago, so I don't think the taillights were out," his father said, responding to State Patrol's rationale for the original traffic stop.

Events captured on Minnesota Department of Transportation traffic management cameras unfolded about 2:15 a.m. on the right shoulder of the freeway about a two miles north of downtown Minneapolis. Though video is dark, it appeared troopers were conducting a traffic stop near the Dowling Avenue exit.

At one point, the stopped motorist drove away from the scene and at least two troopers are seen running back to their squads, video shows.

According to emergency dispatch audio, a trooper is heard saying "vehicle took off" and "shots fired" over dispatch audio. The trooper is given permission to pursue, according to the recording. Two minutes later, troopers called for medics, reporting three gunshot wounds to the abdomen. Cobb died at the scene.

MnDOT video showed at least two squad cars had surrounded the fleeing vehicle, a gray sedan, and had it boxed in against the center concrete median near 42nd Avenue N.

The westbound lanes of the freeway were shut down from I-394 to 49th Avenue for about seven hours as law enforcement and BCA agents investigated. Forensic analysts combed the median and adjacent right-of-way with a police canine for bullet casings into the morning rush hour.

Including Cobb's death, at least 230 people have been killed in encounters with law enforcement in Minnesota since the year 2000.

Staff writer Jeff Hargarten contributed to this report.
A man accused of holding five people at gunpoint during a home invasion in Warren County has been sentenced to prison.

Darius Deandre Willis, 37, of Cincinnati was sentenced this past Friday to 13 to 15 years in prison, according to Warren County Prosecutor David P. Fornshel.

On July 11, 2023, a Warren County jury convicted Willis of five counts of aggravated robbery, five counts of robbery, and two counts of aggravated burglary, with all counts including a mandatory 3-year firearm specification.

>> Donnie Baker death: Ohio police investigating death release statement

On June 12, 2022, Willis and two accomplices entered a Mason home, all three wearing masks and brandishing firearms, according to the Warren County Prosecutors Office.

The men held three adults and two children at gunpoint and demanded money, the prosecutors office said.

One of the children, an eight-year-old boy, tried to run from the home and was threatened with a firearm.

The men took more than $900 in cash and other personal property and fled in a Buick Enclave, according to the prosecutors office.

>> Police to provide new details after deadly shooting at Kettering gas station

Deputies responded and intercepted the vehicle as it fled south on I-75.

A high-speed pursuit ended at an intersection in Glendale where the three gunmen fled on foot.

A Sharonville Police Officer pursued Willis on foot through the neighborhood.

Willis was found hiding under the deck of a home on Chester Road and had $932 in cash on his person.

The victims other property, as well as a mask with Willis DNA, was located in the abandoned vehicle.

Willis unknown accomplices were not located, the prosecutors office said.

Anyone with information regarding their identity and involvement is asked to contact Detective Brandon Abshear of the Warren County Sheriffs Office.
A Texas man escaped gunfire only to be shot hours later after agreeing to meet up with his ex-girlfriend, San Antonio police told news outlets.

The man, who police did not identify, is 28 years old, according to a police release.

He first tried to meet the woman at a QuikTrip gas station at about 11 p.m. on July 30, police told Mysanantonio.com.

But soon after getting out of his car, someone opened fire, police told the outlet. He got back into his car and drove away from the scene without any injuries.

Just a few hours later, his ex called him and asked to meet again, this time at a home on the citys northwest side, police told WOAI.

He arrived around 3 a.m. and there was another ambush waiting for him, the outlet reported. Multiple suspects were at the scene, and he was shot twice in the leg.

Police responded to the shooting and found the man lying wounded in the street, and he was taken to a hospital, according to a news release. His injuries were non-life-threatening.

A woman was taken into custody, police told WOAI.

Man accused of fatally shooting mom of 3 wanted to scare her son, Texas cops say

12 teens beat man in animalistic attack outside gas station, Ohio officials say

79-year-old shoots apartment manager during inspection, then sets fire, Arkansas cops say
A woman in Utah was arrested after being accused of biting a relatives ear and strangling him, officials told news outlets.

On July 28, Provo police were sent to a home after operators received a call with an open line, according to Gephardt Daily. Arrest documents obtained by the outlet said 911 operators could hear voices in the background with someone trying to take the phone away from the caller.

Rebecca Rae Nelson, 42, from Pleasant Grove is accused of knocking on a relatives door and attacking him, according to multiple news outlets. Before biting a chunk of skin off his ear, she is accused of saying, Im going to kill you.

When police arrived they found the victim with a severe ear injury and holding part of the skin chunks in his hand, according to ABC4.

Outlets did not report on what caused the fight.

McClatchy News reached out to police on July 31 and is awaiting a response.

Nelson was booked into Utah County Jail on charges of aggravated assault, mayhem and damaging/interrupting a 911 call, according to Gephardt Daily.

Provo is about 40 miles southeast of Salt Lake City.

18-year-olds ear chewed off by woman during brawl at house party, Florida cops say

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A man involved in a 2019 fatal crash that killed an Oklahoma father and son in western Kansas has been arrested nearly four years later.

on Friday, the U.S. Marshals Service arrested 26-year-old Paulo Ivan Garcia in Douglas County, Georgia, after he was accused of leaving the scene of a deadly accident and felony theft in Grant County, Kansas, the agency said in a news release.

The crash happened on Oct. 26, 2019. At around 12:21 p.m., emergency crews were called to an injury accident at the intersection of Grant County Road X and Road 10, about 15 miles northeast of Ulysses, highway patrol crash logs said.

Investigators determined a 2007 Kenworth semi was westbound on Road 10 as a 2012 Chevrolet Silverado was southbound on Road X. The semi truck driver failed to yield the right of way to (the pickup) at the uncontrolled intersection and entered the intersection directly in the path of (the pickup), troopers wrote in the report. The pickup hit the passenger side of the semi, the Eagle previously reported.

The driver and passenger of the Silverado, respectively, 57-year-old Kevin Coyle and 81-year-old Gerald Coyle, both of Turpin, Oklahoma, died at the scene of the crash, the Kansas Highway Patrol said.

Authorities said Garcia stole a pickup truck from a bystander who was trying to help the victims after the accident.

The truck was found abandoned in a field in Haskell County, directly west of neighboring Grant County, the Eagle previously reported.

Garcia was booked into the Douglas County Jail in Georgia, where he will make his first appearance. He will then be extradited to Kansas, supervisory deputy U.S. Marshal Jerry Viera said.
Officers from various local and state law enforcement departments chased a 35-year-old man down I-5 Saturday, following a DUI hit-and-run in Lacey.

Lacey Police were dispatched to the original hit and run at Pacific Avenue and Carpenter Road on Saturday afternoon. According to the Thurston County Sheriffs social media, Lacey Police pursued the green Toyota Tacoma, but it fled onto the southbound I-5.

From there, the driver crossed paths with Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders, who was on his way to a community event. Sanders initiated a pursuit of the suspicion and called in Washington State Patrol and Tumwater Police to aid in the chase.

WSP conducted two Precision Immobilization Technique maneuvers, and TCSO helped corner the vehicle. The driver was compliant with his arrest. Officers then discovered his vehicle was stolen from Tacoma.

The man is currently in custody for the DUI, hit and run, and possession of a stolen vehicle, along with charges including eluding, no ignition interlock, and driving on a suspended license in the 3rd degree.

He has outstanding warrants for unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen vehicle, hit and run and providing false statements.
Police in Palm Bay said a man was shot and killed during a standoff with law enforcement.

Officers said the shooting and standoff happened inside of a home on Scotia Avenue SW in Palm Bay.

Officials said they were called to the home for reports of a domestic disturbance around 7:50 p.m.

Watch: Volusia County deputies to spread awareness on protecting kids from online predators

Officers were told a man was pointing a firearm at family members threatening to kill them and then barricaded himself inside the home.

Police said SWAT and crisis negotiators were called out to the home to help end the standoff peacefully.

Read: Man attacked by shark off west-central Florida beach

After several hours, the man refused to comply with negotiators on the scene and later fired at officers, officials said.

The officers returned fire ultimately shooting the man several times, according to a report.

Police said the man was pronounced deceased on the scene.

Read: Two found dead after shooting in Orange County, deputies say

The involved officers have been placed on administrative leave with pay, which is normal procedure for an officer-involved shooting.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating, officials said.

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 man who shot and killed four people in Colorado Springs and Pueblo in April has now pleaded guilty to all four murders.

Carlos Diaz, 22, pleaded guilty in the Fourth Judicial District to two counts of second-degree murder Wednesday for the murders of Anthony Moore and Diego Martinez in El Paso County.

Diaz had already pleaded guilty in Pueblo to two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Manuel Zegarelli and Vetho Finnell-Vigil in Pueblo on June 15.

In exchange for pleading guilty to the Pueblo homicides, Diaz will face a prison sentence of between 78 and 90 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. He was originally charged in the 10th Judicial District with two counts of first-degree murder, either of which would have carried a life sentence if convicted.

In exchange for pleading guilty to the El Paso County homicides, Diaz faces between 60 and 80 years in prison, to run concurrently with the sentence in Pueblo, according to a copy of the plea agreement obtained by the Chieftain.

He will also be required to pay restitution to the families of all of the victims, the amounts of which have not yet been specified.

Diaz killed Moore, 22, in unincorporated El Paso County on April 21, 2022. Four days later, he committed three murders  Zegarelli and Finnell-Vigil in Pueblo, then Martinez later the same day in Colorado Springs.

Diaz was originally identified by law enforcement after a witness reported he had stolen a vehicle from them. Security footage placed that stolen vehicle at the scenes of the murders of Finnell-Vigil, Zegarelli and Martinez.

On April 26, messages from Diaz to an unknown person also showed him admitting that he shot three people the day before, according to an arrest affidavit.

Diaz is scheduled to be sentenced for the deaths of Zegarelli and Finnell-Vigil on Oct. 16 at 9:30 a.m. in the court of Judge Allison P. Ernst. He is scheduled to be sentenced in the Fourth Judicial District on Oct. 20.

Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter@jayreutter1. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Man who killed 2 people in Pueblo pleads guilty to El Paso County murders
ASHEVILLE  A Tennessee man charged with an attempted sex offense at a Weaverville hotel pleaded guilty to three felonies July 31.

Richard Carlton Barnhill, 30, was sentenced to serve between 80 and 108 months in N.C. prisons after pleading guilty to attempted second degree rape, first degree kidnapping, and breaking and entering with intent to terrorize. All other charges were dismissed, including assault by strangulation, assault on a female and second-degree trespassing, according to District Attorney Todd Williams.

The woman Barnhill victimized, who was 19 at the time, spoke in court July 31 about the incident, saying it was the day I thought I was going to die.

On March 20, 2022, the hotel staff member was cleaning room No. 207 of the Fairfield Inn in Weaverville when Barnhill entered, closed the door and stood in the rooms hallway, according to search warrant application obtained July 31 by the Citizen Times. Barnhill demanded she take off her clothes and blocked the exit with his arm when she tried to escape.

Barnhill then shoved her onto the bed where he pinned her down with his body, covering her nose and mouth with his hand, according to court proceedings. At one point of the assault, Barnhills fingers were in the victims mouth, who bit down and drew blood.

After I was able to get on my back, he gave me just enough leeway to use my legs and I kicked him in the chest and the face, said the woman, whom the Citizen Times is not naming because of our policy on identifying victims of sexual assault. That kind of stood him up more for me to make a break.

More: Local hotel worker fights off 'sketchy' man charged with attempted forcible sex offense

The woman told the Citizen Times July 31 that her co-workers had heard her screams from the elevator, and when she swung the door open to escape, the co-workers were walking up to come help her.

She said her first interaction with Barnhill was when she was coming in from a work break and she held the door open for him, thinking he was a guest.

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I have his face and expressions imprinted  they bother me in my dreams, the victim told the Citizen Times. I have constant memories of March 20. When he was covering my nose and mouth, I kept blacking out and could feel myself losing consciousness.

This selfish attack has changed our familys life, the victims mother said in court, detailing how her daughter has struggled with panic attacks and nightmares since the incident.

This incident happened a day after Barnhill was arrested by Asheville police and charged with second degree trespass at the Courtyard by Marriott Asheville Biltmore Village, according to arrest and incident reports filed by APD.

After being told the hotel was fully booked, Barnhill attempted to hang out in the lobby area and was asked to leave, a hotel employee previously told the Citizen Times. A woman later called the front desk to report that a man was knocking on her hotel door and saying he needed to be let in.

Barnhill will receive treatment for mental health and substance abuse from the Department of Corrections while serving his sentence, according to Judge David Strickland, from Mecklenburg County. Strickland also issued a permanent no contact order with the victim, and Barnhill will be required to register as a sex offender for a period of 30 years.

The Citizen Times reached out to Barnhills appointed attorney, Teal Mittelstadt, but did not immediately receive a reply.

Im not glad he chose me, but Im glad he chose a girl that could end it for at least a while, the victim stated. And If Im not his first victim, I really hope this can hit the right audience and if someone did have to deal with him in the past, they know hes away for a while.

Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. News tips? Email Ryley at rober@gannett.com. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Man pleads guilty to attempted rape of Weaverville hotel worker
A man in the Russian city of St. Petersburg has rammed into the gates of a military enlistment office and tried to burn it down. He claims that the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has incited him to do it.

Source: Russian media outlet Fontanka

Details: Fontanka with reference to witnesses reports that a man tried to set a military enlistment office on the Chaikovsky Street, 55, in the evening. Then, he rammed into the yard gate on a VAZ vehicle. The police encircled the military enlistment office and checked whether there was an explosive inside the vehicle.

The driver of the VAZ vehicle has been detained. His psychological state is "questionable".

It was revealed later that the detainee is a 53-year old St. Petersburg native, who has not been convicted before and resides with his mother 10 km away from the enlistment office. He claims that two weeks ago, a stranger who introduced himself as a member of the FSB texted him on WhatsApp messenger. He suggested that he "conduct an action" in order to gain access to the documents that, as he claimed, are allegedly being sent from the enlistment office to Ukraine.

Reportedly, the wooden doors have not been seriously damaged.

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A man reportedly shot in the head was actually mauled to death by a pack of dogs, an Alabama sheriff told news outlets.

Demarcus Sam McKenzie, 27, was found dead Saturday, July 29, at a home in Skipperville, AL.com reported, citing Dale County Sheriff Mason Bynum.

Ozark-Dale County E911 got a call about an unresponsive man at about 9:15 a.m., according to the outlet. Deputies arrived to find McKenzie dead from what they thought was a gunshot wound.

The condition of his body led them to believe that he had been shot, WTVY reported.

However, a review of surveillance video from the home showed he was mauled by five to six dogs, Bynum told the Dothan Eagle. Investigators believe McKenzie was leaving the home when one of the dogs got aggressive with him.

He tried running away but was soon overpowered, the sheriff said.

The video depicts the victim tripping near the base of the driveway as more dogs joined in on the attack, Bynum said, according to the newspaper. At one point five to six dogs are seen violently attacking and mauling the victim as he struggles to stand.

Authorities didnt say what breed the dogs were or to whom they belonged.

McClatchy News reached out to the Dale County Sheriffs Office on Monday, July 31, and was awaiting a response.

McKenzies body was taken to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy, AL.com reported.

Skipperville is about 90 miles southeast of Montgomery.

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A Memphis Police Department officer stands next to the Dodge Ram pickup truck that had been driven by a man armed with a handgun who had been firing his weapon at Margolin Hebrew Academy before fleeing and was located in this area of McCrory Avenue and Gary Street by patrolling MPD officers in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday, July 31, 2023. The man was pulled over and exited his vehicle holding the gun and was shot by an MPD officer, according to MPD. He is being transported to Regional One in critical condition.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating an officer-involved shooting following an incident outside a Hebrew school in Memphis, the agency said Monday.

Officers from the Memphis Police Department were first called to a scene just before 12:30 p.m. Monday at Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South on South White Station Road, MPD Assistant Chief Don Crowe said at a press conference.

An individual who was was armed tried to get into the school, and when he could not get in, Crowe said, he fired at the school.

Thankfully, that school had a great safety procedure and process in place and avoided anyone being harmed or injured at that scene, he said. We cannot thank the people from Hebrew Academy enough for their vigilance and for their ability to get information to us.

School officials were able to provide police with a description of the man and the vehicle he was driving. Police found the vehicle, a maroon Ram pickup truck, and pulled him over.

He immediately emerged out of the vehicle with a gun in his hand," Crowe said. In response, the officer shot the man, who was taken to Regional One Health in critical condition.

A Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent and Memphis Police Department officers respond to the scene of an officer-involved shooting near the intersection of McCrory Avenue and Gary Street in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday, July 31, 2023. A man armed with a handgun who had been firing his gun at Margolin Hebrew Academy was located in the area by patrolling MPD officers. The officers conducted a traffic stop and the man exited his vehicle holding the gun and was shot by an officer, according to MPD. He is being transported to Regional One in critical condition.

Crowe said MPD notified Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy and TBI about the shooting, and TBI has taken over the investigation.

Crowe said officers are still combing the scene at the school, but told reporters it is way too early in the investigation to say if the man was trying to carry out a hate crime against the students.

Today is a great example of very alert, vigilant officers trying to protect the city, he said. I personally, truly believe that we have avoided a tragedy. I think the suspect was going to harm somebody before the day was over, and that our officers were able to intervene and protect the citizens.

The man has not been charged with a crime, nor has he been identified by police.

Memphis Police Department officers respond to the scene of an officer-involved shooting near the intersection of McCrory Avenue and Gary Street in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday, July 31, 2023. A man armed with a handgun who had been firing his gun at Margolin Hebrew Academy was located in the area by patrolling MPD officers. The officers conducted a traffic stop and the man exited his vehicle holding the gun and was shot by an officer, according to MPD. He is being transported to Regional One in critical condition.

According to the school's website, new teacher training starts Aug. 10 and classes start Aug. 17. It was not immediately clear how many people were present at the school Monday and if any summer programs involving students were taking place.

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When The Memphis Commercial Appeal, part of the USA TODAY Network, reached the school office by phone, a reporter was told the school had no comment at the time.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools were temporarily placed on lockdown because of a "situation unfolding across Shelby County," the school district said in an alert to teachers and parents. The lockdown was lifted after a suspect was located, shortly after the alert was sent, according to a second alert from MSCS.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Reporter John Klyce contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis police shot man who fired gun outside Margolin Hebrew Academy
A man is in the hospital after deputies said he was shot at a Lake Buena Vista hotel.

Orange County deputies said they responded to Rosen Inn Lake Buena Vista on Palm Parkway around 6 a.m. and found a man in his 20s with a gunshot wound.

Deputies said he was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Deputies said the shooter is in custody and the hotel is secure.

Read: FHP: Man, 28, killed in crash on John Young Parkway in Orange County

The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.

Stay tuned to Eyewitness News for updates.

Read: Two found dead after shooting in Orange County, deputies say

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A man is recovering after being shot in the leg on Saturday night.

At approximately 11 p.m. on Saturday, June 29, police responded to a report of a person shot at 2143 Peachtree Road NE in Atlanta.

Officers found a 33-year-old man lying in the parking lot suffering from a gunshot wound to his left leg.

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Police say he was alert, conscious, and breathing, and was taken to a hospital.

The investigation revealed that the victim tried to intervene in a dispute between a man and a woman and when he did, the man shot him.

The unidentified suspects drove away before police could arrive.

The investigation continues.

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A man turned himself in Friday for allegedly going more than three times the speed limit in his Chevrolet Camaro on Ocala Road, resulting in a fatal car accident three weeks ago.

Andre Holloman, 25, was arrested on charges of vehicular homicide, DUI manslaughter and driving without a license. He is currently being held in the Leon County Detention Facility on bond for $2,500.

According to court records, Holloman was driving 112 miles per hour just three seconds before hitting the victim's Honda Civic. The speed limit on Ocala Road is 35 miles per hour.

"At night a typical driver has a reaction time of approximately 2.5 seconds to perceive a threat i.e., an approaching vehicle," court documents say. "(The victim) could not have known the Camaro was approaching due to the reckless driving by Mr. Holloman."

The 34-year-old victim died five days after the crash.

The impact of the accident sprayed vehicle debris over 350 feet, spanning all five lanes of the road in front of the Acasa Apartments. Law enforcement shut down lanes of the road while both drivers were taken to the hospital and the road was cleared.

Four other people were also in the car with Holloman, including the car's owner who was in the passenger seat.

While being assessed in the emergency room, lab reports indicated Holloman's blood alcohol level was .147  almost double the legal limit.

He was also found with an expired Florida identification card at the time of the accident, according to records. He has never been issued a driver's license.

Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on Twitter @elenabarreraaa.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Driver turns himself in over high-speed fatal crash in Tallahassee
Opposition MPs visited Manipur over the weekend

India's Supreme Court has questioned the federal government on "systemic" and "unabated" violence in the north-eastern state of Manipur while hearing a petition filed by two women who were seen in a video that sparked outrage.

The viral video showed the women being paraded naked and molested by a mob.

They were assaulted in early May, when violence began in Manipur, but it only made headlines this month.

Their petition asks for a fair trial and protection of their identities.

The court is also hearing a petition from the federal government, which has asked the Supreme Court to move the trial in the case outside the state and conclude it in six months.

Violence in the scenic state of Manipur between members of the majority Meitei and minority Kuki tribal communities have left at least 130 dead and displaced tens of thousands over the past three months.

The women in the video were Kukis, while the men surrounding them were from the Meitei group. According to a police complaint filed days after the incident, one of the women was also gang raped.

Police have arrested seven people so far in connection with the case, but the first arrest only took place on 20 July, a day after the video went viral.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who represented the women, told the top court on Monday that the "police collaborated with the perpetrators of violence".

The case is now being investigated by India's federal police agency.

Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said that the assault was not "an isolated instance".

"Here we are dealing with systemic violence which the Indian Penal Code recognises as a special offence," he said.

He has asked the state government why it took two weeks for the police to register a complaint in the case. The court also asked the government to provide details of the 6,000 police cases registered since the conflict began, how many of these involved sexual violence and what action had been taken about it.

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The hearing will continue on Tuesday.

Opposition leaders have accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government of not doing enough to address the crisis in Manipur. Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is also in power in the state.

Mr Modi only publicly commented on the crisis in Manipur after the video became public. He said the incident had shamed the country and that the guilty wouldn't be spared. He hasn't visited the state yet.

Opposition leaders have moved a no-trust motion against Mr Modi's government which they say will force him to speak on the ethnic clashes in parliament.

Over the weekend , a 21-member delegation of opposition MPs visited Manipur to assess the situation. A memorandum submitted by them to the state governor flags the "complete breakdown of law and order" in Manipur and the "pathetic" condition of the relief camps.

The delegation alleged that the federal and state government had failed to protect the lives of people from both communities. They have also criticised Mr Modi's "brazen indifference" on the issue.

Anurag Thakur, a federal minister from the BJP, criticised the visit, calling it "political tourism". He claimed that his government was ready to discuss the Manipur issue from "day one" of the ongoing parliament session and accused the opposition of "running away" from it.

Last week, Home Minister Amit Shah said that federal police would investigate the case related to the viral video. He also said interlocutors had "made good progress" in holding talks with representatives from the Kuki and Meitei communities.

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Ice cream vendor Jose Villa, 72, of L.A. is surrounded by customers after Sunday service at Iglesia Pentecostal Esmirna in Highland Park. (Raul Roa / Los Angeles Times)

Whether in rain, raging winds or sweltering summer heat, Jose Villa can be seen on the streets of north Los Angeles, summoning smiles from children and adults alike. As the Mexican immigrant pushes a cart full of snow cones and popsicles, step by step the clang of his bells announces that his business is open to anyone who wants a sugary treat or immediate relief from the heat.

I have a very sweet job because it makes a lot of people happy, Villa said on one of his recent strolls through Highland Park. But yes, my economic future could be very bitter. So for today I'm not going to think about it," he added with a smile.

Villa wanted to retire at 62, but as an immigrant without legal documents, he can't afford the luxury of resting at home. Immigrant workers of his legal status are ineligible to receive Social Security retirement benefits, even if they have paid taxes using an Individual Tax Identification Number, or ITIN, which is issued to people without a Social Security number for the sole purpose of filing federal taxes.

With few job opportunities, Villa has been selling ice cream for seven years. "I don't know what fate has in store for me when my body gives up," he says. (Raul Roa / Los Angeles Times)

The native of Culiacan, in the northwest Mexican state of Sinaloa, came to the United States when he was 47. He'd grown up working in the fields, planting beans, peanuts, corn and sesame until he decided to try his luck across the border. With only a sixth-grade education, Villa was able to settle in Los Angeles and get a job as a restaurant cook. After 18 years of service, he was fired without explanation, he said.

With few job opportunities, Villa has been selling ice cream for seven years, but the money isn't enough to rent an apartment or even a room, so he lives in a garage that his boss, the owner of the cart, has provided him indefinitely.

"I don't know what fate has in store for me when my body gives up," said the immigrant, adjusting his hat to screen out the sun. "I just have to have faith for a miracle to happen and the government to take pity on old people like me."

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Over the next decade, this bleak future looms for immigrants living in California without unemployment insurance, retirement benefits or another form of safety net, in numbers unlike any state in modern history, according to a UC Merced Community and Labor Center report released March 23. The report, titled "A Golden Age: California's Aging Immigrant Workforce and Its Implications for Safety Net Policy," asserts that in 2019, the noncitizen workforce in California was 2,984,821 migrant workers, of whom approximately 1,253,625 lacked legal work documents.

Among the noncitizen workers, 9,558 were then 75 or older, 67,960 were ages 65 to 74, and 316,539 were ages 55 to 64. Among workers without work documents ages 75 and older, there were 4,014 in 2019, while some 28,543 were 65 to 74 and 132,946 were 55 to 64 . These figures indicate that thousands of immigrant families will fall into extreme poverty, analysts and activists say.

With congressional action unlikely, some California politicians and immigrant activists are pushing legislation to bring relief to workers like Villa. The proposed AB 1536 would expand access to the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, or CAPI, to undocumented immigrants who, due to their immigration status, aren't eligible for the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Program for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled. Currently, the state-funded program provides a monthly cash benefit only to lawful permanent residents, refugees or asylum seekers.

Assemblyman Juan Carrillo (D-Palmdale), who introduced the bill on March 2, said that this population deserves to retire with dignity like any other U.S. worker who has paid taxes.

The idea is to provide these people with monetary assistance, because many of them have worked for decades and contributed for many years to strengthen the California economy, Carrillo said. It is time to recognize the hard work they do in the farm fields and in other service industries such as agriculture, landscaping, construction services and restaurant service, among many others."

In 2019, according to the IRS, more than 2.5 million ITIN tax returns were filed, representing nearly $6 billion in taxes. A study by New American Economy, a research and advocacy organization, showed that undocumented immigrants contribute an average of $13 billion to Social Security and $3 billion to Medicare per year.

Currently the CAPI program provides $1,100 per month to qualified immigrants. People without legal documents would have similar benefits, depending on their current economic status, Carrillo said.

Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, a co-author of the bill, said it's imperative for politicians to support this expansion, as no one wants to see more homeless people on the streets of California in years to come.

Need knows no disease, nor old age," Santiago said. "These elderly people live in our communities, they are not going anywhere. Many of them continue to work, so it is crucial to attend to them at the basic level to live, which means monetary help so that they can eat and at least have a roof."

AB 1536 is scheduled to be taken up by the state Senate appropriations committee Aug. 14.

For Villa, the additional income he would receive would enable him at least to rent a one-bedroom apartment instead of living in a garage with only a sofa and a television.

While Villa sells popsicles in north Los Angeles, to the south Roberto Gonzalez, 69, washes cars.

Gonzalez is drenched in sweat as he wipes the windows of a Ford Ranger pickup truck and then cleans the steel wheels.

The native of Puebla, Mexico, suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and rheumatoid arthritis, which sometimes numbs the joints in his hands, making it difficult to work. But he aims to continue laboring at least five days a week so he can pool his meager earnings with one of his two children.

The hot days are the hardest, but it is better to bear the sun than rain, because if that happens I no longer have a job, said Gonzalez, who has been cleaning cars for five years. The two years he initially planned to stay in the United States have stretched to 49.

"One says, 'One more year and I'm gone,' but all savings are spent on rent, bills and sending money to the family," Gonzalez said. The truth is that I am afraid of being a burden to society, and especially to my two older children. Without being able to work, I would depend on them because I don't have retirement benefits."

Gonzalez believes that if AB 1536 passed he could contribute to his son's food bills and other household expenses.

Victor Narro, project director and professor of labor studies at the UCLA Labor Center, said that although elderly undocumented immigrants urgently need help, strengthening Social Security seems to be a political non-starter, especially any plan that would extend it to immigrants who are undocumented.

The state is facing an unprecedented crisis when it comes to its rapidly aging undocumented population, Narro said. Despite their efforts, pro-immigrant activists have failed to achieve immigration reform that would legalize these people after a 30-year struggle. This contributes to more people working under the table earning cash, while others manage to pay taxes that are not worth a retirement."

"I ask for nothing more than some return on my contributions," Villa said. Undocumented workers are ineligible to receive Social Security benefits, even if they have paid taxes. (Raul Roa / Los Angeles Times)

Although Narro believes that political movement is essential to help elderly immigrant workers, he acknowledges that the bills face significant political hurdles. What's more, he said, "Social Security has long been on shaky financial ground," because as the U.S. population ages there are fewer workers supporting the growing number of Social Security beneficiaries, who as a group are living longer. Some analysts estimate that funds could run out as soon as 2034.

People die without documents and without benefits, having given up their lives in a job," said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA, which supports AB 1536. "If we don't push this type of law now, in the coming years we are going to see more elderly people with disabilities, unable to work."

This is a moral issue, one of dignity and respect for seniors, she added.

For workers like Villa and Gonzalez, California's bill offers a measure of hope.

We are all going to grow old, and the only thing that is going to concern us is being healthy and having a roof and food," Villa said. "I ask for nothing more than some return on my contributions."

In Gonzalez's view, God blesses those who shake hands with those who need it. I hope that the politicians think of us and give us that helping hand that we need."





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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
About 1 in 10 public and private school principals nationwide left their jobs between the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years  the first full school years after the pandemic began, new research published Monday shows.

The data, from the National Center for Education Statistics, shows a greater number of school-level leaders leaving those roles than when the data was collected five years earlier, NCES statistician Julia Merlin said. And the turnover was most pronounced at schools that primarily serve students of color.

The conclusions were drawn from nationally representative surveys of about 6,500 public school principals and about 1,800 private school principals.

Distracted students, stressed teachers: What an American school day looks like post-COVID

What's the harm in principal turnover?

NCES said the data doesnt capture exactly if or how COVID-19 played a role in principals decisions to leave that role or take the same job at another school. And the rate at which principals left their roles recently, while greater than five years earlier, is similar to what federal data shows in prior years the survey was conducted.

Nevertheless, its problematic.

Principal attrition is higher in public schools than it was 5 years ago, and veteran public school leaders with more years of experience leave the profession at higher rates than those with less experience, NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr said in a statement. Principals are critical supports for a schools teachers and learners, and the country needs leaders in every school who are committed to the success of each student.

While a lot of the attention has been on teachers leaving the profession during the pandemic, the mobility and turnover of principals can be very disruptive to students education and overall school improvement efforts and damaging to teacher retention and student achievement, the National Association of Secondary School Principals has said. And a review of research published late last year found that principals' influence on student learning is likely far more significant than previously known.

Story continues

Struggling to keep up': Number of teachers quitting hits new high

Which schools experienced more principal departures?

The oldest, most experienced teachers were among the most likely to tell NCES researchers they were leaving their jobs, Merlin said. And schools where half or more of students were children of color had higher rates of principals departing their posts than schools where more students were white.

This means that schools with the highest percentages of students of color saw more turnover in leadership between 2020-21 and 2021-22 than did schools with the lowest percentage of students of color enrollment, she said. These schools were dealing with the challenges of finding and hiring a new principal for the next school year."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Principals are quitting school jobs. What does that mean for kids?
Azov regiment commander Denys Prokopenko meets with his soldiers after being released from captivity

The senior officers of the former Mariupol garrison, including the commander Ukraines Azov Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Denys Prokopenko, are permitted to return to the front to fight Russian invasion forces.

This was confirmed by the commander of the National Guard, Colonel Oleksandr Pivnenko, in an interview with NVs sister publication Ukrayinska Pravda. The Azov Regiment is a unit of Ukraines National Guard.

"Denys  defended Mariupol  They are preparing (for battle) and will perform tasks, like everyone else," Pivnenko said.

Pivnenko added that there was no ban on the Azov commanders returning to the front, and that they could be back in battle within a month.

"It depends on the situation at the front. Maybe within a month. We'll see, let's see, time will tell," he said.

Read also: Return of Azov Commander Denys Prokopenko: What it means for Ukraine

The Mariupol garrison commanders were captured by the Russians during their seizure of the port city of Mariupol in May 2022. The five commanders were held captive by the Russians, and then held in Turkey under a prisoner exchange deal brokered by Ankara. Later, they werereleased and travelled back to Ukraine with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the Ukrainian head of state visited Turkey on July 8.

Russia then accused Ukraine and Turkey of violating the terms of the prisoner exchange deal.

The five Mariupol garrison commanders who returned were:

the commander of the Azov Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Denis Prokopenko, with the call sign Redis;

the deputy commander of Azov Regiment, Captain Sviatoslav Palamar, with the call sign Kalyna;

the acting commander of the 36th Marine Brigade, Captain 3rd Rank Serhiy Volynskyi, with the call sign Volyn;

senior soldier of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade named after the Black Zaporozhets, Oleh Khomenko;

the commander of the 12th Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard, Colonel Denis Shlega.

Read also: Turkish media reveal new details of Medvedchuks swap for Azovstal commanders

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The Mariupol garrison commanders were held in Turkey "under the personal protection of President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan" after a large-scale prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia took place in September 2022. They spent more than nine months in the country after being released from Russian captivity.

In total, on Sept. 22, 2022, Ukraine returned 215 defenders from Russian captivity. The five commanders of the Mariupol garrison were exchanged for 55 Russian soldiers, and in exchange for the rest, Ukraine sent Viktor Medvedchuk, a People's Deputy and Putin's best man, who was suspected of treason, to Russia.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
BOSTON  The Massachusetts district attorney who represents the wealthy enclave where Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flew 49 migrants last September is now calling on the federal Justice Department to investigate the transport.

Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday asking DOJ to investigate allegations that the migrants were misled into getting on the planes that took them from Texas to Marthas Vineyard.

My office posits that, due to the interstate transportation of these migrants, this alleged scheme remains available for federal prosecution, Galibois wrote.

Hes also asking the Justice Department to help translate interviews that were conducted with the migrants in Spanish after they arrived on the island to help further his own investigation.

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has also called on the DOJ to probe Florida over the flights.



A spokesperson for the DeSantis administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Galibois is a Democrat who flipped the Republican-held Cape and Islands district attorney seat two months after the migrants arrived on flights orchestrated by the Republican Florida governors administration. He took office in January.

Galibois said last week that he intends to investigate the migrant flights and wants the Justice Department to do the same, making the announcement a day before DeSantis was due on Cape Cod for a fundraiser for his presidential campaign.

While DeSantis has touted the migrant flights to Massachusetts on the campaign trail, he didnt mention the transport during the fundraiser that was just a ferry ride away from Marthas Vineyard, per an attendee.

Christine Mui contributed to this report.
A Massachusetts district attorney Monday called for a federal investigation into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantiss (R) efforts to transport migrants by plane across state lines, including to the island of Marthas Vineyard, which is within the district attorneys jurisdiction.

In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois requested the Justice Department (DOJ) investigate a September 2022 incident in which 49 immigrants were transported from Texas to Marthas Vineyard.

There are serious indications and allegations that they were inveigled into making this journey. Subsequent reporting and public statements also indicate that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration planned, initiated, funded with taxpayer monies, and executed this enterprise, Galibois wrote in the letter.

My office posits that, due to the interstate transportation of these migrants, this alleged scheme remains available for federal prosecution, Galibois added.

Galibois joins a similar request made by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Texas Sheriff Javier Salazar of Bexar County, which was also a destination of a migrant flight sent by DeSantis.

It is unconscionable to use people as political props by persuading them to travel to another state based on false or deceptive representations. We urge USDOJ to investigate potential violations of federal law by those involved in this scheme, the three officials wrote in a letter to Garland in early July.

Galibois invoked their letter and said, I stand behind and support a request made to you  to open federal criminal and civil investigations into these incidents.

Like my colleagues, I stand ready to cooperate with the Department of Justice, provide and share any information about these flights and schemes, and look forward to working with the Department on this issue, he wrote.

Galibois also said in the letter that he is aware that interviews with most if not all of the migrants were conducted upon their arrival on Marthas Vineyard, and Galibois requested help in obtaining certified transcriptions of the interviews, which he said were conducted in Spanish.

Galibois, a Democrat, said last week that his office was reviewing the matter of migrant flights and has said that he would like the DOJ to do the same. His comments came just days before DeSantis, a 2024 GOP presidential candidate, planned to attend a big-name fundraiser in the state, The Boston Globe first reported.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), one of the few House members to endorse Florida Gov. Ron DeSantiss presidential bid, joked that DeSantis should get indicted in order to boost his poll numbers among GOP voters.

Ive said we gotta figure out, we got to find some judge in Florida thatll indict DeSantis quick, to close this indictment gap. Its a truism that anytime someone is being persecuted, their camp rallies to their defense, Massie said in an interview last week that was published Monday in The Miami Herald.

Massie said he understands why Republican voters are flocking to former President Trumps defense in light of the indictments.

Its very difficult, Massie said, when asked how DeSantis and other GOP presidential candidates should proceed as sympathy mounts for Trump as he faces criminal charges.

I feel sympathy for Trump. And I understand why people are gravitating towards him in this time. Its a referendum on the swamp versus Trump, and its seen as, if you dont support Trump in this moment, some of the voters see it as being swampy. If youre not with him, you must be with the other guys. And it makes it tough, Massie continued.

Massie said he thinks DeSantis has taken the right approach in responding to Trumps indictment by showing sympathy for the former president.

It feels weird to say this, but Im just going to say it. I think Ron DeSantis has to weather out these indictments. I think Rons taken the right path, which is to be sympathetic to the former presidents plight, Massie said.

DeSantis, once a serious challenger to Trumps primary campaign, has fallen in the polls since his launch earlier this year. The latest Morning Consult polling numbers showed 16 percent of GOP voters favor DeSantis, while Trump pulls ahead with 59 percent of GOP voters support.

A New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday reflected similar numbers, with DeSantis at 17 percent and Trump at 56 percent.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnells (R-Ky.) health scare has Republican senators wondering whether the 81-year-old lawmaker will stay in the top job beyond the 2024 election and who might eventually replace him.

McConnell plans to serve out his current term as leader and has given every indication that he intends to return as Senate GOP leader in the 119th Congress, which starts in January of 2025  hopefully from his point of view with Republicans in control of the Senate majority.

Yet Republican senators privately acknowledge that McConnell appears to be frailer since falling and suffering a concussion on March 9, which resulted in him being hospitalized for several days. The accident required rehabilitation at an inpatient facility and kept him away from the Capitol for more than a month.

McConnells health came back into the spotlight Wednesday when he froze midsentence while delivering his opening remarks at the weekly Republican leadership press conference and had to step away from the podium and return to his office for a few minutes to recover.

He later insisted that he was fine and declined to comment specifically about any health problems he may have, leaving GOP colleagues to speculate about how much longer he will serve as leader and who has the inside track to replace him.

I think the leadership race is well underway and this accelerates that, said a Republican senator who requested anonymity to discuss the fallout from McConnells health episode before television cameras Wednesday.

The lawmaker noted that Senate Republican Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) ran the Senate floor this month during the debate and votes on the annual defense authorization bill, with his staff working in close coordination with floor staff to get agreements on amendments and resolve objections.

Thune is running the floor, hes running the [National Defense Authorization Act] negotiations, the lawmaker said.

Thune helped get 80 amendments adopted to the defense bill  through the managers package, roll call votes and voice votes  helping GOP colleagues ring up accomplishments.

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The senator said the shadow race to one day replace McConnell has boiled down to Thune, Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), who previously served as Senate GOP whip, and Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (Wyo.).

Cornyn has been very solicitous about raising money for Republican senators who are up for reelection next year, showcasing his fundraising ability, which has been one of McConnells greatest strengths as leader, the senator said.

Cornyns joint fundraising committee, the Cornyn Victory Committee, has raised $4.12 million for Senate GOP incumbents, future Senate GOP nominees and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) through the first six months of this year.

Cornyn raised a total of $20 million for Senate Republican candidates in the 2022 election cycle, more than any other Republican senator with the exception of McConnell and then-NRSC Chairman Rick Scott (R-Fla.).

We hope to exceed that, Cornyn said of what he plans to do for the 2024 election compared to the $20 million he raised for candidates in the 2022 election cycle.

Historically, I used to just raise money for the senatorial committee and let them spend it the way they saw fit, but I found that colleagues appreciate the [direct] help, he said. It saves them their wear and tear and a little time so they can hopefully maximize their fundraising elsewhere.

McConnell continues to be a major force in fundraising and any successor would have big shoes to fill in that area.

Two outside groups aligned with McConnell, the Senate Leadership Fund and One Nation, raised a combined $38 million during the first six months of 2023, setting a record for the first half of a nonelection year.

Republican senators say they view Thune, who is 62, and Cornyn, 71, as the front-runners to become the next Senate GOP leader.

I think those will be the two that run for leader when that happens, said a second Republican senator who requested anonymity to discuss the brewing succession battle.

The senator said Cornyns been raising money for people for years and has built a solid record as a major GOP fundraiser while pointing out its Thunes job as whip to be managing the daily developments on the Senate floor.

Im glad that he stepped up during the floor consideration of the defense bill, the senator said, which came close to derailing because of an ongoing dispute over the Pentagons policy of paying for servicemembers to travel to obtain abortions.

The senator said neither Thune nor Cornyn have said anything about running for McConnells job. But their ambitions to move up to the top job are an open secret.

The leadership is interesting times, the senator remarked, noting that Thune and Cornyn cant discuss their plans because it would be rude while McConnell is in the job.

Senators say Barrasso, 71, cant be ruled out of the mix because he plays an important role as GOP conference chairman in pushing messaging strategy and could run as a more conservative alternative to Thune and Cornyn in a three-way race.

Barrasso, for example, voted against this years debt limit deal between Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and President Biden, which other members of the Senate GOP leadership supported.

Former NRSC Chairman Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who is up for reelection next year, hasnt ruled out another run for Senate Republican leader.

He challenged McConnell in November in what became an intense and sometimes acrimonious debate over the future of the GOP conference before losing by a vote of 36-10.

A Senate Republican aide said Cornyn has had to be more aggressive in angling for a future opening for Senate leader because he does not currently hold a position in the elected leadership. He had to step down as whip because of term limits in January of 2019.

Thune and Cornyn are the two names that have been in the mix the most because they have both been whip, and everybody knows that Cornyn wants the [leaders] job more than anything, the aide said.

Cornyn has held regular lunches and coffees with fellow Republican senators to help maintain his relationships with colleagues.

He has kept ties with the conservative wing of the GOP conference by regularly attending Monday evening meetings of the Senate Republican Steering Committee.

Thune and Cornyn have both publicly expressed interest in becoming leader in the future but have also made clear that the job is McConnells for as long as he wants it.

Thune earlier this year waved off a question about running for Senate Republican leader as putting the cart before the horse.

He stepped in to handle some of McConnells responsibilities, such as leading the weekly leadership press conference, while McConnell underwent rehabilitation after his fall.

Likewise, Cornyn this week insisted to reporters that he isnt actively running to become the next leader.

Theres no vacancies, he said. And those [leadership] elections wont be until November 2024. So I guess the short answer is theres nothing to prepare for.

Barrasso has only said he would like to continue serving the Senate GOP conference in whatever way is most helpful to his colleagues.

The Wyoming doctor was in the spotlight himself Wednesday because he came to McConnells aid after he froze in the middle of delivering his opening remarks at the press conference.

Barrasso acknowledged to reporters immediately afterward that he was concerned about McConnells health since his accident in March but hastened to emphasize hes made a remarkable recovery and is doing a great job leading our conference.

Some Republican senators downplayed the incident, which McConnells office attributed to the leader feeling lightheaded, as a blip that doesnt affect his ability to lead the conference.

Naturally, anytime it happens I think youre concerned, but in terms of his capabilities and ability to lead, no, Im not worried about his ability to lead, said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.).

A third Republican senator who requested anonymity, however, said that some GOP senators feel they arent getting the full story about McConnells health, which is in turn fueling speculation about how much longer he will remain leader.

No one says whats wrong with him, the senator said. I think there ought to be more transparency here.

Al Weaver contributed.

Updated at 8:00 a.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The investigation of the Russian non-governmental project Verstka claims that almost all sanctioned goods worth hundreds of billions of dollars continue to enter the Russian Federation.

Source: Verstka; European Pravda

Details: The investigation is based on closed data from Russian customs and sources in logistics, freight forwarders, and businesspeople who know about the supply schemes for sanctioned goods.

Journalists found out that only in the first half of 2023, Russia had imported sanctioned microchips produced in the West with a total value of more than US$502 million. These components are used to produce missiles and other weapons.

They also delivered numerous pieces of equipment used by the Russian military-industrial complex, equipment for civil aviation worth at least US$171 million, and US$389 million worth of iPhones.

According to their conclusions, importing "anything from anywhere in the world, from dual-use microchips to a turbojet engine for an airbus" is now possible, and Western companies are involved in the schemes to circumvent sanctions through third countries.

According to the investigation, Russia still gets components such as Intel processors, Xilinx and Texas Instruments microchips, and the Analog Devices Inc. transceivers, which are used in the Kh-101 strategic cruise missiles.

"Over the past six months, the Russian authorities have cleared components from US-based Analog Devices Inc. worth more than US$98 million, more than US$75 million for Xilinx, more than US$42 million for Microchip Technology, at least US$38 million for Texas Instruments, and more than US$28 million worth for Infineon, Germany's largest semiconductor manufacturer," the investigation says, mentioning products from Marvell, Cypress Semiconductor, and Atmel.

Intel and AMD products, particularly microprocessors, were imported for more than US$169 million and US$35 million.

As noted, almost all Western electronics enter Russia through China and Hong Kong. The Top-3 largest senders of Intel components are called Time Art International (US$40 million), Union Tech Inc. (more than US$17 million), and Dexp International (almost US$15 million). Among the intermediary exporters, the Turkish company Margiana Insaat Dis Ticaret Limited Sirketi is also mentioned.

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Dual-use chips are imported by hundreds of companies, and of the 25 largest importers 11 are direct suppliers of the Russian military-industrial complex. The investigation cites dozens of specific examples.

The Unimatik company allegedly brought Italian O.M.V machines to Russia, and German Arinstein for at least US$5 million. One of the leading state customers of Unimatik is Russian Plant No. 9, a leading tank gun manufacturer. A company from Hong Kong shipped the German machines.

In its simplest form, the import of sanctioned goods is organised through the registration in a company from a third country that will act as an exporter, and it buys off the necessary goods there or orders them directly from the manufacturer and re-exports them to the Russian Federation. They prefer to choose non-Russian citizens to register these intermediaries because suppliers pay attention to this. Most often, China or Turkiye is selected for registration.

Some cargo goes through the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Armenia. The sources mentioned Georgia as a country where problems may arise with re-exporting sanctioned goods, but it was not indicated on the publication's infographic.

China is a key hub for re-exporting sanctioned goods to Russia.

The latest package of EU sanctions aimed to close loopholes in the already imposed sanctions against the Russian Federation and combat their circumvention through third countries.

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A court in Moscow ruled to seize the assets of the Russian subsidiary of the Metinvest company controlled by Ukraine's richest man Rinat Akhmetov, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported on July 31.

According to the Investigative Committee of Russia, Akhmetov has allegedly used the money from one of Metinvest Eurasias accounts to finance the Ukrainian forces, including the Azov Regiment.

The Russian subsidiary of Metinvest, one of Europe's largest suppliers of iron ore, owns the Gornyak boarding house in Krasnodar and the Belgorodmetallosnab company.

After Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Metinvest Eurasia's profit decreased by 74% and the losses amounted to 1.9 billion rubles ($20 million), the Kommersant wrote.

The Russian authorities opened a criminal case against Akhmetov's businesses in Sept. 2020, accusing him of "financing terrorism," according to the media outlet. In August 2022, Russia's Supreme Court labeled the Azov Regiment as a terrorist organization, banning its activities on the territory of Russia.

In June 2022, Akhmetov filed a lawsuit at the European Court of Human Rights against Russia for gross violations of his property rights. Akhmetov asked for "billions of dollars" to compensate for the blockade, looting, destruction, and theft of his grain and metal from Ukraine to Russia.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as of Oct. 31 last year, Akhmetov's net worth fell by 52% to $5.39 billion compared to the pre-war level.

Read also: Ukraines top oligarch Akhmetov loses half his assets to Russias invasion

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Western military goods worth billions of dollars continue to flow into Russia despite international sanctions, the Russian independent outlet Vertska reported on July 31.

An extensive investigation led by Vertska journalists revealed that during the first half of 2023, Russia imported numerous military products, including sanctioned Western microchips valued at $502 million. These chips are used in the production of missiles and other weapons. Additionally, Russia was able to receive civil aviation equipment worth at least $171 million and iPhones worth $389 million.

The investigation was based on closed data reports of Russian customs, communication with logisticians, forwarders, entrepreneurs familiar with illegal import schemes.

"Almost anything can be brought into Russia from anywhere in the world - from a dual-use chip to a turbojet engine for Airbus," Vertska stated.

Western companies participate in the scheme by registering a "new company" in third countries to act as an exporter, allowing Russian authorities to successfully bypass European and American sanctions.

Dual-use goods, such as microchips and microprocessors, were among the first products to be sanctioned in the outset of the war. The Russian military is critically dependent on these foreign-made microchips and microprocessors.

Russia's X-101 cruise missile, for example, is one of the most modern missiles in service and requires an Intel processor, Xilinx and Texas Instruments chips, as well as an Analog Devices Inc. transceiver. All of these components are freely imported into the Russian Federation. In fact, hundreds of companies export dual-purpose chips to Russia. Among the 25 largest importers, 11 are direct suppliers of Russia's military-industrial complex.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih kills 6, injures 75, including children

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WASHINGTON  Devon Archer, Hunter Biden's former business associate, told lawmakers during testimony on Monday that Hunter Biden put President Joe Biden on the phone with clients before his father was elected to the White House.

But Archer still argued that Joe Biden wasn't involved in their financial dealings, despite the contacts.

Republicans have alleged for months that Joe Biden knew about his son's business dealings and was engaged in influence peddling with his family while he served as vice president. It's an allegation that the White House has denied and called baseless innuendo.

Archer's testimony also came after Hunter Biden's decision to plead not guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges in a Wilmington, Delaware, court last week. He was originally expected to plead guilty under an agreement made with federal prosecutors, which Republicans claimed was a "sweetheart deal."

But who is Devon Archer? What else did he tell lawmakers about the president and his son? Here's what you need to know.

Archer says Hunter Biden put Joe Biden on the phone with associates

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., told reporters that Archer's testimony did not indicate Joe Biden was involved in his son's business dealings.

Goldman said that Archer testified Hunter Biden would often put his father on speaker phone with whomever he happened to have dinner with  whether it was a business associate or a friend. However, "the witness was very, very consistent that none of those conversations ever had to do with any business dealings or transactions," Goldman said.

"Hunter spoke to his father every day, and approximately 20 times over the course of a 10-year relationship, Hunter may have put his father on the phone with any number of different people," Goldman said.

Goldman also said that Archer testified Hunter Biden sold "the illusion of access to his father" as he tried to take credit for things that Joe Biden did that Hunter Biden played no role in.

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Rep. Andy Biggs, R-AZ., told reporters he thinks the testimony implicated the president and that there should be an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden. The Arizona lawmaker said that Archer testified the Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings LLC, where Archer and Biden were both board members, "would have gone out of business sooner if the Biden brand had not been invoked."

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who wasn't in the meeting, told reporters Archer's testimony proved Joe Biden was involved in his son's business dealings, according to Fox News.

Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson for Oversight and Investigations, told USA TODAY in a statement that "it appears that the House Republicans own much-hyped witness today testified that he never heard of President Biden discussing business with his son or his sons associates, or doing anything wrong."

Who is Devon Archer?

Archer joined the board of Burisma Holdings LLC with Hunter Biden in 2014. He also co-founded Rosemont Seneca Partners, a private equity firm, with Hunter Biden and Christopher Heinz, John Kerrys stepson, in 2009.

Republicans believed Archer could be key in revealing information about Joe Biden allegedly being involved in Hunter Bidens foreign business dealings as a growing group of conservative lawmakers push to impeach the president.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., previously subpoenaed Archer in June to appear for a deposition, noting in a letter to Archer's attorney that he "played a significant role in the Biden familys business deals abroad, including but not limited to China, Russia, and Ukraine." Comer also wrote that Archer has met Joe Biden on multiple occasions and was involved in transactions involving foreign companies and foreign nationals with Hunter Biden.

Comer said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday that Archer had the opportunity to tell the truth about the Bidens' business dealings in front of the committee.

Devon Archer could be in that category of Americans that just come and tell the truth. That's all we want, Comer said.

Republicans raise speculation ahead of Archer's testimony

Archer was convicted in 2018 for his role in a scheme surrounding the fraudulent issuance and sale of more than $60 million in tribal bonds. He was sentenced to a year and day in prison last year, and a Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit earlier this month denied Archers appeal of his sentence.

The Justice Department sent a request to the judge overseeing the case on Saturday to schedule a time and date for when Archer can surrender and serve his term in prison. But some Republicans, including Comer, raised allegations about the timing of the letter as Archer's testimony approached.

Its odd that it was issued on a Saturday, and its odd that its right before hes scheduled to come in to have an opportunity to speak in front of the House Oversight Committee and tell the American people the truth about what really went on with Burisma, Comer said in an interview Sunday.

However, Matthew Schwartz, Archers attorney, denied the allegation.

To be clear, Mr. Archer does not agree with that speculation. In any case, Mr. Archer will do what he has planned to do all along, which is to show up on Monday and to honestly answer the questions that are put to him by the Congressional investigators, Schwartz said in a statement to CNN on Sunday.

The Justice Department sent a follow-up letter Sunday that says the Government does not request (and has never requested) that the defendant surrender before his Congressional testimony.

Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hunter Biden put Joe Biden on phone with associates, witness says
FREMONT - Sometimes, a teachers influence can last a lifetime. As a young girl attending St. Joe Elementary School, Sister Susan Marie Reineck grew academically and spiritually under the tutelage of her teachers, all Sisters of Notre Dame.

On July 16, Reineck celebrated her Diamond Jubilee by publicly renewing her vows at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. For 60 years, Reineck has served God as a Sister of Notre Dame teacher and school administrator.

When I was in 8th grade, I was discerning a possible religious vocation. I looked at various communities  at Mercy here in Fremont, at St. Francis in Tiffin, and at Notre Dame. The Sisters of Notre Dame were teachers, and I felt drawn to be a teacher, Reineck said.

Reineck felt a calling at a young age

As a young girl, Reineck had a strong desire to marry and have a family, but she took seriously a possible call to ministry.

When one has a religious vocation, it doesnt go away, she said. I told my dad, I have to find out. I dont want to go my whole life and not see if this is what God wants me to do.

Sister Susan Marie Reineck celebrated her Diamond Jubilee by publicly renewing her vows at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on July 16.

Reineck attended an aspirant school in Toledo during her high school years to further seek her calling, and she joined the novitiate of the Sisters of Notre Dame in February, 1961.

Its a period to continue to discern if one has a vocation, where you learn what is involved in belonging to a religious congregation and what giving of ones self permanently to God is really all about, she said.

Reineck served as a teacher and a principal

Reineck made her first profession 60 years ago, on Aug. 20, 1963 and began teaching at Gesu Catholic School in Toledo in 1964. She taught in various elementary schools in Ohio and Florida, mostly in inner city areas, and she became an elementary school principal after earning a master's of education degree from the University of Toledo.

Reineck technically retired in 2018, but since July, 2020, she has served as the Community Coordinator of the Southern Region of the U.S. Today, she tutors students and directs the tutoring program at Guardian Catholic School in Florida. At the age of 80, she has yet to truly slow down.

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As a young girl, Sister Susan Marie Reineck often prayed to this statue of Mary at Sacred Heart Catholic Church when she was discerning her calling as a Sister of Notre Dame.

We picked up a new word. One of the sisters said that, instead of retiring, we are retreading, Reineck said.

Although Reineck gave up her dream of raising a family, her life was filled with children.

Ive thought of it many times. I gave up being a wife and a mother, and God gave me hundreds and hundreds of children, and theyre all uniquely beautiful, she said.

Reineck renewed her vows in mid-July

Renewing her vows at Sacred Heart after 60 years of commitment to God was an emotional moment for Reineck.

I had a feeling of joy and gratitude at Gods goodness. It was a celebration of Gods goodness because its all from him. I have a feeling of deep gratitude to God for calling me to serve others, she said. I celebrated with my religious community at the Sisters of Notre Dame in Whitehouse the day before, so it was an emotional weekend.

After the Sacred Heart service, family and friends gathered for a reception to share stories and celebrate Reinecks jubilee.

It was beautiful. The experience of bringing family together and hearing one anothers stories was wonderful, she said. Vocations come from trees  family trees. I have my parish family, my natural family and my religious family providing support.

Reineck understands the struggle young Catholic girls today face as they question a calling into the ministry.

My advice would be to spend quiet time in prayer, allowing God to love them and speak to their heart. Having quiet time is critical to allow God to speak to you, she said. Dont be afraid to search the possibility of God calling you.

Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Meet Your Neighbor: Sister Reineck celebrates Diamond Jubileee
A Meridian man died after being hit by a vehicle in Mondays early hours.

Aldin Ekic, 27, was walking in the southbound lanes on North Cloverdale Road when he was struck by a driver heading south, according to a news release from the Boise Police Department.

Police and Ada County paramedics went to the scene just south of the intersection of West Briarwood Drive at about 1:30 a.m, police said.

The Ada County Coroners Office arrived at 2:13 a.m. and pronounced Ekic dead from his injuries at 3 a.m., according to the coroners report released later Monday. The report listed the cause and manner of his death as pending.

Boise police violent-crimes detectives and a crash reconstruction team helped with the on-scene investigation. Police said the investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed at this time.

The victims sister, Aldina Ekic, 21, died in a car accident in Eagle in November 2013. She was riding as a passenger when the driver, whose blood alcohol was above Idahos legal limit, fell asleep at the wheel and struck a power pole, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting.

The driver, 25-year-old Andrew Cassell, of Eagle, later pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter.
Cdr Julian Bennett was said to be so 'erratic and controlling' that his lodger believed he was running a criminal enterprise - Jordan Pettitt/PA

A senior Metropolitan Police officer who drew up Scotland Yards anti-drug strategy smoked so much marijuana his flatmate thought he was a dealer, a misconduct panel has been told.

Cdr Julian Bennett used the drug every morning before work and also took LSD and magic mushrooms, according to a nurse who rented a room from him in 2019.

Sheila Gomes said the property was often so full of smoke that it resembled an Amsterdam coffee shop.

The Portuguese national, who lived with Mr Bennett for two months, said he was so erratic and controlling that she believed he was running a criminal enterprise.

Giving evidence to a police disciplinary hearing on Monday in Palestra House in Southwark, London, Ms Gomes explained how she met Mr Bennett through her friend, Hugo Pereira, who lived with him at the time.

She said she had initially believed he was a lawyer and only discovered he was a senior police officer after moving out.

She told the panel Mr Bennett and Mr Pereira smoked marijuana together and alleged that it was the officer who purchased the drugs.

Mr Bennett pictured in 2017, when he wrote the Metropolitan Police's drugs strategy - Zuma/Alamy

The hearing was told that Ms Gomes shared her concerns over the drug-taking in WhatsApp messages with her friend, Mario Sariava.

The exchanges were read to the panel and are relied on by the Metropolitan Police as contemporaneous evidence of Mr Bennetts alleged drug-taking.

Ms Gomes said she personally witnessed Mr Bennett and Mr Pereira smoking drugs every day, but only heard about the officer taking hallucinogenic substances through Mr Pereira.

She explained: I couldnt breathe in oxygen when I was living there, but also he had very erratic behaviour, especially when he was not smoking.

I was thinking he was a dealer  a dealer, a drugs dealer, for me personally, because of his erratic behaviour.

Cannabis in the air

The disciplinary panel was told that Ms Gomes became so tired of the drug-taking that she took photographs of marijuana inside the flat and sent them to a friend.

She moved out of the flat in December 2019 and reported Mr Bennett to the Metropolitan Police in July 2020, when an investigation was launched.

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Mark Ley-Morgan KC, representing the Metropolitan Police, told the panel Ms Gomes, a nurse, had moved into Mr Bennetts flat in October 2019.

She told the hearing: I didnt like it at all. Why did I have to live in a place where it was just cannabis in the air? I was just trying to breathe oxygen.

He was the one who was using the cannabis, I will say a few times during the day he would bring it in.

If he would go to work [he would do it] at least before going to work and arriving at home.

She went on: It would start early in the morning, before breakfast and before he would leave and go to work.

Sometimes when he was arriving at home it was there. I never saw him eat before going to work.

Three days after she reported him to the police, Mr Bennett was asked to provide a sample and take a drug test.

But he refused and said he would resign instead, telling officers he had been taking CBD (cannabidiol) to treat facial palsy and was worried the sample would come up positive for an innocent reason.

Mr Ley-Morgan said Mr Bennetts explanation for not providing a sample was nonsensical, as it would have come up with a much lower reading if it was not being used recreationally.

Officer denies accusations

Mr Bennett wrote the forces drugs strategy for 2017-21 as a commander for territorial policing.

The document, called Dealing With The Impact Of Drugs On Communities, set up plans to raise awareness of the impact of drug misuse.

Mr Ley-Morgan told the panel, led by Akbar Kahn: We say the contemporaneous WhatsApp messages where she refers to the smoking of cannabis in the flat are compelling ... The photograph shows cannabis and related paraphernalia, we saw that as compelling.

Mr Bennett is accused of breaching the forces professional standards for discreditable conduct three times, honesty and integrity twice, and orders and instructions once.

His actions are alleged to have amounted to gross misconduct.

He denies the allegations and has been suspended on full pay since July 2021.

The tribunal continues.

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday called for an end to the "irrational" war in Ukraine, urging upcoming peace talks in the Middle East to include representation from both Ukraine and Russia.

Lopez Obrador said Mexico would only take part in the talks in Saudi Arabia, reportedly scheduled to be held over the coming weekend, if both sides were present.

"If there's acceptance from both Ukraine and Russia to look for solutions to achieve peace, we'll participate," the president told reporters at a regular press conference.

"We don't want the Russia-Ukraine war to continue, it's very irrational," Lopez Obrador added, noting that the conflict has caused massive human suffering. "The only thing that benefits from it is the war industry."

Senior officials from up to 30 countries are expected to participate in the talks Aug. 5-6 in Jeddah, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Russia has not been invited, the outlet reported, citing diplomats involved in the planning.

On Monday, the Kremlin said it would "follow" the meeting but did not currently see conditions for peace talks with Kyiv.

Lopez Obrador has sought to keep Mexico neutral in the war, though his government has backed some major U.N. resolutions criticizing Russia's role in the conflict. Mexico has refused to send arms to Ukraine and has not imposed sanctions on Russia.

In April, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Mexican lawmakers to back his plan to end the war, which would include Russia withdrawing its troops from Ukrainian territory.

Lopez Obrador had outlined a separate peace plan last year, which Ukraine opposed, arguing it would have benefited Russia.

(Reporting by Kylie Madry and Raul Cortes; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
WFP to suspend malnutrition prevention in Yemen due to funding shortfall

Xinhua) 09:16, July 31, 2023

A malnourished child lies on a bed at Al-Sabeen Hospital in Sanaa, Yemen on July 30, 2023. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

ADEN, Yemen, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has said it would suspend its life-saving malnutrition interventions in Yemen in August due to a severe funding shortfall.

The WFP said in a report released Saturday that the lack of funds, combined with the continuous disruptions in supplies, has left it with no choice but to halt malnutrition prevention activities in Yemen.

The move is expected to have a devastating impact on the 2.4 million malnourished individuals in the country, who are already among the most vulnerable.

A mother holds her malnourished child as he receives treatment at Al-Sabeen Hospital in Sanaa, Yemen on July 30, 2023. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

To navigate the critical situation in Yemen, the UN agency said it would allocate the limited available funds to life-saving treatment programs for severe acute malnutrition cases, according to the report.

The report highlighted that the WFP's plan for the next six months, spanning from August 2023 to January 2024, has only been met with a mere 28 percent of the necessary funding.

Yemen has been embroiled in a devastating civil war since 2014, with the Houthi rebels fighting against the internationally-recognized government and its allies.

The war disrupted Yemen's food supply chain and caused widespread famine, bringing the Arab world's poorest country to the brink of collapse.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Update: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th District granted the citys emergency motion to temporarily pause the adoption of the new voting map. Read more here.

On Monday, Miamis government tried to quickly stop a court-ordered voting map from being used for this years municipal elections.

The city filed an emergency motion to block the use of redrawn district boundaries hours after U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore mandated a new map in a decision on Sunday. The new redistricting plan would impact who can vote and run in the upcoming November elections.

The judge quickly denied the citys challenge on Monday morning. Hours later, the city filed a similar emergency motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. The filing noted that the plaintiffs, a coalition of community groups and city residents, are opposed.

Miamis attorneys were on a tight deadline. County elections officials are requiring the city to finalize its district boundaries by Tuesday so the county can prepare for the Nov. 7 election. Moore ordered the city to transmit the court-ordered map to the Miami-Dade County Elections Department by the end of the day Monday, ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline set by the county.

Time required to reorient voters

Deputy Supervisor of Elections Robert Rodriguez told the Miami Herald the Aug. 1 deadline is necessary because elections workers need time to assign voters to polling locations well in advance of the November election.





Our staff has to draw the new map in our systems, and then we need to re-precinct the city of Miami again, he said.

As of Monday afternoon, Rodriguez said his office had received the court-ordered map, but not from the city.

We received the map from the ACLU, he said.

Its the latest turn in a legal saga that began when a coalition of city residents and advocacy groups sued the city over the 2022 redistricting process, accusing officials of adopting an unconstitutional, racially gerrymandered map. After the court ordered the city to draw a new map earlier this summer, commissioners approved a new plan in June. American Civil Liberties Union attorneys representing the plaintiffs objected and offered their own alternative maps.

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Whichever map is used for this years election is considered temporary because the federal lawsuit is still pending. The case is expected to go to trial in 2024.

Below is the citys map, approved by commissioners June 14, which was rejected in federal court.

Miami City Commissioners approved this voting map on June 14, 2023, in response to a court order to change district boundaries as part of a lawsuit challenging the citys redistricting process in 2022. A U.S. district court judge rejected this map and on July 30 chose a map drawn by American Civil Liberties Union attorneys representing community groups suing the city.

This is the map the judge ordered be adopted immediately for use in the November elections.

On July 30, 2023, a federal judge ruled that the city of Miami must use this voting map for the November 2023 elections.

Quick challenge denied

Late Sunday, the city asked the judge to block the map on an emergency basis, arguing that a change three months before elections for three City Commission seats is disruptive and throws the the upcoming election into chaos.

This Court is tinkering with the election law less than four months before an election by mandating a new plan that significantly changes three incumbents districts, reads a section of the motion that quotes case law.

Miamis attorneys wrote that citys June map met legal standards, and the lawyers representing the community groups took too long to challenge the 2022 maps. Commissioners approved the map in March 2022, and the lawsuit was filed in December.

Moore denied the citys request Monday morning.

Miamis emergency motion also acknowledged a problem for Miamis District 3 Commissioner Joe Carollo.

The 2022 map shifted the boundaries for District 3 into Coconut Grove, which includes a home Carollo has owned for two decades. Carollo moved back into the home earlier this year, according to voter registration records. Now, the court-ordered map shifted the boundaries again, leaving Carollos home outside of his district, arguably in violation of the residency requirements, according to the citys motion.

On Sunday, Carollo said he is complying with city regulations that require commissioners to live in their districts, but he declined to discuss specifics in light of the judges order.
The Miami Hurricanes finished out the long offseason Monday with one final recruiting addition before training camp begins Tuesday.

On the eve of fall camp, Miami flipped Nino Francavilla from FCS Harvard to add another piece to its offensive line haul for the Class of 2024.

Francavilla, whos currently unranked in the 247Sports composite rankings, picked up a scholarship offer from the Hurricanes on Wednesday, a day after he orally committed to Harvard. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound interior lineman is originally from Toronto and currently attends Cheshire Academy in Connecticut.

The senior worked out at a camp in Coral Gables in June and caught the attention of the Hurricanes there. They kept in touch with him throughout the summer and finally made him an offer last week. He does not currently hold an offer from any other school in the Power 5 conferences.

Francavilla is the 10th player to commit to Miami in the last two months, lifting the Hurricanes 2024 recruiting class up into the top 20 nationally. July was also the best month yet for Miami on the recruiting trail in the 2024 recruiting cycle, as the Hurricanes added three of their six blue-chip commits so far, including Chaminade-Madonna athlete Joshisa Trader, whos the only five-star prospect currently committed to Miami.

Francavilla is the third offensive lineman to join the Hurricanes 2024 class and the second this month. Juan Minaya, a three-star tackle from Paramus Catholic in New Jersey, picked Miami back in April and three-star Blountstown tackle Deryc Plazz committed to the Hurricanes on July 7.

Although he also plays defensive tackle, Francavilla projects as a center at Miami and the Hurricanes needs one after All-American interior lineman Connor Lew flipped from Miami to Auburn ahead of the early signing period last year.

The Hurricanes now hold 19 commits in their 2024 class, six of whom are blue-chip recruits.
Migrants have been abandoned by Tunisian security forces in the desert, according to Libyan border guards and the migrants themselves (Mahmud Turkia)

In the unbearable midday heat, a Libyan patrol near the border with Tunisia comes across a black African man collapsed on the reddish-brown desert sand.

He is barely breathing, and officers try to revive him, gently, with a few drops of water on his lips.

The man is just one among hundreds of migrants arriving daily in Libya after being abandoned in the desert borderland by Tunisian security forces, according to Libyan border guards and the migrants themselves.

By the time they reach Libya, the migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are ready to drop from exhaustion, in temperatures that have exceeded 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

AFP on Sunday witnessed the border guards rescue around 100 men and women from an uninhabited zone near Sebkhat al-Magta, a salt lake along the Libya-Tunisia border.

In the distant shimmering heat haze, six figures emerge, the latest to reach the area. They speak Arabic and say they have come from Tunisia.

Libyan border guards told AFP that, over the past two weeks, they have rescued hundreds of migrants who said they were left by Tunisian authorities in the border region near Al-Assah, about 150 kilometres (90 miles) west of Tripoli.

In early July, hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan African countries were driven out of the Tunisian port city of Sfax as racial tensions flared following the death of a Tunisian man in a clash between locals and migrants.

- Tunisians 'brought me here' -

Haitham Yahiya, from Sudan, said he worked for a year in Tunisia's construction sector after reaching the country clandestinely through Niger and Algeria.

"I was at work when they caught me and brought me here, first in a police car then in a (security forces) truck. Then they left me and told me to go to Libya," he said in Al-Assah.

At its closest point, near Sfax, Tunisia is only about 130 kilometres from the Italian island of Lampedusa.

The North African country is a major gateway for migrants and asylum-seekers attempting perilous sea voyages in hopes of a better life in Europe, whose leaders have offered financial aid to help Tunisia manage the flow.

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Human Rights Watch said up to 1,200 black Africans were "expelled, or forcibly transferred by Tunisian security forces" in July to the country's desert border regions with Libya and Algeria.

In mid-July, the Tunisian Red Crescent said it had provided shelter to at least 630 migrants who had been taken after July 3 to Ras Jedir, about 40 kilometres north of Al-Assah.

A few days later, though, AFP gathered testimony from hundreds of migrants still stuck in the Ras Jedir buffer zone. They said they had been forced there by Tunisian security forces.

In Ras Jedir, 350 people remained in a makeshift camp, including 65 children and 12 pregnant women.

"Their living conditions are very problematic," a humanitarian official told AFP, adding that "it is not sustainable in the long term, there are no toilets, no water tanks, no real shelters".

At Al-Assah, dazed migrants continue to stagger in, some with only sandals on their feet.

In twos and threes or by the dozens, they come. Some collapse. The guards hold bottles of water over their parched mouths.

Faced with the influx, Libyans from the border guards Battalion 19 of the army, and a unit against Saharan immigration, have been patrolling daily.

"We are on the demarcation line between Libya and Tunisia and we see more and more migrants arriving every day," said Ali Wali, Battalion 19 spokesman.

He said AFP received permission to accompany the units "to silence those (in Tunisia) who claim that we fabricated it all and brought the migrants here".

Their patrol area covers 15 kilometres around Al-Assah. Wali said that depending on the day, they might find "150, 200, 350, sometimes as many as 400 or 500 irregular migrants".

On this day there are 110, two of them women. There are supposed to be two others. A soldier searches for them through his binoculars.

- At least 17 dead -

On Thursday, a joint statement from United Nations agencies referred to the "unfolding tragedy" of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Tunisia's border regions.

"They are stuck in the desert, facing extreme heat, and without access to shelter, food or water. There is an urgent need to provide critical, life-saving humanitarian assistance while urgent, humane solutions are found," they said.

The UN has also singled out Libya in several reports in the past, denouncing violence against the 600,000 migrants it detains, most of them in camps.

The government of Tripoli has made it known in recent days that it rejects "resettlement" on its territory of migrants arriving from Tunisia.

The migrants, meanwhile, have crossed the border unknowingly. They walk, they said, in the direction that the Tunisian security forces told them to go -- towards Libya.

As a heatwave has suffocated the Mediterranean, some like Alexander Unche Okole said they had walked for two days, without food or water.

Okole, 41, from Nigeria, said he entered Tunisia via Debdeb in Algeria, and "spent some time in Tunis but then the Tunisian police got me. They arrested me in the street and then took me down to the Sahara desert."

He showed a mobile phone whose screen was smashed, he said, by the Tunisians.

"With the Grace of God, the Libyans rescued me" and provided food and water, Okole said.

He survived but others have not.

Wali said officers found two bodies on Saturday, a couple of days after recovering five more including a woman and her baby. They had also discovered five corpses a week earlier, he said.

"How do you expect them to survive? The heat, no water, and a march of two, three days?" Wali asked.

Humanitarian groups in Libya reached by AFP gave a death toll of at least 17 over the past three weeks.

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It felt like a one in a million chance that his baby daughter, Maddie, would be chosen to be the 2023 Gerber Baby, said Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Jun Mendoza.

But Maddie, now 10 months old, was the one baby chosen out of tens of thousands of entries and is now Gerbers chief growing officer. Both her parents grew up in Navy families, and were high school sweethearts in San Diego.

Mendoza, an Air Force Academy graduate, is a doctor at the academy in Colorado Springs, where he specializes in allergy and immunology. Hes also board certified as a pediatrician, and has served in the military for 16 years.

Maddies mother, Crystal, is a dentist. Crystal Mendoza said she was intrigued by the first-ever throwback aspect of this years Gerber Baby contest. Those who entered the contest were asked to submit a photo of their child as well as a photo of one parent as a child. She submitted photos of Maddie and of herself as a baby.

It was remarkable how similar she and her mom were, Tarun Malkani, president and CEO of Gerber, told Military Times during the annual Military Child Education Coalition summit the week of July 24. Maddie and her mom were chosen from tens of thousands of entries  the company doesnt disclose exact numbers, he said. Gerber officials outpointed Maddies joyful spirit and captivating expression in their July announcement.

Speaking later to the more than 600 attendees at the summits opening session, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Military Child Education Coalition, Mendoza said he is grateful for the organization and the work it does for military children. Reaching forward, were proud that Maddie can represent MCEC and be a symbol for the work youre going to do for another 25 years.

The opening session featured a number of military kids discussing the needs of military children and expressing their experiences in different ways. Kylee Garick, the daughter of a Marine, read her essay My Military Suitcase, written 10 years ago when she was a fourth grader; and Lucy Keil, the daughter of a Navy sailor, performed her song #Life of a Military Child. Among the attendees were military and civilian youngsters involved in the education coalitions Student 2 Student program in schools around the world, a student-led, faculty-advised effort to help welcome new students and ease their transition. Artwork of military children was on display throughout the summit.

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Maddie Mendoza, the 2023 Gerber Baby, attended the Military Child Education Coalition conference the week of July 24 with her dad, Air Force Lt. Col. Jun Mendoza, and mom, Crystal. Also pictured is Becky Porter, president and CEO of the coalition. (Karen Jowers/Staff)

My wife and I remember when our dads, who served in the U.S. Navy, would be gone to sea for months at a time, and their mothers were left behind to take care of them and the home front, Mendoza told the audience.

Their Navy families were able to stay in San Diego without moving, he told Military Times, but in his work as a pediatrician for eight years he saw some military children who had issues with relocating and making friends. The Mendozas themselves have moved four times in their nine years of marriage.

A great boxer once said, Lifes not about how hard a hit you could get. Its about how many you can take and still keep moving forward, Mendoza said, referring to the character Rocky Balboa in his remarks at the education coalition. I think many of us would agree that there are few people in this world that take as many hits as military children. Finding out about having to move in the middle of the school year is like a punch to the gut. Being away from your best friend is like a jab to the face. And when you find out your parents deployed through the holidays, that can be a knockout punch.

But a lot of military kids dont go down that easy. Theyre strong, theyre tough, theyre resilient, he said.

Its hard as a parent, a new parent  a lot of sleepless nights, he said. Were getting there.

But its hard to balance serving my country and just being there as a dad for Maddie, Mendoza said. I want her to know that Im always going to be in her corner. I want her to go on to school and make a lot of friends. I want her to be happy, thoughtful, but most of all, resilient.

He added that he is grateful for organizations like MCEC, which provide the support military children need to tackle lifes challenges.

I want all the military children to know youre not alone in the ring. You dont have to fight this fight alone, and youre more than capable to go the distance.

Maddie undoubtedly will be learning about her heritage. Crystals grandfather, Juan Pita, was in the Philippine Scouts in World War II and was taken prisoner by the Japanese. He was able to escape during the brutal Bataan Death March. And Jun Mendoza is also proud of his fathers accomplishments, including being named recruiter of the year for the San Diego recruiting district in 1995 and 1996.

The last time a military child was named the Gerber baby was in 2018 when Lucas Warren, son of Georgia National Guard Spc. Jason Warren, was selected.

The Mendozas received a $25,000 cash prize, free Gerber products for up to a year, and a new wardrobe provided by Gerber Childrenswear. Maddie will be featured on Gerbers social media channels and marketing campaigns throughout the year. Gerber is also matching the $25,000 cash prize with a donation to support March of Dimes maternal and infant health programs.
(U.S. Army)

In 2017, the SIG Sauer P320 won the U.S. Army's XM17 Modular Handgun System competition. Adopted as the full-size M17 and compact M18, the P320 became the U.S. military's standard sidearm, replacing the Beretta M9. The P320 has also been adopted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as state and local police agencies. Foreign militaries and law enforcement, including Canadian Special Operations Forces and the Norwegian Police Service, have also selected the P320 as their sidearm of choice. However, SIG's flagship pistol is also the center of multiple unintended discharge investigations and lawsuits.

The U.S. military adopted the P320 as the M17 and M18 (U.S. Air Force)

The P320 is a semi-automatic, striker-fired handgun. Glock's pistols, which popularized this format, feature three independent safety mechanisms that disengage sequentially as the gun is fired: an external trigger safety, internal firing pin safety and internal drop safety. After the gun fires and the trigger is released, the safeties re-engage to prevent unintended discharges. While the P320 can be had with a manual thumb safety, there is no option for a trigger safety like Glocks.

The P320 has been the subject of multiple lawsuits including one that ended in a class action settlement (U.S. Army)

In 2016, during MHS testing, the Army noted nearly 200 "malfunctions" with the P320. Demanding that SIG Sauer address these problems, the Army agreed to accept the pistol only after an external manual safety was added. As a result, all SIG Sauer P320s sold to the military as M17s or M18s feature a thumb-activated safety on the frame. This option can be had on P320s sold on the law enforcement and civilian markets. However, SIG Sauer advertises the P320 to be safe, with or without the external safety. "We've designed safety elements into every necessary feature on this pistol," SIG says in its marketing material. "From the trigger, to the striker and even the magazine, the P320 won't fire unless you want it to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdRHKDTPht4\u0026t=98s

Despite this, there have been multiple cases of unintended discharges since the P320 hit the market in 2014. In 2017, in Stamford, Connecticut, another holstered P320 fell less than three feet to the ground and fired, striking a SWAT team member in his left knee. Four days after a lawsuit was filed over this incident, SIG Sauer announced a voluntary upgrade to address drop-safety concerns. In February 2018, a P320 that fired uncommanded and wounded a Loudoun County Deputy Sheriff in Virginia was CAT scanned and found to have a defect in its internal safety. Two months later, SIG Sauer announced a second voluntary upgrade for the weapon. After 18 months of service with ICE, a reports of unintended P320 discharges that resulted in seven injuries were filed with the agency. Through December 2022, at least three additional ICE agents have been injured by P320s.

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The P320 has been adopted by the Canadian military as the C22 (SIG Sauer)

In November 2020, a Canadian Joint Task Force 2 operator was wounded in his leg by a P320 when it accidentally discharged. The weapon, which was only recently adopted by Canadian Special Forces at the time of the incident, was immediately pulled from service pending an investigation. SIG Sauer responded, claiming that the soldier used the wrong holster. A 2021 investigation cleared the P320 for use and Canada's Department of National Defence has since awarded a $3.2 million US contract for the P320 to equip its regular military.

The latest P320 lawsuit involves plaintiffs from across the country (Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky)

On March 27, 2023, the Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky law firm filed a lawsuit against SIG Sauer for damages resulting from unintended firings by P320s. The plaintiffs include civilians, law enforcement officers and even an Army firearms instructor who were injured by P320s that fired when they weren't supposed to. "We are calling on Sig Sauer to do what it should have done long ago  recall the P320 weapon and redesign the gun with the types of safeties used by its competitors," said attorney Robert Zimmerman in a statement from the firm. "We fear that more and more Americans- law enforcement and responsible gun owners alike- will continue to fall victim to this weapon until Sig makes the reasonable choice to protect its customer base and the community at large."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSAI_HUZDI0

On July 24, 2023, during an arrest in the lobby of the Montville Police Station in Connecticut, an officer's holstered P320 fired without the trigger being pulled. Although no one was inured, Chief Wilfred Blanchette reacted immediately and placed a $20,000 order for Glock handguns to replace his department's P320s. "I don't feel comfortable with our officers maintaining these [SIG Sauer] guns," Blanchette said in a department statement. "Montville police will be equipped with Glock 9mm handguns in the very near future." Despite over 100 reported cases of unintended P320 discharges across the country, there have been no reports of unintended discharges with the military's M17 or M18 pistols.
Almost 100% of thermal power stations damaged by Russian attacks late in 2022 and early in 2023 have been repaired, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov announced on July 31.

The authorities are currently working on providing backup capacities in case of an emergency, the minister added. Kubrakov also said that over 65% of more than 700 heat supply networks damaged by Russian attacks have also been repaired.

"In general, as of today, the preparation level of utility networks for stable operation in the autumn-winter period of 2023-2024 is roughly 60%," the minister wrote on social media, adding that Ukraine will be 100% ready in technical terms before the start of the next heating season on Oct. 1.

On July 27, head of state energy operator Ukrenergo Volodymyr Kudrytskyi said that the company is preparing for the worst-case scenario next winter but voiced confidence that the main energy network will function without restrictions.

While it cannot be said with certainty whether the country will experience blackouts next winter, Ukrenergo is already preparing for energy consumption peaks, Kudrytskyi commented.

Russian forces attempted to cripple Ukraine's energy network with massive strikes during the fall of 2022 and winter of 2023, leading to frequent blackouts across the country.

President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia is likely to attempt this strategy again next winter.

"We should be aware that Russian terrorists will attempt to prolong their attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and disrupt the normal lives of people. However, our unyielding determination must prevail," he said.

Read also: Ukrainian State-Owned Enterprises Weekly  Issue 98

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Croatia allocated one million euros ($1.1 million) for demining of Ukrainian agricultural lands, Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko reported on July 31.

The funds will go to the UN World Food Program to help farmers and food producers resume work in Ukrainian regions most affected by the war, according to Svyrydenko.

The program began in March to support small farmers having less than 300 hectares of land, or families who grow food for themselves. The project is ongoing in Ukraine's Kharkiv Oblast and is set to expand to Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts.

"Thanks to it, the plots of farmers are inspected, demined, and returned to use," the official said, adding that Ukrainians can apply to receive the help through the State Agrarian Registry.

During Russia's all-out war, casualties due to mine explosions have become a regular occurrence in Ukraine. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on March 1 that nearly one-third of Ukraine's territory had been mined since February last year.

The Croatian capital, Zagreb, will host a conference on the humanitarian demining of Ukraine in October. "Croatia's experience, expertise, and production capacity are an example for many other countries. Thus having such partners is quite valuable," reads Svyrydenko's Facebook post.

On the same day, Ukraine and Croatia agreed on using Croatian ports on the Danube River and the Adriatic Sea to export Ukrainian grain following Russia's one-sided termination of the Black Sea grain deal.

Read also: UNICEF: 20 children killed, 69 wounded in Ukraine due to mine explosions

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Institute for Justice

People deserve a presumption of innocence, but they don't always get it in Minnesota. When Ifrah Yassin applied for government permission to work at a group home for adults with intellectual disabilities near Minneapolis, the state Department of Human Services told her no.

Not now. Not ever.

Despite persistent staffing shortages at facilities like these nationwide, a mandatory background check resulted in a lifetime ban for Yassin. No matter how long she lives or where she goes in Minnesota, her name will remain in a do-not-hire database that works like a no-fly list for health care professionals.

The reason? Regulators determined by their own "preponderance of the evidence" that Yassin had committed aggravated robbery in her youth. Fact-finders satisfy this burden of proof when they establish that someone is guilty with more than 50 percent likelihoodessentially a coin toss. Yet these determinations are normally made in courthouses, not administrative offices.

How the Department of Human Services reached its conclusion is unclear. Regulators have refused to give Yassin any original evidence. The police briefly arrested her and her friends on suspicion of robbery in 2013, but officers promptly released the young women after realizing their accuser had provided a false name. The case went nowhere.

No charges. No trial. No conviction.

Normally in the United States, this means innocence. The fact is not lost on Yassin, a refugee drawn to the constitutional promises of due process and equal protection. "I came to America from Somalia in search of a better life," she says. "I never thought that I'd end up being punished for the rest of my life for something I didn't do."

The injustice is not the first Yassin has endured. In 2011, when she was just 20 years old, she faced false allegations of witness tampering from a St. Paul police sergeant who led a yearslong investigation that has since been discredited. One federal appeals court accused the sergeant of "lies and manipulation," and another federal appeals court accused the sergeant of pushing a "fictitious story."

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The 8th Circuit describes Yassin as "perhaps the most accidental of participants" in this bogus investigation. Her only involvement was getting assaulted during a chance encounter with the sergeant's star witness, which was spun as witness tampering.

A jury acquitted Yassin, but not until she spent two years in federal custody awaiting trial. Yassin tried to hold the sergeant responsible, but the courts have blocked her efforts to sue, citing immunity doctrines that shield government officials. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately refused to intervene, leaving Yassin with nothing.

No day in court. No police accountability. No remedy for the violation of her rights.

While the sergeant who framed Yassin has faced no consequences for what she did, Minnesota regulators are imposing consequences on Yassin for something she didn't do. And while that sergeant is still employed as a St. Paul officer, Minnesota is blocking Yassin's ability to earn an honest living.

The state's refusal to sign off on the background check highlights a nationwide problem with collateral consequences, which refers to any civil penalty not imposed by a judge or jury. Examples include restrictions on international travel, access to subsidized housing, and voting.

Many states also block ex-offenders from working in their chosen occupations. But few jurisdictions extend this type of collateral consequence to people never convicted. Minnesota takes this step, flipping the rules of justice upside down. Instead of requiring the state to prove guilt, Minnesota requires people like Yassin to prove innocence.

Besides the challenge of proving a negative, Yassin must refute information the state refuses to share, which means she must resort to mind reading. Our public interest law firm, the Institute for Justice, lays out the constitutional problems in a July 12 letter to regulators.

Federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court in 2017, have repeatedly rejected procedural schemes that require ensnared individuals to prove their innocence. Yet this is what Minnesota does.

Even if background check applicants are guilty of wrongdoing, imposing lifetime bans on gainful employment is rarely a good policy. People deserve a fresh start.

Blackballing Yassin for a crime not even police or prosecutors believe she committed is doubly absurd. She deserves immediate approval to work.

The post Minnesota Caretaker Gets Lifetime Ban for Crime She Didn't Commit appeared first on Reason.com.
The wife of missing Baltimore sailor Donald Lawson said Sunday that she believes her husband used his boats life raft and is still out there somewhere as Mexican authorities continue their search for the 41-year-old whose boat was found capsized in the Pacific.

Crews from the Mexican Navy Rescue Coordination Center are looking for Lawson in the same area where his 60-foot trimaran, Defiant, was found capsized over 300 miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico. They located and searched his sailboat Friday but did not find Lawson.

Defiant had a survival suit and other emergency gear onboard, Lawson said last year. Search crews found the suit, which would have kept him dry, on the sailboat Friday. A life raft that was on board when Lawson left Acapulco has not been found, said Ray Feldmann, a family spokesperson, Sunday. The boat had only one life raft.

I view this as encouraging news, Jacqueline Lawson said in a statement Sunday evening.

Defiant also had a small green dinghy attached to it, which was located by the Navy on Friday and found empty.

Donald Lawson was headed for Baltimore when he set out from Acapulco, Mexico, on July 5. He planned to travel through the Panama Canal to Baltimore but lost engine power a few days into the journey, and has not been heard from since July 12. He was to return to Baltimore to start a record-setting solo sail across the world.

Your support, positivity, love, and prayers will be forever appreciated and have provided us with the strength and courage we need as we continue to push forward to find Donald, his wife said Sunday, sending gratitude from the family for calls, texts and emails of hope in the days since Lawson went missing.

My family and I remain hopeful and optimistic that he will be found alive.

-------
The mother of Andi Wagner, a missing 25-year-old Indiana woman who disappeared nearly one year ago, is still pleading for answers regarding her daughter's whereabouts.

Wagner vanished from Evansville, Indiana, around Aug. 6, 2022, when she was 24, and has not been heard from since.

"I always said Evansvilles going to swallow her whole," Wagner's mother, Elane Garcia, told Fox News Digital while holding back tears.

Police believe she was last seen in Oakland City, Indiana, about 40 minutes south of Evansville on the border of Kentucky, or Newburgh, which is about 20 minutes west of Evansville.

STATE DEPARTMENT ADDRESSES REPORTED KIDNAPPING OF 2 US CITIZENS IN HAITI AS NURSE, HER DAUGHTER REMAIN MISSING

"I always said Evansvilles going to swallow her whole," Andi Wagner's mother, Elane Garcia, told Fox News Digital while holding back tears.

Garcia initially moved to Texas several years ago, when Wagner was just entering adulthood, because she "didn't like what was going on in Evansville." She said she tried to convince Wagner to move with her, but she was insistent upon staying in her hometown near her father, grandparents and friends.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

INDIANA SEARCH TEAMS RECOVER BODY OF MISSING 18-YEAR-OLD IN LAKE MICHIGAN

But in the years that followed, Wagner got caught up in a crowd of people who used drugs, her mom said.

Police believe Andi Wagner was last seen in Oakland City, Indiana, about 40 minutes south of Evansville on the border of Kentucky, or Newburgh, which is about 20 minutes west of Evansville.

"I saw a change in her. She didnt want to play softball anymore. She didnt want to work anymore. She was doing strange things like dozing off," her mother recalled. "We would FaceTime each other, and I could see it. She said she wanted to move to Texas with me, and she didn't want to wake up in pain every morning."

MEXICAN NAVY FINDS MISSING AMERICAN'S BOAT, BUT NO SIGNS OF CAPTAIN

So, Garcia and her eldest daughter made plans to live together in Texas. She was going to move down in August, but two weeks before the move, she vanished.

"It wasn't a coincidence," her mother said.

Elane Garcia does not think her daughter's disappearance from Evansville, Indiana, two weeks before she planned to move to Texas, was a "coincidence."

Wagner said her daughter was "excited" to move to Texas and told lots of friends and family about her plans. Garcia speculates that someone may have found out about her move and decided to hurt her daughter before she had a chance to leave.

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ALLISHA WATTS: NORTH CAROLINA POLICE SEARCHING FOR WOMAN WHOSE CAR WAS FOUND 2 DAYS AFTER SHE WENT MISSING

Wagner's sister, Alix, who lived in Evansville at their grandparents' house at the time of her sister's disappearance, briefly saw Wagner the morning of Aug. 6 when she stopped by the house and then left minutes later. That was the last day anyone had heard from or seen the then-24-year-old.

Garcia believes Wagner was with an ex-boyfriend just before she vanished.

Six days later, on Aug. 12, Wagner's family reported her missing to the Evansville Police Department (EPD).

EPD Sgt. Anna Gray told Fox News Digital that Wagner is still considered a missing person, and there is an open and active investigation into her disappearance with a lead detective assigned to the case.

Gray said that due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, EPD could not publicly share information about any potential leads.

Elane Garcia has moved back to Evansville to search for her daughter or track down any leads regarding her whereabouts.

Garcia says she can't remember the last time police reached out to her directly. She has received tips from people on social media and has since moved from Texas back to Evansville to take matters into her own hands and search for her daughter or any leads regarding her whereabouts.

ALABAMA POLICE STILL DON'T HAVE 'ANY IDEA' WHERE CARLEE RUSSELL WAS DURING THE 49 HOURS SHE WAS MISSING

She thinks her daughter's drug addiction has led police to possibly overlook her disappearance as an overdose despite the fact that her family has not received any answers yet.

Andi Wagner is described as a White woman with brown hair and brown eyes, standing 5-foot-4 and weighing about 115 pounds.

She said the process has been "emotional" and "exhausting."

"I just want people to keep sharing her photo," Garcia said when asked if she had a message for the public.

Wagner is described as a White woman with brown hair and brown eyes, standing 5-foot-4 and weighing about 115 lbs. Authorities are asking anyone with information regarding Wagner's whereabouts to contact the Evansville Police Adult Investigations Unit at 812-436-7979.
Transgender students who attend Harrison County schools must dress according to the gender they were assigned at birth, the School District says in a recently modified dress code.

The change follows a School District decision that captured national headlines in the spring, when a transgender student filed a lawsuit and ultimately skipped graduation because the district forbade her to wear a dress even though she identifies as female. The student, identified in the federal lawsuit as L.B., had been dressing as a girl throughout her time in high school.

The district has now doubled down, saying in its policy manual for grades 7-12: Boys and girls must follow the dress attire consistent with their biological sex that is stated in the students cumulative folder and permanent record the School District . . .  The permanent record in student files includes birth certificates.

The previous dress code did not contain that provision. The new dress code also says specifically what boys and girls are allowed to wear, while the previous dress code did not differentiate between clothing for boys and girls.

A review of dress codes for other Coast school districts shows Harrison County is the only district that singles out transgender students.

MS limits transgender rights

The policy mirrors the political climate in Mississippi, where the Legislature in 2023 passed a law that bans gender-affirming care for anyone under age 18. The law went into effect when Gov. Tate Reeves signed it in February, forcing parents to seek care for their transgender children in other states.

The School Districts public relations specialist, Trang Pham-Bui, referred questions about the dress code changes to Superintendent Mitchell King, who was not immediately available to comment Monday. King had still not responded to the Sun Heralds questions, sent by email at Pham-Buis request, by Tuesday afternoon.

According to agendas of the districts School Board, student handbooks that include dress codes were adopted in July. Rules on dress have increased from 23 items to 26, with the new rules for boys, girls and sex assigned at birth are listed as the first three items.

Students return to school Friday, Aug. 4. On July 26, Harrison Central High Schools Facebook page featured a post notifying parents and students that they should review changes to the Secondary Student Handbook, which included the new rule that students must dress according to the sex they were assigned at birth.
The state of Missouri will move forward with the execution of Johnny Johnson on Tuesday, Gov. Mike Parson said Monday, though Johnsons attorneys are appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court on competency grounds.

Johnny Johnsons crime is one of the most horrific murders that has come across my desk, Parson, a Republican, said in a news release Monday after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit overruled a stay granted by a three-judge panel of its own court.

Johnson, 45, is set to die by lethal injection at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre. He was convicted of murdering Casey Williamson, 6, in 2002 in St. Louis County after attempting to rape her.

Casey was an innocent young girl who bravely fought Johnson until he took her life, Parson said on Monday. My office has received countless letters in the last few weeks seeking justice for Casey. Although this wont bring her back, we hope that carrying out Johnsons sentence according to the Courts order may provide some closure for Caseys loved ones.

Johnsons lawyers have tried to get his execution halted, saying he was in the grips of active psychosis when he killed Casey and is not competent to be executed. His legal team has said the state should not execute him for several reasons, including a brain disorder that caused developmental delays as a child and persistent mental health problems. He also suffered several traumatic experiences including physical and sexual abuse as a child, they said.

Diagnosed with schizophrenia at 16, Johnson has continued to hear voices and believes that the reason for his impending execution is that Satan is using the State of Missouri to bring about the end of the world, his attorneys wrote in his clemency application.

Democratic Reps. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City and Cori Bush of St. Louis are among those who have called on Parson to stop the execution.

There is extensive evidence that Mr. Johnson does not have a rational understanding of the reasons for his execution, the lawmakers wrote in their letter.

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In a letter on behalf of Pope Francis, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Vaticans ambassador to the U.S., also asked Parson to grant Johnson clemency on the basis of our own shared humanity.

Our challenge is to honor this sacred gift of life from the Creator, even when it is difficult to do so, and even if Mr. Johnson has not honored the life of Casey, Pierre wrote in the letter, which was posted online by the group Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty. Mr. Johnson has indeed forfeited his liberty by his criminal conduct, but he has not forfeited his humanity.

Williamsons mother, Angie Wideman, recently told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch she had been looking forward to putting this part of it to rest.

Her father, Ernie Williamson, has said he does not support capital punishment. A juror also said she would be OK with clemency, according to Johnsons clemency application.

Johnson was released from a state psychiatric center in early 2002. On July 25 of that year, he went to a friends house where he had been staying for a few days. Williamson, who was also staying at the home, was reported missing the next day.

Johnson admitted to bludgeoning her head with a brick and leaving her body in a pit at a nearby glass factory, according to court documents. He was convicted in 2005 of first-degree murder, kidnapping and attempted rape.

The execution would mark the fourth this year in Missouri.

The Stars Katie Moore contributed reporting.
The mother of an Arizona teenager who surfaced four years after disappearing without a trace is asking people to give her family privacy as police continue their investigation.

Last week Arizona police announced that 18-year-old Alicia Navarro, of Glendale, showed up alone and unharmed in a small town about 40 miles from the Canadian border and identified herself.

Police said the investigation into her disappearance at age 14 on Sept. 15, 2019, remains ongoing, but that she is not facing any criminal charges.

But since her reappearance, online and media speculation about what happened to Navarro has now turned into harassment, according to her mother, Jessica Nunez.

Nunez posted a video message sending thanks to those who sent well wishes during her daughter's disappearance but said now that Alicia has been found she has to ask for one more favor after the public search for answers turned "dangerous."

"I have been harassed, my family has been attacked all over the internet. The public has gone from trying to help Alicia to doing things like trying to show up to her house and putting her safety in jeopardy," Nunez said in a video posted to Facebook.

"So I beg you, please no more TikToks, no more reaching out to Alicia or me with your speculation or questions or assumptions. This is not a movie, this is our life, this is my daughter," she pleads.

"I love her more than anything in the world, and I think I have shown you that," Navarro continues. "There's an ongoing investigation and I'm begging you to move on."

Nunez had previously raised concerns that Navarro, who was diagnosed as high-functioning on the autism spectrum, may have been lured away by someone she met online.

Police said Navarro told them she hadn't been harmed and that she wasn't being held and could come and go as she pleased.

When she disappeared from her home, Navarro left a signed note that read: "I ran away. I will be back, I swear. I'm sorry."

Story continues

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A cougar  though not this one  attacked a child at a Washington national park. Carlos Jasso/Reuters

A mom stopped a cougar from attacking her 8-year-old child by yelling at the animal, officials said.

The child was left with minor injuries as a result of the attack at a Washington national park.

"The cougar casually abandoned its attack after being yelled and screamed at by the child's mother," the NPS said.

A brave mother managed to stop a cougar from attacking her 8-year-old child while camping at a Washington state national park by screaming at the big cat, park officials said.

The youngster survived the terrifying incident at Olympic National Park on Saturday and was left with only minor injuries, the National Park Service said in a statement.

"The cougar casually abandoned its attack after being yelled and screamed at by the child's mother," said the park service.

The National Park Service said that park officials were told around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday that a cougar attacked a child camping with their family at Lake Angeles and staff quickly responded.

The agency said that once the child's medical condition "was assessed and stabilized, the family was escorted back to the trailhead by park personnel." The child was later taken to a local hospital to be evaluated.

As a result of the "extreme nature" of the incident, all remaining campers in the Lake Angeles area were evacuated as park officials closed the area and several nearby trails "out of an abundance of caution," the park service said.

The park service called the cougar attack on the child "extraordinarily rare" and said that if the animal is located by park law enforcement and wildlife personnel, it will be euthanized and a necropsy will be performed.

"This may provide clues as to why the animal attacked since cougars are rarely seen and attacks on humans are extraordinarily rare," the National Park Service said.

It added, "Olympic National Park has extensive protocols in place for wildlife observations, interactions, and attacks and the lethal removal of this cougar is in line with these protocols."

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According to the park service, all of Olympic National Park is considered to be "cougar territory."

"If you meet a cougar, it is important to not run because it could trigger the cougar's attack instinct," the park service warned. "Instead, people should group together, appear as large as possible, keep eyes on the animal, make lots of noise, and shout loudly. Throwing rocks or objects at the cougar is also recommended."

Read the original article on Insider
A day after Volodymyr Zelensky said war was returning to Russia with an attempted drone strike on Moscow, the Kremlin launched a deadly airstrike against the Ukrainian presidents hometown of Kryvyi Rih.

At least six people were killed, including a 5-year-old girl, and dozens of others were wounded when a pair of ballistic missiles struck a school building and residential tower in the central Ukrainian city.

Zelensky said more than 350 people were involved in the rescue operation. Emergency services personnel were still searching for survivors under the rubble as of Monday afternoon.

Residents said there were no air raid sirens before the missiles struck and took out significant portions of two buildings. Some said they had little time to scramble for cover.

This time, we did not have time to orient ourselves, Kryvyi Rih resident Natalia Balaba said. My husband was in the corridor, he was knocked down by the wave.

Balaba said all the windows in their apartment had been shattered and damage lay everywhere.

We were very frightened, we were in great shock, she said.

A firefighter is seen working on one of the damaged buildings on Monday. - State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Reuters

Its unclear why Russia targeted Kryvyi Rih. Ukrainian officials said there were no military targets nearby. The head of the local defense council, Oleksandr Vilkul called the bombardment a terrorist attack.

Russia carried out a similar attack on the city in June, killing 11 people.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has not commented on the situation in Kryvyi Rih. Moscow has repeatedly denied targeting civilian infrastructure, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

On Monday, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the Kremlin would intensify its attacks in response to Kyivs attempted drone strikes against Moscow the previous day that damaged a business and shopping development in the west of the capital.

Hours later, Zelensky said Ukraine is getting stronger, and the war is gradually returning to Russias territory, to its symbolic centers and military bases.

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This is an inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process, Zelensky said.

A spokesman for Ukraines Air Force said Kyiv was targeting Moscow to impact Russians who, since the invasion began in February 2022, felt the war was distant.

Early Tuesday, a Moscow building that was previously struck in the weekend drone strikes was hit again, according to the citys Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.

Several drones that were trying to fly into Moscow were shot down by [our] air defense. One flew into the same tower in [Moscow] city as last time. The facade at the 17th floor was damaged, the mayor said.

Shoigu and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov both said Ukraines attempted drone strikes on Moscow were meant to deflect from a purported lack of success on the battlefield.

Against the backdrop of an unsuccessful so-called counteroffensive, the Kyiv regime  with the support of Western sponsors  focused on carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure in the cities and towns of the Russian Federation, Shoigu said.

No casualties were reported in the attempted Moscow drone strikes. However, Russian bombardments in Ukraine have struck civilian homes, schools, hospitals, churches and power plants, killing thousands of bystanders in the process.

CNNs Anna Chernova, Maria Kostenko and Joshua Berlinger contributed to this report.

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Nearly every state in the United States is neglecting access to maternal mental health care, according to a recent report, and experts fear the situation could get worse as more states severely restrict or ban abortion.

All but 10 US states received either a D or F grade on a number of key measures of maternal mental health risk policies and access to care  including access to therapists, psychiatrists or mental health treatment programs, according to a May report released by the nonprofit Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, in partnership with researchers from George Washington University. This is the groups first report grading states on maternal mental health resources and policies.

Forty states and the District of Columbia received grades of a D or F, while just one state  California  earned a grade higher than a C. No state where abortion was banned or severely restricted received a grade higher than a D+.

More than a dozen states have banned abortion access in the year since the Supreme Courts landmark decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which has had severe consequences for maternal mental health, some providers told CNN. Other states continue to restrict abortion  most recently, Iowa legislators passed a six-week ban that has since been temporarily blocked by the courts. A 12-week ban went into effect in North Carolina on July 1.

The truth is that access to mental care in this country  specifically in states where abortion has been restricted  has been abysmal for a very long time, said Dr. Colleen McNicholas, the chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri.

The Policy Center report found that most states lack specialized care for pregnant and postpartum women. For instance, only five states  California, Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey and Oklahoma  require ob/gyns to conduct maternal mental health screening during prenatal and postpartum visits, Caitlin Murphy, research scientist at the George Washington Universitys Milken Institute School of Public Health, told CNN.

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Alabama and Mississippi  two states that banned abortion almost immediately after the Supreme Court reversed Roe vs. Wade  already had among the lowest numbers of certified perinatal mental health providers relative to the expected number of births, according to data from the report. Both states received an F on the report cards.

About 4 million babies are born every year in the country, and roughly 600,000 (20%) of US mothers may experience challenges with their mental well-being every year, according to the Policy Center. Black women are twice as likely as White women to experience maternal mental health conditions but half as likely to receive treatment, according to the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance.

What we see is that the areas where there is the most need are actually the areas with the fewest resources and providers available, Murphy said.

Texas is among the 15 states that received an F. Before the Dobbs decision, it banned abortions after six weeks of gestational age  before many people realize they are pregnant.

Elaine Cavazos, the chief clinical officer at a reproductive mental health care clinic in Austin, said that abortion bans have worsened an already-poor state of access to reproductive and mental health care in the state. She told CNN fears over prosecution for aiding and abetting an abortion have created a barrier between patients and providers to speak openly about their reproductive experiences, from pregnancy termination in another state to pregnancy loss.

Mental health is already tricky as it is, but when you add in a layer of We cant even talk about these things openly for fear that some negative repercussion could happen to our client, it just adds a layer of oppression, Cavazos said.

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco found in an ongoing study that when people are denied abortion and are forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy, their mental health suffers, increasing the risk of perinatal mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.

The UCSF researchers found that people who were denied an abortion experienced more symptoms of anxiety and low self-esteem than people who received one, according to their Turnaway Study.

For people who are able to obtain an abortion out of state, bans have introduced major practical and financial barriers, McNicholas said.

Seeking an abortion in this country at this time  particularly if you live in the Midwest and the South, and most certainly if you live in a ban state  is a moment of incredible anxiety, she said. Not necessarily because you need an abortion but because it is so difficult to do so.

McNicholas said she has often encountered people seeking abortions due to pre-existing mental health conditions that could be exacerbated by a pregnancy. This includes people in recovery from addiction or who already experienced a case of postpartum depression from a previous pregnancy.

Abortion has been a really critical tool for them to continue to manage mental health crises in their lives and to keep them healthy and safe, McNicholas said.

Maternal health professionals are also moving away from abortion-restricted states which experts said may result in even less capacity to screen for and detect maternal mental health conditions.

Most states have low access to maternal mental health care professionals already. The report cards allocated points for any state that had at least 5 certified perinatal mental health providers per 1,000 annual births. Just two states  Vermont and Montana  met that threshold. Those two states had fewer than 20,000 births combined in 2022, according to provisional CDC data

Residency applications decreased slightly last year nationally, but those decreases were larger in states with total abortion bans, particularly for ob/gyns, according to research from the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Although there is no systemic process to measure how many women receive maternal mental health screening and diagnosis in the United States, the CDC estimates that more than half of pregnant women suffering from depression dont receive treatment.

Providers are already leaving the states with abortion restrictions because they feel like they really cant do their job properly, Murphy said. They feel they cant provide high-quality care to patients, whether thats through counseling or to ensure that a birthing person who needs to terminate their pregnancy for health reasons can do it.

More providers fear also being held responsible for facilitating an abortion if their patient miscarries, which is especially common early in pregnancy, Murphy told CNN.

This is a big risk for the mother and the baby, both in terms of mental health and general health, Murphy said.

While experts told CNN they are most concerned about states where abortion bans were enacted  and where bans may still be introduced  the state of maternal mental health is poor nationally, and bans stand to affect patients beyond a states boundaries.

Providers in states with access to abortions are seeing an increase in patient loads, as well as misinformation and mistrust  all of which create barriers to care, said Anna King, a perinatal counselor and training director of the LA-based non-profit Maternal Mental Health NOW.

Providers and communities across the board are feeling really impacted in terms of their ability to proceed in the way that they were, King said.

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Photo: Kelsey Carpenter/Facebook

Earlier this month, a first hearing took place for a mother who faces homicide and felony child abuse charges for a November 2020 home birth that ended in her newborns tragic death. And on Friday, a California appeals court denied a petition that the woman, Kelsey Carpenter, and her legal team filed to have the charges against her dismissed. They argued that shes being improperly targeted for her decision to have a home birth, and cited AB 2223, a California law that prohibits people from being charged for behaviors during pregnancy that could result in abortion or perinatal loss. (AB 2223 took effect in January.)



In the courts decision, obtained by Jezebel, a panel of three judges wrote that the prosecution team met the already low threshold to move forward with its case against Carpenter by the thinnest of margins.

Read more

During oral arguments earlier this month, San Diego County prosecutors claimed that AB 2223 doesnt apply to Carpenter and that their case centers around Carpenters behaviors after giving birthspecifically, her approach to cutting the umbilical cord and her slight delay in calling 911 when Kiera was unresponsive. As an attorney for San Diego County, Jennifer Rebecca Kaplan, framed it, This is not a reproductive rights case. This is a case about massive parental failure. The court agreed on Friday: Carpenter is not being prosecuted for her choice to have a home birth. Rather, she is being prosecuted for the acts and omissions that jeopardized Kieras life after she was born and then experienced a medical emergency.

But Amber Fayerberg, an attorney for Carpenter, told Jezebel that AB 2223 does protect Carpenter, becauseas the 2021 arrest warrant against her indicatesher case wouldnt have drawn attention from law enforcement were it not for her behaviors during pregnancy and her home birth. Carpenters attorney also said that the act of cutting the umbilical cord is protected, because cutting the umbilical cord is an act that is necessarily related to pregnancy and AB 2223 protects any acts or omissions with respect to pregnancy, including perinatal death. Criminal charges tied to the outcome of a home birth, Fayerberg said, endanger every person who doesnt have a seamless birth.

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Carpenters legal team says that she prepared extensively to have a home birth, consulting with a midwife and naming her unborn daughter. They say that Carpenter repeatedly sought treatment for her substance use struggleswhich emerged after early experiences with sexual abuseas part of this preparation. Then, after giving birth, she cut the umbilical cord and secured it using cloth and tape, and tried to breastfeed her newborn, but passed out due to significant blood loss. When Carpenter awoke, she found Kiera unresponsive and called 911 after unsuccessfully performing CPR on the newborn. Almost immediately after Kieras death, Carpenter was taken to the police station and questioned while she was still in shock and physical pain.

Medical examiners have offered slightly differing conclusions about Kieras cause of death, including a hemorrhage at the umbilical stump and Carpenters substance use. But one examiner has testified that theres no certainty Kiera would have survived a hospital birth, and Kieras death is not a homicide because theres no intent to kill. Vemireddy told Jezebel that the prosecutions case falls apart because there were so many contributing factors to Kieras cause of deathincluding in utero conditionsand prosecutors cant identify what behaviors from Carpenter, specifically after Kieras birth, caused her death.

At one point in the courts decision, it states that, even under AB 2223, the prosecution can [use] pre-birth conduct as evidence against Carpenter, or else the law could excuse someone deliberately killing their baby if they planned to do so while pregnant. This, Vemireddy said, seems to be a straw-man argument propped up by the prosecution to justify the specific targeting of pregnant people by the state. She added, Thats not whats happening in this case nor is it relevant to the facts of this case.

People have always faced criminal charges for pregnancy and perinatal outcomes even before the fall of Roe v. Wade. So far in 2023, Pregnancy Jusice has already worked on 30 cases involving the criminalization of pregnant peoplethe total number of cases it worked on throughout the entirety of 2022.

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A motorcyclist who was weaving in and out of traffic trying to escape troopers was later captured, according to Georgia State Patrol.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

On Sunday, just after 4 p.m., GSP said troopers tried to stop a speeding motorcyclist on I-20 westbound near mile marker 190 in Columbia County.

Officials said the cyclist refused to stop, initiating a chase.

TRENDING STORIES:

The motorcyclist travels westbound on I-20 until mile marker 183, then exited and reentered the interstate eastbound.

The chase went into Richmond County where officials said the cyclist ran a red light at the intersection of Windsor Spring Road and Richmond Hill Road, hitting another car.

According to GSP, the motorcyclist began to run away but was captured after a brief foot chase.

Georgia officials said the rider, who was not identified sustained non-life-threatening injuries from the crash.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
You may have seen the signs for Legally Blonde Atlanta.

Now, the local lawyer behind them is facing a potential lawsuit from one of Hollywoods biggest movie studios. Theyre accusing her of profiting off one of its most popular films.

Michelle Cross, an Atlanta-based criminal defense attorney who specializes in DUI cases, told Channel 2s Michael Seiden that the 2001 Hollywood hit Legally Blonde is her all-time favorite movie and inspired her to earn her law degree.

But now, lawyers for MGM are threatening to hit her with a big lawsuit and giving her till Tuesday to respond.

I feel very targeted. Im not trying to infringe on anyone. Im really just trying to help people, Cross said. It took me three years to build to where I am, working really hard.

Cross, better known by her Instagram handle @legallyblondeatlanta, has used social media to build up her business and brand. She has more than 150,000 followers on Instagram. But not everyone is thrilled with her success.

She recently received a cease-and-desist letter signed by the attorneys representing MGM Studios.

TRENDING STORIES:

The California-based company is accusing the Georgia native of copyright infringement after they claim she used the movie Legally Blonde, starring Reese Witherspoon, to promote her business without permission.

Their reasoning is that they think people are confusing me with Legally Blonde the movie and the fictional character Elle Woods, Cross said.

Theyve also ordered her to stop using the color pink.

I think telling me that Im not allowed to use pink is completely insane, Cross said.

Since receiving the letter, Cross has agreed to remove her billboards from busy metro Atlanta intersections, but shes not ready to give up without a fight.

Im a real attorney. Im just trying to help people so I would love to Come To a mutually beneficial conclusion, Cross said.

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Seiden reached out to MGM Studios for a comment on this story, but so far, he has not heard back from their attorneys.

Cross said she has until midnight to respond to the studios demands.

On Monday, Channel 2 Action News spoke with legal experts, some of whom have handled similar cases.

Its actually pretty common for movie studios to get trademark protection on the names of their movies, especially ones that stand out, said Jessica Cino, a partner at Krevolin & Horst Law Firm. I think the color part is probably a throwaway comment. I mean if the girl wants to wear pink, she can wear pink.

IN OTHER NEWS:
Donald Trump tries to cast himself as a victim as he faces increased scrutiny  and a possible indictment  over his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

But MSNBCs Jen Psaki on Sunday said voters should be in no doubt who the real victims are.

They are those who Trump left in his wake as he attempted to cling to power, said President Joe Bidens former White House press secretary. Those victims include Americans who Trump attempted to disenfranchise, election officials targeted by Trump supporters and those injured in the U.S. Capitol riot.

Despite what Donald Trump says on the campaign trail and wants his followers to believe, its important to remember that he is not the victim here, said Psaki.

The victims are the institutions, the people, and the very foundations that have helped sustain our democracy for over 240 years, she added. Trumps lies about the election remain a threat as long as people in power choose to use them for political advantage.

Watch the video here:

.@jrpsaki: "Despite what Donald Trump says on the campaign trail... It's important to remember that he is not the victim here. The victims are the institutions, the people, and the very foundations that have helped sustain our democracy for over 240 years. pic.twitter.com/THeSwgdaFB  Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) July 30, 2023

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The Hanford nuclear reservation site would receive a record of just over $3 billion in fiscal 2024, up $195 million from current funding, under the U.S. Senate Energy and Water Appropriations bill.

It was one of 12 bills that passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee this summer with overwhelming bipartisan votes under the leadership of Chairperson Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

It is a first time since 1918 that all 12 Senate appropriations bills have passed out of committee.

The U.S. House is proposing a Hanford budget of $2.8 billion, which is below the Biden administrations request of almost $2.9 billion.

Those numbers do not include some additional money, including the costs of site-wide security and management of the defunct Fast Flux Test Facility.

Environmental cleanup is underway at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Eastern Washington after the site was used to produce plutonium for the nations nuclear weapons program.

As long as I am the Senate appropriations chair, Congress is not going to shortchange the Hanford cleanup, the workers who power that mission or the communities living nearby, Murray said in a statement.

The Senates proposed budget would increase spending for the Hanford work under the Richland Operations Office by nearly $36 million to just over $1 billion.

The Richland Operations Office proposed budget would include $10.7 million in payment in lieu of taxes, or PILT, to make up for the property taxes not paid for local government services because the 580 square miles of Hanford is federally owned.

PILT money is used for roads, rural libraries, ports, public hospital and other health services, and help for indigent veterans. But the largest chunk goes to schools, primarily the Richland School District.

As recently as 2021, the Biden administration had proposed no PILT money.

The spending for the Hanford environmental cleanup work under the Office of River Protection would increase $160 million to $1.89 billion.

Additional money would be provided for security and the Fast Flux Test Facility.

Environmental cleanup is underway at the 580-square-mile Hanford nuclear reservation. The underground radioactive waste storage tanks and the vitrification plant are in the center of the site.

The Office of River Protection is responsible for the 56 million gallons of radioactive and hazardous chemical waste in underground tanks, many of them prone to leaking. It also is responsible for treating the waste at the not-yet-operating vitrification plant or through other methods the Department of Energy may choose.

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The Richland Operations Office is responsible for running the site and any other environmental cleanup, including contaminated and unused buildings and reactors; contaminated groundwater and soil; and waste disposal sites that dont meet modern standards.

The Hanford site in Eastern Washington adjacent to Richland was used from World War II through the Cold War to produce nearly two-thirds of the plutonium for the nations nuclear weapons program.

Enough Hanford funding?

At $3 billion total, this (Senate proposal) would be a truly historic cleanup budget which recognizes the additional funding needed for the High Level Waste Facility, while also supporting ongoing efforts across the site, said David Reeploeg, vice president for federal programs for the Tri-City Development Council.

As chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Murray was instrumental in leading the fight for this funding increase, he said, also praising Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., for her support of Hanford and science research funding.

The Low Activity Waste Facility at the Hanford vitrification plant is constructed and should begin treating some of the least radioactive tank waste by late 2024 or early 2025.

Lights shine at night at the unfinished High-Level Waste Facility at the Hanford vitrification plant. It is required to be treating waste for disposal by 2033.

But construction still must be done on the plants High Level Waste Facility to treat the estimated 10% of waste that is considered high level radioactive waste. Under a federal court consent decree, DOE must begin vitrifying that waste for disposal by 2033.

Although a record high budget is proposed by the Senate, it still is not enough to meet legal cleanup deadlines for Hanford.

The Washington state Department of Ecology, a Hanford regulator, says that would require nearly $3.8 billion in fiscal 2024. It calls that a compliant budget.

By meeting or exceeding a compliant budget in the coming years, DOE could spend less at Hanford long-term, saving taxpayers billions of dollars and completing environmental cleanup decades sooner, according to the state.

That would reduce the chance of the release of contamination or an infrastructure collapse, it said in a fact sheet.

Up to half of Hanfords budget now pays for daily maintenance such as security, fire protection, utilities and roads, which are needed as environmental cleanup continues. Those costs increase each year and do not contribute to the actual cleanup effort, it said.

After the House and Senate pass appropriation bills, they are reconciled to set a final budget amount. If the Energy and Water Appropriations bill is not approved and sent for the presidents signature, fiscal 2024 will start in October with a budget that matches the fiscal 2023 appropriation.

PNNL in line for funding

The Senates Energy and Water Appropriations bill also includes money that would help fund research at DOEs Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland:

 The DOE Office of Science would receive $8.43 billion  a $330 million increase over last years funding. The money would support basic scientific research, including at PNNL

 DOEs Earth and Environmental Systems Science program would receive $940 million, an $8 million increase over last years funding level.

The bill includes $65 million for the Environmental and Molecular Sciences Laboratory at PNNL and $10 million for construction of PNNLs new Microbial Molecular Phenotyping Capability project.

 DOEs Energy Delivery Grid Operations Technology would receive $37 million, an increase of $6 million above last years funding level.

The increase would support efforts by PNNL to develop a national platform to host the data necessary for grid reliability modeling and analytics to support the clean energy transition.
WASHINGTON (AP)  X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has threatened to sue a group of independent researchers whose research documented an increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased last year by Elon Musk.

An attorney representing the social media site wrote to the Center for Countering Digital Hate on July 20 threatening legal action over the nonprofit's research into hate speech and content moderation. The letter alleged that CCDH's research publications seem intended to harm Twitters business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims.

Musk is a self-professed free speech absolutist who has welcomed back white supremacists and election deniers to the platform, which he renamed X earlier this month. But the billionaire has at times proven sensitive about critical speech directed at him or his companies.

The center is a nonprofit with offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom. It regularly publishes reports on hate speech, extremism or harmful behavior on social media platforms like X, TikTok or Facebook.

The organization has published several reports critical of Musk's leadership, detailing an increase in anti-LGBTQ hate speech as well as climate misinformation since his purchase. The letter from X's attorney cited one specific report from June that found the platform failed to remove neo-Nazi and anti-LGBTQ content from verified users that violated the platforms rules.

In the letter, attorney Alex Spiro questioned the expertise of the researchers and accused the center of trying to harm X's reputation. The letter also suggested, without evidence, that the center received funds from some of X's competitors, even though the center has also published critical reports about TikTok, Facebook and other large platforms.

CCDH intends to harm Twitters business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims, Spiro wrote, using the platform's former name.

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Imran Ahmed, the centers founder and CEO, told the AP on Monday that his group has never received a similar response from any tech company, despite a history of studying the relationship between social media, hate speech and extremism. He said that typically, the targets of the centers criticism have responded by defending their work or promising to address any problems that have been identified.

Ahmed said he worried Xs response to the centers work could have a chilling effect if it frightens other researchers away from studying the platform. He said he also worried that other industries could take note of the strategy.

This is an unprecedented escalation by a social media company against independent researchers. Musk has just declared open war, Ahmed told the Associated Press. If Musk succeeds in silencing us other researchers will be next in line.

Messages left with Spiro and X were not immediately returned Monday.

It's not the first time that Musk has fired back at critics. Last year, he suspended the accounts of several journalists who covered his takeover of Twitter. Another user was suspended for using publicly available flight data to track Musk's private plane; Musk had initially pledged to keep the user on the platform but later changed his mind, citing his personal safety. He also threatened to sue the user before allowing him back on the platform under certain restrictions.

He initially had promised that he would allow any speech on his platform that wasn't illegal. I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means, Musk wrote in a tweet last year.

X's recent threat of a lawsuit prompted concern from U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who said the billionaire was trying to use the threat of legal action to punish a nonprofit group trying to hold a powerful social media platform accountable.

Instead of attacking them, he should be attacking the increasingly disturbing content on Twitter, Schiff said in a statement.
Myanmar's junta extended the countrys state of emergency by six months (-)

Myanmar's junta extended the countrys state of emergency by six months on Monday, signalling a delay to elections they had pledged to hold as the military battles anti-coup fighters across the country.

The Southeast Asian nation has been ravaged by deadly violence since a coup deposed Aung San Suu Kyi's government more than two years ago, unleashing a bloody crackdown on dissent that has sparked fighting across swathes of the nation while tanking the economy.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing acknowledged that much of the nation is not under full military control, according to state media.

The junta-stacked National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) agreed to prolong the state of emergency that was declared when the generals toppled Aung San Suu Kyi's government.

The "state of emergency period would be extended another six months starting from August 1st", state media quoted Acting President Myint Swe as saying.

Myanmar's military-drafted 2008 constitution, which the junta has said is still in force, requires authorities to hold fresh elections within six months of a state of emergency being lifted.

The junta had previously promised fresh polls by August of this year.

Min Aung Hlaing said fighting continued in Sagaing, Magway, Bago and Tanintharyi regions as well as Karen, Kayah and Chin states.

"We need for a time to continue our duty for systematic preparation as we shouldn't hold coming elections in a rush," he told the gathering, according to MRTV.

- 'Never-ending nightmare' -

The army ruled Myanmar for decades after independence from Britain in 1948, and dominated the country's economy and politics even before the coup.

Myanmar remains mired in weekly bomb blasts and fighting, with thousands of civilians caught up in the violence.

On the day of the announcement one person was killed and some 12 wounded in a blast near a checkpoint in the southeast, according to an official.

"The nightmare for the Myanmar people is never-ending is the one thing observers should take away from this latest SAC junta announcement," Phil Robertson, Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director, told AFP, using an acronym for the junta's official name.

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He urged the international community to do more.

"The military junta is prepared to fight to the last to hold on to power, regardless of how much blood is shed and suffering is caused."

The junta had already extended the emergency ordinance this year in February, a day after the NDSC said the situation had "not returned to normalcy yet".

Min Aung Hlaing said at the time that the military did not "fully control" more than a third of Myanmar's townships.

Anti-coup "People's Defence Forces" that sprang up to overturn the coup have surprised the junta with their effectiveness, analysts say, and have dragged the military into a bloody quagmire.

Junta groups have torched villages, carried out extrajudicial killings and used air strikes and artillery bombardments to punish communities opposed to its rule, opponents and rights groups say.

Min Aung Hlaing hinted in July the military might further extend a state of emergency and delay promised elections, saying greater efforts were needed to end unrest.

After her government was deposed, Suu Kyi, 78, was convicted in a series of trials that rights groups slammed as a sham, and sentenced her to 33 years in prison.

Thailand's foreign minister said this month that he met with Suu Kyi, her first known meeting with a foreign envoy since the 2021 coup.

Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict led by the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc have stalled, with the military refusing to engage with its opponents.

The military's crackdown on dissent has killed more than 3,800 people and seen more than 24,000 arrested, according to a local monitoring group.

The junta says more than 5,000 civilians have been killed by "terrorists" since it seized power.

bur-hla-rbu/mca
Its heartbreaking. All over the world millions of innocent people suffering the horrors of conflict  death, destruction, sexual violence, starvation  have a hope in the International Community at some point coming to the rescue, but the truth is the cavalry isnt coming because there is neither a real cavalry nor a real International Community. And even if some United Nations blue helmets arrive, their mission will be under resourced and most likely fail. So, the only hope for long suffering victims in Congo, Yemen, Syria, Mali, South Sudan and Cameroon (among others)  recently joined by millions in Sudan and Haiti  is that the violence will eventually be extinguished through sheer exhaustion or one side winning over the other(s), and that they survive.

Of course, it wasnt supposed to be this way. Immediately after World War II, Roosevelt and Churchill planned a global institution which would safeguard the global order, unlike the disbanded League of Nations which failed miserably to prevent the war. Central to this task was to be the Security Council (UNSC)  to which the new United Nations charter delegated the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. And key to the UNSCs ability to fulfill this role were the Permanent Five (P5) members  the winners of WWII - the US, Britain, Soviet Union (Russia), France, and China (then represented by Taiwan). The council also had six rotating members (now 10) representing various world regions, but only the P5 had individual veto power to nullify any UNSC resolution. To conduct this overwhelming mandate, the UNSC was given broad powers to intervene to address conflicts or international tensions: diplomacy; sanctions; arms embargoes; and use of force known as Peace Keeping Operations (PKOs).

Unfortunately, from the beginning geopolitical realities turned this promise of global peace and security into a cruel hoax for the victims of conflicts. The same ideological split which emerged in the world between Communism and the West also divided the Council. For example, the only reason the UN was able to engage in the Korean War to stop North Korean/Communist Chinese aggression against South Korea was because the Soviet (Russian) P5 representative was boycotting the UNSC meetings. If not, the Soviets would have vetoed the operation. And the UN has no standing military force, meaning that it depends on member nations to provide them when the UNSC authorizes a PKO. The operations themselves have strict limits on what forces can and cannot do, can only be launched with the consent of the parties in conflict, and must maintain impartiality. These constraints are not a formula for success.

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The dismal results are telling. There have been 57 PKOs since the UNs inception, with about half in Africa. Some still ongoing operations (Arab/Israeli conflict, India/Pakistan) began way back in the 1940s, while others started in the 60s and 70s (Cyprus, Golan Heights), and more recent ones in the 90s and 2000s (Western Sahara, Kosovo, Darfur, Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Mali). A look around Africa, a region I know well, shows that no UN PKO has fully succeeded in ending the suffering it was launched to resolve. And two of the

greatest human disasters in the world, the Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi and the Srebrenica massacre of Bosniaks in Bosnia happened under the noses of UN peacekeepers, whose missions were under-resourced, understaffed, and unprepared.

If anything, the divisions within the UNSC are even worse today than they were during the Cold War. Now we have a multipolar world and Chinas P5 seat is held by the Chinese Communist Party, with its policy of non-interference in the domestic affairs of other states so it can gain favor with autocrats around the world  no mater how cruel or odious. We also have a rogue Russia, whose aggression in Ukraine speaks for itself, and its willingness to use its Wagner mercenaries to destabilize fragile countries and prop up dictators shows there are no limits to its malevolence. Its not only our adversaries, even friends like France prevent the UNSC from taking up conflicts like Cameroons civil war because of its friendship with the Cameroon regime. I have the greatest respect for our very able Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, whose indefatigable efforts to cool global hotspots are constantly stymied by P5 vetoes and whose frustration level must be stratospheric.

So, what to do, and how to make the UNSCs $6.4 Billion peacekeeping budget  of which the US pays about $2 Billion - more effective? One suggested reform the Biden administration supports is expanding the UNSC membership and the P5 with longer terms for non-permanent members to reflect current global realities. But there is no agreement as to which nations should join the P5 and would adding more potential vetoes really make the UNSC more effective? Just increasing membership would lead to more speeches, more conferences, and less action. There has also been discussion of taking away the veto power of permanent members, but they would have to agree, and the chances of that are nil.

To make the UNSC truly effective, the UN charter needs a major rewrite to add more muscle to PKOs, eliminate the need to get consent from parties engaged in conflicts for a PKO, and allow the UNSC to adopt resolutions based on a majority of the P5 rather than unanimity. But again, the chance for such radical change in todays world is zero. For now we must live in the Twilight Zone where the noble goals of the UN charter exist only on paper and there is no cavalry to ride to the rescue of the millions of victims of needless conflicts. Its also a world which invites brutal outfits like Wagner to fill the void left empty by ineffective peacekeeping.

Ambassador Tibor Nagy was most recently Assistant Secretary of State for Africa after serving as Texas Techs Vice Provost for International Affairs and a 30-year career as a US Diplomat. Follow him on Twitter @TiborPNagyJr

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Tibor Nagy United Nations Security Council doesnt provide security
An upcoming NASA launch to the International Space Station may be visible to people in multiple states in the eastern U.S.

Weather permitting, NASA will launch the Northrop Grummans Antares rocket Aug. 1 at 8:31 p.m. ET from the NASA from the Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island in eastern Virginia. According to NASA, the launch may be visible to residents throughout the mid-Atlantic region and possibly on the East Coast.

The launch is Northrop Grumman's 19th expedition, where it delivers supplies, science investigations and equipment to the International Space Station.

Here's where to get the best views of the launch.

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Where to watch NASA's Antares rocket launch

NASA recommends multiple locations in states surrounding Wallops Island for the best views of the launch, weather permitting.

NASA's Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center

Chincoteague Island, Virginia: Robert Reed Park on Main Street or Beach Road between Chincoteague and Assateague Islands

Ocean City, Maryland

Delaware seashore

Virginia Beach

Voyager 2: NASA reports unplanned 'communications pause' with historic Voyager 2 probe carrying 'golden record'

According to NASA's estimates, residents in a dozen states may have a line of sight to the launch, with visibility varying depending on the time after takeoff. The states include:

Virginia

Maryland

Delaware

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

New York

Connecticut

Rhode Island

Massachusetts

West Virginia

North Carolina

South Carolina

This graphic from NASA shows where people on the East Coast may be able to view the Antares launch Aug. 1, weather permitting.

How to watch the Antares launch live

Weather permitting, the launch will occur Aug. 1 at 8:31 p.m. ET.

NASA will broadcast the launch live on NASA Television, the NASA app, its website and various social media platforms, including YouTube and X (formerly known as Twitter.)

What is the weather forecast for the Antares launch?

According to NASA, a 48-hour forecast issued Monday for the Aug. 1 launch of the Northrop Grumman Antares rocket is currently showing to be 80% favorable conditions, with a slight chance of cumulus clouds as the main weather concern.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASA Antares rocket launch schedule, how to watch live on East Coast
The Titan submersible in water. OceanGate

NASA was originally supposed to help OceanGate build and test a model of its carbon fiber hull.

But internal NASA emails show that the COVID-19 pandemic shut those plans down.

The carbon fiber hull was controversial and experts believe it caused the demise of the sub.

NASA was originally supposed to help OceanGate build the controversial carbon fiber hull for its submersible, but the plan was scrapped because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to internal emails and a contract obtained by Insider.

OceanGate's Titan submarine imploded in June on its way to the Titanic wreckage on the North Atlantic seafloor, killing all five passengers.

Experts told Insider that photos of the submersible's wreckage indicate the implosion may have been caused by a failure of the sub's experimental carbon fiber hull.

OceanGate's use of the material in a submarine hull was new, but dangerous, experts said, since carbon fiber is more likely to succumb to pressure than more commonly-used materials like titanium.

OcenGate first announced in a February 2020 press release that NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama would "serve as the facility where the development and manufacturing" of OceanGate's carbon fiber hull would be completed.

"This design effort is key to OceanGate completing its latest Cyclops-class submersible that is intended to dive to 6,000 meters (19,800 feet) with five crewmembers on board," the company wrote in the 2020 press release.

Internal emails show NASA's reaction

The contract between NASA and OceanGate, signed in early 2020, specified that NASA would manufacture a scale model of OceanGate's carbon fiber-hulled Titan submersible, and perform "ultrasonic testing" on the model "to ensure quality build," according to a copy of the contract obtained through a public records request.

OceanGate, the contract said, would provide carbon fiber material for the model's construction.

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But after OceanGate's Titan sub got lost at sea in June, NASA staff were left to address the agency's connection to the controversial sub company, according to internal NASA emails obtained by Insider through a public records request.

In one email, a NASA staff member wanted to make sure other staff knew that while NASA had originally agreed to help OceanGate build a "scale model" of the hull, it had not agreed to help build the "operational unit" itself.

And then, the employee clarified in the email, COVID-19 prevented NASA from ever actually helping OceanGate build or test the scale model.

"COVID struck and this activity was not deemed mission critical and personnel were not allowed onsite," the email says. "Oceangate was schedule critical and arranged for commercial entities in their home state of WA to execute the fabrication. While we did provide engineering input Oceangate was the technical authority and made final decisions. We only operated in a consultant role."

The employee noted in another email that his last contact with Oceangate was in October 2020.

After the Titan sub's implosion and reports of OceanGate's controversial design techniques, other entities like the University of Washington and Boeing have denied ever helping OceanGate design the sub.

A spokesperson for OceanGate declined to comment. A spokesperson for NASA did not immediately return a request for comment.

Internally, at least one OceanGate employee raised concerns about the use of carbon fiber in the hull. Former OceanGate pilot David Lochridge wrote in a report shared within the company that he believed the hull could come apart with repeated dives, and that the sub's hull integrity monitoring system would give a pilot only milliseconds of notice before the craft imploded, according to media reports and court filings.

Lochridge also called for more testing of the hull before the sub went on deep-sea dives, according to court filings.

Read the original article on Insider
Officer Leigh Kirkeeide, a ranger supervisor at Navajo Lake State Park, says she always likes to begin her shift the same way  by paying a visit to the lakes marina to get a sense of how many visitors are present that day so shell have a sense of how busy things are going to be.

I had just come on duty, Kirkeeide said of Saturday, June 17, when she noticed things didnt seem right at the marina. I had literally been in the park maybe two minutes.

Kirkeeide didnt have much time to get settled in before she would be called upon to spring into action. As she parked her vehicle, she noticed a man sprinting from the marina to the waters edge.

Somebodys in trouble, Kirkeeide told herself.

The ranger shifted her eyes to the waterfront, where she spotted a commotion. She quickly joined the crowd at the edge of the lake, where she found a park visitor, Matt Adamson, performing CPR on a 10-year-old boy who had wandered into the lake to retrieve a toy. The lad, who reportedly could not swim and was not wearing a life jacket, apparently had ventured out too far and was overcome by conditions, according to a New Mexico State Parks news release.

Matt Adamson, Officer Leigh Kirkeeide and Cabinet Secretary Sarah Cottrell Propst are pictured during an awards ceremony at Navajo Lake State Park on July 19. (Credit: Provided by New Mexico State Parks)

Adamson had been working on the boy for perhaps a minute when Kirkeeide arrived at the scene and had been unable to resuscitate him. Kirkeeide noticed the boy was lying on the slope of the beach and moved him to a flatter location a few yards away, then began performing CPR herself.

For perhaps another minute, her efforts went unrewarded, as well.

He was definitely unresponsive, Kirkeeide said, despite the fact she was giving up mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions.

She said her heart began to sink, as she realized time was running out to save the boy, whose father and siblings were gathered nearby, watching in apparent shock.

Youre just hoping for the best, but in these situations, you never know how theyre going to go, she said.

Kirkeeide breathed an enormous sigh of relief when the boy finally started to cough. She turned him on his side as he aspirated on the water in his lungs, emptying them out and filling them with air.

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He was very cold, Kirkeeide said of the boy, explaining that she began rubbing his back to warm him up while bundling him in whatever towels or clothing were nearby.

Shortly thereafter, the boy was airlifted to a local hospital  conscious, breathing and talking.

In honor of her efforts, Kirkeeide  a ranger for the past five years  was presented with a State Parks Division Life Saving Award on July 19 at Navajo Lake State Park by Sarah Cottrell Propst, the cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, while Adamson was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation.

Officer Kirkeeides quick thinking and actions after the initial response of a good Samaritan undoubtedly helped save this childs life, Propst said the during the awards ceremony, according to the news release. Had either of them hesitated it would have ended tragically for the child and his family.

Kirkeeides actions also drew praise from Toby Velasquez, the director of New Mexico State Parks.

Officer Kirkeeide exemplifies the professionalism of our State Parks staff and their dedication to ensuring that our parks and visitors are cared for to the highest professional standards, he stated in the news release. Leighs commitment to our agencys mission make her an invaluable member of our team.

Kirkeeide also has been honored as the New Mexico State Boating Officer of the Year by the National Association of State Boat Law Administrators, according to the release.

She said the two awards have helped confirm for her that she made the right choice by becoming a ranger  something she dreamed about as a child  after trying many other career paths, including working as a chef, a landscaper and a horticulturalist.

Im very hands on, Kirkeeide said. I like to be active.

She also is very fond of the outdoors, realizing at an early age that she didnt want to spend her life cooped up inside. Perhaps that came from the adventurous lifestyle she enjoyed as a child, growing up in Zimbabwe as the child of American missionaries.

Home schooled for much of that time, Kirkeeide made a habit of finishing her studies early so she could burst out the door of the family home, jump on her bicycle and take advantage of everything Africa had to offer. The family lived close to several national parks, and Kirkeeide grew up in a world populated by elephants, rhinos, zebras, giraffes, baboons, crocodiles and monkeys.

For me, it was great, she said. I got to visit a lot of different places and meet different kinds of people. I kind of got exposed to different cultures and ways of living, and that made me curious.

She remained in Africa through her high school graduation, finally returning to America to start college. But, by then, the country of her birth had become a stranger to her, and Kirkeeide struggled to find her way.

I had a difficult time adjusting to the United Stated when we moved back, she said, explaining that by that point in her life, she considered Africa home.

Kirkeeide drifted through a variety of college programs and jobs until she spent a summer as a seasonal ranger at Abiquiu Lake in 2016. She enjoyed the experience so much, she resolved to pursue rangering as a career, returning to college to earn her degree from Metropolitan State University in Denver, then graduating as the valedictorian from the San Juan County Criminal Training Justice Authority in Farmington in 2019.

Since then, shes been stationed at Navajo Lake and said she has settled into a life that suits her perfectly.

Its been great, she said. It was exactly what I was looking for  its a big park  and theres always some sort of project to keep me busy.

Kirkeeide said she enjoys even the mundane aspects of her job, such as performing routine maintenance. But experiences like the one she had on June 17 have taught her there is no such thing as a routine day.

That was the first time in her career Kirkeeide had been involved in a life-or-death situation, she said, and it made quite an impression on her.

I will say I was shaken for the rest of that day and all weekend, she said.

But she said the experience was rewarding, and she is grateful that she was able to make such a difference.

Ive talked to his mother about a week to 10 days later, Kirkeeide said. And she said he was back to his old self.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Leigh Kirkeeide honored with State Parks Life Saving Award on July 19
CAIRO (AP)  Security authorities in eastern Libya freed at least 385 Pakistani migrants who were held in trafficking warehouses in an overnight raid, a migrant rights group said Monday.

Al-Abreen, a group which helps migrants in Libya, said the Pakistani nationals were released early Monday from smugglers' warehouses in the al-Khueir area, roughly 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk. The migrants  among them children  were later transferred to a nearby police headquarters, it said in a post on its official Facebook page.

Esreiwa Salah, an activist with al-Abreen, told The Associated Press the Pakistani migrants arrived in Libya intending to travel to Europe but were detained by smugglers who demanded a ransom for their release. No further details were given.

Several pictures posted on al-Abreen's Facebook page showed dozens of purportedly freed Pakistani migrants sitting outside of a warehouse.

Libya is the dominant transit point for migrants from Africa and the Middle East trying to make it to Europe. The country plunged into chaos following a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime autocrat Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Oil-rich Libya has been ruled for most of the past decade by rival governments in eastern and western Libya, each backed by an array of militias and foreign governments.

Human traffickers have benefited from the decade of instability, smuggling migrants across borders from six nations, including Egypt, Algeria and Sudan. They then pack desperate migrants seeking a better life in Europe into ill-equipped rubber boats and other vessels for risky voyages on the perilous Central Mediterranean Sea route.

A vessel that departed from Libya carrying an estimated 700 migrants, including about 350 Pakistanis, sank of the Greek coast in June. Only 104 people, including 12 Pakistanis, were rescued.

Pakistan is experiencing an economic crisis that is driving thousands of mostly young men to seek work abroad. Many travel to Libya with the hope of eventually reaching European shores.
A teacher sits on the floor with two young students, who are coloring and playing with small toys.

This article was originally published in Nebraska Examiner.

LINCOLN  Nebraska lawmakers will be back Monday after two months with a dueling education hearing and forum on social and emotional learning.

State Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

The Education Committee will meet in State Capitol Room 1525 at 1:30 p.m. Monday to consider three studies offered by State Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil, the committees chair.

Legislative Resolutions 147, 148 and 149 will respectively look at parental involvement in education, the Nebraska Department of Educations use of COVID-19 pandemic relief funds and social and emotional learning in K-12 schools.

Murman described these as information gathering and paths toward transparency to improve schools.

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Im looking forward to the hearing, and hopefully well come out after the hearing with better ideas, especially for the future going forward in education, Murman said this week.

Monday will feature eight testifiers but no opportunity for public comment, which is not unusual for interim studies. The eight are:

Brian Maher, the Nebraska education commissioner.

Mike Pate, a Millard Public Schools board member.

Lisa Wagner, president of the Central City Public School Board.

Jackie Egan, representing NAACP Lincoln, Nebraskans for Peace, Lets Talk Alliance and the Lincoln Education Collaboration.

Kirk Penner, a State Board of Education member and former Aurora Public Schools board member (testifying in his personal capacity).

Lisa Schonhoff, an English language learning educator with Bennington Public Schools.

Sue Greenwald of the Protect Nebraska Children Coalition, a conservative political action committee that formed in 2021 to elect more conservative school board members.

Lori Samuelson, a school psychologist in Hastings Public Schools.

Back to basics

Following years of backlash to critical race theory and comprehensive sex education, Mondays hearing may feature a new concept for some: social and emotional learning.

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The new home of the Nebraska Department of Education in east Lincoln. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)

The Nebraska Department of Education borrows a definition from CASEL, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, that it is the process for children and adults to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships and make responsible decisions.

The department also has its own guide for educators and leaders about the concept.

Murman said social and emotional learning has become a buzzword, and the hearing is a way to consider its role compared to the basics, such as reading, writing, math and STEM subjects.

Renee Jones, a Lincoln Public Schools teacher and the 2023 Nebraska Teacher of the Year, said the social and emotional well-being of students has been a pressing concern, exacerbated by challenges because of COVID-19.

We simply cannot stick to teaching the basics (math, reading, writing, history, etc) without recognizing that we are teaching humans, rather than information robots, Jones said in an email.

Framework as Trojan horse

However, Penner has said social and emotional learning is the Trojan horse for all gender and critical race theory lessons being brought into education.

3 of us on the board are on a mission to remove SEL and after 24 elections we should have the majority to have it removed, Penner said in a July 15 tweet.

An event poster for the York County Republicans. (York County Republicans/Facebook)

The York County Republicans will host an event led by Greenwald, a former pediatrician, on Tuesday  S.E.L. Horrors  where she is set to address how social and emotional learning has infiltrated every aspect of the school day.

The event will feature Greenwalds interpretation of how social and emotional learning brings Marxist teachings, how moral relativism is replacing moral absolutes of religion, how sexualizing children traumatizes them and how the nuclear family is under attack.

Schonhoff, who is running for the State Boad of Education, said she has been a public school educator for more than 20 years and is a mom of four children attending public schools. She said she will share how the teaching is being pushed into our schools at alarming speeds.

The whole child has to be involved

State Board of Education member Deb Neary of Omaha said many of the topics for Mondays hearing are born out of politics and not problems in the state. Similar issues were dominant in Nearys re-election campaign last fall, including continued fallout after the board considered health education standards, including sex education, in 2021.

Deborah Neary. (Nebraska Department of Education)

Neary said teachers and schools have been teaching social and emotional learning for decades.

Teachers and schools have always talked about kindness and getting along and persistence, Neary said. Now theyve been tagged with a name and theres been a lot of misinformation around it and fear-mongering by politicians.

Jones said shed like the committee to bear in mind how each component of a students health impacts not just their academic performance but their ability to navigate life beyond school.

Murman said the hearing is not intended to diminish teachings of kindness and compassion but to help everyone involved with education understand and improve systems for students.

If they [students] dont have the right mental health or emotional health, its not the best learning environment either, Murman said. The whole child has to be involved in education.

Additional resolutions

Murmans two other resolutions are intended to dive deeper into efforts announced in the past year.

This spring he introduced Legislative Bill 374  the Parents Bill of Rights and Academic Transparency Act  which has not advanced from the Education Committee. It would legislate that parents are the foremost decision maker in every childs life and address parental involvement.

Lisa Wagner of Central City said she plans to detail how parental involvement is addressed in her city.

State Sen. Dave Murman, at the podium, calls for a legislative investigation of the Nebraska Department of Education on Oct. 17, 2022. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)

The final resolution comes nine months after Murman and four other senators called for an investigation into the Nebraska Department of Educations use of pandemic funds, centered on Launch Nebraska, a department website built to help schools reopening during the pandemic.

The office of then-Gov. Pete Ricketts identified a New York University website link last June that, after two or three clicks, led to a document defending critical race theory and discussing racial justice. The link was removed prior to the senators news conference last October.

In November, Murman also called for the department to remove links and resources to National Sexuality Education Standards on its HIV/Sexual Health Education Homepage. The resources remain on the departments website.

David Jespersen, a spokesman for the department, confirmed Murmans office had reached out on some links, which were left up after staff decided they were appropriate.

Jespersen said there are still layers of vetting for anything that goes on the website.

Murman said he understands that Brian Maher only started in his role leading the State Department of Education this month and was not in charge when the pandemic funds were spent. He said its not about trying a gotcha but understanding what happened and what can be done moving forward.

Public forum down the hall

Just down the hall from the hearing will be a public forum on social and emotional learning, led by State Sens. Machaela Cavanaugh, John Cavanaugh, Terrell McKinney, Carol Blood and Megan Hunt. The forum will start at 3 p.m. in Room 1510.

A dual forum is scheduled for Monday down the hall from the Education Committee. (State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh/Twitter)

None of the five senators serve on the Education Committee, though McKinney served on it previously. He has said that anyone worried about whats going on with education in Florida should pay attention to the hearing.

Machaela Cavanaugh said there was a pretty large outcry from the public about not being able to testify on Murmans resolutions.

I thought, well, if were only going to have one side of testimony here, and that doesnt seem appropriate, we should find an avenue for the public to come in and share their thoughts, she said.

The senators have the space for two hours, and Cavanaugh said theyll try to accommodate anyone wishing to speak. It will run similarly to a normal hearing but wont be recorded since its not official.

Murman said he will likely sit in on the forum and does not want to be confrontational.

I just want to hear a broad range of ideas on all three of those LRs, Murman said. Im sure therell be some beneficial testimony there.

Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.
Though there are a lot of businesses near Central and Hillside, there is housing, too, and some residents are worried about a new business proposal for the area.

OnPoint Development, a developer of healthcare properties, wants to demolish 14 houses near Central and Hillside and is seeking rezoning for a medical office use.

The houses are north of the Hibachi Boy at 3010 E. Central and bounded by Elm Street on the north, Chautauqua on the west and Lorraine on the east.

OnPoint CEO Austin Kinzle said there is a demand for more medical office space, particularly for specialists near Wesley Medical Center.

With its proximity to Wesley, and the demand for space, it was a relevant project for us.

Kinzle wont say who the potential medical users are.

I cannot talk about any of that at this time, he said.

There are still a lot of moving parts with this project for it to align to come about.

Chief among them is a Tuesday vote at the Wichita City Council over the possible rezoning.

The District Advisory Board for District 1 voted to recommend that the city not allow the rezoning.

The planning commission voted to recommend approval.

At the moment, Im still kind of weighing the conversation we heard, said District 1 Council member Brandon Johnson.

He said all of the houses are currently inhabited.

ESP Realty owns all the parcels. Kinzle is representing ESP in addition to being the developer of the proposed medical facility.

Johnson said some of the issues that have been brought up include concerns from residents who said moving would create a hardship. They said they didnt know where theyd go, and they fear that new housing will be more expensive.

Others, including one resident from nearby Sleepy Hollow, mentioned a housing shortage, too.

Also, Johnson said other neighbors not in the affected housing are concerned about further business encroachment into the surrounding neighborhoods.

Johnson said he hasnt made a decision on how hell vote.

I really try to think it through to the end and come up with the best decision possible.
JERUSALEM  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told NBC News his country is not heading toward civil war, a specter raised by Israels president amid the deep divisions and mass protests following new legislation that severely weakens the Supreme Court.

There wont be civil war, I guarantee you that, Netanyahu said during an interview Monday. When the dust settles, people will see this was necessary.

In a wide-ranging interview one week after his law passed through parliament, Netanyahu also defended the presence of far-right ministers in his Cabinet after criticism from President Joe Biden and said a potential U.S.-brokered peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia would be a pivot of history.

Netanyahu has faced six months of unprecedented mass protests by demonstrators who believe that, by weakening the Supreme Court, he is removing one of the few checks on the governments power and is endangering Israeli democracy.

The prime minister argues he is carefully rebalancing Israels three branches of government to move power away from unelected judges, who he says have taken too much authority for themselves, and back into the hands of elected politicians.

The argument has left Israel deeply divided, with President Isaac Herzog warning in March of the danger of a real civil war. A poll published last week by Israels Channel 13 found 56% of Israelis worried their countrys political crisis could escalate into civil war.

Netanyahu acknowledged the divisions but said he believed the recent legislation  which removes the courts ability to strike down government actions as unreasonable  was worth it.

I think peoples fears that have been stoked and whipped up, I think, will subside, and theyll see that Israel is just as democratic as it was before and even more democratic, he said.

Israelis protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, July 29, 2023. (Tsafrir Abayov / AP)

Demonstrators, Israeli opposition parties and close allies have said they fear the new legislation is merely the first step on a slippery slope away from democracy in Israel.

Story continues

In an interview with CNN in early July, Biden criticized the presence of far-right politicians in Netanyahus Cabinet, calling them some of the most extremist members he had ever seen.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was convicted in 2007 of inciting racism and supporting a terrorist organization. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich earlier this year called for a Palestinian village to be wiped out  a comment he later apologized for after criticism by the United States.

Netanyahus new comments come after months of demonstrations against efforts by his government, the most right-wing ever, to overhaul the judiciary and limit the Supreme Courts power.

Himself on trial in three corruption cases, the Israeli prime minister dismissed allegations that his legal woes had motivated the judicial changes, calling the claims nonsense.

Still, his governments effort has roiled Israel, with businesses closing in solidarity with the protesters and former senior officials openly opposing the moves. A significant number of military reservists have joined the protests, an alarming development for the nations national security.

I think its unfortunate that youve had reservists that are being lined up for something that involves a political debate, Netanyahu said, adding that their involvement politicizes the military.

The three parts of the reform plan are removing the reasonability test, the elimination of the override clause, and changing how judges are appointed. The first part of the package of bills passed July 24 and removes justices rights to overrule Cabinet ministers decisions for being unreasonable.

Protesters march against the Israeli government's judicial overhaul plan in Tel Aviv on July 29, 2023. (Jack Guez / AFP - Getty Images)

The way that reasonableness is done in Israel has no parallel in any democracy, not in America or in any other parliamentary democracy, said Netanyahu, who has been forced to vacate the appointment of a close ally who had criminal convictions because of that judiciary power.

There two other proposed changes could soon come before the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.

The first would allow the Knesset to override any decision by the court with a simple majority, and the last part of the reform package would effectively give the ruling parties control over appointing judges. Judges in Israel currently are appointed by a panel that includes a mix of political appointees, lawmakers and members of the legal profession.

During the interview with NBC News, Netanyahu tried to quell fears that the judiciary changes had harmed the close relationship between the United States and Israel, which relies on Washington for military, security and intelligence cooperation.

I think that the relationship is sound, he said. I think the dust will settle, and, itll turn out to be the case, through changing governments and administrations, Israel is the best ally of the United States and the United States is the irreplaceable ally of Israel.

The judicial overhaul could still be overturned.

A good governance group has filed a petition to the court that has argued the judicial change was illegal and, ironically, it could be up to the judiciary to decide whether it can stand.

Raf Sanchez reported from Jerusalem, and Phil McCausland from New York.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Netflix

Note: The following article contains discussion of themes including rape and suicide.

Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case spoilers follow.

Netflix's latest true-crime documentary delves into the harrowing case of Lucie Blackman, a 21-year-old British woman who went missing in 2000 while living in Tokyo, Japan.

The documentary details how Lucie took a gap year in Tokyo "for an adventurous year of exploration" with her friend, Louise Phillips, and soon began working as a hostess at nightclub called Casablanca.

In this role, Lucie was required to go on dates with customers before bringing them back to the club. But, on July 1, 2000, Lucie went on a date with a client and was never seen or heard from again.

The following day, after receiving a mysterious phone call from a man claiming Lucie had joined a cult and wouldn't return home, Louise contacted the Blackman family, who immediately flew out to Tokyo.

Netflix

Determined to find his daughter, Tim Blackman launched a high-profile media campaign to raise awareness about her disappearance, involving multiple press conferences and interviews, thousands of posters placed throughout Tokyo, and a hefty reward for information about her whereabouts.

The Blackmans also met with then-Prime Minister Tony Blair, who promised to bring the case to the attention of the Japanese Prime Minister.

After months of searching and Tim's tireless efforts to keep his daughter's disappearance in the news, suspicion eventually landed on Joji Obara, a wealthy property developer who was accused of drugging and raping multiple other women.

Following Obara's arrest, the police raided several of his properties in Tokyo and seized over 400 self-recorded video tapes of Obara sexually assaulting unconscious women, who he would lure into his home and drug with chloroform.

Obara admitted to meeting Lucie but denied any involvement in her disappearance, though her dismembered body was eventually discovered in a cave near one of his Tokyo residences in February 2001, seven months after she went missing.

Story continues

Netflix

In October 2002, Obara was charged with abducting, rape resulting in death, and disposing of Lucie Blackman's body. He was also charged with the rape of eight other women and the manslaughter of Australian model Carita Ridgway, another hostess who tragically died after being drugged and raped by Obara in 1992.

In 2007, Obara was acquitted of the rape and murder of Lucie due to "insufficient evidence", but was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of raping eight women and being responsible for the death of Carita Ridgway.

"There is nothing to prove that [Obara] was involved in the rape and her death. The court cannot prove he was single-handedly involved in her death," the judge said at the time, though he did add that it was clear Obara and Lucie were together before her disappearance (via BBC).

Lucie's mother, Jane Steare, said: "I'm heartbroken. I just can't believe this. My worst fears have come true."

But, following a trial appeal in 2008, the Tokyo High Court found that Obara was guilty of abducting, dismembering, and disposing of Lucie Blackman's body. Obara remains in prison for his heinous crimes to this day.

What does Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case leave out?

Netflix

In 2006, Tim revealed that Lucie's death had deeply affected his two other children, Sophie and Rupert.

In a statement to the Tokyo district court, Tim said Sophie had attempted to take her own life the night after burying her sister's ashes, while Rupert had also been "tortured and damaged" by Lucie's death (via The Guardian).

"I not only have to contend with the death of Lucie, but the terrible and tragic damage to both my other children as a constant reminder of this terrible crime," he added.

In April 2007, the day before Obara was acquitted of his charges relating to Lucie, Jane spoke out against her ex-husband Tim for accepting more than 450,000 in condolence money from a friend of Obara.

"It is like fighting two battlesone against [Lucie's] killer and one against my former husband," she told Mail Online. "Whose side is he on? How is this helping justice for our daughter? I feel so utterly powerless."

During the trial, Tim wrote to the judge in Obara's case: "I do not forgive the defendant in any way whatsoever. The condolence from his friend is accepted just as we have received condolence from around the world."

Tim also stated that he intended to put the money into the Lucie Blackman Trust, which he established to advise young people on travelling safely overseas.

"Nothing I do is going to change what happened. Nothing will bring Lucie back. My responsibility now is for the living," he told The Guardian.

Jane, however, said Tim didn't consult her about setting up the trust, telling Mail Online: "He just went ahead and did it, and since then I have even heard him refer to the Lucie Blackman 'brand'. It feels like it is more about Tim than Lucie."

The Blackman family stepped away from the trust in 2020 and it was rebranded as LBT Global , which aims to provide families with information, liaison, advice and support throughout a missing person's case overseas (via On The Wight).

Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case is now available on Netflix.

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MIAMI  The Mar-a-Lago property manager charged in a new indictment alongside Donald Trump in the alleged mishandling of classified government documents after the former president left office was unable to enter a plea in court on Monday after being unable to secure a Florida-based lawyer.

Carlos De Oliveira, 56, wearing a navy suit and glasses, entered the Miami court just after 10 a.m., accompanied by his attorney John Irving.

It was the first sighting of De Oliveira, who stands about 5'8" with salt and pepper hair, since last weeks superseding indictment in the special counsel's documents case.

The judge read the four charges against De Oliveira and his rights before setting the signature bond at $100,000. Because De Oliveira has not secured local counsel to represent him in Florida, he was asked to return for his arraignment next month.

Were working on ascertaining local counsel, Irving told NBC News ahead of the hearing.

The defense had asked for more time to secure counsel for De Oliveira before agreeing to return on Aug. 10 before a judge in Fort Pierce, about an hour north of where De Oliveira lives.

De Oliveira stood with Irving listening as the attorney spoke with the court marshal and as reporters filed out.

Prosecutors charge that De Oliveira attempted to delete surveillance footage at the former presidents Palm Beach club after the Justice Department sought to obtain it.

But without a lawyer who can practice in Florida, Irving said he didnt think the judge would proceed with De Oliveiras arraignment. Irving said it would depend on the judge, raising the prospect of delays in the case.

De Oliveira has been summoned to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres, who presided over the arraignment of Walt Nauta, Trumps personal aide who is also indicted in the classified documents case. Nautas not guilty plea was twice postponed because of difficulties in hiring local counsel.

Carlos De Oliveira, personal aide to former President Donald Trump, outside federal court in Miami on July 31, 2023. (Chandan Khanna / AFP - Getty Images)

De Oliveira, a former maintenance worker who had climbed the ranks at Mar-a-Lago for more than a decade, was a little-known aide at the club before being named a co-conspirator alongside Trump and Nauta in special counsel Jack Smiths updated indictment unsealed on Thursday. Asked about De Oliveira after the federal indictment was unsealed Thursday, one person close to Trump responded, Who the hell is that?

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Filed in the Southern District of Florida, the updated indictment lays out new charges against Trump, Nauta, and, now, De Oliveira, who are accused of conspiring to thwart federal investigators efforts to retrieve sensitive classified documents from Trump in his post-presidency.

According to court documents, De Oliveira told another employee at Trumps Palm Beach club that the boss wanted surveillance footage deleted, a conversation that took place after Trumps attorneys received a subpoena to turn over the recordings.

Image: Mar-a-Lago (Steve Helber / AP file)

De Oliveira is also accused of making false statements to prosecutors, including the assertion that he never saw anything when asked whether he was involved with moving boxes of classified materials.

Aides to Trump appear to voice concern about De Oliveira's loyalty to the former president. Speaking to another employee, Nauta said words to the effect of, someone just wants to make sure Carlos is good, according to the indictment. In a Signal message to Nauta and another aide to Trump, who is described as a representative for his political action committee, the employee responds that De Oliveira is loyal.

That same day, Trump called De Oliveira and told De Oliveira that Trump would get De Oliveira an attorney, the indictment says.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
As the head of Air Mobility Command, Gen. Mike Minihans top priority has been preparing the Air Forces airlift and aerial refueling enterprise for a new era of military operations in the Pacific. This year marked the first time that Mobility Guardian, the commands massive biennial training exercise, tested how well airmen could handle a short-notice, two-week deployment to the region. Minihan sat down with Air Force Times on July 9 for an interview on the sidelines of Mobility Guardian at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. This transcript was edited for length and clarity.

Q: How is Mobility Guardian different from what Air Mobility Command has done in the past?

A. In Afghanistan and Iraq  Ill use a cheesy analogy  theres a stadium, and your journey there is uncontested, and by the time you get there, its the best possible presentation of forces because you dont have to fight through. What youre watching now is a team come together in a much different type of environment. Thats the way its going to be, times 100, if this were really to go down. Youre seeing a real look now at what it takes to put a team forward quickly, and then also have to come together in a cohesive manner.

Q: Whats your impression of how its going so far?

A. The standout so far is the attitudes and the professionalism and the eagerness with which theyre getting after the mission. The real world has not stopped out there. Theres still distinguished visitor travel, there are still other combatant commands that need to be serviced. Theres incredibly important mission sets of high priority that cant be dropped.

When you ask for things to go very quickly, you make a decision on being light. There are some things you leave behind, knowing that it will have to come later. There are people out there, saying, Hey, my stuffs not here yet. You heard me tell one team, Get over it. Youre gonna have to figure it out without everything you need. Theyre going to have to use their intellect to get through those challenges.

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Q: What are the top policy problems that have come out of the exercise so far?

A. Were really getting after the joint force readiness, integration and agility. For the nations from which were going to operate, we have to make sure that were ready to go in and play by their rules. When you pick up a sister service unit or an Air Force unit, theres an enormous expectation that theyre ready for us to pick up. I think that were going to find that weve got work to do there. You can quickly be overcome by events, and maybe not get out of there with the speed you want.

Q: What is your message to China with this exercise?

A. We stand united with our partners allies for a free and open Indo-Pacific. And that would apply to any potential adversary. We all want to present a joint force thats ready, integrated and agile.

Q: How will lessons learned from Mobility Guardian affect your future investments?

A. Theres an abundance of external tanks that provide hours of more fuel for C-130s. Thats value that exists that we simply havent incorporated. Its not just about how we talk with each other and integrate with each other, but its how we understand where adversaries are, where the good guys are, how all that comes together. Can it speak to our partners and allies? Connectivity would be my No. 1 concern.

Q: What kinds of waivers have you authorized for more flexibility during the exercise?

A. One was a little bit longer of a crew day than we anticipated. That was more weather-related. That was the biggest one, and the one that Im paying extremely close attention to. Its much different. It is a departure from the status quo weve operated for decades under in the mobility forces.

Q: How are you addressing quality of life for airmen who are stretched thin by the demand for mobility assets?

A. Ive never been in a unit, ever, that had enough people, enough time or enough money. There is always operational tension. If the objective is that I may have to fight and win in this region, do I have the right training? Am I doing the right exercises for the right reasons? Im not going to play a game where were not righteous on the wise and efficient use of airmens and organizations time. Its going to take a while to get there. The insights of this exercise are incredibly critical.

We also need to make sure that, when theyre laying in their bunk, and theyre dealing with normal life stressors, and theyre dealing with all the things that come with serving, that theyve got every [mental health] tool necessary. I think were in a much better place.

One of the biggest insights I got after Operation Allies Refuge was airmen telling me they wished they had known what they were getting into, that it was the surprise nature of what they were experiencing downrange. The bruise that had is still being dealt with.

Q: With the KC-10 retiring, how are you ensuring you have enough capacity to meet the demand for tankers?

A. There is going to be an enormous demand signal, higher than the normal day-to-day demand that we have. When youre contested from the continental U.S. forward, the more challenging it gets, and the more reliability you need out of your airplane.

Weve had staff talks with Air Force Materiel Command twice a year, where we talk through how we can make improvements in advance. Were doing enormous work at the depots to get after more efficiencies and more effectiveness. Probably the biggest thing that weve done is tabletop exercises and other things that talk about how maintenance and reliability would be attained.

We need to be a command thats already putting our intellect into what follows the older airplanes, so we dont let the airplane decide when it wants to retire.

Q: How are you moving partnerships forward with countries in the Pacific?

A. I met with my counterpart in the Philippine air force. Hes trying to develop his mobility portfolio, so one of the things we discussed is theyre going to get C-130Js in a few years. Weve got an enormous amount of expertise that we can share. The Philippines just added more coalition bases, I absolutely have the conversations within my portfolio about how we can work together.

NATO partners are out here learning how to refuel off of the KC-46. At Scott Air Force Base (in Illinois), the Japanese were working in the Air Operations Center, and Ive invited the Philippine air force as well. More presence and exchange, absolutely.

Q: What is Mobility Guardian teaching you about capabilities you want for the next generation of aircraft?

A. I want airplanes that can facilitate long mission days  anything that can take a burden off of the crew thats flying it. Those are the things that allow the human to think about the mission, not just about operating the airplane.

Ive got to have connectivity over any other thing. Connectivity leads to survivability, leads to situational awareness, leads to mission effectiveness, leads to integration with partners and allies in the joint force.

Theres a lot of real estate on my airplane thats underutilized; I can do other things. Im intentionally moving away from the C and the K prefixes, because if you put a C on it, youll think about it as cargo only. If you put a K on it, youll think about it as a tanker only. I can do electronic warfare; I can do jamming; I can do spoofing; I can do decoy; I can do precision navigation and timing; I can increase a lot of mission sets. Lets think about effects-based aircraft and not simply platform-based aircraft.

The acquisition team is doing the analysis of alternatives right now for next-generation air refueling systems. That process does take some time, but were probably five to 10 years away from something reasonable being developed and, hopefully, starting to be integrated.
FIRST ON FOX: Republican 2024 presidential hopeful Nikki Haley is expanding her plan to combat the threat from communist China -- including a pledge to roll back Biden-era green energy mandates, which she says are a giveaway to Beijing.

Haley has called for years for the U.S. to be more aggressive in combating the threat from Beijing and in June called for a fundamental change in the U.S. outlook to the threat from the East.

On Monday, her campaign is announcing the expansion of that strategy both in terms of sanctioning China and changing policies she believes are aiding the geopolitical foe.

CHINA SEEKS TO GAIN FOOTHOLD' ON AMERICA'S DOORSTEP AMID BORDER CRISIS, TOP REPUBLICAN WARNS

Nikki Haley, former ambassador to the United Nations, speaks at the Republican Party Of Iowas annual Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, on Friday, July 28, 2023.

At the top of the list is a call to end green energy mandates implemented by the Biden administration to transition off from fossil fuels and onto electric vehicles and solar panels, which Haley and other critics argue are dominated by China and Chinese companies.

If elected president, Haley would end the mandates, as well as related subsidies. She also calls for a ban on states and cities from using federal taxpayer money to purchase Chinese tech -- including drones used by police and emergency services, which are often made in China. She would also ground Chinese drones, while replacing Chinese tech with that made in the U.S.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

A Haley administration would also combat Chinese involvement in the U.S. fentanyl crisis -- illicit fentanyl is made in Mexico using Chinese precursors and moved across the border. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently said China "bears responsibility" for its role in the crisis.

Specifically, she would block Chinese instant messaging and payment apps used between Chinese and Mexican criminals and end loopholes in U.S. customs rules.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the Chinese balloon fiasco -- in which the Chinese sent a surveillance balloon across the U.S. before it was eventually shot down by the administration -- Haley is calling for the U.S. to pull out of the Scientific and Technological Cooperation. The partnership will soon expire, but could be renewed by the administration. Haleys campaign cites a 2018 project that cooperated on launching weather balloons as an example of how the collaboration could be used by the Chinese.

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NIKKI HALEY HAULS IN NEARLY $16 MILLION SINCE LAUNCHING GOP PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

Haleys expanded plan also calls for anti-China sanctions to remain in place, citing reported delays by the Biden administration on human rights-related sanctions and a potential deal regarding fentanyl that would see sanctions lifted. Haleys plan rules out any such softening.

HOUSE PASSES BILL TO BAR DHS FROM USING DRONES MADE BY FOREIGN ADVERSARIES

Nikki Haley speaks to hometown supporters during a campaign rally at The Grove in Lexington County, South Carolina, on Thursday, April 6, 2023.

"Americans want a president who will lead from a position of strengthnot weakness," campaign spokesman Ken Farnaso told Fox News Digital. "Nikki Haley is the strongest and most vocal candidate in this race confronting Beijings many crimes and atrocities. She is Chinas worst nightmare, and Xi Jinping knows it."

The plan is in line with Haleys hawkish stance toward Beijing. Her June speech called for increased military ties with regional allies including Japan and South Korea, greater assistance to Taiwan as well as blocking exports to China, a ban on Chinese lobbying in the U.S. and a revocation of normal trade relations if the fentanyl crisis continues.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Republicans have taken aim at the administration for allegedly being too soft on China, and last week passed a bill that would block DHS from using drones at the southern border made in China.

Haley had tackled China on the world stage when she served as U.N. ambassador during the Trump administration. Since then, she has remained outspoken on China, calling for the U.S. to ban TikTok and to boycott the Olympics in Beijing, while blasting corporations who do business with Chinese for hypocrisy on their stances on human rights.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley suggested that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) should step down amid the senior senators health concerns.

McConnell froze at a leadership press briefing for almost 20 seconds Wednesday, prompting concerns at the briefing both from his colleagues and members of the press corps, and for the ensuing days.

Later in the week, the senator said he was fine and that he would serve out his full term, but even as he tried to brush aside concerns from his colleagues, many are wondering whether he will step away from his leadership position.

Haley, in an interview with CBS Newss Margaret Brennan, said McConnell should know when to walk away, but took it a step further  renewing her calls for term limits.

What I am saying about Mitch McConnell, Dianne Feinstein, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, all of them: know when to walk away. We have huge issues that need new solutions, Haley said.

Top Stories from The Hill

Haley praised McConnells work on the Supreme Court and other judicial confirmations, before calling for a new generation of leaders.

Weve got to stop electing people because they look good in the picture or they hold a baby well.

Weve got to stop electing people because we like them and theyve been there a long time.  You need to have term limits, because we need new ideas, new solutions, Haley continued. Weve got to have a new generation.

Sign up for the latest from The Hill here

When asked if former President Trump should also take a competency test, Haley said Everyone should take it, and said Trump doesnt fulfill the Republican partys need for new leaders.

Republicans have lost the last seven out of eight popular votes for president, Haley said. Thats nothing to be proud of, we should want to win the majority of Americans, weve got to start going with a new generation so that we can do that.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Corporal Alex Naggs, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent and Warrant Officer Class 2 Joseph Laycock

There is no longer any hope of locating survivors from a military helicopter crash, Australia's defence minister says.

A significant amount of wreckage was recovered, pointing to a "catastrophic incident", Richard Marles told reporters on Monday.

The crash happened during a multinational military exercise off Lindeman Island on Friday night.

Australian authorities have launched a full investigation.

Australia's army chief had grounded a fleet of military helicopters after the crash, which left four crew members missing, and now feared dead.

Lt Gen Simon Stuart said none of the army's 45 MRH-90 Taipan helicopters - the craft involved in the accident - would be flown again until they were found to be safe.

Australia has previously grounded its Taipans for safety reasons.

"We are not flying the MRH-90 today and won't until we think it is safe to do so," Gen Stuart told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.

Friday's crash happened at about 22:30 local time (12:30 GMT) over the Whitsundays, a group of islands off the coast of Queensland.

The missing soldiers onboard the aircraft were identified by the army as Capt Danniel Lyon, Lt Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock and Cpl Alexander Naggs.

All of them belonged to the Sixth Aviation Regiment, based in Sydney.

The helicopter went down during drills as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre, the massive training exercise which gathers 30,000 military personnel from Australia, the United States, and several other nations.

Canberra had announced before the crash that it would be replacing its European-made Taipan helicopters with US-made Black Hawks.

Officials had complained about having to repeatedly ground the fleet for maintenance and safety issues.

As recently as March, the fleet was pulled from the skies after an engine failure in one of the helicopters during a training exercise, forcing the crew to ditch into the sea off the coast of New South Wales.

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There were no casualties in the March training exercise. The other MRH-90s were returned to operations on 6 April with "risk mitigations".

Gen Stuart said the current aim was to keep the Taipans in service until 2024 but "what happens between now and then, from what we learn from this incident, is yet to be determined".

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the recent crash as a stark reminder "that there are no safe or easy days for those who serve in our country's name".

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking in the northern city of Townsville, said the US would provide any assistance it could.
The claim: Food stamp recipients can get a free passport

A July 19 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) claims people receiving certain public benefits can get a necessary international travel document at no cost.

If you get foodstamps you can get your passport for free! reads the post.

It was shared nearly 4,000 times in two days. Other versions of the claim, some of which said Medicaid recipients are also eligible, were shared more than a thousand additional times.

Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks

Our rating: False

Receiving public assistance from programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (often referred to as food stamps) or Medicaid does not exempt an applicant from paying passport fees. Only a few circumstances, such as U.S. employees working abroad for official duties, allow for a fee waiver.

Receiving public assistance does not qualify an applicant for a free passport or replacement

The State Department told USA TODAY the claim is false.

Chapter 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations outlines the fee schedule for passport and citizenship services.

These fees are required by U.S. law with limited exceptions as set forth in the schedule, said Rachel Arndt, deputy assistant secretary for passport services.

Those exceptions include U.S. employees and their immediate families going abroad for official duties or the immediate family of a deceased service member going out of the country to visit the grave of their loved one. American Red Cross employees going abroad as members of the U.S. Armed Forces and Peace Corps volunteers are also eligible for fee waivers.

Fact check: False claim that Australian government will be enforcing a 'social media passport'

Waivers are also available to people who lost their passports during a disaster listed on the State Departments website. Recent qualifying events include severe storms and flooding in Vermont, tornadoes in Oklahoma and flooding and landslides in California.

Story continues

Those who have never had a U.S. passport or lost their passport in a disaster not listed on the website do not qualify for a fee waiver for a replacement. The list of eligible waivers makes no mention of SNAP benefits or Medicaid.

Travelers needing to renew passports can expect extra long waits.

The social media posts reference Form I-912, which is from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services but does not allow people to get free passports.

(The form) is utilized by the USCIS for immigration services unrelated to U.S. passports, and this form cannot be used to request a waiver of U.S. passport fees, Arndt said, echoing guidance on the State Department website.

Attorney Michael Wildes, who specializes in immigration and nationality law, described the claims as an "extreme leap of misinformation."

"(Form I-912) is ... meant for foreign nationals entering the United States who lost their passport issued by their home country and seek to enter with just the green card," he said. "It does not waive U.S. passport application fees. USCIS does not issue passports, only the Department of State does that."

The form may be used to waive the "significant filing fees" associated with some immigration services applications, Wildes said. SNAP and Medicaid are each considered a "means-tested benefit" that recipients can use to prove eligibility for fee waivers for eligible applications, according to the Citizenship and Immigration Services website.

The Monmouth County Clerk's Office in New Jersey also warned the public of the false social media claims in posts on Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter.

USA TODAY reached out to several users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim of free passports for food stamp recipients | Fact check
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's national security adviser on Monday said the road to normalising ties with Saudi Arabia was "still long" while members of his hard-right cabinet ruled out concessions to Palestinians as part of any deal.

U.S. officials have sought for months to reach what would be a historic agreement that Netanyahu has said would be a huge step toward ending the Arab-Israeli conflict but that Riyadh has signalled would rest on Palestinian statehood.

U.S. President Joe Biden last week dispatched his national security adviser to Riyadh to discuss a possible deal, and on Friday said a rapprochement was "maybe under way".

"I can identify with what the United States president said in an interview a few days ago, where he said that the road is still long but that he thinks there will be a possibility of progress," national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told public broadcaster Kan, adding that Israel is not involved in the U.S.-Saudi discussions.

"I can say that Israel will not give in to anything that will erode its security," he added.

Asked whether this included Riyadh establishing a civilian nuclear programme on its soil, he said that for that, Israel's consent was not needed.

"Dozens of countries operate projects with civilian nuclear cores, and with nuclear endeavours for energy, this is not something that endangers them nor their neighbours."

PALESTINIAN CONCESSIONS

The idea of Israel and Saudi Arabia formally cementing ties has been under discussion since the Saudis gave their quiet assent to Gulf neighbours United Arab Emirates and Bahrain establishing ties with Israel in 2020.

"Israel is the closest it has ever been to a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia," Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on the Channel 12 evening news broadcast, adding that he expects a deal to be announced by next March before the November 2024 U.S. elections.

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But on Monday a member of a party in Netanyahu's hard-right government rejected any concessions toward the Palestinians as part of a pact.

"We certainly won't agree to such a thing," National Missions Minister Orit Strock told Kan.

"We are done with withdrawals. We are done with freezing settlements in Judea and Samaria," Strock said, using the biblical term for the West Bank.

The Palestinians want to establish an independent state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, among territories Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.

Though it was unclear whether Strock was speaking on behalf of her entire party, such a position would pose a political obstacle for Netanyahu, who has cast the normalisation of ties with Saudi Arabia as a major foreign policy goal.

Her remarks were echoed by the head of another government member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir who heads the far-right Jewish Power party. He told Army Radio that he has nothing against diplomatic deals with Arab countries.

"But if this deal includes concessions to the (Palestinian) Authority, handing over territory, arming the Authority or giving ... terrorists power then I surely object."

U.S.-Israel ties have been strained in recent months by the government's expansion of Jewish settlements on land that the Palestinians seek for a state and by contentious judicial changes pursued by Netanyahu's nationalist-religious coalition.

Citing previous deals with Arab neighbours, foreign minister Cohen said the Israeli government's policies on the Palestinians were "not an obstacle to peace".

(Reporting by Maayan Lubell and Ari Rabinovitch; Additional reporting by Henriette Chacar; Editing by Conor Humphries and Grant McCool)
The claim: A WEF official said dangerous conspiracy theorists must be eliminated

A July 25 article in The Peoples Voice included a headline declaring Top WEF Official: Dangerous Conspiracy Theorists Must Be Eliminated.

A top World Economic Forum (WEF) official has called for so-called conspiracy theorists to be banned from accessing the internet due to their dangerous belief that a global cabal of elites control the world, the article began.

It's a reference to the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory, which claims among other things there is a satanic cabal of global elites taking part in an international child sex trafficking ring.

The article was shared more than 300 times on Facebook in five days according to CrowdTangle, a social media analytics tool.

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Our rating: False

There is no evidence, in the article or elsewhere, that Yuval Noah Harari made any such comments. The article also incorrectly identifies Harari as a World Economic Forum official, when he has no role with the organization. The Peoples Voice routinely publishes baseless claims.

Article invents thoughts, position of professor

The article revolves around comments made on a podcast by Harari, a writer and lecturer in the history department of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. However, it never quotes Harari saying that conspiracy theorists should be eliminated.

Instead, the body of the People's Voice article claims that Harari advocated for banning conspiracy theorists from the internet, combining quotes from a podcast interview by Harari with misleading phrases and fabricated context for the remarks.

Harari did discuss the threat posed by conspiracy theories on the July 17 episode of the Lex Fridman Podcast, but a review of the episode transcript shows he never suggested eliminating or banning people from using the internet. Instead, Harari stressed that AI should not be banned, but there should be guardrails on how it is deployed into the public sphere.

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Harari said he believes certain uses of AI should be banned or changed to avoid rapidly distributing misinformation, particularly if done in a way that suggests a live person is actually pushing the information.

There are so many things we can use AIs as teachers, as doctors and so forth, and its good as long as we know that we are interacting with an AI, Harari says in part. The same way we ban fake money, we should ban fake humans. Its not just banning deep fakes of specific individuals. Its also banning deep fakes of generic humans, which is already happening to some extent on social media. If you have lots of bots retweeting something, then you have the impression, 'Oh, lots of people are interested in that. Thats important,' and this is basically the bots pretending to be humans, because if you see a tweet, which says 500 people retweeted it, or you see a tweet and it says 500 bots retweeted it, I dont care what the bots retweeted, but if its humans, okay, thats interesting.

Fact check: Article fabricates quotes from Alex Soros

The People's Voice also incorrectly calls Harari a "top official with the WEF," which is a non-governmental international organization that brings together policy leaders on politics, business and culture to shape global and industry agendas. Yann Zopf, a spokesperson for the WEF, confirmed to USA TODAY in June that Harari is neither an employee of nor an advisor to the organization.

Harari has a biography page on the WEFs website, but Zopf said any attendee can have one. Hararis personal website notes that he has spoken at WEF events but does not list any role with the organization.

The People's Voice, previously known as NewsPunch, has repeatedly published fabricated stories about the WEF, many of which USA TODAY has debunked.

USA TODAY reached out to The Peoples Voice for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Lead Stories also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Professor's warning about deceptive AI misrepresented | Fact check
KITTERY, Maine  Two Town Council seats and two positions on the Kittery School Committee will be featured on the fall municipal election ballot in November.

With just over three months to go until the election, the town has made nomination papers available for candidates interested in making a run at joining the two boards.

Kittery Town Hall

Town Council members George Dow and Cameron Hamm are the occupants of the two expiring seats on Kitterys foremost governing body, with their terms set to end on Nov. 13.

Eric Lemont and Karen Matso currently hold the pair of School Committee positions that will be on the ballot.

Residents of Maines oldest town looking to campaign for either of the four positions can obtain nomination paperwork from town clerk Jillian Richards office. The forms must be filled out and returned to Richards by the deadline of Sept. 8 at 1:30 p.m.

Anyone who wishes to be considered as a declared write-in candidate, must file a declaration of write-in candidacy with the Town Clerk, by 1:30 PM on Friday, September 8, 2023, the town noted in its announcement.

The clerks office at 200 Rogers Road is open Monday through Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., Thursday from 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The town and state referendum election will occur on Tuesday, Nov. 7, with the polls open at the Kittery Community center from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. that day.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Nominations now open for Kittery Town Council, School Committee seats
Joseph ONeal

A man from Brevard, N.C., has been accused of making death threats over a drag show, authorities say.

Police said Joseph ONeal, 31, used social media to make the threats, local news station WLOS reports. He was arrested and charged with communicating threats earlier last week.

On Saturday, July 29, a local brewery, UpCountry Brewing, had planned to host a drag show titled Dont Hide Your Magic Unicorn Drag show.

ONeal allegedly used a fake profile under the name Joey Bruner to make the death threats toward the business, authorities said.

I will die before I let that take place!!!" he wrote in one message.

In another message, he wrote, Ill be damned if Ill allow a pride celebration in my hometown of Brevard. They may as well consider themselves target practice. Im not kidding. Its pure wickedness!!

Transylvania County Sheriff Chuck Owenby said they were tipped off on Facebook of the threats. Owenby said his office wouldnt tolerate any threats to anyone.

The planned drag show was postponed, according to UpCountry Brewerys Facebook page. However, a fundraiser did take place Saturday in support of a local LGBTQ+ rights group the Transylvania County Rainbow Alliance.

"We have made the difficult decision to postpone the drag show scheduled for July 29th at UpCountry Brewing in the Brevard Lumberyard. While the outpouring of support has lifted our hearts, what was originally intended to be a fun event to raise funds for a local charity instead became overly politicized, and truthfully has grown beyond our capability to properly staff and operate at this time," UpCountry Brewing explained on a GoFundMe, which was raising money for the LGBTQ+ group.

The company has raised more than $3,000 with an original goal of $500 to benefit the Transylvania County Rainbow Alliance.

What a crazy few days! We planned to hold a simple drag show and instead all hell breaks loose, the business posted on their Facebook page.

The Advocate has reached out to UpCountry Brewing for further comment.
The family of a man killed by Davenport police two years ago says the officer who shot him was improperly trained and faced no immediate danger when he pulled the trigger.

Bobby Jo Klum was shot by Davenport officer Mason Roth on Oct. 13, 2021, as Klum walked down a street holding what was later found to be a pellet gun to his own head.

Police said at the time that Klum, who was wanted on an outstanding warrant, refused repeated directions to put down the gun and get off the street, and continued despite being hit by at least one rubber bullet before Roth shot him.

The Scott County Attorney later declined to bring charges against Roth, finding the shooting was justified.

In their lawsuit, which this month was moved to federal court, Klum's wife and mother disagree.

"Roth murdered a vulnerable, emotionally distraught man holding a BB gun to his own head while all other reasonable officers in the area took measures to de-escalate the situation," according to an amended complaint filed in June.

An attorney for the city told the Register the shooting was a "tragedy" but Davenport denies any legal liability for Klum's death.

Why did police shoot Bobby Jo Klum?

According to his family's court filings, Klum, 37, was in a suicidal state and did not want to go to jail when he encountered police on Oct. 13. As described in the complaint, Klum pulled a pellet gun out of his bag and pointed it at his head while walking through the neighborhood, leading police to call for backup.

Eventually, up to 40 officers were on the scene, establishing a perimeter around Klum as he walked.

According to the complaint, Roth later told investigators he shot Klum after several rubber bullets fired by other officers appeared to have no effect, and Klum was advancing toward a group of bystanders who he feared Klum might attack or take hostage.

Bobby Jo Klum, in an undated family photo.

Klum's family argues in court filings, citing video footage of the encounter, no bystanders were in Klum's path or in any danger when Roth fired. At no point did Roth verbally threaten anyone, or point his pellet gun at anyone but himself, according to the complaint.

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Jason O'Rourke, an attorney representing Davenport, told the Register the city believes the suit has no merit.

"While this was a tragic incident and the citys thoughts go out to Mr. Klums family, the city denies it or Officer Roth has any liability in this lawsuit," O'Rourke said in an email. "Mr. Klum had multiple opportunities to respond to various officers attempts to de-escalate the situation, but he chose not to do so. As a result, Officer Roth determined it was necessary to use force for the protection of others."

Was Davenport police training to blame?

The plaintiffs also allege that Roth and other Davenport police have been trained to believe they must shoot first because a suspect holding a gun can aim and fire before an officer can react. The complaint characterizes this belief as "pseudo-science" and argues the city is liable for improperly training officers to shoot in situations where deadly force is not justified.

Roth reportedly told investigators "we've done lots of training where a suspect can have a gun either in a pocket or even pointed at their head and the suspect can go from that position to pointing the gun at you and firing a round before you can react. Even if you have your weapon out and aimed at them, your reaction time is never going to be as fast as their action.

The complaint attributes this belief in an "action versus reaction deficit" to the Force Science Institute, a controversial scientific organization whose research has been heavily criticized by the Department of Justice and other law enforcement groups. It is not clear if Davenport has offered training from or inspired by the Force Science Institute, and the city's attorneys have denied the plaintiff's claims about the department's training in court filings.

The plaintiffs argue it is plainly unconstitutional to shoot and kill someone holding a gun because of the fear they might aim it and shoot at someone else faster than a trained marksman aiming at them can stop them. They point to past court rulings finding that shooting someone aiming a gun at their own head, or even moving the gun after being ordered to drop it, is an unreasonable use of force.

"Common sense dictates that in situations where a law enforcement officer has a suspect in their rifle sight, the officer could pull the trigger before any suspect could move a gun toward the officer or another, aim and fire," according to the complaint.

The complaint also criticizes the findings of Scott County Attorney Michael Walton, who ruled the shooting justified because of how quickly the direction of the gun could change.

"If that was the actual legal standard to be applied, then anyone carrying a weapon in the right-to-carry state of Iowa could automatically be shot and killed at any time by law enforcement officers," according to the complaint.

Lawsuit rebooted after Iowa Supreme Court ruling

Klum's family originally sued the city in Iowa district court in August 2020, alleging the shooting violated Klum's rights under the Iowa Constitution.

In May, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the Iowa Constitution does not support such claims for damages, reversing a 2017 decision finding that it did. In response, Klum's family filed an amended complaint in June, now bringing claims for violations of the U.S. Constitution.

In response, the city filed in early July to move the case from state to federal court.

Attorney Dave O'Brien, who represents Klum's family, previously told the Register the recent Supreme Court decision would force many more plaintiffs into bringing federal claims in federal court.

"Lesson learned now. Were just going to have to file these federal claims in every case," he said, speaking about another lawsuit. " We chose not to file federal claims because we didnt want to get removed to federal court. Now in retrospect, federal court is looking a lot better!"

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Davenport 2021 police shooting was unjustified, family claims in suit
Cloud Nine

Ever wanted to live in the atmosphere of our Solar System's hottest planet? In just a few short decades, you might  or at least, that's what the other co-founder of OceanGate, the builder of the doomed Titanic-seeking submersible, is saying.

In an interview with Insider, still-living OceanGate cofounder Guillermo Sohnlein introduced his latest ambitious venture: Humans2Venus, a research group bent on creating a colony that floats above the uber-hot planet's surface and that he says, by 2050, will be home to 1,000 people.

As hostile as the depths of the ocean are, Venus just might be worse. Though the planet has at times been referred to as "Earth's twin," NASA notes that its thick sulfuric atmosphere  the same one that Sohnlein wants to cram a colony into  traps heat in a "runaway greenhouse effect," which leads to surface temperatures of a whopping 900 degrees Fahrenheit. If Venus is our twin, it's the evil one.

The Argentina-born businessman admits, at least, that going to Venus is something of a moonshot.

"You're absolutely right that when you talk about going to Venus, it would raise eyebrows outside the space industry," Sohnlein told Insider. "And it even raises eyebrows inside the space industry."

"It is aspirational," he added, "but I think it's also very doable by 2050."

Forget About Dre

All that trouble with the Titan submersible, meanwhile, is beside the point for the entrepreneur, who resigned as CEO of OceanGate in 2013 but maintained a minority ownership.

"Forget OceanGate. Forget Titan. Forget Stockton [Rush, the CEO who died in the submersible's implosion]," Sohnlein suggested. "Humanity could be on the verge of a big breakthrough and not take advantage of it because we, as a species, are gonna get shut down and pushed back into the status quo."

It's unclear, for now, what exact technological breakthroughs Sohnlein and Humans2Venus expect to bring forth in the next 27-odd years that would allow for a spaceship colony that could withstand the ultraviolet radiation of Venus' atmosphere for prolonged periods of time.

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Those matters, however, seem to also be outside his grand vision  and as for the late OceanGate CEO, Sohnlein appears to have nothing but admiration.

"If we didn't have people that like [Rush]," he told Insider, "we'd probably all still be in caves."

More on OceanGate: Friend of OceanGate CEO Says Sub Was a "Mousetrap for Billionaires"
The Oconee County Sheriffs Office reported the following incidents:

ROAD RAGE: On July 21, Deputies Lex Ogan and Brian Meadows were dispatched to a road rage incident involving a SUV and motorcycle. A 55-year-old man, his wife, and son were headed home on Hodges Mill Road after having dinner when they slowed to make a turn into their neighborhood. A motorcycle drove up near them and the driver flipped them off and began screaming at the family. They waited in the roadway until he drove off, then continued home. However, the biker came back at a high rate of speed. The biker, a 24-year-old Watkinsville man, was still screaming and cussing when the victim said he pulled up his shirt to show he was carrying a sidearm. The angry biker then accelerated toward the victim, who stepped out of the way. The biker hit the mans SUV with his hand before leaving. But he returned again, so the victim said he picked up a log. The man drove away. More deputies arrived and the suspect was located on Carol Drive. He told the deputy he was out for a pleasure ride when the SUV stopped on Hodges Mill Road and blocked him. He said he did follow the SUV and confront the driver. He alleged the man showed him the firearm and challenged him to a fight, but he left. The motorcyclist was arrested on several charges.

ROGERS ROAD: On July 18, Deputy Brian Meadows was dispatched to Rogers Road, Bogart, after a resident reported finding an abandoned 2013 Dodge Caravan. The deputy determined the van belonged to Med Care Transport and was reported stolen in Winder.

MEAT THEFT: On July 21, deputies Brian Meadows and Lex Ogan were dispatched to Walmart, where two shoplifting suspects dropped a backpack full of meat and ran after being confronted. They fled in a GMC van, which was stopped by Sgt. Andrew Henderson. The 48-year-old Winder man said he stole the 12 steaks because he was just hungry. The 35-year-old woman said they entered the store to get some meat. She denied the shoplifting, saying they dropped the goods before actually leaving the store. At the jail, the woman gave jailers her sisters name, so she was also charged with giving a false name.

BAD ROTORS: On July 18, Deputy Dustin Mines was patrolling U.S. Highway 78 when he saw a 2006 Jeep Liberty crash into the rear of a tow truck hauling an ambulance. The deputy stopped at the wreck and the Jeep driver said he was unable to stop due to bad rotors on the brakes. The 18-year-old Watkinsville man spoke with slurred speech. The deputy found an open case of Miller Lite beer in the Jeep, along with Coors Light. The deputy also recovered some pills, Xanax and a muscle relaxer. The teen was charged with DUI and other offenses.

FAST MOTORCYCLE: On July 19, Deputy Dustin Mines was working traffic on Georgia Highway 316 when a motorcycle approached at 100 mph. The deputy activated his lights and siren and the motorcycle sped off passing numerous vehicles. The Honda CBR600 came to a stop at Mars Hill Road. The 47-year-old Commerce man denied he was trying to elude the deputy and explained he was going to visit his probation officer in Winder. He was taken to jail.

Oconee Blotter: New Yorker sends Watkinsville woman wrong kitten

Oconee: New Oconee County Administration Building opens with ceremony

FRAUD: On July 19, a 41-year-old Oconee woman reported her husband tried to log onto his YouTube account, but the password would not work. The couple discovered they were also signed out of their three e-mail accounts. The YouTube account was signed in by someone using a telephone number from Nigeria.

SHOOTING VICTIM: On July 20, Deputy Annessa Glenn stopped a vehicle at the Oconee Connector because the driver was wanted on a warrant in DeKalb County. Cpl. Daniel Ellis spoke to the man who explained he was injured by a gunshot inflicted a few weeks ago. The man said it was a long story, but he was hit by a stray bullet in Conyers. The deputy contacted Conyers police, but they had no record of such a shooting. The man had an entrance and exit wound in his right thigh. He was jailed on the warrant.

GUITAR FRAUD: On July 20, Deputy Annessa Glenn was dispatched to the Guitar Center at the Oconee Connector, where Athens-Clarke Police Detective Daniel Freeland was recovering a guitar stolen in Athens. The officer had evidence where a 37-year-old Athens man sold the guitar to the business for $250. The suspect faces a theft by deception charge in Oconee.

CAT FOOD: On July 21, deputies Brian Meadows and Lex Ogan went to Walmart where a woman was detained for stealing about $93 in cat food and treats. The 25-year-old suspect from Monroe said she stole the food because she didnt want to borrow money and she thought she wouldnt get caught.

HUNGRY SUSPECT: On July 22, deputies Lex Ogan and Brian Meadows were dispatched to a disturbance involving three women at Walmart. The persons had left, but the deputies knew one woman was wanted on a warrant from Oglethorpe County. They located the woman in a vehicle parked nearby behind a restaurant. The 30-year-old Athens woman was in the passenger seat eating a chalupa. The officer told her to exit the vehicle, but she refused saying, Let me finish my chalupa. The deputy insisted she get out, but she said, Im just so hungry. She kept eating, but the deputies got her out and took her to jail.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Oconee Blotter: Shoplifters go to Walmart looking for meat`
US Air Force airmen adjusting propeller weight during checks on an MQ-9 at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam in May 2022. US Air Force/Airman 1st class Christa Anderson

Suspected Chinese malware has been identified in several US military systems.

Unlike other surveillance malware from China, this malware seems intended to disrupt operations.

The malware could also have the ability to disrupt normal civilian life and businesses.

US officials found suspected Chinese malware across several military systems  and unlike previous attacks, experts say the intent is more likely to disrupt rather than to surveil, The New York Times reports.

The attacks first came into the public eye in May after Microsoft identified malicious code in telecommunications software in Guam, where the US houses the Andersen Air Force Base.

US officials told the Times that investigations into Chinese malware had been underway for several months and that the malicious code had infiltrated US military systems across the country and abroad. Previous cyberattacks typically aimed to surveil US operations, experts told the Times.

"China is steadfast and determined to penetrate our governments, our companies, our critical infrastructure," the deputy director of the National Security Agency, George Barnes, said at the Intelligence and National Security Summit earlier this month.

Now, experts say this new wave of malicious code has the ability to disrupt US military and civilian operations.

Last month, Rob Joyce, the director of cybersecurity at the NSA, called the nature of this malware "really disturbing." The Times reported that it could allow China to cut off power, water, and communications to military bases, and it could also affect personal homes and businesses across the country.

The experts who spoke with the Times also said it was not clear whether the Chinese government knew about the malware or how well the software would actually work.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised the issue of Chinese hacking while meeting with Chinese diplomats earlier in July, CNN reported.

"We have consistently made clear that any action that targets US government, US companies, American citizens, is a deep concern to us and that we will take appropriate action to hold those responsible accountable and the secretary made that clear again," a senior State Department official told CNN.

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In response to questions posed by the Times to the White House about the issue, the National Security Council's spokesman, Adam Hodge, said: "The Biden administration is working relentlessly to defend the United States from any disruptions to our critical infrastructure, including by coordinating interagency efforts to protect water systems, pipelines, rail and aviation systems, among others."

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Have a news tip? Contact this reporter at scahill@insider.com.

Read the original article on Insider
The firing of an Ohio K-9 officer was not due to him siccing his police dog on an unarmed Black truck driver who surrendered with his hands up following a highway chase, according records officials released to ABC News.

The reason former officer Ryan Speakman was terminated from the Circleville, Ohio, Police Department last week is because he allegedly lied to his superiors about whom he shared confidential details of the incident with, according to the newly released documents.

The documents, released by the Circleville city law director in response to a public records request from ABC News, indicate Speakman was an emotional wreck following the police dog mauling of 23-year-old Jadarrius Rose and was repeatedly crying at work. He was also upset a local newspaper published the initial report of his involvement in the July 4 arrest.

Circleville Police Chief Shawn Baer disclosed in a July 25 written report that at one point Speakman came to him "crying and very upset," concerned that he was going to take away his K-9 partner, Serge -- a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois Shepherd mix.

"He was begging I do not take his best friend from him," Baer wrote, according to the report. "I told him that we had not taken K-9 Serge from him and that he was scheduled to go to training. I told him again, if you havent done anything wrong, we would not take (the) K-9 from him."

PHOTO: Police bodycam screengrab shows Jadarrius Rose being attacked by an Ohio K-9 dog on July 4, 2023, after attempting to surrender to police with his hands up following a highway chase. (Circleville Police Department)

Baer, according to the documents, said he also told Speakman, "The review board had convened, and everything appeared that the deployment was within policy and training guidelines."

The review board met on July 6, two days after the incident, which started when state police troopers attempted to pull Rose over for a missing mudflap on his trailer.

Baer said he received a report from the chairman for this use-of-force review board, acting Capt. Kenny Fisher of the Circleville Police Department, who wrote, The board concluded that all personnel involved acted within departmental policy regarding the use of force and canine operations policy."

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Fit-for-duty review ordered

When Circleville officials announced on Wednesday that Speakman had been immediately terminated, Baer, issued a statement, saying, "Circleville police officer Ryan Speakmans actions during the review of his canine apprehension of suspect Jadarrius Rose on July 4 show that officer Speakman did not meet the standards and expectations we hold for our police officers."

Now, the records released by the city's law director detail the circumstances of the alleged conduct during the review.

PHOTO: Jadarrius Rose and his mother, Carla Jones, speak on July 27, 2023, of Rose being attacked by an Ohio K-9 dog on July 4, 2023, after attempting to surrender to police with his hands up following a highway chase. (ABC News)

The newly released records, first reported by the Scioto Valley Guardian newspaper, show Speakman was terminated for "unauthorized and inappropriate intentional release of confidential or protected information," disobeying orders from his superiors not to discuss the incident with anyone other than investigators and for lying to Baer as well as investigators about whom he spoke to in the days after the dog attack.

In his July 25 report, Baer wrote that he initially placed Speakman on paid administrative leave "pending a fit-for-duty review."

In the document, Baer said he met with Speakman on July 19 -- 15 days after the dog attack -- and spoke to him "about reports I received that he was crying and talking to other employees about being stressed over the July 4, 2023, K-9 deployment.

During a meeting, which was also attended by the police department's deputy chief and human resources director, Baer ordered Speakman to stop talking to people about the incident, according to the records.

I explained to him that his conduct was not beneficial to himself or the agency," Baer wrote.

Baer said when he asked Speakman who he had spoken to about the K-9 deployment, the officer initially replied he had only spoken to a few employees of the Circleville Police Department (CPD) and no one outside the agency.

The chief wrote in his report that even after ordering Speakman to keep quiet about the incident, Speakman "continued to approach CPD employees upset and crying."

'You're going to get bit'

The records state, Baer said he ordered Speakman to give him a written list of all the people he spoke to about the incident. The chief wrote that on July 21, "Ryan Speakman brought a two-page list of people outside of CPD that he had spoken with" and that a day later gave him two additional names.

Baer, according to the records, described Speakman as being "deceptive" about his initial claims of who he had spoken to about the dog deployment.

Ryan Speakman discussed so much information with so many people it had immense potential to impact the (use-of-force review) boards ability to provide an accurate review," Baer wrote.

PHOTO: Police bodycam screengrab shows a few moments before Jadarrius Rose was attacked by an Ohio K-9 dog on July 4, 2023, after attempting to surrender to police with his hands up following a highway chase. (Circleville Police Department)

The records released by the Circleville city law director also included Speakman's body camera footage that captured the officer siccing his K-9 Serge on Rose immediately after arriving on the scene and issuing verbal warnings to Rose to drop to his knees.

Other body camera footage released earlier by the Ohio State Highway Police shows that as Speakman was commanding Rose to get on his knees, a state trooper was ordering Rose to walk toward him and another trooper was repeatedly yelling at Speakman, "Do not release the dog with his hands up."

MORE: 'I just didn't want to die': Jadarrius Rose, Black trucker attacked by Ohio police dog while surrendering, speaks out

Speakman's body camera footage shows the officer arriving at the scene and yelling at Rose from a distance, saying, "Get on the f------ ground or Im going to send the dog. As Rose, with his hands up, continued to walk in the direction of the trooper instructing him to move forward, Speakman warned Rose a second time, "Police K-9. You're going to get bit."

"Final chance. Youre going to get bit," Speakman yelled, according to his body camera footage, before he released the dog on Rose.

The body camera video shows the dog initially running toward the trooper giving instructions to Rose, and then turning and charging in Rose's direction when Speakman ordered him to attack.

MORE: Investigation launched after video shows Ohio police dog attacking suspect with his hands up

The video shows Rose falling to his knees with his hands up before the dog sunk his teeth into his left arm, prompting Rose to scream out in agony.

In an interview on Thursday, Rose told ABC News that when he saw the K-9 officer and his dog racing across the grassy center median toward him, he "didn't know what to do."

"So, I just stopped because I didnt want to make a bad move or anything like that," Rose said.

He added, "I was defenseless. If I would have tried to defend myself, that would have given them more reason to shoot me. I just wanted my life."

Rose said that even after the police dog latched onto his arm, it did not appear that Speakman or other police officers were in a rush to get the animal off of him. He said he directly pleaded with the dog to let him go.

"I had to tell the dog to stop," Rose said. "I asked the dog, 'Please stop. It hurts' and he finally let go."

'I think it's a justifiable bite'

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, as officers were trying to bandage Rose's arm, Speakman appeared to try to justify his actions when Rose asked why he turned the dog loose on him, according to Speakman's body camera footage.

"I gave you three warnings. Did I not? You didnt comply, so you got the dog," Speakman said, according to the video.

The footage also captured Speakman telling another officer at the scene, "I think it's a justifiable bite."

PHOTO: Police bodycam screengrab shows a few moments before Jadarrius Rose was attacked by an Ohio K-9 dog on July 4, 2023, after attempting to surrender to police with his hands up following a highway chase. (Circleville Police Department)

In his written narrative of the incident, contained in the records released to ABC News, Speakman repeated that he gave Rose three warnings and then made the decision to deploy K-9 Serge off lead in the suspect's direction." He did not mention whether he heard the trooper ordering him not to release the dog while Rose's hands were in the air.

Rose's encounter with the police dog came after he led state troopers on a three-county chase, officials said. The pursuit unfolded when the Ohio State Highway Police attempted to pull Rose over for missing a mudflap on his trailer, according to an incident report.

Rose told ABC News that he initially stopped, but then pulled away when he saw officers approaching his semi-truck with their guns drawn.

He said he called 911 during a more than 30-mile chase because he was "hoping that they would be able to help me."

"I wanted to get out. I hadnt committed a crime. Its not like I murdered somebody, and they got their guns ready to shoot me," Rose said. I just didnt want to die. Thats what was going through my mind. I just didnt want to die. Thats why I called them for help."

Rose was forced to stop when police put spike strips in front of his big rig, blowing out his tires, authorities said.

After being attacked by the dog, Rose was treated at a hospital and later booked at the Ross County Jail on charges of failure to comply, a fourth-degree felony. The charges have not been dismissed, according to national civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Rose.

Efforts by ABC News to reach Speakman for comment have been unsuccessful.

Prior disciplinary action against Speakman

The records released by the city law director also included documents from a previous incident in which Rose was disciplined.

In April 2021, Speakman was given a one-day suspension without pay after he was the subject of an internal affairs investigation over "horseplay," according to the records. Officials said Speakman admitted to approaching a fellow Circleville cop on Feb. 27, 2021, at the police station, snatching the officer's gun from his holster and emptying it of bullets, an act police brass described as "muzzling" the officer.

"Speakman stated that he took full responsibility for his actions and that it was a dumb thing to do," according to the records.

MORE: K-9 officer put on leave after police dog attacks surrendering suspect

Tom Austin, executive director of the Ohio Patrolman's Benevolent Association, said in a statement released Wednesday following the announcement of Speakman's firing that the union's senior lawyer, Joseph Hegedus, has filed an official grievance with the city of Circleville contending the officer was terminated "without just cause."

In the grievance, Hegedus wrote the officer's firing is "contrary to mandatory principles of progressive discipline" and is a violation of the union's collective bargaining agreement. The grievance asked that Speakman's termination be rescinded and that he be reimbursed for "wages, seniority and benefits lost."

Hegedus also asked that Speakman's termination be expunged from his personnel records.

A central Ohio Black Lives Matter group held a small boisterous protest outside the Circleville Police Department on Saturday, calling on Baer to resign or be fired for his handling of the incident involving Rose, for the dog that attacked Rose to be retired and that all charges against Rose be dropped. The organization also asked that race sensitivity training be provided to all Circleville police officers and the police department's budget be cut by 50%.

Baer could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

Crump told ABC News the incident harkened back to the 1960s Civil Rights Movement when police dogs were let loose on non-violent protesters.

"We have to say, we will not tolerate this," Crump said. "We wont go back to the days where theyre siccing dogs on unarmed Black people."

Records shed light on why K-9 cop was fired after siccing dog on trucker: Report originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Photo: Stephen Zenner/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty (Getty Images)

Ohio Republicans really, really dont want voters to be able to decide whether abortion will remain legal in their state, and theyre now throwing everything at the wall to thwart a ballot measure that would let Ohioans codify abortion protections in the state constitution after the fall of the Roe v. Wade.

GOP state lawmakers have already forced an August special election to make it harder for ballot measures like the coming abortion one to pass, raising the bar for passage from a simple majority (50% +1 vote) to 60%. And conservatives have now filed a lawsuit asking the Ohio Supreme Court to block the measure from appearing on the ballot this fall at all. Former State Rep. Tom Brinkman (R) and former statehouse candidate Jennifer Giroux are suing Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R), claiming that the amendment violates state law by not spelling out which laws would be repealed if the amendment were to pass. The suit names as examples a six-week abortion ban, a ban on abortion if theres a fetal diagnosis of down syndrome, and law requiring parental consent for minors to obtain abortions. The plaintiffs lawyer, Curt Hartman, previously sued the Ohio Ballot Board in March over the petition language it approved, but the Ohio Supreme Court rejected the claim.

Read more

Abortion is currently legal in Ohio, but only because a judge blocked a six-week ban from taking effect in October. The state is appealing the preliminary injunction, meaning the state Supreme Court could overturn it and ban the vast majority of abortions in the state. Activists are leaving nothing to chance and hoping to codify abortion access in the state constitution to prevent the ban from going into effect.

Story continues

Ohio is slated to be the seventh state to put abortion to a statewide vote after the fall of Roe, and the pro-choice position won all six times so far, even in red states. No wonder Republicans are scared shitless and trying to thwart democracy.

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Oil and gas industry

Around 100 new oil and gas licences for the North Sea are up for grabs, with the first of the new permits set to be awarded in the autumn.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the licences are part of the UK's plans to bolster its energy security and make the UK less reliant on other countries for supplies.

But critics argue that extracting oil and gas is not the right approach for the environment.

What is an oil and gas licence?

In very simple terms, an oil and gas licence is permit for a company to explore and potentially extract oil and gas from a defined area of land either onshore or offshore.

There are two types of licence:

Exploration - this licence allows the holder to explore a specific area for fossil fuels but not produce them. Exploration licences are issued less often and are usually wanted by companies that wish to conduct seismic surveys and then sell information onto other firms.

Production - this type of licence enables a company to explore for and then drill to extract oil and gas. It is subject to further permits and companies holding these licences have to apply for consents and approvals along the way.

In the current round, all of the 100 available are for production licences.

That might sound like lots of oil and gas drilling happening. But the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) which is responsible for issuing the licences, says that the majority of production permits issued "do not end up with production actually taking place".

Oil and gas analyst Nathan Piper says to be awarded a licence, companies bid against each other.

But this is not about companies throwing cash around. Companies who are bidding have to commit to carrying out a certain amount of work on a site for a certain amount of time, which can typically be between two or three years.

During this period, firms will explore the area for oil or gas and carry out scientific tests, before deciding whether it is worth investing millions of pounds. They will then apply for a new licence to drill and potentially create oil wells to produce fuel.

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How many licences have been issued in recent years?

First, a brief bit of history. After being discovered in the 1960s, oil and gas exploration in the North Sea kicked off in the 1970s, around the time of the Iranian oil crisis.

There have been 33 licensing rounds since, with the latest beginning in October 2022.

There is no set time for when licensing rounds occur - it can depend on various factors such as current permits ending or new scientific information.

In the 32nd licencing round in 2020, 113 permits were awarded while so far in the latest round, 115 applications have been made. The NSTA is now considering those bids and will hand out licences to the winners in the autumn.

Is North Sea oil and gas extraction going up or down?

North Sea oil and gas production has been declining on the whole since it peaked in the late 1990s, but it is slightly higher now than it was in 2014.

In 2000, production was nearly 250 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe), but it had almost halved a decade later.

In 2022, production was less than 80 Mtoe and is forecast to continue to decline in the coming years, largely to the North Sea being a "mature" site and supplies dwindling.

Demand for fossil fuels is also expected to fall as technology for renewable energy continues to grow.

To date, more than 48 billion barrels of oil and gas has been extracted from UK waters. It is thought there is about 4 billion barrels left, but there is no guarantee that will or can be extracted.

The government is now offering 100 or so new licences in a bid to curb that trend, arguing it will "secure" the UK's domestic energy supply.

If new wells are opened, domestic production could be boosted, but it is a "risky" business, according to Mr Piper, especially given the North Sea has already been extensively explored.

"The interesting thing is how many exploration wells will be committed on the back of this exploration round," says Mr Piper.

In recent years, oil and gas firms have been taxed heavily on their UK profits and there has been concerns in the industry that this might put off companies from investing in areas such as the exploration of new oil and gas wells.

The current windfall tax - used by the government to target firms benefiting from high energy prices fuelled by the war in Ukraine - is 75% compared to 40% previously.

The government announced last month that the higher tax could be scrapped if energy prices fall back to normal levels for a sustained period.

But no final decision has been made yet.

What does this mean for the UK's Net Zero targets?

Mr Sunak has said "even when we've reached net zero in 2050, a quarter of our energy needs will come from oil and gas".

He argues he would rather have this come from "supplies we have here at home", rather than "hostile states".

But environmental campaigners have called the decision "wrongheaded".

Oxfam's climate change policy advisor Lyndsay Walsh says extracting more fossil fuels from the North Sea sends a "wrecking ball" through the UK's climate commitments.

Friends of the Earth says Rishi Sunak's decision is "pouring more fuel on the flames" of the unprecedented wildfires and heatwaves across the globe.
This piece of land at Interstate 35 and Britton Road is one of several spots being removed from a list of potential locations for a future county jail.

Oklahoma County may trim its list of potential locations for a future county jail.

At the same time, however, it may be willing to consider additional spots that failed to make an initial cut because of time constraints the county had placed on landowners interested in offering up their properties for a jail's use.

Both matters will be taken up by Oklahoma County's Board of County Commissioners during a special meeting Chairman Brian Maughan called for Tuesday.

The meeting comes less than a week after commissioners approved a formal agreement with HOK to work with the county to design a new facility.

The county is under pressure to replace its existing jail after decades of issues involving its existing building, which it opened in 1991.

A year-long investigation by The Oklahoman involving document reviews and dozens of interviews showed Oklahoma County's jail trust failed to take steps needed to stem the tide of inmate deaths during the three years since it assumed control of the facility. The building's condition, short staffing, guard misconduct, relatively poor medical care and lax mental health services, plus a thriving drug economy all played roles in conditions at the jail.

Through the end of April, 43 detainees held by the jail since the trust assumed control of its operations died while in the county's custody. Recently, the jail's staff had to initiate life-saving efforts to rescue two female detainees found unresponsive after apparent drug overdoses.

Why are some Oklahoma County jail locations being eliminated?

Maughan said the item before commissioners proposing to trim four locations from the list was requested by Steve Mason, chairman of the Oklahoma County Citizens Bond Oversight Advisory Board.

While not familiar with specific reasons behind removing each of those locations from consideration, Maughan said it likely had to do with topographical issues, distances from the Oklahoma County Courthouse, what services were available at each site, or how much compensation each owner was seeking.

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Each location is being evaluated by the bond oversight board's members, the county's engineer and representatives of HOK.

OKC_jail_locate

Locations county commissioners are being asked to eliminate are:

69 acres of land at Interstate 35 and Britton Road owned by Oaks Technology Park LLC, which offered that land to the county for $37,788,300.

89 acres of land at NE 10 and I-35 owned by the city of Oklahoma City and the Oklahoma Commissioners of the Land Office offered to the county at an undisclosed price.

133 acres of land located at 5500 Lincoln Blvd. owned by the Oklahoma Commissioners of the Land Office. That agency auctioned off that land this week. The Kirkpatrick Family Fund submitted a winning bid of $11,085,000, the minimum asking price.

51 acres of land located on the southwest corner of Portland Avenue and Memorial Road owned by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation offered to the county at an undisclosed price.

As for giving additional time for the oversight board to consider other potential locations, Maughan said he is asking for approval of that as a way to reassure the county's residents that appointed and elected officials are thoroughly evaluating where a new jail should be built.

Oklahoma County already has put the site of its existing jail at 201 N Shartel Ave. on the list of potential locations to be considered.

"There were some sites that came in that were interesting, but couldn't be entertained because they did not come in before the deadline. We may have handcuffed the board," Maughan said.

Maughan said he hasn't reviewed any of the late-arriving proposals. But, he said county officials kept contact information for each of those, in case the commissioners decided to reopen the proposal submission period.

"I just think that with each of the sites having potential downsides, there is just not a utopian place out of any of those. Maybe this will give us some alternatives, or maybe not. They might not be any more attractive than others that previously were offered," Maughan said.

Owners encouraged to submit new offers quickly

As for how long additional offers will be entertained, that probably won't be any longer than a couple of additional weeks, Maughan said Friday.

"I just want to make sure we have done every due diligence we can for our taxpayers to make sure we have not left any stone unturned and know with great confidence we have chosen a site from the best options we had available," he said.

Commissioners will convene at 11:25 a.m. on Aug. 1 in their meeting chambers (Room 204) at 320 Robert S. Kerr Ave.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma County may consider more options for new jail
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)  A group of parents, faith leaders and a public education nonprofit sued Monday to stop Oklahoma from establishing and funding what would be the nations first religious public charter school.

The lawsuit filed in Oklahoma County District Court seeks to stop taxpayer funds from going to the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted 3-2 last month to approve the application by the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City to establish the school, and the board and its members are among those listed as defendants.

The vote came despite a warning from Oklahomas Republican attorney general that such a school would violate both state law and the Oklahoma Constitution.

The Rev. Lori Walke, senior minister at Mayflower Congregational Church in Oklahoma City and one of the plaintiffs in the case, said she joined the lawsuit because she believes strongly in religious freedom.

Creating a religious public charter school is not religious freedom, Walke said. Our churches already have the religious freedom to start our own schools if we choose to do so. And parents already have the freedom to send their children to those religious schools. But when we entangle religious schools to the government  we endanger religious freedom for all of us.

The approval of a publicly funded religious school is the latest in a series of actions taken by conservative-led states that include efforts to teach the Bible in public schools, and to ban books and lessons about race, sexual orientation and gender identity, said Rachel Laser, president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which is among several groups representing the plaintiffs in the case.

We are witnessing a full-on assault of church-state separation and public education, and religious public charter schools are the next frontier, Laser said.

Oklahomas Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt earlier this year signed a bill that would give parents in the state a tax incentive to send their children to private schools, including religious schools.

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The Archdiocese of Oklahoma said in its application to run the charter school: The Catholic school participates in the evangelizing mission of the Church and is the privileged environment in which Christian education is carried out.

Rebecca Wilkinson, the executive director of the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, said in an email to The Associated Press that the board hadn't been formally notified of the lawsuit Monday afternoon and that the agency would not comment on pending litigation.

A legal challenge to the board's application approval was expected, said Brett Farley, the executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma.

News of a suit from these organizations comes as no surprise since they have indicated early in this process their intentions to litigate, Farley said in a text message to the AP. We remain confident that the Oklahoma court will ultimately agree with the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in favor of religious liberty.

Stitt, who previously praised the board's decision as a win for religious liberty and education freedom, reiterated that position on Monday.

To unlock more school options, I'm supportive of that," Stitt said.
As the beginning of the school year is still a few weeks away for many metro-east students, parents may be considering hiring some to look after their child during the workday.

If youre considering asking a neighbor or friends child to watch yours, you may want to brush up on state laws regarding babysitting. The minimum age requirement for children to legally babysit varies in Illinois and Missouri.

The American Red Cross offers courses on babysitting and child care for children who are at least 11 years old. The organizations basic class includes information about how to care for infants and children, emergency situation preparedness, how to start a babysitting business and more.

Care.com, an online directory for child care, senior care, pet sitting and more, recommends parents or guardians consider several factors before deciding whether their child is ready to watch other children, including whether your child meets your states legal age minimum to babysit and whether your child has had any practice babysitting.

Here are more tips from Care.com:

Consider having your child take babysitting and first-aid classes.

Discuss proper safety and care and make sure your child knows how to make an emergency call.

Ask yourself if your child is focused and mature enough to responsible for other children.

Make sure your child is comfortable being home alone and taking care of themselves before expecting them to care for others.

Its also important to ensure your child is interested in and excited about babysitting, Care.com says.

Heres what to know about hiring a babysitter in the Land of Lincoln and the Show Me State.

Babysitting age minimums in Illinois and Missouri

Illinois law says it is illegal to leave a child under 14 alone for an unreasonable period of time without regard for the mental or physical health, safety, or welfare of that minor.

The minimum age requirement for a babysitter is 14 in Illinois. Heres what the law says:

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A person commits child abandonment when he or she, as a parent, guardian, or other person having physical custody or control of a child, without regard for the mental or physical health, safety, or welfare of that child, knowingly leaves that child who is under the age of 13 without supervision by a responsible person over the age of 14 for a period of 24 hours or more.

Its important to note a number of factors are taken into consideration when determining whether the child was left without regard to their welfare, including:

The childs age

The number of children left

Any disabilities or medical needs the child may have

Duration of time left alone

The condition and location of where the child was left

The time of day or night the child was left

Weather conditions, including whether the child had adequate protection from the elements

Whether the child was given an emergency phone number and was capable of making a call

Missouri law does not specify an age at which children can or cannot be left home alone, according to a 2014 document from the Missouri Department of Social Services Childrens Division. The state also does not have a legal minimum age requirement for babysitters.

Missouri state statutes define neglect as the failure to provide, by those responsible for the care, custody, and control of a child under the age of eighteen years, the care reasonable and necessary to maintain the physical and mental health of the child, when such failure presents a substantial probability that death or physical injury or sexual injury would result.

Neglect can carry felony charges in Missouri.
Photo: Bebeto Matthews/AP, Facebook

Former Olympic boxer Felix Verdejo-Sanchez was convicted on Friday of killing his pregnant lover in 2021 because she refused to get an abortion. A press release from the U.S. Attorneys Office in the District of Puerto Rico said that a federal jury found Verdejo-Sanchez guilty of kidnapping that resulted in death, as well as intentionally killing an unborn child.



In May 2021, Verdejo-Sanchezs pregnant ex, Keishla Rodriguez Ortiz, was found dead in the San Jose Lagoon in San Juan, the Puerto Rican capital. Verdejo-Sanchez, who competed for the U.S. in the 2012 Olympics, was arrested the following day. He and Rodriguez Ortiz had been friends since middle school.

Read more

Homicide, often by intimate partners, is a leading cause of death for pregnant people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Rodriguez Ortizs death is precisely what state and federal fetal homicide laws were established to address, though these laws are all too often instead weaponized against pregnant people for the outcomes of their pregnancies.) Verdejo-Sanchezs conviction comes at a time when cases of reproductive coercion, or acts of abuse targeted at controlling a partners reproductive decisions, are surging: The National Domestic Violence Hotline reported earlier this month that calls to its hotline concerning acts of reproductive coercion doubled in the year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Shortly after Roe fell last year, a Missouri man was sentenced to life in prison for murdering his wife in 2019. Before she went missing, shed searched on her cell phone: what to do if your husband is upset you are pregnant. In May, a Texas woman was killed by her partner who had a history of abuse for her decision to have an abortion. Both of these tragic outcomes, as well as Rodriguez Ortizs death, reflect what we already know: that pregnancy creates greater vulnerability for domestic violence.

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Verdejo-Sanchez faces a mandatory life sentence for each of the convictions against him, and his sentencing will take place on Nov. 3.

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By Gram Slattery

RYE, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Sunday afternoon for Ron DeSantis began at a restaurant. The Florida governor sidled into a booth to chat up a pair of newlyweds. Next he took questions at a barbecue outside a small red barn where onlookers munched on hot dogs.

His day of campaigning for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination ended at a lobster restaurant overlooking a marsh where onlookers snapped photos of him holding one of the excitable crustaceans in his hand.

Such was the first day of DeSantis' "reboot" of his campaign in New Hampshire, the No. 2 state in the Republican nominating contest calendar after Iowa. A win in either could provide momentum against front-runner and former president Donald Trump.

Having burned through cash faster than expected since declaring his candidacy in May and having failed to put a dent in Trump's roughly 30-point lead in Republican primary polls, DeSantis is now leaning into smaller-scale, more intimate events with voters, according to people close to the governor.

DeSantis made his name nationally by opposing many U.S. government policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19. He has since become a leading figure fighting what he argues are overly progressive polices favored by educators and corporations.

Now, he needs to give voters an opportunity to get to know him more intimately, although the new strategy has an inherent risk: DeSantis himself. Even his allies acknowledge he is not known for his natural affability.

The new strategy has the added benefit of being cheap, as the governor can hit multiple venues consecutively, with relatively little staffing and prep work, people close to the campaign say.

If the crowd at the "No B.S." barbecue at the home of former Republican Senator Scott Brown on Sunday was any indication, DeSantis could be in for a tough slog.

Wedged into a wooden pergola, DeSantis went through such talking points as immigration and energy, before taking at least a dozen questions from attendees standing on rocks and sitting in folding chairs.

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Of the nine attendees Reuters interviewed, one had previously settled on supporting DeSantis. The others unanimously said they came away impressed, but they were keeping their options open.

These are the types of voters that DeSantis will be relying on if he is to boost his small-dollar contributions, which in turn is key for the health of his campaign. About two third of the $20 million DeSantis raised in the second quarter came from individuals who "maxed out" in campaign parlance, meaning they donated the maximum permitted amount to DeSantis and can contribute no more.

Before DeSantis began his speech, Michael Lunder, a 67-year-old businessman, said he was "probably going to support (DeSantis) financially."

After the speech, Lunder was more circumspect, saying he was impressed, but that he took issue with several of DeSantis' policies, including his opposition to offshore wind energy and criticism of electric vehicles.

"I learned a few things that I didn't agree with, but, in general, I think I might support him," Lunder concluded.

CAMPAIGN REBOOT

In the last two weeks, the DeSantis campaign has undergone a shake-up both in style and personnel, according to several people close to the campaign.

Having spent roughly $7.9 million in the first six weeks after its May 24 launch, the campaign is tightening its belt, making sure travel is more efficient by scheduling back-to-back campaign stops and spending less on events, they said.

On Tuesday, the campaign disclosed it had let go 38 employees in recent weeks, more than a third of the staff. Among other changes, the campaign replaced the chief financial officer and boosted the remit of that position, one person said, hoping to keep a lid on costs.

For the time being, the campaign will be trying to scoop up supporters, one diner stop and lobster restaurant at a time, a process that even the plan's proponents admit will be grueling.

Frank Cimler, an attorney in attendance at the "No B.S." barbecue, gave DeSantis high marks, saying he would be formidable on a debate stage against Democratic President Joe Biden, who will be seeking a second four-year term.

He disagreed with DeSantis' position that support for Ukraine in its war with Russia is not a vital U.S. national security interest. He also disagreed with the notion that the justice system has been "weaponized" against conservatives, an oft-repeated assertion of DeSantis and some of his opponents.

As he left, a volunteer asked Cimler if he would commit to supporting DeSantis.

Not yet, Cimler replied, but he would strongly consider it.

(Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Ross Colvin and Howard Goller)
Slander is coming to Sacramento this fall, taking its Chimera Tour to Cal Expos Heart Health Park.

The electric dance music duo, made up of Los Angeles DJs Derek Andersen and Scott Land, has been in the scene for nearly a decade, collaborating with NGHTMRE with their debut EP Nuclear Bonds in 2015. The two have sold out shows and performed at top EDM festivals, including EDC, Lollapalooza and Tomorrowland.

The performance will be Oct. 28.

Slander has become one of the hottest acts in dance music, the Cal Expo event page states.

The band released its album Thrive in 2022.

if you have already bought a ticket for

THE CHIMERA TOUR we want to say

THANK YOU SO MUCH!



this has been our biggest tour on-sale ever!



some shows are already completely sold out and second nights have been added!



we are extremely grateful for your support and we cant wait  SLANDER (@SlanderOfficial) July 28, 2023

Where is the venue

Heart Health Park is inside Cal Expo at 1600 Exposition Blvd.

Tickets

Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster. General admission prices start at $50 for Tier 2.

Tier 3 is $55 and Tier 4 is $60.

What do you want to know about life in Sacramento? Ask our service journalism team your top-of-mind questions in the module below or email servicejournalists@sacbee.com.
A long-expected lawsuit has arrived to fight the creation of the countrys first religious charter school.

The case, filed Monday in Oklahoma County District Court, kicks off likely years of litigation to examine the possibility of publicly funded religious schools, starting with St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School.

The Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee, a non-partisan public school advocacy group, joins nine other parents, faith leaders and public education advocates in filing the lawsuit. They contend a Catholic charter school would contradict state law and asked a district judge to block St. Isidore of Seville from opening and receiving state funds.

You cant use peoples tax dollars to promote or establish religion, one of the plaintiffs, the Rev. Lori Walke, told The Oklahoman. Thats what is being attempted right now.

More: Public or private? Charter law question at the center of Oklahoma Catholic school debate

The Rev. Lori Walke speaks on April 11 during public comments during Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board meets to discuss a vote on whether to approve the creation of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, a Catholic charter school.

Catholic officials contend charter schools are private schools, despite their reliance on taxpayer dollars, and a faith-based institution shouldn't be excluded from the state's charter-school funding. Critics argue the concept of a government-funded religious school violates the separation of church and state and could result in discrimination against certain groups.

The plaintiffs are represented by local attorneys and national groups  the American Civil Liberties Union, the Freedom from Religion Foundation and Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU).

What to know about St. Isidore of Seville and the case

The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa plan to open the school in 2024 to provide a Catholic education online to students in all parts of the state.

"News of a suit from AU comes as no surprise since they have indicated early in this process their intentions to litigate," said Brett Farley, a lobbyist representing the diocese and archdiocese. "We remain confident that the Oklahoma court will ultimately agree with the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in favor of religious liberty."

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The nation's high court recently ruled private schools could receive public funds from school voucher programs and government grants. Attorney General Gentner Drummond, disagreeing with his predecessor John O'Connor, argued these cases have "little precedential value" to charter school law and no legal history exists to prove charter schools are private.

St. Isidore of Seville, named for the patron saint of the internet, would be a genuine instrument of the Catholic Church and would take part in the churchs evangelizing mission, according to the schools own description. The Catholic Pastoral Center in Oklahoma City would serve as its headquarters, and Archbishop Paul S. Coakley and Bishop David A. Konderla would choose the members of St. Isidores governing board.

The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board drew national attention when it voted 3-2 in June to approve the schools creation.

The board's chairperson, Robert Franklin, said a lawsuit over the vote, though expected, is troubling news.

"Although its not a surprise, its unsettling because I think it puts Oklahoma taxpayers and the process under the microscope," said Franklin, who was one of the two board members to vote against opening St. Isidore.

Who is the SVCSB? National spotlight falls on Oklahoma board that approved country's first publicly funded religious school.

The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board listens to public comment on April 11 on a Catholic virtual charter school during a meeting at the Oklahoma History Center. The board voted 3-2 in June to approve the creation of the school.

Questions remain on non-discrimination regulations at the school

The board agreed to exempt the school from state and federal laws that contradict Catholic beliefs, raising questions of whether the school would abide by all the non-discrimination regulations other publicly funded schools have to follow.

St. Isidore will operate according to church beliefs on sexual orientation, gender identity and sexual morality, according to the archdiocese's application to the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board.

One of the plaintiffs, Oklahoma County mother Michelle Medley, fears the school would refuse to serve her child who identifies as LGBTQ+, according to the lawsuit. Two of Medley's three children have autism, and given the family's history with private schools, she believes St. Isidore would be "woefully unprepared" to serve students with disabilities.

"Allowing St. Isidore to operate as a state-funded, public charter school would subject other Oklahoma children  at taxpayer expense  to the private-school experiences that failed her family," the lawsuit contends.

Catholic officials have said students of all backgrounds would be welcome at St. Isidore, and the archdiocese is prepared to educate children with special learning needs, given its experience operating more than 20 Catholic schools statewide.

Dedicating any of Oklahomas finite education funds to a religious school would leave fewer dollars for secular public schools who accept all students, said Walke, senior minister of Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ in Oklahoma City.

The archdiocese estimates the school will cost more than $26 million in its first five years of operation.

My concern is any money, any funds that are taken out of our public schools means that it limits opportunities for our community when you can say, No, I wont take you based on how you look or the way you act (or) your belief system, Walke said.

Charter school board, Ryan Walters named as defendants

The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board and the not-for-profit corporation seeking to oversee St. Isidore are all listed as defendants in the case, as is state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, an ardent supporter of the school, and the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

Walters called the lawsuit "religious persecution."

"It is time to end atheism as the state sponsored religion," the state superintendent said.

More: Oklahoma attorney general withdraws opinion supporting religious charter schools

Laura Schuler, senior director for Catholic Education at Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, and Michael Scaperlanda, chancellor for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, present a proposal for the nation's first publicly funded Catholic charter school on Feb. 14 at a meeting of the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board at the Oklahoma History Center.

Establishing a Catholic charter school reflects a nationwide push to introduce the Christian faith into public education, said Rachel Laser, AUs president and CEO.

St. Isidore is a perfect illustration of how when we undermine church-state separation we invite discrimination and we create a class of insiders and of outsiders, which is exactly what Christian nationalists want, Laser said.

A conservative Christian law firm, Alliance Defending Freedom, will represent the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board in the case. The board voted 3-1 last week to hire the firm after the attorney general withdrew his offices legal services on all St. Isidore-related matters.

Drummond said the schools approval was contrary to Oklahoma law and not in the best interest of taxpayers.

Its extremely disappointing that board members violated their oath in order to fund religious schools with our tax dollars, Drummond said in a statement. In doing so, these members have exposed themselves and the State to potential legal action that could be costly.

Reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel covers K-12 and higher education throughout the state of Oklahoma. Have a story idea for Nuria? She can be reached at nmartinez-keel@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @NuriaMKeel. Support Nurias work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: St. Isidore, first religious charter school in US, facing lawsuit
Hi OnPolitics readers! In the crowded field of 2024 Republican presidential candidates, former Vice President Mike Pence is centering his presidential campaign on character and civility.

Its not clear anyone is buying it, USA TODAYs Maureen Groppe reports from the campaign trail.

Where Pence is now: After four years of defending former President Donald Trump, Pence is telling voters that he doesnt waver on my conservative values, but he notes that I think you can be tough and kind.

Did Jan. 6 change Mike Pence? Pence told USA TODAY he doesnt know.

Im somebody that believes that adversity reveals character, he said in an exclusive interview.

And I think in that day, the American people saw I'm going to put my oath to the Constitution, I'm going to put the promises I made to them, first and foremost, whatever it means to me. The Bible verse Psalm 15 that has lived with me ever since says, 'He keeps his oath, even when it hurts.

How will he take on Trump? The former vice president says hes looking forward to debating Trump about issues such as restricting abortion, controlling Social Security and Medicaid spending and standing up to foreign foes.

But hes still hasnt received enough financial support to qualify for the first Republican debate next month.

Hes not hot enough. Hes not cool enough. People dont like the fact that hes medium temperature, Chris Galdieri, a political science professor at St. Anselm College, told USA TODAY. Its just a really, really tough position.

Read more here: After breaking with Donald Trump, Mike Pence is selling kindness. Is anyone buying?

Takeaways from the interview: What would Pence tell Trump on debate stage? How did Jan. 6 change him?

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mike Pence breaks with Donald Trump, but still wants to sell kindness
Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do, right, listens as Supervisor Don Wagner speaks during a March 2020 board meeting. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)





An Orange County mother of two turned to social services when she suspected something was awry with her young boys in 2011.

While at preschool, her 4-year-old son simulated sex acts a child his age shouldnt comprehend  alarming his teacher.

The mothers plea for help prompted a visit from a county social worker. The child said he had been inappropriately touched by a longtime family friend.

The mothers husband, separated and living with his parents, claimed the story was a ruse to secure sole custody of the boy and his 1-year-old brother.

The social worker ultimately found the allegations lacking and closed the case. But that was far from the end of the ordeal.

Read more: California 'Teacher of the Year' faces 14 charges in child sexual abuse case

In a closed-session meeting last week, Orange County supervisors voted 4 to 1 to pay the mother $4.5 million to settle a lawsuit she filed against the county in August 2018.

According to court documents, the mother alleged negligence by county workers and that they failed to contact authorities to investigate the allegations, as was required.

That misstep, the mother alleged, led to years of additional sexual abuse by Alex Padilla Beltran, 56, who was eventually arrested in 2018.

Its been a long road for the boys who didnt even realize at the very beginning what was going on, said the mothers attorney, Christopher Taylor of Pasadena-based Taylor Labor Law. Theyve been stressed about it and this trial.

A friend of the family for 20 years, Beltran initially admitted he had pinched the 4-year-old's butt but characterized it as nothing more than roughhousing, according to court documents.

The mother, however, alleged the incident was part of a pattern in which Beltran would abuse the boys when they were left in his care while their father went out to drink, court records show.

Beltran remains in custody at the Theo Lacy Facility. He is awaiting trial on 26 counts of sexual abuse over a 17-year period dating back to 2000 including alleged lewd and lascivious acts with minors.

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He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Read more: Operation targeting online child sex abuse nets 141 arrests across Southern California

Taylor said the boys, one now in high school and the other in middle school, struggled with having to endure psychological testing and depositions for the case and are ready to move on.

The mother is very happy because when this all started years ago, nobody believed her, including [child protective services] and relatives who didnt want to admit this longtime family friend had been doing this, Taylor said.

Orange County supervisors did not publicly comment on the settlement, which was first reported by the Orange County Register, after Tuesday's closed session. But in a statement to The Times, Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said he felt compelled to act even though the allegations happened well before he was elected.

"I believe that the settlement will help find closure and provide funds for future medical care to address the trauma suffered by the victims," he said in the statement. "Im also confident that with this settlement, and changes to the reporting standards within [the] O.C. Social Services Agency, we will not have complaints of child abuse go unanswered.

In an interview, Supervisor Katrina Foley said, "Ultimately, we must make sure we take care of kids."

"I voted in favor of the settlement because we were informed our county had a basic bureaucratic failure to send over a report to the Sheriffs Department that caused there not to be an investigation by the sheriff," Foley said.

She said she thinks the chances of such a reporting failure happening again are "a lot less," and her main concern was the "victims were compensated and the perpetrator held to account."

Calls to the Orange County Social Services Agency were not returned.

The only vote against the settlement came from board Chairman Don Wagner. He did not respond to a call or email requesting comment, but he told the Register he felt that the argument that the county had done something wrong that justified paying such a large settlement was very weak."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Sonko

Ousmane Sonko, a leading opposition figure in Senegal, has been charged with new offences and his party dissolved.

The interior minister said Mr Sonko and his Pastef party had been calling for insurrection. The firebrand opposition leader is in custody.

His supporters believe all charges against him are politically motivated - to prevent him from standing in next year's elections, which the authorities have denied.

In June, he was at the centre of a controversial rape trial which saw him sentenced to two years in prison for "corrupting youth", meaning he was found to have acted immorally towards an individual younger than 21, after allegations made by a massage therapist. He was, however, acquitted of rape and making death threats.

That sentencing sparked violent protests in one of Africa's most stable nations which left at least 16 people dead and hundreds injured, according to officials.

However, he wasn't taken to prison but remained under house arrest, until Friday when he was arrested.

In order to forestall a repeat of such protests, Senegal has restricted access to the internet, as it did in June.

Who is Ousmane Sonko?

Despite the controversial rape trial, he is hugely popular among young Senegalese people who demand change amid a backdrop of economic hardship. His critics, however, accuse his movement of being a populist surge stoking division and tension.

Some say the 48-year-old tax inspector-turned-whistleblower is so popular because he has been electrifying young people with a slick social media campaign, which he uses to rip into Senegalese elites and whip up nationalist sentiment.

Using his youthful charm and digital connection with the youth, Mr Sonko drums up support by posing as a generational shift from Senegal's old political order.

A public law graduate, he rose from being dismissed as a tax inspector for speaking publicly about alleged tax evasion to become a member of the National Assembly, and then last year mayor of the southern city of Ziguinchor.

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In and out of court since 2021, not much has been achieved during his tenure as mayor, but his supporters say he gives them hope and is an anti-corruption figurehead.

"He's anti-system," says step-dancer Pape Samba Ndour, a staunch supporter of Mr Sonko. "The system we got has been here since 1960. We want a new image of Senegal. He's against corruption."Mr Sonko was the youngest candidate in the country's 2019 presidential election where he came third with about 16% of the vote. His fiery campaign speeches denouncing the government resonated favourably with many young Senegalese - and the country has a large youth population, with the average age in the country being 19, according to a government report.

Mr Sonko's supporters fear his conviction could bar him from running in elections next year

The Patriots of Senegal (Pastef), the party he formed in 2014, has also gained political momentum.

Many young Senegalese frustrated by economic and social inequalities see the party as a viable alternative, in a country where nearly four in 10 live below the poverty line and about 22% of working age people are without a job.

"President Macky Sall didn't factor them [youths] into his political decisions," former Prime Minister Aminata Toure, a former close ally of Mr Sall but now one of his harshest critics, tells the BBC.

So Mr Sonko's promise to create jobs and grow the economy, which the World Bank says slowed down last year, has attracted followers.

But his detractors say he is a rabble-rouser who uses populism to win public sympathy.

Women's right groups also condemned Mr Sonko for making derogatory comments about the woman he was accused of raping during his trial, comparing her to a "monkey" who had had a stroke.

Others highlight his inflammatory language, such as in 2018, when he said that "those who have ruled Senegal deserve to be shot".

More recently, they say the rhetoric of his Pastef party, which called on citizens to "stop all activity and take to the streets" after he was sentenced, encouraged protests. He denies this.

French resentment

His criticism of Senegal elites' cosy relationship with France, the country's former colonial power, also strikes a chord among supporters.

France has been a target of embittered African complaints and criticism, especially among progressive French-speaking West African commentators and urban youths.

Although China overtook it in 2019, France is historically Senegal's largest source of foreign investment. Many French businesses such as supermarkets, petrol stations, mobile phone shops and other firms operate in Senegal, which some believe is harming the interests of local business owners.

It is common to see French-owned businesses being targeted during deadly protests like the ones last month. The slogan "France Degage" (France Out) is also popular during demonstrations.

Recent protests following Mr Sonko's initial arrest turned violent

Before now a taboo subject in Senegal, Mr Sonko's call for a "responsible and intelligent" exit from the CFA franc - the regional currency used by 14 African countries and pegged to the euro under a French government guarantee - has increased his popularity.

While supporters say the CFA guarantees financial stability, critics say it is a way for France to continue to exercise control over the countries which use it.

For one, Mr Ndour, 27, supports Mr Sonko because he "is against" giving all of Senegal's resources to France.

Mr Sonko says he has "nothing against France, or against any other country".

But the centuries-old links between Senegal and France are "based on relations that are not completely rosy for Senegal", he told state-owned France Medias Monde.

Election in the balance

Pastef won 56 of Senegal's 165 parliamentary seats in the 2022 National Assembly election after forming an alliance with four other parties.

This achievement has emboldened Mr Sonko and led his supporters to believe he have a good shot at the presidency.

But Mr Sonko's name may be missing on the ballot in next February's polls because his conviction appears to threaten his eligibility, according to Senegal's electoral code. However he can ask for retrial.

But now that he faces trial on different charges, that looks more difficult.

For his supporters, this brings flashbacks of the convictions that barred two strong opposition candidates ahead of the 2019 presidential election.

Both Karim Wade, the son of former President Abdoulaye Wade, and Khalifa Sall, a former mayor of Dakar who is not related to President Sall, were jailed for graft and corruption in 2015 and 2018, respectively.

Critics say the government is using the judiciary to hound the opposition.

The government retorts that there is a separation of powers and accuses the opposition of stoking chaos.

Mr Ndour, who has been organising demonstrations online, hopes Mr Sonko and every other potential candidate are not barred from running for the presidency.

Much of the anger over Mr Sonko's arrest was fuelled by speculation that President Sall could run for a third term, which they argued was unconstitutional. He has since announced that he will not, which Mr Sonko's supporters see as victory.

However, that victory would feel empty if their man's name is also missing from the ballot paper.

Additional reporting by Hamet Fall Diagne and Gaius Kowene.
Security personnel examine the site of a bomb blast in Bajaur district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on July 31, 2023.

"Doomsday scenes" unfolded in Pakistan after a suicide bomber targeted a political rally, killing at least 45 people, an eyewitness has told the BBC.

People screamed for help as rescuers rushed to the scene in the north-west Bajaur district on Sunday, rally organiser Imran Mahir said.

The attack targeted the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), a party that is part of the government coalition.

"A person standing next to me died. Another was injured," Mr Mahir said.

"It was a big sound. I initially thought there was a problem with the generator or the sound system. My ears have been ringing and hurting. My head is still hurting."

The local branch of the Islamic State (IS) group in Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the bombing.

The group, who go by the name Islamic State Khorasan (ISKP), said the attack was part of an "ongoing war against democracy".

ISKP has targeted officials of the political party at least four times since 2017, as it opposes JUI-F's support for democracy in Pakistan.

ISKP has also claimed responsibility for several other attacks this year in Bajaur targeting JUI-F. In June, it said they were behind the assassination of a party official in the village of Inayat Killi.

Hundreds had turned up for the rally, which was an opportunity for the Islamist JUI-F to rally its support ahead of an election expected to take place later this year.

Mr Mahir, who was seated on the stage when the bomb was detonated, described how the explosion unleashed flames and pellets on the crowd that gathered in the town of Khar, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.

"I saw the injured and dead around me. It was very bad situation - it was like doomsday. Soon after the blast there was a panic, it was chaos, people running everywhere," he said.

"I don't know why I wasn't injured, it was my luck, my time wasn't over yet. There was a man in his 80s far away from the explosion but he passed," he said.

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Officials have warned the death toll may rise further, as 15 people are in critical condition.

A regional leader of the JUI-F, Maulana Ziaullah, was among the fatalities, local officials told the BBC.

"We never thought it would happen to political workers or students and they would do such a big explosion. It was not in our mind, we weren't even thinking of it," Mr Mahir said.

He said he had been to seven burials overnight.

Mr Mahir said however, that morale within the JUI-F ranks remains "strong and high", adding, "We are not going to stop contesting seats, we will carry on. We will face the future".

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned those responsible as being terrorists who have "targeted those who speak for Islam, the Quran and Pakistan" and said they would face "real punishment".

The Pakistani Taliban (TTP) has condemned the attack and denied any involvement.

In recent years attacks the TTP and other militant groups have been on the rise again in north-west Pakistan after the Afghan Taliban gained power in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021. The TTP resumed attacks after ending a ceasefire last November.
Pakistan's government has vowed to hunt down those responsible for massive suicide bombing on Sunday that killed at least 54 people. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which targeted an election rally for a pro-Taliban cleric and left over 200 more people wounded.

Police in Bajur, a district in the northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan, said their initial investigation suggested the regional ISIS affiliate could be responsible.

The rally was organized by Pakistan's Jamiat Ulema Islam party, headed by hardline cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman. Rehman, who as not at the event, has long been a vocal supporter of Afghanistan's Taliban government. He escaped two separate bomb attacks at previous rallies in 2011 and 2014.

ISIS-K is trying to undermine the Taliban. It's America's problem, too.

Victims of the attack were buried Monday in Bajur.

Boys weep over the death of a family member at a funeral a day after bomb blast in the Bajur district of Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province targeted a political rally, July 31, 2023. / Credit: ABDUL MAJEED/AFP/Getty

At least 1,000 people had gathered under a large tent Sunday as their party prepared for parliamentary elections which are expected later this fall.

"People were chanting God is Great on the arrival of senior leaders, when I heard the deafening sound of the bomb," local resident Khan Mohammad, who said he had been standing outside the tent, told The Associated Press.

Abdul Rasheed, a senior leader in Jamiat Ulema Islam party, called the bombing an attempt to weaken the political movement, but he vowed that such violence would not "deter our resolve."

A member of the security forces stands guard next to the site of a bomb blast in the Bajar district of Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, July 31, 2023. / Credit: ABDUL MAJEED/AFP/Getty

Pakistan's northern tribal areas have long been a haven for Islamic extremist groups. The Bajur district was formerly a base for al Qaeda and a stronghold of the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.

The regional ISIS affiliate, known as the ISIS-Khorasan or ISIS-K, is based in neighboring Afghanistan's Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban and al Qaeda.

Pakistani security analyst Mahmood Shah told the AP that breakaway TTP factions could also have been behind the weekend attack, to cause "confusion, instability and unrest ahead of the elections."

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The bombing drew nationwide condemnation, with both ruling and opposition parties offering condolences to the families of the victims.

The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad also condemned the attack.

Sunday's bombing was one of the worst attacks to hit northwest Pakistan since 2014, when 147 people, most of them school students, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in the city of Peshawar.



In January, a bomb blast tore through a mosque in Peshawar killing at least 74 people, and the next month more than 100 people, mostly police, were killed in a bombing at a mosque inside a police compound in the same city.

U.S. to face Portugal at Women's World Cup group-stage finale

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Residents were evacuated from a California neighborhood after suspicious packages rained down via a parachute, authorities said. But there was a harmless explanation.

The San Dimas Sheriffs department posted photos of the colorful parachute with two packages attached to Facebook on July 28.

Deputies evacuated nearby residents while a bomb squad investigated, authorities said.

They discovered the packages were a science project only, the post says. Residents were allowed to return to their homes.

Officials shared photos of the project showing a foam box with what appears to be sealed test tubes inside.

San Dimas is about 30 miles east of Los Angeles.

Police blow up mysterious cooler that fell from the sky. It was a science experiment

You cant shoot down a Chinese spy balloon  and its unsafe to try, US officials warn

Archaeologists near Roman site stumble on more recent  and explosive  find in Spain
Credit: Emily Albracht/The Texas Tribune

In November 2008, almost 70 million people turned out to vote for the nations first Black president and their hope for once-in-a-generation political change.

Barack Obama, a young, former community organizer, promised hed help more people afford health care, stop the pollution of the planet, expand pathways to legal citizenship and help families dig their way out of the worst recession in decades.

With congressional majorities at his back, it seemed Republicans in D.C. would be hard-pressed to stop Obama's liberal juggernaut. But 1,500 miles away, a group of conservative attorneys were loading the canons and pointing them north.

Over the previous eight years, the Texas Office of the Attorney General had transformed from a Democrat-led bureaucratic workhorse into a Republican war machine, peppering the federal courts with conservative cases and friend-of-the-court filings. Now, Greg Abbott, a man elected by 2.5 million people to be the top lawyer for one of fifty states, stepped up to do what his fellow conservatives in Washington could not: stop, or at least slow, Obamas agenda.

During the Obama administration, Abbott's office, and especially its elite appellate unit, the Office of the Solicitor General, became a government in exile, a refuge for the Republican partys brightest minds. Top-tier conservative attorneys came to Texas for the chance to gain courtroom experience, burnish their bonafides and strengthen their commitment to the cause.

They had plenty of opportunities. Under Abbott, Texas brought more than 30 lawsuits against the Obama administration in six years, including an average of one suit a month in 2010. Texas used the federal courts to try to stop the federal expansion of government subsidized health care; block protections for young people who entered the country illegally with their parents; guard businesses against environmental regulations intended to stave off climate change; and even extend the fishing season by two weeks.

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Texas emerged as an almost co-equal party to the federal government, casting itself as the defender of state sovereignty, federalism and the U.S. Constitution, and quietly helping push the nations legal apparatus to the right.

Abbott defined his role quite simply: I go into the office, I sue the federal government, and then I go home.

Reformation takes root

Several forces aligned to allow Texas to punch above its constitutional weight during the Obama administration.

In the previous decade, state attorneys general had taken a more proactive stance in the federal courts, banding together to pursue consumer protection and environmental regulation cases. Many states, including Texas, built solicitor general offices to improve their performance before appellate courts, and even bring cases to the U.S. Supreme Court.

This accelerated after a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Massachusetts v. EPA, granted states special solicitude to bring lawsuits against the federal government, effectively lowering the bar for states to get into court. The rulings true meaning has been hotly debated since, but Texas took it as pre-clearance to file more, and more ambitious, cases.

"The AGs have really latched onto that, said Paul Nolette, a Marquette University political scientist. Theyve really expanded their ability to be, in some ways, unlike any other plaintiff. Its just a lot easier to get into court for them.

Other conservative states got in on the action, but Texas led the way, throwing its considerable resources into assembling multi-state lawsuits challenging anything the Obama administration put forth.

Texas is the undisputed champion amongst conservative state litigators, Nolette said. Just in terms of sheer quantity of single-state cases and leading multi-state cases against Democratic administrations.

Texas also started asking judges to issue nationwide injunctions, until then a rarely used tool that allows federal judges to extend their rulings to the whole country.

When Obama tried to protect undocumented parents of lawful citizens from deportation, Texas gathered a coalition of states to challenge the executive action. A federal judge in Brownsville determined only Texas had standing to sue  but agreed to issue a temporary injunction covering the whole country, effectively allowing one states objections to dictate policy for the nation.

It was a new strategy, where one judge, in one random part of the state, all of a sudden has the power to basically bring entire federal programs to a halt, said Stephen Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin. The state of Texas was one of the first litigants to repeatedly push for this kind of relief.

As the states legal tactics evolved, so did the intellectual underpinnings of their arguments. These cases werent about liberal or conservative politics, the argument went, but about returning to the original separation of powers laid out in the U.S. Constitution.

Obama was overstepping his executive authority, Texas argued, sidelining Congress and, most crucially, squashing states rights.

If I have to, I will use one challenge after another to dismantle governmental operations that I consider violations of the Constitution, Abbott told Texas Monthly in 2013. Ive had one overarching goal, and that is a strict interpretation and application of the laws and the Constitution.

Abbott did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Texas most common target was the Environmental Protection Agency and Obama's efforts to address climate change, which were viewed as a threat to the oil, gas and chemical industries that fuel the Texas economy.

In 2010, Texas sued to overturn an agency finding that greenhouse gasses were impacting public health, and then sued to block the rules intended to rein in those emissions, claiming the agency had not followed proper rulemaking procedure. When the EPA said Texas environmental protection plans didnt meet federal standards, Texas sued, and when the EPA took over Texas programs, Texas sued.

Then-President Barack Obama speaks to a crowd of 3,000 students and faculty at the University of Texas at Austin on Aug. 8, 2010. Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune

Texas pushed this legal strategy on cases big  the Affordable Care Act  and small. When a federal judge in Texas ordered the National Marine Fisheries Service to restore two weeks of red snapper season, Abbott touted the victory as a big win for Texas fishermen, jobs along the Gulf Coast and  most importantly  the rule of law.

Texans will not stand by idly while federal bureaucrats attempt to govern by illegal emergency rule  we will fight back and we will prevail, he wrote in a press release.

While it was easier than ever to get into the courtroom, many federal judges had not yet traveled as far down the ideological road as Texas. Abbotts defeats seemed to fuel his fervor as much as the wins.

Its about principles  fundamental principles enshrined in the Constitution, Abbott wrote in an op-ed defending the cost of his lawsuits. Defending the constitutional principles that have made the United States truly exceptional: Thats priceless.

And when he lost at the district court level, Abbott had a crack team on hand in the Office of Solicitor General to handle the appeals.

True believers

Ted Cruz, who would ride Texas Obama outrage to a U.S. Senate seat in 2012, laid the foundation for the solicitor generals office as a legal champion of conservative causes. His successors continued to build the edifice, returning to the circuit courts and the Supreme Court again and again to defend Abbotts multiplying forays into federal territory.

James Ho, regarded at the time as one of the best appellate lawyers in the state (and the country for that matter), became solicitor general in April 2008, a little less than a decade after the office was created.

By the time I inherited the office, the Texas Solicitor Generals office had cemented itself as the states appellate chief, with the same power that the U.S. Solicitor General has at the federal level, Ho told the Texas Tribune. No one in the AGs office could either pursue or defend an appeal without the express advance permission of the SGs office.

Ho, who was later appointed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals under former President Donald Trump, helped turn the office into a legal heavyweight. In 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court asked Texas to submit a brief in a lawsuit the state wasnt directly involved in, a sign of respect usually reserved for the U.S. Solicitor Generals office.

There was a saying when I was there, which is, when in doubt, do what the U.S. Solicitor Generals office does, Ho said. That tells you the spirit of the office, we wanted to be the premiere appellate speciality office for the state of Texas, to make sure our clients legal rights were well-represented.

Many of Texas high-profile challenges didnt make it to the appeals stage until after Ho returned to private practice in December 2010. He left the office in the hands of a law school classmate with a similarly purebred conservative resume.

Like Ho, Jonathan Mitchell, and his deputy, Andrew Oldham, each clerked for conservative Supreme Court justices  Antonin Scalia for Mitchell, Samuel Alito for Oldham. All three men worked under Republican presidents at the elite coterie that is the Department of Justices Office of Legal Counsel.

From there, Mitchell had gone into academia, teaching law at George Mason University Law School, later renamed for Scalia. Today, Mitchell is best known for designing the novel legal theory that allowed Texas to sidestep Roe v. Wade and ban abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. The law, which has survived several legal challenges, is enforced entirely through private lawsuits.

I thought it would be an opportunity to work on some interesting cases, and an opportunity to get Supreme Court arguments, which are really, really hard to get if youre not a state solicitor general, Mitchell told The Texas Tribune.

Mitchell noted that the office handled a wide range of cases, including defending the University of Texas at Austins affirmative action policy. But by the time he took over, Texas had made a name for itself as a conservative legal force, led by Abbott  a true believer in federalism.

I dont think it was just because it was Obama and Obamas policies, Mitchell said. He really believed that things had gotten out of kilter between the federal government and the states, and he wanted to restore a balance that more closely resembled what the framers envisioned.

Attorney Jonathan Mitchell speaks before the Texas Supreme Court on Oct. 28, 2021. Credit: Supreme Court of Texas YouTube channel

As his deputy, Mitchell hired Oldham, today a judge on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition to clerking at the U.S. Supreme Court, Oldham was a Sentelletubbie  a former clerk of Judge David Sentelle on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The D.C. Circuit is unique in that it mostly handles cases related to the federal agencies that regulate daily life, like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Its a place where, if you have ideas about the size, nature and scope of the administrative state  It's really an opportunity for those ideas to be tested, said Enrique Armijo, a law professor at Wake Forest University who clerked at the same time as Oldham. I myself got more sympathetic to the idea that there is a reason these agencies exist and theres a reason Congress created them.

But not everyone had the same takeaway. Working for Sentelle, a deeply conservative Reagan appointee, Oldham began to develop the anti-regulatory ideas he would eventually bring to bear on Texas.

Over the past century, as the world became more complicated and Congress more deadlocked, these executive branch agencies grew in number and power, and presidents of both parties increasingly turned to administrative regulation to enact aspects of their agendas.

But during the Obama administration, Texas appointed itself top administrative regulation cop, setting up roadblocks to prevent the EPA from tackling climate change, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from helping former felons get hired and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from requiring contraception be covered on health insurance plans.

In lawsuit after lawsuit, Texas argued the Obama administration hadnt followed the correct rulemaking procedure, new regulations were arbitrary and capricious, or they didnt fully take into account the economic impact on the states. Obama was violating the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution, using these agencies to legislate without Congressional oversight, Texas claimed; anything Congress couldnt handle should be left to the states.

The alphabet soup of administrative agencies that dominate modern American life, Oldham said at a 2016 Federalist Society event at the University of Chicago, is fundamentally illegitimate.

Andrew Oldham testifies at a confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on April 25, 2018. Credit: Allison Shelley for The Texas Tribune

The reason I argue it is illegitimate is because it is not based in the way the Constitution says law should be made, Oldham said. The entire existence of this edifice of administrative law is constitutionally suspect.

Conservatives have never been overly fond of regulation. But these more extreme arguments challenging the entire construct of administrative law have largely been contained to academia, in part because its not clear what would come after.

There's just no way that Congress has the ability to itself decide what a safe amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is, and then adopt motor vehicle standards that try to get to that place, said Armijo. There's not enough political will to do it. There's not enough political agreement to do it. And there's just not enough bandwidth to do it.

Texas helped drag disputes about the legitimacy of federal agencies out of the ivory tower and into the courts, undermining Obamas agenda by attacking the administrative state. While these legal theories gained ground in Texas, the courts werent quite as convinced.

Then-Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott in 2010. I go into the office, I sue the federal government, and then I go home, he said of his role. Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune

In rejecting several of Texas challenges to new EPA regulations, the D.C. Circuit effectively rolled its eyes at the states claims that the agency hadnt taken the proper steps to prove the need for restrictions on greenhouse gasses.

This is how science works, the opinion, led by Oldhams old boss, Sentelle, read. EPA is not required to re-prove the existence of the atom every time it approaches a scientific question.

The Book of Ken

After three terms as attorney general, Abbott used his record of suing the Obama administration to successfully run for governor in 2014, taking Oldham with him as general counsel. There was no question that his replacement would be a Republican; Democrats hadn't won a statewide office in years.

This time, though, there was no former Texas Supreme Court justice in the running. The all-important Republican primary came down to a runoff between two state legislators  Sen. Ken Paxton and Rep. Dan Branch.

This marked a turning point for the office.

Attorneys general like now-Sen. John Cornyn and Abbott who came up through the judiciary tend to be much more concentrated on issues of law, said Ed Burbach, the former deputy attorney general for civil litigation under Abbott, now an attorney at Foley & Lardner, who advises clients with issues before state attorneys general. But those who came up through the legislative branch tend to be much, much more active with regard to policy issues.

Branch attracted support from mainstream conservative groups and many of Abbotts former deputies, but Paxtons promised fervor for culture war issues secured him the increasingly powerful right-wing of the party.

New Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is administered a ceremonial oath of office by Gov.-elect Greg Abbott in the Senate chamber on Jan. 5, 2015. Credit: Bob Daemmrich

One of Paxton's earliest supporters was Kelly Shackelford, founder of First Liberty Institute, a conservative religious liberty law firm based in Plano. Paxton also got support, albeit not a full endorsement, from state solicitor general-turned-senator Ted Cruz.

In the race for Attorney General, one ad said, theres only one constitutional conservative like Ted Cruz.

Paxton won the runoff and the general, and assumed his seat behind the wheel of the legal machine built by his predecessors. Over the next eight years, he would drive Texas  and the nation  further to the right, faster than ever before.

Paxton continued much of Abbotts agenda  suing the EPA over Obamas environmental agenda; the Food and Drug Administration over execution drugs; and the Department of Labor over its efforts to require overtime pay for low-wage workers.

But for his more right-wing base, Paxtons election came at a crucial moment: Less than a year later, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right to same-sex marriage, galvanizing conservative Christians nationwide.

Religious liberty, once on the fringes of the conservative legal movement, moved to the center of the conversation, as Christian groups took to the courts to claim that everything from requiring a baker to sell a wedding cake to a gay couple to allowing cities to turn away foster agencies that wouldn't place children with same-sex couples violated their sincerely held beliefs.

These groups found an ally in the Texas Office of the Attorney General, where Paxton used taxpayer dollars to build out his own team of lawyers to carry the religious liberty banner.

While Abbott had collaborated with First Liberty on certain cases, Paxton created a revolving door between Shackelfords firm and the Office of the Attorney General.

Despite criticism, he hired First Liberty chief legal officer Jeff Mateer as first assistant attorney general. Former Solicitor General Ho, by then one of First Libertys most active volunteers, jumped to Mateers defense, calling him an exceptional legal talent and a zealous and powerful advocate for his clients.

It would later come out that Mateer, in 2015, gave a speech in which he called transgender children part of Satans plan and the legalization of same-sex marriage disgusting. Ho has said he was not aware of those comments at the time.

Hiram Sasser, First Libertys general counsel, became Paxtons temporary chief of staff, and other lawyers from First Liberty and the Alliance Defending Freedom, a similarly aligned law firm, filled out the offices top ranks.

First Liberty declined to make Mateer or Sasser available for an interview. In a statement, Sasser said the firm works with lots of government lawyers from state and federal offices across the country, including the Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations to protect religious liberty and value those partnerships when we can forge them for specific projects.

But this close-knit relationship meant Texas stood ready to swat down any efforts to shore up protections for LGBTQ+ people  like May 2016 guidance that said schools must allow students to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity.

Paxton followed the Abbott playbook, assembling a coalition of red states interested in challenging the guidance. But his office went a step further to orchestrate a lawsuit, drafting a bathroom policy that was at odds with the guidance and shopping it around to school districts.

Once a school district voted to adopt the policy, Paxton would have the lead plaintiff he needed to get this case in front of a judge.

But not just any judge.

Power of the gavel

All 105 students in Harrold Independent School District attend class in one building. In 2016, when Paxtons office came knocking, no one could remember the district ever having a transgender student. Nonetheless, this tiny district near the Oklahoma border became the face of a 13-state lawsuit challenging the bathroom guidance.

This wasnt a random selection. By enlisting Harrold ISD as the main plaintiff, Paxton could file the lawsuit in Wichita Falls, where he could virtually guarantee it would be heard by a conservative judge.

Under Paxton, the Office of the Attorney General began exploiting a quirk of Texas federal judicial structure, where large swaths of the state are overseen by just one federal judge. Between 2015 and 2018, almost half of Texas lawsuits against the federal government were filed in Wichita Falls and heard by Judge Reed OConnor, a former Cornyn aide and longtime Federalist Society member appointed to the federal bench by Bush in 2007.

OConnor delivered Paxtons office several big wins, including a later-overturned repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and served as a timely object lesson in the importance of having someone who agrees with your legal philosophy on the bench.

This lesson was not lost on two former occupants of Paxtons office who were well-placed to do something about it. After their stints at the attorney generals office, Cornyn and Cruz had ascended to the U.S. Senate, and, specifically, the Senate Judiciary Committee, where they wielded great influence over Texas lifetime appointments to the federal bench.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn at a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to confirm five nominees to fill vacancies on federal courts in Texas, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 7, 2016. Credit: Allison Shelley

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz speaks during a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to confirm five nominees to fill vacancies on federal courts in Texas, on Capitol Hill in Washington on September 7, 2016. Credit: Allison Shelley

In 2013, the senators created the Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee to help vet potential judicial nominees. The committee included Ho and his wife, Allyson, First Libertys Shackelford, as well as former Texas Supreme Court justices, federal judges and other high-powered attorneys.

But few judges were appointed in Texas, due to a lack of urgency from the Obama administration and counterparty intransigence from Cornyn and Cruz.

By the end of the Obama administration, Texas had 11 district court vacancies out of 52 total seats, all of which were classified as emergencies by the Department of Justice, and two vacancies on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Though Texas saw some progress on judicial nominations towards the end of the Obama administration, the majority of the spots remained open, leaving the door open for a Republican president to help usher in more ideologically aligned choices.

In the meantime, though, Texas still had OConnor, who in 2016 heard the 13-state lawsuit about Harrold ISDs bathroom policy.

In court, Austin Nimocks, an assistant attorney general who previously worked for the Alliance Defending Freedom, said the case wasnt about trans kids. It was about defending the Constitution.

[Part 3: Under Trump, Texas foot soldiers became federal judges, securing a conservative stronghold in the courts]

The Obama administrations guidance was legislative in nature, Nimocks said, and was usurping the authority of school districts by forcing them to mix the sexes in intimate areas.

OConnor granted a temporary nationwide injunction, blocking the guidance from going into effect anywhere in the country.

The Department of Justice appealed to the 5th Circuit, but in the end, it didnt matter. Just a few months later, Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump greets supporters during his election night rally in Manhattan on Nov. 9, 2016. Credit: REUTERS/Mike Segar

[Part 3: Under Trump, Texas foot soldiers became federal judges, securing a conservative stronghold in the courts]

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Clarification, Aug. 8, 2023 at 8:28 a.m. : In a previous version of this article, Ed Burbach was identified as a former assistant attorney general. Burbach was the former deputy attorney general for civil litigation.
Credit: Emily Albracht/The Texas Tribune

For decades, an increasingly powerful movement of conservative lawyers, born from the Texas Office of the Attorney General, had been shouldering its way into the federal judiciary, filing lawsuit after lawsuit in an attempt to slowly reshape the nations jurisprudence to its liking.

The election of President Donald Trump swung the doors wide open and ushered them inside.

Trump entered office with more judicial vacancies than almost any president in U.S. history, and a resolute commitment to fill those openings with conservative loyalists. Texas, the workhorse of the movement, was rewarded especially richly, with more new federal district and appellate judges appointed than any other state.

Many of these new appointees shared a strikingly similar professional background.

The number of alums from the [Texas Office of the Solicitor General] who now wear robes on a daily basis, and not just because they have curious sartorial decisions, is an amazing and impressive thing, said Sen. Ted Cruz, a former Texas solicitor general himself, at a Federalist Society event in 2019.

The progeny of Texas conservative legal revolution no longer just bring their legal theories before the federal bench. Now theyre sitting on it, ready to decide cases built on the same legal arguments they helped shape over the last two decades.

Theyre young, theyre smart, theyre principled, theyre constitutionalists, Cruz said. That is an incredible legacy, and its a legacy Texas is going to be benefitting from 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, 40 years from now.

Transforming the district courts

When President Barack Obama left office, about half of Texas 52 federal judgeships were filled by Republican appointees, about a third were Democratic appointees and a full 20% were vacant, having languished under a Democratic president who didnt prioritize judicial nominees and two Republican Texas senators who did.

After Trump was elected, those roadblocks swiftly resolved. Politically aligned with the president, Cruz and Sen. John Cornyn basically had free rein to nominate district judges. In 2013, Democrats eliminated the 60-vote requirement for judicial appointments, so with a Republican majority in the Senate, Cruz and Cornyn didnt have to worry too much about finding consensus picks.

Story continues

After years of helping Texas bring conservative causes to the courts, the senators had an opportunity to influence who would hear those cases going forward. And they took it, nominating a class of young, conservative judges, many of whom had helped build the litigation machine at the Texas attorney generals office.

Brantley Starr, who worked under Cruz in the solicitor generals office and side by side with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, was appointed as a district judge in Dallas. David Morales, one of Abbotts top deputies at the attorney generals office and former general counsel to Gov. Rick Perry, was appointed in Corpus Christi.

Former Deputy Solicitor General Sean Jordan was appointed in Plano, and then attended the swearing-in for J. Campbell Barker, who joined the bench in Tyler.

We both held the same position in the solicitor generals office, Jordan said at the ceremony. He joked, That means we have a secret handshake. We have special code words that we use and, of course, our matching tattoos.

When Senate Republicans vetted judicial nominees, experience at the Texas attorney generals office was a green flag, said Mike Davis, former chief counsel for nominations to Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican.

Its seen as very conservative, Davis said. They have very, very prestigious attorneys working in the Texas AGs office.  Theyve been able to recruit top talent from around the country.

The nominees from that office fit the partys ideal of young, constitutionalist judges who had courage, Davis said.

Texas nominees, whether they worked in the AGs office or not, tended to come from the same mold: Active in the Federalist Society, avowed conservatives and strong on religious liberty. In a move that would have been doomed in nomination seasons past, Cruz and Cornyn put forward two candidates from First Liberty, a Plano law firm that has been the tip of the spear in efforts to strike down federal and state laws seen as encroaching on religious liberty.

The nomination of Jeff Mateer, who left First Liberty to work for Paxton, was scrapped after it came out that he once referred to transgender children as part of Satans plan. But deputy general counsel Matthew Kacsmaryk made it through, becoming the first federal judge appointed directly to the bench from a religious liberty firm.

And Kacmsaryk wasnt appointed to any old seat: He secured one of the all-important single-judge divisions, in Amarillo.

In the final years of the Obama administration, Texas had begun strategically filing lawsuits in divisions where it was all but guaranteed the case would be heard by a conservative judge. At the time, there was one solid option  Judge Reed OConnor, who heard most cases in Wichita Falls and Fort Worth.

But Trump appointed judges in seven single-judge divisions in Texas, hugely expanding the number of venues where Paxton could effectively handpick the judge who would hear a case. Since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, Texas has targeted these divisions, especially Kacsmaryk, OConnor and Judge Drew Tipton of Victoria.

When Paxton sued over a new asylum program for certain migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, the Department of Justice questioned why this 20-state lawsuit was filed in Tiptons courtroom.

The case is being filed in Victoria, quite frankly, Your Honor, because of our experience with you, Texas Assistant Attorney General Leif Olson told the judge. Because we know that you know these statutes. We know that you give them very close and detailed attention. And our office knows how you run a courtroom.

Its not just the state thats drawn to these judges. Jonathan Mitchell, Abbotts former solicitor general, is now a solo practitioner who has sought out friendly single-judge divisions for lawsuits advancing brazen legal arguments.

Kacmsaryk agreed with Mitchell that a long-standing federal contraception program violated the rights of Texas parents, foreclosing one of the few ways Texas teens can confidentially access birth control. OConnor took another stab at gutting the Affordable Care Act, thanks to Mitchells lawsuit challenging the preventive care mandate on religious grounds. And Mitchell asked Judge Wesley Hendrix, the only active federal district judge in Lubbock, to take on affirmative action in Texas medical schools.

Its absolutely easier now than it was 20 years ago, Mitchell told The Texas Tribune. Its also easier for Democratic states. They can go to the Northern District of California, where you have 22 judges appointed by Democratic presidents. They know where to go to sue over Trump policies. We know where to go to sue over a Democratic administration policy.

When the Alliance Defending Freedom, a religious liberty law firm, wanted to challenge the Food and Drug Administrations decades-old approval of mifepristone, a common abortion-inducing drug, it brought the case to Kacsmaryk. He agreed with the firm, his ruling embracing a dim view of the federal regulatory machinery Texas has spent years attacking in court.

The Court does not second-guess FDAs decision-making lightly, Kacsmaryk wrote in the ruling. But here, FDA acquiesced on its legitimate safety concerns  in violation of its statutory duty  based on plainly unsound reasoning and studies that did not support its conclusions.

Changes to the Fifth Circuit

The U.S. Department of Justice immediately appealed Kacsmaryks mifepristone ruling. Most appeals originating in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi go to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where they are heard by three-member panels drawn from 17 judges.

Kyle Duncan appears before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Nov. 29, 2017. Credit: U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee video screenshot

The 5th Circuit, already one of the most conservative appeals courts in the country, also moved dramatically to the right during the Trump administration, thanks in large part to former employees of the Texas Office of the Solicitor General.

Kyle Duncan, who helped start the Office of the Solicitor General with Cornyn in 1999, was nominated for one of the Louisiana spots, based on his work as that states appellate chief. Duncan also served as general counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, where he represented Hobby Lobby in its landmark U.S. Supreme Court case challenging, on religious liberty grounds, the requirement to provide insurance coverage for contraception.

There were three spots on the 5th Circuit for Texans during the Trump presidency  two open since at least 2013  and picking who would fill them was hotly contested. Many court-watchers assumed Cornyn would elevate his former aide, OConnor, the reliable conservative judge in Wichita Falls. Cruz was rumored to be pushing former Texas Solicitor General James Ho.

After leaving the solicitor generals office, Ho had returned to private practice and a side gig as one of First Libertys most active volunteer attorneys, including defending a group of cheerleaders who wanted to paint Bible verses on game banners.

Former Assistant Attorney General Don Willett was seen as another top contender, especially after Trump included the Texas Supreme Court justice on his short list for the U.S. Supreme Court.

In an unusual move, Abbott also waded into the mix, pushing for his general counsel and former deputy solicitor general, Andrew Oldham. Abbott, Cruz and Cornyn did not respond to requests for comment.

More potential nominees than vacancies temporarily ensnared the process. But in the end, OConnor, the only one already on the federal bench, was left out in the cold. Ho, Willett and Oldham ascended to the appeals court on the strength of their conservative bona fides, burnished while working for the state of Texas.

In an interview with the Tribune, Ho said it made sense that former solicitors general would end up serving on the appellate bench.

If you hire appellate specialists to represent you in appellate courts, it makes sense why that could become one of the pools from which you might draw future appellate judges, Ho said, pointing to Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, who previously served as Obamas solicitor general. Its no different than any other field  tax lawyers are typically hired to run the DOJ tax division, securities lawyers are appointed to the SEC and appellate lawyers are considered for seats on appellate courts.

The new appointees shifted the balance on the court significantly. Most appeals are heard by random three-judge panels. There is now a greater chance of getting a 5th Circuit panel with two Trump appointees than two judges appointed by any Democratic president.

Texas judges James Ho, left, and Don Willett are sworn in during a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to confirm them to the 5th Circuit Court, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Nov. 15, 2017. Credit: Allison Shelley for the Texas Tribune

These judges arent going to rubber-stamp cases just because they come from the Texas attorney generals office, said Josh Blackman, a law professor at South Texas College of Law Houston.

But the sorts of judges that Trump appointed, they  share an understanding of cases the AG brought, how the separation of powers operates, how the courts should operate, he said. These are judges who understand these legal principles.

The new 5th Circuit judges immediately began to deliver on the reputations that secured them their jobs, issuing more partisan, combative rulings than even the conservatives they joined on the bench. Ho has taken hard-line positions on gun rights, campaign finance and abortion. He was part of the three-judge panel that heard arguments about Mississippis 15-week abortion ban, and though he agreed it was unconstitutional under Roe v. Wade, he wrote a separate concurring opinion casting doubt on whether Roe was properly decided. The U.S. Supreme Court would later use the case to overturn the constitutional protection for abortion.

In a ruling denying a transgender inmates request to have their gender and name changed on court and prison records, Judge Kyle Duncan repeatedly misgendered the plaintiff, claiming that using the proper pronouns might unintentionally convey [the courts] tacit approval of the litigants underlying position.

In February 2022, Oldham and Bush-appointed Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod ruled in favor of United Airlines employees who did not want to get COVID-19 vaccines on religious grounds, ordering a lower court to reconsider granting an injunction. Judge Jerry Smith, a Reagan appointee for whom Ho once clerked, issued a scathing dissent, calling the ruling an orgy of jurisprudential violence.

Andrew S. Oldham testifies as the Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing to confirm him as United States circuit judge for the 5th Circuit, on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 25, 2018. Credit: Allison Shelley for the Texas Tribune

If I ever wrote an opinion authorizing preliminary injunctive relief for plaintiffs without a cause of action, without a likelihood of success on the merits  and devoid of irreparable injury  all while inventing and distorting facts to suit my incoherent reasoning, I would hide my head in a bag, Smith wrote.

The Good Ship Fifth Circuit is afire, Smith wrote in a footnote. We need all hands on deck.

"Our soldiers are lawyers"

During the Trump administration, while Republicans in Washington, D.C., were focused on judicial appointments, blue states stepped into Texas shoes as challengers-in-chief. Trump faced more than twice as many state-led lawsuits in four years as Obama did in eight. The suits followed a familiar playbook  multistate coalitions, filing in courthouses with good odds of getting an ideologically aligned judge, seeking nationwide injunctions.

Republicans, displeased to see this strategy used against them, returned to their clarion calls of judicial activism.

This trend must stop. We have a government to run, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions wrote in a September 2018 memo condemning nationwide injunctions. The Constitution does not grant to a single district judge the power to veto executive branch actions with respect to parties not before the court.

Cruz, who set the stage for this approach in Texas, was so outraged he wrote a book, Justice Corrupted: How the Left Weaponized Our Legal System, to show how power in the wrong hands can be used to strangle liberty, crush opposition, and wreck lives.

Meanwhile, in Texas, the attorney generals office was descending into turmoil. Paxton, long operating under the shadow of a criminal indictment, faced new accusations of improper favors for a donor. Several top deputies raised concerns, internally and with federal law enforcement; some, including Mateer, resigned, while others were fired and filed a whistleblower suit. (Paxton and the whistleblowers agreed in February to settle the case for $3.3 million, but the settlement is in limbo after the Texas Legislature declined to pay it).

Paxton also used his office to try to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Notably, the petition, which the U.S. Supreme Court rejected, was not signed by Texas Solicitor General Kyle Hawkins. A few weeks later, Hawkins resigned and was replaced by Cruzs former chief counsel, Judd Stone.

Texas Solicitor General Kyle Hawkins leaves the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Oct. 3, 2018. Credit: Cheryl Gerber for The Texas Tribune

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, third from left, walks with Texas Solicitor General Judd Stone II, second from left, and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, right, to a press conference at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on April 26, 2022. Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune

The Texas attorney generals office had long attracted attorneys looking to litigate at the leading edge of conservatism. But this latest round of controversy and turnover left the offices top ranks staffed by harder-line ideologues than ever before. A spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General did not respond to request for comment.

At the dawn of the Biden administration, the Texas Office of the Attorney General considered itself to be at war with the forces that want to destroy the American order, root and branch, as Aaron Reitz, deputy attorney general for legal strategy, said in November 2021.

If you dont believe that were at war, then I think, you know, you need to wake up to that reality, Reitz said on Moment of Truth, a conservative podcast. Here at the Texas attorney generals office ... our soldiers are lawyers, and our weapons are lawsuits, and our tactic is lawfare. This is the project that were engaged in.

On the podcast, Reitz explained how Texas kept winning and winning and winning and winning in court, as Reitz put it. Every time a new Biden policy came down, Texas immediately filed a minimally viable lawsuit to challenge it, prioritizing speed over all else.

You can amend it and make it more perfect later, Reitz said. But you cant let the perfect be the enemy of the good when it comes to the speed here.

Texas was running the same play in each of these cases every single time, Reitz said. The Biden administration is messing around with detention standards, or public health regulations, or migrant protection protocols.  Once you get through that facts section, the legal arguments sections are literally the same every single time.

Over the course of these suits, Texas tested out the new judges. Last year, Barker, Paxtons former deputy solicitor general, rejected Texas challenge to the federal vaccine mandate for National Guard members. Texas hasnt returned to Barkers courtroom since.

But in that case, as in most where Texas nets an unfavorable ruling, the state appealed to the 5th Circuit. A three-judge panel, including Oldham and Willett, sided with Texas.

Even if Texas draws a bad three-judge panel at the 5th Circuit, Reitz said, the state just requests rehearing before the whole court.

And we win there, he said. Were going to win. Its just a matter of when.

Reitz, who did not respond to a request for comment, recently left the Office of the Attorney General to become Cruzs chief of staff, not long before a new earthquake rocked the office. In late May, the Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach Paxton over corruption allegations. He is suspended awaiting a September trial where the Senate will decide whether to remove him from office.

A handful of top agency employees, including Stone, took leaves of absence to defend Paxton. His defense has so far focused less on disputing the corruption claims against him and more on his record of relentlessly suing Democratic administrations on Texas behalf.

By attacking the Office of the Attorney General, corrupted politicians in the Texas House, led by liberal Speaker Dade Phelan, are actively destroying Texas position as the most powerful backstop against the Biden agenda in the entire country, Paxton said in a statement.

But with a well-established playbook to bring cases and conservative judges in place to hear them, the machine seems to be humming along just fine in Paxtons absence. In less than six weeks on the job, interim attorney general John Scott filed legal challenges against new federal smog regulations and protections for transgender student athletes. He was recently replaced by Abbotts former principal deputy general counsel, Angela Colmenero.

It was a well-oiled machine when Paxton took over, and he used it quite effectively, Blackman said. But its less about the personnel operating it at this point.

But while Texas litigation machine has been churning cases through the district and appellate courts, it has hit bumpier terrain at the highest level of the judicial system.

In a recent 8-1 ruling about Bidens reprioritization of deportations, the Supreme Court seemed horrified by what Texas, Tipton and the 5th Circuit had wrought.

Trump-appointed Justice Brett Kavanaugh found Texas did not have standing, meaning the state had not sufficiently proven how Bidens new immigration policies might harm Texas, and thus never should have been allowed to bring this extraordinarily unusual lawsuit.

Standing doctrine helps safeguard the Judiciarys properand properly limitedrole in our constitutional system, Kavanaugh wrote. Citing an earlier court opinion, he noted that by ensuring a plaintiff's standing to sue "federal courts prevent the judicial process from being used to usurp the powers of the political branches.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, along with fellow conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett, concurred on different grounds, saying Texas brought claims the court could not address.

The States urge us to look past these problems, but I do not see how we might, Gorsuch wrote. The Constitution affords federal courts considerable power, but it does not establish government by lawsuit.

Texas' new federal judges have had profound impact on matters of LGBTQ+ rights, immigration, abortion and industrial pollution. Credit: Austin Price, Sophie Park, Shelby Tauber and Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune

If the justices expected their fellow conservative legal warriors to be shamed by the specter of judicial activism, they dont know Texas.

Texas has played a key role in forcing accountability through the court system, the attorney generals office said in a statement after the ruling. Our office will continue to advocate for the rights of our citizens and uphold the Constitution against Bidens open borders onslaught.

In the meantime, Texas managed to delay Bidens immigration priorities for almost two and a half years. Many of the lawsuits Texas is filing right now wont end up before the high court at all, and those that do will take years to resolve.

By that time, Texas is gambling, there might be a new president in the White House, ready to change course on Bidens policies and continue the project of filling the federal courts with friendly faces. All four of the new 5th Circuit judges with Texas ties have been bandied about as potential Supreme Court nominees if a Republican president is elected.

Twenty years ago, when they felt the judiciary was tilted against them, conservatives railed against activism from the bench. Now, with the superhighway from the Texas Office of the Attorney General straight to the high court almost fully constructed, theyre enjoying the spoils of a judiciary increasingly stacked in their favor.

The system is in place for Texas to use the courts to go after the enemy that hates this country, as Reitz put it  to save America, to save Texas and to preserve these conservative values that we believe in.

A collection of bobblehead figurines in the likeness of judges who have won the Jurist of the Year award inside the Texas solicitor generals office on Sept. 14, 2018. Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune

Roxanna Asgarian contributed reporting for this series.

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As a result of the Russian missile attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on July 31, apartments from the 4th to the 9th floor were destroyed

Part of a nine-story apartment block in the city of Kryvyi Rih struck by a Russian missile on the morning of July 31 collapsed as rescue workers were still trying to search for people trapped under rubble.

Part of the collapse was caught on camera by the journalists of the Vikna TV program, aired by Ukrainian channel STB.

The press service of Ukraines Ministry of Internal Affairs said that at the time of the collapse, the residents of the building were at a safe distance, and the rescuers managed to jump back when part of the structure fell.

The head of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Administration, Serhii Lysak, also reported that as of 2.00 p.m., the number of civilians injured in the missile strike had increased to 53, five of whom are children.

After the Russian missile attack, about 150 residents of the building were able to get out on their own, and another 30 people were evacuated by rescuers.

On July 31, Russian forces launched a missile attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, hitting two buildings  a high-rise apartment building and a four-story technical school building of the citys Polytechnic Institute.

Read also: Four killed in Russian strike against infrastructure object in Zaporizhzhya Oblast

Rescue workers say people may still be trapped under the rubble.

As of now, four people are known to have been killed in the Russian attack, including a 10-year-old child.

Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said on Ukrainian national television that, according to preliminary data, it is most likely that the Russians fired ballistic missiles at Kryvyi Rih.

Ballistic missiles are difficult for Ukraines air defenses to shoot down, as it lacks sufficient numbers of modern air defense systems, like the U.S. Patriot system, to cover all of its major cities.

Read also:

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
WATCH LIVE: Streaming edition of Boston 25s Monday Morning News

BOSTON -- A passenger on a flight to New Jersey was removed at Logan Airport on Sunday after a caller reported the passenger allegedly made threats related to the flights safety, authorities said.

An anonymous caller told a New Jersey police agency that a man aboard Newark-bound Delta Airlines Flight 5770 had allegedly made the concerning threats, according to Massachusetts State Police.

The plane turned back to Boston, where Massport fire officials and state troopers escorted the man off the plane. His two carry-on bags were searched by bomb squad and explosive ordinance-detecting dogs, but no hazards were found.

After the man was removed, the flight continued on its path to New Jersey.

No charges are being sought at this time.

An investigation is ongoing.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

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Paul Reubens, the actor known to millions for his portrayal of Pee-wee Herman, has died, according to a July 31 post on his official Facebook page. He was 70.

"Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness," the post said.

"Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit. A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit."

The post also included a prewritten statement from Reubens: "Please accept my apology for not going public with what I've been facing the last six years. I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you."

Reubens' longtime publicist also shared news of his death on Instagram.

Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved... Posted by Pee-wee Herman on Monday, July 31, 2023

Reubens emerged as an enormous star in 1985 in the movie "Pee-wee's Big Adventure," a comedy in which the childlike Pee-wee Herman sets out to find his cherished lost bike. That film spawned a sequel in 1988, "Big Top Pee-wee," and later, in 2016, a third film, on Netflix, called "Pee-wee's Big Holiday."

He also enjoyed success on the small screen with his Saturday morning show, "Pee-wee's Playhouse," which ran from 1986 until 1990 on CBS.

I always viewed Pee-wee Herman as somebody with a really good heart, but like, you know didnt have a clue about a lot of things," he told NBC's "Dateline" in 2004. "Somebody who was truly naive and was trying to do the best he could do, but it didnt always come out like that.

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PEE-WEE's PLAYHOUSE, (from left): Chairry, Paul Reubens (as Pee-wee Herman), Mr. Window, Conky 2000. (Everett Collection)

Reubens also endured his share of controversy. In 1991, he was arrested after authorities said he masturbated in a Florida adult movie theater, prompting him to retreat from the public eye. (He pleaded no contest to an indecent exposure charge.) He would be arrested again in 2002 and charged with child pornography, although it was later dropped, and he pleaded guilty to a charge of obscenity.

I probably have become more infamous from two misdemeanors than probably anyone I could think of, he told NBC's "Dateline" in that 2004 interview.

He would appear in a wide range of projects over the years, including the movie "Blow," as well as various shows, including an Emmy-nominated guest role on "Murphy Brown" in 1995, "Ally McBeal," "Reno 911!," "Gotham," "The Blacklist" and "The Conners."

Image: Paul Reubens, Pee-wee Herman (Danny Moloshok / AP)

He also did a lot of voice work, including "Tron: Uprising," "The Smurfs" movie and "Star Wars: Rebels." In 2021, it was announced that HBO was working on a documentary about Reubens' career.

His last credit came in 2021 as the voice of Oliver in the short "The Crown with a Shadow," according to IMDb.

Tim Burton, who directed Reubens in "Pee-wee's Big Adventure," is among the celebrities who've paid tribute to him on social media on July 31, writing on Instagram that he is "shocked and saddened."

"Ill never forget how Paul helped me at the beginning of my career. It would not have happened without his support. He was a great artist. Ill miss him," Burton added.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Finn the police dog was treated as a hero after saving his handler's life

Funds are being raised for a statue of a "hero" police dog.

PD Finn, who became famous seven years ago after he was severely wound while saving his handler's life, died aged 14 on Thursday.

The German Shepherd had appeared on Britain's Got Talent and a new law in his name was introduced.

Retired police dog charity Thin Blue Paw Foundation said the memorial statue would celebrate his life and service, adding it was the "least he deserves".

More than 23,500 of the 40,000 target has been raised so far.

Thin Blue Paw Foundation said: "Retired police dog Finn deserves to be remembered forever."

PD Finn suffered near-fatal injuries in 2016 when he confronted an armed suspect in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, while protecting PC Dave Wardell.

PC Dave Wardell slept beside Finn during his recovery from the knife attack

Finn recovered and returned to duty, before retiring in 2017.

PC Wardell told the BBC he was "broken" following Finn's death.

Finn was trained by, and lived with, the officer in Hertfordshire since he was a puppy.

PC Wardell is in no doubt that Finn, then aged seven, saved his life on that fateful night in 2016.

Finn was stabbed in the chest and head and was not expected to survive. PC Wardell was stabbed in the hand.

A teenager was sentenced to youth custody for the attack.

The assault on the dog was dealt with by the law as "criminal damage".

After a campaign for a change in the law regarding injuries to police support animals was set up, the new Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Act - known as Finn's Law - was introduced in 2019.

After almost three months on from the near-fatal attack Finn returned to duty but retired at the age of eight in April 2017

In January, Hertfordshire Police said it was investigating PC Wardell regarding dog welfare issues and the officer had been put on restricted duties.

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire Police told the BBC there was currently "no update at this stage" on the investigation.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk
Paul Reubens Warner Brothers / Getty Images

Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian known for his iconic role of Pee-wee Herman, has died. He was 70.

Reubens' death was confirmed on the official Pee-wee Herman Facebook page, which said he had been privately battling cancer for years.

"Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness," the statement said. "Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit. A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit."

The Facebook page also shared a statement from Reubens himself, who apologized "for not going public with what I've been facing the last six years." He continued, "I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you."

Reubens got his start in comedy in the 1970s and performed with the improv troupe The Groundlings, where he developed the character of Pee-wee Herman. He began performing "The Pee-wee Herman Show" on stage in 1980, and the show soon received an HBO special. By 1985, he starred as the character in the classic Tim Burton film "Pee-wee's Big Adventure." From there, Reubens took Pee-wee back to television with "Pee-wee's Playhouse," which ran from 1986 to 1990. He also reprised the role in the film sequel "Big Top Pee-wee" in 1988.

In 1991, Reubens was arrested for exposing himself in an adult theater. He pleaded no contest. Reubens was also charged in 2002 with possessing child pornography, and he received three years probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obscenity. The actor later said he possessed a collection of "vintage erotica" that he considered to be art but that this was "not something that I use for any kind of sexual purpose." In 2010, Reubens brought "The Pee-wee Herman Show" to Broadway, and he again reprised the role in the 2016 Netflix movie "Pee-wee's Big Holiday."

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Reubens' Facebook page said that the actor asked for expressions of sympathy to be made in honor of Judy and Milton Rubenfeld, his late parents, to Stand up to Cancer "or organizations involved in Dementia and Alzheimer's care, support and research."

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Pee-wees Big Adventure is one of cinemas great debuts, both for its director Tim Burton and for its late star Paul Reubens. Pee-wee Hermana man-child with closely cropped hair, a nasally voice, and eccentric barking laugh, and a trademark uniform consisting of a gray suit, red bowtie and white sneakersemerged into the mainstream as a genuine, fully formed original. There was simply no one like Pee-wee and nothing like his maiden big-screen outing, which came across as a delirious expression of his idiosyncratic personality and paved the way for a Saturday morning television series that played like a similar manifestation of his quirky soul.

He was, in his own way, perfect, and so too was his big adventure.

Reubens, who passed away Sunday at age 70 following a private bout with cancer, began developing his one-of-a-kind character in the early 80s, with his stage production The Pee-wee Herman Show as well as via regular appearances on Late Night with David Letterman. Still, from the moment it arrived in theaters in 1985, Pee-wees Big Adventure was something quite obviously and thrillingly new.

That began, of course, with Pee-wee himself. Wearing a suit that was always just a little short in the arms and legs, he resided in a house filled with Rube Goldberg-ish contraptions, ate Mr. T cereal, giggled and goofed off with adolescent glee, and loved his glorious red-and-white bike (with that awesome lion siren on its handlebars) like nothing else. Though he lived alone, Pee-wee was clearly not a grown-up in any traditional sense, and that was further hammered home by his schoolyard-esque rivalry with spoiled rich-kid Francis (Mark Holton), a cretin who coveted Pee-wees bike andcourtesy of Holtons exceptional performanceis now so synonymous with greedy, selfish entitlement that, to this day, I cant meet anyone with his name without instinctively hearing Pee-wees sneering pronunciation of it in my head.

Photo by Warner Brothers/Getty Images

Pee-wees Big Adventure is the story of Pee-wees search for his beloved ride after its stolen from a parking lota crime he correctly suspects has been committed by Francis. Following a swimming pool fight with the wealthy bully that reveals childlike Pee-wees more ferocious side, Francis has the bike surreptitiously sent away in order to avoid being caught red-handed. When a psychic tells Pee-wee that he can find what hes looking for in the basement of the Alamo, a quest is born.

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The ensuing odyssey is chockablock with nuttiness: Pee-wee hitches a ride with both escaped convict Mickey (Judd Omen) and trucker Large Marge (Alice Nunn), whose true nature is revealed in unforgettable bug-eyed fashion; he strikes up a friendship with Paris-loving waitress Simone (Diane Salinger) at a roadside stop marked by a giant dinosaur statue; he rides in a rodeo to avoid a run-in with Simones boyfriend; and he dances on the bar of a biker hangout to Tequila in his tip-toeing platform shoes, his moves (Hands in front! Hands in back!) so awesomely ridiculous that they became arguably the most recognizable and oft-mimicked routine of the 80s and 90s.

Pee-wees Big Adventures road-trip format is an ideal vehicle for its protagonist, allowing him to encounter and interact with a wide variety of Americans who view him first with curiosity and then admiration, if not outright devotion. In the person of Dottie (E.G. Daily), hes also seen as a coveted paramour. However, as befitting his weirdly ambiguous age, Pee-wee isnt initially comfortable with anything romantic. Rather, his sole focus is recovering his bike. That mission ultimately takes him to Hollywood, where its being used by a bratty kid actor (Jason Hervey) in a nun-centric studio film, and where Pee-wee becomes a media-sensation hero for saving animals (even snakes!) from a burning pet shop.

Remembering Paul Reubens: Pee-Wees Playhouse Was the Best Kids TV Show Ever

Through it all, Reubens embodies Pee-wee as a genial, cackling innocent: courageous, pure of heart and slightly smartass-y. Hes strange and sweet, cheery and crazy, and compassionate as well as devilishly mischievous. Reubens makes him a ball of lovably bizarre energy but also shrewdly hints at his immature arrogance and naughtiness, the better to lend him a faint if unmistakable edgesomething that was slightly lost once he transitioned to Saturday morning TV with Pee-wees Playhouse.

In the first of his many collaborations with Danny Elfman (whose sprightly score is an all-timer), Burton shoots his action with the gee-whiz wonder of a 10-year-old unleashed, his own darker offbeat impulses melding seamlessly with Reubens bright candy-colored, hyper-real madness.

In look, sound, atmosphere and attitude, Pee-wees Big Adventure is a giddy fantasia, all wacko set design, cartoony pacing and unexpected, inexplicable Pee-wee vivacity, and its humor is driven by Reubens preternatural gift for funny faces and funnier scenarios and one-liners. Its like an explosion of juvenile wackiness, and its gags are so rock-solid that they endure both on the screen and in ones memory, be it Pee-wee doing absurd bike tricks (I meant to do that), trading barbs with Francis (I know you are but what am I?), or reveling in his newfound friends excitement during an art-imitating-life movie-premiere finale thatfitting for a film this imaginativehas the uproarious nerve to morph into a subtle 8  homage.

Barry King/Sygma via Getty Images

An assuredly loony comedy that feels as if it sprang wholesale from its heros subconscious, Pee-wees Big Adventure is, in its own inimitable way, flawless. Reubens went on to have tremendous success with the equally gonzoif deliberately more wholesomePee-wees Playhouse, and hed twice try to reimagine Pee-wee in uniquely off-kilter cinematic terms with the admirable (if lesser) Big Top Pee-wee and Pee-wees Big Holiday. All the while, his career had its fair share of ups and downs, from strong supporting parts in Batman Returns, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mystery Men, and Blow (among others), to the 1991 arrest that made tabloid headlines and put Pee-wee on decade-long ice, to his and the iconic characters subsequent, well-received comeback.

In every guise, he was a dexterous and amusingly demented actor. Nonetheless, what he created with Burton in 1985 was so impeccable, so hilarious, and so purely Pee-wee that it remains his crowning achievement. Praise its name as long as you likeitll never wear out.

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U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida Jason R. Coody announced Monday that a 37-year-old Pensacola man was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for possessing a firearm and possession with the intent to distribute multiple illicit drugs.

Foster Darnell Johnson Sr. was sentenced for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine, hydrocodone and large volumes of marijuana.

The press release says Johnson and his wife returned home from an evening of drinking on Aug. 13, 2022, when a domestic dispute began. Johnson then fired a pistol down the hallway of the second story of their home where children were sleeping.

Attorney charges: U.S. attorney in Pensacola pleads guilty to using position for husband's financial gain

Federal prison claims: Todd and Julie Chrisley's children say they're suffering inhumane treatment

After firing the shot, Johnson then entered the children's bedroom with the pistol. His wife called law enforcement in fear for the children's lives. The Escambia County Sheriff's Office then responded to the scene.

"During the search of the residence, law enforcement discovered two shotguns, one of which was an AR-style shotgun, co-located with over 18 pounds of marijuana, crack cocaine, hydrocodone, digital scales and Ziploc baggies in Johnson's bedroom," the release says. "Deputies also located the pistol used during the domestic violence incident, the discharged casing and a significant volume of ammunition."

Following Johnson's eight-year prison stint, he will undergo three years of supervised release and will be required to participate in anger management and domestic violence counseling.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Florida man given 8 years in federal prison for 18 pounds of drugs
This article was originally published in Ohio Capital Journal.

Girls will soon be able to access period products for free in Ohio school bathrooms.

The states new operating budget includes a $5 million appropriation for the current fiscal year to install dispensers that will provide free period products in schools that enroll girls in grades 6-12. The bill also allows schools to offer free period products to students younger than sixth grade if they so choose.

There are cheers all across the state right now from women and girls who are going to be so excited to find out in the future girls will be able to access period products at no costs in their schools, Senate Minority Leader Nickie J. Antonio, D-Lakewood, said Wednesday afternoon during a press conference.

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The budget allocates up to $2 million in fiscal year 2024 for public, non-public and charter schools to install dispensers for feminine hygiene products in each of their buildings. It also provide $3 million toward purchasing the products.

We have regulated the provision of toilet paper and paper towels in public restrooms, so too we should do the same for menstrual products, Antonio said. Its unhygienic and a danger actually to ones health not to have access to menstrual products, so just like toilet paper, we need to have free and accessible access.

Twenty-three other states have enacted similar legislation, including Alabama, California, Illinois and Maryland.

Missing school

Nearly 1 in 5 girls have missed school because they dont have access to period products.

It really gets in the way of them being able to rise to their fullest potential, Antonio said. When students lack access to period products, they face barriers and may avoid going out in public while wearing period stained clothing in public without the necessary sanctuary products.

Girls shouldnt have to choose between going to school and being able to purchase period products, said State Senator Stephanie Kunze, R-Dublin.

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Missing a school day or missing partial school days over time is a really significant loss of educational time for girls, she said.

Lawmakers and advocates expect to see girls attendance in schools improve as a result of Ohios budget provision.

School attendance at a New York City high school went up 2.4% after the school started providing free tampons and pads in bathrooms.

Period poverty

About two-thirds of low-income women could not afford menstrual products at some point, according to research published in the Obstetrics and Gynecology journal in 2019.

One in six women and girls between the ages of 12 to 44 are below the federal poverty line in Ohio, said Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus. Ohios federal poverty line for one person is $14,580.

Translation: they cant always afford period products, she said

This budget provision aims to reduce period poverty.

Its going to be so important to those students in those schools to be able to have the best education they can, Driehaus said.

In an effort to cut costs, some women use the same period products for too long without changing it.

Thats a health risk, she said. If they are accessible products in school bathrooms, that would not be an issue. You go in and get the product and away you go.

The average women in the United States spends close to $2,000 on tampons throughout her lifetime, according to a 2015 article in Huffington Post.

Providing no-cost period products in Ohio schools enables students to attend class, reduces period poverty and fosters gender equity, Driehaus said.

Kinsey Sullivan, a high school student at St. Ursula Academy in Cincinnati, knows firsthand how important it is having free period products accessible in schools.

I dont know if you know how awkward it is to slide a pad up your sleeve to walk to the bathroom, she said. Everyone is looking at you. You have to ruffle through your backpack to just find one and it would be so much easier if they were provided for you in your bathroom.

Sullivan said this will improve girls mental health and confidence overall.

All students deserve this opportunity to learn, thrive and feel supported in schools, she said. Its time that tampons and pads are provided for in the same way as toilet paper and soap.

Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David DeWitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com. Follow Ohio Capital Journal on Facebook and Twitter.
This map shows the starting and ending points of a Prince George Police pursuit Friday, July 28, 2023. According to police reports, the chase began on state Route 36 near Fort Gregg-Adams and ended two miles later at the intersection of Oaklawn Boulevard and Ashland Street in Hopewell.

HOPEWELL  An attempt to stop a Petersburg man for reckless driving was the catalyst for a police pursuit and subsequent traffic crash that resulted in the death of a Florida man in Hopewell over the weekend.

Authorities said the suspect, 34-year-old Tequan Devon Taylor, fled the crash scene on foot and has not yet been located.

The pursuit began after a Prince George Police officer clocked the driver of an eastbound Dodge pick-up truck at 67 mph in a 45 mph zone around 11:40 p.m. Friday at the intersection of Sisisky and Oaklawn boulevards between Fort Gregg-Adams and the Hopewell city line, county police spokesperson Alexis Grochmal said in an email to The Progress-Index. Grochmal said the officer tried to stop the truck, but the driver kept going.

In Virginia, driving at least 20 miles over the speed limit is considered reckless driving.

About two miles later, the fleeing truck ran a red traffic light at the intersection of Oaklawn Boulevard and Ashland Street and slammed into a Toyota Camry. The impact of the crash spun the car into one of the traffic light poles, killing its driver, 45-year-old Andre Bassett Jr. of Jacksonville, Florida. The truck overturned.

After the crash, the driver of the pick-up, later identified as Taylor, abandoned the truck and ran away.

The Virginia State Police, which is investigating the crash at the request of Hopewell Police, have filed charges against Taylor in the case. It was not immediately known what those charges were.

Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the crash or been in the area at that time to come forward with information. That info can be shared by calling (804) 609-5656, hitting #77 on a mobile phone or emailing questions@vsp.virginia.gov.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg man ID'ed as suspect in vehicle pursuit, fatal car crash
The city of Phoenix has gone for an entire month with temperatures above a broiling 110F (43.3C), an unprecedented stretch even for a city known as the Valley of the Sun.

Monday marked the 31st day in a row that Arizonas largest city  one of the fastest-growing in the United States  experienced potentially deadly levels of heat.

Phoenix is far from alone. Temperatures have entered uncharted territory around the world this summer due to an emerging El Nino pattern and the ever-worsening climate crisis driven by the burning of fossil fuels.

Scientists announced last week that July 2023 is the hottest month on record  and possibly in 120,000 years.

The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on the findings.

More than 46 million people in the US were under heat advisories and alerts on Monday with warnings of excessive temperatures in parts of Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kansas and Louisiana.

That number could double this week as the National Weather Service (NWS) warned that more than 100 million people in central and southern areas may experience dangerous heat indexes, the real-feel of temperatures, of 105F (40C) or above.

There will be little opportunity to cool off as temperatures wont drop much overnight and several nightime heat records could be broken, NWS warned.

In California, the high temperatures have played a role in recent wildfire outbreaks. A massive fire was raging out of control in a remote canyon of the Mojave National Preserve on Sunday, worsened by erratic wind patterns.

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The York Fire had crossed the state line from California into Nevada on Sunday and sent smoke further east into the Las Vegas Valley.

To the southwest, the Bonny Fire was holding steady at around 3.4 square miles in the rugged hills of Riverside County, as more than 1,300 people were ordered to evacuate from their homes.

The fire risk remained elevated in parts of southern California on Monday as temperatures stayed above 100F.
Over 100 Wagner mercenaries have gathered near Poland's border with Belarus, Morawiecki said. Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images and ROMAN ROMOKHOV/AFP via Getty Images

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Wagner troops are poised to infiltrate NATO territory.

Over 100 mercenaries have gathered near Poland's border with Belarus, he said on Saturday.

Morawiecki warned that the fighters could pose as migrants or border guards to try and sneak in.

More than 100 Wagner mercenaries are approaching Poland's border with Belarus, and may try to enter NATO territory disguised as migrants, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki warned on Saturday.

The Russian fighters are near Grodno, a Belarusian city 10 miles from the Polish border, Morawiecki said at a press conference in Gliwice.

Apart from pretending to be migrants, these mercenaries may also pose as Belarusian border guards helping migrants cross into the European Union, Morawiecki added, though he did not say how his government had obtained this information.

"This is certainly a step towards a further hybrid attack on Polish territory," Morawiecki said, per a translation by the BBC.

Polish officials have for years accused Belarus of attempting to overwhelm Poland's border forces by sending migrants west  a charge Minsk has denied.

On Friday, Lithuanian deputy interior minister Arnoldas Abramavicius told reporters that Poland and Lithuania may close their borders to Belarus over concerns about a Wagner infiltration.

The Wagner Group was once close to the Kremlin, and deployed its troops in Ukraine during the war until late May.

Thousands of its fighters moved to Belarus as part of an exile deal for founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, struck during his short-lived mutiny against Moscow.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he brokered the deal as Prigozhin marched his forces toward the Kremlin. Wagner troops were told they could move and stay in exile with Prigozhin, sign up with the Russian military, or return home without fear of prosecution.

Earlier this month, a new image appeared to show Prigozhin living in a tent at a campsite in Belarus while his forces trained local troops.

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Jarosaw Kaczynski, chairman of Poland's ruling party, warned that Wagner's men are "not in Belarus for fun."

"They are there to create various types of crises, primarily directed against Poland," he said, per Agence France Presse.

Meanwhile, Poland is sending around 1,000 soldiers and 500 police officers to reinforce security on its eastern border.

Read the original article on Business Insider
RICHMOND, Ind.  A disturbance at Reid Hospital resulted in the filing of a felony gun charge against a Richmond man.

James A. Winters Jr., 30, was charged last week in Wayne Superior Court 2 with unlawful carrying of a handgun, a Level 5 felony carrying up to six years in prison.

According to court documents, Winters on July 26 was at the hospital's emergency room seeking treatment of a leg injury when he became angry over questions about how he had been hurt.

Winters reportedly told hospital police he was declining to be treated because staff members "were being rude to him, and he did not want to answer their questions."

As he was being led from the building, Winters allegedly cursed at officers and was given a "trespass warning."

Once outside, he reportedly "threw himself to the ground," saying he could not walk due to the pain, an officer wrote.

Winters was asked to leave the property and stop yelling.

When he declined to do that, the officer wrote, the Richmond man was arrested for criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.

When searching his backpack, officers found a .36-caliber revolver.

He was then returned to the emergency room for treatment before being taken to the Wayne County jail.

The gun charge against Winters was upgraded to Level 5 felony status because of a previous felony conviction for possession of a narcotic drug in 2022.

His record also includes two convictions for unlawful possession of a syringe,

In addition to the gun charge, he was formally charged Thursday with misdemeanor counts of trespassing and disorderly conduct.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Hospital disturbance leads to felony gun charge against Richmond man
A man charged in connection with a hit-and-run crash in Bostons Hyde Park neighborhood that left a 4-year-old boy dead earlier this month will face a judge Tuesday, a day after he surrendered to police.

Olguens Joseph, 30, turned himself in to the police Monday afternoon after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Joseph is slated to be arraigned in Roxbury District Court on charges including motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation, leaving the scene of personal injury and death, and operation of an unregistered/uninsured motor vehicle, according to the Boston Police Department.

Joseph was wanted in the fatal hit-and-run crash that occurred in the area of 165 Wood Ave. on July 18. Police said the young victim was struck at about 9:30 p.m. by a dark gray 2016-2022 Chevrolet Spark. The vehicle was last seen driving in the direction of Cummins Highway, according to police.

Video of the suspect vehicle shared by Boston police shows the vehicle traveling through the intersection of Wood and Safford avenues shortly before the collision happened.

According to new court documents, Joseph was driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle with his 3-year-old son in the front seat during the deadly crash.

Joseph allegedly traded the suspected vehicle for an Acura RDX days after the crash, according to the court documents.

The boy, who was identified by his family as Ivan Pierre, was found suffering from life-threatening injuries at the scene. An off-duty Boston firefighter was in the area of the crash and rendered first aid to the victim until first responders arrived.

The boy was taken to Boston Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Pierres uncle called his nephew the life of the house.

A family member says the four-year-old slipped out of the house, unnoticed. My sister got a new car, said the childs uncle, Heroldy Limage. She had just gotten home and everyone was rushing out to see her new car.

Limage said that as the adults gathered by the doorway, Ivan snuck out to see the owner of that new car  his mother.

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A witness said that Pierre and his mother were walking across the street when a speeding car approached them, struck the boy, and continued on without stopping.

Next thing, there was an impact that everyone heard outside, and it was him lying there in the street, Limage said. Imagine a grown-up getting hit by a car. Now put a four-year-old kid in that position.

Rakeem Kelley said he was in his parked car when he witnessed the crash.

I just heard this loud bang. It sounded like a car accident  two cars hitting each other, Kelley said. And I like jumped and when I looked up thats when I saw the baby getting run over.

Moments after the child was hit, Kelley, the father of two young boys, jumped out of his car to help.

I ran over to him, trying to ask him if hes alright, Kelley said. Telling him to stay with us. And I could see the babys not going to make it.

The incident happened in a neighborhood of tight, cramped streets in which speeding is discouraged  there are signs everywhere indicating a 25 MPH limit  but, residents say, is a constant problem.

The Boston Police Department is actively reviewing the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

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UPDATE:

The Montgomery County Coroners Office has identified the victim of a deadly shooting at a Dayton apartment complex over this weekend.

The coroners office identified the victim Monday as 28-year-old Melchizedec D. Israel-Miller.

News Center 7 will continue updating this story as more details become available.

INITIAL REPORT:

One person is dead and police are seeking the publics help to identify a suspect after an overnight shooting at a Dayton apartment complex this weekend.

>>PREVIOUS REPORT: At least 1 dead after shooting in Dayton

The shooting happened on Carver Place in the DeSoto Bass housing complex around 4:10 a.m. Saturday. One person was found suffering from a gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene, a Dayton police spokesperson told News Center 7 Monday. A Dayton police incident report indicates officers are investigating the shooting as a homicide.

The name of the victim has not been released, pending notification of family and further investigation by the Montgomery County Coroners Office.

>>TRENDING: Donnie Baker death: Ohio police investigating comedians death release statement

Police have not made any arrests nor have identified any suspects in the case, the spokesperson said.

Officers are seeking the publics help for tips that lead to information in the case. Those with information that can help police are urged to call Dayton police at 937-333-1232 to speak with a detective. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Miami Valley Crime Stoppers at 937-222-7867 or miamivalleycrimestoppers.com.

Additional details were not available. Well continue to update this story as we learn more.
By Catarina Demony and Philip Pullella

LISBON (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of young people from around the world have descended on Portugal to welcome Pope Francis when he arrives on Wednesday to close a jamboree dubbed "the Catholic Woodstock".

However, the shadow of the Church's sexual abuse scandal will haunt the background as a reminder of how much work it still has to do to put the scandal behind it.

World Youth Day, an event devised by the late Pope John Paul to form young Catholics in their teens or early 20s, is held every two or three years in a different city. This will be the first since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two stages have been set up in different locations where the young will gather for Masses, vigils and other social and religious gatherings.

The Vatican said about 330,000 young people have registered and many more might attend. Portuguese authorities have said more than one million people were expected.

The 86-year-old Francis, who is making his first trip since intestinal surgery in June and uses a wheelchair and cane, will also meet political leaders and diplomats.

The trip and the youth event take place less than six months after report by a Portuguese commission that said at least 4,815 minors were sexually abused by clergy - mostly priests - over 70 years.

"Nothing can repair the experience and lives of these more than 4,800 victims," an abuse awareness group called This Is Our Memorial said on its website. "What we can and should do is remember them. Give them a voice. So that what happened never happens again."

PROBABLE MEETING WITH ABUSE VICTIMS

The group is planning to put up big outdoor signs to raise awareness about clergy sexual abuse. A separate protest group has planned a demonstration for Friday at Lisbon's Martim Moniz square.

Lisbon patriarch Manuel Clemente told a news conference on Monday the Church was fully committed to address the issue.

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Francis is expected to meet privately with abuse victims but the Vatican has not confirmed it and if it does take place, it will be announced after the event to ensure privacy.

"This is to facilitate the process of healing, which is always personal, intimate and requires time to listen," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

The young people will stay in schools, gyms, fire stations and with families and many plan to sleep out in the open on the night before the closing Mass in Lisbon's Parque Tejo.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa on Monday called it "the biggest international event" Portugal has ever hosted.

On Saturday, Francis will fly by helicopter for a two-hour stop at Fatima, where the Church believes that the Madonna appeared to three poor shepherd children in 1917. About half a million people are expected there.

(This story has been corrected to clarify that the group is yet to put up the outdoor signs but is planning to do so, in paragraph 9)

(Additional reporting by Philip Pullella in Rome, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Six months after Kansas City area law enforcement began publicly circulating information of a potential witness in a high-profile kidnapping and torture case, authorities say her remains were found in the Missouri River in Saline County.

Clay County prosecutors said Monday that the office was notified the remains had been matched to Jaynie Crosdale, 36, of Kansas City. In January, a photograph of Crosdale, who is Black, was broadcast by Excelsior Springs police and the Clay County Investigative Squad as they sought information related to the investigation of Timothy M. Haslett Jr.

Sgt. Andy Bell, a spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, said the agency was called June 24 to recover and identify the body of a woman found in the Missouri River. The discovery was made by two kayakers, Bell said.

Authorities have yet to outline details surrounding Crosdales death or how it pertains to Hasletts ongoing criminal case. Based on the development, prosecutors filed a motion to increase Hasletts bond, currently set at $3 million.

Since last year, Hasletts case has raised concerns among Black Kansas City community leaders that police were not taking reports of missing Black women seriously enough. The issue garnered national media attention.

Haslett has been jailed since October. He was charged with kidnapping, rape and other crimes after a 22-year-old woman ran down his street, barely clothed and wearing a collar locked around her neck, and begged neighbors to help her.

Excelsior Springs police, assisted by KCPD forensics investigators and the FBI, searched Hasletts house in the 300 block of Old Orchard Avenue for three days. They also brought a cadaver dog, a canine trained to detect human remains, to examine his rental property and pickup truck last year  though they never made any findings public.

Details that came from court papers identified the escapee as a woman whod been picked up somewhere on Prospect Avenue in early September. She remained captive for weeks in a basement room Haslett had built, she told police, where she was raped repeatedly and whipped.

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The Excelsior Springs residence of Timothy M. Haslett Jr., charged in Clay County Circuit Court with kidnapping and rape, in the 300 block of Old Orchard Avenue, was boarded up and fenced off Monday following the days-long execution of a search warrant at the home. Police say the victim in the case escaped the home early Friday and ran to neighbors for help, and that she appeared to have been held captive there for a substantial amount of time.

The case struck a nerve among many Black Kansas City leaders and residents as Haslett, who is white, is accused of holding a Black woman captive in his home for weeks, after police had dismissed concerns made on social media that a killer was on the loose and that Black women were going missing in Kansas City.

In late September, a Facebook post from Bishop Tony Caldwell of Eternal Life Church in Kansas City made claims of young Black women going missing from Prospect in south Kansas City and dead bodies being discovered in the area. The Kansas City Defender, a Black-led digital news outlet, shared a story at the time highlighting the concerns.

The claims were refuted by Kansas City police who said they had no active reported cases of young Black women being missing or killed during that time frame. Police later said no missing persons cases were linked to the investigation of Haslett, who was arrested Oct. 7 roughly two weeks afterward.

Meanwhile, one of the issues raised regarded concerns around reporting missing persons and the barriers critics say the Black community faces in making missing persons reports.

Police have said the woman who reportedly escaped had not been reported missing. A family member of Crosdale, contacted by The Star in January, said Crosdale had not been reported missing at the time law enforcement launched the public campaign to find her.

In a statement Monday, the Clay County Prosecutors Office said Crosdales family had been notified of her death and our hearts go out to them for their loss.

Our office is working closely with law enforcement to gather all evidence and information that is needed to build the strongest case possible and deliver justice for Jaynie Crosdale.

In the motion filed Monday, Clay County prosecutors said the office was provided details of an ongoing investigation which impact the present case, and cause greater concern for the safety of the community than had previously been addressed.

Alexander Higginbotham, a spokesman for the Clay County Prosecuting Attorneys Office, declined to provide further details about the investigation of Crosdales death on Friday. He said the office anticipates being able to share more information publicly in the near future.

The Stars Glenn E. Rice contributed to this report.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani in Beijing, capital of China, July 30, 2023. Ghazouani, who is visiting China, attended the opening ceremony of the 31st summer edition of the FISU World University Games. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

BEIJING, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang met on Sunday with Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani in Beijing.

Li said China and Mauritania, both developing countries, have held similar positions on many international and regional issues, supported each other and forged profound friendship. The two heads of state held a fruitful meeting and jointly made new plans and arrangements for the development of bilateral relations.

China is willing to work with Mauritania to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, continue the traditional friendship, seek greater synergy in development strategies, share development experience and achievements, and push friendly cooperative relations between China and Mauritania to a new level, said Li.

Noting that China greatly appreciates Mauritania's consistent unequivocal support for China on issues concerning China's core interests, Li said China will continue to firmly support Mauritania in safeguarding its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and taking a development path in line with its own national conditions.

The two sides should take the opportunity of signing the plan on advancing Belt and Road cooperation to expand pragmatic cooperation on agriculture, fishery, animal husbandry, energy and infrastructure construction, to better achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, Li said.

Li called on the two sides to strengthen cultural and people-to-people exchanges on health, education, political parties and localities, and build a bridge of friendship between the two countries. China will continue to provide support to Mauritania's development and revitalization within its capacity.

Noting that Mauritania-China relations are based on mutual respect, mutual benefit and win-win results, Ghazouani said the friendship between the two countries is profound and solid. Mauritania thanks China for the strong support for its independence and development, and fully agrees with the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.

Mauritania firmly abides by the one-China principle and is willing to deepen cooperation with China in such fields as agriculture, mining, new energy and infrastructure construction, and will push for further development of bilateral relations, said Ghazouani.

Ghazouani, who is visiting China, attended the opening ceremony of the 31st summer edition of the FISU World University Games in Chengdu, capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province. 
Oleksandr Pivnenko, the commander of the National Guard of Ukraine (NGU), has made it clear that the commanders of Azov will be involved in further combat operations against Russian forces.

Source: Pivnenko in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda

Details: Pivnenko was appointed to the position on 8 July 2023, when the commanders of Azov came back from Turkiye. The UP asked if there was any veto on their participation in hostilities.

Quote from Pivnenko: "Denys (Redis Prokopenko) holds a position. They defended Mariupol, and some had tasks not as part of a brigade but as part of a battalion or a tactical group. They are preparing and will perform tasks like everyone else.

For me, there is no such prohibition when someone is telling me that some are fighting and others are not. Moreover, I do not determine who is fighting.

We are in the Defence Forces; there is a supreme commander-in-chief, there is a commander-in-chief, and there are directors of operational-strategic testing. Whoever needs help, they send, roughly speaking, in military language, a combat order to me, I carry it out, and that's it."

Details: Asked when Denys Prokopenko is likely to take part in combat operations, the NGU commander said: "Depends on the situation at the front. Maybe within a month. We'll see, well wait, and life will tell".

Previously: On 8 July 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that military commanders who defended the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol and then stayed in Turkiye as part of a prisoner swap after being released from Russian captivity were coming back to Ukraine from Turkiye.

Later, the presidential press service clarified that five commanders from Azovstal came back to Ukraine on Saturday following negotiations with Turkiye.

Background:

On 21 September 2022, as part of a prisoner swap with the Russian occupiers, 215 Ukrainian defenders were released, including Azovstal defenders Denys "Redis" Prokopenko, Serhii "Volyna" Volynskyi, Sviatoslav Palamar, Denys Shleha and Oleh Khomenko. At the same time, Russia got Viktor Medvedchuk, his daughter's godfather is Putin, and 55 Russian occupiers.

The five Azov commanders were in Turkiye under personal guarantees of protection and security from President Erdogan.

At the time, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that, according to the agreements, the five released Azov commanders would stay in Turkiye until the end of the war. At the same time, Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, said that they would live in Turkiye for "a certain period of time".

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC), has said the company has stopped recruiting new mercenaries.

Source: BBC Russian service

Quote: "The time of the opening of recruitment centres has not yet been determined. We do not plan to conduct new recruitment as long as we do not experience a personnel shortage."

Details: Prigozhin posted his statement on Telegram, confirming that the company had stopped recruiting new mercenaries.

Prigozhin said Wagner Group continues to operate in Africa and in "training centres" in Belarus and added that most of the company's mercenaries are staying on vacation.

BBC Russian service also reported that the Wagner PMC was recruiting mercenaries throughout Russia at the end of June, about a week after the attempted armed rebellion and a month after its withdrawal from the combat zone.

Background:

Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner PMC), allegedly spoke to the mercenaries who came to Belarus and said that they would be engaged in the training of the Belarusian army.

On 20 July, the Belarusian Defence Ministry announced that it would perform joint exercises with the Wagner PMC at a training ground near the border with Poland.

On 28 July, the 13th Wagner Group convoy arrived in Belarus.

The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine stated that approximately 5,000 Russian mercenaries of the Wagner Group were in Belarus as of 22 July. However, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reported that the Wagnerites do not currently pose a threat to Ukraine.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
WASHINGTON (AP)  A man who was a Princeton University student when the FBI arrested him on charges related to the U.S. Capitol riot pleaded guilty on Monday to joining a mob's attack on police officers during one of the most violent clashes on Jan. 6, 2021.

Larry Fife Giberson was on the front lines when rioters attacked police officers in a tunnel on the Capitol's Lower West Terrace. Giberson, 22, of Manahawkin, New Jersey, waved other rioters into the tunnel and then joined in a coordinated push against officers guarding an entrance to the building, according to a court filing.

Giberson tried in vain to start a chant of Drag them out! and then cheered on rioters using weapons and pepper spray against police in the tunnel, according to an FBIs agent affidavit. Giberson remained in the area for roughly an hour, the affidavit says.

Giberson pleaded guilty to a felony charge of interfering with police during a civil disorder, court records show. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols is scheduled to sentence him on Nov. 1. The judge allowed him to remain free until his sentencing.

Giberson was enrolled at Princeton as an undergraduate when he was arrested in March on riot-related charges. On Monday, a university spokesperson declined to answer questions about Gibersons enrollment status.

Charles Burnham, an attorney for Giberson, didn't immediately respond to emails and a telephone call seeking comment.

Giberson was wearing a Make America Great Again hat and a Trump flag around his neck when he joined the Jan. 6 attack, which disrupted the joint session of Congress for certifying President Joe Biden's electoral victory over Donald Trump.

The FBI posted images of Giberson on social media to seek the publics help in identifying him. Online sleuths also posted images of Giberson using the #DragThemOut hashtag moniker.

Investigators matched photos of Giberson from the Capitol to several images found on Instagram and Princeton Universitys website, according to the FBI.

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Also on Monday, a Florida man was arrested on charges that he assaulted several police officers outside the Capitol during the riot. Videos captured Marcus Clint Martin applying first aid to an injured rioter and then shoving two officers who tried to help, the FBI said.

Other videos show Martin, 32, of Blountstown, Florida, piling onto an officer who was knocked over and removing metal barriers after chasing officers away from their positions in front of the Capitol, according to the FBI.

Martin was arrested in Panama City, Florida, on charges including civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding police. There was no lawyer immediately listed in the court docket for Martin.

Approximately 1,100 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. More than 600 of them have pleaded guilty. Over 100 others have been convicted by judges or juries after trials in Washington, D.C.
The Trump campaign has defended the spending as necessary

The primary fundraising and political spending group supporting Donald Trump has spent more than $40m (31m) on legal fees so far this year.

That money, due to be confirmed in a financial filing on Monday, has been used to defend the former president and his allies across multiple cases.

It is a more than two-fold increase in Save America's spending on legal costs across 2021 and 2022 combined.

As Mr Trump's legal battles intensify, the bills will only keep rising.

He awaits federal trial over his alleged mishandling of classified documents, state trial over a hush-money probe in New York, and a defamation trial from writer E Jean Carroll.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and state prosecutors in Georgia are soon expected to charge Mr Trump, 77, over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Save America is a political action committee, or PAC, founded and controlled by Mr Trump. His campaign manager Susie Wiles decides whose legal bills should be funded, according to the Washington Post.

It is funding representation for Mr Trump and those drawn into the various investigations against him who have requested help from his team, the Post reported.

That includes Walt Nauta, his close personal aide, and Carlos de Oliveira, the property manager at his Mar-a-Lago resort, who both face charges in the classified documents case.

The campaign has called it protection from "unlawful harassment".

Spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement that the DOJ "has continued to go after innocent Americans because they worked for President Trump and they know they have no legitimate case".

Covering their legal fees, he said, will "protect these innocent people from financial ruin and prevent their lives from being completely destroyed".

Carlos de Oliveira, the property manager at Mar-a-Lago, was arraigned on Monday

But the $40m sum far exceeds any other expense Save America has incurred during the 2024 presidential campaign.

And footing those legal bills, for the most part, are grassroots Trump supporters from around the country, whose small-dollar contributions make up the vast majority of Save America's fundraising.

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After leaving office, Mr Trump claimed that the 2020 election was stolen and urged supporters for months to back him up by sending to Save America.

Last year, he amassed over $100m in donations, using more than $16m to cover legal fees and about $10m on personal fees. His campaign and its supporters never proved widespread election fraud.

DOJ prosecutors sought information last year about how the PAC was formed and is operated, as part of their criminal investigation into the 2020 election.

At the start of his 2024 campaign, Mr Trump devoted only one cent of every dollar raised online to Save America.

But earlier this year, he began diverting a larger percentage - 10 cents of every dollar - away from the campaign and toward the PAC.

Jason Torchinsky, a campaign finance expert at the Holtzman Vogel Law Firm, said the candidate may be violating federal election laws by accepting donations that directly cover his legal expenses.

"It is not unprecedented for a campaign committee to pay legal fees," Mr Torchinsky told BBC News.

"But the issue is that Trump is a federal candidate, with a third party to pay his legal bills, that really do amount to a gift to the candidate that exceeds federal contribution limits."

National opinion polls show Mr Trump firmly in the lead to win the Republican nomination despite his mounting legal troubles, but some of his 2024 opponents have criticised the expenditures.

Trump aide Walt Nauta will be Mr Trump's co-defendant alongside Mr de Oliveira in the classified documents trial

A spokesman for Mr Trump's chief rival, Ron DeSantis, accused him of spending this year "on two things: falsely attacking Ron DeSantis and paying his own legal fees, not a cent on defeating Joe Biden".

"He's going to middle class men and women in this country and they're donating $15, $25, $50, $100 because they believe in Donald Trump and they want him to be president again," Chris Christie, another candidate, said in a June interview on CNN.

"They're not giving that money so he can pay his personal legal fees."

But Ohio Senator JD Vance, a Republican who has endorsed Mr Trump's latest White House bid, defended the move on Saturday.

"I have good friends who did nothing wrong who had their legal fees paid by Save America PAC," he said. "Would you rather they throw all of their employees under a bus?"

There is some evidence the escalating fees are putting a strain on Mr Trump's political operation.

According to the New York Times, Save America has requested a refund on a $60m contribution it made to another group supporting Mr Trump. It is unclear how much of, or even if, the money was refunded.

Trump advisors are set to create a separate legal defence fund to handle legal costs for those entangled in probes of the former president, US media reported.

But Mr Torchinsky, the campaign finance expert, pointed out that, unlike in the case of Save America, such a fund will not require public disclosure of what is raised and where the money is going.

And with more indictments expected and preparation for trials imminent, he said: "I would expect the fees to go up exponentially."

"It was $40m in the first half of the year. It wouldn't shock me if the next six months rack up $60m."
Wichita voters are set to head to the polls Tuesday to make selections in the midterm primary election, and if it slipped your mind, its not too late to prepare.

Registered Kansas voters are eligible to participate, and voting in the Aug. 1 primary begins at 6 a.m. Tuesday in Sedgwick County.

Weve rounded up some last-minute information on polling places, candidates and even the forecast to help smooth over your primary Election Day in Wichita.

Whats on the ballot in Wichitas 2023 primary?

Wichita voters will choose between nine mayoral candidates in this years primary. Those candidates include incumbent Mayor Brandon Whipple, Jared Cerullo, Shelia M. Davis, Bryan Frye, Anthony Gallardo, Tom Kane, Celeste Racette, Julie Rose Stroud and Lily Wu. The primary will slim the pool down to two, and those candidates will face each other in Novembers General Election.

Also on the ballot Tuesday is the District 4 City Council seat, and voters will choose between candidates Bentley Blubaugh, Dalton Glasscock, Alan Oliver and Judy Pierce.

Theres also the at-large Wichita Board of Education seat on the ballot, and the candidates include Jacob Bakk, Harlan Bascombe, Jesse Borosky, Brent Davis and Melody McCray-Miller.

Additionally, Cheney Unified School District voters will see an at-large school board seat on their ballot, and Park City residents will vote on a 1% sales tax increase proposal.

Where can I find candidate information?

The Wichita Eagles voting guide has statements from most candidates, and you can find comprehensive coverage of the races and the issues at kansas.com.

To hear directly from Wichitas mayoral candidates, you can watch playback of the July 20 debate on the Eagles website. The event was hosted by PBS Kansas, the Eagle, KSN News and KAKE News.

You can also access more resources for finding candidate information from nonpartisan sources like Ballotpedia and the League of Women Voters Vote411 project.

Where do I go to vote in Kansas Aug. 1?

You can find your polling location on the Kansas Secretary of States registration information page, along with other resources online at myvoteinfo.voteks.org.

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Once youve accessed the voter information portal, enter your first and last name and your date of birth. After you click look up, you can view your voter registration information, a sample ballot and the address of your polling place.

What are polling hours Aug. 1 in Kansas?

Polls in Sedgwick County open at 6 a.m. Tuesday and close at 7 p.m. As long as youre in line by 7 p.m. you can cast your ballot.

The state of Kansas requires polling hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., though some counties may offer expanded hours, including an 8 p.m. poll close. Check with your countys election office for specifics.

Can I vote in Kansas if Im not registered?

No. The deadline to register to vote in the Aug. 1 primary election was July 11.

However, you can still register for the General Election Tuesday, Nov. 7. Registration books reopen Sunday, Aug. 30 and close Tuesday, Oct. 17.

What do I need to bring to my polling place?

As long as youre registered to vote, all you need to bring is a valid photo identification, like a drivers license, passport or U.S. military ID.

All valid forms of identification can be viewed on the Kansas Secretary of States website.

Can I still return my mail-in ballot?

Yes, you can drop off your advance ballot at your polling location or any of the countys drop boxes through 7 p.m. on Election Day.

The county drop box locations for the primary are:

Boston Recreation Center, 6655 E Zimmerly, Wichita, KS 67207

Evergreen Park Recreation Center, 2700 Woodland N., Wichita, KS 67204

Sedgwick County Health Department, 1900 E 9th St., Wichita, KS 67214

Orchard Recreation Center, 4808 W. 9th St., Wichita, KS 67212

Linwood Recreation Center, 1901 S. Kansas, Wichita, KS 67211

Sedgwick County Courthouse, 525 N. Main, Wichita, KS 67203

Bel Aire City Hall, 7651 E. Central Park Ave., Bel-Aire, KS 67226

Maize City Administration, 10100 W. Grady Ave., Maize, KS 67101

Fire Station 32, 7750 Wild West Road, Park City, KS 67147

You can also snail-mail your ballot to the Sedgwick County Election Office, but it has to be postmarked by Election Day and has to arrive by Friday, Aug. 4 to be counted.

The mailing address is Sedgwick County Election Office, 510 N Main St., #101, Wichita, KS 67203.

What is the forecast for Election Day?

The National Weather Service is forecasting a hot Election Day, with mostly sunny weather and a high near 101 Tuesday.

Triple digit heat indices continue through at least mid-late next week. A few showers/storms are possible through the weekend, and also next Wednesday night. Most locations will remain dry though. #kswx pic.twitter.com/spiCUStiXr  NWS Wichita (@NWSWichita) July 27, 2023

If theres a chance you may be caught in a line at your polling site, consider bringing a bottle of water or taking other precautions to protect yourself from the heat.

Where can I find Wichita election results?

The Eagle will have comprehensive coverage of Election Day, including returns Tuesday night at kansas.com.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) called out Florida over its recently approved African American history standards, calling one controversial portion outrageous.

Its outrageous that in Florida, public school students will now be taught that enslaved Black folks benefited from slavery, Tlaib wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Monday. Slavery was evil, disgusting and had no redeeming qualities. Period.

Tlaib also shared a video clip of her speaking on the matter during a House floor session last week. She said that Florida is attempting to whitewash Black history with their new education guidelines and ignore how the practice of slavery has denied Black Americans their basic human dignity, also noting that the countrys founding fathers participated in this practice.

These are just facts. These are history. You cannot teach the truth about American history without teaching African American history, Tlaib said in her floor speech.

We must teach our children, Mr. Speaker, the truth about our nations history. That means reckoning with racism, oppression and lynching, dehumanization and white supremacist violence, she added, referring to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). If our past is no longer being taught, we will not allow anyone to rewrite our history. And again, it is so important that this chamber understands that Black history is American history.

There has been a massive backlash over Floridas new education standards, which were signed into law earlier this year by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). The new standards require that lessons on race should be taught in an objective manner that does not seek to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view.

Most controversially, the updated curriculum will also require educators to teach students on how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.

That line in particular drew the ire of figures from across the political spectrum, including some conservatives like Florida Rep. Byron Donalds (R).

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NAACP President Derrick Johnson said that the laws are an attempt to bring our country back to a 19th-century America where Black life was not valued, nor our rights protected.

It is imperative that we understand that the horrors of slavery and Jim Crow were a violation of human rights and represent the darkest period in American history, Johnson said in his statement.

We refuse to go back. The NAACP has been fighting against malicious actors such as those within the DeSantis Administration for over a century, and were prepared to continue that fight by any means necessary. Our children deserve nothing less than truth, justice, and the equity our ancestors shed blood, sweat, and tears for.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
NIAMEY, Niger  Thousands of protesters supporting a coup in Niger took to the streets on Sunday and attacked the French embassy as West African governments warned of possible military action to restore democratic rule.

Demonstrators in the capital, Niamey, many waving Russian flags, smashed windows at the French embassy and set a perimeter door on fire but never breached the walls of the embassy compound

Protesters filled the Boulevard de la Republique and several other main thoroughfares in the capital, some running, others riding motorcycles, and many packed into vehicles. They blocked cars at traffic circles, backing up traffic on side streets. Some shouted and waved flags, mostly from Niger.

In a span of several minutes, hundreds of protestors passed us as we watched from a vehicle, before deciding to turn around rather than trying to navigate through the sea of people. The morning also brought another new presence on the streets of Niamey  dozens of police checkpoints.

Most protesters seemed to support the coup leaders and, for the most part, those who gathered did not seem angry. In fact, many smiled and seemed joyful.

As the demonstrations rocked Niger, West African nations held an emergency summit in Nigeria and announced sweeping sanctions on Niger unless President Mohammed Bazoum was released from detention and returned to power.

Niger Coup Russian Flags (AFP via Getty Images)

The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) gave the coup leaders one week to reverse their seizure of power or face possible military intervention.

In the event the authorities demands are not met within one week (ECOWAS will) take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger. Such measures may include the use of force, ECOWAS said in a statement.

ECOWAS said it was suspending all financial transactions with Niger, freezing Nigers assets in central and commercial banks and imposing a travel ban and asset freeze on military officers involved in the coup.

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The army officers who lead the coup in Niger said earlier that the ECOWAS bloc was on the verge of orchestrating a military intervention in the country.

Niger has been the anchor for Western counterterrorism efforts across the turbulent Sahel region, with roughly 1,100 U.S. troops operating drones and training local forces to fight Islamist extremists.

Protesters hold a sign taken from the French Embassy in Niamey, Niger, during a demonstration supporting the junta on July 30, 2023. (AFP - Getty Images)

For decades, France ruled Niger as a colonial power until it gained independence in 1960. Paris has retained an influential role since and currently has about 1,500 troops conducting joint operations with local forces against Islamist extremists. A French state-owned firm also operates a uranium mine in the countrys north.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that assaults on France and its interests would not be tolerated.

France calls for an end to the unacceptable violence observed today, said the French foreign ministry, adding that it had stepped up security at the countrys embassy in Niamey.

France also said it supported the statement from the West African leaders in ECOWAS denouncing the coup.

Protesters cheer Nigerien troops as they gather in front of the French Embassy in Niamey during a demonstration that followed a rally in support of Niger's junta on July 30, 2023. (AFP - Getty Images)

U.S. officials have condemned the military officers seizure of power but have so far have avoided using the word coup. Under U.S. law, such a declaration would require halting all American aid and ending all security cooperation with Niger.

U.S. officials told NBC News the situation remained fluid and it was unclear if the coup would hold. But they acknowledged that the strong statement from the ECOWAS summit may have increased tension in Niger.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday warned that economic and security ties between the U.S. and Niger would depend on the release of President Bazoum from house arrest and the restoration of the democratic order in Niger.

Although U.S. officials say there is no sign Russia was behind the coup, former diplomats and regional experts say Russias paramilitary Wagner mercenary group has churned out anti-Western, anti-French propaganda for months that sought to depict Bazoums government as puppets of Paris.

Wagner paramilitaries have ties to military juntas in Mali and other countries in the region. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group, which led a brief mutiny in Russia last month, praised the coup in Niger on Thursday, calling it a fight against colonizers.

Late Sunday night, the streets of Niamey were quiet, with most people adhering to a nationwide curfew in effect for a fifth night. With Bazoum still held captive in his presidential residence, no clear path appeared for resolving Nigers crisis.

Courtney Kube and Mosheh Gains reported from Niamey, and Dan De Luce reported from Washington.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Americans confidence in the military is the lowest since 1997, according to a Gallup poll released Monday.

The survey found 60 percent of Americans have confidence in the military, matching the lowest level since 1997. Confidence has not been lower since 1988, when it sunk to 58 percent.

The poll found declines in military confidence across political parties. While Republicans remain the most likely to express confidence in the military, the rate has decreased by more than 20 percentage points over the past three years, from 91 percent to 68 percent, the poll found. Independents are the least likely to have confidence in the U.S. military, with a decline of 13 percentage points from 68 percent to 55 percent, according to the survey. Democrats confidence came in at 62 percent, a more modest dip from last years 68 percent.

Gallup said confidence ranged between 50 percent and 58 percent from the late 1970s to the early 1980s during the Cold War, then increased during former President Reagans term in the 1980s and hit a record high after the Gulf War victory in 1991. Confidence has generally remained higher than 70 percent in the past two decades since 9/11, according to Gallup.

The firm noted that confidence has continued to decrease since the U.S. withdrawal from both Iraq and Afghanistan.

The same poll found public confidence in major societal institutions also continues to slump, with the presidency and U.S. Supreme Court seeing the biggest declines last year. This year, public confidence in the presidency and Supreme Court sat at 27 percent and 26 percent, respectively. The survey was conducted before the Supreme Court handed down landmark decisions on affirmative action, college loan forgiveness and LGBTQ access to certain services.

Gallup said confidence in 14 other major institutions remained close to last years low numbers, with no scores significantly changing. Small business has the most trust at 65 percent, while Congress has the least with 8 percent.

The poll was conducted through telephone interviews from June 1-22 with a random sample of 1,013 adults living in all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. The margin of sampling error is about 4 percentage points.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Authorities in Washington County are looking for the public to come forward and help solve a 44-year-old cold case.

Police say Douglas Bryner, 32, was last seen on July 23, 1979. He was traveling from his home in Redstone Township, Fayette County, to the home of Ralph Good in West Bethlehem Township, Washington County, when he disappeared.

Good is incarcerated for a different homicide and authorities say hes not cooperating in this investigation.

Anyone with information about the case should contact PSP Washington Station at 724-223-5200 and speak to Trooper Dowlin. Tipsters can also contact Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-8477 or submitting a tip online. There is a cash reward for information.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

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Brandon Wolf is most recognizable as an outspoken activist who turned grief into action following the Pulse nightclub tragedy in 2016. But his identity was shaped by much more than that single night, including the death of his mother and his upbringing in a white conservative town in the Pacific Northwest.

The life events that sculpted Wolfs story are shared in his new memoir, A Place For Us, which begins in an Oregon hospital where his mothers parting words were to never forget how special you are.

I take people all the way back to what it was like growing up as a Black queer kid in very white conservative America  and what led me to move 3,000 miles from home to find a home here in Orlando, Wolf said. Intersectionality is not just a buzzword; its a lived experience. I wrote this book to talk honestly about what it feels to stand at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities.

The memoir explores how certain memories burrow their way into your subconscious, shaping a self of self for decades to come.

You never forget your first. First kiss. First love. First heartache, the book reads before touching on racist and homophobic incidents from growing up that plagued Wolfs nightmares. There was always an instinctive glance over my shoulder when I passed the boys locker room and a flinch when Faggot! echoed from inside.

When he was 20, Wolf flew to San Francisco to audition for a job as a Disney performer after seeing an ad in his schools newspaper. Just weeks later, he was offered the role and moved from Canby, Oregon, to Orlando with only two suitcases in hand.

I had never really been an out, queer man living on my own without fear of consequences, and Orlando gave me the first opportunity to do that, Wolf said. Pulse, as a space, kind of embodied the safety I was looking for.

Story continues

From 2008 until 2016, the chapters of Wolfs story reveal a messy, vulnerable and compelling coming-of-age tale that finds the young man exploring his sense of belonging in Florida. These pages paint a much fuller picture than news stories and soundbites focusing solely on Pulse.

Theres more to us than just that one moment you see on TV. People relate to a lot of themes in the book, like family struggles and finding a place to belong in the world, Wolf said. Theres the story of the first time I was called the N-word. Theres the story of a white supremacist cell that was operating inside my high school at one point. Theres a story about a racist, homophobic incident with the Windermere Police Department.

Part of writing this memoir, a three-year process that began in 2020, was a form of introspection for Wolf as he explores his own past. But his goal is for readers to find something relatable within the pages of his book.

I wrote it for other people and other queer kids of color, Wolf said. I wanted them to know that theyre perfect exactly as they are. I wanted them to read this story and understand that it was a story about them, too. That required authenticity and vulnerability.

The years since Pulse have sent Wolf, who works for Equality Florida, on a journey to create a better world, one that would honor the legacy of his friends who lost their lives during the Pulse tragedy.

They mattered not just because of how they died but because of how they lived. I hope we can create a world they would be proud to live in, he said. Its a world where all of us are free to be who we are, to read what we want to read and dress how we want to dress. Lets celebrate those things instead of using them as cudgels against one another.

More information: brandonwolf.us/a-place-for-us

Find me @PConnPie on Instagram or send me an email: pconnolly@orlandosentinel.com.
A medic holds the foot of a malnourished child as the baby receives treatment at Al-Sabeen hospital, in Sanaa, Yemen, on July 30, 2023. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has said it would suspend its life-saving malnutrition interventions in Yemen in August due to a severe funding shortfall.

The WFP said in a report released Saturday that the lack of funds, combined with the continuous disruptions in supplies, has left it with no choice but to halt malnutrition prevention activities in Yemen. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

ADEN, Yemen, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has said it would suspend its life-saving malnutrition interventions in Yemen in August due to a severe funding shortfall.

The WFP said in a report released Saturday that the lack of funds, combined with the continuous disruptions in supplies, has left it with no choice but to halt malnutrition prevention activities in Yemen.

The move is expected to have a devastating impact on the 2.4 million malnourished individuals in the country, who are already among the most vulnerable.

To navigate the critical situation in Yemen, the UN agency said it would allocate the limited available funds to life-saving treatment programs for severe acute malnutrition cases, according to the report.

The report highlighted that the WFP's plan for the next six months, spanning from August 2023 to January 2024, has only been met with a mere 28 percent of the necessary funding.

Yemen has been embroiled in a devastating civil war since 2014, with the Houthi rebels fighting against the internationally-recognized government and its allies.

The war disrupted Yemen's food supply chain and caused widespread famine, bringing the Arab world's poorest country to the brink of collapse. 

A mother feeds her malnourished child with nasogastric feeding tube as the baby receives treatment at Al-Sabeen hospital, in Sanaa, Yemen, on July 30, 2023. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has said it would suspend its life-saving malnutrition interventions in Yemen in August due to a severe funding shortfall.

The WFP said in a report released Saturday that the lack of funds, combined with the continuous disruptions in supplies, has left it with no choice but to halt malnutrition prevention activities in Yemen. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)
Theres nothing quite like watching a puppy dog wiggle around on a yoga mat beneath you while youre in a down dog position.

Or seeing a fuzzy little bundle of energy race circles around another yogis mat while theyre pretzeled in a pigeon pose.

But truly, one of the greatest feelings I have ever experienced in my life came during savasana of the Pits & Giggles puppy yoga class I attended in late June, when a dozy guy named Elmer Fudd conked out on my chest. I was splayed out on my back, relaxing in whats also known as corpse pose at the end of the yoga class, and little Elmer couldnt keep his eyes open after what had been, for him, an hour of play. So I just let him nuzzle in.

But for that and what happened next, I feel like I need to offer my apologies to the woman whose mat was positioned next to mine.

Because I was still in a puppy-cuddling-bliss haze, but feeling a bit guilty that I had monopolized one little guy for so long when I handed furry Elmer off to the person next to me  completely forgetting what happens immediately after a tiny puppy wakes up.

You see, when a puppy first wakes up from a long sleep or even a small nap, there is almost always a dire and urgent need for them to relieve themselves.

Which Elmer promptly did on the yoga studio floor next to the person who might not be my closest friend anymore.

Its one of the very, very, very few dangers of puppy yoga.

A puppy sneaks a lick from a yogi in down dog at Pits & Giggles puppy yoga. Courtesy of Pits & Giggles

20 yogis and 7 puppies

Pits & Giggles, a rescue organization that helps pregnant pit bull-mix mama dogs, began experimenting with the classes earlier this year. They think theyve settled on a surefire new fundraising effort, and plan to start regular classes in September or October. The idea is to have classes every couple months, whenever theres a new litter of puppies.

Its just been a really great way for us to get our name out there, to get our babies out there, to get our mission out there, said Amanda Forsythe, the groups president and founder.

Story continues

I was really nervous at first, but the puppies have done phenomenally. Weve only had very few incidents of random projectile explosions. Because puppies are puppies. You know, they do puppy things. You cant not puppy.

The organization has held two rounds of puppy yoga classes at the Cornwell Center in Myers Park Baptist Church since May, each capped at 20 students  and seven puppies  per class. Each class cost $30 per person.

Any more than that and I dont think everybody would get a chance to touch a puppy, Forsythe said.

Which, of course, is the whole point of doing puppy yoga.

Puppies nap and wander around a line of yogis in the down dog position during Pits & Giggles puppy yoga in May 2023. Courtesy of Pits & Giggles

30 minutes of intense play

Pits & Giggles is uniquely positioned to have a never ending supply of puppies for yoga classes for a simple reason: The group focuses on rescuing pregnant pit bulls or pit bull-mix dogs, giving the moms a quiet and safe place to birth and nurse puppies, and then making sure all are spayed and neutered before theyre adopted out.

We can take that whole litter of siblings when they are small enough to be cute but big enough to be out in public safely and do something like puppy yoga, Forsythe said.

Theyve found that sweet spot to be when the puppies are 7 weeks old.

Theyre still young enough to be like, Oh my God, that was 30 minutes of intense play. I really need a nap, Forsythe said, which is fun because teething puppies chewing on you for an entire hour doesnt sound super exciting.

So our babies are still young enough that they need a nap halfway through, which is super, super cute.

Tell me about it.

Observer reporter Jodie Valade snuggles with Elmer Fudd before he dozes off during savasana. Jodie Valade/The Charlotte Observer

Pits & Giggles puppy yoga

For more information:

www.pitsandgigglesrescue.org

www.instagram.com/pitsandgigglesrescue/
For years, the carbon dioxide pipeline snaked through the fields and forests of Yazoo County, Mississippi, going largely unnoticed.

But that changed forever on a winter evening in 2020.

Under pressure from heavy rains and a landslide, the pipeline split in two, roaring like a jet engine, carving a 40-foot crater into the ground, and sending an invisible cloud of dangerous carbon dioxide vapor toward the tiny village of Satartia.

In a scene rescue workers would later compare to a zombie movie, cars died in the middle of the road, their engines starved of oxygen. Drivers fled, leaving their hazard lights blinking in the dust and darkness.

A sheriffs deputy working without an oxygen mask grew increasingly unsteady and short of breath, until he himself had to be rescued, according to Warren County fire coordinator Jerry Briggs.

Closer to the deafening roar of the escaping gas, Briggs and his team spotted a stalled-out car that was still in drive, the drivers foot resting on the brake, the windows closed. All three of the men inside were unconscious.

It was miraculous that they survived, Briggs said.

While rare and up until now nonfatal, accidents such as the one that night in Satartia loom large as the Midwest considers the health and safety issues raised by proposals to build massive new carbon dioxide pipeline projects, including Omaha-based Navigator CO2s 1,350-mile network spanning Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota.

The projects aim to prevent planet-warming CO2 from entering the atmosphere by capturing it during industrial processes, compressing it into a fluid, transporting it in steel pipelines and injecting it deep underground into naturally occurring rock formations where it will be trapped  ideally for thousands of years.

Navigator says this can be done safely and points to thousands of miles of CO2 pipeline already in use in the United States, mostly by the oil industry, which uses carbon dioxide to boost production.

Story continues

But opponents, including environmentalists and landowners, say a new generation of massive, climate-oriented CO2 pipeline projects such as Navigators should be put on hold until government officials can address alarming gaps in health and safety regulations.

Among the gaps:

There is no state or federal limit on how close pipelines carrying a potentially suffocating gas can be placed to a home, school or hospital.

There is no requirement that an odorant be added to the CO2 to alert the public to a leak, as is done with natural gas.

There is no limit on the impurities that are allowed in the carbon dioxide, despite the potential for pipeline corrosion and health hazards in the event of a leak.

There is no requirement that pipeline companies use a specific method to map potential accident hazard zones, although one standard approach  which failed in Mississippi  doesnt take complex topography into account.

Its like the Wild Wild West, said Pam Richart, co-director of the Champaign-based environmental group Eco-Justice Collaborative and lead organizer of the Coalition to Stop CO2 Pipelines, of the current state of regulation. Its whatever (the pipeline companies) say is going to go.

Adding to Illinoisans health and safety concerns are the unknowns: No one has ever stored as much CO2 underground as Navigator proposes  up to 15 million metric tons a year in central Illinois  and while the risks are theoretically low, opponents say the stakes are high.

Theyre worried about drinking water contamination due to CO2 leakage and the potential for tiny microearthquakes as subterranean pressures rise.

In May, more than 150 environmental and advocacy groups  including the Center for Biological Diversity, Eco-Justice Collaborative and Food & Water Watch  signed a letter to President Joe Biden calling for a moratorium on new CO2 pipelines until federal regulators complete their work on new safety standards.

Calls for state and federal moratoriums come at a time when the nation faces a potential tsunami of new CO2 pipelines, driven by billions of dollars in federal incentives aimed at combating climate change, according to a 2022 report from the nonprofit Pipeline Safety Trust.

In the Midwest, proposed projects from other companies include the 260-mile Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline in Illinois and Iowa and the 2,000-mile Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska.

The United States, currently home to about 5,300 miles of CO2 pipeline, could have more than 68,000 miles by 2050, according to a Princeton University report.

Navigator declined to do a phone interview but said in writing that current state and federal pipeline regulations are sufficient.

The United States has thousands of miles of regulated, liquid CO2 pipelines that have been operating safely for years, the company wrote. There are many instances in which Navigator is exceeding the federal safety stipulations outlined in (CO2 pipeline) regulations.

A potential bomb

Karen Sanders greeted a visitor from the wide porch of her three-bedroom home in rural Nokomis, 200 miles southwest of Chicago.

Petunias dangled from hanging flower baskets, drawing the occasional hummingbird. A sign just inside the front door said Grateful, thankful, blessed.

This is the forever home Sanders and her husband, Eric, a farmer, built 25 years ago on 5 acres of family land. Her late father, a carpenter, helped with construction, as did her father-in-law, a retired farmer who used a scoop tractor to lift shingles to the roof.

She and her husband raised their two grown children here.

But Sanders, 54, a community college vice president, said she wont stay if Navigator succeeds in its plan to run a high-pressure carbon dioxide pipeline about 400 yards from her home in a farm field owned by her family.

Its a huge decision, said Sanders. But we refuse to live next to what we consider a potential bomb.

Of all the pipeline concerns facing Illinois landowners, none has caused more anguish than the prospect of a rupture.

Ninety-nine percent of my family lives just miles from us, said Sabrina Jones, 35, of Nokomis, who has helped organize the local pipeline opposition, along with her husband, Ralph. If and when that pipeline ruptures, it would suffocate all of us.

Opponents could be forced to allow pipelines to run under their properties if Navigators application for eminent domain is approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission. Under eminent domain, private property can be taken for public use against the owners wishes but with proper compensation.

At the very least, landowners want setbacks  or required minimum distances from homes, schools and other places where people gather. But the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration doesnt require setbacks for CO2 pipelines.

Nothing prevents them from putting (a pipeline) right next to your house, said pipeline safety consultant Richard Kuprewicz, author of an influential Pipeline Safety Trust report on regulatory gaps.

The pipeline proposal still needs the approval of the Illinois Commerce Commission and permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, the project will need more buy-in from landowners along the proposed route; in June only about 13% had agreed to allow Navigator to run the underground pipes through their property, according to testimony before the commerce commission.

A spokesperson for Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a written statement saying the governor does not comment on proposals that are pending before the Illinois Commerce Commission.

The governor has worked to appoint qualified individuals to the commission and believes in their work to ensure adequate, efficient, reliable, safe and least-cost public utility services, protect Illinois consumers and residents, and make the best decisions for the state based on current law, the statement said.

In its last session, the Illinois legislature considered a bill  supported by Navigator critics  that would require that CO2 pipelines be placed at least a mile from homes, and at least 2 miles from hospitals and schools. Theres an exception for companies that use more sophisticated (and expensive) computer modeling to determine potential hazard zones and then route their pipelines accordingly.

A second bill, backed by industry, didnt include pipeline setbacks.

Neither bill made it to a floor vote.

Studies of existing U.S. CO2 pipelines have found that accidents leading to the release of significant amounts of CO2 are infrequent.

Accidental leaks occur at a rate of 1 incident per 1,600 miles of pipeline per year, according to a 2022 study in the Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, and many of those accidents are leaks from holes and unintended releases from relief valves. The study, based on U.S. government data, found that only 3% of leaks were serious enough to be classified as ruptures.

But the 2020 pipeline rupture in Mississippi served as a reminder that when larger accidents do occur, they can be serious.

People were dropping like flies all over the place, said Kuprewicz, referring to those who passed out. Im not here to scare people. Its just the reality. I dont fear this stuff, but it demands great respect.

Two hundred people  including those prevented from driving through the area  were evacuated because of a rupture that occurred due to a landslide after heavy rains, according to a government report. The soil advanced downhill toward the pipeline, creating pressure and causing a weld to fail.

Federal regulators fined the pipeline operator, Texas-based Denbury Gulf Coast Pipelines, nearly $2.9 million. Among the alleged violations listed in a March consent agreement: Denbury failed to review its procedures for monitoring and addressing geohazard risks to determine their effectiveness, and the company failed to correct deficiencies in its geohazard program. Geohazards include landslides.

Denbury did not admit to any violations but agreed to pay the fine and address the alleged violations and risks.

Denbury, which was recently acquired by ExxonMobil, did not respond to requests for comment.

A federal database says there were no injuries in the Mississippi pipeline rupture, but thats based on a definition of injury that requires inpatient hospitalization.

There were and are injuries, said Russell Serafin, an attorney at the Webster Law Firm in Houston, which is representing 104 Mississippi residents in a lawsuit against the pipeline operators parent company, Denbury Inc., alleging physical and emotional suffering and loss of income.

One plaintiff, Deemmeris Burns, spoke about his health during a recent public meeting hosted by federal pipeline regulators in Des Moines.

Burns, who was found unconscious in a car during the CO2 release, said he was exposed to the gas for about three hours.

Im still suffering from it today: headaches, memory loss, trouble breathing, thinking, concentrating, he said. It does so much to you.

Alarming safety gaps

Satartia was supposed to be safe.

Years before the accident, when Denbury did computer modeling to predict the area that would be potentially affected if a leak occurred a mile from Satartia, the news was good. The colorless, odorless gas wasnt expected to reach the village of 50.

A company map, included in a government report, shows that the CO2 hazard zone was expected to stay within a half mile or so of the pipeline.

But, in reality, the gas would follow a very different path when it escaped. Heavier than air, the CO2 flowed downhill, rested in the bowl of a crater, and, then as the discharge volume increased, crested a hill and moved into Satartia.

The gas, which started leaking at 7:06 p.m., appears to have reached the outskirts of Satartia by 7:18 p.m., according to a detailed account in HuffPost.

How could Denburys predictions have been so wrong?

Unlike natural gas, carbon dioxide migrates in fairly unpredictable ways, depending on the weather and terrain. It can continue on for miles in dangerous  or even fatal  concentrations, according to Pipeline Safety Trust executive director Bill Caram.

Denbury used a standard method of calculating the potential impact on Satartia, according to a letter the company sent to federal regulators. But such modeling methods dont typically account for complex topography, such as hilly terrain.

Some pipeline critics want the government to require a more sophisticated approach that can handle complex topography. But that approach is newer and by some accounts much more expensive, and it is still undergoing some testing.

That leaves a gap, in both knowledge and regulation.

We dont have a simple formula, and we also dont yet have best practices, said Caram.

Another gap is the lack of any requirement that an odorant be added to carbon dioxide, in the same manner as a rotten egg smell is added to natural gas.

Thats critical, Caram said, and the search for the right candidate  one that stays with the escaping gas and wont react with CO2 and corrode the pipeline  is ongoing.

Other concerns center around potential impurities in the CO2. The new climate-oriented pipelines will mostly draw their CO2 from multiple industrial plants, unlike the pipelines used by the oil industry, which tend to rely on a single natural source of CO2.

Multiple industrial sources could increase the risk of impurities such as hydrogen sulfide, which can make leaks more hazardous to human health, according to Caram. Impurities  including water  can also corrode CO2 pipelines.

At a time when the new climate-oriented pipelines are poised to rapidly expand, there are still no maximum limits on the amount of impurities they can carry.

There are a lot of alarming gaps in the safety regulations right now, Caram said.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is working on new CO2 pipeline safety regulations in the wake of Satartia, and deputy administrator Tristan Brown said the goal is to have the update completed and in place in 2024.

Were operating at light speed because of the importance of this, Brown said.

Officials arent allowed to comment on the content of new rules before they are made public, but Brown said that the update will be informed by a close look at what went wrong in Satartia.

We share the sentiment of the public, that were not going to rely on our regulations simply being followed and take enforcement action if theyre not, Brown said. Were trying to foolproof the process.

Will stored CO2 leak?

In 2011, a public-private research team began injecting thousands of metric tons of carbon dioxide more than a mile underground, into the porous rock below an Archer Daniels Midland ethanol facility in Decatur.

At first, the earth below was quiet. But two months after the injections started, monitoring equipment detected a very low-intensity earthquake with a magnitude measured in negative numbers.

Two days later, there was another microearthquake, and 10 days after that, another. Over the next three years, 4,700 microquakes would be detected and located, with an average magnitude of -0.9.

Earthquakes caused by CO2 injection tend to be small, and those at Decatur were no exception. None reached even magnitude 2  itself still a level at which quakes are not commonly felt by people, according to a 2016 report in the International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control.

That was good news, in part because of concerns that if the earthquakes triggered by CO2 injection were larger, they could have triggered carbon dioxide leaks.

The Decatur project, one of the largest carbon storage projects in the world at the time, concluded with data showing there had been no CO2 leakage, according to a 2021 report to the U.S. Department of Energy. And a follow-up project at the same site has been storing about 500,000 metric tons of CO2 a year.

Those were big steps forward for Illinois, considered by some a prime location for the storage of liquid CO2, due to natural features such as vast deposits of sandstone, a rock prized for both porosity, or spaces to hold the CO2, and permeability, or channels between the spaces that allow the CO2 to spread.

Still, Navigator opponents say the volume of CO2 injection that Navigator is proposing is, in itself, a concern. The company plans to inject up to 15 million metric tons of CO2 a year, or about 30 times more than Decatur.

According to an international database, no existing underground storage project in the world has a maximum annual capacity as large Navigators, although there are several of that magnitude in the works.

Will CO2 leak? I dont know, said Richart, the Champaign environmental advocate. What I know is theres no project of this scale that has been done before for us to look back on and say, Yeah, weve been doing it safely for decades. We cant say that.

Researchers typically dont speak about the risk of CO2 leakage from underground storage in general terms because hazards are calculated based on a sites specific characteristics.

But a recent report from the Prairie Research Institute did offer some ballpark risk figures, based on research conducted during a previous project in Illinois and east Texas.

The report estimated that the risk of a CO2 leak from an undocumented deep well  perhaps abandoned during a previous wave of oil drilling  was about 1 in 1,000 per well per year. Other kinds of leaks were deemed less likely. A slow leak through the caprock  the layer of dense rock that forms a natural barrier to the upward movement of CO2  was considered less than half as likely.

The risk of a leak through an induced fault  or a fault created by the project  was estimated to be 2 in 100 million per year.

Stanford University professor of geophysics emeritus Mark Zoback, who has written about the CO2 storage potential of central Illinois, said that a storage project on the scale of Navigator would require three to five years of site study and testing by teams of people.

That prep work would include drilling wells, collecting and analyzing data on seismic activity, and running computer models  and the final result might be a finding that the proposed storage site couldnt handle the amount of CO2 proposed.

Even if the site proved suitable, there would still be unknowns, due to the unprecedented amount of CO2 involved, Zoback said. More CO2 means larger areas of pressure on the basement rock below the storage area, and, in turn, a higher probability that larger faults will be reached and activated, causing larger earthquakes.

Scientists cant predict exactly how the larger pressurized areas will affect earthquake size, Zoback said, although he thinks the most likely scenario for Navigator-scale projects in Illinois is that earthquakes of relatively small magnitude would increase in frequency. That would likely lead the operator of the project to try to reduce the size and number of earthquakes by decreasing CO2 injection rates.

Navigator noted that Environmental Protection Agency regulations require seismic monitoring during the injection of CO2 deep into the ground. Injection rate reduction and shutdown procedures are in place, in case seismic activity is observed, the company said.

Navigator also cited decades of study of the geology of central Illinois  where the Decatur project has captured international attention  and said that Illinois injection wells have successfully reduced seismic activity. In Decatur, that was done by changing the depth of the injection.

Zoback, in contrast, stressed that the amounts of CO2 injected in Decatur are still relatively small.

You cant just extrapolate from a few hundred thousand tons to 15 million tons and assume everything is just going to be all right, he said. At least, thats my opinion.
Russia is currently incapable of occupying Ukrainian seaports, therefore all strikes launched on them should be considered terrorist attacks.

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with a Brazilian journalist

Quote: "Is it sane for a person to attack ports? Lets just discuss this. He [Putin  ed.] cannot occupy these ports. These are not military actions. It is not even about the war. He cannot disembark in our ports. It is impossible. He is not capable of it. We will simply sink all his fleet if he comes too close. He is fully aware of it."

"Therefore, this is not a military target. He launches attacks on Odesa, on its seaports and historical centreHere we must answer the question 'why?'. It is not because of the grain. [It is  ed.] terrorism, a terrorist act for terrorising the population"

Details: Zelenskyy stressed that Putin is unsound and the bigger part of the world is moving towards realising it.

Background:

On 17 July, Russia announced the suspension of the grain deal and threatened "risks" to the parties which will continue the initiative without Russia.

Right after that, Russia intensified its attacks on the Ukrainian port and grain infrastructure.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Russia is unable to launch an amphibious invasion of Ukraines ports, as its Black Sea Fleet ships will be sunk before they approach Odesa, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Brazilian broadcaster Globo.

He (Russian dictator Vladimir Putin) cannot land in our ports, it's impossible, said Zelenskyy.

Read also: Zelenskyy visits forward positions of the Ukrainian special ops soldiers in Bakhmut area

He doesn't have the capability. We will simply sink his entire fleet if he approaches us. And he knows that very well and acts accordingly.

The president added that Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian ports are terrorist acts, because they are not military targets.

Read also: Ukrainian Armed Forces taking measures to boost Odesa Oblasts defense  Humeniuk

He is shelling Odesa, its port and historical center, he said.

Read also: Putin tells African leaders Russia ready to enter negotiations to end war

A week ago, another church (in Odesa) was deliberately destroyed. And you have to ask yourself 'why?'. It's not about grain. Terrorism, a terrorist act, to terrorize the population.

The Ukrainian leader added that Putin is an irrational person and the majority of the world is also moving towards realizing this.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Newton B. Jones, the embattled international president of the Kansas City, Kansas-based Boilermakers union accused by his top executives of misappropriating money for personal use, has stepped down.

In a letter to union officers Monday morning, Jones said he was retiring as of noon eastern time. He said he had appointed an international president pro tem to take his place until a permanent leader can be elected at the unions next Consolidated Convention in 2026.

Ive been successful in keeping the International officers of this union working together in the best interests of our members for 20 years, Jones said. Unfortunately, we are now crossways.

The president pro tem Jones appointed is Cory R. Channon, who began his career with the Boilermakers in 1986 as a member of Local 146 in Edmonton, Alberta, according to a news release issued Monday by the union.

Jones, 70, told union members that he had given you my all.

Ive given this union 52 years of my life, he said. Ive endured the constant lies and hate. Ive endured the social media blogs that cause our members to believe in the lies that are told in those forums.

I choose to go on with my remaining years without the responsibility or the demands of being this organizations leader.

He described recent efforts by members of the unions executive council to oust him as quite ugly stuff.

They have created a smear campaign against me and against my wonderful wife, he said. This is really the ugliest part of this union.

In a news release issued later Monday, four of the five members of the unions executive board called Jones retirement announcement a bizarrely rambling and self-aggrandizing statement.

Jones was removed by an overwhelming vote of the Boilermakers Executive Board after financial improprieties were discovered, the release said. Todays resignation, an apparent effort to enrich himself with retirement benefits that are not permissible when removed from office, was announced as the Federal District Court in Kansas City is in deliberations regarding the actions that led up to Jones removal from office.

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Presumably in an attempt to shield he and his family from further legal liability and acting in direct contradiction to a Court Order issued by the Federal Court, Jones also attempted to appoint his own replacement.

The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers represents about 46,000 workers in the United States and Canada who assemble, install and repair boilers, fit pipes and build power plants and ships. Jones, who joined the union at 18 as a field construction Boilermaker, has led the union since his father retired in 2003.

Jones also has been chairman of the union-owned Bank of Labor since 2003, according to the unions news release. In 2008, it said, the banks board of directors unanimously chose Jones to serve as chief executive officer.

During his tenure leading the bank, Jones was instrumental in transforming the bank from a local Kansas City bank to a bank with national presence in all 50 states, growing deposits from $540 million in 2015 to nearly $1 billion today, the release said. Bank of Labor is the only union majority-owned, union-staffed and union-dedicated bank in the United States.

The release said Jones new title is international president emeritus, and he will continue advising the unions leadership in a consultive capacity.

Corey R. Channon

Channon is the third Canadian in the Boilermakers history to serve in the organizations highest office, the union release said. Before being appointed president pro tem, it said, Channon was international director of climate change policy solutions. He also has been a special assistant to Jones and assistant director-construction sector operations for Canada.

Jones retirement is another twist in the bizarre saga that began after members of the unions executive council voted in June to remove him as the international president, finding he had violated a section of the Boilermakers constitution dealing with the misuse of funds.

Saying this misuse is shocking, the council ordered Jones to reimburse the union all of the funds which he misspent as reflected in these charges and to immediately resign from all of his other positions, including serving as a trustee of all funds in which the union participates.

Since then, theres been an ongoing conflict over who is in control of the union.

At a hearing in June, Chief Judge Eric F. Melgren of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas ordered a stay of the actions by the unions executive council to remove Jones and the councils decision to elect retired international vice president Warren Fairley to replace him.

But Melgren also ordered that any efforts to remove the executive council members from office for expelling Jones be stopped. And he said that Jones action to remove them from other appointments, such as committees and trust funds, would be stayed, saying it was clearly done in retaliation for the officers ousting him.

The allegations against Jones went public after three members of the unions executive council  Tom Baca, of California; Arnie Stadnick, of Canada; and Timothy Simmons, of Alabama  announced their June 2 decision to remove Jones.

Another executive council member, John Fultz, of New York, was not eligible to participate in the decision because he filed the internal disciplinary charges against Jones that led to his removal. The councils fifth executive council member, Lawrence McManamon Sr., of Ohio, did not attend the hearing at which the decision was made, nor did he vote to remove Jones. The executive council is composed of the unions five international vice presidents and Jones.

The unions executive council found that Jones ordered the union to give his wife, Kateryna, more than $100,000 plus benefits in back pay for apparently no union purpose while she was living in the Ukraine and spent more than $20,000 in union funds for flights to Ukraine to visit his wife and to go to the home which he owns in the Ukraine.

Jones and his wife also turned in about $40,000 in receipts for meals for them and other family members when at their home in North Carolina  some quite lavish and expensive  with no justification for the expenses, the executive council found.

Jones has denied any wrongdoing and said the executive council had no authority under the unions constitution to dismiss him.

The case ended up in federal court in Kansas City, Kansas, after the union filed a civil suit against Baca, Stadnick and Simmons, requesting a temporary restraining order and then an injunction to prohibit Jones removal. Though the lawsuit was filed by the union, many members say it doesnt represent their feelings and they want no part of it.

The union executives fought back, filing a counterclaim against Jones, his wife and International Secretary-Treasurer William Creeden. They asked the court for a temporary restraining order followed by an injunction enforcing their decision to remove Jones.

The counterclaim alleged that Jones misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars from the union and its members. But instead of putting a stop to the practice, it said, Creeden authorized the transactions. And because Baca, Stadnick, Simmons and Fultz participated in the internal disciplinary process that led to Jones ouster, they said, Jones had engaged in a campaign of retaliation against them.

Jones limited their travel, the document said, and removed them from long-held appointed leadership positions. And he filed internal disciplinary charges against Baca, Stadnick, Simmons and Fultz, accusing them of violating the unions constitution.

Jones retirement comes four days after a hearing in federal court over who will lead the union. Melgren did not issue a ruling, saying he needed to study the case further. He added, however, that he would issue his decision promptly.

After the hearing, two dozen angry rank-and-file union members confronted Jones as he left the courthouse, some chanting Prison for the president!

Darrell Manroe, a Boilermaker from Grand Junction, Colorado, who attended the hearing, said Monday that members strongly oppose Channons appointment.

Its just more turmoil to muck up the water, Manroe said. Jones has no authority to try and appoint or remove anyone, including himself. The rank-and-file do not trust another Jones appointee. Thats what got us to this problem in the first place.

It was unclear Monday how Jones retirement would affect the federal court case. One issue in the case is whether the union executive council had the authority under the unions constitution to remove Jones as president. Now, many are questioning whether Jones had the authority to appoint an interim president.

Jones said in his announcement that the unions constitution authorizes the international president to appoint officers pro tem.

The tug-of-war over who controls the union is playing out even as a federal investigation of union activities is underway. Numerous sources have told The Star that theyve been interviewed by the FBI in recent months.

In Mondays letter, Jones attacked three union members he said were after his job.

One is not eligible according to the constitution, he said. Hes retired and has not been seeking work at the trade for 12 consecutive months. Another, he said, would be a novice disaster.

Hes a one-term business manager who rifles through proprietary organizational files to fabricate a plethora of untruths in order to mislead the leaders and members of this union, Jones said. One desperately and selfishly wants his son to be International Vice President even though he has never worked at the Boilermaker construction trade.

All of these are personal agendas, not agendas to make this union better and healthier as I have done as your International President.

Jones listed what he described as numerous successes under his leadership, saying the union is in the very best financial shape it has ever been in its history.

He said the Bank of Labor is doing business in all 50 states and also is in the best financial shape in its history and the Boilermakers National Health & Welfare Fund is not only in the best shape it has ever been in its history, we saved over $1 billion by taking the actions we did to remedy operational problems.

The Boilermakers National Annuity is in excellent shape, Jones said, and the Boilermakers-Blacksmiths National Pension Fund is still properly funding our dependent retirees and is still a viable pension plan for our members...

I have done my level best to leave this wonderful union and its satellite organizations in the best shape possible given the market impacts of the Great Recession, the pandemic and the extreme environmentalist attacks on our core work in the construction sector, he said.

But the executive boards statement said Jones apparent abdication was celebrated by Boilermakers around the country who have for months been wearing hard hat stickers featuring a picture of Jones with the text Not Our President.

Our members work hard and dangerous jobs, the statement said. As the elected leadership, we have both a moral and legal obligation to ensure that the people that are elected to lead the union work just as hard to protect the members interests. To that end, we will continue to fight to ensure that neither Jones nor anyone else abuses this responsibility to our members or attempts to further enrich themselves at our members expense.
Two protesters burned pages torn from a Quran outside Sweden's parliament in Stockholm Monday, the third such demonstration in recent weeks and the first since the country's prime minister warned that demonstrations involving the desecration of Islam's holy book were making Sweden a bigger target for terrorism.



On Monday, two men  Salwan Momika and Salwan Najem  kicked and stomped on a Quran before setting some pages from the book alight, French news agency AFP reported. Momika, a Christian Iraqi refugee, and Najem previously burned a copy of the Quran in June while standing outside Stockholm's Grand Mosque on the day of Eid-ul-Adha, the most important religious festival on the Muslim calendar.

Momika, who sought political asylum in Sweden a few years ago, also staged another protest in July at which he stomped on a Quran and used the Iraqi flag to wipe his shoes outside Iraq's embassy in the Swedish capital.

The two previous protests sparked outrage in Muslim countries and drew protests often aimed at Swedish embassies.

A woman holds up a Quran during a protest outside the Swedish consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 22, 2023. / Credit: Francisco Seco/AP

Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said last week that he was "deeply concerned" as more requests were being submitted to Sweden's police for permission to hold anti-Muslim protests involving Quran desecration.

The prime minister told Sweden's TT news agency that the Swedish Security Service had determined that, while the country had long been considered a "legitimate" target for terror attacks by militant groups and lone actors inspired by them, it was now being "prioritized" as a target.



Freedom of speech is protected under Sweden's constitution and police can only refuse a protest permit if "there have been serious public disturbances or a considerable danger for participants at a previous gathering of a similar kind," according to guidelines on the website for Swedish police authorities.



Anger over the protests boiled over in Iraq, where scores of angry demonstrators have twice stormed Sweden's embassy. The government in Baghdad formally cut diplomatic ties with Sweden and several other Muslim majority countries around the globe have summoned Swedish ambassadors in their capitals to lodge formal complaints.

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Protesters angered by the burning of a copy of the Quran at a small protest in Stockholm, Sweden, scale a wall at the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, July 20, 2023. / Credit: Ali Jabar/AP

Iran's response to the Quran burning protests has included thinly veiled threats from the Islamic republic's highest authority.



In a social media post last week, Iran's "Supreme Leader" Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the "insult to the Holy Quran in Sweden is a bitter, conspiratorial, dangerous event. It is the opinion of all Islamic scholars that those who have insulted the Holy Quran deserve the severest punishment."



The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was convening an emergency virtual meeting Monday to address the desecration of the Quran in both Sweden and Denmark, where similar protests have also been staged in recent weeks.



On Sunday, Denmark's top diplomat Lars Lkke Rasmussen said the Danish government would seek to make it illegal to desecrate the Quran or any other religious text in front of foreign embassies amid backlash from the Islamic community, The Associated Press reported.

In a statement also issued on Sunday, the Danish government said that while freedom of expression is one of the most important values in Danish society, Quran burnings "are deeply offensive and reckless acts committed by few individuals."

"These few individuals do not represent the values the Danish society is built on," the Danish government said, adding that it will explore the possibility of "intervening in special situations" where cultures and religions are being insulted.

Sweden's leader, Kristersson, said in a statement issued Sunday that his country and Denmark were "in the most serious security situation since the Second World War, and as for Sweden, we are aware that states and state-like actors are actively exploiting the situation."

The prime minister called the situation "dangerous" and said new measures would be necessary "to strengthen our resilience."

"In Sweden, we have already started analyzing the legal situation," he said, "with the purpose of exploring the scope for measures that would strengthen our national security and the security of Swedes in Sweden and abroad."

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Map of China showing accumulated rainfall for the past 24 hours. (Laurence CHU)

Heavy rains battered northern China on Monday, killing at least two people in Beijing while washing away cars and forcing the capital to issue its highest alerts for flooding and landslides.

Storm Doksuri, a former super typhoon, has swept northwards over China since Friday, when it hit southern Fujian province after scything through the Philippines.

Emergency personnel recovered two bodies from waterways in Beijing's Mentougou district on Monday, the state-run People's Daily said.

AFP reporters saw tree branches and dented cars, left by receding floodwaters, strewn on riverbanks in Mentougou on Monday afternoon.

"This morning it was crazy, the water overflowed the Mentougou river and the whole avenue was flooded," Guo Zhenyu, a 49-year-old resident, told AFP.

Yellow bulldozers, workers in orange mackintoshes and residents cleared away the mud and debris during a period of lighter rain on Monday afternoon.

"I'm old but I've never seen flooding like this before in my life," Mentougou resident Qin Quan said.

She showed AFP a video on her phone, shared among residents of the area, of workers attempting to resuscitate an unconscious man, as well as footage of a man desperately clinging to a pole with one hand as water washes over him.

The much larger and still swollen Yongding River in the same district churned up debris in brown torrents as residents looked on in shock from a bridge.

Other footage shared with AFP by a Mentougou resident showed a traffic barrier dozens of metres long snaking down a road as the water carried it away.

Chen Hong, a resident of the southern Fengtai district, shared footage with AFP that showed a parked van half-submerged in fast-flowing brown water on Monday morning as the rain continued to fall.

Residents in Chen's neighbourhood cleared mud outside their homes with shovels during a brief respite from the downpour.

"Once it starts raining the road turns into a drain, and there's water on the first floor inside houses," said Chen, 52.

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"The houses here are all old houses, so there are definitely concerns about safety," she said.

A section of road surface in the outer Fangshan district caved in under rising water, local media reported.

Hundreds of bus services in the capital were suspended, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The Beijing government issued the highest flood warning for the suburban Dashihe River, while nearby city Tianjin also issued a flood alert.

Social media users uploaded footage of vehicles swept away by muddy torrents and thoroughfares turned into rapids on the outskirts of the city.

Murky water can be seen in one clip posted on the Instagram-like Xiaohongshu platform on Monday swamping a large intersection in the outer Mentougou district next to high-rise apartment blocks. The clip was geolocated by AFP.

Rainwater also appeared to leak onto a subway platform in western Beijing's university district in another Xiaohongshu video from Sunday that was geolocated by AFP.

- Extreme weather -

The streets of central Beijing were quieter than usual on Monday morning as residents heeded official recommendations to work from home, with only a handful of delivery drivers braving pools of water seen in usually packed bike lanes.

The governments of Beijing and neighbouring Hebei province renewed red alerts for rainstorms on Monday.

China has been experiencing extreme weather and posting record temperatures this summer, events that scientists say are being exacerbated by climate change.

Experts have warned that the ongoing downpour could prompt even worse flooding than in July 2012, when 79 people were killed and tens of thousands evacuated, according to local media.

An average of 170.9 millimetres of rain inundated Beijing in 40 hours between Saturday night and noon on Monday, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said.

That is almost equivalent to the average rainfall for the entire month of July, according to official records.

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A council says it will be able to provide more support to refugees and those facing homelessness in the district.

West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) says it is committed to keep helping refugee groups and individuals find permanent homes.

It has received a 220,541 government grant for Ukrainian guests and others in need until the end of 2024.

A woman who benefitted from the scheme called it "a good starting point".

WODC supports three primary refugee schemes for Syrians, Afghans and Ukrainians but it does not limit its help to these specific groups.

It said it had also been "actively supporting Ukrainian families and individuals in finding permanent homes" through the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Councillor Geoff Saul, member for housing, said they were "delighted" to take steps towards improving the living situations of refugee guests and "addressing the pressing issue of homelessness in our community".

Olha is one of the guests who had to make "a very hard decision" to leave her life behind and "flee from the war".

Now, she helps others rebuild their lives as a housing officer at the South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils.

"I consider Homes for Ukraine hosting arrangements to be a good starting point for guests to get used to the environment and begin settling in a new country", Olha said.

She added that guests are encouraged to be "open-minded and proactive and to consider all possible options", due to the high accommodation demand in Oxfordshire.

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Smoke billows during inside Ain al-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp in the Lebanese coastal city of Sidon (Mahmoud ZAYYAT)

Three days of fighting in south Lebanon's Ain al-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp have left at least 11 dead and dozens wounded, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Monday.

Clashes broke out over the weekend between members of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's secular Fatah movement and Islamist militants based in the camp, Lebanon's largest located in the coastal city of Sidon.

Renewed gunfire and shelling on Monday shook the camp, said an AFP correspondent in Sidon, sending frightened residents fleeing.

"According to reports, 11 were killed and another 40 were injured, including one staff member" of UNRWA, said Dorothee Klaus, the UN agency's director in Lebanon.

She added in a statement that UNRWA has "temporarily suspended" operations in the camp due to the fighting.

Palestinian factions said they had agreed on a truce on Sunday but it did not hold, with fighting continuing with automatic weapons and rocket fire.

Officials said five Fatah members and one Islamist militant had been killed in the initial violence over the weekend.

There was no immediate word on the identities of the other fatalities.

"UNRWA urgently calls on all parties to immediately return to calm and take all measures necessary to protect civilians, including children," Klaus said.

The statement noted that "two UNRWA schools have sustained damaged" and more than 2,000 Ain al-Helweh residents had been forced to flee.

An AFP correspondent on Monday morning saw dozens of people, mostly women and children, leaving the camp carrying light luggage, while others took refuge in a nearby mosque.

Shells also fell outside the camp, AFP journalists said, with a nearby hospital evacuating patients and shops in Sidon closing fearing further escalation.

- 'Raining shells' -

By long-standing convention, the Lebanese army does not enter Palestinian refugee camps in the country -- now bustling but impoverished urban districts -- leaving the factions themselves to handle security.

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"We fled from the scene of the fighting, shells are raining in the streets," a 75-year-old woman told AFP, requesting anonymity for security concerns.

She said armed factions were carrying weapons "to fight Israel, not to fight each other and become displaced".

Ain al-Helweh, now home to more than 54,000 registered refugees, was created for Palestinians who were driven out or fled during the 1948 war that coincided with Israel's creation.

In recent years, they have been joined by thousands of Palestinians who had been living in Syria and fled the war there.

Palestinian armed groups in Lebanon rarely confront Israel nowadays, but fighting between rival factions is common in Ain al-Helweh.

The latest violence began late Saturday, killing an Islamist and injuring six others, a Palestinian source inside the camp had told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

The next day, a Fatah military leader and four of his colleagues were killed during a "heinous operation", the group said.

Tiny Lebanon hosts an estimated 250,000 Palestinian refugees, according to UNRWA.

Most Palestinians, including more than 30,000 who fled the war in neighbouring Syria after 2011, live in one of Lebanon's 12 official camps, and face a variety of legal restrictions, including on employment.

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A man was sentenced to 15 years in prison in Cherokee County after pleading guilty to terroristic threats, family violence aggravated assault, and theft by taking.

Canton police first became aware of Christopher George Roberts, 52, on April 2, 2020, while investigating a report of a stolen truck.

Roberts had moved from Burlington, North Carolina to Canton in March 2020 to live with his girlfriend.

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Also living in the house were Roberts ex-wife and her boyfriend.

According to the Cherokee County District Attorneys office, several weeks after moving in, Roberts borrowed a truck to haul furniture back to Burlington.

When he did not return the truck when expected, his girlfriend and ex-wife called and texted him.

He responded by threatening them and refusing to return the truck, which was then reported stolen.

Both of the women were fearful for their lives. During a phone call, Roberts told his ex-wife that hed snap her neck like a twig, said Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Rachel Ashe, of the Domestic Violence Unit, Office of the District Attorney. In text messages, he told his girlfriend he would cut her throat. He also threatened gun violence with law enforcement officers.

After the stolen truck was located in Gainesville, Canton Police warned responding officers to use extreme officer safety in arresting Roberts.

A Canton police officer called Roberts on the phone to reason with him, but Roberts talked about his relationships with the two women and said that police were going to have to shoot him.

He threatened to crash into another vehicle head-on or kill himself by running off the road.

A Forsyth County deputy performed a PIT maneuver on Roberts and he was brought back to Cherokee County to face charges of terrorist threats and theft by taking.

Roberts was released on bond, fitted with an ankle monitor, and ordered to avoid drugs and alcohol.

Then on August 17, 2020, Canton police received another 911 call involving Roberts.

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While his girlfriend was at work, he logged into her Facebook account to read her private messages.

He sent her multiple angry texts accusing her of being unfaithful.

When she returned home, he grabbed her by the throat and choked her until she passed out.

As soon as she woke up, he told her, I just put you to sleep and I could have killed you right then.

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He then threatened her with a knife, knocked a hole in the wall, and left the home with her phone, wallet, and car.

When police responded to their home, Roberts called his ex-wife to apologize for his actions, claiming he was drunk and would die tonight.

Officers were able to speak to him on the phone and he once again said police would have to kill him.

Roberts then cut off the ankle monitor and drove to South Carolina, abandoning his girlfriends car where it was later recovered.

He was arrested in Virginia after stealing another car and running from law enforcement in that state.

Roberts served time in Virginia before returning to face charges in Cherokee County.

Roberts was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Following his release he will be on probation for 15 years.

Roberts was prosecuted as a recidivist offender, removing the possibility of him being paroled.

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At least 35 killed, over 200 injured as blast hits political rally in NW Pakistan

Xinhua) 09:18, July 31, 2023

ISLAMABAD, July 30 (Xinhua) -- At least 35 people were killed and over 200 others sustained injuries on Sunday after a blast ripped through a political rally in Pakistan's Bajaur district, an official of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province told Xinhua.

The official from the governor's office in the provincial capital Peshawar said that local authorities had confirmed that 35 people lost their lives, fearing that the death toll might further rise as at least 50 of the injured are in critical condition.

The official said that the governor has advised all the authorities concerned to provide the best available treatment to the wounded and, if needed, they should arrange for airlifting them to other cities, including Peshawar and the capital Islamabad.

Nasir Mehmood Satti, an official at the Regional Police Office of Malakand division, told the media that the attack took place when a convention of political workers of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) was being held near Shanday Mor area on the Munda Khar road of Bajaur.

The police officer said soon after the blast, police, security forces and rescue teams rushed to the site, started a rescue operation, and shifted bodies and the injured to nearby hospitals.

An eyewitness Akbar, who attended the event, told local media that he heard a big blast and saw bodies, the injured and blood.

"I joined other locals to shift bodies and the injured to the hospital. This is a great cruelty on innocent people," said Akbar, while appealing to the public to rush to the hospital for blood donations.

According to the police, it was a bomb blast, and the bomb disposal squad is working to find out whether it was conducted with a planted device or it was a suicide attack.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the attack and expressed grief over the losses of lives.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast yet.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The People's Republic of China and Georgia on Monday issued a joint statement on establishing a strategic partnership.

The following is the full text of the statement:

From July 26 to August 1, 2023, Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia, attended the opening ceremony of the 31st Chengdu FISU World University Games in China. During the visit, President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in Chengdu and Premier Li Qiang met with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in Beijing. The two sides had in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest and reached broad consensus. The two sides decided to elevate bilateral relations to a strategic partnership.

Both sides share the view that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries on June 9, 1992, bilateral cooperation has witnessed fruitful results in various fields. In the context of profound and complex evolution of the international and regional situation, both sides share the commitment to expanding cooperation in the political, economic and cultural fields, strengthening collaboration in international affairs, deepening bilateral relations, and safeguarding regional and world peace, stability and development together.

1.Political domain

1.1.The two sides reaffirm their respect for sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries. Georgia firmly adheres to the one-China principle.

1.2.The two sides highlighted that given the current international order and economic globalization, the bilateral ties between China and Georgia have gained considerable importance. Both sides regard each other as an important strategic partner and thus regard the deepening of bilateral relations as a priority of their respective foreign policies.

1.3.Georgia believes that Chinese modernization offers a new path and a new option for mankind to achieve modernization. Both sides expressed their readiness to exchange experience in governance to achieve common development and prosperity.

1.4.The two sides are ready to strengthen high-level political consultations on issues of mutual interest and to enhance strategic mutual trust.

1.5.Both sides emphasized the necessity of expanding ties between central and local governments and political groups and parties to exchange experiences and strengthen interactions in various fields.

1.6.Considering the important role of cooperation between legislative bodies of both countries in the expansion and development of the bilateral ties, both sides emphasized the enhancement of exchanges and cooperation between the two countries' legislative bodies in various fields and levels and communication and consultation in relevant regional and international organizations.

2.Economic domain

2.1.Both sides welcomed steady growth of bilateral trade in recent years and expressed readiness to further increase bilateral trade, optimize its structure, expand types of products and increase the export of Georgian goods and services to China.

2.2.Georgia welcomes the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China. The two sides have signed documents including the Bilateral Cooperation Plan between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Georgia under the Framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, to gain greater strengths and opportunities of cooperation. The two sides will strengthen policy coordination and synergy of development planning under the Belt and Road Initiative, deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields, uphold the principle of consultation and cooperation for shared benefits, and promote open, green and clean cooperation to realize goals of Belt and Road cooperation and promote sustainable development of both sides.

2.3.Both sides expressed readiness to facilitate mutual investment and trade and promote cooperation in the areas of transportation, communications, infrastructure modernization, development and strengthening of the Middle Corridor, digital technologies, manufacturing, upgrading and expansion of railway networks, agriculture and food safety, water resources, environment protection, fighting desertification, water desalination, conformity assessment, usage of Georgia's transit infrastructure for smooth export of Chinese products to Western markets, the exchange of know-how and technology as well as human resource training.

2.4.The People's Republic of China and Georgia have enjoyed a Free Trade Agreement since 2018, which played an important role in promoting economic and trade relations between the two countries. The two countries will continue to enhance their cooperation in the framework of the Agreement, support economic and commercial exchanges between the two countries' institutions and companies based on mutual benefit, and actively explore the possibility of enriching the Agreement.

2.5.Both sides expressed their readiness for the next session of the China-Georgia Economic and Trade Cooperation Commission to enhance information sharing in trade, investment, infrastructure and other topics of cooperation within the scope of the Commission, so as to enhance the quality and efficiency of bilateral exchanges.

2.6.China welcomes Georgia's active participation in the China International Import Expo. China supports Georgian enterprises in promoting their products via Chinese e-commerce channels.

2.7.Both sides expressed their readiness to intensify cooperation in tourism to promote common development of the sector. China welcomes Georgia to participate in travel exhibitions such as the annual China International Travel Mart.

2.8.China highlights the importance and supports the 4th Tbilisi Silk Road Forum themed "Connecting Today, Resilient Tomorrow", which will take place in Tbilisi on October 26-27, 2023.

2.9.Georgia views cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries as a pragmatic, open and beneficial cross-regional cooperation platform. China welcomes Georgia's interest in engaging in activities under the framework of this cooperative mechanism as an observer.

2.10.China will study the provisions of preferential loans for Georgia's implementation of social and infrastructure projects.

3.People-to-People and Cultural domain

3.1.Given the need to deepen bilateral relations under the new conditions, both sides expressed readiness to actively conduct scientific and technological cooperation and renew the agreement on cooperation in the field of science and technology signed between the People's Republic of China and Georgia in 1993.

3.2.In view of their friendly relations and huge potential of cooperation in the people-to-people and cultural fields, the two sides agreed to enhance their cultural cooperation. They will encourage citizens to visit each other's countries and strengthen cooperation in tourism, health, youth, and sports. In addition, they will also enhance their exchanges in the areas of film, press and public diplomacy.

3.3.The two sides will study the possibility of mutually designating cultural years, and continue their consultations regarding mutual establishment of cultural center and provide necessary facilitation.

3.4.The two sides will enhance their cooperation in science and higher education. They will promote exchange of teachers and students, strengthen cooperation in science and commercialization of new technologies and implement joint projects.

3.5.The two sides support universities in both countries in carrying out practical cooperation such as joint training programs, and encourage universities to make full use of high-quality digital education resources and combine online and offline channels for cooperation. The two sides will promote student exchange and joint cultivation by making good use of government scholarships and other channels.

3.6.Both sides attach importance to language exchange and cooperation, encourage schools of both countries to carry out Chinese and Georgian languages teaching, stand ready to strengthen exchanges and training of language teachers and support the building of Confucius Institutes (Classrooms).

4.International domain

4.1.The two sides will strengthen coordination and collaboration in regional and international affairs, jointly uphold true multilateralism, firmly uphold the UN-centered international system, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms governing international relations underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and promote the establishment of a new type of international relations.

4.2.The two sides support the promotion of humanity's common values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, respect all people's independent choice of development path suited to their national conditions, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

4.3.Georgia supports the Global Development Initiative proposed by China and is ready to actively participate in cooperation under the Initiative to accelerate implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

4.4.Georgia supports the Global Security Initiative proposed by China. The two sides would like to strengthen exchanges and cooperation under the Initiative's framework, make joint effort for a peaceful and stable international security environment, and promote and protect common development of countries in the region.

4.5.Georgia supports the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by China. The two sides will cooperate actively to implement this Initiative. Enditem
A trio of top House Republicans are demanding that the Department of Justice (DOJ) hand over information pertaining to Hunter Bidens plea deal, which has been on hold for days after a judge raised concerns about the agreement.

GOP lawmakers have railed for weeks against the plea agreement, calling it a sweetheart deal and arguing Hunter Biden was given preferential treatment because he is the son of President Biden.

The three Republicans escalated those attacks in a Monday letter, asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to answer a list of questions and provide documents and communications about Hunter Bidens unusual plea agreement  the first request from Congress parsing the particulars of the deal.

The Departments unusual plea and pretrial diversion agreements with Mr. Biden raise serious concerns  especially when combined with recent whistleblower allegationsthat the Department has provided preferential treatment toward Mr. Biden in the course of its investigation and proposed resolution of his alleged criminal conduct, the letter reads.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) all signed the letter. The House GOP for months has been investigating the Biden familys foreign business dealings and its associates. Lawmakers have previously made requests regarding the investigation into Hunter Biden led by U.S. attorney for Delaware David Weiss.

The Hill reached out to the DOJ for comment.

Hunter Bidens plea deal was put on hold last week after the judge overseeing the case questioned the parameters of the agreement. As part of the deal, Biden was expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of willful failure to pay income taxes. He also reached a diversion agreement relating to an unlawful possession of a weapon charge.

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, a Trump appointee, raised concerns about the setup of the two-part deal and the scope of Bidens immunity, and she ultimately gave both parties more time to explain why the deal  which she has to greenlight  should be accepted.

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The three House Republicans pointed to some of Noreikas concerns in their letter, including provisions in the pretrial diversion agreement that would shield Hunter Biden from future criminal charges on the gun charge or other federal charges within the scope of the agreement.

Taken individually, each of the provisions discussed above raises serious concerns about how the Department has handled this matter. But when considered together, the provisions appear to be even more troubling, the GOP chairmen wrote.

They claimed the Justice Department shifted a broad immunity provision, which benefits Mr. Biden, from the plea agreement to the pretrial diversion agreement apparently to prevent the District Court from being able to scrutinize and reject that immunity provision.

And then, the Department has benefitted Mr. Biden by giving up its unilateral ability to bring charges against him if it concludes that he has breached the pretrial diversion agreement. Instead, it has placed upon itself the burden of getting the District Courts permission to bring charges even though the District Court normally has no role in policing a pretrial diversion agreement in that manner, they continued. So, the District Court is apparently removed from the equation when it helps Mr. Biden and inserted into the equation when it helps Mr. Biden.

The trio of Republicans also voiced concerns about the DOJ saying the investigations into Hunter Biden are ongoing, arguing it is an effort to shield the DOJ from congressional oversight. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) raised a similar claim last month.

How can Hunter Biden plead guilty, no jail time, and the DOJ say theres still an investigation, try to withhold information to the House? Thats unacceptable and will not stand, McCarthy told reporters at the time.

The committee chairmen are asking Garland to provide information on other pretrial diversion agreements similar to Bidens, in addition to a generalized description of the nature of the Departments ongoing investigation(s) concerning Hunter Biden.

The letter from Jordan, Comer and Smith came the same day lawmakers heard testimony from former Hunter Biden business associate Devon Archer behind closed doors. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) told reporters Archer said Hunter Biden included President Biden on a number of phone calls that presumably included business associates, a detail that Republicans will likely use in their attempts to link the president to his sons business dealings.

Goldman said the testimony did not prove President Biden was involved in his sons business dealings. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), however, said he thought Archers testimony implicate[s] the president.

That testimony came nearly two weeks after two IRS whistleblowers testified publicly, claiming that authorities slow-walked the case into Hunter Biden. The two whistleblowers previously spoke to the Ways and Means Committee behind closed doors, and those transcripts were released shortly after Hunter Bidens plea agreement was announced.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The estranged wife of Gilgo Beach murders suspect Rex Heuermann has pleaded with the media to respect her familys privacy.

Asa Ellerup, 59, filed for divorce after Mr Heuermann was charged on 13 July with the murders of three women whose bodies were found on a stretch of Long Island shoreline more than a decade ago.

Police spent 12 days searching the familys run-down home in Massapequa Park, which has since become a macabre landmark attracting hundreds of true crime enthusiasts and reporters.

The mother of two is yet to comment publicly on Mr Heuermanns alleged murder spree, but in a statement released through her lawyers Macedonio & Duncan, she asked for space to regain some normalcy.

On behalf of my family and especially my elderly neighbors, who have also had their lives turned upside down by the enormous police presence, in addition to the spectators, and news crews, Ms Ellerups statement read.

They deserve to live peacefully; they should be able to walk their dogs and go to the grocery stores without cameras shoved in their faces. I am pleading with you all to give us space so that we may regain some normalcy in our neighborhood.

Police removed crime scene tape and reopened the block last week after excavating the homes yard and removing a cache of more than 300 guns from a vault in the basement.

Authorities spent 12 days searching Rex Heuermanns Massapequa Park on Long Island (Associated Press)

Last week, Nassau County police warned that anyone trespassing at the home would be fined $150.

The county executive has made it very clear that we are protecting the neighborhood and we are not allowing this to turn into a side-show, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder told a public meeting.

If you dont live on that street or visiting someone on that street and are there to stop and take pictures and break the law you will be issued a summons no questions asked.

Mr Heuermann, 59, has pleaded not guilty to the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, and Amber Costello, 27, whose bodies were found along a Long Island beach roadway in 2010.

He has been named as a prime suspect in the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, but has yet to be charged in the case.

Police allege he committed the murders when his wife and children were out of town on vacation.
Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on July 25, 2023 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

A major super PAC backing RFK Jr's campaign is mostly funded by Timothy Mellon.

Mellon has given millions to GOP campaigns, including Trump, and bankrolled a border wall effort in Texas.

He's also described welfare as "slavery redux" and called Black people "belligerent."

If it wasn't clear already, long-shot Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has some Republican fans  including some who are willing to spend millions backing his campaign.

According to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission on Monday, the majority of the $9.8 million raised by American Values 2024  a super PAC backing Kennedy's campaign  came from Timothy Mellon, who gave $5 million to the group in April, days before Kennedy officially launched his campaign.

Mellon cited Kennedy's "bipartisan support" in a statement to CNBC on his contribution to the super PAC.

"He's the one candidate who can unite the country and root out corruption [and] he's the one Democrat who can win in the general election," said Mellon.

In addition to Kennedy, Mellon has given handsomely to Republican candidates and campaigns in recent years.

That includes:

$20 million in contributions to America First Action, a super PAC that supported former President Donald Trump's 2020 re-election campaign.

$45 million to Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC associated with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

$30 million to Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC associated with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Mellon also contributed $53 million to an effort led by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas to build a wall on the US-Mexico border, effectively funding the entire venture himself.

The grandson of famous banking magnate Andrew Mellon and an heir to the family fortune, Mellon once wrote in a self-published autobiography that welfare programs are "slavery redux" and described Black people as becoming "even more belligerent and unwilling to pitch in to improve their own situations" in the 1980s.

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The other major donor to the group was Gavin De Becker, a well-known security professional who recently defended Kennedy from accusations of anti-Semitism and racism after he speculated that COVID-19 had been genetically engineered to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people. De Becker contributed $4.3 million to American Values 2024.

Super PACs can accept unlimited political contributions and are barred from officially coordinating with campaigns  though in recent years, that line has become increasingly blurred.

Recently polling has shown Kennedy trailing Biden, and his unfavorablility has risen among Democrats as he's endured greater media scrutiny.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A Rockford man has been sentenced on first-degree murder charges.

Harry Lawson Jr., 61, was sentenced to 70 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on first-degree murder charges with the additional enhancing factor of exceptionally brutal and heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty, according to the Winnebago County State's Attorney's Office.

More: 2 charged with attempted murder after beating man, dropping him in Rockford parking lot

Lawson Jr. and Dylan Myers beat Steven Delorme before dropping his body from a minivan around 20th Avenue on March 25, 2020.

Delorme died from his injuries nearly three months later.

Myers was found guilty on first-degree murder charges in 2022 and sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Lawson Jr. was found guilty of his charges in March 2023.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford man Harry Lawson Jr. sentenced on first-degree murder charges
ROCHESTER, N.H.  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled his economic agenda on Monday, interspersing a mix of traditional conservative talking points with pledges to use government power to go after large corporations that promote socially conscious investing or diversity initiatives.

Speaking before about 100 people inside the warehouse of a local logistics company, DeSantis detailed his alignment with longtime conservative policy positions like cutting taxes, the size of government, spending and regulations, as well as boosting domestic energy production, GDP growth and immigration enforcement. But DeSantis also zoomed in on reducing economic ties with China, eliminating trade deficits, taking on corporations for hiring and investing practices not aligned with his brand of politics  similar to his longstanding battle with Disney  and ending what he described as President Joe Bidens war on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

In announcing his Declaration of Economic Independence, DeSantis derided elites roughly a dozen times while pledging to reject the technocratic management of American decline.

We cannot have a policy that kowtows to the largest corporations on Wall Street at the expense of small businesses and average Americans, he said. Theres a difference between a free-market economy, which we want, and corporatism, in which the rules are configured to be able to help the incumbent companies.

Currently the No. 2 candidate in GOP primary polling behind Donald Trump, DeSantis is trying to make up a growing gap between him and the former president. His campaign earlier this month, as NBC News reported, pledged a reset for the candidate that would include smaller events, more engagement with a variety of media sources and less of a focus on Florida.

But the Sunshine State took center stage in promoting his economic vision. DeSantis promoted Florida's promising business rankings, its substantial economic growth in recent years and his having run budget surpluses at the state level. (Not mentioned was a rate of inflation in the states major metro areas that far outpaces the national average.)

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We beat the elites and we showed the way forward to restore freedom and opportunity for people all throughout this country, he said. And I will fight as president for the American people just like we fought for the people of Florida.

DeSantis sought to portray a nation in decline facing dire economic straits at a time when inflation  which remains thorny  fell to 3% last month, the 12th straight month of declines, led by declining gas prices. Whats more, the unemployment rate has hovered around 3.5% for much of the year while the S&P 500 is up almost 20% since January, nearly hitting its all-time peak from the end of December 2021.

DeSantis pointed to an increased number of men leaving the workforce and a desire to be a country where a family or we can raise a family on one sole income."

We are a nation with an economy, not the other way around, he said. We are citizens of a republic. We are not cogs in a global economic empire.

DeSantis saved some of his strongest language to call out companies that are promoting ESG investing, which stands for environmental, social and governance, as a way to advance an ideological or political agenda that circumvents the government. He also highlighted the recent Supreme Court ruling knocking down affirmative action programs in education as a template to go after diversity initiatives in the private sector.

That ruling should apply across the board for our economy and the so-called DEI programs that many corporations have embraced, he said, using the acronym for diversity, equity and inclusion. Those are discriminatory programs. If they have you go through a training and say somehow you have white privilege, that is [as] wrong as judging somebody based on the color of their skin.

Some conservatives have expressed qualms about DeSantis effort to target private companies for such decision making. A New York Times/Siena College survey published Monday found that a majority of Republicans would be more likely to support a candidate who says the government should stay out of deciding what corporations can do rather than a candidate who promises to fight corporations that promote a woke left ideology.

DeSantis, as he mocked degrees in Gender Studies and Zombie Studies, also pointed to a wide-ranging education platform he tied directly to the economy, including a call for universities to be responsible for the student debt of graduates who are unable to find well-paying jobs.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in Rochester, N.H., on July 31, 2023. (Charles Krupa / AP)

You produce somebody that can be successful, they pay off their loans, he said. If you dont, then youre going to be on the hook. That will cause a change in the type of course programs that a lot of these universities are offering. Theyre not going to afford to be doing ideological studies because they know thats not going to lead to gainful employment.

During a question-and-answer session with reporters, DeSantis was pressed on how his call for increased American energy production clashes with his efforts in Florida to prevent offshore drilling there. He said he was merely honoring a state constitutional amendment that did not allow for such drilling and that he does not think that should apply nationally.

Because were a coastal state, weve had oil spills, he said. We put that in the Constitution, our voters did, and thats something as governor that Ive followed and respected.

Jim Tobin, a voter from Madbury, New Hampshire, who plans to vote for DeSantis in the first-in-the-nation primary, said Monday was the first time he saw the candidate in person. He said he was excited about DeSantis' policy agenda and feels the candidate has less "baggage" than Trump, whom DeSantis is currently "getting killed" by in surveys.

"I love his ideas," Tobin said of the governor. "I dont think hes a polarizing figure the way the media is making him out to be. Ive seen people get on the news and say hes a joke. Theres no way hes a joke. Hes a serious guy. His education, his military background  theres no way hes a joke."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu. Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP

Sununu said DeSantis would have show "charisma and leadership" in order to win the GOP primary.

"I said, don't worry about the policy stuff. We've got that," Sununu said on Hugh Hewitt's podcast.

Despite the stream of GOP candidates in the state, former President Trump retains a polling edge.

As Republican presidential candidates travel back-and-forth from New Hampshire  the critical early-voting battleground which could provide momentum for the eventual GOP nominee  they're all getting invaluable face time with the very same voters who'll help set the direction for the party in 2024.

But the candidates not named Donald Trump have a lot of ground to make up, as the former president retains polling advantages not only nationally but in the Granite State.

While Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida was widely expected to put a dent in Trump's lead when he launched his campaign in May, the former president's political position has so far remained strong.

DeSantis has heavily touted after enacting plenty of conservative policies in Florida as a cornerstone of his candidacy, but New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu on Monday said that policy alone wouldn't be enough to capture the GOP nomination.

While speaking to Hugh Hewitt on the conservative author's podcast, Sununu said that DeSantis would have to get personal with voters and show them his authenticity if he wanted to make real inroads with voters.

"I was talking to DeSantis about this and all that. I said, don't worry about the policy stuff. We've got that," Sununu told Hewitt. "You've got to be about character, about looking people in the eye, and you've got to show that you're not just viable to stand on the stage. You're the one on the stage."

"You are the leader, you are the winner, you're the person that is going to inspire the rest of the party to get bigger and more excited," the governor continued. "So, it's really about, kind of, a little bit of that charisma and leadership that they've got to show to folks one-on-one."

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In a University of New Hampshire survey released earlier this month, Trump led with 37% support, with DeSantis in second place with 23%, while Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina came in third with 8%, followed by Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota and former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey each earning 6% support. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina each took in 5% support.

Sununu recently argued that Trump polling below 50% in New Hampshire gave other candidates a huge opportunity to make the case for their respective candidacies. But he also stated that the other candidates had to be willing to go after the former president's record.

"Either you're willing to swing, you're willing to give the punch and take the punch and show leadership, or you're kowtowing," Sununu said during an interview on Fox News.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., listens during testimony by Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz during a joint House Committee on the Judiciary and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing examining Horowitz's report of the FBI's Clinton email probe, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, June 19, 2018 in Washington. Jacquelyn Martin/AP

GOP presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis keeps hammering the idea that he's fighting "wokeness."

Likely Republican voters, however, told the New York Times they'd prefer the government stay away from limiting what corporations can support.

Despite this, DeSantis remains focused on attacking Bud Light for a short-lived and innocuous campaign featuring a transgender woman.

He declared war on "woke" and made fighting "wokeness" one of the central points of his campaign. Now, it's becoming increasingly evident that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign is in hot water after a majority of likely Republican voters said they want the government to stay away from influencing what corporations can and can't support.

According to a New York Times poll, which was conducted between July 23-27, 52 percent of Republicans who will likely vote in the GOP primary election said they'd support a candidate who thinks the "government should stay out of deciding what corporations can support" over one promising "to fight corporations that promote 'woke' left ideology."

This isn't ideal for the DeSantis campaign, whose biggest focus on the campaign trail has been how he plans to combat "wokeness" as president and the extent to which he's done so in Florida through his "Stop WOKE Act," which currently cannot be enforced in higher education due to a temporary injunction, along with other initiatives.

As he continues to double and triple-down on his anti-woke schtick, it doesn't seem like it's doing him many favors in the race to become the GOP presidential nominee.

According to the same New York Times poll, support to put DeSantis in the Oval Office came in 37 percentage points behind that of former President Donald Trump, who appears to be running off with the nomination as DeSantis and every other GOP candidate has failed to keep up.

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But as his presidential campaign falters and likely GOP voters make it clear that fighting "wokeism" isn't a priority, DeSantis keeps belaboring the point.

Three months after beer company Bud Light ran a short-lived marketing campaign featuring transgender content creator Dylan Mulvaney, the governor of Florida continues to think this is what voters are clamoring for, going as far as threatening Bud Light's parent company, AB InBev, with legal action for breaching "legal duties owed to its shareholders."

If DeSantis and his team don't change their focus, he risks becoming part of the next iteration of presidential candidates like Sen. Marco Rubio who quickly got stuck repeating the same talking point again, and again, and again.

And those campaigns don't tend to end up in the White House.

Read the original article on Business Insider
RYE, N.H.  Meeting and greeting voters at a barbecue in a rural hamlet, Ron DeSantis deployed his rebooted campaign Sunday by making familiar arguments about why he should be president - and throwing in a few jokes, as when he thanked New Hampshire-based police officers for providing security.

"If we recruit you to Florida, you get a $500 signing bonus right off the top," DeSantis said as voters encouragingly chuckled. "We're always looking for good people."

As with a recent trip to Iowa, DeSantis used his New Hampshire trip to display an altered campaign style that includes a little more personality, a little less wonkery, more back-slapping and more running as a determined underdog to the front-running Donald Trump.

Beset by falling polls and defecting donors, DeSantis' campaign reset also includes a smaller staff. He is also taking more questions from reporters and granting more television interviews.

Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis

Other Republicans, in New Hampshire and elsewhere, said DeSantis will need all the help he can get.

Trump appears to be growing his lead, despite two indictments and counting, while DeSantis is losing ground and seems to have trouble connecting with people.

"Every day, it's harder for me to see how he turns this around," said Fergus Cullen, a former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party.

DeSantis: 'Telling our story'

When a voter at the barbecue asked how he planned to break Trump's "stronghold" on the Republican Party, DeSantis disputed the premise and said he believes most voters have yet to make up their mind.

Standing on the back porch of a barn-like building, DeSantis said he would be a better general election candidate than Trump and he is more "reliable on policy" than the former president.

Before his remarks, DeSantis shook hands, patted shoulders and took selfies with patrons at the barbecue. He also took questions in a town hall format that is a mainstay of New Hampshire politics.

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DeSantis urged voters to ignore the "fake narratives" of the media and his opponents: "We're going to be out there telling our story, and I'm confident that people will understand."

Reconnecting after 'a slow start'

New Hampshire Republicans who munched on hot dogs, hamburgers and watermelon slices said DeSantis did appear more relaxed during his town hall-style event. They also said he has plenty of time; the Iowa caucuses are Jan. 15, and the not-yet-formally-scheduled New Hampshire primary is expected to be Jan. 23.

"I think he was off to a slow start - hopefully he can come on strong now," said Caryl Harvey, 61, a retired nurse and school "lunch lady" who lives in nearby Portsmouth.

Scott Brown, a former U.S. senator who is hosting a series of "No B.S. Backyard Barbeques for Republican presidential candidates, said DeSantis is "connecting real well" with voters.

Brown, who moved to New Hampshire after serving in the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts, also noted that the 44-year-old DeSantis is making his first national race.

"It's a challenge," he said.

Granite State Poll

A recent New Hampshire survey gave DeSantis a little more hope. A mid-July Granite State Poll from the University of New Hampshire put Trump ahead by 37%-23%.

One of DeSantis' challenges in New Hampshire is that his attacks on "woke culture" don't go as far with the more economic-minded and libertarian Republicans of the state.

Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, said this is "a completely different electorate" than Iowa.

"You've got to know the electorate, who you're talking to," Smith said. "This is not Florida."

As barbecue patrons baked under a hot sun, some said polls at this point are meaningless, no matter how big Trump's lead.

"It's way too early to be dependent on any kind of poll," said Carolyn Lynch, 59, a retired school teacher from Rye. "I take all polls with a grain of salt."

Katie Moriarty, 52, a stay-at-home mother from Rye, said there's no reason for DeSantis to give up, not with so long to go.

"He's going to continue to be himself," she said. "If people don't like it, so be it."

Speaking with reporters after taking questions from the crowd, DeSantis said the ultimate winner will have to "earn it."

"Nobody is entitled to this," he said.

DeSantis reboots with 'retail politics'

DeSantis is returning to the trail after his campaign dismissed more than a third of its staff and forged new strategies in response to supporters and donors who are increasingly anxious about him falling so far behind Trump.

In Iowa, New Hampshire and other early primary states, DeSantis is trying to personally interact with more voters, the kind of "retail politics" that are essential because candidates have to spend so much time in these kinds of places.

The Florida governor is also seeking to draw more distinctions with the front-running Trump - policy distinctions, that is. DeSantis declines to go after Trump over his indictments and other legal problems, though some of his aides are starting to become more vocal.

In its morning email, the DeSantis campaign cited a Washington Post report that Trump spent more than $40 million on legal fees during the first half of 2023.

Trump has spent millions "falsely attacking Ron DeSantis," while his "sole focus, by contrast, has been campaigning for this country's future," said DeSantis Communications Director Andrew Romeo.

While DeSantis appears to be increasing attacks against his top rival - he described Trump's attacks on him as "juvenile insults" - he is still questioning the legal bases for the criminal cases facing Trump. In New Hampshire, he said if Trump had truly "drained the swamp" of bad government, then he "wouldn't be in the mess that he's in right now," implying the two indictments against Trump aren't legally justified.

Trump-DeSantis dispute

For his part, DeSantis said Trump failed to follow through on policies ranging from completion of the border to curbing the power of government bureaucracy.

DeSantis will stay in New Hampshire on Monday to give a speech on what he calls a "Declaration of Economic Independence." He will also sit down for an interview with Fox News.

Trump and his allies say they will maintain their aggressive posture, especially given DeSantis' new strategies. During a rally Saturday in Erie, Pa., Trump said DeSantis and "those other clowns" running against him should just drop out of the Republican race.

DeSantis lags behind Trump

DeSantis has a long way to go, if polls are to be believed.

Even while under indictment, Trump has built a lead of more than 30 percentage points over DeSantis, according to averages of polls compiled by the RealClearPolitics website. Trump is regularly over 50% in this survey, while DeSantis has often fallen below 20%.

In questioning whether an updated and friendlier approach can do the trick, some Republicans cited a number of recent incidents. They include more awkward exchanges with people on the trial and clumsy comments about how slaves developed job skills.

'That's probably a lot of sugar, huh?'

Cullen, who described himself as a "Never Trump Republican" who is looking for an alternative, cited DeSantis' suggestion that as president he might "sick" Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - a Democrat and an anti-vaccination conspiracy theorist - on federal health agencies.

"Who is that designed to appeal to?" he said.

Former Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, who drew boos from an Iowa crowd when he said that Trump is only "running to stay out of prison," went after DeSantis on Sunday over his counter-attacks on critics who decried language in a history curriculum about slavery and developing job skills. Hurd told NBC's "Meet The Press" that "this is one more part of a fact pattern of Ron DeSantis being mean and hateful."

Trump supporters and other opponents are jumping on DeSantis at every opportunity - like the Icee incident. While glad-handing at a county fair in Iowa, DeSantis told a child holding an Icee drink: "That's probably a lot of sugar, huh?"

Retweeting the video, Trump senior adviser Jason Miller said: "The reboot isnt working."

DeSantis and aides said Trump is obviously worried because he spends so much time attacking the Florida governor. Some noted that, at his rally Saturday in Erie, Pa., the ex-president mentioned his rival's name - mangling it as "DeSanctus" - more than 25 times.

An immediate goal: Stay in second

One of the top priorities of the DeSantis re-set is to stay in second place. One of Trump's frequent taunts is that another candidate will soon pass DeSantis for the runner-up spot.

A recent poll out of Ohio Northern University put DeSantis at just 9%, three points behind businessman Vivek Ramaswamy (and 55 points behind Trump).

Nationally, DeSantis still seems a solid second. As of Sunday, the RealClearPolitics average of national polls had him at 18.4%, with Ramaswamy in third at 5.4%.

Trump's average polling number is 52.4%.

DeSantis is seen as struggling even though he is among the most well-known candidates and voters "have had several months to give him a good look," said Robert Alexander, founding director of Ohio Northern University's Institute for Civics and Public Policy.

"Has he already had his shot?" Alexander said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ron DeSantis in N.H.: How he's making a comeback against Donald Trump
A cruise passenger on Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas went overboard Monday while the ship was on the way to Singapore, officials said.

Singapore's Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre was notified that a passenger had fallen overboard in the Singapore Strait at about 7:50 a.m. local time, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. The cruise ship crew coordinated with local authorities for a search and rescue operation.

Spectrum of the Seas initially berthed in Singapore to support the investigation, but the ship departed around 4:30 p.m. as scheduled, officials said. A navigational safety broadcast was issued to vessels in the Singapore Strait and in port to keep a lookout for the missing person.

The passenger has not been publicly identified. Royal Caribbean's Care team is offering assistance to the passenger's family.

There were 212 "man overboard" incidents on cruise ships with 170 fatalities between 2009 and 2019, according to trade association Cruise Lines International Association.

A Carnival Elation cruise ship passenger went overboard off the coast of Florida earlier in July, and in late May, a 35-year-old man went overboard off a Carnival Magic cruise ship about 186 miles east of Jacksonville, Florida. Earlier in May, an 18-year-old from Louisiana went overboard during a sunset cruise in the Bahamas, authorities said.

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Rich Polk / Getty Images for Waterkeeper Alliance

In May 2019, members of now-Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s own family publicly denounced their brother and uncle for his vocal mistrust of vaccines, a stance they described as having "heartbreaking consequences." "We love Bobby," the trio of relatives wrote in an op-ed for Politico magazine, and "we stand behind him in his ongoing fight to protect our environment." But he "has helped to spread dangerous misinformation over social media and is complicit in sowing distrust of the science behind vaccines." That said, anti-vax rhetoric is only one piece of RFK Jr.'s increasingly controversial puzzle, in spite of which he has managed to launch a so far somewhat decently successful campaign for the White House (though things may be starting to sour). Here's a look at some of the other comments and conspiracy theories that have landed the environmental lawyer in hot water over the years.

Promoted anti-vaccine rhetoric

Though Kennedy vehemently insists he is not anti-vaccine, his record on the matter certainly suggests otherwise. Most notably, he has promoted the "scientifically discredited belief that childhood vaccines cause autism," The New York Times reported, a notion that has "been rejected by more than a dozen peer-reviewed scientific studies across multiple countries."

Moreover, he has repeatedly questioned the safety of the Covid-19 vaccine, made numerous misleading claims about the way vaccines are tested, and even falsely alleged that HIV, the virus that later leads to AIDS if left untreated, originated from a vaccine program, according to CNN fact checker and reporter Daniel Dale. "So what do you call someone like Mr. Kennedy who devotes their time, energy, public remarks to devoting entirely fake claims about vaccines killing people in all manner of ways?" Dale mused in an appearance on "CNN News Central." "I think 'anti-vax' is a fair descriptor."

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Invoked Hitler when speaking out against vaccine mandates

Speaking at a rally against mandates in Washington, D.C. in early 2022, Kennedy invoked Hitler and Nazi Germany as he lampooned Covid-19 jab policies in the United States. "Even in Hitler Germany (sic), you could  cross the Alps into Switzerland. You could hide in an attic, like Anne Frank did," Kennedy said. "I visited, in 1962, East Germany with my father and met people who had climbed the wall and escaped, so it was possible. Many died, true, but it was possible." He quickly drew backlash for the comments, which critics saw as a suggestion that things were better for those alive during the Holocaust than they are today.

Suggested Covid was designed to spare Jews and Chinese people

In a video that surfaced in July 2023, Kennedy was caught claiming that Covid could have been a bioweapon designed to target and disproportionately attack "certain races," like Caucasians and Black people, and spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people, who he said are the "most immune" to the virus. "We don't know whether it was deliberately targeted or not," he said in the video, "but there are papers out there that show the racial or ethnic differential and impact." He later insisted that he never "suggested that the Covid-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews" and was instead referring to a study that "serves as a kind of proof of concept for ethnically targeted bioweapons," per CNN.

Blamed gender dysphoria on chemicals in the environment

Much like other conspiracy theorists, Kennedy has repeatedly alleged that exposure to chemicals  endocrine disruptors, namely  is causing gender dysphoria in children and contributing to a rise in LGBTQ+ youth. Per The Washington Examiner, endocrine disruptors are "chemicals that interfere with the body's hormones and are commonly found in pesticides and plastic." Speaking on a June 2022 episode of his podcast, Kennedy said he wants to "pursue just one question on these  endocrine disruptors" because "we're seeing these impacts that people suspect are very different than in ages past about sexual identification among children and sexual confusion, gender confusion." His comments were based on a study that found that one endocrine disruptor, in particular, can cause a small percentage of male frogs to become female, though experts say there is no evidence that such chemicals cause gender dysphoria in human children. A Kennedy spokesperson later said the remarks were "mischaracterized," and that his client was "merely suggesting that, given copious research on the effects on other vertebrates, this possibility deserves further research."

Believes the 2004 presidential election was stolen

Years before former President Donald Trump cried voter fraud, RFK Jr. alleged the 2004 presidential election had been stolen from Democrat John Kerry for the very same reason. And though there had been a "breakdown of the election system in Ohio" at the time, Forbes reported, the Democratic Party found no evidence of widespread fraud in a post-election analysis. A Washington Post article from June suggests Kennedy believes the contest was stolen to this day.

Spread conspiracies about JFK's death

Even in 2023, RFK Jr. has continued to promote the unfounded theory that the CIA killed his uncle, former President John F. Kennedy. As recently as May, Kennedy alleged during an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity that former CIA director Allen W. Dulles helped cover up the agency's involvement in JFK's assassination while simultaneously serving on the commission helmed to investigate it. That same probe, known as the Warren Commission, ultimately determined that while some sort of conspiracy likely played a part in Kennedy's death, the CIA was not involved.

Linked school shootings with antidepressants

Speaking to comedian Bill Maher on an episode of the podcast "Club Random with Bill Maher," Kennedy linked an increase in school shootings to the increased prescription of antidepressants. "Kids always had access to guns, and there was no time in American history or human history where kids were going to schools and shooting their classmates," he told Maher, repeating a claim he has made before. "It really started happening conterminous with the introduction of these drugs, with Prozac and the other drugs." Ragy Girgis, an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University, told the Times that scientists have found "no biological plausibility" of a link between the use of antidepressants and mass shootings. Indeed, "if there was a connection or link, one would expect it to be pronounced, or at least much greater than we are seeing," Dr. James Knoll of SUNY Upstate Medical University told Politifact in 2019.

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BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- China firmly opposes all forms of terrorism and strongly condemns the bomb attack targeting civilians at a rally in Bajaur, a tribal district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Monday.

According to reports, at least 44 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in a bomb blast that targeted a rally held on July 30 in Bajaur. Pakistan has called it a terrorist attack.

"We are deeply shocked by the attack," the spokesperson said when answering a relevant query, adding that China firmly opposes all forms of terrorism and strongly condemns the bomb attack targeting civilians.

"We mourn for the victims and extend our sympathy to their families and the people who are injured," said the spokesperson.

The spokesperson added that China firmly supports Pakistan in advancing its Action to Counter Terrorism and firmly committing to eradicating terrorism, upholding social stability and protecting people's lives. 
Russian troops shelled the town of Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast, for the second time in a day on July 30, the Donetsk regional prosecutor's office said.

The prosecutors said the town had been shelled with cluster munitions.

As a result of the attack, a 13-year-old boy who grazed cattle received multiple shrapnel wounds.

A 68-year-old woman was injured by a mine explosion in her own yard, and a 44-year-old man was injured by shrapnel near a cemetery.

Earlier this day, a 57-year-old man was killed and two other civilians injured as a result of a Russian artillery attack on the Kostiantynivka community.

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Russia has gone to great lengths to keep its fleet of seized airplanes flying, including "cannibalizing" planes and buying from the black market. aviation-images.com/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Russia seized some 500 leased Boeing and Airbus airliners after invading Ukraine.

But it's hard to keep the planes flying with little access to parts because of sanctions.

It's survived by smuggling parts, buying from the black market, and "cannibalizing" other jets.

Western sanctions against Russia have taken a toll on the country's aviation sector  forcing the country to get creative to keep its planes flying.

Quickly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, western countries enacted heavy sanctions against Russia to punish Vladimir Putin.

This included closing US, EU, and other allied airspace, preventing planemakers like Boeing and Airbus from sending spare parts to Russia, and stopping countries like Turkey from refueling Russian planes.

The goal was to cut Russia off from the rest of the world.

In response, the Kremlin countered with its own sanctions. It even went as far as to seize some 500 leased western-built airliners  which are worth an estimated $10 billion, according to Reuters.

Despite many allied nations' attempts to reclaim the Russian-seized aircraft, most lessors have had no choice but to forfeit their planes to Russia due to airspace restrictions and pushback from its government and airlines.

And, the volatile nation continues to prove it's more bulletproof than expected. In 2022, Russia received over $14 million worth western-made parts thanks to underground shipments.

But, the illegal import schemes are not the only methods keeping Russia's airlines alive.

Creating a 'Frankenstein fleet'

An Aeroflot engine being checked by maintenance in Russia.

An Aeroflot engine being checked by maintenance in Russia.Denis Kabelev/Shutterstock

Once countries stopped sending parts to Russian carriers like Aeroflot and S7 Airlines, the companies were forced to find new suppliers. Some bought second-hand from places like Iran and China, while others "cannibalized" existing jets.

However, robbing spare parts could make the resulting "Frankenstein fleet" worthless outside of Russia's borders, and lessors have since written off the aircraft without much hope they'll ever see them again.

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Moreover, the potentially un-airworthy parts could create unnecessary safety risks. Not to mention, once airline inventory gets low, some carrier could encourage pilots and mechanics to purposely overlook certain repairs  similar to what Aeroflot reportedly did earlier this year.

Buying off seized jets using rainy-day money

An Aeroflot Boeing 777-300ER parked at the gate at Los Angeles International Airport before the war. Fabrizio Gandolfo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Since Russia seized hundreds of planes, airplane leasing companies have filed multi-billion dollar insurance claims to recoup lost money  though many are being denied by insurers.

Nevertheless, some lessors may actually get a check directly from the Kremlin.

Last week, Russian media outlet TASS reported the government has allotted 300 billion rubles (about $4 billion) from Russia's National Wealth Fund  essentially its rainy day money  to buy off 80-90 of the foreign-made aircraft it seized from lessors.

Leasing companies in the EU are able to accept the payment thanks to a sanction amendment that says aircraft ownership can be transferred to Russian airlines if a lease agreement was signed prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and only after all of the lease payments have been made.

Airlines including Aeroflot, S7, Ural Airlines, RusLine, and iFly have finalizing agreements, Aerotime Hub reported, but are still waiting on their NWF funds. Russian flag carrier Aeroflot has already received a portion of the money for 10 Boeing 777-300ERs.

According to TASS, Russia's deputy minister of transport Igor Chalik said he is uncertain of when exactly airlines will receive the federal funds, but noted "our task is to complete this program in any case by the end of September."

As of July 1, Russia's NWF stood at $145.6 billion  down from $153.1 billion on June 1, according to country's Ministry of Finance.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Russian forces launched strikes on Kharkiv using the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system, head of the Kharkiv military garrison Serhii Melnyk reported on Telegram on July 30.

Fire erupted in non-residential building as a result of the attack, Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

No information on the number of casualties has been made available. Search and rescue mission was dispatched to the local scene.

The communities of Kharkiv, Bohodukhiv, Chuhuiv, and Kupiansk came under fire on July 29. Russia deployed artillery, mortar, and other armaments to shell them.

An air alert was announced throughout Ukraine early in the morning of July 31. It signaled the risk of missile attacks and preceded the strike in Kharkiv.

Read also: Ukraines counteroffensive lurches forward: Key moment looms as more forces committed

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Three people were killed, and 17 more were injured in Russian shelling of Kherson on 31 July, including a teenager, volunteers and utility workers; another civilian was wounded in Beryslav.

Source: Oleksandr Prokudin, Head of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram

Quote: "As of this hour, there are 17 wounded and 3 dead just in Kherson. Another man was injured in Russian strikes on Beryslav."

Details: According to Prokudin, the youngest victim is 16 years old. The girl was taken to hospital in serious condition. One dead and six injured are employees of the communal services, another five are volunteers.

Prokudin said that they came under Russian fire when they were helping Kherson residents deal with the aftermath of shelling and flooding.

Quote: "This intensity of shelling is caused by the rotation of enemy troops on the left bank. Russia replenished its forces, which were previously defeated by our Armed Forces of Ukraine. Those will be destroyed too, but we have to wait a little.

Dear residents of Kherson, please, in the next few days be as careful as possible. These terrorists are covering the whole city with fire, and shelling will continue."

Background:

Earlier, 1 person was reported to have been killed and 10 more injured in large-scale attacks on Kherson on 31 July.

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5 people were killed, including a child, and 64 people injured in the Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, on 31 July.

Source: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Telegram

Quote: "As of now, there is information on five victims, among them a child and her mother. My condolences to the family. Dozens of people are injured and wounded, everyone receives the necessary help."

Details: Zelenskyy added that reportedly, there was a hit by two ballistic missiles.

Currently, a rescue operation is underway  the floors of an apartment building, from the third to the eighth floor, are completely destroyed. Parts of the structure fell onto the entrance of the building."

Zelenskyy also said that a university building and an administrative building were also targeted by Russian terrorists.

More than 350 people are involved in the rescue operation. "I thank everyone who saves lives and helps people!", Zelenskyy posted.

Subsequently, Oleksandr Vikul, the head of the Defence Council of Kryvyi Rih, said that the number of wounded had increased to 73 people, including 8 children. There are 22 wounded in hospital, including 2 children. Two people are in serious condition.

According to Vikul, the authorities of Kryvyi Rih declared 1 August a day of mourning in the city.

Updated on 17:55: Serhii Lysak, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration, reported that the death toll has risen to 6, and the number of injured to 75. Out of the 22 hospitalised people 2 are in severe condition.

Earlier: On the morning of 31 July, explosions rang out in the city of Kryvyi Rih, with the Russians launching a missile attack on the city, targeting a high-rise residential building, as well as an educational institution. Four residents died as a result, among them a child. The search through the rubble continues.

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On 31 July, Kryvyi Rih City Clinical Hospital No. 2 hosted 20 wounded as a result of a Russian strike on an apartment building; three of them are in intensive care.

Source: Yurii Pashkov, Head of the Department of Polytrauma of the Kryvyi Rih City Clinical Hospital No. 2, Chief Physician of the Hospital Olena Klymovych

Details: Pashkov said the hospital took 20 wounded people in, 13 men and 7 women. Of these, three patients are in serious condition, and 14 are in a state of moderate severity.

Several people are in the intensive care unit. As a result of the attack, people received shrapnel wounds, soft tissue bruises, polytrauma, and fractures of the lower limbs.

Klymovych said that three other patients were treated on an outpatient basis: "In the emergency room, they were bandaged; patients will continue treatment."

As for the 17 victims admitted to the hospital, patients in critical condition are receiving care in operating rooms.

Among the hospitalised are not only the residents of the destroyed buildings, but also inhabitants of two neighbouring houses, as well as people who were wounded after the strike on an educational institution.

Background:

On the morning of 31 July, explosions rang out in the city of Kryvyi Rih, with the Russians launching a missile attack on the city, targeting a high-rise residential building.

The Russians attacked Kryvyi Rih with two ballistic missiles: one hit a residential high-rise building, and the other targeted an educational institution. So far, the Russian attack has claimed the lives of 4 people. Another 53 people were injured, including 3 children. Three injured are in serious condition, one in critical condition. The search through the rubble continues, there may be people under it.

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Russian forces attacked nine oblasts during the past day, killing two people and injuring 19 more, local officials reported early on July 31.

Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Luhansk oblasts came under attack.

In Donetsk Oblast, one civilian was killed and seven were wounded, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

One person was killed in the village of Predtechyne, five people were injured in Kostiantynivka, and two more were wounded in Toretsk, the governor reported.

Russian attacks damaged dozens of private houses and other civilian sites across the oblast, Kyrylenko added.

In Kharkiv Oblast, one person died and four were injured in Russian attacks, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.

Russian forces hit the city of Kharkiv around midnight with S-300 missiles, starting a fire at a commercial building and injuring a 61-year-old security guard. Russia also launched an S-300 missile against the village of Velykyi Burluk in the Kupiansk district but left no causalities, the governor clarified.

In the village of Shyikivka in the Izium district, Russian strikes damaged a residential building, killing a 74-year-old woman and injuring a 53-year-old woman and a 76-year-old man, Syniehubov informed.

The governor reported that in the town of Vovchansk in the Chuhuiv district, four residential buildings were damaged in the attacks and a 84-year-old man was wounded.

In Kherson Oblast, five people were injured in Russian attacks over the past day, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.

In Mykolaiv Oblast, an 84-year-old woman was injured in the strike against the Kutsurub community, Governor Vitalii Kim said. The attack also damaged a residential building and agricultural machinery, he added.

One person was injured in Sumy Oblast during the past day, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported.

Russian attacks against the Krasnopillia community injured a civilian and damaged three private buildings and several other civilian objects, the local officials specified.

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In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a 48-year-old resident of Mala Tokmachka was wounded and hospitalized due to Russian strikes, Governor Yurii Malashko reported.

According to the governor, there were also nine cases of property damage reported across the oblast.

During the previous day, Russian attacks were recorded also in Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Luhansk oblasts but local officials reported no casualties.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Drones hit Moscow, Zelensky says war gradually returning to Russia

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The latest events in the Russian Federation, in particular drone attacks on Moscow and the acceleration of conscription into the army, show that the Kremlin is no longer capable of protecting its population from war, according to UK intelligence.

Source: UK Defence Intelligence report on 31 July, as European Pravda reported

Details: The intelligence says that currently, the priority task for the Russian authorities is to introduce changes to the legislation that will allow more men to be drafted into the army more quickly.

Intelligence recalls that in mid-July, the State Duma of the Russian Federation raised the maximum conscription age from 27 to 30 years and left the minimum age at 18 years.

Although the conscripts are not currently serving in Ukraine, they relieve professional and mobilised soldiers from other duties inside Russia, the intelligence added.

On 24 July 2023, President Putin signed a bill gradually raising the upper age limit for those subject to conscription as reservists: senior officers can now be mobilised up to 70.

In the autumn of 2022, the reservists were included in the number of "partially mobilised", and now they can ensure a faster increase in the number of people participating in combat operations in Ukraine.

Quote: "The increased chance of being compelled to fight, drone attacks on Moscow, exceptional level of domestic repression, and the recent Wagner mutiny combine to highlight the Russian states failure to insulate the population from the war," the message reads.

Background: The day before, the UK Ministry of Defence reported that the Wagner Group militants arrived in Belarus mostly without their heavy equipment, and they might have handed it over to the Russian Ministry of Defence.

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The office of the Ministry of Digital Affairs of the Russian Federation, which was affected during the night drone attack on Moscow City

Russian media outlet RTVI has released photographs providing an inside view of the office of the Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media, located in the Moscow-City business center, after it was struck by what Russia claims was a Ukrainian drone.

The office suffered extensive damage during a nighttime drone attack on Moscow in the early hours of July 30.

RTVI

The photos unveil the scale of the destruction within the ministrys office, with blown-out windows, demolished internal partitions, and an interior in disarray.

RTVI

RTVI

The attack occurred on the night of July 30 and targeted buildings within the IQ Quarter of Moscow-City, where various Russian ministry offices are situated. The aftermath of the strike resulted in debris and documents from the damaged building being scattered onto the streets.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has accused Ukraine of orchestrating the attack and asserted that they successfully repelled the assault. The Russian authorities typically claim that they managed to shoot down all attacking drones, or disable them with electronic warfare systems.

Kyiv has not yet issued a response, but Ukraine typically declines to claim responsibility for attacks on Russia.

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Two Russian Iskander missiles used to strike the city of Kryvyi Rih on 31 July were fired from the occupied city of Dzhankoi, Crimea.

Source: address of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Quote: "According to preliminary data of our military, these two missiles at Kryvyi Rih were fired from the territory of temporarily occupied Crimea, from the area of the city of Dzhankoi.

And this proves once and again that for the security of our cities, for the protection of the everyday life of Ukrainians and our children, our military must have enough long-range weapons, enough means of destroying terrorists. The world's sanction pressure against Russia needs to significantly increase."

Details: Zelenskyy once again said that on 31 July, a ballistic missile attacked a residential building in Kryvyi Rih, where it destroyed storeys four through nine.

Background:

As a result of a Russian missile attack on Kryvyi Rih on 31 July, six people were killed, and 75 were injured. Search and rescue operations were completed.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!






Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R) meets with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in Baghdad, Iraq, July 30, 2023. Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah paid an official visit to Iraq's capital Baghdad on Sunday and held talks with Iraqi leaders in an attempt to end border demarcation and joint oil field disputes. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

BAGHDAD, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah paid an official visit to Iraq's capital Baghdad on Sunday and held talks with Iraqi leaders in an attempt to end border demarcation and joint oil field disputes.

At a joint press conference after meeting with Al-Sabah, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said the two sides discussed and agreed to continue discussions on the border demarcation issue, noting that a joint higher committee will be involved to supervise the work of subcommittees.

He added that the discussion also touched upon joint oil fields between Iran and Kuwait.

Hailing the discussions as "very fruitful" as there was "a consensual view on all outstanding issues," Al-Sabah stressed the need to end the maritime border demarcation file.

He added that they agreed to open a commercial attache at the Kuwaiti consulate in Basra, Iraq.

During his visit, Al-Sabah also met with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, where the two Iraqi leaders reiterated Iraq's desire to resolve the outstanding issues between the two countries through joint efforts and coordination while preserving common interests, according to official statements by the two leaders' offices.

In recent years, Kuwait and Iraq have strengthened bilateral relations which were severed following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

The land boundary between the two countries was demarcated by the United Nations in 1993 after the U.S.-led war to liberate Kuwait in 1991, but their maritime borders were not mapped. 

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R) shakes hands with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in Baghdad, Iraq, July 30, 2023. Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah paid an official visit to Iraq's capital Baghdad on Sunday and held talks with Iraqi leaders in an attempt to end border demarcation and joint oil field disputes. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah speaks during a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein in Baghdad, Iraq, July 30, 2023. Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah paid an official visit to Iraq's capital Baghdad on Sunday and held talks with Iraqi leaders in an attempt to end border demarcation and joint oil field disputes. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R) and his visiting Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah attend a joint press conference, in Baghdad, Iraq, July 30, 2023. Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah paid an official visit to Iraq's capital Baghdad on Sunday and held talks with Iraqi leaders in an attempt to end border demarcation and joint oil field disputes. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)
A Russian missile struck another apartment building in central Ukraine on Monday, leaving four people dead and trapping residents underneath the rubble, according to Ukraines interior minister.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said one of two Russian missiles hit a section of an apartment building in the city of Kryvyi Rih, killing four, including a 10-year-old girl. Fifty-three people were injured in the attack, according to Dnipro Gov. Serhiy Lysak.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed Monday morning that a university building and a crossroads were also hit. Zelensky, who was born in Kryvyi Rih, said people may still be under the rubble, as rescuers on the ground work to save people.

In recent days, the enemy has been stubbornly attacking cities, city centers, shelling civilian objects and housing, Zelenskyy said in a statement on social media. But this terror will not frighten us or break us.

In the partially occupied Donetsk province, a Ukrainian artillery strike killed two people and wounded six, said Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the illegally annexed province. He said a bus was also hit several times in Donetsk as Ukrainian forces shelled the city.

Neither Russia nor Ukraines claims could be independently verified, according to The Associated Press.

Ukraines counterstrikes come amid a series of reported efforts to bring the war deeper into Russia, including multiple drone attacks on Russia and Moscow-annexed territory, including Crimea. Ukraines most recent strike Sunday damaged two office buildings around two miles from the Kremlin.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russia is increasing security in the wake of such attacks, calling Sundays attack an act of desperation.

A Ukrainian drone also aimed for a district police department in Russias Bryansk region early Monday, but no casualties were reported, according to the local governor.

Updated at 8:44 a.m. ET.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Russia launched a missile strike against the city of Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on July 31, killing at least one person and injuring at least 10, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported.

"One missile hit a four-story building of an educational institution. There are probably people under the rubble", Klymenko said.

"The second missile destroyed parts of the fourth to the ninth floors of a residential building. A fire broke out," the minister wrote on Telegram.

"As of 10:15, one person died, and 10 residents sought medical attention."

According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, residential buildings, a university building, and a crossroads in the city were hit.

Kryvyi Rih's Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul reported on explosions in the city around 9 a.m.

The second most populous city of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Kryvyi Rih has been repeatedly targeted by Russian missile and drone strikes.

On July 8, a drone attack against the city injured one resident. A Russian missile on June 13 killed 13 people and injured dozens more.

The oblast's capital of Dnipro was also recently targeted by Russian missiles, which damaged a high-rise residential building and an abandoned Security Service headquarters. At least 10 people were injured in the attack.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Russia hits Dnipro with missiles, at least 5 injured

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Maria Lvova-Belova, Russian ombudswoman for childrens rights, wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Hague, has reported that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russians have deported more than 700,000 Ukrainian children to Russia.

Source: Radio Liberty; Russian media outlet Nastoyashee Vremya (Present Time)

Details: In her report, Lvova-Belova claimed that the majority of Ukrainian children were taken to Russia together with their parents or other relatives.

According to the document, nearly 1,500 children from orphanages or children deprived of parental care have been deported to the territory of Russia as well: 288 children from the so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic (DPR) have been placed in Russian foster families.

The children from the so-called Luhansk Peoples Republic (LPR) have reportedly come back to orphanages they had been taken from, but later 92 children were also placed in Russian families.

From April to October 2022, the Russians have placed in Russian families 380 children from Donbas. The document says they were deprived of parental care.

Background:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called a story about the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia "exaggerated".

According to the official reports of the Ukrainian authorities as of 31 July 2023, 19,546 children have been deported from Ukraine to Russia since 24 February 2022. These are only the officially documented cases, when a parent, a caretaker or a witness of deportation reported it to the National Information Bureau of Ukraine.

The deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia is a war crime. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova who are suspected of committing this crime. So far, the Ukrainian authorities managed to bring back only 386 children.

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(Reuters) -Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza on Monday lost an appeal against his 25-year jail sentence, the RIA state news agency reported.

Kara-Murza, who holds Russian and British citizenship, was jailed for 25 years in April for treason and spreading "false information" about Russia's war in Ukraine.

The 41-year-old is one of a small number of prominent opposition figures who stayed in Russia and continued to speak out against President Vladimir Putin after the Kremlin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

Kara-Murza was arrested two months after the war began, accused of spreading false information about the armed forces and declared a "foreign agent". His detention came hours after CNN broadcast an interview with him in which he said Russia was run by "a regime of murderers".

He was later charged with treason over speeches he had made about the war, including one to the Arizona House of Representatives in which he said Putin was bombing Ukrainian homes, hospitals and schools.

Moscow says it does not deliberately target civilians, but thousands have been killed in Ukraine.

During his trial, he compared the wording of the charges against him with that used by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's secret police in the 1930s, when Kara-Murza's own grandfather was sent to a Gulag prison camp in Russia's far east.

Kara-Murza was a close aide to Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead in central Moscow in 2015.

Twice, in 2015 and 2017, he fell suddenly ill in what he said were poisonings by the Russian security services, on both occasions falling into a coma before eventually recovering. Russian authorities denied involvement in the incidents.

His lawyer has said he is in poor health and suffering from polyneuropathy, a nerve disorder resulting from the poisoning incidents.

(Reporting by Reuters, writing by Mark TrevelyanEditing by Gareth Jones)
Oleksandr Prokudin, Head of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration, has said that the Russian army attacked the Korabel district of Kherson, and that one person had been killed there.

Source: Prokudin on Telegram

Quote: "A 65-year-old man came under enemy fire in his car. His friend tried to take him to hospital.

However, the injuries were too severe, and doctors could only pronounce him dead."

Details: A 38-year-old resident of Kherson was also wounded. He was hospitalised with injuries to his leg and arm.

Background: Russian troops bombarded the centre of Kherson on the morning of 31 July using Grad multiple-launch rocket systems, killing one civilian and injuring four others. All of them are employees of a utility service of Kherson City Council.

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Since early 2022, Russia has forcibly mobilised between 55,000 and 60,000 men into its army in Ukraine's temporarily occupied territories.

Source: Ukraines Defence Intelligence on Telegram; representative of the Defence Intelligence Andrii Cherniak, in a commentary for Donbas Realii (Donbass Realities), a project by Radio Liberty

Quote: "This is a violent mobilisation: the invaders catch people on the street, they come to those small businesses that are still working and forcibly take people away  simply let them change their clothes and send them to the front."

Details: The intelligence official added that people were promised they would be serving on the second or third line of defence, but in fact were sent to the front line.

Cherniak also added that the Russians swell their ranks with students from the occupied Ukrainian territories.

He said that students were sent to the front directly from their classes, without any kind of proper training.

Cherniak stressed that the only real opportunity to survive for those mobilised from the occupied territories is to surrender at the first opportunity.

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Damage to the Crimean bridge following a suspected Ukrainian attack on July 17

Fearing more attacks on the Crimean bridge, the Russian military is deploying floating anti-sabotage booms next to the illegal structure, which connects Ukraines Russian-occupied Crimea with Russia.

Russian Telegram channel Mash posted a picture apparently showing the assembly of a section of the boom, which resembles ribbed piping. The pipe additionally has on top of it a fence of vertical metal rods, reinforced with a crosspiece. The barriers are designed to protect against surface and underwater drones, Mash wrote.

The Crimean bridge was additionally fenced with special anti-sabotage booms  in case of new attempts by Kyiv to commit a terrorist attack. According to our information, in the future, the structures will protect the bridge from attacks throughout its entire length, Mash wrote in its post.

Earlier, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov stated that Ukraine would continue to strike military targets on Ukraines Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula, as well as the Crimean bridge  an important military logistics route for invading Russian forces in Ukraine.

In the latest attack on the night of July17, two explosions rang out on the bridge, after which all traffic on it was stopped. The Russian-installed leader of the occupation administration in Crimea, Serhii Aksyonov, announced there had been an "emergency situation", and the Russian public wrote about serious damage to at least one section of the road bridge. Later, the Russian occupation authorities announced the restoration of railway traffic across the bridge.

A source of NV in the law enforcement agencies reported that Ukraines SBU security service and Ukrainian Navy had been involved in the nighttime operation to attack the Crimean Bridge. According to the source, the bridge was attacked by uncrewed surface vessels, or sea drones.

Russian Vice-Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin later said that one span of the road section of the Crimean Bridge cannot be repaired and would have to be replaced.

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Read also: Russia admits Crimean Bridge repairs will take longer as Ukraine vows it will never be the same

This is the second case of explosions occurring on the Crimean bridge, which Russia uses to transfer armored vehicles and manpower to support its military occupation of the south of Ukraine. On Oct. 8, 2022, several sections of the road bridge collapsed as a result of a powerful explosion, which also set fire to a train with fuel on the railway section of the bridge. The fire damaged both the track and the bridge structure, but the Russians were able to restore rail traffic shortly after.

The Kremlin regime accused Kyryl Budanov, the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine or HUR, of organizing the sabotage.

The HUR has denied the Kremlins claims, describing them as them "delusional."

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Colonel Oleksandr Pivnenko, the Commander of the National Guard of Ukraine, has confirmed that a fierce war of combat drones continues at the front.

Source: Pivnenko in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda

Details: Ukrainska Pravda noted that many experts agree that the Russians have begun to use their UAVs more heavily. At the same time, it is often mentioned that the Ukrainian defence forces have a constant shortage of drones. Ukrainska Pravda asked Pivnenko whether this is true and whether the National Guard has any problems with UAVs.

Quote from Pivnenko: "They have adopted our tactics of using drones. We are constantly being provided with supplies through our own channels, for example, through the volunteer movement, and we are provided with supplies officially all the time [by the state  ed.]. But there are also constant losses, the enemy's electronic warfare is operating.

If you look at the numbers, there may be days when we lose up to 20 drones a day. On good days, we lose one drone, two, three. Sometimes the drones don't have enough time to get to the destination point. For example, we had a stock of 40, just to give you an example. It disappeared in two days, and we expected it to last for a month.

We are engaging channels, pulling up more [drones]. But sometimes there are moments when you don't always have the time to get them here because it's a tough spot. The command posts are located very close to the front. You also have to be very careful there, because, you know, volunteers can be killed and there are many [complicated] situations. Well, this is war."

Details: Pivnenko also pointed out that the Russians are constantly changing their tactics of warfare.

Their principle of not sparing manpower and wiping out all life on the face of the earth with the help of various artillery systems remains unchanged.

Pivnenko made it clear that he was not inclined to underestimate the Russians. He said the best trained mercenaries he has ever encountered are Wagnerites, but these mercenaries are not currently on the battlefield in Ukraine. At the same time, Pivnenko stated that the Defence Forces will fight and liberate Ukrainian territories, no matter what happens.

Read more on the topic: If the UAV situation doesn't change, we'll be at the negotiating table within a year: FPV drones and their role in warfare

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Ukrainian soldiers near Bakhmut on May 15. AP Photo/Libkos, File

A retired Australian general described Russia's intimidating defensive lines to The Economist.

He called them "much more complex and deadly" than anything any military had seen in about 80 years.

Russia's strong defenses are hampering Ukraine's counteroffensive.

A retired Australian general described the defensive lines that Russia had built in Ukraine as "much more complex and deadly than anything experienced by any military in nearly 80 years."

And the former officer, Mick Ryan, told The Economist that breaking through those defenses would require the best of combined-arms operational skills, something that the military analyst Michael Kofman told the outlet Ukraine had not shown at scale.

Ukraine started its long-awaited counteroffensive in June, aimed at taking back territory in the east and south of the country. But it has made only marginal gains.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said efforts had been hampered by the strong defenses that Russia was able to build as it waited for Ukraine's big attack to begin.

Satellite imagery from when Ukraine was preparing to start its counteroffensive showed Russia strengthening its 600-mile front line with minefields, barricades, "dragon's teeth" obstacles, and anti-tank ditches.

The minefields have, in places, forced Ukrainian soldiers to leave behind some of their advanced Western tanks and progress on foot.

Officials in Ukraine said they wanted their big push to start earlier but had to wait for more Western weapons to arrive, which allowed Russia additional time to prepare.

Ukraine has also explained its progress by saying many of its units have not yet joined the fight, and Zelenskyy said last week that Ukraine's actions were about to gain pace after extensive de-mining efforts.

Others have compared the fighting in Ukraine to wars going back over a hundred years.

The slow, grinding nature of the clashes and trench warfare means that battlefields in Ukraine look like those from World War I, albeit with more-advanced technology in the mix, experts told Insider.

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A former Army Ranger who fought in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Ukraine said the fighting in the Eastern European country was much worse than that in those other countries. David Bramlette told The Daily Beast that he had air support, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance when he was in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The worst day in Afghanistan and Iraq is a great day in Ukraine," he said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
(Reuters) - Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a voice message published on Monday that his Wagner group was not currently recruiting fighters but was likely to do so in future.

The future of Wagner and Prigozhin has been unclear since he led a short mutiny against the Russian defence establishment in late June and the Kremlin said he and some of his fighters - who have fought in some of the fiercest battles of the Ukraine war - would leave for Belarus.

Despite that, Prigozhin attended a meeting with Putin five days after the mutiny and was photographed last week in St Petersburg, where President Vladimir Putin was hosting African leaders.

"Today we are defining our next tasks, whose outline is becoming clearer and clearer. Undoubtedly, these are tasks that will be carried out in the name of the greatness of Russia," a voice sounding like Prigozhin's said in the message. It was published on Grey Zone, a Telegram channel affiliated with Wagner.

After the June mutiny, the Kremlin said Wagner fighters who had not taken part would transfer to the regular army, signing contracts with the Defence Ministry.

Apparently alluding to this, Prigozhin said in the voice message that "unfortunately" some of his fighters had moved to other "power structures", but he said they were looking to return.

"As long as we don't experience a shortage in personnel, we don't plan to carry out a new recruitment," Prigozhin said.

"However, we will be extremely grateful to you if you keep in touch with us, and as soon as the Motherland needs to create a new group that will be able to protect the interests of our country, we will certainly start recruiting."

Since the mutiny, some Wagner fighters have moved to Belarus and started training its army. In comments published last week, Prigozhin also said Wagner was ready to further increase its presence in Africa.

Its role there, especially in support of governments in Mali and Central African Republic, is a source of concern for Western governments. The United States has accused it of committing widespread atrocities and imposed sanctions on it as a criminal organisation.

Prigozhin says it works in line with the laws of the countries where it operates. Last week he welcomed a military coup in the west African state of Niger and made what appeared to be a pitch for his fighters to bring order there.

(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali in Beijing, capital of China, July 30, 2023. Ali, who is visiting China, attended the opening ceremony of the 31st summer edition of the FISU World University Games. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

BEIJING, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali in Beijing on Sunday, saying that China is willing to work with Guyana to promote relations between China and Caribbean countries, and to jointly safeguard the common interests of developing countries.

Li said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties more than five decades ago, China and Guyana have always treated each other with mutual respect and equality. The political mutual trust between the two sides has become even firmer as time goes by, he said, adding that the practical cooperation has achieved fruitful results, setting an example of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation between countries with different social systems, histories and cultures.

Li expressed China's readiness to continue to make joint efforts with Guyana to develop bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, and promote the building of a China-Guyana community with a shared future.

He pointed out that China firmly supports Guyana in pursuing a development path that is suitable for its own national conditions. Taking the Belt and Road Initiative as an opportunity, China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Guyana in economy, trade, agriculture, energy, green development and other areas.

China stands ready to work with Guyana to promote relations between China and Caribbean countries, meet global challenges together, safeguard the common interests of developing countries, and improve international fairness and justice, Li said.

Noting that China is a strategic partner of Guyana, Ali said that Guyana spoke highly of China's great achievements in advancing modernization, and thanked China for helping Guyana with its economic and social development. He welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Guyana.

Ali said that Guyana appreciates China's important role in international affairs, and is willing to work with China to practice multilateralism and jointly address the global challenges of energy security, food security and climate change.

Ali, who is visiting China, attended the opening ceremony of the 31st summer edition of the FISU World University Games in Chengdu, capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province. 
An image of Ruth Handler behind an original Barbie doll AP Photo / Andrew Harnik

Barbie  and the doll's creator, Ruth Handler  are both having a moment.

The company Handler co-created, Mattel, and the toys it manufactured are all household names, but Ruth's story isn't as well known. Born in Denver in 1916, Ruth was the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants. She met her husband, Elliot Handler, in high school, and the couple moved to Los Angeles after marrying in 1938.

The Handlers didn't start off by making toys, but rather furniture. Elliot used lucite and Plexiglas to create furnishings for their home, and Ruth suggested he turn this hobby into a business. She went out and sold the pieces, and landed lucrative deals with major clients like Douglas Aircraft. In 1945, the Handlers partnered with Harold "Matt" Matson to form Mattel, and started making dollhouse furniture, music boxes and the Uke-A-Doodle, a type of instrument similar to the ukulele.

By focusing on interactive products and smart marketing, the Handlers were the "first toy industry entrepreneurs to transform their company, consciously and systemically, into a professional operation," Sydney Stern and Ted Schoenhaus wrote in their 1990 book "Toyland."

A cultural phenomenon is born

Mattel was successful, but the company was launched into another stratosphere when it introduced the Barbie doll in 1959. Ruth's inspiration for Barbie came after a family trip to Switzerland, where her daughter, Barbara, became enthralled by the Bild Lilli doll. "It was an adult, figurative doll, sort of a sculptural thing, I guess," Barbara told The New York Times in 2002. "I was going crazy because I wanted different clothes for it, and they didn't sell the clothes separate. You had to buy a different doll every time you wanted a different outfit."

The U.S. market was filled with baby dolls and paper dolls, and Ruth worked with Mattel's designers to ensure that their creation, Barbie, was something completely different: "a teenage doll with a tiny waist, slender hips and impressive bust," as the Los Angeles Times described it. When Barbie made her debut at the 1959 American Toy Fair, clad in a now-iconic black-and-white striped bathing suit, it was a hit. A Barbie cost $3, and more than 350,000 were sold in the first year. "The minute that doll hit the counter, she walked right off," Ruth said.

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Ruth made sure that unlike Lilli, Barbie had plenty of outfits and accessories that could be purchased separately. Over time, the Barbie universe expanded, as new dolls like Ken (named after the Handlers' son) and Skipper were introduced and Barbie tried new professions, including astronaut and veterinarian. Any criticism of Barbie rolled off Ruth's back, and she disagreed with those who said the doll perpetuated unrealistic standards for women. In her 1994 memoir "Dream Doll," Ruth explained that her "whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices."

Moving on from Mattel

In 1970, Ruth was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. Barbara told The New York Times that her mother "wasn't satisfied with what was out there when she went to get a prosthesis," and found the salespeople rude and the product unsatisfactory. This led her to a new business venture: Nearly Me, a breast-prosthetic company.

Later that decade, Mattel found itself under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission over claims of accounting irregularities inside the company. Ruth was eventually indicted on charges of false reporting and fraud, and after pleading no contest, was sentenced to 2,500 hours of community service and paid a $57,000 fine. She maintained her innocence and said her battle with cancer took away her focus. "I was never able to get back in and grab hold of things as I should have," Ruth told USA Today in 1994.

In the wake of the investigation, the Handlers were ousted from Mattel, and Ruth focused on Nearly Me and spreading awareness about the importance of regular mammograms. She died in 2002 of complications following colon surgery, at age 85.

In the new "Barbie" movie, Ruth is played by Rhea Perlman, who has a small but pivotal role and delivers one of the film's most poignant lines. It was a fitting tribute to the real Ruth, who was "a pioneer of her time, for sure," her daughter said in a 2017 interview with the Branded Content Marketing Association. "She was always for the women to be successful and strong. And she was a strong person."

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The RV Life Goes Electric - Six places you can rent electric camper vans in the U.S. and around the world.

By Elissa Garay, CNN

(CNN)  The road trip-meets-camping experience afforded by camper van travel is having a moment.

Interest in these compact recreational vehicles, typically outfitted with home-away-from-home comforts like sleeping spaces and kitchenettes, has surged in recent years, bolstered by social media streams flooded with images and videos depicting idealized, nature-immersive #vanlife travel scenes.

Plus, at the pandemics height, such self-contained vans  a sort of hotel room on wheels  were perceived to offer a means of travel that cut away at health risks.

Yet, for the nature-loving travelers who tend to gravitate toward these outdoor adventure-ready vans, theres a crisis of conscience at play, given that the oversize, gas-guzzling vehicles are known for spewing out carbon emissions, as a worsening global climate crisis unfolds.

Just as movement toward electric vehicles (EVs) has swept the automobile industrywith fossil fuel-powered internal combustion engines being increasingly replaced by battery-powered electric motorsthe dawn of a new electrified camper van age is emerging, as well.

We are indeed starting to see some momentum from the RV [recreational vehicle] industry towards designing and building electric camper vans, says Kraig Becker, digital editor at RV.com/RV Magazine, citing such projects in the works from big brands like Winnebago and Volkswagen. Those will soon join a niche contingent of DIY custom electric camper van conversions that are already on the market.

Becker says that consumer demand for these electrified camper vans is being driven largely by younger generations who are looking for a more eco-friendly way to go camping.

Peter Grunert, coordinating author of Lonely Planets new book Electric Vehicle Road TripsEurope, concurs that the vehicles appeal to travelers with eco-sensibility.

Given that EV camper vans produce zero emissions at the tailpipe, they also allow a sense of environmental consciousness that will be especially appreciated when passing through fragile natural habitats or urban areas, he says.

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Becker says that while barriers like underdeveloped charging infrastructure and limited EV driving range remain, customers are further drawn in by the fact that an electric camper van is quieter than a gas-powered model, and makes it easier to camp off-grid.

Other customers, like Montreal-based Nicolas Moreau, 35, who recently traveled through Quebec with his family in an electric camper van rental from Bromont Campervan, says he was most motivated by the savings at the pump.

We were aiming to not have to spend too much on gas, he tells CNN Travel.

Indeed, high and fluctuating global gas prices, particularly in European destinations, can tack on considerable expense to any road trip vacation. Recharging a camper van with electricity, rather than fueling up a gas tank, can translate to significant savings on travel costs.

Currently, the Quebec region is one of just a handful of North American destinations where electric camper vans are available. Europe has more, though still limited, inventory.

Camper van rental agencies like Europe-based Goboony and Outdoorsy in the U.S. each offer some electric camper vans for rent. Or, these six pioneering electric camper van rental companies around the globe each promise the benefits of a camper van vacationall-in-one appeal, nature immersion, and the freedom of unbound travelminus the hefty carbon footprint.

California, United States: Simple Campers

The Company: Rental company Simple Campers, based just north of San Francisco, has taken hold of the worlds very first batch of rentable Grounded electric camper vans. The Grounded brand, a Detroit-based start-up helmed by former engineers from Tesla and SpaceX, has been garnering buzz for its vans highly customizable modular interiors and comparative affordability; Grounded says more rental camper vans will be available across the U.S. in months to come.

The Vans: Simple Campers now offers a trio of two-passenger Grounded G1 camper vans, which are based on converted Ford E-Transits and inspired by Scandinavian design. Features include solar panels, queen-sized bed, outdoor shower, toilet, fully outfitted kitchen, and various app-based controls (like remote start for heating or air conditioning).

The Journey: Simple Campers recommends heading up Californias Pacific coastline along famed road-trip route Highway 1, just miles away, with nearby highlights like Point Reyes National Seashore and Bodega Bay. Dip into the Russian River Valley, loaded with Sonomas top wineries, before spinning back down to the companys base in Mill Valley, on a roughly 220-mile journey, best done over three days.

Washington State, United States: PacWesty

The Company: Five-year-old adventure camper van company PacWesty, based on Bainbridge Island in Washington State (under 10 miles from Seattle), launched its zero-emissions initiative with a trio of electric vehicles in 2019. (The company shop is additionally electrifying four VW Westfalia vans, anticipated for 2024 delivery to Bainbridge Island and the companys new outpost in Palm Springs, California.)

The Vans: PacWesty currently has two four-passenger converted Ram ProMaster 1500s on offer, pop-top models which come with two sleeping areas (an upper tent bunk and convertible sofa bed), kitchenettes, and lots of storage. For longer trips, try their newest two-passenger, off-road-ready Rivian R1T electric pickup truck, tricked out with a rooftop tent and camping kit.

The Journey: PacWesty recommends a 405-mile, 10-day journey round-trip from Bainbridge Island that strings together several nature-immersive stops along Washington States Olympic Peninsula, including mountains (hike Hurricane Hill in Olympic National Park), beaches (swim at Rialto Beach), lakes, waterfalls, rain forests, and hot springs.

Quebec, Canada: Bromont Campervan

The Company: Starting this summer, camper van rental company Bromont Campervan, based in Bromont, Canada (an hour outside of Montreal), is offering two electric van rentals. The company aims to convert its entire 14-van fleet to electric by 2025.

The Vans: Bromont rents two converted Ford E-Transit vans on a weekly basis, configured for either two or four passengers. Vans feature appointments like a retractable bed, kitchenette, toilet/shower, fridge, and four-season insulation.

The Journey: Try a weeklong, 450-mile road trip from Quebec City, catching nearby Quebec-region attractions like towering Montmorency Falls, the glacial valley at Jacques-Cartier National Park, or bucolic Ile dOrleans.

Norway: Norway Overland

The Company: Norway is leading the world in EV ownership and charging infrastructure, with the camper van rental options to match, including several such companies based in Bergen, the Lofoten islands, and beyond.

For something especially unique, check out Norway Overland, which launched this year in the village of Tonstad and rents out fully electric overland pickups fitted with camper shells. Theyre well-suited to more rugged off-roading in the Norwegian wilderness, famed for its mountains, fjords, and glaciers.

The Vans: While not exactly vans, Norway Overland rents two Maxus T90 pickups, topped with truck-bed campers. Each vehicle, outfitted with a roof tent for sleeping, shower/toilet, kitchen area, and assorted camping gear, can accommodate up to five passengers.

The Journey: Norway Overland recommends a 380-mile, weeklong journey round-trip from the city of Stavanger, which takes in several fjords, top hiking spots (like to the Pulpit Rock cliff), traditional Norwegian towns (like those in the Setesdal valley), and interior highland scenery.

England: Wild Drives

The Company: Founded in early 2022, Brighton-based Wild Drives offers two upscale, fully converted electric camper vans for outings in the English countryside.

The Vans: The company rents out a converted, two-passenger VW ID Buzz cargo van, as well as a four-passenger Citroen e-Dispatch, each touting sustainably-sourced bamboo finishings, natural fiber insulation, and solar panels, along with kitchenettes and seating/sleeping space.

The Journey: Wild Drives has designed a 155-mile, 7-day itinerary round-trip from Englands hopping Brighton Beach, with loads of suggestions on best charging points, eco-friendly campsites, and nature-immersive attractions and activities, including a sustainable wine tasting, foraging excursion, and stop-off at prehistoric Stonehenge.

Scotland: eDub Trips

The Company: Pioneering electric camper van rental company eDub Trips launched way back in 2013, when it began converting classic 1970s Volkswagen camper vans from standard engines to electric motors. The two-van company (with plans for a third underway for 2024) is based out of England, but launched service in Scotland this year.

The Vans: Book a five-passenger 1979 Volkswagen T2 electric camper van out of Glenfinnan, Scotland, complete with two double beds, kitchenette, and ample storage space.

The Journey: The company suggests exploring the Scottish countryside round-trip from Fort William on a 5-day, 340-mile trip that includes stops in Glenfinnan (chockfull of Harry Potter film scenes, including its famed viaduct), a car ferry to the Isle of Skye, a boat trip on Loch Ness, and more. Bonus: Daily distances on this route are short enough that no additional charging stops would be required beyond the overnight campsite plug-in.

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A man looks at his smartphone in Kigali, on May 18, 2020, showing the arrest of Felicien Kabuga, wanted over the 1994 Rwandan genocide

Rwanda's government imposes legal restrictions and informal controls on the media, and most outlets practice self-censorship.

The few journalists in the country who engage in independent reporting are subject to criminal charges and intimidation, says NGO Freedom House

BBC Great Lakes broadcasts have been banned in Rwanda since 2014 following a BBC Two television documentary that questioned the official Rwandan genocide narrative.

BBC Great Lakes is now only available on its website and Facebook. However, BBC English, French and Swahili services can still be heard on FM in Rwanda.

There were 5.9 million internet users by December 2021, comprising 45% of the population (Internetworldstats.com). Facebook is the leading social media platform.

The government has increasingly blocked access to news websites based abroad, says Freedom House. It says this is partly because many journalists have fled the country and now work in exile and online.

Press/online

Television

RTV - operated by state-owned Rwanda Broadcasting Agency

Tele10 - privately-owned

Radio

Radio Rwanda - state-owned, broadcasts in English, French, Kinyarwanda and Swahili

Radio 10 - private

Flash FM - private

Contact FM - private

City Radio - private

Radio Izuba - private

Radio Maria - Catholic

News agency
Sams Club is offering teachers nationwide discounted memberships ahead of back-to-school shopping, but those who prefer to shop at Costco shouldnt expect the same deal.

Through Aug. 15, retail warehouse Sams Club is knocking $30 off its basic membership plan. According to a statement from Costco, the bulk warehouse chain is not offering free or discounted memberships.

Instead, teachers who sign up for a new membership will receive a $30 digital Costco Shop Card.

The cards are sent via email within two weeks of sign-up and can be redeemed online and in-store, according to Costcos website. The promotion doesnt extend to gas, car washes and food court purchases.

To get the card, teachers must verify their status online and provide both a valid credit card and email address for automatic membership renewal. The offer is valid for new customers and is limited to one household.

The card cannot be swapped for cash.

Similar deals are available for college students, military personnel and medical and government workers.

Sams Club versus Costco

Both bulk warehouses have car, hearing and optical services as well as pharmacies, gas stations and hot food on the go.

Costco offers three types of memberships: Gold Star and Business ($60 per year plus tax) and Executive (120 per year plus tax). At Sams Club, yearly memberships cost between $50 and $110.

Costco and Sams Club have warehouses in Sacramento, Roseville, Citrus Heights and Folsom.

Additional Costco locations are in Rancho Cordova and Elk Grove.

What do you want to know about life in Sacramento? Ask our service journalism team your top-of-mind questions in the module below or email servicejournalists@sacbee.com.
San Francisco building inspectors had said a new 'X' sign atop the headquarters of the tech firm formerly known as Twitter must get the proper permits or be removed (JOSH EDELSON)

The company formerly known as Twitter removed a towering, blinking X from atop its San Francisco headquarters Monday after the rebranded tech firm tangled with city officials over the controversial sign.

The X, installed on the roof of the company's downtown office last week, was part of owner Elon Musk's bid to rebrand the troubled social media giant to the 24th letter of the alphabet.

But local residents had complained about the brilliant flashing lights emitting from the sign at night. Some also complained about safety, suggesting the sign -- which had loomed over the building's edge -- did not appear securely anchored to the roof.

San Francisco's Department of Building Inspection and City Planning received 24 complaints about the sign, including concerns about its "structural safety and illumination," agency communications director Patrick Hannan told AFP.

"This morning, building inspectors observed the structure being dismantled," Hannan said.

The owner of the property where X is renting offices will have to pay the cost of permits to install and remove the sign, as well as the cost of the city's investigation, according to Hannan.

A building inspector following up on a complaint first went to the tech firm's headquarters on Friday -- but was not allowed onto the roof to check the sign, according to the complaint posted on a city website.

Instead, an X representative told the inspector that the structure was "a temporary lighted sign for an event," the complaint showed.

A second attempt by an inspector to check the sign was also rebuffed on Saturday, according to the city.

The city sent X a notice of violation warning that it needed proper permits for the sign.

When contacted by AFP about the complaint, X replied with an automated message saying it would respond "soon."

- Backlash -

Musk has brushed off the backlash to the sign and to the rebrand in general, responding with a laughing emoji to one X user's post about the city being at odds with him over the new sign.

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The billionaire killed off Twitter's globally recognizable bird logo early last week as he rebranded the company he hopes to turn into a super-app inspired by China's WeChat, which would function as a social media platform and also offer messaging and payments.

Since Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion last October, the platform's advertising business has collapsed as marketers soured on Musk's management style and mass firings at the company that gutted content moderation.

In response, he has moved toward building a subscriber base and pay model in a search for new revenue.

Workers last week were stopped while removing the Twitter sign and blue bird logo from the headquarters due to a lack of proper permits. It was also gone Monday.

A group of former Twitter employees who lost their jobs when Musk took over said in a federal civil suit filed against the company in May that the billionaire made it clear that he did not intend to pay expenses such as rent or severance packages.

An attorney for Musk was overheard crudely insulting San Francisco at one point, contending it was unreasonable for landlords to expect Twitter to pay rent given living conditions, the suit maintained.

gc/st
From social media to interviews with reporters to taking the stage at numerous events over his four-year tenure as the services top enlisted soldier, Sergeant Major of the Army Michael A. Grinston has offered many quips, aphorisms and no-nonsense advice to soldiers and leaders up and down the chain of command. The Army has even compiled a series of fireside chats on various topics that Grinston has addressed through his tenure for the services NCO Journal dubbed 16x16. As the 16th Sergeant Major of the Army leaves the post in a ceremony on Aug. 4 and then retires soon after, Army Times has compiled a sampling of those Grinstonesque sayings to share that were calling, The Quotable Grinston.

On every problem the Army faces

If it was easy, somebody wouldve already done it.

On improving soldier skills, raising standards

Oh, its coming. Soldiers need to know how to read a map.

If you dont know how to stop a soldier from bleeding, it doesnt matter if youre in large-scale combat or counterinsurgency, you dont know how to do your tasks. At the battalion and below, you need to be an absolute expert in your job. Every soldier in your organization needs to know their job so well that we shouldnt have to worry about that. [Then] we can worry about the deep fight and long-range hypersonics.

Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael A. Grinston meets with international sergeant majors at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., March 15, 2023. (Laura Buchta/Army)

On NCO development

What we need to do is continuously challenge our NCOs, Grinston said. So thats one of our biggest changes; make our first NCO course rigorous and bring back a little rigor and field time and the tactics.

On Ukraine

When Russia invaded Ukraine, your Army knew exactly what we needed to do. You should be proud of what weve done.

On operational tempo

Weve never said no. Ive watched these soldiers, year after year, theyve said, Yes, Ill go do that.

Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston speaks with Redstone senior leaders about quality of life services on the installation during a visit Aug. 5. (Army)

On finding solutions

You hear it all the time: Well, I dont want to make sausage in front of the sergeant major of the Army. I want to make sausage. I want to hear ideas  because if the people with the money and authority that can help with policy dont hear the ideas in the forum, then you may wait too long and it doesnt get funded or its not a policy,

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On being present

What I ask you all as leaders is, are you there? You dont have to lead (physical training), you dont have to be up front, you just have to be present.

Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael A. Grinston deadlifts during his visit at Camp Herkus, Lithuania, May 3, 2022. (Army)

On mental health

Its okay to seek help if you need help. But I do want to caution you that that is not the panacea for all your problems. Maybe seek behavioral health, maybe you can talk to a chaplain. I think when we use all the resources that we have, I think were all going to be in a better mental state. We cant just use only one resource.

Following the murder of Spc. Vanessa Guillen

I think thats the hard part  It wasnt your actions, it was the actions around you, and somehow that was allowed to fester. And thats the difficult part because you personally were performing exceptionally well. But those things around you were happening, and either you should have known or you allowed it.

On combat

I think I did my best to bring everybody back. I didnt, but I think they knew that I truly cared. And when I made them run a billion miles  when youre in combat, you didnt fall out.

On his time as a drill sergeant

I was mean. Theres no way I could lie to you, if you were to talk to my soldiers  I was not nice, I was not fun. I wouldnt want me as a drill sergeant.

Michael Grinston, shown as a Drill Sergeant at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, left, alongside a photo of him as the sergeant major of the Army. (Reddit/Army)

Stopping sexual assault and harassment

You hear it all the time: Well, I dont want to make sausage in front of the sergeant major of the Army. I want to make sausage. I want to hear ideas  because if the people with the money and authority that can help with policy dont hear the ideas in the forum, then you may wait too long and it doesnt get funded or its not a policy,

On suicide

I think we need to rethink suicide. We want to put people in a box that behavioral health will solve. Maybe we need to look at it that everyone can be susceptible to a suicide thought or event.

On failure

I feel that I failed to communicate the importance of being a part of a cohesive team that is highly trained, disciplined and fit. I talk about This is My Squad, [and] how to take ownership and treat people with dignity and respect. I failed to get [my message] down to the NCOs on Fort Hood.

On readiness

Its not people first versus readiness; its people first that equals readiness in the Army. If Im more fit, Im a better [rifleman]; thats about me as a person. If Im not fit and I cant shoot my weapon, Im not very lethal.

Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston runs through a shooting scenario with the Integrated Visual Augmentation System, or IVAS. (Todd South/Military Times)

On race

Racial identity is something that I have struggled with my entire life.  Sometimes in my life, I felt like its in the movie The Green Book where the actor gets out of the car and he says, Im not Black enough for the Black people, and Im not White enough for the White people.

On loss

I got an award and I dont even know if I deserve it. Id give it back in a second if I could get the soldiers back.

Facing death

It got to the point that by the time Id gotten to my second deployment, Im like, theres no way, Theres no way I could get out the first time, Im definitely going to die on the second and third. We were in Mahmoudiyah  Triangle of Death. Great.

Sources: Army Times; Military.com; Army.mil; TaskandPurpose.com
A State Bureau of Investigation officer

The State Bureau of Investigation or SBI has charged a private entrepreneur from Kyiv for allegedly defrauding a military unit of almost UAH 7 million, or $190,000.

According to SBIs press service, the entrepreneur concluded an agreement with the military unit on the supply of 1,500 computers and accessories for them. For an additional fee, he sold the military an operating system for computers that actually already came free as part of the package from the computer manufacturer.

The SBI said the businessman assured the military that he had bought the operating system for the computers separately, and as "proof" he showed them a forged contract.

Read also: Former DNR fighter detained as part of propagandist Prilepins car bombing

In this way, he misled the representatives of the military unit and forced them to spend an additional UAH 7 million from the state budget, the SBI said.

The entrepreneur is charged with theft by means of fraud committed on a particularly large scale (Part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The sanction of the article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of up to 12 years, with confiscation of property.

Currently, the issue of selecting a preventive measure for the suspect ahead of his trial is being decided by the courts, the SBI said.

Read also: SBU nabs collaborators who had joint business with Russians in Luhansk Oblast

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
From an independent artist freestyling on other peoples beats to one of the most influential figures in British culture, Stormzy has been a marvel to witness on his journey to the top.

Born Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr on 26 July, the rapper and singer-songwriter has long established himself as a heavyweight in UK music. His musical talents, plus his philanthropy, his willingness to speak openly about his mental health, and his good humour in interviews and on social media, have made him something of a national treasure.

So, for his 30th birthday celebrations over the weekend, its no surprise that the party he threw for the occasion attracted a whos who of British celebrities.

Attendees at the event on Friday 28 July, fittingly titled #TheMikeGala, included Zadie Smith, Louis Theroux, Jonathan Ross, Skepta, Alison Hammond, Little Simz, Alesha Dixon, Micheal Ward and Dina Asher-Smith.

Photos from the bash at Londons Biltmore Mayfair Hotel show the south London-born star laughing and mingling with his guests long into the early hours of the morning.

Maybe its because I dont get out the house much, but birthdays for me are a big thing, he told The Guardian ahead of the star soiree.

In celebration of the Big For Your Boots star turning 30, heres a look back at some of his finest moments.

The breakthrough

Though hed been making music since 2010, Stormzys first touch of mainstream success came in 2015. After performing Shut Up during boxer Anthony Joshuas ring walk, the then-independent rapper had a surge of attention that led to a campaign to reach Christmas No 1, ultimately peaking at Number 8.

His debut album, Gang Signs & Prayer, debuted at Number 1 on the UK album chart in March 2017 and became the first grime record to do so. Hits from the record include Big For Your Boots, Cold and the gospel-infused Blinded By Your Grace, Pt. 2.

In 2019, Stormzys sophomore album Heavy Is The Head also went straight to the top of the chart, as did his third release, 2022s This Is What I Mean.

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Stormzy at The Mike Gala (Getty Images)

The Stormzy Scholarship

In 2018, the rapper launched the Stormzy Scholarship for Black UK Students, which covers tuition costs and maintenance grants for a select number of Black students attending the University of Cambridge per year.

Though Stormzy didnt complete his A levels, he achieved six A*s, three As, and five Bs in his GCSEs and considers access to academic achievement an important factor for young peoples development.

Since its launch, the scholarship has supported 19 students and the institution has reported an increase in applications from Black students. In 2017, 87 Black and mixed-Black students were accepted into the university. By 2022, the Stormzy effect was credited with increasing that number rising to 182.

Glastonbury Festival

A landmark in every musicians career, headlining Glastonburys main stage in 2019 was a key moment that cemented Stormzys place in musics highest echelon.

As well as featuring guest appearances from dance group Black Ballet and Coldplays Chris Martin, Stormzys set took aim at the British political landscape.

He played a speech by the Labour politician David Lammy that discussed the proportion of Black and minority ethnic people in the British criminal justice system. Then, during Vossi Bop, Stormzy had thousands in the audience shouting along with the lyric: F*** the government and f*** Boris  a direct dismissal of the then-London mayor ahead of his ascension to Conservative Party leader.

Stormzy at Glastonbury, 2019 (PA)

Mental health

Stormzy has also been praised for openly discussing his mental health. Ahead of the release of his debut album Gang Signs & Prayer, he took a sudden hiatus from social media to work on recovering from depression.

For me, it was a realisation of how fragile we are as humans, in the most beautiful way possible, he said of coming to terms with his depression in 2017. What convinced me to talk about it was the fact that if theres anyone out there going through it, I think to see that I went through it, would help.

Since then, he has continued to use his platform to talk openly about mental health and encourages people to seek help if they find themselves struggling.

Raising awareness

Stormzy has never shied away from using his platform to raise awareness of pressing issues. His 2018 performance at the Brit Awards is one of the most talked-about in the ceremonys history, as he used to to take a swipe at then-prime minister Theresa May over her handling of the Grenfell tragedy.

Following a particularly poignant performance of Blinded By Your Grace, Stormzy broke out into a politically fuelled freestyle, where he lashed out at May for the way she responded to the tower block fire in 2017.

Like yo Theresa May wheres the money for Grenfell? he spat, adding: What you thought we just forgot about Grenfell?

You criminals, and you got the cheek to call us savages, he continued. You should do some jail time/ you should pay some damages... we should burn your house down and see if you can manage this.

Stormzy later took home the award for British Album of the Year for Gang Signs & Prayer, as well as the prize for British Male Solo Artist.

#Merky Books

In 2018, Stormzy launched his own book imprint, #Merky Books, in partnership with Penguin Random House. As well as publishing books from a diverse range of authors, the imprint has also launched an annual New Writers Prize, awarded to young, underrepresented, and unpublished writers from across the UK and ROI who are telling the stories that are not being heard, and the stories that deserve to be read, across fiction, non-fiction or poetry.

A friend to many

As evidenced by the turnout to his 30th birthday, Stormzy is popular in several A-list circles.

As well as being close friends with fellow artists Ed Sheeran and Dave, the Firebabe rapper also has a tight bond with Tottenham-born balladeer, Adele.

Though their musical output may not have many similarities, Stormzy and Adele have long shared their appreciation for each others talents. Their mutual admiration blossomed into a friendship, and theyre now holiday buddies, having spent a beautiful time in Jamaica together ahead of the release of his third album, This Is What I Mean.
Before he was studying black holes and spearheading research, Douglas A. Roberts was a young, self-proclaimed science nerd visiting science museums. Now, he plans to help Miamians discover science while having fun.

The Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science Board of Trustees selected Roberts, an astronomer and astrophysicist with two decades of science education and academic research under his belt, as the museums new CEO and president, the museum announced Monday. Roberts assumes the roles Aug. 1. He succeeds Frank Steslow, the previous CEO who stepped down in December.

Roberts appointment as CEO and president comes a year after he began working as the museums Vice President of Science Education and Director of the Frost Planetarium, the museum said in a statement. He has been serving as Interim co-CEO along with Trevor Powers, Frost Sciences Chief Operating Officer, since April 2023. Located downtown right next to the Perez Art Museum Miami, Frost Science is Miami-Dades flagship science museum, featuring an aquarium and planetarium.

Frost Science is home to an aquarium and planetarium.

Dr. Roberts great knowledge and proven commitment to scientific exploration make him an outstanding choice for leading Frost Science, said Dr. Phillip and Patricia Frost, philanthropists and namesake of the museum, in a statement. His passion will strengthen our mission of inspiring and empowering individuals to discover the wonders of science. As we look ahead, we are confident that Dr. Roberts will guide the Museum towards even greater heights. We eagerly anticipate the exciting new opportunities that lie ahead for Frost Science as a beacon of scientific excellence.

Cesar L. Alvarez, Chairman of the Frost Science Board of Trustees and Senior Chairman of Greenberg Traurig LLP, said the board is thrilled to welcome Dr. Roberts.

His extensive experience in science education and research, combined with his passion for community engagement, make him an ideal fit for leading the Museum into an exciting future, Alvarez said in a statement.

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Roberts received his Ph.D in physics from the University of Oklahoma. He most recently worked at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, and he has lead research, technology and public engagement initiatives at several institutions, including the University of Illinois, Northwestern University and the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. Roberts also led the WorldWide Telescope project for Microsoft Research to provide a free platform for people to explore its massive database of astronomical images from the worlds most powerful telescopes. Besides his work in education, Roberts is an active astronomer who has researched radio observations of black holes.

Its been a real pleasure to get to know more of the staff and really set myself up to hit the ground running when everything becomes official next week, Roberts told the Herald.

Museums like Frost Science played a major role in Roberts life, he said. Originally from Kansas, Roberts would spend childhood summers visiting family in Chicago and visiting the citys major science museums. Those experiences inspired him to pursue science and become the astronomer he is today.

Im really drawn to places that have the capacity and potential to make huge impacts with the community and Frost Science is just so well positioned because of its amazing new building, its location, its history, to be a real positive agent of change, he said. I saw the energy of folks in Miami that Frost was funneling and amplifying, and I just wanted to be a part of that change.

Frost Science is a place for people to learn about science at all ages and skill levels, from family-friendly exhibits to high-level, free lectures, Roberts said. The museum is especially critical in engaging young people in a fun way, he said. In a school setting, science is typically taught with memorization and testing. Though school-age children may think science is too hard to be fun, museums like Frost Science fill that gap, he said.

A child visits the River of Grass exhibition at Frost Science in downtown Miami.

The most critical part is making sure that the museum is a place where science equals fun, learning equals fun, Roberts said.

Roberts said he aims to connect with local leaders, institutions and community members to gauge what the county needs, especially in terms of education, to develop a longterm plan for the museum.

Were not doing that in a vacuum, he said. Were doing that really on behalf of the citizens of Miami-Dade County.

This story was produced with financial support from The Perez Family Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
Researchers are warning that the crucial ocean currents known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) could collapse as soon as 2025  an impending, climate change-fueled disaster that could usher in a new era of extreme temperature fluctuations.

It's important to note that not every scientist is convinced by this assessment. And though the researchers say the collapse could take place as soon 2025, they also say it could take another 70 years.

That said, a team of researchers led by Peter Ditlevsen, professor and climate researcher at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark anticipate in a paper published in the journal Nature Communications that the currents could collapse anywhere between 2025 and 2095  if we don't cut global carbon emissions, that is.

If it were to collapse, much of the Western world could be plunged into an extended period of extreme cold  a counterintuitive result of climate change. Previous collapses, which have predominantly occurred during ice ages many thousands of years ago, have indeed led to temperatures going haywire.

"I think we should be very worried," Ditlevsen told The Guardian. "This would be a very, very large change. The AMOC has not been shut off for 12,000 years."

Back in 2021, researchers at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany warned in a separate paper that the AMOC is being driven to the brink of collapse due to climate change. In the short term, this collapse could cause temperatures to plunge in Europe and North America, resulting in prolonged periods of extreme cold.

And if the planet's past history is anything to go by, the stakes are significant. 12,000 years ago, the melting of a massive glacial lake plunged Europe into an extreme cold spell for almost a millennium.

Now, by analyzing statistics from the last 150 years, Ditlevsen and his team say they've calculated with a 95 percent certainty that the AMOC will collapse between 2025 and 2095.

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"Shutting down the AMOC can have very serious consequences for Earths climate, for example, by changing how heat and precipitation are distributed globally," Ditlevsen said in a statement.

"While a cooling of Europe may seem less severe as the globe as a whole becomes warmer and heat waves occur more frequently, this shutdown will contribute to increased warming of the tropics, where rising temperatures have already given rise to challenging living conditions," he added.

This change could be far more rapid than the incremental 1.5 degrees Celsius rise caused by climate change over a century. With a collapsed AMOC, we'd be looking at far more extreme changes in the ten to 15 degrees Celsius range over just a decade.

"Our result underscores the importance of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible," Ditlevsen said.

But while researchers generally agree with this final conclusion, not everybody is convinced the AMOC is about to, well, run amok.

For one, the conclusion contradicts the latest findings of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which found in its most recent report that the current was unlikely to just collapse within this century.

"The work provides no reason to change the assessment of the [IPCC]," Jochem Marotzke of the Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, told Politico.

"We just don't have the evidence to state that it has declined," Penny Holliday, researcher at the UK's National Oceanography Center, told the BBC. "We know that there is a possibility that AMOC could stop what it's doing now at some point, but it's really hard to have certainty about that."

At the same time, while we may never get a 100 percent accurate prediction  after all, our planet's climate systems are incredibly complex  we should still heed Ditlevsen and his colleagues' warning.

"We do still have to take the idea seriously that there could be abrupt changes in the North Atlantic climate system," University of Reading atmospheric scientist Jon Robson told the BBC. "But the exact predictions that it will happen  and within this time frame  you have to take that with some skepticism."

More on climate change: Scientists Resurrect 46,000 Year Old Worms, Which Instantly Started Reproducing
BEIRUT, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon announced on Monday to suspend cultural cooperation with Sweden and Denmark in protest against the desecration of the Quran in the two Nordic countries, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.

"The Ministry of Culture suspends all cultural cooperation with Sweden and Denmark and their embassies in Beirut until the two countries' authorities take appropriate measures to correct the incident," the NNA quoted Culture Minister Mohammad Wissam Mortada as saying.

"We expressed our strong condemnation of such offensive practices more than once... the heinous act would not have taken place without official permissions," the minister added.

Denmark and Sweden have been under the spotlight in recent weeks after several extremists repeatedly burned or desecrated the Quran, the Islamic holy book, in the two countries' capitals, which sparked wide criticism from Muslims across the world. 
Researchers have discovered a mechanism that forces cancer cells to self-destruct, hijacking their ability to replicate uncontrollably and turning it against themselves.

The research team from Stanford University and gene therapy company Shenandoah Therapeutics published a paper last week in the journal Nature, describing how cancer cells can be rewired to "activate cell death," not unlike flipping a switch.

While we're still a long way from developing a drug for humans that takes advantage of this gene hack  assuming it's actually possible in a practical way  scientists are nonetheless intrigued by the prospect.

"Its very cool," Jason Gestwicki, professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not involved in the study, told the New York Times. "It turns something the cancer cell needs to stay alive into something that kills it, like changing your vitamin into a poison."

In a number of lab experiments, researchers built molecules that attach two proteins to each other: a mutated protein called BCL6 that allows cancer cells to survive and grow, and a normal protein that acts like a switch for genes near it.

The resulting construct pushes cancer cells towards genes that kill them, a natural part of the DNA that clears old cells that have already fulfilled their duty.

In cancer patients, these cell death genes are turned off by a protein known as BCL6. This new construct, however, leads the regular protein switch towards these cell death genes, effectively rewiring the cancer cells to kill themselves off.

"BCL6 is the organizing principle of these cancer cells," Louis Staudt, director of the Center for Cancer Genomics at the National Cancer Institute, told the NYT. Once disrupted, "the cell has lost its identity and says, 'something very wrong is happening here. Id better die.'"

The idea could be effective for half of all known cancers, lead author Gerald Crabtree, founder of Shenandoah Therapeutics, told the newspaper. Since it relies on mutated cancer cells, it could also be a highly targeted approach, potentially sparing healthy cells.

So far, Crabtree and his colleagues have demonstrated that the hybrid molecule is safe to use in mice, but was careful to note that it's "not a drug  it still has a long way to go."

More on cancer: The WHO Is About to Declare Aspartame a Possible Carcinogen
Activists demonstrated against the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) as it held its Senior Officials meetings late Sunday.

APEC is a trade deal including 14 countries and aims to support businesses operating in the Asia-Pacific region, in part by loosening trade regulations. This is the first meeting to be held in Seattle for 30 years.

Activists marched from Cal Anderson Park to the Seattle Convention Center and delivered more than 10,000 signatures calling for increased transparency in the ongoing Indo-Pacific Economic Framework trade negotiations.

Carley Brook, a demonstrator with the group, says they have been planning these protests for months, and claims that APEC leaders only care about profit over people.

No matter where APEC goes from Hawaii to Detroit to Seattle to the Bay Area in November, we will be there to say that the people are fighting back, said Brook.

The protest remained peaceful throughout the night. Even though the activist made their voices heard, it is currently unclear whether or not the delivered signatures will have any effect on APEC operations.

APEC will continue to meet in Seattle throughout the month of August where future protests may be organized through The Community Alliance for Global Justice.

KIRO 7 did reach out to APEC organizers last week to see if they have any concerns about these protests but have not heard back.




























Another inmate who complained of chest pains while in the Clay County Jail has died, the Clay County Sheriffs Office said.

Michael Foyt, 60, was arrested on Saturday, July 15 for a Pretrial Release Condition Violation from a prior charge of Domestic Battery, the Sheriffs Office said in a news release.

While Foyt was being processed in the jail, he said he was having chest pains and had undergone a medical procedure three days before.

He was evaluated by medical staff and he was taken by Clay County Fire Rescue to a local hospital for more evaluation and treatment.

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Foyt was still at the hospital as of Sunday when an apparent medical emergency occurred, CCSO said.

Medical staff tried to revive Foyt, but he died at the hospital.

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Last week, Action News Jax told you about Kevin Keene, another inmate that was taken from the Clay County Jail to the hospital after complaining of chest pains. He died on Thursday.

During their short time with Mr. Foyt, no CCSO employee used force during his arrest and processing into the Clay County Jail, CCSO said in its news release.

His death will be investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Medical Examiners Office will conduct an autopsy.

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Two restaurant chains owned by the same Charlotte company have now filed for bankruptcy protection within less than a month of each other.

Private equity firm Axum Capital Partners owns Wild Wing Cafe, which filed for Chapter 11 on July 19 under the limited-liability company Aetius Companies, The Charlotte Observer reported Thursday.

Wild Wing Cafe files for bankruptcy protection. Former Panthers star among its owners

And filings in federal court also show that Axums Back Yard Burgers filed for bankruptcy June 26 under the limited-liability company Tantum Companies. Both cases are filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina.

Former Carolina Panthers star wide receiver Muhsin Moose Muhammad II is a managing director at Axum. He also is listed as a manager at Aetius and Tantum, court documents show.

Back Yard Burgers, a fast-casual burger joint founded in 1987, at one time had several Charlotte-area restaurants. The last two, in Gastonia and Harrisburg, closed this year.

Back Yard Burgers and Wild Wings Cafe have struggled to recover from the pandemic, court documents show.

Axum declined to comment Monday on Back Yard Burgers bankruptcy, referring to court filings.

Back Yard Burgers and Wild Wings Cafe have struggled to recover from the pandemic, court documents show. Both chains have filed for bankruptcy protection.

What happened to Back Yard Burgers?

Back Yard Burgers struggled during the pandemic, like other restaurants including Axums Wild Wing Cafe, with unprecedented disruptions and has been unable to recover financially, Mark Cote, CEO of Tantum and Aeitius Aetius, said in the court filing.

However, Cote said recent restructuring actions are already seeing positive results. Among the changes are: moving Back Yard Burgers headquarters from Nashville to Charlotte, hiring experienced operations management and closing nonprofitable stores.

However, the Chapter 11 reorganization is necessary because Tantum has been unable to address the significant accounts payable debt that built up during the pandemic, Cote said.

Back Yard Burgers bankruptcy filing

Tantum has over $1 million to $10 million in assets, and estimated liabilities at $10 million to $50 million, the 40-page bankruptcy filing petition shows.

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Among Tantums largest unsecured creditors claims are Tennessee Department of Revenue for $671,882, Mississippi State Tax Commission for $348,800, Gordon Food Service in Michigan for $232,024 and Primax Properties in Charlotte for $226,941.

Tantum has an outstanding balance of $10.8 million on a $10.4 million loan with Guaranty Bank and Trust Co., court filings show.

The loan was secured in December 2020 through the Main Street Lending Program established by the Federal Reserve for small- and medium-sized businesses impacted by the pandemic, the filing shows.

Tantum also owes $1.8 million in equipment loans to Guaranty Bank and $185,378 on a Guaranty Bank credit card, according to the court documents.

Tantum has about 254 employees at five corporate-owned Back Yard Burgers in Mississippi and Tennessee, court filings show. The company has about 14 franchise restaurants in eight Southern and Midwestern states, including one in Raleigh, its only North Carolina store.

Hamilton Stephens Steele + Martin of Charlotte is the attorney representing both Back Yard Burger and Wild Wing Cafe in the bankruptcies.

Charlotte Business Journal reported about Back Yard Burgers bankruptcy on Friday.

Back Yard Burgers history

This is the second bankruptcy protection filing for Back Yard Burgers, founded in 1987.

The first Chapter 11 was filed in 2012, according to several industry news outlets, before Axum owned it.

Axum purchased Back Yard Burgers in 2017, when the fast-casual burger chain had 32 franchised and 23 company-owned restaurants in 11 states.

Back in 2008, the chain had more the 170 restaurants, mostly in the South, including at least seven in Charlotte, plus Concord, Fort Mill, South Carolina, and Rock Hill.

Just four years ago, Back Yard Burgers had 50 stores in 11 states, according to company information online.

A hearing with creditors is scheduled next month at the Charles Jonas Federal Building in Charlotte.
Hannah McKay/Reuters

A long running sleaze scandal in Monaco, fueled by an anonymous blog and data dumps, could result in embarrassment for Prince Albert, the principalitys ruler, after a sacked senior courtier hinted he will sue Albert for defamation.

Prince Albert of Monaco Is Paying Princess Charlene $12 Million a Year to Stay by His Side, Report Claims

The disgraced courtier is Claude Palermo, Alberts former asset and wealth manager, who was first hired by his father, Prince Rainier, the widower of Grace Kelly. Palermo was often described as Alberts eminence grise and has long been privy to the innermost workings of the eye-watering property deals in the tax haven, where prices are over twice those in Manhattan on a square-foot basis.

Palermo came under attack in an anonymous Substack, Les Dossiers du Rocher (Monagesques call Monaco Le Rocher, which means The Rock). A little over two years ago, it began dumping incriminating and embarrassing documents and emails online.

The particular target of the Substack was the so-called G4, or Gang of Four of senior courtiers who until just a few months ago controlled vast swathes of business and property activity in the principality.

Palermo was one of them. The others in the gang were Laurent Anselmi, 61, Alberts chief of staff; Thierry Lacoste, 63, Alberts personal lawyer; and Didier Linotte, 75, president of Monacos supreme court. According to a report in the London Times, Albert has not fired the latter two but has publicly distanced himself from them.

Another important figure in the story is Patrice Pastor, a powerful property developer known as P2 due to his initials, PP. The Air Mail newsletter described him as having long controlled Monacos property market but said relations between him and the Grimaldis soured after his rivals were awarded a massive 2014 contract to redevelop a stretch of waterfront known as Esplanade des Pecheurs.

Air Mail pointed out that Pastor denies any involvement in the Dossiers Substack but said his opponents allege that he began to mastermind the Dossiers du Rocher as an act of revenge after being cut out of the lucrative deals.

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In the first two years of the blog, Albert, who was also battling rumors his marriage had broken down, stood by the G4, but in recent weeks he has apparently cut them loose.

The prince told the French newspaper Le Figaro, per the Times, if confidence evaporates you can no longer work together, adding, When questions arise, you need to know how to change the people who surround you to find the right path again and to write a new page in your history.

Albert also told Monaco-Matin that the allegations in the Dossiers du Rocher had been disastrous for Monacos image. We must absolutely put a stop to it.

However, giving the G4 the boot from the inner circle may end up inflaming the scandal.

The French newspaper Le Monde reports: Claude Palmero has become the man who is making the palace tremble.

Le Monde said he was the holder of all the secrets of the principality, from the princes private accounts to government investments. The newspaper added that he was the sort of person you spare in general.

The Times said: After his homes and offices were raided by police following the opening of a criminal investigation into corruption allegations, Palmero seemed irritated. He said that Alberts interview with Le Figaro included a regrettable echo of a recurrent campaign of denigration... feeding off false documents, malicious accusations and fallacious insinuations. I cannot let myself be slandered in this way.

There is an old folk tale that the Grimaldisthe official surname of Albert's familywere cursed when the first Prince Rainier of Monaco attempted to rape a young Flemish noblewoman who turned out to be a powerful witch.

As the scandal of the Dossiers du Rocher unfolds over the coming months, this supernatural medieval story is likely to seem startlingly relevant all over again.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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WASHINGTON  The Biden administration faces an uphill battle to reauthorize a key surveillance tool, known as Section 702, before it expires at the end of the year as members of both parties of Congress push for big changes.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, allows the government to conduct targeted surveillance of foreign nationals living outside the U.S. without needing to obtain a warrant. It has become increasingly controversial over the years.

As recently as this month, a court opinion disclosed that FBI employees wrongly searched foreign surveillance data for the last names of a U.S. senator and a state senator. The opinion also said that another FBI employee ran a query using the Social Security number of a state judge who complained about alleged civil rights violations by a municipal chief of police.

Critics of Section 702 worry that its powers are too broad and allow for the "incidental" collection of data on U.S. citizens and that the provision is ripe for abuse.

What is Section 702 and how are Americans affected?

Section 702 was created following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and allows intelligence agencies to gather large amounts of data such as emails, phone calls, texts and other communications on foreigners living abroad, without a warrant.

As the provision currently stands, intelligence agencies cannot use warrantless Section 702 powers to target Americans, because that would violate the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. But data on U.S. citizens is still collected when they interact with a foreign surveillance target  that's known as incidental collection.

Civil liberties organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, have long opposed the the 702 provision, arguing that it has been used as a "backdoor" tool for gathering information on Americans and allows federal law enforcement to prosecute and imprison people for crimes, even if theyre not related to national security, based on information obtained without a warrant.

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The FBI improperly searched for information in a U.S. database of foreign intelligence more than 278,000 times in 2020 and early 2021, including Americans involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and those who participated in the 2020 protests following the murder of George Floyd, a court order showed.

The government says it uses the information to protect the U.S. and its allies from hostile foreign adversaries, such as terrorists, weapons dealers and spies. And the Biden administration has urged Congress to renew it, arguing that it is a necessary measure to keep Americans safe. According to a senior intelligence official, nearly 60% of the information in President Joe Bidens presidential daily brief includes at least some information derived from Section 702.

The FBI has made recent changes to Section 702 to curb abuses and the White House on Monday released a report by the Presidents Intelligence Advisory Board, which voted unanimously to support its reauthorization, while also recommending 13 reforms to address past mishandling.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer said in a statement that Section 702 has allowed the U.S. to stop threats posed by China, Russia, terrorists and fentanyl traffickers.

We agree with the unanimous conclusion reached by this group of independent, deeply experienced experts that failure to reauthorize Section 702 could be 'one of the worst intelligence failures of our time,'" they said, quoting the report.

How do Democrats and Republicans view Section 702?

While there has been bipartisan support for Section 702 in the past, recent errors and misuses of it, as well as the current climate of skepticism toward intelligence agencies, has made its reauthorization far more challenging.

While Republicans supported Section 702 when it was created during the Bush administration, recent Republican criticism of the FBI for the investigation of former President Donald Trump and errors made during the probe of Russian ties to his 2016 presidential campaign have made way for steep opposition.

The provision has also faced opposition from Democrats who worry that it may hinder Americans civil liberties.

Lawmakers from both sides have said they wont vote to renew the provision unless major changes are made in how the FBI uses foreign surveillance data to investigate Americans.

I will only support the reauthorization of Section 702 if there are significant, significant reforms," Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said during a hearing in June. "And that means first and foremost addressing the warrantless surveillance of Americans in violation of the Fourth Amendment."

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who has long pushed for changes to Section 702, said at the same hearing he was skeptical that federal law enforcement would use the power properly without new guardrails placed on it. Why should we ever trust the FBI and the DOJ again to police themselves under FISA, when theyve shown us repeatedly, for more than a decade, that they cannot be trusted to do so?

Twenty-one privacy, civil rights and civil liberties organizations submitted a joint letter to the Senate last month demanding that Congress not reauthorize Section 702 without such "reforms" as imposing warrant requirements to "spy" on Americans and instituting a stronger judicial review process and safeguards for foreign targets who are unlikely to be involved in threats to national security.

Patrick Toomey, deputy director of the ACLUs National Security Project, said in a statement that recent revelations of abuses  including that the FBI searched Section 702 data for the last names of a U.S. senator, a state senator and a judge  show how the surveillance program is routinely used against Americans, immigrants, and people who are not accused of any wrongdoing.

The FBI continues to break the rules put in place to protect Americans, running illegal searches on public officials including a U.S. senator, and its long past time for Congress to step in," Toomey said.

How has the FBI responded to criticism?

The FBI has introduced changes in recent years that have led to significant improvement," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement this month, adding that Section 702 is critical in our fight against foreign adversaries.

As a result, FBI searches for data on Americans plummeted. According to a report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the number of FBI searches for citizens' data dropped 94% between November 2021 and November 2022, from 3.4 million to about 204,000.

At a House Judiciary Committee hearing this month, Wray defended the provision and touted recent changes, saying, We have had problems. And those problems are unacceptable and Im determined with my leadership team to fix them. But those problems, almost entirely, predate those reforms.

What happens next?

Congress has to act before the end of the year when Section 702 expires. Members of both parties have pushed for major changes and have held committee hearings in preparation. The last time Section 702 was renewed, in 2018, about one-third of members in the House and Senate voted against it.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
New research has found that microwaving plastic food containers spews out toxic microplastics  and it's really freaked out the guy who's studying it.

In an interview with Wired about a new study out of the University of Nebraska  Lincoln, researcher Kazi Albab Hussain said that becoming a new dad inspired him to figure out what was going on with the containers his baby's food came in.

The results, which ultimately became a paper in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, are even more shocking than you'd expect.

"At that time, I was purchasing many baby foods," he told Wired, "and I was seeing that, even in baby foods, there are a lot of plastics."

When he went to study the containers under various conditions, Hussain said he was "terrified seeing the amount of microplastics under the microscope"  and that a whopping 75 percent of cultured kidney cells died after being exposed for 48 hours to the particulates from the microwaved baby food containers.

In recent years, microplastics exploded into the public view as study after study has found that they're quite literally everywhere: in the ocean, in the soil, and in our bodies.

This newly-common knowledge wouldn't exactly have been surprising given the growing body of research into these ubiquitous bits of junk swimming around and inside of us, but Hussain's discovery  that microwaving plastic containers actually releases microplastics and their components, known as nanoplastics and toxic chemicals called leachates  is certainly jarring all the same.

Even more ominously, Houssain found that microwaving seems to release nanoplastics, which are like microplastics but even tinier.

That's not good news, because while our kidneys are able to filter out the bigger particles, they struggle with the much-smaller nanoplastics. That means they can slip through our cell membranes and, as John Boland, a chemistry professor at Trinity College Dublin told the magazine, "make their way to places they shouldnt."

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"Microplastics are like plastic roughage: They get in, and they get expelled," the Irish professor, who was not involved in the study, said. "But its quite likely that nanoplastics can be very toxic."

One potential solution, the study's authors note, would be to make plastics out of different polymers, but doing so would require a financial commitment to researching and developing those new compounds that, given how industries have handled other environmental and health issues, seems unlikely to be undertaken proactively.

All the same, the researcher whose new fatherhood inspired the study remains optimistic.

"I am hopeful that a day will come," Hussain said in the UNL press release, "when these products display labels that read 'microplastics-free' or 'nanoplastics-free.'"

And in the meantime, we will never, ever microwave a plastic container again.

More on waste: Scientists Say Recycling Has Backfired Spectacularly
Sonko's fierce attacks on President Macky Sall have helped him to create an army of followers among Senegal's disaffected young (SEYLLOU)

Senegalese opposition figure Ousmane Sonko on Monday was charged with fomenting insurrection, three days after being arrested at his home, one of his lawyers told AFP.

Sonko, a fierce critic of President Macky Sall, "was charged and placed in custody" after appearing before a judge, lawyer Ousseynou Ngom told AFP.

The public prosecutor on Saturday anounced seven new charges to be made against Sonko over comments he has made, rallies he has held, and other episodes since 2021, including an incident at his home on Friday that led to his arrest.

They include undermining state security, criminal association with a terrorist body and theft.

An eighth charge of disseminating false news was added, one of Sonko's lawyers told local media on Monday.

The prosecutor said Saturday that this new legal affair had "nothing to do" with a high-profile moral corruption case for which Sonko was on June 1 sentenced in absentia to two years in prison.

That sentence, which makes him ineligible to context next year's presidential election, sparked clashes that left at least 16 dead.

His lawyers have argued that his arrest on Friday cancelled out his conviction in the moral corruption case, because he had been tried in absentia.

mrb-amt/prc/ri
This column is part of a weekly round-up of notable grand jury indictments and court decisions, following through on cases reported by Savannah Morning News public safety reporter Drew Favakeh. If there are cases you're curious about, email Drew at AFavakeh@savannahnow.com.

People cross Montgomery Street as they walk towards the entrance of the J. Tom Coleman Courthouse on Tuesday.

Woman indicted for causing death of another woman in fentanyl case

On July 12, a Chatham County Grand Jury indicted Tracy Agin for causing the death of another woman by providing her fentanyl-laced drugs. Agin is indicted for felony murder, illegal use of a communication facility and possession of a schedule II controlled substance with the intent to distribute.

According to the indictment, Agin allegedly provided a schedule II controlled substance containing fentanyl to a woman named April Raices, who died in June 2021.

Man indicted for March 2021 Abercorn Street murder

On July 12, a Chatham County grand jury indicted Bernard Greene for felony murder, criminal attempt to commit a felony, and possession of a firearm during a felony.

On March 15, 2021, Savannah Police Officers responded to the apartment complex at 9400 Abercorn St. around 2:40 p.m. and located Joseph Wilder and Greene, both suffering from gunshot wounds. They were transported to a hospital for treatment.

Wilder, 30, died as a result of his injuries. On March 15, Savannah Police detectives charged Greene with murder in connection to the shooting death of Wilder.

Accused murderer files speedy trial motion

On July 24, Jamal Hicks filed a motion for a demand for a speedy trial.

Hicks, 26, was charged with the May 3, 2022, murder of Alphonso Oliver, also 26, around the 500 block of Brewer Street.

In the motion, Hicks cited the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which allows the accused to "enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial." Citing OCGA 17-1-170, Hicks argues that he is due a speedy trial because of "the failure to try case in two regular court terms after this data [where] juries [are] impaneled and qualified to try the defendant."

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Jury finds three men guilty of murder of man in 2022 murder

A Chatham County jury found three men facing murder charges in the fatal August 2022 shooting of Gary Pitts, 26, on West Park Avenue, guilty of murder. The jury found another man guilty of aggravated assault but chose not to prosecute him on murder charges.

On July 7, Lamartrus Exley was convicted of felony murder and armed robbery. Exley will serve life without parole.

On July 12, Exleys attorney, Skye Musson, filed a motion for a new trial. Musson is arguing that Exley should be acquitted due to the states failure to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, that the evidence was sufficiently close to warrant the judge to grant the defendant a retrial and that the court committed an error of law.

On July 21, a Chatham County jury found Herschel Orr guilty of malice murder. Orr will serve life with parole.

Also on July 21, a Chatham County jury found Vincent Truesdale guilty of felony murder. Truesdale will serve life with parole.

The jury found both Orr and Truesdale not guilty of armed robbery.

On July 21, a Chatham County Grand found Tony Crawford guilty of aggravated assault. Crawford is sentenced to 20 years - seven years to serve and 13 years on probation. The state chose not to prosecute felony murder and armed robbery charges.

In a sentencing memorandum filed on July 18, Crawfords attorney, Joseph Vigneri, argued that Crawfords sentence should be reduced for multiple reasons. Crawford had little criminal history; his only contact with the criminal justice system was in connection with being a runaway at 15 years old. At the time of the offense, Crawford was 16 years old, so his brain wasnt fully developed. Additionally, Vigneri argues in the sentencing memorandum, Crawford was a follower, not a leader, cooperated with prosecution and accepted responsibility.

Drew Favakeh is the public safety and courts reporter for Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at AFavakeh@savannahnow.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: In Session: Two men found guilty of murder in August 2022 case
When Bucks County released documents last year detailing a $337,500 settlement for wrongful death claims involving an inmate who completed suicide in 2018, the public only got half the story.

Missing were the settlement details for its private correctional health contractor, which provides medical and mental health services at its adult corrections and youth detention centers at a cost of $8.2 million this year.

What taxpayers didnt know until July is PrimeCare Medical Inc. also agreed to pay $337,500 to settle wrongful death claims brought by the estate of Charles Freitag Sr., for a total of $675,000.

Charles Freitag in an undated photo. Freitag, of Bensalem, died by suicide while incarcerated in the Bucks County Jail in 2018. His family recently settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the county and the jail's medical provider, PrimeCare.

Bucks County settles another lawsuit Bucks County to pay $300K to settle wrongful death lawsuit filed by family of jail inmate

Those settlement details could have stayed secret. The Harrisburg-based company routinely requests the court to seal its settlements in the 37 Pennsylvania county jails that contract for its services, according to a review of federal court docket filings.

Since 2019, PrimeCare Medical has been named as a defendant in at least 65 federal lawsuits filed in Pennsylvania alleging injuries or deaths as a result of inadequate medical care.

In Bucks County, the company has settled five wrongful death lawsuit claims brought against the company by families of Bucks County Corrections inmates since 2013. The Freitag settlement is only the second one made publicly available.

The agreement was released after this news organization was successful in unsealing the records with pro-bono assistance from the Pennsylvania chapter of Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic.

The attorneys representing the Bucks County Courier Times argued that the newspaper had standing to intervene and the court improperly sealed the records citing constitutional and common law right, entitling the public to access the agreements.

While PrimeCare is a private company, local government agency Bucks County pays it millions of dollars to exclusively provide medical, dental, and mental health services at the jail, the attorneys wrote in the motion seeking to unseal the records. PrimeCares prison activities  funded by taxpayer dollars  are thus matters of significant public concern. Yet this inherently public information has been kept under seal for months.

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U.S. District Court Judge John Gallagher agreed and he granted the motion to intervene and unseal the records; the 27-page settlement was unsealed on July 12.

With the success in unsealing the Freitag case, the legal group is planning to file additional motions to unseal the three remaining wrongful death settlements involving Bucks County inmates where PrimeCare Medical was a defendant.

Bucks County Correctional Center

Did Bucks County fail Charles Freitag? Falsified records, ignored warnings: Did Bucks County jail staff fail to protect inmate?

The Managing Attorney, Local Journalism Project Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic Heather Murray called the unsealing effort critical to holding accountable government entities and their contractors.

As we saw with the rapid spread of COVID-19 in prisons, conditions of confinement not only affect each individual in prison, but also contribute to major public health challenges, Murray said. Reporting by journalists is essential to informing the public to help address these challenges.

Previously this news organization sought settlement records for lawsuits involving Bucks County inmate deaths and injuries under the Right to Know Law process. The county provided its settlement records, but denied requests for PrimeCare records stating agreements are negotiated separately and they do not have copies in their possession.

While PrimeCare is a county contractor paid with public money, the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records Law determined it is not a government entity, so its records are not subject to the Right to Know law.

Last year the same groups of attorneys successfully unsealed a PrimeCare Medical settlement agreement in York County reached with the estate of an inmate who died by suicide in 2016 while in custody. The challenge was filed on behalf of the York Daily Record.

In Bucks County, Freitag, 57, was a first-time offender with a history of recent suicide attempts, and major depression in 2018 when he completed suicide in his cell the day after a judge sentenced him to six to 12 years in state prison.

His family alleged in its lawsuit that PrimeCare employees and Bucks County corrections officers failed to appropriately evaluate and monitor Freitag leading up to his sentencing and immediately after, despite clear signs his mental health was deteriorating, putting him at increased risk for suicide.

Insurance covered Bucks County's portion of the settlement, after a $250,000 deductible was met; the county's legal bills for the case, which were more than $470,000, counted toward meeting that deductible.

Under the PrimeCare agreement finalized last year, the Freitag estate received roughly $407,000 after legal fees and litigation costs which totaled more than $267,000.

Marlene Yarnall died of a fatal sudden cardiac arrest during heroin detoxification at the Bucks County Correctional Facility in 2014.

Family of inmate sues over 2014 death Parents of second Bucks County inmate file wrongful death suit in heroin detox death

Before Freitag, the only publicly available settlement involving PrimeCare in Bucks County was a 2017 case for Marlene Yarnall, 49, of Bensalem, who died in custody in 2014.

PrimeCare settled its claims with her family for $250,000 in 2017. Bucks County was also named a defendant in the case, but later dismissed.

Under the agreement, the court awarded $87,500 in attorney fees plus $22,090 in litigation costs to the law firm representing the family, another $5,835 went into escrow for funeral expenses and $335.39 to settle a Medicare lien on the estate.

The remaining money, $134,218.85 was released to the family.

What prison settlements have cost Bucks Bucks County has settled 4 inmate death lawsuits since 2016. Here's what it costs

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: PrimeCare Medical settled inmate lawsuit at Bucks County jail
BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The Volkswagen Group, Germany's leading carmaker, has announced it will acquire a 4.99 percent stake in the Chinese electric vehicle startup XPeng by way of a capital increase worth around 700 million U.S. dollars.

According to a technological framework agreement with XPeng, two Volkswagen-branded electric models for the mid-sized segment will be rolled out in 2026 in China.

Reuters said in a report that the new models will plug a gap in Volkswagen's product lineup in China, where the market for new energy vehicles has grown faster than expected.

CNN reported that China is the single largest market for Volkswagen and the German group said it "is stepping up the pace of its transformation in China, where the group aims to remain... amongst the top three in the market."

The deal was a vote of confidence in the Chinese EV industry, Tu Le of Sino Auto Insights was quoted by the Financial Times as saying.

Ralf Brandstaetter, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Volkswagen Group China, said that "Local partnerships are an important building block in the Volkswagen Group's 'in China for China' strategy. We are now accelerating the expansion of our local electric portfolio and at the same time preparing for the next innovation step."

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
At least five House Republicans have called on lawmakers  who are currently enjoying a legislative recess  to return to Capitol Hill after the Department of Justice asked Hunter Biden's business partner Devon Archer to surrender to prison. The request came over the weekend before Archer was scheduled to testify to Congress Monday on the Biden family, Hunter's business dealings and the alleged role of his father, President Biden, in securing these deals.

Reps. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.; Mike Johnson, R-La.; Chip Roy, R-Texas; Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo.; and Dan Bishop, R-N.C., each said on social media Sunday that lawmakers should return to Washington, D.C. for an emergency hearing to discuss potential DOJ interference in the congressional investigation into President Biden and Hunter Biden.

"The DOJ is now actively committing the crime of obstructing a congressional investigation," Gaetz wrote. "If Devon Archer isn't in the witness chair Monday, we better haul every SOB at the DOJ before congress EVERY DAY to make them pay for this."

Gaetz said that if Archer is not in the witness chair for his testimony on Monday, Attorney General Merrick Garland will be called to testify.

HUNTER BIDEN TOLD DEVON ARCHER THEY WOULD GET LAST LAUGH AFTER CONVICTION WAS THROWN OUT: MOTHERF---ERS

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are calling on lawmakers to return to Capitol Hill after the Department of Justice asked Hunter Biden's business partner Devon Archer to surrender.

In another post, Gaetz said the DOJ's request for Archer's surrender is "all because Hunter's problems and Joes problems merge with the testimony of Devon Archer."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York sent a letter to Archer on Saturday requesting he surrender to prison concerning his 2018 felony convictions for his role in a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe. He was sentenced in 2022 to one year behind bars, but the sentence has been repeatedly postponed over a series of appeals.

DEVON ARCHER, THE MAN WHO WILL TESTIFY TO CONGRESS ABOUT HIS BUSINESS DEALINGS WITH HUNTER BIDEN: WHO IS HE?

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Johnson, Roy and the others swiftly expressed support for Gaetz.

"I will join you back on the Hill, Rep. Matt Gaetz," Johnson tweeted. Roy agreed.

"Make that four," Hageman added. "While I plan to be in Wyoming visiting constituents- this is imperative and warrants immediate action. I will also join."

Bishop added: "I think you need five. Count me in."

"Subpoenas should fly tomorrow," he also wrote.

The Republicans are each on the House Judiciary Committee.

The letter did not specifically demand Archer go to prison before he testified Monday, but to set a date to begin his jail sentence.

"In light of the foregoing, the Government respectfully requests that the defendant be ordered to surrender, at a date and time determined by the Court, to a facility designated by the Bureau of Prisons to commence his term of imprisonment," it reads.

The court is not expected to make a decision before Archer will meet behind closed doors with the House Oversight Committee. The U.S. Attorneys Office acknowledged Archer is not expected to surrender before his meeting with congressional lawmakers in a follow-up letter.

Devon Archer is reportedly preparing to tell lawmakers about President Biden's interactions with dozens of his son's business associates during his time as vice president.

"To be clear, the Government does not request (and has never requested) that the defendant surrender before his Congressional testimony," the letter sent on Sunday reads. "As the Court knows, to surrender and commence his sentence of imprisonment, the defendant first must be designated to a federal facility by the Bureau of Prisonsa process that can take several weeks or months after the Court sets a surrender date."

Archer's attorney also said that his client will move forward with his planned appearance Monday, and pushed back on the idea that the DOJ's request for Archer's surrender is an attempt to prevent him from meeting with House members.

The letter from the DOJ asking Archer to surrender is not connected to his relationship with the Bidens and their overseas business dealings.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"We are aware of speculation that the Department of Justices weekend request to have Mr. Archer report to prison is an attempt by the Biden administration to intimidate him in advance of his meeting with the House Oversight Committee," Archer's attorney Matthew Schwartz said in a statement to POLITICO. "To be clear, Mr. Archer does not agree with that speculation. In any case, Mr. Archer will do what he has planned to do all along, which is to show up on Monday and to honestly answer the questions that are put to him by the Congressional investigators."

Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., said during an interview on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" that the timing of Saturday's letter was "odd."

Archer's testimony before the House Oversight Committee is expected to begin at 9 a.m. Monday, July 31.
MADRID (Reuters) - A bus packed with tourists en route to a popular nature spot in northern Spain's Asturias region plunged off a mountain road on Monday, leaving several people seriously injured, emergency services said.

The driver and 48 passengers were believed to have been in the bus when it went off the road for unknown reasons, an emergency services spokesperson said.

Firefighters were working at the site of the accident in Cangas de Onis. No people were trapped inside, the emergency services said in a statement.

Two witnesses said the bus rolled over twice and landed on its side, the statement added.

A police spokesperson said 10 people in total had been hospitalised, seven of them with serious injuries, though the condition of the remaining passengers was still unknown.

The emergency services spokesperson said the exact number of injured was not yet known. Two women were taken to different hospitals by helicopter. There were no details on the nationalities of the passengers.

Footage provided by police showed several passengers being carried into ambulances on stretchers.

The bus belonging to the company ALSA was covering the route between the picturesque town of Covadonga and the nearby glacial lakes in the Picos de Europa national park, known for its lush landscapes and rich wildlife.

(Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Aislinn Laing and Angus MacSwan)
An argument at a home on Floridas Gulf Coast escalated into horrific violence, according to the Levy County Sheriffs Office.

An arrest affidavit says that on July 20, deputies responded to a domestic disturbance matter in Rosewood, about an hour west of Ocala, around 6 p.m.

Deputies say a witness told them that a woman was fighting with her boyfriend, Marshall Dimick, 55, and he dunked her head into a vat of a tar like substance.

The woman was taken to the hospital for treatment of chemical burns to her face and arms.

READ MORE: Florida cops responded to an open 911 call. Heres what they found

Deputies then went to the hospital and made contact with the victim, whose arms, hands, parts of her ears, neck and nose were covered in a black substance. The complaint added that her room smelled heavily of petroleum based products, similar to diesel.

The woman, who appeared to be in severe pain and complained of her eyes burning, said that she and the suspect had been in a relationship for about six months. Just recently, she suspected him of cheating after searching his phone, found he was meeting up with a local woman for the purpose of sexual intercourse.

When she confronted him about it, the altercation began, with the two ending outside near the vat of a tar used to treat clam and oyster bags, according to a news release.

As the argument became more and more physical, Dimick suddenly lost control, with him grabbing her and forcing her face and arms into the noxious, extremely sticky mixture for several seconds, according to the arrest affidavit.

READ MORE: Florida woman arrested for throwing burrito at restaurant

Dimick, a convicted felon who is prohibited from possessing a firearm, also pointed a shotgun at her and choked her to near unconsciousness, the sheriffs office said.

An investigation discovered that Dimick removed several firearms from the home before deputies arrived. The weapons were seized from a neighboring property.

The Rosewood man was arrested and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a firearm and four counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

He is being held at the Levy County Detention Center on $550,000 bail.
BARNSTABLE  John C. Shea, 60, appeared for a pre-trial hearing on Monday in Barnstable County Superior Court in connection with what authorities say was a racist tirade outside a Hyannis bar on May 31.

The events were captured on a video that went viral on the internet.

During the hearing, Shea's attorney Kevin Reddington said he received discovery from the government including videos from social media. Russ Eonas, deputy first assistant for the Cape and Island's District Attorney's Office, said he will also supply Reddington with hard copy information and nine thumb drives that include video.

Shea, who was released on $2,500 bail last week, is scheduled to appear again in Superior Court on Aug. 25. Shea, the former manager of Trader Ed's Restaurant in Hyannis, was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday on seven charges in relation to the May 31 altercation in front of Embargo Restaurant.

A screenshot from an Instagram video shows John Shea, owner of Trader Ed's in Hyannis and Millyann Phillips of Medford on May 31. The video shows Shea accosting Phillips with a racially charged diatribe that included the N-word and other racist terms in front of Embargo on Main Street in Hyannis.

John Shea's defense claims the former Trader Ed's manager was set up.

After the pre-trial hearing, Reddington convened just outside the courtroom with Shea, Wayne Kurkor, owner of Trader Ed's and Hyannis Marina and private investigator Gary Mitchell, a former Boston police officer who is assisting Reddington with the case.

Reddington discussed portions of the case with the Times and said that surveillance video retrieved from Trader Ed's indicates Shea may have been set up. Reddington points to 23-year-old Medford resident Millyan Phillips, who identifies as African American and was the target of Shea's diatribe in the viral video.

"We think he (Phillips) had an ulterior motive, and a different agenda for that evening," said Reddington.

Mitchell will also pull additional video, which Reddington said will offer clarity surrounding what led up to the confrontation between Shea and Phillips.

"I'm talking about surveillance from inside the restaurants, I'm talking about surveillance outside Embargo," said Reddington.

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"It looked like they targeted Trader Ed's," said Mitchell. "To me, it looked like John Shea was a target."

Reddington said he will also file a Rule 17 motion in court. In this instance, the defense is seeking access to Phillips' cellphone records to examine text messages.

"We have text messages where he (Phillips) is shaking him (Shea) down. He said he can get $25,000 from your paper  the Cape Cod Times," said Reddington.

The Cape Cod Times strictly adheres to our Principles of Ethical Conduct . Our publication does not compensate individuals or organizations and in no way offered to pay for information or video footage regarding the incident referenced," Times Executive Editor Anne Brennan said.Phillips couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Thursday's arraignment highlights civil rights violation

During Shea's arraignment Thursday, Eonas said Shea continually called Phillips the N-word and referred to Phillips as a "monkey." He also assaulted Phillips with his foot, Eonas said.

Phillips was at Embargo with two friends, including his girlfriend Madilynn Galloway. At about 11:30 p.m., Eonas said, Shea was informed by an Embargo doorman that Phillips was making calls to the police to report that Shea was drinking and driving, the prosecutor said.

"As supported by testimony as well as surveillance video from Embargo, which includes audio, Mr. Shea exits a side door of Embargo and comes out through the alleyway and approaches Main Street," Eonas said Thursday. "In a loud manner, he hurls the N-word out loud and appears to be angry at the time."

Eonas said Shea also threatened to put a shotgun to Phillips' head and threatened to shoot Phillips in the head.

"Phillips on the other hand was very calm. He was concerned and upset by what was transpiring but no actions towards Shea in a physical nature," the prosecutor said.

Police did eventually respond to the situation at Embargo, said Eonas. They observed that Shea has slurred speech, and glassy eyes.

"It's clear from the evidence that alcohol was a significant, contributing factor to Mr. Shea's behavior on the night in question," said Eonas.

On Monday, Reddington said Shea was sober during the altercation, and accused Phillips and his friends of being drunk.

Rachael Devaney writes about community and culture. Reach her at rdevaney@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelDevaney.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Cape Cod Times subscription. Here are our subscription plans.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Will new footage leading up to viral Hyannis video help John Shea?
Joseph Micheal Rohrbacker will spend the rest of his life in prison for shooting and killing Hancock County Sheriffs Lt. Michael Boutte on Feb. 1, 2021.

Rohrbacker, 33, pleaded guilty Monday to capital murder in the Feb. 1, 2021, shooting death of Hancock County Sheriffs Lt. Michael Boutte, 57.

In addition, he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault for shooting at a woman that day and one count of aggravated assault on a peace officer for shooting at a second deputy at the scene.

During his plea before Judge Lisa Dodson in Circuit Court in Gulfport, Rohrbacker, dressed in a red jail jumpsuit with a goatee and disheveled hair, cried at times for his actions.

I just want closure for this family, he said.

He also read from a letter, saying, I know Im the last person yall want to hear from ... but I hope one day you and your family will forgive me. Im not the monster people make me out to be.

The judge heard from Bouttes son and daughter about how their lives have not been the same without the beloved father, grandfather and friend.

Jessica Boutte and Michael Boutte Jr. listen as Joseph Rohrbacker pleads guilty in the killing of Lt. Michael Boutte at Harrison County Circuit Court in Gulfport on Monday, July 31, 2023.

Rohrbacker said he got upset the day of the killing because a niece had lied on me about allegedly molesting her, though no one has disputed the girls claims other than him. He was not prosecuted for the sex crimes.

He said he was firing in the air when he shot and killed Boutte and fired at the other officer and another woman; He said he wished it had been him that died that day.

The judge also shared how Bouttes brother wrote in to share the loss has left a hole in their family, but said he forgave Rohrbacker for his actions and said his only salvation would be through accepting Jesus Christ.

After admitting to the crimes, the judge still had questions for Rohrbacker, who said he was trying to get the officers to shoot and kill him at the time.

I understand you wanted to kill yourself, and I understand you thought that was the quickest way to kill yourself, (but) why would you shoot at them,  Dodson said.

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The judge told Rohrbacker the worst that could have happened that day after the deputies responded was that they could have taken him to jail and he couldve likely bonded out after that.

The officers were trying to help you, Dodson said. This was just completely senseless, Mr. Rohrbacker, so senseless. These are human beings.

They were police officers, and they were doing their jobs and all they were doing is what they do every day. He (Boutte), didnt even get a chance to say a word to you, she said.

Judge Lisa Dodson presides over Joseph Rohrbackers guilty plea and sentencing in the 2021 killing of Lt. Michael Boutte at Harrison County Circuit Court in Gulfport on Monday, July 31, 2023.

In addition to the life sentence, Dodson sentenced Rohrbacker to 20 years in prison for aggravated assault on a neighbor on the property and 30 years for aggravated assault on the second deputy at the scene that day. The judge ordered those sentences to run concurrently.

Assistant District Attorney D. Christopher Daniel read the court a description of the events leading up the shooting before the sentence. District Attorney Crosby Parker sat next to him the courtroom.

Other supporters, including Hancock County Sheriff Ricky Adams, other deputies, and Pearl River County Sheriff David Allison attended the plea hearing.

At the time of his death, Boutte, a married father of two, had been at the Hancock County Sheriffs Department for eight years. The 20-year law enforcement veteran also served in the Air Force, and other capacities at the Picayune Police Department and at other departments out of state.

Joseph Rohrbacker listens as family members of Lt. Michael Boutte read letters describing how Bouttes loss has impacted them during Rohrbackers guilty plea and sentencing for the killing of Boutte at Harrison County Circuit Court in Gulfport on Monday, July 31, 2023.

The killing

The shooting happened shortly after Boutte and a second sheriffs deputy responded to a 911 call from Rohrbackers wife, Shannon, at the couples home on Earl C. Ladner Road in the Necaise community. The couple lived in an apartment attached to a gray brick home on the property.

Boutte was the first of two deputies to respond to the 911 call shortly after 1 p.m. Rohrbacker fatally shot Boutte before he ever made it out of his vehicle. A second deputy, Braxton Manuel, shot and injured Rohrbacker in an exchange of gunfire.

Hancock County Sheriffs Lt. Michael Boutte, 57, died in the line of duty on Feb. 1, 2021.

Boutte got a shots fired call on the radio and shot out of a window in his vehicle before his killing.

A neighbor reported seeing Rohrbacker crouched down in front of his home, shooting at the officers.

After his arrest, Rohrbacker said he was trying to commit suicide by cop when he shot and killed Boutte.

His attorney, Phil Wittmann, said his client had obtained a GED and had expressed many times how he wished it had been him that died that day.

Joseph Rohrbacker enters his guilty plea in the killing of Lt. Michael Boutte at Harrison County Circuit Court in Gulfport on Monday, July 31, 2023.

A mental meltdown

Rohrbackers wife, Shannon, told the Sun Herald in an exclusive interview after the killing that she called 911 that day after her husband started having a mental meltdown.

Shannon Rohrbacker said her husband went into a rage after his brother told him he had reported Rohrbacker to the state Department of Child Protective Services for allegedly molesting a teen in the family.

Rohrbacker allegedly had his last sexual encounter with the teen the night before the killing, and she was scheduled for a forensic interview that day.

When Rohrbacker found out about the meeting, his wife said he started cussing, kicking, screaming and punching the seat in their car.

Harrison County Honor Guard escorts the casket of fallen Hancock County Deputy Lt. Michael Boutte outside of the Bay St. Louis Community Hall for law enforcement honors Tuesday, February 9, 2021.

Shannon Rohrbacker said no one could calm him down when they returned home. She attributed his behavior to mental health issues, saying he had bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

After that, Rohrbacker grabbed his dog, Scrappy, cut the dogs throat in front of three children on the property and headed to his home nearby. After he got there, his wife said he grabbed a .12-gauge shotgun  gifted to him by a relative  and shot at a neighbor before opening fire on the officers.

There was no reasoning with him, Shannon Rohrbacker told the Sun Herald after the shooting. I called 911 to get him help. You could look at his face and know he wasnt there anymore. I call it a blackout. He doesnt remember what he does when he gets in that shape, and then reality hits. Hes never done anything this severe.

Rohrbacker had told investigators that he had obtained his GED from a special school, was married, had a job, and had found the Lord.

After the sentencing, Parker commented on how the killing shattered a family and devastated the law enforcement community.

This is a horribly tragic case where Michaels family has lost a brother, husband, father and grandfather, and our community lost a beloved deputy who was one of the best among us, Parker said, adding that prosecutors talked to Bouttes family prior to the sentencing to let them know the death penalty was off the table.

We are hopeful that that the closure of the criminal matter can help Michaels family in the healing process, Parker said.  We would also like to thank the men and women of our Coastal law enforcement community for the sacrifices they make each and every day in their mission to protect and serve us. Law enforcement is a noble and necessary profession that relies on brave men and women to continue to wear the uniform. We are proud of you and we thank you.

Joseph Rohrbacker walks into the courtroom to enter his guilty plea in the killing of Lt. Michael Boutte at Harrison County Circuit Court in Gulfport on Monday, July 31, 2023.

Man raged over child sex abuse claims before killing MS Coast deputy, investigator says

New details of Hancock deputy killing shared in court as MBI agent testifies

Suspect in Coast deputys killing faces 8 new charges, many related to child sex crimes

He meant so much to this community: Hundreds pay tribute to slain MS Coast deputy

Mississippi governor signs executive order honoring slain Hancock County deputy
A woman was arrested Sunday in south Sacramento after allegedly shooting a firearm in a densely populated neighborhood, the Sacramento County Sheriffs Office said.

Deputies responded to the 6600 block of Steiner Drive just before 10 p.m. after receiving a ShotSpotter activation in the area, the Sheriffs Office said in a news release.

ShotSpotter technology allows law enforcement to detect and locate gunshots fired within a certain area.

Deputies located two women near the ShotSpotter activation, not far from Nicholas Elementary School, and quickly discovered that one of the females ... placed an unknown object near the front of a vehicle, the Sheriffs Office said in a news release.

They searched the area and found a loaded .22-caliber handgun, a magazine and ammunition.

No one was injured and no property damage was reported after the gunfire, the Sheriffs Office said.

The deputies arrested a 40-year-old woman on suspicion of willfully discharging a firearm in a grossly negligent manner.

She is being held in the Sacramento County Main Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.
Since the start of 2023, Shreveport has seen four mass shootings. The current number of homicides stands at 47, this number matches the total number of homicides for all of 2022.

These deaths have sparked community outcries through prayer vigils and government lead initiatives.

"Today marks the day where we take a stance on crime. Today marks the day whereas your leaders, we're not hiding," said Councilman Alan Jackson during a citywide prayer on July 20.

Crime breakdown

"These are trying times for our city," said Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith previously said. "What we've been experiencing is just horrific."

Mass shootings

Photo Illustration

January 22, 2023

On Jan. 22, just before 2 p.m. the Shreveport Police Department was called to the 1600 block of Sugar Lane on reports of a shooting.

Upon arrival, officers located seven people inside the residence suffering gunshot injuries. Three of the seven victims were juveniles under the age of ten. The four adults were women between the ages of 30 and 60.

Following the shooting a male arrived at the hospital more than an hour later advising he was present at the home and injured during the shooting. His injury was described as a very minor graze wound.

On Jan. 26, Latounda Bryant, 33, who suffered a life-threatening injury was pronounced dead by the Caddo Parish Coroner's Office.

More: Shreveport officials speak out after city sees two mass shootings in less than 24 hours

March 24, 2023

On March 24 at 11 p.m., 11 police units were called to the 1800 block of Logan Street following a cookout.

Upon arrival, officers discovered seven people injured. According to police, the victims were said to have been in an open garage when gunfire came from an unknown source.

March 25, 2023

Just before 1:45 a.m. March 25, Shreveport Police Department responded to a shooting in the intersection of Texas Street and Market Street. Upon arrival, officers discovered three men and three women who were shot while waiting in a vehicle at the intersection.

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The Coroner's Office has verified that Jacorvin Taylor, 32, was one of the victims who succumbed to his injuries and died at 2:15 a.m. at Ochsner LSU Health.

Alexis Rachal stands feet away from the corner of Jones Mabry and Pearl, where Jarike Dorsey, the father of her child, was shot and killed days before, during the prayer service Thursday evening, July 6, 2023.

July 4, 2023

Just before midnight July 4, officers were dispatched to Pearl Avenue and Jones Mabry Road for reported shots fired. Upon arrival, officers discovered more than 200 people in the 2300 block of Jones Mabry Road. The partygoers were trying to find safety during 15 minutes of reported gunfire.

Once officers were able to make it through the crowd, they located multiple shooting victims. Upon initial reporting, police said that three were found dead at the scene and seven were injured.

Shreveport leaders gave an update July 5 on the mass shooting that occurred on July 4. Just before 10 a.m. July 5, a fourth victim was found on a nearby street. This victim brought the total killed to four.

Read: 'Last night was a horrible night here in Shreveport.' Police, officials on mass shooting

Year-to-date homicide numbers

Shreveport's Mayor Tom Arceneaux during the press conference on Jones Mabry Rd. Wednesday morning, July 5, 2023, which was the scene of a mass shooting at a 4th of July block party that resulted in 4 deaths and 11 injuries.

Shreveport has seen 47 homicides, which is equal to the total number of homicides for 2022.

During a citywide prayer event at Government Plaza on July 20, Councilwoman Tabitha Taylor referenced the 44th homicide, saying "It's not a number that we like to hear, but unfortunately, that is the reality that we're facing."

The total last year was 43% less than the 83 homicides in 2021.

While the homicide number in July 2023 has tied 2022 yearly total, by July 2022, there had been only 32 murders. In 2021, there were 48.

In a prior interview with Smith, he said, "it is beginning to be apparent that victims and suspects are becoming younger, there appear to be more weapons available... what is apparent to me is that in these violent crimes, most if not all of them, are thought out, calculated incidents that happened, not just haphazardly or accidentally happened the people who started it intended for something tragic or violent to happen."

Check this out: Man in custody following fatal overnight shooting in Shreveport

Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Shreveport ties 2022 yearly homicide rate by end of July
Its not often we talk about a trend that doesnt involve some form of technology.

But thats just what two Boston-based entrepreneurs are doing with their company Sip & Script.

Theyve married calligraphy with cabernet to teach people this ancient craft while having a good time.

Instructor Elle Douglas said, A lot of people think they need to have perfect handwriting to be good at calligraphy but that is not the case.

Douglas is a high-tech worker by day and teaches calligraphy at night.

People love coming and they say its therapeutic when theyre in class. It kind of slows you down.

While Douglas handles the script, company co-owners Meghan Chaloner and Julie Manzini take care of the sips.

The wine really does help. It gets people relaxed, said Chaloner.

Sip & Script started in 2015 with a gathering in Somerville that paired arts and crafts with a choice of red, white or rose.

The companys website describes its approach as Teaching the art of pretty letters with cocktails in hand.

We thought it would be a one-time card-making class, explained Chaloner. We started in New England and then expanded. Were in almost every major city in the U.S.

Dozens and dozens of classes are now held all over the country.

Chaloner thinks the appeal is pretty simple.

Its really a great break from technology in the era of Zooms and working from home and being isolated at home. Youre able to come together as a group and learn a new fun skill.

That skill can be used to dress up a wedding, a bridal shower, or create home decor.

While mastering the strokes can be tedious, the women we spoke with really seemed to like the experience.

Wendy Cole, of Swampscott, said Ive always liked addressing envelopes and sending cards. Its really nice to learn how to do it properly, and just have fun for a night out with the kids and husband at home.

Heather Chu, of Danvers, added, Its definitely a learning curve but Im getting the hang of it.

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Douglas is now taking her calligraphy to a new level by creating Inked-by-Elle.

She first learned her craft in a class similar to the one she now teaches. Shed like to turn her business into a full-time job someday.

Friends and family were asking her to take on specific projects for them and that made her realize she could turn her calligraphy into a small business.

Sip & Script holds classes all over the area.





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Progressives were thrilled when Joe Biden said this past spring that he would explore new ways to kill off the debt ceiling for good.

Now they fear theyre getting the ultimate Beltway brush-off: An internal working group.

Two months after narrowly averting economic disaster, the White House is assembling a team dedicated to heading off yet another debt crisis come 2025. The group will study a range of legal and policy options, the administration said, in an effort to prevent Republicans from once again wielding the threat of catastrophic default to extract political concessions.

But there's reason to be skeptical that concrete action will come soon, if at all. Theres no clear timeline for the project and little in the way of overt direction, outside of analyzing various theories for defusing the debt ceiling.

And for the growing cadre of lawmakers, economists and legal scholars still attuned to the issue, Bidens decision to hand it off to a working group represents a decidedly mundane response to an urgent and existential dilemma.

We are going to get pummeled on this over and over and over again, said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who lobbied Biden earlier this year to simply ignore the debt ceiling on grounds that defaulting is unconstitutional rather than give in to Republicans negotiation demands. So I hope its quick. I hope its decisive. We have the answer right in front of us.

The group's creation comes as Congress need to raise the debt limit has become a more common negotiating tool for the Republican majority, threatening U.S. creditworthiness and putting the global economy at risk. After weeks of tense negotiations this spring, Biden struck a deal with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to suspend the debt ceiling past the next election.

But the GOPs steep demands  and the willingness among some in the party to default regardless of the outcome  has fueled calls for a workaround from Democrats spooked by the prospect of a more unpredictable rematch in 2025 if Biden wins reelection but Republicans control both the House and Senate.

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"It feels like a threshold was crossed," said Robert Hockett, a Cornell University professor who has studied legal justifications for ignoring the debt limit. "Some Democrats are finally waking up to that."



White House counsel Stuart Delery and top economic adviser Lael Brainard are leading the administrations working group, which aides and outside advisers to the White House characterized as a serious undertaking to vet every possible route for sidestepping future crises. In a sign of its openness to all options, the White House enlisted Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe to be among the first eight outside legal and economic scholars to meet with the group. Tribe was among the most vocal advocates for circumventing the debt crisis by invoking the 14th Amendment, which states that the "validity of the public debt" cannot be questioned.

Despite touting the final compromise, Biden came away from this springs debt ceiling talks troubled by how close the country had come to default  and persuaded of the need to search for an alternative, they said.

The president has repeatedly expressed openness to testing the popular liberal theory that the 14th Amendment invalidates the debt ceiling. That hes created a working group, officials say, is not evidence that hes backed off of that. Instead its a notable step for an institutionalist who just nine months ago called eliminating the borrowing limit irresponsible.

Its not a gimmick, its not designed to deal with a short-term political need, said one economic adviser to the White House granted anonymity to freely discuss the group. He genuinely wants to come up with a solution that might be saleable on Capitol Hill.

Still, the administration faces an uphill battle in proving to progressive allies that the group is more than a kicking of the can.

The White House already consulted with experts throughout the most recent debt ceiling standoff, a process that did little to shake its belief that Congress needed to resolve the crisis. It rebuffed pleas from progressive lawmakers to deploy the 14th Amendment and ruled out other unilateral options  like minting a coin to pay for a debt ceiling hike. Though Biden signaled a desire to test the legal theory behind the 14th Amendment once the immediate standoff was over, the administration has not yet tried to do so.

Progressives said that if the administration spends months studying the issue only to come to the same conclusion that Biden is powerless on his own, itll be a waste of time. And they fear it will only further embolden the GOP to use the prospect of economic collapse as leverage.

The debt ceiling was a bad idea when it was first put in place, and it has become the worst idea as the Republicans have figured out how to weaponize it, said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Ill be very blunt. I dont care how we get rid of the debt ceiling, so long as we get rid of it.



The White House declined to comment about the group's activities and timeline, with an official cautioning only that the process "will take some time." It plans to hold a series of sessions with outside experts across a range of fields, as well as with lawmakers, though the first of those meetings hasn't yet been scheduled.

Even the administration's close allies don't know what to expect. Jayapal, who received advance notice of the team's creation, said she was still awaiting basic details like how long the group planned to work on the issue and what it hoped to produce.

Others said they didnt even know the effort was in the works  a low-key approach thats unnerved some lawmakers who welcomed the focus on the debt ceiling but questioned the point of conducting a drawn-out study.

I dont think we need a [working group] for that, said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who argued the options for avoiding a debt ceiling battle are obvious, but that the group might be helpful to "build support for some of those answers.

In the White House, officials portrayed the more rigorous approach as necessary to justify whatever solutions the administration settles on.

Biden would need to make a forceful case for any drastic action to a Democratic Party and broader public still fractured over the debt ceilings merits and the seriousness of the nations fiscal health.

I agree that we should think about how to reform the debt ceiling, but I would have grave concerns about eliminating it completely, said Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. We would be fiscally unwise to remove the only action forcing movement without replacing it with something that would work at least as well for improving the fiscal situation.

Several Democratic lawmakers have proposed legislation that would overhaul the debt limit and decouple it from the fate of the broader economy. Most, including Bidens working group, are likely to agree those bills are the best way to eliminate the debt ceiling threat.

But with Congress deeply divided and Republicans making clear they view such standoffs as opportunities to win concessions, it may also be the least practical.

Its impossible for us to act like this is a reasonable Congress, Jayapal said. We just need to come to terms with that. We need to take it off the table because its hurting our faith and credit.


About 75 years ago, newly minted Manhattan lawyer Harry Amsel strode into Morro Bay and fell in love  with the town, its people and Breakers Cafe, a tiny restaurant with a sweeping view of the bay and Morro Rock.

He promptly bought the circa-1942 eatery and its attached cowboy bar.

Members of Amsels family have owned and operated the oceanfront restaurant at 801 Market Ave., later renamed Dorns Breakers Cafe, since 1948.

Its truly a family business, said restaurant co-owner Nancy Dorn, whose husband and children have all worked at the restaurant.

Success came early at Morro Bay restaurant

Despite his lack of previous restaurant experience, Amsel soon built a solid reputation for his little cafe and himself.

He was always in full business dress, complete with suit, tie and spats, Nancy Dorn said of her dad, a rarity in a fishing town where folks dressed more casually.

He even dressed that way when he went down to the docks to buy fish, she said.

Dorns restaurant in Morro Bay, pictured on July 26, 2023, began in the 1940s as the Breakers and has seen generations of customers over the decades.

According to Dorn, Amsel insisted on fresh, locally caught seafood and local ingredients bought from local farmers and ranchers, as well as consistent quality, community involvement and friendly service.

When the restaurant was packed with diners, Dorn said, Amsel didnt want to turn anybody away  so hed serve customers in their cars.

At one point, Amsel built a new dinner house at 781 Market Ave. in Morro Bay, on the other side of whats now Centennial Parkway. He used it as a detached extension of his original coffee shop, which only served breakfast and lunch.

Together, the two eateries were known as The Breakers.

Eventually, Amsel sold the newer structure. Its housed several other restaurants over the years, including Hungry Tiger, Brannigans Reef, Anthonys and Distasios on the Bay, and currently belongs to the city.

This view of Morro Rock and the bay is from the outdoor patio at Dorns Breakers Cafe in Morro Bay.

SLO County eatery is a family affair

Nancy Dorn was practically raised at The Breakers, she said.

She got her first job at the restaurant at age 2.

They gave me a stack of napkins and I folded them, Dorn recalled. I dont think any of them ever made it onto the tables.

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Nearly two decades later, she met Cal Poly business student Dan Dorn on his first day of work as a host at The Breakers. The two were married five weeks later on July 20, 1966.

After a few years, Nancy Dorn and her husband bought Breakers Cafe from her father, and expanded the hours to include dinner. They also changed the restaurants name from Breakers Cafe to Dorns, the Original Breakers Cafe.

The half-pound, ground-sirloin burger with cheese is served on a sourdough bun at Dorns Breakers Cafe in Morro Bay.

Their son, Chris Dorn, has managed Dorns since 1998. He estimated that he started working at Dorns on weekends and summers when he was in fifth grade.

Then, when I was 16 and had my drivers license, I worked regular shifts, Dorn recalled.

Now a busy 51-year-old entrepreneur, Chris Dorn also owns Merseas in Avila Beach and Duckies Chowder House in Cayucos.

He lives in San Luis Obispo with his wife Brandi Dorn; son Nolan, who is a Cuesta College student, and daughter Annie, who is in eighth grade.

One of Chris Dorns two sisters is also in the bar-and-restaurant business.

Jennifer Niffy Dorn bought the Merrimaker in Baywood Park in September 2022. The other, Lori Dorn, lives with her family in Malibu.

Eggs Benedict is among the breakfast options at Dorns Breakers Cafe in Morro Bay.

Whats on the menu at Dorns Breakers Cafe?

Today, customers at Dorns can enjoy some of the same celebrated dishes that diners have enjoyed for decades, including pancakes and New England-style chowder.

My dad used to call the Breakers his pancake house, Nancy Dorn said with a wistful look on her face.

Other fan favorites include burgers, steaks, chicken Marsala, seafood jambalaya, blue cheese-centric salads and a dozen different omelets, including one with oysters and another with mixed seafood.

Chris Dorn thinks Dorns may be the one of the only SLO County restaurants not affiliated with a motel or hotel that serves a full breakfast, switches to a seafood-focused menu at lunch, then morphs at night into a classy dinner house with a San Francisco vibe and a full bar that serves cocktails.

At Dorns Breakers Cafe in Morro Bay, the Crab Louie salad is loaded with lots of crab meat and extras that include sliced egg, olives and a house-made Louie dressing.

How have remodels changed oceanfront restaurant?

According to Dorn, Dorns has undergone a series of remodels over the decades.

During the first major expansion project in 1989, Chris Dorn said, the restaurant was converted from a coffee shop and bar specializing in lunch and dinner to a full-service restaurant serving all three meals.

Five years later, a second remodel added the ocean-view patio between the building and the bluff.

A floor-to-ceiling revise began in March 2022 and ended three months ago.

We replaced the walls, ceiling, flooring and the booths, Chris Dorn said. We also replaced some tables with booths and, in a big change, moved the restrooms to the back behind a wall at the far end of the new, larger bar area.

The restaurant only closed for the project during March and April, because much of the earlier work was done offsite.

The rustic former cowboy bar was totally revamped, making it sleek, modern and larger. It now has bistro tables, a wide, folding window that opens onto the front sidewalk area and a long, curved bar accented by a big silver punch bowl full of chilling martini glasses.

Its a prime space where people want to be, Dorn said.

Former Los Angeles County Supervisor Warren Dorn, second from left, is surrounded by old friends  then-U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson, physical fitness promoter Jack LaLanne and Chairman Pro Tem Mike Antonovich of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors  in front of a sign designating the Warren M. Dorn Recreation Complex at Lake Castaic on Jan. 13, 1986.

The bar features photos of various views of the restaurant through the decades, along with dozens of pictures of his grandfather, Warren Dorn, posing with Hollywood and political dignitaries.

Warren Dorn was a former Pasadena mayor and longtime Los Angeles County supervisor who also served as Morro Bays mayor. His wife Phyllis Dorn founded the the Morro Bay Beautiful Foundation.

For decades, Warren Dorn was a sociable symbol of Dorns, even though he never owned, managed or even worked at the restaurant.

Nancy Dorn said her father-in-law was there daily, using Dorns as his remote office and extension of his nearby home.

Throughout the years, Morro Bay Mayor Carla Wixom wrote in an email, Dorns has played a significant role in our community, serving as a gathering place for locals and visitors alike.

Dorns has not only provided exceptional dining experiences but has also been a source of employment and economic growth for our community, said Wixom, who owns Morro Bay restaurant Carlas Country Kitchen.

On behalf of the entire city, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Dorns restaurant on their 80 years of success in our beloved town, Wixom said. Congratulations and wishes for many more years of success.

Ahi appetizer from Dorns restaurant in Morro Bay July 26, 2023.

More information about Dorns Breakers Cafe

Dorns Breakers Cafe serves breakfast from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and dinner from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

For details or to order takeout, call 805-772-4415 or go to dornscafe.com.
JOHANNESBURG, July 31 (Xinhua) -- South Africa will advocate for the integration of the African continent and the discussion of African matters at the upcoming BRICS summit, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition said Monday.

South Africa is going to the summit with the aim of bringing Africa's agenda to the fore and having a strong conversation on African issues, the department said in a statement.

As the 2023 chair of the BRICS grouping of nations, South Africa has invited heads of state of all African countries to the BRICS summit to be held on Aug. 22-24 in Johannesburg, according to the country's BRICS Sherpa Anil Sooklal.

The summit will discuss African issues of diversifying exports toward value-added trade, increasing productive capacities, increasing entrepreneurial opportunities and skills dividend, accelerating growth and accruing value on the African continent, according to the statement.

Increasing investment flows to Africa, increasing technology transfer, employment opportunities, and improving incomes will also be discussed at the summit, the department said.

The BRICS is an acronym for five emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. South Africa assumed the BRICS presidency on Jan. 1, 2023, taking over from China. 
Ukraine's border guards have killed a dozen Russians in a battle on the Lyman front.

Source: State Border Guard Service

Details: Border guards of the Steel Border assault brigade carried out reconnaissance on the Lyman front and entered the Russian positions.

A fierce battle ensued, as a result of which more than ten Russian invaders were killed and many wounded.

There are no casualties among the State Border Guard Service soldiers.

The time frame of the fight is not disclosed.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
The sun sets on a playground lighthouse at Marina Park in Newport Beach on July 19. The heat wave that has broiled Southern California for weeks will ease a bit this week, according to meteorologists. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Southern California will see cooler temperatures and possibly thunderstorms this week, getting a reprieve from the "heat dome" that has broiled the region for weeks.

But the relief won't last long. Temperatures are expected to heat back up over the weekend.

This week through Wednesday and Thursday, high temperatures are expected to be in the 80s for downtown Los Angeles and the mid-80s to mid-90s in the valleys, according to the National Weather Service. But temperatures will likely warm up to around the mid-to-upper 90s and toward 100 over the weekend, with the Antelope Valley possibly seeing highs up to 105 degrees.

High pressure has remained situated over the Southwest for the past few weeks, resulting in a persistent heat dome over Southern California, leading to record high temperatures.

The heat wave was unusual in the sense of how long its lasted and in the wide area that it covers, according to National Weather Service meteorologist David Sweet.

Theres a chance for showers and thunderstorms for the coasts and valleys in Los Angeles County until noon Monday, Sweet said. There's moisture instability resulting from monsoonal flows pushing into San Diego and Orange counties. There's a 20% chance of showers near Los Angeles Countys borders with Orange and Riverside counties through Monday afternoon and into the evening.

Monday marks the last day of elevated wildfire conditions, according to Sweet. While fuel moisture  how much water brush and vegetation have left remained about 100% through May and June, levels have gone down to 80% to 90% during the recent heat wave.

As the levels drop, the vegetation can serve as fuel for fires. "Critical" conditions are when the levels drop to around 60%, which is usually reached in July and continue through November.

"Its getting to the point where fires are becoming more of a concern," Sweet said.

Several fires have broken out across Southern California during the record-breaking heat and low humidity levels.

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The York fire, which had scorched 77,000 acres and was 9% contained Monday morning, first sparked near the New York Mountains in the Mojave National Preserve in eastern San Bernardino County before spreading into Nevada on Sunday.

The Bonny fire also ignited last week near Aguanga east of Temecula and was 5% contained as of Saturday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Riverside County Fire Department.

The heat wave has been roasting a large section of the country. At Zion National Park in Utah, park staff left chocolate chip cookie dough on a car's dashboard over the weekend to see if it would bake. Temperatures have been staying in the triple digits over the past few weeks, meaning that it can reach up to 200 degrees inside a vehicle.

Your car can feel like an oven in the Zion heat  literally  Which is why we decided to bake some cookies! the park service said in an Instagram post.

The cookies took about three hours to bake. Before putting the baking sheet in, park staff placed a thermometer inside the car to measure how hot it was. The device later melted.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
If you lined up all the publicly maintained roads in Spartanburg County from end to end, it would stretch all the way to Alaska.

There are more than 3,400 miles of publicly maintained roads in Spartanburg County, County spokeswoman Scottie Kay Blackwell said.

The council has looked at ways to improve roads for years. It estimates the backlog of repair work to cost $500 million. That's why County Council is proposing the 1-cent sales tax for roads because it could raise $478 million  almost enough money to cover the cost needed for road repairs.

County Council on Tuesday, Aug. 8, is expected to give final approval to a November referendum asking voters to pay for road repairs.

If the penny tax is approved, 577 projects are planned like road resurfacing, intersection improvements, road corridor reconstruction, bridge replacements, stormwater improvement and road safety.

This is the traffic and construction work at the I-85 and Highway 290 interchange in Duncan on March 14, 2023.

Here are the roads to be fixed if the penny tax is approved.

Yet, only a third of the roads on the list of planned projects are actually county-owned and maintained. The State Department of Transportation owns and repairs most of the other, two-thirds of the roads in need of repair in Spartanburg County.

Resident William Meyer recently asked County Council why residents should pay an extra sales tax to fix roads that are the state's responsibility.

"I don't have a problem getting roads fixed because it needs to be done, but why isn't the state fixing the majority of roads that are owned by the state?" Meyer asked. "Something to think about when you're looking at hundreds of millions of dollars looking to be spent."

In short, the answer to Meyer's question is the state doesn't have enough money for all roads that need repairs, but local funding could help tackle the problem.

Blackwell explained that funds raised by the penny tax will be combined with state and other funds to fix all roads on the project list.

Blackwell said most motorists drive a combination of state and local roads and expect all roads to be in a good, safe condition.

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"These roadways are interconnected with motorists traveling on some combination of SCDOT/county/municipal roadways as part of their daily commutes," she said.

Enough Spartanburg County roads to stretch to Alaska

The county maintains 1,744 miles of roads and 157 bridges. If you combine that with each of the 14 municipalities and 1,360 miles of the SCDOTmaintained roads, there are more than 3,400 miles of publicly maintained roads in Spartanburg County, said Blackwell

"To provide a visual, if you lined up all the publicly maintained roadways, end to end, it would stretch from Spartanburg to the Alaska state border," Blackwell said.

According to the list of projects slated for funding by the penny tax, the county plans to spend between $23 and $30 million in each of the six years of the penny tax on county-maintained roads.

"In total, there are over $165 million worth of proposed improvements to the county-maintained asphalt network," Blackwell said.

The other two-thirds of penny tax revenues will be used with other funds for state and local municipality-maintained roads, bridges and intersections, she said.

For example, she said major state and U.S. roads such as Highways 290, 296, 101, 221, 29 and Southport Road handle higher volumes of daily traffic compared to county and municipal roads and are just as important to local motorists, she said.

Tanker trucks and traffic on South Pine Street near the intersection of East Main Street on April 6, 2023.

Spartanburg County plans to combine local and state funds

Blackwell said local funds will be added to DOT funds to complete DOT projects "that otherwise would not be completed."

"Through a coordinated effort with the DOT, projects were identified that are not in the DOT's planning horizon  meaning there is currently no funding within the upcoming six-year planning window to complete the DOT pavement projects listed," she said.

Blackwell added most projects on the list are those in areas of higher growth and on roads with higher traffic volumes.

"Pavement condition is one of the most  if not the most  common complaints we receive from citizens," she said. "With that, improving the condition of the asphalt network was a primary goal."

Meyer, a retired Spartanburg Sheriff's Office deputy who has traveled most roads in the county, said his overriding concern is that all roads be safe to drive on.

"It takes money, but I think they're doing the best they can with what they've got right now," he said.

Bob Montgomery covers Spartanburg County politics and growth & development. Reach him via email at bob.montgomery@shj.com.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Spartanburg Council: Penny tax covers $500 million needed for repairs
After nearly four years of discussions, the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission may implement restrictions to protect spotted sea trout populations.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Commission will discuss potential restrictions of the spotted sea trout at its upcoming meeting at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 3 at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries headquarters, 2000 Quail Dr. in Baton Rouge.

The fish has long faced overharvesting, and charter fishing captains say something must be done or Louisiana will lose one of its most valuable resources. If it is voted down at this meeting, it is likely going to take another year to protect the fish population, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Biologist Jason Adriance said.

"You have one year to publish those final, so, if this notice of intent is to be amended and go through the process, it has to publish by Nov. 20 of this year," he explained.

Limitations being considered include reducing the bag limits from 25 fish to 15 fish a day. Discussions about the size limit are a moving target. The size was set to increase from 12 inches minimum to 13.5 inches., but state legislators rejected that proposal after pushback from fishermen. A compromise was discussed earlier in July, creating a 12-inch minimum limit and 19-inch max, but those discussions turned sour, and it was punted to this week's meeting.

Attempts were made to contact members of the commission for comment but were unsuccessful.

Longtime charter captains say if nothing is done, the resource risks being lost.

"For me personally, I've seen the greatest fishing on the planet, and my days are coming to an end, so it's more for the younger charter guys to get involved if they are going to save the fisheries," Charter Captain Stu Scheer said. "Terrebonne Parish, we have nothing else to offer here. We have one thing here, fish, and nothing else. If we don't protect it, we're going to lose it."

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Scheer said Louisiana fisheries are one of the biggest draws to the state, and probably Terrebonne Parish's second-biggest economic driver. With more than 43 years as a charter fishing captain, he said he's watching the fishing of the specks boom, and in decades prior, catching the limit could be done in just an hour every time. Now, catching the limit for each member of the boat is hit or miss.

The appeal of the speckled sea trout is that they put up a good fight on light tackle and they are good eating, whether pan fried or deep fried, Scheer explained. This, coupled with the high limit fishermen can catch in Louisiana, make them a good target for charter captains trying to please their clients on a trip.

This prized status has damaged the specks' population. Scheer estimated that nowadays about 30% of his trips max out every passengers' limit of specks, 50% of the time it's close, and 20% they are hard to come by. This is a far cry from decades ago.

"It was almost automatic," he said. "Back in the '70s or '80s it was almost ridiculous, it was crazy. All you had to do was get out there. If I had to fish past 9 o'clock, to catch 250 fish, something was wrong."

Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries held open hearings in Terrebonne in 2020 for public input, and hundreds of charter captains showed up to see Adraince's data. The audience was polled and he was able to shift 12% of the crowd to be concerned about the specks' population numbers.

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Other Gulf states share similar restrictions on the speckled trout, and if these limits pass, Louisiana would still allow fishers to bring in a bigger haul, Sheer said. The bag limit will help, he said, but the size limit is much more important, and he added that it should go even further.

"Even a trout that's one years old produces eggs," he said. "I don't know how many, but the bigger the fish, the more eggs they produce. To improve our fisheries and to get it back to where it was several years ago, we need to raise the minimum size limit to 14 inches."

Winona "Bebe" McElroy is a charter captain in Cocodrie and fishes nearly everyday since retirement. She said she considers herself more of a tour guide to Cocodrie who does a bit of fishing on the side.

Her preferred catch is the redfish, also known as a red drum, but her husband, Victor, enjoys specks. She spoke via cellphone, just after a day spent fishing with Victor.

Fishing for trout is a very active style of fishing, she said, and is likely the appeal. Captains seek out birds, which are a sign that specks are below. Then, to explain the technique, she compared the way she and Victor had fished that very day.

"I positioned the boat where I could cast into the grass and look for a red, or wait for a red to come by," she said. "My husband, on the other hand, is fishing for trout, so he's a little bit deeper than me, he's into the cooler water, where it is moving, where schools of trout come by and he casts. Fishing for trout, he might cast 10 times to my one cast. I'm going to cast and bob around so I can pull a red up. He's going to cast and reel and cast and reel in. That wears me out."

McElroy said she couldn't comment on what fishing for specks was like in the past because she never used to seek them out, but she has since learned because it's what customers like to fish for. She did say she was very familiar with the effects of overfishing because her redfish faces the same dilemma. Just a decade ago she could max out in a very short amount of time, whereas this summer, she has yet to reach her limit in a single day.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Specks populations are wrecked. Commission to discuss restrictions
Whenever Anna Larsons husband John returned home during leave from the military, she saw changes in his behavior that were typically swept under the rug, as their time together was limited and he was returning to active service.

When John Larson finally retired after 22 years in the military, Anna knew it was time to address some of the issues now that John was home for good.

From start to finish, he was a completely different person, said Anna Larson about her husbands military career. When the transition happened, I stopped that process and said, Were not doing this again. Its not going to be another new norm where we dont have these conversations.

Anna Larson said that once a military spouse, always a military spouse, and that continues after a spouse returns to the civilian world. When that veteran suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, as seven of 100 veterans do according to the Veterans Administration, many forget the spouses are going through a difficult transition stage as well.

Annas experiences helping John through his challenges inspired her to become a Military Spouse Ambassador for SpouseLink, a program started by the American Armed Forces Military Aid Association (AAFMAA) to help spouses cope with life as a military spouse.

SpouseLink provides resources to military spouses who are finding challenges making ends meet while their spouses are serving and once the spouse retires from active duty. The program provides spouses of active military members and veterans with help with financial issues such as investing, helping get kids through schooling, or making other family decisions such as health care.

It also provides a sounding board and a support group for spouses who are struggling to find help elsewhere or searching for peers who are experiencing the same problems.

Anna Larson served as the ambassador for Fort Cavazos (formerly Ford Hood) in Texas before John retired. It is a self-described passion project for Anna, who is a digital marketer, copywriter and website designer. Johns retirement also opened another door for Annas commitment to SpouseLink.

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We were going through retirement and I said I was probably not the right person for that role, Anna Larson said. But that conversation led us to talking about retiring service members. That led me into a position where we decided I would become an ambassador that focuses specifically on retiring and transitioning military spouses.

Anna Larson uses her career background as part of her duties as an ambassador, writing articles and hosting monthly livestreams focusing on transition and retirement topics, such as how to claim disability benefits and filing VA claims. She started the role 18 months ago.

Anna Larson started seeing signs that her husband was struggling that she described as abnormal, such as shying away from social events or having trouble sleeping. She felt helpless thinking she was not able to help her husband get through his issues, and now wants to let other military spouses know there is help out there.

What I really want to bring to the attention of spouses is its okay to start having those conversations, even if its a little bit of change you see, she said. Addressing it then might be what makes them realize, I guess I am acting a little differently. Just acknowledging that those things are there are things military families dont want to do because theres so many other things that are invading that time and space.

When meeting with clients, Anna Larsons main message is to encourage more communication between spouses.

Create open communication and open dialogue earlier rather than later and start having conversations that you might have put off, especially if you know that retirement is coming, she said. Dont be afraid to ask if you can participate in the things that you feel are important for you to know. Because the more we know, the better were going to be able to support our service members through transition in retirement.
State officials have opened a shelter and resource center on the campus of Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy for people experiencing homelessness and newly-arrived families, Gov. Maura Healey announced Monday.

The Family Welcome Center on the private, Christian college campus in Quincys Wollaston section is the second site to be opened in Massachusetts since June.

The center in Quincy will connect families experiencing homelessness to essential services and shelter, Healey said in a statement. Expanding upon the states first Family Welcome Center that opened in June, this second Family Welcome Center will serve as another entry point to shelter and services, especially for newly-arrived families struggling to access basic necessities.

A dorm on the ENC campus will serve as a temporary shelter for up to 58 families. The shelter will be overseen by AMI Expeditionary Healthcare, a state-contracted shelter management firm with experience in providing sheltering and supportive services for newly arrived migrants across the US, officials said.

The new Family Welcome Center will be operated by Bay State Community Services alongside teams from the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Healey said. In addition to support from the Office for Refugees and Immigrants, teams from the Department of Transitional Assistance and MassHealth will conduct onsite enrollment in benefits for families.

This second Family Welcome Center will help increase access to services and expedite the rate at which we are able to connect eligible families experiencing homelessness with safe and secure shelter, said Healey. Were grateful for the hard work and collaboration of staff, providers and local officials who are going above and beyond to support families in need.

The new Family Welcome Center is located in the Cove Fine Arts Center on the Eastern Nazarene College campus in Quincy, and will operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

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As this crisis continues, I appreciate Eastern Nazarene for being so willing to provide not only a Family Welcome Center, but also opening a dorm to provide on-site shelter, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said in a statement. Communities across Massachusetts are finding ways to meet immediate needs of these families. Through this unprecedented challenge, cities and towns are working together to help their neighbors in unprecedented ways. I look forward to continued collaboration as we work together to find a long-term solution.

As we rise to meet this increased demand for shelter and services, the opening of this second Family Welcome Center and new shelter space allows us to fulfill our responsibilities to families that need assistance accessing basic necessities like food and shelter, Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh said in a statement. We are very grateful to our partners who have stepped in to work with us in supporting these families, particularly Eastern Nazarene College, Bay State Community Services, and AMI.

The onsite shelter includes 55 rooms in a dorm building, plus three apartments. Buildings are equipped with free laundry machines and common areas and will be furnished with child-appropriate activities. The campus is walkable from the Wollaston MBTA station, has ample green space and recreational fields, and is close to local amenities including playgrounds, a public beach, and a pharmacy.

Eastern Nazarene Colleges mission is to provide a transformational education that equips diverse students to lead and serve our world as agents of Christs love and truth, Eastern Nazarene College President Colleen Derr said in a statement. ENC is in a unique position to lean into our mission in a very practical way and in our own backyard. This initiative is an opportunity to serve families in need and provide our students with unique enhanced educational and co-educational experiences.

Daurice Cox, CEO at Bay State Community Services, said in a statement that the social service agency is grateful for this opportunity to assist children and families in finding services and supports as well as addressing the families basic daily needs including formula, diapers, and toiletries. I want to thank all of the passionate and dedicated BSCS staff who have made this Family Welcome Center a warm and welcoming space for children and families in need.

Scott Giberson, president of AMI Expeditionary Health, said in a statement that the firm will provide health screening, shelter assistance and resource counseling for new arrivals.

Our partnership with the EOHHS, the local humanitarian network, and the surrounding community exemplifies the teamwork needed to succeed, Giberson said. AMI is dedicated to providing care and support to people in need, here in Quincy and around the world.

The states first Family Welcome Center, opened in June and operated by the Brazilian Worker Center, has served more than 550 families as of July 27, officials said.

State officials said Massachusetts has implemented an Incident Command Structure to lead a coordinated approach to addressing the needs of families seeking shelter  including the Governors Office, Administration and Finance, Health and Human Services, Housing and Livable Communities, Public Safety and Security, Labor and Workforce Development, and Education.

A new leadership team at the Office for Refugees and Immigrants is spearheading efforts to ensure that refugees and immigrants in Massachusetts are met with comprehensive, compassionate, and culturally appropriate services and supports, state officials said in their statement.

State officials in June opened a Family Welcome Center at the Brazilian Worker Center on Harvard Avenue in Allston, to help transport families to a shelter at Joint Base Cape Cod.

In March, Healey signed a supplemental budget into law that dedicated $85 million to the Emergency Assistance program to meet the demand of a growing number of families, immigrants and refugees facing homelessness.

The Governors FY24 budget proposal recommended a $324 million budget for the Emergency Assistance program, which represents a 48% percent increase above the FY23 budget. Healey also recommended more than $2 million for the Office for Refugees and Immigrants, roughly a $280,000 or 16 percent increase from FY23. The administration also awarded $1.75 million to form the Immigrant Assistance Services, a new case management program designed to assist newly arrived immigrants in Massachusetts so they can access services that address their immediate needs and help them achieve stability.

Accepted donations to the Family Welcome Centers in Allston and Quincy include wipes, strollers, new car seats, pack-n-plays, diapers (all sizes), formula, milk (powdered), toothbrushes, toothpaste, body wash, unscented Dove bar soap, mens & womens deodorant, CeraVe baby lotion, Vaseline, individual packets of Pedialyte, and gift cards to Target and Walmart.

Donations may be dropped off at:

 The Brazilian Worker Center  14 Harvard Ave, #2, Allston, MA or donate online.

 A New Way Recovery Center  85 Quincy Ave, Suite B, Quincy, MA or donate online.

Anyone interested in helping may contact info@braziliancenter.org or info@baystatecs.org for more information.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Growing up in Montgomery in the 1940s, on Monroe and Adams Streets, I walked a block south to Decatur Street Elementary School for the first of the 12 grades I enjoyed in the Montgomery Public School System. Thereby did I begin an educational journey as a student, faculty member, and administrator that lasted more than six decades at six public universities and, a block east from our apartment, the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH). I've frequented the latter over the years, even researching there my master's degree at Auburn University in the 1960s and the four books I've written after I retired in 2014 from Troy University.

At ADAH, I learned the history of Alabama  or rather the Marie Bankhead Owens white-washed version of it. Even as a seven or eight-year-old, I wondered as I wandered its cool marble halls in the summers before air conditioning, "Where are all the Black people, who once outnumbered the white people in Alabama?"

Jim Vickrey, a native Montgomerian, is a retired lawyer, university president and professor emeritus of Troy University

In those days, the Archives recognized primarily Confederate, Native American, and WWI history. I don't recall learning any African American history or, a more egregious omission, the history of slavery that once dominated business on Court Square, ground zero in the "Cradle of the Confederacy," where I frequented the Strand Theatre on Saturdays. I had to fill in those blanks in history later, reading on my own and taking college courses, such as Dr. Malcolm McMillan's popular AU course in the History of the South.

Over the past sixty years, that deficiency at the ADAH and in public education has been rectified. At least, that was so until defendant Donald J. Trump and a host of Republican "know-nothing" governors, including Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, herself a teacher and a friend of mine since 1963 at Auburn, began trying to undo much of it. Why?  to try to solve such non-problems as the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT), "wokeness," and unappreciated laws protecting racial and LGBTQ civil rights.

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Never mind that CRT is not being taught in K-12 here or anywhere else. (Until a few decades ago, the only CRT being taught in Southern public schools was WCRT  White CRT. Never mind that "wokeness" lacks an agreed-upon definition and is only a convenient buzzword of Florida's regularly "rebooting," presidential contender, Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, whose recent book even fails to tell readers clearly what it is. And never mind that LGBTQ community members have only had mostly equal rights in our land for about a decade.

Now comes a state senator from Baldwin County, threatening the ADAH for its continuing efforts to expand our previously biased understanding of Alabama history and to support the teaching of competent, comprehensive state history. Why? Because it recently hosted an LGBTQ historian, grant-funded, at one of its noon Architreats sessions.

I've spoken twice at those brown-bag luncheons, and I was more controversial than she was, arguing, as I did, that my friend Gov. George Wallace was not the greatest national politician to come out of Alabama. That honor goes to U.S. Senator Oscar W. Underwood, his party's leader in both Houses of Congress and twice a presidential contender (1912 and 1924, when he took on the KKK), who turned down President Woodrow Wilson's offer of a U.S. Supreme Court seat (I found the letter in Archives files).

Dr. Ed Bridges's successor as director of ADAH, Dr. Steve Murray, has been doing an outstanding job of bringing the Archives' coverage of our state's history up to date and ensuring that it is no longer biased against certain groups, with a special emphasis on its neglected aspects, including African American history. After all, 27 percent of our population is African American, warranting, according to the U.S. Supreme Court, two Congressional districts for the more than one milion Alabamians who are black or brown. And, if Alabama has the same percentage of gay people as the nation at large (6-7 percent), there must be at least a quarter of a milion LGBTQ citizens in Alabama. Do they not pay taxes? Do they not enrich our communities as much as any other citizens? Do they not bleed when assaulted and battered? Do they not hurt when they are victims of discrimination?

Would you, white, straight Alabamian, trade places with these children of God, made in his image just as you were? Why should they be treated differently from you because of a few cherry-picked Bible verses? Why should their history be slighted at the ADAH, because a state senator says a few, perhaps homophobic, constituents called him to complain about a talk made there to a small audience of adults? Why should the budget of the ADAH take a $5 million hit so that one state lawmaker can placate a few probably prejudiced voters in his district? He told The Advertiser in its July 26th edition (an article from the new "Alabama Reflector" news website) that "he didn't think sex, including heterosexual sex (how broadminded), should be discussed in the government building (ADAH occupies)." That was from a member of a political party that obsesses in statehouses about sex, while legislating irrationally on abortion, LGBTQ rights, contraception, rape, and more, usually curtailing the related rights.

If the senator persists in his quixotic campaign against the ADAH, he will continue to build support for the nation's first state archives, causing me and many others to support it with our dollars, our feet, and our fannies in seats in its auditorium, as we listen to more interesting and informative talks about topics of importance to all Alabamians, teaching us that history is not what we want it to be.

History is what it is

Dr. Jim Vickrey is a retired university president and lawyer, living in his hometown of Montgomery, and still using the ADAH since he was a boy in the 1940s, who has also been an Architreats speaker..

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: State's history is for all Alabamians, not just a favored few
At least two people have died in Beijing as China is battered by one of the strongest storms to hit the country in years.

Storm Doksuri has been causing widespread flooding and has led to chaos across northern China.

In the capital, at least 31,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, while subway stations have been closed.

While the storm - a former super-typhoon - is weakening, officials have urged people to remain indoors.

A red alert has been issued in the city and employers have been ordered to allow people to work from home, with the death toll from the severe flooding expected to rise in the coming days.

Rainfall in Beijing and other cities in northern China has already reached dangerously high levels, while driving rains are expected to continue for at least another 24 hours.

China's Meteorological Bureau said an average of 170.9mm of rain deluged Beijing between Saturday night and noon on Monday, the equivalent of the average rainfall for the entire month of July.

The storm made landfall in Fujian Province on Friday, causing landslides and flooding before moving north towards the capital.

In footage shared online by Beijing residents, cars could be seen being swept away by torrential rains and there are fears that passengers could have been trapped inside after waters rose rapidly. Some roads were also torn up by the severe flooding.

Elsewhere, subway stations were engulfed by the flooding, while to the south of the city, a railway bridge was washed away. Dozens of flights have also been cancelled to and from the city.

In the Mentougou district, emergency officials recovered the two bodies from waterways early on Monday, state media reported. About 5,000 people have been evacuated from the mountainous district.

Guo Zhenyu, a 49-year-old resident, told the AFP news agency that the heavy rains had quickly submerged much of the area.

"This morning it was crazy, the water overflowed the Mentougou river and the whole avenue was flooded," he said.

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Other residents expressed concerns that the rains could cause structural problems for their homes.

"Once it starts raining, the road turns into a drain, and there's water on the first floor inside houses," Chen, 52, told AFP. "The houses here are all old houses, so there are definitely concerns about safety."

In the Fangshan district, state media reported that some 2,000 members of the People's Liberation Army had been deployed to help shore up flood defences against the rising waters.

Meanwhile, in southern China, typhoon Khanun is expected to hit the heavily populated Zhejiang Province in the coming days.

The floods mark the latest example of extreme weather to hit China this summer. The country has been consistently posting record temperatures, which scientists say have been exacerbated by climate change.

The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.

The warmer it becomes, the more moisture the atmosphere can hold. This results in more droplets and heavier rainfall, sometimes in a shorter space of time and over a smaller area.
Update: The National Weather Service extended the severe thunderstorm warning through 9:15 p.m. for the Kansas City metro.

Severe thunderstorms warnings have been issued across the Kansas City metro Sunday as storms with winds up to 70 miles per hour move through the area.

A severe thunderstorm warning was issued just before 8 p.m. for Kansas City, Jackson County, Kansas City, Kansas, Overland Park, Clay County and Platte County until 8:45 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

Severe Thunderstorm Warning including Kansas City MO, Overland Park KS and Kansas City KS until 8:45 PM CDT. This storm will contain wind gusts to 70 MPH! pic.twitter.com/6LXnvuZyET  NWS Kansas City (@NWSKansasCity) July 31, 2023

A complex of severe thunderstorms is moving south along I-29 from St Joseph into the KC metro, the weather service posted on social media Sunday evening. There have been multiple observed wind gusts between 65-70 MPH and several reports of tree damage.

Pea-sized hail is also possible, according to the weather service.

Heads-up KC! Severe storms with 65 to 70 mph winds heading into the north side of the metro. pic.twitter.com/8sAA0Sulc0  NWS Kansas City (@NWSKansasCity) July 31, 2023

As of 7:45 p.m. Sunday, a severe thunderstorm warning remained in place as far north as St. Joseph and as far south as Liberty until 8 p.m. in Missouri, according to the weather service. In Kansas, a severe thunderstorm warning remained in place for parts of Wyandotte, Doniphan, Leavenworth and Atchison counties until 8 p.m.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
President Joe Biden. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Student-loan borrowers can apply for the new income-driven repayment plan's beta version.

The new plan, known as the SAVE Plan, will fully launch in August.

Borrowers who apply during this period will not need to reapply after the official launch.

Just over two months before federal student-loan payments resume, President Joe Biden's Education Department launched the first version of its new income-driven repayment plan.

CNN first reported on Sunday that the Federal Student Aid office launched a beta version of the updated IDR application that includes an option for borrowers to enroll in the new SAVE Plan, which the department calls "the most affordable repayment plan yet," per its website.

"During the testing period, eligible borrowers can apply for the SAVE Plan, but some website functionality may be limited as the Department's technical team monitors site performance and refines and tweaks the application as needed," a department spokesperson told Insider. "This testing period will allow the Department to monitor site performance through real-world use, test the site ahead of the official application launch, refine processes, and uncover any possible bugs prior to official launch."

According to Federal Student Aid, borrowers who are not currently on an IDR plan and want to lower their monthly payments should complete the new application, along with borrowers who are currently on a plan but need to recertify their income or make any other changes. Borrowers who complete an application during this testing period will not need to reapply, and they will receive a confirmation email after they have applied. The department also noted that the application may be "available on and off" during this testing period, so if it's not available at one point, the borrower should try again later.

Additionally, if borrowers are already enrolled in a REPAYE Plan, they will automatically be put on the new SAVE Plan and they will not need to reapply or request a change to their plan. Borrowers can learn more about whether they need to apply for new plan, and how to do it, at this link.

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"When fully live, millions of borrowers will be able to complete the new application in ten minutes or less and will never have to reapply," a department spokesperson said. "The new IDR auto-recertification feature will prevent borrowers from the risk of missing their annual IDR recertification date, which has caused millions of borrowers each year to delay their time toward forgiveness and incur additional interest charges."

This beta period is in preparation for a full launch later in August, and it's standard practice for the launch of a new program to root out any errors or technical difficulties.

As Insider previously reported, the SAVE Plan would increase the income exemption from 150% above the poverty line to 225%, meaning that borrowers earning $32,800 or less or a family of four earning $67,500 or less will not owe student-loan payments. It would also eliminate remaining interest on balances if a borrower makes their monthly payments and does not require a spouse to cosign the application.

These reforms come as the Education Department is preparing to restart student-loan payments in October  with interest beginning to accrue again in September  after an over three-year pause. To help ease the transition back into repayment, the department also announced as 12-month "on-ramp" period once payments resume, during which borrowers who miss payments will not be reported to credit agencies. However, interest will still accrue during this period.

The department is also in the process of developing a new broad student-debt relief plan after the Supreme Court struck down Biden's first plan to up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers. Since that process could take time, the department recommends borrowers look into the SAVE Plan should they find they cannot afford payments without broad relief.

"This new plan is a critical step in delivering on President Biden's commitment to supporting students and borrowers, and helping more American families get out from under the burden of student loan debt," the department spokesperson said. "No President has fought harder for student borrowers, and the SAVE plan will give millions of borrowers breathing room on their monthly bills now and for years to come."

Read the original article on Business Insider
A Chinese doctor gives free medical examination to an Ethiopian worker at the Eastern Industry Zone (EIZ) in Dukem of Oromia regional state, Ethiopia, July 30, 2023. Chinese doctors on Sunday provided much-needed services to about 240 workers at the EIZ, about 40 km south of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. (Xinhua/Wang Ping)

ADDIS ABABA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese doctors on Sunday provided much-needed services to about 240 workers at the Eastern Industry Zone (EIZ), about 40 km south of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

A total of 36 doctors from the 24th batch of the Chinese medical team in Ethiopia, the ninth batch of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Medical Team in Ethiopia, as well as the Chinese-invested Addis Ababa Silk Road General Hospital participated in the event. The free medical treatment was provided under the theme "We Care: Ethiopian Workers' Health."

Tariku Mamo, a translator working at a food processing company at the EIZ, said "For long, I have been suffering from knee pain and today I received treatment from the Chinese doctors with the help of imaging service. They told me that it's not a serious issue. They also advised me what to do to help alleviate the pain."

"I am very thankful for the service and their dedication in terms of helping us safeguard our health. This means a lot to us," he added.

The free medical treatment was conducted by Chinese doctors who specialize in neurology and neurosurgery, internal medicine, orthopedics, cardiology, ophthalmology, dentistry, urology, gynecology, as well as traditional Chinese medicine, among others.

Mame Yadeto who works at a textile factory in the industrial part said "the free medical treatment is very important for us. Some of us have been struggling with underlying health problems while some others are simply checking their overall health conditions. The Chinese doctors are indeed providing much-needed treatment for us."

Chen Zhaoqi, leader of the 24th batch of the Chinese medical team in Ethiopia, said in addition to the free medical support, further medical examination and follow-up treatment will be carried out to the people at the Tirunesh-Beijing Hospital where his team is based. China has been sending medical missions to Ethiopia since 1974.

"We will provide our support for the Ethiopian people and do our best to provide the best medical services for them," he added. 

A Chinese doctor gives free medical examination to an Ethiopian worker at the Eastern Industry Zone (EIZ) in Dukem of Oromia regional state, Ethiopia, July 30, 2023. Chinese doctors on Sunday provided much-needed services to about 240 workers at the EIZ, about 40 km south of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. (Xinhua/Wang Ping)

A Chinese doctor gives free medical examination to an Ethiopian worker at the Eastern Industry Zone (EIZ) in Dukem of Oromia regional state, Ethiopia, July 30, 2023. Chinese doctors on Sunday provided much-needed services to about 240 workers at the EIZ, about 40 km south of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. (Xinhua/Wang Ping)
The sturgeon full moon will light up the night sky over Kentucky soon, and it will mark the second supermoon of the year.

The sturgeon moon will peak at 1:33 p.m. Tuesday, according to Forbes, and the best time to see it in Lexington will likely be moonrise, which will happen at 9:18 p.m. that day.

Augusts full Moon was traditionally called the Sturgeon Moon because the giant sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were most readily caught during this part of summer, the Old Farmers Almanac says.

Full moons have multiple names, and many come from Indigenous cultures. The Old Farmers Almanac uses Indigenous moon names, along with monikers from colonial America and other North American sources.

Lexington residents should be able to enjoy a nice view of the supermoon, as the National Weather Service forecasts Tuesday night will be mostly clear with a low around 62 degrees.

What is the sturgeon supermoon?

This full moon will appear slightly larger than normal, Space.com reports.

The term supermoon was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 as either a new or full Moon that occurs when the Moon is within 90% of perigee, its closest approach to Earth, a NASA article about Julys supermoon reads.

Because it will be closer to Earth than most full moons, the sturgeon moon will likely appear 10% to 11% larger in the sky, according to Space.com, though the difference may not be obvious to casual observers without telescopes.

The sturgeon moon is also called the grain moon, corn moon, lynx moon and lightning moon, Forbes reports.

More full moons in 2023

Heres when to see more full moons in 2023, with information from Space.com:

Aug. 30: Blue supermoon (appears biggest and brightest of the year)

Sept. 29: Harvest supermoon

Oct. 28: Hunters moon

Nov. 27: Beaver moon

Dec. 26: Cold moon

The blue supermoon will be Augusts second full moon, and Forbes says the best times to see it will be the evenings of Aug. 30 and Aug. 31.

The Bluegrass Amateur Astronomy Club will host two stargazing events in August, weather pending.

Story continues

Visit Raven Run Nature Sanctuary around sunset Aug. 12, and stop by Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill Aug. 19 to catch a glimpse of the stars. Events may have a $1 charge at Raven Run and there may be a suggested donation at Shaker Village.

Do you have a question about the environment in Kentucky for our service journalism team? Wed like to hear from you. Fill out our Know Your Kentucky form or email ask@herald-leader.com.
The sturgeon full moon will light up the night sky over central Pennsylvania soon, and it will mark the second supermoon of the year.

The sturgeon moon will peak at 1:33 p.m. Tuesday, according to Forbes, and the best time to see it will likely be moonrise in State College, which will happen at 8:59 p.m. that day.

Augusts full Moon was traditionally called the Sturgeon Moon because the giant sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were most readily caught during this part of summer, the Old Farmers Almanac says.

Full moons have multiple names, and many come from Indigenous cultures. The Old Farmers Almanac uses Indigenous moon names, along with monikers from colonial America and other North American sources.

State College residents should be able to enjoy a nice view of the supermoon, as the National Weather Service forecasts Tuesday night will be mostly clear with a low around 53 degrees.

What is the sturgeon supermoon?

This full moon will appear slightly larger than normal, Space.com reports.

The term supermoon was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 as either a new or full Moon that occurs when the Moon is within 90% of perigee, its closest approach to Earth, a NASA article about Julys supermoon reads.

Because it will be closer to Earth than most full moons, the sturgeon moon will likely appear 10% to 11% larger in the sky, according to Space.com, though the difference may not be obvious to casual observers without telescopes.

The sturgeon moon is also called the grain moon, corn moon, lynx moon and lightning moon, Forbes reports.

More full moons in 2023

Heres when to see more full moons in 2023, with information from Space.com:

Aug. 30: Blue supermoon (appears biggest and brightest of the year)

Sept. 29: Harvest supermoon

Oct. 28: Hunters moon

Nov. 27: Beaver moon

Dec. 26: Cold moon

The blue supermoon will be Augusts second full moon, and Forbes says the best times to see it will be the evenings of Aug. 30 and Aug. 31.

Story continues

The Central Pennsylvania Observers hold monthly astronomy meetings, as well as free, public stargazing events.

The Central Pennsylvania Observers (CPO), the State College Amateur Astronomy Club, will host a Skywatch for the public. Members will provide telescopes for viewing celestial objects such as planets and the Moon. All are invited! Tudek Park, 9:30 -11:30 PM Friday, August 4.  Central PA Observers (@CPO_club_org) July 25, 2023

Check out the Night Sky Network online for information about more stargazing events in the central Pennsylvania area.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) is predicting that former President Trump will not be the GOP nominee for president in 2024 and that he will not exit the race gracefully.

Look after he loses, I dont think hes going quietly, Sununu said on a recent episode of conservative pundit Hugh Hewitts radio show. Hes kind of a crybaby in that sense. Hes always  have you seen his speeches?

Pressed on if he would support Trump over a Democrat in the general election, Sununu replied, Oh, Im going to support the Republican; theres no question about that.

Most national polls show Trump with a sizable lead over other GOP hopefuls like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and several others.

Sununu himself was speculated as a possible 2024 GOP primary candidate, but early this summer announced he does not plan to run against Trump.

A frequent critic of the former president, Sununu recently dodged questions on whether he would support a third-party run for the presidency, saying, Im gonna make sure Trump isnt the candidate.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon was never the most progressive or partisan of Democrats. Even when he briefly contemplated running for his partys presidential nomination in 2016, Nixon aimed to appeal mostly to Americas moderate swing voters. Theres still a wide avenue to run as a moderate, centrist, somebody-who-thinks-about-working-people-every-day Democrat in the heartland, he said at the time.

Nixon never made that run for president. He isnt done with centrist presidential politics, however.

The former governor  he left office in 2017  announced late last week that he is joining No Labels campaign to run a third-party unity candidate for president in the 2024 election. Nixon will serve as the partys director of ballot integrity, working to ensure No Labels has a spot on each states presidential ballot.

I feel calm. I feel correct. I think we have a high moral ground here, he said.

Nixon may genuinely believe in centrist politics, but his work for No Labels is unlikely to put a sensible moderate in the White House, a figure who can bridge the seemingly unbridgeable gap between the Democratic and Republican parties.

Instead, Nixon and his new allies are likely to give us another four years of Donald Trump.

No Labels says it has no plans to play spoiler in the 2024 election. The organization points to its own polling that says nearly two-thirds of voters want candidates from outside the two-party system, and that 59% of voters would consider a moderate independent candidate in 2024.

Perhaps. But third parties tend to create more media excitement than actual votes  and the votes they do earn can potentially change the course of history.

The last independent candidate to win Electoral College votes was George Wallace, the arch-segregationist former Alabama governor, who carried five Southern states during the 1968 election. Richard Nixon won the popular vote over Hubert Humphrey that year by less than a single percentage point.

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More notoriously, Green Party candidate Ralph Nader won 97,000 votes in Florida in 2000, and possibly deprived Democrat Al Gore of the votes he needed to beat George W. Bush for the presidency: Bush won the state  and thus the presidential race  by 537 votes. Eight years before that, independent candidate Ross Perot may have tilted the White House to Bill Clinton over George H.W. Bush by winning 19% of the popular vote.

President Joe Biden, meanwhile, beat Trump in 2020 by a margin of just 44,000 votes in the six swing states that decided the election.

No Labels says that observers have learned the wrong lessons from those earlier campaigns  and that anyway, polling shows most Americans dont want a rematch between Biden and Trump. No Labels is not a spoiler, the organization asserts on its website. Its a winner.

Thats doubtful.

Indeed, a No Labels poll released in December showed Trump and Biden separated by one point in a head-to-head matchup. When a third candidate was added to the mix, Trump opened up a five-point lead. And the hypothetical third candidate still finished in third place. Thats the very definition of spoiler.

Thats why Democratic activists are working to keep No Labels off the ballot. Nixon, in turn, says those Democratic efforts are the reason he has joined No Labels.

What do I say to those Democrats? I say, Youre entitled to your opinion. But we are also entitled to use our constitutional and statutory rights to allow Americans to have another choice, Nixon said.

Fair enough. Many Americans dont neatly fit the two-party binary system. Thats why alternatives like instant runoff voting  which allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference  are so intriguing for folks who want to support a third party without inadvertently throwing an election to a candidate they detest.

Thats what Nixon seems most likely to accomplish. Trump is radical and lawless, the man who incited an insurrection at the nations Capitol. Getting him elected in the name of centrism and unity would be the least moderate outcome possible.
The grandfather of a 23-month-old girl who died from a fentanyl overdose last fall in a Nashville transitional housing unit is suing the landlord and a tenant who was babysitting, claiming both were negligent for allowing the girl to access the deadly opioid.

Ariel Rose was found unresponsive Nov. 11 at a 25th Avenue North home, known as the Highroad Transitional Living Facility, where she had lived for less than three days, according to the lawsuit filed this month in Davidson County Circuit Court. She died at the scene from accidental fentanyl poisoning, according to an autopsy report. That report does not state how the girl ingested the drug.

The toddler had previously been living in the Brookmeade homeless encampment, according to other media reports.

Ariel Rose

Ariel's grandfather, Mickey Rose, is suing the Highroad Transitional Living Facility and the woman who was babysitting Ariel before her death, identified in court records only as "Jane Doe," stating both had an obligation to keep the girl away from drugs.

In the case of the landlord, the lawsuit alleges that the property had a legal obligation to stem the flow of drugs into the facility. Yet, the lawsuit claims police frequently responded there for reported drug and overdose reports.

"These places are supposed to help turn people's lives around," said Rose's attorney Isaac Kimes. "And very clearly, as delineated in the (lawsuit), there were drugs running through this place like a river. And police were called out there, I mean, what we found in 2022 from January 1 until the day Ariel was found dead, it was well over 100 times."

The lawsuit alleges that Ariel was in the custody of her aunt. But her aunt had placed her in the care of her father, Jonathan Rose, who was living at the facility, it states. On the day of Ariel's death, Jonathan Rose had asked another woman, "Jane Doe," to watch the girl. The lawsuit claims this woman was "a frequent user of illegal drugs" and, at some point, the girl came into contact with fentanyl in her room.

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Mickey Rose is seeking at least $15 million in damages, court records show.

The facility is operated by the not-for-profit Community Care Fellowship in Nashville. The organization was awarded a $4.4 million grant from Metro government to help move people from encampments into housing.

"CCFs acceptance of Metro Nashvilles four-million-dollar grant included a duty to fund a staffing model that included (1) housing managers/navigators, (2) house monitors, and (3) program services including protection services," the lawsuit states. "(N)one of these were utilized at Highroad."

Ryan LaSuer, executive director of Community Care Fellowship, said Friday that the organization sends its "sincerest sympathies and condolences to the family" but otherwise declined to comment on the specifics of the allegations in the lawsuit. He noted that the criminal investigation into Ariel's death is continuing.

"CCF has cooperated with police authorities in their investigation of this matter," LaSuer said in an email. "We will engage in the legal process to address the civil complaint being made against our organization."

Child deaths from fentanyl have risen sharply over the last generation, particularly as the drug's availability has become more common. A study recently published in JAMA Pediatrics found that such fatalities increased sharply between 1999 and 2021.

Since 2013, pediatric deaths from the drug have risen by 3,000%, the study found.

Frank Gluck is the health care reporter for The Tennessean. He can be reached at fgluck@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter at @FrankGluck.

Want to read more stories like this? A subscription to one of our Tennessee publications gets you unlimited access to all the latest political news, plus newsletters, a personalized mobile experience, and the ability to tap into stories, photos and videos from throughout the USA TODAY Network's daily sites.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Toddler's family sues Nashville landlord, babysitter for fentanyl death
The superyatch Alfa Nero parked in a marina. The yacht had a dark blue hull and white decks on top.



The superyacht Alfa Nero docked in Falmouth Harbour in Saint Paul Parish, Antigua, on Wednesday, April 20, 2023. Its been more than a year since the Russian superyacht Alfa Nero all 267 feet and 2,500 gross tons of it was abandoned in Falmouth Harbour, Antigua.

When the 265-foot Alfa Nero finally sold for $67.6 million at action this past June, we figured that was it; the orphaned superyacht had finally found a home. Unfortunately for the government of Antigua and Barbuda, however, that is not the case.

Weve been following the fate of the Alfa Nero since officials first began seizing Russian oligarch-owned superyachts at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia received strict sanctions from the international community for its act of aggression against the country. This resulted in Russias monied class losing some of their biggest and bestest toys.



Read more

Many of these superyachts are owned by shell companies owned by different shell companies in order to protect assets. When this scheme didnt exactly work, wealthy Russians scattered with some leaving their big boats right where they were parked. The Alfa Nero  with its six staterooms, helipad and crew quarters that can squeeze in 28 personal  is one such boat. U.S. officials figured out that the Alfa Nero was likely owned by fertilizer magnate and sanctions list rockstar Andrey Guryev, the 25th richest man in Russia.

The Alfa Nero has been parked in Antigua since the start of the invasion. The small Caribbean country was paying $100,000 a month just for the general upkeep of the Nero (and thats not counting crew costs and dock fees.) When no one came forward to claim the boat Antigua held an auction, and gave the owner of the yacht 10 days to claim their property in March. When no one came forward, the Alfa Nero was seized by April and was on the auction block by June.

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The winning bid of $67.6 million came from ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt and actually bumped up the entire nations GDP by four percent. As you can imagine, the country is eager to unload this boat and get the cash. Only now there is a new wrinkle, according to the Daily Beast:

This whole damn thing has been like a Tom Clancy novel, Darwin Telemaque, chief executive of the Antigua and Barbuda Port Authority, told the London Times last month. And Im stuck in the middle. [...] But just this month, another obstacle appeared: Guryevs daughter, Yulia Guryeva-Motlokhov, who lives in London with her hedge-fund manager husband Alexei Motlokhov. (The two recently caused a stir for trying to build a massive playground in the backyard of their $6 million, five-bedroom home, which neighbors deemed more like a theme park.) In an appeal filed July 12, Guryeva-Motlokhov claimed she is the sole beneficiary of the trust that owns the Flying Dutchman, and thus the rightful owner of the Alfa Nero.

In her appeal, she claimed that the Antiguan government did not have the right to sell off her property and that the auction had been improperly executed, according to the Antigua Observer. Her attorney, David Dorsett, told the Observer he intends to fight for her right to the superyacht, adding: We just want our boat back. We think the action of the government in taking possession of the yacht and selling the yacht is wrong on all levels, he said. It is not the governments yacht; they cannot just take it up and sell it to somebody else.



For one, I think Guryeva-Motlokhov is right; its incredibly unfair for some foreign government to waltz right in and just take someone elses property. Perhaps she could take this philosophy up with her own government back home in Russia.

The government of Antigua and Barbuda counter filed against Guryeva-Motlokhov, saying the fertilizer magnates daughter has no standing to demand the Alfa Nero back. For now though, Schmidt is stuck without his big boat (well, his second big boat) and refuses to pay Antigua and Barbuda until the boat is delivered. The small country is scrambling once again to force the deal and get the Alfa Nero off their books. The whole thing is a huge mess.

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One person is dead, and another is in the hospital after a shooting in DeKalb County.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

DeKalb police were called to the area of Panola Way Lane in regard to a person shot. When officers arrived, police said they found a man dead from a gunshot wound and another man suffering from a gunshot.

Authorities said the second victim was taken to a local hospital.

TRENDING STORIES:

During the investigation, DeKalb officials believe the dead man and the second victim were involved in an argument when the second victim, shot the man to death.

The suspect was then shot by a third party, according to the police department.

DeKalb police said the second shooting victim will be charged once hes released from the hospital.

None of the mens ages or identities were revealed. The investigation is ongoing.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
Six North Carolina migrant farm workers left a Walmart in Lincoln County with broken legs, broken ankles and concussions after a driver plowed his SUV through them in the parking lot around lunchtime Sunday.

The driver left without stopping, authorities said. Lincolnton police initially said they believed the driver intentionally struck the men who worked at a local orchard.

But late Monday, a different version of events surfaced, as detailed in a news release issued at 10:15 p.m.

Shortly before 6 p.m. Monday, 68-year-old Hickory resident Daniel Gonzalez arrived at the Lincolnton Police Department accompanied by several family members.

His family told authorities that Gonzalez informed them on Monday that he was in an accident. They said he told them he was parking at Walmart and hit the gas by accident... he told them he panicked and left the scene, according to the police news release.

Gonzalez was arrested and charged with felony hit-and-run, police said. Police recovered his SUV and notified the victims of his arrest. As of Monday night, Gonzalez is being held at the Lincoln County Jail on a $50,000 bond.

Earlier Monday, the FBI had joined in assisting Lincolnton police in the case.

And the Carolina Migrant Network called the incident a hate crime. The group has not yet issued a comment on the new information about the case.

Surveillance video released by the Lincolnton Police Department Monday afternoon shows the black SUV driving through the parking lot at the Walmart at 306 North Generals Blvd. in Lincolnton before it turned in front of a parked white bus, as if to pull into a parking spot.

But the SUV didnt slow down. Instead, it accelerated into a median lined with trees where the workers appear to be. The driver heads off after plowing between the trees and through the men and does not appear to slow down, the video showed.

The video cuts off after showing people rushing out of the bus and across the parking lot to the victims.

Story continues

What we know about NC victims of SUV plowing into crowd at Walmart

The victims, according to police, were: Jose Calderon, 21, Luis Alcantar, 21, ; Zalapa Hermosillo, 27; Jorge Lopez, 33; Omar Cordova, 34; and Santiago Baltazar, 35. They were from El Salvador, Mexico and possible another country, Greene said.

The men worked at Knob Creek Orchard in Lawndale, authorities said.

All of the men were discharged from the Atrium Health-Lincoln hospital Sunday, Greene said. They had a number of injuries, including concussions and broken legs and ankles, said Candace Elmore, whose family owns the orchard.

They also are fortunate to be alive. At least one of the victims was hit by a shopping cart instead of the SUV when it drove through the group, Greene said.

A screenshot from security footage that shows six migrant workers struck by SUV in what appears to be an intentional assault with a SUV vehicle at North Carolina Walmart, police say.

Theyre all very lucky we didnt have anything more serious, he said.

The incident came nearly two months after a driver plowed through a group of migrants  killing eight  as they waited for a bus in Brownsville, Texas. The driver in that case, George Alvarez, 34, has been charged with eight counts of manslaughter and 10 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

More details about migrants hit by SUV

In Lincoln County, investigators did not say why they initially suspected the case appears to be an intentional assault with a vehicle.

The Lawndale orchard hired the workers in May through the federal governments H-2A program, which allows farmers to hire workers from other countries. The orchard sits about 20 miles west of Lincolnton and 50 miles northwest of Charlotte.

One of the victims, Lopez, told WSOC that he heard the rev of the engine and then felt the impact as the SUV hit him and five of his coworkers in the parking lot. The group has been in western Lincoln County picking blackberries.

They said they work six days a week, sometimes 11 hours per day with temperatures soaring into the 90s, WSOC reported. They have Sundays off and said they go to the Walmart to cash their checks, send money back home and buy groceries.

There were about 20 to 30 workers from the fruit farm around the Walmart at the time of the incident, Greene said, including some who were still on a bus from the orchard.

Please be on the lookout for this (SUV), the orchard shared in a Facebook post Sunday. These were our workers and this was an intentional act of violence against them.

The Lincolnton Police Department released a series of photos of the SUV suspected of being involved in the incident.

Earlier Monday, police said that a search was underway for an older white male who was driving an older model mid-size black Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) with a luggage rack.

Lincolnton police are asking for help in the case. Tips can be offered at 704-736-8900.

The injured workers injured may be eligible for visas or financial support, said Clermont Fraser Ripley, co-director of the North Carolina Justice Centers Workers Rights Project.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services set aside certain visas for victims of crime who suffer mental or physical abuse and are helpful to investigators or prosecutors. And Crime Victim Compensation Services reimburse medical expenses and lost wages for N.C. crime victims, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.

Hate crimes in NC, US

The Carolina Migrant Network called for a thorough investigation of the case, in a late Monday afternoon news release.

We are outraged by the hate crime that occurred in Lincolnton... said Stefania Arteaga, co-director of Carolina Migrant Network in the release. The event comes as no surprise as we have repeatedly seen these incidents at national and state level.

The network says it aims to bridge the gap between legal services and advocacy efforts for migrants.

According to data the network cited from the U.S. Department of Justice, hate crimes against Latinos are at an all-time high. In 2020, 79.6% of hate crimes in North Carolina were race-motivated.

We cannot ignore the impact of the national anti-immigrant narrative and its impact on local communities, Arteaga said. From the mass shooting of Latinos in El Paso, TX to the fear mongering narratives from presidential candidates, incidents like this are trickling down into violence against local communities.

Observer editor Adam Bell contributed to this report.

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Six migrant workers were injured Sunday afternoon after being hit by an SUV in a seemingly intentional attack in a Walmart parking lot in Lincolnton, N.C.

The incident occurred nearly four months after an individual purposefully ran an SUV into a crowd standing outside of a homeless shelter in a Texas border town, resulting in eight people dead and 10 injured.

The Lincolnton Police Department said the migrants were taken to a nearby hospital, where none of their injuries were deemed as life threatening. Police said the attack appeared to be an intentional assault.

The statement included images of the assailants car, taken from the video of the incident.

Police said they were unsure about the motivation behind the attack and called on the public to help track down the mid-sized black SUV with a luggage rack and its driver. The suspect is described as an older white male.

Maj. Brian R Greene, of the Lincolnton Police Department, told The New York Times that their interviews with the victims did not yield any clear connection they may have had with the driver.

The footage of the assault showed the car driving over a median into a grassy area where the migrants were located, according to Greene.

The group was standing in between parking spots in the Walmart in Lincolnton, a town that is approximately 35 miles outside Charlotte with less than 12,000 residents.

While police are actively trying to locate the driver, Greene told the Times that we dont have a lot at the moment.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Jonathan Landay and Mohammad Yunis Yarwar

WASHINGTON/KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. officials told Afghanistan's Taliban that Washington was open to technical talks on economic stability and discussions on combating narcotics trafficking, the U.S. State Department said on Monday following two days of talks in Qatar.

Taliban officials raised the lifting of travel and other restrictions on Taliban leaders and the return of Afghan central bank assets held abroad, the Kabul administration said.

No country has formally recognized the Taliban since the Islamist militant movement returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 when U.S.-led foreign forces withdrew in chaos after a 20-year conflict.

The U.S. side repeated concerns about "deteriorating" human rights and called anew on the Taliban to reverse bans on girls' secondary education and womens' employment and for the release of detained Americans, the State Department said in a statement.

It also sounded positive notes about improved financial data, including lower inflation, and reduced opium poppy cultivation under a 2022 ban. The U.S. side "voiced openness to continue dialogue on counternarcotics," said the statement. The U.S. side also was ready "for a technical dialogue regarding economic stabilization issues soon."

Most Taliban leaders require U.N. permission to travel abroad, and Afghanistan's banking sector has been crippled by sanctions since the takeover by the Taliban administration, which calls itself the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).

"IEA reiterated that it was crucial for confidence-building" that travel bans on Taliban leaders be lifted and central bank reserves unfrozen "so that Afghans can establish an economy unreliant on foreign aid," foreign ministry spokesman Qahar Balkhi said in an English-language statement.

About $7 billion in Afghan central bank funds were frozen in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York after the Taliban took power. Half of the funds now are in a Swiss-based Afghan Fund.

A U.S.-funded audit of the Afghan central bank failed to win Washington's backing for a return of assets from the trust fund.

(Reporting by Jonathan Landay and Mohammad Yunis Yarwar; Editing by and Grant McCool)
TOKYO, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks ended higher Monday as export-related shares were boosted by a weak yen, while 10-year Japanese government bond yields surged to a nine-year-high.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average, advanced 412.99 points, or 1.26 percent, from Friday to close at 33,172.22.

The broader Topix index finished 31.95 points, or 1.39 percent, higher at 2,322.56.

Following the Bank of Japan (BOJ)'s decision to modify its ultra-loose monetary policy last week, 10-year Japanese government bond yields surged to a nine-year high of 0.605 percent.

The BOJ announced that it would allow the long-term yield to exceed its previous 0.5 percent cap and potentially reach 1.0 percent.

Meanwhile, export-oriented issues gained due to a weaker yen.

On the prime market, gainers were led by precision instrument, transportation equipment, and iron and steel shares. 
Tarrant County commissioners will consider 3% raises for elected officials and salary increases for county employees at their Tuesday meeting.

The countys four commissioners make $201,895.20. County judge Tim OHare makes $211,895.32. If the 3% increases pass, commissioners will make $207,952.05 and OHare will make $218,252.17.

County employees wont see a blanket increase in their salaries like they did last year.

Employees who make below their new hire-in rate will have their salary increased to that rate, according to agenda documents. Hire-in rates vary and depend on employees position and job evaluation, a county spokesperson and a human resources official wrote in emails.

County employees who have been reclassified, meaning their job duties have changed to the point they qualify for a new salary grade, could receive a 5% salary increases or an increase to the hire-in rate, depending on which is greater.

Those who dont work in law enforcement may also see merit raises of up to 6%.

Last year, commissioners increased employee salaries by 4% and gave them 3% merit raises. The county also gave its full-time employees $4,900 retention payments through its American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Any salary increases passed by the commissioners will go into effect Oct. 1. Merit raises will take effect Jan. 1, 2024.
TCG union filed an unfair labor complaint against eBay and TCGPlayer

TCGPlayer employees have filed an unfair labor complaint against parent company eBay, The Verge reports. The company, which sells and authenticates trading cards was acquired by eBay in 2022. The complaint accuses eBay of ignoring the unions existence after workers organized in March.

The workers at TCGPlayer were represented by Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1123 and became the first group of eBay workers to win union representation in the U.S., a CWA news release said at the time. Simultaneously, the CWA also filed an unfair labor practice complaint against TCGPlayer for allegedly interfering with, restraining, and coercing employees engaging in protected and concerted union activity, the release said.

Read more

However, since TCGPlayer employees unionized, both the company and eBay have stalled workers from negotiating a fair contract and refused to acknowledge the union.

They have refused to give us our rights to the status quo. Our Weingarten rights. They refuse to recognize us as a union. They refuse to acknowledge the fact that [the union has] been certified even if we present them with certification, Briana Thomas, a member of the TCG Union-CWA and part of its organizing committee said in a news release, told The Verge.

So they are just continuing to make all these changes and refusing to work with us and refusing to follow their legal right to sit down or their legal responsibilities to sit down and bargain with us at the table, Thomas added.

TCGPlayer and eBay are continuing to push back against the unions efforts by reportedly working with Littler Mendelson, an anti-union law firm that says it works against unions and for managers. The companies have filed several appeals challenging the organizing.

A TCGPlayer spokesperson said in an email to Gizmodo that the company isnt aware that an Unfair Labor Practice charge was filed and said it has worked to give team members a voice and opportunity to actively shape their future . The spokesperson continued: We are firmly aware of and committed to meeting any and all obligations we may have under the National Labor Relations Act. We will continue to follow the procedures of the National Labor Relations Board.

Story continues

However, the CWA claimed TCGPlayer went so far as to illegally fire an employee only one business day after she voted for union representation. The employee, Iris St. Lucy, said in a CWA news release: They want to make an example of us, but this egregious action only reveals how terrified TCGPlayer and eBay are of our collective power.

The companies have been accused of forcing employees to attend anti-union meetings, monitoring anyone who wore CWA union paraphernalia, and interrogating workers.

Not only are eBay and TCGplayer violating labor law, the company is undermining its workers rights to union representation, fair wages, dignity on the job, and the ability to support their families, CWA secretary-treasurer Sara Steffens told Engadget. TCGplayer needs to stop these attacks and commit to bargaining a contract in good faith, she added.

More from Gizmodo

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Ten people were injured in an accident between a yacht and a smaller boat near Anna Maria Island on Sunday afternoon, according to West Manatee Fire Rescue officials.

The collision, which occurred just before 3 p.m. in the intercoastal waters off the northern end of Anna Maria Island, involved a 50-foot race-style yacht driven by one person, while the second boat was a 24-foot bowrider with 10 people on it, Fire Marshal Rodney Kwiatkowski told the Bradenton Herald.

All 10 of the smaller boats passengers, six of whom were minors, were taken to a local hospital. Nine had minor injuries while a 41-year-old woman suffered critical injuries, with multiple lacerations to the head and face, said Kwiatkowski.

Sundays crash is at least the second Manatee County boating collision in recent weeks. Earlier this month, a 14-year-old was killed and his brother was critically injured after a jet ski collided with their boat on the Manatee River.

West Manatee Fire Rescue received the call at 2:55 p.m. and arrived on the scene at 3:03 p.m., transporting the 10 patients to Kingfish Boat Ramp on Holmes Beach, where patients were received by Manatee County EMS and transported for treatment.

While they were clearing the scene, a boat carrying a shark attack victim, who had a tourniquet applied to the injury on his leg, also arrived at the boat ramp, Kwiatkowski said.

A man in his early 20s was bitten by an unknown species of shark in the water north of Anna Maria Islands Bean Point and was taken by Manatee County EMS to HCA Florida Blake Hospital. His condition is unknown at this time.

Manatee County Marine Rescue, Manatee County Sheriffs Office, Holmes Beach Police Department, North River Fire District and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission also responded to the scene of the boat crash.

It remains unclear at this time how the two boats collided, but the investigation is ongoing.
A Memphis Police officer walks on the scene of a shooting at Margolin Hebrew School on Monday, July 31, 2023 in Memphis, Tenn. ((Mark Weber/Daily Memphian via AP))

Tennessee police on Monday shot and apprehended a man who fired a gun at a Jewish school in Memphis, according to officials.

Police were called to the Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South around 12.20 local time, on reports that an armed man had attempted to enter the school, wasnt able to, then began firing shots from outside.

No one at the school was injured,

School officials described the man as driving a maroon Dodge Ram pickup truck.

Officers caught up with a vehicle matching that description and fired upon the driver when he exited the truck holding a gun, according to police.

The alleged gunman is in critical condition at a local hospital.

Memphis assistant police chief Don Crowe said on Monday its way too early to discern a potential motive or connection between the alleged shooter and the school, CNN reports.

Steve Cohen, a congressman whose district represents large portions of Memphis, told Fox 13 Memphis on Monday the shooter himself is Jewish and a former Margolin student.

"We have recently learned that the shooter at the Margolin Hebrew Academy was himself Jewish and a former student at the school. I am pleased the academy had effective security and that the police acted quickly to protect students," the congressman said in a statement.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.
The Station is a weekly newsletter dedicated to all things transportation. Sign up here  just click The Station  to receive the newsletter every weekend in your inbox. Subscribe for free.

Welcome back to The Station, your central hub for all past, present and future means of moving people and packages from Point A to Point B.

Hey frens! I'm back from vacation and who-wee  a lot happened this week. from automaker earnings and the Tesla range inflation drama to Waymo tapping the brakes on self-driving and Cruise expanding to yet another city.

One other note: You can find me on TechCrunch's Equity podcast, a place where I will show up on a semi-regular basis, including this episode that came out Friday!

Onward!

Want to reach out with a tip, comment or complaint? Email Kirsten at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com.

Reminder that you can drop us a note at tips@techcrunch.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, click here to contact us, which includes SecureDrop (instructions here) and various encrypted messaging apps.

Micromobbin'

the station scooter1a

Is there anything else to talk about besides Lyft mulling the sale of its e-bike division?

Lyft posted on its blog that it had received "strong inbound interest" in its bikes and scooters business.

The company stated:

As a leading bikeshare provider, supplying solutions to over 53 markets across 15 countries, its only logical for Lyft to listen to credible proposals and explore strategic partners and options in several forms to serve more riders in more cities. We expect this part of the business to continue to be a meaningful part of Lyfts offering now and into the future.

The announcement runs contrary to what newly appointed CEO David Risher has told reporter Rebecca Bellan in past interviews. Risher, who is known as a big supporter of e-bikes, did say the company planned to focus on its core ride-hailing business and become profitable, but it didn't seem like the two-wheeled share service was on the chopping block.

Story continues

The news prompted some here at TechCrunch to declare that shared micromobility was officially dead. I'm not so sure.

What do you think?

Deal of the week

money the station

Instead of a deal of the week, I'd like to call y'all's attention to the list of deals below. See a pattern emerging?

Yup, me too. Software and EV charging sure seems like a thing, eh?

Other deals that got my attention this week ...

Ampcontrol, an EV fleet management software startup, raised $10 million in Series A funding round led by the Westly Group. Other investors included AngelPad and Lorimer Ventures.

Aurora raised $820 million in a public and concurrent private offering (a deal we covered last week). As I mentioned in the Equity podcast, tucked inside the SEC filing detailing the deal we learn that Uber invested $1 million in the private placement and $74 million in the public follow-on. When taking into account the Class B shares, Uber has a 22% stake in Aurora.

EV.energy, the U.K.-based EV charging software startup, raised $33 million in a Series B round led by National Grid Partners with participation from new investors Aviva Ventures, WEX Venture Capital and InMotion Ventures, as well as existing investors Energy Impact Partners, Future Energy Ventures and ArcTern Ventures.

Flipturn, a startup that developed a software management system for EV truck fleets, raised $4.5 million in a seed round led by Accel.

Field, the battery energy storage systems developer launched by former Bulb Energy co-founder Amit Gudka, raised 200 million from DIF Capital Partners.

Voltpost, a New York City-based startup that developed hardware that converts lampposts into EV charging spots, raised $3.6 million in a seed round led by RWE Energy Transition Investments with participation from Twynam Funds Management, Exelon Foundation, Good News Ventures and Climate Capital.

VW Group made a pair of deals with Chinese automakers aimed at shoring up sales in China, including taking a 5% stake valued at about $700 million XPeng as part of a deal to jointly develop and produce two mid-sized EVs for China. In a separate agreement, Audi expanded a partnership with SAIC. Reporter Rita Liao provides insight on what this deal could mean for future alliances between China and the West.

Notable reads and other tidbits

Autonomous vehicles

Cruise self-driving vehicles arrived in Nashville this week for testing; a robotaxi service is expected to follow. Cruise will also begin testing in multiple new cities as part of its aggressive commercial ramp, according to the company. If the companys careers page provides any hints, it seems Atlanta is one of them.

Want evidence that Cruise is accelerating? One year ago, Cruise only operated in San Francisco. Cruise has since expanded to Austin, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix and, most recently, Miami.

Rafaela Vasquez, the safety driver who was behind the wheel of an Uber ATG self-driving vehicle when it struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe in 2018, pleaded guilty to endangerment. Vasquez was sentenced to three years of supervised probation.

Waymo is tapping the brakes on self-driving trucks and shifting most of its capital, resources and talent to one commercial bet: ride-hailing. I won't call it a complete shutdown, as limited testing will continue, but the program as it once stood is over. It seems most people on the team have kept their jobs at Waymo, per sources. (However, it's still early; we'll see how it all shakes out once the program is wound down.)

Earnings

Ford and GM both posted earnings this week and there were some general themes; namely that business is good if you're selling gas and hybrid trucks and SUVs. The EV business? Well that's a bit of a money loser. Both companies raised profit guidance for the year and GM said it would cut costs another $1 billion as it focuses on earning more money.

Ford, which now breaks out earnings for three business units, is tweaking its EV plans. The big line item is that Ford expects its EV business to lose $4.5 billion in 2023  double what it previously forecast. And the company seems to be more bullish than ever on hybrids, which reminds me of Bill Ford's comments way back in 2016 about viewing hybrids as a transitional, or bridge technology. At the time, the sentiment was about consumer adoption. These days Ford is learning that hybrid technology applied to trucks is particularly attractive to buyers.

Electric vehicles, batteries & charging

Ample, a San Francisco-based startup, is bringing its modular EV battery swapping technology to Mitsubishi Fusos electric trucks this winter.

GM isn't going to kill off the Chevy Bolt EV after all. This is going to be a next-gen Bolt EV based on the new Ultium platform and battery design. I'm fascinated by this reversal because it happened so quickly (three months!). Will it still be assembled at the Orion plant? Reminder: Orion was supposed to be retooled for electric truck production once the Bolt went out of production at the end of 2023.

Tesla exaggerated the range estimates for its EVs for years, prompting owners to flood its service center over concerns that their vehicles needed service, according to a new detailed Reuters report. As I note in my own story, one of the nagging problems with range estimates is their variability, which allows some automakers to push the boundaries of the system. While the EPA does review and approve those estimates, it allows automakers to use one of two methods to reach those figures: use a standard formula that converts fuel economy results, or conduct additional tests to come up with their own range estimate. Tesla has always done the latter, which gives far better numbers.

Miscellaneous

Lacuna Technologies, a startup that sold software services to cities to help create and enforce transportation policies, has shut down, per a LinkedIn post from product lead Samuel Jackson (h/t to the source who pointed me to the post).

Disrupt!

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Attorney General Ken Paxton walks away without answering questions during a news conference May 26 at the Price Daniel State Office Building.

Suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's legal team filed requests to the Texas Senate on Monday to drop all but one impeachment charge levied against him before his trial is set to begin in September.

Paxton's lawyers filed two motions with the Senate  the body acting as an impeachment court after the Texas House by a 121-23 vote in May impeached him  arguing that 19 of 20 charges brought against Paxton are tied to accusations about conduct before Paxton's most recent election.

As a result, those charges should not be a part of the upcoming trial under a "prior-term doctrine" that excludes from consideration conduct that took place before the latest election, the lawyers argue in the separate filings.

"The allegations making up the Articles contain unsupported, vague and irrelevant assertions of non-impeachable conduct," says a motion requesting that evidence from before 2023 be excluded from the trial.

More: Texas Lt. Gov. Patrick, who'll oversee Paxton impeachment trial, gets $3M from pro-Paxton PAC

"Importantly, with one exception, the Articles are not based on any alleged conduct that occurred after the election of 2022, or after the Attorney General Paxton began his third term in January 2023."

The excepted charge comes under Article 8 of the impeachment inquiry, which claims Paxton "misused his official powers by concealing his wrongful acts in connection with whistleblower complaints made by employees whom Paxton had terminated."

The House's investigation into allegations of corruption by Paxton was spurred by a proposed settlement of a whistleblower case. Four former aides in the attorney general's office filed a whistleblower suit alleging that they were fired after reporting possible criminal conduct by Paxton to federal authorities. Paxton requested that lawmakers include the $3.3 million whistleblower settlement in the state's budget.

Story continues

The board lights up as state representatives vote on the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton at the Capitol on May 27. The House voted 121-23 in favor of impeaching, with two present but not voting and three absent.

House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, in rejecting the request, said at the time that it wasn't a good use of taxpayer money. He then quietly launched the investigation.

Phelan, who rarely votes on House matters, announced his support by voting for Paxton's impeachment in May.

In its Monday filing, Paxton's legal team acknowledged that actions alleged under article Article 8 were post-election but said the charge "fails for separate reasons to be addressed elsewhere."

Paxton's team went on to say that the impeachment court, led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, has the discretion to dismiss the impeachment articles before the trial. Any motion to dismiss an article would require a two-thirds vote of the 30 senators who will serve as jurors in the case.

Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, talking to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in June, will not vote in her husband's impeachment trial.

Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, will not participate in deliberations or vote in her husband's impeachment trial.

Two weeks ago, Patrick issued a gag order applicable to all senators, attorneys involved in the case, staffers and all members of the House.

The gag order came after Paxton's lawyers expressed frustration that the House managers prosecuting the case in the Senate had been slow to turn over evidence. In response, Patrick reiterated a command that evidence be shared.

More: Ken Paxton wants to disqualify three senators from his impeachment trial. Here's why.

Shortly thereafter, several U-Haul vans were seen parked outside the attorney general's office building near the Capitol grounds.

Paxton's team said in the motion to exclude evidence dating to before 2023 that the evidence it has received is "baseless," citing the "more than 50 boxes of documents" received from House managers.

"The evidence provided by the House Managers is flimsy at best and insulting at worst," the motion says.

All pretrial motions are expected to be adjudicated on the trial's first day, which is scheduled for Sept. 5 with a 9 a.m. start.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas impeachment: Paxton asks Senate to drop 19 charges against him
Attorneys for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) are seeking for all but one of the 20 articles of impeachment against him to be dismissed to preserve the peoples will, they say.

In a Monday filing, Paxtons lawyers asked if 19 of the articles could be dismissed, arguing they took place before Paxtons most recent term, which began in January, and thus go against Texass prior-term doctrine, a rule that states officials cannot be removed from office for an act they committed before they were elected.

Paxtons attorneys also filed a motion to exclude evidence of any alleged conduct that occurred prior to the start of his term in January.

They said Texas voters should instead decide whether to remove Paxton at the polls, noting voters were subject to tens of millions of dollars in broadcast advertisements, dozens of newspaper articles, and countless speeches or appearances accusing Attorney General Paxton of the alleged misconduct, but still reelected him last year.

Paxtons impeachment trial before the Texas Senate is scheduled to begin in September. He is set to be tried on 20 counts of misconduct, including allegations of bribery, abuse of power and retaliation against whistleblowers. The charges are centered on Paxtons dealings with friend and political donor Nate Paul, an Austin real estate investor.

The lawyers did not request Article 8 of the impeachment be removed, which accuses Paxton of misusing his official powers by concealing his wrongful acts in connection with the whistleblower complaints. Paxton agreed to a $3.3 million settlement with four of his former senior deputies, who said they were fired after reporting Paxtons alleged abuse of power to federal authorities.

The FBI has investigated Paxton for years after multiple senior aides accused the embattled attorney general of using his office to help Paul, who was being investigated for fraud. Paxton allegedly interfered in litigation for Pauls benefit, gave him access to nonpublic information while Paul allegedly helped pay for a renovation at Paxtons home and gave a job to a woman with whom Paxton was having an affair, according to the impeachment documents.

Paul was arrested by the FBI in early June, shortly after the Texas House of Representatives voted 121-23 to impeach the attorney general. A state House investigative committee said it determined Paxton used, misused, or failed to use his official powers in a manner calculated to subvert the lawful operation of the government.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp attends the special meeting of the Board of Regents on Sunday, July 30, 2023, at the Texas A&M campus in College Station. Credit: Meredith Seaver for The Texas Tribune

The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents voted unanimously Sunday evening to make acting President Mark A. Welsh III the interim-president of its flagship university, 10 days after former Texas A&M University President M. Katherine Banks resigned.

Mark A. Welsh III has been named interim president of Texas A&M University. Credit: Texas A&M website

Banks, who had served as president for two years, resigned amid fallout from the bungled hiring of Kathleen McElroy, a Black journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin, to revive A&Ms journalism program.

After Banks resigned on July 20, Chancellor John Sharp appointed Welsh, dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service, as acting president until regents could pick an interim. The board plans to conduct a national search for a new president.

I cannot think of a better person than Mark Welsh to lead Texas A&M right now, Sharp said in a press release. He has experience running a large organization, but he also is widely respected and universally well-liked in the Aggie community. General Welsh has earned a reputation as a smart, thoughtful and collaborative leader. We are lucky to have him in the presidents office.

The board also authorized the university lawyers to negotiate a potential settlement with McElroy over the failed hiring and directed the system office of the general counsel to conduct a complete and thorough investigation into what happened, pledging to release the results of the investigation to the public.

McElroy has not filed a lawsuit against the university.

Regents met for more than three hours in executive session, which is closed to the public, before voting without public discussion of either agenda item. Regent Mike Hernandez was absent.

Texas A&M celebrated the hiring of McElroy in June, organizing a signing ceremony on campus to celebrate a new chapter for the schools journalism department. McElroy, flanked by maroon and white balloons, signed an offer letter for a tenured faculty position.

But in the weeks after the signing ceremony, administrators started to renegotiate amid conservative backlash to her hiring. University officials presented her with multiple new offers that provided less job security. In early July, McElroy was offered a one-year contract teaching position and a three-year appointment as the director of the journalism program, though it noted that she could be fired at any time, she said.

Story continues

The dean involved in hiring her told her that her appointment had been caught up in hysteria over diversity initiatives in Texas. Conservative groups questioned McElroy's previous employment at The New York Times and her support for diversity in newsrooms after her hiring was announced. The Rudder Association, which touts itself as a group of Aggies defending the core values of A&M, said it complained to university administration about the hire. The website Texas Scorecard, whose publisher is hardline conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan, wrote an article calling her a "diversity' advocate."

Kathleen McElroy, a professor of journalism at the University of Texas-Austin, walked away from a Texas A&M University job offer after the university watered down the agreement. Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune

McElroy ultimately turned down the watered down offer and will remain at UT-Austin.

The revelation of how Texas A&M handled McElroys hiring behind the scenes sparked outcry from faculty who were surprised and angry by the allegations of outside influence in university hiring. That concern grew last week when the Tribune published another story detailing a second instance in which school officials made employment decisions in apparent response to political pressure. University officials suspended and investigated a professor who was accused of criticizing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in a lecture. She was cleared of wrongdoing.

In the days after news broke that McElroy was not moving to College Station, Banks told members of the Faculty Senate that she did not approve changes to an offer letter that led a prospective journalism professor to walk away from negotiations amid conservative backlash to her hiring.

But after the Faculty Senate meeting, Hart Blanton, the head of the universitys department of communications and journalism, released a statement alleging that Banks misled faculty members about her involvement in the decision to change McElroys job offer. Banks repeatedly told professors that she did not approve any changes to McElroys offer letter.

To the contrary, President Banks injected herself into the process atypically and early on, Blanton said.

He also said he was shocked to see his signature was used in the revised versions of McElroys job offer without his consent. He said he shared materials related to the incident with the universitys legal staff on Thursday.

That evening, Banks sent a resignation letter to Sharp, effective immediately.

The negative press is a distraction from the wonderful work being done here, she said.

On Wednesday, Welsh sent out a letter to the Aggie community, acknowledging that the university had been in the news, and not for the reasons we would like.

But he said these events should not define Texas A&M as an institution.

They should, however, remind us that living up to our core values is an ongoing commitment, as even esteemed institutions like ours must consistently confront and resolve challenges to uphold our status as a great university, he said.

Meredith Seaver contributed to this story.

Disclosure: Texas A&M University, New York Times, Texas A&M University System and University of Texas at Austin have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

More than 200 speakers are now confirmed for the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival in downtown Austin from Sept. 21-23. Each year, the Festival engages, challenges and surprises attendees with unexpected talent mashups, must-see interviews and more, curated by the award-winning journalists at The Texas Tribune. See the lineup and get tickets today.
Police officers in Texas were hailed as heroes after, authorities say, they pulled an unconscious man from a car that crashed into a pole and caught fire over the weekend.

Footage from the officers dashcam and bodycam shows flames erupting from the engine compartment of the vehicle, after an accident that the White Settlement Police Department said took place around 2:40 a.m. Saturday along South Cherry Lane near I-30.

Responding officers learned that there were two occupants inside the vehicle when the car struck the utility pole. The driver was able to escape, though the male passenger in the front seat remained unconscious inside the burning car.

Officers raced to pull the man out of the car and carry him to safety away from the growing fire.

BODYCAM FOOTAGE SHOWS GEORGIA DEPUTY RESCUE DRIVER TRAPPED IN BURNING VEHICLE

Officers responded to a call of an unconscious man inside a burning car on Saturday in White Settlement, Texas.

"I want to highlight the heroic actions by the brave police officers who serve our community," said Chief of Police Christopher Cook. "As you can see from the video, had it not been for the quick and decisive actions by police, this crash could have had a very different outcome."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

TEXAS DAD SMASHES WINDSHIELD TO RESCUE CRYING BABY FROM CAR IN THE SEARING SUMMER HEAT

Police pulled the unconscious man to safety as the fire began to grow in the car's engine compartment.

Both the driver and passenger were treated at a local hospital and were expected to survive.

The man was a passenger inside the car. The driver had escaped safely before officers arrived.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

While the cause of the crash remains under investigation, authorities said officers have not ruled out speed being a factor that led to the driver losing control of the car and crashing.
(Reuters) -Demand for power in Texas hit a record high for a sixth time this summer on Monday as homes and business kept air conditioners cranked up to escape a lingering heat wave.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the grid for more than 26 million customers representing about 90% of the state's power load, said it has enough resources available to meet soaring demand.

Analysts said wind and solar power have helped ERCOT meet record-breaking demand this summer while maintaining reliability and keeping prices relatively low.

Temperatures in Houston, Texas' biggest city, rose as high as 100.4 F (38 degrees Celsius) on Monday, according to AccuWeather.

Texas residents have worried about extreme weather since a deadly storm in February 2021 left millions without power, water and heat for days as ERCOT struggled to prevent a grid collapse.

After the state hit 11 record highs for demand last summer, ERCOT said usage hit a preliminary 83047 megawatts (MW) on Monday, which topped the current all-time high of 82,592 MW on July 18.

Monday's peak is about 2,744 MW over last years demand record of 80,148 MW set in July 2022, equivalent to the amount of power generated by about three nuclear power reactors.

Monday's demand record will likely be broken again on Tuesday with ERCOT forecasting usage will reach 84,332 MW.

One megawatt can power around 1,000 U.S. homes on a typical day, but only about 200 homes on a hot summer day in Texas.

Next-day, or spot, prices at the ERCOT North Hub, which includes Dallas, jumped to a two-week high of $250 per megawatt hour for Monday. That compares with an average of $42 so far this year, $78 in 2022 and a five-year (2018-2022) average of $66.

Real-time power prices hit nearly $400 briefly at 17:00 CT on Monday.

(Reporting by Scott DiSavino and Ashitha Shivaprasad; Editing by Leslie Adler and Aurora Ellis)
KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's population is expected to grow 2.1 pct in 2023, led by international migration, official data showed Monday.

The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that the total population of Malaysia in 2023 is estimated at 33.4 million as compared to 32.7 million in 2022.

According to the DOSM, the increase in population growth rate is due to the higher number of non-citizens which is likely to increase from 2.5 million in 2022 to 3 million in 2023.

The citizens population is also projected to increase from 30.2 million in 2022 to 30.4 million in 2023 with a marginal growth of 0.7 percent.

The composition of the citizen population, however, is seen to decrease from 92.4 percent in 2022 to 91.1 percent in 2023.

This is attributed to the increase in the composition of the non-citizen population from 7.6 percent to 8.9 percent during the same period.

The increase is in line with the re-opening of national borders from April 1, 2022 and the implementation of the Employment Recalibration Program 2.0 (which legalizes foreign workers in Malaysia) from January 2023.

According to the DOSM, males will outnumber females in 2023 with 17.5 million and 15.9 million, respectively.

The sex ratio for the overall population is 110 males for every 100 females.

The composition of the population aged 15-64 years (working age) is projected to increase from 69.6 percent in 2022 to 70.0 percent in 2023.

The percentage of the population aged 65 years and over (old age) is expected to increase from 7.2 percent to 7.4 percent for the same period.

Meanwhile, the composition of population aged 0-14 years (young age) in 2023 is forecast to decrease to 22.6 percent as compared to 23.2 percent in 2022.

The median age of Malaysia's population reached 30.7 years in 2023, up from 30.4 years in the previous year. 
This article was originally published in The Texas Tribune.

The Brazosport Independent School District is always in need of more teachers  and for a long time, it wasnt able to find enough.

Located about 60 miles south of Houston, the 11,500-student district doesnt have a big college of education nearby to churn out new teachers. Its hard to compete with larger districts in the region for talent or convince educators to move to the small town of Clute, where Brazosport ISD is based. Over time, classroom sizes grew as vacancies stayed open.

Thats why the district created its own pipeline. Last August, it launched a unique teacher apprenticeship program that allows aspiring teachers to earn a bachelors degree and teacher certification  at no cost. In return, the teachers have to work in the district for at least three years. The plan includes a paid residency program in which apprentices are paired with a teacher mentor and work with them in a classroom for a full school year.

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When the first bell rings for Brazosport ISD next [school] year for these folks, theyre going to be considered a rookie, but theyre not a rookie. We say its not Day 1. Its actually Day 181 for our teacher residents, said Becky Hampton, a senior education specialist working with the district.

Public education advocates are following the program with high hopes, believing it could become a blueprint for other Texas districts as they look for ways to stem the states critical teacher shortage.

Kristi Kirschner, chief human resource officer at Brazosport ISD, said the program started with 67 apprentices ranging from high school students with less than 30 college hours to participants with bachelors degrees.

Related

One Florida Principals Solution to Teacher Shortages? Recruiting His Students

Twenty-five teachers graduated from the program in time for the upcoming school year. Without these homegrown teachers, the district would have had to hire close to 60 teachers  now it needs to find just 35 more.

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Its something we smile about often, Hampton said.

About 42% of those participating in the program this past school year were already district employees like warehouse workers or teacher aides. Apprentices are paid anywhere between $19,000 to $30,000 a year  depending on how far along they are in the program  and have their college tuition and fees paid for as a result of a partnership with Brazosport College and Inspire Texas, a teacher certification program. All of the participants are from the area.

The district loses nearly 130 teachers at the end of every school year and has a hard time staffing bilingual and special education teachers. But with this apprenticeship program, Kirschner said the district can train new teachers to fill roles that have been historically hard to staff.

There are several other residency programs across the state, but most are partnerships between districts and universities in which students work in a classroom only during their last semester or year of college. What makes the Brazosport ISD program unique is that high school students can start the process of becoming teachers while still in school and, in some cases, it can be much more affordable than earning a four-year college degree.

Texas teacher shortage crisis

Teacher preparation has been in the spotlight since last year as Texas looks for better ways to recruit and retain educators.

Texas has struggled to retain teachers year after year, and it got worse after the pandemic. Health and safety were top concerns for teachers, and their salaries largely stagnated while basic necessities got more expensive. More kids are in each school classroom as a result; in some cases, children are spending days without a teacher.

A task force formed last year by Gov. Greg Abbott to study the root causes of the states teacher shortage recommended that the state fund programs like the one Brazosport ISD is running.

Research shows that teacher residency models increase teacher retention, effectively place teachers in hard-to-staff areas, and positively impact student outcomes, the task force report said.

Scarborough said he would not have become a teacher if it werent for the free tuition and support that Brazosport ISDs program offered. (Briana Vargas/The Texas Tribune)

According to the National Center for Teacher Residencies, 86% of teachers who go through such programs are still teaching in the same school after three years of employment.

These residency programs help teachers stay in the profession longer because participants are usually paired with a mentor to guide them and, in most cases, they gain a deeper understanding of what challenges teachers face and how to overcome them, according to the Learning Policy Institute. The schools that employ them also have a chance to prepare them directly, the institute said.

Residencies are a promising long-term solution to meeting district hiring needs, allowing districts to play a direct role in training their future workforce, a Learning Policy Institute report says.

A failed legislative effort

During the Texas Legislatures regular session this year, lawmakers tried passing a teacher preparation bill that wouldve given school districts funds to establish programs like Brazosport ISDs. Most notably, House Bill 11, authored by Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, would have partially funded residency programs and offered teachers a slew of other incentives like free pre-K for their own children. Senate Bill 9, authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, would have also funded similar programs.

But both bills failed after political fallouts between the Texas House and Senate. SB 9 failed after House Democrats stuffed their version of the bill with some of their priorities, like better pay for bus drivers and increases to school funding. HB 11 never made it out of a Senate committee.

Its unfortunate that many of the best approaches to address record teacher vacancies, including paid residency pathways, got stuck in the red zone at the end of the regular legislative session, said Jonathan Feinstein, state director for Texas at The Education Trust.

These strategic investments have support in both chambers and are urgently needed to prepare and keep highly qualified teachers in our classrooms.

To pay for its apprenticeship program, Brazosport ISD freed up money in its budget, got financial help from the nearby community college and applied for grants to make up the rest. But finding the resources to establish such a program might not be as easy for other school districts across the state that are looking to fix their own teaching shortage woes.

With Abbott expected to announce a special session on education soon, educators and school administrators are hopeful that lawmakers will not only raise teacher wages but also provide funding to establish similar residency programs.

Dutton said he plans to file a bill similar to HB 11 and will name it after Tamoria Jones, a staffer in his office who recently died and had a fiery passion for education.

Creighton also plans to include language from his earlier teacher preparation bill into whatever public education package the Senate ends up proposing.

Kirschner said lawmakers should incentivize districts to start their own residency programs.

We cant solve the [states teacher shortage] here in Brazosport ISD, she said. But we do think that we have a really great solution that a lot of school districts are wanting to understand and going how can they do this? 

Dreams and second chances

For some participants of Brazosport ISDs program, the apprenticeship has provided them with a chance to pursue a long-held dream.

Jennifer Martinez said going back to college wasnt in her plans until she heard about Brazosport ISDs program. She had been a teaching assistant at the district for the last five years but never thought shed one day be leading the classroom.

Martinez teared up when talking about the opportunity the district gave her. Shell be a full-time teacher in two years  and have more financial flexibility because of it.

Before becoming a teacher apprentice at Brazosport ISD, Jennifer Martinez had been a teaching assistant at the district for five years. (Briana Vargas/The Texas Tribune)

She knows being a teacher in Texas might mean being underpaid  and in some cases, underappreciated  but that didnt stop her from pursuing a place in the profession. For her, knowing she can have an impact on kids makes up for everything else.

The kids love being there with you and make you feel like youre worth a million bucks, Martinez said.

Cody Scarborough, another aspiring teacher, has just finished his yearlong residency and will lead his own classroom in the upcoming school year. He said he would not have become a teacher if it werent for the free tuition and support that Brazosport ISDs program offered. Scarborough said hes been able to learn about different methods of teaching from his mentor and fellow cohort members.

In Texas, apprenticeship programs are growing and people are seeing whats happening at other school districts and trying to learn and grow, Scarborough said. This is the future.

Alexis Burse, an apprentice who still has a year left, was a stay-at-home mom who could not afford to go back to college for a teaching degree. She said the program gave her a second chance at becoming a teacher.

I feel like Im almost to the point where I feel secure, where I can just kind of just breathe and know I will always have a good career, she said. Teachers are going nowhere.

Teacher apprentice Alexis Burse said the program gave her a second chance at becoming a teacher. (Briana Vargas/The Texas Tribune)

Disclosure: Brazosport College and Education Trust have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribunes journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune, a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
The Pensacola Police Department is searching for at least one suspect after three people were shot at Northwoods apartments Saturday afternoon.

According to a news release, PPD officers responded to a local hospital around 4:50 p.m. after one of the victims drove to the hospital after being shot at the Olive Road apartment complex.

Officers then arrived at Northwoods apartments where they found "evidence of gunfire."

Creighton shooting: PPD: Pensacola man arrested in Georgia for fatal shooting on Creighton Road

In case you missed it: Mother who crushed child's liver found not guilty of manslaughter, guilty of child abuse

All three victims are being treated, but their conditions are unknown, according to the release.

PPD spokesperson Mike Wood told the News Journal Monday that investigators are still searching for a suspect in the case and are "still looking into it."

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola police investigate three shot at Northwoods apartments
Sharmahd was captured in late July 2020 by the Iranian authorities (Koosha MAHSHID FALAHI)

Frustration as other foreign nationals were set free. Occasional phone calls, months apart. And the constant fear that the executioner's noose could be tightened any day.

The family of Jamshid Sharmahd have endured three years of torment as each day they await a breakthrough, while always fearing the worst, for the German citizen sentenced to death in Iran.

Sharmahd was abducted three years ago in late July 2020 by the Iranian authorities and sentenced earlier this year to be hanged for "corruption on earth". Iran's Supreme Court in April confirmed the death penalty.

Activists regard him as one of more than a dozen foreign passport holders held by Iran as hostages in a bid to extract concessions from the West.

His family says that Tehran-born Sharmahd, 68, a software developer who immigrated to Germany in the 1980s but then moved to live in the United States, was kidnapped by Iranian security services in the United Arab Emirates in July 2020, spirited over the border into Oman and then taken to Iran for trial.

Iran has never confirmed how Sharmahd was detained, saying only he was seized in a "complex operation".

Amnesty International has said he was subjected to "enforced disappearance" followed by a "sham trial" and torture in detention. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has classified his detention as arbitrary and confirmed the family's details on his abduction.

His family, who say he only holds a German passport, are urging stronger action from the German and other Western governments to earn his release.

Berlin expelled two Iranian diplomats in response to the death sentence, which it called "unacceptable".

Around 20 people gathered outside the foreign ministry in Berlin on Monday to mark three years since Iran announced Sharmahd's capture, an AFP correspondent said.

The demonstrators were holding signs saying "Free Jamshid" and "Stop executions".

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- 'Was this goodbye?' -

"There is no pressure. A German citizen was kidnapped and nothing happened," his daughter Gazelle Sharmahd, who lives in the United States, told AFP.

"It's a game - they push and you push. The push for them is to hang my dad," she said.

Sharmahd earlier in July was allowed to call his wife, also based in the US, for the first time in five months. He was also permitted to speak to Gazelle Sharmahd, the first time she had spoken to her father in two years.

But Gazelle Sharmahd said the one-hour conversation, in which he sounded tired, raised more questions than answers.

"Phone calls are great but also a reason for concern," she said. "They always have a purpose. It could be either a window of opportunity to save his life or a goodbye call."

"Was this to make us shut up before they execute him? Was this a goodbye?" she said.

The Mizan Online news agency of Iran's judiciary reported in February that a Tehran court sentenced Sharmahd "on the charge of corruption on earth through planning and directing terrorist acts" including a 2008 bombing in Shiraz which killed 14 people.

His family ridicule these accusations, saying a "long series of baseless charges" were laid against him in addition to the mosque bombing.

In Berlin, a German foreign ministry spokesman told AFP that the government was using "all channels" to ensure Sharmahd was not executed, while acknowledging his family was "going through something unimaginable and unbearable".

- 'How inhuman' -

Concern over the risk to Sharmahd's life has intensified since Iran in May executed the Iranian-Swedish dissident Habib Chaab.

He was also convicted of "corruption on earth". Mizan said Chaab led the "Harakat al-Nidal terrorist group" which Iran blames for attacks in Khuzestan province.

According to Amnesty, Chaab was abducted in Turkey in October 2020 to face trial in Iran.

Another Iranian-Swedish citizen, the academic Ahmadreza Djalali, is also at risk of being hanged after a conviction for "corruption on earth." He was sentenced to death in 2017 based on accusations of spying for Israel that his family vehemently rejects.

Gazelle Sharmahd said she was thrilled for the family of Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele who was freed by Iran in a deal that saw the release of Asadollah Assadi, an Iranian diplomat convicted on terrorism charges over a plot to bomb an opposition meeting outside Paris.

Two Austrians and a Dane were days later freed by Iran in a related move under a deal Oman helped broker.

But Gazelle Sharmahd said the release of the four men in apparent exchange for Assadi had also left a bitter taste.

"It should have been everybody," she said, denouncing a lack of Europe-wide coordination.

"How inhuman is it to leave people behind who have a death sentence? Belgium played the biggest card that Europe had," she said.

sjw/dlc/ami
Donald Trump Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Donald Trump's attorneys were told by the Department of Justice last week that he may soon be indicted and arrested for alleged crimes connected to the Jan. 6 coup attempt. That would make the third time that Trump is indicted and arrested for allegedly committing crimes this year. The ex-president also faces an indictment in Georgia for additional alleged crimes connected to the events of Jan. 6 and the plot against American democracy. Also on Thursday, special counsel Jack Smith and his investigators filed additional charges against Trump that include obstructing justice in connection with the Mar-A-Lago stolen classified documents case.

If Trump is found guilty of committing all of these alleged crimes, he may spend the rest of his life in prison.

How is Donald Trump going to respond? Predictably. He will threaten and encourage, through direct means as well as stochastic terrorism and other veiled commands, acts of violence, chaos, mayhem and murder. To that point, in response to his impending indictment and arrest for the crimes of Jan. 6, Trump is behaving like an unrepentant reprobate, as he rants and throws a fit on his Truth Social disinformation platform. Trump's verbal explosions there these last few days include statements such as:

"We'll have fun on the stand with all of these people that say the Presidential Election wasn't Rigged and Stollen. THE TRIAL OF THE CENTURY!!!" "2024 ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!" "PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT!!!" "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!" "They ought to throw Deranged Jack Smith and his Thug Prosecutors in jail, with Meritless Garland and Trump Hating Lisa Monaco. They have totally Weaponized the Department of Injustice. Whatever happened to the Crooked Joe Biden Boxes Case? Why was Hillary Clinton allowed to delete 33,000 emails, many of them Classified, AFTER getting a Subpoena from Congress? Why was Bill Clinton allowed to take tapes out of the W.H. in his socks? Why has no other President ever been charged? ELECTION FRAUD!" "How can Deranged Jack Smith bring a case on January 6th., as ridiculous as it is anyway, when I have already won such a case, and been fully acquitted, in the U.S. Senate? In other words, I was Impeached on this, and WON!!! ELECTION INTERFERENCE & PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT, all rolled up as one. We are truly a Nation In Decline!" "At the direction of Crooked Joe Biden and his Weaponized DOJ, Deranged Jack Smith is attempting to destroy the lives of two fine people who have worked for me (and have done a great job!) for a long time. They are being persecuted with one goal, to "Get Trump." This is textbook Third World intimidation by rabid, lawless prosecutors. These same craven tactics were used, and failed, during the Russia, Russia, Russia Witch Hunt and other Hoaxes. We will not let Radical Lunatics destroy our Country!"

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To reiterate: There is no evidence of real election interference against Trump and the Republican Party. Trump is again trafficking in the Big Lie, where any such "election interference" or related skullduggery in the 2020 election was actually committed by Donald Trump and his Republican Party and other agents to suppress, nullify, and outright rig and steal votes to keep him in power against the will of the American people.

Yet at a rally held in Eerie, Pennsylvania on Saturday, Trump continued with his fascist-authoritarian Big Lie verbal fusillades and other mouth noises against reality, the truth, and human decency as he continued to proclaim that he is being "persecuted" by some vast conspiracy because he is a champion of the MAGA movement and "real Americans":

They waited two and a half, almost three years, so that they could bring this up right in the middle of my presidential election because it's election interference. They're crooked people...You know they're not indicting me; they're indicting you. I just happen to be standing in their way that's all it is....Until the FBI, DOJ, and IRS hand over every scrap of paper they have on the Biden Crime Families corrupt businesses dealings. We have to know, and the public deserves to know. Fake news is all you get. They refuse to discuss the Biden crime family, but enjoy covering false indictments of Donald Trump, who has done nothing wrong

During his speech, Trump made an exceptionally vulgar attack on President Joe Biden, calling him "a dumb son of a bitch":

We have somebody that's not at the top of his game, never was at the top of a game. Never was...We have a guy who's a dumb son of a b***h to allow this to happen Every dollar spent attacking me by Republicans is $1 given straight to the Biden campaign if he makes it.

The crowd of MAGA faithful in Eerie was in ecstasy.

Donald Trump is not going to change or otherwise modify or correct his behavior. He is 77 years old; violence is core and central to his personhood, identity, and way of being in the world. As mental health professionals continue to warn, Trump has shown himself to be a sociopath if not a psychopath. His collective behavior such as the coup attempt on Jan. 6, democide in response to the COVID pandemic, being impeached twice, the multiple indictments and arrests, embrace of neofascism, massive corruption, malignant narcissism and utter disregard for reality and facts, political cultism, and other pathological behavior by an American president is unprecedented in the country's history.

Thus, the problem and growing peril for the nation: what happens when the unprecedented keeps repeating itself and by doing so becomes normalized and no longer "shocking" or "surprising"?

In continuing with his many and varied incitements to violence and civil disorder, last Monday Trump shared an image on his Truth Social disinformation platform with the caption, "'Nothing can stop what is coming." This is language associated with the antisemitic Qanon conspiracy cult and a threat of massive destruction and violence in the form of a "storm"  a bloody revolution and purge  against the "deep state" and other "enemies" of the movement and "White Christianity" and "real Americans." A large percentage of Republicans believe in some or all of the Qanon conspiracy-lie and its claims about how Democrats, liberals, progressives, "the left" and other elements of some global cabal-secret society control the world using superpowers they obtain from drinking the blood of children and other victims.

The mainstream news media, however, with several notable exceptions such as MSNBC, was mostly silent about Trump's renewed Qanon threats.

And not to be ignored by a public and news media that are afflicted with a very short attention span and what too often appears to be a form of organized forgetting and collective amnesia, several weeks ago Donald Trump shared what he believed to be the Washington DC home address of former president Barack Obama on his Truth Social disinformation platform. As Trump intended, one of his MAGA cult members, who was armed with two guns, a machete, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, attempted to gain access to Obama's home with the goal of assassinating him.

On his Truth Social disinformation platform, Trump shared audio of him saying that "If you f**k around with us, if you do something bad to us, we are going to do things to you that have never been done before."

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

The ex-president continues to harangue, insult, and generally make threats against Attorney General Merrick Garland, Special Counsel Jack Smith, and the other prosecutors and members of law enforcement who are attempting to hold him accountable  like any other person in the United States should be  under the law.

Trump has also threatened that if he were to go to prison for his alleged crimes that "I think it's a very dangerous thing to even talk about, because we do have a tremendously passionate group of voters, much more passion than they had in 2020 and much more passion than they had in 2016." So there is a move to keep the names of the jury members in Trump's impending criminal trials a secret because of concerns about their safety in the face of death threats and other acts of intimidation and violence.

Violence, malice, and menace are the animating energy for Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and his Hitlerian promise of a final battle and revenge against him and his MAGA movement's perceived enemies such as the Democrats, liberals, progressives, the news media, and any others who dare to oppose them and their plans to end multiracial pluralistic democracy. Trump's threats and plans are not hyperbole, bluster, or just "politics" and "polarization." These are real threats that should be responded to appropriately and with extreme haste.

On this, we should heed journalist Masha Gessen's wisdom:

Rule #1: Believe the autocrat. He means what he says. Whenever you find yourself thinking, or hear others claiming, that he is exaggerating, that is our innate tendency to reach for a rationalization. This will happen often: Humans seem to have evolved to practice denial when confronted publicly with the unacceptable.

National security, law enforcement, and other experts are continuing to warn that right-wing extremism is 1) the greatest threat to the country's domestic safety and security and 2) that there are many millions of Trump's followers who believe that President Biden and the Democrats are usurpers, otherwise illegitimate, and who "stole" the White House from Trump and the MAGA movement.

What should be done to stop Donald Trump and his repeated incitements and commands to violence and mayhem?

In a recent interview with host Dean Obeidallah on SiriusXM, Glenn Kirschner, who is a former federal prosecutor, explained why Donald Trump should be taken into custody immediately:

Donald Trump should be detained pending trial.And I say that not from my own personal preference or animosity, I have for the man....I say it because the law provides that when there is clear and convincing evidence that a defendant pending trial presents a danger to the community he is supposed to be detained, or she is supposed to be detained pending trial, that's the law.Everyone has ignored that when it comes to Donald Trump.

Psychiatrist Dr. Justin Frank, who is the author of the book "Trump on the Couch", agrees with Kirschner. In a recent conversation here at Salon, Dr. Frank told me that:

He gives permission to unstable people to carry out their grievances at a murderous level. This is not just because violent people love Trump, but because they are following Trump's stated practice of striking back "ten times as hard" with any means available when he feels wronged. I'm beginning to think a warning, or even a gag order is not sufficient. He needs to be secured where nobody can hear his genuinely dangerous outpourings. And it needs to be now.

As I continue with my efforts to warn the American people about how dangerous Donald Trump and his neofascist movement continues to be, there are many moments when I feel like I am in a documentary film or TV series that is being directed by Joshua Oppenheimer or Errol Morris. I imagine myself sitting across from a detective, discussing a mass murderer, a cannibalistic serial killer, mad bomber or terrorist, or some other evildoer. I slowly read off the long list of arrests and criminal incidents and other warnings  the proof  of what this man was doing in the years and decades before he was finally arrested and put in prison. The detective, nervous, looks away sheepishly, his eyes searching for some type of explanation or deflection. He mutters, "We couldn't have imagined, it was all so shocking. Who could have ever guessed such a thing was happening? I press back, "The evidence was right in front of you. The police could have stopped him years ago and his victims would still be alive." I say nothing; Silence is an interviewer's friend. The camera focuses back in on the detective's face and lingers on it for a few seconds. He has nothing else to say. The screen then fades to black as he takes off the mic, gets up from the chair, and then exits the room.

That is America in the Age of Trump.

Will there be an epilogue and some satisfying closure from Donald Trump's criminal trials? That is the stuff of Hollywood movies. The Trumpocene is real life.

Read more

about the Trumpocene
The U.K. government's plans to declare the Wagner Group a terrorist organization has been impacted by the fallout from Yevgeny Prigozhin's brief armed rebellion on June 24, the Times reported on July 30.

Following the uprising, Putin claimed that the private military company had been fully financed by the state and that Wagner fighters will have the option to sign a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry.

The U.K. now faces the issue that blacklisting Wagner would amount to an official arm of the Russian government having the same status as groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

This move would "involve a range of diplomatic and legal complications," reported the Times, citing government sources.

According to the Times, if the government does deem the group a terrorist organization, it would be "a criminal offense to belong to Wagner, attend its meetings, encourage support for it or carry its logo in public."

In May, the Times reported that the U.K. government had spent two months gathering legal evidence to blacklist the group. Senior ministers "are still determined" to find a way to continue this process, the article, published on July 30, said.

For years, the Kremlin had attempted to distance itself from the mercenary group, accused of committing war crimes in a number of countries worldwide.

However, Putin claimed on June 27 that Wagner had received over 86 billion rubles ($1 billion) from the state's budget between May 2022 and May 2023.

Russian state TV host Dmitriy Kiselev then alleged that the Kremlin had actually spent nearly $10 billion on funding the group, likely referring to the total sum of all federal contracts with Wagner-related companies.

The Guardian reported on July 1 that Putin's claims about the funding of Wagner could however make it easier to try the Russian dictator for war crimes.

On July 20, the U.K. announced a new wave of sanctions against 13 individuals and businesses connected to Wagner's activities in Mali, Central African Republic (CAR), and Sudan.

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Prigozhin and several key commanders had already been sanctioned by the U.K. for their participation in Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Read also: Wagner Group claims its halting recruitment indefinitely





Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Ariel Rose, a 23-month-old girl, was exposed to fentanyl at a Tennessee transitional housing facility two days after arriving there to live with her father in November, according to a recently filed lawsuit.

Ariel died on Nov. 11 after coming into contact with the powerful narcotic that was left out and easily accessible to an infant in the room of a tenant who was babysitting her at the Highroad Transitional Living Facility in Nashville, the lawsuit filed by Ariels grandfather on July 17 says.

The babysitter found Ariel unresponsive that day, according to an autopsy report by the Davidson County Medical Examiner.

Ariels cause of death was listed as fentanyl toxicity and was ruled an accident, the report shows. The medical examiner noted that drugs and drug paraphernalia were present at the scene.

Ariel Roses autopsy report.

Ariels death was avoidable and a result of negligence, according to her grandfather, Mickey Rose.

Rose is suing Community Care Fellowship, Inc., a non-profit that operates and offers transitional housing to Nashvilles unhoused population at the Highroad facility, which is also named as a defendant in the case. Hes also suing the tenant who babysat Ariel and is identified as Jane Doe in the complaint.

The defendants failed to do their part in keeping my sweet Ariel safe, Mickey Rose said in a July 17 news release issued by the Stranch, Jennings & Garvey law firm, which is representing him in the case and has been involved in opioid litigation cases.

He is seeking $15 million in damages, the complaint shows.

The lawsuit accuses Community Care Fellowship and the housing facility of failing to prevent illicit drugs from coming into the property, despite knowing use of illegal or illicit drugs was rampant.

They did nothing to stop the flow of drugs into and out of the facility, Rose said.

The circumstances of Ariels death are the subject of an active, open negligent homicide investigation by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Departments Youth Services detectives, public information officer Brooke Reese confirmed in a statement to McClatchy News on July 31.

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In a statement to McClatchy News on July 31, the Community Care Fellowship declined to comment on specific details related to the lawsuit because it is a matter of pending litigation.

We send our sincerest sympathies and condolences to the family, the non-profit said in a statement.

CCF has cooperated with police authorities in their investigation of this matter. We will engage in the legal process to address the civil complaint being made against our organization.

More on the case

Several months before Ariels death, she was living in a homeless encampment with her father, according to police footage obtained by WTVF in June.

Ive seen that child in here one too many times and Im not happy, a police officer is heard telling Ariels father in the video, the outlet reported on June 15.

When the officer tells her father Ariel shouldnt be there, the father said it was temporary, according to WTVF.

According to the lawsuit, Ariels aunt had guardianship of her one month before her death. The aunt then placed her back under the care of her father, who was living at the Highroad housing facility by November, the complaint says.

CCF leases the Highroad property, which has a playground and often houses families with children, the complaint says.

According to the lawsuit, CCF received a $4.4 million grant to provide safe housing for people in Nashville on Sept. 21, 2022, a few months before Ariels death.

Under the grant, and by contract, the Highroad facility is supposed to be drug-free, Attorney J. Gerard Stranch, of Stranch, Jennings & Garvey, told McClatchy News in an interview on July 31.

Facilities like the Highroad facility are supposed to be transitional homes for people that have gotten clean and are trying to get back on their feet, he said.

However, the facility has become another way for the drug dealers to get their product to people easier, Stranch added.

From Jan. 1, 2022, until the day of Ariels death, Metro Nashville police received more than 145 calls about illicit conduct at the Highroad property, according to the complaint.

The day after Ariel arrived at Highroad, her father had Jane Doe babysit her on Nov. 10, according to the complaint.

Jane Doe lived at Highroad for months and is accused of being a frequent user of illegal drugs, according to the complaint, which says CCF employees should have known.

On Nov. 11, Ariel encountered a lethal dose of fentanyl within her reach inside Jane Does room, the complaint says.

Ariel either ate or touched the substance, resulting in her fatal overdose, the complaint says. The autopsy report doesnt specify how Ariel became poisoned by the narcotic.

Fentanyl is a powerful, synthetic opioid estimated to be roughly 100 times stronger than morphine by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

Rose is suing under the Tennessee Drug Dealer Liability Act, which provides a civil remedy to persons damaged in a community as a result of illegal drug use, according to the release by Stranch, Jennings & Garvey.

He is also suing over negligence and seeks to recover relief for injuries and damages, including physical pain, emotional suffering and grief, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of earning capacity, loss of life, and more, the complaint shows.

Rose demands a six-person jury trial.

Its just a horrifically sad event, Stranch told McClatchy News. No parent or grandparent should ever bury a child, particularly because of something thats preventable.

Mom of 4 died after using kratom in Florida, lawsuit says. Company owes family $11M

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States' top general spoke with the chief of Niger's military and discussed the safety of American citizens and the developing situation in the country, the U.S. military said on Monday.

General Mark Milley, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke with Lieutenant General Issa Abdou Sidikou by phone on July 27, a spokesman for the U.S. military said.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Chris Reese)
Creating new, lifelong memories for families is the mission of a Gainesville native who prides herself on helping people live out their traveling dreams.

Kenya Ellis is the owner of Travel By Kenya and an independent travel agent.

Ellis was born and raised in Gainesville. The Gainesville High School graduate went on to earn an associate's degree from Santa Fe College in early childhood education. She created Travel By Kenya in October 2022 after her friend Kista King introduced her to the business model.

She told me that as much as my family and I travel, I might as well do it and get paid while doing so, Ellis said.

My ultimate goal is to continue creating generational wealth for my children and grandchildren," said Ellis, the mother of eight and grandmother of nine. "I say continue because four of my children currently have businesses and I had a family child-care business that I ran for over 25 years before I closed it in 2012."

Victor Vickers and Monique Vickers traveling in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, during a trip they booked with Travel by Kenya of Gainesville.

Generational wealth: Carolyns Heart Inc., a Gainesville nonprofit, seeks to eradicate generational poverty

Travel By Kenya is a home-based business in Gainesville that allows Ellis to work remotely, she said.

As long as I have a laptop, phone or tablet with internet access, I can make dreams come true anywhere at any time, Ellis said. I help plan fun, personalized and exciting trips based on my clients' budget, maximizing discounts that offer the opportunity for luxury travel.

Ellis arranges trips for individuals and groups for family reunions, parties, business meetings, youth programs, church programs, weddings and more, she said.

She sells transportation accommodations, tours and attraction admission to leisure and corporate clients, too.

"I act as an intermediary between travelers and travel suppliers, such as airlines, hotels, car rental companies and tour operators, Ellis said. I book domestic and international travel experiences. Many of the trips I book are all-inclusive.

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Ellis offers recommendations about vaccinations required for foreign travel, helps to organize visas and passports for clients, and ensures they have all the proper documentation they need for their trip, she said. She also offers notary services if needed.

I have met too many families that have said that they have never been able to afford a family vacation, Ellis said. They have worked all their lives, making sure their children's basic needs and educational needs were met, bills were paid, but unfortunately never been able to go beyond Gainesville or the current city or state they live in.

Kenya D. Ellis is founder and operator of Gainesville-based Travel By Kenya. (Credit: Submitted photo)

Ellis said her passion is to assist families to create new memories by traveling.

I have always felt that it is just as important to take care of your family's mental and emotional needs just as much as you do all their other needs, Ellis said.

Her goal is to book trips that her clients can afford.

One would think that I would try to book the biggest most expensive trip for families, but honestly, for me, it's the meaningful personalized most cost-effective trips that bring me the most joy, Ellis said. I do get clients where budget is not an issue and I give them the same personalized treatment as well.

One of Ellis' daughters who is a student assistant to Monique Vickers at Pensacola State College recommended Vickers use her mother's services to book a trip.I knew I could relax because she would be very helpful and knowledgeable about vacation planning, so that would save me time and aggravation, Vickers said. Kenya was very knowledgeable and she was able to answer all of our questions related to our vacation. She took care of everything and she even had a surprise waiting for us when we arrived at the resort.

Ellis booked a trip for Vickers and her husband Victor Vickers to Jamaica in March of this year and then an anniversary trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, two weeks ago.

Traveling exposes myself, and my husband, to new things, people, food and different cultures, Monique Vickers said.

Ellis said the couple has since passed her information to family and friends.

I want my customers to truly understand how important it is to take time out to enjoy life, Ellis said. We are so focused on taking care of everybody and everything that we forget to take care of ourselves. We forget to truly live.

For more information, visit https://kenyaellis.inteletravel.com/booktravel.cfm or email asias4@aol.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Kenya Ellis, owner of Travel By Kenya in Gainesville, helps families
An October trial date is scheduled for a terminally ill woman charged with numerous felonies in the deaths of 146 dogs at a Mantua Township home in June.

Meanwhile, a misdemeanor case against the dog rescue group she co-founded and led also continues.

Barbara A. Wible, 69, pleaded not guilty last week to 146 counts of fifth-degree felony cruelty to a companion animal in a grand jury indictment in Portage County Court of Common Pleas.

According to court records, Wible attended the arraignment via Zoom. Judge Laurie J. Pittman set a personal bond.

The Portage County Animal Protective League executed a search warrant at a Mantua Township home Wible owns in mid-June and reported finding 146 dogs, all dead. The APL said the dogs showed indications of extensive neglect and malnourishment.

The APL filed 50 counts of first-degree misdemeanor cruelty to companion animals, arguing that due to Wible's reported medical condition, she was more likely to live to see the conclusion of a misdemeanor case, which tend to be shorter than felony cases.

Wible is defendant in 25 of those counts and those charges were dismissed July 26 after prosecutors filed a notice of dismissal following the indictment's filing.

However, the other 25 charges, which were filed in a seperate case, have not been dismissed. Court records indicated as recently as Monday that Wible is the defendant doing business as Canine Lifeline, Inc. in that case, but DanaMarie Pannella, one of the APL's prosecutors, said Monday that this is an error and Canine Lifeline is the defendant in the case.

"That one will not be dismissed," she said.

Pannella also confirmed that Wible has terminal cancer.

Animal welfare advocates pushed for Wible to be charged with felonies in Portage County, as she has been in a case in Cuyahoga County. One of those advocates is Kim Goddard, daughter of the late meteorologist and animal lover Dick Goddard.

Kim Goddard has said she wanted Wible charged under Goddard's Law, the state law named after her father that allows for felony charges. It was recently amended to make animal cruelty a violent offense.

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The Portage County Prosecutor's Office took the case on its own to a grand jury and the indictment containing the 146 felony counts was filed July 20. Portage County Prosecutor Victor Vigluicci said the charges were filed under Goddard's Law, as well as Nitro's Law, another Ohio statute that also allows for felonies but is aimed more at kennels, animal rescues and similar operations.

In Cuyahoga County, 36 dogs were found at a Parma home Wible also owns after the Parma police and firefighters responded there to conduct a welfare check in early June, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office said.

The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office said the dogs all showed indications of neglect and malnourishment. A dozen dogs were dead at the scene, three were euthanized and 21 were taken to a local shelter.

A grand jury subsequently indicted Wible on 36 counts of fifth-degree felony cruelty to a companion animal.

Wible's Portage County attorney did not return a phona call seeking comment.

Attempts to identify her attorney in the Cuyahoga County case have been unsuccessful.

Wible is currently scheduled for an Oct. 24 jury trial in the Portage case. She is also scheduled for a status conference and pretrial hearing Sept. 6 and a pretrial hearing Oct. 18.

Her arraignment on the Cuyahoga County charges is scheduled for this Friday.

Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Trial set for October in deaths of 146 dogs at a Mantua Township home
NEW YORK (AP/Boston 25)  Trucking company Yellow Corp. has shut down operations and is headed for a bankruptcy filing, according to the Teamsters Union and multiple media reports.

After years of financial struggles, reports of Yellow preparing for bankruptcy emerged last week  as the Nashville, Tennessee-based trucker saw customers leave in large numbers. Yellow shut down operations on Sunday, according to the Wall Street Journal, following the layoffs of hundreds of nonunion employees on Friday.

In Massachusetts, YRC Freight has terminal locations in North Reading and Shrewsbury. Yellow has New Penn locations in North Billerica and West Springfield, which are also impacted.

Yellow Corp. box trailers sit at a terminal on June 28, 2023 in Medley, Florida. According to reports, the Treasury Department had erred in loaning the trucking company money as part of a 2020 Covid-19 rescue package. Yellow Corporation received a $700 million pandemic assistance loan from the U.S. government.(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Yellow Corp. box trailers sit at a terminal on June 28, 2023 in Medley, Florida. According to reports, the Treasury Department had erred in loaning the trucking company money as part of a 2020 Covid-19 rescue package. Yellow Corporation received a $700 million pandemic assistance loan from the U.S. government.(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Safety vests for Yellow drivers Ron Fisher and J. Keilholz are zip-tied to fencing at the YRC Freight terminal as it lies closed in St. Louis, on Monday, July 31, 2023. Troubled trucking company Yellow Corp. is shutting down and filing for bankruptcy, the Teamsters said Monday. An official backruptcy filing is expected any day for Yellow, after years of financial struggles and growing debt. (Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

A Yellow box trailer blocks the entrance to the shuttered YRC Freight terminal in St. Louis, on Monday, July 31, 2023. Troubled trucking company Yellow Corp. is shutting down and filing for bankruptcy, the Teamsters said Monday. An official backruptcy filing is expected any day for Yellow, after years of financial struggles and growing debt. (Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

A motorist passes a safety vest for Yellow driver Ron Fisher that was left zip-tied to the fence as the YRC Freight terminal lies shuttered in St. Louis, on Monday, July 31, 2023. Troubled trucking company Yellow Corp. is shutting down and filing for bankruptcy, the Teamsters said Monday. An official backruptcy filing is expected any day for Yellow, after years of financial struggles and growing debt. (Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

Yellow Corp. trucks are seen at a YRC Freight terminal Friday, July 28, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. After years of financial struggles, Yellow is reportedly preparing for bankruptcy and seeing customers leave in large numbers  heightening risk for future liquidation. While no official decision has been announced by the company, the prospect of bankruptcy has renewed attention around Yellow's ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Yellow Corp. trucks are seen at a YRC Freight terminal Friday, July 28, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. After years of financial struggles, Yellow is reportedly preparing for bankruptcy and seeing customers leave in large numbers  heightening risk for future liquidation. While no official decision has been announced by the company, the prospect of bankruptcy has renewed attention around Yellow's ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Yellow Corp. trucks are seen at a YRC Freight terminal Friday, July 28, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. After years of financial struggles, Yellow is reportedly preparing for bankruptcy and seeing customers leave in large numbers  heightening risk for future liquidation. While no official decision has been announced by the company, the prospect of bankruptcy has renewed attention around Yellow's ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Yellow Corp. trucks are seen at a YRC Freight terminal Friday, July 28, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. After years of financial struggles, Yellow is reportedly preparing for bankruptcy and seeing customers leave in large numbers  heightening risk for future liquidation. While no official decision has been announced by the company, the prospect of bankruptcy has renewed attention around Yellow's ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Yellow Corp. trucks are seen at a YRC Freight terminal Friday, July 28, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. After years of financial struggles, Yellow is reportedly preparing for bankruptcy and seeing customers leave in large numbers  heightening risk for future liquidation. While no official decision has been announced by the company, the prospect of bankruptcy has renewed attention around Yellow's ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Yellow Corp. trucks are seen at a YRC Freight terminal Friday, July 28, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. After years of financial struggles, Yellow is reportedly preparing for bankruptcy and seeing customers leave in large numbers  heightening risk for future liquidation. While no official decision has been announced by the company, the prospect of bankruptcy has renewed attention around Yellow's ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

FILE - A Yellow Corp. truck pulls into a YRC Freight facility, Friday, July 28, 2023, in Richfield, Ohio. Trucking company Yellow Corp. has shut down operations and is headed for a bankruptcy filing, Sunday, July 30, 2023, according to the Teamsters Union and multiple media reports. After years of financial struggles, reports of Yellow preparing for bankruptcy emerged last week  as the Nashville, Tennessee-based trucker saw customers leave in large numbers. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

Yellow Corp. trucks are seen at a YRC Freight terminal Friday, July 28, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. After years of financial struggles, Yellow is reportedly preparing for bankruptcy and seeing customers leave in large numbers  heightening risk for future liquidation. While no official decision has been announced by the company, the prospect of bankruptcy has renewed attention around Yellow's ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

FILE - Yellow Corp. trucks navigate the YRC Freight terminal Friday, July 28, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. Trucking company Yellow Corp. has shut down operations and is headed for a bankruptcy filing, Sunday, July 30, 2023, according to the Teamsters Union and multiple media reports. After years of financial struggles, reports of Yellow preparing for bankruptcy emerged last week  as the Nashville, Tennessee-based trucker saw customers leave in large numbers. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Yellow Corp. trailers are pictured at a YRC Freight facility Friday, July 28, 2023, in Richfield, Ohio. After years of financial struggles, Yellow is reportedly preparing for bankruptcy and seeing customers leave in large numbers  heightening risk for future liquidation. While no official decision has been announced by the company, the prospect of bankruptcy has renewed attention around Yellow's ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

In an announcement early Monday, the Teamsters said that the union received legal notice confirming Yellow was ceasing operations and filing for bankruptcy.

Todays news is unfortunate but not surprising. Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government, Teamsters general president Sean OBrien said in a statement. This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry.

The Associated Press reached out to Yellow for comment on Monday. No bankruptcy filings had gone live as of the early morning.

The bankruptcy reports have renewed attention around Yellows ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government, and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., is one of the nations largest less-than-truckload carriers. The companys reported closure puts 30,000 jobs at risk.

Heres what you need to know.

WHAT WOULD BANKRUPTCY MEAN FOR YELLOW?

According to Satish Jindel, president of transportation and logistics firm SJ Consulting, Yellow handled an average of 49,000 shipments per day in 2022. Last week, he estimated that number was down to between 10,000 and 15,000 daily shipments.

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With customers leaving  as well reports of Yellow stopping freight pickups last week  bankruptcy would be the end of Yellow, Jindel told The Associated Press, noting increased risk for liquidation.

The likelihood of them surviving and remaining solvent diminishes really by the day, added Bruce Chan, a research director at investment banking firm Stifel.

Yellow declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press on Friday. In a Wednesday statement to The Journal, the company said it was continuing to prepare for a range of contingencies. On Thursday, Yellow said it was in talks with multiple parties about selling its third-party logistics organization.

Even if Yellow was able to sell its logistics firm, it would not generate a sufficient amount of cash to keep them operational on any sort of permanent basis, Chan said. Without a major equity injection, it would be very difficult for them to survive.

HOW MUCH DEBT DOES YELLOW HAVE?

As of late March, Yellow had an outstanding debt of about $1.5 billion. Of that, $729.2 million was owed to the federal government.

In 2020, under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department granted the company a $700 million pandemic-era loan on national security grounds. Last month, a congressional probe concluded that the Treasury and Defense Departments made missteps in this decision  and noted that Yellows precarious financial position at the time of the loan, and continued struggles, expose taxpayers to a significant risk of loss.

The government loan is due in September 2024. As of March, Yellow had made $54.8 million in interest payments and repaid just $230 million of the principal owed, according to government documents.

Yellows current finances and prospect of bankruptcy is probably two decades in the making, Chan said, pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back to the early 2000s. At this point, after each party has bailed them out so many times, there is a limited appetite to do that anymore.

In May, Yellow reported a loss of $54.6 million, a decline of $1.06 per share, for its first quarter of 2023. Operating revenue was about $1.16 billion in the period.

A Wednesday investors note from financial service firm Stephens estimated that Yellow could be burning between $9 million and $10 million each day. Using a liquidity disclosure from earlier this month, Yellow had roughly $100 million in cash at the end of June, the note added  estimating that the company has been burning through increasing amounts of money through July.

It is reasonable to believe that the Company could breach its $35 mil. liquidity requirement at any moment, Stephens analyst Jack Atkins and associate Grant Smith wrote.

DID THE COMPANY JUST AVERT A STRIKE?

Last weeks reports of bankruptcy preparations arrived just days after a strike from the Teamsters, which represents Yellows 22,000 unionized workers, was averted.

A series of heated exchanges have built up between the Teamsters and Yellow, who sued the union in June after alleging it was unjustifiably blocking restructuring plans needed for the companys survival. The Teamsters called the litigation baseless  with OBrien pointing to Yellows decades of gross mismanagement, which included exhausting the $700 million federal loan.

On July 23, a pension fund agreed to extend health benefits for workers at two Yellow Corp. operating companies, averting a strike  and giving Yellow 30 days to pay its bills, notably $50 million that Yellow failed to pay the Central States Health and Welfare Fund on July 15, the union said. While the strike didnt occur, talks of a walkout may have caused some Yellow customers to pull back, Chan said.

The financial struggles of Yellow are not related to the union and the contracts, Jindel said, pointing to managements responsibility around its services and prices. He added the union wages from Yellow are lower than any competitor.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YELLOW WENT UNDER?

As Yellow customers take their shipments to other carriers, like FedEx or ABF Freight, prices will go up.

Yellows prices have historically been the cheapest compared to other carriers, Jindel said. Thats why they obviously were not making money, he added. And while there is capacity with the other LTL carriers to handle the diversions from Yellow, it will come at a high price for (current shippers and customers) of Yellow.

Chan adds that were in an interesting time for the LTL marketplace  noting that, if Yellow liquidates, the freight would find a home with other carriers, which may not have been true in recent years.

It may take time, but theres room for it to be absorbed, he said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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France opposes 'decoupling' after economic talks with China

09:49, July 31, 2023 By Chen Qingqing and Qi Xijia ( Global Times

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday that he opposes the "illusion" of countries "decoupling" from China and he does not believe the world's second-largest economy constitutes a risk.

He made the remarks after China and France concluded the 9th China-France High Level Economic and Financial Dialoguein Beijing on Saturday as part of high-level talks between the two countries that had resumed following the meeting between the two heads of state in April.

The two countries reached a series of consensus ranging from finance to climate change and aerospace, which constitute "an encouraging sign" that China and France are enhancing economic cooperation and underscored the substantial mutual needs, analysts said.

While China hopes France can be the "stabilizer" of EU-China relations, EU's ongoing debate on "de-risking" could limit the scope and scale of China-France cooperation, some experts said, citing as negative factors the transatlantic partnership, EU's inaccurate understanding of China-Russia relations and ideological divergences between China and the EU.

Although the China-EU relations have been more stable with more dialogues and exchanges being resumed in the first half of 2023, experts called for more efforts to maintain the current momentum and yield more fruitful cooperation results as the lack of cooperation would be "the biggest risk."

Fruitful results

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Saturday co-chaired the 9th China-France High Level Economic and Financial Dialoguein Beijing with France's Minister of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty Le Maire.

Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-France economic and trade relations have shown great resilience and sound momentum of development. China stands ready to further strengthen policy communication with France, deepen practical cooperation, step up coordination on international and multilateral affairs, and push the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership to a new high, He said.

Le Maire said Chinese investors are welcome in France, especially in the field of electric vehicles, batteries and energy transition, citing an example of Chinese group XTC New Energy Materials that has invested with French nuclear giant Orano in batteries, French newspaper Les Echos reported. Le Maire's remarks come as several Western countries, including Germany, have claimed they want to reduce economic dependence on China, the French media said.

Le Maire told a press conference on Sunday that France wants to get better access to Chinese markets. To have a balanced trade relationship with China, France needs to export more goods to China, Reuters cited the official as saying.

France is on the right track, Le Maire said, opposing the "illusion" of countries "decoupling" from China.

At the press conference, Le Maire also clarified the concept of "de-risking," popular in recent months among many Western countries, noting it "does not mean China constitutes a risk," wishing to "avoid any misunderstanding," French media BFMTV reported.

"In implementing the consensus reached by the heads of state, all the China-France, China-EU dialogue and cooperation mechanism are expected to resume this year. The latest China-France dialogue is very meaningful, as it shows that the two countries share significant mutual needs in economy and trade," Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Against the backdrop of the US' "decoupling" push in the name of "de-risking," the latest high-level dialogue between China and France is significant in countering the anti-globalization waves initiated by the US hawks and further consolidating the economic and trade cooperation among China, France and other EU member states, Chen Jia, an independent analyst on international strategy, told the Global Times on Sunday.

"The China-France meeting was fruitful and the outcomes are wide-ranging, covering industrial chains, financial services to digital economy and intellectual property protection. Particularly in the field of digital economy, it emphasizes continuing to handle applications [for market access] from Chinese-funded enterprises in a fair, non-discriminatory manner based on laws and regulations, including those on national security," Chen said.

Obstacles remain

Although the overall atmosphere of China-EU bilateral economic and trade relations is under heavy influence of the US and its "de-risking" rhetoric, some experts said that "the temperature" of China-EU economic and trade relations, seen through statistics, has been heating up rather than cooling down in recent years.

Germany's direct investment flows to China are estimated to have increased by 11 percent in 2022, similar to the increase in 2021, but much stronger than in previous years between 2016 and 2020, German Economic Institute IW told Reuters in May.

"With a strong awareness of strategic autonomy and willingness to lead the EU, France also hopes to strike a balance between the EU and the US while its strategic autonomy could help it achieve some positive results in China-France trade relationship," Gao Jian, a scholar from Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

However, as a member state of the EU, France faces some restrictions from the overall China-EU relations - some negative factors such as enhanced transatlantic partnership amid the Ukraine crisis and the EU-level regulations could pose more obstacles to the France-China cooperation, Gao said.

French President Emmanuel Macron's top diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne recently said China was delivering items that could be used as military equipment to Russia, although not on a massive scale. Later, as a response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry noted that on the issue of arms exports, China has always adopted a cautious and responsible attitude, strictly adhering to domestic policies and laws, as well as the international obligations China has undertaken.

There is a trend in Europe of linking the EU-China relations with China-Russia relations and hyping related issues to exert pressure on China. Some still have an inaccurate understanding of China-Russia ties, Cui said. "Such hypes should be prevented from becoming a new problem in the China-EU relations.''

"The China-EU relations have entered a stabilizing track after the resumption of dialogue and exchanges that have helped improve mutual understanding, and both sides need to achieve more cooperation results to help stabilize the relations in a longer term," Cui said.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
SOFIA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian President Rumen Radev here on Monday signed a decree for the country to hold elections for local authorities on October 29, his press office said in a statement.

"The head of state set the date after a working meeting with representatives of the leadership of the Central Election Commission," the statement said.

The elections for Bulgaria's local authorities, including mayors and municipal councilors, are held every four years. 
By Jack Queen

MIAMI (Reuters) -An aide to former U.S. President Donald Trump appeared in Miami federal court on Monday to face charges he tried to help the former president hide secret documents taken upon leaving office.

Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager of Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, did not enter a plea as he has yet to obtain local counsel.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres scheduled his arraignment for Aug. 10 and ordered De Oliveira not to talk to other defendants about the case. He was released on a $100,000 bond.

De Oliveiras lawyer, John Irving, told reporters after the hearing that it was unfortunate the Justice Department had charged his client and it was time for prosecutors to put their money where their mouth is.

De Oliveira is accused of trying to delete security camera footage and lying to investigators. He is charged with four counts, including obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors first charged Trump and his aide Walt Nauta in the case in June, alleging Trump haphazardly stored hundreds of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home and enlisted staff to hide them from investigators.

Trump, front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has pleaded not guilty to 37 criminal counts. He said during a radio interview on Friday that he had turned over all security camera tapes the government had asked for.

Nauta has also pleaded not guilty.

A superseding indictment unveiled on Thursday added charges against Trump and Nauta along with De Oliveira, in a sign the case is widening. It emerges as charges loom in a separate investigation into Trumps efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 election.

Trump has yet to enter a plea on the latest charges.

Investigators raided Trump's resort in August 2022 and found more than 300 secret documents in a trove of roughly 11,000 government papers.

According to Thursday's indictment, De Oliveira, 56, in June 2022 told another worker at the resort where Trump lives that "the boss" wanted security videos of the property in Florida deleted after the Justice Department subpoenaed them, according to Thursday's indictment.

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De Oliveira and Nauta also moved boxes of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago to conceal them from the FBI and Trump's lawyers, the indictment said.

Prosecutors said De Oliveira lied to the FBI during a voluntary interview by falsely claiming he had no involvement in moving boxes.

"Never saw nothing," De Oliveira told the agents, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors allege Trump took the documents illegally when he left office in January 2021 and stored them in unsecured locations, including a ballroom, bathroom and shower. He also showed the papers - which included top-secret information about the U.S. nuclear program and military vulnerabilities - to people who were not authorized to see them, according to the initial indictment.

Trump's lawyers met with U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith last week about the election interference probe. It is not uncommon for defense attorneys to meet with federal prosecutors before an indictment.

Trump in April became the first sitting or former U.S. president to face criminal charges when a grand jury called by Manhattans Democratic district attorney indicted him for allegedly falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments to a porn star.

Trump has pleaded not guilty, saying the cases against him are part of a politically motivated "witch hunt."

Separately, a grand jury in Georgia is investigating Trumps efforts to overturn the election in that state.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to announce whether she will charge anyone in the probe in August.

Media over the weekend reported Trump's political action committee is expected to report on Monday that it has spent about $40 million in legal fees in the first half of 2023 to defend Trump and his advisers.

(Reporting by Jack Queen; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Andrea Ricci and Howard Goller)
Former New York Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik will meet with special counsel Jack Smith in the coming days to discuss efforts taken by former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani to investigate potential election fraud in the wake of the 2020 election, Keriks attorney said Sunday.

The attorney, Timothy Parlatore, who has also previously represented Trump, said in an interview with CNNs Paula Reid that the special counsels office will meet with Kerik and his lawyers in about a week and will get into  the core of the intentions behind Trump and Giulianis unfounded claims of voter fraud.

We have a meeting scheduled in about a week with the special counsels office to talk about a lot of the efforts that the Giuliani team was taking at the time to investigate fraud, and thats really going to get into, you know, the core of whether they can charge somebody with having corrupt intent, Parlatore said.

CNN has previously reported on Keriks intention to meet with the special counsels office.

Keriks meeting comes after he turned over documents to the special counsels office connected to the debunked voter fraud claims made by Trump and Giuliani, including affidavits claiming widespread irregularities and shoddy statistical analyses claiming proof of fraudulent activities.

Kerik worked alongside Giuliani in the weeks after the 2020 election to search for evidence of fraud that could have shifted the results of the election in Trumps favor. Kerik had previously shielded some documents from Congress and federal investigators on attorney-client privilege grounds before he ultimately turned over the documents earlier this month.

Parlatore said it would imbecilic and incredibly stupid for the special counsel to issue an indictment against Trump before meeting with Kerik, arguing a rushed indictment would play into an argument Trump has repeatedly made on the campaign trail  that the multiple investigations targeting him constitute election interference.

When you have something like this, to bring an indictment before youve finished your investigation, for whatever reason they may choose to do it, it feeds directly into the Trump campaign narrative about this all being, you know, about election interference. And so I think it would be incredibly stupid for them to go forward with indicting before they finish their investigation, Parlatore said.

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Raag Singhal, the federal judge who ruled against Donald Trump in the former presidents lawsuit against CNN, was nominated for the lifetime judgeship by Trump.

Ruling against Trump  dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning the former president cant bring the same claim again  isnt a surprise to anyone whos followed his career.

Singhal has gone against Democrats and gone against Republicans  and has a stellar reputation among Democrats and Republicans in Browards legal community, where he has worked for decades, including criminal and civil lawyers and those who were on the opposite side while he was in private practice.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Singhal as a U.S. District Court judge in 2019. Hed previously served as an assistant Broward County state attorney and as criminal defense lawyer. In 2011, then-Gov. Rick Scott appointed him as a circuit court judge. In 2014, he won a full six-year term when no candidate came forward to run against him for the seat.

Trumps case

Trump sued CNN claiming that references in news articles or by the channels hosts to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election as the Big Lie were tantamount to comparing him to Adolf Hitler. Trump claimed the references hurt his reputation and political career and sought $475 million in punitive damages.

In his ruling late Friday, Singhal said the references were opinions and not factual statements. Moreover, it was a stretch to believe that viewers would connect Trumps efforts challenging the 2020 election results to Nazi propaganda or Hitlers genocidal and authoritarian regime, the judge said.

The Court finds Nazi references in the political discourse (made by whichever side) to be odious and repugnant. But bad rhetoric is not defamation when it does not include false statements of fact. CNNs use of the phrase the Big Lie in connection with Trumps election challenges does not give rise to a plausible inference that Trump advocates the persecution and genocide of Jews or any other group of people. No reasonable viewer could (or should) plausibly make that reference, Singhal wrote.

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Singhal

Singhal, whose given name is Anuraag but is widely known as Raag, has lived in Florida for more than 30 years. His parents emigrated to the U.S. from India.

He is the first Asian Pacific American and Indian American to serve as a federal judge in the three states  Florida, Georgia and Alabama  that make up the federal 11th Circuit.

He and his physician-wife have three children. Singhal is a graduate of Rice University and Wake Forest University Law School.

Conservative credentials

Singhal came to the federal bench with conservative credentials, as a member of the Federalist Society, an incubator of conservative and limited-government legal thinking that has effectively become a requirement for judicial nominations during Trumps presidency and in Florida under Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Singhal also was a member of the Thomas More Society, which describes itself as defending life, family & religious liberty, particularly opposition to abortion.

In a memo to the Senate Judiciary Committee supporting his confirmation, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., called him highly qualified, adding that, He is committed to honoring professionalism, honesty, integrity, and ethics in his work and in the community, and I am confident he will exhibit and exercise those qualities on the federal bench.

Rubio supported him even though Singhal resigned as a Broward Republican Party committeeman in 2010 so he could support then-Gov. Charlie Crists independent candidacy for U.S. Senate  a race that Republican Marco Rubio won that November.

As a circuit court judge, Singhal handled some high-profile cases. In 2018, he ruled that then-Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes, a Democrat, broke federal and state law by prematurely destroying ballots from the 2016 election.

In circuit court, Singhal was assigned to handle requests for risk protection orders in Broward County. Under the state red flag law, enacted after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre, law enforcement can ask a court to seize weapons from people who are dangerous to themselves or others.

Bipartisan support

Hes a very thoughtful, intellectual judge. He treats everybody with respect, whether youre a lawyer, a juror, a party, a witness, Jack Seiler, a former Fort Lauderdale mayor and lawyer, said when Singhal was nominated for the federal judgeship.

Seiler said hed had cases in circuit court in which Singhal ruled for him and against him.

State Rep. Michael Gottlieb, a Democrat who succeeded Singhal as president of the Broward Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in the early 1990s, said at the time of his nomination he was a lawyers lawyer who represented his clients with intensity and integrity  no theatrics, just true grit.

Integrity again comes to mind when thinking of his career as a judge, Gottlieb said in 2019.

When he was a lawyer in private practice, Singhal was active for a time in the Broward Republican Party.

Richard DeNapoli, a lawyer and former Broward Republican Party chairman, praised his nomination, describing him on social media as a Great judge!

DeSantis, who had considered Singhal to the Florida Supreme Court, praised his nomination as a federal judge, calling him an unwavering example of what it means to be a judge and an outstanding selection.

He was confirmed 76-17, with seven senators not voting. The no votes all came from Democrats, many of whom consistently voted against judicial nominees and the Republican majority pushing them through.

After the vote, Singhal said he was grateful for the privilege of becoming a federal judge. It is something I never dreamed of, yet its a dream come true.

This report contains information from The Associated Press.

Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com, on Twitter @browardpolitics and on Post.news/@browardpolitics.
ATLANTA (AP)  A judge on Monday rejected an attempt by former President Donald Trump to keep a Georgia district attorney from prosecuting him and from using certain evidence gathered in her investigation into potential illegal meddling in the 2020 election in the state.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney didn't mince words in his nine-page ruling, which said Trump lacked the legal grounds to bring the challenge before any indictment has been filed in the case. Any harm alleged by Trump and by Cathy Latham, a Republican fake elector from Georgia who had joined his motion, is either insufficient or else speculative and unrealized, the judge wrote.

The alleged harms are insufficient because, while being the subject (or even target) of a highly publicized criminal investigation is likely an unwelcome and unpleasant experience, no court ever has held that that status alone provides a basis for the courts to interfere with or halt the investigation, McBurney wrote.

In a caustic footnote, seemingly nodding to Trump's status as the dominant frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination for president despite having been indicted twice already, the judge added, And for some, being the subject of a criminal investigation can, a la Rumpelstiltskin, be turned into golden political capital, making it seem more providential than problematic.

Separately Monday, an Atlanta-based journalist said he received two grand jury subpoenas to testify later this month.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, an elected Democrat, has strongly suggested that she is likely to seek charges in the case in the coming weeks. While she has not directly said she plans to seek charges against the Republican former president, she has repeatedly said no one is above the law.

Monday's ruling came in response to a motion filed in March by Trump's Georgia-based legal team that said a special grand jury seated to help Willis investigate involved a constant lack of clarity as to the law, inconsistent applications of basic constitutional protections for individuals being brought before it, and a prosecutors office that was found to have an actual conflict, yet continued to pursue the investigation.

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The special grand jury did not have the power to indict, but it did issue subpoenas and heard from some 75 witnesses while meeting from May to December last year and issued a final report with recommendations for Willis.

Trump attorney Drew Findling did not immediately respond Monday to text and voicemail messages seeking comment.

Latham was one of 16 Georgia Republicans who met at the state Capitol in December 2020 and signed a certificate declaring falsely that Trump had won the presidential election and declaring themselves the states duly elected and qualified electors. Willis last year informed them that they were targets of her investigation, though some have since reached immunity deals with her team.

McBurney said there are no grounds to disqualify Willis from pursuing her investigation and likely prosecution, saying she had not acted improperly.

The drumbeat from the District Attorney has been neither partisan (in the political sense) nor personal, in marked and refreshing contrast to the stream of personal invective flowing from one of the movants, he wrote, no doubt referring to Trump.

Trump's attorneys several weeks ago took another stab at barring Willis from prosecuting him and getting the special grand jury's report tossed out with twin filings against Willis and McBurney in Fulton County Superior Court and the Georgia Supreme Court. Explaining this extraordinary action, they cited the fact that McBurney had yet to rule on their earlier motion and Willis' indication that she would soon seek charges in the case.

The state Supreme Court unanimously declined to intervene, dismissing the petition.

A judge from neighboring Cobb County was assigned to consider the other petition after the chief judge of the Fulton County Superior Court recused himself and the other judges on that bench from hearing the matter involving McBurney. He has set a hearing for Aug. 10.

Independent journalist George Chidi on Monday posted a photo on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, of two subpoenas instructing him to appear before a grand jury between Aug. 7 and Aug. 31 and telling him hed be given 48 hours notice to appear. He wrote in a first-person story for The Intercept that its the second time hes been asked to testify.

Chidi testified before the special grand jury last year about barging into a semi-clandestine meeting of Republicans pretending to be Georgias official electors in December 2020, he wrote. He described being thrown out of the room just after entering, told that it was an education meeting.

Chidi wrote that he is reviewing his options with an attorney but that he expects to testify again after receiving assurances that I will not be compelled to offer information outside of the narrow issue of election interference and my observations on December 14, 2020.
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump widened his lead among likely Republican primary voters as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, whose campaign has struggled to gain traction, fell further behind the former president in a new poll.

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Trump registered healthy margins among every demographic group in a Siena College/New York Times poll released Monday, with 54% of likely GOP voters backing Trump, compared to 17% for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Trumps 37 percentage point lead over DeSantis, who has consistently placed a distant second, is the largest so far.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott each registered 3%.

Trump has led in every poll of Republican primary voters taken since mid-March tracked by Real Clear Politics, but his lead has grown from single digits, while DeSantis has dropped in recent polls amid a campaign reboot.

DeSantis is planning a major economic speech in New Hampshire Monday as part of his effort to turn around his falling poll numbers.

In the Siena poll, Trump led among both men and women; every age group; every income bracket; voters who live in rural areas, suburbs and the city; those who live in the Midwest, Northeast, South and West; those who went to college and those who didnt; and liberal, moderate and conservative Republicans.

He was weakest among White college graduates, who backed him 37% over DeSantis at 25%; voters aged 30-44, who backed him 41% to DeSantis at 28%; and liberal/moderate Republicans, who backed him 35% to DeSantis at 17%.

The poll of 932 likely Republican primary voters was conducted July 23-27, finishing just as a superseding indictment was filed in a case involving Trumps handling of classified documents. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.96 percentage points.

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Former President Trumps dominance of the GOP field was underscored by a new poll released Monday.

The New York Times/Siena College poll showed Trump leading his closest rival for the nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, by a massive 37 points.

In the poll, Trump drew 54 percent support and DeSantis 17 percent. No other candidate registered higher than 3 percent support.

The poll was far from an outlier. Trump has maintained a lead of roughly 30 points over DeSantis in national polling averages for some time. There is no convincing evidence that any other contender is acquiring real momentum.

Given that Trump is showing such strength even while he has been indicted in two criminal cases, the question arises as to whether he is all but inevitable as the GOP nominee.

Here are the main arguments for and against that idea.

Trump is the inevitable nominee because

His support looks rock-solid

Trumps biggest political asset has been clear for years. His base voters are avid in their support and near-impervious to any negative information about him.

Its more than seven years since then-candidate Trump told a crowd in Iowa, I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldnt lose any voters, OK?

Today, he stands accused of obstruction of justice and a series of other serious offenses in the Mar-a-Lago documents case. He is also charged with falsifying business records in a separate New York case.

Among Republicans, it hasnt mattered.

In the New York Times poll, 71 percent of potential Republican primary voters said the GOP needed to stand behind Trump amid his charges, whereas only 22 percent argued there was no obligation to do so.

The exact same share  71 percent  asserted that Trump was innocent of any serious federal crimes.

A general election would be a very different matter. But, within the GOP, there is every reason to think Trump has a lock on enough voters to carry him to the nomination.

His main rival is doing very poorly

DeSantiss weakness has been a bigger surprise than Trumps strength so far.

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The Florida governor launched his campaign May 24 with a Twitter Spaces event marred by technical glitches. It was a sign of things to come.

DeSantiss poll ratings have eroded over the two months-plus of his campaign to date. The national polling average maintained by data site FiveThirtyEight showed him drawing roughly 21 percent support on the day of his launch. He is now at roughly 16 percent.

The polling slide has been accompanied by broader campaign troubles. A recent series of staffing cuts has reduced his team by about one-third.

DeSantiss backers publicly evince confidence that they are building a campaign for the long haul and that it will all come right in the end. The governor laid out an economic agenda in a New Hampshire speech Monday.

But as of today, DeSantis has seriously underperformed.

Thats very good news for Trump.

GOP voters dont buy the argument that Trump is unelectable

Trump-skeptical GOP insiders coalesce around one central argument  that the former president would be a weak general election candidate, likely losing a winnable election.

As evidence they cite the 2020 election, when Trump lost the popular vote by more than 7 million votes to President Biden; his false claims of election fraud and the way they fueled the Capitol Riot of Jan. 6, 2021; his many legal challenges; and his low poll ratings among the general public.

In an Economist/YouGov poll released last week, Trump was seen favorably by 40 percent of the general public, and unfavorably by 57 percent. Self-professed independent voters broke against him on that question by almost 2-to-1.

But the GOP primary electorate, by and large, just doesnt buy it. They believe Trump can defy the polls and pundits again, just as he did when defeating Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016.

The New York Times poll asked Republican voters whether Trump or DeSantis was better able to beat Joe Biden.

Fifty-eight percent went for Trump compared to 28 percent for DeSantis.

Unless those figures change drastically, its tough to see how Trump loses the nomination battle.

Trump is not the inevitable nominee because.

The campaign has barely begun

Todays intense media coverage of every step of every campaign tends to lead to sweeping predications.

Many of those forecasts might seem premature.

The Iowa caucuses are more than five months away  an eternity in politics. The Republican National Convention, at which the nominee will be formally crowned, is almost a year away.

For the moment, Trump likely accrues some benefit from his near-universal name recognition.

In another Economist/YouGov poll earlier this month, the proportion of Republicans who said they didnt know enough to express an opinion of a particular candidate stood at 9 percent for DeSantis, 21 percent for former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and 27 percent for former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.

That gives those candidates room to grow, at least in theory, in a way that isnt true for Trump.

Trumps rivals could also hold out hope of game-changing moments during debate season, which is soon to begin. The first clash is set for Aug. 23 in Milwaukee.

Early polls are misleading

Trumps rivals emphasize that predictions based on early polls in previous years were wrong.

Thats true  sort of. But its not quite so hard-and-fast a rule as the Trump skeptics claim.

In fact, in two of the last three contested Republican presidential primaries, the eventual winner was already leading the RealClearPolitics average at this point.

Trump had just burst into the lead in 2016, never to surrender it; and in 2012, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had already established a lead, which he would lose and regain. Romney is now a senator representing Utah.

The sole exception came in 2008, when Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) was in third place and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was leading the field. McCain went on to claim the nomination and Giulianis campaign sputtered into oblivion.

Its not just a matter of polls. Campaigns can sometimes shift on a dime, as happened for the Democrats in 2020.

Then, Biden looked like a busted flush after trailing in fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire. A win in South Carolina  and a collective quiver of fear among moderate Democrats over the possibility of nominating Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)  delivered the nomination to Biden.

Trumps legal problems are getting worse

Even if Trumps support has remained solid so far, it may not be destined to remain so.

What happens when the GOP has to focus fully on whether to nominate a candidate who could be convicted of serious offenses by the time Election Day rolls around?

Trumps trial in the Mar-a-Lago matter has been set for May 20 next year.

Then there is the likelihood of Trumps other troubles deepening.

An indictment is widely expected soon over Jan. 6. Trump himself wrote on Truth Social on Monday that he expected an indictment any day now.

In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) is wrapping up her probe into attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election results in that state. Decisions on charges are expected in the next few weeks.

Every one of those cases, regardless of the verdicts, will put unflattering details of Trumps behavior back in the spotlight  and could, perhaps, give some Republican voters second thoughts about nominating him.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former President Donald Trumps lawyer Alina Habba has called Mr Trump the most ethical American she knows, while also saying he could have deleted the evidence if he so desired because he owns Mar-a-Lago, owns the IT, and pays his employees.

Speaking to Fox News Sunday host Shannon Bream, Ms Habba said, If there was an attempt for him to not turn over documents or he wanted something deleted, do you not think that this is something he couldnt have gotten done? Lets just use common sense. I think the American public forgets to use common sense.

Ms Bream replied, I mean thats the allegation, is that he did try to talk to these employees and his employees said, Eh, we may have to talk to someone else, I dont know that I can even do that.

Shannon, I know the facts and the facts are when President Trump gets a subpoena, it goes to the organization, and the organization turns it over, Ms Habba interjected. That is what actually happened.

The host was referring to the superseding indictment handed down on Thursday, which detailed a conversation between two Trump employees: Carlos De Oliveira, a maintenance supervisor at Mar-a-Lago, and Yuscil Taveras, the director of IT.

The private discussion included Mr De Oliveira asking how long the server retained footage, adding that the boss wanted the footage deleted.

Mr Taveras, according to the indictment, told Mr De Oliveira would have to reach out to the supervisor of security.

Ms Habba also said no tapes were deleted and Mr Trump cooperated.

If President Trump didnt want something turned over, I assure you, that is something that could have been done. But he never would act like that. He is the most ethical American I know, the former presidents attorney added.

Ms Habba was echoing Mr Trumps claims. The former president wrote on Truth Social on Sunday: Mar-a-Lago security tapes were not deleted. He continued, They were voluntarily handed over to the thugs, headed up by deranged Jack Smith. We did not even go to court to stop them from getting these tapes. I never told anybody to delete them. Prosecutorial fiction & misconduct! Election interference!

Special Counsel Jack Smiths superseding indictment added several new counts against Mr Trump and Walt Nauta, his valet and co-defendant, as well as added another co-defendant: Mr De Oliveira.

Mr Trump wrote on the platform on Monday that he suspects the indictment surrounding the events of January 6 and efforts to overturn the 2020 election will be coming out any day now. He previously announced that the special counsel informed him that he was a target in that probe.
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Former President Donald Trumps fortunes seem to be moving in opposing directions.

He is burning cash on an expanding, multipronged legal war with fronts in courtrooms up and down the East Coast: New York, Florida, Georgia and Washington, DC. Trials are already scheduled for March in Manhattan and May in Florida.

But Trumps place atop the Republican primary field for the 2024 presidential race has never felt more secure and his chances against President Joe Biden have never felt more competitive.

Trumps political power feeds on his criminal exposure

In a self-propelling cycle, Trumps grassroots political supporters give a portion of their donations to his leadership PAC, which is paying his epic legal bills  more than $40 million in the first half of this year alone.

And his campaign, fueled by outrage over his legal problems that Trump alleges are politically motivated, remains his best bet for outlasting the two criminal cases he currently faces.

Two more criminal trials could be coming. Federal prosecutors may carry forward with allegations related to Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election. And the Fulton County district attorney in Georgia is wrapping up her own case and could bring charges by the end of August.

Read CNNs full report on Trumps legal bills.

Separately, The New York Times and CNNs Kristen Holmes reported Monday that Trumps leadership PAC, Save America, has asked for a refund on a $60 million contribution it gave to a super PAC formed to support Trump.

A legal defense fund is also being set up to help offset legal costs for Trumps associates. His aide Walt Nauta and the Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira are listed as co-defendants in federal charges related to alleged attempts to hide classified material from the FBI.

Related interactive: Track the indictments against Trump.

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De Oliveira made an initial court appearance Monday in Miami. But he did so without a Florida-based attorney, which might seem like an accident if Nauta had not done the same thing. Arraignments for both men were delayed as a result.

This court sketch shows Carlos De Oliveira and his lawyer at the James L. King Federal Courthouse in Miami on July 31, 2023. - William Hennessy Jr.

Delay is Trumps top legal strategy. His legal team has been working hard to delay and disassemble the cases against him.

Every day of delay counts, said CNNs senior justice correspondent Evan Perez, appearing on Inside Politics. Every bit of it will add up. The former presidents overall goal  he has made it very clear  is to  wait until after the election to actually go to trial.

Evidence of the delay strategy in many of his moves

Trumps request to have charges brought by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg  regarding a 2016 hush-money payment scheme involving an adult-film star  moved to federal court has been denied. Trump is appealing the ruling.

He has also tried to revive a previously abandoned RICO lawsuit alleging a conspiracy against him by Democrats and Hillary Clinton. Read CNNs report by Kara Scannell and Tierney Sneed on Trumps legal maneuvers.

Endgame in Georgia

Security measures have been ramped up around the Atlanta courthouse in Fulton County, Georgia, and a yearslong investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in that state is complete, according to District Attorney Fani Willis.

Weve been working for two and half years. Were ready to go, Willis told CNN affiliate WXIA.

Whether that means Trump will ultimately face charges in Georgia is unclear, although Willis has said she would make a decision by the end of August.

On Monday, the judge who has overseen Willis investigation, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, dismissed Trumps latest effort to circumvent the Georgia case, making clear the former president will have to wait until he is actually indicted there to fight potential charges.

Rumpelstiltskin

He also alluded in a footnote to how Trump has fanned fury at his legal problems for his own political purposes.

And for some, being the subject of a criminal investigation can, a la Rumpelstiltskin, be turned into golden political capital, making it seem more providential than problematic, McBurney wrote, drawing a parallel between the former president and the villain of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale who turns straw into gold.

Trump is also trying to have McBurney bounced from the case. A hearing before another judge is scheduled for August 10.

Read CNNs full report on the Fulton County probe by Sara Murray and Jason Morris.

Trumps political fortunes stay bright

CNNs Harry Enten has two very important points in his analysis.

Trump is in a very strong position to win the GOP primary.

Enten: No one in Trumps current polling position in the modern era has lost an open presidential primary that didnt feature an incumbent. Hes pulling in more than 50% of support in the national primary polls, i.e., more than all his competitors combined.

Proving Entens point, in a new New York Times/Siena College poll, Trump has the support of more than half, 54%, of the Republican primary electorate. He roughly triples the support for his nearest competitor, the flagging Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is under 20%.

Trump would be competitive in November 2024 against Biden.

Enten: What should arguably be more amazing is that despite most Americans agreeing that Trumps two indictments thus far were warranted, he remains competitive in a potential rematch with President Joe Biden. A poll out last week from Marquette University Law School had Biden and Trump tied percentage-wise (with a statistically insignificant few more respondents choosing Trump).

Enten notes that general election polling so far from the election should not be viewed as predictive, which could give Democrats some solace. But the fact is that both men have poor favorability ratings. And Trump is neck and neck with Biden in some key states like Pennsylvania.

And note: The primary will mostly be completed by the end of March, when the first of the currently scheduled criminal trials is set to get underway.

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Donald Trump Joe Raedle/Getty Images

On Friday, Donald Trump lost again in court. This time, it was in a $475 million defamation lawsuit he brought against CNN alleging that the network damaged his reputation by falsely describing his refrain about 2020 ballot fraud as the "Big Lie."

His aim in bringing this action was political more than legal. He wanted revenge against CNN  and to be able to tout, on the campaign trail, a court's judgment that his debunked claims that the 2020 election was stolen were in fact not big lies.

He got the exact opposite of what he wanted.

Judge Raag Singhal, a conservative federal district judge, delivered a particularly stinging blow to the man who appointed him and who has made political hay by attacking the media in general and CNN in particular. Singhal stood up to the former president just as other Trump-appointed judges have repeatedly done.

Singhal's opinion offers a civics lesson that likely will be lost on Trump. The judge defended press freedom and insisted that in a constitutional democracy facts and legal principles matter, things the former president seems incapable of understanding.

Notably, Trump's latest setback occurred notwithstanding his shameless "judge shopping"  Trump filed this suit in the Southern District of Florida, where four in five of the district court judges were appointed by him.

As for his courtroom losing streak, it's hard to square that with his 2016 campaign boasts that he'd "start winning" for America so often that "people are gonna get sick of it."

That boast has not fared well in his lawsuits. To claim that a news outlet, its writers, hosts and contributing scholars  including NYU historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an expert on authoritarianism and author of "Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present"  had defamed him by calling out his "Big Lie" took a special brand of chutzpah.

Trump, who has made baseless accusations and political defamation his stock in trade, wanted CNN to pay him millions in damages. He contended that the network had wrongly associated his name with those of Hitler and Joseph Goebbels, the infamous Nazi propaganda minister.

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Goebbels is frequently credited with the line, "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."

Trump has certainly followed that strategy, in large part by continually repeating his claim that the 2020 election was stolen by Joe Biden and the Democrats, with the aid of sinister outside forces. Indeed, it's his political brand.

He has continued to make this assertion long after he was told he had lost by then-Attorney General Bill Barr, as well as Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, his longtime aide Kellyanne Conway, his own daughter, Ivanka Trump, and two research firms hired by his campaign.

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Reportedly, in the aftermath of the 2020 election, Trump him said in a White House meeting that he didn't want the American people to know that "we lost."

Judge Singhal gave his response to all this, writing that CNN journalists and commentators calling out Trump's "Big Lie" were not making "factually false statements." Rather, they were stating opinions  and opinions, even those one may find "odious and repugnant," as the judge noted, cannot form the basis for a defamation action.

A free press not only must be able to report the news but also, as the Digital Media Law Project puts it, "to voice opinions, criticize others, and comment on matters of public interest."

Moreover, Singhal's decision states, "CNN's use of the phrase 'the Big Lie' in connection with Trump's election challenges does not," as Trump alleged, "give rise to a plausible inference that Trump advocates the persecution and genocide of Jews or any other group of people."

This ruling is especially noteworthy from a judge so conservative that he supports the apparent view of Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch that New York Times v. Sullivan, the 1964 Supreme Court decision that established protections for journalists in defamation cases, should be overturned. Trump agrees with this view and wants to make it easier to sue reporters and media outlets by getting rid of Sullivan.

That seminal First Amendment ruling provides "breathing room" for news organizations by protecting them from defamation suits unless their published statements about public official figures are "knowingly false or made in reckless disregard of the truth." The Sullivan decision ensures a lively fourth estate that unafraid to be critical of powerful people such as Trump, or for that matter Joe Biden or any other prominent public figure.

Despite Judge Singhal's critical view of Sullivan, he was careful to note that the 1964 decision is still "looked upon with favor by a majority" of the Supreme Court. He correctly recognized that he was bound by precedent to reject Trump's request that he hold Sullivan inapplicable in his case.

In the end, Singhal offered a much needed and vigorous defense of the press that stands in sharp contrast to Trump's characterization of it as "the enemy of the people." Trump learned once again that his legal dogs won't hunt in courts of law, and he will just have to learn live in a country where CNN and other media outlets can go on calling his election hoax what it is, a Big Lie.

Read more

on Donald J. Trump's legal problems
Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, arrives at the federal courthouse in Miami on Monday. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager at Mar-a-Lago, made his first court appearance on Monday after being charged by the Justice Department in an alleged plot with Donald Trump and Walt Nauta, the former presidents personal aide, to illegally keep classified documents at the Palm Beach, Fla., estate.

De Oliveira was charged with four counts, including conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to investigators.

Appearing in federal court in Miami, he was informed of the charges against him but did not enter a plea because did not have a lawyer listed who is able to practice in Florida, where the case will be tried. He was released on a $100,000 bond pending trial, and the arraignment was rescheduled for Aug. 10.

Boxes of records stored in a bathroom at Mar-a-Lago. (Justice Department via AP)

Chief Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres ordered De Oliveira to turn over his passport and said he cannot travel outside South Florida without permission.

[CNN: Mar-a-Lago property manager makes first court appearance in classified documents case]

De Oliveira was charged in a superseding indictment against Trump and Nauta, which was unsealed on Thursday. It alleged that Trump tried to have security video deleted after the Justice Department sent a subpoena for the footage in June 2022. According to prosecutors, De Oliveira asked an information technology staffer how long the server retained footage and told the employee that the boss wanted it deleted.

More Trump indictments looming

Trump in West Palm Beach, Fla., in March. (Jabin Botsford/Washington Post via Getty Images)

The new charges come as Trump braces for indictments in two other cases stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Last week, Trump said he had received a letter from special counsel Jack Smith informing him that he was a target of the Justice Departments ongoing investigation into his efforts to hold onto power following his loss in 2020, including his actions leading to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol.

Trump is reportedly facing three potential criminal charges: conspiracy to commit an offense against or defraud the United States; deprivation of rights; and witness tampering.

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On Thursday, the former presidents lawyers met with prosecutors in Washington, D.C., while a grand jury was hearing evidence in the case. They were told that he should expect to be charged in the case but were not given any indication of when an indictment would be brought.

Barricades go up in Georgia

Orange barricades are seen in front of Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on Thursday. (Arvin Temkar/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution via ZUMA Press Wire)

In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has signaled that indictments are possible in the next few weeks as a grand jury convenes to consider possible charges against the former president and others who tried to persuade Georgia election officials to reverse Trumps narrow loss to Joe Biden in the state. Biden carried Georgia by just 11,779 votes.

[AP: Trump could be indicted soon in Georgia. Here's a look at that investigation.]

Barricades were placed outside the Fulton County Courthouse in downtown Atlanta on Thursday ahead of possible charges against Trump and his associates.

Georgia judge skewers Trump

Trump at a campaign rally in Erie, Pa., on Saturday. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)

On Monday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said its too soon for Trump or his allies to seek to prohibit state prosecutors from continuing to investigate him.

While being the subject (or even target) of a highly publicized criminal investigation is likely an unwelcome and unpleasant experience, no court ever has held that that status alone provides a basis for the courts to interfere with or halt the investigation, McBurney wrote in a nine-page ruling. And for some, being the subject of a criminal investigation can, a la Rumpelstiltskin, be turned into golden political capital, making it seem more providential than problematic.

Trump is the prohibitive frontrunner in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. And his leadership PAC has already spent more than $40 million on his legal fees.

Big Lie suit against CNN dismissed

Trump at a CNN town hall in Columbia, S.C., in February 2016. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Meanwhile, a federal judge in Florida has dismissed Trumps defamation lawsuit against CNN. The suit had alleged that the Big Lie  the label given by the cable network to Trumps false claims of election fraud  was tantamount to comparing him to Adolf Hitler.

But U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal, who was appointed by Trump, disagreed.

CNNs use of the phrase the Big Lie' in connection with Trumps election challenges does not give rise to a plausible inference that Trump advocates the persecution and genocide of Jews or any other group of people, Singhal wrote in his decision.

Moreover, the judge ruled that the references made by the networks hosts were opinions and not factual statements, and were therefore protected by the First Amendment.
(CNN)  X, formerly known as Twitter, has reinstated Kanye Wests account on the social media platform. West will not be able to monetize his account, and no ads will appear next to his posts, the company told the Wall Street Journal on Saturday.

The musicians account was suspended in December for violating the platforms rules on inciting violence. The suspension followed multiple antisemitic comments made by West  who has legally changed his name to Ye  including a threat to Go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE. Those statements led to a swift disintegration of multiple business deals, including partnerships with Adidas and luxury fashion house Balenciaga.

Although CNN at the time was unable to determine which tweet had been the final straw, the day before his suspension West tweeted an altered image of the Star of David with a swastika inside.

Twitter has long been embroiled in questions surrounding moderation, with the platforms CEO Elon Musk describing himself as a free speech absolutist. After agreeing to buy the company last October, he said Twitter would be very reluctant to delete things and be very cautious with permanent bans.

But after West was suspended, Musk tweeted I tried my best. Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence.

In April, Twitters safety team launched a new content enforcement strategy called Freedom of Speech, Not Reach, which focused on restricting the reach of Tweets that violate our policies by making the content less discoverable.

This approach, in part, requires the team to proactively prevent ads from appearing adjacent to content labeled as violative.

In an update earlier this month, the safety team reported that these labeled tweets receive 81% less reach or impressions than non-restricted ones, and that more than 99.99% of Tweet impressions are from  content that does not violate our rules.

Twitters Violent Speech Policy prohibits inciting and glorifying violence, wishing harm on other people, and threatening others. But it makes some exceptions, including for figures of speech, satire, or artistic expression when the context is expressing a viewpoint rather than instigating actionable violence or harm.

We make sure to evaluate and understand the context behind the conversation before taking action, the policy states, adding that if a user believes their account was wrongfully suspended, they can submit an appeal.

Its not clear whether West submitted an appeal, or if something else prompted his accounts reactivation. The musician has yet to post on the platform. CNN has reached out to Twitter and a representative for West but has not received a response.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Elon Musk reactivates Kanye Wests Twitter account following X rebrand"
Former President Donald Trumps political action committee spent more than $40 million on legal fees in the first half of 2023 alone amid a growing maelstrom of lawsuits and indictments, The Washington Post reported this weekend.

Trumps PAC, Save America, is expected to disclose the gargantuan level of spending in filings with the Federal Election Commission on Monday. The Post notes the massive spending accounts for the former presidents own legal team, and also attorneys for his former aides, advisers and supporters that have been ensnared in the investigations related to his behavior during and after his presidency.

The fact that the political group is paying for legal counsel for dozens of people, including those that could be witnesses in various trials, has raised concerns among prosecutors about potential conflicts of interest, the Post added.

The $40.2 million in spending this year brings the PACs total outlay for legal fees to $56 million since Trump left the White House, with the prospect of much more to come.

Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith filed more federal felony charges against Trump on Thursday as part of his investigation into the former presidents handling of classified information after his presidency. Smiths team is also reportedly nearing charging decisions in relation to the ongoing investigation into Trumps behavior surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol.

Trump faces state-level charges related to payments made at the end of 2016 to the porn star Stormy Daniels. And prosecutors in Georgia are probing his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election there.

Former US President Donald Trump speaks during a

Former US President Donald Trump speaks during a "Save America" rally in support of US Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) ahead of the midterm elections at Miami-Dade County Fair and Exposition in Miami, Florida, on November 6, 2022.

The New York Times added Saturday the staggering legal fees have grown so large Save America requested a refund on a $60 million contribution it made to another pro-Trump group. The request signals the Trump war chest may be dwindling despite the former presidents vise grip on the Republican nominating contest for the 2024 presidential race. The Times added that Trump raised more than $100 million in small-dollar donations after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, which was parked in the Save America PAC accounts.

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The political group began 2023 with just $18 million cash on hand.

A spokesman for Trumps campaign told the Times the mammoth spending was part of an ongoing political attack against the former president.

The weaponized Department of Justice has continued to go after innocent Americans because they worked for President Trump and they know they have no legitimate case, the spokesman, Steven Cheung, told the newspaper.

Related...
WASHINGTON (AP)  Donald Trumps political operation entered the second half of the year in a strained financial position with its bank account drained by tens of millions of dollars that were directed toward defending the former president from mounting legal challenges as he seeks the White House again.

Trump took in over $53 million since the start of 2023, records show, a period in which his two criminal indictments in Florida and New York were turned into a rallying cry that sent his fundraising soaring. Yet the Republican presidential front-runner burned through at least $42.8 million this year, much of it used to cover costs related to the mounting legal peril faced by Trump, his aides and other allies, leaving him with $31.8 million cash on hand. And that was after receiving a lifeline from a pro-Trump super PAC that agreed to refund millions of dollars in contributions that Trump's operation had previously donated to it.

New campaign finance disclosures made public ahead of Monday night's filing deadline showed Trump's network of political committees spent roughly $25 million on legal fees. But according to a person familiar with the situation who insisted on anonymity to discuss the matter, the number is considerably higher: $40 million this year alone.

An analysis of campaign finance reports shows Trump's political committees have paid out at least $59.2 million to more than 100 lawyers and law firms since January 2021, when a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and many of his current legal woes began in earnest.

Trump's campaign cash woes place him in a familiar position, carrying an echo of the 2020 presidential contest when his massive cash advantage over Joe Biden evaporated amid profligate spending by his campaign. Though Trump currently dominates the Republican primary field, a lack of cash could force his campaign to make difficult spending decisions as he braces for the possibility of two additional indictments, which could come as soon as this week in Georgia and Washington and are related to his efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election.

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Ive never seen anything like it, said Paul S. Ryan, a longtime campaign finance attorney in Washington, referring to the sum Trump's operation spent on legal fees this year. Theres no legal issue. Its really just a question for his donors: Do they want to be funding lawyers?

Trump is not alone in his money struggles. His top rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis raised over $20 million after launching his much-hyped candidacy in May. But DeSantis, who trails Trump in a distant second place, hemorrhaged cash in his first six weeks as a candidate, burning through $8 million in a spending spree that included more than 100 paid staffers, a large security detail and luxury travel.

Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting him that can raise and spend unlimited amounts, reported raising $130 million in a filings submitted before Monday's midnight deadline. But it also spent roughly one-quarter of that money, much of it going to cover operations, like voter turnout, that are often paid for by a candidate's campaign, filings show.

The group was financed with $80 million left over from DeSantis' successful 2022 gubernatorial reelection campaign. Most of the other cash was raised from several dozen corporations and donors, who gave over $100,000, including Robert Bigelow, a Las Vegas-based businessman, who gave Never Back Down $20 million, records show.

DeSantis has pledged to reset and trim expenses, laying off more than a third of his staff. Trump does not have the same luxury.

To help offset his growing legal bills, Trump's allies are launching a new fundraising effort. The Patriot Legal Defense Fund, as it is called, is intended to defray costs for those defending against legal actions arising from an individual or groups participation in the political process, according to a filing made last month with the IRS. The group will be run by Trump campaign senior advisers Susie Wiles and Michael Glassner.

The weaponized Department of Justice and the deranged Jack Smith have targeted innocent Americans associated with President Trump," said Trump spokesman Steven Cheung. In order to combat these heinous actions by Joe Bidens cronies and to protect these innocent people from financial ruin and prevent their lives from being completely destroyed, a new legal defense fund will help pay for their legal fees." The fund was first reported by The New York Times.

Smith is the special counsel leading the federal investigations of Trump. His team has expressed interest in the payment of legal fees for Trump-aligned witnesses in the investigations and has sought information about it, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss ongoing criminal probes.

One of the primary committees used to pay Trump's legal bills, Save America, has also requested that his super PAC, MAGA Inc., return some of the money that it transferred to seed the group to help cover costs. Filings show Save America received $12.2 million in refunds from the group in May and June.

A spokesman for the super PAC did not respond to a request for comment.

Campaigns routinely pay attorneys to manage their electoral and campaign finance matters. But legal experts say Trump's staggering legal spending is unprecedented.

Most of top recipients have represented Trump and his allies in a sprawling series of investigations. Attorney Alina Habba, a Trump legal spokeswoman who worked on the civil sexual assault brought by writer E Jean Carroll, has collected $3.5 million for her firm since 2022, records show. The firm of Evan Corcoran, a lawyer in the Mar-a-Lago documents case, has collected $3.4 million. Entities established by Stefan Passantino, a former Trump White House ethics lawyer who advised Trump world figures in the House's investigation of the January 6 attack, have received $3.1 million, records show.

Trump launched Save America in the days after the 2020 election loss to Biden. For weeks, the group bombarded supporters with a nonstop stream of text messages and emails that purported to raise money for an election defense fund that would be used to contest the election's outcome.

But the $170 million that the effort raised in less than a month was not used to contest the election, records show. Instead, it was used to pay down campaign debt and replenish the coffers of the Republican National Committee, with Trump also stockpiling another large chunk for his future political endeavors. Last year, the Justice Department issued a round of grand jury subpoenas that sought information about the political action committees fundraising practices.

___

Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
A Department of Justice handout photo shows stacks of boxes in a bathroom at the Mar-a-Lago Club (-)

The property manager of Donald Trump's Florida estate made his first court appearance on Monday to face charges he helped the former president conceal top secret government documents.

Carlos De Oliveira, 56, who is accused of conspiring to obstruct justice, destroying evidence and making false statements, was released pending trial on a bond of $100,000.

The grey-haired De Oliveira, who was wearing a navy blue suit, did not enter a plea because he has not yet retained a local attorney.

He listened attentively as magistrate judge Edwin Torres read the charges against him at a brief hearing in federal court in Miami.

The 77-year-old Trump pleaded not guilty in June to multiple charges of unlawfully retaining national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements.

The former president is scheduled to go on trial next May at the height of what is expected to be a bitter and divisive presidential election campaign.

Trump is the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and a New York Times/Siena poll on Monday had him with a commanding 54 percent to 17 percent lead over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis among likely Republican primary voters.

Special counsel Jack Smith filed additional charges against Trump in a superseding indictment last week and added De Oliveira as a co-defendant.

The new charges relate to Trump's alleged efforts to obstruct the FBI investigation and its bid to recover classified documents he took with him when he left the White House in January 2021.

Trump is accused in the latest indictment of attempting to delete security camera footage at his Mar-A-Lago residence to prevent it from being provided to the FBI and a grand jury.

Also charged are Trump's personal aide Waltine "Walt" Nauta and De Oliveira, the Mar-A-Lago property manager.

Nauta, a 40-year-old US Navy veteran from Guam, served as Trump's military valet while he was president and has continued working for him in a personal capacity since he left the White House.

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Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira allegedly sought to have another Trump employee, who is not identified in the indictment, erase security camera footage at Mar-A-Lago.

De Oliveira, according to the indictment, allegedly told "Trump Employee 4" that "the boss" wanted the server containing security camera footage of a storage room deleted.

De Oliveira is additionally charged with making false statements to the FBI.

Asked if he ever helped unload or move boxes of documents at Mar-A-Lago, De Oliveira said he had not.

"Never saw nothing," he said.

- 'We're ready to go' -

De Oliveira and Nauta are scheduled to go on trial with Trump unless they enter into plea deals with prosecutors bringing the first ever criminal case against a former president.

The twice-impeached Trump is accused of endangering national security by holding on to top secret nuclear and defense information after leaving the White House.

Trump allegedly kept the files unsecured at Mar-a-Lago -- a club that entertains thousands of members and guests every year -- and thwarted official efforts to retrieve them.

Trump faces other legal woes including a looming indictment from Smith for his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday, said he believes an indictment will be coming "any day now" from "Deranged Jack Smith and his highly partisan gang of Thugs" and complained of "election interference."

Georgia prosecutors are also investigating whether Trump illegally attempted to reverse the election outcome in the southern state.

Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis, who has been leading the probe, told a local television station over the weekend that the "work is accomplished" and "we're ready to go."

The probe was sparked by Trump's January 2, 2021 phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, when he infamously pressured election officials to "find" the 11,780 votes that would reverse his defeat to Biden in the state.

Trump also faces multiple felony counts in a New York fraud case involving alleged hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.

gma-cl/bgs
The property manager at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida is set to be arraigned on charges in the case involving Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents. File Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI

July 31 (UPI) -- Former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago property manager was released on $100,000 bond on Monday after his initial court appearance in a superseding indictment in federal court.

Carlos De Oliveira, 56, was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Miami in relation to the ongoing special counsel investigation into Trump's handling of classified documents. He was named as a co-conspirator on Thursday as he was accused of helping Trump attempt to delete security camera footage.

Prosecutors said the footage showed him and another co-defendant, Walt Nauta, move boxes in and out of a storage room they believe secret government files were stored illegally. De Oliveira was named as a co-conspirator with Trump on three new charges. That brings the number of charges against Trump in the case to 40.

His formal arraignment was delayed until August because De Oliveira had not obtained a local attorney.

The judge also ordered that De Oliveira cannot travel outside of Florida without permission.

Former President Donald Trump faces 40 charges related to the mishandling of classified documents. Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Justice/UPI

For his part, De Oliveira faces four criminal charges: conspiracy to obstruct justice; "altering, destroying, mutilating or concealing" documents; "corruptly altering, destroying, mutilating or concealing a document, record or other object;" and making false statements to the FBI in January when he denied any role in moving the trove of materials.

According to the new indictment, De Oliveira helped Nauta relocate 30 boxes of classified materials into a storage unit at Trump's behest "to conceal information from the FBI and grand jury."

Federal prosecutors allege Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira "attempted to delete surveillance footage at the Mar-a-Lago Club."

The charges against the three men come amid special counsel Jack Smith's eight-month investigation into the former president's failed efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and his handling of secret documents after leaving office.

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De Oliveira was referenced but not named in the original indictment as one of the "others" who loaded boxes of the documents onto a plane that flew Trump and his family north for the summer.

The indictment alleges De Oliveira approached a co-worker at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., and asked about the property's security footage, saying "the boss" wanted the server deleted and asked how long the videos remain on file, the indictment says. The conversation took place soon after the government sent a subpoena to Trump's legal team for the security footage, the indictment said.

Last August, more than 100 top secret papers were seized from the resort after numerous boxes of documents were taken from the White House during Trump's final days as president.

De Oliveira worked his way up at Mar-a-Lago from maintenance worker to property manager after more than a decade.

Two weeks after the documents were seized, Trump reached out to De Oliveira and promised to hire him an attorney as a way to keep him quiet, the indictment alleges.

Later, De Oliveira, through another employee, indicated he would remain "loyal" and "not do anything to affect his relationship with Trump," according to the indictment.

Trump, who is the first president in history to be indicted on federal criminal charges, continues to deny any wrongdoing, saying previously that he had the power as president to "automatically" declassify the secret papers.

But last month, an audio recording emerged of Trump acknowledging he did not have the authority to declassify "highly confidential" materials he took with him after leaving the White House.

The 2-minute recording of Trump, taken in July 2021, suggests he was fully aware the documents had never been declassified, contrary to what the former president has acknowledged publicly since.

Trump and Nauta are scheduled to go on trial next May.
Former President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania Trump. Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP via Getty Images

Trump says it's "always unpleasant" when he has to tell Melania about getting indicted again.

"And she says, 'For what?' And I say, 'I have no idea. I have absolutely no idea,'" Trump added.

Trump has been indicted twice, and is still facing a full docket of ongoing investigations.

Former President Donald Trump says it is never a pleasant experience telling his wife about his many legal troubles.

"It's always unpleasant when you have to go in and tell your wife that, 'By the way, tomorrow sometime I'm going to be indicted,'" Trump told radio host John Fredericks on a July 28 episode of "The John Fredericks Show."

"And she says, 'For what?' And I say, 'I have no idea. I have absolutely no idea,'" Trump continued.

Trump has been arraigned in two separate investigations. In April, he was arrested and charged in connection with hush money payments made to the porn actress, Stormy Daniels. And in June, he was arraigned for a second time in Florida, and accused of mishandling top-secret information. Prosecutors say he violated the Espionage Act 31 times, and lied to the FBI.

The former president was also hit with a superseding indictment on July 27 in relation to the Mar-a-Lago documents case. This was after additional charges were brought against him for obstructing the investigation by attempting to delete surveillance footage at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

While Trump has attempted to appear unfazed by his legal problems, staffers say he's often been fearful of his wife and her reactions to what he does.

For one, Trump took two hours before finally going to face Melania after the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape was released back in 2016, per an excerpt from The Washington Post reporter Mary Jordan's book on Melania, "The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump."

Kellyanne Conway, one of Trump's senior White House aides, said in a November 28 testimony to the House panel investigating the Capitol riot that Trump only fears Melania.

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"He reserves  he listens to many of us, but he reserves fear for one person, Melania Trump," Conway told the committee's investigators.

A representative for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Donald Trump JOED VIERA/AFP via Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump spent his weekend firing off a series of grievances about his ongoing legal woes on Truth Social and teased that he expects to be indicted again "any day now."

Trump repeatedly accused special counsel Jack Smith of "election interference" because of the timing of the charges. On Friday, Trump focused on the recent superseding indictment filed in his Mar-a-Lago documents case, arguing that he never deleted video evidence connected to his reported mishandling of national security documents at his Florida estate as alleged in the new charges.

"The Security Tapes that were VOLUNTARILY given to Deranged Jack Smith and the DOJ were not, I am told, deleted in any way, shape, or form," Trump wrote, accusing Smith of "prosecutorial misconduct."

Trump on Saturday claimed that the timing of the new charges was intended to "Interfere and disturb my run for the White House."

"Why did the Radical Left Democrat Prosecutors wait so long to bring these ridiculous cases against me," Trump ranted. "They could have been brought years ago but no, they waited to bring them in the middle of my campaign for President because that way they could Interfere and disturb my run for the White House. Two more coming, I guess? What they didn't count on is the fact that the people of America understand these thugs and lowlifes, and my poll numbers have only gone up!"

Several hours later, Trump posted a 1987 letter from former president Richard Nixon, in which Nixon seemingly endorses Trump's future political aptitude. In the letter, Nixon notes Trump's appearance on "The Donahue Show," and while Nixon did not view the program, his "expert on politics" wife, Pat Nixon, did.

"She predicts that whenever you decide to run for office you will be a winner!" Nixon wrote.

Look, we know we compare Trump to Nixon a lot, but we didnt expect him to do it too pic.twitter.com/dYWGnPdFcY  Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) July 29, 2023

Not long after sharing Nixon's correspondence, Trump once again lambasted the "CORRUPT MARXIST PROSECUTORS" investigating him, falsely arguing that Smith and his team are trying to "STEAL ANOTHER ELECTION."

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"WHY DIDN'T THE CORRUPT MARXIST PROSECUTORS BRING THESE RADICAL & UNJUSTIFIED CHARGES AGAINST ME 2.5 YEARS AGO, LONG BEFORE MY PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN HAD BEGUN. NOW DERANGED JACK SMITH WILL PROBABLY BRING ANOTHER CASE, ALONG WITH THE RACIST D.A. IN CRIME RIDDEN ATLANTA, WHO HAS BEEN WAITING FOR THE PERFECT TIME DURING MY CAMPAIGN TO FILE. THIS IS ELECTION INTERFERENCE & PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT! THEY ARE ALL, IN A COORDINATED ATTACK, TRYING TO STEAL ANOTHER ELECTION, BUT WE WON'T LET THEM!!!" he wrote.

On Sunday, Trump circled back to his latest charges, refuting allegations that surveillance footage from Mar-a-Lago was intentionally deleted.

"MAR-A-LAGO SECURITY TAPES WERE NOT DELETED. THEY WERE VOLUNTARILY HANDED OVER TO THE THUGS, HEADED UP BY DERANGED JACK SMITH. WE DID NOT EVEN GO TO COURT TO STOP THEM FROM GETTING THESE TAPES. I NEVER TOLD ANYBODY TO DELETE THEM. PROSECUTORIAL FICTION & MISCONDUCT! ELECTION INTERFERENCE!" he raged.

Trump claimed that Smith's team is "admitting that the Mar-a-Lago Security Tapes were NOT DELETED," even though the indictment only alleges that he ordered aides to delete the footage. No one has been charged with deleting any footage.

The former president went on to compare his situation to that of President Joe Biden, who had national security documents in the garage of his Delaware family home but returned them as soon as they were identified.

"Also, whatever happened to Crooked Joe's Documents? Where are the ones he sent and stored in Chinatown? Is Deranged Jack going to Indict him for this and, at the same time, receiving BRIBES FROM CHINA?" Trump wrote, referring to unfounded bribery allegations related to Hunter Biden that have been pushed by Republican allies.

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

Trump then singled out special counsel Robert Hur, who has been tasked with investigating documents found in Biden's Penn Biden Center, attempting to draw out perceived discrepancies between Biden's classified documents case and his own.

"Is Special Counsel Robert Hur going to step up and behave like Deranged Jack Smith with regard to Crooked Joe Biden's MANY Document crimes (remember, unlike me, Biden is not covered by the Presidential Records Act!) and all of the other crimes committed by him and the Biden Crime Family? Will Hur prosecute these grifters? Everybody is laughing at Robert Hur, saying he is not tough like Deranged Jack Smith. Show them, Robert, that you are every bit the man as the 'Deranged One,'" Trump wrote.

On Sunday evening, Trump poked at a longstanding GOP fixation with Hillary Clinton, who is often used as a political scapegoat by Republicans after facing a federal probe in 2016 for reportedly disseminating classified information from a personal email server while acting as secretary of state.

"Hillary Clinton deleted 33,000 Emails, many of them Classified, after getting a Subpoena from Congress," Trump posted. "Nothing happened to her, & stupid James Comey, then head of the FBI, stated that no reasonable prosecutor would prosecute this. Then why is Deranged Jack Smith prosecuting me when I did nothing wrong, as per the PRA? The answer is Election Interference - They are using the Department of Injustice in an attempt to Rig & Steal the Presidential Election on 2024. This is Prosecutorial Misconduct!"

On Monday morning, Trump asserted that his federal probes should be disallowed "during, and in the middle of, my campaign for President."

"Why didn't they file these ridiculous charges 2.5 years ago?" he asked his Truth Social followers. "They waited because they wanted to illegally and negatively influence the 2024 Presidential Election, arguably the most important Election in the history of the USA. We are going to take our now Third World Nation (Airports, Elections, Roads/Highways, Borders, etc.) and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. BE STRONG!"

Trump followed up by revealing that he expects to be charged in Smith's Jan. 6 probe "any day now."

"I assume that an Indictment from Deranged Jack Smith and his highly partisan gang of Thugs, pertaining to my 'PEACEFULLY & PATRIOTICALLY Speech, will be coming out any day now, as yet another attempt to cover up all of the bad news about bribes, payoffs, and extortion, coming from the Biden 'camp,'" he wrote. "This seems to be the way they do it."

Read more

about Trump's legal woes
(Bloomberg) -- A judge has removed a major hurdle for Donald Trump to be indicted in Georgia over his attempt to overturn the 2020 election result by denying his request to toss out evidence gathered by a special grand jury.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney on Monday also denied Trumps request to disqualify the county district attorney, Fani Willis, from the probe. The judge rejected the argument that Willis had demonstrated bias against the former president and instead criticized Trumps own comments about the case.

The drumbeat from the District Attorney has been neither partisan (in the political sense) nor personal, in marked and refreshing contrast to the stream of personal invective flowing from one of the movants, the judge wrote.

The ruling appears to clear the way for Willis to charge Trump over his role in trying to overturn his loss in 2020 to President Joe Biden in the swing state, adding to Trumps federal indictment in Florida over his handling of classified documents and other legal woes. Willis has said she may seek an indictment in the grand jury term that runs from July 11 to Sept. 1, and shes asked Fulton County judges to schedule no trials in the weeks of Aug. 7 and 14.

QuickTake: What Trumps Many Legal Perils Mean for His 2024 Bid

McBurney wrote that his ruling appears to moot a parallel case Trump filed challenging the Fulton County investigation in the same trial court. The Georgia Supreme Court previously dismissed yet another challenge Trump had tried to pursue. The judge criticized Trump for filing the other cases, saying hed done so perplexingly, prematurely, and with the standard pugnacity.

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McBurney, in rejecting a challenge at this stage to the special grand jurys report, held that Trumps claimed injuries from the investigation are speculative and unrealized, depriving him of legal standing to challenge the probe before any indictment has been issued.

They are insufficient because, while being the subject (or even target) of highly publicized criminal investigation is likely an unwelcome and unpleasant experience, no court ever has held that that status alone provides basis for the courts to interfere with or halt the investigation, McBurney wrote.

A spokesperson for Willis office declined to comment. Trumps attorney Drew Findling and a spokesperson for the former president were not immediately reached for comment.

McBurney ruled on a March 20 filing by Trumps lawyers attacking the special purpose grand jury, which heard 75 witnesses but lacked the authority to charge anyone. Trumps filing called that process confusing, flawed and, at-times, blatantly unconstitutional.

If Trump is charged, the judge wrote in Mondays opinion, he could renew his objections to how Willis office had pursued the investigation.

Guessing at what that picture might look like before the investigative dots are connected may be a popular game for the media and blogosphere, but it is not a proper role for the courts and formal legal argumentation, he wrote.

The judge rejected Trumps claim that Willis should be disqualified because of her public statements about the case, saying her public relations campaign has been fairly routine and legally unobjectionable for a high-profile case that is anything but routine.

The prosecutor is not a neutral party and does not need to pretend to be: she has a cause she has sworn to pursue, the judge wrote.

(Updates with detail from ruling.)

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Former President Trump on Monday suggested his Republican presidential rivals debate for the chance to be his running mate, amid questions over whether Trump will join other GOP White House hopefuls at the partys first primary debate next month.

Let them debate so I can see who I MIGHT consider for Vice President! Trump wrote on Truth Social. The former president is running for another four years in the White House after losing his reelection bid in 2020 to President Biden.

Trump, who is polling as the GOP front-runner for 2024, has suggested that he doesnt need to participate in the debates, the first of which is slated for Aug. 23 in Milwaukee.

At a rally in Erie, Pa., over the weekend, Trump was met with a chorus of no when he asked the crowd whether he should take part in the debate.

Am I going to stand up there by guys with zero, 1, 2, 3 percent, maybe 4, and have them ask me hostile questions? he asked Saturday. Trump has argued that Fox News, which will host the first debate, is a hostile network.

Many in his party are split on whether he should attend. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and several of Trumps GOP rivals are among those pushing for him to get on the stage next month.

A Trump adviser earlier this month said the former president hadnt yet made up his mind on whether to participate in the Republican presidential primary debates but said that its unlikely that he participates in at least the first two events. Trump also threatened to skip debates several times during his 2016 and 2020 White House bids.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and the Baykar Makina Turkish company have agreed to build a repair and maintenance service centre for unmanned aerial vehicles.

Source: European Pravda with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine

Details: The agreement about the creation of a service centre for Turkish drones was signed within the framework of the intergovernmental agreement between Ukraine and Turkiye about cooperation in the sector of hi-tech, aircraft and space industries, which came into force in January 2023.

Ukraines Defence Ministry remarked that this step will significantly strengthen the cooperation between Kyiv and Ankara in the defence sector and will become a substantial contribution to the defence capacity of Ukraine, bringing its victory closer.

Kostiantyn Vashchenko, State Secretary of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, stated that the repair and maintenance centre for Baykar drones will be created "in the nearest future".

Background: The Turkish Baykar company obtained from authorities the licences necessary to manufacture Bayraktar TB2 and Aknc drones in Ukraine in June 2023. Next month, the construction of the Bayraktar plant in Ukraine has begun.

Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defence of Ukraine, stated earlier that the drones that would be produced at the plant will be equipped with Ukrainian-produced engines. The training centre for Bayraktar operators of different categories will also be created.

In 2019, Baykar founded Avia Ventures with the goal of opening two plants in Ukraine.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
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The saga of North Carolina state Rep. Tricia Cotham (R) is a strange one: She was a vocally pro-choice Democrat who revealed in 2015 that shed had a medically necessary abortion, then won her old seat in November 2022 only to defect to the Republican party in April and give the GOP a supermajority that they used to pass an abortion ban. Now, new reporting shows that local Republicans urged her to run as a Democratfooling voters in her very blue Charlotte-area district into thinking she strongly supported abortion rightsand were planting the seeds for her party switch for months.

On Sunday, the New York Times reported that both Republican House Speaker Tim Moore and Republican Majority Leader John Bell encouraged her to run in the Democratic primary in the spring of 2022. The Times described it this way: Republican leaders cultivated her before she ran and, seeing her growing estrangement [from Democrats], seized a chance to coax her across party lines.

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Former Cotham associates painted a picture of a woman who thought Democrats were being mean to her. Longtime advisor Jonathan Coby said she was angry after the gun vote. She said, Im either going to switch parties or resign, he recalled. The things she was telling me then were like, The Democrats dont like me, the Republicans have helped me out a lot and been nice to me. (Coby said similar things to Jezebel in May.) Lacey Williams, a former advocacy director at the Charlotte-based Latin American Coalition in Charlotte, said Cotham felt she did not get the gratitude or spotlight that she felt she deserved.



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In January of this year, Cotham co-sponsored a bill to codify Roe v. Wade into state law, but Jillian Reilly, a lobbyist for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, told the Times that Cotham refused to meet with the group and wouldnt take its phone calls. House Democratic Party leader Robert Reives showed the Times text exchanges between him and Cotham that the paper characterized as friendly. It never would have crossed my mind that she was having issues, Reives said.

Back in 2015, Cotham spoke on the House floor about her own medically necessary abortion for an ectopic pregnancy. After a leaked draft showed the Supreme Court was set to overturn Roe, she said on Twitter that she would be unwavering and unapologetic in her support of abortion rights. But after her party switch, she voted twice to ban abortion after 12 weeks, first to pass it and again to override the governors veto.

In June, she had the gall to say she was still the same person, and claimed she was never really that strong of an abortion supporter. With abortion, thats never been an issue that I was always out there for at all, she said per the News & Observer. A week later, she continued in her valiant attempts to rewrite history by saying she didnt have an abortion. I had a miscarriage, and a miscarriage in medical terms is called a spontaneous abortion, she told a radio host. And so instead of sayingfirst of all, they should not even be talking about my miscarriage, that is just very painful and wrongbut theyre repeating this message that I had an abortion, and that is false.

But back in 2015, when Cotham shared her experience on the House floor to oppose a bill that would restrict abortion, she used very different language, saying she had an induced, physician-assisted miscarriage. Thats definitely not a spontaneous event. Cotham was even featured in a June 2015 Time story on lawmakers talking about their abortions.

On April 23, 2015, NC Rep. Tricia Cotham delivers emotional speech in opposition to proposed waiting periods for women seeking abortions. She shares personal story. This decision was up to me, my husband, my doctor and my God. It was not up to any of you in this chamber. #ncpol pic.twitter.com/2Of51R7amX  Bryan Anderson (@BryanRAnderson) April 5, 2023

Now, thanks to the whims of one mercurial lawmaker courted by the GOP, abortion is less accessible for North Carolinians and millions of people across the South.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 31)  The Philippine government and the European Union (EU) signed a bilateral agreement on the Joint Declaration on the Green Economy Program, which would provide the former with a grant worth 60 million euros to pursue efforts on this front.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen witnessed the signing ceremony in Malacanang on Monday.

The signatories were Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga and Ambassador of the European Union to the Philippines Luc Veron.

In his speech, Marcos said he had a productive meeting with von der Leyen, who is in the Philippines for an official visit.

On development cooperation, we committed to conclude a financing agreement on the green economy program in the Philippines, Marcos said.

He said the grant would help the countrys efforts in the areas of circular economy, renewable energy, and climate change mitigation.

Under a circular economy, resources are maximally used and waste is avoided. In effect, todays waste is tomorrows raw materials.

Von der Leyen, meanwhile, said the EU would provide financing expertise and access to technologies to back the Philippines in its shift to a circular economy.

The EU official likewise expressed support for the governments battle against climate change and extreme weather events.

On positioning the country as a digital hub in the region, von der Leyen said, European companies are ready to come and invest in the Philippines.

We will launch this year, the digital economy package for the Philippines. That is we will work together on fast and reliable connectivity with submarine cables on cybersecurity training, and on deployment and development of 5G, she added.
The owners of Twitter have been accused of trying to "bully" anti-hate campaigners into silence with letters threatening legal action.

The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) said X Corp accused it of making "troubling and baseless claims" in its reports about the platform.

Elon Musk bought the platform last year promising to defend free speech.

Imran Ahmed, CCDH chief executive, said Mr Musk's actions were "a brazen attempt to silence honest criticism".

Twitter was rebranded as X by Mr Musk just over a week ago.

Since Mr Musk took over Twitter, the platform has been accused - including by former employees - of not doing enough to counter hate-speech and misinformation. Conversely, in December Mr Musk tweeted that hate speech was down by a third.

On Sunday the platform reinstated Kanye West after an almost eight-month ban for a series of offensive tweets - one of which appeared to show a symbol combining a swastika and the Star of David.

In the letter to the CCDH, X Corp lawyer Alex Spiro rejected the campaign group's allegations that Twitter "fails to act on 99%" of hateful messages from accounts with Twitter Blue subscriptions.

Mr Spiro criticised the organisation's methodology, writing that "the article is little more than a series of inflammatory, misleading, and unsupported claims based on a cursory review of random tweets."

He also alleged that CCDH was supported by funding from "X Corp's commercial competitors, as well as government entities and their affiliates".

The letter accused the organisation of attempting to drive away advertisers and said X Corp was considering legal action. The company has lost almost half of its advertising revenue since his $44bn (33.6bn) takeover, Mr Musk revealed in July.

In its reply CCDH's lawyer Roberta Kaplan said the allegations in the "ridiculous letter" had no basis in fact but were "a disturbing effort to intimidate those who have the courage to advocate against incitement, hate speech and harmful content online".

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CCDH says it does not accept funding from social media companies nor government bodies, "both of whom we praise or criticise without fear or favour".

British politicians backed CCDH for its work on highlighting hate speech on social media.

Damian Collins, a British MP on the UK board of CCDH, said Elon Musk's commitment to free speech didn't seem to apply when his firm was criticised.

As a UK board member I'm proud of @ccdhate exposing hate online & challenging tech platforms to enforce their own rules to remove it. Now they face legal threats from @elonmusk - it seems he's pro free speech as long as it's not critical of his companies https://t.co/sRzxaBJVKo  Damian Collins (@DamianCollins) July 31, 2023

Shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell MP said that CCDH "does vitally important work tackling hate online and calling out platforms which fail to counter dis- and misinformation on their sites".

After the company was renamed, X Corp removed the old Twitter sign from its headquarters in San Francisco and replaced it with a new brightly lit and flashing X.

However, the company has now been ordered to remove the new sign due to complaints.
X Corp., the parent company of the social media app formerly known as Twitter, sent a letter this month to a nonprofit organization that researches digital hate speech and misinformation, accusing the group of making a "series of troubling and baseless claims that appear calculated to harm Twitter generally, and its digital advertising business specifically."

The Center for Countering Digital Hate uploaded screenshots of the letter to its website Monday under the heading, "Musk threatens CCDH with brazen attempt to silence honest criticism." In the three-page letter, dated July 20, Musk's lawyer described the organization's research as "false, misleading, or both" and argued that its methodologies were flawed.

Elon Musk's lawyer, Alex Spiro, cited one research report claiming that Twitter had failed to take action against 99% of the 100 posts flagged by CCDH staff members for "tweeting hate," including racist, homophobic and antisemitic content. Twitter Blue is the name of the subscription program for users who pay a monthly fee in exchange for account verification and other perks.

Spiro said the company was investigating whether the CCDH's "false and misleading claims about Twitter" were actionable under federal law. "Please be advised that Twitter will employ any and all legal tools at its disposal to prevent false or misleading claims from harming its users, platform, or business," Spiro said in closing.

In a response to Spiro, a lawyer for the CCDH defended the organization's research and blasted his assertions as "ridiculous."

"Your clients, of course, are free to pursue litigation if they choose to do so," Roberta A. Kaplan said in a letter to Spiro on Monday, which was also uploaded to the CCDH's website. "But they should be mindful of the risks involved in bringing frivolous claims to intimidate thoughtful critics and stifle legitimate commentary on issues of clear public interest."

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In a statement that accompanied the letters, the CCDH said, "Elon Musks actions represent a brazen attempt to silence honest criticism and independent research in the desperate hope that he can stem the tide of negative stories and rebuild his relationship with advertisers."

The media relations team at X.com did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment Monday.

Musk has drawn intense scrutiny since purchasing Twitter last year. Hate speech watchdog groups and activist organizations have excoriated him for loosening restrictions on what can be said on the platform, and business analysts have raised eyebrows at his seemingly erratic and impulsive decision-making.

The Center for Countering Digital Hate has been cited by NBC News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and many other news outlets.

The tech mogul, who has been criticized for posting conspiratorial or inflammatory content on his own account, has said he is acting in the interest of "free speech." He has said he wants to transform Twitter into a "digital town square."

Musk has also claimed that hate speech on the platform was shrinking. In a tweet on Nov. 23, Musk wrote that hate speech impressions were down by one-third and posted a graph  apparently drawn from internal data  showing a downward trend.

In a statement Monday, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who is running for U.S. Senate, said that "Twitter has become a megaphone for antisemitism and anti-LGBTQ+ hate speech" since Musk took over the service.

"Notwithstanding his claims about content moderation and free speech, Musk has done nothing to stop the hate, but instead has focused on silencing critics," Schiff said. "Now, hes trying to use his lawyers to go after a nonprofit organization for holding him to account."

"The Center for Countering Digital Hate continues to do important work exposing the hate and disinformation proliferating on the platform," Schiff added. "Instead of attacking them, he should be attacking the increasingly disturbing content on Twitter."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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Twitter, which owner Elon Musk has rebranded as X, sued a nonprofit that tracks online hate speech and has been critical of Musks leadership.

Weve curated reporting and analysis on how the feud between Twitter and the Center for Countering Digital Hate reflects the politicization of combatting hate speech.

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The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court, accuses the CCDH of illegally scraping data from Twitter to generate reports that aim to drive advertisers away. It also claims the U.K.-based nonprofit improperly accessed information and data about Twitter from a third-party brand monitoring company.

The suit followed a July 20 letter in which lawyers for Twitter said the organization made a series of troubling and baseless claims that appear calculated to harm Twitter generally.

The central point of contention stems from a June 1 CCDH post which stated that Twitter fails to act on 99% of hate posted by Twitter Blue subscribers. It suggested that the platform is even algorithmically boosting their toxic tweets.

That figure was cited in a study in which the CCDH reported 100 hateful tweets, and checked four days later to find that only one of the tweets had been removed.

A lawyer for CCDH stood by its work in a letter responding to Twitter. Simply put, there is no bona fide legal grievance here. Your effort to wield that threat anyway, on a law firms letterhead, is a transparent attempt to silence honest criticism, the letter said.

Insights

Twitter claimed the CCDH uses flawed methodologies and cherry-picks data to pass their studies off as legitimate research. The companys lawyers also suggested, without providing evidence, that CCDH is funded by Twitters competitors as well as government entities and their affiliates.

The focus on advertisers in Twitters letter and lawsuit is a sign of the strained relationship between the platform and many of the companies it relies on for revenue. Musk said in mid-July that ad revenue is down 50%. The lawsuit states that at least eight companies paused their spending on Twitter ads in June and July based on the CCDHs articles.

After Musk pledged to make Twitter a bastion for free speech, instances of hate speech rose sharply, according to several studies from groups like the CCDH, the Anti-Defamation League, and independent academics. Critics argued Monday that it was hypocritical for Musk to go after the groups research while claiming to be pro-free speech.

Musk has gone after the CCDH before. Earlier this month, after it was revealed that the groups 2021 report led Twitter to take action against accounts spreading vaccine misinformation, Musk called CCDHs CEO Imran Ahmed a rat. Twitter threatened legal action against the group two days later.

Left-leaning politicians reacted to the news with calls for governments to increase oversight of social media platforms and protect groups that research hate speech. British Member of Parliament Lucy Powell urged the U.K. to pass the Online Safety Bill so powerful platforms dont act on the whims of one man. U.S. Rep. Sean Casten said his office would help protect those who research hate speech on social media.
X Corp (aka Twitter) may take legal action against one of its more outspoken critics. The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) says in a letter that X threatened a lawsuit against the anti-hate group on July 20th for allegedly making "false or misleading" claims against the social media giant and trying to scare advertisers. The Center published a research article in June asserting that X allowed explicitly racist and homophobic posts despite policies to the contrary, even days after they'd been reported.

X accused CCDH of using poor methodology, and not studying the 500 million posts on the service each day. It also maintained that the Center was taking funding from competitors or foreign governments as part of an "ulterior agenda," according to The New York Times. CCDH rejects the allegations. It notes that it never claimed to be conducting a comprehensive study, and points to its documented methodology. It adds that X never said just what was inaccurate, and that it doesn't accept any funding from companies or governments.

The researchers further maintain that X is being hypocritical for attacking supposedly limited research while simultaneously curbing the ability to conduct those studies. The platform recently instituted reading rate limits in what it says is a temporary measure to thwart excessive data scraping. The company believes some scrapers are abusing their tools to train AI models and conduct manipulation campaigns. Even Blue subscribers are capped at viewing 8,000 posts per day, making it impractical to conduct extensive research.

X has disbanded its communications team and isn't available for comment. CCDH says it "will not be bullied" and will continue publishing its research. It also intends to post the original letter, and believes a lawsuit with "frivolous" claims could prove risky.

Reports indicate that X's ad sales have plunged by half since Musk bought the company last year. The executive pinned the exodus on European and North American marketers trying to deliberately bankrupt the firm, but employees talking to the NYT maintained that advertisers were balking at the surges in hate speech and porn after Musk's acquisition. Brands like GM and Volkswagen have frozen ad spending on X, while others are believed to have scaled back their efforts.

X has been threatening legal action against others in recent weeks. It accused Microsoft of violating data use policy, and threatened to sue Meta for purportedly duping key features with Threads. The tech giant has also sued a law firm for supposedly taking excess funds during the previous management's handover to Musk.
Detroit Police Chief James White on Monday announced the suspension of two officers who were criminally charged in two separate, off-duty incidents in the metro area last week.

David Apperson, 31, a five-year veteran of the Detroit Police Department, was charged in a July 27 rape case in Woodhaven. The alleged sexual assault took place at his Woodhaven home that evening before leaving for work at the Detroit Police Department, according to Woodhaven Police.

Apperson turned surrendered himself to authorities without incident after Woodhaven police completed their initial investigation and contacted Detroit police, according to Woodhaven police.

Two days after that incident, Amy Szarafinski, 53, of Madison Heights, a Detroit police corporal with 26 years on the force, was charged with felonious assault and a misdemeanor charge of brandishing a firearm during a road rage incident in Madison Heights, police said.

Detroit police did not disclose the officers' names when announcing the arrests Monday. The Wayne County Prosecutor's office confirmed the Apperson case. He was arraigned Monday and allowed release with GPS tether on $100,000 bond.

The Madison Heights Police Department confirmed the Szarafinski case, alleging she pointed a handgun at another driver at around 7:45 p.m. near northbound Interstate 75 and Twelve Mile Road.

Szarafinski was arraigned in 43rd District Court in Madison Heights on Tuesday and was allowed release on $25,000 personal bond, according to police.

White said he will recommend to the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners that the two officers be suspended without pay.

This is very disappointing for us, White said. He described the allegations as "certainly disturbing."

More: Melvindale business faces 59 misdemeanor charges as Detroit cracks down on sign ordinance

More: Whitmer signs $57.4B state budget, the first crafted by Michigan Democrats in 40 years

I often say wearing a badge is an absolute privilege; it is not a right," White added. The two officers charged "did not uphold that privilege to wear the badge," he said.

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QuanTez Pressley, chair of the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners, called the allegations "deeply disappointing."Its disheartening for our community, he said.

Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. She can be contacted at 313-264-0442, asahouri@freepress.com or on Twitter @andreamsahouri.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Two Detroit cops criminally charged in separate road rage, rape cases
Russian occupants attacked a high-rise building in Kryvyi Rih with a rock

Two people were killed and 20 were injured in a missile attack on Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, in the early hours of July 31, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko has reported.

Between five to seven people could still be trapped under the rubble of buildings destroyed in the attack, Klymenko said. Emergency services remain at the scene.

Dmytro Lubinets/Telegram

Dmytro Lubinets/Telegram

A technical school belonging to Kryvyi Rihs Polytechnic Institute was destroyed, as was a residential building.

Read also: S-300 missiles launched against Kharkiv, one man injured

Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said on national television that Russians most likely used ballistic missiles to attack the city.

"You all know how dangerous ballistic weapons are, how quickly they can reach their targets, and how much damage they can cause. We have to wait until the remains of the missiles are found on the spot to get a final report," Ihnat said.

Read also: Death toll from Russian missile attack on Sumy increases to two, another 20 people injured

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks after launching a federal offshore wind program last year. On Monday, the government announced three news areas in the Atlantic that could support wind energy development. File photo by Shawn Thew/UPI

July 31 (UPI) -- If fully developed, new acreage in the U.S. territorial waters of the Atlantic Ocean could support at least four gigawatts of offshore wind energy, the government said Monday.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management identified three new wind energy areas off the coast of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia totaling 356,550 acres for potential development.

"If fully developed, the final WEAs could support between four and eight gigawatts of energy production," the agency said.

The government last month said the review process was underway for the Beacon Wind facility that would be situated about 17 miles south of Nantucket, Mass.

Combined, the 2.4 GW of energy could be enough to meet the annual demands of an estimated 850,000 homes.

The U.S. governments wants to see 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy established by 2030, a lofty goal considering only two such facilities are in commercial service in the country. File photo by Pat Benic/UPI

Plans call for up to 155 wind turbines and associated infrastructure to bring the power onshore in New York and Connecticut. BOEM estimates the construction phase could create nearly 6,500 jobs.

Eleven governors on the East Coast, meanwhile, recently launched the Federal-State Offshore Wind Implementation Partnership, which collaborates with federal agencies and other states to build an American supply chain for offshore wind development.

The Energy Department said its plans could generate $12 billion in private investments and support 77,000 jobs. It could also reduce offshore wind costs from $73 per megawatt-hour to $51 per MWh by 2030.

A 30-day comment period on the BOEM's latest nod for offshore wind starts Tuesday.

President Joe Biden wants to see 30 gigawatts of offshore energy on the grid by 2030, a lofty goal considering there are only two facilities -- Block Island off the coast of Rhode Island and the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Pilot Project - -in commercial service.
Unit 3s reactor and cooling tower stand at Georgia Power Co.'s Plant Vogtle nuclear power plant in Waynesboro, Georgia, in January.

Unit 3s reactor and cooling tower stand at Georgia Power Co.'s Plant Vogtle nuclear power plant in Waynesboro, Georgia, in January.

The first new nuclear reactor built from scratch in the United States in a generation entered commercial operation on Monday following years of billion-dollar delays.

Its a milestone moment that advocates hope will whet the nations appetite for more atomic power plants  and reopen a fresh debate over what kinds of reactor technologies the U.S. should prioritize.

After 14 years of construction and financial woes that at one point bankrupted the legendary nuclear firm Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Unit 3 of Southern Companys Alvin W. Vogtle Generating Plant split its first uranium atoms in March. With its final tests completed, the 1,100-megawatt reactor began full-scale electricity production this week near Georgias border with South Carolina.

If its sister Unit 4 enters into service next year as planned, the facilitys combined four reactors will make Plant Vogtle the countrys second-largest power plant, supplying millions of homes and a growing number of factories making solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles with steady, carbon-free electricity for decades to come.

[T]his project shows just how new nuclear can and will play a critical role in achieving a clean energy future for the United States, Southern Company chief executive Chris Womack said in a statement.

Unit 3 is the first advanced nuclear reactor deployed in the U.S. Designed by Westinghouse, which designed the first nuclear submarine in the 1950s and built out much of the U.S. nuclear fleet throughout the following two decades, the AP-1000 was meant to be safer, more efficient and more powerful than most other reactors on the market.

Construction is seen on two new nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Jenkinsville, South Carolina, in 2016. The owners abandoned the South Carolina reactors in 2017 after contractor Westinghouse Electric Co. declared bankruptcy, while construction continued on two new reactors in Georgia.

Construction is seen on two new nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Jenkinsville, South Carolina, in 2016. The owners abandoned the South Carolina reactors in 2017 after contractor Westinghouse Electric Co. declared bankruptcy, while construction continued on two new reactors in Georgia.

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Despite the successful construction of a competing advanced reactor in Japan years earlier, the design of which U.S. nuclear regulators had already licensed, American utilities opted instead to go all-in on the novel AP-1000 in the early 2010s.

Unlike the rival Japanese reactor, the AP-1000 had not yet been built anywhere in the world. As construction began in Georgia and on a similar project in South Carolina, Westinghouse made repeated tweaks to the design, forcing developers to go back to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for permission. Given the uniquely rigorous approval process for any nuclear construction, the costs quickly mounted, ultimately ballooning by more than $15 billion.

After spending more than $9 billion digging a giant hole in the ground, the South Carolina project collapsed, the utility behind the reactors sold at a fire-sale price, and its two top executives went to jail for lying to state regulators about the nuclear plants viability

In Georgia, the twin reactor project progressed, despite repeated problems that led to Westinghouse filing for Chapter 11 protections in 2017. In the meantime, China completed construction on four modified versions of the AP-1000 and is finishing work on another two. Beijing has since ordered at least four more.

Part of what was supposed to make the AP-1000 competitive is its modular design, meaning parts of the reactors could be fabricated off-site at factories. That was supposed to bring prices down, but assembly-line repetition only bends the cost curve if there are enough orders to keep production going.

Geological testing takes place on the proposed site of a nuclear power plant south of the town of Kemmerer, Wyoming, in 2022. The future construction built with backing from Bill Gates, the Department of Energy and Rocky Mountain Power will be one of the United State's first small modular reactors.

Geological testing takes place on the proposed site of a nuclear power plant south of the town of Kemmerer, Wyoming, in 2022. The future construction built with backing from Bill Gates, the Department of Energy and Rocky Mountain Power will be one of the United State's first small modular reactors.

The billion-dollar cost overruns associated with the Vogtle project have spurred a new generation of nuclear developers to push what are called small modular reactors, essentially fission machines with one-fifth or less the power of an AP-1000. Making reactors less powerful and more easily made in factories should, analysts say, encourage utilities to buy more of them, lowering the cost of each consecutive unit.

But research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology estimates that building a so-called SMR plant would be between 1.4 and 1.75 times more expensive than constructing another AP-1000 on a per-megawatt basis, given that the latter reactor can now benefit from existing supply chains.

For now, the U.S. has no plans to build another large-scale reactor after Plant Vogtles Unit 4. That could change. Far from downsizing its emissions of planet-heating gas, U.S. output of climate pollution maintained its upward tick for yet another consecutive year in 2022. Power outages are becoming more common across the country as the nations patchwork of aging grids heave under increased demand for air conditioning amid heat waves and decreased supply from the closure of coal and nuclear plants.

The only new reactors planned as of now are SMRs, which critics say face the same problems as traditional reactors and remain, for the most part, theoretical at a time when Vogtles woes show how much can change from blueprints and license approval to actual shovels in the ground.

Still, Unit 3 paves the way for future nuclear projects, said Maria Korsnick, the chief executive of the Nuclear Energy Institute, a trade association.

The commercial operation of Vogtle Unit 3 marks a significant achievement for the U.S. nuclear energy industry and a milestone in advancing global clean and reliable energy solutions, she said in a press release Monday morning. It exemplifies the industrys commitment to a zero-carbon future, contributing to global efforts to combat a changing climate and energy security.

Related...
By Daria Sito-Sucic

SARAJEVO (Reuters) -The United States on Monday imposed sanctions against four top Bosnian Serb officials, including the Serb member of the country's presidency, for undermining a U.S.-sponsored peace deal that ended the Balkan country's war in the 1990s.

Bosnia's presidency member Zeljka Cvijanovic, along with the prime minister, justice minister and parliament speaker of the Serb Republic, facilitated the passage of a law that undermines the Bosnian constitution, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

The constitution is part of the Dayton peace accords that ended the 1992-1995 Bosnian war in which 100,000 were killed, dividing the country into two autonomous regions, the Serb Republic and the Bosniak-Croat Federation, linked via a weak central government.

Late in June, lawmakers in the Serb Republic voted to suspend rulings by Bosnia's constitutional court, a vote initiated by the region's separatist pro-Russian President Milorad Dodik who is already under U.S. and UK sanctions.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Cvijanovic, Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic, Justice Minister Milos Bukejlovic and Parliament Speaker Nenad Stevandic for obstructing and threatening the implementation of the Dayton accords by providing the passage of the law.

"This action threatens the stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the hard-won peace underpinned by the Dayton Peace Agreement," said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson.

"This behaviour further threatens the country's future trajectory and successful integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions," Nelson added.

Cvijanovic was put under UK sanctions last year along with Dodik for what was described as attempts to undermine the legitimacy and functionality of the Bosnian state.

In reaction to the sanctions, Stevandic said that he saw them as a "decoration for consistency, steadfastness and non-indulgence in the face of blackmail and threats from those considered powerful".

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A spokesman for Dodik's ruling SNSD party said the U.S. decision was "shameless and hypocritical". "No sanctions will prevent us from doing our job," Radovan Kovacevic said.

The designations build on prior U.S. sanctions and visa restrictions designed to promote accountability of persons who undermine democratic processes or institutions, the U.S. Department of the Treasury said.

Dodik and his allies have long promoted the secession of the region from Bosnia and its unification with neighbouring Serbia. They stepped up activities undermining state institutions in recent months, including suspension of decisions by an international peace envoy.

(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Drone attacks against Moscow and the rising age limit for mobilization indicate that the Russian state is failing to isolate its population from the war, the U.K. Defense Ministry said in its latest report on July 31.

The Russian State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, voted on July 25 to raise the maximum age of conscription from 27 to 30.

As the U.K. Defense Ministry noted, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin also signed a bill to gradually increase the upper age limit for reservists, with senior officers liable for mobilization up to the age of 70.

"Reservists made up the Autumn 2022 'partial mobilization' and could provide a more immediate boost to the number available to fight in Ukraine," the intelligence report said.

In January of 2023, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported that Duma Defense Committee Chair Andrey Kartapolov suggested the age extension in order to increase Russia's forces without resorting to forced mobilization.

Russia calls conscripts up twice a year for mandatory military service. The new law, co-authored by Kartapolov, is expected to add 2.4 million men to Russia's conscription base.

According to the latest U.K. Defense Ministry analysis, the July 30 drone strike against the "Moscow-city" business center in the Russian capital, rising levels of domestic repression, and the Wagner Group rebellion in June highlight the Kremlin's inability to insulate its population from the effects of the war against Ukraine.

Read also: Media: Russian ministries located in Moscow business center attacked by drones

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 31)  The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) on Monday said it summoned the producers of noontime show "It's Showtime" to explain the alleged "indecent acts" done during a segment last week.

The MTRCB said it issued a Notice to Appear and Testify to the show's producers "over complaints concerning scenes that portrayed alleged indecent acts by hosts Vice Ganda and Ion Perez during the variety show's 'Isip Bata' segment, which aired last July 25, 2023 on channels GTV and A2Z DZOZ/DZOE 11."

"Said scene is in violation of Section 3 (c) Presidential Decree No. 1986. The hearing date is scheduled on July 31, 2023, 10:00 am at the MTRCB Office in Timog Avenue, Quezon City," it added.

In the "Isip Bata" segment, the hosts will ask a question and will provide players with four choices, which came from answers from a survey conducted among children. Audience members will line up in their options.

The segment also features child guests called "Batang Cute-po" who also comment on the question.

In the July 25 episode, the question was "Anong masarap simutin gamit ang daliri? (What food is best to finish using fingers?) Choices provided were melted chocolate, crumbs of chips, gravy, and icing.

Perez presented the icing and licked it from his finger.

Perez then shared the icing with his partner comedian Vice Ganda, who scooped the icing from Perez's finger before consuming it.

ABS-CBN posted the clip on its social media platforms, calling it a "sweet moment" of the two hosts. However, it drew mixed reactions on social media.

Producers of "It's Showtime" and ABS-CBN have yet to release a statement.
The authorities of the United Kingdom have postponed the recognition of the Wagner group as a terrorist organisation due to the attempted mutiny of its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and the subsequent remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Source: The Times

The article says that the legal basis for including the Wagner Private Military Company on the list of terrorists was complicated from the very beginning because the mercenaries acted as a "paramilitary formation".

The Times writes that everything became even more complicated after the attempted mutiny, the sudden reversal of the mercenaries, the amnesty of Prigozhin, who concluded an agreement with the Kremlin, and also after Putin's statements regarding the recognition of state funding of the Wagner Group.

The outlet's sources say that after Putin's public admission that Wagner's group was fully financed by the Kremlin and had received tens of billions of roubles of state funds over the previous year, adding mercenaries to the list of terrorist organisations would be tantamount to banning the activities of the Russian government institutions.

This would be highly unusual and involve a number of diplomatic and legal complications, the sources added.

At the same time, the media claims that Minister of Internal Affairs Suella Braverman and Minister of Security Tom Tugendhat still intend to find a way to declare the Wagner group a terrorist organisation.

Background:

Last week, the UK government was sharply criticised by the parliamentary foreign affairs committee for underestimating the threat posed by the Russian Wagner group.

On 20 July, the UK implemented sanctions against 13 individuals and businesses linked to the actions of the Russian Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) in Mali, Central African Republic and Sudan.

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Wagner PMC

The United Kingdom has been forced to delay its plans to proscribe Wagner PMC as a terrorist organization as it is now under the full authority of the Russian military and is not a private army, The Times reported on July 30.

As such, proscribing Wagner PMC would mean that the U.K. would be directly proscribing a branch of the Russian state.

The legal case to formally proscribe the Russian mercenary group as a terrorist organization was launched in May. If approved, it would become a criminal offense to belong to Wagner, attend its meetings, encourage support for it, or carry its logo in public.

This would place Wagner PMC on the same footing as other terrorist groups like Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

Read also: We don't dance to Putin's, Lukashenko's tune  Lithuanian def min

The Times reported that the British government suspects Wagner PMC of helping Russia to avoid sanctions imposed on the countrys oligarchs and the allies of dictator Vladimir Putin.

The Times said that the recent mutiny by Wagner PMC's leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has changed the legal basis of proscription as the mercenary's ties with the state came to light.

Putin acknowledged at a meeting with Russian military on June 27 that Russia fully funded Wagner PMC, despite previously denying its support.

The Times said that this statement transformed an already complicated legal case into a quagmire.

However, the U.K. is "still determined to find a way of proscribing the group," according to Minister of State for Security Tom Tugendhat, and Home Secretary Suella Braverman.

Prigozhin halted his one-day-long mutiny against Putin and the Russian Defense Ministry on June 24 following negotiations with the self-proclaimed president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.

Read also: PMC Wagner Group reportedly receives $10 billion from the Kremlin

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Negotiations between Ukraine and the United States for a bilateral security guarantee agreement are set to begin as early as next week, head of the Office of the President Andrii Yermak reported on Telegram.

These guarantees will remain in effect until Ukraine attains NATO membership. "While Ukraine cannot join NATO due to the ongoing war, it is essential for our state to ensure reliable guarantees during this transitional phase," Yermak said.

At the Vilnius NATO summit, which took place from July 11-12, G7 countries announced that they are planning to reaffirm their long-term support of Ukraine through bilateral security commitments. They will be aimed at providing military equipment, conducting personnel trainings, and bolstering defense industry.

New states are joining the declaration on a nearly weekly basis. Ukraine will create a set of bilateral agreements incorporating specific security guarantees with each of them.

Currently, Ukraine is starting to hold negotiations on the nature of the agreement and detailed security guarantees with the U.S.

The security guarantees will entail explicit and long-lasting obligations. They will bolster Ukraine's ability to resist Russian aggression. The guarantees will also address sanctions, financial aid, and post-war reconstruction.

Read also: Wheat prices rise sharply after Russian attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure

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Minister of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov

Nearly every Ukrainian thermal power plant that was damaged by Russian missile attacks last winter has been repaired, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said in a Facebook post on July 31.

The focus is on preparing for the heating season, the minister said.

Read also: Ukrainian state energy company warns of challenging winter season

We all understand that it can be even more challenging than the last one, so we have already developed clear action plans in preparation."

According to Kubrakov, out of more than 700 heating facilities damaged by the Russians, over 65% have been restored, while thermal power plants are almost entirely operational. Work is also underway to ensure backup capacity in case of emergencies. Additionally, efforts are being made to strengthen protection against potential future missile and drone strikes.

Read also: Ukraine can expect more blackouts this winter  but how many and for how long?

He added that 60% of Ukrianes central heating infrastructure is ready for the 2023/24 winter season, which is the norm for late July.

Read also: Ukraine to ensure self-sufficiency in electricity next winter  energy minister

In conclusion, Kubrakov said he is confident that Ukraine will be completely ready for the start of the heating season on Oct. 1.

Previously, authorities warned that Ukrainians should be prepared for any scenarios this winter, including renewed attacks on the country's energy system.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
(Bloomberg) -- Fighting has been intensifying in southern Ukraine, with Russias Defense Ministry saying its forces have shot down a series of Ukrainian missiles and drones, while hitting a weapons depot near Zaporizhzhia. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a news conference that Ukraines military is less active than two days ago.

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Ukrainian forces appear to be shelling Russian positions near Bakhmut with North Korean missiles, the Financial Times reported. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited special forces on the front in the Donetsk region, according to a Telegram post.

Saudi Arabia is set to host talks among Ukraine, some of its key backers and developing nations including India and Brazil early next month, as Europe and Washington intensify attempts to consolidate support for Kyivs peace demands, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Polands Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki warned that Wagner group mercenaries may attempt to infiltrate his country from Belarus and he sent more troops to guard the Polands eastern border.

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Zuzana 2

Slovakia will donate two more Zuzana 2 self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, Slovak news outlet Dennik N reported on July 31.

According to Denik N, the equipment will be officially transferred on the morning of August 1. Prime Minister Ludovit Odor, and Minister of Defence Martin Sklenar, will be present as the howitzers begin their journey to Ukraine.

The two howitzers are the first of a total of 16 that will be provided to Ukraine, funded by Denmark, Germany, and Norway.

Read also: Slovakia to supply Ukraine with 16 Zuzana 2 howitzers, says Zelenskyy

The joint project worth EUR 92 million ($101.5 million) was announced in October 2022.

Kyiv and Bratislava signed an agreement on the supply of eight Zuzana 2 howitzers last year. Ukraine received all of them by the end of January 2023.

The Zuzana 2 8x8 is an updated version of the Zusana wheeled 155mm self-propelled howitzer. It has an extended firing range of up to 42 km.

Read also: Slovakia to increase ammo production for Ukraine five-fold

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's defence ministry signed an agreement with Turkish company Baykar Makina to build a service centre for the repair and maintenance of drones in Ukraine, the ministry said on Monday.

Ukraine is seeking to boost domestic production of drones to build an "Army of Drones" in its fight against Russian forces who invaded the country in February 2022.

The ministry's state secretary Kostiantyn Vashchenko was quoted by the ministry website as telling Turkish partners: "The creation of a service centre will be a significant contribution to strengthening Ukraine's defence capabilities and will help bring our victory closer."

Ukrainian producers have sharply increased domestic drone production. More than 10,000 drone operators have been trained with 10,000 more in training, Mykhailo Fedorov, a deputy prime minister in charge of the "Army of Drones" said last week.

Both Ukrainian and Russian forces have used a wide array of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, for reconnaissance and assault purposes during the war.

Ukrainian media reported earlier this month, citing Ukraine's minister of strategic industries Oleksandr Kamyshin, that Baykar has started the construction of a plant to manufacture Bayraktar drones in Ukraine.

This story has been corrected to change attribution to ministry instead of an official in paragraph 1, and fix attribution for quote in paragraph 3)

(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka and Kyiv newsroom; editing by Grant McCool)
Key developments on July 29-30

Drones attack Moscow, reportedly damaging Russian ministries' offices

Military reports hitting bridge between occupied Kherson Oblast and Crimea

Russia launches missile attack at educational institution in Sumy, kills 2, injures 20

Peace formula talks to take place in Saudi Arabia; Russia will not attend

Zelensky visits Ukrainian positions in Donetsk Oblast, recovering soldiers in Ivano-Frankivsk

Three drones attacked Moscow in the early morning of July 30, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed.

Two of the drones hit buildings in Moscow, while one was destroyed over the Odintsovsky district of the Moscow region, the ministry claimed.

Following the attack, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that the facade of two buildings in the "Moscow City" business district was "insignificantly damaged."

Photos from the spot showed substantial damage to several building floors.

According to the independent Russian media outlet The Insider, the offices of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Digital Development, as well as the Federal Agency for Nationalities, and several other agencies were located in the building hit by drones.

A local Telegram channel also posted photographs of the documents allegedly belonging to the Russian Ministry of Digital Development found on the nearby streets following the attack.

Although Sobyanin claimed there were no casualties, the Russian Defense Ministry said one person was injured due to the attack.

Russia claimed Ukraine was responsible for the attack.

A view of a damaged office block of the Moscow International Business Center (Moskva City) following a reported drone attack in Moscow on July 30, 2023. (Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images)

In a video message on July 30, President Volodymyr Zelensky said it's "natural and fair" that the war is returning to Russian territory.

"Ukraine is becoming stronger. The war is gradually returning to Russian territory  to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process," Zelensky said.

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He did not, however, clarify what he meant by the war "returning to Russian territory."

"Russian aggression has suffered bankruptcy on the battlefield," he said. "Today is the 522 day of (Russia's) so-called 'special military operation,' which the Russian leadership expected to last a week or two."

Yurii Ihnat, the Ukrainian Air Force's spokesperson, also commented on the attack, saying the drones aimed to affect Russians who felt that the all-out war was distant.

"There's always something flying in Russia, as well as in Moscow. Now the war is affecting those who were not concerned," Ihnat said.

Read also: This Week in Ukraine Ep. 5  Everything we know about Ukrainian attacks inside Russia

Multiple hits in Crimea

On July 29, Ukraine's military intelligence said the explosions at the ammunition warehouse in Russian-occupied Crimea that took place earlier on July 28 were the result of sabotage.

The intelligence agency, however, didn't explicitly say whether Ukraine was behind the attack.

When asked by the Kyiv Independent whether Ukraine was behind the explosions, Andriy Chernyak, a representative of the military intelligence, only said that the warehouse "was an enemy site on Ukrainian territory."

The agency reported that two explosions were heard at around 10 p.m. on July 28 and were followed by the sounds of detonating ammunition.

The warehouse was located in Kozacha Bay near Sevastopol, the largest city in Crimea and a major port for the Russian Navy. According to the report, Russia's 810th Separate Marine Infantry Brigade is based in Kozacha Bay.

Later in the day, the Ukrainian military confirmed it had struck the Chonhar Bridge, a key connection between occupied Crimea and the Russian-occupied part of Kherson Oblast.

The confirmation by the Strategic Communications Directorate of Ukraine's Armed Forces comes after the Russian proxies in the occupied Kherson Oblast accused Ukraine of attacking the railway connecting Dzhankoi in Crimea and Henichesk in Kherson Oblast with cruise missiles on July 29.

Other bridges across the Chonhar Strait between Crimea and Kherson Oblast were also damaged on June 22 following strikes.

General Staff Deputy Chief Oleksii Hromov later said Ukraine had carried out the attacks using Storm Shadow missiles.

The Chonhar Bridge serves as an important route for Russian military personnel and supplies on the southern front line.

Read also: Who does Crimea really belong to?

Russia attacks Sumy, kills 2

On July 29, Russian troops launched a missile attack against the northern regional capital Sumy, hitting a local educational institution.

As a result of the attack, two people were killed and 20 injured, Sumy City Council reported. Three people were hospitalized.

Following the attack, local authorities reported that two dormitories and four residential buildings were damaged.

Over the past day, a total of nine communities in Sumy Oblast were under Russian attack, Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported.

According to the report, Russia shelled the Sumy, Krasnopillia, Bilopillia, Yunakivka, Myropillia, Seredyna-Buda, Esman, Nova Sloboda, and Shalyhyne communities.

The authorities said two private residential buildings and a power line were damaged in Nova Sloboda. No further casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure have been reported.

Sumy Oblast is located on Ukraine's northeastern border with Russia. It has been the target of daily Russian shelling and attacks from across the border since parts of the oblast were liberated from Russian troops in early April 2022.

Read also: Nathan Greenfield: Ukraines use of cluster munitions to evict Russian troops is both legal and just

'Peace formula' talks to take place in Saudi Arabia; Russia will not attend

On July 30, President's Office Head Andriy Yermak said that a meeting to discuss the implementation of Ukraine's peace initiatives would be held in Saudi Arabia in the near future.

According to him, the three-phase Ukrainian Peace Formula will ensure peace in Ukraine and "create mechanisms to counter future conflicts in the world."

"We are deeply convinced that the Ukrainian peace plan should be taken as a basis because the war is taking place on our land," Yermak said during a visit to Ivano-Frankivsk.

The Wall Street Journal reported on June 29, citing unnamed diplomats, that Saudi Arabia is due to host peace talks in early August, with top officials from 30 countries, including India and Brazil, invited.

According to the media, Russia will not attend the summit, and China's presence is also unlikely.

The attendance of the U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is expected. However, there was no confirmation yet from the National Security Council, according to the report.

The summit comes as Russia and the West battle over the support of developing countries, which have mostly stayed neutral throughout Russia's all-out war against Ukraine.

The WSJ said the event is set to be held in the port city of Jeddah. Although it's unclear which countries will attend the summit, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine have chosen 30 invitees, including Egypt, Mexico, Indonesia, Chile, and Zambia, according to the WSJ.

The media also reported that the U.K., South Africa, Poland, and the EU have confirmed their attendance.

Read also: Russias influence on Africa exaggerated, experts say

Zelensky visits Ukrainian positions in Donetsk Oblast, recovering soldiers in Ivano-Frankivsk

On July 29, President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the Ukrainian positions in Donetsk Oblast, marking the professional holiday of Ukraine's Special Operations Forces.

"Bakhmut direction, advanced positions of the Special Operations Forces. Today, I am here to congratulate our warriors on their professional day and to honor their strength," Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

The following day, Zelensky visited a rehabilitation center in the western regional capital of Ivano-Frankivsk to meet with soldiers undergoing treatment.

"I want to thank our soldiers for their feat and heroism. Thank you from all Ukrainians for defending our country. We will definitely win! I wish you all a speedy recovery!" Zelensky said.

Read also: Ukraines counteroffensive lurches forward: Key moment looms as more forces committed

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Key developments on July 31:

Russian missile strike hits apartment building in Kryvyi Rih, kills 6 and injures 75

Governor: 4 killed, 17 wounded in Russian attack on Kherson

Russia claims it deported 700,000 Ukrainian children

Ukraine reports repairing almost all thermal power stations damaged by Russia

US provides Ukraine with $1.25 billion grant to cover social assistance.

Russia launched a missile strike against Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on the morning of July 31, killing six people, including a 10-year-old child.

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhii Lysak reported that as of 5:30 p.m. local time, the number of injured rose to 75. Kryvyi Rih Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said eight children were among them.

Twenty-two people were hospitalized, and two are in serious condition, according to Lysak.

Russia attacked the city with two Iskander ballistic missiles, one of which targeted a nine-story residential building. Parts of its fourth to ninth floors were destroyed, the State Emergency Service reported.

Lysak said 150 residents escaped the apartment building on their own. The rescuers helped thirty people.

According to Lysak, another missile hit a four-story university building, destroying two of its floors and damaging two more.

"(Russian) missile hit the laboratory of an educational institution in Kryvyi Rih. A woman who worked here was killed. She was found under the rubble," Lysak wrote on Telegram at around 6:30 p.m.

"She became the sixth victim of Russian killers today," he added.

The number of victims was finalized around 7 p.m. as Lysak reported that the rescue operation was completed.

"In grief, Ukrainians unite even more. How could you be indifferent when you see how Russian rockets take innocent lives?" he wrote on Telegram.

Later in the day, Vilkul wrote on Telegram that "more than 1,000 apartments and residential buildings were affected by the blast." According to him, five medical institutions, 13 educational institutions, and a cultural institution were also affected.

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"Despite any Russian terror, despite any attempts by Russia to blackmail the world, the combined strength of us  everyone in the world who values life  is enough to overcome evil," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address following the attack.

We can not only defeat the terrorist state but also ensure that justice prevails when all those responsible for terror are held accountable. But for this, we need to increase our cooperation and pressure on the aggressor every day, every week, every month, he said.

Kryvyi Rih, the second most populous city of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, has been repeatedly targeted by Russian missile and drone strikes.

Read also: Ukraines counteroffensive lurches forward: Key moment looms as more forces committed

Russian shelling of Kherson kills 4, injures 17

Russian troops launched deadly attacks on the southern city of Kherson on July 31.

As a result of the strikes, four people were killed and 17 injured, including a 16-year-old girl, Presidential Office Head Andrii Yermak reported at 6 p.m. local time.

However, Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported that three civilians were killed. He said that one of the people killed and six of those wounded were employees of a local utility company. Five other injured were volunteers, according to the governor.

"They came under enemy fire while helping the Kherson people to eliminate the consequences of shelling and flooding," he wrote on Telegram.

Russian troops targeted a utility company in the city center with a Grad multiple launch rocket system at around 8 a.m., reported Prokudin.

Another attack occurred at 1 p.m. when Russian forces targeted the Korabel district. The attack killed a 65-year-old man, Prokudin said. He added that a 38-year-old resident was hospitalized following the attack.

According to the governor, the intense shelling is due to Russia replenishing its forces on the east bank of the Dnipro River.

"Dear citizens of Kherson, please be as careful as possible in the next few days! These terrorists are firing at the whole city, and the shelling will continue!" he wrote on Telegram.

Kherson Oblast and the regional capital have been continuously subjected to Russian shelling since the liberation in November last year.

Read also: Locals near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant brace for potential disaster: It would be the end of us

Russia claims it deported 700,000 Ukrainian children since Feb. 24 last year

Maria Lvova-Belova, Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights, claimed that 700,000 Ukrainian children have been brought to Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion.

She also claimed that about 4.8 million Ukrainians have been "accepted" into Russia and that most children arrived with their relatives. The numbers include 1,500 children who lived in orphanages or state institutions.

According to Belova, 288 children from the Russian-occupied part of Donetsk Oblast have been adopted into Russian families.

Russias forced deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied areas of Ukraine has become one of the darkest consequences of the full-scale war. In March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Russian official Maria Lvova-Belova for their involvement in the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children.

Ukraine has identified over 19,500 children abducted from the occupied territories and sent to Russia since last February, according to a national database.

Only 386 children have been brought back to Ukraine as of July 31.

Following Lvova-Belovas latest claim, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said Russia deports Ukrainian children to its territory or occupied Crimea "under the guise of good deeds, such as evacuation or vacation."

"I emphasize once again that such actions are a crime, our children must return to their native land," he wrote on Telegram.

"I call on the international community to pay attention to the crimes that Russia constantly commits against Ukrainian children and to take immediate measures to stop gross violations of international law," he wrote.

Read also: Stolen generation. Russia systematically abducts children from Ukraine, gives them to Russian families

Ukraine reports repairing almost all thermal power stations damaged by Russia

On July 31, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov announced that almost 100% of thermal power stations damaged by Russian attacks late in 2022 and early in 2023 have been repaired in Ukraine.

The minister said the authorities are currently working on providing backup capacities in case of an emergency, adding that over 65% of more than 700 heat supply networks damaged by Russian attacks have also been repaired.

"In general, as of today, the preparation level of utility networks for stable operation in the autumn-winter period of 2023-2024 is roughly 60%," the minister wrote on social media, adding that Ukraine will be 100% ready in technical terms before the start of the next heating season on Oct. 1.

Russian forces attempted to destroy Ukraine's energy network with massive strikes during the fall of 2022 and winter of 2023, leading to frequent blackouts across the country.

Zelensky recently warned that Russia would likely attempt this strategy again next winter.

Read also: Former NATO envoy to Moscow: Potential escalation with Russia is a myth

US provides Ukraine with $1.25 billion grant to cover social assistance

On July 31, the Ukrainian Finance Ministry announced that the countrys state budget had received a grant of $1.25 billion from the U.S. through the Multi-Donor Trust Fund of the World Bank.

According to the ministry, the funding will be used to cover social assistance for internally-displaced persons (IDP), people with disabilities, low-income families, and other social payments.

This is the fifth package provided to Ukraine under the Public Expenditures of Administrative Capacity Endurance, PEACE, in Ukraine, designed to support Ukraine's social and humanitarian expenditures.

The ministry said Ukraine had received $8.45 billion in direct budget support from the U.S. since the beginning of the year.

The U.S. has provided a total of $20.4 billion in grant funding since the beginning of the all-out invasion.

Read also: Investigation: EU inability to ramp up production behind acute ammunition shortages in Ukraine

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Kharkiv, Ukraine  A summer's evening, a sidewalk cafe, smiling friends. It could have been a scene from almost anywhere. But it's not anywhere  it's Kharkiv, not far from the Russian border in eastern Ukraine, and within easy reach of missiles and airstrikes.

While many buildings remain boarded up in Ukraine's second largest city, the remote yet real possibility of dying hasn't stopped many of its residents from living.

Among those who have refused to cower from Russia's war, are 20-year-old student George Soldutenko and his friends, Nicolai and Andrei.

George Soldutenko, 20, (center) and his friends Nicolai and Andrei enjoy drinks outside a bar in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, in mid-July, 2023. / Credit: CBS News/Agnes Reau

"It can be scary sometimes to be honest," George admitted to us outside a cafe in the city, which still regularly hears the loud booms of incoming and outgoing rockets. "But now, you know, it's summer, and we are students. We are all 20 years old, and we are trying to enjoy our lives Sometimes it really can be tough, because we live really close to the Russian border."

Russia warns of retaliation as Ukraine claims attack on Moscow

Despite the missiles, Ukraine's nightlife is rocking. Bars and clubs are full. We visited one and found the place jumping, with music pumping, drinks flowing freely and young Ukrainians dancing like there's no tomorrow.

Here's a fun fact: There are now more bars and restaurants open in the capital city of Kyiv than there were before the start of Russia's full-scale invasion more than 17 months ago.

People inspect a building in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, that housed apartments and the popular Hemingway Bar before it was hit by a missile in the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion, in mid-July, 2023. / Credit: CBS News/Agnes Reau

Perhaps it's an act of defiance.

It certainly is when they have to quite literally pick up the pieces and figure out how, or if, to carry on.

That was the stark choice for the people who worked and relaxed at the Hemingway Bar. There isn't much left of the building that previously housed apartments and the bar, which had been turned into a bomb shelter. It took a direct hit in the early days of the war, killing and wounding those inside.

Grim irony for a bar named after the legendary war author Earnest Hemingway.

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Undeterred, the people behind the bar reopened it just a few blocks away as soon as they could.

"I had mixed feelings," owner Konstantin Kuts told CBS News. "Because I lost my business, but I did not lose my life. People died, and I am alive, and that means I can carry on and do something."

"Life always defeats death," he said, adding a quote from his bar's namesake: "The sun always rises!"

The Hemingway Bar is more popular than ever. Its fans say it may be a different bar in a different setting, but its heart and soul are still intact.

For Kuts, reopening felt like "a victory."

"It's very important when we restore normal life," he told CBS News. "Because something has to be done if you are not fighting, continue living your life and hence helping the country."

Hemingway himself would likely have been proud.

But the resilience doesn't mean Ukrainians forget about the war, ever. We asked George if he and his friends manage to force it out of their minds when they're out having fun.

George Soldutenko, 20, speaks with CBS News outside a bar in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, in mid-July, 2023. / Credit: CBS News/Agnes Reau

"Not really, not at all, actually," he told us. "We always remember about the war. We always remember  that's not what you can forget But we are trying to make it work together. It's hard, but it's the most we can do."

He hopes others around the world will recognize their small act of defiance in the face of Russia's aggression.

"I think that sends a message that despite everything, you can enjoy your life. Life is great," he said. "You should be thankful for the opportunities to enjoy the little meeting, enjoy the smiles around you  just to be happy for a little bit."

No one in Kharkiv is pretending the war doesn't exist, they're just trying to take life one summer's evening at a time.

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(CNN)  Paul Reubens, who found fame as the quirky man-child character Pee-wee Herman, has died, his publicist announced.

He was 70.

Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness, a post on his verified social media reads. Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit. A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.

Reubens left a statement with his team to share with the public after his death.

Please accept my apology for not going public with what Ive been facing the last six years, Reubens wrote. I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.

Born in Peekskill, New York, Reubens grew up in Sarasota, Florida, and developed an affinity for comedy early on in his life that he attributed in part to Sarasota being the winter home of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum Circus.

In sixth grade, while attending Southside Elementary, Reubens stepped onto a stage for the first time as Nick Burns in A Thousand Clowns at The Players Theatre. While at Brookside Junior High, he appeared at The Players in The Riot Act, Camelot and On A Clear Day You Can See Forever.

He led his high school drama club and appeared in starring roles in productions of The Comedy of Errors, My Fair Lady and Guys and Dolls. He was also voted Most Talented during his senior year.

After high school graduation, Reubens enrolled in Boston Universitys theatre department before moving to Los Angeles to attend the acting program at California Institute of the Arts, the new school founded by Walt Disney.

It was after college that Reubens created the iconic character Pee-wee Herman while a member of the famed Los Angeles improv group, The Groundlings.

The Pee-wee Herman Show premiered at The Groundlings Theatre in 1981 before moving to The Roxy on Sunset Strip, where it ran for an unprecedented five months.

The HBO broadcast of the show introduced the Pee-wee Herman character to a national audience.

The character was later brought to the big screen in the 1985 comedy, Pee-wees Big Adventure, which Reubens co-wrote.

Reubens went on to create, co-write and co-direct the series Pee-wees Playhouse on CBS, where the series earned 22 Emmy Awards during its run from 1986 to 1991. Reubens was nominated for 14 Emmy Awards during his career, winning twice.

In 2010, he produced, co-wrote and starred in an updated revival of The Pee-wee Herman Show in Los Angeles. The production later traveled to Broadway, opening to rave reviews at The Stephen Sondheim Theater.

Five years later, he teamed with director Judd Apatow for the Netflix film Pee-wees Big Holiday.

His success as Pee-wee Herman also helped Reubens usher other actors into the spotlight on their road to fame. Some of his Pee-wees Playhouse costar included Laurence Fishburne, Natasha Lyonne, Jimmy Smits, Sandra Bernhard and S. Epatha Merkerson.

Away from the cameras, Reubens faced legal trouble over the years.

He was arrested for indecent exposure in 1991 at a theater showing X-rated films, for which he later entered a plea of no contest.

In 2002, Reubens was charged with one misdemeanor count of possessing material depicting children engaged in sexual conduct, a charge that was later dropped with the actor pleading guilty to a charge of obscenity instead.

I probably have become more infamous from two misdemeanors than probably anyone I could think of, Reubens told NBC in 2004.

Some of his more recent acting credits include roles on Gotham, What We Do In The Shadows, The Blacklist, Portlandia, 30 Rock, Pushing Daisies, Reno 911 and Everybody Loves Raymond.

Natasha Lyonne, director Tim Burton, Jimmy Kimmel and Conan OBrien were the many friends and collaborators who paid tribute to Reubens on Monday.

My heart is broken into a billion pieces. Then I looked at the text you sent me last week: a meme of a person in giant hair getting a pie in the face and I burst out laughing, director Adam Shankman wrote. Laughing and crying. This my friend says everything about you and what you gave the world.
Ukrainian soldiers train on the AS90 155mm self-propelled gun in south-west England. British Ministry of Defense

Earlier this year, the British government promised to send Ukraine AS90 self-propelled howitzers.

On Sunday, its Ministry of Defence said it trained Ukrainian soldiers on the howitzers.

An AS90 self-propelled howitzer has an effective range of around 30 kilometers (18.6 miles).

Ukrainian troops have trained on the "formidable" AS90 self-propelled 155 mm howitzers that can wipe out Russian targets from 18 miles away, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) tweeted in an intelligence update on Sunday.

After completing their seven-week training course, Ukrainian artillery recruits will be sent back home, according to the MoD's update and Forces News.

"The program is part of the UK's enduring commitment to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia," the MoD added. The video accompanying the update shows artillery crews standing underneath the Ukrainian flag as they practice firing the weapon on a field.

Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) July 30, 2023

The AS90 is a self-propelled 155 mm artillery gun that was first produced in the late 1980s and is still in service with the British Army today.

The gun has a 155 mm 39 caliber barrel that is capable of firing up to six rounds per minute with an effective range of around 30 kilometers (18.6 miles).

It is operated by a crew of six people including the driver and can fire a variety of different types of shells, including high explosive, smoke, and illuminating rounds, Forces News reported.

The weapon is on the back of a car that is highly mobile and can keep up with armored units on the battlefield.

In May, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Britain's support for his country will "never waver."

"From providing Challenger tanks to long-range missiles and pilot training, the UK's support for Ukraine's defence will never waver," Sunak said, according to ITV News.

More than 1,000 UK service personnel have been involved in running the program as part of the British government's support for Ukraine in the war, Forces News reported. The UK also sent Challenge 2 tanks to Ukraine earlier this year.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Climate change is damaging the Great Barrier Reef's corals (SARAH LAI)

The UN's cultural agency UNESCO said Monday its experts recommended giving Australia more time to boost protection of the Great Barrier Reef which the organisation's World Heritage Committee has threatened to declare "in danger".

On the basis of progress made by Australia, the experts said the natural wonder's current state should not be discussed at this year's World Heritage Committee meeting in September in Riyadh, but instead be revisited in 2024.

However the experts, whose advice still needs to be approved by the Committee, said surveillance of the Reef would be strengthened and Australia needed to submit a progress report on the implementation of UNESCO's recommendations by February.

Climate change is threatening the Great Barrier Reef's ecosystem, causing severe bleaching and damaging its corals.

Since 2016, the Great Barrier Reef has been hit by three mass bleaching events, during which heat-stressed corals expel algae living in their tissues, draining them of their vibrant colours.

UNESCO said last month it welcomed Australia's commitments to protect the Reef, with the government pledging 4.4 billion Australian dollars ($2.9 billion).

The fate of the reef has been a recurrent source of tension between UNESCO and Australian authorities, with the World Heritage Committee threatening to put the world's largest coral system on a list of "in danger" global heritage sites.

Behind-the-scenes diplomacy and lobbying from Australia have avoided such a move and commitments from the Labour government of Anthony Albanese have drawn praise from the Paris-based organisation.

Albanese's centre-left government, which ended nearly a decade of conservative rule in May last year, has also blocked a planned coal mine because it would endanger the reef and has scrapped funding for two dams in Queensland.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the country's premier tourist drawcards and any inclusion on the in-danger list was seen as risking putting off international visitors.

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UNESCO began a monitoring mission on the reef in March 2022 to assess whether the site was being adequately protected.

On Monday, UNESCO again stressed the Great Barrier Reef's "urgent conservation needs" which it said required "broad mobilisation".

It still remained "possible" to inscribe the Reef on the list of world heritage sites in danger, it warned.

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My mom told me to put on my one suit. Why? It was the middle of the week.

Were going down to Rayners to view that boys body.

I knew who she was talking about. I didnt want to go.

Ma, I didnt know that Till boy.

You knew him. He used to hang out with those teenagers down at the pool. He stuttered just like you. So get dressed. We are going to pay our respects to his family.

Emmett Till was 14, a few years older than me. We were both still in primary school. It was 1955, a year after the Brown v. Board decision, which outlawed racial segregation in public schools. But laws and Supreme Court decisions dont change how people behave. Very little had changed in our white dominated, white supremacist country. Segregation and discrimination still ruled.

There were thousands and thousands of people lined up outside Rayners funeral home. It took us over two hours to get inside the building. It was a hot summer day in Chicago, but most people were dressed in their Sunday best, out of respect. The crowd was quiet except for the occasional screams and wails coming from inside the funeral home. When we got to the sarcophagus, I understood what the screaming was about. The horror I witnessed in that glass covered open casket has haunted my nightmares for 70 years. With his mothers permission, Jet magazine published a picture of Emmetts mutilated corpse. The whole country saw what I saw. The racists had not been content with just killing the 14-year-old. They tortured him, beating him mercilessly, breaking bones in his wrists, legs and face. Trying to justify the atrocity, one of them wrote,

Well, what else could we do?... I stood there in that shed and listened to that n----- throw that poison at me, and I just made up my mind. Chicago boy, I said, Im tired of em sending your kind down here to stir up trouble. Goddam you, Im going to make an example of you  just so everybody can know how me and my folks stand.

The poison was Emmett refusing to acquiesce. A couple of months later these cowardly child killers stood trial. Twelve of their peers, all white, all men, took 67 minutes to exonerate them. Some of the jurors later admitted that they knew Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam were guilty of Tills murder. But they did not think imprisonment or the death penalty were appropriate punishments for white men who had killed a Black child.

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Emmetts lynching did not generate compliance but resistance. Mamie Till-Mobley toured the country telling the story of her sons life and death. Rosa Parks cited the murder of Till as one of the reasons she refused to move to the back of the bus, which began the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott. Parks said, I thought of Emmett Till and I just couldnt go back. In 2007, Rep. John Lewis sponsored a bill called the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act. Whoopi Goldberg took 10 years of her life and resources to make feature film Till so everyone could know the truth. In 2021 President Joe Biden signed into law H.R.55  Emmett Till Antilynching Act  which finally made lynching a federal hate crime.

This last week on the 82nd anniversary of Emmett Tills birth, President Biden established The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument. The new national monument includes sites in the Mississippi Delta and Chicago that were central to Emmett Tills lynching, funeral, and the acquittal of his murderers. We cannot bury the past no matter how hateful. By remembering the atrocity of the lynching of a child we help ensure it wont happen again.

Laws dont change a society. We, the people, do.

Charles Dumas is a lifetime political activist, a professor emeritus from Penn State, and was the Democratic Partys nominee for U.S. Congress in 2012. He was the 2022 Lions Paw Awardee and Living Legend honoree of the National Black Theatre Festival. He lives with his partner and wife of 50 years in State College.
Mass tourism is one of Venice's problems, UNESCO says (ANDREA PATTARO)

The UN's cultural agency UNESCO on Monday recommended that Venice be added to its list of world heritage in danger, saying the Italian authorities needed to step up efforts to secure the historic city and its surrounding lagoon.

UNESCO said in its recommendation that Venice risked "irreversible" damage due to a string of issues ranging from climate change to mass tourism. The recommendation will now go to a meeting of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in Riyadh in September for adoption.

"The effects of the continuing deterioration due to human intervention, including continuing development, the impacts of climate change and mass tourism threaten to cause irreversible changes to the outstanding universal value of the property," said UNESCO.

"Some of these long-standing issues have already led to the deterioration of the inherent characteristics of the property and its attributes," UNESCO said, warning that developments including high rise buildings risk "having significant negative visual impact".

"Moreover, the combined effects of human induced and natural changes are causing deterioration and damage to build structures and urban areas," it added.

It said that overall, there was a "lack of significant progress" by Italy in addressing these issues and this was further "hindered by a lack of overall joint strategic vision".

A draft resolution prepared for adoption by the World Heritage Committee said there had not been "a significant level of progress in addressing the persistent and complex issues" and added measures proposed by Italy were "still insufficient and need to be further developed".

UNESCO said it hoped inscription on the danger list "will result in greater dedication and mobilisation of local, national and international stakeholders."

The World Heritage Committee, which oversees the awarding of the coveted World Heritage label to sites around the world, is due to meet in Riyadh from September 10-25.

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It is due to consider 53 new candidate sites for addition to the World Heritage List.

The "in danger" label aims to encourage the better preservation of the site for the future. In exceptional circumstances a site can be stripped of its World Heritage label if the steps are deemed unsatisfactory.

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Mass tourism is one of Venice's problems, UNESCO says (ANDREA PATTARO)

The UN's cultural agency UNESCO on Monday recommended that Venice be added to its list of world heritage in danger, saying the Italian authorities needed to step up efforts to secure the historic city and its surrounding lagoon.

UNESCO said in its recommendation that Venice risked "irreversible" damage due to a string of issues ranging from climate change to mass tourism. The recommendation will now go to a meeting of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in Riyadh in September for adoption.

"The effects of the continuing deterioration due to human intervention, including continuing development, the impacts of climate change and mass tourism threaten to cause irreversible changes to the outstanding universal value of the property," said UNESCO.

"Some of these long-standing issues have already led to the deterioration of the inherent characteristics of the property and its attributes," UNESCO said, warning that developments including high rise buildings risk "having significant negative visual impact".

"Moreover, the combined effects of human induced and natural changes are causing deterioration and damage to build structures and urban areas," it added.

It said that overall, there was a "lack of significant progress" by Italy in addressing these issues and this was further "hindered by a lack of overall joint strategic vision".

- 'Still insufficient' -

A draft resolution prepared for adoption by the World Heritage Committee said there had not been "a significant level of progress in addressing the persistent and complex issues" and added measures proposed by Italy were "still insufficient and need to be further developed".

UNESCO said it hoped inscription on the danger list "will result in greater dedication and mobilisation of local, national and international stakeholders."

The World Heritage Committee, which oversees the awarding of the coveted World Heritage label to sites around the world, is due to meet in Riyadh from September 10-25.

Story continues

It is due to consider 53 new candidate sites for addition to the World Heritage List.

Intense lobbying is often employed by delegations to ensure their national cites are given -- and retain -- the status.

The "in danger" label aims to encourage the better preservation of the site for the future. In exceptional circumstances a site can be stripped of its World Heritage label if the steps are deemed unsatisfactory.

Venice was included on the World Heritage List in 1987 but its state has concerned UNESCO for some years.

It avoided being named a world heritage site in danger in 2021, weeks after Italy moved to ban large cruise ships from sailing into the city centre.

- 'We were wrong' -

In the city itself as the recommendation was announced, there was agreement that the current state of the city was letting everyone down.

"It's uncontrollable" said gondolier Antonio Vertotto, of the masses of tourists who visit the city each day, adding that the government had done "nothing" for years to control it.

"I would say there are too many tourists, but the solution, that's hard to say," said tourist Valmir Reznik, 34, visiting for the day from Switzerland with his wife. "We thought it's Monday, maybe it's not so full, but we were wrong."

In a related recommendation announced Monday, UNESCO said its experts believed Australia needed more time to boost protection of the Great Barrier Reef before it was declared "in danger" due to the risk of damage from climate change.

On the basis of progress made by Australia, UNESCO said the natural wonder's current state should not be discussed at the Riyadh meeting, but instead be revisited in 2024.

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Tourists walk on a bridge as a gondolier rows his gondola near St.Marks Square in Venice, Italy, on April 2, 2019. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

On Monday, UNESCO recommended that Venice be added to the organization's danger list.

The list is made up of world heritage sites that are at risk of irreversible damage.

Factors like overtourism and climate change have negatively impacted Venice.

On Monday, the UN's cultural organization UNESCO recommended that Venice, Italy, be added to the organization's list of world heritage in danger, AFP reported.

According to the organization, Venice is at risk of "irreversible" damage. Factors like climate change and mass tourism have negatively impacted the Italian canal city.

"Some of these long-standing issues have already led to the deterioration of the inherent characteristics of the property and its attributes," UNESCO said, according to AFP.

The organization also stated that "the Italian authorities needed to step up efforts to secure the historic city and its surrounding lagoon," AFP reported.

The World Heritage Committee is scheduled to meet in September. At the meeting, officials will determine if Venice will be added to the list.

This isn't the first time the City of Water has been recommended for the world heritage danger list.

The Associated Press reported that the city narrowly avoided being added to the list in 2021. The site was recommended in June of that year, but after Italian officials banned large cruise ships from entering its port, Venice avoided the designation, according to the outlet.

If added, Venice will join 55 other sites on the organization's danger list. Places like Bolivia's City of Potosi, the Old City of Jerusalem, and Florida's Everglades National Park are included on the list.

The UNESCO's World Heritage Center director Mechtild Roessler previously told the Associated Press that "the designation is intended to foster a response that will help protect important at-risk sites in danger and resolve issues."

Read the original article on Insider
Alex Chalk - Aaron Chown/PA

An urgent review of compensation laws for wrongfully convicted prisoners was ordered by the Justice Secretary on Monday, as it emerged that Rishi Sunak believes it is unfair to force them to pay for accommodation and food costs.

Alex Chalk demanded that officials look again at the scheme to ensure it was working to the benefit of victims after the scandal over Andrew Malkinson, who served 17 years in jail for a rape he did not commit.

Mr Malkinson continuously maintained his innocence and was finally declared a free man when his conviction was overturned by appeal court judges last week.

While he will not have to reimburse the prison service directly if he wins compensation, the existing laws mean Mr Malkinsons payment could be docked to account for costs he would have incurred on the outside, such as food and accommodation expenses.

The Prime Ministers press secretary said he did not believe it was right in principle for people imprisoned for crimes they did not commit to pay for living costs after senior Tories demanded a review of the controversial rules.

I dont know the details of the exact case and I believe it is an independent board that reviews and then makes the decision, said the press secretary.

But in principle, for someone who was wrongly convicted I dont think the Prime Minister thinks it would be fair for them to have to repay costs because they have wrongfully been kept in prison for something that they didnt do.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said Mr Chalk was committed to ensuring victims of miscarriages of justice are fairly compensated.

The spokesman added: That is why he has urgently commissioned officials at the Ministry of Justice to look again at the current system to ensure it is working in the best interest of victims.

Mr Chalk is expected to make a decision after he returns from his summer holiday next week, but insiders believe he is likely to be sympathetic to reform given his declared belief that a core priority for the UKs legal tradition is fairness.

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The statutory compensation scheme for victims of miscarriages of justice is covered by Section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, which the Government amended in 2014 to limit eligibility to those who have been shown beyond reasonable doubt through a newly-discovered fact to have not committed the offence.

If the Justice Secretary decides an applicant is eligible for compensation, the case is referred to an independent adjudicator to decide how much they should be awarded.

The adjudicator, currently a retired High Court judge, can award up to 1 million for any applicant jailed for more than 10 years, or up to 500,000 in all other cases.

Controversially, they can make deductions for saved living expenses as well as any conduct that contributed to their conviction, their wider criminal record and if they have received any other compensation.

Sources said any amendment to the law was likely to focus on the saved living expenses, which covers any substantial savings, such as mortgage payments, that might have been made as a result of being in custody. It could be ditched altogether.

Dame Priti Patel, the former home secretary, Sir Robert Buckland, the former justice secretary, Dominic Grieve, the former attorney general, and Sir Bob Neill, the chairman of the justice committee, have called for reform of this aspect of the legislation.

However, legal sources suggested Mr Malkinson would be likely to secure the biggest amount of compensation from suing Greater Manchester Police for wrongful arrest and conviction.

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The United States and Australia condemned Russia's weaponization of food in a joint statement on July 29, calling on world powers such as China to influence Russia's direction in the war on Ukraine.

Russia's recent withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative has heightened fears of food insecurity globally, including in China.

The representatives encouraged China to "address issues of global and shared interest including climate change, global food and nutrition security, trade, and macroeconomic stability."

The two countries also condemned Iran's supply of drones to Russia and called Russian nuclear threats an "unacceptable menace."

China has promised multiple times to not send arms to Russia in support of the war in Ukraine, and mostly portrays itself as a neutral state. Despite this the country has previously been found supplying Russia with military aid, including drones, semiconductors, and fighter jet parts.

Read also: Explainer: Chinas increasing role in Russias war against Ukraine

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
A handout mugshot from the Ada County Sheriff's Office on May 12, 2023, shows the booking photo of Lori Vallow (-)

A US mother with "doomsday" religious beliefs was sentenced Monday to life in prison without parole for murdering two of her children and conspiring to kill her husband's ex-wife.

Lori Vallow had been found guilty in May over the deaths of her 16-year-old daughter Tylee Ryan and adopted seven-year-old son Joshua "JJ" Vallow.

"You are sentenced to the custody of the State Board of Corrections to serve the maximum allowed sentence... life imprisonment with no possibility of parole," said Judge Steven W. Boyce, at a court in the northwestern US state of Idaho.

Vallow claimed to be a goddess charged with preparing humanity for the second coming of Jesus Christ, and said she believed she could communicate with angels.

Prosecutors alleged that she used religious beliefs to justify the murders, which became the subject of a Netflix true-crime documentary series "Sins of Our Mother," released last year.

They also claimed there were financial motives for the crimes.

Her fifth husband, Chad Daybell -- the self-published author of several apocalyptic novels -- is awaiting trial over similar charges, which include the murder of his first wife, Tammy. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The case first drew national headlines in late 2019 following the disappearance of Vallow's children.

Vallow and Daybell never reported that the children were missing, and their bodies were found in June 2020 on property owned by Daybell in Idaho.

It also emerged that several people associated with Vallow and Daybell had died in recent years.

These included Daybell's wife Tammy, who died ostensibly of natural causes in October 2019, just weeks before the couple moved to Hawaii.

Vallow, raised a Mormon, became increasingly radical in her religious beliefs over time.

In 2018, she met Daybell -- the leader of a radical Mormon sect that was preparing for the end times -- at a religious conference in Utah.

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Judge Boyce on Monday ordered three consecutive, rather than concurrent, life sentences, due to the gravity of Vallow's crimes.

"In Idaho, a life sentence is just that -- a life sentence without parole," he said

But "because there are three separate murders with three separate victims that occurred at three separate times, running the counts concurrently would not serve the interests of justice," he said.

"You need to be held accountable separately for each of the three murders."

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Major General Joseph Ryan told AFP the United States will rely on allies to counter any Chinese military risk in the Pacific (Handout)

The United States will rely on allies rather than a major expansion of its own forces to counter any Chinese military risk in the Pacific, a US general has told AFP.

Beijing enjoys "very clear" advantages in the region, said Major General Joseph Ryan, commander of the 12,000-strong 25th Infantry Division on Oahu, Hawaii.

He cited China's expanding military defences, its long-range rocket missile capability and the ease with which it can position forces and equipment in the Pacific.

By contrast, in the event of conflict, the United States and its allies would have to traverse international waters or the territories of multiple nations, requiring their permission as well as the mobilisation of air, land and sea transport.

"I don't see a major expansion of US military presence in the region," Ryan said while in Darwin at the weekend for multinational military exercise Talisman Sabre.

"What I do see is increased partnership, opportunities for partnership and perhaps some increased growth in the region," he said.

Tensions between Beijing and Washington have flared in recent years over self-ruled Taiwan, China's disputed claims over a swathe of the South China Sea and a tug-of-war for influence in the South Pacific.

- 'Frustrated' -

China claims the democratic island of Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to take it, by force if necessary.

But Ryan said this may be "only the first issue in a larger campaign" by China to "at a minimum, become a regional hegemon in Southeast Asia, but certainly to enhance their global aspirations".

According to the US Defense Department, China has the world's largest navy, the third-largest air force, and by some measures, the biggest army.

The US relationship with Solomon Islands, which last year signed a secretive defence pact with China, was "complicated", the general said, despite a shared history dating back to World War II when Allied forces fought the Japanese on the island of Guadalcanal.

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Ryan said he could understand why the Solomons might be "frustrated" with the United States, following a recent visit he made to the archipelago.

"I was struck by the lack of development there so I am not surprised that our relationship with the Solomons remains complicated today, because we were there, we fought hard there, and now there are some challenges there and we haven't been back," he said.

The United States restored its embassy in Solomon Islands in February after a 30-year hiatus. Three months later, it opened an embassy in Tonga. US embassies are also planned for Vanuatu and Kiribati.

- 'An affront' -

Solomon Islands is a sovereign nation but it should be "careful" about its relationship with China, the general said.

Beijing, too, had "every right" to operate in the region, he said, "as long as everybody is obeying the same set of international norms that have been set since World War II".

"But they've shown a direct proclivity not to do that -- an affront to many of our allies and partners in the region," Ryan added.

The United States' Indo-Pacific Strategy, released last year, prioritised alliances over trying to shape China's activities through direct engagement.

Ryan said US participation in the Talisman Sabre exercise demonstrated the US commitment to its partners.

He denied Washington was asking Pacific countries to choose between the United States and China.

"We're simply asking them to act in their best interests and to consider that the US wants to partner with them, and other free and independent nations who value their sovereignty in the region -- like Australia and New Zealand -- want to partner with them," he said.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 30)  The president of the European Commission arrived in the country on Sunday for the first official visit by a top leader of the commission in nearly 60 years of relations with the Philippines.

EU ambassador to the Philippines Luc Veron shared photos of EC president Ursula von der Leyen's arrival past 5 p.m. when she was welcomed by Philippine officials.

Malacanang announced von der Leyen's visit last week, saying she would be in the country until August 1. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. invited von der Leyen to visit the country during their meeting in Brussels at the ASEAN-EU Commemorative Summit in December last year.

"The visit aims to give a new impetus to the EU-Philippines bilateral relations and engage in discussions on matters of mutual interest, in particular in the ears of trade, the green and digital transition and security," the EU said in a July 27 statement.

Von der Leyen will meet with Marcos, and is expected to speak at events organized by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines in partnership with the Makati Business Club.
Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified the person in the right of the photo. That individual is Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.

CANBERRA, Australia  The United States will expand its military industrial base by helping Australia manufacture guided missiles and rockets for both countries within two years, the allies announced on Saturday as they ramped up defense cooperation to counter Chinas growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.

The new cooperation on guided weapon production follows a trilateral partnership announcement in March that will see Britain provide Australia with a fleet of eight submarines powered by U.S. nuclear technology.

The greater integration of U.S. and Australian militaries was announced after annual talks between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their Australian counterparts, Defense Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

They agreed to cooperate on Australia producing Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems by 2025, a communique said.

U.S. companies Raytheon and Lockheed Martin only established an Australian enterprise to build such weapons last year. That followed the drain on Western countries munitions caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Austin said the move on missiles would strengthen the two allies defense industrial base and technological edge.

Were racing to accelerate Australias priority access to munitions through a streamlined acquisition process, Austin told reporters in Brisbane, Australia.

Marles welcomed U.S. support to achieve Australian missile production within two years.

We are really pleased with the steps that we are taking in respect of establishing a guided weapons and explosive ordnance enterprise in this country, Marles said.

The two governments also agreed to upgrade joint military facilities in Australia and to increase U.S. nuclear submarine visits as the United States increases its focus on the South Pacific.

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The region came to the forefront of the U.S. competition with China for influence last year, when Beijing signed a security pact with Solomon Islands and raised the prospect of a Chinese naval base being established there.

Austin became the first U.S. defense secretary to visit Papua New Guinea and Blinken visited New Zealand and Tonga before they arrived in Australia.

Saturdays meeting was overshadowed by the loss of an Australian Army helicopter with four air crew late Friday, during military exercises with the U.S. off the northeastern coast of Australia.

U.S., Australian and Canadian militaries are taking part in the search for potential survivors near Whitsunday Islands off the Queensland state coast.

Austin and Marles will travel to north Queensland on Sunday to inspect Talisman Sabre, a biennial military exercise between the two countries that this year includes 13 nations and more than 30,000 military personnel.
By Daphne Psaledakis and Simon Lewis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There is a narrow opportunity to reverse last week's military takeover in Niger and U.S. diplomatic and military posture there will depend on whether the democratically elected government is reinstated in the coming days and week, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.

The U.S. has condemned the junta's overthrow of elected President Mohamed Bazoum - the seventh military takeover in less than three years in West and Central Africa - which has raised fears for the security of the surrounding Sahel region.

Washington's objective is to support West Africa's regional bloc ECOWAS in its efforts to reverse the takeover, the senior State Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"We don't think it's fully successful, and we think there's a narrow opportunity to reverse it," the official told reporters.

"Our posture will depend on what happens over the next days and week in terms of whether or not we're able to help the region and the Nigeriens reverse this."

ECOWAS on Sunday gave Niger coup leaders one week to reinstate ousted Bazoum or face sanctions and the possible use of force.

The U.S., former colonial power France and other Western states have troops in Niger and had been working with the government battling militant forces linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda.

There are about 1,100 U.S. troops in Niger, where the U.S. military operates from two bases, and so far there have not been any announcements of a change in posture.

U.S. law on foreign aid prohibits most assistance to any country where the elected head of government has been deposed in a coup d'etat or by decree, unless the Secretary of State determines that providing aid is in the national security interest of the U.S.

The official on Monday said that if Washington concludes that a coup has taken place, it would comply with U.S. law, but added that the situation is very fluid and dynamic.

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A change in government would affect Washington's ability to engage in Niger, though there are some exceptions to the law for counterterrorism, the official said.

"But we would prefer to have a good partner and an elected government. That's the best way to fight terrorism," the official said.

Niger and its neighbors Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Chad are all struggling to repel Islamist insurgents. U.S. military personnel have been training local forces to fight militant groups.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
Flags of Ukraine and the USA

The U.S. and Ukrainian government will begin consultations on possible future security guarantees to Kyiv this week, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a press briefing on July 31.

"Negotiations will begin this week," said Miller.

Read also: Putin tells African leaders Russia ready to enter negotiations to end war

According to him, the initial phase of the negotiations will take place in an online format.

The United States will be represented by a Deputy Secretary of State. Miller noted that these consultations are about future guarantees and do not relate to the military assistance that the Washington is already providing to Ukraine.

Read also: Netherlands to sign up to G7 declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine

On July 12, the leaders of G7 countries announced a series of bilateral security guarantees for Ukraine. The text of the document states that the G7 leaders confirmed their commitment to a free, independent, democratic, and sovereign Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and emphasized that Ukraine's security is an integral part of the security of the Euro-Atlantic region. They promised to support Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression as much as necessary.

Read also: Nordic countries to join G7 security guarantees to Ukraine

Each G7 country will work with Ukraine on specific bilateral obligations to Ukraine, focusing on empowering Kyiv and its armed forces to deter any future Russian armed aggression after the ongoing war is over.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A Missouri couple was on a weekend getaway when the Powerball jackpot began to soar.

My husband and I went to Branson for a mini vacation, just to get away, the wife told Missouri Lottery officials. We saw the Powerball growing and thought wed buy some tickets.

They decided to buy tickets during stops along their road trip, according to a July 28 news release from the Missouri Lottery.

While they were away during the Saturday, July 15 drawing, one of their tickets matched the Powerball and four of the five white balls, officials said. This qualified them for a $50,000 prize.

But the husband and wife had no idea until a few days later.

We were enjoying our vacation, the wife told lottery officials. Saturday and Sunday, I didnt even check the tickets. I didnt know until, I think, Tuesday.

When she finally did start scanning her tickets, she could hardly believe what she saw.

The third ticket I scanned said, Winning ticket, claim at Lottery, and I was like, Well, wait a minute. I know that means its over $600, the woman said when claiming her prize. Ive played the Powerball for years, and I know theres no $600 winner, so it has to be a lot.

She and her husband double-checked the numbers, then recruited some extra pairs of eyes, according to the release.

I called my mom, my sister, my brother, the woman said. Were all on FaceTime, and Im going, Are you guys seeing what Im seeing?

The prize was real, officials said. And now the couple plans to buy a larger vehicle and take more vacations.

The winning ticket was sold at On the Run convenience store in St. James, about 160 miles northeast of Branson.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

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Couple play lottery on last day of Maryland vacation and go home with hefty souvenir

Daughter convinced her mom to buy a Powerball ticket. Then she won big in Missouri

Lottery player wins big at 7-Eleven  then quietly leaves store with exciting secret
Working with mice, researchers report they have been testing a vaccine that takes direct aim at the onset and development of Alzheimer's. Photo by pasja1000/Pixabay

Scientists have struggled for decades to come up with something that can successfully treat Alzheimer's disease, with new drugs now showing their ability to clear the amyloid plaques that are a hallmark of the memory-robbing disease.

But what if a vaccine could do the same job, or better? A new Japanese study suggests it may be possible.

Working with mice, researchers report they have been testing a vaccine that takes direct aim at the onset and development of Alzheimer's.

They say that the results so far have proven encouraging, with indications that, at least among mice, the vaccine appears to effectively lower the inflammation that is typical of Alzheimer's, resulting in notable improvements in overall behavior.

Still, the research is ongoing and the findings to date are considered preliminary. Even more importantly, whether vaccine success in mice will eventually translate to vaccine success in humans remains a wide open question.

"From animal to clinical trials in human, it's a huge challenge in Alzheimer's disease," acknowledged study lead author Chieh-Lun Hsiao, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of cardiovascular biology and medicine with the Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine in Tokyo. "There's no perfect animal model for Alzheimer's [research] for humans."

That said, Hsiao explained that vaccine work so far has focused in on certain cells that are specifically known for expressing a protein called SAGP.

In the case of Alzheimer's, cellular inflammation sends SAGP into overdrive. That increase in SAGP activity can, in turn, trigger the development of telltale signs of Alzheimer's disease. One classic sign is the buildup of amyloid plaque deposits, which are known to short-circuit the brain's ability to process language, solve problems and stay focused.

So, "our vaccine was designed to target this SAGP protein," Hsiao said, with the theory being that if the vaccine can keep SAGP overactivity in check, it might slow down Alzheimer's or perhaps even stop it in its tracks.

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To test the new vaccine, the team worked with mice engineered to have a disease that's very similar to human Alzheimer's.

At 2 and 4 months of age, all the mice were inoculated either with the actual vaccine or a dummy shot.

Maze tests were then conducted at 6 months of age, before brain samples were taken from the mice for lab testing.

The maze tests suggested that those mice that received the vaccine handled that challenging environment "significantly better" than those who hadn't.

Another positive finding was that the mice that were vaccinated also exhibited signs of anxiety. The study team noted that anxiety is considered a marker of awareness, a facet of mental capacity that typically becomes diminished in those with Alzheimer's.

In turn, lab tests of brain tissue revealed that vaccinated mice displayed notable reductions in amyloid deposits, alongside significant reductions in the size of certain cells associated with Alzheimer's-related brain inflammation and hyped-up SAGP activity.

A couple of outside researchers weighed in on what the animal work may ultimately mean down the road.

"These are early days for this work," stressed Rebecca Edelmayer, senior director of scientific engagement with the Alzheimer's Association.

"Vaccines have a rich history of being successful to prevent disease across generations of people across the world, and it may also be applicable to Alzheimer's disease," she noted.

However, "it is likely that more work in mouse models and cellular models will be needed for this particular vaccine before it moves into human trials," Edelmayer added. "But it is encouraging to see their progress."

That thought was cautiously seconded by Daniel Lackland, director of Medical University of South Carolina's division of translational neurosciences and population studies.

"One reason why animal experiments often do not translate into replications in human trials is that many animal experiments are designed, conducted and analyzed in a very different manner than human trials and studies," he noted.

At the same time, Lackland added that "the considerations of animal studies is an important stage for developing hypothesis-generated human research. But it is only the first step."

Hsiao and her colleagues are slated to present their findings Wednesday at a meeting of the American Heart Association, in Boston. Such research is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More Information

There's more on Alzheimer's disease at the Alzheimer's Association.

Copyright  2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
A man has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the death of a woman, whose body the suspect seemingly kept inside their shared residence "for an extended period of time," Las Vegas police said.

Police have identified the suspect as 31-year-old George Anthony Bone, who is listed in Nevada's sex offender registry and who was arrested about a decade ago on charges of sexual assault and lewdness with a child, court records show. In addition to open murder, Bone was charged following his arrest on Wednesday with failing to register as a sex offender, as his name appears in Nevada's registry alongside a different address than the one where he allegedly lived with the deceased roommate, CBS affiliate KLAS reported.

Officers responded to the residence just before 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, after receiving a report that a woman had been found dead inside, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a news release. The victim "appeared to have been deceased for an extended period of time," the department said, noting "the suspicious nature of the death."

Although the manner and cause of death will be determined by the Clark County Coroner's Office, detectives with the Las Vegas police department have characterized the death as a homicide and identified Bone as the suspect. He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center and is being held without bail, KLAS reported.

As first reported by the 8 News Now Investigators, a Las Vegas man accused of strangling a woman and living with her corpse for two months spoke exclusively with 8 News Now Friday. #8NN https://t.co/9KCHKMS6aW  8 News Now (@8NewsNow) July 29, 2023

The victim was reportedly identified as Beverly Ma, a friend of Bone's since high school who had moved in with him last summer, according to KLAS. She may have died some time in May, Bone told police. After her death, the suspect allegedly kept the corpse in a closet at their residence, and told police that he placed a cooler near the door so that he would be alerted if Ma rose from the dead, KLAS reported, citing court documents and Las Vegas police.

"Bone went about living at the house with Beverly deceased in the upstairs closet for the next two months and began ordering several items on Beverly's Amazon account using her funds for his own gain," police said, according to KLAS. "When asked why he didn't call for help, Bone's response was 'I was afraid of going back to jail for being found with a dead body.'"

In a jaillhouse interview with KLAS, Bone said that he "made so many bad decisions."

"I'm not trying to say my actions were right," Bone said, speaking from the Clark County Detention Center. "I'm not trying to say my actions were logical."

CBS News contacted the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Clark County Coroner's Office for more information but did not receive immediate replies.

Las Vegas police have asked anyone with information about the incident to report what they know to the department's homicide section by calling 702-828-3521 or emailing homicide@lvmpd.com. Tips can also be reported anonymously, over the phone and by email, by contacting Crime Stoppers.

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UNESCO put Venice on its heritage list in 1987 but has warned of the need for 'more sustainable tourism management' (ANDREA PATTARO)

Venice's famed Rialto Bridge was jammed with tourists on Monday, the same day UNESCO recommended the watery city be put on its endangered list citing overtourism and other concerns.

Taking selfies, licking gelato and wheeling suitcases, the hordes of visitors seemed happily oblivious to the possible downgrade UNESCO said was due to the risk of "irreversible" damage.

New York tourist Ashley Park, 28, said she knew it would be crowded in Venice, but it wasn't ruining her vacation.

"Obviously if we lived here with all these tourists it wouldn't be fun," she acknowledged.

Among the crowds on the historic bridge was city worker Diego Nechifrovo, 23, wearing an #EnjoyRespectVenezia T-shirt, who was busy keeping an eye out for misbehaving tourists.

"Sometimes I see someone throwing away his cigarette or walking around without a T-shirt," he said, noticing a bag of potato chips discarded on the doorstep of a jewellery shop.

The worst? One time a family "sat down right in front of the Doge's Palace and started to set up a picnic."

A few weeks ago, a distracted tourist fell into the water, Nechifrovo said.

"He was trying to get a good photo".

- Please don't come -

Not far away, a seller of watercolours had a sign on his stand pointing to St. Mark's Square.

"That's all they want to know," said the native Venetian, Claudio, who declined to give his last name. "They come to Venice because it's Venice. That's all."

The days of educated tourists visiting and enjoying the city's many churches and museums were over, he said.

"Those who come now don't even know what a museum is. It's not cultural tourism," he said.

"They need to go to the beach, or the mountains, but not here!" he lamented. "Please don't come anymore!"

The list of Venice's challenges are many, from environmental damage to its lagoon to its fleeing residents -- with only about 50,000 left -- leaving what many critics charge is now a city without a soul.

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Two years ago, Venice narrowly avoided being placed on the same UNESCO list -- which is intended to spur governments into action to preserve places deemed of "universal value to humanity" -- after the city imposed a ban on massive cruise ships travelling past the centre.

Environmental groups warned the ships, carrying thousands of day-trippers and sailing exceptionally close to shore, caused large waves eroding Venice's foundations and harming the lagoon's fragile ecosystem.

But the rerouting of the ships to the more distant industrial port of Marghera did not address the issue of overtourism itself.

Some 3.2 million tourists stayed overnight in Venice's historic centre last year, according to official data, a number that does not include the thousands of daily visitors who do not spend the night.

"It's pretty beautiful -- it's a draw!" justified US tourist Mike McWilliams, 53, who had just arrived in the city for a two-day visit with his family.

- Managing the masterpiece -

UNESCO, the UN's cultural wing, put Venice on its heritage list in 1987 as an "extraordinary architectural masterpiece", but it has warned of the need for "more sustainable tourism management".

On Monday, it said progress had been insufficient while citing "a lack of overall joint strategic vision" by authorities.

Critics say measures put in place to check tourism are ineffective and have come too late.

A long-discussed plan to introduce a paid booking scheme for day-trippers has been repeatedly postponed, now until 2024, over concerns it will seriously dent tourist revenue and compromise freedom of movement.

Back at St. Mark's Square, city worker Lorenzo Seano, 21, was struggling to keep tourists from sitting on the steps of the surrounding arcades.

The problem of too many tourists invading cities went well beyond Venice, Seano said, but no one in government had tried to tackle the problem "on a structural level".

"After all, there's a ton of money coming in," he said.

ams/lcm
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  Vice President Kamala Harris plans to visit southeast Wisconsin on Thursday, making a stop in Pleasant Prairie to tout broadband and affordable connectivity before going to Milwaukee for a pair of campaign receptions.

The White House announced the planned stops on Sunday. There were no immediate details about the campaign events.

Harris will be joined by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo for the stop in Pleasant Prairie, which is 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Milwaukee near the Illinois border.

The visit comes a little over a month after President Joe Biden's administration announced that Wisconsin will receive more than $1 billion in federal money to expand high-speed internet access.

It's part of a plan to distribute $42.5 billion nationwide to provide reliable and affordable internet service for every home and business in the U.S. by 2030. States must complete a multi-step process before they can use the money.

Harris last came to Wisconsin in September 2022 as part of a campaign stop just ahead of the November midterm election. Thursday's visit is the first of this election cycle and would be Harris's fourth trip to Wisconsin since taking office.

Biden won perennial battleground Wisconsin by just under 21,000 votes in 2020, flipping the state for Democrats after former President Donald Trump carried it by just short of 23,000 votes in 2016. Four of the past six presidential elections in Wisconsin have been decided by less than a percentage point.
It was an extremely violent night in Boston on Sunday after three separate shootings and a triple-stabbing rocked the city.

We should all be outraged by the calamitous violence that rocked our neighborhoods last night, said Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden. My heart cries out for our city and for everyone impacted by these tragedies. Well work tirelessly to bring the perpetrators to justice, and we ask anyone in the community with information to please help us. It is high time, the necessary time indeed, for a tidal attitude shifts around illegal gun possession and the havoc it wreaks.

Police were called to Blue Hill Avenue at Washington Street in Roxbury around 7:47 p.m. Saturday for a shooting.

When they arrived, they found a man around 30 years of age who had been shot several times.

He later died at the hospital.

A few hours later around 11:08 p.m., police responded to the intersection of Weldon and Quincy Streets in Roxbury for another shooting.

When they arrived, they found an adult man suffering from gunshot wounds.

He also died at the hospital.

Less than 30 minutes after that shooting, police were called to 99 Draper St. in Dorchester for another adult man who was shot inside.

He was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, and at last check, was listed in critical condition.

As you can imagine, its hectic, said Boston Police Investigative Bureau Superintendent Felipe Colon. We have officers from all over the city responding to many of the incidents that occurred and again weve had two in Roxbury, one here in Dorchester, so its been pretty busy.

Less than five minutes after the third shooting, officers responded to Charles St. in Dorchester for a stabbing.

When officers arrived, they found two people suffering from stab wounds. A third person took themself to the hospital to be treated for a stab wound.

Police said all three stabbing victims are expected to survive.

Were in the early stages of these investigations so unknown if these incidents are related to each other, Colon said. Were asking the public for their help.

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Anyone with information on these incidents should call the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or text the word TIP to CRIME (27463).

Late Monday afternoon, city officials gathered for National Night Out and spoke about the importance of the public helping law enforcement fight street violence.

Cooperation from the public is how were able to really solve crimes, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said.

He encouraged the public to call police for help in deescalating any issues or situations seen in Boston neighborhoods.

Call us so we can prevent these types of things from escalating, Cox said.

When asked what more can be done to prevent the violence, Cox said, Were trying anything that we can. The city is spending a tremendous amount of resources.

That includes steering city youth away from violence, and providing access to mental health resources for city residents, Cox said.

When asked about the fatal violence overnight, Wu said, Its deeply painful and heartbreaking every single time we are comforting a grieving family.

She said access to illegal firearms is among the issues seen in Boston and nationwide. The mayor said the city and law enforcement are working extremely hard to stop the violence, and that officials are watching the numbers of victims impacted by city crime closely.

We will not rest or be satisfied until we are down to zero, Wu said.

Wu said that National Night Out is really an example of building the public safety infrastructure that our community needs.

Our department does an incredible job of responding in moments of crisis, providing that accountability and doing whatever they can to chase down justice after a situation, Wu said. But we want to be, wherever possible, preventing things from happening altogether, whether that is from strong relationships with civic associations, neighborhood associations and the city and the police department.

This is a developing story. Stay with Boston 25 News as more details are released.

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A Vietnamese company planning an electric vehicle plant in central North Carolina that would employ 7,500 workers met a milestone Friday as its top executive joined Gov. Roy Cooper and others for a ground-breaking ceremony.

VinFast announced last year that it would build its first manufacturing facility outside Vietnam in Chatham County, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Raleigh.

The planned $4 billion investment also would create North Carolinas first car manufacturing plant and North Carolinas largest-ever, state-backed economic development project as far as job creation, according to news outlets. North Carolina had missed out on car plants over the years to other Southeastern states.

(For) decades weve wanted an automaker in North Carolina, and you know, somebody was looking after us. We were just waiting for that EV market, Cooper said at Fridays event.

PREVIOUS: EV maker VinFast delays opening of North Carolina factory

VinFast, which makes fully electric SUVs, aims to open in 2025 a manufacturing and asssembly plant with initial production capacity of 150,000 vehicles annually.

The company has submitted site plans to Chatham County government and received county and environmental permits to begin work.

The state and Chatham County offered VinFast up to $1.25 billion in incentives that can be reached if it meets hiring and investment thresholds. The amount includes $450 million that the General Assembly set aside for infrastructure around the plant.

A car company that was only formed in 2017, VinFast pivoted two years ago toward electric SUVs and targeted foreign markets. The company says its so far delivered 350 of its five-seat model to U.S. customers since shipping their first batch late last year.

Our project represents a significant investment and were proud to create thousands of jobs here in North Carolina, but we believe the recognition that we receive here goes beyond the figures and reflects the mutual ambition that we all are pursuing, VinFast CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy said at the ceremony.

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Earlier this year, the company announced it would delay the production start in Chatham County from 2024 to 2025. A company executive acknowledged that their original timeline had been aggressive but reaffirmed the companys commitment to build.

(PREVIOUS: North Carolina site said to be chosen for massive EV plant)








Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 31)  Former President Rodrigo Duterte is the best person to lead possible backchannel talks with China, said Senator Alan Peter Cayetano who served as Foreign Affairs Secretary during his term.

In a chance interview at the Senate, Cayetano said it is up to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to decide whether the Philippines needs backchannel or informal negotiations with China amid the long-standing dispute on the West Philippine Sea.

Cayetano said hes not ready to make a recommendation himself, afraid to preempt the senators closed-door meeting with some officials from the executive on Monday.

Iba yung back channeling eh, araw-araw na usap yan, comfort and trust ng pangulo. So I do know may trust si president Marcos kay president Duterte pero iba yung day to day negotiation, Cayetano said.

But if ever we need someone who can go to the highest levels of the Chinese government that the Chinese government trust, and that Filipinos trust, eh si president Duterte yon, he added.

[Translation: Back channeling is different, it involves discussions every day, comfort and trust from the president. So I do know may trust si president Marcos trusts president Duterte, but day to day negotiations are different. But if ever we need someone who can go to the highest levels of the Chinese government that the Chinese government trust, and that Filipinos trust, that would be president Duterte.]

Cayetano expressed confidence Duterte can deliver urgent, emergency, sincere messages to China. He also dismissed criticisms against Dutertes alleged defeatist stance on the West Philippine Sea issue during his administration.

Iba lang yung pagiging bulaklakin ng bibig niya. Iba lang siya magsalita but he never sold out the Philippines and he will never sell out the Philippines, Cayetano stressed.

[Translation: The way he speaks is different. It's different but he never sold out the Philippines and he will never sell out the Philippines.]

Cayetano said he also sees that the Chinese government respects Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo.

Manalo, as well as Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner, and National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano are in the Senate for a closed-door meeting on opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros resolution, which seeks to elevate Chinas incursions in the West Philippine Sea to the United Nations General Assembly.

Cayetano maintained that running to the UNGA may give Filipinos false hopes and called the move counterproductive. He said the Philippines may lose cooperation with China in terms of fishing, protecting marine life, and conducting oil and gas exploration.
Vladimiro Roca Antunez, the son of a prominent communist leader who grew to become a dissident and opposed Fidel Castro when few dared at the time, died on Sunday, members of the opposition and Cuban independent media reported.

Martha Beatriz Roque, another well-known Cuban dissident and Rocas close collaborator, first made his death public on a Facebook post. Citing family sources, the Cuban news website 14ymedio reported that Roca, 80, had been battling diabetes and Alzheimers diseases though they did not provide other details.

Roca was one of four children of Blas Roca, the leader of the Socialist Popular Party, the communist party founded during the era predating the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Blas Roca went on to become the head of the National Assembly and the lead writer of the 1976 constitution under Castro, who had ties with the communist movement before he publicly proclaimed himself a communist in 1961.

Roca, the son, trained as a military pilot in the former Soviet Union, graduated with a degree in economics in 1987, the same year his father died, and started working in a government ministry. But during the early 1990s, a period of turmoil marked by Mikhail Gorbachevs reforms in the Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the entire socialist bloc, Roca proclaimed himself a dissident and vowed to oppose the Cuban regime.

He created an opposition group in 1996, the Cuban Social-Democratic Party, though that was and still is considered illegal in Cuba, where the Communist Party still rules. He was one of the authors of La Patria es de Todos  The homeland belongs to all  a document criticizing the economic and political model imposed by Castro, published in June 1997.

The Communist Party of Cuba, by imposing a single party system, places itself in the unenviable company of Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Franco, Trujillo, Pol Pot and Saddam Hussein, wrote Roca along with dissidents Roque, Rene Gomez Manzano and Felix Bonne.

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The governments philosophy is not to serve the people, but to be their dictator, the document added. The main objective is not to guarantee citizens a decent quality of life. No one is fooled anymore by the claims about social justice.

In a daring gesture, the document questioned the rule of the Communist Party, its manipulation of history, its failed economic policies and its oppression of Cubans. It also exposed some historical facts about Castro and his revolution that were little known by most Cubans then, including Castros appeal to the Soviet leader Nikita Kruschev to launch a nuclear strike against the United States during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.

La Patria es de Todos is a document for history that also shook Cuban society, said Hector Palacios, a former political prisoner and dissident who worked closely with Roca and now lives in Miami after he was forced into exile.

Though there was no internet or social media at the time, and the government strictly controlled the press, activists managed to get the message out by printing and distributing copies of the document, which also attracted international attention, Palacios said.

In a matter of weeks, Castro had its authors arrested after they held a press conference for foreign journalists. They spent almost two years detained without charges. After a closed-door trial, Roca was given the harshest sentence, spending five years in prison, accused of acts against the state and sedition.

Almost a hundred dissidents were detained or put under house arrest to stop them from gathering outside the court during the trial in Havana. And Cuban state media, which at the time rarely even mentioned the existence of dissidents, published personal communications, secret videos and phone conversations to try to paint the dissidents as mercenaries paid by the U.S. government.

Roca was released in 2002 and continued to be active in Cubas opposition movement, traveling abroad to highlight the human rights abuses on the island and publishing critical articles on independent news websites.

The courage shown by Vladimiro Roca in breaking with the system he was a part of since he was born as the son of Blas Roca Calderio, one of the main leaders of the extinct Popular Socialist Party, is essential to understanding the challenges he faced, said John Suarez, the executive director of the Center for a Free Cuba, who highlighted Rocas legacy in opening spaces for debate and dissent inside Cuba.

Vladimiro Roca Antunez was born in Havana on December 21, 1942, the son of Blas Roca and Dulce Antunez. He was named after the Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin.

What could have pushed someone with such a communist upbringing and name to oppose Castros communist revolution?

Both Vladimiro and I grew up in families that, despite being communists, raised their children to become citizens who could think with their own minds, said Tania Quintero, Rocas cousin and a journalist who had to seek exile in Switzerland for her writings criticizing the Cuban government. And thats why when my cousin realized the direction of the socialist revolution, he turned away from it and became an opponent in 1991.

Another family member, Lazaro Yuri Valle Roca, one of Blas Rocas grandchildren, also became an independent journalist and government critic and is currently serving a six-year prison sentence in Cuba.

Quintero said Roca didnt want to leave the country because he was committed to fighting for freedom in Cuba. She described him as a talkative and jovial person.

Palacios, one of the 75 dissidents detained during the so-called Black Spring in 2003, remembers Roca as someone affectionate who cared for other members of the dissident movemen and frequently filled his house in the Kohly neighborhood in Nuevo Vedado, Havana.

His house was a sanctuary for the opposition, Palacios said. He was a true patriot and never stopped working to achieve unity within the movement.
The Wagner Group claimed on July 30 that it had "indefinitely" suspended recruitment of new members as it possesses sufficiently "large personnel reserves."

"Due to the presence of large personnel reserves in the Wagner private military company (PMC), there is currently no need to recruit new members," the Wagner Group's press service wrote on its Telegram channel.

"The work of the regional recruitment centers of the Wagner PMC is suspended indefinitely."

The Wagner Group did not mention whether this decision extends to recruiting new members in Belarus where a significant number of the contractors are based at the moment.

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko allegedly helped broker a deal for Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and his troops to relocate to Belarus after their armed "rebellion" in late June stopped short of reaching Moscow.

While the details of the deal remain undisclosed, the group announced on July 2 that it had suspended recruitment of new members in Russia for a month. The Russian Defense Ministry said later that it had confiscated thousands of pieces of military equipment from Wagner, including tanks, armored vehicles, and other heavy hardware.

Minsk subsequently confirmed that Wagner fighters are present in Belarus to provide training support to the Belarusian military.

On July 20, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said that a four-day joint training was being held between Wagner and the Belarusian military in Brest Oblast near the Polish border.

As of July 22, Ukrainian authorities report that about 5,000 Wagner fighters have arrived in Belarus. The Ukrainian military's National Resistance Center said on July 27 that the group is recruiting new members in Belarus under the condition that they are ready "to participate in hostilities on the territory of the countries neighboring Belarus, in particular, Poland and Lithuania."

The redeployment of Wagner mercenaries to Belarus has alarmed eastern members of NATO. The Polish military began to reinforce its eastern border, and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki warned that the Wagner Group fighters could infiltrate Poland to conduct a "hybrid attack on Polish territory."

Read also: National Resistance Center: Wagner recruiting fighters in Belarus on condition of readiness to fight in Poland, Lithuania

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Metropolitan Communication College launched three new online classes this week to help jump-start careers in Missouris burgeoning marijuana industry.

MCC is partnering with California-based company Green Flower to offer the three certificate programs that focus on different aspects of the industry: cannabis cultivation specialist, cannabis retail specialist and cannabis extraction & product development specialist.

According to Daniel Kalef, Green Flowers executive vice president, the cultivation specialist program is geared toward those who want to work in a grow operation. It covers, for example, the genetics and botany of the cannabis plant, as well as seeds, germination, soil, watering, lighting, trimming and harvesting.

Kalef said the retail specialist program is for those who want to work in a dispensary, where a sometimes amazing, though dizzying, array of products are offered, from something you could smoke to something you can vape to oils and tinctures and candy and drinks and gummies and chocolate. The program covers topics like the relationship between the cannabis plant and human biology, how different products are made, proper dosing and customer service.

The extraction and product development program looks at how you take a plant and extract what you need from it and turn it into a product, Kalef said. It covers how to extract THC from cannabis plants and how to properly infuse different products like oils, chocolates and gummies, for example, with THC.

Each nine-week program costs $750. The courses are not for credit, and anyone can sign up to take them at their own pace.

Cannabis plants flourish under the grow lights at Illicit Gardens, a large cultivator of medical marijuana in the Kansas City area.

Training for a growing industry

Green Flower, which offers its programs at 19 community colleges and 20 four-year universities, approached MCC in August last year ahead of Missouris vote to legalize recreational marijuana, said Richard Wallace, MCCs Director of Continuing Education.

After looking at marijuana sales and job income data from states where weed was legal, Wallace said, We were able to see that this is something that we might need to, kind of, get ahead of and start offering some of these programs.

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St. Louis Community College has also been paying attention to the expanding cannabis industry.

We just knew from talking with individuals in the cannabis industry that there was going to be a real growing need for workers in that industry, said Jerry Pence, the colleges horticulture program coordinator.

STLCC now offers three in-person cannabis courses for credit: an introductory lecture, a cultivation course on growing techniques with a lab component, and lab methods course on extraction techniques. The courses, which have space for 24-30 students, have all filled when they have been offered.

Patrick Vogan, an assistant professor in the horticulture program who co-taught STLCCs cultivation course this spring with a manager of a local cannabis cultivation facility, said the classes can serve a variety of people.

Theres a whole range of student knowledge levels coming in, Vogan said. About a quarter of the students in the class were already working in the industry and were looking for ways to refine and add to their skill sets, whereas many of the other students had no experience cultivating cannabis.

Students just want a good practical knowledge that will help get them employed in the industry, Vogan added.

MCC is the first Kansas City-area college to offer cannabis education and is excited about the new offering, Wallace said in a news release. The college has identified the need and the demand in high-growth opportunities in the cannabis job market.

Recreational weed has been available for sale in Missouri since February, and data from the states Department of Health and Senior Services through the end of June shows recreational sales totaled $444 million, and medical sales totaled $185.3 million.

As of June, more than 16,271 active agent licenses were registered in Missouri for those who work in the states marijuana industry.
War is returning to Russia, Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky has warned, after early-morning drone attacks hit Moscow on Sunday.

Although Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the strikes, Mr Zelensky said such attacks were an inevitable and fair process of the war between the nations.

Earlier on Sunday, Russia blamed Ukraine for what it called an attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime and said three drones had targetted the capital.

Its defence ministry said two buildings were damaged in the Moskva-Citi business district after being brought down using electronic jamming equipment, while another was shot down over the Odintsovo area. One of the residential buildings damaged was home to three government ministries, local media reported.

Vnukovo airport on the southern outskirts of the capital was forced to temporarily close due to the attacks, according to Russias state news agency. Nobody was hurt, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

It is the fourth attempt at a strike on the capital region this month and the third this week, fuelling concerns about Moscows vulnerability to attacks as Russias war in Ukraine drags on into its 18th month.

President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the attempted attacks, his spokesperson said. He was in his home town of St Petersburg for meetings with African leaders and a naval celebration at the time.

Emergency personnel survey the damage caused by one of the destroyed drones in Moscow (AP)

On the morning of 30th July, an attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime using unmanned aerial vehicles against targets in the city of Moscow was foiled, Russias defence ministry said in a statement.

In a video address from the western Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk, Mr Zelensky said that Ukraine was getting stronger. Today is the 522nd day of the so-called Special Military Operation, which the Russian leadership thought would last a couple of weeks, he said.

Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia  to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process.

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A Ukrainian airforce spokesperson did not claim responsibility for the attacks but said the Russian people were seeing the consequences of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

All of the people who think the war doesnt concern them  its already touching them, Yurii Ihnat told journalists.

Theres already a certain mood in Russia: that something is flying in, and loudly, he said. Theres no discussion of peace or calm in the Russian interior any more. They got what they wanted.

Mr Ihnat also referenced an attempted drone attack in Crimea early on Sunday  the Ukrainian territory occupied and illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

At least two buildings were damaged in the early-morning attacks on the capital (AP)

Russias defence ministry said it had shot down 16 Ukrainian drones and neutralised eight others through electronic jamming. No injuries or damage were reported.

Mr Zelensky has vowed to take back all land Russian forces have occupied, including Crimea, and his efforts have been strengthened by the receipt and deployment of increasingly advanced Western weapons.

It comes after a ramping up of Ukraines counteroffensive in recent weeks, with the head of Ukraines intelligence directorate telling Ukrainian news site TSN on Saturday that Kyivs forces were set to enter Crimea soon.

In Ukraine, the airforce claimed it had destroyed four Russian drones above the Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Meanwhile, a Russian missile strike late on Saturday killed two people and wounded 20 in the city of Sumy in northeast Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said a four-storey college building was hit, with local authorities saying accommodation and teaching buildings were damaged in the blast and fire that followed.
The Kremlin said Monday it was stepping up Russia's air defenses following a new wave of drone attacks inside the country and after Ukraines leader warned the war was returning home.

Given the evolving situation, additional measures have been taken to improve defenses against air and sea-based attacks, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told a military conference Monday.

His announcement came after the latest in a series of attempted drone assaults that Moscow has accused Kyiv of carrying out to compensate for a struggling counteroffensive on the battlefield. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials accused Russia of a deadly new attack on civilians in the heart of the country.

Russian officials said three Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow were shot down early Sunday, hours before a major military parade attended by President Vladimir Putin.

Images from a crash site in the capital showed the facade of a skyscraper damaged on one floor, with glass shattered and structural beams snapped and deformed.

Kyiv has stopped short of taking responsibility for the drone attacks, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested Sunday this could mark a new chapter.

Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia  to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process, Zelenskyy said Sunday in his nightly video address.

The Moscow attack, which injured at least one person and resulted in the closure of the city's airspace, followed a dramatic aerial assault on the Russian capital earlier this summer.

Since then a series of drone assaults have targeted strategic sites across the country, increasingly bringing home the reality of the war to the Russian public.

Last week, a drone fell in the center of the capital near the defense ministry headquarters, while another gutted a few upper floors of another building.

There is always something flying in Russia, including in Moscow, Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said Sunday on Ukrainian national television. No matter how hard the Russian authorities want to turn a blind eye to this and say they have shot everything down, something is still arriving.

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Moscow Drone Attack (AP)

The Kremlin has largely played down the threat, seeking to paint the assaults as a sign of desperation in Kyiv. Ukraine's long-awaited counteroffensive has so far struggled to achieve a breakthrough, with Russia's defensive lines largely holding firm.

The attack shows the terrorist nature of the Kyiv regime, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a call with reporters Monday. The counteroffensive is not going as planned, so Ukraine is opting for targeting civilian infrastructure. Its disgusting, he said.

Russia hit back Monday with a missile assault on civilian buildings in central Ukraine, killing at least five including a young child and leaving others likely trapped under the rubble, Zelenskyy said.

The attacks hit sites including a university and a residential building in Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy's hometown, officials said.

While Russia has denied targeting civilian infrastructure, aerial bombardments for months have targeted almost everything from hospitals to playgrounds to apartment blocks.

In recent days, the enemy has been stubbornly attacking cities, city centers, shelling civilian objects and housing, Zelenskyy said Monday in a telegram post.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Image: Warner Bros./Universal

Its the summer of Barbenheimer in the west, as the twin successes of Greta Gerwigs Barbie and Christopher Nolans Oppenheimer have bought a soothing balm to an industry wracked by uncertainty, and plenty of memes to social media. But not everyone is exactly pleased with the latter.



This weekend, Barbie was trending on Japanese Twitternow formally known as Xalongside the hashtagh #NoBarbenheimer, decrying U.S. social media accounts for Barbie engaging with fans posting Barbie/Oppenheimer mashup memes, including commentary from Japanese politicans like Social Democratic Party member Murata Shunichi. Japanese users on X also managed to get a community note attached to a post from the U.S. Barbie movie account where it responded to a Barbenheimer meme post, noting the date and time that the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

Read more

"Barbie" is now trending on Japanese Twitter, with several very popular posts reacting to the official @barbiethemovie account's embrace of mushroom cloud Barbenheimer memes. Here are a few quick translations: https://t.co/3EGvCHjj6W pic.twitter.com/T9PDFinsYZ  Jeffrey J. Hall  (@mrjeffu) July 31, 2023

It's going to be a summer to remember   Barbie Movie (@barbiethemovie) July 21, 2023

Now, Warner Bros. Japan has taken to its own local X account for Barbie to release a statement joining people in condemnation. Because the movies Barbie and Oppenheimer were both released in America on July 21, theres is currently a movement driven by overseas fans to watch them together (#Barbenheimer), but this is not an official movement, a translation of the statement released on X reads in part. We find the reaction to this fan-driven movement from the official American account for the movie Barbie to be extremely regrettable.

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Warner Bros. Japan further noted that it has reached out to the studio in the U.S. to take appropriate action for the posts. We take this very seriously and are asking the American head office to take appropriate action, the statement concludes. We apologize to those offended by these inconsiderate actions.

Barbie is currently scheduled for an August 11 release in Japan. Oppenheimer, meanwhile, has yet to receive a release date in the country. Its common for Hollywood films to receive delayed releases in Japan, often by multiple months, but given Oppenheimers subject material, plans for any eventual release are currently unknown.

io9's reached out to Warner Bros. U.S. for comment on the statement from its Japanese counterpart, and will update this post if and when we hear back.

Japanese translation provided by Alex Romero.





Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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Before Mays mass shooting broke out at a Kansas City nightclub, owner Mario Williams called the police repeatedly.

He told dispatchers that armed men were gathering outside the Klymax Lounge, and security guard Jason McConnell needed backup.

But after one dropped call, Williams says, Kansas City Police Department dispatchers told him the department was experiencing a blackout  a scenario wherein no officers are nearby to respond to an emergency.

The dispatcher categorized the situation as non-urgent, and said police would only be able to respond if there was an active emergency.

Twenty minutes later, a shooting broke out that killed three people and severely injured two more. McConnell, the security guard, was among those killed.

The police departments blackout may have cost lives  Williams says that even one officer arriving on the scene may have de-escalated the situation and prevented the deadly shooting.

But blackouts also prevent officers from other precincts from responding to low-priority calls  and local authorities told The Star that they dont keep track of how often, or for how long, these blackout conditions occur.

What is a police blackout?

A blackout is a set of conditions under which officers are in short supply and will only respond to calls from other precincts if dispatchers determine they are urgent, a Kansas City police spokesperson told The Star.

Blackout is a term that is used to indicate that there are not any available officers to send on a call at that exact moment in time, Sgt. Jacob Becchina said. It is used in conjunction with a request for a car to make themselves available as soon as possible.

In order for the department to dispatch officers during a blackout, the call must reach a priority level high enough that immediate assistance is needed. If none are available in the area, dispatchers may look for officers in other precincts who can respond.

A spokesperson for the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department said they have never heard of blackout policies  but their methods for determining the severity of a call are similar to their Missouri counterparts.

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When calls come into dispatch, they are assigned a level of priority, department spokesperson Nancy Chartrand told The Star. If there is a major case in one district and calls for service are light in another, officers can be dispatched from one district to another.

Both Chartrand and Becchina indicated that once officers are actively responding to a call, they will not be sent elsewhere until they have cleared it  a police term meaning that they have completed their response.

This means that even if there is a serious emergency waiting for officers, they will need to clear their current assignment before they can address it.

How often do blackouts happen in Kansas City?

Becchina at the Kansas City Police Department told The Star that the department does not track the time, length or location of blackouts.

He said that they are not tracked on a moment to moment basis and they are not tabulated, although the departments heaviest call volumes are typically seen on evenings and weekends.

Eric Winebrenner, the public safety program director for the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC), added that regional data doesnt exist for blackout scenarios.

While MARC tracks 911 call volumes and answering times around the metro, he said it does not track the time individual agencies take to respond to these calls once they are answered.

How do dispatchers decide where to send police?

KCPD patrol procedures state that two (2) or more officers will be dispatched to incidents where the likelihood for danger and/or violence exists.

Beyond this, the department uses a numerical system to determine the urgency of calls.

Heres what they mean:

Priority 1: This level is for scenarios that present extreme, known or potential danger to human life.

Priority 2: This level is for calls where the potential for danger/injuries to occur exists, but has not yet happened. Examples given include prowlers and disturbances.

Priority 3: This level is for calls which are not life-threatening but require a timely police response.

One example listed is a 911 hangup call, which the department also received from Williams moments before his call reporting the armed men.

However, Becchina said this call never made it into the departments system.

If (a call) is abandoned, it doesnt make it to the call taker to obtain the data needed to create a 911 hangup call, he told The Star.

Priority 4: This level is for calls that do not present any immediate danger to human life.

According to department policy, priority 4 calls will be dispatched when a division officer becomes available.

This is the level assigned to Williams call shortly before the shooting.

Priority 5: This is the lowest level of urgency, for incidents in which a delayed response of police to the scene of the incident will not detract from the quality of investigation or service to the person.

According to these definitions, calls in the Priority 1, 2 and 3 categories are considered to need an immediate police response.

But police dispatchers assigned the report of armed men gathering outside the Klymax Lounge before Mays shooting a Priority 4, which police only respond to when a nearby officer becomes available.

At just one level higher, officers may have been sent to the club before the shooting began.

Do you have more questions about how local police respond to emergencies? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
WARWICK  The Christmas Tree Shop in Warwick closed on Sunday, as the company continues to liquidate all of its properties through bankruptcy proceedings started in May.

That leaves just one Christmas Tree Shop left open in the state, in Middletown, and the nearby North Attleboro store.

Evidence of the Warwick store has been removed from the Christmas Tree Shops website. The Middletown store's website lists its nearest neighboring locations that are still open. All are in Massachusetts: North Attleboro, Foxboro and Avon.

The liquidation sales started on July 6, and the company stopped accepting gift cards on July 21.

There is no public closing date for the remaining stores.

The Christmas Tree Shop that is closing in Warwick, which will leave the company's Middletown store as its only outlet in Rhode Island  and apparently not for long.

What happened to Christmas Tree Shops?

The retailer filed for bankruptcy in May, with the hope that it could be sold to another company. By the end of June, an attorney for Christmas Tree Shops told the federal bankruptcy judge that the stores were in real trouble by early June, when it was unable to quickly refill its shelves as sales outstripped projections.

The company had received a $45-million bankruptcy loan but defaulted on it shortly before the June hearing.

According to a balance sheet filed on July 24, the company has liabilities of $151 million, assets of $95 million and net revenue of $26 million between May 28 and July 1.

It all started on Cape Cod

In the 1950s, a couple, Mark and Alice Matthews, opened The Christmas Tree Gift Shop in Yarmouth Port, open from May to October each year. In 1970, Charles and Doreen Bilezikian bought the store and expanded over the next three decades, opening 24 additional locations in New England and New York.

In 2003, Bed Bath & Beyond bought and expanded the franchise to 20 states. In November 2020, it sold the company to Middleborough-based Handil Holdings.

Bed Bath & Beyond, which also has stores in Warwick and Middletown, is going through its own bankruptcy proceedings.

Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Providence Journal subscription. Here's our latest offer.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Warwick's Christmas Tree Shop closed July 30, Middletown store open
This dog is a drama queen. idrinkandknowthings/TikTok

A TikTok video shows a dramatic dog pretending her legs don't work after her nails were clipped.

The video been viewed more than 727,000 times on the app.

There are ways to make your dog more comfortable while clipping their nails, according to vets.

Just a few days after Arthur, a Shih Tzu and Westie mix, went viral for being very dramatic about his nails getting trimmed, another dog tried out a new tactic when faced with the same annoyance: pretending her legs don't work.

On July 21, TikTok user idrinkandiknowthings posted a video of their Boston terrier dragging her legs behind her and pretending they don't work after her owner hurt one of her nails.

As the video shows, this pup is really committed to her "injury," and the 727,000-plus viewers appreciated it.

"Award winning performance," one user commented.

"My Boston would walk with a limp for 2 days after we clipper her nails and if we didn't acknowledge she would hold it up in front of you," another added.

One commenter even wondered how all our dogs know what will make us feel the worst. "How do they share scene notes with each other without phones," they wondered.

Trimming your dog's nails can be uncomfortable for you both, but there are ways to make it easier

As Grace A. Mengel, DVM, assistant professor of clinical primary care medicine at University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine, told Insider in April 2021, there are a few methods to correctly trim your pup's nails  and it's important to stay on top of it.

"Long nails tend to break, and then you can get a split toenail," she said.

Mengel recommended that first-timers enlist a helper to comfort the dog. The best tools include scissor clippers  for larger dogs, according to Shawna Garner, DVM, the US lead veterinarian at on-demand video consultation platform FirstVet  guillotine clippers, or grinders.

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Trimming your dog's nails can be tough. Shutterstock

Dr. Stacy Choczynski Johnson, a veterinarian who goes by Dr. Stacy online, told Insider's Samantha Grindell that desensitizing your dog to nail-trimming is key. In her case, she keeps her nail trimmers near where she keeps her pets' treats, so they associate the two. A lick mat covered in treats could also help distract them.

"In general, pets are more comfortable at home, so if you're able to get the job done at home, that's excellent," she added.

Read the original article on Insider
James McGill / SOPA Images/Sipa USA/Newscom

Fears of loose weapons in Ukraine have become reality: Once American weapons arrive, Ukrainian criminals steal them. If U.S. arms transfer policies are not changed, Washington will inevitably accidentally arm groups that actively want to harm the United States.

In June, two separate Department of Defense inspector general reports revealed poor monitoring when U.S. weapons are transferred to Ukraine. Challenges in Ukraine's war zone have made it nearly impossible to track the weapons.

The first report found that the personnel responsible for ensuring accountability were given no "training or guidance." It concluded that the Pentagon does "not have accountability controls sufficient enough to provide reasonable assurance that its inventory of defense items transferred to [Ukraine] via the air hub in Jasionka was accurate or complete."

The second report discovered that the Office of Defense CooperationKyiv was unable to monitor how American military equipment was put to use. Indeed, monitors could not "visit areas where equipment provided to Ukraine was being used or stored."

Such problems are not unique to Ukraine, but the Biden administration has been open to accepting the possibility of weapons dispersion when it comes to Ukraine's war. Yet discounting these perils comes with four long-term security risks.

First, larger weapons systems have a high value on the black arms market. In Afghanistan, for example, the Taliban has been able to continue funding itself through its already existing smuggling networks by selling U.S. weapons left behind in the withdrawal. These weapons are now used in attacks in Pakistan, Kashmir, and the Gaza Strip.

Even before the war, Ukraine had one of the largest illegally trafficked arms markets in Europe, according to the 2021 Global Organized Crime Index. This has only intensified since the Russian invasion. For example, in August 2022 a criminal organization in Ukraine stole and intended to sell 60 rifles and 1,000 rounds of ammunition.

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Second, weapons can empower groups that intend to harm Americans. This has already happened in the Middle East, where Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates lost and sold U.S. weapons to al-Qaedalinked groups. CNN has reported that in Ukraine this year, Russia sent captured NATO weapons to Iran.

Furthermore, Washington has indiscriminately provided arms to groups fighting for Ukraine. Among the groups who have received U.S. weapons is the Azov Brigadea militia with neo-Nazi roots that is currently fighting against Russia but has previously attacked civilians in Ukraine. The Brigade was identified as a human rights violator in the State Department's 2016 and 2017 Report on Human Rights Practices and serves as a key cog in the global far-right network.

Third, loose weapons create risks of hostile actors attaining confidential, high-value U.S. technology. In October 2022 the State Department created a plan to train Ukrainian soldiers in tracking highly portable, lethal, and advanced proprietary U.S. weapons. Nonetheless, as the plan notes, this training will take years before the plan has any substantial impact.

Fourth, weapons dispersion can escalate American entanglement in a war with another nuclear power. While loose weapons have not yet been used against Russia, Ukrainian military units have previously ignored U.S. suggestions to not attack the Nord Stream pipeline and used U.S. armored vehicles in attacks over the Russian border.

If U.S. weapons are used against Russian citizens inside Russia's borders, it all but guarantees escalation and increases the risk of a nuclear exchange. While the chances of the latter may be low, the Biden administration should be trying to eliminate the risk entirely.

The reality is that any time such a large number of weapons is transferredespecially to an active conflict zonedispersion will occur. But the consequences of this dispersion are still up in the air. If the Biden administration is open to accepting these risks, Congress should speak up for Americans who aren't.

The post When Our Weapons Go Missing appeared first on Reason.com.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 31)  European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union (EU) is ready to extend more assistance to the Philippines, including sharing data to beef up its maritime security, as she warned that the illegal use of force in the Indo-Pacific cannot be tolerated.

In a speech addressing the Philippine government in Malacanang, she expressed concern about the "rising tensions" in the Indo-Pacific, and stressed that the EU remains "very supportive of a free and open Indo-Pacific."

"The European Union underlines that the 2016 award of the arbitral tribunal on the South China Sea is legally binding and that it provides the basis for peaceful resolving disputes between the parties," Von der Leyen said, referring to the tribunal ruling that largely sided with the Philippines in its maritime dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea.

The ruling, however, has long been rejected by China, with aggressive tactics not ceasing in the disputed waters.

In late June alone, the Philippines recorded another "dangerous maneuvers" from China, seeking to block the resupply mission of Philippine ships. A lawmaker also filed a resolution urging the government to raise the issue before the United Nations General Assembly.

READ: Hontiveros wants DFA to seek UNGA resolution to stop China's harassment in WPS

Amid the challenges, Von der Leyen said the EU is "ready" to boost its security ties with the Philippines, including "sharing information, conducting threat assessment and building the capacity of your national CoastWatch center and your coast guard."

The EU official also described the global geopolitical landscape as "volatile" and "more threatening" amid the continuous war between Russia and Ukraine.

"[T]he illegal use of force cannot be tolerated, not in Ukraine, not in the Indo-Pacific. Security in Europe and security in the Indo-Pacific is indivisible. Challenges to the rules-based order in our interconnected world affect all of us," she added.
Instead of imposing harsher sanctions after the events of 2014 [start of Russias hybrid war in the eastern part of Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea  ed.], Western companies helped Russia master gas liquefaction technologies and bring production to a new level.

Western countries have fiercely fought "oil" dictators in Iraq, Iran, Libya and Venezuela, yet are missing the biggest one right under their noses.

The US, the UK, and the EU have not only been importing Russian oil and gas for decades, but they have also been building pipelines, driving out other, smaller importers and helping Russia master production and transportation technologies.

The second year of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has seen the emergence of many loopholes and gaps in the energy sanctions against Russia. The oil embargo and black gold price caps imposed on Russia are not taking effect in full, and the notorious gas supply is not subject to sanctions at all.

The confrontation around sanctions is increasingly resembling a race, with the winner two steps ahead of the opponent. The outcome of this competition is clear to see: Russia retains its primary source of income, and energy sanctions are having no effect on the Kremlin's desire to end the war.

Sanctions once again come late

Until 2014, the maintenance of deep oil and gas wells in Russia depended almost entirely on four American companies. A former employee of Halliburton's Russian subsidiary told EP that in some cases they had to complete challenging wells themselves because local contractors were unable to do so on their own.

This means that Russia could have been brought to its knees back in 2014 if these companies had been forced to leave Russia. However, the political will was lacking. The sanctions in place at the time were too weak to cause significant damage to Russia. However, they were strong enough to force the Kremlin to brace itself for truly severe blows.

Immediately after occupying Crimea, the Russians launched an import substitution programme. At the time (in 2014), they had the capacity to provide only 20% of the equipment required for drilling operations; this figure increased to 50% in 2019. US companies remained involved in the supplying services to Russian wells and in training drilling specialists at modern training centres in Russia.

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Western companies have played a key role in assisting the Putin regime in developing liquefaction technologies, enabling Russia to transport gas by tanker worldwide and thus to become less dependent on pipelines to the EU. Russia's largest Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) projects, Sakhalin-2 and Yamal LNG, were brought to life through Western technology licences. French, UK and Japanese companies acquired shares in these projects.

Western countries supplied equipment and materials for oil refining until 2022. Annual contracts worth billions of US dollars helped modernise Russian refineries and consolidate their position in this market.

Following the occupation of Crimea, the European Union not only continued to purchase oil and gas from Russia but even increased the volumes. The EU's dependence on Russian gas imports increased from 37% to 45% between 2014 and 2019.

Lobbyists helped Moscow build a network of Russian-controlled gas pipelines in the European Union and tried to make customers forget about the war in Ukraine [ongoing since 2014  ed.]. Russian gas was ultimately made part of the EU's Green Deal.

The EU, the UK, and the US have effectively given the aggressor superprofits. In the years leading up to the full-scale invasion, the Kremlin was putting some of this revenue into the National Wealth Fund (NWF). The funds held there reached US$183 billion. The NWF is currently used to finance weapons production and salaries for the military, among other things.

Western countries did not stop feeding Putin's regime even after blatant crimes committed under the Russian flag. The oilfield services company Schlumberger has been kept busy drilling complex Russian wells, while Japanese firms are still involved in the Sakhalin-2 LNG project, as no sanctions have been imposed on gas supplies.

The oil embargo was even postponed for a year [after the full-scale invasion - ed.], and an exception was made for one of the branches of the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline.

The results of these partial sanctions are controversial. On the one hand, by May 2023, Russian treasury revenues from oil and gas sales had fallen by 38% to RUB 570 billion [roughly US$6,2 billion]. On the other hand, the comparison with 2022 is not entirely accurate, since oil and gas prices were then at their historical highs.

Regardless of the loss in excess profits, the aggressor still has enough money to finance the war. The federal budget deficit in June exceeded the annual plan and amounted to RUB 2.6 trillion [roughly US$28.5 billion]. However, this makes little difference to the Kremlin, as the NWF is able to cover this amount several times over.

Russian oil has found its place

Despite analysts' encouraging forecasts, oil production in Russia has fallen by only 5% since the start of the full-scale invasion. As it turns out, there are still buyers for Russian crude oil. Russia was looking for new customers throughout 2022, before the G7 embargo came into force. This led to a partial shift in markets: Russian oil moved from Europe to Asia, and Middle Eastern black gold flowed from Asia to Europe.

This shift has taken a toll on Russia. Oil delivery times from some ports have tripled, and logistics costs have risen. Oil has to be sold at a discount in order to drive out competitors and compensate customers for the risks associated with sanctions.

Russian Urals oil [the reference oil brand used as a basis for pricing - ed.] has been sold at a discount below the Brent benchmark since the beginning of the invasion. This discount, of US$20-30 per barrel, has prevented Russia from generating tens of billions of additional US dollars during the war against Ukraine.

Western politicians hoped that global oil prices would soon fall and that the price of Urals oil would drop even further, driving the Russian budget into a deep deficit. However, the reality turned out to be quite different.

The deeper Russian oil penetrates the Asian market, the lower the discount below Brent becomes. It was US$37 per barrel at the beginning of the invasion, and now it is $19. The gap has narrowed by 40% over the past five months.

Global oil prices are not going down, since Saudi Arabia is artificially reducing oil production and keeping oil prices high. The rise in global prices, along with the reduction in the discount, has led to a 35% rise in the price of a barrel of Urals oil since March 2023. The average price of Russian oil is now US$67 per barrel. This is effectively a return to December 2022 levels, before oil sanctions were in place.

This leads to another problem: Russia is increasingly selling oil above a price cap that was introduced in the winter. The new rules deprive tankers of Western insurance policies, should the price of oil from Russia in a contract exceed US$60 per barrel.

Therefore, the G7 countries have sought to maintain access to Russian oil while preventing the Kremlin from profiting from it. However, over the past year and a half, Russia has created a shadow tanker fleet of 15-year-old vessels, insured by dubious companies or by the Russian state or its partners.

This fleet is able to transport oil, bypassing Western restrictions. The Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) estimates that Russia is capable of transporting half of its crude oil and a third of its petroleum products via this method.

"It's quite possible that Western transport companies legally transport some of the Russian oil at the permitted price, while the rest is transported by the shadow fleet in roundabout ways at higher prices," KSE analyst Borys Dodonov told EP.

He said price caps apply only to vessels leaving Russian ports. If the Russians should resell their oil in the Black Sea to another trader and transfer the cargo to another ship, that oil would not be subject to sanctions, and the Russian oil will safely sail on to customers.

"The Russians often simply manipulate the price in the documents. For instance, the customer pays three times the amount for transport than is actually spent on logistics. In other words, some of the money goes into the pockets of traders associated with Russian companies, while on paper, the price remains US$60 per barrel," Dodonov said.

The KSE study indicates that since the introduction of the price cap, 16% of Russian oil has been sold for more than US$60 per barrel.

The picture is even more complicated when it comes to oil products. Petrol, diesel and other premium fuels are subject to a cap of US$100 per barrel. The market price has not risen above this threshold over the past few months. This means that Russia has not lost anything as a result of this price cap.

Loopholes in the sanctions made it possible to ignore price caps and the embargo imposed in the winter by the G7 countries. The Black Sea Studies Institute and the Blackseanews monitoring group found that European companies are systematically importing Russian crude oil and oil products. The group has identified 40 tankers that violate the crude oil embargo and 67 tankers that violate the oil product embargo since the beginning of 2023.

Dodonov believes it is possible to close all these loopholes in the sanctions. To begin with, he argues that the price cap for oil and oil products should be lowered. The KSE estimates that reducing the price of Russian oil by just US$10 per barrel would deprive the aggressor of US$10 billion in annual revenue.

The price cap mechanism must be made to work. Dodonov believes that the G7 countries are not monitoring market players closely, although they should be conducting investigations, especially of newly created companies transporting Russian oil. This should go hand in hand with stricter requirements for submitting documentation on contracts with Russia.

Sanctions against violators of the mechanism should be harsher, including asset freezing and a ban on transporting any oil worldwide. The West should eventually ban the unsafe passage of obsolete 15-year-old tankers, which mainly carry Russian oil through the [Bosphorus and Dardanelles] straits.

Gas isn't sanctioned

The Russians don't even need to circumvent gas sanctions, because there are practically none. LNG from the United States overtook Russian pipeline gas in deliveries to Europe for the first time in 2022. However, this resulted from Russia's decision to cut supplies. The European Union began looking for alternatives, building LNG terminals and filling gas storage facilities. There has been some success in doing so, but the EU still needs 30 billion cubic metres of gas per year to get through the winter. It will be imported from Russia.

Russia is leaving operational the TurkStream gas pipeline, the Ukrainian gas transmission system, and LNG terminals through which natural gas is delivered to the EU. A study by the ANTS National Interests Advocacy Network estimates that at the current rate, Russia is expected to supply 26.5 billion cubic metres of gas to the EU in 2023.

This figure is five times less than the volumes before the invasion, but the average price has since increased. Consequently, Gazprom, a Russian state-owned multinational energy corporation, is able to replenish the Russian treasury by RUB 100-150 billion [roughly US$ 1,1-1,6 billion] monthly.

Even if the pipeline supply should eventually stops, Russia will still have significant capacity to export LNG, available for delivery anywhere worldwide. Reuters reports that Russia sold 45 billion cubic metres of LNG in 2022, half of which went to European ports. This is 20% more than in 2021. Going forward, Russia plans to increase the capacity of its LNG terminals and become the world's fourth-largest exporter.

"Global consumption of natural gas is on the rise, and it will soon take second place after oil on the list of the energy sources in highest demand. It is considered relatively environmentally friendly and easier to use than other fossil fuels. Natural gas is also an essential commodity for the production of plastics and fertilisers, the demand for which is constantly growing.

Russian gas will remain in demand across all markets to which it can be delivered. Therefore, we should not assume that the decrease in natural gas imports from Russia is irreversible," Professor of Economics Oleh Karii told EP.

Should Western countries fail to enforce the ban on Russian gas and tighten restrictions on Russian oil, sooner or later Russian supplies will re-enter the market via roundabout routes, nullifying all the progress made over the past year and a half.

This article was written as part of an ANTS project titled Russian Assets as a Source of Recovery of the Ukrainian Economy, implemented in cooperation with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and with financial support from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

By Bohdan Miroshnychenko, Ekonomichna Pravda

Translation: Artem Yakymyshyn

Editing: Monica Sandor
Happy Monday, and welcome to the AM Alert!

COSTA-HAWKINS ON THE BALLOT YET AGAIN

California voters in 2024 will once again consider repealing a law that limits cities ability to expand rent control.

The Secretary of States Office last week announced an AIDS Healthcare Foundation initiative to repeal the 1995 Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act had gathered enough signatures to be eligible for the November 2024 ballot. This marks the third time in four elections the Foundation has appealed to Californians to end the law.

Costa Hawkins bars localities from limiting rental increases on apartments and single-family homes built after 1995. Local leaders also cannot keep landlords from raising rents for new tenants.

The Foundation gathered more than 800,000 signatures in favor of the ballot measure, according to the Secretary of States Office. It needed 601,317 valid signatures for voter consideration.

Californians in 2018 and 2020 struck down similar rent control ballot measures following expensive opposition campaigns from real estate and landlord interest groups.

INSIDE NEWSOMS PLAN TO REVAMP SAN QUENTIN

Lawmakers and activists initially balked at Gov. Gavin Newsoms plan to use $380 million to build a rehabilitation campus at San Quentin, Californias oldest state prison. The proposal lacked details, they said.

But after some negotiation, the revamp is moving forward. The prison, once home to the countrys largest death row, will become the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, part of Newsoms push to rethink incarceration. The complete picture still isnt clear. But at a media tour at the prison on Wednesday some new details were revealed.

Located just across the Golden Gate bridge from San Francisco, San Quentin State Prison has never been at a loss for volunteers to staff the hundreds of educational and career programs, a spokeswoman said. But their reach is constrained by space.

For example, 250 inmates are on a waitlist for Mount Tamalpais College, a free school within San Quentins walls. It will likely be a year before they can win a spot in the classroom. The new rehabilitation campus will provide 100,000 square feet of programming space, aiming to reduce waitlists and get more inmates into education and career programs. San Quentin spokespeople were unable to confirm just how many more people would be served in the new facility.

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ALL ABOUT THE COWS ACT, BROUGHT TO YOU BY SEN. PADILLA

Policymakers are getting creative to reduce cows massive impact on our warming planet. The manure-focused policies may not be glamorous, but they are chipping away at potent methane emissions.

Sens. Alex Padilla and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, introduced the Converting Our Waste Sustainably, or COWS, Act. The legislation would expand a popular California grant that helps ranchers and farmers upgrade how they deal with manure to reduce methane emissions. A companion bill was introduced by two California representatives in the House.

Most dairy and livestock operations dump manure into big pits, or lagoons, where it releases methane, which traps 80 times more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, as it decomposes.

A 2016 state law called for a 40% reduction in dairy and livestock manure emissions by 2030. The next year, Californias Department of Food and Agriculture established the grant program that inspired the federal legislation to help farmers and ranchers invest in alternative, more efficient ways to deal with manure.

The whole world is calling us and asking, what is California doing that is working so well? said Frank Mitloehner, director of the Clarity and Leadership for Environmental Awareness and Research at UC Davis. He said the alternative methods are responsible for 2.5 tons of greenhouse gas emission reductions so far, one-third of the 2030 goal.

So far, 147 dairies have used the funding to change their manure processes. Two to three times as many have applied.

Its been very popular  and oversubscribed  at the state level, said Lynne McBride, executive director of the California Dairy Campaign and California Farmers Union.

The program may be so popular because of the cost savings. Luciana Jonkman, owner of Diamond J Dairy, received $600,000 to buy equipment to upgrade her manure management. She estimates that shes saved at least $200,000 in the five years since.

Agriculture is the single largest source driving methane emissions in the US, and quarter of those emissions come from manure management, according to the EPA.

Via Grace Scullion

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Prosecutorial Misconduct! Former President Donald Trump, via Truth Social

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A group of white supremacists in San Luis Obispo County has given itself a name: the California Blackshirts.

The group appears to be made up of the same masked men who were first seen holding an Embrace white pride banner on the Vineyard Drive overpass in Templeton in April, before later displaying other banners in Paso Robles and more recently in San Luis Obispo.

In each case, the members stake out a high-profile overpass or street corner to display their banner, sometimes engaging with passers-by.

In their most recent appearance, the men held a banner that read White men unite with Nordic runes associated with Nazis and white supremacists. They showed up briefly in both San Luis Obispo and Atascadero.

On Saturday, the group also distributed bags holding fliers on South Street in San Luis Obispo.

Live with pride, die with honor, the flier said, while touting the groups Telegram page.

During Pride Month in June, two similarly anonymous men unfurled a sign that read Pedophiles not welcome on a overpass in San Luis Obispo. Pedophiles was written in rainbow colors.

Fliers in bags distributed by the California Blackshirts, a white supremacy group, were found on South Street in San Luis Obispo on July 29, 2023.

Who are the California Blackshirts?

The name blackshirts seems to be a reference to Italian fascists during World War II.

Members of the Voluntary Fascist Militia for National Security went by that moniker under Italian authoritarian dictator Benito Mussolini, according to Brittanica.

In their mission statement posted on Telegram, the California Blackshirts describe themselves as pro-white activists who advocate for the well-being of white Americans.

Their aim is to continue displaying banners, fliers, digital propaganda and all other legally protected methods of activism, the mission statement said.

The groups Telegram chat was created on June 29, about two months after the first demonstrations in Templeton. It has since grown to 58 subscribers.

Masked men display a Embrace White Pride banner over the Highway 101 overpass in Templeton, California on Saturday, May 13, 2023.

As to who the men are and whether they live here, that remains a mystery, as they always wear masks and sunglasses to fully obscure their faces.

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The Tribune reached out to the group for an interview, and they agreed  at first.

But they then quickly reversed course when the reporter asked to meet in-person, calling the journalist several anti-Semitic slurs.

Community members have snapped photos of the men unmasked after one of the Templeton demonstrations, and at least one of the men involved in that demonstration drives a 2000 Toyota Camry LE.

SLO County leaders call out banner displays

Several city and county leaders have condemned the hate speech since its inception.

San Luis Obispo Mayor Erica Stewart addressed the groups racist demonstrations on social media.

In San Luis Obispo, we believe in the power of unity, acceptance, and love. Our vision is a city that is welcoming, inclusive, and safe for all, Stewart wrote in an Instagram post accompanied by a video. We stand firmly against racism, bigotry, and discrimination of any kind.

San Luis Obispo City Council member Emily Francis also denounced the mens beliefs on social media.

Two masked men hold up a banner reading Pedophiles not welcome, with pedophiles in rainbow colors, on June 10, 2023, on the Los Osos Valley Road overpass in San Luis Obispo.

Im heartbroken that ignorant, cowardly people have come to our community to spread hate. This is the time for us to make sure our neighbors and loved ones know that we stand together and will not normalize extremism, she said in an Instagram post.

Earlier this month, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors also passed a resolution denouncing the racism, bigotry and hate speech in response to the groups demonstrations.

Community members also held a Rally Against Hate event at the Templeton overpass in response to the men.

If you have any news tips about this group or the members in it, please contact Tribune reporter Chloe Jones at cjones@thetribunenews.com.

Three men believed to be a part of a group holding a white pride banner in May 2023 pictured after their demonstration in Templeton.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Volodymyr Zelenskyy Illustrated / Getty Images

All eyes will be on Jeddah, Saudi Arabia this weekend, as world leaders from the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia descend on the coastal Red Sea port city for a planned peace summit to discuss Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's proposed 10-point plan to end the ongoing Russian invasion of his country. Speaking on Sunday, Ukrainian official Andriy Yermak confirmed the conclave, calling it a means to "restore lasting and just peace" between Ukraine and Russia, even as fighting between the two nations has intensified in recent days. Unlike a similar conference earlier this summer in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Jeddah summit will be notable not only for who is participating and what is being discussed, but for where it's taking place to begin with.

Although "Arab nations largely have remained neutral," in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war, "in part over their military and economic ties to Moscow," Saudi Arabia has slowly begun showing increased involvement in the conflict, including having invited Zelenskyy to address an Arab League summit this past May, Politico reported. "It has kept up close ties with Russia, with which it leads the Opec+ group of oil producers and exporters, but has also sent financial aid to Ukraine," the Foreign Times added, highlighting the work the kingdom has done to facilitate prisoner swaps between the two countries. So what's behind Saudi Arabia's sudden interest in brokering peace between Ukraine and Russia?

What are the commentators saying?

The upcoming summit is "another example of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's efforts to position himself as a global leader with influence beyond his region," The New York Times said, adding that it's not simply about his personal ambitions, but a broader effort to "carve out a role for the kingdom as a mediator" as well. The push comes as Saudi Arabia attempts to shed its reputation as a biased party after the "White House accused it last year of siding with Russia in keeping oil prices high  thus bolstering Moscow's finances," the Wall Street Journal reported. Western nations agreed to hold the talks in Saudi Arabia "partly in hopes of persuading China, which has maintained close ties to Moscow, to participate" as well.

"The kingdom has sought to position itself as a middle power with influence beyond its region, while balancing ties with the US, Russia and China," the Foreign Times agreed. Mediating the upcoming summit would "demonstrate the effectiveness of that approach," one source added.

Nevertheless, with bin Salman's personal fortunes so closely tied to those of his country, it's impossible to fully extricate the two from one another, as "ties remain strained between Riyadh and the West over the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, which U.S. intelligence agencies assess that Prince Mohammed ordered," Politico said, pointing out the prince's alleged efforts to "reach a detente with Iran and push for a peace in the kingdom's yearslong war in Yemen."

What could happen next?

At the moment, it's unclear how many of the 30-some countries that have reportedly been invited to the summit will actually participate. One country that won't be participating  nor was it invited to in the first place  is Russia itself.

"Russia will keep an eye on this meeting," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to Russia's Tass news agency. "We'd have to fully understand what goals are being set and what the organizers actually plan to talk about."

Among those who have been invited, however, are "senior officials from China, Brazil, South Africa and India"  four of the five BRICS nations (absent Russia) who have recently begun making moves to challenge the U.S. dollar's global monetary hegemony. That effort, Fortune reported, has been "accelerated" by the various Western sanctions on Russia for Ukraine's invasion. Ukraine, crucially, has pushed for "a broadening of sanctions on Moscow," The Wall Street Journal noted, adding that "India, Turkey, Brazil and China have eschewed" the effort. The tension between Ukraine's peace proposal and the group of developing nations has long been a sticking point at various stages of these negotiations. During the previous meeting in Copenhagen, "the developing-country group made it clear they were open to discussing shared principles but wouldn't sign onto Ukraine's plan" outright. Attending the Saudi Arabian summit suggests that those discussions remain ongoing.

Russia, meanwhile, is coming off a massive summit of its own, having just finished hosting representatives from 49 African nations who traveled to Moscow as Putin hopes to assuage their fears that "his war in Ukraine hasn't compromised the Kremlin's ability to provide military and political support to the continent."

Regardless of the outcome of the upcoming Jeddah conference, the fact remains that "The war in Ukraine has been a huge bonanza for the Saudis." Writing in The Washington Post last month, columnist Josh Rogin laid bare an underlying financial reality in which "Saudi state oil company Aramco made a record $161.1 billion in profit last year, up 47 percent from 2021."

"Meanwhile," he pointed out, "Riyadh has given Ukraine a measly $400 million in humanitarian aid."

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In the half century of modern presidential primaries, no candidate who led his or her nearest rival by at least 20 points at this stage has ever lost a party nomination.

Today, Donald Trumps lead over Ron DeSantis is nearly twice as large: 37 points, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll of the likely Republican primary electorate released Monday morning.

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Of course, theres still plenty of time left before the Iowa caucuses in January. The candidates havent even set foot on a debate stage. And while no candidate has ever lost a nomination with so much support, no candidate with so much support has faced so many criminal indictments and investigations, either.

But even if it might be a mistake to call Trump inevitable, the Times/Siena data suggests that he commands a seemingly unshakable base of loyal supporters, representing more than one-third of the Republican electorate. Alone, their support is not enough for Trump to win the primary. But it is large enough to make him extremely hard to defeat  perhaps every bit as hard as the historical record suggests.

Heres what we know about the depth of the support  and opposition  to Trump from our poll, and why its so hard to beat the former president.

The MAGA Base, Defined

Its populist. Its conservative. Its blue collar. Its convinced the nation is on the verge of catastrophe. And its exceptionally loyal to Trump.

As defined here, members of Trumps MAGA base represent 37% of the Republican electorate. They strongly support him in the Republican primary and have a very favorable view of him.

The MAGA base doesnt support Trump despite his flaws. It supports him because it doesnt seem to believe he has flaws.

Zero percent  not a single one of the 319 respondents in this MAGA category  said he had committed serious federal crimes. A mere 2% said he did something wrong in his handling of classified documents. More than 90% said Republicans needed to stand behind him in the face of the investigations.

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Perhaps DeSantis or another Republican will peel away a few of these voters, but realistically this group isnt going anywhere, maybe not even if Trump winds up being imprisoned. This group is probably about the same as the voters  37%  who supported Trump in the polls on Super Tuesday in 2016. Its probably about the same as the group of Republicans  41%  who supported him at his low point in January, in the wake of last Novembers midterm elections.

This is an impressive base of support, but it still is not quite a majority of the Republican primary electorate. Most of the Republican electorate either doesnt strongly support Trump in the primary or doesnt support him at all. Most dont have a very favorable view of the former president, either. In theory, it means theres an opening for another candidate.

But with so much of the GOP electorate seemingly devoted to Trump, the path to defeating him is exceptionally narrow. It requires a candidate to consolidate the preponderance of the rest of the Republican electorate, and the rest of the Republican electorate is not easy to unify.

The Divided Republican Party

The MAGA base lends itself to easy description. The rest of the Republican electorate does not.

But broadly speaking, the rest of the Republican electorate can be divided into two groups.

Theres the group of voters who may not love Trump, but who remain open to him in the primary and in some cases support him over the alternatives. Its a group thats broadly reflective of the Republican electorate as a whole: Its somewhat conservative, somewhat favorable toward Trump, somewhat favorable toward DeSantis, and split on whether to support the former president, at least for now.

Theres also a second group of voters who probably wont support Trump. They represent about one-quarter of the primary electorate and they say theyre not considering him in the primary. These voters tend to be educated, affluent, moderate, and theyre often more than just Trump skeptics. A majority of these voters view him unfavorably, say hes committed crimes and dont even back him in the general election against President Joe Biden, whether thats because they actually prefer Biden or simply wouldnt vote.

These two groups of voters dont just differ on Trump; they disagree on the issues as well. Trumps skeptics support additional military and economic aid to Ukraine, and comprehensive immigration reform, while they oppose a six-week abortion ban. The persuadable voters, on the other hand, take the opposite view on all of those issues.

Yet to beat Trump, a candidate must somehow hold nearly all of these voters together.

The DeSantis Challenge

It would be hard for any candidate to consolidate the fractious opposition to Trump.

It has certainly been hard for DeSantis, the Florida governor.

At the start of the year, it seemed he figured out how to win both conservative and moderate skeptics of Trump by focusing on a new set of issues  the fight against woke and freedom from coronavirus restrictions. This seemed to excite establishment donors and even some independents every bit as much as conservative activists and Fox News hosts.

It hasnt turned out that way. The fight against woke has offered few opportunities to attack Trump  strange social media videos notwithstanding  while COVID has faded from political relevance.

Without these issues, DeSantis has become a very familiar kind of conservative Republican. As with the Ted Cruz campaign in 2016, DeSantis has run to Trumps right on every issue. In doing so, he has struggled to appeal to the moderate voters who represent the natural base of a viable opposition to Trump.

DeSantis is faring poorly enough among Trump skeptics to give other candidates an opening, much as Cruzs conservative brand created a space for the ultimately nonviable John Kasich, Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush candidacies.

Overall, DeSantis holds just 32% of voters who arent considering Trump, with the likes of Chris Christie, Tim Scott, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy each attracting between 5% and 10% of the vote.

Among the Never Trump group of voters who dont support Trump against Biden in a hypothetical general election rematch, DeSantis only narrowly leads Christie, 16% to 13%.

Of course, DeSantis challenge runs even deeper than divisions among his potential supporters. Republican primary voters dont even believe he would do better than Trump in the general election against Biden, overturning an advantage that DeSantis backers might have taken for granted six months ago.

And DeSantis would face an entirely different set of challenges if he aimed his appeal at Trumps deepest skeptics. He might alienate the mainstream conservative center of the Republican Party if he started to speak the moderate and anti-Trump language of Trumps critics  and meet the same fate as Rubio and Kasich.

The promise of the DeSantis campaign was that he could appeal to the otherwise disparate Trump-skeptics factions of the Republican Party, and avoid the challenges that doomed Trumps opponents eight years ago. So far, it hasnt worked.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
The News

A suicide bombing at a political rally in northwest Pakistan on Sunday killed at least 45 people and left nearly 200 wounded.

Islamic militant group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, which targeted supporters of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), an ultraconservative political party that forms part of the national coalition government.

Weve collected key insights into the bombing and the concerns it has sparked ahead of November elections in Pakistan.

Insights
Gert-Jan Oskam during a press conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, on May 23. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

More than a decade after an injury rendered him mostly immobile, a paralyzed man is using his mind to walk again, thanks to an innovative technology that connects his brain and his spinal cord.

Gert-Jan Oskam, a native of the Netherlands, was involved in a motorcycle crash 12 years ago when he was living in China, damaging his spinal cord in his neck. He was paralyzed from the hips down and partially paralyzed in his arms, according to an Al Jazeera report.

While Oskam is excited to walk again, he is just as thrilled to be able to stand and share a beer at a bar with friends: This simple pleasure represents a significant change in my life, he said.

Oskam was treated at a hospital in Switzerland, but researchers in the U.S. are working on similar technology to help people with paralysis.

Several research institutions, universities and private companies in the U.S. are conducting cutting-edge studies and clinical trials in this field of brain-spinal interface to develop solutions that can improve the quality of life for individuals with paralysis and other neurological conditions, Shashank Agarwal, senior decision scientist at CVS Health, told Yahoo News.

Oskam walks using his implants during the press conference. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

These institutions include Johns Hopkins University; DARPA, a research agency under the Department of Defense; and BrainGate, a company that develops neurotechnologies, Agarwal said.

The researchers who helped Oskam published a study in May in the medical journal Nature, in which they described the implants that provided a digital bridge between Oskams brain and his spinal cord, bypassing the injured sections.

Weve captured the thoughts of Gert-Jan, and translated these thoughts into a stimulation of the spinal cord to re-establish voluntary movement, Gregoire Courtine, a spinal cord specialist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne who was one of the lead researchers, said at a press briefing reported by the New York Times.

Jocelyne Bloch, a neuroscientist who placed the implant in Oskam, added at the press briefing, It was quite science fiction in the beginning for me, but it became true today.

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What researchers in the U.S. are doing

By establishing this digital bridge between the brain and the spinal cord, the brain-spinal interface allows individuals with paralysis to bypass the damaged or nonfunctioning neural pathways and regain control over their limbs, Agarwal told Yahoo News.

One of the American companies Agarwal mentioned, BrainGate, is developing and testing medical devices aimed at restoring communication, mobility and independence to people affected by neurologic disease, paralysis or limb loss.

The company says on its website that early clinical research has shown that the technology provides intuitive control over advanced prosthetic limbs and provides people with paralysis with easy control over powerful assistive movement and communication devices.

It further says BrainGate ultimately aims to enable naturally-controlled movements of paralyzed limbs.

A deeper dive into the technology

According to Agarwal, the brain-spinal interface (BSI) is the technology being deployed to help Oskam walk again through the digital bridge.

The BSI contains a brain-computer interface that establishes direct communication between the brain and an external device, in this case the spinal cord.

In some cases, brain-spinal interfaces involve the implantation of microelectrode arrays or neural implants directly into the brain, Agarwal said. These implants are designed to detect and record neural activity from specific areas of the brain responsible for movement intention. They can pick up electrical signals from the brains motor cortex, where motor commands are generated.

The neural signals are recorded, then decoded and translated into commands that can be understood by the spinal cord or motor neurons.

Once the decoded neural signals are obtained, they are used to stimulate the spinal cord below the level of the injury, Agarwal said. Electrical impulses are delivered to specific regions of the spinal cord, activating motor neurons and neural circuits responsible for coordinating movement.

According to the Times, the EPFL research enabled Oskam to stand, walk and ascend a steep ramp with only the assistance of a walker. Video captured the stunning feat. A year later, he has maintained these abilities and has shown breakthrough signs of neurological recovery, maneuvering with crutches even when the implant was turned off.

I treat many patients with spinal cord injuries. The motor problems are only the [tip] of the iceberg, Dr. Georgios Matis, a neurosurgeon at the University Hospital Cologne in Germany who specializes in functional neurosurgery, told Yahoo News via direct message.

Such patients also have chronic pain, sensory problems and problems of the autonomic nervous system (blood pressure problems, bladder & bowel problems), Matis said. I would expect in the future that this digital bridge can help physicians treat many more problems of patients with [spinal cord injuries].

Has this worked with anyone else?

[Oskam] is a pioneer in the field. As far as I know, his team was the first and only with published results in such an esteemed journal, Matis said.

Research regarding the connecting of the brain to the spinal cord can be attributed back to 2016, when a group of scientists led by Courtine restored a paralyzed monkeys ability to walk. Another test helped a man with a paralyzed hand regain control over it.

Then, in 2018, Courtine led a different group of scientists to help find a way to stimulate the brain through electrical-pulse generators, enabling partially paralyzed people to ride bicycles and walk.

Oskam with brain-computer-interface researchers at the press conference. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

Now, with the latest advancements, people are regaining the ability to walk, swim and cycle within a single day of treatment because of the brain stimulation and the device connecting the brain to the body.

What does the future hold for this technology?

Researchers in the U.S. and abroad are looking to strengthen the technology and enhance it to the point where patients are able to fully walk and maneuver through their thoughts.

On this point, Matis added: This is the goal and I strongly believe we will achieve this goal in the next 10 to 20 years. It is about optimizing the algorithms we are using to: one, more accurately detect and translate the brain signals, and two, apply the right combination of root stimulation patterns so that the movement becomes more natural. The role of intensive rehabilitation (which should last years) must be highlighted!

Cover thumbnail photo: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images
Darryl Warren appeared before a judge Monday on charges of assault with intent to kill stemming from an incident near Costco on Wednesday, July 26. The Wilmington police officer allegedly struck a woman with his truck.

A now former Wilmington police officer appeared in a New Hanover County courtroom on Monday on new charges stemming from an alleged assault on a woman with his truck.

On Sunday, Darryl Warren was served warrants based on new charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and assault on a female, according to Samantha Dooies, spokesperson for District Attorney Ben David.

The original charges were driving while impaired and reckless driving.

Warren was ordered to be placed on electronic monitoring for the safety of the victim of the alleged assault. Also on Monday, the Wilmington Police Department confirmed Warren was terminated from his position.

Assistant District Attorney Kristi Severo asked bond to be set at $1 million. However, Judge Russell Davis reduced it to $100,000 after Warren told the judge he couldn't afford it. His next court date is scheduled for Aug. 10.

Warren, who was off duty, allegedly struck a woman with his truck near Costco in the 5300 block of Gingerwood Drive, according to a report from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.

911 calls: Wilmington police officer 'floored it' before hitting person

Multiple 911 calls were made at the scene with people saying it looked intentional. One caller reported that he saw a guy in a silver or gray truck run over a woman.

During an investigation, it was determined that impairment was a factor. According to the State Highway Patrol, a breath analysis was submitted, which registered a .10 blood alcohol content. In North Carolina, it is illegal to drive while noticeably impaired or with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher.

He was arrested and transported to the New Hanover County Detention Center after the incident.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington police officer faces new charges in alleged assault
A broadcaster at the rightwing network Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN) interrupted the programming ahead of former President Donald Trumps rally in Erie, Pennsylvania to reject the notion that he wanted to kill liberals, globalists, and insufficiently conservative or Trump-supporting Republicans, known as RINOs (Republicans In Name Only).

Matthew Alvarez said on Saturday that There is something that is trending on Twitter right now ... I was interviewing people ... they were talking about how great the country is, how great the president is, and I heard something else that was spoken ... what Im hearing is somebody said, Well lets kill them all. That is not something that I agree with, obviously, he said, according to RawStory.

Footage from the pre-rally interviews shows a Trump supporter saying that he will guarantee that Mr Trump gets back into the White House. Hes then asked what his opinion is on the globalists and RINOs and he appears to respond Kill them all to which Mr Alvarez says I agree with you on that.

After the incident, Mr Alvarez backtracked to his viewers: So if there is something that happened, where somebody was speaking out there, I didnt hear those words spoken. Its very loud outside. All I know is Im here for God, for this country, for truth, for President Trump, that kind of thing. Definitely not a proponent of anything like that happening.

A fellow host on RSBN added: It is very natural for someone to maybe agree with them, even if you didnt understand.

They will take a clip of that and run with it. We all know thats not what you meant, he added.

I didnt say it, I didnt hear the guy say it, Mr Alvarez responded.

Guy at the Trump rally today says he is there to guarantee that Trump gets back in the WH. When asked what he thinks about the globalists and RINOs it sounds like he says kill them all. Interviewer then says, I agree with you. pic.twitter.com/ZavTMq4ITw  Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) July 29, 2023
Officials in Central Florida are investigating after a Wisconsin man was found dead at a Disney resort.

The Orange County Sheriffs Office told USA TODAY deputies received a call just after 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday regarding an unresponsive person at Disneys Contemporary Resort near Magic Kingdom theme park in Lake Buena Vista.

Arriving medical responders pronounced the man dead on scene.

The sheriff's office identified the man as Jeffrey Vanden Boom, 39.

A Greendale man was found dead July 26 after he fell from his hotel room balcony at Disney's Contemporary Resort, police said.

Disney on DeSantis: Disney criticizes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' attempt to remove himself from legal battle: 'Evade responsibility'

A fall from a balcony

Vanden Boom died after he accidentally fell from a hotel room balcony, the Orange County Medical Examiner told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network. His death was ruled accidental.

He lived in Greendale, just outside Milwaukee, officials said.

A pending official autopsy will determine the man's official cause and manner of death.

Contributing: Quinn Clark, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wisconsin man found dead at Florida Disney resort after balcony fall
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 31)  The Land Transportation office (LTO) on Monday said it will soon issue a memo that will give vehicle owners 60 days to claim their new license plates, otherwise, they may face penalties.

Well be issuing a memo this week addressed to our regional directors for them to deliver these license plates to their end users within the next 60 days, LTO chairman Vigor Mendoza II told CNN Philippines The Source.

The Commission on Audit earlier reported that 1.79 million pairs of license plates worth over 800 million remain unclaimed. These are replacement plates that were already paid for by car owners upon their renewal of vehicle registration.

Mendoza noted the unclaimed plates include those for motorcycles.

He said regional directors are currently being consulted if the 60-day period will be enough, but he believes this will be sufficient since not all areas have big volumes of unclaimed plates.

Aside from those with the agency, the LTO chief noted that there are also license plates stuck with dealers where the vehicles were acquired.

"We will be talking to the dealers in order for them to also do their part in bringing these down to their customers," Mendoza said.

If the license plates are left unclaimed after 60 days, Mendoza said the owners and car dealers may be slapped with penalties.

Specifically for vehicle owners, he said among those they are considering is the suggestion of Senator Francis Tolentino to cancel the certificate of registration.

Mendoza said he will fly to Cebu on Tuesday to look into the information campaign regarding unclaimed plate numbers.

The Department of Transportation recently launched a website to help car owners track their new vehicle plates. This can be accessed through https://ltoplatereplacement.com/.

While this can be already accessed, Mendoza said the LTO is still completing the uploading of information and the enhancing of the website for a more seamless use.
At a corner in North Lawndale, the familiar tune of an ice cream truck rang out as it drove past crowds of community leaders and advocates who wanted to create a welcoming atmosphere for those in the neighborhood affected by gun violence looking for resources.

The gathering at Deliverance Temple Church of the Apostolic Faith was just a few blocks away from where a 21-year-old woman was fatally shot Sunday morning. The mass shooting, which occurred at a birthday party in the 1500 block of South Keeler Avenue, left another eight people, seven of them women, wounded by gunfire.

So after an event like this, you need to go back to the event space where that tragedy happened and go back to the block, go to the park and make it an atmosphere where the local people on the block can feel like this is a place of safety and comfort, said Corniki Bornds, founder of Help Understanding Grief.

The North Lawndale resident lost her teen son to gun violence six years ago and started her organization to provide support for other mothers who have lost loved ones. She said the aftermath of gun violence is just as important to address as the initial trauma.

Organizers from groups such as UCAN, the Helen and Joe Foundation and the Lawndale Christian Legal Center were available to residents in the neighborhood, with tables set up in the church for those looking for help.

People greeted each other with hugs and pats on the back on the sidewalk outside the church.

Organizers also knocked on doors on the block to provide support, stopping to chat with people sitting on their porch or walking dogs.

Because somebody is in their house right now that needs the help and the resources that are here, but theyre scared to come to this type of setting, Bornds said.

Its about meeting people where theyre at, she said.

Mark Atkins, 50, lives a few blocks from where Sundays shooting took place. He said the recent violence isnt surprising at all.

I wish I could say it was something new, but its not new. Its pretty common, Atkins said.

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Atkins heard about the support event because he attends Deliverance Temple Church, but he thinks its something more people in the neighborhood need to know about.

The sad part is that theres more of the programs here than the actual neighborhood, he said. Events like the one at the church are really good for the community and should be better publicized, he said.

Ald. Monique Scott, whose 24th Ward includes North Lawndale, said tragedies such as this are a reminder that the violence needs to end.

I mean, I dont know what its going to take. I dont know what kind of help we can get but it is a call on parents. Its a call on aunts, grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles, cousins, friends, Scott said. We got to love on each other a little bit more.

Scott hasnt been in direct contact with the victims families but said most didnt live in the community. Nonetheless, she said its an issue that affects everyone in the neighborhood.

The identity of the woman killed was not released as of Monday afternoon.

Aileen Robinson, director of CPDs crime victim services, said her office picks up the baton after officers finish their initial work in a traumatic incident. Relationship- and trust-building is paramount, she said.

By bringing in immediate crisis services afterward, were just kind of picking up where things left off and building the relationship, Robinson said Monday. The hope is that those relationships and attending to what that victim needs first, that they will also be willing to work with us if we have questions and things that might be of evidentiary value to a case. Its not necessary and we make that clear. Our sole focus is starting where that victims at, making sure we help them on the path from that trauma, and then, if we can work together moving forward  whether thats tomorrow, a week or a year  thats our goal.

When acts of violence occur, its more than just the direct victims and their families who are affected, interim CPD Superintendent Fred Waller said during a news conference Monday. This violence creates a ripple effect that can touch an entire community.

My experience is that when we extend our hand and show that were trying to support these victims, it gives us a lot of equity in the community, and thats what were trying to do, Waller added. We want to show these people that we care about them just as much as if they lived on the Gold Coast.

Women are far less likely to be victims of gun violence than men, city data show. Over the last decade, women have accounted for 11% of the citys homicide victims and 13% of all nonfatal shooting victims.

The shooting occurred in the Ogden District, which covers the North Lawndale and Little Village neighborhoods. City records show that 34 people have been killed and another 144 wounded by gunfire within the boundaries of Beat 1012  where Sundays shooting occurred  over the last decade.

The Ogden District has long been one of the most violent in the city, a byproduct of racist policies such as redlining and contract home sales that further solidified racial segregation among the citys neighborhoods during and after the Great Migration.

vla@chicagotribune.com

scharles@chicagotribune.com
In a small strip mall on the edge of Westchester, crammed between a barber shop, a jewelry store and a mini mart, a tiny piece of pastry paradise exists.

Open the door, and leave the clamor of Miami behind. Whimsical French accordion music drowns out the cacophony of traffic, and the aroma of freshly baked dough envelops you.

Examine the array of pastries on display and try to choose. A gleaming strawberry croissant? A glazed or guava doughnut? Sweet, sticky monkey bread?

At the new LBoulanger Maison du Croissant, any and all choices are right.

The bakery, which opened in April, is the creation of Cuban-born baker Yusel Montelongo, his wife Marielys Toledo and their friends and business partners Robert Buduen and Julieta Ruiz. Montelongo credits his wife and Ruiz for pushing him out of his comfort zone and inspiring him to open his own shop.

If not for them, he says, I wouldnt have done it.

Yusel Montelongo cuts the layered dough to make croissants in the kitchen at LBoulanger Maison du Croissant.

Maison du Croissant, naturally, specializes in baked goods, croissants in particular but also doughnuts and breads. The menu also includes a few breakfast and lunch items like fried or scrambled eggs and omelets, empanadas, burgers and sandwiches

There are a handful of small tables crowded in the small space, which is filled with Parisian touches, but most customers leave the premises with their bounty. Buduen estimates that 80 percent of the business is takeout, either customers grabbing a bite to eat before work or bringing baked goods home or to the office or clients taking advantage of the catering menu, which includes croissants, doughnuts and empanadas.

The business also supplies baked goods to bakeries, cafeterias and restaurants around Miami, like Cachito Coffee and Bakery in Miami Beach and Aventura, among others.

Buduen said they dream one day of working out of a larger, sit-down restaurant, but the current space fits their immediate needs, and rent, as always in Miami, is a huge concern.

Yusel Montelongo checks the layers on a freshly made croissant in the kitchen at LBoulanger Maison du Croissant.

Wed love to have a big place, as big as we can, he says. But we did some research, and we didnt have any competition around us. Everybody else is downtown or in Miami Beach or in the Gables. This location was a good opportunity for us. A small location but a small rent.

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Buduen said the idea to open a bakery bubbled to the surface shortly after he met Montelongo about eight years ago (their wives were friends). But the story started long before then. Montelongo, who grew up in Pinar del Rio in Cuba, wasnt one of those kids yearning to make magic with flour, eggs and sugar. His grandfather was a baker, but Montelongo was drawn to arts and languages and wanted to be teacher instead.

It wasnt until he realized he couldnt make enough money teaching that he joined his grandfather to learn the business of baking.

Croissants on display at LBoulanger Maison du Croissant.

Montelongo emigrated to the U.S. in 2012 and got a job at a Chinese restaurant. When that closed, a French baker at the Fontainebleau offered him a job, and he never looked back. He went on to work at Faena Hotel in Miami Beach and later for Puerto Rican pastry master Antonio Bachour at his Coral Gables restaurant.

Montelongo knew a lot about basic baking and had a lot of recipes from previous jobs, but Bachour, famous for his gem-like, gorgeous desserts, opened his eyes regarding presentation.

I had the foundation, Montelongo says, but he showed me the beauty.

Yusel Montelongo, who has worked at the Fontainebleau, Faena and Bachour, has just opened LBoulanger Maison du Croissant.

Now, he puts those lessons to work at LBoulanger Maison du Croissant, where croissants are the specialty, from almond and Nutella to ham and cheese and pistachio (they range in price from $4.70 for a plain to $6 for something more elaborate). Croissants are the most complicated item to make on the menu, Montelongo says, a three-day process thats heavily dependent on temperature (croissants, unlike people, prefer maximum humidity).

Its easier for us when its hot, he says. In the winter weather, everything changes.

After the partners maxed out credit cards and borrowed money to open the shop, Montelongo stays busy filling orders. But he welcomes the work.

We dreamed about working for ourselves, Buduen says. We talked about making our own stuff for years. Now that dream has come to reality.

LBoulanger Maison du Croissant is now open near Westchester.

LBoulanger Maison du Croissant

Where: 3025 SW 107th Ave., Miami

Hours: 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday

More information: 786-254-7225; also available on UberEats, Door Dash and Grubhub
Screen grab of artist impression of Tuas mega port (left) and construction worker (Photos: MPA Singapore/Getty Images)

SINGAPORE  A worker died after being found unconscious at the Tuas Port Phase 2 construction worksite on Saturday evening (29 July).

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a media release on Monday that it was first informed at 9am Saturday morning about the incident.

The worksite safety coordinator administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation to the man, and he was later conveyed to the hospital by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

The man was found to be an employee of Penta Ocean-Hyundai-Boskalis Joint Venture.

Investigations are currently ongoing. Both MPA and the contractor are providing support to the family of the deceased.

Second phase of Tuas mega port

Construction work for the second phase of the Tuas mega port first started on 4 July 2019. The project will oversee an 8.6 km wharf structure constructed with 227 caissons that will be fabricated on site.

MPA awarded the Tuas Terminal Phase 2 reclamation project to Penta Ocean-Hyundai-Boskalis Joint Venture in 2018.

The mega port will be developed in four phases, with the second phase being the largest to be reclaimed at 387 hectares.

According to the MPA, all container operations in Singapore will be consolidated at Tuas Terminal by the 2040s.

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.
The giant, glowing X sign has been removed from the San Francisco headquarters of the social media company formerly known as Twitter.

Multiple outlets reported Monday that the sign, which was installed last week amid the companys rebrand, was removed by workers after city residents and officials complained.

More than a dozen complaints were filed to the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection after the sign was put up, including criticisms that the display wasnt permitted and was a nuisance and that its flashing lights made it hard for residents to sleep, according to CNBC.

Complaints filed last Friday also said the old Twitter sign on the side of the building, which police had stopped workers from dismantling, was in an unsafe condition and that a city inspector had visited the headquarters and requested access to the roof where the X sign was installed, but had been denied by the company. An X representative reportedly explained to the inspector that the X structure was a temporary lighted sign for an event.

City officials launched an investigation into the companys headquarters last week following the installation of the sign.

Department of Building Inspection spokesperson Patrick Hannan told The San Francisco Standard that a building permit is required to make sure the sign is structurally sound and installed safely.

Planning review and approval is also necessary for the installation of this sign, Hannan said in his statement. The city is opening a complaint and initiating an investigation.

This comes a week after billionaire Elon Musk announced the rebranding of the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, changing his profile avatar to an X logo and posting promotional content featuring Xs.

X, which was officially purchased by Musk last October, has undergone a slew of controversial changes in the months since, including limiting the number of direct messages a user can send and how many tweets they can see.

Meanwhile, tech giant Meta has also gotten into the microblogging business, officially launching its text-based conservation social media platform, Threads, last month.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping, also the military's commander-in-chief, on Monday appointed a new head of the armed force overseeing the nation's conventional - and nuclear - missiles, one day before the anniversary of the People's Liberation Army.

Wang Houbin, former deputy commander of the navy, was named the new head of the PLA Rocket Force, and Xu Xisheng, its new political commissar, with both men acquiring the top rank of general, according to state media.

Until his move to the PLA Rocket Force, Wang had been deputy commander of the navy since 2020. He was previously also the deputy chief of staff at the Navy.

Xu was formerly the deputy political commissar of the Southern Theatre Command, one of the PLA's five theatre commands.

State media did not say where the PLA Rocket Force's previous chief, Li Yuchao, was reassigned or state his whereabouts.

The new appointments came a day ahead of the 96th anniversary of the PLA's founding on Aug. 1.

Xi has repeatedly urged the military to deepen war and combat planning to increase the chances of victory in actual combat to safeguard China's sovereignty and territory.

China says it is committed to a defensive nuclear strategy, and pledges to no first use of nuclear weapons. It says it will also not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states or nuclear weapon free zones.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Alex Richardson)
One of the nations largest freight companies, which has a significant presence in Overland Park with hundreds of reported employees, is preparing to file for bankruptcy as it ceases operations, union officials say.

Yellow Corp. served legal notices Sunday to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents the companys 22,000 unionized workers across the country, about its plan to file for bankruptcy.

Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government, Teamsters General President Sean OBrien said in a statement. This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry.

The demise of Yellow, a less-than-truckload carrier formerly known as YRC, comes as customers flock to other companies amid financial difficulties and its battle with union leaders over unpaid benefits.

In a notice to employees, Yellow said it was shutting down its regular operations on Friday and laying off employees at all of its locations, according to The Wall Street Journal. CNN reported that Yellow plans to lay off all 30,000 of its workers.

As of last month, the company reported having 990 full-time equivalent employees locally, according to the Kansas City Business Journal, which maintains a list of private employers.

Yellow has not responded to The Stars requests for comment since Friday. The company is expected to make an announcement Monday about the the state of the company and the operation, according to industry outlet FreightWaves.

For years, Yellow operated out of a 10-story tower at 10990 Roe Ave. in Overland Park. The 99-year-old company moved its headquarters last year to downtown Nashville, Tennessee, but committed to maintaining a sizable workforce in the Kansas City suburb and reportedly signed a 15-year lease on new offices at the former Sprint Campus in Overland Park.

In its annual 2022 report, Yellow said its Overland Park field resource center provided support to its operating companies that spans a variety of functions, including sales and marketing, information technology, human resources, finance and accounting, legal, transportation management, revenue management, risk management, procurement and security.

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The news comes after years of financial troubles at Yellow. The New York Times recently reported that Yellow has more than $1.5 billion in outstanding debt, including a $700 million loan it received through a federal pandemic aid program.

That loan, a congressional probe recently determined, was the result of the federal Treasury and Defense Departments making missteps in deeming the company as critical to maintaining national security.

Weeks ago, Yellow tried to get a federal judge in Kansas City, Kansas, to stop unionized employees from striking over the missed health and pension payments. The judge rejected the request, saying she did not not have the authority to issue such an order.

At the time, U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson wondered if the union won a battle in the labor disagreement but lost the war. A strike was ultimately averted after Central States funds extended the workers health care benefits.

The Teamsters said Sunday they plan to help affected workers find good union jobs throughout freight and other industries.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that Russias aggression has gone bankrupt on the battlefield, predicting the war will come back to Russia.

Russian aggression has gone bankrupt on the battlefield, Zelensky said in an address. Today is the 522nd day of the so-called special military operation, which the Russian leadership expected to last for a week or two. Ukraine is getting stronger. Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia.

Zelenskys address comes amid Ukraines increased counteroffensive against Russia.

A Ukrainian artillery strike on partially occupied Donetsk province Monday killed two and injured six, according to Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the illegally annexed province. Pushilin said Ukrainian forces also shelled the city of Donetsk multiple times Monday.

On Sunday, three Ukrainian drones attacked the region, injuring one person and prompting delays in the area and in a nearby airport. The attack marked Ukraines fourth assault in the Moscow region this month, though Ukraine does not often claim responsibility for its attacks.

The Russian Defense Ministry called the drones an attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said a Russian missile struck another apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Monday, killing four people and trapping residents underneath the rubble. Zelensky, who was born in Kryvyi Rih, said responders were working on the ground to save people.

In his address Monday, Zelensky said the number one priority is defense, protection of the state and people, adding local authorities have resources for shelters, assistance to brigades, families of military members and protection of internally displaced persons.

He said local leaders are focused on the vulnerability of Ukraines energy sector and facilities ahead of winter and urged security guarantees for Ukraine until it is able to join NATO. Group of Seven countries pledged long-term security guarantees for Ukraine earlier this month.

Story continues

All the laws necessary to start negotiations with the European Union must be passed, Zelensky said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Russia is likely to recommence attacks on Ukraine's energy system during the upcoming autumn and winter months, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 30.

Zelensky pledged to take all necessary measures to ensure protection of the power grid. He highlighted that it is crucial to prepare for potential winter attacks both at the national and regional levels.

"We should be aware that Russian terrorists will attempt to prolong their attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and disrupt the normal lives of people. However, our unyielding determination must prevail," he said.

Zelensky also called on regional security forces and governments to prepare for energy emergencies.

The Ukrainian energy system suffered severe harm, with approximately 40 percent damage caused by Russian missile and drone strikes during the last winter. Russian troops did this deliberately to weaken Ukraine's ability to prepare for the counteroffensive.

Read also: Ukraines south threatened with long-term economic, agricultural decline after Kakhovka dam destruction

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, would like to meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and is ready to come to Brazil if he is invited.

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview for a Brazilian media outlet Globo

Quote: "I would like to [meet with Lula da Silva  ed.] I was sincere with him. We had a sincere conversation in a video format."

"Look, I ignore all the circumstances. I am saying that I am interested in talking to the [Brazilian] president. He cannot come to us due to security reasons. Okay, I will come to him. I have no problems with that. I only have problems with time. Because the war is ongoing here.

But I am ready to do it so that he hears me and your population hears meso that we agree to live in a truthful information space from now on, and then the relations between our states will grow better and stronger."

Details: Zelenskyy confirmed that if he receives an invitation from Lula da Silva, he will go to Brazil. "If there were no fierce combat action on the line of contact at that moment, because it is my country that is the priority for me; if I had an opportunity to do so  yes, I would do it [come to Brazil  ed.]," Zelenskyy said.

Background:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (MFA) has invited Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to visit Ukraine to understand the true nature of the war, following his scandalous statement.

Earlier, Lula da Silva claimed that the war was allegedly caused by "decisions made by the two countries", and blamed both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy for not taking any initiatives to stop the war.

In June, Western media reported that Andrii Yermak, head of the Presidents Office of Ukraine, is trying to involve Brazil and India in President Zelenskyys peace plan, which provides for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the entire territory of Ukraine.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!






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(CNN)  At least 44 people died after a suicide bomber attacked a political convention organized by an Islamist party in northwestern Pakistan, police said.

More than 100 were injured, 17 critically, in the attack targeting members of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party, who had gathered in the town of Khar, close to the border with Afghanistan.

Local police said the attacker detonated explosives near the conventions stage.

There has been no initial claim of responsibility for the attack. But the local branch of ISIS has previously targeted JUI-F party leaders as they consider them apostates.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the blast, according to a statement released by the ministers office.

An investigation is underway, and the prime ministers office has requested a report from Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, the statement added.

The leader of the JUI-F party, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, expressed deep sorrow and regret following the blast, in a statement released by his press office.

Peace be upon JUI workers, the statement added. The federal and provincial government should provide the best treatment to the injured.

One witness said more than 500 people were attending the convention when the blast occurred.

A powerful explosion knocked me unconscious, Rahim Shah told Dawn.com.

When he came around there were people screaming and even shots were fired, he said, adding that there was blood everywhere.

Pakistani political parties are beginning campaign preparations ahead of elections due later this year.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Blast rips through political gathering in Pakistan, killing at least 39."
Rabat-based Bayt Mal Al-Quds Acharif Agency, a Moroccan charity focused on the development of the Al-Quds, and the Islamic Supreme Council of Al-Quds signed a cooperation agreement meant to support education in the holy city of Al Quds.

The agreement, initialed by the Agencys Programs and Projects Coordinator in Al-Quds, Ismail Ramli, and the Chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of Al-Quds, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, equally aims to consolidate the two institutions partnership and foster collaboration in various areas.

The agreement includes the creation of an endowment library to support a documentation project, the organization of the 7th academic conference of the Council and the printing of its publications, said Cheikh Sabri during the signing ceremony.

The agreement reflects the commitment of both entities to advancing research, education, and preserving the cultural heritage in Al-Quds, he said.

Sabri further emphasized that the Council is dedicated to working hand in hand with the Agency to implement projects that will have a positive impact on the residents of Al-Quds and the various institutions within the city.

He expressed gratitude for the Agencys consistent support, recalling their collaboration dates back to 2011, and hailing the enduring bond between the two parties.

In this regard, the President of the Council expressed gratitude to King Mohammed VI, the Moroccan people and the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Acharif Agency for their support to Al-Quds and its Holy shrines.

For his part, Ismail Ramli stressed that this agreement is part of the agencys action, in application of royal instructions, to continue efforts to support Al Quds and its institutions in various sectors.

The Kings personal supervision of the work of the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency, as the executive and field arm of the Al-Quds Committee, reinforces our commitment to choosing realistic and achievable projects, within the framework of innovative initiatives and qualitative partnerships to support Al-Quds institutions, Ramli said.

As a reminder, the Supreme Islamic Council of Al-Quds is the first Islamic body created after 1967 and plays an important role in the protection of the Holy shrines of Islam in Al-Quds, including the Al-Aqsa mosque.

In another development, Secretary General of the Islamic-Christian Organization for the Support of Al-Quds and the Holy Places, Hatem Abdelkader, commended Moroccos political support for the Palestinian cause and for the Holy Citys resistance, the defense of its Arab identity and the preservation of its Islamic and Christian cultural, civilizational and religious heritage.

King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, places the Palestinian cause on the same level as the issue of the Kingdoms territorial integrity, the former Palestinian Minister for Al-Quds told MAP, underlining the emphasis placed on the centrality of the Palestinian cause in the speech the King delivered Saturday evening on the occasion of the 24th anniversary of his enthronement.

This bears witness to Moroccos national and historic commitment to the Palestinian and Maqdissi cause, he said, emphasizing that this commitment is the continuation of a historical legacy spanning more than eight centuries, marked by unwavering support and unfailing mobilization in defense of the Holy City and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The former Palestinian minister also welcomed the content of the Royal Speech calling for strengthening Arab-Arab relations, in particular the fraternal ties linking Morocco and Algeria, the importance Morocco attaches to the relationship uniting the two brotherly peoples, and the good intentions shown by the Sovereign towards this neighbor country.

In his Throne Day Speech, King Mohammed VI has once again outstretched his hand to Algeria, reassuring Algerian leaders and people that Morocco will never harm them, and expressing hope that relations between the two neighboring countries would return to normality and improve.

I should like to tell the leaders and people of our sister nation, Algeria, that no evil will ever be done to them, nor will any harm ever come to them from MoroccoI want them to know that we attach special importance to the bonds of affection, friendship, exchange and interaction between our peoples, the King pointed out, wishing that things would return to normality, and that borders between the two neighboring countries would open.
The United States commended on Sunday King Mohammed VIs role in furthering stability, security, and prosperity in the region.

In a statement published by the State Department on the occasion of the 24th anniversary of the Sovereigns accession to the throne, U.S Secretary of State, Antony Blinken extended, on behalf of the Government and citizens of the United States of America, his best wishes and congratulations to the King and to the people of Morocco.

I extend my warmest congratulations to His Majesty the King and to the Moroccan people on the Throne Day, and we thank you for being one of our oldest and closest friends, Blinken said in his statement.

Blinken underlined that the deep and abiding relationship between the U.S and Morocco continues to be a pillar of peace and stability for our two countries and the region.

We commend King Mohammed VI for his role in furthering regional stability, security, and prosperity as well as advancing our shared interests, he pointed out, underlining that Rabat and Washington have a deep and historic relationship that continues to benefit the people of both our countries.
Victoria Nuland, the Acting Deputy Secretary of State of the United States, has embarked on an African tour to take her to South Africa, Cote dIvoire, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, July 29 to August 4, the State Department has announced.

In South Africa, the acting second-in-command at the State Department was to lead the U.S. delegation participating in the U.S.-South Africa Working Group on African and Global Issues (WGAGI), the department said. V. Nuland is also expected to meet with senior South African government leaders and leaders in the energy sector.

The department also announced that Nuland, for the second stop, will head to Cote dIvoire where she will have encounters with Ivorian government leaders to discuss regional peace and security issues, economic cooperation, and support for democratic governance.

In DR Congo, her last stop of the tour, the US diplomat will meet with senior government leaders to discuss US support for free and fair elections, peace and security in the eastern DRC, humanitarian assistance, economic prosperity, and democratic institutions and governance.

The tour comes amid growing ties between Russia and African countries. A junta in Niger has seized power after removing Washingtons ally elected President Mohamed Bazoum.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) gave, Sunday July 30, the new leaders in Niger, one week to give up power and restore elected leader Mohamed Bazoum deposed last week by a junta accusing him of failing to address the security situation in the country.

General Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of the powerful presidential guard of Bazoum has declared himself leader of the country.

Bazoum, elected in 2021, has been held since Wednesday. At an extraordinary Summit held in Abuja, Nigeria, on Sunday, African leaders of the region threatened to take action and gave Tiani one week to surrender power and to restore the deposed leader.

In the event the authorities demands are not met within one week (ECOWAS will) take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger. Such measures may include the use of force. For this effect, the Chiefs of Defense staff of ECOWAS are to meet immediately, the bloc said in a statement after its Summit in Abuja (Nigeria) on Sunday.

In addition to the ultimatum, ECOWAS also on Saturday slapped financial sanctions on the military leaders and on the country, freezing all commercial and financial transactions between member States and Niger.

Bazoum, a western ally in the region reeling with terrorism, is held responsible for the degradation of the security situation linked to jihadist bloodshed, as well as corruption and economic woes. Thousands of people welcomed the coup. Sunday hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in capital Niamey in support of the coup and demanded the departure of French military troops from the country and an end to other foreign interference.

Niger, one of the worlds largest uranium producers, is one of the worlds poorest nations. The country often ranks last on the UNs Human Development Index.
The relationship between Morocco and Spain is loyal and privileged and is an example of efficiency, stressed Spanish Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska.

We are privileged partners in all areas of common interest, including the fight against irregular immigration and terrorism, human trafficking, security, and economic, commercial and cultural cooperation. We are two very close neighbors, beyond the strictly political sphere, Grande-Marlaska told MAP.

The Spanish official, who attended a reception hosted Sunday by Moroccos ambassador to Spain, Karima Benyaich, to mark the 24th anniversary of King Mohammed VIs accession to the throne, said relations between Spain and Morocco have been important throughout history, and we have deepened them.

We have a stable relationship, with absolute convergence and unfailing loyalty in all areas, he insisted.

As Minister of the Interior, I can assure you that our cooperation in the fields of security, irregular immigration, human trafficking, and the fight against terrorism is highly satisfactory. Our cooperation in all these areas is an example of efficiency, said Grande-Marlaska.

The Spanish official, who expressed congratulations to the Moroccan King and people on Throne Day, said that the celebration of this event is an important day for Morocco and Moroccans, but also for countries like Spain that wish to maintain the best relations with Morocco.

Morocco has successfully carried out reforms in social policies, equality, economic development, renewable energies, the fight against climate change and the energy and digital transition, noted the Spanish official.
LINCOLN  Behold the love of pets.

A dog that ran away in North Platte a week ago received a private flight home to Tennessee this weekend to be reunited with his family.

Chewy, a 10-year-old border collie, got loose at a North Platte motel on July 22.

After hours of unsuccessful searching, her family  who were moving from Idaho to Tennessee  had to resume their trip, according to Jessica Sprague, the vice president of a North Platte animal rescue group FUR Animal Rescue.

Sprague said the North Platte animal shelter discovered that the dog was microchipped, and eventually, that led to reaching the owners, Alex and Kyra Brown. They said that they loved their dog but could not afford a trip back from Munford, Tennessee, to Nebraska to pick it up.

Thats when the president of FUR, Jenn Porter-Milne, got to work, contacting a nonprofit group, Pilots for Paws, that provides flights for animal rescues.

On Saturday afternoon, Porter-Milne and her husband drove Chewy to Omaha, where they met volunteer pilot Allan Lindsay of Omaha, who will flew the dog home.

Porter-Milne said Saturday that rescuing animals is an absolute roller coaster of ups and downs.

Saving one animal wont change the world, she said, but for that one animal, their world changes forever.
Ron DeSantis is playing with fire. Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty

If Ron DeSantis is famous for anything these days, its for opposing any public- or even private-sector program or activity based on fighting discrimination against racial (or for that matter, gender or sexual orientation) minority groups. Florida under the DeSantis administration is, as the governor regularly boasts, where woke goes to die.

Even Republicans who arent big fans of DeSantis seem pleased by this posture. So you wouldnt figure hed have much to fear in the way of criticism by other Republicans (pretty much his entire universe at the moment, as one might expect of someone locked in a cage match for the presidential nomination) for being insensitive to Black folks and their distinctive concerns. But DeSantis is currently locked into a fractious and politically perilous argument with prominent Black Republicans about the new un-woke standards he has imposed on Florida schools for teaching Black history, and especially the legacy of slavery. At first, the governor and his mouthpieces appeared to take the mild criticism of him expressed by Black Florida congressman Byron Donalds as just another example of a Trump ally smearing him, and they fired back without inhibition, as Forbes reported on Friday:

In a tweet after the new curriculum was approved, Donalds praised the guidelines overall as good, robust, & accurate upon seeing them, but took issue with the idea of slaves developing skills for personal benefit, calling it wrong and recommending that part of the curriculum be readjusted. DeSantis reacted to Donalds viewpoint, telling reporters at a campaign stop that Donalds has to choose if he will side with Kamala Harris and liberal media outlets or side with the state of Florida.

Then another Black congressman who supports Trump escalated the conflict, per Politico:

As the direct descendent of a slave, I have a hard time understanding Governor DeSantis position that transferrable skills learned in bondage are somehow a net benefit, said Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), an ally of Donalds. If Ron DeSantis spent more time doing the job the people of Florida elected him to do and less time on his failing Presidential campaign, perhaps Floridas curriculum on slavery would more accurately reflect the pain and heartbreak experienced by millions who suffered through the original sin.

But the brouhaha reached a whole new level when a Black member of Congress who is not in Trumps camp, 2024 presidential candidate Tim Scott, weighed in and, as Politico notes, and DeSantis whaled away at him, too:

There is no silver lining in slavery, Scott said. Slavery was really about separating families, about mutilating humans and even raping their wives. It was just devastating.

DeSantis responded to Scott on Friday, once more by accusing him of echoing Harris.

Part of the reason our country has struggled is because D.C. Republicans all too often accept false narratives, accept lies that are perpetrated by the Left, he said during a swing through Iowa. And to accept the lie that Kamala Harris has been perpetrating even when that has been debunked, thats not the way you do it.

DeSantis is really playing with fire here. He does not appear to fully appreciate the important role the Black Republicans hes trashing play in protecting the self-image of white Republicans. As the Washington Posts Paul Waldman explains, white Republicans really dont want anyone to confuse them with racists:

The true commitment of todays Republican Party is not to racism (though there are plenty of genuine racists who thrill to what the GOP offers, and especially to former president Donald Trump). It is to what is best described as anti-antiracism. In a sense, anti-antiracism is its own ideology. It holds that racism directed at minorities is largely a thing of the past; that whatever racism does exist is a product only of individual hearts and not of institutions and systems; that efforts to ameliorate racism and promote diversity are both counterproductive and morally abhorrent; and, most critically, that those efforts must not only be stopped but also rolled back.

Black Republican pols (and more generally, Black conservative voices) regularly reassure white brethren that their own successes in life and politics demonstrate Americas fairness, and that despising anti-discrimination measures (from affirmative action in college admissions to corporate DEI programs) is not only kosher, but essential to the color-blindness that is the only real guarantor of equality. While nonwhite candidates Scott, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy have other qualities attractive to Republican voters, the value of their validation of white anti-wokeness as non-racist is hard to overestimate.

To put it another way, DeSantis is engaged in a struggle for the soul of the GOPs anti-anti-racist movement with people who are much more credible than he is. And worse yet, when he goes out of his way to insult Black Republicans, hes running the risk of looking actually racist  and only Donald Trump can get away with that.
Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has already faced consequences for violating the terms of his house arrest, which he is spending at his parents home in Palo Alto. But the punishments for his previous offenses  contacting witnesses in the case against him and using a VPN to watch the Super Bowl  were pretty mild: The federal judge in the case, Lewis Kaplan, took away his smartphone, gave him a flip phone with limited abilities, and restricted his internet access to approved sites.

Prosecutors are not messing around with Bankman-Frieds latest alleged violation. Late on Friday, federal prosecutors filed a motion to revoke his $250 million bail, pull SBF from his parents multimillion-dollar home, and place him in jail for what they claim is witness tampering.

The issue is an article in the New York Times detailing the diary of Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Frieds ex-girlfriend and the former CEO of the FTX-linked hedge fund Alameda. Revelations from Ellisons diary make clear that she was having a difficult time working in Bankman-Frieds crypto empire after their breakup and that she had doubts about her leadership at Alameda. Prosecutors say that when they learned of the story, Bankman-Frieds lawyer admitted that their client had met with a Times reporter in person and shared the documents, which were not handed over to prosecutors during discovery. (Ellison is cooperating with the prosecution after pleading guilty to several counts, including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.)

In a hearing before Judge Kaplan last week, Bankman-Frieds attorneys claimed he was expressing his First Amendment rights by speaking with the Times. But prosecutors claim his strategy for rehabilitating his reputation was built on discrediting and blaming Caroline Ellison in a national and international publication, that is read by many prospective jurors in this district. They also accused him of intimidating a witness and sending a message to other prospective witnesses. Bankman-Frieds attorneys are expected to file their arguments in the case on Tuesday. Their client is under a temporary gag order amid the new allegations.

But it hasnt been all bad news for Bankman-Fried: Last week, prosecutors dropped a campaign-finance charge against him thanks to an extradition issue, even though he had made illegal political donations to help advance crypto legislation. (When Bankman-Fried was arrested in his home base of the Bahamas last year, government officials there informed U.S. prosecutors that they did not plan on extraditing him those charges.) Still, when SBF goes to trial in October, hes facing a dozen other charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, for allegedly running a bogus company from the get-go.
Photo: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images

New Jersey lieutenant governor Sheila Oliver died suddenly at the age of 71 after a brief hospitalization, Governor Phil Murphys office announced Tuesday. Her cause of death has not been made public.

In a statement, the Oliver family asked for privacy as they mourn the loss of our cherished daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and hero.

Olivers death came as New Jerseys governor, Phil Murphy, is on vacation in Italy. He was not expected to return until August 13, but CBS News reports that he is making plans to come back early. In a statement, Murphy mourned Olivers loss, calling her a trailblazer in every sense of the word.

In an unusual situation, state senate president Nick Scutari assumed the duties of the governorship on Monday when Oliver was hospitalized at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston and could not fulfill her role as acting governor. Scutari, who has been a member of the state senate since 2004, has served as acting governor twice since becoming president of the chamber last year, the New Jersey Globe reports.

Oliver was first elected to state office in 2004 when she joined the state assembly and later served as the chambers speaker for four years, the first Black woman to hold that role. Murphy selected her as his running mate in 2007, and she became the first Black woman to hold statewide office in New Jersey when she was sworn in as lieutenant governor the following year.
J-10 fighters take off at sunrise

China Military Online) 10:13, July 31, 2023

A J-10 fighter jet attached to an aviation brigade of the air force under the PLA Southern Theater Command taxies onto the flightline before takeoff during a recent flight training exercise. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Hou Kaiwen)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
(CNN)  Russia may be forced to use a nuclear weapon if Ukraines counteroffensive succeeds, senior Russian official Dmitry Medvedev said Sunday  the latest in a series of nuclear threats made during Moscows invasion by the key ally of President Vladimir Putin.

Just imagine that the offensive in tandem with NATO, succeeded and ended up with part of our land being taken away. Then we would have to use nuclear weapons by virtue of the stipulations of the Russian Presidential Decree, said Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russias Security Council, in a Telegram post.

There simply wouldnt be any other solution, the former Russian president added. Our enemies should pray to our fighters that they do not allow the world to go up in nuclear flames.

Medvedev, who served as president of Russia from 2008 to 2012, has struck a bellicose tone throughout Moscows invasion of Ukraine, repeatedly raising the specter of nuclear conflict.

Last April, he warned of Russian nuclear expansion should Sweden and Finland join NATO. Helsinki joined the defense alliance later that month, while Stockholms path to NATO membership was cleared earlier this month after Turkey dropped its objections.

In September, Medvedev said strategic nuclear weapons could be used to defend territories incorporated into Russia from Ukraine.

And in January, as NATO member states debated new weapons shipments to Ukraine, Medvedev said defeat for Russia in the war could lead to nuclear conflict.

The loss of a nuclear power in a conventional war can provoke the outbreak of a nuclear war, Medvedev wrote on Telegram in January. Nuclear powers do not lose major conflicts on which their fate depends.

This should be obvious to anyone. Even to a Western politician who has retained at least some trace of intelligence.

Medvedevs remarks Sunday again raise the possibility that Russia could potentially lose the war following nearly 18 months of attrition  a rare admission from a senior Russian official,

They also came just hours after Russias Defense Ministry accused Kyiv of attacking Moscow with drones. Three drones were intercepted Sunday, but a business and shopping development in the west of the Russian capital was hit, the ministry said.

Nuclear rhetoric

The United States has previously warned Russia against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, both through private direct communications, as well as public channels, including at last years UN General Assembly.

Last month, Putin said Russia had moved a first batch of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, claiming they were placed there for deterrence.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin said the rest of the tactical nuclear weapons Russia intends to move to Belarus would be transferred by the end of the summer or by the end of the year.

The US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) said it had no reason to doubt Putins claim that nuclear weapons were in Belarus.

But US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at the time that the US has not seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture nor any indication Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said last month that in the face of aggression, he would show no hesitation in using the Russian tactical nuclear weapons stationed on Belarusian soil.

But the senior DIA officials said they do not believe Lukashenko would have any control over the arsenal. It would most likely be entirely controlled by Russia, the officials said.

Russia has about 4,477 deployed and reserve nuclear warheads, including around 1,900 tactical nuclear weapons, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

This story was first published on CNN.com. Medvedev says Russia could use nuclear weapon if Ukraines fightback succeeds in latest threat
The Opelika community has been mourning the loss of Zachary Bubba Sorenson, the firefighter-paramedic who died early Saturday in a single-vehicle crash on Lee County Road 188.

Sorenson, 27, was fatally injured when the 2001 Toyota Tacoma he was driving left the roadway and overturned around 2 a.m. Saturday. His body was ejected from the vehicle during the wreck, which occurred approximately nine miles west of Auburn on Lee County Road 188.

Sorenson wasnt wearing a seat belt at the time, according to a report from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.

It is with our deepest sympathies we report the passing of firefighter-medic Zachary Bubba Sorenson, the Opelika Fire Department announced on its Facebook page. Bubba set the standard for our department. He was courageous, loyal and passionate about firefighting and the Opelika community.

The OFD asked the community to continue to pray for Sorensons family, friends and coworkers. First responder agencies in the area gave their condolences on social media.

We are devastated to learn of the passing of our friend Bubba. To know him was to love him, the Opelika Police Department said. He was passionate about his job, always up for a competition and just an all around great guy. Bubba left a lasting impression on everyone he met and there are simply no words for what a tragic loss this is for our community.

First responders with Auburn Public Safety offered heartfelt condolences to our Opelika Fire Department brothers and sisters while they heal from the tragic loss.

The entire community stands with you, the law enforcement agency said in a Facebook post.

Officials with the Lee County Sheriffs Office said their heart goes out to the Sorensons family, friends and colleagues.

He was an asset to the community, and he will be greatly missed, the LCSO posted on Facebook.

Sorensons funeral service will be held on Saturday at the First Baptist Church of Opelika at 301 South Eighth St. The visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and the service will start at 1 p.m.

Remembering Zachary 'Bubba' Sorenson, the Opelika firefighter-paramedic who died in crash
Amazon Trial on Warehouse Worker Safety Has Begun in Washington

The trial follows two years of investigation by state OSHA officials.

A trial involving Amazon and the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) began on Monday, July 24.

Amazon faces allegations it presents its warehouse workers with a hazardous work environment, which has resulted in injury due to repetitive motions. The companys anticipated pace of work and other alleged hazards were an early focus of the trial. Experts in workplace safety, ergonomics and occupational medicine were in line to testify to that effect.

Responding to complaints from workers in Amazon warehouses, Washington OSHA officials launched an investigation into the company in 2020, resulting in citations in 2021 and 2022 for workload hazards. Amazon appealed these citations, claiming it had taken efforts to remediate potential worker injury. Now the company wants these citations dismissed.

We look forward to showing that L&Is allegations are inaccurate and dont reflect the reality of safety at Amazon, said Maureen Lynch Vogel, spokesperson for Amazon, said in a statement. The truth is that were always investing in safety and our efforts are working, with recordable injury rates at our sites in Kent and DuPont improving by 16 percent and 40 percent since 2018. Were proud of our progress and well continue working to get better every day.

For its part, L&I proposes Amazon makes necessary changes to ensure the health and safety of its workers. Suggested improvements, according to The Seattle Times, included the introduction of new equipment and updated scheduling allowing ample breaks for workers with physically intensive roles at the companys warehouses.

The trial is expected to continue for roughly six weeks.
Although the Kingdom has taken strides in economic diversification, all new projects, including the ambitious Giga-Projects, continue to be tied to oil and gas funds.

Recent production cuts by Saudi Arabia are beginning to take a toll on the nation's economy, according to the IMF's latest World Economic Outlook. The Kingdom's 2023 GDP growth projections have been significantly reduced, now expected to reach only 1.9%, down from the previously projected 3.1% in May. The IMF attributed this downgrade to the production cuts announced in April and June as part of the OPEC+ agreement. Despite efforts to diversify the economy with Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia remains heavily reliant on hydrocarbon revenues, with the impact of oil market developments still outweighing the growth potential of non-hydrocarbon sectors.

Although the Kingdom has taken strides in economic diversification, all new projects, including the ambitious Giga-Projects, continue to be tied to oil and gas funds. Aramco's substantial revenue base remains crucial for driving economic activity. While this analysis may not sit well with Saudi officials, the IMF downgrade could potentially be followed by similar reactions in the financial markets.

The unilateral production cut presented by Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, which was extended during the recent OPEC+ meeting, is now showing negative consequences. The Kingdom's official stance is that Riyadh is the sole entity capable of controlling and stabilizing markets, particularly oil prices. However, many analysts have expressed skepticism about the true motives behind the Saudi move, as a tighter demand-supply situation is expected in the latter half of 2023. Some argue that price fluctuations and speculation are part of the market's natural dynamics, and intervention may not be necessary. Related: Exxon Misses Earnings Estimate With 56% Profit Decline



Evidence supporting the effectiveness of the Saudi cut is debatable. When the cut was initially announced, markets showed minimal reaction, and prices remained weak. The slow economic recovery in China and marginal global demand growth have kept oil prices within the range of $75-85 per barrel. The recent price rally can be attributed to factors unrelated to Saudi Arabia's actions, such as stock withdrawals and reduced fear of a global recession.

Saudi Arabia's progress in economic diversification projects requires higher foreign direct investments (FDI) and increased government revenues, as well as access to international financial markets. The IMF report has cast some doubt on these aspirations. With the MENA region experiencing lower GDP growth projections and some countries facing financial crises, Saudi Arabia must reevaluate its short-term economic strategies. While non-oil GDP growth is robust, it cannot fully compensate for the current reliance on oil revenues. The low FDI inflow during Q1 2023 raises concerns, especially when compared to the expectations set in Vision 2030.

Market analysts and media should closely monitor Riyadh's actions in the coming weeks, as a significant change may be on the horizon. Although no immediate changes are expected at the upcoming JMCC meeting, a Saudi production hike before October 2023 is highly plausible. Signs of a new demand-supply crunch in oil and petroleum product storage volumes, along with positive indicators in Asia, Europe, and the USA, could lead to a dramatic shift in the Kingdom's production volume strategies. A surprise move to prevent oil prices from surpassing $90-100 per barrel in Q4 could be in the works. While the media may not be informed, it is likely that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his brother are preparing a new Saudi surprise after the summer season.

By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com

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Newly established commodity trading firms incorporated in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have replaced trading and oil giants in handling Russian crude oil and products after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the EU and G7 sanctions and price caps that followed.

By some estimates, these one-year-old or younger trading companies have shipped at least half of all the Russian crude and refined products exports so far this year.

While major oil traders and supermajors backed out of dealing with Russian oil, many trading firms were incorporated in jurisdictions outside Europe and took over most of the trade with Russian oil with the help of many middlemenoften the shadow fleet of tankers. This dark fleet has expanded from shipping sanctioned Iranian and Venezuelan oil to include transportation of Russian crude and products.

The business of transporting Russian crude to Asia has become crazy good, a trader dealing with Russian oil told Reuters early this year.

Most of the shipping companies transporting Russian crudewithout breaching the sanctions and price capare based in the UAE, Greece, India, and China, and some of them are partially owned by Russian firms, according to numerous anonymous banking and trading sources who spoke to Reuters.

Russian oil firms have managed to find in recent months little-known traders willing to ship their oil, thus boosting export revenues.

For example, state-controlled Rosneft, the top oil producer in Russia, has just concluded one of its biggest tenders in recent years to award export contracts to traders, sources with knowledge of the tender told The Wall Street Journal last week.

Unlike last years flops in Rosnefts tenders, the tender held in recent weeks has secured export volumes for the Russian oil giant. And the big winners are newly-created oil traders incorporated outside Europe. These are Hong-Kong-based Bellatrix Energy, as well as UAE-incorporated Amur and Tejarinaft, according to the Journals sources.

The three little-known firms have been large exporters of Russian oil since the oil price cap of $60 per barrel and the EU embargo on seaborne Russian imports came into effect last December, per industry executives and Russian customs data seen by the WSJ.

Russian crude and petroleum product exports held high in the first half of this year, contrary to many expectations of a slump in Russian exports after the embargo. The newly-created trading firms have played a key role in keeping those exports high.

The trading firms that have emerged after the sanctions were announced in the summer of last year are estimated to have handled at least half of the Russian crude and petroleum product exports so far this year, per estimates by Reuters based on information from numerous trade sources and data from Eikon.

So far this year, Russia has exported around 8 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and refined products.

However, signs have emerged in recent weeks that Russian exports are falling, while Indiaa top Russian crude customer alongside Chinamay have already reached its peak crude imports from Russia, some analysts say.

Total oil exports out of Russia slumped by 600,000 bpd in June, to the lowest level in more than two years, according to estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its latest Oil Market Report in July.

Russias oil exports declined by 600,000 bpd to 7.3 million bpd in June, which was the lowest level of oil exports from the country since March 2021, per IEAs estimates.

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Russias crude oil exports by sea alone continue to plunge and are now well below the February levels and nearly 1.5 million bpd lower than the recent peak at the end of April, according to tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg.

Russias crude shipments plunged by 311,000 bpd to 2.73 million bpd in the week to July 23, as exports out of the Western ports on the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea crashed to 1.17 million bpd, down by 625,000 bpd from the previous week, according to the data.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Irans oil output has jumped to the highest in nearly five years, to 3.1 million barrels per day (bpd), a member of the energy committee at the Iranian Parliament was quoted as saying this weekend.

Iran has boosted output by nearly 1 million bpd since President Ebrahim Raisi took office in August 2021. Iranian oil production increased from 2.2 million bpd back then to 3.1 million now, Hossein Hosseinzadeh, a member of the energy committee at the Iranian Parliament, the Majlis, told Iranian news agency IRNA.

According to estimates by Argus, the last time Iran produced that much oil was in October 2018.

That was the year in which then-U.S. President Donald Trump re-imposed sanctions on Irans oil exports after withdrawing the United States from the nuclear deal.

Despite the sanctions, Iran has continued to export oil, in lower quantities, mostly to China.

Per OPECs secondary sources in its latest Monthly Oil Market Report, Iranian crude oil production stood at 2.754 million bpd in June, up by 56,000 bpd compared to May, and higher than the 2022 average of 2.554 million bpd. Iran itself has not reported production figures to OPEC since the U.S. sanctions on its oil industry returned in 2018.

The higher production in recent months has been supported by stronger Iranian exports to China, Venezuela, and Syria.

Amid intensified competition for Russian crude, private Chinese refiners have been buying increasing volumes of Iranian crude as competition for Russian oil from China's major state-held refiners and from Indian buyers has made Moscow's barrels relatively more expensive, Bloomberg reported earlier this year.

More recently, Irans crude and condensate exports in the second quarter of this year averaged 1.35 million bpd, up by 300,000 bpd from the previous quarter and an increase of 350,000 bpd compared to the 2022 average, per data from Vortexa. The Iranian oil exports in Q2 were the highest quarterly shipments since the U.S. sanctions came into effect at the end of 2018, Armen Azizian, Crude Market Analyst at Vortexa, wrote early this month.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Russian oil producers accelerated the drilling of production wells in the first half of this year despite the Western sanctions and Moscows pledge to reduce output by the end of the year and cut exports in August, data seen by Bloomberg showed on Monday.

Russian exploration and production companies drilled more overall length of production wells in the first half of 2023 than in the same period last year and than the drilling target, the data showed. The total length of newly drilled wells rose by 8.6% year over year between January and June and was 6.6% more than the planned drilling activity.

Last year, Russian oil firms drilled the most wells in more than a decade, Bloomberg data showed earlier this year.

This year, the drilling could surpass last years post-Soviet high, according to analysts.

In 2022, we saw a post-Soviet production-drilling record, and given the data I now expect a new high to be established, Ronald Smith, an oil and gas analyst at Moscow-based BCS Global Markets, told Bloomberg.

The high drilling activity could be in preparation for more production capacity after the expiration of the OPEC+ cuts, or to simply maintain current production levels as oilfields age, analysts told Bloomberg.

So the accelerated drilling activity should not be interpreted as any sign of Russias compliance with its pledges to cut output by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year and to cut August exports by 500,000 bpd.

Russias crude oil exports by sea continued to slump in the week to July 23 and are now well below the February levels and nearly 1.5 million bpd lower than the recent peak at the end of April, according to tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg.

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Russias crude shipments plunged by 311,000 bpd to 2.73 million bpd in the week to July 23, as exports out of the Western ports on the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea crashed to 1.17 million bpd, down by 625,000 bpd from the previous week, according to the data reported by Bloombergs Julian Lee.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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In late May, shots were exchanged by Irans Revolutionary Guards and the Taliban near a border post in Irans Southwest Nimroz province. Each side blamed the other for starting the gunfight that killed two Iranians and an Afghan. The situation was de-escalated, but it came one day after Irans president, Ebrahim Raisi, accused Afghanistan of restricting the flow of water from the Helmand River, which flows from Southwest Afghanistan to Eastern Iran. (Irans special representative to Afghanistan claimed Iran has only received 4% of the water it is due, and its foreign minister has proposed a joint technical team address the causes of the shortage.)

Disputes over Helmand water are long-standing and in 1951 the U.S.-sponsored Helmand River Delta Commission made recommendations that resulted in the 1973 Helmand River Treaty which is the only recognized means of allocating water between the countries, though the Treaty was never ratified.

The Treaty requires Afghanistan to release 850 million cubic meters of water annually from the Helmand River basin to Iran, but is flexible and provides that in low flow years Afghanistan may reduce the flow of water to Iran in proportion to a measured deviation from a normal year. The Treaty specifies the point of delivery of water and that it must be suitable for treatment for domestic or agricultural use. Afghanistan retains all rights to the balance of the water and Iran can make no claim to the water of the Helmand River in excess of the amounts specified in this Treaty, even if additional amounts of water may be available in the Helmand Lower Delta and may be put to a beneficial use.



Related: Biden Administration Proposes Hike In Fuel Economy Standards

Iran and Afghanistan can monitor each other to ensure that they comply with the Treaty, but the ongoing violence in Afghanistan before the NATO evacuation may have made effective monitoring difficult. Since NATOs departure, the Taliban government may suffer from a lack of the technical skills needed to properly manage water resources. In the event of differences, the Treaty provides for an arbitration process. The Treaty has no sunset clause so exists in perpetuity.

Aside from the current Helmand River issue, Afghanistan plans to build several dams along its rivers and the Kamal Khan Dam on the Helmand has caused distress in Iran which has resorted to force to stop the project. The Taliban also likely feels that due to violence and internal disorder neighboring countries have received more than their share of water and now it must reclaim its fair share of its water resources by building dams, but the Taliban did arrange a meeting between Taliban and Iranian envoys to discuss the Helmand River water rights.

Since both sides have indicated a willingness to talk, their neighbors and supporters should encourage them to, first, make a technical survey of available water, then plan for the ratification of the Treaty and the implementation of its provisions.

If the Taliban are slow to move out, Qatar and China could give them a nudge. The Iranian side may need encouragement from its new friend, Saudi Arabia, which can also share its expertise on water conservation. Afghanistans Central Asian neighbor Uzbekistan is currently negotiating water access with Kabul but it can also share how it is dealing with its own water shortages by modernizing its irrigation system, and reviving the Aral Sea, the worlds best known environmental disaster.

In addition, experts at UN-Water, the Middle East Desalination Research Center, and the Asian Development Bank can be drafted to oversee a transparent inventory of water resources, audit Irans water records, and start training Afghan officials on water management so the country can protect its rights while respecting the 1973 Treaty.

The Taliban may hope to use water as leverage to force Iran, one of the most water-stressed countries, to recognize them as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, but Iran has said Afghanistan must first install an inclusive government, and if the Taliban wants to shake off its dependence on Pakistan for access to ocean trade routes it cant afford to antagonize Tehran. The Taliban may not get immediate recognition, but it may learn the benefit of respecting the commitments of previous governments in Kabul instead of a Year Zero approach, and can show the international community it is a mature actor that can contribute to the most the regions most pressing problem.

The international community should temper its expectation for policy reversals by the Taliban and focus on the immediate problem which will require a lot of bandwidth that will be misused if the Wests envoys immediately start agitating about Afghan women and girls, forgetting that Iranian women and girls are also victims of the water shortage. The counterparties are in disfavor with Washington and its allies, many of whom will want to see both governments weakened by drought and then ripe for regime change aided and abetted by severe economic sanctions.

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If all the high-flown rhetoric like the UNs declaration that Access to water and sanitation are recognized by the United Nations as human rights means anything, everyone involved needs to stick to the task at hand and not, as it often does, let good enough be hijacked by animosity at the bad men in the presidential palace.

So, its all-hands-on-deck, and the neighbors of Iran and Afghanistan can be counted on to show up to help stabilize the region bookended by the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Washington and Brussels can provide badly needed expertise and resources, but will they decide to help or hinder?

By James Durso for Oiprice.com

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(CNN)  UNESCO has recommended that one of the most popular and fragile tourist destinations in Italy be added to its heritage danger list.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is calling on the Italian government to ensure the utmost dedication to address long-standing problems in Venice, which has been grappling for years with too many tourists and the effects of climate change.

Venice is one of 1,157 places currently designated a World Heritage Site, which have outstanding universal value because of their cultural or natural offerings.

The recommendation to put Venice on the World Heritage in Danger list was made by UNESCO and advisory body experts in its provisional agenda ahead of the 45th session of the agencys World Heritage Committee, which is scheduled to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in September.

The draft resolution argues that there has not been a significant level of progress in addressing the persistent and complex issues related in particular to mass tourism, development projects and climate change.

The draft resolution stated that these issues are causing deterioration and damage to building structures and urban areas, degrading the cultural and social identity of the property and threatening the integrity of its cultural, environmental and landscape attributes and values.

Weather and tourism issues in Venice

Venice has been coping with a veritable seesaw of weather-related problems in recent years.

Back in February of this year, the city was in the grips of a drought so bad that it was impossible for gondolas, water taxis and ambulances to pass through some canals. In November 2019, flooding was so bad that historical treasures and buildings were endangered.

Overtourism in Venice has been an ongoing issue, and UNESCO noted some of the efforts in place to combat that, such as the ban on large ships from entering the San Marco Basin  Giudecca Canal. Still, the report said the effects of the continuing deterioration due to human intervention, including continuing development, the impacts of climate change and mass tourism threaten to cause irreversible changes to the OUV [outstanding universal value] of Venice.

According to a report from CNN affiliate SkyTG24, the Municipality of Venice said it will carefully read the proposed decision published today by the Center for Unescos World Heritage Committee and will exchange views with the government, which is the State Party with which UNESCO interacts.

CNN reached out to Italian Culture Ministry, which said it had not released a statement on the UNESCO recommendation. CNN has also reached out to the Italian Tourism Ministry and the Municipality of Venice, but neither had responded by Monday evening.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "UNESCO recommends putting Venice on its heritage danger list"
A Bellevue health clinic that provides abortions remains in operation following the death of its medical director in April and the signing of new abortion restrictions in May.

Dr. LeRoy Carhart died at 81 in Bellevue after a battle with aggressive liver cancer. He was the medical director of Clinics for Abortion & Reproductive Excellence, which operates clinics in Bellevue and Bethesda, Maryland.

In the wake of Carhart's death, Dr. Tyrone Malloy took over as medical director. However, Malloy primarily operates out of the Maryland clinic as its main doctor.

Carhart's daughter, Janine Weatherby, told the Times that the Bellevue Health Clinic has just one doctor. In August, the clinic will bring on four additional doctors, who will rotate between the two clinics.

A representative of C.A.R.E. declined to name the doctor working at the Bellevue clinic. The clinics' website still lists the late Carhart as its medical director.

C.A.R.E. has been providing abortions up to 10 weeks and six days of gestation for the past few months, and it plans to continue to offer abortions in Nebraska.

Nebraska lawmakers approved a ban on abortions at 12 weeks of pregnancy, which went into effect immediately upon Gov. Jim Pillen's bill signing on May 22. A state judge is considering a request to block its enforcement.

Besides the Bellevue Health Center, Planned Parenthood operates Omaha and Lincoln health centers that provide abortions.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services reported that, in 2022, 1,435 abortions were provided in Sarpy County, representing 57.2% of the overall number in Nebraska last year.

Carhart was targeted by anti-abortion advocates and faced threats and acts of violence throughout his career.

The New York Times, in his obituary, described him as a "fierce defender of abortion rights" and as, "an arch nemesis of abortion opponents."

An arsonist killed his dog, cat and 17 horses in a fire in 1991, the same day Nebraska passed a law requiring parental notification before minors could receive an abortion. He told the Washington Post that he responded by intensifying his commitment, transitioning to full time.

When Dr. George Tiller was murdered in 2009, Carhart began offering late-term abortions in his clinic. He had previously providing them only during visits to Tiller's Kansas clinic.

Carhart went on to become the lead plaintiff in two Supreme Court cases, winning one in 2000 and losing another in 2003. Carhart began commuting weekly to Maryland in 2010.

In recent years, the Bellevue Health Clinic has gained attention through the viral TikTok account @thedeathscorts. The account documents protesters outside the Bellevue site and the escorts who stand between them and those who go inside to access the clinic's services.

Shelley Mann, one of the escorts and TikTok creator, broadcasts highlights of the encounters among protestors, patients and the escorts to a national audience. The account has attracted 13 million views and 420,000 followers since it was created in October 2020.
Two juveniles were taken to a hospital in critical condition early Monday following a shooting during a large gathering at a North Omaha park.

Police were called to N.P. Dodge Park about 3 a.m. for a report of shooting, an Omaha police spokesman said. Officers located Keegan Reeves, 13, and Shamar Mozee, 14, with gunshot wounds. The teens were taken by ambulance to the Nebraska Medical Center with injuries that are critical but not thought to be life threatening.

A third person, Kevin Jackson, 20, of Omaha, was taken by private vehicle to the Creighton University Medical Center-University Campus at 24th and Cuming Streets. His injuries are not thought to be life threatening.

N.P. Dodge Park is located at 11001 John J. Pershing Dr. along the Missouri River. The park, open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., includes recreational facilities and camping.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact the OPD Homicide Unit at 402-444-5656 or anonymously contact Omaha Crime Stoppers at 402-444-STOP, at www.omahacrimestoppers.org or on the P3 Tips mobile app.

Tipsters are eligible for a $10,000 cash reward for information leading to a shooting arrest.
Taylor Street holds a special place in Dominique Morgans heart.

The street is home to her childhood house, where she learned to ride a bike and began to question the world around her. It is the place where, at the age of 12, she first found herself involved in the criminal justice system.

On Monday, the street that holds so much of Morgans personal history became a tribute to her life and advocacy, as a sign was unveiled renaming the block of Taylor Street between 25th Avenue and 25th Street to Dominique Morgan Street.

I love this city, Morgan said through tears before the new sign was unveiled. This street is where I learned how to ride a bike. This street is where my parents did their best trying to take care of four kids; where my daddy walked to work at M.U.D., where my mom cleaned houses.

About 50 people gathered on Monday afternoon to celebrate the street renaming, which the Omaha City Council voted unanimously to approve last week. Morgan, an activist focused on the rights of incarcerated and LGBTQ+ individuals, is believed to be the first Black transgender woman to have a street named after her in Nebraska.

Morgan, 41, no longer lives in Omaha  she moved to Atlanta, Georgia, late last year. But her dedication to advocacy began on the very street that now bears her name.

After spending about a decade within Nebraskas prison system, Morgan was determined to find a way to positively contribute to her community upon her release in 2009. She worked her way into leadership positions at community organizations like Heartland Pride, Charles Drew Health Center and the Nebraska Democratic Party.

In 2018, Morgan was chosen to serve as the national director of Black and Pink, a prison abolitionist organization and one of the countrys largest advocacy groups for currently and formerly incarcerated LGBTQ+ people. She held that role for about five years, bringing a higher profile and much larger budget to the once-small nonprofit.

In recent years, Morgan has garnered national attention for her work. Shes won awards and appeared in ad campaigns for brands like Spotify and Apple. But friends and family who attended Morgans celebration Monday said that the prestige never mattered to Morgan  it was always about lifting up others.

Dominique always says that no one is the worst thing that theyve ever done, said Tena Hahn Rodriguez, who has known Morgan since high school. I think thats what this street represents: At any point in time you can change your life and you can become the person that others need. Thats what shes done  shes dedicated her life to uplifting and helping others. And very rarely do the people doing that genuine work get the credit.

Photos: 2023 Heartland Pride Parade 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-08.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-03.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-01.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-02.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-04.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-05.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-06.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-07.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-09.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-10.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-11.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-15.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-12.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-13.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-14.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-16.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-17.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-18.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-19.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-20.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-21.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-22.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-23.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-24.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-25.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-26.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-27.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-28.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-29.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-30.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-31.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-32.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-33.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-34.JPG 071623-owh-new-heartlandpride-35.JPG
Cooler weather and numerous chances for rain are in the forecast this week in Omaha and eastern Nebraska.

Its going to be just a good summer week, Dave Pearson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Valley, said Sunday. The big story is that the high heat kind of stays away. We are expecting daytime highs generally in the 80s.

Highs in the low 80s are forecast all week with the exception of Wednesday, when temperatures could rise into the upper 80s or even 90. Pearson predicted the weekend could even see a day when the high temperature doesnt get out of the 70s.

There will be a cooling air mass coming in one day next weekend, he said. That could be Saturday or Sunday.

A very active weather pattern means almost nightly thunderstorm chances this week, Pearson said. The storms will be hit or miss, he said, with the most likely chances coming after midnight and before noon.

The best chances for rain will be developing overnight, Pearson said. We are bound to see some moisture with all these little weather patterns moving through our area.

The spotty showers could produce heavy downpours at times.

Where it rains, its going rain fairly quickly, Pearson said. There are going to be times when it rains that it rains very hard in some places.

The chance of severe weather is unlikely but should still be a concern. The National Weather Service forecast does not anticipate particularly strong storms, but residents should expect some lightning. occasional heavy downpours and perhaps some small hail.

Given the time of year, we can never rule out the potential for severe weather, Pearson said. We are still in the middle of summer.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of July 2023
BOISE, Idaho  Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell was sentenced to life in prison without parole Monday in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a case that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.

Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua JJ Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husbands previous wife. Vallow Daybell will serve three life sentences one after the other, the judge said.

The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell also faces two other cases in Arizona  one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her niece's ex-husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her niece's ex survived an attempt later that year.

At the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho, Judge Steven W. Boyce said the search for the missing children, the discovery of their bodies and the evidence photos shown in court left law enforcement and jurors traumatized, and he would never be able to get images of the slain children out of his head.

A parent killing their own children is the most shocking thing really that I can imagine, Boyce said.

Vallow Daybell justified the murders by going down a bizarre religious rabbit hole, and clearly you are still down there, the judge said.

I dont think to this day you have any remorse for the effort and heartache you caused, he said.

Boyce heard testimony from several representatives of the victims, including Vallow Daybell's only surviving son, Colby Ryan.

Tylee will never have the opportunity to become a mother, wife or have the career she was destined to have. JJ will never be able to grow and spread his light with the world the way he did, Ryan wrote in a statement read by prosecuting attorney Rob Wood. My siblings and father deserve so much more than this. I want them to be remembered for who they were, not just a spectacle.

Ryan also wrote about his own grief.

Ive lost the opportunity to share life with the people I love the most. I have lost my sister, father, brother and my mother," he wrote. I pray for healing for everyone involved, including those who took the lives of everyone we loved.

The murder scheme and Tammy Daybells death left a deep rift in her family, Tammys sister Samantha Gwilliam told the court.

Why? Why plan something so heinous? You are not exalted beings, and your behavior makes you ineligible to be one, Gwilliam said, referring to the unusual religious claims. Because of the choices you made, my family lost a beloved mother, sister and daughter.

Tammy Daybells mother was fighting cancer, and spent the last months of her life watching the murder trial, Gwilliam said. The family has also been hounded by media and others drawn by all of the salacious scandal you stirred up, Gwilliam told Vallow Daybell, who looked down as she sat between her defense attorneys.

I miss my sister every day. I will grieve her, and the loss of my mother, every single day of my life, Gwilliam said. As for you, I choose to forget you and as I leave the courtroom here today, I choose to never think of you again.

Boyce also heard from Vallow Daybell before handing down the sentence. She quoted Bible verses about how people should not judge each other. She said she, too, mourned the deaths of her children and Tammy Daybell but knew they would be together in the afterlife.

She claimed she is regularly visited by the spirits of her dead children, as well as the spirit of her eternal friend, Tammy Daybell, and suggested that the three werent murdered at all.

Jesus Christ knows that no one was murdered in this case, she said. Accidental deaths happen. Suicides happen. Fatal side effects from medication happen.

Wood pointed to the two Arizona cases as well as the three murders in six weeks in Idaho.

A defendant who is willing to murder her own children is willing to murder anyone," Wood said. "Society can only be protected from this defendant by a sentence of life in prison without parole.

In July 2019, Vallow Daybells brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in a suburban Phoenix home. Cox told police he acted in self-defense. He was never charged and later died of what authorities determined were natural causes.

Vallow Daybell was already in a relationship with Chad Daybell, a self-published writer of doomsday-focused fiction loosely based on Mormon teachings. She moved to Idaho with her kids and brother to be closer to him.

The children were last seen alive in September 2019. Police discovered they were missing a month later after an extended family member became worried. Their bodies were found buried in Chad Daybell's yard the following summer.

During the trial, experts said Tylee appeared to have been stabbed and her body burned before it was buried in a pet cemetery, Wood said.

JJs head was wrapped in tape and plastic, asphyxiating him, Wood said, speculating that his last thoughts must have been filled with fear and betrayal.
A grand jury that convened in December to investigate the February 2022 shooting death of an Alvo man at the hands of a Cass County sheriffs deputy ultimately voted not to indict the deputy, clearing him of criminal wrongdoing in Andrew Strattons death.

The grand jury  which spent much of two days in a Plattsmouth courtroom reviewing bodycam footage and hearing witness testimony in Strattons Feb. 13, 2022, killing  voted 14-2 not to indict Deputy Elliot Schmit, who shot Stratton seven times with his personally owned semi-automatic rifle, according to the grand jury transcript filed last month.

Though they ultimately absolved Schmit of criminal misconduct, jurors were skeptical of the decisions deputies made in the lead-up to Strattons shooting, according to a Journal Star review of the 515-page transcript of the grand jurys investigation.

Jurors also raised their eyebrows at the deputys claim that Stratton was preparing to shoot a bow and arrow at him when Schmit shot the 34-year-old in the darkened basement of Strattons fathers home that night, according to the transcript.

The jury questioned why deputies didnt call a mental health professional to help subdue Stratton, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and had previously barricaded himself from law enforcement, prompting an armed standoff with the Nebraska State Patrol that Schmit acknowledged came to a more peaceful resolution than the 2022 incident.

Jurors spent more than an hour watching and rewatching clips of bodycam footage from Schmit and other law enforcement agents on scene in an effort to determine whether Stratton had actually pointed at Schmit the compact bow found near his body.

And the jury, at times, seemed dubious of Schmit himself.

The deputy had been back on patrol for the Cass County Sheriffs Office for less than a month at the time of Strattons shooting after a yearlong deployment to the Middle East, where he had been sent to help set up law enforcement operations in Jordan, according to his own grand jury testimony.

Before his February 2021 deployment there, Schmit had been with the Sheriffs Office for approximately seven months. He started in Cass County in July 2020  four months after he was fired from the State Patrol for a pursuit policy violation less than a year removed from his graduation from the patrols academy.

Still, it was Schmits own testimony, which he gave voluntarily, that seemed to help convince jurors not to indict him  and then recommend several policy and procedure changes to the Sheriffs Office in an effort to prevent another such shooting, according to the transcript.

I never shot anybody before. That was one of the most traumatic things Ive ever done, Schmit told the jury, after indicating that equipment like a ballistic shield, pepper ball launchers or other less-lethal projectiles might have led to a different outcome if such equipment would have been available.

If I couldve done it any other way, I wouldve, he said. I had no intent of doing it this way. If  if (Stratton) wouldve come and talked to us, he would still be alive. He ultimately chose it. It was a very unfortunate thing. I wish it had never happened.

What led up to the shooting

Two Cass County deputies, Schmit and Sgt. Karl Boehm, responded to Strattons grandmas house in Greenwood at around 9:30 p.m. that night after the 34-year-olds dad, Gregg Stratton, called them there, according to the transcript.

Gregg Stratton told Schmit and Boehm that his son had struck him in the head during an altercation earlier that evening at 23418 Alvo Road, where the two men lived.

The elder Stratton warned the deputies of his sons diagnosis, that he hadnt been taking his medication and that he might have access to a bow and arrow.

Andrew needed some kind of help was, basically, his position on the events of that night, whether that was going to jail first and then getting the help or just getting (placed in emergency protective custody), Schmit told jurors.

At 10:15 p.m., the deputies left the house in Greenwood and drove toward Alvo, arriving at the house on Alvo Road at 10:27 p.m.

Upon their arrival at the Strattons house in Alvo, Schmit and Boehm knocked on the front and back doors without a response before Schmit asked Boehm, his supervisor, if they should call a captain to the scene.

Instead, the deputies asked a third colleague, Deputy Mike McKnelly, to pick up Gregg Stratton from his moms house in Greenwood and drive him to his Alvo property before they entered the home, where they planned to arrest Andrew Stratton on suspicion of misdemeanor third-degree assault.

Back at his house, Gregg Stratton again warned the deputies that his son might have access to the compound bow, according to the transcript.

So the three sheriffs deputies devised a plan to enter and clear the home, according to their grand jury testimony.

Schmit, a 10-year military veteran with hand-to-hand combat experience, would lead the way into the house, armed with his own Colt M4. Boehm would be armed with a Taser. And McKnelly, the third man to enter the house, would carry his service pistol.

After entering the home in a T formation, the three deputies cleared the main floor of the house without finding anyone, and as they prepared to descend into the basement, Schmit announced their presence again.

Andrew Stratton called back from downstairs and the two began to negotiate the Alvo mans potential surrender.

He seemed very, kind of, all over the place, Schmit told the jury. He was talking about everything from how he was the one that killed Osama bin Laden to he was downstairs strapped to a bomb.

Schmit implored Andrew Stratton to come upstairs and talk things out, to resolve the standoff peacefully, he said.

Honestly, I thought I was making some headway, he testified. And then he just went silent and just stopped talking.

When Andrew Stratton went quiet, the deputies initially planned to stay upstairs until reinforcements arrived. At least one trooper with the State Patrol was already on his way, according to the transcript.

But, Schmit said, deputies soon heard a noise that sounded as if Andrew Stratton had fallen over. Fearing he was injured, Schmit and Boehm began a slow walk into the basement, sending McKnelly outside in case Stratton tried to flee from the house through a downstairs door.

The deputies decision to enter the basement was among the most frequent sources of criticism from grand jurors.

The shooting and the aftermath

The decision to enter the basement already made, Schmit and Boehm inched downstairs into a darkened room and found themselves in what Schmit told jurors was what is known  as a fatal funnel.

The deputies, holding flashlights, couldnt see Stratton, who was about 10 yards to the north of the staircases landing and had line of sight to the bookcase that deputies were using for cover.

As Schmit and Boehm concealed themselves behind the bookcase, Schmit said, he heard a metallic click coming from Strattons direction  one he believed to be the sounds of a safety on a weapon of some kind or any number of potential threats, he testified.

So Schmit peered around the corner and caught a glimpse of Stratton, who Schmit said was holding a bow in his left hand and had started to draw back an arrow to fire it toward the deputies.

He clearly had attempted to draw the string back and it had failed and his arm was  his right arm was now up by his head, Schmit said.

Schmit ordered Stratton to drop his weapon, he testified.

Instead, he said, Stratton started to draw an arrow back again.

Then you shoot at him, Cass County Attorney Chris Perrone said during Schmits testimony. Why?

Because I know that that arrow, if he gets to shoot it, will go through my armor that Im currently wearing, Schmit recalled. The soft armor does not stop arrows, which means whatever he does is going to severely injure me or kill me.

A week after the shooting, Boehm told State Patrol investigators he thought Schmit fired four rounds. But investigators later determined the deputy fired nine times, striking Stratton seven times, including in the back and left arm, according to his death certificate.

Schmit and Boehm stepped toward Stratton before Schmit turned back and ran to his cruiser to retrieve a medical kit to help provide first aid to the man he had just shot.

Stratton died at the scene.

Erin Linde, the pathologist who conducted the Alvo mans autopsy, testified that the shooting caused extensive injury of all of (Strattons) organs that likely killed him in seconds.

Footage from Schmits bodycam was hindered by the lack of light in the basement and the angle the deputy had when he shot Stratton, leaving one of the grand jurys most consistent subjects of questioning  whether Stratton had pointed the bow and arrow toward Schmit before the shooting  without a definitive answer.

Still, the State Patrols Special Investigative Team concluded Stratton, who was wearing an arrow grip on his right hand, was pointing the crossbow toward deputies at the time of his shooting, Investigator Pedram Nabegh told jurors.

Nabegh said the team came to that conclusion by analyzing the bodycam video, Strattons autopsy bullet trajectories and the bow itself, which had a bullet defect on the front of the bow, which told me that it was, most likely, in a raised position when he was shot.

State Patrol Investigator Amanda DeFreece, who led the State Patrols investigation into the shooting, said the team concluded Schmits use of force in the incident was justified, pointing to the deadly force Stratton seemed prepared to use against deputies.

Skeptical grand jurors pressed DeFreece on the need for deputies to enter the basement at all.

So do you think that making the decision to go downstairs immediately was the correct one or do think that there should have been some type of further de-escalation done to prevent loss of life? juror No. 5 asked.

Id say thats a great question for Deputy Schmit, DeFreece said, later adding: There was, I guess, no concern that we had at the appropriateness of them going ahead and going down and trying to contact him.

Schmit told jurors that deputies had entered the house with the intent to arrest Stratton, accused of a misdemeanor crime.

Schmit, who was reassigned to work at the county jail for nine months while the State Patrol investigated the shooting, returned to road patrol in December after the grand jury cleared him of criminal wrongdoing, the county attorney said.
LINCOLN  More than 60 Nebraska Army National Guard soldiers are headed to Texas this week to help that state secure its border with Mexico.

Gov. Jim Pillen announced the deployment Monday. The troops represent the second group of Nebraskans sent to support Operation Lone Star, an initiative launched by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to ramp up enforcement of the countrys southern border.

The Nebraska group will leave Wednesday and return in early September. Maj. Scott Ingalsbe, state public affairs officer for the Guard, said the deployment involves troops from multiple units. He said all received orders to go but were able to opt out if the mission would create a hardship for them.

He said the Nebraska soldiers will assist the Texas National Guard by observing and reporting border crossings. He said the Nebraska group will not be deputized to apprehend border crossers or assist with other law enforcement activities.

Pillen, who joined other Republican governors at a May security briefing hosted by Abbott, called the mission critical to the security of Nebraska as well as other states.

We need to maintain the safety of our citizenry and stem the ongoing influx of illegal drugs, weapons and criminals into our borders, he said. President (Joe) Bidens border policies have been ineffective, requiring that states join together to help manage this issue. Failure to do so only opens the door to threats that we cant fully recognize yet.

Abbott began Operation Lone Star in March 2021, arguing that the federal government was not doing enough to secure the border. The Texas Legislature authorized nearly $2 billion for the effort, which involves the State Department of Public Safety and the Texas Guard.

The effort has been mired in controversy since its start. Most recently, a DPS trooper alleged that Texas authorities were denying water to migrants in extreme heat and pushing migrant children back into the Rio Grande.

In addition, Texas National Guard troops have strung up razor wire to block river crossings and Texas has installed a floating barrier in the middle of the river. The latter prompted a diplomatic complaint from Mexico.

Ingalsbe said the Nebraska soldiers are being deployed in response to a request by Texas emergency management officials issued through the national Emergency Management Assistance Compact.

Under that compact, member states can provide resources and assistance to requesting states and be reimbursed with federal funds for eligible expenses. Federal funds will be directed through the Nebraska National Guard for this deployment.

Nebraska paid the cost of sending 10 State Patrol troopers to Texas earlier this summer. The troopers, who volunteered, spent two weeks assisting with drone surveillance. State officials said the costs could be covered within the existing patrol budget.

Ingalsbe said Nebraska National Guard members have deployed to the border several times since 2008. The largest operation was in 2021 and 2022, when nearly 200 soldiers spent a year at the southwest border at the direction of the federal government. They assisted U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The Nebraska National Guard is always ready to respond when our fellow Americans are in need of assistance, whether the emergency is here within our state, within our nations borders or overseas, said Brig. Gen. Craig W. Strong, adjutant general of the Nebraska National Guard.

I am confident that our men and women will make a positive impact serving in support of Operation Lone Star, he said.

Nebraska also deployed State Patrol troopers previously. Former Gov. Pete Ricketts sent a total of 32 troopers to Texas in summer 2021. The troopers helped other agencies with traffic stops and commercial vehicle inspections, which led to several arrests on suspicion of possession of narcotics and weapons, human smuggling and other crimes.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of July 2023
SAVOY  As Sen. Dick Durbin reached the podium, located outside on a patch of grass just south of Curtis Road, a southbound Amtrak train whisked by on the nearby railroad tracks that run parallel to U.S. 45.

"I want to thank my staff for timing this just perfectly," Durbin joked.

The cameo appearance of the country's national passenger rail service was fitting as Durbin, along with U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, state and local officials, welcomed U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to Central and Southern Illinois on Monday to highlight federal infrastructure investments.

Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana and a onetime presidential candidate before he was tapped for President Joe Biden's cabinet, made two stops in the Champaign area before he was set to attend an event in East St. Louis later in the evening.

In Savoy, Buttigieg highlighted a recent $22.6 million federal grant for a grade separation project on Curtis Road just east of U.S. 45. The long-awaited project will raise the tracks 15 feet and lower the road five feet to create a new underpass at what's currently a major bottleneck.

"Everywhere I go, especially in smaller and midsize communities, but even in our biggest cities, there are these railroad crossings," Buttigieg said. "Everybody knows about them, they're a community headache, they're a quality of life issue and they're a safety concern."

"And when we can act to improve the signaling or the safety around a crossing, or even better, as in this case, to eliminate it entirely, we know that's going to be a win for the community," he said.

The Savoy project was one of 162 across the country to receive a combined $2.2 billion through RAISE, a competitive grant program funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by Biden in 2021.

The law also funded the Railroad Crossing Elimination Program, a $570 million initiative that will address more than 400 at-grade crossings in an initial round of funding that was announce announced in early June.

Receiving $16 million from that batch of federal dollars was the Brush College grade separation project in Decatur, an $83 million initiative that will create an overpass to carry traffic over Faries Parkway and the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks in the city's industrial corridor.

The tracks are notorious for traffic jams caused by trains working in and around the Archer Daniels Midland Co. plant and the Midwest Inland Port.

Federal funds from other U.S. Department of Transportation programs have aided in Springfield's ambitious rail project, which aims to alleviate rail congestion in the city's downtown area by consolidating train traffic from Third Street to 10th Street and through building a series of overpasses and underpasses along the corridor.

Through these funds, Buttigieg said the country was on the cusp of an "infrastructure decade," a nod to the running joke that "infrastructure week" became during former President Donald Trump's administration.

Illinois has experienced an infrastructure boom of sorts in recent years. In 2019, lawmakers approved Rebuild Illinois, the largest capital construction program in state history.

The most recent version of the program, which is updated annually, would invest nearly $41 billion into the state's transportation infrastructure over the next six years. State funding for the program largely comes from the motor fuel tax. But Illinois has also been able to leverage more federal dollars.

In a brief interview with Lee Enterprises, Buttigieg said "there is no question that Illinois benefits from being a state whose leadership has put their money where their mouth is in terms of the importance of infrastructure."

"Not only does that mean a lot of projects are being done with state dollars, but it means there's more likely to be a state match to help win federal dollars. And that local alignment is important too," Buttigieg said.

Buttigieg was also asked by reporters about a recent Washington Post report that revealed Illinois to be one of 38 states that shifted a combined $755 million from two programs focused on tackling carbon emissions and protecting roads from climate change into general purpose highway construction accounts. Illinois, according to the report, shifted more than $39 million.

Buttigieg noted that "the law as written provides a lot of flexibility for states, even in programs that have a specific intent." He suggested that the funding could be balanced out in later years "as a project or set of projects that's more aligned with the intent of the program becomes shovel ready."

"So I don't want to prejudge based on what any one state is doing," Buttigieg said. "But what I will say is we urge all of the states to do everything they can to meet the desired goal of these programs."

Buttigieg also addressed the February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which exposed gaps in federal safety regulations. The train carrying hazardous chemicals passed through Central Illinois just one day before it went off the rails, forcing thousands to evacuate.

"Well, they've taken some steps and I think there's more work to do," Buttigieg said of Norfolk Southern. "Look, there needs to be a deep overhaul in terms of safety culture across this country. And part of that is the responsibility of the administration to make sure investments are happening, like this one, to make every part of our railroad network safer."

After the event, Buttigieg greeted some of those gathered and did a handful of quick media interviews before heading to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for a "fireside" chat with engineering students and faculty.

Buttigieg, Budzinski and Durbin were then set to travel to East St. Louis to tour a rail management facility operated by MetroLink, the mass transit system serving Greater St. Louis.

Buttigieg last visited Central Illinois in February 2022, when he toured Heartland Community College's advanced training academy in Bloomington. The facility is designed to train students in the manufacture, diagnosis, service and repair of electric vehicles.

Photos: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visits Bloomington-Normal 021322-blm-loc-4Buttigieg 021322-blm-loc-1Buttigieg 021322-blm-loc-2Buttigieg 021322-blm-loc-3Buttigieg 021322-blm-loc-5Buttigieg 021322-blm-loc-6Buttigieg 021322-blm-loc-7Buttigieg 021322-blm-loc-8Buttigieg 021322-blm-loc-9Buttigieg 021322-blm-loc-10Buttigieg
DID YOU KNOW?

The Department of Veteran Affairs announced July 25 that it will conduct a scientific review to determine whether there is a relationship between three conditions  acute leukemias, chronic leukemias, and multiple myeloma outside of the head and neck  and toxic exposures for service members who deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Uzbekistan, and the entire Southwest Asia theater of operations. Cancers of the head and neck are already considered presumptive under the PACT Act, so the research will focus solely on the three cancers listed. If this new research concludes that these three conditions are service-connected, the three conditions could be declared to be presumptive, and could mean that veterans would not have to prove exposure, but the mere fact that they were in an area where exposure could occur would satisfactorily prove the service-connected nature of the condition. Veterans who have these conditions and meet the exposure criteria should file a claim or submit their intent to file a claim. Veterans who do so on or before Aug. 9, 2023, may have their benefits, if granted, backdated to Aug. 10, 2022. For further information about the PACT Act and a full list of presumptive conditions covered under the law, visit VA.gov/PACT.

DID YOU KNOW?

Hun Sen has been Cambodias autocratic prime minister for nearly four decades, during which the opposition party has been stifled and the country has grown increasingly close to China. Hun Sen is most likely to be reelected for another term, but the 70-year-old former communist Khmer Rouge fighter says he is ready to hand the premiership to his oldest son, Hun Manet. Hun Manet is a graduate of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point and currently heads the countrys army. Besides being a West Point graduate, Hun Manet received his masters degree at New York University and his doctorate in economics at Britains Bristol University. No one seems to be sure when Hun Manet becomes premier, whether he will continue the close relationship with China or improve ties with the U.S.

DID YOU KNOW?

The VA has added another weapon to help veterans manage their pain. The Neurolumen device combines low-level lasers, LEDFs and electrical stimulation (similar to a TENS unit) in an easy-to-apply flexible wrap that is connected to the device box. It can be used at VA health care locations and is portable enough that the VA, when appropriate, can easily train the veteran on how to use the device at home. The restorative power of the laser and LED therapy may reduce inflammation, but also increase circulation to offer an effective alternative for pain relief. The device has options for multiple wraps which enable the user to treat pain at multiple body locations simultaneously. This device is approved through the Central Office of the VA, and the GSA Contract is #V797D-40311 for reference if you contact your VA provider to find out if you would be a good candidate for the device. The VA continues its pursuit of effective treatment for pain without the overuse of drugs.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

America has always prided itself on independence and self-reliance. Today's quote embodies those traits!

The proverb warns that, You should not bite the hand that feeds you. But maybe you should if it prevents you from feeding yourself.  Thomas Szasz
Veolia renewed its contract with AngloGold Ashanti Ghana Limited, part of the South African headquartered gold mining company, AngloGold Ashanti, the worlds fourth largest gold producer. Veolia Ghana Limited(*) will be responsible for operating and maintaining all the water treatment plants for the Obuasi open-cut and underground mines in Ghana.



These additional two years confirm Veolias operational know-how in the preservation, depollution and renewal of water resources for the mining industry.



No less than six facilities are required to guarantee the treated water and discharge quality for AngloGold Ashantis Obuasi mine: 4 wastewater treatment plants and 2 drinking water treatment plants.



Water is essential to the mining industry. It is used in various activities associated with the exploration, extraction and transformation processes, whether to process ore, remove dust, transport sludge, or supply the employees needs. In a tropical climate subject to highly seasonal heavy rainfall, it is the Ghanaian gold mines responsibility to manage its wastewater and its process residue in order to comply with the local Environmental Protection Agencys requirements in terms of discharges into the ecosystem.



During the first four years contract, Veolia was awarded Best Contractor Company in Quarter 3 2022, having worked more than 1 million hours without a single accident-related stoppage. Veolia also managed to comply with the environmental requirements in force by producing nearly 33.5 million cubic meters of water, including about 7 million cubic meters of drinking water for the needs of the site and surrounding communities.



Owned as to 70% by Veolia Africa and as to 30% by West African Surface Solutions Ghana Limited



Our Group works side by side with industrial companies to respond to the major challenges they face, both in Africa and around the world. Veolia will continue to make its know-how available to AngloGold Ashanti and to the mining industry to manage water as a finite and endangered resource, says Philippe Bourdeaux, Veolias Executive Vice President, Africa and Middle East.



About VEOLIA

Veolia Group aims to become the benchmark company for ecological transformation. Present on five continents with nearly 220,000 employees, the Group designs and deploys useful, practical solutions for the management of water, waste and energy that are contributing to a radical turnaround of the current situation. Through its three complementary activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, to preserve available resources and to renew them. In 2022, the Veolia group provided 111 million inhabitants with drinking water and 97 million with sanitation, produced 44 terawatt hours of energy and recovered 61 million tonnes of waste. Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE) achieved consolidated revenue of 42 885 million euros in 2022. www.veolia.com



Contacts

Veolia Group Press Relations

Laurent Obadia - Evgeniya Mazalova Claire Billon-Galland

Tel.+ 33 (0) 1 85 57 86 25 [email protected]

Analysts & Investors

Ronald Wasylec - Ariane de Lamaze Tel. + 33 (0)1 8557 8476 / 8480 [email protected]





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.

Featured Video
N-Drip Ltd., the fast-growing, Israel-based AgTech company with a revolutionary irrigation technology has closed on a US$44 million C round, which may be extended due to investor demand.



Investors include the Liechtenstein Group, Hamilton Lane, and Natural Ventures as well as investors from previous rounds, Granot Group, Bridges Israel, Kibbutz Ein Harod Ihud, and a group of US-based investors. Co-founders and investors are Prof. Uri Shani, Dr. Ariel Halperin and Ran Ben-Or.



The company holds a variety of patents around the world that allow farmers to irrigate their previously flood-irrigated fields using only gravity and no external energy to either filter the water or to propel it across the field.



The low-cost, easy-to-install and easy-to-maintain system was invented by Professor Uri Shani, Israels former Water Commissioner, who is also the companys Chairman and Chief Technology Officer. N-Drip, led by CEO Eran Pollak, with nearly 100 employees, currently does business in 17 countries, with a special emphasis on the US, India, and Australia.



As part of the on-field solution, N-Drip also developed N-Drip Connect, a sensor-based decision-support solution that is unique in its accuracy, allowing farmers and any other interested parties to continuously monitor a given field. The sensor provides real-time recommendations as to irrigation and fertilizer application, offering yet additional means for maximizing water and nutrient usage.



The system can also predict with extraordinary accuracy the size of a harvest as much as six weeks in advance of the scheduled harvest. Although the sensor is ordinarily sold with the N-Drip irrigation equipment, the sensor works equally well with any form of irrigation.



Globally, 85percent of all irrigated fields  in all, more than 600 million acres  are flood irrigated. This includes hot and very dry places such as Arizona, with summer temperatures exceeding 120 degrees Fahrenheit, but in which the vast majority of all agriculture utilizes the flood irrigation method.



Flood irrigation is characterized by a highly inefficient water use, massive soil depletion, and, in certain crops, the substantial emission of methane, one of the most harmful greenhouse gases. With water resources becoming strained, the N-Drip technology is a gamechanger for farmers, governments, water utilities, and industry, among others.



Farmers who switch from flood irrigation to N-Drip routinely achieve water savings of 50percent, yield increases of up to 33percent, fertilizer reduction of 50percent, and a drop in greenhouse gases like carbon and methane from 50percent to 85percent.



Liechtenstein Group is a worldwide investor in smart, sustainable agriculture, among other core investment areas. The Liechtenstein Group is a strategic holding company owned by the Foundation Prince Liechtenstein. Among many other assets, it is the owner of RiceTec, one of the worlds largest producers of hybrid rice seeds.



We are looking forward to assisting N-Drip with the global adoption of its irrigation technology, especially in rice. N-Drips technology fits very well with RiceTec and its technology around direct-seeded herbicide tolerant rice. We believe that the combination of these two technologies has the power to transform the way rice is grown and substantially eliminate the negative carbon footprint of rice farming, said Johannes Meran, Liechtenstein Groups CEO and Managing Partner. RiceTec is already developing projects with N-Drip on our own rice fields.



As part of the current funding round, N-Drip and RiceTec have entered into a strategic cooperation agreement for the marketing of N-Drips technologies in rice fields in the US, India, and elsewhere.



N-Drip has enjoyed remarkable growth, with 7x growth in 2022, and more than 3x percent growth projected for this year, said N-Drip CEO Eran Pollak. The current funding round will support the companys rapid growth at the same time as a global water crisis has farmers and policymakers looking for solutions that will allow them to continue to grow food and fiber, although with less water.



Farmers with farms of all sizes and in all geographies will be able to make use of our transformative technologies to help assure stability and continued farm income while also joining the worldwide effort to meaningfully reduce agricultural greenhouse gases. Deutsche Bank acted as sole placement agent to N-Drip on this transaction.



N-Drip



N-Drip is a privately owned company. So far, including the current round, the company has raised approximately US$80 million from strategic and financial investors in the US, Europe and Israel. Among these investors are the company's founders, Granot Corporation, which led the previous round, Bridges Israel Impact Fund, Metzer, Kibbutz Ein Harod Ihud, RDC, a group of American private investors and others.



The company is currently active in 17 countries, with the center of management, development, and production in Israel (the company's factory in Migdal HaEmek), and its business activity mainly in the USA, Australia, and India. Currently N-Drip employs nearly 100 employees in sales, research and development, production, engineering, and more.



N-Drip's founders are Prof. Uri Shani, who serves as Chief Technology Officer and Chairman, Dr. Ariel Halperin and Ran Ben-Or. The CEO is Eran Pollak, former deputy director of Budgets at the Israel Ministry of Finance. Other management members are Tami Shor, who serves as COO and Einav Tabac, the company's CFO. For more information, visit www.ndrip.com.



Liechtenstein Group



Liechtenstein Group is an international group of companies and an investment platform owned by the Foundation Prince Liechtenstein, and is based in Vienna, Austria, operating in the areas of food & agriculture, forestry, renewable energies, and real estate.



The Group pursues a long-term investment strategy with an international orientation, focused on its four core sectors. Liechtenstein Group also invested in another Israeli company - Agritask, an Agronomic Intelligence & Analytics platform that enables Food & Beverage enterprises to gain control over their agricultural supply by building collaborations across their value chains. Further information may be found at www.lgroup.com.



Natural Ventures



Natural Ventures is an impact-driven fund that is at the center of addressing the interrelated challenges arising from climate change, world population growth, and the transformation of the worlds water systems. Natural Ventures invests across the Water  Energy Food nexus globally, while accelerating the adoption of innovative technologies into the Middle East and Asia. More information can be found athttps://natural.ventures.

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.

Featured Video
The Ghana Private Health Insurance Association has celebrated Private Health Insurance Week to advance the cause of accessible healthcare for every Ghanaian.



The week-long event, which took place from July 24 to July 28, 2023, aimed to propagate the importance of private health insurance in complementing public healthcare services and making comprehensive medical coverage accessible to all citizens.



According to the chairman of the planning committee, and CEO of Equity Insurance, Mr Elton Afari, the initiative aimed to address healthcare disparities and offer essential healthcare services to those who often lack access to formal medical facilities.



Speaking to the media, he said, the celebration is to propagate that private health insurance is also as same as national health insurance, we complement each other to achieve the universal health coverage we are pushing that every Ghanaian will have access to health care, there is this perception that private health insurance is very expensive but looking at all of our 15 companies we have a different array of products depending on whatever your preferences and choices are.



He added that Government has been good to us through the NHIA, but we think there is more to be done to get the national health insurance scheme working and as we complement each other we believe that the government can also continue to support us in propagating this message out there to the public so that they will understand that our operations are to complement and also help each individual for us as a country to achieve the universal health coverage that as a country we seek to achieve 



Addressing stakeholders at the private health insurance week conference on the theme of building sustainable private health insurance as a viable channel for universal health coverage, the Chief Executive Officer of NHIA, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, revealed that the government is working with stakeholders to address the high cost of medicines which has been identified as one of the major factors crippling effective health care delivery in the country it follows calls by the pharmaceutical society of Ghana.



He said, The rising health care cost is a key challenge to health care finance initiatives as the government is working closely with stakeholders to address the cost of medicines through tax rebates and other incentives to boost local production



The initiative, organized by a collaboration of private health insurance providers, healthcare professionals, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations, sought to raise awareness about the role private health insurance plays in bridging gaps in healthcare access and promoting overall well-being in Ghana.



The event throughout the week, had a series of activities to create awareness and education through media outreach, free health screenings, conferences, and panel discussions to educate Ghanaians about the various health insurance options available and how they can choose the right plan to suit their individual needs and financial capacities. It climaxed with an award and Dinner to recognize and honour outstanding individuals, organizations, and initiatives that have exemplified excellence in the field of private health insurance.



Experts in the healthcare industry emphasized that having private health insurance provides an added layer of protection and peace of mind, ensuring that individuals and families can seek timely medical attention without facing the burden of excessive medical expenses.



A comprehensive media campaign accompanied the on-ground efforts, reaching a wide audience through radio, television, and digital platforms. The campaign aimed to dispel myths about private health insurance and encourage Ghanaians to consider it as a viable option to ensure their well-being.



Furthermore, the event featured collaborations with charitable organizations, facilitating initiatives to support the medical needs of vulnerable populations. By working together, participants sought to create a more inclusive healthcare system that leaves no one behind.



The success of Private Health Insurance Week reflects the determination and collective spirit of the Ghanaian people and their commitment to ensuring that quality healthcare becomes a reality for every citizen. The event's organizers hope that the momentum gained during this week will lead to lasting changes in the nation's healthcare landscape and pave the way for a healthier and more equitable future.

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.

Featured Video
Nana Akomea, a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has expressed concern about the use of an alias on a Jubilee House letter.



The letter is in relation to a diplomatic passport request for Kwabena Adu Gyamfi (alias Victor Kusi Boateng), a member of the National Cathedral of Ghana Board of Trustees.



He was granted a diplomatic passport through regular processes, court filings available to GhanaWeb showed in a case he filed against North Tongu Member of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.



He, however, lost the case after the Accra High Court said his use of both names was illegal because aside being different, the two identities had separate dates of birth, tax identification numbers and mothers.



Reacting to the fact that Adu Gyamfi was referred to on the official document as, alias Victor Kusi Boateng, Akomea stated on Good Morning Ghana show last Friday:



I am a little surprised that the gentleman that Sammy is talking about (his) aka (also known as) is actually been quoted on official letters, which I believe is a bit unusual.



I have an aka and I would be surprised if somebody wrote me an official letter saying Nana Akomea aka Olooji its just when I went into politics that people call me by my name, he submitted stressing that he had been known by the Olooji alias since secondary school, A and O Level days till his days in the university.



The names and dates of birth of the clergyman, also referred to as Victor Kusi Boateng; has in the last year being subject of public scrutiny after Ablakwa started probing into documents around the cathedral project.



It is from the filings to support his case (by Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah  Executive Director of the National Cathedral of Ghana) that the letter through which a request was made for him to be granted a diplomatic passport has popped up.



The letter dated October 27, 2021 was addressed to the Chief of Staff and titled: DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT FOR OFFICIAL TRAVEL: NCG TRUSTEE MEMBER/SECRETARY.



The request was essentially to facilitate his travels because he was supposed to be a key part in both the fundraising and play significant roles, around international fundraising and development of International Institutional partnerships for the project.



The letter was signed by the Executive Director of the National Cathedral of Ghana and copied to the Chairman and Secretary of the Board of Trustees.



Other documents available to GhanaWeb shows that the request was approved and communicated to the NCG in a letter from the office of the President signed by Secretary to the President, Nana Asante Bediatuo on November 21, 2021.















Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The wife of former President John Mahama, Lordina Mahama has, on the occasion of the 31st reaffirmed her love for her husband, and sought the face of God in strengthening and their bond and marriage.



The former First Lady and Founder of the Lordina Foundation shared a picture of herself and her husband, John Mahama with the caption: Happy Anniversary John, the love of my life and the father of my children. May God strengthen our bond and union. Love you so much, my dear.



Mrs Lordina Mahama and John Mahama, whose marriage has produced five children  Shafik, Shahid, Sharaf, Jesse and Farida  do not shy away from expressing their deep affection for each other publicly.



The couple hit the trends last year when they posted beautiful pictures and love messages on the occasion of their 30th marriage anniversary.





Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Director General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Sammi Awuku has warned all illegal lottery operating companies and individuals to desist from their actions and go to the nearest NLA offices for license.



He cautioned that the Ghana Revenue Authority in conjunction with the NLA will from Tuesday, August 1, 2023 will conduct an exercise to swoop down on all lottery operators operating illegally and take the necessary punitive action against them.



"It is estimated that over 380 lottery operators and companies in Ghana are illegal . . . The lottery industry in Ghana is estimated at 1 billion cedis annually. As we speak, the illegal operators, on their own, operate about 400 million cedis annually.



"They pay no tax; they hide in their rooms and make profits. They don't engage in good causes. They don't pay anything to the consolidated fund. They don't pay anything to government and tax authorities. They don't pay anything to GRA," he revealed.



He advised the operators to count today their "day of redemption and your day of salvation and go to the nearest national lottery in your district or regional office".



"I have instructed my regional managers that any of them who tries to shield someone, I will make no distinction between the person doing the illegal thing and you at the regional or district office," he stressed.



Sammi Awuku also noted that the unlicensed operators are not their only target of the NLA but also staff of the Authority who are exploiting their Authority.



"We are working on it. You can have staff that deliberately through their actions the NLA can lose almost 5 million cedis a year. Some of them exploit our loopholes but day in, day out, we keep building upon these systems and closing the gap," he stated.



The NLA boss made these submissions during Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" show Monday morning.





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.

Featured Video
The MOBA 04 fraternity, comprising the 2004 Class of the Mfantsipim Old Boys Association, has launched the MOBA 04 Trust Fund, setting an ambitious goal of raising GH2 million ($200,000).



The fund's vision is far-reaching, encompassing various initiatives such as preparations for the upcoming 2024 Speech Day and the significant responsibility of being the main sponsor for the esteemed 2034 Speech Day.



Beyond this, the Trust Fund is driven by a noble objective to extend support to fellow members facing challenges related to health and welfare while fostering essential networking and business opportunities.



The event held at the prestigious Marriott Hotel in Accra, witnessed an impassioned speech by the fraternity's President, Samuel Menyah Asah-Kissiedu, expressing immense pride and excitement in addressing the esteemed gathering. The occasion held a poignant significance as it marked a reconnection after 19 years since their time at Kwabotwe, the revered Mfantsipim School. This reunion underscored the fraternity's unwavering commitment to giving back to their alma mater and positively influencing the lives of future students.



The establishment of the MOBA 04 Trust Fund signifies a remarkable milestone in the fraternity's dedication to education and creating opportunities for generations to come.



At the heart of the fund's mission lies the aspiration to create a secure pool of resources, fueling the development of their alma mater and ensuring the success of the 2024 Speech Day. Simultaneously, the fund aims to address critical health and welfare concerns faced by members, demonstrating a strong belief in the power of collective contributions, active involvement, and seamless collaboration among the fraternity.



In his address, Mr. Asah-Kissiedu expressed gratitude for the cherished memories of their time at Kwabotwe, where they imbibed invaluable life lessons. He acknowledged the senior MOBAs' role in inspiring the MOBA 04 fraternity on their journey to serve their alma mater. To ensure the Trust Fund's objectives come to fruition, a dedicated 14-member trustee board has been formed, comprising brothers from various classes and houses, both in Ghana and beyond. These trustees have committed their time, knowledge, and resources to source and manage the funds required for the fund's initiatives.



In the closing moments, the President expressed heartfelt gratitude to the dedicated and passionate members of the Executive Board for their tireless efforts in making the event a resounding success. He extended appreciation to all attendees and participants, acknowledging their unwavering commitment to Kwabotwe and their essential role in this momentous occasion.



Looking ahead, the fraternity extends a cordial invitation to all members to contribute generously to the fund and actively participate in its endeavors. The fraternity recognizes that each member's involvement, insights, and experiences are invaluable in shaping a successful future for both the fraternity and their cherished alma mater.



Addressing the gathering on behalf of the Chairman of the fund, Mr. Michael Darko revealed the ingenious three-pronged strategy adopted by the 14-member trustee board to raise funds. This strategy includes raising GH134,000 from each of the 13 classes within the 2004 year group, reaching out to corporate bodies in alumni networks, and raising GH100,000 each through personal connections among the 14 trustees, their friends, and families. As a demonstration of their unwavering commitment, the trustees presented a GH100,000 cheque as seed money for the fund.



Captain Paul Forjoe, the Ebusuapanyin of Mfantsipim Old Boys Association (MOBA), commended MOBA 04 for their dedication in establishing the fund. He urged them to unite and contribute wholeheartedly, reminding them that contributions could take various forms, including time, money, and influence.



With the momentous launch of the MOBA 04 Trust Fund, the fraternity stands ready to create a legacy of empowerment and transformation, securing a brighter future for generations of students at their beloved Kwabotwe. Their commitment exemplifies the true spirit of giving back and leaving a lasting impact on their alma mater, setting an inspiring example for others to follow.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Joseph Osei-Owusu, alias Joe Wise, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament has expressed concerns over the falling standards of discipline in Ghana's educational sector.



According to him, there is the need to relook at how young people are brought up with the view to making them more responsible adults in the future.



Whiles addressing a gathering at the 10th-anniversary celebration of Fettehman Senior High School, over the weeekend, he weighed in on the now famous Adisadel College assault case.



We should look at how we bring up children in this country since it is becoming a challenge. The kind of upbringing is important. There is no need for him to be that violent towards another student.



"If we discuss this in isolation, we would miss it. What happened in the school is a reflection of what is happening in the country. We think we are not supposed to punish students and this is how we pay for it as a country.



There is nothing wrong with students being at each other, but when it gets beyond regular bullying, it is bad. I regret that it has been taken to the court since this matter could have been addressed in the school, but the Attorney General thinks otherwise, Joseph Osei-Owusu said.



He held the view that condemnable as the act was, a better route to solving it would have been to counsel victim and perpetrator to allow them focus on their studies and their futures.



The culprit who slammed the head of his colleague against a bunk bed causing a swelling has been hauled before court late last week. He was dismissed forom the school and would be allowed to write his WASSCE exams but with WAEC.



The Ghana Education Service, the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders have taken the matter seriously after the video went viral on social media.

















































Source: ghanaweb.com









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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was in Abuja, Nigeria on July 30 to attend an extraordinary meeting of West African leaders under the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc.



The meeting was to deliberate on the Niger coup that toppled democratically elected Mohamed Bazoum with a junta led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani taking over.



At the end of the meeting, a slew of sanctions were slapped on the country including:



1. Closure of land and air borders between ECOWAS countries and Niger;



2. Institution of ECOWAS no-fly zone on all commercial flights to and from

Niger;



3. Suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between

ECOWAS Member States and Niger;



4. Freeze of all service transaction including utility services;



5. Freeze of assets of the Republic of Niger in ECOWAS Central Banks;



6. Freeze of assets of the Niger State and the State Enterprises and

Parastatals in Commercial Banks;



7. Suspension of Niger from all financial assistance and transactions with

all financial institutions, particularly, EBID and BOAD;



8. Travel ban and asset freeze for the military officials involved in the coup

attempt. The same applies to their family members and the civilians who

accept to participate in any institutions or government established by

these military officials;



9. Calls on WAEMU and all other regional bodies to implement this

decision.



Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the current Chairperson of ECOWAS having been elected barely a month ago.











Source: ghanaweb.com









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Renowned technology expert and Paramount Chief Torgbuiga Akpo Ashiakpor VI, of Weta Traditional Area in the Ketu North Constituency of the Volta Region of Ghana has issued an urgent call to action, advising the government of Ghana to swiftly embark on the digitization of the country's revered Chieftaincy institutions.



This proactive measure aims to avert potential crises and foster sustainable governance within traditional leadership.



Torgbuiga Akpo Ashiakpor VI, Fiaga and Overlord of Weta Traditional Area



Having recognized the prevailing challenges faced by Chieftaincy Institutions, Torgbuiga Akpo Ashiakpor VI, a respected authority in the field of technology and an esteemed leader, has underscored the critical need for immediate action. By harnessing the transformative power of digital advancements, Ghana can overcome these obstacles and ensure a harmonious future for traditional leadership.



The advent of digital transformation holds immense potential to revolutionize the operations of our esteemed Chieftaincy Institutions, ushering in a new era characterized by enhanced efficiency, transparency, and accountability. By embracing modern digital tools and platforms, these institutions can streamline their administrative processes, empowering leaders, adjudicating bodies, ministries, and the government itself with unprecedented insights to make well-informed decisions.



One crucial aspect that becomes evident is the distinction between traditional boundaries of lands and the government's administrative boundaries. It is imperative to acknowledge that these two realms differ, and this disparity has left certain traditional areas vulnerable to the machinations of charlatans seeking to undermine the rich antiquity associated with these lands.



Lack of education and proper record-keeping has inadvertently contributed to this vulnerability, creating an opening for individuals with ulterior motives to manipulate the identity and heritage of traditional areas. These opportunistic actors meticulously plan their approach, often targeting lineages where the elders and kingmakers have passed away or are too feeble to actively defend their rightful legacies.



However, by digitizing the Chieftaincy Institution, we can preserve these invaluable legacies for future generations, safeguarding their heritage from those who seek to exploit it. Through the implementation of digital systems, comprehensive records can be created and maintained, ensuring the accurate documentation of lineage, land ownership, and cultural practices. This will serve as an invaluable resource, empowering communities to protect their identity and resist any attempts at illegitimate kingdom capture.



The preservation of these legacies is not only essential for historical continuity but also for the socio-cultural fabric of our society. The digitization of Chieftaincy Institutions will create a repository of knowledge and traditions, enabling future generations to connect with their roots, understand their heritage, and uphold the values that holds and define their respective traditional areas, he said in an interview.



Moreover, digital transformation offers an opportunity to bridge the gap between traditional institutions and the government, fostering collaboration and harmonious coexistence. By leveraging digital platforms, communication channels can be established, allowing for seamless interaction and consultation between traditional leaders and government authorities. This synergy will strengthen governance, promote inclusive decision-making processes, and ensure the collective well-being of our society.



The digitalization process entails the creation of comprehensive digital infrastructure, including advanced data management systems, secure online portals, and accessible archives. These technological advancements will facilitate accurate record-keeping, ensuring a wealth of information is readily available at the fingertips of stakeholders, from traditional leaders to government authorities and the public.



By embracing digitization, Ghana's Chieftaincy Institutions can build stronger bridges of communication, promoting active engagement and collaborative decision-making. This inclusive approach will reignite public trust, empowering citizens to actively participate in governance matters, and fostering a renewed sense of unity and progress without having to fight over what everyone knows to be the true record of tradition or value, he added.



Paramount Chief Torgbuiga Akpo Ashiakpor VI urges the Government of Ghana to prioritize the digitization of Chieftaincy Institutions, emphasizing the urgent need for dedicated resources and a collaborative task force. This joint effort, encompassing government agencies, technology experts, traditional leaders, and community representatives, will pave the way for a successful and transformative digital revolution.



With the future of traditional leadership hanging in the balance, the Government of Ghana must heed the urgent call from this tech expert and Paramount Chief. By embarking on the digitization journey, Ghana has the opportunity to forge a path of resilience, prosperity, and harmony within its Chieftaincy Institutions and families. As the nation awaits the government's response, all eyes are on Ghana, anticipating the dawn of a new era where technology and tradition converge, empowering our Chieftaincy Institutions to flourish and thrive.



As we embark on this transformative journey, it is crucial to recognize the urgency of digitizing our Chieftaincy Institutions. By doing so, we protect the integrity of our traditional areas, fortify the foundation of our cultural heritage, and empower future generations to embrace and celebrate their rich ancestral legacies. Let us unite in this noble endeavor, leveraging the power of digital transformation to secure our collective heritage, promote unity, and preserve the essence of Ghana's diverse traditional areas for generations to come, he concluded.



Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The District Chief Executive of Bosome Freho District Assembly in the Ashanti Region, Yaw Danso, has been sacked by President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo.



Yaw Danso, who was suspended in October 2022 for allegedly engaging in illegal mining, has now been officially removed from his position.



The decision to sack Yaw Danso was communicated by the Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Decentralisation, Dan Botwe, to the Ashanti Regional Minister on Friday.



President Akufo-Addo has taken this action following investigations into the allegations against Yaw Danso.



An audio recording in circulation allegedly implicated Yaw Danso in galamsey, a term commonly used in Ghana to refer to illegal mining activities.



Following the suspension, some Assembly members in Bosome Freho called on the presidency to further investigate the allegations.



President Akufo-Addo had initially invited Yaw Danso to defend himself against the charges during a special meeting with MMDCEs.



However, based on the outcome of the investigations, the decision to sack Yaw Danso was made.



In a letter to the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dan Botwe stated, His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has relieved the chief executive of the Bosome Freho District Assembly, Mr Yaw Danso, of his position with immediate effect.



The letter also emphasized that the decision was taken due to the serious allegations of illegal mining against Yaw Danso.



Following the removal of Yaw Danso, President Akufo-Addo has nominated Kofi Adu Amoateng as the new Chief Executive of the Bosome Freho District Assembly.



This nomination complies with the relevant constitutional and legislative provisions.



In order to confirm the new nomination, the regional Electoral Commission is to conduct a confirmation process.



This decision by President Akufo-Addo demonstrates his commitment to eradicating illegal mining in Ghana and ensuring that those involved in such activities are held accountable.



The removal of a chief executive officer for engaging in illegal mining reflects the Ghanaian governments efforts to combat the detrimental effects of illegal mining on the environment and local communities.

Source: dailyguidenetwork.com









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The Juaboso lawmaker, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, survived a deadly accident at Nyinahin in the Ashanti Region, following a a head-on collision between his Toyota Land Cruiser and a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter bus.



The incident took place within the Nyinahin area of the Atwima District, leaving several individuals injured.



The Toyota Land Cruiser, bearing registration number GN 441-14, was being driven by one Joseph Amo when it collided with the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter bus, which has the registration number AS 7363-18.



The Land Cruiser V8 was part of the convoy transporting Mr Minta Akandoh, and his bodyguard, G/Cpl. Joseph Ntimbe, who were traveling from Juaboso towards Kumasi at the time of the incident.



All the injured passengers were quickly rushed to the Nyinahin Government Hospital for immediate medical attention.



The driver of the Land Cruiser, Joseph Amo, and three other passengers, have been referred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital for additional treatment due to the severity of their injuries.



Meanwhile, the MP for Juaboso, Kwabena Minta Akandoh, is responding to treatment at the Nyinahin Government Hospital.



The bodyguard of the MP, G/Cpl. Ntimbe, also sustained injuries and has been referred to KATH for further treatment.



Messages of support and well-wishes for a swift recovery have poured in from constituents and fellow politicians alike.







Source: dailyguidenetwork.com









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Lawyer Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, who has been described to be a stalwart of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has clarified that he is not a politician.



According to him, he is only affiliated with the NPP, and that does not make him a politician.



Speaking in an interview with the host Kwahu Ambassador, Odame Agyare, shared on Facebook on July 28, 2023, Gabby described himself as a public figure and political strategist.



The journalist as he was framing a question referred to Gabby as a politician which led to him interjecting with the response Im not a politician.



Yes, Im a public figure; I have been a journalist, I have been on radio. Ive been a political strategist. I have a political affiliation but I am not a politician, he reiterated.



Watch the interview below:





Source: ghanaweb.com









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As part of the sub-regional integration process of bringing governance to the doorsteps of the people, Winneba, will in September 2023 host the Extra Ordinary Session of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, in Ghana.



This would be the second time Ghana would host the ECOWAS Parliament which convenes twice a year.



The 2023 First Ordinary Session of Parliament, opened on Monday, May 8, 2023, in Abuja and ended on Friday, May 26, 2023.



The session was convened under Article 21.1 of the Supplementary Act relating to the enhancement of the powers of the ECOWAS Parliament, which provided that Parliament should meet twice a year in Ordinary Sessions to provide a platform to deliberate and strengthen Member States position on issues of regional and continental importance.



As provided for in Article 32 of the supplementary Act, the Session also provides the President of the ECOWAS Commission to present a general report on the implementation of the Community Work Programme to the Plenary.



This allows the House to be updated on developments in the Community and followed by debates, expressed opinions and recommendations.



Further, National Delegates also have the chance to present their countrys reports to inform the Body of unfolding developments in their respective Member States and the status of implementation of their communitys texts.



Mr Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, the leader of the Ghanaian delegation announced in Monrovia  Liberia at the end of a joint delocalized meeting, when he interacted with the media.



He explained that the Conference being hosted out of the capital would bring governance to the doorsteps of the people and create an opportunity for the region by way of putting it on the visibility map for development.



This will also allow Member States not only to connect to build consensus towards ECOWAS Development but also an opportunity to travel outside the capital city to familiarise themselves with neighbour countries, he said.



Mr Afenyo-Markin, also the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Deputy Majority Leader in Parliament and a Member of the ECOWAS Parliament, further told Journalists that international programmes created opportunities for growth, development and tourism; and Winneba being the capital of one of the Municipalities in the Central Region was more than ready to welcome the ECOWAS delegation.



According to him, the Session would also market the region, the Effutu Constituency and the city which was a coastal city for greater opportunities.



He maintained that such Sessions projected facilities towards development and urged his colleagues to push for more opportunities and take advantage of such possibilities.



We cannot always over-concentrate in the capital cities; we need to move out and spread opportunity to the people, he said.



The Effutu NPP Member of Parliament (MP), told Journalists from Member that this will not be the first of its kind, particularly when Winneba 2021 successfully hosted a delocalised meeting and an Extra Ordinary Session, and therefore a precedent had been set.



 We are optimistic that this will be better than before. The Ghanaian government will put in place the necessary protocols for all MPs, focal persons and staff, security arrangements will be in place. Winneba, which is the capital of my constituency, is just an hours drive from Accra on a good road, he said.



Mr Afenyo-Markin noted that Members were already used to that route with facilities going to be there to host them, adding As I did indicate, we hope to make it a pleasurable time, profitable time for all; we encourage all of you to come and take part in the programme, he said.





Source: GNA









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Saturday, July 29, 2023, the "Ghetto Talent Hunt '', an initiative by the Nii Noi Nortey Foundation held its first edition at Odawnaa/Sahara - Adabraka in the Greater Accra Region.



According to the CEO of the Foundation, Valentina Nii Noi Norty, the initiative is aimed at unearthing talents and giving hope to all ghettos across the Klottey Korle municipality and beyond.



He said; We were amazed by the electrifying performance and quality of music and dance talents from our youth in the Ghettos.



Winners from every electoral area in the constituency will meet at the grand finale where the grand winners from six categories (Reggae/Dancehall, Afrobeat, Hip Hop, Rap, Highlife and Dance) will battle it out with the winner being signed to a record label, embark on a trip to South Africa and Dubai.



The winner will also be given GHC 10000.



Special appreciation to the Talent Discovery Committee of the Nii Noi Nortey Foundation and renowned Music Producer, Fred Kyei Mensah for a good job. The Foundation is exceedingly grateful to him.



The next stop is at Osu Alata on 12th August, 2023.









Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The Director General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Sammi Awuku has reiterated his support for Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to lead the New Patriotic Party into the 2024 elections.



Sammi Awuku strongly believes Dr. Bawumia is the right candidate to help the NPP break the eight-year cycle.



Speaking on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" show, he touted the Veep as the man to make the job of the NPP winning the next general elections easier and also dispelled rumors that Dr. Bawumia will not win the votes of Akan people and Christians.



"Politics is about choices. My support for Bawumia will come with its own problems and good news and goodwill . . . with Bawumia, you will now have a strategic candidate who will make our work easier to sell," he said.



He also noted that Dr. Bawumia's magnanimity is one of his strongest character traits and believed he is much loved by both Christians and those of the Akan tribe.



Among the Vice President's good works, Mr. Awuku mentioned, is that "on his own, he's built schools and supported churches being built".



Sammi Awuku advised the various camps within the NPP to market their candidates devoid of insults saying "my biggest joy on 7th January, 2025 will be that I see an NPP administration handing over to another NPP administration. It is a contest of ideas. So, everyone supporting Dr. Bawumia, don't insult back. Sell the candidate and his unique qualities".



Watch video below





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Customers of Ghanas preferred ride hailing company, Yango have been treated to a movie screening in Accra.



Dubbed the Yango Movie Night, the event hosted over 155 customers drawn from tertiary institutions, the influencer and content creation community, social media followers, and some partners.



The event was the latest in a series of innovative projects from the company, aimed at bringing customers closer to the brand and offering them treats deserving of the loyalty theyve shown Yango in the last 4 years since launching in Ghana.



Country Manager of Yango, Tom Ofonime said the event underscored the companys commitment to its customers.



"We wanted to celebrate our riders, and I am glad we did," he said.



"Thank you for trusting us not just with your journeys but with your safety as well, and we hope that we will be able to continue taking you from one point to the other."



Patrons were treated to an all-expense-paid experience, including movie tickets, drinks, and popcorn. A surprise gift hunt climaxed what was a beautiful night.



Since its launch in 2019, Yango has experienced strong growth in Ghana. The Yango brand has already become synonymous with fast, comfortable, and safe travel. Yango uses its own maps; routes, and navigation system based on artificial intelligence technologies. The company frequently introduces new features with a focus on enhanced security for riders. Yango operates in over 20 countries across Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Today there are about 50 Chinatowns in the U.S. Some of the best known are located in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Honolulu, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston and Portland, Oregon.

To this day, Chinatowns retain their purpose as a lifeline for Chinese immigrants, Zhou says, helping them get settled in a new country. Many Chinatown residents are lower-income; 24 percent of Manhattan's Chinatown residents live below the poverty line.

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But many of the country's oldest Chinatowns are no longer vibrant communities. In more recent decades, Chinese Americans have shifted away from urban Chinatowns toward the suburbs, especially as larger numbers of educated Chinese professionals move to the U.S.

"If you're going to the suburb, it's a different dynamic," Zhou says. Rather than a concentrated area of businesses, she notes, in the suburbs you'll see Chinese businesses, shops and restaurants scattered around.

Monterey Park, California, for instance, has been dubbed "the first suburban Chinatown." "[It] became majority Asian American in the 1990s [and] has long been a first stopping point for newly arrived Chinese seeking bigger houses away from downtown Los Angeles," reported the Seattle Times in 2012. The suburban San Gabriel Valley, where more than 500,000 Asian Americans live, has been a growing hub for Chinese immigrants outside of Los Angeles.

Even within traditionally urban Chinatowns, the population demographics are shifting, says Zhou, as second-generation Chinese Americans move out and leave the city.

And for residents who wish to stay, rising housing costs can be a problem. "While racism created Chinatowns, reverse white flight from the suburb back into the urban areas now threaten the future of Chinatowns through gentrification," Leong says.

Immigrants from other Asian countries are still finding refuge in Chinatowns. Seattle's Chinatown was renamed to the Chinatown-International District in 2005 to reflect the growing Vietnamese and Filipino communities.

" " Tourists visit a shop in the San Francisco Chinatown, March 24, 2021. There is concern that many Chinatowns have become tourist attractions rather than vibrant communities. Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling via Getty Images

Many Chinatowns are hanging on by a thread. Baltimore, Detroit, Los Angeles and Philadelphia are just some of the cities whose Chinatowns have populations of less than 50 percent ethnic Chinese. While the D.C. Chinatown still features some Chinese-owned businesses, there were only 300 Chinese people living there in 2015, down from a high of 3,000 in 1970. And while roughly 14,000 people  about 70 percent Chinese  live in San Francisco's Chinatown, some worry about how the community can retain its culture in the face of gentrification, which threatens to drive out family-run businesses.

However, many second and third-generation Chinese Americans now run projects to preserve them, such as the W.O.W Project in Manhattan's Chinatown. These kinds of nonprofits could help save Chinatown, according to Zhou. "It's important for the second generation to come back to protect the community from gentrification," she says.

Especially as anti-Asian crimes are on the rise, Chinatowns can serve as places of refuge for Chinese Americans. "Due to anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic, the relevance of Chinatowns has become an even more pressing issue in the historic and present need for sanctuary," Leong says.

Now That's Interesting Many major cities in the U.S. have Chinatowns, but New York reportedly has nine Chinatowns, according to Eater. Outside of the U.S., some of the best-known Chinatowns are located in London, Toronto, Melbourne, Australia, and Havana, Cuba. The world's oldest Chinatown is in Manila, the Philippines.
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:

Image showing the orbit of 2022 SF289 (green) at its closest approach to Earth (orbit in blue). Orbits of Venus and Mars are shown in orange and red, respectively. Credit: Joachim Moeyens/University of Washington/OpenSpace. Credit: Joachim Moeyens/University of Washington/OpenSpace

An asteroid discovery algorithmdesigned to uncover near-Earth asteroids for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's upcoming 10-year survey of the night skyhas identified its first "potentially hazardous" asteroid, a term for space rocks in Earth's vicinity that scientists like to keep an eye on.

The roughly 600-foot-long asteroid, designated 2022 SF289, was discovered during a test drive of the algorithm with the ATLAS survey in Hawaii. Finding 2022 SF289, which poses no risk to Earth for the foreseeable future, confirms that the next-generation algorithm, known as HelioLinc3D, can identify near-Earth asteroids with fewer and more dispersed observations than required by today's methods.

"By demonstrating the real-world effectiveness of the software that Rubin will use to look for thousands of yet-unknown potentially hazardous asteroids, the discovery of 2022 SF289 makes us all safer," said Rubin scientist Ari Heinze, the principal developer of HelioLinc3D and a researcher at the University of Washington.

The solar system is home to tens of millions of rocky bodies ranging from small asteroids not larger than a few feet, to dwarf planets the size of our moon. These objects remain from an era over four billion years ago, when the planets in our system formed and took their present-day positions. Video showing the orbit of 2022 SF289 (in green) relative to the orbit of Earth (blue) and other planets in the solar system (Venus in orange, Mars in red). Credit: Joachim Moeyens/University of Washington/OpenSpace

Most of these bodies are distant, but a number orbit close to the Earth, and are known as near-Earth objects, or NEOs. The closest of thesethose with a trajectory that takes them within about 5 million miles of Earth's orbit, or about 20 times the distance from Earth to the moonwarrant special attention. Such "potentially hazardous asteroids," or PHAs, are systematically searched for and monitored to ensure they won't collide with Earth, a potentially devastating event.

Scientists search for PHAs using specialized telescope systems like the ATLAS survey, run by a team at the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy. They do so by taking images of parts of the sky at least four times every night. A discovery is made when they notice a point of light moving unambiguously in a straight line over the image series. Scientists have discovered about 2,350 PHAs using this method, but estimate that at least as many more await discovery.

From its peak in the Chilean Andes, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory is set to join the hunt for these objects in early 2025. Rubin's observations will dramatically increase the discovery rate of PHAs. Rubin will scan the sky unprecedentedly quickly with its 8.4-meter mirror and massive 3,200-megapixel camera, visiting spots on the sky twice per night rather than the four times needed by present telescopes.

Discovery images from the ATLAS survey, with 2022 SF289 visible in the red boxes.Credit: ATLAS/University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy/NASA. Credit: ATLAS/University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy/NASA

But with this novel observing "cadence," researchers need a new type of discovery algorithm to reliably spot space rocks.

Rubin's solar system software team at the University of Washington's DiRAC Institute has been working to just develop such codes. Working with Smithsonian senior astrophysicist and Harvard University lecturer Matthew Holman, who in 2018 pioneered a new class of heliocentric asteroid search algorithms, Heinze and Siegfried Eggl, a former University of Washington researcher who is now an assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, developed HelioLinc3D: a code that could find asteroids in Rubin's dataset.

With Rubin still under construction, Heinze and Eggl wanted to test HelioLinc3D to see if it could discover a new asteroid in existing data, one with too few observations to be discovered by today's conventional algorithms.

Image showing the orbit of 2022 SF289 (green) at its closest approach to Earth (orbit in blue). Orbits of Venus and Mars are shown in orange and red, respectively. Credit: Joachim Moeyens/University of Washington/OpenSpace.

John Tonry and Larry Denneau, lead ATLAS astronomers, offered their data for a test. The Rubin team set HelioLinc3D to search through this data and on July 18, 2023 it spotted its first PHA: 2022 SF289, initially imaged by ATLAS on September 19, 2022 at a distance of 13 million miles from Earth.

In retrospect, ATLAS had observed 2022 SF289 three times on four separate nights, but never the requisite four times on one night to be identified as a new NEO. But these are just the occasions where HelioLinc3D excels: It successfully combined fragments of data from all four nights and made the discovery.

"Any survey will have difficulty discovering objects like 2022 SF289 that are near its sensitivity limit, but HelioLinc3D shows that it is possible to recover these faint objects as long as they are visible over several nights," said Denneau. "This in effect gives us a 'bigger, better' telescope."

Other surveys had also missed 2022 SF289, because it was passing in front of the rich starfields of the Milky Way. But by now knowing where to look, additional observations from Pan-STARRS and Catalina Sky Survey quickly confirmed the discovery. The team used B612 Asteroid Institute's ADAM platform to recover further unrecognized observations by the NSF-supported Zwicky Transient Facility telescope.

Additional observations of 2022 SF289 captured by the Zwicky Transient Facility survey. Credit: Joachim Moeyens/University of Washington/B612 Asteroid Institute. Credit: Joachim Moeyens/University of Washington/B612 Asteroid Institute

2022 SF289 is classified as an Apollo-type NEO. Its closest approach brings it within 140,000 miles of Earth's orbit, closer than the moon. Its diameter of 600ft is large enough to be classified as "potentially hazardous." But despite its proximity, projections indicate that it poses no danger of hitting Earth for the foreseeable future. Its discovery has been announced in the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Electronic Circular MPEC 2023-O26.

Currently, scientists know of 2,350 PHAs but expect there are more than 3,000 yet to be found.

"This is just a small taste of what to expect with the Rubin Observatory in less than two years, when HelioLinc3D will be discovering an object like this every night," said Rubin scientist Mario Juric, director of the DiRAC Institute, professor of astronomy at the University of Washington and leader of the team behind HelioLinc3D.

Image showing the orbit of 2022 SF289 (green) at its closest approach to Earth (orbit in blue). Orbits of Venus and Mars are shown in orange and red, respectively.Credit: Joachim Moeyens/University of Washington/OpenSpace.

"But more broadly, it's a preview of the coming era of data-intensive astronomy. From HelioLinc3D to AI-assisted codes, the next decade of discovery will be a story of advancement in algorithms as much as in new, large, telescopes."
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Call this a dog-bites-almost-everyone story.

President Biden's dog Commander is in the doghouse this week after new reports detailed 10 incidents in which the German shepherd bit Secret Service agents (including one that required a hospital visit) or exhibited "aggressive behavior" between October 2022 and January 2023.

Erin Hecht says it might not entirely be Commander's fault. Hecht, an assistant professor in Harvard's Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, spearheads "The Canine Brains Project" to help us to better understand why dogs are the way they are. She said he might just be triggered by a number of stressors at the White House (by all accounts, a pretty stressful place).

"Dogs are individuals, like people. And like people, they have different reasons for responding aggressively or fearfully in different circumstances," said Hecht, whose research focuses in part on neural and behavioral variation in domestic canine breeds. She added that, "prior traumatic experiences can influence their behavior later in life."

Commander arrived at the White House in 2021 after the Bidens sent another German shepherd, Major, who was a rescue and also had problems with biting and aggression, to live in a quieter environment with family friends.

Hecht said most dogs bite out of fear, not anger, and that dogs are hardwired to avoid biting their humans.

"As a species, their brains are wired to trust us and partner with us," she said. But, like people, fear can give them a short fuse, and push them to act out.

"Other dogs," she added, "behave aggressively out of a need to defend a resource, like food, a toy, or a favorite person. Understanding an individual dog's profile is important for management and treatment."

Hecht said in addition to knowing what triggers a dog may have, most dogs also show physical warning signs before biting. To prevent incidents, she said, dog owners should learn the signs to keep themselves and others safe.

"Most dogs will communicate that they feel threatened before they bite through body language like freezing, turning away, and lip-licking."

For those dealing with stubborn behavioral issues, such as the Bidens, Hecht said the owner should have their dog evaluated by a professional to rule out underlying medical issues, identify situational and motivational triggers, and work out a management plan.

"Depending on the dog, that plan might include medical treatment, training strategies, adjusting the dog's environment, adjusting the behavior of the people in the environment, or choosing to move the dog to a different environment," she said. "A veterinarian is a good first step and can refer you to other resources and professionals."

In the case of Commander, Hecht said it's a good example of dog reactivity and aggression, exemplifying how much we still don't know.

"This news story is a high-profile reminder of an issue that affects the lives of many dogs and humans in this country every day," she said. "Despite this, science still doesn't know very much about the biology of canine aggression."

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Horseshoe crabs spawn at Reeds Beach in Cape May Court House, N.J., Tuesday, June 13, 2023. The biomedical industry is adopting new standards to protect the sea animal that is a linchpin of the production of vital medicines. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

The horseshoe crab has been scuttling in the ocean and tidal pools for more than 400 million years, playing a vital role in the East Coast ecosystem along with being a prized item for fishing bait and medical research.

Its blue blood is harvested for medical researchers and used by drug and medical device makers to test for dangerous impurities in vaccines, prosthetics and intravenous drugs. The crabs are used by fishing crews as bait to catch eels and sea snails. And their eggs are a critical food for a declining subspecies of bird called the red knota rust-colored, migratory shorebird listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The competing interests have set up a clash among researchers, fishing crews and environmentalists over new protections designed to keep more of the crabs in the environment. The animals are drained of some of their blood and returned to the shore, but many die from the bleeding. And a drive to create synthetic alternatives has yet to succeed in phasing out the crabs from use.

Recent revisions to guidelines for handling the animals should keep more alive through the process, regulators said. The animalsnot really true crabs but rather more closely related to land-dwelling invertebrates such as spiders and scorpionsare declining in some of their East Coast range.

Susan Linder, a horseshoe crab egg density team leader with the Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition examines a crab during an interview with The Associated Press at Reeds Beach in Cape May Court House, N.J., Tuesday, June 13, 2023. The biomedical industry is adopting new standards to protect the sea animal that is a linchpin of the production of vital medicines. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

"They were here before the dinosaurs," said Glenn Gauvry, president of Ecological Research & Development Group, a Delaware-based nonprofit that advocates for horseshoe crab conservation. "And they're having problems because the new kids on the block, us, haven't learned to appreciate the elders."

The harvest of horseshoe crabs has emerged as a critical issue for conservationists in recent years because of the red knot. The birds, which migrate some 19,000 miles (30,577 kilometers) roundtrip from South America to Canada and must stop to eat along the way, need stronger protection of horseshoe crabs to survive, said Bethany Kraft, senior director for coastal conservation with the Audubon Society.

Kraft and other wildlife advocates said the fact the guidelines for handling crabs are voluntary and not mandatory leaves the red knot at risk.

Glenn Gauvry displays nonviable horseshoe crab eggs mixed in with sand and other debris at Pickering Beach in Dover, Del., Sunday, June 11, 2023. The crabs' eggs are vitally important food for a declining subspecies of a bird called the red knot  a rust-colored, migratory shorebird listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

"Making sure there is enough to fuel these birds on this massive, insanely long flight is just critical," Kraft said. "There's very clear linkage between horseshoe crabs and the survival of the red knot in the coming decades."

The horseshoe crabs are valuable because their blood can be manufactured into limulus amebocyte lysate, or LAL, that is used to detect pathogens in indispensable medicines such as injectable antibiotics. The crabs are collected by fishermen by hand or via trawlers for use by biomedical companies, then their blood is separated and proteins within their white blood cells are processed. It takes dozens of the crabs to produce enough blood to fill a single glass tube with its blood, which contains immune cells sensitive to bacteria.

There are only five federally licensed manufacturers on the East Coast that process horseshoe crab blood. The blood is often described by activist groups as worth $15,000 a quart (liter), though some members of the industry say that figure is impossible to verify.

Glenn Gauvry speaks while he displays the underside of a horseshoe crab at Pickering Beach in Dover, Del., Sunday, June 11, 2023. The biomedical industry is adopting new standards to protect the sea animal that is a linchpin of the production of vital medicines. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Regulators estimate about 15% of the crabs die in the bleeding process. In 2021, that meant about 112,000 crabs died, said Caitlin Starks, a senior fishery management plan coordinator with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The bait fishery for horseshoe crabs, which are used as bait for eels and sea snails, killed more than six times that, she said.

Still, the fisheries commission in May approved new best management practices for the biomedical industry's harvesting and handling of the crabs. Those include minimizing exposure to sunlight and keeping crabs cool and moist, Starks said.

"The goal is to give the crabs that are bled a better chance of surviving and contributing to the ecosystem after they are released," she said.

That's exactly what the new guidelines will do, said Nora Blair, quality operations manager with Charles River Laboratories, one of the companies that manufactures LAL from horseshoe crab blood. Blair was a member of a working group that crafted the updated guidelines alongside other industry members, conservationists, fishery managers, fishermen and others.

A researcher uses a clothes hanger to secure a geo locator in place on the leg of a Red Knot shore bird while the glue dries on the north end of Nauset Beach in Eastham, Mass., Sept. 17, 2013. A horseshoe crabs that lives on the East Coast and serves as a linchpin for the production of vital medicines stands to benefit from new protective standards, but conservationists who have been trying for years to save the red knot that depends on horseshoe crabs fear the protections still don't go far enough. Credit: AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, File

Blair said the industry is working toward synthetic alternativesan outcome conservationists have been pushing for years. Lonza, a Switzerland-based company that is one of the LAL manufacturers, offers animal-free testing solution, and the company has touted it as a way to test for toxins while protecting natural resources, said Victoria Morgan, a spokesperson for the company.

However, for now the wild harvest of horseshoe crabs remains critically important to drug safety, Blair said.

"The critical role of horseshoe crab in the biopharmaceutical supply chain and coastal ecosystem makes their conservation imperative," he said.

The Atlantic horseshoe crab, the species harvested on the East Coast, ranges from the Gulf of Maine to Florida. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the species as being "vulnerable" based on a 2016 assessment.

Horseshoe Crabs spawn during at Pickering Beach in Dover, Del., Sunday, June 11, 2023. The biomedical industry is adopting new standards to protect a primordial sea animal that is a linchpin of the production of vital medicines. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

One of the most important ecosystems for horseshoe crabs is the Delaware Bay, an estuary of the Delaware River between Delaware and New Jersey. The bay is where the crabs breed and the red knots feed.

The density of horseshoe crab eggs in the bay is nowhere near what it was in the 1990s, said Lawrence Niles, an independent wildlife biologist who once headed New Jersey's state endangered species program. Meanwhile, the population of the rufa red knot, the threatened subspecies, has declined by 75% since the 1980s, according to the National Park Service.

The birds need meaningful protection of horseshoe crab eggs to be able to recover, Niles said. He tracks the health of red knots and horseshoe crabs and has organized a group called Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition to advocate for conservation measures.

Nonviable horseshoe crab eggs collect on the edge at Reeds Beach in Cape May Court House, N.J., Tuesday, June 13, 2023. The crabs' eggs are vitally important food for a declining subspecies of a bird called the red knot  a rust-colored, migratory shorebird listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Allen Burgenson turns over a capsized horseshoe crab at Pickering Beach in Dover, Del., Sunday, June 11, 2023. The biomedical industry is adopting new standards to protect a primordial sea animal that is a linchpin of the production of vital medicines. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Lawrence Niles, an independent wildlife biologist with the Wildlife Restoration Partnerships, walks on Reeds Beach in Cape May Court House, N.J., Tuesday, June 13, 2023. The density of horseshoe crab eggs in the bay is nowhere near what it was in the 1990s, Niles said. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Horseshoe crabs spawn at Reeds Beach in Cape May Court House, N.J., Tuesday, June 13, 2023. The biomedical industry is adopting new standards to protect the sea animal that is a linchpin of the production of vital medicines. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

A tagged horseshoe crab spawns at Reeds Beach in Cape May Court House, N.J., Tuesday, June 13, 2023. The biomedical industry is adopting new standards to protect a primordial sea animal that is a linchpin of the production of vital medicines. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Lawrence Niles, an independent wildlife biologist with the Wildlife Restoration Partnerships, right, and Susan Linder horseshoe crab egg density team leader with the Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition examine a crab at Reeds Beach in Cape May Court House, N.J., Tuesday, June 13, 2023. The biomedical industry is adopting new standards to protect the sea animal that is a linchpin of the production of vital medicines. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Gulls gather around horseshoe crabs spawning at Reeds Beach in Cape May Court House, N.J., Tuesday, June 13, 2023. The biomedical industry is adopting new standards to protect a primordial sea animal that is a linchpin of the production of vital medicines. But conservationists worry the new approach still doesn't go far enough in protecting horseshoe crabs that are a food for a declining bird species. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Horseshoe Crabs spawn during at Pickering Beach in Dover, Del., Sunday, June 11, 2023. The biomedical industry is adopting new standards to protect a primordial sea animal that is a linchpin of the production of vital medicines. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

An unearthed cluster of horseshoe crab eggs lay near spawning horseshoe crabs at Reeds Beach in Cape May Court House, N.J., Tuesday, June 13, 2023. The biomedical industry is adopting new standards to protect a primordial sea animal that is a linchpin of the production of vital medicines. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Susan Linder, a horseshoe crab egg density team leader with the Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition Horseshoe Crabs helps a stranded crab at Reeds Beach in Cape May Court House, N.J., Tuesday, June 13, 2023. The biomedical industry is adopting new standards to protect a primordial sea animal that is a linchpin of the production of vital medicines. Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Niles and volunteers he organizes have been counting the horseshoe crab eggs since the 1980s and tagging birds since the 1990s. In mid-June, as he was wrapping up this year's tracking in southern New Jersey, he described the eggs as "good and consistent" through the month.

"What we want is the harvest to stop, the killing to stop, and let the stock rebuild to its carrying capacity," Niles said.

The horseshoe crabs have been harvested for use as bait and medicine from Florida to Maine over the years, though the largest harvests are in Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts and Virginia. According to federal fishery statistics, the crabs were worth about $1.1 million in total at the docks in 2021.

That figure is dwarfed by seafood species such as lobsters and scallops, which are routinely worth hundreds of millions of dollars. However, horseshoe crab fishers are dedicated stewards of a fishery that supplies a vital product, said George Topping, a Maryland fisherman.

"Everything you do in life comes from horseshoe crab blood. Vaccines, antibiotics," he said. "The horseshoe crab stocks are healthy."

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is an approach that connects academic researchers with community partners to inform project development. Where traditional research is often done "to" people, treating them as subjects with no agency, CBPR is a cooperative process incorporating the knowledge and direction of community members.

A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and collaborators explores CBPR implementation in a project on criminal justice reform in Cincinnati. In a previous paper, the researchers discussed project results; in the current study they focus on the process, identifying challenges and providing suggestions for future research.

"A lot has been written on the benefits of CBPR, including shared power, shared responsibility, and incorporating the community into your research project. But there's less information about the challenges we might encounter with this approach, especially on hard topics of criminal justice, race, power, and privilege. We're trying to do a deeper dive into those constructs, and we advocate for the importance of acknowledging and discussing the challenges at the beginning and throughout the project," said Ebony Ruhland, associate professor of criminal justice at Rutgers University and lead author on the paper.

The framework for the study was Reclaiming Safety, a project established to advance social justice reform in predominantly Black neighborhoods in Cincinnati. The researchers teamed up with local community educators and organizers for the project, which was supported by the Ohio Transformation Fund.

"Initial discussions aimed to identify opportunities for community members to have better control over data on safety and safety-related reforms. The intent was to explore other ways to promote safety and mutual thriving than policing, prosecution, prisons, probation, and parole, instead focusing on building healthy people and communities as a more prevention-oriented approach," said Janet Moore, professor of law at the University of Cincinnati and co-author on the study.

The original plan was to recruit participants through town halls; however, virtually no one showed up to these events, so the researchers needed to change their strategy. Instead, they used radio announcements and email invitations to recruit participants for round table discussions and focus groups.

"I think some community members felt they had already talked about these issues so many times and nothing happened, so they didn't see the relevance of doing it again, even though we were approaching it differently," noted Jacinda K. Dariotis, professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies and director of the Family Resiliency Center, housed in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the U. of I. Dariotis is co-principal investigator on the study.

Throughout the project, the researchers came to rely heavily on community organizers and their existing networks. Community leaders are important partners for CBPR because they can help build connections and gain the trust of community members. However, they can also gain outsize influence over the process.

In the Reclaiming Safety project, one community organizer became very influential, and her priorities shaped the agenda. Because her primary activism focus was on the police and policecommunity relationships, the project shifted towards these topics.

"Community participatory research is iterative, and you're supposed to go where the community goes and where the leader goes, but at the same time, we're balancing academic obligations and fulfilling grant requirements. You have to be responsive while also guiding the project and keeping it moving forward," Ruhland stated. "We deferred to the community leader a lot, but I don't think that's unique for projects of this kind."

This underscores the importance of defining who represents the community and recruiting a diversified group of participants, Ruhland noted. The community is not monolithic and one community leader doesn't represent everyone, but some segments can be difficult to reach. For example, this project had few participants from younger generations. When one youth showed up to a roundtable discussion, their perspective was quickly disregarded by older, more seasoned activists.

Another complexity is the intersection of power, position, and identity that academics and community partners bring to the process. Constructs like race, class, gender, and privilege influence perceptions and interactions. The researchers conclude it's imperative to be aware of these constructs and address them throughout the project.

In spite of the challenges, CBPR provides the best approach to collaborative projects and it is well worth the effort, Dariotis noted.

"This work is so hard and takes so much time and it's not highly resourced from any funders," she said. "But we should try not just to rely on established networks and connections and build more diverse teams."

Ruhland added, "We're critical of CBPR in the paper, but it was the intention to have critical reflection. If projects can be participatory research, they should be. Despite all the challenges, it's one of the best methods and it has real benefits. Hopefully, by illuminating the issues, we can help other projects avoid some of the problems we experienced."

More information: Ebony L. Ruhland et al, Positionality, intersectionality, power dynamics in community participatory research to define public safety in Black communities, Journal of Community Psychology (2023). DOI: 10.1002/jcop.23046
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A pedestrian uses an umbrella to shield against the sun while passing through Times Square as temperatures rise, July 27, 2023, in New York. At about summer's halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say. Credit: AP Photo/John Minchillo, File

At about summer's halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say.

Killer heat. Deadly floods. Smoke from wildfires that chokes.

And there's no relief in sight.

Expect a hotter than normal August and September, American and European forecast centers predict.

"We are seeing unprecedented changes all over the world," said NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt. "The heat waves that we're seeing in the U.S. and in Europe, in China are demolishing records left, right and center. This is not a surprise."

Imperial College of London climate scientist Friederike Otto said examining what's causing heat waves is "boring" in a way since it keeps happening. Yet she added that it matters "because it shows again just how much climate change plays a role in what we are currently experiencing."

"This story, these impacts, are going to continue," Schmidt said. "We're going to be seeing this pretty much this year and into next year" with a natural El Nino warming of the Pacific adding to the overwhelming influence of human-caused climate change largely from the burning of coal, oil and gas.

Here's a rundown of the summer of Earth's discontent.

Jodi Kelly, seated center, practice manager at Stonecliff Veterinary Surgical Center, behind, and her husband Veterinarian Dan Kelly, right, use a canoe to remove surgical supplies from the flood damaged center, July 11, 2023, in Montpelier, Vt. The supplies included orthopedic implants for an upcoming surgery on a dog. Credit: AP Photo/Steven Senne, File

RECORD-SHATTERING HEAT

Globally, June this year was the hottest June on recordand scientists say July has been so hot that even before the month was over they could say it was the hottest month on record. But it's individual places where people live that the heat has stuck around and killed.

Phoenix, where the last day of June and each day of July has been at least 110 degrees (43 degrees Celsius), set records for the longest mega-heat streak and longest stretch when the temperatures didn't go below 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius) at night.

El Paso, Texas, had 44 days of 100 degree (37 degree) heat. Schools closed in Nuevo Leon state in northern Mexico a month earlier than usual as temperatures reached 113 degrees (45 Celsius).

Farther east, Miami added humidity to high heat for 46 straight days of feels-like temperatures of 100 or more.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel distribute relief material to flood affected people stuck in a low lying area around the river Yamuna in New Delhi, India, July 14, 2023. At about summer's halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say. Credit: AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File

Beijing had its own record streak with at least 27 days of 95 degrees (35 Celsius) in July, after a three-day streak of at least 104 (40 Celsius) in June. And the country set it's all-time highest temperature on July 16 in remote Sanbao township with 126 degrees (52.2 Celsius).

Heat records fell all over southern Europe. Sardinia, Italy, hit 117 (47 Celsius). Palermo in Sicily broke a record that goes back to 1791 by a whopping 3.6 degrees (2 degrees Celsius). Temperatures hit 115 (46 Celsius) in Gytheio, Greece.

Spain reported nearly 1,000 excess deaths from the heat, mostly among the elderly, by mid July.

In Argentina, where it's mid-winter, temperatures were above 89.6 (32 Celsius) four straight days in June in the northern part of the county. One July night in Buenos Aires didn't get below the 70s (low 20s Celsius).

A man with a cooling pad on his forehead takes a nap on a bench on a sweltering day in Beijing, July 24, 2023. At about summer's halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say. Credit: AP Photo/Andy Wong, File

TOO MUCH RAIN

More than 10,000 people had to be evacuated in central Hunan province in China where heavy rainfall caused at least 70 houses to collapse. In Yichang, rain triggered a landslide that buried a construction site and killed at least one person.

Australia's Queensland outback got 13 times its normal monthly July rain in just one day.

Thousands of people were evacuated from Delhi in India as rains caused flash floods and landslides. Elsewhere in the country at least 100 people were killed by the downpours.

In the United States, sudden heavy rain killed people in Vermont, Connecticut and Pennsylvania with tragic stories of children washed away in flooding.

WILDFIRES AND SMOKE

Too little rain in Greece and Spain fed wildfires that proved difficult to fight. In the Canary Islands, a fire caused 4,000 people to evacuate, others to wear face masks and had 400 firefighters battling it.

People swim in the ocean off of Crandon Park, July 28, 2023, in Key Biscayne, Fla. At about summer's halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say. Credit: AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File

Hot and dry conditions caused about 160 wildfires to break out in Israel in early June.

But what really brought fires home happened in parts of Canada where few people live. Rare far northern Quebec wildfires triggered nasty smoke that inflicted the world's dirtiest air on cities like New York and Washington, then switched to the Midwest.

As of late July more than 600 wildfires were out of control in Canada. A record 47,490 square miles (123,000 square kilometers) burned, and fire season isn't near done. That's an area larger than the state of Pennsylvania or North Korea.

WATER TEMPERATURES

Water temperatures in the Florida Keys and off the Everglades hit the high 90s (high 30s Celsius) with Manatee Bay breaking 100 degrees twice in what could be an unofficial world record for surface water temperature, although that's in dispute.

Flames from the Donnie Creek wildfire burn along a ridge top north of Fort St. John, British Columbia, on July 2, 2023. At about summer's halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger, File

New York City is seen in a haze-filled sky, photographed from Staten Island Ferry, June 7, 2023, in New York. At about summer's halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say. Credit: AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File

A woman carries water during a wildfire, near the seaside resort of Lindos, on the Aegean Sea island of Rhodes, southeastern Greece, on July 24, 2023. At about summer's halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say. Credit: AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File

People watch the stand atop a rock formation to watch sunset, July 30, 2023, in Phoenix. At about summer's halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say. Credit: AP Photo/Matt York, File

The North Atlantic had hot spots that alarmed scientists. The world's oceans as a whole were their hottest ever in June and got even hotter in July. In Antarctica, sea ice smashed record-low levels.

Ocean temperatures take a long time to warm up and cool down, said University of Northern Illinois meteorology professor Victor Gensini. So it doesn't look good for the rest of the summer, he said.

A HOT FORECAST

"We are favoring above normal temperatures for the next three months," said NOAA Climate Prediction Center meteorologist Matt Rosencrans.

The only potential relief he sees, especially in the hot Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, is if a hurricane or tropical storm moves through.

The peak of hurricane season in September hasn't even started.

When going through the litany of this summer's weather extremes so far, University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann had one question: "How on God's Earth are we still burning fossil fuels after witnessing all this?"

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Southeast Asian fern-feeding larva or caterpillar. Credit: John Goolsby, ARS

The invasive Old World Climbing Fern was introduced to Florida's ecosystem from southeast Asia around 1965. It soon dominated the state's native vegetation, infesting more than 100,000 acres in a short amount of time.

The fern spreads quickly and has destroyed numerous native plant populations, smothering trees and shrubs with vines that can grow up to 90 feet in length. You'll now find this invasive fern throughout south and central Florida, specifically in wetlands and other habitats like the Everglades tree islands, bald cypress domes, and sawgrass prairies.

USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australian Biological Control Laboratory (ABCL), scientists began to search for a way to solve this agricultural challenge and soon found an answer to slow the fern's spread.

ARS and ABCL researchers collected, identified, and tested caterpillars feeding on the Old World climbing fern in its native habitat. One species of fern-feeding snout moth, Neomusotima conspurcatalis, commonly known as the Brown lygodium moth, is a member of the subfamily of Musotiminae and has been a successful deterrent to this invasive fern.

The Musotiminae belongs to the Crambidae family that have protruding labial palpi, or "noses," giving the family the common name of "snout moths." Most of the moths that ARS researchers discovered in southeast Asia were snout moths, which at that time, belonged to a subfamily that had not been studied by the Agency.

"Early detection of potential invasive species is crucial so USDA can quickly implement strategies that protect U.S. agriculture, forestry, and the environment," said ARS researcher Alma Solis. "This study led to the discovery of a number of new fern-feeding species and the identity of their caterpillars, which were previously unknown to science."

ARS researchers studied the snout moth's external wing patterns, dissected its insides, specifically the genitalia and wings, and compared it to other southeast Asian moth species. All of the snout moth's immature stages, including larvae, and pupae, had never been seen before and were considered new to science. The research team also compiled a chart to compare adult and immature morphologies, host plants, and geographic distribution of the fern-feeding species.

The findings permitted ARS to create criteria for biological control workers across the globe to distinguish Musotiminae species in their own countries or eco-systems. The snout moth was later introduced to Florida and slowed the spread of the Old World Climbing Fern with their eating habits.

ARS researchers, and research partners for the state of Florida, continue to study the interactions of snout moths with parasites, predators, and fungi. Together they are working together to deter the spread of this invasive fern throughout the nation and protect America's native vegetation.
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A development motor based on the second-stage solid rocket motor design for NASAs Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) undergoes testing March 29, at Northrop Grummans facility in Elkton, Maryland. An important part of the NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return campaign, the MAV would be the first rocket fired off another planet. Credit: NASA

The first rocket launch from the surface of another planet will be accomplished using two solid rocket motors.

NASA's Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) recently reached some major milestones in support of the Mars Sample Return program. The Mars Ascent Vehicle would be the first launch of a rocket from the surface of another planet. The team developing MAV conducted successful tests of the first and second stage solid rocket motors needed for the launch.

Mars Sample Return will bring scientifically selected samples to Earth for study using the most sophisticated instrumentation around the world. This strategic partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) features the first mission to return samples from another planet. The samples currently being collected by NASA's Perseverance Rover during its exploration of an ancient river delta have the potential to reveal the early evolution of Mars, including the potential for ancient life.

Managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, MAV is currently set to launch in June 2028, with the samples set to arrive on Earth in the early 2030s. The Mars Sample Return Program is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

For the MAV to be successful, the team performs extensive testing, analysis, and review of MAV's design and components. The vehicle will travel aboard the Sample Retrieval Lander during launch from Earth, a two-year journey to Mars, and nearly a year of receiving samples collected by Perseverance.

After the Sample Transfer Arm on the lander loads the samples from Perseverance into a sample container in the nose of the rocket, the MAV will launch from Mars into orbit around the planet, releasing the sample container for the Earth Return Orbiter to capture.

The MAV launch will be accomplished using two solid rocket motorsSRM1 and SRM2. SRM1 will propel MAV away from the Red Planet's surface, while SRM2 will spin MAV's second stage to place the sample container in the correct Mars orbit, allowing the Earth Return Orbiter to find it.

To test the solid rocket motor designs, the MAV team prepared development motors. This allowed the team to see how the motors will perform and if any adjustments should be made before they are built for the mission. The SRM2 development motor was tested on March 29, 2023, at the Northrop Grumman facility in Elkton, Maryland. Then, SRM1's development motor was tested on April 7 at Edwards Air Force Base in California. NASA's Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) team recently conducted successful motor tests that will launch the first rocket from the surface of Mars. The MAV launch will be accomplished using two solid rocket motorsSRM1 and SRM2. Credit: NASA

SRM1's test was conducted in a vacuum chamber that was cooled to minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit) and allowed the team to also test a supersonic splitline nozzle, part of SRM1's thrust vector control system. Most gimballing solid rocket motor nozzles are designed in a way that can't handle the extreme cold MAV will experience, so the Northrop Grumman team had to come up with something that could: a state-of-the-art trapped ball nozzle featuring a supersonic split line.

After testing and disassembling the SRM1 development motor, analysis showed the team's ingenuity proved successful.

"This test demonstrates our nation has the capacity to develop a launch vehicle that can successfully be lightweight enough to get to Mars and robust enough to put a set of samples into orbit to bring back to Earth," said MAV Propulsion Manager Benjamin Davis at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. "The hardware is telling us that our technology is ready to proceed with development."

In fact, the supersonic splitline nozzle has achieved the sixth of nine technology readiness levelsknown as TRL-6developed by NASA. TRL-1 is the starting point at which there is just an idea for a new technology, while TRL-9 means the technology has been developed, tested, and successfully used for an in-space mission.

Davis said the supersonic splitline nozzle achieved TRL-6 through vacuum bench testing and full-scale hot fire testing in April. Results are being independently evaluated and will be confirmed in August.

The supersonic splitline nozzle will also undergo qualification testing to make sure it can handle the intense shaking and vibration of launch, the near vacuum of space, and the extreme heat and cold expected during MAV's trip.

In addition to motor testing, the MAV team recently conducted its preliminary design review, which was a four-day, in-depth review of MAV's overall design. Mars Ascent Vehicle Project Manager Stephen Gaddis said MAV passed that review, which means the team can now focus on continuing to improve MAV before its critical design review next summer.

NASA Marshall is designing, building, and testing MAV along with the project's two primary contractors, Lockheed Martin Space and Northrop Grumman. Lockheed Martin Space is the overall system integrator and provides multiple subsystems, and Northrop Grumman provides the first stage and second stage main propulsion systems. The Mars Sample Return Program is managed by JPL in Southern California.

More information: Learn more about the Mars Sample Return campaign.
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EastGRIP research project. Credit: EGRIP

An international research collaboration (EGRIP) headed by ice core scientists from the University of Copenhagen has attained their goal of drilling to the bottom of the ice sheet. It marks the first time that this has been achieved in an ice stream, where vast amounts of ice slide coastwards. The breakthrough could be critical for understanding and projecting rising sea levels.

With a sudden reward of mud at their feet, researchers at the EGRIP research station had successfully made it through the 2670-meter ice sheet last week after seven years of drilling. In doing so, the research group met their ultimate goal of drilling all the way through the ice and to the bedrock below.

"This is the first time that a deep ice core has been drilled through an ice stream, so it will be extremely exciting to analyze the material, which has much to tell us about how our planet's climate has changed over the past 120,000 years. But we need to wrap up our work here first," says Professor Dorthe Dahl-Jensen of the University of Copenhagen's Niels Bohr Institute, who leads research at EGRIP.

The mud, which had not seen the light of day for roughly a million years, was only briefly exposed to sunlight, as white light can damage ice core material. Instead, the core was retrieved in red light and immediately packed away, like a Christmas present that will need to remain unopened until some special day down the road.

"Though it was tempting to take a closer look, we quickly sealed the ice core, kept it frozen and sent it to Kangerlussuaq Airport, where it is now waiting for a flight to Denmark," says Dorthe Dahl-Jensen.

Results could change climate models

Despite the quick packaging and send off, the drilling has already delivered the scientists research "gold".

"The results are exceptional. The ice stream flows like a river of ice that tears itself free of the surrounding slow-flowing ice sheet. We can see that the entire 2670-meter-thick mass of ice flows like a block at a speed of 58 meters per year. This will change climate models because it redefines our basic understanding of how ice moves," explains Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, who continues:

"The block of ice floats on a layer of wet mud. It seems to act as a kind of layer of quicksand that allows the ice block to flow undisturbed across the bedrock. Near the bottom of the ice sheet, we find rocks and sand embedded in the ice. The measurements also show that the ice is melting at the bottom," she says.

Towards the base, the ice is more than 120,000 years old and dates back to the last interglacial period, a time when the atmospheric temperature above Greenland was 5C warmer than today.

Last drill got stuck

The last ice core was drilled on July 21, 2023. These final 4 meters of ice were drilled using a rock coring system due to the presence of pebbles in the ice.

Chief ice core driller Steffen Bo Hansen of the Niels Bohr Institute was on hand when the breakthrough took place:

"The rock drill became stuck at the bottom and we feared that we would lose both the last core and drill itself. Loosening the drill was tough because it got stuck in the wet mud at the bottom. Fortunately, we succeeded. We have now successfully drilled through the ice stream, and it was amazing to find mud beneath the ice," he says.

The last ice core contained mud from under the ice sheet. Credit: Sepp Kipfstuhl, EGRIP

A 2670-meter-long account of Earth's climate

All in all, the ice core is a 2670-meter-long record that tells of how our planet's climate has changed over the past 120,000 years. It will be analyzed in dozens of laboratories around the world.

Due to the ice core's outstanding quality, the scientists expect to be able to document the climate surrounding the ice during both the warmer and colder periods of the 11,700 years since the last ice age, as well as the anthropogenic changes caused by human development.

Analyses of the last ice cores will begin in fall, when the research group returns to Copenhagen. The EGRIP ice core is stored in the Danish ice core repository in the Copenhagen suburb Brndby together with most of the deep Greenland ice cores. Samples from the ice cores drilled the previous years have been analyzed in more than 30 laboratories and the first 53 papers have been published.

A key to understanding rising sea levels

The loss of ice from Greenland's ice sheet is a major contributor to rising sea levels and is expected to increase as temperatures over Greenland edge ever upwards. Half of this ice loss comes from Greenland's ice streams, whose behavior is still not well understood.

Thus, knowledge of how Greenland's ice streams move is a key to understanding how sea levels will rise in the future and will serve to improve the accuracy of projections.

"I'm thrilled about the success. I've followed the flow of ice by measuring the borehole's shape over the years using a borehole logger. The fact that the ice is not dislodged, but slides as a block over mud, will improve future sea level projections using recalibrated models," says Dorthe Dahl-Jensen.

Facts about ice cores

Ice cores contain a wealth of information about past environments, which can be extracted from the ice itself, from impurities in the ice and from bubbles trapped in the ice which contain samples of ancient atmospheres, along with their greenhouse gas contents.

With regards to ice core contents, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen has previously stated:

"For example, we can see all of the major volcanic eruptions by measuring the sulfate content in ice cores. We can also see how mercury and metals made it into the air as a result of industrial development. As far back as Roman times, we can clearly see that the content of heavy metals in the atmosphere has increased."

The first ice cores were drilled exactly seven years ago, on July 21, 2016. The 2020 and 2021 fieldwork seasons were canceled due to COVID.

This is the first time that a deep ice core has been drilled through an ice stream. Greenland's ice streams supply the sea's surrounding it with nutrients that are important for fishing. Thus, the future of ice streams is also of direct importance to Greenland.

Facts about the EGRIP camp, new technology and innovation.

The EGRIP camp is mobile. The main building, "The Dome", is on skis, while the rest of the equipment and infrastructure is on sledges. This allows the entire camp to be removed and towed by tracked vehicles to new drilling sites on the Greenland Ice Sheet.

A drill trench and science trench were constructed beneath the snow surface by inflating balloons with a diameter of five meters and a length of 45 meters in seven-meter-deep trenches dug into the snow. Snow was then blown over the tops of the balloons. After a few days, the balloons were deflated and removed, after which the trenches were ready for drill operations and ice core analyses.

A new electronic navigation package in the Danish made drill made it possible for drillers to control the inclination of the ice core drill and make future replicate coring in the same bore hole possible.

More information: Thus far, samples from EGRIP ice cores have been analyzed in more than 30 laboratories and an initial 53 articles have been published (https://eastgrip.org/Publications.html).
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Artist's impression of the ESA's PLATO mission. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab

In 2026, the European Space Agency (ESA) will launch its next-generation exoplanet-hunting mission, the PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO).

This mission will scan over 245,000 main-sequence F, G, and K-type (yellow-white, yellow, and orange) stars using the Transit Method to look for possible Earth-like planets orbiting Solar analogs. In keeping with the "low-hanging fruit" approach (aka. follow the water), these planets are considered strong candidates for habitability since they are most likely to have all the conditions that gave rise to life here on Earth.

Knowing how many planets PLATO will likely detect and how many will conform to Earth-like characteristics is essential to determining how and where it should dedicate its observation time.

According to a new study that will be published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, the PLATO mission is likely to find tens of thousands of planets. Depending on several parameters, they further indicate that it could detect a minimum of 500 Earth-sized planets, about a dozen of which will have favorable orbits around G-type (sun-like) stars.

The study was conducted by researchers from the Institute of Planetary Research (IFP) and Institute of Optical Sensor Systems at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Department of Geological Sciences at the Freie Universitat Berlin (FU Berlin), and the Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Technical University Berlin (TUB). The study details can be found on the pre-print server, arXiv.

Filip Matuszewski, a Ph.D. candidate with the Grenoble Planetary and Astrophysics Institute (IPAG) at the Universite Grenoble Alpes, led the study as part of his thesis while studying at FU Berlin and the Extrasolar Planets and Atmospheres.

To assess the number of exoplanets PLATO could detect, Matuszewski and his team developed a tool named the Planet Yield for PLATO Estimator (PYPE). This tool combines a statistical approach with occurrence rates from planet formation models and data obtained by the Kepler space telescope. This allowed them to estimate how many exoplanets PLATO will detect during four years based on a fraction of the observation fields selected for the all-sky PLATO stellar input catalog (PIC).

As Matuszewski explained to Universe Today via email:

"First, we needed a synthetic population of planets (our own little universe, if you will). To do this, we took a planetary population model, which is basically a simulation of 1000 protoplanetary disks evolving into planetary systems (Christoph Mordasini of the University of Bern, Switzerland, provided us with these planetary systems). Since the resulting systems are quite different from what we currently know about exoplanets, we wanted to include data from Kepler. Based on the occurrence rates from Kepler, we formed our own two-planet populations to use as a comparison."

The second step, said Matuszewski, consisted of the team estimating how many stars PLATO will observe in just one field of view (~125,000) and assigning a planetary system (based on our own) to each. Next, they considered how many of these planets would have the proper orientation to make transits relative to PLATO (is it edge-on to the telescope?), thus producing a visible dip in brightness. For a plant orbiting a star the same size as our sun with an orbital period of 365 days, the probability of this happening (aka. transit probability) is just 0.47%.

But when one considers the number of stars PLATO will observe, that still leaves tens of thousands of candidates available for study. Last, they employed a detection efficiency model that accounts for the performance of PLATOs cameras and various noise sources to see if the transit signal would be stronger than the background noise.

"That is the basic function of PYPE," said Matuszewski. "From there, we can tweak the program to give us results for various false scenarios and time periods. How many planets do we find looking here for two years and there for two years? What if we look at a particular field for longer?"

When they applied the PYPE to the observatory's four-year primary mission, the team obtained some very encouraging results. Depending on what fields it observes and for how long, the orbital period of the planets, the orientation of the planets, and other factors, they found that PLATO is likely to detect thousands or tens of thousands of exoplanets.

Artists impression of the Planetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO) mission. Credit: ESA

Even more encouraging, they found that a statistically significant number of these planets are likely to be similar to Earth. As Matuszewski explained, "Using the most conservative planet population model and mission scenario, we estimate a minimum of 500 Earth-sized planets to be detected in the nominal mission duration of four years."

"That includes every type of star and every distance to the star. If we look at Earth-sized planets with an orbital period range of 250-500 days around G stars (Earth-Sun analogs), we estimate up to 12 detections. This is for the 2+2 year observation with the most optimistic planet model."

In the past 20 years, the number of known exoplanets has grown exponentially, with 5,483 confirmed detections in 4,087 systems (and another 9,770 candidates awaiting confirmation) as of July 30th, 2023. The discovery and characterization of these exoplanets have informed (and challenged) prevailing theories about planet formation and occurrence rates.

However, there remain some unanswered questions and a significant margin of uncertainty regarding how common certain types of planets are (related to gaps in the exoplanet census).

The purpose of this study, and those like it, is to establish estimates that can be compared to observational data. The way the results deviate from the estimates will help inform planet formation models and provide scientists with a better idea of how common exoplanets areaccounting for size, mass, composition, orbital period, etc.

In particular, PLATO's results will show just how common Earth-like planets orbiting G-type solar analogs are, which will help narrow the search for worlds that are likely to be habitableand inhabited.
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Fig. 1 Changes in the seas around China: warming, increased N/P (nitrogen-to-phosphorus concentration ratio), hypoxia and acidification, biological miniaturization, warm-water species invasion, dinoflagellate increase and polychaeta increase, fish richness decrease and coral bleaching. Credit: IOCAS

A joint research team led by Prof. Wang Fan from the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS) has revealed how the seas around China respond to warming climate. The review article was published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment on July 18.

The seas around China (SAC), including the Bohai Sea (BS), Yellow Sea (YS), East China Sea (ECS) and South China Sea (SCS), are undergoing multifaceted changes under dual effects of human activities and climate change.

The researchers synthesized scientific findings in physics, biogeochemistry, marine biology, marine ecology and other fields in recent years, and analyzed the characteristics of warming, marine heatwaves, circulation changes, eutrophication, anoxic acidification, etc.

They found that sea surface temperature (SST) warming has reached 0.100.14 C per decade since 1950, and accelerated to 0.140.16 C per decade since 1982, significantly faster than global average. When SST trends are strongest, it reached 0.23  0.08 C per decade since 1982, twofour times the global average. SST warming in winter is faster than that in summer owing to weakening of the East Asian winter monsoon and enhancement of warm-water intrusion from the Kuroshio. Warming trends also increase the likelihood of extreme high temperature events, marine heatwaves (MHWs).

Satellite observations since 1982 have shown that the frequency, duration, and overall intensity of MHWs in seas around China have significantly increased. These extreme events have intensively amplified the impact of climate change on seas around China, causing coral bleaching and significant losses in fisheries and aquaculture.

Fig. 2 Changes in plankton communities in the seas around China. (a) A schematic of the plankton community changes. (b)-(g) Evolution of plankton derived from long-term observed data in Jiaozhou Bay. Credit: IOCAS

In the past few decades, the nascent Kuroshio has been strengthening, with a decreasing invasion into South China Sea in the upper layers and increasing in the deeper layers, as well as an increasing invasion into East China Sea and Yellow Sea. The surface anticyclone circulation in South China Sea weakened in winter due to combined effect of Kuroshio invasion and weakening of the monsoon. Circulation changes strengthened the spatial heterogeneity of warming and primary productivity changes by redistributing heat and biomass.

Terrigenous nutrient input through atmospheric deposition and river and groundwater discharges has led to pervasive trend of eutrophication, with more organic matter settling to the bottom. Warming intensifies the stratification of seawater, and degradation of organic matter in the bottom water consumes dissolved oxygen and releases carbon dioxide, resulting in increasingly severe hypoxia and acidification.

Hypoxia and acidification events in coastal seawater show a significant increasing trend of regional expansion and severity, threatening the survival and reproduction of marine organisms (especially Benthos).

In addition, the growth of phytoplankton in many sea areas has a transition from nitrogen to phosphorus limitation due to the faster growth rate of inorganic nitrogen content than that of inorganic phosphorus (the ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus increases), prompting changes in species composition of plankton communities, such as increase of dinoflagellates and decrease of diatoms. Seas around China experience a net carbon sink, contributed by carbon fixation flux, riverine and oceanic inputs, biological pump and microbial carbon pump.

"According to the latest estimate, seas around China can absorb 10.8  23.1 Tg C year-1 through sea-air exchange. Although climate models predict that global warming will weaken carbon sinks in the marginal seas of the continental shelf, existing observations indicate that carbon sinks in seas around China have not significantly weakened," said Prof. Li Yuanlong, corresponding author of the study.

With changes in physical (warming, stratification strengthening, circulation planktonic, benthic, changes) and chemical (nutrient concentration and composition) backgrounds, fish communities in seas around China have also undergone significant changes, exhibiting two distinct characteristics, miniaturization and invasion of warm-water species.

The dominance of diatoms in phytoplankton community decreases, dominance of dinoflagellates increases, abundance of gelatinous zooplankton such as jellyfish increases, and the size of phytoplankton and zooplankton shows a miniaturization trend. The diversity of benthos has declined as a whole, and the distribution range, ecological habits and physiological characteristics of many benthos have changed significantly.

The synergistic effects of warming, hypoxic acidification and eutrophication on benthos are increasingly emerging. Fish show differential responses to climate change, with a significant increase in the proportion of warm-water species in seas around China.

"According to model prediction, the above change trend will continue in the future and is likely to further intensify," said Prof. Wang. "To accurately project and effectively alleviate this climate pressure, the interdisciplinary research in seas around China urgently needs to be strengthened."

More information: Fan Wang et al, The seas around China in a warming climate, Nature Reviews Earth & Environment (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s43017-023-00453-6
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Map of the study area showing sampling sites. a Location of study area on the North Brazil continental shelf. b Sampling sites in the Amazon estuary. Stars represent stations with suspended particulate matter (SPM) sampling. The three transects across the Amazon and Para River estuaries are highlighted by differently colored circles and dashed rectangles. Open squares show the sampling stations of Rousseau et al.13. The mean annual freshwater discharges of the Amazon River and Para River are indicated10,26. The map was created using Ocean Data View (https://odv.awi.de/)79. Credit: Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39922-3

The Amazon River is the largest river in the world. It discharges about one fifth of global freshwater runoff, resulting in a freshwater plume rich in nutrients and trace elements entering the Atlantic Ocean.

Until now, it was assumed that the suspended solids partially dissolve in the water plume of the estuary and thus represent an important source of trace metals, but the latest results refute this theory. Isotopes of the elements neodymium (Nd) and hafnium (Hf) were examined. These can serve as tracers or origin, i.e. their analysis can be used to determine where water masses come from. Each river has its own isotopic signature that represents the source rock in the hinterland.

"A previous study had found an increase in the dissolved concentration and variability of neodymium isotopes in the Amazon estuary and concluded that these are dissolved from particles carried by the river on its way to the open ocean," says the study's first author Antao Xu.

He is a Ph.D. student in the Chemical Paleoceanography group headed by Professor Dr. Martin Frank at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, who was co-chief scientist of the METEOR expedition M147 (official GEOTRACES process study GApr11) in the Amazon estuary (chief scientist was Prof. Dr. Andrea Koschinsky, Constructor University Bremen).

"We have now disproved this conclusion," says Martin Frank. "We can show that the changes in isotope composition are a result of the admixture of freshwater from the nearby Para River."

The input of the neighboring Para River south of the Amazon mouth shows significantly elevated dissolved neodymium and hafnium concentrations. At the same time, it has a low pH value. This led to another important finding. Co-author Ed Hathorne says, "We looked at the relationship between neodymium concentration and pH in rivers around the world."

It turned out that neodymium concentration can be directly inferred from pH. This allowed a revised estimate of the global dissolved riverine neodymium flux, which is at least three times higher than previously thought, according to co-author Georgi Laukert of Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, U.S..

The study is part of the international long-term project GEOTRACES, which aims to map the global distribution of trace metals dissolved in seawater and their isotopes in order to gain a better understanding of their sources, sinks and distribution pathways. As paleo-oceanographer, Martin Frank and his working group are actually interested in trace metals in their function as indicators of past climate history and ocean processes.

"The isotopic composition serves us as a proxy for the ocean circulation of the past," says Frank. "However, we still need a better understanding of the controlling processes in today's ocean to be able to apply these proxies more reliably." This is in line with the transdisciplinary approach of integrating research at GEOMAR, for which "metals in the ocean" is a thematic focus.

Frank says, "In order to be able to develop reliable models for the entire ocean-atmosphere-climate system, we need to better understand the global ocean circulation and the distribution of trace metals coupled to it, for which we need to know the inputs of trace elements from land."

GEOTRACES is a global program which aims to improve the understanding of biogeochemical cycles of trace elements and their isotopes in the marine environment. Much of what is known about ocean conditions in the past and, therefore, about the ocean's role in climate variability, is derived from trace element and isotope patterns recorded in marine archives (sediments, corals, etc.).

Improved knowledge of the processes governing the distribution these tracers in the modern ocean can improve our understanding of past ocean conditions recorded by marine archives, based on which predictions of future changes can be made more reliably.

The work is published in the journal Nature Communications.

More information: Antao Xu et al, Overlooked riverine contributions of dissolved neodymium and hafnium to the Amazon estuary and oceans, Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39922-3 Journal information: Nature Communications
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An illustration of an ice-covered rogue planet. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center

At one time, astronomers believed that the planets formed in their current orbits, which remained stable over time. But more recent observations, theory, and calculations have shown that planetary systems are subject to shake-ups and change. Periodically, planets are kicked out of their star systems to become "rogue planets," bodies that are no longer gravitationally bound to any star and are adrift in the interstellar medium (ISM). Some of these planets may be gas giants with tightly bound icy moons orbiting them, which they could bring with them into the ISM.

Like Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, these satellites could have warm water interiors that might support life. Other research has indicated that rocky planets with plenty of water on their surfaces could also support life through a combination of geological activity and the decay of radionuclides. According to a recent paper by an international team of astronomers, there could be hundreds of rogue planets in our cosmic neighborhood. Based on their first-ever feasibility analysis, they also indicate that deep space missions could explore these unbound objects more easily than planets still bound to their stars.

The research was led by Manasvi Lingam, an assistant professor at the Department of Aerospace, Physics, and Space Sciences at the Florida Institute of Technology and the Institute for Fusion Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Joining him were Andreas M. Heinc, a researcher with the Interdisciplinary Center for Security, Reliability, and Trust (SnT) at the University of Luxembourg and the Initiative for Interstellar Studies (i4is); and T. Marshall Eubanks, the chief scientist at Space Initiatives Inc. Their paper, titled "Chasing nomadic worlds: A new class of deep space missions," was recently published in Acta Astronautica.

As Lingam and his colleagues note in their paper, interstellar objects (ISO) are a time-honored field of study that was already quite active by the 1970s. However, the detection of 'Oumuamua in 2017, the first recorded encounter with an ISO, followed by the detection of 2I/Borisov in 2019, has brought this field to the forefront of scientific research. Subsequent research has revealed previous instances where smaller interstellar objects and meteors came to Earth, allowing their abundances to be constrained.

One such object (CNEOS 2014-01-08) was found in the meteor catalog of NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) by Harvard astrophysicists Amir Siraj and Professor Avi Loeb (Prof. Lingam's former mentor). According to CNEOS, this interstellar meteor landed in the South Pacific off the coast of Papua New Guinea in 2014. The Galileo Project (led by Prof. Loeb) mounted a sample retrieval campaign last year, which retrieved hundreds of metallic spherules from the meteor's remains on the ocean floor (360 and counting).

However, Lingam and his colleagues investigate the possibility of studying much larger objects. Research from the 1990s predicted that gravitational microlensing experiments could enable the detection of extrasolar planets, including those unbound to any stars. This has since been confirmed by surveys that have gauged the distribution of rogue planets, indicating that they are likely prevalent within our galaxy. This includes a pair of studies led by David Bennett, a Senior Research Scientist with the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) at NASA Goddard.

The study papers, which are scheduled to appear in the Astronomical Journal, suggest that there could be trillions of rogue planets wandering the Milky Way. As Prof. Lingam told Universe Today via email, the prolific nature of rogue objects and their potential to support life presents tremendous opportunities for future exploration:

"It is estimated that there might be as many as 1,000 moon-sized and larger nomadic worlds per star. Hence, even if a small fraction of them possess conditions amenable to life, they would be among the most common abodes for life. This is why they may represent a promising target for astrobiology."

The subject of rogue planets, satellites, and smaller objects' potential for habitability was explored extensively in Prof. Lingam's 2021 book "Life in the Cosmos: From Biosignatures to Technosignatures" (co-authored by Prof. Loeb). For the sake of this study, Prof. Lingam and his colleagues focused on objects significantly larger than meteorites or "Oumuamua and 2I/Borisovwhich measured between 100 and 1,000 meters (~330 to 3,300 ft) in diameter. They also cast a wide net that extended for two orders of magnitude, ranging from bodies comparable to Main Belt Asteroids to planets with radii between Earth and Mars.

"We focused on objects in the radius range of 100 to 10,000 km. These worlds can be rocky/icy and may potentially support liquid water in the (sub)surface for up to 100 Myr or more. The number of these objects depends on their size; as many as 1,000 moon-sized and larger nomadic worlds may exist per star."

In addition, they determined that smaller objects are likely to be far more numerous than larger rocky bodies and that they are statistically more likely to be found closer to the inner solar system. Their results also suggest that tens of thousands of planet-sized nomadic worlds could be within a spherical volume centered on Earth and extending to the nearest star system (Proxima Centauri). Whereas Proxima Centauri has three confirmed exoplanets, one of them rocky and located within the star's habitable zone (Proxima b), these rogue planets constitute the nearest exoplanets beyond our solar system.

In the near future, multiple organizations and non-profits want to mount the first interstellar missions to the nearest stars to investigate their planetary systems. Examples include Breakthrough Starshot, a proposed mission architecture combining gram-scale watercraft and directed-energy propulsion (DEP) to achieve interstellar missions in our lifetimes. However, as Lingam and his team noted, these missions would save time and money by directing their efforts to explore potentially-habitable rogue planets nearer to the solar system.

To this end, they investigated several proposed propulsion methods that are currently being investigated for interstellar mission architectures. Specifically, they sought concepts that could accomplish missions to study Earth-sized planets with a 50-year flight timescale.

Said Lingam, "We considered many propulsion systems such as electric and magnetic sails, solar and laser sails, nuclear fusion, laser and nuclear electric propulsion, and chemical propulsion. Among the various candidates, we determined that laser sails (spacecraft propelled by laser arrays) are the most promising for reaching nomadic worlds in a reasonable time frame."

These findings present opportunities for existing and next-generation space telescopes. In the coming years, astronomers hope to expand the search for rogue planets and further constrain the number of unbound objects that are out there right now. In 2027, NASA will launch the next-generation Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, the true successor of Hubble and named after NASA's first chief astronomer who played a foundational role in the telescope's creation (hence her nickname, "The Mother of Hubble").

According to the same papers led by NASA Goddard's David Bennett, Roman could find as many as 400 Earth-like rogue planets during its primary mission. The technique key to this process is known as Gravitational Microlensing, typically used for hunting exoplanets bound to stars. This technique combines elements of the Transit Method and Gravitational Lensing, relying on the gravitational force of massive objects to bend and focus light coming from a distant star. As a planet passes in front of this star relative to the observer (aka. transits), there is a measurable dip in brightness that can be used to infer the presence of a planet.

According to Lingam, microlensing surveys performed by Nancy Grace Roman will help confirm their results and determine the locations of rogue planets in our stellar neighborhood, all of which could be targets for future exploration missions.

"Through the technique of gravitational microlensing, missions like the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and Euclid are expected to empirically constrain the abundances of nomadic worlds, because these telescopes may detect worlds smaller than the Earth (e.g., moon-sized)," Lingam stated.

By exploring rogue objects kicked from their systems, scientists can conduct lucrative astrobiology missions without having to travel to distant stars. These efforts are likely to happen in parallel with missions to the outer solar system, where robotic explorers will travel to icy moons like Europa, Ganymede, Titan, Callisto, etc., and either collect samples from the surface or drill/melt through the surface ice to look for evidence of biosignatures. Even in instances where biosignatures are not evident, the study of rogue bodies will provide considerable insight into the formation and evolution of other planetary systems.

Any way you slice it, studying rogue planets and objects will tell us things about star systems that could only be learned by going there. Given the time, energy, and expense of mounting interstellar voyages, this option is faster, cheaper, and ultimately preferable. Moreover, exploring rogue objects could serve as "pathfinder missions," providing scientists with a taste of what we are likely to find out there in the galaxy and pointing the way toward the most promising locations.
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Male and female purple-crowned fairy-wren. Credit: P Barden/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

Fires in riparian zones within the tropical savannas of northern Australia affect the breeding success and survival of endangered, purple-crowned fairy-wrens.

Wildfires are becoming more common and more destructive as a result of climate change. Australian land managers in the highly flammable tropical monsoonal savannas often employ fire management as a strategy for conservation and carbon farming.

Large, destructive wildfires can be mitigated by deliberately introducing fire early in the dry season, when fires typically burn with low intensity.

Riparian zones are the interface between land and a river or stream. Although they are vitally important to biodiversity, the fire management approaches that best protect these areas are ill-understood.

According to a study published July 31 in the Journal of Applied Ecology riparian birds are highly sensitive to fire.

"Our study highlights the need for future research to improve our understanding impacts of riparian fire in the of savanna," said lead study author, Dr. Niki Teunissen, from the Monash University School of Biological Sciences.

"Riparian zones are home to an abundance of wildlife and serve as a passageway for animals to traverse the landscape and seek cooler climes," said Dr. Teunissen. "And they are quite vulnerable to fire."

The research team has been studying purple-crowned fairy-wrens at the Australian Wildlife Conservancy's Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary.

Purple-crowned fairy-wrens live in well-defined territories exclusively along rivers and creeks, rarely venturing out of the riparian zone.

"We've been studying this population of fairy-wrens for a long time, and by keeping track of individually marked birds, we've been able to gather a great deal of information about their survival and reproduction," said study author Professor Anne Peters, also from the School of Biological Sciences.

From 2011 through 2021, the research team studied purple-crowned fairy-wren density, survival, dispersal, and breeding success along 15 km of creek and river. With this data, they could compare the effects of low- and high-intensity fire in the early dry season on riparian vegetation and on the birds.

Dr. Teunissen said the fairy-wren population was impacted by fire for over 2.5 years, regardless of intensity. This was the case for low-intensity fire because reproductive success dropped during and immediately after the fire. For high-intensity fire, this was due to adult birds dying during the two to eight months after the fire (but not during the fire itself).

"The results of our study can be used to improve fire management strategies in tropical savannas, as purple-crowned fairy-wrens represent a biological indicator for riparian health," Dr. Teunissen said. "We urge fire managers and scientists to give greater consideration to the effects of fire on riparian habitat."

More information: Journal of Applied Ecology (2023). Journal information: Journal of Applied Ecology
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DNA methylation of FaQR3 promoter is associated with FaQR3 expression and furanone biosynthesis. Credit: Horticulture Research

Characteristic volatile compounds in cultivated strawberry (Fragaria  ananassa) fruit are the main factors to attract customers, which are highly correlated with consumer preference and overall satisfaction with strawberries.

Furanone is a characteristic aroma in strawberry, and has a significant impact on fruit flavor. Research on the regulation mechanism of fruit aroma compounds can provide theoretical basis for improving fruit flavor quality. Recently, increasing evidence suggests that DNA methylation plays a crucial role in fruit ripening in horticultural crops. However, the role of DNA methylation in regulating specific traits, such as furanone biosynthesis, remains unclear.

Horticulture Research published online a paper from Professor Kunsong Chen's team at Zhejiang University entitled "DNA methylation mediated by RdDM pathway and demethylation affects furanone accumulation through regulation of QUINONE OXIDOREDUCTASE in strawberry."

Here a role of DNA methylation in affecting furanone biosynthesis in strawberry was reported. Strawberry quinone oxidoreductase (FaQR) is a key enzyme in furanone biosynthesis. There are four FaQR homologs in strawberry cultivar 'Yuexin', and one of them, FaQR3 contributes to approximately 50% of FaQR transcripts, indicating a major role of FaQR3 in furanone biosynthesis.

Regulation mechanism of furanone biosynthesis in strawberry fruit based on DNA methylation modification. Credit: Horticulture Research

Through characterization of levels of DNA methylation, FaQR3 transcript and furanone contents during fruit ripening and after the application of DNA methylation inhibitor, it was found that the DNA methylation level of FaQR3 promoter was negatively correlated with FaQR3 expression and furanone accumulation, suggesting that DNA methylation may be involved in furanone biosynthesis through adjusting FaQR3 expression, and responded to different temperatures consistently.

In addition, transient expression of a gene in the RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) pathway, FaAGO4, and enrichment analysis of the 24-nt siRNAs suggested that DNA methylation in FaQR3 promoter is mediated by RdDM pathway. Transient RNAi of FaDML indicated that demethylation pathway may be involved in regulating furanone accumulation.

These findings provide new insights into the role of DNA methylation and demethylation in affecting flavor quality in strawberry during fruit ripening. These findings add new contents to the metabolic regulation network of plant volatiles and provide a new basis for the improvement of fruit flavor quality.

More information: Yunduan Li et al, DNA methylation mediated by RdDM pathway and demethylation affects furanone accumulation through regulation of QUINONE OXIDOREDUCTASE in strawberry, Horticulture Research (2023). DOI: 10.1093/hr/uhad131
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Congressional testimony this week about reverse engineering from crashed UFOs and the recovery of non-human "biologics" sounds like science fiction.

And that's the realm in which it will remain unless scientific and other hard evidence enters the picture, says Northeastern University assistant physics professor Jonathan Blazek.

He says he finds it "very frustrating" that former intelligence officer David Grusch "back(ed) away from specifics" in his July 26 testimony before a House Oversight subcommittee on national security.

"I think what I find most surprising is that lawmakers seem to be taking him so seriously at this point. I'm sure they know things that I don't," Blazek says.

Grusch, a U.S. Air Force veteran who previously worked at the National Reconnaissance Office, told members of Congress that the U.S. is operating a secret crash retrieval and reverse engineering program and that he "knows the exact location" of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) in the government's possession.

He also said that remains of non-humans had been recovered and that he knew of people who have been harmed or injured in connection with the phenomena.

As startling as his testimony was, Grusch did not offer firsthand accounts or corroborating evidence of his claims, saying repeatedly that "I can't discuss that publicly."

Where's the evidence?

"I don't find Grusch very credible," says Blazek, who read a summary report of the hearing.

Besides lacking specificity, Grusch has made "increasingly implausible claims," including telling News Nation that allegedly retrieved crafts could come from other physical dimensions, Blazek says.

It may be that members of Congress "don't want to be seen as suppressing anything, so it's better to be transparent about the sorts of claims being made," he says.

"Hopefully this is part of a process to get everything out into the open so that the community can proceed to look into the more credible and/or actually mysterious things."

"I don't think this particular hearing will make the public take the claims of 'aliens' more seriously," says Blazek, whose primary focus is on understanding the universe using astronomical surveys that cover large areas of the sky.

He says he is looking forward to a report from an independent NASA panel of highly regarded scientists who are looking into the origins of UAPs, be they optical illusions or atmospheric or stranger phenomena.

The panel, which includes retired astronaut Scott Kelly, is scheduled to release a published report any day now. The publication date was originally set for the end of July.

What UFO enthusiasts have to say

Some civilians who investigate UFO reports also question Grusch's testimony.

"The UFO 'street' has understood that material and bodies have been in U.S. custody since 1947," says Bob Spearing, the director of international investigations for MUFON, the Mutual UFO Network.

"This is nothing new except this was allegedly told under oath. That's telling," Spearing says, adding that he is speaking as an individual and not for MUFON.

He questioned whether Grusch's testimony is "a slow turn towards disclosure" or part of a campaign to mislead the public as well as foreign adversaries.

"Until they show the physical evidence, caution dictates it is a misinformation campaign. I think it is all orchestrated," Spearing says.

Serious study of UFOs

Long the subject of official derision, UFO reports are increasingly being taken seriously, at least on paper.

The Department of Defense established the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office to identify UAPs that might pose a threat to national security in 2022five years after a blockbuster New York Times story about a secretive DOD UFO program.

The Times also showed the world a declassified video of Navy fighter pilots being outmaneuvered by an oval object that traveled at seemingly mind-boggling rates of speed.

Two of the pilots included in the Times coverage, retired Navy Commander David Fravor and former Navy fighter pilot Ryan Graves, also gave testimony during the July 26 House hearing and described their first-hand, in-flight encounters.

So far, however, the Pentagon has not officially acknowledged the existence of off-earth UAPs.

Sean M. Kirkpatrick, AARO's first director, testified during the open portion of a Senate Committee on Armed Services in April that his office "has found no credible evidence thus far of extraterrestrial activity, off-world technology or objects that defy the known laws of physics."

Grusch previously worked with AARO's predecessor, the UAP Task Force.

Is more information on the way?

As wary as Grusch was about revealing details of his explosive claimswhich he says came from interviewing dozens of witnesseshe said several times during the July 26 hearing that he would discuss issues further in a SCIF or sound-proof room for officials with appropriate security clearances.

In the meantime, Blazek is looking forward to hearing what scientists on NASA's independent panel on UAPs have to report.

"There's probably been a realization in the last decades that the culture around this has gotten sort of toxic, on both sides," Blazek told Northeastern Global News following the NASA panel's first public meeting May 31.

"Actual explanations for some of these events would be really interesting."
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

It's one of the mysteries of nature: How does the axolotl, a small salamander, boast a superhero-like ability to regrow nearly any part of its body? For years, scientists have studied the amazing regenerative properties of the axolotl to inform wound healing in humans.

Now, Stanford Medicine researchers have made a leap forward in understanding what sets the axolotl apart from other animals. Axolotls, they discovered, have an ultra-sensitive version of mTOR, a molecule that acts as an on-off switch for protein production. And, like survivalists who fill their basements with non-perishable food for hard times, axolotl cells stockpile messenger RNA molecules, which contain genetic instructions for producing proteins.

The combination of an easily activated mTOR molecule and a repository of ready-to-use mRNAs means that after an injury, axolotl cells can quickly produce the proteins needed for tissue regeneration. The new findings were published July 26 in Nature.

"Until now, it has been difficult to pinpoint a specific change in a single molecule in axolotls that was so critical for regenerative potential," said Maria Barna, an associate professor of genetics and the senior author of the paper. "We've made significant headway toward understanding how we may eventually manipulate the mTOR pathway to boost regenerative potential in humans."

From mRNA to protein

In the past, researchers trying to figure out how the axolotl regrows entire body partsincluding legs, tails, eyes and even the heartfocused on how levels of mRNA molecules changed after an axolotl has an injury. Scientists have long used mRNA molecule levels as a proxy for protein levels; after all, mRNA must exist before a protein can be produced. However, these studies only shed light on what happens to the production of mRNA molecules after injurynot what happens to the translation of mRNA into protein products.

"There are hundreds of mRNA transcripts that appear after a wound, but researchers were really struggling to figure out what it was about salamanders that could explain their regenerative potential," Barna said.

Her lab took a different approach, focusing on which mRNA molecules near a wound were attached to ribosomes, little molecular machines that create proteins. That helped the scientists zero in on which proteins were being made, rather than which mRNA molecules loitered near the injury site. Usually, when cells encounter stress (such as after an injury) they decrease overall protein production to save energy, so Barna's group expected to see fewer mRNA molecules bound to ribosomes. Instead, they saw more.

"It was a 180-degree flip when we realized that when an axolotl loses a limb, it actually increases protein synthesis despite the energy cost," Barna said.

Further experiments showed that axolotl cells "stockpile" mRNA, translating less than 20% of it at any given time. When the researchers analyzed how axolotls respond to injury, they found that protein synthesis is activated, leading to the translation of hundreds of stockpiled transcripts. That long-term storage also explained the speed at which protein synthesis occurred during regeneration.

"We had a gut feeling that looking at protein synthesis more closely would be important, " said Olena Zhulyn, Ph.D., postdoctoral scholar and lead author of the study. "But never in a million years did we expect that protein synthesis would be the key to the mystery of the axolotl's regeneration."

Protein synthesis activation on injury in axolotls but not in mice. Credit: Nature (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06365-1

A connection to mTOR

A question remained: What was activating the mRNAs and causing them to bind to ribosomes after axolotls lose a body part? The researchers noticed that many of the stockpiled mRNA molecules had a shared sequence of nucleotides at one end of the mRNA which was known to be regulated by the enzyme mTOR to promote protein production.

The research found that the axolotl mTOR protein is highly sensitivethe axolotl variety contained a genetic alteration, an expansion in sequence, seen only in axolotl and related salamanders.

Investigating further, Barna and her team collaborated with researchers at University of California, San Francisco to probe the structural differences between axolotl mTOR and mammalian mTOR.

In humans and mice, mTOR (and resulting protein production) activates only when there's a surplus of nutrients. In other words, mammalian cells use mTOR to make proteins only in the best of times. But in axolotls, after an injury causes cell damage and the breakdown of many molecules, the small rush in loose nutrients is enough to flip the ultra-sensitive mTOR to its active state, turning on the cellular factories that make new proteins.

"Finding this genetic change was a shockmTOR is an ancient enzyme that is the same in virtually all organisms," said Zhulyn. "But in axolotls we were seeing evolution of new sequences and a structure that changed its fundamental properties."

When Barna and her colleagues blocked mTOR with a drug used to prevent protein production and cell division in cancers, the animals were no longer able to regrow limbs. The axolotl mTOR is hypersensitive to stimulation (in this case, injury) but is not more active than mammalian mTOR, they found. That's key, said Barnahyperactive mTOR has been linked to tumor growth in many human cancers. Given that the axolotl mTOR doesn't show hyperactivity, that could explain the remarkable cancer resistance seen in axolotls, she said.

More research is needed to probe whether changing or stimulating mTOR in humans could improve wound healing or spur the regeneration of damaged, diseased organs, Barna said.

"I think there are a still a lot of lessons to be learned about how this tight control of mRNA translation is allowing wound healing and tissue regeneration," said Barna. "There is a whole new world to be discovered when it comes to both the basic biology of translation and healing."

More information: Olena Zhulyn et al, Evolutionarily divergent mTOR remodels translatome for tissue regeneration, Nature (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06365-1 Salamanders' regenerative potential might be driven by a specific protein variant, Nature (2023). DOI: 10.1038/d41586-023-02111-9 Journal information: Nature
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Rapid Passage of Magnetic Water Molecules into Cells. Credit: PNAS

A research team led by Prof. Yossi Paltiel at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem with groups from HUJI, Weizmann and IST Austria has published a new study that reveals the influence of nuclear spin on biological processes. This discovery challenges long-held assumptions and opens up exciting possibilities for advancements in biotechnology and quantum biology.

Scientists have long believed that nuclear spin had no impact on biological processes. However, recent research has shown that certain isotopes behave differently due to their nuclear spin. The team focused on stable oxygen isotopes (16O, 17O, 18O) and found that nuclear spin significantly affects oxygen dynamics in chiral environments, particularly in its transport.

The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), have potential implications for controlled isotope separation and could revolutionize nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology.

Prof. Paltiel, the lead researcher, expressed excitement about the significance of these findings. He stated, "Our research demonstrates that nuclear spin plays a crucial role in biological processes, suggesting that its manipulation could lead to groundbreaking applications in biotechnology and quantum biology. This could potentially revolutionize isotopic fractionation processes and unlock new possibilities in fields such as NMR."

The story in detail

Researchers have been studying the "strange" behavior of tiny particles in living things, finding some places where quantum effects change biological processes. For example, studying bird navigation quantum effects may help some birds find their way in long journeys. In plants, efficiently using sunlight for energy is affected by quantum effects.

This connection between the tiny world of particles and living beings likely goes back billions of years to when life began and molecules with a special shape called chirality appeared. Chirality is important because only molecules with the right shape can do the jobs they need to in living things.

The link between chirality and quantum mechanics was found in "spin," which is like a tiny magnetic property. Chiral molecules can interact differently with particles based on their spin, creating something called Chiral Induced Spin Selectivity (CISS).

Scientists have found that spin affects tiny particles, like electrons, in living processes involving chiral molecules. They wanted to see if spin also affects larger particles, like ions and molecules that supply the base for biological transport. So, they did experiments with water particles that have different spins. The results showed that spin influences how water behaves in cells, entering at different speeds and reacting in a unique way when chiral molecules are involved.

This study highlights the importance of spin in the processes of life. Understanding and controlling spin could have a big impact on how living things work. It might also help improve medical imaging and create new ways to treat illnesses.

The research was a collaborative effort among scientists from various institutions, including the Institute of Earth Sciences and Life Sciences in Hebrew and the Weizmann Institute, with the study led by the Department of Applied Physics at Hebrew University.
By Chernor Alimamy Kamara

In order to fulfill the Legal framework of the Constitution of Sierra Leone, the Chief Electoral Commissioner (CEC) Mohamed Konneh has presented the 2022 Annual Report and Certificate of the Presidential Election to President Julius Maada Bio. The Presentation was done at State House on the 19th July 2023.

Konneh first congratulated President Bio on his reelection as President of the Republic of Sierra Leone in the just concluded 24th June multi-tier elections. He said the 2022 Annual Report of the Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone (ECSL) was written pursuant to sections of the 1991 constitution of Sierra Leone which make provision for the CEC to submit a report on the programmes and work of the commission at least once a year to the President, a copy of such report which shall also be laid before Parliament.

He said the year 2022 laid the foundation for the positive outcome of the June polls and that the report entails key milestone achievements on the preparations leading to the conduct of the Paramount Chieftaincy elections. He mentioned the commissions focus on operationalizing policy decisions into action in line with the institutions strategic plan for the 2020- 2024 election cycle including but not limited to the announcement of the election date, legal reform initiatives, and voter registration.

Konneh recalled how in line with the legal framework, the President in a press release dated 11th March 2022 declared June 24th, 2023 as the date for Parliamentary elections and 3rd September to 4th October 2022 as the date for the conduct of voter registration, followed by the announcement on the declaration of the Presidential election by the CEC on the 14th March 2022. He said to actualize some of the key 2018 elections observation recommendations and emerging government policy initiatives, the commission in consultation and collaboration with key stakeholders and other partners engaged in a series of legal reforms.

He thanked President Bio and the Ministry of Finance for providing the funds for the running of the commission. He also extended gratitude to the European Union (EU), Irish Aid, UNDP, and the Canadian Government for complimenting financial support to the commission. He also thanked the regional body ECOWAS, local partners, and political parties for their collaboration during the electioneering period.

We are satisfied that the result reflected the votes of Sierra Leoneans for the Presidents re-election, he said.

In his response, President Bio expressed delight for having received the annual report which he said is a mandate of ECSL, and that its contents outline the activities undertaken by the commission during the period under review. He thanked the CEC, the other commissioners, and the staff of ECSL for what he said was the great work they undertook for the 2023 elections.

He said the task of the commissioners is very complicated and it cannot be without hitches, citing what he described as a highly contested election like any other in the world.

Even the Great United States elections are highly contested. So ours is no exception, he said.

The President urged ECSL staff to continue to work hard, noting that their role has a greater impact on the countrys development trajectory. He thanked ECSL for delivering a credible election which he said he was proud to have won and appealed to all Sierra Leoneans to accept that democracy is a process.

President Bio won the election by securing 56.17 % of the votes to avoid a runoff with the main opposition candidate, Dr. Samura MW Kamara who got 41.16%.

Copyright  Politico (21/07/23)
Due to a summer of declining blood donations, the Red Cross is in need of type O negative, type O positive and type B negative blood donors, as well as platelet donors.

Summertime is traditionally slower than the rest of the year for blood and platelet donations. However, this year in the Northeast, things have been complicated by the weather, said Mary Alice Molgard of American Red Cross Northeast Region.

The Red Cross is offering all those who donate through Aug. 12 a chance to win a three-night New York getaway for two with a private shark dive adventure at Long Island Aquarium, in conjunction with the new movie Meg 2. Those who come to give in August will also get a $10 e-gift card to a movie merchant of their choice.

Donation sign-up online at RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Events

Glens Falls: Aug. 2: 10 a.m.3 p.m., 333 Glen St.; Aug. 4: 10 a.m.4 p.m., Glens Falls YMCA, 600 Glen St.

Queensbury: Aug. 8: 9 a.m.3 p.m., Hudson Headwaters Health Network, 161 Carey Road; Aug. 10: 15 p.m., Glens Falls BPOE, 32 Cronin Road.

Warrensburg: Aug. 10: 9 a.m.3 p.m., Warrensburg Health Center 3767 Main St.

Saratoga County: Aug. 3: 16 p.m., Saratoga Wilton Elks Club, 1 Elks Lane; Aug. 9: 9 a.m.3 p.m., Hudson Headwater Health Network, Moreau Family Health, 1299 Route 9; Aug. 10: 10 a.m.3 p.m., Knights of Columbus, 50 Pine Road; Aug. 11: 10 a.m.3 p.m., Saratoga Hospital at Wilton Mall, 3065 Route 50.
HAMILTON TOWNSHIP  An Egg Harbor City driver was killed and four others were injured when two cars collided in Route 40's westbound lanes Sunday evening, police said.

Jamyre Dewey Jr., 18, was in an eastbound 2009 Mitsubishi Galant with two other 18-year-olds and a 17-year-old when the car crashed into a 2009 Toyota Highlander, police said Monday in a news release.

Dewey, who was not properly wearing his seat belt, was declared dead at the scene, police said.

Both of the other 18-year-olds were seriously injured and taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus, by helicopter.

The 17-year-old, from Mays Landing, was brought to the same hospital by ambulance.

Crash investigators determined Dewey's eastbound Galant drifted into the westbound lanes and crashed into the Highlander, driven by Joseph Tancredi, 66, of Wallingford, Pennsylvania, near milepost 46.1 shortly before 8 p.m.

Tancredi was also brought to AtlantiCare's City Campus, but his injuries were not life threatening, police said.

Traffic was detoured for about four hours while the crash scene was processed.
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A New York architect charged with murdering sex workers and leaving their bodies near a beach is not believed to be involved with the deaths of four women found behind a motel near Atlantic City in 2006.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison said Rex Heuermann, 59, who was arrested this month in the Gilgo Beach murders, is not the perpetrator in the West Atlantic City case.

The PC (police commissioner) has indicated he does not believe the two cases are connected, Suffolk County police said in a statement Monday.

Suffolk County police were looking for possible ties between their suspect and additional cases in Las Vegas and South Carolina.

Speculation about a possible connection started after the womens bodies were found in New York, leading police and documentary producers to examine the murders similarities with the 2006 West Atlantic City slayings of four prostitutes.

Suffolk County police didnt disclose why they believed both cases were no longer connected, directing questions to local authorities.

Neither Egg Harbor Township police nor the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office immediately responded to a request for comment Monday.

Molly Dilts, 20, Kim Raffo, 35, Barbara Breidor, 42, and Tracy Roberts, 23, were found feet apart from each other behind the Golden Key Motel in Egg Harbor Townships West Atlantic City section on Nov. 20, 2006. No one has been charged with their murders.

Gilgo Beach arrest renews hope for closure in West Atlantic City murders Weeks after an arrest in a series of murders in New York, people are hopeful the break in that case can lead detectives to the person who killed four women near Atlantic City almost 17 years ago.

Two women out for a walk discovered the crime scene behind the motel in a marshy area. The victims bodies were all face down with their heads pointing east toward Atlantic City. Raffo was strangled, Roberts was asphyxiated, and Dilts and Breidors bodies were too decomposed to discern their cause of death.

Heuermanns arrest renewed interest in the West Atlantic City case.

A Suffolk County police officer and his cadaver dog were in the dunes about 15 miles east of Jones Beach in December 2010, searching for 24-year-old Shannan Gilbert, a missing Jersey City prostitute, who disappeared seven months earlier after meeting a client in Oak Beach.

They stumbled upon a womans remains, a discovery that yielded a broader investigation. Days later, three more sets of remains were found near the first, none of which were Gilbert.

The search expanded to more than 15 miles along the highway. The FBI supplied aerial surveillance photos of the region and other technical assistance.

By April, the search recovered the remains of 10 victims. Police believe nine were linked to the sex trade. The first four found were strangled elsewhere and dumped.
A Stafford Township man who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the attack Monday.

Under his plea agreement heard before U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols, Larry Fife Giberson, 22, would serve either eight to 14 months or zero to six months in prison, depending on sentencing guidelines considered by the court, according to a court filing Monday. He faces a maximum of five years.

He also would be responsible for $2,000 in restitution, the document states.

Giberson is represented by attorney Charles Burnham, who couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

According to a previous court filing, prosecutors and Giberson's legal team agreed to present a plea deal to the courts during Monday's hearing. Giberson originally pleaded not guilty to felony civil disorder and related misdemeanor offenses, charges on which he was indicted earlier this year, according to a court filing from April 5.

Giberson is scheduled for sentencing Nov. 1 before Nichols, court records show. He continues to be out of custody on personal recognizance.

Federal investigators found Giberson in online images showing him at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, joining a crowd of loyalists to former U.S. President Donald Trump as they stormed the building during certification of President Joe Biden's win in the 2020 election.

Nearly 1,000 people from roughly every state have been arrested for allegedly participating in the insurrection, the U.S. Attorney's Office has said.

Plea deal expected in Manahawkin Capitol rioter case A plea agreement is scheduled to be presented to a federal judge for charges against a Stafford Township man who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to court records.

Hints of a plea agreement appeared last month when the defense asked the courts to delay proceedings, asking for more time regarding evidence.

Prosecutors say images of Giberson in the Trump-backed crowd show him joining other rioters in a fight with police in a tunnel at the building's Lower West Terrace.

Dressed in a Make America Great Again hat and a Trump flag around his neck, Giberson encouraged other rioters to join in the fight against officers, unsuccessfully trying to provoke a "drag them out" chant before the crowd used pepper spray against police. He then ushered rioters into the tunnel for several seconds, returning inside to join in a coordinated push against the police line.

Using the photos, the FBI identified Giberson through his profile at Southern Regional High School, according to his criminal complaint, learning he was a student there until 2019. His identification was later confirmed through New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission records.

Giberson later confirmed himself as being the person depicted in the FBIs photo collection, the complaint states.

Giberson was enrolled at Princeton University as an undergraduate when he was arrested in March. On Monday, a university spokesperson declined to answer questions about Gibersons enrollment status.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The 2nd Legislative District race for state Senate and Assembly just got more interesting, with Democratic Atlantic County Commissioner Caren Fitzpatrick moving up at the last minute to run for Senate against incumbent Sen. Vince Polistina, R-Atlantic.

The move, made on the last day possible under state election law, has clear pros and cons, according to John Froonjian, executive director of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University.

I dont think its a good sign to be subbing candidates in and out in a state-level race heading into August, Froonjian said. Thats especially true when two of the three candidates are largely unknown districtwide and are running against established incumbents.

Ideally candidates want to build name recognition and raise money over the summer, he said.

But the change certainly moves the Democrats strongest candidate to the top of the ticket, Froonjian said. Caren Fitzpatrick has won office countywide as a county commissioner and makes at least the state Senate race more competitive.

With the state Legislature at the top of the ballot this year, It is important whose name is in the Senate candidates slot, Froonjian said.

Fitzpatrick, who chose to run for the Legislature rather than reelection to county office, had been running for Assembly with newcomer Alphonso Harrell, a kindergarten teacher and veteran from Egg Harbor Township.

Lesser-known Pleasantville Councilman Victor Carmona was running for Senate.

Atlantic legislative race 5th costliest in NJ history The 2nd Legislative District race to represent the heart of Atlantic County is now the fifth

Now, Carmona is nowhere on the ticket, and a new candidate, Lisa Bender, has taken Fitzpatricks spot for Assembly, according to a news release from the Atlantic County Democrats.

Bender is a marine scientist from Somers Point.

Atlantic County Democratic Chair Michael Suleiman said Monday Fitzpatrick heard from a lot of people who thought she should have been at the top of the ticket.

Weve had Victor recently step down, but in the last few weeks and months people were asking, Why isnt Caren running for Senate? Suleiman said. She did take that to heart.

The news release said Carmona dropped out to focus on his duties as a councilman, police chaplain and small business owner.

Fitzpatrick said she ran for Assembly at first because she had experience running for Assembly in 2021. Fitzpatrick ran with incumbent Democrat Assemblymen Vince Mazzeo and John Armato, both D-Atlantic.

She and Armato ran for Assembly and Mazzeo for Senate. They lost to the current Republican incumbents, Polistina and Assembly members Don Guardian and Claire Swift, all R-Atlantic.

She doesnt think the Senate seat will be harder to win than an Assembly seat.

In elections like this you are really voting for the person, Fitzpatrick said.

The Democrats are up against a group of incumbents with good name recognition.

Polistina is an engineer who had been in the Assembly before, about a decade ago. Guardian is a former Atlantic City mayor and Swift a lawyer who comes from a well-known family on Absecon Island.

Monday at 4 p.m. was the deadline for filing candidate slates with the New Jersey Department of State.

This years race was not expected to be as hotly contested and expensive as in 2021, when candidates and interest groups spent $7.7 million and a red wave flipped the 2nd District to all-Republican representation.

It was the fifth-costliest race in New Jersey history, with most of the spending in support of Democrats.

Still, it wasnt expected to be a cakewalk for the 2nds incumbent GOP slate.

The 2nd is one of the most competitive in the state and has been for decades, Froonjian said. Its a very diverse county.

As of July 1, there were 62,852 registered Democratic voters in the 2nd District, which covers much of Atlantic County, and 46,657 registered Republican voters. Another 60,040 voters were registered as unaffiliated, according to state voter registration records.

In an interview last week before the ticket changes were announced, Suleiman said the 2nd was one of a few districts where Democrats wanted to flip seats.

The Republican incumbents will be formidable and well funded, Suleiman said. From a South Jersey Democratic perspective, we will be well funded in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 8th (districts).

Those are districts  except for the 4th  now held by Republicans where Democrats see a chance to take back some seats.

Atlantic County GOP Chair Don Purdy said he is optimistic about keeping the districts they have and adding the 4th to the GOP. The 4th District covers parts of Camden and Gloucester counties and Buena Vista Township and Buena Borough in Atlantic County.

It will probably be the most expensive race in the state this year, Purdy said. If we put a senator in that district, we will have senatorial courtesy in that district. Camden County Democrats have had it for 20-plus years, doing whatever they wanted.

The GOP slate is Christopher Del Borrello, of Turnersville, for Senate; and Matt Walker and Amanda Esposito, also both of Turnersville, for Assembly.

On the Democratic side, state Sen. Fred Madden Jr. is not running for re-election. Instead, Assemblyman Paul Moriarty is running for state senator, and newcomers Dan Hutchinson of Blackwood and Cody Miller of Williamstown are running for Assembly, since Assemblywoman Gabriela Mosquera is also not running for re-election.

With no presidential, gubernatorial or statewide office at the top of the ticket this year, turnout and spending are expected to be low in most districts, several election watchers said.

And the nearby 3rd District covering parts of Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem counties is expected to suck up much of the attention and spending.

A grudge match for state Senate there pits incumbent Republican state Sen. Edward Durr against one of the longtime Democratic incumbents his ticket upset in 2021, former Assemblyman John Burzichelli.

Durr replaced longtime Democratic state Senate President Sen. Steve Sweeney.
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP  At least for now, nothing appears to have changed in the tent community in the woods in the Rio Grande section of the township.

Last week, the small community that lives in tents on private land expected to be evicted, after the property owner was given notice that he would face a citation if the tents remained.

But no citation has been issued, and the tents remain.

Everything is quiet on the home front, said Jim Chew on Monday. He describes himself as an advocate for the homeless in Rio Grande, and said at public meetings that he provides tents and sleeping bags to unhoused people in that section of the township.

Some of the unhoused now have legal representation.

Jeffrey Wild, an attorney at the Lowenstein Sandler law firm and a trustee of the New Jersey Coalition to End Homelessness, has accepted some of those living in tents as clients. In an earlier interview, he said everyone deserves a safe place to live and sleep.

Rio Grandes tent dwellers may have until Monday to vacate Time may be running out for those who live in Middle Township's homeless encampments, with a new township ordinance banning living in tents. Residents there said they may have to be out of the area by Monday.

Wild did not immediately respond to a request for an interview Monday. Chew said he advised his clients to stay where they were, and that nothing has changed.

Several people who were staying in the woods declined to be interviewed for a previous story, citing the attorneys advice.

Township officials are not discussing the matter either. Mayor Tim Donohue cited the potential for litigation, while township Administrator Kimberly Osmundsen said only Im not going to talk about that.

This year, the Township Committee approved a new ordinance that prevents the use of tents or other temporary structures for habitation. The ordinance specifically exempts campgrounds. When it was approved, Donohue said the township could not allow a tent city to grow in the community.

Some of those who use the tents attended the public hearing on that ordinance, telling the committee they had nowhere else to go. Longtime residents of Rio Grande said at the same meeting that things have gotten out of hand, with a sharp decline in the quality of life in the area.

While the section of the woods where Chew has a connection may appear well kept, some of the areas are not so carefully maintained. Donohue has described unsanitary conditions, including trash and human waste, and fires that have gotten out of control.
The horseshoe crab has been scuttling in the ocean and tidal pools for more than 400 million years, playing a vital role in the East Coast ecosystem along with being a prized item for fishing bait and medical research.

Its blue blood is harvested for medical researchers and used by drug and medical device makers to test for dangerous impurities in vaccines, prosthetics and intravenous drugs. The crabs are used by fishing crews as bait to catch eels and sea snails. And their eggs are a critical food for a declining subspecies of bird called the red knot, a rust-colored, migratory shorebird listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The competing interests have set up a clash among researchers, fishing crews and environmentalists over new protections designed to keep more of the crabs in the environment. The animals are drained of some of their blood and returned to the shore, but many die from the bleeding. And a drive to create synthetic alternatives has yet to succeed in phasing out the crabs from use.

Recent revisions to guidelines for handling the animals should keep more alive through the process, regulators said. The animals  not really true crabs but rather more closely related to land-dwelling invertebrates such as spiders and scorpions  are declining in some of their East Coast range.

They were here before the dinosaurs, said Glenn Gauvry, president of Ecological Research & Development Group, a Delaware-based nonprofit that advocates for horseshoe crab conservation. And theyre having problems because the new kids on the block, us, havent learned to appreciate the elders.

The harvest of horseshoe crabs has emerged as a critical issue for conservationists in recent years because of the red knot. The birds, which migrate some 19,000 miles roundtrip from South America to Canada and must stop to eat along the way, need stronger protection of horseshoe crabs to survive, said Bethany Kraft, senior director for coastal conservation with the Audubon Society.

Kraft and other wildlife advocates said the fact that the guidelines for handling crabs are voluntary and not mandatory leaves the red knot at risk.

Making sure there is enough to fuel these birds on this massive, insanely long flight is just critical, Kraft said. Theres very clear linkage between horseshoe crabs and the survival of the red knot in the coming decades.

The horseshoe crabs are valuable because their blood can be manufactured into limulus amebocyte lysate, or LAL, which is used to detect pathogens in indispensable medicines such as injectable antibiotics. The crabs are collected by fishermen by hand or via trawlers for use by biomedical companies, then their blood is separated and proteins within their white blood cells are processed. It takes dozens of the crabs to produce enough blood to fill a single glass tube with its blood, which contains immune cells sensitive to bacteria.

There are only five federally licensed manufacturers on the East Coast that process horseshoe crab blood. The blood is often described by activist groups as worth $15,000 a quart, though some members of the industry say that figure is impossible to verify.

Regulators estimate about 15% of the crabs die in the bleeding process. In 2021, that meant about 112,000 crabs died, said Caitlin Starks, a senior fishery management plan coordinator with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The bait fishery for horseshoe crabs, which are used as bait for eels and sea snails, killed more than six times that, she said.

Still, the fisheries commission in May approved new best management practices for the biomedical industrys harvesting and handling of the crabs. Those include minimizing exposure to sunlight and keeping crabs cool and moist, Starks said.

The goal is to give the crabs that are bled a better chance of surviving and contributing to the ecosystem after they are released, she said.

Thats exactly what the new guidelines will do, said Nora Blair, quality operations manager with Charles River Laboratories, one of the companies that manufactures LAL from horseshoe crab blood. Blair was a member of a working group that crafted the updated guidelines alongside other industry members, conservationists, fishery managers, fishermen and others.

Blair said the industry is working toward synthetic alternatives  an outcome conservationists have been pushing for years. Lonza, a Switzerland-based company that is one of the LAL manufacturers, offers animal-free testing solution, and the company has touted it as a way to test for toxins while protecting natural resources, said Victoria Morgan, a spokesperson for the company.

However, for now the wild harvest of horseshoe crabs remains critically important to drug safety, Blair said.

The critical role of horseshoe crab in the biopharmaceutical supply chain and coastal ecosystem makes their conservation imperative, he said.

The Atlantic horseshoe crab, the species harvested on the East Coast, ranges from the Gulf of Maine to Florida. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the species as being vulnerable based on a 2016 assessment.

One of the most important ecosystems for horseshoe crabs is the Delaware Bay, an estuary of the Delaware River between Delaware and New Jersey. The bay is where the crabs breed and the red knots feed.

The density of horseshoe crab eggs in the bay is nowhere near what it was in the 1990s, said Lawrence Niles, an independent wildlife biologist who once headed New Jerseys state endangered species program. Meanwhile, the population of the rufa red knot, the threatened subspecies, has declined by 75% since the 1980s, according to the National Park Service.

The birds need meaningful protection of horseshoe crab eggs to be able to recover, Niles said. He tracks the health of red knots and horseshoe crabs and has organized a group called Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition to advocate for conservation measures.

Niles and volunteers he organizes have been counting the horseshoe crab eggs since the 1980s and tagging birds since the 1990s. In mid-June, as he was wrapping up this years tracking in southern New Jersey, he described the eggs as good and consistent through the month.

The tropical ingredient fighting coastline erosion in New Jersey Ecologist Shane Godshall tromps in waders through two feet of mud in Thompsons Beach marsh o

What we want is the harvest to stop, the killing to stop, and let the stock rebuild to its carrying capacity, Niles said.

The horseshoe crabs have been harvested for use as bait and medicine from Florida to Maine over the years, though the largest harvests are in Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts and Virginia. According to federal fishery statistics, the crabs were worth about $1.1 million in total at the docks in 2021.

That figure is dwarfed by seafood species such as lobsters and scallops, which are routinely worth hundreds of millions of dollars. However, horseshoe crab fishers are dedicated stewards of a fishery that supplies a vital product, said George Topping, a Maryland fisherman.

Everything you do in life comes from horseshoe crab blood. Vaccines, antibiotics, he said. The horseshoe crab stocks are healthy.

Close Red knots, and other migrating shore birds have arrived along the shores of the Delaware Bay in Middle Township, NJ to feed on horseshoe crab eggs. The full moon high tide of May 29th along the Delaware Bay in Cape May County, will be the height of horseshoe crab spawning along the bayshore, while thousands of migrating shore birds, like the red knot, stop to feast on the horseshoe crab eggs during their journey to nesting grounds in the Arctic tundra. Tuesday May 22, 2018. (Dale Gerhard / Press of Atlantic City) Spawning horseshoe crabs fill the Delaware Bay shoreline at Hides Beach in Middle Township in 2018. Semipalmated sandpipers cover the beaches of the Delaware Bay at Kimbles Beach, Middle Township, NJ to feed on horseshoe crab eggs. The full moon high tide of May 29th along the Delaware Bay in Cape May County, will be the height of horseshoe crab spawning along the bayshore, while thousands of migrating shore birds, like the red knot, stop to feast on the horseshoe crab eggs during their journey to nesting grounds in the Arctic tundra. Tuesday May 22, 2018. (Dale Gerhard / Press of Atlantic City) Spawning horseshoe crabs fill the Delaware Bay shoreline at Hides Beach in Middle Township, NJ. The full moon high tide of May 29th along the Delaware Bay in Cape May County, will be the height of horseshoe crab spawning along the bayshore, while thousands of migrating shore birds, like the red knot, stop to feast on the horseshoe crab eggs during their journey to nesting grounds in the Arctic tundra. Tuesday May 22, 2018. (Dale Gerhard / Press of Atlantic City) Semipalmated sandpipers cover the beaches of the Delaware Bay at Kimbles Beach, Middle Township, NJ to feed on horseshoe crab eggs. The full moon high tide of May 29th along the Delaware Bay in Cape May County, will be the height of horseshoe crab spawning along the bayshore, while thousands of migrating shore birds, like the red knot, stop to feast on the horseshoe crab eggs during their journey to nesting grounds in the Arctic tundra. Tuesday May 22, 2018. (Dale Gerhard / Press of Atlantic City) Red knots, and other migrating shore birds have arrived along the shores of the Delaware Bay in Middle Township, NJ to feed on horseshoe crab eggs. Migrating shore birds cover the beaches of the Delaware Bay at Kimbles Beach, Middle Township, NJ to feed on horseshoe crab eggs. The full moon high tide of May 29th along the Delaware Bay in Cape May County, will be the height of horseshoe crab spawning along the bayshore, while thousands of migrating shore birds, like the red knot, stop to feast on the horseshoe crab eggs during their journey to nesting grounds in the Arctic tundra. Tuesday May 22, 2018. (Dale Gerhard / Press of Atlantic City) Horseshoe crab eggs sits along the high tide line at Hides Beach in Middle Township, NJ. Migrating shore birds cover the beaches of the Delaware Bay at Kimbles Beach, Middle Township, NJ to feed on horseshoe crab eggs. The full moon high tide of May 29th along the Delaware Bay in Cape May County, will be the height of horseshoe crab spawning along the bayshore, while thousands of migrating shore birds, like the red knot, stop to feast on the horseshoe crab eggs during their journey to nesting grounds in the Arctic tundra. Tuesday May 22, 2018. (Dale Gerhard / Press of Atlantic City) Red Knots, sandpipers and horseshoe crabs on the Delaware Bay The full moon high tide of May 29th along the Delaware Bay in Cape May County, will be the height of horseshoe crab spawning along the bayshore, while thousands of migrating shore birds, like the red knot, stop to feast on the horseshoe crab eggs during their journey to nesting grounds in the Arctic tundra. Red knots, and other migrating shore birds have arrived along the shores of the Delaware Bay in Middle Township, NJ to feed on horseshoe crab eggs. The full moon high tide of May 29th along the Delaware Bay in Cape May County, will be the height of horseshoe crab spawning along the bayshore, while thousands of migrating shore birds, like the red knot, stop to feast on the horseshoe crab eggs during their journey to nesting grounds in the Arctic tundra. Tuesday May 22, 2018. (Dale Gerhard / Press of Atlantic City) Spawning horseshoe crabs fill the Delaware Bay shoreline at Hides Beach in Middle Township in 2018. Semipalmated sandpipers cover the beaches of the Delaware Bay at Kimbles Beach, Middle Township, NJ to feed on horseshoe crab eggs. The full moon high tide of May 29th along the Delaware Bay in Cape May County, will be the height of horseshoe crab spawning along the bayshore, while thousands of migrating shore birds, like the red knot, stop to feast on the horseshoe crab eggs during their journey to nesting grounds in the Arctic tundra. Tuesday May 22, 2018. (Dale Gerhard / Press of Atlantic City) Spawning horseshoe crabs fill the Delaware Bay shoreline at Hides Beach in Middle Township, NJ. The full moon high tide of May 29th along the Delaware Bay in Cape May County, will be the height of horseshoe crab spawning along the bayshore, while thousands of migrating shore birds, like the red knot, stop to feast on the horseshoe crab eggs during their journey to nesting grounds in the Arctic tundra. Tuesday May 22, 2018. (Dale Gerhard / Press of Atlantic City) Semipalmated sandpipers cover the beaches of the Delaware Bay at Kimbles Beach, Middle Township, NJ to feed on horseshoe crab eggs. The full moon high tide of May 29th along the Delaware Bay in Cape May County, will be the height of horseshoe crab spawning along the bayshore, while thousands of migrating shore birds, like the red knot, stop to feast on the horseshoe crab eggs during their journey to nesting grounds in the Arctic tundra. Tuesday May 22, 2018. (Dale Gerhard / Press of Atlantic City) Red knots, and other migrating shore birds have arrived along the shores of the Delaware Bay in Middle Township, NJ to feed on horseshoe crab eggs. Migrating shore birds cover the beaches of the Delaware Bay at Kimbles Beach, Middle Township, NJ to feed on horseshoe crab eggs. The full moon high tide of May 29th along the Delaware Bay in Cape May County, will be the height of horseshoe crab spawning along the bayshore, while thousands of migrating shore birds, like the red knot, stop to feast on the horseshoe crab eggs during their journey to nesting grounds in the Arctic tundra. Tuesday May 22, 2018. (Dale Gerhard / Press of Atlantic City) Horseshoe crab eggs sits along the high tide line at Hides Beach in Middle Township, NJ. Migrating shore birds cover the beaches of the Delaware Bay at Kimbles Beach, Middle Township, NJ to feed on horseshoe crab eggs. The full moon high tide of May 29th along the Delaware Bay in Cape May County, will be the height of horseshoe crab spawning along the bayshore, while thousands of migrating shore birds, like the red knot, stop to feast on the horseshoe crab eggs during their journey to nesting grounds in the Arctic tundra. Tuesday May 22, 2018. (Dale Gerhard / Press of Atlantic City)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a visit to Pune on Tuesday. The Nationalist Congress Party will protest tomorrow by showing black flags to oppose Narendra Modi. After receiving such information, the police sent notices to the NCP workers. Pune City President Prashant Jagtap of NCP's Sharad Pawar faction has said that even after receiving a notice from the Pune city police, we are firm on our protest.

An important state of the country has been burning for a month, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has no time to go there. But he has time to accept an award from a private organization. On August 1, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be honored with the Lokmanya Tilak National Award. But opposition party workers are condemning that the award will be conferred to him. After Narendra Modi came to Pune, he said that we would protest by showing him black flags, but as soon as the Pune police got this information, the Pune police issued a notice to him.

Prashant Jagtap informed that he will express his protest against Narendra Modi even if the crime is filed under any section.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a Pune tour tomorrow for the Lokmanya Tilak National Award award ceremony and the inauguration of many development projects. The city is all geared up to welcome the Prime Minister. Still, amid these preparations, the opposition has warned of agitation against PM Modi as he hasn't responded to anything yet about the Manipur violence.

While addressing the media, the former Mayor of Pune City took a toll on the opposition as they warned of a protest during the PM's visit. The former Mayor says, "If they protest, we will also take aggressive steps and agitate where they will. Why are they being a spoilsport when everything is good?"

Murlidhar Mohol said it is a moment of happiness for Punekars as Phase 1 of the metro project is completed, and the PM will inaugurate it. Also, many homeless people will get homes, and other important development projects will also be inaugurated at this time, and the opposition is spoiling everything he claims.

"These opposition parties are so double-faced; on the stage, NCP's Sharad Pawar is one of the Chief Guests, and on the other hand, their party workers will be protesting. Similarly, INC is opposed to the award conferred by Tilak Smarak Mandir. Now tell me, whose thoughts is Congress built? This is all double-faced things going on just for political stunts."

The BJP party workers have urged police to stop these protests from happening as the PM will be here for the inauguration of different development projects, or else the former Mayor of Pune, Murlidhar Mohol, has cleared their stand on the opposition's protest.
Hundreds of Quad-Citians gathered at one local icon, Modern Woodmen Park, to celebrate the life of another.

That icon?

Revered columnist Bill Wundram  a titan of local journalism, storytelling and the Quad-Cities.

Wundram, who died in February of this year, joined the Quad-City Times' predecessor  the Davenport Democrat and Leader  in 1944 at age 19. He became a columnist in 1979, where he'd distinguish his career by pushing out columns seven days a week.

"He's probably the Quad-Cities' biggest cheerleader," said son Tim Wundram. "He just loved everything about life; everything was fun. He worked so hard  and he just loved meeting new people."

Over his decades-long career, Wundram wore several hats in the newsroom, though his niche lay within "soft-news" storytelling  namely about folks and fun within the Quad-Cities community.

Quad-Cities River Bandits owner Dave Heller said he was approached by the Wundram family regarding the celebration, which featured a live circus band, a ballpark food buffet, free Ferris wheel and carousel rides and a film screening of "Bill Wundram: Right From Your Heart" on the jumbotron.

With Wundram's love of Bix weekend, carnival rides and the ballpark, Heller saw the opportunity fit.

"To me, it made all the sense in the world to honor somebody that I just loved, revered and respected so much in our ballpark," he said. "To celebrate his life and all that he did for our great community  It just seemed the right thing to do and the right place to do it."

Wundram's daughter, Becky, said the family wanted to give both themselves and the community closure.

"This is what Dad would have wanted. We thought of little things, and it just kept getting bigger" she said. "We wanted it to be a celebration  He would have loved this"

Davenport native Kay Runge, a lifelong librarian, was one of many guests on Sunday who've been moved by Wundram's wealth of knowledge.

"Bill was fascinating," she said. "I was a history major in college, so if I really wanted to know the history of what was going on around town  I always talked to him."

Runge said she doubts anyone who ever knew Wundram disliked him.

"You just have to respect people who have that kind of knowledge, and impact," she said.

Even at 98, Wundram's mind was as sharp as ever, his son said.

"I wish I had half the brain (he) had at 98, that I do now," Tim Wundram said. "Even up until he died, he'd say, 'I still got a few columns left in me.'"

Lisa Harrison said she was, "proud" to be Wundram's caregiver at The Fountains Senior Living in Bettendorf.

"It's just great to know that Bill made so many people happy and has made such a huge impression on this world," she said. "Being here, today, I've realized how many people will always remember Bill. He was such a special guy."

Another guest, Margaret Castel, had only met Wundram a few times but still recalls fond memories. Her husband directed the "Big Top" circus band performing on Sunday.

"He was a great gentleman," Castel said. "And, also a clown at times."

With permission from the family, Heller said he'd love to make Sunday's memorial an annual celebration.

"Bill Wundram was a Quad-Cities treasure," he said. "He was such an amazing, generous and unbelievable character  Hollywood could never, in a million years, invent someone like Bill."
The Eastern Iowa Community College's Board of Trustees will vote on Chancellor Sonya Williams' contract in a special meeting on Tuesday evening.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the Ellis Vetter Board Room, located in Scott Community College's Urban Campus, 101 West Third St. in downtown Davenport.

Community members can also attend the special meeting via Zoom  the link is provided on the meeting agenda, which can be found online at https://eicc.edu/about/board-trustees/.

Dr. Williams began her duties as EICC's eighth chancellor last August.

The EICC board appointed her to replace the college's former chancellor, Dr. Don Doucette, due to his retirement.

As chancellor, Williams oversees all EICC campus operations, including its satellite sites in Maquoketa, Wilton and its several area high school partnerships.

According to the EICC website, her appointment came following an, "extensive" national search.
The Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation (RIMEF) will award a record $205,576 in PRIME Grants to teachers and educators in the Rock Island-Milan School District (RIMSD) for the 2023-2024 school year.

The grants will be presented at a special event held at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday at Circa '21 Dinner Theatre in Rock Island.

PRIME (Promoting Rock Island Milan Education) Grants fund new and innovative programs and materials and are given out as teacher, department/school or multi-school grants. This year they will fund 99 new projects across 113 teachers and administrators. All funds will be used within the 2023-2024 school year and the grants require follow-up reports/photos by the recipients at the end of that year.

The foundation has awarded a total of $1,236,396 in teacher/PRIME grants to the RIMSD.

The RIMEF believes that every child is entitled to a quality education and has provided nearly $500,000 of support to the students, teachers and schools of the district in 2023.

For more information about PRIME Grants or the RIMEF, please contact Monta Ponsetto at 309.781.0660 or monta.ponsetto@rimsd41.org.

After historic declines in math scores, schools look to bolster summer programs to help kids catch up After historic declines in math scores, schools look to bolster summer programs to help kids catch up
CHICAGO  An off-duty Chicago firefighter died Sunday morning after he was pulled underwater while swimming in Lake Michigan at 31st Street Beach, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt said the firefighter was swimming with his family off the lakefront when he was pulled underwater at around 7:30 a.m. Crews quickly located the man and pulled him out of the water before performing advanced life support.

The 43-year-old was transported to University of Chicago Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, according to CFD. The firefighters identity has not been released, but Nance-Holt said hes been on the job since 2009.

The loss of any of our members is a loss for the First Responder community and the City as a whole, Nance-Holt said.

She added that while the incident happened off-duty, CFD is conducting a a full investigation to determine the status of this tragic loss.

Firefighters, police officers and paramedics led a procession Sunday afternoon to pay tribute to the man while his body was transported to the Cook County medical examiners office.

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
Dozens of structures, vehicles and homes were lost in a Lolo grass fire that was extinguished by firefighters Sunday evening.

At about 5:30 p.m., the Missoula Rural Fire District responded to a grass fire at the 12000 block of Triple L Lane on the southwest side of Lolo, according to a news release.

Structures were ablaze before firefighters got to the scene, Missoula Rural Fire Chief Chris Newman said.

Crews found a wind-driven fire quickly making its way through grass and brush, moving northeast toward Jade Lane.

Newman said the threatened area was a mix of mobile homes and permanent houses and buildings.

One mobile home was a complete loss and a second mobile home was damaged, according to the news release. Four shops and garages were lost, along with 12 outbuildings and sheds and 11 vehicles (including RVs) that were totaled or damaged by the fire.

The Missoula City Fire Department, Florence Rural Fire District, East Missoula Rural Fire District, U.S. Forest Service and Department of Natural Resources and Conservation deployed resources to help battle the Triple L fire.

A Neptune BAe-146 large air tanker made several retardant drops along the northeast side of the fire while helicopters ferried buckets of water to the open flames between Triple L Lane and Austin Drive, between Mormon Creek Drive and Highway 12.

The fire was contained a few hours later. It burned about 20 acres. Three people were treated for smoke inhalation and a firefighter injured his knee on scene, according to the news release.

An evacuation order was issued and subsequently lifted by the Missoula County Sheriffs Office for residents in close proximity to the burn.

Heavy wind on Sunday evening affected the fires movement and severity, Newman said.

He said the cause of the fire was unknown as of Monday afternoon, but rural fire officials and U.S. Forest Service agents were investigating the cause.

Traffic to the scene was hampered by an RV fire on Highway 93 between Missoula and Lolo Sunday afternoon. At 7:30 p.m., the obstruction had southbound cars backed up all the way to Reserve Street.
Following the weekly spins on the 2023 session by Montanas Republican legislators is like watching the reunion season of Vanderpump Rules. You cant decide whats more appalling: the hit-and-mostly-miss transparency or the assumption we wont notice.

Lets be clear, a state senator boasted recently about Montanas historic budget surplus. The Republican supermajorityrecognized [thats] working Montanans money, not the governments. So were returning it to the people who paid it.

Puh-lease. The historic budget surplus was not the result of the super-majoritys belt-tightening or revenue-exploding wizardry. It resulted from the COVID-prompted infusion of federal funding, over a third of which came from taxpayers not from Montana. Yet the high-minded Republican supermajority isnt returning that share to the people who paid it. Why? The only plausible reason is that, unlike you, those taxpayers dont vote in Montana.

Lets truly be clear: The supermajoritys vigilance on protecting Montanans money is about as stalwart as the Vanderpumpians on fidelity.

The same supermajority writing us a check with such great fanfare created a tax write-off capped at $150 in 2015 that is now capped at $200,000 per taxpayer for donations to student scholarships for private schooling. The total taxes written off this way to subsidize private school scholarships  $3 million a year initially  will be $5 million next year. Thats $5 million that could (and should) go to schools that welcome and educate every single Montana child. Instead it goes to schools that can deny admission to any of them.

Add to that revenue sinkhole the new community choice charter schools legislation. Once again, taxpayers money that should go to public schools will be used to fund exclusive schools. One size doesnt fit all, the Republicans insist, apparently unaware of all the accommodating alternative sizes public schools are proud to provide and private schools dip out on. If a special interest group convinced the Legislature to allocate public funds for some kids country club dues because the city parks were too one-size-fits-all, youd scream bloody murder.

Some folks are. Public education advocates are challenging the community choice charter legislation in court since its so clearly unconstitutional. The super-majority, so wicked smart and all, saw that coming. In fact, when the bill didnt have the votes to pass, Senate Majority Leader Steve Fitzpatrick persuaded Republican nay-sayers with this compelling pitch: Yes, our own counsel says its unconstitutional, but just pass it and let the courts decide.

Fitzpatrick in particular should know how expensive that strategy can be. A lawyer, he introduced changes to election and campaign laws late in the 2021 session that cost taxpayers bigly. Before the lower court verdict on one of them even came down (finding the change, predictably, unconstitutional), the state had paid $1.3 million to seven attorneys defending it and two other bills he endorsed.

Lesson learned? Hardly. Instead of heeding the counsel working Montanans pay to advise them on the constitutionality of their proposals, the supermajority simply increased their litigation budget by $2 million.

And started spinning. Upon learning that her community charter bill was being challenged, House Majority Leader Sue Vinton sniffed: They cant win in public opinion or at the Legislature, so they go to the courts.

Just the facts, maam. Theres no hue and cry from Montanans for community charter schools. Its imported. And the public outcry against Vintons bill outnumbered support nearly 4:1.

If youre in the supermajority spin cycle, youre being taken to the cleaners. As the Vanderpumpers say, Id cry but these eyelashes are mink.




MARSEILLE, July 31: A pilot landed his tourist plane in choppy waters off southern France on Sunday after the aircraft's engine broke down, with all occupants surviving unharmed, firefighters said.





The Cessna 177 touched down 600 metres (1,968 feet) off the coast near the Mediterranean resort of Frejus shortly before 10:00 am (0800 GMT).





The local fire service said the pilot chose the location to "avoid the beach, where there were already a lot of holidaymakers".




Kathmandu, Nepal, July 31, 2023: Srawan 15 is being celebrated today in Nepal as the Khir Khane (rice-pudding) festival. In Nepali society, there is a tradition of celebrating Srawan by eating kheer.





Kheer is a delicious made by cooking rice in milk mixed with various spices such as coconut, chokada, cashew nuts, raisins, almonds and other spices. Kheer used to be eaten on Srawan 15 with the belief that immediate eating of kheer would improve health affected in the rainy season.





There is long been established tradition of celebrating different festivals with different types of dishes. Dahi and Chiura (Curd and Bitten Rice) used to eaten on Asar 15 while Kheer in Srawan 15.




Ottawa's reliance on batteries to back up wind and solar power: A cautionary tale for governments everywhere By Tom Harris with contributions from Mary-Jean Harris

web posted July 31, 2023 As demonstrated in the report issued by the International Climate Science Coalition - Canada , the City of Ottawa's Climate Change Master Plan is costly, infeasible and ultimately dangerous to the public. Arguably its most insane element is the plan to introduce batteries to backup wind and solar power for windless periods or when it is cloudy (or at night). In its all-encompassing and nonsensical plan to 'stop global warming,' the City has adopted short, mid, and long-term greenhouse gas reduction targets based on 2012 levels. The brain trust at the city actually think they can, and will, reduce Community emissions by 100 per cent by 2050, and city operations emissions by 100% by 2040. All this in a city of one million souls with temperatures often down to minus 30 degrees Celsius. The magnitude of the "renewable" energy projects that Ottawa plans to engage in to meet its net-zero targets are astonishing: 36 square kilometres of rooftop solar will be required, a 161,485% increase over today's levels, 710 industrial wind turbines, each taller than the Peace Tower, and 122 large shipping containers of lithium batteries for power storage. Each of these projects will be devastating to the City. To reduce emissions by 100% by 2050, we would need enough electricity storage for renewable power to meet demand and offset emissions on the provincial power grid. The model relied upon by the City indicates that the following will be needed: Solar photovoltaic (PV) reaches 1,060 MW by 2050 (approximately 36 km2 of solar PV47)

Wind generation reaches 3,218 MW by 2050 (approximately 710 large scale turbines)

310 MW of local energy storage by 2030 and 612 MW by 2050 (122 large shipping containers of lithium batteries) It is extremely expensive to provide bulk electricity storage using batteries as well as inefficient. David Wojick, a Virginia-based Ph.D. in the logic and philosophy of science, explains in his article " California secretly struggles with renewables " (January 19, 2021): "California has hooked up a grid battery system that is almost ten times bigger than the previous world record holder, but when it comes to making renewables reliable it is so small it might as well not exist. The new battery array is rated at a storage capacity of 1,200 megawatt hours (MWh); easily eclipsing the record holding 129 MWh Australian system built by Tesla a few years ago. However, California peaks at a whopping 42,000 MW. If that happened on a hot, low wind night this supposedly big battery would keep the lights on for just 1.7 minutes (that's 103 seconds) The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that grid scale battery systems have averaged around $1.5 million a MWh over the last few years. At that price this trivial piece of storage cost just under TWO BILLION DOLLARS. At 103 seconds of peak storage that is about $18,000,000 a second. Money for nothing." These huge expenses are not only unwarranted, but futile in providing power to a large city. While California can benefit from air conditioning in its hot summers, Ottawa requires dependable very high-quality heat in its bitterly cold winters. It truly becomes a matter of life or death, especially for the elderly or those with illnesses who are susceptible to the cold. Moreover, storage of renewable energy has never been achieved on a large scale before, and it would thus be irresponsible to attempt it without further research. Professor Jacques Treiner, Associate researcher at LIED (Universite Paris-Diderot), says that: "Today when it comes to using renewable energies on a large scale, we don't know how to store energy. If we knew how to do it, on the days of high production, we would stock it and we would use it during moments of low production. But we do not know how to do that on a massive scale. And so, we cannot, at the moment, envisage an electrical mix that is 100% renewable energy." The low-capacity contributions for wind and solar power mean that large quantities of back-up power are require if we are to avoid daily blackouts. With today's technology, significant bulk battery storage of electricity is impractical and extremely expensive. Currently, the use of bulk energy storage by batteries increases the cost of delivered electricity by 10 times the cost of the renewable generation itself. We have to ask if the citizens of Ottawa, and indeed, any city introducing similar climate change plans, are prepared to cover this expense. Most electric batteries are lithium based and rely on a mix of rare earth metals and cobalt, manganese, nickel, and graphite. Such materials require massive amounts of energy to mine, transport, process, and refine, far greater than the extraction and transport of oil and natural gas. Mining and mineral processing also require large volumes of water and can pose contamination risks from mine drainage and wastewater discharge. When mining rare earth metals, about 90% of what is pulled up from the ground contains uranium, thorium, and other radioactive nuclides. This radioactive waste can pose serious risks if it is not properly disposed of. In China, for example, champion of rare earth metals, in Heilongjiang province, a carpet of toxic dust covers agricultural regions. China controls most of the lithium and cobalt, both important components of solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries, which are often produced with child labor and near-slave labor, with practically no health, safety, or environmental safeguards. ICSC-Canada Economics/Policy Advisor Robert Lyman explained: "A recent United Nations report warned that the raw materials used in EV batteries are highly concentrated in a small number of countries where environmental, labor and safety regulations are weak or non-existent. 'Artisanal' cobalt production in the Democratic Republic of the Congo now supplies two-thirds of the global output of the mineral. Many of the mines employ child labor in extremely dangerous tasks. Up to 40,000 children are estimated to be working in extremely dangerous conditions, with inadequate safety equipment, for very little money in the mines in Southern Katanga." This is just a sample of the injustices to meet current raw material requirements for wind and solar power. Imagine the raw material demands, Third World mining, child labor conditions and ecological destruction, under the huge demands of the planned "green" energy expansion. We can see that, as large-scale wind and solar power must rely on large-scale lithium battery storage, they are entirely infeasible and, indeed, immoral to introduce in our society. We need to supply our citizens with inexpensive, reliable and plentiful energy, which cannot be achieved with renewable energy no many how many batteries are hooked up to these flimsy power sources. The City of Ottawa's Climate Change Master Plan is doomed to failure. However, it does have one bright side. As Ottawans freeze in the dark because of our useless virtue signalling, politicians in other jurisdictions may very well take heed to not fall into the same environmental extremism trap. Let's hope they learn from our mistakes. Tom Harris is Executive Director of the International Climate Science Coalition - Canada (ICSC-Canada). He and Mary-Jean Harris live in Ottawa. The ICSC-Canada report on Ottawa's plan may be seen at Ottawa's Climate Change Plan | ICSC - Canada . Home
After a long Memorial Day weekend, Raymond Royall decided he would take his 1977 fiberglass open motorboat out for one more time before selling it for good.

The former Richmond City Council member set out from a Hampton Roads marina alone and told his friends and family he would be back for dinner.

But Royall never made it back.

Before the sun came up, his boat was picked up by the Virginia Beach Marine Patrol. Its starboard side had a deep, 3-inch gash leading all the way to the hull of the boat. All of the life jackets were on deck.

In the days that followed, search-and-rescue teams worked around the clock searching for Royall. Helicopters and boats were sent out on the Chesapeake Bay.

The Coast Guard expanded the search, setting up a 40-squaremile area. Still, Royall remained lost. By day three, he was presumed dead.

With gatherings and activities planned for the following weekend, the Coast Guard reported high chances, 70%, of Royall's body being found. But weeks came and went with no sign of him.

By the end of July 1978, Royall's wife decided it was time to hold a funeral service to honor the fiveyear, tenured 9th District council member, businessman, church leader and father of two.

"Heaven is a more joyful place because of Brother Royall's presence. Yet, we are left with a deep sorrow," the Rev. James Barwick stated in the Wednesday, July 12, 1978, edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The service, attended by over 500 people in the community, served as closure as friends and family resigned themselves to accept his untimely death.

That was until a man going by Michael Royall, bearing a similar appearance as Raymond, was spotted driving the same car as the presumed deceased in Missouri.

While Royall's disappearance shocked the city, Richmonders were in for even more of a shock when days following the search, the local Bank of America seized all of the vehicles and closed the doors on Royall's Dodge car dealership.

The same day, the Coast Guard called off the search, citing it had scoured every possible area without any luck.

Shock turned to speculation as whispers spread around town about Royall's finances, his disappearance and whether he was really dead.

According to bank officials, Royall had been in financial distress for some time with loans tallying up. He was set to meet with the bank to decide next steps the day he went missing.

Likewise, Royall's next-in-line salesman had decided to leave town, telling everyone he was moving to Florida. This only kept up the rumors.

And soon they proved true when, in September, just three months after his disappearance, the FBI announced Royall had surfaced in St. Louis and a statewide search was underway.

The bureau told Times-Dispatch reporters Dale Eisman, Bill Miller and Tim Wheeler in the Tuesday, Sept. 26, 1978, edition of the paper that Royall was living in the same building with two of his business associates and had been working for a beer distributing company under the alias Michael Royall.

When hired, he gave a different Social Security number and listed his birthday as Sept. 24, 1941  10 days before his actual birthday.

According to Pam Stelzer, one of his St. Louis coworkers, Royall had told her and other coworkers that he had lived in Richmond and served on the City Council. He claimed that his wife and child had died in a car accident and that he was in Missouri to escape his previous life.

According to Stelzer, Royall was a great coworker, confidant and friend. On Thursday, "Michael called to say goodbye to me. He was so damned conscientious. Here the FBI was after him and he stopped to call me to say goodbye and to tell me about three accounts that needed attention," Stelzer said. "He didn't say where he was going. We were both quite upset. He was okay at first. But I told him I was going to miss him, and he began crying, and I began crying."

While the FBI learned of his whereabouts in September, it would be two more months before the law would catch up with him.

In December 1978, Royall returned to the city "looking pale and much thinner" to face various charges relating to his faked death. By 1979, he accepted a plea on two of eight charges against him and paid $15,000 for his crimes.

After that, life moved on and Royall faded into obscurity as just one of many infamous Richmond city politicians who faced financial and legal troubles.

That was the case for nearly a decade. Then, Royall agreed to sit down with the same Times-Dispatch reporter who covered most of his disappearance, capture and trial.

At his new home in New Orleans, Royall offered his side of the story in the Sunday, July 7, 1985, edition of The Times-Dispatch.

According to Royall, his decision to leave behind his family, friends and business was one of impulse. Ultimately, he could no longer take the stress.

So he got into his boat, pointed it out into the bay and "just let it go" before swimming back to the shore. It was a decision that would cause a lot of problems including "exile" from the city he "had an intense, passionate love affair with" while living there.

Despite his choices, Royall said he learned from it and considered himself a completely different person.

"My marriage was deteriorating. My business was deteriorating. And I was on every committee, every board, every commission. There was in my personal and business life too much pressure to cope with," Royall said. "If I didn't have, I came as close as anyone to having a nervous breakdown. I had to escape it."

Em Holter (804) 649-6178 eholter@timesdispatch.com @EmHolternews on Twitter

From the Archives"
The Chesterfield County Police Department is withholding nearly all of the names of its police officers from public view, arguing a novel interpretation of Virginia Freedom of Information Act law and frustrating a local police oversight group.

In March, Alice Minium, an activist who runs the website OpenOversight Va, requested a full list of the police departments payroll.

In response, the department redacted the names of all law enforcement under the rank of lieutenant  more than 500 names from a roster of about 530 officers. The redactions included regular patrol officers, HR staff and even new recruits.

The redactions were explained using an untested legal rationale. At some point, any officer could go undercover, therefore, the names of all officers of lieutenant rank and below qualify to be shielded under Virginia FOIA law  which provides exemptions for undercover officers.

Government contracts  like those between a department and its employees  have long been explicitly unprotected under Virginia code. In fact, payroll data is one of the few documents police departments have not been able to withhold under legal statutes that heavily favor police privacy.

If accepted by Virginia judges, Chesterfields interpretation of the undercover exemption would pave the way for police departments across the state to do the same, allowing for police officer names to remain secret.

They want to ignore the plain understanding of the law

Chesterfield police spokesperson Liz Caroon said the department does not comment on pending litigation. In a letter to Minium, a lawyer for the county, Katherine Gill, said the redactions were an issue of police officer safety.

Due to the staffing and operational logistics of the Chesterfield County Police Department, officers in the positions of lieutenant and below are moved in and out of undercover operations on a daily basis, Gill said. Releasing the names of these officers would put the safety of undercover officers and the integrity of undercover investigations at risk.

In General District court, a substitute judge, Philip A. Roberts Jr., dismissed Miniums initial petition without a hearing. After several dismissals on technicalities, the case was heard in trial on July 20.

In court, County Attorney Jeff Mincks called up Chesterfield police Maj. Andrea Riesmeyer. On the stand, Riesmeyer said Chesterfields new undercover program was enhanced in 2022 and that more officers were now going undercover, some at any time. She said that if the department released their names, they could be identified on OpenOversight VA, which has photos of some officers alongside their names.

Its easy to link a name with a face, Riesmeyer said. We dont want any risk to our community or our officers.

Under cross-examination, Andrew Bodoh, an attorney representing Minium, asked Riesmeyer to define undercover.

She said the department has both undercover and covert officers. The departments definition of undercover, she said, includes officers in unmarked cars, who are wearing police badges, or wearing parts of their uniforms.

While the county argued that everybody whose name is redacted is an undercover officer, Bodoh argued the countys was an unreasonable interpretation of Virginias Freedom of Information Act exemption for undercover officers.

Even if you have a vest on that says police, you are undercover, Bodoh said. They want to ignore the plain understanding of the law.

Another substitute judge, Jennifer Rosen, ruled in the countys favor as well, saying that there was no violation of FOIA in CPDs redactions.

A recruit could be promoted tomorrow, said Rosen, a lawyer who specializes in family law.

In her ruling, she also said the decision might be beyond her paygrade.

Someone upstairs may decide better than I do, said Rosen, referencing the probability that despite her ruling, the case would be appealed.

Bodoh says that is the plan  to appeal the case into circuit court, a higher tier of court that serves as a court of record for the state and, after that, the court of appeals, if the outcome remains the same.

Bodoh said he is unaware of any other similar cases that have tested Virginias FOIA law, which ensures the publics access to the records of government agencies.

In 2016, a bill to shield police officer names from the public was proposed in the Virginia General Assembly. That bill, proposed by state Sen. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, did not pass. Cosgrove said at the time that he filed the bill in response to a FOIA request from The Virginian-Pilot seeking payroll records  nearly the exact same request as Miniums.

If they want a broader exemption, they can lobby the General Assembly for it, Bodoh said. The countys position is not consistent with what the General Assembly intends.

Similar legislation that would let officials withhold the names of police personnel have been proposed in West Virginia and New Jersey. In 2007, the California Supreme Court struck down a challenge to limit the information, ruling that the information is public.

More than 27,000 officer names posted online

Chesterfield is the only police department that gave OpenOversight VA such a heavily redacted roster. The group received more than 280 unredacted payrolls and has more than 27,000 officer names online, some alongside user-submitted photos or disciplinary records. Minium said it is used by media and Virginians who want to know more about officers they have interacted with, at times to see if they have disciplinary histories.

The goal has never been to humiliate people, Minium said. Theres nothing shameful in having your name published.

Minium said her transparency work started in 2020 after seeing a friend placed in a chokehold by a police officer. The incident occurred days after the death of George Floyd, which would go on to spark a summer of protests that reshaped Richmond. The case also brought renewed attention to police discipline issues and records.

Throughout the demonstrations, protesters began to know officers faces and names as a way of protecting themselves from ones she said were more aggressive or thought to be violent, she said.

Internal affairs records from the Richmond Police Department later showed that some officers were found to have stepped out of line during the protests, with the Richmonds commonwealths attorney even attempting to bring indictments against two officers, according to the report. A grand jury opted not to indict them.

Bodoh said there is obvious value in having payroll be public, including, for example, to spot nepotism in hiring or other types of fraud in public contracts.

Exactly that behavior has occurred as recently as this year. In June, Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins was charged by the Department of Justice for accepting bribes in exchange for law enforcement badges and credentials. Some of the bribes came in the form of campaign contributions, which are also public records.

We dont have a secret police force in America, Bodoh said. Having access to the names of public officials is both what the law says and a very simple good idea.

From the Archives: In 1974, a Richmond music festival turned into a full-on riot Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival Cherry Blossom Rock Festival 20181109_FEA_POD_jamDONE.jpg
Police on Monday released additional details related to the death of a motorist who was killed during a police chase in Hopewell early Saturday.

Virginia State Police said a 1998 Dodge Ram was being pursued by Prince George County police when it ran a red light at Ashland Street and collided with a 2021 Toyota Camry at Oaklawn Boulevard at around 12:25 a.m. on Saturday.

The Camry spun out and struck the signal light pole in the intersection. The Ram overturned and the driver fled on foot, police said.

The driver of the Camry, Andre Bassett Jr., 45, of Jacksonville, Florida, was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to police. He was wearing a seat belt.

Prince George police identified the driver of the Ram as Tequan Devon Taylor, 34, of Petersburg. Police said they initiated the traffic stop on the Ram in the 5700 block of Oaklawn Boulevard at 11:39 p.m. on Friday. The reason for the stop was reckless driving by speed; Taylor was driving 67 mph in a 45-mph zone, per police. Taylor attempted to evade the stop by fleeing eastbound on Oaklawn Boulevard.

Charges against Taylor are pending.

This crash remains under investigation with the assistance of the Virginia State Police Crash Reconstruction Team. Anyone with information related to the hit-and-run is encouraged to contact Virginia State Police by calling (804) 609-5656 or #77 on a cellphone or email questions@vsp.virginia.gov.

From the Archives: The opening of Cloverleaf Mall Cloverleaf Mall Cloverleaf Mall Cloverleaf Mall Cloverleaf Mall Cloverleaf Mall Cloverleaf Mall Cloverleaf Mall Cloverleaf Mall Cloverleaf Mall
(Image: Bloomberg)

Economic Affairs Minister Rafizi Ramli has proposed a plan where Malaysians are encouraged to lease their rooftops for the installation of solar panels, in a bid to encourage the use of renewable energy (RE). This plan will also allow individuals to reduce their electricity bills, and even earn some extra income.

In every home, we intend to give households the option to lease out their rooftops in return for a monthly income that could lower their electricity bills and put more cash in their pockets, said the minister during the launch of the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) Phase 1 last Thursday  which also included several other RE initiatives.

Rafizi acknowledged, however, that it is presently very difficult to convince families to buy and install solar panels on their rooftops as the cost could potentially come up to RM40,000 or RM50,000. As such, Rafizi said that this new plan will involve Malaysians leasing their rooftops to companies registered under the NETR, where they will not need to bear the installation costs. Instead, the fees will be borne by the companies, paid on a monthly basis.

(Image: Bernama)

The company will sell the proceeds from the solar and supply electricity to our energy grid. If we do this, everyone who has a house, whether in Kelantan, Kedah, or Terengganu, can benefit from it, the minister elaborated in a subsequent Twitter post after the end of the NETR launch event.

Rafizi also revealed that to spearhead the rooftop solar initiative, the government has allocated RM80 million for solar panels to be installed on the rooftops of government buildings. Additionally, Sime Darby Property has agreed to participate in a pilot project at a new township, where it will install solar panels to generate an estimated 4.5 megawatt (MW) across 450 homes. Sime Darby will also manage everything under this project  from leasing deals with homeowners, to installation and power storage  without government funding.

(Image: The Star)

The introduction of this rooftop solar initiative  as well as the launch of the overarching NETR  is in line with Malaysias latest renewable energy target, which was revealed just in May 2023. Specifically, the government has committed to increasing the use of renewable energy within the country up to 70% in the power mix by 2050. Previously, Malaysia had set a target of 40% of renewable energy in its total power generation by 2035.

At present, however, Malaysia is still relying predominantly on coal and natural gas to power its electricity. In 2021, only about 17% of its electricity is generated from renewable sources  with a breakdown of approximately 16% from hydro, 1% from solar, and 1% from biomass.

(Sources: Free Malaysia Today, Sinar Daily, SCMP)

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Government of Mexico makes 6.5 billion offer to purchase Riviera Maya land from Vulcan

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says he has offered to purchase the 2,400 hectares of land from Vulcan Materials. The land, which is located south of Playa del Carmen in Riviera Maya, was being used by Sac-Tun, formally known as Calica.

Lopez Obrador says he sent Mexicos Ambassador to the United States, Esteban Moctezuma Barragan, to see about making a deal. The deal came in the form of a letter presented by Barragan to Vulcan Materials. In the letter is a proposal for the formal purchase of the 2,400 hectares that it has in concession in Playa del Carmen.

In a morning press conference, Lopez Obrador indicated that according to the appraisal, the Government of Mexico would immediately pay the U.S. company 6.5 billion pesos for the jungle and mangrove land which cannot again be granted to any private person for its exploitation.

An appraisal was made. It is official. The Ministry of Finance did it and what are we proposing to them? We are asking them that if they accept, it is a sale. () Like all human beings, and much more governments and companies, we must take care of the environment and demonstrate with facts that we do not want environmental change that destroys, he pointed out.

The president explained that the objective of Vulcan Materials was to expand the bank and extract more material to take to the United States. The two are currently in a legal battle. The current trial prohibits Vulcan Material from continuing with extraction.

If the sale goes through, Lopez Obrador has said he will convert the 2,400 hectares into a protected natural area. The area would become an ecotourism development in the impacted area. The pier used for shipping will be used for the reception of cruise ships.

He said that legal matters will be suspended when the Government of Mexico and Vulcan Materials reach an agreement. Otherwise, the trial will continue.

It is not an unseemly, abusive proposal. Its looking for an agreement () This is not an expense, it is an investment for us and future generations. Imagine 2,000 hectares of reserves there in the most attractive areas of Mexico and one of the most attractive in the world, he said.

During the morning press conference, Lopez Obrador was accompanied by the General Director of the National Institute of Anthropology and History, Diego Prieto Hernandez, who said there could possibly be archaeological remains on the property.
CHRISTIANSBURG  Two men accused earlier this year of sawing catalytic converters off cars in Blacksburg  and of leading officers on a long, high-speed chase through Montgomery County  pleaded guilty Monday to an assortment of charges that included possessing methamphetamine.

Cung Uk Lal, 30, and Somsay Inthisane, 37, both of Charlotte, North Carolina, were each sentenced to 10 years in prison, to be suspended after each man serves seven months.

Additionally, each man was fined and ordered to together pay about $2,028 restitution to an insurance company and several people whose cars were damaged by the removal of catalytic converters.

The emission control devices are attractive to thieves because they contain trace amounts of the precious metals rhodium, palladium and platinum.

Inthisane and Lal, both originally from Laos, were spotted on Feb. 24 by Montgomery County sheriffs deputies who received reports of catalytic converter thefts in Blacksburg, Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Nic Lauer said during Mondays hearing in the countys Circuit Court. The two men were in a black Lexus SUV, but the registration that came back to deputies did not match the vehicle, Lauer said.

A chase began on Prices Fork Road to Peppers Ferry Road and almost to Pulaski County, with the Lexus using the shoulder and the oncoming lane to pass other vehicles, Lauer said. Officers from several law enforcement agencies joined the pursuit.

According to earlier accounts, the Lexus turned around on Peppers Ferry Road before crossing into Pulaski County, returned to Prices Fork Road, then headed through the McCoy and Keisters Branch communities on a series of smaller roads. Eventually, the Lexus was stopped with a spike strip. Lal attempted unsuccessfully to flee on foot.

In the Lexus were five catalytic converters and tools including saw blades, along with two black masks and gloves. There also was methamphetamine and two glass smoking devices, Lauer said.

In back-to-back hearings Monday, defense attorneys Brandon Ratliff of Blacksburg, representing Lal, and Naomi Huntington of Christiansburg, representing Inthisane, agreed that Lauer had accurately summarized the case against the men and said they had worked out plea agreements. Obstruction charges against both men were dropped, as were two counts of reckless driving against Inthisane.

Inthisane ended up convicted of five counts of damaging catalytic converters, possessing burglary tools, possessing a Schedule II drug, felony eluding, and misdemeanor reckless driving. Besides the incarceration and restitution, Inthisane was fined $100 for each catalytic converter, $250 for drug possession, and $200 for eluding.

Lal had a similar list of convictions, including five counts of damaging catalytic converters, possessing burglary tools, possessing a Schedule II drug, and conspiring to commit larceny. He had a total of $750 in fines.

Judge Colin Gibb said that the suspended prison terms will remain over the mens heads for 10 years, and that each is to be supervised by the probation office for five years after their release.
New River Community College will offer the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) career studies certificate program this fall, the school announced last week.

The 16-credit program consists of five courses that can all be completed in one semester.

The EMT program is designed to lead to entry-level employment opportunities in the emergency medical services field. The program prepares students to assess and care for patients at the basic life support level. Students who successfully complete the required courses can sit for the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians EMT certification exam, according to the release.

Program courses include HLT 105 Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, EMS 111 Emergency Medical Technician, EMS 120 Emergency TechnicianClinical, BIO 141 Human Anatomy and Physiology I, and ENG 111 College Composition I.

The program is based on the Virginia EMS Education Standards which are derived from the National EMS Education Standards. The EMT program is also approved by the Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services.

Classes begin Aug. 23. For more information, including Virginia Department of Health eligibility requirements, visit www.nr.edu/ems or contact Sheila Hart in admissions & records at (540) 674-3600, ext. 4204 or shart@nr.edu.

- The Roanoke Times
RADFORD  Jerry Holdaway was a week into his role as the interim head of Radfords police department earlier this month, but he was unsure how visitors should address him.

Interim chief sounded a little unwieldy, while his previous rank, captain of operations, no longer fully captured his duties.

There already was a clear plastic sign on Holdaways desk that read chief of police  but it was a gift from his wife, Tonya, and included his lifelong nickname, Tater.

Im fine being Jerry  or Tater, Holdaway said, grinning. Ive never been caught up with titles.

Holdaway, 43, was named to lead the city department as former Chief Jeff Dodsons resignation became effective July 14. Dodson, the departments top officer since January 2020, now runs the criminal justice program at Virginia Western Community College.

Radford has not announced a process for selecting a new police chief.

For Holdaway, the interim role marks the latest step in a progression that began 21 years ago, when the Radford department hired him as a patrol officer. He rose through positions as a senior police officer, corporal, sergeant, lieutenant in investigations and captain. But Holdaway described his aim as service, not rank.

My career goal was never to be police chief. I just enjoy law enforcement. I enjoy helping the community, he said.

The gradual move from street officer to administration never seemed that big of a change, Holdaway said  though he laughed when asked when his last foot chase was; after thinking for a moment, Holdaway said it was probably about five years ago.

He said that it was the perspective, not the job satisfaction, that shifted over the years.

I get the same enjoyment out of it, its just a different picture, Holdaway said.  You learn more about how law enforcement works, he added.

The Patrick County native said he was a student at Wytheville Community College when he decided to go to the New River Criminal Justice Training Academy, then located in Fairlawn.

He became an officer and finished a bachelors degree in criminal justice with Liberty University. During Holdaways years with the department, he completed leadership training with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, according to the citys announcement of his interim appointment.

Holdaway said that he recently was accepted into Libertys masters program in criminal justice leadership, but is not sure if his new schedule will allow him to immediately begin classes.

Calling his schedule triple-booked, the interim chief said that he has been busy with an ongoing process of helping the departments 42 sworn officers upgrade their equipment. New cars, body cameras, tasers, drones and other gear is coming in, paid for with federal pandemic relief money authorized two years ago as part of the American Rescue Plan Act.

And Holdaway now has charge of the Radford departments long-running effort accreditation effort, which began under Dodson. The department is seeking a seal of approval from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, a benchmark that Holdaway said only about 10% of police agencies achieve.

In May, the commission finished a review of the Radford Police Departments policies and training. Last month, a team from the commission visited and carried out in-person interviews.

Holdaway said that he is waiting for the commissions report. If it is favorable, the next step could be an invitation to appear before the commission for a grilling that Holdaway compared to an academic programs graduate degree defense.

Radford officials have said they hope to finish the accreditation process in November.

An item that Holdaway said is not demanding attention right now is officer conduct. In the past two years, two senior officers were convicted of misdemeanors. Two other officers had charges taken under advisement with the understanding that they would be dropped in six months if the officers stayed out of trouble, and in one case completed a domestic violence prevention program.

Holdaway said his position on the officers charges was similar to his predecessors. The cases are not representative of the majority of Radfords police, he said.

In annual surveys meant to gauge Radford residents opinions on an array of issues, the police department continues to score well on measures of public trust, Holdaway said.

While the interim chief position had lengthened his own list of responsibilities, Holdaway said that for the department as a whole, it was business as usual. He guessed that city residents would not notice any effects from the change in his title  or whichever form of address was used for him.

I doubt theyll see any disruption, Holdaway said.
Blacksburg police are asking for help finding a missing 16-year-old girl.

Celena Hosig, who lives in Blacksburg, was last seen on Wednesday, said a police news release that was issued Monday. Police ask that anyone with information about Celenas whereabouts contact officers at (540) 443-1400 or email bpdtipline@blacksburg.gov.

Celena is described as white, 5-foot-6 and 115 pounds, with long hair and piercings in her ears, nose, lip and septum, and tattoos on her back and ankle. Celenas hair is red but she had been known to change its color, the news release said.

She might be riding in a silver Chevrolet HHR with Virginia registration TRW-8305. The vehicle has a pushed up rear bumper, possibly from an accident, the news release said.

Celena is known to frequent river areas in Pulaski and Radford, Virginia, the news release said. Also, police have information that should might have traveled to Louisiana or Alabama with unknown occupants in the vehicle, the news release said.
NEW YORK  Former Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri is joining No Labels increasingly contentious effort to lay the groundwork for a moderate third-party presidential ticket in the 2024 election. He gives the embattled organization another prominent ally amid escalating concerns from Democratic officials that the No Labels campaign could unintentionally help Republican Donald Trump return to the White House.

Nixon, a 67-year-old lawyer, is stepping back into national politics for the first time since leaving office in 2017 and will serve as No Labels director of ballot integrity. He said he was drawn to the role after learning that well-funded groups aligned with Democrats were working to stop No Labels from securing ballot access in key states.

He said that those seeking to block the groups right to appear on the presidential ballot are attacking a pillar of American democracy.

What do I say to those Democrats? I say, Youre entitled to your opinion. But we are also entitled to use our constitutional and statutory rights to allow Americans to have another choice, Nixon said.

President Joe Biden and Trump dominated the 2024 campaign conversation so far. But No Labels, a Washington-based group that promotes compromise, national unity and centrist policy solutions, has been preparing for the strongest third-party presidential bid at least since Texas businessman Ross Perot earned nearly 19% of the popular vote in 1992.

With an operating budget of roughly $70 million, No Labels is taking steps to secure presidential ballot spots in roughly 20 states this year and already did so in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Oregon and Utah.

While No Labels has yet to nominate candidates for president and vice president, its leadership insists there is a path to victory for a centrist third-party ticket if the two parties select unreasonably divisive presidential nominees.

The groups critics in the Democratic Party are terrified that No Labels will siphon votes that would otherwise go to Biden, who narrowly beat Trump in 2020 with a coalition that included moderate Democrats, independents and disaffected Republicans.

No Labels leadership promised a series of checks and balances that would allow the organization to withdraw its presidential ticket if it appears the groups participation would help Trump win. No Labels has not outlined a detailed plan about that, and leaders acknowledge privately there is some urgency to come out with their specific safeguards, which would vary state by state. They intend to do so by early fall.

Anxious Democrats are unconvinced.

On Thursday, two prominent Democratic groups, the centrist Third Way and more progressive MoveOn, hosted private meetings on Capitol Hill with dozens of chiefs of staff and senior aides to House and Senate Democrats to emphasize the need to stop No Labels presidential ambitions. In a nod to the seriousness of the Democratic establishments concerns, the meetings were held in both the House and Senate Democrats campaign headquarters.

We told them what we have been saying consistently now for a long time: This is dangerous, said Third Way co-founder Matt Bennett, who helped lead the briefing along with MoveOns executive director, Rahna Epting.

The organizers detailed data showing that a No Labels ticket would undercut Biden in the general election and warned that it could handicap vulnerable House and Senate candidates in tight elections. They also questioned No Labels promise to withdraw its ticket if necessary to stop Trump.

No Labels leaders are furious.

They are telling the elected leaders of this country right now that our ballot is a runaway train. And that is categorically false. That is propaganda. And that is why were bringing on a director of ballot integrity to stop it because its outrageous, said No Labels founder Nancy Jacobson, a former Democratic fundraiser.

For now, Democrats are not willing to take Jacobsons word for it.

They have not given any assurances that theyre clear and sober in their analysis, said Epting, who noted he was genuinely concerned. And when they talk about being able to put the horse back in the barn, they are not consistent about when or how theyre going to do that.

Theyre just saying, Trust us, Epting said. We cant. We dont know you. And the stakes are too high.

Nixon joins a growing roster of former elected officials in both parties now affiliated with No Labels. Among the others: Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; former Govs. Jon Huntsman Jr., R-Utah, Larry Hogan, R-Md., and Pat McCrory, R-N.C.; and former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Democrat who became an independent.

No Labels plans to hold a presidential nominating convention next April in Dallas, and the group is showing no signs of backing off its 2024 plans. With a massive budget fueled by anonymous donations, No Labels can afford to be patient in the fights ahead.

Democrats in Arizona filed a complaint this month asking to have the group suspended until it discloses it donors. In May, Maines top elections official sent a cease-and-desist letter regarding No Labels voter registration efforts after claiming the group was misleading voters.

The group Citizens to Save Our Republic formed a super political action committee this month specifically designed to stop No Labels.

The 2024 presidential field, in the order they've announced Donald Trump, Republican Nikki Haley, Republican Marianne Williamson, Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Democrat Larry Elder, Republican President Joe Biden, Democrat Asa Hutchinson, Republican Tim Scott, Republican Ron DeSantis, Republican Mike Pence, Republican Chris Christie, Republican Doug Burgum, Republican Francis Suarez, Republican Will Hurd, Republican
Iran's growing cyber influence operations must be confronted By Eitan Fischberger

web posted July 31, 2023 On June 30, 2023, Israeli media announced that Iranian elements were likely behind a network of social media bots aiming to intensify divisions within the country over a series of judicial reforms proposed by its current government. According to the FakeReporter watchdog, which monitors foreign influence, the network was responsible for over 60,000 divisive posts on Twitter, Telegram, and other platforms in less than 36 hours. It even managed to fool Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, among thousands of others. Relatedly, in May 2023, Microsoft revealed a dramatic upswing in the number of Iranian cyber-influence operations targeting Israel and the United States to undermine their interests while helping Tehran in the international arena. The increase in foreign influence operations is fueled, in large part, by the hyper-polarized domestic political climate in both countries, which is still ongoing. Therefore, the two allies must bolster their defense-against-influence strategies to mitigate the risk of malign Iranian influence penetrating their countries and the damage it can cause. Iranian Botnets Targeting the US and Israel According to a May 2023 report published by Microsoft, Iranian elements "have combined offensive cyber operations with multi-pronged influence operations to fuel geopolitical change in alignment with the regime's objectives." Large-scale operations included advocating for Palestinian terrorism, fomenting Shi'ite unrest in Bahrain, sowing panic about terror among Israelis, and countering the normalization of Arab-Israeli ties. The report explains that the operations mainly targeted the United States and Israel, and that it saw a decrease in classic cyberattacks  the kind that usually attacks a state's banking system or other critical infrastructure  and an increase in more innovative social media influence campaigns using bots and trolls. Iran's influence operations, as noted by the Atlantic Council in a 2020 report, tend not to spread overt disinformation but rather distort the truth and paint a misleading picture of Iranian moral authority while demonizing its adversaries and engaging in psychological warfare. Other concrete examples of Iranian influence campaigns were detailed in a June 2021 TIME Magazine exclusive, which broke the news about Iranian Twitter accounts attempting to radicalize susceptible Americans by disseminating antisemitic messages during an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in May 2021. The Iranian trolls tweeted "Hitler was right" and "kill all Jews" roughly 175 times per minute, according to the Network Contagion Research Institute. The TIME article also revealed that the troll farms dealt with President Biden's effort to revive the defunct Iran Nuclear Deal, the botched American withdrawal from Afghanistan, and orchestrated efforts to intimidate Democratic voters before the 2020 Presidential election by posing as violent pro-Trump activists. The increasingly brazen nature of Iran's influence operations, in part, led the United States to launch the Foreign Malign Influence Center (FMIC), a new division within the office of the Director of National Intelligence, in September 2022. According to its mission statement, the FMIC aims to "counter enduring threats to democracy and U.S. national interests from foreign malign influence actors by integrating analysis, managing the intelligence mission, nurturing partnerships, and providing indications and warning of foreign malign influence." As it stands, the American intelligence community has focused primarily on foreign influence emanating from Russia and China, whose efforts generally take the form of explicit disinformation and direct election interference. As such, the FMIC can carve a unique niche among other agencies by devoting considerable time and resources to thwarting influence operations by under-scrutinized actors, especially Iran. Foreign Influence Via "Independent" News Outlets While botnets are among the most common influence strategies, other, more overt types exist. One highly effective method involves governments establishing state-sponsored propaganda outfits that masquerade as legitimate media companies and disseminate messages to a targeted country's local population in its native language, seeking to shape their opinions and behaviors. This strategy is ingenious because these "news outlets" hide in plain sight, unlike botnets and more covert influence operations. Perhaps the most successful example of this strategy is the Qatari regime's Al Jazeera Media Network, especially its Washington D.C.-based subsidiary, AJ+. Another prominent example is Iran's PressTV. In AJ+'s case, the outlet publishes highly inflammatory and polarizing content meant to fray the American social fabric and ultimately cripple it from the inside, including statements that "the [US] constitution sucks" and calls to abolish the American police force. It likewise promotes the BDS movement targeting Israel, slanders it as an "apartheid state," whitewashes Palestinian terrorism, and has even dabbled in Holocaust denial  all of which is neatly packaged for a young and impressionable American audience. PressTV promotes similarly anti-American content and antisemitic conspiracies about Jews controlling world events, parrots the Iranian government's incitement against Israel, and calls to "dismantle the Zionist movement all over the world." Although PressTV's English domain was seized by the FBI and its Facebook page shut down in 2021, its website is still accessible to people outside the United States, and it still posts antisemitic, anti-Israel, and anti-American content on its other social media pages daily, including on the popular French version of the channel. Clearly, the regimes behind these outlets understand that they can undermine and weaken these states for a relatively low price by delegitimizing them on the world stage. Conclusions and Recommendations Given these emerging and increasingly effective influence strategies, the Israeli government should convene a committee of experts and practitioners to develop a comprehensive defense-against-influence strategy to mitigate their impact on its citizens. Education should be a core component of such a strategy. Identifying influence operations is like a muscle that needs to be trained and strengthened. Therefore, the government should create a publicly accessible online platform with carefully tailored curricula to increase the Israeli public's digital literacy, where they can learn about the existence of malign foreign influence and ways to identify it. Moreover, since Israel and the United States are the primary targets of Iranian influence operations, the two allies should work together by sharing knowledge and alerting one another of influence campaigns that target one another. This cooperation can be done through a framework consisting of the proposed Israeli committee and the FMIC. The United States and Israeli governments must understand that while election interference and disinformation are threats that need confronting, other under-scrutinized influence strategies must also be addressed. The American and Israeli people must not be exploited as pawns in covert political warfare. Eitan Fischberger is an international relations and Middle East analyst based in Israel. His work has been published in National Review, NBC News THINK, National Interest, and more. Home
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
DILLON  Hundreds came out to support students and families at the Back to School Drive-Thru event hosted by CareSouth Carolina at the Dillon Wellness Center on Saturday morning.

As part of its commitment to community health and well-being, CareSouth Carolina provided backpacks and school supplies to 300 participants at no cost.

Joe Bittle, CareSouth Carolinas chief of community health, said the organization knows how important it is to support students and families as they prepare for the new school year.

We are delighted to host this Back to School Drive-Thru event and contribute to the educational success of our community, Bittle said. At CareSouth Carolina, our goal is to enhance and improve the health and well-being of everyone. We are appreciative to be in the Dillon community and look forward to continuing to transform care here in our region.

Last year, CareSouth Carolina and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control opened the new 18,640-square-foot Dillon facility as part of a partnership.

The facility allows CareSouth Carolina to continue to provide preventive health services in Dillon, including family planning, sexually transmitted diseases/infections, HIV, immunizations, family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, womens services, substance abuse prevention program, dental, pharmacy, geriatrics, social services, behavioral health counseling, laboratory, ultrasound, X-ray, migrant services and veterans choice provider.
MARION, S.C.  Marion County Library Interim Director Haley Tucker announced Reimagined Teen Spaces are coming in August. The Marion County Library System will soon unveil new spaces dedicated to teens.

Our branches have always had a dedicated young adult section filled with all the latest books and graphic novels, but after several community members expressed the concern over the few options in Marion County for teens to gather in a safe, positive environment, I knew it was time for me to reassess our environment and approach to reaching that audience, Tucker said. With some creativity and a partner willing to underwrite the cost of reimagining our current space, I knew my team and I could make it happen.

Tucker said when considering a partner for the project she wanted to intentionally seek out someone who would be just as passionate about the overall mission.

I immediately thought of Mr. Brian Edwards, said of the local State Farm agent. I know him to be a family man who loves to inspire others and has supported many youth-focused programs in our community. After I explained the need and my vision, Mr. Edwards was on board.

Edwards donated $1500 toward outfitting the space with new furniture, decor, and gaming systems. The donation will also fund teen-specific programs like TeenTalks, where we will invite teens to gather for food and fun, followed by a motivational and informative talk with local leaders or business owners, Tucker said. There are so many interesting, accomplished, and successful people in our community whom I believe our youth will find inspiring as they prepare to make career and life choices.

Edwards has a recent accomplishment of his own. The Mullins State Farm Agent with more than 20 years of experience was recently voted 2023 Best of the Pee Dee out of more than 100 agents. He also won gold at the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation Fortaleza, Brazil last month.

Edwards competes nationally and internationally in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, holding two World Jiu Jitus Titles and three International Jui Jitus Titles.

Giving teens an opportunity to enjoy the library in a fun and educational environment is an excellent idea, Edwards said. The fact that the library is focused on targeting teens is very important to me. The teenage years are difficult for many and teens are very much influenced by their surroundings, so providing a positive and safe environment is key and making that environment cool and up-to-date, is crucial to drawing them in.

Tucker said the Reimagined Teen Spaces unveiling is set for the end of August for the Mullins and Nichols branches. The Marion branch Teen Space will receive its makeover in the highly anticipated renovation and expansion that is set to begin soon.
 Another weekend round-up of all sorts of sentencing and punishment stories and commentaries | Main | "Conviction, Incarceration, and Recidivism: Understanding the Revolving Door" 

July 31, 2023

FIRST STEP Act sentence reduction used to address "FBI invented" conspiracy in which feds were "the real lead conspirator"

The FIRST STEP Act's procedural changes to sentencing reduction motions pursuant to 18 USC  3582(c)(1)(A) continue to provide not only a critical mechanism to address excessive federal prison sentences, but also a fascinating window on a wide array of problematic aspects of the federal criminal justice system. Many so-called "compassionate release" motions are often efforts to reduce injustices as much they are efforts to increase compassion in our federal sentencing system. The latest example of this dynamic story comes from New York federal courts as reported in this AP piece headlined "Judge orders release of 3 of Newburgh Four and assails FBIs role in a post-9/11 terror sting." Here are the basics:

Three men convicted in a post-9/11 terrorism sting have been ordered freed from prison by a judge who deemed their lengthy sentences unduly harsh and unjust and decried the FBIs role in radicalizing them in a plot to blow up New York synagogues and shoot down National Guard planes. Onta Williams, David Williams and Laguerre Payen  three of the men known as the Newburgh Four  were hapless, easily manipulated and penurious petty criminals caught up more than a decade ago in a scheme driven by overzealous FBI agents and a dodgy informant, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon said in her ruling Thursday. The real lead conspirator was the United States, McMahon wrote in granting the mens request for compassionate release, effective in three months. She said that it was heinous of the men to agree to participate in what she called the governments made for TV movie. But, the judge added, the sentence was the product of a fictitious plot to do things that these men had never remotely contemplated, and that were never going to happen. She excoriated the government for sending a villain of an informant to troll among the poorest and weakest of men for terrorists who might prove susceptible to an offer of much-needed cash in exchange for committing a faux crime. The U.S. attorneys office declined to comment on the judges decision. A message seeking comment was sent to the FBI. Citing concerns for the mens health and her own qualms about the case, McMahon cut the 25-year mandatory minimum sentences she imposed on them in 2011 to time served plus 90 days. She said that would allow time for probation officials to prepare and for Payens lawyer to line up supportive housing for the man, who has a severe mental illness.

Judge McMahon's full opinion in US v. Williams, N. 09 CR 558 (CM) (SDNY July 27, 2023), is available at this link. Here is just one notable passage in an opinion filled with notable passages:

For our purposes, suffice it to say the following: non-moving defendant Cromitie, the lead defendant in this case, was the object of a lengthy sting operation conducted by the FBI with the aid of a most unsavory confidential informant, Shaheed Hussain.... Over the course of the next few weeks, at Hussain's direction, he recruited David and Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen, to serve as lookouts while Cromitie planted bombs manufactured by the FBI at a synagogue and community center in Riverdale. None of these three defendants had any history as terrorists; like Cromitie, they were impoverished small time grifters and drug users/street level dealers who could use some money. Payen in particular was of questionable mental acuity. The three men were recruited so that Cromitie could conspire with someone; the real lead conspirator was the United States, but Cromitie could not conspire with the Government. Nothing about the crimes of conviction was defendants' own doing. The FBI invented the conspiracy; identified the targets; manufactured the ordnance; federalized what would otherwise have been a state crime (the Bronx bomb plot) by driving three of the four men (Onta Williams was not available) into Connecticut to view the bombs and stinger missile launchers that would be used in the operation; and picked the day for the mission (which was filmed in real time so it could be shown on television news the night the men were arrested). On May 20, Hussain drove the four men to Riverdale (they had no way to drive themselves); armed the bomb (because the hapless Cromitie, despite his training, could not figure out how to do it); and told Cromitie how to place the device while David Williams, Onta Williams and Payen performed lookout duty. As soon as the fake device was left by the community center door, law enforcement arrested the four men.

July 31, 2023 at 09:17 AM | Permalink

Comments

This is backdoor holding that these sting operations are illegal or quasi-illegal. DOJ should appeal to see if the Second Circuit agrees. It hasn't in the past and I doubt it will now.

"Compassion" is being used here as a (not very effective) cover for an ideological disagreement with law enforcement tactics. Of course a different judge could have a different view of the matter -- leading to exactly what the SRA of 1984 was enacted to avoid: sentencing as a reflection of the varying tastes of individual judges.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Jul 31, 2023 9:35:55 AM

Bill, the FIRST STEP Act, passed by a GOP-controlled Congress at the behest of then Prez Donald Trump, created a new front door for judicial sentence reductions whenever a prisoner presents "extraordinary and compelling" circumstances. Judge McMahon decided here, in the words of one of her opinion headings, that "The Extraordinary Length of the Defendants' Sentence, Which Was Entirely the Product of the Government's Conduct, Qualifies as An Extraordinary and Compelling Circumstance Warranting Compassionate Relief."

Judge McMahon did not declare the hinky FBI behavior to be illegal or quasi-illegal, she just took seriously the Second Circuit's repeated rulings that "district courts have discretion to consider the full slate of extraordinary and compelling reasons that an imprisoned person might bring before [the court] in motions for compassionate release." And if that's not how Congress wants the system to work --- even though we're now nearly five years into thousands of prisoners getting sentence reductions under the FIRST STEP Act --- it is up to Congress to amend the Trump-era reforms.

More broadly, thanks in part to lots of high-profile ugliness in a lots of high-profile cases, it seems a growing number of individuals on both sides of the political aisle are getting less keen on blind deference to everything the DOJ and the FBI claim are sound practices. This ruling provides reason to hope that scrutiny of the suspect tactics and choices of law enforcement will happen in all cases, not just in those cases of persons with well-known political names.

Posted by: Doug B | Jul 31, 2023 10:59:28 AM

While serving time at FCI - Cumberland, Maryland in 2002 or 2003, I first saw a case where the Government's agents violated the law, which provides that for there to be a conspiracy, the defendant must conspire with someone who is not a Government agent or informant. The theory is that no Government agent or informant would actually carry out the crime being contemplated, because he or she works for law enforcement. Another inmate at the prison had owned a chemicals business on the street, in the Free World. Federal DEA agents approached him, and asked him to voluntarily provide them with a list of all of his customers who had purchased chemicals off a list viewed as precursors for making methamphetamine. The business owner declined to voluntarily cooperate, but stated that he would comply with their request only if they brought him a search warrant. Instead, the DEA sent a confidential informant to buy chemicals from the business, and then indicted the owner for conspiracy to sell and distribute precursor chemicals for making meth. He was convicted at trial, with the DEA's informant listed in the indictment as his co-conspirator. During discovery and trial, and thereafter, while the case was on appeal, the Government never complied with their discovery obligations under Brady v. Maryland and other law, to disclose that the defendant's sole alleged co-conspirator was a paid confidential informant. The incarcerated defendant filed his own Freedom of Information Act requests with the DEQA, concerning his alleged co-conspirator. I was with him in the prison law library when he opened the response envelope after mail call. Inside the envelope were ledger sheets and copies of cancelled checks, showing the DEA's payments to their confidential informant, his alleged co-conspirator. I helped this man do the legal research, write and type his Motion for Habeas Corpus (2255). His conviction was vacated and the indictment was dismissed. Law enforcement can sometimes engage in despicable conduct, and when they get caught, agents are rarely prosecuted for it.

Posted by: Jim Gormley | Jul 31, 2023 11:30:44 AM

Doug --

So a judge who very much dislikes this sort of (legal if in some precincts unpopular) sting operation could grant a fat sentencing reduction in a case like this, while a judge across the hall who is more accepting because he sees such operations as a necessary evil could, in an identical case, refuse any sentencing reduction at all.

The motto above the Supreme Court is, "Equal Justice Under Law." Such a result makes a mockery of that ideal. And a sentencing law that allows luck-of-the-draw outcomes brings the courts into disrepute.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Jul 31, 2023 11:39:20 AM

The problem, of course, is that extraordinary and compelling, can mean whatever a liberal judge wants it to mean.

Posted by: TarlsQtr | Jul 31, 2023 12:00:47 PM

TarlsQtr --

Exactly. When the statutory language has no very well-defined standard, you can get any result at all, depending on the lottery of whether you get a mushy or a hard-line judge. This may be many things, but equal justice under law is not one of them.

If a Jan. 6 defendant got a fat sentencing reduction because the judge thought the prosecution was excessively political, the liberals would be screaming. It's enough to give hypocrisy a bad name.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Jul 31, 2023 12:27:42 PM

Doug --

Suppose the defendant was born and raised in a foreign country where the blue-uniformed police were routinely violent and sadistic. He says (truthfully for once) that, because the police who arrested him here wore blue, he experienced a huge amount of terror and panic, much more than the typical arrestee, and that this is an "extraordinary and compelling" reason to give him a fat sentencing reduction.

In your view, should he prevail? Get a lower sentence than an identically situated domestically born defendant because of the color of the cop's uniform?

Posted by: Bill Otis | Jul 31, 2023 12:42:19 PM

Two basic responses:

1. Prosecutors in plea negotiations define the essential terms of sentencing in 98 out of every 100 cases (and the are so many pleas because every defense attorney knows of the need to play nice with the de facto sentencing authority, the oft-hidden federal prosecutor). The contrast is that there is no law defining if/when a prosecutor is to bring (or drop) certain charges AND there is no accounting of the decisions made behind closed doors. In the case of judicial sentencing (or sentencing reductions), all of the arguments are made on the record, based on statutory, guideline and case law, and are subject to appellate review. If someone is genuinely concerned about "equal justice under law," isn't the decision-making of unknown AUSAs a much bigger worry?

It is 100% true that different people will make all sorts of different sentencing judgments because there is really no sound metric for the "right" sentencing judgment. That is why I think there should be enforceable law to guide a sentencing decision-maker to consider relevant concerns and then make a judgment with an explanation on the record subject to review. That is how federal judicial sentencing functions, but not how prosecutorial sentencing functions (some of whom are mushy and some are hard-line; in the Hunter Biden case, a couple of hard-liners are suspected of becoming mushy). I think there are about 4000 AUSAs exercising sentencing discretion, but we do not know who they are because they hide back rooms, they do not explain the basis for their decisions, and except in rare cases (Hunter) judges do not demand much in the way of an explanation for whether they are being mushy or hard-line. Deep state gonna deep state, I suppose.

2. Given that most motions for sentence reductions are denied, I worry more that extraordinary and compelling, can mean whatever a conservative judge wants it to mean. Judges also have to decided that the sentencing purposes Congress wrote into 3553(a) are consistent with a sentence reduction (and that also can be subject to appellate review), so there is a double-check that reductions are only given when warranted by two standards. If there is genuine concern about "equal justice under law," should we worry about those judges who fail to grant any of these motions as much as we worry about those granting too many sentence reductions?

Posted by: Doug B | Jul 31, 2023 1:42:55 PM

https://thefederalist.com/2023/07/31/are-the-doj-and-hunter-biden-attempting-to-commit-fraud-in-federal-court/

Here's another problem. Doug, what sort of remedy are you calling for now?

Posted by: federalist | Jul 31, 2023 2:18:08 PM

I am always keen, federalist, on stripping prosecutors of made up immunities and subjecting them to civil and criminal remedies (like everyone else) for intentional misconduct and abusive use of government powers. Would you join me in supporting civil and criminal sanctions, and no immunities, for federal law enforcement official who engage in intentional misconduct?

I believe your remedy, federalist, was to allow all persons being federal prosecuted (and in prison?) for drug offenses to be free. Is that the remedy you have in mind? Is that still what you are advocating for in response to the Hunter ugliness?

Posted by: Doug B | Jul 31, 2023 2:50:12 PM

Hunter Biden, his attorneys and the DOJ attorneys/ AUSAs must realize by now that this District Judge will not go along with a deal that gives Hunter virtual blanket immunity against any further charges in the future, including failure to register as a foreign agent. While the DOJ may have tried to insulate the immunity guarantee by placing it in the separate diversion agreement, which does not require the Court's approval, the Judge can still reject the other part of the deal, the guilty plea for 2 misdemeanor tax charges, with probation recommended. She could reject the probation, and say that she thinks that the charges require prison time. Since this is a "wired plea", as I understand it, Biden would then have the right to withdraw his guilty plea and reject the deal. Another problem is the public perception of the immunity provisions set forth in the diversion agreement. The Judge exposed those in Court last week, and now the press, the public and hundreds of thousands of attorneys understand what the DOJ is trying to do here, and that it is UNPRECEDENTED. Given the public exposure, I don't see how the DOJ can go forward with teh promised blanket immunity from further charges. If Hunter failed to register as a foreign agent, one of the people he lobbied (or sought to lobby) was his father, the Vice President back in 2015-2016 and now POTUS. The appearance of impropriety would be overwhelming. Maybe Joe Biden can pardon Hunter and then resign from office; and Vice President Harris can pardon Joe Biden once she is sworn in as POTUS. Then California Gavin Newsome can step up to become the Democratic candidate for President.

Posted by: Jim Gormley | Jul 31, 2023 3:11:33 PM

Doug, what you're seeing here is the corruption of the DOJ--all in the service of the political interests of the Democrat party. This undercuts the status of of our nation as a free society. Let's review what has happened, as the lenience towards Hunter (and the outright lying to a federal judge in papers filed with the court) has context.

(1) The Steele Dossier--the DOJ manufactured a case against Trump out of thin air--recall that Strzok said that there was no there there. Recall also that Strzok and Page had it in for Trump and said that they'd prevent him from being President.

(2) Hillary. Her criminality is obvious to ANYONE who handled classified info, yet . . . .

(3) The Ashley Diary Prosecution.

(4) The Flynn Logan Act investigation.

And you want to deflect , , , , sorry no dice.

Posted by: federalist | Jul 31, 2023 5:36:29 PM

To say DOJ/FBI misconduct/bias --- as well as lots of other law enforcement misconduct/bias --- started many, many years before Trump came along is not deflection, it is a recognition that this is nothing new, just a variation on old statist problems with law enforcement ever inclined to apply state power with the various biases of the era. Who cares most about the latest variations on abuses/biases of state power is somewhat new, but you have yet to explain what remedy you are looking for. So I will ask again: Would you join me in supporting civil and criminal sanctions, and no immunities, for federal law enforcement officials who engage in misconduct? If not, what remedy are you looking for? Are you still saying the DOJ/FBI should not be able to prosecute any drug offenders? Anyone at all?

Posted by: Doug B | Jul 31, 2023 8:27:37 PM

Doug --

"I am always keen, federalist, on stripping prosecutors of made up immunities and subjecting them to civil and criminal remedies (like everyone else) for intentional misconduct and abusive use of government powers."

First, prosecutors are already subject to criminal remedies when their behavior is actually criminal; QI is a defense only to civil complaints. I'm sure you already know this.

Second, surely you don't propose to put AUSAs in jail merely for "abusive" use of government power, do you? Being a person who supports drug legalization, isn't it your view that an AUSA who brings a cocaine distribution case is guilty of "abusive" behavior? So he should be punished for doing his job under settled law? How about if he wants to use acquitted conduct in his sentencing memo? Jail for that "abuse," too?

Wanting to jail prosecutors for "abusive" (your chosen word) behavior rather than ILLEGAL behavior seems to me to show exactly the punitive turn of mind that, in other contexts, you decry. This is not to mention that everyone is going to have a different definition of what exactly is "abusive."

Third, should we also strip judges and jurors of QI? Why not? Suppose they're in on a case in which they convict a person who later turns out to be factually innocent.

Fourth, why does this immunity discussion go on and on without any citation to Imbler v. Pachtman, the Supreme Court case on the question? A discussion like that has all the intellectual bona fides of discussing acquitted conduct while never mentioning, much less coming to serious grips with, Watts. Or discussing the legitimacy of plea bargaining without mentioning Brady v. United States or Santobello v. New York.





Posted by: Bill Otis | Aug 1, 2023 8:30:16 AM

All reasonable questions, Bill, that help account for why I keep asking for federalist's views on this front. He has at least twice in recent comment threads (and dozens of times in others threads) complained of how the DOJ/FBI has handled Hunter and asked me about "what sort of remedy" should follow. My immunity comment comes in that context.

In other threads, federalist propounded the notion that federal judges should, based on the Equal Protection Clause, block other completely unrelated DOJ/FBI prosecutions. I am still waiting to hear exactly whose federal prosecutions federalist thinks should be constitutionally blocked due to how DOJ/FBI has handled Hunter, and I have noted that thousands of defendants being federal prosecuted/sentenced every week (not to mention tens of thousands imprisoned since Hunter began his crime spree) would certain welcome briefing on his theory of new Hunter-EPC constitutional remedy to limit DOJ/FBI prosecutions.

I have suggested another remedy for claimed prosecutorial (and broader law enforcement) corruption -- allowing the pursuit of more robust "civil and criminal remedies ... for intentional misconduct and abusive use of government powers." Power corrupts and absolute immunity shields and empowers corrupt use of power. I believe Judge Ho and others have recently develop claims that "the doctrine of prosecutorial immunity appears to be mistaken as an original matter." And I have long thought Imbler goes too far to insulate intentional misconduct and abusive government powers, ergo my hope that federalist and perhaps others on the right will be moved by recent examples of (rampant?) federal law enforcement misconduct to seek expanded remedies for such misconduct.

I certainly do not think prosecutors or other law enforcement actors should get in trouble for reasonable efforts to do their job under existing law (though federalist sometimes seems to suggest prison guards can sometimes be violently attacked by some prisoners for doing their job under existing law). I do think there ought to be more remedies for intentional misconduct and abusive use of government powers without too many ahistorical, made up immunities getting in the way. And I certainly think remedies should include lots more discovery of how prosecutors make decisions concerning the use of government power to harm citizens (or give some citizens special breaks) through the criminal process.

Posted by: Doug B | Aug 1, 2023 9:54:01 AM

I agree with Bill's initial post/comment: the SDNY should appeal the decision and argue, as other Circuits have held, that the length of a lawfully imposed sentence can NEVER be an extraordinary and compelling reason for a sentence reduction. I grant that the Court could have considered those things at step two of the analysis -- in deciding how much of a reduction to give to an otherwise-eligible defendant. But the Court could not use those reasons at step one of the 3582(c)(1)(A) process.

Posted by: Da Man | Aug 1, 2023 2:08:06 PM

Da Man --

Just so. I would appeal on two grounds: that the government's use of a legal and long-standing (if controversial) investigative tactic can never, as a matter of policy, count as an "extraordinary" grounds for a sentencing reduction; and that, even if otherwise, a sting is anything but extraordinary (they're used routinely) and therefore does not meet the FSA statutory requirement in any event.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Aug 1, 2023 3:39:04 PM

Da Man --

Just so. I would appeal on two grounds: that the government's use of a legal and long-standing (if controversial) investigative tactic can never, as a matter of policy, count as an "extraordinary" grounds for a sentencing reduction; and that, even if otherwise, a sting is anything but extraordinary (they're used routinely) and therefore does not meet the FSA statutory requirement in any event.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Aug 1, 2023 3:39:04 PM

No argument from me. I'm sure Doug would parachute in with an amicus brief extolling the District Judge's sticking a finger in the DOJ's eye.

Posted by: Da Man | Aug 1, 2023 6:02:31 PM

Doug, a partisan law enforcement agency (and it's plain DOJ is) presents problems on a scale far more than pushing the line regarding entrapment.

And a judge that goes along with it, looking at you Emmett Sullivan, is a disgrace. Will you join me, Doug, in criticizing Sullivan providing cover for the withholding of Brady material?

Posted by: federalist | Aug 2, 2023 11:49:23 AM

Da Man, the opinion states that the judge's E&C determination was based, in part, on the fact that the "sentences imposed in this case were entirely the product of government manipulation." That seems a reason distinct from the length of the sentence. In addition, the judge further explained "that each of the three defendants has identified factors independent of his overly long sentence that, taken together with the contrived overly long sentence, can and should be considered 'extraordinary and compelling' for purposes of his motion for compassionate release."

Of course, DOJ is at liberty to appeal all of the stated reasons -- and appeals are an important part of developing and improving sentencing laws. I respect DOJ's right to appeal, and I hope lots of friendly folks would submit briefs so that the appeals court could make a reasoned and informed decision if DOJ decides to appeal (though the 2d Cir might need to go en banc if it wanted to reconsider its prior rulings that "district courts have discretion to consider the full slate of extraordinary and compelling reasons that an imprisoned person might bring before [the court] in motions for compassionate release").

I must note here that Bill, as seems to be his tendency, wants to make up stuff "as a matter of policy" that has no basis in statutory text. Neither DOJ nor circuit courts have authority to make "policy rules" to categorically limit E&C reasons for a sentencing reduction. Congress authorized only the US Sentencing Commission to make categorical rules here (and the opinion in this case also references the USSC's new rules that formally become effective Nov 1).

federalist: can you point me to the ruling by Judge Sullivan that you want me to criticize? When I searched for it on Google, the first item that came up was a news piece from 2009 that started: "Judge Emmet Sullivan said today that in his 25 years on the bench, he had never seen anything approaching the 'mishandling and misconduct' perpetrated by the government in the case of former Alaskan Sen. Ted Stevens, who was convicted on corruption charges in October." https://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2009/04/judge-sullivan-says-doj-needs-brady-training.html

Posted by: Doug B | Aug 2, 2023 3:38:48 PM

On the Emmett Sullivan thing, federalist is adopting a position urged by Sidney Powell, who apparently was once a competent federal appellate litigator but clearly now is not tethered to facts and appears to be deranged.

Posted by: Fat Bastard | Aug 2, 2023 6:24:14 PM

Fat Bastard, you are a moron. The FBI did not turn over the interviewers' assessment of Flynn's truthfulness--clear Brady material. And Sullivan said, in an opinion, that those materials were not exculpatory.

Posted by: federalist | Aug 3, 2023 1:19:41 PM

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BURBANK, Calif.  With the summer heat wave in full swing in Southern California, a backyard pool is a tempting place to take a dip.

Even for a bear.

Police in the city of Burbank responded to a report of a bear sighting in a residential neighborhood and found the animal sitting in a Jacuzzi behind one of the homes.

After a short dip, the bear climbed over a wall and headed to a tree behind the home, police said in a statement Friday.

Burbank police also shared an adorable video of the bear cooling off in the water.

California is home to an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 black bears, according to the states Department of Fish and Game. The department urges residents to avoid approaching the animals, which can weigh up to 500 pounds and run up to 35 miles per hour, and if encountered, always leave them an escape route.

Photos: Record-breaking heat scorches communities around the world
This piece was originally published on Just Security, an online forum for analysis of U.S. national security law and policy.

When former President Donald Trump said he had received a target letter in the federal Jan. 6 case, media reports revealed a surprise statute in the Justice Departments target letter. That statute, 18 U.S.C. Section 241, should not have been a surprise: It is a powerful tool often used by prosecutors.

An examination of the Justice Departments prior use of the statute provides insight into how the special counsel could charge an aspect of Trumps efforts to overturn the presidential election that has received scant attention, even though it is hiding in plain sight. A Section 241 charge can and should encompass Trumps efforts to stop the electoral count, a scheme that, when it did not prove successful, morphed into the more prominent schemes: the use of false electors, the pressure campaign on Vice President Mike Pence, and the attempted use of the Justice Department to produce bogus fraud investigations.

But the initial phase of the conspiracy to obstruct the peaceful transfer of power was a coordinated scheme to stop the count of ballots after polling stations closed on election night. That scheme can and should be charged under the 1512 obstruction statute as well as the surprise 241 statute.

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If special counsel Jack Smith can prove that Trump and one or more other people conspired to block the counting of ballots, that could serve as a stand-alone Section 241 charge in an indictment. If not its own charge, then the scheme to stop the counting of ballots can form the basis for the initial part of the overall charged scheme to deprive Americans of their voting rights in the 2020 presidential election.

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Section 241 makes it a crime if two or more persons conspire to injure  any person  in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States. Despite what some legal commentators have asserted, this includes voting rights.

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As with any conspiracy statute, Section 241 applies even if the conspiracy is not successful and even if the criminal scheme does not change the winner in an election. More uniquely, Section 241 does not require the commission of an overt act to establish criminal liability. (That feature is irrelevant, here, given the numerous overt acts detailed below.)

Related From Slate The Supreme Court Might Have Just Handed Jack Smith a Powerful New Tool Read More

Spanning more than 100 years, the Department of Justice has used the 241 statute with great success to prosecute conspiracies to prevent the proper counting of ballots in federal elections. Such schemes are within the heartland of Section 241 prosecutions. And, equally important, the Supreme Court has a long history of upholding, over and over again, the statutes application to such conduct.

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A landmark Supreme Court decision in 1915United States v. Mosleyupheld the indictment of officers of a county election board who conspired to omit certain ballots from the vote count. Writing for the court, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said, It is not open to question that this statute is constitutional . We regard it as equally unquestionable that the right to have ones vote counted is as open to protection by Congress as the right to put a ballot in a box. By the 1930s, the Justice Department had brought several prosecutions for similar conductschemes to prevent the counting of ballotsunder Section 241. As the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of New York explained earlier this year:

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In the 1930s, the Department of Justice (the DOJ) prosecuted an ever-broader range of voting rights cases under this statute, with the understanding that injuring the right to vote included both hampering a qualified voters ability to cast their vote and failing to count a vote properly cast.

The Department of Justices manual on Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses also includes a list of exemplary cases brought under Section 241, involving the prevention of the official count of ballots in primary elections, the destruction of ballots, the failure to count votes and to alter votes counted, and the stealing of votes by changing the votes of voters at voting machines.

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Using those past prosecutions as a guide, it is readily apparent how the scheme by Trump and his associates to overturn the 2020 presidential election can be charged under this statute (as well as the obstruction statute).

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The initial plan by Trump was to stop the counting of votes while he was ahead; to freeze the red mirage before heavily Democratic mail-in votes could be counted. That was the conclusion of the Jan. 6 House Select Committees final report: President Trumps decision to declare victory falsely on election night and, unlawfully, to call for the vote counting to stop, was not a spontaneous decision. It was premeditated.

What follows is the known evidence of, and reporting about, this scheme to thwart the counting of votes.

Trumps awareness of the red mirage on election night

Anyone following the upcoming November presidential election was aware of the red mirage issuenamely that the in-person vote would skew in favor of Trump, who had prominently denigrated mail-in voting. And of course Trump was aware of this: According to their congressional testimony, Trumps campaign staff, including campaign manager Bill Stepien, advised Trump of the red mirage, the false appearance that the Republican in a race may be winning on election night before mail-in ballots (which tend to be more Democratic) start getting counted. Former Attorney General Bill Barr testified that everyone understood for weeks that that was going to be what happened on election night.

Trumps plan to declare victory on election night, even if he lost

On Nov. 1, 2020, and on Jan. 16, 2021, journalist Jonathan Swan reported that for weeks, Trump had been laying the groundwork to declare victory on election nighteven if he lost.

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That reporting is corroborated by a secretly recorded conversation in which Steve Bannon outlined the plan for Trump to stop ballot counting after voting stations closed. Bannon said:

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And what Trumps going to do is just declare victory, right? Hes gonna declare victory. But that doesnt mean hes a winner. Hes just gonna say hes a winner.  The Democrats, more of our people vote early that count. Theirs vote in mail. And so theyre gonna have a natural disadvantage, and Trumps going to take advantage of it. Thats our strategy. Hes gonna declare himself a winner. So when you wake up Wednesday morning, its going to be a firestorm.  Also, if Trump, if Trump is losing by 10 or 11 oclock at night, its going to be even crazier. No, because hes gonna sit right there and say They stole it. Im directing the attorney general to shut down all ballot places in all 50 states. Its going to be, no, hes not going out easy. If Trumpif Bidens winning, Trump is going to do some crazy shit. [Emphasis added]

Tom Fittons draft statement

But there is more. The same day, Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch emailed Trump a draft statement as you requested. The statement makes clear that the plan before the election was to freeze the count:

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The voters have spoken. The ballots counted by the Election Day deadline show the American people have bestowed on me the great honor of reelection to President of the United States. Federal law establishes November 3 as Election Day  the deadline by which voters in states across the country must choose a president. Some partisans will try to overturn todays lawful election results by shamelessly counting ballots that arrive after Election Day for days and weeks. This is lawless, invites massive voter fraud, undermines our democracy, and could dishonestly cancel the votes of tens of millions of Americans who ensured their votes would arrive to be counted on Election Day. I am prepared to go to court to make sure this election is not stolen and am directing the Justice Department to defend federal election law accordingly. We had an election today  and I won. Some believe Election Day deadlines dont matter and would attack democracy through fraud and judicial activism. Counting ballots that arrive after Election Day is unfair and shows contempt for the will of the people. I will defend, to the full extent of the law, free and fair elections and our constitutional republic from any electoral coup. Thank you and God bless America. [Emphasis added]

Election night, Nov. 3, 2020, at 10:21 p.m.

Fitton reforwarded to President Trump the above draft statement. Fitton told the presidents executive assistant, Molly Michael, that Fitton just talked to him about the draft. Note: there is reporting that Michael is now cooperating with Smiths investigators.

Nov. 4, 2020, shortly before 2:30 a.m.

The plan is put into effect by Trump on election night. Trump makes a statement from the White House:

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We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election. So our goal now is to ensure the integrity, for the good of this nation. This is a very big moment. This is a major fraud on our nation. We want the law to be used in a proper manner, so well be going to the U.S. Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop. We dont want them to find any ballots at 4 oclock in the morning and add them to the list, OK? [Emphasis added]

In case the speech was not clear enough about his plan, Trump amplifies his speech with direct appeals to his millions of Twitter followers.

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On Nov. 5 at 9:12 a.m., Trump tweets in all caps: STOP THE COUNT!

At 10:09 a.m., Trump tweets in all caps: ANY VOTE THAT CAME IN AFTER ELECTION DAY WILL NOT BE COUNTED!

At 10:45 a.m., Trump retweets his tweet: STOP THE COUNT!

Within hours, crowds of Trump supporters converged on vote-counting centers chanting and holding signs saying Stop the count (and Stop the vote) in Detroit, Atlanta, and Philadelphia.

But Trump and his allies did more than drum up public support to freeze the counting of votes.

Nov. 713, 2020, in Arizona

Kelli Ward, chair of the Arizona GOP, communicated with Clint Hickman, chair of the Maricopa Board of Supervisors, about stopping the vote count. The select committee wrote:

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According to Hickman, Ward was unusually active after the election, even for a party chair, and was the first person to pressure him. One of her first messages to Hickman before trying to connect him with President Trump was: We need you to stop the counting. [Emphasis added]

On Nov. 13, Ward texted White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Just talked to POTUS, and He may call the Chairman of the Maricopa Board of Supervisors.

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Ward left a voicemail message for Hickman saying, I just talked to President Trump, and he would like me to talk to you and also see if he needs to give you a call to discuss whats happening on the ground in Maricopa. Give me a call back when you can.

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Trump repeatedly tried to contact Hickman directly. Hickman never returned the presidents calls.

When asked about these communications by congressional investigators, Ward asserted her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.

Nov. 13, 2020, in Georgia

Sen. Lindsey Graham called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. With two witnesses on the callRaffenspergers deputy Jordan Fuchs and Georgia election official Gabriel SterlingGraham implied the secretary of state should try to throw out ballots, according to what Raffensperger told CNN.

Raffensperger said that Graham asked if the ballots could be matched back to the voters, and then I got the sense that he implied that then you could throw those out. Wolf Blitzer stated that Graham had denied the allegation by saying Thats ridiculous. Raffensperger responded, Well, its just an implication that, look hard and see how many ballots you could throw out. (We include this because it is notable to us that the senator did not seek to justify his actions by saying he was asking to make sure all votes were from actual voters, but instead denied the statement altogether.)

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In testimony, Raffensperger told the select committee, My concern was, would you be disenfranchising voters when the ballots have already been accepted by the county process. He said he told Graham on the call that he would consult with his general counsel and get back to the senator, but never did. I just didnt want to go where he waswhere I thought he might want to go. I just thought it best not to call him back.

An organized plot to deny individuals their right to vote is prohibited by Section 241. The above makes clear that it can form the basis for charging Trump and his conspirators in connection with their plot against American democracy.

More From Just Security:

National Security Implications of Trumps Superseding Indictment: A Damage Assessment 2.0

Missed Opportunities in House FY24 NDAA for Human Rights Progress in U.S. Security Assistance
DEMOCRACY SQUARE, TEL AVIV, IsraelJoe Biden spent a half-century-long career striving to be exactly the kind of senator, vice president, and president a beleaguered Israel would want to call on at a time of crisis.

But now that Israel faces what its top-tier security think tank has described as the most severe crisis in the nations history, its leaders, from Benjamin Netanyahu on down, are pointedly ignoring their indispensable allys counsel and his clearly mounting displeasure.

Biden saw the future of Israel last week, the train headed for a bricked-in tunnel. And nothing he tried to do could stop it, or even slow it down.

This is a man whose love for Israel was as old-school as it gets. Effusive, hopeful, rose-filteredfor years and years the evident warmth Biden felt for the country and its people extended even to Benjamin Netanyahu. Until this year. Until this overhaul.

Netanyahu has touted the Reforma package of laws, of which a key measure passed the Knesset last week, as a narrow initiative to instill needed diversity on the Supreme Court and enhance the balance of powers. In fact, it is a sweeping legislative offensive whose scores of bills would gut the judiciary and grant free rein to the ruling coalitions authoritarian designs. If the laws are adopted, the courts could not stop the most extreme right-wing and Orthodox Israeli parties from doing whatever they want, and they would allow those parties to stay in office for as long as Israel manages to exist.

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For months, and up until minutes before the bill came up for its final vote, the White House waited for a signal that Netanyahu would make good on his explicit pledge to the president: that the proposal would be passed only in a form incorporating compromise and taking into account a broad public consensus.

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But last week, when Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana of Netanyahus Likud Party prepared the roll call, and all 56 members of the opposition filed out of the room in infuriated protest, boycotting the vote, Biden got his answer. There would be no compromise.

The full-bore, unsoftened law represented a defeat for Biden, a telling reminder of the decline in influence Washington now exerts over the most hard-line and fundamentalist government Israel has ever known. But the administration will need to comprehend, as well, that the result was far from a victory for Netanyahu. Instead, it exposed how little power he now wields over his far-right Cabinet members. If Biden thought he knew Netanyahu well from their decades of cooperation, and therefore could reason and work with him, it might appear to the president what Israelis already understand: that Netanyahu uneasily shares the helm with a squad of restive, ambitious, and uncompromising younger leaders, and Bidens familiarity now means little for Israels future, or for its relationship to America. Against his will and much of what he holds dear, Biden is coming to grips with the realization that his old beloved Israel is fast taking on the behaviors and recklessness of a rogue state.

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The day of the vote, the prime minister sat ashen and uncharacteristically passive in his Knesset chair, seeming to take only passing notice as Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Justice Minister Yariv Levin, flanking him, argued over Gallants unsuccessful push to have the vote delayed and the bill modified. But in some respects, the votes aftermath, broadcast live on national television, proved more riveting and more instructive than the roll call. Immediately after the tally was announced, Netanyahu slipped out a side door and disappeared, as Levin and Jewish Power Party Chair Itamar Ben-Gvir took victory laps, accepting passionate acclaim from coalition underlings, and exuberantly posing for selfies. The two ministers immediately vowed that the new law would be merely the gateway to a much deeper and wider legislative blitz later this year. It was clear, analysts agreed, that Levin and Ben-Gvir, determined that the bill pass intact and without delay, had bent Netanyahu to their will.

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The scene was in sharp contrast to the 2018 passage of the nation-state law, the hard-line precursor to the Reforma. At the time, Netanyahu had basked in celebration and unalloyed triumph, standing center stage in a Likud group selfie now famous for its vulgarity. For some observers who call the judicial overhaul a regime overthrow, Netanyahus abrupt departure was an unsettling signal, as if the country had been witness to something of a coup within a coup.

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It is not lost on the Biden administration that the coming months will likely prove, as Ben-Gvir and Levin stressed, that the new law was not an end in itself, but a watershed beginning. Nor was it lost on U.S. officials that both Levin and Ben-Gvir have made no secret that they aspire to someday accede to the premiership. The vote came barely a day after surgeons implanted a pacemaker in Netanyahus chest. After a week of relentless media queries, doctors revealed to the public what Netanyahu, 73, had kept hidden for 20 years: a chronic, generally asymptomatic but potentially fatal conduction disorder or heart block. Netanyahu has never assigned anyone as a potential acting replacement, but to the shock and horror of many in Israel, Levin assumed the duties of prime minister over the weekend while Netanyahu was undergoing the pacemaker surgery. As ruthless as Netanyahu has become over the past decade-plus, Ben-Gvir and Levin are creatures of another kind, zealots with fierce visions who have been prepping for a moment like this for years and who care little about Americas viewpoint or reaction.

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Israels deep division now has it free-falling in various ways that will affect the U.S.

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For starters, a daily growing number of key personnel in reserve units of many of Israels most indispensable frontline military groupings have told their commanders that they will refuse to report for duty to serve a dictatorship. The exact numbers are unknown, but the total declaring as much is now well over 10,000 reservists, including from the air force, the Israel Defense Forces enormous elite cyberintelligence unit, and the elite special forces in which Netanyahu served as a captain.

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U.S. security planners have long viewed the IDF, the Mossad, and other Israeli intelligence and security agencies as a reliable, relatable, consistently cooperative ally, even in periods of political instability within Israel and its government. Nothing approaching this level of threatened refusal to report has ever happened in Israel, and Biden and the Pentagon must gird for the possibility that the readiness and the unit cohesion of the air force and other units may be adversely affected within weeks.

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But if, as some have suggested, Biden considers conditioning any of the billions of dollars of U.S. military aid to Israel on moderating the Reforma, he could face a firestorm of criticism by pro-Netanyahu Republicans. In addition, U.S. defense firms would be hurt by the move, because the aid is largely spent by Israel on purchases of American military hardware.

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The judicial overhaul has also landed a body blow to Israels startup and tech sector, the true engine of the nations economy. Investment has tanked, Israels stock market and foreign exchange trading have careened, and the shekel and stock indexes have plunged with every step forward of the legislative program. Israels credit rating is also increasingly vulnerable to downgrading.

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There are strong elements within Likud, the settler movement, and the ultra-Orthodox communitiesthe three pillars of the Netanyahu governmentwho would plainly prefer to see a Republican win the 2024 presidential race, and for the GOP to hold the House and take over the Senate. Netanyahu, noting that evangelicals make up about 25 percent of the U.S. population, has made common cause with their leaders since the early 2000s, often courting them to the exclusion and alienation of American Jews, who represent just over 2 percent of Americans and vote overwhelmingly Democratic. Having meddled with U.S. elections in the past, going behind Barack Obamas back to undermine him and signaling advocacy for Donald Trump, the prime minister can always rely on the assistance of his adviser and now Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermerwho, in a former political life, was a GOP operative.

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Cabinet ministers and members of Netanyahus inner circle have likewise helped Republicans by keeping up a drumbeat of unkind remarks about Biden, most recently from the prime ministers brother, Iddo, who told a radio interviewer Tuesday that U.S. officials like Secretary of State Antony Blinken are better informed, [but] not Biden. Echoing Republican talking points suggesting that Biden may be senile, Iddo said, From the mental standpoint, I dont know what condition hes in. He later apologized. As Biden gears up his reelection campaign and continues criticizing the judicial coup, he can expect such attacks to continue, and for his GOP rivals to make hay with them.

Moreover, many of the legislative onslaughts 141 (now 180) bills aim to enshrine what some have called the right to discriminate against women, Palestinians, non-Jewish Israelis, LGBTQ+ people, Reform and Conservative Jews, and many others. These are the types of policies likely to enrage mainstream Democrats, and not just Bidens left flank, which has grown increasingly vocal about supporting Palestinian rights. As those policies ramp up, the administration will likely face increasing pressure from his supporters to express his disapproval in rhetoric and policy.

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Like many supporters of Israel, Im very concerned about Israeli democracy, a clearly pained Biden told reporters in late March. They cannot continue down this road, he said of the judicial overhaul, adding of Netanyahu, I hope he walks away from it.

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Then, demonstrating a keen understanding of what really makes Netanyahu tickand explodeBiden declared that he had no intention of inviting the prime minister to the White House in the near-term.

For Netanyahu and Biden, the wild card determining their futures may be the mass protests that have taken over city streets the length of Israel for 30 straight weeks. Bidens criticism of police violence against demonstrators earlier this month took Israelis aback in its severity, compared, as it was, to similar statements Washington has directed to regimes like Hungarys.

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Netanyahu is said to have assessed that passing the law, the summers torpor, and the Knesset recess until October might quell the ardor of the protest movement. But the initial reaction to the Knesset vote suggested that Netanyahu might once again have engaged in wishful thinking.

Related From Slate What Too Many Democrats Wont Admit About Hunter Biden Read More

Nationwide, huge protests have broken out and have not ceased. Masses of people have faced off against squads of burly riot police unleashed on Ben-Gvirs orders. Last week, in the heart of Tel Aviv, they hurtled one woman headfirst into a concrete freeway divider. An 18-year-old protester was dragged on the ground, then slugged in the face, and reportedly told by an officer that the policeman would rape his mother.

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At the same scene, water cannon trucks blasted several people point-blank, the blue dye in the water beginning to mix with the blood in the street. A horse trampled a demonstrator. And even in a quiet Tel Aviv outer suburb, a motorist plowed into demonstrators blocking the road, injuring several and sending a 40-year-old woman to the hospital.

Netanyahus new Israel is headed into a brutal occupation rendered ever more permanent, an apartheid regime in the West Bank seeping into the lifeblood of Israel itself, the entwined threads of theocracy, misogyny, homophobia, and Jewish supremacism enshrined in law and choking dead what remains of democracy.

The trajectory goes against everything Biden believes about democracy, and everything Biden always wanted to believe about Israel. He must know now, at an unprecedented turning point in Americas relationship to Israel, that he can no longer stand by, that he will need to consider measures and pressures he once thought beyond the pale. There will be a domestic price to pay.

But no one gets the war they want to fight. You get the war you have to.
Last week, an organization called PragerU announced that the state of Florida had approved it as an official vendor for educational material.

This was a controversial development: PragerUs explicit mission is to combat leftism in education, and until now, its materials had not made it, at least officially, into any public schools. But for Florida, the news tracks with recent trends.

The 2022 Stop W.O.K.E. Act banned schools from teaching children about privilege and systemic racism. Gov. Ron DeSantis administration blocked an Advanced Placement course on African American studies over claims it violated state law. The states new educational standards, posted recently by the Florida Department of Education, equate historical acts of white supremacist violence with race riotsor, as its stated, with acts of violence perpetrated by African Americans. And the new standards require that middle school students learn how slavery taught Black people useful, specialized skills that could be used for personal benefit. 

So its not entirely surprising that the states Education Department concluded that PragerUs content fit its standards. For PragerU, this is a major victory: The organization has been campaigning for this moment for years.

Despite its name, PragerU isnt a universityor any kind of accredited educational institution. It was founded in 2009 by Dennis Prager, a conservative talk show host previously known for being a less inflammatory voice of the right. Prager, convinced that the key to a brighter future was to instill college students with conservative values, first dreamed of an actual university. But he and his co-founder soon realized that the venture would be prohibitively expensive. Instead, PragerU, a nonprofit, pivoted quickly to creating free, slickly produced educational videos as conservative counterprogramming.

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Its 5 Minute Ideas videos proved particularly popular, relying often on misleading or even outright false claims about U.S. history, and racking up millions of views on YouTube. High school and college students across the country meet on campus in support of PragerU content and gather at annual conferences. A host of prominent right-wing figures, including Candace Owens and Ben Shapiro, have supported PragerU, either by speaking out in support or appearing in the content itself. It earned some $20 million in net revenue in 2021largely from contributions. Today PragerU claims that its videos collectively have more than 8 billion YouTube views.

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But in recent years, in parallel with the national conversation, PragerU has shifted away from college students and begun to focus more on children.

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For the 202324 school year, each district in Florida will be able to determine which of PragerUs materials will be used as supplemental teaching tools. Not all of its childrens content is inflammatory. Its possible that districts will take only relatively benign materials. There are accurate PragerU lessons on personal finances and the structure of the Electoral College.

But the closer you look, the more very right-wing content you find.

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Take, for example, its Leo & Layla series, in which an animated tween girl and her kid brother travel through time to meet historical figures. In the video in which they meet Booker T. Washington, the animated Washingtonwho in real life was born enslavedplays down Americas culpability in slavery. When Layla asks Washington if he wished hed lived in another country, he responds that slavery has been a reality everywhere in the world and that I am still so proud and thankful to be an American because the U.S. was one of the first places on earth to outlaw slavery.

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Then, when Layla expresses her sorrow over segregation and racism, he reassures her: You have nothing to be sorry about. You and Leo have done nothing wrong. Future generations are never responsible for the sins of the past. Layla then vows to never feel guilty about historical stuff.

In another video, Frederick Douglass teaches the children the virtues of patience and compromise in activism. The children get upset when seeing activists call for abolishing the police and protesters destroying cars on TV. (Leo also complains that his math teacher has given him a social justice assignment.) Douglassanother person born into slaveryreassures the children that our founding fathers knew that slavery was evil and wrong and they knew it would do terrible harm to the nation but that they were forced to be patient.

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Im certainly not OK with slavery, but the founding fathers made a compromise to achieve something great: the making of the United States, Douglass says. He, like Washington, boasts of Americas role in ending slavery worldwide and complains about radical abolitionists. Our system is wonderful, and the Constitution is a glorious liberty document, he says. We just need to convince enough Americans to be true to it.

The videos on race might be the series most offensive, but others are no more subtle. Some tell children not to feel guilty about using plastic or expound upon the virtues of Reaganomics or the war on drugs. (The Reagan video also uses the opportunity to praise him as being popular, handsome, a talented actor, and good at sports.)

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There are other PragerU series, such as its Nickelodeon-esque gross-out game show, which quizzes children on the lives of people like Ayn Rand and Amy Coney Barrett. (Teach elementary students what it means for a Supreme Court justice to be an originalist. ) Theres love for the capitalist spirit here too: John D. Rockefeller is praised as an often-mischaracterized oil tycoon and great philanthropist who worked hard, saved his customers money, and gave away much of his wealth.

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Another program, animated stories of children around the world, dwells partially on the evils of communism and socialism. One video about religious persecution focuses on a Coptic Christian boy in Egypt. The story of Priya teaches kids to put discrimination in perspective and how the British Empire lifted India out of a long tradition of caste discrimination. In Canada, Marcel learns that hes been misled about universal health care: It turns out that if his grandfather had had access to specialists in Americas privatized system, he might still be alive. In Los Angeles, Mateo, the son of Mexican immigrants, learns about the myth of police racial profiling and the importance of supporting the police to protect his neighborhood from criminals and rioters. And in Poland, Anias family members compare her courage in promoting climate denialism (telling the truth) with Jewish resistance fighters in the Warsaw Uprising.

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The content for teenagers fixates more on preparing teens to grow into conservative adults and fight the culture wars. Videos impart lessons such as taking ownership of your life, working hard and enjoying it, and being a victor and not a victim. And they teach teens that they should not trust every expert. (In the thinking objectively lesson, a teen challenges an emotional man with a goofy voice and strange wig who claims that humans are causing climate change.)

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Perhaps PragerUs oddest videos are its how-to lessons on embracing your femininity and masculinity. Most gender stereotypes exist because they reflect the way men and women are naturally different, and those differences arent bad, one host explains. She encourages girls to master the art of makeup, not expose parts of your body that would send the wrong message, not to develop the reputation of being a gossip, be grateful when a man goes out of his way to show you respect, and smile. Teen boys, on the other hand, are told to be proud of their ambition and strength.

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Theres one moment that stands out in the rational patriots video, which reminds teens to remember that the U.S. is not a democracy but a constitutional republic, that America is the freest country in the world, and that people love using history as a tool for their own political agenda. American values, the host claims, stem from Judeo-Christian principles of individual freedom and limited government power.

Related From Slate College Librarians in Florida Are Hoping for the Best, But Preparing for the Worst Read More

We dont yet know how this curriculum will be used. PragerUs more religious content may not make it into schools. But the CEOs deep belief in Judeo-Christian values as essential to America pervades the lessons. God is mentioned occasionally. Some of Leo & Laylas adventures take them to meet biblical characters. Prager is Jewish, so the curriculum isnt Christian, but theres a clear political alliance here with Christian nationalists.

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According to the American Prospect, students have already, for years, reported being assigned PragerU content. (A teacher at a Catholic school in Missouri was fired in 2019 for showing a PragerU video titled Why You Cant Argue With a Leftist.) PragerUs campaign to get into schools has also already reached thousands of home-school parents and teachers in private and religious schools.

But some activists worry that if PragerU is officially recognized, it could easily expose children to the programs more extreme material for adultscontent that contends there is no gender wage gap, that Blacks in power dont empower Blacks, that Islam is holding society back, and that Muslims naturally hate Jews.

A couple of years ago we launched PragerU kids because parents have been frustrated; teachers have been frustrated, the nonprofits CEO said in a video announcing the Florida news. We have seen that our schools have been hijacked by the left. They have been politicized. They have been used by union bosses. They have been doing everything under the sun not for our children.

And PragerU isnt satisfied yet. It wants its supporters to sign a petition to spread even farther, beyond Florida.

You should know that the left is trying to fight us, the host says in the announcement video. Theyre trying to take us out of the schools, and we need your support.
Two (and a half?) indictments inand with one on the wayDonald Trump is watching his legal troubles, and legal fees, pile up. And theyre eating into his campaign funds. The New York Times has reported that the Trump campaign is currently diverting 10 percent of donations to a political action committee Trump has used to pay his personal legal fees. That PAC has already spent $56 million on legal bills so far.

While Trump stands alone when it comes to multiple federal criminal prosecutions, his top rival in the GOP presidential primary has also begun to rack up a pretty impressive rap sheet of ever-expanding legal troubles.

At the start of 2023, DeSantis had somehow outspent Trump, his $16.7 million in legal fees outpacing the $16 million in legal fees paid out by Trumps super PAC. A recent filing shows that the cost of Trumps various legal defenses paid by the super PAC more than tripled in the past few months. No similar reports have yet been filed for DeSantis latest tally, but, like Trump, the suits keep coming. As Politico recently marveled, Ron DeSantis seeming never-ending torrent of lawsuits keeps flowing onward.

Earlier this month, as rumors swirled of a third forthcoming Trump indictment, DeSantis picked up three new lawsuits in just one week, on matters ranging from the governors immigration policy to the states recent voting rights law passed via ballot measure. Per Politicos Florida Playbook: There are at least two dozen legal actions now swirling around in federal and state courts that contend that laws and actions of the 2024 presidential candidate violate constitutional rights, voting laws and citizen-approved standards for redistricting.

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Most of these are not criminal cases like Trumps, but theyre substantial. For starters, DeSantis is in court, famously, opposite Disney. The Mouse sued in April after the governor moved to exert more control over Disney World in retaliation for Disneys opposition to his infamous Dont Say Gay law. DeSantis recently asked a federal judge to dismiss the case. The judge did not. DeSantis legal team has tried to claim that the governor should be immune from being sued.

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DeSantis is also fighting costly court cases over personnel decisions and signature policies. He has fought multiple cases over his suspension of Andrew Warren, a democratically elected state attorney who said he wouldnt enforce DeSantis abortion ban. (The Florida Supreme Court, which DeSantis infamously packed, ruled in his favor; the case is still pending in federal appeals court.) And DeSantis has also been sued over the Dont Say Gay bill, abortion bans, and the prohibition of African American studies. Its anticipated there may be further lawsuits coming over his stunt earlier this year in which Central and South American migrants were flown to California and Marthas Vineyard. The Bexar County Sheriffs Office in Texas already recommended felony criminal charges against the DeSantis administration to the local district attorney over the transport of those migrants out of Texas.

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DeSantis has projected confidence in a number of these cases, just as Trump has with his own legal troubles. And just as Trump has his own judicial appointees throughout the federal judiciary, surely hoping he can count on them for loyaltyJudge Aileen Cannon in the documents case in south Florida is a prime exampleDeSantis has loyalists in the Florida Supreme Court he personally packed. And the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta, where DeSantis has had to show up frequently, is known for its conservative bent.

But the governor has already seen a number of setbacks in many cases. More distractingly, a number of the lawsuits look likely to extend well into the formal Republican primary calendar and drag on into the general 2024 election, if DeSantis does indeed make it that far.

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So far, the biggest problem posed by DeSantis myriad legal troubles is that of time. Even with the best legal teams, DeSantis will need to direct at least some attention to the two dozen or so cases, many of which will be argued and decided during primary seasonwhen he, in theory, should be committing all his energy to the campaign trail.

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Money may eventually be an issue, too. Florida taxpayers, whether they know it or not, have generously sponsored the governors legal bills. The Republican supermajority in the states Legislature allocated $16 million of the states $117 billion budget exclusively for use in DeSantis own litigation expenses. Many of those cases are ongoing, with new ones being added to the docket all the time. In other words, it looks like that $16 million is merely a down payment.

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Its not clear just how much largesse the state GOP has in reserve. If DeSantis is required to take a page out of the Trump playbook and redirect his campaign funds to his legal defense fund, that could be yet another drain on DeSantis vanishing presidential hopes. The governor has already blown through his ill-gotten fundraising advantage at an astonishing rate, and can hardly afford to waste money on things that arent prime-time TV ads or paying for door knockers as he tries to manufacture something that looks like grassroots support.

A keen, dispassionate eye might observe that Republicans would probably be best served by nominating a presidential candidate who does not have to redirect millions of campaign dollars to his own legal fees (or those of his allies), and who does not need to jump on and off the campaign trail for constant visits to the courthouse.

But, hey, as his polling gets worse, legal bills might be one area where DeSantis can accurately claim to be competitive with Trump!
On Friday, the movement to require the United States Supreme Court to adopt a code of conduct got a boost from a surprising source: Justice Samuel Alito. Of course, at this point backers of ethics reform should be used to Alito putting his foot in his mouth to inadvertently offer support for their cause, which is just what he did again. Indeed, in a Wall Street Journal interview published on Friday in which he trashed the possibility of an enforceable Supreme Court ethics code established by Congress, the conservative icon made the strongest possible case for such a code: It is needed to force Alitoand any other like-minded justicesto keep mum about cases that could come before them, as all other judges in this country are obligated to do.

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Democrats have typically supported the idea of a Supreme Codegenerally, in the past, with the particulars to be drafted by the court itselfand Republicans have rejected it. The Senate Judiciary Committee, for example, has advanced the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act on a straight party-line vote, with all Democrats in favor and all Republicans opposed. Sen. Richard Durbin, chairman of the committee, and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse celebrated the achievement, saying, Its time for the nine Supreme Court Justices to abide by a code of conduct just like every other federal official. In contrast, Sen. Lindsey Graham decried the bill as an assault on the court itself.

Related From Slate The Most Shameless Attempt to Audition for Clarence Thomas Job Yet Read More

It was in response to these developments that Alito unintentionally helped Democrats cause. Questioned about the SCERT Act, the justice replied on the record, I know this is a controversial view, but Im willing to say it. No provision in the Constitution gives [Congress] the authority to regulate the Supreme Courtperiod. This statement, in and of itself, is a perfect illustration of why the SCERT Act is needed. And, further, it should force Alito off the case should the act ever become law and the constitutionality ever be questioned in court. Hes clearly made up his mind, and the SCERT Act itself would demand his recusal in cases where hes already expressed such a strong opinion.

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To understand why, consider the context. Because the constitutionality of the SCERT Act, or any comparable legislation, would inevitably be litigated, the same pronouncement by a lower federal court judge would have violated the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, adopted by the United States Judicial Conference in 1973 and applicable to all federal judges below the Supreme Court. Canon 3A(6) plainly provides, A judge should not make public comment on the merits of a matter pending or impending in any court. A similar rule binds the judiciaries in all 50 states.

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Uniquely among American courts, however, the Supreme Court has no written ethics code, leaving Alito imprudently free to declare his intended vote on what he admits is a highly controversial issue.

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Could there be any other consequence to Alitos outburst? The late Justice Antonin Scalia once recused himself from a case in which he made a similar public comment on the merits. It would thus seem that Alito would be likewise disqualified from sitting in a future SCERT case because, in the language of the federal recusal statute, his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.

There is a catch. As Alito explained to the Wall Street Journal reporters, he considers compliance with federal ethics statutes to be voluntaryimplying that he could choose to disregard them at any time. For more on his disregard for ethics compliance, see also the last time he helped the cause of Supreme Court ethics reform, with his preemptive responsealso in the Journalto a scathing ProPublica report on Alitos refusal to report luxury trips from a billionaire friend and to subsequently recuse in a case involving that same benefactor. Indeed, the Supreme Court has followed a historic practice of referring recusal decisions exclusively to the justice in question, so Alito could sit in an eventual SCERT case even if his colleagues disagreed with his decision.

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The Judicial Conferences Code of Conduct includes the identical disqualification requirement, however, so its formal adoption by the Supreme Court would resolve any ambiguity about the mandatory nature of recusal obligations, including in such a case.

Its worth noting also that Alitos claim of congressional nonauthority, as recounted by the interviewers, is embarrassingly flimsy. Congress did not create the Supreme Courtthe Constitution did, he told the reporters. Well, yes, but the Constitution also says, the supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction  under such Regulations as the Congress shall make, which rather contradicts Alitos vision of an imperial court, subject to no law but its own. After all, the Constitution also created the presidency, and Congress surely has authority to regulate the executive branch.

If any further argument were necessary, Alitos unabashed flouting of basic judicial ethics principles has compellingly underscored the critical need for a Supreme Court code of conduct. It would take considerable naivete to assume that he would cheerfully comply with such a code, but at least the public would understand that he had run out of excuses.
By 'de-risking,' the U.S. means 'de-China'

People's Daily Online) 10:45, July 31, 2023

Cartoon by Ma Hongliang

The U.S. cannot conceal its intent to decouple from, contain and isolate China, despite frequently espousing the so-called "de-risking" strategy.

Attempting to create "a small yard with high fences," the U.S. has imposed sanctions on Chinese enterprises, sabotaged technological exchanges between China and other nations, and expanded restrictions on Chinese investments.

The U.S. has also aggressively promoted the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and the "Chip 4 Alliance," aiming to construct a small, restricted clique to besiege and contain China.

The primary objective of this "de-risking" rhetoric is to decouple the industrial chains of key industries from China.

China, however, is not a risk. What China contributes to the world is stability, certainty and positive energy.

The U.S.'s "de-China" strategy will ultimately deprive the world of cooperation, stability and development opportunities.

Instead of addressing the problems confronting the U.S., this strategy will backfire and burden the rest of the world.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Liang Jun)
Violence and the civilized society: Conformity and dissidence in different societies (Part Eight) By Mark Wegierski

web posted July 31, 2023 (Initial drafts of this essay date back to 1988.  author's note) There are also the obvious facts that the Inquisition, the burning of witches, and the Thirty Years War (often done in the name of the most zealous religious spirit) were simply ghastly. And who can forget the fact that Joan of Arc herself was burned by the Inquisition, which was acting on orders from the English. One gets the impression that an enormous twisting of the Christian message had occurred, in order to allow such atrocities. One obvious indictment of these measures -- apart from their viciousness and cruelty -- is their manifest failure to achieve their professed goal of the maintenance of traditional society. They were just the sort of acts that seem to have forever inflamed an entire civilization (and especially its intellectual leaders) against traditional religion. It should also be remembered that the witch-burnings did not occur uniformly across Europe  they were concentrated mostly in Germany, while being very infrequent, for example, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Contrary to Burnham's idea, it is liberals who may more often be seen as masters of politics, whereas conservatives are often rather inept. It must be said here, however, that liberalism itself, which professes tolerance, peace, and love, has always seemed to be able to call up the use of violence when it was needed most (e.g., to "digest" large groups of traditionalist resistance). In the twentieth century, Leninist regimes have proved to be a boon to liberalism. The Leninist regimes were somehow able to "digest" traditional societies (such as Russia, China, and those of East-Central Europe) that would have clearly long remained traditionally-oriented by democratic choice. By the time "liberal freedoms" had come to East-Central Europe and Russia, traditionalist leaderships (notably the nationalist intelligentsias) had been virtually annihilated. It has also been mostly forgotten today, that the comparatively brief but extremely savage period of Nazism in Europe also proved highly deadly to many of the East-Central European nationalist intelligentsias, notably the Polish. While the typical "liberal freedoms" are certainly to be appreciated by those who enjoy them, some might cynically argue that liberals do not usually permit the operation of such freedoms at any point where their regimes are going through periods of truly serious challenge or such earlier defining struggles as the English Civil War, the French Revolution, or the American Civil War. Some might indeed argue that "liberal freedoms" almost never occur coterminously with a period or a country where a significant challenge to liberalism from traditionalist or conservative opponents, can be mounted. America also embraced "illiberal" policies during the war with Nazi Germany, but in that case, the Nazis were so clearly evil, that militant measures were eminently justifiable. However, it can be seen today, that the anti-conservative, anti-traditionalist revolutionary surge that began in America mostly in the 1960s  which certainly sometimes expresses itself in "illiberal" rhetoric and methods -- shows no sign of abating. Nevertheless, it can now be seen that in late modernity, with the so-called managerial-therapeutic regime in place, the population can be effectively controlled through mass-media, mass-education, and consumerism. The result could be called "soft-totalitarianism". In such a situation, there is actually little need to ostentatiously crack down on "liberal freedoms" to keep the system in place. "Soft-totalitarianism" poses a virtually insoluble dilemma, as far as current-day traditionalist dissent goes. With so many avenues of communication to families and society blocked, traditionalists (of which ever fewer seem to remain) are at a loss of what to do. Any kind of turning to violence by some more extreme persons can be instantaneously pejoritized and harnessed as a motor to further intensify the managerial-therapeutic regime. Since "soft-totalitarianism" (ostensibly at least) does not practice violence, it is difficult for resisters to generate the same kind of dynamic of sympathy for dissidence as operated in the former East Bloc. Indeed, any meaningful, conscious opposition to the prevalent system  or, sometimes, just some form of "political incorrectness" that some prominent person may stumble into -- is frequently pejoritized by accusations of "racism", "sexism", etc.  which rarely result in generating any sympathy for the accused. Indeed, the accused are frequently written off, by most of the general public  and sometimes even by their own family-members and friends -- as justifiably censured "hate-mongers." And such accusations can indeed have very concrete, highly negative repercussions on the lives of those who are so accused. These tactics of accusation are today so politically effective, that a prominent group of liberal journalists explicitly  and not just implicitly -- embraced them, as part of their campaign to get Obama elected in 2008. To be continued. Mark Wegierski is a Canadian writer and historical researcher. Home
On Friday, Justice Samuel Alito unwittingly demonstrated why we probably need a Supreme Court code of conduct. Steven Lubet explains how Alitos latest foot-in-his-mouth Wall Street Journal op-ed shows whats wrong with our current system.

Plus: In case you missed it, Dahlia Lithwick and Anat Shenker-Osorio look at the broad support for ethics reform.

Israels dark future

Joe Biden has spent 50 years championing Israelbut thats about to change. Bradley Burston argues that Benjamin Netanyahus judicial coup undoes all of Bidens ideas about the prime minister, the nation, and its democracy.

Plus: What Next asks whether Netanyahu has lost control.

Prager YIKES

Last week, PragerU, an organization devoted to combating leftism in education, was cleared as an official vendor for Florida public schools. Its educational materials include a video comparing climate denialism to the Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Uprising. Molly Olmstead watched a bunch of PragerUs other videos to get a sense of just how bad it is.

Sympathy for the devil

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. didnt use to be this way, and his path is a warning. John Ehrenreich traces his descent into conspiracism.

Loose Threads

Threads positioned itself as a less-toxic Twitter, but its already leaning into the addiction factor. Nitish Pahwa looks at what might happen when Facebook fires up its growth machine for Threads.

Rons legal woes

DeSantis may be falling ever further behind Trump in the polls, but he rivals Trump in another way: Hes also spending a whole lot on legal fees. Alexander Sammon digs into DeSantis legal troubles.

Its bloodsicle time

All summer, Maggie Kloza makes ice pops out of horse blood. The Dallas zoologist spoke to Dan Kois about what it takes to keep lions and tigers cool in the sweltering summer heat.

Today, Slate is  * A MIX OF IRONY AND HIGH-CULTURE REFERENCES

 much like Barbie. Cleo Levin looks at how the movie has revealed a curious truth about political polarization.

Thanks so much for reading! Well see you tomorrow.
In March, a member of an anti-abortion Facebook group shared a post describing what it claimed was pro-abortion logic: We dont want you to be poor, starved or unwanted. So well just kill you instead.

That same month, another Facebook user shared a link to a news article covering a South Carolina bill that would have criminalized abortion as homicide, thus making it eligible for the death penalty. In the caption, the user criticized lawmakers logic that its wrong to kill so we are going to kill you. On Instagram, another post struck the same tone, criticizing the idea of being so pro-life that well kill you dead if you get an abortion.

These posts represent opposite sides of the abortion debate, but they faced the same fate. After Metas automated hostile speech classifier flagged the posts, human reviewers determined that they constituted death threats, violating Metas violence and incitement policy. The posts were removed from Facebook and Instagram. In response to appeals from the users who shared the content, Meta ultimately restored all three posts (in one case after four reviews), admitting that they should never have been removed since they did not incite violence.

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But the story doesnt end there. Now these posts are at the center of Oversight Board cases that will establish guidelines for how Meta should moderate abortion-related content. Specifically, the boarda panel of 22 researchers, advocates, and policymakers who advise Meta on content moderationis considering how the tech giant should treat content that uses the word kill while discussing abortion and its legality. But beyond the specific moderation issues within the cases, the board will also evaluate how Metas enforcement practices shape the conversation about abortion in America. The outcome could have profound implications for abortion access.

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The Oversight Board is expected to announce its recommendations (shaped in part by public comments) in the coming weeks. While the recommendations are nonbinding, the cases themselves reflect a broader issue: Meta is not prepared to moderate content on abortion. Unlike YouTube, Meta has no policies that specifically address abortion, according to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. When asked about the guidelines the platform currently uses to moderate abortion-related content, a Meta spokesperson said in an email that posts must follow existing rules, including those on: prescription drugs, misinformation, coordinating harm, bullying and harassment, violence and incitement, and violent and graphic content. But applying this patchwork of more general policies risks inconsistencies. Its notable that for all three of the posts the Oversight Board is currently considering, applying the violence and incitement policy was inappropriate. Existing policies dont account for the specific challenges posed by abortion contentMetas policy against harmful health misinformation, for example, doesnt mention reproductive health.

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Meanwhile, abortion misinformation abounds. The Center for Countering Digital Hate found that Facebook ads promoting abortion pill reversal, a dangerous and unsubstantiated procedure, were shown 18.4 million times to women and girls as young as 13. Media Matters reported that Meta showed more than 800 political ads that contained abortion misinformation, resulting in over 37.6 million impressions. According to ISD, an ad showing an animation of a fetus being dismembered in the womb and having its skull crushed, in violation of Metas violent and graphic content policy, was active for more than a month. (In an email, the Meta spokesperson said all ads must comply with the platforms ads policy, and noted that the platform prohibits ads that repeatedly use shocking imagery to further a point of view.)

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At the same time, advocates have struggled to disseminate accurate information about abortion under Metas policies. We Testify, an organization that uses storytelling to shift perceptions of abortion, relies on social media to share up-to-date information about abortion access. When it tried to run an ad with information from the World Health Organization explaining how to undergo a self-managed abortion, a procedure that is more critical than ever after Dobbs, the submission was denied. Such content moderation has a real impact on us because were not always able to fight it, said Emma Hernandez, communications manager at We Testify, which has only six staff members.

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Related From Slate The End of Roe and the Threat to Free Speech Online Read More

Theres no question that content moderation presents an enormous challenge, especially when it comes to a topic as polarizing as abortion. But there are several steps the company could take to facilitate productive and accurate discussions about reproductive health. To start, Meta could reframe abortion in the context of public health, said Isabel Jones, a researcher at ISD. Meta developed detailed policies about COVID-19 content, but while abortion is also an urgent public health issue, she said, its not being treated the same way.

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Just as Meta pointed users toward accurate information through the COVID-19 Information Center, it could elevate facts about abortion from medical experts. Recommendation algorithms could prioritize credible sources while limiting the visibility of unreliable content. Posts that discuss abortion could be accompanied by an information panel, as outlined in YouTubes policies. Jackie Rotman, founder of the Center for Intimacy Justice, suggested that Meta could institute a third-party verification process for reproductive health organizations that would protect their content from arbitrary moderation.

Due to Metas opaqueness surrounding content moderation, however, researchers are limited in the recommendations they can provide. Because platforms dont share results from internal experiments or details about their moderation procedures, its difficult for researchers to assess the effectiveness of certain moderation interventions and hold platforms accountable, Jones said. Simple questions about whether posts are flagged by a human or an automated system, for example, are often impossible to answer. This lack of transparency is just as frustrating for advocates, who must interpret Metas ambiguous policies to predict whether they will end up in Facebook jail, said Angela Vasquez-Giroux, vice president of communications and research at NARAL Pro-Choice America. In their public comment in response to the Oversight Board cases, the Center for Democracy and Technology and the American Civil Liberties Union called on Meta to provide documentation about the process underlying its moderation decisions and about how human moderators are trained.

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Its hard not to be cynical about whether the Oversight Board cases will lead to tangible change. The board can make recommendations, but its up to Meta to implement them, and the boards jurisdiction doesnt extend to advertising (a major area of concern for researchers and advocates). Still, the cases make clear that Metas current approach of reducing a topic as complex as abortion to a handful of general policy domains has not worked, and its time to hold the platform accountable. Meta must modify its existing policiesor, even better, create new onesthat reflect the realities of abortion access in the U.S. The platform should develop abortion-specific misinformation guidelines that address both health and procedural issues. On the health front, Meta should consider medical misinformation related to issues like abortion pill reversal and the impact of abortion on fertility, whereas procedural policies should consider how to address misinformation about abortion access and legality, especially in the context of rapidly changing laws. Among other changes to general guidelines, Metas adult products or services policy, which currently lists family planning as a permitted category, should specifically address abortion to eliminate ambiguities; the prescription drugs policy should account for medication abortion. These changes must be made not only to Metas policies but to the underlying moderation classifiers and content recommendation algorithms too. Policies should also be responsive to the volatile state of abortion rights, and Meta should create pathways for advocates, researchers, and health care providers to communicate emerging concerns.

While more than a year has passed since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Metas abortion policies remain stuck in a pre-Dobbs era. Despite the limitations of the Oversight Board, its abortion cases have the best chance yet of spurring substantive change. When it took the cases on, the board said it would assess whether Metas policies or its enforcement practices may be limiting discussion about abortion. The answer is almost certainly yes. The real challenge comes with convincing the tech giant to take responsibility for its effect on reproductive rights.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
For decades, he was a superstar environmental lawyer who demanded that Americans should accept and act on the scientific consensus that climate change is real. He specialized in cases in which corporations had hidden the environmental or health costs of their products. His legal work against corporations that dump toxic chemicals in water, waste dumps, and food saved thousands of people from disabling diseases or death. He embraced the science that revealed this and attacked the superficially exculpatory science used by the companies to defend themselves. Thats what I do for a living, he told an interviewer. I litigate scientific issues.

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was not always a crank. He was not always a notorious promoter of pseudoscience and of conspiracy theories. But for years now, he has been the countrys most prominent anti-vaccine activist. In the midst of the COVID pandemic, he campaigned against the new vaccine, opposed masks, and promoted discredited cures such as ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. More than 300,000 of the 1.1 million American deaths from COVID might have been prevented by the vaccine he relentlessly crusaded against.

A well-known optical illusion shows a drawing that can be seen as a beautiful woman, perhaps a model for an angel, or as an ugly old woman, a caricature of a witch. The drawing is either or both. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., too, is either pro-science or anti-science, an environmental angel or a conspiratorial monster. Or both.

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The way Kennedy himself would tell the story, there is no conflict in his beliefs. Science, at its best, is a search for existential truth, he has said. The problem only arises when greedy corporations and captive government regulators, his go-to villains, twist, distort, falsify, and corrupt science, hide information, and censor open debate to protect personal power and corporate profits.

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In March 2023, Kennedy announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the presidency, forcing a wider public to grapple with both sides of his character. After a pandemic in which follow the science became a battle cry, we have to try to understand how someone can embrace science yet aggressively reject the science that most actual scientists believe in. How can someone be both a steel-witted lawyer and a crackpot? The story of a man with a famous name and startling strength in early polls shows why we ignore that question at our peril.

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Kennedy is perhaps best known today for his disdain for vaccineshes called the COVID-19 shot the deadliest vaccine ever made. Where did his doubts come from? Such skepticism can start with reasonable questions, and from the viewpoint of the early 2000s, concern about the safety of regular childhood shots was not an entirely crackpot notion.

I was drawn into the controversy only reluctantly. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2005

In 1998, British physician Andrew Wakefield had published an article in the Lancet reporting on a link between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and rapidly rising rates of autism. In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Public Health Service had released a statement urging vaccine manufacturers to remove thimerosala mercury-containing preservativeas quickly as possible and advising pediatricians to postpone giving most newborns the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. Although the aggregate amount of thimerosal that children received in vaccines had rapidly increased, the Environmental Protection Agency had dragged its feet on enforcing federal regulation of mercury.

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Big, bad companies putting stuff in products that harm people while governmental agencies do nothing, all backed by science provided by the companies themselvesit was familiar territory for Kennedy. He knew only too well that the fossil-fuel industry had publicized studies to confuse the climate change debate, and that all too often regulatory agencies had been captured by the very industries they were supposed to regulate. I was drawn into the controversy only reluctantly, Kennedy claimed in 2005 in Deadly Immunity, a widely read article published jointly by Rolling Stone and online by Salon, noting that the eradication of early childhood diseases depends on inoculations. But he had come around to the idea that some of the vaccines on the market were dangerous. If, as the evidence suggests, our public-health authorities knowingly allowed the pharmaceutical industry to poison an entire generation of American children, their actions arguably constitute one of the biggest scandals in the annals of American medicine.

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Even in 2005, Kennedys concerns about vaccine safety were overstated, and over the next 10 years most of the remaining concerns about vaccines were laid to rest. Thimerosal was removed from almost all vaccines. Autism rates still continued to soar, though, suggesting that the linkage between thimerosal and autism had been spurious. Wakefields articles were retracted, and Wakefield himself was accused of fraud and lost his license to practice medicine. Epidemiological studies consistently found no evidence of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. An overwhelming body of evidence supporting the safety of vaccines in common use accumulated. By 2011, both Rolling Stone and Salon had retracted Kennedys 2005 article.

Science, or any practice that relies on evidence, routinely includes shifts in what is seen as truth. John Maynard Keynes, questioned about why he had changed his views on an economic question, is famously supposed to have replied, When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s answer was to double down on his beliefs. He continued to insist that vaccines were dangerous. To maintain his position, however, he had to insist that the evidence supporting vaccine effectiveness and safety was not only wrong but outright fraudulent. Perhaps the tendency to go down this path had been there all along.

In his judgment of the conflicting claims on vaccine safety, Kennedy was not a scientist, but a litigator. To be a good scientist is to acknowledge uncertainty. Truth is never final, always about likelihoods and not about certainty. Conclusions and theories are always changing, constantly subject to challenge by other scientists. Debate among scientists with knowledge and expertise in the area of dispute takes place, mainly in the form of written articles. The scientific method itselflab experiments, clinical and epidemiological trials, and comparison of data to theoryprovides the mechanism for resolving these conflicts. Truth emerges over time (sometimes a long time). Questioning the science is what scientists do.

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The legal system, meanwhile, does not seek ultimate truthit seeks only a resolution of a dispute. In the civil cases Kennedy specialized in, the standard for decision is not beyond a reasonable doubt, but the preponderance of evidence. A claim must have more than a 50 percent chance of being true. The decision is made by a judge or a jury, based on evidence presented by lawyers. The job of the lawyers on each side is not to weigh conflicting science objectively: Cherry-picking and spinning evidence, minimizing the opponents evidence, making ad hominem attacks on the credibility of those presenting contrary evidence, and using the rhetorical skills of the lawyers are part of how you win a case. The outcome is a binary resolution with a consequence (liable or not liable), not a judgment of the scientific debate.

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Kennedys views about how to evaluate the validity of conflicting scientific evidence were shaped by long-standing and deeply ingrained suspicions based on his own experience as a lawyer. He was only too familiar with secrecy and bad faith on the part of large corporations, corporate capture of governmental regulatory agencies, and the willingness of some scientists, at least, to willingly serve false masters. He was a master at presenting the strongest version of his clients case and challenging the facts brought by the other side.

This can be an enormous force for good when it comes to life-and-death matters: Science moves slowly, and scientists can be prone to clouding declarations with uncertainty. A steady and firm judgment call in the face of a mishmash of evidence can, at times, improve the well-being of communities. But even when Kennedy was using his legal skills to protect the environment, not everyone was comfortable with how far he took his version of the reality. George Rodenhausen, who had worked with Kennedy as legal counsel for Putnam County during negotiations over the New York City Watershed, told the New York Times in 2000, I think he separates himself from good science at times in order to aggressively pursue an issue and win. Robert Boyle, a former colleague of Kennedys at the environmental organization Hudson Riverkeeper, recalled, I came not to trust him. He added: He shoots from the hip. Whatever comes into his mind becomes the truth.

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Conspiracy theories are held by people you know, people whose ideas you trust, and by leaders you follow.

A degree of paranoia and conspiratorial thinking can be seen as an occupational hazard for lawyers. A lawyer is supposed to be suspicious, supposed to be wary that someone is out to get their client, supposed to be aware that an innocent mistake could come back to haunt them. Its not your imagination that someone is out to get you all the time, said psychologist Amiram Elwork, who has taught a course on the matter at Widener University Delaware School of Law in Wilmington. Lawyers are trained to be pessimists, ever on the lookout for what could go wrong. Thinking like a lawyer requires close scrutiny of spoken and written thought to identify any problem that may undermine an adversarys position or create future problems for ones client. Conspiratorial thinking is close to the surface.

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Still, plenty of litigators are able to separate a view they are arguing in court on behalf of a client from their own views, as well as to update their beliefs on scientific matters over time. Whether Kennedys days as a superstar litigator helped entrench a certain mode of thinking, or a tendency toward self-assuredness helped him become a superstar litigator in the first place, that is not the whole story. Something further happened with Kennedy.

It is tempting to call someone who espouses such a wide variety of pseudoscientific beliefs and conspiracy theories crazy. But there is nothing unusual, much less crazy, about belief in pseudoscientific ideas and conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories are held by people you know, people whose ideas you trust, and by leaders you follow; they are held by people you regard as intelligent, kind, and caring, by people who you would be surprised to learn believe anything of the sort. One 2019 poll found that nearly 80 percent of Americans believed in at least one unscientific idea; another a few years earlier reported that half of the American public consistently endorsed at least one conspiracy theory. Without putting much faith in the exact numbers, it is clear that such beliefs are widespread.

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Belief in pseudoscientific ideas and conspiracies is not merely a matter of lack of education, either. Twenty-four percent of Americans with a college education and 15 percent of those with a postgraduate degree told researchers early in the pandemic that it was probably or definitely true that powerful people intentionally planned the COVID pandemic. Even being a skilled scientist does not protect one from believing in wild, dangerous ideas. Two-time Nobel laureate Linus Pauling insisted that oral vitamin C could cure 90 percent of cancers. Luc Montagnier, who discovered the virus that causes AIDS, believed that water can retain a memory of its history, supposedly explaining how homeopathic medicines containing not a single molecule of a pharmacologically active substance can cure disease.

Conspiracy theories thrive in the context of fear, anxiety, mistrust of institutions, uncertainty, and feelings of powerlessness. They appeal to those who mistrust conventional sources of information because they represent the antithesis of the usual accounts. Kennedy himself shared in the widespread social mistrust of American institutions.

Psychologists have identified a variety of psychological characteristics that also tend to make some individuals more vulnerable than others to believing in fringe science and in conspiracy theories. As a result, people who believe in one conspiracy theory tend to believe in others. Whatever personal characteristics Kennedy may have had that made him vulnerable to seeing vaccines through the eyes of a conspiracy theorist may have made him vulnerable to believing in other conspiracies, as well.

In the 2010s, Kennedy increasingly cultivated an anti-vax following. He founded and became chairman and chief litigation counselor for Childrens Health Defense, a leading anti-vax organization which also campaigns against 5G, fluoridation of water, the use of ultrasound in obstetrics, and similar causes. In early 2017, he flirted with heading a possible commission on vaccine safety and integrity being considered by then-President Donald Trump. Beginning in 2017, he broke his ties with most of the environmental groups with which he had previously been associated.

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For a while, Kennedys pseudoscientific and conspiracy theories remained focused on his opposition to vaccines. But then they metastasized, spreading to a broader range of health and public healthrelated issues. He opposed not only vaccines but the fluoridation of water. He attacked mainstream medicine and extolled the virtues of alternative and holistic therapies. He suggested that the cause of AIDS was use of poppers (alkyl nitrite inhalants), not the human immunodeficiency virus, and he blamed firearm deaths on psychiatric drugs, teenage depression on aluminum in vaccines, and the rise in the number of those identifying as transgender on drugs released into the water. He claimed that Wi-Fi and cellphones as health threats and described 5G technology as both medically dangerous and part of a plan to control the population.

Once a person believes in a conspiracy theory, two key psychological factors can make it hard for them to disentangle themselves from their beliefs: First, shared beliefs bind people together. We want to believe what others who are important to us believe. To not do so would threaten our relationships with them. The beliefs become part of a persons identity: I am a person who believes such and such. By the late 2010s, Kennedy was increasingly surrounded by people who thought as he did, and he was increasingly cut off from the environmentalist community oriented toward more conventional science.

Second, we also try to maintain consistency in our beliefs. Information that is not consistent with our other beliefs and values gives rise to an internal sense of discomfortwhat psychologist Leon Festinger called cognitive dissonance. Either the old narrative must go, or we must find a way to discredit the new facts so that they can be incorporated into what we already believe. Belief in pseudoscience to belief in conspiracy theories is a short step. Kennedys narrative became one of extreme distrust.

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When the COVID pandemic came along, he was primed to see masking, shutdowns, and the vaccine as all part of a conspiracy to promote vaccine sales by Big Pharma and to justify attacks on civil liberties. The COVID-19 vaccine didnt work (it actually caused more disease, in his view). Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine were more than sufficient to deal with the COVID pandemic. Bill Gates and Anthony Fauci had held meetings in 2019 to plan pandemic mitigation measures as assaults on personal freedom. He had spent years nurturing similar beliefs, and in 2020, he had found their most potent vessel yet.

Although we can see in Kennedys history his two sidesthe pro-science environmentalist and the pseudoscience-spouting anti-vaxxerthe latter has become dominant. And now, he is running for president.

Kennedys campaign for the nations highest office cant simply be dismissed as quixotic. And his views may not disqualify him. Kennedys doubts about vaccines are common. Even before the pandemic, 45 percent of American adults told a 2019 Harris Poll that they had some cause to doubt vaccine safety, and 1 in 10 Americans believed that vaccines were unsafe and possibly ineffective. And we know all too well that a candidate who initially seems fringe can quickly gain support. As I write this, 15 percent of potential Democratic voters say they support him, and his favorability ratings are higher than President Joe Bidens.

Is Kennedy Dr. Jekyll, the environmental advocate who uses science to promote human well-being?

His two sides emerge in his politics, too. For the most part, Kennedys candidacy emphasizes traditionally liberaleven progressiveissues of corporate wrongdoing and responsibility, capture of regulatory agencies, and lack of transparency in business and government. We must revitalize our health care system, his campaign website says, and move from a sick care system to a wellness society. He expresses concern for civil liberties and for the impact of the war on drugs and prisons and policing on minorities and the poor.

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But at the same time, he has openly courted the right. As a presidential candidate, he appeared on platforms with Elon Musk and Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson, used the far-right social media platform Gab to recruit followers, and got callouts from Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon. Right-wing rhetoric slips into his campaign as well: He denounces the Covid-era suspension of the right to assembly, trial by jury, and freedom of worship, pushes to seal our border with Mexico, and toys with antisemitism and anti-Asian racism. Although he is concerned about gun violence, he opposes gun control (Im not going to take away anybodys guns. Im a constitutional absolutist) and blames firearm deaths on those psychiatric drugs released into the water. He sees the free market rather than governmental intervention as the solution to most social problems. And he promotes medical freedom: the right of individual Americans to make their own health care decisions, free of governmental interference, regardless of the impact their individual decisions have on others.

In Robert Louis Stevensons 1886 novella The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, the kindly, respected Dr. Jekyll is in conflict with his dark alter ego, the impulsive, violent Mr. Hyde. Is Kennedy Dr. Jekyll, the environmental advocate who uses science to promote human well-being? Or is Kennedy Mr. Hyde, the anti-vaxxer who seeks the darkness of conspiracy theories and promotes false cures and paranoid fantasies? What do we lose when we fail to see Kennedys Dr. Jekyll side? Does it matter that we can at least understand the roots of his Mr. Hyde side?

All human beings, including our leaders, are full of contradictions. Thomas Jefferson was simultaneously the author of the Declaration of Independence and a slave owner. FDR liberal and union president Ronald Reagan became the hero of modern conservatism. In Stevensons novella, the contradiction must be resolved: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde cannot coexist. To end the conflict, Dr. Jekyll kills himself and thereby kills his alter ego, Mr. Hyde. But in the real world, a storybook ending, even a macabre one, is hardly a guide.

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It is easy to dismiss Kennedys darker fantasies as a joke or to try to weigh them against his earlier environmental contributions. But Kennedys opposition to vaccines and to measures taken to mitigate the COVID pandemic contributed to the deaths of hundreds of thousands and the illness of millions. His attacks on public health measures have helped handcuff our countrys ability to respond to future public health emergencies. And his promoting of pseudoscientific ideas has furthered the growing mistrust of science, of knowledge, of rationality, of evidence, and of facts themselves.

Each one of us has a choice: We can embrace science, aware of its uncertainties and even of its failure sometimes to meet its own standards. Or we can accept pseudoscience and conspiracy theory. We cant do both. But we have to understand how easy, how appealing, it is to go the route that Kennedy did.

To understand how Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became the man he is now is to understand the arc of millions of Americans as they weigh the conflicting claims of science and pseudoscience, of truth-tellers and demagogues and conspiracymongers. It is to understand the early but real potency of his campaign and the threat of what he is trying to do now. His run is no sideshow.
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Russia does not reject peace talks with Ukraine, but Moscow cannot agree to a ceasefire while the Ukrainian offensive is underway, the Russian president said on Saturday at the end of the Russian-African summit Vladimir Putin. According to him, the basis for the search for peace could be African and Chinese initiatives, foreign press agencies report.

The Ukrainian army is on the offensive, attacking, carrying out a large-scale strategic offensive. There is no reason to ask us to cease fire. We cannot agree to a truce when we are under attack, Putin stressed at a press conference in St. Petersburg after a meeting with African leaders.

At the same time, he asserted that there are currently no active military operations on the front and that the Ukrainian counter-offensive has been stopped on all fronts.

When asked about the start of peace talks, Putin said that Moscow does not reject them. For this process to begin, there must be agreement from both sides, he said.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky rejects the possibility of a truce while almost a fifth of Ukraines territory is under Russian occupation.
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Having the best commercial coffee machines for your business can offer a host of benefits. For starters, it can help to increase productivity and employee satisfaction, as a good cup of coffee can provide a much-needed energy boost throughout the day.

Offering high-quality coffee to customers or clients can enhance their experience and perception of your business. Investing in a reliable, efficient, and user-friendly commercial coffee machine, you can enjoy these benefits and more while also saving time and money in the long run.

Importance of the perfect coffee maker in a business setting

Having the best commercial coffee maker in a business setting can make all the difference in creating a positive work environment. A high-quality coffee maker can help to ensure that employees have access to a fresh and tasty cup of coffee whenever they need it, which can boost productivity and morale.

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A reliable and user-friendly coffee maker can save time and money in the long run, making it a smart investment for your business. By choosing the best commercial coffee maker for your business, you can create a welcoming atmosphere and help your employees start their day on the right foot.

Factors to consider when choosing a commercial coffee maker

Consider the following factors when you are ready to buy your next commercial coffee brewer. With these parameters in place, you will be sure to get the best commercial coffee machines in the market.

Size: Choose a commercial coffee machine that fits your space and brewing needs. A larger coffee shop may require a high-volume commercial coffee brewer, while a smaller business may benefit from a compact machine. Capacity: How many cups can it make? Consider the capacity of the commercial coffee machine, which can range from a few cups to several gallons. So make sure you know know how much coffee it can make to handle the demands of your business during peak hours. Brewing process: The brewing process can affect the taste and quality of your coffee. Consider factors like the brewing temperature, extraction time, and water-to-coffee ratio when selecting a commercial coffee maker. Ease of use: Look for a commercial coffee brewer that is easy to operate, clean, and maintain. A user-friendly coffee maker can save time and hassle in a busy coffee shop. Price: The price of a commercial coffee brewer can vary widely depending on the features and capacity. Consider your budget and long-term costs when choosing a coffee maker. Brand reputation: Choose a commercial coffee machine from a reputable brand known for its quality and durability. Look for customer reviews and ratings to gauge the reliability of the coffee maker. Features: Consider additional features like programmable settings, multiple brewing options, and built-in grinders when selecting a commercial coffee brewer. These features can enhance the brewing experience and quality of your coffee. Preferences: Keep the preferences of the people that use the machine in mind when choosing a commercial coffee maker. Consider factors like the types of coffee you will offer, brewing methods, coffee flavors, and customization options.

Types of Commercial Coffee Makers

There are several types of commercial coffee makers available, including automatic drip machines, pour-over brewers, espresso machines, French press, and cold brew systems. Each type offers unique features and brewing methods to suit the needs and preferences of different people.

Automatic Drip Coffee Makers

Pros of Automatic Drip Coffee Makers:

Easy to use and clean

Fast brewing time

Can make large quantities of coffee at once

Affordable

Cons of Automatic Drip Coffee Makers:

Limited control over brewing variables like temperature and extraction time

Can produce a weaker flavor compared to other brewing methods

Limited customization options

Automatic Drip Coffee Makers are best for office spaces and smaller businesses because of their ease of use, fast brewing time, and ability to make large quantities of coffee at once, making them ideal for serving a group of people quickly and efficiently.

Top 3 Automatic Drip Coffee Maker Models

Features BUNN Velocity Brew BX-D Technivorm Moccamaster 59616 KBG Hamilton Beach FlexBrew 49976 Trio Cup Capacity 10 cups 10 cups Single cup or full pot (12 cups) Brew Time 3 minutes 4-6 minutes Single cup: 3 minutes, Full pot: up to 10 minutes Brewing Temperature Not specified 196-205 degrees Fahrenheit Not specified Auto Shut-off No Yes Yes Material Stainless steel, plastic Metal, plastic Plastic Programmable No No Yes Built-in Grinder No No Yes Use of Coffee Pods No No Yes Dimensions 14.8"H x 7.1"W x 13.8"D 14"H x 12.75"W x 6.50"D 13.9"H x 10.24"W x 10.63"D Warranty 3-year limited 5-year limited 1-year limited

BUNN Velocity Brew

The BUNN Velocity Brew is a fast and reliable coffee maker that can brew up to 10 cups of coffee in just three minutes. It features a unique spray head design that ensures even extraction and optimal flavor.

BUNN Velocity Brew

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Technivorm Moccamaster

The Technivorm Moccamaster is a high-end coffee maker that delivers precise temperature control and a consistent brew. It features a sleek design, durable construction, and a large water tank for brewing multiple cups at once.

Technivorm Moccamaster

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Hamilton Beach FlexBrew

The Hamilton Beach FlexBrew is a versatile coffee maker that can brew single cups or full pots. It features programmable settings, a built-in grinder, and the ability to use both ground coffee and coffee pods, making it a great choice for busy households or small offices.

Hamilton Beach FlexBrew

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Espresso Machines

Pros of Espresso Machines:

Ability to make a variety of espresso-based drinks

Precise control over brewing variables like temperature and pressure

Strong and bold flavor

Can make a single shot or double shot of espresso quickly

Cons of Espresso Machines:

Expensive compared to other coffee makers

Requires skill and training to use properly

Smaller capacity than other coffee makers

Maintenance can be more time-consuming

Espresso machines are best for cafes and restaurants because of their ability to make a variety of espresso-based drinks, precise control over brewing variables, and strong and bold flavor that customers expect from high-quality coffee shops.

Top 3 Espresso Machine Models

Features De'Longhi La Specialista Maestro Nuova Simonelli Aurelia II Breville Barista Express Grind Settings 6 Not specified Adjustable grind size Heating System Dual heating system Not specified Thermo coil heating system Temperature Control Precise control Not specified Digital temperature control Auto Milk Frothing Yes (LatteCrema System) Yes Yes Programmable No Yes Yes Built-in Grinder Yes No Yes Water Tank Capacity Not specified Not specified 2L Interface Simplified Not specified User-friendly Suitable For Home or small business Professional use Home or small business Specialty Creates barista-quality espresso, LatteCrema System for perfect milk froth Can handle a high volume of orders while delivering consistent quality Customizable brewing variable

DeLonghi La Specialista Maestro Espresso Machine

This machine has 6 grind settings, a dual heating system, and precise temperature control. It lets you create barista-quality espresso with ease. Its innovative LatteCrema system ensures perfect milk froth, while the interface streamlines your brewing experience.

DeLonghi EC9665M La Specialista Maestro Espresso Machine

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Nuova Simonelli Aurelia II

The Nuova Simonelli Aurelia II is a versatile espresso machine that can handle a high volume of orders while still delivering consistent quality. It features programmable settings, automatic milk frothing, and an ergonomic design.

Nuova Simonelli Aurelia II

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Breville Barista Express

The Breville Barista Express is a semi-automatic espresso machine that is designed for home or small business use. It features a built-in grinder, precise temperature control, and a user-friendly interface that allows for customization of brewing variables.

Breville Barista Express

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Single-Serve Coffee Makers

Pros of Single-Serve Coffee Makers:

Quick and easy to use

Minimal cleanup required

Variety of flavor options

Consistent brewing quality

Cons of Single-Serve Coffee Makers:

More expensive per cup compared to other brewing methods

Limited brewing capacity

Not eco-friendly due to single-use pods

Limited control over brewing variables

Single-Serve Coffee Makers are best for convenience stores and hotels because of their ease of use, minimal cleanup required, and variety of flavor options that can cater to a range of customer preferences. From straight black coffee to a wide range of flavors, these machines are great if you want to offer variety.

Top 3 Single-Serve Coffee Maker Models

Features Keurig K-Elite Nespresso Vertuo Hamilton Beach Scoop Cup Capacity Single Serve Single Serve Single Serve Brew Time Under 1 minute 15-20 seconds 90 seconds (8 oz), 2.5 minutes (14 oz) Brewing Temperature Adjustable (up to 192F) Not specified Not specified Auto Shut-off Yes Yes Yes Material Plastic Plastic Metal, plastic Programmable Yes No No Use of Coffee Pods Yes (K-Cup pods) Yes (VertuoLine capsules only) No (uses ground coffee) Dimensions 13.1"H x 9.9"W x 12.7"D 11.93"H x 8.32"W x 11.91"D 13.5"H x 8.2"W x 10.2"D Warranty 1-year limited 1-year limited 1-year limited Specialty Strong brew setting for a bolder cup Centrifugal brewing system for rich flavor Adjustable brew strength

Keurig K-Elite

The Keurig K-Elite is a popular single-serve coffee maker that features a large water tank, programmable settings, and compatibility with a wide variety of K-Cup pods. It also has a strong brew setting for a bolder cup of coffee.

Keurig K-Elite

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Nespresso Vertuo

The Nespresso Vertuo is a versatile single-serve coffee maker that can brew both espresso and coffee. It uses proprietary coffee pods and features a unique centrifugal brewing system for a rich and flavorful cup of coffee.

Nespresso Vertuo

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Hamilton Beach Scoop

The Hamilton Beach Scoop is a budget-friendly single-serve coffee maker that uses ground coffee instead of pods. It features a built-in metal mesh filter and adjustable brew strength for a customizable cup of coffee.

Hamilton Beach Scoop

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Bean-to-Cup Machines

Pros of Bean-to-Cup Machines:

Freshness: Grinds beans just before brewing

Customization: Adjustable settings for strength and volume

Variety: Can make a range of drinks, including espresso, cappuccino, and latte

Consistent brewing quality

Cons of Bean-to-Cup Machines:

More expensive compared to other coffee makers

Higher maintenance required

Larger size than other coffee makers

Louder than other coffee makers

Bean-to-Cup Machines are best for businesses that prioritize freshness because they grind coffee beans just before brewing, ensuring a fresh and flavorful cup of coffee every time.

Top 3 Bean-to-Cup Machine Models

Features Jura Impressa C65 DeLonghi Magnifica Saeco Xelsis Customization Options Adjustable coffee strength, volume, and temperature Adjustable brewing settings Multiple user profiles for customized brewing Milk Frothing Yes Yes Yes (built-in) Built-in Grinder Yes Yes (burr grinder) Yes Brewing Options Bean-to-cup Espresso, cappuccino, latte Bean-to-cup Interface Intuitive Not specified Touchscreen

Jura Impressa C65

The Jura Impressa C65 is a high-end bean-to-cup machine that offers a range of customization options, including adjustable coffee strength, volume, and temperature. It also features a sleek design and intuitive interface.

Jura Impressa C65

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DeLonghi Magnifica

The DeLonghi Magnifica is a versatile bean-to-cup machine that can make espresso, cappuccino, and latte drinks. It features a built-in burr grinder, adjustable brewing settings, and a compact size that makes it ideal for small businesses.

DeLonghi Magnifica

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Saeco Xelsis

The Saeco Xelsis is a premium bean-to-cup machine that features a built-in milk frother and the ability to store multiple user profiles for customized brewing. It also has a sleek design and intuitive touchscreen interface.

Saeco Xelsis

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Considerations for Choosing the Right Coffee Maker

Volume and Capacity

Assessing your businesss coffee needs: Its important to assess your businesss coffee needs when selecting a coffee maker. Consider factors like the number of cups you need to brew per day, the frequency of use, and the peak hours of demand to determine the appropriate capacity.

Its important to assess your businesss coffee needs when selecting a coffee maker. Consider factors like the number of cups you need to brew per day, the frequency of use, and the peak hours of demand to determine the appropriate capacity. Importance of selecting the right size coffee maker: Selecting the right size coffee maker ensures you can meet the demand for coffee during peak hours without wasting time or coffee. A coffee maker with a capacity that is too small can lead to long wait times and frustrated customers, while a coffee maker with a capacity that is too large can result in wasted coffee and resources.

Ease of Use

Training employees on coffee maker operation: Its important to choose a coffee maker that is easy to use and train employees on its operation. A user-friendly coffee maker can save time and hassle in a busy environment, and proper training can ensure consistency and quality in brewing.

Its important to choose a coffee maker that is easy to use and train employees on its operation. A user-friendly coffee maker can save time and hassle in a busy environment, and proper training can ensure consistency and quality in brewing. Maintenance and cleaning requirements: When selecting a coffee maker, consider the maintenance and cleaning requirements. Regular maintenance can prolong the lifespan of the machine and ensure consistent quality, while easy-to-clean components can save time and hassle in a busy business environment.

Features and Customization

Built-in grinders: Coffee makers with built-in grinders can offer a fresher cup of coffee by grinding beans just before brewing. They also eliminate the need for a separate grinder, saving space and resources in a business setting.

Coffee makers with built-in grinders can offer a fresher cup of coffee by grinding beans just before brewing. They also eliminate the need for a separate grinder, saving space and resources in a business setting. Programmable settings: Programmable settings on a coffee maker can allow for customization of brewing variables like temperature, strength, and volume. This can help to ensure consistency and quality in brewing, as well as cater to customer preferences.

Programmable settings on a coffee maker can allow for customization of brewing variables like temperature, strength, and volume. This can help to ensure consistency and quality in brewing, as well as cater to customer preferences. Milk frothing capabilities: For businesses that offer milk-based drinks like cappuccino or latte, a coffee maker with milk frothing capabilities can save time and resources by eliminating the need for a separate frothing device. It can also enhance the customer experience by offering a range of drink options.

Energy Efficiency and Sustainability

Energy Star ratings: Coffee makers with Energy Star ratings can help to reduce energy consumption and costs. These machines are designed to meet strict energy efficiency guidelines, saving businesses money while also reducing their carbon footprint.

Coffee makers with Energy Star ratings can help to reduce energy consumption and costs. These machines are designed to meet strict energy efficiency guidelines, saving businesses money while also reducing their carbon footprint. Eco-friendly coffee makers: Eco-friendly coffee makers can help businesses to reduce their environmental impact. These machines are designed with sustainable materials, use less energy and water, and may offer features like recyclable coffee pods or compostable filters.

Eco-friendly coffee makers can help businesses to reduce their environmental impact. These machines are designed with sustainable materials, use less energy and water, and may offer features like recyclable coffee pods or compostable filters. Waste reduction features: Coffee makers with waste reduction features, like reusable coffee filters or automatic shut-off timers, can help to reduce waste in a business setting. These features can save resources and money while also promoting sustainability.

Budget and Price

Setting a realistic budget for your coffee maker: Setting a realistic budget is one of the more important factors when selecting a coffee maker. Consider the needs of your business and compare prices and features of different models to ensure that you get the best value for your money.

Setting a realistic budget is one of the more important factors when selecting a coffee maker. Consider the needs of your business and compare prices and features of different models to ensure that you get the best value for your money. Comparing prices and features of different models: Comparing prices and features of different coffee maker models can help businesses to find the right balance between quality and affordability. Look for a machine that meets your needs and budget, while also offering the necessary features for your business.

Comparing prices and features of different coffee maker models can help businesses to find the right balance between quality and affordability. Look for a machine that meets your needs and budget, while also offering the necessary features for your business. Balancing quality and affordability: Its important to balance quality and affordability when selecting a coffee maker. While a higher-end machine may offer more features and durability, it may not always be necessary for smaller businesses. Consider your businesss needs and budget to find the right balance.

Best Brands for Commercial Coffee Makers

Bunn: Bunn is a leading brand for commercial coffee makers, known for its reliable and efficient drip coffee makers. Their machines can quickly brew large quantities of coffee, making them a popular choice for businesses that serve high volumes of customers.

Keurig: Keurig is a well-known brand that offers a range of single-serve coffee makers for commercial use. They offer a wide variety of coffee pods, making them a popular choice for businesses that prioritize convenience and variety.

La Marzocco: La Marzocco is a high-end espresso machine brand favored by cafes and restaurants. Their machines are known for their precise temperature control and consistent brewing quality, making them a popular choice for businesses that prioritize high-quality espresso.

Nuova Simonelli: Nuova Simonelli is another high-end espresso machine brand that offers a range of models for commercial use. Their machines are known for their versatility and durability, making them a popular choice for businesses that require a high volume of orders.

Rancilio: Rancilio offers a range of espresso machines at various price points, making them a popular choice for businesses with different budgets. Their machines are known for their quality and consistency, making them a reliable choice for businesses that prioritize high-quality espresso.

Conclusion

In conclusion, selecting the right coffee maker has many benefits for any business that serves coffee. Factors such as brewing process, volume and capacity, ease of use, features and customization, energy efficiency and sustainability, and budget and price should all be considered when choosing a coffee maker that meets the needs of the business and its customers.

From automatic drip coffee makers to bean-to-cup machines, there are a variety of options available for businesses of all sizes and types. Each type of coffee maker has its own advantages and disadvantages, and businesses should consider their specific needs and priorities when making a decision.

Investing in the best coffee maker for your business will improve the quality of the coffee and also the workplace morale. Proper installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting can also ensure that the coffee maker operates efficiently and effectively for years to come.

If this has inspired you to start a coffee-roasting business or a trendy coffee bar, here are some of the best places to open a coffee shop.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a residential coffee maker for my business?

While it is technically possible to use a residential coffee maker for your business, it is not recommended. Residential coffee makers are not designed to withstand the high volume and demand of a commercial setting, and may not meet health and safety regulations. It is best to invest in a commercial coffee maker that is specifically designed for business use.

How often should I clean and maintain my commercial coffee maker?

The frequency of cleaning and maintenance will depend on the specific coffee maker and its usage. However, it is generally recommended to clean and descale a commercial coffee maker regularly, following the manufacturers recommendations. A daily wipe-down and weekly deep cleaning is a good starting point for most commercial coffee makers.

What type of coffee beans should I use in my commercial coffee maker?

The type of coffee beans used in a commercial coffee maker will depend on personal preference and the type of machine being used. However, it is generally recommended to use high-quality, freshly roasted coffee beans to ensure the best flavor and quality. Experiment with different roasts and blends to find the best option for your business and customers.

How long do commercial coffee makers typically last?

The lifespan of a commercial coffee maker will depend on the specific model, usage, and maintenance. However, with proper care and maintenance, a high-quality commercial coffee maker can last for many years, even up to a decade or more. It is important to follow the manufacturers recommended maintenance and cleaning schedule to prolong the lifespan of the machine.

Are warranties and customer support important when purchasing a commercial coffee maker?

Yes, warranties and customer support are important when purchasing a commercial coffee maker. A warranty can offer peace of mind and protection in case of defects or malfunctions, while customer support can assist with troubleshooting and maintenance. When selecting a commercial coffee maker, consider the warranty and customer support options offered by the manufacturer.

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Purchasing a car wash franchise grants the advantage of operating under a proven business model and leveraging a recognizable and trusted brand name. This alleviates much of the uncertainty associated with starting a business from scratch.

Local and automatic car washes form a significant segment of a sprawling multi-billion dollar industry. Their role cannot be underestimated as they provide a service thats perpetually in demand, irrespective of the time or season.

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The appeal of this industry is heightened by the fact that labor costs and other associated expenses tend to be relatively low.

These two factors contribute to make it a lucrative venture, presenting an attractive and low-risk revenue model for potential investors.

This fusion of consistent demand and low overhead expenses makes the car wash industry a perfect opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs seeking to make their mark in the business world.

However, when it comes to making a foray into this industry, there are two principal options available. The first involves establishing a car wash business completely on your own. This route entails acquiring the necessary equipment, scouting for an ideal location, and managing operations independently.

The alternative is to franchise a car wash. This means youll be purchasing supplies, getting access to sophisticated machinery, and availing other essential services from an already established and successful business.

The key is to identify the right franchising opportunity that aligns with your business goals and financial capabilities.

If youre interested in adopting the franchising route and looking to make a strategic entry into this industry, the following section presents some of the best car wash franchises to consider owning.

Best Car Wash Franchise Opportunities

Here are 15 car washing franchise opportunities; each of these franchises brings its unique benefits and potential for growth and profitability.

Franchise Name Franchise Fee Total Investment / Capital Requirement Unique Features Mr. Clean Car Wash $35,000 $2.3 to $3.2 million State of the art facilities and diverse profit centers Tommy's Express $50,000 $2 million (net worth), $1 million (liquid capital) 300 point process for franchise development Prime Car Wash $50,000 $3.5 to $6 million, $1 million (net worth), $300,000 to $500,000 (liquid capital) Interior lounge with coffee and snacks Oasis Car Wash Systems None Varies Supplier of car washing equipment Fleet Clean USA $30,000 to $75,000 $158,375 to $321,375 Mobile truck and fleet vehicle washing service DetailXperts $35,000 $88,500 to $195,000, $300,000 (net worth) Eco-friendly steam cleaning D&S Car Wash Systems None Varies Supplier of equipment and materials Green Shine Waterless $19,900 $22,000 to $50,000 Waterless car washing solution Ziebart Not listed $350,000 Wide array of services including detailing, paint correction, rust protection, and undercoating Superior Wash $15,500 $10,000 to $20,000 (working capital) Mobile truck washing Monkey Shine None $250,000 (net worth), $60,000 to $75,000 (liquid assets) Partner company for Grease Monkey Sonny's The CarWash Factory None Varies Supplier of car washing equipment Nanotek Not listed Not listed Eco-friendly mobile service Cactus Car Wash $45,000 $2.3 to $3.8 million Supports franchisees through every step of the process No H2O Up to $40,000 $150,000 to $200,000 Mobile on-demand service

1. Mr. Clean Car Wash

Mr. Clean is one of the most commonly known brand names on the list. Franchisees also benefit from support for everything from site selection and training to advertising and supplies. The company is also known for its state of the art facilities and diverse profit centers. The initial franchise fee is $35,000. And the full investment is estimated between $2.3 and $3.2 million.

2. Tommys Express

Tommys Express has been in the car washing business for more than 50 years. The company utilizes a more than 300 point process to ensure every detail is covered during franchise development. In addition to helping franchisees with innovation, operations, and marketing, the company also hosts ongoing events and training. The initial franchise fee is $50,000. And the total net worth requirement is $2 million, with at least $1 million in liquid capital.

3. Prime Car Wash

Prime Car Wash provides a more thorough experience than many other franchises. In addition to the self-serve features of other franchises, Prime also offers an interior lounge with coffee and snacks. And customers can even enjoy personal service from team members. The initial franchise fee is $50,000. And the company estimates the total investment between $3.5 and $6 million. Franchisees are also required to have at least a $1 million net worth, with between $300,000 and $500,000 in liquid capital.

4. Oasis Car Wash Systems

Oasis Car Wash Systems is a supplier of car washing equipment. Since its not a traditional franchise program, theres no specific fee to get started. And business owners dont receive the depth of support and training they might get with other options. However, the company does provide ROI analysis and resources to investors who are considering the car wash industry. And their products, which feature everything from touchless to self-serve systems, can help you get up and running quickly.

5. Fleet Clean USA

Fleet Clean is a mobile truck and fleet vehicle washing service. Unlike many other car washing businesses, the target customer for this franchise is other businesses. But that can make the income even more stable and recession proof. It also doesnt require a dedicated location. So the barrier for entry is fairly low. The initial franchise fee ranges from $30,000 to $75,000. But the total initial investment ranges from $158,375 to $321,375.

6. DetailXperts

DetailXperts is a car and truck detailing franchise with an eco-friendly twist. The company uses steam cleaning to get vehicles sparkling clean without tons of chemicals. They offer detail shops and mobile units. So there are flexible business options for franchisees to consider. The franchise fee is $35,000. And the total upfront investment ranges from $88,500 to $195,000. Franchisees need a net worth of at least $300,000.

7. D&S Car Wash Systems

D&S Car Wash Systems is a supplier of equipment and materials for car washes. As such, there are no traditional franchise fees to get started. However, the company provides a wide array of options to help those who want to open car wash businesses. They also offer assistance for things like site selection, financing, graphics, and rehabbing for those who already own a car wash.

8. Green Shine Waterless

Green Shine Waterless provides an eco-friendly franchise car washing solution. The company utilizes innovative technology to clean vehicles without water. The company offers two business models  one mobile, and the other set up in a specific location like a parking lot. As such, costs tend to be pretty low. The franchise fee is $19,900. And the total costs can range from $22,000 to $50,000.

9. Ziebart

Ziebart offers a wide array of services, including detailing, paint correction, rust protection, and undercoating. This usually means more staffing. But it also includes diversified profit opportunities. The company has been around for 60 years and has more than 1,200 units around the world. The company does not list a franchise fee on its website. But it estimates the total investment at around $350,000.

10. Superior Wash

Superior Wash is one of the industry leaders, with more than 80,000 vehicles washed each week throughout the country. The company offers mobile truck washing, which is a fairly steady and recession proof business. The franchise fee is $15,500. And the company also has a working capital requirement of $10,000 to $20,000 when getting started.

11. Monkey Shine

Monkey Shine is a partner company for Grease Monkey, the popular oil and lube franchise. It is offered as an add-on to Grease Monkey franchises. These stores utilize automatic wash bays. So businesses can keep labor costs down and earn money 24/7. Theres no franchise fee associated with the addition. You just need to have a net worth of at least $250,000 and $60,000 to $75,000 in liquid assets.

12. Sonnys The CarWash Factory

Sonnys is a supplier of car washing equipment. But the company also provides resources for those interested in opening car wash businesses. This includes a carwash college, investment guides, signage, and consulting. The car wash startup costs vary depending on the equipment and resources you choose. But theres no traditional franchise fee.

13. Nanotek

Nanotek is an Australian based carwash franchise opportunity that also has locations internationally. Formerly ecowash mobile, the company provides mobile service thats known for being eco-friendly. The website does not provide fees or financial information about franchises. But you can reach out to the company to inquire.

14. Cactus Car Wash

Cactus Car Wash currently operates multiple franchises throughout Georgia and North Carolina. The company works with franchisees throughout every step of the development process and once the business is set up. The franchise fee is $45,000. And startup costs range from $2.3 to $3.8 million.

15. No H2O

No H2O describes itself as the Uber of car washing. The franchise offers on demand service through a mobile app to systemize the delivery of car washing service. Since its a mobile business, it also comes with flexibility and low operating costs. The franchise fee is up to $40,000. And the total upfront investment ranges from about $150,000 to $200,000.

How Much is a Car Wash Franchise?

The investment necessary to set up a car wash business varies greatly and can range anywhere from a modest $50,000 to a whopping $3.5 million.

The scale of this investment primarily depends on the specific business model chosen.

For instance, Mobile businesses, which merely require trucks and portable equipment instead of a dedicated, static location like an automatic car wash franchise, tend to fall on the lower end of the cost spectrum.

However, if youre eyeing a more elaborate setup involving large-scale equipment, land procurement or leasing, and potentially even building a custom facility, youre looking at expenses in the $2 to $3 million ballpark.

How Profitable is a Car Wash?

The profitability of a car wash franchise can be quite impressive. One of the driving factors behind this is the generally low labor costs associated with the operation of these businesses.

Further, the potential for constant revenue generation is substantial if you opt for an automatic service model, allowing you to bring in money round the clock.

In the context of more traditional car wash models, the earnings can range between $1,200 and $1,500 per month for each bay.

Taking into account factors such as the size of the car wash facility and its location, these earnings could translate to annual profits anywhere between about $80,000 and $800,000.

How Do You Start a Car Wash?

If you want to know how to start a car wash business, you must do the following:

Learn about the car wash industry

Conduct market research to size the local opportunity

Develop a business plan

Identify and acquire the car wash equipment and technology you will need

Find a location, and build or remodel a structure

Market your business

Starting a car wash franchise, like any business venture, involves various intricate steps that can consume a considerable amount of time.

Owing to this complexity, many aspiring owners opt for a franchise model. Engaging with a franchisor provides you with a significant head start, aiding you with the foundational elements that are critical to the successful establishment of a business.

Investing in a franchise can be likened to acquiring a business in a box. As the franchisee or business owner, you will undoubtedly have a significant amount of work to do to ensure the business thrives.

However, with the robust support provided by the franchisor, you can hit the ground running.

This allows you to shift your focus more rapidly towards crafting an exceptional car wash experience for your customers, enhancing customer satisfaction, and thereby accelerating the growth of your business.
A franchise agreement is a legally-binding contract between the parties to a franchise relationship. In order to take ownership of a franchise as the franchisee, you sign a franchise agreement.

A franchise agreement protects both sides. It protects you as the franchisee and also protects the franchisor brand. When buying a franchise you will be making a large financial investment. A signed agreement gives you rights to help safeguard your investment in your business.

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What is a Franchise Agreement?

A franchise agreement is the master legal document that sets forth the rights and obligations of the two main parties to a franchise: franchisor and franchisee.

In legal terms a franchise agreement is a license from the franchisor to the franchisee. A license simply means one party gives permission to another party to do something or use something of value. In the case of franchising agreements, this means:

The franchisor licenses to the franchisee the right to use the franchisors intellectual property, systems and brand.

The franchisee acquires the rights to open a business using the franchisors intellectual property, systems and brand, provided it meets certain conditions.

Although the definition of franchise agreement is simple enough, the documentation can be complex.

A typical franchise agreement is 25 to 30 pages long. After attaching all exhibits and addenda, the final agreement can be two or three times as long.

Key Franchise Agreement Points

Here are 20 things you must know about franchise agreements.

1. Disclosure

In the United States a franchise business falls under the Federal Trade Commissions FTC Franchise Rule. This is a set of Federal regulations governing most franchises (with a few exemptions). The FTC Rule imposes strict disclosure requirements on franchisors in the form of a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) that must be delivered to a prospective franchisee.

One of the required pieces of information in the Disclosure is a copy of the Franchise Agreement. The copy must be attached to the FDD and delivered a minimum of 14 days before entering into a binding contract. This gives you time to review and discuss the agreement with an attorney.

2. Trademark and Intellectual Property

A franchise agreement grants to the franchisee the right to use the franchsior name, trademarks, service marks, logos, slogans, designs, and other branding indicia. The franchisor will also grant the right to use other intellectual property such as the operating manual and proprietary software systems.

This contractual license is the foundation of the agreement. Without it, a franchisee would not be able to use intellectual property without infringing.

3. Support and Training

The agreement will set forth the franchisors obligation to provide training and support services. This obligation is both prior to opening and during entire term of the franchise agreement.

4. Advertising

The agreement should set forth the franchisors obligation to support franchisees with marketing and advertising. Unfortunately, some agreements impose more requirements on franchisees than on franchisors. In some franchises the franchisee is required to spend a certain percentage for local advertising, but the franchisor is remarkably free of hard and fast obligations!

To ensure transparency and fairness, franchise agreements may include the following provisions related to marketing and advertising support:

Clear description of the franchisors marketing support and resources provided to franchisees.

Specification of the franchisors financial contributions to national or regional advertising campaigns.

Explanation of any required local advertising contributions from franchisees, with a fixed or percentage-based amount.

Details on the approval process for franchisee-created advertising materials and campaigns.

Information on cooperative advertising programs and the franchisees eligibility to participate.

Clauses outlining the use of the franchisors trademarks and branding in marketing efforts.

Provisions for tracking advertising effectiveness and measuring return on investment.

Requirements for reporting advertising expenditures and campaign results to the franchisor.

Clarity on any restrictions or guidelines for online marketing and social media usage.

Language addressing the resolution of advertising disputes between the franchisor and franchisees.

5. Long Term Duration

The franchise agreement will set forth the duration of the contract. Franchise agreements are long term. A typical term is 10 years. Some are 20 years.

A long term agreement protects you as the franchisee as well as the franchisor. Franchise opportunities can be expensive, and you will want to protect your investment.

Also included will be conditions for renewing. Often an initial 10-year term can be automatically renewed for a second 10-year term, unless either side gives notice of non-renewal.

6. Signed and in Writing

Every franchise agreement should be in writing signed by both parties. Strangely enough, oral or handshake agreements in franchising exist  although they are rare. And its no surprise why they rarely occur. Think of the legal nightmare trying to prove oral representations years later. A written document makes rights and obligations clear.

7. Territory

The agreement will outline whether the franchisee gets a protected or exclusive territory.

Territories are important to limit market saturation. An individual franchise business will have a harder time competing in a over-saturated area. Remember your significant investment in the opportunity. How would you like it if you paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to open a franchised outlet, only to discover that the franchisor allowed another franchise just a quarter mile away?

Subway is an example where much has been written about market over-saturation and its negative effects on franchisees.

8. Fees and Expenses

The franchise agreement outlines the costs of franchising ownership. All franchises charge fees. These include the initial franchise fee, as well as ongoing fees such as the monthly royalty fee, advertising or marketing fee, and any other fee.

Agreements can include late fees and interest. Franchisees who fall behind could find it that much harder to catch up once late fees and interest start piling up.

The contract should also cover any required expenses and who is responsible to pay them. For example, the franchisee may be responsible for paying for training, and for the travel expenses of employees to attend training.

9. Site Selection

Each franchisee selects its own site. However, the franchisor typically has the right to approve the location.

You must follow the franchisors standards for developing the premises, including choice of furniture, fixtures, upholstery, landscaping and signage that meet the franchisors standards. Some franchisors require the franchisee to use approved vendors and service providers. The franchisor will inspect the build-out for adherence to the franchise system standards.

10. Termination

The agreement outlines any conditions for terminating early. Usually the franchisor will have the greatest termination rights. In fact, franchisees often have no contractual rights to terminate early.

Cause for termination generally includes failing to pay a franchise fee, filing bankruptcy or failing to make needed repairs to premises. The franchise agreement will also specify the conditions, if any, under which you can cure a default. For example, you may be entitled to written notice and 14 days to remedy certain defaults.

11. Obligations upon Termination

What happens when the franchise agreement expires or terminates early? The document will state what the parties must do to unwind the business relationship. Usually this consists of a long list of specific obligations for the franchisee. These include the obligation to stop using the brand name, take down signs, return the operations manual, and pay all amounts due.

12. Non-Competes

Franchise agreements often contain restrictive covenants limiting what franchisees can do. For example, you or an affiliated company may not be permitted to operate a competing business during the agreement term.

Agreements also typically contain non-competes that kick in after termination. For example, a provision could prohibit operating a competing business within 5 miles of your former location, for a period of three years following termination.

13. Arbitration

Franchise agreements usually contain an arbitration clause requiring any dispute to go to arbitration. Instead of filing a lawsuit you might have to go before a body such as the American Arbitration Association.

The franchisor sometimes retains the right to file a lawsuit to obtain an injunction under certain conditions (such as to prevent the franchisee from revealing confidential information about the franchise system). The agreement will specify the jurisdiction for filing any lawsuit. The choice of jurisdiction will be favorable to the franchisor.
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A reliable smartphone lets you stay connected, manage your business on the go, and even capture stunning content for your marketing efforts. As a small business owner, freelancer, or entrepreneur, these are key features in todays digital ecosystem.

This article will give you what you need to know about this device, from its features and specifications to how to purchase and set it up. It will also answer frequently asked questions and provide tips on leveraging the Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked to your advantage.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked: Features and Specifications

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked has impressive features that will make your day-to-day tasks much easier. Lets take a closer look at what makes this phone a top choice for small business owners and entrepreneurs:

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Display and Design

With a stunning 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED display, the Galaxy S20 offers a crisp and clear viewing experience. The screen is also protected by Gorilla Glass 6, ensuring durability and resistance to scratches. The sleek design and slim profile make it easy to carry around and use on the go.

Performance and Storage

The Samsung S20 Unlocked is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, providing a fast and seamless experience. With 12GB of RAM and up to 128GB of internal storage, youll have plenty of room for your apps, documents, and multimedia files. Plus, the phone features a microSD card slot, allowing you to expand the storage up to 1TB.

Camera Capabilities

The Galaxy S20 Unlocked boasts a versatile camera setup, featuring a 12MP wide-angle lens, a 64MP telephoto lens, flash, and a 12MP ultra-wide lens. With Single Take mode, you can capture multiple photos and videos with just one tap, ensuring you dont miss a moment. The phone also supports 8K video recording, giving you the power to create high-quality content for your business.

Battery Life

Equipped with a 4,000mAh battery, the Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked provides more juice to last you throughout the day. The device also has Super Fast Charge allowing you to power up your phone quickly when youre short on time.

Connectivity and Network Compatibility

As a 5G-ready device, the Galaxy S20 Unlocked offers super-fast download and upload speeds, ensuring smooth communication and collaboration with your team. It also supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 for seamless connections with other devices.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked  10 Great Options on Amazon

Feature Top Pick: Samsung S20 Ultra 5G Factory Unlocked Runner Up: Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G, 512GB, Cosmic Black Best Value: Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G, US Version Screen Size 6.9 inches 6.7 inches 6.5 inches Resolution 1440 x 3200 pixels 32001440 pixels Not specified Storage 512 GB 512 GB 256 GB RAM 16 GB 12 GB Not specified Processor Snapdragon 865 Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 5G (7nm+) Not specified Main Camera 108 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide) 64 MP, f/2.0 Not specified Battery Capacity 5000 mah 4500mAh Not specified Refresh Rate Not specified 120Hz Not specified Other Features 10x hybrid optical zoom HDR10+ 5G technology Pros Large storage and RAM, high-quality camera Large storage and RAM, powerful processor Unlocked for all carriers, large storage Cons May not maintain waterproof seal, accessories may not be original May not maintain waterproof seal, accessories may not be original May not maintain waterproof seal, accessories may not be original Guarantee 90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee 90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee 90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee

Samsung S20 Ultra 5G Factory Unlocked

Top Pick: On top of the list is this Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, a fully functional and reliable smartphone with excellent features, including a large 6.9-inch screen, 512GB storage, 16GB RAM, and a quad-camera setup.

Backed by the 90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee, this pre-owned product has been professionally inspected, tested, and cleaned by Amazon qualified vendors. Its in excellent condition, with no cosmetic damage visible from 12 inches away. The batterys capacity exceeds 80% relative to new, ensuring long-lasting use. The accessories may not be original, but theyre fully functional and compatible, and the product may come in a generic box. Here some of the other features:

Features:

G988U1 Factory Unlocked. Works on all carriers.

LTE BANDS.5G N71 (N600), N260, N261, 4G LTE: 2, 4, 5, 12, 48, 66, 71,1, 3, 7, 8, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41

5000 mah battery, 512GB storage, 16GB Ram, Snapdragon 865

6.9 inches, 1440 x 3200 pixels, Corning Gorilla Glass 6

Rear Camera: 108 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.33, 0.8m, PDAF, OIS Periscope 48 MP, f/3.6, 102mm (telephoto), 1/2.0, 0.8m, PDAF, OIS, 10x hybrid optical zoom 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1.4m, AF, Super Steady video 0.3 MP, TOF 3D, f/1.0, (depth)

Pros:

High-quality refurbished phone

Fully functional and in excellent condition

90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee

Large storage capacity and RAM

High-quality camera with 10x hybrid optical zoom

Cons:

Refurbished phones may not maintain their waterproof seal

Accessories may not be original

No headphone or SIM card included

While there may be minor signs of use, the device is backed by a 90-day guarantee, factory unlocked, and compatible with all carriers. The phone comes with a SIM removal tool, a charger, and a charging cable; headphones and SIM cards are not included. You can use the 90-day replacement or refund policy if the phone does not work as expected. However, please note that refurbished phones are not guaranteed to maintain their waterproof seal.

Samsung S20 Ultra 5G Factory Unlocked

Buy on Amazon

Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G, 512GB, Cosmic Black

Runner Up: In second place is a similarly powerful phone, the Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G, 512GB, Cosmic Black. This phone has a 6.7 Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, Infinity-O Display with a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+. It has a 525ppi and 32001440 pixels resolution. It comes with 512GB of internal storage and 12GB of RAM powered by Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 5G (7nm+) Octa-core processor and Adreno 650 GPU.

This refurbished phone is fully functional and backed by the 90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee. This product has been professionally inspected, tested, and cleaned by Amazon qualified vendors. The phone is in Excellent condition with no visible cosmetic damage from 12 inches away. Accessories may not be original but are fully functional and compatible. The battery has been tested to exceed 80% capacity relative to new. Please note that refurbished phones are not guaranteed to maintain their waterproof seal.

Features:

6.7 Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, Infinity-O Display with a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+.

512GB internal storage and 12GB of RAM powered by Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 5G (7nm+) Octa-core processor and Adreno 650 GPU.

4500mAh battery capacity.

Rear Camera: 64MP, f/2.0 + 12MP, f/1.8 + 12,MP, f/2.2 + 0.3MP, TOF, Front Camera: 10MP, f/2.2

Compatible with Most GSM and CDMA Carriers like T-Mobile, AT&T, and MetroPCS.

Pros:

Large 6.7 Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+.

Huge 512GB internal storage and 12GB of RAM.

Powerful Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 5G (7nm+) Octa-core processor and Adreno 650 GPU.

Great camera system with 64MP rear camera and 10MP front camera.

Compatible with most GSM and CDMA carriers.

Cons:

Refurbished phones are not guaranteed to maintain their waterproof seal.

Accessories may not be original.

The phone is compatible with most GSM and CDMA carriers like T-Mobile, AT&T, and MetroPCS. Please note that refurbished phones are not guaranteed to maintain their waterproof seal.

Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G, 512GB, Cosmic Black

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Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G, US Version, 256GB

Best Value: The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G delivers the best value because of the price and solid all-around features. This pre-owned phone has been professionally inspected, tested, and cleaned by Amazon qualified vendors. The 5g technology and the 256GB storage are some of the standout features.

Features of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G:

Unlocked for all carriers on GSM and CDMA networks

Android operating system

5G cellular technology

256 GB memory storage capacity

Wi-Fi connectivity

Navy color

6.5-inch screen size

GSM, Wi-Fi, and CDMA wireless network technology

Pros:

Unlocked for all carriers

Large storage capacity

5G cellular technology for faster internet speeds

Comes with a charger and charging cable

90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee for peace of mind

Cons:

Accessories may not be original

Comes in a generic box

No headphones or SIM card included

Refurbished phones are not guaranteed to maintain their waterproof seal

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G is a reliable phone thats sure to meet the needs of any small business owner. You cant go wrong with this purchase with its powerful features and excellent condition. Plus, with the 90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee, you can rest assured that youre making a smart investment. Accessories may not be original, but theyll be compatible and fully functional. This phone may come in a generic box, but it includes a SIM removal tool, a charger, and a charging cable. Note that headphones and a SIM card are not included.

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G, US Version, 256GB

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Samsung Galaxy S20 5G, 128GB, Cosmic Gray  Unlocked

This Samsung Galaxy S20 5G is pre-owned phone has been professionally inspected, tested, and cleaned to ensure it is fully functional and ready to go. With a 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen, 128GB of storage, and an octa-core Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 processor, this phone has everything you need to stay connected on the go. Plus, you can stay connected anywhere with 5G, 4G, 3G, and 2G cellular technology and Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB, and NFC connectivity.

Features:

Refurbished, fully functional, and in excellent condition

90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee

6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen

128GB of storage

Octa-core Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 processor

5G, 4G, 3G, and 2G cellular technology

Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB, and NFC connectivity

Pros:

Refurbished to ensure like-new quality

90-day guarantee for peace of mind

Large 6.2-inch screen for easy viewing

Plenty of storage for apps, photos, and more

Fast and reliable connectivity with 5G technology

Cons:

Accessories may not be original

Product may come in a generic box

Refurbished phones are not guaranteed to maintain their waterproof seal

The Samsung Galaxy S20 5G is a refurbished phone in excellent condition, backed by a 90-day guarantee. With a large 6.2-inch screen, plenty of storage, and fast connectivity options, this phone is perfect for anyone who wants to stay connected on the go.

Samsung Galaxy S20 5G, 128GB, Cosmic Gray  Unlocked

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Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G 128GB Fully Unlocked

This Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G has a 6.7-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen, 128GB of storage, and a Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 5G (7nm+) processor.

Features:

Refurbished, fully functional, and in excellent condition

90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee

6.7-inch Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen

128GB of storage

Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 5G (7nm+) processor

5G, 4G, 3G, and 2G cellular technology

Wi-Fi connectivity

Pros:

Refurbished to ensure like-new quality

90-day guarantee for peace of mind

Large 6.7-inch screen for easy viewing

Plenty of storage for apps, photos, and more

Fast and reliable connectivity with 5G technology

Cons:

Accessories may not be original

Product may come in a generic box

Refurbished phones are not guaranteed to maintain their waterproof seal

The Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G is a refurbished phone that is in excellent condition and backed by a 90-day guarantee. With a large 6.7-inch screen, plenty of storage, and fast connectivity, this phone is perfect for any small business or entrepreneur.

Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G 128GB Fully Unlocked

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Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, 128GB, Cosmic Gray

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra has a 6.9-inch screen and 128GB of storage, so this phone has plenty of space to store all your apps, photos, and more. Plus, with 5G cellular technology, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB, and NFC connectivity, you can stay connected anywhere.

Features:

Refurbished, fully functional, and in excellent condition

90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee

6.9-inch screen

128GB of storage

5G cellular technology

Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB, and NFC connectivity

Pros:

High-end phone with top-of-the-line features

Refurbished to ensure like-new quality

90-day guarantee for peace of mind

Large 6.9-inch screen for easy viewing

Fast and reliable connectivity with 5G technology

Cons:

Accessories may not be original

Product may come in a generic box

Refurbished phones are not guaranteed to maintain their waterproof seal

This refurbished phone is fully functional and backed by the 90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee. This product has been professionally inspected, tested, and cleaned by Amazon qualified vendors. The phone is in Excellent condition with no visible cosmetic damage from 12 inches away. Accessories may not be original but are fully functional and compatible.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, 128GB, Cosmic Gray

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Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (128GB, 12GB RAM) 6.9 AMOLED

This Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G features a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, 128GB storage, 12GB RAM, and a Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865 (7 nm+) processor. It has a 108MP rear camera and a 40MP front camera. The phone is compatible with most GSM and CDMA carriers, including T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon.

Pros:

Large 6.9-inch display

5G connectivity for fast internet speeds

High-quality camera

Large storage and RAM capacity

Fully unlocked and compatible with most carriers

Cons:

Refurbished phones may have imperfections

Accessories may not be original

Not guaranteed to be waterproof

May have cosmetic damage, depending on the condition

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G is a high-quality refurbished phone that offers great features like a large display, 5G connectivity, and a high-quality camera. It is compatible with most carriers and is backed by the Amazon Renewed Guarantee. However, customers should be aware that refurbished phones may have imperfections and the accessories may not be original.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (128GB, 12GB RAM) 6.9 AMOLED

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Galaxy S20+ Plus 5G BTS Edition

Samsung Galaxy Buds S20+ Plus 5G BTS Edition is an unlocked Android phone with 256 GB storage capacity, LTE wireless network technology, and a 6.7-inch D-AMOLED screen. Despite its high price point, the Galaxy Buds S20+ Plus 5G BTS Edition is a solid choice for small business owners who require a high-performance phone.

Features:

Unlocked for all carriers

5G cellular technology

256 GB memory storage capacity

Bluetooth, USB, and NFC connectivity technologies

Purple color

6.7-inch D-AMOLED screen

Snapdragon 865 / 7nm+ / RAM: 12GB / Built-in: 256GB / microSD: Up to 1TB

Rear camera: 6,400 megapixels + 1,200 megapixels + 1,200 megapixels + 30 megapixels / Front camera: 10 megapixels / Video: 4320p (QUHD), 24fps / Electronic Image stabilization (EIS) / Optical image stabilization (OIS)

Fingerprint recognition (on-screen) / Face recognition / Bixby / IP68 / GPS / NFC / AOD

USB Type C / 4,500mAh / Charging support: Max.25W / Qi wireless charging : Max 15W

Pros:

Large screen

5G network support

High-quality cameras

Large storage capacity

Unlocked for all carriers

Cons:

May not be fully waterproof

Accessories may not be original

Limited warranty period

High price point

The device has been professionally inspected, tested, and cleaned, and comes with a 90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee. However, refurbished phones are not guaranteed to be waterproof and the accessories may not be original. It may come in a generic box and the accessories may not be original, but they will be compatible and fully functional. The phone has been graded as being in Excellent, Good, or Acceptable cosmetic condition.

Galaxy S20+ Plus 5G BTS Edition

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Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G (128GB, 6GB) 6.5 AMOLED

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G is a powerful smartphone with 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM. It provides ample space and memory for all your files, apps, and multitasking needs. The Cloud Navy color and 6.5-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O Display with 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ provide a sleek and vibrant viewing experience.

Pros:

5G connectivity

Powerful processor and ample storage

Water and dust resistant

High-quality cameras

Under-display fingerprint scanner

Cons:

No headphone jack

Limited wireless charging speed

No optical zoom

No official IP rating for water resistance

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G is a versatile, feature-packed smartphone with 5G connectivity, powerful hardware, and high-quality cameras. Its water and dust resistance, under-display fingerprint scanner, and compatibility with most carriers make it a great choice for busy business owners. However, it lacks a headphone jack, has limited wireless charging speed, and no optical zoom or official IP rating for water resistance.

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G (128GB, 6GB) 6.5 AMOLED

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Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G Factory Unlocked

The Galaxy S20+ Plus 5G Factory Unlocked has a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with a resolution of 32001440 pixels and 120Hz refresh rate. The phone runs on Android OS and features 5G cellular technology, making it perfect for fast downloads and streaming.

Features:

Excellent condition pre-owned phone backed by Amazon Renewed Guarantee

Professionally inspected, tested and cleaned by Amazon qualified vendors

6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with a resolution of 32001440 pixels and 120Hz refresh rate

128GB storage and 8GB RAM

Rear camera with 64-megapixel resolution, ultra-wide camera, and telephoto camera

Front camera with a resolution of 10 megapixels

5G cellular technology

Eligible for a replacement or refund within 90-days of receipt if it does not work as expected

Comes with a SIM removal tool, a charger, and a charging cable.

Pros:

Large, high-quality display with 120Hz refresh rate

5G technology for fast downloads and streaming

High-quality rear camera with multiple lenses

Large amount of storage and RAM for smooth multitasking and app usage

Comes with a SIM removal tool, a charger, and a charging cable.

Cons:

Refurbished phone, may not maintain waterproof seal

Accessories may not be original, but are compatible and fully functional

Limited to 90-day warranty period

Samsung Galaxy S20+ Plus 5G (SM-G986U) is a fully refurbished product that is in excellent condition and backed by the 90-day Amazon Renewed Guarantee. This pre-owned phone has been professionally inspected, tested, and cleaned by Amazon qualified vendors. The phone comes with a battery that exceeds 80% capacity relative to new, a SIM removal tool, a charger, and a charging cable.

Although the accessories may not be original, they are compatible and fully functional, and the product may come in a generic box. Refurbished phones are not guaranteed to maintain their waterproof seal. This product is eligible for a replacement or refund within 90-days of receipt if it does not work as expected.

Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G Factory Unlocked

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Benefits of Choosing an Unlocked Samsung Galaxy S20

Purchasing an unlocked Samsung S20 provides several advantages for small business owners and entrepreneurs:

Carrier Flexibility : Choose the carrier and plan that best suits your needs, without being tied down by contracts or restrictions.

: Choose the carrier and plan that best suits your needs, without being tied down by contracts or restrictions. No Contracts : Enjoy the freedom of switching carriers whenever you want, without facing termination fees or penalties.

: Enjoy the freedom of switching carriers whenever you want, without facing termination fees or penalties. Easier International Travel : Using your phone with local SIM cards when traveling abroad saves you money on roaming fees.

: Using your phone with local SIM cards when traveling abroad saves you money on roaming fees. Potential Cost Savings: Unlocked phones often have lower prices, allowing you to save money upfront or when upgrading your device.

How to Purchase a Samsung S20 Unlocked

When youre ready to purchase a Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked, there are several options available:

Retailers and Online Stores

Retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, and Samsungs official website offer unlocked Galaxy S20 devices. Verifying that the phone youre purchasing is unlocked and not tied to a specific carrier is very important. Look for unlocked or factory unlocked in the product description. From credit approval to shipping, Make sure to take a good look at the details of your purchase or contract on your accounts.

Price Comparison and Finding the Best Deals

To ensure youre getting the best price for your Samsung S20 Unlocked, compare prices across different retailers and online stores. Watch for special offers, discounts, or promotional codes to save even more on your purchase.

Setting Up Your Unlocked Samsung Galaxy S20

Once you have your new Galaxy S20 Unlocked in hand, follow these steps to get it up and running:

Choose a carrier and plan that fits your needs, considering factors such as coverage, data allowance, and international roaming options.

Insert the SIM card provided by your chosen carrier into the device.

Turn on the phone and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup process, including connecting to Wi-Fi, signing in to your Google account, and customizing your settings.

Transfer your data from your previous phone using the Smart Switch app, which supports both Android and iOS devices.

Install essential apps for small business owners and entrepreneurs, such as communication, productivity, and file management tools.

Customizing Your Samsung S20 Unlocked for Business Use

To get the most out of your new Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked, take some time to customize it to suit your business needs:

Adjust settings for optimal battery life and performance, including turning off unused features and setting up battery-saving modes.

Organize your apps and home screen for increased efficiency, creating folders for different categories and placing your most-used apps within easy reach.

Enable Samsung DeX, which allows you to connect your phone to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse for a desktop-like experience.

Mobile Security and Privacy for Entrepreneurs

As a small business owner or entrepreneur, safeguarding your sensitive data is crucial. Follow these best practices to ensure mobile security and privacy on your Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked:

Set up biometric authentication, such as fingerprint or facial recognition, to secure access to your device.

Regularly update your phones software to benefit from the latest security patches and improvements.

Install a reputable mobile security app to protect your device from malware and other threats.

Use a VPN to encrypt your data and protect your privacy when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks.

Leveraging the Samsung Ecosystem for Business

The Samsung ecosystem offers various products and services that can enhance your experience as a small business owner or entrepreneur:

Invest in Samsung Galaxy Buds for hands-free calling and high-quality audio during video conferences or online meetings.

Use Samsung Knox, an enterprise-level security solution, to protect your business data and manage your devices.

Integrate your Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked with other Samsung devices, such as tablets or smartwatches, for a seamless workflow.

Mobile Payment Solutions for Small Business Owners

Embracing mobile payment solutions like Samsung Pay can offer convenience and flexibility for your customers:

Set up Samsung Pay on your Galaxy S20, adding your credit or debit cards for quick and secure payments.

Accept mobile payments from customers using compatible devices, streamlining the checkout process and offering an additional payment option.

Compare different mobile payment solutions to determine which suits your small business needs and requirements best.

Remote Work and Collaboration with the Samsung S20 Unlocked

In todays fast-paced business world, working remotely and collaborating effectively with your team is vital. With the Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked, you can stay connected and productive no matter where you are:

Utilize cloud storage and file-sharing services like Google Drive or Dropbox to access and share documents, presentations, and other files with your team.

Take advantage of collaboration apps and tools such as Slack, Trello, and Microsoft Teams to communicate, manage projects, and stay organized.

Use the Galaxy S20s high-quality camera and video capabilities to capture and share content for marketing campaigns, social media, or team meetings.

Using the Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked for Marketing and Social Media

Small business owners and entrepreneurs need effective marketing and social media presence. The Galaxy S20 Unlocked provides a powerful tool to create and manage your marketing campaigns:

Capture high-quality photos and videos with the devices camera using advanced features like Single Take, filters, and 8K video recording.

Edit and enhance your visual content directly on your phone with built-in or third-party apps.

Schedule and manage your social media posts using apps like Buffer, Hootsuite, or Sprout Social.

Engage with your customers and followers by responding to your devices comments, messages, and reviews directly.

Time Management and Productivity Apps for Entrepreneurs

As a busy entrepreneur, managing your time effectively is crucial. The Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked offers a variety of apps and tools to help you stay organized and productive:

Use calendar and scheduling apps like Google Calendar, Todoist, or Microsoft Outlook to keep track of your appointments, tasks, and deadlines.

Set up reminders and notifications for important events, meetings, and tasks.

Utilize project management tools like Asana or Trello to assign tasks, track progress, and collaborate with your team.

Install note-taking apps like Evernote or OneNote to capture ideas, create checklists, and store important information.

Virtual Meetings and Conferencing on the Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked

With remote work becoming increasingly popular, virtual meetings and video conferencing are necessary for collaboration and communication. The Galaxy S20 Unlocked makes attending and hosting virtual meetings a breeze:

Join video conferences and webinars using apps like Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams.

Utilize the devices high-quality front-facing camera and audio for clear video and sound during virtual meetings.

Share your screen to present documents, slides, or other content during online meetings.

Record meetings and save them to the cloud for easy access and future reference.

Stress Management and Work-Life Balance for Entrepreneurs

Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is crucial for entrepreneurs and small business owners. The Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked offers various tools and apps to help you manage stress and find balance in your busy life:

Use meditation and mindfulness apps like Headspace, Calm, or Insight Timer to take breaks and relax during the day.

Install fitness and health tracking apps to monitor your daily activity, exercise, and sleep.

Set up screen time limits and app usage restrictions to help you disconnect and focus on your personal life.

Utilize digital assistant features like Google Assistant or Bixby to streamline tasks and save time.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked for Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Keeping track of your customers, leads, and sales is key for growing your business. The Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked provides a convenient platform to manage your CRM on the go:

Install CRM apps like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Zoho CRM to access and update customer information, manage leads, and track sales.

Use the devices camera to scan business cards and instantly add contact information to your CRM system.

Set up notifications and reminders for follow-ups, meetings, and sales calls.

Leverage your phones GPS capabilities to plan efficient in-person meetings and sales visits routes.

By incorporating these additional topics into your Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked guide, youll provide small business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs with an even more comprehensive resource to help them make the most of their new devices.

A smartphone is much more than a communication device; its a tool that empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners to work efficiently and effectively. With the Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked, youll enjoy the flexibility and freedom of choosing the carrier that best fits your needs, avoiding contracts, and benefiting from potential cost savings.

FAQs

How does the Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked differ from carrier-locked versions?

An unlocked Samsung Galaxy S20 allows you to choose your carrier and plan, switch carriers without penalties, and use local SIM cards when traveling internationally. Carrier-locked versions are tied to a specific network and may come with contracts or restrictions.

Will the Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked work with any carrier?

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked is compatible with most carriers, including major networks like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. However, verifying that your chosen carrier supports the specific model youre purchasing is important.

Can I use my existing phone number with the Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked?

Yes, you can transfer your existing phone number to your new Galaxy S20 Unlocked. Contact your carrier for assistance with the number transfer process.

Does the Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked come with a warranty?

Samsung offers a one-year limited warranty for the Galaxy S20 Unlocked, covering manufacturing defects and other issues under normal use. Be sure to register your device and keep your proof of purchase for any warranty claims.

Is it possible to upgrade the storage on the Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked?

Yes, the Galaxy S20 Unlocked features a microSD card slot, allowing you to expand the storage up to 1TB.

How can I ensure my Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked stays up-to-date with software updates?

Regularly check for software updates in the settings menu and install them when available. This ensures that your device receives the latest security patches and feature enhancements.

Can the Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked be used with Samsung DeX?

Yes, the Samsung Galaxy S20 Unlocked is compatible with Samsung DeX, enabling you to connect your phone to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse for a desktop-like experience.

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The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) turns 70 this year, and small businesses nationwide are celebrating the organizations support of their entrepreneurial journey. The SBA, established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953, has had an illustrious journey, protecting and bolstering the interests of small businesses nationwide. For small business owners, this anniversary is a celebration of the SBA and a reminder of the resources and support that have been pivotal in their journeys.

Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman of the SBA will mark this milestone by ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on July 31 at 4 p.m. ET. The event can be live-streamed by anyone interested at nyse.com/bell, symbolizing a wider recognition of small businesses immense role in the American economy.

In a press release, Guzman reaffirmed the SBAs commitment to small businesses: Americas small businesses are giants in our economy  creating jobs and making the products and services that define our everyday lives. For 70 years, the U.S. Small Business Administration has helped entrepreneurs gain the know-how and the funding to start and grow.

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She also highlighted the SBAs role in providing support during times of crisis. Weve stepped in when disasters disrupt the market to make sure that not only small businesses recover, but that the communities they serve do too, said Guzman. This sentiment reflects the SBAs dedication to ensuring the survival and success of small businesses, even in the face of unprecedented adversity.

Over the decades, the SBAs initiatives have had tangible impacts. The agency has financed billions, nurtured some of Americas most iconic brands, and guided countless entrepreneurs in realizing their dreams. As Guzman noted, The results are undeniable.

In the coming days and weeks, the SBA will also announce 68 Legacy Business recipients, honoring them with events in various cities nationwide. These businesses, which have leveraged SBA resources to become household names, are a testament to the SBAs successful history.

Looking forward, the SBA is building on a record 12.2 million small business application boom, fostered by President Bidens Investing in America agenda and a firm commitment to equity. This initiative aims to expand access to entrepreneurship in underserved communities, fostering economic growth from the middle out and the bottom up.

Guzman emphasized, By leveling the playing field and creating equitable access to opportunities, we are building a lasting foundation for economic growth and our nations global competitiveness. For small business owners, the SBAs 70th anniversary signifies a tribute to the agencys accomplishments and an optimistic glimpse into a future marked by continued support and equitable growth.

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Slovak MFA Miroslav Wlachovsky told Peter Szijjarto on Twitter to not speak for others unless asked to do so.

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Acting Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Wlachovsky has slammed his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto for a remark about the EU and the war in Ukraine from last weekend.

In a video posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), the latter said that the EU believed the war would last four more years. He also asked how many people would still have to suffer.

In his reply on Sunday, the Slovak MFA asked Szijjarto "not to tell what other people think before he asks them." Wlachovsky reminded his colleague that the EU has 27 member states, while he did not recall any debate that mentioned the continuation of the war in Ukraine another four years.

"The war can stop tomorrow. The EU is not a problem, Russia is the problem," the Slovak minister stressed.

In his post, Wlachovsky also used Hungarian. "Ruszkik haza! Legyen beke! 1956," he wrote. The Slovak minister reminded Szijjarto of the year 1956, when the Soviet Army brutally repressed the Hungarian revolution against the government's subordination to the Soviet Union.

Wlachovsky's reaction came amidst a wider dispute. It started late July after Hungarian PM Viktor Orban's visit to Romania. At this summer event held by the Hungarian minority, he called Slovakia a breakaway territory.

Slovak politicians and political parties slammed Orbans latest statements.
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A federal judge has ruled to temporarily block Arkansas from passing a law that would allow the prosecution of librarians for providing minors with "harmful" material, which include sexual content.

A federal judge has ruled to temporarily block Arkansas from passing a law allowing officials to prosecute librarians for exposing minors to "harmful" material, including sexual content to minors.

The decision comes after state lawmakers followed the footsteps of several GOP-led regions that have moved to restrict reading materials for students. The new ruling, made by District Judge Timothy Brooks, would go into effect as several library work groups have filed a legal challenge.

Judge Blocks New Arkansas Law

The latter's filing, which would work its way through the court system, alleged that the new law would result in the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights being restricted. Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was the one who signed the law earlier this year that would have taken effect on Tuesday.

The measure seeks to create a new process to challenge library materials and pave a new way for people to request that books, which are deemed inappropriate, be relocated to areas that kids would not be able to access, as Forbes.

If the new law took effect, it would have made it a criminal offense to give a minor any material considered "harmful knowingly." This includes content related to nudity, sexual content, or what the current community standards consider unsuitable for minors.

Under the measure, if a librarian or bookseller was found to have violated the regulation, they could be charged with a class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to one year in prison and a $2,500 fine.

Supporters of the law, however, have argued that it would work to protect young children from obscene material. On the other hand, the plaintiffs claimed that the measure would only force bookstores and libraries to stop offering any books that risk broadly running against the law or ban children from coming in altogether.

In Brooks' ruling, he rejected a motion made by the defendants of the law, which included prosecuting attorneys for the state, who sought to dismiss the case. According to Fox News, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arkansas, which represents some of the plaintiffs in the case, applauded the court's ruling.

Read Also: Fourth Person Indicted in Donald Trump's Classified Documents Case Identified

Providing 'Harmful' Material to Minors

The latter argued that the absence of a preliminary injunction would have jeopardized First Amendment rights within the state. In a statement, the executive director of the Arkansas ACLU, Holly Dickson, said that the question that needs to be asked is, "Do Arkansans still legally have access to reading materials?"

He argued that the judicial system has once again worked to defend highly valued liberties within the state. Now, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said that he would have his office review the judge's opinion and continue to defend the law.

Last year, the number of attempts to ban or restrict books across the United States was recorded to be the highest in the last two decades that the American Library Association has been tracking such efforts.

Nate Coulter, the executive director of Central Arkansas Library System, said that the judge's decision recognized that the new law was censorship, which violates the Constitution and works to wrongly malign librarians, said the Associated Press.

Related Article: Disney's Bid to Drop Lawsuit That Might Remove Special District Denied by Court

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The Frosty, that iconic swirl of ice-cold sugarsweet refreshment, is the greatest fast food dessert of all-time, and belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of all-time fast food items, period. It is a perfect thing that could only be made more perfect with the addition of coffee.

We know it, Wendys knows it. It is a truth self-evident. For their part, Wendys has tried, multiple times, to deliver us unto this caffeinated soft serve Promised Land. But time and again they have failed, spectacularly, with such a flair for avoiding the obvious that it feels adversarial. And I for one have had it up to here and am hereby demanding of Wendys, of the ghost of Dave Thomas himself (may he forever rest in peace): give us a damn coffee Frosty already, you cowards.

The simmering tension between Wendys and Frosty-loving coffee drinkers everywhere goes all the way back to March of 2020. This was when the fast food chain released their newest menu item, the Frosty-ccino. The name alone evokes images of some perfect marriage of coffee and soft serve. But it proved to be a star-crossed love. Instead of whatever you imagined a Frosty-ccino to be, a thing that I would have assumed to have no wrong answers, it most certainly was not that and was some abominable concoction consisting of iced coffee with Frosty mix added to it. Nobody wanted it and it failed because it was bad.

Fast forward some three-and-a-half years later to today, and Wendys is still out here trying to pull the same bullshit. This week theyre hyping up a new item called the Frosty Cream Cold Brew, which lets be honest, doesnt quite have the same buzz about it that Frosty-ccino did. The Frosty Cream Cold Brew is simply a mix of cold brew and Frosty-flavored cream, with a choice of drizzle. Instead of getting Frosty, we get Frosty-flavored creamer. The sign bears no relation to any reality whatsoever; it is its own pure simulacrum.

At this point we have to conclude that Wendys doesnt have the first idea about what makes their Frosties great. It aint the flavor, or at least all by itself. The magic of the Frosty is in the alchemy of it all: yes the flavor, but also the texture and the viscosity and cold. That you can eat it with a spoon itself makes it a treat. The flavor is nothing without the rest of the symphony.

It is beyond me why Wendys keeps fucking this up. Making a delicious Coffee Frosty would require no R&D or product creation. You wouldnt even need to stock additional products. All they would have to do is take a Frosty, which they already have readily available at every one of their locations, and top it off with some cold brew, which they also already serve at every single location. It would be dealers choice as far as the Frosty part was concerned, with some favoring vanilla, others making the sensible choice of sticking with classic chocolate, and a select few opting for a whole experimental anaerobic thing and making their Coffee Frosty with strawberry.

Honestly this is so easy, in the course of reporting this article we became increasingly incensed on Slack, and so I set out to prove the point. Bing bang boom. I made my own damn self, with the addition of a dusting of coffee grounds I brought from home.

It was quick. It was perfect. It is not a Frosty-ccino, because that name was already wasted, and its not a Froste (pronounced like latte, which is how youll probably start saying it now anyway). You might instead call it a Frosty-gato, or if you want to keep things simple, a good old fashioned Coffee Frosty.

Wendys can just have this idea, because it is good and pure and true, a surefire hit, and I want to see it brought to life. Some credit would be nice, however. Wendys x Sprudge Present: The Frosty-gato. Thats a smash hit.

Listen, Wendys, I get it. Even great writers need a good editor. We all can have a tendency to fall in love with our convoluted ideas and overcomplicate things. But sometimes the best ideas are the simplest ones. Help us help you. Lets make this right, together. Lets make The Frosty-gato, the Coffee Frosty, a union of cold brew and soft serve and maybe, just maybe, a dusting of coffee grounds to keep things interesting. You know you want it.

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/arms-for-ukraine-ending-up-in-terrorists-hands-in-africa-burkina-fasos-prez-says-1112275579.html

Arms for Ukraine Ending Up in Terrorists Hands in Africa, Burkina Fasos Prez Says

Arms for Ukraine Ending Up in Terrorists Hands in Africa, Burkina Fasos Prez Says

Delegations from 49 African states took part in the second Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg last week, discussing food security, energy and military cooperation. In an exclusive interview with Sputnik Africa, Bukinabe President Ibrahim Traore outlined priority areas for cooperation between Moscow and Ouagadougou, and issues of common concern.

2023-07-31T12:26+0000

2023-07-31T12:26+0000

2023-07-31T12:37+0000

africa

ibrahim traore

vladimir putin

russia

burkina faso

meeting

summit

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Western weapons sent to Ukraine are winding up in the hands of arms smugglers and terrorists in Africa, and pose a threat to the continent, interim President Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso has told Sputnik Africa.Whats my take [on the conflict in Ukraine, ed.]? I dont have any take on this, because were also in conflict. We are at war against terrorism, and they [the West, ed.] are no longer concerned with our war. We only deplore that weapons destined for Ukraine are on our continent and continue to activate our war. This is what we deplore, Traore said.This very dangerous situation results in weapons in the hands of enemies who are killing our peoples, the president stressed.Traore expressed hope that the crisis in Ukraine would come to an end. Everyone wants the war to stop, war is not good. Everyone wants it to stop, to find mechanisms to stop it, because we want to live in peace. But everyone must also make the effort on their respective side, so that we can take a step, he said.Others Just Publish Figures, Putin ActsCommenting on President Putins remarks at the Russia-Africa Forum last week that Russia would be delivering food assistance to African countries, including Burkina Faso, free of charge, Traore said that he appreciates Moscows generosity, and looks forward to assistance that would help his country achieve self-sufficiency in food production.Burkina Faso has long been facing a jihadist insurgency which spread to the country from neighboring Mali in 2015, with upwards of 40 percent of the nations territory outside the governments control. The insurgency has led to the deaths of over 10,000 people, with over two million displaced.The Burkinabe leader assured that when the new shipment of Russian food supplies arrives, the authorities would do everything so that the people know that the grain came from Russia.Security AssistanceCommenting on Russian security assistance to Burkina Faso, Traore said that Moscow refuses nothing when it comes to equipment and training to assist Ouagadougou in its fight against terrorism, and that military-technical cooperation between the two countries was faring very well.There are no restrictions, they do not refuse licenses, and it is at a good price. Russia is also ready to deliver weapons to us also for free, Traore said.Second Russia-Africa SummitTraore traveled to Russia last week to take part in the second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg on July 27-28, where Moscow and African countries signed a torrent of new cooperation agreements, including commitments to ship between tens of thousands of tons of food assistance to countries in need including Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Somalia, and Zimbabwe, free of charge, in the coming months. President Putin held bilateral talks with President Traore on Saturday.Burkina Faso is one of dozens of African nations which have sought to reduce the influence of Western powers in the region. In January, Ouagadougou asked the contingent of 400 French troops stationed in the country to withdraw, with Paris complying a month later.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230707/where-do-western-weapons-sent-to-kiev-actually-end-up-1111728757.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230729/putin-says-russia-africa-summit-held-at-good-level-with-good-results-1112246353.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230729/pepe-escobar-geopolitical-chessboard-shifts-against-us-empire--1112240929.html

africa

russia

burkina faso

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2023

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Ilya Tsukanov

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Ilya Tsukanov

burkina faso, ibrahim traore, russia, vladimir putin, summit, russia-africa summit, cooperation, assistance, food, security aid, ukraine crisis, weapons smuggling
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/biden-posturing-as-strong-against-russia-with-dangerous-cat-and-mouse-game-in-syria-1112279971.html

Biden Posturing as Strong Against Russia With Dangerous Cat-and-Mouse Game in Syria

Biden Posturing as Strong Against Russia With Dangerous Cat-and-Mouse Game in Syria

In the skies over Syria, the US-led coalition has allowed 23 dangerous close encounters to happen between US and Russian aircraft this year. In 11 of those incidents, coalition aircraft illuminated Russian aircraft with radars.

2023-07-31T15:36+0000

2023-07-31T15:36+0000

2023-07-31T15:36+0000

karen kwiatkowski

syria

us-led coalition

close encounter

provocations

world

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While Russian aircraft have permission to operate within the borders of the Arab state by the Syrian government as part of the coalition against Daesh* and other Islamist forces seeking to control Damascus, American forces have no such permission and operate inside of Syrias borders illegally.For years, Russian and American forces, as well as those of other nations such as Turkiye, have found a way to cooperate in preventing the tense situation in Syria from spiraling into another all-out war. However, since the conflict in Ukraine began, American forces have increased their provocations, with a sharp spike coming during Ukraines counteroffensive that began in the late Spring.Retired US Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, a former analyst for the US Department of Defense, told Sputnik that the increased tensions in Syria are mostly the consequence of domestic US politics, where US President Joe Biden is likely posturing as strong on foreign policy in anticipation of the coming November 2024 US presidential election, even though increasing numbers of lawmakers are becoming fed up with another endless war in the Middle East.It also matches up with the belief of many on the Biden reelection team in DC that Biden needs to appear strong against Russia. It reflects the fundamental strategic naivete and outright cravenness of the Pentagon top brass, and people like [Secretary of State Antony] Blinken and [White House National Security Adviser Jake] Sullivan who shape our foreign policy, Kwiatkowksi added.For the US government, all things Russia are connected. Russias military capability has been underestimated by US policymakers, in part because they are fed offensive and imperial strategies by people employed in the defense industry who benefit personally from decisions that are not actually in the national interest, and neoconservatives who have been completely wrong with every plan and prediction they have made, but who remain influential in Congress and in all US administrations since Reagan's time in the 1980s.The retired officer briefly explained what it means for a fighter jet to be illuminated by a target radar system.In an active war or defense scenario, illuminating a target is followed immediately by fire, and fighter and bomber aircraft and drones are equipped with sensors that warn them if they have been acquired by enemy radar, so that they may take evasive action, and/or destroy the target radar system, she explained.Still, the retired USAF colonel described the situation in Syria as dangerous-to-very-dangerous.The chances of the US military making a mistake in playing mouse-and-cat with Russian pilots over Syria, with the excuse of hunting ISIS* or anything else, are increasing. Washington, DC, politicians - Democrats and many pro-war Republicans - are frustrated as Biden declines and may face criminal charges, Vice President Harris is assessed as unsuitable to lead, and the natives are restless. Russia shooting down a US drone in Syria could be spun in Washington and [become] an incident used to give Biden and his staff a way out of their troubles. A nice hot war, even a nuclear one, also lends itself to lockdowns and martial law here at home. For many in DC, which is both bankrupt in terms of money and of strategy, this is an acceptable and even positive outcome.*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist organisation outlawed in Russia and many other states

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230729/us-led-coalition-makes-23-close-encounters-with-russian-aircraft-in-syria-in-2023---moscow-1112250415.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230707/us-violating-flight-safety-rules-in-syria-pentagons-claims-go-beyond-decency---antonov-1111712106.html

syria

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2023

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Fantine Gardinier

syria; us-led coalition; daesh; isis; russian aircraft
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/chinas-past-attempt-to-take-over-oneweb-reportedly-investigated-by-uk-intelligence-1112269548.html

Chinas Past Attempt to Take Over OneWeb Reportedly Investigated by UK Intelligence

Chinas Past Attempt to Take Over OneWeb Reportedly Investigated by UK Intelligence

British intelligence services reportedly investigated an attempt by China to take over the OneWeb in 2020. The investigation was conducted by MI5 before the UK government made an investment to rescue the satellite company.

2023-07-31T00:51+0000

2023-07-31T00:51+0000

2023-07-31T06:33+0000

world

china

united kingdom (uk)

mi5

oneweb

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Chinese bidders, including the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, were considering investment in the British satellite company before Boris Johnsons government rescued OneWeb, media reported on Sunday. The security report cited by the newspaper says there was an "investigation of the implications of a Chinese aerospace companys [redacted] move to purchase a UK Low Earth Orbit satellite company, OneWeb." The investigation was conducted by MI5 before the UK government made an investment of around $500 million in taxpayer money to rescue the satellite company. In July of last year, French satellite operator Eutelsat announced the company's merger with the UK's OneWeb.

china

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china, united kingdom, uk, mi5, oneweb satellite company, report
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/could-russian-electronic-warfare-systems-mute-ukrainian-starlink-1112306615.html

Could Russian Electronic Warfare Systems Mute Ukrainian Starlink?

Could Russian Electronic Warfare Systems Mute Ukrainian Starlink?

The Ukrainian military has reportedly faced problems with the much-lauded Starlink communication system. What could be behind the problem?

2023-07-31T18:56+0000

2023-07-31T18:56+0000

2023-07-31T18:56+0000

starlink

russia

ukraine

elon musk

spacex

viktor litovkin

dmitry kornev

ukrainian armed forces

electronic warfare

ukrainian counteroffensive attempt

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Reports have popped up suggesting that Starlink has stopped operating in some parts of the Ukraine conflict zone. According to the Western press, SpaceX owner Elon Musk has repeatedly restricted his Starlink Internet access in some cases for the Ukrainian military, eventually backfiring on Kiev's battlefield strategy. However, the billionaire has not commented on the reports so far.However, there is yet another possible explanation for the difficulties haunting Ukrainian military servicemen.The Russian Ministry of Defense has not provided any comments on the matter yet.What is Starlink and is Russia capable of jamming such a system in the first place?What is the Starlink System?Starlink is operated by American aerospace company SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk. While most satellite Internet services are provided by single satellites that orb.it the planet at an altitude of 35,786 km (22,236 mi), Starlink is actually a constellation of thousands of spacecraft which orbit the planet much closer to its surface  at about 550 km (342 mi)  and "cover the entire globe," per the manufacturer.On April 18, 2023, The Washington Post reported that it had obtained a classified intelligence document  part of the so-called Pentagon leaks  saying that Moscow had experimented for months with its "Tobol electronic warfare systems" in order to disrupt Starlink's transmissions in Ukraine. The document in question, dated March, and provided no further details about the alleged tests.Earlier in the month a source familiar with the situation told Sputnik that Russia had developed a new electronic warfare (EW) system capable of disrupting spacecraft communications in geostationary orbit. The source specified that "this [geostationary orbit] is approximately 36,000 kilometers (about 22,300 miles) above sea level." They did not provide any details about the new Russian EW system, only saying that "the power of its emitters at short range allows not only to suppress, but also to permanently disable enemy electronics."Is Russia Capable of Jamming Starlink?The Russian Army is equipped with a variety of sophisticated EW systems, besides "Tobol." Among them are "Krasukha," "Moskva," "Infauna," "Leer," and "Triad." Some of them are used in Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.At the same time, one cannot completely nix communications in the chosen area; EW systems could be only used to interfere with an adversary's communications, explained the military expert. There are several types of Russia's EW complexes capable of accomplishing these tasks, but there has been no official information in this regard so far, Kornev noted.Still, Kalmykov hinted that judging from some information he had earlier obtained, the assumption that Starlink has been suppressed in Donbass could be real.For his part, Viktor Litovkin, a military analyst and retired Russian Army colonel, assumed that Russia could "turn off" just some part of Starlink's satellite network system.What if Russia Turns Starlink Off?The potential disruption of the work of Starlink would lead to serious problems for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, according to Kornev."He no longer needs to look whether there is a tank behind this hill or whether someone threatens him, and who he can strike at. So, the whole Western concept is based on the presumption that everyone has satellite terminals, information terminals in every combat vehicle, every tank, and every trench. And Starlink provides this opportunity," Kornev continued.In addition, Starlink modules give the Ukrainian military an opportunity to turn most primitive unmanned vehicles into "smart drones," per the expert. Thus, the control of sea drones and air drones which could attack Russian objects  including civilian ones  was ensured. However, a year ago Elon Musk opposed the Kiev regime's decision to use Starlink for attacks on the Russian territory demanding that the equipment be used only for "defensive" purposes, Kornev added.If Russia obtains an opportunity to specifically jam Starlink it would mean nothing short of an "information catastrophe" for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, per the expert. The Ukrainian Army units wouldn't be able to communicate with each other, while drone attack capability would be substantially undermined too, he noted. As a result, the Kiev regime would have to fundamentally change tactics and equipment and would lose precious time and agility, according to Kornev.Currently, Ukrainian military personnel are heavily dependent on Starlink, and Russia should use every opportunity to throw sand in the gears of their communication system, the expert noted, stressing that it would significantly increase Russia's capabilities and reduce the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230702/russian-forces-destroy-starlink-communication-station-near-artemovsk---mod-1111609695.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230415/russia-rolls-out-new-ew-system-capable-of--disabling-enemy-spacecraft-1109549999.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230209/spacex-set-to-prevent-ukraines-army-from-using-starlink-internet-to-control-drones--1107102679.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230613/spacex-orbits-72-satellites-1111100592.html

russia

ukraine

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Ekaterina Blinova

Ekaterina Blinova

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starlink, spacex, elon musk, elon musk restricted access to starlink, ukrainian starlink jammed, russian electronic warfare systems, russian ew systems, russian tobol ew, could russia jam starlink, cyber attacks on starlink, russian cyberwar jamming, russian hacking attempts starlink, ukrainian military
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/death-toll-from-suicide-bombing-in-pakistan-rises-to-54---reports-1112275331.html

Death Toll From Suicide Bombing in Pakistan Rises to 54 - Reports

Death Toll From Suicide Bombing in Pakistan Rises to 54 - Reports

The death toll from a bombing attack that rocked a political party rally in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has climbed to 54 after more victims died from their wounds on Monday, media reported, citing police.

2023-07-31T11:37+0000

2023-07-31T11:37+0000

2023-07-31T16:19+0000

pakistan

death toll

attack

asia

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Earlier reports put the death toll at 46. A total of 83 people are receiving treatment at hospitals, the Geo TV broadcaster reported, citing Additional Inspector General of the Counter-Terrorism Department Shokat Abbas. The explosion occurred on Sunday at around 4:00 p.m. local time (11:00 GMT) at a gathering of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party in the town of Khar, located near the Afghan border, in Pakistans northwestern Bajaur district. The blast killed around 40 people on the spot, leaving more than 100 injured. Police qualified the deadly blast as a terrorist attack, saying that Daesh* was responsible for it. JUI-F leader Fazlur Rehman demanded that Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif and regional caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan investigate the incident. The party is one of the main allies of the prime minister's coalition government, which is preparing to participate in national elections, scheduled for November.*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230723/floods-in-pakistan-leave-four-dead---reports-1112084014.html

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bombing attack, pakistan's northwestern khyber pakhtunkhwa province, victims died
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/gop-lawmaker-screamed-expletives-at-teenage-senate-pages-1112269902.html

GOP Lawmaker Screamed Expletives at Teenage Senate Pages

GOP Lawmaker Screamed Expletives at Teenage Senate Pages

The freshman Republican lawmaker reportedly screamed in the faces of pages who were celebrating their last week of work as summer pages by taking photos of the Capitol's Rotunda.

2023-07-31T03:16+0000

2023-07-31T03:16+0000

2023-07-31T03:16+0000

us politics

americas

us capitol

gop

us

us house

washington, dc

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https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/101613/12/1016131208_0:156:3000:1844_1920x0_80_0_0_badeae0d5e8d1eae25245da51cc6f268.jpg

Representative Derrick Van Orden, a freshman Republican from Wisconsin, reportedly yelled profanity at a group of high-school-age Senate pages because they defiled the Capitol on Wednesday, according to a report.According to the report, Orden came across a group of summer pages, which is part of a prestigious Senate tradition dating back to 1829. During their last week on the job, and after completing a long shift, a group of pages decided to take advantage of the empty rotunda so they could snap photos of the 470-foot dome. Some of the pages decided that by lying on their backs on the floor, they could get an ideal photo of the building's dome. Doing so is a Senate page tradition, said one former page.Van Orden, who had finished hosting a beer and cheese event with constituents and was leading a large tour group, came upon the pages as they were taking photos.The representative approached the group of pages and began yelling at them, calling them jacka**** and pieces of s***.The pages were visibly shaken, said a source.Van Ordens office released a statement regarding the incident, but did not dispute that the incident took place.The Capitol Rotunda served as a field hospital where countless Union soldiers died fighting to free men in the Civil War. I have long said our nations Capitol is a symbol of the sacrifice our servicemen and women have made for this country and should never be treated like a frat house common room. Threatening a congressman with bad press to excuse poor behavior is a reminder of everything thats wrong with Washington," the statement from Van Orden's office read.Im not going to apologize for making sure that anybody  I dont care who you are and who youre related to  defiles this House, Van Orden also said on The Dan ODonnell Show. Its not going to happen on my watch, man.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he was disturbed by the Republicans behavior and lack or remorse."I understand that late last night a member of the House majority thought it appropriate to curse at some of these young people," Schumer said Thursday on the Senate floor. "I was shocked when I heard about it. I am further shocked at his refusal to apologize."Both Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) condemned Van Ordens behavior, with Tillis calling on him to apologize.Van Orden, who is a Donald Trump-endorsed retired Navy SEAL, was photographed attending the January 6, 2021 insurrection on Capitol Hill. The Representative has said that he took no part in the riot and did not set foot on Capitol grounds during the January 6 attacks.

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us politics, us capitol, gop, us, us house, senate pages, washington, dc
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/hungarian-parliament-fails-to-vote-on-swedens-nato-bid-due-to-lack-of-quorum-1112280706.html

Hungarian Parliament Fails to Vote on Sweden's NATO Bid Due to Lack of Quorum

Hungarian Parliament Fails to Vote on Sweden's NATO Bid Due to Lack of Quorum

The Hungarian parliament did not ratify Sweden's NATO application because the ruling alliance between the national-conservative Hungarian Civic Alliance (Fidesz) party and the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP), which holds the constitutional majority, did not participate in the session, according to information published on the parliament's website on Monday.

2023-07-31T14:25+0000

2023-07-31T14:25+0000

2023-07-31T16:26+0000

world

nato

hungary

sweden

finland

nato expansion

nato seeks expansion to eastern europe

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According to information published on the parliament's website on Monday, out of 199 Hungarian lawmakers, only 47 took part in the vote on the inclusion of the ratification of Sweden's application on the parliamentary agenda. The head of the Hungarian prime minister's office, Gergely Gulyas, said earlier in the day that members of Fidesz and the KDNP, which have a total of 133 seats, would not take part in the emergency session, which had been called on the initiative of the opposition Momentum Movement, supported by five other opposition parties. Zsolt Nemeth, the chairman of the Hungarian parliament's foreign affairs committee, noted in mid-July that the Hungarian parliament would begin the ratification process for Sweden's NATO bid after the start of the fall session in mid-September, as it was impractical to convene an early session. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated in mid-June that Budapest and Ankara had agreed to keep each other informed of any steps they took regarding Sweden's NATO accession. Szijjarto also reiterated Hungary's earlier promise that it would not be the last country to give the green light to Sweden's NATO membership. On March 27, the Hungarian parliament voted for the ratification of Finland's accession to NATO. At the time, Fidesz leader Mate Kocsis said that the decision on Sweden would be made later. Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs later explained the delay by claiming that Sweden was constantly undermining its relations with Hungary and demonstrating "moral superiority". Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban mentioned in February that more talks between parliamentary groups were needed before lawmakers voted on ratification, because some of them believed that Finland and Sweden were spreading "lies" about Hungary. Sweden, along with Finland, submitted its NATO application in May 2022, several months after Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine. Finland became a member of the alliance in April 2023. Sweden's application is still pending approval from Hungary and Turkey.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230407/sweden-hungary-ties-at-a-low-amid-stockholms-nato-bid-orban-aide-warns-1109229166.html

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nato expansion, sweden joining nato, hungary-sweden relations, hungary-sweden ties, sweden's nato accession, sweden's nato membership, hungarian parliament, vote on sweden's nato bid, sweden's nato bid, enlargement of nato
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/kiev-regime-uses-daesh-terror-methods-to-target-civilians-in-crimea---russian-envoy-to-un-1112280419.html

Kiev Regime Uses Daesh Terror Methods to Target Civilians in Crimea - Russian Envoy to UN

Kiev Regime Uses Daesh Terror Methods to Target Civilians in Crimea - Russian Envoy to UN

A Russian diplomat explained that one of the reasons the regime increasingly relies on targeting civilians such as in Crimea is because Crimea is now thriving and Kiev loses sleep over such developments.

2023-07-31T16:08+0000

2023-07-31T16:08+0000

2023-07-31T16:08+0000

ukrainian drone attacks on russia

russia

moscow

security council

dmitry polyanskiy

world

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The Kiev regime uses the methods practiced by the Daesh* or the Chechen terrorists by targeting civilians, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy said on Monday.The Kiev regime is attacking cities and other civilian areas which are sometimes located thousands of kilometers from the area of military operations, Polyanskiy said.They also use Daesh methods of "individual terror," Polyanskiy added.On Sunday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that Ukrainian drones attacked the Russian capital overnight, damaging the facades of two office towers in the Moscow-City business center.No Point For Kiev Regime to Attack Moscow With DronesDrone attacks against Moscow and other Russian cities will not help Ukraine, the Russian diplomat said."Kiev regime tries to shut them up [Darya Dugong etc.] and to threaten those in Russia who state the truth about what is taking place in Russia or what is the point of using drones to attack Moscow and other cities," Polyanskiy told the Security Council. "Thats not even to mention the fact that hundreds of terrorist acts are prevented by our security services." Moreover, the attack conducted by the Ukrainian regime using the cluster munitions provided by the United States against a civilian automobile with journalists in Zaporozhye region on July 22 was pointless, the Russian represantative added.Earlier on Sunday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram that Ukrainian drones attacked the Russian capital overnight, damaging the facades of two office towers in the Moscow-City business center; there were no casualties. Traffic was blocked along Testovskaya Street in the Moscow-City area, where the two office buildings were damaged, the city transport department said on Sunday morning. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine also attempted to attack Crimea overnight using 25 drones, all of which were destroyed. The ministry specified that there were no casualties or damage as a result of the attempted terrorist attack. On Friday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry said that one Ukrainian drone had been shot down overnight while attempting to attack facilities in the Moscow region; there were no casualties or damage.*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist organisation outlawed in Russia and many other states

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230730/ukraine-tried-to-attack-moscow-using-drones-russian-defense-ministry-confirms-1112252163.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230722/sputnik-military-correspondent-killed-in-ukrainian-shelling-1112060149.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230722/ukraine-attacks-village-in-russias-belgorod-region-with-cluster-munitions-1112059442.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/majority-of-americans-believe-biden-hid-involvement-in-sons-foreign-business-deals-1112306519.html

Majority of Americans Believe Biden Hid Involvement in Sons Foreign Business Deals

Majority of Americans Believe Biden Hid Involvement in Sons Foreign Business Deals

A majority of likely voters in the United States believe that US President Joe Biden engaged in an illegal coverup of his involvement in the business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll released Monday.

2023-07-31T18:31+0000

2023-07-31T18:31+0000

2023-07-31T18:31+0000

americas

joe biden

hunter biden

burisma

us

ukraine

investigation

rasmussen reports

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A majority of respondents, 60%, believe that Biden was very or somewhat likely engaged in an illegal coverup, the poll report said. Thirty-four percent of respondents said it is not very or not at all likely that Biden hid his involvement in his sons business deals, the company added. The poll comes amid probes by lawmakers into potential criminal activity involving the Biden family, particularly business deals linked to Hunter Biden. Joe Biden has denied discussing foreign business deals with his son. Lawmakers are also investigating the potential weaponization of the US justice system against Bidens political opponents. A majority of respondents, 58%, believe that Biden has weaponized the US government to benefit his family and deny Congress the ability to conduct oversight, the poll also found. The poll surveyed 1,027 likely US voters from July 26-27 and 30, the poll report said. The poll maintains a sampling error of plus-or-minus three percentage points with a 95% confidence level.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/will-hunter-biden-and-devon-archer-get-last-laugh--1112274406.html

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(Photo : JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)

San Francisco authorities have opened up an investigation into the flashing "X" sign on top of the headquarters of the company formerly known as Twitter for an alleged permit violation.

San Francisco authorities ordered an investigation into the large, flashing 'X' sign on top of the company's headquarters building, formerly known as Twitter, over an alleged permit violation.

The large sign was installed on Friday and was allegedly placed without permission from the city and has since prompted complaints from city dwellers. The investigation into the sign began last week and followed accusations that the company did not obtain the permits required to follow design and safety protocols.

San Francisco Investigates Flashing 'X' Sign

A spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection, Patrick Hannan, said last week that any replacement signage requires a permit. This ensures "consistency with the historic nature of the building" and that the signage is safely attached.

Hannan explained that adding a sign on top of a building requires a permit under city laws. San Francisco police on Monday stopped workers from removing the platform's bird logo from outside the building. As per USA Today, they said they had not closed the sidewalk to keep pedestrians safe if any part of the sign or other objects fell.

The change in signage comes as the social media platform's CEO, Elon Musk, continues his efforts to rebrand the company to X, which is a change that he announced earlier this month. The company's headquarters is in downtown San Francisco, only a few blocks from the region's City Hall.

Many online users have pointed out that the company headquarters' new sign is directly across a residential building. Various videos showed the sign flashing brightly, visible from the street below.

After buying the social media company previously known as Twitter last year for $44 billion, Musk changed the platform's logo from a bird to an X. The logo first appeared at the top of the platform's desktop version on Monday.

Read Also: Fourth Person Indicted in Donald Trump's Classified Documents Case Identified

Potential Permit Violation

After purchasing the company in October last year, the billionaire entrepreneur was fascinated with the letter X and renamed Twitter's corporate name X Corp. According to the Associated Press, one of his children is called 'X,' but the child's name is a collection of letters and symbols.

One resident from San Francisco, Christopher Beale, a journalist, captured the X sign strobing into his living room on Friday. In a statement, he said it was difficult to describe how bright the sign made the intersection. He noted that the light made it up off the street, and it seemed like a flash of lightning going off.

Beale argued that when they got home and tried to watch a movie, the sign flashed through their window even when they put their shades down. He said it was so distracting that they had to leave the room and go to the side of the apartment that does not face the building with the sign.

The journalist said he was okay with cool displays, branding, and whatever companies wanted to do, but the new X sign was too bright. Beale also raised concern for other people who could have epilepsy or are sensitive to bright lights, which could be affected by the new sign, said CBS News.

Related Article: Influencer Cries, Apologizes in Court After Letting Her Dog Attack Airbnb Hosts

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/report-fbi-contracted-firm-that-circumvented-federal-blacklist-to-buy-nso-spyware-1112308719.html

Report: FBI Contracted Firm That Circumvented Federal Blacklist to Buy NSO Spyware

Report: FBI Contracted Firm That Circumvented Federal Blacklist to Buy NSO Spyware

According to a report, a US government contractor that was revealed as having illegally and secretly used spyware made by the Israeli firm NSO Group was doing so as part of a contract with the FBI.

2023-07-31T19:52+0000

2023-07-31T19:52+0000

2023-07-31T19:49+0000

americas

fbi

nso group

blacklist

spyware

mexico

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Earlier this year, the Times revealed a government contractor called Riva Networks had secretly concluded a contract with NSO in November 2021, just days after the Biden administration banned US companies from buying NSOs spyware. The ban came after it was revealed that one of NSOs most popular products, Pegasus, was being abused around the globe by governments intent on spying on journalists, activists and political dissidents.After the papers report, an FBI investigation revealed it was actually the FBI that had contracted Riva Networks and the bureau canceled the contract.The FBI has reportedly claimed Riva Networks misled the bureau. One FBI official who spoke with the outlet said the FBI thought Riva was using a geolocation tool it had developed itself, and didnt know about Landmark being an NSO product.Riva apparently didnt care much for the Biden administrations attempts to block the use of NSO spyware by the US government and its contractors, either: not only did the company ignore NSO being put on a Commerce Department blacklist five days before concluding the contract with NSO, it kept using the Landmark tool into 2023.In a statement, the federal law enforcement bureau revealed it had been using Landmark to track suspected fugitives in Mexico.As part of our mission, the FBI is tasked with locating fugitives around the world who are charged in US courts, including for violent crimes and drug trafficking, the agency said. To accomplish this, the FBI regularly contracts with companies who can provide technological assistance to locate these fugitives who are hiding abroad.The FBI has not employed foreign commercial spyware in these or any other operational endeavors. This geolocation tool did not provide the FBI access to an actual device, phone or computer. We will continue to lawfully utilize authorized tools to protect Americans and bring criminals to justice, the statement continued.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230730/nsa-opposes-congress-attempts-to-curb-its-spying-on-us-citizens-1112268096.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/russian-forces-prevent-attempts-by-ukrainian-troops-to-conduct-reconnaissance-in-force-1112270352.html

Russian Forces Prevent Attempts by Ukrainian Troops to Conduct Reconnaissance-in-Force

Russian Forces Prevent Attempts by Ukrainian Troops to Conduct Reconnaissance-in-Force

"In the Zaporozhye direction, the motorized rifle subunits of the group thwarted an enemy attempt to conduct reconnaissance-in-force in the area north of Priyutnoye," the Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson said.

2023-07-31T03:29+0000

2023-07-31T03:29+0000

2023-07-31T03:29+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

russia

russian defense ministry

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"In the Zaporozhye direction, the motorized rifle subunits of the group thwarted an enemy attempt to conduct reconnaissance-in-force in the area north of Priyutnoye. Having suffered losses in manpower, the enemy retreated. To the east of the village of Rabotino, the Armed Forces of Ukraine also made an attempt to conduct reconnaissance-in-force. During the fire impact, the militants, having suffered losses, retreated," the spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that Russian bombers, attack aircraft and helicopters targeted the points of temporary deployment of Ukrainian troops, accumulations of manpower and equipment, in three other areas. In the past 24 hours, units of the Russian "Vostok" group of forces destroyed a Leopard tank, several infantry fighting vehicles, an M777 howitzer and an electronic warfare station of Ukrainian troops in the Zaporozhye direction, the defense ministry spokesperson told Sputnik.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/russian-nuclear-weapons-to-stay-in-belarus-unless-us-nato-quit-hostile-policy---diplomat-1112270761.html

Russian Nuclear Weapons to Stay in Belarus Unless US, NATO Quit Hostile Policy - Diplomat

Russian Nuclear Weapons to Stay in Belarus Unless US, NATO Quit Hostile Policy - Diplomat

A hypothetical withdrawal of Russian tactical nuclear weapons from Belarus could only happen if the US and NATO abandon the policy of undermining the security of Russia and Belarus, which implies a complete withdrawal of all US nuclear weapons to the territory of the United States, a senior Russian diplomat told Sputnik.

2023-07-31T05:01+0000

2023-07-31T05:01+0000

2023-07-31T05:01+0000

military

vladimir putin

belarus

russia

nato

nuclear weapons

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A hypothetical withdrawal of Russian tactical nuclear weapons from Belarus could only happen if the US and NATO abandon the policy of undermining the security of Russia and Belarus, which implies a complete withdrawal of all US nuclear weapons to the territory of the United States, a senior Russian diplomat told Sputnik. Polishchuk emphasized that the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is a forced containment measure, designed to ensure the security of Belarus, which has a common defense space with Russia. "In this regard, the hypothetical withdrawal of Russian tactical nuclear weapons from the territory of Belarus will be possible only if the United States and NATO abandon their destructive course of purposefully undermining the security of Russia and Belarus. This stipulates the complete withdrawal of all American nuclear weapons to the territory of the United States with the elimination of the corresponding infrastructure in Europe," Polishchuk told Sputnik. In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow had transferred the first part of the nuclear warheads to Belarus and would complete the task of moving tactical nuclear weapons by the end of the year. Putin said the deployment was an element of deterrence and a signal to those thinking of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230707/how-russian-tactical-nuclear-weapons-ensure-belarus-national-security-1111729104.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230528/stationing-tactical-nuclear-weapons-in-belarus-meant-as-containment-measure---minsk-1110756931.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/swedish-foreign-minister-deems-continued-dialogue-with-islamic-countries-important-1112306282.html

Swedish Foreign Minister Deems Continued Dialogue With Islamic Countries Important

Swedish Foreign Minister Deems Continued Dialogue With Islamic Countries Important

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said on Monday that his country sees great value in continued dialogue with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) amid a series of Quran-burning protests in European countries.

2023-07-31T18:10+0000

2023-07-31T18:10+0000

2023-07-31T18:10+0000

world

sweden

organization of islamic cooperation (oic)

quran

swedish foreign ministry

islam

stockholm

denmark

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The minister added that he had initiated talks with "many foreign ministers" of the 57-member organization in recent days and sent a letter to all of them, explaining "how Sweden's freedom of demonstration works." "Member States of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) are holding a foreign ministers meeting this afternoon to discuss, among other things, the recent [Quran-burning] demonstrations in Sweden and Denmark  We see great value in continued dialogue with OIC Member States," Billstrom revealed in a statement posted on the government's website. Over the past two weeks, multiple Quran burning demonstrations took place in Denmark, carried out by the Danish Patriots extremist group, including in front of the Turkish embassy. On June 28, the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, a protest took place outside Stockholm's main mosque, during which a copy of the Quran was burned. A similar demonstration took place in Sweden in January. Most Muslim countries have condemned the demonstrations, and some have summoned the Swedish and Danish ambassadors to issue them notes of protest. The Quran-burning demonstrations in Sweden was also one of the reasons cited by Turkiye for blocking Stockholm's accession to NATO.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230702/sweden-steps-up-border-controls-including-due-to-quran-burning-incident---foreign-ministry-1111630493.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230406/turkish-foreign-minister-likens-sweden-to-nazi-germany-over-quran-burning-verdict-1109185529.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/top-uk-diplomat-urges-london-to-boost-cooperation-with-africa-as-russia-wraps-up-summit-1112276015.html

Top UK Diplomat Urges London to Boost Cooperation With Africa as Russia Wraps Up Summit

Top UK Diplomat Urges London to Boost Cooperation With Africa as Russia Wraps Up Summit

The United Kingdom must step up its cooperation with African countries, including in security, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Monday, as Moscow wrapped up its country-to-continent summit considered as a success both in Russia and Africa.

2023-07-31T13:37+0000

2023-07-31T13:37+0000

2023-07-31T13:37+0000

world

united kingdom (uk)

james cleverly

uk foreign policy

ghana

nigeria

zambia

russia-africa summit 2023

second russia-africa summit

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The minister stated that he will seriously consider any request from the region's leaders to "work on capacity building and training with the British armed forces." He added that the UK's military could "export" to the continent its professionalism and respect for international law. "If [African] countries are worried about their internal security, if they are worried about being able to defend themselves, then we should recognize that, and we should look to speak with them about what are genuinely sustainable security measures," Cleverly told a British newspaper. Cleverly underlined that some African countries have received "superficially attractive offers" from Russia and China, but said that he believes that the situation with Africa-Russia-China cooperation will change soon. The media noted that the minister's attention to security assistance may not be welcomed by the UK government in light of recent cuts in international aid budget. Cleverly is expected to visit Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia this week to discuss the UK's "future-focused, mutually beneficial partnerships with African countries." The Second Russia-Africa Summit and Economic and Humanitarian Forum took place in the Russian city of St. Petersburg from July 27-28. Sputnik was an official media partner of the forum. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the summit was productive. The UK is expected to host its second UK-African Investment Summit next April. It will build on the results of the previous summit in 2020 and virtual UK-African Investment Conferences in 2021 and 2022. London views its summits with Africa as a platform for discussing reforms and policy changes in the continent that would be conducive to British investments.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230728/british-mod-admits-sensitive-emails-mistakenly-sent-to-mali-1112210624.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230728/africa-becoming-center-of-power-this-reality-will-have-to-be-considered--putin-1112210736.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/uk-reportedly-disposed-of-dozens-of-tanks-that-were-beyond-any-economic-repair---1112272572.html

UK Reportedly Disposed of Dozens of Tanks That Were 'Beyond Any Economic Repair'

UK Reportedly Disposed of Dozens of Tanks That Were 'Beyond Any Economic Repair'

The British Defense Ministry disposed of 43 Challenger 2 tanks between 2010 and 2014 as part of defense spending cuts and mothballed dozens others instead of supplying them to Ukraine, UK media reported, citing the Freedom of Information Act.

2023-07-31T07:35+0000

2023-07-31T07:35+0000

2023-07-31T07:35+0000

military

united kingdom (uk)

ukraine

tanks

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The tanks were declared "beyond any economic repair," while the disposal cost British taxpayers 4.3 million pounds ($5.5 million), the newspaper reported on Sunday. Another 75 tanks were sent to long-term storage. Tobias Ellwood, the chair of the House of Commons Defense Committee, said that these tanks should have been transferred to Ukraine. He additionally said that the actual number of fully operational tanks in the country's reserve amounts to only one tank regiment, which is approximately 44 vehicles. In January, the UK announced 14 Challenger 2 tanks would be sent to Ukraine. Earlier in July, UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace said London spent $3 billion on military assistance for Ukraine between April 2022 and March 2023.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/watch-russias-giatsint-b-howitzer-crush-ukrainian-tank-1112270508.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/uk-suspends-long-term-development-assistance-to-niger-1112269771.html

UK Suspends Long-Term Development Assistance to Niger

UK Suspends Long-Term Development Assistance to Niger

"The UK wholly supports the immediate political and economic measures announced today by ECOWAS and will suspend long-term development assistance to Niger," Mitchell said in a Sunday statement.

2023-07-31T01:24+0000

2023-07-31T01:24+0000

2023-07-31T17:15+0000

africa

niger

united kingdom (uk)

military coup

economic community of west african states (ecowas)

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On Sunday, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) suspended all financial aid to Niger and froze Niger's assets in the community's central and commercial banks. "The UK wholly supports the immediate political and economic measures announced today by ECOWAS and will suspend long-term development assistance to Niger," UK Minister of State for Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell said in a Sunday statement. Mitchell added that the United Kingdom calls for President Mohamed Bazoum to be immediately reinstated to restore constitutional order in Niger. "We will however continue to provide critical humanitarian assistance to the people of Niger," Mitchell specified. On Wednesday, members of the Nigerien presidential guard said in a statement broadcast on national television that they had overthrown the country's president, Mohamed Bazoum, closed borders and imposed a curfew in the country "until further notice." It came hours after the presidential guard detained the president at his residence and sealed off access to public offices in Niamey.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/ukraine-lost-20824-soldiers-2227-pieces-of-equipment-during-battles-in-july---shoigu-1112274153.html

Ukraine Loses Over 20,000 Soldiers During Battles in July - Shoigu

Ukraine Loses Over 20,000 Soldiers During Battles in July - Shoigu

In July alone, Ukraine lost 20,824 soldiers and 2,227 units of various weapons, including 10 Leopard tanks, 11 Bradley BMPs and dozens of Western artillery pieces, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.

2023-07-31T10:29+0000

2023-07-31T10:29+0000

2023-07-31T14:34+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

sergei shoigu

ukraine

russia

ukrainian crisis

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Ukraine lost 20,824 soldiers and 2,227 pieces of military equipment during battles in July, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday."Over the past month, as a result of the successful activities of our troops, the losses of the enemy amounted to more than 20,800 servicemen, to be exact, 20,824 people, and 2,227 pieces of various weapons," Shoigu told military officials, adding that Kiev lost 10 Leopard tanks.He specified that among the equipment lost by Kiev were 10 Leopard tanks, 11 US Bradley BMPs, 40 US M777 artillery systems and 50 self-propelled artillery systems from Britain, the US, Germany, France and Poland.Russian armed forces are active in all directions in the area of the special military operation in Ukraine, focusing on weakening combat capabilities of Ukraine, Shoigu said.The Ukrainian troops lost 400 soldiers and 63 pieces of equipment in the Orekhove direction on July 26-27, Sergei Shoigu said.Shoigu mentioned that Russia thwarted Ukraines large-scale attempt to break through defense lines in this direction.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230728/scott-ritter-ukrainian-counteroffensive-keeps-repeating-same-insane-mistakes-1112225788.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/russian-forces-prevent-attempts-by-ukrainian-troops-to-conduct-reconnaissance-in-force-1112270352.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/ukraines-counteroffensive-fails-special-military-operation-to-continue---kremlin-1112275062.html

Ukraines Counteroffensive Fails, Special Military Operation to Continue - Kremlin

Ukraines Counteroffensive Fails, Special Military Operation to Continue - Kremlin

Ukraines counteroffensive is unsuccessful in all directions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, adding that Russia will continue its special military operation.

2023-07-31T11:34+0000

2023-07-31T11:34+0000

2023-07-31T12:15+0000

russia

dmitry peskov

vladimir putin

ukraine

russia

nato

kiev

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"The Kiev regime has no successes. Moreover, the Kiev regime is in a very, very difficult situation. The special military operation continues. It is obvious that the counteroffensive is not working out the way it was intended in Kiev," Peskov told reporters. The spokesman called NATOs multi-billlion resources spent on Ukraine "ineffective and pointless". According to Peskov, at the moment it is impossible to agree on a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. "There are no prerequisites for this," Peskov said.The United States policy on Ukraine contradicts international norms and leads towards deteriorating security in Europe, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys office, has said that Ukraine plans to start talks on bilateral security guarantees with the US next week.Moscow calls for restoration of the rule of law in Niger as soon as possible, urging conflicting parties to show restraint, Kremlin spokesman said."As regards the Kremlin, we are monitoring this [the situation in Niger] especially given that together with African partners we were very engaged with developments in Africa last week. And of course, the situation there causes major concern and it was concerning for all participants of the [Russia-Africa] summit. We are calling for restoration of the rule of law in the country as soon as possible, we are calling for restraint from all parties so that it will not lead to victims," Peskov told reporters when asked about armed mutiny in Niger.South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has initiated making a statement on Ukraine following the Russia-Africa summit last week, and Moscow prepared the draft and transferred it to the South African delegation, Dmitry Peskov said.Peskov has said that a short statement on Ukraine is being prepared and will be published after coordination."Indeed, there was an understanding that some, let's say, the main parameters of the discussion that took place were enshrined in a joint statement in writing, this is not a signed document. And since Mr. Ramaphosa is the organizer of this initiative, the Russian side prepared its own draft of such a statement, which was handed over to the South African delegation before their departure from St. Petersburg, as soon as there is a joint understanding and the text is agreed upon, the South African side will publish it," Peskov told reporters.Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold a phone conversation on Wednesday, Peskov said, adding that there are no news regarding Putins possible visit to Turkey."No, nothing has changed since the day before yesterday, when President Putin answered this question. Indeed, the phone conversation, as Putin said, is planned for Wednesday," Peskov told reporters.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230728/new-nato-facility-in-poland-to-repair-tanks-from-ukraine-1112224228.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230729/putin-says-russia-africa-summit-held-at-good-level-with-good-results-1112246353.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/ukrainian-fm-claims-ukraine-croatia-agree-to-use-croatian-ports-for-grain-transit-1112306116.html

Zelensky's Top Diplomat Claims Ukraine, Croatia Agree to Use Balkan Ports for Grain Transit

Zelensky's Top Diplomat Claims Ukraine, Croatia Agree to Use Balkan Ports for Grain Transit

Ukraine has reached an agreement with Croatia to use the country's ports on the Danube River and in the Adriatic Sea for the transit of Ukrainian grain after the termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Monday.

2023-07-31T17:41+0000

2023-07-31T17:41+0000

2023-08-01T08:20+0000

black sea grain deal

grain exports

grain supply

grain

exports

food exports

ukraine

croatia

world

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"We have agreed on the possibility of using Croatian ports on the Danube and the Adriatic for the transportation of Ukrainian grain. Now we will work out the most effective routes to these ports and make full use of this option," Kuleba stated after a meeting with his Croatian counterpart Gordan Grlic-Radman during the latter's visit to Ukraine. The minister also mentioned that he had discussed with Grlic-Radman Croatia's further support for Ukraine. The parties have agreed on concrete arrangements, which will be implemented soon, Kuleba added. On July 18, the Turkiye- and UN-mediated Black Sea Grain Initiative, which provided for a humanitarian corridor to allow exports of Ukrainian grain over the past year, expired, as Russia did not renew its participation in the deal. Moscow emphasized that the deal's component on facilitating Russian grain and fertilizer exports had not been fulfilled, specifically with regard to reconnecting Russian banks to SWIFT and unblocking the Tolyatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline. On July 18, the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which provided for a humanitarian corridor to allow exports of Ukrainian grain over the past year, expired, as Russia did not extend its participation. Moscow has been consistently critical of the fact that the deal's provisions pertaining to Russia had not been fulfilled. The Russian Defense Ministry has said it would consider all ships sailing in the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports as potential military cargo carriers starting July 20, while countries under whose flags such vessels travel would be regarded as involved in the conflict on Kiev's side.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230717/russia-suspends-participation-in-grain-deal---kremlin-1111932906.html

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(Photo : Abdul Majeed AFP photographer / AFP) (ABDUL MAJEED AFP PHOTOGRAPHER/AFP via Getty Images)

A Pakistani suicide bomber at a political rally killed at least 44 people and injured more than 200 others in an attack that some believe was meant to weaken the Islamist party.

A suicide bomber in Pakistan set off a blast at a political rally in the northwestern part of the region and killed at least 44 people while injuring nearly 200 others.

A senior leader said that the horrific attack sought to weaken the country's Islamist party. The region where the suicide bomber attacked, the Bajur district, is near the Pakistani border with Afghanistan. It is considered to be a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, which is a close ally of Afghanistan's Taliban government.

Pakistani Suicide Bomber Kills 44, Injures 200

Supporters of hardline Pakistani cleric and political party leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, whose Jamiat Ulema Islam generally gives its support to regional Islamists, were in Bajur for a meeting inside a hall that was close to a market outside the district capital.

In a statement, party officials argued that Rehman was not at the rally at the time of the attack, but organizers added tents due to how many supporters showed up. Additionally, party volunteers equipped with batons were helping to control the massive crowd, as per ABC News.

Before the bomb went off, officials announced the arrival of Abdul Rasheed, a Jamiat Ulema Islam party leader. The recent, deadly attack is considered one of Pakistan's bloodiest in the last few years.

Additionally, provincial police said that the suicide bombing was carried out by an individual who detonated his explosives vest while he was close to the stage where several senior leaders of the party were sitting.

Law enforcement authorities added that initial investigations suggested that the Islamic State group, which operates within Afghanistan and is considered an enemy of the Afghan Taliban, could be responsible for the bombing.

In a statement, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack, as said by a released statement from his office. The prime minister's office is also requesting a report from Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, according to CNN.

Read Also: UK: Stricter Rules on Foreign Criminals Obtaining British Citizenship to Take Effect

Bloodiest Attack in Recent Years

On the other hand, Rehman expressed his "deep sorrow and regret" following the deadly blast, adding, "Peace be upon JUI workers." The party leader said that the federal and provincial governments should treat the injured best.

One witness who was near the area of the blast said that there were roughly 500 people who were attending the convention at the time of the explosion. Rahim Shah said that the powerful blast knocked him unconscious.

When he regained himself, he saw that people were screaming and heard shots fired. The resident also said that he saw blood everywhere after he regained consciousness.

The recent attack is considered the latest sign of the deteriorating security situation within the country, where some militant groups have become more active in the last two years. Since then, they have found a haven in neighboring Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban group.

Video footage from before the blast showed hundreds of men sitting outside beneath a cloth canopy as party officials were addressing the crowd. When one district leader took to the stage, enthusiastic party workers stood up and chanted, "Allah is great." Then, the explosion rocked the entire crowd, said the New York Times.

Related Article: Niger Coup Leader Warns of Regional, Western Backlash Against Junta

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/us-house-oversight-panel-testimony-proves-biden-lied-about-ties-to-hunters-business-1112310081.html

US House Oversight Panel: Testimony Proves Biden Lied About Ties to Hunter's Business

US House Oversight Panel: Testimony Proves Biden Lied About Ties to Hunter's Business

Former friend and business associate of Hunter Biden, Devon Archer, confirmed to lawmakers that then-US Vice President Joe Biden was involved in his sons foreign business deals via phone calls and dinners.

2023-07-31T21:01+0000

2023-07-31T21:01+0000

2023-07-31T20:58+0000

americas

hunter biden

joe biden

dan goldman

house oversight committee

foreign agents registration act (fara)

burisma

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Archers testimony confirms Joe Biden lied to the American people when he said he had no knowledge about his sons business dealings and was not involved, the House Oversight Committee said in a statement. Then-Vice President Joe Biden joined Hunter Bidens dinners with foreign business associates in person or by speakerphone more than 20 times, the statement said. Earlier Monday, Congressman Dan Goldman said that there is no indication Joe Biden was aware of which parties may have been on the other end of the calls and denied any connection between the president and his sons business deals. The executives placed constant pressure on Hunter Biden to get help from the US government to resolve corruption investigations into the company by then-Prosecutor General of Ukraine Viktor Shokin, the statement said. Hunter Biden and two Burisma executives called [Washington,] DC to discuss the matter, according to Archers testimony. The call raises concerns that Hunter Biden may have violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act, the statement added. Moreover, then-Vice President Joe Biden and Hunter Biden dined with the wife of the former mayor of Moscow, Elena Baturina, in 2014, the statement said. The Biden administration has notably not included Baturina in public sanctions, the statement said. Joe Biden has previously denied ever discussing foreign business deals with his son.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/will-hunter-biden-and-devon-archer-get-last-laugh--1112274406.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/us-public-confidence-in-military-declined-over-past-five-years-to-26-year-low---poll-1112309921.html

US Public Confidence in Military Declined Over Past Five Years to 26-Year Low - Poll

US Public Confidence in Military Declined Over Past Five Years to 26-Year Low - Poll

According to a new report published by Gallup, public confidence in the abilities of the US military is at its lowest point in more than two decades, and the decline has accelerated over the last five years.

2023-07-31T21:15+0000

2023-07-31T21:15+0000

2023-07-31T21:12+0000

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gallup

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poll

us withdrawal

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The poll, conducted between June 1 and June 22, found that just 60% of Americans are likely to express a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the US military. That number hasnt been that low since 1997 and hasnt been lower since 1988, the analytics company noted. Its also not far above the low confidence seen during the Vietnam War era, when between 50% and 58% of Americans expressed high confidence in the armed forces.Whats more, much of that decline has happened in the last five years. After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, public confidence spiked and held above 70% for nearly two decades, declining to 69% in 2021 and reaching 60% two years later.Instead, when the Islamist group launched a new offensive in the months prior to the US departure, the US-backed government crumbled so quickly the Taliban recaptured Kabul even before US forces had left. It left the two rival militaries in an awkward position as they attempted to run security for tens of thousands of would-be refugees, many of whom were collaborators, as a Daesh-aligned** group opposed to both US and Taliban rule staged attacks against them and vulnerable civilians.The spectacle of US forces fleeing Kabul airport with thousands of refugees in tow as their erstwhile enemies solidified their control outside the airport gates was seen by many as summarizing the 20-year-long war as a failure.According to the poll, both Democrats and Republicans are more likely to express high confidence in the military, but not by much: 68% of GOP voters and 62% of Democratic voters responded as such. Political independents - a kitchen sink category of nonalignment with the two major parties that has increased to its largest-ever proportions in recent years - were less likely than the average, with just 55% saying theyd express high confidence in the US military.Gallup also noted that the decline in confidence in the military paralleled waning public confidence in other national institutions as well, including small businesses, the police, the medical system, the US Supreme Court, banks, and labor unions. Many of those institutions registered their lowest-ever state of public confidence in the poll.*The Taliban: a group under United Nations sanction for terrorist activities.**Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia and many other states.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230726/witnesses-tell-congress-pentagon-cover-up-of-ufos-hurts-national-security-1112168592.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230731/us-steals-convoys-of-stolen-syrian-oil-food-as-regional-tensions-seethe-1112273430.html

US Smuggles Convoys of Stolen Syrian Oil, Food as Regional Tensions Seethe

US Smuggles Convoys of Stolen Syrian Oil, Food as Regional Tensions Seethe

About 90 percent of Syrias oil and gas resources are concentrated in US-occupied areas of the war-torn country. Washingtons failure to topple Syrian... 31.07.2023, Sputnik International

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2023-07-31T11:30+0000

2023-07-31T14:39+0000

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The US is continuing its systematic looting of Syrias energy and food resources. Sources have told Syrian media that a convoy of 45 tankers loaded with Syrian crude oil was shipped out of the country via the Mahmoudiya border crossing into Iraq over the weekend, with a second, 50-vehicle convoy of trucks carrying feed grain and military vehicles crossing from Syria to Iraq through the al-Walid checkpoint. Also over the weekend, eyewitnesses told local media that the US had sent some 30 vehicles worth of weapons, ammunition and logistical equipment to bases in the Hasakah countryside in Syrias northeast, traveling through the city of Al-Shadadi, about 60 km south of the city of Hasakah, and then on to Hasakah proper. The load of the convoy that was unloaded at the base [in Al-Shadadi, ed.] included advanced medium weapons, including anti-armored weapons, modern communication and jamming systems, in addition to large quantities of ammunition, including several containers intended to support the SDF militia, a source said.Northeastern Syria east of the Euphrates River is home to up to 90 percent of the nations oil and gas resources, and much of the nations most fertile food-growing areas. The country, which once enjoyed energy and food self-sufficiency and modest export earnings from oil and food, became a net importer of both amid onslaughts by US, Gulf and Turkish-backed militias, and then, from 2016 onwards, by the US and its SDF allies directly.Syrian authorities have estimated that the countrys energy sector has suffered over $100 billion in damage and losses since 2011, including damage caused by smuggling, theft and looting, US-led coalition bombings and the improper exploitation of fields.The fields occupation and exploitation by foreign militaries and terrorists have left Damascus lacking funds to rebuild from the decade-long CIA dirty war against the country, which is estimated to have caused as much as $1 trillion in damage, killed hundreds of thousands and turned millions of Syrians into refugees.The US military presence in northeastern Syria has also served to prevent a reconciliation between the Damascus government and majority-Kurdish areas in the countrys northeast. Syrian forces have been careful not to deliberately target US forces occupying their country, given the danger of sparking an overwhelming and devastating American response. However, recent weeks have witnessed an escalation in the number of incidents between Syrias allies and American occupation forces in the country, including aerial close calls involving US drones and Russian warplanes which the Russian military has characterized as extremely provocative.The threat to US troops lives, combined with the danger of a further escalation of tensions between Washington on one side and Damascus, Moscow and Tehran on the other have prompted some US lawmakers to demand an immediate pullout of American forces from the country. The Biden administration prefers to keep the continued occupation of a third of Syria quiet, justifying the illegal US presence based on fears of the resurgence of Daesh (ISIS)*. Bidens predecessor, Donald Trump, had no qualms about admitting that US forces were in Syria only for the oil, which prompted President Assad to praise him as an honest enemy who doesnt cover up US aggression with slogans about defending democracy or fighting terror.* A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230715/us-deploys-fighter-jets-in-irans-backyard-as-regional-tensions-surge-1111896744.html

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For the second time in less a week, the New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) will return to Batavia Downs on Tuesday, Aug. 1 with one seven-horse field and this time, featuring two-year-old male pacers who will go behind the gate to vie for a purse of $106,300.

The group features an undefeated gelding named Darius (Huntsville-Miss Sowo), who is a perfect three-for-three in his very short career. Darius started out in Excelsior company and after easily winning there, advanced to the next level and won two consecutive NYSS events while dropping his lifetime mark in each outing to its current 1:54.4 status. Going into this race, Darius sits second in points and earnings in his division of the NYSS and heads into this race full of momentum. Mark MacDonald will steer the rookie from post one for trainer Ray Schnittker.

The Travis Alexander-trained entry of Avenger Force (Huntsville-Apple Delight) and Howlenthehills (American Ideal-Arielle Lynn) will also be a formidable duo in this contest.

Avenger Force finished second to Huntingforchrome in 1:53 at Saratoga Raceway last week after cutting the mile, which was the fastest of the two divisions. The week prior at Monticello, Avenger Force won his NYSS split despite being parked out the last half while also having broken equipment. With Matt Kakaley back up, Avenger Force is expected to be a player from post five.

Howlenthehills has yet to win in his career, but was a game third behind Darius and Boston Rocks in his last effort. Having drawn a favourable starting position from post two, Howlenthehills should be in the mix throughout the entire race for driver Marcus Miller.

Boston Rocks (Boston Red Rocks-Scirocco Sarah) is the overall leader among all his peers in this NYSS division this year for both points and earnings and was undefeated by a large margin going into last weeks race where he was finally bested by Darius. But that came after Boston Rocks made a break at the start of the race and had a lot of ground to make up as a result, and still flashed a very fast :27.2 final panel. He will be looking to make amends here for his miscue of last week despite having drawn post seven. Jason Bartlett will be back in the bike for trainer Mike Deters.

There are also three $20,000 NYSS Excelsior divisions on the card and all are full fields of eight that should provide some excellent betting opportunities.

The Excelsior splits are in races four, five and six and the NYSS main event is in race seven. Post time for the first race on Tuesday is 6 p.m.

(Batavia Downs; Photo of Darius winning a NYSS on July 12 at Buffalo Raceway)
Selma Burke is more than just the name on front of the newest school in the Mooresville Graded School District.

Burke, a Mooresville native who led an extraordinary life, was an artist, a nurse, enlisted in the Navy during World War II and was chosen in a nationwide contest to design a bronze relief portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Naming the new middle school after Burke is a tribute to a woman who blazed a lot of trails in her life and broke many barriers, and now the students who will fill the classrooms and hallways at the school can look to blaze their own trails and break down barriers.

The dedication and ribbon-cutting for the new school, on Rinehardt Road, was held Thursday.

Its a great day to be a Bear, MGSD Board of Education Chairman Greg Whitfield said, referring to the new schools mascot.

Whitfield thanked the citizens of Mooresville and Iredell County. It was due to the approval of a bond in 2020 that Selma Burke Middle became a reality, he said.

Superintendent Dr. Jason Gardner also expressed appreciation to the school board, Mooresville Town Board of Commissioners and Iredell County Commissioners for their help all along the process. He also thanked an advocacy group, Our Schools First, which helped promote the bond.

They really started a boots-on-the-ground effort and knocked on doors, he said.

Whitfield and Iredell County Board of Commissioners Chair Melissa Neader then raised the first American flag that will fly over the school.

While the event was to celebrate and show off the new school building, it was also a time to reflect on the woman who inspired her family and many others in her lifetime.

Gardner told those gathered for the ribbon-cutting and dedication about Burke, and why the decision was made to name the school after her.

Burke was born in Mooresville on Dec. 31, 1900, and discovered a love for art and sculpture at an early age, using clay from a nearby riverbed to create objects. Her father, Neal Burke, encouraged her artistic pursuits while her mother, Mary Jackson Burke, influenced her decision to become a nurse.

She went to the Saint Agnes Training School for Nurses in Raleigh, graduating as a registered nurse in 1922.

Burke moved to New York City and became a private nurse and later returned to her love of sculpting. She later obtained her master of fine arts degree from Columbia University.

She traveled to Europe and studied under artists such as Henri Matisse and Aristide Maillol in Paris. Burke returned to the United States, and following the countrys entry into World War II she enlisted in the Navy, becoming one of the first Black woman to do so. She injured her back and while recuperating, she won the contest to design the portrait of FDR.

After a lifetime of sculpting, Burkes last work is a 9-foot bronze statue of Martin Luther King Jr that stands in Marshall Park in Charlotte. She died in 1995.

A number of Burkes relatives were on hand for the dedication Thursday.

Pamela Faulkner told the crowd that the name of the school is more than just that. This school is not just a name. She was a trailblazer. She was a pioneer, she said.

Faulkner said the school will give all children a chance to become trailblazers and pioneers.

Any student that comes here in this school has an opportunity to be able to pioneer, to be able to create, to be able to love, to be able to assemble here and put a mark on society here, she said.

Gardner presented the family with a commemorative brick and a portrait of Burke. A mural of Burke will also adorn a wall in the school.

Two men who were a part of the architectural and construction process also spoke to the crowd.

David Bellamy, of LS3P, and Martin Moser, of Barnhill, talked about their pride in working on the project and seeing the final result. Moser said the project broke ground in the middle of the pandemic and dealt with typical construction delays such as weather but also with those created by the pandemic such as material and labor shortages.

Still, Gardner said, the school was completed on time and on budget.

Gardner introduced the schools first principal, Dan Miller, who later took some of those gathered at the ribbon-cutting for a tour of the school. The school is expected to house 640 students.

As the school prepares to welcome its first students next month, Gardner said, it represents the culmination of a dream and collaboration from a variety of people.

It truly did take a village to get to today, he said.
The Israeli Davids Sling (formerly Magic Wand) air defense system recently underwent additional test firings to confirm that new capabilities worked properly. Details of those were not revealed but apparently had to do with a battery being able to deal with several different threats simultaneously. Such complex attacks are rare, but they do happen and the ability to handle such situations is important. Israel is small, with land borders totaling only a thousand kilometers. The country is 420 kilometers long and up to 115 kilometers wide. Two David's Sling batteries could cover the entire country, including the sea border. Currently attacks (with rockets or missiles) come from the north (Lebanon and Syria) and the south (Gaza).

Davids Sling was designed to defeat aircraft, rockets and missiles (cruise or ballistic). A Davids Sling battery costs $250 million and consists of a search radar with a max range of 474 kilometers, a fire control vehicle and six missile launchers, each with six or twelve Stunner missiles. A tractor trailer version of the launcher is less mobile but carries twelve missiles. Each battery has some reloads, giving each battery up to 48 missiles. Each Stunner missile weighs 400 kg (880 pounds) and is stored in and launched from a sealed container. Stunner is a two-stage missile with a max range of 250 kilometers. The warhead does not contain explosives but rather has sensors that enable the warhead to collide with the target at high speed and destroy it. Because Davids Sling batteries are mobile, they can regularly change location in peacetime to make it more difficult for an attacker to carry out a successful SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) effort.

Davids Sling entered service in 2017. This was a year later than expected because earlier testing had revealed some potential problems that required fixing. Israel is very exacting about such technical problems because these weapons are the first line of defense against threats that are very real by enemies who openly call for the destruction of Israel. That attitude towards quality control also makes Israeli weapons easier to find export customers for. Davids Sling got its first combat test in May 2023 when Hamas and Islamic Jihad carried out a major, five day rocket and missile attack on Israel from bases in Gaza. Some 1,300 rockets were fired at Israel and about a thousand entered Israeli air space. The Iron Dome system destroyed nearly all the projectiles headed for populated areas and David's Sling intercepted some larger, longer range rockets. There were only two deaths in Israel, both of them civilians.

Israel retaliated with airstrikes using jet fighters launching guided bombs and missiles while attack helicopters also fired some guided missiles. Israel used local informants and aerial surveillance to locate key targets. These included the current location of six senior Islamic Jihad leaders as well as about 400 rocket storage or launch sites as well as military bases and safehouses. Islamic Jihad was not expecting Israeli air defenses to be so effective or Israeli retaliation to be so extensive.

Current Israeli air defenses have three layers. First there is Iron Dome to handle rockets and mortar shells launched from Gaza and Lebanon which comprise most of the projectiles fired at Israel. Iron Dome has been in service since 2011 and David's Sling handles the larger, longer range and often guided rockets as well as armed UAVs. The Arrow system has been in service since 2000 and is for longer range ballistic missiles fired from Iran. So far those missile attacks have only been a threat but Iran has them and they are aimed at Israel.

Davids Sling is the Israeli replacement for existing American Patriot and Hawk missile air defense systems. During 2015 Israel conducted several successful tests of Davids Sling, including some that included intercepting and destroying a short range ballistic missile and other targets representing manned aircraft. Davids Sling was supposed to be ready for deployment in 2016. But as happened several times before there were new technical problems that had to be fixed. Davids Sling was originally expected to enter service in 2014.

In development since 2006, Davids Sling was designed to be an improvement over American made Patriot systems Israel was using. The Stunner missile has a longer range and better capabilities than the Patriot missiles. The American manufacturer of Patriot cooperated with an Israeli firm to develop and produce Davids Sling and plans to use some Davids Sling features for Patriot upgrades.

Davids Sling is meant to complement the Israeli Iron Dome anti-rocket system, which can take down rockets with a range of up to 70 kilometers. Iron Dome has a unique feature in which the radar system computes where the incoming rocket will land. If the rocket will not hit an inhabited area, it will be ignored. Otherwise, an interceptor missile will be fired. Stunner will be used against larger rockets that will be aimed (by Syria, Hamas or Hezbollah) at large urban areas, and these will almost always get a Stunner fired at them. This is part of the two layer (Iron Dome and Davids Sling) system for defending Israelis from rocket and missile attacks. Davids Sling is replacing the 17 Hawk anti-aircraft batteries as well and, eventually, the six Patriot batteries.
Khaled al-Owaid al-Najm, an official in the State Security branch, was detained by the relatives of the arrested citizen, according to Syria TV.

Suweida 24 reported that residents in Suweida detained an official from the regimes State Security branch in response to the arrest of a civilian from the governorate in Damascus.

According to the network, a civil group in Suweida detained the official, who works as an investigator and is responsible for the issue of settlements, in the State Security branch. This action was taken to protest the arrest of Alaa al-Waqiya, a citizen from the town of al-Mughayyir, located south of the governorate, who was apprehended by the security services at the Conference Palace checkpoint in Damascus last Wednesday. Despite the efforts of Waqiyas family to ascertain the reasons behind his arrest and the responsible authorities, they have not received any answers.

Khaled al-Owaid al-Najm, an official in the State Security branch, was detained by the relatives of the arrested citizen, with the support of a civil group. This was a response to the regime authorities indifference toward the demands of the detainees family to know his fate and secure his release.

The network confirmed that Waqiya is a reputable individual who used to work as a contract employee in the water sector before leaving his job to seek better opportunities in Lebanon.

Kidnapping of Pro-Assad Forces Members in Suweida

Last Monday, a local group in Suweida kidnapped members of the Syrian regime forces with the intent of exchanging them for a detainee from the governorate.

The local network Suweida 24 reported that a civil group blocked the Damascus-Suwayda road using burning tires, between the villages of Salim and Attil, and detained members of the regimes military forces and security services. The group accuses the regimes security services of arresting Rafi Osama al-Shaheen, a 19-year-old resident of the village of al-Munithira in the southern countryside of Suwayda. According to the network, Shaheen lost contact with his family on Sunday evening near the Abbasid garages in Damascus while attempting to head toward Homs with the intention of reaching Lebanon.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Donald Trump lost his defamation lawsuit against CNN over "The Big Lie" after the federal judge in Florida dismissed the case.

The former US President filed the lawsuit against the news network last October at the US District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Donald Trump's 'Big Lie' Defamation Lawsuit Against CNN Dismissed

In a stunning victory for CNN, The New York Times reports that a federal judge has dismissed Trump's $475 million defamation lawsuit against the network.

The lawsuit, filed in October 2022, alleged that CNN's use of the phrase "the Big Lie" to describe Trump's false claims about the 2020 election was defamatory. Trump argued that the statement associated him with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime.

The suit, filed by the former President, alleges that CNN carried a "campaign of dissuasion in the form of libel and slander." The MAGA leader also claimed that the news network "fears the plaintiff will run for president in 2024," the lawsuit says.

However, as per The Hill, the US District Judge Raag Singhal for the Southern District of Florida, who Trump appointed, found that CNN's statements were an opinion, not a fact. And as such, it was not liable under the defamation law.

Read Also: Donald Trump Says Europe Should Give Ukraine Over $100 Billion More Aid

Defamation Suit Against CNN Over 'The Big Lie'

The decision further notes that "CNN's use of the phrase 'the Big Lie' in connection with Trump's election challenges does not give rise to a plausible inference that Trump advocates the persecution and genocide of Jews or any other group of people."

The Hill pointed out that "the Big Lie" is typically attributed to Nazi regime figures Hitler and Joseph Goebbels. It seemingly came from this quote, particularly attributed to Goebbels, "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."

Trump's lawsuit cited the "The Big Lie" term, which CNN host Jake Tapper, writer Ruth Ben-Ghiat, and ex-commentator Chris Cillizza used.

According to the Associated Press, the former US President sought a whopping $475 million for punitive damages in his lawsuit against CNN. The MAGA leader argued that the term tainted not only his reputation but also his political career.

The ex-President of the US (POTUS) is the leading candidate for the upcoming 2024 GOP presidential nomination. He competes with other Republican figures, such as the rising star Ron DeSantis. Politico reports that the former POTUS is also facing his former Vice President (VP) Mike Pence. Nikki Hayley and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott have also joined the race.

Related Article: Trump Classified Docs Case: Judge Aileen Cannon Sets May Schedule for Trial

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Mekdad's visit to Tehran coincides with an unprecedented living crisis in Syria, al-Souria Net reports.

Assads foreign minister, Faisal al-Mekdad, arrived in Tehran on Sunday leading a large delegation and is set to initiate a series of meetings addressing both economic and political matters simultaneously.

Mekdads visit to Tehran coincides with an unprecedented living crisis in Syria, marked by a rapid deterioration in the value of the Syrian pound.

This visit follows Iranian President Ebrahim Raisis trip to Damascus three months ago, during which he announced a set of economic agreements targeting various sectors.

On Monday, Iranian and Syrian media reported that Mekdad arrived in Tehran alongside a high-ranking Syrian political and economic delegation, including the ministers of economy, foreign trade, communications, and technology.

Accompanying Mekdad are Ambassador Mohamed Haj Ibrahim, Director of the Afro-Asian Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jamal Najib, Director of the Ministers Office, and Rana Hassan Agha from the Ministers Office.

Irans big share

The semi-official newspaper Al-Watan reported that Mekdad is scheduled to meet his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, on Monday. The meeting aims to discuss strengthening relations between the two countries and address the latest developments in the regional and international arenas. They will also consult on current issues of mutual interest.

On the economic front, the accompanying economic delegation is engaged in a series of meetings with Iranian government officials and major economic companies operating in various fields in Iran.

Economy Minister Mohammed Samer al-Khalil stated that the purpose of the current visit is to elevate economic relations between the two countries to the desired level. The delegation is also working on completing the agreements announced by Raisi during his visit to Damascus last May, focusing on the implementation of joint projects.

According to ISNA, the visit of Mekdad and the political and economic delegation is intended to follow up on the agreements signed by Raisi with Bashar al-Assad.

Experts emphasized that Iran has taken numerous measures in recent years to support the Syrian government and people and combat terrorism in the country. As such, it is crucial for Iran to assert its appropriate and significant share in various projects.

The Russian government, which has had a military presence in Syria in recent years, is now involved in important projects such as equipping the port of Tartoous for export and import to Syria, as well as oil and gas exploration.

China has also signed preliminary agreements related to Syrias accession to the Belt and Road project. Additionally, countries like the UAE and Turkey are showing interest in Syrian markets and participating in the Syrian reconstruction process, as reported by the Iranian agency.

What did Raisi sign?

In May, the Syrian regimes SANA news agency reported that Iranian President Raisi and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had signed several memorandums of understanding, marking a significant step in long-term comprehensive strategic cooperation. The agreements encompassed areas such as oil, railways, agriculture, and others.

Raisis visit to Damascus held historical significance, as he was the first Iranian president to visit Syria since 2010. Throughout the war years, Tehran had consistently provided political, military, and economic support to Syria.

At the conclusion of the visit, Raisi and Assad jointly expressed their commitment to developing trade and economic relations, underscoring their existing cooperation in Syrias reconstruction efforts.

The two presidents engaged in in-depth discussions aimed at enhancing bilateral relations, building upon their strong brotherly and strategic ties.

During his participation in a businessmens forum in Damascus, Raisi emphasized that his visit would be a turning point in Iranian-Syrian relations, significantly impacting the region and the trade and economic ties between the two nations.

Raisi emphasized the importance of elevating economic activity to match the level of political relations between Iran and Syria, calling for a substantial leap forward in trade relations.

Earlier, within the framework of a comprehensive long-term strategic cooperation plan, the two parties had signed 15 cooperation documents, further solidifying their commitment to collaboration.

The Assad regimes presidency had previously reported that discussions between the two presidents included economic measures, focusing on areas like power plants, energy, tourism, joint investment projects, and the expedited establishment of a joint bank to facilitate trade exchange.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Your daily brief of the English-speaking press on Syria.

On Sunday, a delegation from Syria, led by Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad, commenced a visit to Tehran. At the same time, there are reports suggesting that the collaboration between Iraq and Syria might further strain Iraqs already vulnerable economy.

Syrian Political, Economic Delegation in Tehran

A Syrian political and economic delegation headed by Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad began a visit to Tehran. The visit, which will last for several days, aims to follow up on the agreements signed during Iranian President Ebrahim Raisis visit to Syria in May, Asharq al-Awsat reported.

In a statement, the Iranian embassy in Damascus said the delegation includes the ministers of Economy and Foreign Trade, Mohammad Samer Al-Khalil, and Communications and Technology, Iyad Al-Khatib.

The visit comes amid news of Irans intention to establish an Iranian free zone in central Syria to boost Iranian investments and strengthen economic relations between the two countries.

The meetings of the Joint Economic Committee in Tehran, which will last until the end of this week, will follow up on the implementation of 15 memorandums of understanding that were signed during Raisis visit. They cover a variety of sectors, including energy, agriculture, free zones, communications and others.

Iranian Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Issa Zarepour announced last week that Iran will help Syria in the manufacture of communication satellites.

Moreover, the head of the Syrian-Iranian Joint Chamber of Commerce, Fahd Darwish, revealed in press statements a plan to establish an Iranian free zone in central Syria with the aim of fostering the Iranian investment environment in Syria and promoting the bilateral economic ties.

Free zones are among the most important tributaries of the national economy of countries, and a basis for investments and platforms for import and export, he stated.

The Syrian president and his Iranian counterpart had signed a memorandum of understanding for comprehensive and long-term strategic cooperation, as well as an MoU related to free zones and minutes of a meeting for cooperation in the field of railways and civil aviation.

Normalizing Assad Has Made Syrias Problems Even Worse

Charles Lister, a senior fellow and director of the Syria and Counterterrorism and Extremism programs at the Middle East Institute, has written along analysis for Foreign Policy.

In his analysis, titled Normalizing Assad Has Made Syrias Problems Even Worse, Lister analyzes the consequences of regional efforts to reengage and normalize Syrias regime, particularly under President Bashar al-Assad. The author argues that Saudi Arabias decision to pivot and reengage with Assad, followed by the Arab Leagues embrace of the regime, has had significant negative repercussions on Syrias stability and humanitarian situation.

The article highlights several key points:

Aid Access: One of the core goals behind the normalization of Assads regime was to stabilize Syria and facilitate humanitarian aid efforts. However, Russias veto of the United Nations mechanism for cross-border aid provision into Syrias northwest has severely impacted aid access to the region. The regimes offer to open aid access with impractical conditions has not been effective, leaving vulnerable populations in dire need. Captagon Trade: Regional states had hoped that reengaging with Assad would curb the illegal captagon trade. However, the regimes promises to tackle the issue were deemed unreliable, and large quantities of Syrian-made captagon pills continue to be seized across the region, with German authorities discovering a production facility in Germany. Refugee Returns: The normalization of Assads rule was intended to encourage the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland. However, the conditions under the regime and the absence of meaningful concessions have deterred refugee returns. Instead, refugees have increased migration towards Europe, leading host countries to enact policies to encourage departures. Economic Collapse and Violent Escalation: Syrias economy has significantly deteriorated, with the Syrian pound losing value. The regimes corruption and fiscal mismanagement have contributed to the economic collapse. Additionally, violent escalations, such as regime attacks in Daraa and northwest Syria, have exacerbated instability and insurgency. Terrorism: The normalization of Assads regime has negatively impacted international efforts to counter the Islamic State (ISIS). Regional partners support for Assads rule has diminished the leverage of U.S.-partnered Syrian Democratic Forces, and ISIS has taken advantage of the situation, conducting aggressive attacks in regime-controlled areas. Diplomatic Stalemate: The normalization of Assads regime has hindered meaningful diplomacy and a resolution to Syrias crisis. Assad has shown no intention to reengage in diplomatic processes, further complicating efforts to address the conflict.

Overall, the article argues that the regional efforts to normalize Assads regime have worsened Syrias problems, leading to a dark and uncertain period for the countrys future. The author emphasizes that the consequences of the normalization efforts were foreseen but ignored, and the Syrian people continue to bear the brunt of the costs.

How a Jihadi drug resurrected war-torn Syria as a narco-state

British analyst James E. Baldwin wrote a long report for The Telegraph, in which he discusses the booming drug industry in war-torn Syria, focusing on the synthetic drug Captagon. Syria has become a major producer of Captagon, which has become a financial lifeline for the Assad regime, according to the UK government. The drug trade has grown rapidly, and the pills are flooding the global market, causing addiction issues across Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Gulf states. The Assad regime is believed to have ties to the trade, with corrupt officials facilitating production and distribution.

Despite its involvement in the drug trade, regional states like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the UAE are seeking to normalize relations with Syria. They hope that by reestablishing ties, they can address and contain the Captagon crisis. However, the Syrian states precarious structure, corruption, and historical involvement in illicit drug trade raise doubts about the regimes willingness or ability to curb Captagon production significantly.

The article also highlights Syrias long history of involvement in the illicit drug trade, from the French Connection heroin network to the hashish industry in Lebanon during the occupation. Corruption has been a consistent feature of the Syrian state, making it challenging to tackle the drug trade effectively. Despite occasional arrests to demonstrate commitment to drug control, the trade continues largely unabated.

Overall, the article sheds light on the significant impact of the Captagon trade on Syrias economy and political landscape, presenting challenges for regional states seeking to normalize relations with the Assad regime.

Carter Center Calls for Extension of Earthquake-related Exception to Sanctions on Syria

As the expiration date of General License 23 (GL 23) approaches, the Carter Center is urging the U.S. government to extend this crucial humanitarian exception to sanctions on Syria. GL 23, introduced in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey earlier this year, allowed for vital aid to reach those in need.

However, the six-month timeline of the exception has been deemed insufficient by humanitarian and development experts who stress that relief efforts, such as rebuilding hospitals and replacing complex medical equipment, will require years to complete.

The Carter Center wrote, In the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey earlier this year, the U.S. government released General License 23 (GL 23), a humanitarian exception to sanctions on Syria, to allow for aid to reach those in need. This exception took effect Feb. 9, 2023, for a period of 180 days.

This humanitarian carveout will expire Aug. 8. The Carter Center calls on the U.S. government to extend the exception, ideally following Switzerlands model of an open-ended timeline. This would follow the precedent of other U.S. general licenses that have been open-ended.

Such an extension is crucial to maximize the impact and reach of humanitarian efforts and alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.

The Carter Center recently released a report, Effectiveness of Humanitarian Exceptions to Sanctions: Lessons from the Syria Earthquake, assessing the effects of GL 23. The report documented good results. The move helped by removing obstacles to financial transactions tied to relief efforts. Some banks commended the breadth and clarity of GL 23 in reassuring the financial sector that some earthquake relief-related Syria transactions are permissible. Further, GL 23s inclusion of non-U.S. actors and clarification from the U.S. Treasury about sending personal remittances have been widely welcomed and seen as impactful.

However, some humanitarian and development experts say the exceptions six-month timeline is insufficient for carrying out all necessary relief efforts. Many relief operations, such as rebuilding hospitals and replacing complex medical equipment, will take years to complete. Moreover, GL 23 does not apply to U.S. export controls and has not been able to address the delays in access to specialized equipment such as excavators and sophisticated medical apparatus.

Despite these shortcomings, the initial positive impact of GL 23 cannot be ignored, and it remains a welcome and much-needed measure. The Carter Center underscores the importance of extending GL 23 to ensure maximum humanitarian impact and relief across Syria. By adopting an extended and open-ended approach, the U.S. government can demonstrate its commitment to alleviating the suffering of the Syrian people and contribute significantly to the ongoing humanitarian efforts in the region.

The opportunities and obstacles of revived Iraq-Syria relations

The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, recently visited Syria in an effort to strengthen joint security and energy relations between the two countries.

The visit, according to The New arab, aimed to secure the shared border from infiltration by Islamic State (IS) militants and drug bands while also bolstering economic ties. Iraq and Syria, both having close ties to Iran, maintained relations throughout Syrias civil war when other Arab states withdrew their ambassadors and closed their embassies in Damascus.

The visit comes at a time when other Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Jordan, have also been rebuilding relations with the Syrian regime after years of tensions. Syrias membership in the Arab League was suspended in 2011 over Assads brutal crackdown on protests, and several Gulf states supported the armed opposition to his rule.

During the visit, Iraq indicated that it is refusing the economic sanctions imposed on the Syrian regime by the United States. Iraq is also open to discussing rebuilding the Kirkuk-Baniyas oil pipeline with Syria. The pipeline, which had been shut down in the past due to political reasons and war damage, could provide a new outlet for Iraqs oil exports.

However, cooperation between Iraq and Syria may place an increased burden on Iraqs already-fragile economy. The country is facing challenges with the unwillingness of Turkey to resume the export of crude oil from the Kurdistan region to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, leading to a potential oil export gap.

The visit also included discussions on combating the IS insurgency in both countries and Syrias possible involvement in implementing Iraqs Route of Development.

Overall, while the visit aimed to strengthen ties and address security and economic issues, it may present some economic challenges for Iraq in the context of its relations with other countries in the region.
Two people were injured Sunday afternoon in a motorcycle crash involving Kelso residents.

The crash occurred around 2:37 p.m. on Ocean Beach Highway and 46th Avenue, near the Guadalajara Grill & Cantina in West Longview.

According to a Washington State Patrol press release, the motorcycle was traveling westbound on Ocean Beach Highway when the driver overcorrected their steering and skid to a stop on their side of the intersection.

The driver Aaron M. Mills, was airlifted to PeaceHealth Southwest for medical attention and his passenger, Leslie K. Mills, was transported to the same medical center as well.

Their current medical condition is unknown.

The motorcycle, a 2004 Harley-Davidson FXST, was reported as damaged, and alcohol was not a factor in the crash, authorities say.
When compared to pre-pandemic levels, less car traffic is returning to downtown Seattle than to the cores of most other large American cities, according to new data from the traffic analytics firm INRIX.

One major caveat: Because downtown Seattle does not include South Lake Union in INRIX's analysis, Amazon's return to in-person work is not captured in the data.

That said, Seattle is still 27% below its pre-pandemic inflow to downtown, a lower rate than just four other cities: Los Angeles; Sacramento, Calif.; Detroit; and San Francisco, which is down 41%.

Except for Phoenix and San Diego, every city still sees fewer people driving into their downtowns than in 2019. However, a handful of cities, including Denver; Tampa, Fla.; New York; Boston; and Atlanta, are creeping back to those same levels.

The driver data from the Kirkland-based company comes amid hopeful news about increased foot traffic and transit use downtown. Overall bus ridership remains below pre-pandemic levels, but lines that run into downtown and past South Lake Union, including the 8, the 62 and RapidRide lines, are seeing some of the fastest growth of all King County Metro routes.

Bike and scooter shares are also seeing record-high use.

Kirk Hovenkotter, executive director of Commute Seattle, said people are looking for new ways to get into Seattle's retail and office core. His organization is seeing more demand from small businesses who want to get their workers onto transit.

"Our focus is, how do we make it easy to get into downtown?" he said.

Parsing the discrepancies between cities requires some nuance, but those with the slowest return of vehicles tend to have a heavy concentration of jobs downtown, often in the information, financial or professional fields. Tech-heavy Seattle and San Francisco meet these parameters, as does Detroit, which hosts General Motors as its primary employer downtown.

New York City also meets this benchmark but emerges as a conspicuous outlier in the data. While Seattle and San Francisco saw little increase over the last year, traffic into Manhattan jumped 13% in the same period. Unlike those cities, however, New York has enough diversity of activity and professions to draw people back.

Factors like income level, education level and access to broadband could also factor into overall trends, said Bob Pishue, analyst with INRIX.

For its analysis, INRIX draws from anonymized sensors, devices, cars and drivers from over 300 million sources, including commercial fleets, delivery vehicles, taxis and cameras, as well as consumer vehicle data.

Behind Washington, D.C., Seattle had the highest proportion of workers shift to remote work in 2020 and 2021, at 39%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Much of that is likely because of Amazon, which shuttered its office in the early months of the pandemic, emptying a whole neighborhood overnight.

After Amazon demanded its workers return to the office in May, parts of downtown and South Lake Union saw a bump in activity. In May and June, foot traffic was the highest it's been in downtown in three years, at around half of pre-pandemic levels, according to the Downtown Seattle Association. Transit use increased, as did congestion on the bridges leading into Seattle.

The hope with Amazon's return is it will trigger an upward spiral of employers bringing their workers back to the office. While the increased foot traffic data suggests a spillover effect from Amazon, the total effect is still unclear. Over the last two months, 50% of downtown workers have returned to the office, the highest since early 2020, but still trailing peer cities, said James Sido, spokesperson for the Downtown Seattle Association.

Meanwhile, nearly 3 million people visited Seattle in June, said Sido, outpacing the same month last year. Preliminary data suggests that Saturday  when Taylor Swift, the Toronto Blue Jays and Capitol Hill Block Party all converged in Seattle on the same day  saw the most visitors on a single day since even before 2019.
Sam Bankman-Fried must be jailed pending his October fraud trial over the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded because he is trying to intimidate witnesses and influence their testimony, prosecutors said on Friday.

Bankman-Fried, a former billionaire, has lived mainly under house arrest at his parents' Palo Alto, California, home since his December 2022 extradition from the Bahamas.

His bail, which includes a $250 million bond, became an issue after the New York Times on July 20 published an article containing excerpts from his former romantic partner Caroline Ellison's personal Google documents prior to FTX's collapse.

Bankman-Fried, 31, acknowledged sharing the documents with a Times reporter. The U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan said that crossed the line, and that Bankman-Fried's efforts to intimidate witnesses amounted to witness tampering.

" he defendant certainly has the right to speak and defend himself to the press," prosecutors said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan.

"What the defendant may not do, and what he has now done repeatedly, is seek to corruptly influence witnesses and interfere with a fair trial through attempted public harassment and shaming," prosecutors added.

A spokesperson for Bankman-Fried declined to comment. His lawyers have until Aug. 1 to respond to the government's letter.

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at his Alameda Research hedge fund, where Ellison was chief executive.

Prosecutors first made their surprise request to detain Bankman-Fried before his Oct. 2 trial at a Wednesday hearing, where Kaplan barred Bankman-Fried from discussing the case.

His lawyer said at Wednesday's hearing that Bankman-Fried's communications with journalists were simply a means to protect his reputation.

Prosecutors had in January accused Bankman-Fried of seeking to influence the testimony of an FTX lawyer.

In writings cited by the Times, Ellison described being "unhappy and overwhelmed" with her job and feeling "hurt/rejected" from her breakup with Bankman-Fried.

Ellison pleaded guilty to fraud charges and is expected to testify against Bankman-Fried at trial.

She said in court last December that Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives received billions of dollars in hidden loans from Alameda.

Two former FTX executives, Gary Wang and Nishad Singh, have also pleaded guilty over FTX's collapse and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
Persistent Systems has further strengthened its partnership with Google Cloud, launching a suite of Google Cloud-powered Generative AI solutions. These offerings will equip clients throughout their AI journeys, from AI explorers to Generative AI disruptors, to understand how to successfully identify and implement these advanced technologies to their businesses at scale.

Persistent has developed a six-week Generative AI deployment acceleration engagement program in collaboration with Google Cloud. It utilizes Persistents differentiated IP, accelerators, and frameworks along with Google Clouds advanced Vertex AI platform to help clients strategize desired outcomes, discover relevant use cases, build a highly customized Generative AI roadmap, and implement Generative AI technologies.

Data is core to successful AI solution implementations. Enterprises must prepare their data for AI-powered use cases, typically a time and resource intensive process. Persistent has built an IP-driven application and database modernization accelerator, which uses Google Clouds Generative AI capabilities, for improved data modernization. The solution decreases time to market and costs by speeding up code migration, which can increase overall developer productivity through more efficient coding workflows.

In addition, Persistent has developed an enterprise search and insights discovery tool with an AI-powered conversational interface, which enables users to generate real-time insights from database analytics, applying Google Clouds leading expertise in natural language understanding.

Persistent has combined its Digital Engineering expertise with over a decade of hands-on experience as a Google Cloud partner to deliver cutting-edge solutions that help enterprises stay ahead of the curve. For example, Persistent is helping Artnet, a leading resource for buying, selling, and researching art online, to understand how they can reimagine the search for art through Generative AI. Artnet participated in Persistents proprietary acceleration engagement program, resulting in the use case of a conversational AI-powered interface that converses with art buyers in natural language, connecting to the database of available art to advise purchasing decisions based on criteria shared by customers.

Rajesh Abhyankar, Senior Vice President  Google Business Unit, Persistent, said, Enterprises across industries are looking to capitalize on Generative AI to optimize costs and innovate business models. With Persistents newly launched Generative AI solutions, developed in collaboration with Google Cloud, we are helping enterprises understand the tangible value Generative AI can deliver by identifying actionable use cases that enable faster time to market and improved business outcomes. Persistents Digital Engineering expertise, strong foundation in data and 1,300 Google Cloud certifications, combined with our extensive experience in Google Cloud and Vertex AI, enables us to stay on the cutting edge of AI innovations.

Jim Anderson, Vice President, NA Partners Ecosystem & Channels at Google Cloud, said, Were pleased that Persistent has identified Google Cloud Vertex AI as the underlying technology powering its new generative AI strategy. We look forward to seeing the impact this will have on clients looking to build and deploy time-saving, innovative programs across their businesses.

Fabian Bocart, Chief Data Scientist, Artnet, said, Persistents acceleration engagement program, developed with Google Cloud, empowered Artnet to chart its Generative AI journey. The program helped Artnet review and assess different use cases. One potential application Artnet is exploring is to transform the search process by taking it beyond the usual keyword search model with conversational AI. Artnet is truly excited to embrace the power of Generative AI on the Google Cloud Platform to keep on transforming the art industry.
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:

A new, shape-shifting display can sense and respond to human touch. (Credit: Brian Johnson)

Imagine an iPad that's more than just an iPadwith a surface that can morph and deform, allowing you to draw 3D designs, create haiku that jump out from the screen and even hold your partner's hand from an ocean away.

That's the vision of a team of engineers from the University of Colorado Boulder. In a new study, they've created a one-of-a-kind shape-shifting display that fits on a card table. The device is made from a 10-by-10 grid of soft robotic "muscles" that can sense outside pressure and pop up to create patterns. It's precise enough to generate scrolling text and fast enough to shake a chemistry beaker filled with fluid.

It may also deliver something even rarer: the sense of touch in a digital age.

"As technology has progressed, we started with sending text over long distances, then audio and now video," said Brian Johnson, one of two lead authors of the new study who earned his doctorate in mechanical engineering at CU Boulder in 2022. "But we're still missing touch."

Johnson and his colleagues described their shape display July 31 in the journal Nature Communications.

The group's innovation builds off a class of soft robots pioneered by a team led by Christoph Keplinger, formerly an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at CU Boulder. They're called Hydraulically Amplified Self-Healing ELectrostatic (HASEL) actuators. The prototype display isn't ready for the market yet. But the researchers envision that, one day, similar technologies could lead to sensory gloves for virtual gaming or a smart conveyer belt that can undulate to sort apples from bananas.

"You could imagine arranging these sensing and actuating cells into any number of different shapes and combinations," said Mantas Naris, co-lead author of the paper and a doctoral student in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering. "There's really no limit to what these technologies could, ultimately, lead to."

Playing the accordion

The project has its origins in the search for a different kind of technology: synthetic organs.

In 2017, researchers led by Mark Rentschler, professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering, secured funding to develop what they call sTISSUEsquishy organs that behave and feel like real human body parts but are made entirely out of silicone-like materials.

Co-investigators on the grant include Keplinger, now a director at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany; Nikolaus Correll, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at CU Boulder; and Sean Humbert, professor of mechanical engineering. A new, shape-shifting display can sense and respond to human touch. Credit: University of Colorado at Boulder

"You could use these artificial organs to help develop medical devices or surgical robotic tools for much less cost than using real animal tissue," said Rentschler, a co-author of the new study.

In developing that technology, however, the team landed on the idea of a tabletop display. The research is part of the Materials Science and Engineering Program.

The group's design is about the size of a Scrabble game board and, like one of those boards, is composed of small squares arranged in a grid. In this case, each one of the 100 squares is an individual HASEL actuator. The actuators are made of plastic pouches shaped like tiny accordions. If you pass an electric current through them, fluid shifts around inside the pouches, causing the accordion to expand and jump up.

The actuators also include soft, magnetic sensors that can detect when you poke them. That allows for some fun activities, said Johnson, now a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems.

"Because the sensors are magnet-based, we can use a magnetic wand to draw on the surface of the display," he said.

Hear that?

Other research teams have developed similar smart tablets, but the CU Boulder display is softer, takes up a lot less room and is much faster. Each of its robotic muscles can activate as much as 50 times per second.

The researchers are focusing now on shrinking the actuators to increase the resolution of the displayalmost like adding more pixels to a computer screen.

"Imagine if you could load an article onto your phone, and it renders as Braille on your screen," Naris said.

The group is also working to flip the display inside out. That way, engineers could design a glove that pokes your fingertips, allowing you to "feel" objects in virtual reality.

And, Rentschler said, the display can bring something else: a little peace and quiet.

"Our system is, essentially, silent. The actuators make almost no noise."

More information: B. K. Johnson et al, A multifunctional soft robotic shape display with high-speed actuation, sensing, and control, Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39842-2 Journal information: Nature Communications
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:

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors Inc., introduces the Model X car at the company's headquarters Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015, in Fremont, Calif. Musk may want to send tweet back to the birds, but the ubiquitous term for posting on the site he now calls X is here to stay, at least for now. For one, the word is still plastered all over the website formerly known as Twitter. Write a post, you still need to press a blue button that says tweet to publish it. To repost it, you still tap retweet. Credit: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File

X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has threatened to sue a group of independent researchers whose research documented an increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased last year by Elon Musk.

An attorney representing the social media site wrote to the Center for Countering Digital Hate on July 20 threatening legal action over the nonprofit's research into hate speech and content moderation. The letter alleged that CCDH's research publications seem intended "to harm Twitter's business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims."

Musk is a self-professed free speech absolutist who has welcomed back white supremacists and election deniers to the platform, which he renamed X earlier this month. But the billionaire has at times proven sensitive about critical speech directed at him or his companies.

The center is a nonprofit with offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom. It regularly publishes reports on hate speech, extremism or harmful behavior on social media platforms like X, TikTok or Facebook.

The organization has published several reports critical of Musk's leadership, detailing an increase in anti-LGBTQ hate speech as well as climate misinformation since his purchase. The letter from X's attorney cited one specific report from June that found the platform failed to remove neo-Nazi and anti-LGBTQ content from verified users that violated the platform's rules.

Workers install lighting on an "X" sign atop the downtown San Francisco building that housed what was formally known as Twitter, now rebranded X by owner Elon Musk, Friday, July 28, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger

In the letter, attorney Alex Spiro questioned the expertise of the researchers and accused the center of trying to harm X's reputation. The letter also suggested, without evidence, that the center received funds from some of X's competitors, even though the center has also published critical reports about TikTok, Facebook and other large platforms.

"CCDH intends to harm Twitter's business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims," Spiro wrote, using the platform's former name.

Imran Ahmed, the center's founder and CEO, told the AP on Monday that his group has never received a similar response from any tech company, despite a history of studying the relationship between social media, hate speech and extremism. He said that typically, the targets of the center's criticism have responded by defending their work or promising to address any problems that have been identified.

Ahmed said he worried X's response to the center's work could have a chilling effect if it frightens other researchers away from studying the platform. He said he also worried that other industries could take note of the strategy.

A large, metal "X" sign is seen on top of the downtown building that housed what was once Twitter, now rebranded by its owner, Elon Musk, in San Francisco, Friday, July 28, 2023. The new metal X marker appeared after police stopped workers on Monday, July 24, from removing the iconic bird and logo, saying they didn't have the proper permits and didn't tape off the sidewalk to keep pedestrians safe if anything fell. Credit: AP Photo/Haven Daley

"This is an unprecedented escalation by a social media company against independent researchers. Musk has just declared open war," Ahmed told the Associated Press. "If Musk succeeds in silencing us other researchers will be next in line."

Messages left with Spiro and X were not immediately returned Monday.

It's not the first time that Musk has fired back at critics. Last year, he suspended the accounts of several journalists who covered his takeover of Twitter. Another user was suspended for using publicly available flight data to track Musk's private plane; Musk had initially pledged to keep the user on the platform but later changed his mind, citing his personal safety. He also threatened to sue the user before allowing him back on the platform under certain restrictions.

He initially had promised that he would allow any speech on his platform that wasn't illegal. "I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means," Musk wrote in a tweet last year.

A large, metal "X" sign is seen on top of the downtown building that housed what was once Twitter, now rebranded by its owner, Elon Musk, in San Francisco, Friday, July 28, 2023. The new metal X marker appeared after police stopped workers on Monday, July 24, from removing the iconic bird and logo, saying they didn't have the proper permits and didn't tape off the sidewalk to keep pedestrians safe if anything fell. Credit: AP Photo/Haven Daley

X's recent threat of a lawsuit prompted concern from U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who said the billionaire was trying to use the threat of legal action to punish a nonprofit group trying to hold a powerful social media platform accountable.

"Instead of attacking them, he should be attacking the increasingly disturbing content on Twitter," Schiff said in a statement.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
(Photo : Stephen Lam/Getty Images)

Global leading tech company Apple is set to release its Q3 earnings report that analysts expect would show a positive trend despite a consumer electronics slump.

Analysts expect Apple's Q3 earnings report to display a positive trend despite the tech company struggling with a consumer electronics slump.

The company's third fiscal quarter results are set to be released on Aug. 3, accompanied by the usual call with analysts. The tech company confirmed that it would release its quarterly results on Aug. 3 back on July 10.

Apple's Q3 Earnings Report

While the company has declined to offer firm numbers in its forward-looking guidance since 2020, Apple CFO Luca Maestri offered up some details to consider during the second quarter earnings call.

According to the official, the company's revenue for the quarter is expected to show a similar trend on a year-on-year basis with Q2, as long as the macroeconomic outlook does not worsen. Additionally, they predict foreign exchange to remain a headwind at 400 basis points. However, Services should continue to see similar growth to the March quarter, as per Apple Insider.

The Apple CFO also said that the gross margin for the company's third quarter should rest at around 44% to 44.5% as operating costs range from $13.6 billion to $13.8 billion. She noted that the Gross Margin can also be attributed to the flat foreign exchange rate.

Usually, the third quarter is seen as the lowest of the tech company's annual cycle of results, which shows it typically earns less revenue than all of the quarters in the year. Despite this, the company does continue to see improvements in the quarter's results compared to the same numbers seen in the report during the prior year.

During the 2022 Q3 earnings reports, Apple experienced a 2% year-on-year increase in revenue, which rose to $83 billion. It came at a time when iPhone revenue went up slightly to $40.6 billion, iPad revenue slightly went down to $7.22 billion, and Mac revenue dropped to $7.38 billion.

Apple's expected favorable Q3 numbers are seen as a result of the higher demand for the iPhone product in China. The Asian nation is the largest smartphone market globally. During the second quarter, one report noted that 10.4 million iPhone units were shipped to mainland China from April through June, according to Phone Arena.

Read Also: EU Launches Antitrust Inquiry With Microsoft for Bundling Teams With Office Apps

Consumer Electronics Slump

That number was only one million short compared to the number of handsets shipped by co-leaders in the industry, Oppo and Vivo. By the end of the second quarter, Apple's market share in China was at 16%, which was a little bit behind the 18 $ % that the other two tech companies owned.

The scheduled Apple Q3 earnings report comes as specialty glass maker Corning forecasted third-quarter core sales below Wall Street estimates on Tuesday. This comes as the company struggles with the ongoing slump in the consumer electronics market.

The company expects core sales of roughly $3.5 billion in the three months ending in September, compared to analysts' estimates of roughly $3.7 billion. Shares of Corning, whose Gorilla glass for smartphones is widely used by leading companies such as Apple and Samsung, were down nearly 1.5% before the bell, said Reuters.

Related Article: Apple's US iPhone Dominates 55% of Smartphone Market Share in Q2 2023

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Dear Neil: Can you tell me why these grasses look so different? They were watered and fertilized the same. Are they different types of grass?

A: I have zoomed in as far as I can and it looks like both sides are St. Augustine. The line of demarcation is so dramatic it looks like a chemical has been applied to the right side  perhaps one that was intended for use only on bermudagrass turf. Something has caused a dramatic scorching of that St. Augustine, and its more than just a piece of cardboard or black plastic laying on top of the grass for a couple of hours. The runners were killed, too. Ive never seen an insect or disease hit any turf in a straight line like that.

Dear Neil: Do you have any idea why my lantanas dont bloom? They form pea-sized pods, but nothing more.

A: There is something odd looking about the foliage in your photo. The plants look like theyre not getting enough sunlight. They need absolutely full sunlight to grow and bloom best, and the leaves Im seeing look very soft and succulent, as if they were produced in shade. The heads I can see look like they did try to bloom and then turned moldy, as if excessive rainfall caused them to decay. The only other thing I can think of would be too much nitrogen that would result in excessive vegetative growth.

Dear Neil: Ive been having the most beautiful salmon-pink geraniums most of my life. They have produced huge, healthy blooms that lasted for weeks, but in recent years they start withering from the moment they start to flower. They look pretty at the nursery, but they start going downhill almost immediately. Im 83 and stunned. Id like to have my beautiful geraniums back.

A: You have been doing something radically right in those prior years, because many of us do not have great luck with geraniums in the heat of the summer. Some of the newer introductions have been bred to hold up to warmer weather than old types from 25-35 years ago, but our recent summer heat last year and this year have almost outpaced them. Think back to when you bought them in other years versus this year. You want to buy geraniums early in the spring (even before the last killing freeze). Grow them in pots so you can move them into protection should it still get cold later than it should. I treat them much like I do petunias. I buy and plant them on the first few warm days of early spring and I nurture them along while its still cool. By the time great weather arrives in April and early May theyre large and blooming beautifully. I gradually move them back into shade as summer approaches, knowing that there will come a day when I need to replace them. I feature some of the larger types of wax begonias, Dragon Wing begonias, caladiums, pentas, coleus and angelonias to take their place as it gets hot. All are available in shades of pink.

Dear Neil: Our grass started to die this spring. The same thing has happened to several of our neighbors yards. What is happening?

A: Ive seen a bunch of this in the cooler areas of the state (remember back when it was cool in Texas) where people have St. Augustine turf. In almost all cases its been damage left over from the past two winters. The grass was wounded and has been lethargic about coming back. I have several parts of the Sperry lawn that look somewhat like this. All we can do is give it time to cover over the bald spots. We can speed it back with new sod or plugs, or we can wait for it to spread and cover. Be sure, too, that your trees havent grown larger and created more shade than in prior years.

Dear Neil: I had a rosemary plant that thrived for years until the cold of February 2021. I planted a mature plant that next spring and I thought it had survived this past winters cold, but it also died as spring arrived. What can I do to keep my next rosemary plant going?

A: This is leftover cold damage. I have found that upright types are usually somewhat more winter hardy, especially once they get established.

Dear Neil: Ive been trying to produce tomatoes for the past two months since I set this plant out. So far, no tomatoes. I did have an outside light over the plant, but its off now. The two white tomatoes have been there for more than two weeks. Help, please.

A: That means you planted the transplants sometime in late May? Thats many weeks too late. By the time the plants started flowering it was already too hot. You need to set out transplants of small or medium-sized varieties on or within two weeks of the average date of the last killing freeze for your city. In South Texas that will be early March. In Central Texas mid-to-late March. In North Texas and even northern parts of the Hill Country, late March into very early April. In the northern parts of the Panhandle, well into April. Fall plantings go in around July 1. Timing and variety selection are critical. Your plant also appears to be loaded with spider mites, and it really needs more sunlight.
Texas A&Ms Board of Regents approved authorization to negotiate a potential settlement of claims over the failed hiring of Kathleen McElroy to become A&Ms new journalism director and directed the A&M Systems Office of General Counsel to complete an investigation of McElroys situation and release the findings to the public after a nearly three-and-a-half hour executive session meeting Sunday night.

Regent Bob Albritton made the motion for the A&M Systems general counsel to complete the investigation as quickly as possible and emphasized the Regents support the release of the findings to the public.

Regents also unanimously approved to appoint Ret. Gen. Mark A. Welsh III as A&Ms interim president during the meeting. Welsh, dean of A&Ms Bush School since 2016, has served as A&Ms acting president since July 21 when he was asked to take over for M. Katherine Banks, who resigned in wake of the fallout of McElroys botched hiring. A national search is being held for Banks successor.

In a message to the Aggie Family on Monday, Welsh noted during his week as acting president, he met with A&Ms Student Body President Hudson Kraus, University Distinguished Professors Executive Committee Chair B. Don Russell, Faculty Senate Speaker Tracy Hammond and University Staff Council Chair Sarah Franke, among other campus leaders. He invited faculty and staff to join him on a virtual meeting at 9 a.m. Aug. 15 when he will comment on his initial observations and answer questions submitted on behalf of the Faculty Senate and University Staff Council.

We have a lot of work ahead of us and some challenges to overcome, Welsh wrote in his Monday note. But in those challenges, there is tremendous opportunity to come together as only Aggies can. I hope youll join me.

A&M Chancellor John Sharp added in a statement: I cannot think of a better person than Mark Welsh to lead Texas A&M right now. He has experience running a large organization, but he also is widely respected and universally well-liked in the Aggie community. General Welsh has earned a reputation as a smart, thoughtful and collaborative leader. We are lucky to have him in the presidents office.

Those who stayed in the room with the Regents during executive session included: Sharp; Billy Hamilton, the A&M Systems deputy chancellor and chief financial officer; Ray Bonilla and Brooks Moore from the A&M Systems Office of General Counsel; Vickie Spillers, the executive director of the A&M System Board of Regents; and James Hallmark, A&M Systems vice chancellor for academic affairs.

No A&M administrators or Regents provided further comment on the meeting afterward.

McElroy, A&M Class of 1981, told The Eagle that soon after her hiring was announced on June 13 she thought A&Ms leadership was forced to listen behind the scenes to outside influences with great concerns on diversity, equity and inclusion.

McElroy shared two official offer letters she received from A&M with The Eagle. The first was for the administrative, tenured role, which she signed on June 13. McElroy told The Eagle that university leaders came back to her with a verbal multiyear deal to become a professor of practice, but the offer was never placed into writing.

On July 7, A&M officials sent McElroy a revised offer and lowered it to a one-year deal, which A&M officials later said also included a three-year administrative offer. The second offer wasnt signed. McElroy told The Eagle the offer was changed so much she eventually didnt consider it legitimate anymore.

On July 11, it was revealed McElroy had rescinded her resignation from her former employer  the University of Texas at Austin  and would reprise her role as a tenured professor at the university.

On Monday, Hammond sent a letter to the Faculty Senate, which was shared with The Eagle and outlined the parameters of their investigation committee that will look into McElroys situation and that of A&M professor Joy Alonzo who was accused of criticizing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in a guest lecture this March and suspended a mere hours later after Sharp communicated directly with Patricks office about the incident and promised swift action. Alonzo was reinstated two weeks later after an investigation.

The Faculty Senate ratified a resolution on July 18 to appoint a fact-finding committee in wake of McElroys botched hiring, but Hammonds letter said the executive committee has since broadened the scope to include Alonzos situation given the relationship between the two events and their impact on academic freedom.

Hammonds letter said the investigation committee will consist of a subcommittee of the Executive Committee that will not include faculty members of A&Ms College or Arts & Sciences, College of Pharmacy, or the College of Engineering for objectivity reasons. The three committee members are: Mark Burge, law professor at A&Ms School of Law; Matthew Taylor, professor in A&Ms College of Agriculture & Life Sciences; and Grace Townsend, instructional associate professor at A&M-Galveston.

The Faculty Senate Executive Committee selected the following three senators who are known for their strong commitment to faculty governance, unquestionable ethics, and ability to provide sufficiently-objective interpretations of events, Hammonds letter said. Additionally, the membership spans different colleges, includes a senator with long-standing experience on the Faculty Senate, and also includes law expertise.

Following their investigation, the executive committee plans to produce a report with a factually-supported explanation of the events and process-oriented recommendations to avoid similar actual or apparent challenges to academic freedom going forward.
Not all faculty are criticizing Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp over the reported suspension in March of A&M professor Joy Alonzo after she was accused of criticizing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in a lecture on the opioid crisis at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

In a letter sent to all A&M faculty on Sunday that was shared with The Eagle, the A&M Distinguished Professor Executive Committee said after UTMB announced its censure of Alonzo the A&M System Health Science Center initiated an investigation that rapidly cleared her and validated her right to free speech and academic freedom.

We applaud Chancellor Sharp and his officers for their quick action to defend and clear Professor Alonzo, the letter read. We appreciate Chancellor Sharps demonstrated commitment to the core values of faculty and students of the Texas A&M University System.

Alonzo was suspended mere hours after Sharp communicated directly with Patricks office about the incident and promised swift action, according to The Texas Tribune, but she was reinstated two weeks later after the investigation. A&M System spokesman Laylan Copelin said in a statement last Thursday that A&Ms independent investigation into the matter had no interference with Sharp, and Alonzo said she had no issue with how the university handled her case.

The Distinguished Professor Executive Committees letter also noted it was regularly briefed by Sharp during this springs legislative session on matters that affected the university. The group was most concerned with Senate Bill 18, which was originally written to eliminate tenure at state universities.

Chancellor Sharp shared our concern that any significant change in tenure policy would be catastrophic for Texas A&M and all state universities, the letter wrote. The Distinguished Professor Executive Committee has commended Chancellor Sharp for his actions on behalf of university professors in Texas. Our chancellor led the charge at the state level with the ultimate result that tenure was not only saved but codified in state law for the first time. Chancellor Sharp is a strong supporter of free speech and academic freedom.

In June, Sharp told The Eagle abolishing tenure would cause difficulties recruiting faculty when all other states supply it. The final version of the tenure bill isnt a big change from A&Ms current format, Sharp noted.

Right or wrong, if everybody else is giving it and youre not, youre at a disadvantage, Sharp said. So we tried to reach a happy medium between the House and the Senate. We presented that bill and pretty much with some strengthening, thats what wound up happening. But we started working on that with members of the Legislature at the very beginning of the session.

A resolution of the Executive Committee of the Distinguished Professors passed with unanimous consent by members B. Don Russell, Catherine Eckel, Paul Hardin, John Gladysz, Richard Golsan, Olga Kocharovskaya, Bani Mallick, J. N. Reddy, Dorothy Shippen, Joerg Steiner and Nicholas Suntzeff.

The resolution reads: The Executive Committee of the Distinguished Professors of Texas A&M University commends Chancellor John Sharp for his aggressive, creative efforts that led to the preservation of tenure for university faculty throughout Texas. His actions on behalf of all of us are a legacy that will outlive his tenure as chancellor and establishes his reputation as a friend to all faculty. For his efforts to preserve tenure, we extend our sincere appreciation. We further commend Chancellor Sharp for his strong support of the rights of faculty to free speech and academic freedom and his continued engagement with representative bodies of the faculty.

Others have felt differently about Alonzos suspension.

Kevin Whittington, the founding chair of the Academic Freedom Alliance, a coalition of faculty members from across the country, and a politics professor at Princeton University, wrote a letter last Tuesday to Sharp and other administrators shared with The Eagle. The letter said the AFA felt the universitys actions represent an egregious violation of the principles of academic freedom and the universitys responsibilities under the First Amendment in Alonzos situation.

A suspension and investigation are in themselves serious sanctions especially, as was the case here, when paired with public condemnations, the AFA letter read. Such actions should only be taken when there are good reasons to believe that a professor has violated university policies and, in the case of a suspension, when there are serious risks associated with leaving a professor in place.

In this case, the university does not seem to have done the minimal due diligence necessary to conclude that there was a credible basis for sanctioning a professor. Instead the university preferred to shoot first and ask questions later in order to mollify the sensibilities of powerful government officials. Such actions are completely inconsistent with the principles of academic freedom that ought to be respected at a serious university, and they suggest that the university would prefer to sacrifice the constitutional rights of members of the faculty rather than risk angering state politicians.

Sharp met with the A&M Faculty Senates executive committee and A&Ms Council of Principal Investigators last Wednesday, one day after the executive committee called for him to meet with them to discuss political influence in faculty matters after The Texas Tribunes report on the Alonzo situation.

In a letter to Faculty Senate members Thursday afternoon, Faculty Senate Speaker Tracy Hammond said A&Ms interim president Mark Welsh will meet with the executive committee Aug. 7 to hear additional concerns about how processes such as these are handled and how faculty feel theyre currently struggling with freedom of speech. Welsh is also expected to address the entire Faculty Senate at its regular meeting Aug. 14.

Before receiving another letter from Hammond on Friday afternoon, A&M officials said Welsh already initiated the creation of a task force under the Vice President of Faculty Affairs to review A&Ms current policies and procedures related to faculty administrative protections.
Apple iPhone 15 lineup's price is likely more expensive than its predecessor, the iPhone 14 series.

iPhone fans might have to pay more to get their hands on long-awaited upgrades, such as a USB-C port.

Apple iPhone 15: What to Expect

Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman sheds light on what Apple fans could expect from the next-generation iPhone once it debuts in the next few weeks. Believe it or not, September is just right around the corner.

Gurman suggested that the iPhone 15 is set to push the boundaries of innovation as it likely introduces a titanium frame for its flagship phone. This durable material offers a lightweight and robust build, ensuring your precious iPhone can withstand the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Say goodbye to those dreaded accidental drops, as the titanium frame is expected to provide increased resistance to shocks and impacts.

Notably, XDA Developers note that the previous iPhone features cheaper stainless steel. While Titanium is a more expensive material, it is lighter and somewhat more durable.

Besides the durable material, Gurman says that the standard iPhone 15 models are ditching the notch in favor of Dynamic Island. In other words, all models are finally rocking the Dynamic Island gimmick.

Meanwhile, the top-notch Pro offerings reportedly sport remarkably thinner bezels, giving it a seamless overall design. Above these upgrades, the Bloomberg journalist also hinted at possible camera improvements for the upcoming Apple mobile phones.

One of the most notable changes for the iPhone 15 lineup includes the USB-C port adoption, which finally replaces Apple's propriety lightning port. An EU regulation compelled the Cupertino-based tech giant to go with a more universal charging port for its new iPhones.

Read Also: Apple iPhone 15 Rumor Claims 15% Battery Life Boost vs. iPhone 14

iPhone 15 Price Increase

With all of these upgrades in mind, Gurman predicts that the iPhone 15 series is seeing a price hike once it debuts in September. As per a report by The Verge, Gurman expects a price increase for various markets outside the United States (US). But despite that, he would not "rule out a price increase in the US." The news outlet notes that recent rumors suggest that the iPhone 15 Pro Max is likely to get a whopping $200 price hike.

According to Mashable, the iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at $1,099. With a looming price increase, the iPhone 15 could go as high as $1,299. The more expensive pricing potentially offers customers a more premium material, sleeker design, and, finally, USB-C support.

However, it is worth pointing out that Apple has yet to confirm the pricing of its upcoming iPhone 15 series. So do take this with a grain of salt.

Related Article: Apple's US iPhone Dominates 55% of Smartphone Market Share in Q2 2023

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
HOLDREGE  A vote that would have put the merger of two major power districts back on track failed Friday during a packed meeting at Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District headquarters in Holdrege.

Today was a day when local politics worked, said Gary Robison, a Bertrand irrigator who led the Citizens Opposed to the Merger organization that stopped Centrals consolidation with Dawson Public Power District based in Lexington.

During a special meeting Friday of the Central Board of Directors, the intent was to vote to amend Centrals charter and fix the technicality that sidetracked the merger in April when the matter went before the Nebraska Power Review Board for approval.

On Friday, the Central board voted 7-5 in favor of adopting the amendment; however, under state law, eight votes in favor were required.

We worked hard to get people to that meeting on Friday, Robison said. We wanted people on the board to see their constituents when they voted.

Robison said two Central board representatives from Kearney County who voted in favor of the merger in October 2021 flipped their votes on Friday, and it was enough to kill the measure to fix the technicality in Centrals bylaws.

I dont think its dead. If it comes back, its because theyll feel like they shored up the vote and are ready to make another try, Robison said.

One day before Fridays vote, descendants of George Kingsley  who was instrumental in making Lake McConaughy, the Kingsley hydro and the vast network of irrigation canals a reality  announced they opposed the merger.

Four great-grandchildren of Kingsley, Tim Kingsley, Liz Mattson, David Kingsley and Nancy Oertle, urged the CNPPID Board to vote against the merger at Fridays special meeting.

Our great grandfather, George P. Kingsley, gave his time, money, and the last 20 years of his life to the formation of what is today Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District, the grandchildren wrote in a letter to CNPPID directors. His dream was to bring irrigation to the fertile lands of the tri-county basin (Kearney, Phelps and Gosper). Those farms are the heartbeat of the communities within, and their sustainability is dependent upon agriculture.

Efforts to merge Central and Dawson began when they announced plans to study a potential merger in November 2020. A consultant was hired to review finances, assets, board governance and the benefits for the customers.

The study process was divided into four levels, with each one being more detailed. Both Central and Dawson boards voted on each stage of review, having the opportunity to end the process at any time.

In addition to news media coverage, press releases and newsletter articles, public open house events were held to share information and listen to concerns. The expenses for the study and legal consultation have been shared by Central and Dawson PPD.

A spokesman for Central said that whether the power and irrigation district attempts to salvage the merger at this point would be up to the Board of Directors.

Both the Central and Dawson boards had voted to merge in October 2021, but irrigators organized the Citizens Opposed to the Merger group to fight the proposed consolidation. The group has 100 members and $400,000 to fight the proposed merger and said water users in Phelps, Kearney and Gosper counties might lose control of the water that fuels crop production in south-central Nebraska. More specifically, it claimed that south-central Nebraska would be under-represented on the new board of directors for the merged districts.

The 10 best beaches in Nebraska ... no, really! Lake Mac Calamus Reservoir Wagon Train Lake beach Niobrara River Branched Oak Lake Pawnee Lake Brick's Beach Swanson Reservoir Two Rivers State Recreation Area
Having the same laundry detergent isnt exciting to most people, but to three women, it was everything.

Jodie Meyer, Kathy Baca and Julie Reese Mills live on opposite sides of the country and share more than laundry detergent brands; they also share the same mom, Beverly Davis. Meyer, 65 is the oldest and lives in Lincoln. Baca, 61, currently lives in Arkansas, and the baby of the family, Reese Mills, 49, lives in Arizona.

It was only recently that the three learned about each other after Reese Mills took a DNA test, prompting the three to meet in person for the first time.

At first, it was the gap in their front teeth that the sisters noticed they had in common. Then it was Baca and Reese Mills curly hair that stuck out. Then Reese Mills pointed at Bacas feet to find that they shared the same baby toe.

I have never seen another person with my baby toe, Reese Mills said.

Finally, it was the Gain laundry detergent that all three sisters had been using.

Its the little things that are important, like Gain, Reese Mills said.

The three sisters are finally starting to learn each others little quirks, and theyve waited a long time. They were separated as children and arent quite sure how it all happened.

Everybody has different versions of what may have happened, Reese Mills said. Were kind of going off the paperwork that we have, but nothing gives us specifics yet.

The three sisters have four other siblings, one of which they have yet to find. Meyer was born in North Carolina with a sister who is two years younger. The two of them grew up with their grandmother, Genevieve. Baca was born in Chicago and was adopted along with Susan Baca, 60, who was born in Lincoln. The last three siblings were born in Arizona, where Reese Mills grew up with the only brother, Leroy, 52, and their mom. Patricia, however, left around the age of 18 and has since lost contact with the family.

Reese Mills believes that Patricia was born between 1968 and 1970, but they havent been able to find a birth certificate or baby announcement, nor have they been able to find someone who has known her recently.

The last memory Reese Mills has of Patricia was when they were waiting at a bus station for her to arrive, but she never got off. She said Patricia wouldve been about 18 at the time and they are not sure if she even boarded the bus in the first place.

Its a lot of could-bes out there, because we dont know anything, Reese Mills said.

Meyer and Kathy Baca only remember small glimpses of each other, and never enough to actually piece anything together.

Susan and Kathy Baca found out about Meyer and their other sister when they were teenagers, but never heard about the siblings in Arizona.

We always knew we were adopted, but we didnt hear that we had other sisters until junior high or high school, when my adopted grandma told me she was mad at us for something. She said we were acting just like Jodie, Kathy Baca said.

Meyers grandparents wouldnt talk about Kathy or Susan either. Later, she found out that the two girls were adopted, although her grandparents wouldnt say by whom. Eventually, Meyer found out their adoptive grandma was actually a friend of Meyers grandma.

They were best friends, Meyer said. They knew the whole time where they were, but they wouldnt tell us.

Meyer remembers seeing Kathy and Susan when she was about 5 years old. Although she cant locate it, there is a picture of the four girls, which Meyer believes was the last time they saw each other.

We were all in the same dress, but then, they were gone, Meyer said. I will always remember, and I said I was going to find them one day, but I didnt find them, they found me.

Meyer has few memories of her mom as well. The last time she remembers seeing Beverly, she was an irritated teenager.

I was 16 and I was an angry girl, so it didnt go well, Meyer said. I was not nice, lets put it that way.

Reese Mills, however, has always known the other siblings were out there, she just didnt know where. She said Beverly had kept a family bible with personal records of the family. Last November, she decided it was finally time to begin finding her siblings.

Ive been wanting to find them for decades, Reese Mills said. Its always been on my heart since mama passed away. I always wanted to find them.

It would be 25 years after Beverly died before Reese Mills would take the DNA test through 23andMe.

After having a mild medical scare last year, Reese Mills began thinking about life and decided she would cross some items off her bucket list.

I said, Screw it. Im just gonna do it, well see what happens and well go from there, Reese Mills said.

Reese Mills sent in her saliva sample and upon receiving her results, the sister who grew up with Meyer popped up as the top result with 28% relation.

My account has attached me to over 5,000 relatives with the same DNA, Reese Mills said. I think the lowest one had like 1.9% relation in it. Those would probably be fifth and sixth family members removed.

Reese Mills messaged the sister who had the highest relation, but she never got a response. The second highest result was her niece, Rachel, daughter of Kathy Baca, who helped the two connect. Reese Mills later got connected with Meyer as well.

I was a hold out, Meyer said. Then (Reese Mills) sent me a text and said, You know what happened back then is done and were all innocent in it.

So Meyer got on the phone with Reese Mills and the two talked for three hours, instantly forming a connection. The phone calls continued and since December, the three sisters have had weekly video calls on Wednesdays. For now, its just the three of them, but Leroy recently joined in on one of the calls.

The sisters talk about everything during their weekly phone calls, including updates on the search for Patricia.

My friends said theyve never seen me smile this much in my life, Meyer said. I always walked around and I was grumpy.

After awhile, they decided it was finally time to meet in person. Last week, the three met up for the first time for a reunion and to celebrate Kathy Baca and Meyers birthdays  which they found were only a day apart.

Meyer and Kathy Baca met up first after flying in to Wichita, Kansas. They embraced each other in a long-awaited hug before jumping into a car together to make the road trip to see Meyer.

It was fantastic, Reese Mills said. It was like we had known each other the whole time, so it was natural. We laughed, we sung, we talked, we ate.

After arriving in Lincoln, the two bear-hugged Meyer for the first time.

We kept saying, Were not doing it. Were not doing it. Were not going to cry, Meyer said.

The three had tears in their eyes, but Meyer was adamant that none of them cried and lost it.

They only had a few days together to make up for lost time, and while their first birthday party didnt have a pillow fight, there was a pajama party.

We had to wear matching Snoopy pajamas, Meyer said. That was not fun. I am way too old to wear little skimpy pajamas.

They spent their days together getting pedicures, visiting the Wildlife Safari park and even visiting Scheels for a Ferris Wheel ride. Had the three grown up together, they agreed these adventures and matching pajamas would have been frequently enjoyed.

The amazing thing is that when we met, it was like weve known each other forever, Kathy Baca said.

Kathy Baca and Reese Mills even had the opportunity to meet some great nieces and nephews. Between the seven siblings, there are at least 19 living nieces and nephews and 19 grandchildren that they know about.

Were hoping that maybe, eventually, that we can all just be together as one, Reese Mills said. Its a transitional period, so were all going to have to get used to the ups and downs of each other because we all have different personalities.

A trip to Phoenix in September is in the works for Reese Mills birthday, along with a Polar Express night for Christmas with more pajamas and hot chocolate. Meyer said that name tags are a priority, though, as Reese Mills has eight kids alone.

While they are still relishing the excitement of finding one another, Meyer, Kathy Baca and Reese Mills are still longing to find out what happened and where Patricia is.

No matter what, we are siblings and we deserve to know each other, Reese Mills said. Even if we never find out what happened, we deserve to know each other.

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Amkor Technology's Vietnam semiconductor packaging factory to begin operations in October

By Tri Duc Mon, July 31, 2023 | 4:14 pm GTM+7

The first Vietnam factory of U.S.-based Amkor Technology Inc., a global semiconductor product packaging and test services provider, is set to begin operations this October in Bac Ninh province.

Provincial authorities announced this during a working session last Sunday with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh that reviewed the northern provinces socioeconomic performance in the first half of the year and previewed tasks for the second half.

Bac Ninh Chairwoman Nguyen Huong Giang said that the opening of Amkor Technology's factory would provide fresh impetus for the provinces economic growth.

The factory will be among the biggest operated by Amkor globally, covering 1.9 million square feet (over 176,500 square meters). The Vietnamese plant's size will be only behind Amkor's South Korean factory that has an area of 4.4 million square feet. Other major production sites are in Japan (1.8 million square feet), Shanghai (1.4 million square feet), and the Philippines (1.3 million square feet).

The plant will deliver advanced system-in-package (SiP) modules and other packaging solutions, helping the firm with supply chain diversification.

Amkor Technology Inc. will invest about $1.6 billion until 2035 on building a state-of-the-art facility in Bac Ninh.

When Nguyen Anh Tuan, Secretary of the Bac Ninh Party Committee, visited the factorys construction site at the Yen Phong II-C Industrial Park in May, Kim Sung Hun, CEO of Amkor Technology Vietnam, said work would be completed in September and train operations conducted the month after.

The Yen Phong II-C Industrial Park, invested in by Vietnam's leading producer of building materials Viglacera, has attracted investments with a total registered capital of nearly $2.18 billion and has an occupation rate of 77%.

Yen Phong II-C Industrial Park in Bac Ninh province, northern Vietnam where Amkor Technology is building a factory. Photo courtesy of Bac Ninh newspaper.

PM visits Samsung factory

On Sunday, the Prime Minister also visited the factory of Samsung Electronics Vietnam in Bac Ninh, one of the tech giant's two plants in the province.

Samsungs export revenues from Vietnam reached $65 billion in 2022, or 17% of Vietnams total. In 2023, given the global economic downturn, the export revenue is expected to decrease to $60 billion, said Samsung Vietnam CEO Choi Joo Ho.

Over the last 15 years, Samsung has developed six factories in Vietnam with a total registered capital of $20 billion, employing 100,000 people. Choi said Samsung was committed to making long-term and sustainable investments in Vietnam, now a production hub accounting for half of the companys smartphones, he noted.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (L) gifts a souvenir to Samsung Vietnam CEO Choi Joo Ho at a meeting in Bac Ninh province, northern Vietnam, July 30, 2023. Photo courtesy of Bac Ninh newspaper.

Prime Minister Chinh said that Vietnam keeps its commitments to investors and is committed to keep improving the nations investment environment, develop infrastructure, and cooperate with businesses in workforce training so as to facilitate foreign investors long-term and stable operations.

He said the government has asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) to research and prepare plans to attract more investment and provide more support for investors in line with international practices and commitments.

In related news, the Vietnamese government will submit global minimum tax (GMT) resolutions to the National Assembly, the country's highest legislative body, for approval in October.

The Ministry of Finance has been ordered to draft a report on the GMT's implementation and the MPI has been asked to draft non-tax support policies for investors to offset losses derived from the new rule.

This tax, agreed to by the G7 countries in June 2021 to prevent tax avoidance by multinational corporations, is set to take effect on January 1, 2024 in many OECD countries. The GMT, under OECD Pillar Two, is a once-in-a-lifetime global tax reform that will apply to multinational companies with annual revenues of EUR750 million ($800 million) or more. Such companies will be subject to a minimum global tax rate of 15%.

Meanwhile, tax authorities have noted that about 335 direct investment projects worth over $100 million each, mostly in manufacturing and processing, are enjoying corporate income tax (CIT) rates of below 15%. Notable names are high-tech firms like Samsung, Intel, LG, Bosch, Sharp and Foxconn.
Vietnam welcomes 1.04 mln foreigners in July, a record high since post-pandemic tourism reopening

By Trang Nguyen Mon, July 31, 2023 | 2:06 pm GTM+7

Vietnam welcomed nearly 1.04 million international arrivals in July, the highest monthly figure recorded since the country reopened from the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2022.

The figure was up 6.5% from June and three times higher than July last year, but equivalent to only 79% of the pre-pandemic period in 2019, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). July is peak time for domestic tourism in a year.

Foreigners visit Trang An Landscape Complex, a UNESCO world cultural and natural heritage site, in Ninh Binh province, northern Vietnam. Photo courtesy of VietNamNet newspaper.

Europe accounted for highest growth in visitor arrivals compared to other continents, up 27% against June. Other top markets also increased in July compared to the previous month: South Korea (6%), China (14%), and the U.S. (7%).

However, countries in Southeast Asia saw a decline in visitors to Vietnam: Thailand (-19%), Malaysia (-24%) and Cambodia (-9.8%).

In the first seven months of this year, the number of foreign visitors to Vietnam reached 6.6 million, up 5.9 times year-on-year and equal to 83% of the country's year target.

South Korea was the largest source with nearly 1.9 million arrivals, accounting for one third of the total, followed by China with 738,000 and the U.S. with 445,000.

On June 24, Vietnams National Assembly approved a government proposal to extend the validity of tourist e-visas to 90 days with multiple entry, starting August 15.

Since the country reopened to tourism after a prolonged hiatus courtesy of the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam has only been granting 30-day, single entry visas.

Under the new policy, foreigners with valid visas will be able to enter and exit Vietnam multiple times without having to apply for new visas each time. The National Assembly also agreed to extend the stay of visitors from countries that are unilaterally exempt from visas from 15 to 45 days.

This adjustment will also take effect on August 15.

Travel firms said they re organizing longer tours to take advantage of opportunities that the new 90-day visa policy may bring when it takes effect.
Vietnams Touchstone Partners to roll out second fund to fuel tech startups

By Tuong Minh Mon, July 31, 2023 | 3:02 pm GTM+7

Ho Chi Minh City-headquartered venture capital (VC) firm Touchstone Partners is set to raise its second fund to continue financing Vietnam's tech landscape, with the new funds target size undisclosed.

The Touchstone Mid Cap Growth Fund seeks to increase the value of fund shares as a primary goal and to earn income as a secondary goal, writes the Vietnamese firms filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), dated July 28.

This 11-page brief prospectus does not show the target size.

Touchstone Partners team at a teambuilding event in August 2022 in Hoi An town, central Vietnam. Photo courtesy of the firm.

The Touchstone Partners move came while Vietnams tech startup scene is continuing to attract VC investments, pushing the country further towards its aim of becoming a fully digital society by 2030. South Korea-based Shinhan Venture Investment is planning to increase its Southeast Asia focus with the $200-million flagship global fund that it completed raising a few months ago.

"We are focusing on Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam. We are sector- and stage-agnostic, and our investments span from seed to pre-IPO. Our strength is that we can leverage our subsidiaries, such as banks, insurance and credit cards in Vietnam, Indonesia and Japan to support our founders and help them expand to other regions, JinSoo Lee, head of global investment at the fund told Nikkei Asia in a mid-July report by the Japanese newspaper.

In May, Touchstone Partners announced the Vietnamese homegrown firm and Singapore-based Clime Capital were jointly investing $2 million in Stride, an innovative clean technology company also based in HCMC like Touchstone Partners.

To date, Touchstone Partners has invested in 23 startups including Selex Motors (a Vietnamese maker of electric two-wheelers and battery packs), Medigo (healthcare), Credify (fintech), and Prep.vn (edtech). It mainly injects from $500,000 to $2 million per deal.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, during her Vietnam visit July 20-21 to boost bilateral trade and economic ties, came to visit a Selex Motors factory in Hanoi. Climate change poses an existential threat to the world but also provides a key economic opportunity and way to build greater resilience into our economies, she said, describing the plant as impressive.

In April, Selex raised $3 million in a convertible note investment round led by existing investor Asian Development Bank's venture arm ADB Ventures. The three other investors were Touchstone Partners and two foreign investment funds but ADB Ventures did not disclose the two names.

Touchstone was founded in 2020 by Tran Nhat Khanh, former founding partner of the country's largest VC investment fund VinaCapital Ventures, and Ngo Thuy Ngoc Tu, co-founder and chairwoman of Yola Education, an edtech firm.

E-commerce, SaaS (software as a service), healthcare technology, and electronic vehicle sectors are where Touchstone seeks to invest in.

VinaCapital Ventures of leading Vietnamese asset and investment company VinaCapital said last October that it planned to launch its second fund in 2023 with a target size of $100 million, focusing on providing growth capital.

The new fund, VinaCapital Ventures II, will be for sizes up to $10 million per investment at the Series A+ and Series B stages, said HCMC-headquartered VinaCapital, a Vietnamese leading investment management firm with a diversified portfolio of around $4 billion.
A Vance man is in prison for distributing methamphetamine.

Decarlos Lanier Jamison, 33, of 10303 Old Number Six Highway, pleaded guilty to first-offense distribution of methamphetamine and first-offense distribution of a scheduled drug.

He was originally charged with first-offense trafficking in methamphetamine or cocaine base and trafficking in heroin, but he pleaded guilty to the other charges instead.

He entered his plea during a recent term of court before Circuit Judge Diane Goodstein at the Orangeburg County Courthouse.

Goodstein sentenced him to eight years in prison. After he serves three years, the remainder of his term will be suspended to four years of probation.

In other recent guilty pleas:

 Doquwana Henderson, 27, of 201 Representative Circle, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to unlawful carrying of a pistol, although she was originally charged with pointing and presenting a firearm at a person.

Goodstein sentenced her to six months in prison, suspended to one year of probation.

She gave Henderson credit for having already served three days in jail and issued a permanent restraining order.

 Jeremy Jermaine Holman, 32, of 150 Corina Court, Holly Hill, pleaded guilty to second-degree domestic violence, although he was originally charged with domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature.

Goodstein sentenced him to three years in prison, suspended to 28 months of probation.

She gave Holman credit for having already served 132 days in jail.

 Brett Derrel Johnson Jr., 43, of 316 Happy Hollow Road, Branchville, pleaded guilty to third-degree domestic violence.

Goodstein sentenced him to 90 days in jail, suspended to 18 months of probation.

Hes not allowed to possess any firearm or ammunition while on probation.

His charge of third-degree assault and battery was dismissed.

 Demond Johnson, 29, of 110 Creek Meadow Court, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to first-offense manufacturing/distributing cocaine base, although he was originally charged with first-offense trafficking methamphetamine/cocaine base.

He also pleaded guilty to first-offense distributing a narcotic drug.

Goodstein sentenced him to 10 years in prison, suspended to two years of probation.

She also ordered Johnson to undergo random drug/alcohol testing.

 Joshua Jovan Martin, 30, of 3234 Cordova Road, Cordova, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-offense possession of cocaine.

Goodstein sentenced him to two years in prison, suspended to two years of probation.

She also ordered Martin to obtain his GED, complete substance abuse counseling, undergo random drug/alcohol testing and attend either Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous twice weekly.

Martins charge of open container of beer or wine in a motor vehicle was dismissed.

 Charles D. Rocker, 55, of 4880 Carbondale Drive, Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen vehicle valued $10,000 or more.

Goodstein sentenced him to five months in jail and gave him credit for time served.

 Amaru Malik Ross, 21, of 323 West Moore Street, Rock Hill, pleaded guilty to unlawful carrying of a pistol, although he was originally charged with carrying or displaying a firearm in a public building or adjacent areas.

Goodstein sentenced him under the Youthful Offender Act not to exceed one year, suspended to 18 months of probation.

She also ordered Ross to undergo random drug/alcohol testing, forfeit his weapon and, if needed, receive a drug assessment and counseling.

 Jasmine Nashay Rowe, 29, of 870 Ellis Avenue, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to third-degree domestic violence.

Goodstein sentenced her to 90 days in jail, suspended to one year of probation.

She also ordered Rowe to complete substance abuse counseling and undergo random drug/alcohol testing.

An additional charge of third-degree domestic violence was dismissed.

 Robert Milton Shuler III, 25, of 174 Blume Road, Elloree, pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy, breaking into a motor vehicle and petit larceny valued $2,000 or less.

Goodstein sentenced him to three years in prison, suspended to two months of probation.

She also ordered him to obtain his GED and pay restitution.
(Photo : Scott Olson/Getty Images)

There have been numerous articles about IRS stimulus payments for 2023. However, you may fall victim to new schemes. To clarify, here is what your state may offer!

Multiple economic stimulus payments were distributed to Americans during the pandemic, but it appears that the federal government has no plans to send any more. However, states send their citizens financial assistance, which some have termed "stimulus payments."

But you still need to know the truth about stimulus check 2023 and whether or not every state resident will receive one. Three installments of economic impact payments, also known as stimulus checks, were distributed by the federal government in 2020 and 2021 to provide financial relief to many Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, you should be aware of schemes that may lead you to believe that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents are calling Americans to request tax refunds. Do not be fooled! Here are the facts you must know!

IRS New Scams in 2023

According to Verify This, some citizens reported receiving emails purporting to be from the Internal Revenue Service with the subject line 'Third Round of Economic Impact Payments Status Available.'

The emails claim that recipients can claim a tax refund for 2023 if they provide missing information and transmit a document to what appears to be the IRS. Here's the truth!

No, the IRS is not emailing taxpayers regarding the third round of economic impact payments. This scheme is fraud.

First, these fraudulent emails assert that the IRS will provide an update on the third round of economic impact payments. But this is not true. Since October 2021, identity fraudsters have been using economic impact payments to deceive people into divulging their personal or financial information, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the IRS.

However, the IRS will no longer issue these payments after 2023. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 stipulated that the third and final round of economic impact payments must be distributed by December 31, 2021.

Second, these phishing emails claim taxpayers are eligible for a tax refund after providing the IRS with lacking information by selecting the "complete my information" link at the bottom of the email. However, this is not how the IRS processes tax refunds.

If the IRS requires additional information from a taxpayer, it will send them a letter via conventional mail, according to the agency. Because the IRS does not instigate contact with taxpayers via email, text message, or social media to request personal or financial information, this is the case.

The IRS states that it typically issues tax refunds within 21 days of receiving a federal income tax return. However, as of July 17, 2023, the agency reports delays in processing returns.

If you have received an email containing a request for confidential information purporting to be from the Internal Revenue Service, the IRS advises you to follow these guidelines.

Do not respond.

Never open attachments. These may contain malware that can infect your computer or mobile device.

Avoid clicking any links. Visit the IRS page on identity protection if you enter sensitive information after clicking on links in a suspicious email or website.

Forward the email (preferably with the complete email headers) to phishing@irs.gov. Do not transmit scanned images, as this eliminates valuable information.

Remove the initial email.

Using the Where's My Refund? tool on the IRS website, you can obtain the latest information regarding the status of your tax refund.

If you have suffered financial losses as a result of IRS-related fraud, you can submit a report to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) and a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

IRS Warning

Partners of the IRS and Security Summit routinely inform the public about common schemes, such as the annual IRS Dirty Dozen list. Taxpayers and tax professionals should be wary of fraudulent communications purporting to be from legitimate tax and financial institutions, such as the IRS and states.

Phishing and smishing are two types of identity fraud that can result from unsuspecting victims providing sensitive personal and financial information in response to unsolicited text or email messages.

Regarding tax bills or refunds, the IRS never initiates contact with taxpayers via email, text message, or social media. As a reminder, do not open any unsolicited communication purporting to be from the IRS, as it may covertly install malware.

It may also be a method for malicious hackers to install ransomware that prevents the user from accessing their system and files. Individuals should never respond to or act on tax-related phishing or smishing emails or URLs.

Instead, hoaxes should be reported by forwarding the email or a copy of the text/SMS to phishing@irs.gov as an attachment. The report should contain the recipient ID (email address or phone number), date, time, time zone, and the number that received the message.

Read Also: US Unveils $340 Million Military Aid Package for Taiwan Amid Rising Tensions Against China

What States Are Providing Instead?

Nonetheless, certain states intend to send residents stimulus payments in 2023.

Here is a list of states contemplating other financial aids, according to GoBankingRates. Check to see if your state is on the list and if you qualify for the funding.

California

Approximately $200 to $1,050, based on your income, filing status, and dependent status. California's Middle Class Tax Refunds are available to citizens who filed their 2020 California state tax return by October 15, 2021, and who resided in California full-time for at least six months in 2020.

If Californians could not be claimed as tax dependents in 2020 on someone else's return and did not exceed the California adjusted gross income limit - $250,000 for single people and married couples filing separate tax returns or over $500,000 for others - then there is a good chance that they will receive a payment in the first half of 2023.

Idaho

More than (1) $75 per family member or (2) 12% of the tax liability before credits, "other" taxes, and first-year rebate payments. Equal to (1) $600 for married couples filing a joint return or $300 for all other filers, or (2)10% of the taxpayer's 2020 tax liability before credits, additional taxes, payments, and donations.

It involves complex mathematics that totals a good sum for Idahoans. The state issued two tax rebates to full-year Idaho residents who filed state income taxes for the years 2020 and 2021 by the end of 2022. Throughout 2023, rebate payments will be sent to Idaho residents who filed the requisite tax returns in 2022.

Through The Idaho Tax Commission's Frequently Asked Questions section, residents can track the status of their rebate payments and obtain additional details.

Maine

The state provides $450 for single filers and $900 for married couples filing state taxes in 2021. There is a new payment for 2023 for residents of Maine who lived in the state full-time and filed their 2021 tax return by October 31, 2022.

It is known as the Winter Energy Assistance Payment. As long as the federal adjusted gross income (AGI) reported on the 2021 Maine tax return was less than $100,000 (single taxpayers and married couples filing separate returns), $150,000 (heads of household), or $200,000 (married filers with joint returns), taxpayers may be eligible for payments sent by March 31, 2023.

New Jersey

The ANCHOR Tax Relief Program will send rebates of $1,500 to New Jersey homeowners who owned a residence in 2019 and earned less than $150,000.

Homeowners with a household income between $150,001 and $250,000 can anticipate $1,000 in payments. New Jersey renters with an adjusted gross income of $150,000 or less on their 2019 tax return are eligible for a $450 rebate.

According to the state tax guide, eligible New Jersey residents qualify for $500 for each ITIN holder listed on their tax return under the ITIN program.

New Mexico

In 2021, joint filers, heads of household, and surviving spouses will receive $1,000, while solitary residents and married couples filing separately will receive $500.

New Mexico residents are scheduled to receive rebates in 2023. If you file a 2021 New Mexico state tax return by May 31, 2023, and are not claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer's return, you may be eligible for the initial stimulus payment.

The second stimulus is included in a law slated for passage at the end of March.

Pennsylvania

If you are a Pennsylvania resident over the age of 65, a widow(er) over the age of 50, or a person with a disability over the age of 18, you may be eligible for a stimulus payment through the 'Property Tax/Rent Rebate' program. The annual income limit for homeowners is $35,000, while the limit for tenants is $15,000.

Also, 50% of Social Security benefits and a 70% reduction of any 2021 property tax rebate are excluded.

South Carolina

What a resident may receive varies based on filing status for 2021 South Carolina income tax liability, less credits, with a $800 limit on the rebate amount. Due to the effects of Hurricane Ian, South Carolina rebates will be distributed in two phases, depending on the date you submitted your 2021 South Carolina tax return.

Those who filed by October 17, 2022, should have already received their funds, while those who missed the deadline but filed by February 15, 2023, should receive their payments by March 31, 2023.

Use the South Carolina Department of Revenue's tracker to keep a watch out for your rebate if you are a South Carolina resident inquiring about the status of your refund.

Related Article: IRS Urges Special Refund Recipients To Delay Filing Taxes

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
BAMBERG  Rep. Justin Bamberg, D-Bamberg, said Orangeburg and Bamberg counties were able to secure funding for a variety of projects as part of the states $13 billion budget, including millions for courthouse renovations and new multiservice complex in Bamberg County.

I was able to secure $1 million in funding for renovations to the Bamberg County Courthouse, as well as $1 million for repurposing the Bamberg County Memorial Hospital, Bamberg said.

The county has been moving forward with both projects, including transformation of its former hospital into a law enforcement and health and human services complex. It will include the sheriff's office, health department, Veterans Affairs office and the county coroner's office. Dedication of the new Ed Darnell Law Enforcement Center was held Friday.

Local projects funding was significantly lessened this budget period, but Orangeburg and Bamberg counties were able to still obtain funding for various projects. From community centers to facility repurposing projects, we obtained funding for just about everything our delegation sought, Bamberg said.

He said a priority shift is still needed in the General Assembly.

Too much of our time in the legislature this year was spent on culture war and divisive issues so that scared politicians could try to score re-election political points. The reality is that our state is lagging behind in public education and health care access, and our states tax structure could be far more favorable to our citizens and small businesses. Until our priorities change, the real issues facing South Carolina will continue to be pushed to the wayside, he said.

Bamberg, for example, had a bill designed to extend the terms of the consolidated Bamberg County School Boards trustees instead of holding an election next year vetoed by Gov. Henry McMaster. He has said he feels confident, however, that the veto will be overridden.

The Bamberg County Legislative Delegation appointed a board to oversee the consolidation of the Bamberg 1 and Bamberg 2 school districts. Bamberg County voters were to begin electing their school board in 2024.

The bill the governor vetoed would have allowed board members appointed by the delegation to continue serving until 2028. It would also reduce the number of board members from nine to seven.

I introduced -- and passed -- a bill that would extend the terms of the school board members in Bamberg County and reduce the size of the board. This would have allowed the board to continue working on addressing the teacher shortage, which threatens the district's funding. Unfortunately, this bill was vetoed by the governor, Bamberg said.

In the meantime, he said he is working on crafting school district election lines.

I am working on new lines, and the first round of elections for new school board members are slated to happen in 2024, Bamberg said.
South Carolina State Universitys oldest alumna, Mae Cora Stewart Peterson, died Thursday, July 20, in Texas. She was a member of the S.C. State Class of 1937.

On behalf of the S.C. State campus community, I offer our deepest condolences to Mrs. Petersons loved ones, S.C. State President Alexander Conyers said. Her connection to S.C. State began before she ever joined the student body, and she remained a loyal alumna throughout her long life.

Peterson was active in the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the S.C. State National Alumni Association and served as the speaker at the chapters first scholarship banquet in 2016. She also was featured as a Stellar Alumnae in the month of April in the S.C. State 2017 calendar.

Peterson was born in Columbia but her family moved to Orangeburg shortly after her birth. Her father, Elliott Lee Stewart, cut timber for buildings at The Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural and Mechanical College of South Carolina, now South Carolina State University. He also taught brick masonry at the school.

After enrolling at S.C. State, she became a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority in its first pledge class of 1934. She later attended graduate school at the University of Michigan.

She relocated to Fort Worth, Texas, on her own to start her career as executive secretary for the segregated branch of the Fort Worth WYCA in 1943. She married in 1947 and had three children.

Peterson was an educator at various schools and became dean of girls at Fort Worths Dunbar High School, where she worked 27 years before retiring in 1980. She stayed active with community organizations, including Senior Services of Greater Tarrant County, and had been an avid supporter of the Fort Worth Symphony.

She celebrated her 106th birthday on Sept. 14, 2022.

Her family will receive friends at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11, at Broadway Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 305 W. Broadway, Fort Worth, Texas. A celebration of life will be conducted at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, at the churchs sanctuary.

Charitable gifts in Mrs. Petersons memory may be sent to:

 Broadway Baptist Church May Street Market, 305 W. Broadway, Fort Worth, TX, 76104-1238.

 The S.C. State University Foundation, Admissions Office in Memory of Mrs. Cora Stewart Peterson, Class of 1937, 300 College St. NE/P.O. Box 7187, Orangeburg, SC, 29117-7187.
ANKENY, Iowa  U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina has criticized fellow Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for supporting new standards that require teachers to instruct middle school students that slaves developed skills that "could be applied for their personal benefit."

"What slavery was really about was separating families, about mutilating humans and even raping their wives. It was just devastating," Scott, the sole Black Republican in the Senate, told reporters on Thursday after a town hall in Ankeny. "So I would hope that every person in our country  and certainly running for president  would appreciate that."

"People have bad days," Scott added. "Sometimes they regret what they say. And we should ask them again to clarify their positions."

DeSantis has been facing criticism from Florida teachers, civil rights leaders, President Joe Biden's White House and even Black Republicans on the school standards. Vice President Kamala Harris, the nation's first Black vice president, traveled to Florida last week to condemn the curriculum.

DeSantis fired back on Friday, saying that "part of the reason our country has struggled is because D.C. Republicans all too often accept false narratives, accept lies that are perpetrated by the left."

Campaigning in Iowa, he added that he was "defending" Florida "against false accusations and against lies. And we're going to continue to speak the truth."

The back-and-forth marked a shift in campaign styles for both DeSantis and Scott, who have not directly critiqued each other and have instead focused much of their antagonism toward President Joe Biden. It also comes as DeSantis' effort has endured a mid-campaign reset, making staffing cuts to accommodate campaign expenses.

Another Black Republican presidential candidate, former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, has also criticized DeSantis over the curriculum, as have Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida, Wesley Hunt of Texas and John James of Michigan, Trump allies who are among a handful of Black Republicans in Congress.

Scott's comments came as he and DeSantis stumped in Iowa before the state Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner. At that gathering, 13 candidates in the GOP presidential primary field, including front-runner Donald Trump, will be addressing an expected 1,200 activists on Friday. Scott, part of the GOP's most diverse presidential field ever, was asked for his opinion on the standards hours after DeSantis defended them to reporters.

"At the end of the day, you got to choose: Are you going to side with Kamala Harris and liberal media outlets or are you going to side with the state of Florida?" DeSantis said, citing Democrats' criticism of the wording on slavery. "I think it's very clear that these guys did a good job on those standards. It wasn't anything that was politically motivated."

Responding on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to reporters' posts of Scott's video, a super PAC supporting DeSantis on Thursday night called the posts "incredibly sloppy or intentionally disingenuous," reposting video of DeSantis' defense of the curriculum earlier in the day.
A teenager with special needs was repeatedly sexually assaulted by an employee at a small private boarding school in South Carolina, his parents said in a lawsuit as they advocate for more oversight of similar therapeutic facilities.

The teen, who attended Whetstone Academy between October 2018 and January 2020, was "frequently sexually assaulted" and raped beginning when he was 14, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit accuses Singleton Investment Properties, the school's parent company, of negligence and failure to reasonably protect the teenager. The company denies the allegations.

The parents are identified anonymously in the lawsuit filed in April as Mother Doe and Father Doe and their son as John Doe. The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they have been sexually abused and is not naming the parents to avoid revealing their son's identity.

The parents previously sued the school and in January reached a confidential settlement. But they said they hope to bring about broad change and accountability by going after the corporate structure in this subsequent suit.

The judge earlier this month indicated a trial would likely be held next spring, but has ordered the two sides to participate in mediation to see if a settlement can be reached before then.

"We're really hoping there's some systematic change, some legislation enacted and real accountability here," the Does' attorney, Tyler Bailey, told the AP.

Therapeutic boarding schools like Whetstone should be regulated similarly to state-licensed daycare centers, with complaints tracked and publicly accessible, to the extent possible, Baily said.

"Money is one thing but change so parents and children don't go through what they have gone through, that's what they're seeking to get done by this case," Bailey said.

John Singleton Jr., who owns Singleton Investment Properties and Whetstone Academy, said in an email, "We specifically deny the allegations." The company also denied the allegations in a court filing earlier this month.

Once the school learned of the allegations from the South Carolina Department of Social Services, the employee was immediately suspended and the school fully cooperated with an investigation by the state agency. Since the agency took no action and no criminal investigation was undertaken or charges filed, the employee was reinstated and has returned to work at the school, Singleton said.

The employee is not named in the lawsuit.

"Whetstone Academy's focus was, is, and always will be on ensuring that every student is cared for in a safe and nurturing environment with close supervision and stringent staff oversight," Singleton wrote. "Students receive individual and family therapy by our licensed clinicians. We provide evidence-based training for our staff who are guided by our policies and procedures."

The Does, who live in Alabama, said their son was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when he was young. By age 14, he was having several outbursts a day, breaking things and emotionally troubled, the father said in a phone interview. An educational consultant suggested sending him to a therapeutic boarding school for extra care and therapy.

Whetstone Academy, in the remote Mountain Rest community in the northwest corner of South Carolina, takes students in grades five through nine and was one of the schools suggested by the consultant.

The teen initially seemed to be making progress at the school, but after about 10 months his behavior was so difficult that the parents were advised to send him to a different facility for more intensive treatment, the father said. After a summer in that facility, he returned to Whetstone.

"He stayed there for a little while, but he realized that if he acted out, he would get kicked out and he did," the mother said. "Thank God he did."

The Does then sent their son to a school in Utah. After about six months there, his parents flew him to a resort in Georgia for a vacation. At dinner one night, John Doe told his parents he had been sexually assaulted numerous times and raped by an employee at Whetstone, his mother said.

The Does called their son's therapist at the Utah school for advice. Bound by mandatory reporting requirements, the therapist contacted authorities, who interviewed the teenager and said they notified South Carolina authorities to investigate, the father said.

South Carolina's social services agency doesn't license therapeutic boarding schools, but spokesperson Connelly-Anne Ragley said in an email that the agency investigates upon receiving reports of sexual abuse involving minors. Any sexual abuse allegation sent to the agency's intake line would be reported to law enforcement within 24 hours as required by state law, she said.

The Department of Social Services told the AP that information about child abuse investigations is confidential and not releasable under the state's open records law.

The sheriff's office in Oconee County, where Whetstone is located, only conducts criminal investigations when an official report is filed and, in most cases, sexual assault prosecutions require the victim's cooperation, Master Deputy Jimmy Watt said in an email.

He said the agency had no records related to any allegations against the employee accused of sexually abusing John Doe. A State Law Enforcement Division spokesperson said that agency has not been involved.

The Does want to make sure cases like their son's are referred to law enforcement for thorough investigation and don't fall through the cracks. They haven't filed a report with South Carolina law enforcement because they don't trust authorities in the small, insular community to investigate, their lawyer said.

John Doe, now 18, is still mistrustful at times and it has taken years for his parents to repair their relationship with him, they said. They've talked to him about how pursuing this case could result in people finding out what happened to him, his mother said.

"He's the bravest kid I've ever met because he said, 'I don't care. This is all about helping others, Mom,'" she said.
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The Wyoming branch of the FBI was able to help approximate where Breanna Mitchells cellphone last had signal, but the Washakie County woman remained missing on Monday.

This information doesnt give exact locations, so the search area is still large, Washakie County Sheriff Austin T. Brookwell said in a Sunday statement. Brookwell also noted Mitchell could have kept moving after her cellphone lost power.

A K9 and handler that worked Friday night and Saturday morning also showed some signs in a certain area, Brookwell said. He added that he currently has search and rescue crews there.

Brookwell refrained from sharing the location, as he doesnt want individuals in the area who could possible jeopardize any tracks or clues.

Mitchell is described as a 28-year-old white woman with green eyes and brown hair, though her hair may be black now, according to posts on Facebook. She is 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs about 130 pounds.

She has been missing since July 22. She was last heard from after her car got stuck along rugged terrain near Nowater Trail past the Worland Municipal Airport, Brookwell said in a statement last week.

Authorities were granted search warrants last week for all of Mitchells cellphone, social media and email data, Brookwell said.

Numerous people have also been interviewed in connection with the investigation. The details of these interviews are not being released to the public, as this is an active investigation.

Brookwell said that he will provide updates when he can. He urged people to stay out of the search area. People with information about Mitchell can contact the Washakie County Sheriffs Office at 307-347-2242.

Your news on your smartphone Your story lives in Wyoming, 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 Star-Tribune 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 National Investment Fund Holding Co Ltd (NIF) will be redeeming the $1.2 billion principal on its Series A Bond today.

The Series A Bond provided an annual interest rate of 4.5 per cent for five years.

Series B and Series C were over 12 years and 20 years respectively.
Twenty-eight citizens have been authorised to proceed with individual legal actions against the Office of the Police Commissioner for significant delays in the decision-making process concerning their applications for firearm users licences (FULs).

The matter came up for hearing yesterday before High Court judge Nadia Kangaloo.
Denmark is now considering banning the burning of the Quran, alongside other holy scriptures, such as the Bible.

The measure seeks to put a stop to extremist demonstrations in the Nordic country.

Denmark Considers Ban on Burning of Quran, Bible During Protests

Denmark has set its sights on implementing legal measures to curb the burning of holy texts, including the Quran and Bible, during protests. According to The Guardian, The Scandinavian nation is considering a ban on burning the Quran and Bible at protests following a series of high-profile incidents in recent years.

The proposal, which the Danish government is considering, would make it a criminal offense to burn either holy text in public. If passed, the law would be the first of its kind in Europe.

The Danish government says the proposed ban is necessary to protect religious freedom and prevent violence. In recent years, there have been several incidents of Quran burnings in Denmark, which have led to protests and violence.

The Denmark foreign ministry says they are exploring intervening when "other countries, cultures and religions are being insulted." The statement also pointed out situations where it carries "significant negative consequences for Denmark."

As per BBC, the ban seeks to counter extremists and security threats while maintaining the vitality of freedom of expression in the Scandinavian country.

The Danish government stresses that the ban should still be "within the framework of the constitutionally protected freedom of expression." It should also be "in a manner that does not change the fact that freedom of expression in Denmark has a very broad scope."

Read Also: Christian Movie Review Criticizes 'Barbie' LGBTQ Casting, Saying Children Shouldn't Watch It

Burning of Islam's Quran at Protests

Aljazeera reports that Denmark and Sweden are the center of international attention recently after protesters burned and damaged the Islamic holy scripture, the Quran. Given these recent protests, the Middle East and the two Nordic nations are now in the middle of diplomatic tensions.

Besides Denmark, Sweden also addressed the recent burning of holy scriptures. The Swedish prime minister Ulk Kristersson says he has reached out to Danish PM Mette Frederiksen.

The Swedish leader further disclosed that Sweden is already in the same process of considering a ban on the burning of holy scriptures, including the Quran.

In his recent Instagram post, Prime Minister Kristersson says, "We have also started to analyze the legal situation already in order to consider measures to strengthen our national security and the security of Swedes in Sweden and around the world."

The United Nations Human Rights Council, or the UNHRC, recently approved a resolution, focusing on bigotry and religious hatred after multiple burning incidents.

Meanwhile, Middle Eastern countries, such as Iraq and Saudi Arabia, have already called for a meeting, which dives into the burning and destroying of the Quran in the Nordic nations, Denmark and Sweden.

Related Article: PETA Uses ChatGPT to Rewrite Bible's Genesis With Vegan Teachings

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In recent days, we have seen public uproar over the spiralling crime situation, as well as public justification for maximum self-defence against bandits.

The authorities have come out issuing warnings against citizens to not use excessive force against the bandits; mind you, these criminals use all the force available to them, including firearms and large groups, when executing home invasions.
Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic because of his strident opposition to vaccines. Yet, he insists he's not anti-vaccine. He has associated with influential people on the far right  including Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon and Michael Flynn  to raise his profile. Yet, he portrays himself as a true Democrat inheriting the mantle of the Kennedy family.

As he challenges President Joe Biden, the stories he tells on the campaign trail about himself, his life's work and what he stands for are often the opposite of what his record actually shows.

Though Kennedy's primary challenge to a sitting president is widely considered a long-shot, he's been sucking up media attention due to his famous name and the possibility that his run could weaken Biden ahead of what is expected to be a close general election in 2024. He's drawn praise from Republican presidential candidates like Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Meanwhile, Trump supporters, including his longtime ally Roger Stone, have ginned up interest by floating a Trump-Kennedy unity ticket.

Keep scrolling for a collection of photos from the life of RFK Jr.

Debra Duvall, 62, who lives in Fort Myers, Florida, and said she serves on the Lee County GOP executive committee, described herself as a longtime Trump supporter, but said she's torn for 2024.

"I'll take Trump or RFK. Either one," she said, explaining that she was drawn to both because she believes they can't be bought.

That kind of support has demonstrated some of the contradictions in Kennedy's candidacy. He has said he wants to "reclaim" the Democratic Party, while aligning himself with far right figures who have worked to subvert American democracy. He touts his credentials as an environmentalist, yet pushes bitcoin  a cryptocurrency that requires massive amounts of electricity from supercomputers to generate new coins, prompting most environmental advocates to loudly oppose it.

And though he peppers his speeches, podcast appearances and campaign materials with invocations of the Democratic Party legacies of his uncle President John F. Kennedy and his father Robert F. Kennedy, his relatives have distanced themselves from him and even denounced him.

"He's trading in on Camelot, celebrity, conspiracy theories and conflict for personal gain and fame," Jack Schlossberg, President Kennedy's grandson, said of his cousin in an Instagram video earlier this month. "I've listened to him. I know him. I have no idea why anyone thinks he should be president. What I do know is, his candidacy is an embarrassment."

Kennedy's recent comments that COVID-19 could have been "ethnically targeted" to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people  which he denies were antisemitic but concedes he should have worded more carefully  also drew a condemnation from his sister, Kerry Kennedy.

The contradictions between what Kennedy says and his track record were nowhere more apparent than when he testified before a congressional committee this month at the invitation of Republican members.

Anti-vaccine activists, some who work for Kennedy's nonprofit group Children's Health Defense, sat in the rows behind him, watching as he insisted "I have never been anti-vaxx. I have never told the public to avoid vaccination."

But that's not true. Again and again, Kennedy has made his opposition to vaccines clear. Just this month, Kennedy said in a podcast interview that "There's no vaccine that is safe and effective" and told FOX News that he still believes in the long-ago debunked idea that vaccines can cause autism. In a 2021 podcast he urged people to "resist" CDC guidelines on when kids should get vaccines.

"I see somebody on a hiking trail carrying a little baby and I say to him, better not get them vaccinated," Kennedy said.

That same year, in a video promoting an anti-vaccine sticker campaign by his nonprofit, Kennedy appeared onscreen next to one sticker that declared "IF YOU'RE NOT AN ANTI-VAXXER YOU AREN'T PAYING ATTENTION."

A close examination of Kennedy's campaign finance filings shows that the anti-vaccine movement lies at the heart of his campaign.

Several of his campaign staff and consultants have worked for his anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense, including Mary Holland, the group's president on leave, campaign spokeswoman Stefanie Spear, and Zen Honeycutt, who hosted a show for the group's TV channel, CHD TV.

Children's Health Defense currently has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines.

The campaign paid KFP Consulting, a Texas-based company run by Del Bigtree, head of the anti-vaccine group ICAN, and a leading voice in the movement, more than $13,000 for communications consulting, the AP found. Bigtree appeared to still be working for the campaign last week, when an AP reporter saw him helping facilitate a Kennedy event in New York.

Kennedy also has received substantial support from activists who have spread misinformation about the coronavirus and vaccines, including Steve Kirsch, an entrepreneur who has falsely claimed COVID-19 vaccines kill more people than they save, chiropractors Patrick Flynn and Kevin Stillwagon, and others.

Ty and Charlene Bollinger, who run an anti-vaccine business and who the AP has previously reported have had a financial relationship with Kennedy, gave more than $6,000. The couple, along with Kennedy's communication consultant Bigtree, were involved in hosting a rally near the Capitol on Jan. 6, and Ty Bollinger has said he was among the people who crowded at the Capitol doors in an attempt to get inside, though he said he did not enter.

American Values 2024, a super PAC supporting Kennedy, is run by close associates to Kennedy who have propped up anti-vaccine ideas  the former head of the New York chapter of Children's Health Defense John Gilmore is its CEO and Kennedy's publisher Tony Lyons is its co-chair.

The Kennedy campaign did not return emails seeking comment about a number of questions, including how he can say he is not anti-vaccine given his record and his support from anti-vaccine activists.

Kennedy's run is also getting plenty of financial support from the right. A super PAC supporting Kennedy's presidential run, called Heal the Divide PAC, has deep ties to Republicans, Federal Election Commission records show.

The committee's address is listed in the care of RTA Strategy, a campaign consulting firm that has been paid for its work to help elect Republicans including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and the former Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker.

The PAC's treasurer, who works for RTA Strategy, is Jason Boles, a past donor to Trump and many other Republicans who includes "MAGA" and "AmericaFirst" in his bio on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Kennedy denied knowing Boles or the Heal the Divide PAC when it came up at the congressional hearing, saying, "I've never heard of Mr. Boles, and I've never heard of that super PAC."

But video available online shows he was a guest speaker at a Heal the Divide event just two days earlier. The video features a "Heal the Divide 2024" logo with clips of him speaking at length about plans to back the U.S. dollar with bitcoin and precious metals.

Kennedy says that as president, he would fight for government honesty and transparency, heal the political divide, reverse economic decline, end war and preserve civil liberties. He has made freedom of speech a major part of his platform, arguing that the government's communication with social media companies unfairly censors protected speech.

Kennedy's press office did not respond to several messages asking about his support from the far right.

It also did not respond to questions about whether his stance on bitcoin was at odds with being an environmentalist.

Kennedy lists the environment as one of six top priorities on his campaign website and has spent many years speaking against pollution and climate change as an environmental lawyer. Yet he has made supporting the energy-intensive cryptocurrency bitcoin a key part of his platform.

Bitcoin mining, the process of generating new coins, uses massive amounts of electricity  more than some entire countries use, said Scott Faber of the Environmental Working Group.

That's because it works by tasking a network of supercomputers with solving complex mathematical puzzles  even as some other cryptocurrencies have adopted far more energy efficient mining methods.

"No one who claims to be an environmentalist could support a digital asset that needlessly consumes more electricity than all Americans use to power the lights in our homes," Faber said. "In fact, bitcoin produces more climate pollution than any other digital asset."

Despite the environmental downsides of bitcoin, some Democrats, including elected officials, have advocated for the currency.

Kennedy, for his part, told a crowd at Bitcoin 2023 that environmentalists like himself "will continue to pressure you to improve." Online, he has promoted the argument that demand for bitcoin will boost investment in new renewable energy projects.

Regardless, his financial disclosure documents show he has already personally invested between $100,001 and $250,000 in bitcoin, and he promised at Bitcoin 2023 that he wouldn't let the environmental argument hinder the currency's use.

"As president, I will make sure that your right to hold and use bitcoin is inviolable," he said.

During the past several years, Kennedy has cultivated his ties to the far right. He has appeared on Infowars, the channel run by Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. He has granted interviews to Trump ally Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson. After he headlined a stop on the ReAwaken America Tour, the Christian nationalist road show put together by former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, he was photographed backstage with Flynn, Charlene Bollinger and Trump ally Roger Stone.

Those appearances have led to goodwill on the right, and he has found enthusiastic support among a segment of Trump's base, with some suggesting him as a potential vice presidential pick.

At a July 1 rally in the tiny town of Pickens, South Carolina, Adrian Palashevsky  a small businessman who described himself as more of a "libertarian" than a Republican  posited a unity ticket, with Kennedy as his top pick for Trump's VP.

"I think they would get along just fine," he said. "They're both anti-establishment, and that's why they're under so much attack."

DeSantis, one of Trump's Republican challengers, has also indulged in praise for the fringe candidate, saying in a recent interview that while he wouldn't make Kennedy vice president, he would consider appointing him to one of the federal agencies that regulates vaccine safety and protects public health.

"If you're president, you know, sic him on the FDA if he'd be willing to serve, or sic him on CDC," DeSantis said.

Not everyone is buying the Kennedy mystique.

At the annual meeting of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials in New York earlier this month, Kennedy leaned heavily on his family legacy, mentioning his father's alliance with labor leader Cesar Chavez and his uncle's work in Latin American countries.

But in his nearly 20-minute speech, he didn't lay out any plan or policy proposals of his own, or talk about specific issues facing the Latino community. He spent most of his time telling a story about getting arrested with the Mexican American actor Edward Olmos in 2001, an attempt at relating with the community that disappointed both Republicans and Democrats in the audience.

Mario Ceballos, president of a PAC representing LGBTQ+ Latinos, said Kennedy's speech  and the candidate's conspiracy theory beliefs  saddened him.

"When I was living in Mexico, Kennedy was an American president that my whole family respected," Ceballos said. "And what he is presenting are esoteric, dangerous options that are actually going to hurt the same people that his father and uncle wanted to help."

Photos: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. through the years
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

Our institutions of higher learning in Arizona are exemplary, with outstanding universities and community colleges. There are, however, deficiencies with Arizonas K-12 public school system.

According to the SOSAZ (Save our Schools Arizona) Network:

Arizona ranks 49th nationally in teacher salary.

Arizona ranks last in per-student spending.

Arizona classrooms are the second-most crowded in the nation.

Arizona has the highest teacher turnover in the nation.

Arizona K-12 funding is inequitable.

Arizona does not fund full-day kindergarten.

Funding cuts hurt children of color, in poverty and in rural areas.

There are geographic areas in Arizona where students do well. Families in wealthier areas with ample resources can fund lunches, transportation, sports, tutoring and other amenities. For those in less affluent areas, however, resources are sorely lacking. Why is this? One reason is that large corporate and personal tax cuts leave the treasury short for such areas as education.

Again, according to SOSAZ, there are those who have advocated for privatization and for-profit schools for some time. A myth has been perpetuated about failing public schools. The school choice myth is based on inaccurate information. School choice, however, is really the schools choice. Euphemisms like opportunity scholarships or empowerment accounts are actually taxpayer-funded vouchers that subsidize unregulated private schools while siphoning funds from failing government schools. A special-needs family may receive a voucher, then is rejected from one private school after another. Private schools can accept or reject anyone they want, and students in private schools do not have to pass state test standards. It has been demonstrated that students with vouchers perform no better than those in public schools.

Because of inadequate public school funding, positions like librarians, counselors, music, art, PE teachers and teacher aides have been eliminated. Increased class size and low pay has contributed to teacher burnout and stress. The dropout rate for students and teachers both are high in Arizona. After teachers leave some schools, there may be vacant area positions. For example, there may not be a middle school math teacher, so teachers on their planning periods may have to fill in. If there is no counselor or librarian, someone has to take over that task. Assistant principal duties may have to be shared by a variety of personnel. Physical facilities may be outdated and in bad condition with too few custodians. Bus transportation may be substandard or lacking in number. Most schools are severely lacking in books.

We know that a better-educated public yields a more successful society. When we consider places where education is a top priority, we see higher graduation rates, higher literacy, and successful economies. Japan is an example of a country that takes education quite seriously, expecting exemplary performance and behavior. That could happen in Arizona, given the right conditions.

While involved in education in another state, I observed one salient fact: Increased parental involvement and support yielded higher educational outcomes. Where students performed well, there was nearly universal parental involvement. When parent-teacher conferences were held where I taught, parents who showed were the ones that did not need to do so. Their children performed well. The absent parents reflected their childrens inadequate performance.

What can be done? Individuals can contact their elected officials concerning this issue. Here are some key contacts that can be made:

Ranking Member of the Senate Education Committee Christine Marsh, AZ State Senator email: cmarsh@azleg.gov/phone: 602.926.3184

Ranking Member of the House Education Committee., Jennifer Pawlik, AZ State Representative email: jpawlik@azleg.gov/phone: 602.926.3193

Arizona Education Association email: info@arizonaea.org/phone: 602-264-1774

Arizona has neglected to fund schools by millions of dollars per year. Large corporate and personal tax cuts leaves the treasury short for such areas as education. With respect to actual help that people can give, you can make contributions of school supplies and offer whatever assistance you can with your time. Organizations like Make Way for Books makewayforbooks.org. is an early literacy program that provides programs, services and programs and resources to more than 30,000 children, parents and educators throughout Arizona. There are other organizations providing books and materials to our teachers and classrooms.

Finally, reach out when you can and know that help is needed to bring Arizona up to a higher national rating educationally.






Trumps own fault

Donald Trump did this to himself, and his own words will be his downfall. He could have saved all these problems by just negotiating a settlement. He deserves all the negative attention. Very sad for the Republicans in the upcoming election. They have no one to really come forward that isnt in Trumps sphere.

Mary Beth Schneider

East side

Bike or bus today?

I still see many yellow TUGO, TEP bicycles parked, and locked, of course, at Ronstadt Center downtown. Who in their right mind is going to rent a bicycle when it is 105 degrees in the shade? Signs at Ronstadt try to discourage misfits, the houseless and petty criminals from congregating there, but since Sun Tran rides are free all year, that allows anyone to sit, stand or walk at that bus gathering place! Signs there say, THIS AREA IS FOR BUS PATRONS ONLY, NO TRESPASSING ARS-13-1502 and: NO LOITERING. ARS-13-2905. But are these Statute (ARS) numbers only suggestions here and not really enforceable?

There are Rent-A-Cops, or even real Tucson Police patrolling Ronstadt on occasion. One night I even saw a TPD squad drive through at 5 mph. That will definitely stop crime, for the moment.

Kenneth Unwin Jr.

East side

Motor Vehicle Division

After our monthly breakfast, one of our 31 members brought up a subject that caught us by surprise. It seems the State Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) no longer sends out notices for license tab renewals. He happened to look down at his vehicle license plate and saw that his license tab was expired (March 2023). He immediately contacted MVD on South Broadmont Drive and was notified that it is the car owners responsibility to keep their license tab up to date. He renewed his license tab in addition to paying a fine for being late. The clerk attending to him said the same thing happened to her. Several of our members reported they too were past due on their tabs and didnt recall being sent renewal notices. Our question is did the MVD ever send out a notice via any newspaper or public media source to inform the general public of this policy change? Why is there a late fee if no notice was issued regarding the policy change?

David Quiroz

Northeast side

Global warming is here

Its pretty clear to anyone with eyes that global warming is here and getting worse. The time for self-deception about something so dangerous is over. Something to consider: With catastrophic heating, its not just human comfort at risk. A rancher living off-grid during a deadly heat wave may possibly be able to hunker down inside and wait out the heat, but his herd of cattle cant. Nor can his neighbors cornfield or orchard. The effects of global warming will affect everyone, except perhaps a few billionaires tucked comfortably away in their doomsday bunkers. The rest of us are in trouble.

Marian Weaver

Bisbee

Coronavirus and petsEarly in the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I read that dogs and cats are common carriers of various coronaviruses. As a health care provider and dog owner, I was concerned about the implications this might have for my family and millions of pet owners. This information posed many questions: Are these animals susceptible to harboring the COVID-19 virus? Can they be infected by it? Can they spread it to humans? If not, why not? Is the human immune system invigorated against coronavirus by constant exposure to household pets? Does this translate into decreased susceptibility to COVID-19? Are any researchers comparing the frequency/severity of COVID-19 infections in pet owners vs. non-owners? I doubt if any one person has definitive answers to all these questions. Veterinarians, virologists and epidemiologists could provide pieces of knowledge to this puzzle. I would appreciate a response from any of you with special knowledge that could help create a clearer picture of these issues before another viral epidemic comes along.

Robert Perkin

Foothills

The evening news

The daily national news on TV has become the daily global warming news. Lester Holt now leads off with heat domes, fires, record-high temperatures of both air and oceans, and tornadoes. And soon enough, we will see reporters covering the devastation from giant hurricanes.

Denial of the science is getting harder for Republicans, who even complained that President Joe Biden wasnt confrontative enough with Chinas leaders on their increasing coal-fired plants. They still fear that the issue is a ploy to increase the size of government. Yikes, the big government mayor of Phoenix convincingly wants federal disaster aid for relentless heat waves.

Yet we all keep adding millions of tons of carbon from fossil fuels, knowing that this will only bake in centuries of even greater heat and more deaths.

It is time for a tax on carbon! It is the single best legislation to take on global warming.

Roger Wolf, member of the Citizens Climate Lobby

Foothills

Stop the salt

Re: the July 26 article Girl dinner is much more than a social media fad.

I couldnt believe my eyes on reading this one. A resurgence of salty snacks? Most processed food is already loaded with excessive sodium. Just a few points on the dangers.

The health risks of excessive sodium intake include:

High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, osteoporosis, stomach cancer

The average American consumes about 3,400 milligrams of sodium per day, well above the recommended daily intake of 2,300 milligrams for adults.

Most of our sodium intake comes from processed foods and salty snacks.

Girl dinner can be a major source of excess sodium, especially if it is done on a regular basis.

Is this another war on womens (and childrens) health? Instead of blindly adopting the latest Tik-Tok fad and thinking of it as a new norm, we would do well to find out who is pushing eating lots more salty snacks.

And dont get me started on all the sugar in everything we eat.

Klara Cserny

Southwest side

We already know Ciscomanis story

Re: the July 25 article Ciscomani embraces bipartisan approach.

After reading this article, I had to wonder if the editor who budgeted this fawning piece had accepted a payoff. Seriously: It read as a handout from the congressmans office or as a naive recitation of campaign talking points on the part of an out-of-town writer unaware of the controversies surrounding Juan Ciscomanis election and service in the House.

Ciscomani is an astute politician who took advantage of a gerrymander and an inept Democratic opponent in 2022. He will be difficult to dislodge as long as he can keep the focus on his biography and not on the divisive issues that preoccupy his party. Instead, he serves up a pablum of seven bills. Three are inherently bipartisan: veterans services, stiffer penalties for cartel spotters. Three are regional housekeeping measures. Only one, aiming to boost copper mining, has the potential to spark debate. On the important issues of the day, and on Ciscomanis voting record, the writer drew a blank.

Robert Laux-Bachand

Green Valley

Mitigate summer high temperatures

For the first summer in 51 years, a flock of sparrows takes refuge in my patio starting at noon. The early morning lows have been above 80 degrees. This in spite of my property having many mature trees. Midtown Tucson has a climate change problem.

Climate experts confirm that additional buildings/paving absorb additional heat, especially raising night-time lows; trees, green space, and specific building practices are some deterrents to that heat island effect.

I am a realist. I know the majority of our elected officials equate growth to economic well-being. But I would hope that even they, and those who profit from new development, would support inclusion of specific temperature mitigation measures to any new density/project development proposals or amendments to the land use code.

I can think of no more critical long-term goal than addressing livable day and night-time summer temperatures in our Tucson area. Does anyone really want to compete with Phoenix for worst summer temperature gain?

Ruth Beeker
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Schools in session: Wednesday is the first day of classes for Prue Public Schools and Tulsa Honor Academy.

Getting out the clippers: Clary Sage College, 3131 S. Sheridan Road, will provide free back-to-school haircuts for children at its annual Cuts 4 Kids event from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.

A free immunization clinic will be available on site from 4-7 p.m. both days. A parent or legal guardian must be present.

Shot clinic: The Oklahoma Caring Van will have a free immunization clinic from 1-4 p.m. Thursday at Tulsa Public Schools Education Service Center, 3027 S. New Haven Ave.

New school shoes: The Kiowa Tribe will distribute gift cards from 1-7 p.m. Monday at the tribes Tulsa office at 15 E. 16th St. as part of the tribes Back to School Clothing Assistance Program. Students must show proof of both school enrollment and their citizenship with the Kiowa Tribe in order to receive a gift card.

Enrollment days: New student enrollment for Sperry Public Schools is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at the Sperry High School Commons. Along with proof of residency and student shot records, families living in the Quail Hollow area or near a district boundary line are asked also to bring a property tax receipt.

Berryhill Public Schools is hosting new student enrollment Wednesday and Thursday during normal business hours for elementary grades.

Coweta Public Schools is hosting new student enrollment for seventh and eighth grade students from 9 a.m. to noon and 1-3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at Sloat Junior High School. New enrollees must provide proof of residency.

Lone Star Public Schools is hosting new student enrollment from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the elementary school office, 2945 S. Hickory St. in Sapulpa.

Teacher accolade: Owasso High Schools Lisa McBride has been named the 2022-23 Oklahoma History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Along with a $1,000 cash prize, McBride will receive classroom resources and is now a finalist for the National History Teacher of the Year award.

Sub session: Skiatook Public Schools is hosting an orientation session for substitute teachers at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Skiatook Elementary School. For more information, call 918-396-1792.

School board calendar: The Mounds Public Schools Board of Education has a special meeting on Monday. The Lone Star school board is scheduled to meet Tuesday.

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A group of Oklahoma taxpayers has filed the first legal challenge aimed at blocking the states move to open the first religious charter school in the U.S.

The Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee, a nonprofit, nonpartisan statewide organization, and nine additional plaintiffs  faith leaders, public school parents and public education advocates from across the state  filed litigation Monday morning in Oklahoma County District Court.

They are represented by in-state counsel, as well as attorneys with Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, a national religious freedom advocacy organization, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Education Law Center and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Church-state separation is under attack like we havent seen in this country in decades, Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United and an attorney herself, told the Tulsa World. Its time for people to wake up to the connection between church-state separation and all of the rights and freedoms they value in their daily lives  and to fight for it like their lives and our democracy depend on it, because they do.

Defendants are St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School, a proposed private Catholic online school; the state governing board that recently voted to give it state sanctioning and public education funds, the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, and its five members in their official capacity; the Oklahoma State Department of Education; and State Superintendent Ryan Walters, in his official capacity.

The lawsuit seeks to halt the state from entering into a sponsorship contract with St. Isidore, to block St. Isidore from operating as a charter school and to prohibit any state aid or other state funding from going to St. Isidore.

It was a no-brainer that we would bring a lawsuit, because religious public schools are as clear a violation of religious freedom as we can think of, Laser said. Forcing taxpayers to fund a religion that is not their own is what Thomas Jefferson called sinful and tyrannical. This case is about whether this country will allow Christian Nationalists to take over our schools and whether we will allow public education to transform in a way that will leave this country unrecognizable.

The litigation steers clear of the First Amendments Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from making any law respecting an establishment of religion.

Instead, its claims are based on Oklahomas state constitution, the Oklahoma Charter School Act and the Statewide Virtual Charter School Boards own regulations, which is why the case was filed in state, rather than federal court.

The defining feature of Americas public schools is that they must welcome and serve all students, regardless of a students background, beliefs, or abilities. Oklahoma embraces this core principle in its constitution and through a comprehensive system of statutes and regulations, the lawsuit states.

Schools that do not adhere to this principle have long existed and are entitled to operate, but they cannot be part of the public-education system. Permitting otherwise would upend the legal framework Oklahoma has constructed to govern public schools and protect students. Yet, on June 5, 2023, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board took action that would do exactly that.

Brett Farley, a lobbyist for the Catholic Church in Oklahoma, told the Tulsa World that news of the lawsuit came as no surprise.

We remain confident that the Oklahoma court will ultimately agree with the U.S. Supreme Courts opinion in favor of religious liberty, said Farley, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma.

First, the plaintiffs claim St. Isidore has failed to certify that it will comply with state law, including nondiscrimination requirements. The second claim involves how St. Isidore intends to discriminate in admissions, discipline and employment on the basis of religion, gender identity and morality.

Additionally, the plaintiffs claim that some students with disabilities will be unable to adequately be served by St. Isidores proposed instructional mode.

Fourth is a conflict-of-interest claim related to a state legal requirement that charter schools be independent from their management organization. St. Isidores application states, as have its proponents in public meetings, that it will hire the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City as its charter management organization, with at least one of the schools governing board members employed by the archdiocese, as well as ultimate oversight being provided by the archbishop there, as well as the bishop of the Diocese of Tulsa.

Lastly, the plaintiffs claim that the schools intention to teach a religious curriculum, including church theology, violates the state constitution and the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act.

The Rev. Lori Walke, senior minister of Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ in Oklahoma City, told the Tulsa World she sought to become a plaintiff in the case because she believes that clergy must stand up for the separation of church and state.

It protects our right to practice our own religion, and it protects our right to not practice someone elses religion. Thats the bottom line for me in this case, she said. While Oklahomans are deeply religious, spiritual people, they also value independence, freedom of thought, freedom of conscience.

This is part of a larger movement where a small group is trying to rewrite the history of the United States and make us something we are not. This is a place of religious freedom. Its a place where we prioritize letting people practice their faith or no faith without government interference.

Walke thinks its also worth noting that St. Isidore is a monumental money grab, with nationwide legal and funding implications for all public schools.

I dont know that this quest for money and this philosophical argument about school choice and shutting down our school system can ever be separated. Yes, it certainly is about money, but it is also inextricably about the philosophy of school choice and defunding our public schools, she said.

For her, it also feels personal.

I am a teachers kid, teachers sister and the proud product of public education, so an attack on public education feels personal to me. I am proud to stand on behalf of my own family and the incredible teachers who poured into me and made me who I am, Walke said. Its also personal in that, when we give public money to our public schools, those schools are required to accept everyone  they serve everyone.

When public money goes to private religious schools, it is almost certain that my youth group kids, my church kids, my family would not be served, would be rejected. That also makes it personal.

Oklahoma Catholic church leaders and attorneys with the Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Initiative Clinic who helped them with the St. Isidore application have said they view it as a test case to challenge separation of church and state laws across the nation.

In speaking during public meetings before the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, they claimed that charter schools are actually private schools, which is the exact opposite of how charter schools are defined in state law.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has assailed the state sponsorship of St. Isidore private Catholic school as clearly unconstitutional and the result of three rogue actors on the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board acting against his offices repeated legal warnings.

The early June vote was 3-2, with Brian Bobek of Oklahoma City, Nellie Sanders of Kingfisher and Scott Strawn of Bethany voting yes.

Voting no were Robert Franklin of Tulsa and Bill Pearson of Oologah.

Franklin told the Tulsa World on Monday that the whole situation was avoidable if the board had heeded the advice of its lawyers.

We were warned by our advisors at the Attorneys office this was coming if the board put itself in that position, he said. Its certainly unfortunate, and its going to cost Oklahomans a lot of headaches and (financial) resources  and it wont be quickly resolved.

State Superintendent Walters, through whose office all public education funds flow, and Gov. Kevin Stitt have hailed the move as an advancement of religious and educational freedom in Oklahoma.

Walters reacted to Mondays lawsuit this way in a written statement to the Tulsa World: It is time to end atheism as the state sponsored religion. Suing and targeting the Catholic virtual school is religious persecution because of ones faith which is the very reason that religious freedom is constitutionally protected. A warped perversion of history has created a modern concept that all religious freedom is driven from the classrooms. I will always side for an individuals right to choose religious freedom in education.

The Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee serves as an umbrella organization for local parent legislative action committees that claim to represent more than 200,000 Oklahoma public school students and their parents.

In addition to Walke, the other plaintiffs are Melissa Abdo of Tulsa County, Krystal Bonsall of McClain County, Leslie Briggs of Tulsa, Brenda Lene of Logan County, Michele Medley of Oklahoma County, Bruce Prescott of Norman, the Rev. Mitch Randall of Norman and Erika Wright of Cleveland County.

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Not everyone is in love with the proposed $814 million Improve Our Tulsa capital improvements package.

Certainly not District 5 City Councilor Grant Miller, and certainly not local writer and author Michael Bates.

They made up half of the panel that discussed the proposal Thursday night at Embassy Church. The event, sponsored by the Tulsa County GOP, was billed as the only forum where Tulsans would have the opportunity to ask questions and have both sides of the issue equally represented.

Representing supporters of the package were City Councilor Christian Bengel and Mayoral Chief of Staff Blake Ewing.

I can tell you your money is being well spent, Bengel said. There was a lot that goes into these projects, and I am just amazed when I go out there to look at these projects from the past and what is going to come from this new package that the citizens will gain that didnt get done previously.

The earlier Improve Our Tulsa packages have funded street projects, and, to a lesser extent, maintenance of city facilities. The IOT 3 package headed to voters Aug. 8 includes $295.8 million for streets and transportation projects, but there is $270.4 million targeted for upgrading and maintaining city facilities.

That includes $58.5 million for the Fire Departments vehicle fleet, $79.7 million for the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, and $47.5 million for a public safety center.

You have seen what our firefighters deal with, right, at the academies and the shortages of vehicles, Bengel said. Were using antiquated fire apparatus; again, I challenge anybody to say that this package doesnt meet and do what the citizens of Tulsa need done immediately.

Miller had concerns about specific elements of the projects, including providing $10 million for the Gilcrease Museum reconstruction and $5 million for Zink Lake infrastructure. But he was also critical of the lack of detailed project descriptions and what he described as a lack of time for councilors and citizens alike to do their due diligence on the proposal.

We are talking about 63 days, to be precise, from the time we (city councilors) received a rundown of what these projects were going to be until we were asked to put this on (the ballot), Miller said. Im sorry, but its impossible to do your due diligence on $814 million in spending in 63 days.

Mayor G.T. Bynum has noted that he has been working with city councilors since last year on the proposal, a process that has included multiple town hall meetings, public discussions with city councilors, and tours of city facilities.

But Miller insisted that more due diligence needs to be done before the city places a price tag on a project and sends it to voters. He noted, for example, that the city originally planned to renovate the Gilcrease Museum before ultimately deciding it would make more sense to construct a new facility.

Youre asking people to go out and spend money, their hard-earned dollars, to go in and create a recreational area (in the Arkansas River) that we may or may not be able to use, Miller said. Thats after the Gilcrease debacle where you asked people to spend $65 million, then didnt even realize that the museum needed to be rebuilt. So now you want people to trust you with this.

Bates questioned the timing of the vote, saying it would have made more sense to put the capital improvements package on the ballot next year because it would give candidates for mayor a chance to set out their priorities. He urged Tulsans to reject the proposal and send it back to city leaders for another try.

The way this was put together seems very cynical to me, Bates said. To put it on the ballot at the beginning of June for an August Election Day before people are back in school, before people settle back into their regular routines in school, in the middle of summer vacation.

Ewing said voters have the option of rejecting the proposal but also reminded the audience that, ultimately, IOT 3 is about taking care of the assets they own.

If you own an asset, do you have a responsibility to maintain that asset? Do we have a responsibility to keep the roof from leaking or to keep the boiler from exploding in the bottom of the Gilcrease or at the bottom of the Performing Arts Center? Ewing said. And we believe that we do have that responsibility, that responsibility to do right by you and to take care of the things that you own.

And that is why it's on the ballot for your consideration.

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Three years ago today, about 100 people gathered under shade trees at Centennial Park to stand in solidarity with Black and Indigenous people.

Mayoral candidate Greg Robinson said thats just what made the evening so special.

Im full of hope because we protested over a month ago, and were still gathering today, Robinson said, referencing initial and ongoing protests sparked by George Floyds death in police custody in Minnesota in May.
A primitive sea creature that is a key component in the creation of essential medications and that inhabits the tidal mudflats of the East Coast stands to gain from new protection regulations.

The prized blue blood of the crabs, helmet-shaped creatures that have lived in the ocean and tidal pools for more than 400 million years, is used by manufacturers of drugs and medical devices to test for potentially harmful contaminants. While some of the animals' blood is removed before being reintroduced to the habitat, many of them bleed to death.

The Red Knot

The red knot is a dwindling bird species that depend on horseshoe crabs, but conservationists who have been working to conserve it for years worry that the regulations are still insufficient, according to the Associated Press.

More animals should survive the treatment thanks to recent adjustments to the handling instructions, according to officials.

The creatures, which are more closely related to land-dwelling invertebrates like spiders and scorpions than they are to genuine crabs, are diminishing in parts of their territory along the East Coast.

Due to the animal's importance to coastal ecosystems and the fact that it is also harvested for bait in the commercial fishing industry, the harvest of horseshoe crabs has become a crucial concern for environmentalists in recent years.

A diminishing subspecies of the red knot bird, a migratory shorebird with rust-colored plumage that is designated as vulnerable under the Endangered Species Act, depends critically on the eggs of crabs.

Read also: Birds Create Colors That Don't Fade Using Nanostructures And Light, Say Researchers

How the Blood of a Horseshoe Crab Can Help

The blood of horseshoe crabs can be processed into LAL, or Limulus amebocyte lysate, which is used to identify pathogens in essential medications like injectable antibiotics.

(Photo : by BASTIEN INZAURRALDE/AFP via Getty Images) Horseshoe crabs spawn on a beach at the Ted Harvey Wildlife Area near Dover, Delaware, on June 17, 2022. - On a bright moonlit night, a team of scientists and volunteers head out to a protected beach along Delaware Bay to survey horseshoe crabs.

For utilization by biomedical businesses, fishermen catch the crabs by hand or with trawlers. After their blood is removed, the white blood cells' proteins are processed. It takes dozens of crabs to create enough blood, which contains immune cells susceptible to pathogens, to fill a single glass tube.

On the East Coast, only five businesses with federal licenses process horseshoe crab blood. Activist groups frequently claim that the blood is worth $15,000 per quart (liter), although some professionals in the field claim that this estimate is impossible to confirm.

About 15 percent of the crabs perish during the bleeding process. This resulted in the death of around 112,000 crabs in 2021. More than six times as many were lost in the horseshoe crab fishery, which is used to catch eels and sea snails as bait.

Nevertheless, the fisheries commission authorized new best management practices in May for the handling and harvesting of crabs by the biomedical industry. These include limiting exposure to sunshine and keeping crabs cold and moist.

The Gulf of Maine to Florida is the geographic range of the Atlantic horseshoe crab, a species that is fished off the East Coast. The species is classified as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature based on a 2016 assessment.

The Delaware Bay, an estuary of the Delaware River between Delaware and New Jersey, is one of the most crucial environments for horseshoe crabs. Red knots eat in the bay where the crabs breed.

The quantity of horseshoe crab eggs in the bay is nowhere like what it was in the 1990s. The National Park Service reports that the number of the vulnerable subspecies of rufa red knot has decreased by 75% during the 1980s.

To be able to recuperate, the birds require significant protection of the horseshoe crab eggs, according to Niles. He keeps tabs on the condition of horseshoe crabs and red knots and has set up a group called the Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition to promote conservation measures.

From Florida to Maine, horseshoe crabs have been gathered over the years for use as bait and medicine, although the biggest harvests are in Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts, and Virginia. Federal fishery statistics show that in 2021, the crabs' total dock value was around $1.1 million.

Related article: Evolution Of Island Birds May Be Predictable: How Birds Become Flightless

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The city of Tulsas emergency request for a stay of a court ruling limiting its police jurisdiction to nontribal members should be rejected, the U.S. Supreme Court was told in a court filing Monday.

An attorney for a Tulsa man who lodged a legal battle against the citys right to ticket him for a traffic violation urged the Supreme Court to reject the citys emergency application for a stay of the appellate court ruling.

The citys request for the emergency stay should be rejected because it has little chance of succeeding, said an attorney for Justin Hooper, a Choctaw Nation citizen. City of Tulsa officials say the stay is necessary while the city pursues asking the U.S. Supreme Court for a review of the appellate court ruling.

Tulsas motion does not establish any plausible basis for such relief, said Hoopers attorney, John Dunn, in a response filed Monday with the U.S. Supreme Court.

Attorneys for area tribes also filed papers Monday opposing the citys request for a stay.

The city of Tulsas claims that the stay is necessary while the Supreme Court considers whether the Curtis Act, a 19th century-era law, grants the city the jurisdiction to enforce traffic laws regardless of the tribal affiliation of the person cited.

Otherwise, the mandate would require the city to conduct a significant change in the way it proceeds with law enforcement, code enforcement, municipal prosecution and other important aspects of city business, according to a court filing by the city.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled June 28 in favor of Hooper after finding that the Curtis Act no longer applies to cities such as Tulsa after statehood.

The Denver-based court ruled that city of Tulsa police did not have jurisdiction to issue Hooper a traffic citation in 2018 for speeding because of his Choctaw Nation citizenship status and in light of the Supreme Courts 2020 McGirt ruling.

The June appellate court ruling expanded the reach of the McGirt decision, which determined that the state of Oklahoma did not have jurisdiction to prosecute tribal citizens for major crimes committed within the Muscogee Nation reservation because Congress had never explicitly dissolved the reservation.

The ruling has since been extended to the Cherokee Nation reservation and seven other tribes in eastern Oklahoma.

The city of Tulsa requested July 24 that the Supreme Court issue the emergency stay after the appellate court rejected a similar request.

The Supreme Court responded by staying the appellate court decision until 5 p.m. Wednesday to permit Hooper and area tribes time to submit responses to the citys emergency request.

Meanwhile, part of the citys request for the stay may center on the definition of one word found in Section 14 of the Curtis Act regarding the incorporation of eastern Oklahoma cities and towns before statehood was granted in 1907.

City officials point to one sentence in Section 14 of the Curtis Act that allowed cities and towns in prestatehood eastern Oklahoma to file petitions for incorporation in the applicable federal district court and then provided that such city or town government, when so authorized and organized, shall possess all the powers and exercise all the rights of similar municipalities in said State of Arkansas.

City officials argue that the appellate court was wrong when it defined the word when to mean that a citys jurisdiction over tribal citizens would last only as long as or while the city is continuously organized under Arkansas state law at the time.

The appellate court ruled that the Curtis Act no longer applied to the city of Tulsa after the city incorporated under state law following statehood.

The appellate court ruling has been criticized by Gov. Kevin Stitt and lauded by area tribes.

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Editor's note: This story originally published without noting that President Joe Biden could veto the measures as part of this process. The story has been updated.

The lesser prairie chicken does a distinctive little dance every spring mating season.

So, too, does Oklahomas congressional delegation every time the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service tries to add the lesser prairie chicken to the protected species list.

While no one disputes that the lesser prairie chickens habitat has been significantly reduced over the years, the states congressional delegation maintains that farmers and ranchers working with state agencies more effectively manage whats left of that habitat than federal regulators.

The bird has been off and on various lists for more than a decade. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives followed the Senate in voting to rescind the Biden administrations listing of the lesser prairie chicken and the northern long-eared bat, which also has an Oklahoma presence. President Joe Biden could and likely will veto the measures.

Third District Congressman Frank Lucas, whose district includes the lesser prairie chickens remaining Oklahoma habitat, said such listings are onerous and needless and infringe on our daily lives.

Oklahomans are proud conservationists and great stewards of our land, he said. We recognize that sustainable, healthy land serves as the lifeblood of our rural communities.

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation operates several volunteer habitat preservation and mitigation programs on the western fringes of the state. Lucas office said lesser prairie chickens numbered about 35,000 in 2020, an increase of 75% from a few years before.

Overall, however, the species has been reduced by as much as 85%, according to biologists, and its range has shrunk from most of western Kansas and southeastern Colorado to near the Texas-Mexico border to intermittent parts of Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico.

The northern long-eared bat ranges across the eastern half of the U.S. as far as the mountains of eastern Oklahoma and through much of Canada. Its existence is threatened primarily by a fungus called white-nose syndrome, which U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin and others have argued would not be affected by an endangered species listing.

Mullin authored the resolution to delist the bat.

Oklahoma lawmakers have typically opposed additions to the endangered species lists because of the effect on such things as oil and gas exploration, construction and agriculture.

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To the casual observer, it might have seemed like the relationship between Gov. Kevin Stitt and legislative leadership could not get worse.

On Monday, it did.

In a move that could blow up the current state budget, Stitt sued Speaker of the House of Representatives Charles McCall, R-Atoka, and Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, in the Oklahoma Supreme Court after the House cast the final vote to overturn Stitts vetoes of two bills dealing with tribal compacts.

Mondays lawsuit essentially charges the 59th Legislature with a power grab, saying it used unprecedented  raw legislative power to overpower the executive branch by encroaching on the governors authority.

The suit mostly aims at Senate Bill 26x and House Bill 1005x, both passed during a special session that began in May, while the regular session was still convened, and which ended Monday night. Those bills extend for one year tribal tobacco and motor vehicle registration compacts that would otherwise expire this year.

The Houses 72-16 vote Monday on a motion to override Stitts veto of SB 26x completed the Legislatures reinstatement of both measures.

Stitts lawsuit asks the state Supreme Court to invalidate SB 26x and HB 1005x on several grounds, among them his assertion that the entire special session was unlawful. In making that argument, the suit appears to also question the legality of the general appropriations and budget bills passed during the special session.

The lawsuit argues that the special session was illegal because special sessions concurrent with the regular session are not specifically allowed by the state constitution and, it is implied, because the Legislature convened the concurrent special session to prevent Stitt from vetoing the budget after the regular session adjourned.

Aware that it had run itself out of time to send the Governor a budget which it could override if vetoed, the Legislature decided to set aside the law in favor of a system to suit their desired end  sure passage of unlawful bills.  It then purported to pass both a budget outside the mandated context (i.e. regular session) as well as bills plainly prohibited in any context.

Stitt opposed the compact bills and the budget and appropriations bills, the latter largely because the general tax reduction he wanted was not included.

The compact extensions are the latest battle in a fight that began shortly after Stitts election in 2018 and have contributed greatly to his conflicts with tribal governments and the Legislature. Cheered on by the Oklahoma City-based Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, Stitt has tried without much success to renegotiate compacts on everything from hunting licenses to gaming.

On Monday, state Rep. Scott Fetgatter, R-Okmulgee, a Choctaw citizen whose district includes the Muscogee Nation headquarters, scoffed at the notion that Stitt could successfully negotiate new compacts.

Im still waiting for the hunting compact, Fetgatter said on the House floor. That expired three years ago.

The result, he said, has been lost revenue for the state.

State Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, said the potential loss to the state of $56 million should the tobacco compacts expire answers Stitts claims that the legislation is outside the original scope of the special session call.

Echols said arguments that the Legislature exceeded its authority in extending the compacts are not serious.

In an afternoon press conference, Stitt repeated his concerns that tribal governments will use the 2020 McGirt decision to expand their taxing jurisdictions in the state. He said he offered the affected tribes a two-year extension Monday morning, instead of the Legislatures one-year, on the condition that they agree to new language concerning where tribal smoke shops could be located.

Stitt also complained that seven lobbyists for one or more tribes had tried to sway Mondays override vote. The lawsuit specifically singles out the Cherokee Nation for allegedly pressuring legislators instead of negotiating with him.

Oklahomans need to kind of think about is how much money is influencing our elections, Stitt said. One representative that voted not to overturn this told me that seven different lobbyists, tribal lobbyists, called him over the weekend. The money is on the (override) side. Can you guys not see that? The money is on the (override) side.

With Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. out of the state, Attorney General Sara Hill said it is Stitt who is costing the state money.

Gov. Stitt created a problem in Oklahoma, Hill said in a written statement. He let the Cherokee and Choctaw hunting and fishing compacts expire, and let many tribal tobacco compacts expire. He never even attempted to negotiate new compacts with the Cherokee Nation.

While the Oklahoma legislature has unified to protect Oklahomas revenue and extend tribal tag and tobacco compacts, Governor Stitt still prefers division and lawsuits.

Treat had plenty to say about Stitts lawsuit.

Plain and simple, the governors continued rhetoric and vitriol surrounding not only these compacts but also our Native American Tribal partners as a whole seeks to divide the state, Treat said. It is clear at this point the governor has no end game, goal or aspirations of working with the Legislature or tribes. He continues to ignore the courts, Legislature and common sense.

These compacts in particular werent new. They werent unique in any way. They simply kept the exact same language as before to give him an opportunity to try and do the right thing by working with the tribes to renegotiate the compacts, while ensuring the state didnt lose millions in revenue. He has once again failed Oklahoma.

Today, history is repeating itself with the announcement of this lawsuit. Im confident his intentions will meet the same fate as we have unfortunately witnessed, and paid for, in the past.

By overriding these vetoes, the Legislature gave the governor another avenue and opportunity to negotiate in good faith, as we have done repeatedly. He has never accepted or appreciated our efforts and has turned his back all 4 million Oklahomans, the legislative process and Oklahomas tribal partners, costing the state millions in legal fees.

This zero-sum game he is playing is a losing strategy, and I hope Oklahomans and my fellow lawmakers are paying careful attention, Treat said.

McCall issued a statement late Monday, countering the governor's contention that the special session was not legitimate.

In his comments to the media, the governor called into question the legitimacy of the special session that was held to override his vetoes regarding legislation extending compacts with our tribal partners. The Legislature's ability to call a special session, and the particular special session call itself, are well within the Legislature's constitutional authority, he said.

Both the House and Senate followed the law and the Governor simply does not agree with the result, he continued. But the legislators, those closest to all 4 million Oklahomans, know that the citizens are counting on them to find solutions rather than to simply fear monger and cost the state tens of millions of tax dollars that go to important core services like education.

Rather than simply allowing compacts to lapse and wasting time, and more importantly taxpayer dollars, on frivolous lawsuits, the governor should focus on ways to work with all parties, including our tribal partners, to find solutions that make sense for our entire state.

Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton contributed to this story.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt sued Speaker of the House Charles McCall, R-Atoka, and Senate President Pro Tem, R-Oklahoma City, on Monday after the House took the final vote to override Stitt's veto of two bills dealing with tribal compacts.

Filed with the Oklahoma Supreme Court, the suit describes the Legislature's "unprecedented actions" as a display of "raw legislative power" violating the state constitution.

It challenges the process by which the two compact bills were passed  which, by extension, could also call into question the legality of the entire state budget that went into effect on July 1  and accuses the Cherokee Nation of "pressuring the Legislature" rather than negotiating with Stitt.

The suit asks the state Supreme Court to void the two bills  SB 26x and HB 1005x  whose vetoes the Legislature has overriden, describing them as "illustrative of the encroaching nature" of the Legislature.

Gov. Kevin Stitt responds after veto overrides on tribal compacts.
Noticing moving white segments on her underwear, a young woman in Hanoi took some medication prescribed by a doctor before having a 6-meter-long Taenia saginata tapeworm removed from her body.

Believing that undercooked beef is better and more nourishing than cooked beef, T., 26, who lives in Hanoi, often opts for raw beef noodles and beef hotpot.

However, T. noticed something unusual: long white segments appearing and moving on her underwear.

In addition, T. noticed such strange things moving in her feces when she defecated.

After researching on the Internet, she suspected that they were parasites that came through the anus.

T. went to Dang Van Ngu Hospital in Hanoi, which is part of the National Institute of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology, and had them examined.

The results showed that both proglottids and eggs of Taenia saginata were found in the young womans stool sample.

Doctors then prescribed her some medications, which she took and thus discharged a 6-meter-long Taenia saginata tapeworm.

While the Taenia saginata can move outside of the body, the Taenia solium cannot stir after being removed from the body in the stool.

Surviving in human body for 25 years

Although the cleanliness of the environment has improved significantly for years, Dr. Do Trung Dung from Dang Van Ngu Hospital said he has admitted many patients who needed to be examined for diseases related to parasites recently.

Tapeworm infection occurs nationwide in Vietnam, with infection rates ranging from 0.5 percent to 12 percent, mainly involving Taenia saginata (70-80 percent) and Taenia solium (10-20 percent).

Generally, each tapeworm is 2-4 meters long, sometimes up to 10 meters.

Among the people who came to the hospital for health examination, about 20-30 percent suffer from tapeworm diseases such as clonorchiasis, opisthorchiasis or fascioliasis, Taenia saginata and Taenia solium.

According to Dr. Dung, the tapeworm looks like a ribbon with three parts when viewed from the outside.

The head part is shaped like a ball with four suckers, and the neck is often narrower.

The body part of the parasite contains many segments, which can be divided into young, adult, and old bits depending on the growth period.

The young bits grow from the neck while the old can separate themselves.

In this way, full tapeworms that live in the human body grow dramatically by forming more segments from the neck, creating thousands of proglottids.

Such tapeworms can remain in the human body for up to 25 years. The length of an adult Taenia saginata tapeworm is about 4-12 meters.

The worrying problem is that each detached old proglottid contains about 50,000 eggs, which can survive in the infection for a long time before finding new intermediate hosts.

Cooked food is a must

According to Dr. Dung, many people are infected with tapeworms because they eat undercooked food.

As a case in point, people contract the Taenia saginata when they eat undercooked beef contaminated with larval cysts.

After consumption by humans, the larvae of Taenia saginata emerge from the cysts under the influence of gastric acid and develop into adult tapeworms.

Thanks to the tapeworms' four suckers, they can cling tightly to the intestinal mucosa.

Here, the tapeworms suck nutrients from the intestines to grow. Such parasites can survive for a long time since they can defend themselves against gastric juices, the doctor explained.

Normally, a tapeworm lives in a human body and it often takes about three months for a larva in the body to develop into an adult tapeworm."

A person who has a tapeworm infection often suffers from indigestion, long-lasting abdominal pain, and a constant feeling of discomfort and irritation in the intestines.

Doctors warn that it is possible for everyone to get infected with Taenia saginata.

So, to protect oneself from the disease, they should avoid eating raw or insufficiently cooked beef and take medicine to treat tapeworm infections every six months.

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Read what is in the news in Vietnam today:

Society

-- Rescuers found the bodies of three police officers who were buried in a landslide along Bao Loc Pass in Lam Dong Province, located in Vietnams Central Highlands, on Sunday afternoon while efforts to look for a fourth missing victim are ongoing. Authorities have closed the mountain pass to ensure safety and deal with the situation.

-- A 35-year-old Vietnamese citizen was shot dead in Phnom Penh on Saturday following a row with a perpetrator, the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia reported on Sunday.

-- Heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms pulled down and blew off the roofs of more than 100 houses in Ca Mau Province, southern Vietnam on Sunday, causing estimated damage of over VND5.6 billion (US$236,337).

-- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended the groundbreaking ceremony for several transport infrastructure projects in northern Bac Ninh Province on Sunday.

-- According to a Ministry of Health report, between 2056 and 2069, Vietnams population will exhibit a constrictive population structure, with the proportion of people aged 65 and over making up more than 21 percent.

-- Vietnam ranked 11th out of 30 countries with the highest burden of tuberculosis (TB) in the world in 2022, when the country detected 103,120 TB patients, according to the Global Tuberculosis Report 2022.

Business

-- Authorities in Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam are granting ownership certificates to the owners of condotel units as per the direction of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Sports

-- About 2,000 people participated in the 2023 Marathon Dream Cup on Sunday to raise funds for the needy in Ho Chi Minh City.

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As the weather showed significant improvement on Sunday, ferry and high-speed boat trips bound for Phu Quoc City resumed the same day, after being suspended for three days to avoid possible incidents caused by the foul weather conditions in southern Vietnam.

The Port Authority of Phu Quoc City, off Kien Giang Province in southern Vietnam, confirmed on Sunday morning that ferry and high-speed boat trips to Phu Quoc from the provincial cities of Rach Gia and Ha Tien were permitted to resume normal operations.

The high-speed boat service bound for Nam Du, another island destination off the coast of Kien Giang, from Rach Gia was also restored.

Following the resumption of the services, throngs of tourists and local residents bustled around a ferry terminal in Rach Gia to buy tickets for Phu Quoc and Nam Du trips.

Nguyen Thanh Phat, a native in Rach Gia, said that rains and thunderstorms began hitting the Mekong Delta province between July 27 and 29, leading to the suspension of waterway services to Phu Quoc and thereby affecting his business.

On being notified of the service resumption at around 7:00 am on Sunday, I visited a local market to buy food and other necessities for my family on the [Phu Quoc] island, he said.

On July 27, the provincial Inland Waterway Port Authority announced the suspension of waterway services linking Rach Gia, Ha Tien with Nam Du and Phu Quoc due to bad weather conditions.

The authority noted that the high-speed boat service from Rach Gia to Hon Son, an island off the provinces Kien Hai District, remained operational because the large high-speed boats used for the route are able to resist level-5 wind gusts and ensure safety for passengers.

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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issued a dispatch on Monday, asking local authorities and relevant agencies to promptly make the greatest efforts in dealing with the aftermath of a deadly landslide in Vietnams Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on Sunday.

The fatal landslide took place at around 2:45 pm on the section of National Highway 20 running through Bao Loc Pass, burying three traffic police officers and one local resident at a police station.

The bodies of the three police officers were recovered as of 8:30 pm on Sunday. They include Major Nguyen Khac Thuong, 42; Senior Lieutenant Le Quang Thanh, 46; and Senior Lieutenant Le Anh Sang, 33.

By around 12:00 pm on Monday, rescuers managed to recover the body of the fourth victim, Ngoc Anh.

PM Chinh offered his condolences to the bereaved families.

The scene of the fatal landslide which took place in Lam Dong Province, located in Vietnams Central Highlands, July 30, 2023. Photo: Son Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Given this fatal incident and other recent flooding and landslides triggered by torrential rains in the Central Highlands and southern Vietnam, the government leader asked provincial administrations to direct activities to cope with natural disasters to protect the local lives, especially in the provinces of Lam Dong, Binh Thuan, Binh Phuoc, and Kien Giang.

The head of the Lam Dong Province administration was ordered to urgently tackle the fatal landslide and provide timely support for the families of the victims.

The Lam Dong administration was required to team up with relevant agencies to investigate the cause of the incident; examine, detect, and deal with landslide-prone areas; and adopt measures to ensure traffic safety on National Highway 20 and other major routes throughout the province.

The Ministry of Transport was assigned to coordinate with local authorities, especially the Lam Dong administration, to dispatch forces and vehicles to landslide- and flood-hit locations to cope with the consequences.

The national steering committee for natural disaster prevention and control was told to closely monitor the developments of possible natural disasters and urge localities to take precautionary measures against extreme weather conditions.

PM Chinh also assigned special tasks to the Ministries of Natural Resources and Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development, and Industry and Trade to effectively respond to natural disasters and ensure safety for local people and properties.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang (1st row, L, 4th) is seen at the scene of the fatal landslide which took place in Lam Dong Province, located in Vietnams Central Highlands, July 30, 2023. Photo: Mai Vinh / Tuoi Tre

An ambulance transports the body of the fourth victim of the fatal landslide which took place in Lam Dong Province, located in Vietnams Central Highlands, July 30, 2023. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

Rescuers search for the body of the fourth victim in the fatal landslide which took place in Lam Dong Province, located in Vietnams Central Highlands, July 30, 2023. Photo: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

A rescue truck pulls out one of the two cars being buried in the fatal landslide, July 30, 2023. Photo: Son Dinh / Tuoi Tre

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Some enterprises in Quang Ngai Province, central Vietnam have been fined for using less electricity than the minimum volume committed in contracts with Quang Ngai Power Company.

Nguyen Anh Tam, director of Truong Thinh Processing Co. Ltd. in the Quang Phu Industrial Park in Quang Ngai, said on Sunday that enterprises will get a fine for violating contracts if they use less electricity [than committed].

Amid the power shortage, many localities have worked out rotational power cut plans to ensure safety and power supply, while my company was fined for using a smaller volume of power.

This means Quang Ngai goes against the common policy."

Truong Thinh is a seafood processor, so its production depends on the volume of seafood caught.

That volume has been low recently.

If the consumed power volume fails to exceed 50 percent of the committed figure in the contract, I will immediately receive a notice about the fine for violating the terms in the agreement with the power sector," Tam said.

"I was subject to a fine of over VND8 million [US$337] for several months.

Enterprises have had to seek ways to survive due to the economic downturn over the past few years and his company is not immune, according to Tam.

The firm annually pays around VND5 billion ($210,669) for power for production. If the power company had calculated the consumed power volume on an annual basis, Truong Thinh would have surpassed the figure committed in the contract.

The power company could have shared the difficulties with customers and considered the consumed power volume for the entire year, Tam said.

He added that his company should have been hailed for using less electricity instead of facing fines as the whole country is calling for sparing the use of electricity.

Enterprises expect the power sector to share their difficulties. Photo: Tran Mai / Tuoi Tre

Tam proposed the power sector change its regulations to match the reality.

It is true that his company is wrong as it broke commitments in the contract but the electricity firm should be reasonable in levying fines, the businessman noted.

Many other enterprises in Quang Ngai have faced the same fate as Truong Thinh Processing Co. Ltd.

The owner of another business said, I expect the [power] supplier to share with customers. We do long-term business and need transformer stations, so we signed a contract with the power company."

Quang Ngai Power Company says it has reported customers proposal to calculate the consumed power volumes on a six-month or a-year basis to higher authorities. Photo: Tran Mai / Tuoi Tre

In response, Phan Vu Dong Quan, deputy director of Quang Ngai Power Company, said the fines against enterprises using less electricity than committed were aimed at forcing them to take responsibility for their commitments and preventing the wastefulness of facilities invested in by the power sector.

There are many solutions for installing transformer stations.

Customers can register the installation of the stations with the power sector and pay for the installing costs, or enterprises make registrations and fulfill its commitments to the consumed power volumes, while the power sector spends capital on the investment and maintenance of transformer stations for electricity supply, Quan said.

Most enterprises choose to commit a consumed power volume and let the power sector invest in transformer stations.

Quang Ngai Power Company has to source the capital for such transformer stations from the state budget or commercial banks, according to Quan.

Banks required the company to prove the effectiveness of stations to offer loans. Therefore, the power company asked customers to calculate their estimated consumed power volumes a month so that the power company could install transformer stations with an appropriate capacity.

Many enterprises expect Quang Ngai Power Company to calculate the consumed power volume on an annual basis as they do not use an equivalent power volume in different months. Photo: Tran Mai / Tuoi Tre

If customers use less power than committed, that means the investment is inefficient. As a result, contracts between the two sides include the minimum consumed power volumes.

The power company understands that customers do not use the same power volume in different months, so it requires the consumed volumes to be higher than half of the committed, Quan said, adding that they would face fines only if they consume less than half of the committed volumes.

Regarding enterprises proposal to calculate the consumed power volumes on a six-month or a-year basis instead of per month, Quan said Quang Ngai Power Company had sent the proposition to higher-level agencies.

We are progressive and have analyzed customers opinions and have asked for higher authorities decisions. Quang Ngai Power Company will inform customers of the official decision, Quan said.

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Commentary: Why is Blinken snubbed repeatedly during Asia-Pacific visits?

Xinhua) 10:59, July 31, 2023

BEIJING, July 30 (Xinhua) -- During his latest Asia-Pacific trip, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken tried to persuade New Zealand to join the AUKUS alliance. The response he got was clear -- it would cost New Zealanders their soul to accept the top U.S. diplomat's advice.

"It's a club we'd have to sell our soul to join," said New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. Mahuta replied to Blinken on Thursday that her country was "not prepared to compromise or change our nuclear-free position," and continued to support a nuclear-free Pacific.

In fact, this was not the only time the top U.S. diplomat got snubbed during his visits.

At a joint press conference after meeting with Tongan Prime Minister Hu'akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni on Wednesday, Blinken called Beijing's engagement in the region "problematic behavior," but was only told that Tonga had "no concerns" about its relationship with China.

The reasons why Washington was given the cold shoulder are obvious. Blinken claimed that "We really understand what is a priority for the people here," but his real priority is nothing but "American First." What he and those decision-makers back in Washington have proposed for the region are simply not in line with or even counterproductive to its key interests and urgent needs. That is something the regional countries understand fairly well.

In recent years, the United States has been bent on peddling the so-called "Indo-Pacific strategy" and "great power competition" in an attempt to build an alliance in the Asia-Pacific region against China's rise.

From throwing mud at China's cooperation with local countries to trying to expand the AUKUS grouping, Blinken's current visit is actually seeking to either sabotage Beijing's image or force the island nations to take sides.

Nations in the region want peace, stability and development. The AUKUS pact, which has violated the principles and practices of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and severely undermined the international non-proliferation regime, can only stir up confrontation and fuel an arms race in the area.

That is also why former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating warned earlier this month against the U.S.-led NATO's Asia expansion attempt, saying that "exporting that malicious poison (NATO) to Asia would be akin to Asia welcoming the plague upon itself."

Despite Washington sparing no efforts in smearing China, countries in the Asia-Pacific region see Beijing as an equal partner and a real friend.

Take Tonga. Over the past years, China has provided around 100 grant-aid projects, big and small, to the Tongan government and Tonga people, which covered agriculture, fishery, education, health, environment protection and climate change.

When Tonga was faced with multiple challenges, including volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and the COVID-19 pandemic, China rushed to its assistance. As facts have proven, China's friendship has always been based on deeds rather than words, Tongan King Tupou VI has said.

As for New Zealand, China is the country's largest trading partner for trade in goods, both in terms of imports and exports.

The relationship with China is incredibly important for New Zealand and both countries now enjoy a very constructive and positive relationship, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said during a visit in China last month, adding that his country hopes to further expand bilateral trade and sees it as a priority to re-establish economic activity with China in the post-pandemic era.

Between confrontation and common development, it's not difficult for Asia-Pacific countries to choose.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
(Photo : OLEKSII FILIPPOV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

Multiple drone strikes, including one in Moscow, prompted Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to warn Putin that "war is returning to Russia."



Russian missile attacks have killed at least one person and injured more than ten in the hometown of Volodymyr Zelensky, mere hours after the Ukrainian president declared that his forces were "returning the conflict" to Moscow.

Interior Minister Igor Klymenko announced Monday that two missiles struck a residential structure in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih.

Russia, Ukraine Exchange Attacks

The Russian strikes are a response to numerous Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory and occupied Crimea, which Zelensky characterized last night as the "natural process" of war "returning to Russia."

Russia announced on Sunday that it had shot down Ukrainian drones aimed at Moscow and the Crimean peninsula, causing damage to two office structures in the capital and temporarily closing an international airport.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, one drone aimed at Moscow was shot down on the city's periphery, and two others were suppressed by electronic warfare and crashed into an office complex early on Sunday. No injuries were reported.

Until several drone assaults this year, Moscow and its environs, located approximately 500 kilometers from the Ukrainian frontier, were rarely targeted during the conflict in Ukraine.

Per Daily Mail, the primary targets of Ukraine's aerial attacks have been military targets, ammunition depots, and supply lines. However, a growing number of drone assaults launched from Ukrainian soil target Russian civilian centers.

Following the attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a warning that Russia would soon be at war.

Vladimir Putin has stated that he does not reject the possibility of peace talks with Ukraine, with the Russian president stating on Saturday that an African initiative could serve as a foundation for peace in Ukraine but arguing that it would be difficult to implement a ceasefire while Kyiv was on the offensive.

The statement followed last week's Russia-African summit, at which several African leaders urged President Vladimir Putin to end the conflict in Ukraine. Zelensky, on the other hand, has rejected the notion of a ceasefire at this moment because it would leave Russia in control of nearly one-fifth of its country and give its forces time to regroup after 17 grueling months of conflict.

Three Ukrainian drones reportedly attacked Moscow yesterday, injuring one person and temporarily closing one of the four airports surrounding the capital. Officials described the incident as a "terrorist attack attempt by the Kiev regime."

Read Also: Chopper Crash Pauses Major Australia-US Military Exercise After 4 People Reported Missing

Putin Protcts Himself From Another Wagner Uprising

Meanwhile, to defend himself from another Wagner uprising, Putin is establishing a network of mysterious private military corporations across Russia. A new measure that elevates the draft age for the Russian military mentions the intentions for private military companies or "special enterprises."

The action is intended to combat subversion and internal threats, according to a statement by the chairman of the Duma's defense committee, Andrey Kartapolov. It occurred weeks after the Wagner insurrection, which exposed Putin's defense weaknesses, as per The Insider.

The group's fighters encountered little opposition when they seized control of the city of Rostov-on-Don on June 23, then advanced on Moscow before rebel leaders struck an agreement with the Kremlin to end the rebellion.

While Putin has not punished Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the mutiny, he has undertaken a search for suspected traitors in the Russian military and appears to be concerned about future internal challenges to his authority.

Putin's militias, according to the report, would be commanded by regional governors, would operate at Putin's direction, and would be armed by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

In the aftermath of a succession of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian cities, one of the militias' primary functions will be to defend against internal attacks.

Russia's faltering invasion of Ukraine has revealed that Putin's hold on power may not be as strong as was widely believed, and former intelligence officials told Insider that Putin could be ousted from power if he suffers additional significant setbacks in Ukraine.

Related Article: Vladimir Putin Pledges Free Grain to African Allies After Black Sea Deal Collapse

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia has asked Cambodian authorities to investigate the recent fatal shooting of a Vietnamese man in Phnom Penh and to search for the perpetrator, Vietnams Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday.

Following the embassys report on the fatal incident on Saturday, the ministry has urgently directed the agency to fully identify the victim, deploy citizen protection measures, and request Cambodian authorities to investigate the case and search for the suspect killer.

The victim was identified as Minh Hung Khuou, 35, a Vietnamese national, who was shot at 1:25 pm that day in Tuol Svay Prey I Commune of Boeng Keng Kang District, the Khmer Times reported on Monday, citing Captain Choun Bros, deputy police chief of the commune.

The man was residing in Cambodia before the shooting happened, the captain said, adding that his body had been brought to Stung Meanchey Pagoda, waiting for his relatives to receive it.

Local police have launched an investigation into the case and are hunting for the suspect, the official stated

Before the fatal incident occurred, witnesses saw a car stop suddenly after it moved along Street 163, the Cambodian newspaper reported.

A Vietnamese man then got out of the vehicle and got into an argument with another man in the car, and later walked away from the vehicle.

The other man then drove the car to pursue the victim, and when he caught up with him, the man stepped out of the car and fired three shots at the victim with a pistol.

The shot man ran away for about 15 meters before falling down on the street, while the suspect killer escaped in the vehicle.

Local police rushed to the scene shortly later and confirmed the victim had died.

Investigators have checked security camera footage in the surrounding area to identify the culprit.

Captain Bros said the case has been transferred to detectives in the district and the Cambodian Ministry of Interior has also joined the search for the suspect.

Authorities have yet to obtain any major leads on the perpetrator's identity, the Khmer Times on Monday cited Lieutenant Colonel Vuth Phosavon, district police chief, as saying.

Some suspects have been summoned for questioning and the probe is ongoing, the official added.

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The administration of Can Tho City in southern Vietnam has proposed building underground reservoirs to respond to floods and supply clean water to citizens, using the state budget.

The city suggested the Ministry of Science and Technology order a project to study and develop underground reservoirs to curb floods and supply water in response to climate change and saline intrusion in Can Tho and its vicinities with a price tag of VND17 billion (US$717,221).

As per the proposal, 10 percent of the capital for the project will be sourced from the budget for local scientific study projects allocated to the municipal Department of Science and Technology.

Can Tho is home to an interlacing system of rivers and canals and is located on the ground of alluvial soil with flat terrain which is gradually lower toward interior areas.

Over the past few years, climate change and other factors have caused Can Tho to suffer floods, seriously affecting its socio-economic activities. The main reasons for such floods are high tides and heavy rains.

Floods caused by high tides often occur in September, October, and November, specifically in the mornings and evenings of the fifteenth and thirtieth days of the lunar month.

High tides and torrential rains have caused serious and lasting flooding over the past two years.

Up to 61 streets in Ninh Kieu District were 0.4-0.5 meters under water. Many roads in Binh Thuy, O Mon, and Cai Rang Districts were also inundated.

Experience from neighboring countries shows that underground flood control reservoirs are a practical solution for storing rainwater in the rainy season and supplying water in the dry season, according to the Peoples Committee of Can Tho City.

Underground reservoirs can prevent subsidence and store fresh water for production.

The city plans to build three underground reservoirs with a total capacity of 2,320 cubic meters on a pilot basis.

The project research and execution are projected to take 30 months.

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Vietnamese artists Hien Phuoc and Thanh Hoa secured a gold medal on Sunday at the International Circus Festival in Almaty City, Kazakhstan, with their unique circus act titled 'Moment of Love.'

Phuoc and Hoas performance captivated more than 2,000 international spectators attending the festival, considered one of the three major circus festivals in the world.

The duo are also the two lead performers in the circus play named 'Mysterious Persia' entertaining children at the Phuong Nam Art Theaters circus in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City during this summer.

Apart from Vietnam, performances from Russia and Yakutia also won the two other gold medals at the festival in Almaty City.

Six other acts were honored with three silver medals and three bronze medals.

The festival, which started last Wednesday and concluded on Sunday, gathered 100 skilled circus artists from diverse countries including Kazakhstan, Germany, Vietnam, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, the UK, the Czech Republic, Tajikistan, and Lithuania.

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Its not lost on Ed Kavalee that his new role as the Ensemble Director on the revival of Thank God Youre Here is like coming full circle.

18 years ago when he was performing in Theatresports at the University of New South Wales, he was talent spotted by comedian Glenn Robbins and invited to join a pilot of a new improvisation show by Working Dog productions.

I got the call that changed my life on my birthday, he tells TV Tonight.

That the Dogs (now) put faith in me to be a part of this process is one of the joys of my life. To be able to be someone who is making that same phone call, 18 years later and hopefully giving someone an opportunity that could help change their life in a positive way .Im not one for sentimentality but that is genuinely a source of great pride.

Indeed. Trying to get Kavalee in a sincere moment is difficult in any interview. But he is genuinely chuffed about the return of the show which appeared on television, on both 10 and Seven, from 2006  2009.

10 has now revived the series with new host Celia Pacquola and a fresh batch of comedians who will enter the blue door to face an unknown scenario in which they must improvise for their lives.

Sincerity over, it doesnt take long for Kavalee to resume his trademark wit.

Working Dog have bestowed on me the title of Ensemble Director, which means I get a lanyard, a clipboard, and an earpiece. Theres four channels in the earpiece with the director and theres one, which has got Santo (Cilauro, producer) on it, but Ive learned how to mute that. So things are good, he jokes.

You go from being out on the range with Julia Zemiro, to being in the Roman Senate with Hamish Blake

Its a very, its a very unique job.  you go from being out on the range with Julia Zemiro, to being in the Roman Senate with Hamish Blake, from one scenario to the next. And we dont stop, we just keep rolling. Its just the best fun.

I was lucky enough to be part of the finding process for the new people. Theres a mixture of people whove got some experience with it and then new people weve found who do a great job.

The task of the ensemble is quite unique, and differs from Theatresports improvisation in that the world is already pre-determined. They guide the guest through the scene but remain open to their spontaneity. To do this they steer towards offers in which the guest will respond to actor lines.

And in the madcap world of the Working Dog team that can entail some very bizarre scenarios.

I dropped from the ceiling once in a harness for Shaun Micallef, Kavalee recalls.

The whole thing is so that the guest does their best. The scripts, the set, the offers, the scenarios, are all designed to give the guest the best opportunity to enjoy it and to have that moment where they open the door and you see the fear in their eyes.

Youve got to know your lines backwards, and youve got to know everyone elses lines as well. Because theres every chance that the guest is going to say something which we know is coming up.

Our job is to make sure the world feels real so that the guests bullshit.

Thank God Youre Here is arguably also the only show on television where bullshit is openly encouraged.

Our job is to make sure the world feels real so that the guests bullshit. Rob (Sitch, producer) always says its a show about bullshit, but that the guests bullshit is both funny and is in the reality of whats happening. Its a very, very simple job but theres a lot to do in order to make it look and feel simple, he continues.

But the trick is to make sure that its all rooted in sincerity. People always say to me, How did you not laugh? Obviously, you cant, but in the moment, if youre doing the ensemble work correctly, you shouldnt want to laugh, because youre taking the thing that the guest says completely seriously.

Much of the show remains wrapped in secrecy. Kavalee is reluctant to acknowledge production happening at Melbourne Showgrounds, who the guests are, nor even who is in the ensemble. However the show synopsis reveals Urzila Carlson, Aaron Chen, Julia Zemiro & Mark Bonanno are first guests.

But what of Celia Pacquola, cast in the role previously owned by Shane Bourne?

Look I was against it and I have been proven correct! he jokes.

Celia is a wonderful choice and shes been absolutely fantastic. There is no audience reaction like Thank God Youre Here. It is still the loudest Ive heard any audience ever. And I kept telling the ensemble, You wont understand until it happens, what that sound is like, what it does and how focused you have to be to stay inside the bubble.

Celias such a great stand-up so shes comfortable in such in front of big crowds. But because shes also got a great sense of generosity shes so good for the guests. She mucks around and then she brings it right down. And shes someone that everyone knows and likes.

I know that that might not seem to matter, but it does. Everyones always happy to see Celia and that goes for audiences and the guests.

The show is bigger than when we did it last time

He also reveals bigger and better sets this time around.

Its not speaking out of school to say that the show is bigger than when we did it last time, he insists.

The sets are just unbelievable, like, they were always fantastic. Working Dog are across every aspect of everything. There was one the other day where I was like, Its a shame that were not going to do a whole series on that set. The door went back and you can even hear the audience (react)

There aint nothing like it, and its great to have it back. It feels fresh at the same time. Theres a freshness to the way that guys have tweaked it and the audience is responding. Theyre absolutely losing their minds.

So amid all the hype and secrecy, will Kavalee himself also be seen on the show?

Im not allowed to say that. But I am allowed to say that Im the ensemble director.

Thank God Youre Here returns 7:30pm Wednesday on 10.
This week on War on Waste, Craig Reucassel takes to the streets to confront everyday Aussies about the astonishing amount of food we throw away.

To demonstrate the size of the problem he sets up a fifty-metre-long table loaded with 500 kilograms of food. How many families would it take to generate this amount of food waste?

Craig also catches up with design students at the University of NSW. Theyve been set a challenge to re-design some of our most commonly used products, to see if they can be made easier to recycle. From the ubiquitous soy sauce plastic fish to bread bags and stickers on fruit  will any of the students clever new designs make their way to the supermarket shelves?

Science communicator Lee Constable joins Craig to demonstrate the environmental impacts of food waste and Craig shares some expert tips on how to reduce it in the home.

Craig revisits our farmers to find out whether supermarket cosmetic standards are still leading to fruit and vegetables being wasted.

8:30pm Tuesday on ABC.
Mohsina Malik | Twocircles.net

Sajida Begum, 26, had just finished fajr prayers when the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) barged into her shanty in the Rohingya refugee camp in Allapur village in Uttar Pradeshs Mathura district on July 24 and asked for her husband Mujib Ullah who was asleep. Mujeeb was forced into a police van and driven away.

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We have not done anything and were never involved in any crime, Begum told Twocircles.net.

Mujib Ullah is the sole breadwinner of the family and works as a rag picker. Ullahs family came to India 12 years ago, fleeing the violence in Myanmar. We are Rohingya Muslims, and that is the sole reason for our detentions and deportation, she explained.

Anti-Terrorism Squad Arrests 74 Across 6 Districts of Uttar Pradesh

On July 24, similar scenes of Rohingya refugee detentions were unfolding at refugee camps in six other districts of Uttar Pradesh  Mathura, Aligarh, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Meerut, and Saharanpur  with the ATS arresting 74 Rohingyas and alleging that the arrested individuals are residing in UP after crossing the border illegally.

According to an ATS Uttar Pradesh notice, 31 Rohingyas were jailed on July 26 after a charge under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act was filed against them for illegal stay.

Begums next-door neighbour, Kausar Fatima, 29, was arrested along with her 30-year-old husband, Ali Johar. Fatima was released after a female police official pleaded for her release, citing the fact that she has seven children at home and no one to care for them. Her husband who works as a laborer and is the sole breadwinner of the family is still in jail.

We dont understand why we have to go through this every time. Our refugee documents were taken from us the day our shanty was raided, and we were arrested, Fatima told Twocircles.net.

Begum and Fatima both say it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to support their families since their husbands have been taken away by the police.

I want my husband released immediately so that I do not have to worry about how my children and I will survive without him, Begum said.

Rohingya Men Hiding in Forests To Escape Detention

Many Rohingya refugees left their camps after the raids and arrests on July 24 in order to avoid arrest.

Since unlawful detentions began, we are hiding in forests, facing starvation, and moving from one spot to another to escape arrests. They are afraid that the authorities will come after them at any time, said Iqbal Naseer, a 45-year-old Rohingya refugee from the Mathura camp.

On July 24, Naseers brother-in-law, whose name he did not give for fear of reprisal, was also arrested.

Rohingya Refugees Allege Police and Landlords Asked Them To Vacate the Camps

Were all in trauma. We are not illegal immigrants or terrorists. We have all the documents to prove that we are refugees, but unfortunately, nobody is concerned about our safety, he said, adding that several police officers visited the camp on July 29 and told them that if they did not vacate, they would be forced out of the place.

Naseer is concerned that if the authorities force them to leave the camp, their families will have no place to go. Our children do not have a secure future, he stated.

Fatima claims that, in addition to the police, their landlords are threatening them to vacate the shanties as they will be demolished within the next few days. Our electricity and water supplies have been cut. We are being harassed. We do not have any alternative place to take our children, she explained.

200 Rohingya Refugees Detained Unlawfully: Rohingya Rights Body

The Rohingya Human Rights Initiative, a non-profit that works for Rohingya refugees, said on July 24 that more than 200 Rohingya refugees, including women and children, were unlawfully detained without the police even filing a FIR.

According to Sabber Kyaw Min, Director of the Rohingya Human Rights Initiative, the Rohingyas in India have been awarded a refugee card by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and many of them have long-term visas.

We came to India to seek refuge on humanitarian grounds, but unfortunately, it happened the other way around. The Uttar Pradesh government is calling us terrorists and illegal immigrants, which we are not, he said.

When asked what the organisation is doing for the release of the detained Rohingyas, Min stated, We are helpless. What can we do?

Arrests of Rohingya Refugees in Haryanas Faridabad and Nuh

On the same day when Begums and Fatimas husbands were arrested by police in Mathura, police searches were also carried out in Haryanas Faridabad and Nuh districts.

According to Mohammad Ismail, a 35-year-old Rohingya refugee from Faridabad, four Rohingya refugees were arrested on July 24. Abdul Shukoor, 33, Ismails brother-in-law was among the four nabbed in Ghaziabad by Uttar Pradesh police.

Since the arrests, we have all been fearful that the authorities will not allow us to live freely. Theyre after us for no reason, he explained.

According to Hafiz Abdul Qureshi, a 35-year-old Rohingya refugee, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the affected families to financially support themselves following detentions at the Nuh refugee camp.

The family members went to look for their relatives in the detention center but were told they had been transferred to Uttar Pradesh, said Qureshi.

According to Qureshi, the arrested men are kept in a cramped cell with 10-12 other convicts and no appropriate utilities.

The detainees are crying about their situation and have asked family members to help them get out, he said.

Prashant Kumar, Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, Uttar Pradesh, did not respond to a phone call from Twocircles.net. This story will be updated if and when he responds.

Begum hasnt seen her husband in five days. I have no idea where he has been taken. I have no money, she said, adding that she is not the only woman in the camp who is worried we all have no idea where our dear ones are.
Ukrainian serviceman walks inside a trench on the frontline near as Russia-Ukraine war continues in New York, Donbas region, Ukraine, on July 28, 2023. Ignacio Marin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Russia has placed all kinds of obstacles in the way of Ukraine's advance.

Among them are fake trenches, exploding death traps, that a commander described to The New York Times.

"Our guys started jumping in the trenches and blowing up," he said.

Russia is trying its damnedest to thwart Ukraine's counteroffensive, and among the threats to the Ukrainian assault are fake trenches rigged with remotely detonated mines. A commander shared details of an assault team's encounter with these deadly traps in a discussion this week with The New York Times.

The Ukrainian commander, who goes by the call sign Voskres, told The Times about an offensive operation conducted last month by forces with special operations training. The mission to storm Russian positions along the front was unsuccessful, and the Ukrainians suffered heavy casualties.

The mission ran into problems right from the start. Their armored vehicles were knocked out by artillery, so the Ukrainian troops had to advance on foot.

When they reached the Russian lines after clearing part of a minefield along a tree line, Ukrainian forces dropped into a trench, ready for a fight.

"The trenches were mined," the assault commander told The Times. "Our guys started jumping in the trenches and blowing up," he said, recalling that as the Russians remotely detonated the mines that filled the trench, explosive drones attacked the survivors.

"It seemed like they had a drone for each person," he said. "The amount of equipment the Russians have, had we known, it was like mission impossible."

A general view of trenches amid Russia and Ukraine war in Moshchun village of Kyiv, Ukraine on July 25, 2023 Gian Marco Benedetto/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The assault commander's recollections from the recent battle are consistent with reporting on these fake trenches from Michael Kofman, a Russia expert at the at the Center for Naval Analyses who recently returned from a research trip to areas near the front lines in Ukraine, where he talked with members of the Ukrainian military about their experiences.

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"They build out fake trenches. They have mine trenches," Kofman said of Russia in a War on the Rocks podcast discussion of the counteroffensive, explaining that they attempt to "lure Ukrainian forces into trenches that have been mined" with remote-activated mines "and then blow up the mines."

When Ukraine's "forces jump into them, they have parts of trenches that are intentionally empty," he said. The Russians are actively attempting "to get Ukrainians into those trenches to then essentially blow them up."

And if these explosive-laden trenches weren't trouble enough, they are far from the only threats the Ukrainians are facing. Russia has constructed a defense in depth consisting of various barriers and obstacles backed by infantry, artillery, and aviation. And they aren't the only trench traps either.

Video footage said to have been recorded from the Russian side near the first line of defense, for instance, shows an anti-tank ditch swallow what is believed to have been a military vehicle.

While not packed with explosives, anti-tank trenches are easily constructed barriers to armored assaults that are deep and wide and a hassle for the advancing force to clear.

Even in the face of these threats though, the Ukrainians are advancing, but progress has been slow as some assaults are blunted and even repelled. It is not a fast, sweeping offensive. Instead, it is a grinding slog coming at a very high price.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Baby Boomers in Singapore were the largest group in an Amex survey to say that they often shop at local businesses. (PHOTO: Getty)

SINGAPORE  A survey conducted by credit card and payments company American Express (AMEX) concluded that Baby Boomers (those aged 58 and above) were the most loyal to local businesses compared to other generations.

According to the study, released on Monday (31 July), some 95 per cent said that they often shop at local businesses while 43 per cent shop at international ones.

The study also showed that 55 per cent of Singapore consumers agree that supporting local businesses is very important, despite finding that over 90 per cent of the survey respondents said that they often shop at local businesses compared with 71 per cent for international businesses.

The survey, titled the Shop Small Research for Singapore, is the fourth edition of its kind and was conducted online among 1,005 Singapore-based consumers aged 21 and above.

Generational differences

The survey also revealed notable generational differences, with 63 per cent of Baby Boomers agreeing that supporting local is very important compared to 44 per cent of Gen Zs (aged 21 to 25), 57 per cent of Millennials (aged 26 to 41), and 56 per cent of Gen Xs (aged 42 to 57).

Despite being less emotionally tied to local businesses, Gen Zs were more willing to pay a premium for local products compared to the Gen Xs and Baby Boomers, with 18 per cent agreeing compared with 9 per cent and 11 per cent respectively. However, the survey concluded that the Millennials were the most empathetic generation as they were the most willing to pay a premium for local businesses at 24 per cent.

Compared to other generations, Gen Zs were the highest to indicate that they would spend more in 2023 versus 2022 at 40 per cent. At 66 per cent, the 2023 dining spend for Gen Zs is also significantly higher than the 48 per cent average across all generations.

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At 81 per cent, Baby Boomers were the largest group who said they feel proud or a warm sense of home when they see a Singapore brand overseas, while the smallest are Gen Zs at 67 per cent. Similarly, Baby Boomers were the most to feel concerned that Singapore's heritage businesses will disappear in the next decade at 61 per cent, while the lowest were Gen Zs at 52 per cent.

In terms of caring about sustainability, 36 per cent of Millennials agreed they would be more encouraged to support local businesses if they sell more sustainable products. This is in comparison to 27 per cent of Gen Zs, 26 per cent of Gen Xs and 30 per cent of Baby Boomers.

Among those who would give local businesses a second chance after a bad experience, 29 per cent listed the desire to support the livelihoods of the local community as the top reason. The highest among all generations are Gen Xs at 37 per cent.

Reasons for shopping local

The top reasons why the survey respondents choose to shop with local businesses over international ones are convenience (68 per cent), value for money (60 per cent), and a more personalised customer experience (33 per cent). Some 21 per cent of all respondents were also driven by their desire to maintain relationships with the staff or owners of these businesses.

Results of the survey also revealed that having peace of mind and comfort was the top sentiment when shopping at local businesses at 48 per cent. This is followed by a sense of community (40 per cent) and a sense of purpose by supporting the community (40 per cent).

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Analysis-Biggest hurdles to China entry into trans-Pacific trade pact are political FILE PHOTO: Britain signs treaty to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, in Auckland

By Lucy Craymer and Joe Cash

AUCKLAND/BEIJING (Reuters) - China should be able to meet standards set out in a major trans-Pacific trade pact, trade experts say, forcing members to make a politically uncomfortable decision on whether to let Beijing join a deal created to counter its growing influence.

Britain joined the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) at a meeting in Auckland this month just over two years after its application, clearing the way for members to consider others from China, Taiwan, Ukraine, Costa Rica, Uruguay and Ecuador.

China's application, by far the biggest economy, is next in line if they are dealt with in the order they were received, although that is not a given.

When asked whether there was a time frame for when the next applications would be considered, CPTPP host nation New Zealand's Trade Minister Damien O'Connor said: "No."

The free trade agreement has its roots in the U.S.-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership, developed in part to counter China's growing economic dominance. The U.S. pulled out under President Donald Trump and it was reborn as the CPTPP with members including close U.S. allies Japan, Australia and Canada.

China wants to be part of the CPTTP because the ruling Communist Party places a lot of stock in its economic performance, which has suffered recently due to various trade restrictions, and because it sees the bloc's high accession requirements as fresh impetus for economic reform at home, analysts say.

The absence of the world's largest economy incentivises China to meet the high entry requirements as "the hidden motive" for Beijing is to "defeat the scheme by the U.S. to use the CPTPP as a way to contain China," said Henry Gao, a law professor at Singapore Management University.

A Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said its application was in line with efforts to deepen reform and expand trade cooperation with other countries.

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TECHNICAL HURDLES

The CPTPP requires countries to eliminate or significantly reduce tariffs, make strong commitments to opening services and investment markets and has rules around competition, intellectual property (IP) rights and protections for foreign companies.

"The conventional wisdom is... that 'Oh well, it's too high level and China with its state-owned enterprises (SOE) couldn't get into that agreement. So therefore it's not going to happen.' I think that is completely wrong," Tim Groser, a former New Zealand trade minister and chief trade negotiator said.

He said there was a desire by at least some in China to use the agreement to drive reform such as in SOEs.

However, China offers SOEs subsidies and could struggle to meet the requirement to be an open and market-driven economy. And while IP rights are improving, there continue to be high-profile cases of IP theft from Western companies.

The CPTPP also has a focus on digital trade and prohibits forcing foreign companies to store local data in country - for example, in China. Beijing's data sovereignty laws have only become tighter in recent years.

"If a country's economies rules are really quite far apart from what CPTPP says, then inevitably there's quite a big question about whether they could undertake really, really massive reforms," said Graham Zebedee, Britain's CPTPP chief trade negotiator, without commenting specifically about China's application.

Trade experts noted the pact does have exemptions, such as protections for national security, and China showed it could liberalise when it joined the World Trade Organization.

"The CPTPP is important for us. Not because it'll be easy but exactly because it will be difficult and tough," China's Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong said in a recent speech. He said potential accession was an "impetus to the domestic reforms" that would be undertaken.

SHADOW OF POLITICS

Ultimately the decision will be political rather than technical, because a deal to allow a new entrant must be agreed upon by all members. Australia, for example, has said it would not endorse China's application while Beijing continues to block the import of Australian goods including wine and barley.

Furthermore, the U.S., Australia, Britain, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand last month signed a statement condemning economic coercion that was widely seen as referring to China's behaviour at a time when many countries are looking to lessen supply chains' reliance on Beijing.

Hopes also remain that the U.S. might reconsider its early CPTPP withdrawal, creating a dilemma for signatories given their veto power and the risk China, if admitted, could block a future U.S. entry.

"I think Japan, Australia, Canada and Mexico, they have to all act on their own. The U.S. walked away, so they shouldn't really try to restrict others to talk with other partners," said Wang Huiyao, president of the Center for China and Globalization think tank and a former member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference political advisory body.

When asked if the U.S. would reconsider joining the CPTPP, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Wellington last week it is focused for now on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which aims to improve supply chains and business conduct but is not a free trade agreement.

China has backed a rival Asia-Pacific trade pact called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which excludes the U.S. and involves cutting tariffs rather than opening up economies and dictating labour and environmental standards as the CPTPP does.

For CPTPP members, China's application is not the only political dilemma. Taiwan is also seeking to join the pact, in a move opposed by China that member trade negotiators remain unsure about.

"It's a consensus. So ultimately it depends on what everyone decides at the table," said Natalie Black, Britain's trade commissioner for Asia Pacific.

(Reporting by Lucy Craymer in Auckland and Joe Cash in Beijing; Editing by Jamie Freed)
Bolivia has mobilized more than 2,250 security agents in a massive operation closing in on an alleged cocaine trafficker who has ricocheted around the world to elude capture, a senior official said on Sunday.

The target of the hunt is Sebastian Enrique Marset Cabrera, wanted on drugs charges in his native Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil and the United States.

"A series of raids have been carried out in the department of Santa Cruz... (for) a drug trafficker of high value for our region and the whole world," Bolivian Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo said.

"We have mobilized more than 2,250 police officers, more than 144 motorized vehicles, we have carried out more than 23 operations, six raids and the arrest of 12 people," Del Castillo said.

Marset Cabrera, who is 32, is believed to be in Santa Cruz, a sprawling energy-producing region of southeastern Bolivia abutting Brazil and Paraguay.

Del Castillo said Marset Cabrera is accompanied by his Peruvian wife and three children.

"In the coming hours, we will achieve the detention of Mr. Sebastian Enrique Marset Cabrera," Del Castillo avowed.

Heavily armed police raided a luxury home in Santa Cruz, a city of 1.9 million inhabitants that is capital of the department of the same name, and entered other properties, an AFP journalist witnessed.

Del Castillo said raids during the day netted 17 long guns, a pistol, nearly 2,000 rounds of ammunition, bullet-proof vests and 31 vehicles.

Released from UAE prison

As recently as two years ago, Marset Cabrera was in jail in the United Arab Emirates on charges of using a forged Paraguayan passport, but managed to obtain his freedom using Uruguayan documents.



Read more on FRANCE 24 English



Read also:

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Earth Day: Bolivia's Lake Poopo disappears amid 20-year drought
Hunter Biden's ex-business partner, Devon Archer, will continue his testimony on Capitol Hill on Monday, July 31. This debunks the alleged DOJ (Department of Justice) letter prison, which Republicans are claiming is true.

Hunter Biden's Ex-Business Partner to Testify

According to News Nation's latest report, Devon Archer will testify behind closed doors before the House Oversight Committee.

Devon Archer is considered to be a critical witness for Hunter Biden's case since he can reveal essential information about the alleged business dealings of POTUS' son.

Some Republicans believe that Archer can provide more information about accusations claiming that Hunter put his father on speaker phone to speak with Burisma executive at least a dozen of times.

"He has an opportunity to come tomorrow to the House Oversight Committee and tell the truth," explained House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer, R-Ky.

"He has the opportunity to be a hero like the two whistleblowers were like the judge in Delaware was who rejected the sweetheart plea deal," he added.

Read Also: President Joe Biden Publicly Acknowledges 7th Grandchild, Hunter Biden's Daughter to Lunden Roberts, for First Time

Alleged DOJ Prison Letter Debunked

On Saturday, July 29, the Department of Justice allegedly sent an administrative letter to a Manhattan judge.

The Daily Beast reported that the letter requested Devon Archer to report to prison in a case unrelated to being a former business partner of Hunter Biden.

However, Archer's attorney, Matthew Schwartz, clarified that there's no linkage between the rumored DOJ prison letter and the man's testimony.

He said that Mr. Archer doesn't agree with the speculated prison letter.

The lawyer added that Devon will continue what he has planned to do, which is to show up and do his part by answering the questions of Congressional investigators.

To end the speculations about the prison request, the Department of Justice also released a statement to confirm that the government didn't ask Devon Archer to surrender before his Congressional testimony.

The DOJ explained that before the U.S. government can imprison Archer, the defendant needs to be designated to a federal facility by the Bureau of Prisons.

Officials added that this could take several weeks or months after the Court sets a surrender date.

You can click this link to read the actual letter from the DOJ.

Related Article: Hunter Biden Counsel Accused of Lying in Criminal Tax Case; Republicans Seek To Block First Son's Plea Deal

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Jet2 Holidays announces two new routes

Jet2.com and Jet2holidays will be expanding their Summer 24 programme from Birmingham Airport by adding two new routes they announced today (Monday, July 31).

After strong demand from holidaymakers and independent travel agents, the travel company added two new European destinations bringing the total destinations up to 55 for Summer 24 from Birmingham Airport. Last week, the tour operator ran several rescue flights from wildfire-ridden Greek islands Corfu and Rhodes to repatriate Britons who were stuck there.

But after a difficult week, Jet2 has announced two new destinations, including one in Greece, for next summer. The expansion has seen the companies add two new routes from Birmingham Airport - Tivat (Montenegro) and Lesvos, Greece. Previously, they announced Girona, Izmir, Dubrovnik, Ibiza & Reus for Summer 24 from Birmingham.

How often will Jet 2 fly to Tivat in Montenegro from Birmingham Airport?

Montenegro offers customers a wealth of history and culture alongside stunning scenery and weather. With resorts on offer including Budva, Becici and Kotor Bay, customers can enjoy mountains, natural parks, lakes, beaches and port towns in this incredible destination.

There will be flights to Tivat in Montenegro from May, 2024 to October 31, 2024. A weekly Thursday service will operate from May 2, with a second weekly service (Monday) coming into operation from July 1 next year.

How often will Jet 2 fly to Lesvos in Greece from Birmingham Airport?

Lesvos is the third largest island in Greece and its magical landscape features knockout beaches and hills blanketed in olive plantations, giving customers everything from adventure to laid-back days in the sunshine.

The second new route from Birmingham Airport for Summer 24 is the sun-kissed island of Lesvos, with weekly Sunday services operating from May 26, 2024 through to October 6, 2024.

Were giving travellers more choice at Birmingham Airport

Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said: As well as looking forward to a busy Summer 23, we are also seeing lots of customers want to book ahead for next summer from Birmingham Airport which is great news. In response to that, we are moving to give customers and independent travel agents even more choice thanks to the launch of two brand new routes for Summer 24. This expansion further strengthens a programme which is already our biggest ever, and we know that it will be very popular with customers and independent travel agents right across the region.
More than 240 travellers returning to the UK from Turkey have suffered from salmonella (Photo: Adobe)

British holidaymakers going to Turkey have been issued a travel warning following a recent spike in salmonella cases.

More than 240 travellers returning to the UK from Turkey since the beginning of this year have been struck by the bacterial disease, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said.

A total of 241 people have suffered the bacterial form of food poisoning, although it is understood that no single source of the infection in Turkey has been found. The UKHSA has said that the majority of the cases originated from the Antalya region of Turkey, with 56% of these being among men and the average age being 29.

These cases were detected among holidaymakers staying in several different hotels in Turkey, with most of those infected reporting eating a wide variety of different foods within their hotel resort as part of an all-inclusive holiday package.

In response to the recent rise in salmonella infections, the UK Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for holidaymakers. It said: UKHSA has detected an increase in gastrointestinal infections in travellers returning from Turkey, with over 200 cases of Salmonella detected since the beginning of 2023. Further information is available from UKHSA .

The overall travel update also includes information for people to help keep them safe and well on holiday, including looking up local health risks before travel and ensuring they have the right vaccinations.

Information on specific health risks, including recommended vaccinations, can be found on the TravelHealthPro website and from the foreign travel advice on gov.uk.

The UKHSA advises that people thoroughly wash their hands while travelling abroad, especially after using the toilet and before preparing or eating food.

It adds: Recently prepared, thoroughly cooked food that is served piping hot, fruit that can be peeled by the traveller (such as bananas and oranges), and pasteurised dairy produce such as yoghurts, milk and cheese are good options for travellers.

Story continues

Ensure perishable foods are kept cool in the fridge or freezer where possible. People feeling unwell with gastrointestinal illness should avoid preparing food or drinks for others until they are free of symptoms.

According to the NHS, symptoms of food poisoning include:

feeling sick

diarrhoea

being sick

stomach cramps

a high temperature of 38C or above

feeling generally unwell, such as feeling tired or having aches and chills

Symptoms will usually start within a few days of eating the food that caused the infection, but in some cases they can develop after a few hours or not for a few weeks. Symptoms should usually pass within a week and it is important to drink lots of fluids, such as water or squash, to avoid dehydration.

People should also ensure their families are up to date with routine vaccinations such as measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), as these infections can be more common in other countries, the UKHSA said. It also warned people to take care in the heat, including drinking plenty of water to help prevent dehydration, and wearing sun cream, hats and sunglasses.

The UKHSA is currently liaising with ABTA, the Turkish public health authorities and other international public health partners to inform investigations on rising cases of salmonella.

The UK Health Security is liaising with ABTA, the Turkish health authorities and other international public health partners to investigate. The government health body is also working with the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) to ensure appropriate advice is in place for UK travellers.
HA NOI  Foreign investment registered in Viet Nam showed signs of recovery in the first seven months of this year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

During the reviewed period, foreign investors pumped US$16.24 billion into the country, up 4.5 per cent year-on-year, the FIA said.

The agency noted that for the first time in 2023, total registered investment capital soared after witnessing consecutive decreases over six months. In July alone, foreign investment reached over $2.8 billion, up 8.9 per cent month-on-month and 85.7 per cent year-on-year.

Nearly $7.94 billion was injected into 1,627 new projects during the period, an increase of 75.5 per cent in the number of projects and 38.6 per cent in level of capital against last years corresponding period.

At the same time, $4.14 billion came from 1,627 transactions of capital contribution and share purchases made by foreign investors, up 60.7 per cent in capital and down 10.6 per cent in number.

Meanwhile, nearly $4.16 billion, down 42.5 per cent year-on-year in capital, was added to 736 existing projects, up 27.1 per cent year-on-year in number of projects.

Director of the FIA o Nhat Hoang said the growth rate of the number of new projects nearly doubled that of total investment capital. These figures showed that foreign financiers continued to place their trust in the local investment environment as they continued making new investment decisions in the Vietnamese market.

Hoang also delivered the same comment for capital added to existing projects. He said though adjusted investment capital was decreasing, it tended to improve month by month. Meanwhile, the number of projects which saw capital added still increased over the same period. That once again has confirmed investors' confidence in Viet Nam's investment climate, so they continued to expand their existing projects.

In line with this, a significant positive sign is that the disbursed capital stood at an estimated $11.58 billion in seven months, a slight annual increase of 0.8 per cent. The move, therefore, demonstrated the Government's drastic solutions for providing effective support and removing difficulties for enterprises in the process of capital disbursement.

According to the FIA, the manufacturing and processing sector led in foreign investment attraction, with $10.93 billion or 67.3 per cent of the total capital. It was followed by real estate with 1.61 billion or 9.9 per cent.

Next was the banking and finance sector with over $1.53 billion and science and technology with $738 million.

In the January-July period, there were 94 countries and territories pouring capital into Viet Nam, in which Singapore topped the list with $3.64 billion, down 15.5 per cent year-on-year. It was followed by South Korea ($2.34 billion) and China ($2.33 billion).

The majority of new investment projects focus on provinces and cities such as Ha Noi, Hai Phong, HCM City, Bac Giang, Binh Duong, Bac Ninh, and ong Nai.

Foreign investors from Asia still accounted for a large proportion, including six traditional investment partners, such as Singapore, Japan, mainland China, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, which made up 78.2 per cent of the countrys total investment capital in the reviewed period.

According to experts, the recent moves of some investors have shown that foreign investment would likely soon recover.

South Korean Hyosung Group has announced a plan to develop a $1 billion carbon fibre factory in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau with the first phase investment of $160 million, baodautu.vn reported.

Earlier, the company has implemented several projects with a combined investment capital of about $3.5 billion in four localities including Ba Ria-Vung Tau, ong Nai, Quang Nam and Bac Ninh.

During a recent Viet Nam-Korea Business Forum, chairman of the Hyosung Group Cho Hyun Joon said his firm considered Viet Nam a strategic market. He said that his group would not only want to expand the scale but also turn the country into a sustainable investment destination.

An investor - Thailand-based Runergy PV Technology Co - will invest $293 million in a factory producing monocrystalline silicon rods and semiconductor platters at the ong Nam Economic Zone in Nghe An province.

Meanwhile, Suntory Pepsico has received a nod from Long An Province to invest $185 million in a beverage plant in Long An Province's Huu Thanh Industrial Zone. Along with that, Yokorei Vietnam Co will build cold storage worth about $52 million in the province besides AEON Viet Nam's $45 million project.

Experts said opportunities were available. However, whether foreign investment in Viet Nam got a strong recovery depended greatly on Viet Nam's policy response. In the report on foreign investment attraction in the first seven months of the year, the FIA continued to highlight the impact of global minimum tax enforcement on investment decision-making of big giants.

At a recent meeting on law-making, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that the Government would propose policies regarding the global minimum tax to the National Assembly for discussion and approval in October.

Introducing policies to come up with the global minimum tax was essential for Viet Nam to ensure tax revenue but remain attractive to foreign investors as many countries are adopting the initiative. VNS
HA NOI  The pig-raising industry needs a long-term development strategy seeing as the price of animal feed is nearly 70 per cent of total costs, said deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung uc Tien.

Besides, the industry must focus on processing and high-tech animal husbandry, Tien said in the meeting on implementing solutions to promote the pig-raising industry organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in Ha Noi late last week.

In the first half of this year, pork production reached 2.32 million tonnes, up 5.4 per cent and the total number of pigs is estimated to have increased by 2.5 per cent over the same period last year.

Pork prices increased since June, with prices ranging from VN60,000 to 67,000 (US$2.5-2.8) per kilo.

The increase in pork prices was a good sign for farmers and the agricultural industry, said the deputy minister.

There are risks of epidemic outbreaks with many strains of influenza viruses and other diseases imported from abroad, said Tien.

The price of animal feed is still high and the illegal import of livestock products is still uncontrolled, he said.

For months, the ministry, farmers and the relevant agencies had found solutions to handle the situation. The efforts have paid off as prices of livestock products, especially pork, have increased again, he added.

He asked the livestock industry to be proactive in dealing with difficulties in the face of disease developments and the increase of raw material and food prices in the second half of this year.

The industry would need to be well prepared with food sources from now until the Tet (Lunar New Year), with demand increasing by 15-20 per cent.

The pig industry would need to increase exports as the potential advantages here are large.

Building an autonomous livestock industry was necessary to solve the problem of animal feed.

"The country's corn yield is about 4 million tonnes. It's impossible to import corn and soybeans forever. We must have a solution," Tien told the meeting.

Pham Kim ang, deputy director of the ministrys Livestock Production Department, said pig production had shifted from small-scale household farming to large-scale farms.

In the past five years, the rate of household husbandry had decreased by 5-7 per cent per year, especially in 2019 and 2022 alone by 15-20 per cent, ang told the meeting.

Currently, pork production in smallholder farmers had been reduced to 35-40 per cent of the total.

The structure of the pork supply in 2022 showed that household enterprises accounted for only 19 per cent, livestock households accounted for 38 per cent, and FDI enterprises made up 43 per cent.

Large-scale domestic livestock enterprises such as Dabaco, Masan, Tan Long, Thien Thuan Truong, Mavin, Greenfeed, Truong Hai and Hoa Phat and foreign-invested companies such as CP, Japfa Comfeed, New Hope, CJ, Emivest and Cargill were building and gradually forming a chain-link farm system.

This was one step in restructuring livestock production to gradually modernise the livestock industry.

Pork is one of the main foods used daily by Vietnamese people.

At present, in the structure of meat consumption of Vietnamese people, pork accounts for 73.3 per cent, poultry meat is 17.5 per cent and only the remaining 9.2 per cent is red meat including beef, buffalo, goat and lamb.

Viet Nams pig industry has a large domestic market of nearly 100 million people, let alone the number of international tourists increasing year by year. These are advantages for the development of the pig industry in the coming time, according to ang.

The Strategy on Livestock Development to 2030 sets a goal of 30 million pig heads every year, of which the sow herd is about 2.5 million heads, carcass meat about six million tonnes and export is 15-20 per cent of pork production.

ang said the industry would focus on enhancing bio-safety pig production, controlling epidemics, building links, effectively managing pig breeds, developing indigenous and endemic breeds, protecting the environment, and applying high technologies.

Disease control

According to deputy director of the Department of Animal Health Phan Quang Minh, to develop pig farming in a sustainable way, the industry must carry out three main veterinary tasks of disease prevention, slaughter control and animal quarantine.

The biggest threat today is still African swine fever which first occurred in Viet Nam in 2019 and caused losses of VN13.2 trillion ($556 million).

Up to now, the disease still makes it difficult for many farmers to restore the production.

However, in June last year, Viet Nam successfully produced a vaccine against African Swine Fever. This is considered a steel shield to prevent the disease that caused the country to kill more than 6 million pigs.

A number of other common diseases in pigs such as foot-and-mouth disease and blue ear are currently being vaccinated against.

In order to effectively prevent epidemics, it is necessary to build disease-free areas.

The Department of Animal Health held four related conferences and set up many inspection teams to localities to guide, supervise and strengthen disease prevention and control.

In the first six months of this year, 130 disease-free facilities for pigs were built. And the department advised the ministry to develop safe areas of free foot-and-mouth disease to export pork to China.  VNS
Police in Muncie, Indiana reported an alleged "mass shooting" event at a street party early Sunday morning (July 30), which left 30-year-old Joseph Bonner dead and at least 19 others injured and taken to the same hospital for treatment.

Muncie is a town about 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Indianapolis.

In a statement, Muncie police said they responded to multiple reports of gunfire heard in the early hours of the morning at a block party in relation to the Muncie Homecoming Festival, but assured residents there was no active threat to the community.

However, they have not stated anything about the suspect, their whereabouts, or if he or she was arrested.

On the other hand, organizers of the Muncie Homecoming Festival stated the street party was not part of the official festivities but the tragedy still shocked the whole community, nevertheless.

Read Also: Influencer Cries, Apologizes in Court After Letting Her Dog Attack Airbnb Hosts

Multiple Units Contacted for Assistance, Muncie Police Says

"Due to the number of victims and nature of the incident, multiple agencies were contacted to assist," Muncie Police said in their statement.

Many of the police and emergency backup came from the nearby town of Eaton after its police department chief Jay Turner called the incident a "mass shooting."

The Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie also told the Associated Press they were treating at least 19 of the victims in the shooting incident, 13 of which remained in a serious but stable condition Sunday morning.

Muncie Deputy Police Chief Melissa Criswell said some of the victims who sustained critical injuries were airlifted to other hospitals via helicopter.

CBS Indianapolis affiliate WTTV reported a witness describing the scene in the hospital's emergency department and said over 100 people came to the facility to transport the injured by private vehicles. The station also reported that a Muncie-based FBI agent assisted at the scene.

Active Shooter Report at Tesla's Austin Giga Factory a Hoax

Meanwhile, authorities say the active shooter situation in the Tesla Giga Factory in Austin, Texas Friday morning (July 28) turned out to be a false alarm.

The Travis County Sheriff's Office clarified the large plant and found no shooter, threat, or injuries but is continuing to investigate the source of the hoax.

However, ABC News Austin affiliate KVUE reported families of workers and employees at the Tesla campus were still reeling from the threat of a mass shooting in the facility

Neither Elon Musk nor Tesla have immediately responded to reporters' requests for comment.

Related Article: Mother of Uvalde Shooting Victim Seeking Mayoral Bid

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
HCM CITY  Salt producers need to adopt new technologies, diversify products and push promotion to grow the industry sustainably and efficiently, experts said.

Viet Nam has a number of advantages in salt production, including a 3,200km coastline and favourable natural conditions, but is affected by small-scale and scattered production and a lack of industrial methods, which affect quality and productivity.

Besides, the low incomes it fetches means the salt production area fell to just 11,000ha last year from 13,160ha in 2017, according to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Producers have switched to aquaculture and other occupations, leaving many salt farms abandoned.

Besides, only 14 out of 73 salt production facilities in the country have adopted technology and industrial methods, which leads to a decrease in production capacity.

Extreme competition in the global market and insufficient funding had prevented many of them, including his, from growing, Pham Thanh Chuong, director of Thanh Chuong Iodine Salt Trading Production Co., Ltd., said.

Ho Xuan Vinh, director of ABACA Viet Nam Co., Ltd, said on the other hand, some had adopted hi-tech methods to make a variety of products such as naked and low-sodium salts only to see consumers unable to differentiate between them.

To build an efficient salt industry, it was necessary to tap the full potential of production areas, improve productivity and quality, and diversify products to meet consumers needs in the local and export markets, Le uc Thinh, head of the department, said.

Vinh said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should be a channel to connect enterprises with co-operation opportunities to develop a sustainable value chain and ensure steady incomes for farmers, promote the industrys products, and set standards and guidelines to enhance quality.

Luc Manh Tung of Agritech Vietnam Investment and Trading JSC said his company had been working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to help increase the capacity of farmers and co-operatives.

It had also set up a fund together with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to provide soft loans to co-operatives, he added.

The ministry has a salt industry development project for 2021-25 in Nam inh, Thai Binh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Ben Tre, and Bac Lieu provinces.

It plans to foster the industry by developing infrastructure, adopting industrial production methods and technology, building geographical indications and brands, and soliciting investment.

Plans are also afoot to combine salt production and tourism to promote the industry on a global scale.  VNS
HA NOI  The trade deal would create a conducive atmosphere for the export of Vietnamese products to Israel and soon bring bilateral trade to US$3 billion.

That was the comment of expert inh Trong Thinh on the Vietnam-Israel Free Trade Agreement, which was signed on Wednesday after seven years of negotiations.

"The deal presents stellar opportunities for Vietnamese producers to drive substantial cost savings and gain competitive advantages through access to Israeli high-tech sectors," Thinh said.

Vietnamese tropical products will also have the scope to serve as an essential link in Israeli supply chains.

"Israel needs imports from tropical countries like Viet Nam to fuel its processing industry," said Thinh.

But Vietnamese producers still have a lot of work to do to get there, given that merely 30 per cent of them have managed to use FTAs to their advantage.

Trade authorities, he said, could use communication and education tools to get more producers well-informed about VIFTA.

According to expert Ngo Tri Long Israel is not self-sufficient in consumer goods and depends highly on imports. The country imports US$35 billion for consumption annually, indicating large potential demand for Vietnamese exports.

The deal will open up opportunities for Viet Nam to turn the potential demand into real revenue. With VIFTA, bilateral trade is expected to rise to $3 billion soon, from $2.6 billion in 2022.

"Viet Nam currently has around 70 exportable products to Israel. Room for commercial growth is ample," said Long.

Long called on Vietnamese producers to read up on trade rules in Israeli markets to fully exploit the deal. He said market research and trade promotion would also serve producers well in that regard.

"Food safety should be top of mind when bringing products to Israeli markets," he added.

Truong inh Hoe, Secretary-General of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, said the deal would bring Viet Nam's exports to new heights thanks to Israel's great demand for its seafood.

In fact, Israel had always been among the 30 largest importers of Vietnamese seafood, consuming $36.6 million of tuna, $23.2 million of squid, and $21 million of shrimp in 2022.

"Vietnamese seafood has won favour with Israeli consumers over the years. The deal will push the advantage further by phasing out tariffs," said Hoe.

Expert Vu Vinh Phu said the deal would give a big push to Viet Nam's exports to Israel, making bilateral trade more balanced and equitable. Current bilateral trade is skewed in favour of Israel.

He called on Viet Nam's trade offices to assist producers in business matching to help them avoid scams in trade.  VNS
HA NOI  Eighty-one young entrepreneurs with outstanding startup results in 2023 were honoured at a ceremony in Ha Noi on Sunday.

ang Hong Anh, Vice President of the Viet Nam Youth Federation and President of the Viet Nam Young Entrepreneurs Association, said that the startups run by those entrepreneurs produced a combined revenue of nearly VN1.7 trillion (US$71.7 million), earned total profits of VN104 billion, and paid VN39 billion to the budget last year.

First held in 2015, this award is one of the pioneering activities of the Viet Nam Young Entrepreneurs Association in implementing the Government-launched national startup programme.

Chairman of the Party Central Committees Economic Commission Tran Tuan Anh spoke highly of contributions by young entrepreneurs to the nations development.

He expressed his hope that the awardees will exert more effort to turn Viet Nam into a strong and prosperous country.

On the same day, the Viet Nam Young Entrepreneurs Association held a workshop themed Learn to lead, during which participants shared their experience in production and business as well as their startup journey.  VNS
QUANG BINH  Coming from Cuba, Dr Annet Ramos is used to working in hot weather conditions.

Its no different for her now she calls Viet Nam home.

At 7am youll find Dr Ramos starting her shift at the Viet Nam - Cuba Friendship Hospital, in the central province of Quang Binh.

Shes been working here for the past four years in the paediatric department taking care of children.

The healthcare system in Viet Nam is truly different from our system in Cuba, the 53-year-old said.

In Cuba, as infectious disease experts for children, doctors can only treat infectious diseases. However, in Viet Nam, the experts have to consider all signs of an illness from infectious diseases to other related symptoms.

That has helped me improve and become a more well-rounded doctor. For me, Viet Nam represents growth and maturity.

Her days always begin by meeting with doctors and nurses from the paediatric department to discuss and exchange treatment methods for noteworthy cases before performing check-ups and updating patients situations.

Dr Ramos currently has a number of cases on her books. One is a five-year-old boy, Nguyen Khien An, who has been at the hospital for a few days due to dengue fever.

Apart from dengue fever, An also has a pre-existing congenital heart condition. In the past, he has undergone one surgery, which requires regular blood-thinning medication. His given medical history has made Dr Ramos keep him under close observation.

Nguyen Van Bong, Ans father, noticed that Dr Ramos visits patients at least four to five times a day.

Bong said: She asks very detailed questions about my sons symptoms and frequently checks his condition. It may be because of his background disease.

To all the patients here, this foreign doctor is always enthusiastic and caring for her patients. The language barrier might cause difficulties but she always finds a way to make it easier.

I know English so it is easy for me to talk with her, Bong added.

But with other families, if there are no interpreters or Vietnamese doctors around, she will use a translation application on her phone to explain the disease to patients.

Despite the language barrier, her actions and gestures are enough for the children to feel affectionate towards her. Her secret to winning over these young patients is her generous care. Many of them were shy and fearful during their first time meeting with Dr Ramos, but after several visits, they become more comfortable and develop trust in the doctor.

Dr Ramos said: With my care, I noticed the children became more familiar and started waiting for me at the door.

When they see me, they would talk to me in English and even give me candy. The most important thing is that I love children, so I feel happy working here in this hospital when the patients place their trust in me.

Before coming to Viet Nam, the doctor spent a long time studying and working in medicine in Cuba and other countries. She single-handedly managed to balance her studies, work and raise her son, who now also has a career in medicine.

Doctor Nguyen uc Cuong, director of the hospital, praised Cuban doctors like Dr Ramos for their diligent and responsible working style.

Dr Cuong said: They are also very friendly and frequently engaging in meetings in normal life. All of them say that they consider Viet Nam as their home and wish to continue working here.

Dr Ramos is a part of an exchange cooperation programme between the two countries Ministries of Health that so far, has seen seven doctors work in Viet Nam since April 2018.

They are experts in various fields such as interventional cardiology, neurosurgery, orthopaedic trauma, oncology, paediatrics and gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Four have finished their work in Viet Nam and returned to Cuba while three are currently still here.

During her career, Dr Ramos has participated in numerous national-level tasks including working in quarantine areas during the H1N1 pandemic in 1988 and in various outbreaks of dengue fever in different regions of Havana.

One of the most memorable moments during her time in Viet Nam was when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. Like many other hospitals, when the pandemic hit the country, the Viet Nam - Cuba Friendship Hospital faced high-pressure days treating patients.

Dr Ramos felt fortunate that Viet Nam managed to control the pandemic so well, but shell never forget the anxiety and challenges that it brought to all the doctors.

When there was a positive case among the paediatric patients, the entire department including doctors and patients families had to live together in the quarantine areas for 21 days, which was extremely stressful.

Everything was tense and painful during that time, she said.

Fortunately, everything went well, no one had severe illness or encountered danger.

After four years, Viet Nam has become more and more familiar to her.

She added: As time went on, I started to admire and love Quang Binh and the people here. I have many cheerful and friendly Vietnamese friends.

I also have opportunities to learn about its beautiful traditions. The citys beauty made a lasting impression on me. People persistently working towards rebuilding and developing the economy have filled me with a sense of honour to be here.

At the Viet Nam - Cuba Friendship Hospital, since its inauguration in 1974, the cooperation between the two countries has been consistently maintained.

For Dr Ramos, she plans to continue working in Viet Nam for two more years before heading to Panama, Central America to further enhance her experience in infectious diseases.  VNS
WASHINGTON  The World Bank Board of Directors has just approved a project to strengthen flood resilience and improve sanitation, transport, and public space infrastructure in Vinh City, a political, economic, and cultural centre of Viet Nams north-central coast region.

The US$129.6 million Nghe An Province Vinh City Priority Infrastructure and Urban Resilience Development Project will directly benefit a quarter of a million residents in Vinh Citys urban core by reducing flood risk and improving public health.

Once completed, the project, will connect 30,000 households to new or rehabilitated secondary and tertiary sewers, and reduce the time women spend on unpaid housework after flooding, including cleaning, by half.

The project will contribute to climate adaptation by reducing damage from heavy rains, and to climate change mitigation by improving living conditions in the citys centre and the construction of pedestrian and bike lanes.

The Vinh City project is more than just infrastructure; it's a transformative endeavour enhancing the socioeconomic conditions of Vinh City's inhabitants, said World Bank Country Director for Vietnam Carolyn Turk.

The project embodies the World Banks commitment to assisting Viet Nam in achieving sustainable urbanisation and resilient growth

The project design reflects lessons learned about urban resilience and disaster risk management in Viet Nam and builds on the World Banks Vietnam Country Climate and Development Report by supporting the citys ability to predict and respond to floods and engage in more climate-sensitive urban planning. Investments include flood control systems, wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure, and transport links to promote sustainable urban growth and climate resilience.

Vinh City cannot cope with severe rainfall events, resulting in stormwater pooling at various locations throughout the city. To improve the drainage system, a new lake will be built to store excess stormwater runoff in an expanded flood basin within the city. The project will also support the conversion of vacant land on both sides of the Vinh River into green public spaces while improving waste collection and separation to reduce the quantity of plastic waste disposed into the rivers. VNS
HA NOI  The Australia-Vietnam Leadership Dialogue (AVLD) has announced 20 young delegates participating in the programme this year, which aims to foster engagement, collaboration, and innovation between emerging and established leaders from the two countries.

AVLD Board chair Dr Melissa Jardine said: "We are proud to introduce this remarkable cohort of delegates who embody the future leaders of the Australia-Vietnam relationship.

"I'm excited to witness them go on this transformative journey during the dialogue as they reflect more deeply about their role in shaping the development of and relationships between both nations."

"Their diverse backgrounds and expertise will foster dynamic discussions, innovative thinking, and actionable outcomes," she added.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Australia-Viet Nam bilateral relations this year, the programme is themed "Evolution: The Next 50 Years", and is designed around key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Quality Education, Gender Equality, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.

Delegates were selected from Viet Nam and Australia from over 200 applications, representing various sectors such as philanthropy, technology, consulting, and STEM education.

Tuyen Vo, the founder-CEO of Dear Our Community and a participant in the dialogue said she would love to see people from the grassroots level, especially young people, coming together and finding ways to make not only the two countries but also the planet to be more sustainable.

I think thats important for all of us, she added.

Son Nguyen, another delegate who is an associate at Impact Investment Exchange said: I hope that during the dialogue, I can get to know more ideas from my cohort here (Viet Nam) and the Australian delegates on how we can work together to help social enterprises raise capital to get them more investment-ready and explore opportunities.

The five-day programme is scheduled for September 11-15, taking place in the Mekong Deltas Can Tho City and HCM City.  VNS
As one of the most impressive startups, Shark Tank season 1, when it was contested by 4/5 "sharks", SuperShip made an important strategic shift under the advice of Shark Vuong and just received good news late last month.

At the time of participating in Shark Tank Vietnam season 1 at the end of 2017, SuperShip was a startup that delivered and collected money for online stores, processing about 2,000 orders per day, achieving a growth rate of 10 months per month. -20%, the latest month's revenue is about 1 billion dong.

Immediately, Shark Le Dang Khoa pointed out that in the SuperShip field, big names like Fast Delivery or Ahamove now provide convenient and easy-to-use services, leading to the question of the highlight of SuperShip first. What are the opponents?

"First, I will cooperate with sales solution providers for shops to connect with many shops simultaneously. Secondly, I will replicate this model, providing solutions for traditional delivery units and inner-city units in the provinces that do not have a complete technology solution or model, forming a network of product transportation with partners", said SuperShip CEO Le Thanh Hoai.

Before the investment offered 4/5 "shark taste", Thanh Hoai decided to shake hands with Shark Tran Anh Vuong - who agreed to pour 2 billion VND for 20% of the shares.

Also read: Meet Erik Jonsson, Shark Tank Vietnam's First Ever Foreign Investor  Vietnam News - Latest Updates and World Insights | Vietreader.com

The leap after Shark Tank

Under the companionship and advice of Shark Vuong after the program, CEO Le Thanh Hoai changed his business strategy from determining to self-finance to opening a post office to build a network to a franchise model.

SuperShip only needs to select one or a few representatives in each province, then transfer the technology behind them. The order still goes to SuperShip's system, but the franchise post office will deliver.

Thus, SuperShip has two sources of revenue: franchise fee and % of revenue per ship. In addition, due to the need to invest in cooperation capital, the spirit of ownership of partners is also high, helping to ensure service quality and customer care.

Thanh Hoai once told the media that the franchise model helps SuperShip compete in the delivery game. Not only taking advantage of the financial capacity of the whole system and the understanding of the market of local partners, but this model also creates a competitive advantage in terms of cost and delivery time.

SuperShip started implementing the delivery franchise model 2018 with the first 32 partners. A year later, the number of partners increased to 170 with a nationwide network.

In 2020, the company's revenue reached VND 60 billion, double 2019 and about 10 times higher than the figure of VND 7.4 billion in 2017 - the time of participating in Shark Tank. This delivery startup aims to reach 120 billion VND in revenue in 2021, double the previous year.

However, 2020 is also the time when the Covid-19 pandemic affects the entire social life and operations of businesses, notwithstanding SuperShip. Many of the company's partners stopped working because consumer demand and shopping decreased, leading to fewer orders.

"The Covid-19 pandemic also delayed raising capital with foreign funds, affecting the breakthrough growth plan, forcing the company to switch to a backup plan," Thanh Hoai shared with the media in return August 2020.

Also read: Food Delivery App Believes Technology Is Key To Pandemic Recovery  Vietnam News - Latest Updates and World Insights | Vietreader.com

Overcoming the pandemic, receiving capital from new investors

According to the CEO of SuperShip, since March 2021, the company's sales have decreased by an average of 5% to 10% per month. The number of orders decreased, and the cost of goods transshipment increased, so in August 2021, SuperShip temporarily suspended internal intercity delivery to protect cash flow; many post offices also had to suspend operations.

SuperShip switched to delivering food, essential goods, and medical equipment in isolated areas to maintain operations throughout the epidemic. By October 2021, this startup recovered 92.87% compared to the beginning of the year in March.

During this time, SuperShip has also optimized its business model, becoming the only delivery unit that connects customers from multiple input software (sales management, website, live stream, chatbox ...) with multi-output carriers, in which SuperShip is still the main delivery unit", shared Thanh Hoai.

Around the end of December 2021, SuperShip launched its second capital-raising plan after its success on Shark Tank, calling for VND 25 billion for a 25% stake to conquer more ambitious milestones. According to information on the company's website, SuperShip's goal for the 2023-2024 period is to standardize and optimize sales of over VND 170 billion, aiming for multinational delivery franchising.

On June 30, CEO Le Thanh Hoai announced on his personal Facebook page that SuperShip received VND 4.5 billion from Headway Holding - a company specializing in investment, logistics and technology with more than 20 years of experience in the trade. No other details have been disclosed.

According to recent information on SuperShip's Facebook page, the company has covered the country with more than 300 post offices and agents, more than 150,000 registered users, and millions of orders have been delivered nationwide.
The natural scenery of Quang Tri makes visitors change their view of the land that once rained bombs and bullets.

The land of Quang Tri is known as the location of the 17th parallel, the temporary North-South military line and the place where many relics of the national resistance are kept. Today, Quang Tri owns cultural and historical tourism resources with landmarks such as Vinh Moc tunnels, Quang Tri Ancient Citadel, Nine - Khe Sanh Streets, Ho Chi Minh Road, and Truong Son Martyrs Cemetery. Besides, Quang Tri's nature also replaces itself with charming mountains, high mountains and wide sea, becoming a potential tourist destination for tourists to explore.

Also read: Visit the "red addresses" in Quang Tri in July. Relive the heroic history of the Vietnamese nation  Vietnam News - Latest Updates and World Insights | Vietreader.com

As a son of Quang Tri, Tran Minh Hieu, now a tour guide, said that his hometown has places of unspoiled and peaceful beauty, contributing to the diverse beauty of Vietnam's nature. These are all free places; visitors can come at many times of the year.

Coming to Quang Tri in the summer, Mr. Hieu suggested that tourists go to Trieu Lang beach in Trieu Lang commune, Trieu Phong district, about 20 km from Dong Ha City. Trieu Lang Beach has flat sand and shallow water, and the scene at dawn, like the infinity beach, has been loved by many people in recent years. The calm sea surface reflects the color of the sky; the boats turn the waves and run to the sea to bring back shrimp and fish. The scene is peaceful and gentle but becomes brilliant and lively under the early rays of the day.

Fishing and harvesting activities of fishermen in Trieu Lang commune occur early in the morning before dawn. Not as bustling as the Tam Tien fish market in Quang Nam, Trieu Lang gives visitors the feeling of a sea with a slow and calm pace of life.

"Trieu Lang is suitable for tourists who come to rest, relax, listen to the sound of the waves, bury their feet in the fine sand or enjoy the sun and wind of a fresh sea," said Mr. Hieu.

Trieu Lang Beach is located near the lotus lake in An Luu village and Quang Tri Ancient Citadel, Mr. Hieu suggested that visitors can combine visits in the morning schedule.

In November 2021, 19 wind power projects in Huong Linh commune, Huong Hoa district, went into operation, turning this place into a "wind valley". Most of the wind power poles are located on top of the hills, along with the topography of Huong Hoa district, which is the highland of Quang Tri, the wind power field in Huong Linh commune becomes an ideal place to check in and hunt for clouds.

Read more: Wandering in the west of Quang Tri, Vietnam  Vietnam News - Latest Updates and World Insights | Vietreader.com

Businesses have opened major roads during construction, so moving here is convenient. To see the panoramic view of the wind power field in Huong Linh commune, visitors can move to the top of Cu Vo Hill, also located in the Huong Hoa district.

Cu Vo Peak has an altitude of about 1,617 m above sea level, known by tourists who have visited it as the most beautiful place to watch the sun in Quang Tri.

During his trips, Mr. Hieu often comes here to camp in the afternoon to watch the sunset and hunt for clouds early the next morning. The sunset on Cu Vo Peak is brilliant yellow and orange, spreading over the dark blue sky. The last rays of the sun receded through the hamlet and village at the foot of the mountain and disappeared behind the distant horizon, signaling the end of the day.

In summer, the weather on Cu Vo peak is cool. The air is airy and fresh. At night, the starry sky and the sound of insects behind the bushes and grass will make visitors feel more clearly the unspoiled nature of this mountainous commune.

The reward for visitors in the early morning of the next day is a sea of white clouds as porous as cotton. Layers of thick clouds extruded, covering the landscape below and stretching endlessly. At dawn, the first sunlight of the day spreads on the sea of clouds a light yellow color and then darkens until the sun rises completely.

According to Mr. Hieu's experience, the sea of clouds often appears on days with high humidity, starting before dawn and lasting for about 30 minutes. For successful cloud hunting, visitors should check the weather forecast before going.

Located at the foot of Cu Vo peak, Rao Quan hydroelectric lake surprised Mr. Hieu the first time he visited the scenery like Central Asia with the winding water flowing through the dry forest. In the dry season, the water level is shallow. The lake is like a peaceful "oasis", covered with the cool green color of trees, mountains and forests.

Rao Quan Lake has a capacity of about 163 million m3 in the Huong Hoa district's upstream area of the Thach Han River. On the lakeside, there is a large tree, commonly known as the "Lonely Tree," with the background of mountains and hills, and the giant wind blades that are slowly rotating is also a famous check-in point here.

If you love community eco-tours, you can go to Chenh Venh village, Huong Phung commune, Huong Hoa district, to trek Chenh Venh waterfall, combine with learning about the life of Bru - Van Kieu ethnic minorities.

Chenh Venh Waterfall is located in Chenh Venh forest in the village of the same name. Along the stream leading to the waterfall are large rocks encroaching into the stream bed. The two banks are gray-brown "stone walls" with trees covering them. The trail to the waterfall has been cleared for the convenience of visitors.

Tourists here can stay at Ro Ve hamlet, managed by the people of Chenh Venh village, to learn more about the culture of the indigenous people.

In addition to Chenh Venh waterfall, visitors can visit Ta Puong waterfall and Ta Puong cultural village with peaceful stilt houses of the Pa Co and Van Kieu ethnic groups.

Ta Puong waterfall system includes Ta Puong 1 waterfall, about 30 - 35 m high, with a large water flow all year round. About 20 minutes walk from Ta Puong 1 waterfall downstream is Ta Puong 2 waterfall (pictured). Visitors can dip in the cool lake, about 5,000 m2 wide, at the foot of the waterfall.

This area has not been exploited for tourism, so it retains the pristine scenery for visitors to experience immersing in nature.
Land price is one of the most important contents in the draft Law on Land (amended) which has a great impact on socioeconomic development, state budget, business environment, and receives much attention from society.

Dao Trung Chinh - Director, Land Resources Planning and Development, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

In recent years, the policy on land prices has been gradually improved, contributing to increasing revenue for the state budget, strengthening state management of land, encouraging organisations and individuals to use the land effectively, and creating an increasingly stable source of revenue for the state budget year by year.

However, the current situation shows that some provisions of the law on land prices are no longer effective and reveal limitations.

During the process of collecting public opinions on the draft law, the content related to land price has received more than one million comments. After collecting and considering, the drafting agency is expected to specify three land valuation methods in the amended law: direct comparison, based on income, and land price adjustment coefficient.

The draft amended law legalises specific regulations on the method, content, and process of land valuation for the three proposed methods and conditions applied to each specific case. This is to ensure transparency, accuracy, and consistency in determining land prices, shorten the time to determine specific land prices in the locality, ensure the progress of the valuation, reduce the waiting time of investors, and simplify procedures.

The draft law also specifies in detail the principles of land pricing that follow the land valuation method in the market, strictly comply with the method, process, and procedures for land valuation. This is to ensure honesty, objectivity, publicity and transparency and independence between the consulting organisation, the Land Price List Appraisal Council, the Specific Land Price Appraisal Council, and all related agencies and individuals.

Information to determine the land price by the aforementioned methods must ensure: the land price stated in the transferring contract was notarised by competent bodies, land price was fixed at an auction of land use rights without being affected by any factors which can cause a sudden increase or decrease in price, family relative transactions, or other incentives recorded in the national database on land use rights.

For cases where land price information is not available in the land database, land price information shall be collected through surveys on revenue, expenses, and income from land use in the real market.

The government recently abolished the land price framework and replaced with a land price list which will be first published and implemented from 2026, which will be adjusted and amended regularly and annually. In parallel, the current land price framework will continue to be used until the end of 2025 so that localities have enough time to develop and issue a new land price list in accordance with the new provisions of the Law on Land.

The time to determine the land price for each case of land allocation, land lease, permission to change land use purpose, land use extension, changing the land use form and adjustment of land allocation and land lease decisions will also be specified in detail.

It is clearly stated that the competent Peoples Committee must approve a decision on specific land prices within 180 days from the date that decision on land allocation, land lease, or permission to change the use purpose, land use extension, changing land use form, adjustment of land allocation and land lease decisions, adjustment of detailed planning are issued.

It also supplements the process of building land price list, the responsibilities of the local Peoples Council and Peoples Committee in formulating the land price list, the construction of land price lists according to value zones, standard land parcels for areas with digital maps and land price databases.

Innovations in land price regulations will be the foundation for effectively exploiting land resources, supporting the socioeconomic development process, and creating a driving force for Vietnam to become a high-income developed country oriented by the Party and state.

Experts consider major changes to land valuation Drafts to amend and supplement Decree No.44/2014/ND-CP on land prices and Circular No.36/2014/TT- BTNMT on land valuation were discussed at a VIR seminar on the issue on July 27.

Proper land valuation vital to removing property bottlenecks Experts shed light on the importance of suitabl land valuation to facilitate the recovery of the real estate market at a VIR's seminar "Proper land valuation to remove project bottlenecks" held in Hanoi yesterday.
With the constant back-and-forth of missile and drone attacks between Russia and Ukraine, the Kremlin said Monday (July 31) it was ramping up its air defenses. The announcement followed a new wave of drone attacks inside the country, the latest of which was in the southern city of Taganrog last Friday (July 28).

"Given the evolving situation, additional measures have been taken to improve defenses against air and sea-based attacks," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told a military conference Monday.

Shoigu returned to Moscow after attending North Korea's "Victory Day" parade last week. Video footage from North Korean state media showed Shoigu standing beside North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Li Hongzhong.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov downplayed Ukraine's missile and drone strikes as a purportedly "disgusting" manifestation of Kyiv's "terrorist nature," NBC reported.

Read Also: Russia Claims to Have Shot Down Ukrainian Missile; Several Injured

Zelensky: 'The War Returns to Russia'

However, officials in Kyiv accused the Kremlin of carrying out equally deadly attacks on civilians in the heart of the country in retaliation to the strike on Moscow Sunday (July 30), which resulted in one person getting injured as well as the closure of Moscow's airspace.

The attack came hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a naval parade in St. Petersburg

"Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address Sunday, "to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process."

Kryvyi Rih, Zelensky's hometown, was hit in the latest strike exchange between the two countries Monday, resulting in the death of four people, including a 10-year-old child, and left over 30 others injured, according to a Ukrainian post in Telegram.

In response, Zelensky also took to Telegram to say Russia was "stubbornly attacking" cities, as well as civilian infrastructures and housing.

Related Article: Report: Putin Launches Deadly Missile Strike on Zelensky's Hometown After Drone Attack on Moscow

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Hoang Van Cuong - Member National Assembly Financial and Budgetary Committee Removing the residual method in land valuation from the draft Law on Land will make the authorities lose the basis to evaluate the land price in undeveloped areas. According to international practices, many countries use the residual method and do not report loss because there is no arbitrage and tax evasion. Their legal and business environment is transparent and disciplined. In such an environment, even if the input price is lower than the actual price when the selling price is different, it will be regulated through tax. Valuation is about finding true value, not pricing. Thus, if the residual method is abandoned, it is obvious that we will not have a basis for valuing the so-called undeveloped land areas. In addition, this method itself is not a matter of pending, but rather a management mechanism. On types of land needed to invest, creating new values and new buildings, for example empty land, selecting the residual method is still the most popular tool to evaluate the land. Nguyen Thi Dieu Hong - Legal Department Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry The draft contains adjustments to the land valuation method. It suggests the direct comparison methodology, the income methodology, and the land price coefficient methodology. Meanwhile, the residual methodology will no longer be used to determine land prices. Many enterprises are concerned that the removal of this method would have an adverse impact on their investment activities. They believe that other methodologies are unlikely to replace it. Enterprises take a lot of time to determine land prices and land use rights. On top of that, this change will result in an unstable legislative environment for the real estate market. Given that the majority of property projects use the residual methodology, enterprises say that the instability of legal policies is a challenge for their business activities. Le Hoang Chau - Chairman, Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association Ho Chi Minh City has 320 projects, and among those 280 projects applied the residual methodology. This method, however, has a high risk in pricing. For example, a project can be priced at VND900 billion ($38 million) with the residual methodology, but can be valued at double the price in other methods. The reason for this big gap is that the residual method is calculated on the total assumed investment costs and assumed total revenue. All methods need the exact income figures and data, but the activity to collect figures and data have been not good enough with outdated solutions and technologies. As a result, we cannot have the exact data for any solution. We welcome the regulation to apply land price coefficient methodology to determine specific prices to calculate land use fees and rents for real estate projects, commercial houses, and urban areas. This methodology should be used for all land plots regardless of their value. This will contribute to ensuring transparency, fairness, protecting state budget revenue, and many other aspects. Tran Quoc Dung - Deputy general director Hung Thinh Corporation The land price coefficient methodology is being widely applied in many cases, but it is limited under $8.7 million. This method is easy to apply, has a clear formula, and Ho Chi Minh City has continuously recommended using it. However, this creates a legal gap when there are no regulations for projects over this value, when many projects are above this level. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment says this method is complicated, and valuation results are inaccurate and easily lead to risk. However, many projects cannot use other methods because there are no similar properties to compare, regardless that the regulation requests at least three properties for comparison. In addition, the model is based on market data, capable of identifying growth potential, which is good for businesses and managers. The residual method is capable of offering information such as the purchase price of an apartment and other costs that the market can accept, while other methods cannot cover these factors. We recommend keeping the residual model in the draft amended law because it is scientific and in line with international practices. Vu Sy Cuong - Deputy head of Financial Policy Analysis, Academy of Finance The residual methodology currently applies to almost 90 per cent of real estate projects, so if we remove this method, this could generate additional costs such as those associated with collecting information or retraining relevant staff. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment argues that the residual methodology is inadequate and contains many assumptions, but we are not yet assured that collected information from other suggested methods is precise. Here in Vietnam, we have discussed asset valuation technics, yet relevant laws in many countries dont follow this direction. Instead, they obey management principles to ensure the interests of stakeholder parties. Assigning price valuation to district-level units is also a cause of concern due to the gap in knowledge level between state employees at central and district levels. It is necessary to have in place concrete regulations to avoid confusion. Tran Duc Phuong - Lawyer Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association A lack of information leads to confusion when applying land valuation methodologies. If the information is standardised, then, no matter which method is applied, there is not much difference. If we remove the residual methodology, there are fewer in place, making it more difficult to solve the problems of land valuation in the market. Indeed, the value of many projects can only be calculated by this method. Other methodologies fail to determine their value in a transparent manner. It is used for properties with factors depending on planning, construction, and land use scale. Meanwhile, the comparison model cant reflect the value of such properties correctly. In addition, it is associated with the technical elements of a project. For a project with thousands of plots of land, it will be time-consuming to determine the land prices. It is more convenient to use the residual methodology to reduce the workload. I suggest keeping the residual methodology but reviewing the technical problems related to the model.
His remarks were made at a workshop hosted jointly by the Vietnam Energy Association, Vietnam Electricity Corporation (EVN), Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), and Vietnam Minerals Corporation (Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group) on July 28.

Decelerating progress: the stumbling blocks for dozens of coal power projects

Under the revised Power Development Plan VIII (PDP8), 37 approved coal-fired power projects totalling a 35,112MW capacity were slated for operation between 2016 and 2030. During this period, only 12 projects, boasting a combined capacity of 8,700MW, have been successfully put into operation. An energy deficit of 26,412MW remains due to protracted project delays.

Major infrastructural projects, such as the Song Hau 1 and Thai Binh II thermal power projects, both having a capacity of 1,200MW, have been significantly delayed. Song Hau 1 was initially scheduled for completion in 2019, but only managed to add a 600 MW unit to the grid in 2020, with the project only reaching completion by May 2022. Thai Binh II, planned to start operations between 2017-2018, only managed to connect its first unit to the grid in 2022, with full completion achieved in April 2022.

Simultaneously, the 1,200MW Long Phu I thermal power project was nearly 78 per cent complete when it was abruptly halted due to US imposed sanctions on its Russian contractor, Powermachine. The project's future remains uncertain.

Other projects experiencing delays include the 600MW Cong Thanh thermal power project and the 110MW Na Duong II thermal power project, the latter of which hasn't even broken ground.

Moreover, the An Khanh Bac Giang project, a 650MW initiative scheduled to begin between 2022-2023, is now predicted to be delayed until 2026. Similarly, the Nam Dinh I BOT thermal power project, a 1,200MW venture expected to commence operations during 2021-2022, is currently starved for funds and has yet to finalise negotiation procedures.

In northern Vietnam, six delayed projects have contributed to a 4,200MW shortfall in coal power, causing recent power shortages in the region. Meanwhile, in the central region, the 1,200MW Quang Trach I project, which was anticipated to be operational by 2021, has been taken over by a new investor, with construction underway and expected to conclude by 2025. Yet, the Quang Trach II project has been eliminated from the PDP8.

The Quang Tri BOT project, with a capacity of 1,200MW, was set to commence operation in 2023-2024. But after several years of stagnation, the Thai investor has requested to halt the development.

Beyond the lags, 15 projects with a total capacity of 14,740MW were halted or considered unfeasible between 2016 and 2030. These include the Cam Pha III, Rang Dong, Hai Phong III, Vung Ang III, Long An I, Tan Phuoc I & II, Bac Lieu, and Long Phu I & II thermal power projects.

Decade-long gas project delays

Tuan also highlighted significant delays in major gas power projects, with the O Mon IV project running over 12 years behind schedule. According to the seventh adjusted power development plan, 26,640 MW of gas turbine capacity was expected to come online between 2016 and 2030 across 20 projects. Yet, ten domestic gas projects with a total capacity of 8,740MW have been delayed due to a host of issues.

First on the list is the Block B - O Mon gas-electricity endeavour, with a planned capacity of 3,750MW. Initial operations started with the O Mon I unit in 2009. The O Mon III gas turbine was then scheduled for launch in 2012, but following adjustments in the seventh power development plan, this was deferred to 2020, with the O Mon IV set to follow in 2021.

Presently, the O Mon IV is projected to become operational only by 2026, marking a substantial delay of over 12 years.

In a recent move, EVN, the primary investor for O Mon III and IV, suggested handing these projects over to PetroVietnam, which could potentially prolong the handover process further.

Secondly, the Blue Whale gas-to-power project, slated to supply gas to power plants in the Chu Lai and Dung Quat regions, has been hit by roadblocks. This ambitious initiative, consisting of five electricity projects with a total capacity of 3,750MW, was approved under the sixth power development plan adjustment.

Although operations were expected to commence during 2023-2024, no phase of this fuel chain project has materialised, largely due to protracted negotiations with US' ExxonMobil. Moreover, land clearance for the onshore pipeline continues to pose significant challenges.

Thirdly, the Son My LNG terminal and power plant project chain, with a capacity of 4,500MW, is experiencing delays. Originally included in the seventh power development plan for operations beginning in the 2018-2020 period, it was subsequently postponed to the 2023-2026 period under the adjusted seventh power development plan. The Son My I and II power source projects have been compelled to change investors, and they are currently still refining the feasibility study, with no tangible implementation to date.

Lessons for the future: key insights for PDP8

"Reflecting upon the past decade of power development, we find that many traditional power projects have been delayed or were unable to proceed due to a variety of issues including difficulty in capital mobilisation, fuel supply constraints due to a shortage of domestic coal, regulatory obstacles and management hurdles. In addition, some project owners have been slow to execute, altering shareholdings or entering into joint ventures due to insufficient technical and financial capacities," said Tuan.

From the revised seventh power development plan, Tuan extracted crucial lessons for the successful deployment of the eighth plan. He stressed the importance of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) creating a comprehensive 5-year plan detailing the rollout of activities, allocating renewable energy capacities from regional to provincial levels, and swiftly appointing investors for pivotal projects. He also underlined the need for real-time monitoring mechanisms to ensure the construction of power sources and grid infrastructure.

He also advised for stricter oversight from both the government and the MoIT, to prevent long-term project delays. For crucial gas-electricity chains such as the Block B - O Mon and Blue Whale, intervention by authorities to eliminate roadblocks is essential to avoid setbacks, bolster energy security, and minimise import dependence.

Tuan also emphasised the need for diverse financing strategies for large-scale power projects. He proposed the consideration of government guarantees for priority projects, adjustment of mechanisms to reduce risk exposure for BOT investors, and establishment of appropriate power purchase agreements to mitigate risks for investors. This could pave the way for private sector participation in transmission grid infrastructure in areas that do not impact power supply security.

Addressing the future of LNG power as a viable alternative to coal, Tuan recommended the prompt establishment of detailed plans outlining potential locations and investor selection.

Finally, to ensure the appointment of competent contractors with sufficient capital, financial robustness, and technical expertise, Tuan recommended the creation of a competitive tendering process for renewable energy projects.

He stressed the need for speedy research and introduction of support mechanisms for energy storage, ensuring investments in these areas and guaranteeing the successful mobilisation of renewable energy resources.

Supply shortages remain in industrial property frame New supply in the industrial real estate market will slow in the second half due to the influence of legal procedures as well as a decrease in demand from the manufacturing industries.
The news comes after VinFast's groundbreaking ceremony for its electric vehicle manufacturing site in North Carolina on July 28. Accordingly, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has declared effective the registration statement on Form F-4 of VinFast in connection with its proposed business combination with Black Spade.

Black Spade has scheduled the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders to approve the proposed business combination with VinFast to be held on August 10.

The business combination values VinFast at an enterprise value of $27 billion and an equity value of $23 billion. The transaction is expected to close followed by the listing of VinFast in August 2023, subject to shareholder approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Thuy Le, global CEO of VinFast Auto Pte. Ltd. said, This represents a remarkable milestone in advancing VinFasts presence in the US as we move towards our proposed US listing. Along with this exciting step, we also celebrate the start of construction of our electric vehicle factory in North Carolina. These achievements will help accelerate our commitment to the global green mobility revolution and our mission to help consumers make the switch to an EV easier and more accessible, while also opening a strategic capital-raising avenue for our global ambitions.

VinFast, a member of Vingroup JSC, was founded in 2017 and envisioned to drive the movement of global smart electric vehicle revolution. VinFast manufactures and exports a portfolio of e-SUVs, e-scooters and e-buses across Vietnam, North America, and, soon, Europe.

Meanwhile, Black Spade, listed on the NYSE American, was founded by Black Spade Capital, which runs a global portfolio consisting of a wide spectrum of cross-border investments, and consistently seeks to add new investment projects and opportunities to its portfolio.

VinFast accelerates green mobility revolution VinFast is making waves in the automotive industry with its ambitious goals and commitment to green mobility. In a recent speech at the Vietnam-Korea Economic Forum 2023, a VinFast representative shared insights into the company's operations and plans.
Experts consider major changes to land valuation

Nguyen Chi Thanh - Standing vice chairman, Vietnam Association of Realtors

Among the different methods that are being used now, including the land price coefficient methodology, residual methodology, direct comparison methodology, and income methodology, we find that the residual methodology has been among the most popular methods, here and also globally. This is because residual methodology shows the effectiveness of the project.

Another problem is that we are amending the law so that it will determine land value according to the market price, meaning the price will go up or down, depending on the market. All the aforementioned methodologies, excluding the residual, will be convenience for the state management agency as land value determined by those methods will consistently trend upwards. This will further increase land and house prices at a time when prices are already too high compared to the average income of Vietnamese people. Land valuation should follow the market price when the buyer is the one who decides what the market price is. Sellers often expect to sell at a very high price, but if the market does not accept it, they cannot sell.

Therefore, I propose not to take out this method from the amended Law on Land for lack of a more optimal method.

Dr Tran Dinh Thien - Former director, Vietnam Economics Institute

Depending on the specific situation, we can decide which methodologies can be applied for land value determination in line with the market price. However, we have not yet successfully determined what the market price is. Land values in Vietnam are extremely complicated and cause instability in people's lives. So, why are we removing the residual methodology and keeping the other three methods? Land prices in Vietnam tend to increase and decrease cyclically and greatly influence economic development. Regardless of which methodologies are being used to determine land prices, we must determine for both the present and future time, especially for urban areas and industrial zones.

Vietnam is a transition economy with high rates of growth, industrialisation, and urbanisation, and this drives real estate speculation activities.

Land taxes play an important role. In an emerging economy where land prices may climb and climb, we must calculate how to approach land tax to limit speculation, regulate the land market, and combat tax fraud.

The residual methodology should not be abandoned, and, in fact, the central and large trade areas should be applying this method of land value calculation in particular.

Le Hoang Chau - Chairman, Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA)

HoREA welcomes the regulation that will apply the 'land price coefficient methodology' to determine specific land prices to calculate land use fees and land rents for real estate projects, commercial buildings, and urban areas.

However, HoREA has found out that the regulation stipulates that the area of land to be valued must have a price of "less than VND200 billion" ($8.44 million), so it will not include the many real estate projects that are above this figure. Many projects are now valued at thousands of billions VND in big cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, Nha Trang Haiphong, and many others.

Therefore, HoREA proposes to apply the 'land price coefficient methodology' for all land plots, regardless of their value. This will contribute to ensuring transparency, fairness, a heathy revenue for the state budget, and much more.

Professor Vu Sy Cuong - Academy of Finance

Currently, 87.5 per cent of cases seeking valuation are using the residual methodology, so if we replace that now, the cost will be huge, so this should be taken into further consideration when amending the law. When we change methodology, we must re-arrange a series of necessary activities, such as resetting the system for a different way of collecting data and re-training staff to meet the requirements of the new policy.

Concerns remain that the residual methodology is fine when the market is making a profit, but not so helpful when it's losing money. We need to take into account both of these situations to properly handle taxation.

When making policies, we must also consider the principle of compliance and the feasibility of the policy. If land valuation is decentralised to the district level, it will be very difficult as there is a large gap between district-level capacity and central-level capacity. Therefore, it will be necessary to have detailed regulations and guidelines for specific situations for lower-level officials to apply, or bottlenecks will form.

We should apply economic principles rather than criminalise violations, if any, and use financial tools such as sanctions and taxes to regulate the market.
Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien (left) and Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat on July 25 signed the Vietnam - Israel Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA) in Tel Aviv. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi  The Vietnam-Israel Free Trade Agreement, which was signed on July 26 after seven years of negotiations, would create a conducive atmosphere for the export of Vietnamese products to Israel, according to many experts.



Expert Dinh Trong Thinh said the deal presents stellar opportunities for Vietnamese producers to drive substantial cost savings and gain competitive advantages through access to Israeli high-tech sectors.



Vietnamese tropical products will also have the prospect to serve as an essential link in Israeli supply chains.



"Israel needs imports from tropical countries like Vietnam to fuel its processing industry," said Thinh.



But Vietnamese producers still have a lot of work to do to get there, given that merely 30% of them have managed to use FTAs to their advantage.



Trade authorities, he said, could use communication and education tools to get more producers well-informed about VIFTA.



Expert Vu Vinh Phu said the deal would give a big push to Vietnam's exports to Israel, making bilateral trade more balanced and equitable. Current bilateral trade is skewed in favour of Israel.



He called on Vietnam's trade offices to assist producers in business matching to help them avoid scams in trade.



According to expert Ngo Tri Long, Israel is not self-sufficient in consumer goods and depends highly on imports. The country imports 35 billion USD worth of consumer goods annually, indicating large potential demand for Vietnamese exports.



The deal will open up opportunities for Vietnam to turn the potential demand into real revenue. With VIFTA, bilateral trade is expected to rise to 3 billion USD soon, from 2.6 billion USD in 2022.



"Vietnam currently has around 70 exportable products to Israel. Room for commercial growth is ample," said Long.

Long called on Vietnamese producers to read up on trade rules in Israeli markets to fully exploit the deal. He said market research and trade promotion would also serve producers well in that regard.



Truong Dinh Hoe, Secretary-General of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, said the deal would bring Vietnam's exports to new heights thanks to Israel's great demand for its seafood.



In fact, Israel has always been among the 30 largest importers of Vietnamese seafood, consuming 36.6 million USD worth of tuna, 23.2 million USD of squid, and 21 million USD of shrimp in 2022.



"Vietnamese seafood has won favour with Israeli consumers over the years. The deal will push the advantage further by phasing out tariffs," said Hoe.

Substantial Israel agreement nearing completion A bilateral free trade deal between Vietnam and Israel, slated for signing this week, is set to provide investment bonanzas for the two economies, which are seeking to amplify their foodstuff and agricultural ties.
In December 2021, at COP26, Vietnam joined 150 countries in pledging to bring net emissions to zero by 2050, also committing with more than 100 countries to reduce global methane emissions by 2030.

In addition, Vietnam joined 141 countries in joining the Glasgow Declaration of Leaders on Forests and Land Use and joined nearly 50 countries in the global declaration on converting coal power to clean energy.

In July 2023, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh presided over a meeting of the national COP26 Steering Committee emphasising that green growth, energy transformation and emission reduction are inevitable, especially as Vietnam is among the five countries most vulnerable to climate change.

Vietnam has made strong commitments to respond to climate change, towards the goal of zero emissions by 2050. This is considered a historic turning point, creating a premise for future corporate strategies when investing in renewable energy.

Along with that, the government has approved Power Development Plan VIII (PDP 8) to gradually develop a competitive electricity market, diversify investment methods and electricity trading.

The approval has created a legal corridor for the implementation of power transmission projects to help release capacity for renewable power projects in the central and Southern regions.

Specifically, PDP 8 identifies priority targets for the development of renewable energy sources such as wind power, solar power, or biomass power for electricity production to increase the proportion of electricity and electricity coverage nationwide.

Green Workforce - a key factor in sustainable development

The realisation of these commitments requires great efforts from both the government and private sector, including businesses and direct producers.

Strategies need to be implemented at different scales to unlock the investment resources of the whole of society, thereby developing a green, low carbon and sustainable agriculture.

Nguyen Cong Thuy, CEO of HRDC, a leading manpower supply firm in renewable energy in Vietnam, has more than 15 years of experience in manpower supply for oil and gas and renewable energy industries in Vietnam and the Asia-Pacific region.

How will we prepare the workforce with green skills to meet the requirements of green jobs and green growth? Thuy said, Job opportunities in this field will become bustling in the future, and enterprises need to have strategies to prepare for green human resources.

Thuy stated that currently, the important positions of the green workforce are in shortage and lack of expertise, causing businesses five times the cost to hire foreign experts. Therefore, the training of the green workforce is considered an urgent issue in the process of developing a strong and sustainable green economy of the country.

HRDC innovates to create an integrating system with synergy of HR gurus and customises to perfectly match businesses with international benchmark and local insight.

The labour market witnessed a large disparity in labour qualifications, with only 11 per cent of these having high professional qualifications.

This places urgent priorities in the process of training and managing people in response to global trends. Humans are the centre of the society, thus sustainable national development stems from the competence of the workforce that drives the economy forward.

A leading manpower supply firm in renewable energy in Vietnam, Global Human Resources Development Consulting Company (HRDC) has wind farms across Vietnams central and southern locations as Bac Lieu, Tra Vinh, Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, Quang Tri, and Quang Binh.

HRDC also mobilises expats and technical engineers for General Electric Renewables, Vestas, and PetroVietnam.

The company has six-years of experience in providing and training high-quality domestic and international green workforce, owning a network of 1,500 employees and more than 100 senior consultants and engineers from South Africa, the US, China, Korea, Japan, and more.

The company consistently aims to promote labour market development, improve the efficiency of labour supply - demand connection through labourers skill development and strategic consulting for business. The realisation of the green economy requires meeting the demand for high-quality human resources and taking maximum advantage of the domestic workforce.

HRDC innovates to create an integrating system with synergy of HR gurus and customises to perfectly match businesses with international benchmark and local insight. The company is set to grow into a trusted manpower vendor for investors and green projects in Vietnam in the upcoming time.

For further information, please visit our website hrdc.vn or email info@jobtest.vn

Variety of support on hand to boost green projects High-level events and in-depth workshops were held last week as part of the Climate Finance Accelerator programme, allowing low-carbon project leaders to meet with investors and financial institutions in efforts to accelerate Vietnams green journey.

Green consumption and online shopping boom The event title "Vietnam Consumer Trends Forum 2023: Trends and Retail Market" was held by the Institute for Brand and Competitiveness Strategy (BCSI).

Green investment requires collective efforts from all Sustainability is taking centre stage in Vietnams development plan. Amanda Murphy, head of Commercial Banking for South and Southeast Asia at HSBC Asia-Pacific, discussed with VIRs Luu Huong the pivotal role of public-private partnerships in facilitating green financing tools and emphasises the importance of clear policymaking for sustainable investments.
The plant boasts Vietnams first commercial-scale black pellet production by a Japanese group

The project is implemented by Idemitsu Green Energy Vietnam Co., Ltd., an affiliate of Idemitsu Kosan. It specialises in producing Idemitsus green energy pellets (GEP) in Vietnam and delivering it to Japan, where they are used mainly by coal consumers at their factories. The plant has an annual capacity of 120,000 tonnes of GEP, which is a high-calorie biomass fuel made from widely used semi-carbonised wood pellets. The raw material is acacia, which is produced in large quantities in Vietnam, which boasts a thriving furniture industry.

This is the first black pellet production in Vietnam by a Japanese company. The startup of this plant is a major first step towards Idemitsu Kosans goal of establishing a supply system with an annual production capacity of three million tonnes by 2030.

Vietnam has a thriving lumber remnants industry, and it is one of the worlds top suppliers of biomass fuels. According to a report by the Research Group of Wood Associations and Forest Trends in 2022, Vietnam exported nearly 4.9 million tonnes of biomass pellets, an increase of more than 39 per cent compared to 2021.

Among them, Japan is one of the largest export markets of Vietnams wooden pellets. In Japan, coal is used in a wide range of industries, including power, pulp and paper, chemicals, and food companies, supporting peoples daily lives. Therefore, Idemitsu Kosan is undertaking this project with the aim of meeting the low-carbon needs of Japanese coal users, who show big interest in GEP for their co-combustion and reduction of coal use.

Atsuhiko Hirano, representative director and executive vice president of Idemitsu Kosan said, There is about 100 million tonnes of coal demand in Japan. At the same time, Japan is faced with the goal of decarbonisation so we have to reduce the carbon emissions coming from coal-fired plants. We believe that this biomass products will help reduce the carbon emissions at the plants in Japan. Were hoping that Japanese coal users will be more attracted to the use of black pellets to reduce carbon emissions whilst enabling to run the existing coal-fired power plants.

Specifically, GEP can be co-fired with coal at a maximum of 30 per cent in co-firing tests, and the coal substitute emits virtually zero carbon. The company is also looking into the possibility of further increasing the co-firing ratio and eventually using only GEP as fuel.

Leverages its coal business base of about 40 years, Idemitsu Kosan will build an integrated supply chain for biomass fuels around ASIA region. This supply chain features all stages ranging from raw material procurement to production, sales, and transportation.

The development of the plant in Binh Dinh also reflects Idemitsu Kosans long-term commitment to the Vietnamese market, contributing to the countrys vital carbon neutrality efforts.

Were hoping to expand further into the renewable energy sector. We have secured our footprint in the solar market and now biomass, Hirano said. I hope that we can expand this capacity of biomass. And if there are any further opportunities available in the renewable sector, we will be very much willing to pursue them. Indeed, Vietnam is a very important place for Idemitsu Kosan as a whole. And we look forward to working more closely with the country.

Idemitsu Kosan established its first business development in Vietnam in 1989 when it began a feasibility study for oil exploration. The Japanese company opened its initial representative office in Hanoi in 1994. Since then, Idemitsu Kosan has been engaged across various business areas, including oil and gas exploration and production, refinery and petrochemical, lubricants, fuel distribution, engineering, and renewable energy.

Vietnamese pellet market experiencing a reshuffle The alteration of import markets is forcing Vietnams pellet manufacturers to reevaluate their overall competitiveness.
At a meeting with Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on July 27, Steven Winn, chief of Global Strategy at JERA Co., Inc., said, "We are committed to becoming net-zero in Vietnam and implementing Japan's Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) initiative."

According to Winn, JERA wants to get involved in the conversion of Vietnam's coal power plants to liquefied natural gas (LNG) by adding novel fuels such as green hydrogen, green ammonia, biomass, combined carbon recovery, and landfill.

DPM Ha stated that JERA is welcome to engage in a pilot energy venture under the AZEC initiative in Vietnam, while also utilising all available mechanisms to keep the price within the reach of Vietnamese consumers.

"Effective mitigation initiatives that JERA has carried out in Japan should be applied to projects in Vietnam," said the DPM.

Vietnam is an emerging nation with firm commitments to net-zero and the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) roadmap.

To promote mutual growth and profit sharing through technology transfer, DPMHa is seeking Japanese and Vietnamese energy firms to work collaboratively to carry out clean and renewable energy initiatives under the nation's Power Development Plan VIII (PDP8).

According to the PDP8, the proportion of power derived from natural gas is set to increase from 10.2 per cent, (7.08GW) in 2020 to 21.8 per cent (32GW) in 2030. Natural gas emits fewer greenhouse gases and is more adaptable to renewable energy sources. The percentage of electricity derived from natural gas will rise from 12.5 per cent in 2020 to 25.5 per cent in 2030.

The PDP8 aims to attain peak emissions of no more than 170 million tonnes by 2030, assuming that partners worldwide fully and substantively implement their JETP commitments. The construction of a smart grid capable of integrating and operating large-scale renewable energy sources in a safe and efficient manner will also be a factor.

The plan also states that no new coal-fired power plants will be constructed after 2030, with a gradual shift to biomass fuels or ammonia, while no new LNG power sources will be developed after 2035.

Sovico Group ties up with JERA Co., Inc. to explore opportunities to supply LNG Sovico Corporation has signed a cooperation agreement with JERA to evaluate the potential of supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) for power projects in Vietnam.

Japan's biggest power generator Jera acquires 35 per cent of TTC Group's subsidiary In order to enhance Vietnam's renewable energy capacity by 2025, Vietnam's conglomerate Thanh Thanh Cong Group (TTC Group) partnered up with Japan's Jera Co., the largest power generation company in Japan, producing one-third of Japan's electricity
In a determined push to bolster Vietnam's renewable energy capacity, Frank Bohnet, East and Southeast Asia regional director for Germany's KfW Development Bank, and Nguyen Xuan Nam, deputy CEO of Vietnam Electricity (EVN), have reached an understanding to proceed with the expansion of the Tri An Hydropower Plant.

Since 2022, these parties have engaged in several negotiation rounds, achieving consensus on the core loan conditions for the Tri An Hydropower Plant extension. The subsequent loan agreement is scheduled for signing in November 2023, fortuitously aligning with the Vietnam-Germany intergovernmental talks on developmental cooperation.

Expressing gratitude for KfW and the German Federal Government's persistent support, Nguyen Xuan Nam said, "Their preferential Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans, funnelled into various transmission, distribution and wind power projects in Vietnam, have been instrumental in maintaining a stable power system and promoting sustainable energy generation."

"We anticipate finalising the Tri An Hydropower Plant extension loan agreement by early November 2023. Additionally, we seek KfW's ongoing aid in procuring ODA loans for upcoming ventures."

In step with its commitment to sustainability, EVN plans to use the German ODA funds for multiple initiatives, including the Green Energy Project to link renewable energy endeavours in the southern provinces, a renewable energy project for enhancing power grid infrastructure in Central Vietnam, and the second phase of the urban grid project.

Bohnet said, "EVN remains a critical partner for KfW in Vietnam. We pledge unwavering support and commitment to collaborate on priority projects that cater to the interests of both parties."

These projects encompass ODA initiatives linked to the transmission and distribution grid and non-guaranteed government loan ventures like the Tri An Hydropower and Bac Ai Pumped-Storage Hydropower Plant expansions.

Since 2009, KfW's steadfast commitment to EVN has resulted in ODA and non-government guaranteed direct loans totalling about 1.5 billion.

This portfolio comprises five completed ODA projects worth approximately 427 million, four ongoing ODA projects totalling around 464.5 million, five proposed ODA projects, and three new projects being financed by non-guaranteed government direct loans, amounting to an estimated 800 million.

Thai investor suspends $2.3 billion thermal power plant project in Quang Tri Thai International Power Company (EGATi) has submitted a document to Vietnams Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) regarding the suspension of the Quang Tri Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Thermal Power Plant project.
Le Hoang Tai, deputy director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said, "Vietnam's wood and timber products are considered a key export product group, and they make a significant contribution to the country's overall export turnover."

Tai shared data from the General Department of Customs that showed Vietnam's export value of timber and wood products in June was $1.09 billion, a decrease of 30 per cent on-year. Overall exports of wood and timber products for the first half of 2023 were estimated at $6.06 billion, down 28 per cent on-year.

According to Pham Phu Ngoc Trai, chairman of Global Integration Business Consultants (GIBC), the current shortfall in orders will be temporary.

"Vietnam's furniture industry has tremendous potential for development over the next 5 to 10 years. The worlds furniture industry is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5 per cent, meanwhile, Vietnam's wood processing industry is growing with a CAGR of 15.4 per cent. This is testament to the industry's great potential," said Trai.

"However, Vietnamese businesses will face new challenges, such as the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)," Trai added.

The CBAM will take effect on October 1 of this year, and will see certain goods exported to the EU incur additional costs unless evidence can be shown of emissions from the production process being offset by carbon credits.

The carbon credit market is an opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to increase their competitive edge. In the meantime, Vietnam's wood and timber industry needs to reposition its goals to become a green and sustainable hub for the world, said Trai.

Besides these challenges, many Vietnamese businesses have failed to diversify their export markets. The US currently accounts for 30 per cent of export orders for Vietnam's wood and timber products, leaving the industry susceptible to a damaging blow when American buyers scale down orders, as they have done amidst the country's cost of living crisis.

Nguyen Quoc Khanh, chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA), said, "It is the right time for businesses to overhaul their strategies by building a lean system and finding new markets amid the market slowdown."

"For instance, large Vietnamese furniture brands have expanded their presence in new markets with great potential, especially in super-rich countries in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to supply products for mega-property projects," Khanh added.

In addition, many trading programmes have been actively revamped to both enhance business efficiency and raise global awareness of quality made-in-Vietnam furniture. Among these is the HAWA Expo, which has announced its upcoming event for 2024.

At the 2023 HAWA Expo, businesses signed 64 contracts and cooperation minutes with orders worth $3.6 million. Next year, the HAWA Expo, along with local wood and timber associations, are looking forward to scaling up proceedings.

"By 2024, we will have tripled the scale of HAWA Expo with the participation of 700 exhibitors and 3,000 booths," said Khanh.

Taking place from March 6 to 9, next year, the 2024 HAWA Expo is expected to draw many industry players interested in the huge number of foreign buyers and visitors to the exhibition, which is expected to attract over 30,000 people.

The exhibition will also feature new segments, including interior design, decorative products, and project contractors in the fields of tourism, restaurants, and hotels. Furthermore, it will be the first event extending the show to three different locations, spanning from Ho Chi Minh City to Binh Duong. These initiatives aim to cover the entire supply chain of Vietnams furniture sector to promote the image of the industry in the eyes of international buyers.

According to the report by Statista, the global market value of furniture was estimated to be $557 billion in 2022 and is expected to increase every year to reach a forecasted value of approximately $650 billion by 2027. Vietnam currently supplies just 9 per cent of the global demand, indicating ample room for development.

Strengthening Vietnam's wood industry Vietnam is working to establish a legal supply chain to become a global leader in the processing and export of wood.

Wood industry striving to regain growth momentum Having undergone numerous hardships, businesses in the wood industry are showing great resilience with a high level of adaption and flexibility to regain their growth momentum.
China's drone exports will soon be curbed. This was confirmed by the Chinese government on Monday, July 31, saying that export controls are needed to safeguard national security and interests.

China's Drone Exports Curbed Down Due to Concerns in Russia-Ukraine War

According to the Associate Press's latest report, China said that it is concerned that exported drones would be converted for military use.

The Chinese government also explained that the new export restrictions will help it safeguard its national security and interests as the tension with the U.S. over access to technology intensifies.

People's Republic of China President Xi Jinping and his government is friendly with the Russian government.

However, when it comes to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Beijing says that it remains neutral.

The Chinese government said that it has been receiving reports that drones in the country exported to Ukraine are being used for reconnaissance and attacks.

Because of this, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said that the non-peaceful purposes for Chinese-made drones will be prevented by export controls, which will take effect on Tuesday, Aug. 1.

"The risk of some high specification and high-performance civilian unmanned aerial vehicles being converted to military use is constantly increasing," warned the Ministry of Commerce.

Read Also: China Could Rival US Global Maritime Power by Building Overseas Naval Bases in Africa, Asia

Other Drone-Related Products Also Affected

Aside from drones, the new export restrictions of China will also affect other products related to these UAVs. These include anti-drone systems, lasers, drone engines, etc., as reported by Reuters.

A ministry spokesperson also confirmed that consumer drones are also included in the export restrictions.

The Ministry of Commerce explained that ever since the war between Russia and Ukraine began, multiple Chinese civilian drone companies suspended their operations in conflict areas.

Chinese officials also shared that the Western media, as well as the United States, have been spreading false information about Chinese drone exports, adding to the concerns of the Chinese government.

Related Article: Chinese President Xi Jinping Rejected Calls To Tackle Climate Change Following a Meeting with US Climate Envoy John Kerry

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Vietnam plans to commercialise 5G in 2023. What factors should Vietnam focus on to make it happen?

With the top priorities of the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) including 5G commercialisation, the thrust of the Vietnamese government towards modernisation and digital transformation of various sectors, and more companies working together towards realising 5G in the country, I believe that Vietnam is more poised than ever to accelerate 5G commercialisation this year.

Nam Thieu, country director of Qualcomm Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia

For Vietnam to fully realise this, there are two main priorities for the country. First, the necessary infrastructure needs to be set up to ensure that people and institutions can have proper access to the network. At Qualcomm, we have continuously been working closely with VIettel to introduce solutions that would help accelerate the necessary infrastructure.

Second, frequency band planning is crucial. Its important to recognise that frequency band planning is an integral step that would lead to 5G licensing. We recognise that the MIC has been working hard towards these two important steps that would make 5G commercialisation happen in 2023.

What are your expectations from the 5G rollout in Vietnam? How will Qualcomms business strategies align with the countrys 5G plan, and Qualcomm globally?

We believe that the government is making the full rollout of 5G a key priority this year, especially given the economic benefits to be yielded. In fact, it has been said that 5G technology may contribute to 7.34 per cent of the economic growth of the country in 2025.

We see how 5G will be essential in increasing labour productivity, in improving infrastructure allowing for better efficiencies, and to provide a great foundation for the way people work and live.

The development and deployment of 5G has always been one of our strategic priorities at Qualcomm. We have always been at the forefront of research regarding the mobile network, and in producing technologies that allow to utilise these to improve the way we work and live. One of the ways this is evidenced is through our Snapdragon chipsets, which can tap into 5G mobile networks to provide enhanced everyday experiences for consumers.

Digital and green transition are now twin trends in Vietnam and globally. How can Qualcomm contribute to this?

At Qualcomm, we believe in purposeful innovation. This has always been our guiding principle when we set goals and make decisions as we use technology to make a positive impact on society, especially when it comes to climate change.

We believe that the technologies we develop can enable a more sustainable future. This is something we see when it comes to 5G. Given the many benefits of 5G, more stakeholders can use 5G as a foundation when it comes to developing innovations to help in mitigating climate change. We forecast that 5G can serve as a foundation in helping reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, optimise energy usage, and improve household water management, among many others.

We are guided by our global ambitions when it comes to our environmental commitments. We have aligned our targets according to the Science Based Targets Initiatives Business Ambition for 1.5 degrees Celsius, and the United Nations Race to Zero.

These goals guide us in the design and manufacturing of our products, such that sustainability is still at the core of all these. Concretely, we collaborate closely with suppliers, and we have stringent measures in place to ensure that they are compliant according to the highest standards according to labour issues, health and safety, ethics and management systems, and environment.

In September 2021, at Viettel Innovation Lab, Viettel Corporation, Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. cooperated to research, test and successfully establish 5G data transmission speed of over 4.7Gbps. Have you had any other cooperation activities since then?

We at Qualcomm find ways to collaborate closely with ecosystem partners to advance 5G deployment in the country.

At the recent Mobile World Congress this year, along with Viettel, we introduced new 5G Open RAN solutions featuring Qualcomm 5G RAN platforms.

These help in accelerating 5G rollout given that infrastructure is key to enable full commercialisation. This comes after an announcement we made with Viettel in May 2022 regarding collaborating to create Open RAN network solutions.

MIC and Qualcomm intensify cooperation on 5G technology On April 12, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Pham Duc Long had a meeting with ST Liew, vice president of Qualcomm Technologies Inc. and president of the company's business in Taiwan and Southeast Asia, and Thieu Phuong Nam, country director for Qualcomm in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia to discuss future cooperation on 5G and 6G technology.

Qualcomm debuts Wi-Fi 7 networking Pro Series Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. on May 4 announced Wi-Fi 7 Networking Pro Series, the world's most scalable commercial Wi-Fi 7 platform.
Noteworthy entrants such as MM Mega Market, Central Retail, and AEON Group are leading the charge in the retail landscape, opening new shopping centres and supermarkets with an eye on the promising prospects of Vietnam's retail sector.

Among the notable developments is AEON's substantial investment of $250 million in a 30,000 square-metre shopping centre project situated along the National Highway No.22 in Hoc Mon district, Ho Chi Minh City. This project is set to bolster AEON's presence in the Vietnamese market and enhance its offerings to local consumers.

South Korean retail giants are also making significant strides in Vietnam, capitalising on the strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries. Lotte Group, in particular, is making headlines with its largest-ever project in Vietnam, an expansive 354,000sq.m complex.

With a soft opening on July 28, and an official inauguration on September 22, Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi will house an impressive array of 233 brands, with 25 making their debut in the Vietnamese market, and 28 marking their entry into the bustling capital of Hanoi. Additionally, the complex will showcase 32 flagship stores, further enriching the retail landscape in the region.

The ambitious venture will include the Lotte World Aquarium, covering over 9,000sq.m and boasting the distinction of being Hanoi's largest indoor aquarium. Moreover, the aquarium will house the largest acrylic dome aquarium in Southeast Asia.

Beyond Lotte's endeavours, the Vietnamese retail landscape is seeing an active revamp and expansion by local players such as Vincom Retail and Kido Group. Vincom Retail, with its robust business and operational plans, is poised to introduce two new shopping centres this year. These centres, namely Vincom Mega Mall Grand Park in Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City, and Vincom Plaza Ha Giang in Ha Giang, are set to cover a combined retail floor area of 55,000sq.m.

Vinhomes Corporation recently unveiled its ambitious Mega Grand World project. The multifaceted complex, nestled in Hanoi's Ocean City, is projected to span nearly 18.7 hectares and accommodate over 800 commercial shop units. With an impressive 35,000sq.m already under active trading, even before its scheduled December 2023 launch, Mega Grand World is garnering considerable attention.

As the retail market flourishes with a blend of domestic and foreign players, SonKim Retail, a prominent Vietnamese enterprise, has secured a substantial $20 billion investment contract with International Finance Corporation (IFC). The collaboration is aimed at fuelling SonKim Retail's expansion plans for its GS25 store network in Vietnam from 2022 to 2025. This strategic move signals the company's dedication to bolstering its presence in the region and capitalising on opportunities presented by the thriving retail landscape.

With an influx of retail real estate projects backed by both local and foreign investors, Vietnam's retail sector is poised for an exciting period of growth. These developments are poised to not only transform the retail landscape but also contribute significantly to the country's economic development in the foreseeable future.

Foreign investors flock to Vietnam's real estate market Vietnam's real estate sector has emerged as a highly desirable destination for international investors, ranking second only to the manufacturing and processing industry, with over 1,100 projects amounting to $66.4 billion of foreign investment.
Thailand: Firework blast kills at least ten, Source: youtube.com

Bangkok - A large explosion at a fireworks warehouse in the southern Thai province of Narathiwat on July 29 has killed at least 10 people and wounded about 120 others.

According to the governor of the province, Sanan Pongaksorn, between 500 and 800 people who live nearby may have to be moved to a temporary shelter.

An undetermined number of victims are trapped in residential areas near the scene, and rescue personnel are trying to help them out, with some 200 houses in this area damaged.

According to Deputy Government Spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha instructed relevant agencies to provide support for the injured and those affected.

The explosion occurred in the afternoon in a market in Narathiwat province bordering Malaysia.

Thailand reveals plan to raise tourism revenue The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has revealed a plan to boost its revenue from foreign tourists and the Thais Travelling in Thailand campaign.

Thai exporters concerned about price hikes after Indias rice export ban Thai rice exporters are concerned about India's announcement that it will ban the export of non-basmati white rice with immediate effect, saying the move could potentially impact Thailand's rice industry, leading to a possible 10% increase in domestic prices.
Falcon Global, ABI Global, Zego Global, and Rocket Studio have made the prestigious list, according to details disclosed at Google's Vietnamese-hosted Think Apps event on July 20.

Vietnam is home to a thriving technology sector, hosting 93 gaming and app development firms, who between them have created 171 applications that have each found a place in the top 10 most downloaded apps on the Play Store, at least once.

In a striking move, Vietnam has catapulted from the top 15 to the Top 5 countries globally for app downloads from 2019 to the first quarter of 2023, amassing an impressive 4.2 billion downloads for apps originated from the nation.

Vietnam's growth is impressive and rapid. It is expanding 2.5 times faster than other countries worldwide. In 2022, the country saw a 20 per cent increase in revenue from in-app purchases (IAP) in domestically developed apps, in stark contrast to a 2 per cent global decline.

These gains further consolidate Vietnam's position as a burgeoning hub for app development and demonstrate its increasingly influential role in the sector.

Despite this positive trajectory, Vietnamese developers are not without challenges. The DataAI and AppMagic report also points to a slowing momentum in download numbers, subdued growth in IAP revenue, and a decline in the estimated revenue per thousand ad impressions. Alongside these headwinds, a decrease in user engagement of 5 per cent has been recorded up to mid-2023.

Emily Nguyen, Google Asia-Pacific's director of Gaming and Apps Business for the Vietnamese market said, "Think Apps has become the most eagerly awaited industry event in Vietnam, and the significant attendance at this year's event has been striking"

"Our commitment to nurturing the emerging generation of app developers and studios through education, international expertise, and market insights remains steadfast. Our ambition is to catalyse the growth of Vietnamese companies and app developers, supporting them to flourish on the international stage."

The international recognition of Vietnam's app development capacity, coupled with visible support from giants like Google, suggests a bright future for the country's technology industry on the global stage.

Forging a strong data foundation in Vietnam Industry experts and executives joined forces at a recent conference to delve into the transformative power of data in driving business transformation. These experts also shed light on the critical importance of this endeavour, particularly in relation to Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and their pivotal role in the process.

Going the extra mile for data protection in Vietnam A Vietnamese enterprise recently held a team meeting in order to share and discuss a new legal instrument, and also recorded the meeting alongside the names and/or photographs of participants, plus their questions. In the course of recording, a notice saying by attending this meeting, you consent to being recorded came up on the screen. In this situation, whether this kind of consent has satisfied valid consent, if Decree 13 is applicable, could be raised.
Speaking at a workshop on the transition to a greener economy and the role of climate change policies on July 25, Dr. Ha Huy Tuan, dean of Chu Van An University's Economics Faculty, said, "Failure to comprehend the content of theCBAM can result in concerns over exceeding allowable carbon emissions, which can result in increased fees."

"A significant number of businesses, particularly manufacturing firms, do not fully comprehend the EU mechanism since the idea is still relatively novel to the Vietnamese market," Dr. Tuan added.

According to a study conducted by the Private Economic Development Research Board in 2022, just 11 per cent of businesses stated that they comprehended the content of the CBAM, while up to 53 per cent of businesses were unaware of its existence.

According to consultancy firm Dezan Shira & Associates, an additional carbon tax will raise prices of Vietnamese-made products set for the EU, thereby decreasing their competitiveness. CBAM pertains to products from heavy industry and those with the highest carbon emissions.

From October 1, the transition period of CBAM may see reductions in the export turnover of certain Vietnamese products to the EU by approximately $100 million, including iron, steel, cement, aluminium, and fertilisers. The iron and steel industries are expected to be most severely affected.

This reduction should not be detrimental, as the aforementioned commodities account for a small portion of the total quantity of goods exported to the EU. In the future, however, the CBAM is set to be expanded to include a substantial larger number of products that will be subject to an additional carbon fee. This could partially nullify the benefits that Vietnamese businesses receive from the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement.

Furthermore, when the CBAM is implemented, we may see significant markets such as the United States, Japan, and South Korea issue similar policies soon after. Vietnam, a country with a high level of openness, will suffer greatly if it does not take immediate action in response, according to Dezan Shira & Associates.

The EU is developing its strategy to realise its ambition of becoming a climate-neutral continent by 2050. Pham Thi Tinh, commercial director of logistics firm InterLOG's Hanoi Branch, said, apprehensively, "This mechanism imposes taxes. Carbon costs will increase constantly in developed nations, and the number of categories subject to these taxes will be expanded."

As increasing numbers of Vietnamese companies pursue sustainable development, head of Sustainable Development at the British Standards Institution, Truong Vinh Khang, said, "We need to enhance competitive advantages in the supply chain with green strategies that positively impact the environment and reduce our economy's carbon footprint. From there, businesses can develop their own carbon-neutral roadmap."

Impact assessment of EUs Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism begins A project on the impact assessment of the EUs Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and recommendations on carbon tax policies for Vietnam officially kicked off this month.
In a notable decision that will likely impact the burgeoning online gaming sector, the Vietnamese Government Office has announced that online games will, for now, remain outside the purview of the nation's special consumption tax,

The announcement came as part of the government's reassessment of current taxation law, designed to ensure legislative harmonisation and optimal resource mobilisation for the state budget.

While online gaming has been granted a reprieve, the government is requesting more detailed research into the implications of expanding the tax base to include sugary drinks. The regulatory authorities also advised meticulous consideration of taxing new types of tobacco products and related electronic devices, a measure seen as a step towards consistency with specialised laws and international commitments.

The issue of special consumption tax on online gaming has been a contentious one. The Ministry of Finance had previously suggested incorporating it into the tax sphere, aiming to curb the potential societal and health impacts associated with excessive gaming.

But this proposal sparked concern among industry experts and businesses, who worried about the possible repercussions on sector growth, and feared the emergence of reverse protectionism and a boom in unlicensed gaming activity.

Recent forums saw several industry stakeholders advising against the inclusion of online gaming services in the special consumption tax net. Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Phan Tam reinforced this viewpoint in a document submitted to the Ministry of Finance, arguing that the tax shouldn't be applied to online gaming services at this time.

The debate takes on additional complexity given the increasing presence of foreign online gaming services. Nearly 30 per cent of gaming revenues in 2021-2022 came from unlicensed foreign entities operating in Vietnam, which currently have no tax obligations.

If applied to online gaming, the special consumption tax could reduce the competitiveness of domestic enterprises compared to foreign entities, potentially leading to a shift of domestic companies to locations like Singapore to evade high taxes, potentially causing a significant dent in the state budget.

Industry insiders caution that the introduction of this tax could dissuade domestic gaming companies from ramping up their investment and development efforts. The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry also urged caution, suggesting that online gaming should not yet be included in the special consumption tax.

Special consumption tax needs supportive roadmap Experts and businesses have said that amid numerous woes and economic crises, the plan to raise the special consumption tax (SCT) is not suitable at this time.

Changes to special consumption tax must be studied carefully The impacts of the imposition or increases of special consumption tax on several products must be studied carefully to ensure State budget revenue and the development of production and business, experts said.
Several key factors are driving this demand, closely mirroring those shaping the world's most advanced economies. Among the most influential are a swift increase in income levels, an expanding middle-class demographic, an accelerating trend towards an ageing population, and the mounting pressures on the national social insurance fund.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), by 2024, Vietnam is projected to be home to the world's 35th largest GDP with a resilient economy worth almost $414 billion, positioning the country third within the ASEAN region. The IMF predicts a further dramatic leap in the country's GDP, escalating to around $570 billion, $630 billion, and $690 billion in 2025, 2026, and 2027, respectively

The IMF forecasts Vietnam's per person GDP to reach approximately $4,682 this year, growing beyond $5,000 in 2024.

Parallel to this, Vietnam's burgeoning middle class is experiencing significant growth. In a country with a population about to exceed 100 million, Vietnam finds itself in its golden population structure phase, with two working-age individuals for every one dependent-age individual. The middle class, currently 13 per cent of the population, is anticipated to double by 2026, and according to a March 2021 Statista report, is projected to breach the 50 million mark by 2030.

However, Vietnam is undergoing one of the world's most rapid ageing processes. Those aged 60 and above accounted for just under 12 per cent of the total population in 2019, but that figure is predicted to be more than 25 per cent by 2050. By 2036, Vietnam is expected to transition from an 'ageing' society to an 'aged' one.

This demographic shift is increasing pressure on the national social insurance fund. As of September 2022, over 17 million people, representing 37 per cent of the working-age population, were contributing to the fund - an increase of approximately 535,000 people since the end of 2021. However, the declining ratio of contributors to beneficiaries threatens to upset the balance of the fund's income and expenditure, potentially as early as 2035, according to the International Labour Organisation.

Against this backdrop, ensuring universal access to formal, comprehensive, and high-quality personal financial planning and advisory services is paramount for maintaining social security and propelling sustainable economic growth. The window of opportunity for financial institutions to shape the future of personal finance in Vietnam is vast, paralleled only by the potential for individuals who grasp the opportunity to assert control over their financial futures.

The 2023 Vietnam Wealth Advisor Summit - the first event in the asset management sector organised by VIR and the Vietnam Wealth Advisor community under the auspices of the Ministry of Planning and Investment is set to take place.

Time: 13:00-18:00, August 8, 2023

Location: Pullman Hotel, 40 Cat Linh, Dong Da, Hanoi

Themed 'Swimming in the Vortex', the 2023 Vietnam Wealth Advisor Summit will present prestigious domestic and international speakers in profound discussions about Vietnam and the global economy; effective investment strategies in an unpredictable environment; and the preferred investment-supporting products and services in the financial, banking, insurance, gold, foreign exchange, and real estate sectors.

The 2023 Vietnam Wealth Advisor Summit will primarily feature:

The main conference with esteemed Vietnamese and international speakers, presenting two sessions on 'Deciphering Variables' and 'Hunting for Opportunities'

Recognition of standout financial products and services in 2023

Honours for businesses contributing to the development of financial services

New requirements to shore up personal data protection The forthcoming legal framework on personal data protection means all domestic and foreign organisations processing personal information must handle sensitive individual personal information in a proper manner.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh last week required authorities at all levels to boost the implementation of the nations new Vietnam Resource Mobilisation Plan (RMP), which will enable the implementation of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) announced last December by the European Commission (EC).

Wheels set in motion for JETP plan, illustration photo/ Source: freepik.com

Vietnam has been required by the EC to develop and publish as soon as possible an RMP by November 2023 to identify the new investment requirements and opportunities  for the development and implementation of wind, solar, transmission, energy efficiency, storage, electric vehicles, training, retraining and vocational support for employment among others  and measures to facilitate the deployment of support and overcome barriers to investment, to deliver Vietnams just energy transition.

PM Chinh stated, We must strongly carry out the partnership and soon formulate the RMP, while proactively working with the International Partners Group (IPG) and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) and other stakeholders about their support for Vietnam to implement net-zero emissions.

Last December, the EC announced that leaders from Vietnam and the IPG, including the EU, the UK, France, Germany, the US, Italy, Canada, Japan, Norway, and Denmark had agreed on the JETP.

The partnership will support Vietnam to deliver on its ambitious net-zero 2050 goal, accelerate the peaking of its greenhouse gas emissions and transition away from fossil fuels to clean energy, said an EC press release. The JETP will mobilise an initial $15.5 billion of public and private finance over the next three to five years to support Vietnams green transition.

Initial contributions to the Vietnam JETP include $7.75 billion in pledges from the IPG together with the Asian Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation. This is supported by a commitment to work to mobilise and facilitate a matching $7.75 billion in private investment from an initial set of private financial institutions coordinated by the GFANZ, including Bank of America, Citi, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Macquarie Group, Mizuho Financial Group, MUFG, Prudential, Shinhan Financial Group, SMBC Group, and Standard Chartered.

The partnership will assist Vietnam in working towards some new targets, including advancing the projected peaking date for all greenhouse gases in Vietnam from 2035 to 2030; reducing peak annual power sector emissions by up to 30 per cent, from 240 to 170 megatonnes, and bringing forward the peaking date by five years to 2030; limiting Vietnams peak coal capacity to 30.2GW down from a current planning figure of 37GW; and accelerating the adoption of renewables so that renewable energy accounts for at least 47 per cent of electricity generation by 2030, up from the current planned generation share of 36 per cent.

At a meeting with PM Chinh in Hanoi over a week ago, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the US is committed to mobilising support for Vietnams adoption of renewable energy as part of the JETP.

I welcome your leadership on the clean energy transition. Along with the IPG colleagues, the UK, and the EU, I was very encouraged by the announcement of the JETP, which is expected to mobilise over $15 billion towards your energy efforts, Yellen said.

Ramla Khalidi, resident representative in Vietnam at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said, In the next 3-5 years, the country needs to accelerate preparation for a package of public instruments to de-risking investments in renewable energies and design a just and feasible process to phase out coals in both state own enterprises and foreign invested coal power plants.

Currently, the UNDP is initiating assessment on the impact of phasing-out coal power and energy transition in Vietnam and defining what these processes would specifically mean for the nation.

This will inform further our ongoing assessment of the total socioeconomic impacts of the Energy Master Plan to reach net-zero by 2050, Khalidi said.

In 2023, the UNDP stands ready to support the Vietnamese government in the detailed formulation and implementation of the RMP. This includes the UNDPs technical assistance services to the governments in green transition and Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action projects, which can help Vietnam identify cost-effective de-risking public instruments to promote and scale up private sectors investments in the plan.

We are also exploring the experiences of other countries in the establishment of a climate bank that can support the mobilisation of international and domestic resources for climate action, Khalidi said.

Vietnam's 15 renewable energy transition projects generate 154 million kWh In a significant stride towards renewable energy adoption, 15 transitional renewable energy projects have contributed approximately 154 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity.
World Bank approves nearly 130 million USD to help Nghe An province improve livability, Illustrative photo (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi  The World Bank Board of Directors on July 31 approved a project worth 129.6 million USD to strengthen flood resilience and improve sanitation, transport, and public space infrastructure in Nghe An province's Vinh city - a political, economic, and cultural centre of the north-central coastal region.

The project is expected to directly benefit 250,000 residents in Vinh citys urban core by reducing flood risk and improving public health.

Once completed, the project will connect 30,000 households to new or rehabilitated secondary and tertiary sewers, and halve the time women spend on unpaid housework after flooding, including cleaning.

The project will contribute to climate adaptation by reducing damage from heavy rains, and to climate mitigation by improving living conditions in the citys centre and the construction of pedestrian and bike lanes.

World Bank Country Director for Vietnam Carolyn Turk said that the project is more than just infrastructure; it's a transformative endeavor enhancing the socioeconomic conditions of Vinh City's inhabitants.

The project embodies the World Banks commitment to assisting Vietnam in achieving sustainable urbanisation and resilient growth, she said.

The project design reflects lessons learned about urban resilience and disaster risk management in Vietnam and builds on the World Banks Vietnam Country Climate and Development Report by supporting the citys ability to predict and respond to floods and engage in more climate-sensitive urban planning.

Investments include flood control systems, wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure, and transport links to promote sustainable urban growth and climate resilience.

According to the World Bank, Vinh city lacks the capacity to cope with severe rainfall events, resulting in stormwater pooling at various locations throughout the city. To improve the drainage system, a new lake will be built to store excess stormwater runoff in an expanded flood basin within the city.

The project will also support the conversion of vacant land on both sides of the Vinh River into green public spaces while improving waste collection and separation to reduce the quantity of plastic waste disposed into the rivers.

Previously, the World Bank approved 194.36 million USD for four medium-sized cities in Vietnam to build some essential infrastructure and strengthen urban planning capacity. According to the World Bank, the Dynamic Urban Integrated Development Project aims to increase accessibility and improve urban services in four urban areas - Ky Anh (Ha Tinh), Tinh Gia (Thanh Hoa), Hai Duong, and Yen Bai. The project activities are expected to directly benefit about 200,000 residents, more than half of them women.

Nghe An residents live submerged after floods Three days after flooding triggered by recent Storm Molave, it has stopped raining in Nghe An province, but floods recede slowly and local people still live submerged in water.

Zuru Group keen on investment venture in Nghe An province Kiwi toy manufacturing and consumer packaged goods firm Zuru Group is considering an investment venture in Nghe An, the largest province in Vietnams North-Central Coast.

Nghe An province kicks off high school building with funding from Trung Nam Group Ky Son district People's Committee, in cooperation with Trung Nam Construction Investment JSC (Trungnam Group), kicked off the construction of Ky Son High School on November 20, coinciding with the 39th anniversary of Vietnamese Teachers' Day.

PM makes field trips to key projects in Nghe An province Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh made field trips to major projects in the central province of Nghe An on July 24, during which he instructed the settlement of obstacles to them.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  Attorneys for Nima Momeni, the tech consultant charged in the death of Cash App founder Bob Lee, said Monday that the two men had a cordial relationship and the defendant had no reason to kill him.

The comments from Momeni's lawyers came during a preliminary hearing, where the prosecution presents its evidence and a judge decides if there is enough to move ahead to trial. The hearing will continue Tuesday, when Momeni's defense is expected to lay out more of their arguments.

Prosecutors have said that Momeni, 38, planned the April 4 attack that left Lee dying on a desolate San Francisco street. They said he drove Lee to a secluded spot and stabbed him three times after a dispute related to Momenis sister, Khazar.

But Tony Brass, one of four defense attorneys present Monday, said it was not Lee but another man whom Momeni suspected of acting inappropriately with his younger sister.

What you see is cordial, a cordial relationship between Nima Momeni and Bob Lee, Brass said to reporters after the hearing. Theyre in a car together. Those are not two men who have murderous rage between them.

A friend of Lee told homicide investigators they had been hanging out and drinking with Momenis sister the day before the stabbing, prosecutors said previously in court documents. The friend said Momeni later questioned Lee about whether his sister was doing drugs or otherwise engaging in inappropriate behavior, and Lee said she had not.

But Saam Zangeneh, one of Momeni's lawyers, said he asked those questions of Lee in regards to the man whose apartment they had been drinking at.

Zangeneh said in court he needed to dispute the idea of an honor killing" committed to protect a sister.

Prosecutors have not spelled out a motive, but previously offered a timeline in a case that has drawn outsize media attention, partly due to Lees status in the tech world. Lee created Cash App, a mobile payment service, and was the chief product officer of the cryptocurrency MobileCoin.

Momeni, who has been in jail since his arrest April 13, has pleaded not guilty. He faces 26 years to life if convicted. His arrest came more than a week after Lee, 43, was found bleeding in the early morning hours of April 4. He later died at a hospital.

On Monday, Assistant District Attorney Omid Talai formally introduced evidence for his case, including photos of a knife that prosecutors say Momeni used to stab Lee, a trail of blood left by Lee as he staggered for help, and video footage showing the two men leave Momeni's sister's condo building before the stabbing.

Talai said at a May hearing that the weapon was part of a unique kitchen set belonging to Momeni's sister and that analysis showed Momenis DNA on the weapon's handle and Lees DNA on the bloody blade. Police recovered a knife with a 4-inch (10-centimeter) blade at the scene.

Zangeneh questioned why the rubber handle of the knife was tested for only DNA and not fingerprints. SFPD crime scene investigator Rosalyn Check said that it is difficult to get prints off rubber.

"When you want to see if someones touching something, you do fingerprint analysis, right?" he said to reporters. And they werent done on the handle, which is the most important, relevant portion of who, if any, was handling that item.

Surveillance video of Lee's final night shows him entering the posh Millennium Tower downtown, where Momenis sister lives with her husband, a prominent San Francisco plastic surgeon.

Video footage then shows Lee and Momeni leaving the building together shortly after 2 a.m. and driving off in Momenis car. Lee was found shortly after 2:30 a.m. in the Rincon Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, which has tech offices and condominiums but little activity in the early morning hours.
Elon Musk's X Corp is being accused by the anti-hate speech group Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) of intimidation.

The organization made the allegation against the company after the billionaire made its controversial rebranding for Twitter.

CCDH Accuses Elon Musk's X Corp of Intimidation

According to The Guardian's latest report, ever since Musk acquired Twitter (now called X) for $44 billion, CCDH has been conducting research into the content published on the platform.

The Verge reported that X Corp complained that CCDH regularly posts articles, which false or misleading assertions about the social media platform.

The company added that the organization is doing this with the main goal of harming Twitter's reputation.

Elon Musk's X Corp even sent a letter to a U.S. law firm, saying that it will sue the anti-hate speech group for its actions.

"The article cites no sources other than different, similarly threadbare posts on CCDH's own website, and fails to identify the qualifications of any of the researchers who worked on the article," said Alex Spiro, X Corp's attorney, via The Daily Mail UK.

Read Also: Netflix Reports Subscription Growth Despite Password-Sharing Crackdown But Experiences Drop in Stock Price

What CCDH Said About X Corp's Letter

After learning about X Corp's letter, CCDH's legal representative accused the company of intimidation.

The official explained that the letter was an attempt to intimidate those who are advocating against incitement, harmful content, and hate speech online.

CCDH Chief Executive Imran Ahmed said that Elon Musk decided to attack their organization because they are revealing the truth about Twitter's spreading hate and disinformation.

He added that the billionaire is targeting them because their research is impacting the platform.

Recently, CCDH conducted a study that included around 100 tweets that allegedly contain harmful content, such as racism, antisemitism, and homophobia.

However, X Corp's attorney said that the study is misleading and contains unsupported claims.

If you want to learn more about the ongoing issue between X Corp and the Center for Countering Digital Hate, you can click here.

Related Article: Facebook's Privacy Settlement Deadline Near-Here's When and How to Get Your Money

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WASHINGTON (AP)  A man who was a Princeton University student when the FBI arrested him on charges related to the U.S. Capitol riot pleaded guilty on Monday to joining a mob's attack on police officers during one of the most violent clashes on Jan. 6, 2021.

Larry Fife Giberson was on the front lines when rioters attacked police officers in a tunnel on the Capitol's Lower West Terrace. Giberson, 22, of Manahawkin, New Jersey, waved other rioters into the tunnel and then joined in a coordinated push against officers guarding an entrance to the building, according to a court filing.

Giberson tried in vain to start a chant of Drag them out! and then cheered on rioters using weapons and pepper spray against police in the tunnel, according to an FBIs agent affidavit. Giberson remained in the area for roughly an hour, the affidavit says.

Giberson pleaded guilty to a felony charge of interfering with police during a civil disorder, court records show. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols is scheduled to sentence him on Nov. 1. The judge allowed him to remain free until his sentencing.

Giberson was enrolled at Princeton as an undergraduate when he was arrested in March on riot-related charges. On Monday, a university spokesperson declined to answer questions about Gibersons enrollment status.

Charles Burnham, an attorney for Giberson, didn't immediately respond to emails and a telephone call seeking comment.

Giberson was wearing a Make America Great Again hat and a Trump flag around his neck when he joined the Jan. 6 attack, which disrupted the joint session of Congress for certifying President Joe Biden's electoral victory over Donald Trump.

The FBI posted images of Giberson on social media to seek the publics help in identifying him. Online sleuths also posted images of Giberson using the #DragThemOut hashtag moniker.

Investigators matched photos of Giberson from the Capitol to several images found on Instagram and Princeton Universitys website, according to the FBI.

Also on Monday, a Florida man was arrested on charges that he assaulted several police officers outside the Capitol during the riot. Videos captured Marcus Clint Martin applying first aid to an injured rioter and then shoving two officers who tried to help, the FBI said.

Other videos show Martin, 32, of Blountstown, Florida, piling onto an officer who was knocked over and removing metal barriers after chasing officers away from their positions in front of the Capitol, according to the FBI.

Martin was arrested in Panama City, Florida, on charges including civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding police. There was no lawyer immediately listed in the court docket for Martin.

Approximately 1,100 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot. More than 600 of them have pleaded guilty. Over 100 others have been convicted by judges or juries after trials in Washington, D.C.
Rotary meeting

Jackson Griggs, CEO of Waco Family Medicine, will be the guest speaker at this months Rotary Club of Waco meeting, noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 1, at the Baylor Club, 1001 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Lunch is $20. Call 254-776-2115 for more information.

Mayborn Mondays

The Mayborn Museum, 1300 S. University Parks Drive, holds Mystery Mondays every week from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. with a storytime and crafts geared toward children 5 and under.

Next weeks guest is Emily MacDonald, the museum engagement coordinator.

Storytime and activities are included in the museums general admission, which is $8 for children, $10 for adults and $9 for seniors.

Youth choir

First Methodist Waco is forming a choir for children in kindergarten through fifth grade.

The choir will meet Wednesdays from 5:30 to 6 p.m. beginning this week, Aug. 2, at the church, 4901 Cobbs Drive.

Sign up online at firstwaco.com/firstkids, or call 254-772-5630 for more information.

Family research

The Central Texas Genealogical Society is sponsoring a program on locating school records for family research from noon to 1 p.m. Aug. 7 in the meeting room at the West Waco Library, 5301 Bosque Blvd.

Information about siblings, attendance, age, relocation and more can be gleaned from such records, helping reveal details about ancestors.

Singing Seniors registration

The Baylor Singing Seniors, under the direction of Phillip Sitton, will hold fall semester registration at 9 a.m. Aug. 7 outside the sanctuary at Woodway United Methodist Church, 21000 Woodway Drive.

The first fall rehearsal will follow at 9:30. The semester registration fee is $75.

Membership is open to all senior adults. The suggested age is 55 and above. No musical training or audition is required. Anyone with a love of singing is welcome to join.

For more information, call 210-887-5370.

Veterans luncheon

The Stan C. Parker Foundation will hold its 12th annual veterans appreciation luncheon from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Lee Lockwood Library and Museum, 2801 W. Waco Drive.

The featured speaker will be Medal Of Honor recipient Donald Doc Ballard.

The event, which includes lunch, is free for all veterans. Reservations are required by emailing stancparkerfoundation@gmail.com.

Leather show

The Heart of Texas Leather Show will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 11-12 at the Waco Convention Center, 100 Washington Ave.

The trade show is open to the public. Admission is free.

Workshops are also available from Aug. 8-12. Register at leathercraftersjournal.com/heart-of-texas/workshops/.

Retro Radio fundraiser

The Retro Radio 2023 fundraiser for Archway of Hope will be held at 7 p.m. Aug. 26 at the Base at Extraco Events Center, 4601 Bosque Blvd.

Presented by DJ Flashback, the event will include elevated dance stages with props; extra-large screens featuring iconic music videos from the 1970s 80s and 90s; along with contests, dinner and unlimited drinks.

Tickets are $150 with tables of eight available for $1,750, online at eventbrite.com.

Archway of Hope is local nonprofit organization that that helps local families who are grieving the untimely death of a loved one. It produces documentaries, videos, cards and other tributes, and also connects families with comfort and healing resources.

Big hat luncheon

Esthers Closet and the Cen-Tex African American Chamber of Commerce will host a Big Hat Brunch at the annual Women of Distinction Luncheon from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 7 at Lee Lockwood Library and Museum, 2801 W. Waco Drive.

The event will feature a panel discussion with local professional female leaders who understand issues affecting women in the community, as well as a big hat fashion show, awards, silent auction and door prizes.

Tickets are $75 per person, or $55 for chamber members, available at bit.ly/3JYD1Cq.

Out of the Darkness walk

The Out Of The Darkness community walk will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Sept. 30 at Brazos Park East, 3516 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

The walk is a time for participants to acknowledge suicide and mental health conditions which have affected their lives and those of their loved ones.

A candlelight ceremony will be held immediately afterward.

Check-in is at 6 p.m. Live music, kids activities, vendors, honor beads, a memory wall and more will be part of the event.

Register for the walk or donate to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at afsp.org/waco.

For more information, contact Jennifer Warnick at 512-661-9335 or jenniferwafsp@gmail.com.
KHAR, Pakistan (AP)  The death toll from a massive suicide bombing that targeted an election rally for a pro-Taliban cleric rose to 54 Monday, as Pakistan held funerals and the government vowed to hunt down those behind the attack.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday's bombing, which also wounded nearly 200 people. Police said their initial investigation suggested that the Islamic State group's regional affiliate could be responsible.

The victims were attending a rally organized by the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, headed by hard-line cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman. He did not attend the rally, held under a large tent close to a market in Bajur, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan.

Rehman, who has long supported Afghanistan's Taliban government, escaped at least two known bomb attacks in 2011 and 2014, when bombings damaged his car at rallies.

Victims of the bombing were buried in Bajur on Monday.

As condolences continued to pour in from across the country, dozens of people who received minor injuries were discharged from hospital while the critically wounded were taken to the provincial capital of Peshawar by army helicopters. The death toll continued to rise as critically wounded people died in hospital, physician Gul Naseeb said.

On Monday, police recorded statements from some of the wounded at a hospital in Khar, Bajur's largest town. Feroz Jamal, the provincial information minister, said police were investigating this attack in all aspects.

At least 1,000 people were gathered under a large tent Sunday as their party prepared for parliamentary elections, expected in October or November.

People were chanting God is Great on the arrival of senior leaders, when I heard the deafening sound of the bomb, said Khan Mohammad, a local resident who said he was standing outside the tent.

Mohammad said he heard people crying for help, and minutes later ambulances started arriving and taking the wounded away.

Abdul Rasheed, a senior leader in Rehmans party said the bombing was aimed at weakening the party but that such attacks cannot deter our resolve.

Islamist groups have long had a presence in Bajur. The district was formerly a base for Al Qaida and a stronghold of the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. The army declared the district clear of the group in 2016 following a series of offensives.

The IS regional affiliate, known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, is based in neighboring Afghanistan's Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban and Al Qaida.

Shaukat Abbas, a senior police officer, said that police have made progress in their investigation, but did not provide details.

Pakistani security analyst Mahmood Shah told The Associated Press that breakaway factions of the TTP could also be behind the attack. He said some TTP members have been known to disobey their top leadership to carry out attacks, as have breakaway factions of the group.

Shah said such factions could have perpetrated the attack to cause confusion, instability and unrest ahead of the elections.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to dissolve Pakistan's parliament in August.

Rehmans party is part of Sharifs coalition government, which came to power in April 2022 by ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in the legislature.

Sharif called Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished. The bombing has also drawn nationwide condemnation, with ruling and opposition parties offering condolences to the families of the victims. The U.S. and Russian embassies in Islamabad also condemned the attack.

Khan condemned the bombing Sunday.

The Pakistani Taliban also distanced themselves from the attack, saying that the attack aimed to set Islamists against each other. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, wrote in a tweet that such crimes cannot be justified in any way.

The bombing came hours before the arrival of Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Islamabad, where on Monday he was to participate in an event to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a sprawling package under which Beijing has invested billions of dollars in Pakistan.

In recent months, China has helped Pakistan avoid a default on sovereign payments. Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.

Sunday's bombing was one of the four worst attacks in northwestern Pakistan since 2014, when 147 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar.

In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar. And in February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.
The Hagerstown Aviation Museum in Hagerstown, Maryland has just taken delivery of a Fairchild-Hiller F-27A airliner, an aircraft originally built in 1958 at the now-dormant Fairchild Aircraft factory located at the same airfield as the museum (Hagerstown Regional Airport). Interestingly, the museums present home is the old Fairchild Aircraft Flight Test Hangar, dating from 1943!

As many will know, the Fairchild F-27 is actually a license-built version of the Fokker F-27 Friendship, a successful turbo-prop commuter aircraft designed in the Netherlands during the early 1950s. Fairchild-Hiller built just over two hundred examples at their factory in Hagerstown, Maryland. The type enjoyed some success in the U.S. market, with a number of significant regional airlines operating the type.

This particular example first flew in early 1959, the thirty third example off the production line. Butler Aviation (Pepsi Cola Bottling) registered the aircraft as N1004 in April, 1959. It underwent conversion into a freighter (F-27F) soon after in 1961. Ross Aviation of Albuquerque, New Mexico acquired the airframe in 1975. Then in 1980, the U.S. Navy made use of the aircraft as UC-27A BuNo.161628, initially basing it at the Naval Air Development Center (NADC) in Johnsville, Pennsylvania, where it took part in various assignments. During the latter stages of its military career, Imperial Aviation Inc operated it on the Navys behalf to support the Atlantic Underwater Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) on Andros Island in the Bahamas. The F-27 closed out its U.S. Navy service in 1988 while flying from the Naval Air Warfare Center  Aircraft Division, at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Patuxent, Maryland.

The legendary Hawkins & Powers (H&P) aerial firefighting operator acquired the F-27 from the Navy in August, 1988, basing it at their home in Greybull, Wyoming and re-registering it as N127HP. H&P leased the aircraft to to various operators overseas, with periods of storage until D&G Incorporateds acquisition in 2000. The aircraft then passed through a handful of additional owners, but remained at Greybull until withdrawn from use and stored there in 2008.

Circa 2014, the The Museum of Flight and Aerial Firefighting placed it on display at their facility in Greybull, with the Hagerstown Aviation Museum acquiring the airframe as a donation in 2016. While the aircraft was in excellent condition, with a fully-equipped passenger cabin and cockpit, the Hagerstown museum decided against trying to fly the F-27 to its new home, as it had remained idle for too long. This summer, the museum had the opportunity to disassemble the airframe and transport it to Maryland on a flatbed truck through the generosity of several donors. The main fuselage arrived in Hagerstown on July 27th, and is now safely in the museums hangar. The wings and center section await delivery on a second shipment, which will hopefully take place sometime soon.

Anyone wishing to help this remarkable museum preserve the important heritage of Fairchild Aviation should click HERE to find out how.
ELMA  The remains of a missing New Hampton man were found in a burn pit behind an Elma home, according to recently filed court records in the case of the man charged in the crime. Sayvonne Lealbert Eugene Jordan, 26, is charged with first-degree murder, going armed, and abuse of a corpse in the death of Jonathan Esparza, 30, who disappeared in October 2022. A cause of death hasnt been released.

In recent weeks, Jordans attorney asked the court to throw out evidence found in a burn pit and burn barrel behind Jordans home in November, claiming investigators overstepped limitations of a search warrant. Prosecutors are challenging the request, saying the back yard was part of the location listed in the warrant.

In the backyard of the address was a visible burn pit. During the search, burn pit (remnants) and burn barrel from back yard were seized. These included what were believed to be human remains, Assistant Iowa Attorney Monty Platz said in court records. The defense is also seeking to throw out statements Jordan made to DCI Special Agent Matt Schalk while seated in an unmarked squad car during the search.

Prosecutors said Jordan wasnt in custody during the interview and was free to leave the vehicle  he did and returned  and that Jordan wasnt actively being questioned about homicide. Schalk never confronted defendant with killing anyone (as it had not yet been determined by scientific evidence that the burn pit material was the victim), Platz said in court records. Prosecutors also allege a pocket remnant tied to Esparza was found in the burn pit, court records state. .

Photos: Missing children in Iowa Dalilah Choate Jade Colvin Fredrick Workman Benjamin Roseland Erin Pospisil Marc Allen Eugene Martin John Gosch Kimberly Doss Colleen Simpson Daquan Nelson Diomarix Crespo Alivia Beeding Hunter Kenyon

ELMA  The remains of a missing New Hampton man were found in a burn pit behind an Elma home, according to recently filed court records in the case of the man charged in the crime.

Sayvonne Lealbert Eugene Jordan, 26, is charged with first-degree murder, going armed, and abuse of a corpse in the death of Jonathan Esparza, 30, who disappeared in October 2022.

A cause of death hasnt been released.

In recent weeks, Jordans attorney asked the court to throw out evidence found in a burn pit and burn barrel behind Jordans home in November, claiming investigators overstepped limitations of a search warrant.

Prosecutors are challenging the request, saying the back yard was part of the location listed in the warrant.

In the backyard of the address was a visible burn pit. During the search, burn pit (remnants) and burn barrel from back yard were seized. These included what were believed to be human remains, Assistant Iowa Attorney Monty Platz said in court records.

The defense is also seeking to throw out statements Jordan made to DCI Special Agent Matt Schalk while seated in an unmarked squad car during the search.

Prosecutors said Jordan wasnt in custody during the interview and was free to leave the vehicle  he did and returned  and that Jordan wasnt actively being questioned about homicide.

Schalk never confronted defendant with killing anyone (as it had not yet been determined by scientific evidence that the burn pit material was the victim), Platz said in court records.

Prosecutors also allege a pocket remnant tied to Esparza was found in the burn pit, court records state.

Photos: Missing children in Iowa Dalilah Choate Jade Colvin Fredrick Workman Benjamin Roseland Erin Pospisil Marc Allen Eugene Martin John Gosch Kimberly Doss Colleen Simpson Daquan Nelson Diomarix Crespo Alivia Beeding Hunter Kenyon
VOLGA  Two men were ejected from the open bed of a moving pickup truck Saturday and suffered life-threatening injuries, according to the Clayton County Sheriffs Office.

Both men were transported to MercyOne Elkader Hospital and then via air ambulance to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for the injuries. Names of the victims are being withheld until family notification.

The incident happened while the driver was accelerating southwest on Domino Road (Highway C2W) near the Volga U Campground, at about 7:07 p.m., amidst a lull in the neighboring Volga City Diesel Truck Show activities.

Event organizer Tom Klingman, CEO of Volga City Truck Cruise, said the incident did not transpire on the grounds or as part of the Friday and Saturday event that attracted 900 people to 609 Washington St.

Klingman said three attendees from out of state had set up camp at the campground and had been drinking. The other was the driver.

The rest of the event was canceled following the incident. Klingman noted another man a few hours later had been walking along the same roadway on a bridge over the Volga River to a convenience store when he was struck by a careless driver and was in stable condition.

The Iowa State Patrol is investigating the pedestrian accident, the Clayton County Sheriffs Office said in a Facebook post.

We have good food  great barbeque  and have water, but we dont sell alcohol and do everything to keep people safe. We communicate with people and remind them not to drink and drive. Our goal is to have fun and have a good time, Klingman said.

Chief Deputy Steve Holst put out a press release about the first incident after The Courier inquired Sunday night. He declined to answer questions.

The incident is still under investigation. The Clayton County Sheriffs Office was assisted on scene by Elkader Police Department, Clayton County Conservation, MercyOne Elkader Ambulance, Volga Fire and First Responders, LifeGuard Air Ambulance and University of Iowa Aircare.

Photos: Waterhawks Ski Team performs at Midwest Regional Show Waterhawks 1 Waterhawks 2 Waterhawks 3 Waterhawks 4 Waterhawks 5 Waterhawks 6 Waterhawks 7 Waterhawks 8 Waterhawks 9 Waterhawks 10 Waterhawks 11 Waterhawks 12 Waterhawks 13 Waterhawks 14 Waterhawks 15 Waterhawks 16 Waterhawks 17 Waterhawks 18 Waterhawks 19 Waterhawks 20 Waterhawks 21 Waterhawks 22 Waterhawks 23 Waterhawks 24 Waterhawks 25 Waterhawks Ski Team at Midwest Regional Show
WASHINGTON  It's a stunning new allegation in an already serious case: Former President Donald Trump sought to delete Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage to obstruct the Justice Department's investigation into his handling of classified documents.

The latest criminal charges unsealed Thursday deepen Trump's legal jeopardy, alleging a more central role for the former president than previously known in a cover-up that prosecutors say was meant to prevent them from recovering top-secret documents he took with him after he left the White House.

Coming as Trump braces for possible additional indictments related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, the new allegations strengthen special counsel Jack Smith's case against Trump while undercutting potential defenses, experts say.

"Before these new charges, you could maybe try some sort of defense that 'this was all a mistake, it was my staff' or confusion about what documents he actually had," said former federal prosecutor Randall Eliason, a George Washington University law professor.

"But especially now, when you're trying to destroy video footage," he added, "that's kind of the final nail in the coffin. I don't see much in the way of a defense, not a real defense. All he can do is claim he's being persecuted and hope for a holdout juror or something."

Trump resorted to that familiar playbook Friday, writing in a post on his Truth Social platform that "this is textbook Third World intimidation by rabid, lawless prosecutors." He insisted in an interview with radio host John Fredericks that he did nothing wrong and accused prosecutors of trying to intimidate his staff into making up lies about him.

Later Friday, Trump posted on Truth Social that Mar-a-Lago security tapes were voluntarily handed over to prosecutors. He said he was told they were not "deleted in any way, shape or form."

The new Florida charges came as a surprise given that Trump and his legal team focused on the prospect of an additional indictment in Washington  possibly within days  related to his efforts to cling to power after he lost to President Joe Biden. Trump received a letter this month informing him that he's a target in that probe, and his lawyers met Thursday with Smith's team.

Hours after that meeting, Smith revealed the new classified documents case charges on top of a 38-count indictment issued last month against Trump and his valet, Walt Nauta. The updated indictment includes a detailed chronology of phone conversations and other interactions between Trump, Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira in the days after the Justice Department last June drafted a subpoena for security camera footage at Mar-a-Lago.

Video from the home was vital to the government's case because, prosecutors said, it shows Nauta moving boxes in and out of a storage room  an act alleged to have been done at Trump's direction and to hide records not only from investigators but Trump's own lawyers.

The day after a draft subpoena was sent to the Trump Organization, the indictment says, Trump called De Oliveira and spoke with him for about 24 minutes. Details of that conversation are not included in the indictment, but prosecutors describe De Oliveira asking a Mar-a-Lago information technology staffer days later how long the server retained footage and telling the employee that "the boss" wanted it deleted.

Lawyers for Nauta and De Oliveira declined to comment on the allegations.

To the extent that evidence of Trump's involvement in trying to delete video is circumstantial rather than direct, it might present a challenge for prosecutors, said David Aaron, a former Justice Department national security prosecutor who worked on cases involving the mishandling of classified documents.

However, it could help prosecutors establish that Trump knew what he was doing was wrong because "you only delete video of what you've done if you think it's going to get you in trouble," Aaron said.

Trump's own accusations against others, such as his 2016 presidential race opponent Hillary Clinton, could boomerang against him.

Trump claimed Clinton deleted emails from her private server for the purpose of obstructing a criminal investigation into her own handling of classified information  something the FBI and Justice Department never alleged  but now stands himself accused of scheming to delete evidence he feared would be incriminating.

"He has specifically criticized other public figures for deleting data when he says they thought they were going to be in trouble," Aaron said. "So if you needed to prove his consciousness of guilt, it's not just an obvious thing that you would ask the jury to rely on common sense for  he's actually made statements about what it means when someone does this."

Smith's team also added a new count of willful retention of national defense information related to a classified document about a Pentagon plan of attack on a foreign country prosecutors say Trump showed off during a July 2021 meeting at his Bedminster, New Jersey resort.

That charge comes after Trump repeatedly claimed he didn't have any secret documents when he spoke, though an audio recording captured him saying "this is secret information." The document was returned to the government in January 2022, months before the subpoena for classified records.

It's not clear why prosecutors moved now to indict another one of Trump's underlings, though bringing charges against De Oliveira that could carry significant prison time adds serious pressure on him, potentially increasing the odds that he could decide to cut a plea deal and cooperate.

"But, you know, Trump seems to inspire a lot of loyalty, at least in some people," Eliason said. "Maybe they are holding out for the idea that he is reelected and he can pardon them."

Photos: Trump indictment shows documents stacked in bathroom, bedroom, ballroom
Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (30 July 2023)

The AFU continued unsuccessful attempts at offensive actions in South Donetsk, Krasny Liman and Donetsk directions.

In Donetsk direction, as a result of aviation, artillery, and units of the Yug Group of Forces, seven enemy attacks have been successfully repelled close to Kleshcheevka, Andreevka and Krasnogorovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

In addition, the AFU units have been hit near Druzhba, Berdychi, Kleshcheevka, Avdeevka, Krasnoye and Pobeda (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

One ammunition depot of the AFU 124th Territorial Defence Brigade has been destroyed near Dzerzhinsk (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 190 Ukrainian servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, four motor vehicles, two U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery systems, as well as Msta-B and D-20 howitzers.

In South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, units of the Vostok Group of Forces, in cooperation with aviation and artillery, repelled an enemy attack close to Uspenovka (Zaporozhye region).

As a result of a complex fire attack, AFU manpower and hardware concentration areas have been hit close to Zherebyanki, Novodanilovka, Veseloye and north of Rabotino (Zaporozhye region).

In addition, the actions of one Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group have been disrupted close to Charivnoye (Zaporozhye region).

The enemy losses were up to 250 Ukrainian servicemen, one tank, three armoured fighting vehicles, four motor vehicles, as well as howitzers: Msta-B and D-20.

In Krasny Liman direction, as a result of actions by aviation, artillery, and units of the Tsentr Group of Forces, three enemy attacks have been successfully repelled close to Kovalyovka (Lugansk Peoples Republic), as well as near Serebryansky forestry.

In addition, enemy manpower and hardware concentration areas have been hit close to Torskoye, Serebryanka, Grigorovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic), Chervonaya Dibrova, Nevskoye, and west of Novovodyanoye (Lugansk Peoples Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 140 Ukrainian servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, as well as one D-30 howitzer.

In Kupyansk direction, assault detachments of the Zapad Group of Forces continued offensive operations forward Novosyolovskoye (Lugansk Peoples Republic) and advanced 300 metres into the depth of the enemy defence.

In addition, AFU units have been hit near Timkovka, Peschanoye, Olshana, and Novomlynsk (Kharkov region), and Stelmakhovka, Novosyolovskoye and Artyomovka (Lugansk Peoples Republic).

One ammunition depot of the AFU 125th Brigade of the Territorial Defence of Ukraine has been destroyed near Izbitskoye (Kharkov region).

The enemy losses were up to 80 Ukrainian servicemen, four motor vehicles, as well as one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system and one D-30 howitzer.

In Kherson direction, the enemy losses were up to 65 Ukrainian servicemen and five motor vehicles.

Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have neutralised 102 AFU artillery units at their firing positions, manpower and hardware in 108 areas.

In addition, a retraining centre and a storage, maintenance and repair point of AFU drones have been destroyed near Mogilyovka (Dnepropetrovsk region).

A command post of the 100th Territorial Defence Brigade has been hit close to Yampol (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

Fighter Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces has shot down one Mi-8 helicopter of Ukrainian Air Force near Vozdvizhenka (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

Air defence facilities have shot down 44 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles close to Tavolzhanka (Kharkov region), Zaliman, Rubezhnoye, Kremennaya, Raigorodka (Lugansk Peoples Republic), Sladkoye, Staromikhailovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic), Shevchenkovo, Dolinka, Trudovoye, Novopokrovka, Mirnoye (Zaporozhye region), Staraya Zburyevka and Novaya Kakhovka (Kherson region).

In total, 457 airplanes, 245 helicopters, 5,358 unmanned aerial vehicles, 427 air defence missile systems, 11,029 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,140 fighting vehicles equipped with MLRS, 5,661 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 11,971 special military motor vehicles have been destroyed during the special military operation.

WtR
Elder members of the Ho-Chunk Nation are some of the last vessels of the Ho-Chunk language, whose known speakers were last estimated at fewer than 40 individuals.

Once its lost, a vital part of the nations identity risks being lost as well.

The history, the prayers, the poetry, the art, all of that is expressed in a very unique Ho-Chunk worldview in the language, said Wilhelm Meya, chairman and CEO of the Language Conservancy, which seeks to protect and revive endangered indigenous languages. Its a language thats tens of thousands of years old, passed down generations. It represents one of the oldest languages in North America. It represents Wisconsin.

In hopes of preserving Hoocak, as the language is known, and making it available for future generations, the Nation and the Language Conservancy recently brought several elder members together in Black River Falls, the administrative center for the Ho-Chunk Nation, to record samples of the language.

The recordings are part of a decades-long effort by the Ho-Chunk to develop learning materials to sustain the language.

The Nation has developed speakers an Eminent Speakers program in which members of the community teach the language, assist with curriculum development, and work with apprentices to preserve the language.

Some Eminent Speakers offer community classes, providing people of all ages and backgrounds to learn the language.

There are other language enrichment opportunities available, as well. Baraboo High School, for instance, began offering Hoocak in the spring semester of the 2018-19 academic year.

In 2022, an online and mobile dictionary was created, offering more accessibility to the language than ever before. It includes nearly 12,000 entries and over 9,000 example sentences.

It opened the door to many potential new learners, Meya said.

With many of the languages remaining speakers now over 75, Nation officials thought it vital that they record as much of them as they could, capturing voices and dialects.

The new recordings will be uploaded to the online dictionary and added to the app that students of the language can download and use as a resource.

The Ho-Chunk Nation has over 7,800 members. According to one measure of language endangerment known as the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale, the Ho-Chunk language falls under the level of moribund, a level that teeters on extinction.

Under that designation, the only remaining active users of the language are members of the grandparent generation or older.

At one time, there were more than 300 distinct Indigenous languages spoken in the United States, according to the Administration for Native Americans. Approximately 175 remain today. Without restoration efforts, experts estimate that by the year 2050 only 20 languages will still be spoken.

In 2009, Bemidji State University surveyed the Ojibwe (Chippewa) and found fewer than 1,000 members who had the Ojibwe language as a first language. There are approximately 320,000 Ojibwe tribal members.

In 2013, as part of a UW-Stevens Point project, just six or seven people were found to be conversant in the Menominee language. In 2021, Bodwewadmimwen, the language of the Potawatomi, had only eight people who learned it as their first language.

Dictionary, app available online To download the Ho-Chunk language app, visit apps.apple.com and search for "Ho-Chunk." To view the online dictionary, visit dictionary.hochunk.org. To learn more about the Ho-Chunk language visit hoocak.org.

At the Black River Falls event, native Ho-Chunk speakers recorded around 1,000 phrases and sentences. The recordings will be used in the development of an upcoming e-learning platform called Hoocak Woiperes.

We want to make sure that the language is continued on for generations into the future, Meya said, so Ho-Chunk people can continue to be Ho-Chunk and express their culture and their identity in positive ways that contribute to the larger world in a meaningful way.

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More and more reports of environmental issues are surfacing as they become increasingly difficult to ignore. With that said, even agencies like NASA contribute with their technologies to avoid further damaging natural environments that need to be preserved.

NASA Satellites Looking Over the Amazon

The Amazon is the world's biggest rainforest and home to millions of species, which is reason enough for us to try to protect it. It appears that NASA shares that sentiment as it offered its satellite technology to help monitor the tropical jungle.

NASA's administrator, Bill Nelson, announced the contribution during his trip to Brazil as he visited its space agency, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). He explained the mechanics of which the technology could help with the goal.

The US space agency's new satellite called NISAR would be completed by January and it would be able to capture images to determine the occurrences below the cover of trees in real-time, as reported by Interesting Engineering.

Nelson stated that "it is going to be able to look through the canopy of the jungle so that we can see if someone has burned the undergrowth and that would ultimately kill the big trees." The technology will become a big part of a planned project for the rainforest.

The mentioned project is called SERVIR Amazonia, which will help scientists among others, make decisions regarding the rainforest using Earth science data. It will also help detect threats like deforestation, food insecurity, and whether emergency workers need assistance during disasters.

SERVIR Amazonia becomes as important as ever, especially with the prediction that the forest which has a significant contribution to the planet's state will collapse by 2064, according to a professor from the University of Florida, Robert Walker.

Nelson mentioned that he himself saw the damage in the rainforest back in 1986 based on the different colors he could see, which he witnessed whilst aboard NASA Space Shuttle Columbia, which likely prompted him to assist with the preservation efforts.

Read Also: AI Tool Helps Farmers in Africa Be Productive Despite Climate Change

What Happens if the Amazon is Destroyed

In the event that the biggest rainforest is irreversibly damaged, it will have catastrophic consequences. For one, it is home to 10% of the world's species, consisting of 40,000 plant species, 2.5 million insects, 3,000 freshwater fish, and 370 reptiles.

Considering the Amazon rainforest's size, its deforestation will significantly affect the air quality of the planet, especially since it plays a huge part in absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. Without a large number of plants, flooding will get much worse.

Other than warmer temperatures, there will be longer droughts as well. According to Earth Reminder, a huge percentage of the world's food supply comes from the forest. It holds 3,000 edible fruits such as oranges, lemons, avocados, mangoes, pineapples, figs, bananas, and more.

The Amazon rainforest is also the home of approximately 30 million people, 2.7 of which are indigenous, with around 350 ethnic groups. Its destruction will greatly contribute to the already alarming rate of global warming and climate change.

Related: Union Square Climate Clock Shows We Only Have Six Years Before Irreversible Climate Change
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Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko, third from left, walks toward the media for a news conference outside the Shevchenskivskyi court in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, July 5, 2023. A man brought to court to stand trial blew himself up in the courthouse. The accused was attempting to escape custody at the time, according to a statement from the Kyiv city administration. He used an "unidentified explosive device" the statement said. Two Ukrainian security personnel were wounded. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
An Injured boy lies on the bed at a hospital after Sunday's suicide bomber attack, in the Bajur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Monday, July 31, 2023. A suicide bomber blew himself up at a political rally in a former stronghold of militants in northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan on Sunday, killing and wounding multiple people in an attack that a senior leader said was meant to weaken Pakistani Islamists. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)
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Avangrid, part of the Iberdrola Group, announced today the successful installation of the offshore substation at its Vineyard Wind 1 project, the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the U.S., currently under construction off the coast of Massachusetts.

An offshore substation is a critical component of an offshore wind farm, designed and built to collect and export the electricity generated by the wind turbine generators. It serves as an intermediary platform between the wind turbine generators in the offshore lease area and the onshore power grid.

Offshore wind in the U.S. is one step closer to becoming a reality, said Pedro Azagra, Avangrid CEO. Our team's dedication, expertise, and collaborative spirit have made this achievement possible and, by building pioneering projects like Avangrids Vineyard Wind 1, we remain committed to accelerating the energy transition to create a cleaner, more sustainable future in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and in the U.S..

Including its two main components, the topside and the jacket, the offshore substation weighs over 5,000 tons, making it the first one ever installed in the U.S. and the sixth and largest in the Iberdrola Groups global fleet to date. So far, Iberdrola has installed five other substations at its West of Duddon Sands (UK), Wikinger (Germany), East Anglia One (UK), St. Brieuc (France), and Baltic Eagle (Germany) offshore wind farms.

Vineyard Wind 1 is expected to deliver first power before the end of this year and, once completed, the facility will generate 806 MW of clean, renewable energy to power more than 400,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts.
Theres a street fair or festival for every flavor this week.

Take your pick between the annual Nihonmachi Street Fair in Japantown, Art Walk SFs Outer Sunset street fest, Jerry Day, Jack London Brewing District's block party, the SF Drag King Contest, Maritime Day in Sausalito, and more.

Have a fun one.

Get the tea from Imperial Tea Court founder and tea master Roy Fong in a guided tasting; Tuesday at 5:30pm. // Imperial Tea Court, 1 Ferry Building Shop #27 (Embarcadero); tickets at eventbrite.com





Test your knowledge at Fort Points trivia night in North Beach. Expect six rounds of San Franciscorelated trivia with prizes up for grabs hosted at a legacy watering hole; Tuesday, 7pm to 10pm. // Specs' Twelve Adler Museum Cafe, 12 William Saroyan Pl. (North Beach); RSVP at eventbrite.com





Boogie on down to The Midway for a roller disco fundraiser with Church of 8 Wheels and Beats Drop Cancer. Bring your own skates or rent some onsite; Thursday at 7pm. // The Midway, 900 Marin St. (Bayview); tickets at tixr.com

Be one of the first to take in SFMOMAs new exhibition, Sitting on Chrome: Mario Ayala, Fafa Esparza, and Guadalupe Rosales. Opening night will be held on First Thursday which offers free admission for Bay Area residents. Plus, there will be food for purchase and live music; Thursday at 6pm. // SFMOMA, 151 Third St. (SoMa); tickets at sfmoma.org





Don your gear and get outdoors with free entrance to all National Parks and monumentsincluding Muir Woods and Yosemite National Park to honor the anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act; Friday. // Details at nps.gov





Swing into the weekend with First Friday Nights at CuriOdyssey. The monthly family-friendly event includes live music, food trucks, animal presentations, and science activities; Friday, 5pm to 8pm. // CuriOdyssey, 1651 Coyote Point Dr. (San Mateo); tickets at curiodyssey.org





See Grammy winner Maxwell take the stage with the SF Symphony. The groundbreaking neo-soul artist, famed for redefining the genre, will reimagine his most iconic hits with orchestra; Friday and Saturday. // For tickets, go to sfsymphony.org.

Thank you to our partners at San Francisco Symphony

Remind yourself why the West Coast is the best coast at The Cheese Schools wine and cheese pairing event. Taste your way through an array from California, Oregon, and Washington; Friday, 6pm to 8pm. // The Cheese School, 2535 3rd St. (Dogpatch); tickets at thecheeseschool.com





No reservation? No problem. Learn to make your own 5-star meal in a virtual hand roll and onigiri-making class with Virtual Table and Feed App. Youll be sent all the ingredients to make the recipes from the comfort of your home; Friday, 5pm to 6:30pm. // Tickets at feedapp.com





Explore SFs charming, ocean-adjacent neighborhood at Art Walk SFs Outer Sunset street festival. Peruse pop-up galleries, local merchants and sidewalk sales; Saturday, noon to 5pm. // Irving St. between 19th and 25th Ave. (Outer Sunset); RSVP at eventbrite.com





Stop by the annual Nihonmachi Street Fair for music, performances, and community; Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 6pm. // Peace Plaza, 1610 Geary Blvd. (Japantown), nihonmachistreetfair.org

Put some flowers in your hair and pay tribute to the late, great Jerry Garcia. The 21st annual Jerry Day promises to be a love fest with an eclectic group of performers; Saturday at 11:30am. // Jerry Garcia Amphitheatre at McLaren Park, 50 John F Shelley Dr. (Portola), jerryday.org





Drink beer in an inflatable, British-style Pub in the Park. Plus, bring your picnic gear and spend the day listening to live music, playing croquet and corn hole, and enjoying food truck bites; Saturday, 11am to 4pm. // Red Morton Park (Redwood City); details at redwoodcity.org





Get nautical at Maritime Day. Observe a wooden boat building demonstration, raise a cheer at the dinghy dash race, see historic vessels, and take a free boat ride aboard Galilee Harbors own SV Carodon. Plus, shop the popular marine flea market and artist booths, nosh on fish and chips, and listen to live music; Saturday, 8am to 6pm. // Galilee Harbor, 300 Napa St. (Sausilito); details at galileeharbor.org





The first edition of the Park Market at Crane Cove is popping up this weekend with local makers, food and drinks, activities, and musicians at the waterfront; Sunday, 11am to 5pm. // Crane Cove Park, 18th St. (Dogpatch); details at sanfranciscoparksalliance.org



Get a taste of Oaklands vibrant beer scene at the second annual Jack London Brewing District Block Party. Join Dokkbier, Oakland United, Original Pattern, Buck Wild, Hella Coastal, Shapeshifters, and Cellarmaker Brewing for unlimited tastings; Sunday, noon to 5pm. // Jack London Square, 285a 5th St. (Oakland); tickets at eventbrite.com





Support your local LGBTQ+ artists, performers, and shop owners at Castro Art Mart; Sunday, 11am to 5pm. // Noe St. between Market and Beaver St. (Castro); RSVP at eventbrite.com





with hosts Fudgie Frottage and Sister Roma. Ticket proceeds will benefit PAWS and Rocket Dog Rescue; Sunday at 7pm. // Oasis, 298 11th St. (SoMa); tickets at eventbrite.com
You can subscribe here to AARP Veteran Report , a free e-newsletter published twice a month. If you have feedback or a story idea then please contact us here .

The United States is blessed with some wonderful military museums, and AARP Veteran Report was pleased to highlight nine of them in March.



Subscribers to this newsletter pointed out that a number of new museums will be coming our way. Here are eight of them:

1. National Mounted Warrior Museum

This 58,000-square-foot museum is being constructed on 17 acres next to Fort Cavazos (formerly Fort Hood) in Killeen, Texas, and is due to open November 8. The goal of the National Mounted Warfare Foundation and U.S. Army is to tell the story of the mounted units and soldiers  on vehicles, horses and aircraft  who have been based there.

An preview tour is available online, and Open House Thursdays allow the public to see progress. The museum, run by the U.S. Army, will be free to the public, and visitor passes will not be required. The museum is expected to bring in 377,000 visitors a year, contributing $45 million to the local community.

The National Museum of Intelligence and Special Operations will focus on the history of the Office of Strategic Services. The OSS Society

2. National Museum of Intelligence and Special Operations

Due to open in Ashburn, Virginia in July 2027, this museum has $125 million of private funding and will focus principally on the history of the Office of Strategic Services, the intelligence agency that was the forerunner of the CIA and Green Berets and existed from 1942 to 1945 under the leadership of Gen. Wild Bill Donovan.



The building will be shaped as a spearhead, which was the gold-on-black insignia of the OSS. It will feature 14,000 square feet of exhibit space, an educational program area and an outdoor event pavilion called Tip of the Spear.

Charles Pinck, president of the OSS Society and son of Dan Pinck, an OSS operative in China, says, I hope people will take away how important these communities are to our national security and why they deserve our support. A groundbreaking ceremony is planned for July 2025. 


Quarterly Activities Report

Perth, July 31, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Cyprium Metals Ltd ( ASX:CYM ) provides the following overview of the Company's activities.



Highlights



- Work underway on +15-year large scale open pit mine life development at Nifty, based on the current Mineral Resource Estimate of 940,200 tonnes of contained Copper



- Firm commitments received for a conditional placement to raise $24M



- Additional pro rata non-renounceable entitlement offer to raise up to $5M



o 1 new share for every 10.64 shares held on the record date

o Offer will be open to all eligible Cyprium shareholders



- Investor support for the Placement provides a strong endorsement of Cyprium's strategy to restart the Nifty operation as a long life integrated large scale open pit mine



- Leading private equity firm Pacific Road Capital Management (PRCM) has subscribed for $4.05 million in the Placement to hold a 9.9% interest in the Company post Placement



- Mr Clive Donner, an experienced mining industry executive, to be appointed as Managing Director upon the issue of Placement Shares



- Upon completion of the Placement, PRCM will have the right to appoint a nominee to the Company's board of directors



- Cyprium has entered into a Secured Loan Deed for up to USD14.5 million



- Timetable for readmission and shareholders meeting is expected to be in early September 2023, subject to ASX reinstatement requirements



Clive Donner, proposed Managing Director commented:



"We were pleased to receive firm commitments for a $24 million Share Placement. There was strong support for the Equity Raising from current shareholders and the Board is looking forward to welcoming a number of new institutional investors onto our register.



Once this Equity Raising has been completed, Cyprium will be able to continue advancing the Nifty technical studies and funding package to enable the delivery and execution of our strategy as an integrated copper oxide Heap Leach SX-EW starter operation and the larger scale sulphide open pit operation.



We have also secured financing with Nebari, who are a highly respected and experienced financier of mining projects globally. We look forward to working with Nebari in relation to this facility and also potential future facilities associated with the development of the large open pit project at Nifty."



*To view the full quarterly report, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/2EUW184Y





About Cyprium Metals Ltd





Cyprium Metals Limited (ASX:CYM) is poised to grow to a mid-tier mining business and manage a portfolio of Australian copper projects to deliver vital natural resources, strong shareholder returns and sustainable value for our stakeholders. We pursue this aim, in genuine partnerships with employees, customers, shareholders, local communities and other stakeholders, which is based on integrity, co-operation, transparency and mutual value creation.
Apple promises to do better with its screen time feature.

The popular tech giant recently acknowledged that something was wrong with its screen time parental control feature affecting various iOS devices in the past few days.

Despite its promise, the company has yet to reveal when a fix is coming for the issue.

Apple Screen Time Mishap

Parents who gave their children iOS devices are in a bit of a pickle. A report from the Wall Street Journal mentioned that they have been complaining on Apple forums and Facebook groups that screen time settings aren't "sticking."

According to the report, the parental control settings sometimes reset or fail to sync across all devices within a Family Sharing group, allowing their kids to use their devices when they shouldn't have.

For those unaware, screen time provides parents with a setting to remotely manage a child's iOS device, per an Apple support page. This feature allows parents to manage their children's app use, schedule time away from their devices, and set communication limits, among others.

Thanks to this feature, parents can ensure that their kids don't spend too much time on devices and protect them from accessing inappropriate content. That is until the issue occurred.

Apple tried patching it out with an iOS 16.5 update it released in May, citing an issue with syncing across devices as its cause, per 9to5Mac. However, parents still reported the problem occurring on devices updated to iOS 16.6 and the iOS 17 public beta.

Read More: 5 Gadgets You Need to Start Your Fitness Journey

Apple officially acknowledged the persistent problem in its recent message to the Journal, saying that some users may be experiencing an issue where screen time settings are resetting unexpectedly. It added that it takes the reports the parents made very seriously and that it has been, and will continue, making updates to improve the situation.

Unfortunately, the company didn't share a timeline of when a fix will become available. It is probable that Apple will release a fix on its latest iOS update, but this is only speculation that should be taken with pinches of salt.

What Parents Can Do For The Mean Time

While Apple's screen time feature is handy, the resetting issue knocks it out for the time being. As such, parents have to look to other options to manage their kids' screen time and what they access on their devices.

According to RaisingChildren.net, parents can have their kids take a break after completing a game level or do something else when they do. They can also set their kids' expectations with using their devices for a certain period before they can use them.

Empowering Parents advises that parents can establish rules of their own that Apple's screen time feature normally enforces. However, they must consider their kids' maturity level, their priorities and values as parents, and their children's responsibilities in the home.

Whatever rules they make, parents have to be realistic with them and be engaged with their kids; giving them the attention they need is better than distracting them with a device.

Related Article: Apple 15 Pro Opens Possibility of Titanium Frame, Thinner Bezels, and More


Quarterly Activities Report

Melbourne, July 31, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Cohiba Minerals Limited ( ASX:CHK ) ( CHKMF:OTCMKTS ) is pleased to provide an update in relation to the activities carried out during the June 2023 quarter.



Highlights



- Acquisition of 100% of the Olympic Domain tenements was achieved through a Deed of Settlement and Release.



- A major Technical Review of HWDD03 was completed.



- Additional samples were collected from HWDD03 to provide more detailed information.



- Additional assays were reported for HWDD08 (Horse Well Prospect) with minor Cu-Au-Ag mineralisation.



- An Exploration Licence Application was submitted for 28 blocks of ground to the north and east of Pyramid Lake (WA) to secure potential additional gypsum resources.



- Acquisition of four (4) strategically located lithium projects with a combined 148km2 within known lithium terranes in Ontario, Canada was commenced.



- Company raised $1.75 million through Placement.



- Geological consultants were secured for the desktop study and reconnaissance work for the Canadian projects.



- Cash balance of $1.8M at 30 June 2023



*To view the full quarterly report, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/823GY8SL





About Cohiba Minerals Limited





Cohiba Minerals Limited (ASX:CHK) is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange with the primary focus of investing in the resource sector through direct tenement acquisition, joint ventures, farm in arrangements and new project generation. The shares of the company trade under the ticker symbol CHK.

The Company recently acquired 100% of the shares in Charge Lithium Pty Ltd, which holds exploration licences in Western Australia.


Quarterly Activities Report

Sydney, July 31, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - NSX Limited ( ASX:NSX ) is pleased to provide its Activities Report and ASX Appendix 4C Cashflow Statement for the period ended 30 June 2023 (4Q23).



Group Cash Flow Activities Report



- Cash at the end of the quarter was $2.426 million (with $0.212 million restricted).



- During the quarter $0.115 million in cash receipts were received from customers. The company receives most of its annual revenue (on a cash basis) in the September quarter.



- Cash payments for administration costs for the quarter:



o $0.591 million, which is less as compared with $1.064 million in the March quarter that included annual and once off cash payments. The administration expenses in the March quarter included significant payments for:



- ASIC industry funding levy fees approximately $300K;



- KG Capital (placement fee) of approximately $97K.



- Supplier payments of $65K



- Cash payments to staff, corporate and the Board for the period were $0.44 million which represents a small increase compared to the previous quarter due to pay increases to employees in current quarter.



NSX Limited Corporate Activities



- Directors, being related parties of the Company, for the purposes of this report, were paid remuneration in the amount of $88.4K during the June quarter. No other related party payments were made. This is an increase from the last quarter payment of 85k due to the timing of cash payments.



KSA Mining and Minerals Exchange Activities



On 13 October 2022 the Company announced that Ajlan & Bros Mining Co., Ltd. and NSX Limited, had signed a Term Sheet for a Joint Venture Agreement for the purpose of establishing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Metal and Mining Exchange.



In summary the following key points are of note during the period:



- The parties completed the review of a draft Joint Venture agreement, and scope of works included in the purchase order and related documents. The draft remains unsigned as the agreements and associated documents are under review by relevant ministers in the Kingdom.



- When the agreement is finalised and executed, NSX will receive a purchase order to provide services in the form of exchange expertise to the Joint Venture. It is expected that the fees received for these services will contribute to revenue up until the launch of the mining exchange.



ClearPay Joint Venture Activities



- DESS Digital Ledger Technology system continues to operate with no downtime.



National Stock Exchange Activities



- The activities of the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, National Stock Exchange of Australia ("NSXA"), involved business as usual processing of new admission applications and market operations.



- The market environment for new listings has been challenging including increased competition, availability of funds to Issuers for public offerings and general economic conditions.



- NSXA is increasing its business development activities and marketing personnel.



- NSXA receives enquiries and suitability for listing submissions and these activities can take time to progress depending on the applicant and the documentation submitted.



- The NSXA continues to position itself as the venture and emerging companies exchange, creating a clear differentiation from other Australian markets and marketing to issuer advisers and relevant capital raising groups.



*To view the full quarterly report, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/T295HSH8





About NSX Limited





NSX Limited (ASX:NSX) via its wholly owned subsidiary National Stock Exchange of Australia Limited (NSXA) operates the Tier 1 Licensed stock exchange facility for the listing of equity securities, corporate debt and investment scheme units. The company is also involved in trading and settlement activities.


Quarterly Activities Report

Brisbane, July 31, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Sayona Mining Limited ( ASX:SYA ) ( DML:FRA ) ( SYAXF:OTCMKTS ) continues to ramp up operations at North American Lithium (NAL), resulting in record spodumene concentrate production of 29,610 tonnes for the quarter.



Full year spodumene concentrate production of 33,120 tonnes, produced ahead of schedule at an average grade of 5.48% Li2O.



Finalisation of Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for the combined NAL and Authier Lithium Project, confirming increased pre-tax net present value (NPV) of $2.2 billion.



Finalisation of preliminary technical study for lithium carbonate production at NAL, resulting in standalone pre-tax NPV of $3.2 billion and combined NAL pre-tax NPV exceeding $5 billion.



Significant resource upgrade for Moblan Lithium Project, with JORC Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource increasing to 51.4 million tonnes at 1.31% Li2O (0.55% Li2O cut-off grade in the sensitivity analysis), representing one of North America's single largest lithium resources.



Western Australia, Australia



Commencement of reverse circulation drilling program at Morella Lithium Joint Venture Project. Thirty-five holes drilled measuring total depth of 2,200 metres, with pegmatites intersected in 18 holes.



Finalisation of heritage survey at Mt Dove Project, enabling drilling activity to be undertaken.



Corporate



Successful completion of $200 million fully underwritten equity placement at $0.18 per share to accelerate development of Quebec lithium resources.



Plans progressed to undertake review of corporate governance practices, including establishment of key governance committees and recruitment of additional independent Non-Executive Directors.



Management Commentary



The ramp-up towards nameplate production at NAL has continued to perform ahead of expectations, with record spodumene concentrate production achieved for the quarter.



This has laid the groundwork for NAL's concentrate to be stockpiled at the port, ahead of the first shipment to customers which is planned for Q1 FY24.



A preliminary technical study has shown the value of lithium carbonate production at NAL, with a fully integrated operation valued at more than $5 billion. Sayona will be advancing towards downstream processing as quickly as possible, supporting Quebec's clean energy future.



Furthermore, the latest drilling results have shown the enormous potential for the Moblan Lithium Project, a key deposit for Sayona's future downstream plans.



Mr Brett Lynch

Managing Director & CEO



*To view the full quarterly report, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/5KTF0FY8





About Sayona Mining Limited





Sayona Mining Limited (ASX:SYA) (OTCMKTS:SYAXF) is an Australian, ASX-listed (SYA) company focused on sourcing and developing the raw materials required to construct lithium-ion batteries for use in the rapidly growing new and green technology sectors. The Company has lithium projects in Quebec, Canada and in Western Australia.

Please visit us as at www.sayonamining.com.au
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Warner Bros. Pictures Movie

The director of the Margot Robbie-fronted Mattel doll movie explains inspiration behind the joke in the very last scene of her newly-premiered big-screen project.

Jul 31, 2023

AceShowbiz - Greta Gerwig claims the genitals gag finale of "Barbie" was inspired by the childhood shame she felt with her body. The 39-year-old filmmaker's hit film about the doll wraps up with a joke where actress Margot Robbie's Barbie character appears to have become human and strides into a doctor's office where she exclaims with a grin, "I'm here to see my gynaecologist" - after the film earlier stressed she and the other Barbies and Kens had no private parts.

"With this film, it was important for me that everything operated on at least two levels," Greta, who co-wrote "Barbie" with her director husband Noah Baumbach, 53, told USA Today about the finale.

"I knew I wanted to end on a mic drop kind of joke, but I also find it very emotional. When I was a teenage girl, I remember growing up and being embarrassed about my body, and just feeling ashamed in a way that I couldn't even describe. It felt like everything had to be hidden."

"And then to see Margot as Barbie, with this big old smile on her face, saying what she says at the end with such happiness and joy. I was like, if I can give girls that feeling of, 'Barbie does it, too' - that's both funny and emotional. There are so many things like that throughout the movie. It was always about looking for the levity and the heart."

"Barbie" pulled in a massive $162 million during its opening weekend, giving Greta the record for the biggest opening ever for a film directed by a woman.

The "Little Women" director also told IndieWire about the movie's ending, "I feel that line and that ending is something that I feel about most things that I've ever made - there's something where I don't rightly feel like I can take credit for it. It sort of came to me in a dream and then it was like, 'It can be no other way.' "

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Instagram Celebrity

The 'Easy A' star reportedly checks into a new mental health facility in Orange County at her own discretion as she felt she needed more help than the outpatient treatment was providing.

Jul 31, 2023

AceShowbiz - Amanda Bynes is ditching outpatient care for inpatient treatment following her second psychiatric hold in a year. The former child actress is reportedly trying a new mental health treatment center amid ongoing struggles with her mental health.

According to TMZ, the 37-year-old checked herself into an intensive inpatient mental health treatment center in Orange County at the beginning of July, nearly a week after checking out of a Los Angeles area mental health facility where she received outpatient treatment. It was reportedly her own decision to check into the new facility because she felt she needed more help than the outpatient treatment was providing.

Sources tell the site that Amanda wanted more of a therapeutic place to live rather than living by herself at her L.A. apartment. She received a recommendation about this place from her last treatment center and she likes how she's able to be around a medical team, therapists and other patients, because it provides social interaction and company as opposed to being on her own.

The former "All That" star is said to be getting 24/7 care, while also taking part in daily therapy sessions and activities to help her develop skills to use when she leaves the center, which is a higher level of care than what she received in an outpatient setting.

It's currently unknown how long Amanda will spend time in the new facility as it depends on when she feels ready to leave and be on her own again. Her parents are allegedly aware of this and supportive of her decisions.

Amanda was placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold in March after she was seen walking around naked in Los Angeles. She was hospitalized for nearly three weeks before starting outpatient treatment.

On June 17, she called the police indicating that she had thoughts of self-harm. She was placed on a psych hold and spent time in a psychiatric facility before being released on June 30 with plans for follow-up outpatient treatment.

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Movie

The new installment in the horror film series sees the return of Tobin Bell as John Kramer, who turns the tables on con artists who defraud him when he desperately seeks help to cure his cancer.

Jul 31, 2023

AceShowbiz - John Kramer is back in the first trailer of "SAW X". Lionsgate Movies has made the sneak-peek video available for viewing pleasure online after debuting it at Midsummer Screen Festival on Saturday evening, July 29.

Set in late 2004 or early 2005, between "Saw" and "Saw II", the midquel sees the return of Tobin Bell as John a.k.a. Jigsaw, who plays his most personal game yet. Unlike in the previous films, "John is the protagonist in this movie...This is John Kramer's story as a human," producer Oren Koules noted.

Oren seemingly tried to justify John's deadly and twisted game as he seeks revenge on those who deceive him when he desperately seeks help to cure his cancer. With only months left in his life, he punishes con artists who give him false hope for his healing. "This is not retribution. It's a reawakening," he ominously tells them.

The official synopsis reads, "John Kramer is back. The most disturbing installment of the SAW franchise yet explores the untold chapter of Jigsaw's most personal game. Set between the events of 'SAW I' and 'II', a sick and desperate John travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure in hopes of a miracle cure for his cancer - only to discover the entire operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable. Armed with a newfound purpose, the infamous serial killer returns to his work, turning the tables on the con artists in his signature visceral way through devious, deranged, and ingenious traps."

Series veteran Shawnee Smith also returns to reprise her role as Amanda Young in "SAW X". Additionally, Steven Brand, Synnove Macody Lund, Michael Beach Renata Vaca, Paulette Hernandez, Octavio Hinojosa and Joshua Okamoto join the cast.

Directed by Kevin Greutert and written by Peter Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg, the tenth installment in the horror film series is set to be unleashed in U.S. theaters on September 29.

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Deutsche Bank's logo is seen in this photo illustration made in March. Reuters-Yonhap



By Lee Yeon-woo





Adele Moon, head of Deutsche Bank's Debt Capital Market in Korea / Courtesy of Deutsche Bank
Instagram Celebrity

The 'Real Housewives of Miami' star slams her mother-in-law, Marina Hochstein, for taking a jab at her while congratulating her estranged husband and his model fiancee.

Jul 31, 2023

AceShowbiz - Lisa Hochstein has called out her mother-in-law. After her estranged husband Lenny Hochstein announced his engagement to his "mistress" Katharina Mazepa, the star of "The Real Housewives of Miami" slammed Marina Hochstein by calling the 83-year-old "disgusting."

On Saturday, July 29, the 41-year-old reality TV star publicly voiced her opinion of Marina via Instagram Story. Over a snap about her mother-in-law congratulating Lenny on his engagement, she did not hold back and wrote, "What a wonderful mother in law and grandmother. How disgusting."

Lisa was responding to Marina's diss. In the comments section of Lenny's engagement post on Instagram, Marina penned, "I will be very happy that this time you are getting a woman who love and respect you. You certainly did not have that in your previous marriage. She concluded, Good luck congratulations."

Lisa Hochstein deemed Marina Hochstein 'disgusting' after taking a jab at her.

Earlier that day, Lenny uploaded a series of photos from his engagement to Katharina in a joint Instagram post. The pictures shared captured his proposal, which took place in front of an eye-catching sunset and ocean view in Ibiza, Spain.

57-year-old Lenny and 27-year-old Katharina also released a video documenting him getting down on one knee as he popped the question. The happy couple also treated their Instagram followers to a sneak peek at her huge diamond engagement ring.

Along with the July 29 post, the plastic surgeon and the Austrian model wrote in the caption, "On top of an ancient pirate cave, overlooking the sunset over breathtaking Es Vedra, he asked to steal me away forever."

Upon learning Lenny has proposed to Katharina despite still being married to her, Lisa did not take long to give her response via an Instagram Story post. Sarcastically congratulating the two, she stated over a purple and pink screen, "Congrats to my current husband and his mistress on their engagement."

Lisa Hochstein sarcastically congratulated Lenny Hochstein on his engagement to Katharina Mazepa.

Meanwhile, Katharina's pal and The Inferno Agency manager, Louisa Warwick, congratulated her on her engagement. Noting that Katharina and Lenny are "a truly extraordinary couple," Louisa told Page Six, "Their love story has blossomed into a beautiful union, filled with passion, understanding and unwavering commitment. As they embark on this journey together, we extend our heartfelt congratulations and best wishes for their future filled with love, light & happiness."

Lenny's engagement to Katharina came only a few months after he filed for divorce from Lisa. The two had been married for 12 years. They share son Logan and daughter Elle together.

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Hot 97 Music

In a new interview, the '212' hitmaker reveals she almost gave up her music career to pursue a higher education after she was dropped by her label in the early 2010s.

Jul 31, 2023

AceShowbiz - Azealia Banks thanks former BBC Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw for stopping her from quitting music. The 32-year-old rapper wanted to give up her music career to go to college to study teaching because she didn't think people cared about her music when she was dropped by XL Recordings after sending them her biggest known track, 2011's "212".

"I was thinking maybe I should go get a GED (General Education Development Certificate) and go to college," she confessed in a New York Times profile marking the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop.

However, Nick loved the song and regularly included it on his playlists, and a little while after, she started getting offered larger sums of money to play gigs. She added, "Then I just get this phone call from Nick Grimshaw on BBC Radio 1, and he's played it ('212') like a million times."

"I didn't even know what BBC Radio 1 was. And then very quickly you go from getting paid $150 and a bottle of Smirnoff to perform to getting like, $5,000 at some weird charity event. I'd never had 5,000 anything all at once in my hands, ever. All I could think was, I'm going to get a weave and a laptop."

"212" went to number 12 in the UK and went platinum and was lauded by critics. It ended up featuring in movies including "The Heat", "The Bling Ring", "Pitch Perfect", and more recently, 2022's "Bodies Bodies Bodies", starring Pete Davidson.

Earlier this year, Azealia vowed that the music industry "cannot get rid of [her]." Although she hasn't released an album in almost a decade, Azealia insists she's not a "has-been." The rapper told The Guardian, "What is success in music anymore? Nobody knows, and for the people who do know, it means scheduling your smiles and crafting some weird character."

"I think it's really unfair that people call Azealia Banks a has-been - you are a never-was, and a never-f******-will-be. You didn't have the courage to put yourself out there because you were afraid you were going to fail, but I've had success. You only have to be right one time to be considered successful, and my batting average is very f****** high."

Azealia feels proud of her new music and she's also proud that she's managed to battle against the odds in the industry. She added, "My music is good as s***! If you can't get off to your own s***, then you probably should not be making music."

"I've done this by myself, with knives in my back, rocks thrown at me, kicked off cliffs. And I still keep coming back - you cannot get rid of me. Y'all have all the help in the world, y'all got writers, y'all got producers, y'all got f****** everybody! And you still sound like s***."

Despite this, Azealia is aware that she's become an easy target for criticism over the years. She said, "Even though I know that the internet is not a real place, there are enough people who take it seriously enough to feel like they can put their hands on me in real life. They feel like they can launch frivolous lawsuits and use this villainous, stupid narrative against me."

Azealia released her debut studio album "Broke with Expensive Taste" in 2014. Her career has been far from plain sailing, with the star being accused of homophobia and racist slurs over the years. She infamously made such remarks about former One Direction star Zayn Malik on Twitter.

Azealia was later dropped by her UK booking agency and a festival, and her Twitter account was suspended. And, in January 2021, she courted controversy by posting a video on Instagram of her digging up and cooking her dead pet cat. She later clarified that she did not in fact eat the pussy but exhumed it for taxidermizing purposes.

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Warner Bros. Pictures Movie

The third installment of 'Paddington' CGI/live-action hybrid franchise is reportedly shooting overseas while writers and actors are picketing in Hollywood.

Aug 1, 2023

AceShowbiz - The new "Paddington" movie is reportedly filming despite the strike that has brought Hollywood to a standstill. "Paddington in Peru" starring Ben Whishaw, 42, is reported to be filming in the UK as part of a handful of productions which are going ahead amid the 171,500-strong actors' and writers' walk out.

"The Paris and London-based Studiocanal, which produces Paddington, is not a member of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the body with which the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) union is in dispute," The Independent reported.

But it added a new "Paddington" cast member, Rachel Zegler, 22, left London after the strike was called and joined fellow actors on a New York SAG-AFTRA picket line, partly over fears AI will be used by studios instead of humans.

The UK industry is highly vulnerable to the strike since it has become the favoured location for streamers and Hollywood studios to locate high-end productions due to Britain's flexible and skilled technical workforce.

But the SAG-AFTRA union is also giving "waivers" to allow some independent productions working outside of the AMPTP to continue. An industry insider told The Independent, "It's a confusing situation. People who support the strike are asking Equity if they should be working."

"Top-level actors can ride out the strike. But there are lots of skilled craftspeople on freelance contracts in the UK who have been sent home and don't know when they can work again."

British-based productions that have been halted amid the strike include Brad Pitt's F1 untitled motor racing film for Apple+. Ryan Reynolds' "Deadpool 3", "Wicked" starring Ariana Grande, and Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice 2" are among the films due to be shooting in Britain which are also on pause.

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BT Group plc (BT Group) today announces the appointment of Allison Kirkby as Chief Executive. She will take over from Philip Jansen as Chief Executive around the end of January 2024 at the latest.

Allison has been President & CEO of Telia Company since early 2020. Telia, headquartered in Sweden, is the market leading digital communications and telecommunications provider to 25 million customers across the Nordic and Baltic region. She moved into the TMT sector in 2010, initially joining Virgin Media, and was most recently President & CEO of TDC (2018-2020), the largest telecommunications company in Denmark, and President & CEO of Tele2 AB (2015-2018) the largest challenger telecommunications company in Sweden and the Baltics.

Earlier in her career she held a number of financial and operational roles at Procter & Gamble (1990-2010) and qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant in 1990 whilst at Guinness plc.

Allison has been a Non-Executive Director at BT Group since 2019 and is also a Non-Executive Director and member of the Audit Committee of Brookfield Asset Management Limited.

Adam Crozier, BT Group Chairman said: The Board is delighted to have appointed Allison as our new Chief Executive. She is a proven leader, with deep sector experience and a history of having transformed businesses. I look forward to supporting her as we drive our long-term strategy to transform BT Group, ensuring it delivers for all our stakeholders.

Allison Kirkby said: Im incredibly honoured to have been appointed as the next Chief Executive of BT Group. BT is such an important company for the UK, and our many customers both in the UK and internationally and is uniquely placed to help everyone benefit from the rapid advances in digitalisation. Our products and services have never been more important to how our customers live and work, and thanks to the significant investment BT is putting into digital infrastructure and in the modernisation of its services, I see us playing an even more important role going forward. Having been a member of the BT Group Board for the past four years, Im fully supportive of our strategy and am excited about leading it into its next phase of development, as we grow to support customers, shareholders and the UK economy.

Philip Jansen will continue to serve as Chief Executive until the end of January 2024 at the latest. When Philip steps down, he will hand over to Allison. He will be available to support the handover until the end of March 2024, at which point he intends to retire from executive life. A further announcement will follow to confirm Allisons start date and the handover date.

In respect of the transition period, Adam Crozier said: Philip continues to lead the business very effectively as can be seen in the good progress shown at our most recent financial results. Given Allison is already on the Board, we are confident we will have an orderly leadership transition and handover of responsibilities.

Remuneration

Allison will be paid in accordance with the Directors Remuneration Policy approved by shareholders on 13 July 2023 and in line with the current Chief Executive. Her remuneration will therefore consist of:

A salary of 1,100,000 per annum.

A cash allowance in lieu of pension of 10% of salary and other benefits in line with our Remuneration Policy.

An on target annual bonus of 120% of salary (with a maximum of 200%) subject to performance. Half of the annual bonus paid will be deferred into BT Group shares for a further three years with no additional performance conditions.

A long-term Restricted Share Plan (RSP) award of 200% of salary, which vests in three equal tranches three, four and five years after grant. She is required to hold all vested shares until five years after grant. Her first pro rata RSP award will be granted soon after becoming Chief Executive.

Allison will be required to build a shareholding of 500% of salary within five years.
Policybazaar, India's leading insurance broker, earlier this year launched Policybazaar for Business, its rapidly growing new brand that caters to insurance needs across Indian businesses. It is the brands deep understanding of the Indian market, its experienced team members and the inch-perfect initiative of empanelling an advisory board that have made it an apposite presence in the business insurance field. Now, the brand has started unveiling the names of these advisory board members who make PB for Business stand out in the industry.

The advisory board members are insurance maestros who come with formidable experience across general, health and life insurance. The first name to be revealed is Ajit Kumar, former General Manager at Oriental Insurance Co Ltd. Kumar boasts of a wealth of experience as he has witnessed varied facets of the General Insurance Industry in a winning streak spanning over 37 years. He has served across the four zones of the country, through the course of his association with New India Assurance for 29 years and with Oriental Insurance for 8 years. Among his many achievements, is his tenure as Director (Government Nominee) on the board of a subsidiary of Oriental Insurance.

Elaborating on his association with PB for Business, Ajit Kumar, Advisory Board member, PB for Business said, Business Insurance remains a highly critical yet underpenetrated market in India. A platform like PB for Business is the need of the hour. I am hopeful that in my role as an advisory board member, I will be able to further make a difference to the industry where it counts.

In his role as an advisor, Ajit Kumar will work alongside the existing team to further enhance the service levels offered to Startups, SMEs and Corporates. His focus will be on guiding them on critical processes and technical aspects to assess their risks while also providing specialized guidance on the products needed to safeguard against any financial loss. He will help the brand continue to accelerate the strong growth that they have enjoyed in the last two years. His expertise in the health and general insurance space will further drive increased growth by enabling the acceleration of their digital end-to-end solutions and platform modernizations.

Sajja Praveen Choudhary, Head of PB for Business, said, We are working towards combining our advisory boards valuable experience with our brands trademark innovative solutions. The idea is to bring the best mix of tradition and technology to support Indian businesses in flourishing fearlessly. We are pleased to have Mr. Kumar onboard. His expertise in general, health insurance and liability products will help us challenge the status quo within the corporate world.

The potency of Policybazaar for Business lies in its commitment to customer-centricity. The advisory board is a step in the same direction as it helps the brand employ ground-level wisdom in making the needle move for Business Insurance penetration in India
Jisora, a fresh and immensely rising women's apparel brand, has achieved an extraordinary milestone this year, surpassing all expectations with an estimated revenue of an astounding Rs. 60 crores. This remarkable feat speaks volumes about the brand's exceptional blend of Indian aesthetics and the latest fashion trends, captivating the hearts of countless fashion enthusiasts. Renowned for its unique yet appealing style, Jisora places the utmost priority on comfort, ensuring every customer enjoys a delightful and unforgettable fashion experience.

In the bloom of their early 20s, a time when many are still exploring life's possibilities, the Sethi siblings - Kavya, Mehul, Tushar, and Khushboo - ventured into entrepreneurship and brought their dream, Jisora, to life. Drawing inspiration from their family's long-standing connection with the clothing industry in the enchanting city of Jaipur, Rajasthan, the brand emerged as a genuine homage to their treasured beliefs and rich cultural heritage. The name "Jisora '' is derived from the Marwari word for "satisfaction," symbolizing the brand's commitment to providing contentment through their fashion creations. The COVID-19 pandemic shed light on the need for casual yet fashionable clothing, inspiring the siblings to meet this real-life demand through Jisora.

Jisora, the homegrown fashion brand, boasts a remarkable 40% repeat customer rate. Their meticulous attention to material quality ensures unparalleled comfort in every garment. With 40 to 50 new designs released each month, their diverse and size-inclusive collections catering to sizes from XS to 6XL, range from loungewear to maternity wear and kids wear. Affordable and stylish, Jisora makes fashion accessible to all with an average price of just Rs. 1300.

As a co-founder of Jisora, I'm thrilled by how our apparel line combines form and function, taking the appealing qualities of traditional cotton to a completely new level. Our dedication to simplicity and design guarantees that our clothes are not only aesthetically pleasing but also incredibly comfortable, enabling a smooth transition from restful nights to beautiful mornings. Kavya Sethi, Jisora co-founder.

This rapidly ascending fashion brand embraces a strong sense of responsibility towards its workers, valuing the hands that have contributed to its success. At Jisora, all workers are treated with equal respect, fostering a healthy environment that celebrates festivals and birthdays together, creating a united and happy workplace.

To know more about the brand, visit https://jisora.com/
RPG Group, a leading Indian conglomerate, launched the 'Hues of Happiness' Art Collection, an artistic initiative that promotes employees' emotional well-being through Art display at its offices. This initiative, supported by the RPG Art Foundation, promotes accessible Indian art while building a happy work culture that fosters creativity and happiness among RPG Group employees. The one-of-a-kind curation celebrates and fosters emotional well-being through the abilities of extraordinary artists through an engaging video displayed on all its external channels.

Mr. Harsh Goenka, Chairman of RPG Enterprises and an ardent art connoisseur, said, The 'Hues of Happiness' collection reflects the incredible connection between art and happiness. RPG is proud to nurture a workplace that fosters joy and creativity for employees. With the support of the RPG Art Foundation, we aim to spread happiness to all our stakeholders through this captivating initiative. RPG extends heartfelt appreciation to all whose boundless creativity has made the 'Hues of Happiness' collection a true masterpiece of joy and inspiration.

A recent study by McKinsey Health Institute revealed a concerning 70% global employee burnout rate, emphasizing the urgency to prioritize well-being. Addressing this issue, RPG Group's Hues of Happiness art collection stands aligned with their promise, "Hello Happiness," spreading joy to all stakeholders.

RPG Group's recent research on Generation Z underscores its emphasis on empowerment and holistic well-being. According to the report, Gen Z employees find solace in therapeutic art forms like painting and drawing. Demonstrating their commitment to employee mental well-being, RPG Group offers free access to mental health practitioners through a partnership with Juno Clinic. Additionally, the Group's LGBTQIA+ and Partners Benefits Policy exemplifies inclusivity, fostering equal opportunities and a safe workplace while nurturing a harmonious and resilient workforce.

With Hues of Happiness, RPG Group reinforces its dedication to promoting emotional well-being and creativity, striving to make the world happier, one brushstroke at a time.
Pallavi, a talented young art director and copywriter in Mumbai, is part of the team of creatives from Finland, India, Philippines, and Singapore that was selected as the grand prize winner in The One Club for Creativitys 2023 Portfolio Night All-Stars competition.

A total of 24 PN All-Stars  one from each participating city  were selected by the industry professionals at agencies and ad organizations around the world who hosted Portfolio Night 2023, held in June.

The PN All-Stars were split into teams of four and given one week in late July to work on a brief from Uber to create a campaign to prevent sexual assault on college campuses during "The Red Zone, the time from August to November when more than half of all college sexual assaults occur.

The grand prize winning PN All-Stars team, as judged by a panel of creatives at Uber, included:

Ayan Aden , art director, creative (PN Helsinki, hosted by Bob the Robot/NoA )

, art director, creative (PN Helsinki, hosted by ) Jacob Banog , multimedia artist (PN Manila, hosted by Adobo Magazine )

, multimedia artist (PN Manila, hosted by ) Pallavi , art director, copywriter (PN Mumbai, hosted by BBDO India, DDB Mudra Group , and TBWAIndia )

, art director, copywriter (PN Mumbai, hosted by , and ) Jodi Ong, art director (PN Singapore, hosted by BBDO Singapore and TBWASingapore)

Pallavi and her winning team will be flown to New York and put up in a hotel for a week in September, all courtesy of The One Club. They will be treated to a number of agency tours, meetings with creative professionals, and portfolio reviews, as well as general NYC cultural experiences. Uber will provide them with free rides during their visit.

I think it's easy to forget that giving these briefs to young talent is mutually beneficial, said Yessy Downs, copy director at Uber. Yes, the All-Stars are able to work on real briefs and get feedback and insights from industry pros. But we get to see a fresh, global perspective from young people on problems that we're working to solve day in and day out. This group of All-Stars brought multiple insights and solutions to the work that allowed us to see the problem through a fresh lens. It was such an inspiring and reinvigorating experience.

Were thrilled to bring our 2023 Portfolio Night All-Stars winners to New York City for the first time since 2018, added Adam Izen, membership director at The One Club. Our virtual All-Stars competition was packed with palpable excitement from our talented young creatives as they worked together across time zones to develop exemplary work in just a week. Our winning group of entirely international creatives proves that creativity is a shared language, and we look forward to hosting them in September.

In addition to working on the Uber brief during the week in July, all of the All-Stars had their portfolios reviewed by creatives and recruiters from around the world, and attended a special presentation by Bianca Guimaraes, ECD at Mischief New York, who talked about her path to success in advertising and provided advice on building a successful creative career.

Long recognized as the worlds largest advertising portfolio review program, Portfolio Night is a fast-paced evening of advice, networking and recruitment that takes place in dozens of cities across the globe to help the next generation of creative talent enter the industry. Since starting in 2003, Portfolio Night has taken place in 70 cities across 45 countries, with more than 11,000 portfolios reviewed.

Other leading agencies and ad organizations who served as city hosts for Portfolio Night 2023 were Adcetera (Houston); Africa Creative (Sao Paulo); Alma (Miami); book180 (Charleston); BBH China (Shanghai); Brokaw (Cleveland); Circulo de Creatividad Argentina (Buenos Aires); Clube da Criatividade de Portugal (Lisbon); DDB Paris; Dieste (Dallas); EstoEsMarte and Good Mood (Guatemala City); Havas New York; Inbrax (Santiago); Motive (Denver); Odysseus Arms (San Francisco); and Tank WW (Montreal and Toronto).

Branding for Portfolio Night 2023 was created by Nana Rausch at Quick Honey, based in New York and Berlin.

The One Club for Creativity  home of The One Show, ADC Annual Awards, Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE), ONE Asia Awards, Type Directors Club and competition, TDC Ascenders, Young Guns, Young Ones Student Awards, Next Creative Leaders, ONE Screen Short Film Festival, and more  is the worlds foremost non-profit organization whose mission is to support and celebrate the global creative community. Revenue generated from entries to its global awards shows goes back into the industry to fund programming under the organizations four pillars: Education, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality, and Creative Development.
Though only in its second edition, DATAMATIXX Summit and Awards has become the ultimate platform for industry leaders, marketers, advertisers, and tech enthusiasts to gather, collaborate, and discover the cutting-edge developments that are shaping the digital ecosystem.

DATAMATIXX 2023, held in Mumbai on July 28, 2023, turned out to be a captivating experience, with an extensive range of topics covered, including data-driven marketing, advertising, digital, Connected TV (CTV), and much more. Distinguished speakers, industry pioneers, and subject matter experts shared their expertise through thought-provoking keynotes, panel discussions, and interactive workshops.

Programmatic advertising was discussed at length at a panel discussion on The Evolution of Programmatic Advertising: Unleashing the Power of Advanced Audience Targeting and Beyond. The session was chaired by Nupur Shah, VP and Digital Lead, West and South, PHD India, and the esteemed panellists included:

Chandrashekhar Naik, Senior Vice President Valueleaf Services

Prasad Pimple, EVP & Head - Digital Business, Kotak Life

Shashidhar Sharma, Practice Leader-Programmatic, GroupM Nexus

Vedavyas Badri, DVP Programmatic, LS Digital

At the outset, Nupur Shah pointed out how media is increasingly getting fragmented nowadays. There is social, video, open internet, with programmatic sitting at the centre of all of it. She went on to ask the panellists about the capabilities that agencies should develop in order to navigate this complex world.

Chandrashekhar Naik that media as an industry is very fragmented and definitely agencies need to play a bigger role in bringing it together. When we talk about programmatic, it brings in a very cohesive kind of strategy, whether it is content or placement, considering programmatic as a platform, it helps bringing the industry together, he added.

Vedavyas Badri noted, I would say when it all started, it was way too fragmented. Programmatic got everybody together, it brought all scattered publishers on one platform. With the evolution, multiple ad inventories came into the picture such as YouTube, Audio ads, Video ads, native ads. The question now arises how do we choose the right creative or right medium for the advertiser? It is very important to understand what is it that we are trying to achieve from any campaign that we are planning to do. With clear objectives, every creative that we have will be able to fulfil a certain KPI. So, we need to choose the right medium and the right creatives for the KPIs that we wanted to achieve. At the end of the day, it boils down to what is the result that we are getting. So, it is not right to choose all the ad formats, but it is important to choose the suitable ad format.

Prasad Pimple added here, When we start any campaign, the core objectives are already defined. Do I need to drive more awareness through this campaign or do I need to find more leads through this campaign?  that finally decides what we need to do. But an important part of programmatic advertising is that before media got fragmented, the customers attention got divided into multiple platforms. Earlier, we all knew that newspaper used to form the main source of information or news, however now there are so many platforms to deliver the same information or news to the customers. As customers attention got divided, his preferences also got divided. As a customer, my preference might be a text which is printed in the physical newspaper, while for somebody else television news might be more interesting. For somebody else it might be YouTube or Twitter. Thus, with that respective preference for choice of information has got fragmented and on the top of it, the entire media has got created because of this ecosystem. Programmatic has helped us in multiple ways by bringing all those things together.

Pimple further said, As a brand, what we look for and like about any programmatic platform, one is the advantage of doing a full funnel marketing. Its not just about reaching out to the audiences, it is also about moving that customer down the funnel, thats one important thing we look forward to. The second important aspect of programmatic is awarding the vestige; earlier what used to happen is that the same set of customers going to multiple platforms caused much unnecessary wastage and unnecessary frequency. That has got significantly reduced. The third important part is right targeting. If I go to one single publisher who does not know the type of customers he is having right now, then it becomes very difficult, but for a brand, such as a life insurance brand, not anybody or everybody is eligible to purchase the product. You need to have some financial eligibility, age eligibility. Ads that filter over a top of media that we have, a filter for a customer cohort, I think thats what as a brand we look for, whether awareness campaign is going to the correct segment, the correct cohort, thats what we look forward to. Also, can I convert the awareness to consideration to a purchase intent in the process. Thats how we as a brand end up looking at programmatic as a platform.

From a programmatic ecosystem perspective, Shashidhar Sharma felt that a keen focus is on measurement and attribution. He added, The reason for fragmented ecosystem is because we are not able to tie together a narrative, and that narrative will be tied together when we have the right measurement tools, right attribution mechanisms in place to help us show that ROI, and actually show the goal that we have achieved. What role has programmatic played in the ecosystem, because at the end of the day, programmatic is part of the larger marketing mix. The entire marketing mix that we customised, what part did we play there? Once we are able to show that properly, I think the fragmentation by itself will come down. It will also enable us to make the right choices for our future campaigns, future brand strategy.

These are edited excerpts. For the complete discussion, please watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQCdtlKX_Fo
The headquarters of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) in Seoul / Yonhap



By Anna J. Park



The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has called on the Seoul branches of Morgan Stanley & Co. International and Merrill Lynch International to strengthen operations management.



According to the FSS on Monday, the state-run financial watchdog agency notified the two firms of management precautions earlier this month, pointing out the need for strengthened management control over the reporting of transaction orders made at independent trading units of their overseas subsidiaries.



The FSS' public disclosure information on management cautions stated that both firms were pointed out as having errors in the reporting of transaction orders and executions by independent trading units of overseas subsidiaries under the control of the Seoul branches. The financial authorities' disclosure reports also show the two firms were found to have deficiencies in the systematic management of daily net assets and margin balance forms as well as inadequate management of margin trading records.



Regarding such points, the FSS emphasized the need to strengthen management systems by regularly verifying the integrity of related data, such as net assets and the margin trading records of independent trading units of overseas subsidiaries, and internal transaction records between trading units.



In addition, Morgan Stanley's Seoul branch has been found to have deficiencies in the internal review and verification process, when it comes to handling subsequent modifications and stating reasons of correcting erroneous orders for stock trading in response to requests by customers or overseas subsidiaries.



The FSS urged the firm to strengthen its compliance monitoring department, in order to beef up the review and verification process to ensure any errors related to stating reasons for modifying trading orders should not occur.


Fivio Foreign has an estimated net worth of around $3 million as of 2023.

Fivio Foreign, whose real name is Maxi Lee Riles III, is a prominent American rapper from the bustling borough of Brooklyn, New York. He grew up amidst the vibrant and dynamic streets of the city, which heavily influenced his music and style.

The rising rap sensation garnered widespread recognition and acclaim in 2019 when he released his breakout single, Big Drip. The songs infectious beat and Fivios distinctive voice and energetic flow struck a chord with listeners, making it an instant hit in New Yorks hip-hop scene. Big Drip quickly became an anthem and catapulted Fivio Foreign into the national spotlight.

Fivio Foreign Net Worth

Fivio Foreign has an estimated net worth of around $3 million as of 2023. This figure suggests that his journey from a local Brooklyn rapper to a nationally recognized artist has been financially rewarding.

Fivio Foreigns rise to fame began with his breakout single Big Drip in 2019, which quickly became a hit and catapulted him to the forefront of the rap scene. The success of this single, along with subsequent releases and collaborations with other prominent artists, likely contributed significantly to his net worth.

In addition to his music career, Fivio Foreign may have also explored various business opportunities, such as brand endorsements, sponsorships, and merchandise sales, to boost his earnings further. Endorsement deals with well-known companies and partnerships with streetwear and lifestyle brands may have provided additional sources of income.

Early Life and Background

Fivio Foreign, born Maxie Ryles III on March 29, 1990, in Brooklyn, grew up in the tough and vibrant neighborhoods of the New York borough. His experiences growing up in the city greatly influenced his music, as he later drew from these experiences to create his signature sound.

However, his path to success was with obstacles. He faced personal challenges and struggles, including losing loved ones and brushes with the law. These experiences further shaped his perspective and fueled his determination to rise above adversity through his music.

Rise to Fame

Fivio Foreigns journey to stardom took a lot of work. He began his rap career in the early 2010s, releasing mixtapes and gaining traction within the local rap community. However, it wasnt until 2018 that he truly started gaining national attention with his breakout hit, Big Drip.

Big Drip was a massive success, quickly becoming an anthem in the streets of New York and beyond. The songs unique energy and Fivios distinctive delivery captured the attention of both fans and industry insiders. With the success of Big Drip, Fivio Foreign solidified his position as one of the hottest up-and-coming rappers.

Career Beginnings

Fivio Foreigns journey in the music industry began in the early 2010s. At that moment, he pursued his passion for rap and hip-hop. Growing up in Brooklyns vibrant and culturally rich neighborhoods, Fivio was exposed to the influential hip-hop scene. This scene produced some of the biggest names in the genre. Inspired by the talents and stories of local rappers, he knew he had a story to share with the world.

In the early stages of his career, Fivio Foreign started by releasing mixtapes and freestyle videos on various online platforms. Also, he garners modest attention within the local rap community. His raw talent and unique style quickly caught the ears of fellow artists, producers, and fans. Besides, they recognized the potential in his distinctive flow and lyrical abilities.

However, the path to success was not without challenges. Like many aspiring artists, Fivio faced his share of setbacks and obstacles. However, the competitive nature of the music industry demanded perseverance and resilience, which he embraced with determination.

Musical Style and Influence

Fivio Foreigns style is characterized by his distinctive voice, dynamic flow, and engaging lyricism. He often raps about his experiences growing up in Brooklyn, his challenges, and journey to success. His music connects with audiences who resonate with his storytellings raw and authentic nature.

However, Fivio Foreign has cited various influences on his music, including iconic New York rappers such as Jay-Z, Nas, and 50 Cent. These influences and his unique approach have helped him stand out in an industry teeming with talent.

Commercial Success and Discography

Following the success of Big Drip, Fivio Foreign continued to release hit after hit. His 2019 collaboration with fellow New York rapper Pop Smoke, Big Drip (Remix), further boosted his popularity. Besides, he released tracks like Wetty and Move Like a Boss, which received widespread acclaim. And that contributes to his growing fan base.

Apart from his solo work, Fivio Foreign has also collaborated with other prominent artists in the industry. These collaborations have not only earned him acclaim but have also contributed to his financial success.

Endorsements and Business Ventures

Fivio Foreign has attracted the attention of brands and businesses seeking to capitalize on his popularity and influence. Brand endorsements and partnerships have become a significant source of income for him. However, he has ventured into entrepreneurial pursuits, such as clothing lines and investments. Also, he has other business endeavors that contribute to his overall net worth.

Fivio Foreigns brand has become synonymous with Brooklyns urban culture, attracting attention from various streetwear and lifestyle brands. His ability to connect with the younger demographic has also made him a sought-after figure for endorsements and sponsorships.

Social Media and Online Presence

Fivio Foreign has utilized various social media platforms to engage with his fans, build his brand, and promote his music. He has built a loyal fan base with millions of followers across platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. However, his fans eagerly anticipate his every move.

Furthermore, his online presence has allowed him to engage with international fans, expanding his reach beyond the borders of the United States. This global fan base has undoubtedly contributed to his commercial success and increased his net worth.

Philanthropy and Community Engagement

Fivio Foreign has demonstrated a commitment to giving back to his community and using his platform to make a positive impact. Philanthropy and community engagement have become integral aspects of his career, showcasing his genuine concern for the neighborhoods that shaped him.

As a native of Brooklyn, New York, Fivio Foreign is no stranger to the challenges faced by the residents of urban communities. However, having experienced the struggles and adversities firsthand, he understands the importance of supporting those in need.

Fivio Foreign has been involved in various philanthropic initiatives to uplift underserved communities, especially in New York. He has participated in charitable events, donated to local organizations, and collaborated with other artists to raise awareness and funds he deeply cares about.

FAQs on Fivio Foreign Net Worth

What is Fivio Foreigns net worth?

As of 2023, Fivio Foreign has an estimated net worth of around $3 million. However, please note that net worth figures can fluctuate over time and are subject to revenue streams, business ventures, and market conditions changes.

Which record labels is Fivio Foreign signed to?

Fivio Foreign is signed to two record labels  Richfish Records, founded by fellow New York rapper Masse, and Columbia Records, one of the most renowned music labels in the industry.

What is Fivio Foreigns music style?

Fivio Foreigns music style is characterized by his distinctive voice, dynamic flow, and engaging lyricism. He often raps about his experiences growing up in Brooklyn, reflecting the challenges and triumphs of urban life in his storytelling.

What are some of Fivio Foreigns most popular songs?

Some of Fivio Foreigns most popular songs include Big Drip, Wetty, Move Like a Boss, and Big Drip (Remix) featuring Lil Baby and Quavo. These tracks have garnered millions of streams and contributed significantly to his rise in the music industry.

Conclusion

Fivio Foreigns rapid rise to fame and commercial success can be attributed to his exceptional talent, unique style, and authentic storytelling. From humble beginnings in the streets of Brooklyn, he has transcended the local rap scene and established himself as a prominent figure in the hip-hop industry.

With his ever-growing fan base, hit singles, endorsement deals, and potential business ventures, Fivio Foreigns net worth continues to rise, and his future in the music industry looks incredibly promising. However, his journey from Brooklyn to international stardom is inspiring for aspiring musicians and fans.
A Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable on Monday shot dead four persons on board a running train near Palghar railway station in Maharashtra, an official said.

Constable Chetan Kumar Choudhary fired from his automatic weapon, killing an RPF Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) and three other passengers of the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express shortly after 5 am, the official said.

According to a senior police official, the accused RPF constable was mentally unstable.

Palghar is around 100 km from Mumbai.

The constable opened fire on his escort duty in-charge ASI Tika Ram Meena in the running train, the official said.

After killing his senior, the constable went to another bogie and shot dead three passengers, the official added.

The accused then tried to escape from the train between Mira Road and Dahisar, but was later nabbed by the Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel and his weapon was also seized, he said.

The accused is in the custody of the Mira Road railway police, the official said.

The bodies were taken out of the train at Borivali railway station, he said.
Throughout all these increases, no federal health official has ever referred to autism as a CRISIS. Serious public health concern is the strongest language I seen when it comes to autism.

In 2023 it is one in 36 children, one in 22 boys.

In 2021 it was one in 44 children, one in 27 boys.

In 2020 it was one in 54 children, one in 33 boys.

In 2018 it was one in 59 children, one in 36 boys.

In 2014 it was one in 68 children, one in 42 boys.

In 2012 it was one in 88 children, one in 54 boys.

In 2009 it was one in 110 children, one in 68 boys.

In 2007 it was one in 150 children, one in 92 boys.

In 2004 it was one in 166 children, one in 102 boys.

In 2002 the rate was one in every 250 children.

(FYI, Asperger Syndrome, or mild autism, was added in 1994, so  widening the definition  hardly applies.)

Shouldnt every candidate be concerned about something impacting so many children and their families, especially those running for the office of President of the United States?

So why dont we ask people running for elected office about the always expanding rate of autism?

No member of the media will ever bring this up.

By Anne Dachel Is anyone going to be held accountable for 20+ years of non-stop increases in the autism rate with no credible explanation for why these numbers never stop going up?

No federal health official has ever raised an alarm about autism and demanded that we focus on the environmental triggers behind these continuous increases. If 30 percent of children with autism were progressing normally as babies and then lost learned skills, regressing into autism, shouldnt we be studying what happened to them?

Heres a sampling of how little U.S. health officials really care about children disabled with autism.

The updates in the autism rate over 20 years always came with a disclaimer from experts and health officials telling us that the number didnt mean more kids had autism. We are also to assume that Americans across the population are affected at the same rate as the eight-year-olds in the CDCs studies, even though no research has been able to find a comparable rate among adults.

2007, CBS News: NEW RATE, ONE IN 150 CHILDREN

Autism disorders are "more common than previously believed," affecting about one in 150 8-year-olds in the 14 states studied, says the CDC.

That's higher than previous CDC estimates of up to one in 166 children.

CDC officials pointed out that the new figures don't represent all U.S. children, or show whether autism is increasing in the U.S.

But the CDC's study was designed to provide "more consistent and reliable estimates," says the CDC's Marshalynn Yeargin-Allsopp, MD.

"Our estimates are becoming better and more consistent, though we can't yet tell if there is a true increase in ASDs or if the changes are the result of our better studies," says CDC director Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH, in a CDC news release.

2009, San Diego Union-Tribune: NEW RATE, ONE IN 110 CHILDREN

Until recently, the CDC had been saying autism occurred in 1 in 150 children. The new CDC estimate looks at 8-year-old children who had been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder in 2006.

The increase may be due in part to better diagnosis and changes in how well records were kept in the study sites, said Catherine Rice, a CDC behavioral scientist who worked on the new report.

At this point its impossible to say how much is a true increase and how much is identification, she said, in a Friday news conference.

Doctors do not know what causes autism, but have been investigating possible genetic and environmental triggers. Results from the environmental research are still years away, Rice said.

2012, Atlanta Journal Constitution: NEW RATE, ONE IN 88 CHILDREN

At the new 2008 prevalence rate of one in 88 American children, autism costs the U.S. $137 billion a year. It has been estimated that 45% of Americans with autism have an intellectual disability. The lifetime cost for each person who has an intellectual disability related to autism is $2.3 million, Knapp and Mandell estimate.

Why Is Autism on the Rise?

Why the huge increase in autism? That isn't clear. A number of factors likely contribute to the increase, says Coleen A. Boyle, PhD, director of the CDC National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.

"We know that some of it is due to how children with autism are identified and served in their local communities," Boyle tells WebMD. "We do feel doctors are getting better at diagnosing autism.  But we don't know how much is due to better identification and diagnosis, how much is due to availability of services, and how much is a true rise in prevalence."

2014, Reuters: NEW RATE, ONE IN 68 CHILDREN

As many as one in 68 U.S. children have autism, a 30 percent increase in just two years, U.S. health officials said on Thursday, but experts think the rise may simply reflect that parents and doctors are getting better at recognizing and diagnosing the disorder.

Experts were largely unfazed by the latest numbers, which they say do not necessarily suggest increasing prevalence.

Its not that surprising because as people get more aware, the prevalence has always increased in a psychiatric disorder, Dr Thomas Frazier, director of Cleveland Clinic Childrens Center for Autism, said in a telephone interview.

Coleen Boyle, director of the CDCs National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, said while the report does not explain why rates are rising, it does give some clues.

It could be doctors are getting better at identifying these children; it could be there is a growing number of children with autism at higher intellectual ability, or it may be a combination of better recognition and increased prevalence, Boyle said.

2018, CBS News: NEW RATE, ONE IN 59 CHILDREN

About 1 in 59 children in the United States live with autism spectrum disorder, according to a report published today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that tracks autism in 11 communities across the country. That's a higher number than the previous estimate, released in 2016, which found 1 in 68 children in the U.S. have autism.

Experts can't yet tell from the report whether autism is actually on the rise or whether the new numbers are due to improvements in recognizing and diagnosing the condition.

"It's a significant increase," Dr. Thomas Frazier, the chief science officer at Autism Speaks, told CBS News. "Part of the increase is due to the fact that we have reduced disparities both in terms of identifying girls with autism and also African-Americans and Hispanic children with autism. But also part of the increase we are just not sure exactly why that is happening."

Researchers from the CDC agree that some of the increase may be due to improved identification of autism cases in minority populations. While data shows autism is still more common in white children, the number is growing in Hispanic and black children. 

"The higher number of black and Hispanic children now being identified with autism could be due to more effective outreach in minority communities and increased efforts to have all children screened for autism so they can get the services they need."

2020, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: NEW RATE, ONE IN 54 CHILDREN

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health contributed to a new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that finds the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among 11 surveillance sites as 1 in 54 among children aged 8 years in 2016 (or 1.85 percent). This is a 10 percent increase from the most recent report two years ago when it was 1 in 59, and the highest prevalence since the CDC began tracking ASD in 2000.

Rates have been rising dramatically in the past three decades, but researchers do not know how much of this rise is due to better detection or an increase in true cases or both. Technical factors that may be contributing to an increase in ASD include increased awareness, screening, diagnostic services, treatment and intervention services, better documentation of ASD behaviors, and changes in diagnostic criteria.

We need to know how many children have ASD in order to prepare our communities and services systems, says Li-Ching Lee, PhD, ScM, a psychiatric epidemiologist with the Bloomberg Schools departments of Epidemiology and Mental Health and the principal investigator for Maryland-ADDM.

2021, Waiserman Center, UW, Madison: NEW RATE, ONE IN 44 CHILDREN

The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions recently released 2021 Community Report on Autism found that the prevalence of autism among eight-year-old children is continuing to increase. The report, which is based on data collected in 2018 by the CDCs Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, estimates that 1 in 44 eight-year-old children were identified with autism. This is an increase from the last report which estimated the prevalence to be 1 in 54. These numbers are based on the 11 sites across the United States that the ADDM Network monitors.

We feel that likely one of the main reasons the prevalence of autism is increasing is improved awareness, Maureen Durkin, PhD, professor of population health sciences and pediatrics and a Waisman Center investigator, says. More and more pediatric specialists are being trained to identify and treat autism. The tools for identifying children with developmental concerns have improved and theres just greater awareness.

For many years, autism was kind of an invisible issue. It wasnt really on the radar much as a public health concern, Durkin says. Once you see the prevalence numbers from this kind of public health surveillance, you cant just ignore them.

2023, ABC News: NEW AUTISM RATE, ONE IN 36 CHILDREN

New data from the CDC shows more children than ever before are being diagnosed with Autism. However, researchers cautioned that the rise in diagnoses doesn't necessarily mean autism spectrum disorder is becoming more common.

CBS News: CBS News 1 in 36 Philadelphia

A new CDC report shows one in 36 children identified with an autism spectrum disorder in the United States an increase from one in 44 children in 2018

"A lot of the increase is likely due to changes in practice, improvements in early detection, availability of services," CDC's child development and disability branch chief Matt Maenner said

The truth is, autism can never be increasing. There is too much at stake. There is so much science now linking vaccines to the development of autism that the only thing that matters is the claim of NO REAL INCREASE.

IF autism has always affected the human population at whatever the current rate is, then tripling the childhood schedule had nothing to do with it.

It would seem that a comparison of never vaccinated and fully vaccinated children to see if autism was equally found in both groups would solve the matter, but no official has ever wanted to look.

Instead, the people in charge at the CDC take no real interest in what autism is doing to kids and merely call for early diagnosing and more intervention.

My question to those getting billions to run health care in America is simple:

WHEN WILL THIS END?

I really want to know.

When will the rate stop increasing? When will doctors finally diagnose all the autistic kids correctly?

Should we just expect any new update in the rate is only temporary? This is clearly the pattern over the last 20 years.

Eventually will it be one in every two U.S. children?

When will every child be autistic?

For two decades the American people seemingly have bought all the lies about autism and its increases.

Now we have to lie to ourselves if were going to live with the epidemic of autism.

We have to accept that no increase is real. We have to normalize autism.

We have to pretend that children have always been affected like this, but for some reason, no one paid attention.

We have to train teachers, police, and fire fighters about autistic people while saying that autism has always been here.

We have to be content with the fact that any newborn could end up on the spectrum since theres no way to prevent autism.

We have to learn to celebrate autism and other forms of neurodiversity.

The people working at any public venue will have to be trained to deal with people on the spectrum. We see this beginning now, and were told its because weve become sensory friendly.

We can see what all the neurologically damaged children are doing to schools, now image their impact as adults. How are we going to support all the autistic young adults at the same time there are ever-increasing numbers of affected children?

I really want to know?

Id like every politician running for office to respond please.



Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism.


We know what youre going to say: My mom makes the best fried chicken in the world. And how could anyone argue with that? Maybe grandma takes the blue ribbon for fried chicken in your family, or another relative is known for his or her superb frying skills.

If thats the case, please invite us over for dinner or a picnic. Fried chicken is ideal for summer eating, and Southern folks are famous for preparing delicious plates of the stuff, to be savored by hand or maneuvered with a knife and fork.

Although homemade fried chicken is arguably the best ever, that doesnt stop us from ordering this traditional dish when were dining out. Plenty of restaurants in the Birmingham area offer delectable fried chicken, and the side dishes they serve are crave-worthy, too.

Here are our picks for the top five places for fried chicken in the Magic City. For this list, were sticking to eateries with Alabama roots, so Publix fried chicken isnt eligible for inclusion. Sorry, Publix fans!

Now, lets start snacking.

READ: AL.coms top 5 picks for barbecue, pizza, burgers, ice cream, hot dogs, doughnuts and meat-and-three in Birmingham.

Fried chicken with squash casserole and a biscuit at Craft's on Church Street in Mountain Brook. (Mary Colurso | mcolurso@AL.com)

5. CRAFTS

49 Church St. in Mountain Brook; 2118 Seventh Ave. South in Birmingham. craftsbhm.com

Remember Miss Dots, a fried chicken joint that relied on the recipes used by Leola Dot Rogers? John Cassimus of Zoes Kitchen helped Miss Dots to become a reality in 2016, opening locations in Mountain Brook and Tuscaloosa. The T-Town location has closed, but Miss Dots lives on in Crestline Village, now called Crafts and owned by the ONeal family. (In 2023, a second location of Crafts opened on Seventh Avenue South, as well.) Things have changed over the years, but fried chicken remains the star of the menu, and were extremely happy about that. You can order it here in a variety of ways, from a whole fried chicken to mini chicken bites with dipping sauces. Theres flavor and crunch aplenty, and we really like having options -- sandwiches, salads, bowls, wraps and more -- when in need of a fried chicken fix.

Order this: Bone-in fried chicken, with white or dark meat, is a good place to start at Crafts. As a side dish, try the yummy squash casserole.

MORE: AL.coms picks for the best eats in Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile and across Alabama.

The sweet tea fried chicken sandwich with white sauce and pickles at Saw's Juke Joint in Birmingham. (Photo courtesy of Saw's Juke Joint)

4. SAWS BBQ

Six locations in Birmingham area, including Saws Juke Joint, 1115 Dunston Ave. sawsbbq.com

Saws is renowned for its barbecue, and rightly so. But theres a wonderful fried chicken sandwich on the menu, prepared with a sweet tea brine and topped with white sauce and pickles. Goodness spills onto the plate when you order this sandwich, which boasts a hefty portion of crisp chicken and some marvelously messy toppings. Its available at most Saws locations, and variations include Sweet Heat Fried Chicken (with ranch, slaw, pickles and a little kick) and The Colonel (sweet tea chicken with pimento cheese and tomato). Some folks like to pair this sandwich with fries, but as far as were concerned, its perfect as a solo act.

Order this: Sweet tea fried chicken sandwich, of course. Taylor Hicks, one of the owners of Saws Juke Joint, suggests extra pickles, and were definitely up for that.

RELATED: Where to get Birminghams best chicken sandwich

The Chicken & Waffle dish at Yo' Mama's restaurant in Birmingham. (AL.com file photo/Tamika Moore)

3. YO MAMAS

2328 Second Ave. North in Birmingham. www.yomamasrestaurant.com

Yo Mamas serves food with heart and soul, specializing in home-style dishes with Southern flavors. You can bet theyve got fried chicken on the menu, and the scrumptious wings here have earned praise from ordinary folks, restaurant critics and celebrity chefs alike. Founded in 2015 by Denise Peterson and her daughter, Crystal Peterson, Yo Mamas quickly became a mainstay on the Magic City restaurant scene. The downtown eatery received even more attention with a featured spot on Netflixs Fresh, Fried and Crispy in 2021. Yo Mamas plans to move to a new location at 2098 Fourth Ave. North, thanks to a $1.3 million investment from the City of Birmingham.

Order this: Chicken & Waffle is a mouthwatering treat at Yo Mamas. The dish features Belgian waffles, six fried chicken wings, a dollop of syrup and fruit toppings. You might tempted to lick your fingers while eating wings at Yo Mamas, and we wont judge you.

READ: Randall Woodfin asked Birmingham for restaurant picks; here are 10 favorites

Paneed chicken at Five Birmingham is a pan-fried chicken breast, served with shallot caper cream sauce and mashed potatoes. The house salad on the side is a bonus. (Mary Colurso | mcolurso@AL.com)

2. FIVE

744 29th St. South in Birmingham, other locations in Tuscaloosa, Mobile and Athens, Georgia. www.five-bar.com

Five entrees are on the menu at this casual-cool restaurant, which also offers five appetizers, five snacks, five signature cocktails ... you get the idea. If that sounds too trendy or high concept, we promise that our favorite dish at Five Birmingham (also known as 5 Bar) will make you a believer. The paneed chicken breast -- covered in bread crumbs and pan-fried -- is light, tender and juicy, served with shallot caper cream sauce and mashed potatoes, plus a house salad. (Think mixed greens, seasonal fruit, goat cheese, nuts and a creamy vinaigrette.) Its best when served on a single plate, with various flavors mixing and mingling. We never feel guilty about eating the delicious pan-fried chicken at Five, because it almost seems healthy. Win-win!

Order this: Paneed chicken breast, naturally. The jazz brunch on weekends offers chicken and waffles, if youre looking for something a little more decadent.

Eugene's Hot Chicken is available at four heat levels: Mild, Hot, Hot Damn and Stupid Hot. Eugene's also serves a traditional Southern fried chicken with no heat and a lemon pepper seasoning.(Photo courtesy of Eugene's Hot Chicken; used with permission)

1. EUGENES HOT CHICKEN

2268 Ninth Ave. North in Birmingham; 3232 Galleria Circle, Suite 101, in Hoover. www.eugeneshotchicken.com

Fried chicken nirvana? Eugenes has earned a rapturous reputation thats pretty close to it, even if you prefer your chicken without a fiery kick. Heat levels here range from Lemon Pepper and Southern (no heat) to Stupid Hot (for the bold and daring). Other choices are Mild, Hot and Hot Damn (not too smart, not too stupid). We like a restaurant with a sense of humor, especially when it serves fried chicken thats crazy-good. Zebbie Carney, the founder of Eugenes, started with a food truck around 2015, moved to a brick-and-mortar location downtown in 2017 and expanded to Hoover in 2020. More recently, the Eater website included Eugenes Hot Chicken in its 2022 list of The Best Fried Chicken in America. Take your pick among chicken tenders, wings, sandwiches, quarters, whole chickens, chicken and waffles, fried chicken salad and more.

Order this: Go for the gusto with a half or full bird, plus your choice of sauce and two sides. You cant go wrong with Southern Slaw or creamy mac and cheese. Suggested heat level? Newbies might start with mild (slight heat) and work their way up the burn scale.

READ: Meet the chef whos making hot chicken cool in Alabama

More on Alabamas Best food:

Alabamas best barbecue: Our Top 10

Alabamas best burgers: Our Top 10

Alabamas best pizza: Our Top 10

Alabamas best ice cream: Our top 10

Alabamas best hot dogs: Our top 10

Alabamas best meat-and-three: Our Top 10
They Cloned Tyrone appears on its way to cult classic status in a hurry -- or just classic, cult or not -- and one Oscar-winning filmmaker is helping to fast-track it.

Barry Jenkins, the writer/director of 2016s Moonlight, took to Twitter last weekend to lavish praise over the new Netflix film directed and co-written by Alabama native Juel Taylor.

THEY CLONED TYRONE is SOOOOOOO damn good! Jenkins tweeted in a 3-part thread. Like a modern day SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR with shades of EDGE OF TOMORROW and PLAYERS CLUB in the visual style of PEAK John McTiernan. And its just sitting there on Netflix getting a fraction of the flowers it deserves.

McTiernan directed action classics Predator in 1987 and Die Hard in 1988.

Jenkins then zeroed in no Taylor, who was born in Tuskegee.

Its one of the best films Netflix has ever made and and a sizzling on-ramp for director Juel Taylor, who put both feet, his back and Im sure all his folks backs into this, Jenkins continued. If this cat aint sittin at the DGA First Feature [nominee] table the system is broken, beyond impressed.

Jenkins is referring to the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing  First-Time Feature Film. Past winners include Jordan Peele, Bo Burnham and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Other nominees include Marielle Heller, Taylor Sheridan, Aaron Sorkin and Bradley Cooper.

Jenkins finished the thread with why the film hit him so hard. Ive been a bit down for personal reasons and seeing something like this totally lifted me, when a film can do that I tip my cap.

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The If Beale Street Could Talk director also tweeted a link to music featured in the film. #nowplaying THEY CHOPPED TYRONE (INSPIRED BY THE FILM THEY CLONED TYRONE) by THE CHOPSTARS via @audiomack.

This is obviously high praise from Jenkins, who frequently uses the platform to publicly support work of his fellow artists, new and old. His own feature debut Medicine for Melancholy released in 2008. Nearly a decade later, Jenkins took the film world by storm with Moonlight, which earned eight Academy Award nominations and three wins including best picture, adapted screenplay and supporting actor. The Moonlight win etched itself as one of the most famous moments in Academy Awards broadcast history when presenter Faye Dunaway initially announced La La Land as the winner. Her co-presenter Warren Beatty later stated that he had been mistakenly given a duplicate envelope.

They Cloned Tyrone is a brand new Netflix original film starring Jamie Foxx and John Boyega with multiple Alabama connections. The film, now streaming on Netflix, is directed and co-written by Taylor, a filmmaker born in Tuskegee with screenwriting credits that include high profile Hollywood productions like Creed II and Space Jam: A New Legacy prior to hopping in the directors chair.

Written by Taylor and Tony Rettenmaier, They Cloned Tyrone depicts an eerie series of events that leads an unlikely trio (John Boyega, Teyonah Parris and Jamie Foxx) down a rabbit hole into a sinister neighborhood conspiracy. Filmed in Atlanta, it also stars David Alan Grier and Kiefer Sutherland. Watch the trailer above.

The film is a big winner with critics and streamers, scoring a 94% on the Tomatometer and a 100% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

THEY CLONED TYRONE is SOOOOOOO damn good! 



Like a modern day SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR with shades of EDGE OF TOMORROW and PLAYERS CLUB in the visual style of PEAK John McTiernan.



And its just sitting there on Netflix getting a fraction of the flowers it deserves   Barry Jenkins (@BarryJenkins) July 30, 2023

Its one of the best films Netflix has ever made and and a sizzling on-ramp for director Juel Taylor, who put both feet, his back and Im sure all his folks backs into this.



If this cat aint sittin at the DGA First Feature nomiee table the system is broken, beyond impressed.  Barry Jenkins (@BarryJenkins) July 30, 2023

Ive been a bit down for personal reasons and seeing something like this totally lifted me, when a film can do that I tip my cap   Barry Jenkins (@BarryJenkins) July 30, 2023

Taylor, 36, told The New York Times about what the article describes as surprisingly personal origins of the films complex sci-fi story. He said he knew he wanted to explore a bootleg Scooby-Doo mystery where the detectives are inadequate but uniquely equipped for solving the case. I had this joke in my mind for a while, like an entrepreneur, a pro, and a hustler walk into a bar and they end up solving a mystery, he told Netflix.

He said reconnecting with an old college friend whom he didnt know suffered from depression changed his perspective on life, prompting him to incorporate thematic elements like blame, responsibility and identity into the story. He also talks about creating a fictional Southern neighborhood where much of the film takes place. Read the full NYT Q&A.

Taylor attended the University of Florida. He originally wanted to pursue video game design but transitioned to filmmaking after experimenting with music videos.

Taylors Hollywood resume keeps growing with a number of big screenwriting credits including Creed II and Space Jam: A New Legacy. Prior to They Cloned Tyrone, Taylors directing credits include several television series like Twenties, Boomerang and A Guy, a Girl, and Their Monster. Now, Taylor works with A-listers like Oscar-winner Foxx, Star Wars breakout Boyega and budding film and television star Teyonah Parris (WandaVision, Candyman).

Also appearing in the film is Huntsville native Suzanne Robertson, who plays First Reporter, a newswoman caught in the chaos of a growing phenomenon we wont spoil. Robertson also served as the on-set visual effects coordinator for They Cloned Tyrone. Past visual effects credits include Justice League, Bad Education, Beckett, Holidate, Hillbilly Elegy and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Pee-wee Herman actor Paul Reubens died Sunday at the age of 70 after a private battle with cancer.

Please accept my apology for not going public with what Ive been facing the last six years, Reubens wrote in a statement posted to Instagram after his death. I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.

Reubens started his career in the 1970s, but it wasnt untule 1980 when he launched The Pee-wee Herman Show. As Pee-wee Herman, Reubens live show sold out for ran for months, and he landed a special at HBO.

In 1985, he teamed with Tim Burton on Pee-wees Big Adventure, the characters feature film debut. Reubens followed that up three years later, Big Top Pee-wee.

Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness, wrote Reubens estate in the caption. Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit. A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on The Opening Kickoff on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.
U.S. District Court Judge Liles C. Burke last week sentenced two North Alabama residents to more than 70 years in prison combined on unrelated child exploitation charges.

Jeremy Michael Lee Powell, 25, of Athens, was sentenced to 50 years in prison, followed by lifetime of supervised release, after pleading guilty in April to two counts of production of child pornography.

Becky Lynn Burroughs, 46, of Decatur, was sentenced to 21 years, six months in prison, followed by lifetime of supervised release. Burroughs pleaded guilty in April to distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography .

According to court documents, Powell befriended a mother of two children, a seven-year-old and eight-year old. He offered to care for the children while she worked, and then engaged in sexual acts with them, telling them to keep it a secret. Powell also took advantage of the fact that the childrens father was not in contact with them, and coaxed the children into calling him da-da, prosecutors said. Investigators discovered 47 sexually explicit images involving the children on Powells cell phone.

According to Burroughs plea agreement, Florida investigators identified an account distributing child pornography in an internet chatroom that belonged to Burroughs. Between March and September 2021, Burroughs uploaded at least 11 videos, as well as numerous images, of child pornography to the Internet. On September 1, 2021, a search warrant was obtained for Burroughs residence in Decatur, and agents seized Burroughs phone. A forensic review of the cell phone located 10 child sex abuse images and videos, investigators said.

U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona said the sexual abuse and commercial exploitation of children is among the most serious crimes prosecuted by my office.

The creation and distribution of digital images of child sexual abuse perpetuates a criminal industry that is incredibly destructive to both the victims and consumers of this material,, Escalona said. The prosecution of these defendants is part of the ongoing commitment of my office, and that of our federal, state, and local partners, to identify and prosecute child predators.
An investigation is underway after two teens were shot Monday afternoon in Fairfield.

The shootings happened shortly before 1:30 p.m. on 40th Place behind Fairfield High Preparatory School. Authorities said the shooting was not linked to the school.

An 18-year-old was taken to UAB Hospital. The other victim, under the age of 18, was taken to Childrens of Alabama.

Neither sustained life-threatening injuries, said Jefferson County sheriffs Lt. Joni Money. Both were alert and talking when they left the scene to be taken to the hospital.

Money said there is no further threat to the community in connection with this incident.
Several Alabama lawmakers said they are working on bills to increase the penalty for reporting a false abduction, a response to the Carlee Russell case.

Russell has been charged with two misdemeanors for her false report. Legislators say stronger penalties are needed because of the amount of time and money that police, volunteers and others can spend in response to a false kidnapping report.

Sen. April Weaver, R-Brierfield, said in a news release Monday she is talking with prosecutors and law enforcement officials about a bill to make falsely reporting an abduction a felony. Reps. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, and Leigh Husley, R-Helena, have said they are working on legislation to enhance penalties , WBRC reported.

Russell sparked a massive investigation when she disappeared on July 13 after making a 911 call about a toddler walking alone on I-459. Russell showed up at her parents house two days later. Russell told Hoover police she was abducted but later admitted through a statement by attorney Emory Anthony that there was no abduction and no child on the interstate. Her statement included an apology to law enforcement, volunteers, and others.

Hoover police charged Russell, 26, with false reporting to law enforcement authorities and falsely reporting an incident. The Class A misdemeanors carry sentences of up to a year in jail and fines up to $6,000.

Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said when he announced the charges that he would be talking to state legislators about changing the law so that stiffer charges could be filed against people who falsely report a kidnapping or other violent crime.

In a press release today, Weaver said, This fictitious kidnapping caused fear and shock not only throughout the legislative district I represent, but also throughout our state and nation. Individuals who concoct and carry out sham kidnappings and lead our law enforcement officers on wild goose chases must be given severe penalties for their deceptive actions.

Significant monetary and human resources were used at the local, state, and federal levels to resolve this fictitious event, and numerous volunteers donated their time in record-breaking heat to search for the reported victim, Weaver said.

Russell was released on bond and her case is expected to be in court in October, Anthony said.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall will handle the prosecution of Russell at the request of Hoover police.

The Legislatures next regular session begins in February.

Earlier this year, lawmakers passed a bill sponsored by Weaver that added new restrictions to the Alabama law that allows prisoners to shorten their sentences through correctional incentive time, or good time. That bill was named after former Bibb County Deputy Brad Johnson, who was fatally shot in June 2022 while in pursuit of a suspect in a stolen car. The man charged in Johnsons death had accumulated more than 2,000 days of good time while incarcerated, the Associated Press reported.

Read more: 5 questions Carlee Russells arrest left unanswered about her staged kidnapping
The benefits of cooperation with China are clear: Ambassador of Peru to China

People's Daily Online) 11:24, July 31, 2023

Marco Balarezo, Ambassador of Peru to China (Photo by Lu Ningyuan/People's Daily)

In one week, Marco Balarezo, Ambassador of Peru to China, flew from Beijing to Chengdu and then to Xian to attend exchange events and exhibition openings  This is part of his daily itinerary in China. After arriving in China in March this year, Balarezo quickly started a fast-paced work mode. There are many goals I want to achieve during my tenure, and one of them is to open direct flights from China to the Peruvian capital, Balarezo said in his recent interview with us.

China has a high level of modernization

It is Balarezos first time to China as ambassador, but he is no stranger to China. Peru is the country with the largest number of overseas Chinese in South America. Peruvians use the Cantonese word chifa to refer to Chinese restaurants and use the Spanish word paisano to address Chinese friends. I have many Chinese friends when I was in Peru, Balarezo said, China is a big country and has close relations with Peru. It is the honor of my career and a heavy responsibility to serve as ambassador to China.

Across the ocean, Balarezo is looking forward to starting a new journey of exploring China. A trip to Chongqing shortly after arriving in China left Balarezo with many beautiful memories. He smiled that authentic Chongqing hot pot was very delicious, but too spicy. Not only was the spicy hot pot unforgettable, but also the unique cityscape of Chongqing. The Yangtze River and the Jialing River pass through the city, and the entire city is built layer by layer against the mountains and near the river, which makes Balarezo call it special. But what impresses him most is how the people of Chongqing live their lives with relish. China is doing very well in internal development and wellbeing of the people in general. My first impression is that China has a high level of modernization, Balarezo said.

Balarezo believes that Chinas high-quality development is related to all aspects of economic and social development, and Chinese modernization contains a unique world outlook. China pursues mutual benefit and win-win results in its dealings with the world and China hopes to achieve common development with other countries, especially developing countries. The Global Development Initiative put forward by China is very important and will contribute to the realization of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Balarezo said.

The historic relics of Machu Picchu, Peru. (Photo provided by the Embassy of Peru in China)

Alpaca dolls are small but there is a big market

Balarezo is familiar with the story of Peruvian alpaca dolls becoming famous once shown at the China International Import Expo (CIIE). You enter any Chinese e-commerce platform, all kinds of cute and amiable alpaca dolls are everywhere  too many for the eyes to see. Balarezo read the comments section of the buyers and happily said: Chinese consumers love Peruvian alpaca dolls. Alpaca dolls are small but there is a big market. Peruvian quinoa, grapes and other agricultural products are also very popular in China, and Peru is also the largest supplier of avocados to China. 

More and more Peruvian products have entered Chinese households, thanks to the smooth implementation of the China-Peru Free Trade Agreement, which is the first package FTA signed between China and Latin American countries. Balarezo said that in 2010 the Peru-China FTA officially took effect and trade between Peru and China entered a zero-tariff era, with both sides implementing zero tariffs on more than 90% of their products. Since then, Peru-China trade has fully flowed, and China has been Perus largest trading partner and main export destination for many years. In 2022, bilateral trade reached 34.6 billion US dollars, and Peru had a trade surplus with China. At present, the two sides are now actively promoting the FTA upgrade negotiations, with comprehensive and in-depth consultations around cross-border services trade, investment, intellectual property rights, e-commerce and other topics. The Chinese market is very important to Peru, and we hope to take a differentiated route to develop a high-end market with personalized products. For example, although the Chinese textile market is highly competitive, high-quality Peruvian cotton and alpaca products can also find a place. Now many Peruvian entrepreneurs come to China to find business opportunities, Balarezo said. At the same time, many Chinese companies doing business in Peru not only employ many local workers, but also drive the development of upstream and downstream enterprises, stimulating employment in Peru.

China and Peru have formed a pattern of economic and trade cooperation in which we are part of each other. Balarezo is clear-headed about the harm of decoupling and de-risking. Decoupling will be risky for everybody. Because we are living in one village, and we are so much interdependent with each other in different sectors. Decoupling is sort of cutting the supply chain and putting obstacles to the regular flows of trade. From the point of view of Peru, we are not in favor of any kind of this movement. We are a very open economy. We are very attached to the multilateral trade system. We are trying to be very friendly, very open and very accommodative to all players. All countries are our friends, and we tried to trade with all of them, said Balarezo. As the host of the 2024 APEC Meeting, Peru looks forward to joining China and other members in raising their voices to uphold the multilateral trading system. Peru is also a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and Balarezo applauded Chinas application to join the CPTPP. He said that Chinas initiative to meet the CPTPPs high standards is a positive step, sending a signal that the worlds second largest economy will expand openness and support the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment.

People dressed in traditional costumes take part in a local traditional event in the Peruvian capital, Lima.(Photo by Mariana Basso/Xinhua)

Latin American countries should become friends with China

In the blueprint of deepening pragmatic cooperation between China and Peru, the Chancay Port has a special place. The Chancay Port is the first large-scale transport infrastructure project implemented by China in Peru, and is also a landmark project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Latin America. Balarezo said that the Chancay Port, located near Lima, Peru, is a large natural deep-water harbor. When completed, it will become an important transport hub and logistics center on the South Pacific coast.

The current shipping time from China to Peru is 35 to 40 days. After the completion of the Chancay Port, it will be reduced to about 23 days. This will profoundly change the shipping situation from South America to China, Balarezo said that with the completion of the Chancay Port, the influx of logistics and people will drive employment, promote economic development and possibly the development of industrial parks. Under the framework of the BRI, a number of successful industrial park projects have emerged in recent years. Peru looks forward to the important role that the Chancay Port will play in economic and social development. Balarezo believed that the Chancay Port fully demonstrates the positive impact of BRI on the development of Peru-China relations. It not only promotes policy communication, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade and financial accommodation, but also promotes people-to-people exchanges. We are vigorously promoting people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in education, culture, tourism and other areas, and trying to do better. If a Chinese airline opens a direct flight to Lima, that will be a big step to promote the flow of people and hopefully will attract more Chinese tourists to Peru,  Balarezo said.

In the broad prospect of China-Latin America cooperation, the significance of China-Peru cooperation has become increasingly prominent. Other countries in Latin America can listen and look at what Peru and China are doing. Peru and China carry out close dialogues, deepen mutual trust and achieve win-win cooperation, said Balarezo. The development of Peru-China relations fully demonstrates that the benefits of cooperation with China are clear. Latin American countries should become friends with China. For developing countries, including Latin American countries, deepening cooperation with China can improve peoples lives.

Source: Haiwainet

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)




Exports by Korean small and midsized enterprises (SMEs) rose more than 3 percent in June from a year earlier on higher overseas demand for autos and cosmetics, data showed Monday.







Local SMEs' overseas shipments came to $9.77 billion last month, up 3.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Small Business Institute.







It marks the first on-year increase in four months. Their exports fell 9.1 percent on-year in March, 6 percent in April and 5.7 percent in May.







Auto exports spiked 171.5 percent in June from a year earlier, with those of cosmetics jumping 31.1 percent.







In June, Korea's overall exports dropped 6 percent on-year to $54.24 billion on weak global demand for chips, falling for the ninth straight month.







The data also showed the combined SME workforce stood at 25.7 million as of end-June, up 219,000 from a year earlier.







In May, the number of newly established companies stood at 107,598, down 7.1 percent from a year earlier. (Yonhap)


Alabama was all but set to be the location for the headquarters of Americas newest military branch in 2021.

Under the Trump administration, Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville was selected as the Air Forces preferred location for U.S. Space Command headquarters, but the decision was nixed by President Biden, who reversed the move and named Colorado Springs, Colorado as Space Commands permanent home.

Related: Alabama leaders react to Biden decision to keep Space Command in Colorado: far from over

Biden: Space Command to stay in Colorado, rejecting move to Alabama, officials tell AP

How did the headquarters go from Colorado (temporarily) to Alabama (permanently) back to Colorado (permanently)? Heres a timeline of key decisions that culminated in Mondays announcement:

May 15, 2019: Alabama confirmed to be on short list for U.S. Space Command

Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson (at the time, all Space Command operations were overseen by the Air Force) named Huntsville as one of six finalists for the headquarters, which is composed of Redstone; Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado; Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station in Colorado; Preston Air Force Base in Colorado; Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado; and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Aug. 29, 2019: U.S. Space Command created

Americas sixth and newest military branch, U.S. Space Command, is established with its temporary headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Nov. 19, 2020: Huntsville again named as finalist

Huntsville is again named a finalist after the process is reopened. Joining Redstone were Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico; Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska; Patrick Air Force Base, Florida; Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado; and Port San Antonio, Texas.

Jan. 13, 2021: Air Force selects Huntsville as preferred location for Space Command headquarters

The announcement paves the way for Redstone Arsenal to become the home of U.S. Space Command.

Air Force documents obtained by AL.com showed Huntsville ranked higher than Colorado in 11 of 21 comparisons used by the government in seeking the best site for the new U.S. Space Commands permanent headquarters. Colorado only bested Alabama in three of the 21 categories.

Feb. 19, 2021: Department of Defense opens an evaluation of Huntsville

Under new President Joe Biden, the Pentagons inspector general announces an evaluation of how Huntsville was selected, adding that the agency may revise the objective as the evaluation proceeds, and we will also consider suggestions from management for additional or revised objectives.

Specifically, we will evaluate the extent to which the Department of the Air Force complied with DoD and Air Force policies during the location selection process; used objective and relevant scoring factors to rank the six candidate locations; and calculated the cost and other scoring factors accurately and consistently among the six candidate locations.

July 13, 2022: Alabama passes a key hurdle

The Pentagon releases a draft environmental assessment finding no significant impacts on the human or natural environment if the headquarters is built on the Redstone Arsenal site.

July 31, 2023: Decision reversed, Colorado named permanent Space Command HQ instead of Alabama

Biden confirms months of reports and rumors that he was nixing the decision to base Space Command in Alabama and named Colorado as the branchs permanent home.

Unnamed U.S. officials told the Associated Press the president was convinced by the head of Space Command, Gen. James Dickinson, who argued that moving his headquarters now would jeopardize military readiness. Dickinsons view, however, was in contrast to Air Force leadership, who studied the issue at length and determined that relocating to Huntsville, Alabama, was the right move.

The AP noted the reversal was sure to enrage Alabama lawmakers and fuel accusations that abortion politics played a role in the choice.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., was among the outraged Alabama officials.

President Biden has irresponsibly decided to yank a military decision out of the Air Forces hands in the name of partisan politics, she said. Huntsville finished first in both the Air Forces Evaluation Phase and Selection Phase, leaving no doubt that the Air Forces decision to choose Redstone as the preferred basing location was correct purely on the merits.

U.S. Rep. Dale Strong, R-Huntsville, called President Bidens reported decision to keep Space Command headquarters in Colorado shameful.

It is clear to anyone who has looked at the facts: Huntsville, Alabama is the best place for U.S. Space Command Headquarters, Strong said. Repeated investigations and objective reviews have proven that to be the case.
Birmingham construction firm Robins & Morton has celebrated the completion of a $167 million Florida medical center, which opens Aug. 2.

AdventHealths new four-story, 153,000-square-foot AdventHealth Palm Coast Parkway Hospital has 100 private rooms. Located in Palm Coast in northeastern Florida, it also boasts an emergency department, full-service imaging, five operating suites, endoscopy services, and heart catheterization and outpatient labs.

HuntonBrady served as the architect for the project, while Robins & Morton was the construction manager.

The hospital will augment the only other area hospital, AdventHealth Palm Coast, in a county that has grown more than 29% since 2010.

We are excited to complete this project that will provide additional healthcare options for the Flagler and St. Johns County communities, Robins & Morton Operations Manager Angel Colon said. Were grateful to our longtime partner AdventHealth for the opportunity to deliver this exceptional facility that will leave a lasting impact for residents.

Construction began in September 2021.

An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated the cost of the project.
With the assurance that Casey Cole White will already spend the rest of his life in prison, a judge on Friday granted a request by prosecutors to drop the capital murder charge against him.

It completes disposition of an array of criminal charges brought against White, who had a moment in the national spotlight last year while on the run for nine days after escaping from Lauderdale County jail in Florence with the aid of a jail officer.

Related: Prosecutors drop capital murder case against Casey White

Related: Read full coverage of Casey White escape

Lauderdale County Circuit Judge Benjamin Graves issued a one-sentence order late Friday afternoon, granting the motion submitted by District Attorney Chris Connolly not to go forward with Whites capital murder trial scheduled to begin Aug. 14. That trial has now been canceled.

Before Whites escape last year, he was already essentially serving a life sentence following multiple felony convictions in 2019 in Limestone County, including attempted murder and first-degree robbery. At the time of the escape, he had served three years of a 75-year sentence.

White was in Florence at the Lauderdale County jail when he slipped away in a car driven by jail officer Vicky White on April 29. Despite sharing the same last name, they were not related. Rick Singleton, sheriff at the time, said Casey White and Vicky White had a jailhouse romance.

He was at the jail after being charged in 2020 with capital murder in the death of Connie Ridgeway of Rogersville. Connolly said in his motion Friday as well as a press release that Ridgeways two grown children supported not going forward with the trial.

Casey White in June pleaded guilty to felony murder after Vicky White took her own life as law enforcement closed in to capture them in Evansville, Indiana, on May 9, 2022. Casey White faced the charge because White died during the commission of a felony. Judge Graves sentenced Casey White to life in prison to be served with the 75-year sentence he was already facing.

In his motion asking to dismiss the capital murder charge, Connolly said the trial would require expenditure of significant state resources. He also said the investigation into Ridgeways 2015 death is ongoing and other people may have been involved. And White, who will turn 40 in August, will not be eligible for parole until 2081  at which point he would be 98 years old.

White is currently being held at Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer.
A Huntsville man faces capital murder charges after a fatal shooting early Saturday morning.

Jamarious Beatty, who turned 24 on Saturday, surrendered to authorities in at the citys Public Safety Complex at 9 a.m. Monday.

Beatty was arrested in connection with a shooting incident on Saturday. He is being held in the Madison County Jail without bond.

Officers responded to the parking lot of 3750 Alabama 53, shortly before 2:30 a.m. They found Isaac Augusta Young, 26, suffering from a gunshot wound.

Young was transported to the hospital where he died.

Investigators believe the shooting stemmed from a physical altercation earlier in the evening.

Police are continuing to investigate.
A 2021 murder charge against a 51-year-old Pelham man has been dismissed under the states Stand Your Ground law.

Charles William Hatcher was charged with murder in the shooting death of 43-year-old Tracy Lee Killingsworth on Hatchers property on Aug. 31, 2021. He is also charged with attempted murder in the wounding of Krystal Smith, who was shot three times in the face.

After a lengthy hearing in June, Shelby County Circuit Judge Lara Alvis on Friday dismissed the murder charge against Hatcher. The attempted murder charge was not dropped, however, and that trial is set to take place in August.

Hatcher had been held in the Shelby County Jail since September 2021, but was released Saturday after posting $20,000 bond on the attempted murder charge.

The shooting happened about 1:30 p.m. that Tuesday at Hatchers residence in the 700 block of Highway 72. Authorities received two different 911 calls about the shooting. Multiple rounds were fired.

Killingsworth was pronounced dead on the scene. Smith ran to another residence off County Road 35 to get help. She was critically injured but survived and testified at Hatchers immunity hearing last month.

Alabama is a Stand Your Ground state, which says a person is justified in using physical force on another person in order to defend himself or herself or a third person from what he or she reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by that other person.

Hatcher is represented by attorneys Jeremy Crowley and Scott Boudreaux. Assistant district attorneys Brooke Grigsby and Matthew Kimbrough are prosecuting the case.

The deadly shooting happened on Hatchers property in Pelham, which he inherited from his family and on which he has lived for more than 40 years.

That property has one main trailer where Hatcher lives, and other structures including a stand-alone garage where Hatcher worked as a mechanic.

According to Alviss order, there was a separate trailer where Killingsworth and Smith had lived for a period of time but were no longer living there when the shooting happened.

Prosecutors contended that Hatcher should be prosecuted because they were lawfully on the property.

Alvis, however, disagreed.

In her order, the judge wrote that Killingsworth and Smith were allegedly on the property that day to finish removing their belongings, which she said alone showed they were no longer living there.

Additionally, Alvis wrote, they went to the property in a four-door sedan without room to place any belongings. In that vehicle, she noted, there was a large semi-automatic weapon in a case, and a second gun.

Alvis said in her order that Hatcher had made multiple attempts to cut off all communication with Killingsworth and Smith. He kept his gate closed, and wanted to be left alone, Alvis wrote.

They were not lawfully on his property, she said.

A person is prohibited from immunity if they are involved in illegal activity at the time of the alleged crime, and Smith claimed that Hatcher used methamphetamine, but the judge said there was no evidence of drug use, except for medical proof that both victims had high levels of amphetamine in their system the day they trespassed.

They drove onto his property and were armed, Alvis wrote. Tracy Lee Killingsworth approached Hatcher and physically attacked him.

The defendant remembers deciding to use deadly force when he was being strangled by Killingsworth, she wrote, noting there was physical evidence on Hatcher of strangulation.

Alviss order does not say why the attempted murder was not dismissed, but she did lower Hatchers bond and ordered him not to leave the state.
Get the Ed Chat newsletter: Enter your email for weekly updates about Alabama schools from Trisha Powell Crain:

School is starting for a lot of students in Alabama. Most students and families likely registered for school over the summer, completing all of the necessary paperwork including providing proof that they actually live within their schools geographical zone.

In some districts, its one and done: provide proof of residence in kindergarten and as long as you stay put, youre good.

In other districts, particularly where property taxes and local financial support of schools are high, families have to provide proof of residence every year. That proof typically includes a utility bill or two and a property tax notice or apartment lease.

Rousting up paper copies of bills and finding the latest copy of your lease can take time, but if your district requires it, you have to do it. The process is also important for athletics eligibility.

School systems have the authority to set residency requirements that limit admission to bonafide residents only, Alabama Association of School Boards attorney Jayne Williams told AL.com. The AASB helps local boards craft the policies and rules they need to run their schools.

And that includes setting up processes to verify a students residency.

Some school districts have staff dedicated to doing that, which could mean sending a school official or their designee to a childs home to verify the student actually lives at the address.

Huntsville City Schools declares up front that a home visit from a school official is required if a parent is sharing a residence with another family.

Some systems, like Albertville City, accept out-of-district students. Some require tuition for enrollment and some, like Demopolis City schools, reserve the right to remove non-resident students if problems with discipline, attendance or academics arise.

Every school district should have a policy on residency and many have their policies posted on their websites.

Here are a few examples:

Knowing what schools can request up front is important, but knowing what schools cannot request or require is important, too.

A school district is not allowed to ask about a parents or childs citizenship or immigration status as part of establishing residency. Nor can schools deny a homeless child enrollment in the district because the child doesnt have the required documents.

Schools can request but not require a copy of a childs social security card for enrollment purposes. Some Alabama school districts still list providing a social security card as a requirement even though it cannot be a requirement to enroll.

The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights published a fact sheet to help parents know which types of information school officials can request.
A 22-year-old woman charged with capital murder is now behind bars in Alabama to face charges that she participated in the murder of a woman two years ago in DeKalb County.

Jessie Eden Kelly, 22, was booked into the Cherokee County Jail on July 22, according to jail records. Kelly, along with her mother Loretta Kay Carr, 45, of Fort Payne, was charged last month with capital murder-kidnapping in the October 2021 death of Mary Elizabeth Isbell.

Kelly was arrested in Pennsylvania on June 25 on a felony charge of arrest prior to requisition, and she faces felony burglary and stealing charges in Douglas County, Mo.

The remains of Isbell, who had been reported missing for almost two years, were identified June 30, on what would have been her 39th birthday, after their discovery in Little River Canyon National Park.

Isbell was reported missing by her ex-husband on Dec. 27, 2021. Detectives with Hartselle police used phone records to determine she had been living in the DeKalb County area on Lookout Mountain.

A search of her residence and vehicle turned up physical evidence - including signs of a struggle - which was entered into a national database, authorities said.

The discovery of her remains came after a tip last month. Authorities believe Isbells death occurred sometime between the evening of Oct. 18 and the early morning of Oct. 19, 2021.

The three women knew each other through a man, an investigator said following Carrs arrest.

Though investigators suspected Isbells body was somewhere in the area of park, they were unsure of its exact location until they received information from one of the suspects.

A hearing is scheduled for Carr on Wednesday. Her lawyers earlier this month sought body camera footage from the search of her residence and questioning, and want to bar statements from lawyers and authorities on the case, as well as cameras from her trial.

Prosecutors will seek the death penalty.
Alabama state Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, is continuing to improve in a hospital in South Korea after suffering a cardiac arrest there last week, his son Tyler Melson reported.

Tyler Melson created a public Facebook page to provide updates on Sen. Melson, who was on a recruiting trip to South Korea when he fell ill.

More good news to report over the past 24 hours, Tyler Melson posted Monday on Facebook . Repeat echocardiogram (an ultrasound to look at the structure and function of the heart) shows continued improvement of the hearts strength and ability to pump. This is another big milestone and we praise God for His continual blessing over the situation.

Sen. Melson remains on a ventalator but doctors are discussing when to wean him off, Tyler Melson wrote.

There is no rush to do this, he posted. However, we remain hopeful and confident that the Lord will see us through this step in His perfect timing.

On Sunday, Tyler Melson reported that his father was successfully taken off EMCO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) and remained very stable. EMCO is the process of pumping blood to a heart-lung machine that removes carbon dioxide and sends oxygen-filled blood back to tissues in the body, according to the Mayo Clinic.

His improvement so far has been miraculous and we are certain that it is due to all the prayer he has received, Tyler Melson wrote Sunday. Please continue to pray as there are many more milestones that we will have to reach.

Heart arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat, apparently caused the cardiac arrest, Tyler Melson wrote on Facebook.

Melson was elected to the state Senate in 2014. He is a retired anesthesiologist and a medical researcher. He is perhaps best known at the State House for sponsoring the bill lawmakers passed in 2021 to legal medical marijuana in Alabama.
An 11-month-old was kidnapped from a Vestavia Hills apartment Sunday evening by a non-custodial parent and was recovered a short time later in Birmingham, police say.

Vestavia Hills police responded at 6:20 p.m. to Grand Highland of Vestavia Hills apartment complex on Overton Road on a report of a possible kidnapping with shots fired, said Capt. Shane Ware.

Once officers arrived, they determined that the father  who does not have custody of the child  shot into the apartment before entering and taking the child.

The child was recovered a short time later in east Birmingham, and the father was taken into custody. Birmingham police assisted in the recovery of the child.

No one was injured, Ware said.

The father is being held in the Vestavia Hills Jail. His name is being withheld pending formal charges.
An Indian American engineer says he was fired last year from his long-time job with a Huntsville missile defense contractor after he was heard speaking Hindi on the telephone.

Anil Varshney, a 78-year-old Indian American and long-time Senior Systems Engineer with Huntsville missile defense contractor Parsons Corporation recently filed a federal lawsuit alleging systemic discriminatory actions by the company that culminated in his firing last October after a white co-worker heard him speaking Hindi on a telephone call with his dying brother-in-law in India.

The co-worker falsely reported [Varshney] for a violation of security regulations, states the lawsuit, which was filed in June in the Northern District of Alabama.

Mr. Varshney accepted the call from his brother-in-law in an empty cubicle and spoke to him for approximately two minutes, the lawsuit reads. Despite there being no policy prohibiting the call, and without any investigation, defendants claimed Mr. Varshney committed a serious security violation and fired him. Worse, they blackballed him from future [Missile Defense Agency] work, effectively ending his career and life of service to MDA and the United States government.

In a response filed with the court on July 24, Parsons denies it engaged in any of the wrongdoing alleged by Plaintiff or that Plaintiff is entitled to any relief whatsoever. In its response, Parsons also asks for the suits dismissal with prejudice, and that Varshney pay its attorneys fees and costs.

In a statement to AL.com, Parsons: Mr. Varshney was terminated after several security violations, including using Facetime on his personal phone at a controlled worksite. This series of documented improper conduct violates both Parsons and U.S. Government policy.

For nearly 80 years, Parsons has consistently been recognized as a leading employer who embodies diversity, equity, and inclusion across our more than 17,000 global employees, the statement continues. The company is also proud of its longstanding history defending our national security and protecting our warfighters, which is core to our values and business.

The lawsuit also names Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin as legal representative for MDA.

Varshney earned a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering from Banaras Hindu University, and immigrated to the United States in 1968, according to the lawsuit. He was followed a year later by his wife Shashi. He earned a masters degree in industrial and systems engineering at Oklahoma State University before settling in Huntsville, where they became American citizens. Sashi has worked at NASA since 1989.

The suit states Varshney was once lauded as Contractor of the Year in systems engineering and received a letter of MDA recommendation for saving $5 million on the ground-based missile defense program.

I love this great country and state, which I have called my home for over 50 years, Varshney said in a prepared statement. I have devoted my life to strengthening the defense of this nation. Our kids, all proud American citizens raised in Alabama, are Rhodes Scholars, senior corporate executives, and physicians.

Varshney literally achieved the American Dream, the suit states.

But that did not prevent him from experiencing a series of microaggressions because of his nationality, Varshney claims.

In 2002, Varshney began working for MDA, according to the lawsuit. In 2011, Parsons, which had been contracted by MDA since the early 1980s to provide engineering, analysis, and management support, the lawsuit states, was awarded the contract Varshney was working on for MDA. From that point, Varshney was jointly employed by MDA and Parsons, the suit reads, under the supervision of employees of both Parsons and MDA the suit describes as three white men in their 40s or 50s.

Varshney, according to the suit, provided engineering support for the development of integrated and layered missile defense systems which defend the United States and allied partner forces against ballistic missile threats.

He provided capability requirements analysis, system verification, and specification development for defense weapons systems and components, the suit continues, worked to identify and satisfy customer needs; and resolved issues across organization boundaries.

And yet Varshney, who speaks with a strong accent, the suit states, was the target of ethnically charged and ageist comments and actions multiple times by younger, white employees of defendants.

Among the example cited in the suit: [Y]ounger, white employees of Parsons and MDA would frequently exclude Varshney from conversations while he was present in meetings. They would use names for Varshney like This Thing even when he was sitting right next to them and would complain that they could not understand his Indian accent.

Coworkers would pretend that Varshney did not exist by directing their answers to his questions to white employees, ignoring him entirely. On one occasion, refreshments were offered during a meeting to younger, white employees, but not to Varshney.

The suit describes these examples as a small sampling of the discriminatory treatment he was subjected during his employment with defendants.

On Monday, September 26, 2022, according to the suit, Varshney was working on the second floor of the MDA building when he received a video call from his elderly brother-in-law, Mr. K.C. Gupta, [who] was on his deathbed in India and called to say goodbye to Varshney.

Knowing the dire situation and that he may never have the opportunity to speak to (Gupta) again, Varshney stepped into an empty cubicle and accepted the call, the suit outlines. Before doing so, he made sure there were no classified materials or anything else pertaining to MDAs or Parsons work anywhere near him, the lawsuit states.

The two spoke for approximately two minutes in Hindi, according to the lawsuit.

Thats when another worker, according to the suit, happened by and heard Varshney speaking Hindi. (The other worker) interrupted Varshney and asked whether he was on a video call, which Mr. Varshney confirmed, the suit states. (The other worker) told Varshney that the call was not allowed and Varshney immediately hung up. The call was the last time they spoke before Gupta passed away.

The suit claims the other worker was intimidated by Varshney speaking in a language he did not understand.

Which then led to the other worker to falsely and intentionally report that Varshney committed a security violation by revealing confidential information and/or accepting this call during a confidential meeting or with confidential information in the background of the call, the lawsuit claims.

There was no confidential or classified information anywhere near the call, the suit alleges. The cubicle where Mr. Varshney accepted the video call was completely empty with no office material or wall hangings in the cubicle, and there was no confidential information being exchanged nearby.

And at the time, according to the lawsuit, the office was still operating under COVID protocols. There were only two other employees on the entire floor, including (the other worker).

As for the policy on security regulations, allegedly stated by the other worker upon hearing Varshney speaking in Hindi on the call with his brother: There is no policy, rule, or regulation of either Parsons or MDA that prevented or prohibited Varshney from accepting the call from his dying brother-in-law, the suit states.

Neither Parsons nor MDA ever instructed or communicated to Varshney that such a call was prohibited. In fact, cell phones are expressly permitted in the Huntsville MDA building, as long as they are not taken inside classified conference rooms or used during classified meetings.

About a week later, according to the lawsuit, Varshney was on his way to work when he received a call from his Parsons supervisor. His privileges at MDA [had] been revoked, he allegedly was told, and to meet the supervisor at the office. When Varshney arrived, (the supervisor) and MDA security personnel met him in the lobby, escorted him to his cubicle, and instructed him to pack up his personal belongings, the suit states. MDA security personnel opened and searched through every file in his cubicle and through his personal belongings. Varshney was humiliated and defendants were essentially accusing him of being a spy simply for speaking in a foreign language to a dying family member, according to the lawsuit.

Varshney was escorted to his car by MDA security personnel, and all belongings were searched again, the suit states. Varshney was not provided any opportunity to explain the situation or refute any inaccuracies that had been reported . to Parsons or to MDA, the suit claims.

A few days later, according to the lawsuit, Varshney received a Notification of Termination letter from Parsons stating he had committed a major offense by violating government security regulations. when [he] used the Facetime application on [his] personal phone at the classified worksite.

The letter, according to the lawsuit, noted stated Varshney had [two] previous security violations for connecting a thumb-drive to your work issued computer.

Varshney was being terminated effective immediately. The lawsuit states: [T]here [was] no discussion with Varshney, much less any kind of legitimate investigation.

Varshney had never been informed that he had engaged in any activity that was considered to be a security violation, whether for video calls, thumb drives, or anything else, the suit states. He had not been the subject of any inquiry or investigation into any of these alleged incidents. He has never taken his cell phone into a classified meeting and did not have two prior security violations relating to the use of a thumb drive in a computer.

Further, Varshney had received no training that video calls are prohibited or considered a major offense even when conducted in empty areas.

The suit alleges that defendants departed from their ordinary protocols to discriminate against Varshney and end his career, providing him with no due process or recourse to dispute the falsified allegations.

Defendants have since admitted that they made no attempt to investigate the truth or veracity of any of the allegations against Varshney or to determine whether any security violation had ever been committed by Varshney, the lawsuit states. Instead, they falsified the reasons for Mr. Varshneys termination and/or relied on a falsified report that Mr. Varshney had committed a security violation before summarily and abruptly terminating him and, upon information and belief, replacing him with a younger, white person.

The suit alleges Parsons failed to take similar action against younger, white employees.

It cites a particular meeting where cell phones and unclassified computers are not allowed, a younger, white employee opened an unclassified computer and began working. That employee was simply tapped on the shoulder and reminded that he was committing a security violation.

To Varshneys knowledge, that incident was never reported, and the individual was not terminated or even disciplined. Younger, white employees have also been permitted to take photos inside the MDA Huntsville building without any repercussions.

In the suit, Varshney challenges how Parsons highlights flashy diversity award emblems and statistics.

The vast majority of defendants employees are white, and defendants created and fostered an environment that permitted, and possibly encouraged, unlawful discrimination based on Varshneys race, color, national origin, and/or age, the suit alleges. Among other things, Defendants failed to properly train their employees regarding anti-discrimination and antiharassment of coworkers.

Notwithstanding the copious claims made in the suit, Varshney wanted to return to workat Parsons. But was unsuccessful.

Believing his termination to have been a misunderstanding, and desiring to be reinstated, Varshney attempted to resolve his termination through Parsons Employee Dispute Resolution procedure.  However,  Parsons perpetuated its discrimination by failing to participate.

Varshney repeatedly requested Parsons to substantiate its allegations with evidence that accepting the two-minute, private call from his dying brother-in-law and speaking in Hindi violated MDAs and/or Parsonss security protocols or policies, the suit states. Parsons refused to do so because it knows that is not possible.

The suit also alleges Varshney has been blackballed from other related employment as defendants have actively taken steps to prevent [him] from obtaining another job [by]  spreading rumors among the tightknit MDA community that Varshney committed a serious security violation, exposed classified information, took the call in a secured conference room during a meeting, permanently lost his security clearance, and/or can no longer work in any capacity for MDA. None of this is true.

The suit states Varshney seeks reinstatement to a position comparable to his former position, the reinstatement of privileges, and the revocation (or removal) of any disciplinary records in his file.

If he is not reinstated to his job level, Varshney seeks front pay including benefits. He also seeks compensatory damages for mental anguish and emotional distress, along with punitive and liquidated damages and attorneys fees.
The logo of Korea Development Bank (KDB) is seen on a stone block outside the bank's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul in this 2021 file photo. Korea Times file



By Yi Whan-woo



Tensions between labor and management at Korea Development Bank (KDB) are escalating as the state-run lender is finalizing its plan to move its headquarters from Seoul to Busan.



The plan has been long opposed by the unionized workers after it was brought up by President Yoon Suk Yeol last year as part of his balanced regional development policy.



On Monday, the labor union plans to hold a press conference, which sources familiar with the matter say is aimed at protesting the management's decision to move the bank's whole operations to the port city of Busan.



The decision came after management, through a feasibility study, deliberated over whether it would be optimal to relocate the entire operation or just partially to the country's southeastern city.



The decision was mentioned in a report submitted to the Financial Services Commission (FSC).



Under the plan, the minimum workforce, estimated to be 100, out of more than 3,000 employees, will remain at the KDB's current headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul.



On Sunday, the KDB separately released a press release that addresses its commitment to the development of southeast Korea, namely Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province. It listed support for fisheries, startups and renewables in the region.



"Under the circumstances, the workers' side is expected to refute management's plan by citing its own study," a source said.



It noted that workers had a financial think tank estimate the possible gains and losses if the KDB is relocated.



The findings concluded that 7 trillion won in losses will occur within 10 years once full operation of the day bank is moved to Busan.



Citing a Bank of Korea (BOK) study on regional development, the workers also concluded that it will disrupt economic added value worth 15 trillion won.



Sources said the plan has already affected the KDB's competence, referring to the departure of nearly 100 workers, including 44 this year, after the plan was addressed.












English News Japan's ocean discharge plan reveals selfishness, arrogance

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 31 Juillet 2023



If Japan continues to push for ocean discharge, it will only spark stronger opposition. The country should face up to the legitimate concerns from the international community, be responsible for the world's marine environment and public health, and carry out full and meaningful consultation with stakeholders, including neighboring countries.

By Zhong Sheng, People's Daily Japan's Fukushima nuclear accident has generated more than 1.3 million tons of contaminated water, which contains more than 60 radionuclides and takes 30 years or even longer to be discharged into the ocean. Once the nuclear-contaminated water is discharged, the radionuclides it carries will be diffused into every corner of the sea.



Obviously, the disposal of the nuclear-contaminated water from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant bears on the marine environment and public health of the whole world. It is by no means Japan's private matter. Japan should never start its discharge plan before the concerns of all stakeholders and international community are properly addressed.



However, over the past two years, the Japanese side has been bent on implementing the plan and unilaterally pushed through it, trying to force unpredictable risks upon the international society. It fully revealed the country's selfishness and arrogance.



Japan's neighbors and the rest of the stakeholders must be fully consulted before any decision is made.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) stipulates that when a state becomes aware of cases in which the marine environment is in imminent danger of being damaged or has been damaged by pollution, it shall immediately notify other states it deems likely to be affected by such damage, as well as the competent international organizations, to eliminate the effects of pollution and preventing or minimizing the damage.



As a contracting party of the UNCLOS and the country responsible for the marine pollution, Japan should carry out negotiation with its neighboring countries and the international community without preconditions, and discuss with them over safe and secure disposal plans. Any practice that pushes through Japan's discharge plan is against the principles of the UNCLOS.



The Japanese side didn't fully consult with the international community, especially the stakeholders, about its discharge plan. On the contrary, it risks universal condemnation to push through the plan.

In April 2021, the Japanese government unilaterally announced that it will discharge the nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, and it officially approved the discharge plan in July of 2022 in disregard of strong opposition from the international community especially from neighboring countries and other stakeholders, accelerating its preparations for the construction of discharge facilities.



This March, the Japanese side blatantly announced that it will not postpone the implementation of the plan. In June, the Japanese government, turning a deaf ear to the voices of opposition from across the world, started trial operation of the discharge equipment, making another step forward on the unilateral path. This month, it reiterated that the plan will be implemented this summer and remains unchanged.



What the Japanese government has done in the past two years fully proved that the Japanese side is only requesting the international community to accept the preconceived discharge plan and has shown no sincerity for negotiation.



The Japanese government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) had pledged not to start the procedure of the disposal of the nuclear-contaminated water without the understanding of relevant parties, and yet they are now going back on their words and insisting on going ahead with this plan.

Japan's citizens and neighboring countries, as well as other stakeholders have run out of patience because of what Japan has said and done.



Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) secretary general Henry Puna noted that the Japanese government had pledged that they would stay in communication with the PIF on this matter and that the PIF would have access to all independent and verifiable scientific evidence. He said that so far, unfortunately, Japan has not been cooperating and that they are breaking the commitment.



Pacific Island countries demanded that the way forward should involve comprehensive international consultation not only through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) platform but through other relevant platforms such as UNCLOS and the 1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (the London Convention). This point deserves high attention from the international community.



Although Japan requested review and assessment from the IAEA out of domestic and international pressure, it didn't show respect to the organization. The discharge plan was preconceived and always ran ahead of the IAEA review and assessment.



In July last year, Japan officially approved the ocean discharge plan when the IAEA Task Force's review and assessment mission was still ongoing. In this January, the Japanese side announced unilaterally, ahead of the IAEA Task Force's review trip to Japan, that the ocean discharge would start in the spring or summer this year. Due to the IAEA's limited mandate, relevant conclusion in the IAEA report on Japan's nuclear-contaminated water discharge is one-sided and has its limitations.



Such stubborn practice revealed to the world that the Japanese side only wants to unilaterally push through the discharge plan, and it has no respect for the IAEA and the task force's authoritativeness.



Rather than following the principle of friendly negotiation, the Japanese side shifted blame, claiming that China had repeatedly refused Japan's proposal on conducting expert dialogues based on science. This explains that Japan has never reflected on its erroneous decision to implement the discharge plan. The Japanese side should ask itself what such dialogues can do when its discharge plan is preconceived. If Japan has any sincerity about having consultation, it should announce a suspension of the ocean discharge, allow stakeholders, including neighboring countries, to conduct independent sample analysis of the nuclear-contaminated water, and agree to discuss alternatives to ocean discharge.



If Japan continues to push for ocean discharge, it will only spark stronger opposition. The country should face up to the legitimate concerns from the international community, be responsible for the world's marine environment and public health, and carry out full and meaningful consultation with stakeholders, including neighboring countries.



(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People's Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)



Dans la meme rubrique : < > IAEA report cannot justify Japan's wastewater discharge plan Smearing Chinese-foreign port cooperation is creating barriers for common development 31st FISU Games activates new momentum for Chengdu's development Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)










English News Preparations for 6th CIIE in full swing

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 31 Juillet 2023



A supportive measure was newly added this year by the customs, which allows animal and plant products and food that have not complete inspection and quarantine procedures from countries or regions that are free from animal and plant epidemics to join the exhibition after obtaining special approvals.

By Tian Hong, People's Daily The sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) is scheduled to be held in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10 this year. Less than 100 days are left before the event kicks off. Currently, preparations for the sixth CIIE are in smooth progress.



Sun Chenghai, deputy director-general of the CIIE Bureau, noted that the sixth CIIE will still comprise the country exhibition, the business exhibition, the Hongqiao International Economic Forum (Hongqiao Forum), supporting activities, as well as cultural and people-to-people exchange activities.



The sixth CIIE will resume offline Country Exhibition and invite guest countries of honor. Participating countries are expected to display their sci-tech innovation, advantageous industries and investment environment by setting up exhibition booths and through interactive activities.



So far, many countries have confirmed their participation in the sixth CIIE. The World Trade Organization, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, International Trade Centre and other international organizations will also participate in the event.



The exhibition area of the China pavilion will be expanded to a record 2,500 square meters this year from 1,500 square meters previously, which will display the latest achievements of China's high-level opening up and high-quality growth.



An area will also be set to showcase the achievements made in the country's pilot free trade zones during the past decade.



The sixth CIIE will continue to feature six exhibition areas for food and agricultural products, automobile, intelligent industry and information technology, consumer goods, medical equipment and healthcare products, and trade in services respectively.



So far, more than 360,000 square meters of exhibition area has been booked, which meets anticipation.



Enterprises attending the sixth CIIE are of higher importance. The number of Fortune 500 companies and industry-leading enterprises has exceeded that in the previous session.

Fifteen major carmakers, top 10 major medical instrument companies, top 10 industrial electrical enterprises, top three mining giants, top four accounting firms, top three express delivery companies, and top five freight forwarders will gather at the sixth CIIE.



The sixth CIIE will feature more themes of exhibition. On one hand, focusing on high-quality development, it will keep optimizing the exhibitions of energy, low-carbon and environmental protection technology, artificial intelligence, and innovation incubation. On the other hand, it will upgrade its health and elderly care sections and introduce a new "maternal and infant care" category to its exhibition.



Relying on the CIIE exhibitor alliance and professional committees, the CIIE will host an energy development summit, a forum on cooperation in the seed industry, and an international wellness industry conference, to assist innovative development of relevant industries and improve the sense of fulfillment of exhibitors.



The sixth Hongqiao Forum will discuss the core topic of "global openness" while focusing on its functional positioning of "international public goods." It will comprise a main forum and the "Invest in China Year" summit, and release the World Openness Report 2023. The event will also include several sub-forums on open development, open cooperation, open innovation and open sharing.



Ye Jian, deputy head of Shanghai Customs, said that the customs issued a notice on customs clearance for the sixth CIIE and facilitation measures on relevant customs clearance on July 20. Nineteen supportive policies will be continued, including dispatching officials to offer on-site consulting services, extending the validity of ATA Carnet certificates, allowing exhibits to be transferred to special supervision areas after exhibition concludes, and supporting permanent bonded display transactions.



A supportive measure was newly added this year by the customs, which allows animal and plant products and food that have not complete inspection and quarantine procedures from countries or regions that are free from animal and plant epidemics to join the exhibition after obtaining special approvals.



Besides, the customs will continue to set up a special counter for policy consulting, and open CIIE-exclusive counters and channels at relevant ports, so as to facilitate the customs clearance for exhibition staff and exhibits.



Dans la meme rubrique : < > IAEA report cannot justify Japan's wastewater discharge plan Smearing Chinese-foreign port cooperation is creating barriers for common development 31st FISU Games activates new momentum for Chengdu's development Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
Responding to reports of a mental health crisis, President Biden wants to create new rules that promise to "improve insurance coverage for mental health care in America." Most people recall an Obama promise to give Americans "all the care they deserve" and how that turned out. Every time Washington "fixes" a problem in healthcare, things go from bad to worse.

Inadequate care for mental illness is not new at all. Well intentioned attempts to address mental ill health have consistently failed over many decades. Bethlem Lunatic Asylum gave us the word "bedlam" to describe the horrors visited upon mentally ill as well as hearing-impaired individuals, erroneously labeled as "mentally impaired." The only reason mental health care is perceived as an acute problem is the sudden, overwrought attention given by complicit media, allowing Washington to call it a (new) crisis.

The new, political definition of "crisis" is "real or false threat to the public that can be used as an excuse to expand government power and control." One need only recall the COVID "crisis," proven to be a fabricated existential threat, that was used to justify quasi-martial law, including suppression of our First Amendment freedoms.

Biden's solution to the mental health officially proclaimed crisis is the same as for COVID: more BARRCOME (bureaucracy, administration, rules, regulations, compliance, oversight, mandates, enforcement). BARRCOME invariably make things worse, not better.

BARRCOME cost taxpayers trillions of taxpayer dollars. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) cost $1.76 trillion, most going to create unnecessary BARRCOME, including 50 state Health Insurance Exchanges. This author was a director of one.

The U.S. spent $4.3 trillion on healthcare in 2022, 18.3 percent of GDP. Between 31 percent and 50 percent of those healthcare dollars were diverted from paying for care to pay for BARRCOME. Such "bureaucratic diversion" explains how Washington steals healthcare dollars to pay itself and denies Americans trillions of dollars in patient care.

BARRCOME cost care providers both money to comply with federal rules and insurance requirements, and time that is taken away from patients.

Worst of all, BARRCOME cost patients time and ultimately lives, viz., "47,000 veterans may have died waiting in line" for care. Known as death by queue, Americans are succumbing to treatable illnesses because they cannot get care in time  time that is stolen by BARRCOME.

No government can mandate mental health care, or any care, for that matter. Medical care is the work product of a nurse, doctor, or therapist. Washington cannot mandate a doctor to work. Washington cannot order people to attend nursing school or to have mental health sessions at midnight. The Constitution protects the personal freedom, viz., from Washington work mandates  of all Americans, including providers of care.

Biden's solution to the latest, fabricated crisis in mental health is more BARRCOME, exacerbating, rather than solving, the root causes: regulatory burden and bureaucratic diversion. For proof, note what the ACA did. In addition to wasting $1.76 trillion, the doctor shortage became worse, and maximum wait times for primary care went from 99 days to 122 days.

When Biden said there was a COVID crisis, the public trusted him and went along with his masking, social distancing, lockdowns, and mandated vaccinations. As we gradually learned that masks don't work; that lockdowns did more harm than good, especially to children; that mRNA shots were untested gene therapy, not standard vaccines, and were neither safe nor effective; and that COVID was dangerous only to elderly with multiple comorbid conditions, the public had to accept that Washington had lied to us and abused our trust. Biden's COVID policies cost Americans their jobs, livelihoods, even their lives.

Now when Biden announces a new crisis, this time in mental health, we recall the boy who cried "Wolf!" Americans don't trust him. We no longer trust self-proclaimed authorities such as Fauci, nor federal agencies such as the CDC, FDA, even the FBI and Department of Justice.

The answer to healthcare's myriad problems, including mental health, is to address the root cause: BARRCOME. To get timely, affordable care to Americans, we need to reduce the federal role in healthcare.

Start with restoration of decision-making authority  both financial and medical  to patients! The government doesn't pay for our health care; we do.

If patients could spend their own healthcare dollars  $30,065 this year for an average family  they would pay care-givers, not bureaucrats. Cost of care would go down dramatically without government control of the market. Trillions of dollars could be recouped to pay for patient care by eliminating bureaucratic diversion. And without the mandatory time wastage of regulatory compliance and insurance hassle, providers would have more time to spend with patients.

For cynics and pessimists who shout "impossible," there is ample evidence proving that patient-controlled healthcare can work, including financial models and medical safety nets for the impoverished and medically fragile.

Deane Waldman, M.D., MBA is professor emeritus of pediatrics, pathology, and decision science; former director of the Center for Healthcare Policy at Texas Public Policy Foundation; and author of the multi-award-winning book Curing the Cancer in U.S. Healthcare: StatesCare and Market-Based Medicine.

Image: Pkd2016 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped).
The radical left is in a blind rage over rulings from the new Thomas Supreme Court. It was bad enough when the Supremes told them they don't have a constitutional right to kill their babies, but now it's telling them they can't be racists, either. The Court is clearly intent on imposing tyranny and eliminating our most basic rights  which are not actually written in the Constitution, but have been emanating for 50 years from a penumbra that only liberal justices can see. They're screaming that something must be done about this constitutional crisis.

They tried two years ago to eliminate the Senate filibuster to pack the Court. But that didn't work because a couple of Dems learned a lesson from Harry Reid's leadership and realized there may be a few unintended consequences they wouldn't like.

So the radicals put their thinking caps on and came up with a creative solution. Just tell President Biden to ignore the Court. Joe being Joe, he might actually do it.

Professors Mark Tushnet (Harvard Law) and Aaron Belkin (San Francisco State University, political science) sent an open letter to the Biden administration

urging that it endorse and take steps to implement popular constitutionalism as a response to what the President has described as "not a normal" Supreme Court.

They rationalize that extra-constitutional measures are necessary because

the threat that MAGA justices pose is so extreme that reforms that do not require Congressional approval are needed at this time, and advocates and experts should encourage President Biden to take immediate action to limit the damage.

There's surely a MAGA emergency loophole in the Constitution somewhere  if Merrick Garland would just look hard enough.

Their advice?

The central tenet of the solution that we recommend  Popular Constitutionalism  is that courts do not exercise exclusive authority over constitutional meaning. In practice, a President who disagrees with a court's interpretation of the Constitution should offer and then follow an alternative interpretation.

Just ignore the Court  simple, elegant, and radical leftistlevel stupid. Problem solved. But they assure us that such an expansion of presidential authority can't possibly lead to tyranny, because the president is answerable to the electorate every four years. If the majority don't like his interpretation, they can vote him out. However, if the majority of Americans agree with him, his interpretation remains actionable by implied concurrence from the electorate's vote.

These two teachers of higher education are apparently oblivious to the flaw in their recommendation: popular constitutionalism will inevitably undermine individual rights.

What the good professors are recommending sounds dangerously like pure democracy  where right/wrong and legal/illegal are whatever the majority say they are. They're advancing the notion that the president can act according to whatever he says the Constitution means, and if 51 percent of the electorate agrees with him, his interpretation is validated. The mob legitimizes his logic.

Ben Franklin famously said that "democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote." Popular constitutionalism would allow the president to "interpret" that the two wolves have a right to vote on what to have for lunch. If the two wolves agree with him in the next election, he'll get re-elected, and the lamb will have a very bad day.

The left will argue that no sane interpretation of the Constitution would ever reach such a radical conclusion. Sane or not, during the pandemic, our leadership decided that the mega-corporation wolves had a right to devour the mom-and-pop shop lambs. Small businesses were shuttered for public safety, while the big-box stores were allowed to remain open. It happened because there is no limit to which an unrestrained executive may creatively interpret his constitutional powers.

Our government has been called many things:

Democratic republic

Constitutional republic

Representative republic

Those descriptors recognize that we are a republic in which our government representatives are elected. But America has never been a pure democracy, for good reason. Our leaders are not sworn to advance the will of the majority. They are sworn to act in accordance with the Constitution. Our Constitution is the lamb's defense against the lunch choice of the wolf pack. Our individual rights supersede majority wishes.

That's why our Constitution can't be changed by creative interpretation and majority concurrence  as popular constitutionalism would allow. It can be amended only through broad consensus. Minorities have a voice that cannot be ignored by the majority in the ratification process.

Where could popular constitutionalism take us? Could it lead to an interpretation that "justice" demands the creative legal targeting of domestic enemies  also known as the political opposition? Could Joe Biden "interpret" that 81 million Americans have directed him to crush the semi-fascist MAGA threat  using all means at his disposal?

Could popular constitutionalism lead to an interpretation that our personal liberties are subservient to communal priorities? Constitutional interpretation currently allows limitation of the arms we can legally bear  for public safety. Could the same interpretation be applied to our rights of religion, speech, and property  for the public good?

Could popular constitutionalism be used to interpret that neutering the Electoral College is constitutional (as the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is attempting)? If so, it would lead to restricting state's rights  our last legal defense against advancing federal overreach.

Could there be any unintended consequences that professors Tushnet and Belkin aren't anticipating? Let's say Joe embraces their argument and uses it to continue discriminating on the basis of race, forgive student loans, and subvert property rights. But the voters aren't keen on his "interpretation" and vote him out.

Joe would be out, but the popular constitutionalism precedent would have been set. What if the next Republican president really is as extreme as the left claims, and decides that he can act on his own constitutional interpretations? Could he "interpret" that all firearm restrictions are unconstitutional and order federal agencies to stop enforcing gun laws (except the ones prohibiting crack addicts from gunning up, of course)? Could he "interpret" that late-term abortions are a violation of the "due process" rights of the unborn and use the DOJ to prosecute doctors who perform them  regardless of state laws?

If a future president were to make such interpretations, would Tushnet and Belkin still support popular constitutionalism? Or would they support the notion only if a Democrat occupies the Oval Office? Is their advocacy of popular constitutionalism principled or political?

Professor Tushnet is training our next generation of lawyers at one of the country's most prestigious law schools. As a lawyer, he has sworn an oath to support the Constitution. Yet he is advising an Article II Executive to usurp the powers of an Article III Judiciary. I have two questions. Why isn't Tushnet under investigation for disbarment? And should we be concerned about a legal profession that casts aside the principles of the Constitution in such a cavalier fashion?

John Green is a political refugee from Minnesota, now residing in Idaho. He has written for American Thinker and American Free News Network. He can be reached at greenjeg@gmail.com.

Image via Picryl.
I received an email from a friend with a link to an article in Business Insider. The title of the article follows: "A shortage of accountants is pushing the industry to reboot its image to win over young talent: 'You have to sell them.'"

The awfully long title is pretty much all the substance in the article. It lacks any real usefulness when it comes to asking what really caused this problem. If you do a search for "accountant shortage," you will find pages of these articles.

My friend sent me the article because he knows that I earned my bachelor's in accounting and finance. He also knows the trouble I had finding work, even after passing the CPA examination in 1983. I could not get an interview.

The job market was very bad at the time. I attributed the fact that I couldn't land an interview for two years to that bad job market. I decided to make the best of it by making myself the ideal job candidate.

My high school accounting teacher told the class that the biggest demand for jobs for decades to come would be accountants with a strong computer background. Also, computer programmers with a knowledge of accounting. So I returned to college in 1983 and completed the equivalent of another bachelor's degree in computer science by the end of the summer of 1984.

In the rare instances when I could talk to a person during my job search, I would explain why I returned to college. "I took advantage of a bad job market to do what my accounting teacher said in high school and get a strong background in computers to go with my accounting degree."

Most of the responses I received were ridiculous. The most memorable was: "Don't you know what you want to do? You got a degree in accounting, and then you go back for one in computers?" Another: "Why would we hire you if you're not sure what you want to do?"

I recall seeing job ads that I immediately responded to with the understanding that they can't possibly find anyone with my qualifications. Many jobs read ACCOUNTANT: Required B.S. in accounting or computer science, with one year of accounting or computer programming. I still could not get called in for an interview.

This was in the mid-1980s. Most people were terrified of needing computer skills or having to learn them on the job. Computer use was not ubiquitous then as it is now. I knew people who were afraid to use a computer that had a hard drive. They were used to a device called the five-and-a-quarter-inch floppy. The hard drive was a bridge too far.

So, you might ask, why couldn't I get an interview for a job for which any fool who could read English could see I was the ideal candidate? My college placement director from the two-year business school where I earned an associate in accounting asked that same question of a human resources manager on the phone and in my presence.

She repeated into the phone, "How can you say he's not qualified? He has everything and more than you are looking for!" She followed it up with, "What do you mean, he's a non-qualifying candidate?" "What's the difference between that and 'not qualified'?"

I left and returned a couple of weeks later, and the frustrated placement director asked again with the same result. I returned the next week to find out she had been fired. She learned why I was a non-qualifying candidate. I had two things disqualifying me: too white, too male. She made some threats, and the college fired her for it. They told me they couldn't honor their lifetime placement service because I had a four-year degree.

I later learned from a relative who was a high school guidance counselor that being a white male with a degree in accounting was why I was unable to find work. It seems the establishment people who want to fix all that ails society decided that since women were starting to move from the profession of housewife to having a career, accounting would be the one. They could teach them and minorities on the job.

This was decided for a profession that is so intense that most students don't survive the first year of college studies. In fact, it now is a five-year bachelor's degree. There are no more additional accounting courses; they just spread the workload over five years and fill the courses with electives and mandatory courses like Diversity of This and That.

Looking back on it, the foolish responses I received in interviews made sense. They must have been trained to discourage white males. In fact, some told me they were trained to do that.

People who retired over the years began to explain that the reason they couldn't hire me was affirmative action quotas. They were afraid to speak out while employed out of fear of losing their jobs. Some remembered the specific time I interviewed with them or the specific opening applied for.

I worked as a temp throughout most of the 1990s in accounting jobs alongside other CPAs who were also temps. More often than not, we were supervised by a woman or minority who lacked any accounting education. In some instances, such women admitted they hated their job because they had no skills in it but had been transferred into it from another department. These were large companies trying to meet government quotas. I can state for a fact that those companies are not the giants they once were.

So, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the University Accounting Schools, "You reap what you sow." Why would anyone go into a profession that doesn't respect him and requires more education than higher-paying jobs? That's the real question. How many sons, and nephews saw their elders suffer from unemployment because they were accountants? How do you expect to attract anyone to a profession that put foolish restrictions on hiring?

For that matter, what has affirmative action done for any profession? The same needs to be asked of Diversity, Inclusion, Equity (DIE) as well as Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG). They have no business in the workplace or education systems. If there is anything that should be mandated, make it merit.

David Ennocenti is a retired accountant and graduate of the State University of N.Y. at Buffalo, School of Management with a degree in accounting and finance. He passed the CPA examination in 1983. His writing has appeared in The American Thinker, USA Today, The New York Times, and several other publications. His screenplay, "Sniper Queen," was an official selection of The Artemis Women in Action Films Festival. He is a past winner of the Writer's Digest Annual Competition. His essay "1984 Arrived: Now What? How Progressive Policies Decimated a Once Vibrant Community" is available on Amazon.

Image via Pexels.
One can't rule out anything when it comes to the behavior of Department of Justice officials functioning as partisan protectors of the Democrats and their current figurehead, Joe Biden. So it is not out of line for close students of the Biden crime family bribery scandals to suspect the worst, as do such luminaries as Miranda Devine and Matt Gaetz.

Ms. Devine:

The DOJ is trying to arrest Devon Archer ahead of his bombshell testimony Monday about Joe Biden's involvement in his son Hunter's Ukraine business when he was VP. US attorney in the SDNY Damian Williams issued a menacing letter yesterday  Saturday  telling Judge Abrams to order Archer to go to jail immediately to serve a one year sentence for his fraud conviction.

The DOJ is trying to arrest Devon Archer ahead of his bombshell testimony Monday about Joe Bidens involvement in his son Hunters Ukraine business when he was VP. US attorney in the SDNY Damian Williams issued a menacing letter yesterday - Saturday - telling Judge Abrams to pic.twitter.com/Vl7A9Hdfy8  Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) July 30, 2023

Rep. Gaetz goes step farther, charging criminality:

The DOJ is now actively committing the crime of obstructing a congressional investigation. @SpeakerMcCarthy @RepJamesComer @Jim_Jordan If Devin Archer isn't in the witness chair Monday, we better haul every SOB at the DOJ before congress EVERY DAY to make them pay for this. Lmk  I'll come back to Washington tomorrow to do this. Archer is in that chair or Garland is. Yield me the time and let me ask the questions. I'll handle it from there.

The DOJ is now actively committing the crime of obstructing a congressional investigation. @SpeakerMcCarthy @RepJamesComer @Jim_Jordan



If Devin Archer isnt in the witness chair Monday, we better haul every SOB at the DOJ before congress EVERY DAY to make them pay for this. https://t.co/iL9RLBgHlf  Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) July 30, 2023

For such a gambit to work, it would require a federal judge to work over the weekend and issue an order for the immediate imprisonment of Archer, and thereby risk fierce blowback for cooperating with an effort to silence a congressional witness of the highest profile (even as corporate media attempt to downplay the story).

It is unusual, though not unprecedented, for federal prosecutors to file motions with a court on a weekend, so suspicions are in order that a nefarious intent was at work. But if so, it was extraordinarily clumsy and counter-productive. Deep State defender Politico writes:

On Saturday, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York wrote to trial judge Ronnie Abrams and asked her to schedule a date for Archer to report to prison, after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals finalized an order days earlier upholding his one  year sentence. The court isn't expected to make a decision before Archer will meet behind closed doors with the House Oversight Committee, meaning that even if the court ultimately sides with the request Archer wouldn't have to report to prison before the meeting. And his attorney said in a statement that he will move forward with his planned appearance Monday. A spokesperson for the office of United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York declined to comment on the filing or the timing of the letter. But according to the one  page letter, filed by assistant U.S. attorney Negar Tekeei, prosecutors had asked Archer's attorney to recommend a reporting date in light of the Second Circuit ruling but were rebuffed. Archer's counsel, according to the DOJ letter, said it was "premature" to set a sentencing date because Archer was considering further appeals and intended to raise an "error" in the sentencing process. Archer's lawyer plans to file a response to the U.S. attorney's demands by Wednesday. Matthew Schwartz, Archer's attorney, also rejected the notion that there's any connection between Archer's tiff with the Justice Department and his potentially imminent jail time. "We are aware of speculation that the Department of Justice's weekend request to have Mr. Archer report to prison is an attempt by the Biden administration to intimidate him in advance of his meeting with the House Oversight Committee," Schwartz said in a statement. "To be clear, Mr. Archer does not agree with that speculation. In any case, Mr. Archer will do what he has planned to do all along, which is to show up on Monday and to honestly answer the questions that are put to him by the Congressional investigators."

As of the early hours of Monday, Judge Ronnie Abrams has not ordered Devon Archer to prison, so it seems likely that this effort (if that's what it was) was a stupid, doomed failure.

Update: The DOJ has issued a "clarification" that of course it never intended to block Archer's testimony.
In Canada, physician-assisted suicide is so normalized there are now memes about it.

And don't think that's entirely exaggerating.

According to LifeSiteNews:

Children are introduced into the medical killing fields by Canadian Virtual Hospice with its Medical Assistance in Dying Activity Book, described as being for children ages 612. In it, the child is taught how a person is killed during euthanasia: The three medicines work like this: The first medicine makes the person feel very relaxed and fall asleep. They may yawn or snore or mumble. The second medicine causes a coma. A coma looks like sleep but is much deeper than regular sleep. The person will not wake up or be bothered by noise or touch. The third medicine makes the persons lungs stop breathing then their heart stops beating. Because of the coma, the person does not notice this happening and it does not hurt. When their heart and lungs stop working, their body dies. It will not start working again. This often happens in just a few minutes, but sometimes (rarely) it can take hours. And if the person asks to die, there is no changing their mind: As much as other people may want to change their mind, the person who is choosing MAiD probably wishes just as strongly that they could change their illness or condition and how it is affecting their life. When someone decides to ask for MAiD, it is usually after thinking very carefully and having very hard feelings for a long time. They may feel that nothing will change their mind because there is nothing that can help their body or their suffering get better.

I read through the, kid you not, activity book, which was in part financed by the Canadian government, and to be fair, the activity book is not utter nastiness, and much of what it says about why people choose medical suicide and how children react are reasonably true.

The tone is engaging with lots of "and that's O.K." phrasings around the issue of feelings.

It also doesn't advocate or encourage medical suicide.

But it's not without issues. The big problem is that it normalizes physican-assisted suicide.

And for all its "and that's O.K." inclusiveness, it also doesn't acknowledge the elephant in the room here -- that medically assisted suicide is morally wrong among peoples of faith and has been for thousands of years, in every civilization and among every people. Any person of faith or morals who opposes this is shut out from the debate here.

It presents no possibility that there can be meaning in suffering and that among the world's great religions, God's will can be accepted by the suffering. It presents no possibility that things can change for the better for the utterly sick, that there is a such thing as palliative care (huge shortages of in Canada), and that treatment for the gravely ill with suicidal thoughts is possible, that the future is unknowable, and that even miracles can happen. It also doesn't mention that there's a such thing as suicide regret, as anyone who has seen someone jumping from a building and using their hands on the ground to break the fall may notice.

The only value presented in medically assisted suicide is that of self-direction and control of one's own destiny as if everyone is his own autonomous god and is taking the bull by the horns in seeking medical suicide in order to die with dignity, instead of what is really going on, which is being put down like an ailing farm animal by the vet, which is no dignity at all

There are euphemisms galore in the kid's activity book:

Most people who ask for MAiD have an illness that will cause their body to die no matter what. They are not choosing to die instead of live. They are choosing what will make their body die, when and where it will happen, and who they spend that time with. Other people might ask for MAiD if their illness or disability will not cause their body to die, but it causes too much pain or suffering for them to keep living with it, and there is no way to make the illness or disability get better or go away. They are choosing what will make their body die, when and where it will happen, and who they spend that time with. Other people might ask for MAiD if their illness or disability will not cause their body to die, but it causes too much pain or suffering for them to keep living with it, and there is no way to make the illness or disability get better or go away.

Which rather leaves out a lot of material here, as mentioned above.

What we have here is a bid to make physician-assisted suicide so normal it's ordinary educational material for the kiddies, placed in a convenient activity book for them. That makes it propaganda, and too bad if this goes against one's faith or morals. That's a step too far for the state to take, shutting out some half the population to make the case for getting rid of people, supposedly of their own volition, which is yet another questionable thing.

It's sad stuff and a cautionary warning here that medically assisted suicide rarely stops at one person seeking to end his pain by ending it all. It can become coercive. And it eventually ends up being propaganda, preached as natural and normal as ordinary life and death events for the kiddies. Obviously, the lobby here that loves the death penalty for the sick and dying is behind this and it won't end well for Canada.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
What if there is a "cover-up" but no underlying crime? And what if the biggest "cover-up" in the history of the Republic was the first impeachment of President Trump, to thwart an investigation into allegations of Biden family corruption in Ukraine? The Wall Street Journal, in its lead editorial, "Trump Is Charged With a Coverup," does not consider these questions. Instead, it opens with a suggestion of the political cliche that the cover-up is worse than the crime and echoes accusations against President Trump issuing from the administration out to defeat his 2024 candidacy by hook or by crook  in the first half of this editorial.

In its attack on the president, the WSJ seem to be trying to catch up to the New York Times in anti-Trump viciousness. The Times led with a bizarre attempt to resurrect that Russia collusion hoax to raise an "obstruction of justice" issue in the indictment concerning the documents seized by the FBI in its unprecedented raid on the Trump residence at Mar-a-Lago.

Piling on the president, the WSJ writes that Trump "stands accused of trying to delete incriminating Mar-a-Lago security video."

This is mentioned before the editorial reminds readers: "Special Counsel Jack Smith charged Mr. Trump with unlawfully retaining national-security information, as well as concealing classified files at his Florida club."

The accusation that the former president is a threat to national security is a typically baseless charge that the left includes in its efforts to tear down Donald J. Trump. It appeared in the first Trump impeachment; it appeared in the second Trump impeachment. And now it is embedded in Biden's desperate attempt to destroy Trump's bid for re-election next year.

The editorial goes on: "Mr. Trump is entitled to a defense and presumption of innocence, yet this is a damaging allegation."

And yet, two paragraphs on, the WSJ points out: "Prudential questions about the wisdom of this prosecution remain. Mr. Trump appears to have kept the files out of pigheadedness, not because he wanted to do something nefarious like sell them to an adversary. The FBI raided Mar-a-Lago to recover the documents." After further chastising the former president, the editorial asks: "But is this conduct that truly gives President Biden no choice except to ask a jury to jail his leading opponent in next year's election?"

The WSJ should have answered its own question  "alas, it becomes increasingly clear that when it comes to treatment of his political opposition, President Biden does not have a single magnanimous bone in his body."

In its concluding paragraph, the WSJ suggests this clarion call: "The best revenge for Mr. Trump's supporters would be to nominate a Republican who can beat Biden." Provided there is a fair election, that nominee would be Donald J. Trump.

Image: National Archives
International students fill out an application form during a special job fair aimed at hiring foreigners with a student visa at Busan Port International Exhibition & Convention Center (BPEX), July 20. Yonhap



Number of multicultural households jump 25% since 2017



By Yi Whan-woo



More foreigners are settling down in Korea as the number of Korean nationals declines, helping offset a steep fall in the country's total population that otherwise would have dropped below the 50 million mark last year, a study showed on Sunday.



Conducted by Statistics Korea, the study showed the number of foreign nationals who are staying here for three months or longer reached 1.75 million in 2022, up 6.2 percent or 102,379 from a year earlier.



The year-on-year increase comes after the number of foreign nationals dipped by 83,275 year-on-year in 2020 and then by another 45,676 year-on-year in 2021, due to international travel restrictions driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.



The number of Korean nationals went down 0.3 percent or 148,000 year-on-year to 49.94 million in 2022, falling for the second consecutive year.



The country's entire population with Koreans and foreign nationals combined dropped to 51.69 million last year, down 0.1 percent or 46,000 from 2021.




We've heard a lot about Hunter Biden. Let me tell you about Nicolas Petro, the son of Colombia's President Gustavo Petro. This is the story:

The son of Colombian President Gustavo Petro has been arrested for money laundering and illicit enrichment by the country's attorney general. Nicolas Petro, a politician in Atlantico province, was detained over allegations he was paid by drug traffickers to fund his father's peace efforts and election campaign. He has denied the claims and welcomed the inquiry when it was launched. The younger Mr Petro's ex-wife has also been arrested as part of the probe. President Petro, the country's first left-wing leader, has denied taking money from Colombia's drug traffickers and ordered prosecutors to investigate his son in March. Writing on social media on Saturday, he said it was painful for one of his children to be sent to prison, but also that he would not interfere with the investigation. "To my son I wish luck and strength. May these occurrences forge his character and may he reflect about his own errors," Petro said.

President Petro's comments suggest that he thinks his son did something wrong. Otherwise, why would he say he should "reflect about his own errors"?

According to news reports, the controversy stems from large amounts of money allegedly paid by drug cartels to his father's presidential campaign last year. As you may remember, Mr. Petro won a contested and very close election.

As I told my Colombian friend on Sunday morning, I expect this kind of scandal in Latin America. I don't expect it in the U.S. when justice is politicized as we see with A.G. Merrick Garland. My friend added that this move against the younger Petro is further evidence that the Colombian president's political position has weakened a lot in recent months.

We will watch Hunter and Nicolas and see what happens next.

PS: Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos.

Image: Progresistaschapine.
For a nation in bad straits owing to war, Ukraine is acting awfully high and mighty, boldly attacking Moscow's ritziest financial district with drones, and not doing a whole lot to hide it:

BREAKING: Ukrainian drone strikes Moscow again tonight pic.twitter.com/N5tJ5NA3uU  Jack Poso  (@JackPosobiec) July 30, 2023

According to Axios:

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a warning to Russia's invading forces Sunday after the Kremlin accused Kyiv of overnight drone attacks on Moscow. What they're saying: "Today is the 522nd day of the so-called 'special military operation,' which the Russian leadership expected to last for a week or two," Zelensky said in a televised address, according to a transcript. "Ukraine is getting stronger," he added. "Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia  to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process." Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Air Force said the drones were intended to impact Russians who felt Putin's invasion was distant, per the Kyiv Times. "There's always something flying in Russia, as well as in Moscow," Yurii Ihnat added. "Now the war is affecting those who were not concerned."

Axios notes that they have not officially claimed "credit" for the strikes, but what is one to make of these statements? Axios notes that they vowed to employ more drone strikes in the wake of their takeout of the Russian bridge to Crimea.

So did they do it, but they don't want to claim responsibility for it officially? Is that to perhaps to prevent Russia from launching some kind of lawsuit in the Hague against Ukraine, or else get its buddies in the United Nations to condemn it? Or most disturbingly, are they not claiming credit because they want to get the Russians to think we did it, so that the retaliation flows to the U.S. instead of Ukraine?

There are many possibilities, and one shouldn't disregard the Prigozhin possibility, either. Prigozhin was blamed by many for the drone attacks in Moscow last May.

I don't have an answer. But this drone strike had a hard psychological impact on the Russians. It was in the heart of the fanciest financial district, known as Moscow City; it was just 2.8 miles from the Kremlin; and it was filmed at close quarters. Moscow said it did minor damage to buildings, but that seems belied by the photos, which show burned out husks of offices.

Even if we know nothing about who launched this attack and Russia concludes it was Ukraine's doing, it seems like a mighty good recipe for inviting retaliation against Ukraine's money sponsor, the U.S., given that Russia knows that the U.S. is pretty much financing the Ukrainian war effort (without an auditor, as I noted here) and therefore has a lot of money to throw around on expansions like these. The numerous neocon consultants from the U.S. on the ground there might even be encouraging it.

What does Russia do in a situation like that? Sure, they may retaliate against Ukraine, and they probably will. But they may also retaliate against the U.S., getting to the root of the matter, owing to the U.S.'s moneybags role. We know they know it; one only need read the statements of foreign minister Sergey Lavrov (here's one) to know they know it.

Do they hit one of our cities directly with a drone in retaliation? Do they do it with admitting it, or without admitting it? Do they take out a power grid or burn a food producing factory or farm? We don't know. We do know they use food as a weapon, as their recent maneuvers against Ukraine's grain shipments shows. But we don't know what they will do, except take their own sweet time to do it.

If they see us as this involved, they will make us pay, which isn't exactly what Americans thought they were bargaining for when they supported sending defense aid to Ukraine.

The frustrating thing here is that Ukraine would not be in a position to expand its war to Moscow were it not for all the billions flowing in from the U.S. The Ukrainians might not be in a position to demand total victory in this war, neocon style, instead of negotiate something out with Russia that both sides can live with. They blatantly dismissed Russia's pre-invasion call not to join NATO, which would have prevented a lot of problems if they had opted for neutrality, which many nations successfully practice, yelling that it was a threat to their entire sovereignty. Yet they had a very big, very hungry bear at their door and ought to have recognized reality.

Now the U.S. money seems to be increasing their appetite for fighting it out to total victory even more, and with the losses they've taken, that raises the risk that we will drawn into this war, and even be called in to fight it, given Ukraine's depleted war-fighting force.

That's unintended consequences. It's sad stuff that the U.S. can't rein in its client state even as it supports it militarily. Now the odds are rising that we may just be drawn in much farther into this war. That's not exactly what we bargained for as Joe Biden vowed to send aid to Ukraine, for "as long as it takes."

Image: Twitter screen shot.
Embracing, the act of holding someone or something close, goes far beyond a physical gesture; it is a powerful expression of love that transcends language, culture and time. Whether it's a warm hug between friends, a tight squeeze from a parent to a child, or an intimate embrace between romantic partners, the act of embracing communicates a deep and profound connection.

When archeologists dig up graves, sometimes they find manifestations of love through this form of expressionskeletal bodies of couples buried together, still locked in embrace. Who were they and how did they end up six feet under?

Modern scientific methods have allowed us to unravel some of these mysteries, giving us an opportunity to glimpse into the final moments of these prehistoric couples, bound together even in death.

Lovers of Valdaro

In 2007, archeologists discovered a pair of human skeletons buried face to face with their arms around each other in a lovers embrace. The discovery was made at a Neolithic tomb in San Giorgio near Mantua, Italy. Carbon dating showed the couple died approximately 6,000 years ago.

At first, it was thought that the couple had met a tragic end. The skeletons, identified as those of a young man and woman aged between 18 and 20 years old, seemed to align perfectly with the backdrop of an Italian region renowned for its numerous tales of ill-fated romance. Mantua, the city where Romeo was banished and mistakenly informed of Juliet's death, and which inspired Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto, featuring another tale of star-crossed love and demise, fit seamlessly into this narrative.

Lovers of Valdaro. Photo credit: Dagmar Hollmann/Wikimedia Commons

But that didnt seemed to be the case. There was no evidence of violent death, no fracture, or any other signs of trauma. Rather, they found a long flint blade along the thigh, and two flint knives under the pelvis. These indicate that the flint tools were buried along with the people as grave goods, and their embrace was carefully positioned when they were placed in the grave.

In 2014, the excavated skeletons were permanently displayed inside a glass case in the National Archaeological Museum of Mantua.

Embracing Skeletons of Alepotrypa

This burial was discovered in the Alepotrypa cave in Laconia, Greece. The pair were dated to 3,800 BCE and DNA analysis confirmed that the remains belong to a man and woman who died when they were 20 to 25 years of age.

The Alepotrypa Cave is renowned as one of Europe's largest Neolithic burial grounds. Nestled within a mountain above Diros Bay, its vast interior chambers extend more than half a kilometer. Throughout the Neolithic period in Greece, from 6000 to 3200 B.C., the cave served as a final resting place for numerous individuals, with at least 170 sets of bones discovered inside.

Around 3000 B.C., an earthquake shook the region, leading to the cave entrance's collapse. This event inadvertently sealed and preserved the cave's contents. Rediscovered in 1958, excavations began in the 1970s, unearthing a wealth of archaeological treasures.

Among the most recent finds, outside the cave on a terraced slope, are three double burials dating back to approximately 4200 to 3800 B.C. One of these burials contains the remains of a child and a newborn. In another, the bones of a young man and a young woman rest facing each other in curled positions, knees tucked beneath their chins. The final burial, however, captivated archaeologists with its extraordinary sightan embracing couple.

Bill Parkinson, an associate curator of Eurasian anthropology at Chicago's Field Museum and part of the excavation team, described the scene as the couple appearing to be "totally spooning." The two bodies lie in an unmistakable pose of affection, with the boy as the big spoon and the girl as the little spoon. Their limbs intertwine, their arms draped over each other, frozen in a timeless hug.

Anastasia Papathanasiou, a Greek archaeologist who has been involved in the site's exploration since the late 1980s, suggests that the couple likely died in this tender embrace or were carefully arranged in this posture soon after their passing.

Hasanlu Lovers

The Hasanlu Lovers were discovered at the Teppe Hasanlu archaeological site, located in northwestern Iran. This site was once the thriving city of Hasanlu, but in 800 BCE it was destroyed by an unknown invader. The inhabitants were mercilessly slain and left unburied, while much of the city was engulfed in flames during the invasion.

Centuries later, when the site was excavated, archeologists unearthed hundreds of skeletons, and among them were the entwined remains of the lovers. Nestled together in a mudbrick and plaster bin, they were found facing each other and appeared to be in an embrace. The left skeleton even reached out a hand to caress the face of the other, with their arms encircling each other in an intimate gesture.

Although some signs of trauma were evident around the time of their death, no definitive fatal injuries were observed in their bones. However, this lack of evidence doesn't rule out death by injuries, as some soft tissue injuries may not have left discernible marks on the skeletons.

There is no definitive explanation as to how the two skeletons ended up in the bin. It is assumed that they crawled into the bin to escape the killings, and somehow got trapped. They probably died of asphyxiation.

At first, it was thought that the skeletons represented a male-female pair. However, through DNA analysis, it was determined that both individuals were maleone aged approximately 1922 years old and the other between 30 and 35 years old. The revelation of their shared gender prompted media speculation regarding the nature of their relationship. But archaeologist Kristina Killgrove contends that it is erroneous to impose contemporary assumptions about sex, gender, and sexuality onto historical contexts.

Page Selinsky writes for the Penn Museum: Human experience is full of difficult times and the need for comfort from others. As these two individuals and the other inhabitants of Hasanlu faced their darkest hour together, an embrace from a friend, lover, relative, or even a stranger might have been a natural outcome of extreme duress.

Lovers of Cluj-Napoca

This pair of human skeletons were discovered in the cemetery of a former Dominican convent in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The skeletons belong to a man and a woman around 30 years of age. The couple were buried facing each other, and with their hands interlocked.

The monastery was built around 1455 on the site of a Roman church and an earlier 13th century monastery. It was active only for a century until it underwent secularization in 1556 during the turbulent times of the Reformation. As a result, the historical context of the lovers' story falls within the time span between the 1450s and 1556. This timeframe is further supported by the coffin nails' material and style, which align with the date range of 1450-1550.

The man appears to have been killed by a blunt-force blow that broke his sternum, and while there is no immediately obvious cause of death for the woman, it is possible that both were murdered and buried together.

Lovers of Modena

Photo credit: Paolo Terzi/Wikimedia Commons

The Lovers of Modena were discovered in a cemetery in Modena, in northern Italy. The two skeletons were buried with their hands interlocked and are believed to have been buried between the 4th and 6th century AD. Originally it was assumed that the two were composed of a male and a female, but upon scientific analysis of enamel peptides it was confirmed that the skeletons belong to two males. Researchers believe the two might have been siblings, cousins or soldiers who died together in battle. Some skeletons of other individuals discovered in the same area showed signs of trauma, probably related to death during times of violent conflict.

The pair are now on display at the Civic Museum of Modena

The Embracing Lovers of Datong

Two ancient skeletons wrapped in an eternal embrace was discovered at a construction site in Datong, in Shanxi province, China, in 2020. The remains likely belonged to a man and woman who lived during the Northern Wei period (386 to 534 C.E.) They were positioned with their arms wrapped around each others waists and the womans face pressed against the mans shoulder.

The mans skeleton shows signs of an unhealed injury to his right arm. Conversely, the woman appeared to be without injury, which led the researchers to speculate on two potential scenarios. One hypothesis was that she might have taken her own life after the man's demise, choosing to be buried alongside him. Alternatively, it is also possible that both individuals passed away simultaneously, possibly due to an illness.
(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 31 - UNESCO has recommended that Venice be added to its world heritage in danger list, AFP reported on Monday.

The UN's education, science and culture agency said the Lagoon city faces "irreversible" damage from a range of threats, including the climate crisis and mass tourism, adding that the Italian authorities need to do more to protect it.

The recommendation will be put to a meeting of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in Riyadh in September. (ANSA).


(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 31 - Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Monday that no Italian citizens are in danger after last week's coup by a military junta in Niger.

"There are just under a hundred Italians in Niger," Tajani told Rai television.

"They are not in any danger.

"The foreign ministry is following them one by one. They are safe".

Tajani said he had spoken about the situation in the African country on Monday with his French counterpart Catherine Colonna and with EU Foreign Affairs High Representative Josep Borrell and would also speak to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"We hope that democracy can be restored in Niger with the elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who we support," said Tajani.

"We do not recognise the military junta.

"Italy wants to favour a diplomatic solution in Niger.

"A lot depends on how the countries of West Africa will act".

He added that Italy hopes there won't be a military intervention after Ecowas, the bloc of West African nations, gave the junta seven days to reinstate Bazoum and threatened "the use of force" if this does not happen. (ANSA).


(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 31 - Protestors against the government's decision to abolish the citizenship wage (RdC) minimum-income benefit for people deemed fit to work staged a demonstration on Monday outside the Naples office of pensions-and-social-security agency INPS.

On Friday some 169,000 families were told by text message that their RdC was being cut.

The leftwing CGIL trade union has said that hundreds of thousands of Italians are set to lose all forms of income support when their welfare cheques stop in the coming days.

Centre-left opposition Democratic Party (PD) leader Elly Schlein accused the government of being 'brutal' with "people who have difficulty putting lunch and dinner together".

Representatives of the protestors had a meeting on Monday with the director of the Naples branch of INPS.

Around 21,500 households in the province of Naples get the RdC.

Premier Giorgia Meloni says the RdC failed because it took away jobless people's incentive to seek work and was too susceptible to fraud.

Two new benefits are coming in: the inclusion income, worth a maximum of 500 euros a month per individual, for households in which there are minors, disabled people or people over 60; and the 'activation instrument' (SDA) of up to 350 euros a month for people who are fit for work.

Payment of the SDA will be conditional on recipients doing training or socially useful work. (ANSA).


Argentine winery Catena Zapata's La Piramide vineyard is located in Mendoza, Argentina. Catena Zapata was named the top winery in the World's Best Vineyards 2023. Courtesy of Catena Zapata





By Kwon Mee-yoo







Hailing from Mendoza, Argentina, Catena Zapata was named the top winery in the World's Best Vineyards 2023. This list is renowned for spotlighting the cream of the crop of global wine tourism, offering more than just fine wines, showcasing destinations that deliver a comprehensive wine travel experience combining exceptional wine-tasting opportunities with quality accommodation.







Established in 1902, Catena Zapata holds the distinction of being the oldest Argentine family winery still managed by the founding family. The winery is renowned for its pioneering role in reinventing Malbec, with a record-breaking number of 100-point wine ratings in South America.







Particularly notable is its Adrianna Vineyard, located at an elevation of 5,000 feet, often recognized as the "Grand Cru" Vineyard of South America. The high altitude makes Catena Zapata's Malbec wines floral and lighter in color.







This year, Catena Zapata opened its first restaurant Angelica  Cocina Maestra, situated within the La Piramide vineyard. The winery, renowned for its Mayan-inspired pyramid-shaped architecture, provides situated distinct winery tours. These unique experiences offer visitors novel ways to explore the vineyard and appreciate the exquisite wines.







Laura Catena, Managing Director of Catena Zapata and a fourth-generation winemaker, expressed that the accolade is a profound honor and validates her father's aspiration of crafting Argentine wines that are on par with the world's finest.







"A recognition for our family and for all the super hard-working people at Catena  past, present and future," Laura said in a statement. "Through elevating Argentine wine, I can actually help hundreds of thousands or millions of people in my region."







Laura Catena, Managing Director of Catena Zapata, poses after winning the World's Best Vineyards 2023 during an award ceremony in La Rioja, Spain, July 12. Courtesy of Catena Zapata





Argentinian wines, especially the Malbec variety, are quickly gaining popularity in Korea, thanks to their exceptional quality and the unique characteristics of Argentina's varieties and Catena Zapata is one of them.







Catena Zapata is available in Korea through Shinsegae L&B, the largest wine importer in Korea The winery perceives Korea as a valuable market for its range of premium to ultra-premium wines.







Catena Zapata's export manager of Asia, Canada, Africa and the Middle East, Marcelo Marasco, visited Korea in May to promote the company's high-end wine varieties at the Wines of Argentina, an annual Argentine wine-tasting event hosted by the Argentine Embassy in Korea.







Marasco conveyed that Catena Zapata is striving to meet substantial demand within the premium wine market in Korea and their aim is to secure a stronger position in the Korean market, targeting the country's discerning wine consumers.







"We are incredibly excited by the Korean market which has been our fastest growing Asian market over the last few years. The culinary scene in Korea is among the best in the world and luxury shopping malls are busy and thriving. We also think that the dark and fruit forward Malbec flavors, accompanied by velvety tannins are a great match for the umami flavors and textures of Korean food," the winery told The Korea Times, Monday.







"We hope that our friends in Korea will appreciate our 2023 no. 1 World's Best Vineyard Award and if they can't visit us in Argentina, they will be able to visit us by drinking a bottle of our delicious Catena Zapata wine, which is available at many venues such as E-Mart, Shinsegae and Wine & More."







Two more Argentine wineries also made the top 10, including Bodegas Salentein at no. 9 and El Enemigo Wines at no. 10.







Argentine Ambassador to Korea Alfredo Bascou saw this accomplishment as a clear indication of Argentine wine's global progression and advancement.







"The success achieved by Argentine wineries in the World's Best Vineyard" Bascou told The Korea Times.







"Three Argentine wineries among the top 10 is a clear sign of the development of the Argentine wine industry and its growing international insertion."


Local authorities have been invited to apply for a share of a 40 million Government fund to help them roll out 5G wireless technology.

The funding is designed to help towns, cities and rural areas use advanced wireless connectivity to drive innovation in sectors including healthcare, agriculture and transport, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said.

The technology could for example be used for sensors that improve air quality by better managing traffic, or 5G-enabled drones that can scan fields to help farmers check the condition of crops.

Faster and more reliable connectivity for residents and businesses would boost local economies and make public services more efficient.

It will also underpin the development of technologies of the future such as artificial intelligence and self-driving cars, according to DSIT.

Data and digital infrastructure minister Sir John Whittingdale said: Greater adoption of 5G-powered technologies will help deliver more efficient public services, new opportunities for residents and businesses, and a boost for economic growth  and this new fund will give local areas from across the country the opportunity to be at the forefront of Britains world-leading 5G revolution.

5G Innovation Regions will be uniquely positioned to benefit from breaking down barriers which hinder the rollout of such technologies at a local level and this initiative offers every community the chance to gain these opportunities.

Improving connectivity through a world-class digital infrastructure is one of the core components of the Governments plans to level up every community in the UK and I encourage local areas to apply and to be ambitious in their vision for reaping the rewards of 5G.

The deadline for local authorities to apply is September 10, with the funding period due to kick off in November and run until March 2025.

Each successful project could receive up to 3.8 million in funding, according to DSIT.
Almost half of doctors in the UK say their mental health is worse now than during the Covid-19 pandemic, with experts calling on the Government to continue investing in supporting the health services workforce.

The Medical Protection Society (MPS) surveyed 861 doctors and found 46% were worse off psychologically than during the pandemic due to work pressure, rising demand and staffing issues in the NHS.

It comes after NHS England pledged to share 2.3 million between seven regions to maintain 40 NHS staff mental health and wellbeing hubs, which were set up in 2021 to provide workers with fast and easy access to support.

However, MPS said a freedom of information request by the British Psychological Society found 40 million would be required to run the sites.

Of those surveyed by MPS, 75% did not believe the Government is doing enough to help healthcare workers when it comes to mental health, while 43% are considering their future career due to concerns about their own wellbeing.

More than three-quarters (76%) said staff shortages are making it hard to take time off to deal with their issues.

Some 43% of doctors said not being able to do the right thing for patients is impacting on their mental health. Elsewhere, 47% said they were concerned about the impact of burnout on patient safety, and 40% said working long hours is affecting their mental wellbeing.

A doctor who participated in the survey said: Pressures across NHS secondary, primary and social care, and the haemorrhaging of experienced staff at every level make the job increasingly impossible and fear of serious incidents, things going wrong, a sense of lurching from crisis to crisis with little or no respite, is taking its toll.

I am considering early retirement  far earlier than planned. I do think this will be a sad loss both for myself and the NHS services as I have considerable experience and expertise. But I have my health, wellbeing and family to consider also.

Professor Dame Jane Dacre, MPS president, said the mental health and wellbeing hubs provide desperately needed support to staff with a range of issues, including anxiety and depression.

She added: Demand for support with mental health issues is still high. Nearly half of our members tell us their mental health is worse now than it was during the pandemic, and a similar amount are considering their future in healthcare due to mental health concerns.

We are also seeing more staff absent from work due to mental ill health than ever before.

It therefore seems absolutely the wrong time to scale back mental health provision for healthcare staff and risk the sustainability of an established network of hubs that are crucial in supporting mental wellbeing and retention.

We urge the Government to consider providing sustainable funding to strengthen the hubs. While retention is complex and multi-faceted, investment in mental health support for staff is a fundamental pillar.

Sarb Bajwa, chief executive at the British Psychological Society, said: These shocking  but sadly not surprising  findings once again highlight the urgent need for the ongoing, dedicated mental health support provided by the hubs.

Its clear the health and social care workforce is running on empty, and they deserve better than a drastically reduced service thats unable to meet demand due to short-sighted funding arrangements.

Last week, data published by NHS Digital revealed 24.2% of sick days across the health service in March 2023 were due to anxiety, stress, depression or other psychiatric illnesses.

The figure was 24.6% in February and 23.3% in January.

Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said the likes of staff shortages, operational pressures and demand on healthcare services take a huge toll on the psychological wellbeing of staff across hospital, ambulance, mental health and community services.

Trust leaders are deeply worried about this and are doing all they can do support staff and cover sickness absences, but their efforts will only go so far without national support, she added.

A lack of government funding has led to the recent widespread closure of wellbeing hubs, leaving many NHS staff without access to crucial metal health services.

Staff wellbeing is the lifeblood of the health service and helps ensure the best patient care. Proper government funding and support for it must therefore be non-negotiable.
Argos is well positioned to face up to the challenge of Amazon and other online retail giants, according to bosses at parent firm Sainsburys.

Paula Nickolds, the boss of the grocery giants general merchandise business including Argos, said the retail brand has maintained its strong emotional bond with customers despite changes to its operations amid shifting consumer habits.

It comes as the high street stalwart marks 50 years since it was founded by Richard Thompson in July 1973.

The originally catalogue-oriented retailer rapidly grew across the UK to become one of the UKs most recognisable high street brands.

However, its recent history has come amid a backdrop of fierce change in the retail industry amid the intense competition of online general retailers.

Argos was taken over by Sainsburys, the UKs second largest supermarket chain in 2016, as part of its 1.4 billion takeover of Home Retail Group.

Three years ago, Argos announced it would discontinue production of its recognisable printed catalogue as it blamed weaker demand for it from shoppers.

Former John Lewis managing director Paula Nickolds joined Sainsburys in 2021 (Greg Funnell/PA)

Ms Nickolds said the retailer has reinvented parts of its business over the years in order to keep up with what customers want and told the PA news agency it has kept strong support as a result.

There are many customers who hold a lot of nostalgia for our catalogues and products like toys they bought from us years ago, but our ability to transform and keep relevance with customers is a really exciting thing to be a part of, she said.

This industry doesnt stand still so Argos hasnt either. But if you look at data like our customer satisfaction figures it shows customers continue to have a very positive relationship with our brand.

And for us, we really hope that future generations will also have that relationship with Argos.

Changing consumer demand also saw the business reveal three years ago that it planned to close the majority of its standalone shops as it shifted further towards toward sites within supermarkets and its delivery operation.

Sainsburys has said it expects to have 160 standalone stores and between 430 and 460 Argos counters within its supermarkets.

When asked whether changes will help Argos against the challenge of industry titan Amazon, Ms Nickolds said: Everything weve been doing recently means we are very well-position to face that challenge.

The breadth of our business gives us a unique position when it comes to next day delivery and collection across the country.

Earlier this month, Sainsburys revealed that Argos sales grew by 5.1% over the 16 weeks to June 24, to drive growth in its general merchandise arm.
A British woman is among three people who have died in a three-car collision on a motorway in northern France.

Emergency services were called on Sunday at around 6pm to a crash between two cars and a van on the A26 near Neuville-Saint-Vaast and Thelus.

More than 65 firefighters and nine ambulances attended the incident, which took place as roadworks were carried out in the Reims-Calais direction.

A statement from the French administrative region, Pas-de-Calais, said: This accident took place between three vehicles: Two cars and a British nine-seater family vehicle.

The assessments made indicate that 17 people were involved (including seven British nationals and eight minors). Three people are dead, five are in critical condition.

Miriam Posen, from Stamford Hill, London, has been named in media reports as among those who have died.

The mother, aged in her 40s, was reportedly travelling with other family members when the accident happened.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: We are in contact with the local authorities following a road traffic accident in France and have offered our assistance to the family.

Two of the people critically injured were transported by helicopter to hospitals in Lille and Arras, the Pas-de-Calais statement added.

A spokesperson for French prosecutors in Arras told the PA news agency that it is looking into the incident, and those involved will be interviewed when their health improves.

Jacques Billant, prefect of Pas-de-Calais  who represents the area, also thanked emergency services for their responsiveness and professionalism in the management of this event and the assistance provided to the victims.

Witnesses who attended the accident were also offered psychological care, according to the administrative region.
Retired British miner David Hunter could be freed within weeks after a Cypriot judge sentenced him to two years in prison for the manslaughter of his seriously ill wife.

Hunter, 76, admitted suffocating Janice, his wife of 52 years, at their home on the island, after she begged him to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer.

On Monday, judges at Paphos District Court imposed a two-year jail sentence on Hunter, who having already spent 19 months in custody has already served the majority of his sentence.

Michael Polak, the director of Justice Abroad, which is representing Hunter, said that in Cyprus a defendant will spend 10 months in custody for every year that they are jailed.

Mr Polak said Hunter will be released on August 18 at the latest but could be let out earlier for good behaviour.

David Hunter was found not guilty of the more serious charge of premeditated murder (Victoria Jones/PA)

Judges previously found him not guilty of the more serious charge of premeditated murder.

Hunters legal team had argued he should be given a suspended sentence, in a case which is a legal first in the country.

In mitigation last week, his defence lawyer, Ritsa Pekri, said his motive was to liberate his wife from all that she was going through due to her health conditions.

The court heard it was Mrs Hunters wish to die and that her husband had only feelings of love for her.

Hunter, from Ashington, Northumberland, told his trial, which lasted for more than a year, that his wife cried and begged him to end her life.

He broke down in tears as he said he would never in a million years have taken Mrs Hunters life unless she had asked him to.

He showed the court how he held his hands over his wifes mouth and nose and said he eventually decided to grant her wish after she became hysterical.

The court heard he then tried to kill himself by taking an overdose, but medics arrived in time to save him.
A group of colleagues are visiting every London Tube and railway station to raise money for a train-obsessed four-year-old boy so he can receive life-saving cancer treatment abroad.

Lead organiser Florian Frank Fleitmann, 40, told the PA news agency that the group of colleagues have already visited almost 50 stations, as they aim to raise 1,500.

The parents of four-year-old Teddy Lichten launched a 300,000 fundraising appeal in February to give their son the best chance of beating the childhood cancer neuroblastoma, which led to colleagues of mum Kat Lichten pitching in to help fundraise.

The colleagues have been documenting their progress on Instagram at @trackingtrains4teddy with photos and videos, and plan to collate the images into a souvenir for Teddy.

Train-obsessed four-year-old Teddy Lichten was diagnosed with neuroblastoma last year (Kat Lichten/PA)

Mr Fleitmann said: Teddy obviously is a big fan of trains and everything that has to do with trains, and we were thinking, what can we do to support Katherine and Teddy and their family.

It was an open chat between the small group of our team and we had the idea of visiting train stations, because a lot of us are commuting from in and outside of London.

We were thinking, we might as well combine that with taking selfies or snapshots or videos of trains arriving and we could turn this into a challenge over the summer for two or three months to get people to have a little bit of fun with us and take them on our journey.

The colleagues plan to give Teddy a special souvenir once they complete the challenge of visiting over 500 London stations, which they hope to do by the end of September.

Mr Fleitmann said: Were also looking at putting the best pictures together at the end of the challenge to give Teddy some sort of collection of photos that he can then keep for the future, for a photo book or a memory game.

The family will have a little bit of a souvenir from that as well.

Florian Frank Fleitmann visiting Kentish Town station as part of his colleagues fundraiser (@trackingtrains4teddy/PA)

The colleagues, from marketing firm W&J Linney, have added an additional layer of creativity and fun to the challenge by writing a story involving a character, Toby the Toy Train, as they visit the stations.

Mr Fleitmann said: One of my colleagues had the idea of a childrens story of Toby the Toy Train, who is on his journey to find Teddy, and every once in a while we are interleaving our posts with little chapters of Tobys adventures.

Teddys mum, Ms Lichten, 34, said she is so touched that her colleagues have been moved to help her family by taking on this challenge.

She said: Im very thankful for their support, especially as I have been unable to return to work since Teddys diagnosis as he has been so unwell.

The colleagues plan to give Teddy a special souvenir once they complete the challenge, which they hope to do by the end of September (Kat Lichten/PA)

She said that her son loves to watch the videos they share of the stations they have visited for him.

Teddy was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer, in July 2022, at which point the cancer had already metastasized in nearly every area of his body and had taken over 60% of his bone marrow.

After undergoing several gruelling rounds of chemotherapy and other treatments, he has recently begun six months of immunotherapy and will finish frontline treatment at the end of 2023.

Teddys parents are working with the specialist neuroblastoma charity, Solving Kids Cancer, to help them raise the funds for a potentially life-saving cancer vaccine in New York.

The vaccine could cost up to 300,000 and would involve eight trips to the US over three years.

So far, the family have raised over 150,000.
A new consumer duty has come into force, setting a higher bar for financial firms and giving customers more certainty that the product they are taking out does exactly what it says on the tin.

Overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), it sets higher and clearer standards of consumer protection across financial services, requiring firms to put customers needs at the heart of what they do.

The impacts of the new duty will be far-reaching, weaving through the design of financial products through to the way firms treat their customers.

Over time, it is hoped the duty will improve trust and confidence in financial services.

It could help to prevent rip-offs, unexpected charges, and potential future mis-selling scandals from happening in the first place.

Under the duty, firms will have to provide products which are fit for purpose, offer fair value and work as the customer expects.

With an increase in the cost of living, more people are likely to turn to their financial services providers for help. Our Consumer Duty will guide our work to improve how firms provide support to #consumers. #ConsumerDuty https://t.co/izN5KdrN6u pic.twitter.com/J2vhq3KC3q  Financial Conduct Authority (@TheFCA) July 26, 2023

The duty could also potentially help prevent people from being sold unnecessary add-ons to financial products, stopping them from wasting money.

Firms should also be able to explain and justify their pricing decisions.

Nisha Arora, director of cross-cutting policy and strategy at the FCA, said: People should know what they are paying and know what they are getting for what they pay.

Asked what consumers will see from the higher standards, Ms Arora said firms will have to actively support and enable their customers to achieve their financial objectives.

Its about helping their customers, rather than just sitting back, she told the PA news agency.

If we translate that into practice and the whole consumer journey, if I want a product or a service, I will know that its fit for me, its fit for use, its the right thing for me and it offers fair value, so Im not being ripped off.

I will also get communications at the right time, and that I can understand and can help me make decisions.

Its really important consumers still shop around for the best deals, but firms need to give them the right information so they can make those decisions.

Firms will have to provide helpful and responsive customer service under the duty and be timely and straightforward in how they communicate.

Processes for complaining, switching and cancelling products should also be straightforward.

Ms Arora said: What we want (firms) to do is make it as easy to switch, complain, move product or service, as it was to come in, and not have to go through all those hoops and hurdles to make things happen.

There have been some recent signs of firms improving their savings offerings ahead of the duty, following criticism from various sources that rate rises were not being passed on quickly enough.

Under the duty, the FCA expects firms to have a strategy to keep savers adequately informed of available rates across their products and how they may benefit from switching to an alternative.

Together with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO), it recently wrote to UK Finance and the Building Societies Association (BSA), clarifying that savings providers can inform their customers of the best rates available to them, even where they have objected to direct marketing.

Ms Arora said: In all markets, including in the savings market, the consumer duty will require all products to be fair value. If there are different groups of customers, each of them have to get fair value.

They might have different rates, but they all need to be fair value. And importantly, the communications need to be there to enable and support customers. (Firms) have to give them the right information.

If someone is on a lower rate, they should point them to better rates that may be available. Now, its up to the customer to decide what to do and they need to shop around.

Vulnerable customers needs are also at the heart of the new duty.

The FCAs financial lives survey previously indicated adults with characteristics of vulnerability were more likely to report that customer support services did not help them at all to achieve what they wanted to do.

Billy struggled to receive appropriate service from his #mortgage provider, even though he's recognised as a vulnerable customer. With the Consumer Duty, we expect firms to deliver better outcomes for consumers and support for vulnerable customers. https://t.co/vq1CiEUpFy pic.twitter.com/DpAwvjDNAO  Financial Conduct Authority (@TheFCA) July 27, 2023

Ms Arora said firms will be expected to understand the needs of vulnerable customers, adapt and be flexible.

She said: It might be around designing products that are suitable for the market, it might be around communicating in a particular way thats helpful and supportive.

Asked whether there might be a risk that firms could be more inclined to screen out some customers for products, Ms Arora told PA: Weve taken this very seriously because what we dont want is unintended consequences with products either being withdrawn from the market or customers being declined appropriate products.

If a product, though, is unaffordable or not appropriate, then obviously we dont want it to be offered to the customer.

She said the regulator has already taken several steps, including being very clear and supporting firms, so actually these are higher standards, but they are achievable by firms.

Ms Arora also pointed out the communications requirements for firms under the new duty will help consumers to access products.

Businesses have been gearing up for the new duty, and the regulator expects firms to have had clear oversight, from the top, of their implementation plans.

The FCA has been supporting firms with guidance, webinars and letters.

Ms Arora said: Im really pleased by the progress that many firms have made in getting ready for this. But we will be ready to enforce if we see non-compliance that drives harm, and creates harm, for consumers.

We have started our monitoring and we will be continuing to gather data from firms. We will be ready to supervise and enforce to make sure that the duty really is driven home.

Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said: Whether you have a bank account, insurance policy, mortgage, credit card or want to take out a loan, the consumer duty is clear that firms should ensure that the product and service meets customers needs, offers fair value and that customers have enough information to make an informed choice and are supported throughout.

The duty should have wide-ranging consequences. In practice, it should mean that the terms and conditions of insurance policies are easy to understand, that banks alert customers of better savings rates, and that lenders proactively help any mortgage customers in financial difficulty with tailored support.

Which? expects the regulator to take tough enforcement action should firms fall below the required standards.
Retired British miner David Hunter has been released from custody due to time already served after a Cypriot judge sentenced him to two years in prison for the manslaughter of his seriously ill wife.

Hunter, 76, admitted suffocating Janice, his wife of 52 years, at their home on the island, after she begged him to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer.

On Monday, judges at Paphos District Court imposed a two-year jail sentence on Hunter, who has already spent 19 months in custody.

David Hunter speaks to the media outside Paphos District Court in Cyprus after he was released from custody (Victoria Jones/PA)

His legal team said he had been released shortly after the sentencing when Cypriot prison authorities had officially calculated his release date.

Asked by reporters outside how he was feeling, a visibly emotional Hunter said: I cant describe it. Im sorry. I wish I could, I wish I could find words to describe it but I cant.

When youre under pressure for two years, not knowing which way its going to go.

His daughter Lesley Cawthorne, who launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for his defence, spoke to him on the phone shortly after the sentencing.

She said: Speaking to my daddy was the most amazing thing. I feel like my heart has been put back together.

Judges previously found Hunter not guilty of the more serious charge of premeditated murder.

His legal team had argued he should be given a suspended sentence, in a case which is a legal first in the country.

The photo we have all been waiting for. A great result for the Hunter family and the team today. David Hunter has been released from prison. @MichaelPolakLaw https://t.co/vlk8GSBu3u pic.twitter.com/0s9vzguQuL  JUSTICE ABROAD LTD (@expertsabroad) July 31, 2023

In mitigation last week, his defence lawyer, Ritsa Pekri, said his motive was to liberate his wife from all that she was going through due to her health conditions.

The court heard it was Mrs Hunters wish to die and that her husband had only feelings of love for her.

Hunter, from Ashington, Northumberland, told his trial, which lasted for more than a year, that his wife cried and begged him to end her life.

David Hunter was convicted of the manslaughter of his wife Janice, who died of asphyxiation in December 2021 at the couples retirement home (Family handout/PA)

He broke down in tears as he said he would never in a million years have taken Mrs Hunters life unless she had asked him to.

He showed the court how he held his hands over his wifes mouth and nose and said he eventually decided to grant her wish after she became hysterical.

The court heard he then tried to kill himself by taking an overdose, but medics arrived in time to save him.
Retired British miner David Hunter has said he shared a tearful call with his daughter after he was allowed to walk free from prison in Cyprus shortly after his sentence for the manslaughter of his seriously ill wife.

Hunter, 76, was jailed for two years on Monday for the manslaughter of Janice, 74, his spouse of 52 years, who died of asphyxiation at their home near the coastal resort town of Paphos in December 2021.

But he was released from prison almost immediately, having already served 19 months in custody, and, visibly emotional, told reporters outside court that he could not find the words to describe his feelings.

In an interview with the Mail, Hunter spoke of how he and his daughter, Lesley Cawthorne, both cried in an emotional video call made after he was released.

I feel numb, it doesnt feel real, he told the Mail.

When I spoke to Lesley the first thing I said was, I love you.

He added: We were both crying. She couldnt talk. She started crying and she couldnt say a word.

The pensioner also said a police officer embraced him and told him he would be released following his sentence, the Mail reported.

Shortly after his release, David Hunter was able to FaceTime call his daughter Lesley back in the UK (Victoria Jones/PA)

The policeman hugged me and said, Congratulations David, youre free, you got the result you deserve.

I just shook his hand and said: Thanks, mate.

Ms Cawthorne, who launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for Hunters defence, said: Speaking to my daddy was the most amazing thing. I feel like my heart has been put back together.

She continued: I thought Id lost him forever. I cannot believe it. Its amazing.

I dont know what to say. When I see him Im going to hug him and never, ever let him go.

Im going to feed him and make sure hes eating and Im going to just hug him so tightly.

I just didnt think, after the way the case has gone, that this was possible.

David Hunters daughter says he will want to say his goodbyes properly to his wife Janice, who is buried in Cyprus (Aaron Chown/PA)

Ms Cawthorne previously said she believes her father will initially choose to stay in Cyprus to be near Mrs Hunters grave and say his goodbyes properly.

Judges had found Hunter not guilty of the more serious charge of premeditated murder.

Hunter, from Ashington, Northumberland, told his trial, which lasted for more than a year, that his wife cried and begged him to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer.

He broke down in tears as he said he would never in a million years have taken Mrs Hunters life unless she had asked him to.

David Hunter was released after already serving 19 months in prison (Victoria Jones/PA)

He showed the court how he held his hands over his wifes mouth and nose and said he eventually decided to grant her wish after she became hysterical.

The court heard he then tried to kill himself by taking an overdose, but medics arrived in time to save him.

During the sentencing hearing, judge Michalis Droussiotis said: We are not facing a typical case. This is not a case acting out of animosity or differences between two people that led to someone taking anothers life.

Before us is a unique case of taking human life on the basis of feelings of love, with the aim of relieving the person of their suffering that came due to their illness.

Judge Droussiotis said there may never have been a case like this in Cyprus and that the message for any future similar cases had to be that taking away human life, even with the intention of relieving suffering, is a crime.
Visitors to the Museum SAN, nestled atop a lush mountain in Wonju, Gangwon Province, view the original sketches, blueprints and models exhibited at Japanese star architect Tadao Ando's traveling retrospective, "Youth." Courtesy of MAG PR & Image



By Park Han-sol



A visibly growing number of young art enthusiasts in recent years, coupled with the rising perception of exhibitions as immersive, experience-centered spaces, are bringing changes to the viewing trend of audiences to museums.



In the past, blockbuster exhibitions teemed with large group tours  provided by the museums or independent travel agencies  with guides using microphones to provide commentaries about the displayed art pieces.



Nowadays, however, these excursions have become much more private  and quiet  as more visitors choose to focus on their individual experiences with the artworks using audio guides or smartphone apps offered by the museums.



Such a change in the viewing trend is evident in two major shows that are attracting a large number of audiences: "Edward Hopper: From City to Coast" at the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) and "Tadao Ando: Youth" at Museum SAN in Gangwon Province.



"Youth," which has welcomed over 100,000 visitors since its opening in April, has confirmed that its online audio guide has been accessed at least 70,000 times  an 11-fold increase compared to the previous show put forth by the museum. SeMA similarly noted that over 64,000 audio guide devices have been rented out as of July 23 for the exhibition, "From City to Coast," which has had more than 220,000 visitors so far.





Visitors to the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) in central Seoul stand in front of Edward Hopper's "Soir Bleu" (1914) on display at the American realist master's first-ever retrospective in Korea. Newsis



Choi So-ra, an office worker in her 20s who frequents exhibitions across Seoul, pointed out that traditionally guided group tours often made it difficult to appreciate the artworks up close for the desired amount of time due to the crowds and time limit.



"With apps or online audio guides, I can still enjoy the stories about the show while spending as much time as I want to in front of each piece. If I missed anything, I can always go back," she added. "I think the convenience of being able to use personal devices like smartphones and headphones also appeals more to the younger generation who are already familiar with mobile streaming services."



"Since most of the audio guides available nowadays can be accessed via mobile apps or links, they do easily align with the needs of young visitors," Lee Seung-ah, curator of SeMA's Hopper show, told The Korea Times. "Additionally, individualized audio tours can increase visitors' level of immersion, as they prevent visual distractions that may occur with print guidebooks or captions."



"It seems that the younger generation values having their own tailored experiences when it comes to art shows," Choi Yong-june, chief curator at Museum SAN, noted. "When exploring the exhibits, they tend to appreciate being given the liberty to enjoy the art pieces at their own pace and take photos, (and audio tours suit such needs.)"





"Squid Game" star Lee Jung-jae records a narration for the audio guide for the immersive group show, "Sublime," currently mounted at Museum Wave in Seoul's Seongbuk District. Courtesy of Museum Wave



As young art lovers increasingly favor using audio guides during their museum visits, more exhibition organizers are bringing in celebrities to record the narration to grab the attention of visitors.



For SeMA's "From City to Coast," actor Yoo Ji-tae is featured as an "audio docent" to provide information and context behind 25 of Hopper's paintings, out of more than 270 pieces and archive materials, on view. Museum SAN's "Youth" invites actor Jung Kyung-ho to narrate the descriptions of artworks for both the sighted and the visually impaired.



Other ongoing shows equipped with star-narrated audio guides across Korea include: Museum Wave's group exhibition "Sublime" with "Squid Game" star Lee Jung-jae, Hangaram Art Museum's "Raoul Dufy: Colorful Symphony" with actor Park Bo-gum and the Theatre des Lumieres' multimedia show "Dali: The Endless Enigma" with actor Lee Chung-ah.



Curators say the participation of popular celebrities in audio guides plays a huge role in promoting exhibitions  an important quality for museums that usually have limited marketing budgets.



"Fans would share with each other what their favorite stars have been up to and enjoy visiting places that these personalities were a part of as a way to be closer to them. Even for the general public, the presence of well-known celebrities naturally has an impact on the exhibition's publicity," said Choi of Museum SAN.



"Hearing a familiar voice can also make the viewing experience more comfortable. It can play a role in lowering the threshold of (contemporary) art exhibitions for people."



When it comes to the criteria for selecting personalities for the project, the focus is placed on finding someone whose voice complements the overall atmosphere and tone of the exhibit.



"We prefer an individual who can engagingly convey the emotions and sensations associated with the pieces as if speaking in the voice of an artist, rather than mechanically delivering what is written in the script," he noted.



One other important factor that can be taken into account, according to SeMA's Lee, is whether the star has shown consistent interest in the visual art scene. Yoo has long been known as an art lover and also participated in the recording of the audio guide for the 2015 Mark Rothko retrospective that attracted over 250,000 visitors.





Installation view of the recently-wrapped up "BLISS POOL," Bolivian-American artist Donna Huanca's first solo exhibition in Korea at Space K Seoul / Newsis
Retired British miner David Hunter said he couldnt find the words to describe his feelings as he stood outside a Cypriot court as a free man for the first time in 19 months.

Hunter, 76, was released from prison on Monday shortly after being sentenced for the manslaughter of his seriously ill wife Janice.

The pensioner was jailed for two years, but allowed to walk free almost immediately, having already served 19 months in custody.

Hunters daughter Lesley Cawthorne said she felt like my heart has been put back together after speaking to him on a Facetime call shortly after his release, in which he told her he loved her.

Shortly after his release, David Hunter was able to Facetime call his daughter Lesley back in the UK (Victoria Jones/PA)

Speaking through tears, Ms Cawthorne said: I thought Id lost him forever. I cannot believe it. Its amazing.

I dont know what to say. When I see him Im going to hug him and never, ever let him go.

Im going to feed him and make sure hes eating and Im going to just hug him so tightly.

I just didnt think, after the way the case has gone, that this was possible.

Sentencing Hunter, judge Michalis Droussiotis refused the defence teams application to suspend Hunters prison sentence and said an immediate jail term was unavoidable.

But after passing the two-year sentence, he said that Hunter would soon be in a position to leave jail and live his life due to time already served.

He was told he could leave custody minutes later after Cypriot prison authorities officially calculated his release date.

Asked by reporters outside how he was feeling, a visibly emotional Hunter said: I cant describe it. Im sorry. I wish I could, I wish I could find words to describe it but I cant.

When youre under pressure for two years, not knowing which way its going to go, you dont know.

David Hunter was released after already serving 19 months in prison (Victoria Jones/PA)

Hunter, from Ashington, Northumberland, told his trial, which lasted for more than a year, that his wife cried and begged him to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer.

He broke down in tears as he said he would never in a million years have taken Mrs Hunters life unless she had asked him to.

He showed the court how he held his hands over his wifes mouth and nose and said he eventually decided to grant her wish after she became hysterical.

The court heard he then tried to kill himself by taking an overdose, but medics arrived in time to save him.

During the sentencing hearing, Judge Droussiotis said: We are not facing a typical case. This is not a case acting out of animosity or differences between two people that led to someone taking anothers life.

Before us is a unique case of taking human life on the basis of feelings of love, with the aim of relieving the person of their suffering that came due to their illness.

David Hunters daughter says he will want to say his goodbyes properly to his wife Janice, who is buried in Cyprus (Aaron Chown/PA)

Judge Droussiotis said there may never have been a case like this in Cyprus and that the message for any future similar cases had to be that taking away human life, even with the intention of relieving suffering, is a crime.

Outside the Paphos Assize Court, Michael Polak, the director of Justice Abroad, an organisation that has been assisting David Hunters case, said: Were very very pleased with the decision today. This is what weve been fighting for for over 12 months, for him to be released.

Were very pleased with the courts decision. We think it was a fair decision and one in line with the interests of justice.

Its a pity he spent so long in prison but hes really looking forward to getting out and now this allows for him and his family to properly grieve.

Ms Cawthorne previously said she believes her father will initially choose to stay in Cyprus to be near Mrs Hunters grave and say his goodbyes properly.
The recall petition sparked by the suspension of MP Margaret Ferrier from the House of Commons is due to close on Monday.

Ms Ferrier was found guilty of breaching Covid restrictions after travelling between London and Glasgow while knowing she had contracted the virus.

The Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP  who has sat as an independent since being kicked out of the SNP  was subsequently suspended from the Commons for 30 days, sparking a recall petition that could lead to a by-election.

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon was accused of throwing Margaret Ferrier to the media wolves (Jane Barlow/PA)

With petition signing places due to close at 5pm on Monday, 10% of the electorate  8,113 people of 81,124 who live in the constituency  are required to spark a contest.

Both the SNP and Labour are expected to campaign hard for the seat in the event of a by-election, with a contest the parliamentary test for new First Minister Humza Yousaf.

The closure of the petition comes in the days after former first minister Alex Salmond spoke out in support of Ms Ferrier, accusing former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon of throwing her to the media wolves after the party whip was withdrawn in the wake of the breaches becoming public, accusing the party of a totally depressing display of disloyalty.

Mr Yousaf rejected the claims, saying: Its not just an error of judgment of course, Margaret Ferrier was guilty of a number of charges as well. Thats pretty serious.

I think Alex Salmond, perhaps not for the first time in this regard, is in a minority in terms of how Margaret Ferrier has been treated.
Graduates who were the first in their family to go to university have a higher average starting salary than those who were not the first to attend, a survey has found.

Universities UK (UUK) commissioned two surveys with more than 3,500 UK graduates and a similar number of business leaders to quantify the value of going to university.

It found that graduates with no prior family history of going to university earned an average starting salary of 30,111, almost 3,000 more than the average starting salary of those whose family members attended university before them (27,754).

Nearly 60% of business leaders who were the first in their family to attend university said it helped them become senior faster while 51% said it helped fast-track their career, according to UUK.

University of Derby graduate Tamzin Lena Burch, who was first in her family to attend university, said the experience allowed her to unlock her potential.

Going to university changed the trajectory of my life, which youd expect it would, she said.

For me, as a first-generation, neurodiverse student from a working-class background with no A-levels, university steered me onto a path I had no idea was possible for me to take.

Im now a first-class graduate with a marketing job in financial services and a whole new appreciation for education  I am privileged that my potential was able to be unlocked.

My degree, along with the plethora of work experience I gained through my supportive university, has gifted me with the career stability I have always sought.

The surveys found 78% of graduates and 71% of business leaders who were first-generation university students said attending opened doors into companies for them.

Vivienne Sterne, chief executive of UUK, said recent political rhetoric about rip-off universities has to be countered with evidence that shows going to university is a valuable investment to a person and wider society.

Rishi Sunak earlier this month announced plans to cap the number of students that can be accepted on to poor quality university degrees  courses that have high dropout rates or a low proportion of graduates getting a professional job  in England.

The Prime Minister said: Too many young people are being sold a false dream and end up doing a poor quality course at the taxpayers expense that doesnt offer the prospect of a decent job at the end of it.

That is why we are taking action to crack down on rip-off university courses while boosting skills training and apprenticeships provision.

Ms Sterne said: There is a risk that the rhetoric about rip-off universities puts people who stand to benefit from a degree off taking that path.

It is unlikely that the kids of the middle classes, and those whose parents have been to university, will be put off, but those who would be the first in their family to attend, mature learners or those from more deprived backgrounds may well be.

So, we have to counter political rhetoric with evidence, evidence that demonstrates that going to university represents a valuable investment both to the individual but also to wider society.

Data from all graduates who participated in the UUK survey showed 73% credit going to university with enabling them to find the job they wanted.

Almost all, 97%, of participating business leaders said university graduates reach managerial positions faster as a direct result of going to university and 85% would expect to see graduate employees earn more than non-graduates after three years.

More than two-thirds of graduates and business leaders also reported believing that going to university enables people to build transferable skills that help them in their career, which UUK described as framing UK universities as an essential training ground for UK industry.

Ms Sterne said: This new research clearly demonstrates the value that graduates benefit from when they go to university in the UK.

The benefits captured by this research are numerous  from job security and career ambitions, to earnings and social mobility.

Ultimately, what this research demonstrates is that our universities play a powerful role in helping graduates forge successful career paths that can help return the UK economy to growth and continue to power our public services.

The surveys were conducted by Censuswide among 3,505 UK graduates between June 16 and June 26 and 3,506 business leaders across the UK between June 16 and June 27.
Government plans to drastically scale up nuclear capacity are more of a wish list, with the role of Great British Nuclear still ambiguous, MPs have said.

Parliamentarians on the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee said questions remain for ministers ambitious nuclear goals, with doubts over whether the Government has a specific strategy to meet the target of bolstering the UKs nuclear capacity to 24 gigawatts (GW) of electricity by 2050.

The new 118-page report, published on Monday, backs the Governments decision to look to nuclear power as a way to meet the UKs electricity needs amid the race to net zero.

It warns that the Governments own most recent energy security plan, published in March, offers little clue about how measures will be implemented.

Current plans, MPs warn, do not amount to the comprehensive, detailed and specific strategy that we believe is required if the Governments aspirations are to be delivered.

Greg Clark, chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, said: The Government is right to identify nuclear power as an important contributor to meeting our future electricity needs. It has stretching ambitions to achieve 24GW of nuclear power by 2050.

Grant Shapps praised a renaissance in nuclear energy in the UK (Belinda Jiao/PA)

This would be almost double the highest level of nuclear generation that the UK has ever attained.

The only way to achieve this is to translate these very high-level aspirations into a comprehensive, concrete and detailed nuclear strategic plan which is developed jointly with the nuclear industry, which enjoys long-term cross-party political commitment and which therefore offers dependability for private and public investment decisions.

Elsewhere, the report also questions the exact purpose of Great British Nuclear (GBN), an arms-length body currently involved in the Government-backed competition to develop smaller-scale nuclear technology projects.

Earlier this month, Energy Secretary Grant Shapps hailed a renaissance in nuclear energy in the UK, with GBN playing a key role.

MPs said: There is still ambiguity over what GBNs exact remit will be in the future, beyond running a SMR (small modular reactor) competition.

We recommend that the Government should set out a more comprehensive statement of GBNs remit, operational model and budget, and its intended role with respect to ministers and government departments.

Campaigners against the Sizewell C nuclear power plant project in Suffolk welcomed the committees call for Government clarity on the financing of gigawatt-scale nuclear projects.

MPs said the choice to proceed with gigawatt-scale nuclear power should not be made without robust estimates of its value for money, including the financial value of the construction risk being assumed by taxpayers or billpayers.

A headline lower cost than Hinkley Point C is not justified if the value of the risk is too great. This is true even if it forces a conclusion that  for all its other advantages  gigawatt scale new nuclear is not financeable on defensible terms, and that the UKs nuclear ambition would need to be pursued through other nuclear technologies, the report found.

A spokesperson for the Stop Sizewell C campaign said: Were appalled that the committee has ignored legitimate concerns about whether nuclear can deliver reliable, affordable electricity.

The group said it supported the committee calling for the Government to publish Sizewell Cs cost and value for money, as doing so will expose just how unjustifiable this slow, risky, expensive project is.

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said: We have already made clear we will publish a nuclear roadmap and consult on alternative routes to market by the end of the year.

Nuclear has a vital role to play in reaching net zero and boosting energy security  just last week we launched Great British Nuclear which will help generate billions for the UK economy and support thousands of jobs.
A town in Shropshire has been given a magical transformation after knitted and crocheted characters from the Harry Potter series were used to decorate trees, benches and postboxes.

The Ellesmere Yarn Bombers have been decorating Ellesmere with their crafted creations since 2018, with Harry Potter chosen as the theme for this years summer yarnbomb, a concept which sees colourful knitted and crocheted yarn adorn streets.

Dumbledore was made by the group (Ellesmere Yarn Bombers/PA)

Alison Utting, who is one of the organisers of the group, told the PA news agency that the idea behind the theme came from a member who wanted holidaymakers coming to the town during the summer holidays, or those living there, to find joy from them.

After the suggestion, ideas started flying, Ms Utting, 56, said.

An owl looking over those living in Ellesmere (Ellesmere Yarn Bombers/PA)

Weve got some really talented crafters in the group and many were getting really involved saying, we can do Dobby, we can do Harry Potter.

Others where like who is that? But everyone has really got on board.

Hagrid gracing a tree in Ellesmere (Ellesmere Yarn Bombers/PA)

A 15-strong team  a mix of different genders and ages  made knitted and crocheted versions of Hagrid, Harry Potter and Dobby, a platform nine and three quarters sign for a bench and a mini-Slytherin outfit to grace a tree.

A platform nine and three-quarters creation made by the group (Ellesmere Yarn Bombers/PA)

July 31 marks Harry Potters birthday and Ms Utting said that one of the reasons people still love the Harry Potter books is because author JK Rowling was a pioneer of bringing people into the foreground who would usually be seen as background characters.

(Ron Weasley), the red-headed boy with the freckles whos a bit clumsy and has hand-knitted jumpers, and (Hermione Granger), the nerdy girl in class, become heroes, she said.

Shes a very gifted writer and the books lend themselves to childrens imaginations.

My daughters a Slytherin and she passionately supports Slytherin  shes even got a Slytherin glasses case.

Slytherin display made for a tree in Ellesmere (Ellesmere Yarn Bombers/PA)

Ms Utting said some in the group made the more elaborate work, while others may have made a few squares for a blanket, but everyone plays a role and the projects serve to unite the team and keep them laughing together.

The inspiration for the work came from patterns online, as well as from each other, as the creatives often swap ideas and tips.

Ms Utting added that it was nice to see how the group has grown since its inception.

She said it drew inspiration from the death of one of her friends Hannah in 2017, who helped to set up the group.

A Harry Potter inspired postbox topper (Ellesmere Yarn Bombers/PA)

The work has garnered fans across the globe.

Weve had people commenting from Australia and in America because people have been sharing pictures of them online, she said.

Bringing joy has always been our absolute aim  if somebody walks past and they make people smile, then weve achieved what weve wanted to achieve.

One of the groups creations (Ellesmere Yarn Bombers/PA)

And when you put them up and drive through the town and you see people having their photos taken by them, its amazing, as were all fiercely proud of our town and hope the yarnbombing draws more people to Ellesmere.

The crafted creations are to stay up until September and the group has set up a Crowdfunder to raise money for future yarnbombs, which can be accessed here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/ellesmere-yarn-bombing
A man in his 30s has died after being shot in north London.

Officers were called to reports of a shooting in White Hart Lane in Tottenham at around 11.30pm on Sunday.

The victim was found with gunshot wounds and died at the scene a short time later, the Metropolitan Police said.

Officers believe they know the identity of the victim (Lucy North/PA)

No arrests have been made and a murder investigation has been launched.

Officers believe they know the identity of the victim and are working to inform his next of kin.

A post-mortem examination will be carried out in due course.

Anyone with any information is asked to call police on 101 quoting incident number CAD 7377/30 Jul or call independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

A police cordon remained in place at the scene on Monday afternoon.

Shocked members of the local community stood around the cordon, watching the scene.

One local resident, who declined to be named, said the shooting followed a series of incidents in the local area over the past few days.

I like my area, I like living here, theres a lot of nice people, decent family oriented people, she said.

But when you hear about something like this it really makes you feel unsafe.

She said it made her feel unsafe and worried for her children.

Especially if you have got young sons, she said.

Can you imagine?

She added: I mean it might not be aimed at them, but wrong place, wrong time, and the innocent get hurt.

This is the worst part of it, and then you think to yourself, you dont want to be around here.
A new shop dedicated to black childrens books has opened in south London to create a safe space where young black people are inspired to read and can see themselves as heroes and problem solvers.

Kelly-Jade Nicholls, 36, from Thornton Heath, London, launched Melanin Magic after establishing Woke Babies, a monthly subscription service providing boxes containing books and activities tailored to black audiences, four years ago.

She opened the bookstore on July 24 in West Norwood after seeing how huge the demand is for books with black authors and protagonists.

The opening of the new bookstore Melanin Magic (Tabz Wilson/PA)

The entrepreneur described the shop as a fun place that allows black children to be children.

Ms Nicholls told the PA news agency: I would describe Melanin Magic as a fun place for kids, it features amazing black-owned brands and amazing books featuring black protagonists.

The opportunity came where there was a shop available in an area that I just felt was perfect like West Norwood.

I still see that from time to time I walk into different bookshops to see if access to black childrens books is becoming more available, and it feels like its not.

Black children  all children  deserve to see themselves as heroes and problem solvers, individuals who can make a positive impact.

Kelly-Jade Nicholls said she has always been on a mission to create everything I wish existed when I was a kid (Tabz Wilson/PA)

She warned that if black children do not see themselves represented in books, it will send a message that their stories and experiences do not matter.

Ms Nicholls added: If you go into your local popular bookstore and the only black books you see tend to be history books, like learning about Rosa Parks.

I just like to give access to more fun books for kids, and just allow black children to be children and read everyday books like everyone else.

Since opening her store, Ms Nicholls said the response from parents has been amazing.

The queue during the opening of the bookstore (Tabz Wilson/PA)

She said: There has just been non-stop great support from parents saying how needed it is.

Its so amazing seeing kids faces light up when they walk in.

Lots of different cultures have come to celebrate the bookstore and understand that its not just for black people but for everybody to have diverse books.

After noticing the lack of black literature at a well-known bookstore in Brixton, the former self-published author decided to establish Melanin Magic.

Books offered at Melanin Magic, including Breakfast Club Adventures authored by Marcus Rashford (Tabz Wilson/PA)

In Brixton, I would always walk into this popular chain bookstore, and every time I walked in there were never any black books.

It used to be shocking because its located in Brixton.

Last year, Dapo Adeola, an amazing illustrator, had the book of the year and his books were not in the store.

So that kind of has always been in the back of my mind.

Ms Nicholls founded Woke Babies after hearing how parents struggled to find black childrens books.

Ms Nicholls emphasised the importance of having black protagonists in childrens books (Tabz Wilson/PA)

The company provides parents with a monthly box that includes a variety of books featuring a black protagonist, along with learning resources.

I thought of the idea of Woke Babies to take the stress away from parents, so they dont have to go to the end of the earth to find great books, Ms Nicholls said.

At the time when I started Woke Babies, books featuring black protagonists were less than 1% of the books being published.

Woke Babies is something that is definitely needed.

With her two businesses, Ms Nicholls hopes she has inspired a lot more book lovers to create a safe space within their area.
Northern Irelands airports have called for the return of duty-free shopping for flights between the region and the European Union.

Following the UKs exit from the EU, from January 2021, duty-free shopping from airports in Great Britain was extended to include EU destinations.

George Best Belfast City Airport, Belfast International Airport and City of Derry Airport have made a joint plea to the UK Government and EU to extend this facility to Northern Irelands airports.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen (Dan Kitwood/PA)

The anomaly came about amid discussions around the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

After the Windsor Framework was agreed between the UK and EU, aimed at tackling difficulties in the protocol, there have been calls for the return of duty-free facilities to Northern Irelands airports.

Bosses at the Belfast and Derry airports said duty-free sales account for more than 900 million in GDP to the UK economy, and non-aeronautical revenue can account for as much as 40% of the total revenue of an airport.

Further, they said, the inability of Northern Irish airports to sell duty-free goods to passengers travelling to the EU is already resulting in an estimated 5 million loss each year.

The airports also said restoring duty-free shops for EU flights would put them on an equal footing to other airports in the UK, and deliver real economic benefits in terms of income generated by the airports.

Nigel Keal, chairman of the UK Travel Retail Forum, who is co-ordinating the call to the UK Government and EU Commission, described the current situation as unfair.

The return of duty-free post-Brexit has proven incredibly popular with consumers, with overseas retailers seeing significant increases in sales of duty-free goods to departing UK passengers, he said.

This has been a crucial financial support as the aviation and travel retail sectors recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Preventing airports and businesses in Northern Ireland from accessing this revenue stream is unfair. It puts them at a competitive disadvantage to the rest of the UK, and to the rest of Europe.

On behalf of the industry, the travel retail industry is calling on the Westminster Government and the EU Commission to work together to level the playing field, and bring the rules on duty free at Northern Irish airports in line with rules at their British and European counterparts.

Responding, a spokesperson for Her Majestys Treasury (HMT) spokesperson said: The Government is committed to preserving frictionless movement of people and goods between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Allowing duty-free shopping between the two would require introducing border controls between Northern Ireland and Ireland, which undermines the Belfast Good Friday Agreement. It could also lead to significant revenue loss for both the UK and Ireland.
Almost one in four UK sea swimmers is being put off from taking a dip because of sewage, according to a new poll from the Liberal Democrats.

Just over 30% of UK adults said they go sea swimming during the summer, and of these 23% said they will not this year because of sewage dumping by water companies.

The Government has recently said it will allow the Environment Agency (EA) to impose unlimited fines on water companies that pollute unnecessarily.

Current penalties are capped at 250,000, making it cheaper to pay that than to fix the pollution issue, Environment Secretary Therese Coffey told MPs earlier this month.

Thames Waters interim chief executive Cathryn Ross recently described many of her companys pipes as ageing assets that should have been replaced.

The utility firm gathered a 14 billion debt pile, with many critics blaming shareholders for taking too much money out of the company over the previous 30 years without investing enough in infrastructure.

Many other water companies have faced similar condemnations. They are only supposed to release raw sewage after heavy rains to stop sewage backing up the system and flooding homes and businesses, with the most recent data showing they had collectively dumped sewage 372,533 times in 2022.

The poll, carried out by Savanta with 2,272 UK adults between July 21 and 23, found 43% of regular beachgoers said they were less likely to visit the British seaside this summer because of the sewage discharges.

Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Tim Farron said: Sewage dumping by water companies is ruining the British beach holiday.

Sewage pollution has caused widespread anger among many beachgoers across the UK (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Coastal communities are at the mercy of water companies who unapologetically discharge raw sewage into popular swimming spots.

If this continues, tourists will turn away from British beach holidays, leaving small businesses and local tourism to suffer from their mess.

No-one should have to go for a swim or build a sandcastle next to raw sewage. This Conservative government needs to stop letting water companies off the hook and finally ban these disgusting sewage discharges and defend our tourism sector.

An analysis by the party earlier this year showed there were 1,504 sewage discharges in 2022 on beaches with a Blue Flag rating  a standard that is supposed to signify that a beach is free from such pollution.

They want sewage dumps on Blue Flag beaches to be banned and have warned that tourists may decide not to visit beaches at all, which would deprive coastal communities of revenue.

A Defra spokesperson said: Banning discharges overnight without any plan to fix storm overflows is reckless and would see sewage backing up into peoples homes and the street.

The secretary of state demanded action plans on every storm overflow in the country and our Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan requires water companies to spend 56 billion to eliminate the harm from storm overflows  the largest infrastructure investment in water company history.

An online interactive map of sewage discharges, using information taken from water companies, showed on Friday afternoon dozens of live pollution alerts along the English and Welsh coasts.

A Water UK spokesperson said: Just one out of every 10 beaches achieved an excellent water standard in the 1990s.

Thanks to water company investment, that has increased to seven in 10 beaches today. The majority of remaining pollution comes from other sources.

Nevertheless, we recognise that more should have been done sooner to tackle the harm to our seas caused by sewage overflows. We have listened and have an unprecedented plan to start to put it right.

Over the next seven years, water and sewerage companies plan to spend 10 billion  a tripling on current levels of investment  in the biggest transformation of our sewers since the Victorian era.

As part of this, bathing waters will be prioritised and among the first to receive funding.
Koo Byoung-sam, a spokesperson for the unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs, speaks during a press conference at the government complex in Seoul, July 31. Yonhap



South Korea's unification ministry expressed "strong" regret Monday over North Korea's military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement last week and urged Pyongyang to choose the "right" path for peace.



With North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and senior officials from China and Russia present, the North staged the military parade Thursday night, showcasing its latest weapons, such as the Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), as well as unmanned reconnaissance aircraft and strike drones.



"We express strong regret over how North Korea is adhering to nuclear development and an attitude of confrontation rather than seeking denuclearization and peace despite this year marking the 70th anniversary of the armistice," Koo Byoung-sam, the ministry's spokesperson, said in a press briefing.



Noting that the recalcitrant regime has engaged in military provocations, including missile threats, Koo called on the North to suspend its nuclear development and come forth to choose the "right" path.



Last week's event was seen as an apparent effort by the North to show its solidarity with Beijing and Moscow, which backed Pyongyang during the Cold War-era conflict, as Seoul, Washington and Tokyo are bolstering three-way security cooperation.



Pyongyang has recently been ramping up weapons tests, as Seoul and Washington are stepping up efforts to bolster America's extended deterrence commitment to mobilizing the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its ally. (Yonhap)


Police are again appealing for help finding the body of a man murdered 14 years ago.

Jesse Richards was 40 when he was killed on July 31 2009 in a merciless and sustained attack over a drugs debt in Cleeve Prior, Evesham, Worcestershire.

Three years later, five men were jailed in connection with his death for a combined total of more than 50 years  though his remains have never been found.

West Mercia Police have now renewed their appeal to find Mr Richards body, which detectives believe was hidden in Warwickshire.

Mr Richards mother Lucy said: I am not getting any younger and it worries me that I will never be able to properly recover him and be at peace.

I have added his name to his fathers headstone because that is all I have that I can visit but its not the same.

His loss is still as raw as it was 14 years ago but while I and my family will clearly never forget him, not being able to lay him to rest properly increases the pain we face every day.

I have hoped that someone will have the decency to put me out of my misery and provide enough detail that would allow me to recover and lay him to rest and I must cling on to that hope as its all I have.

I would again reiterate my previous plea that if anyone knows anything no matter how small it may seem, think about me and the rest of his family and get in touch with the police.

West Mercia Police have offered a 10,000 reward for information leading to the discovery of Mr Richards body.

Detective Sergeant Gareth Evans said: Despite the time that has passed, were still committed to finding Jesses body and helping bring his family some closure.

We know Jesse was killed in a brutal attack over a drugs debt, and while drugs were involved, neither Jesse nor his family deserved this.

Five people responsible for Jesses death were brought to justice, however 14 years on, all of those previously convicted have now been released from their custodial sentences.

Understandably his family continue to suffer an immeasurable loss made even more difficult by the fact his body has never been found and they have never had the opportunity to properly say goodbye to him.

West Mercia Police is still actively committed to finding Jesse and appeal to anyone with any decency who has knowledge to provide the information required to assist in the recovery of his body.

We know that over time allegiances change and would ask anyone who can help to let us know, even if they dont want to pass on their details, they can do this anonymously.

Someone out there knows where Jesse is. There is still time to do the right thing and give Jesses mother the closure she is desperate for.
A senior police officer who wrote an anti-drugs strategy for the Metropolitan Police allegedly took LSD and magic mushrooms while off duty and smoked cannabis daily, a tribunal has heard.

Commander Julian Bennett, who has served in the force since 1976, is alleged to have smoked cannabis before breakfast and had regular parties at his flat in 2019.

He is also accused of failing to provide a urine sample for testing and lying about why he had not done so.

Mark Ley-Morgan KC, representing the Metropolitan Police, told the tribunal in Southwark, south London: In about mid-October 2019 Sheila Gomes moved into the officers flat, staying until about Christmas 2019.

Between November 27 and December 10 2019 she sent (her friend) Mario a WhatsApp message in which she referred to Commander Bennett  smoking cannabis at the flat.

Shortly before 10am on December 7 2019 she used her mobile phone to take photographs of a bag of cannabis, cigarette paper, tobacco and lighters lying on a glass table in the flat living room.

She moved out just before Christmas that year.

On July 17 2020 she telephoned the Metropolitan Police to record that Commander Bennett had been smoking cannabis before work.

Ms Gomes told the hearing the flat was like an Amsterdam coffee shop because of the officers alleged activities.

She told the hearing under questioning from Mr Ley-Morgan: It would start early in the morning, before breakfast and before he would leave and go to work.

Sometimes when he was arriving at home it was there. I never saw him eat before going to work.

She said she believed he was a lawyer rather than a senior police officer until after she stopped living with him.

Ms Gomes added that she had never seen him in uniform.

The nurse went on: I didnt like it at all. Why did I have to live in a place where it was just cannabis in the air, I was just trying to breathe oxygen.

He (the officer) was the one who was using the cannabis, I will say a few times during the day he would bring it in.

If he would go to work (he would do it) at least before going to work and arriving at home.

She said his behaviour was erratic and that she would regularly ask her about her work rota.

She said: He was extremely controlling and he was very anxious.

The first thing he would ask me when I was waking up was when are you going to work, when are you back, when are you off?

I found him narcissistic and had a lack of empathy towards most citizens I would say. When he was not smoking he was very all over the place.

He is still denying it. He is still denying something that I saw in front of me when I was living with him.

She said her housemate told her look at his age and he is doing drugs. He is very open-minded. He is smoking weed around people who are in their 20s.

She told the tribunal she had received threatening messages after reporting the allegations but they are not said to have come from the officer.

John Beggs KC, representing Mr Bennett, asked Ms Gomes why she had not realised the officer worked for the police when he bought newspaper cuttings featuring himself back home, which she claimed she had read.

She claimed the article had not mentioned that he was a member of the Metropolitan Police.

She had also told the hearing her flatmate who told her about the LSD and magic mushrooms allegations was a liar.

Commander Julian Bennett outside a Metropolitan Police misconduct hearing (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

When questioned by Mr Beggs, she said he only lied about whether he was addicted to drugs rather than more generally.

He also accused her of giving an inconsistent account about whether the officer was smoking cannabis from day one after she moved in.

In one exchange, when she was questioned about a date when Mr Bennett had surgery and would not confirm it without looking at notes, he told her you are a deeply unreasonable individual, accusing her of being a liar and hypersensitive.

He added: Any decent witness would not argue such a silly point.

Mr Ley-Morgan said a drugs test was authorised on July 20 2020, and a day later, in the presence of an assistant commissioner, Mr Bennett was asked to provide a sample.

It was made clear the order to give a sample was a lawful order but Mr Bennett refused and said he would resign, the tribunal heard.

He told officers he had been taking CBD (cannabidiol) to treat facial palsy and was worried the sample would come up positive for an innocent reason, the tribunal heard.

An earlier hearing was told he was accessing CBD oil from Holland and Barrett and the like.

Ms Gomes said she had never seen any evidence of him using CBD oil for this purpose.

The hearing was told the allegations about him taking magic mushrooms on holiday in France and LSD at a party are hearsay that Ms Gomes was told by a housemate of hers and the officers.

Mr Ley-Morgan said Mr Bennetts explanation for not providing a sample was nonsensical as it would have come up with a much lower reading if it was not being used recreationally.

Mr Bennett wrote the forces drugs strategy for 2017-21 as a commander for territorial policing.

The document, called Dealing With The Impact Of Drugs On Communities, set up plans to raise awareness of the impact of drug misuse.

Freedom of information requests showed Mr Bennett presided over 74 police misconduct hearings involving 90 officers between June 2010 and February 2012.

Out of the hearings involving Mr Bennett, 56 officers were dismissed  more than three quarters.

He chaired 69 hearings during that time and two officers were dismissed for drugs misuse, the figures showed.

Mr Bennett is accused of breaching the forces professional standards for discreditable conduct three times, honesty and integrity twice and orders and instructions once.

His actions are alleged to have amounted to gross misconduct.

He denies the allegations and has been suspended on full pay since July 2021.

The tribunal continues.
A serving police officer has gone on trial accused of sexually assaulting a young girl.

John Stringer, 41, from Cardiff, who works for Gwent Police in south-east Wales, is also accused of showing the girl a pornographic video and asking her to mimic the actions.

Stringer is charged with five offences which are alleged to have taken place over almost two years between December 2019 and July 2021.

They include two counts of sexual assault by touching, two counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and one count of causing a child to watch a sexual act.

Stringer has denied the allegations and went on trial at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday.

Opening the case, Ian Wright, prosecuting, told a jury of five men and seven women: At the time of these alleged offences this defendant was a serving police officer with Gwent Constabulary.

Mr Wright said the defendants alleged abuse came to light after the girl made a disclosure to her primary school teaching assistant.

The Cardiff primary school immediately notified her parents and South Wales Police who then interviewed her on July 15 2021.

Mr Wright said: (The girl) disclosed to the police in that video interview that she was being sexually assaulted by this defendant.

The prosecutor said the girl had told the police that Stringer had touched her inappropriately under a blanket and her clothing and would show her pornographic videos with half-naked women in them and ask her to mimic the actions of the performers.

John Stringers trial will take place over a four-day period at Cardiff Crown Court (Ben Birchall/PA)

The court heard how there was a break in the alleged offending due to the Covid-19 lockdowns and that when restrictions eased the alleged sexual abuse resumed.

The jury heard the alleged offences are not related to his activities as a police officer.

Stringer was arrested on July 12 2021 at 3.15pm and, after being cautioned, told the arresting officers: Its a shock.

He was interviewed and, despite denying the girls account, he was later charged.

The jury was shown the video of the girls interview with police during which she told an officer that Stringer had sexually touched her on a number of occasions and that it made her feel wrong.

Asked how she had felt when the defendant allegedly showed her pornography, she said: Very uncomfortable.

She also claimed that Stringer had asked her about her relationships and sexuality education (RSE) classes in primary school and whether she had learned how to make babies or about masturbation.

She told the officer she had told Stringer that she was too young to learn about such things.

The girl also told police that on two occasions Stringer had asked her to touch herself sexually and that she had felt forced to carry out the act due to the defendants insistence.

In a pre-recording of the girls cross-examination, that was also played to the jury on Monday, she was questioned by the defence over why she would follow such instructions, and said: You know when people tell you to do, like, something when you know its wrong but they say its right.

During the cross-examination the defence put to her that Stringer denied her account, but she repeated that the alleged offences had taken place.

Jurors were told that during the four-day trial they would be shown the defendants interviews with police, the drawings the girl made during her interviews and the defendants internet and chat histories.

The prosecution said experts will be called to show how Stringer had very, very many searches for adult pornography on his mobile phone.

Stringer, who wore a dark blue suit and tie with a white shirt, only spoke to confirm his name but on a number of occasions as evidence was being heard appeared to shake his head in disagreement.

He is to remain on bail throughout the trial.

The trial continues.
The number of new people sleeping rough in London in spring and early summer rose by 12% on the same period last year.

A total of 3,272 people were recorded as sleeping rough in the capital, up 9% on the total figure for April-June 2022.

Outreach teams recorded 1,614 people in London sleeping rough for the first time between April and June this year, according to the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (Chain).

This was up from 1,446 new rough sleepers in that period last year  a rise of 12%.

Of those recorded for this latest three-month period, 38 (2%) were deemed to be living on the streets, 307 (19%) slept rough for more than one night but did not go on to live on the streets, and 1,269 (79%) spent one night sleeping rough.

During April to June this year there were 411 people recorded as living on the streets, which is a similar proportion to the same period last year.

Chain is a database commissioned and funded by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and managed by Homeless Link.

Rick Henderson, chief executive of Homeless Link, said: Sadly, this appalling pattern of an increasing number of new people having to resort to sleeping rough in London shows no sign of going away.

In September, the Government published its Ending Rough Sleeping For Good strategy, which restated its 2019 manifesto commitment to end rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament.

Mr Henderson said the target is now looking completely out of reach.

The figures for London follow official Government statistics showing that the numbers of households and children in temporary accommodation in England are at record highs (Victoria Jones/PA)

He added: To help stem the flow of homelessness, the Government must prioritise prevention, including raising the local housing allowance to include at least the lower third of rents, and finally enacting the Renters Reform Bill so renters have more security.

It is also clear that homelessness services are indispensable right now, yet they too are coming under increasing pressure from rising costs, so much so that many are having to cut back their services or face the prospect of closure.

Director of The Salvation Armys homelessness services unit, Nick Redmore said: The quick and decisive measures taken by the Government to enable rough sleepers to be housed during lockdown, shows what can be achieved when the will is there.

Unless the Government recognises that the rise in rough sleeping is also an emergency that requires action now, the cost not only to peoples lives, but also to the public purse will become even greater.

Francesca Albanese, director of policy and social change at Crisis, said: To end homelessness for good, we need the Government to target the root causes rather than just simply alleviating the symptoms.

Without the truly affordable homes we desperately need and investment in housing benefit, theres simply no hope that the target to end rough sleeping by 2024 will be hit. We need to see real, long-term solutions, including a plan to deliver more social housing, to ensure that no-one has to face life on the streets.

The figures for London follow official Government statistics released last week showing that the numbers of households and children in temporary accommodation in England are at record highs.

Some 104,510 households were in temporary accommodation by the end of March  a 25-year high.

The total number of children in this situation is also at the highest level since records for that measure began in 2004  with 131,370 children living in temporary accommodation as of the end of March this year.

Lee Buss-Blair, director of operations at housing provider Riverside, said London now appears to be facing its most acute housing and homelessness challenge for many years and said a clear plan is needed to tackle the issue across England.

He said: We believe the increasing numbers of people affected by rough sleeping and homelessness across England shows that there is a clear need for a national plan for housing which also tackles homelessness and takes into account the unique pressures facing London.

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: Rough sleeping remains well below pre-pandemic levels both nationally and in London, which reflects the progress made during the pandemic, but we know there is more to do.

Thats why we have committed 2 billion to support our work to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.

This includes the Rough Sleeping Initiative 2022-25, which is providing up to 500 million over three years, enabling councils to deliver local, tailored rough sleeping services to give those in need the best chance of a safe and sustainable life off the streets.
Students seeking places at the most selective universities could face tougher competition for places on some courses this summer due to pressures on infrastructure, a university sector chief has suggested.

Professor Sir Steve West, president of Universities UK (UUK), which represents 140 institutions, said some top universities could limit numbers in subject areas as they may not have enough accommodation, specialist teaching spaces or staffing following major expansion during the Covid years.

Speaking ahead of A-level results day in just over a fortnight, Sir Steve suggested that some Russell Group universities may not offer as many vacancies on courses in clearing this year because of capacity issues.

The Russell Group includes many of the most selective and research-intensive universities in the UK  including the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Sir Steve told the PA news agency: In the first round of Covid, what you saw happening was universities had made offers, students then achieved the offers so there was very little drop-off and therefore research-intensive universities expanded significantly their undergraduate student population.

Now thats put pressure on their infrastructure, their staffing, and what theyre trying to do is just to rebalance that back into some sense of normality.

In England, A-level and GCSE results are set to return to pre-pandemic levels this year after Covid led to an increase in top grades in 2020 and 2021, with results based on teacher assessments instead of exams.

When asked whether the cohort of students currently waiting for results this year could face tougher competition at Russell Group universities than in previous years, Sir Steve told PA: Possibly in some subject areas where there may be pressures on accommodation or type of teaching spaces, environments or staffing.

Science, medicine and dentistry are the obvious ones because of workshops and laboratories.

Earlier this month, Ucas and Ofqual bosses told students waiting for their results to be mindful that the most selective courses do get filled quickly.

The exams regulator and university admissions service added that there will be competition for places due to a growth in 18-year-olds in the population.

Clearing has become an increasingly popular route to securing a university place in recent years, with students by-passing the main application system in favour of finding a course directly through clearing.

It is also used by students who may have changed their mind about their course or university and want to find somewhere new, or those who have done better than expected and want to trade places.

When asked whether Russell Group universities are likely to have fewer vacancies in clearing this summer, Sir Steve said: I think that might well be the case in areas where they are either restricted on their student numbers because of highly popular courses and theyre restricted  medicine and dentistry are always the common ones.

Some research-intensive universities will be limiting numbers into other areas and thats purely and simply because of capacity in the institutions.

If you imagine whats happened over the past couple of years, especially in the research-intensives, theres been massive expansion because of the difficulty in predicting grades.

Sir Steve, who is also vice-chancellor of the University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol, is handing over the presidency of UUK in August to Professor Dame Sally Mapstone, vice-chancellor of the University of St Andrews.

In a message to students ahead of results day, Sir Steve added: There will be places available in UK universities. They may not be in your first choice university but you will be able to find a university that works for you and allows you to study what you want to study.

Dr Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group, said: While competition for places at top universities remains high, there is a welcome increase in the proportion of students holding a firm offer from their preferred university this year.

This reflects increased confidence in offer making by institutions as school exam grading returns to the pre-pandemic profile.

Its not unusual for higher tariff universities like those in the Russell Group to have fewer courses than other universities in clearing.

However, most Russell Group universities have courses available in clearing this year, across a range of subjects, as they have done in past years.
The UK has sanctioned six people following the unjustifiable decision to reject an appeal from a British-Russian dissident facing 25 years in jail for opposing Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced in April after being convicted of treason and spreading false information about the Russian army in a process he described as a show trial.

After Mr Kara-Murzas appeal was rejected by judges in Moscow on Monday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the decision desperate and unfounded.

Vladimir Kara-Murza speaks to his lawyer while standing in a glass cage in a courtroom in Moscow (Dmitry Serebryakov/AP)

He wrote on Twitter: Rejecting @vkaramurzas appeal is unjustifiable. He should be released immediately.

The United Kingdom stands with him and his family.

Kremlin critic Mr Kara-Murza, a close ally of murdered opposition figure Boris Nemtsov, has already survived two poisonings that left him in a coma in 2015 and 2017.

The UK Government confirmed it has sanctioned six individuals, including two Moscow city court judges, for their involvement in the conviction of Mr Kara-Murza.

They will be subject to travel bans and asset freezes.

The individuals were named as: Vitaly Alexsandrovich Belitsky and Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dorokhina, both Moscow city court judges; Natalia Nikolaevna Dudar, a Basmanny district court judge; Boris Georgievich Loktionov, the lead prosecutor in the trial; Danila Yurievich Mikheev, described as an expert witness for the Russian government; and Anna Evgenievna Potychko, a prosecutor.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: The rejection of Vladimir Kara-Murzas appeal following his sentencing on bogus charges highlights the depravity of the Russian regime, and their complete disregard for human rights and freedom of expression.

Today weve sanctioned six people connected with his case, sending a clear message that the UK will not stand for this treatment of one of its citizens.

We will continue to support Mr Kara-Murza and his family, who have worked tirelessly to try and secure his release. I call on Russia to release him immediately and unconditionally.

In April, the UK sanctioned five people  including two Russian spies  for their involvement in Mr Kara-Murzas arrest.
Members of the largest teaching union have accepted a 6.5% pay rise for teachers in England and voted to end strikes.

The National Education Union (NEU) said 86% of its teacher members in England who took part in an electronic ballot voted to accept the progress made in the pay dispute and call off industrial action, with a 60% turnout.

It comes after teacher members of the NEU staged eight days of strike action in state schools in England since February in a pay dispute.

Four education unions had been considering further walkouts in the autumn term, but their general secretaries recommended members accept the 6.5% pay rise for teachers in England offered earlier this month.

In a re-ballot of NEU teacher members in England on strike action, which opened in May before the pay offer was made, 95% supported renewing the unions strike mandate for a further six months, with a turnout of 53%.

But the NEU has said the electronic ballot result on the Governments 6.5% pay offer for 2023-24 means that further strike action over pay will now not go ahead in the autumn term.

An electronic ballot of the NEUs support staff members in England also saw 85% accept the pay offer, with a turnout of 46%.

On July 13, the Government agreed to implement the School Teachers Review Body (STRB)s recommendation of a 6.5% increase for teachers in England from September this year.

Members of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) in England have already voted to accept the pay rise from September.

Meanwhile, the NASUWT teachers union and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) are expected to announce their members responses to the pay offer on Monday.

Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), during an interview (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

The Government has said the 6.5% pay award for teachers will be fully funded, with 525 million of additional funding for schools in 2023-24 and a further 900 million in 2024-25.

The NEUs electronic consultation did not include sixth form college teacher members as the pay increase is for teachers in state schools in England.

Joint NEU general secretaries Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney said: As a democratic union, the NEU leadership promised members that any pay and funding offer given by Government that warranted their consideration would be put to them. Members have spoken very clearly and in great numbers.

The NEU submissions to the STRB went a long way towards changing the Governments position on pay and funding. The strike action taken by our members also shifted the dial, securing the highest pay award for over thirty years. Members should be proud they have also secured extra funding for schools.

They added: The Government should be in no doubt that we will hold its feet to the fire on delivering for teachers and support staff on workload and funding and continue to represent the profession in future STRB consultations.

It remains the view of the NEU that school and college funding is far from adequate. It remains a commitment of the NEU to campaign for further increases in teacher pay.

Everyone in the school and colleges community deserves an education system that attracts and keeps teaching staff, and one that ensures every child gets the attention and support they deserve. Our campaign for a better-funded education system will not go away.

Education secretary Gillian Keegan described the decision as good news for teachers, parents, and children.

In a statement she said: The deal brings an end to the disruption faced by parents and young people and means we can focus on what matters most, giving our children a world-class education.

That means tackling persistent absence and getting every child through the school gates every day, a relentless focus on closing the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers, and continued action to help young people make up for time lost during the pandemic.
As a heat dome persists over the south-central United States, rounds of storms will repeatedly pound areas farther north across the Plains and Mississippi Valley this week. Severe weather and flash flooding are among the dangers of the stormy weather pattern, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.

The Central states will be essentially split into two parts with one zone remaining dry and hot, while the other zone stays somewhat cooler, but also stormy at times.

Texas will continue to broil under a dome of high pressure this week that has been prevalent much of this summer.

Houston will experience its highest temperatures of the summer so far with multiple days at or above 100 this week. The hottest days of the week are likely to occur through Friday with highs of 101 to 104 forecast. The duration of extreme temperatures will push AccuWeather's new HeatWave Counter and Severity Index to a 14 in Houston, which is severe.

Dallas, San Antonio and a host of Texas cities, as well as much of Oklahoma and western Louisiana, may experience the highest temperature readings of the summer this week as temperatures reach the triple digits.

Temperatures much of this week will run 5-10 degrees above the historical average in the low to mid-90s.

This week will be a busy one in terms of showers and thunderstorms for areas north and east of the heat dome.

"Waves of energy will ride around the edge of the heat dome through this week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis said.

Complexes of thunderstorms will develop and travel significant distances over the central Plains. Even farther north, in portions of the northern Plains and the Great Lakes region, fronts associated with reinforcing pushes of cool air from Canada are also likely to set off thunderstorms.

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Thunderstorms will erupt and become severe at least at the local level over parts of the northern and central High Plains through Wednesday night and beyond.

The risk of severe thunderstorms will stretch from western Colorado to north-central Kansas, and western Nebraska well into Wednesday night.

Damaging wind gusts and large hail will be the main threats, but the risk of flash flooding will also exist.

Farther to the north, another zone of severe thunderstorms can erupt from eastern Minnesota to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, parts of Ontario and northern Wisconsin through Wednesday night.

The main severe weather threats in this zone will be similar to the area farther to the south over the central Plains.

At mid to late week, the batch of thunderstorms near the U.S. and Canada border will continue to push eastward.

Severe weather, at least at a localized level, will threaten areas from western New York to much of Vermont and northern New Hampshire.

Farther to the south, portions of the central Plains will remain active in terms of thunderstorms and locally severe weather on Wednesday.

The risk of severe thunderstorms will extend from near the Denver metro area to southwestern South Dakota and north-central Kansas at mid to late week.

As moisture and thunderstorms over the Southwest extend farther to the north, there will be the potential for drenching thunderstorms and flash flooding centered on portions of the Tetons in western Wyoming that includes Yellowstone National Park.

As plentiful as rain has been across portions of the central Plains and Midwest, some areas are still in need of precipitation.

Pockets of extreme and exceptional drought continue over portions of Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Wisconsin among other states.

Rounds of rain will douse some of the neediest areas of the region. It is possible for the drought to ease at the local level in areas that pick up repeated downpours. The relief will come at a time when corn and other crops are in need of some moisture during the maturation period.

However, as is often the case when complexes of summer downpours and thunderstorms are involved, too much rain may pour down and lead to flash flooding. This is especially true where storms train (repeat) hour after hour.

"Even in areas where or certain days when severe weather is not expected this week, there will be pockets of downpours that can lead to flash flooding," AccuWeather Meteorologist Joseph Bauer said.

"Areas that fall under the heaviest rainfall could experience flooding to basements and infrastructure, particularly in urban areas such as St. Louis," Bauer said. Omaha, Nebraska, and Nashville and Knoxville, Tennessee, are other major cities at risk for urban flooding.

From portions of Nebraska and Missouri and southern Illinois, 2-4 inches of rain may pour down this week. However, pockets of 4-8 inches of rain are forecast in portions of Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee. Much of that rain may fall during a 24-hour period. It is possible for the downpours to reach parts of the lower Ohio and Tennessee valleys.

"By the end of the week, it's not out of the question that some towns could be hit with drenching thunderstorms and perhaps severe thunderstorms two or three times," Travis said.

"From this weekend to early next week, as the dome of high pressure shrinks a bit and reorientates a bit farther to the west, thunderstorms may dip farther south over the Plains and Mississippi Valley," Bauer said.

That could open the door for some drenching and cooling thunderstorms to reach parts of Oklahoma, northeastern Texas and Louisiana.

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.
A three-vehicle crash in Canyon County left one person dead and another in the hospital.

A 46-year-old man from Boise was driving a motorcycle east on U.S. Highway 20/26 when he collided with a Toyota heading south on Midland Boulevard about 2:23 p.m. Friday as it proceeded past a stop sign and through the intersection, according to an Idaho State Police news release.

The Toyota, driven by a 78-year-old man from Middleton, then sideswiped a Jeep driven by a 74-year-old man from Caldwell heading north on Midland.

The motorcycle driver, who had been wearing a helmet, died from his injuries at the scene. First responders drove the Middleton man by ambulance to a local hospital, according to police.

State police did not release the names of those involved. The intersection was blocked for about three hours. IPolice said they were continuing to investigate.
RICHMOND, Va.  Chris Buescher pulled away on a restart with three laps to go to win at Richmond Raceway on Sunday and snag one of the final spots in NASCARs playoff field.

Buescher led 88 laps and was ahead by nearly six seconds when a caution came out with under 10 laps to go. That erased his lead over Virginia native Denny Hamlin, who was booed by his hometown crowd in pre-race.

But Hamlin got a poor final restart and Buescher easily pulled away for his first Cup Series win of the season, third of his career.

"Our Fastenal (Ford) Mustang was so good firing off today, so good in practice," Buescher said after climbing from his car. "I didnt get the job done in qualifying. I had to pass a bunch of cars today and have some great strategy and some great pit stops. ... This is awesome. I knew that last restart was gonna be tough, but I knew we had the speed in this thing.

He needed a big restart.



He got a big restart. @Chris_Buescher secures his spot in the #NASCARPlayoffs! pic.twitter.com/vAYp6FlYLd  NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 30, 2023

He and Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing teammate Brad Keselowski led a combined 190 of the 400 laps in their Fords. Keselowski, now a part owner of the team, led 102 laps on the 0.75-mile oval.

Buescher started 26th and had to drive the field for the win that locked him into the 16-driver playoff field with four races remaining in the regular season. Buescher became the 12th full-time driver to win a race this year, and there are four playoff spots up for grabs over the next month.

It was the 139th Cup win for primary team owner Jack Roush, second since Keselowski joined the ownership group.

Ford now has 723rd wins in NASCARs top Cup Series.

Everybody at RFK Racing who has worked so hard to get us to this point, said Buescher.

Chris Buescher celebrates in victory lane after winning Sunday's Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway.

Hamlin, a winner last week at Pocono, finished second in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. Kyle Busch was third in a Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, followed by the Fords of Joey Logano from Team Penske and Ryan Preece of Stewart-Haas Racing.

One win is good, but you get three or four or five and then you feel a lot better, said Keselowski. It sure beats not having any at all, but we want to keep going. Its nice to have one car locked in the playoffs. We need to get both cars locked in the playoffs. We have a good points gap, but we want wins and this is where we need to be.

Keselowski, despite being winless this season, is still mathematically in contention for the playoffs.

Here are the #NASCARPlayoffs standings now that @Chris_Buescher has secured his place. pic.twitter.com/qolficAR3a  Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) July 30, 2023

The race was slowed just three times by caution flags, with the final yellow sending the leaders to pit road for four tires with eight laps to go. When the green flag was shown again, Buescher used the inside line to pull away for his third career victory.

Hamlins bid for the victory ended on the second lap of the final sprint when he drove in too deep in the first turn and slid up the track. He finished 0.549-seconds behind Buescher.

I got a bad restart, Hamlin said. I had to recover too much ground from what I lost on the frontstretch. Almost got to the outside, and then in turn four, almost got to the outside again, and then in turn one, I was like Im just going to ship it in there and try to get to the outside one more time and I just carried way too much speed and locked up the left front tires.

LARSON-HAMLIN

Kyle Larson, angered last week when Hamlin caused him to hit the wall while leading while Hamlin went on to win, was running a few laps down when he nudged Hamlin out of the way with 70 laps to go during Sundays race.

Larson, who won at Richmond in April, finished 19th.

I think he was having a frustrating day, Hamlin said. Its all good.

SCORCHER

With temperatures in the mid-80s, it was about 15 degrees cooler than Saturday, when the temperature approached 100 and the heat index was at least 105.

Nevertheless, points leader Martin Truex Jr. still struggled.

It was definitely really, really hot, he said. It felt longer than 400 laps. Ill be honest, when we got to the end of stage two  I thought there was no way. I thought that was the checkered flag. It just felt really, really long.

Truex finished seventh.

CLEAN RACE

All 36 cars that started the race were still running at the end.

UP NEXT

The series moves to Michigan where Kevin Harvick, winless so far in this his final season, is the defending champion.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chris Buescher wins Richmond NASCAR race, becomes 12th playoff driver
Cadets of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) throw their hats in the air during a commencement and commissioning ceremony at the Army Cadet Military School in Goesan, North Chungcheong Province, Feb. 28. Newsis



Number of ROTC applicants plunges to record low



By Lee Hyo-jin



The ROK military is facing a severe shortage in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) applicants as young people increasingly shun the junior officer position apparently because of pay rates and the long service periods.



According to the Army, the Korean Military Academy will announce an additional recruitment notice for ROTC candidates in August. The decision comes as the application rate for the ROTC program hit a record low this year, with the number of applicants falling short of the number of available spots.



It is the first time the Army will seek additional recruitment processes for cadets since the ROTC system was introduced here in 1961.



ROTC is a college-based officer commissioning program, under which cadets undergo physical and military education for four semesters and then serve for 24 to 36 months in the military after being commissioned.



There were about 16,000 ROTC applicants in 2016, but the figure steadily fell by 2,000 each year to mark 5,000 this year. The competition ratio, which stood at 4.8 to 1 in 2015, plunged to 2.4 to 1 in 2022.



Wary of the falling number of applicants, the Korean Army Academy has made some efforts to attract new cadets.



Beginning this year, the armed services decided to hold the ROTC commissioning ceremony twice a year  in July in addition to their traditional March ceremonies  so as to prevent cadets from dropping out of the ROTC programs. When the ceremony was held only once a year in March, some cadets chose to quit the program as they had to wait too long to be commissioned.



These efforts, however, seem insufficient to head off staffing challenges of the army that may eventually lead to troop shortfalls.



One reason behind the falling popularity of the ROTC program is the long service period, according to Shin Jong-woo, a senior researcher at the Korea Defense and Security Forum, a think tank.



While enlisted soldiers currently serve 18 months in the army, junior officers have to serve 24 to 36 months depending on the army branch.



"And considering that the military is striving to improve treatment and payment condition of regular soldiers, young people are seeing less merit in the junior officer position," he said.



After being commissioned, the monthly wage of a junior officer is set at around 1.8 million won ($1,412).



The government has promised to incrementally raise the monthly salaries of enlisted soldiers annually to as much as 1.5 million won and offer a separate subsidy of 550,000 won per month by 2025.



In that case, the monthly salary of enlisted soldiers may exceed that of junior officers in the next few years, Shin said.



"And if that happens, there will be little reason for young people to join the ROTC program and become an officer which entails more responsibility and a heavier workload," he added.



The Ministry of National Defense, however, said that junior officers will not be paid less than enlisted soldiers despite the envisioned pay raise.



"Junior officers receive various allowances in addition to their basic salary. So even if the enlisted soldiers' salaries are increased, it would not surpass the payment for junior officers," said ministry spokesperson Jeon Ha-kyu during a briefing, Monday.



Regarding the military's plan to additionally recruit ROTC cadets, the spokesperson said, "The additional recruitment is aimed at diversifying the recruitment process to provide more opportunities for talented individuals to apply for military officer positions."



He also explained that the military is currently attempting to increase the ROTC application rate by enhancing job stability, expanding economic incentives and ensuring post-service employment conditions for the cadets.


Country music star Craig Morgan, 59, has announced he will re-enlist in the military nearly 20 years after his initial service ended.

The "International Harvester" singer broke the news on Saturday at Nashvilles Grand Ole Opry, where he was sworn into the U.S. Army Reserve on stage.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Morgan shared that one of his main goals in rejoining is to promote military recruitment.

COUNTRY SINGER CRAIG MORGAN URGES VETERANS, TROOPS TO BE PROUD' THIS MEMORIAL DAY

"Recruiting is at an all-time low," he said.

"It has never in the history of our military been as low as it is right now."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Country artist Craig Morgan performs at the Ryman Auditorium on Nov. 11, 2022, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Morgan revealed how he wants to show the public, especially younger people and professionals, that its possible to serve the United States while maintaining other careers and lifestyles.

"Like me as a touring artist, I'll still be able to live my life and tour and do all the things that I do," he said.

"I'll still be able to do that while serving my country at the same time as a reservist."

"But I also want to encourage this younger generation that the Army offers you something you cannot get in any other occupation," he went on.

GRAND OLE OPRY CELEBRATES AMERICA  AND NOW IT'S COMING BACK STRONG

"You're going to receive training that you cannot receive in the civilian populace. And I think it sets you up for nothing but success for the rest of your life."

Craig Morgan, right, served with the U.S. Army in Korea at Camp Casey in 1987 and 1988.

Morgan's reinvolvement in the armed forces started with a conversation with Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., at a military event.

"[Sen. Blackburn] said, You do a whole lot for the military. Is there anything we can do for you?" Morgan recalled.

"I said, You know what? I had 17- years [in the military]. I'd love to be able to finish my 20-year commitment."

Morgan's reinvolvement in the armed forces started with a conversation with Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, pictured here at a Capitol Hill hearing.

As a self-described "never quit kind of guy," Morgan did not deny the opportunity when Sen. Blackburn and her team approached him about reenlisting.

"Im a little older than most people joining these days, but  I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'm going to be able to do more than what they ask of me," he said.

Sen. Blackburn wrote in a comment sent to Fox News Digital, "It has been such an honor to work alongside Craig on his return to the U.S. Army Reserve."

She went on, "Craig has long been a champion of our military, with his support spanning his previous active-duty service and an accomplished career in music."

US ARMY SOLDIERS DEPLOYED TO MIDDLE EAST SAVE MAMA DOG AND 8 NEWBORN PUPS

She also said, "His dedication to serving our country exemplifies the very best of the volunteer spirit, and I know his story will be an inspiration to Americans considering the call to serve."

The Armys resurrection of its "Be All You Can Be" campaign also compelled the veteran to rejoin, Morgan shared.

Craig Morgan is pictured at Korea's Camp Casey in 1987.

"The objective of attempting to be all you can be, do all you can do, achieve all you can achieve, was something I learned in the military," he said.

"I think it was instilled in me as a child through my parents, but the military really enhanced that thought process of just being all you can be."

"And when you're doing that, you're not only benefiting yourself and your family but you're also enhancing and benefiting the community, and quite honestly, the world at large," Morgan added.

USS WASP DOCKS IN NYC FOR FLEET WEEK: INSIDE THE AMPHIBIOUS WARSHIP THAT AIDS NAVY, MARINE OPERATIONS

Morgan served for 17 years in the U.S. Army and the Army Reserve, from 1985 to 2004, part of the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions as a staff sergeant and fire support specialist.

While he is already the recipient of the Armys Outstanding Civilian Service Medal and the USO Merit Award, he described how rejoining the forces made him feel "like an 18-year-old kid" again.

"I think it felt even more rewarding now than it did the first time," he said.

"My excitement is so much greater now than it was then because I feel like I have so much more knowledge, I have so much more experience, therefore I can, in turn, offer more to the military."

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In returning to his military roots, Morgan will carry out his duties as a staff sergeant and warrant officer candidate while releasing new music and embarking on his "God, Family and Country" tour this fall.

"I've been a believer that actions speak louder than words," he said.

"I'm going to work with the military in whatever way they deem necessary because I am now in the Army I will adhere to the orders that that my leaders tell me."

Craig Morgan performs onstage for "BBR Music Group/BMG presents Lainey Wilson's Bell Bottom Country" music celebration at Omni Nashville Hotel on March 14, 2023.

One of Morgan's main goals in serving is to "encourage other people to serve," he said.

"We are the greatest nation in the world, and we can only become greater by people within this country being willing to serve one another," he said.

"The greatest leaders are servants I'm one of the lucky guys in the world."

Expressing gratitude for his "wonderful, supportive family," Morgan said he gets to do the things he loves most, "being a soldier and entertaining people."

Added Morgan, "My hopes are that when I am done and by the time I get that 20-year letter that says I've served my country for 20 years, we will have seen an increase in people going in, so I can feel that I truly did have an impact on the thought process of the people in this nation and their desire to serve it."
MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE, Calif. (AP)  Crews battled fire whirls in Californias Mojave National Preserve as a massive wildfire crossed into Nevada amid dangerously high temperatures and raging winds.

The York Fire was mapped at roughly 120 square miles (284 square kilometers) on Monday night, with no containment.

The blaze erupted Friday near the remote Caruthers Canyon area of the vast wildland preserve, crossed the state line into Nevada on Sunday and sent smoke further east into the Las Vegas Valley.

A smoky haze blotted out the sun midday on the Las Vegas Strip and obliterated views of mountains surrounding the city and suburbs. Because of low visibility, the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas reported departure delays of nearly two hours.

A fire whirl  sometimes called a fire tornado  is a spinning column of fire that forms when intense heat and turbulent winds combine, according to the National Park Service.

The vortexes  which can be anywhere from a few feet tall to several hundred feet high, with varying rotational speeds  were spotted Sunday on the north end of the York Fire.

While these can be fascinating to observe they are a very dangerous natural phenomena that can occur during wildfires, the park service wrote.

The whirls require high temperatures to form. In Searchlight, Nevada  an unincorporated area about 12 miles (19.31 kilometers) from the California border where the fire burned  Monday's high was 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius), according to the National Weather Service.

Significant portions of the U.S. population have been subject to extreme heat in recent weeks. Worldwide, July has been so steamy thus far that scientists calculate it will be the hottest month ever recorded and likely the warmest to hit human civilization.

Wind-driven flames 20 feet (6 meters) high in some spots charred tens of thousands of acres of blackbrush scrub, pinyon-juniper woodlands and the famous Joshua trees in the New York Mountains in San Bernardino County.

Ileene Anderson, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, said it could take the pinyon-juniper woodlands 200 to 300 years to become a functional community again, while the blackbrush scrub and Joshua trees are unlikely to regrow after this catastrophic blaze, which erupted without human intervention.

It will change the habitat possibly permanently, Anderson said.

Even more, deer and bighorn sheep could become trapped by the flames, she said. If any manage to survive the blaze, their resources in the newly scorched landscape would be severely limited.

In 2020, the Dome Fire ripped through the preserve, ravaging one of the world's largest Joshua tree forests. Conservationists, including Anderson, are trying to revitalize the land by planting new trees since the species usually isn't able to make a comeback naturally after a wildfire.

The desert hasnt adapted to fires; such blazes are rare because there are few ignition points in the harsh terrain. Generally, most fires in the desert are caused by humans, Anderson said.

The cause of the York Fire remains under investigation, though authorities say it started on private land within the preserve. Other details were not available Monday.

To the southwest, the Bonny Fire burned about 3.6 square miles (9.3 square kilometers) in the rugged hills of Riverside County. The blaze was about 30% contained on Monday.

More than 1,300 people were ordered to evacuate their homes Saturday near the community of Aguanga that is home to horse ranches and wineries. However, the fire didn't grow on Monday, and some were allowed back home.

One firefighter was injured in the blaze.

Gusty winds and the chance of thunderstorms into Tuesday will heighten the risk of renewed growth, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said in a statement.
For decades holidaymakers have poured into resorts and islands in southern Europe for a relaxing break in the summer sun.

But the scenes of tourists fleeing wildfires in Greece, or trapped indoors unable to enjoy baking beaches in Spain, may give some people second thoughts.

Back-to-back heatwaves brought sweltering temperatures in the 40s to parts of Europe in July, which is expected to break records for the world's hottest month ever recorded.

Climate change played an "absolutely overwhelming" role in the heat, scientists have concluded - and it is forecast to get worse as the average global temperature keeps rising.

Europe is warming faster than most parts of the world, experts say.

How are holidaymakers reacting?

There is no sign of immediate panic. So far this summer, British demand for foreign holidays seems unchanged by the sweltering temperatures, says travel expert Simon Calder.

The travel industry, travel agents and holiday companies say it is business as usual, he says.

"People are still buying last-minute breaks to the Mediterranean. They want some sunshine, they want some heat, and they're prepared to pay for it," he adds.

As for the future, holidaymakers appear split on whether the heat will stop them travelling to certain spots.

Becky Mulligan, from Leicester, was evacuated from Rhodes, Greece during wildfires last week. It put her off travelling abroad for a while.

"I always thought the hotter the better. I was completely oblivious to how hot it could be. I wouldn't go somewhere so hot again," she says.

She would much rather go abroad in June when it is cooler, but says that the school holidays means her family can only travel when temperatures are hottest.

"I feel stuck between a rock and hard place.

"If you want to go to these countries, but you have to in July or August, how can we keep tourism going?" she asks.

Simon Wheatley, from Cheltenham, was also evacuated from a Rhodes hotel along with his fiancee and three-year-old son. He says he is not put off from going back to Greece in summer.

Simon Wheatley travelled to Rhodes with his family - this beach was later burnt by fire

"We just feel we were in the wrong place at the wrong time," he says, but adds he would rather travel earlier in the year next time.

He says that it is important to remember the crucial economic role of tourism.

"These communities, villages and towns in countries like Greece, Spain, Turkey rely solely on tourists. If you end holidays there, you'll kill the poor people making money with their bar on the beach," he says.

Some climate campaigners are frustrated with a lack of urgency over changing travel, given that flying contributes a significant amount to greenhouse gas emissions.

Flying is responsible for 2.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 8% of UK emissions.

Andrew Simms, co-director of the green think tank the New Weather Institute, says: "At first it might seem odd that many might still jump on a climate-polluting flight to holiday in exactly the places where 'global boiling', as the UN calls it, will make life harshest, if not intolerable."

But people receive mixed messages, he says.

"All day, every day, people are exposed to adverts promoting polluting high-carbon products and lifestyles that make them seem normal, when flying to hotspots should trigger an emergency warning," he says.

Some people are likely to always risk booking a trip during a heatwave. But it is worth remembering that heat can be dangerous and even deadly, says Dr Ellie Murtagh, UK climate adaptation lead at the British Red Cross.

"If you are travelling with older people, pregnant women, young children or someone with a chronic health condition; take extra care to make sure they're safe and healthy."

Simon Calder says he hopes there will be a move back to holidays like those before "the jet age of mass air travel began".

Places like the coast of Belgium, or resorts in the Netherlands and Ireland, could become more popular, as could travel to the UK, he suggests.

"I would imagine that the North Sea and Baltic Beaches are going to get it a bit crowded next summer as a result of what we've seen this year," he adds.

Greece Wildfires

Could powerful heatwaves and summer wildfires, which have devastated communities and displaced tourists in Greece, become the new normal in Europe?

Available now on BBC iPlayer (UK only)
PHOENIX (AP)  A record string of daily highs over 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) in Phoenix ended Monday as the dangerous heat wave that suffocated the Southwest throughout July receded slightly with cooling monsoon rains.

The historic heat began blasting the region in June, stretching from Texas across New Mexico and Arizona and into Californias desert. Phoenix and its suburbs sweltered more and longer than most, with several records including the 31 consecutive days of 110 degrees Fahrenheit-plus (43.4 degrees Celsius) weather. The previous record was 18 straight days, set in 1974.

The streak was finally broken Monday, when the high topped out at 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42.2 Celsius) at 3:10 p.m.

The high temperature for Phoenix today is 108 degrees, Jessica Leffel, meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said at 5 p.m.

The record streak of 31 straight days of 110+ degree temperatures has ended., the weather service said on social media. The high temperature at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport reached 108 degrees this afternoon, which is only 2 degrees above normal.

The reprieve was expected to be brief, with the forecast calling for highs again above 110 for several days later in the week. And National Weather Service meteorologist Matthew Hirsch said August could be even hotter than July.

But residents and visitors were taking what they could get.

Its not going to last more than a couple of days, but Im enjoying this break, said Christine Bertaux, 76, who was cooling off Monday at a downtown day center for older people who are homeless.

It has been REALLY hot here! said Jeffrey Sharpe, of Kenosha, Wisconsin, who was in town for a long weekend that on Monday included watching his sons two poodles frolic in a grassy dog park. But today it was about 85 degrees, more like Wisconsin.

Phoenix also sweated through a record 16 consecutive days when overnight lows didnt dip below 90 degrees (32.2 degrees Celsius), making it hard for people to cool off after the sun went down.

In California, Death Valley, long considered the hottest place on Earth, flirted in July with some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded, reaching 125.6 degrees Fahrenheit (52.5 Celsius) on July 16 at the aptly named Furnace Creek.

The planets hottest recorded temperature ever was 134 F (56.67 C) in July 1913 at Furnace Creek, according to the World Meteorological Organization, the body recognized as keeper of world records.

And in Nevada, also on July 16, Las Vegas briefly reached 116 degrees (46.6 degrees Celsius) to tie the record for that date set in 1998.

The heat in Phoenix began to ease slightly last week with the citys first major storm since the monsoon season began June 15.

The Southwest heat wave was just one kind of extreme weather events that hit the U.S. in July. Fatal flash floods swept people and cars away in Pennsylvania, and days of flooding led to dangerous mudslides in the Northeast.

At several points during the month, as many as a third of Americans were under some type of heat advisory, watch or warning. While not as visually dramatic as other natural disasters, experts say heat waves are deadlier  heat in parts of the South and Midwest killed more than a dozen people in June.

Rudy Soliz, who manages the center where Bertaux was cooling off, said those who visit to get a meal and cool off out of the sun have been having a very hard time this summer.

Older people have a harder time with the heat, there are a lot of diabetics, people who take medicines, he said.

The heat has been pretty bad this summer. Weve made at least five 911 calls from here this July for people who got heat stroke, said Soliz. Theyve found a couple of bodies around here this month but its not clear yet if they died from the heat.

Maricopa County, Arizonas most populous and home to Phoenix, reported 25 heat-related deaths this year as of July 21. Another 249 deaths are listed as under investigation, and results from toxicological tests that can take weeks or months after an autopsy could lead to many being confirmed as heat-related.

Maricopa County reported 425 heat-associated deaths in all of 2022, with more than half in July.

R. Glenn Williamson, a businessman who was born in Canada but has lived in Phoenix for years, said he really noticed a temperature difference Monday morning as he washed his car in his driveway.

Now we have to get rid of the humidity! Williamson said. But honestly, Id rather have this heat than a Montreal winter.

___

Costley reported from New Orleans.

___

Follow Drew Costley on Twitter: @drewcostley.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Devon Archer told the House Oversight Committee on Monday that his former business partner, Hunter Biden, was selling the illusion of access to his father, according to a source familiar with the closed-door interview, the latest development in the Republican-led congressional investigations into the presidents son.

The source also reiterated that Archer provided no evidence connecting President Joe Biden to any of his sons foreign business dealings.

After the interview concluded, a second source told CNN that Archer did affirm to the committee that Hunter Biden was selling the illusion of access to his father, but later clarified that the presidents son was actually selling the illusion of access to Washington, DC, and knowledge of how it worked.

Republicans and Democrats have both sought to highlight portions of Archers hourslong testimony in a way that fits their competing political agendas.

Matthew L. Schwartz, managing partner of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP and counsel to Archer, acknowledged that both sides are claiming victory following Mr. Archers voluntary interview today.

But all Devon Archer did was exactly what we said he would: show up and answer the questions put to him honestly and completely, Schwartz said in a statement. Mr. Archer shared the truth with the Committee, and we will leave to them and others to decide what to do with it.

Rep. Dan Goldman, a Democrat on the panel who sat through the portion of Archers interview where he was questioned by Republicans, also said there was a lack of evidence connecting the president to his sons foreign dealings. Goldman said Archer told the panel that Hunter Biden did put his father on speaker phone in the presence of business partners, but that business was never discussed.

Archers testimony came as House Republicans appear to be shifting their focus away from trying to impeach members of President Joe Bidens Cabinet and instead prioritizing efforts to impeach the president himself by linking him to his sons controversial business dealings, with House investigations related to Hunter Biden now expected to take center stage.

Goldman told reporters during a break in the hearing that Archer later said that Hunter Biden putting his father on speaker phone with business associates was part of the daily conversations between father and son, adding, The witness was very consistent that none of those conversations ever had to do with any business dealings or transactions.

Goldman said that it is kind of a preposterous premise to think that a father should not say hello to the people that a son is at dinner with and that is literally all the evidence is.

Goldman contended that President Bidens phone conversations were not conflicts of interest because it was not done in furtherance of Hunter Bidens business interests.

We need to move on and this investigation is a complete waste of time, Goldman argued, if House Republicans cannot produce documentary evidence linking the president to his sons business dealings.

Devon Archer, a former business associate of Hunter Biden, arrives for closed-door testimony at the O'Neill House Office Building on July 31, 2023 in Washington, DC. - Drew Angerer/Getty Images

GOP Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said that Archers testimony reaffirms questions about Joe Bidens knowledge of his sons foreign business dealings and show the president was not being truthful in his previous denials.

When Joe Biden was Vice President of the United States, he joined Hunter Bidens dinners with his foreign business associates in person or by speakerphone over 20 times, Comer said in a statement, referring to testimony that Democrats have also acknowledged Archer gave.

Comer then accused Joe Biden of lying about his familys business dealings and his own involvement  pledging that his panel will continue to investigate.

The White House also highlighted how Archer testified that he never heard of President Biden discussing business with his son or his sons associates, or doing anything wrong.

House Republicans keep promising bombshell evidence to support their ridiculous attacks against the President, but time after time, they keep failing to produce any, White House spokesperson Ian Sams said in a statement.

Speaking to CNN in recent weeks, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy signaled that Republicans have yet to verify the most salacious allegations against Joe Biden, namely that as vice president he engaged in a bribery scheme with a foreign national in order to benefit his sons career, an allegation the White House furiously denies.

McCarthy has said that launching an impeachment inquiry would unleash the full power of the House to turn over critical information, mirroring an argument advanced by House Democrats when they impeached then-President Donald Trump in 2019.

McCarthy  who sources said has also been consulting with former House GOP Speaker Newt Gingrich on the issue  has warmed up to an idea of going after the president rather than members of his Cabinet. In recent weeks, he delivered his most explicit threat yet to Biden, saying House Republicans investigations into the Biden familys business deals appear to be rising to the level of an impeachment inquiry.

Over the weekend, the Justice Department submitted a new request asking a judge to schedule a date for Archer to surrender to prison and begin serving out his one-year sentence resulting from a conviction in an unrelated fraud case, according to court filings. The move prompted immediate speculation among some Republicans that the Biden administration was attempting to prevent Archer from answering questions about Hunter Biden before the GOP-led committee, though in a court filing, the government explicitly requested that Archers sentence begin after he completes his congressional testimony.

In a statement, Archers attorney said his client does not believe the DOJ request is connected in any way to the upcoming closed-door interview, despite continuing to fight demands related to scheduling a surrender date. We are aware of speculation that the Department of Justices weekend request to have Mr. Archer report to prison is an attempt by the Biden administration to intimidate him in advance of his meeting with the House Oversight Committee on Monday, Schwartz said in a statement Sunday.

To be clear, Mr. Archer does not agree with that speculation. In any case, Mr. Archer will do what he has planned to do all along, which is to show up on Monday and to honestly answer the questions that are put to him by the Congressional investigators, Schwartz added.

While Comer would only go as far as to call the timing of DOJs letter odd in an interview with Fox News on Sunday, the letter prompted more bombastic reactions from other House Republicans.

This story and headline have been updated with additional details.

CNNs Andrew Millman contributed to this report.

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NEW PHILADELPHIA  For decades, the Rev. Harley Wheeler has been fighting to make renewal a clear focus in the United Methodist Church.

He believes orthodox Christianity is life-affirming, powerful and points people to God. However, he also thinks the leaders of the United Methodist denomination were taking the church in a direction that was not in accordance with the Bible.

For Wheeler, that fight is over. In 2022, his church, Broadway United Methodist in New Philadelphia, left the denomination and joined the new Global Methodist Church.

Pastor Harley Wheeler of the Broadway Global Methodist Church, right, speaks about disaffiliation from the United Methodist denomination in New Philadelphia.

"For 30 years I've been fighting battles. Now there's a time to just beat your swords into plowshares. I'm no longer fighting any battles anymore. We don't have the controversy going on about the basics of the Christian faith," he said.

More on disaffiliation: New Philadelphia congregation joins Global Methodist Church

His congregation is one of 16 churches in Tuscarawas County that have left the United Methodist denomination in the past three years and 250 churches in the East Ohio Conference that have made the move, or 36% of the churches in the conference.

Theological and biblical differences lead to split

The split was brought about by differences over such things as ordination of gay ministers and same-sex weddings.

Methodist pastors from Tuscarawas County pose for a group picture inside the Broadway Global Methodist Church, in New Philadelphia. They are, from left, Jim Manbeck, Kory Rowland, Shelly Nordine, and Harley Wheeler.

According to Wheeler, leaders of the United Methodist Church knew in 2019 they were at an impasse between conservatives and liberals over theological and biblical differences. Rather than continue fighting over those issues, plans were made to split the denomination. By 2021, there was a route for churches to disaffiliate.

"Separation within a community is often painful," Cara Stultz Costello, superintendent of the Tuscarawas District of the East Ohio Conference, said in a statement.

"The East Ohio Conference of the UMC is joyfully committed to living out our calling in Jesus Christ. We will make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We continue to seek a close and holy following of the risen Christ in all that we do. We covet the prayers of all people of faith. We desire the Holy Spirit to enliven and lead us in our mission."

The separation process was a lengthy one. The United Methodist Church owns all church buildings in trust for its congregations, so churches that wanted to leave had to transfer title to their building. They had to get a two-thirds vote of approval from their members and then approval at their conference's annual meeting. And they had to make a payment to the denomination to leave, and sometimes that amount was substantial.

The Broadway Global Methodist Church in New Philadelphia.

In the case of Broadway Methodist, it was $179,000.

Churches leaving were required to pay in full two years of that congregations apportionment commitment; pay in full the congregations pro-rata share of the conferences pension liability, based on a formula approved by the annual conference; and pay any health care or pension arrearages a congregation may have accrued over the years.

Roxford Church in Union Township was able to pay its amount through donations, said its pastor, Jim Manbeck. The churches that Shelly Nordine serves  Dover Faith and Crooked Run Valley in Dover Township  had enough money to leave. Kory Rowland pastors three churches  Midvale Methodist, Newport Methodist and Uhrichsville First Methodist. One church received a donation to cover the cost, another had saved the money and the third raised more than enough money in two weeks.

Local churches have experienced an amicable separation

In some parts of the country, the split has been contentious. Two churches in the Oklahoma City area have gone to court to leave the United Methodist Church. Locally, however, the process has been fairly amicable. Costello has gotten a lot of the credit.

Pastor Shelly Nordine of Dover Faith Global Methodist Church reflects upon disaffiliation from the United Methodist Church while sitting in a pew at the Broadway Global Methodist Church in New Philadelphia.

"Our district superintendent was helpful, because it was a long process, but she led us through each step, and I will say that the East Ohio Conference was very amenable to being helpful to us," Nordine said. "It wasn't like some of the other places I see all over the country where they're not being allowed to leave when they want to leave. It was a smooth process."

Manbeck agreed that Costello had made the process easy.

"My role as a conference superintendent regarding the work of separation through disaffiliation is to aid a congregation in an intentional discernment process," Costello said. "To this end, all of the superintendents have provided clear, consistent and accurate information for consideration. We do this work with love for the congregations and people with whom we serve. We desire for churches to be vital and healthy so that their work bears fruit now and in the future.

"Votes about disaffiliation are never simply rational or financial. They are also deeply emotional. A vote to disaffiliate is a vote to leave relationships with other people and institutions that have helped congregation members grow in Christ over the years. Our bishop, Tracy S. Malone, and the members of her cabinet are mindful of the complexity of this conversation and process, and strive to steward the faithful in ways which are reflective of the spirit of God at work in and through us."

'We welcome anyone and everyone'

Rowland said that for him, the biggest part of the disaffiliation process was educating the members of his congregations.

"Unfortunately, the internet and everything made it very, very hard for people to get accurate information and really painted it as, if you join the Global Methodists, it's because you don't love homosexuals or it's because you hate them," he said. "That's not the case. The Bible has standard, and we're all sinners in need of a savior. In our church we welcome anyone and everyone, but we can't affirm certain lifestyles."

The split was hard for some of his members because they had relatives in same-sex relationships.

Pastor Kory Rowland reflects upon disaffiliation from the Methodist Church while sitting in pew at Broadway Global Methodist Church in New Philadelphia.

"I had several one-on-one conversations because they said, does this mean we hate my relative, or does this mean my relative can't come here? Again, it was because the internet painted it in a certain light. There were a lot of one-on-one meetings. I said no, bring them. No, we want them here."

All four pastors said the vote to disaffiliate in their churches was unanimous or near unanimous.

Lay Pastor Jim Manbeck of Roxford Church.

"They were united in No. 1 on God's word and God's love," Manbeck said. "This isn't a hate thing. It's about trying to do our best to follow God's word. To me, the church is a hospital. We're all sinners. We all need help. You show me one person that's got their act together completely. It's not there."

Churches now members of the Allegheny West Conference

All of their congregations are now a part of the Global Methodist Church, which is led by a provisional leadership council of 27 people from across the globe.

Wheeler is a presiding elder in the church and belongs to the new denomination's Allegheny West Conference, which serves 530 congregations in Ohio and western Pennsylvania.

Since his church has joined the Global Methodist Church, Wheeler has been busy providing assistance and guidance to other congregations that wanted to leave the United Methodist Church. In the month of June alone, 237 left the East Ohio Conference.

"So that entailed for a number of us going around to churches on invitation to speak and to share and tell people what was going on in the Global Methodist Church," he said.

Winfield Community Church retaining independence

Winfield Community Church in Dover Township was one of the first congregations to leave the United Methodist Church, disaffiliating in 2021. However, it has not joined the Global Methodists.

Since leaving the denomination, the church has been in a rebuilding process.

Pastor Josh Davis took over at Winfield Community Church after the congregation had gone through the process of disaffiliation. The church is now independent of any affiliation, as opposed to many other Methodist churches which have aligned with the Global Methodist Church.

"When they left the UMC, it was kind of an all-hands-on-deck situation where you go from having an organization that's all built, you have all the structure, and then all the volunteers now have to jump in and do that," said the church's pastor, Josh Davis, who came to Winfield a year after disaffiliation.

"They don't have a paid staff person to do all that stuff. When I showed up, there wasn't really a Sunday school ministry. In the past year, we've rebuilt those programs and started those up. We're just excited to see new families show up."

Winfield has seen about a 75% increase in attendance in the past year.

Davis said he thinks his congregation is better served by staying on its own.

Pastor Josh Davis speaks about leading his congregation after the disaffiliation process had taken place under the church's former pastor, at Winfield Community Church. The church is now independent of any affiliation, as opposed to many other Methodist churches which have aligned with the Global Methodist Church.

"The ability to govern yourself on a local level, I think, at least in my experience, has been way, way better," he said. "The way Winfield Community Church is going to operate is not the way any other church in the world is going to operate. The needs of the people in this congregation are not the same needs as everybody across large swaths of the world or even the state. So, the ability to, on the fly, local govern and make those decisions yourself makes it a lot more flexible and you can meet the needs of the people in your local community a lot easier than having oversight from afar."

'It's brought us even tighter together'

Though disaffiliation has been a long and difficult process, the churches' pastors say it has been good for their members.

"This has been great motivation for us to really change the way that the community sees us and really change the way we reach out to the community," Rowland said. "The motivation I've seen from the congregation, I can't say, oh, I did that. I did none of that. They said, this is our church, and we want it to be here forever. They've just taken the reins, and we did a complete head-to-toe remodel and overhaul of this is what a church is like. It's been fantastic."

Added Manbeck, "It's brought us even tighter together as a family, but also with the desire to start working with more churches. Whether you're Baptist, Pentecostal, Methodist, we're all God's family. That's how we should be acting."

Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.

Churches in the Tuscarawas Valley that have left the United Methodist Church

TUSCARAWAS COUNTY

Broadway, New Philadelphia

Crooked Run, New Philadelphia

Dover Faith

Holmes, New Philadelphia

Midvale

Mineral City

Newcomerstown Calvary

Newcomerstown Christ

New Cumberland

Newport

Pleasant Valley, Dennison

Roxford

Uhrichsville First

Uhrichsville Grace

Union Hill, Sugarcreek

Winfield

CARROLL COUNTY

Baxters Ridge, Carrollton

Sherrodsville Calvary

Chestnut Ridge, Bergholz

Harsh Memorial, Carrollton

Leavittsville

Leesville

Pleasant Hill, Carrollton

Mount Zion, Minerva

Pleasant Grove, Minerva

HARRISON COUNTY

Asbury Chapel, Cadiz

Bethel, Jewett

Bowerston First

Bowerston Trinity

Deersville

Hanover, Scio

Harrisville

Hopedale

Jewett

New Athens

New Rumley

Perrysville

Piedmont

Pleasant Valley, Scio

Rankin, Cadiz

Source: Pastor Harley Wheeler

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: 16 Tuscarawas County churches have left United Methodist denomination
Kevin Costner and his estranged wife Christine Baumgartner are locked in a legal battle despite having an "ironclad" prenup.

Baumgartner, who first filed for divorce on May 1, is taking Costner to trial over the validity and enforceability of the premarital agreement the pair signed before their marriage in 2004. The two have also battled it out over custody and living arrangements with Baumgartner being forced to move out of the family home by July 31.

Celebrity divorce attorney Christopher C. Melcher explained to Fox News Digital the requests he's seen when it comes to prenups and which "clauses" can "threaten" the validity of the agreement.

"I have seen people ask for anti-cheating clauses to penalize a spouse for having an affair. There have also been requests that a spouse have sex on demand or maintain a certain weight to remain in compliance with the agreement," Melcher said. "None of these provisions are enforceable and should not be placed in an agreement because it violates public policy. Some have bragged about having these types of clauses in their agreement, but it threatens the validity of the entire agreement. It would be foolish to do so."

KEVIN COSTNER'S ESTRANGED WIFE VACATIONS IN HAWAII AS SHE FIGHTS PAYING YELLOWSTONE STAR'S LEGAL FEES

Kevin Costner's estranged wife Christine Baumgartner was ordered to move out of the family home, owned by the actor, by July 31.

"More sensible requests center around where their children will live or who will get custody in the event of a breakup," he added. "These are important considerations, but parties cannot agree on child custody in a premarital agreement."

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There are things you can do to make sure your premarital agreement is enforceable, according to Marilyn Chinitz, a high-profile divorce attorney and partner in the matrimonial and family law practice at Blank Rome.

"In order to ensure that the prenuptial agreement is not at risk of being set aside, you must make sure that the agreement is fully negotiated, that both parties have counsel, and that full disclosure is provided as part of the agreement," she told Fox News Digital.

Christine Baumgartner and her lawyer, Mark Rydell, leave court July 12, 2023.

Christine Baumgartner will receive $129,755 in monthly child support from Kevin Costner. However, the two are due to go back to court over the number before the trial over the validity of the premarital agreement.

The most unusual provision Chinitz has seen in a prenup required "a spouse to give the other spouse a foot massage once weekly. At first, I thought it was just injection of humor, but then found out it was not."

Despite legal advice not to put an anti-cheating clause in the prenup, a handful of celebrities have allegedly used this, including reality star Teresa Giudice. "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" star, who is now divorced from Joe Giudice, confirmed she had a premarital agreement with her ex during an episode of the show.

Teresa Giudice said she had a prenup with Joe Giudice. The couple divorced in 2020.

"A week before we were getting married, Joe asked me to sign a prenup and I just felt when you love someone, you dont do that," she revealed in 2020. "I didnt even read it. I just said, I want you to put one thing in there. If you ever cheat, the prenup is void.'"

JUDGE RULES KEVIN COSTNER'S WIFE CAN'T TAKE PROPERTY FROM $145 MILLION ESTATE

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel allegedly have an anti-cheating clause in their premarital agreement.

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel also allegedly have an infidelity clause. The agreement, which will divide up the couple's property if they ever divorce, holds Timberlake financially liable if he is unfaithful, the New York Daily News reported.

Melcher explained that there are cons to signing a premarital agreement, especially if resentment builds. "A one-sided agreement can make a spouse resentful," he explained. "I often hear, I want our home to be our home, not yours. It doesnt feel good to be told that you will get nothing in the event of a divorce."

However, celebrities such as Catherine Zeta-Jones, Khloe Kardashian and Jessica Simpson agree that the premarital agreement is important.

Zeta-Jones, who married Michael Douglas in 2000, fielded rumors about the couple's prenup for years. It was once reported that Douglas had offered to pay Zeta-Jones $1.4 million for every year the couple was married, in the event they got divorced, but that they settled on $2.8 million.

Catherine Zeta-Jones previously said prenups are "brilliant" because everything is "sorted."

"There was a load of rubbish written about it, but there was no arguing, no malicious feud," Zeta-Jones told Vanity Fair in 2001, brushing off the prenup rumors. "If I was marrying someone of lesser fortune who was 25 years younger, Id be doing exactly the same thing. I think prenups are brilliant, because its all sorted out."

"Why should Michael be in a position where half of his fortune, which hes worked bloody hard for, should land in someone elses lap? It wasnt a nasty experience for me; it was like, Thank God thats done  lets get on with it! It was signed and put in the bottom of a drawer, hopefully never to be seen again. I get taken care of very well."

Carys Zeta Douglas, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones attend the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2023, in France.

KEVIN COSTNER FILES NEW DIVORCE ORDER TO PREVENT ESTRANGED WIFE FROM REMOVING ITEMS FROM $145 MILLION ESTATE

Melcher emphasized the money aspect of a premarital agreement while speaking to Fox News Digital.

"[A prenup] forces romantic partners to talk about money before they start their marriage. It is difficult to have conversations about what if we break up or one of us dies during marriage, so they tend to ignore those important questions. Only after they are married do spouses learn each others financial expectations. A prenup negotiation gets all that into the open."

The divorce attorney added that some people might not marry after understanding their partner's financial expectations  like sharing property owned before the marriage equally, and more.

Khloe Kardashian noted the importance of a premarital agreement in 2011, while she was married to Lamar Odom.

Kardashian, who was previously married to Lamar Odom from 2009 until 2016, also strongly backed the idea of a premarital agreement.

"Everybody needs a prenup!" the reality TV star told E! News in June 2011. "I mean, I don't care if you make $5 or $5 million, in this day and age... people are crazy, you never know. And when you have businesses together, like we do, you have to protect yourself. It doesn't mean you don't love them."

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Even Jessica Simpson, who did not sign a premarital agreement when marrying Nick Lachey, later regretted her decision.

"I wish I would have signed a prenup," she told Dr. Oz in 2020. "And that's the funny thing is that Nick wanted me to sign a prenup, but I was, like, so offended."

"I was like, We're going to be together for the rest of our lives. We're saying our vows to God and in front of all of our family and friends. Like, this never gonna end.' And, we didn't sign a prenup."

Jessica Simpson regretted not signing a prenup when she married Nick Lachey.

Premarital agreements can be "tricky," but are a "major advantage" when it comes to keeping lives in order in the event of divorce, Chinitz explained to Fox News Digital.

Reasons for a premarital agreement "vary," according to Melcher, who says they can range from "a strong distrust that marriage can truly last a lifetime, to the need to control a partner, or simply good planning for the protection of both spouses."

"When someone has experienced divorce, whether as a child who witnessed a family breakup or from their own failed relationships, the fear of that happening again can motivate the person to want a premarital agreement. It is like making a new partner pay for the sins of someone else."
CHICAGO (AP)  , A leading anti-abortion organization criticized Republican Ron DeSantis on Monday for not supporting a national ban on the procedure, calling the Florida governor's position unacceptable as he seeks the GOP nomination for president.

The president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an influential player in conservative politics, took issue with DeSantis' statements in a recent interview in which he declined to back a national abortion ban. SBA President Marjorie Dannenfelser said the anti-abortion movement and Americans across the U.S. deserve a president who will boldly advocate for a ban on abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy.

A pro-life president has a duty to protect the lives of all Americans. He should be the National Defender of Life," she said. Gov. DeSantiss dismissal of this task is unacceptable to prolife voters. A consensus is already formed. Intensity for it is palpable and measurable. There are many pressing legislative issues for which Congress does not have the votes at the moment, but that is not a reason for a strong leader to back away from the fight. This is where presidential leadership matters most."

DeSantis' campaign called the statement unjustified.

Governor DeSantis delivers results and acts, especially when it comes to protecting life. He did so in Florida by signing the heartbeat bill and will be a pro-life president," Press Secretary Bryan Griffin said. "He does not kowtow to DC interest groups. This unjustified attack on him is another example of the DC political games that have seen conservatives falter in Washington while Governor DeSantis has produced unmatched conservative victories in Florida."

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America was responding to a recent interview in which Megyn Kelly asked DeSantis if he would support a national abortion ban. The U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v. Wade, the roughly 50-year-old ruling that established a federal right to abortion. Susan B. Anthony has said it would not support any White House candidate in 2024 who did not at a minimum support a 15-week federal ban.

In the interview, DeSantis noted he signed legislation in Florida to ban abortion at six weeks of pregnancy but suggested that individual states should decide the issue. He said he is pro-life but added that he is running on doing things that I know I can accomplish.

Democrats say the Supreme Court's decision and Republicans' focus on restricting abortion rights have helped motivate voters to favor more liberal candidates, and the party believes it will be a major factor again in 2024. Abortion rights were on the ballot in six states in 2022, and in every contest voters opted to protect them. In the battleground state of Wisconsin, a liberal candidate who made abortion rights a centerpiece of her campaign won an April election for a seat on the state's highest court.

A recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that the majority of U.S. adults want abortion to be legal at least through the initial stages of pregnancy. About two-thirds of Americans said abortion should generally be legal, but only about a quarter said it should always be legal and only about 1 in 10 said it should always be illegal.

About half of Americans say abortions should be permitted at the 15-week mark, though 55% of those living in states with the most restrictive laws say abortion should be banned by that point, the poll found.

The criticism from a powerful organization comes at a tenuous time for DeSantis, who is seen as the top rival to former President Donald Trump for the GOP presidential nomination, but who has been running a distant second to Trump in public polling. DeSantis' campaign has been working in recent weeks to improve his trajectory and reboot his campaign, including cutting staff.

He is not alone in drawing criticism from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, however. The group also was critical of Trump for not supporting the 15-week federal ban.

Trump has defended that position, noting he appointed the Supreme Court justices who made it possible for Roe v. Wade to be overturned. Trump also has said that Republicans' focus on restricting abortion

Some other Republicans seeking the nomination support the national ban. Former Vice President Mike Pence said he would go further, endorsing a ban at six weeks of pregnancy, or before some women know they are pregnant.

He told The Associated Press that abortion should be banned when a pregnancy isnt viable  a standard that would force women to carry pregnancies to term even when doctors have determined there is no chance a baby will survive outside the womb.

___

Associated Press reporter Michelle L. Price contributed from New York.
Lori Vallow Daybell received multiple life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole in the deaths of her two children and that of her husbands previous wife, a case that drew national intrigue after her children disappeared nearly four years ago.

Vallow Daybell was convicted in May in the murders of her kids, Joshua JJ Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, as well as conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Tammy Daybell. Judge Steven W. Boyce ordered she serve consecutive life sentences on the individual murder charges because the crimes occurred at different times.

Before her sentencing, Vallow Daybell addressed the court claiming that a near death experience allowed her to communicate with the spirit world.

Image: Lori Vallow Daybell sits during her sentencing hearing at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho on July 31, 2023. (Tony Blakeslee / EastIdahoNews.com via AP, Pool)

She told the judge that she knew for a fact that her children and Tammy Daybell were happy in heaven. Tylee and Joshua have communicated with her that they are happy after their deaths, Vallow Daybell said.

Jesus knows me and Jesus understands me, she said. I mourn with all of you who mourn my children and Tammy. Jesus Christ knows the truth of what happened here, Jesus Christ knows no one was murdered in this case. Accidental deaths happen, suicides happen, fatal side effects from medications happen.

Boyce noted that Vallow Daybell's last mental health evaluation showed that she suffered from "hyper religiosity" and "unspecified personality disorder with histrionic and narcissistic features," according to the judge. But she also refused to comply with court ordered screening that may have mitigated her sentencing, Boyce noted.

"After all of this evidence and trial you haven't shown any remorse," Boyce said. "You haven't said you're sorry. You haven't done anything to seek leniency from this court."

Tylee is Vallow Daybell's biological daughter from her third marriage to Joseph Ryan, who died of a heart attack in 2018. Joshua was adopted in 2014 by Lori and her fourth husband, Charles Vallow.

She and her fifth and current husband, Chad Daybell, were accused of being obsessed with doomsday prophecies and believed that people could become "zombies" possessed by evil spirits.

Joshua Vallow and Tylee Ryan. (Fremont County Sheriff's Office)

Prosecutors read a statement Monday by Colby Ryan, Vallow Daybell's adult son, who said that his mother's actions have kept him from being able to share his life with the people he loved the most.

"My children will never know their uncle, their aunt or grandfather, or even their grandmother," he said in the statement. "Tylee and JJ brought so much light into this world. With their lives stolen, I'd like to share this: I believe nothing could or ever will be the same."

Prosecutors described Vallow Daybell as a woman who would "remove any obstacle in her way" and would use "money, power, and sex to get what she wanted" during the weekslong trial earlier this year. Her attorney argued that she was a loving mother who became intrigued in biblical prophecies about the end of the world.

Authorities first began the search for Tylee and Joshua in November 2019, after several family members contacted authorities concerned that they hadnt seen or spoken to the children since September. Police said that Vallow Daybell and her husband lied to authorities about the children's whereabouts during the investigation and failed to comply with court orders to physically produce the children.

Their remains were found the following year, in June 2020, on property owned by Chad Daybell in Fremont County, Idaho. Court documents said that Joshua, who was adopted and had special needs, was buried in a pet cemetery, and that Tylees remains were dismembered and burned in a fire pit.

In October 2019, Tammy Daybell was found dead of what were believed to be natural causes at the time. Investigators later exhumed her body and conducted an autopsy, which ruled her death was a homicide.

Vallow Daybell married Chad Daybell just weeks after his previous wife's death. Prosecutors said during her trial that she took part in the conspiracy to kill Tammy Daybell so that she and Chad Daybell could be together.

Chad Daybell, a self-published author who wrote doomsday-focused fiction, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges.

Charles and Vallow Daybell were married in 2006 and were estranged by 2019, when divorce papers were filed. According to police documents obtained by NBC affiliate KSL, Charles Vallow learned that his wife was having an affair with Chad Daybell in June 2019 and was shot by his brother-in-law, Alex Cox, weeks later.

Vallow Daybell and Cox were questioned at the time but werent charged, as they claimed self-defense. A grand jury charged her with conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree nearly two years after his death, the Maricopa County Attorneys Office said.

She will be tried separately, in Arizona, in that case. Cox died in December 2019 from a pulmonary embolism.

Kay Woodcock, Charles Vallows sister and Joshua's biological grandmother, cried in court Monday during her victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing.

"The grief my family and I have endured is immeasurable as Lori cruelly took my big brother Charles, my adorable grandson JJ, and my beautiful niece Tylee, and sweet Tammy  whose family I've come to know and love," Woodcock said. "Lori is undeniably a monster."

Her husband, Larry Woodcock, spoke to reporters following the sentencing and did not speak highly of Vallow Daybell's statement in court.

"That was a bucket of s---," he said.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnells (R-Ky.) health scare has Republican senators wondering whether the 81-year-old lawmaker will stay in the top job beyond the 2024 election and who might eventually replace him.

McConnell plans to serve out his current term as leader and has given every indication that he intends to return as Senate GOP leader in the 119th Congress, which starts in January of 2025  hopefully from his point of view with Republicans in control of the Senate majority.

Yet Republican senators privately acknowledge that McConnell appears to be frailer since falling and suffering a concussion on March 9, which resulted in him being hospitalized for several days. The accident required rehabilitation at an inpatient facility and kept him away from the Capitol for more than a month.

McConnells health came back into the spotlight Wednesday when he froze midsentence while delivering his opening remarks at the weekly Republican leadership press conference and had to step away from the podium and return to his office for a few minutes to recover.

He later insisted that he was fine and declined to comment specifically about any health problems he may have, leaving GOP colleagues to speculate about how much longer he will serve as leader and who has the inside track to replace him.

I think the leadership race is well underway and this accelerates that, said a Republican senator who requested anonymity to discuss the fallout from McConnells health episode before television cameras Wednesday.

The lawmaker noted that Senate Republican Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) ran the Senate floor this month during the debate and votes on the annual defense authorization bill, with his staff working in close coordination with floor staff to get agreements on amendments and resolve objections.

Thune is running the floor, hes running the [National Defense Authorization Act] negotiations, the lawmaker said.

Thune helped get 80 amendments adopted to the defense bill  through the managers package, roll call votes and voice votes  helping GOP colleagues ring up accomplishments.

The senator said the shadow race to one day replace McConnell has boiled down to Thune, Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), who previously served as Senate GOP whip, and Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (Wyo.).

Cornyn has been very solicitous about raising money for Republican senators who are up for reelection next year, showcasing his fundraising ability, which has been one of McConnells greatest strengths as leader, the senator said.

Cornyns joint fundraising committee, the Cornyn Victory Committee, has raised $4.12 million for Senate GOP incumbents, future Senate GOP nominees and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) through the first six months of this year.

Cornyn raised a total of $20 million for Senate Republican candidates in the 2022 election cycle, more than any other Republican senator with the exception of McConnell and then-NRSC Chairman Rick Scott (R-Fla.).

We hope to exceed that, Cornyn said of what he plans to do for the 2024 election compared to the $20 million he raised for candidates in the 2022 election cycle.

Historically, I used to just raise money for the senatorial committee and let them spend it the way they saw fit, but I found that colleagues appreciate the [direct] help, he said. It saves them their wear and tear and a little time so they can hopefully maximize their fundraising elsewhere.

McConnell continues to be a major force in fundraising and any successor would have big shoes to fill in that area.

Two outside groups aligned with McConnell, the Senate Leadership Fund and One Nation, raised a combined $38 million during the first six months of 2023, setting a record for the first half of a nonelection year.

Republican senators say they view Thune, who is 62, and Cornyn, 71, as the front-runners to become the next Senate GOP leader.

I think those will be the two that run for leader when that happens, said a second Republican senator who requested anonymity to discuss the brewing succession battle.

The senator said Cornyns been raising money for people for years and has built a solid record as a major GOP fundraiser while pointing out its Thunes job as whip to be managing the daily developments on the Senate floor.

Im glad that he stepped up during the floor consideration of the defense bill, the senator said, which came close to derailing because of an ongoing dispute over the Pentagons policy of paying for servicemembers to travel to obtain abortions.

The senator said neither Thune nor Cornyn have said anything about running for McConnells job. But their ambitions to move up to the top job are an open secret.

The leadership is interesting times, the senator remarked, noting that Thune and Cornyn cant discuss their plans because it would be rude while McConnell is in the job.

Senators say Barrasso, 71, cant be ruled out of the mix because he plays an important role as GOP conference chairman in pushing messaging strategy and could run as a more conservative alternative to Thune and Cornyn in a three-way race.

Barrasso, for example, voted against this years debt limit deal between Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and President Biden, which other members of the Senate GOP leadership supported.

Former NRSC Chairman Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who is up for reelection next year, hasnt ruled out another run for Senate Republican leader.

He challenged McConnell in November in what became an intense and sometimes acrimonious debate over the future of the GOP conference before losing by a vote of 36-10.

A Senate Republican aide said Cornyn has had to be more aggressive in angling for a future opening for Senate leader because he does not currently hold a position in the elected leadership. He had to step down as whip because of term limits in January of 2019.

Thune and Cornyn are the two names that have been in the mix the most because they have both been whip, and everybody knows that Cornyn wants the [leaders] job more than anything, the aide said.

Cornyn has held regular lunches and coffees with fellow Republican senators to help maintain his relationships with colleagues.

He has kept ties with the conservative wing of the GOP conference by regularly attending Monday evening meetings of the Senate Republican Steering Committee.

Thune and Cornyn have both publicly expressed interest in becoming leader in the future but have also made clear that the job is McConnells for as long as he wants it.

Thune earlier this year waved off a question about running for Senate Republican leader as putting the cart before the horse.

He stepped in to handle some of McConnells responsibilities, such as leading the weekly leadership press conference, while McConnell underwent rehabilitation after his fall.

Likewise, Cornyn this week insisted to reporters that he isnt actively running to become the next leader.

Theres no vacancies, he said. And those [leadership] elections wont be until November 2024. So I guess the short answer is theres nothing to prepare for.

Barrasso has only said he would like to continue serving the Senate GOP conference in whatever way is most helpful to his colleagues.

The Wyoming doctor was in the spotlight himself Wednesday because he came to McConnells aid after he froze in the middle of delivering his opening remarks at the press conference.

Barrasso acknowledged to reporters immediately afterward that he was concerned about McConnells health since his accident in March but hastened to emphasize hes made a remarkable recovery and is doing a great job leading our conference.

Some Republican senators downplayed the incident, which McConnells office attributed to the leader feeling lightheaded, as a blip that doesnt affect his ability to lead the conference.

Naturally, anytime it happens I think youre concerned, but in terms of his capabilities and ability to lead, no, Im not worried about his ability to lead, said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.).

A third Republican senator who requested anonymity, however, said that some GOP senators feel they arent getting the full story about McConnells health, which is in turn fueling speculation about how much longer he will remain leader.

No one says whats wrong with him, the senator said. I think there ought to be more transparency here.

Al Weaver contributed.

Updated at 8:00 a.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.




A district court on Monday requested disciplinary action against an incumbent judge who was caught buying sex at a hotel in Seoul last month, according to the National Court Administration (NCA).







The 42-year-old judge, identified only by his surname Lee, is accused of paying 150,000 won (US$118) to a woman in her 30s, whom he met through a dating application, in exchange for sex at a hotel in Seoul's Gangnam district at 4 p.m. on June 22. The judge serving outside Seoul was reportedly on a business trip to the capital at that time.







Police opened an investigation against Lee on July 17 and notified the court to which he belongs of their investigation results last Friday. The case has been sent to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office.







Besides the request for disciplinary punishment, the district court plans to exclude Lee from all criminal trials from August, putting him only in charge of civil cases, such as provisional seizure, provisional injunction, auction and bankruptcy, the NCA said. (Yonhap)


A large chunk of debris from space has been identified after it washed up on a remote West Australian beach.

Police cordoned off the object after it was found in July on a beach near Green Head, about 250km north of Perth.

The large cylinder, which was about 2.5m high and partly made of a gold-coloured woven material, raised theories that it could have been part of a downed airliner.

But police also urged people to refrain from drawing conclusions after several rumours linked it to UFOs while others linked it to the missing Malaysian MH370 flight.

After a two week investigation, the Australian Space Agency said the debris is most likely from a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation.

We have concluded the object  is most likely debris from an expended third-stage of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), said ASA on their official Twitter profile.

The PSLV is a medium-lift launch vehicle operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation.

Earlier this month, European Space Agency engineer Andrea Boyd said her colleagues believed the item that washed up from the Indian Ocean fell from an Indian rocket while launching a satellite.

Were pretty sure, based on the shape and the size, it is an upper-stage engine from an Indian rocket thats used for a lot of different missions, she told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Meanwhile, Indian Space Research Organisation chair S Somnath told the BBC the debris was indeed a part of a rocket but could not confirm if it was from their launch.

Whoever launched the object into space would be responsible for its disposal.

The mysterious giant cylinder washed up on an Australian beach (screengrab/7News)

There is a United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, and they have an outer space treaty that everyone has signed saying that whoever launches something into space is responsible for it right until the very end, Boyd said.

Authorities initially treated the device as hazardous and urged the public to stay away but Western Australia Police later said in a statement that a government chemical analysis had determined the object was safe and there is no current risk to the community.

Police said the device would be removed following formal identification of its origin.

Police will maintain security of the object until it is removed and members of the public are requested to stay away from the location, the statement said.

Western Australia Premier Roger Cook said the debris could be displayed in a local museum alongside the wreckage of Skylab that fell back to Earth in 1979 in Australia.

Skylab was the USAs first space station launched by NASA. It orbited unmanned for about five years before breaking up and scattering debris across the Esperance region.
MIAMI  The Mar-a-Lago property manager charged in a new indictment alongside Donald Trump in the alleged mishandling of classified government documents after the former president left office was unable to enter a plea in court on Monday after being unable to secure a Florida-based lawyer.

Carlos De Oliveira, 56, wearing a navy suit and glasses, entered the Miami court just after 10 a.m., accompanied by his attorney John Irving.

It was the first sighting of De Oliveira, who stands about 5'8" with salt and pepper hair, since last weeks superseding indictment in the special counsel's documents case.

The judge read the four charges against De Oliveira and his rights before setting the signature bond at $100,000. Because De Oliveira has not secured local counsel to represent him in Florida, he was asked to return for his arraignment next month.

Were working on ascertaining local counsel, Irving told NBC News ahead of the hearing.

The defense had asked for more time to secure counsel for De Oliveira before agreeing to return on Aug. 10 before a judge in Fort Pierce, about an hour north of where De Oliveira lives.

De Oliveira stood with Irving listening as the attorney spoke with the court marshal and as reporters filed out.

Prosecutors charge that De Oliveira attempted to delete surveillance footage at the former presidents Palm Beach club after the Justice Department sought to obtain it.

Carlos De Oliveira, personal aide to former President Donald Trump, outside federal court in Miami on July 31, 2023. (Chandan Khanna / AFP - Getty Images)

But without a lawyer who can practice in Florida, Irving said he didnt think the judge would proceed with De Oliveiras arraignment. Irving said it would depend on the judge, raising the prospect of delays in the case.

De Oliveira has been summoned to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres, who presided over the arraignment of Walt Nauta, Trumps personal aide who is also indicted in the classified documents case. Nautas not guilty plea was twice postponed because of difficulties in hiring local counsel.

De Oliveira, a former maintenance worker who had climbed the ranks at Mar-a-Lago for more than a decade, was a little-known aide at the club before being named a co-conspirator alongside Trump and Nauta in special counsel Jack Smiths updated indictment unsealed on Thursday. Asked about De Oliveira after the federal indictment was unsealed Thursday, one person close to Trump responded, Who the hell is that?

Filed in the Southern District of Florida, the updated indictment lays out new charges against Trump, Nauta, and, now, De Oliveira, who are accused of conspiring to thwart federal investigators efforts to retrieve sensitive classified documents from Trump in his post-presidency.

According to court documents, De Oliveira told another employee at Trumps Palm Beach club that the boss wanted surveillance footage deleted, a conversation that took place after Trumps attorneys received a subpoena to turn over the recordings.

Image: Mar-a-Lago (Steve Helber / AP file)

De Oliveira is also accused of making false statements to prosecutors, including the assertion that he never saw anything when asked whether he was involved with moving boxes of classified materials.

Aides to Trump appear to voice concern about De Oliveira's loyalty to the former president. Speaking to another employee, Nauta said words to the effect of, someone just wants to make sure Carlos is good, according to the indictment. In a Signal message to Nauta and another aide to Trump, who is described as a representative for his political action committee, the employee responds that De Oliveira is loyal.

That same day, Trump called De Oliveira and told De Oliveira that Trump would get De Oliveira an attorney, the indictment says.
The York fire burns in an area of the Mojave National Preserve on Saturday. (R. Almendinger / InciWeb / National Park Service)

The 70,000-acre wildfire that started in California's Mojave National Preserve before sweeping across the border into Nevada remained 0% contained Sunday night as firefighters faced dangerous "fire whirls"  a product of intense heat and turbulent winds, officials said.

Firefighters struggled Sunday to slow the blaze, which was rampaging across a Mojave Desert landscape that is a vast, delicate and vital ecosystem rich in wildlife  tortoises, foxes, badgers, bobcats, bighorn sheep  and Joshua trees, and the animals and plants are vulnerable to wildfires.

Earlier this year, heavy rains triggered explosive growth of grasses throughout Southern California's desert regions. Feeding off nitrogen-laden smog wafting in from the Los Angeles area, the grasses left Joshua tree forests vulnerable to large-scale brush fires.

A tanker drops fire retardant Saturday over the York fire. (R. Almendinger / InciWeb / National Park Service)

Miles upon miles of invasive grasses are like flash paper in the understory of the Mojave Desert, Frazier Haney, executive director of the Wildlands Conservancy, told The Times on Sunday.

A wildfire like this one can, in a matter of minutes, wipe out a remarkable diversity of species created by nature over tens of thousands of years, Haney said.

In 2020, the Dome fire killed as many as 1.3 million plants across more than 40,000 acres of California desert, including a large portion of Mojave National Preserve.

For the York fire, gusting, erratic winds have complicated the firefight.

The wildfire was creating spinning vortexes of flame and smoke, known as fire whirls or fire tornadoes, federal officials said: "They have the potential to spread embers over long distances and can start new fires ahead of the main fire front. Additional fire whirls can change direction suddenly, making them unpredictable and difficult to anticipate."

Showers and thunderstorms in the area of the fire were also causing "sudden, erratic winds," according to Ashley Nickerson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Las Vegas. "That makes it really hard to contain a fire."

Nickerson said the difficult conditions were not expected to let up over the next couple of days as the winds continued with gusts of 20 to 30 mph and moisture increased, bringing the possibility of more thunderstorms.

Despite the size of the fire and lack of containment, officials said there were no plans as of about 7 p.m. Sunday to issue evacuation orders for residential areas, including Nipton and Searchlight. "The fire ... remains some distance from these areas," Clark County officials tweeted, "and [Clark County Fire Department] continues to coordinate response and resources with partner agencies."

The blaze started in federal lands in Mojave National Preserve and was first observed Friday burning near Caruthers Canyon, said Stephanie Bishop, a National Park Service public information officer and spokesperson for the York fire. The cause of the blaze has not yet been determined, Bishop said.

An update From #ClarkCounty and the @ClarkCountyFD regarding the York Fire burning in the @MojaveNPS and has now moved into Nevada.



See statement attached. pic.twitter.com/Wer45GJejo  Clark County Nevada (@ClarkCountyNV) July 31, 2023

Clark County advised the public to avoid State Route 164.

The National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, San Bernardino County Fire Protection District and Clark County Fire Department were providing resources to support suppression efforts, which included air and ground crews. Officials said there were more than 200 personnel fighting the blaze.

In Riverside County, the Bonny fire was at 2,206 acres and 10% containment as of Sunday night. Multiple homes were threatened by the fire, which ignited Thursday afternoon near the community of Aguanga, southeast of Temecula.

Evacuation orders were in effect for north of the San Diego County border; east of Bonny Lane; south of Bowers, Bailey and Ramsey roads; and west of Anza Borrego State Park.

Times staff writer Ian James contributed to this report.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yes, even alligators have to go to the doctor.

According to a Facebook post from the University of Floridas College of Veterinary Medicine, a longtime resident of St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park named Brooke wasnt acting like himself in the lagoon where he lives.

Apparently, Brooke  named for the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, where he came from originally around 20 years ago  was displaying intermittent head-rolling, which is not normal behavior, said the post. The zoo, on its own Facebook post about the matter, added that one of its most popular stars was behaving strangely.

So last week, the 376-pound beast was transported to the college hospital in Gainesville, about 75 miles west of the zoo, for a thorough workup.

During the appointment, Brooke underwent several medical procedures, including a blood draw. In one picture a UF vet sits on the gators back to obtain the sample. Brooke is anesthetized, eyes taped shut and paws hanging over the side of the operating table.

We assure you this was not painful to him in any way and was only for a brief amount of time, says the post.

A gator from the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park named Brooke recently got a CAT scan at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in Gainesville, Florida/University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine

The gator is also seen getting an X-rays of his lungs, along with a CT scan of his giant head.

The zoological medicine service team determined that the unusual behavior was caused by an ear infection. After receiving medicine, Brooke was able to return to the Alligator Farm later in the day.

People who saw post were curious about the location of alligators ears, the school said.

Answer: They are directly behind the eyes and can close tightly to prevent water from getting in.

A yellow circle on the zoos post shows one of Brookes ears.
KHAR, Pakistan (AP)  A suicide bomber blew himself up at a political rally in a former stronghold of militants in northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan on Sunday, killing at least 44 people and wounding nearly 200 in an attack that a senior leader said was meant to weaken Pakistani Islamists.

The Bajur district near the Afghan border was a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban  a close ally of Afghanistans Taliban government  before the Pakistani army drove the militants out of the area. Supporters of hard-line Pakistani cleric and political party leader Fazlur Rehman, whose Jamiat Ulema Islam generally supports regional Islamists, were meeting in Bajur in a hall close to a market outside the district capital. Party officials said Rehman was not at the rally but organizers added tents because so many supporters showed up, and party volunteers with batons were helping control the crowd.

Officials were announcing the arrival of Abdul Rasheed, a leader of the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, when the bomb went off in one of Pakistans bloodiest attacks in recent years.

Provincial police said in a statement that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who detonated his explosives vest close to the stage where several senior leaders of the party were sitting. It said initial investigations suggested the Islamic State group  which operates in Afghanistan and is an enemy of the Afghan Taliban  could be behind the attack, and officers were still investigating.

There was dust and smoke around, and I was under some injured people from where I could hardly stand up, only to see chaos and some scattered limbs, said Adam Khan, 45, who was knocked to the ground by the blast around 4 p.m. and hit by splinters in his leg and both hands.

The Pakistan Taliban, or TTP, said in a statement sent to The Associated Press that the bombing was aimed at setting Islamists against each other. Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, said on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that such crimes cannot be justified in any way.

The Afghan Talibans seizure of power in Afghanistan in mid-August 2021 emboldened the TTP. They unilaterally ended a cease-fire agreement with the Pakistani government in November, and have stepped up attacks across the country.

The bombing came hours before the arrival of Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Islamabad, where he was to participate in an event to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, a sprawling package under which Beijing has invested billions of dollars in Pakistan.

In recent months, China has helped Pakistan avoid a default on sovereign payments. However, some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.

Feroz Jamal, the provincial information minister, told The Associated Press that so far 44 people had been martyred and nearly 200 wounded in the bombing.

The bombing was one of the four worst attacks in the northwest since 2014, when 147 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar. In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar. n February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Arif Alvi condemned the attack and asked officials to provide all possible assistance to the wounded and the bereaved families. Sharif later, in a phone call to Rehman, the head of the JUI, conveyed his condolences to him and assured him that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished.

The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad also condemned the attack. In a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, it expressed its condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims killed in the attack..

Maulana Ziaullah, the local chief of Rehmans party, was among the dead. JUI leaders Rasheed and former lawmaker Maulana Jamaluddin were also on the stage but escaped unhurt.

Rasheed, the regional chief of the party, said the attack was an attempt to remove JUI from the field before parliamentary elections in November, but he said such tactics would not work. The bombing drew nationwide condemnation, with the ruling and opposition parties extending condolences to the families of those who died in the attack.

Rehman is considered to be a pro-Taliban cleric and his political party is part of the coalition government in Islamabad. Meetings are being organized across the country to mobilize supporters for the upcoming elections.

Many of our fellows lost their lives and many more wounded in this incident. I will ask the federal and provincial administrations to fully investigate this incident and provide due compensation and medical facilities to the affected ones, Rasheed said.

Mohammad Wali, another attendant at the rally, said he was listening to a speaker address the crowd when the huge explosion temporarily deafened him.

I was near the water dispenser to fetch a glass of water when the bomb exploded, throwing me to the ground, he said. We came to the meeting with enthusiasm but ended up at the hospital seeing crying, wounded people and sobbing relatives taking the bodies of their loved ones.

___

Riaz Khan reported from Peshawar. Associated Press writer Munir Ahmad contributed from Islamabad.
Local children watch firefighting efforts amid heavy smoke from the Eagle Bluff wildfire

Evacuations were ongoing on both sides of the US-Canada border as dangerous wildfires continue to spread in the Pacific Northwest.

US residents near Oroville in Washington state were told to leave their homes on Sunday to escape the Eagle Bluff fire.

Some evacuation orders were lifted on Monday in the Canadian town of Osoyoos.

Four people have died fighting fires during Canada's worst wildfire season on record.

The American Red Cross said it had set up an evacuation centre in Oroville, a town of nearly 1,700 people about four miles (6.4 km) south of the border.

Osoyoos in British Columbia is a town of 5,500 people about two miles north of the border.

"This fire has been going for less than 48 hours but it feels like two weeks," Mayor Sue McKortoff said at a media briefing on Monday.

She called progress fighting the fire "an amazing feat", but noted conditions are expected to be hot and dry over the coming days.

Just under 200 properties were under evacuation orders in and around Osoyoos as some people were allowed to return home on Monday.

People in another 2,635 properties have been told they might have to leave on short notice.

Map: Osoyoos and Oroville on the US-Canada border

The fire caught some tourists off guard, including Walter Wells and his wife, who were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.

On Saturday afternoon, he spotted some smoke on the horizon in Osoyoos, he wasn't too concerned because it was coming from "a fire far away in the US", he told the BBC on Monday.

The couple went out for dinner and dancing, but late in the evening they looked across the water and "we were stunned", he said.

"There are hills just west of Osoyoos and a range of hills to the south," he said. "There's this huge, massive line of orange. Fire was just cresting the hill."

Fire crests the hills in Canada, where hundreds have been evacuated

When they got back to their hotel it was under an evacuation alert. Less than a mile to the west people had been asked to leave their homes because of the threat.

"The mountain was on fire and I was terrified," he said. They considered leaving but decided to stay the night in the hotel. It was a sleepless one.

Fire crews worked overnight and on Sunday, the couple watched water bombers working to control the blaze.

But as smoke settled over the town the couple left, driving north that afternoon to stay at a family cabin.

They drove 57 miles (92km) before the air was clear, Mr Wells said.

In an update on Monday, the BC Wildfire Service said the 1,450 hectare (3,600 acre) fire did not grow overnight but remained out of control. It is about two-and-a-half miles southwest of Osoyoos.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

More than 1,000 wildfires are currently burning across Canada, and 664 are classed as "out of control", according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

A third of the fires are alight in British Columbia, the country's westernmost province.

Fires in eastern Canada blew huge clouds of smoke over heavily populated areas and significantly worsened air quality in eastern and central North America earlier in the year.

Among the firefighters who have died while tackling the blazes was a 25-year-old who died on Friday in north-eastern British Columbia.

"I am heartbroken that another firefighter was lost protecting our communities and our province during this devastating wildfire season," said Bruce Ralston, the province's forests minister.

So far this season, Canadian wildfires have burned more than 31 million acres of land - more than the area of Cuba.

July is set to be declared the world's warmest month on record, according to scientists, and some experts think it could be the warmest month in 120,000 years.

Climate change increases the risk of the hot, dry weather that is likely to fuel wildfires.
A Midlands congregation that voted to split from the United Methodist Church in June has decided to join a new church group.

Worshipers at the former Chapin United Methodist Church  which has since changed its name to Chapin Christian Community Church  voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to join the Foundry Network, a loose collection of churches that have come together after many split off from the larger Methodist denomination.

Chapin was one of more than 100 churches across South Carolina that formally left the United Methodists in June over concerns about doctrinal differences with the denominations national leadership. Like many of those churches, the 2,900-member church then entered what Pastor Jody Flowers called a 40-day discernment period to decide what kind of relationship it wanted to have with similar-minded churches.

We didnt want to be independent on an island, Flowers told The State after Sundays vote. So we thought where could we go where we could be the biggest blessing, hopefully be an encouragement to other churches, and be blessed and learn from churches larger than us.

A group of church members studied whether Chapin should join the Global Methodist Church, largely made up of conservative churches that had previously left the United Methodists; the older evangelical Free Methodist Church; or the smaller Congregational Methodist Church.

They ultimately settled on the Foundry, a looser affiliation of like-minded churches that will leave Chapin with more autonomy.

We wanted to see what would fit best with us, said Paul Allen, retired minister for congregational care, who served with the group looking at Chapins options for a new affiliation. Allen addressed a church meeting two weeks ago to formally recommend the church join the Foundry Network.

The Foundry Network, which only got started last year, takes its name from an 18th-century meeting group set up by Methodism founder John Wesley in a foundry in England where cannons were manufactured.

We see in them relationships that we think will match up well with us, Allen told the congregation. Were not an island to ourselves, and were not starting from scratch.

Flowers said Chapin examined a dozen similar churches around the region to decide what kind of relationship would work for them. He expects ministry leaders at the church will have a monthly Zoom call each month to share ideas with their counterparts at other Foundry churches, and a big conference annually.

Money the church used to pay in apportionments to the United Methodists will now stay with Chapin under the new arrangements, Allen said.

The separation from the United Methodist Church comes with a name change for the local Methodist congregation, part of a trend of churches moving away from denominational labels to make it easier for new members to find their way to the church. Church leaders said they also wanted to move away from the recent controversy around the split from the larger United Methodist denomination.

The move comes as the national United Methodist church is split between those who want the denomination to move in a more accepting direction for LGBTQ members and more conservative congregations that are seeking to move away from the denomination for the same reason.

Many issues highlighted by the departing churches center on LGBTQ issues. The split is similar to those in other major Protestant churches in recent years that have faced internal struggles over whether and how to welcome LGBTQ people into the church. As some churches have named openly LGBTQ clergy or blessed same-sex marriages, other believers have peeled away from established denominations they feel no longer share their values.

The departing churches will owe the United Methodists a 10% tithe based on the value of the property, plus any unpaid apportionment giving, 12 months worth of additional apportionment and a withdrawal liability equal to the churchs proportion of any unfunded pension obligations.

In the end, 90% of the Chapin church members who opted to support joining the Foundry Network, 323 out of 359.

Chapin church leaders emphasized that the change will allow them to keep their focus on the local congregation off Lexington Avenue.

Us is the more than 3,500 people from various faith backgrounds, that make up Chapin Christian Community Church, said lay leader Becky McCormack, who also served with the study group. So when it comes to the new church alignment, thats something we had to remember.
Graphic showing silhouetted figures on two mobile phones, one next to a Chinese flag and one next to a UK flag, separated by loops of razor wire

China is pressuring Uyghurs living abroad to spy on human rights campaigners by threatening families back home, researchers say. Refugees and activists tell the BBC intimidating tactics are tearing communities apart.

"My dearest son," said Alim's mother as she flickered into view. "I didn't think I'd see you before I died."

Alim - not his real name - says he was overcome by the moment. The reunion over a video call was their first contact in six years, since he fled as a refugee to the UK.

But it was bittersweet: someone else was in control of the call. Like all Uyghurs - a mostly Muslim minority from north-western China - Alim's mother lives under intense surveillance and control. They could never call each other directly.

Instead, a middleman phoned Alim and his mother from two separate mobiles. He held the phone screens to face each other, so the pair could see wobbly images of each other - and hear muffled sound from the speakers.

Alim says they barely spoke, and spent most of the call in tears.

He doesn't know if the plain white wall he could see behind his mother was in her house in Xinjiang or an internment camp, where the Chinese government is alleged to have detained more than a million Uyghurs. China has long denied those charges.

But Alim says he knew this contact with his mother would come at a cost - because the man brokering the call was a Chinese police officer.

Uyghurs in China live under intense surveillance and more than a million have allegedly been detained in internment camps (file photo from 2019)

When the officer called again, he asked Alim to attend meetings of Uyghur human rights activists, gather intelligence and pass it back to the Chinese state.

"Whenever there was an anti-China protest in London, they would call me and ask who would be attending," says Alim, who shared with the BBC recordings of the phone calls requesting he work as a spy.

Alim was offered money, too, so he could try to befriend the leaders of campaign groups - many of them UK citizens - by taking them to restaurants and picking up the bill.

The officer suggested setting up a company as a front, in case suspicions were raised about his newfound wealth. Plenty of businesses had already been set up on behalf of others for that exact purpose, Alim was told.

The implied threat, that his family may come to harm if he refused, has left him in a vicious bind.

"They are using my family as hostages," Alim says. "I am living in a dark moment."

Watch more on BBC Newsnight on BBC Two at 22:30 on Monday 31 July, or catch up afterwards on BBC iPlayer

The tactics employed by governments to police their diasporas abroad are known as transnational repression.

Research suggests this particular kind - controlling access to family members in the home country through video calls, in exchange for compliance overseas - is commonly used by Chinese police.

Dr David Tobin at the University of Sheffield has conducted some of the most comprehensive research on the topic to date, with his colleague Nyrola Elima. They have interviewed and surveyed more than 200 members of the Uyghur diaspora in several countries. He says all Uyghurs living outside China are victims of transnational repression.

"Family separation is the central tactic," he says. Even where phone calls are technically possible, relatives still living in China won't pick up, according to Dr Tobin. He says there is an assumption that calls will be monitored, and a fear that communicating freely will put them at risk.

Dr David Tobin says all Uyghurs living abroad are victims of transnational repression

This severing of family ties allows Chinese police to step in and offer tightly managed access - over video calls - as an incentive to comply, with the threat of repercussions for the family if they do not.

In the UK, Dr Tobin surveyed or interviewed 48 Uyghurs, from a population of about 400 people. Of those, two-thirds reported having been contacted directly by Chinese police - and pressured to spy, refrain from advocacy work, or stop speaking to the media.

And Uyghurs in the UK are far from the worst affected.

In Turkey, traditionally a safe haven for Uyghurs where 50,000 live in one of the largest communities outside China, 80% of the 148 of respondents reported similar threats from Chinese authorities.

Short presentational grey line

Abdurehim Parac arrived in Istanbul in 2014, having fled China a year earlier.

"Turkey was completely different to anything we'd experienced. We could travel wherever we wanted. The police didn't bother us," he says. "I couldn't believe such a life was possible."

But in the past few years, the picture has changed for Uyghurs in Turkey. Reports that police based in China have pressured people to spy on each other have filtered through the community, splintering their sense of camaraderie.

Abdurehim Parac says Turkey was a safe haven for Uyghurs, but China's tactics are driving the community apart

In a video posted on Facebook, a young Uyghur man who appears to have been captured and beaten by his peers, offers a troubled confession - admitting to spying on behalf of Beijing. While the circumstances surrounding the scene are unclear, the footage has been circulated among the Uyghur community, and the man has been widely condemned online.

The accumulation of stories like these is having an effect, Abdurehim says.

"Young people are distancing themselves from Uyghur protests and meetings. They are worried that people there might be spies," he says. "China's plan is working."

Dr Tobin thinks Turkish authorities are aware of what's happening and have been slow to respond. "The more dependent a country is on investment from China, the more likely it is to cooperate or to turn a blind eye," he says.

Turkey is seen as having grown closer to China in recent years, and questions have been raised about its commitment to protecting its Uyghur community.

The Turkish government did not respond to a request for comment.

Short presentational grey line

But China is not only targeting people in countries where it has economic supremacy.

Julie Millsap, a US-born activist who works with the Uyghur Human Rights Project in Washington DC, says China has tried to pressure her through her in-laws.

Julie Millsap, a US-born activist, says her husband's family in China faced police harassment for her work with Uyghurs

Her husband is Han Chinese, part of the country's largest ethnic group, and the two met in China before moving to the US capital in 2020.

After Julie began campaigning on behalf of Uyghurs, local police began dropping in on her extended family in China, saying they "wanted to be friends".

She and her husband received threatening messages from her sister-in-law's phone, suggesting Julie's children may end up "as orphans". "They weren't written in a language style that she used," says Julie, who suspects the police were instructing her to send them.

During a recent video call between her husband, in Washington DC, and his sister, in China, the police happened to stop by, allowing Julie to record the moment, and confront one of the officers directly.

"He stammered and asked us not to misinterpret his intentions," she says. The officer told her police were arranging visits to all local families with US relatives, in light of the "delicate" relationship between the US and China.

Julie Millsap confronted a police officer who dropped in on her sister-in-law in China

Julie recognises that a white American and a Han Chinese family are afforded a degree of safety that Uyghurs are not. "But we're still talking about police harassment, about threats, about a daily reality that is anything but good," she says.

She thinks it is alarming that Chinese authorities feel comfortable targeting foreign citizens and attempting to dictate their work.

Short presentational grey line

The US government is beginning to address the problem formally.

In March, senators introduced the Transnational Repression Policy Act, listing a range of abuses including "coercion by proxy", which covers threats to family members overseas. If passed, the law would see the creation of a dedicated phone line to report threats, and prompt Congress to bring sanctions against perpetrators wherever possible.

Abduweli Ayup, a Uyghur rights campaigner based in Norway, thinks the US legislation would be a step in the right direction, but that Western governments should go further. Each time a case is reported to the authorities, questions should be lodged directly with the Chinese government, requesting assurance that family members are safe, he says.

"We are your citizens, your neighbours and your taxpayers. Our governments should take some responsibility," says Mr Ayup.

Dr Tobin recognises the complications inherent in tackling the issue. "Saying 'would you like to speak to your family?' isn't a crime. We know it's a threat. We know it breaks communities, and causes mental health problems and trauma, but it is not a crime on British soil," he says.

The UK Home Office says attempts to intimidate overseas critics are "unacceptable", that an internal review into transnational repression is underway, and all such incidents should be reported to law enforcement.

In a statement, the Chinese Embassy in London called the allegations of transnational repression "totally groundless". The Chinese government "protects Uyghurs and their communication with overseas relatives in accordance with the law", it said.

Alim chose not to report his case to the police, but confessed his predicament to a group of Uyghur rights activists in London.

One of the group's leaders told us the requests were very common, and posed challenges to the integrity of the community - but insisted their advocacy work would continue. In their experience, almost all advances from Chinese police are rejected.

Alim wrestled with the issue before reaching a decision. "I realised that betraying others for the sake of my family would mean selling out my nation, and I couldn't do that.

"If that was the price I had to pay, so be it." He too refused China's offer.
BEIJING (Reuters) -China's manufacturing activity fell for a fourth straight month in July, albeit at a slower pace, an official factory survey showed on Monday, reinforcing the need for further policy support to boost domestic demand.

The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) was at 49.3 from 49.0 in June, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, staying below the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction. The outcome also just beat a forecast of 49.2.

The world's second-largest economy grew at a slow pace in the second quarter, as demand remained weak at home and abroad, leading the Politburo - a top decision-making body of the ruling Communist Party - to describe economic recovery as "tortuous."

President Xi Jinping said China would achieve its annual development targets, state media reported last week. However, analysts warn the country could miss its modest 2023 growth target of around 5% for a second year in a row should the economy lose any more momentum.

China will implement macro adjustments to the economy "in a precise and forceful manner" and strengthen counter-cyclical adjustments, as the government sticks with prudent monetary policy and pro-active fiscal policy, the Politburo was quoted as saying earlier this month.

Many analysts say policymakers are unlikely to deliver any aggressive stimulus due to worries about growing debt risks. They attribute the recent absence of any major announcements to a lack of urgency and a struggle to come up with appropriate policy ideas.

The official non-manufacturing PMI dropped to 51.5 from 53.2 in June, while the composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and non-manufacturing activity, fell to 51.1 from 52.9.

(Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Sam Holmes and Edmund Klamann)
Flowers, beverages and messages of condolences lie on an alley near Sillim Station, July 23, where a man was killed and three others wounded in a stabbing rampage a day before. Korea Times photo by Choi Ju-yeon



Police are tracking the writer of an internet post threatening to kill people near Sillim Station, the area where a deadly stabbing spree left one person killed and three others wounded earlier this month, officials said Monday.



The post threatening to "kill 20 hannams on Monday at Sillim Station" was uploaded on an internet community at 12:40 p.m. the previous day, according to police officials. It was later deleted.



Hannam is a misandrist internet acronym of hankuk namja, or Korean man in English.



Upon receiving a report shortly after midnight, police searched the area, but found no signs of the threatened crime, officials said.



Including the latest post, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is currently investigating a total of six internet death threats for the subway station area in southwestern Seoul that followed a deadly stabbing rampage in the area on July 21. A 33-year-old man stabbed one man to death and wounded three others in the random attack. (Yonhap)


J. Robert Oppenheimer and Gen. Leslie Groves, the military boss of the Manhattan Project, at what remained of ground zero after the Trinity test of the plutonium bomb in July 1945. (Department of Defense)

"Oppenheimer" has been justly praised for its attempt at historical fidelity in telling the life story of the brilliant, agonized physicist, but it's not a documentary.

The movie gets most things right about Oppenheimer's role in the Manhattan Project, the government effort to build the atomic bomb, as one would expect given that filmmaker Christopher Nolan based it on "American Prometheus," the superb 2005 biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.

But artistic imperatives and Nolan's understandable choice to tell his story from Oppenheimer's point of view led him to perpetuate a few myths about the making of the atomic bomb and to gloss over aspects of the story that may be interesting for lay viewers.

Oppie, is it a secret?

Physicist Paul Ehrenfest, trying to decipher Oppenheimer's unintelligible mumbling at a Caltech lecture

Based on what I gleaned about Oppenheimer and the project from researching my 2015 biography of Berkeley physicist Ernest O. Lawrence (played in the movie by Josh Hartnett), "Big Science," I'll try to correct the Hollywood record and fill in the gaps.

Let's jump in.

For the most part, Nolan sticks to the facts. "Oppenheimer" is notable among biopics for portraying real people doing the things they did at the time. Even peripheral characters who flit briefly across the screen are given their real names or identifiable characteristics.

As far as I can tell, the only imaginary or composite character in the film is the unnamed Senate aide played by Alden Ehrenreich, whose dramatic function is to be a sounding board for the grousing of Lewis L. Strauss (brilliantly played by Robert Downey Jr.), Oppenheimer's political nemesis.

That bongo-playing physicist glimpsed at the Trinity plutonium bomb test in the New Mexico desert? Unnamed in the film, he's Richard Feynman, later to be revered as Caltech's resident genius but, at 24, attached to the Los Alamos bomb lab at the very beginning of his scientific career. (He did bring his bongos to the desert.)

Lawrence's associate Luis Alvarez, later a Nobel laureate, is accurately portrayed as bursting into an Oppenheimer seminar in 1939 with the first news of the discovery of nuclear fission by German physicists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann. The film also accurately shows Oppenheimer instantly responding, "That's impossible," promptly withdrawing his snap judgment and, within a week, outlining how the discovery might be used to make a bomb.

Read more:Column: 75 years ago today, the Trinity A-Bomb test ushered in the era of nuclear warfare

But the film doesn't cover Alvarez's resentful and damaging testimony in the Oppenheimer security hearing, during which he claimed to have heard Vannevar Bush, the top science advisor to Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, reveal that Truman had not trusted Oppenheimer. Bush  who is played by Matthew Modine  vociferously contradicted the story.

The most glaring historical gaffe is the film's perpetuation of the myth that Oppenheimer was the boss of the Manhattan Project; it shows him assuring Gen. Leslie R. Groves that he can run the project. (Matt Damon would have had to put on at least 50 or 60 pounds to more accurately impersonate Groves, who tipped the scales at nearly 300 pounds.)

Oppenheimer was merely the boss of Los Alamos, one of the project's numerous separate labs and technical installations. Its job was to actually build the bomb, drawing on the research of labs at Columbia, the University of Chicago and Berkeley. Though Groves was the overall boss, the project's scientific management was divided, rather tetchily, between Lawrence and Arthur Holly Compton of the University of Chicago.

Lawrence was the scientist whose advice Groves trusted the most. He originally wanted Lawrence to run the lab that was eventually built at Los Alamos, but decided Lawrence was too important to be limited to the bomb-designing task.

Oppenheimer was Groves' second choice, but he turned to Lawrence for assurance that Oppenheimer could effectively run the bomb lab.

Lawrence, who at that time was a close friend of Oppenheimer, his valued colleague at UC Berkeley  he named his first son Robert after Oppenheimer  assuaged Groves' concerns about Oppenheimer's leftist politics and lack of a Nobel Prize. Lawrence sealed the deal for his friend by promising Groves that if Oppenheimer failed in his task, he would take it over himself.

A few words about Ernest Lawrence. Before and during the war, the South Dakota native was the most famous and influential scientist in America  arguably the first home-grown scientific celebrity in American history.

The scientists of Ernest Lawrence's Radiation Lab at UC Berkeley in 1938, framed by the magnet for the 60-inch cyclotron. Lawrence is seated in the front row, fifth from the left; J. Robert Oppenheimer is standing in the back row, fifth from the left. (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

The inventor of the cyclotron, the most important atom-smasher of its era and the invention that transformed particle physics in the 1930s, Lawrence was featured on the cover of Time magazine on Nov. 1, 1937, over the caption "He creates and destroys," and won the Nobel Prize in 1939.

Lawrence's skill at explaining complex scientific principles in lay terms kept him in the public eye via radio talks and newspaper articles and helped him attract millions of dollars in foundation and government funding for his Radiation Laboratory  the "Rad Lab"  at UC Berkeley. It was due to his influence that UC was awarded the contract to run Los Alamos after the war, which it still holds, albeit with somewhat diminished authority. Lawrence also invented a color TV system that was eventually incorporated into Sony's Trinitron technology.

Oppenheimer, by contrast, was almost entirely unknown to the general public until after the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, when he was thrust into fame as "the father of the atomic bomb."

Among the physics fraternity, however, Oppenheimer was virtually a cult figure, which is painted only murkily in the film. His graduate students at Berkeley and Caltech, where he held joint appointments, chain-smoked his brand of cigarettes (Chesterfields), imitated his loping gait, and replicated the almost unintelligible mumbling of his lecturing style.

Austrian physicist Paul Ehrenfest, a friend of Oppenheimer's who sat through one of his Caltech lectures straining to make out his words, finally blurted out, "Oppie, is it a secret?"

Read more:Column: Keeping the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant open is a dangerous waste of effort and money

Another myth perpetuated by the film is that the physicists were afraid that the bomb blast might ignite the atmosphere, destroying the world. "Oppenheimer" depicts this possibility being debated almost as late as the Trinity test. In fact, it had been raised very briefly in 1942 and promptly put to rest by Manhattan Project physicist Hans Bethe, who later called it "absolute nonsense."

One more point concerns Oppenheimer's recollection that upon witnessing the fireball produced by the Trinity test, he immediately thought of a line from the Sanskrit Bhagavad-Gita: "I am become death, destroyer of worlds."

The film takes him at his word, but the truth is that he never mentioned this in public until 1965; one friend considered the claim to be one of Oppenheimer's "priestly exaggerations." By the way, the line from the Hindu scripture has been translated in other ways, notably as "I am become time, destroyer of worlds," perhaps a subtler and more sinister thought than Oppie's version.

Some aspects of the 1954 security hearing as depicted in the film warrant further examination. The film accurately shows that Groves, asked if he would give Oppenheimer a security clearance at the time of the hearing, answered carefully that he would not, under the stringent security rules imposed by the Atomic Energy Commission. But his subsequent sotto voce remark, to the effect that he probably wouldn't give any of the Manhattan Project scientists clearance under those rules, doesn't appear anywhere in the 1,011-page hearing transcript.

Then there's Lawrence's decision not to testify against his old friend. By 1954, Lawrence and Oppenheimer had had a bitter falling-out. The film attributes this mostly to Lawrence's fury upon learning that Oppenheimer had carried on an affair with the wife of Caltech physicist Richard Tolman, a close friend of Lawrence. Tolman committed suicide shortly after learning of the betrayal, which Lawrence ascribed to his broken heart.

But another reason for their split was Oppie's campaigning against the hydrogen bomb program, which Lawrence favored and which was a major source of government patronage for his lab  Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, an offshoot of the Rad Lab, had been founded largely to pursue research on the so-called Super.

The Trinity test fireball, 25 thousands of a second after its detonation at the Alamogordo bombing range in New Mexico at 5:29 a.m. Mountain time on July 16, 1945, ushering in a new reality for humankind. (Los Alamos National Laboratory)

Although Lawrence had promised Strauss, who as chairman of the AEC oversaw all civilian government nuclear research and stage-managed the security hearing, that he would testify, he was racked with second thoughts as his appearance date approached.

Lawrence knew that the physics community overwhelmingly supported Oppenheimer, and that Berkeley had become the center of anti-Oppenheimer sentiment, in part because of the conflict over the H-bomb program. This was not a good look for the Rad Lab.

Contrary to the film's depiction, Lawrence never actually showed up outside the hearing room. Instead, he phoned Strauss the Monday before his scheduled appearance from the government's Oak Ridge lab, which he had founded and designed for the production of enriched uranium for the bomb ultimately dropped on Hiroshima (the Trinity test was of a plutonium bomb like that dropped on Nagasaki, which was a much more complicated engineering challenge).

As the film shows, Lawrence pleaded a medical excuse  an outbreak of ulcerative colitis, the condition that would ultimately kill him in 1958. After Strauss responded with a vicious tongue-lashing over the phone, culminating in an accusation of cowardice, Lawrence summoned his fellow Oak Ridge guests, all government lab directors, to prove he was not feigning illness by showing them his toilet, brimming with bright red blood.

Christopher Nolan's film implicitly asks viewers to come to their own conclusions about the moral dimension of the decision to drop the bomb on Japan. A committee of four physicists  Oppenheimer, Lawrence, Compton and Fermi  was tasked with the options, which included staging a demonstration at an uninhabited Pacific island to show Japanese officials what they faced if they didn't surrender.

Lawrence, who had worked with Japanese scientists to build the first cyclotrons outside the U.S., was the last member of the committee to agree that using the bomb was the only choice, for the possibility of a dud demonstration was too great to risk. As the committee chair, Oppenheimer signed the one-page memo, dated June 16, 1945, that came to the dismaying conclusion that "we see no acceptable alternative to direct military use."

What the physicists didn't know was that the decision already had been taken out of their hands. That Boeing B-29 bombers that would carry the bombs had already been assembled on Tinian Island, 1,500 miles south of Japan, and the military decision to use the bombs was preordained.

How should we think about the development of nuclear weapons and Oppenheimer's role? My view is that the Manhattan Project was understandable and defensible given the wartime context. Allied physicists, especially refugees from the Nazi regime, knew that although Hitler had driven away Jewish scientists, the physicists left behind in Germany were among the best in the world, perfectly capable of developing the atomic bomb. They were in a panic that Hitler might get the weapon before the Allies.

They had no way of knowing that, as the Allies discovered after Germany's surrender, there had been no German bomb project because the Germans miscalculated the physics involved and didn't have access to the resources and equipment, including the cyclotron, in the U.S. and Britain.

The decision to pursue the hydrogen bomb is another story. Fermi and other leading physicists understood that its incredible power meant it could only be a weapon of genocide. Some worked on it anyway. Oppenheimer's notion that nuclear research should be placed under international control to forestall the perils of nuclear proliferation was idealistic, but in terms of geopolitical reality hopelessly naive. There was no way that the U.S. and Britain would cede control of the technology to any international body after 1945.

The tragic message of Oppenheimer and "Oppenheimer" is that humankind has lived under a nuclear sword of Damocles ever since.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A Columbus mans fate was in the hands of a jury Monday after attorneys made their closing arguments in the murder trial of Jordan Jamal Seldon, accused of killing rapper Jaylin Jaquan Bart Williams during a failed robbery in midtown.

Seldon, 24, faces life in prison if convicted of fatally shooting Williams on his front porch on Wallace Drive four years ago, on Aug. 1, 2019. Police say Seldon and two other men intended to rob the 21-year-old of any valuables he had on him as he stepped outside the house.

Their attempt to ambush Williams backfired when Williams pulled his own gun and started shooting, triggering a gunfight that prompted his would-be robbers to flee, leaving Williams dying on his porch, shot through the heart with a 9-millimeter bullet, authorities said.

Afterward Seldon and accomplice Christian Desean Patrick ran back to Patricks car on East Lindsey Drive and fled, according to Patricks testimony last week. They abandoned cohort Gerald Wayne Reed III, who left his phone in Seldons car and lost his shoes running away, so he began walking the neighborhood, after 11 p.m. on a rainy night, asking residents if he could use their phone, police said.

The neighbors called 911, and officers questioned Reed that night before releasing him at the Fairview Drive home of then-girlfriend Anna Elizabeth Stecenko, who drove him back to Wallace Drive to collect a gun and camouflage jacket he had hidden in a vacant house there, she testified.

Stecenko and Reed disassembled the .45-caliber Glock and hid it in Harris County, where investigators later recovered the firearm. They also found Williams 9-millimeter pistol that jammed during the shootout.

But the 9-millimeter used to shoot Williams was never found, and Patricks testimony that Seldon was armed with the weapon was crucial to the prosecutions case.

So, prosecutor Lewis Lamb agreed to dismiss Patricks charges in exchange for his testimony, though Patrick admitted his role in the foiled robbery that led to Williams death.

Though Reeds statements to police led to their unraveling the robbery scheme and arresting four suspects, including Reed and Stecenko, Lamb never called Reed to testify, relying instead on Patrick and Stecenko to tell jurors what happened.

Defense blasts testimony

Defense attorney Mike Garner emphasized that in his closing, telling jurors that the law said they could not convict his client solely on the uncorroborated testimony of a co-defendant, and that Patrick and Stecenko were not credible witnesses.

Defense attorney Mike Garner makes his closing argument Monday morning. 07/31/2023

The testimony of an accomplice alone is not sufficient to warrant a conviction, the attorney said.

Then he asked the jurors about the prosecutors case. Do they have an independent witness in this case? No, not a single witness.

He said Stecenko repeatedly lied to police before.

She has lied from beginning to end in this case. If jurors thought it a reasonable possibility that Stecenko lied on the witness stand, then they had enough reasonable doubt to find Seldon not guilty, he said.

Garner maintained that Seldon was not there when the shooting happened, and that another man police have not charged killed Williams.

Reed and Stecenko are not on trial because each pleaded guilty to lesser charges last year, agreeing to testify in the trial if summoned:

Stecenko, 24, pleaded guilty only to tampering with evidence, and faces 10 years in prison with six to serve.

Reed, 25, pleaded to aggravated assault and using a gun to commit a felony. He faces up to 25 years in prison.

They are to be sentenced after the trial. Patrick, who has spent four years in jail awaiting trial, is to be freed afterward, said his attorney, Angela Dillon.

Lamb is the district attorney in Americus, Georgia, who was assigned the case because Columbus District Attorney Stacey Jackson in his former private practice represented Patrick, presenting a conflict of interest.
By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) -A group of Democratic state attorneys general has urged a federal appeals court to lift an order sharply curbing the ability of government officials to push social media companies to moderate content they deem harmful.

The top law enforcement officers of 20 states and the District of Columbia, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, said in a filing on Friday with the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the order hampers efforts by government officials to stop the spread of false information.

The July 4 preliminary order from U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty in Louisiana came in a lawsuit filed in May 2022 by Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri.

They alleged that U.S. government officials, under both Democratic President Joe Biden and his Republican predecessor Donald Trump, effectively coerced social media companies to censor posts over concerns they would fuel vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic or upend elections.

The judge said federal officials violated the right to free speech under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment when they began asking social media companies such as Meta's Facebook and Google's YouTube around 2019 to limit the spread of posts they considered to be misinformation.

The order is temporarily on hold while the Biden administration appeals it.

If the 5th Circuit allows the order to take effect again, it will bar government agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, from talking to social media companies for "the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech" under the First Amendment, with narrow exceptions.

The Democratic attorneys general in Friday's filing called the ruling "erroneous."

"In purporting to protect First Amendment values, the district court significantly restricted the flow of public discourse on vitally important issues," they said in the filing.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey responded in a statement on Monday: "Protecting the First Amendment should be a bipartisan issue," he said. "The fact that it isn't is deeply concerning."

The office of Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The appeal is expected to be heard on Aug. 10 by 5th Circuit Judges Edith Brown Clement, Jennifer Walker Elrod and Don Willett, all appointed by Republican presidents.

(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; editing by Deepa Babington and Leslie Adler)
ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP)  In a new policy plan unveiled Monday, Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis took aim at China with a Declaration of Economic Independence that also targets taxes, regulations and elites he blames for the nations decline.

Speaking in a New Hampshire warehouse, the Florida governor promised to diversify and expand the economy by fighting for the middle class.

"Revitalizing economic freedom and opportunity will require building an economy where the concerns of average citizens are elevated over those deemed too big to fail, he said at Prep Partners Group, which coordinates warehousing, distribution and other logistics for other companies.

We are a nation with an economy, not the other way around, DeSantis said. We are citizens of a republic. We are not cogs in a global economic empire.

DeSantis said his top priority would be wresting economic control from China by ending the nations preferential trade status, banning imports of goods made from stolen intellectual property and preventing companies from sharing critical technologies with China. Current polices, he said, have created an abusive relationship between the two countries.

The elites sold us a bill of goods when it came to China. They were wrong, and we need to get it right, he said.

The 10-point economic plan is the third major policy proposal put forth by DeSantis, who remains a distant second to former President Donald Trump in most polls and is fighting for momentum in the midst of a campaign reset. He recently shed more than one-third of his staff as federal filings showed his campaign was burning through cash at an unsustainable rate.

But on Monday, his focus was on reckless federal government spending. His plan describes him as a new sheriff in town who will veto wasteful spending and mandate work requirements for welfare programs. He also claimed he could achieve 3% annual economic growth by keeping taxes low, eliminating bureaucracy and incentivizing investment.

On the education front, DeSantis said he will stop incentivizing useless degrees by making universities responsible for the loans their students accrue.

Its wrong to say that a truck driver should have to pay off the debt of somebody who got a degree in gender studies, he said.

After the speech, in what was billed as a news conference, DeSantis sidestepped a question about Trumps mounting legal fees. Thats even as the DeSantis campaign has been attacking Trump for devoting much of his political fundraising to his legal entanglements.

Were here to talk about restoring this economy. Were here to talk about uplifting the middle class, DeSantis said. To me, if you ask voters, are they more interested in hearing about that or the process stories about politics? I think that they want to hear about the countrys future so thats what were going to talk about.

A spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee said DeSantis should be talking about the economic woes he created in Florida including the rising costs of housing, property insurance and health care.

It remains a mystery why DeSantis would try to reboot his dumpster fire of a campaign by promising to bring his failures as governor nationwide, Ammar Moussa said.
Four members of the FOX Weather family shared their experiences in the media industry at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists convention on July 13.

FOX Weather meteorologist Marissa Torres moderated a panel called "Weathering it together: Latinx representation in journalism, weather coverage and connecting stories." As the only weather-related panel at NAHJ, it explored the impact of Hispanic and Latinx community representation in the weather and climate industry.

Panel speakers included FOX Weather meteorologist Craig Herrera, FOX Weather correspondent Nicole Valdes and FOX Weather senior producer Valeria Lacourciere.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

FOX Weather meteorologist Marissa Torres and Craig Herrera, alongside FOX Weather correspondent Nicole Valdes and FOX Weather senior producer Valeria Lacourciere speak at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists convention on July 13, 2023.

"Attending this years NAHJ Conference on behalf of FOX Weather was an incredible opportunity," Torres said. "It allowed us to share all the hard work weve put forward over the past year and a half, as well as connect with our Hispanic/Latinx community."

A large part of making that connection involved Torres and her fellow panelists sharing personal experiences, not just about how they each honed their craft as journalists but also how their cultural backgrounds informed how they navigated the media industry.

One example involved Valdes and her work on the documentary "FOX Weather Reports: Ruin and Resurrection," which covered the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017.

Valdes noted how she sought to balance her role as a correspondent reporting on the storm and her personal ties to the island, particularly as some of her own family members were affected by the hurricane.

"What I learned as a journalist is that having a connection to your story is not a weakness, its a strength," Valdes said. "It made the story better, and my interviewees knew they could trust me as my family lived it."

FOX Weather meteorologist Marissa Torres and Craig Herrera, alongside FOX Weather correspondent Nicole Valdes and FOX Weather senior producer Valeria Lacourciere speak at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists convention on July 13, 2023.

"It became my superpower in reporting that I hoped would resonate with Hispanic journalists at the NAHJ conference," she added.

However, finding a balance between being true to yourself and your cultural background while being a media professional has been a challenge for some at times.

Lacourciere spoke about how, early on in her career in Connecticut, she "de-hispanified" her name because her colleagues had difficulty pronouncing it. Rather than call her "Valeria," they defaulted to calling her "Valerie," and eventually Lacourciere settled on "Val."

"It was a choice I made to be accepted," she said.

At the panel earlier this month, Lacourciere reclaimed her name, introducing herself by saying, "My name is Valeria, and it feels so good to be able to say it that way."

"It truly was a special moment for me to be accepted  just as I am," she recalled. During the panel, she also spoke about her experience as a woman and as a Latina in the news and how, despite being the only representation in her newsroom, she leveraged her background to help Hispanic community members be seen in local reporting.

For Torres, representation is a critical component of the media industry, particularly when it comes to reporting the news.

FOX Corporation members at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists convention on July 13, 2023.

"Proper representation and diversification in the newsroom and on-air is vital to our success on this national platform, and Im proud to be a part of a group that reflects that very thing," she said. "We still have work to do, but being at this conference and having those important, sometimes difficult, conversations is what will ultimately contribute to our success."

This honesty about the struggles and successes of the FOX Weather panelists struck a chord with panel attendees, many of whom approached the panelists after the event had ended, according to Herrera.

"We had some awesome people, both recent college graduates and some people still in college, who came to us after and talked with us for several minutes, many of them looking for guidance," he said. "I think we made some good connections. We were the only weather-related panel, and I was proud FOX Weather was the only group with such a panel."

Held in Miami, the convention was hosted by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. According to the NAHJ website, the organizations mission is dedicated to the recognition and professional advancement of Hispanic students, professionals and educators in the journalism industry.
NICOSIA (Reuters) - Greece and Cyprus on Monday welcomed moves by Turkey to boost relations with the European Union, but said rapprochement should be gradual and not unconditional.

European Union foreign ministers said on July 20 they were ready to re-engage with Turkey, but stopped short of offering Ankara a clear resumption of membership talks.

Turkey has been a candidate for EU membership for more than two decades, but talks stalled in 2016 over the bloc's concerns over the rule of law and human rights in the country.

The division of Cyprus between its Greek and Turkish Cypriot populations, a source of friction between Greece and Turkey, has also been an impediment.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, whose countries are both EU members, said they welcomed a Turkey-EU re-engagement but that it had to be "gradual", and, if necessary, "reversible".

"Those two words should guide us. We can be optimistic, but we are not naive," Mitsotakis told reporters after meeting Christodoulides in Nicosia, Cyprus's ethnically-split capital.

The two terms have been built into European terminology over Turkey for some years, reflecting in part the long and convulsed journey of the country in attempting to join the bloc.

Christodoulides said launching a positive agenda with Turkey also implied "positive moves" on Ankara's part over Cyprus.

"It's important that our EU partners are also taking the same view," Christodoulides said.

Cyprus was divided after a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a Greek Cypriot coup engineered by the military junta then ruling Greece. It is represented in the EU by an internationally-recognised Greek Cypriot government.

On-off peace negotiations in the past focussed on uniting the island under a two-zone federal umbrella endorsed by the United Nations. In recent years the Turkish Cypriot side has advocated a two-state settlement, rejected by Greek Cypriots.

"Any partitionist thoughts of two states is completely off any agenda of discussion, and I want to be very clear on that," Mitsotakis said.

As recently as last Friday, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said a resumption of peace talks on Cyprus would be possible only if the Greek Cypriots accepted sovereign equality.

(Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Conor Humphries)
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Indonesia has paused live cattle imports from four Australian facilities after lumpy skin disease (LSD) was detected in a small number of cattle some time after arrival, the Australian government said.

Australian officials were working with Indonesia to reassure market participants that all animals exported from Australia complied with Indonesian requirements, including being free of LSD, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said in a statement on Sunday.

Rapid diagnostic testing of cattle has begun to help restore exports from the impacted facilities, he said.

LSD, which causes blisters and reduces milk production, is a highly infectious viral disease affecting cattle and buffalo that is transmitted by insect biting but which does not pose a risk to humans.

Australia is free of LSD and cattle exports to Indonesia continues from other facilities, Watt said.

Given the presence of LSD in Indonesia, positive results in cattle after reaching Indonesia were not unexpected, Australia's Chief Veterinary Officer Mark Schipp said. LSD was first reported in livestock in Indonesia early last year.

Indonesia is the largest market for Australian live cattle exports, accounting for about 56% in 202122, data showed, worth about A$900 million ($600 million). It is a trade that Australia's north heavily relies on.

Australia did not specify the number of shipments that will be impacted by Indonesia's decision.

($1 = 1.5020 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
PITTSBURGH (AP)  A jury is set to deliberate whether to impose the death penalty or a sentence of life in prison without parole on a man who spewed antisemitic hate before fatally shooting 11 worshippers at a synagogue in the heart of Pittsburgh's Jewish community.

The same jurors who convicted 50-year-old Robert Bowers in June on 63 criminal counts listened to closing arguments Monday in the penalty phase of his federal trial, held nearly five years after the truck driver from suburban Baldwin perpetrated the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history.

The extent to which mental illness and Bowers' difficult childhood played a role in the massacre dominated the lawyers' arguments for and against capital punishment. The jury is expected to get the case and begin deliberations on Tuesday.

Speaking for the government, U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan said Bowers was clearly motivated by religious hatred when he entered the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, and opened fire with an AR-15 rifle, shooting everyone he could find.

The gunman raved incessantly on social media about his hatred of Jewish people  using a slur for Jewish people some 400 times on a platform favored by the far right  and remains proud that he killed Jews, the prosecutor reminded jurors.

Do not be numb to it. Remember what it means. This defendant targeted people solely because of the faith that they chose, Olshan said.

He added: "This is a case that calls for the most severe punishment under the law: the death penalty.

Bowers lead defense attorney, Judy Clarke, acknowledged the horror of his crimes but urged jurors to opt for mercy and a life sentence.

Bowers' attorneys have argued that he has schizophrenia, a serious brain disorder whose symptoms include delusions and hallucinations, and that Bowers attacked the synagogue out of a delusional belief that Jews were helping to bring about a genocide of white people by coming to the aid of refugees and immigrants. On Monday, Clarke recounted Bowers' history of psychiatric hospitalizations, including an extended stay in a residential juvenile mental health program.

The defense also presented evidence of Bowers difficult childhood.

What has happened cannot be undone. We cant rewind the clock and make it that this senseless crime never happened. All we can do is make the right decision going forward. We are asking you to make the right decision, and that is life, Clarke said in her closing argument.

A life sentence would mean that prison is where Mr. Bowers will die in obscurity, not as a hero and not as a martyr, she said.

Olshan, the prosecutor, disputed the defense experts' diagnosis of schizophrenia, asserting that Bowers was not suffering psychosis but had chosen to believe white supremacist rhetoric. And while acknowledging that Bowers was a depressed, neglected child, Olshan downplayed the significance of it, noting that Bowers had held jobs, paid bills, and was an otherwise functioning adult.

He was not a child, he was a grown man. He was responsible for his actions, not his family and things that happened decades earlier. He was, he is responsible for his actions," Olshan said.

Clarke retorted that childhood matters.

It defies reality to say he got better, hes fine, hes just an evil guy. What it does is reflects a complete misunderstanding of serious mental illness," she said.

In order to impose death, jurors must find that aggravating circumstances, which make the crime especially heinous, outweigh mitigating factors that could be seen as diminishing his culpability. Those aggravating circumstances could include the vulnerability of Bowers' elderly and disabled victims and his targeting of Jewish people.

Olshan played a composite of 911 calls made from inside the synagogue, including audio of people being shot and a survivors horrified screams.

He said Bowers had taken 11 people, 11 full lives, 11 people who loved their families, 11 people who loved their friends, 11 people who were loved. ... How do you measure the impact of all of that loss?

The prosecutor spoke about 75-year-old Joyce Fienberg's care for her family and 65-year-old Richard Gottfried's devotion to his faith. He said Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, 66, had the ethos of a country doctor: He loved delivering babies but he never delivered judgment. David Rosenthal, 54, and Cecil Rosenthal, 59, intellectually disabled brothers, loved life," Olshan said. "But maybe more than anything, they loved Tree of Life."

The other deceased victims were Rose Mallinger, 97; Bernice Simon, 84, and her husband, Sylvan Simon, 86; Dan Stein, 71; Melvin Wax, 87; and Irving Younger, 69.

The attack also wounded seven people, including five responding police officers. Bowers was shot three times before surrendering when he ran out of ammunition.

___

Rubinkam reported from northeastern Pennsylvania.
Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine of carrying out drone strikes on its territory in recent months.

On 1 August, Russian authorities said a skyscraper in the capital, Moscow, was attacked by a drone for the second time in two days.

The Russian defence ministry also said on the same day that three Ukrainian unmanned boats trying to attack Russian naval ships in the Black Sea had been destroyed.

Although Ukraine hasn't claimed responsibility for specific drone strikes, President Volodymyr Zelensky previously said that attacks on Russian territory were an "inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process".

How many drone attacks have there been in Russia?

According to Russian media reports monitored by BBC Verify, there have been more than 120 suspected drone attacks this year in Russia and Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.

Map of Russia showing reported drone attacks, based on BBC research

These have been concentrated in the Bryansk and Belgorod regions in Russia near the western border with Ukraine, as well as in Russian-annexed Crimea.

There have been a series of drone attacks in the Moscow region in recent months, which is about 450km (280 miles) from the border, including a wave of strikes on 30 May which damaged several buildings.

Flights were forced to be diverted from Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow after a drone attack on 4 July.

It was also shut briefly following the drone attacks on 30 July. and 1 August.

Russia accused Ukraine of trying to kill President Vladimir Putin in an alleged attack on his residence in the Kremlin on 3 May, which Kyiv denies.

Oil facilities, airfields and energy infrastructure have all been targeted in 2023.

We have identified at least nine reported drone attacks on oil depots. One of these was in Sevastopol, a major city in Crimea, which was hit on 29 April, destroying several of its oil tanks.

A side-by-side comparison using two satellite images of an oil storage facility under Russian control in Crimea, which came under attack on 29 April, allegedly by Ukrainian drones. The before image from 10 March 2023, shows all the oil storage tanks intact, while the image taken on 3 May 2023, shows at least seven storage tanks destroyed or severely damaged

On 31 May, an oil refinery was set ablaze in Krasnodar Territory in southern Russia, about 200km (124 miles) from the Crimean border. The regional governor said it was probably caused by a drone.

Layla Guest, an analyst at Sibylline security consultancy, says: "Ukrainian forces will highly likely prioritise targeting oil refineries, as well as railway infrastructure and wider Russian logistics, to cause maximum disruption as part of their strategy ahead of the impending counter-offensive."

In February, a drone crashed about 100 km (62 miles) from Moscow, in what the local governor said was an attempt to target civilian infrastructure.

A picture of the wreckage appeared to be consistent with a UJ-22 - a type of drone manufactured by Ukraine.

It has a range of 800km (497 miles) in autonomous flight. Its range under directly-controlled flight is much shorter.

Another suspected drone attack injured at least 10 Russian soldiers at a military training ground in the Voronezh Region on 10 May, according to local media reports.

And in December last year, a drone attack hit an airbase 600km (372 miles) north-east of the Ukrainian border, leaving three people dead, according to the Russian military.

How far can Ukraine's drones fly?

Drones have been deployed by both sides in the conflict, with Russia using Iranian-made drones on targets in Ukraine.

Ukraine says it is rapidly increasing its production of drones as demand grows on the front line.

In terms of range, experts say drones launched from Ukraine could reach deep into Russian territory, and as far as Moscow, which is about 450km (280 miles) from the border.

"Although Ukraine has not confirmed that its armed forces carried out the attacks [on Moscow], I think that the pre-emptive raids we have seen last year prove that Ukraine has the capability to launch long range attacks of that kind from within Ukrainian territory," says David Cenciotti, editor of the Aviationist blog.

Drone specialist Steve Wright also said it was possible that a drone could hit the Kremlin having been launched from within Ukraine.

But he added: "My guess is that the drone was launched from far closer in than that, as this would avoid it having to run the gauntlet of much of Moscow's defences."

Ukraine's Minister for Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov boasted of a Ukrainian drone called the R18 that "can fly from Kyiv to Moscow and back".

But he denied that he was calling for drone strikes on Moscow.

Mr Cenciotti says: "Ukraine has made extensive use of several drones, with the Bayraktar TB2 drone emerging as the real star of the air war for Ukraine, inflicting heavy losses on Russian forces, some of those caught on tape and circulated online."

Turkey has sold Bayraktar TB2 armed drones to Ukraine in recent months, while the Turkish manufacturer of the drones has donated some to crowd-funding operations in support of Ukraine.

Graphic showing characteristics of the Bayraktar TB2 drone. The Bayraktar TB2 is a low-cost alternative to US-made drones and can be used to directly attack or coordinate attacks with other systems on targets.

Additional reporting by Tural Ahmedzade, Joshua Cheetham, Thomas Spencer, Shayan Sardarizadeh, Paul Brown and Adam Robinson

BBC Verify logo

Read more about BBC Verify: Explaining the 'how' - the launch of BBC Verify
(Reuters) - The Kremlin expressed concern on Monday over the situation in Niger, whose president was ousted last week in a coup that was condemned by many countries but welcomed by the head of Russia's mercenary Wagner group, which has extensive interests in Africa.

In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "what is happening (in Niger) is a matter of serious concern".

"We are in favour of the speedy restoration of the rule of law in the country, we are in favour of restraint on all sides so that this does not lead to human casualties," Peskov said.

Niger coup leaders declared General Abdourahamane Tiani as the new head of state last Friday, days after saying they had ousted President Mohamed Bazoum in the seventh military takeover in West and Central Africa in less than three years.

West African nations have imposed sanctions and threatened force if the coup leaders fail to reinstate Bazoum within a week.

In a voice message published last week on social media channels linked to Russia's mercenary Wagner Group, its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin appeared to endorse the coup, and to offer the services of his fighters to the junta.

WAGNER'S ROLE

Prigozhin did not claim involvement in the coup, but described it as a moment of long overdue liberation from Western colonisers

Prigozhin's relationship with the Kremlin has been unclear since he staged a failed mutiny last month aimed at ousting long-time rivals in the Defence Ministry in Moscow.

However, his Wagner Group remains a key player in Russia's foreign policy in Africa. It has become an influential force in Niger's neighbour Mali since a 2021 coup there, and has a longer-standing presence in Central African Republic and Libya.

Wagner's role in Africa is a source of concern for Western governments. The United States has accused the group of atrocities and imposed sanctions on it. Prigozhin says it works lawfully.

Prigozhin appears to continue to enjoy freedom of movement despite what the Kremlin said last month was a post-mutiny deal that would see him relocate to neighbouring Belarus where some of his men have already started training the army.

(Reporting by Felix Light; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Young working parents, policy experts and industry insiders discuss introducing a foreign nanny system to Korea during the Ministry of Employment and Labor's public hearing on the policy at a hotel in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap



By Lee Hae-rin



Around 100 foreign housekeepers from Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, will be able to work in Korea during the second half of this year as part of the government's pilot program to tackle a shortage of maids here, the labor ministry said Monday.



The plan, which comes amid a gradual population decline in Korea caused by a low birth rate, was unveiled during a public hearing on the proposal to import foreign maids, held by the Ministry of Employment and Labor at a hotel in Seoul, Monday. The hearing was attended by policy experts, industry insiders and young working parents.



Under the pilot program, the ministry will allow 100 foreign housekeepers to enter Korea on E-9 visas and let them work for a minimum of six months in Seoul as full-time or part-time maids for working parents, single-parent families or households with expecting mothers. E-9 visas are non-professional employment visas.



The foreign workers will likely be paid at least the nation's legal minimum wage and commute to employers' houses from dormitories operated by state-authorized employment agencies.



The ministry stressed the need to bring foreign labor into childcare services, citing Korea's aging and dwindling childcare workforce, where 92.3 percent is over 50, while the number of new employees is on a steady decline.



Housekeepers from 16 countries are eligible for employment in Korea via E-9 visas, but countries that are issuing licenses for domestic workers, such as the Philippines, will be prioritized in the selection.



The government will screen the backgrounds of candidates, such as their careers, criminal records and medical history, and Korean- and English-language skills. Those with criminal records, mental health or drug-abuse problems will be screened out.



The selected workers will receive training in the Korean language, culture and labor laws before and after entering the country and they will also be educated about Korea's child abuse prevention, safety and hygiene regulations.



Under the plan, they will be paid Korea's minimum wage, which is now at 9,620 won ($7.55) per hour, meaning that they will earn 2 million won per month.



The ministry expects the system to ease the economic burden of working parents, as Korean helpers receive over 15,000 won per hour in case they commute, while those who live with their employers are paid 3.5 to 4.5 million won per month, according to the ministry.



The workers will reside at a dormitory run by state-authorized employment agencies. They will need to pay for their own accommodations, but can receive the Seoul Metropolitan Government's settlement support money to cover the initial costs of living, transportation and translation services.



The ministry plans to strengthen the pilot project by September based on opinions gathered during the hearing and start running the service sometime in the latter half of this year. Then, the government will map out a longer-term picture of the policy based on the result of the trial operation.



Meanwhile, the announcement triggered debate among proponents and opponents of the system.





Civic activists hold banners to protest introducing foreign nannies during the labor ministry's public hearing in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
By Brad Brooks

(Reuters) -The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit on Monday on behalf of Oklahoma residents asking a state judge to block the creation of the nation's first religious public charter school.

Oklahoma's Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, one of the defendants in the suit, in June approved the Catholic Church's application to create the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which would use millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to operate.

"Allowing St. Isidore to operate as planned would transform Oklahoma's public schools into tools of discrimination and religious indoctrination," the ACLU said in a written statement.

Brett Farley, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, rejected the accusation and said that "Catholic schools accept all comers, so the claim that St. Isidore will discriminate is entirely unfounded."

"We remain confident that the Oklahoma court will ultimately agree with the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in favor of religious liberty," Farley added.

Church officials have said they hope the case will reach the U.S. Supreme Court, where a 6-3 conservative majority has taken an expansive view of religious rights, including in two rulings since 2020 concerning schools in Maine and Montana.

Defendants, in addition to the statewide school board, include St. Isidore, the state education department and the state superintendent of public instruction, Ryan Walters, a Republican who was elected to that office last year.

Walters said in a written statement that he supports the creation of St. Isidore and that "it is time to end atheism as the state sponsored religion."

Rebecca Wilkinson, the executive director of the statewide virtual charter school board, said in an email that the agency would not comment on pending litigation.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican, said last month that the approval of St. Isidore was unconstitutional and "not in the best interest of taxpayers."

Roman Catholic organizers proposed creating St. Isidore to offer an online education for kindergarten through high school initially for 500 students and eventually 1,500.

Charter schools are publicly funded and independently run under the terms of a charter with a local or national authority.

St. Isidore would cost Oklahoma taxpayers up to $25.7 million over its first five years of operation, its organizers said in their application for the school.

The idea came from the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. The law school at the University of Notre Dame, a Catholic institution in Indiana, helped with the application.

Listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging St. Isidore are nine Oklahoma residents and the Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee. The ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Education Law Center and Freedom From Religion Foundation represent the plaintiffs.

(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas; editing by Donna Bryson, Bill Berkrot and Deepa Babington)
Ice cream vendor Jose Villa, 72, of L.A. is surrounded by customers after Sunday service at Iglesia Pentecostal Esmirna in Highland Park. (Raul Roa / Los Angeles Times)

Whether in rain, raging winds or sweltering summer heat, Jose Villa can be seen on the streets of north Los Angeles, summoning smiles from children and adults alike. As the Mexican immigrant pushes a cart full of snow cones and popsicles, step by step the clang of his bells announces that his business is open to anyone who wants a sugary treat or immediate relief from the heat.

I have a very sweet job because it makes a lot of people happy, Villa said on one of his recent strolls through Highland Park. But yes, my economic future could be very bitter. So for today I'm not going to think about it," he added with a smile.

Villa wanted to retire at 62, but as an immigrant without legal documents, he can't afford the luxury of resting at home. Immigrant workers of his legal status are ineligible to receive Social Security retirement benefits, even if they have paid taxes using an Individual Tax Identification Number, or ITIN, which is issued to people without a Social Security number for the sole purpose of filing federal taxes.

With few job opportunities, Villa has been selling ice cream for seven years. "I don't know what fate has in store for me when my body gives up," he says. (Raul Roa / Los Angeles Times)

The native of Culiacan, in the northwest Mexican state of Sinaloa, came to the United States when he was 47. He'd grown up working in the fields, planting beans, peanuts, corn and sesame until he decided to try his luck across the border. With only a sixth-grade education, Villa was able to settle in Los Angeles and get a job as a restaurant cook. After 18 years of service, he was fired without explanation, he said.

With few job opportunities, Villa has been selling ice cream for seven years, but the money isn't enough to rent an apartment or even a room, so he lives in a garage that his boss, the owner of the cart, has provided him indefinitely.

"I don't know what fate has in store for me when my body gives up," said the immigrant, adjusting his hat to screen out the sun. "I just have to have faith for a miracle to happen and the government to take pity on old people like me."

Over the next decade, this bleak future looms for immigrants living in California without unemployment insurance, retirement benefits or another form of safety net, in numbers unlike any state in modern history, according to a UC Merced Community and Labor Center report released March 23. The report, titled "A Golden Age: California's Aging Immigrant Workforce and Its Implications for Safety Net Policy," asserts that in 2019, the noncitizen workforce in California was 2,984,821 migrant workers, of whom approximately 1,253,625 lacked legal work documents.

Among the noncitizen workers, 9,558 were then 75 or older, 67,960 were ages 65 to 74, and 316,539 were ages 55 to 64. Among workers without work documents ages 75 and older, there were 4,014 in 2019, while some 28,543 were 65 to 74 and 132,946 were 55 to 64 . These figures indicate that thousands of immigrant families will fall into extreme poverty, analysts and activists say.

With congressional action unlikely, some California politicians and immigrant activists are pushing legislation to bring relief to workers like Villa. The proposed AB 1536 would expand access to the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, or CAPI, to undocumented immigrants who, due to their immigration status, aren't eligible for the Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Program for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled. Currently, the state-funded program provides a monthly cash benefit only to lawful permanent residents, refugees or asylum seekers.

Assemblyman Juan Carrillo (D-Palmdale), who introduced the bill on March 2, said that this population deserves to retire with dignity like any other U.S. worker who has paid taxes.

The idea is to provide these people with monetary assistance, because many of them have worked for decades and contributed for many years to strengthen the California economy, Carrillo said. It is time to recognize the hard work they do in the farm fields and in other service industries such as agriculture, landscaping, construction services and restaurant service, among many others."

In 2019, according to the IRS, more than 2.5 million ITIN tax returns were filed, representing nearly $6 billion in taxes. A study by New American Economy, a research and advocacy organization, showed that undocumented immigrants contribute an average of $13 billion to Social Security and $3 billion to Medicare per year.

Currently the CAPI program provides $1,100 per month to qualified immigrants. People without legal documents would have similar benefits, depending on their current economic status, Carrillo said.

Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, a co-author of the bill, said it's imperative for politicians to support this expansion, as no one wants to see more homeless people on the streets of California in years to come.

Need knows no disease, nor old age," Santiago said. "These elderly people live in our communities, they are not going anywhere. Many of them continue to work, so it is crucial to attend to them at the basic level to live, which means monetary help so that they can eat and at least have a roof."

AB 1536 is scheduled to be taken up by the state Senate appropriations committee Aug. 14.

For Villa, the additional income he would receive would enable him at least to rent a one-bedroom apartment instead of living in a garage with only a sofa and a television.

While Villa sells popsicles in north Los Angeles, to the south Roberto Gonzalez, 69, washes cars.

Gonzalez is drenched in sweat as he wipes the windows of a Ford Ranger pickup truck and then cleans the steel wheels.

The native of Puebla, Mexico, suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and rheumatoid arthritis, which sometimes numbs the joints in his hands, making it difficult to work. But he aims to continue laboring at least five days a week so he can pool his meager earnings with one of his two children.

The hot days are the hardest, but it is better to bear the sun than rain, because if that happens I no longer have a job, said Gonzalez, who has been cleaning cars for five years. The two years he initially planned to stay in the United States have stretched to 49.

"One says, 'One more year and I'm gone,' but all savings are spent on rent, bills and sending money to the family," Gonzalez said. The truth is that I am afraid of being a burden to society, and especially to my two older children. Without being able to work, I would depend on them because I don't have retirement benefits."

Gonzalez believes that if AB 1536 passed he could contribute to his son's food bills and other household expenses.

Victor Narro, project director and professor of labor studies at the UCLA Labor Center, said that although elderly undocumented immigrants urgently need help, strengthening Social Security seems to be a political non-starter, especially any plan that would extend it to immigrants who are undocumented.

The state is facing an unprecedented crisis when it comes to its rapidly aging undocumented population, Narro said. Despite their efforts, pro-immigrant activists have failed to achieve immigration reform that would legalize these people after a 30-year struggle. This contributes to more people working under the table earning cash, while others manage to pay taxes that are not worth a retirement."

"I ask for nothing more than some return on my contributions," Villa said. Undocumented workers are ineligible to receive Social Security benefits, even if they have paid taxes. (Raul Roa / Los Angeles Times)

Although Narro believes that political movement is essential to help elderly immigrant workers, he acknowledges that the bills face significant political hurdles. What's more, he said, "Social Security has long been on shaky financial ground," because as the U.S. population ages there are fewer workers supporting the growing number of Social Security beneficiaries, who as a group are living longer. Some analysts estimate that funds could run out as soon as 2034.

People die without documents and without benefits, having given up their lives in a job," said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA, which supports AB 1536. "If we don't push this type of law now, in the coming years we are going to see more elderly people with disabilities, unable to work."

This is a moral issue, one of dignity and respect for seniors, she added.

For workers like Villa and Gonzalez, California's bill offers a measure of hope.

We are all going to grow old, and the only thing that is going to concern us is being healthy and having a roof and food," Villa said. "I ask for nothing more than some return on my contributions."

In Gonzalez's view, God blesses those who shake hands with those who need it. I hope that the politicians think of us and give us that helping hand that we need."





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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Russia may be forced to use a nuclear weapon if Ukraines counteroffensive succeeds, senior Russian official Dmitry Medvedev said Sunday  the latest in a series of nuclear threats made during Moscows invasion by the key ally of President Vladimir Putin.

Just imagine that the offensive in tandem with NATO, succeeded and ended up with part of our land being taken away. Then we would have to use nuclear weapons by virtue of the stipulations of the Russian Presidential Decree, said Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russias Security Council, in a Telegram post.

There simply wouldnt be any other solution, the former Russian president added. Our enemies should pray to our fighters that they do not allow the world to go up in nuclear flames.

Medvedev, who served as president of Russia from 2008 to 2012, has struck a bellicose tone throughout Moscows invasion of Ukraine, repeatedly raising the specter of nuclear conflict.

Last April, he warned of Russian nuclear expansion should Sweden and Finland join NATO. Helsinki joined the defense alliance later that month, while Stockholms path to NATO membership was cleared earlier this month after Turkey dropped its objections.

In September, Medvedev said strategic nuclear weapons could be used to defend territories incorporated into Russia from Ukraine.

And in January, as NATO member states debated new weapons shipments to Ukraine, Medvedev said defeat for Russia in the war could lead to nuclear conflict.

The loss of a nuclear power in a conventional war can provoke the outbreak of a nuclear war, Medvedev wrote on Telegram in January. Nuclear powers do not lose major conflicts on which their fate depends.

This should be obvious to anyone. Even to a Western politician who has retained at least some trace of intelligence.

Medvedevs remarks Sunday again raise the possibility that Russia could potentially lose the war following nearly 18 months of attrition  a rare admission from a senior Russian official.

They also came just hours after Russias Defense Ministry accused Kyiv of attacking Moscow with drones. Three drones were intercepted Sunday, but a business and shopping development in the west of the Russian capital was hit, the ministry said.

Nuclear rhetoric

The United States has previously warned Russia against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, both through private direct communications, as well as public channels, including at last years UN General Assembly.

Last month, Putin said Russia had moved a first batch of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, claiming they were placed there for deterrence.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin said the rest of the tactical nuclear weapons Russia intends to move to Belarus would be transferred by the end of the summer or by the end of the year.

The US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) said it had no reason to doubt Putins claim that nuclear weapons were in Belarus.

But US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at the time that the US has not seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture nor any indication Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said last month that in the face of aggression, he would show no hesitation in using the Russian tactical nuclear weapons stationed on Belarusian soil.

But the senior DIA officials said they do not believe Lukashenko would have any control over the arsenal. It would most likely be entirely controlled by Russia, the officials said.

Russia has about 4,477 deployed and reserve nuclear warheads, including around 1,900 tactical nuclear weapons, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

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JERUSALEM  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told NBC News his country is not heading toward civil war, a specter raised by Israels president amid the deep divisions and mass protests following new legislation that severely weakens the Supreme Court.

There wont be civil war, I guarantee you that, Netanyahu said during an interview Monday. When the dust settles, people will see this was necessary.

In a wide-ranging interview one week after his law passed through parliament, Netanyahu also defended the presence of far-right ministers in his Cabinet after criticism from President Joe Biden and said a potential U.S.-brokered peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia would be a pivot of history.

Netanyahu has faced six months of unprecedented mass protests by demonstrators who believe that, by weakening the Supreme Court, he is removing one of the few checks on the governments power and is endangering Israeli democracy.

The prime minister argues he is carefully rebalancing Israels three branches of government to move power away from unelected judges, who he says have taken too much authority for themselves, and back into the hands of elected politicians.

The argument has left Israel deeply divided, with President Isaac Herzog warning in March of the danger of a real civil war. A poll published last week by Israels Channel 13 found 56% of Israelis worried their countrys political crisis could escalate into civil war.

Netanyahu acknowledged the divisions but said he believed the recent legislation  which removes the courts ability to strike down government actions as unreasonable  was worth it.

I think peoples fears that have been stoked and whipped up, I think, will subside, and theyll see that Israel is just as democratic as it was before and even more democratic, he said.

Israelis protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, July 29, 2023. (Tsafrir Abayov / AP)

Demonstrators, Israeli opposition parties and close allies have said they fear the new legislation is merely the first step on a slippery slope away from democracy in Israel.

In an interview with CNN in early July, Biden criticized the presence of far-right politicians in Netanyahus Cabinet, calling them some of the most extremist members he had ever seen.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was convicted in 2007 of inciting racism and supporting a terrorist organization. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich earlier this year called for a Palestinian village to be wiped out  a comment he later apologized for after criticism by the United States.

Netanyahus new comments come after months of demonstrations against efforts by his government, the most right-wing ever, to overhaul the judiciary and limit the Supreme Courts power.

Himself on trial in three corruption cases, the Israeli prime minister dismissed allegations that his legal woes had motivated the judicial changes, calling the claims nonsense.

Still, his governments effort has roiled Israel, with businesses closing in solidarity with the protesters and former senior officials openly opposing the moves. A significant number of military reservists have joined the protests, an alarming development for the nations national security.

I think its unfortunate that youve had reservists that are being lined up for something that involves a political debate, Netanyahu said, adding that their involvement politicizes the military.

The three parts of the reform plan are removing the reasonability test, the elimination of the override clause, and changing how judges are appointed. The first part of the package of bills passed July 24 and removes justices rights to overrule Cabinet ministers decisions for being unreasonable.

Protesters march against the Israeli government's judicial overhaul plan in Tel Aviv on July 29, 2023. (Jack Guez / AFP - Getty Images)

The way that reasonableness is done in Israel has no parallel in any democracy, not in America or in any other parliamentary democracy, said Netanyahu, who has been forced to vacate the appointment of a close ally who had criminal convictions because of that judiciary power.

There two other proposed changes could soon come before the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.

The first would allow the Knesset to override any decision by the court with a simple majority, and the last part of the reform package would effectively give the ruling parties control over appointing judges. Judges in Israel currently are appointed by a panel that includes a mix of political appointees, lawmakers and members of the legal profession.

During the interview with NBC News, Netanyahu tried to quell fears that the judiciary changes had harmed the close relationship between the United States and Israel, which relies on Washington for military, security and intelligence cooperation.

I think that the relationship is sound, he said. I think the dust will settle, and, itll turn out to be the case, through changing governments and administrations, Israel is the best ally of the United States and the United States is the irreplaceable ally of Israel.

The judicial overhaul could still be overturned.

A good governance group has filed a petition to the court that has argued the judicial change was illegal and, ironically, it could be up to the judiciary to decide whether it can stand.

Raf Sanchez reported from Jerusalem, and Phil McCausland from New York.
By Moussa Aksar and Boureima Balima

NIAMEY (Reuters) - In 2011, after two decades climbing the ranks of Niger's army, Abdourahamane Tiani was handed one of the military's most prized appointments: the head of an elite unit set up to protect the president.

Last week, Tiani, a general, used his position and manpower to do the opposite. He imprisoned President Mohamed Bazoum in the presidential palace and appeared on state television on Friday to declare himself head of state, confirming the seventh military coup in West and Central Africa in three years.

Tiani, 59, said that soldiers had seized power because of persistent insecurity driven by a decade-long Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands of soldiers and civilians across the Sahel, echoing justifications by military leaders in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso who have also snatched power since 2020.

"We cannot continue with the same approaches proposed so far, as it risks witnessing the gradual and inevitable disappearance of our nation," he said.

The insecurity was close to home for Tiani, who was born in 1964 in a small village in the Filingue region in southwest Niger which has seen some of the worst fighting, including an attack on an army base in 2021 that killed 89 soldiers.

He attended local schools before joining the army in 1985 where he was posted across the country, including the northern town of Agadez during a Tuareg uprising in the 1990s, according to a biography released by the new ruling military council.

The document says he received training in France, Morocco, Senegal and the United States, where he attended the College of International Security Affairs at Fort McNair in Washington, DC.

He served as a commander and observer abroad for regional and United Nations' forces during conflicts in Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan, and has been decorated with some of the country's highest military honours.

Now, Tiani has become a central player overseeing the fate of a region where Russian influence is on the rise and juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso have kicked out troops from former colonial power France. Regional powers have threatened military intervention if he does not return Bazoum to power within days.

Just last week, Niger, one of the world's poorest countries, was seen as the West's last ally in the region. Aid, investments and training rushed in from the United States and the European Union. French and U.S. forces are stationed there, though their future is now in doubt.

The speed of change in Niger is evident in Tiani's biography. The document, seen by Reuters, was typed apart from one last-minute update scrawled in pen at the bottom of his list of jobs: "President of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland, Head of State, 28 July 2023."

(Writing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Edward McAllister)
By Boureima Balima and Abdel-Kader Mazou

NIAMEY (Reuters) -The junta that seized power in Niger last week detained three more senior politicians from the ousted government on Monday, their party said, in defiance of international calls to restore democratic rule.

Following days of turmoil, the International Monetary Fund said that it was closely monitoring developments in Niger. But the IMF has not yet taken any specific actions in response to the coup.

It has yet to disburse a $131.5 million loan to Niger that was approved on July 5, it added.

The regional central bank has meanwhile cancelled Niger's planned 30 billion CFA ($51 million) bond issuance, scheduled for Monday in the West African regional debt market, following sanctions, sources said.

The African Union, the U.N., the European Union and other powers have condemned the junta's overthrow of elected President Mohamed Bazoum - the seventh military takeover in less than three years in West and Central Africa.

The coup that unfolded on Wednesday has raised fears for the security of the surrounding Sahel region. The United States, former colonial power France and other Western states have troops in Niger and had been working with the government battling militant forces linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda.

Junta forces arrested the ousted government's mines minister, the head of the ruling party, and oil minister Mahamane Sani Mahamadou, who is also the son of former president Issoufou Mahamadou, the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS-Tarayya) said.

The interior minister, transport minister, and a deputy had already been detained, it added.

The arrests confirm the "repressive and dictatorial" nature of the coup leaders, the party said in a statement, calling on citizens to come together to protect democracy.

The arrests were announced a day after Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby arrived in Niger to try to mediate between the coup leaders and the ousted government.

Late on Sunday he posted what appeared to be the first images of Bazoum since the takeover, showing him smiling and apparently unharmed. Deby said he was trying to "to find a peaceful solution", without going into further detail.

FRENCH FLAGS BURNED

West African regional bloc ECOWAS has imposed sanctions on Niger, including a halt in all financial transactions and a national assets freeze, and said it could authorise force to reinstate Bazoum, who was locked in his palace by members of his guard on Wednesday.

The EU and France have suspended financial support, while the U.S. has threatened to do so.

ECOWAS appears to have taken a tougher stance towards Niger than its junta-led neighbours, which have been sanctioned but never threatened with force.

Both the EU and France have backed the bloc's response.

"The EU and Niger share deep ties developed over decades. The unacceptable attack on the democratically elected government puts these ties in jeopardy," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

On Sunday, the junta accused France of also planning to launch an operation to free Bazoum.

The French Foreign Ministry did not confirm or deny the accusation but said Paris recognised Bazoum as the only legitimate authority and was focused on protecting its own citizens and interests there.

The junta previously warned against foreign attempts to extract Bazoum, saying it would result in bloodshed and chaos.

Western concern over the coup is also sharpened by Niger's position as the world's seventh-biggest producer of uranium, the radioactive metal widely used for nuclear energy and treating cancer.

Niger, which is one of the world's poorest countries and largely depends on external aid and financing, was expected to issue two other bonds in the regional market on Aug. 7 and Aug. 17, on top of the cancelled July issuance, according to an issuance calendar of the regional debt management agency.

The coup in Niger follows military takeovers in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso over the last two years, all of which have come amid a wave of anti-French sentiment. Both countries have turned increasingly towards Russia as an ally.

On Sunday, supporters of the junta burned French flags and attacked the French embassy in Niger's capital Niamey, prompting police to fire volleys of tear gas in response.

The city appeared calm on Monday, with business and daily life returning to normal, Reuters reporters said.

France has denied responding with lethal weapons, which the junta accused it of doing.

French President Emmanuel Macron is in contact with Bazoum, Issoufou, several regional leaders and international bodies seeking to resolve the crisis, the Elysee palace said in a statement on Monday.

The coup leaders, who have named General Abdourahamane Tiani, the former presidential guard chief, as head of state, said they overthrew Bazoum due to poor governance and discontent with the way he handled the Islamist threat.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, last week welcomed the coup in Niger, and said his forces were available to restore order.

The Kremlin said on Monday that the situation in Niger was "cause for serious concern" and called for a swift return to constitutional order.

Germany's foreign ministry said that the situation was still in flux, and that there was a possibility the coup could fail, echoing comments from France and the White House last week.

"We hope ... that democracy can be restored, legitimacy can be restored and the president elected by the Nigerien citizens can return," Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told the public broadcaster on Monday.

(Reporting by Boureima Balima and Abdel-Kader Mazou; Additional reporting by Anait Miridzhanian and Bate Felix; Writing by Nellie Peyton and Sofia Christensen; Editing by Alexander Winning, Bernadette Baum, Andrew Heavens and Nick Macfie)
YOLA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigeria's northeastern state of Adamawa on Monday relaxed a 24-hour curfew imposed a day earlier to bring calm to the main city after youths broke into shops to steal food and other goods.

Deputy state governor Kaleptapwa Farauta said the curfew would now run from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. (1700 GMT to 0500 GMT) until further review to allow citizens and businesses to go about their business.

"The security agencies will continue to maintain peace, still continue to maintain their checkpoints, and there will be a lot of patrols going on, not just in the state capital but also in our 21 local government areas," she told Reuters.

Nigerians have complained about soaring prices after President Bola Tinubu scrapped a popular petrol subsidy and removed currency restrictions, causing the naira currency to plunge.

Adamawa is among the Nigerian states that have been hit by a long-running Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands and displaced millions.

(Reporting by Percy Dabang; writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Conor Humphries)
(Reuters) - Police in southern North Carolina were on Monday searching for the driver of an SUV who they say appeared to have intentionally struck six migrant workers outside of a Walmart Supercenter before fleeing the scene.

The incident unfolded on Sunday at 1:15 p.m. local time in Lincolnton, North Carolina, a town of about 11,000 people, some 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Charlotte, the Lincolnton Police Department said in a statement posted on Facebook.

Outside of the local Walmart, a motorist of an older model mid-size black Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) hit six migrant workers. The driver, described as an older white male, fled the scene in the vehicle.

All six were taken to the hospital for a variety of injuries. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening, the department said.

It "appears to be an intentional assault with a vehicle," the department said, asking for the public to help in finding the driver. "The motives of the suspect are still under investigation."

The incident comes almost three months after the driver of a SUV mowed down people near a homeless shelter that attends to migrants in Brownsville, Texas. Eight people were killed while the driver was arrested on manslaughter charges.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
Hong Kong: Mainland-HK enterprise session held

The Commerce & Economic Development Bureau, in conjunction with the Hong Kong Chinese Enterprises Association, hosted a Mainland Enterprises Partnership Exchange & Interface Session today.

The platform is intended to promote ties connecting both state-owned enterprises (SoEs) and Mainland enterprises in Hong Kong with local providers of professional services geared towards leveraging opportunities arising from the Belt & Road Initiative.

With the series able to resume following the removal of COVID-19 restrictions, todays session drew more than 170 participants from both Mainland and Hong Kong entities, with representatives spanning investment and financing, green finance, insurance, architectural and engineering design, accounting, legal and consultancy services, and more.

More than 80 Hong Kong entities attended, with more than 140 one-on-one business matching sessions being facilitated with representatives from 13 SoEs or Mainland enterprises.

Speaking at the opening session, Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau stressed that SoEs are an important force in driving the initiative, having undertaken more than 3,000 Belt & Road projects so far.

He pointed out that Hong Kongs diversified and comprehensive professional services sector demonstrates the unique advantages the city enjoys under one country, two systems, making it the premier professional services platform for SoEs and Mainland enterprises in taking forward Belt & Road projects.

Mr Yau also highlighted the bureaus efforts in assisting different sectors in Hong Kong to partner with Mainland enterprises in going global together.

Noting that SoEs plan to take on more small and beautiful projects which are high-standard, sustainable and beneficial to peoples livelihoods, Mr Yau indicated that such projects are a good fit with Hong Kongs professional services ecosystem, in which small and medium-sized enterprises are in the majority.

He said he believed Hong Kongs professional services sector will henceforth be presented with more opportunities to participate in the initiative.

Mr Yau also thanked the State-owned Assets Supervision & Administration Commission of the State Council, and other participating parties, for their continued support for Hong Kong's work in taking the initiative forward.

He stated that the commission has been a staunch collaborator with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, and has continuously supported SoEs in working with Hong Kong partners to raise quality, cost-effectiveness and resilience.

The Hong Kong SAR Government, he said, will take forward relevant work in full stride, with a view to better integrating Hong Kong into national development while at the same time leveraging the competitive edge enjoyed by the city's professional services sector.

This story has been published on: 2023-07-31. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Peru sees China as a valuable partner

11:26, July 31, 2023 By Marco Balarezo, Ambassador of Peru to China ( People's Daily Online

Marco Balarezo, Ambassador of Peru to China (Photo by Lu Ningyuan/People's Daily)

Since our independence, over 200 years ago, Peru has had the support of strategic partners, including our deep ties with the People's Republic of China. Both countries are cradles of ancient civilizations, and we share the vicinity of the Pacific Basin as a scenario for action to achieve the development and progress of our peoples in a globalized world.

This year, Peru celebrates a decade since the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with China and 52 years since the beginning of our diplomatic relations. The links between our two peoples date back to the 19th century, and the significant Chinese migration to Peru has contributed to the consolidation of Peruvian identity through its culture. This is reflected in the fact that close to 10% of Peruvians can trace their ancestors back to China.

China is the primary market for Peruvian exports, and the main source of our imports. For China, Peru is the second investment destination in Latin America. We are close to fully optimizing the 2010 free trade agreement, which is key to fully extending our economic and trade cooperation. We are partners in the Belt and Road Initiative and actively work in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), which Peru will preside over in 2024. We hope for the active participation of Chinese side.

Peru sees China as a valuable partner with whom there are important economic complementarities and opportunities to explore in science and technology, innovation, digital economy, and industrialization. Precisely, Peru's confidence in Chinese scientific development is demonstrated by the presence of nearly 200 Chinese companies in Peru across a wide range of sectors in our economy.

China is currently a relevant actor on the international stage and a leader in global issues of common interest for developing countries, with its significant new initiatives for Global Development, Security, and Civilization. These initiatives complement and extend the possibilities of pragmatic cooperation already unleashed with the Belt and Road Initiative, 10 years ago.

Our relationship pillars are multidimensional and decentralized, enabling me to state that Peru is a model case for a pragmatic comprehensive strategic partnership with China in Latin America.

As the Ambassador of Peru, I am committed to working closely with authorities and businesses from both countries to promote and facilitate our relationship at all levels and in all aspects, not only at the national level but also at provincial and local levels. Through our Embassy, we will offer support and guidance to Peruvian companies interested in entering the Chinese market and establishing solid business alliances, and vice versa.

Source: Haiwainet

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Minister of Land, Transport and Safety Won Hee-ryong speaks during the briefing on the result of government inspections on the safety of flat-plate public apartments at Government Complex Seoul, Monday. Yonhap



South Korea will conduct safety inspections on all new flat-plate structure apartment complexes in the private sector after the recent collapse of a public apartment's parking lot due to lack of reinforcing bars (rebars), the land ministry said Monday.



The comprehensive inspection will cover both recently completed and under-construction flat-plate structure apartments in the private sector, to see if a sufficient share of rebars is used in the buildings, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement.



The announcement came after the government conducted safety checks on public apartments constructed by local builders under contracts with the state-run Korea Land Housing Corp. (LH).



During the inspection sparked by the collapse of a parking lot at an LH apartment in Incheon, just west of Seoul, in April, 15 out of 91 flat-plate public apartment complexes were found to have an insufficient share of rebars in their columns.



The flat-plate concrete floor system does not use beams between columns, and it is usually suited for lightly loaded floors with short spans, typically for residential and hotel buildings. To ensure that the columns can withstand the load, sufficient rebars must be installed.



Following the incident, Land Minister Won Hee-ryong ordered an immediate probe to find those responsible for their design and supervision, adding it will take the "most severe disciplinary measures," as well as legal action against them.



Of the 15 public apartment complexes built after 2017, seven are undergoing remedial work and eight await the work, the statement said.



On the same day, President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed the land minister to look into all suspected cases of shoddy construction of underground parking lots at apartment complexes. (Yonhap)


BEIRUT (AP)  The Organization for Islamic Cooperation urged its member nations Monday to take action against countries that permit public burning or desecration of the Quran, including the recalling of ambassadors.

The Saudi Arabia-based group made the call in a statement following an emergency online meeting of its foreign ministers to discuss recent incidents in which the Islamic holy book was burned or otherwise defaced at officially permitted protests in Sweden and Denmark.

The organization's 57 member countries should consider taking any necessary decisions and actions that they deem appropriate in their relations" with Sweden, Denmark, and other countries that allow such incidents, including recalling their ambassadors, the statement said.

It encouraged civil society organizations in the member states to work with counterparts in countries where the Quran has been burned or desecrated to file local lawsuits before taking their cases to international judicial bodies, where applicable.

It also called for more efforts at outreach to combat Islamophobia, praising Kuwait for commissioning the printing of 100,000 copies of the Quran translated into Swedish for distribution in Sweden.

Many of the points in the final statement echoed recommendations made by Iraqs Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein, who also called on the United Nations to take measures to prevent these incidents.

Ahead of the meeting, two men who had previously burned a copy of the Quran in Sweden did so once again, in front of a crowd of a few dozen onlookers and about 20 counter-protesters.

In both Sweden and Denmark, t here is no law against blasphemy, and freedom of expression is generally held in high regard.

But as the recent Quran burnings have sparked angry demonstrations and diplomatic backlash in Muslim countries, officials in the Scandinavian countries have begun to consider whether there should be curbs on public defacement of holy books or other religious symbols.

Denmarks foreign minister, Lars Lkke Rasmussen, said Sunday in an interview with Danish public broadcaster DR that the government is seeking a legal tool to prohibit such inflammatory acts without compromising freedom of expression.

In Sweden, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Sunday on Instagram that his government is analyzing the legal situation regarding desecration of the Quran and other holy books, given the animosity such acts are stirring up against Sweden.

Before Mondays meeting, the OIC had already suspended the status of Swedens special envoy over the Quran burnings.

Swedens Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said in a statement that he spoke in recent days with counterparts in OIC countries to explain how Sweden's freedom of expression works and that police make independent decisions on protest applications. He added that the government is very clear in its distance from the Islamophobic acts carried out by individuals at demonstrations in Sweden.

The Danish foreign minister said his government condemned and denounced the insult to the Quran and that it is studying this issue with great interest.

___

Keyton reported from Stockholm. Associated Press staff writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.
Security personnel examine the site of a bomb blast in Bajaur district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on July 31, 2023.

"Doomsday scenes" unfolded in Pakistan after a suicide bomber targeted a political rally, killing at least 45 people, an eyewitness has told the BBC.

People screamed for help as rescuers rushed to the scene in the north-west Bajaur district on Sunday, rally organiser Imran Mahir said.

The attack targeted the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), a party that is part of the government coalition.

"A person standing next to me died. Another was injured," Mr Mahir said.

"It was a big sound. I initially thought there was a problem with the generator or the sound system. My ears have been ringing and hurting. My head is still hurting."

The local branch of the Islamic State (IS) group in Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the bombing.

The group, who go by the name Islamic State Khorasan (ISKP), said the attack was part of an "ongoing war against democracy".

ISKP has targeted officials of the political party at least four times since 2017, as it opposes JUI-F's support for democracy in Pakistan.

ISKP has also claimed responsibility for several other attacks this year in Bajaur targeting JUI-F. In June, it said they were behind the assassination of a party official in the village of Inayat Killi.

Hundreds had turned up for the rally, which was an opportunity for the Islamist JUI-F to rally its support ahead of an election expected to take place later this year.

Mr Mahir, who was seated on the stage when the bomb was detonated, described how the explosion unleashed flames and pellets on the crowd that gathered in the town of Khar, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.

"I saw the injured and dead around me. It was very bad situation - it was like doomsday. Soon after the blast there was a panic, it was chaos, people running everywhere," he said.

"I don't know why I wasn't injured, it was my luck, my time wasn't over yet. There was a man in his 80s far away from the explosion but he passed," he said.

Officials have warned the death toll may rise further, as 15 people are in critical condition.

A regional leader of the JUI-F, Maulana Ziaullah, was among the fatalities, local officials told the BBC.

"We never thought it would happen to political workers or students and they would do such a big explosion. It was not in our mind, we weren't even thinking of it," Mr Mahir said.

He said he had been to seven burials overnight.

Mr Mahir said however, that morale within the JUI-F ranks remains "strong and high", adding, "We are not going to stop contesting seats, we will carry on. We will face the future".

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned those responsible as being terrorists who have "targeted those who speak for Islam, the Quran and Pakistan" and said they would face "real punishment".

The Pakistani Taliban (TTP) has condemned the attack and denied any involvement.

In recent years attacks the TTP and other militant groups have been on the rise again in north-west Pakistan after the Afghan Taliban gained power in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021. The TTP resumed attacks after ending a ceasefire last November.
IS claims responsibility for the bombing that killed 54 at a pro-Taliban election rally in Pakistan

KHAR, Pakistan (AP)  An Afghan branch of the Islamic State group on Monday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Pakistan that killed at least 54 people at a pro-Taliban party's election rally, in one of the region's worst attacks in recent years.

Islamic State in Khorasan Province made the claim in a statement posted on its Amaq website. It said the attacker detonated an explosive vest, and that the bombing Sunday in the northwestern town of Bajur was part of the group's continuing war against forms of democracy it deems to be against Islam.

Hours earlier, hundreds of mourners in Bajur carried caskets draped in colorful cloths to burial sites following the previous days attack at the election rally for the Jamiat Ulema Islam party. Officials said the bombing killed 54 people, including at least five children, and wounded nearly 200.

The attack appeared to reflect divisions between Islamist groups, which have a strong presence in the district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan. The Jamiat Ulema Islam party has ties to the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban.

At least 1,000 people were crowded into a tent near a market for the rally ahead of fall elections, according to police.

People were chanting God is Great as the leaders arrived, said Khan Mohammad, a local resident who said he was standing outside the tent, and that was when I heard the deafening sound of the bomb.

Mohammad said he heard people crying for help, and minutes later ambulances arrived and began taking the wounded away.

Police had suggested in their initial investigation that Islamic State in Khorasan Province was a suspect. The group is based in neighboring Afghanistans Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida.

Pakistan security analyst Mahmood Shah also previously had said that breakaway factions of the Pakistani Taliban could be possible suspects, though the group distanced itself from the attack.

The Pakistani military spent years fighting the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, in Bajur before declaring the district clear of militants in 2016. But the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, headed by hard-line cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman, has remained a potent political force.

On Monday, police recorded statements from some of the wounded at a hospital in Khar, the districts principal town.

Female relatives and children wailed and beat their chests at family homes Monday as the dead were taken for funerals, following local customs. Hundreds of men followed the caskets to mosques and open areas for special funeral prayers and then into the hills for burial.

As condolences continued to pour in from across the country, dozens of people who had lesser injuries were discharged from hospital, while the critically wounded were taken to the provincial capital of Peshawar by army helicopters. The death toll continued to rise as some critically wounded people died in hospital, physician Gul Naseeb said.

Gul Akbar, the father of an 11-year-old boy who was wounded in the attack, told The Associated Press that his entire family was in a state of shock after hearing about the bombing Sunday. He said he first went to the scene of the attack, and later found his son Taslim Khan being treated in a hospital in Khar.

What would I have done if he had also been martyred? Five children died in this barbaric attack, and we want to know what our children did wrong, he said.

Rehmans party is preparing to contest elections, which are expected in October or November. Abdul Rasheed, one of the partys senior leaders, said the bombing was aimed at weakening the party but that such attacks cannot deter our resolve.

Rehmans party is part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharifs coalition government, which came to power in April 2022 by ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in the legislature.

Sharif called Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished. Khan condemned the bombing Sunday, as did the U.S. and Russian embassies in Islamabad.

The Pakistani Taliban also distanced themselves from the bombing, saying that it was intended to set Islamists against each other. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, wrote in a tweet that such crimes cannot be justified in any way.

The bombing came hours before Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng arrived in Islamabad, where he signed new agreements to boost trade and economic ties to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a sprawling package under which China has invested $10 billion in Pakistan over 10 years, according to Sharif.

We will not tolerate any obstacles in the way of friendship with China, Sharif said, as he stood next to He.

But the government canceled a cultural event that had been arranged in honor of He, according to Sharif, while the nation mourns.

Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.

Rehman, who has long supported Afghanistans Taliban government, survived at least two known bomb attacks in 2011 and 2014, when bombings damaged his car at rallies.

Sundays bombing was one of the worst in northwestern Pakistan in the last decade. In 2014, 147 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar.

In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar. And in February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.

___

Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed contributed to this story from Islamabad.
The unconventional 18th-century Italian Baroque painter Giacomo Ceruti (1698-1767), who is not well-known, is a strange amalgam of two usually separate artistic traditions.

The person in a portrait is almost always different from the people in a genre painting, which depicts a scene from everyday life. A portrait painting aims to be specific. A genre painting, on the other hand, is  well, generic. Ceruti, subject of a modest but revealing new exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum  the first of its kind in the United States  is the very rare painter who went for a fusion of the two.

The genre plan is to create a type, a broadly universal representation of humanity doing ordinary things. Whistling while you work, say, or making dinner in the kitchen, celebrating a wedding or playing music or games with friends and associates. The activity might be exact, but the people engaged in it could be anybody  often, just like you.

Like is the operative word here. By contrast, unlike is the foundation for a portrait.

A great portrait is as precise and unambiguous as possible in representing myriad physical, psychological and social characteristics of someone else  the particular person shown in the picture  and in bringing the unique combination of those attributes to life. A portrait might depict someone admirable or heinous, undistinguished or gallant, and it may be a person who generates feelings of empathy, awe or distrust. But it isnt you, and that distinction is part of the point.

The 17 large pictures in the show, more than half painted when the artist was still in his 20s and all of them completed before he was 40 (he lived to almost 70), generally show life-size men and women sewing, making shoes, playing cards, resting on a religious pilgrimage, tapping wine barrels, spinning wool and snorting tobacco.

In the 18th century, Giacomo Ceruti painted large-scale pictures of the poor. Who commissioned them and why is unknown. (Christopher Knight / Los Angeles Times)

Whatever the scene, however, the people are rendered with authority and precision of a kind usually reserved for portraiture.

The result is disarming. Perhaps because we are now so used to seeing photographs that are informal snapshots of people whom we recognize doing ordinary things, suddenly to encounter paintings from the 1720s and 1730s that have an atypical but similar bearing makes them strangely beguiling.

An added distinction: The subjects of Cerutis genre portraits are utterly impoverished. And theyre very different from the ennobled peasants in popular genre paintings by artists like the Le Nain brothers in France or cheery laborers by Dutch artist Johannes Lingelbach.

A destitute woman draped in a torn and tattered apron mends socks. Slumped on a rock in the woods, an elderly man with a scraggly beard and dressed in patched shirt and pants is a picture of aged exhaustion. Young girls housed in an orphanage are being taught to read or make lace. An apparently penniless street boy in a torn jacket carries a big woven-wicker basket on his back, casting a side-glance in hopes of scoring some work as a porter.

Flinty sufferance emerges. A young girl holds out an alms bowl to beg for help from an equally poor woman engaged in spinning wool. The woman gazes out at us, bereft, as if to acknowledge that she represents the young girls future.

Acute naturalism and telling details describe Cerutis style. The watchful beggar tenderly holding an alert gray tiger cat in his lap has been bestowed with an attribute of clever endurance. Next to him, a man with glazed eyes and a sloppy grin lays out a rough line of snuff along his wrist, preparing for a swift hit of stress-relieving nicotine.

Ceruti paints all these figures with an intensity of focus, leaving the setting either largely blank  an empty room, a stone wall, the simple suggestion of a forest  or, in five of the 17, a townscape or farmhouse. Quickly sketched in pale hues, the buildings are very nearly a theatrical stage set.

Color is almost always drained from the scene. Its absence makes a point: Pleasure and joy are missing from the lives depicted. Instead, brown, gray, beige and white are dominant, an achromatic palette whose gloomy drabness is only relieved by the surprisingly wide variety of neutrals the artist employs.

Cerutis brushwork adds an unexpected note of luxuriousness to Beggar (circa 1735-40), a picture of a bearded, gray-haired man adorned in clothing made of a staggeringly complex patchwork. Scores of torn and shredded pieces of cloth are loosely stitched together. The ensemble comes to the edge of what today we would call shabby chic.

The dignity with which Ceruti represents his subjects is underscored in the remarkable pose he chose for this anonymous portrait. With a furrowed brow and earnest eyes looking out directly at a viewer, the beggar leans gently to one side in a posture of subtle deference. He has removed his hat, which he holds out before him in his right hand as if making a request. Ceruti cuts off the hat along the pictures bottom edge, tamping down the prominence of an appeal.

Look closely, and the beggars left hand has disappeared, tucked inside the placket of his tatty jacket. The hand-in-jacket is almost unnoticed amid the bundled panoply of rags. When finally you see it, however, the pose chosen for the portrait startles.

Think of Spains Diego Velazquez painting celebrated storyteller Aesop; the American Charles Willson Peale honoring valiant George Washington and Gen. Lafayette; or, Frances Jacques-Louis David elevating Napoleon. The humble vagabonds pose while asking for alms conjures these and countless other hand-in-jacket portraits of emperors, gentlemen, generals and eminent leaders, especially from the 17th and 18th centuries.

The formal gesture of a hand tucked inside a waistcoat harks back 2,000 years to Classical antiquity. The Greek statesman and orator Aeschines wrote that, in the art of persuasion, speaking with an arm outside ones tunic is very bad manners. Too aggressive. Pushy even, and not confident. Tuck the hand inside, as Ceruti also did in his own self-portrait as a Catholic pilgrim, painted around the same time.

Cerutis use of the gesture confers an aura of dignified understanding usually reserved for the upper classes onto a man who is down and out. Perhaps this indigent fellow was once a soldier  a veteran who had fallen into hard times? We dont know the answer, but we do know that the wealthy, educated Italian patron for such a picture in 1730s Italy would recognize the subtle poses implication.

Ceruti was born in Milan in 1698. He mostly divided his time between his birthplace and Brescia, a pre-Roman city 75 miles east, with sojourns on to Venice. Not much is known about his early life and training, but he made a steady living with commissions for portraits of nobility, historical subjects and church altarpieces  more skilled journeyman than virtuoso. After his death in 1767, his reputation languished, and he was largely forgotten.

His paintings are in museums and churches, but a revival of interest didnt begin until the late 1920s, when a surprising group of pictures turned up in a rural castle 20 miles south of Brescia. Notably, Italy was then hurtling toward fascist ruin amid economic chaos, with post-World War I poverty on the rise. Twelve of those 13 paintings are at the center of the Getty show, and their distinctive subject matter, size and style of representation has been a puzzlement ever since. Who originally commissioned them, and why?

Getty curator Davide Gasparotto, who organized the exhibition, is careful to note that Cerutis paintings are a marked departure from most genre paintings focused on the poor, in that they represent neither comic condescension nor moralizing screed directed at the subjects plight. The gravity of social marginalization meets a dignity inherent in the human condition, achieved through portrait-like rendering.

The slim exhibition catalog offers a very good overview of Cerutis early career, the paintings unusual subject matter and the periods social perceptions around destitution  a widespread, intractable condition in 18th-century Brescia. Poverty is fundamental to the construction of Christian ideology, and these Baroque-era paintings might be bound up in social and theological concerns around how to approach it in that particular time and place.

At the Getty Museum, "Giacomo Ceruti: A Compassionate Eye" is the Baroque painter's first American solo exhibition. (Christopher Knight / Los Angeles Times)

In almost every case, at least one man, woman or child looks out from the penurious scene and stares squarely at the viewer, imploringly. A bit of public-service-announcement hangs in the air: Wont you help?

Given the vast wealth gap between likely patrons and these portrait-subjects, the question creates an inescapable aura of noblesse oblige. The paintings are infused with an appeal for the sort of medieval generosity where lords claim an obligation for the well-being of serfs. A look not often encountered in European painting, its a self-interested dodge from accepting responsibility for creating  and terminating  the structural conditions that ensure poverty will persist.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
By Gram Slattery

ROCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis took an aggressive swipe at China, railed against what he described as corporate bailouts, and said he would rein in the Federal Reserve in an economic policy speech on Monday.

The speech contained relatively few new concrete policy proposals, but underlined how far the Republican Party has shifted dramatically in recent years in adopting an increasingly anti-corporate stance.

"We will usher in a new era of growth, prosperity and civic pride," DeSantis said. "We are a nation with an economy, not the other way around. We are citizens of a republic. We are not cogs in a global economic empire."

DeSantis was particularly harsh on China and the technology sector which he accused of enriching the East Asian nation to the detriment of Americans.

He told a small group of supporters at a cavernous warehouse in southern New Hampshire that he would eliminate China's preferential trade status, a policy that he has previously said he supports. Ending it would have a profound impact on global supply chains.

The U.S. Senate voted in 2000 to grant the status to China as it prepared to join the World Trade Organization. That has been blamed by opponents for helping Chinese business at the expense of American jobs.

DeSantis said he would "incentivize the repatriation of U.S. capital" through tax abatements, shift mining in critical minerals from China to the United States, and dramatically limit economic links between the two nations.

"They said if you granted China special trading status and put them in the World Trade Organization, that China would become more democratic," he said.

"What actually happened over these past 25 years, China has become more authoritarian, more powerful ... and we've seen our relationship marred by the theft of our intellectual property, trade dumping, currency manipulation and espionage."

In written bullet points released alongside the speech, DeSantis' campaign said he would appoint a chair of the Federal Reserve "who will focus on maintaining a stable dollar instead of the political pressures of the day."

DeSantis did not specify if he would try to end the term of current chair Jerome Powell prematurely.

He added that he would seek to eliminate any attempts by the Fed to impose a central digital currency.

The speech came as DeSantis is seeking to reset his campaign, which burned through some $7.9 million in cash in the first six weeks after he declared a bid on May 24.

Among his strategies is focusing on small-scale retail politics and drilling down on policy.

(Reporting by Gram Slattery in Rochester. Additonal reporting by James Oliphant in Washington. Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
Gert-Jan Oskam during a press conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, on May 23. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

More than a decade after an injury rendered him mostly immobile, a paralyzed man is using his mind to walk again, thanks to an innovative technology that connects his brain and his spinal cord.

Gert-Jan Oskam, a native of the Netherlands, was involved in a motorcycle crash 12 years ago when he was living in China, damaging his spinal cord in his neck. He was paralyzed from the hips down and partially paralyzed in his arms, according to an Al Jazeera report.

While Oskam is excited to walk again, he is just as thrilled to be able to stand and share a beer at a bar with friends: This simple pleasure represents a significant change in my life, he said.

Oskam was treated at a hospital in Switzerland, but researchers in the U.S. are working on similar technology to help people with paralysis.

Several research institutions, universities and private companies in the U.S. are conducting cutting-edge studies and clinical trials in this field of brain-spinal interface to develop solutions that can improve the quality of life for individuals with paralysis and other neurological conditions, Shashank Agarwal, senior decision scientist at CVS Health, told Yahoo News.

Oskam walks using his implants during the press conference. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

These institutions include Johns Hopkins University; DARPA, a research agency under the Department of Defense; and BrainGate, a company that develops neurotechnologies, Agarwal said.

The researchers who helped Oskam published a study in May in the medical journal Nature, in which they described the implants that provided a digital bridge between Oskams brain and his spinal cord, bypassing the injured sections.

Weve captured the thoughts of Gert-Jan, and translated these thoughts into a stimulation of the spinal cord to re-establish voluntary movement, Gregoire Courtine, a spinal cord specialist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne who was one of the lead researchers, said at a press briefing reported by the New York Times.

Jocelyne Bloch, a neuroscientist who placed the implant in Oskam, added at the press briefing, It was quite science fiction in the beginning for me, but it became true today.

What researchers in the U.S. are doing

By establishing this digital bridge between the brain and the spinal cord, the brain-spinal interface allows individuals with paralysis to bypass the damaged or nonfunctioning neural pathways and regain control over their limbs, Agarwal told Yahoo News.

One of the American companies Agarwal mentioned, BrainGate, is developing and testing medical devices aimed at restoring communication, mobility and independence to people affected by neurologic disease, paralysis or limb loss.

The company says on its website that early clinical research has shown that the technology provides intuitive control over advanced prosthetic limbs and provides people with paralysis with easy control over powerful assistive movement and communication devices.

It further says BrainGate ultimately aims to enable naturally-controlled movements of paralyzed limbs.

A deeper dive into the technology

According to Agarwal, the brain-spinal interface (BSI) is the technology being deployed to help Oskam walk again through the digital bridge.

The BSI contains a brain-computer interface that establishes direct communication between the brain and an external device, in this case the spinal cord.

In some cases, brain-spinal interfaces involve the implantation of microelectrode arrays or neural implants directly into the brain, Agarwal said. These implants are designed to detect and record neural activity from specific areas of the brain responsible for movement intention. They can pick up electrical signals from the brains motor cortex, where motor commands are generated.

The neural signals are recorded, then decoded and translated into commands that can be understood by the spinal cord or motor neurons.

Once the decoded neural signals are obtained, they are used to stimulate the spinal cord below the level of the injury, Agarwal said. Electrical impulses are delivered to specific regions of the spinal cord, activating motor neurons and neural circuits responsible for coordinating movement.

According to the Times, the EPFL research enabled Oskam to stand, walk and ascend a steep ramp with only the assistance of a walker. Video captured the stunning feat. A year later, he has maintained these abilities and has shown breakthrough signs of neurological recovery, maneuvering with crutches even when the implant was turned off.

I treat many patients with spinal cord injuries. The motor problems are only the [tip] of the iceberg, Dr. Georgios Matis, a neurosurgeon at the University Hospital Cologne in Germany who specializes in functional neurosurgery, told Yahoo News via direct message.

Such patients also have chronic pain, sensory problems and problems of the autonomic nervous system (blood pressure problems, bladder & bowel problems), Matis said. I would expect in the future that this digital bridge can help physicians treat many more problems of patients with [spinal cord injuries].

Has this worked with anyone else?

[Oskam] is a pioneer in the field. As far as I know, his team was the first and only with published results in such an esteemed journal, Matis said.

Research regarding the connecting of the brain to the spinal cord can be attributed back to 2016, when a group of scientists led by Courtine restored a paralyzed monkeys ability to walk. Another test helped a man with a paralyzed hand regain control over it.

Then, in 2018, Courtine led a different group of scientists to help find a way to stimulate the brain through electrical-pulse generators, enabling partially paralyzed people to ride bicycles and walk.

Oskam with brain-computer-interface researchers at the press conference. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

Now, with the latest advancements, people are regaining the ability to walk, swim and cycle within a single day of treatment because of the brain stimulation and the device connecting the brain to the body.

What does the future hold for this technology?

Researchers in the U.S. and abroad are looking to strengthen the technology and enhance it to the point where patients are able to fully walk and maneuver through their thoughts.

On this point, Matis added: This is the goal and I strongly believe we will achieve this goal in the next 10 to 20 years. It is about optimizing the algorithms we are using to: one, more accurately detect and translate the brain signals, and two, apply the right combination of root stimulation patterns so that the movement becomes more natural. The role of intensive rehabilitation (which should last years) must be highlighted!

Cover thumbnail photo: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images
A TV screen shows a file image of American soldier Travis King during a news program shown in Seoul Station, July 24, AP-Yonhap



Pyongyang may seek to capitalize on King's defection for political gain



By Kim Yoo-chul



While a conversation has commenced, there has been no substantive communication between the United States and North Korea on the issue of the 23-year-old U.S. Army Private Travis King, detained in North Korea after crossing the military demarcation line on July 18.



How to respond to the North's escalating military provocations, from the U.S. and its allies' standpoint, isn't the prime issue here  rather, it is about how to secure King's return to the U.S.



The fate of King, who crossed into the North, still remains uncertain. While it's believed that he is being held in custody by North Korean authorities, North Korea has remained tight-lipped in relation to his whereabouts.



White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the U.S. side is working with Sweden and South Korea for the return of King. As the incident happened at a very tense time in terms of geopolitics, disregarding any political engagement with South Korea and the U.S., political experts say chances are low that King will see a speedy release.



Speaking to The Korea Times, Jonathan Corrado, a director of policy for The Korea Society, a New York-based think tank, said South Korea could play a role in possibly breaking the impasse regarding the issue as the country is one of the U.S.' closest allies in Northeast Asia.



"This is a matter for the U.S. and perhaps its ally South Korea to work out with North Korea," Corrado, who conducts research on the U.S.-South Korean alliance and the Korean Peninsula, added. But citing the fundamental geopolitical dynamics, Corrado stressed this incident is unlikely to precipitate a thaw in relations leading to a negotiation cycle.



"(U.S.) Secretary Blinken urged China to play a productive role on the peninsula. However, this has more to do with constraining the North's reckless provocations and weapons development. Although the origin story of Private King's dash into North Korea isn't related to the larger geostrategic picture, the possibility of the U.S. and the North being involved in a negotiation cycle certainly becomes lower," he said.



In past cases of U.S. citizens being detained in the North, U.S. officials have initiated backdoor diplomatic channels, followed by lengthy negotiations. Once negotiations are completed to release the detainee, U.S. government officials traveled to Pyongyang to confirm the release. But considering continued high tensions between the U.S. and the North, it's unlikely that Washington will officially send officials to Pyongyang to expedite King's deportation.





A TV screen shows file images of U.S. President Joe Biden, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during a news program reporting on American soldier Travis King, at Seoul Station, July 22. King bolted into North Korea while on a tour of the Demilitarized Zone. The sign on the screen reads, "Can this be an opportunity to restart dialogue?" AP-Yonhap



Zack Cooper, a former White House National Security Council (NSC) advisor on combating terrorism and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a Washington-based public policy think tank, also pointed out that there is less of a chance for Washington to make "substantial sacrifices" to win King's immediate return to the U.S. as the young soldier's dash for the border is a blatant violation of his military orders.



"I suspect that the U.S. will try to get the return of Private King. So, bringing King back home may take months or years to play out and I doubt this incident will substantially change the nature of U.S.-North Korea issues and challenges," Cooper said.



King's present condition is anyone's guess. The essence of the incident is that, unlike the tragedy of Otto Warmbier, the U.S. soldier has not been accused of political crimes against the state.



In Corrado's opinion, North Korea is likely to be presently interrogating King with an aim to extract any militarily relevant information. "I also think these grueling, day-long sessions will last multiple weeks and are designed to extract a 'confession'," he said.



Cooper aligned with Corrado's position regarding the latest status of King that North Korea was on track to figure out how best to make use of the King situation, leading the secretive state to take a slow response to the news of King's border crossing. "North Korea is likely to interrogate him and get whatever information (albeit limited) they can about U.S. forces."



Bargaining chip or propaganda tool?



Now, the key question is just like in previous cases: Will North Korea use King as a bargaining chip or perhaps a propaganda tool? The reality is, according to Washington experts, that the North is less interested in getting short-term gains by releasing him. However, another question is whether or not he should be viewed as a valuable asset given his low military rank.



"King could either be a bargaining chip or a propaganda tool. If he desires to stay in North Korea for fear of punishment awaiting him in the U.S., he would probably become the latter. Once Pyongyang decides on an approach, they will reply to the United Nations Command's (UNC) attempts to discuss the matter," according to the Korea Society director.





This photo taken on July 18 and provided on July 21, courtesy of Sarah Leslie, shows U.S. soldier Travis King, fourth from left in a black shirt, attending a border tour of the Truce Village of Panmunjeom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas. AFP-Yonhap
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is concerned about reports of intimidation and political violence during protests in Bangladesh over the weekend against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday.

Police on Saturday fired rubber bullets and tear gas at stone-throwing opposition party supporters, who called for Hasina to step down and for elections due in January to be held under a neutral caretaker government.

"We encourage the government of Bangladesh to investigate reports of violence thoroughly, transparently and impartially, and to hold the perpetrators of violence to account," Miller said.

Miller urged Bangladesh to create a safe environment for people to peacefully assemble and for all parties to "refrain from violence, harassment and intimidation," noting the upcoming elections.

"Free and fair elections depend on the commitment of everyone - voters, political parties, youth wings, and police, and cannot take place in an environment of political violence," he said.

In May, Washington said it would restrict visas for Bangladeshis who undermine the democratic process at home, after accusations of vote-rigging and suppressing the opposition marred elections in 2014 and 2018. Hasina's government has denied the charges.

Hasina, who has maintained tight control since coming to power in 2009, has been accused of authoritarianism, human rights violations, cracking down on free speech and suppressing dissent while jailing her critics.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Simon Lewis; Editing by Mark Porter and Deepa Babington)
NIAMEY, Niger (AP)  Neighboring nations are levying economic sanctions over a coup last week that toppled one of the West's last democratic partners against West African extremists, and families in one of the worlds poorest nations could pay the price.

In the capital of Niger, many people live in makeshift shelters tied together with slats of wood, sheets and plastic tarps because they cant pay rent. They scramble daily to make enough money to feed their children.

Salou Hassan and his family live in a two-room hut on the side of the road, along with some 140 people. The family sleeps on wooden slats close to the floor, with no electricity or running water, and they bathe in public showers.

The most difficult part is finding food for my children, Hassan, whose sons are 5 and 6 years old, said Monday.

Hassan, 30, sells water door to door, earning about $6 a day when things go well. His wheelbarrows been broken and he doesnt have the nearly $70 he needs to fix it. His wife sweeps stalls at the central market, making less than half what Hassan does.

Hassan has hardly been aware that the country's president was overthrown.

Im looking for money for food for my family," he said.

Meanwhile, Niger's neighbors are threatening armed intervention against the junta run by the head of the presidential guard, although analysts say there is only a slim chance of the regional body successfully sending troops.

Both the United States and France have sent forces and hundreds of millions of dollars of military and humanitarian aid in recent years to Niger, which was a French colony until 1960. The French and the US train Nigerien forces, and the French military carries out joint operations in the north.

Since the coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, people have been toting Russian flags and praising that country in pro-junta demonstrations.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Niger in March to strengthen ties and announce $150 million in direct assistance, calling the country a model of democracy. France sent troops to Mali as part of an initiative to take on Islamic extremists across the region, but pulled out of Mali last year following tensions with the ruling junta. France has had some 1,500 troops in Niger.

The West African regional body known as ECOWAS announced travel and economic sanctions against Niger on Sunday over the coup, and said it would use force if the coup leaders don't reinstate Bazoum within one week.

Since the 1990s, the 15-nation bloc has tried to protect democracies against the threat of coups, with mixed success.

Niger relies heavily on foreign aid and sanctions could further impoverish its more than 25 million people. ECOWAS suspended all commercial and financial transactions between its member states and Niger, as well as freezing Nigerien assets held in regional central banks.

The sanctions could be disastrous and Niger needs to find a solution to avoid them, the country's Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou told French media outlet Radio France Internationale on Sunday.

When people say theres an embargo, land borders are closed, air borders are closed, its extremely difficult for people ... Niger is a country that relies heavily on the international community, he said.

Four nations are run by military governments in West and Central Africa, where there have been nine successful or attempted coups since 2020.

In the 1990s, ECOWAS intervened in Liberia during its civil war, one of the bloodiest conflicts in Africa and one that left many wary of intervening in internal conflicts. In 2017, ECOWAS intervened in The Gambia to prevent the new presidents predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, from disrupting the handover of power. Around 7,000 troops from Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal entered the country, according to the Global Observatory, which provides analysis on peace and security issues. The intervention was largely seen as accomplishing its mission.

If the regional bloc uses force, it could trigger violence not only between Niger and ECOWAS forces but also between civilians supporting the coup and those against it, Niger analysts say.

While unlikely, "the consequences on civilians of such an approach if putschists chose confrontation would be catastrophic," said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank.

Lyammouri does not see a military intervention happening because of the violence that could trigger, he said.

Blinken on Sunday commended the resolve of the ECOWAS leadership to defend constitutional order in Niger after the sanctions announcement, and joined the bloc in calling for the immediate release of Bazoum and his family.

The military junta, which seized power on Wednesday when members of the presidential guard surrounded Bazoum's house and detained him, is already cracking down on the government and civil liberties.

On Sunday evening it arrested four government officials, including the minister of petroleum and son of a former president; the minister of education; the minister of mines; and the president of the ruling party. The arrests were recounted to The Associated Press by a person close to the president, who was not authorized to speak about the situation, and a Nigerien analyst who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal.

Also Sunday, junta spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane banned the use of social media to put out messages he describe as harmful to state security. He also claimed without evidence that Bazoums government had authorized the French to carry out strikes to free Bazoum.

Observers believe Bazoum is being held at his house in the capital, Niamey. The first photos of him since the coup appeared Sunday evening, sitting on a couch smiling beside Chad's President Mahamat Deby, who had flown in to mediate between the government and the junta.

In anticipation of the ECOWAS decision Sunday, thousands of pro-junta supporters took to the streets in Niamey, denouncing France, waving Russian flags along with signs reading Down with France and supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin and telling the international community to stay away. There has been no clear explanation of the Russian symbols, but the country seems to have become a symbol of anti-Western feelings for demonstrators. Protesters also burned down a door and smashed windows of the French Embassy, before the Nigerien army dispersed them.

France said Monday that President Emmanuel Macron is closely monitoring the situation in Niger and has discussed the crisis with regional leaders and European and international partners.
By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A White House review on Monday recommended that the FBI's ability to conduct non-national security queries under a controversial surveillance law be removed as part of reforms aimed at getting the law reauthorized.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act's Section 702 permits the U.S. government to collect digital communications of foreigners located outside the United States.

The law expires at the end of this year unless it is reauthorized and some lawmakers, both Democrat and Republican, are calling for major reforms out of concern that Section 702 has been used against Americans.

"If Congress fails to reauthorize Section 702, history may judge the lapse of Section 702 authorities as one of the worst intelligence failures of our time," concluded the review, which was conducted for the White House by the president's Intelligence Advisory Board.

The 42-page report said changes are necessary, in part because a Justice Department audit in 2021 of the FBI's use of Section 702 found that some "noncompliant queries included individuals arrested during the January 6 Capitol breach,"- the 2021 uprising by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.

The review recommended that Attorney General Merrick Garland "remove FBIs authority to conduct queries for evidence of a non-national security-related crime in its Section 702 data."

"FBIs use of Section 702 should be limited to foreign intelligence purposes only and FBI personnel should receive additional training on what foreign intelligence entails," the review said.

The review found that while there were no instances of the FBI willfully misusing Section 702, the "FBI's conduct has nevertheless undermined public confidence in its ability to use Section 702 in the way it was intended."

Release of the White House review was accompanied by a statement from President Joe Biden's top two national security aides, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his deputy, Jon Finer, saying reauthorizing Section 702 is necessary to counter threats from abroad.

(Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Mark Porter and Deepa Babington)
MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE, Calif. - A large wildfire that ignited within Californias Mojave National Preserve on Friday crossed over into Nevada Sunday night while strong winds and dry conditions have been making the situation worse.

Officials say the York Fire has currently scorched about 77,000 acres of land and is 0% contained as of Monday evening.

According to officials with the Mojave National Preserve (MNP), the California Interagency Incident Management Team 12 was briefed about the ongoing situation and took over command of fire suppression efforts at 8 a.m. PDT Monday.

The fire is holding within rocks on the west side, limiting growth. On the east side, the fire is "backing" into the wind or moving in the opposite direction of the wind which officials said could mean a slower spread.

Limited visibility due to the thick smoke has been a challenge for the more than 200 firefighters working to extinguish the blaze.

Visibility has been limited to a mile or less, and that has impacted firefighting efforts both on the ground and from the air.

Firefighters battling the blaze on the northern side have observed fire whirls, also known as whirlwinds, according to officials with the MNP.

"While these can be fascinating to observe, they are very dangerous natural phenomena that can occur during wildfires," the MNP said in a Facebook post.

A fire whirl is a vortex of smoke and flames that form when intense heat and turbulent winds combine, creating a spinning column of fire that resembles a tornado.

"These fire whirls are similar to dust devils but are specifically associated with the heat and energy released by a wildfire," the MNP said. "They can range in size from a few feet to hundreds of feet in height, and their rotational speed can vary widely."

The situation is extremely dangerous for firefighters because the fire whirls can spread embers across all directions, which can then ignite new fires.

In addition, the fire whirls can change directions quickly, making them unpredictable.

"Firefighter crews encountering fire whirls poses significant risks, and safety protocols along with strategies must carefully be planned and executed to minimize potential harm," the MNP said.

Officials in Nevadas Clark County said there are no plans for any evacuation orders in any residential areas, including the cities of Nipton, California, and Searchlight, Nevada.

"The fire, at this time, remains some distance from these areas, and CCFD (Clark County Fire Department) continues to coordinate response and resources with partner agencies, and mobile command has stood up," officials said in a statement.
The family of a man killed by Davenport police two years ago says the officer who shot him was improperly trained and faced no immediate danger when he pulled the trigger.

Bobby Jo Klum was shot by Davenport officer Mason Roth on Oct. 13, 2021, as Klum walked down a street holding what was later found to be a pellet gun to his own head.

Police said at the time that Klum, who was wanted on an outstanding warrant, refused repeated directions to put down the gun and get off the street, and continued despite being hit by at least one rubber bullet before Roth shot him.

The Scott County Attorney later declined to bring charges against Roth, finding the shooting was justified.

In their lawsuit, which this month was moved to federal court, Klum's wife and mother disagree.

"Roth murdered a vulnerable, emotionally distraught man holding a BB gun to his own head while all other reasonable officers in the area took measures to de-escalate the situation," according to an amended complaint filed in June.

An attorney for the city told the Register the shooting was a "tragedy" but Davenport denies any legal liability for Klum's death.

Why did police shoot Bobby Jo Klum?

According to his family's court filings, Klum, 37, was in a suicidal state and did not want to go to jail when he encountered police on Oct. 13. As described in the complaint, Klum pulled a pellet gun out of his bag and pointed it at his head while walking through the neighborhood, leading police to call for backup.

Eventually, up to 40 officers were on the scene, establishing a perimeter around Klum as he walked.

According to the complaint, Roth later told investigators he shot Klum after several rubber bullets fired by other officers appeared to have no effect, and Klum was advancing toward a group of bystanders who he feared Klum might attack or take hostage.

Bobby Jo Klum, in an undated family photo.

Klum's family argues in court filings, citing video footage of the encounter, no bystanders were in Klum's path or in any danger when Roth fired. At no point did Roth verbally threaten anyone, or point his pellet gun at anyone but himself, according to the complaint.

Jason O'Rourke, an attorney representing Davenport, told the Register the city believes the suit has no merit.

"While this was a tragic incident and the citys thoughts go out to Mr. Klums family, the city denies it or Officer Roth has any liability in this lawsuit," O'Rourke said in an email. "Mr. Klum had multiple opportunities to respond to various officers attempts to de-escalate the situation, but he chose not to do so. As a result, Officer Roth determined it was necessary to use force for the protection of others."

Was Davenport police training to blame?

The plaintiffs also allege that Roth and other Davenport police have been trained to believe they must shoot first because a suspect holding a gun can aim and fire before an officer can react. The complaint characterizes this belief as "pseudo-science" and argues the city is liable for improperly training officers to shoot in situations where deadly force is not justified.

Roth reportedly told investigators "we've done lots of training where a suspect can have a gun either in a pocket or even pointed at their head and the suspect can go from that position to pointing the gun at you and firing a round before you can react. Even if you have your weapon out and aimed at them, your reaction time is never going to be as fast as their action.

The complaint attributes this belief in an "action versus reaction deficit" to the Force Science Institute, a controversial scientific organization whose research has been heavily criticized by the Department of Justice and other law enforcement groups. It is not clear if Davenport has offered training from or inspired by the Force Science Institute, and the city's attorneys have denied the plaintiff's claims about the department's training in court filings.

The plaintiffs argue it is plainly unconstitutional to shoot and kill someone holding a gun because of the fear they might aim it and shoot at someone else faster than a trained marksman aiming at them can stop them. They point to past court rulings finding that shooting someone aiming a gun at their own head, or even moving the gun after being ordered to drop it, is an unreasonable use of force.

"Common sense dictates that in situations where a law enforcement officer has a suspect in their rifle sight, the officer could pull the trigger before any suspect could move a gun toward the officer or another, aim and fire," according to the complaint.

The complaint also criticizes the findings of Scott County Attorney Michael Walton, who ruled the shooting justified because of how quickly the direction of the gun could change.

"If that was the actual legal standard to be applied, then anyone carrying a weapon in the right-to-carry state of Iowa could automatically be shot and killed at any time by law enforcement officers," according to the complaint.

Lawsuit rebooted after Iowa Supreme Court ruling

Klum's family originally sued the city in Iowa district court in August 2020, alleging the shooting violated Klum's rights under the Iowa Constitution.

In May, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the Iowa Constitution does not support such claims for damages, reversing a 2017 decision finding that it did. In response, Klum's family filed an amended complaint in June, now bringing claims for violations of the U.S. Constitution.

In response, the city filed in early July to move the case from state to federal court.

Attorney Dave O'Brien, who represents Klum's family, previously told the Register the recent Supreme Court decision would force many more plaintiffs into bringing federal claims in federal court.

"Lesson learned now. Were just going to have to file these federal claims in every case," he said, speaking about another lawsuit. " We chose not to file federal claims because we didnt want to get removed to federal court. Now in retrospect, federal court is looking a lot better!"

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Davenport 2021 police shooting was unjustified, family claims in suit
The firing of an Ohio K-9 officer was not due to him siccing his police dog on an unarmed Black truck driver who surrendered with his hands up following a highway chase, according records officials released to ABC News.

The reason former officer Ryan Speakman was terminated from the Circleville, Ohio, Police Department last week is because he allegedly lied to his superiors about whom he shared confidential details of the incident with, according to the newly released documents.

The documents, released by the Circleville city law director in response to a public records request from ABC News, indicate Speakman was an emotional wreck following the police dog mauling of 23-year-old Jadarrius Rose and was repeatedly crying at work. He was also upset a local newspaper published the initial report of his involvement in the July 4 arrest.

Circleville Police Chief Shawn Baer disclosed in a July 25 written report that at one point Speakman came to him "crying and very upset," concerned that he was going to take away his K-9 partner, Serge -- a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois Shepherd mix.

"He was begging I do not take his best friend from him," Baer wrote, according to the report. "I told him that we had not taken K-9 Serge from him and that he was scheduled to go to training. I told him again, if you havent done anything wrong, we would not take (the) K-9 from him."

PHOTO: Police bodycam screengrab shows Jadarrius Rose being attacked by an Ohio K-9 dog on July 4, 2023, after attempting to surrender to police with his hands up following a highway chase. (Circleville Police Department)

Baer, according to the documents, said he also told Speakman, "The review board had convened, and everything appeared that the deployment was within policy and training guidelines."

The review board met on July 6, two days after the incident, which started when state police troopers attempted to pull Rose over for a missing mudflap on his trailer.

Baer said he received a report from the chairman for this use-of-force review board, acting Capt. Kenny Fisher of the Circleville Police Department, who wrote, The board concluded that all personnel involved acted within departmental policy regarding the use of force and canine operations policy."

Fit-for-duty review ordered

When Circleville officials announced on Wednesday that Speakman had been immediately terminated, Baer, issued a statement, saying, "Circleville police officer Ryan Speakmans actions during the review of his canine apprehension of suspect Jadarrius Rose on July 4 show that officer Speakman did not meet the standards and expectations we hold for our police officers."

Now, the records released by the city's law director detail the circumstances of the alleged conduct during the review.

PHOTO: Jadarrius Rose and his mother, Carla Jones, speak on July 27, 2023, of Rose being attacked by an Ohio K-9 dog on July 4, 2023, after attempting to surrender to police with his hands up following a highway chase. (ABC News)

The newly released records, first reported by the Scioto Valley Guardian newspaper, show Speakman was terminated for "unauthorized and inappropriate intentional release of confidential or protected information," disobeying orders from his superiors not to discuss the incident with anyone other than investigators and for lying to Baer as well as investigators about whom he spoke to in the days after the dog attack.

In his July 25 report, Baer wrote that he initially placed Speakman on paid administrative leave "pending a fit-for-duty review."

In the document, Baer said he met with Speakman on July 19 -- 15 days after the dog attack -- and spoke to him "about reports I received that he was crying and talking to other employees about being stressed over the July 4, 2023, K-9 deployment.

During a meeting, which was also attended by the police department's deputy chief and human resources director, Baer ordered Speakman to stop talking to people about the incident, according to the records.

I explained to him that his conduct was not beneficial to himself or the agency," Baer wrote.

Baer said when he asked Speakman who he had spoken to about the K-9 deployment, the officer initially replied he had only spoken to a few employees of the Circleville Police Department (CPD) and no one outside the agency.

The chief wrote in his report that even after ordering Speakman to keep quiet about the incident, Speakman "continued to approach CPD employees upset and crying."

'You're going to get bit'

The records state, Baer said he ordered Speakman to give him a written list of all the people he spoke to about the incident. The chief wrote that on July 21, "Ryan Speakman brought a two-page list of people outside of CPD that he had spoken with" and that a day later gave him two additional names.

Baer, according to the records, described Speakman as being "deceptive" about his initial claims of who he had spoken to about the dog deployment.

Ryan Speakman discussed so much information with so many people it had immense potential to impact the (use-of-force review) boards ability to provide an accurate review," Baer wrote.

PHOTO: Police bodycam screengrab shows a few moments before Jadarrius Rose was attacked by an Ohio K-9 dog on July 4, 2023, after attempting to surrender to police with his hands up following a highway chase. (Circleville Police Department)

The records released by the Circleville city law director also included Speakman's body camera footage that captured the officer siccing his K-9 Serge on Rose immediately after arriving on the scene and issuing verbal warnings to Rose to drop to his knees.

Other body camera footage released earlier by the Ohio State Highway Police shows that as Speakman was commanding Rose to get on his knees, a state trooper was ordering Rose to walk toward him and another trooper was repeatedly yelling at Speakman, "Do not release the dog with his hands up."

MORE: 'I just didn't want to die': Jadarrius Rose, Black trucker attacked by Ohio police dog while surrendering, speaks out

Speakman's body camera footage shows the officer arriving at the scene and yelling at Rose from a distance, saying, "Get on the f------ ground or Im going to send the dog. As Rose, with his hands up, continued to walk in the direction of the trooper instructing him to move forward, Speakman warned Rose a second time, "Police K-9. You're going to get bit."

"Final chance. Youre going to get bit," Speakman yelled, according to his body camera footage, before he released the dog on Rose.

The body camera video shows the dog initially running toward the trooper giving instructions to Rose, and then turning and charging in Rose's direction when Speakman ordered him to attack.

MORE: Investigation launched after video shows Ohio police dog attacking suspect with his hands up

The video shows Rose falling to his knees with his hands up before the dog sunk his teeth into his left arm, prompting Rose to scream out in agony.

In an interview on Thursday, Rose told ABC News that when he saw the K-9 officer and his dog racing across the grassy center median toward him, he "didn't know what to do."

"So, I just stopped because I didnt want to make a bad move or anything like that," Rose said.

He added, "I was defenseless. If I would have tried to defend myself, that would have given them more reason to shoot me. I just wanted my life."

Rose said that even after the police dog latched onto his arm, it did not appear that Speakman or other police officers were in a rush to get the animal off of him. He said he directly pleaded with the dog to let him go.

"I had to tell the dog to stop," Rose said. "I asked the dog, 'Please stop. It hurts' and he finally let go."

'I think it's a justifiable bite'

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, as officers were trying to bandage Rose's arm, Speakman appeared to try to justify his actions when Rose asked why he turned the dog loose on him, according to Speakman's body camera footage.

"I gave you three warnings. Did I not? You didnt comply, so you got the dog," Speakman said, according to the video.

The footage also captured Speakman telling another officer at the scene, "I think it's a justifiable bite."

PHOTO: Police bodycam screengrab shows a few moments before Jadarrius Rose was attacked by an Ohio K-9 dog on July 4, 2023, after attempting to surrender to police with his hands up following a highway chase. (Circleville Police Department)

In his written narrative of the incident, contained in the records released to ABC News, Speakman repeated that he gave Rose three warnings and then made the decision to deploy K-9 Serge off lead in the suspect's direction." He did not mention whether he heard the trooper ordering him not to release the dog while Rose's hands were in the air.

Rose's encounter with the police dog came after he led state troopers on a three-county chase, officials said. The pursuit unfolded when the Ohio State Highway Police attempted to pull Rose over for missing a mudflap on his trailer, according to an incident report.

Rose told ABC News that he initially stopped, but then pulled away when he saw officers approaching his semi-truck with their guns drawn.

He said he called 911 during a more than 30-mile chase because he was "hoping that they would be able to help me."

"I wanted to get out. I hadnt committed a crime. Its not like I murdered somebody, and they got their guns ready to shoot me," Rose said. I just didnt want to die. Thats what was going through my mind. I just didnt want to die. Thats why I called them for help."

Rose was forced to stop when police put spike strips in front of his big rig, blowing out his tires, authorities said.

After being attacked by the dog, Rose was treated at a hospital and later booked at the Ross County Jail on charges of failure to comply, a fourth-degree felony. The charges have not been dismissed, according to national civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Rose.

Efforts by ABC News to reach Speakman for comment have been unsuccessful.

Prior disciplinary action against Speakman

The records released by the city law director also included documents from a previous incident in which Rose was disciplined.

In April 2021, Speakman was given a one-day suspension without pay after he was the subject of an internal affairs investigation over "horseplay," according to the records. Officials said Speakman admitted to approaching a fellow Circleville cop on Feb. 27, 2021, at the police station, snatching the officer's gun from his holster and emptying it of bullets, an act police brass described as "muzzling" the officer.

"Speakman stated that he took full responsibility for his actions and that it was a dumb thing to do," according to the records.

MORE: K-9 officer put on leave after police dog attacks surrendering suspect

Tom Austin, executive director of the Ohio Patrolman's Benevolent Association, said in a statement released Wednesday following the announcement of Speakman's firing that the union's senior lawyer, Joseph Hegedus, has filed an official grievance with the city of Circleville contending the officer was terminated "without just cause."

In the grievance, Hegedus wrote the officer's firing is "contrary to mandatory principles of progressive discipline" and is a violation of the union's collective bargaining agreement. The grievance asked that Speakman's termination be rescinded and that he be reimbursed for "wages, seniority and benefits lost."

Hegedus also asked that Speakman's termination be expunged from his personnel records.

A central Ohio Black Lives Matter group held a small boisterous protest outside the Circleville Police Department on Saturday, calling on Baer to resign or be fired for his handling of the incident involving Rose, for the dog that attacked Rose to be retired and that all charges against Rose be dropped. The organization also asked that race sensitivity training be provided to all Circleville police officers and the police department's budget be cut by 50%.

Baer could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

Crump told ABC News the incident harkened back to the 1960s Civil Rights Movement when police dogs were let loose on non-violent protesters.

"We have to say, we will not tolerate this," Crump said. "We wont go back to the days where theyre siccing dogs on unarmed Black people."

Records shed light on why K-9 cop was fired after siccing dog on trucker: Report originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Sir Darius Brown has never had a pet.

The 16-year-old New Jersey native has yet to live in a place that allowed them.

That didnt stop him from falling in love with animals when he visited the ASPCA shelter in New York City in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey.

He had been making bowties for people and knew that the attention he received in wearing them would benefit the animals.

Watch the video below to see the teen entrepreneur dressing shelter pets for success

Since then Ive made it my mission to continue helping shelter pets across the nation, Brown said.

Brown is furthering that mission by joining NBCUniversal Locals Clear the Shelter campaign as an ambassador and by designing a special edition bowtie for the effort.

Brown is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Beaux and Paws, a pet accessory and lifestyle brand. The brands signature item are pet bow ties. The company donates a matching bowtie to an animal shelter with every purchase.

The bowties help animals be noticed in the shelters and increase their likelihood of being adopted, according to the company website.

I can tell that it has a great effect on them. I see that the dogs are more energetic, Brown said.

At two-years-old Brown was diagnosed with a speech comprehension and fine motor skills delay.

Through helping his sister make hair bows, his fine motor skills improved.

Anything she wanted to do, I wanted to do, Brown said. She suggested that I cut the fabric so that over time I could use the sewing machine.

When he got on the sewing machine, Brown decided to make bow ties over hair bows.

I would wear my bow ties in public all the time, which lead to me receiving a lot of compliments and a lot of attention, Brown said.

In 2018 he launched Beaux and Paws and in 2019 Brown launched the PAW-SOME MISSION which has raised over $300,000 for animals in shelters across the nation.

For months he had a lot of shelters requesting bow tie donations and for him to visit their shelter or participate in an events and then he started the PAW-SOME MISSION, Sir Darius mother Joy said.

Brown earned the Global Child Prodigy Award in 2022, The Diana Award in 2020 and in 2018 then-President Barack Obama sent Brown a personal letter recognizing his community work.

Im going to use my platform to spread awareness for shelter pets, to make sure they get adopted, Brown said. Ill be volunteering at animal shelters. I want to be able to play my part.

In his role as ambassador, Brown aims to help Clear the Shelters reach 1,000,000 adopted pets. Clear the Shelters, whose 2023 campaign runs through the month of August, has helped over 860,000 animals find homes since 2015.

The 2022 campaign saw the coalition of NBC and Telemundo owned and affiliated local stations raise $540,000 and match 161,000 animals with new homes.

When people are seeking to adopt a pet, you are going to be able to save a life, Brown said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Watch this teen design pet bow ties to encourage animal adoption
Vivek Ramaswamy has emerged as something of a breakout star in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, raising speculation over his future within the party.

Many Republicans have praised the 37-year-old biotech entrepreneur, calling him an effective communicator with an impressive professional resume for a political outsider.

While theres heavy skepticism that Ramaswamy will win any of the early-state primaries, many see him as a rising figure within the partys ranks.

I think that his message is resonating well with the Republican activist crowd, and he is being positive enough with regards to [former President] Trump to basically be an alternative without being an anti-Trump guy, said GOP strategist and former Michigan GOP Chairman Saul Anuzis.

I think that resonates with many of the Trump supporters and lets say soft Trump supporters who would like to move on, but yet see somebody whos not running kind of on a message of attacking Trump and his legacy, he added.

Initially considered a long-shot candidate when he launched his campaign in February, the Woke, Inc. author entered the race known in part for his staunch opposition to environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) policies.

But the political outsider and first millennial to run for president on the GOP side has started to catch some momentum in the GOP primary.

Hes garnered attention for some of his stances and proposals, including pushing every candidate in the GOP primary to commit to pardoning Trump over the Justice Departments indictment alleging the former president mishandled and obstructed attempts to retrieve classified documents. Other Republican contenders like Perry Johnson have also vowed to pardon the former president.

Earlier this month, Ramaswamy gained some praise after a video went viral of him engaging with a protester who interrupted his Iowa event. After the woman turned to leave after interrupting his remarks, Ramaswamy offered for her to come back to ask a question.

There is a division in our country and I think people are hungry to start talking openly again, and I think Vivek has a unique skill that hes able to really lead people and rally people around what this country was founded upon, which is free speech, which is an open debate, said Ramaswamy campaign senior adviser Tricia McLaughlin.

I think thats what not only the GOP electorate is hungry for, but I think independents and even disaffected Democrats, she added.

National polling, too, suggests voters are starting to give Ramaswamy a serious look.

A RealClearPolitics polling average shows Ramaswamy placing third at 5.4 percent, behind Trump in first place with 52.4 percent and DeSantis at 18.4 percent.

Still, most national polls show the biotech entrepreneur in the single digits compared to Trump, who remains the front-runner in surveys. Some early state polls in New Hampshire and South Carolina show Ramaswamy trailing some of the other GOP candidates, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.).

Republicans also acknowledge more GOP voters will start to tune into the primary around next months debate in Milwaukee and note theres still months to go until the first early states primaries.

Not all Republicans are buying the Ramaswamy hype. GOP pollster and consultant Whit Ayres said the GOP millennial is not a serious contender for the presidency and waved off Ramaswamys recent polling.

Its a sign just like Herman Cain caught something in 2011 and Ben Carson caught something in 2015 and Andrew Yang caught something in 2020, Ayres said, referring to presidential candidates who appeared to have momentum at one point in their primary before sputtering out.

New Hampshire-based strategist Matthew Bartlett similarly suggested that Ramaswamy doesnt have a viable path to the presidency. Putting it bluntly, Bartlett said, No one is expecting him to win, and he said he didnt see Ramaswamy going after the former president in the primary but was looking to cozy up to Trump.

His campaign was not looking to end up in the Oval Office. His campaign was to promote himself and to some degree, his ideas and articulate that, he added.

But that hasnt stopped members of the party from suggesting that Ramaswamy could have a bright future ahead, saying he could run for Senate, be picked for a presidential cabinet position or even selected as someones running mate.

Theres so many people even after the Family Leadership Summit [who] said, Boy, what a young, positive, inspirational guy. He has a bright future. Hed be good in somebodys cabinet. He might be a vice president,' explained Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of the influential Family Leader in Iowa.

His biggest hurdle right now is crossing that threshold where people say, No, I think he can be president. So hes gotten a lot of people excited about his candidacy. Now he needs to make that transition: Now they can see me be president,' he added.

Ramaswamy for his part has previously said hes not interested in being a vice presidential pick or taking a cabinet position, saying hed return to the private sector instead if he didnt win the GOP presidential primary. But his campaign argues he shouldnt be underestimated.

I think Vivek has already done what everyone said he couldnt do. The fact that he is beating  the most former vice president, multiple governors, the former U.N. ambassador, a sitting senator  four or five months ago, no one knew who Vivek Ramaswamy is, McLaughlin, the senior Ramaswamy campaign adviser, said. And now hes third in national polls. That in itself is meteoric.

Republican strategists, too, say that while Trump is still the front-runner in the primary, a strong showing in Iowa can help galvanize a candidate heading into the next few states.

I wouldnt count anyone out thats coming in the top three in Iowa, said GOP strategist Alice Stewart, whos an alum of multiple presidential campaigns. And the objective of Iowa has never been to choose the party nominee, its to winnow the field.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
President Yoon Suk Yeol poses for a selfie with actors after seeing a play in Seoul during his summer vacation last year on Aug. 3, 2022. Courtesy of presidential office



President to take week-long leave from Aug. 2



By Nam Hyun-woo



Speculation is growing that President Yoon Suk Yeol might carry out another reshuffle of his Cabinet in the near future  most likely after spending a week on summer vacation starting Wednesday.



According to multiple sources with knowledge of the matter, at least two ministers will likely be sent packing, while some other ranking officials at the presidential office may also be replaced as Yoon seeks to tighten his grip on state affairs on the back of improving job approval ratings.





Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang speaks during a government committee meeting at the Government Complex in central Seoul's Gwanghwamun, July 20. Yonhap

Among Cabinet members in the hot seat are Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang and Science and ICT Minister Lee Jong-ho.



In May, President Yoon sent his then-secretary for industrial policy Kang Kyung-sung to serve as the second vice industry minister, after complaining about the government's efforts to normalize the country's nuclear energy policy and threatening to carry out drastic reshuffles of those who do not abide by the administration's policy direction.



The science ministry also suffered criticism over the slow legislative progress of establishing a national space agency, to be called the Korea Aerospace Administration, and lukewarm efforts in breaking the practice of unfairly distributing research and development subsidies to research organizations.



In June, Yoon sent his then-secretary for science and technology Cho Seong-kyung to serve as the first vice minister of science. Yoon reportedly asked Cho to focus on eradicating what he called unfair subsidy practices, which the president has branded as "cartel-like behavior."



"A number of candidates have emerged as candidates for the industry minister post, including Minister of the Office of Government Policy Coordination Bang Moon-kyu, and these may be part of a broader reshuffling," an official of the ruling bloc said on condition of anonymity.



"The matter of personnel is totally up to the president," another official said. "It is difficult to rule out the possibility given the precedents of presidents making sweeping reshuffles of their Cabinets after having summer vacations."



An official at the presidential office said Monday that Yoon will go on summer vacation from Aug. 2 to 8, which will include a sojourn at a presidential retreat on Jeo Island off the northern tip of Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province.



"Along with the island, he will likely visit several places which he finds it necessary to visit," the official said. "Though he will be officially taking a week-long leave, he may attend some official events during the vacation."





Former President Park Geun-hye writes in the sand at a beach on Jeo Island, South Gyeongsang Province, during her summer vacation in 2013, in this photo uploaded to Facebook on July 30, 2013. Captured from Park's Facebook
The York Fire exploded to 77,000 acres by Monday morning after first being reported on Friday in the Mojave National Preserve, southeast of Interstate 15 Mountain Pass.

The vegetation fire began east of Cima Road on Maruba and New York Mountain roads in the national preserve, San Bernardino County Fire Department officials said.

On Sunday afternoon, 192 firefighters battled the fire, which continued to spread in a northeast direction and at a moderate rate of speed, crossing over from California into Nevada.

San Bernardino County fire crews are joined by the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management and Clark County firefighters.

The fire was at 70,000 acres, with 0% containment through Monday night. The fire gained an additional 7,000 acres by Monday morning.

Clark County officials reported no plans to issue evacuation orders for residential areas, including Nipton and Searchlight as the fire remains quite a distance from those areas.

On Monday, firefighters were protecting structures near Nipton Road just outside of Searchlight.

The York Fire exploded to 70,000 acres on Sunday after it was first reported on Friday in the Mojave National Preserve, southeast of Interstate 15 and near Mountain Pass.

Fires extreme behavior

The fires expansion and extreme behavior continue to be fueled by windy conditions and dry fuel, which include desert scrub, juniper and Joshua tree woodland, InciWeb stated.

In some areas, fire crews observed 20-foot high flames, which indicated the intensity and severity of the fire, which had created dangerous conditions, InciWeb reported.

The York Fire exploded to 70,000 acres on Sunday after it was first reported on Friday in the Mojave National Preserve, southeast of Interstate 15 and near Mountain Pass.

Firefighters on Sunday continued to construct fire lines and extinguish flames, while air resources dropped water or fire retardant to create fire breaks and reduce the fires intensity and spread.

Roads closed

State Route 164 and Highway 95 in Searchlight, Nevada were closed on Sunday. In the Mojave preserve, Ivanpah Road, Hart Mine Road and Walking Box Ranch roads were closed along with the Castle Mountain National Monument, according to the park service.

Night photo of the "York Fire." Firefighters on Friday began battling the vegetation fire south of Interstate 15 and near Mountain Pass, in the Mojave National Preserve.

Clark County Fire has set up a mobile command near Searchlight and Nipton.

Smoke from the fire has drifted into Southern Nevada, with air quality in some areas of Clark County being listed as unhealthy. On Monday, smoke began impacting air quality in Las Vegas.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: York Fire in Mojave National Preserve explodes to 77,000 acres
YEREVAN, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS. The Chair of the German Bundestags Foreign Affairs Committee Michael Roth has accused Azerbaijan of committing ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan blocks humanitarian aid to Nagorno-Karabakh. This is a violation of international law. Even if Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan, it doesnt justify ethnic cleansings. The EU and US must state their positions clearly. Armenia must not become Russias prey, the member of the Bundestag tweeted.

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations highest court  the International Court of Justice (ICJ) - ordered Azerbaijan to take all steps at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations and the Red Cross has been facilitating the medical evacuations of patients.
For the Archeparch of Damascus, the family unit was "united and close-knit". There was "an abundance of vocations." Now it is rare to find an "entire family with exiled fathers, sick or depressed mothers, and children abroad. From 120 in 2019, today only 37 seminarians are left. For Christians in the Syrian capital, praying at the Shrine of the Martyrs is their Wall of Lamentation.

Damascus (AsiaNews)  Syrian Christians lost two important assets, the family and vocations, as a result of the countrys brutal civil war and the serious economic crisis that followed, compounded by Western sanctions against the regime of President of Bashar al-Assad, this according to Maronite Archeparch Samir Nassar of Damascus.

In a piece he sent to AsiaNews, he writes that in the past, the strength of our church depended on a united and close-knit family, and on the abundance of vocations.

The situation of Christians in the Middle East (Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon, or the Gulf) has been a source of concern for some time, due to an ongoing exodus and a minority mindset that must be overcome.

The Vatican Secretary of State, Card Pietro Parolin, said as much during a Mass marking the tenth anniversary of Fr Paolo Dall'Oglios abduction on 29 July 2013 whose fate remains unknown to this day.

Christians are citizens whose freedoms must be guaranteed, the prelate said. They belong to these peoples in their own right, and have always contributed to their cultural, economic and political development with dedication and competence.

For the archeparch of Damascus, the family and vocations are the two pillars who support the life of Syrias Christians.

However, it is rare nowadays to find an entire family. Twelve years of war have delocalised the family: the father is either exiled or emigrated. The mother is sick or depressed, the children are abroad, each one in a different country. Even "grandparents," he adds, "once honoured at home, are now isolated and die in silence.

The massive flight from mandatory military service is reflected in the lack of young men; a situation which decreases marriages and births, the prelate explains.

Therefore, a demographic weakening, empty houses, and Churches thirsty for its faithful. The family, a strong pillar of faith is a shaken asset.

Thus, a family structure in crisis is compounded by a drop in vocations, which is making things harder for those who have not emigrated.

The abundance of vocations was a factor linked to the family. Weakened families lead to a crisis at the seminary as well. Thus, instead of 120 seminarians in 2019, the number in 2023 was only 37 seminarians. Novitiates also show a greater decline.

This is the result of the massive exodus of Christians from the East, Archeparch Nassar laments. The last four years were the hardest, and for the first time we feel closer to the bottom of the abyss.

The weakening of these two assets has led the faithful to the Shrine of the Martyrs dedicated to eleven Franciscan missionaries and three lay Maronites killed by Druze on the night of 9 to 10 July 1860, who were beatified by Pius XI in 1926.

This has provided an opportunity to meditate on the meaning of sacrifice and self-giving, the prelate notes.

To the many martyrs of 1860 in Damascus, many new martyrs have been added during this heavy crisis that has torn Syria apart since 2011. Silent prayers filled with tears find refuge in the ultimate meaning of Christian witness, the First Martyr, our ultimate Wall of Lamentation, our only Hope.
by Nirmala Carvalho

The main opposition bloc wants the prime minister to report on the violence tearing apart the north-eastern state. Following a fact-finding visit, opposition MPs found the complete breakdown of law and order". In a statement, Card Oswald Gracias describes the conflict as tribal, not religious, urging the local Church to work for harmony.

Imphal (AsiaNews)  The main opposition bloc in Indias parliament has presented a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his handling of the ongoing crisis in Manipur.

Violence broke out in north-eastern state three months ago, pitting ethnic Kuki, who are mostly Christian, against the largely Hindu Meitei in a state ruled by the prime ministers own Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In a video message posted on 26 July, Card Oswald Gracias said that clashes in Manipur are not a conflict between Hindus and Christians, but a tribal conflict; in his view, the unrest is not confessional in nature.

Over a hundred people have died in the violence so far with more than 60,000 internally displaced, but this figure has not been confirmed since the Internet in the state has been suspended and it is still hard to obtain information.

The opposition bloc, an alliance of parties that recently took the name of Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), wants the prime minister to report in parliament about the violence after 21 MPs visited Manipur over the weekend to assess the situation.

The lawmakers also submitted a memorandum to the state governor, lamenting the "complete breakdown of law and order" in Manipur and the "pathetic" condition of relief camps.

INDIAS no-confidence motion is bound to fail because the ruling party enjoys a large majority in parliament and can stave off any attempt to defeat the government.

A few days ago, Prime Minister Modi spoke for the first time about the problem; this followed the release of a video showing two Kuki women sexually molested by Meitei men. The video dated back to 4 May, but only surfaced in July.

Modi said those responsible for the sexual violence would be punished, but the opposition slammed the ruling BJP for doing nothing to restore peace.

Indian troops were deployed to bring the situation under control, but they were not ordered to disarm local armed militias. For several local sources, the police sided with one or the other parties to the conflict.

Meanwhile, along a major highway, rival gunmen have set up outposts and dug in bunkers, regularly shooting at each.

For one scholar, the situation is "a mixture of anarchy and civil war and a complete breakdown of the state administration."

Cardinal Gracias has called for the conflict to be resolved peacefully, noting that the confrontation is between two historically rival groups.

"There have been attempts to give a religious colour to what is happening in Manipur, he explained, but this is not a religious conflict. It is a tribal conflict. Two tribes have been historically hostile to each other.

The prelate added that he spoke with the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India to discuss ways to restore peace and what role the Church can play towards that goal.

Efforts for harmony and peace must continue, he said. The Church should also come forward for this.

Sectarian clashes broke out after Kuki held a peaceful protest against plans to grant the Meitei schedule tribe status, which provides for government subsidies and quotas allocated to disadvantaged indigenous peoples.

Located on the border with Myanmar, Manipur is one of the smallest states in the Indian Union with a population of 3.2 million. Kuki represent 16 per cent of the population, while the Meitei are 53 per cent.
Over the weekend, police used tear gas and rubber bullets against opposition supporters. For months, the main opposition party has been calling for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas resignation ahead of elections in January 2024. Western diplomats issued a joint statement following attacks against an independent candidate.

Dhaka (AsiaNews)  Political unrest continues in Bangladesh after police used tear gas and rubber bullets over the weekend against opposition supporters who had blocked the main streets of the capital Dhaka demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas resignation

Scores of people were injured and at least 120 were arrested. According to local newspapers, the police violated the privacy rights of protesters by checking their mobile phones.

The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) plans to hold another rally in the capital today, after agreeing to 26 conditions imposed by the Metropolitan Police, including not to broadcast speeches by people who have been sentenced to prison.

The latter is a clear reference to former prime minister and BNP leader Khaleda Zia, convicted on corruption charges, and other members of her party arrested in recent months.

The BNP has been holding protests over the past year, demanding that a caretaker government be put in place to oversee the next general election, in January 2024.

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets against the ruling Awami League, but despite pressure, including from abroad, Hasina is unwilling to resign.

We have no objection to any movement, the prime minister said today, but she insisted that her government would not tolerate any violence.

At a ceremony honouring public servants, she urged the latter not to fear a bit of upheaval as long as the people continue to support her government.

Last Friday, Awami League supporters also held peaceful rallies and did not clash with BNP protesters.

At a rally on the same day, BNP Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that a fair election under this government was impossible because Every important institution of the country has been destroyed and peoples rights have been taken away. Price hikes of every essential have made peoples lives miserable.

Prime Minister Hasina came to power in 2009. Since then, she has been accused of rigging the elections in 2014 and 2018, imposing authoritarian control over the state, and repeatedly violating human rights, including suppressing freedom of speech and cracking down on all forms of dissent.

A couple of weeks ago, an independent candidate, Hero Alam was attacked during a by-election in Dhaka. After the incident, 13 Western embassies issued a joint statement condemning the incident.

In response, State Minister of Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam, summoned western envoys to express his disappointment at the "undiplomatic behaviour for interfering in the internal affairs of the host country.

In late May, the United States announced a new visa policy for Bangladeshi citizens whereby entry to the US would be denied to anyone who obstructs the election process in Bangladesh.

According to some observers, this move, despite difficulties of implementation, is meant to encourage free and democratic elections in the South Asian country.

(Sumon Corraya contributed to this article)
Today's news: Lao police arrest Chinese human rights lawyer who defended Hong Kong pro-democracy advocates. Suicide bombing in Pakistan kills at least 44 people and wounds another 200. Seven satellites made in Singapore were successfully launched from India. In Herat the Taliban torch musical instruments that cause the youth to go astray. At the Russia-Africa summit, Putin rewards the Zimbabwean president for his "loyalty".

LIBANO  PALESTINE

Rival Palestinian factions clashed over the weekend with at least six people killed and more than 40 wounded, including Lebanese soldiers. Members of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbass Fatah fought members of Islamist groups at the Ain al Hilweh refugee camp, the largest in the country, home to more than 50,000 people. One of the dead was a Fatah commander.

LAOS - CHINA - HONG KONG

Lao police have arrested a Chinese human rights lawyer on his way to the United States. Lu Siwei could be deported at Beijing's request. In 2021, he had his licence to practise law revoked for defending 12 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists. According to the authorities in Vientiane, there were "irregularities" in his passport.

PAKISTAN

At least 44 people died yesterday in an explosion in what appears to be a suicide attack against a gathering organised by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (Jui-F), an Islamist party, in the north-western district of Bajaur. More than 200 people were wounded, some critically.

INDIA  SINGAPORE

Seven satellites made in Singapore were successfully launched yesterday from India, as part of a joint space programme. The rockets lifted off at 6:31 am local time aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, off the coast of Andhra Pradesh, in the south. An Earth observation satellite was also launched.

AFGHANISTAN

In Herat the Taliban set fire to musical instruments and other equipment, on the grounds that music is contrary to Islam. Promoting music causes moral corruption and playing it will cause the youth to go astray, said Aziz al-Rahman al-Muhajir, head of the Herat office of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

RUSSIA  AFRICA

Russian President Vladimir Putin personally met almost every African leader who attended the Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg. The Russian leader rewarded the Kremlins most loyal supporter, Zimbabwean President of Emmerson Mnangagwa, with a helicopter paid by Russian taxpayers money.

TURKEY  TAJIKISTAN

Turkish Defence Minister Jashar Guler and his Tajik counterpart, Serali Mirzo, signed a military and financial collaboration agreement between the two countries. The deal was inked on the margins of this years International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF) in Istanbul, one of the foremost events showcasing new weapons.
Prime Minister Han Duk-soo, left, and President Yoon Suk Yeol speak before their weekly meeting at the Presidential Office in Seoul's Yongsan District in this file photo taken on June 13, 2022. Korea Times file



Prime Minister Han Duck-soo suggested to President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday the reshuffling of a vice minister-level official for his alleged mishandling of a deadly underpass flooding that claimed the lives of 14 people earlier this month, according to ruling-party officials.



The underground roadway in Osong in western Cheongju, 112 kilometers southeast of Seoul, was flooded on July 15 after an embankment was brought down by the rising water level amid torrential downpours, submerging several vehicles, including a bus.



The Office for Government Policy Coordination, under the Prime Minister's Office, conducted an inspection to determine the causes behind the flooding, and it revealed negligence on the part of the National Agency for Administrative City Construction (NAACC), a state body responsible for building the administrative city of Sejong.



The director of the NAACC was found to have failed in supervising the construction of a nearby bridge. A construction firm had demolished the original embankment and constructed a feeble emergency embankment, which was later identified as one of the main causes behind the deadly flooding.



The suggestion for the vice minister's reshuffle was made during a weekly meeting at the presidential office, and Yoon reportedly has not shown a particular response, they said.



The suggestion for a reshuffle is interpreted as a de-facto dismissal.



In addition to the vice minister replacement, Han also suggested an additional reshuffling of other ranking government officials, as well as fire and police officers in the district responsible for the accident.



The president and prime minister meet at the presidential office every Monday to discuss state affairs, usually over lunch. (Yonhap)


Onlookers watch a girl with her Boogie Board jump into the Roaring Fork River at the Basalt Whitewater Park on Thursday afternoon.
With 12,010 units, the coupe was the more popular and affordable option, and you could have it for $3,178. The convertible started at $3,418.The Super Commando 440 was the standard engine on the 1967 GTX , and at 375 horsepower, it was a powerful option that most people truly enjoyed. However, customers looking for additional power could pay an extra $546 to get the 426 Hemi.The GTX that you see here rolled off the assembly lines with a 440 big-block unit under the hood, and as anyone can quickly figure out with a few clicks on the photo gallery, everything is still in working condition today.Old cars still looking good and working correctly are pretty common these days, but what sets this GTX apart from the crowd is how original it continues to be after all these days. This GTX is a survivor, so it hasn't been molested, restored, altered, modified, you name it, in any way since it waved goodbye to the assembly plant.The car is in immaculate condition, eBay seller esgkag promises, and the provided photos confirm these claims. The paint is top-notch, and the interior looks mesmerizing, considering the vehicle's age. However, the seller admits the GTX is 99% rust-free, so the remaining 1% is something you'll have to take care of after the purchase if you're interested in a perfect-10.The big-block engine under the hood works perfectly  this is a genuine survivor, so the engine has never been rebuilt. It's paired with a 727 automatic transmission, which also works perfectly.The odometer indicates close to 67,000 miles (about 107,000 km), and they are all original.A 1967 Plymouth GTX is rare, especially when the car is still unmolested and flexing a show-winner condition. This model also sells with the original build sheet and other documents, so whoever buys it will own a small piece of automotive history.Unsurprisingly, buying this GTX will require a massive financial effort, as a car this rare can't sell cheaply. The seller listed the vehicle for auction on eBay, and despite the digital fight starting at $40,000, they also enabled a reserve. As a result, this is only the starting price for the auction, but buyers will have to send higher offers to secure the GTX.Anyone who wants to get their hands on the car without a fight must pay $55,000 to trigger the Buy It Now option. The owner stores the vehicle in Erieville, New York, but reach out to them to discuss all details before an in-person inspection. The auction ends in a little over two days.
SUV

The J300 Toyota Land Cruiser was presented during the summer of 2021 and is built on the body-on-frame TNGA-F version of the global Toyota platform alongside the XK80 Sequoia, N400 Tacoma, XK70 Tundra, latest GX 550, and the J310 Lexus LX. However, not everyone around the world has access to it  particularly in North America and Europe.In America, Toyota decided to pull out the Land Cruiser nameplate and only rely on the J310 LX 600 to fulfill off-road family-oriented full-sizecravings. Safe to say that  if we read between the lines  that was a bad call. Luckily, the Japanese automaker is about to make things right, and two years later, in June 2023, it kicked off the teaser campaign for Land Cruiser's comeback to the United States.One of the most hyped appearances this year  during a time when Toyota also launched major heroes like the Grand Highlander crossover SUV and latest Tacoma mid-size pickup truck, the 2024 Land Cruiser is going to get people confused because the rumor mill's alternate monikers (Prado or J/250) have fallen on the cutting room's floor.So, from August 1, Toyota will also show the 2024 Land Cruiser for America  which is vastly different from the J300 Land Cruiser on sale across other regions like the Middle East and at home in Japan. No worries, everyone knows this version is a sibling to the newly introduced 2024 Lexus GX 550, thanks to the company's revealing teasers.And even the imaginative realm of digital car content creators has taken notice, of course. So, there's an abundance of renderings with the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser, and it's pretty hard to stand out in a crowd, right? Yep, that can easily get mitigated by some of them. For example, Dimas Ramadhan, the virtual automotive artist behind the Digimods DESIGN channel on YouTube, has also taken up the task of revealing the next-gen Land Cruiser - in CGI, just like everyone else, but also with a twist.In his renderings, the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser is not alone but was unofficially presented alongside its 2024 Lexus GX 550 sibling. That way, it is pretty easy to spot the hypothetical differences. Those have to do with the front and rear, mostly, if we are to trust this unofficial source of information. While the Lexus GX 550 has an interesting take on the signature spindle grille that makes it a tad less obnoxious, its Land Cruiser counterpart focuses on squared design traits and deploys a vertical grille treatment along with simpler LED headlights.In the rear, meanwhile, the slim LED taillights that stretch along the width of the vehicle are replaced with more straightforward elements and a chromed trim piece. Meanwhile, the profile is pretty much the same. Anyway, take all this with a healthy dose of salt, as the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser has yet to be officially announced. Luckily, all mysteries will soon get cleared as the Japanese carmaker has set the official reveal date on August 1 at 21:20 Eastern Daylight Time (August 2 at 10:00 JST in Japan or 18:20 PDT). So, how do you like this quick CGI comparison  do you feel it is true or not?
Codenamed G81, the M3 Touring is a bit of an oddball. For starters, the humble station wagon is an old man's body style in the day and age of the sport utility vehicle. But more importantly, BMW went back to roots with it.

AWD

Long before the go-faster maniacs at M affixed the M badge to a sport utility vehicle, they had the E34. Fewer than 900 units of the M5 Touring were produced for said generation, and the E34 is all the more important in the M pantheon of sporty cars because it was assembled (to a great extent by hand) at BMW M's Garching facility.From a naturally-aspirated sixer, the M5 Touring leveled up to a high-revving V10 for the E61. There's another M5 Touring in the offing under the G99 codename, due in 2024 as a 2025 model with anplug-in hybrid V8 drivetrain.It's a well-known fact that BMW evaluated an M3 Touring for the E46, yet the bean counters in Munich didn't give it the green light for series production. Those who converted the E46 sedan to a longroof were vindicated by the G81, which is selling like hotcakes.Frank van Meel, the big kahuna at BMW M, recently confirmed that G81 production had to be increased in order to satisfy demand. What's even more surprising is that BMW's first-ever M3 Touring isn't sold in the United States, a market where the sedan is doing great.Part of the reason for the M3's appeal is the handling, and  as BMW enthusiasts already know  the S58 engine produces more power and torque than advertised. The German automaker's way of calibrating traction control and the ZF-supplied automatic transmission makes the M3 a force to be reckoned with in a straight line. In the M3 Touring's case, the estimate from zero to 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) is 3.6 seconds, which means 3.4 seconds to 60 mph (97 kph).Paul Maric of Australian motoring publication Car Expert needed 3.47 seconds to reach 100 clicks on an unprepped surface, which goes to show that BMW sandbags like crazy. The pull from 80 to 120 kilometers per hour (50 to 75 miles per hour) took a meager 2.12 seconds, which is utterly insane for a compact executive-sized car that weighs 1,865 kilograms (4,112 pounds).Pictured in Thundernight Metallic, the M3 Touring in the video below also stops on a dime thanks to large brakes with six-piston calipers up front. In combination with the standard Michelins, it needed 3.1 seconds and 36.79 meters (120.7 feet) to fully stop from 62 mph.ynguldyn, the resident insider at Bimmerpost, claims that BMW will bring the G99 stateside to repent for not selling the G81 stateside. With 700-plus horsepower on deck, the roomier sibling of the M3 Touring is certain to steal a few customers away from the aesthetically challenged XM that flaunts up to 738 hp.
SUV

Even more, the latest two are also of the slammed and widebody variety, just to make sure the fans that were only mildly outraged by the idea of sporty SUVs would start turning amok, crying their undying indignation at the sight of these two dark and menacing heroes. After all, if there's one thing that unites them all is the Satin Black and glossy carbon fiber treatment, for sure!Anyway, as they wage aftermarket and social media war with other well-known aftermarket outlets like RDB LA, the team from Platinum has selected this Mansory Cullinan as one of their favorites to date. And it's all probably thanks to the Satin Black finish, the numerous Mansory carbon fiber parts fitted to the exterior and finished in gloss PPF, as well as the minimalist-style white accents that adorn the body (and Spirit of Ecstasy) to tie in with the lighter treatment bestowed upon the interior.Since it's a Black Badge, this Rolls-Royce Cullina is no slouch either, thanks to the 6.75-liter twin-turbo V12 rocking an additional set of ponies to the tune of a 591-hp stable. Sure, you might say this version has the same top speed (155 mph/250 kph) as its 'lesser' sibling, but that matters a lot less than the widebody looks on those shiny, chromed aftermarket wheels. And the details are best seen at crawl ratio rather than terminal velocity, right?Anyway, we didn't speak of their competition for anything. If you liked the off-white accents on this Rolls-Royce Cullinan Black Badge and you would have loved the Mansory details on a lighter tone, then look no further than RDB LA's latest presentation. They, too, made time for a bit of Rolls-Royce bragging, albeit with a massive 2023 Phantom limousine, all dressed in white and chrome.That includes the $23k Mansory wheels with full-face fit and a diamond-cut finish to put everything into the proper aftermarket perspective. And while the Platinum Cullinan Black Badge might be considered the perfect Darth Vader getaway car (from a party, not a fight), this white over Charles Blue Rolls-Royce Phantom sure feels like the most gracious way to honor a summer night's party at the seaside, right?So, there's just one more question  which is your favorite? The behemoth, dark and sinister in its Mansory widebody configuration, or the light-hearted limousine that also comes with expensive Mansory toys?
A meeting between representatives of Artsakh and Azerbaijan was supposed to take place in [Slovakias capital] Bratislava tomorrow, but Azerbaijan abandoned that meeting the day before yesterday without an explanation, said Tigran Petrosian.

Petrosian said that the Azerbaijani side wants such talks to be held in Baku or another Azerbaijani city, something which is unacceptable to Karabakhs leadership. Western mediators will visit Yerevan in the coming days to discuss the issue with Karabakh officials, he added without elaborating. Baku did not immediately react to the claims.

Other sources in Stepanakert told RFE/RLs Armenian Service earlier that such a meeting was originally planned in Bulgarian for the beginning of July and that it did not take place because the sides did not agree on its agenda.

The authorities in Stepanakert maintain that the agenda must include Karabakhs right to self-determination. Arayik Harutiunian, the Karabakh president, complained in late June that Baku is only willing to discuss the Armenian-populated regions integration into Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev warned in late May that the Karabakh Armenians must accept Azerbaijani rule or risk fresh military action. In mid-June, Baku completely blocked relief supplies to Karabakh carried out by Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The tightening of the Azerbaijani blockade of the Lachin corridor aggravated severe shortages of food, medicine and other essential items in Karabakh.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken again called for an end to the blockade in a weekend phone call with Aliyev.

I spoke to Azerbaijani President Aliyev yesterday to express our deep concern for the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Nagorno-Karabakh, Blinken tweeted on Sunday. The United States urges all sides to continue dialogue to reach a durable peace agreement.
We have no information about his condition, we dont known if he is alive or not, Vera Khachatrian told reporters as she picketed the Yerevan offices of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Vagif Khachatrian, a 68-year-old resident of the Karabakh village of Patara, was in the latest group of patients who were being escorted by the ICRC to Armenian hospitals for treatment on Saturday. He was detained at an Azerbaijani checkpoint in the Lachin corridor in what Karabakhs leadership and the Armenian government condemned as a gross violation of international law.

Azerbaijani authorities said Khachatrian was taken to Baku to stand trial on charges of killing and deporting Karabakhs ethnic Azerbaijani residents in December 1991, at the start of the first Armenian-Azerbaijani war. Karabakh officials strongly deny the accusations.

The ICRC said on Sunday that its representatives in Baku visited Khachatrian in Azerbaijani custody and enabled him to communicate with his family.

My father has still not contacted us, that is false information. We have no news except that he is in Baku, countered Vera Khachatrian, who fled to Armenia during the 2020 war with Azerbaijan.

A spokeswoman for the ICRC office in Stepanakert suggested that the Red Cross statement referred to an oral message sent by the Karabakh man to his loved ones. In this particular case, there was indeed no direct communication, but something was passed on to the family, said Eteri Musayelian.

Karen Grigorian, the chief cardiologist at a Stepanakert hospital who treated Vagif Khachatrian, confirmed that the latter suffered from a serious heart disease and needed urgent surgery in Yerevan. He periodically had blackouts, Grigorian told RFE/RLs Armenian Service.

Khachatrian is the first Karabakh patient arrested by the Azerbaijani authorities during medical evacuations by the ICRC which began after Baku halted last December commercial traffic through the only road connecting Karabakh to Armenia. It is not yet clear whether the Red Cross will resume the evacuations after his arrest.
The accusations stem from the privatization in 2012 of a 300-square-meter plot of land in downtown Yerevan by a company allegedly controlled by Armen Smbatian, a former Armenian ambassador to Israel and Russia, and Sergei Smbatian, the artistic director and chief conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra.

According to the Office of the Prosecutor-General, the company bought the land for 170 million drams (now equivalent to $435,000) in return for a pledge to build a cultural center there as well as a new concert hall and central heating system for an adjacent music school. It constructed a 17-story office building instead, causing the state almost 1 billion drams ($2.6 million) in damage, the law-enforcement agency claimed in a statement.

A court in Yerevan promptly agreed to remand both men in pre-trial custody. Their lawyer, Yervand Varosian, dismissed the absurd charges on Monday, likening them to an artistic work transcending all bounds of imagination. Varosian also argued that the Armenian statute of limitations for the crime allegedly committed by the Smbatians has expired.

The prosecutors also implicated Hasmik Poghosian, a fugitive former culture minister, in the alleged fraud. They said that Poghosian, who served as minister from 2006-2016, gave the green light to the privatization deal despite being aware of the Smbatians real intentions.

Poghosian has been on the run since being charged in late 2020 with abusing her position to privatize a historic Yerevan building in a complex fraud scheme allegedly facilitated by Armen Smbatian. The latter posted bail and avoided arrest at the time.

A musician by education, Smbatian Sr. was the rector of Yerevans Komitas State Conservatory from 1995-2002. He served as ambassador to Russia in the following years.
The Lachin road is Azerbaijani territory and Azerbaijan can carry out any action there, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was reported to say after talks with his visiting Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov.

Fidan said that international criticism of the continuing blockage of the only road connecting Karabakh to Armenia is therefore unfair.

The United States, the European Union, Russia as well as various international organizations have repeatedly urged Azerbaijan to unblock the vital road. U.S. Secretary of State Antony again did so in a weekend phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Baku continues to dismiss such appeals.

Fidan also said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will agree to normalize Turkish-Armenian relations only after Baku negotiates a desired peace deal with Yerevan.

Meeting with Bayramov on Monday, Erdogan stressed the importance of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty and the immediate opening of a corridor that would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave via Armenias Syunik province, which also borders Iran.

Armenian leaders have ruled out any extraterritorial land links for Nakhichevan. Tehran is also strongly opposed to such a corridor, having repeatedly warned against attempts to strip the Islamic Republic of the common border and transport links with Armenia. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei emphasized this stance when he met with Erdogan last year.

Irans approach to this issue disappoints us and Azerbaijan, Erdogan said in June this year. I want us to overcome that problem soon.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un speaks with Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Li Hongzhong during a reception held in Pyongyang, July 28 in this photo provided by North Korea's Central New Agency. Yonhap



North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with a Chinese delegation that visited Pyongyang to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War and vowed to develop the two countries' relations to a "new high," the North's state media said Saturday.



Kim hosted a reception for the Chinese officials led by Communist Party Politburo member Li Hongzhong, Friday. The Chinese delegation was the first since the COVID-19 pandemic.



"Reaffirmed at the talk was the stand of the parties and governments of the two countries to cope with the complicated international situation on their own initiative and steadily develop the friendship and comradely cooperation onto a new high stage," the North's KCNA news agency said.



The meeting took place after Chinese and Russian officials stood shoulder to shoulder with Kim, Thursday, as they reviewed his newest nuclear-capable missiles and attack drones at a military parade in the capital. (Reuters)




31 July 2023 09:00 (UTC+04:00)

On July 29, employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross visited Vagif Khachatryan, who was detained on the same day by the Azerbaijani border guards at the Lachin border checkpoint. The detainee was given the opportunity to communicate with his family.

Ilaha Huseynova, head of the public relations department of the ICRC office in Azerbaijan, said this in response to to local media, Azernews reports, citing Day.az.

In accordance with its mandate, the ICRC evaluates the treatment and conditions of detention during visits. The ICRC also makes it possible for people to re-establish or continue their relationship with their families. In accordance with ICRC procedures, comments and recommendations regarding visits are communicated only to the detaining party.

It should be noted that the investigation of the criminal case initiated by the military prosecutor's office of the Republic of Azerbaijan under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code on the fact of genocide, deportation of persons of Azerbaijani nationality in the village of Meshali, Khojaly region, destruction of numerous property belonging to villagers and the state by illegal Armenian armed groups on December 22, 1991 continues.

The investigation established that on the specified day, a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan Khachatryan Vagif Cherkezovich, born in 1955, born and living in the village of Badara, Askeran region, worked as a driver in the automobile transport enterprise of the city of Khankendi together with other persons of Armenian nationality in order to completely destroy the Azerbaijanis living in Meshali village as a single national group, using various types of weapons, including firearms and infantry fighting vehicles, having carried out an armed attack on this village, killed 25 people of Azerbaijani nationality, inflicted bodily injuries of varying degrees on 14 people, expelled 358 Azerbaijanis from their places of legal residence without grounds provided for by international legal norms and laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

In addition, Khachatryan Vagif Cherkezovich, continuing joint criminal actions with persons by prior agreement, destroying and damaging property belonging to the state and villagers, caused material damage in the total amount of 5,496,900 manats.

In connection with the emergence of sufficient reasonable suspicions, a decision was made to bring Vagif Khachatryan as an accused under Article 103 (genocide) and 107 (deportation or forced resettlement) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Due to the fact that his whereabouts were not known to the investigation, he was put on the international wanted list and on November 12, 2013, by a court decision, a preventive measure in the form of arrest was chosen against him.

As a result of the search activities, Vagif Khachatryan was detained by the servicemen of the State Border Service at the Lachin border checkpoint of the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border on July 29, 2023, while trying to travel to the Republic of Armenia for the purpose of treatment through the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

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31 July 2023 08:30 (UTC+04:00)

Elnur Enveroglu Read more

It has been proven by many facts that Vagif Cherkazovich Khachatryan, who was detained on July 29, while passing through the Lachin border checkpoint, was involved in the massacres committed in Garabagh in the 1990s. His participation in the massacre in Meshali village of Khojaly has become famous as a historical event.

Khachatryan's brutality and hatred towards Azerbaijan have also been heard from the testimonies of many witnesses. However, despite all this, official Yerevan for some reason cannot accept the detention of terrorist Khachatryan by Azerbaijan. Even objecting to this, it groundlessly accuses Azerbaijan.

However, Azerbaijan, based on the principles of respect for international law, has always provided facts and evidence about all events.

Commenting on the issue to AZERNEWS, the Dutch writer Henry Van Rens strongly condemned such behavior of Armenia.

"I think it is quite brutal of Armenia to blame Azerbaijan for the capture of this terrorist Vagif Khachatryan. Someone who behaved like a murderer during the 1st Garabagh war deserves to be punished. If Armenia recognizes Azerbaijan, they must cooperate and recognize it. If Armenia refuses do this, then they are implying that they are supporting terrorism."

Henry Van Rens also criticized the ICRC's "service" to the Armenian side, which tried to take Khachatryan from Azerbaijan to Armenia: "The ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) tried to support Armenia because in my opinion the Diaspora of Armenia has a hand in this. Normally the ICRC should show their neutrality. I don't think that happened as it should."

Henry Van Rens also called the international organizations that were neutral in this incident and tried to protect Armenians unjustly as much as possible, a part of the terrorism. According to him, turning a blind eye to a crime is as much a crime as committing a crime.

"I find it brutal that Armenia is doing everything it can to free this brutal killer. Someone who was present and was certainly involved in a murder of at least 30 people in the village of Meshali in the Khojali district must be brought to justice. It seems to me pointless of Armenia to oppose the law that must prevail. And as it often happens, the big international organizations keep sneaking a look in the background and think, Oh, it's the far from my bed show. Do nothing. Let them figure it out. In my opinion, the organizations in large European countries such as Germany, France and also the USA have a strong Armenian diaspora that finds money more important than justice. I thin turning blind eye to a crime is as much as committing a crime," he opined.

It should be noted that Henry Van Rens is thinking about completing the book he recently wrote about Garabagh. He noted that the incident will be reflected in a new chapter in the book. According to him, finding the criminal and bringing him to justice is also a success of Azerbaijan.

"I am still gathering facts for my book about the Armenian aggressors and their killings in Garabagh. This book is expanded with the new message that after so many years another murderer has been arrested. I think it's first name to mention this. This unscrupulous killer Vagif Khachatryan belongs in my book. I hope this person gets the punishment he deserves. Justice must prevail," he concluded.

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Elnur Enveroglu is AzerNews deputy editor-in-chief, follow him on @ElnurMammadli1

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31 July 2023 16:35 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) continues to collaborate and protect the separatist movement in Karabakh. The organization evaded its principle and neutrality long ago. It is not the first time that ICRC engages in scandalous activities. The organization is notorious for ratlines that helped Nazis to flee Europe for Latin America for avoiding investigation in Germany after WWII, illegally taking Ukrainian children to Belarus, treating Azerbaijani POWs in Armenia indifferently, and so on.

The last illegal activity of ICRC has been identified on the Lachin-Khankendi road recently. So, the representatives of the organization were caught red-handed smuggling forbidden products. However, another scandalous activity of the ICRC was revealed thanks to the so-called "Armenian protestors."

As American writer Wilson Rawls said, 'There is a little good in all evil'. The separatists presented an interesting image in the footage while organizing another show this time.

Thus, during a farce called a "protest" against Azerbaijan in front of the office of ICRC in Khankendi, inadvertently, a satellite dish for military usage was caught in the footage. It also occupied the agenda caused a hard discussion.

In a comment for AZERNEWS on the issue, the military expert noted that such kind of dishes apparent in the footage can be used for different purposes from receiving satellite channels to providing long-distance communications. Keeping it in mind, the pundit said that relevant organizations in Azerbaijan must investigate and take proper measurements relating to the issue.

Large-scale dishes of this type are very similar to devices that can be used for various purposes, both for receiving satellite channels and for providing long-distance communications for space communications. Therefore, our relevant institutions should investigate this issue and discuss it with the International Committee of the Red Cross, Verdiyev said.

The military expert who said that Armenia is capable of any provocation, especially during the war, also recalled a kindergarten that had been used as a headquarter by Armenians in the 44-day Patriotic War in 2020, and noted that it is a habit of Armenian separatists to use civilians, civilian infrastructure, and the offices of organizations owning immunity as a defense shield.

We have repeatedly witnessed Armenian separatists place their military units and objects at or near civilians, civilian infrastructure, and the offices of organizations owning immunity. Because Azerbaijan tries its best not to hit such kind of places. This time, the separatist organization aimed to achieve sustainable use of the device, which can also be used for military communications, by placing it in the territory of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the military expert said.

As for the satellite antenna located in the yard of the ICRC office or adjacent to it, but its purpose is unknown, the military expert added that if the ICRC wants to watch foreign TV channels, there is no need for such a large satellite antenna in modern times.

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Qabil Ashirov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @g_Ashirov

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31 July 2023 19:30 (UTC+04:00)

Rena Murshud Read more

There are many incompatible concepts in the world, one of which is the words Armenia and truth. Especially Armenia, which is a skilled master of fabricating false historical facts is known for its terrorist acts, genocides and ecocides, human butchering, merciless killings, and much more. What is interesting is that they have committed all these terrible acts not in their own lands, but in foreign lands and are still continuing.

Unfortunately, the notorious neighbor Armenia is neither ashamed of its position nor of its actions. On the contrary, they are proud of the crimes committed even by those whom they think are the smartest among them.

Armenians are also skilled masters in fabricating false historical facts and imposing lies on people as if they were true. They even manage to pretend to be innocent lambs, changing their murderous guise when necessary.

Although the Khojaly genocide is one of the most well-known tragedies in the world, many similar events in Garabagh have been included in the deep archives of history. For example, Meshali tragedy, which happened three months before Khojaly, can be mentioned as one of the most terrible events in human history.

In an interview with AZERNEWS, historian, associate professor Subhan Talibli emphasized a number of historical facts while talking about the tragic events in Meshali.

" Although the village of Meshali is much smaller than Khojaly in terms of territory and scale, the amount of damage to it, both materially and morally, was higher than the others. Killing 30 people and burning people (children, elderly and women) alive in their homes is considered inhumane in the true sense of the word. It was also clear from the latest investigations that the financial damage caused to Azerbaijan by the crimes committed in Meshali amounted to 5,496,900 manats," Talibli said.

The Meshali tragedy was investigated by the prosecutor's office of the Republic of Azerbaijan, criminal cases were initiated under various articles of the Criminal Code, evidence was collected, some guilty were identified and held accountable, fair court sentences were passed. According to the expert, a decision was made to bring 9 armed persons who committed the incidents as defendants, as well as to choose a measure of restraint in the form of arrest in absentia.

Speaking about the tragedy of Meshali, the expert also told us about the terrible memories of those eyewitnesses who lived through those horrific moments.

Ziyaddin Salmanov, a former policeman and resident of the village, who took part in the defense of the village during the events that took place in Meshali, the Armenians mercilessly killed the villagers before his eyes.

"My police colleagues Allahverdi and Ismayil were also brutally murdered at that time. Vagif Khachatryan was one of the leaders of those terror acts. He gathered his relatives and formed an armed group. As a policeman, I participated in battles as part of a self-defense detachment. I remember Khachatryan shouting in Azerbaijani through a loudspeaker: "We have surrounded the village, surrender." Uncle Qanimat was there, and they shot him in the head with a machine gun. Once in the village of Badara, Khachatryan wanted to burn us in his Niva car" Ziyaddin Salmanov told.

Then talking about the terrible memories of another eyewitness whose name is Zamina Aliyeva, the expert also brought us back to Meshali history.

"In the village of Meshali, Khojaly region, the Armenians tortured and killed 5 members of the Novruzov family. Novruz Novruzov, his wife Adila Novruzova, his son and two daughters were killed on the same night. One of the survivors in Zaminas family said that, after the murder of her family members, the Armenians tortured and burned the corpses. Although one of the sisters was shot in the heart, there were dozens of bullet holes in her leg. All of them were tortured. Armenians completely burned down our houses, farms by arson. Only Zamina survived by accident. The goal of the Armenians was to kill everyone who wanted to come and view the scene."

When considering recent events, it is clear that Armenians were the only witnesses to the crimes committed by them. They even destroyed the surviving captives so that there would be no living evidence for the future. But fortunately, the survivors today remember those events and even support the processes in criminal investigations.

Unfortunately, during the 30 years of occupation, Karabakh has always become a place of terrorism, genocide and sabotage in Armenia. Armenians who want to Syrianize those territories even received a lot of support from abroad.

"Both local and foreign media, scientific literature, Armenian army, etc. are connected with the first Karabakh war. Looking at the facts, it is clear that Armenia has had very strong support from Russia and some foreign forces. As the most obvious example of this is the support of the 366th regiment of Russia during the Khojaly and Garadaghly genocides which are also known to the local and international community," S.Talibli said.

It is enough for the Armenians, who always shout the so-called Armenian Genocide to the world, to remember the crimes they committed against Azerbaijani Turks together with their patrons in 1905, 1918, 1920, 1948, 1953 and 1988.

Although the facts, documents, and rights are on the side of Azerbaijan, unfortunately, they used the Armenian card and the Armenian factor against Azerbaijan and Turkiye from time to time. This policy continues today," the expert underlined.

In the end, the expert spoke about the extreme importance of presenting the truth about Armenian crimes to the world community. He noted that it is extremely important to rely on strong historical facts to convince the world of Armenian crimes.

"In my opinion, every Azerbaijani, regardless of his position or location, should always be active in bringing the truth about Azerbaijan to the world community, should always promote it, referring to international law, documents, facts, and sources," Subhan Talibli added.

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Follow Rena Murshud on Twitter: @RenaTagiyeva

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31 July 2023 13:59 (UTC+04:00)

Strengthening transport links between the EU and Azerbaijan is particularly important today when transport routes south of Russia, such as the Middle Corridor, are growing in importance amid the war in Ukraine, Azernews reports, citing EU.

"Part of this corridor also passes through Azerbaijan, in particular the port of Baku, on the shores of the Caspian Sea, as part of the extension of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). Therefore, the development of transport cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan plays an important role in strengthening Azerbaijan's key role as a link between Europe and Asia," the European Commission said.

The organization said that as a follow-up to the study on sustainable transport connectivity to Central Asia, the EU is considering organizing an Investors' Forum in early 2024 in Brussels.

"The aim is to bring together public and private companies from the EU and Central Asia that are interested in promoting the effective development of sustainable transport links between the two regions," the European Commission said.

The Middle Corridor is a transport and trade route connecting Asia and Europe, passing through several countries in the region. It is an alternative route to traditional corridors that starts in China and crosses Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. It then passes through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkiye before reaching Europe. The middle corridor offers a land route connecting eastern parts of Asia, including China, to Europe, bypassing longer sea routes. A study prepared by the EU shows that by 2040, container traffic along the Middle Corridor could reach 270,000 TEU.

In the next 5 years, the demand for transport through Azerbaijan will be $23 million in the short term. But this is not the limit. If the country continues to invest in infrastructure, it will be able to increase the volume of traffic to $45 million.

Azerbaijan gained its independence in 1991, following the break-up of the Soviet Union, and quickly became a strategically important ally of the EU. A politically, economically, and strategically important agreement was signed on joint EU-Azerbaijani oil production in the Caspian Sea in 1994. EU relations with Azerbaijan are based on the European Union-Azerbaijan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement of 1999, which aims to enhance economic relations. Azerbaijan has been part of the Eastern Partnership since 2009. In 2017, the EU and Azerbaijan began negotiations on a new comprehensive framework agreement designed to increase political dialogue, trade, and mutually beneficial cooperation in a wide range of economic areas.

Trade cooperation

The agenda for Azerbaijan-EU relations is primarily focused on the energy, transportation and logistics sectors.

The EU is now Azerbaijan's main trading partner, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the country's foreign trade turnover.

The EU's foreign trade turnover with Azerbaijan is expected to be $15.2 billion in 2021. In comparison, the figure for 2020 is $9.5 billion.

At the same time, the EU invested more than $21.5 billion in Azerbaijan's economy from 2012 to 2021, and over 1,700 EU companies operate in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan has signed a strategic partnership agreement with nine European Union member states.

EU, World Banks technical assistance

The EU and the World Bank signed a grant agreement for technical assistance to the Azerbaijani government on February 16.

The three-year grant program, with a total budget of 5.25 million, will be funded by the EU and managed by the World Bank, according to the document.

The program's goal is to provide advisory and analytical support, as well as to help the Azerbaijani government develop its potential in accordance with the document "Azerbaijan 2030: National Priorities for Social and Economic Development."

In general, there are no serious problems between Baku and the EU today. [There is] mutual interest and quite good mutual understanding. The only thing that overshadowed relations was the EU's financial package for Azerbaijan and Armenia, but this issue has also been resolved, the report added.

Cooperation to rebuild Karabakh

The EU is assisting in demining Azerbaijan's liberated territories and has set aside 2.5 million for this purpose.

The involvement of EU companies and financial institutions in the process of restoring and reconstructing Azerbaijan's liberated territories is currently under consideration.

According to the website, Baku also does not rule out the possibility that the EU can play an effective role in normalizing Azerbaijani-Armenian relations, including unblocking transport routes.

It added, quoting President Aliyev, who, in this regard, stated that "the community of European states, with vast political experience and powerful intellectual resources, can provide the negotiators with recommendations on a number of issues of settling bilateral relations, including the definition of borders. Azerbaijan, in any case, will welcome such steps.

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31 July 2023 17:18 (UTC+04:00)

A proposal for Pakistani companies to invest in Azerbaijan's renewable energy sector was made by Javid Abdullayev, Director of the State Renewable Energy Agency of Azerbaijan, during a meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of the Alternative Energy Development Council of the Energy Ministry of Pakistan, Executive Director of the Private Energy and Infrastructure Council Shah Jahan Mirza. Azernews reports.

At the meeting, information was given on the potential of Azerbaijan's renewable energy, measures to realize this potential, and export opportunities. Pakistani companies have been invited to participate in future renewable energy auctions. Shah Jahan Mirza informed Azerbaijani colleagues about the reforms in the energy sector of Pakistan and the development of the renewable energy sector.

The invitation to Pakistani companies to invest in Azerbaijan's renewable energy sector is part of a larger effort to increase cooperation between the two countries. The Azerbaijan-Pakistan Technology Forum was held in Baku to establish relations between the IT companies of Pakistan and the state and private partners in Azerbaijan. Representatives from 35 companies from Pakistan that operate in the fields of artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud technology, and a number of areas of the ICT sector participated in the forum.

Pakistani IT companies have also been invited to operate and invest in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan. The government of Azerbaijan is doing reconstruction work and building smart villages and smart cities in the liberated territories, and Pakistani IT companies have the potential to help in these processes.

The Pakistani IT sector is very big, and there is great potential to expand cooperation in the IT sector. The Ministry of Digital Development Minister, as well as other high government officials, participated in the forum. Pakistani IT companies also have aspirations to provide IT education to children.

It is hoped that the forum will move to active cooperation in the coming months and that Azerbaijani companies will visit Pakistan to get to know Pakistan's IT sector.

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31 July 2023 12:30 (UTC+04:00)

Elnur Enveroglu Read more

Every time I watched the film 'The Stab in the Back', released by the director Arif Babayev in 1977, I thought that it is only in films that the murders that took place in the past will one day be brought to justice. However, the detention of the war criminal Vagif Cherkeovich Khachatryan at the Lachin border checkpoint a couple of days ago put an end to all stereotypes in my mind.

Although the Meshali massacre has been folded into a deep archive of history, the criminals involved in this tragedy have not been forgotten yet. V. Khachatryan was one of the Armenian terrorists who actively participated in the mass killing in Meshali village of Khojaly district in the cold winter season of December 23, 1991. On that day, around 7 o'clock in the morning, Armenian terrorist groups suddenly surrounded the village and arsoned all the residents of the village alive in their houses. That morning, not a single family was left alive in Meshali, and about 30 people, including children, women and the elderly, were brutally murdered. Meshali village was razed to the ground after that massacre.

Despite all these listed facts and even the testimonies of the witnesses of that terrible event, Armenia still defends the internationally wanted terrorists.

However, Armenia has repeatedly declared at a number of meetings held at international level that it recognizes and respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan. Today, Armenia's defending the terrorist Khachatryan is actually a crime at the state level and a clear manifestation of supporting terror.

Armenia and the terrorist community under its protection to this day think that they have already been forgotten. However, they forgot one fact that Azerbaijan does not forget any crime.

Of course, there were survivors of the tragedy that happened 32 years ago. Those who were captured among them and those who witnessed those horrors remember those days with bitter impression. One of those witnesses, Mail Mammadov, spoke about the incident 22 years ago. The video of Mail Mammadov's speech was recorded and later shared on social networks. Mammadov, who was captured at that time, spoke about the unbearable torture of the Armenians and mentioned that one of the Armenians who tortured him was Vagif Khachatryan.

We were taken aside. An Armenian came in with welding in his hands and I saw that he was carving a cross. He said go to the exit. I went out, the prisoners were gathered in the street. In front of the prisoners, they threw me to the ground, and they stamped a blazing cross on my body. It was Arthur and Vagif who stamped the red-hot cross on my body. Another one was pressing the cross with his foot on my chest.

Vagif was an Armenian. Another prisoner was brought in. They put me in with him too. His hands were tied with wire. There was a hole in the stomach, it was covered with rags. Whether the Armenians covered or he himself. In general, the wound, the legs were all in a terrible state. He was bleeding from his eyes. They [Armenians] came and beat him with sticks. Then they knocked down and crushed his head, it became so flat, and his eyes went out of their sockets. Then they carried him out into the street. A month passed, I saw that his head had been cut off."

As we listen to the witness, his words reminded us a bitter story written by the Armenians themselves. Markar Melkonyan someone who called himself a writer, talks about Armenian brutality in his book "My Brother's Road" dedicated to his terrorist brother.

"An Azerbaijani is chained and held in captive like a dog. They throw food in front of him as they did for a dog. One day, an Armenian holding an Azerbaijani captive beheaded him. However, nightmares don't leave him alone every day. He goes to the Armenian priest and says: is it a sin to cut off a dog's head?

The priest asks: a two-legged dog or a four-legged dog?

Armenian killer (Kechal Sergey) says: two-legged dog

And the priest answers the question, "If it is a two-legged dog, it is not considered a sin."

When reading this story, Armenia's defending Khachatryan for some reason already sheds some light on what has happened. Azerbaijan did not expect more than this from Armenia anyway. Although both international circles and the international court support Armenia in covering up its crimes, Azerbaijan will not back down from its position. Sooner or later, Khachatryan and other terrorists like him will be held accountable.

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Elnur Enveroglu is AzerNews deputy editor-in-chief, follow him on @ElnurMammadli1

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31 July 2023 10:21 (UTC+04:00)

On July 31, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov left for an official visit to the Republic of Turkiye, Azernews reports with reference to the ministry.

During the visit, Jeyhun Bayramov will hold meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkiye Hakan Fidan and other high-ranking officials.

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31 July 2023 10:42 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry condemned the terrorist attack in Pakistan, Azernews reports, citing a tweet by the FM.

The tweet reads: We strongly condemn the terrorist attack at the Political Convention in Bajaur. We stand with brotherly Pakistan against this terrorist act that killed 40 and injured more than 100 people. We express condolences to the Government, victims & their families.

We strongly condemn the terrorist attack at the Political Convention in Bajaur .



We stand with brotherly Pakistan agnst this terrorist act that killed 40 and injured more than 100 people.



We express condolences to the Government, victims & their families. @ForeignOfficePk  MFA Azerbaijan  (@AzerbaijanMFA) July 30, 2023

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31 July 2023 12:51 (UTC+04:00)

The protection of consumers' rights in this field was discussed with the participation of insurance companies at the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, CBA Governor Taleh Kazimov said on Twitter, Azernews reports.

We had another meeting with the heads of insurance companies at CBA. At the meeting, extensive discussions were held on the development of the insurance sector, the main strategic priorities and innovations, especially the state of protection of consumers' rights in the field of insurance and the directions for its strengthening, Taleh Kazimov tweeted.

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A dam in the Korean border county of Yeoncheon, 60 kilometers north of Seoul, discharges water in this file photo. Korea Times file



Satellite photos have detected signs of North Korea releasing water from a dam in the border area despite South Korea's request to give prior notice, a U.S.-based radio company reported Saturday.



The release of water from North Korea's Hwanggang Dam has raised concerns about potential flooding in areas located south of the border every summer in recent years. The dam is located in the upper region of the Imjin River, which flows through the Korean Peninsula from the north to the south.



Radio Free Asia (RFA) said satellite photos from Planet Labs, a U.S. commercial satellite imaging company, showed some of the dam's floodgates were wide open to discharge water, July 20. They also showed visible water turbulence caused by the surging water.



The dam continued to discharge water Monday, and more floodgates were seen open Thursday, the media reported.



But the latest water discharges appear to have been made to control the water level and were not enough to cause floods in the lower regions of the Imjin River in South Korea, the radio reported, citing a researcher at the Korea Institute for Security Strategy.



The discharges were made a few days after the South Korean government made repeated requests to Pyongyang to give prior notice of it releasing water from the dam.



Under an inter-Korean agreement signed in October 2009, the North agreed to notify the South in advance of its plan to release water, following an accident that killed six South Koreans after the North discharged water from the dam without notice.



Pyongyang, however, has not implemented the agreement since 2011. (Yonhap)




31 July 2023 11:07 (UTC+04:00)

The delegation headed by Ulvi Mehdiyev, Chairman of the State Agency for Citizen Service and Social Innovation under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, is on a visit to the Republic of Uganda, Azernews reports, citing State Agency.

The President of the Republic of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni received the delegation within the frame of this visit.

Ulvi Mehdiyev conveyed the greetings of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to the President of Uganda.

The chairman of the State Agency thanked the Ugandan side for actively supporting the initiatives put forward by the Republic of Azerbaijan within the framework of our chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and assured him that Azerbaijan will provide strongest support to Uganda's chairmanship of the Movement as a member of the trio.

During the meeting, the Chairman of the State Agency informed about the activities of "ASAN service" centers that were created 11 years ago as part of the broad-scale reforms in the field of public administration at the initiative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, the innovations applied in the field of providing public services, the centralized Electronic Document Control (EDC) system, and presented the concept of "ASAN service" to President Museveni.

The President of Uganda expressed his gratitude for the greetings, in turn asking him to convey his greetings to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Emphasizing the importance of introducing the "ASAN service" concept also in the Republic of Uganda, he thanked the Azerbaijani side for the support provided in this regard. He gave a corresponding task to start the transition of the "ASAN service" to the ESD system in his country.

In the end, the President of the Republic of Uganda was presented with a souvenir made by the "ABAD" family. The visit of the delegation to the Republic of Uganda is continuing and as part of the visit, it is planned to open a Service Center based on the concept of "ASAN service" in Hoima, Uganda

Over 14 state structures will offer more than 30 services there.

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31 July 2023 16:18 (UTC+04:00)

Western Azerbaijan Community welcomes the arrest of Khachatryan, suspected of committing genocide in Meshali, Azernews reports, citing the statement of the Community.

The Western Azerbaijani Community welcomes the long-awaited detention of Vagif Khachatryan, a fugitive who was on the international wanted list of Azerbaijan for decades, for his involvement in crimes against humanity committed against Azerbaijani inhabitants of Meshali village of Khojaly district in 1991. This significant success of Azerbaijans law enforcement bodies brings solace to the hearts of the survivors of the Meshali massacre:

"We earnestly hope that all remaining individuals indicted for their involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Armenia will be brought to justice soon.

"The actions of Armenia are deeply troubling as it consistently refuses to prosecute individuals within its jurisdiction and control who are involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity. Furthermore, the recent issuance of a statement by the Government of Armenia expressing unequivocal support for the detained fugitive only adds to the evidence that Armenia is patronizing such heinous criminals. Such behavior by Armenia calls for international condemnation."

The Western Azerbaijani Community strongly urges the international community to hold Armenia accountable and compel it to fulfill its obligations relating to prosecuting all those within its jurisdiction and control who were involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the forcible expulsion of nearly one million Azerbaijanis from Armenia and formerly occupied territories of Azerbaijan, the killing of over 20,000 Azerbaijani civilians, the devastation of hundreds of Azerbaijani settlements, and the indiscriminate contamination of Azerbaijani lands with landmines, which claims civilian lives and hinders their safe return to the homeland:

"In this pursuit of justice, the Western Azerbaijani Community stands firm in its commitment to advocating for the right to return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia. We strongly believe that lasting peace and reconciliation in the region can only be achieved if justice is served."

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31 July 2023 14:30 (UTC+04:00)

On July 31, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met in Ankara, Azernews reports.

A one-on-one meeting is currently being held between the ministers.

The ministers are discussing the current state of bilateral relations, future development prospects, and the regional situation.

The heads of MFA will hold a press conference on the results of the meeting.

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31 July 2023 14:40 (UTC+04:00)

President Ilham Aliyev has signed an Order On the establishment of city days in the liberated territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan", Azernews reports.

The order aims to perpetuate the historic victory achieved in the Patriotic War.

Under the document, August 26  Lachin City Day, October 4  Jabrayil City Day, October 17  Fuzuli City Day, October 20  Zangilan City Day, October 25  Gubadli City Day, November 8  Shusha City Day, November 20  Aghdam City day, November 25  Kalbajar City Day will be solemnly celebrated every year.

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31 July 2023 19:10 (UTC+04:00)

In accordance with the order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the return of former IDPs to the reconstructed town of Lachin continues. On 31 July, another migrant caravan left the Gobu Park 3 residential complex in Baku's Garadagh district, Azernews reports.

The State Committee for Refugees and IDPs, at this stage 12 more families - 53 people - have been relocated to Lachin town.

As a result of the victory won by the courageous Azerbaijani army under the leadership of President, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Muzaffar Ilham Aliyev, the IDPs managed to return to their homeland voluntarily, safely, and with dignity after 30 years. Residents of Lachin town, which has become more beautiful and improved, expressed gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva for being surrounded by comprehensive care of the state, to the courageous Azerbaijani Army that saved our lands from occupation, to our heroic soldiers and officers, and honored our martyrs who fell on the way.

The resettlement families will live in the houses they once lived in Lachin, which were restored or rebuilt on the instructions of the head of state after the end of the occupation.

The permanent resettlement of 180 families, i.e. 700 people, in Lachin, has been ensured.

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31 July 2023 18:31 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijan Investment Company OJSC (AIC) and Turkish company Gen Ilac ve Saglik Urunleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. specialising in the production of pharmaceutical products have signed a partnership and joint participation agreement providing for the construction of a pharmaceutical plant on the territory of Pirallahi Industrial Park, Azernews reports, citing the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan.

At the event, Economy Minister Mikail Jabbarov stressed that thanks to the efforts of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, relations between the brotherly states have reached an unprecedented level of strategic partnership. The high level of political relations between the countries determines the strengthening and development of ties between business circles, the successful implementation of joint initiatives.

The Minister emphasised that the development of modern infrastructure plays an important role in creating the necessary conditions for the reliable protection of the health of the population of Azerbaijan. A wide range of privileges and preferences are applied in the Pirallahi Industrial Park created for the development of the pharmaceutical industry. The realisation of the project on construction of the plant will allow reducing dependence on imports - the needs of the population in a number of pharmaceutical products will be met by local production. The plant will produce pharmaceuticals in various dosages and packages - a total of 100 types of products of 42 names. The initial investment cost of the project is USD 35 million, and more than 100 people will be permanently employed.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gen Ilac ve Saglik Urunleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. Abidin Gulmus expressed satisfaction with the company's activity in Azerbaijan and expressed confidence that the joint project on production of medicines will contribute to the well-being of the peoples of our countries.

AIC Executive Director Ulvi Mansurov informed us about the project on construction of the plant and noted that its implementation in our country will contribute to meeting the demand for pharmaceutical products, significantly reducing the dependence on imports.

Chairman of the Milli Majlis Committee on Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship Tair Mirkishili and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Health Care Ahliman Amiraslanov talked of measures implemented in Azerbaijan to protect public health and informed of the favourable legal framework for foreign investors.

The event included a demonstration of a video about a pharmaceutical plant to be built in Pirallahi Industrial Park.

Then the signing of the Partnership and Joint Participation Agreement was held between AIC and Gen Ilac ve Saglik Urunleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. According to the document, a pharmaceutical plant with an initial annual production capacity of 35 million packages will be built in Pirallahi Industrial Park on the territory of 11.5 thousand square metres.

Then, a Partnership and Joint Participation Agreement was signed between AIC and Gen Ilac ve Saglik Urunleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. According to the document, a drug production plant with an initial annual production capacity of 35 million packs will be built in Pirallahi Industrial Park on an area of 11.5 thousand square metres.

In the future, the medicines will be supplied to the countries of the region under the Made in Azerbaijan brand.

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31 July 2023 17:39 (UTC+04:00)

bp's Azeri offshore oil and gas fields still have a "long future", upstream executive vice-president Gordon Birrell told Argus, Azernews reports.

According to him, bp is working to boost production at the 1.2 trillion m Shah Daniz field and on initiatives to slow the natural output decline at the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) oil development.

G.Birrell said that Shah Deniz should reach its 26bn m/yr plateau this year and bp is keen to boost output further. Infill drilling is under way to enhance recovery and bp is drilling a deep gas well beneath the main production horizon. "Clearly, if we have a big new deep discovery there, we'll look at developing it," Birrell says. "And it's good quality gas. It's now piped all the way to Italy, through Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkiye, Greece, and Albania."

But bp and its partners in the AIOC consortium are doing what they can to boost ACG's longevity, Birrell says. "There's a long future for ACG. It's a giant oil field, it's great geology," he said while acknowledging that its "prolific" reservoirs decline over time. "Our job is to flatten that decline out, and that's exactly what we're doing right now." Azeri state-owned Socar, an AIOC partner holding 25pc, estimated recoverable reserves at around 7bn bl in 2009.

bp is working on "two big thrusts" at ACG. "Number one is the new Ace [Azeri Central East] platform," Birrell said. The platform is designed to process up to 100,000 b/d and will enable the drilling of a series of wells to the east of the ACG contract area  the underdeveloped side.

The second thrust involves maximizing full life-of-field recovery at ACG. "That means a couple of big things. The historical reservoir we've developed  the world-class Fasila reservoir  is now pretty mature," Birrell says. "We are starting to develop the upper Balakhani reservoir and that needs more energy requiring more gas injection, more water injection to flatten out the decline."

The focus on enhanced gas and water injection began 18 months ago and bp is "starting to see encouraging signs that that decline is flattening out". This is "a great example of bp's petro-technical capability" because it needs to get the balance "absolutely right"  neither letting production drop too much nor failing to achieve full recovery from the fields Birrell said.

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31 July 2023 08:00 (UTC+04:00)

Scientists launched a study on Friday to monitor the movements of two endangered dolphin species via artificial intelligence (AI).

The Catalonia Technical University which is located in Barcelona and the Mamiraua Sustainable Development Institute in the Amazon conducted the study to detect the sounds of dolphins in the Amazon River.

The data gathered was provided to an artificial neural network.

Researchers placed microphones in the Mamiraua reserve located in northern Brazil to listen to the sounds of dolphins.

They fed the dolphin sounds to an artificial neural network, which could classify the sounds in real-time, similar to the human brain, to distinguish them from background noises like rain and boat engines.

The developed artificial intelligence technology allowed scientists to monitor the movements of dolphins by differentiating their sounds from other noises.

The study, which enables the localization of dolphins, could contribute to the conservation of these creatures.

Scientists state the population of humpback dolphins in the river estuary decreases by 50% every nine years, and the population of pink river dolphins decreases by the same percentage every t10 years.

Locating the dolphins' whereabouts will facilitate the implementation of measures that promote the coexistence of local communities and dolphins.

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31 July 2023 13:36 (UTC+04:00)

Turkiye expects concrete steps from Sweden to prevent actions aimed at desecrating the holy Quran, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in a telephone conversation with his Swedish counterpart Tobias Billstrom, Azernews reports.

"It was emphasized that the continuation of such actions under the cover of freedom of speech is unacceptable and it was noted that concrete steps are expected from the Swedish government to prevent them in the future," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The two ministers also discussed Sweden's membership in NATO.

Ankara has repeatedly stated that it expects Stockholm to honor its counter-terrorism commitments, which are stipulated in the memorandum signed by the countries.

Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the country's parliament would consider Sweden's application for NATO membership in October.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shakes hands with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during a "Victory Day" ceremony in Pyongyang, July 27, in this photo carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, Friday. Shoigu read Russian President Vladimir Putin's congratulatory message during the event. Yonhap



Kremlin's move seen as attempt to secure Pyongyang's support on Ukraine war



By Nam Hyun-woo



North Korea is highlighting its improved relations with Russia by extensively covering Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu's visit to Pyongyang during the North's July 27 "Victory Day" ceremonies, marking the 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement.

At the same time, China, which has been viewed as the closest ally of North Korea, made cautious steps in the "Victory Day" ceremonies by sending delegations of relatively lower-profile officials compared to previous occasions. This move appears to be in line with Beijing's recent efforts to manage the intense rivalry with the United States.



The July 29 edition of the North's propaganda weekly Tongil Sinbo featured a significantly high number of photos and articles of Russian Defense Minister Shoigu, who led the Russian delegation in last week's "Victory Day" ceremonies. In comparison, the weekly paid relatively less attention to Li Hongzhong, a Chinese Communist Party Politburo member who represented the Chinese delegation at the ceremonies.



Similar behavior was observed in the July 27-28 coverage by the North's state-run Rodong Shinmun newspaper, which carried 84 photos of the Russian delegation while only printing 30 photos of the Chinese delegation members.



During Shoigu's visits, North Korea and Russia displayed scenes of their improved ties, with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Shoigu reaching a consensus on "matters of mutual concern in the field of national defense and security and of the regional and international security environment" during a meeting. The North also expressed "full-fledged support" for Russia's war against Ukraine.





North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks with a Chinese delegation that visited Pyongyang on the occasion of the "Victory Day" ceremony in Pyongyang, July 28, in this photo carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, Saturday. Yonhap



In comparison, the Chinese delegation expressed cordial greetings on the traditional friendship between Beijing and Pyongyang, but refrained from making noteworthy remarks.



"In the reporting on the Russian congratulatory delegation, the North used various expressions such as 'consensus of views,' 'strategic coordination and cooperation,' and 'united front,'" said Hong Min, director of the Korea Institute for National Unification, in his report released Saturday.



"However, in the reporting of the Chinese delegation, there were no expressions indicating the two sides' close ties except for customary expressions of traditional friendship. The difference in reporting appears to be a result of Russia's proactive approach compared to China's more cautious stance, rather than the North's intention."



Hong noted that China's cautious stance also appears in the level of rank of its delegation.



China has sent its delegation to the Kim regime three times, which were led by former Vice President Li Yuanchao in 2013, Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee member Liu Yunshan in 2015 and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Li Zhanshu in 2018. Their political status is higher than Li Hongzhong who is one of 250 members of the politburo.



"It can be interpreted that China deliberately selected Li Hongzhong for the purpose of symbolic attendance, rather than showcasing close cooperation with North Korea," Hong said.



"Amid the recent efforts to lower the tensions in the U.S.-China rivalry, Beijing seemed to have considered recent visits by high-ranking U.S. officials and U.S. messages urging China's cooperation on North Korean issues. By sending the delegation, Beijing apparently sought to prevent emphasizing its ties with North Korea overtly, while still demonstrating its engagement with the North."





North Korean leader Kim Jong-un walks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during a banquet for the "Victory Day" ceremony in Pyongyang, July 27, in this photo carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, July 28. Yonhap
In what may be the most divisive period in modern American History, even more divisive than the turbulent sixties due to today's lack of patriotism, consider what are the major catalysts causing so much of this calamity of conflict, and vote: What most instigates the division of America, on this day September 20, 2022? Racism within our society Sex realignment to the detriment of our society. Biden /Harris Wide Open Southern Border Policy for the Demographic Upheaval of OUR Constitutional Republic Rampant Crime in Democratic controlled cities, and the possible contagion elsewhere Covid Pandemic, and its mishandling at the political, and bureaucratic levels. The unresolved questions /allegation regarding the flawed 2020 General Election January 6th Riot or "Armed Insurrection", depending upon patriotic perspective Joe Biden as Divisive Leader; Ineffective and Corrupt Executive Failed Education Industry, from an overall perspective, regarding all levels of education. Propagandistic Media in complete conflict with the First Amendment's guarantee of Freedom of Speech, and the awesome responsibility of a Free Press.. "Orangeman Bad!" Bureaucracy rushing to a behemoth size, its unjustified expense, and far too often overreach. The Weaponized Deep State for political purposes A secular ambivalence to all that is real. Record number of overdose deaths from opioids and now Fentanyl Biden Administration's disastrous Foreign Policy Bidenflation /supply chain failure inevitably evolving into stagflation and recession. "Ultra MAGA Extremists" freely speaking louder AND LOUDER! 909 total vote(s) What's your Opinion?



On Saturday, more than two-thirds of delegates at the North Carolina Republican Party's annual convention in Greensboro approved a motion to censure U.S. Senator Thom Tillis over his political positions that differ from the party's platform.Activist Republican delegates pushed for Tillis' censure, primarily over the Tar Heel State's senior senator's support for gay marriage and immigration reform. However, leaders within the state party did not openly back the drive to censure Tillis.Billing himself as a strong conservative, voters elected Tillis to the U.S. Senate in 2014. During his time in office, Tillis has evolved his stances on hot-button issues while showing a willingness to work across party lines.In November, Tillis joined 11 other Republican Senators in supporting thewhich codified same-sex marriage into federal law. Then-Senator Richard Burr, R-NC, also supported the bill which President Joe Biden later signed into law.Tillis previously opposed same-sex marriage, including advocating for a 2012 referendum that amended the N.C. state constitution to ban same-sex marriage.Tillis' pro-gay marriage stance contradicts the NCGOP's platform, which states thatTillis has also collaborated with Democratic lawmakers on immigration. In December, Tillis attempted to formulate a bipartisan immigration deal with Arizona Senator Krysten Sinema, then a Democrat, which ensured a path to citizenship for many illegal aliens and migrants. However, the deal fell through after not receiving widespread support in the Senate.Tillis has also clashed with former President Donald Trump, who spoke at the convention, on the issue. In 2019, Tillis initially opposed Trump's plan to use military funding to build a wall on the United States' border with Mexico, though he later supported it.Tillis' political stances and bipartisan habits have drawn the ire of conservative activists within the NCGOP, reaching a climax during this previous weekend's convention when delegates voted to censure the Senator.However, the resolution censuring Tillis did not lay out any specific policy concerns, instead readingAn amendment advocating Tillis' censure was added to the resolution following its initial publication, stating,The motion was approved on a 799-361 vote, exceeding the two-thirds majority required to be passed by convention delegates.Shortly after the vote, Daniel Keylin, a Senior Advisor to Tillis, released a statement to media outlets defending the Senator.said Keylin.Allies of Tillis criticized the censure. Pat McCrory, who served as N.C. governor during Tillis' time as Speaker of the House, took to Twitter to voice his displeasure.said McCrory.Censuring a Republican U.S. Senator is not a new phenomenon for the NCGOP. In February 2021, the party's central committee censured then-Senator Richard Burr following his vote to convict former President Trump for his role in the U.S. Capitol Building storming. Burr also faced allegations that he committed insider trading, which he denied, leading to criticism from influential right-wingers such as Tucker Carlson.While being censured does not levy any official sanctions against Tillis, the move does indicate the party's base is increasingly unhappy with his stint in the U.S. Senate, to which he was re-elected in 2020 by a small margin against a scandal-ridden Democratic opponent.A High Point University poll from August 2022 showed Tillis' approval rating at 23 percent, with the caveat that over one-third of N.C. voters were unfamiliar with the Senator. These numbers are a dip from a 2020 HPU poll which showed Tillis with 33 percent approval among potential voters.While Senator Tillis can run for re-election in 2026, he has yet to publicly confirm whether he will campaign for a third term. If he does, Tillis may potentially face a GOP primary challenge from the right.
This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal . The author of this post is David Bass Gov. Roy Cooper is doubling down on his declaredover K-12 public education funding in North Carolina. On June 12, Cooper put out a press release referencing more than 25 school districts that have spoken out against a yet-to-be-determined state budget currently being worked out by lawmakers in the House and Senate.Cooper said in a statement.Cooper's press release specifically mentions 10 school districts that have passed resolutions urging lawmakers to significant grow spending on public education. His release also referenced additional school leaders who have spoken out against a proposed expansion of the state's Opportunity Scholarship Program, creating a pathway for more families to send their children to a private school of their choice.The House and Senate have passed their own versions of a spending plan for the new biennium, both of which increase spending on public schools.On the Senate side, the budget allocates $11.5 billion to K-12 public education in fiscal year 2023-2024 and $11.7 billion in fiscal year 2024-2025. Teachers would receive an average raise of 4.5% over the biennium, with starting teacher pay increasing by almost 11%. The plan also creates a new School Health Personnel Allotment and increases funding by $10 million recurring to help schools hire around 120 more nurses, counselors, social workers, and psychologists.Meanwhile, the House budget is even more generous in dolling out raises - a 7.5% across-the-board teacher pay bump over the biennium, in combination with other targeted boosts and step increases, resulting in a total average increase of 11.2%. The overall spending amount is roughly in line with the Senate's, at around $24 billion across the two-year period.noted Dr. Robert Luebke, director of the Center for Effective Education at the John Locke Foundation.
What the ????"The minishing of minishers... The miniseries of cola's daughter of Ireland... You can tell I'm thinking of home. Of the daughter of Iceland..." pic.twitter.com/puzkXWul5n  The First (@TheFirstonTV) July 13, 2023

Biden stumbles a bit as he boards Air Force One - using the smaller stairs - en route to the United States. He took no questions. pic.twitter.com/UxCA75kdQP  RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 13, 2023

After one full year of the Biden /Harris Administration: Does Joe Biden have the intellectual capacity, and, or the energy to lead the United States of America through the mess that he predominately created ... in just one year? Yes No Unsure 1,142 total vote(s) What's your Opinion?



President Joe Biden claimed Ireland was his home during a press briefing wrapping up his visit in Helsinki, Finland - and then stumbled as he boarded Air Force One to return to the United States.Biden - who stopped in Helsinki to meet with Nordic leaders immediately after the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania - delivered remarks alongside Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. Niinisto appeared slightly baffled as Biden struggled to get through his prepared remarks.Biden said as Niinisto watched.Biden then proceeded to take questions from two pre-selected reporters in the room, after which he left the press conference without addressing any additional concerns.Just hours later, as Biden prepared to depart Europe for the United States, he appeared to have some difficulty navigating the stairs to Air Force One - despite the fact that he was using the shorter staircase.WATCH:After the first few steps, the president appeared to stumble a bit before righting himself and taking the remaining stairs at a slightly quicker pace.Biden has reportedly been using the shorter stairs with greater frequency since his fall onstage at the Air Force Academy in Colorado - something that members of the White House Press Corps noticed last month and asked Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about.Reporters asked whether the shorter stairs - often used by previous presidents when the weather is bad - were being used more often due to the number of times Biden has tripped on the longer stairs or his recent fall in Colorado, but Jean-Pierre deflected.she said.
He wrote the following on this webpage:

We are all used to the Government lying but in my view this has to be one of the biggest lies of all. The World Health Organisation has told governments to code deaths to Covid even if the virus was not identified in an autopsy and even if it was not medically correct.

And I quote page eight of the World Health Organizations (WHO) International Guidelines for Certification and Classification (Coding) of COVID-19 as Cause of Death (pdf):

Although both categories, U07.1 (COVID-19, virus identified) and U07.2 (COVID-19, virus not identified) are suitable for cause of death coding, it is recognized that in many countries detail as to the laboratory confirmation of COVID-19 will NOT be reported on the death certificate. In the absence of this detail, it is recommended, for mortality purposes only, to code COVID-19 provisionally to U07.1 unless it is stated as probable or suspected. The international rules and guideline for selecting the underlying cause of death for statistical tabulation apply when COVID-19 is reported on a death certificate but, given the intense public health requirements for data, COVID-19 is not considered as due to, or as an obvious consequence of, anything else in analogy to the coding rules applied for INFLUENZA. Further to this, there is no provision in the classification to link COVID-19 to other causes or modify its coding in any way. With reference to section 4.2.3 of volume 2 of ICD-10, the purpose of mortality classification (coding) is to produce the most useful cause of death statistics possible. Thus, whether a sequence is listed as rejected or accepted may reflect interests of importance for public health rather than what is acceptable from a purely medical point of view. Therefore, always apply these instructions, whether they can be considered medically correct or not. Individual countries should not correct what is assumed to be an error, since changes at the national level will lead to data that are less comparable to data from other countries, and thus less useful for analysis.

Lets not forget authorities in Australia wouldnt recognize someone as being vaccinated until 21 days after the jab, meaning that many of the vaccine injured or deaths had their injury correlated to COVID-19 not the jab.

This World Health Organization document quoted above proves that the world public health leadership at the WHO faked death reports during the pandemic. This was designed to overestimate the death rate worldwide.

The document, titled: INTERNATIONAL GUIDELINES FOR CERTIFICATION AND CLASSIFICATION (CODING) OF COVID-19 AS CAUSE OF DEATH Based on ICD International Statistical Classification of Diseases, clearly demonstrates, with images no less, that the WHO was and IS requiring countries to jigger death certificates to code for more COVID-19 deaths than there actually were.

The document also teaches physicians and hospitals to code for COVID-19, even when the cause of death may have been something else. Note that in the WHO examples below, a positive COVID-19 test is not necessary for listing COVID-19 as the cause of death.

The first example from the document shows that if there is a positive test, the death certificate should be labeled as such. Without such labeling, there would not have been a positive test. This is what a positive COVID-19 test would look like on a death certificate.

The example above documents that despite the fact that this patient had coronary artery disease, Type 2 diabetes, and COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]WHO advises that on the death certificate, COVID-19 be listed as the primary cause of death. Even without a positive test.

In another example, the patient had cerebral palsya disease that is associated with extremely high childhood death rates, yet without a positive testthat child was listed as a COVID-19 death.

Likewise, this last example shows that a patient with HIVand no positive test would be listed as a COVID-19 death.

In the United States, this appears to get even more nefarious.

Due to the CARES Act [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act], medicare paid hospitals a 20 percent add-on to the regular payment for COVID-19 patients. Remember that the people who became sick from COVID-19 were generally the elderly and on Medicare. Ergo: the incentive to put people on ventilators. There was a financial incentive to put people on ventilators and yet ventilators contributed to many of the COVID-19 deaths.

It is less clear if hospitals actually received a payment from a government agency for a positive COVID-19 cause of death on the certificate (if anyone can find an actual government document stating that, I would love to see it).

Here is the NIH protocol for treating COVID-19 which hospitals were encouraged not to deviate from:

Note that remdesivir is still considered the main drug of choice for treating COVID-19 by the NIH, even in many patients with mild to moderate disease. Yet this drug is known for causing renal failure and significantly higher rates of death in various patient populations, such as those receiving high flow oxygen. Yet, the NIH guidelines above STILL recommend remdesivir for patients on high flow oxygen.
A New Jersey woman has been arrested for allegedly posing as a physician, treating patients and prescribing medications.

From March 2022 to June 2023, Maria Macburnie allegedly assumed the identity of a relative who is licensed to practice and treated patients at Toms River, N.J.-based Shore Medical Associates. She allegedly issued multiple prescriptions for services when the relative was unable to see or treat patients, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

Ms. Macburnie is charged with practicing medicine without a license, forgery, healthcare fraud and three counts of distribution of a controlled dangerous substance.
The FDA has issued 510(k) clearance for a new artificial intelligence solution for colonoscopy screenings.

The Magentiq-Colo, created by Israel-based technology company Magentiq-Eye, is one of the only AI-powered colonoscopy systems in the U.S., according to a July 31 news release from the company.

Colorectal cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer related death in the U.S., and a missed polyp during a colonoscopy can lead to interval cancer, which accounts for 8 percent to 10 percent of all colorectal cancer cases in the U.S.

In 2022, a 950-patient study cited by Magentiq-Colo found the device increased adenoma detection by 26 percent, which correlates to a 35 percent decrease in patient mortality, the release said.
Breton Roussel, MD, has joined Providence, R.I.-based University Gastroenterology, one of the largest GI groups in the region.

Dr. Roussel specializes in treating patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, according to a July 31 press release sent to Becker's.

He will see patients at University's locations in Providence and Bristol.
An airplane operated by Ethiopian Airlines is seen in this file photo. EPA-Yonhap



Korea and Ethiopia have agreed to increase flights between the two countries from the current seven to nine a week, a move that will help further promote people-to-people exchanges, Seoul said Sunday.



Under the agreement reached with the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority, there will be two more passenger flights, in addition to the four passenger and three cargo flights currently under operation, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said.



Ethiopia is the only African country that has direct flights to and from Korea.



Ethiopian Airlines, its flag carrier, operates flights to and from Incheon, the main gateway to Korea, and the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.



Many Korean passengers use the route to travel to neighboring countries, such as Tanzania, South Africa and Nigeria, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)


Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Bronson Healthcare held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new orthopedic surgery center July 27.

The 18,000-square-foot ASC is jointly owned and operated by Bronson Healthcare and a group of Bronson orthopedic surgeons, according to a July 28 news release from the health system.

The surgery center is estimated to accommodate more than 5,000 orthopedic cases annually.

The ASC will be open to patients once standard inspections and regulatory approvals are complete.
Ransomware gang Karakurt has allegedly stolen genetic DNA patient records from McAlester (Okla.) Regional Health Center and is planning to auction them off Aug. 1, Cybernews reported July 31.

The group is claiming to have stolen at least 40 gigabytes of genetic DNA patient records from the hospital, but officials from McAlester Regional Health Center have not made any public statement about the alleged breach, according to the publication.

Karakurt is believed to have ties with the Russian-affiliated Conti group.

Becker's reached out to McAlester Regional Health Center for comment and will update the story with additional information if more is learned.
Hackers had access to Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital's IT network for three weeks, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

While the cybercriminal gang's attempt to encrypt the hospital's data and hold it for ransom was prevented by internal security systems, the group was still able to steal information from an estimated 1.2 million patients, according to the July 27 story. The FBI is pursuing the hackers.

Florida has been particularly hard hit by the recent wave of cyberattacks on hospitals, with hacks affecting nearly 10,000 individuals at St. Petersburg-based Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital and 11 million at Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, which has locations in the Sunshine State. Healthcare is so vulnerable because it is less secure than some other industries and data from hospitals is so valuable to criminals, experts told the news outlet.

"They are a good target," Joe Partlow, chief technology officer at cybersecurity firm ReliaQuest, told the Times. "[Hackers] know it's a good trove of personal data."
Diane Hansen, CEO of struggling Escondido, Calif.-based Palomar Health, still expects the hospital to turn a profit, even as Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente looks to open a nearby hospital in August, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported July 31.

The opening of Kaiser's San Marcos (Calif.) Medical Center means that Kaiser patients will no longer seek care at Palomar. However, Ms. Hansen said that the end of the partnership would not have a devastating effect on Palomar.

She estimated that Palomar cares for between 20 to 25 Kaiser patients out of 350 total patients the health system cares for daily. Ms. Hansen also said that the opening of San Marcos Medical Center doesn't mean the end of transfer agreements between the two health systems.

Palomar has $585 million in debt. Credit ratings agency Moody's downgraded Palomar's outlook to negative due to risks associated with the debt.

Despite the debt, Ms. Hansen is standing by projections that have the health system turn a $55 million operating profit in the 2023 and 2024 budget year.
Clyde Wood, CEO of Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind., is leaving his role, The Journal Gazette reported July 28.

Mr. Wood's last day al the helm will be Aug. 4, Lutheran Health Network spokesperson Teri deMatas told the newspaper. He will then become CEO of Poplar Bluff (Mo.) Regional Medical Center.

Mr. Wood became CEO of Lutheran Hospital in July 2022. The hospital is part of Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems.

Ms. deMatas told The Journal Gazette that Mr. Wood "will work with the hospital administrative team to help ensure a smooth transition."

Before joining Fort Wayne-based Lutheran Health Network, Mr. Wood served as market CEO for Lake Norman Regional Medical Center in Mooresville, N.C., a role in which he was also responsible for leading Davis Regional Medical Center in Statesville, N.C.
The Indiana Medical Licensing Board issued its final order and reprimand against an obstetrician-gynecologist who spoke to the media about a 10-year-old abortion patient, the Indianapolis Star reported July 29.

The final order called on Caitlin Bernard, MD, to keep confidential "all knowledge and information" about her patients and ended all charges against her. Dr. Bernard's legal team is determining whether it wants to fight her punishment, which included a written reprimand and a $3,000 fine, by asking a judge to scrutinize how the board reached its decision that the physician violated privacy laws.

Dr. Bernard came under scrutiny when she told the media about a 10-year-old rape victim, disclosing the victim's age and state of residence. The attorney general's office said in its complaint to the board that Dr. Bernard violated privacy laws by sharing that information and that she failed to immediately report the abuse to Indiana authorities.

The board rejected one count that she violated patient privacy laws and another that she was unfit to practice medicine. However, the majority of the board found Dr. Bernard had violated privacy laws by speaking about the case and that the information provided could make the patient identifiable.

The final order does not specify which details Dr. Bernard provided that could be used to identify the victim, instead saying that "when taken in their entirety" it fell outside the bounds of HIPAA allowances.

"In May, the Indiana Medical Licensing Board exonerated Dr. Caitlin Bernard on Attorney General [Todd] Rokita's most serious and baseless allegations," a statement from Dr. Bernard's attorneys read. "While we're grateful that the board reaffirms this ruling in their written decision, we continue to dispute the MLB's finding that Dr. Bernard violated patient privacy."
Service Employees International Union Local 521 has reached a tentative agreement on a successor contract with Santa Clara County in California.

The deal covers more than 12,000 workers across the county, according to a July 28 news release shared with Becker's. Workers include 911 dispatchers, social workers, county hospital staff, and parks and roads, among others.

The tentative agreement includes the largest wage increase in more than two decades  13 percent over three years  a one-time lump sum payment, as well as equity and realignment payments, the union said.

SEIU Local 521 Chief Elected Officer Riko Mendez praised the deal in the union release, saying that it will "begin to overcome staffing shortages, increase educational resources and [expand] equity for lower-wage earners who are made up of [mostly] women of color."

He added that "we still have work to do to grow our way out of the short staffing and turnover exacerbated by the pandemic, but because of the resiliency and commitment of front-line county workers, we secured one of the best deals in the history of Santa Clara County."

County Executive James Williams shared the following statement with Becker's: "We are very pleased that the County and SEIU have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract. SEIU represents more than half the County workforce  public servants who show their commitment every day to serving and caring for our diverse community. This tentative agreement takes care of our dedicated staff and ensures that the county will be able to continue offering critical public services. It is a win-win for our employees and for the community that relies on the high-quality care and excellent services we offer to Santa Clara County residents."

The tentative agreement averts a strike, which union members authorized in June. The union said its members will hold a contract ratification vote in the next two weeks, followed by a formal ratification vote by the county board of supervisors.
Police are investigating after a 13-year-old girl was shot near the parking lot of Yale New Haven (Conn.) Hospital in the early-morning hours of July 30.

Around 3 a.m. July 30, New Haven police received a notification that six rounds were fired near the hospital, CBS affiliate WFSB reported. Shortly after, hospital security notified police that a person had been shot in the parking lot outside of its pediatric entrance.

By the time police arrived, hospital staff had brought the girl to the pediatric emergency room, where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to Fox affiliate WTIC.

Police determined the shooting was not a deliberate attack on the hospital or its personnel and that no one else at the hospital was involved in the incident, WFSB reported. Police found four fired cartridge casings and surveillance video showed a silver Kia SUV and black Hyundai Elantra in the area at the time of the incident; they later identified the stolen vehicles unoccupied nearby.

A hospital spokesperson told Becker's police were handling the investigation.
A judge denied Newark, Del.-based ChristianaCare Health Services and ChristianaCare Health System's motion to dismiss a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress after its staff performed an autopsy on a fetus without consent, WDEL reported July 30.

Meredith Boas began experiencing fluid leakage in May 2021 when she was 16 weeks pregnant. She was admitted to Christiana Care and diagnosed with preterm premature rupture of the membranes and chose to have labor induced. Three hours later, the baby boy was delivered and died later that day.

The couple stated they wanted a placental pathology but "no fetal autopsy unless there [were] visual abnormalities," according to court documents. Discharge notes indicated the mother specifically declined an autopsy; however, more than a month later, the mother discovered the fetal pathology report in her medical records. The couple was later told the hospital had a policy of performing autopsies on any baby who died under 20 weeks "regardless of explicit parental directive to the contrary," the complaint said.

The couple are suing the system for infliction of emotional distress.

The hospital system's attorneys argue the autopsy does not rise to the level of being "beyond all possible boundaries of decency" and that the plaintiffs don't allege the act was indecent or intentionally abusive to the fetus.

An informational page on the system's website indicated that parents can choose to have an autopsy and have up to 24 hours to decide. However, a hospital spokesperson declined to say whether that policy was in effect in May 2021.
A Florida physician was found guilty of 14 counts of unlawfully distributing and dispensing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose and 5 counts of obstructing justice.

The DEA became aware of Scott Hollington, MD, after the local sheriff's office alerted them that Dr. Hollington was allegedly exchanging narcotic prescriptions for sexual favors, according to a July 27 Department of Justice news release. Undercover agents visited the physician's office between February and July 2022 and obtained 17 prescriptions for schedule II, III and IV controlled substances over the course of five visits.

At trial, evidence showed that Dr. Hollington asked agents about their drug preferences, offered prescriptions without proper medical justification and without proper physical exams or vital checks. He was also shown to have altered medical notes following his indictment, leading to the obstruction charges. Testimonies from three female victims revealed Dr. Hollington exchanged, coerced or solicited sexual favors for prescriptions, according to the release.

He faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for each drug trafficking offense and up to 10 years for the obstruction charges.
This photo, released by Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency, shows an unmanned surveillance drone during a military exhibition to mark the 70th anniversary of the armistice that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War, which is celebrated as Victory Day in the North. Yonhap



Experts doubt capability of North Korea's newly developed drones



By Lee Hyo-jin



South Korea is seeking to speed up the deployment of anti-drone killers after North Korea unveiled new surveillance and attack drones that appeared to be almost identical to the U.S. Global Hawk and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).



Defense analysts agreed on the need for the South Korean military to improve its counter-drone system against North Korea's evolving military threats, but viewed that the capabilities of Pyongyang's drones showcased during its latest military parade are exaggerated and do not pose immediate threats to the South.



South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) is expected to hold a briefing session with local defense companies about its portable drone jammer project at the Government Complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday.



The state arms procurement agency is expected to share details of its project, which is aimed at equipping helicopters with anti-drone guns that are capable of neutralizing enemy drones.



There are two approaches in neutralizing enemy drones  the so-called soft kill system and the hard kill system. The soft kill system refers to jamming by releasing specific signals to interfere with an enemy drone's ability to receive and transmit signals. The hard kill system entails the physical incapacitation of a drone by shooting it down.



DAPA said its current project would involve the soft kill system.



North Korea's drone incursions in December last year raised the need for the South Korean military to improve its anti-drone system. The drone incursions revealed the limitations of Seoul's aerial defenses and systems to detection small UAVs.





In this photo released by Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency, weapons suspected to be Haeil underwater attack drones are displayed during a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the armistice that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War, on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, Thursday. Yonhap



During Thursday's military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the signing of the 1950-53 Korean War armistice, celebrated as "Victory Day" in the North, the reclusive regime carried out demonstration flights of new military drones, according to its state media, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).



The two surveillance and attack drone models, dubbed Saetbyul-4 and Saetbyul-9, resembled U.S. RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-9 Reaper drones in their visual appearance, according to observers.



Yang Uk, a senior fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said that the newly developed North Korean drones are merely look-alikes to the U.S. ones, and their capabilities would not match the advanced features of their U.S. counterparts.



"The precise capabilities of North Korean drones remain unclear, but I'm pretty sure they do not have the same capabilities of U.S. ones. As we've seen through the North's failed satellite launch, the regime does not have the technology to develop cameras that are capable of conducting military reconnaissance works," Yang told The Korea Times.



Earlier this month, the South Korean government retrieved from the West Sea the wreckage of the North's spy satellite launched in late May. South Korean and U.S. experts who jointly examined them concluded that the satellite was not capable of conducting military reconnaissance works.



But Yang commented that the North may use the replicated drones to confuse the South Korean military, which requires Seoul to be better prepared against such tactics.



Shin Jong-woo, a senior researcher at the Korea Defense and Security Forum, a think tank, also viewed that Pyongyang could not have copied the technologies of American aircraft.



"The North claims that Saetbyul-4 are strategic reconnaissance aircraft, but if you look at the photos, the drones are not equipped with ultra-high frequency (UHF) antennae, which means that they cannot conduct long-range operations," he said.





In this photo released by Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attend a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the armistice that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War, on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, Thursday. Yonhap
Crystal McLin Lipe, RN, has pleaded guilty to obtaining fentanyl for personal use without authorization from the hospital she worked for in Texas, according to the Justice Department.

According to court documents, Ms. Lipe acquired the fentanyl fraudulently, by removing the fentanyl from its original vials, replacing it with a liquid containing sodium chloride and failing to disclose her conduct to the hospital.

She worked as a registered nurse in the intensive care unit of a hospital in the Eastern District of Texas.

Ms. Lipe faces up to four years in federal prison, according to the Justice Department.
A Pennsylvania nurse accused of killing two patients had her nursing license suspended indefinitely by the state, Trib Live reported July 27.

Heather Pressdee, 40, was charged with giving lethal doses of insulin to three patients, two of whom are not diabetic, at a skilled nursing facility in Chicora, Pa., in 2022. A 55-year-old man died Dec. 4, an 83-year-old man died Dec. 25 and a 73-year-old man was hospitalized Aug. 31 after seizing. She was charged May 24 with two counts of homicide, one count of attempted murder, three counts of neglect of a care-dependent person, three counts of reckless endangerment and one count of aggravated assault.

Pennsylvania's Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs sought the suspension of her registered nurse license, and Ms. Pressdee agreed to it but did not admit guilt. The State Board of Nursing approved the suspension on July 20, nearly two months after she was arrested.

The state said that Ms. Pressdee is "an immediate and clear danger to the public health and safety."
South Texas College in McAllen is the first college in the nation to offer a registered apprenticeship program for nursing, the organization said July 31.

The college recently earned approval for the program from the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship and Texas Workforce Commission.

Under the "earn-while-you-learn" model, nursing students pursuing their associate degree will be paid a minimum of $14 an hour to train at local partnering hospitals, with incremental increases every semester. Students will also have access to grants to cover tuition or offset other expenses.

Edinburg, Texas-based DHR Health is the first apprenticeship employer that has joined the partnership, which aims to help bridge the gap between education and real-work experience.

"As the sole health system in the country collaborating to offer such an educational opportunity, together with STC, we will provide nursing students hands-on training, job placement and guidance from our experienced healthcare team," DHR Health CEO Manish Singh, MD, said in a news release. "The nursing students will complete the program ready to deliver exceptional nursing care to the community we serve."

The program may start as early as this fall with the first cohort of 20 students.



Learn more here.
An American nurse on a humanitarian mission in Haiti and her child have been kidnapped in a case drawing international attention.

Faith-based group El Roi Haiti confirmed July 29 that Alix Dorsainvil and her child were kidnapped July 27 from the nonprofit's campus near Port au Prince. Ms. Dorsainvil is originally from Middleton, N.H., and married to the founder and director of El Roi Haiti, Sandro Dorsainvil. She has been operating a children's clinic for El Roi Haiti.

"We are aware of reports of the kidnapping of two U.S. citizens in Haiti," an official with the U.S. State Department told The New York Times, noting that U.S. officials are working with their Haitian counterparts and declining further comment.

Port au Prince has experienced an increase in kidnappings and killings of civilians in recent weeks, at least 40 people abducted and 75 murdered between May and mid-July.

The State Department issued a travel advisory for Haiti July 27, ordering nonemergency embassy personnel and their families to evacuate and advising all U.S. citizens in Haiti to leave as soon as possible.

"Kidnapping is widespread, and victims regularly include U.S. citizens," the State Department noted in its advisory. "Kidnappers may use sophisticated planning or take advantage of unplanned opportunities, and even convoys have been attacked. Kidnapping cases often involve ransom negotiations and U.S. citizen victims have been physically harmed during kidnappings. Victim's families have paid thousands of dollars to rescue their family members."

Ms. Dorsainvil graduated with a degree in nursing from Regis College in Weston, Mass., in 2014, the Boston Globe reported.
Of the 13 Pfizer essential drugs the United States Pharmacopeia named as the most likely to go into new or worsened shortages, all of them are already in short supply.

On July 19, a tornado struck Pfizer's Rocky Mount, N.C.-based drug manufacturing and warehouse plant. The warehouse experienced more of the damage, and Pfizer listed 65 drugs that have about three months' worth of supply left. The USP assigned a vulnerability score to each solution to quantify the likelihood of future shortages.

The 13 essential medicines with a vulnerability score higher than 90 percent in shortage, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists:

1. Atropine sulfate injection 1 milligram/10 milliliter solutions have a 98 percent vulnerability score. Two of Pfizer's solutions are in shortage and eight solutions are available. The atropine 0.1 milligram/milliliter 10 milliliter Ansyr syringes are expected to be in shortage until November, and the 0.1 milligram/milliliter 10 milliliter LifeShield syringes are in limited supply.

2. Dobutamine in 5% dextrose injection containers  250 milligram/250 milliliter, 500 milligram/250 milliliter and 1,000 milligram/250 milliliter  have a 99 percent vulnerability score. Six solutions are in shortage and three are not. Baxter told the ASHP it has all its solutions on "protective allocation," and Pfizer forecasts the shortage to ease in October and November.

3. Epinephrine injection 1 milligram/10 milliliter syringes have a 92 percent vulnerability score. One Pfizer solution is in limited supply and seven are available. The ASHP said hospital pharmacy teams might consider conserving supply for code situations and curbing the number of syringes in code boxes.

4. Fentanyl citrate injection 250 microgram/5 milliliter and 100 microgram/2 milliliter solutions have a 96 percent vulnerability score. Four solutions are in shortage and 14 are not. Resupply dates range between August and January.

5. Heparin sodium in 0.45% sodium chloride injections  25,000 units/250 milliliter and 12,500 units/250 milliliter  have a 94 percent vulnerability score. Two solutions are discontinued, one is in shortage and five are available. Pfizer's shortage is expected to clear up in August.

6. Ten lidocaine hydrochloride and epinephrine injections have a 96 percent vulnerability score. Twenty-two solutions are in shortage and one is not. Resupply dates range between August and July 2024.

7. Magnesium sulfate in water for injection 20 milligram/500 milliliter containers have a 99 percent vulnerability score. Twelve are in shortage and 22 are not. Release dates are in August and September.

8. Mannitol injection 12.5 gram/50 milliliter vials have a 94 percent vulnerability score. Two solutions are on back order and five are available. Pfizer's release date is in July and Fresenius Kabi said it could not estimate a resupply date.

9. Midazolam injections  2 milligram/2 milliliter and 10 milligram/2 milliliter  have a 98 percent vulnerability score. One solution is discontinued, seven are in shortage and 21 are available. The shortage is forecast to end in July.

10. Morphine sulfate injections  1,000 milligram/20 milliliter and 2,500 milligram/50 milliliter  have a 98 percent vulnerability score. Six solutions are on back order and 21 are available. The shortage is expected to last until mid-August.

11. Potassium chloride for injection 20 milliequivalent/10 milliliter solutions have a 99 percent vulnerability score. Three solutions are in shortage and 24 are not. Drugmakers did not offer predicted release dates.

12. Rocuronium bromide injection 50 milligram/5 milliliter solutions have a 93 percent vulnerability score. Twelve are in shortage and eight are available. Most drugmakers did not share a resupply date, but Hikma Pharmaceuticals predicted August or September, and Sagent Pharmaceuticals and X-Gen Pharmaceuticals forecast July.

13. 23.4% Sodium chloride injection 400 milliequivalent/100 milliliter solutions have a 96 percent vulnerability score. Two are in shortage and two are not. No release dates were given.
Emerging from one of the hottest months on record, concerns are mounting from experts over how rising temperatures could also mean a rise of instances of fungal and brain eating amoeba infections.

In July alone, two individuals  one in Georgia and one in Nevada  were killed from contracting Naegleria fowleri, the brain-eating amoeba, after swimming in bodies of fresh water.

Brain-eating amoebas have commonly been found in the warm climates of southern states, but climate change is warming other regions so much they are on the way to becoming ideal host environments for the infection-causing amoebas as well.

"This is definitely a concern, as are a lot of other infectious diseases. We are probably going to see a change in trends because of the climate changing and the temperatures rising," Wassim Ballan, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Phoenix Childrens Hospital told AZ Family. "So there is a lot of concern in the infectious disease community about a lot of different infections, including amoebic infections becoming more common as the climate is warming."

Infections are rare and do not spread from person to person, but the disease is extremely deadly and "infections usually happen when temperatures are hot, which results in higher water temperatures and lower water levels," the CDC states on its website. "While infections with Naegleria fowleri are rare, they happen mainly during the summer months of July, August and September."

Research published May 16 in the Ohio Journal of Public Health determined that "Increased incidence of N. fowleri in northern climates is but one of many ways climate change threatens human health and merits novel education of health care providers," suggesting that clinicians across Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota prepare to see and treat increased cases.

Currently, treatment for cases of brain eating amoebas is difficult, but previous findings have pointed to the use of nitroxoline  the drug most commonly known for treating urinary tract infections  as a possible aid.
Portland, Ore.-based Legacy Health is increasing security at its hospitals after the fatal shooting July 22 at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital, also in Portland.

Police shot PoniaX Kane Calles, 33, after he allegedly shot a security guard at the hospital, identified as Bobby Smallwood, 44, who died after being transferred to another facility. A second hospital employee was injured, treated at Good Samaritan and released to go home July 22. Officers located Mr. Calles in a vehicle in Gresham, Ore. Mr. Calles is dead after an officer-involved shooting, police said. No officers were injured.

Legacy Health will install metal detectors with bag search at every system hospital, according to a message from Kathryn Correia, president and CEO, posted online July 29.

"All patients and visitors will enter our hospitals through controlled access points with metal detection and bag search," wrote Ms. Correia. "Certain hospitals will see metal detectors installed [on July 31]. Other hospitals will see metal detectors soon."

She said Legacy Health will also install bullet-slow film on hospital main entrances and emergency departments and on glass in internal entrances. Security officers who have completed training and certification will be equipped with Tasers.

Additionally, "we have begun to develop a second phase of actions, and that work will continue over the next several months," wrote Ms. Correia. "This includes assessing the safety needs at our medical office buildings and our community-based clinics and reviewing locations that may need additional safety measures, including badge access controls, panic alarms and security cameras."






Laura Anderson, MD, the first female neurosurgeon in Sacramento, Calif. is retiring after more than 30 years in the field.

She has been one of about 400 female surgeons in the U.S. and 49,940 globally, according to a July 31 news release from her practice. Dr. Anderson is also among 3.6 percent of female surgeons who have practiced for 31 years or longer.

Dr. Anderson earned her medical degree at the University of Nevada in Reno and completed her residency at the University of California Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. She initially looked into a career in plastic surgery but stepped into neurosurgery when a resident was killed in an accident.

During her career, she became one of a few female neurosurgeons in the U.S. to own her own business in private practice.
Comedian Colin Geddis uses digital banks for business as the processing is much faster

Co Tyrone-based Colin Geddis is one of the most in-demand comedians on the island of Ireland, selling out venues such as Belfasts SSE Arena. Last year, he was the support act for the Irish leg of American superstar Kevin Harts tour, opening for him at more than 20 shows.

The 36-year-old began his career doing online sketches, with his alter-ego Barry the Blender earning more than 15m views on YouTube, and also hosts The General Banter Podcast. He is married and has a three-year-old son.

What did you learn about money while growing up?

That you had about one week post pay-day to enjoy yourself and then spend the next three weeks scraping by. I was in my late 20s before I realised that you could have several income streams and didnt have to depend on an employer to pay you once a month.

Have you ever seen anyone spend money in a way that shocked you?

My wife on Amazon Prime Day. Truly shocking.

How hard was it to monetise your following on social media?

It was reasonably difficult as I was podcasting and making content long before these things became lucrative. But once platforms like Patreon came along, it became a lot easier to earn money that way.

Have you made any changes to the way you live because of the spike in the cost of living?

Not really. The emphasis is always to work harder and try to earn more money rather than trying to save on certain things.

When were you most broke?

Probably when I stopped working a normal job to pursue comedy, but I think thats almost a rite of passage if you want to become a professional comedian.

Whats the most expensive place youve visited?

Obviously places like Dubai are expensive and thats almost expected, but I was very shocked at how expensive my recent visit to Austin, Texas was.

Would you buy property now? If so, where?

Judging by the rental prices in Edinburgh for the fringe festival, I think that a nice apartment in Edinburgh would be a great investment.

Do you still carry cash?

From time to time. But its getting increasingly hard to get anyone to take it off me.

Do you use any of the digital banks?

I would use digital banks for some of my companies  the processing is much faster than any traditional bank services.

What was your worst-ever job?

Working as an editorial assistant at a TV company creating shows for other people when all I wanted to do was work on my own projects.

Do you have a pension?

Im working on it.

What was your most lucrative gig?

Any of the arena shows that I have performed. Theres a lot of money made at an arena show. However, you do have your eyes opened as to how much money it takes to put on a gig of that scale.

What three things would you not be able to do without if you had to tighten your belt?

My Jeep  as a man with the physique of a rhino, I would find it difficult to downgrade to a smaller vehicle. The latest iPhone, because I feel like I could run all aspects of my business and content with one good phone. And good coffee.
Family hits out at treatment by carrier after Belfast woman was unable to fly due to critical illness

Cristiane Ferreira in the ICU at the Royal Victoria Hospital

A Ryanair passenger has criticised the company after it refused to refund an air fare for his partner who was unable to fly after being admitted to an intensive care unit.

Andrea Montagner (48), who lives in Belfast but is from Italy, was due to fly home to visit his parents along with his wife and two of their three children on June 13.

However, Cristiane Ferreira (45) contracted Covid and became critically ill within days of making the booking a month earlier.

Despite a letter from a doctor confirming she was in hospital fighting for her life, the airline has refused a refund.

Cristiane Ferreira

Ms Ferreira was released from hospital before the flight but was unable to travel.

We booked the flights on May 9 and then my wife got Covid, Mr Montagner explained.

Initially the symptoms were like flu, but then she started to have serious problems with her kidneys and her blood pressure.

It was really scary. She was admitted to the intensive care ward at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

Read more Ryanair posts first quarter profit of 663m

There were moments when the IT adviser thought she would not survive.

The hospital phoned me one morning and told me it was not looking good, he said.

I didnt think she was going to make it, but she miraculously came around.

He decided to proceed with the flight from Belfast International to Milan (Bergamo) with his 20-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son.

Mr Montagner left them with their grandparents in Verona and returned to be with his wife, who had been discharged from hospital but was advised not to fly by medics.

Cristiane Ferreira and her family

Ryanairs website states tickets are generally non-refundable but does list potential exceptions, including if you or someone on your booking is seriously ill or passes away before your trip.

I had been assured we would get a refund for Cristianes unused flight after I filled in the forms online and sent a letter from the hospital, Mr Montagner explained.

But after 15 days I had not received it. When I contacted customer service again they said I couldnt get my money back because the letter was not sufficient.

Read more Ryanair sees profits take off but cautions over winter demand amid cost crisis

The Belfast Telegraph has seen the official correspondence from the Belfast Trust signed by a medic. It confirmed Ms Ferreira was in the ICU where she remains critically ill.

Mr Montagner said he is very disappointed in how the low fare airline had treated him and his wife just to keep 30.

He added: Im sad and genuinely upset by it. This isnt about the money for us, its about their attitude  how many other people are they doing this to?

I am a frequent flyer and have travelled with Ryanair quite a lot, but this has made me reconsider using them again.

Ryanair said the passengers booked a non-refundable promotional air fare.

We do not treat cases of Covid (one month earlier in May) as an illness that qualifies for a refund of a non-refundable ticket, the carrier said.

This is why we recommend that all passengers take out travel insurance to cover routine medical illness cases such as this.
White floral wreaths are placed, Thursday, in memory of the 23-year-old teacher who recently took her own life in her classroom in Seoul Seo2 Elementary School in Seocho District, southern Seoul. Newsis



Over 30,000 teachers hold rally for enhanced rights and legal overhaul



By Lee Hae-rin



Amid condolences and calls for education reforms triggered by the recent death of an elementary school teacher, government-released statistics showed, Sunday, that a hundred teachers in the country have also taken their own lives in the last six years, highlighting a crisis in the education sector.



According to the report requested and acquired by the ruling conservative People Power Party lawmaker Chung Kyung-hee from the Ministry of Education, Sunday, noted that 100 teachers from public schools nationwide took their own lives between 2018 and June of this year.



The majority of these educators, amounting to 57, were elementary school teachers, followed by 28 high school teachers and 15 middle school teachers. Despite elementary school teachers constituting the largest percentage of the total 441,795 teachers in the country as of last year, the number of suicides in this group is alarmingly high.



Of the 30 deaths, where the cause was identified, over half were attributed to depression and panic disorders. Other causes included family disputes, health-related despair, mandatory military service pressures and personal issues.



The number of teacher suicides steadily increased from 14 in 2018's to 22 in 2022; it dropped slightly to 19 last year but marks 11 already in the first half of this year, hinting that the annual figure could be higher by year's end.



By region, 40 percent of the deaths occurred in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, which has relatively more schools, students and teachers.



In other parts of the country, Busan saw nine deaths by suicide, followed by other regions ranging from between eight and three deaths. The offices of education at Gwangju, Jeju and North Chungcheong Province reported no teacher deaths by suicide in the cited period.



Meanwhile, the education sector faces a human resources shortage as it struggles to address the escalating work-driven mental health crisis faced by teachers.





Teachers dressed in black gather to mourn the recent death by suicide of an elementary school teacher by participating in a large-scale rally in central Seoul, Saturday. Yonhap



According to the Korean Educational Development Institute, the number of teachers' visits to psychotherapy centers operated by regional educational offices marked a record high of 36,367 during the first semester last year.



Seventeen regional educational offices each run centers to help protect teachers' rights and provide them with psychological aid. Demand for such services has been on a steep rise, showing a 74.5 percent jump from 19,310 in 2020 to 33,704 in 2021. However, there are only 26 professional counselors active in these centers throughout the country as of June.



Police and the education authorities are still conducting investigations into the death of a 23-year-old teacher who was found dead from an apparent suicide in her classroom in central Seoul, July 18.



Her death triggered teachers from across the country to speak up about the harsh working environment they face from excessive parental complaints and to call for legislative reforms to enhance protections for teachers.





Teachers from across the country hold a massive rally calling for the public education reform near Gyeongbokgung Station in Jongno District, Seoul, Saturday. Yonhap
Irish food, animal and plant exporters will require health certificates for their goods from October this year

Import checks are already becoming more frequent at the British border, three months ahead of the introduction of the countrys new post-Brexit customs code.

Irish hauliers say they have been subject to surprise inspections recently at the Welsh ports of Holyhead and Fishguard, which can delay loads for a number of hours.

And more delays and complications are on the cards once the UK rolls out its new rules from the end of October, they say.

The first phase will see Irish food, animal and plant exporters requiring health certificates for their goods.

Next January, risk-based identity and physical checks will be introduced for animal and plant products.

Later on in the year, checks for high-risk plant products will move from warehouses to border control posts, which are not always close to ports.

Eugene Drennan, head of the Irish Road Haulage Association, said the UK border force is operating with a heavy hand.

Their trade has washed out with the EU. And now they are putting every kind of obstacle in the way. The approach seems to be to put the boot in, he said.

John Nolan of Nolan Transport, one of Europes largest freight companies, said he has had trucks stopped in the UK twice in the last week, but his drivers were not told the reason.

He said the new Brexit requirements from October will cause even more delays.

There is no border on the British side at the moment, he said. They are going to do what the Irish side has done since Brexit.

All customs procedures introduce delays. It kills the momentum of trade. People adjust, and they just sell less of it.

Mr Nolan also foresees problems on the Irish side with issuing veterinary health certificates in time.

The certificates have to be issued by the Department of Agriculture on all goods of animal origin for loads going to mainland Britain, but there is a shortage of vets in Ireland.

Brian Murphy, a customs specialist with advisers Globaltrade.ie, said the vet shortage is serious.

He also said costs for exporters could escalate as the UK plans to charge between 20 and 43 per consignment for goods that enter Britain via certain ports, to help the government recoup the costs of building new border control posts, some of which have yet to be set up.

There will be issues for exporters of agri-food from the first of October given the UK introduction of new additional health certificates, custom check requirements and the possibility of new common user charges which have yet to be defined, said Aidan Flynn, chief executive of the Freight Transport Association Ireland.

The lack of available information on this is problematic from a planning perspective due to the timeline for implementation. In fact, the UK government have just concluded a public consultation on this recently and are yet to publish their charging mechanism.

This is on top of the reintroduction of the road user levy from August, which requires all foreign heavy goods vehicles to be registered and pay to drive on UK roads. So the costs associated with doing business with the UK are escalating.

Britain withdrew from the EU at the end of January 2020 and then entered a transition period.
Sinead OConnor was known for her outspoken views on politics, womens rights and the music industry in general.

In the days since her untimely death on Wednesday aged 56, numerous stories from her past have resurfaced, such as her infamous 1992 SNL appearance and her long-running feud with Madonna.

Another one to have received new life on social media this week was OConnors 2013 letter to Miley Cyrus, which she published on her website.

After the release of her viral music video for her hit single Wrecking Ball, Cyrus (then-20 years old) told Rolling Stone magazine that shed been inspired by OConnors accompanying visuals for Nothing Compares 2 U (1990).

In response, OConnor wrote to Cyrus in the spirit of motherliness and with love.

She told the young artist that it wasnt cool to be naked and licking sledgehammers in your videos and that she was in fact being pimped by the music industry.

You can read the letter in full, below.

Sinead O'Connor

Dear Miley,

I wasnt going to write this letter, but today Ive been dodging phone calls from various newspapers who wished me to remark upon your having said in Rolling Stone your Wrecking Ball video was designed to be similar to the one for Nothing Compares  So this is what I need to say  And it is said in the spirit of motherliness and with love.

I am extremely concerned for you that those around you have led you to believe, or encouraged you in your own belief, that it is in any way cool to be naked and licking sledgehammers in your videos.

It is in fact the case that you will obscure your talent by allowing yourself to be pimped, whether its the music business or yourself doing the pimping.

Nothing but harm will come in the long run, from allowing yourself to be exploited, and it is absolutely NOT in ANY way an empowerment of yourself or any other young women, for you to send across the message that you are to be valued (even by you) more for your sexual appeal than your obvious talent.

I am happy to hear I am somewhat of a role model for you and I hope that because of that you will pay close attention to what I am telling you.

The music business doesnt give a s*** about you, or any of us. They will prostitute you for all you are worth, and cleverly make you think its what YOU wanted  and when you end up in rehab as a result of being prostituted, they will be sunning themselves on their yachts in Antigua, which they bought by selling your body and you will find yourself very alone.

None of the men ogling you give a s*** about you either, do not be fooled. Manys the woman mistook lust for love. If they want you sexually that doesnt mean they give a f*** about you.

All the more true when you unwittingly give the impression you dont give much of a f*** about yourself.

And when you employ people who give the impression they dont give much of a f*** about you either.

No one who cares about you could support your being pimped  and that includes you yourself.

Yes, Im suggesting you dont care for yourself. That has to change. You ought be protected as a precious young lady by anyone in your employ and anyone around you, including you.

This is a dangerous world. We dont encourage our daughters to walk around naked in it because it makes them prey for animals and less than animals, a distressing majority of whom work in the music industry and its associated media.

You are worth more than your body or your sexual appeal. The world of showbiz doesnt see things that way, they like things to be seen the other way, whether they are magazines who want you on their cover, or whatever  Dont be under any illusions  ALL of them want you because theyre making money off your youth and your beauty  which they could not do except for the fact your youth makes you blind to the evils of show business.

If you have an innocent heart you cant recognise those who do not.

I repeat, you have enough talent that you dont need to let the music business make a prostitute of you.

You shouldnt let them make a fool of you either. Dont think for a moment that any of them give a flying f*** about you.

Theyre there for the money were there for the music. It has always been that way and it will always be that way. The sooner a young lady gets to know that, the sooner she can be REALLY in control.

You also said in Rolling Stone that your look is based on mine. The look I chose, I chose on purpose at a time when my record company were encouraging me to do what you have done.

I felt I would rather be judged on my talent and not my looks. I am happy that I made that choice, not least because I do not find myself on the proverbial rag heap now that I am almost 47 yrs of age  which unfortunately many female artists who have based their image around their sexuality, end up on when they reach middle age.

Real empowerment of yourself as a woman would be to in future refuse to exploit your body or your sexuality in order for men to make money from you.

I neednt even ask the question  Ive been in the business long enough to know that men are making more money than you are from you getting naked. Its really not at all cool. And its sending dangerous signals to other young women.

Please in future say no when you are asked to prostitute yourself. Your body is for you and your boyfriend.

It isnt for every spunk-spewing dirtbag on the net, or every greedy record company executive to buy his mistresses diamonds with.

As for the shedding of the Hannah Montana image  whoever is telling you getting naked is the way to do that does absolutely NOT respect your talent, or you as a young lady.

Your records are good enough for you not to need any shedding of Hannah Montana. Shes waaaaaaay gone by now  Not because you got naked but because you make great records.

Whether we like it or not, us females in the industry are role models and as such we have to be extremely careful what messages we send to other women.

The message you keep sending is that its somehow cool to be prostituted  its so not cool Miley  its dangerous. Women are to be valued for so much more than their sexuality. We arent merely objects of desire.

I would be encouraging you to send healthier messages to your peers  that they and you are worth more than what is currently going on in your career.

Kindly fire any motherfucker who hasnt expressed alarm, because they dont care about you.
Friends stars Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox have credited Lisa Kudrow as one of the most talented comedians in celebration of her milestone birthday.

The US actress, who played Phoebe Buffay in the hit sitcom, was hailed as the smartest, funniest, most thoughtful person as she marked her 60th birthday.

Both Aniston and Cox shared a series of images with Kudrow over the years, including pictures taken during the 2021 reunion special which marked the first time the cast had been together on screen since the show ended its celebrated 10-year run in 2004.

Aniston, who played Rachel Green in the US comedy, also shared a picture of the pair from their 1996 Milk magazine advertisement, with the pair sporting milk moustaches.

The 54-year-old wrote: Please join me in celebrating one of my favourite people on the planet. LISA KUDROW!!

Shes been my friend and my family for nearly 30 incredible years. I cherish you I love you, my sweet Floosh.

One of the most talented comedians/actors Ive had the great honour to work with for all these glorious years and more to come! Happy Lisas Birthday!

Kudrow replied: My Joooiest Joooo I love you beyond my dear friend forever!

Meanwhile Cox, 59, who played neurotic but loveable Monica Geller in Friends, said: Happy Birthday my Loot. This is my second attempt: ChatGPT didnt give you nearly the amount of love I feel for you.

You are the smartest, funniest, most thoughtful person. I always feel seen and loved when Im around you. Thats the gift you give to those you love.

Kudrow replied: Oh Cahoot. I love You so much and guess what? I always feels seen by YOU.

US actors David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry also starred in Friends, which remains one of the most popular shows on TV.

Focusing on a group of six 20-somethings living in New York, Friends first aired on September 22, 1994 and by the time it left screens 10 years later was a pop culture phenomenon.
A Co Tyrone priest who requested a leave of absence earlier this year while a serious safeguarding investigation was carried out has appeared in court on historic sexual offences against two males.

Canon Patrick McEntee (69) from Esker Road, Dromore is charged with indecently assaulting a complainant between 1980 and 1981.

He is further alleged to have twice indecently assaulted a second complainant on dates between 1988 and 1989.

A police officer aware of the facts of the case told Enniskillen Magistrates Court the charges could be connected.

Canon McEntee spoke only to confirm his identity and that he understood the charges against him.

No details surrounding the circumstances of the alleged offences were disclosed during the short hearing although it is understood they relate to Canon McEntees time in Co Fermanagh.

Deputy District Judge Austin Kennedy remanded the accused on continuing bail of 500 and ordered Canon McEntee to reside only at his current address.

He is also banned from all contact with complainants and any person aged under 16.

The case was adjourned until August 21 and Judge Kennedy refused a defence solicitors application for Canon McEntee to be excused from attending on that date.

Originally from Monaghan, Canon McEntee joined the staff of St Michaels College, Enniskillen in 1987 teaching religious studies and sitting on the Board of Governors.

He was also college president between 1994 and 2000, moving on to take up the post of Parish Priest at St Davogs Church in Dromore, County Tyrone in 2001, where he has remained until his recent leave of absence.

Previously the Diocese of Clogher confirmed: Canon Patrick McEntee PP, Dromore, Co Tyrone, has asked for a period of leave to allow a safeguarding matter to be addressed. The Diocese of Clogher has robust safeguarding policies and practices in place. The Diocese of Clogher takes seriously all allegations, suspicions or concerns of abuse.

When asked of the current status given the charges now faced, a spokesperson replied: Canon Patrick McEntee is on leave while a safeguarding matter is dealt with and will continue to be on leave from ministry until all due processes have been completed.
The man, who was a key member of the partys backroom team at both the Northern Ireland Assembly and Westminster, has been charged with several serious offences.

The man worked for Sinn Fein at Stormont

Sinn Fein has been rocked by an investigation into alleged child sex offences involving a former employee at Stormont.

The man, who was a key member of the partys backroom team at both the Northern Ireland Assembly and Westminster, has been charged with several serious offences.

The accused was working for Sinn Fein at the Assembly when the offences are alleged to have taken place.

Sinn Fein said yesterday the man was immediately suspended after his arrest.

The case is due to come before a court for the first time this week.

The man worked at the Assembly and Westminster for several years.

He is accused of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity online.

He also faces a charge of communicating with a child online for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification.

He is further accused of attempting to get a child to look at an image of a person engaging in sexual activity.

The offences are alleged to have taken place on dates between May 2020 and August 2021.

During that period, the man was working for Sinn Fein at Stormont.

There is no indication yet where the alleged communication with the child took place or if Assembly equipment was used during the interactions.

A Sinn Fein spokesperson told the Sunday World the man was immediately suspended from his employment and membership of the party some time ago as soon as the party became aware of his arrest.

It is not known when the man was first arrested.

The Sinn Fein spokesperson added: The PSNI has not made contact with Sinn Fein about this investigation. Anyone with information that can assist the investigation should bring it to the police.

The Northern Ireland Assembly was asked if it had been contacted by police in relation to the case.

In response, a spokesperson said the Assembly did not comment on PSNI investigations.
The incident will be discussed at a meeting between the organisations this week.

Still from the video of Saturday's incident which has circulated online

Belfast Pride will discuss with the PSNI an incident during which a street preacher told passers-by that members of the LGBT community wanted to rape our children, a leading official has said.

Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident, which took place on Royal Avenue ahead of the 2023 Belfast Pride parade on Saturday, as a hate crime.

Belfast street preacher told passers-by that members of the LGBT community wanted to rape our children

The preacher was filmed standing with a loud hailer outside the Primark building as the Pride parade was passing.

During the video, the man can be heard saying: Homosexuals have become so brazen that they wanted to rape the righteous, well thats whats happening today.

"They want to rape our children, they want to rape our country, they want to pillage and they want to pilfer all in the name of love.

The preacher concluded by saying: We need to stand up against the sin of homosexuality.

During the video two police officers can be seen observing the incident and then speaking to a man who appears to be trying to video the preacher.

Co-chairperson of Belfast Pride, John ODoherty, said the language used by the preacher was entirely unacceptable.

We have a meeting arranged with senior police officers this week more broadly in relation to Pride so it will be an issue well be raising with them, he told BBC Radio Ulsters Good Morning Ulster programme.

"Belfast Pride and the Pride movement are born out of a protest movement, so we fully recognise the right of people to protest across our city.

"It is a right that we use annually ourselves and that includes those people who choose to protest us and what we believe in. There has been a long history of protest at the Belfast Pride parade  in advance and during  but broadly without incident.

"I think what we saw recorded on Saturday takes this to a whole other level and I dont think the language that was used was acceptable.

"I dont think it should ever be acceptable on the streets of Belfast and its indicative of a wider, growing problem that we are seeing in the city centre around some of these preachers.

"The growing number, the language being used on a daily basis, and the impact thats having on traders, businesses, employees and people visiting our city centre. Its something that needs to be addressed.

Belfast Pride took place Saturday in Belfast city centre. Pic: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PSNI Superintendent Christian Bradley said police were aware of the incident and that footage gathered from body-worn video taken by officers at the scene was being reviewed by investigators.

Mr ODoherty said he had concerns about how the incident had been dealt with on the day.

"An important question we need to ask today is that if someone was using the same language standing outside a police station or the BBC, or one of our MLAs offices in relation to those institutions or individuals, how long would that have been allowed to continue? he said.

Would the PSNI response have been to stand and record what was going on? I personally believe that if I was to stand outside a police station today using the same language about the PSNI that I would be very quickly stopped and arrested for that behaviour.

"Ive attended more protests than most across Belfast and Northern Ireland and I have regularly had conversations during those with police officers around what behaviour was acceptable and what the response would be if we did engage in unacceptable behaviour.

"I would like to think the same thing happened on Saturday and that there were warnings given to the individual engaged in this behaviour.

"I think police need to clarify if thats what happened and if there was any intervention on the day from the PSNI.

"Surely it was evident there were going to be tens of thousands of LGBTQI+ people on the streets of Belfast who were going to be impacted by this language.

"I think its understandable people would have a strong reaction to hearing this language on our public streets and it was important to ensure the safety of the person protesting as well.

The incident comes after the PSNIs decision not to permit its officers to take part in the Pride parade while wearing uniform. Mr ODoherty said the force needed to take steps to restore confidence among the LGBT community.

"That decision, linked with what we saw on Saturday with this individual and his language, confidence among LGBTQI+ people is reducing substantially, he said.

"The PSNI need to reflect upon that and what actions they could take to ensure that confidence increases. LGBTQI+ people are much more likely to be the victims of crime than the perpetrators of crime, and we saw in the previous reporting year increases in terms of homophobic and transphobic hate crimes.

"It is incumbent on the police to ensure they are doing everything that they can to build confidence among that community. The actions of recent weeks have done nothing to increase trust in policing.
The new director general of the Northern Ireland Prison Service, Beverly Wall, took up her position in the Department of Justice on Monday.

Ms Wall has extensive experience working in a wide range of policy and operational leadership positions in the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

She said: I am delighted and privileged to take up the post of Director General of the Prison Service. I am looking forward to meeting with the staff and our partners, to hear first-hand about the opportunities and challenges facing our prisons.

I am committed to ensuring prisons remain a modern and progressive service, and one that focuses on delivering for the staff who are at its heart, and for those within our care, she added.

Permanent Secretary at the Department of Justice, Richard Pengelly CB, said he was delighted to welcome her into the role.

Beverley brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge that will enable her to build on the great work already done within the prison system and to deliver the best service possible for those in its care and for wider society, he continued.
The TUV leader said his party had called it right with their analysis.

A recent House of Lords report on the impact of the Windsor Framework has exposed Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks blatant lies about the end of the Irish sea border, TUV leader Jim Allister has said.

The report  published last week by the Sub-Committee on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland  found the Windsor Framework was an improvement on the NI Protocol, but that it did not resolve all its problems.

It found benefits included the easier movement of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland through the green lane, but said that for some businesses, the processes may be more burdensome than under the previous arrangements.

The Committee called on the UK Government to answer concerns highlighted by business and retailers, including the movement of livestock from NI to GB and back.

North Antrim MLA Jim Allister said the TUV had called it right when they dubbed the agreement the Windsor Whitewash, referring to claims made by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a visit to Northern Ireland in February blatant lies.

The blatant lies of the PM at the Lambeg Cola Cola plant, when he oversold the Windsor Framework as the end of the border in the Irish Sea, are now exposed for all to see, he said.

"No matter how much the Prime Minister lied and others dithered and equivocated, it was abundantly clear that the Irish Sea Border stayed, that we remained in the EUs single market for goods and under its Customs Code and, thus, GB was to continue to be designated a foreign country whose goods must be checked when entering the EU territory of Northern Ireland.

As a colonial rule taker we remain subject to foreign law, jurisdiction and court. And all this for the political purpose of ensuring economic alignment, as a constitutional stepping stone, with the Republic.

None of this has changed, indeed the recently published government guidance on the functioning of the Irish Sea border both confirms the reality of what HMG lied about and our detachment from GB. Even the supposedly easier green lanes operate exclusively under EU law and oversight.

To have to even be in a trusted trader scheme to trade within your own country is confirmation in itself of the constitutional wedge that is driving us apart.

The practical and constitutional detriment of the Windsor Whitewash is matched only the folly of those who profess allegiance to the Union, but who want us to implement its destruction through operating what now must and can only be a Union-dismantling Stormont.

To operate Stormont is to implement the very Protocol which itself, according to the Supreme Court, put Art 6 of the Acts of Union into suspension. To be a Protocol implementer is to ensure that Union-dismantling suspension is permanent.

Former MP Nigel Dodds said the report had "completely debunked" the PM's comments

It comes after former DUP MP Nigel Dodds said the report had completely debunked the PMs claims that the Windsor Framework would remove the Irish sea border.

Speaking to former First Minister Dame Arlene Foster on GB News, Lord Dodds said the report has come to some very serious conclusions, that I think will make uncomfortable reading for the government.

The former DUP deputy leader said the framework will make it worse for businesses, which "should worry everyone in NI".
Plans to put an end to anti-car moves and a potential route for peace in Ukraine are among the stories leading the nations papers.

The Sun reports the Prime Minister has ordered a review of hated low-traffic neighbourhoods in a boost for motorists, while The Guardian says ministers are considering restrictions on councils ability to impose 20mph speed limits.

Rishi Sunak is set to press ahead with new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea, according to The Times.

The Telegraph reports 50,000 extra families will have to pay Inheritance Tax following the Governments tax threshold freeze.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail leads with a call to scrap the tourist tax as research reveals such a move could generate 10 billion for the economy.

The Metro reports Russias President Vladimir Putin has hinted at peace talks with Ukraine.

The i says 52% of Britons are worried about paying for everyday essentials.

The Independent leads with concerns that the NHS is inadequately prepared for the coming winter.

The Financial Times reports the Government has made it cheaper to pollute by watering down its carbon market scheme.

The Daily Mirror leads with its campaign for a change in the law regarding dangerous pets.

A call-handling probe by the Daily Express found the tax office to be the worst offender.

And the Daily Star says multiple deluges are heading for the UK over the next few weeks.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Monday that Europe would not tolerate aggression in Ukraine or the Indo-Pacific, as she renewed in a speech the EUs recognition of a 2016 arbitration decision that invalidated Chinas claims in the disputed South China Sea.

Ms Von der Leyen spoke in a joint news conference with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr after holding talks in Manila that aimed to bolster trade, economic and security relations.

The leaders announced the 27-nation bloc would resume negotiations with the Philippines for a free-trade agreement that stalled in 2017 under Mr Marcoss predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.

She underscored the need for security co-operation citing Russias invasion of Ukraine, which showed how authoritarian leaders are willing to act on their threats.

Russias war of aggression against Ukraine shakes the foundation of the international order. It is in violation of the UN charter and the fundamental principles of international law, such as territorial integrity and sovereignty, she said.

This is why Europe supports Ukraines brave fight against the aggressor because the illegal use of force cannot be tolerated, not in Ukraine, not in the Indo-Pacific, Ms von der Leyen said.

Security in Europe and security in the Indo-Pacific is indivisible. Challenges to the rules-based order in our interconnected world affect all of us.

This is why we are concerned about the rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific, she said, adding that the EU backs a free and open Indo-Pacific because an Indo-Pacific free of the threats of coercion is key to all our stability to our peace, and to the prosperity of our people.

Her veiled rhetoric echoed that of US leaders, who have raised alarms over Chinas increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea.

Without naming China, Ms von der Leyen renewed the EUs recognition of a decision by a UN-backed tribunal that invalidated Chinas territorial claims in virtually the entire waterway on historical grounds.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr shakes hands with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after signing ceremonies at the Malacanang Presidential Palace in Manila, Philippines (Aaron Favila, Pool/AP/PA)

China has rejected the arbitration decision as a sham and continues to defy it.

The award is legally binding and provides the basis for a peaceful resolution of the disputes, Ms von der Leyen said.

The EU is ready to boost cooperation with the Philippines to foster regional maritime security by sharing information, carrying out threat assessments and bolstering the Philippine coast guard, she said.

China has warned the US and its allies against meddling in what it says is a purely Asian dispute.

It has turned seven disputed reefs into missile-protected island bases in the last decade, further alarming Western governments and rival claimants, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Ms Von der Leyens visit to the Philippines is a sign of improving ties after a stormy period between the EU and Mr Duterte over human rights. It is the first such top-level visit in nearly six decades of relations with the Philippines.

Mr Marcos and Ms von der Leyen said relations between the EU and the Philippines were entering a new era.

We are like-minded partners through our shared values of democracy, sustainable and inclusive prosperity, the rule of law, peace and stability, and human rights, Mr Marcos said in comments that reflected a stark departure from Mr Dutertes hostile rhetoric against the EU.

The visit came at a time when the EU is assessing whether to extend special trade incentives, including slashed tariffs for a wide variety of products, to the Philippines.

The European Union trade incentives under the so-called Generalised Scheme of Preferences for the Philippines and seven other developing countries are anchored on their adherence to more than two dozen international conventions on human and labour rights, environmental protection and good governance.

But the Philippines came under intense EU criticism during Mr Dutertes six-year term, mainly because of the bloody anti-drugs crackdown he oversaw that left more than 6,000 mostly petty suspects dead.

Mr Marcos succeeded Mr Duterte in June last year.

The killings sparked an International Criminal Court investigation as a possible crime against humanity.

Mr Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2018, but its prosecutor has proceeded to investigate the widespread deaths that occurred in the years when the country was still part of the court based in The Hague.

Mr Duterte then often lashed at the EUs criticisms of his brutal anti-drugs crackdown with profanity-laced outbursts.

The EU leader later spoke more bluntly against China at a business forum in Manila, where she warned that Beijings increasingly aggressive actions in Asia could also have global repercussions.

She criticised Chinas stance on the war in Ukraine, its increasingly aggressive actions in disputed Asian waters and its provocative moves against Taiwan.

Chinas show of military force in the South and East China seas and in the Taiwan Strait directly affects Philippines and other partners in the region, the EU leader said. But it could also have global repercussions because any weakening of regional stability in Asiaaffects global security, the free flow of trade and our own interests in the region.
Brush industry thrives in E China's small town

People's Daily Online) 11:57, July 31, 2023

Workers make industrial brushes at a factory in Yuantan town, Qianshan city, east China's Anhui Province. (Photo/Yang Dao)

With a permanent population of over 90,000, and more than 30,000 of whom being engaged in the brush industry, Yuantan town in Qianshan city, east China's Anhui Province is dubbed "China's brush hub." Last year, the output value of Yuantan's brush industry exceeded 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion).

Yuantan produces many kinds of brushes, including paintbrushes, industrial brushes, bristle brushes, steel brushes, brushes for sanitation vehicles, household brushes and brushes for cleaning precision instruments, among which brushes for sanitation vehicles, industrial brushes and household brushes comprise a growing share of the domestic market and are sold to more than 70 countries and regions in the world.

Chu Wenming, general manager of Anhui Liushunda Brush Industry Co., Ltd., was one of the first persons in the town to open a small brush company.

"Back then, there were 100 to 200 brush companies in Qianshan, all of which were small workshops. They had no unified standards to follow or stable sales channels through which they could sell their products," Chu recalled.

At the start of the 21st century, the local government built an industrial park for private companies, inviting small workshops to settle in the park, while rolling out differentiated policies to support the businesses.

The government also attracted investments for local brush manufacturers. Thanks to these efforts, Yuantan's brush industry began marching toward standardized development and industrial clusters started to emerge in the town.

Brushes are on display at the first China (Yuantan) International Brush Industry Exhibition held in Yuantan town, Qianshan city, east China's Anhui Province. (Photo courtesy of Yuantan town)

The government's help injected energy into local companies. After resigning from a foreign trade company, Xu Yanmiao founded Anhui Huanmei Brush, which is the first brush manufacturer in Qianshan to achieve an output value exceeding 100 million yuan.

The number of business entities in Yuantan has increased to nearly 5,000 from over 200 in 2010. The size of the industry expanded nearly nine times over the course of 10 years. In 2019, the China National Light Industry Council granted Yuantan the title "China's brush hub."

Yuantan had tried to develop other industries but didn't succeed.

Qianshan city then decided to develop the brush industry. Since 2011, the city has made continuous efforts to boost the brush industry.

The local government has built various platforms, including a 7-square-kilometer brush industrial park that has brought together 175 enterprises and a 100,000-square-meter high-tech venture park which is aimed at attracting medium, small and micro enterprises, as well as newly signed projects, and helping upgrade these enterprises and projects.

In November 2022, the first China (Yuantan) International Brush Industry Exhibition was held in Yuantan town, which attracted the participation of 120 enterprises from home and abroad.

In 2017, the Anhui Brush Chamber of Commerce was established in Yuantan, becoming Anhui's first provincial-level chamber of commerce of an industry built in a town.

Yuantan is also home to Anhui's first public bonded warehouse built in a town.

The brush industry of Yuantan has seen explosive growth since 2017, with its output value expanding by 1 billion yuan each year.

A villager makes brushes at home. (Photo courtesy of Yuantan town)

A brush product independently developed by Anhui Qianshan Yida Brush Co., Ltd. is used on China's first domestically-built large passenger jet C919.

"The product is used to clean aluminum sheets on aircraft wings. In the past, the item was imported. We spent two years on researching and developing relevant technologies and revised our design more than 10 times before finally signing the order," said Wang Wenbin, general manager of the company.

Brush companies in Yuantan have carried out cooperation with universities including Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Hefei University of Technology, to try to leverage the latter's innovation resources. They also collaborated with Anhui University of Technology to build a brush industry engineering technology research center. The brush companies in Yuantan have filed 185 patents.

Technology has empowered the upgrading of the brush industry in Yuantan, and the broad overseas market has created a wider space for the industry to grow. Anhui Huanmei Brush was the first brush company in Yuantan to start to engage in foreign trade. The annual output value of Huanmei has approached 100 million yuan, and 60 percent of the company's products are sold overseas.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Liang Jun)
The property manager of Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate has made his first court appearance on charges in the classified documents case against the former US president  but did not enter a plea because he has not found a Florida-based lawyer to represent him.

Carlos De Oliveira was added last week to the indictment with Trump and the former presidents valet, Walt Nauta, in the federal case alleging a plot to illegally keep top-secret records at Trumps estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and thwart US government efforts to retrieve them.

The judge read De Oliveira the charges against him and ordered him to turn over his passport and sign an agreement to pay 100,000 US dollars (77,800) if he does not appear in court.

The judge scheduled his arraignment for August 10 in Fort Pierce.

Carlos De Oliveira is an employee of Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate (AP)

De Oliveira faces charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to investigators.

He is scheduled to appear before a magistrate judge in Miami nearly two months after Trump pleaded not guilty in the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.

The developments in the classified documents case come as Trump braces for possible charges in another federal investigation into his efforts to cling to power after he lost the 2020 election.

Trump, the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, has received a letter from Mr Smith indicating that he is a target of that investigation, and Trumps lawyers met with Mr Smiths team last week.

An attorney for De Oliveira declined last week to comment on the allegations.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and said the Mar-a-Lago security tapes were voluntarily handed over to investigators.

The former US leader posted on his Truth Social platform last week that he was told the tapes were not deleted in any way, shape or form.

Video footage from former US president Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach could become crucial to the case (AP)

Prosecutors have not alleged that security footage was actually deleted or kept from investigators.

Nauta has also pleaded not guilty. US District Judge Aileen Cannon had previously scheduled the trial of Trump and Nauta to begin in May, and it is unclear whether the addition of De Oliveira to the case may have an impact on the cases timeline.

The latest indictment, unsealed on Thursday, alleges that Trump tried to have security footage deleted after investigators visited in June 2022 to collect classified documents Trump took with him after he left the White House.

Trump was already facing dozens of felony counts  including wilful retention of defence information  stemming from allegations that he mishandled government secrets that, as Americas commander-in-chief, he was entrusted to protect.

Experts have said the new allegations bolster the special counsels case and deepen the former presidents legal jeopardy.

Trump is still the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 (AP)

Video from Mar-a-Lago would ultimately become vital to the governments case because, prosecutors said, it shows Nauta moving boxes in and out of a storage room  an act alleged to have been done at Trumps direction and in effort to hide records not only only from investigators but also Trumps own lawyers.

Days after the US justice department sent a subpoena for video footage at Mar-a-Lago to the Trump Organisation in June 2022, prosecutors say De Oliveira asked a information technology staffer how long the server retained footage and told the employee the boss wanted it deleted.

When the employee said he did not believe he was able to do that, De Oliveira insisted the boss wanted it done, asking: What are we going to do?

Shortly after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago and found classified records in the storage room and Trumps office, prosecutors say Nauta called a Trump employee and said words to the effect of, someone just wants to make sure Carlos is good.

The indictment says the employee responded that De Oliveira was loyal and would not do anything to affect his relationship with Trump. That same day, the indictment alleges, Trump called De Oliveira directly to say that he would get De Oliveira a lawyer.

Prosecutors allege that De Oliveira later lied in interviews with investigators, falsely claiming that he had not even seen boxes moved into Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House.
Catwalk queen Kate strutting stuff at City Hall next month

Shes a regular on the catwalks of London Fashion Week, but Kate Grant is more excited about stepping on stage in Belfast next month.

The Co Tyrone woman, who has blazed a trail for people with Down syndrome with her success as a top model, lit up with joy as she talked about the Belfast One Fashion Show at City Hall in August.

Presented by stylist and radio personality Rebecca McKinney and featuring fashion from more than 50 city centre retailers, Kate is simply thrilled to be taking part.

I was a guest last year. I told the Lord Mayor I would be on that stage next year and I am. My dream has come true, she said.

I cant wait. I feel so grateful. It is a huge honour and I feel so privileged to have the opportunity to be part of Belfast One Fashion Show.

Kate Grant has appeared at London Fashion Week four times

Kates life has changed dramatically since 2017, when mum Deirdre posted an appeal on Facebook for someone to help her fashion-loving 19-year-old daughter realise her dream of becoming a model.

Weeks later, she broke the mould to become the first model with Down syndrome to take part in Belfast Fashion Week and be signed by the ACA Models agency.

Since then, there has been n o stopping her. She has graced the catwalk at London Fashion Week four times, given talks about her experiences at the UN and has worked as a brand ambassador for Benefit Cosmetics.

As well as modelling engagements, the 24-year-old has become a huge social media influencer with close to 400,000 followers on TikTok, where her videos on beauty and fashion rack up millions of views.

She has also just finished work on her first movie, a short film made in Northern Ireland which is due to be premiered in September.

Based on a true story and made by Apex Pictures, Teeny was written and directed by Emmet McMullan, with Kate playing the lead role of Teeny and appearing alongside actors Saorlaoith Brady, Mary Lindsay and Richard Clements.

She said: It is my first movie role and I loved it. Its going to be brilliant. My next big dream is to get an Oscar.

Kate is best friends with actor James Martin, who picked up an Oscar for An Irish Goodbye earlier this year.

Fashion show host Rebecca McKinney and model Kate Grant

They have each broken down huge barriers for disabled people and last month led a parade for Disability Pride in Carrickfergus.

Looking back on what has been a whirlwind few years, Kate said one of her proudest moments was receiving a British Empire Medal in 2021, presented by another famous Kate, the Princess of Wales.

I was like Oh my word, thats incredible when I heard I was getting it, she said.

It was great to be recognised as someone who has done something good.

I had a good wee chat with Kate Middleton. Most people ask if they can have their picture taken with her, but she asked if she could have hers taken with me. I put it on Instagram and it went viral.

She just asked me about myself and she admired my headpiece. She was lovely.

The Princess of Wales and Kate

In another special achievement, Kate shared the stage of the famous Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles with Kim Kardashian after she was invited to present an award at a huge gala event for the beauty industry.

Kim Kardashian was presenting an award before me and was there when I came on to the stage, she said.

Kendall Jenner is my absolute idol, I love her. She is a model too and she works very hard. I got to ask Kim how Kendall was doing, and she told me she was doing great.

While Kate is living her dream, family comes first and she takes nothing for granted.

She said: When I have to model or work, I become Kate Grant, but at home I am just Kate, who likes to cook and bake and go to the farm with my old wellies on and my beautiful dogs. I go to the gym and at home I am just myself.

My incredible sister, Ella, does my social media and PR. We are great friends.

My dogs, Delilah, Pippen and Heidi, are also big stars of my videos.

Every single morning, I feel so grateful for what I have.

Its my passion to help other people out there realise they can reach their full potential. For me to be able to do that is an honour.

If you have any opportunity in life, you take it, but you need support behind you. I have the great support of my mum and family.

Kate on the catwalk at London Fashion Week

Mum Deirdre, dad John, brothers Patrick and Michael and sister Ella are all naturally proud of everything Kate has achieved.

Her mum said: When I look back at the thoughts I had when Kate was born, which seem to have been doom and gloom, to now when sometimes I forget she has a disability, Im so delighted for her. She has done more than I ever could have imagined.

As a long as she continues to enjoy it, we, her family, will support her and are her biggest fans.

Kates parents and siblings will be at Belfast City Hall on Sunday, August 20, to see her fulfil yet another dream of modelling in the BID Belfast One Fashion Show.

The Belfast One Business Improvement District (BID) was established in 2016 as an independent, not-for-profit organisation representing retail, hospitality and services concentrated within approximately one square mile of the centre of the city.

Kate recently finished work on her first short film

Now in its second year, the fashion show will feature the latest looks from 50 city centre retailers, including Marks & Spencer, Primark, Phase Eight, Mint Velvet and many more.

There will also be a demonstration from hair stylist Andrew Mulvenna and make-up tips from cosmetics expert Charlotte Tilbury.

Show host Rebecca McKinney said: The Belfast One Fashion Show, in the stunning Belfast City Hall, is a not-to-be-missed event.

With more than 50 retailers from across Belfast city centre showcasing a mix of fashion trends and styles for all ages, budgets and body shapes, it is going to be a fantastic day of catwalk-to-closet fashion and I hope to see you there.

To buy your ticket for the fashion show, visit www.belfastone.co.uk. Each guest will get a goodie bag containing a 10 Belfast city centre gift card and more
Displaced people from Myanmar are seen in Kampat, Sagaing region near the Indian border as they flee escalating fighting, July 24, 2023.

About 2,000 villagers displaced by two consecutive days of junta airstrikes on a township in Myanmars Sagaing region are in dire need of basic necessities after being refused refuge by authorities across the border in India, according to the villagers and aid workers.

The situation in Khampat, a 2,000-home township around 8 km (5 miles) southeast of the border with Indias Manipur state, highlights the plight of internally displaced persons in Sagaing.

Fighting between the military and anti-junta forces in the region has forced nearly 800,000 people to flee their homes since the Feb. 1, 2021, coup detat, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

A man who was among more than 1,000 people from Khampat who fled the July 25 and 26 airstrikes to nearby Kale township told Radio Free Asia (RFA), a news service affiliated with BenarNews, that conditions for displaced there are among the worst he had faced in the nearly 30 months since the coup.

Ive faced many difficulties as an internally displaced person, said the man who has had to flee fighting in the region before and who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity citing security concerns.

There are several sick people and others who had to run [from the fighting] with only the clothes on their backs, who are dealing with extreme difficulties, he said. Since we all have to stay together in one shelter, its very crowded and inconvenient.

A person assisting the displaced in Kale said they are sheltering in three or four Christian churches there.

They number more than 1,000, which is almost the entire population of Khampat, he said. They had no choice but to flee here.

In addition to those in Kale, more than 700 from Khampats Kanan and Kamagyi villages have fled across the border into Manipur since July 21, when clashes between military troops and anti-junta Peoples Defense Force (PDF) paramilitaries intensified in the township.

Hundreds ordered home

Myanmar shares a border of more than 1,600 km (1,000 miles) with eastern India. More than 60,000 people have crossed into Indias Manipur and Mizoram states since the coup, according to UNOCHA, but Indian authorities in Manipur have been dealing with violence between the majority Meitei community and the tribal Kuki minority there since early May and say they no longer have the resources to accommodate refugees.

The Manipur state government recently ordered the Indian Border Guard to send the 700 Myanmar nationals  including more than 300 children and 200 women  who have fled since July 21 back across the border. Many of those who have been forced to leave India and others fleeing the fighting in Khampat now have no option other than to shelter in the jungle, with few resources.

Displaced people from Myanmar are seen in Kampat, Sagaing region near the Indian border as they flee escalating fighting, July 24, 2023. [Citizen journalist]

Salai Dokhar, the founder of India for Myanmar, an India-based pro-democracy group, told RFA that there are security challenges in seeking refuge for Myanmar nationals, who risk being driven back across the border.

Weve learned that India doesnt let Myanmar refugees enter  due to the Manipur conflict, he said. Some refugees in Manipur who were found out to be Myanmar nationals were even driven back, too.

Dokhar said that more than a few hundred have been returned to Myanmar since the order was given.

He added that authorities in Manipur have cut off the internet in the conflict area and communication is limited.

As telephone services have been irregular, we cant get accurate information every day, he said.

Tensions high

Meanwhile, a member of the PDF in Khampat told RFA that the military situation there remains tense.

Our Peoples Defense Forces have no plans to retreat, he said. The [military] doesn't want to lose control of the town either. So its a tense situation between the two sides.

Reports that the ethnic Kachin Independence Army (KIA) is also involved in the fighting against junta troops in the area could not be immediately confirmed, as the groups military command is far away.

Thats not our active area, which is why I havent heard that we have military bases there, said KIA news and information officer Col. Naw Bu. I cant say that we are involved in the fighting there, nor can I confirm that we are. Its a little far from us [at] the military headquarters.

RFA attempts to contact the juntas spokesman for Sagaing region went unanswered.
Tuvalu Minister of Justice, Communications and Foreign Affairs Simon Kofe is pictured in his office in Funafuti, Tuvalu, May 18, 2023 during an interview with BenarNews.

Tuvalus foreign minister, who called international attention to the threat faced by low-lying island nations from higher seas, said he has resigned to focus on an overhaul of his countrys constitution.

Simon Kofe became synonymous with climate activism after a video of him standing knee-deep in the Pacific Ocean while delivering Tuvalus message to a United Nations climate change conference in November 2021 became a viral hit online. It was viewed millions of times.

Reflecting on my journey, its been an extraordinary one that wouldnt have been possible without the grace of God and those close to me, Kofe, 39, said in a statement posted online on the weekend.

Tuvalu, a Pacific atoll nation home to some 12,000 people, has become emblematic of the plight faced by low-lying islands from projected sea level rise over the coming century.

Without building up and extending land that averages an arms length above the high tide, half of the most populated atoll Funafuti will be inundated by tidal waters by 2050 and 95% by the end of this century, based on one-meter of sea level rise projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

In this screenshot from a Tuvalu government video, Foreign Minister Simon Kofe stands knee deep in waters off Fogafale coral islet for an address to the 2021 U.N. Climate Change conference that was delivered by video on Nov. 9, 2021. [Tuvalu government/AFP]

As a cabinet minister, Kofe also spearheaded efforts aimed at ensuring Tuvalu would keep its existing exclusive economic zone and remain a sovereign nation if its land area of 26 square kilometers (10 square miles) shrank or disappeared. He said he would continue to support that work, known as the Future Now project.

For the 2022 U.N. climate conference, Kofe was superimposed into a three-dimensional digital replica of Te Afualiku, an uninhabited filament of palms and pulverized coral that he predicted would be one of the first Tuvaluan islets to disappear.

He said that Tuvalu would upload a digital copy of itself to the metaverse, a purported virtual world accessed through bulky VR goggles, so there would be a record of Tuvaluan culture if its islands become submerged by rising seas. The idea remains more stunt than reality.

Weve been advocating for decades now on the international stage and this is probably the most effective weve been, Kofe told BenarNews in May, in getting the worlds attention on issues of climate change.

Tuvalu began a review of its constitution in 2016 and a final report including recommendations was published in December 2022.

I believe its time to channel my energies into completing the essential constitutional review work, Kofe said in his statement. This important work, requiring nationwide consultations, will take up much of my time.

Parliaments five-member constitutional review select committee, which includes Kofe as chairman, has recommended declaring that Tuvalu is a Christian nation, outlawing discrimination on the basis of disability and changes aimed at improving the stability of government.

It has not been able to reach a consensus on several proposals including transparent appointment, removal and discipline of police officers; removing Cabinets power to appoint judges and a prohibition on discrimination on the basis of sex.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during her visit to the Malacanang Palace, July 31, 2023.

Brussels is ready to boost EU-Philippines cooperation in maritime security amid tensions with China over the territorially contested South China Sea, the visiting European Commission president said Monday.

A 2016 international arbitration courts ruling that invalidated Beijings expansive claims to the waterway is legally binding, said Ursula von der Leyen, who was in Manila for her first official visit as head of the commission.

It provides the basis for peaceful resolving disputes between the parties. We are ready to strengthen the cooperation with the Philippines on maritime security in the region by sharing information, conducting threat assessment and building the capacity of your National Coast Watch Center and your coast guard, Von der Leyen said after she met with Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the presidential palace in Manila.

She and President Marcos also discussed a potential trade agreement between the Philippines and European Union (EU).

The EU is concerned about rising tensions in Asia, Von der Leyen said without naming China.

The Philippine Coast Guard has been on the frontline of the bilateral territorial dispute with China, reporting instances of alleged harassment by the Chinese coast guard in South China Sea waters within Manilas exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The global geopolitical landscape is changing. It is volatile, it is more threatening. Authoritarian leaders show that they are willing to act on their threats, Von der Leyen said, alluding to Russias invasion of Ukraine.

The illegal use of force cannot be tolerated. Not in Ukraine, not in the Indo-Pacific. Security in Europe and security in the Indo-Pacific [are] indivisible. Challenges to the rules-based order in our interconnected world affect all of us, she said.

Marcos said the Philippines and the EU were like-minded partners through our shared values of democracy, sustainable and inclusive prosperity, the rule of law, peace and stability and human rights.

Last week, senators here sponsored a resolution calling on the government to raise Chinas continuous harassment of ships within the Philippine EEZ to the United Nations General Assembly.

We should not yield to Chinas threats and intimidation. Why are we afraid when we now have so many allies with us, said resolution co-sponsor Sen. Risa Hontiveros, citing the support of the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, India and 16 member-states of the EU.

Reducing dependency on China

Von der Leyen and Marcos also discussed the possible reopening of negotiations on a free-trade agreement. The EU is the Philippines fourth largest trading partner while the Philippines, the fifth largest economy in Southeast Asia, is the European blocs seventh most important trading partner in the region.

The EU and the Philippines launched free trade negotiations in 2015 but those have stalled since 2017. At that time, the EU opposed former President Rodrigo Dutertes war on drugs because of alleged human rights violations, while Duterte publicly lashed out at the EU and its officials.

The Philippines is a key partner for us in the Indo-Pacific region, and with the launch of this scoping process, we are paving the way to taking our partnership to the next level, Von der Leyen said.

The resumption proposal came after the EU and Thailand revived trade talks after years of hiatus. The EU already has free trade agreements with Singapore and Vietnam, while it is negotiating with Indonesia and Malaysia.

Basilio Sepe, Jojo Rinoza and Noel Celis in Manila contributed to this report.
A group of people, described by police as former combatants of the militant group Abu Sayyaf, swear an oath of allegiance to the Philippine government following a ceremonial surrender of their weapons in the town of Jolo, July 30, 2022.

The Philippines can achieve total victory against Muslim militants in the volatile south by years end, the countrys new military chief said, after the president last week lifted an emergency enforced across Mindanao since 2016.

Armed Forces commander Gen. Romeo Brawner said there had been no kidnap-for-ransom activities during the past two years in Mindanao, the countrys southern third where Filipino extremist factions linked with the Islamic State group are known to operate.

[F]or more than two years now, there [have been] no more such incidents because of the military operations we are conducting. Many of them were neutralized. Many of them died but more of them surrendered, Brawner said on Sunday during a program on DZBB radio, transcripts of which were released Monday.

That is why we are very optimistic that by the end of the year, we are going to defeat them, we will achieve total victory against all of these terrorist groups.

Brawner made the declaration more than a month after security forces killed the suspected IS emir for Southeast Asia based in the southern Philippines.

Several groups operate in Mindanao, including the Abu Sayyaf Group and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for a number of kidnappings and beheadings of victims.

Isnilon Hapilon, an Abu Sayyaf man considered the IS regional leader, led the group when it took over the southern city of Marawi in 2017 before government forces drove them out in a five-month battle. He was killed during the fighting there along with many foreign militants.

Brawner said the number of terrorists in Mindanao had dramatically fallen since 2017, when troops pushed out IS militants, including foreigners from the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

While the military chief did not give figures of foreign militants still in the south, military intelligence sources placed the number at between 100 and 200.

Thats why, as you can see, especially in the areas of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, its been more than two years now that weve not heard of any kidnap-for-ransom [incident], Brawner said.

Last week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. lifted the state of emergency in Mindanao, saying the conditions that led to its imposition in September 2016 had been significantly mitigated or reduced.

Through successful, focused military and law enforcement operations and programs that promote sustainable and inclusive peace, the government has made significant gains in improving and restoring peace and order in the region, Marcos said.

Marcos said he was lifting the emergency to boost economic activity and hasten the recovery of the local economy.

His predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, imposed the emergency after Davao City was bombed by militants, leaving 14 people dead and dozens wounded. That attack was a trial run for a much larger attack in Marawi a year later, officials had said.

Military chief Brawner said security forces would still maintain a presence in key areas in Mindanao to attain sustainable peace.

We are not going to be satisfied with the neutralization of these threat groups. We have to sustain our gains, he said.

So what will happen is that soldiers will continue their presence in these areas and contribute to the whole nations approach in achieving peace.

The government was continuing with its program of decommissioning, disarming and reintegrating former rebels of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), once the countrys biggest separatist force that signed a peace pact with Manila in 2014.

MILF has ceased to be a rebel force, and is now in control of an autonomous region in the south, where many of its ex-guerrillas are seeking to be integrated into the Philippine military and police.

For the BIFF and other rogue elements who are continuing to fight with the government, our military operations against them will still continue, Brawner said.

BIFF, or Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, are guerrillas who broke away from MILF, when the latter agreed to the peace deal with the government.

MILF has been helping Manila fight against BIFF and other militant organizations.
Pheu Thai Party supporter holds a placard with photographs of former Thai Prime Ministers Thaksin Shinawatra and Yingluck Shinawatra, during a party election campaign rally in Bangkok, April 28, 2023.

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatras planned homecoming after 15 years of self-imposed exile is generating a mix of excitement and concern in the Southeast Asian country stuck in a political deadlock for the past two months.

Thaksins daughter, Paetongtarn, announced last week that her father was expected to return to Thailand on Aug. 10, as the Pheu Thai Party, the main political vehicle of the Shinawatra dynasty, seeks to form a new government after a general election in May.

The announcement has provoked frenzied discussion about the fate awaiting the billionaire businessman, who fled Thailand in 2008 to escape a prison term for several different charges, including corruption and tax evasion. Many Thais are also speculating about what Thaksins arrival could mean for the countrys new government.

He is not a murderer  he should come back. Thaksin was only morally guilty and was at risk from dictatorial threats, said Somsak Jatukam, 61, a taxi driver in Bangkok.

Somsak Jatukam, a taxi driver, poses for a photo in Bangkok, July 27, 2023 [Nontarat Phaicharoen/BenarNews]

Wanlee Subpradit, a 76-year-old retiree from Bangkok, said she would travel to the airport or Supreme Court to welcome Thaksin home.

He is a good man and bright, she told BenarNews on the streets of the capital. Thailands economy would have been flagging forever without him governing.

Thaksin, 74, was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and remains a controversial figure in Thailand. His populist economic policies endeared him to the countrys poor, especially in the north and northeast. But his critics have accused him of deep corruption, anti-monarchism and dividing the nation.

Businessman Sam Sanin, who hails from Songkhla in the countrys far south, said Thaksin deserved prison time, but he should not hurry home while the political situation was unsettled.

He damaged the country, the 55-year-old said. He was prosecuted and jailed in a number of cases related to corruption.

Wanlee, the pensioner, identified herself as part of the pro-Thaksin Red Shirt movement that carried out mass protests after he was removed in the 2006 coup. She said she hoped Thaksin would receive a royal pardon. I dont think he will serve a jail term for too long, she added.

Thailands national police chief, Gen. Damrongsak Kittiprapat, said last week that Thaksin would be detained upon arrival and referred to the Supreme Court.

He faces a combined 10-year jail term for three offenses, but Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said Thaksin could seek a royal pardon on the first day of his imprisonment.

Wanlee Subpradit, a retiree living in Bangkok, says she plans to greet former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra when he returns from exile, July 27, 2023 [Nontarat Phaicharoen/BenarNews]

Thaksin has been reluctant to return earlier over concerns he would be treated unfairly by the military-backed government that deposed his sister, Yingluck, in a coup in 2014. Her overthrow was spearheaded by then-Army chief Gen. Prayuth Chan-o-cha, Thailands current caretaker prime minister who has led the country in one form or another since the coup nine years ago.

Some of Thaksins supporters still fear for his safety.

I dont want him to return yet because his rivals may attack him, said Pakpoom Wiangnang, a 40-year-old businessman from Phrae province. We are not 100% sure how the government will take shape.

Post-polls uncertainty

Thailand has been stuck in a political limbo since the general election on May 14.

Efforts to establish a coalition government by the election-winning Move Forward Party have hit major roadblocks, with top prime ministerial nominee Pita Limjaroenrat twice rebuffed by Parliament.

Conservative and pro-royal lawmakers have rallied against Pita, preventing him from securing majority support in the upper and lower houses.

Pheu Thai is now leading coalition talks and seeking to nominate its own candidate for prime minister.

A vote for prime minister was set for last Thursday, but had to be put off while the Constitutional Court considered a petition challenging the constitutionality of Parliaments blocking of a July 19 vote against Pita. The court is expected to issue a decision related to the petition on Aug. 3.

Thai businessman Pakpoom Wiangnang says he worries for the safety of Thaksin Shinawatra, a deposed prime minister who is due to return in August from exile abroad, July 27, 2023. [Nontarat Phaicharoen/BenarNews]

Some observers say that Thaksins presence in the country could affect the formation of a Pheu Thai-led government, because he would face fierce opposition from pro-royalist activists and some Move Forward supporters.

His arrival could also see Move Forward jettisoned from a new governing coalition.

Pheu Thai leaders meanwhile have met lately with pro-royalist parties from the former ruling alliance, including Bhumjaithai, United Thai Nation and the Chat Thai Pattana Party. All have refused to join a coalition government that includes Move Forward, due to its ambitions to amend Thailands strict law against royal defamation.

In the past week, Pheu Thai has posted numerous videos to Facebook detailing Thaksins political career to coincide with his return.

Office worker Kritin Likitparinya is seen in Bangkok, July 27, 2023 [Nontarat Phaicharoen/BenarNews]

Kritin Likitparinya, an office worker originally from Samut Prakarn province outside Bangkok, said Thaksins homecoming would be a victory for Thailands pro-democracy movement.

Although we dont know where the finish line is, allowing former prime minister Thaksin who has been in self-imposed exile to come home could be a practical starting point, the 27-year-old said.

Thaksin is a key character in Thai politics; whatever he does or is bullied about, can define the direction of domestic politics.

Harry Pearl contributed to this report.


By Park Gi-hyun



This year, extreme weather events have tightly gripped countries all around the globe. Countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia are painfully struggling with climate crises, such as heat waves and torrential rain.



Many parts of the U.S. have already grappled with intensely hot temperatures over the last weeks. In the U.S.' Southwestern region, the temperatures have been in triple digits Fahrenheit, which is above 40 degrees Celsius, for nearly 30 days. I cannot imagine living in an area with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. Heat waves pose a health risk and are potentially deadly to everyone with no exception. I read a news article citing that hospitals in the U.S. are seeing a substantial increase in the number of heat-related illness admissions.



In the case of Europe, this year's heat is considered "abnormal" although the continent is known for sweltering weather in summer. Many European media outlets have reported the high temperatures came much earlier than usual. According to the EU's climate monitoring service Copernicus, this year's June was the hottest on record.



Some measures are being taken to combat the unrelenting heat, such as the closure of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, to protect visitors and volunteers, particularly the elderly and vulnerable. Unfortunately, the unbearable heat will likely linger with no signs of relief anytime soon.



Extreme weather events loom larger and more frequent as the higher global temperatures contribute to an increase in the incidence of extreme weather. It seems we have never gotten to grips with the problem despite years of efforts to try to minimize the effects of climate change.



Sadly, Koreans are now experiencing the lethal consequences of climate change. This year's monsoon has totally gripped Korea, destroying thousands of homes and killing more than forty people. Heavy rainfall in some regions has triggered landslides and rapid water rise, causing huge damage in a short time. A warming atmosphere caused by climate change makes extreme rainfall more likely. The National Weather Service reported on July 16 that compared to the average amount of precipitation from 1991 to 2020, the figure has jumped by 29.3% in central areas and 38.8% in southern provinces  from June 25 to July 15 of this year.



Meanwhile, criticism is mounting against the government for its poor response to the latest downpour. Many argue that the deaths might have been prevented had local authorities responded swiftly and effectively.



It is always too late to lament safety problems after fatal accidents have already taken place. Regretfully, tragedies often serve as a catalyst for progress. Because I am not an expert in this, I do not know what exactly we should do afterward to address this pressing issue. But what I know for sure is that all hands must be on deck to tackle this urgent issue and brace for the difficult times ahead.



I express my deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones and those whose lives have completely changed after the recent flooding experienced in Korea.





The writer (faith0906@gmail.com) is a freelance English translator based in Korea.








If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us

We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.
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Rikki Held, center, and Olivia Vesovich, second from right, who are among a group of young people suing the Montana state government, walk toward a courthouse June 12 in Helena, Mont. Sixteen young people argue that the state is robbing their future by embracing policies that contribute to climate change.
I don't think we need Twitter or an app like it. Maybe I feel that way because I remember what it was like before social media, when the world felt less divisive and we didn't have access to "anything and everything all of the time," as comedian Bo Burnham puts it.


Alliance should be fortified via Camp David summit



The security situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula has shown signs of rapid change. Vividly dramatizing this, North Korea recently hosted an event in Pyongyang on July 27, which it calls "Victory Day," to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War. It also held a massive military parade displaying its nuclear-capable missiles with the attendance of delegates from China and Russia who sat beside North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.



The scene again illustrated that both China and Russia are patronizing the North despite its continued military provocations in violation of United Nations resolutions. It is deplorable for Beijing and Moscow to support Pyongyang notwithstanding its escalation of regional tensions. This is inappropriate given that the two nations are permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and thus the most responsible members of the international community. We express strong regret for such moves.



North Korea has vowed to cope sternly with the current international conflicts in close cooperation with China and Russia. The North's official Korean Central News Agency quoted Kim as having pledged to "proactively tackle the situation through closer strategic and tactical cooperation" with China and Russia when he met the delegates from the two nations.



The agency reported Pyongyang and Moscow "reached consensus" on diverse issues without specifying details. This shows North Korea has been eager to prioritize Russia over China. In fact, Russia dispatched its Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu who accompanied Kim during their tour of an exhibition of military weapons. This has stoked concerns that the two are fortifying military cooperation.



For starters, Russia might be attempting to purchase military weapons from the North as it has been struggling amid the protracted war in Ukraine. The North, for its part, seems eager to acquire Russia's state-of-the-art technologies in a bid to build up nuclear and missile capabilities. Any collusive ties between the two sides will likely have a far-reaching negative impact on the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.



The White House said earlier that Pyongyang already offered rockets and missiles to Wagner Group, a mercenary firm for Russia, late last year. Any trading of military weapons with North Korea infringes upon the U.N. resolution and should be subject to strict retaliation from the international community.



Against this backdrop, it is significant that the heads of state of South Korea, the United States and Japan will get together in the U.S. on Aug. 18. While officially announcing the summit plan on Saturday, the White House said the three leaders  President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida  will focus on how to respond to the North's growing military threats.



The summit holds significance as it comes when the North, China and Russia are coming closer than ever. It is the first time for the leaders of the trilateral alliance to meet for summits only among themselves. The leaders are expected to closely discuss how to strengthen cooperation to help promote safety and peace on the Korean Peninsula. They will also likely talk about the so-called "wolf warrior diplomacy" coupled with economic pressures adopted by China.



It is time to fortify the security posture based on a solid alliance between South Korea and the U.S. to cope with the intensifying nuclear intimidation from the North. During the summit, to be held at Camp David, the three allies should come up with a joint statement calling on China and Russia to act responsibly for peace on the peninsula.



On the other hand, as difficult as it may be, Yoon and his top diplomatic aides should also ponder how to maintain relations with China and Russia smoothly, while strengthening cooperation with the U.S. and Japan. It should not be a zero-sum game. Brisker and more prudent diplomatic activities should be made to prevent relations with Beijing and Moscow from becoming bumpier.


God has worked through the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for thousands of years. Today, this people group takes their names from the fourth son of Jacob - Judah - the Jewish people. Their faith in the one true God has taken its name from Judah as well, Judaism.

Around 2,000 years ago, a group of people believed that a Rabbi named Jesus fulfilled the prophecy in the Scriptures of the Jews about a Messiah. In Jerusalem, after the crucifixion of Jesus, some claimed He was resurrected, and some others rejected this notion. This division led to the separation of Christians and Jews, leading to two different, but related faiths.

There have been times of tension and dislike between the two faiths and times of cooperation. Despite the difference and the tumultuous history between the two religious practices, it is important for Christians to understand Judaism. It is the predecessor to their own faith, and gives great understanding and insight into Jesus status as the Messiah, as well as the condition of mankind.

Here are 15 things Christians should know about Judaism:

1. Commandments

Without a temple in Jerusalem, it is not possible for practitioners of Judaism to conduct the sacrificial system as outlined in the Torah, so they pray and give a financial sacrifice of charity called tzedakah. They will also volunteer, care for members of their community, and obey the other mitzvahs - rituals commanded by God.

2. The Messiah

Jews reject the idea that Jesus is the Messiah. The distinction between Judaism and Christianity is not that the Jewish people were responsible for the Crucifixion of Jesus, but that after His resurrection they rejected Him as the Messiah.

During the history of Christianity, there were moments where the Church would use the role the nation of Israel played in the Crucifixion to justify poor treatment of the Jewish people. However, the Bible makes it clear through Romes involvement that all people bear responsibility of the death of Jesus due to their sin.

Importantly, there are many Jewish traditions and practices that point toward the Messiah, which believers should not replicate because they have been fulfilled in Christ. Practitioners of Judaism around the world continue to look for the Messiah.

3. Feasts

The feasts of the Levitical Law all point to the Messiah and were, or will be fulfilled by, Jesus Christ.

An important part of the Jewish faith instituted by God in the Levitical Law is the celebration of six feasts throughout the year, though depending on how it is broken out, it could be seven. The word feasts in Hebrew - moadium - means appointed times. There are four that take place in the spring, and three in the fall.

Spring Feasts

These spring feasts were fulfilled during the first coming of Christ.

Passover: Instituted in Egypt by God, the first Passover was during the life of Moses. The final plague on Egypt was the death of the firstborn child of every house. To be exempt from this plague, God had the obedient kill a spotless lamb as a sacrifice, and spread its blood over the door posts of each home (Exodus 12).

This event and feast point to the Messiah and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Death is the natural consequence of sin, and for sin to be forgiven, a sacrifice must be made, one of innocent blood, symbolized by the lamb. Just like those who put the blood of the lamb on their doors were spared from death visiting their home, people who put their faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ will have eternal life because their sins are paid for and forgiven.

Unleavened Bread: Within the week of Passover is the feast of Unleavened Bread. This simple feast involves eating a small meal, and looked toward the burial of Christ and His time in the tomb.

First Fruits: The Feast of First Fruits pointed to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The first and best of the harvest and a male lamb are brought before the Lord, placing faith that God will bring more harvest. When Jesus went into the tomb, it was with the anticipation that He would be resurrected. As Paul said, But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:20).

Pentecost: The word Pentecost is derived from the Greek word Pentekoste, , which stands for fiftieth. It is also called the Feast of Weeks, and is celebrated fifty days after the Passover, instituted in the Levitical Law (Leviticus 23:15-22). During this feast, there is a larger grain offering, plus lambs, a bull, and two rams. There is also a sin offering. This feast looked toward the arrival of the Holy Spirit after the Ascencion of Jesus Christ, which occurred during this feast, and the event bears its name.

Fall Feasts

These fall feasts are prophesied to be fulfilled during the second coming of Christ.

The Feast of Trumpets: This feast is a day of rest, announced with trumpets. Food offerings are made to the Lord. This feast is brief and described in Leviticus as solemn. It is believed this feast points to the rapture which will happen with trumpets (Revelation 4:1-6).

The Day of Atonement: Also known as Yom Kippur. Every year the Jews atone for their sins with sacrifices and prayer. It foreshadows the second coming of Christ to earth, which will be a grievous day for those who have rebelled against God. It is also when it is prophesied Israel will finally receive Him as their Messiah.

The Feast of Tabernacles: Sometimes translated as the Feast of Booths, this final feast looks toward the Millennium Reign and eternity in heaven. It is a weeklong festival where food offerings are made to the Lord on the eighth day of the festival. It looks toward the time when God will once again tabernacle with His people by being in their presence in right fellowship.

These feasts are observed by practicing Jews to this day as part of how they pursue a relationship with God.

4. Resurrection

Some sects of Judaism, both contemporaneously and historically, believe in the resurrection of the dead and some do not. In the Bible, many of the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Today, many Jews, but not all, believe the soul goes to be one with YWH, while others have a view of the afterlife more in alignment with Christianity.

5. Language

Yiddish, a language that has come to be associated with Judaism in America, is distinct from Hebrew, and someone speaking Yiddish does not indicate if they are practitioners of the Jewish faith.

6. Matrilineal Line

To be considered ethnically Jewish, ones mother has to be ethnically Jewish, regardless of ones religious beliefs. Anyone can convert to Judaism if they accept the Torah, go to a rabbinical court, and undergo certain rituals including have a mitzvah, immersion in a mikvah (a pool of water), and circumcision if the convert is male.

7. The Temple

There is currently not a Holy Temple, but there is a movement in Israel to rebuild it.

8. Synagogue

Synagogues have existed for millennia as places of prayer and learning for practitioners of the Jewish faith.

9. End Times

The Jews believe the coming Messiah will rule and reign over a time of peace on earth, much like the Millenium Reign prophesied in Revelation, though it will look different. Some Jews believe this era is Messiah, and that it is not necessarily a person.

10. Holidays

Chanukah (also spelled Hannukah) was not initially an important holiday in the Jewish calendar, and many religious Jews still do not consider it as important as days like Yom Kippur.

11. The Trinity

Judaism rejects Gods Triune nature.

12. Hell

In contemporary Judaism, they reject the belief in hell as an eternal place of torment and judgment.

13. The Sabbath Day

Shabbat, the Jewish Holy Day, begins on Friday at sunset and continues until nightfall on Saturday. It is their day dedicated to God, just like Sunday for Christians.

14. The Bible

The Hebrew Bible is also called the Tanakh, which is an acronym. It contains:

-The Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Also called the Five Books of Moses. It is represented in the name Tanakh by the letter .

-The Neviim: Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, John. Also called the Prophets. It is represented in the name Tanakh by the letter .

-The Ketuvim: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles. It is represented in the word Tanahk by the letter 

15. Tribes

In the Old Testament, God instituted hereditary priesthoods passed through the lines of Aaron in the tribe of Levi. Today, those genealogies are lost and Rabbis, Cantors, Scribes, and Mohels do not have to come from a specific tribe.

Does God Still Care for the Jewish People Today?

Just because many people of Jewish descent have rejected Jesus, that does not mean God has turned His back on them. One of the beautiful prophecies in Revelation is that many Jews will turn to their true Messiah, and that Christ will rule and reign during the millennium kingdom from Jerusalem, taking His rightful place on the throne of David.

Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans that God set aside a time for the Gentiles to come to God, but that Israel would be saved:

Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy (Romans 11:25-32).

In other words, when Jesus returns, Israel will return to God. They are still Gods elect - His chosen people. His promises are forever, and there are still promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David that have yet to come to fruition.

Understanding Judaism can help Christians deepen their understanding of their own faith and how Gods sovereignty interacts with mans free will, as well as help them share the Gospel with their Jewish friends.

Related:

Sources

Davis, Daniel. Understanding Judaism. eBook: Open Road, 2022.

Davis, Erin. 7 Feasts Finding Christ in the Sacred Celebrations of the Old Testament. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2020.

Fedrow, Rabbi Stuart. Judaism and Christianity: A Contrast. Bloomington: iUniverse, Inc., 2012.

Walvoord, John. The Millenial Kingdom. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959.

Photo credit: Getty Images/MiniMoon Photo

Bethany Verrett is a freelance writer who uses her passion for God, reading, and writing to glorify God. She and her husband have lived all over the country serving their Lord and Savior in ministry. She has a blog on graceandgrowing.com.
Unfortunate to see PMs Make in India dream being bulldozed: AiMeD

A concern has been recently raised by the Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) based on an interministry policy issue for permitting import of pre-owned medical devices, which appears to be in direct conflict with Prime Minister (PM)'s Make in India agenda.

The decision to permit the import of pre-owned medical devices is in contravention to Indias recently launched National Medical Device Policy-2023 that seeks to make our country not only Atma Nirbhar in medical devices but also the global leader. The Office Memorandum (dated 19th June) is a regressive step that has confused the investors who have been putting up manufacturing capacity in the last few years in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modis call for self-reliance, said Rajiv Nath, Forum Coordinator, AiMeD.

Cautioning against the policy of allowing free imports of old, used and discarded medical equipment from other countries, Suresh Vazirani, Chairman, Transasia Bio-Medicals said, The use of old, discarded medical equipment can not only be dangerous for the lives of our fellow Indians but it will destroy our PM Modi's dream of making India Atma Nirbhar in medical technology.

Based on these concerns, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) has responded that the imported refurbished equipment should be of very high quality providing precise diagnosis and treatment at affordable costs in India.

On the other hand, the government is all set to highlight the capabilities of the Indian Medical Devices Sector under the G-20 Indian Presidency, with the first ever expo being spearheaded by the Government in association with Indian medical devices industry, the three-day India MedTech Expo (IMTE)-2023 being held in Gandhi Nagar, alongside the G-20 Health Ministers meeting in August 2023, for showcasing the capabilities of Indian Medical Devices Industry and to create opportunities to network and explore collaborations both for the sectors growth in India and its potential contribution globally.

Department of Pharmaceuticals is planning to organise a large-scale first-time National Level Expo on Medical Devices sector for three days (18-20 August 2023), at Helipad Exhibition Centre, Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat, with FICCI playing the role of industry partner for this event.

With such conflicts in sight, is PMs Make in India dream being bulldozed or is the government in the process of making right policy decisions for the country's best interests?
It's unsurprising that South African companies across all sectors are expanding into Africa. When you consider the GDP growth of 0.4% locally, versus Sub-Saharan Africa's economic growth of 3.6%, it makes sense to do business in these emerging markets. In addition, barriers to entry for business in Africa are far less stringent than those in Europe.

Richard Hood, CEO of Olea South Africa

This trend has been accelerated post-Covid and in light of the war in Ukraine. Leveraging opportunities on the African continent is not only astute but logical and has been a focus for private equity companies and private investors.

"That said," says Richard Hood, CEO of Olea South Africa, specialist brokers in risk management and consulting, "doing business in sub-Saharan Africa requires intimate knowledge of the insurance legislation and regulation."

As of today (31 July 2023), Apio Group has formally rebranded to Olea South Africa after becoming part of Olea Group of companies in 2021. Clients will benefit from Oleas unique selling point as the only pan African broking business in South Africa, with an extensive footprint operating in North, West, Central, East and Southern Africa (24 territories in total). Olea South Africa offers a blend of South African expertise and market capacity, with locally based servicing capability for both domestic and cross border operations. "In addition, the globalisation of business means we are perfectly equipped with a head office in Paris and a strong African presence."

Having boots on the ground is imperative in Africa where insurance regulations are country specific.

 Vincent de Charnace

Why a South African portal for insurance in sub-Saharan Africa?

The Group provides service to companies investing in Africa as well as local brokers not established on the continent. The team offers innovation and advice to clients who are increasingly sensitive to the proper management of their risks on the African continent.

Hood says, "South Africas financial system is highly developed and advanced technologically. This supports clients going into Africa who need to comply with local legislation but want full access to SA capacity and capability. The advantage of having a physical presence in each territory allows us to structure integrated solutions which accommodate regulatory requirements. Olea South Africa is a viable alternative to the traditional corporate insurance brokers in Africa through our extensive network, led by owner-managed businesses, which brings a different culture and client engagement."

Through Olea, clients are able to reinsure into the South African market. "Customers wanting to go into sub-Saharan Africa still access South Africas insurance capacity," explains Hood. "If a company invests in multiple countries, it can be quite fragmented dealing with different partners and brokers. We are able to leverage Oleas buying potential, through an integrated programme which provides economies of scale, efficiency and uniformity. Obviously, all legal aspects and compliance will be respected thanks to our local presence."

Interestingly, 70% of insurance premiums on the African continent are paid in South Africa. This is due to a greater scope of products and its an ideal platform from which to reinsure into the South African market, if a specific offering is not available.

Vincent de Charnace, CEO East and Southern Africa, says: Having boots on the ground is imperative in Africa where insurance regulations are country specific. Olea is licenced and compliant in each of the different regions and, apart from ensuring the broker and the clients are protected, we would not do anything to jeopardise our licence."

Hood says: "Olea is a member of the Financial Intermediaries Association (FIA) which represents the top insurance brokers in South Africa, with a focus on maintaining the industrys rigorous professionalism and integrity. We are committed to upholding FIAs constitution and respecting its Code of Conduct. In addition, the company belongs to the French South African Chamber of Commerce."

"Our clients demand transparency and information especially when they have multiple country operations," says Charnace. "Our unique in-house reporting tools provide all of the data including access to their portfolios, claims, history and any other documents on a dashboard at the touch of a keyboard."

The growth of the insurance industry in Africa is exponential, not only due to a burgeoning middle class but because expectations have changed. Charnace says employees are pushing for greater benefits in sub-Saharan Africa  in fact demanding them. "Ten years ago, medical insurance in sub-Saharan Africa was considered a benefit by employees, it was an incentive to attract the best workforce. Currently this is accepted as a given'. The same applies now to life insurance  it wasnt a high priority and, if offered, would be considered a benefit." He believes that in a couple of years employees will expect life insurance as a standard part of their remuneration package. This translates into a considerable growth potential for insurers.

In 2021, Africas insurance premiums (life and non-life) amounted to $74bn. This continues to expand, creating more opportunities for business and the concomitant insurance whether it be in construction, mining or the transport industry.




In recognition of the unwavering determination and success of South African entrepreneurs, we proudly announce the launch of the Business Partners Entrepreneur of the Year awards. This prestigious event aims to honour and showcase the accomplishments of resilient and dynamic small business owners who have overcome challenges and achieved excellence.

The Entrepreneur of the Year awards provide an unparalleled platform to celebrate the achievements of South African entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We invite all tenacious and innovative entrepreneurs to share their inspiring success stories and be rewarded for their exceptional contributions to the business landscape.

Visit EOY.CO.ZA to participate in the highly anticipated 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year competition. Entrepreneurs stand a chance to win their share of an impressive R2 million in prizes, further fueling entrepreneurial ambitions and growth within South Africa.

The Entrepreneur of the Year awards encourages all aspiring business leaders to embrace the spirit of entrepreneurship. Dare to be the driving force behind innovation, economic growth, and positive change in your business community by entering the Entrepreneur of the Year competition in 2023.

About the Entrepreneur of The Year Competition

The Business Partners Entrepreneur of the Year awards recognises and celebrates the achievements of South African entrepreneurs and SMEs who have demonstrated outstanding business excellence. By sharing their success stories and rewarding them, this prestigious event encourages the growth and development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in South Africa.

Click here to enter the Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 Awards
In recent years, the world of marketing has experienced a significant transformation with the rise of digital trends like influencer marketing, user-generated content (UGC), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

Image supplied. Mushambi Mutuma examones how technology is transforming marketing strategies for a digital future

These developments have revolutionised traditional marketing strategies and opened up new opportunities and challenges for brands and agencies.

Marketers: Rethinking their approach

More specifically, the emergence of these trends has led marketers to rethink their approach to the ways they create.

Nowhere was this more evident than at the IAB South Africa 2023 Bookmark Awards, in partnership with Accenture Song, held in Johannesburg on 27 July.

The awards ceremony and its Finalists Showcase, which I was privileged to host, highlighted the need for omnichannel strategies and exploration of new touchpoints as well as demonstrated the exciting prospects for brands, agencies and publishers to tap into niche audiences through established channels with loyal followings and credibility.

The impact of these digital trends has been especially pronounced for Accenture Song, the largest tech-powered creative group.

The convergence of creative execution, social and digital activation, content, and data-driven intelligence has allowed for broader audience reach and cost-effective campaigns. The ability to leverage data and analytics for decision-making has given marketers the power to optimise their efforts continually.

Personlisation

One significant advancement driven by data analytics and AI is personalisation.

Marketers can tailor content and marketing communications in real-time based on user interactions, making for more engaging and relevant experiences.

The integration of natural language processing has also enabled automated customer services, offering immediate and tailored responses to customer queries. Leveraging technology effectively is key to optimising marketing efforts.

Real potential is to augment creativity

While the majority of creatives I know have openly embraced these new technologies, AI and ML have sparked concern among some about being replaced.

Yet I believe the real potential lies in using these technologies to augment creativity. AI tools can assist marketers and their teams by generating ideas, automating repetitive tasks and providing historical data-based inspiration, thereby pushing the boundaries of creative work.

Instead of replacing marketers, AI and other technologies empower creatives to explore new avenues and make data-driven decisions. A test-and-learn approach, coupled with continuous optimisation based on AI insights, will ensure marketing strategies stay ahead of the curve.

The same principle can be applied to execution. For example, how do we leverage tools such as Adobes Firefly to enhance and roll out more assets that are already informed by data and predictability?

Gap between technologically-driven campaigns and traditional approaches

Another challenge often faced by agencies and even internal marketing teams is the gap between technologically-driven campaigns and the decision-makers inclination towards traditional approaches.

Bridging this divide requires education and showcasing the impact of innovative strategies on brand success.

It is the agency or marketers role to provide perspective on the next steps for the brand and how to evolve traditional thinking to views that embrace digital. The more we showcase the art of the possible and the impact it can have on a brands success, the easier this conversion becomes.

Ethical considerations

Despite the opportunities that technology integration brings, it also presents ethical considerations.

Bias and fairness in AI algorithms must be diligently monitored and addressed to ensure inclusive and fair creative endeavours.

Furthermore, finding the right balance between human creativity and technology-driven processes is crucial to preserving the emotional connection that defines impactful work.

While technology can enhance creativity, there is a large risk of overreliance, which could result in generic or cookie-cutter content that lacks soul, emotion and cultural relevance  the root of what makes our work special and meaningful.

Specifically, data visualisation plays a crucial role in modern creative practices. By telling data-driven stories with emotional impact, creatives can forge stronger connections with their audience and inspire action.

The future of creativity

Looking ahead, the future of creativity in marketing lies in addressing societal issues, telling impactful stories of change and doing good for its own sake.

While technological innovation excites, reimagining narratives and driving positive impact are essential differentiators in the marketing landscape.

Embracing personalisation, AI, and data-driven insights can optimise marketing efforts and engage audiences on a deeper level. AI and ML should be viewed as tools to enhance creativity rather than replace it, fostering exploration and pushing creative boundaries.

As technology becomes an integral part of creativity, it is vital to address ethical considerations and maintain the human touch in storytelling.

By combining innovation with impactful narratives, we can create a future where technology and creativity coexist harmoniously to bring about positive change in the digital marketing landscape.
After a 12-month reprieve, punitive trade tariffs on imported chicken will be implemented again on Monday, 31 July 2023.

Source: Supplied

These long-feared, anti-competitive duties were initially suspended in July last year over concerns regarding the impact of these duties on soaring food prices. But now, astronomical duties on imports from some of the countrys most important poultry trading partners will once again hit local pockets at a time when many South Africans are already buckling under severe financial stress.

The result will be an anti-dumping duty of a maximum of 265% placed on chicken imports from Brazil in addition to the 62% tariff that is already in place, which is responsible for more than half of the countrys imported frozen chicken. The new duties also include an additional tariff of a maximum of 158.4% on imports from Ireland; 96.9% on Poland; 85.8% on Spain; and 67.4% on Denmark.

Understandably, South Africas local poultry producers have expressed their concern about the impact of dumping practices on their ability to compete in the local market, which is why the duties were implemented. But the problem is far more nuanced and unfortunately, in the current circumstances, these duties are likely to do far more harm than good.

In a recent statement by the general manager of the South African Poultry Association, Izaak Breitenbach claimed that the landed cost of imported chicken from Brazil is around R9.00 per kilogram. By comparison, he stated that the local producer price is closer to R30.50, which would mean that imports are more than three times cheaper.

Source: Supplied | Fred Hume, managing director of Hume International. Photo: Supplied/Hume International.

However, this estimation fails to consider that mechanically deboned meat (MDM) chicken and offal cannot and should not be factored into this calculation. South African poultry producers do not manufacture Mechanically Deboned Meat (MDM), which is often significantly less expensive than bone-in meat despite the higher input costs. As a result, the inclusion of MDM unfairly distorts the calculation.

Additionally, imported chicken leg quarters  an extremely popular cut in South Africa  are already landing at a cost of over R35.00 per kilogram, including duties. By contrast, locally-produced individual quick frozen (IQF) chicken is being sold to local wholesalers at approximately R25.00 per kilogram. In other words, local producers have a clear advantage against international competitors.

Finally, calculations should specifically consider whole birds and bone-in portions, which attract import duties of 82% and 62% from Brazil and the United States (US), respectively. These duties are collected by the government before the goods become eligible for sale in the local market and are subsequently added to importers costs.

The issue with disincentivising imports

Reciprocal trade benefits all market participants, from producers and sellers to consumers and even the government, which benefits from increased tax revenue due to enhanced supply. South Africa cannot expect to export with low or no duties, while imposing absurd duties on our import partners.

US poultry imports and accompanying low anti-dumping duties are a necessary trade-off for the local poultry industry to ensure South Africas continued participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) agreement which allows for highly beneficial trade terms for local manufacturers with America.

Our continued participation in AGOA is paramount to sustaining and even improving our employment rate through stimulating mutually beneficial trade. The agreement has created numerous jobs, and contributed substantially to the disposable income and purchasing power of South African citizens who consume both local and internationally sourced chicken.

It is important to recognise that not a single kilogram of chicken leg quarters has been imported from the Netherlands or Ireland in the past 29 months. Both countries are now free from bird-flu and are technically allowed to export to South Africa, but unreasonably high anti-dumping duty tariffs have meant that they have instead sold to other, more attractive and commercially viable international markets. Both prefer to sell to other markets which offer lower duties and, consequently, higher profit margins.

The effect on the everyday consumer

In other words, the net result of new duties is likely to be perennial shortages of supply of South Africans favourite chicken cuts, as we have already seen with chicken wings and leg quarters. The new duties also risk significantly higher chicken prices on the shelves and at restaurants.

As a local and international food distributor, Hume International would actually prefer being able to source a consistent supply of affordable locally-produced chicken. But the simple reality is that the local industry currently does not produce enough to satisfy the countrys needs  and does not produce MDM at all. Worse, as long as power, water and infrastructure challenges continue to impede their growth and profitability, we are unlikely to see the rapid expansion required to meet demand.

Our customers, who include wholesalers, retailers and other businesses across the country, have been willing to pay a premium for imported chicken because of a shortage of local supply. This signals that local producers are perhaps not as affected by imports as they have been made to seem.

But ultimately, consumers are the ones who will now pay the literal price of higher duties, which have failed to give careful consideration to the complex issues at play. We urgently need further engagements and discussions from all stakeholders, including food distributors, local businesses, poultry producers, and the government to reach better solutions. Until then, the new tariffs should remain suspended.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has said that it agrees with the draft ministerial determination to procure 1,000MW of new generation capacity from the Cross-Border Procurement Agreement.

Source: Mike Hutchings/Reuters

New generation capacity must be procured or purchased to contribute towards energy security and accordingly, up to 1,000MW should be procured from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region from a range of technologies/sources, Nersa said on Friday, 28 July.

The energy regulator explained that this programme is implemented in order to close the widening energy gap in the country.

The range of energy producers from the region will either be utilities from the host countries or independent power producers that are legally operating within the host countries, Nersa said.

Procuring power from IPPs

It also noted its agreement with the draft ministerial determination for the procurement of 2,000MW of new generation capacity from the Load Shedding Reduction Programme, which requires that the new generation capacity is established from energy generated from independent power producers.

The electricity procured or bought shall target connection to the grid as soon as reasonably possible, taking into account all relevant factors, including prevailing energy security risks and the time required for efficient procurement, Nersa said.

The energy regulator also concurred with the draft ministerial determination for the procurement of 800MW of new generation capacity from the Emergency Procurement Programme.
2023 GreenPitch finalists

These green economy innovators were chosen by two separate panels of judges during a pitch event hosted by GreenCape in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom on 27 July. The judging panel consisted of representatives from Holocene, French South African Tech Labs, Viridian, WWF-SA, Ushiri, DBSA, Sarebi, Savant, Edge Growth and Untapped Global. Also present were the South African SME Fund, the Green Outcomes Fund, African Angel Academy, GEAPP and other green finance ecosystem partners.

BAOM Eco Solutions is a biotech startup developing 100% home-compostable biofilms as alternatives to flexible plastics. With five effective prototype categories, their goal is to replace single-use plastics with a cost-effective, locally sourced, earth-friendly solution.

"The GreenPitch challenge was an incredible opportunity to be involved in, from innovative inspiration to partnering networks and highly valuable business-concept workshopping. Gaining access to such incredible minds and support was invaluable. BAOM is over the moon to have won the startup category and shared in this rare opportunity to accelerate green economic businesses forward. Thank you to Green Cape and all the sponsors and judges for your dedication to green success," said Chloe Cormack, BAOM co-founder and business development lead. "So glad we participated in this awesome challenge. Thank you for believing in BAOM and our projected impact," said Melian Dott, BAOM co-founder and product development lead.

RMB Ventures and BAOM winners

Biological Agricultural Era (BioAge) is an agri-biotech startup that integrates propitious solution for the agricultural sector of South Africa. The flagship product 'Nitro-Gro' is liquid organic fertilizer and plant bio-stimulant.

The experience for BioAge has been phenomenal and created a pathway to scale our footprint across South Africa, said Reuben Riley, BioAge founder and CEO, who was joined on the day by Solomzi Xintolo, BioAge founder and COO.

In the field of green technology, this event marks a big milestone in our collective efforts to foster innovation and sustainability, said Wayne Alexander from FNF. By partnering with GreenCape, we aim to create an impetus for green technology that will help build a more sustainable future, he added.

RMB Ventures and BioAge winners

The two winners will now each receive a set of prizes sponsored by RMB Ventures, Google Startups for Sustainable Development, LaunchLab, sarebi, AltGen and The Ethical Agency.

It was again a privilege to be part of this challenge that helps empower the green economy and links entrepreneurs to not only capital, but additional capabilities required for success. This initiative is congruent with our purpose to empower South Africans to achieve their full potential. We applaud all the finalists for their remarkable ideas and efforts towards solving environmental problems, as well as seeking attractive commercial business models, said Ewan Gray, private equity transactor at RMB Ventures.

The 2023 GreenPitch Challenge Top 10 finalists, chosen from ~220 inspiring entries, are, in alphabetical order:

AG Beyond Sustainability focus on helping farmers transition to sustainable and regenerative agriculture. Their product, Dijo Tsa Mobu, is an organic fertilizer made from chicken manure.

(Winner) BAOM Eco Solutions is a biotech startup developing 100% home-compostable biofilms as alternatives to flexible plastics. With five effective prototype categories, their goal is to replace single-use plastics with a cost-effective, locally sourced, earth-friendly solution.

(Winner) Biological Agricultural Era (BioAge) is an agri-biotech startup that integrates propitious solution for the agricultural sector of South Africa. The flagship product 'Nitro-Gro' is liquid organic fertilizer and plant bio-stimulant.

Disa Scientific, with their olive brine treatment process, is a small independent R&D laboratory with a focus on agricultural and industrial wastewater treatment and beneficiation. They have developed a process for treatment of table olive brine effluent, which is a problematic waste stream that presents disposal problems.

Greenmovement Energy is the manufacturer of Woodies, a lignocellulose-based biomass made from waste materials from the agricultural sector. Woodies are a low-carbon solid fuel used as a replacement for A- and B-graded coal in industrial coal-fired boilers.

INO-Biodiesel is a green energy, producing clean fuel from waste cooking oil. They collect waste cooking oil and convert it into clean fuel, in partnership with women and youth in rural communities through agricultural development.

Learn Base Energy is an energy efficiency technology that uses IoT and data science to collect energy from facilities, analyses the data and builds an energy saving model based on the data while continuously comparing it with prehistoric data overtime to showcase the return on investment (ROI) in real time.

Optima Agrik (Pty) Ltd with their Sodium Reduction Unit (SRU) removes non-nutrient salts from irrigation water so that greenhouse farmers can reuse the water that drains out of the root zone of the plant.

Regen Organics transforms organic waste that would otherwise end up in landfills into valuable agricultural inputs. Their high-quality organic fertilizers and protein feed empower small scale farmers to transition from conventional to regenerative agriculture.

STROOM Electric Cargo Delivery System is a women-owned cargo e-bike design, manufacturing and on-demand delivery enterprise.

Upcoming opportunity

The Mpumalanga Green Cluster Agency will be launching a call for entries in August for their first regional Green Economy Innovation Challenge. Keep an eye on their website for more information. If you want to be involved as a prize sponsor for the Mpumalanga Green Economy Innovation Challenge, please contact az.oc.retsulcneergagnalamupm@aidem.




Companies face numerous challenges in today's fast-paced business landscape, especially concerning technology integration and cybersecurity. Cybersecurity has become a thriving and critical industry because it centres on 'safeguarding data against theft and loss'. An Innovator Trust incubation beneficiary for 2022/2023, iCurity specialises in precisely that.

The Innovator Trust chats to the founder of iCurity, Tavernt Munchene, delving into the birth of his company and the solutions he has created for the digital threats that today's businesses face. We discuss how he identified critical industry needs, overcame initial hurdles, and achieved business success.

The birth of iCurity

Munchene launched into action when he noticed the frustration customers experienced in finding alternative solutions for their business needs... vendor locking being the most significant pain point. While still employed, we noticed that clients felt compelled to use suboptimal solutions. Furthermore, they were sold solutions they didn't necessarily need; we realised there was room for a more tailored approach that provided relevant solutions." Munchene furthers that they stand by the belief that a 'one size does not fit all' approach is inadequate and identified the importance of understanding each client's unique requirements and budget. iCurity was born as a technology-agnostic company, offering comprehensive solutions across the spectrum of available technologies.

"What we do stems beyond firewall protection. We are data-centric and work with our clients to identify the value of protecting their company data. We build with that information in mind," explains Munchene. He further highlights that this is not only applicable to large companies but that they realised how much SMMEs in South Africa needed their services and their tailored approach to the industry. "Most small businesses don't invest in their protection. If your data, as a small business, is compromised, you must have the resources to protect yourself; it can be encrypted and used as ransomware against you  it's more important for small to medium enterprises to protect themselves because the cost of recovery can be astronomical," Munchene emphasises.

Overcoming initial challenges

Based on the aforementioned, one challenge was having SMMEs learn the value of protecting their data. Another was breaking into a market dominated by established brands. While the industry recognised the founders individually, building a collective brand identity required time and effort. To overcome this obstacle, iCurity started by taking on smaller projects, proving their expertise and reliability.

They understood the importance of building references and establishing trust with clients. By faithfully delivering results in the professional services sector, iCurity gained a strong foundation and gradually expanded its reach. Munchene recognises that scaling takes time: "Everyone needs to accept that everyone needs to earn their stripes. It's critical to build references  there are no shortcuts." Munchene highlights that one of the upsides to professional services is that one doesn't need significant capital, making a lean approach for customers even more accessible.

Identifying and solving critical industry needs: A lean approach to integration

ICurity recognised that customers desired a lean approach, allowing them to focus on their core business while relying on trusted technology partners. To meet customers' needs, iCurity adopted an innovative approach. "We integrate client resources into their team, establishing a cohesive relationship that feels like an extension of the client's department. This approach facilitates seamless collaboration and ensures that clients remain informed about ongoing developments, cultivating trust and transparency," mentions Munchene. Collaborating and expertise are two ways iCurity differentiates itself from the competition.

Differentiating in a hybrid working world: Specialised subject matter expertise

In the current era of hybrid work models, iCurity distinguishes itself from competitors through its specialised subject matter expertise.

By focusing on and excelling within a niche environment, iCurity has fostered a robust reputation. With global experience and resources in various countries, they are well-equipped to support clients worldwide. "Our aim is always to form strategic partnerships, working alongside clients to achieve their goals." This innovative approach is why iCurity has excelled in the Innovator Trust's Enterprise Development (ED) Programme.

Innovator Trust ED Programme: Empowering growth and development

Munchene notes that their journey took a significant turn when they applied for the Innovator Trust ED Programme in partnership with Africa Beyond 4IR. Among the top four candidates selected by Innovator Trust, they gained access to critical support and resources. In his own words, being an incubation beneficiary has been a complete 'game changer'. Munchene also highlights that not only does Innovator Trust provide them with guidance, but they also confirm when they are doing things right.

"Sometimes, as entrepreneurs, we just need the affirmation that we are headed in the right direction. While we had the technical skills and knowledge, we were equipped with crucial marketing, branding, and financial skills. We've recently rebranded with Innovator Trusts assistance, and they're driving our social media. Furthermore, Innovator Trust provides technical support, backup power solutions to keep us powered during load shedding, personality assessments, and invaluable mentorship. This provided valuable accountability and helped drive purposeful growth. As a result, we're playing in a different space and elevated as a business," acknowledges Munchene.

Visit the iCurity company website for more information on the products and services available: www.icurity.co.za.




Standard Chartered plans to provide the Angolan Ministry of Finance 1.29bn in financing to construct solar photovoltaic electricity distribution infrastructure.

The electrification project, being developed by the Angolan Ministry of Energy and Water, will benefit approximately 203,000 households in 60 communities, according to MCA Group, the contractor managing the construction and project management. The provinces to be impacted include Moxico in the East, Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul in the North East, Bie in the central part of the country, and Malanje in the North West.

The loan will fund 48 hybrid photovoltaic generation systems with energy storage that act as mini grids and operate autonomously and aim to provide access to 100% renewable electricity for communities not connected to the national electricity grid.

Additionally, the financing will support the expansion of the national grid in Malanje and build new lines and networks connecting other municipalities. The installation of the new electricity network will help diversify the countrys energy mix and, according to MCA, can save up to 7.9 megatonnes of CO2 emissions.

The financing is backed by German export credit agency Euler Hermes. Of the 1.29bn total, 1.2bn is supported through Euler Hermes and the remaining 0.09bn is a commercial loan.


By Robert D. Atkinson



Even if Korea implements additional advanced technology policies, it will be increasingly difficult for Korean firms in advanced industries, like electronics, semiconductors, machinery, and autos, to compete against Chinese firms that are backed to the hilt by the Chinese government. China's innovation mercantilism playbook is to steal or coerce the transfer of technologies its firms and industries need to succeed, then back an array of national champions with massive subsidies while squeezing foreign competitors out of the Chinese market. From that assured "aircraft carrier" base of growth, Chinese firms then launch attacks on the global market share.



This strategy is particularly dangerous in innovation-based industries like semiconductors and electronics because they have relatively high fixed costs and low marginal costs, so added sales are key to earning enough to invest in the next round of innovation. Once that scale is eroded, there is often a tipping point at which a challenger gains a decisive advantage and effectively crushes its competitors. China has done this successfully in a host of industries, including what was once a Korean strength, the LCD TV industry. Once China gained market share there, it eroded the earnings and R&D of the leaders while boosting its own, all the while moving up to the next most complex technology, in this case, OLED displays.



Take the case of Chinese display leader BOE. Almost bankrupt, it was rescued by the Chinese government and now leads in the LCD market and is number two globally in OLED displays, making serious inroads into Samsung and LG's OLED sales. These display companies also depend on stolen intellectual property. Recently, three Samsung employees were charged with illegally passing trade secrets to Chinese display firms. Chinese innovation mercantilism also threatens many other advanced industries, including semiconductors and autos.



So, what can Korea do? Without limiting these predatory state-based attacks, even the best Korean domestic competitiveness policies will not suffice. Korean policy could focus on developing the next "new thing," such as Internet of Things, biotech, quantum computing, AI and others. But it's not clear that Korea will succeed in all these new technologies, given how much money China is investing and how much IP it is stealing. Moreover, focusing on the next new technologies without maintaining strength in existing ones will not be enough. If China captures all legacy chip production, electric vehicles, electronics, robotics, machine tools, chemicals, and biopharma production, and Korea has only new cutting-edge products, then Korea's overall advanced-industry capabilities will be significantly degraded.



So, what should Korea do? Until recently, America's tried to "slow down China" by pressuring the Chinese government to roll back its predatory policies. But while such a strategy might have worked 15 years ago, China is now too powerful, as evidenced by the limited results the Trump administration's efforts produced.



Meanwhile, a multilateral approach is no longer possible either, not only because the World Trade Organization is impotent, but also because many U.S. allies, particularly in Europe, see China as an economic opportunity too important to rebuff, and fear that Beijing will retaliate economically if they do.



So, since Korea won't be able to do enough to help its own companies withstand the impact of China's "attacks" and allies can't get China to abandon its predatory techno-economic policies, what is the solution? Korea and its democratic allies need to now focus on limiting China's ability to profit from industrial predation  the techno-economic equivalent of a missile defense system.



In other words, Korea and its core allies should prohibit the import of advanced industry products if there is reasonable proof that the Chinese firm selling them has systematically benefited from unfair trade practices, such as a closed Chinese market to competitors, massive subsidies, and intellectual property theft. In the United States, Section 337 of the U.S. International Trade Commission's statute allows the government to exclude goods and services from companies that benefit systemically from their governments' unfair trade practices the way Chinese firms do. Korea needs to adopt a similar measure.



However, to be effective, this regime needs close alignment between allied nations, for two reasons. First, the more countries limit unfair Chinese imports the less revenue the Chinese firms will have to ramp up their R&D and production, and the more revenue allied firms will have to do the same.



Second, not every country will have the same import concerns. Take the advanced display industry. Given that it appears that Chinese display companies like BOE have unfairly benefited, allied nations should ban the imports of their displays for a 10-year period. But as there is almost no advanced, consumer market display in the United States there will be little pressure on the U.S. government to limit Chinese display imports. However, if Korea and the United States worked together, then they could both ban imports that help each country. The United States (along with Korea) could ban imports of Chinese displays, while both could ban imports of a product like medical drugs where the United States is vulnerable to Chinese predatory practices.



The reality is that unless allied nations, including Korea, take effective action to "throw sand in the gears" of China's innovation and production system, even the most effective domestic policy actions will not be enough. Time is on China's side because it is making faster progress and because of the nature of innovation industries, where increased competitive advantage can lead to decisive tipping points. Adding a regime to limit imports of Chinese goods produced unfairly will be critical to keeping key allied industries from tipping into decline or extinction.





Robert D. Atkinson (@RobAtkinsonITIF) is the president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), an independent, nonpartisan research and educational institute focusing on the intersection of technological innovation and public policy. The views expressed in the above article are those of the author and do not reflect the editorial direction of The Korea Times.




Theophraste Renaudot depicted in 1644

The Bureau dadresse conferences are unique because of their public nature and format. Topics were chosen by the assembly itself from week to week, and several different speakers took the floor to express a variety of points of view, said Dauge-Roth. Since the assembly itself chose the topics to be addressed at its meetings, she explained, the subjects discussed at the Bureaus conferences may be seen as good indicators of what questions were being debated at the time. They represented hot topics or curiosities that were interesting or controversial enough to allow orators to display their knowledge and intellectual virtuosity. It is precisely for this reason, she continued, that this conference is so useful as a snapshot of race-thinking in seventeenth-century France.

The concept of race, especially the idea of it being linked to physical differences like skin color, has generally been regarded as being an invention of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, said Dauge-Roth. However, as this project shows, it was already the subject of keen intellectual debate a century earlier. The recorded conference minutes provide fascinatingif deeply troublinginsight into the ideas circulating in Europe about the origins of human difference, and of Blackness in particular, in this earlier understudied period.

During my 20192020 leave in Paris, I was paging conference minutes for another project, when I came across this one by chance. It was one of those serendipitous finds that only happens in libraries and archives.

While acknowledging that discrimination based on difference has long been a trait of humanity, Dauge-Roth explained that scientific and popular curiosity around the origins of skin color and other distinguishing physical traits took on new urgency in the European seventeenth century. The political and economic importance of affirming Afro-descendant persons difference from Europeans became paramount as the major European colonial powers engaged in the capture, enslavement, and deportation of sub-Saharan Africans to power their burgeoning plantations in the Atlantic and North America. Affirming their captives distinct and inferior nature was key to justifying the horrors of chattel slavery, she stressed. This is what makes the ideas expressed at the 1640 Renaudot conference, which took place just as France was entering the slave trade in earnest, so important to study. By displaying the wildly inventive ways the French characterized Afro-descendant persons, this conference also reinforces the fictional and political nature of race itself.

As well as the articletitled Defining Blackness: Difference, Skin Color, and Enslavement in Early Seventeenth-Century France for submission to a leading journal of early modern studies Dauge-Roth also plans a fully annotated scholarly edition and English translation of the original printed minutes of the conference. The project is due to be finished at the conclusion of her NEH grant period in August.


By Lee Jong-eun



This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement and the subsequent signing of the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty. For the past seventy years, the ROK-U.S. alliance has been a critical framework for South Korea's security. But why did South Korea actively pursue a bilateral security pact rather than a multilateral alliance similar to NATO? To answer this question, it is helpful to briefly review South Korea's geopolitical calculations during the Korean War.



The U.S. intervened in the Korean War, and led the multilateral U.N. Command. The post-armistice security reassurance U.S. policymakers offered initially to South Korea was also multilateral. The U.S. proposal was for the U.N. Command member states to collectively sign the Greater Sanction Statement, committing to re-intervention should the communist powers violate the armistice. However, then-South Korean President Syngman Rhee rejected the Greater Sanction Statement as an insufficient security reassurance. Distrustful of the multilateral security commitment from countries with little security interests in the Korean Peninsula, Rhee advocated a bilateral defense pact with the U.S. instead. To mitigate South Korea's opposition to the armistice, the Eisenhower administration eventually conceded to ratifying the mutual defense treaty.



Henceforth, South Korea has relied upon this "hub & spoke" security framework, relying almost exclusively on the superpower's security guarantee with limited security cooperation with other member states of the U.S.-led alliance. In general, South Korean policymakers did not perceive the necessity for multilateral security cooperation when they were reassured of security protection by the bilateral defense pact. Pursuing a trilateral alliance with neighboring Japan, in particular, risked political controversies over the unresolved historical legacy between the two U.S. allied states. Even if South Korea aspired to pursue a multilateral security framework, its capacity to contribute to such a framework was limited in the past.



Recently, however, South Korea's security strategy has been changing. The trilateral security consultation between the U.S. Japan and South Korea have increased under the current Yoon Suk Yeol government. Aside from meetings during multilateral summits, the three heads of state met separately last year in Phnom Penh and have announced another trilateral summit this summer in Washington to discuss multiple areas of security cooperation. The South Korean government has also expanded security cooperation with NATO as one of NATO's official Asia-Pacific Partner (AP4) states. At the 2023 NATO summit, President Yoon signed Individually Tailored Partnership Programs (ITPPs) for cooperation in areas such as cybersecurity and counterterrorism. The Yoon Government has also indicated that South Korea might participate in NATO's Battlefield Information Collection and Exploitation System (BICES) to increase military information sharing.



Why are such policy changes arising? There are criticisms that South Korea is needlessly risking security entanglement overseas and political controversies at home when South Korea already has security reassurance from the U.S.-ROK alliance. However, complementing the bilateral alliance through multilateral security cooperation with other U.S. allies is a strategy South Korea should consider to bolster its current security framework.



Despite seventy years of remarkable duration, the ROK-U.S. alliance has encountered tensions at multiple intervals, often over the credibility of the U.S. security commitment. Will the U.S. defend South Korea at the risk of security costs? Could the U.S. entrap South Korea in a costly geopolitical conflict? Such tensions have commonly evoked two policy responses in South Korean politics: to pursue "security independence" or to establish even closer alignment and trust with the U.S. Both approaches have merits, but there is a third approach that has been less discussed in South Korean politics. Why not collaborate with other U.S. allies who encounter similar dilemmas of balancing the risks of "abandonment and entrapment" in their alliance with the superpower?



South Korea's security dilemma, "Will Washington risk Seattle to defend Seoul?" is similar to Japan's dilemma, "Will Washington risk Tacoma to defend Tokyo?" South Korea's apprehension toward U.S-China geopolitical rivalry and the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine War are security concerns also shared by European states. Subsequently, South Korea's pursuit of partnership with other U.S. allies to enhance "collective bargaining" with the "hub" could help mitigate the security risks challenging the ROK-U.S. bilateral alliance.



What deters the U.S. from abandoning South Korea? The biggest deterrence is the mutual defense treaty. However, deterrence will be strengthened further if other U.S. allies advocate for South Korea's security. At NATO Summit, President Yoon declared, "Security in the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean can never be separated," in an appeal for NATO's support for security deterrence against North Korea's provocations. In the past, South Korea had little strategic value to Europe. Today, by expanding arms export to Europe and committing to Ukraine's post-war reconstruction, the South Korean government has been demonstrating its strategic value to NATO member states.



Concerning Korea-Japan relations, I recall an observation made by one U.S. policy expert. "If Korea proposes a policy, the U.S. might listen. If Japan proposes a policy, the U.S. might listen. But when Korea and Japan propose a policy together, the U.S. will definitely listen." Even if the trilateral alliance is still premature, South Korea's security interest lies in ensuring that the ROK-U.S. and Japan-U.S. alliances do not undercut each other's effectiveness but rather perform complementary roles to ensure the "entire wheel" of the U.S. regional alliance rolls smoothly.



Seventy years ago, the ROK-U.S. alliance was likely the only realistic guarantee for South Korea's security. Today, the bilateral alliance is still the best security guarantee for South Korea. While celebrating the 70th anniversary of the alliance, South Korea should reinforce the "hub & spoke" security pact through collaboration with other "spokes" in the U.S. alliance. In the past, such a proposal might have been unrealistic for war-torn South Korea. Today's South Korea, however, has a greater capacity to combine the bilateral and multilateral components of its security framework to ensure that the ROK-U.S. alliance continues to "go together" favorably toward South Korea's security interest.





Lee Jong-eun (jl4375a@student.american.edu), a Ph.D. candidate, is an adjunct faculty member at the American University School of International Service. His research specialties include U.S. foreign policy, South Korean politics and foreign policy, alliance management and East Asian regional security.








Trincomalee: Indian Naval Ship Khanjar, mission deployed in the Southern IOR, arrives at Trincomalee, Sri Lanka for an operational turnaround. The ship was accorded a customary welcome by the Sri Lanka Navy. Photo: PTI/NAVY PRO

COLOMBO (PTI): Indian naval ship 'Khanjar', an indigenously-built Missile Corvette of the Khukri class, arrived in Sri Lanka's eastern port of Trincomalee on Saturday for a three-day visit to enhance the close ties and interoperability between the two navies.



The visit is significant in view of the potential for cooperation between India and Sri Lanka for augmenting the capabilities of the Sri Lanka Navy for efficiently addressing shared challenges for maritime security in the region, the Indian High Commission in Colombo said in a statement last Friday.



The Indian Naval Ship Khanjar' has arrived in the eastern port of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka Navy said.



The ship was accorded a customary welcome by the Sri Lanka Navy on its arrival, India's Ministry of Defence said in a statement.



During the ship's visit, the two navies will engage in various activities including planning discussions, professional exchanges on topics of mutual interest, sports fixtures and visits onboard Khanjar by trainees from the Naval and Maritime Academy, Sri Lanka.



The port call is aimed at further enhancing the close ties and interoperability between the Indian Navy and Sri Lanka Navy, it said.

INS Khanjar is the fourth ship of the indigenously designed and built Khukri class missile corvettes. Built by GRSE, Kolkata, the ship is armed with an array of modern weapons and sensors.



The ship's Commanding Officer NVS Phani Kumar will call on the Commander of Eastern Naval Area, while various professional interactions will take place on VBSS, gunnery and missile operations.



"In order to further people-to-people connect and familiarise the people with the Indian Navy and its capabilities, the ship will be open for a visit by school children," the statement by the Indian High Commission said.



The public can visit the ship on July 30 at the Trincomalee Port.



The ship will also carry out a Yoga Session, Beach Cleaning and Special School in Trincomalee, the statement said.



On July 31, post departure, a Maritime Partnership Exercise with Sri Lanka Navy Ship off Trincomalee is also planned, it said.

In June, Indian Naval Submarine Vagir visited Colombo to celebrate the International Day of Yoga.



Last week, during Ranil Wickremesinghe's visit to India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Sri Lankan President agreed upon 'Promoting Connectivity, Catalysing Prosperity: India-Sri Lanka Economic Partnership Vision'.



The leaders acknowledged that the India-Sri Lanka partnership has been a source of strength in overcoming economic difficulties faced by Sri Lanka and Wickremesinghe especially appreciated India's timely, unprecedented, and crucial support to the Government and the people of Sri Lanka, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on July 21.



The two leaders agreed on establishing land connectivity between Sri Lanka and India for developing land access to the ports of Trincomalee and Colombo.



To promote maritime connectivity, they agreed to cooperate in the development of ports and logistics infrastructure at Colombo, Trincomalee and Kankesanthurai to consolidate regional logistics and shipping, as per mutual understanding.



Visits by Indian Navy vessels to Sri Lanka further strengthen the camaraderie and interoperability between the Navies of the two neighbours, in keeping with India's SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine and the Neighbourhood First' policy.


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Restore teachers' dignity by reforming public education



"Don't even step on the shadow of your teacher." That's what Koreans who attended high school in the 1970s were taught.



Every morning, parents told children on their way to school, "Listen to your teacher and study hard." They even quoted a Joseon Dynasty dictum, "The grace of kings, teachers and fathers are all the same."



Half a century later, everything is upside down. Last Saturday, more than 30,000 teachers rallied in central Seoul for hours amid the scorching heat (33 degrees Celsius). Their pickets called for restoring teachers' workplace conditions and reforming public education.



The participants, including thousands who came from the provinces by bus, wore black attire to express condolences for a colleague who took her life in an elementary school two weeks ago due to stress caused by malicious parental complaints. Late last month, a sixth grader assaulted his female teacher in the classroom, causing injuries that lasted for three weeks.



It seemed as if the teachers mourned the death of Korean public education.



According to a survey, 99.2 percent of elementary school teachers said they had been bullied. Data also showed 1,249 assaults and injuries to teachers by students or parents between 2017 and last year. Teachers say these are only the reported encroachments on their dignity. Their job satisfaction rate plunged from 67.8 percent in 2006 to 23.6 percent this year. Some 87 percent of teachers have considered quitting at least once.



However, the government is wrong in its diagnosis and prescription  yet again.



A week ago, President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed education officials to enact or amend various decrees and ordinances to enhance educational authority. Seeing the chief executive act quickly on a critical issue was good. But Yoon also called for revising "unreasonable self-autonomous ordinances." He referred to the ordinances of student rights implemented by seven municipal and provincial education offices.



The education ministry went further. "The student rights code provides a blanket basis for filing malicious complaints," the ministry said. "It was introduced for ideological reasons in the first place."



However, they must not regard teachers' and students' rights as a zero-sum game. Both are essential to restore genuine education. Middle-aged and older Koreans remember how some teachers abused them, verbally and physically, in and out of the classroom until the 1990s. Korean movies set in schools were often about resentment and revenge.



Teachers have been accused and investigated for child abuse in 1,252 cases in the last five years. Of those, 676, or 53.9 percent, have been closed or dismissed by the police. It is easy to demonize some problematic students and "monster parents," as the Japanese call them.



However, accusing specific groups cannot solve the problem, because all students, teachers and parents are victims of the abnormal education system here. Instead of looking and implementing a quick and easy fix, the government must try to change the overall educational environment or social climate.



The president should stop blurting out off-the-cuff remarks in unfamiliar areas like education policy, which require a long time to shape. A few months ago, Yoon threw the education community into chaos by ordering the elimination of "killer questions" in the college entrance exam. Education Minister Lee Joo-ho praised his boss as being a better education expert than him. This time, too, Lee is about to weaken the student rights ordinance.



Rather than restricting students' rights, the government must enhance educational authority. For instance, it can enact a teachers' protection act like the U.S., allow some means of discipline without corporal punishment like the U.K., and provide immunity for educationally justifiable acts.



Yoon and his aides should suppress temptations to politicize education policy by ideologically dividing voters. Instead, they must create a society where diplomas from top universities are not necessary to lead a decent life. Reforming public education is the first step toward educational and social reform.



Parents also should stop acting like consumers in an education market and teach their children at home with affection and discipline.








The High Court has appointed an examiner to Barryroe Offshore Energy (BOE) after hearing a vehicle of beef tycoon Larry Goodman could inject significant capital for a pivot away from fossil fuel exploration towards green energy.

There was no opposition to the examinership petition presented to the court on Monday by Mr Goodmans Vevan Unlimited, which holds a 20 per cent stake in the oil and gas exploration firm.

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BOE had been facing potential liquidation, but a shareholder vote scheduled for July 24th was called off after Mr Goodman initiated a bid for the court to protect BOE from its creditors.

Permit denied

The court heard the companys operations are negligible to non-existent and have been scuppered by Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan refusal to grant a permit for its key Barryroe oil project 50km off the Cork coast.

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Moving the petition on behalf of Vevan on Monday, Lyndon MacCann SC said his client is confident the company would succeed in quashing the Ministers May refusal in a judicial review challenge. However, going beyond quashing, to the point of compelling the Minister to accede to the licence application, is less certain, he acknowledged.

BOE is technically insolvent, but its activities are capable of being resuscitated with appropriate funding.

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His client sees potential in the green energy sector and is part of a group of companies with a fairly deep pocket to potentially fund BOEs future activities. He acknowledged the examiner is entitled to look elsewhere for funding, but said the petitioner has resources and is prepared to commit its resources.

Vevan believes BOE managements skill set in exploring natural resources for energy use can be applied to the green energy sector, he added.

Restructuring

Mr MacCann, appearing with Declan Murphy BL, pointed to a report prepared by independent expert Damien Murran, head of Teneo Irelands corporate restructuring practice, which says BOE has a reasonable prospect of survival if a scheme of arrangement can be put in place.

Barrister Alison Keirse, for BOE, said her client was neutral on the application, while Arthur Cunningham BL, for the Revenue Commissioners, owed some 20,000, was neutral so long as certain terms concerning tax filings were attached to the orders.

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Mr Justice Michael Quinn noted the application was relatively unusual in originating from a shareholder rather than the company itself.

BOEs directors had resolved to place it into liquidation, but there is no evidence that it is being pursued immediately by creditors, the judge said.

He was satisfied the statutory conditions were met to enable him to appoint Kieran Wallace, managing director of Interpath Advisory in Ireland, as examiner.

Barryroe, BOE's final exploration hope, was found more than a decade ago to have more than 300 million barrels of oil as well as gas resources.
A health tech start-up that failed to secure funding must pay a software engineer over 50K for the non-payment of his wages and notice pay, the Workplace Relations Commission has ruled.

The complainant, Per Johansson, was employed as a software engineering manager at CSIS Health Ltd from May 4th, 2022, to December 16th, 2022, when his employment ceased due to non-payment of wages.

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The complainant submitted he was due three months' notice pay, accrued holidays and the balance of unpaid wages from dates in September to December 2022.

Funding efforts

The company told the WRC that while they agreed that Mr Johansson was owed the money, they had no funds to make the payments and said there was little chance of securing such funds in the short term.

CSIS Health Ltd advised the commission that they were a start-up company and had gone through various ways of trying to get grants or shareholder funding for the business. However, despite repeated attempts, they were declined.

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In his published decision, adjudicating officer Peter O'Brien said the company had submitted that they had engaged consultants in the UK to assist with their funding efforts and despite their best efforts were unsuccessful in their application.

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"This was a major surprise to the respondent as they were confident of funding and of being accepted for an EIC [European Innovation Council] tech grant. They had also engaged with potential investors in the US and were promised investment but, due to Covid, the investors and business opportunity was affected.

"The respondent [CSIS] confirmed the payments sought were due and uncontested," said Mr O'Brien in his decision, citing breaches of Section 5 (6) Payments of Wages Act 1991.

Lack of funding

Mr O'Brien noted that while the company accepted the payments sought were due to the complainant, CSIS said that "due to the lack of funding for the venture, the company had no funds to pay the amounts due and there was little likelihood in the near future that the funds would exist to make the payments".

"I find in favour of the complainant in that the wages sought were properly payable to him and were not paid," Mr O'Brien wrote in his published decision.

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Mr O'Brien said that Mr Johansson was to be awarded 3,489 for his September 2022 wages, 8,333.33 each for October and November 2022 and 4,545 for December 2022.

In addition, Mr Johansson was awarded 25,000 gross for the non-payment of his notice and 1,008.06 gross for his holiday entitlement. In total, Mr Johansson was awarded 50,708.72.

"The complainant's contract of employment contained a three-month notice period in the event of the employer giving notice of termination of the contract," explained Mr O'Brien, who added that the contract was "silent on what notice the employee had to give on termination".

"The complainant's contract was terminated without notice and I deem he was entitled to same [25,000 gross] and to be paid for the three months," said the adjudication officer.
A High Court judge has described claims that a family of six have been living in a one-berth caravan and sleeping in a car for several months as "wretched" and a "very unsettling situation."

The comments were made on Monday by Ms Justice Marguerite Bolger after she granted lawyers acting for John and Nikita McInerney, and their four young children permission to bring a High Court challenge against Tipperary Co Council's handling of the family's accommodation situation.

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The family, who are members of the Irish Traveller Community, had been living in places the side of the road in Toomevara, Co Tipperary for a period, but the court was told that after being moved on they have located at the Springfort Retail Park, in Nenagh. They had been told by An Garda Siochana to vacate that location as well, the judge also heard.

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The family fear that they may be prosecuted by the Gardai, and the vehicles they have been using seized.

Between April and mid-July they mainly had been sleeping in a car, the court heard.

They had spent some of that time in emergency accommodation, before obtaining a one berth caravan in mid-July.

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In their High Court action, the McInerney's have claimed that since May they have been precluded by the council from getting hotel accommodation as they say they are only provided with funds that only partially covers the cost of B&B accommodation.

Colm O'Dwyer SC, with Sean Betty Bl instructed by solicitors for the Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC) for the family said that the situation was pretty bad for his clients, and it was their case that council's policy towards the McInernery's was rigid, inflexible and not meeting his clients' basic needs.

Counsel said that the caravan was totally unsuitable, and the Gardai had also told the family that it cannot remain in the retail park.

They that the council have offered his clients 100 per night towards B&B accommodation, which is insufficient.

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The cost of B&Bs they claim is more than what they have been given by the Council, and in order to get that accommodation they have to make up the shortfall themselves.

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The court heard that Mr and Mrs McInerney are on social welfare.

Counsel said that for a variety of reasons the family find it difficult to get emergency B&B accommodation in the area they live, for reasons including that the family size is too large, and that many of the places they contact are full of tourists.

Having no fixed address has also caused the family difficulties, he added.

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A further concern is that some of their children are due to return to school in September.

Counsel said that the council's decision amounts to breach of the McInerney's constitutional and ECHR rights, and the local authority's obligations under the 2014 Irish Human Rights and Equality Act.

In their judicial review action against the family it seeks various orders and declarations from the court including orders directing the Council to reconsider their accommodation needs.

They also seek orders quashing the council's decision to place them on a waiting list for emergency accommodation and that they only be provided with partial funding for B&B accommodation.

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Ms Justice Bolger said that she was prepared to grant the family permission, on an ex-parte basis, to bring the challenge.

The judge said that she noted the council's response to the family's situation, which she added was "unsatisfactory from all relevant parties' point of view. "

The judge said the matter was urgent, and she wanted to have both side's arguments put before the court as soon as possible.

He also encouraged all the sides to work together to try and resolve the situation. The judge, after making directions regarding the exchange of legal documents in the case, adjourned the case to a date in September.
A plaque has been unveiled in Dublin in honour of socialist and trade unionist James Connolly, who was executed in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising.

The plaque was unveiled on Monday at 70 South Lotts Road in Ringsend, Connollys home from December 1910 to May 1911, by the Lord Mayor of Dublin Daithi de Roiste.

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The house is one of two in the capital city in which Connolly lived.

At the unveiling, Mr de Roiste said the plaque would serve as a reminder to people that Connolly gave his life to improve the lives of Irish citizens.

Pictured from left are Lord Mayor of Dublin Daithi de Roiste and James Connolly Heron at the unveiling of a Dublin City Council plaque honouring James Connolly. Photo: Fennell Photography.

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Connollys great-grandson James Connolly Heron was present for the unveiling.

Born in Edinburgh in 1868 to Irish parents, Connolly became a key figure in the Irish trade union movement and socialist politics.

Connolly also moved to Belfast to become an organiser for the Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU), a precursor to the trade union Siptu, and witnessed sectarianism in Belfast and the North East.

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In 1912, along with Jim Larkin and others on the Dublin Trades Council, Connolly was instrumental in getting the Irish Trades Union Congress to establish a political wing, which became the Labour Party.

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Against the background of the First World War, Connolly became increasingly militant and as leader of the Irish Citizens Army, agreed to act together with the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), who were planning an insurrection.

During the 1916 Rising, Connolly was in charge of the Dublin Brigade and fought in the GPO alongside Irish activist and poet Padraig Pearse, who read out the Proclamation and announced their surrender after six days.

When Connolly was executed at Kilmainham on May 12th, aged 47, he was unable to stand due to being badly injured and was fired at while seated.

His execution, along with those of other Rising leaders, provoked sharp anger among the Irish public.

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Mr de Roiste said: When we think of the great figures of our history, like James Connolly, we often forget that they lived their lives on the same streets that we do, making their way through our city day in and day out.

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This plaque will remind those who see it that he gave his life to improve the lives of his fellow citizens.

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The plaque was proposed by historian Dr Conor McCabe, of Queens University Belfast, who said Connolly was living here around the time that his most famous work, Labour In Irish History, was first published in book form.

This plaque is a tangible link to both his life and his writings.

Joe Cunningham, general secretary of Siptu, said at the unveiling: Connollys commitment to socialism and broad experience as a trade union organiser in Britain and the United States ensured that the interests of working people were incorporated in the 1916 Proclamation.

That, in his own words, at the raising of the Irish flag over Liberty Hall in April 1916, The cause of labour is the cause of Ireland, the cause of Ireland is the cause of labour.

The decision to erect the plaque was made by the Dublin City Council Commemorations & Naming Committee.

Its chairman Councillor Micheal Mac Donncha said: The Commemorative Plaques Scheme allows the city to formally commemorate people who have made a significant contribution to the life of Dublin.

We welcome suggestions from the public for people and events to be commemorated, and full details are on the council website.
The Spanish Embassy is advising visitors to Dublin to take "special precautions" in parts of the city.

A note on its website says street fights are "frequent" in Temple Bar, Portobello and areas of the North Inner City.

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It warns tourists these are "medium risk areas," however overall it labels Ireland as a "safe country."

On the Spanish embassy's website, it says "Special precautions must be taken in the busiest commercial areas of the main cities and, in particular, in Dublin, due to the presence of pickpockets. Street fights at night are frequent in the Temple Bar and Portobello areas, and in the O'Connel Street area, Parnell Square and the vicinity of Connolly Station, all in Dublin.

"Dublin is sporadically the scene of bloody clashes between the families that control organised crime in Ireland."

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This comes after multiple violent incidents in the city centre this summer. The US Embassy had also issued a warning for visitors in Dublin after US tourist, Stephen Termini was seriously injured in an attack in Talbot Street in the city centre on July 19th.

The incident has prompted a wider debate on whether Dublins streets are safe.
The onus is on the UK Government to create the conditions to allow for the restoration of power-sharing government in Northern Ireland, the DUP deputy leader has said.

Gavin Robinson also pressed British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to deliver on commitments made during a visit by the premier to Northern Ireland.

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The region has been without functioning government for more than a year amid unionist concerns around post-Brexit trading arrangements.

The Windsor Framework struck by London and Brussels earlier this year sought to reduce the red tape on goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK while maintaining the dual market access.

However, the DUP has insisted the new accord does not go far enough to address its concerns around sovereignty and the application of EU law in Northern Ireland, and the party is maintaining its blockade of Stormont until it receives further assurances from the UK Government.

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DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson and MLA Emma Little-Pengelly speaking to the media at Stormont Castle (Jonathan McCambridge/PA)

Last week, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said he expected to receive a definitive response from the UK Government over issues of concern he has raised about the Windsor Framework in the near future.

He said this would determine whether his party could support a return of the powersharing institutions at Stormont.

Speaking to DUP members and supporters in South Belfast this week, Mr Robinson emphasised the ball rests at the foot of the UK Government in terms of the restoration of Stormont.

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The Prime Minister visited Northern Ireland and made commitments which have never been made a reality. Its time for delivery, he said.

The ball rests at the Governments foot. A growing pile of broken promises by successive prime ministers is part of the problem as trust has been eroded.

This is also about respect and fairness. Unionists are being asked to accept infrastructure between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom which nationalists would never have tolerated North-South.

Indeed, we had too much respect for our nationalist neighbours to even ask them to accept such arrangements. Its notable that the Sinn Fein leadership had no such respect for unionists.

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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during a visit to Northern Ireland in February (Liam McBurney/PA)

Mr Robinson added: We need stable and sustainable devolved government. Northern Ireland is a divided society.

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We must get the foundations right. Progress is only made in Northern Ireland based on consensus. Unionists and nationalists agreeing a way forward.

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Meanwhile, Sinn Fein MLA Linda Dillon called for all the Northern Ireland parties to get back around the Stormont Executive table to tackle issues facing the health service.

She was speaking after it emerged that almost of 20 per cent of GP training places in Northern Ireland are not being filled.

At a time when GP services are badly needed with surgeries under significant pressure due to staff shortages, it is very concerning to learn that almost a fifth of GP training places have yet to be filled, she said.

Linda Dillon said the Tories have decimated health services (Liam McBurney/PA)

While the numbers and needs of patients are growing we are losing GPs through retirement, stress and changing work patterns.

Over 13 years of savage and cruel Tory cuts have decimated public services and has left health services at breaking point.

We need all parties working together around the Executive table to start fixing the problems in our health service as it continues to deal with unprecedented challenges.
At least six people have died and 75 others were injured after Russian missiles struck the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, the home town of President Volodymyr Zelensky, officials said.

One of the two missiles destroyed a section of the apartment building between the fourth and ninth floors, with residents trapped underneath the rubble, according to Ukrainian interior minister Ihor Klymenko.

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Video showed black smoke billowing from corner units and burned out or damaged cars on a tree-lined street.

The dead included a 10-year-old girl and her mother, according to Mr Zelensky.



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More than 350 people were involved in the rescue operation, the President said in a Telegram post.

The strike on Mr Zelenskys hometown, which has been hit in the past, happened a day after the Ukrainian leader warned that the fighting was drawing closer to Russian land.

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Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia  to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process, Mr Zelensky said on Sunday in his nightly video address.

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It was not clear whether the missile strikes were in retaliation for his comments.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian artillery strike on partially occupied Donetsk province killed two people and wounded six in the regional capital, according to Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the illegally annexed province.

A bus was also hit as Ukrainian forces shelled the city of Donetsk multiple times on Monday, Mr Pushilin said.

In Kryvyi Rih, video showed rescue crews working through the wreckage from the part of the university building that was demolished.

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Black smoke billowed from corner apartments in the apartment building. Outside, debris was strewn across the tree-lined street. Parked cars were burned out or damaged.



Hundreds of emergency services personnel are working at the site (AP)

Kryvyi Rih has seldom been targeted by the Kremlins forces since the war began in February 2022.

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But bombardment with missiles, artillery and drones has been a hallmark of Moscows tactics since the full-scale invasion, with some aerial attacks hitting civilian areas. Russian officials insist they only take aim at legitimate military targets.

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That approach has continued during Kyivs recently launched counteroffensive that is trying to drive Russian forces out of occupied areas.

Ukraines president said that in recent days, the enemy has been stubbornly attacking cities, city centres, shelling civilian objects and housing.

But this terror will not frighten us or break us, Mr Zelensky said in a social media statement.



An apartment building was struck by a missile in Mr Zelenskys home town (AP)

Ukraine, meanwhile, has sought to take the war deep into Russia, reportedly using drones to hit targets as far away as Moscow.

The latest strike, on Sunday, damaged two office buildings a few miles from the Kremlin.

Russia has tightened security in the aftermath of the attacks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, describing the latest assault as an act of desperation.

The Kyiv regime is in a very, very difficult situation, Mr Peskov said, as the counteroffensive is not working out as planned.

Its obvious that the multibillion-dollar resources that have been transferred by Nato countries to the Kyiv regime are actually being spent inefficiently, he said.

This raises big questions in Western capitals and great discomfort among taxpayers in Western countries.

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Rescue operation continues in Kryvyi Rih on the site of Russian missiles' hits. Preliminary, two ballistic missiles. Floors four through nine of the residential building have been completely destroyed. The work is difficult  parts of the building's structure were falling down. pic.twitter.com/Xa7AzkFoH4    (@ZelenskyyUa) July 31, 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin, analysts say, is wagering that Western support for Kyiv will wane as the war drags on and its cost mounts.

In the southern city of Odesa, Russian strikes in recent weeks targeted port infrastructure and grain silos, after Moscow broke off an export agreement for Ukrainian grain.

Russian shelling on Monday also killed four civilians and wounded 17 in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.

A 70-year-old woman was killed by shelling in her home in a Kharkiv province village near Izyum, authorities said.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry estimated on Monday that about 180,000 metric tonnes of grain have been destroyed by Russia in the past nine days.
Joe Biden has decided to keep US Space Command headquarters in Colorado, overturning a decision by the Trump administration to move it to Alabama and ending months of politically fuelled debate, according to senior officials.

The officials said US President Mr Biden was convinced by the head of Space Command, Gen James Dickinson, who argued that moving his headquarters now would jeopardise military readiness.

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Gen Dickinsons view, however, was in contrast to Air Force leadership, who studied the issue at length and determined that relocating to Huntsville, Alabama, was the right move.

Mr Biden they said, believes that keeping the command in Colorado Springs would avoid a disruption in readiness that the move would cause, particularly as the US races to compete with China in space.



Gen James Dickinson, left, argued that moving his headquarters now would jeopardise military readiness (Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP)

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And they said Mr Biden firmly believes that maintaining stability will help the military be better able to respond in space over the next decade.

Those factors, they said, outweighed what the President believed would be any minor benefits of moving to Alabama.

Mr Bidens decision is sure to enrage Alabama legislators and fuel accusations that abortion politics played a role in the choice.

The location debate has become entangled in the ongoing battle between Alabama Republican senator Tommy Tuberville and the US Defence Department over the move to provide travel for troops seeking reproductive health care.

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Mr Tuberville opposed the policy is blocking hundreds of military promotions in protest.

The US officials said the abortion issue had no effect at all on Bidens decision. And they said the president fully expected there would be different views on the matter within the Defence Department.

Formally created in August 2019, the command was temporarily based in Colorado, and Air Force and Space Force leaders initially recommended it stay there. In the final days of his presidency, Donald Trump decided it should be based in Huntsville.

The change triggered a number of reviews.

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Former president Donald Trump announced the establishment of the US Space Command (AP)

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Proponents of keeping the command in Colorado have argued that moving it to Huntsville and creating a new headquarters would set back its progress at a time it needs to move quickly to be positioned to match Chinas military space rise.

And Colorado Springs is also home to the Air Force Academy, which now graduates Space Force guardians, and more than 24 military space missions, including three Space Force bases.

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Officials also argued that any new headquarters in Alabama would not be completed until some time after 2030, forcing a lengthy transition.

Huntsville, however, scored higher than Colorado Springs in a Government Accountability Office assessment of potential locations and has long been a home to some of earliest missiles used in the nations space programs, including the Saturn V rocket.

It is home to the Armys Space and Missile Defence Command.

According to officials, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who ordered his own review of the matter, leaned toward Huntsville, while Gen Dickinson was staunchly in favour of staying put. The officials said Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin presented both options to Mr Biden.

The decision was good news for Colorado legislators.

For two and a half years weve known any objective analysis of this basing decision would reach the same conclusion we did, that Peterson Space Force Base is the best home for Space Command, senator John Hickenlooper said in a statement.

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Most importantly, this decision firmly rejects the idea that politics  instead of national security  should determine basing decisions central to our national security.

Senator Michael Bennet said the decision restores integrity to the Pentagons basing process and sends a strong message that national security and the readiness of our Armed Forces drive our military decisions.
Clashes continued for a third day in a Palestinian camp in Lebanon on Monday between members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah group and Islamist factions.

A Lebanese army spokesperson said the death toll from the fighting in Ein el-Hilweh camp had reached nine, although some reports have given higher figures.

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Two soldiers stationed outside the camp were lightly wounded, Colonel Fadi Abou Eid said.

Despite attempts by Lebanese parties and some of the Palestinian factions to broker a ceasefire, the shooting and shelling have not stopped in the camp until this moment, said Adnan Rifai, a member of the committee that serves as a governing body in the camp.



A Lebanese soldier takes position during clashes that erupted between members of the Palestinian Fateh group and Islamist militants in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh in Lebanon (Mohammad Zaatari/AP/PA)

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The Lebanese army mans a checkpoint outside and typically does not enter the camp, which is under the control of the Palestinian factions.

The clashes erupted on Sunday after Islamic militants shot and killed a Palestinian military general from the Fatah group, Abu Ashraf al Armoushi, and three escorts as they were walking through a carpark, according to another Palestinian.

On Saturday an unknown gunman had tried to kill militant Mahmoud Khalil but instead fatally shot his companion.

Later on Sunday, Palestinian factions said in a joint statement that they had agreed to a ceasefire during a mediation meeting hosted by the Lebanese Shiite Amal movement and militant Hezbollah group in the city Sidon. But the ceasefire did not hold.

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Some residents in Sidon neighbourhoods near the camp fled their homes as stray bullets hit buildings and shattered windows and storefronts.

The public Sidon General Hospital evacuated its staff and patients.

A Fatah statement condemned the killing of its security official, saying the attack was part of a bloody scheme that targets the security and stability of our camps. It vowed to hold the perpetrators accountable.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Mr Abbas both issued statements on Sunday decrying the violence.

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Lebanese politician Osama Saad, who represents the Sidon area where the camp is located, told The Associated Press that officials are making extraordinary efforts to find serious, effective, lasting and stable solutions to the situation inside the camp.

Mr Saad said he and other Lebanese officials and security forces would meet the Palestinian factions on Monday to push for a ceasefire.
Pakistan held funerals on Monday for victims of a massive suicide bombing that targeted a rally of a pro-Taliban cleric the previous day as the death toll climbed to at least 54 and the government vowed to hunt down those behind the attack.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Sundays bombing, which also injured nearly 200 people. Police said their initial investigation suggests the Islamic State groups regional affiliate could be behind the attack.

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The victims were all from the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, which is headed by hardline cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman.

He did not attend the rally, held under a large tent close to a market in Bajur, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan.



The site of Sundays bomb attack in the Bajur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, in which at least 45 people died (Mohammad Sajjad/AP/PA)

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The IS regional affiliate  known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province  is based in neighbouring Afghanistans Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban.

Bajur was a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban  a close ally of Afghanistans Taliban government  before several Pakistani army offensives that ended in 2016 claimed to have driven them out of the area.

At least 1,000 of the clerics supporters had gathered in Bajut on Sunday as part of their partys preparations for the next parliamentary elections, expected some time in October or November after the current parliaments five-year term ends.

People were chanting God is Great on the arrival of senior leaders, when I heard the deafening sound of the bomb, said Khan Mohammad, a local resident who said he was standing outside the tent.

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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to dissolve the parliament in August to pave the way for the vote.

Mr Rehmans party is part of Sharifs coalition government, which came to power in April 2022 by ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in the legislature.

Mr Khan also condemned the bombing.

Dozens of people who received minor injuries were discharged from hospital while the critically wounded were taken to the city of Peshawar by army helicopters.

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The death toll on Sunday was reported to be 44 but rose to 45 on Monday as a critically wounded person died at a hospital, doctors said.



An injured boy in hospital following Sundays suicide bomb attack (Mohammad Sajjad/AP/PA)

Mr Sharif called Mr Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished.

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The bombing has also drawn nationwide condemnation, with ruling and opposition parties offering condolences to the families of the victims. The US and Russian embassies in Islamabad also condemned the attack.

Abdul Rasheed, a senior leader in Mr Rehmans party said the bombing was aimed at weakening the party but that such attacks cannot deter our resolve.

The Pakistani Taliban also distanced themselves from the attack. The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, said the attack aimed to set Islamists against each other.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, posted on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that such crimes cannot be justified in any way.

The bombing came hours before the arrival of Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Islamabad, where on Monday he was to participate in an event to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a package under which Beijing has invested billions of dollars in Pakistan.

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In recent months, China has helped Pakistan avoid a default on sovereign payments. Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.



Pakistans interior minister Rana Sanaullah, second right, shake hands with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at Islamabad International Airport (Pakistan Prime Ministers Office via AP/PA)

Feroz Jamal, the provincial information minister, said police were investigating this attack in all aspects.

Sundays bombing was one of the four worst attacks in northwestern Pakistan since 2014, when 147 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar.

In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar. And in February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.
At the beach in Busan in the early 20th century Robert Neff Collection



By Robert Neff



For many people, summer means frolicking on the beach with friends and family. It is a time to enjoy the sun, the water and the beautiful views  but there are also discomforts associated with the beach: too much sun leads to sunburns, sand everywhere including in your swimsuit and the huge crowds and subsequent larger amount of litter. There is, of course, the unspoken danger of sharks. People normally do not think about sharks in Korea but lately they have been in the news  their recent appearances are blamed upon global warming.



But sharks aren't really newcomers to Korean waters  especially in the southern parts of the country. According to various trade reports from the late 19th century, one of Korea's chief exports was shark fin. And, if we are to believe the Western accounts, shark flesh was once quite popular in local markets.



In 1890, the customs commissioner at Fusan (modern Busan) surnamed Hunt even described the very lucrative shark fishery at that port being carried on by "an enterprising company of Japanese merchants." The company employed a large number of fishing boats which would fish the waters around that port  presumably late at night or very early in the morning  and harvest about 900 sharks a month. Each morning, the sharks and the other fish caught would be brought into the port and taken to an auction at a fish market that had been established recently.



The sharks were processed in a rather simple manner. The fins were cut off and then allowed to dry  once dried, they were sent to China by one of the steamships that visited the port every week or so. As for the shark's carcass, this was sold to Korean dealers for a dollar or a dollar and half (depending on the size) and the Korean buyer would then transport it inland  sometimes a considerable distance  where it was viewed as a much much-relished food.





A crowded beach in Busan in the early 20th century  no sign of mermaids Robert Neff Collection



According to Hunt, the company sold between $1,350 and $1,950 of shark products a month which made its investors very happy after they received a dividend of 30 percent.



Sharks were not the only prey. In 1891, a Korean "whale-fishing syndicate" based in Fusan had a fleet of 22 whale boats and 256 sailors (it isn't clear if they were all Korean or a mixture of Japanese and Korean) who would go out each morning at dawn and hunt for whales. According to one account:



"On sighting a whale two boats, lowering between them a large net made of strong rope, range themselves so as to closely encompass the whale, when the other boats advance and several harpoons are driven into the animal. The net is tightly drawn round it to secure its tail and to pin, as it were, the whale's flippers to the sides and so prevent it from diving or injuring the whalers in its frantic endeavours to escape."



In a period of just five months, the company managed to kill 17 whales which were taken to Fusan, cut up and reportedly sold for about $20,000 (which seems a little inflated). Most of the whale meat was consumed locally but a large amount of it was sent to Japan where it was either sold in the local markets or boiled and rendered into oil. The article noted that it could not be boiled in Fusan because of the exorbitant price of firewood.



The southern part of the peninsula possessed other dangers and treasures of the deep that seem a bit fishy when viewed through modern eyes.





Busan in the early 20th century  not everyone went to the beach to swim. Robert Neff Collection
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Monday that Europe would not tolerate aggression in Ukraine or the Indo-Pacific, as she renewed in a speech the EUs recognition of a 2016 arbitration decision that invalidated Chinas claims in the disputed South China Sea.

Ms Von der Leyen spoke in a joint news conference with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr after holding talks in Manila that aimed to bolster trade, economic and security relations.

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The leaders announced the 27-nation bloc would resume negotiations with the Philippines for a free-trade agreement that stalled in 2017 under Mr Marcoss predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.





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She underscored the need for security co-operation citing Russias invasion of Ukraine, which showed how authoritarian leaders are willing to act on their threats.

Russias war of aggression against Ukraine shakes the foundation of the international order. It is in violation of the UN charter and the fundamental principles of international law, such as territorial integrity and sovereignty, she said.

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This is why Europe supports Ukraines brave fight against the aggressor because the illegal use of force cannot be tolerated, not in Ukraine, not in the Indo-Pacific, Ms von der Leyen said.

Security in Europe and security in the Indo-Pacific is indivisible. Challenges to the rules-based order in our interconnected world affect all of us.

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This is why we are concerned about the rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific, she said, adding that the EU backs a free and open Indo-Pacific because an Indo-Pacific free of the threats of coercion is key to all our stability to our peace, and to the prosperity of our people.

Her veiled rhetoric echoed that of US leaders, who have raised alarms over Chinas increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea.

Without naming China, Ms von der Leyen renewed the EUs recognition of a decision by a UN-backed tribunal that invalidated Chinas territorial claims in virtually the entire waterway on historical grounds.



Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr shakes hands with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after signing ceremonies at the Malacanang Presidential Palace in Manila, Philippines (Aaron Favila, Pool/AP/PA)

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China has rejected the arbitration decision as a sham and continues to defy it.

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The award is legally binding and provides the basis for a peaceful resolution of the disputes, Ms von der Leyen said.

The EU is ready to boost cooperation with the Philippines to foster regional maritime security by sharing information, carrying out threat assessments and bolstering the Philippine coast guard, she said.

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China has warned the US and its allies against meddling in what it says is a purely Asian dispute.

It has turned seven disputed reefs into missile-protected island bases in the last decade, further alarming Western governments and rival claimants, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Ms Von der Leyens visit to the Philippines is a sign of improving ties after a stormy period between the EU and Mr Duterte over human rights. It is the first such top-level visit in nearly six decades of relations with the Philippines.

Mr Marcos and Ms von der Leyen said relations between the EU and the Philippines were entering a new era.

We are like-minded partners through our shared values of democracy, sustainable and inclusive prosperity, the rule of law, peace and stability, and human rights, Mr Marcos said in comments that reflected a stark departure from Mr Dutertes hostile rhetoric against the EU.

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The visit came at a time when the EU is assessing whether to extend special trade incentives, including slashed tariffs for a wide variety of products, to the Philippines.

The European Union trade incentives under the so-called Generalised Scheme of Preferences for the Philippines and seven other developing countries are anchored on their adherence to more than two dozen international conventions on human and labour rights, environmental protection and good governance.

But the Philippines came under intense EU criticism during Mr Dutertes six-year term, mainly because of the bloody anti-drugs crackdown he oversaw that left more than 6,000 mostly petty suspects dead.

Mr Marcos succeeded Mr Duterte in June last year.

The killings sparked an International Criminal Court investigation as a possible crime against humanity.

Mr Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2018, but its prosecutor has proceeded to investigate the widespread deaths that occurred in the years when the country was still part of the court based in The Hague.

Mr Duterte then often lashed at the EUs criticisms of his brutal anti-drugs crackdown with profanity-laced outbursts.

The EU leader later spoke more bluntly against China at a business forum in Manila, where she warned that Beijings increasingly aggressive actions in Asia could also have global repercussions.

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She criticised Chinas stance on the war in Ukraine, its increasingly aggressive actions in disputed Asian waters and its provocative moves against Taiwan.

Chinas show of military force in the South and East China seas and in the Taiwan Strait directly affects Philippines and other partners in the region, the EU leader said. But it could also have global repercussions because any weakening of regional stability in Asiaaffects global security, the free flow of trade and our own interests in the region.
X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has threatened to sue a group of independent researchers whose research documented an increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased last year by Elon Musk.

A lawyer representing the social media site wrote to the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) on July 20 threatening legal action over the non-profits research into hate speech and content moderation.

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The letter alleged that CCDHs research publications seem intended to harm Twitters business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims.

Musk has now rebranded the company as X. Photo: AP.

Mr Musk is a self-professed free speech absolutist who has welcomed back white supremacists and election deniers to the platform, which he renamed X earlier this month. But the billionaire has at times proven sensitive about critical speech directed at him or his companies.

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The centre is a non-profit with offices in the US and UK. It regularly publishes reports on hate speech, extremism or harmful behaviour on social media platforms like X, TikTok or Facebook.

The organisation has published several reports critical of Mr Musks leadership, detailing an increase in anti-LGBTQ hate speech as well as climate misinformation since his purchase.

The letter from Xs lawyer cited one specific report from June that found the platform failed to remove neo-Nazi and anti-LGBTQ content from verified users that violated the platforms rules.

In the letter, lawyer Alex Spiro questioned the expertise of the researchers and accused the centre of trying to harm Xs reputation.

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The letter also suggested, without evidence, that the centre received funds from some of Xs competitors, even though the centre has also published critical reports about TikTok, Facebook and other large platforms.

Mr Musk has championed free speech. Photo: AP.

CCDH intends to harm Twitters business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims, the lawyer wrote, using the platforms former name.

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Imran Ahmed, the centres founder and CEO, told the AP on Monday that his group has never received a similar response from any tech company, despite a history of studying the relationship between social media, hate speech and extremism.

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He said that typically, the targets of the centres criticism have responded by defending their work or promising to address any problems that have been identified.

Mr Ahmed said he worried Xs response to the centres work could have a chilling effect if it frightens other researchers away from studying the platform. He said he also worried that other industries could take note of the strategy.

This is an unprecedented escalation by a social media company against independent researchers. Musk has just declared open war, Mr Ahmed told the Associated Press.

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If Musk succeeds in silencing us other researchers will be next in line.

It is not the first time that Mr Musk has fired back at critics. Last year, he suspended the accounts of several journalists who covered his takeover of Twitter.

Our HQ in San Francisco tonight pic.twitter.com/VQO2NoX9Tz  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2023

Another user was permanently banned for using publicly available flight data to track Mr Musks private plane; Mr Musk had initially pledged to keep the user on the platform but later changed his mind, citing his personal safety. He also threatened to sue the user.

He initially had promised that he would allow any speech on his platform that was not illegal. I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means, Mr Musk wrote in a tweet last year.

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Xs recent threat of a lawsuit prompted concern from US representative Adam Schiff, who said the billionaire was trying to use the threat of legal action to punish a non-profit group trying to hold a powerful social media platform accountable.

Instead of attacking them, he should be attacking the increasingly disturbing content on Twitter, Mr Schiff said in a statement.
West African nations have given Nigers coup leaders one week to reinstate the countrys democratically elected president and have threatened to use force if the demands are not met.

The announcement came at the end of an emergency meeting of West African countries on Sunday in Nigeria, where the regional bloc, known as ECOWAS, convened to respond to last weeks military takeover.

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President Mohamed Bazoum remains under house arrest and has yet to resign.

In the event the authoritys demands are not met within one week, (the bloc will) take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger. Such measures may include the use of force, said the statement.

Nigeriens march in support of coup leader General Abdourahmane Tchiani in Niamey, Niger. The sign reads Down with France, long live Putin Photo: Sam Mednick/AP/PA.

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The bloc also imposed strict sanctions, including suspending all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS member states and Niger and freezing of assets in regional central banks.

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Economic sanctions could have a deep impact on Nigeriens, who live in the third-poorest country in the world, according to the latest UN data. The country relies on imports from Nigeria for up to 90% of its power, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

The sanctions could be disastrous and Niger needs to find a solution to avoid them, the countrys Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou told French media outlet Radio France Internationale on Sunday.

When people say theres an embargo, land borders are closed, air borders are closed, its extremely difficult for people  Niger is a country that relies heavily on the international community, he said.

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If the regional bloc uses force, it could trigger violence not only between Niger and ECOWAS forces but also civilians supporting the coup and those against it, Niger analysts say.

While this remains to be a threat and unlikely action, the consequences on civilians of such an approach if putschists chose confrontation would be catastrophic, said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Centre for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank.

Lyammouri also said he does not see a military intervention happening because of the violence that could trigger.

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Nigeriens show their support for coup leader Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani in Niamey, Niger. Photo: Sam Mednick/AP/PA.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined the bloc in calling for the immediate release of Mr Bazoum and his family.

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The military junta, which seized power on Wednesday when members of the presidential guard surrounded Mr Bazoums house and detained him, is already cracking down on the government and civil liberties.

On Sunday evening it arrested four government officials, including Mahamane Sani Mahamadou, the minister of petroleum and son of former president Mahamadou Issoufou; Kassoum Moctar, minister of education; Ousseini Hadizatou Yacouba, the minister of mines, and Foumakoye Gado, the president of the ruling party, according to a Nigerien analyst who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal.

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The same night, junta spokesman Col Maj Amadou Abdramane said on state television that all government cars need to be returned by midday Monday and banned the use of social media to diffuse messages against state security.

He also claimed that Mr Bazoums government had authorised the French to carry out strikes to free Mr Bazoum.

In anticipation of the ECOWAS decision on Sunday, thousands of pro-junta supporters took to the streets in the capital, Niamey, denouncing its former colonial ruler, France, waving Russian flags and telling the international community to stay away.
However, Delany says Magneto goes beyond what any existing service offers. They [consumers] are hopping from one app to the next without finding what they want, unable to track what theyre subscribed to and how much theyre spending every month. Magneto will solve all of these problems and more. He points to data from Accentures 2023 Reinvent for Growth report, which found 44 per cent of people are frustrated by having to switch between different apps for different services. The launch of its two key streaming services, Kayo and Binge, turned Foxtels fortunes around over the past few years, though global headwinds show streaming growth slowing across the board. The technology for the new dish-free, box-free televisions and plug-in pucks was developed by Sky and Comcast, with a similar product, the Sky Glass TV launched in the UK in 2021 to mixed reviews.

The Sky Glass TV launched in 2021 Sky Glass TVs retail for an upfront price of 699-1199 ($1350-$2300) depending on size, or various monthly prices, which you can then stack subscriptions on top of. Magneto will have a new and localised interface and operating system, Delany says, so its not just a straight copycat. Pricing of the TVs, plug-in hardware and subscriptions will be revealed in the coming months, though Delany says the level will be affordable. Delany was appointed in 2018. His task to fix Foxtel was labelled the toughest job in media after fiscal year 2017 brought a decline in net subscribers for the first time, as cheaper streaming alternatives began to prove more attractive for customers. Asked at the time if Foxtel could return to subscriber growth, Delany said: I think some of those questions are a bit simplistic. The real question is, how we constitute the business going forward, to make sure that we keep the customers we currently have, and then aggressively go after ones that we dont, he said.

Foxtels total subscriber base in March 2018, shortly after the launch of Foxtel Now, sat at 2.8 million. Since then, Foxtels traditional broadcast and commercial customer base, typically a much older demographic, has declined by about a million. It sat at 1.6 million in its most recent financial results. Yet, its total paying customer base has grown to 4.5 million, aided by more accessible prices for Binge and Kayo. This total figure does not account some individuals owning several services. The company is due to deliver its full-year earnings next week. Current trends could see both Kayo and Binge overtake Foxtels traditional customer base for the first time.

Change hasnt been without its challenges though. Foxtel launched a news streaming service, Flash, in 2021, though after it failed to gain significant traction, investment in the service has been scaled back. Both Netflix and Disney, like Foxtels Binge, have introduced ad tiers to their streaming products in a push to find untapped subscribers and revenue, while Netflix has also looked to crack down on password sharing. Disneys March quarter results showed a loss of 4 million streaming customers, with losses in the division totalling $991 million, a figure the company said was not as bad as expected. CEO Bob Iger told investors the company was pleasantly surprised that the loss of subs due to what was a substantial increase in pricing ... was relatively small. This challenge adds a headache too for Rupert Murdoch and his family, who became Disneys second-largest shareholders after the company acquired 21st Century Fox in 2017. Disneys Bob Iger was pleasantly surprised Disney+ lost only 4 million subs in the March quarter. Credit: AP

Disney is also understood to be considering opening up its extensive back catalogue of content to its competitors to recoup some value from its owned assets, which include the Marvel and Star Wars franchises, currently only accessible through Disney+. Were all adjusting, Delany says, noting Disney and Netflix are both a long way from being confident now, a major shift from streamings honeymoon era several years ago. Loading A pricier product could prove difficult to convince Australians of as wallets continue to tighten, yet Delany is bullish on Foxtels new technology helping it exceed its target of 5 million total customers. Crucial to this, Magneto has its local competitors on board he says, with content partnership deals with the free-to-airs and most SVOD services already in place, providing a great platform to showcase locally based series and programming.
The website for ambitious start-up News.net quietly went offline this month, after its final licensing contract with Australian Associated Press was terminated.

This comes shortly after a services company, identified only by an Australian company number, which employed 37 staff from News.net, went into liquidation on May 23. Liquidator reports indicated hundreds of thousands in unpaid wages were owed.

The initial liquidation report in June listed the total owed to creditors at $1.43 million as of June 1. Employees were last paid in September and August, and still await an update from the liquidator, which a former employee noted remains months away.

Michael Norris was called the chairman of News.net.

After the services company went into liquidation and the staff were no longer employed, questions were asked about how News.net continued to publish stories, most of which appeared with AAP or AP bylines.
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Eating outBrisbanes Heartlands Kingsfood, an iconic Chinese restaurant in Brisbanes south It burns through several woks a week  but such is business when you serve 600 diners a day. Heres what keeps dedicated locals coming back again and again and again. Matt Shea July 31, 2023 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

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Kingsfood owner Robin Yu. Markus Ravik In Brisbane Times new Heartlands series, food and culture editor Matt Shea seeks out the migrant restaurants, cafes and stores that give the Brisbane food scene its rich texture. First up? A much-loved Sunnybank favourite. Seven days. Thats the longest a wok survives in Kingsfoods kitchen. It sounds wild, but then Robin Yu throws some more numbers at you. That wok can bring two litres of water to the boil in less than 30 seconds, such is the power of the burner on which it sits. And its in the service of a 90 to 100-seat restaurant that on an average day will cook for between 500 and 600 people. Well turn over the entire restaurant three or four times at night.

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Well turn over the entire restaurant three or four times at night, Yu says. Then we have maybe two or three turnovers during lunch. So the total daily is around 500 or 600, pretty easily. Kingsfood restaurant in Sunnybank. Markus Ravik I normally have 10 to 20 woks in storage at any one time. Each chef replaces his wok at least once a week. Yu smiles as you take in this info, but perhaps it shouldnt come as a surprise. Sunnybank locals (and diners in the know from elsewhere in the city) are in the midst of a 33-year love affair with Kingsfood. Six days a week they pile in for enormous plates of fried rice, fried green beans, steamed chicken or any one of almost 180 dishes on the restaurants menu, all of which typically land on the table in less than five minutes.

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Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. Brisbanes dining scene: Post-COVID, pre-Olympics, where to from here Yu has owned Kingsfood for 14 years, but his relationship with the restaurant began, like the rest of us, as a diner. Hed just arrived in Brisbane from Beijing to study a masters of business at Griffith University. The restaurant was eight years old at the time. It was the first Chinese restaurant I ate at [in Australia] and I just remember it being amazing. I still remember what I ordered: black pepper beef with rice, he says, laughing. On a typical day, the 90-seat Kingsfood will serve anywhere between 500 and 600 people. Markus Ravik Kingsfood opened in 1990 as a Taiwanese restaurant intended to serve expats attracted to Brisbane by a federal government business incentive program (Brisbane is now home to Australias largest Taiwanese community). Its name in script means Taiwan Xiaodiao, which translates to Taiwanese bistro.

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The English name is totally different. Its an interesting contrast, Yu says. You can come to Kingsfood and eat like a king, but really its just for normal people eating family dishes. Were not offering fine dining or lobster or anything like that. Each chef replaces his wok at least once a week. Yu became a regular at the restaurant in the early 2000s, when he was running a realty business in the same Market Square shopping centre. And in 2009 hed consummate his love for the place by buying it from its original Taiwanese owners. By this time the restaurant was cooking meals inspired by all the regions of China, and Yu continued to push in that direction to end up at its now extensive menu. The standout dishes? Kingsfoods most popular order is fried long beans with pork mince and a belacan (shrimp paste) sauce. Kingsfoods most popular order: fried long beans with pork mince and belacan sauce. Markus Ravik

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Yu flicks through the menu to find some others. Theres the deep-fried prawns in special sauce with pineapple; popcorn chicken; a rich and spicy hot-and-sour soup; crispy shredded beef in sweet chilli sauce; and a classic Mongolian beef. A word-of-mouth hit among Brisbane chefs is the restaurants white chicken in special sauce. Popular in Shanghai and nearby Zhejiang province, the dish brings together tender steamed chicken with a sauce of lemon, chilli, sugar, ginger and spring onion, which leaves a tingling numbness on the palate. It relies 90 per cent on the sauce, Yu says. Its a bit of sweet, a bit of sour and a bit of spice. People love it. Kingsfoods white chicken in special sauce is a word-of-mouth hit among Brisbane chefs. Markus Ravik Yu says Kingsfoods chefs have  perhaps surprisingly  changed regularly. Instead, the restaurants famed consistency tends to be driven by the freshness of its produce and speed of service, with the dishes actually having slowly evolved over the years.

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We, of course, have the recipes, but I could honestly say that perhaps only 80 per cent of the dishes [taste] the same as 10 years ago, Yu says. We do have the occasional customer who says, Its different now, and I say, Unfortunately, Im no chef. I cant guarantee it will be the same as 10 years ago. What hasnt changed is the fitout. Other than a lick of paint, some replacement furniture and a flatscreen television on the wall, the restaurants dining room and its enclosed verandahs have remained much the same since the original owners doubled the venues capacity in the mid-90s. Deep-fried prawns in special sauce with pineapple. Markus Ravik The tightly packed kitchen is the same also, three chefs working five woks and a couple of extra burners along the back wall before handing the meals to a kitchen hand to finish, who then passes them through a window to the front-of-house team. The chefs are working with so much heat in the kitchen, its like a blacksmith in there, Yu says. We have a huge aircon system for the restaurant to keep the kitchen cool.

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Kingsfood restaurant in Sunnybank is almost 33 years old. Markus Ravik The major challenges over the years? Yu ticks off the pandemic, which placed more of a focus on takeaway and eventually kiboshed a CBD Kingsfood that opened shortly before Australias first national lockdown. Also, the redevelopment of Market Square, which was finally completed in 2020 after two long years. That was even worse than Covid, Yu says. Foot traffic dropped a lot. But of course now that its finished, there are many more car parks. More car parks bring more diners, with new generations now passing through the door. The story of this restaurant is generations of families, Yu says. Youll see parents bringing their kids, and then those kids bringing their kids, and then the grandparents bringing their grandkids.

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Last year we did a big birthday to celebrate 32 years, but were going to do it again for 33 years. I think weve earned the right to celebrate. Open Tue-Sun 11.30am-2.30pm, 4.30pm-9pm Shop 25/341 Mains Road, Sunnybank, 07 3344 4620 kingsfood.com.au
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Dine with award-winning chef, restaurateur, Good Food columnist and TV presenter Karen Martini at her hatted Melbourne restaurant, Hero, and discover insights into her cooking. Shell also reveal her must-eat dishes and must-visit culinary destinations.

The menu for the Good Food x Cunard lunch on Sunday, August 27 has been curated by Martini, and will also feature a Q&A with the celebrated chef, hosted by Good Foods editor Ardyn Bernoth.

Karen Martini Supplied

The menu

Guests will be served a series of snacks, a main with sides and dessert, starting with potato bread with fermented blueberry and Woodside goats curd. Thats followed by cured Hiramasa kingfish with goats curd, pickled fennel, lime pearls and onion shoots, along with vitello tonnato with parmigiano reggiano, capers, anchovy and celery fritte. The final entree is gnocchi with winter greens sauce and pickled mushroom.
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Review Eating outCarlton North Icon review: Melburnians are obsessed with new restaurants, but 25-year-old La Luna shows we should value consistency, too Besha Rodell August 1, 2023 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

1 / 10 Dark walls and light fixtures made from fencing wire create a masculine aesthetic at La Luna. Jason South 2 / 10 La Luna owner Adrian Richardson surrounded by house-made smallgoods. Jason South 3 / 10 La Lunas charcuterie tasting plate. Jason South 4 / 10 Spanner crab tagliatelle with house-made noodles. Jason South 5 / 10 Simply sauteed scallops, from the specials list. Jason South 6 / 10 The go-to dish: Lovingly tended porterhouse steak. Jason South 7 / 10 Prime cuts of meat being aged at La Luna. Jason South 8 / 10 La Luna has occupied the Rathdowne Street corner terrace since 1998. Jason South 9 / 10 The dining room at La Luna in 2003. Gary Medlicott 10 / 10 Chef and restaurateur Adrian Richardson with a porcine companion in 2009. Craig Sillitoe Previous Slide Next Slide 14 / 20 How we score Steakhouse$$$ As much as I adore my home town, and particularly its dining scene, she is a city with a wildly short attention span. Of course, other cities are enamoured of newness  that is not something unique to Melbourne. But I have noticed a certain churlishness around once-fashionable restaurants, a dismissiveness that leads to those restaurants struggling to survive. Other cities Ive lived in have tended to respect and celebrate consistency in a way that Melbourne fails to do. Which is why La Luna, which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary on Rathdowne Street in Carlton North, is an interesting specimen.

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This is neither an old-school favourite, beloved for its history (a la Pellegrinis), nor a trendy newcomer. And while plenty of great restaurants survive for 10 years or more (can you believe that Brae and Tipo 00 are both a decade old this year?), 25-year-old restaurants are something of an anomaly. This is particularly true of a place like La Luna, which was so very of-its-time when it opened, and has not strayed far from that formula in the years since. Remember when all the hot chefs liked to pose with dead pigs heads? That was a major factor in the marketing identity of chef Adrian Richardson, and in the resultant offering at La Luna, which is extremely meat-centric (Richardsons cookbook, released in 2008, is also titled MEAT). The staff speak of Richardson in reverent tones as our celebrity chef. The interior design of the Victorian corner terrace also leans into this aesthetic, with black walls and light fixtures made from twisted wire fencing.

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Its all a bit Saw for my tastes; I was not sad when the macho and gleeful aspects of carnivorism faded into something slightly more respectful. Great care is taken with aging the charcuterie at La Luna. Jason South But in 1998, all the charcuterie and hand-made pasta and lovingly tended-to house-aged steak must have felt revelatory. In hindsight, La Luna was emphatically ahead of its time. Even its location, in Rathdowne Village, foreshadowed what was to come for that neighbourhood, and in some ways, its still the heart of the place for a certain cohort of long-time residents. Walk by on any sunny weekend and find the footpath outside the restaurant spilling with regulars, many of whom have been coming here for decades.

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They come for the smallgoods, best sampled via a tasting plate ($46) that offers a selection of lightly funky tete fromage, bold salami studded with fennel, and feathery prosciutto aged on the premises for two years, along with pickles and olives and crisp crouton crackers. Charcuterie of this quality requires a huge amount of training, labour and skill. La Lunas spanner crab tagliatelle is one of Melbournes most expensive pasta dishes, but its a beauty. Jason South I find the best way to dine here is to graze, on house-smoked salmon ($24), steak tartare ($24), and freshly shucked oysters ($6 each). A special of sauteed scallops ($25) seemed a little expensive for its simplicity and serving size (basically 1.5 scallops sliced to look like three), and the spanner crab tagliatelle ($52) is one of the pricier pasta dishes in town. But its a thing of true beauty, the house-made noodles ethereal in their lightness, the bowl crammed with meaty seafood.

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Aside from grazing, the other reason to come here is for the selection of steaks, which are grass-fed and dry-aged, and treated with the same level of care as the charcuterie. A gorgeous porterhouse ($56) was charred and salted perfectly, its pink interior wonderfully tangy. Accompanied by a side of Jerusalem artichokes with blue cheese, hazelnuts and witlof ($18), it made for a fantastic dinner for two. Grass-fed porterhouse is served with chimichurri or Cafe de Paris butter. Jason South Desserts tend towards the classic, like tiramisu ($16), occasionally with a modern-ish twist, like the salted hazelnut praline ice-cream accompanying a chocolate torte ($20). Or you can skip the sweet stuff and continue grazing with a selection of three cheeses ($32), which includes French and Australian varieties way beyond the standards.

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The staff here is extremely adept, and particularly helpful when it comes to navigating the wine list, which has some lovely and unexpected bottles. They speak of Richardson in reverent tones as our celebrity chef. If Id stumbled into La Luna with no clue of its history, Id never guess that the place predated the turn of the millennium. It isnt modern or chic by todays standards, but aside from certain aspects of its slaughterhouse-chic decor, it isnt dated either. It is what it is: consistent, a quality that is timeless above all else. The low-down Vibe: Dark with hints of slaughterhouse chic in a classic corner shopfront Go-to dish: Porterhouse steak, $56 Drinks: Classic cocktails and a tidy wine list that is calibrated extremely well to the food Cost: About $180 for two, plus drinks Collection Melbourne icon reviews
A Korean villager aboard an American warship in 1871 / Photo by Felice Beato  courtesy of Terry Bennett's book "Korea, Caught in Time"



By Robert Neff



For many people, crispy fried chicken and ice-cold beer are just as much a part of the Korean summer as are the heat and humidity. Beer is extremely popular here  so popular that in 2022, the average Korean adult consumed 83 bottles of beer a year . Korea clearly has an affinity with beer, but it is a fairly recent one.



In August 1875, a British warship played host to a Korean magistrate and his entourage. They were guided about the ship and then the British captain had a keg of pale ale brought out and served to his guests. Apparently, they were not overwhelmed by this strange new drink as they gave "no signs of pleasure or disgust" while drinking it.



When Percival Lowell arrived in Chemulpo (modern Incheon) in late 1883, he and his companions were transported to Seoul in palanquins and a couple of jinrikishas which were very recent introductions to Korea. The Korean drivers were "perfectly innocent of the way to handle the vehicles" and dumped one of the riders into a ditch. The accident left the jinrikisha "smashed beyond the possibility of mending on the spot and [it] had to be abandoned." Fortunately, prior to leaving the port, the porters took the "precaution to lash a couple of bottles of beer [that had been brought from Japan] into each chair."



We don't know their initial impression of the beer but, considering the bitter cold temperature, it probably helped make the trek that much more bearable for those who were forced to walk.





If you are interested in old photographs of Korea, I highly recommend Terry Bennett's book, "Korea, Caught in Time."
Weve relaunched the Brisbane Times. Take a look at our best stories.

Turning the Kurilpa Peninsula into a desirable inner-city precinct like Newstead or Teneriffe will be made more difficult due to the time and money needed to make former industrial sites safe to live on.

Brisbane City Council this year announced planning changes to encourage development of the area, not far from the cultural precinct and South Bank, including an increase in allowable height to 30 and 50-storeys for residential towers.

There are nine blocks of contaminated land along South Brisbanes Kurilpa Peninsula meaning expensive, time consuming reparations. Credit: Tony Moore

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said he hoped the vast section of South Brisbane would one day accommodate 10,000 new residents.

Just like Teneriffe and Newstead have been turned from industrial and commercial areas into some of Brisbanes most popular places to live and visit, Im confident our changes will do similar for the Kurilpa precinct, Schrinner said.
A senior ABC journalist has denied behaving unethically in reporting a war crime allegation made by a US marine against unnamed Australian special forces, as former commando Heston Russell sues for defamation over articles suggesting he was involved in killing an Afghan prisoner.

Russell, a former platoon commander, is suing the ABC over two online articles in October 2020 and November 2021 and a related television broadcast.

ABC Investigations senior journalist Mark Willacy was cross-examined on Monday. Credit: Kate Geraghty

ABC Investigations journalist Mark Willacy, a key author of the articles, was cross-examined in the Federal Court in Sydney on Monday about his discussions with the former US marine, who was given the pseudonym Josh.

You have accused Australian soldiers of ... a callous, horrific murder on the ABC website where you have a person who did not even see the murder, Russells barrister, Sue Chrysanthou, SC, put to Willacy during a tense afternoon of questioning.
Warning: This story contains the name and images of a deceased Indigenous person, which have been reproduced with the familys consent.

The man accused of murdering Perth teenager Cassius Turvey has been denied bail as the mammoth trial against him and his three co-accused is set down for 2025  2 years on from the attack.

Jack Brearley, 22, allegedly bashed his 15-year-old victim with a metal pole after chasing a group of children in school uniforms through a reserve, with Cassius picked off for being the slowest.

Jack Brearley (bottom left) was denied bail over the alleged murder of Cassius Turvey (top left).

Brearley, along with co-accused Mitchell Forth, Aleesha Gilmore and Brodie Palmer, had allegedly been on a violent vigilante mission to find out who had smashed Brearleys car windows four days earlier when Cassius was attacked after school in Middle Swan in October 2022.
Albanese told parliament in question time that the government was acting quickly and decisively. And it is appropriate that an independent eminent reviewer have a look at what has occurred, that departmental officials be obligated to co-operate if instructed to do so, and the ministers and people at the time, including the leader of the opposition, co-operate with the inquiry, he said. Speaking to reporters earlier on Monday, Dutton said: I had no involvement whatsoever in relation to the contract negotiations, the execution of the agreements. And thats true for all of the predecessors back to 2012 ... And I have nothing to hide in relation to the matter. Im very happy to co-sign a letter today with the prime minister referring these matters to the integrity commission.

Asked whether he would make a referral himself, Dutton said he would be happy to refer it. Dutton said he believed he had been caught in the crossfire between ONeil and long-time department secretary Mike Pezzullo, and accused Labor of playing political games. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says any referral should look back to when Labor was last in office. Credit: AAP The minister obviously is at loggerheads with the secretary, he said. If she wants to sack the secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, she should speak to the prime minister about that, but having this tit-for-tat I feel like Im in the crossfire of these attacks by Minister ONeil on Mr Pezzullo.

Dutton said any referral should look back to when Labor was last in office, saying the same contractors were making procurement arrangements with the government back in 2012, when Australia resumed its offshore detention policy under then prime minister Julia Gillard. Loading Pezzullo did not answer a series of detailed questions about his leadership put to him last week, but replied with a statement saying he had always acted with integrity. For the duration of my tenure, I have been the subject of integrity oversight ... I am proud of the record of achievements of the Department of Home Affairs and commend the committed officers who continue to deliver results, he said. A Home Affairs spokesperson said neither Pezzullo nor the department had anything more to add to his previous response when contacted with further questions on Monday.

Dutton specifically addressed a story from this masthead, based on documents tabled in federal parliament, that the Australian Federal Polices acting commissioner told him in July 2018 that Sydney-based Mozammil Bhojani was under investigation over suspected bribes to Nauruan politicians. Despite the verbal police warning, the Department of Home Affairs entered into a fresh contract with Bhojanis company a month later. Theres been some commentary around a briefing that I received, Dutton told reporters at Parliament House. Ive checked my records. I dont have any record in my office of having received a briefing on that matter.

Loading I note the response from the Australian Federal Police to the question on notice; they dont have any detail of information that was alleged to have been provided to me. Dutton also told ABCs 7.30 he had asked to meet with AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw to get further details. That has to go through the ministers office, and she hasnt cleared that meeting as yet, but Im happy to have that discussion with the AFP to get more detail, he said, adding if the meeting took place he had no problem with any notes that existed from being released. Dutton said it would have been inconsequential even if a briefing was provided, as he did not involve himself in procurement matters, which he said had no bearing on the conduct of the minister.
Environmental groups have branded NSW Premier Chris Minns decision to continue allowing gas connections to new homes incredibly disappointing and questioned how the state will meet its emissions reductions targets.

Less than 24 hours after Energy Minister Penny Sharpe said the government was considering the electrification of households as part of a suite of options to reduce the states emissions, Minns categorically put a line through the prospect, saying he did not need another complication.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has ruled out a ban on gas for new households. Credit: AAP

Victorian Energy Minister Lily DAmbrosio announced on Friday new homes and government buildings would only be allowed connections to all-electric networks from January 1, 2024, as a mode of reaching the states net-zero emissions targets by 2045.

Minns received support from the Masters Plumbing Association (MPA) and Opposition Leader Mark Speakman, who said the time was not right to ban gas given the cost of living pressures confronting families.
Vatican City: When Pope Francis made the first foreign trip of his papacy, to Rio di Janeiro for World Youth Day in 2013, he urged young people to make a mess in their local churches, to shake things up even if it ruffled the feathers of their bishops.

As he embarks this week on another edition of World Youth Day, from August 1 to 6 in Lisbon, Portugal, Francis in many ways has taken his own advice to heart. After 10 years as pope, Francis is accelerating his reform agenda and making revolutionary changes in personnel and policy that are definitely shaking things up.

Pope Francis prays at the Vatican on Sunday ahead of his trip to Lisbon. Credit: AP

Unencumbered by the shadow of Pope Benedict XVI, who died seven months ago, and despite recovering from a second intestinal surgery in as many years, the 86-year-old Francis is opening a frenetic second half of the year with his Portugal visit. He seems aware that he has a limited sweet spot of time to solidify the changes he believes are necessary for the 21st century church, and is looking to the next generation of faithful and leaders to execute them.

The sense I get is that this is the consolidation phase of the pontificate, said papal biographer Austen Ivereigh. Hes laying the basis now, laying the ground, for the future.
The former president and GOP front-runner said it was time for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and others he dismissed as clowns to clear the field, accusing them of wasting hundreds of millions of dollars that Republicans should be using to build a massive vote-gathering operation to take on Biden.

Every dollar spent attacking me by Republicans is a dollar given straight to the Biden campaign, Trump said at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania on Saturday night.

New York: At a moment of growing legal peril, Donald Trump ramped up his calls for his GOP rivals to drop out of the 2024 presidential race as he threatened to go after Republican members of Congress who fail to focus on investigating Democratic President Joe Biden.

The comments came two days after federal prosecutors unveiled new criminal charges against Trump as part of the case that accuses him of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago club and refusing to turn them over to investigators. The superseding indictment unsealed on Thursday alleges that Trump and two staffers sought to delete surveillance at the club in an effort to obstruct the Justice Departments investigation.

Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis during a campaign event in Rye, New Hampshire on Sunday. Credit: Reuters

The case is just one of Trumps mounting legal challenges. His team is bracing for additional possible indictments, which could happen this coming week, related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election brought by prosecutors in both Washington and Georgia. Trump already faces criminal charges in New York over hush money payments made to women who accused him of sexual encounters during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Nevertheless, Trump remains the dominant early figure for the Republican nomination and has only seen his lead grow as the charges have mounted and as his rivals have struggled to respond. Their challenge was on display at a GOP gathering in Iowa on Friday night, where they largely declined to go after Trump directly. The only one who did  accusing Trump of running to stay out of prison  was booed as he left the stage.

Meanwhile, Trump has embraced his legal woes, turning them into the core message of his bid to return to the White House as he accuses Biden of using the Justice Department to maim his chief political rival. The White House has said repeatedly that the president has had no involvement in the cases.
Daibutsu Hotel is the large multi-storied building in the center of the image. Robert Neff Collection



By Robert Neff



There is an old saying that in wine there is truth but often one man's truth is merely an opinion that would be better kept to himself. Unfortunately, alcohol also inspires people to want to share their truths with everyone around them  often in a loud voice.



In December 1886, a serious incident took place at Daibutsu Hotel in Chemulpo (modern Incheon). The hotel was one of the largest and most popular in the port. It was also fairly cosmopolitan. Although it was located in the Japanese settlement of the port, it was frequented by sailors from various nations' warships and merchant vessels, businessmen and residents of Chemulpo, and those just passing through the port seeking opportunities.



One of the latter, Walter Laws, a Black American, was sitting at a table and drinking (probably Japanese beer) with a member of the Korean Customs Service. Laws, who seems to have been emboldened with his drink, made a derogatory comment about a Chinese man at the counter.





Daibutsu Hotel can still be found in Incheon's historical district, August 2019. Robert Neff Collection
Courtesy of James X



By David A. Tizzard




July 15, 2023 - Ottawa, Canada- Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, today issued the following statement:

Today, Canada welcomes the United Kingdom, a long-standing friend and ally, as the newest member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

In 2021, Canada was the first member to support the U.K.s accession to the CPTPP.

As Canadas third-largest trading partner, the U.K. is one of our closest partners, helping advance our commitment to open, predictable and inclusive rules-based trade.

With the U.K.s accession, the CPTPP will account for roughly 14.6% of the global economy and nearly 590 million consumers in 2022. Together, CPTPP members are creating more good jobs, growing our economies, and driving inclusive opportunities for our businesses and workers.

The U.K. shares Canadas dedication to open, predictable and inclusive rules-based trade. We look forward to working with the United Kingdom and the other CPTPP members to continue to advance this high-standard agreement for the benefit of all our people and workers.

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A new era of educational collaboration and industry-academia partnerships has begun thanks to the 106 Memorandums of Understanding that the Ministry of Education has signed with esteemed companies and institutions. These agreements promise to lead to substantial future advancements by fostering innovation, advancing ground-breaking research, and facilitating the flow of knowledge across numerous fields.

A historic day was observed with the signing of many memoranda of understanding (MoUs) during the Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Samagam to honour the third anniversary of the introduction of the new National Education Policy (NEP).

Focus On Skill Development

Additionally, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) inked 15 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with various institutions and sector-skill providers. These strategic alliances seek to give students' acquisition of critical abilities and knowledge specific focus. According to a senior MoE official reported by PTI, "These partnerships will also promote skill assessment and capacity building."

Mou Details

The Atal Innovation Mission, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Sports, Physical Education, Fitness and Leisure Skills Council, Central Square Foundation (CSC), Educational Initiatives Private Limited, Oxford University Press India, Logistics Sector Skill Council, Furniture and Fittings Sector Skill Council, Life Sciences Sector Skill Council, Textiles Sector Skill Council, and Automotive Sector Skill Council all participated in the signing of the Memoranda of Understanding.

By signing three important MoUs, the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) made tremendous progress. The first memorandum of understanding (MoU) was with the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC), with the intention of promoting Indian sign language and encouraging collaboration for standardising and creating first-rate educational materials in this language.

The main objective of the second Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Common Service Centres, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, was to use CSC e-governance services to expedite admissions of Out of School Children (OoSC) into NIOS, increase enrollment, and improve e-services.

Finally, the third Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University was signed, with a focus on academic progress and mutually advantageous collaboration. According to PTI, an MoU between IBM and the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) was also inked to expedite the operations carried out for the successful implementation of the Vigyan Jyoti programme in the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs).

Content Development Of High Quality

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) also signed 20 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) under the eVidya program, which is a significant step in strengthening educational activities. These collaborations were set up with the education departments of several states in order to jointly create high-quality programming that would be available on PM eVIDYA DTH TV channels. The project intends to support language learning and appeal to a variety of stakeholders.

Together with prestigious organisations, the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) signed fourteen Memorandums of Understanding.

Course For Advanced Certification And Training

A number of significant MoUs have been signed to promote innovation and information exchange in numerous fields:

1. The IIFCET and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Tirupati collaborated to deliver a cutting-edge certification and training programme on "Digital Manufacturing and Automation for Foundry Industry." The initiative aims to increase the knowledge of engineers with degrees and diplomas working in the sector.

2. Siemens and IIT Tirupati collaborated to create a state-of-the-art "Centre of Excellence on Smart Manufacturing and Electric Vehicle Technologies." By working together, we hope to progress these vital fields.

3. The Central University of Rajasthan and IIT Jodhpur collaborated on a "Academic Collaboration and Resource Sharing" project. This collaboration is anticipated to improve the academic environment and streamline institution-to-institution resource exchange.

4. To promote academic collaboration and resource sharing, IIT Ropar teamed up with five central universities in North India. Through this relationship, the region's research and knowledge dissemination would be strengthened.

5. VNIT-Nagpur and TCS worked together on ground-breaking research in interdisciplinary fields like automotive electronics, power electronics, and other. This collaboration is expected to open the door for significant developments in these domains.

6. The largest steel plant in the nation, Bhilai Steel Plant, and the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Raipur, have signed a memorandum of understanding.

7. The PM-USHA initiative also resulted in the establishment of 15 MoUs with various states, demonstrating the enormous impact of this cooperative effort.

Five Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) were signed by the University Grants Commission (UGC), promoting international academic cooperation and strengthening international alliances. The following organisations signed the agreements:

1. The US universities of Illinois and Mumbai

2. Saint Louis University (US) and the University of Mumbai

3. Kazakhstan's L N Gumilyov Eurasian National University and Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya

4. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's Lincoln University College and the University of Lucknow

5. Universidade Federal do Ceara in Brazil and the University of Lucknow
The Central University of Gujarat Recruitment 2023 announcement has been posted for 33 Non-Teaching positions. The application period runs from July 13th, 2023 until August 11th, 2023.

Overview

Origination Name Central University of Gujarat

Total Vacancy Various Posts

Official site cug.ac.in

Job Location Gandhinagar, Gujarat

Recruitment

Central University of Gujarat (CUG) welcomes online applications in the specified format from qualified Indian citizens for direct recruitment to Group-A, Group-B, and Group-C Non-Teaching and Other Academic positions.

How to Apply for Central University Of Gujarat Jobs in 2023?

Open official website

Select the "Registration Here" tab.

Fill up all of your personal information.

After registering, fill out the application form and scan your signature and photos.

Pay the examination fee. Now, click the "Final Submit" button.

Save your Application Form for future use

Age Limit

Maximum 57 Years

Salary

18,000 to 2,18,200/
Ministry of Skill Development Signs MoU With ETS India

The Directorate General of Training (DGT) under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and ETS India Private Limited have signed an MoU to conduct a pilot of Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) Bridge assessments for select students in National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) and Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).

This ground-breaking initiative aims to enhance the English proficiency and global employability of students in NSTIs and ITIs. The pilot program will assess the English Listening and Reading skills of students across 10 states using the globally recognized TOEIC Bridge assessments. These assessments are designed to measure basic to intermediate proficiency levels of English listening and reading for practical, everyday use. By implementing this assessment in NSTIs and ITIs, significant improvements in the students' language skills are expected.

Ms. Trishaljit Sethi, Director General (Training) of DGT, expressed her enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, "This partnership with ETS India is a significant step towards enhancing the skillset of our students. The TOEIC Bridge score report will not only serve as a globally valid credential to showcase the English language proficiency of students but also a valuable tool for us to continuously improve their English proficiency levels."

Mr. Sachin Jain, Country Manager of ETS India & South Asia, added, "We are delighted to partner with DGT in this initiative. The TOEIC Bridge assessments are globally recognized tools that measure English language proficiency specifically in a workplace setting. ETS is committed to bringing globally valid skill-based assessments to India, and we are confident that the pilot batch of students will demonstrate superior outcomes both in terms of employability and mobility."

The MoU was signed between ETS India and DGT in the presence of Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon'ble Minister of Education and Minister of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship; Shri Subhas Sarkar, Hon'ble Minister of State for Education; Shri K Sanjay Murthy, IAS, Secretary, Department of Higher Education, MoE and Sh. Atul Kumar Tiwari, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.

The collaboration between ETS India and DGT aims to strengthen the international mobility of students and enhance their employability by providing a recognized certification of their English language proficiency. To ensure the success of the program, trainers from these institutes will undergo comprehensive training workshops provided by ETS India. These workshops will equip the trainers with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively teach and prepare students for the TOEIC Bridge assessments.
After its preview at the Manila International Auto Show and the subsequent arrival of its first batch of units , its now official: Chery A...
Russian navy to receive 30 new ships this year: Putin

Xinhua) 13:15, July 31, 2023

ST. PETERSBURG, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The Russian navy will receive 30 new ships in 2023 as the country continues strengthening its naval forces, Russian President Vladimir Putin said here Sunday.

Putin made the remark at the main naval parade being held in honor of Russian Navy Day. He said 30 ships of different classes would be added to the navy, including the Mercury corvette.

The naval parade in St. Petersburg was divided into two parts: 45 ships, submarines and other vessels participated in the parade on the water, while about 3,000 soldiers participated in the parade on land.

Some African heads of state and government representatives witnessed the naval parade in St. Petersburg after taking part in the second Russia-Africa Summit, which took place on July 27-28.

In addition to St. Petersburg, the Russian cities of Baltiysk, Vladivostok and others also held parades to celebrate Navy Day.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
()

ATLANTA (July 31, 2023)  In the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey earlier this year, the U.S. government released General License 23 (GL 23), a humanitarian exception to sanctions on Syria, to allow for aid to reach those in need. This exception took effect Feb. 9, 2023, for a period of 180 days.

This humanitarian carveout will expire Aug. 8. The Carter Center calls on the U.S. government to extend the exception, ideally following Switzerlands model of an open-ended timeline. This would follow the precedent of other U.S. general licenses that have been open-ended.

Such an extension is crucial to maximize the impact and reach of humanitarian efforts and alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.

The Carter Center recently released a report, Effectiveness of Humanitarian Exceptions to Sanctions: Lessons from the Syria Earthquake, assessing the effects of GL 23. The report documented good results. The move helped by removing obstacles to financial transactions tied to relief efforts. Some banks commended the breadth and clarity of GL 23 in reassuring the financial sector that some earthquake relief-related Syria transactions are permissible. Further, GL 23s inclusion of non-U.S. actors and clarification from the U.S. Treasury about sending personal remittances have been widely welcomed and seen as impactful.

However, some humanitarian and development experts say the exceptions six-month timeline is insufficient for carrying out all necessary relief efforts. Many relief operations, such as rebuilding hospitals and replacing complex medical equipment, will take years to complete. Moreover, GL 23 does not apply to U.S. export controls and has not been able to address the delays in access to specialized equipment such as excavators and sophisticated medical apparatus.

Despite these shortcomings, the initial positive impact of GL 23 cannot be ignored, and it remains a welcome and much-needed measure. The Carter Center underscores the importance of extending GL 23 to ensure maximum humanitarian impact and relief across Syria. By adopting an extended and open-ended approach, the U.S. government can demonstrate its commitment to alleviating the suffering of the Syrian people and contribute significantly to the ongoing humanitarian efforts in the region.

Translation

           

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Contact: In Atlanta, Maria Cartaya, Maria.Cartaya@cartercenter.org

The Carter Center

Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope.

A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.
Shree Cement starts commercial production at Purulia

31 July 2023

Shree Cement Ltd has commenced commercial production at its clinker grinding unit in the Purulia district of West Bengal with a cement capacity of 3Mta. According to the company, this is the first factory in the state which will help meet the growing demand for cement in West Bengal.

Shree Cement operates 10 integrated cement plants and 11 grinding units across India. The Purulia plant is expected to create direct and indirect employment opportunities for over 1000 people. With this, the company's total cement capacity has risen to 49.9Mta.

The company had announced that the next phase of capacity expansion projects will take the group's cement capacity to 72.4Mta. Shree Cement will invest INR70,000m (US$851.2m) in the next phase of its capacity augmentation, the company said.

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HeidelbergCement Bangladesh reports profit in 1H23

31 July 2023

HeidelbergCement Bangladesh Ltd (HCBL) has earned a net profit of BDT478.02m (US$4.4m) in January June 2023 against a loss of BDT205.29m in the same period of 2022, according to the companys financial results. The profit was attributed to increased gross profit, sales, other income, and less finance expenses. However, warehouse, distribution and selling costs increased during the period.

According to the company, total sales increased to BDT10.207bn, compared to BDT9.035bn in JanuaryJune 2022, a rise of 9.41 per cent. Cost of sales stood at BDT8.94bn versus BDT8.78bn in the previous years six months. During the accounting period, warehouse, distribution and selling costs jumped to BDT242.06m from BDT155.29m. Administrative expenditure was down to BDT325.31m from BDT338.22m for the year-ago period.

HCBL, part of Heidelberg Materials Group, has been one of Bangladeshs largest producers of quality cement since 1998. In Bangladesh, it represents two brands: Ruby Cement and Scan Cement. In 2022, it produced and delivered 2.2Mta of cement from its three plants located at Kanchpur, Chittagong, and Mukterpur, two per cent up on the total sales volume in 2021.

Published under
Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo speaks during the "NO EXIT" anti-drug campaign event at the company headquarters in Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of Hana Financial Group



By Kim Jae-heun



Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo has joined the "NO EXIT" campaign that aims to prevent drug crimes by raising awareness of the risks associated with drug abuse, company officials said Sunday.



The campaign is a pan-national movement promoted by the National Police Agency and the Korean Association Against Drug Abuse since April.



It is being run as a social media relay campaign to highlight the seriousness of drug addiction while attempting to eradicate it by raising public awareness.



"As drugs have recently emerged as a serious social problem, keen attention and active participation from the entire nation are needed to eradicate drugs. Hana Financial Group will make efforts to make Korea a clean society without drugs through this campaign," Ham said.



Ham was nominated by DGB Financial Group Chairman Kim Tae-oh in June and posted an anti-drug message on Hana Financial Group's official social media account with the slogan "Maze without an exit, NO EXIT, Drugs, Never start," The chairman further tapped Mirae Asset Securities Chairman Choi Hyun-man as the next relay campaign participant.



Meanwhile, Hana Financial Group is taking a lead in co-prosperity projects with the local communities by actively participating in major social agendas in the country. It started its "100 Daycare Centers Construction Project" to address the low birthrate problem and opened "Hana Mom Care Center" to provide a place for infants and pregnant women to get the care they need. The company is also promoting a free rental service at "Hana Grand Hall" for brides- and grooms-to-be.



On July 2, Hana Financial Group also started environmental, social and corporate governance activities, such as its "Cool Korea Challenge" which encourages its employees to wear comfortable clothes to save energy and to participate in a clothing donation campaign to implement corporate social responsibilities.


Second Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kang Kyung-sung, left, speaks during a meeting with commercial attaches at Best Western Plus Hotel Sejong in Sejong City, Monday. Courtesy of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy



Commercial attaches to undergo mandatory nuclear tech business sales workshop



By Lee Kyung-min



The government will require commercial attaches to attend a workshop to deepen their understanding of nuclear energy, related global trade conditions and overseas case studies of large, government-backed nuclear reactor construction deals won by Korean firms, the trade ministry said Monday.



The move is part of efforts to fortify the capabilities of local high-ranking civil servants in bolstering their salesmanship with foreign policymakers and business leaders, in line with the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's initiative to strengthen exports of the country's nuclear reactors as well as related products and services.



The role of the commercial officers will be greatly expanded to help the government drive whereby Korea seeks to export 10 nuclear reactors by 2030 and generate 5 trillion won ($3.9 billion) in exports of related equipment and service industries by 2027.



The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said 11 commercial attaches to be dispatched from this month through September and onwards will have to attend eight sessions before they depart.



The topics they will learn include the past and future of nuclear power, current status and prospects of the global nuclear power market, small modular reactors, the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the United Arab Emirates, nuclear power industry structure and equipment export, nonproliferation agreements and nuclear export control.



The 11 attaches will be dispatched to the U.S., Egypt, the Netherlands, Indonesia, Qatar, Mexico and Myanmar among others.



The ministry said more government officials will be dispatched to the Czech Republic, Poland, Netherlands, South Africa, the Philippines, Kazakhstan, the U.K., Saudi Arabia, Canada, France, India and Uzbekistan.



Monday's announcement follows a 250 billion won deal inked between Korea and Romania to build a nuclear waste treatment facility in the Eastern European country.



The country's state-run energy firms Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and Korea Electric Power Corp. Engineering & Construction (KEPCO E&C) and their private peers Hyundai E&C and Samsung C&T Korea inked a deal with SN Nuclearelectrica S.A. (SNN), a partially state-owned Romanian nuclear energy company.



They signed a contract to build a tritium removal facility (TRF) in Cernavoda at the country's only nuclear power plant.








The Cities of Collegedale, Lakesite, and Red Bank were recognized with two awards of excellence and two personal achievement awards at the Tennessee Municipal League Conference. The awards were presented on Tuesday at the TML 83rd Annual Conference held at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel.Each year TML honors cities throughout the state for overall excellence, improvement, specific outstanding programs or department accomplishments. Collegedale, Lakesite and Red Bank received four of the 15 awards given statewide to municipalities.The City of Lakesite was presented with an award for Excellence for Small City Progress honoring the citys accomplishments over the past year. Incorporated on Jan.20, 1972, Lakesite celebrated its 50th city anniversary last year and has gone from a population of around 500 to one of more than 1,850. This growth necessitated the city to grow from three to five commissioners and the hiring of its first full-time city manager, Kirsten Ert Acuff.Under the current leadership, Lakesite has completed the citys first ever strategic plan, conducted a community survey and is in the process of developing a Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which provides a comprehensive, long-range strategy for the creation, optimization and maintenance of the community's assets and makes the city eligible for parks and recreation grant funding opportunities.Collegedale Public Works Department received the award for Excellence in Public Works in recognition of their outstanding concerted efforts made to respond quickly and efficiently to the Norfolk-Southern train derailment in December 2022. The department immediately went to work ensuring the safety of citizens and has continued to work to repair the damages sustained during the accident.The City of Collegedale was recognized with a second award when Commissioner Katie Lamb was honored as the recipient of the distinguished Bob Kirk Leadership Award. The annual award is presented to the commissioner who is at least in their second term of service to their municipality and has shown themselves to be an outstanding public servant to both their municipality and their community.The City of Red Bank received an award when their Public Works employee, Johnny Ledford, received the Murphy Snoderly award sponsored by the American Public Works Association. The Murphy Snoderly Award is given to a city employee who has proven themselves by continuing to do outstanding work. The recipient of the award must be an operations-level employee. Mr. Ledford has served in the Public Works Department for the City of Red Bank for 31 years.All three cities actively participate in the Hamilton County Small Cities Coalition which aims to foster collaboration in legislative matters and idea exchange among member cities.
At a special called meeting of the board of directors today, Barbara R. Loveless was confirmed as the new director of operations for the Hamilton County 9-1-1 Emergency Communications District.Ms. Loveless has over 17 years of experience in Emergency Communications as a telecommunicator, floor supervisor and, most recently, as a training & quality assurance specialist. She is an Emergency Number Professional, a Registered Public Safety Leader, has completed the National Emergency Number Associations Center Manager Certification Program in addition to numerous other Public Safety and Emergency Communications certifications.Ms.Loveless fills the position previously occupied by Jeff Carney, who was promoted earlier this year to the top position of executive director. I believe that Barbara brings the right skill set, the right mindset and most of all, the heart needed for this important position, said Mr. Carney. Employees are often lined up outside her office to talk about anything from work-related issues to personal problems, which demonstrates not only how approachable Barbara is, but how much she cares for the employees.Mr. Carney added that compatibility is also important. Her knowledge of Emergency Communications and her desire to always fulfill our mission successfully pairs well with my own said Mr. Carney. We both know the best way to accomplish that mission is through a well-trained staff who feels that they are appreciated.In addition to her extensive training, Ms. Loveless has earned several awards. In 2011, she was named the Districts Training Officer of the Year. In 2013, Ms. Loveless was named the Tennessee APCO Chapter Trainer of the Year. In 2016, she received the HC911 ECD Communications Supervisor of the Year award, and just last year, Ms. Loveless won the HC911 ECD Employee of the Year award.I am truly honored to have been selected for this important leadership position with the Hamilton County 9-1-1 Emergency Communications District. I have had the privilege of working side by side with some truly outstanding people, all heroes, said Ms. Loveless. I am grateful to Executive Director Carney and to our board of directors for the trust and confidence they have in my ability to support the vision, values and mission of HCECD. It is my goal to lead our agency into NextGen 911 with excellence in training, professional development, wellness, life balance and empowerment.Dr. Richard Brown, chairman of the Hamilton County 9-1-1 Emergency Communications District governing board, stated he and the board are delighted and supportive of the selection of Ms. Loveless to serve the district in this very important executive leadership role. He praised the outstanding work of the search committee and Executive Director Carney for providing an exceptional search and selection process.This appointment becomes official on Aug. 2.
A Red Bank man has been sentenced to serve 87 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to transporting child pornography.

Joe Allen Hughes, 63, appeared before Judge Charles Atchley.

Prosecutors said in April 2021, Hughes and an FBI undercover agent in Atlanta had a discussion in which Hughes expressed a sexual interest in minors.

Hughes transported an image of child pornography from his home in Red Bank to the agent, it was stated.

The image depicted a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
This talk will start off with a basic introduction of fluorescence terminology and physical theory. It will give a deeper look into different applications from analytical fields e.g. fluorescence lifetime imaging, flow cytometry and two-photon microscopy. Furthermore you will learn how HAMAMATSU Photonics detectors meet the requirements of detecting low light fluorescence signals and we will show you suitable detectors and light sources for each application.
A message on a screen informs travelers of strengthened security inspections at Incheon International Airport, May 28. Yonhap



Gov't to expand inspection zones, strengthen personnel training



By Lee Kyung-min



The government will tighten the monitoring of airport transfer areas, terminals and aircraft hangars to fortify security, in a gradual effort to reduce aviation security accidents by 50 percent by 2027, the transport ministry said Monday.



Also being strengthened are in-depth security management education and hands-on training programs for aviation security professionals, and international cooperation with aviation safety bodies.



The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the measures to reduce the rising number of in-flight and on-site accidents at airports amid a resumption of flight routes around the world.



The discoveries of a number of hazardous items, including bullets and knives carried by passengers, have inched up over the past few years, as well as cases of individuals scheduled to be deported fleeing from custody. Also, a drone crashed into a local airport, while an unruly passenger opened the emergency door of an airplane before it landed. Other concerning incidents were reports of airport authorities being unaware of safety inspection devices malfunctioning and flight personnel manipulating duty logs.



The number of such incidents soared to 252 as of June, up from 85 in 2021. About 79 percent of air routes have resumed as of June compared to 15.54 million in June of 2019.



The ministry said security inspections will be expanded to include transfer areas, followed by strengthened in-flight security checks.



In-flight security inspections on airplanes bound for the U.S., for example, will be overseen by a professional firm hired by American authorities.



The hours of safety training for all flight crew will be increased, while one of them will function as a safety officer to detect suspicious passengers.



The government will install high-tech equipment, including 3D X-rays, to detect explosives. An identification system using facial and handprint-recognition technology will be used at airports.



The accountability of small partner security firms hired by local and international airports will be strengthened, as outlined by protocols screened regularly by airport operators.



The government will also strengthen cooperation in airport inspections. Joint unannounced inspections at airports will be handled by a team of Korean and U.S. authorities.



Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong said the government will continue efforts to ensure safe air travel.



"We will implement the measures in the next five years, as underpinned by an overall strengthening of inspection protocols as well as education and training of airport authorities and flight crews," he said at the Seoul Government Complex in Gwanghwamun.


A 25-year-old guy has been in a relationship with his 24-year-old girlfriend named Lacey for the last 6 years.

He first met Lacey in college. She was a freshman who happened to become friendly with one of his best friends.

As soon as he met Lacey, he fell hard for her, and the rest is history. Over the last couple of years, he and Lacey have been saving up their money to purchase a house together.

A month ago, Laceys dad helped them to purchase a townhouse, and such a milestone and exciting event in their relationship is being spoiled by none other than his own mom.

His mom has forever hated Lacey, and she always finds something to pick on Lacey about, from her hair color to her clothing and everything in between.

The most recent complaint is that Lacey only works a few part-time hours while I work full time (Lacey is a Ph.D. neuroscience student), but even if she wasnt a student, its not her business how our dynamic works, he explained.

If she cant act amicably towards my other half, who has been nothing but kind to her, then I dont want her having access because I know she will intrude. Onto the issue. Two weeks ago, we held a housewarming party for our parents after we were mostly settled in. After dinner, while we were all drinking coffee in the living room, my mom asked me when she would be getting an emergency key.

I told her we gave it to our friends because they are closest (thats a lie; we gave one to Laceys parents). She got upset, saying emergency keys are for family only and she needs one. I told her she didnt need one, and if something happened, my friends had access.

Although his mom was super unhappy about not getting a key, she dropped the issue, and he figured that was it.

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Flordia resident Alicia Griggs has started up a fundraiser titled Save the Jenada Bunnies in hopes of raising enough money to safely rehome the domesticated bunnies that have gotten loose in her community.

Residents in the Jenada Isles community in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, have recently gained some new neighbors. Hopping around their homes are dozens of domesticated lion head bunnies, which are the result of a breeder illegally releasing the fluffy and reproducing animals into the area.

Now, the community has nearly 100 of these bunnies in their community. While there are many worse things than beautiful bunnies in your backyard, the small animals are still considered a nuisance for many residents.

In addition to the mess that many rabbits cause by digging holes and leaving droppings, many residents are also concerned for the health of the bunnies themselves.

Summer in Florida can often bring high temperatures, which isnt a healthy environment for a furry friend to live in constantly.

Also, there are many potential predators in the area that could go after the bunnies, such as coyotes and hawks.

The city of Wilton Manors voted to hire pest control to resolve this issue, but this would result in the trapping and killing of these innocent creatures.

Residents like Alicia Griggs were furious by this, and so she decided to do everything she could to help rehome these bunnies and save their lives.

I have taken in some rabbits to foster myself because I can no longer watch them outside in the heat and rain, vulnerable to predators and ailments, Alicia writes.

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The Last of the Seven: A Novel of World War II

Steven Hartov (Hanover Square Press)

On the surface, Lieutenant Froelich appears to be the ideal WWII German. In reality, he is an undercover Jewish resister. The only survivor of an attempt to infiltrate a Nazi base, hes soon recruited for another impossible mission. He becomes a member of X Troopa team of Jewish commandos who just might turn the tide against Hitler. Taken from the pages of history and written in richly evocative prose, this is a book youll want to read aloud to anyone who happens to be sitting nearby. And while the ending is far from tidy, its utterly perfect.

Where the Blue Sky Begins

Katie Powner (Bethany House)

Its a bold stroke to introduce a main character with a terminal illness. And then to write a hopeful, encouraging, inspiring, convicting story around someone dealing with the end of life. Animal lover Eunice and corporate-ladder-climber Eric couldnt have less in common. But each has something the other needswhether they know it or not. This compelling story, with its wide, blue Montana skies, invites readers to consider what really matters in life.

The Metropolitan Affair

Jocelyn Green (Bethany House)

The Roaring Twenties. Egyptian artifacts. Collectors with more money than good sense. Green has written a well-paced story filled with fakery, from ancient artifacts to personal relationships. And as much fun as it is tracking down the forgery ring, the meat of this story is in those relationships. Lauren Westlake, a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, struggles to find authenticity with her estranged father and in her second-chance romance with detective Joe Caravello. When you close the book, youll be surprised by how much youve learnedabout Egyptology and about the truest relationship of all.

Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here.
What will we do when AI goes to war?

After all, a future of killer robots isnt far off. We have unmanned aircraft alreadythe US-pioneered drone warfare in the Middle East in the post-9/11 era, and subsequent conflicts, including Russias invasion of Ukraine, have led other countries and combatants to get in on the action. The technology needed to make drones, drone swarms, and other weapons operate autonomously is in active development or, more likely, already exists. The question isnt whether well soon be able to bomb by algorithm, but whether well judge it good and right.

Thats the future Lt. Gen. Richard G. Moore Jr., deputy chief of staff for plans and programs of the US Air Force, was considering when he made widely reported comments about ethics in AI warfare at a Hudson Institute event last week. While Americas adversaries may use AI unethically, Moore said, the United States would be constrained by a foundation of faith.

Regardless of what your beliefs are, our society is a Judeo-Christian society, and we have a moral compass. Not everybody does, he argued, and there are those that are willing to go for the ends regardless of what means have to be employed.

Mainstream headlines about Moores remarks were subtly but unmistakably skeptical. Judeo-Christian roots will ensure U.S military AI is used ethically, general says, said a representative example at The Washington Post, where Moore sent a statement clarifying that his aim was merely to explain that the Air Force is not going to allow AI to take actions, nor are we going to take actions on information provided by AI unless we can ensure that the information is in accordance with our values.

A write-up at the progressive blog Daily Kos, meanwhile, was open in its disapproval, calling Moores words an only-Christians-can-be-moral statement. It scoffed at the very notion of Christian ethical restraint in light of violent passages in the Old Testament and an Air Force training module on the ethics of nuclear weapons, suspended from use in 2011, in which the religious section was reportedly nicknamed the Jesus loves nukes speech.

The Kos article is sardonic and unfairbut its not wholly wrong. The fact is, the United States government has done terrible things in battle. However good our intentions, and however awful our adversaries, our country has done undeniable evil in war as a matter of official policy and unofficial practice alike.

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Enabling Saudi coalition war crimes in Yemen, deliberately bombing a hospital in Iraq, conducting drone strikes against unknown targets, assassinating a 16-year-old American without trial, perpetrating the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam, nuking and indiscriminately firebombing whole cities of civilians, ransacking churches and mowing down civilians coming toward the lines with a flag of truce in the Philippinesthe list is long and grim and could be much longer and grimmer. These are just a few examples that quickly come to mind. Theyre also all examples from the past, including eras in which our society was more distinctively Judeo-Christian, to use Moores phrase, than it is today.

Given that history, count me among the skeptical who doubt that Americas cultural roots will provide enough of a moral compass to keep our government from succumbing to the temptation of unethical AI warfare. I wish our norms could be trusted as a safeguard here, but I dont believe they can.

Thats not because of a deficiency in Christian ethics, as the Daily Kos post charges. I have every confidence that Jesus hates nukes, that he is the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6), that he was entirely serious and literal when he told us to love our enemies (Matt. 5:4348), that he modeled that love to the death (Rom. 5:8), and that his return will mean an end of war and its crimes (Rev. 21:34).

But there is a deficiency in each of us, including the Pentagon decision-makers wholl be responsible for handling military AI. The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties eitherbut right through every human heartand through all human hearts, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn famously wrote in The Gulag Archipelago.

Thats as true of AI use as of anything else. If we arent careful, US use of AI in conflict wont look much different from that of our adversaries. Leaders in Washington and foreign capitals alike will be tempted to unethical application of AI, justifying it as an ostensibly necessary evil.

Moore himself seems to understand that risk, as the full context of his comments makes clear. Part of the defense departments budget for 2024, he said, is funding to study ethical AI use in warfare. We might decide there are decisions about employing lethal force that would be better made by an algorithm that never gets hot and never gets tired and never gets hungry rather than a young, weary soldier fearing for his life, Moore explained, but the ethical foundation must come first. This is a conversation, he reported, being had at the very highest levels of the Department of Defense.

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The study Moore described is a good start, but even more important is what policymakers do with its results and how they do it. Executive or departmental orders are not good enough. As weve seen with drone-strike rules, these are nonbinding memoranda that can be changed, for better and worse, from one administration to the next. The result is ethical whiplash and more dead civilians.

What we need are laws, duly passed by Congress, signed by the president, and comparatively difficult to change. Lawmakers and the Pentagon should make it a priority to develop careful, formal constraints on what our government can do with artificial intelligence in the battlefield and beyond, including toothy consequences for those who stray outside those bounds.

It sounds almost silly to say so, but killer robots are coming, and we cant rely on norms or executive-branch policy memos to keep them in check. We need clear AI ethics, and we need them inscribed in law.
American nurse and child kidnapped from Christian ministry in Haiti

An American nurse and her child were kidnapped Thursday from a Christian education ministry founded and directed by her husband in Haiti less than two years after 17 missionaries were kidnapped in the troubled Caribbean nation.

The ministry, El Roi Haiti, founded by Sandro Dorsainvil, a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, announced Friday that Dorsainvil's wife, Alix Dorsainvil, and their child were kidnapped.

"We can confirm that Alix Dorsainvil, our Director's wife, and their child were kidnapped on the morning of Thursday, July 27th from our campus near Port au Prince while serving in our community ministry," El Roi Haiti said in a statement Saturday.

"Alix is a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family. Alix has worked tirelessly as our school and community nurse to bring relief to those who are suffering as she loves and serves the people of Haiti in the name of Jesus."

In a video posted on the ministry's website, Alix Dorsainvil shares how she left New Hampshire to live in Haiti after she was invited by her now-husband to help him care for the children at the El Roi Academy and Institution Mixte Vwatizang Ayisyen Yo run by the ministry.

"Our goal is to provide a quality Christian education that will empower children to use their God-given abilities to fulfill His purpose for their lives. Students receive a quality education and a hot meal every day, regardless of their family's capability to afford tuition," the ministry explains on its website, noting that in Haiti education is not free. "We encourage parents/guardians to be active participants in their child's education by providing their child's uniform, volunteering at the school, attending parent-teacher meetings, and by encouraging their child's regular attendance."

In their statement on Saturday, El Roy Haiti thanked supporters for praying for the safety and return of Dorsainvil and their child. The ministry asked the public not to speculate on the situation on social media or attempt to contact the family.

"Our team at El Roi Haiti is grateful for the outpouring of prayers, care, and support for our colleague. We continue to work with our partners and trusted relationships to secure their safe return," the ministry said

"We continue to trust in Jesus Christ who is faithful, even in these very difficult circumstances. We are asking people to pray and cry out to Him, that He would hold our friends safely in His hands and place a hedge of protection around them as He makes their path straight back to us and to freedom," the statement added.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the case on Monday, but a spokesperson told NPR that the administration is aware of the kidnappings and is working with authorities there to resolve the situation.

"The U.S. Department of State and our embassies and consulates abroad have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas," the spokesperson said.

Last Thursday, the State Department also issued a Level 4 travel advisory for Haiti, asking Americans not to travel to the Caribbean nation and ordering all U.S. Citizens and non-emergency government employees to leave as soon as possible.

"Do not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and poor health care infrastructure. On July 27, 2023, the Department of State ordered the departure of family members of U.S. government employees and non-emergency U.S. government employees. U.S. citizens in Haiti should depart Haiti as soon as possible by commercial or other privately available transportation options, in light of the current security situation and infrastructure challenges," the advisory said. "U.S. citizens wishing to depart Port-au-Prince should monitor local news and only do so when considered safe."

In December 2021, after about two months in captivity, The final 12 of the 17 remaining kidnapped Christian Aid Ministries in Haiti abducted on Oct. 16, 2021, made a daring escape to freedom after praying. They were held captive by the 400 Mawozo Gang, one of Haiti's largest active criminal groups.

The group included a married couple, a 10-month-old baby, a 3-year-old child, a 14-year-old girl, a 15-year-old boy, four single men, and two single women.

"Over the time of their captivity, God gave various hostages a desire to attempt an escape, but it took them a while to all agree on when or how this should take place," CAM spokesman Weston Showalter revealed after their escape. "To attempt such a thing would be dangerous! They sought God in prayer over and over again, seeking direction from Him."
Costco Wholesale Korea Country Manager Cho Min-soo / Newsis

By Park Jae-hyuk



Costco Wholesale Korea Country Manager Cho Min-soo has come under criticism for allegedly defaming the company's late 29-year-old employee, Kim Dong-ho, who died in June after collapsing in a sweltering parking lot of the U.S. warehouse club's Hanam branch in Gyeonggi Province.



Kim's father told media recently that Cho and some employees from the Costco Korea headquarters said at his son's funeral parlor that the deceased must have concealed his chronic disease.



The father regarded their remarks as proof of the company's attempt to avoid taking responsibility in accordance with the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which can send a company's chief manager to prison if a serious worksite accident occurs where the company has not taken sufficient safety precautions.



The Ministry of Employment and Labor is investigating the case.



According to the bereaved family and the labor union, Kim walked up to 26 kilometers a day, to move 200 shopping carts per hour to the store's entrance from its parking lot in significant heat.



The medical certificate of Kim's death also showed that he died from a pulmonary embolism caused by excessive dehydration as a result of intense heat. In addition, there was no disease found during his medical checkup, which he had before being deployed to the parking lot.



"The management should take responsibility for the accident, compensate the bereaved family and improve the working conditions by signing a collective agreement with the union," a Costco Korea union member told Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea when he visited the Hanam branch's parking lot on July 11.





Rep. Lee Jae-myung, front row center, chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, looks around the parking lot of Costco Wholesale Korea's Hanam branch in Gyeonggi Province, July 11. Joint Press Corps
State Department doesnt believe kidnapping of American nurse in Haiti connected to travel advisory

State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said Monday that he does not believe that the abduction of an American nurse and her child from a Christian education ministry in Haiti last Thursday is connected to the departments issuance of a Level 4 Travel Advisory that same day telling Americans to leave for the Caribbean nation soon as possible.

I have no reason to believe there is [a connection], Miller said, responding to journalists at a press briefing held at the State Department in Washington.

New Hampshire nurse Alix Dorsainvil and her child were kidnapped from the El Roi Haiti education ministry founded by her husband, Sandro Dorsainvil, near the countrys capital, Port-au-Prince. That same day, the State Department issued a travel advisory asking Americans not to travel to Haiti, ordering all U.S. Citizens and non-emergency government employees to leave as soon as possible.

A Level 4 Travel advisory is the highest advisory level due to greater likelihood of life-threatening risks."

During an emergency, the U.S. government may have very limited ability to provide assistance. The Department of State advises that U.S. citizens not travel to the country or leave as soon as it is safe to do so," reads a Safety and Security Information document from the State Department. "The Department of State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time.

Miller reiterated a previous statement about kidnapping, noting that the State Department is aware of the situation are officials are in regular contact with the Haitian authorities.

We will continue to work with them and our U.S. government interagency partners, but because it's an ongoing law enforcement investigation, there's nothing more detail[ed] I can offer.

When questioned about who is holding the nurse and her child and whether or not any demands have been made of the U.S. government, Miller called the request inappropriate.

I just think it would be inappropriate to comment on details. You shouldn't read into that one way or the other what the answer might be. Because it's an ongoing law enforcement situation, those are obviously quite sensitive. I just don't want to comment on [it], Miller said.

On Saturday, Kenyan Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua wrote in a statement on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, that they would consider leading a multinational force to help stabilize Haiti.

At the request of Friends of Haiti Group of Nations, Kenya has accepted to positively consider leading a Multinational Force to Haiti. Kenya's commitment is to deploy a contingent of 1,000 police officers to help train and assist Haitian police restore normalcy in the country and protect strategic installations," Muta said.

"Kenya stands with persons of African descent across the world, including those in the Caribbean, and aligns with the African Union's diaspora policy and our own commitment to Pan Africanism, and in this case to reclaiming of the Atlantic crossing.'"

Muta said the proposed deployment would "crystalize" after a mandate from the United Nations Security Council is obtained and other "Kenyan constitutional processes are undertaken."

"An Assessment Mission by a Task Team of the Kenya Police is scheduled within the next few weeks. This assessment will inform and guide the mandate and operational requirements of the Mission," the Kenyan foreign minister added.

Haitian Foreign Minister Jean Victor Geneus welcomed the offer on Sunday, noting, according to Agence France-Presse, that the country looks forward to welcoming Kenya's proposed evaluation mission."

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, also noted in a press briefing Monday that Guterres welcomed the response from Kenya.

The Secretary-General welcomes Kenyas positive response to his call for the urgently needed international non-UN security support to Haiti. He values Kenyas consideration to possibly lead a non-UN multinational force, and he expresses his gratitude for the solidarity expressed by the Kenyan government, he said, noting that Guterres is also urging the U.N. Security Council to support the force.

Miller said that the U.S. will be a party to the talks of a proposed multinational force in Haiti and will assist as necessary.

Let me say there are a couple of things that need to happen as next steps before we get to addressing some of those questions. First, the U.N. Security Council needs to pass a resolution authorizing this mission. United States along with Ecuador are going to introduce a resolution at the U.N. Security Council to take that step," Miller said.

"That's the first step that needs to happen. The second step is that the Government of Kenya needs to conduct an assessment mission, which they plan to do in the coming days and weeks. And then once they have conducted that assessment mission, they as the lead [in] this multinational force, will talk with other partners about what additional type of assistance they need, what other countries might participate."

They'll kick off a series of discussions of which the United States will of course, be a party," he continued. "We are committed to finding the resources to support this multinational force. I think it's too early to get into any details about what those resources might be. But after the Kenyans have conducted their initial assessment mission, we will of course, be in contact with them about what it might look like.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has already spoken with Kenyan President William Ruto about how we might coordinate this work," Miller stated.

When asked why the U.S. is not taking the lead role in leading the multinational force, Miller said there are other ways the administration believes it better help the situation.

We just thought there were other ways in which we could be supportive, that would be both more appropriate and more useful than taking the lead role, he said. We have been committed to the safety and security of the Haitian people. We've been a large humanitarian donor to relief efforts in Haiti for some time, and we have worked behind the scenes to find the lead nation to run this multinational force and are pleased that has been successful.

Miller said the best thing Americans can do at this time is to heed the travel warnings.

I think the situation [in Haiti] has been challenging for some time, he said. That's not been a secret of any kind. We've talked openly about it. We have recommended that U.S. citizens do not travel to Haiti for some time.
Progressive watchdog groups sue Okla. for approving nation's first religious charter school

A group of church and state watchdog groups have filed a lawsuit against Oklahoma officials over the state's approval of the creation of the nations first religious charter school.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union, Education Law Center and the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed the suit on Monday in the District Court of Oklahoma County, State of Oklahoma.

The complaint names as defendants the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board, individual board members, the Oklahoma Department of Education, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters and Saint Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School, Inc.

The lawsuit argues that the SVCSBs decision in June to approve the Seville Virtual Charter School contradicts the legal framework Oklahoma has constructed to govern public schools and protect students.

Contrary to the Boards regulations, St. Isidore refused to agree to comply with all legal requirements applicable to Oklahoma charter schools, including prohibitions against discrimination, claimed the suit.

Further, in violation of the Oklahoma Constitution and the Charter Schools Act, St. Isidore will provide a religious education and indoctrinate its students in Catholic religious beliefs.

The complaint explains that the suit is being brought on behalf of a group of clergy, public-school parents, and public-education advocates who object to the use of their tax dollars to fund St. Isidores unlawful operations.

Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United, said in a statement released Monday that the approval of St. Isidore represents a sea change for American democracy.

Its hard to think of a clearer violation of the religious freedom of Oklahoma taxpayers and public-school families than the state establishing a public school that is run as a religious school, Laser said.

Were witnessing a full-on assault on church-state separation and public education  and religious public charter schools are the next frontier. America needs a national recommitment to church-state separation.

In June, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted 3-2 to approve the charter application for an online school, St. Isidore of Seville, which would be overseen by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt celebrated the vote result, saying in a statement at the time that the approval of the school charter marked a win for religious liberty and education freedom in our great state.

I am encouraged by these efforts to give parents more options when it comes to their childs education, Stitt stated. Oklahomans support religious liberty for all and support an increasingly innovative educational system that expands choice. Today, with the nation watching, our state showed that we will not stand for religious discrimination.

Last year, then Oklahoma Attorney General John O'Connor and Solicitor General Zach West released an opinion which argued that state prohibitions against religious charter schools might be unlawful.

O'Connor and West cited recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, including David Carson et al. v. A. Pender Makin, in which the high court ruled 6-3 last year that Maine's state-operated tuition assistance program could not stop parents from using the funds for schools with religious instruction.

However, state Attorney General Gentner Drummond expressed his opposition to the approval of St. Isidore in June, arguing that it is contrary to Oklahoma law and not in the best interest of taxpayers.

Its extremely disappointing that board members violated their oath in order to fund religious schools with our tax dollars. In doing so, these members have exposed themselves and the State to potential legal action that could be costly, Drummond said.
UMC conference challenges court ruling in favor of church blocked from disaffiliating

A significant dispute within the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference is escalating as the regional body has appealed a local courts ruling requiring the conference to organize a special dissafiliation meeting to review the dissafiliation request of an Oklahoma City church, claiming a violation of the First Amendment.

This development in Oklahoma unfolds in the context of a larger schism within the global United Methodist Church, which has been dealing with deep divisions over issues such as same-sex marriage and the ordination of openly gay clergy.

At the heart of this specific conflict is a ruling by Oklahoma County District Court Judge Aletia Timmons earlier this month. She ordered the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference leaders to redo a special disaffiliation meeting held in April. The reasoning for her decision was a perceived failure by the conference leaders to give First United Methodist Church of Oklahoma City an adequate opportunity to ratify its disaffiliation request formally.

The appeal filed by the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference challenges the jurisdiction of secular courts in religious matters, asserting that Judge Timmons decision amounts to interference in internal church affairs, The Oklahoman reported.

The ruling blatantly interferes with an internal church process protected under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, the leaders of the regional conference said in a statement.

Judge Timmons, on her part, defended her ruling by arguing it was grounded in neutral legal principles pertaining to a property dispute, rather than intruding on ecclesiastical autonomy.

While the appeal to the Supreme Court of Oklahoma is pending, the conference leaders have also filed a request for a stay of Timmons order. A decision on this stay is expected on Monday.

The Oklahoma Conference in April held a special conference in which they voted to approve the disaffiliations of 55 congregations that had been part of the UMC regional body. Oklahoma Bishop James G. Nunn said in a statement emailed to The Christian Post at the time that he recognized how painful and emotional these decisions are for all involved.

I am comforted that the process for today's vote was carried out according to the requirements identified in our denomination and conference disaffiliation agreements, stated Nunn.

First UMC of Downtown Oklahoma City was not allowed to proceed with the disaffiliation process, with members believing that the conference was acting unfairly.

On June 1, First UMC announced filing a lawsuit against the Oklahoma Conference, with Patton saying that his church had exhausted every other avenue.

At least 75% of our congregation expressed a desire to disaffiliate, which is well above the 66% threshold, so we expected a relatively seamless transition, said Patton at the time. Unfortunately, leaders within our governing body have unfairly impeded our departure by deliberately ignoring their own rules and procedures. We allege their motive is greed.

The battle in Oklahoma is far from isolated, mirroring similar disputes within the global UMC. In 2019, the General Conference of the denomination approved a provision that allowed for a gracious exit for churches wishing to sever ties due to disagreements over human sexuality.

A staggering 84 churches in the state have already disaffiliated since the beginning of 2022, according to data from the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference. Across the United States, thousands of other churches have left the UMC.

Although the UMC Book of Discipline prohibits both practices, many progressive leaders within the denomination have refused to follow or enforce the rules.

This has led large numbers of conservatives to leave the UMC, with many departing congregations affiliating with the recently created Global Methodist Church.
12 remaining missionaries kidnapped in Haiti are now free

The Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries thanked God Thursday morning as it announced that the 12 remaining missionaries who were among 17 kidnapped by the notorious 400 Mawozo gang in Haiti have now all been released.

We glorify God for answered prayer  the remaining 12 hostages are FREE! Join us in praising God that all 17 of our loved ones are now safe. Thank you for your fervent prayers throughout the past two months. We hope to provide more information as we are able, the international aid ministry said in a statement to The Christian Post, which also quoted a portion of Exodus 15:1.



I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously, the verse says.

The release of the remaining 12 missionaries comes just 11 days after the release of three others on Dec. 5. Some two weeks prior to that, the gang released two missionaries described as sick adults.

A source with knowledge of the first two releases told The Miami Herald that no ransom was paid even though the 400 Mawozo gang leader, Wilson Joseph, had threatened to kill all the missionaries if his gang didn't receive $1 million each for their release.

It was unclear on Thursday if any ransom was paid to release any of the missionaries.

When the kidnapping occurred, the abducted group included six men, six women and five children, of which 16 are Americans and one is Canadian. They ranged in age at the time of their kidnapping from 8 months old to 48 years old.

While negotiations for their release were ongoing between the gang and officials from the Haitian and U.S. governments, a video of Joseph circulated on social media showing that the crime boss wasnt pleased with the pace of negotiations.

I swear by thunder that if I dont get what Im asking for, I will put a bullet in the heads of these Americans, Joseph threatened in late October, according to a translation cited by Bloomberg Quicktake.

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said at a press briefing late last month that President Joe Biden was committed to making sure that every single one of the missionaries returned home safely, particularly the children.

I personally give an update on this issue every single day to the president, who is taking a deep interest in making sure we get every single one of those people home safely, Sullivan said.
Misunderstood: Archbishop says dont stop praying Our Father but be sensitive

The Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell has issued a clarifying statement on his previous comments regarding the use of the phrase Our Father in Christian prayer, insisting Christians should continue with its use while also being sensitive to individuals who have been victims of abuse perpetrated by men.

The archbishops earlier comments had sparked controversy, with him suggesting that the reference to God as Our Father might be problematic for people who have suffered abuse from fathers or male clergy. His statement was made during his presidential address to the General Synod, the Church of Englands legislative body, earlier this month.

Cottrells initial comments, which suggested a need for sensitivity in language used to refer to God, stirred a mixed reaction within the Anglican denomination. Liberal and feminist clergy members were largely in agreement, but conservative Christians criticized the archbishop for seemingly taking cues from modern culture rather than scriptural tradition.

Seeking to address the confusion surrounding his previous statements, the archbishop wrote a piece for The Telegraph.

A few weeks ago, I found myself a little misunderstood when I pointed out that some people who have never known a father present in their life, or worse, been abused or neglected by their father, may find this word challenging, he wrote. But what I wasnt saying is that we should stop using the word  simply that we need to be sensitive as we lead people in prayer.

He reinforced that Christians should continue praying to God as Our Father, but be mindful of the implications that such language might have on abuse survivors or a bad relationship with their earthly father.

The archbishop also underscored the need for healing among victims of abuse, and the Churchs role in facilitating this healing. We help those whose experience of earthly fathers has been negative to discover the healing love of the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. And as has always been the case, we use other language to describe God as well, he said.

However, his statement sparked strong counterarguments.

An opinion piece by Edward Dowler in Church Times, titled To pray Our Father is not problematic, presented an opposing viewpoint.

Dowler argued that while all religious language is metaphorical, the term Father has a unique standing as it was both explicitly given by Jesus and inspired by the Spirit as the foundation of all Christian prayer. He expressed regret that the archbishops key point about unity within the Church was somewhat overshadowed by his commentary on the word Father.

In February, the Church of England announced the initiation of a project on gendered language with respect to God in church services, resulting in a debate about the usage of the pronouns he and him and the reference to our Father. The suggestion to replace these with either gender-neutral or female alternatives has been met with both support and criticism.

An opinion piece by Daniel French in The Spectator, titled God the Father isnt sexist, voiced strong criticism of the notion of replacing the term Father with gender-neutral or female alternatives.

French argued such a move would be both theologically dubious and aesthetically displeasing. He further warned against the Church conforming to woke capitalism, pointing to what he perceives as a trend of churches increasingly bending to cultural and societal pressures.

Canon Dr. Chris Sugden, a former Synod member, earlier questioned the archbishops intentions, asking if he is implying that Jesus was incorrect or lacked pastoral awareness. He suggested that individuals with challenging relationships with their earthly father should rediscover the true nature of fatherhood through Christ.

Dr. Ian Paul, a Synod member, earlier supported the archbishop, saying that many find the language of father difficult. But he added, God is a good and loving father, so we need to continue to use this language whilst being aware of and alert to the pastoral issues.

The Rev. Christina Rees, a former Synod member and campaigner for female bishops, praised the archbishop for identifying a really live issue. She said that for some, the term father is complex due to layers of abuse from birth fathers and local priests, known as fathers in God.

The Our Father reference originates from the Lords Prayer, which begins with the words, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. The prayer also uses the pronouns he and him to denote God.
Biden admin. to pay $64K after scrapping natural family planning health coverage requirement

A federal court in Texas has ordered the Biden administration to pay nearly $65,000 in legal fees for removing a requirement to cover natural family planning healthcare.

U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle issued an order last week in the case of family nurse practitioner Dr. Cami Jo Tice-Harouff, granting the plaintiff over $61,000 in fees, over $2,900 in expenses and $459.36 in costs for a total award of $64,588.66.

Tice-Harouff challenged a decision by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services in December 2021 to scrap regulation requiring coverage for natural family planning, allegedly without going through the proper administrative procedure.

"The Court previously granted Dr. Tice-Harouff's motion for a preliminary injunction and enjoined Defendants from removing a requirement to provide insurance coverage for [fertility awareness-based methods of family planning] instruction," wrote Kernodle, appointed to the bench in 2018 by former President Donald Trump.

"The Court thus finds that Defendants were not substantially justified in 'every stage of the proceedings,' and Dr. Tice-Harouff is eligible to recover fees."

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Julie Marie Blake, whose organization helped to represent Tice-Harouff, said in a statement that "the successful resolution of this case benefits all women who may wish to use fertility awareness-based methods and can now keep their preferred doctor and insurance coverage."

"The Biden administration can't impose its own preferred contraceptive methods on all women without explanation and without even allowing a real public comment period, as required by law," stated Blake.

"We were pleased to favorably settle this case on behalf of our client, Dr. Cami Jo Tice-Harouff, who is providing experienced care to women across the country."

Also known as natural family planning, FABM counseling involves women avoiding pregnancy by monitoring fertility signals during their menstrual cycles. It is generally performed by those morally or religiously opposed to using contraception.

According to the United Kingdom's National Health Service, natural family planning can be "up to 99% effective" provided that the program "is followed consistently and correctly."

In March 2016, the Health Resources and Services Administration issued guidelines requiring free FABM counseling coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

But in December 2021, the HRSA removed the regulatory language mandating the coverage, prompting FABM counseling provider Tice-Harouff to file a lawsuit.

In August of last year, Kernodle issued an injunction against the administration's decision to remove the mandated coverage, concluding that Tice-Harouff would be "irreparably harmed by the change."

"Defendants argue that deleting the [Fertility awareness-based methods counseling] sentence did not remove the obligation to provide cost-free coverage for FABM counseling  and thus the notice-and-comment requirement did not apply, and the deletion was not arbitrary and capricious," Kernodle wrote at the time.

"This argument is specious. When language is removed from a statute or rule, courts presume that the omission changed the text's meaning."
17 Missionaries leave Haiti after kidnapping, everyone doing reasonably well CAM reveals

The 17 missionaries who were kidnapped in Haiti are now all doing reasonably well and have left the troubled Caribbean nation where they spent each day of their captivity praying, singing and calling on their kidnappers to repent, said David Troyer, general director of the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries, on Friday.

A U.S.-flagged plane left Haiti with the remaining freed hostages yesterday afternoon.

Everyone, including the 10-month-old baby, the 3-year-old and the 6-year-old boys, seem to be doing reasonably well, Troyer revealed in a statement formally confirming the release of all the missionaries who were kidnapped by the 400 Mawozo gang on Oct. 16.

The international charity first announced the release of the final 12 missionaries 11 days after the release of three others on Dec. 5. Some two weeks prior to that, the gang released two missionaries described as sick adults.

Troyer, who took the opportunity to thank a long list of supporters during the two monthslong hostage crisis, did not say whether a ransom of $1 million for each missionary was paid to the gang for their release, but he said the group forgives them.

We do not know all of the challenges you face. We do believe that violence and oppression of others can never be justified. You caused our hostages and their families a lot of suffering. However, Jesus taught us by word and by His own example that the power of forgiving love is stronger than the hate of violent force. Therefore, we extend forgiveness to you. The hostages told you plainly how you can also be forgiven by God, if you repent, Troyer said, choking up. Our desire is that you and all who hear or read this statement may come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, our Savior, the Son of God, and the Prince of Peace. Jesus died for all so that all can be saved.

He further explained that on Oct. 16, when the missionaries realized that they were being kidnapped after leaving an orphanage where they had gone to verify aid was received from the charity, the group began singing the chorus, The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them, based on Psalm 34:7 and it became one of their favorite anthems during their captivity.

Troyer said the missionaries also spent much of their time together during their captivity and prayed for the gang, among other things.

The hostages were able to spend their captivity together as a group. They spent many hours of each day praying, singing and encouraging each other. Unfortunately, they did not have a Bible, but they recited Bible verses by memory among themselves. They prayed for their captors and told them about Gods love and their need to repent, he said, asking for continued prayers for the missionaries as they return to normal life.

In discussing best practices learned from the kidnapping of the missionaries, which included 16 Americans and one Canadian, Troyer acknowledged that while all the missionaries were aware of the dangers of working in Haiti before, and tried to take proper security precautions, they intend to improve their security protocols.

We appreciate the desire of our staff to minister, even in dangerous places. However, this event has given us a heightened awareness of the need to strengthen our safety protocols and better instruct our people about the dangers involved, Troyer explained.

He asked the media to give the missionaries privacy as they return to normal life and noted that a press conference will be held at the headquarters of Christian Aid Ministries in Berlin, Ohio, at 10 a.m. on Dec. 20, where more information will be provided.
Missionaries released in Haiti were 2 sick adults, no ransom was paid: report

Two of the 17 missionaries recently released in Haiti were sick adults and no ransom was paid despite threats from the leader of the 400 Mawozo gang that volunteers of the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries would be killed if they did not receive $1 million each for their release, a new report suggests.

In a statement Sunday, Christian Aid Ministries announced that two of the 17 missionaries had been released but they refused to share many details.

We cannot provide or confirm the names of those released, the reasons for their release, where they are from, or their current location. We ask that those who have more specific information about the release and the individuals involved would safeguard that information, officials from the international charity said.

The group did not immediately respond to direct questions from The Christian Post on Monday but sent a release explaining they were praying for the 15 missionaries still being held captive by the gang.

As we rejoice about the two hostages who were released over the weekend, we continue to pray for the fifteen who are still in captivity, the group said in a statement to CP Monday. This is the 38th day since the kidnapping took place. God has given us much encouragement through the prayers and notes we have received. We, along with the family members of the hostages, treasure this support from believers around the world.

A source with knowledge of the release told The Miami Herald that no ransom was paid and the released missionaries were sick adults.

The group of kidnapped missionaries includes six men, six women and five children, of which 16 are Americans and one is Canadian. The missionaries who were kidnapped on Oct. 16, range in age from just eight months old to 48.

While negotiations for their release continued last month between the gang and officials in the troubled Caribbean nation and the U.S., a video of 400 Mawozo leader Wilson Joseph, began circulating on social media showing the crime boss wasn't pleased with the pace of negotiations.

I swear by thunder that if I dont get what Im asking for, I will put a bullet in the heads of these Americans, Joseph threatened, according to a translation cited by Bloomberg Quicktake.

The gang leader further threatened Haitis Prime Minister Ariel Henry, as well as the chief of Haitis National Police, Leon Charles. Bloomberg noted that Josephs speech was made in front of open coffins that apparently held several members of his gang who were recently killed.

You guys make me cry. I cry water. But Im going to make you guys cry blood, he said.

Despite the threat of execution at the time, Christian Aid Ministries said in a statement that the families are united in their desire to follow Jesus teaching of forgiveness.

As a group of Christians, our King [Jesus] said that He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance, an unidentified family member shared. That is our desire for the men who are part of the gang.
A redemptive perspective on the current leadership crisis in America

Let me state clearly from the start that this is a spiritually focused article, not a politically focused article (and certainly not a partisan political article). Let me also state clearly that this article is not meant to attack any individuals, although I will be speaking quite directly about individuals. Instead, the purpose of this article is to make a spiritual point, specifically, to understand the spiritual implications of this unique moment in our countrys history.

At present, the two leading presidential candidates for 2024 are current President Biden, now 80, and former President Trump, now 77.

As for Trump, he is the only president in our history to be impeached twice, although his defenders would surely argue that both impeachments were based on bogus charges. Plus, they would remind us, he survived those impeachment efforts. In any case, there was constant turmoil during his years in office.

As for Biden, there are growing calls for his impeachment, regardless of how plausible those calls might be.

When have we seen something like his in our history?

In addition to this, Trump has been indicted not once, but twice, with rumors swirling of a potential third indictment. Is it possible that a former president could actually do time in jail?

As for Biden, his son Hunter appears to be in ever increasing legal trouble, with the genuine possibility of jail time.

Unfortunately for President Biden, some of the allegations brought against his son potentially impugn him. Could the current president be indicted as well?

Again, I ask, when have we seen something like this in our history?

Added to this are the growing concerns about President Bidens physical and mental fitness. (And who can forget the constant attacks on then President Trump, calling his mental fitness into question?)

Then, on Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, himself 81, froze for about 20 seconds while speaking at his weekly press conference, triggering immediate concerns about his own health. He was led away by his colleagues without saying another word. It was a distressing and scary scene to watch.

Personally, I hope that Biden, Trump, and McConnell live out their days with physical and mental vigor. May they all have many years of wellbeing ahead of them! The last thing on my mind  really, the thought is deeply offensive  is to take some kind of satisfaction in seeing someone on the other side of the political aisle suffer physically or mentally. God forbid.

Also, since I am full of vigor and health and vitality and energy at 68, I recognize that 80 does not have to be that old. So, Im not yelling for people to retire or get out of the way unless they are clearly unable to function on the job, thereby endangering others.

As for the charges and allegations concerning Trump and the Bidens, I have no ax to grind or agenda to push. I simply pray for equal standards of justice for all. And if there is guilt, my prayer is that there will be heartfelt acknowledgment of wrongs done along with genuine contrition and repentance.

In sum, Im not rooting for anyone to fall, nor am I gloating when things look grim for someone whose political goals I reject.

I simply write this to say that all these things create a real feeling of insecurity and uncertainty, as if everything is old and crumbling, as if nothing is stable or trustworthy, as if no one is clean.

On a certain level, its reminiscent of the massive upheaval of the 1960s, from the growing discomfort with the Vietnam War, to the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 and the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King and Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. (This is just the tip of the iceberg of the shaking of the 60s.)

In our case today, the trauma of COVID is not that far in the past, nor is the memory of the race riots or the election scandals or the storming of the Capitol. Then there are the growing fears of a potential World War III  a nuclear war at that  which could decimate the planet. And this, too, is only a partial list of the crises (or potential crises) of the hour.

Theres also the question of trust. Can we trust the mainstream media? Cable media? Internet media? Leftwing sources? Rightwing sources? The government? The medical profession? The education system? Organized religion?

And how do we know if something is a ridiculous conspiracy theory that should be ignored as opposed to a genuinely important story that the powers that be are trying to suppress? How do we figure this out?

The good news is that times of instability, uncertainty, distrust, and fear make for fertile ground for the Gospel.

People know things are not right, but they dont know where to turn.

This is where we step in, not to preach religion but to preach Jesus, not to sell a product or a personality but to point people to the only One who can truly save and deliver and forgive and transform. This is where we also help people to realize that the ultimate root of the problem is in each of our own hearts and lives. We are sick with sin, and there is only One who can heal us.

This is one of the reasons that, in the midst of the counterculture revolution of the 60s another revolution was birthed, the Jesus Revolution.

People were (and are) asking the big questions, the why are we here types of questions, the questions about the purpose and meaning of life, the questions about death and beyond.

We have the answer. We have the solution. We have the words of life and the ways of life. We have a path of light that will outshine the darkness.

To say all this in three short words: its harvest time!

May we sow the seeds of Gospel love with tears of intercession so that, in the years ahead, many millions will come to faith with shouts of joy.

It is time!
Seen is a Samsung Electronics' booth at the Flash Memory Summit 2022 held in Santa Clara, Calif, Aug. 3, 2022. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will join this year's event, which will take place at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara from Aug. 8 to 10. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics



By Baek Byung-yeul



Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will unveil their latest products and technologies at next month's Flash Memory Summit, the world's largest flash memory chip event, in the U.S., hoping to make a breakthrough in the chip industry, which is suffering one of its worst ever downturns due to high inventory levels and persistent weak demand, according to the industry officials, Sunday.



The Flash Memory Summit is the largest event in the flash memory semiconductor industry as global companies and prominent figures gather at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California to share new technologies and market trends. This year's event will take place from Aug. 8 to 10.



Unlike the 2022 event that focused on data center-related products, this year's event is expected to cover storage trends in the emerging automotive market, which is expected to become a new income source for flash memory players as more cars are becoming "smart" with the advent of electric vehicles (EVs) and autonomous driving systems.



With more vehicles being equipped with advanced automotive electronics equipment such as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and infotainment systems, the importance of compatibility and stability between hardware and software components has increased.



Both Samsung and SK are expected to show the lead they have taken in this lucrative sector at this year's event. Samsung recently began mass-producing universal flash storage (UFS) 3.1 memory chips for automotive infotainment.



Kim Jae-joon, executive vice president of Samsung Electronics, told investors during a conference call on July 27, that Samsung is strengthening its competitiveness to respond to the rapidly growing automotive memory semiconductor market.



"With the advent of EV and autonomous vehicles, the demand for automotive memory is strong. We expect the automotive memory market to grow at an average annual rate of mid-30% over the next five years in terms of volume," he said. "In fact, automotive demand is expected to grow rapidly and become a larger business opportunity than the application side of PCs by the early 2030s, so we continue to strengthen the competitiveness of related businesses."



SK hynix is also expected to showcase technologies related to automotive products. In June, the company said it became the first Korean chip company to achieve Capability Level 2 certification for Automotive SPICE, a software development standard for the European automotive industry.



Noting these changing trends, the organizer of the event also plans to hold many sessions to shed light more on flash memory technologies for cars.



"Regulators want the industry to move to clean air vehicles as rapidly as possible while manufacturers are developing new technologies to enhance vehicle safety and communications," Tom Coughlin, Flash Memory Summit program chairman, said. "It all requires major advances in data capture, management, storage and continuous communications with other vehicles, roads and locations. Which places added pressure on flash memory devices to perform accurately 100 percent of the time."


Revelation 14: The sickle of judgment and the grapes of wrath

In the book, Meet Yourself in the Psalms, author Warren Wiersbe talks about a town in Americas era of early development where a horse bolted and ran away with a wagon that had a little boy in it. A young man who saw the child in danger, risked his life to catch the horse and stop the wagon.

The child whom he rescued grew up to become a lawless man, and one day he stood before the bar of justice to be sentenced for a serious crime. The outlaw recognized the judge as the same man, who many years prior, had saved his life in the wagon. So, he pled for mercy from the judge based on that experience.

But the words from the bench silenced his plea, Young man, then I was your Savior but today I am your judge, and I must sentence you to be hanged.

Revelation chapter 14 warns that one day Jesus will return to say to those who have been rebellious sinners  spiritual outlaws: During a long, long period of grace, I was the Savior, and I would have forgiven you. I beckoned you to receive my pardon over and again. But today, I am your Judge. Depart from me, you are cursed and sentenced to everlasting fire.

Consider these solemn words of Scripture from Revelation 14:

Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came from the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, Swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe. So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the whole earth was harvested.



After that, another angel came from the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, who had the power to destroy with fire, came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle, Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment. So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of Gods wrath. The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horses bridle (Revelation 14:14-20).

Here is depicted one who sits on a cloud with a sharp sickle, and an angel comes from the Temple and instructs the one on the white cloud and with the sickle to reap the earth because the harvest is ripe.

There is considerable debate among theologians about who the person on the white cloud is, with some saying it is Christ, the Lord, while others suggest it is an angel. The argument for it being Christ is primarily based on the use of the term Son of Man, that he wears a golden crown, and he is surrounded by the white cloud of the Shekinah glory. Nonetheless, there are objections to this particular interpretation, seeing that the angel gives instructions to the one on the cloud. It hardly seems likely an angel would give directives to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Still, others counter that the angel coming from the Temple is not exactly giving an order, but conveying the will of the Father whose presence he just left from within the Temple.

Those who contend that the one on the white cloud is an angel say that he is not the Lord, but a mighty angel who bears the likeness of Christs glory, meaning that he is an angel very near and dear to the Lord, and is appointed to carry out the Lords judgment on the unredeemed  the people of the earth  the harvest of the land. Admittedly, there is no consensus on the issue.

What is abundantly clear about the text, however, something that essentially all serious interpreters agree upon, is that the passage anticipates the final judgment of the world. It may be somewhat unclear as to who is on the cloud, but it is evident that the sickle is a symbol of Gods final judgment.

The sickle has been used as a representation of judgment throughout history in various cultures and contexts.

The sickles primary association is with agriculture and the harvest. It is a tool used for cutting and harvesting crops, particularly grains like wheat. Because of its strong association with reaping, it became connected symbolically with judgment in many societies.

For instance, in Mesopotamia, the Sumerian god Nergal, a god of war, death, and destruction, was portrayed holding a sickle as a symbol of his power and ability to judge the fate of humans. The belief was the sickle could separate the righteous from the unrighteous.

Ancient Egyptians also used the sickle in this manner. In their mythology, the god Osiris was often shown with a crook and flail. The crook denoted his role as a divine ruler, while the flail or whip represented judgment and punishment. The flail resembled a sickle in its shape, further emphasizing its association with judgment.

Even in Western cultures, there is the image of the Grim Reaper. He is a cloaked figure carrying a scythe or sickle. He is the personification of death and his scythe is equal to the concept of judgment and the reaping of souls.

It is more than a coincidence that throughout human history, most cultures and civilizations have held a belief in a judgment or evaluation taking place at the end of the world or the end of life. This concept, especially that of a post-mortem judgment, carries with it the idea that the actions of nations and personal deeds will inevitably be weighed in the balance and determine a final destination. While specific beliefs and details may vary across cultures, the overarching notion of some form of judgment is a recurring theme.

In a magnificent sermon titled, "The Hope of Judgment," the former president of Moody Bible Institute, George Sweeting has argued:

Many thoughtful people are convinced that the modern world is very much like the leaning tower [of Pisa]. Civilization, they believe is tipping more and more under the weight of moral decline, decadence, and world problems. And, indeed the evidence seems to support such a conclusion. The heart of the problem in our world is the problem of sin in the human heart. And man can rise above his sin through the Lord Jesus. He has died to redeem us from our sins. But we must trust him in order to be saved. That is the gospel. It is truth. And a day is coming when every man will be judged on his response to the truth. There are those who ask how an all-powerful and loving God could allow so much suffering and pain and heartache. They suggest that if there really was a righteous, omnipotent God, he would be morally obligated to stamp out such evil. There is a God, and he is righteous and omnipotent; a day of reckoning is coming. On that day God will wipe out all evil forever. He delays that judgment now because of his love. He is dealing with mankind in grace and mercy in this age, bringing men to faith in Christ so that they might be redeemed from their sins. The knowledge of a day of judgment coming is frightening to some, but it does not have to be. The promise of judgment is Gods promise that this world will not have to go through misery and pain and suffering indefinitely. His judgment has already begun, and he will complete what he has started. Some sins are judged immediately. Others are judged later. But the great and final judgment is left to come. Paul wrote to the Galatians about the certainty of judgment. Dont be misledyou cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. (Galatians 6:7-8). Do you see it? Sin and judgment are like sowing and reaping. The sin itself determines the judgment, just like the sin that is sown determines what is harvested. Sowing to the flesh, Paul says, is asking for a harvest of corruption. God may delay the judgment, but he will not be mocked. Judgment is coming for sure.

Additionally, there is a discussion about whether Revelation chapter 14 verses 15 through 20 refer to the gathering of the faithful or the judgment of the wicked. Some argue for both interpretations, while others suggest it is only about harvesting the wicked.

Consider first the view that contends this passage describes only a judgment of the unsaved, the unrighteous.

Advocates of this view argue that the imagery of harvesting and the winepress is symbolic of Gods judgment upon the unrepentant and evil. They contend that the mention of the Son of Man must be Jesus and the sickle he possesses is not indicative of a separate judgment for the righteous, but rather a proclamation of Christs authority over all judgment.

Larry R. Heyler and Richard Wagner in their book, The Book of Revelation for Dummies, discuss this view, saying:

John apparently borrows the imagery for both the wheat and the grape harvestings from the Old Testament prophet Joel. In Joel 3:13, in a context of impending divine judgment on the nations, the prophet says, Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the wine press is full. The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great. The last line many scholars observe casts quite a different perspective on both the first and second harvestings. From this one perspective, both seem to represent divine judgment. Johns vintage scene is introduced by describing an angel who performs the action: And he too had a sharp sickle. (Revelation 14:17). This seems to link closely the two sickles, and clearly, the second conveys a negative image. Therefore, many commentators conclude that both harvestings, in this context, depict Gods End Time Judgment on an unbelieving world.

John Walvoord, a long-time recognized authority on eschatology, in his book, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, notes that the passage itself does not tell us what the first harvest is. There is no distinct event in the sequence of prophecies which clearly presents a harvest of saints, and it is probably preferable to consider the first harvest as the judgments in general which characterize the period and the second harvest as the final climatic one.

Advocates of two separate judgments, one for the righteous and another for the wicked, describe Jesus as the Son of Man sitting on the white cloud, wearing a golden crown, and holding a sharp sickle. They say what this represents is Jesus coming to gather and reward the faithful, initiating the judgment of the righteous. The idea is that believers are being separated from the wicked before any judgment is executed upon the wicked.

In other words, some would say the reaping imagery in the first harvesting is an ingathering or rapture of the church. This view seems to be strengthened by the fact the person sitting on the white cloud who does the reaping is like the Son of Man, which many argue unquestionably identifies the figure as Christ, the Lord.

The reason why so many Christians believe the Church will be raptured before the Tribulation  that period of Gods wrath on earth  is because the godly have not been appointed to Gods wrath.

In the subsequent verses (15-20), an angel is said to be coming out of the Temple with a different sickle, and an angel commands the angel with the sickle to gather the clusters of grapes representing the earths wicked, who are ripe for judgment and are to be thrown into the great winepress of Gods wrath. This is a second judgment.

The renowned Scottish Bible commentator William Barclay in his book on The Revelation of John, summarizes the view this way:

There are two difficult things in this passage. First, there is the fact that the one like the son of man reaps and also an angel reaps. We may regard one like the son of man, the risen and victorious Lord, reaping the harvest of his own people, while the angel with the sharp sickle reaps the harvest of those destined for judgment.

Finally, the second harvest is without any doubt about the judgment of those who have set their hearts against the Lord and his Christ. An angel comes out from what is probably the altar of incense because the imprecatory prayers of Gods people are about to be answered. The text is an expression of Gods terrible wrath against those who have oppressed and persecuted the followers of Christ.

What is described is the language of warfare, which is why many Biblical scholars believe the second harvest is a reference to the battle of Armageddon.

According to various Biblical prophecies, Armageddon is a future apocalyptic event where the nations of the world gather to fight against God. It represents the war that will certainly end all wars. Although the specifics of this event remain veiled, it signifies the ultimate triumph of Gods righteousness and his judgment upon evil. Ultimately, it serves as a reminder of the certainty of Gods final victory and the fulfillment of his plan for a world of peace and prosperity. Evil and everyone who defies the Lord and his purposes shall be crushed beneath his feet.

John seems to borrow language from the prophet Isaiah in describing this future moment in history:

Who is this who comes from Edom, from the city of Bozrah, with his clothing stained red? Who is this in royal robes, marching in his great strength? It is I, the LORD, announcing your salvation! It is I, the LORD, who has the power to save! Why are your clothes so red, as if you have been treading out grapes? I have been treading the winepress alone; no one was there to help me. In my anger, I have trampled my enemies as if they were grapes. In my fury, I have trampled my foes. Their blood has stained my clothes. For the time has come for me to avenge my people, to ransom them from their oppressors. I was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So, I myself stepped in to save them with my strong arm, and my wrath sustained me. I crushed the nations in my anger and made them stagger and fall to the ground, spilling their blood upon the earth. (Isaiah 63:1-6).

Daymond R. Duck and Larry Richards in The Book of Revelation: The Smart Guide to the Bible, add:

Since the blood will rise as high as the horses bridles for approximately 200 miles, we know that millions will die. Before it happens though, God will preach the Gospel through the 144,000 Jews, the Two Witnesses, and his angel (the first angel of chapter 14) to warn those who follow the Antichrist. He will give the world many chances to repent before he destroys it.

Someone said, Procrastination is the art of wasting opportunities disguised as free time. Act now, for tomorrow may arrive with regret and faded dreams.

Genesis 6: 3 reads, The Lord said, My Spirit will not contend with humans forever The Lords offer of grace and mercy is not indefinite. Judgment is as certain as the rising and setting of the sun.

The Battle Hymn of the Republic, which derives its message from passages like the one in Revelation 14:15-20, in one of its stanzas admonishes:

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; He is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment seat; Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer him! Be jubilant, my feet! Our God is marching on.
Bishop's disappointment as Lord Sentamu refuses to make safeguarding apology

A ban on Lord Sentamu ministering in the Diocese of Newcastle remains in place over his refusal to apologise after a report criticised his handling of safeguarding.

The Bishop of Newcastle, Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, asked Lord Sentamu to step back from active ministry in May after a review into abuse by the late Rev Trevor Devamanikkam concluded that he had failed to take appropriate action when he was made aware of the abuse.

The removal of his Permission to Officiate in the Diocese of Newcastle also took into consideration his response to the review.

Lord Sentamu disputed the review's conclusions and said that they were "due to a fundamental misunderstanding" about "the jurisdictional, pastoral and legal responsibilities of Diocesan Bishops and Archbishops in the Church of England".

Prior to the review's publication, Lord Sentamu had been Honorary Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Newcastle.

After meeting with Lord Sentamu last week to discuss the review and his response, the Bishop of Newcastle said she was "extremely disappointed that Lord Sentamu feels unable to make an apology at this time".

She said it was "with sadness" that she did not feel able to grant him Permission to Officiate within the Diocese of Newcastle, or delegate authority to him.

"[Following] my meeting with Lord Sentamu on 25th July, my concern remains that his public statement, following the Learning Lessons Review, is inconsistent with the tone and culture I expect around safeguarding in Newcastle Diocese, and has had a significant impact on survivors and undermined public confidence," she said.

"It is for these reasons that I have asked Lord Sentamu to reflect on his words, and in particular the impact of them, and to offer an apology."

She added, "My door remains open, and the matter is in his hands."
'Spectacular' ancient mosaic of Samson discovered by archaeologists

Excavations at a 1,600-year-old Jewish synagogue have uncovered "spectacular" mosaics of Samson and biblical stories.

The discovery was made at the site of a synagogue in the ancient Jewish village of Huqoq, in Israel's Lower Galilee, where archaeologists have been digging since 2011.

The mosaic panel depicts biblical stories, including Samson and the foxes from Judges 15:4 and Samson carrying the gates of Gaza as in Judges 16:3.

A decorated border shows animals of prey pursuing other animals.

Newly exposed sections include a Philistine horseman and a dead Philistine soldier "with a striking classic face", said the team, led by Jodi Magness, professor of early Judaism at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

The stunning panel also includes an inscription in Aramaic commemorating either the donors who funded the mosaic or the artists who made it.

The finds add to a treasure trove of discoveries at the site, including the earliest known depictions of Deborah and Jael, and the first non-biblical story ever found in the decoration of an ancient synagogue, which may depict a meeting between Alexander the Great and a Jewish high priest.

This year marked the final season of excavations at the site. It will now be handed over to the care of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Keren Kayemet Le'Israel (Jewish National Fund), with plans for it to be turned into a tourist attraction.
Top EU official challenges Covid bans on communal worship

Bans on communal worship during the pandemic were "profoundly illiberal and illegitimate", says top EU official Jan Figel, who has filed a religious freedom challenge at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Arguments have been submitted to the court by the Slovak politician and former EU Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief.

The case hinges on the question of whether blanket bans on public worship during Covid were compatible with the right to the communal exercise of religious freedom.

Figel said that blanket bans "ignore the central role that religion plays in the lives of believers", and that it was "evident" that religious worship was able to take place "safely" during the pandemic.

He argued that for people of faith, communal worship and spiritual nourishment "can be as important as bodily nourishment" and should be protected in democratic societies.

"Religious freedom as a basic human right deserves the highest level of protection. Prohibiting people from worship and communal religious exercise is profoundly illiberal and illegitimate," he said.

"Worship bans were unfair and disproportionate. Our arguments submitted to the court demonstrate clearly that blanket bans are violations of religious freedom under international human rights law."

Bans on communal worship were imposed in a number of countries during the pandemic, including the UK and Slovakia.

In Slovakia, blanket bans were justified by the government because of the availability of digital worship options.

The ECHR has in the past ruled in favour of the "freedom to manifest one's religion not only alone and in private but also in community with others, in public and within the circle of those whose faith one shares".

In 2021, Scotland's highest civil court ruled that the Scottish government's blanket ban on church services during the pandemic was unlawful and that digital options "are best viewed as an alternative to worship, rather than worship itself".

Figel's legal challenge is being support by the Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADF), which said that a ruling from the ECHR on the right to communal worship could set a precedent across 46 European states.

"The international legal framework is very clear in its protection of this right as it benefits everyone  people of faith as well as people of no faith," said Dr Adina Portaru, senior counsel for ADF International.

"Fundamental freedoms apply to all, and in times of crisis they must be protected rather than weakened."

Figel, who was religious freedom envoy until 2019, added, "As special envoy, it was evident to me that the EU cannot credibly advance religious freedom throughout the world if its member states fail to uphold fundamental freedoms at home."
Ukraine changes date of Christmas

(CP) In a landmark legislative move, Ukraine has shifted the date of its official Christmas celebration from January 7 to December 25, stepping away from the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church, allied with Putin's regime, and in a bid to "live their own life with their own traditions (and) holidays."

The Ukrainian parliament passed the bill earlier this month, which has now been signed into law by President Volodymyr Zelensky, CNN reported.

The legislation has been interpreted as a breakaway from Russia's cultural dominance, especially since the Orthodox community in Ukraine has been steadily distancing itself from Moscow following Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region in 2014.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine amplified the split between the two branches of Orthodox Christianity. The division deepened when the head of Russia's Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, endorsed the invasion, framing it as a cultural conflict between the wider Russian world and Western liberal values.

The legislation essentially formalizes what some churches in Ukraine had already started practicing. For instance, a branch of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine allowed its churches to celebrate Christmas on December 25 last year. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church also moved its celebration of Christmas to December 25.

The legislation also modifies the dates of several Ukrainian holidays that coincide with religious festivities, including the Day of Ukrainian Statehood, the country's independence day, which has been moved from July 28 to July 15. Additionally, the Day of Defenders of Ukraine, a day to honor veterans and war dead, has been shifted from October 14 to October 1.

Last December, President Zelensky signaled a move against churches affiliated with Russia, allegedly to bolster the war effort. The Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council instructed the government to ban any church that might be following orders from Moscow, as reported by Reuters at the time.

In a bid to curb the influence of pro-Russian elements, Zelensky contended that these actors were trying to "weaken Ukraine from within" as the nation continued to resist the Russian military invasion inside its borders. "We will never allow anyone to build an empire inside the Ukrainian soul," Zelensky said in an address at the time, as quoted by the newswire.

There have also been efforts by security forces in Ukraine to investigate Orthodox churches associated with the Moscow Patriarchate.

Last November, Ukraine's Security Service conducted searches at several theological seminaries and Orthodox Churches tied to the Moscow Patriarchate and reportedly found pro-Russian propaganda materials.

Amid these developments, Patriarch Kirill has been accused of abusing his position to justify the war and was even sanctioned by the UK government last year. He has also unsuccessfully implored other religious leaders, including Pope Francis, to urge Ukraine not to close down a monastery historically tied to Russia.

As tensions mount, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church faces eviction from the 980-year-old Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery complex in the nation's capital. The UOC was given until March 29 to comply with the order. The Ukrainian culture ministry claimed that the UOC "violated the terms of the agreement regarding the use of state property," without specifying how, while the UOC asserts it is a victim of a political witch hunt.

 The Christian Post
This rendered image, provided by Hanwha, shows the interior design of the Centre Pompidou Hanwha Seoul, to be built in 63 Square in western Seoul, July 28. Yonhap



Korea's Hanwha Group has finalized the agreement with the Centre Pompidou in France to establish the museum's offshoot branch in Seoul, with the opening set for late 2025, the energy-to-defense conglomerate said Friday.



The formal contract was signed Thursday, under which Hanwha is given the licensing rights to use the French museum's properties for four years upon the opening of the branch, the Centre Pompidou Hanwha Seoul, Hanwha said.



The Centre Pompidou Hanwha Seoul will be built inside 63 Square, a skyscraper in western Seoul owned by Hanwha. 63 Square will undergo renovation for the construction of the museum.



Hanwha said it plans to open the museum in October 2025.



Hanwha will hold two special exhibitions every year, featuring masterpieces from the Pompidou collections, for which Hanwha will pay brand royalties, rental and other fees as agreed under the terms.



Hanwha has long sought to bring the Pompidou branch to Korea since 2018 as part of efforts to further engage in art and culture but experienced setbacks amid the global outbreak of COVID-19.



The Centre Pompidou has over 120,000 artworks from the early 1900s to the present, including the collections of Chagall, Matisse, Kandinsky and Picasso.



It has a number of satellite museums around the world, including the one in Spain's Malaga, which opened in 2015, and another in Shanghai that was set up in 2019. (Yonhap)


Identifying and preparing for future risks is core to enterprise cyber-resilience. But its not something that CIOs need to manage alone. Technology vendors can provide insights and intelligence to help organisations identify emerging threats.

HP is a case in point. With cyber security products and services, and the research of the HP Security Lab at HP Labs, it provides IT decision makers with leading-edge technology and services to help keep ahead of threats.

Just one of the many threats currently on its radar is the potential risk that quantum computing presents to cryptography. In particular, the threat is to a type of cryptography called asymmetric cryptography which todays IT systems rely on massively for the security of data encryption solutions as well as digital signature applications. Many security technologies are at risk including TLS, IPsec, X.509, SSH, and most authentication protocols.

Any potential weakness in cryptography is a global threat. Tommy Charles, chief cryptographer at the HP Security Lab, says: Losing asymmetric cryptography is analogous to a zero-day attack with the power to break almost every element of the enterprise tech stack, from user authentication and code signing, to encrypted storage and secure network communications. The potential scale of the impact is unlike anything we have seen to date.

Todays asymmetric cryptography uses one-way functions to secure data via a public key. The mathematical problems underpinning one-way functions make it practically impossible to reverse the process without access to the private key.

Quantum computing threatens to fundamentally undermine this approach by taking advantage of how subatomic particles behave. Whats more, algorithms designed to run on quantum computers ensure probabilities accumulate while they run, making it possible to crack even the most challenging of mathematical puzzles. And while todays quantum computers are only making a start, it is expected that the technology will mature and give them the speed and power of calculation to threaten cryptography.

As quantum computing progresses, cryptographic inversion becomes easier. Threat actors will be able to crunch numbers in huge volumes while also enabling the probabilities for solving the underlying mathematical problem to stack up, says Thalia Laing, cryptographer and security researcher at the HP Security Lab.

How likely is it that this threat will materialise? According to a survey of quantum experts by the Global Risk Institute, 50% of respondents believe theres more than a 30% chance of a cryptographically relevant quantum computer being invented by 2032. For Charles, this is a risk no business should take: no matter how you look at it, theres a significant chance that the cryptography your business relies on most is going to be broken. Businesses have an imperative to act, he says.

Fortunately, progress is already being made in the area of new, quantum-safe encryption standards. The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)has led an international collaboration which recently selected four quantum-resistant algorithms that are able to run on standard, binary computers.

Three of these solve the quantum dilemma through structured lattices, which use many more mathematical equations than in legacy asymmetric cryptography which relied on the hard factorisation problem. The new approach adds noise to encryptions through deliberate errors. With structured lattices, recovering values from encrypted text is a near-impossible challenge, even using quantum computing.

However, the move to quantum-safe cryptography will take time and involve considerable effort. Laing says: Its likely that cryptographic algorithms in use today will be replaced by a broader suite of quantum-safe alternatives. This will help businesses provide protection for their various use cases with best-fit solutions, while also building resilience by having some fallback options. And with the use of new algorithms, a vulnerability may yet be discovered in how they are used. As such, it is likely that legacy and new algorithms will coexist for a while in a hybrid approach until quantum-safe technology matures.

HP can already advise businesses on how to plan for a quantum-safe future. For IT leaders who want to understand the risk and be able to act, Charles outlines a number of practical steps:

Engage your suppliers. Asking vendors and other partners to report on their quantum preparedness provides you with valuable insights and highlights to your partner the importance of this issue, helping to spur future action. Audit your data. Some of the data you encrypt today could be recoverable in the future. Audit what data is at risk of so-called store-and-decrypt attacks and ensure this data cannot be accessed in the first place. Alternatively, start deploying quantum-safe encryption alongside legacy algorithms. Review your digital signatures. Do you rely on long-term public keys that cannot be upgraded? If so, your business will be at risk of signature forgery on the arrival of quantum computers. Now is the time to ensure all your keys can be upgraded in the future if required, or to put in place additional controls on digital signature usage.

Given the magnitude of this potential threat, HP advises IT leaders to demonstrate an abundance of caution. Charles concludes: With regard to the quantum challenge, IT leaders should move forward cautiously and in a controlled manner from what we trust now to what we will trust in the future. Implement practical solutions while being aware of the usual vulnerabilities that can come with new systems.

Protect your business from the threats facing your industry with our in-depth security guide. You can learn more about the HP Security Lab here.

HP has several exciting events coming up this year  click on each to learn more.
Bloomberg is a company synonymous with finance, technology, and media. It has offices across the globe and more than 8,000 engineers working to support everything from real-time data feeds about moves in the financial markets and the companys journalists to mobile apps and AI models that can analyze financial data and sentiment.

To help its employees collaborate and share knowledge, Bloomberg turns to Stack Overflow for Teams. Thousands of the companys engineers, data scientists, designers, and developers have asked and answered questions about how things work inside their organization. The company also encourages employees to form Guilds, communities of interest that focus on a particular topic or technology. Bloomberg focuses a lot on its engineers and its employees learning journey, says Gulru Ustundag, an engineering manager. I have seen so much support in my growth and learning.

Mentorship and professional growth can happen through the format of questions and answers, especially at an organization pushing a rapid pace of innovation, where new tools and technologies are regularly being introduced and utilized in the companys applications and infrastructure.

Stack Overflow is a really critical part of how we learn, how we understand systems at Bloomberg. I literally used it this morning, said El Wieschaus, Head of Product Development Experience. I was looking for a particular error that I was getting as I was writing a little piece of code on the side. It becomes really important, especially for the newer people in our teams, as well as people working on new technologies that they may be less familiar with, to get started quickly and to find the answers to questions that they might have, where the answers are really well-thought-out.

Over the years, the ability to find solutions when they are needed has helped speed the onboarding of new employees and the ability of existing engineering teams to work asynchronously across different continents has generated tremendous time savings. Those kinds of connections ultimately do lead to real productivity gains, said Wieschaus. When people feel like they can reach out to another individual, when they feel connected as a community, when they feel comfortable asking questions, it means that we can move faster. It means that we can better serve our clients and build better products. It means we can get feedback faster, and ultimately, really helps our company thrive.

Psychological safety allows Bloomberg employees to support one another and take risks, stretching their abilities in new directions. Overall, this knowledge base and the ecosystem of Stack Overflow creates a culture of curiosity and openness and gives people comfort to be able to say, I dont know. Which I think is really important in our learning, says Ustundag. Community is really important at Bloomberg. When youre stuck, you may ask a question to the people who are in proximity to you. But a place like Stack Overflow actually widens your reach and youre able to engage those who you wouldnt otherwise connect with.

Learn more about how Stack Overflow for Teams helps the worlds top companies share knowledge and improve developer productivity.
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Torrential rains have damaged roads and killed two people in Beijing, state media reported on Monday, as remnants of Typhoon Doksuri lashed the Chinese capital and other northern regions.

The people were found dead Monday morning in Mentougou, a district in western Beijing, according to CCTVs Weibo post. The area has been hit by continuous heavy rains since Saturday evening and about 5,000 people were earlier evacuated from the district.

Areas including central and southern Beijing and northern Tianjin recorded 20-80 millimeters of rainfall on Monday morning, according to the National Meteorological Centers Weibo post. Beijing has urged residents to consider working from home, avoid water ways and beware of landslides and flooding.

Beijing, Tianjin, and parts of Henan, Shanxi and Shandong provinces were on their highest alert for rain after remnants of Doksuri swept through southern China and continued to move northward, threatening to knock down power lines and inundate crops. Residents of the capital were told not to commute to work unless necessary.

Doksuri was one of the strongest typhoons to make landfall in China this year. It hit the southeastern province of Fujian on Friday, forcing local authorities to close schools and suspend public transport. Power lines were disrupted and the weather bureau reported serious damage to coastal fisheries.

Torrential rain could flatten key crops like corn and flood low-lying fields, the National Meteorological Center said Monday. It may also facilitate the spread of diseases, adding to disruptions to food supply caused by extreme weather this year. Farmers are asked to drain fields and pick ripe fruits in time.

Residents in Baoding city and Zhuozhou city in Hebei have also been asked to work from home on Monday. Power services in Zhejiang and Fujian had largely been restored by late Sunday, State Grid Corp. of China said in a statement.

Meanwhile, another typhoon is on the way. Zhejiang province in eastern China has activated a level four emergency response, as Typhoon Khanun approaches, state-owned Xinhua reported. Khanun is the sixth typhoon this year, according to Xinhua. Level four is the lowest in the four-tier emergency response system.

With assistance from Lulu Shen and Luz Ding.

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.
David Hanson, vice president of global channel development at Starbucks Asia Pacific, poses with Dongsuh Foods' Starbucks ready-to-drink beverages at a resort on Jeju Island, Thursday. Courtesy of Dongsuh Foods



Starbucks executive vows to continue strong partnership with Dongsuh, introduce new coffee products for local consumers



By Kim Jae-heun



JEJU  Dongsuh Foods and Starbucks have marked cumulative sales of 1 billion Starbucks ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee beverages in Korea since 2006 when they launched the joint business. The achievement is meaningful for both firms as they pioneered the local RTD market, which was scaled at only 170 billion won ($133 million) 17 years ago. In 2022, the market reached 1.45 trillion won.



"Any time you hit a billion, this means you reached a critical mass. You have a reason to celebrate," Vice President and General Manager of Global Channel Development at Starbucks Asia Pacific David Hanson said during an interview with The Korea Times, Thursday.



"People have been engaging with you, they are loyal to the brand and you had a long-term future. A billion is something to pause and recognize and think about how you get to 10 billion."



In 2005, Dongsuh signed a contract with Starbucks to manufacture and market its branded coffee beverages here. Starting with the launch of three types of Starbucks Frappuccino bottled coffee in 2006, they have stayed together ever since by gradually expanding their product lines to include cans, cups, and PET bottles.





Starbucks AP Vice President David Hanson speaks to The Korea Times during an interview at a resort on Jeju Island, Thursday. Courtesy of Dongsuh Foods
MANILA, Philippines (AP)  The skipper of a Philippine ferry which flipped over in a lake in an accident that killed 27 passengers decided to sail despite knowing that his boat was filled beyond capacity, the coast guard chief said Friday.

Forty-three passengers were rescued after the M/B Aya Express capsized in Laguna de Bay on Thursday shortly after leaving Binangonan town southeast of Manila in what should have been a 30-minute cruise to nearby Talim Island, officials said.

Coast guard, police and other government personnel continued to search the lake Friday but said they had no idea whether anyone was still missing because of uncertainties over the number of passengers on the ferry. No more survivors or bodies were found.

Two coast guard inspectors allowed the ferry to sail after being shown a manifest which listed only 22 passengers in addition to the boat`s three-member crew, coast guard chief Admiral Artemio Abu said at a news conference.

The two inspectors were removed from their post and will be investigated, coast guard officials said. They said the skipper and the two other crew members and the boat owner may face criminal complaints.

Sea accidents are common in the Philippines because of frequent storms, poorly maintained boats, overcrowding and weak enforcement of safety regulations. In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,300 people in the worlds worst peacetime maritime disaster.

The Aya Express had a capacity of 42 passengers, the coast guard said.

Under questioning by authorities, the skipper acknowledged that the ferry had exceeded its passenger capacity when it left port, Abu said.

The skipper said only 22 passengers were aboard the ferry at first but the number swelled when more people desperate for a ride arrived. The passengers had been stranded for days after stormy weather forced the suspension of ferry services earlier this week, Abu said.

On his way back to the boat, he said that he saw far too many people have gone onboard and he could no longer convince them to disembark, Abu said. Those who were stranded had insisted on staying onboard.

Shortly after leaving port, the Aya Express was pummeled by strong winds which caused the passengers to panic and rush to one side of the boat. The vessel tilted and its outrigger broke, causing it to capsize just 46 meters (150 feet) from shore, police and coast guard officials said.

This is really a tragic event that has to be investigated, coast guard Rear Adm. Hostillo Arturo Cornelio said Thursday night at a news conference.

Investigators will look into reports that many of the passengers were not wearing life vests as required by safety regulations, Cornelio said.

The boat accident brought the death toll from a week of stormy weather across the main island of Luzon to 40.

In addition to the 27 ferry deaths, Typhoon Doksuri left at least 13 people dead, mostly due to landslides, flooding and toppled trees. Twenty people remained missing, including four coast guard personnel whose boat overturned Wednesday while on a rescue mission in hard-hit Cagayan province.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP)  A firefighter has been killed while fighting a massive wildfire in northeastern British Columbia, marking the second such fatality in the Canadian province this month and the fourth in Canada during this years record fire season.

A release from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Saturday the 25-year-old man from Ontario was working Friday just before 11 a.m. in a remote area when his heavy-duty ATV rolled over a steep drop on a gravel road.

Police say the victim, who has not been identified publicly, was transported by helicopter to Fort St. John but died en route.

The RCMP say a workplace fatality investigation is underway.

Provincial officials have confirmed the man was a contracted firefighter working for the wildfire service through a private B.C. company and died while fighting the almost 6,000-square-kilometer (2,316 square mile) Donnie Creek blaze.

B.C. Premier David Eby issued a statement on Saturday saying the fatality coming so soon after Gales death has shaken people throughout the province and devastated the firefighting community.

This wildfire season has been profoundly awful, Eby said.

Statistics from the provincial wildfire service show there are currently 363 active wildfires in British Columbia, with 11 new fires in the last 24 hours and 191 blazes classified as out of control.

In total, there have been 1,517 wildfires in British Columbia this year, burning a record-breaking 15,397 square kilometers (5,944 square miles) of trees, bush and grassland.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 A burning car carrier off the Dutch coast has been towed to a new location away from shipping lanes as part of an operation to salvage the ship, the Dutch public works and water management ministry and local media said on Monday.

The freighter, which was traveling from Germany to Egypt when the blaze broke out on July 26,was towed to a location north of the Dutch islands Ameland and Schiermonnikoog, the Rijkswaterstaat ministry said in a statement.

The fire on the Panamanian-registered Fremantle Highway, which was carrying new cars, resulted in the death of an Indian crew member and the injury of seven who jumped overboard to escape the flames. Japans Shoei Kisen, which owns the ship, said the entire crew of 21 was Indian.

A Rijkswaterstaat spokeswoman told the Dutch ANP press agency that at the new temporary location, the ship would be further removed from shipping routes and more sheltered from wind.

The relocation is an intermediate step in the difficult salvage operation, the spokeswoman said.

Ship charter company K Line said on Friday there were 3,783 vehicles on board the ship  including 498 battery electric vehicles, significantly more than the 25 initially reported.

The company declined to say anything about the car brands, including whether they included any cars from Japanese manufacturers.

EV lithium-ion batteries burn with twice the energy of a normal fire, and maritime officials and insurers say the industry has not kept up with the risks.
A federal appellate court revived a potential class action lawsuit against PayPal filed by a disgruntled charity donor who alleges that the payments company misled her and others about how their charitable contributions would be used.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday threw out a trial court ruling that affirmed an arbitrators finding in favor of PayPal and nonprofit corporation that it created to transmit donations to charities. The appellate panel said Terry Klass should have been given an opportunity to prove that she never agreed to terms of service that PayPal posted online in 2012 that require all disputes against it to be resolved through arbitration.

Because Kass offered evidence that flatly denied that she received the notice from PayPal of the mandatory arbitration clause, Illinois law requires that a trier of fact decide whether she received the notice, the panels opinion says.

Kass received emails from PayPal in November and December 2016 that encouraged her to support her favorite charities by sending money through its Charitable Giving Fund. PayPal promised to add 1% to each donation made through its platform during the holiday season.

Kass perused a long list of charities that she could contribute to and decided to donate a total of $3,250 to 13 nonprofit groups, including local nonprofits that served her community in Lake County, Illinois. She learned later, however, that only three of those nonprofits received her donations.

Kass says she learned that PayPals Giving Fund will not transmit donations to organizations that dont have a business account with PayPal and also a PayPal Giving Fund account. When money is donated to organizations that havent signed up for those services, PayPal donates the money to similar organizations that have accounts, according to a lawsuit she filed in the US District Court for Northern Illinois.

In February 2017, Kass filed a putative class action lawsuit against PayPal along with several nonprofit groups. They alleged PayPals solicitations for charitable donations listed thousands of charities that were not signed up for PayPal accounts and could not receive the money. PayPal told donors that 100% of their funds would go to the charities of their choice, the lawsuit says, but in reality PayPal didnt even notify charities when it received donations for them if they hadnt paid to use its services, the suit says.

In 2018, a US District Court judge ruled that Kass lawsuit was subject to binding arbitration under terms of service that PayPal adopted in 2012. Kass objected, saying that she signed up for PayPal in 2004 and never consented to the new terms.

A paralegal for the company testified that the new terms were emailed to every account holder and that it would be impossible for anyone to use its platform without consenting to the new conditions. Kass insisted that she never received an email from PayPal explaining the change in terms of service.

While Kass was litigating her case, a group of state attorneys investigated PayPal Charitable Giving Fund. In January 2020, a group of 23 state attorneys general reached a consent agreement with the company. PayPal agreed to change its operating practices and pay $200,000 to the National Association of Attorneys Generals Charities Enforcement and Training Fund.

An arbitrator who heard Kass claim ruled in favor PayPal, finding that Kass had agreed to the companys mandatory arbitration agreement when she made the donations. US District Judge Martha M. Pacold approved the arbitrators decision and Kass appealed.

The 7th Circuit panel, in its unpublished decision, said that Judge Pacold had misinterpreted previous rulings regarding the mailbox rule. In previous rulings, the 7th Circuit has ruled that judges may presume an user agreement has been read if it has been received in the users email inbox.

The panel said that doesnt mean the presumption of validity applies to agreements that were sent but never received. In previous decisions, courts have ruled against plaintiffs who testified they couldnt recall whether they received an agreement that was emailed to them. But Kass stated flatly that she never received PayPals email about the change in its terms of service.

The panel said the 7th Circuit itself led to the judges confusion because it wrote in a 2013 ruling that the mailbox rule applies to emails that are sent. In fact, thats not the case. The panel said the presumption created by the mailbox rule is not conclusive unless the evidence shows that an email has been sent and received.

Presuming that a communication was not only properly received and read but was also properly sent puts the cart, the opinion says. Before we may presume receipt, there must be sufficient evidence that the communication in question was sent.

The panel vacated the District Courts ruling and remanded the case with direction that the lower court hold a trial to resolve the question of whether Kass had received and read the email changing PayPals terms of service.
Federal investigators renewed their recommendation that major freight railroads equip every locomotive with the kind of autonomous sensors that could have caught the track flaws that caused a fatal 2021 Amtrak derailment in northern Montana.

But installing the sensors on the tens of thousands of locomotives in the fleet could be cost prohibitive, and it`s not entirely clear if one would have caught the combination of rail flaws that the National Transportation Safety Board said caused the crash near Joplin, Montana, that killed three people and injured 49 others. And rail unions caution that no technology should be a substitute for human inspectors.

The NTSB report laid blame in part on BNSF railroad, which owns the tracks, and a shortcoming in its safety culture. But it noted that even if track inspections had been more frequent, the severity of the problems may not have been noticed the day of the crash without devices and technology designed to enhance the inspections.

It is unlikely that the track deviations would have been detected through the current track inspection process, the board concluded in the report released Thursday. But autonomous monitoring systems  have the ability to monitor track conditions and provide real-time condition monitoring that could be used for early identification and mitigation of unsafe track conditions.

BNSF defends its safety record and said it already employs a number of the sensors that the NTSB is recommending, but spokeswoman Lena Kent said the Fort Worth, Texas-based railroad will review the report for any additional lessons and ways to improve safety.

But track problems have long been a safety concern for the NTSB, which can recommend but not mandate changes. In a 2021 report on the Joplin derailment, it attributed 592 U.S. derailments over a decade-long timespan to track geometry, which includes the distance between the rails and their horizontal and vertical alignment. Those issues were the second-leading cause of derailment in 2021.

Railroad safety expert Dave Clarke, the former director of University of Tennesse`s Center for Transportation Research, said it is important to remember that the NTSB doesn`t do any kind of cost-benefit analysis on its recommendations.

If they think something is a good idea for safety they put it out there. In the real world there may be no way to economically or practically do everything NTSB recommends, Clarke said.

Clarke said it`s also not clear that these sensors would have definitely caught the problems that caused the Montana derailment because none of the individual factors was severe enough to be considered a defect under Federal Railroad Administration rules. The NTSB said it was the combination of all those factors that caused the derailment.

The major freight railroads have more than 23,000 locomotives in their fleets, including thousands that have been put into storage in recent years as the railroads have overhauled their operations to rely more on longer trains that dont need as many locomotives.

It would require a major investment to add detectors to every locomotive, although the Association of American Railroads trade group couldnt immediately provide an estimate of how much each sensor costs. BNSF and the five other major U.S. freight railroads already spend roughly $23 billion every year on improving and maintaining their networks and investing in new equipment.

But attorney Jeff Goodman, who represented family members of the three passengers who died in the derailment, said he believes his clients would have lived if trains that had passed through the area before the Amtrak train had been equipped with these sensors.

Tracks will always bend or get out of sync because theyre exposed to the elements, but monitoring allows trains to know when to slow down and prevent accidents, he said.

If the recommendations that the NTSB issued today were implemented prior to this tragedy, Zach Scheider and Don and Marjorie Varnadoe would all be alive today, he said, naming the deceased family members of his clients.

Railroads have long resisted new regulations, Although there aren`t any rules requiring these automated inspection sensors or the thousands of trackside detectors they employ, railroads have spent millions developing the technology and installed them voluntarily to improve safety. But regulators are considering drafting rules for them in the wake of recent derailments.

An AAR trade group spokeswoman said that the type of sensors the NTSB singled out measure the force a locomotive exerts on the track and hasn`t proven as useful as other kinds of sensors railroads have developed.

This technology has been difficult to maintain in real-world operations and lacks a strong correlation to track geometry defects, Jessica Kahanek said.

Railroads are experimenting with a variety of technologies to find the best way to spot problems.

Another kind of autonomous sensor that can be installed on locomotives as well as the trucks inspectors use to ride along the rails can spot problems like misaligned track and wear on the rails by testing the track continuously.

Vehicle track interaction systems, like the ones the NTSB singled out, must be mounted on locomotives because they measure the force a train puts on the tracks.

Both kinds of sensors can help identify areas of concern for a human inspector to follow up on after computers analyze the data they generate. But the VTI sensors tend to be so sensitive that they flag areas where there arent true defects.

Kent said BNSFs use of both kinds of sensors allows the railroad to check its track network multiple times __ more than 450,000 miles (720,000 kilometers) of track each year __ and that the technology has helped the railroad reduce the rate of defects that it finds by 82% over the past five years.

In the past, BNSF and other railroads have even petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration to get a waiver releasing them from some inspection requirements because they believe the track geometry sensors provide enough information that the frequency of human inspections can be safely reduced.

Federal officials approved a waiver allowing BNSF to reduce inspections on a couple of areas of its more than 30,000-mile (48,000-kilometer) network after the railroad successfully tested the devices for several years, but later declined to let the railroad expand that practice, including its tracks that cross Montana. BNSF took the FRA to court over that decision and the dispute is still pending.

Rail unions have opposed the waivers. They argue that while the new technology is helpful, it shouldnt replace human inspections. Even with an interest in preserving jobs, they say safety is their primary concern.

Already, the unions say the widespread job cuts the major railroads have made __ eliminating nearly one-third of all rail jobs over the past six years __ have made it difficult for employees to keep up with inspection demands and meet all FRA requirements. The NTSB pointed out that the inspector responsible for the territory where the Montana derailment happened had worked an average of 13 hours a day in the four weeks prior to the crash.

Former NTSB director Bob Chipkevich, who spent years investigating rail crashes, said it often takes multiple derailments to force railroads to implement new safety technology.

One of the biggest recent advances in rail safety came after a commuter train collided head-on with a freight train near Los Angeles in 2008, killing 25 people and injuring more than 100. Congress mandated a $15 billion automatic braking system that stops trains when they`re in danger of colliding, derailing and other situations __ but it took 12 years to complete.

When there are safety issues that have been raised after multiple accidents that occurred again and again, the question is to the industry, Chipkevich said. Why havent you done it after all these years?

Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska, and Metz reported from Salt Lake City.

Top photo: Workers stand near train tracks, Sept. 27, 2021, next to overturned cars from an Amtrak train that derailed a few days prior near Joplin, Mont., killing three people and injuring others. A piece of track was bent along a curve near the accident site and the misalignment got worse as freight trains traveled over the area, the National Transportation Safety Board said in investigative documents released on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
ROLLING FORK, Miss. (AP)  Many were not just killed at home. They were killed by their homes.

Angela Eason had visited Brenda Odoms tidy mobile home before. It was a place where Odoms, who had many tragedies in her life, felt safe.

In March, a tornado ripped through this small Mississippi town and people in mobile or manufactured homes were hit the hardest. Inside a mobile morgue, Eason, the county coroner, examined Odoms gaping fatal head wound. Odoms was found just outside of her collapsed mobile home that was tossed around by a tornado. Blunt force trauma killed her.

The one place she felt safe she was not, Eason said. Fourteen people died in that Rolling Fork tornado, nine of them, including Odoms, were in uprooted manufactured or mobile homes.

Tornadoes in the United States are disproportionately killing more people in mobile or manufactured homes, especially in the South, often victimizing some of the most socially and economically vulnerable residents. Since 1996, tornadoes have killed 815 people in mobile or manufactured homes, representing 53% of all the people killed at home during a tornado, according to an Associated Press data analysis of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tornado deaths. Meanwhile, less than 6% of America`s housing units are manufactured homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

While the dangers of tornadoes to mobile homes have long been known, and there are ways to mitigate the risk, the percentage of total tornado deaths that happen in mobile homes has been increasing. Part of the problem is that federal housing rules that call for tougher manufactured home standards, including anchoring, only apply in hurricane zones, which is most of Florida and then several counties along the coast. Those are not the areas where tornadoes usually hit.

Auburn University engineering professor David Roueche called manufactured homes in non-coastal places death traps compared to most permanent homes when it comes to tornadoes.

A Deadly Year

The first tornado deaths this year were in Alabama in January, killing seven people, all in mobile homes. All but one were thrown at least 1,000 feet from their homes, with the seventh person thrown at least 500 feet, said Ernie Baggett, the former emergency management chief for Autauga County, Alabama. Less than 100 yards from where four of those people died was a permanent home that had little more than shingle damage, he said.

When the wind hits the mobile homes, its like a house of cards. They just crumble, Baggett said.

So far this year, at least 45 of the 74 people killed in the U.S. by tornadoes were in some form of manufactured housing when they died, according to NOAA data. Nine others died in site homes and the rest were killed in other places, such as in vehicles.

The manufactured housing industry __ which disputes that theres any disproportionate danger __ insists on calling the structures manufactured homes if they are built after hurricane-based federal standards in 1976 and mobile homes if they are built before, saying age of the home matters. Federal housing officials use the term manufactured housing. Other people, including many researchers and residents, use the terms interchangeably.

More than 70% of the 8 million manufactured homes in America were built after 1976. Because a big chunk were built in the 1980s and early 1990s, 60% of all those homes were installed before increased federal standards were adopted in 1994, the industrys trade group, Manufactured Housing Institute said.

Tornadoes Don`t Have to Be Deadly

Tornado experts say most tornadoes should be survivable.

You just have to be in some structure thats attached to the ground. And then no matter what the tornado throws at you, you have really good odds, said NOAA social scientist Kim Klockow-McClain.

But in manufactured homes, even the weakest tornadoes are killing people in large numbers when they shouldnt be, more than a dozen experts in meteorology, disasters and engineering told The AP.

More than 240 people in mobile homes in the past 28 years have died in tornadoes with winds of 135 mph or less, the three weakest of the six categories of twisters, the AP analysis found. Thats 79% of the deaths at home in the weaker tornadoes. It`s only in storms with winds higher than 165 mph where most of the at home deaths are in more permanent structures.

Auburns Roueche not only studies what happens in mobile homes during tornadoes, he grew up in one. What he sees over and over are mobile homes that fail from the bottom up because they are not secured enough to the ground, like permanent homes are.

What Happens in a Tornado

The whole structure is rolling or flying through air. Youve got dressers falling on top of you. Youve got the entire structure thats trying to crush you, said Roueche.

That March evening in Rolling Fork, when the tornado roared through Ida Cartlidge remembered the air blowing so powerfully that she couldn`t breathe, the sounds of windows shattering and then utter mayhem.

The only thing thats holding a mobile home down are the little straps in the ground, Cartlidge said. It picked up the home one time, set it down. It picked it up again, set it down. It picked it up a third time, and we were in the air. 

The tornado hit Mildred Joyner`s mobile home so hard she felt the mobile home shake, heard the cracking sound of what she figured was her home coming apart and then she woke up in the hospital and her mother who was in the mobile home with her ended up paralyzed from the waist down.

The problem is worsening in the South because tornadoes have been moving more from the Great Plains to the mid-South in recent decades and will likely to continue to do so with climate change a possible factor, studies show. Alabama has the most tornado deaths by far.

Unlike the rest of the country, which usually has most manufactured housing in parks, the South has mobile homes scattered about the countryside in ones and twos, making central tornado shelters less effective and likely to be built, said Villanova University tornado expert Stephen Strader and Northern Illinois meteorology professor Walker Ashley.

The Importance of Anchoring

One thing scientists, emergency managers and the manufactured housing industry agree on is that anchoring mobile homes to the ground is key.

That requires expensive concrete or expensive tie down systems, said former Alabama emergency official Jonathan Gaddy, now a professor at Idaho State University.

Why does that matter? Well, it explains why we havent fixed the problem with anchoring because nobody can fix the problem and still make money. Thats the bottom line, Gaddy said.

Anchoring matters and has been shown to be the difference between life or death,  Villanovas Strader said in an email. However, the MH industry seems disinterested in addressing this because it would make their homes more expensive.

Manufactured Home Institute Chief Executive Officer Lesli Gooch said the industry is very clear about the importance of anchoring. We also talk about making sure that a professional checks your anchoring systems on your manufactured home, especially on mobile homes built prior to (19)76, she said.

Were very focused on making sure that there are minimum installation standards in the states, Gooch said.

Northern Illinois Ashley said lack of state regulations and inspections, especially in much of the South, is a big problem.

Improvements in federal codes that went into effect in 1976, 1994 and 2008 make a big difference, Gooch said, arguing that the NOAA data the AP analyzed and that scientists use lump different ages of manufactured homes together and tar them with the problems of the oldest ones.

I wouldnt want your readers to misinterpret your data to suggest that living in a manufactured home is somehow more deadly than living in a site-built home because I would tell you that I dont think that the data bears that out, Gooch said.

Gooch pointed to manufactured homes in Florida, where tighter federal Housing and Urban Development safety rules apply because it is a hurricane wind zone. Homes in Florida that are manufactured homes are performing better than what you see in the site-built world, she said.

Its Not Getting Better

Several scientists and engineers said data, and history, show the situation has not improved.

This is more of the handwaving- and misdirection-type statements that has come to represent the manufactured housing industrys take on tornado and manufactured home safety, Villanovas Strader said in an email, with Northern Illinois Ashley agreeing.

Our study of the Lee County Alabama EF4 tornado found that 19 of the 23 deaths were in manufactured homes (all built after 1994), Strader said. All of those deaths were due to a lack of anchoring or a floor-to-wall connection. There have been many prior studies that have illustrated that these homes are failing at lower wind loads than permanent homes.

If Gooch were right, the percentage of tornado deaths in mobile homes would be going down with time and they are not, NOAA National Severe Storms Lab tornado scientist Harold Brooks said, presenting data that goes back to 1975. His data showed mobile home deaths between 1975 and 1984 were 43.6% of all at-home tornado deaths and the same figure was 63.2% for the past ten years through the end of May.

A contributing factor, Strader, Ashley and Roueche said, is that federal rules for anchoring only apply in hurricane zones, mostly in Florida. Those are not the areas where tornadoes usually hit. Instead, they hit inland where the weakest federal standards are, they said. Most of tornado-prone areas, including almost all of Alabama, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas and Mississippi are in Zone 1,  where safety and anchoring of mobile homes have the most lax standards.

People are dying in new and old Zone 1 manufactured homes, Roueche said in response to Goochs comments. Tornado homes throughout the country would be much safer if the coastal federal requirements applied everywhere, he said.

Hurting Poor People More

One of the issues with mobile homes and tornadoes is that it is an intersection of risk and different social vulnerability factors like poverty, even some issues pertaining to race, ethnicity, age, NOAAs Klockow said.

And it makes it harder for people to leave their mobile homes and head for a permanent shelter.

I always think about the single mother whos living in a manufactured home. Its the middle of the night. She has three kids. Her cars not starting correctly and all of a sudden here comes a tornado, Strader said in an interview.

Officials tell her to get to a storm shelter because our manufactured home isnt safe, Strader said. Well, the problem there is that theres all these factors up against them.

Tornadoes pop down rapidly, which doesn`t allow meteorologists to give much warning, maybe 10 to 15 minutes. In many cases, the National Weather Service warns days in advance that the conditions are ripe for tornadoes, but that isn`t the same as warning that one has touched down.

University of Oklahoma social scientist Justin Sharpe, who studies disaster warnings, said with poor and disabled residents the key is to avoid warnings that simply say get out now and nothing else.

Instead, a couple hours before a tornado is possible, meteorologists should warn people to be packed up and ready to go at a moments notice later, Sharpe and Klockow-McClain said.

Finding Safer Places

A relatively new law in Alabama could help provide more shelters and be a model for other states. The law gives liability protection to buildings like churches and stores that open up in an emergency as a shelter if specifically-built shelters arent available.

When this years first deadly tornado struck just outside Montgomery, Alabama, Autauga County had about 30 minutes warning but no safer places to send people, the then-emergency chief, Baggett said. Seven people in mobile homes died.

The tornado continued into neighboring Elmore County, which had already set off its 30 warning sirens, used a mass notification system to make 16,772 calls to phones in the danger area and opened up 16 churches and other safer places.

People went into the temporary shelters. Homes were destroyed, but no one died.

Associated Press photographer Gerald Herbert and video journalist Stephen Smith contributed to this report. Borenstein reported from Washington and Fassett from Seattle.

Top photo: A woman walks near an uprooted tree, a flipped vehicle and debris from homes damaged by a tornado, March 27, 2023, in Rolling Fork, Miss. While the dangers of tornadoes to mobile homes have long been known, and there are ways to mitigate the risk, the percentage of total tornado deaths that happen in mobile homes has been increasing. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
PARMA, Ohio -- Parmas plan to start a sharpshooter operation to cull its white-tailed deer herd first involves seeking public input.

That includes its current deer survey, up now through Friday (Aug. 4).

The community survey is important, Mayor Tim DeGeeter said. Were encouraging residents, because we want citizen engagement to make sure this is the direction they want the city to go.

Once we close the survey and get the results back, well put that out there and let the residents know.

Ohios seventh-largest city is using Parma Heights recently completed first phase of deer culling as a guide.

The Parma Police Department reported more than 100 deer-vehicle incidents over the last two years.

Police Chief Joseph M. Bobak, who previously told cleveland.com that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had completed a spring deer count estimate of close to 1,000 deer in the city, is currently scouting locations for the anticipated fall program.

City Council will have final approval before moving ahead.

A couple of months have passed since Parma announced its intention to create a deer culling program. The mayor said the response from community members has been positive so far.

When Parma Heights announced their program, I was getting input from folks asking about it, he said. They were saying we should do something here in Parma.

In fact, anecdotally, I was stopped at church by two different parties bringing it up as we were walking out after Mass.

On the flip side, weve received a couple of emails positive and some opposing the aspect. So, OK, weve responded to everybody saying, Heres a survey, go participate.

Read more news from the Parma Sun Post.
NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio -- Exactly 80 years after he was killed in Romania serving in World War II, Army Air Corps serviceman George Bud Reuter, 25, was laid to rest with full military honors Saturday (July 29) at Sunset Memorial Park in North Olmsted.

Bud was killed Aug. 1, 1943, in Romania when his B-24 plane was shot down, Sunset Chapel Funeral Director Kate Hathaway said.

He was on a mission in Operation Tidal Wave. Their goal was to bomb the oil refineries. That way, it would damage the economy and help with the war efforts.

He was buried along with more than 200 other soldiers killed in the mission. They were buried by the locals in kind of a mass grave, Hathaway said.

Thats where Reuter, a North Olmsted native, remained until 2016, when the United States Mortuary Affairs gained permission to excavate the mass grave of American soldiers.

Using surviving member DNA, so far the effort has identified 78 soldiers.

After arriving more than a week ago at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Reuters remains -- as well as a replica 1943 Army Air Corps uniform with posthumously awarded medals -- received a full military escort to Sunset Memorial Park.

Killed in World War II, North Olmsted native and Army Air Corps serviceman George Bud Reuter has been laid to rest at Sunset Memorial Park. (John Benson/cleveland.com)

A few days ago, his remaining family from Georgia came to Northeast Ohio for memorial and graveside services, which were held on top of Reuters gravesite.

My mother was 102 years old, and until her day of passing she was anxiously awaiting her brother Buds return, said Reuters niece, Betty Moore. We cant put in words how glad we are that he has finally returned home.

Evelyn Reuter Drummond passed away in 2018 never having the closure that we have today. I appreciate Sunset and our military so much for their hard work and dedication to my uncle.

Moores husband, Allen, added: This is more than we were ever expecting to experience. Its everything he deserves.

Read more news from the Sun Post Herald.
AKRON, Ohio  A Summit County judge sentenced a man to life in prison after he pleaded guilty to the 1991 killing of a 23-year-old woman.

Daniel Rees, 60, of Barberton, wont be eligible for parole until he serves 30 years in prison for the murder of Rachael Johnson, Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said in a news release. Rees pleaded guilty Friday to aggravated murder. Johnson was the mother of a young child when she was killed, WOIO Channel 19 reports.

Over 30 years ago Rachael searched for help and found tragedy at the hands of Daniel Rees. Even though this happened decades ago, Rachaels family and friends have had to live through it every day since 1991, Walsh said in a news release.

WOIO reports that Johnsons father, Lawrence Johnson, became emotional during Fridays sentencing, yelling at Rees Dont even look at me! Dont even look at me! He deserves to pay back what he took.

Rees reportedly called himself a monster in court and said what he did was horrendous.

According to prosecutors, Johnson was out with a friend on March 30, 1991, when their car broke down in the area of Dan Street in Akron. Johnson reportedly walked away from the vehicle after it broke down.

Johnsons body was found a few hours later, partially burned and naked from the waist down, prosecutors say. The Summit County Medical Examiners Office says Johnson had been stabbed multiple times.

The case had been cold for nearly 30 years, but genealogy DNA led to the arrest of Rees in March of 2020.
Russia's former leader Dmitry Medvedev, a President Putin ally who is now deputy chairman of the country's security council, visits the Aleksin Experimental Mechanical Plant in the Tula region, June 15. AFP-Yonhap



Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who has sometimes raised the specter of a nuclear conflict over Ukraine, said on Sunday that Moscow would have to use a nuclear weapon if Kyiv's ongoing counter-offensive was a success.



Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, a body chaired by President Vladimir Putin, said in a message on his official social media accounts that Russia would be forced to fall back on its own nuclear doctrine in such a scenario.



"Imagine if the.. offensive, which is backed by NATO, was a success and they tore off a part of our land then we would be forced to use a nuclear weapon according to the rules of a decree from the president of Russia.



"There would simply be no other option. So our enemies should pray for our warriors' (success). They are making sure that a global nuclear fire is not ignited," he said.



Medvedev, who has cast himself as one of Moscow's most hawkish voices, appeared to be referring to part of Russia's nuclear doctrine which sets out that nuclear weapons can be used in response to aggression against Russia carried out using conventional weapons which threatens the existence of the Russian state.



Ukraine is trying to retake territory which Russia has unilaterally annexed and declared to be part of its own territory, a move condemned by Kyiv and much of the West.



Putin said on Saturday that there were no serious battlefield changes to report in recent days and that Ukraine had lost large amounts of military equipment since June 4. Kyiv says its forces are making some progress in their drive to retake territory, albeit at a slower pace than desired.



Kremlin critics have in the past accused Medvedev of making extreme statements in an effort to dissuade Western countries from continuing to supply Ukraine with arms. (Reuters)




AKRON, Ohio  They robbed postal employees at gunpoint, led police on high-speed chases in souped up muscle cars that they had stolen in three states and carried out a sophisticated check scheme.

In just two months, the group of friends made off with some $2.4 million. On Monday a U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi sentenced the last of the four, Jaylen Harris, to three years and 10 months in prison.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  A 13-year-old boy died Sunday when he was shot by another child at an apartment complex in the Union-Miles Park neighborhood, police say.

The shooting occurred at about noon at an apartment complex on the corner of East 98th Street and Union Avenue, police say. The victim was pronounced dead at Rainbow Babies and Childrens Hospital.

Police released no other details on the shooting Sunday night, saying the shooting remains under investigation.
Italian Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto speaks during the departure ceremony of the Italian ship 'Amerigo Vespucci' on world tour, Genoa, Italy, July 1. EPA-Yonhap



Italy made an "improvised and atrocious" decision when it joined China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) four years ago as it did little to boost exports, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said in an interview published on Sunday.



Italy signed up to the BRI under a previous government, becoming the only major Western country to have taken such a step. Crosetto is part of an administration that is considering how to break free of the agreement.



The BRI scheme envisions rebuilding the old Silk Road to connect China with Asia, Europe and beyond with large infrastructure spending. Critics see it as a tool for China to spread its geopolitical and economic influence.



"The decision to join the (new) Silk Road was an improvised and atrocious act" that multiplied China's exports to Italy but did not have the same effect on Italian exports to China, Crosetto told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.



"The issue today is: how to walk back (from the BRI) without damaging relations (with Beijing). Because it is true that China is a competitor, but it is also a partner," the defense minister added.



After a White House meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her government was still deliberating on the BRI and announced a trip to Beijing in the near future.



"We'll take a decision before December," Meloni told U.S. broadcaster Fox News in an interview aired on Sunday, adding that the issue required discussions with the Chinese government and within the Italian parliament.



Meloni reiterated her view that it is a "paradox" that while Italy is part of the BRI, it is not the G7 country with the biggest trade with China, and said that shows it is possible to have good relations with Beijing without the Belt and Road. (Reuters)


Chinese regions on fast-track development of modern industrial system

People's Daily Online) 13:45, July 31, 2023

Regions across China are accelerating the construction of a modern industrial system. Intelligent workshops, green factories, and zero-carbon industrial parks have commenced operations, fueling the transformation and upgrade of traditional industries.

In recent years, north China's Hebei Province has incorporated enhancing its green manufacturing system into its broader efforts to build a modern industrial sector. The province is promoting high-quality development by improving industrial energy efficiency, enhancing the capacity to utilize industrial resources, and expediting the construction of green factories, green industrial parks, and green supply chain management enterprises.

At HBIS Shisteel, a company based in Shijiazhuang, Hebei's capital, waste steel is used for steelmaking, eliminating high-emission production procedures such as coking and sintering. This approach allows the company to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, particulates, and other pollutants by over 75 percent.

In 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology included 19 enterprises that effectively utilize industrial solid waste on a list of businesses meeting industry standards. Following this, the province established one waste-free industrial park, 21 waste-free enterprises, and nine demonstration businesses to comprehensively utilize industrial solid waste. Last year, the added value from utilizing waste resources in Hebei grew by 23.7 percent year on year.

To advance the building of the green manufacturing system, Hebei implemented rigorous initiatives last year. These aimed to enable 265 enterprises in seven key industries, including iron and steel, coking, cement, flat glass, building ceramics, thermal power, and waste-to-energy, to achieve Grade-A environmental performance within three years.

Last year, Hebei also selected 54 energy-saving diagnostic service providers in the industrial sector to offer services to 320 industrial enterprises. It also released a catalog of recommended green and low-carbon advanced technology and equipment in key industries such as iron and steel, cement, the petrochemical sector, and chemical engineering.

To date, Hebei has recognized 411 green factories, 19 green industrial parks, 19 green supply chain management enterprises, and 56 eco-friendly products. The province aims to cultivate approximately 100 provincial-level (or above) green factories this year.

 Employees work in a silicon single crystal rod workshop of Xingtai Jinglong New Energy Co., Ltd. in Xingtai city, north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Mou Yu)

: Employees work in an intelligent production center of Baosteel Group Guangdong Shaoguan Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. in Shaoguan city, south China's Guangdong Province. (People's Daily/Zhang Mingwei)

: Mechanical arms conduct welding work in a BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. workshop in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province. (Xinhua/Yang Qing)

: A photo shows the workshop of a new energy company in Tongxin county, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Yang Zhisen)

In southern China, Maoming city in Guangdong Province is developing a cluster of modern and green energy and petrochemical industries.

The city attracted an alkane resource comprehensive utilization project, backed by an investment of over 100 billion yuan ($13.9 billion) from Oriental Energy Co., Ltd., a leading alkane resources operator. Leveraging this project, Oriental Energy pioneered the construction of a zero-carbon industrial park that spans 101 square kilometers, the first of its kind in the city.

Chen Wenxin, secretary of the board of Oriental Energy, stated that a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, co-developed independently by China National Nuclear Corporation and Tsinghua University, could ensure a clean supply of steam, electricity, refrigeration, and even hydrogen for the entire industrial park.

Upon completion, the project, which is divided into three phases, is expected to stimulate the growth of over 1,000 downstream industries. Furthermore, it aims to achieve pollution-free production and zero carbon emissions throughout the entire chain, from chemical production to energy use.

With the establishment of the zero-carbon industrial park, Maoming is building a modern industrial system across the board by focusing on the strategic needs of green chemicals, new materials and new energy, said Zhuang Yuequn, secretary of the Communist Party of China Maoming Municipal Committee.

Guangdong aims to develop a modern energy system that is clean, low-carbon, safe, efficient, intelligent, and innovative. The province strives to ensure that energy consumption per unit of the province's GDP, as well as energy consumption per unit of added value of industrial enterprises above the designated size (with an annual business turnover of at least 20 million yuan), decrease by 14 percent by 2025, compared with 2020.

Northeast China's Liaoning Province has shifted its manufacturing sector towards more high-end, intelligent, and environmentally friendly production methods over recent years.

"So far, Liaoning has recognized 287 state-level small- and medium-sized enterprises that apply special, sophisticated techniques to produce unique and novel products, as well as 524 provincial-level ones," said Chen Hu, deputy director of the Industry and Information Technology Department of Liaoning Province. He also added that the added value of high-tech manufacturing in the province increased by 14.9 percent in the first quarter of this year, and investment in industrial and technical upgrading surged by 25.5 percent.

Liaoning has placed a priority on intelligent manufacturing, leveraging digital technology to facilitate the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries. At present, the province has built 152 digital workshops and smart factories, and implemented 1,235 application scenarios. The rate of numerical control for key processes and the penetration rate of digital transformation tools for R&D and design in key industrial enterprises have reached 59.7 percent and 77.2 percent, respectively.

"This year, Liaoning plans to build over 60 smart factories and digital workshops, and cultivate 10 exemplary enterprises in digital transformation," Chen Hu said.

As Liaoning accelerates its industrial structure adjustment and advances its digital transformation, it has achieved breakthroughs in fostering the green and low-carbon development of the manufacturing sector.

Statistics indicate that the energy consumption of industrial enterprises above the designated size in Liaoning dropped by 4.1 percent year on year in 2022.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Liang Jun)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends an event for marking Statehood Day in Mykhailivska Square in Kyiv, July 28. AP-Yonhap



Ukraine is to start consultations with the United States this week on providing security guarantees for Kyiv pending the completion of the process of joining NATO, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff said on Sunday.



Andriy Yermak, writing on the Telegram messaging app, also said officials from a number of countries were preparing to meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss Zelenskyy's peace plan for Ukraine, based on the departure of all Russian troops.



Yermak did not say when the next meeting would take place but said the plan would be discussed in three phases, leading up to a meeting of heads of state and government.



The Wall Street Journal first reported on the meeting in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, saying it would be held in Jeddah on August 5-6.



The talks on security guarantees with the United States are a follow-up on pledges issued by the Group of 7 (G7) at the NATO summit in Lithuania earlier this month to draw up and honor security guarantees.



"We are starting talks with the United States (this) week," Yermak wrote on Telegram.



"Security guarantees for Ukraine will be concrete, long-term obligations ensuring Ukraine's capacity to defeat and restrain Russian aggression in the future. These will be clearly drafted formats and mechanisms of support."



He said the guarantees "will be in effect until Ukraine secures NATO membership."



The Western Alliance's Vilnius summit offered support to Ukraine in countering Russia's 17-month-old invasion and individual countries pledged new weapons, but no date for Ukrainian membership was set as long as the war continues.



Members of the G7 agreed for each nation to negotiate agreements to provide security guarantees and help Ukraine bolster its military.



In his comments, Yermak said more than 10 other countries had joined the G7 declaration and Ukraine was negotiating terms of future guarantees with each of them.



Yermak spoke of the forthcoming meeting in Saudi Arabia at a gathering of regional officials in the western Ukrainian city of Ivano Frankivsk.



He said an initial international meeting devoted to the peace plan took place in Copenhagen in June.



In addition to calling for a withdrawal of Russian troops, Zelenskyy's peace plan also provides for the restoration of Ukraine's pre-war borders and the return home of all prisoners and deported children.



Russia and Ukraine held a series of peace talks soon after Russia's invasion in February 2022, but these failed to produce any agreement.



Ukraine, its military now bolstered by Western arms, now says it will not take part in any further talks until Russian troops leave. (Reuters)


Former US president and 2024 Republican Presidential hopeful Donald Trump arrives to speak at the Republican Party of Iowa's 2023 Lincoln Dinner at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 28, 2023.

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit Donald Trump filed against CNN in which the former U.S. president claimed that references in news articles or by the network's hosts to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election as "the Big Lie" were tantamount to comparing him to Adolf Hitler.

Trump had been seeking punitive damages of $475 million in the federal lawsuit filed last October in South Florida, claiming the references hurt his reputation and political career. Trump is a candidate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination in what is his third run for the presidency as a major-party candidate.

U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal, who was appointed by Trump, said Friday in his ruling that the former president's defamation claims failed because the references were opinions and not factual statements. Moreover, it was a stretch to believe that, in viewers' minds, that phrase would connect Trump's efforts challenging the 2020 election results to Nazi propaganda or Hitler's genocidal and authoritarian regime, the judge said.

"CNN's use of the phrase 'the Big Lie' in connection with Trump's election challenges does not give rise to a plausible inference that Trump advocates the persecution and genocide of Jews or any other group of people," the judge wrote in his decision.

Email messages seeking comment were sent to Trump's attorneys in South Florida and Washington. CNN declined to comment on Sunday.
Ellie Middleton, 25, always felt like something about her was different. Growing up, the Yorkshire, UK, native would "really struggle to maintain friendships," she says. "After I was in a friendship group for a little while, they would kind of get fed up with me for whatever reason and I wouldn't really understand what happened." She'd also have "six months of being fine, bubbly, energetic, ambitious," she says. "And then every six months I would just, like, crash and burn." That crash would include low moods, anxiety and panic attacks. Middleton was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and depression early on but felt there had to be some other underlying issue. Turns out, she was right. A few years after dropping out of high school at 17, she got diagnosed with both attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism. Each can bring on its own unique social challenges and burnout. Soon after getting diagnosed, Middleton began sharing her experiences online. And they caught people's attention. Today, her Instagram account boasts more than 30,000 followers and her LinkedIn page more than 220,000. She uses both to advocate for the neurodivergent. Here's how Middleton was able to take her experiences and turn them into a tool to help others.

'I was like, "Oh my God, yeah, that's me"'

After leaving high school, Middleton worked entry-level jobs at a post office and a bank. During a counseling session through one of her jobs, Middleton mentioned getting upset with her then-boyfriend for telling her he would leave a night out early. He ultimately decided to stay and she couldn't figure out why he didn't do what he said he was going to. "The counselor just said to me, 'has it ever been looked into why you take things so literally?'" she says. In the past, Middleton had heard literal thinking was one of the traits of autism. She set off on a Google search to learn more, reading about it on the National Health Service website. She came across symptoms of ADHD along her search as well.

Middleton giving a talk. Photo courtesy Ellie Middleton

As Middleton scrolled through social media posts about the disorders, she came across people and, specifically, young women like herself describing their experiences with them. "I was like, 'Oh my God, yeah, that's me," she says. "That's me. That's me."

'I did a post about what it means to be professional'

Middleton officially got diagnosed with ADHD in October 2021 and autism in April 2022. Around the time of her ADHD diagnoses, Middleton had started working for a branding agency where she was encouraged to cultivate her own presence on platforms like LinkedIn. After considering what she could bring to the table in terms of relevant posts, she decided to weigh in with her personal work experiences. "I did a post about what it means to be professional," she says. "And so I was kind of talking about the things about me that didn't make me any less professional. So, for example, the fact that I have tattoos and piercings." She included the fact that she's open about her neurodivergence and mental health as well. And the post went viral. "I think I got to around 10,000 followers overnight," she says. She started getting asked to speak at conferences and getting hired to consult about neurodivergence. "And it just kind of grew and grew and grew from there," she says.

Take the time 'to really reflect on what works for you'
A consortium led by Francisco Partners and private equity group TPG will take software provider New Relic private in an all-cash, $87-a-share offer that values the company at nearly $6.5 billion, New Relic announced Monday.

New Relic shares rose 13% in morning trading, to nearly $84. The offer represents a 26% premium to New Relic's 30-day volume-weighted average closing price, the company said. New Relic builds software to help websites and applications track performance.

The deal is expected to close by early 2024, the company said. It will return New Relic to private ownership nearly nine years after it first debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014.

"We are pleased to partner with Francisco Partners and TPG, who are committed to continuing to build upon New Relic's strong foundation and achieve its full potential," New Relic founder and Executive Chairman Lew Cirne said in a release.

Reuters reported in May that Francisco Partners and TPG had ended deal talks after failing to secure enough debt financing to meet New Relic's desired valuation. The resurrected transaction was announced concurrently with New Relic's earnings report.

Since that report, the private equity groups were able to obtain financing and meet New Relic's valuation requirements. Major shareholders, including Cirne and activist hedge fund Jana Partners, have signed off on the deal.

Under the terms of the agreement, New Relic will have a 45-day "go-shop" period, during which it can entertain offers from other qualified bidders.

TPG is an alternative asset manager with investments around the world, including Airbnb , Box and Zscaler .

Francisco Partners is a technology-focused private equity firm with past investments in Barracuda Networks, On Semiconductor and K2. In recent years, the firm has taken other cloud and IT companies private, including in a $1.7 billion deal for Sumo Logic and a 2018 deal for payment technology company Verifone.

Correction: Sumo Logic was taken private in a $1.7 billion deal. A previous version misstated the valuation of the deal.
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A super PAC backing Republican presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. on Monday disclosed major donations from some of the nation's wealthiest business leaders. The backing underscores the outsized support that Scott enjoys from Wall Street donors, even as polls gauge his support among likely primary voters at under 5 percent. Contributions from just three billionaires, Nelson Peltz, Jeffrey Yass and Stanley Druckenmiller, which have not been previously reported, added up to almost $1 million for the pro-Scott Opportunity Matters Fund Action PAC in the first half of the year, filings with the Federal Election Commission show. Peltz, a billionaire and one-time Trump backer, hosted a fundraiser in 2020 to support the former president's failed bid for reelection. Between April and June this year, he gave $80,000 to the PAC backing Scott, who only officially entered the race in May.

Nelson Peltz, founder and chief executive officer of Trian Fund Management, during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute Priority Summit in Miami, Florida, on Thursday, March 30, 2023. Marco Bello | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Peltz is a founding partner of investment firm Trian Fund Management and was a supporter of the former president until Trump supporters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. More recently, Peltz has reportedly been souring on another 2024 Republican presidential hopeful, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, as the once promising campaign has faced headwinds since its launch in May. Yass, a billionaire GOP megadonor and a co-founder of Susquehanna International Group, donated $600,000 to the same pro-Scott super PAC from March through June, according to Monday's filings. This isn't the only time this year Yass has donated to an effort to halt Trump. He also gave $15 million to Club for Growth Action, a separate super PAC that is taking on Trump's latest run for president. Druckenmiller, a veteran Wall Street investor, donated $150,000 to the Opportunity Matters Fund Action in April, the filing showed.

Stanley Druckenmiller, Duquesne Family Office, at CNBC's Delivering Alpha, Sept. 28, 2022. Scott Mlyn | CNBC

Druckenmiller is also co-hosting a splashy Hamptons fundraiser next month to support Scott's presidential bid. Marc Rowan, the CEO of Apollo Global Management, is co-hosting the event. Rowan donated $250,000 to a different pro-Scott super PAC, Trust In The Mission (TIM) PAC, last quarter. Federal Election Commission filings show that he also donated $6,600 to Scott's campaign for president in June. Ben Navarro, a South Carolina businessman and CEO of Sherman Financial Group, donated $5 million to the same committee.
Heineken's chief executive says the company has learned lessons from the social media controversy around a campaign for rival beer Bud Light  but still believes businesses should stand up for their "values."

"Particularly in the Western world, we do see a lot of polarization in society. And that's affecting all players, all actors in society, also businesses and also brands," Dolf van den Brink told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe."

"You have to be thoughtful, you have to be balanced. And at the same time, you need to stand for your values and your principles. And we try to do that to the best of of our abilities," he said. "So far, I'm proud of how our brand teams across our operating companies are navigating this new world."

Van den Brink was speaking to CNBC after Heineken on Monday cut its 2023 profit growth forecast. The brewer reported a 5.6% decline in beer sales and an 8.8% like-for-like fall in operating profit, coming in below a company-compiled consensus forecast.
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Interior Ministry Press Office, emergency services work at a scene after a missile hits a multi-story apartment building in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, Monday. AP-Yonhap



Russian missiles slammed into an apartment complex and a university building in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih Monday, killing four people and wounding scores of others as the blasts trapped residents beneath rubble, Ukraine's interior minister said.



One of the two missiles destroyed a section of the apartment building between the fourth and ninth floors, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. Video showed black smoke billowing from corner units and burned out or damaged cars on a tree-lined street.



A 10-year-old girl was among those killed, officials said. Dnipro Gov. Serhii Lysak said 53 people were wounded in the morning attack, which also destroyed part of the four-story university building.



Meanwhile, a Ukrainian artillery strike on partially occupied Donetsk province killed two people and wounded six in the regional capital, according to Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the illegally annexed province.



A bus was also hit as Ukrainian forces shelled the city of Donetsk multiple times Monday, Pushilin said.



Neither side's claims could be independently verified.



A recent Ukrainian counteroffensive, deploying weaponry supplied by Kyiv's Western allies and aimed at driving Russian forces out of occupied areas, intensified last week. At the same time, Ukraine has sought to take the war deep into Russia, reportedly using drones to hit targets as far away as Moscow.



Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia and Moscow-annexed territory, especially Crimea, have become more frequent. The latest strike, on Sunday, damaged two office buildings a few miles (kilometers) from the Kremlin.



Russia has tightened security in the aftermath of that attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, describing the assault as an "act of desperation."



"The Kyiv regime is in a very, very difficult situation," Peskov said, "as the counteroffensive is not working out as planned."



"It's obvious that the multibillion-dollar resources that have been transferred by NATO countries to the Kyiv regime are actually being spent inefficiently," Peskov said.



"This raises big questions in Western capitals and great discomfort among taxpayers in Western countries."



Another Ukrainian drone targeted a district police department early Monday in Russia's Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, but there were no casualties, the local governor said.





A view shows an apartment building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, Monday / AP-Yonhap
Remain of Shahed 136 at an exhibition showing remains of missiles and drones that Russia used to attack Kyiv on May 12, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Oleksii Samsonov | Getty Images

Iran is seeing new demand for its drones, a development that has drawn concern from Washington and renewed Tehran's focus on deepening its alliances in South America. Bolivia's defense minister last week confirmed his country's interest in acquiring Iranian drones, days after he visited Tehran for a bilateral meeting on July 20 to sign what he said was an "act" on areas of common interest. Iranian state news outlets IRNA and Fars reported that the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on defense and security. "Latin American countries are of special significance in Iran's foreign and defense policy based on the importance of [the] very sensitive South American region," Iran's defense minister, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, was quoted as saying. After Bolivian opposition party members and neighboring Argentina's Foreign Ministry demanded information on the reported memorandum, Bolivia's defense minister, Edmundo Novillo, said his government was indeed interested in advanced Iranian drones. Novillo said they would be used to protect the country's borders from drug trafficking and smuggling, and could help monitor mountainous areas and improve military surveillance. "Their technology could satisfy the requirement that we have raised," he said, according to reports, without specifying what kind of drones his government wanted. The minister dismissed critics' concerns, saying: "It is not a threat, nor could we lend ourselves to some type of actions that could generate attacks or something like that. We are pacifists." He also denied that Bolivia and Iran signed a formal memorandum. CNBC has reached out to both Iran's and Bolivia's Foreign Ministries for comment.

A 'considerable' battlefield impact

In 2022, Iran had the largest arsenal of missiles and drones in the Middle East, according to the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. Iran's drones have made "considerable impact on any battlefield they have appeared in," according to Farzin Nadimi, an arms expert at The Washington Institute. Despite production and trade challenges due to heavy Western sanctions, the performance of Iranian drones is "at par with the competition, and in some respects, even better"  while also being cheaper, Nadimi said in a report by the U.S. Institute of Peace. "By the fall of 2022, Tehran had also exported drones or drone technology to at least five countries on four continents as well as to at least seven proxy militias in the Middle East," the report read. U.S. concerns center on Iran's deepening foreign alliances and dissemination of its lethal drones, analysts say. Western allies including the U.S. and U.K. have accused Iran of supplying Russia with lethal drones during Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Tehran denies these allegations. Two days after Novillo's remarks, John Kirby, spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, said in an interview that the Biden administration is "concerned about any export of Iranian technology that can be destabilizing."

Iran presents its first hypersonic ballistic missile 'Fattah' (Conqueror) in an event attended by President Ebrahim Raisi and other government officials in Tehran, Iran on June 06, 2023. Sepah News | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Kirby noted the U.S. sanctions already in place against Iran for its export of lethal drones to Russia, adding, "We urge all nations, no matter where they are, to carefully consider before they enter into defense arrangements with a nation like Iran." Previously only supplying drones to a few Middle Eastern allies, Iran is now expanding its reach after using Ukraine as a testing ground and launchpad to becoming a global provider of lethal drone technology. Its long-range Shahed-136 drones in particular have been used by Russia to devastating effect on Ukraine's cities and critical infrastructure.

Customers in Europe, Africa, Latin America, Asia

An apparent marketing push to countries in the developing world has strengthened Iran's alliances, while also improving revenue streams  something of critical importance to Tehran after several years of economic decimation under U.S. sanctions. "Iran is always looking to showcase its diversified ties. This helps Iran push back against maximum pressure sanctions and show that despite all U.S. efforts at containment, Iran has broadened the resistance axis and is able to be a destabilizing actor in America's backyard," Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, told CNBC. Many Latin American countries cooperate with Iran as part of a broader opposition to the U.S., or because they are under U.S. sanctions  in particular Venezuela, which has been receiving Iranian drone technology since 2007. On a recent visit to Latin America, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stressed the importance of an alliance between Iran, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela in a common struggle against "imperialism and domination" by the U.S. and the West. Since the socialist party returned to power in Bolivia in 2020, the country has made a concerted effort to revive ties with Venezuela and Iran.

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Still, "greater economic cooperation with Latin American countries will not enable the Iranian regime to fix the structural flaws in Iran's economy," the U.S. Institute of Peace wrote, pointing to issues of corruption and Revolutionary Guard Corps control over the economy as matters needing the most focus. Other regional analysts described Raisi's tour of Latin America as politically symbolic but not economically tangible. Washington-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War wrote on July 20 that Iran had sought to increase the number of countries that buy its drones. It added that a former Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, "boasted in October 2022 that 22 countries  including Algeria, Armenia, Serbia, Tajikistan, and Venezuela  had submitted formal requests for Iranian drones." Additionally, Raisi "promoted Iranian drone technology during several recent foreign trips, including during his most recent trip to Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe between July 12-14," the ISW wrote. Iran has previously provided drones to African countries including Sudan and Ethiopia, which the latter used against Tigray rebels.

'Axis of resistance'

Israel has also been closely watching Iran's drone industry, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant saying in February that Iran at the time was "holding discussions to sell advanced weapons, including UAVs and PGMs (precision-guided missiles), to no less than 50 different countries." "Iran is no longer a 'local supplier' serving proxies in the Middle East. It is a 'multinational corporation,' a global exporter of advanced weapons," Gallant said. "From Belarus in Eastern Europe, to Venezuela in South America, we have seen Iran delivering UAVs with a range of up to 1,000 kilometers."

Missiles of the kind used during Iran's retaliatory strike on the U.S Ayn al-Asad military base in 2020 are seen on display at Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran, Iran January 7, 2022. Majid Asgaripour | WANA | via REUTERS
Here are Monday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Goldman Sachs upgrades Chevron to buy from neutral Goldman said it sees a cash flow inflection for the oil and gas giant. "We upgrade Chevron from Neutral to Buy on (a) leading capital returns; (b) clear inflection in cash flow in 2024 and volumes in 2025; and (c) relative valuation, particularly in 2025." Read more about this call here. Bernstein reiterates Nvidia as outperform Bernstein said it's standing by its outperform rating on the stock. "We believe that NVDA and other AI infrastructure hardware vendors offer the most near term upside potential, but carry the most risk of an overbuild." Morgan Stanley names Keurig Dr Pepper a top pick Morgan Stanley said the beverage giant is its new top pick. "Our most significant change is doubling down on our recent upgrade to OW at KDP by moving it to our top pick in beverages, and we are moving down STZ both as our favorite name in beverages after recent striking stock outperformance with the stock up 31% from its January bottom and at an all-time high." Jefferies downgrades Carvana to underperform from hold Jefferies said there's still a "rough road ahead" for the used car seller. "We are downgrading to Underperform and lowering our PT to $30, as cons downside could resurface concerns about the viability CVNA' s business model." Read more about this call here. TD Cowen upgrades GoodRX to outperform from market perform TD said the company's partnership with pharmacy benefit managers is a game changer. "We upgrade GDRX to Outperform from Market Perform, as we believe GDRX's PBM partnerships not only generate a new LT revenue stream, but integrates GDRX into the health care ecosystem." Piper Sandler reiterates Apple as overweight Piper raised its price target on the stock to $220 per share from $180 and said it's standing by its overweight rating. "We feel that Apple is well positioned going into the print and guide next week and that generally speaking, the China handset concerns for Apple are a bit overblown." Morgan Stanley reiterates Walmart as overweight Morgan Stanley said Walmart+ continues grow and gain new members. "Latest survey points to ~21m Walmart + members (~16.5% household penetration), similar to our prior survey and near a record high. " JPMorgan downgrades Penske to underweight from neutral JPMorgan said earnings are starting to normalize for the transportation company. " PAG's execution has been undeniably strong across all aspects of the business along with significant de-leveraging of the balance sheet since the pandemic and shares have outperformed (+80% last 24 months vs peers +10%) as a result." Bank of America upgrades Hasbro to buy from neutral Bank of America said it's bullish heading into earnings later this week. "We're upgrading Hasbro from Neutral to Buy ahead of the company's 2Q earnings call on Thursday, August 3rd. We expect Hasbro will report an earnings beat given strong demand for The Lord of the Rings Magic set which released in late June." Read more about this call here. Deutsche Bank upgrades New York Community Banc to buy from hold Deutsche said it likes the regional bank's execution. "Continued execution on the transformation of the business model has been strong leading into 2Q earnings, and the clarity on both a solid expense outlook and further growth opportunities from the private client team additions post earnings, should generate strong earnings growth which lead us to upgrading NYCB shares to BUY." Jefferies downgrades Ford to hold from buy Jefferies downgraded the automaker due to worsening electric vehicle losses. "Ford cut back to Hold on worse EV losses and strategic wobble." Read more about this call here. RBC downgrades CSX to sector perform from outperform RBC downgraded the railroad company mainly on valuation. " CSX has been operating fluidly in recent quarters, which has translated into business wins and solid results." Oppenheimer downgrades General Electric to perform from outperform Oppenheimer downgraded the stock mainly on valuation. " GE delivered a broad-based beat/raise. Downgrade to Perform, based on shares at/+ our target multiples. GE shares are +35% since our 12/5/22 upgrade (vs. S & P +15%); 65% returns including value of 80.1% of GEHC shares spun to GE shareholders." Bernstein downgrades Southwest to market perform from outperform Bernstein said in its downgrade of the stock that it has "lost confidence." "We have lost confidence in the earnings trajectory of LUV as margin recovery is lower than expected with no clear-cut exit out of near term headwinds. Downgrading to Market-Perform." Evercore ISI reiterates Amazon as outperform Evercore said it's standing by Amazon heading into earnings later this week. " AMZN is one of our Top Picks in Large Cap. We continue to see an attractive set-up on the stock based on our Triple Trough Thesis (trough multiple, trough margin, and trough revenue growth)." Piper Sandler upgrades Sweetgreen to overweight from neutral Piper said the tide may be turning for the fast casual restaurant company. "While it has been 'tough sledding' thus far for SG as a public company, we think the tide may be turning here a bit, and we'd advise positioning for what we expect will be a meaningful improvement in sentiment in the coming months." Piper Sandler upgrades Wayfair to overweight from neutral Piper said it sees numerous positive catalysts ahead for Wayfair. "Additionally, Wayfair is on the cusp of driving sustained EBITDA profitability, and we expect the company's Investor Day on August 10th will provide investors with greater long-term confidence on profitability outlook." Credit Suisse downgrades UPS to neutral from outperform Credit Suisse said it's concerned about the recent labor wage increases. "We were relieved to see UPS reach an agreement with its union this week, thus averting a strike (final vote remains outstanding). Nevertheless, the Teamsters appear to have secured rather large wage increases, which we expect will be a drag on UPS earnings in the year ahead." Morgan Stanley downgrades Salesforce to equal weight from overweight Morgan Stanley said positive catalysts are in the "rear-view mirror" for the stock. "While confident in Salesforce's longer-term opportunity to further penetrate large enterprises with more vertically oriented solutions, near-term catalysts, including margin expansion and price increases, are now in rear-view mirror." Morgan Stanley upgrades Adobe to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said in its upgrade of Adobe that it sees generative AI driving creativity. "A return to mid/high-teens EPS growth over the next 3 years warrants upside to the multiple & price target, supporting our upgrade to Overweight." Read more about this call here . Barclays reiterates Tesla as equal weight Barclays said Tesla should not be dismissed in the battle for electric vehicle trucks. "In short, we believe that the EV truck market is likely to remain niche for the time being, with the Detroit 3 (D3) likely to hold a moat around the pickup market, including in EV trucks. However, we believe that competitive threats from TSLA and Rivian should not be discounted."
Elon Musk's latest legal adversary: a nonprofit that studies hate speech and misinformation on social media.

On July 20, X Corp., formerly known as Twitter, sent a letter to the Center for Countering Digital Hate, or CCDH, threatening to sue the British research nonprofit. It alleged that the CCDH made "inflammatory, outrageous, and false or misleading assertions about Twitter" and suggested it conspired "to drive advertisers off Twitter by smearing the company and its owner."

The letter follows CCDH research published in June, which studied the propagation of hate speech on the social media platform since Musk's buyout. In one report looking at 100 different accounts subscribed to Twitter Blue, CCDH found that X Corp. failed to act on 99% of hate posted by the subscribers and questioned whether the social media platform's algorithm boosts "toxic tweets."

Other CCDH research found that the social media company failed to act on 89% of anti-Jewish hate speech and 97% of anti-Muslim hate speech on the platform.

A spokesperson for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This month, Musk said that the social media platform's cash flow remains negative amid a nearly 50% drop in advertising revenue.

In a release, Imran Ahmed, CEO of the CCDH, said that Musk's actions attempt to "silence honest criticism and independent research."

"Advertisers are fleeing his platform for one clear reason: Elon Musk has supported the proliferation of hate and racism on it, and he doesn't care to stop it," Ahmed said, adding, "This should be the last time anyone dares to claim Musk is a 'free speech absolutist.'"

The letter from X Corp. to CCDH is one of a handful of legal threats or actions by the company in recent months.

In May, X Corp. sent a letter to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella alleging that the tech giant abused its access to Twitter data and used it "for unauthorized uses and purposes." In July, the company threatened to sue Meta over its new Threads app, alleging "systematic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter's trade secrets and other intellectual property." Also in July, X Corp. filed a lawsuit against Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, the corporate law firm that prevented Musk from backing out of his $44 billion Twitter buyout.
Carlos De Oliveira (L), personal aide to former US President Donald Trump, arrives at the James L. King Federal Courthouse in Miami, Florida, on July 31, 2023.

Carlos De Oliveira  the new co-defendant in the Trump classified documents criminal case  appeared in Miami federal court Monday morning, but had the entry of his plea postponed to give him time to hire a local Florida lawyer.

De Oliveira was ordered free on a $100,000 signature bond by Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres at the brief hearing after Torres read out the four charges facing the defendant.

De Oliveira, who worked in maintenance at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, is charged with participating in a cover-up effort with Trump and Trump valet Walt Nauta, to hide surveillance video evidence that showed boxes of classified documents were being moved around the club.

De Oliveira's failure so far to get a Florida lawyer mirrors the difficulties that Trump had hiring a local attorney for the case. Nauta had his arraignment twice postponed because of the same issue.
NIAMEY, Niger - July 30, 2023: Coup supporters take to the streets carrying Nigerien and Russian flags after the army seized power in Niger.

LONDON  West African leaders on Sunday threatened military action against the junta that seized power last week in a coup in Niger, as protesters carrying Russian flags stormed the French embassy in capital city Niamey.

The military junta, now calling itself the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland, announced on Wednesday that it had captured democratically-elected President Mohamed Bazoum and removed his government from power, citing national security and corruption.

The coup is led by General Abdourahmane Tchiani, the commander of the presidential guard and a close ally of Bazoum's predecessor, Mahamadou Issoufou.

The U.S. and France, which have troops stationed in Niger, called for calm, but strongly condemned the coup, along with much of the international community. Bazoum took office two years ago in the country's first peaceful democratic transfer of power since gaining independence from France in 1960.

He has been able to speak with international leaders and on Monday met with Chad's President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno at the presidential palace as part of Deby's mediation mission to the capital on behalf of ECOWAS, in which he also met with the coup leaders.

Thousands of Nigeriens took to the streets on Sunday in support of the coup, with many carrying Russian flags and chanting pro-Putin messages. Images purporting to be from the scene, which CNBC could not independently verify, showed fires outside the French embassy in Niamey, along with French flags being burned and projectiles thrown at the former colonial power's mission.

Moscow has joined appeals for Bazoum's immediate release, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday urging all sides to show restraint and return to order, according to Reuters.

On the other hand, Wagner Group mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who took up arms against the Kremlin in June and whose private military organization has extensive interests in Africa, reportedly welcomed the coup in a recording posted to Telegram from a Wagner-affiliated group.

In the recording purporting to be of the Wagner leader, which has not been independently authenticated by CNBC, Prigozhin highlighted Wagner's proficiency in quashing unrest in the region.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC contributor and is a member of the boards of Pfizer, genetic testing startup Tempus, health-care tech company Aetion Inc. and biotech company Illumina. He is also a partner at the venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates.

Researchers at Harvard presented a study demonstrating an achievement that would challenge any medical student. ChatGPT, a large language model, passed the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam, outperforming about 10 percent of medical students who fail the test annually.

The inevitable question isn't so much if but when these artificial intelligence devices can step into the shoes of doctors. For some tasks, this medical future is sooner than we think.

To grasp the potential of these tools to revolutionize the practice of medicine, it pays to start with a taxonomy of the different technologies and how they're being used in medical care.

The AI tools being applied to health care can generally be divided into two main categories. The first is machine learning, which uses algorithms to enable computers to learn patterns from data and make predictions. These algorithms can be trained on a variety of data types, including images.

The second category encompasses natural language processing, which is designed to understand and generate human language. These tools enable a computer to transform human language and unstructured text into machine-readable, organized data. They learn from a multitude of human trial-and-error decisions and emulate a person's responses.

A key difference between the two approaches resides in their functionality. While machine learning models can be trained to perform specific tasks, large language models can understand and generate text, making them especially useful for replicating interactions with providers.

In medicine, the use of these technologies is generally following one of four different paths. The first encompass large language models that are applied to administrative functions such as processing medical claims or creating and analyzing medical records. Amazon's HealthScribe is a programmable interface that transcribes conversations between doctors and patients and can extract medical information, allowing providers to create structured records of encounters.

The second bucket involves the use of supervised machine learning to enhance the interpretation of clinical data. Specialties such as radiology, pathology and cardiology are already using AI for image analysis, to read MRIs, evaluate pathology slides or interpret electrocardiograms. In fact, up to 30% of radiology practices have already adopted AI tools. So have other specialties. Google Brain AI has developed software that analyzes images from the back of the eye to diagnose diabetic macular edema and diabetic retinopathy, two common causes of blindness.

Since these tools offer diagnoses and can directly affect patient care, the FDA often categorizes them as medical devices, subjecting them to regulation to verify their accuracy. However, the fact that these tools are trained on closed data sets, where the findings in data or imaging have been rigorously confirmed, gives the FDA increased confidence when assessing these devices' integrity.

The third broad category comprises AI tools that rely on large language models that extract clinical information from patient-specific data, interpreting it to prompt providers with diagnoses or treatments to consider. Generally known as clinical decision support software, it evokes a picture of an brainy assistant designed to aid, not to supplant, a doctor's judgment. IBM's "Watson for Oncology" uses AI to help oncologists make more informed decisions about cancer treatments, while Google Health is developing DeepMind Health to create similar tools.

As long as the doctor remains involved and exercises independent judgment, the FDA doesn't always regulate this kind of tool. The FDA focuses more on whether it's meant to make a definitive clinical decision, as opposed to providing information to help doctors with their assessments.

The fourth and final grouping represents the holy grail for AI: large language models that operate fully automated, parsing the entirety of a patient's medical record to diagnose conditions and prescribe treatments directly to the patient, without a physician in the loop.

Right now, there are only a few clinical language models, and even the largest ones possess a relatively small number of parameters. However, the strength of the models and the datasets available for their training might not be the most significant obstacles to these fully autonomous systems. The biggest hurdle may well be establishing a suitable regulatory path. Regulators are hesitant, fearing that the models are prone to errors and that the clinical data sets on which they're trained contain wrong decisions, leading AI models to replicate these medical mistakes.

Overcoming the hurdles in bringing these fully autonomous systems to patient care holds significant promise, not only for improving outcomes but also for addressing financial challenges.

Health care is often cited as a field burdened by Baumol's theory of cost disease, an economic theory, developed by economist William J. Baumol, that explains why costs in labor-intensive industries tend to rise more rapidly than in other sectors. In fields such as medicine, it's less likely that technological inputs will provide major offsets to labor costs, as each patient encounter still requires the intervention of a provider. In sectors such as medicine, the labor itself is the product.

To compensate for these challenges, medicine has incorporated more non-physician providers to lower costs. However, this strategy reduces but doesn't eliminate the central economic dilemma. When the technology becomes the doctor, however, it can be a cure for Baumol's cost disease.

As the quality and scope of clinical data available for training these large language models continue to grow, so will their capabilities. Even if the current stage of development isn't quite ready to completely remove doctors from the decision-making loop, these tools will increasingly enhance the productivity of providers and, in many cases, begin to substitute for them.
"At night, Russia shelled Mykolaiv with four Kalibr missiles launched from the Black Sea. High-precision weapons were aimed at private houses, a historic building and a high-rise building," said Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

WASHINGTON  Ukraine welcomed Saudi Arabia's decision to host multinational talks this week on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's proposed peace plan, a move that could set up future negotiations with Russia.

Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskyy's office, said that Kyiv is working to involve as many countries as possible in the talks, which are slated to take place in Jeddah.

"President Zelenskyy said that our choice is to unite the world around Ukraine. The evidence of this choice is clear: We are engaging countries from the West, East, North and South," Yermak said during a meeting with Ukrainian officials.

The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that the United States, several European countries and Brazil were invited to the talks. Russia was not included in the upcoming meeting.

Riyadh claims it has maintained a neutral stance on the Kremlin's ongoing war, but Western economies have accused the kingdom of keeping oil prices high, an unfriendly move that allows Moscow to finance its war.

Read more: Saudi energy minister says latest Riyadh-Moscow oil cuts showed unity with Russia

Last year, Saudi Arabia helped broker a prisoner exchange involving more than 200 people between Kyiv and Moscow.

The upcoming meeting in Saudi Arabia comes as the Kremlin's war marches past its 500th day and amid a stalled Ukrainian counteroffensive aimed at pushing back the frontlines in order to liberate Russian-occupied areas.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Moscow plans to "keep an eye on this meeting."

"Is it possible to reach a peace settlement now with the participation of the Kyiv regime and in the context of its current stance? The answer is unambiguous. No, it is impossible," Peskov added.
Income-seeking investors can find a bargain right now in the utilities sector. Utilities stocks are generally known for their safe dividends, but they aren't having a good year when it comes to returns. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund has lost nearly 5% so far in 2023, compared to the S & P 500 's 19% gain. That means investors have the opportunity to scoop up some cheap stocks and earn income while waiting for them to rebound. Utilities are also considered a defensive play amid lingering concerns about a potential recession. CNBC Pro screened for utilities in the utilities ETF that pay a dividend of 3.5% or more, and whose payouts are considered safe  with a dividend coverage ratio of at least 3. The dividend coverage ratio measures the net income of a company relative to the amount of dividends paid out to shareholders. Dominion Energy tops the list with a hefty 5% dividend yield. The Richmond, Virginia power producer also has a cash dividend coverage ratio of 3.2 and 7.2% upside to the average price target, according to FactSet. Just 23.5% of analysts covering the stock rate it a buy. The company is set to report earnings on Friday. Shares are down nearly 13% year to date. D YTD mountain Dominion Energy year to date With its 3.4% dividend, American Electric Power has the biggest upside to the average price target at 13.5%. Some 43% of analysts covering the stock rate it a buy. Last week, the Columbus, Ohio-based utility reported second-quarter operating earnings per share in-line with analysts' estimates and reaffirmed its full-year earnings per share guidance. The safest dividend comes from NiSource , headquartered in Merrillville, Indiana  about 35 miles from Chicago. NiSource has a cash dividend ratio of 4.4, a dividend yield of 3.6% and 11% upside to analysts' average price target. Three-quarters of the analysts covering NiSource rate it a buy. Latest quarter results are expected to be released on Wednesday.
Former US president and 2024 Republican Presidential hopeful Donald Trump arrives to speak at the Republican Party of Iowa's 2023 Lincoln Dinner at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 28, 2023. Sergio Flores | AFP | Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump and a dozen of his Republican primary rivals descended on Iowa over the weekend, with some sharing a stage for the first time as they vied for support in the state where the nation's first nominating contest will be held. But "rival" is relative. Few of Trump's ostensible opponents  even his apparent top competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis  appear to be even close to touching him in the polls. And with less than six months to go before the Iowa caucuses, most of the GOP field remains reluctant to take aim at the biggest obstacle to their party's nomination. Trump has not shared their hesitations. After DeSantis spoke at Friday's Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines, Trump took the stage and within three minutes lashed out at the governor, accusing him of "fighting against ethanol" before the Corn State crowd. "He fights against it all the time," Trump said of "DeSanctus," a condensed version of the derisive nickname "DeSanctimonious" that he has attempted to popularize.

Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis waves as he attends the Republican Party of Iowa's Lincoln Day Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., July 28, 2023. Scott Morgan | Reuters

Other speakers at the dinner included former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Vice President Mike Pence. The dynamic between Trump and his would-be challengers has held firm even as Trump racks up criminal charges in multiple cases, with possible additional indictments forthcoming. One day before he spoke at the dinner, Trump was hit with a superseding indictment in the federal criminal case related to his alleged efforts to conceal classified documents that he kept after leaving the White House. The latest charges accuse Trump and his co-defendants of trying to delete surveillance footage at his resort home, Mar-a-Lago, after it was sought by a federal grand jury. Trump now faces 40 charges in the unprecedented federal case, the first ever to be filed against a former president. He has pleaded not guilty in that case and in a separate criminal case in Manhattan, where he is charged with falsifying business records related to hush money payments to women who claim they had extramarital affairs with him. Yet few of the candidates who spoke at Friday's dinner mentioned Trump at all in their remarks, which mostly featured condensed versions of their campaign stump speeches. The ones who did are considered extreme long shots in the primary, and their criticisms were hardly well received by the crowd of 1,200 Iowa Republicans. Former Texas Rep. Will Hurd was booed as he left the stage after throwing the strongest punch of the evening at Trump.

Republican presidential candidate former Texas Congressman Will Hurd speaks to guests at the Republican Party of Iowa 2023 Lincoln Dinner on July 28, 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa. Scott Olson | Getty Images

"Donald Trump is not running for president to make America great again," Hurd said. "Donald Trump is running to stay out of prison." Hurd holds less than 1% in FiveThirtyEight's tracker of national GOP primary polls. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who is also polling in the low single digits, warned the crowd, "As it stands right now, you will be voting in Iowa while multiple criminal cases are pending against former President Trump." DeSantis did not mention Trump in his speech. He has defended that strategy even as his poll numbers have appeared to sag and as his 2-month-old campaign launches a reboot that includes firing a chunk of its staff and reassuring donors amid new financing concerns. "We need to focus the election on Joe Biden's failures and our positive vision for the future," DeSantis told NBC News earlier Friday. "If we're litigating things from four or five years ago, Republicans are going to lose." Meanwhile, Trump's legal woes don't seem to be dampening his campaign. A New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday found Trump leading DeSantis by 37 percentage points among likely Republican voters. No candidate other than Trump and DeSantis topped 3% support in the poll, which was conducted from July 23 to July 27 and has a margin of error of 3.96 percentage points.

Republican presidential candidate businessman Perry Johnson speaks to guests at the Republican Party of Iowa 2023 Lincoln Dinner on July 28, 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa. Scott Olson | Getty Images News | Getty Images

The poll also found that a majority of GOP respondents said they considered Trump better able to beat Biden than DeSantis. Trump lost to Biden in the 2020 election but has falsely claimed he won. The former president has pushed a raft of debunked conspiracy theories about widespread voter fraud to explain his defeat. Swaths of Republican voters still say they suspect Biden's victory was illegitimate, polls show. Since his indictments on the campaign trail, Trump has worked to reframe the charges against him as a tale of political martyrdom. "If I weren't running, I would have nobody coming after me," he said at the Lincoln Dinner. He has vowed to keep up his campaign even if he is convicted and sentenced before the 2024 election. His fundraising operation has put a spotlight on Trump's legal threats as it solicits donors for contributions. The New York Times reported Saturday that Trump's political action committee, Save America, has spent more than $40 million this year alone on legal fees racked up by the ex-president and his allies. The PAC may soon have to spend more. The special counsel who investigated Trump's retention of classified documents is also leading a Trump-centered probe of interference in the 2020 presidential election. Trump said he has been informed that he is a target in that criminal probe, a signal that charges are likely coming soon.

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump looks on as he attends the Republican Party of Iowa's Lincoln Day Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., July 28, 2023. Scott Morgan | Reuters
"Now more than ever, it's vital that we bolster our energy security," U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Monday.

The U.K. government on Monday provoked outrage from environmental groups after it confirmed plans to grant hundreds of new oil and gas licenses for the North Sea.

According to authorities, the move will protect over 200,000 jobs and boost the country's energy independence at a time of geopolitical instability following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

It's expected that the first of the new licenses will be issued this fall.

Alongside new drilling for fossil fuels, the government also confirmed the locations of two new "clusters" for carbon capture usage and storage.

These will be located in northeast Scotland and the Humber, in England, and complement two previously-announced CCUS clusters. CCUS has its advocates, but the technology is divisive and has been questioned by environmental organizations.

"Now more than ever, it's vital that we bolster our energy security and capitalise on that independence to deliver more affordable, clean energy to British homes and businesses," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement.

"Even when we've reached net zero in 2050, a quarter of our energy needs will come from oil and gas," he added. "But there are those who would rather that it come from hostile states than from the supplies we have here at home."
In this file photo taken on Jan. 17, 2020, Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi poses for pictures during a welcoming ceremony for China's President Xi Jinping at the Presidential Palace in Naypyidaw. AFP-Yonhap



BANGKOK  Myanmar's military-controlled government has extended the state of emergency it imposed when the army seized power from an elected government 2 1/2 years ago, state-run media said Monday, forcing a further delay in elections it promised when it took over.



MRTV television said the National Defense and Security Council met Monday in the capital, Naypyitaw, and extended the state of emergency for another six months starting Tuesday because time is needed to prepare for the elections. The NDSC is nominally a constitutional government body, but in practice is controlled by the military.



The announcement amounted to an admission that the army does not exercise enough control to stage the polls and has failed to subdue widespread opposition to military rule, which includes increasingly challenging armed resistance as well as nonviolent protests and civil disobedience, despite the army having a huge advantage in manpower and weapons.



The state of emergency was declared when troops arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and top officials from her government and members of her National League for Democracy party on Feb. 1, 2021. The takeover reversed years of progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule.



The military said it seized power because of fraud in the last general election held in November 2020, in which Suu Kyi's party won a landslide victory while the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development party did poorly. Independent election observers said they did not find any major irregularities.



The army takeover was met with widespread peaceful protests that security forces suppressed with lethal force, triggering armed resistance that U.N. experts have described as a civil war.

As of Monday, 3,857 people have been killed by the security forces since the takeover, according to a tally kept by the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.



The army-enacted 2008 constitution allows the military to rule the country under a state of emergency for one year, with two possible six-month extensions if preparations are not yet completed for new polls, meaning that the time limit expired on Jan. 31 this year.



However, the NDSC allowed the military government to extend emergency rule for another six months in February, saying the country remained in an abnormal situation. The announcement on Monday is the fourth extension.



The state of emergency allows the military to assume all government functions, giving the head of the ruling military council, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, legislative, judicial and executive powers.



Monday's report did not specify when the polls might be held, saying only that they would occur after the goals of the state of emergency are accomplished.



According to the constitution, the military must transfer government functions to the president, who heads the NDSC, six months before the polls. That would mean Acting President Myint Swe, a retired general.



The military originally announced that new polls would be held a year after its takeover and later said they would take place in August 2023. But the extension of the emergency in February made that timing impossible.



The MRTV report said Myint Swe told members of the NDSC that the government still needs to do more to achieve stability and the rule of law to prepare for the election.



Critics say the polls will be neither free nor fair under the military-controlled government, which has shut independent media and arrested most of the leaders of Suu Kyi's party.



Her party was dissolved along with 39 other parties by the election commission in March for failing to re-apply under a political party registration law enacted by the military government early this year. The law makes it difficult for opposition groups to mount a serious challenge to army-backed candidates.



Suu Kyi, 78, is serving prison sentences totaling 33 years after being convicted in a series of politically tainted cases brought mostly by the military government. (AP)




Russian President Vladimir Putin leaves the site of the annual Navy Day parade on July 30, 2023, in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said war "is returning to Russia's territory," in his nightly address Sunday.

Ukrainian drones attacked buildings in Moscow late Sunday, according to city Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. He said there were no injuries and only minor damage to infrastructure.

Both Russia and Ukraine have stepped up talks with external governments in recent days as each side looks to involve allies.

Ukraine and the U.S. will soon start negotiations on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees, according to Ukraine's Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak, while Russian authorities are reportedly looking to China, Brazil and parts of Africa to help broker a resolution to the war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday also praised his country's close friendship with North Korea and vowed to step up economic, political and security ties with the isolated state in a letter shared with President Kim Jong Un as Russian and Chinese delegates gathered in Pyongyang for Korean War Armistice celebrations.

Putin said Friday that Moscow is ready to negotiate with Ukraine, but said Kyiv is unwilling to enter talks, Reuters reported. Ukrainian officials have said they will not enter negotiations with Russia while the country continues to hold a fifth of Ukrainian territory.
We are buying 225 shares of GE Healthcare (GEHC), at roughly $76.84 each, and 45 shares of Microsoft (MSFT), at roughly $334.26 apiece. Following Monday's trades, Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust will own 750 shares of GEHC, increasing its weighting to 1.95% from 1.38%, and 200 shares of Microsoft, increasing its weighting to 2.28% from 1.78%. Following Monday morning's exit of Johnson & Johnson , we are putting money to work in two companies that have pulled back after earnings and represent much cleaner opportunities than the talc-litigation risk of J & J. The first position we are adding to is GE Healthcare Technologies . The company reported a clean earnings beat last week and raised its full-year organic revenue growth and adjusted earnings per share (EPS). New orders up 6% were also better than expected, improving from the 3% increase the company saw in the first quarter. GE Healthcare fared much better than Dutch peer Phillips, which last week said its orders fell 8% in the second quarter. The difference in the two order rates suggests GE Healthcare is gaining market share. The medical-technology firm is seeing good momentum in its business, partly because many health-care providers are investing to improve patient care and productivity. But what's not in the numbers yet  and what we see as a major opportunity for 2024 and beyond  is the role the company plays in supporting the launch of Alzheimer's therapies. From the screening phase, through assessment, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring, GE Healthcare's products  including MR and PET scanners, amyloid imaging, and digital solutions  have touchpoints at every key stage in a patient's journey. We've been patient about adding to this position following earnings on concerns that General Electric (GE), from which GE Healthcare was spun off earlier this year, would monetize its next tranche of shares soon through a secondary offering. While this is still a possibility to be mindful of  and to leave room for in the position  the stock falling 5% after a great quarter looks like an opportunity. The other stock we are adding to is Microsoft , and we are upgrading our rating to 1. While this trade violates our low-average cost basis, the stock is down roughly 5% since reporting a solid quarter last week and the dip is worth buying. This isn't the first time we've seen a market leader pull back on earnings. What usually happens is that the stock is pressured for a few days as "hot money" traders shake out of the stock. Next, it stabilizes, and the rally ultimately resumes, as long as the fundamentals remain positive. And in the case of Microsoft, we believe that to be the case. While some investors took issue with Microsoft's slightly light revenue guidance for the current quarter, it's important to remember that it is still in the infancy stages of monetizing generative artificial intelligence, in which it is a clear leader, through Azure AI and Copilot. Additionally, management's guidance of flat margins likely was them practicing UPOD  under promise, over deliver. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long GEHC, MSFT. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on April 21, 2023 in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Security cameras and the American flag atop the White House on March 4, 2021 in Washington, DC. Samuel Corum | Getty Images

The Biden administration faces an uphill battle to reauthorize a key surveillance tool, known as Section 702, before it expires at the end of the year as members of both parties of Congress push for big changes. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, allows the government to conduct targeted surveillance of foreign nationals living outside the U.S. without needing to obtain a warrant. It has become increasingly controversial over the years. As recently as this month, a court opinion disclosed that FBI employees wrongly searched foreign surveillance data for the last names of a U.S. senator and a state senator. The opinion also said that another FBI employee ran a query using the Social Security number of a state judge who complained about alleged civil rights violations by a municipal chief of police. Critics of Section 702 worry that its powers are too broad and allow for the "incidental" collection of data on U.S. citizens and that the provision is ripe for abuse.

What is Section 702 and how are Americans affected?

Section 702 was created following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and allows intelligence agencies to gather large amounts of data such as emails, phone calls, texts and other communications on foreigners living abroad, without a warrant. As the provision currently stands, intelligence agencies cannot use warrantless Section 702 powers to target Americans, because that would violate the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. But data on U.S. citizens is still collected when they interact with a foreign surveillance target  that's known as "incidental" collection. Civil liberties organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, have long opposed the the 702 provision, arguing that it has been used as a "backdoor" tool for gathering information on Americans and allows federal law enforcement to prosecute and imprison people for crimes, even if they're not related to national security, based on information obtained without a warrant. The FBI improperly searched for information in a U.S. database of foreign intelligence more than 278,000 times in 2020 and early 2021, including Americans involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and those who participated in the 2020 protests following the murder of George Floyd, a court order showed. The government says it uses the information to protect the U.S. and its allies from hostile foreign adversaries, such as terrorists, weapons dealers and spies. And the Biden administration has urged Congress to renew it, arguing that it is a necessary measure to keep Americans safe. According to a senior intelligence official, nearly 60% of the information in President Joe Biden's presidential daily brief includes at least some information derived from Section 702. The FBI has made recent changes to Section 702 to curb abuses and the White House on Monday released a report by the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, which voted unanimously to support its reauthorization, while also recommending 13 reforms to address past mishandling. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer said in a statement that Section 702 has allowed the U.S. to stop threats posed by China, Russia, terrorists and fentanyl traffickers. "We agree with the unanimous conclusion reached by this group of independent, deeply experienced experts that failure to reauthorize Section 702 could be 'one of the worst intelligence failures of our time,'" they said, quoting the report. Read more on NBC News Historically Black fraternity drops Florida for convention because of DeSantis policies

Georgia judge rejects another Trump bid to halt Fulton County election probe

What does Ron DeSantis have riding on the debates? Maybe everything.

How do Democrats and Republicans view Section 702?

While there has been bipartisan support for Section 702 in the past, recent errors and misuses of it, as well as the current climate of skepticism toward intelligence agencies, has made its reauthorization far more challenging. While Republicans supported Section 702 when it was created during the Bush administration, recent Republican criticism of the FBI for the investigation of former President Donald Trump and errors made during the probe of Russian ties to his 2016 presidential campaign have made way for steep opposition. The provision has also faced opposition from Democrats who worry that it may hinder Americans' civil liberties. Lawmakers from both sides have said they won't vote to renew the provision unless major changes are made in how the FBI uses foreign surveillance data to investigate Americans. "I will only support the reauthorization of Section 702 if there are significant, significant reforms," Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said during a hearing in June. "And that means first and foremost addressing the warrantless surveillance of Americans in violation of the Fourth Amendment." Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who has long pushed for changes to Section 702, said at the same hearing he was skeptical that federal law enforcement would use the power properly without new guardrails placed on it. "Why should we ever trust the FBI and the DOJ again to police themselves under FISA, when they've shown us repeatedly, for more than a decade, that they cannot be trusted to do so?" Twenty-one privacy, civil rights and civil liberties organizations submitted a joint letter to the Senate last month demanding that Congress not reauthorize Section 702 without such "reforms" as imposing warrant requirements to "spy" on Americans and instituting a stronger judicial review process and safeguards for foreign targets who are unlikely to be involved in threats to national security. Patrick Toomey, deputy director of the ACLU's National Security Project, said in a statement that recent revelations of abuses  including that the FBI searched Section 702 data for the last names of a U.S. senator, a state senator and a judge  show how the surveillance program "is routinely used against Americans, immigrants, and people who are not accused of any wrongdoing. "The FBI continues to break the rules put in place to protect Americans, running illegal searches on public officials including a U.S. senator, and it's long past time for Congress to step in," Toomey said.

How has the FBI responded to criticism?

The FBI has introduced changes in recent years that have led to "significant improvement," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement this month, adding that "Section 702 is critical in our fight against foreign adversaries." As a result, FBI searches for data on Americans plummeted. According to a report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the number of FBI searches for citizens' data dropped 94% between November 2021 and November 2022, from 3.4 million to about 204,000. At a House Judiciary Committee hearing this month, Wray defended the provision and touted recent changes, saying, "We have had problems. And those problems are unacceptable and I'm determined with my leadership team to fix them. But those problems, almost entirely, predate those reforms."

What happens next?
Bankruptcy-bound trucking firm Yellow received a whopping $700 million in Covid pandemic relief loans three years ago after Trump administration officials pushed for it despite objections from the Defense Department.

Yellow has repaid just $230 out of the $729.2 million in principal it still owes the U.S. Treasury for those loans, according to a government watchdog's report in May. That single payment was made in June 2021.

The Teamsters Union, which represents Yellow workers, blasted the freight carrier in a statement Sunday and highlighted the Covid loans.

"Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government," Teamsters General President Sean M O'Brien said.

Yellow told staff on Friday that it is completely shutting down, which would put 30,000 workers out of their jobs, and the Teamsters said the company plans to file for bankruptcy.

When it does, it will become the largest bankruptcy ever for a trucking firm.

A Yellow spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.

The Trump administration in July 2020 approved the $700 million in loans to then-financially troubled Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide, under the so-called CARES Act, which authorized such for companies "critical to maintaining national security."

At the time the loans were made, they represented 95% of the total funds disbursed under the CARES Act. The federal government received a nearly 30% stake in Yellow in exchange for the loans.

A House subcommittee in April 2022 issued a scathing report on the loans, saying they were extended to the company despite the assessment by Defense Department officials that the company was not "critical" to national security.

The report said, "The loan's approval involved the intervention of top Trump Administration officials potentially including the president," Donald Trump.

According to the report, documents show that Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows planned to call Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin about Yellow's request for the loans in May 2020.

"Secretary Mnuchin's communications confirm President Trump's interest in the loan approval," the subcommittee noted in a statement about the report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 31)  The local renewable energy sector is expected to secure a $50-million investment boost following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.s state visit to Malaysia.

Philippine-based private equity investor New Wave and Malaysian government-backed Emissary Capital bared this proposal to Marcos last week.

In a joint statement issued over the weekend, the multimillion-dollar plan targets to finance players in the sectors of renewable energy, electric vehicle, and clean energy and smart grid enablers.

The companies would initially set their eyes on solar and wind farms in Northern Luzon.

It is important that the Philippines develops a more mature eco-system with capital providers across various stages of the investment cycle. With Emissarys entry into the Philippines, we are providing more founders and entrepreneurs access to growth capital as well as a regional network that can help them expand across SEA, New Wave director Enrique Gonzalez said.

Our value proposition is more than capital. We help businesses scale within the Philippines and can open up regional Southeast Asia access, Gonzalez added.

Pursuing the plan can pave the way for additional 1,000 megawatts of bankable capacity in the Philippines, which could translate to more than $1.5 billion in foreign direct investments pouring in to finish the facilities.

Marcos has long been aggressive in pushing private companies to invest in the Philippine renewable energy market.

During his second State of the Nation Address, the president said that renewable energy is the way forward.

The government hopes to increase renewable energys share in the countrys power mix to 35% by 2030 from 22.8% last year.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 31)  With over 10 towns in Bulacan still submerged after days of heavy rains, Gov. Daniel Fernando is pushing for a comprehensive flood management master plan to permanently address flooding.

At a technical working group hearing of the House Committee on Public Works and Highways Monday, Fernando said initial reports indicated agricultural damage from flooding reached 93 million, while initial damage to livestock and poultry was 8 million

"Napapanahon na talaga na magkaroon tayo ng flooding management masterplan," he said. "Napakahalaga ng rubber gates na ito sapagkat ito ay umaalalay sa tubig ng Bustos Dam. At ang pinakamabigat dito lahat ito ay dapat palitan na."

[Translation: It's time to have a flooding management master plan. The rubber gates are important as they control the water supply in Bustos Dam, but they are in need of replacement.]

Fernando said the government should study the construction of elevated roads a parts of the province are vulnerable to flooding.

House Ways and Means Committee chairman and Albay Rep. Joey Salceda also mentioned that San Miguel Corporation (SMC), which is building the Bulacan International Airport, has an unsolicited proposal to solve flooding in the province.

"The unsolicited project is really from San Miguel, precisely because they want to protect the $30-billion investment they're putting up there, and that includes the comprehensive and integrated flood control," he said.

SMC told the panel that it is stepping up cleanup efforts to remove silt from the Meycauayan and Maycapiz/Taliptip Rivers. Data presented by SMC at the hearing showed that it has removed 223,491 cubic meters of silt from the Meycauayan River as of April 2023.

SMC project manager Jimmy Lu said flooding in some parts of Bulacan is expected to ease as dredging efforts in the Maycapiz/Taliptip River continue.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 31)  Erwin Tulfo, former secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, took his oath before House Speaker Martin Romualdez on Monday as the third representative of the Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list.

This is after the Commission on Elections issued a certificate of proclamation in Tulfo's favor after junking the disqualification case against him.

READ: Comelec: Erwin Tulfo can assume ACT-CIS post anytime

Tulfo earlier took his oath as the party-list's nominee last May 30, replacing former Rep. Jeffrey Soriano, the party-list's original third nominee who resigned from his post last February.

READ: Tulfo takes oath as ACT-CIS nominee

ACT-CIS won three seats in the House of Representatives in the 2022 elections. The Party-list's two other representatives in Congress are Tulfo's sister-in-law, Jocelyn Tulfo, and Edvic Yap.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 31)  Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel is disappointed that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was silent on Chinese incursions in the West Philippine Sea and the recently expanded Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA).

There are two related areas where the President is given under our Constitution great authority: national defense and international relations, Pimentel said in his contra-SONA Monday.

Hence it was disappointing not to hear from the President in the SONA his explanation or point of view in the subject matters of the West Philippine Sea, he said.

Though Marcos did not mention Beijings aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea or the superpower's continued rejection of the 2016 Hague Ruling that nullified its claim over the South China Sea, he vowed to defend the countrys sovereignty.

READ: Marcos silent on Chinese harassment in WPS in 2nd SONA, vows to defend sovereignty

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri disclosed that on Monday, the upper chamber would meet with the Department of Foreign Affairs, National Task Force-West Philippine Sea, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, and Armed Forces of the Philippines to discuss possible ways to enforce the countrys sovereignty over the contested waters.

This, after Sen. Risa Hontiveros filed a resolution which seeks to raise Chinas harassment of Filipino vessels before the United Nations General Assembly through the DFA. Marcos deflected this and said that foreign policy was set by the executive, not the legislative department.

READ: Marcos on Hontiveros' call to raise WPS incursions before UNGA: 'Foreign policy not set by legislature'

Zubiri, for his part, said he would file his own measure to recommend the end of bilateral talks with Beijing and the condemnation of its incursions on Philippine waters.

Pimentel continued: "I was hoping that the President, given that he has wide latitude in defense and foreign policy, would have explained why we needed to expand the EDCA sites of the US military because there may be a neighboring country which looks at us and then says 'you want to be a friend to all, an enemy to none' and yet you are participating in a containment policy of another power."

In February, Manila and Washington agreed to expand the EDCA, creating four new US bases in the country on top of an existing five where American troops can be stationed indefinitely on a rotational basis. China denounced the move, saying it would destabilize peace in the region.

Meanwhile, Pimentel in his contra-SONA also lamented that the president didnt mention the Philippines possible hosting of Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban, though Marcos said the government had yet to reach an agreement on it.

The minority leader also noted that Marcos did not mention the landing of US planes in Philippine airports.

RELATED: Issues left out in Marcos second SONA
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21)  The Senate is set to adopt on Tuesday a combined resolution that condemns Chinas incursions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and offers options that the government can use to assert Philippine sovereignty over its territorial waters.

A resolution will be adopted tomorrow combining my resolution with the Senate President's [Miguel Zubiri]. Malinaw sa reso ang pagkokondena sa China [the resolution is clear on condemning China] and the many tools that the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) may wield to assert our claims, pati ang paghain sa UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) ng resolution [even the filing of a UNGA resolution], Hontiveros said Monday, after the Senates closed-door caucus to discuss possible ways to enforce the countrys rights over the contested waters.

Hontiveros Proposed Senate Resolution (PSR) 659 urged the DFA to raise Chinas harassment of Filipino fisherfolk and coast guard to the UNGA.

Zubiris PSR 707, meanwhile, recommended the end of bilateral talks with Beijing and likewise condemned the global superpower.

READ:

Hontiveros wants DFA to seek UNGA resolution to stop China's harassment in WPS

Zubiri to recommend end of bilateral talks with China, condemnation of WPS incursions

Malinaw na nagtagumpay ang gusto ng taumbayan, at hindi ang gusto ng China, Hontiveros added.

[Translation: Its a clear triumph of the will of our people, and not what China wants.]

Zubiri said DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo, National Security Adviser and Chairman of the National Task Force-West Philippine Sea Eduardo Ano, and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Romeo Brawner Jr., and senior military officials attended the senators' caucus.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier commented on Hontiveros' measure, saying that foreign policy was not set by the legislature but by the executive. He stayed mum on China's incursions in the WPS in his recent state of the nation address.

READ: Marcos on Hontiveros' call to raise WPS incursions before UNGA: 'Foreign policy not set by legislature'

In 2016, an arbitral tribunal constituted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea ruled in favor of the Philippines and nullified China's claim over the South China Sea, a decision which Beijing continues to reject. It has since kept up its harassment of Filipino vessels and incursions in the West Philippine Sea.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 31)  A number of senators are pushing to hold government officials and personnel accountable for the capsizing of a motorboat off Binangonan, Rizal last week.

Senate Committee on Public Services chairperson Grace Poe and Senator Raffy Tulfo on Monday filed separate resolutions calling for a legislative probe on the mishap in Laguna de Bay, where 27 passengers died and more than 40 survived.

Tulfo took offense at the Philippine Coast Guards pronouncement that it will file a complaint against the owner and crew of MB Aya Express, also known as Princess Aya.

Dapat kung merong unang unang kakasuhan, number one yung inspector ng PCG (Philippine Coast Guard) na naka-assign sa pantalan na yun. Number 2, yung supervisor ng PCG ng inspector na yun sa ngalan ng tinatawag na command responsibility. Kung ginawa lang ng PCG ang kanilang trabaho, wala sanang lumubog na bangka, Tulfo told reporters.

[Translation: The PCG should first file cases against the inspector assigned in the port as well as the supervisor for command responsibility. This would not have happened if the PCG only did its job.]

He said coast guard personnel should have prevented the MB Aya Express from sailing, considering that it exceeded its 30-passenger capacity and did not have enough life vests, on top of bad weather.

The Maritime Industry Authority, for its part, failed to check the seaworthiness of Princess Aya before giving it a Passenger Ship Safety Certificate, Tulfo said.

Definitely dapat lang talaga managot yung may-ari at yung kapitan ng bangka, pero bakit palagi na lang yung dilis? Nasan yung mga pating, nasan yung mga balyena, yan yung PCG tsaka yung Marina, he said.

Kawawa naman di ba, e walang mga pera, madaling makalusot. Walang impluwensya, madaling makulong, he added.

[Translation: Definitely, the boat owner and captain should be held liable, but why focus on the small fish? How about the sharks and whales or the PCG and Marina? The small fish are easy to send to jail because they have no money and influence.]

Tulfo said the PCG and Marina should name the personnel involved and cooperate with the probe to avoid obstruction of justice charges. He said bribery or extortion could be another angle.

PCG chief Admiral Artemio Abu earlier said two PCG personnel were dismissed after the boat mishap.

READ: PCG dismisses 2 personnel over capsized boat in Laguna Lake

Poe noted the need to investigate whether the PCG and Marina did their job of inspecting the vessel and naking sure passengers are safe.

This tragedy revealed serious maritime safety compliance lapses that need to be revisited to determine whether the regulations are insufficient to provide and ensure safe voyage of individuals at sea or whether there is simply complacency in the implementation, she said in a statement.

RELATED: Poe wants probe into Binangonan boat incident

No date has been set for the Senate hearing.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 31)  Sellers should not force their customers to accept vouchers instead of giving a refund for a defective product, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Monday.

Pwede naman po tanggapin ni consumer ang voucher. Ang sinasabi namin hindi pwede pilitin ni seller si consumer na tanggapin yung voucher, Marcus Valdez, DTI Consumer Policy & Advocacy Bureau Director, told CNN Philippines Newsroom Ngayon.

[Translation: The consumer can accept the voucher. What we are saying is that the seller cannot force the consumer to accept the voucher.]

Ang ating mga remedies [in addressing a defective product] ay yung right to repair. Kung hindi pwede, ang sunod na remedy ay replacement. Kung hindi pwede ang replacement, doon papasok ang refund. In that order po siya, he added.

[Translation: Our remedies in addressing a defective product are the right to repair. If it cannot be repaired, the product can be replaced. If replacement is not feasible, the product can be refunded. The remedies can be followed in that order.]

According to Valdez, the Consumer Act of the Philippines, which states the condition of addressing a defective product, covers both physical and online stores.
(CNN)  The son of Colombias president has been arrested as part of an investigation into money laundering and illicit enrichment, the Colombian attorney generals office said in a statement.

Nicolas Petro  a congressman in the Atlantico province  was placed under investigation by the attorney generals office in early March over accusations that he had taken money from drug traffickers in exchange for including them in his fathers efforts to broker peace talks with criminal organizations in the Caribbean region, CNN reported at the time.

Petro has previously denied the accusations against him saying they were nothing more than political and personal attacks that seek to destroy the work he had achieved his career, he said in a March 2 statement.

Responding to the news of his sons arrest, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said he was hurt, but guaranteed the prosecution procedures would be in accordance with the law.

As a person and a father, so much self-destruction and the fact that one of my children goes to jail hurts me a lot. As President of the Republic, I assure that the prosecution has all the guarantees on my part to proceed in accordance with the law, Petro wrote in his official Twitter account on Saturday.

Petro went on to wish his son luck and strength and reiterated his intention to not intervene or pressure the attorney general in this case.

Back then, the president welcomed the investigation, inviting the attorney general to get to the bottom of the allegations surrounding his son.

An arrest warrant was also issued against Nicolas Petros former wife, Daysuris del Carmen Vasquez Castro, for the crimes of money laundering and violation of personal data for events that occurred from 2022 to date, the attorney generals office said in the statement on Saturday.

Those captured will be placed at the disposal of a Municipal Criminal Judge with the Function of Guarantee Control, who will be asked to impart legality to the search, capture and seizure procedures of material elements of evidence. In the same way, charges will be made for the aforementioned crimes and a measure restricting freedom will be requested, the statement said.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Colombian presidents son arrested in money laundering probe"
Niamey, Niger (CNN)  Tense and sometimes violent scenes played out in front of the French Embassy in Niger Sunday as thousands of people who support a military coup voiced anger over Frances influence in its former colony.

Demonstrators shouted shouted support for Russian leader Vladimir Putin despite calls from the Kremlin to release the countrys democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.

Some protesters tore down a plaque identifying the Embassy, stomped on it and then replaced it with Russian and Nigerien flags. Shouts of long live Putin, long live Russia and down with France could be heard among the crowds.

Nigerien security forces were seen deploying tear gas in an attempt to disperse the protesters. One photograph from the scene showed people trying to start a fire outside the compound.

President Emmanuel Macrons office said France would immediately retaliate against anyone who attacks French nationals or facilities in Niger.

Much of the international community has condemned the coup, which saw members of the Niger presidential guard overthrow Bazoum and install a military junta called the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland.

Niger has a long history of military coups since its independence from France in 1960, though in recent years it had been less politically unstable. When Bazoum came to office in 2021, it was the countrys first democratic transfer of power.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Sunday demanded that Bazoum be released and reinstated within a week. Should the junta remain in charge, the group said it would take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger, including the use of force.

ECOWAS also announced a bevy of punitive measures, including closing land and air borders with Niger.

The group said it would reject any form of resignation that may purportedly come Bazoum, who they consider a hostage.

France and the European Union said earlier that they would support ECOWAS organizations if they decide to sanction the junta. The two had already cut off financial support for Niger.

Nigers military leaders may have found one potential ally: the countrys eastern neighbor, Chad. Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno was in Niamey, Nigers capital, on Sunday, according to a source close to the Nigerien military, and photographed alongside a key figure in the putsch. Chad is not a member of the ECOWAS.

Were going to get France out of Africa

Niger was a French colony for more than 50 years before its independence in 1860. Diplomatic ties between the two countries were strong before Thursdays putsch, but many Nigeriens believe France has continued to act as imperial power when dealing with Niger, robbing it of natural resources and dictating how its leaders steer the economy. Niger is one of the worlds poorest countries and receives hundreds of millions of dollars each year in assistance.

Niger has suffered too much under French orders. Ive been unemployed for 10 years because of their system, said Karimou Sidi, one of the demonstrators. We want freedom.

Hadiza Kanto, a university student who had come to protest, said he supported the leaders of the coup because they are against France who robbed us all.

Were going to get France out of Africa, Kanto said.

Russia has, in recent years, attempted to capitalize on that anti-colonial sentiment to bolster its influence across the continent.

Seventeen African heads of state traveled to St. Petersburg on Thursday for an Africa-Russia summit, though turnout was far lower this year than in previous years, likely due to the war in Ukraine.

The anti-France and pro-Russia movement isnt new in the region. It has been observed in various countries in the Sahel in the past years, most recently in Burkina Faso where the military government demanded the departure of French troops from the country earlier this year.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Pro-coup protesters in Niger shout long live Putin as new leaders face calls to cede power"
(CNN)  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that war is gradually returning to Russia hours after the Kremlin accused Kyiv of targeting Moscow with drones, the latest in a series of attacks.

The Russian Defense Ministry said three drones were intercepted Sunday but a business and shopping development in the west of the capital was hit. The fifth and sixth floor of a 50-story building were damaged, and no casualties were reported, state news agency TASS reported.

Videos showed debris as well as emergency services at the scene.

Ukraine is getting stronger, and the war is gradually returning to Russias territory, to its symbolic centers and military bases, Zelensky said in his daily address. This is an inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair.

A spokesman for Ukraines Air Force said the latest drone attacks on Moscow were aimed at impacting Russians who, since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine in February 2022, felt the war was distant.

Theres always something flying in Russia, as well as in Moscow. Now the war is affecting those who were not concerned, the spokesman, Yurii Ihnat, said on Ukrainian television.

No matter how the Russian authorities would like to turn a blind eye on this by saying they have intercepted everything  something does hit.

Ukraines military has increasingly been deploying unmanned aerial vehicles for more than just reconnaissance.

Ukrainian Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, whose Digital Transformation Ministry oversees the countrys Army of Drones procurement plan, had said there would be more drone strikes to come as Kyiv ramps up a summer counteroffensive aimed at pushing Russian troops out of Ukrainian territory.

Moscow was targeted earlier this week. Ukraine claimed responsibility for a strike on Monday that hit two non-residential buildings, including one near the Ministry of Defense headquarter. Russia called that incident a terrorist attack, although the Kremlins military actions in Ukraine have regularly caused civilian casualties.

A Russian missile attack in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy late on Saturday killed at least two people civilian and injured another 20, while a rocket strike on Zaporizhzhia left another two people dead.

Both areas had been subject to lengthy bombardments over the weekend. Ukrainian authorities in Sumy said there had been 25 instances of shelling in a single day, while a military leader in Zaporizhzhia said Russian forces had carried out 77 attacks on 20 settlements across the Zaporizhzhia, hitting 31 residential buildings and other pieces of infrastructure.

Though the strikes in Moscow did not reportedly cause any injuries or fatalities, they have unsettled residents of the Russian capital.

One witness to Sundays attack explained how the incident upended some planned down time.

My friends and I rented an apartment to come here and unwind, and at some point, we heard an explosion  it was like a wave, everyone jumped, she told Reuters. There was a lot of smoke, and you couldnt see anything. From above, you could see fire.

Ukrainian drones also targeted the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula on Sunday.

Russias Defense Ministry said it intercepted 25 unmanned aerial vehicles over the territory, which Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, shooting down 16 of them with air defense systems.

The other nine crashed into the Black Sea after their signals were jammed by electronic warfare equipment, according to the ministry. There do not appear to have been any casualties, but CNN has not been able to verify claims made by Russias Defense Ministry.

On Friday Russia said it shot down a Ukrainian missile over the southern Russian city of Taganrog. Ukraine did not comment on the attack, an apparent rare case of Ukraine using missiles inside Russian territory.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Zelensky says war returning to Russia after Moscow drone attack"
Today is July 31, 2023, and here's what you need to know:

In little over two years since taking office, President Joe Biden has made multiple historic appointments to Colorado's federal trial court, selecting the first openly gay judge and the first Asian American judge, for example.

But Biden opted for a different kind of diversity when he installed the most recent member of the U.S. District Court, Gordon P. Gallagher.

Gallagher is the first federal district judge in Colorado's history to be stationed outside of Denver  a distinction he bears proudly.

"We do come to our life and work with the experiences of where we live and what we do and who were around on a daily basis. And that informs how we approach a myriad of issues," said Gallagher on Friday, during his ceremonial swearing-in at the Alfred A. Arraj U.S. Courthouse in downtown Denver.

If youre like many keen observers of Colorados evolving political landscape, youve probably spent some time lately asking yourself a burning question: How did we get here?

Over the past 20 years, Colorados political makeup has completely turned upside down, going from a conservative-leaning state with Republicans holding nearly every statewide office and majorities in both chambers of the legislature to an almost exact mirror image this year, with Democrats celebrating their third consecutive statewide sweep.

Historians debate whether events are primarily governed by broad social currents, or whether its an accumulation of consequential decisions made by individuals that propel the state of affairs in one direction or another.

Under the assumption that its at least some of both, we decided to take a look at instances of the latter, at key moments when things could have gone either way.

The Denver Public Schools Board of Education has twice rejected convening business behind closed doors since holding an unlawful executive session in March.

At least three directors  including Board President Xochitl Gaytan  have said they want to curb the boards use of executive sessions in the wake of public criticism of their secret meeting on March 23.

The board had ostensibly met to discuss the accused student shooter and security arrangements in response to the March 22 shooting at the districts flagship campus: East High School.

But the meeting veered into a policy discussion about the districts ban on armed police officers in schools.

We have not had an executive session since, Director Charmaine Lindsay said. Several of us on the board have decided were not going to have executive sessions.

Lindsay added, Were pretty much going to shut them down.

In Aurora and Denver  two neighboring cities pursuing divergent strategies to resolving homelessness  talk of if and how collaboration could take place is brewing among city leaders.

At the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerces annual State of the City event on Thursday, regional collaboration  if and how it might unfold  emerged as a theme, as Denver metro area cities look to solve the areas most pressing challenges. Four Front Range mayors  Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade  sat on the panel, in which homelessness became a focal point.

The idea of all metro municipalities, specifically Denver and Aurora, working together to solve homelessness arose more than once during the chamber event, as it did at Johnstons first of 78 neighborhood town halls regarding homelessness earlier last week, and throughout long debates held in Aurora last year as the city council crafted its plan to tackle the crisis within Auroras borders.

The prospect shines a spotlight on differing approaches Denver and Aurora are pursuing to solve homelessness. Both cities, which share a border, have launched major initiatives on homelessness in the past year, most recently with the rollout of Johnstons aggressive initiatives that include getting a significant number of people off the streets before 2024 begins.

At the outset, their approaches diverge.

Carmen Madrigal, a breast cancer survivor, gets choked up talking about the phone calls shes made to cancer patients to cancel appointments because Kaiser Permanente was short staffed.

This is not OK, said Madrigal, of Aurora.

Madrigal, an optical business coordinator, has worked for Kaiser Permanente in Colorado for nearly nine years.

She was one of what organizers estimated as roughly 1,000 Service Employees International Union (SEIU) members who stood on the picket line outside the Kaiser Permanente Waterpark Administrative Facility in Aurora on Saturday. They joined thousands of Kaiser employees in California, Washington and Oregon in a coordinated protest of the unsafe staffing and patient care crisis.

This is about patient care, Madrigal said. This is not just about us.
Keith Sonderling, commissioner of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), has for years been sounding the alarm about the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) to run afoul of federal anti-discrimination laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

It was not until the advent of ChatGPT, Bard, and other popular generative AI tools, however, that local, state and national lawmakers began taking notice  and companies became aware of the pitfalls posed by a technology that can automate efficiencies in the business process.

Instead of speeches he'd typically make to groups of chief human resource officers or labor employment lawyers, Sonderling has found himself in recent months talking more and more about AI. His focus has been on how companies can stay compliant as they hand over more of the responsibility for hiring and other aspects of corporate HR to algorithms that are vastly faster and capable of parsing thousands of resumes in seconds.

Computerworld spoke with Sonderling about how companies can deal with the collection of local, state, federal, and international laws that have emerged to ensure AI's potential biases are exposed and eliminated. The following are excerpts from that interview:

EEOC EEOC Commissioner Keith Sonderling

How have you and the EEOC been involved in addressing AIs use in human resources and hiring? "Ive been talking about this for years, but now everyone wants to hear about what Ive been talking about.

"Were the regulating body for HR. Usually, the demands on the EEOC commissioner are to talk about workplace trends, workplace discrimination and all those issues. With AI impacting HR specifically, now theres a lot of interest in that  not just in the terms of the traditional lawyer, or government affairs aspect but more broadly in terms of the technology as a whole.

"It's a technology most laypeople can understand because everyones applied for a job, everyones been in the workforce. If youre going to be in the workforce youre going to be subject to this technology, whether its through resume screeningor more advanced programs that determine what kind of worker you are or what positions you should be in. This extends all the way to automating the performance management side of the house. Really, its impacted all aspects of HR, so theres a lot of demand in that.

"More broadly, because I was one of the government officials to talk about this early on, now I talk about broad AI governance for corporations and what they can be doing to implement best practices, policies and procedures internally.

What is your opinion on how various nations and localities are addressing AI regulation. China has moved quickly because it sees both the threat posed by AI and its potential. They want to get their hooks into the tech. Whos doing the best job? Thats why its so interesting thinking about how AI is going to be regulated and the different approaches different countries are taking; [there's] the approach the United States broadly is taking, and also youre seeing cities and states try to address this on the local level. The biggest one is the EU and their proposed AI Act and the RISK-based approach.

"To your point in the debate about regulating AI, will anyone build systems there? The UK is saying come to us because were not going to overregulate it. Or are tech companies just going to go develop it in China and forget about all the others."

Why is New Yorks Local Law 144 important? Taking a step back, for cities, states, foreign countries for anyone who wants to take up the very complex area of algorithmic decision-making laws and trying to regulate it, obviously they should be committed because not only does it take a certain level of expertise of the underlying use of the tool, but also being able to understand how it works and how it will apply to their citizens.

"What were starting to see is a patchwork of different regulatory frameworks that can sometimes cause more confusion than clarity for employers who operate on a national or even international level. I think with a lot of these HR tools, and you see who the early adopters are or who theyre marketed to, its generally for larger companies with bigger work forces. Now, Im not saying there arent AI tools made for smaller and mid-sized businesses, because there certainly are. But a lot of it is designed for [those who] need hiring scaled or promotions scaled and need to make employment decisions for a larger workforce. So, theyre going to be subject to these other various requirements if theyre operating in various jurisdictions."

How should companies approach compliance considering some are local, some are state, and some are federal? "What Im trying to warn companies using these products when it comes to compliance with these laws  or if they are in places where there are no laws on the books because legislators dont understand AI  is to take a step back. The laws we enforce here at the EEOC have been around since the 1960s. They deal with all aspects of employment decisions, from hiring, firing, promotions, wages, training, benefits  basically, all the terms and conditions of employment. Those laws protect against the big ticket items: race, sex, national origin, pregnancy, religion, LGBT, disability, age.

"They have been regulated and theyll continue to be regulated by federal law. So you cant lose sight of the fact that no matter where you are and regardless of whether your state or city has engaged or will be engaging in algorithmic discrimination standards or laws, you still have federal law requirements.

"New York is the first to come out and broadly regulate employment decisions by AI, but then its limited to hiring and promotion. And then its limited to sex, race and ethnicity for doing those audits before requiring consent from employees or doing an audit and publishing those audits. All those requirements will only be for hiring and promotions.

"Now, theres a lot of hiring and promotion going on using these AI tools, but that doesnt mean it youre an employer thats not subject to New Yorks Local Law 144 that you shouldnt be doing audits to begin with. Or if youre saying, 'OK, I have to do this because New York is requiring me to do [a] pre-deployment audit for race, sex and ethnicity,' well, the EEOC is still going to require compliance with all the laws I just mentioned across the board, regardless."

So, if your AI-assisted applicant tracking system is audited, should you feel secure that you're fully compliant? "You shouldnt be lulled into false sense of security that your AI in employment is going to be completely compliant with federal law simply by complying with local laws. We saw this first in Illinois in 2020 when they came out with the facial recognition act in employment, which basically said if youre going to use facial recognition technology during an interview to assess if theyre smiling or blinking, then you need to get consent. They made it more difficult to do [so] for that purpose.

"You can see how fragmented the laws are, where Illinois is saying were going to worry about this one aspect of an application for facial recognition in an interview setting. New York is saying our laws are designed for hiring and promotion in these categories. So, OK, Im not going to use facial recognition technology in Illinois, and Ill audit for hiring and promotion in New York. But, look, the federal government says you still have to be compliant with all the civil rights laws.

"You could have been doing this since the 1960s, because all these tools are doing is scaling employment decisions. Whether the AI technology is making all the employment decisions or one of many factors in an employment decision; whether its simply assisting you with information about a candidate or employer that otherwise you wouldnt have been able to ascertain without advanced machine learning looking for patterns that a human couldnt have fast enough. At the end of the day, its an employment decision and at the end of the day, only an employer can make an employment decision."

So, where does the liability for ensuring AI-infused or machine learning tools lie? "All the liability rests with the employer in the same way it rested with HR using a pencil and paper back in the 1960s. You cannot lose sight that these are just employment decisions being made faster, more efficiently, with more data, and potentially with more transparency. But [hiring] has been regulated for a long time.

"With the uncertain future of federal AI legislation and where it may go, where the EUs legislation may go, and as more states take this on  California, New Jersey, and New York State wants to get involved  you cant just sit back and say well, theres not certainty yet in AI law. You cant think theres no AI regulatory body that a senator wants to create; theres no EU law that will require me to do one, two, three before using it, and think, 'We can just wait and implement this software like we do other software.' Thats just not true.

"When you're dealing with HR, youre dealing with civil rights in the workplace. Youre dealing with a persons ability to enter and thrive in the workforce and provide for their family, which is different from other uses. Im telling you that are laws in existence and will continue to be in existence that employers are familiar with, we just need to apply them to these HR tools in the same way we would with any other employment decision."

Do you believe New Yorks Local Law 144 is a good baseline or foundation for other laws to mimic? "I think Local Law 144 is raising the awareness of the ability for employers to do employment audits. I think its a good thing, in the sense that now employers in New York who are hiring are being forced to do an audit. It raises awareness that whether or not youre being forced to do it, its good compliance.

"Just because a local government is forcing you to do an audit, doesnt mean you cannot do it yourself. In the sense that employers are now recognizing and investing in how to get AI compliant before it makes a decision involving someones livelihood, its developing this framework of how to audit AI pre-deployment, post-deployment and how [to] test it. How do we create the framework for AI broadly, whether its being used in employment, housing, or credit? It gets companies more familiar with not only spending the resources needed to build these systems or buy them, but the implementation side of it has a compliance aspect to it.

"I think its raising awareness in a positive way of performing audits to prevent discrimination. If you find the job candidate recommendation algorithm has a factor in there thats not necessary for the job, but instead is eliminating a certain class of workers who are qualified but excluded because of age, or race, or national origin, or whatever the algorithm is picking up  if you can see that and prevent it and tweak it, whether by changing the job description or doing more recruiting for certain areas to ensure you have the inclusive job applicant pool or just ensuring the job parameters are necessary  thats preventing discrimination.

"A big part of our mission here at the EEOC, even though people look at us as an enforcement agency  which we are  is to prevent discrimination and promote equal opportunity in the workplace. Doing these audits in the first place can prevent that."

What makes an AI applicant tracking system problematic in the first place? "A true ATS systems is just going to be a repository of applications and how you look at them. Its what youre doing with that data set that can lead to problems, and how youre implementing the AI on that data set, and what characteristics youre looking for within that pool and how does it get you the flow of candidates. In that funnel from the ATS to who youre going to select for the job is where AI can be helpful. Many times when were looking at a job description or a job recommendation, or the requirements for that job, those in some cases havent been updated in years or even decades. Or a lot of times theyve just been copied and pasted from a competitor. That has the potential to discriminate because you dont know if youre copying a job description that may have historical biases.

"The EEOC is going to look at that and simply say, what were the results? If the results were discrimination, you have the burden of going through every aspect of the characteristics you put into that ATS and can you prove thats necessary for the job in that location based upon the applicant pool?

"So, its not as much the ATS systems that can be problematic, but what machine learning tools are scanning the ATS systems and if it wasnt a diverse pool of applicants in the first place. Thats a long-winded way of asking: how are you getting into that ATS system and then once the applicant is in that system, what are they being rated on? You can see how historically biases can prevent some [people] from getting into those systems in the first place, and then once youre in the ATS system, and the next level is what skills or recommendations are not necessary but are discriminatory?"
Indian-origin Tharman Shanmugaratnam officially launches campaign for Singapore President

Former Indian-origin minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam formally launched his campaign for President of Singapore campaign and pledged to evolve the country's culture to keep it a "shining spot" in the world.

Tharman said he intended to be "a President for a new era" as he officially launched his campaign for the office. Photo courtesy Twitter/@FAODG

The official launch comes more than a month after Tharman first announced his intention that he will run for president.

Tharman, 66, stepped down from active politics after 22 years last month.

"I stepped into this race because I feel very strongly in the need to evolve Singapore's culture, some of our norms and the way we go about working with each other so that we remain a shining spot in the world," he said at a press conference.

He said he intended to be "a President for a new era" as he officially launched his campaign for the office.

The 2023 presidential election is due in September, as President Halimah Yacob's six-year term ends on September 13.

Accompanied by his wife Jane Yumiko Ittogi, Tharman outlined challenges facing Singapore both globally and domestically and emphasised that the nation's real challenge was to avoid becoming a divided society.

"If I'm fortunate enough to be elected as President, I pledge to bring my full experience and capabilities on the ground nationally and internationally, to serve as your President for this new and more challenging era," Channel News Asia quoted him as saying.

The senior politician said his 22 years in politics had given him ample experience in unifying people, an important role for the president.

"When we talk about being a unifying figure, I do not say this rhetorically or just as an aspiration but I speak from a real track record," he said.

"That includes the track record of respecting different views, including different political leanings and constantly trying to find common ground," he said.

Tharman said he would also fulfil other responsibilities of the presidency such as safeguarding the reserves, citing his experience in government and politics over the years.

He said he would bring a "more basic orientation" of integrity and independence of mind, which he has been known for.

"I don't have to change my colours like a chameleon. I'm the same person with the same integrity and same independence of mind, and that remains critical for the role of the president," he said.

Tharman was an economist and a civil servant, mainly at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, before joining politics in 2001.

He has served as the Minister for Education and Finance and was the Deputy Prime Minister from 2011 to 2019. He has also held prominent posts at international organisations including the International Monetary Fund, the World Economic Forum and the United Nations.

There are three prospective candidates who have publicly announced their intention to contest the polls.

The other two prospective candidates who have announced their intention to contest the election are businessman George Goh and investment manager Ng Kok Song.

Under requirements laid out in Singapore's Constitution, public sector presidential candidates must have held office for at least three years as a minister, chief justice, attorney-general or other high-level posts.

Private sector candidates must have served for at least three years as chief executives of a company with an average of Singapore dollars 500 million in shareholders' equity.

Singapore will hold its first presidential election since 2011, after President Halimah announced on May 29 that she will not seek a second term.

She is the country's eighth and first female president. Her six-year term ends on September 13 this year.

The 2017 presidential poll was a reserved election, in which only members of the Malay community were allowed to contest. Halimah was named president then as there were no other candidates.
Pakistan: Death toll in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa blast touches 40

The death toll in the blast which rocked a political gathering in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) region on Sunday touched 40, media reports said on Monday.

A moment of the blast which rocked a political gathering in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region on Sunday. Photo Courtesy: Twitter video grab





Caretaker Information Minister Feroze Jamal Shah Kakakhel told Geo News that more than 200 people have been injured in the blast that took place during the speech of a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader.

The injured were rushed to Timergara and Peshawar for treatment.

Police said initial investigation revealed it was a suicide attack.



He added that the investigation teams are collecting evidence from the site of the blast.
IBM's 2023 report cited a difference of $1.04 million (23%) in data breach costs between high levels and low levels of noncompliance with regulations. Whether it's being penalized under data protection regulations, settling class action claims brought about by an individual or a group, or shelling out for legal representation/general counsel, the reality is that all businesses should plan for potential regulatory and litigation expenditure surrounding data breaches.

"Regulated industries suffer not only the immediate cost of responding to, containing, and remediating vulnerabilities but also the long-term effects of additional penalties from their regulatory bodies and legal settlements," Nick says. Highly regulated industries, such as healthcare and financial services, typically run one and two in order of cost per breach since they will pay more non-compliance fines than others, he adds.

"Investigation and adjudication often take years for the victim organization to reach a monetary settlement with affected parties." Legal costs are one of the largest expenditures organizations face in data breaches, Nick states. "Organizations rarely have the legal and privacy expertise in-house. To ensure compliance, they must hire outside counsel to lead their reporting."

Rising cyber insurance prices leave organizations struggling to afford cover

While data breach costs associated with damaged reputation, business downtime, and regulation/litigation remain significant, they are nothing new. A more recent trend is a sharp increase in the costs of cyber insurance premiums due to the frequency and severity of breaches, along with hefty ransomware payments.

According to research from Huntsmen Security, the number of organizations unable to afford adequate cyber insurance cover is expected to double in 2023. This is a result of insurers increasing premium prices to better reflect the risks organizations face. "Some organizations have reported post-breach increases in premiums of approximately 200%," Nick says.

Along with making premiums more expensive, insurers are also implementing more coverage limitations, meaning that even with a policy in place, businesses could find themselves financially responsible for certain breach-related costs. This means, in addition to pricier premiums, companies also need to plan funding to cover any limitations or exemptions written into policies. IBM's latest report listed insurance protection as the least common investment after a breach (18%) saving organizations an average of $196,452 in data breach costs.

Mellen tells CSO the cyber insurance landscape is still evolving but any notion that policies will allow organizations to fully recover financially from a cyberattack is folly. "In reality, it's not going to cover all of the costs associated with any type of cyberattack, and we see some insurance firms not even covering ransomware at this point as part of their payouts," she adds.

Another factor to consider is that cyber insurance providers typically now have a list of approved service providers such as lawyers and forensics firms, Hicks says. "If your preferred provider is not on their list, you may have to work with them to get them included, or potentially have to change providers. This can be costly, as firms are often leveraging their existing service providers to secure the maximum discounts based on the volume of work done with the partners. Also, if for some reason you can't get them added, you could end up having to pay the costs directly versus having your insurance cover it."

Organizations are increasingly open to paying large ransoms

On the topic of ransomware, evidence suggests that companies are increasingly open to paying ransoms as part of their breach response, even setting aside millions of dollars for this purpose. "One of the first questions that I often get is, should we set up a Bitcoin wallet to prepare for having to pay ransom?" Mellen tells CSO. "At the end of the day, a ransomware attack can be an existential event for a company if their backups are not in a secure place or are not up to date, so they 100% do prepare for the reality of having to pay the ransom."

Threat actors are ultimately looking to determine an amount a business might be prepared to pay to continue operations. Recent data from ExtraHop indicate that 83% of businesses affected by ransomware in 2022 chose to pay a ransom at least once.

IBM's 2023 report found that organizations that paid the ransom during a ransomware attack achieved only a small difference in total cost at $5.06 million compared to $5.17 million, a cost difference of just 2.2%. However, this calculation doesn't include the cost of the ransom itself, and given the high cost of most ransomware demands, organizations that paid the ransom likely ended up spending more overall than those that didn't, according to IBM. The data indicated that paying a ransom has become increasingly less advantageous overall, with an 82.5% decrease in savings from the 2022 to 2023 reports.

Insufficient security staffing leads to higher data breach costs

According to IBM's latest report, the security skills shortage is one of the biggest data breach cost amplifiers, with the average cost of a breach for organizations with high levels of security skills shortages being $5.36 million. If insufficient security staff equates to greater data breach costs, organizations should heed Mellen's warning about the impact a poorly handled data breach can have on employees. "If they don't feel like the organization is able to protect them or customers in the event of a breach, or that they blame their employees for a breach, then they're likely going to start looking for jobs elsewhere because it creates a bit of a hostile environment for them," she says.

Mellen cites the example of "blaming the intern" for a data breach incident, which is a surefire way to make people feel unsafe in their roles and like they are one step away from being used as the scapegoat, which could force them out the door. This can not only leave a business short of resources, but it also means they will need to fork out the costs involved in recruiting and onboarding new staff. "It is very important for organizations to recognize that they need to accept responsibility and protect both their employees and their customers," Mellen adds.

Preparedness is key to managing data breach costs

No matter the specific costs involved, experts agree that, ultimately, preparedness is key to managing the monetary repercussions of a data breach. "Faster incident response continues to be a clear driver for lowering the cost of a breach," Dutile says. "The worst losses are those that go undetected for an extended time or have a slow or ineffective response." Modern cybersecurity requires a post-breach mindset which understands that, eventually, a successful data breach is going to occur, Mellen adds. "Operating under those conditions, you need to figure out how you're going to handle that and build your resiliency to respond better and faster. This isn't just about the security function either, and it needs to be spread across an organization, considering what marketing is going to do, what sales is going to do, etc. -- how, as a business, you can demonstrate you value your customers and that you want to make it right as quickly and effectively as possible."
'Never at one point did I say I don't like anybody,' Keith insisted of the encounter

According to Keith, the exchange in question occurred more than a year ago

A black TikTok star has been forced to defend himself against accusations of 'racism' leveled at him by MMA fighter Sean Strickland.

Keith Lee, 27, shared a four-minute TikTok in which he refuted 32-year-old Sean's retelling of an interaction the two had at the gym, which, he added, had taken place 'over a year ago.'

Sean, who is white, claimed that, during the exchange, the influencer, who has a TikTok following of 13.5 million, had said something to the effect of 'I don't like white people.'

In his response, Keith, a self-described 'food critic' known for reviewing Las Vegas-area eateries, clarified: 'Yes, me and Sean had a conversation. No, this conversation didn't go anything how he depicted it.'

MMA fighter Sean Strickland, 32, claimed that TikTok influencer Keith Lee had told him 'I don't like white people' in a heated exchange at the gym

Keith, 27, responded to the allegation, saying: 'Yes, me and Sean had a conversation. No, this conversation didn't go anything how he depicted it'

Sean narrated his version of events in the July 15 episode of his podcast, The Man Dance.

'So [Keith] comes up to me and he tried to talk to me about race. He tried to have this racial systematic oppression s***,' Sean's profanity-filled rant about the encounter began.

'I don't disagree But I'm not trying to have this f***ing debate in the gym. I'm trying to spar.'

Sean then reasoned: 'Anytime you're talking to somebody racist - and I know this because I used to be a little racist - anytime you're talking to someone racist, and you want to really piss them off, you just got to talk about f***ing the sex of the race of whatever they are.

'So I'm like, "Yo, Lee, I'm not racist. I've f***ed more black women than you have, bro. How am I racist?" And I said that just to piss him off.'

In his own telling, the MMA fighter then brought Keith's family - and fidelity - into the conversation.

'And I'm like, "Bro, just relax. I know you got a little white woman at home. Chill the f*** out,"' Sean claimed to have told Keith.

Sean admitted that, by that point in the exchange, he was 'kind of poking him, but I'm doing it funny.'

Sean holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He's pictured here fighting in Las Vegas in 2022

Keith is a self-described 'food critic' who's known for his reviews of Las Vegas eateries

But then, Sean alleged, Keith then said: 'Nah, f*** that. I don't like white people.'

For his part, Keith, beyond denying Sean's allegation in the TikTok he shared addressing the matter, mentioned that both he and his family had been harassed by the MMA fighter's fans for 'a week-and-a half' following the podcast's release.

He further insisted he'd been getting all the 'negative backlash for something I didn't do.'

Keith's description of what went down at the gym differed drastically from Sean's incendiary take.

'We were gym partners. I walked up to him and two people who I consider friends,' Keith prefaced the story.

According to Sean, the other 'two people' present for the exchange included MMA fighter Jason Manly, and Keith's big brother and UFC fighter Kevin Lee, 30 - both of whom are black.

'I joined the conversation, and the conversation happened to already be about race,' Keith continued. 'In the beginning of this conversation, it was not only intelligent, but it was productive.'

Then, Keith explained, Sean launched into his tirade about having had sex with 'more black women' than the TikTok star had.

'He then spun my words into saying what he said,' Keith continued of the alleged 'I don't like white people' comment.

Keith countered: 'Never at one point did I say I don't like anybody. I simply disagreed with what he said. And instead of fighting ignorance with ignorance, I said, "No, I'm happily married with children, and I'm very proud of the family that God has allowed me to build."

'I also immediately disagreed with all the ignorant and distasteful comments that he made, and I no longer was interested in entertaining the conversation, which ended very shortly after that,' Keith continued.

In the podcast, Sean, who holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, further claimed to be personally offended that Jason and Kevin didn't step in after Keith supposedly made the remark about not liking white people.

'And they just sit there f***ing silent as this racist motherf***er is telling his dislike for white people,' Sean lamented.

When Keith individually called Jason and Kevin, however, both seemed equally confused regarding Sean's take on how the conversation had gone down - with neither remembering Keith saying anything along the lines of 'I don't like white people.'

Keith also mentioned that he'd 'debated for a week straight' about responding to Sean's account of the heated encounter. 'I don't have any bad feelings or wish anything ill against Sean Strickland. I just want this cleared up. Because that's not what I said,' he emphasized.

'The only reason I'm responding to this at all is because it's spinning into a narrative that's completely false,' he said, adding that the massive internet backlash had begun to 'not only affect me, but my family, financially and mentally.'

Ironically, in the middle of his rant about Keith on his podcast, Sean insisted: 'I'm the most honest motherf***er there is If I hated black people, I'll be the first one to f***ing tell you guys.'
A new optical illusion claims it can determine whether you are a natural born leader  depending on which animal you spot first in an image.

The fun optical illusion claims that it can teach you more about yourself - including your professional capabilities.

The purple image features an image hidden beneath it's lines - but can you tell which animal it is at first glance?

The website gives struggling readers a hint: 'They are the only family of cats that live in groups, or "prides".

Scroll down to discover the animal...

Popular website instantprint has published another optical illusion - challenging users of the site, which covers viral, trending content, to see if they can spot the animal among the navy and purple lines

If your eyes are sharp enough, you will see that the animal in question is quite clearly a lion.

And if you were correct, the website says that 'You are a natural-born leader.

'Natural-born leaders, or individuals with lion personality types, are frequently strong decision-makers at work'.

It goes on to add that those with a lion personality are 'likely to be proactive, loyal, and determined'.

Lion personality types are said to serve as a shoulder to cry on when others are in distress, and often the go-to for business advice.

They have strong interpersonal skills - not afraid to be bold or outspoken in the workplace.

And it's not the only optical illusion to have taken the internet by storm this month.

Earlier this week, another optical illusion image challenges puzzlers to find the odd tree within 10 seconds.

The challenge has been posted by Freshers Live, a site that regularly posts similar challenges, and it's been puzzling people from around the world.

According to the site you need to 'look deeply into the image', which features rows of amber-coloured trees on a black background.

If you have what it takes, the puzzle should only take a maximum of ten seconds to solve.

The website stresses: 'Dont take too much time. Keep in mind that the clock is ticking.'

Scroll down for reveal

Can you find the tree that is ever so slightly different from the rest, among this sea of amber forest?

If you're fast enough, the illusion should only take ten seconds to complete and according to Freshers Live if you succeed: 'You are an intelligent and quick-witted person. You have a sharp mind and great visual and thinking skills'.

If you've studied the picture and you're still struggling to find the image, this hint might help you out.

The difference is that the odd tree has a lighter-coloured trunk than the rest of the plants, but this faded bark is easy to miss.

It comes after another optical illusion image claimed to reveal a key personality trait simply on what you see first in a picture.

The hidden Odd Tree is marked in a circle above. These kinds of optical illusions help you to act fast and increase your focusing power. It will help you to improve your IQ, according to the site

Posted by American TikTok account Psychologylove (psychologylove100), who has more than 325,000 followers, the video suggests that people have either a creative or a logical nature depending on what animal is revealed to them.

The voiceover explains that it can indicate how their brains work when faced with problems and tasks.

Showing an image of two green crocodiles on a yellow background, creating a bird in the center, it comes with message: 'Discover your true personality'.

Explaining the psychology behind the thought process, the video reveals: 'What you see first will reveal a very specific aspect of your personality.

What do you see? Crocodiles or a bird with its wings spread in the middle of the open jaws

'If you see crocodiles first, it indicates that are a very sensitive and creative person, you are able to see beauty in simple things, and are often inspired by your surroundings.'

According to the TikToker, those that fall into this category are often imaginative, and take on an innovative approach to problem solving.

Those with this personality trait, he added, are usually 'drawn to the arts, music, and literature' and are 'able to see beauty in things that are often overlooked by others'.

However, if you see a bird when you first look at the image, the TikToker explained you're most likely to be a logical and practical person.

He said: 'If, on the contrary, you saw the bird first, then this indicates that you are an extremely observant and analytical person.

'You have a keen mind and are able to see the finer details in things. You are also very perceptive and able to understand things quickly.

'You are drawn to science mathematics and logic, and are able to solve things problems effectively.'

Viewers of the image flocked to share what they thought about the personality test with many revealing the definitions were spot on

Viewers of the TikTok video were loving the personality test and rushed to leave comments underneath.

One person wrote: 'Bird seriously thats me ooo how do you guy know so much.'

'The bird and is absolutely correct,' added someone else.

Another user penned: 'Accurate..... So on point.'

Some couldn't see the bird at all, while lots of people replied to say they saw both the crocodiles and the bird, which the creator replied was 'crazy'.
A man has claimed to have spotted an 'anaconda' like creature lurking in the Thames.

Taking to Reddit, the social media user shared a snap of what appeared to be a reptilian creature peeking out of the murky water.

The post, which has more than 11,000 likes, was captioned: 'Saw a mad thing in the Thames just now.'

The image appeared to show a snake's head peering about the water in London with a red eye on show.

Many rushed to the comments with their own theories of what the creature might be.

Mystery as a man spots an 'anaconda' like creature lurking in the Thames in London. Taking to Reddit he shared a snap of what appeared to be a reptilian creature peeking out of the murky water

One person wrote: 'Its the famous Thames Anaconda!'

Another said: 'It's one of them jellied eels governor!'

Someone else quipped: 'Looks like a bottle cap on a rock.'

While another wrote: 'Just to add to this, I think it's the top of a wooden post with something red inserted into it at low tide.'

However many more imaginative Reddit users dubbed it 'The Loch Thames Monster'.

Meanwhile others said it might be a large snake and one Reddit user pointed out there was 'a massive snake skin found in the Thames last year.'

The five-foot-long skin was found on the shore and was thought to have been left by a Boa constrictor.

It was found by Jason Sandy, a London-based mudlark  someone who scavenges in river mud for items of value.

Many rushed to the comments with their own theories of what the creature might be

It's possible it was shed by an abandoned or escaped Boa constrictor, a renowned species of non-venomous snake native to South America that is known for coiling around its prey and compressing it to death before swallowing it whole.

Luckily, even human babies are too big for the snake to swallow, and as a result fatal attacks on people are rare.

Sandy posted several photos of his astonishing finding on Instagram last August.

'Yikes! Yesterday I spotted this large snake skin on the foreshore,' he said. 'I couldn't believe my eyes. A very large snake shed its skin, and it washed in with the tide.

'I felt like I was mudlarking along the Amazon River, not the Thames! I did look behind my back to make sure the snake wasn't lurking behind me.'

An enormous snake skin found on the shore of the River Thames in London may have been left by a five-foot-long Boa constrictor

Sandy, who posted the photos to Instagram, said that he left the snake skin where it was because 'it smelled really bad'

He also told MailOnline that the skin was about five feet in length and was found on the north side of the Thames near Hammersmith Bridge

'I hope this snake skin isn't evidence of more snakes living along the Thames.'

In response to a user comment, Sandy said that he left the skin where it was because 'it smelled really bad'.

He also told MailOnline that the skin was about five feet in length and was found on the north side of the Thames near Hammersmith Bridge in west London.

Although native to South America, the heavy-bodied snake is frequently kept and bred in captivity and kept as pets in other parts of the world, including the UK.

Exotic Pets UK describes the Boa constrictor on its website: 'This species makes a great exotic pet, however a large enclosure is required when adult.'

But it's also been found in the wild on British soil  in 2020, a five-foot-long Boa constrictor was found near Barnes Bridge in Chiswick, not far from where Sandy was mudlarking.

It was slithering in the undergrowth along the Thames before it was captured by the RSPCA.

At the time, animal collection officer Jade Guthrie, who rescued the reptile from the riverside, said it was likely to havebeenabandoned, rather than being a stray reptile.
John Pritchard, from Kent, was unaware of his son's existence until recently

A man has revealed his shock after he received an email from a stranger calling him his father.

John Pritchard, 78. who lives in Bromley, Kent, was left in shock when a bombshell landed in his inbox from Carl Benson, 56.

For Carl, a DNA sample kit sent to an ancestry website just for fun revealed an 100 per cent DNA parent and child relationship match with John.

Longing to meet his father, Carl reached out to John and asked to meet up with him to piece his family history together, according to the BBC.

With that one email, both of their lives permanently changed for the better.

John Pritchard (left), from Kent, received an email from Carl Benson (right) who claimed to be his long lost son

John was born in Bridgend county during World War Two, spending much of his childhood in care homes in and around Wales, due to an abusive stepfather.

He moved out in his young teens and worked as a railway driver in Oxfordshire, which is where he met Carl's mother.

The romance was short-lived and the pair quickly ended their relationship.

But soon enough, John met his wife Jill, and they began their life together totally in the dark about his Carl's existence.

Then last Christmas, Carl's son Jason got his father a DNA test kit as a gift.

After initially taking the test, Carl never chased the results but he was interested in seeing his family background.

Carl was able to unexpectedly trace his biological father on a genealogy website, creating a family tree which traced back to John's cousin.

Carl later got into contact with the cousin through Mick Henry, the chair of the Brighton and Hove genealogical society.

The chairman sifted through genealogical data and found John's cousin, and they asked her if they could reach out to him.

She agreed, which led to the life-changing moment where Carl sent out the email to John that started: 'Hi, I'm your son' and asked if they could possibly meet up.

To Carl's shock, he received a phone call from his estranged father just 24 hours after he sent the email.

The pair are making up for lost time and John recently went to France to attend Carl's daughters wedding

Talking to the BBC, Carl shared how the phone call went. He said: 'We chatted unusually naturally, and it became very obvious that we shared very similar backgrounds, traits, beginnings, likes, dislikes.'

John knew immediately that everything made sense.

Just a month after the initial email, the estranged father and son decided to meet up in London for lunch.

Carl said: 'We got on like a house on fire. I was just very grateful that he was even alive, and he could have said 'I don't want to know'.

'You talk about nature versus nurture. We've got the same sense of humour, we're both into motorbikes, we're both into fitness. It's uncanny you can be so similar to somebody you've actually never met.'

John, who has three other children and six grandchildren, said that he was proud of Carl, despite only just learning about his existence.

The pair are making up for lost time and last year, John went to Carl's daughters wedding in France.

They are set on making up for the 55 years of not knowing each other, and next year they are planning to go to New York together.
READ MORE: Health bosses consider forcing dentists to work for the NHS

Alex Gray, from Lincoln, told This Morning hosts he pulled out 7 of his own teeth

A man has revealed that he removed his own teeth with plyers after spending years fruitlessly searching for an NHS dentist.

During an interview on This Morning, retiree Alex Gray, from Lincoln, recounted the excruciating pain he faced as his teeth decayed while having to wait 'years' for a space to open up at a local dentist.

The ex-roofer, who had no dentistry experience whatsoever, told presenters Josie Gibson and Craig Doyle that he had 'no choice' than to take drastic action - and had been pulling out his teeth for a whopping seven years.

The shocking news comes as the ITV hosts said a staggering nine out of 10 NHS dentists refused to take on new adult patients.

Describing his experience, Alex said: 'I was in so much pain as you can imagine.

Alex Gray, from Lincoln has revealed that he removed his own teeth with plyers after spending years fruitlessly searching for an NHS dentist

'If you've had a toothache you'll know what the pain is like. And it was really, really bad.

'I tried drinking warm [liquids], I tried drinking cold [liquids] and it didn't work. In fact it made it worse.

'I tried ringing dentists and in the end I started to do that with a pair of plyers'.

Alex then animated the exact way he plied his teeth from his gums in a moment of sheer desperation.

He admitted that the DIY approach left him in 'even more pain', and so he took to using his knee medication pills to appease the agony.

'I took four and they helped the pain but they started making me dizzy,' he continued.

'So then I went to pull it out and it wasn't quite so difficult. Yes it was painful still but at least I could do it.

'Whereas before I took the Co-codamol I couldn't do it. So I have just continued on to do exactly that'.

During an interview on This Morning with presenters Josie Gibson and Craig Doyle (pictured), the retiree recounted the excruciating pain he faced as his teeth decayed while waiting 'years' for a space to open up at a local dentist

Alex shared that he'd pulled out seven teeth in total while formerly living in Basingstoke, as there were no available dentists

He continued: 'I keep trying to get a new dentist but all I get is well, "We'll put you on the list and if ever we get a space, we'll put you in"'.

Josie looked on in shock as she listened to the horrifying tale, before remarking that Alex looked like he 'had a lot of teeth'.

He replied that he'd pulled out seven teeth in total while formerly living in Basingstoke, as there were no available dentists.

The teeth at the front of his mouth were small from breakage - which he left alone to help him 'eat what he can'.

The pain also moved him to extract six large molar teeth at the back of his mouth.

He used 'thick toilet roll' to curb the pouring of blood after each tooth extraction - to which Craig winced at the thought.

Alex went on to criticise the NHS for 'doing their job for them' even though he had 'paid his national insurance contribution'.

He said: 'More than anything the annoying side of it is I spent my 55 years working paying my national insurance contribution to not get what I paid for.

'I paid for dentists and doctors. I've got the doctors, that's not a problem. I can't have a dentist and I paid for it'.

Alex divided opinions after sharing his experience, as many people took to X - formerly known as Twitter - to weigh in on the interview

After Josie and Craig consoled him for the 'distressing' and 'gruesome' situation, Alex said it was incomparable to having two heart attacks and 'coming out on the other side'.

Fellow guest and dentist expert Dr Deepak Aulak said Alex's experience was a typical case of 'dental deserts' which reflected the state of NHS dentistry.

He added: 'There's areas where dentists aren't accepting any NHS patients and as dentists we kind of pinpoint to the three As.

'Affordability. There's been an 8.5 per cent increase in NHS fees which is incredible that patients are paying more.

'Access. BUPA has just closed 85 clinics across the UK. Big corporations are struggling to keep the lights on. And availability is a decade low'.

However the expert warned others not to follow in Alex's footsteps.

He said: 'Definitely this is something that's not recommended. It can leave remnants of broken teeth behind. You know secondary infections. But we really sympathise. It's disheartening to hear'.

Alex, who jokingly added that he had one more tooth to pull, divided opinions after sharing his experience, as many people took to X - formerly known as Twitter - to weigh in on the interview.

One person thought Gary was to blame for his hardship, writing: 'Sorry but it doesnt look like hes looked after his teeth, hes moved back to an area so would have to register at an NHS dentist.

'Theres a waiting list, and just cover the cost for that 18 months as a private patient, but would have been taken on'.

Meanwhile someone else called him 'brave': 'Just been watching #SelfDentistry. What is the answer to non DIY on your own teeth?

'There are many people who cannot get a dentist. What are they expected to do if they are in excruciating pain? What a brave man and I'm sure he isn't alone in this'.

Months ago, it emerged around 400million allocated for dental care went unspent this year because of a shortage of dentists willing to do NHS work.

The record underspend could have provided Britons with millions of extra appointments at a time when many struggled to be seen.

Patient watchdog Healthwatch England described the revelation as an 'absolute scandal'.

The number of dentists carrying out NHS work in England fell sharply in the first year of the pandemic and remains below pre-covid levels, according to NHS Digital figures.

Data for 2022/23, released to the British Dental Association via freedom of information requests and shared with Health Service Journal, indicates dentists are delivering significantly lower activity volumes than they are contracted for.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have paid tribute to the 'African rangers who have given the ultimate sacrifice protecting wildlife and wild places' in a tweet to mark World Ranger Day.

On the official Twitter account shared by Prince William and Kate, both 41, a post showed a list of names of the 71 rangers who have died since last year.

The caption read: 'On #WorldRangerDay we honour the African rangers who have given the ultimate sacrifice protecting wildlife and wild places. Your work and your bravery is an inspiration.'

Conservation campaigner William has a keen interest in preserving the natural environment for future generations.

In 2005 he became Royal Patron of Tusk Trust, which supports twenty five conservation projects in twelve different countries across Africa.

The Prince and Princess of Wales have paid tribute to the 'African rangers who have given the ultimate sacrifice protecting wildlife and wild places' in a tweet to mark World Ranger Day. Pictured, William lends a hand to rangers lifting the head of Kenya bull elephant Matt, tranquilised from a helicopter co-piloted by the royal to allow the fitting of a new radio tracking collar on March 24, 2016 in Lewa, Kenya

He has also previously shared his condolences for rangers who have died having served Africa's wildlife and wild places.

In July 2022, William shared a heartfelt tribute to a wildlife ranger who was reportedly shot dead outside his home in South Africa.

Anton Mzimba was the one of the head rangers at the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve in South Africa's Mpumalanga province and a technical advisor for the Global Conservation Corps.

Prince William connected with Mzimba when the royal, who is a keen conservationist and has long campaigned against illegal wildlife smuggling, paid a visit to Microsoft HQ in Reading to learn about a new device to combat ivory smugglers in 2021.

In a message posted on his official Twitter account, and signed off by William, he said: 'I'm deeply saddened to learn of the killing of Anton Mzimba who I spoke to in November.

'Committed and brave, rangers like Anton are central to the conservation of Africa's fantastic wildlife. Those responsible must swiftly be brought to justice. My thoughts are with his family. W'

Meanwhile, in December 2022, William shared his condolences about an African wildlife ranger who was 'killed by armed poachers' in a rare personal tweet.

The royal took to the Twitter account he shares with the Princess of Wales to call for the 'perpetrators to be brought to justice'.

Conservation campaigner William (pictured at the Tusk Conservation Awards in 2021) has a keen interest in preserving the natural environment for future generations

William's tweet (pictured) read: 'On #WorldRangerDay we honour the African rangers who have given the ultimate sacrifice protecting wildlife and wild places. Your work and your bravery is an inspiration.'

He explained that his thoughts are with 'Charles Okawas loved ones', after the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) ranger was shot dead by armed poachers while on duty in Kidepo Valley Conservation Area, according to local media reports.

Signing off with the letter 'W', to indicate the personal nature of the post, the father-of-three, who is a keen conservationist, said 'these senseless killings must be stopped'.

William's tweet read: 'Hearing the news that yet another ranger has lost his life while bravely carrying out his work to protect Africas wildlife is devastating.

'My thoughts are with Charles Okawas loved ones. The perpetrators must be brought to justice and these senseless killings must be stopped. W'.

Local media said a statement by UWA reported that the incident happened while the ranger and eleven of his colleagues were patrolling the park.

They responded to gun shots, which reportedly resulted in a 'heavy exchange of gunfire' between the rangers and the poachers.

'Unfortunately, [Okawa] was shot dead by enemy during the exchange. His colleague was injured and is receiving treatment from Yotkom medical hospital in Kitgum town,' UWA said in a statement.

It was further reported that one poacher was 'put out of action' and a gun recovered. Three others were said to have fled the scene.

On the official Twitter account shared by Prince William and Kate, both 41, a post showed a list (pictured) of names of the 71 rangers who have died since last year

UWA executive director, Sam Mwandha, told The Nile Post: 'This is a big loss to UWA. We have registered a tremendous increment in the population of key wildlife species because of dedicated staff like Okawa.

'Losing him is saddening. He put his life on the line so that our wildlife can be safe,' Mwandha added.

Okawa worked with UWA for 14 years, having joined in 2008.

Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales recently left members of the public in shock as he served up veggie burgers from a food truck in his latest environmental initiative.

William joined forces with the popular YouTube channel Sorted Food to spotlight the work of three of the most recent winners of The Earthshot Prize.

The partnership saw them develop the Earthshot Burger - which was made using Kheyti greenhouse vegetables, cooked on a cleaner-burning portable stove, and presented in a biodegradable box.

In a new episode now available on YouTube the Sorted Food founders are invited by Prince William to review and test three winners' innovations  each representing a groundbreaking solution to repair our planet  that the team then use to develop 'The Earthshot Burger.'

William is seen in a food van in central London with the Sorted Food chefs, and one diner puts her hand to her mouth in shock as she recognises the prince.

Prince William serves surprised members of the public burgers from a food truck as part of a new partnership with Sorted Food

After putting some 'Earthshot burgers' on a counter, he said: 'Morning everyone, nicely cooked - ready to go.'

William went on to say: 'So, for those of you who don't know, the Earthshot prize is there to repair and regenerate the planet.

'Everything you see here comes from the winners from last year. So the box you're about to eat in is built (by) a company called Notpla and there's no plastic involved, they've come up with a seaweed coating.

'The ingredients inside the burger are grown from a greenhouse in India from a company called Kheyti, and last but not least the way we cook them has been on a thing called Mukuru Clean Stoves, and that is designed by a lady in Kenya who came up with the concept to reduce air pollution.'

One of the diners said about seeing the future king: 'My brain took three seconds to buffer. Am I dreaming? Have I had enough sleep?' while another said 'I was lost for words'.

The chefs created a potato-based spicy burger flavoured with garlic, ginger and chilli - with pickled vegetables served in a bun.

Jamie Spafford, co-founder of Sorted Food - known for promoting environmentally friendly food solutions, said: 'Being joined at our studio and in the food truck by Prince William was a real 'pinch me' moment - hearing him explain how passionate he is about helping the planet and what the Earthshot Prize is doing was incredibly inspiring, and has already given us a lot of ideas for future projects to work on with our community.'

The royal, 41, joined forces with the popular YouTube channel to spotlight the incredible work of three of the most recent Winners of The Earthshot Prize

Members of the public where shocked when they noticed Prince William serving them

This collaboration with Sorted Food is part of The Earthshot Prize's new partnership with YouTube to produce content for the Earthshot channel that inspires users to drive action against climate change with stories of urgent optimism from around the world.

With over 2.7 million subscribers on YouTube, Sorted Food is renowned for environmentally friendly food solutions and putting food gadgets through their paces.

In a bid to spread the message about the pioneering work of these Earthshot Prize Winners, the episode follows Prince William and the Sorted Food team as they hit the road in their food truck.

Prince William serves surprised members of the public the delicious new burger and offers some insight on the incredible innovations created by Winners of The Earthshot Prize and their impact on communities around the world.

The 2022 Prize Winners put to the test by the Sorted Food team are: Notpla (Winner, Build A Waste-Free World), Mukuru Clean Stoves (Winner, Clean Our Air), and Kheyti's Greenhousein-a-box (Winner, Protect and Restore Nature).
BBC presenter Mari Grug from Wales was diagnosed with cancer in May

A BBC presenter has revealed how she was left feeling 'helpless' after receiving a cancer diagnosis.

Mari Grug, 38, who lives in Carmarthenshire, Wales, was diagnosed with breast cancer in May and it has since spread to her lymph nodes and liver.

The S4C presenter is undergoing seven cycles of chemotherapy and is due to have a mastectomy before Christmas, but she is 'eternally grateful' for the opportunity to fight the disease.

Mari, who is a presenter of the Heno and Prynhawn Da programmes on S4C and BBC Radio Cymru, told the BBC she 'hadn't expected the diagnosis to happen to her'.

The BBC presenter, who is familiar with the disease since her mother, now 71, was diagnosed in 1999, said: '[My mum] said to me that finding out you have breast cancer is not the end of the world, but unfortunately, with myself the breast cancer has spread to the lymph nodes and to the liver so my diagnosis is slightly different to what she had and it's just been quite scary.'

Mari Grug from South Wales has said that she felt 'helpless' after receiving a breast cancer diagnosis

Mari found a lump in her breast on the 13 April, and quickly saw her GP a few days later, but she was not seen by the Breast Unit in Llandelli before the end of that month.

She told the BBC: 'You don't ever expect it to happen to you... you just feel so helpless'.

'I don't look sick, but this doesn't mean I'm ok.'

'I'd like to keep on working but I'll see how I feel as the chemo progresses.'

She also took to Instagram to warn others who are worried about a change in their body to go and see the GP immediately.

She wrote: 'In May I was diagnosed with breast cancer that's spread to the lymph nodes and liver.

'I am having some heavy doses of Chemotherapy but I'm eternally grateful that I'm given the chance to fight this awful disease.

'The little ones are keeping me going and Gareth is my absolute rock. We are also lucky to have such wonderful family and friends around us too.

'For those reading my post who are worried about a change in their body, please go and see your GP immediately.

Mari found a lump in her breast in April and saw her GP a few days later, but she did not get seen by the hospital until the end of the month

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and affects more than two MILLION women a year Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Each year in the UK there are more than 55,000 new cases, and the disease claims the lives of 11,500 women. In the US, it strikes 266,000 each year and kills 40,000. But what causes it and how can it be treated? What is breast cancer? It comes from a cancerous cell which develops in the lining of a duct or lobule in one of the breasts. When the breast cancer has spread into surrounding tissue it is called 'invasive'. Some people are diagnosed with 'carcinoma in situ', where no cancer cells have grown beyond the duct or lobule. Most cases develop in those over the age of 50 but younger women are sometimes affected. Breast cancer can develop in men, though this is rare. Staging indicates how big the cancer is and whether it has spread. Stage 1 is the earliest stage and stage 4 means the cancer has spread to another part of the body. The cancerous cells are graded from low, which means a slow growth, to high, which is fast-growing. High-grade cancers are more likely to come back after they have first been treated. What causes breast cancer? A cancerous tumour starts from one abnormal cell. The exact reason why a cell becomes cancerous is unclear. It is thought that something damages or alters certain genes in the cell. This makes the cell abnormal and multiply 'out of control'. Although breast cancer can develop for no apparent reason, there are some risk factors that can increase the chance, such as genetics. What are the symptoms of breast cancer? The usual first symptom is a painless lump in the breast, although most are not cancerous and are fluid filled cysts, which are benign. The first place that breast cancer usually spreads to is the lymph nodes in the armpit. If this occurs you will develop a swelling or lump in an armpit. How is breast cancer diagnosed? Initial assessment: A doctor examines the breasts and armpits. They may do tests such as a mammography, a special x-ray of the breast tissue which can indicate the possibility of tumours.

Biopsy: A biopsy is when a small sample of tissue is removed from a part of the body. The sample is then examined under a microscope to look for abnormal cells. The sample can confirm or rule out cancer. If you are confirmed to have breast cancer, further tests may be needed to assess if it has spread. For example, blood tests, an ultrasound scan of the liver or a chest X-ray. How is breast cancer treated? Treatment options which may be considered include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment. Often a combination of two or more of these treatments are used. Surgery: Breast-conserving surgery or the removal of the affected breast depending on the size of the tumour.

Radiotherapy: A treatment which uses high energy beams of radiation focused on cancerous tissue. This kills cancer cells, or stops them from multiplying. It is mainly used in addition to surgery.

Chemotherapy: A treatment of cancer by using anti-cancer drugs which kill cancer cells, or stop them from multiplying.

Hormone treatments: Some types of breast cancer are affected by the 'female' hormone oestrogen, which can stimulate the cancer cells to divide and multiply. Treatments which reduce the level of these hormones, or prevent them from working, are commonly used in people with breast cancer. How successful is treatment? The outlook is best in those who are diagnosed when the cancer is still small, and has not spread. Surgical removal of a tumour in an early stage may then give a good chance of cure. The routine mammography offered to women between the ages of 50 and 70 means more breast cancers are being diagnosed and treated at an early stage. For more information visit breastcancernow.org or call its free helpline on 0808 800 6000 Advertisement

'I found a lump in my breast on the 13 of April, saw my GP a few days later and was seen at the Breast Unit in Llanelli before the end of the month.

'But I did have to wait a while to have all my scans done and reported on.

'Totally gutted not be in the Show this week and to present one of my favourite events of the year.

'But I'm hoping to be able to continue working a little over the next few weeks, with the Heno team and for Radio Cymru.

'Thanks for all your kind messages, they are really spurring me on. I'm keeping positive and I hope to see you all soon.'

Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of the disease in the UK, with around 55,000 women and 370 men being diagnosed with it each year, according to Breast Cancer Now.

While breast cancer is highly treatable, it is crucial to spot it as early as possible, as the longer it goes without treatment the higher the risk it can pose.

Despite years of pleas from cancer charities, more than a third of women in the UK still do not regularly assess their breasts.
Savannah Chrisley has opened up about some of the difficulties she's faced while being a 'bonus parent' to her brother and niece amid Julie and Todd's imprisonment, admitting that it's 'tough' because 'no one could ever add up' to their mom and dad.

Savannah, 25, has been taking care of her younger siblings since Todd, 54, and Julie, 50, were found guilty of taking part in a $30 million tax fraud scheme and sentenced to 12 and seven years behind bars respectively.

They headed off to prison in mid-January, and now, Savannah has spoken out about the struggles she's had to overcome while looking after her younger brother, Grayson, 17, and niece Chloe, 10, who was adopted by Todd and Julie in 2016.

The 25-year-old called it the 'hardest but most rewarding job' she has ever had, while thanking Grayson and Chloe for 'showing her so much love, patient, grace, understanding, and appreciation.'

Savannah Chrisley has opened up about some of the difficulties she's faced while being a 'bonus parent' to her brother and niece amid Julie and Todd's imprisonment

Savannah, 25, has been taking care of her younger siblings since Todd, 54, and Julie, 50, were found guilty of taking part in a $30 million tax fraud scheme

They headed off to prison in January, and now, Savannah has spoken out about the struggles she's had to overcome while looking after her brother, Grayson, 17, and niece Chloe, 10

'Im not their mom. Im not their dad. Im their sister and I get to love and guide them through life,' she began in a lengthy post shared to her Instagram last week.

'Being a bonus parent is tough no one could ever add up to their parents. But these kiddos have shown me so much love, patience, grace, understanding, and appreciation.

'Helping to raise these two kiddos is the hardest but most rewarding job I will ever have.'

Savannah said that she always wanted to 'be a mama,' adding, 'Little did I know, the journey would start a little sooner than expected.

'But luckily, I have had the most amazing mama in the world to learn from. Because of her I can do this.'

The former reality star admitted that while being a 'single parent' can be 'so defeating,' she knows that 'God will not give her more than she can bare.'

'Single parent/income households I see you. We do it solo. It is hard. It can be so defeating,' she continued.

'But I promise you God will not give us more than we can bare. I see you. I believe in you. You can do this.'

The 25-year-old called it the 'hardest but most rewarding job' she has ever had, admitting that it's 'tough' because 'no one could ever add up' to their mom and dad

'But luckily, I have had the most amazing mama in the world to learn from. Because of her I can do this,' Savannah, seen with Chloe and Grayson, added

She thanked Grayson and Chloe for 'showing her so much love, patient, grace, understanding, and appreciation.' She's seen with Chloe, who was adopted by her parents in 2016

Savannah said that she always wanted to 'be a mama,' adding, 'Little did I know, the journey would start a little sooner than expected. She's seen left with Grayson and right with Chloe

She concluded the post with a message to Grayson and Chloe, writing, 'You are my life. Thank you for letting me love you and thank you for loving me back.'

Todd and Julie were sentenced to 12 and seven years behind bars respectively after it was revealed that they had scammed the bank by submitting fake documents when applying for loans

Todd and Savannah have three other kids, Lindsie, 33, Kyle, 31, Chase, 27. They have been raising Chloe since she was an infant due to Kyle's substance abuse issues, and they legally adopted her in 2016.

The stars rose to fame thanks to their USA reality show Chrisley Knows Best, which premiered in 2014 and documented their day-to-day lives alongside their children. It went on for nine seasons before it was recently canceled amid the scandal.

In the series, Todd and Julie worked hard to portray the image of devoted parents and devout Christians - but they saw their picture-perfect on-screen images ripped apart when it was brought to light that they had scammed the bank by submitting fake documents when applying for loans.

In addition, Todd's former business partner Mark Braddock shocked the world when he claimed that he had a gay love affair with the 54-year-old father-of-five during the trial - further shattering the reality star's long-cultivated reputation.

Todd and Julie are serving out their time at two separate facilities, Todd's is in Pensacola, Florida, and Julie's is in Lexington, Kentucky.

She concluded the post with a message to Grayson and Chloe, writing, 'You are my life. Thank you for letting me love you and thank you for loving me back'

On her podcast, Savannah previously admitted that she had a 'full-on breakdown' after being thrust into the 'role of parent' for Grayson and Chloe

'I had a full-on breakdown. I was trying to find Chloe proper clothes to go and visit my parents. I just sat down on the floor and started crying,' she said. She's seen with her parents

On her podcast, Savannah previously admitted that she had a 'full-on breakdown' after being thrust into the 'role of parent' for Grayson and Chloe.

'I want to stay in that role as sister, but its hard when youre in the role of parent and discipline,' she told guest Toni Collier in February.

'The other night, I had a full-on breakdown. I was trying to find Chloe proper clothes to go and visit my parents and find her hair stuff. I just sat down on the floor and started crying.'

She added that she feels like she is not 'worthy or capable' of filling her mother's shoes.

'I am not my mother,' she said. 'How am I going to do this? I dont feel that I am worthy or capable enough of doing the job shes done for all her life.'

Savannah stated on the podcast that she's now focused on 'figuring out a healthier way to cope and deal with things' regarding her siblings.

Grayson also opened up about how he was handling his parents' imprisonment during an appearance on the podcast, and he called them being in bars 'worse than them dying'

He said: 'To me, its worse than them dying, because theyre here, but theyre not here. So its just time thats being wasted.' Grayson is seen with Chloe and Savannah

'Looking at them, I'm like, "You know what, I know how I feel going through this trauma. I cannot imagine how two kids feel going through it,"' she said.

'It's like, you know what, there's something bigger than me here - there's a 10 year old, there's a 16 year old and we gotta get through this in a healthy manner.'

17-year-old Grayson opened up about how he was handling his parents' imprisonment during an appearance on the podcast a few months later, and he called them being in bars 'worse than them dying.'

'To me, its worse than them dying,' he said. 'Because theyre here, but theyre not here.

'So its just time thats being wasted. Im saying, like, if they died, theres no possibility of you getting any more time with them. So its over.'

Savannah asked her younger brother if could 'see it from a perspective of, at least they're still here for you to hug and say "I love you,"' to which he replied, 'I mean, yeah, but I get to do all that within a time limit.'
Jenna Bush Hager had a heartwarming reunion with her 10-year-old daughter, Mila, after flying to Texas over the weekend to pick her up from sleepaway camp.

For the third summer in a row, the Today star's oldest child spent three weeks at Camp Longhorn in the Texas Hill Country  the same camp that the former first daughter attended as a child.

Bush Hager, 41, opened up about picking up her daughter from her home state on Monday's show while sharing footage of Mila jumping into her arms and wrapping her legs around her waist.

'We got our girl back! We picked her up from camp,' she told her co-host Hoda Kotb. 'It was so fun. There's nothing like reuniting.'

Jenna Bush Hager, 41, reunited with her daughter Mila over the weekend after flying to Texas to big up her oldest child from sleepaway camp

The mother of three and her seven-year-old daughter, Poppy, ran full speed to greet Mila

The 10-year-old jumped into her mother's arms and wrapped her legs around her waist

Bush Hager was joined by her seven-year-old daughter, Poppy, who was just as excited to see her big sister. The siblings shared a warm embrace as they caught up after nearly a month apart.

'It was so happy,' the mom said, joking that 'it's worth sending your kids to camp just so you can get them back.'

Temperatures were in the 100s while Mila was at camp, which costs a whopping $5,226.70 for the three-week program, but she had no problem handling the heat while making memories with her friends.

'She's probably one of the only kids from the Northeast. It's a lot of Texans. It's really hot, no air conditioning, but she loves it,' Bush Hager explained. 'Its so fun to go see her and feel that independence. Sleep away camp is a right of passage.'

The mother of three, who also has a three-year-old son, Hal, was particularly touched to see her daughters back together again.

'There was something so, so sweet about seeing the sisters reunite,' she said, recalling how they put on a Barbie-themed water ballet together later that night.

'Poppy was Ken and Mila was Barbie, which is just a birth order thing. You know how good it is to see the sister's together,' she told Kotb, who has two young daughters of her own.

Mila returned home right in time to celebrate her younger siblings' birthdays. Hal will turn four on August 2, while Poppy will be eight on August 13.

Bush Hager opened up about their heartwarming reunion on the Today show Monday

'There was something so, so sweet about seeing the sisters reunite,' she told her co-host Hoda Kotb

Earlier this month, Bush Hager opened up about the sweet letter Mila wrote her younger sister about what it will be like when they attend camp together.

'She wrote Poppy this letter, which made Henry and I weep, which was like, "Youre going to feel homesick. But the difference is, I got you. I got you, Im there for you. Ill be there for you next year, and you can come into my cabin, and Ive got you,"' the mom explained.

Mila has come a long way since she first attended Camp Longhorn in 2021. The then-eight-year-old struggled with homesickness and penned her parents a heartbreaking letter about how much she missed them.

'Dear Mom and Dad, I miss you. I wish I could be with you,' she wrote. 'P.S. Daddy, how much longer 'til you pick me up? I miss you too much. I need to stop crying. So goodbye. I miss you terribly, Mom and Dad.'

Bush Hager said the letter reminded her of something she would have written at that age, admitting: 'It broke my heart in a million pieces.'

Traveling back and forth from Texas to drop off Mila at camp has become a part of her summer routine, but she had some flight trouble this year.

On July 10, she revealed on the show that she had to sleep at the airport and take an early morning flight to make it to work that Monday.

'Right when I was getting to the airport I got a "flight canceled" notice,' Bush Hager explained to Kotb.

Mila spent three weeks roughing it at the camp in the sweltering heat - without air conditioning - for her third summer in a row

Bush Hager (pictured with the other moms) joked that 'it's worth sending your kids to camp just so you can get them back'

Bush Hager and her husband, Henry Hager, also have a son, Hal, who is turning four this week

The Read with Jenna founder said she immediately called their executive producer to let her know what was going on.

'I was like, "Bad news. My flight was just canceled." She's like, "It's OK. Take a deep breath,' she recalled. 'Then I flew from Austin to Dallas. I was going to go from Dallas to Newark, but that flight got canceled. So I ran and got on a flight to Cincinnati.'

'Why would you do that?' Kotb asked.

'It was the only way I could get home this morning,' Bush Hager explained. 'I spent the night in the Cincinnati airport. I was on a 5:58 a.m. flight, which got me here today.'

Kotb was admittedly impressed by her planning, but she wasn't surprised that she made it to work.

'I knew you were going to make it,' she said. 'Because when you're determined, you're kind of scary. If you want to get somewhere, you're gonna get there.'

Kotb noted that she arrived at the studio 'just in time.'

'Don't smell me too close,' Bush Hager joked.
Cadbury Australia has just released a new version of their popular Caramilk chocolate - and foodies can get their hands on it for just $5.50.

The new chocolate block contains a caramelised white chocolate Cadbury Caramilk base with flowing caramel, vanilla flavoured creme, and chocolate biscuit pieces.

It has joined Cadbury's 'Slices' range which first launched in May, and the fan-favourite chocolates have been flying off the shelves for months.

The decadent new chocolate block was inspired by a caramel slice, and is now available in-stores and online across all major supermarkets including Coles, Woolworths, and IGA.

Other 'Slices' flavours include Vanilla Passionfruit, Crackle, Hedgehog, and Mine Creme.

Cadbury Australia has just released a new version of their popular Caramilk chocolate - and foodies can get their hands on it for just $5.50

Shoppers can also get their hands on several other Caramilk buys, including the Marvellous Creations Jelly Popping Candy Beanies, ice cream, Breakaway block, and more.

Ben Wicks, Vice President Marketing ANZ, Mondelez International, told FEMAIL: 'We have taken two Aussie icons - Caramilk and the caramel slice - and combined them to create an indulgent experience for all to enjoy.

'Many of us consider caramel slices to be the epitome of homemade, traditional family bakery slices, so we're excited to introduce the new chocolate block.'
Pathology experts have urged Australians to keep up to date with health testing this year to pick up potential life-threatening diseases while they're still treatable.

There are five that everyone should be aware of: the cholesterol test, STI tests, cancer screenings (bowel, cervical and breast), kidney checks and the Liver Function Test (LFT).

Pathology testing is crucial for Australians to remain healthy, with their first test happening just minutes after they are born.

And while many Aussies delay or avoid these tests until they have symptoms to report, booking in at the suggested age or within the advised timeframe is often the difference between life and death.

Pathology experts have urged Australians to keep up to date with health testing this year to pick up life-threatening diseases while they're still treatable

1. Cholesterol test

Most people will likely have heard of 'high cholesterol' and the importance of taking action to bring it down if it is too high.

Too much cholesterol can lead to health problems as the extra LDL cholesterol builds up in the walls of the arteries, forming plaques and causing a medical problem called atherosclerosis. These can first narrow then block your arteries, making it harder for blood to flow through.

More than two in five (41.9%) Australian adults are living with high cholesterol. Prevalence is highest amongst those aged 55 to 64 years of age.

There are a number of factors that put people at risk and for those aged 45 and over, risk will be increased if high cholesterol and heart disease runs in the family.

For those under 45, other risk factors include smoking, excess weight, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

'Heart disease is still the number one cause of death for Australians. To reduce this risk, the factors which contribute to damaging the arteries of the heart need to be measured and then treated (if needed),' Professor Graham Jones, a chemical pathologist, said.

Testing cholesterol in its different forms is a vital part of this process and Australian pathology laboratories provide a world-class service for this testing. A cholesterol test is a simple blood test that looks for several fatty compounds called lipids, including low density lipoprotein, known as LDL-C.

2. STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) tests

For those that are sexually active, you should be getting STI testing once a year. This includes testing for chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhoea, as well as the two H's: HIV and hepatitis.

In 2020, there were about 57,500 new cases of notifiable STI among females and 67,400 among males in Australia.

Between 2015 and 2019, STI notification rates increased by 17 per cent for chlamydia, nearly 79 per cent for gonorrhoea and 95 per cent for infectious syphilis.

'Chlamydia and gonorrhoea are the STIs that people are most aware of and get tested for regularly. Though testing for syphilis, HIV and hepatitis B, which people don't think about as much are as important to test for, particularly with the recent rise in community syphilis infections,' A/Prof Caitlin Keighley, a microbiologist, said.

Reasons to test more regularly include if you have symptoms such as pain, discharge, bleeding, or lumps (though not all STIs show symptoms).

You should also get tested if you have engaged in unprotected sex, are aware that a sexual partner has tested positive for an STI, or you have multiple sexual partners or a new sexual partner.

There is no single pathology test that covers all STIs. Examples include urine tests that can identify STIs such as chlamydia or gonorrhoea, along with blood tests that can detect antibodies produced in response to infections such as hepatitis B, HIV, syphilis.

If STIs are not detected and treated, the health effects can be significant.

'Chlamydia and gonorrhoea are the STIs that people are most aware of and get tested for regularly,' A/Prof Caitlin Keighley, a microbiologist, said

3. Cancer screening tests

In Australia, three crucial cancer screening programs are available:

Cervical Cancer Screening:

This test tests for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) which is a virus known to cause most types of cervical cancer. It is a simple procedure to check the health of the cervix and any cell changes.

These slow changes, if picked up, could develop into cancer if they are left untreated. Anyone with a cervix ages 25-74 should be getting this screens every five years.

And for those unsure about seeing a doctor, on July 1 2022, self-collection of samples became available to anyone in in this category around the country. This means patients no longer need their GP or nurse to insert a speculum to collect the cervical sample.

'In Australia we are lucky to have one of the best cervical screening programs in the world. It is important that people know that they can access this program easily through their GP,' Adj Prof Annabelle Farnsworth, an anatomical pathologist, said.

'Importantly, GPs will then be able to guide patients through any subsequent follow-up if the test returns positive for human papillomavirus.'

In Australia, a female has a one in 180 risk of being diagnosed with cervical cancer by the age of 85.

'In Australia we are lucky to have one of the best cervical screening programs in the world. It is important that people know that they can access this program easily through their GP,' Adj Prof Annabelle Farnsworth, an anatomical pathologist, said

Bowel Cancer Screening:

Australians aged 50 to 74 are eligible for bowel cancer screening. This pathology test involves testing a small stool sample every two years and collection of the sample can be done at home. Early detection of bowel cancer through screening can increase the chances of successful treatment and be potentially lifesaving.

Over 90 per cent of bowel cancer cases are successfully treated if caught early, and as a result, Aussies are encouraged to keep up to date with this quick and easy test.

According to a 2017 study by Cancer Council Australia, screening for bowel cancer can reduce deaths from the disease by between 15 and 25 per cent.

Bowel cancer (also known as colorectal cancer) is the third most common type of newly diagnosed cancer in Australia.

15,610 Australians are told they have bowel cancer each year (300 a week), including 1,680 people under the age of 50. It claims the lives of 5,354 people every year (103 a week), including 290 people under the age of 50.

Breast Screening:

Women aged 50 to 74 are encouraged to undergo breast screening for breast cancer through mammograms every two years. If an abnormality is detected, a breast biopsy may be recommended. This involves the collection of tissue samples from the breast area for pathology analysis. This procedure helps determine whether the abnormality is benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous).

A woman has a one in 15 risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer by the age of 85 (1 in 668 or 0.15 per cent for males and 1 in 8 or 13 per cent for females).

4. Kidney checks

Currently over two million Australians are unaware they are living with early signs of kidney disease and one in three are at risk.

Kidney testing is particularly important for individuals with risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or a family history of kidney disease.

Blood and urine pathology tests can assess kidney function and detect signs of disease.

These tests evaluate factors such as the presence of protein or blood in the urine. They should be done annually for those at high risk, or as recommended by your healthcare provider.

'The early stages of kidney disease are clinically silent meaning there are no symptoms and nothing your doctor can find when they examine you,' Professor Jones said.

'Laboratory tests on blood and urine are the only way to find this disease in its early stages. If it found early, then treatments can be given to improve the management of this common condition, with laboratory tests also vital to monitor progress.'

'Heart disease is still the number one cause of death for Australians. To reduce this risk, the factors which contribute to damaging the arteries of the heart need to be measured and then treated (if needed),' Professor Graham Jones, a chemical pathologist, said

5. Liver Function Test (LFT)

The Liver Function Test is made up of blood tests that give insight into how well a person's liver is working.

This is made up of multiple blood tests that detect substances in the blood, including proteins and enzymes, that are produced by liver cells when they're damaged.

Which one to order is best decided while looking at your family and health history with your GP. There are seven in total.

Behaviours such as increased alcohol consumption and reduced exercise can have a negative impact on liver health. The tests are also recommended for those who have a family history of liver disease or are infected with hepatitis.

Your doctor might also suggest a liver function test if you are experiencing itching, dark urine, weakness or tiredness, nausea or vomiting or a lass of appetite.

More than six million Australians suffer from chronic liver disease and one in three has a fatty liver.

In 2020, liver cancer was the seventh most common cause of cancer death in Australia.

Pathology Awareness Australia runs the Know Pathology Know Healthcare initiative to educate Australians on the role of pathology in healthcare.
A traveller has revealed her 'life hack' to score an upgrade to business class for a mere $25.

Steph was flying home to the Gold Coast from Melbourne with Rex Airlines and secured the affordable upgrade with access to the business lounge.

She received the business ticket simply by bidding for it on the same day as the flight - and she's been lucky enough to win the bid three times.

'I did it again - I got an upgrade to business class for $25,' Steph said in a video.

Previously she's also upgraded her seat with Virgin on a flight from the Gold Coast to Bali - however, this was far more expensive and cost $420 since it was an international flight.

Steph was flying home to the Gold Coast from Melbourne with Rex Airlines and secured an upgrade to business class for $25. She scored the seat by bidding hours before boarding the domestic flight

In the viral TikTok video, Steph documents her day before boarding and encouraged all passengers to try bid for an upgrade at least once.

'I'm going to the lounge right now, so let's discuss what it's like,' she said.

'I'm not going to lie, it was a glorified staff room with Nutri-Grain and other cereals. The coffee machine was impressive, so I had my double espresso with a banana.

'Once I got on my flight there was no one next to me, which means you could have bid for this flight. We could've been friends for $25.'

She ordered a 'health plate' - a salad with avocado, poached egg, hazelnuts and chickpeas - alongside a bowl of fruit. Steph also received a warm muffin.

'Remember - bid for your business class flight last minute and put the lowest amount. It will work!' she said.

In a follow-up video, she explained in detail how to bid for business seats.

'Most airlines will email you saying 'upgrade to business class by placing a bid',' she said.

'My theory is if you place a bid the day of your flight or late minute, all the people who have either been outbid or who haven't got business class would've given up.

'So if you do it last minute, they'll think 'well the flight is in an hour or two, what's $25.' I've done this twice domestic flights with Rex and I did it with Virgin flying economy.'

Typically the airline will send out emails reminding customers to place a bid - however, alternatively travellers can simply log into their account and bid via the airline website

Passengers travelling on Virgin Australia, Qantas or Rex have the opportunity to bid for a business class seat.

Typically the airline will send out emails reminding customers to place a bid - however, alternatively travellers can simply log into their account and bid via the airline website.

Customers can bid a price they're comfortable spending, but a minimum amount applies depending on the distance and whether the flight is international or domestic.

Both videos have since gone viral with one exceeding 213,000 views.
A father-of-five has been slammed by parents for using leashes to control his children in public.

Footage reemerged on social media showing Jordan Driskell, from Kentucky, walking with his five young kids - six-year-old quintuplets Zoey, Dakota, Hollyn, Asher and Gavin.

The busy dad asked others to 'walk a mile in his shoes' after sharing a video on Instagram but was criticised for 'treating his children like dogs'.

The short video showed Jordan holding on to five ropes - which were each connected to a harness that one of his kids wore - as the family all walked calmly together outside of an aquarium.

A furious debate reignited as to whether parents should use leashes to prevent toddlers from getting lost or running off.

A furious debate has reignited after footage resurfaced of a father-of-five using child leashes in public. The short video showed Jordan Driskell holding on to five ropes - which were each connected to a harness that one of his kids wore (pictured)

Many parents claimed Jordan was a 'responsible dad looking after his kids' while others criticised the US dad for treating his kids like 'animals'

Many parents claimed Jordan was a 'responsible dad looking after his kids' - and some admitted they too would opt to use leashes if they had five children.

'They're your kids. Who gives a flying f*** what these people think. You're protecting your children,' one woman wrote.

Poll Have you ever used a leash with your kids? Yes No Have you ever used a leash with your kids? Yes 2200 votes

No 533 votes Now share your opinion





'There's nothing shameful about keeping your kids safe,' another said.

'This is smart and responsible. Good job,' a third added.

'There's nothing wrong with this, I think it's brilliant. I always used baby harness with reigns on my two so they were always by me,' commented a fellow parent.

'Not going to lie, some kids really need leashes, nothing wrong with not wanting to lose your child every time you look away,' agreed someone else.

While chatting with the Today show, Jordan explained that his kids love to 'run off and explore' due to their 'curiosity'

However, others were not here for child leashes and criticised the dad-of-five for treating his kids like 'animals.'

'Are they rescue?' asked one user, referring to rescue dogs that come from a shelter.

'But teachers can look after 30 kids without using leashes,' someone else pointed out.

Another person added, 'They are not dogs. How about teaching [them] what to do?'

'Are you gonna train them to pull a sleigh next? Which one has the red nose? Are any of them rescue?' read a different comment.

'Don't have so many kids,' quipped one commenter, while someone else said, 'Those kids are way too old to be walked on a leash like a d**n dog.'

While chatting with the Today show, Jordan explained that his kids love to 'run off and explore' due to their 'curiosity,' so he and his wife use leashes for their 'own peace of mind and sanity.'
A mum-of-four has shared her struggle to tell her newborn identical twin boys apart.

Onya, known as Onya Wishlist online, admitted she would often get her two-week-old sons mixed up despite giving them different coloured socks to identify who was who.

The 30-year-old said one twin was much smaller than the other when they were born but have grown to be the same size meaning they are almost impossible to differentiate.

'I do not know y'all apart today. Who's who? Who are you? What's your name?' Onya joked in an adorable online video as she pointed to one twin.

Millions thought the parenting fail was hysterical and shared their own tried-and-tested tricks for telling identical twins apart.

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Mum-of-four Onya (left) has left thousands in stitches after admitting she would struggle to tell her two-week-old identical twins apart

Onya, from the US, confessed she was confused about which twin was which after forgetting which coloured socks she assigned to the brothers.

'You got on different socks so I tried that this morning and I forgot who's who because you guys look just alike,' she said.

The mum said she was able to tell them apart easily when they were first born as one twin was much smaller than the other.

'Before one of you guys were a lot smaller than the other now whoever was smaller caught up and I don't know who's who,' she said.

Onya added she was 'usually on point' when telling the boys apart but it's getting harder the older they get pointing out they have no moles or birthmarks yet.

'It's time to get some little bracelets or something to go over your ankles, a tag, something,' she added.

More than 9.7million users viewed Onya's videos as she asked for advice from fellow parents of identical twins.

'I wonder how many twins are walking around being called the wrong name because they had forgotten who's who,' one woman laughed.

'I get my kids mixed up, they're seven years apart, all three of them, I don't know how mamas of twins or triplets do it,' a second admitted.

'New fear unlocked,' one viewer said before Onya added that the twins' dad had eventually helped her figure out who was who.

Others shared their own tips and tricks for helping the mum identify her twins.

'I'm an identical twin myself and my mum would put our initials on our clothes or choose a specific colour for each of us and write down who's in what,' one woman explained.

'I am cracking up, time to buy some jewellery mum,' another said.

'Usually a little polish on one nail does the trick - usually a toe,' suggested a third.

'Put a henna tattoo on the bottom of their feet, it'll last for a couple weeks, and you can just reapply!' someone else recommended.
TikTok videos promoting the use of cyanide to tackle acne have sparked warnings from doctors.

Experts fear the bogus trend, which has racked up millions of views, may be deadly.

In one TikTok video, a young woman claims that she has been 'secretly' feeding her boyfriend seeds containing the poisonous chemical  and that it has cleared up his acne.

Meanwhile, another clip sees a woman claim her clear complexion might be down to her eating at least five apricot kernels as a child.

TikTok user Graceattakk, pictured, explains her clear skin is due to eating apricot kernels as a child. She goes on to warn others not to try this unusual skin care treatment themselves

Amygdalin  naturally found in apricot pips, cherry seeds and raw nuts  converts into cyanide once consumed.

In concentrated amounts it attacks the heart, respiratory system and central nervous system, and can kill a human in minutes.

Dr Neel Patel, of LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor, said: 'Generally, foods that contain cyanide tend to contain it in very low doses which are nothing to worry about.

What are the symptoms of cyanide poisoning? If you think you or somebody else may have cyanide poisoning you should seek urgent medical treatment, warns GP at LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor, Dr Neel Patel. What are the symptoms? Chest pain Chest tightness Confusion Dizziness Eye pain Eye tearing Excitement Difficulty breathing Headache Nausea Rapid or slow heart rate Rapid or slow breathing Restlessness Shortness of breath and Vomiting Weakness Wheezing Long-term symptoms of cyanide poisoning include: Coma High or low blood pressure Loss of consciousness Lung injury Seizures Death Advertisement

'For example, apple seeds contain small amounts of cyanide but whole seeds pass through the body without any problems. Even with crushed or chewed seeds, youd need to eat at least 150 in one sitting to be at any risk.

'However, you should be careful with apricot kernels.

'These are the seeds inside the apricot stone. Usually you would need a pair of pliers to crack open the stone and extract them.'

The European Food Safety Authority cites apricot kernels as a cyanide poisoning risk.

Eating more than three kernels in one sitting can exceed the recommended safe level.

Dr Patel added: 'This trend could be highly dangerous.

'Long-term symptoms of cyanide poisoning include coma, high or low blood pressure, loss of consciousness, lung injury, seizures and even death.'

One TikTok video, which has more than 473,000 views and 80,000 likes, sees a woman explain her clear skin is due to eating apricot kernels as a child.

However, she does go on to warn others not to try this unusual skin care treatment themselves.

TikTok user Graceattakk, who posted the video, said: 'One of the reasons my skin is so good now might have been because I consistently ate poison when I was child.'

She ate 'five minimum' a day when she was a child living in China and it wasn't until she moved back to the US that she found out her habit was poisonous.

Other users report having 'smoother' skin after eating the kernels.

TikTok user queenseedadrianne claims she eats apricot seeds to help with her acne.

She told her followers: 'My skin is way smoother than before and I am all in all just in a happier mood lately.'

The woman goes on to explain she started by eating three seeds a day before eating ten to give her 'faster results'.

TikTok user queenseedadrianne , pictured, claims she eats apricot seeds to help with her acne. The young woman claims that she has been 'secretly' feeding her boyfriend seeds containing the poisonous chemical  and that it has cleared up his acne

Another video on TikTok posted by thectgirl claims the seeds can reduce wrinkles and prevent cancer.

The video which has more than 13,000 views, suggests a tribe in Pakistan eat the seeds and use the oil from the apricot seeds and 'never get cancer', it also adds the 'women never wrinkle'.

The kernels are also referred to as a 'secret superfood' in some videos.

In a TikTok by superfoodsguy which has more than 250,000 views, it encourages people to not throw away the apricot pip but instead eat the seed inside.

He claims the seed is 'packed with health benefits' and are 'super tasty'.

In a TikTok by superfoodsguy, pictured left, which has more than 250,000 views, it encourages people to not throw away the apricot pip but instead eat the seed inside. He claims the seed is 'packed with health benefits' and are 'super tasty'

Some countries like Australia and New Zealand have banned the sale of raw apricot kernels due to the danger they pose, according to Food Standards.

Raw, unprocessed apricot kernels are also banned in the UK and should not be sold for human consumption unless the cyanide levels are below 20mg/kg, says The Food Standards Agency (FSA).

CYANIDE POISONING IN FRUIT The seeds, pips and stones of many varieties of fruit contain small amounts of cyanide. It can also be found in smoke from fires and cigarettes, or car exhausts. Cyanide is a poisonous chemical gas that prevents your body from absorbing oxygen Symptoms of cyanide poisoning include stomach cramps, headache, nausea and vomiting, and can culminate in cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, coma and death. A fatal dose for humans can be as low as 1.5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. Source: Drugs.com Advertisement

Apricot kernels are also used in Chinese medicine to treat coughs and to relieve constipation.

However, many websites selling these seeds as medicine do warn it should be used with caution and that eating too many can cause cyanide poisoning.

The Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine 'strongly warns against the use of apricot kernels by the public' because of its toxicity.

Alex Jacobs, head of the body, said: 'I would warn against any consumption of bitter apricot kernel at any level that does not come from a properly trained practitioner.'

However, apricot kernels have been a popular complementary medicine since the 1970s as it is claimed they can stop cancers. However, this is not proven.

The TikTok skincare trend is not only extremely dangerous, but experts say it is a 'myth' that apricot kernels cure acne.

Dr Anjali Mahto, consultant dermatologist and British Skin Foundation spokesman, said: 'This is a myth and it is worrying to see this degree of misinformation on social media platforms.

'It is dangerous and misleading.'

Instead, if someone does have acne, they should incorporate products containing benzoyl peroxide salicylic acid into their skincare routine, experts say.

Dr Mahto said: 'If that doesn't work, speak to their GP. The GP will discuss options and prescribe prescription topicals, antibiotics or the contraceptive pill.

'If those options don't work, they will be referred by their GP to a dermatologist to discuss further options.'
Food safety watchdogs urge people not to eat the salt and return it for a refund

Tesco warns the salt is 'unsafe to eat' due to it containing tiny pieces of plastic

A batch of cooking salt has been urgently recalled over fears it might contain tiny pieces of plastic.

Food safety watchdogs have issued a 'do not eat' warning over the British Cooking Salt sold at Tesco.

Officials at the Food Standards Agency (FSA) have warned the public that the possible presence of plastic in the salt makes it 'unsafe to eat'.

The British Cooking Salt is sold at Tesco in 1.5kg bags for 1.90.

The British Cooking Salt (pictured right) is sold at Tesco in 1.5kg bags for 1.90. Point of sale notices (pictured left) will be issued at Tesco supermarkets where this item is sold

Tesco has said the salt could 'potentially pose a risk if ingested'.

Only one batch with the code 3200 is affected. No other batches of salt are at risk.

Those who have bought products with this batch code are urged to not eat it and to return the item to the nearest Tesco supermarket for a full refund.

Customers do not need a receipt to get a refund of this item.

No other batches of salt have been affected.

Point of sale notices will be issued at Tesco supermarkets where this item is sold.

Small pieces of plastic in food are a choking hazard for both children and adults.

Choking happens when someones airway suddenly gets blocked, this can be partially or fully, but enough so they can't breathe properly.

If an adult's airways are blocked, they may be able to clear the blockage themselves.

However, if coughing doesn't solve the issue, back blows and abdominal thrusts can help. If these do not work, you should call 999 immediately.

The NHS warns that you should not give abdominal thrusts to babies under one or to pregnant women.
A person in Georgia has died from a deadly brain-eating amoeba, health officials say  marking the second fatality in two weeks.

The individual, who has not been named, was believed to have caught Naegleria fowleri after taking swimming in a freshwater lake or pond.

The Georgia Department of Health revealed the case over the weekend and is advising people avoid swimming in warm water.

It comes just weeks after a two-year-old boy died after contracting a deadly brain-eating amoeba while swimming in Nevada.

Doctors say cases of the disease have 'significantly increased' over the last four to five years as warmer temperatures heat standing bodies of water where the amoeba thrive.

The individual was believed to have caught Naegleria fowleri after taking a dip in a freshwater lake or pond in the state

It was not clear where the individual had been swimming before they were diagnosed with the disease.

There are more than 30 lakes in Georgia, with the most popular  Lake Lanier in the north of the state  seeing up to 11million visitors every year.

The case marks the sixth detected in the state since 1962 and the second in two weeks. Two-year-old Woodrow Bundy died on July 20 after catching the disease from swimming in a lake in Nevada.

Warning the disease is becoming more common, Dr Dennis Kyle, the head of cellular biology at the University of Georgia, told FOX8: 'We are experiencing warmer temperatures, and these amoebae are thermal-tolerant... so the numbers of amoeba will be higher.

'Warmer climate means, yes, more exposure and more cases.'

He added that in the last four to five years the number of cases reported had 'significantly increased'.

Naegleria fowleri are tiny, single-celled organisms found in warm freshwaters such as lakes and rivers. They cannot survive in salt water and are not spread from person to person.

Generally, the amoeba enters through the nose and travels through the sinuses to the brain, where it triggers primary amebic meningoencephalitis  a rare and usually fatal brain infection.

It spreads up nerves to the brain, where it multiplies and destroys the tissue and causes the brain to swell.

In the early stages, patients initially experience headache, fever, nausea and vomiting, but days and weeks later they can also face hallucinations and seizures.

Only five people out of the more than 150 who got the microscopic bug in the US between 1962 and 2023 survived.

It comes after toddler Woodrow died after contracting a deadly brain-eating amoeba while swimming in Nevada.

Pictured above is how a Naegleria fowleri infection is sparked and how the disease spreads to the brain

His mother, Briana Bundy, announced the two-year-old's death in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

She wrote: 'Woodrow Turner Bundy returned victoriously to our father in heaven at 2:56am.

'He is my hero and I will forever be grateful to God for giving me the goodest baby boy on earth, and I am grateful to know I will have that boy in heaven someday.'

Woodrow passed away on July 19 from the infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, which is fatal in almost all cases. Only a handful of Americans have ever survived it.
Two people in Michigan have been diagnosed with a rare mosquito-borne virus - amid concerns that diseases passed on by insects are becoming more common.

The patients, from Detroit, tested positive for Jamestown Canyon virus - the first cases of the infection in the US this year.

They are said to be in stable condition. But in severe cases the disease can lead to encephalitis  or swelling of the brain  and seizures. Early warning signs include a fever, headache and muscle pain.

There is mounting concern that infections will rise as a longer warm season lengthens the period in which mosquitoes are active. It comes amid the US' first domestic malaria outbreak in decades.

Two people in the Detroit metropolitan area have tested positive for Jamestown Canyon virus, the state's Department of Health says

The virus is picked up by mosquitoes after they bite deer. It can then be transferred to humans when they are also bitten

The Michigan Department of Health said the patients lived in Oakland and Macomb, in the north of the Detroit metropolitan area.

Health officials are urging people in Michigan to take precautions against mosquito bites as a result.

Dr Natasha Bagdasarian, the chief medical executive at the state's Department of Health, said: 'It only takes one bite from an infected mosquito to cause a severe illness.

'We advise using insect repellent and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors during times when mosquitoes are active.'

She added: 'Its a good idea to take extra precautions during peak mosquito-biting hours, which are from dusk to dawn.'

About 17 cases of the disease are diagnosed in the US every year, with infections most likely in August and September, particularly in midwestern states.

Several state health departments say the infection is 'rare'.

In Michigan, some 13 cases have been reported since 2011. The virus is most commonly detected in Wisconsin (132 cases in a decade) and Minnesota (74 cases).

Jamestown Canyon virus is picked up by mosquitoes when they bite infected mammals such as deer and Elk.

The disease can then be transmitted to humans when they are bitten, and travel around the body via blood vessels triggering illness.

Symptoms of the disease take about two days to two weeks to appear and can include fatigue, headaches, muscle aches and joint pains.

Around half of patients are hospitalized and a small number die. No American is known to have died from the infection, however.

In severe cases, the virus can start to attack membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord causing encephalitis and meningitis leading to neurological problems.

Doctors use a blood test to diagnose the disease but have no targeted medicines, instead relying on IV drips and painkillers to treat infections.

The above map shows the number of cases reported by states from 2011 to 2022. Midwestern states had the most infections, although the virus remains rare

Medics have noted a rise in the number of Jamestown Canyon virus cases diagnosed in recent years.

There were about two to three a year between 2011 and 2012, data shows, but in 2021 this rose to as many as 32 per year.

People who were most likely to get infected included men who spent most of their time outdoors, where they were more likely to face a mosquito bite.

The virus was named after the place of its discovery, after being identified for the first time in Jamestown, Colorado, in 1961.
Maternal assisted C-section (MAC) is gaining traction in Australia and the US

A new birth trend that involves women pulling out their babies from their own wombs during a cesarean section is making new mothers feel more 'empowered'.

Maternal-assisted C-section (MAC), a growing practice mostly in Australia, is a technique where the mom, with the help of medical experts, reaches down with sterile gloves and lifts her baby out of her uterus and onto her chest.

Advocates of the practice say that it helps mothers bond with their babies and feel a sense of control during C-sections, which can leave women feeling disconnected from their birth.

It was first offered in some Australian clinics as early as 2017 when doctors realized many women were craving a deeper connection with their newborns. However, it's slowly gaining traction in some US states.

Elizabeth Andreyevskiy of Lakeville, Minnesota, opted for MAC for the birth of her fourth child, a daughter named Nellie, last year. 'Knowing that this was my last baby, I really wanted to have a different experience,' she told local news station Fox 9.

Australian doula Vanessa Salerno called maternal-assisted C-section an 'empowering' experience

Elizabeth Andreyevskiy of Lakeville, Minnesota, wanted a different experience than what she had for the births of her first three children. She opted for MAC, which she called 'so unique and special'

A cesarean section, or C-section, involves delivering a baby through surgery by making incisions into the abdomen and uterus.

Usually, this is done when a vaginal birth isn't possible or safe, such as if the baby is in a dangerous position, the mom is expecting more than one baby, or the baby or mother has other health complications.

In some cases, the mom may have to go under general anesthesia, which could make her miss out on the process.

MAC offers a more hands-on approach.

'C-sections have such a bad stigma. We don't want women to say "I had to have this." We want them to say "I had an empowering experience,"' Australian doula Vanessa Salerno told New York Post.

'It's shown to be a massive difference, even women who I've offered a maternal assist to and they didn't know about it, or been ambivalent, after have said they were so glad they did it,' Dr Joseph Sgroi, an obstetrician in Melbourne, Australia, told New York Post.

'Most of the [moms] are absolutely in awe of the whole process, and of themselves.'

Most C-sections involve the mother going under local anesthetic, which numbs the abdominal area and blocks pain, leaving the mother with full control of her hands to pull out the baby if she's going MAC.

Though MAC is becoming more widespread in Australia, it has yet to take off in the US. Mothers who do opt for this procedure have to plan it in advance with their doctors.

Florida mom Rachel Sharpless Willis gave birth to her son Emerson via MAC. 'I pulled him out and laid him on my chest, and they're cleaning him, and it's just an odd feeling,' she said

Ms Andreyevskiy's first child was born via unplanned C-section after her vaginal birth didn't work out.

'It ended up with me in general anesthesia and I missed the whole experience of hearing the baby cry for the first time,' she said.

She then had home births for her next two children, but she experienced complications. When it came time to plan Nellie's birth, her sister-in-law sent Instagram videos of mothers in other countries, such as Australia, performing MACs.

'It was so unique and special, and I think it created an extra bond,' she said.

Additionally, Florida mom Rachel Sharpless Willis gave birth to her son Emerson via MAC.

'The very first thing I touched was his head, and so it's this hard surface,' she told 7 news Miami.

She worried that she was pulling too hard and choking the newborn, but doctors assured her she was doing everything right.

'I pulled him out and laid him on my chest, and they're cleaning him, and it's just an odd feeling,' she said.

'Grateful to be part of the experience, still can't believe I did it, and now he's here. To be able to experience that delivery the way that I did? Very, very grateful.'
Dr Martens  once the footwear of choice for skinheads and punks  has become the latest company to be engulfed in a woke storm after promoting boots that appear to endorse transgender surgery.

The shoemaker gave away a pair of custom rainbow-colored boots that features a topless cartoon person with scars under their breasts  a hallmark of breast removal surgery  as part of a promotional stunt.

The LGBTQ+ friendly boots  designed by a self-described 'queer illustrator'  were advertised on the company's Instagram account and website last week, sparking a furious debate among its customers and social media users.

Some accused Dr Martens of 'cashing in on the mutilation' of women and urged a boycott of the company, while others praised the firm for standing up for minorities.

The controversy has echoes of the fallout from Bud Light's decision to partner with controversial transgender TikToker influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Dr Martens is facing criticism after offering a pair of boots that show a transgender individual with mastectomy scars

The shoes were posted on their Instagram account and have also been shared by artist Jess Voss, who designed the shoes

Pictured above are the controversial pair of boots on the Dr Martens website

Dr Martens showcases boots custom-made by fans on its website as part of its 'DIY Docs' collection.

The new design causing controversy was put onto the 1460 boot, the original Dr Martens that was popular among skinheads, scooter riders and punk rockers in the 1970s.

They were designed by Colorado-based artist Jess Vosseteig, who said she wanted to 'represent queer joy!' with her design.

Vosseteig's previous work includes a painting titled 'periods have no gender', which aims to remind people 'to be more inclusive of other genders when we talk about menstruation'.

The boots were given away as part of a seven-day Instagram competition, in which users were required to like the post and tag a friend to enter.

By the end of the competition at 9am PST (12pm ET) today, the post on Instagram had nearly 10,000 likes.

One furious user commented, 'How shameful. I'm disgusted', while a second said 'cashing in on the mutilation of young teenage girls and lesbians is so cool and progressive. Shame on you!'.

Several people suggested that the person shown was a minor, but Dr Martens told DailyMail.com that this was not the case and that the post was targeted at over-18s only.

Others called for people to stop buying the shoes, saying, 'Never again @drmartens', '#boycottdrmartens, what a disaster...' and 'Don't buy your children anything from them'.

But there were also a number of supporters of the shoes, with some describing the shoes as 'fire and rainbows' while others said they would 'explode' with joy if they won a pair.

The base color of the boots is white and features several rainbows, stars and clouds.

One shoe features a pink individual with feminine features and medium-length hair waving their arms.

They are shown with scars below their nipples, which is a sign of a mastectomy, sometimes known as 'top surgery'.

Asked by Dr Martens what inspired the boots, Ms Voss said: 'I wanted to include two stylized people that were part of the queer community.

'I knew I wanted to incorporate lots of color with rainbows, clouds, and sparkles!

'I wrote "Queer Joy" on the back of them to send the message that queer joy will always exist.'

The boots were designed by self-described queer illustrator Jess Vosseteig. In a post online, she said she was 'very grateful' for the opportunity and was thrilled that the company supported the LGBT community

Ms Vosseteig  who goes by Jess Voss art  has previously won accolades for her art, including the 2022 Creative Activism award from the University of Colorado, Boulder, for her piece titled 'periods have no gender'.

She has previously partnered with several major brands including Lush, Facebook and publisher Harper Collins for art pieces on LGBTQ+ issues.

Who is Jess Vosseteig? The artist behind the boots Jess Vosseteig is a self-described artist from Colorado who draws art focused on LGBT issues and acceptance. She did Women and Gender Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder, before starting her own online business selling artwork. Brands she has partnered with include cosmetics company Lush, publisher Harper Collins and Facebook. She also won the 2022 Creative Activism award at her university for her piece titled 'periods have no gender'. Speaking about her work, Ms Voss said: 'I am deeply inspired by the uniqueness of individuals, feminism, the LGBTQ+ community, bright color pallets and fashion. 'With a minor in Women and Gender Studies, I blend my knowlegde and passion for intersectional feminism, equality and inclusivity with my love of art.' She added: 'I often get imposter syndrome and wonder if what I make matters, but then I am reminded that my work speaks to so many different people and brings positivity into the world.' Advertisement

In an interview with Shoutout Colorado in 2021, she said: 'I am deeply inspired by the uniqueness of individuals, feminism, the LGBTQ+ community, bright color pallets and fashion.

'With a minor in Women and Gender Studies, I blend my knowlegde and passion for intersectional feminism, equality and inclusivity with my love of art.'

She added: 'I often get imposter syndrome and wonder if what I make matters, but then I am reminded that my work speaks to so many different people and brings positivity into the world.'

After partnering with influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Bud Light has seen its sales collapse by nearly 30 percent compared to a year ago according to data for June.

Some slammed the beer for supporting the transgender activist and accused it of being out of touch with its customers.

Those on the other side of the debate have also blasted the beer, however, saying it failed to stick up for influencer Dylan Mulvaney and LGBT issues.

Right-wing groups today slammed the Dr Martens boots as promoting a 'moral outrage'.

Jay Richards, from the conservative think-tank the Heritage Foundation, told DailyMail.com: 'It's hard to know what to say about a private company obviously celebrating this.

'Did Dr Martens poll test this allusion to "top surgery" with its customer base? Or is it making the same foolish mistake made by Bud Light?.'

Dr Martens were founded in 1945 by a Nazi soldier using military supplies.

An English company bought the license for Dr. Maertens air-cushioned sole in 1960 and after making a few changes, the iconic eight-holed 1460 boot was born.

The boot was built for comfort and durability. The 1460 boot began by uniforming police, postmen and factory workers in the UK.

The artist who designed the shoes, Jess Vosseteig, said they wanted to include two people that were part of the queer community on the shoes

The artist also shared a post expressing her thanks to Dr Martens for including her art in their 'DIY Docs' section

They were then claimed as street style by subcultural tribes such as punks and goths, and the skinheads.

In the 1990s, the shoes were popular among grunge culture, before sales suddenly declined dramatically forcing the company to close all but one of its factories.

In the 21st century, however, they have made a comeback by appealing to a wider audience after the world's biggest fashion icons were seen wearing them including, more recently, Bella Hadid, Miley Cyrus and Olivia Rodrigo.

Today, the boots have become popular among many minority groups including LGBT youths.

They were shown in a Q&A with the artist on why she chose the particular design

A lot of the division in American culture over transgender care focuses on whether it should be offered to under-18s.

Right-wing groups argue that minors are not capable of making decisions over irreversible changes to their body, saying surgery and treatments should be banned.

Their case has been bolstered by a number of transgender under-18s who have since de-transitioned in adult life.

Other groups argue, however, that transgender care at this age is needed to stop someone's body from changing into one that does not match their gender identity.

More than 20 states have restricted transgender care for minors, outlawing surgery, puberty blockers and hormone therapy.

A spokesman for Dr Martens said: 'This one-off pair is part of a long-standing US social media competition, "DIY Docs", where artists design a single pair to be given away to the community.

'This pair reflects the artists style expression as an illustrator and member of the LGBTQIA+ community.'

They added: 'We have always embraced diversity in the Dr. Martens community. Were proud to support our team and our wearers, and to continue to support creativity and freedom of expression.'
Jonathan Medland's voice crackles with anger and emotion when he talks about his beloved son Jon, who tragically took his own life aged just 22.

'He was the most exuberant, engaging, funny and amazing young man you could ever wish to meet  nobody had a bad word to say about him  he was really going places,' says Jonathan, 66, a retired driving instructor from Barnstaple in Devon. 'But that drug did something terrible to his brain.'

The drug he's referring to is isotretinoin  brand name Roaccutane  a pill first licensed in the UK for the treatment of severe acne in 1983 and since taken by hundreds of thousands of patients.

It was prescribed to medical student Jon for spots on his back in late 2003. A few weeks later he was found dead in his student accommodation at Manchester University. To this day, 20 years on, his bereaved father is utterly convinced the drug was to blame.

Isotretinoin is widely used  around 40,000 prescriptions are given out on the NHS every year, primarily by dermatologists. But, while it can be highly effective, its reputation has been tarnished by suggestions that it might also have driven nearly 100  possibly many more  young men and women in the UK to end their own lives.

Jon Medland, a 22 year old medical student whose family blame his suicide on the drug Roaccutane he was taking for acne

Many of those who died were teenagers and  again, like Jon  had no previous history of mental health problems.

Now bereaved parents and campaigners are up in arms over what they see as the failure of NHS drug authorities to take sufficient action to reduce the risk of more suicides in young adults after being on the drug.

In 2019, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA), which vets the safety and use of all medicines in the UK, announced a major review of the evidence on isotretinoin's potential to cause harm.

This was in response to a steady rise in adverse reactions reported to the Yellow Card scheme  the government system for doctors and patients to record side- effects suspected to be linked to medicines.

Since isotretinoin was given the green light in the UK 40 years ago, it has triggered nearly 8,000 Yellow-Card reports, ranging from severe birth defects and erectile dysfunction to loss of vision and damage to the nervous system.

But almost one in four complaints is due to severe psychiatric reactions including anxiety, depression, personality changes and suicidal thoughts.

To date there have been 88 cases recorded on the Yellow-Card system where isotretinoin is thought to have led to young people taking their own lives, but campaigners believe the real number is much higher, as it's widely acknowledged adverse drug reactions generally are under-reported.

The Yellow-Card data shows psychiatric complications relating to the acne pill are slightly more common in boys than girls, with an average age of just 15.

For their review, the MHRA asked the Commission on Human Medicines  an advisory body made up of scientists  to examine the evidence on the drug's safety and to consult patients who had taken the drug, parents who had lost children to suicide, as well as a wide range of medical experts.

Campaigners had hoped the long-awaited report would culminate in either a total ban on isotretinoin, or at least in its prescription to under-18s (considered especially susceptible as they may be less likely to appreciate fully the risks).

They had also called for all patients to be required to sign a detailed consent form explicitly outlining potential psychiatric and sexual dangers, before beginning treatment, with a 'cooling off' period of two weeks for them to consider the risks properly.

This would be similar to the U.S., where, since 2006, all patients taking isotretinoin must sign a consent form and register with a central database run by the Food and Drug Administration, called iPledge. If the patient is under 18, their parent also has to sign a consent form.

Annabel Wright took her own life in May 2019, something the family is convinced happened because of the side-effects of the isotretinoin that she had been on for six months

This includes both parties signing a section which explicitly states: 'I understand . . . some people on isotretinoin have ended their own lives and did not appear depressed.'

U.S. doctors must also clearly specify to each patient the potential hazards from taking isotretinoin. Patients, meanwhile, must submit monthly feedback on unwanted side-effects, in order to get their repeat prescriptions.

In the UK, the only current requirement is that female patients must sign an acknowledgement of risk form, detailing the dangers of taking the drug if pregnant.

But in the end, the MHRA decision  published in April  stopped short of consent forms, let alone even a partial ban.

Instead it ruled that doctors could continue giving out isotretinoin as it clearly benefits young adults whose lives are blighted by severe acne.

The MHRA's chief safety officer, Alison Cave, said no medicine was completely risk-free, adding that the review concluded that 'on balance, the benefits of isotretinoin for severe acne continue to outweigh the risks.

'Uncontrolled acne can have a significant impact on a patient's mental wellbeing and can also lead to permanent scarring.'

The MHRA added that available evidence did not demonstrate that isotretinoin definitely causes psychiatric or sexual side-effects.

But the report did call for new measures, amid claims that some doctors hand it out too readily. For instance, when the new measures are introduced ('in the coming months'), under-18s will only get the drug if two medical professionals agree it's needed.

Harmful for some, a lifesaver for others The written submissions to the recent official review on the safety of isotretinoin contained some powerful  and mixed  testimonies from both patients and parents: 'They sold the benefits to me like a drug dealer on the street and didn't think to mention the psychiatric or sexual side-effects. These were so bad that I didn't even know what was happening until friends and family started asking what on earth was going on.'

'It's given me my life back. I don't think I'd be here now if it wasn't for isotretinoin  that's the difference it's made to me. I will forever be grateful it was available to me.'

'Seeing people with mild forms of acne given this medication makes me sick. It's not worth the risk  it should only be given to people with severe scar-forming acne.'

'Nothing else is strong enough to work  if it's removed then there needs to be something just as effective to replace it.'

'He blames us, his parents, for taking the risks involved with this drug. We were the adults, he was the child. We feel dreadful  guilty, depressed, stupid  my poor son is impotent as a result of a terrible decision made by his parents.'

'We had no idea how ill he was becoming; he had a severe psychotic reaction and hanged himself in his lodgings... while his friends were in the next room.'

'Acne caused me years of misery  the scars for life are traumatic. So I'm happy my daughter was able to get the treatment.'

'Over a period of about three months, I went from being a healthy, happy teenager to completely withdrawn from the world and suicidal. After attempting to end my life, I was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. I lost three years of my life.' Advertisement

Currently, it only needs one dermatologist or a nurse prescriber (working under the supervision of a consultant dermatologist) to issue a prescription.

Secondly, under-18s will only be put on isotretinoin if all other standard treatments  including several types of antibiotics  have not worked, rather than leapfrog straight to it, as currently sometimes happens. The report also said that patients and their families must receive earlier and better information about safety issues and there should be 'constant monitoring' by medics of patients' psychiatric and sexual health 'so any problems can be spotted early'.

But the MHRA has not yet detailed what form 'better' information or 'constant monitoring' should take.

Isotretinoin works by shrinking the sebaceous glands, reducing their production of sebum  the oily substance made naturally by skin cells to stop our skin from drying out. (Excess sebum can block pores, leading to spots.)

Studies show that it can be highly effective at clearing problem skin. Powerful personal testimonies submitted to the MHRA as part of the review suggest it can be life-changing.

'I don't think I would be here today if it wasn't for isotretinoin,' one patient wrote. 'It's given me my life back and I will forever be grateful that this treatment was available to me.'

But others claimed doctors had dished isotretinoin out to them without proper warnings.

One angry parent wrote: 'My son and I had no idea isotretinoin could trigger a psychotic reaction  it was such a shock when it did.'

Jon Medland was a promising medical student when a dermatologist prescribed the medication. But he quit after just three weeks when he started to have suicidal thoughts.

Despite this, his mental health continued to worsen and he was found dead in his student quarters a few weeks later.

A coroner's report described how he had gone from being a 'bubbly, outgoing young man' to one whose mental health was catastrophically broken in less than a month.

'Doctors tried him on an antibiotic first but when he asked about isotretinoin  which he had heard about from other medical students  they switched him straight to that,' says his father Jonathan.

'They said you might feel a bit down for a while but it'll be OK in the end. But it soon became obvious he was very unwell. He went from zero mental health problems to full-blown psychosis in a matter of weeks.

'Jon should never have been on isotretinoin as he did not even have severe acne and I do not believe these new recommendations from the MHRA would have prevented his suicide.

'I feel incredibly angry and totally let down  more children are going to die as a result of this. You cannot predict who will react badly so it's like playing Russian roulette with children's lives.'

Helen Wright, 52, from Ripon, North Yorkshire, agrees. She lost her 15-year-old daughter Annabel in May 2019 when she took her own life out of the blue, something the family is convinced happened because of the side-effects of the isotretinoin that she had been on for six months.

'I'm so angry with the MHRA,' she told Good Health. 'We wanted a complete ban on the drug, or at the very least in those under 18. They're basically saying children like Annabel are collateral damage  their lives are a price worth paying.

'This has been nothing more than a tick-box exercise to show they've reviewed it  but it would not have prevented Annabel's suicide and it won't prevent others either.'

Helen fears, for example, that the two-doctor ruling will have no impact as the second opinion is likely to be a doctor from the same hospital department, unlikely to challenge a colleague's judgment. Professor Tony Chu, a recently retired consultant dermatologist, acknowledged as one of the UK's leading experts on treating acne, says an outright ban on isotretinoin is not the answer, as the drug can transform young lives blighted by severe acne. But he says the MHRA recommendations fall short of what's needed to save lives.

'I'm very disappointed at the outcome,' says Professor Chu, who gave evidence to the Commission on Human Medicines.

The Yellow-Card data shows psychiatric complications relating to the acne pill are slightly more common in boys than girls, with an average age of just 15 (stock image)

'In my submission, I said all patients should have to sign a consent form that not only explains all the possible side-effects but also states in big, bold capital letters  'this drug is unpredictable and could make you commit suicide, or leave you totally unable to enjoy sex again'.

'It has to be really clear, in words of one or two syllables so patients can make up their own minds.'

Campaigners are also concerned that skin specialists may not have the skills to assess patients' mental wellbeing properly before initiating isotretinoin  or know how to monitor them properly.

Helen says: 'Annabel was seen by a dermatologist for a routine follow-up appointment on the day she died. He asked her how her mood was and she said fine  because it was.

'Less than five hours later she was dead  absolutely nobody saw it coming.'

One of the failings in the current system, some grieving parents claim, is that patients and family members are told to look for signs of depression or low mood.

Consultant Dermatologist Professor Tony Chu said: 'A consent form should state in big, bold capital letters: this drug is unpredictable and could make you suicidal'

Typically, these include tearfulness and being very withdrawn. Yet anecdotal evidence suggests this is rarely the pattern in isotretinoin-related suicide.

'Annabel was in a great mood that night because we had just booked to go on holiday and she'd been talking on her phone to friends all night,' says Helen.

'She even had a chat with her dad Simon about the next day's Spanish GCSE exam. Twenty minutes later she was gone. She was just 15. Nobody should be subjected to such a dangerous drug for a non-life-threatening condition like acne.'

Professor Chu adds that many UK dermatologists simply do not appreciate just how potentially risky isotretinoin may be. 'I'll admit that when the first suspected drug-related suicide happened in the U.S. back in the late 1980s, I didn't believe isotretinoin was to blame.

'I thought people with acne often get very depressed and that was the issue here. But it's now obvious to me that it can cause a psychotic episode which happens completely out of the blue  no fancy psychiatric assessment will detect if someone is at risk.

'Yet I bet 90 per cent of dermatologists still blame the mental health problems in these cases on the acne not the drug.

'I've seen dozens of patients who've been told by other dermatologists that the only side-effects are dry lips and skin.' Some doctors give the drug out too freely, he says. 'Clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the British Association of Dermatologists state it should only be used for severe acne that's rated five or above on the Leeds grading system [a scoring system of one to ten: above five means there's a risk of scarring].

'But I've seen patients put on isotretinoin when their acne was only grade two to three  which is moderate, not severe.'

Precisely how the drug might cause a sudden psychological implosion remains unclear. One theory is that it interferes with the formation of new, healthy brain cells. Another is that it disrupts the activity of certain brain chemicals that regulate mood and mental stability.

David Healy, an expert in adverse drug reactions and former professor of psychiatry at Bangor University, Wales, has monitored the safety of isotretinoin for years.

He told Good Health: 'Dermatologists have become very blase about prescribing it  some will give it to you if you have a pimple or two. Yet it's very clear that this drug, although very useful in the treatment of severe acne, can cause sexual dysfunction as well as suicide in young people with no history of mental health issues.'

Professor Tony Chu, a recently retired consultant dermatologist, acknowledged as one of the UK's leading experts on treating acne, says an outright ban on isotretinoin is not the answer, as the drug can transform young lives blighted by severe acne (stock image)

He says that suicidal thoughts often come on very quickly  and in the early phase of treatment. 'You don't see a slow build-up where someone is obviously depressed.'

He adds: 'Patients are rarely told that, yet it could save lives if they recognise what's happening.'

The British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) said many skin specialists already give patients 'all the information they need' and effectively monitor them during treatment.

A spokesperson told Good Health: 'The BAD is committed to ensuring patients with severe acne have access to the best possible treatments in the safest way.'

But Labour MP Debbie Abrahams, who represents Oldham East and Saddleworth, has called for measures to ensure parents of teens are always told when their child is being given such a powerful medicine. It follows the tragic death in August 2021 of her 20-year-old nephew Jack Abrahams, who took his own life four years after being prescribed isotretinoin without his mother's knowledge  she only learned he had been on the tablets after his death.

Jack took the medication for just six months  his family believes his tragic tale shows how the drug can continue to devastate mental health long after someone has stopped taking it.

Professor Chu says it's not clear why, in some cases, the drug appears to trigger a psychiatric meltdown months or even years after being stopped. But he says it may be linked to genetics, or the body's inability to break down isotretinoin's toxic contents completely.

'Jack was given the drug by a nurse prescriber, rather than a consultant dermatologist,' Ms Abrahams told Good Health. 'The nurse used a form which asked if his parents knew he was there  he ticked yes, even though his mother didn't. At the coroner's inquest, we called for a change to ensure that when it's someone under 18, the parents or carers are told.'

The Manchester North coroner ruled there was insufficient evidence to show a 'causative link' between isotretinoin and Jack's death, but she was sufficiently concerned that in February this year she issued a Regulation 28 report to Health Secretary Steve Barclay, legally requiring him to explain what action will be taken to reduce future suicide risks associated with the drug. The Department of Health and Social Care told Good Health Mr Barclay responded on June 27.

'Jack was gentle, bright and kind,' says Debbie Abrahams. 'Doctors are just too casual about prescribing this drug.'

Robert Reeves, 56, a building services consultant from Cornwall, lost his 21-year-old son Luke to suicide in 2016 after he was prescribed isotretinoin.

He said: 'My question to the MHRA is this  what number of deaths would there need to be before you decide the risks outweigh the benefits?'
A blast of air up the nose could ease migraine pain in just 15 minutes. The technique works by cooling nerves at the back of the nose involved in generating the severe headaches.

The results of a small trial, presented at the annual meeting of the American Headache Society in Austin, Texas, in June, showed that almost half of those given the air blast treatment were pain-free afterwards.

Others gained considerable  although not complete  relief.

Most people who suffer migraines rely on painkillers, or prescription drugs called triptans, which can shorten the length of attacks.

A new class of drugs, called CGRP inhibitors, can prevent the attacks in the first place.

They are given as a jab into the stomach, arms or legs, but are expensive (costing several thousands of pounds a year) and are strictly limited to those suffering severe migraines at least once or twice a week.

Most people who suffer migraines rely on painkillers, or prescription drugs called triptans, which can shorten the length of attacks (stock image)

The new treatment targets a bundle of nerves behind the nose called the sphenopalatine ganglion, or SPG.

Caffeine as a trigger for migraines Migraine sufferers are 42 per cent more likely to experience a painful headache if they drink four or more cups of caffeinated coffee a day than those who have less than one cup, according to research from the Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China. The study, which tracked almost 9,000 U.S. adults over a five-year period, found risks rose sharply when caffeine consumption topped 400 mg a day  roughly four cups of regular coffee or at least eight cups of black tea. Caffeine is a known trigger for migraines. Advertisement

The SPG is connected to the trigeminal nerve, which provides sensation to the face: when the trigeminal nerve is overstimulated by triggers such as hormonal changes, alcohol, caffeine or stress, this activates a migraine.

The SPG is responsible for sending the pain signals to the nervous system and brain. In very severe cases, doctors sometimes inject anaesthetic through the nose into the SPG nerves to numb them so they cannot despatch the pain messages (a procedure called an SPG block).

But the pain relief may only last a few weeks and the injection can cause nose bleeds, light-headedness and a numb sensation at the back of the throat. The latest technique could be a simpler alternative.

It's based on a process called trans-evaporative cooling, a technique already being explored by some scientists as a way to cool the brain  and reduce the risk of injury to it  when somebody suffers a cardiac arrest.

For the new migraine treatment, the patient puts on a mask, then dry air (air that's had all moisture removed) is pumped into the nostrils.

As the air passes over soft tissue around the SPG nerves, it causes tiny particles of moisture on the surface to evaporate.

This cools the nerves, as the evaporation process uses up energy from the body: less energy means less heat.

The cooling effect has been shown in animal studies to interrupt the transmission of headache pain signals.

A blast of air up the nose could ease migraine pain in just 15 minutes. The technique works by cooling nerves at the back of the nose involved in generating the severe headaches (stock image)

In a preliminary trial, researchers from the headache and facial pain division at Michigan State University in the U.S. tested the treatment on 24 migraine sufferers.

Recruits were told to report to the university research centre as soon as they felt a migraine coming on  they then had the nasal air blast treatment, using a machine called the CoolStat Transnasal Thermal Regulating Device.

The results, yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, showed almost 90 per cent of patients had significant pain relief two hours after treatment, with almost half reporting they were completely pain-free, some within 15 minutes.

The researchers now hope to shrink the device so patients can use it at home.

Dr Andrew Dowson, clinical lead at NHS East Kent and Bromley Headache Services, said: 'The results are encouraging and this is a simple approach with little potential for unwanted side-effects. But, at the moment, the number of patients it's been tested on is too small to show proof of effect.'
Britain is in the grip of an epidemic, but not one that is caused by a virus, unhealthy lifestyles or the foods that we eat.

Instead, one of the biggest emerging threats is chronic loneliness  a feeling of overwhelming isolation coupled with a lack of meaningful relationships that now affects 3.83 million people in the UK, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

And perhaps surprisingly, the figures show people under 30 are the most lonely age group  16-29 year olds are twice as likely to be chronically lonely as the over 70s.

This is not the kind of temporary loneliness some might feel when children head off to university, or a relationship ends, but an all-consuming, long-term feeling of isolation that drags down mental wellbeing.

'Loneliness is a significant health problem which has continued to rise after the pandemic,' Robin Hewings, programme director of the community group Campaign to End Loneliness, told Good Health: 'For some of us, life went back to normal after the pandemic but for others it has not.'

Loneliness affects 3.83 million people in the UK, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics

And while it has been known for some time that loneliness can be detrimental to health, scientists are starting to unpick the reasons why. For example, alarming new research has found that being lonely can shrink our brains, heightening our risk of dementia.

Researchers from Kyushu University in Japan studied almost 9,000 men and women aged 65 and over, tallying results of their MRI brain scans with details of how much regular contact they had with family and friends.

The results, published in the journal Neurology in July, showed those with the least social contact also had the smallest brain volumes  especially in parts such as the hippocampus and amygdala that are linked with dementia. Researchers said it's possible a lack of social contact accelerates the gradual shrinkage of the brain, which happens as people age.

Other studies show regular verbal and social encounters spark the nerve impulses needed for the formation of new connections between brain cells  maintaining brain volume.

But this isn't the only impact that loneliness has on health. In fact, in May, the U.S. surgeon general  the country's most senior medic  likened the impact on health to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.

Research shows that being socially isolated can cut up to five years off the life of someone over 60, compared with peers who are not lonely, by heightening the risk of conditions such as cancer, heart disease and dementia.

One recent study, published in June in the European Heart Journal, looked at cardiovascular disease risk over a ten-year period in 18,509 adults in the UK with type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes itself is a major risk for heart attacks and strokes as it can lead to circulation damage. But the study revealed the risks were even greater  26 per cent higher  if those affected also lived an isolated existence, lacking friends and social contact.

But how can feeling left out of life have such a catastrophic effect on physical health?

One way is that the body responds as if it's in danger, releasing the hormone cortisol, which increases heart rate and blood pressure, so we are ready to fight or flee the imminent threat. Chronic loneliness can cause persistent stress that means this cortisol response is permanently switched on.

Constant exposure to raised cortisol, studies show, can increase blood pressure, blood glucose levels, cholesterol and triglycerides  harmful fats in the blood.

A 2016 study published in the journal Heart, by researchers at Newcastle University, linked loneliness to a 30 per cent increase in the risk of stroke or the development of coronary heart disease.

Research shows that being socially isolated can cut up to five years off the life of someone over 60, compared with peers who are not lonely (stock image)

Professor Chris Gale, a consultant cardiologist at Leeds University School of Medicine, told Good Health that loneliness can result in stress levels high enough to damage the cardiovascular system.

'If you are stressed, the body can release hormones such as adrenaline, which make your heart race and blood pressure increase.'

Other mechanisms are under investigation, and as some people feel lonely even when surrounded by others, scientists are probing whether loneliness and social isolation have different effects.

And it seems they do. For while being lonely or socially isolated can lead to slower walking and being slower to stand up from sitting, only social isolation also leads to poorer balance, according to a study published in Scientific Reports in 2020.

All the evidence suggests that getting out and seeing more people is the answer. But it's the type of interaction that matters, too.

Psychologists at Stirling University found the key to levels of loneliness was physical touch with a friend or loved one  not just being in their company. The results, published in June in Scientific Reports, found even among cohabiting couples, feelings of loneliness declined when there was regular physical contact from just holding hands or hugging.

And some old-school pastimes may help, too. In a U.S. study from Millersville University in Pennsylvania, published in the Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work in July, writing letters to pen pals was highly effective at combating isolation.

The researchers concluded: 'Letter writing was a successful way to attend to loneliness and is different in many ways from email and texting.'
Cancer is something many of us  or our loved ones  will have to face at some point, with one in two people affected in their lifetime. Getting an early diagnosis and starting treatment is key.

That's why there's been so much excitement about a new test currently being trialled by the NHS, for both those with symptoms of cancer, and those who don't have any obvious signs of it.

And in June it was revealed that this new test could be offered to a million people from next summer.

The suggestion is that it could 'transform cancer care'.

The test in question, in case you've missed all the headlines, is the Galleri test: it looks for DNA markers of 50 types of cancer in a single blood sample.

The Galleri test: it looks for DNA markers of 50 types of cancer in a single blood sample (stock image)

However, as I've discovered by looking more closely at the evidence, it isn't as simple as the hype around it would have you believe.

And while it may be better than some current cancer tests, at this stage you wouldn't want to rely on it as a standalone diagnosis  and it could cause real problems if you don't actually have the disease.

To paraphrase Charles Dickens, it's a 'tale of two tests'.

Let me explain. Take the patient I saw who had come into A&E because of severe pain in her back after a minor fall. A scan showed that she had cancer in her bones, which had spread from a previously undiagnosed breast cancer.

A few years earlier, she'd actually noticed a lump and the skin tethering. She also had a family history of breast cancer.

She was petrified, and also scared of hospitals and doctors. But as she already had a routine appointment arranged for a mammogram (as part of the NHS screening programme), she thought, 'this will tell me the answer anyway'. And when the scan results came back as normal, she celebrated.

But a couple of years later, she lost weight, felt tired, and then had the fall which led to her diagnosis in A&E.

The original mammogram had been reviewed by an expert breast radiologist, but they had no knowledge of her symptoms and risks and would have just thought it was a routine screening test.

Did this matter? In fact, context does matter when assessing test results: the fact that she had symptoms, and a family history, meant she needed to be seen in a breast cancer clinic even if the cancer was not picked up by the scan.

This is very different from another of my patients, an American who was on a business trip in the UK when he developed severe pain and couldn't pass urine. The cause? A needless check for prostate cancer.

A healthy man in his 40s, with no symptoms, his job as a banker meant he had a yearly medical which included a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test for prostate cancer.

It came back as positive and he had two biopsies. But, while his results, thankfully, proved negative, he started to experience problems getting an erection  quite important, especially as he'd started a new relationship.

Just before arriving in England, he developed pain on passing urine, then, during a meeting, the pain got worse and he was rushed to A&E. His symptoms were caused by an infection as a result of the biopsies, and he needed antibiotics and a catheter to help him urinate.

These two stories highlight the flaws in testing for cancer, and why the new 'wonder' test may not be all it's cracked up to be.

In the first case, the patient was told she had a negative test when in fact she did have cancer ('a false negative').

The NHS is running a trial on more than 140,000 people to see if using this blood test helps pick up more cancers at an early stage (stock image)

In the second case, the PSA test came back as positive when in fact he didn't have cancer  a 'false positive'.

The best tests have as few of these misdiagnoses as possible and, as techniques improve, the error rates will reduce.

But no test will ever be 100 per cent perfect. We use the term 'sensitivity' as a measure of the chances of a test missing a cancer diagnosis if you've actually got cancer.

So if a particular test is 100 per cent sensitive, you can be 100 per cent sure that you don't have cancer if the test comes back negative. Sadly, while mammograms are pretty good, they are not 100 per cent sensitive, they're 85 per cent. So, if your result comes back as negative for cancer, there is still a small chance you do have the disease. This is the scenario many of us would find most worrying.

Another measure, 'specificity', is the chances of testing negative if you do not have the condition  in an ideal world, a test would be 100 per cent specific: so if you then tested positive, it would mean that you do definitely have cancer. Sadly, for my American patient, the PSA test is not 100 per cent specific; it's more like 80-90 per cent, which meant 'cancer' was wrongly flagged up and he had unnecessary biopsies and subsequent complications. And all this is why we need to be less gung-ho about the Galleri test.

In an Oxford University-led study, 5,461 people in England and Wales who were referred to hospital by their GP with suspected cancer were given the Galleri test, as well as the other routine test they would normally get, such as a colonoscopy for suspected bowel cancer

The results, presented to the American Society of Oncology annual conference in May, showed that the test correctly identified two-thirds of cancers.

The Guardian newspaper reported that this test 'has the potential to spot and rule out cancer in people with symptoms'  imagine how transformative this would be. But this suggestion was based on a worrying misunderstanding because the Galleri test emphatically can't 'rule out' cancer in people with symptoms.

The original studies on the Galleri test, published in 2021 in the Annals of Oncology, showed its specificity was 99.5 per cent  in other words, 99.5 per cent of people without cancer tested negative  which is very impressive.

But its sensitivity was only 51.5 per cent, i.e. just over half of people with cancer tested positive  missing the other half completely.

PROFESSOR ROB GALLOWAY: If I had symptoms of cancer, I would consider asking for the test as an additional measure to help the doctors (stock image)

And the numbers who tested positive were much lower (16.8 per cent) if they had early stages of cancer  before it has spread and when it's easier to cure.

So the Galleri might well have missed my patient with breast cancer and I, for one, would not want to use this test to rule out a cancer in a patient with symptoms such as blood in their stool without other further tests including a colonoscopy.

But where it could be helpful is in screening. The NHS is running a trial on more than 140,000 people to see if using this blood test helps pick up more cancers at an early stage. Its specificity of 99.5 per cent means that my American patient, if he'd had it, may well have been spared the biopsy and infection that the less accurate PSA test led to.

Used alone without any other test, the Galleri would miss actual cancers  around 84 per cent of those in the early stages of cancer and, overall, around half of all cancers. So it can never be used as the only test for cancer for those with symptoms.

However, where it can be helpful in screening, is in picking up some patients without symptoms who otherwise would not get a diagnosis at all. These people could have their lives saved.

But at what cost? The test costs roughly $900 (about 700) in the U.S. and on a national scale, that would mean a lot of money spent to pick up a few extra cases of cancer.

And it's not only the financial cost, there are those other people who'll be harmed by the false positive test results that need further investigations.

We also need to consider that some of those with cancer who tested negative will assume that they have not got cancer and ignore their symptoms, whereas without the test, they would have sought medical help earlier.

If I had symptoms of cancer, I would consider asking for the test as an additional measure to help the doctors.

But, if I were in charge of the NHS budget, I'd need much more convincing that this was the best way of spending vital resources to reduce cancer deaths.

Twitter: @DrRobgalloway

What's in a name?

This week: Tailor's bottom

Pain in the buttocks after prolonged sitting is known medically as ischiogluteal bursitis  but as it 'traditionally affects people sitting on a hard surface for long hours, its more common name is weaver's or tailor's bottom', explains Sampada Bhide, an advanced practice physiotherapist at Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey.

Tailor's bottom is the more common name for pain in the buttocks after prolonged sitting. It is known medically as ischiogluteal bursitis

Sitting in the same position for a long period can put pressure on the bursae (the fluid-filled sacs that act as a cushion between the muscles and sitting bones), causing inflammation and pain.

It's more common in older, more frail people, and it's also seen in cyclists who use a hard saddle. Anti-inflammatories and a well-placed cushion can help, says Sampada, as can doing sit-to-stand squats using a chair, or bridges (where you lie on your back with your knees bent before raising your hips off the floor, keeping them in line with your knees, and holding for a few seconds before relaxing).
Renters in Australia are increasingly being slammed with 'disgusting' extra fees after already doing it tough for years with very high rents and few properties available.

More and more renters are being forced into third party rent payment services, where a company takes a direct debt from the person and pays it to the property owner or manager.

It's convenient for the agency and owner, but it costs the renter a fee of up to three per cent on top of their rent.

So a person paying $1,600 a month in rent could be charged an additional $48 per month, or $576 a year, just for paying the rent.

'It's disgusting. My rent is already outrageously high and then there's another fee on top of that,' Sydney renter Jake - who is using a pseudonym to protect his identity - told Daily Mail Australia.

'Although the real estate agent says the direct debit option is free, it's unbelievable they do not offer me the option to transfer directly into a bank account. I have to use this third-party payment service.

'I'm being charged to pay the rent.

Renters in Australia are increasingly being slammed with 'disgusting' extra fees. A woman is pictured looking concerned while staring at a computer

The laws governing rental payments vary between the states and territories, but most include provisions to ensure renters either have a no-cost option to pay rent (such as in NSW), or a choice between multiple payment options (Queensland).

Tenants are being sent options to pay rent (pictured) which adds large fees on top

Section 35 of the NSW Residential Tenancies Act says 'A landlord, or landlord's agent must permit a tenant to pay the rent by at least one means for which the tenant does not incur a cost ... and that is reasonably available to the tenant.'

When the law was introduced by the then NSW Fair Trading minister Virginia Judge, she said it would 'require tenants to be given at least one free and easy option to pay their rent in response to the increasing use of third party rent collection agencies imposing fees on top of the rent.

'This is becoming a major concern for many tenants who are often given no choice but to pay by a method that incurs the extra fee.

But the no fee option often means a choice of paying by cheque or cash, each of which are highly problematic.

Almost no one uses cheques anymore - they now make up just 0.2 per cent of non-cash retail payments in Australia.

Cash could work, but real estate agents' offices are generally only open during business hours when the tenants they deal with are likely to be working elsewhere.

And even if the office's opening hours suit the renter, the location may not - it could be on the other side of the city from where they live or work.

A renter called Mandy explained how this affected her. 'I used to pay my rent by direct transfer for free. But my property manager just informed me I am being migrated over to this third-party platform, Rental Rewards, that charges a fee.

'I chose the cheapest option  $78 a year  but some of the credit card options work out to be $312 a year, on top of rent. And their "fee-free" option? Personal cheque! Which my bank charges for, and the rental office is over an hour away.'

Making a bad situation even worse, sometimes there are fees on top of fees on top of fees. 'They charged me a $15 fee for not paying their payment fee,' Jake said.

Renters have already been doing it tough for years with very high rents and few properties available. People are pictured queueing to view a rental property

Many others have experienced similar problems, with the NSW Tenants' Union coming across several such cases.

'We have assisted with a matter where a renter was owing more money in default fees than an entire week's worth of his rent,' the tenants' body reported.

'This had happened to him because his pension money was paid into his bank account on the day after the (third party payment service) sought the transfer.

'And this had gone on week after week. Each time his account had insufficient funds, he was hit with yet another default fee.'

The third party rent payment fee is regularly condemned online as 'charging you for nothing'.

One disgruntled renter said he was 'sent a message for a failed transaction, charged $4.50 extra for one off payment and then $22 for a failed transaction'.

The third party rent payment fee is regularly condemned online as 'charging you for nothing'. A woman is pictured looking concerned at a computer screen

He asked the third party service to stop doing this, 'but they keep taking rental money from my account. I had to cancel my card to get out of it.'

Another wrote that the third party was taking 'money out of my account on direct debit - I didn't give anyone authorisation. Never even heard of these scammers.'

A third kept it simple, saying 'Pay a fee to pay your rent, no tenant is going say this is good.'

Jake said 'You should just be able to pay your rent. And it shouldn't involve giving my bank account details to a third party company.'
A Sydney businesswoman behind a multi-million-dollar teeth whitening empire has been accused of failing to pay contractors in a saga that has dragged in celebrity hairdresser Joh Bailey and PR queen Roxy Jacenko.

Alison Egan, 28, founder of mobile teeth whitening business Sparkling White Smile (SWS), is accused of owing thousands of dollars to multiple businesses and is the subject of a complaint to NSW Fair Trading.

Egan is no stranger to the finer things in life, favouring designer clothes and accessories.

She's known to associate with Francessca Packer-Barham and Booby Tape entrepreneurs Bianca and Bridgett Roccisano, counting them as close friends.

In 2019, she chartered a private jet for the opening of her latest franchise in Newcastle, joining by Roxy Jacenko, former Miss Universe Australia Monica Radulovic and social media influencer Emilee Hembrow, the sister of Tammy Hembrow.

Alison is the founder of Sparkling White Smile (SWS)

It's no secret Alison Egan (pictured) likes the finer things in life, seen in a Rolls Royce

The glam gang even got their teeth whitened during the flight by Alison.

Daily Mail understands the working relationship between Jacenko and Egan soured soon after the Newcastle trip.

Eastern suburbs sources have confirmed SWS lease above celebrity hairdresser Joh Bailey in Double Bay came to an abrupt end four weeks ago after falling behind in rent.

I can tell you she owes more than a couple of thousand, a source revealed.

SWS chartered a jet for a Newcastle store opening and gave complimentary teeth whitening aboard the flight

Dressed to impress, Alison clutching a designer handbag

A talent agency claimed that despite receiving remmitence notices they had still not been paid several week later

Daily Mail Australia has spoken to several SWS franchisees who say they are out of pocket.

One franchisee owner, who joined the SWS family in February said she was strung along for months with empty promises her beyond teeth whitening machine would be delivered after transferring Ms Egan $2420.

She gave me a loan machine and has continually failed to provide the new machine I paid for the franchisee said.

Now she is demanding the loan machine back before she gives me my money back.

The woman said she reported Ms Egan to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and NSW Fair Trading before engaging with a lawyer.

Its not about the money, I've written it off - it's the principle, the young mum said.

I'm sure there are other victims in far worse positions than me, she added.

Daily Mail Australia understands Trident, the business behind the teeth whitening machine, is no longer working with SWS.

Meanwhile, a small business owner says they were hired by Alison to provide media opportunities for her business, but she failed to pay them.

Email and text exchanges between the alleged victim and Ms Egan show the teeth whitening maven making numerous failed attempts to settle invoices dating back to February.

A franchisee claims she is owed for invoices, machinery and products from the SWS founder

After filing with small claims court, the out of pocket contractor claimed to pay four-months of back dated invoices despite previously claiming to have paid

Alison (picutred) wearing her signature Balmain blazer and Chanel earrings

Ms Egan claims to have paid the contractor in May for outstanding payments dating back four months, claiming the transfer cleared.

However, the contractor claims they never received funds.

In correspondence seen by Daily Mail to one contractor, Ms Egan said she had been facing some 'professional challenges that took a toll on my work commitments', but would be soon on track to finalise 'all your outstanding inovices promptly'.

Comment has been sought from Ms Egan.
She refused to say whether she had or hadn't in the Senate

Labor's Finance Minister Katy Gallagher had a far greater understanding of Brittany Higgins' rape allegations before they were aired on The Project than she previously admitted, new text messages suggest.

The texts appear to show Senator Gallagher read the full transcript of Ms Higgins' explosive interview with Lisa Wilkinson four days before it was broadcast on February 15, 2021.

Senator Gallagher was grilled during Question Time in June about how much she knew of the allegations before they were made public, and was accused of misleading the Senate over her prior knowledge of the rape claim.

At that time she admitted she had some prior information, but insisted she 'wasn't aware of the full allegations' before they went to air.

The senator also would not say whether she had a transcript of the interview before it was broadcast - and insisted answering that question would breach Ms Higgins' confidence.

Now, Daily Mail Australia can exclusively reveal text messages which appear to show Senator Gallagher did, in fact, read the full transcript of Ms Higgins' television interview at 7.10pm on February 11, 2021.

Ms Higgins alleged she was raped by fellow political staffer Bruce Lehrmann in the Parliament House office of their boss, then-Defence Industry minister Linda Reynolds, in March 2019. He has always denied the allegations.

Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz (pictured together) sent a series of messages about Katy Gallagher in 2021

At 7.01pm on February 11, 2021, Ms Higgins' now-fiance David Sharaz sent her a text: 'Katy Gallagher messaged me. She's angry and wants to help. She's got the context. Says they knew something was wrong because they fired Bruce and not you. They avoided a scandal.'

Ms Higgins replied: 'Can I see her message?'

Mr Sharaz said: 'Yep! I gave her [The Project] interview for context. I hope that's okay? She's not doing anything with it. But I'm also happy to step out and let her talk to you if you want.

'Basically, I wanted her to get all the context because it's so complicated.'

Ms Higgins said: 'That's fine. It'll all be public pretty soon anyway haha.'

At 7.10pm, Mr Sharaz sent another text: 'She's currently reading your interview and has gone silent!'

He then asked if he could give the senator Ms Higgins' phone number, to which she agreed.

Four minutes later, he appeared to refer to a notes Senator Gallagher sent to Ms Higgins: 'Katy's messages seem okay? X'

Ms Higgins replied: 'It is fair and reasonable. I completely appreciate her point of view.'

When contacted for comment by Daily Mail Australia, a spokesman for Senator Gallagher said 'we have no further comment to offer on this matter in addition to what is clearly on the public record'.

Senator Gallagher claimed in June 2021 that no one in Labor 'had any knowledge' of the allegations prior to when they were televised.

In June this year, she denied misleading the Senate with that statement - explaining that she was actually responding to a false accusation that '[Labor] had known about this for weeks and had made a decision to weaponise it.'

'That is not true, it was never true,' she said.

Mr Sharaz told Ms Higgins Katy Gallagher messaged him about the rape allegations (pictured: a mock-up of the texts)

Mr Sharaz told Ms Higgins Senator Gallagher was 'reading your interview and has gone silent!' (mock-up of the texts is pictured)

Mr Sharaz gave Senator Gallagher Ms Higgins' phone number (pictured: a mock-up of the texts)

Senator Gallagher was asked point-blank in Senate Question Time June whether she received a transcript of Ms Higgins' interview prior to broadcast, but she refused to say.

Liberal senator Michaelia Cash said: 'On June 10, 2023, you said regarding Ms Higgins' sexual assault allegations that 'I wasn't aware of the full allegations'.'

DID LABOR KNOW ABOUT BRITTANY HIGGINS' ALLEGATIONS FOUR DAYS BEFORE PROJECT INTERIEW? February 11, 2021: David Sharaz tells Ms Higgins by text he's sent Katy Gallagher The Project interview for context. February 15, 2021: Brittany Higgins' rape allegations are broadcast on The Project. June 4, 2021: Defence Minister Linda Reynolds accuses Labor of knowing about Ms Higgins' rape allegations prior to The Project's broadcast on television on February 15, 2021. She claims a Labor senator told her 'two weeks before the interview aired 'what you were intending to do with the story in my office'. Senator Gallagher replied: 'No one had any knowledge. How dare you.' June 10, 2023: Senator Gallagher said she had some prior knowledge, but added she wasn't aware of the 'full allegations'. June 13, 2023: Senator Gallagher was again asked whether she had obtained a transcript of Ms Higgins' interview prior to broadcast, but re-affirms she was not aware of the full allegations. Advertisement

'Prior to February 15, 2021, did you receive a copy of Ms Higgins' Project interview, the transcript of that interview, or any part of it? How did you receive it, and from whom?'

Senator Gallagher responded by doubling down on her comment on June 10, re-emphasising that she was not aware of Ms Higgins' full allegations.

She said: 'I thank Senator Cash for the question, referencing statements I made dating back to June 2023 and I stand by those statements'.

'In respect of her other statements, I stand by my statement and what you're asking me to do is to breach confidence.'

'Let's be clear about what you're asking me to do here is to disclose information that was given to me and asked to be kept by me in confidence by a woman who was alleged to have been [raped].'

'I was provided with information, I've made that clear in the days leading up to Ms Higgins allegations becoming public and I don't intend to disclose further interactions between any people who contact me and keep their confidence.'

Senator Cash then asked the finance minister whether she provided written feedback about the interview - asking 'when, and to whom, and in what format?'

Again, she reiterated that she complied with a request to keep the details confidential.

'I was not involved in any way with the story that went to air on the night, or reported online that morning. I was in no way involved with the timing in which this story was published or aired,' she said.

'Any allegations or assertion that I did is wrong and I reject it in the strongest possible terms.'

Senator Gallagher knew Mr Sharaz from when he was a journalist in Canberra - with Daily Mail Australia revealing she was invited to his wedding to his now ex-wife Alexandra Craig in 2018.

Questions have been raised over whether their friendship had anything to do with the compensation payment of up to $3million that Ms Higgins received in December - after the criminal trial against Mr Lehrmann fell over.

Senator Gallagher said her relationship with Mr Sharaz (pictured together when he was a journalist in Canberra) was professional and not unusual

The text messages that linked Senator Gallagher to David Sharaz Four days before Ms Higgins appeared on The Project in February 2021, Mr Sharaz messaged Ms Higgins: 'Katy [Gallagher] is going to come to me with some questions you need to prepare for  She's really invested now ha ha.' He later added: 'She's an old friend. We opened a chair together! So you can trust her.' Ms Higgins replied: 'Going forward pass my details onto Katy. I'm happy to talk to her.' Mr Sharaz said: 'No, no. That's really okay  I don't mind talking to Katy. But we can both speak to her if that's easier.' Ms Higgins said: 'Please just send people my way going forward.' Four days before Ms Higgins appeared on The Project, Mr Sharaz messaged Ms Higgins about Senator Gallagher (pictured, mock-up of the text) Conversation about Senator Gallagher continued on March 18, 2021 - a month after Ms Higgins' allegations were broadcast - with the couple growing concerned about former prime minister Scott Morrison's backgrounding. 'You may as well feed everything you have to Katy,' Ms Higgins told Mr Sharaz on March 18. 'The sooner we can nip it in the bud the better. Especially if we can call them out by name,' Ms Higgins wrote, in the hope the Senator may be able to raise the subject in the Upper House. Mr Sharaz replied: 'I've texted Katy and SHY (Green Senator Sarah Hanson Young). The couple also spoke about rallying journalists and media figures to their cause after Mr Morrison's chief of staff John Kunkel, who they blamed for backgrounding people against them, made contact. 'Should we get Katy Gallagher's advice re kunkel? She's pretty savage politically haha,' Mr Sharaz wrote to Ms Higgins on May 5, 2021. He then suggests giving the media a 'drop' of information before Ms Higgins said: 'He'll just deny he confirmed anything. These meetings are more in their interest than ours. I'll just brief it out to Tanya and get her advice.' Mr Sharaz replied: 'Plibersek? That's a good idea.' Advertisement

The settlement was reached after a single day of negotiations. While her finance department would have signed off on the settlement, Senator Gallagher has maintained that she did not personally have anything to do with it.

Ms Higgins' claim was against the Commonwealth and two of her former bosses, Senator Reynolds and Senator Cash - she intended to sue for sexual harassment, sex discrimination, disability discrimination, negligence, and victimisation.

The claim included $2.5million for future economic loss, past economic loss approaching $100,000 and general damages of $100,000.

The handling of the case by the Australian Federal Police and Department of Public Prosecutions in now under review by an independent inquiry.

Mr Lehrmann's pleaded not guilty to raping Ms Higgins at his criminal trial in the ACT Supreme Court in October last year.

The case was abandoned after a jury member brought unauthorised material to the jury room.

A second trial was set to go ahead in February but the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold discontinued the matter citing the 'significant and unacceptable' risk to Ms Higgins' mental health.
A welfare probe has been launched after 'zombie' salmon with huge chunks of flesh missing were filmed at a UK fish farm.

The footage was taken by an anti-salmon farming activist who described what he saw as something out of 'an X-rated horror film' during his 48-hour 'undercover mission' at Bakkafrost Scotland's Portree site on the Isle of Skye.

Don Staniford, a lifelong campaigner who revealed the footage of the wounded salmon, said the pictures he took were the 'worst I've ever seen'.

Both Highland Council and Scottish Government officials have launched an urgent welfare inquiry.

Bakkafrost Scotland said that it was aware of the footage but believes the salmon were attacked by seals, adding that a recent RSPA inspection found no issues.

A welfare probe has been launched after 'zombie' salmon with huge chunks of flesh missing were filmed at Bakkafrost Scotland's Portree fish farm on the Isle of Skye

The footage was taken by a lifelong anti-salmon farming activist who described what he saw as something out of 'an X-rated horror film' as he embarked on a 48-hour undercover mission

Mr Staniford, who runs the campaign group $camon $cotland, kayaked out to the fish farm in the early hours of June 28 and 29.

The salmon farm campaigner of 25 years captured the video by lowering a waterproof GoPro camera mounted on a telescopic pole into the cage.

He claims to have seen the fish swimming around with gouges to their flesh.

Mr Staniford, who has called for 'immediate action' to be taken, told The Daily Mirror: 'The zombie salmon on show inside the salmon farm are like an X-rated horror film. The horrific injuries inside Bakkafrost's Portree salmon farm were the worst I've ever witnessed.'

He suspects the salmon were attacked by predators  likely to be seals  and has slammed the firm for failing to protect the welfare of the fish.

He added: 'Bakkafrost has either not installed proper anti-predator netting or they have not properly maintained the equipment  either way this is a clear cut case of welfare abuse.

'If salmon farms cannot operate securely without breaching welfare legislation then they should be shut down immediately.'

Bakkafrost Scotland was called the Scottish Salmon Company until it officially changed its name last year, three years after being acquired by Faroese firm Bakkafrost.

Don Staniford, who runs the campaign group $camon $cotland, kayaked out to the fish farm in the early hours of June 28 and 29

He claims to have seen the fish swimming around with gouges to their flesh. Mr Staniford suspects the salmon were attacked by predators  likely to be seals  and has slammed the firm for failing to protect the welfare of the fish

A spokesman for the firm told MailOnline that it is 'committed to the welfare and health of our fish and the natural environment, both of which are intrinsically linked and represent the basis of responsible salmon farming'.

The Bakkafrost Scotland representative acknowledged that it has become aware of the footage and noted that a 'recent RSPCA inspection at the site did not flag any issues'.

The RSPCA confirmed that it carried out an in-person visit as soon as it was made aware of the claims and was 'satisfied that the farm was doing everything they could to protect the welfare of both the salmon and any predators'.

The animal welfare organisation told MailOnline: 'The loss of fish lives, and wounded fish, is deeply upsetting and not something anyone wants to happen.

'We looked into this as soon as it was reported to us, including carrying out an in-person visit. We are satisfied that the farm was doing everything they could to protect the welfare of both the salmon and any predators, such as seals, by trying to prevent any predators from entering the pen, as required by the RSPCAs standards.

'However, it is a sad reality of salmon farming  as it is with predator attacks on terrestrial livestock for example, foxes attacking free-range hens  that from time to time a determined predator may be able to bypass all effort to exclude them and attack the fish.'

Workers are seen at the Faroese salmon farming company Bakkafrost in Bakkavegur, near Torshavn, Faroe Islands, last year

The RSPCA said the incident in Portree was 'still one too many' and reiterated that its sole ambition is to 'improve the welfare of animals'.

The spokesman added: 'We are continually working with all of our members to look at ways to help better protect the welfare of both fish and predators alike.

'We're pleased to say that in this situation the farm took the correct course of action and was able to safely release the seal from the pen.'

Highland Council has also received a complaint surrounding the incident. A spokesman said: 'We are liaising with our animal health partners in Scottish Government on an investigation.'

The Scottish Government declined MailOnline's request for comment, citing the ongoing investigation.
Victoria's premier Dan Andrews has been accused of hypocrisy just days after he announced a total ban on natural gas in new homes.

MP for Mornington Chris Crewther shared a photo of Mr Andrews cooking a vegetarian patty on a gas stove during a Covid lockdown in April, 2020.

The photo appears to be taken inside Mr Andrews' home.

'I agree with what Dan does: cooking with gas. It's much better!' the Liberal MP said.

'But I don't agree with what Dan says: banning gas cooking in new homes from next year. Future cooking quality is going to go downhill!'

Angry Victorians quickly flooded the comments with criticisms of the gas ban, which will see all new homes connected only to electricity from January 1, 2024.

One person compared Mr Andrew's leadership to a 'dictatorship' that could now rule how residents cooked their food.

'Homeowners should be free to have the choice of gas or electricity,' another said.

MP for Mornington Chris Crewther reposted a photo of Mr Andrews cooking a vegetarian patty on his gas stove during a Covid lockdown in April, 2020

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews last week announced his state would be banning the use of natural gas in all new builds and residential subdivisions from January 1, 2024

'How the heck is this actually happening. The Australian National Anthem, we are young and free how so?' a second added.

'We don't have choice anymore it's been taken away from us. Living in Australia is going to be like living in bloody North Korea soon.'

A third shared: 'The last big power outage we had, we could still have hot showers, boil water and cook dinner because we have gas.

'Yet friends and family have all electric homes and had nothing.'

The Victorian government last week announced all new residential properties and subdivisions that require a planning permit will only be powered by electricity from January 1.

Great mates Daniel Andrews (right) and Anthony Albanese (left) fired up some sirloins when the pair met in Melbourne in November, 2021 using a gas-powered barbecue

The changes will help the state reach its goal of net-zero emissions by 2045, Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio said on Friday.

Residents of all-electric homes will also save $1,000 per year on their energy bills.

'We know the cost of living for Victorians is getting bigger and bigger,' Ms D'Ambrosio said.

'Doing something about it is exactly what today is about.'

Changes to Victorian planning provisions and schemes will enable the new measures.

About 80 per cent of Victorian homes are connected to gas, with the sector contributing about 17 per cent of the state's emissions.

A new $10million residential electrification grants program will be established, allowing volume home builders and developers to provide bulk rebates for solar products to new home buyers.

The government is also updating its gas substitution roadmap, which will be released later this year.

Energy and Resources Minister Lily D'Ambrosio (pictured) said residents would save on their skyrocketing gas bills by transitioning to electricity

The Australian Pipelines and Gas Association criticised the ban, saying the government should instead introduce renewable gas like hydrogen into the system.

'Preventing new homes from connecting to gas now will not lower emissions, will not lower costs and will cut people off from the opportunities of the future,' chief executive Steve Davies said.

But other groups are backing the changes, with Environment Victoria describing it as a vital step towards ending the state's addiction to gas.

The Clean Energy Council said electric homes were more efficient, better for the environment and cheaper to run but Victoria's push shouldn't stop at new builds.

'All Victorian households and businesses will ultimately need to switch from gas to renewable electricity,' director Anna Freeman said.

'The updated gas substitution roadmap must set out a clear strategy for managing this transition in an orderly but accelerated manner.'

Master Builders Victoria also welcomed the shift away from gas but said it was important consumers had the freedom to make informed choices.

'State and federal governments must continue to engage with industry stakeholders to develop comprehensive policies that consider the varied energy requirements of different consumers and building types,' chief executive Michaela Lihou said.

All-electric homes also improve residents' health outcomes because gas stoves expose people to respiratory irritants, the Royal Australian College of GPs said.

Victoria is not the first jurisdiction to take action on gas, with the ACT to prohibit connections in new suburbs or infill developments by the end of the year.

Building sector groups including Frasers Property Australia and Cbus Property have also pledged to phase out gas cooktops.

The Victorian Greens welcomed the government's changes but said the state was falling short by approving new gas drilling projects.

Shadow Treasurer Brad Rowswell said gas was an important part of Victoria's energy mix and the government was rushing through the ban.

Radio broadcaster Kyle Sandilands (pictured) has slammed the proposal, saying the government was treating residents like they were 'idiots'

Radio broadcaster Kyle Sandilands slammed the proposal last week, saying the government was treating Victorians like they were 'idiots'.

'I'm sick and tired of everyone thinking we're idiots. These laws are for idiots. Losers are doing these jobs,' he said on Friday.

'They will be banning Bic lighters next, we will be rubbing two sticks together to get a cigarette lit.'

But CEO of the Energy Efficiency Council Luke Menzel has endorsed the move.

'All-electric homes are all-good for Victorian families. They are cheaper to run, healthier to live in, and help lower emissions,' he said.

'Given the upfront costs of building an all-electric home are comparable to building a home with a gas connection, that makes going all-electric a no-brainer.'
ended with the 30-something returning to her home on the Upper East Side

Jeffrey Epstein's last girlfriend was spotted strolling around Manhattan over the weekend - the first time she's been seen since the DOJ released a report ruled the pedophile financier's death a suicide.

The last person to speak to the sex pest before his suicide, Karyna Shuliak, 34, was seen multiple times Friday arriving and leaving an office in Midtown before taking a walk the next day in Central Park.

The Belarusian was then seen returning to her home on the Upper East Side, in an upscale building where Epstein once owned several apartments.

The exclusive DailyMail.com photos also come days after billionaire Epstein associate Leon Black was accused of rape for a third time.

In a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, the woman, using the pseudonym Jane Doe, revealed herself to be afflicted with Down syndrome and autistic - and said Black, 71, pinned her down and penetrated her with sex toys at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse in 2002 when she was 16.

Jeffrey Epstein's last girlfriend, 34-year-old Karyna Shuliak (seen here), was spotted strolling around Manhattan over the weekend - the first time she's been seen doing since the DOJ released report regarding the financier's death late last month

Shuliak (seen here with Epstein in 2014) dated Epstein for seven years, and visited the pedophile in prison just 10 days before he was found dead. Her sighting comes days after another high-profile Epstein associate was accused of rape

Leon Black, 71, was accused Tuesday of raping an autistic woman at Jeffrey Epstein's Manhattan townhouse. Filed in federal court, suit serves as the third time the billionaire's been hit with Epstein-related rape allegations

The suit is one of several filed against the retired Apollo investment exec since Epstein died by suicide in his Manhattan holding cell in 2019, while awaiting trial for several sex-trafficking charges.

That includes a dismissed lawsuit sexual abuse lawsuit filed by former Russian model Guzel Ganieva, and a lawsuit by Cheri Pierson that claimed Black also raped her in Epstein's New York home two decades ago.

The billionaire - who retired from Apollo in July 2021 after a review found he paid Epstein $158 million for financial advice between 2012 and 2017 - has also reached a $62.5 million settlement with the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein had a home.

In the years since Epstein's death, several Wall Street financiers and other figures, including Black, have come under federal scrutiny over alleged ties to Epstein and his sprawling sex-trafficking empire.

That empire came crashing down well before August 10, 2019, when the 66-year-old pervert was found hanging in his cell, and the night before - during the multimillionaire sex offenders final recorded phone call from Metropolitan Correctional Center with Shuliak.

The last person to speak on the phone with him before his suicide, Shuliak reportedly dated Epstein for more than seven years, and he still been doing when he died in his Manhattan holding.

Prison records obtained by DailyMail.com further revealed that 11 days earlier, the then-30-year-old physically visited the late pedophile at the now-shuttered correctional center, which was notorious for keeping high-profile inmates such as Epstein and Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman in their cells for up to 22 hours a day.

Now 34, Shuliak had also been one of several with Epstein on his private jet when he was arrested in July 2019 - after the FBI apprehended him on his way back from Paris at the popular private-destination at airport Teterboro, New Jersey, near New York.

She was seen looking unbothered Friday while walking to what appeared to be work Friday in the West 50s, before eventually entering and later exiting a building that contained both an OB/GYN office.

Shuliak, now 34m was seen looking unbothered Friday while walking to what appeared to be work Friday in the West 50s, before eventually entering, and later exiting, a building that contained both an OB/GYN office

The last person to speak on the phone with him before his suicide, Shuliak reportedly dated Epstein for more than seven years, and he still been doing when he died in his Manhattan holding

She is here exclusively for the first time since the DOJ detailed the alleged failures that occurred in the month before Epstein's 2019 death

Prison records obtained by DailyMail.com further revealed that 11 days earlier, the then-30-year-old physically visited the late pedophile at the now-shuttered correctional center, which was notorious for keeping high-profile inmates such as Epstein and Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman in their cells for up to 22 hours a day

Despite the revelations in the DOJ report, she was seen looking unbothered Friday - while walking to what appeared to be work Friday in the West 50s, before eventually entering and later exiting a building that contained both an OB/GYN office

Seen here Friday, Shuliak had also been one of several with Epstein on his private jet when he was arrested in July 2019 - after the FBI apprehended him on his way back from Paris at the popular private-destination at airport Teterboro, New Jersey

After retiring to her home on East 66th around 6.45pm, she was seen again the next day - rising in the morning in workout garb to take a walk to Central Park

Dressing down for the occasion, Shuliak wore joggers and a Santa Fe, New Mexico T-shirt for the early-morning walk, during which her flowing brown hair was kept in a bow

The sighting was a rare one for Shuliak, originally from Minsk, who is believed to have arrived in the US in 2009 and married Epstein associate Jennifer Kalin in what was allegedly a sham marriage to keep her in the country

Within a few years, she became romantically involved with the financier himself, and would come to earn the nickname the inspector for her obsessive snooping on Epstein during their yearslong relationship.

Her connection to Epstein was only revealed a few months after the financier's still-controversial death - which feds a month ago sought to finally put to bed with an in-depth report that described the failures that led to Epstein's jailhouse suicide

After her marriage to Kalin in 2013, Shuliak stayed with Epstein for the next six years despite him admitting on his MCC health questionnaire that he had more than 10 sexual partners in the previous five years

Epstein is said to have paid for Shuliak's mother's expensive medical treatment, and may have helped fund the upscale home where her parents live in Minsk, the largely rundown capital of Belarus

After retiring to her home on East 66th around 6.45pm, she was seen again the next day - rising in the morning in workout garb to take a walk to Central Park and along its seminal 6.1 mile loop.

Dressing down for the occasion, Shuliak wore joggers and a Santa Fe, New Mexico T-shirt for the early-morning walk, during which her flowing brown hair was kept in a bow.

The sighting was a rare one for Shuliak, originally from Minsk, who is believed to have arrived in the US in 2009 and married Epstein associate Jennifer Kalin in what was allegedly a sham marriage to keep her in the country.

Within a few years, she became romantically involved with the financier himself, and would come to earn the nickname the inspector for her obsessive snooping on Epstein during their yearslong relationship.

Her connection to Epstein was only revealed a few months after the financier's still-controversial death - which feds a month ago sought to finally put to bed with an in-depth report that described the failures of MCC officials that allowed for Epstein to commit suicide, while making clear that foul play was not possible.

Epstein is said to have bought one of his alleged co-conspirators, Nadia Marcinkova, from her parents in the former Yugoslavia, but there is no known indication that he did the same with Shuliak.

After her marriage to Kalin in 2013, Shuliak stayed with Epstein for the next six years despite him admitting on his MCC health questionnaire that he had more than 10 sexual partners in the previous five years.

Epstein is said to have paid for Shuliak's mother's expensive medical treatment, and may have helped fund the upscale home where her parents live in Minsk, the largely rundown capital of Belarus.

Shuliak, originally from Minsk, is believed to have arrived in the US in 2009

Shuliak (right) purportedly married Epstein associate Jennifer Kalin (left) in what was allegedly a sham marriage to keep her in the US

She was among the many visitors spotted arriving and leaving Epstein's $75million mansion in New York City, where Black is now accused of sexually abusing a then-16-year-old with Down syndrome

Prison records obtained by DailyMail.com confirm Karyna  whose name is misspelled  not only was the last to speak to Epstein but also visited him in jail on July 30, 2019

It is not clear how Epstein met Shuliak (pictured in 2011 while taking English classes) but she is not the only woman from Eastern Europe to come into Epstein's orbit

Her connection to Epstein was only revealed a few months after the financier's still-controversial death - which feds a month ago sought to finally put to bed with an in-depth report that described the failures of MCC officials that allowed for Epstein to commit suicide, while making clear that foul play was not possible. Seen here is the since shuttered Metropolitan Correctional Center, where Epstein was found hanged in his cell in August 2019

And her attendance at Columbia University now appears likely to have been paid for by Epstein.

Photos previously obtained by DailyMail.com show Shuliak leaving Epstein's $75million New York mansion in January 2015 in a white jacket, jeans, a scarf and a designer handbag.

In another set of photographs from June 2016 she was seen coming and going from the property with some of Epstein's inner circle including his associate Susan Hamblin.

That same day former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barack entered and left the property.

Epstein changed his will two days before his death but it is unclear what, if anything, Shuliak received.

His close associates however have long been rumored to have received substantial payouts from him - with Black being one of several to face legal scrutiny.

In a subpoena issued by the US Virgin Islands government on January 27 2021, Black was asked for all emails, letters, transactions and other forms of communication that he and his office had with Epstein and his associates since 1998.

The Caribbean investigators also wanted to know about Black's own trips to Little St James, Epstein's private island where the late financier is said to have abused countless girls and allegedly handed them off to his friends too.

Black ended up settling, agreeing in January to pay $62.5million to make it go away. That settlement was first reported by The New York Times this week.

Black's representatives have insisted that it does not indicate complicity in Epstein's crimes or even knowledge of it.

Once a titan of the finance industry, Black stepped down in shame from his firm, Apollo, in 2021 after his deep ties to Epstein were revealed.

In January 2021, Leon Black was asked to hand over all his communications with Jeffrey Epstein dating back to 1998. The request came from the Attorney General of the US Virgin Islands as part of its probe into Epstein's sexual crimes. This year, Black settled with the government, paying them $62million to close the case

The government also asked Black for all photos of his trips to Little St James, Epstein's Caribbean island (shown)

He paid Epstein $158million over the course of five years between 2012 and 2017 - after Epstein had been convicted of soliciting prostitution from children in Palm Beach.

Black insists the payments were for estate planning and tax advice, and that he was given poor advice by Epstein, whose professional credentials barely touched his own.

The Senate Finance Committee is now investigating whether Black, worth a reported $11billion, owes tax on those payments.

Black was a pillar of New York high society as the chairman of the Museum of Modern Art and husband to theater producer Debra Black. The pair remain married and have four children.

Earlier this week, he was sued in Manhattan federal court by a Jane Doe who claims he raped her in 2002 when she was 16 at Epstein's house.

Now in her 30s, she is too old to file a claim against him with the New York Police Department, even in light of New York State's stretched historic child abuse statute of limitations.

The lawsuit is currently making its way through Manhattan's federal court system.
Colorado officials have released horrific police body camera footage showing the moment a runaway suspect was tasered on a busy freeway, and then fatally run over.

Brent Allen Thompson, 28, of Loveland was stopped by sheriffs on February 18.

He gave them a fake name: when they ran the name through their system and realized he was lying, they confronted him.

Thompson, who was later found to have drugs in his car, took off running across the I-25, with two officers in pursuit.

Thompson jumped the barrier on the side of the road and ran across the grass that separates the two lanes.

He jumped the second barrier to return to the road, and Deputy Lorenzo Lujan tasered him.

Too late, Lujan realized that Thompson was lying in the road: seconds later, as a horrified Lujan yells 's***!', Thompson is run over by a pickup.

Brent Thompson, 28, died on February 18 from being run over after he was tasered by sheriffs. Pictured: Brent (left) is seen with his father, David (center) and sister Adrianne. The family is now planning on filing a civil suit against the sheriffs office

Brent Thompson, 28, is seen on February 18 being pulled over by police near Fort Collins, Colorado

Thompson, who had drugs in the car, took off running away from Lujan

Lujan and his colleague dragged Thompson off the road, and began CPR, carrying on until an ambulance arrived.

One of the EMTs says that he saw Thompson's eyes flicker, but cannot feel a pulse.

Thompson died in hospital.

Last week, the Larimer County District Attorney's Office announced that no criminal charges will be brought against Lujan - a decision that angered the Thompson family.

Gordon McLaughlin, the district attorney, said that an investigation and review of Colorado law found 'there is no reasonable likelihood of success in proving unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt that Deputy Lorenzo Lujan is criminally culpable for his attempt to effect the arrest of Brent Thompson.'

The family intend to file a civil suit against Larimer County sheriffs, and on Wednesday their attorney, Siddhartha Rathod, said the video was being released to show what had happened.

Rathod said Lujan's actions were wild and reckless.

'No one in their right mind would tase someone on the highway,' he told The Denver Post.

'The public has a right to see this.'

Thompson was tasered by Deputy Lorenzo Lujan, and run over seconds later

Lujan and his colleague carried out CPR until the ambulance arrived: Thompson was pronounced dead in hospital

Larimer County Sheriff John Feyen said that it is easy to judge with the benefit of hindsight.

'We train our deputies to keep the community safe by taking decisive action with the information they have available in the moment,' said Feyen.

'However, this profession doesn't have the comfortable luxury of hindsight, and the tough reality is that unintended consequences can occur.'

Feyen said that he's met with the Thompson family 'and their representatives,' and that 'first responders  grieve the loss of life in any situation.'

He added: 'Nobody wanted this outcome.'

But the Thompson family said that the failure to bring charges against Lujan showed 'once again that the police cannot and will not police themselves,' their lawyer said.

Rathod added: 'At the time that Brent ran from law enforcement, he was only suspected of committing the crimes of driving with expired registration and giving a false name to law enforcement.

'The tasering of an individual in the middle of an interstate highway at night is criminal and reprehensible conduct and has no place in law enforcement.'

Rathod described the incident as 'negligent homicide' and Lujan's actions as 'criminally negligent' and a 'deviation from standard of care.'

He added: 'The Thompson family is left with no choice but to seek justice from a civil jury.'

Brent's father, David Thompson, said they wanted justice for their son.

'It hurts us so bad when this DA can sit there and say what, it was a mistake?' he said.

'There's no charges to be brought against this person. There is no justice here.'
An artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Google has predicted what 10 jobs are safest and most at risk of being impacted by AI.

Google's answer to the controversially popular chatbot, ChatGPT, Bard was released to the public on July 13 after a limited release in March 21.

The chatbot, when prompted by The Australian, predicted the jobs that will be most or least impacted by further developments in AI and gave reasons as to why.

'It is important to note that this is not an exhaustive list, and the list of jobs that are at risk (or at least risk) of disappearing because of AI is likely to grow in the years to come,' Bard wrote to complete the lists.

Google's AI-based chatbot, Bard, has included truck drivers, accountants and data entry clerks as the most likely to have their jobs effected by the growth of AI (stock image)

Bard believes jobs such as legal assistants will be affected as AI continues to grow and automation systems become more advanced at completing simple tasks.

A surprising addition was made to the list with truck drivers also under threat of losing their jobs as technology for self-driving trucks becomes more developed.

'Self-driving trucks are already being developed and tested, and it is only a matter of time before they become widespread,' Bard wrote on the potential future of truck drivers.

'This could put millions of truck drivers out of work.'

The chatbot believes the job most at risk is data entry clerks due to the AI-powered software being able to automate many of the tasks performed in the role such as updating databases and entering customer information into a database.

Factory workers also make the list of most likely to be affected as AI-based software becomes more adept at utilising machinery - with its running costs considerably cheaper than human labour.

Other information processing jobs such as customer service, accountants, legal assistants and translators are also at risk according the the AI.

The AI listed teachers as the 'least at risk' of losing their jobs to AI alongside religious clergy, artists and lawyers as technology can't replace human connection (stock image)

Top 10 jobs most at risk of being replaced by artificial intelligence 1- Data entry clerks 2- Customer service representatives 3- Truck Drivers 4- Telemarketers 5- Accountants 6- Legal assistants 7- Web developers 8- Translators 9- Graphic designers 10- Factory workers Advertisement

While information and machine based employment might be at risk, the AI also listed 10 jobs that might remain safer while software continues to develop.

What sets the jobs apart is how integral human interaction is to complete the role efficiently.

Bard stated that teachers have the best chance in a more AI-influenced world as although AI-based software can help with lesson plans and marking papers, it can not replace the role of a teacher in a room.

'Teachers are still needed to provide human interaction and guidance to students,' Bard wrote.

Other roles listed by the AI as 'least at risk', healthcare workers, salespeople and lawyers already utilise AI to support their jobs but can not replace human interaction and interpreting their jobs in the moment.

Another aspect of human connection that can not be replicated by an AI is religion, Bard writing that 'AI is not yet able to replace the human connection that is essential in religious practice'.

'Clergy are still needed to provide spiritual guidance and support to their congregants.'

Google's announcement of its chatbot Bard on February 8 was described as 'underwhelming' after a presentation showed the AI producing false information.

The search engine's stock price dropped by eight per cent or about US$100billion in market share, in just one day.
A plan to boost JobSeeker payments for struggling Aussies has been slammed by Barnaby Joyce, who has called on welfare recipients to get a job.

JobSeeker will rise by $56 a fortnight if parliament passes welfare changes announced in the May budget.

The uplift is the result of a $40 budget boost to the base rate and a six-monthly indexation increase of 2.2 per cent.

Environment minister Tanya Plibersek explained how this much-needed boost would help struggling families during the cost-of-living crisis on Monday morning.

But Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce was critical of the measure, as the Coalition moves to strip the Albanese government's planned increase.

Barnaby Joyce (pictured) has criticised a plan from the Albanese government to increase JobSeeker - which was already part of the budget and a result of indexation

'This isn't going to have a huge dent,' he said on Seven's morning program, Sunrise.

'Did you know there's more than 156,000 people who have been on unemployment benefits for over a decade.

'There's a further in-excess of 150,000 who have been on unemployment benefits between five years and ten years,' Mr Joyce explained.

About 40,000 people have been on JobSeeker for 10 years, according to the Business Council of Australia (BCA).

'Now in the current circumstances where motels are screaming out for workers, farmers are screaming out for workers, everybody is screaming out to get people to work, it seems perverse that there's people who decided not to work for ten years,' Mr Joyce continued.

'If they're not on disability pensions or unemployment benefit, what are they doing?'

The opposition has flagged their intention of raising the threshold before benefits begin to be reduced.

Mr Joyce claimed the Coalition were trying to 'encourage people to make a substantive step in their life' by finding work.

'The best thing they (unemployed people) can do is get a job, that's the best security they can have,' he added.

Ms Plibersek fired back, claiming that three quarters of people on unemployment benefits would gain 'no benefit' from the opposition's proposal - a point that has been highlighted by Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth.

JobSeeker is expected to rise by $56 a fortnight if parliament passes welfare changes announced in the budget. The uplift is the result of a $40 budget boost to the base rate and a six-monthly indexation increase of 2.2 per cent

Environment minister Tanya Plibersek (pictured) explained how this much-needed boost would help struggling families during the cost-of-living crisis on Sunrise

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has clarified the Coalition won't stand in the way of a rise for welfare payments, but will push for changes to increase incentives to work.

The opposition's proposed change would maintain the current rate and allow JobSeeker recipients to take home $300 a fortnight, instead of $150, while still receiving full benefits.

Mr Dutton said while the money budgeted for the increase could be better spent on a model that allowed people to work more hours, the Liberals would not oppose it.

But he did not expect the coalition's proposal would be supported in parliament.

'Ultimately if that goes down - as we suspect it will, unfortunately because I think it's good policy - then we'll support the government's increase of $40,' he told reporters in Canberra.

Mr Dutton said a Liberal-National government would not repeal the rate rise if elected.

Ms Rishworth said the opposition's proposal would have unintended consequences and do nothing for the 77 per cent of recipients who don't access the income-free threshold.

She also said it would do nothing to address the barriers to employment faced by people on income support.

'Our conservative estimates are that with a doubling of the income-free area, there would be an additional 50,000 people who would become eligible for JobSeeker overnight because the thresholds at which they are cut off would increase,' she said.

'This measure could actually encourage a longer-term reliance on casual work and JobSeeker rather than a transition into the workforce.'

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton (pictured) said the Coalition won't stand in the way of a rise for welfare payments, but will push for changes to increase incentives to work

A leading welfare advocacy group said the income free threshold was $300 before the Coalition government cut it and urged the Albanese government to reinstate the higher level (stock image)

A leading welfare advocacy group said the income free threshold was $300 in 2020/21 before the Coalition government cut it and urged the Albanese government to reinstate the higher level.

'The government should be adopting every proposal that would help ensure welfare recipients and low income workers are not living in poverty,' Antipoverty Centre spokesperson Kristin O'Connell said.

'They must urgently increase the income free area to provide better support to the one in five people on unemployment payments who are employed and ensure the lowest income workers are better connected to the safety net.'

Greens acting leader Mehreen Faruqi said the government's proposed increase was woefully inadequate, and worked out to be an extra $4 per day.

'We will definitely not stand in the way of this increase, but we know that it's not enough,' she said.

'The government must increase JobSeeker to above the poverty line in this cost of living crisis (because) so many people are being hurt and harmed, people are really struggling to put food on the table.'

Opposition social services spokesman Michael Sukkar said the increase to JobSeeker amounted to the government paying people more to not work when historically low unemployment had left businesses crying out for staff.

He said increasing the amount they could earn before cutting off benefits would encourage people to take up more part-time work.

The Albanese government has ruled out further cost-of-living relief after introducing $14.6billion worth of measures over four years that includes bulk billing incentives, energy bill relief and the increase in JobSeeker payments.
A lack of infrastructure in some of Australia's fastest-growing suburbs is putting pressure on families amid a growing cost-of-living crisis.

Blacktown in Sydney's north-west is one of a number of suburbs expected to swell as many families are priced out of Sydney's inner suburbs.

The local government area's population  NSW's largest  is forecast to balloon to more than 560,000 by 2050, having already surpassed Canberra in size.

Riverstone MP Warren Kirby said families had been lured to the area on Sydney's north-west fringe with the promise of schools and parks.

The local business chamber president believed many of those promises had not been kept amid an 'overshoot' in population growth.

A lack of infrastructure in some of Australia's fastest-growing suburbs is putting pressure on families amid a growing cost-of-living crisis. Jagpreet Singh, Mandip Kaur and their children are pictured

'There is a ripple effect going all the way through the community,' Mr Kirby said.

'We have areas that were going to have 500 homes; instead, there's 1,000 going in.

'The road infrastructure isn't suitable to cope. The school infrastructure isn't suitable to cope.

'The biggest outcry is for parks because people here simply do not have yards for kids to play in.

'These families don't have access to green space to be able to go walking around with their kids.'

Mr Kirby's election in March came as a shock to many after more than a decade of Liberal leadership in Riverstone.

Since then, his first priority has been addressing the oversaturated schools, all but one of which  he claims  are overcapacity.

Among them is The Ponds High School, which became infamous for installing more than 30 demountable classrooms.

Jagpreet Singh and partner Mandip Kaur moved into The Ponds area in 2020, the day the country was placed into Covid lockdowns.

As a result, the couple said they were unable to visit the school they planned on sending their six-year-old children Jasmine and Raasher.

They were shocked to discover that the school was 'jam-packed' with demountable classrooms which Mr Singh said affected his kids' learning.

'We didn't get the whole reality at the time when we moved in because there were Covid limitations,' he said.

'When we went in, we realised there were too many kids crammed into the school.

'There are also parents coming in from Schofields and other areas because they don't have schools there.

'The government is building temporary schools at Tallawong, but these are still growing areas.'

Ms Kaur said another issue for the family was transport, with residents flooding the commuter carparks at Schofields and Tallawong stations.

Riverstone MP Warren Kirby said families had been lured to the area on Sydney's north-west fringe with the promise of schools and parks. Construction work in the area is pictured

Liberal MLA Ed Cocks (pictured) has campaigned for a town centre to be built in the Molonglo Valley

If the she didn't arrive before 7.30am, Ms Kour said she would be unable to find parking and often would have to drive to find another station.

'For a young family, there are positives here; very good suburb to work in,' Mr Singh said.

'But, only if you have nice family support. If not, its very hard to have a nice work-life balance.

'There needs to be less stress in the schools. If not, then definitely it's going to make things worse and people will move out.'

Mr Kirby warned that the infrastructure crisis, including school oversaturation, was already causing 'social consequences'.

'If you talk to the Northwest Community Service, the incidences of domestic violence are outstripping the population growth targets,' he said.

'People are already overextending themselves on a mortgage and there's no outlet valve for people to go to a park or take a bit of downtime.

'That's creating a pressure cooker for people who are mortgage stressed and struggling to keep up with the cost of living.'

In the long term, Mr Kirby warned that families who flooded the area with promises of a family lifestyle would just 'pick up and move again'.

The issue isn't unique to Sydney, as cities around the country grapple with population growth amid ongoing housing and cost-of-living crises.

In Canberra, the Molonglo Valley  a strip of land destroyed in the 2003 bushfires  was estimated to grow to 50,000 by 2050.

The ACT government has since revised those estimates, with the region forecast to balloon to a whopping 86,000.

Liberal MLA Ed Cocks said there lacked adequate planning to cope with that influx amid concerns also about social consequences.

'There is a very different need for infrastructure and services to service that sort of population size,' he said.

'If you don't have the facilities and services you need in the area, you have to get in your car and you have to drive somewhere else to get it.

'That means that people are stuck spending less time with their family. They have less time enjoying life and more time stuck in a car.'

Mr Cocks has helped lead a campaign urging for the construction of a town centre in the Molonglo Valley area since early-2023.

Under the vision, a town centre would be erected to serve as a community and local business hub akin to neighbouring suburbs.

Mr Cocks said it was 'unclear' why the government had not invested in a town centre, claiming it would relieve stress on nearby areas.

'If you don't get the infrastructure right  if you don't plan ahead and start with the end in mind  there are long-term negatives,' he said.

'People start to choose somewhere else to go and live because they've got to drive an extra 20 minutes to get somebody to do things.'

Labor's Warren Kirby (pictured) said underdevelopment of infrastructure is putting at risk the future of his electorate

Both Mr Kirby and Mr Cocks warned that a lack of investment in localised police and emergency services were also issues.

Mr Cocks claimed locals had been left wanting with work yet to start on the John Gorton Drive bridge.

The $178million project is aimed at replacing a 100-year-old bridge and would connect housing developments on either side of the Murrumbidgee River.

According to the ACT government, the project is still in the conceptual phase, with work to wrap up by the end of 2025.
They said the UK 'now stands virtually alone' after the EU delayed its own plans

Conservative MPs and peers called on the Prime Minister to reconsider the ban

Dozens of Tory MPs yesterday urged Rishi Sunak to delay the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, 40 Conservative MPs and peers warned that sticking to the controversial timetable would cause 'grave harm to the economy' and leave motorists 'worse off'.

The group, which includes six former Cabinet ministers, said the UK 'now stands virtually alone' in pursuing the rush to phase out petrol cars, with the EU watering down its own proposals for a ban that will not start until five years later.

They also question whether 'new electricity generation and charging point roll-out is anywhere close to being on track to match the 2030 ambition, just seven years away'.

Signatories, who include Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Lord Frost and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, also pointed to polling showing that the policy is unpopular with the public.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (pictured) pushed back against the calls as he said the government is 'not considering a delay' to the 2030 date

'The time is right for a re-think,' they said. 'It would be easy to kick the can down the road, but car manufacturers and the public urgently need certainty about the Government's approach, which has yet to be formalised in legislation.

'We urge you to review this policy to make sure car ownership remains affordable and manufacturers are protected.

'A move to 2035 to match competitor countries such as the EU bloc and the USA would seem entirely sensible.'

Mr Sunak said last week that he was determined to make the UK's drive for Net Zero 'proportionate and pragmatic'.

MPs and peers including Jacob Rees-Mogg (pictured) urged Rishi Sunak to delay the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars

The PM pushed back against the idea yesterday, telling the Sunday Telegraph: 'The 2030 target has been our policy for a long time and continues to be. We are not considering a delay to that date.'

But he faced fresh pressure yesterday as a leading expert questioned whether the date was achievable.

Chris Stark, chief executive of the independent Climate Change Committee, warned that 'we have not seen yet the move to a cheap electric car'.

Mr Stark pointed out that his own committee had advised that 2032 was a 'more appropriate date'.

The committee said the slow roll-out of charging points posed a 'a serious risk to the achievement' of the current target.
A toddler who was reportedly strapped to a boat while her parents cooked dinner has drowned after managing to escape from the harness and falling overboard.

The body of 13-month-old New Zealander Mahina Toki was found floating in the water off Fiji's idyllic Musket Cove on Friday.

Mahina, who had only reached 13 months the day before, had moments earlier been sitting in a harness and watching a movie on the family catamaran Kalamari.

Her parents Mark and Kiri were cooking below in the galley before they emerged on deck and discovered their daughter was missing.

Fijian Police said the toddler had managed to break free from the harness and fall overboard before drowning.

Mahina (pictured centre with parents Mark and Kira), a 13-month-old girl from New Zealand, was found off Fiji

After an urgent search the girl's body was found floating in the water and the family rushed to shore desperately pleading for help to revive her.

Several boaties were in the area at the time and included doctors and medical staff who immediately rushed over to help.

The young girl could not be revived despite the frantic efforts.

Island Cruising New Zealand owner Viki Moore said the bystanders did everything they could to try and save the toddler.

She revealed it was common to people to be tethered to the boat while sailing.

'I don't know what happened in this case, but it is very sad,' she said.

The devastated family had arrived at Musket Cove two days earlier on Wednesday after sailing from New Zealand.

The death of the little girl has sparked an outpouring of grief among loved ones and the community.

'Fellow cruiser' Grace Palos has set up a fundraising page and labelled the toddler a 'beautiful, happy, smiling child who loved the water and life on the boat.

Her mother, Kiri said she had eyes that looked into your soul from the day she was born. She was 13 months old yesterday,' the Givealittle fundraiser reads.

'Mahina's parents, Mark and Kiri, are in the process of picking up their lives and traveling back to their home of Great Barrier Island, New Zealand.

The idyllic surrounds of Musket Cove in Fiji were the scene of tragedy on Friday when a toddler drowned

'The cruisers of Musket Cove are humbly asking for your assistance in raising funds for the family to help cover the cost of flights back home, funeral expenses and anything else Mark & Kiri need as they move forward.

'To the beloved Mahina, may you forever live in peace, splashing with joy somewhere in the sea.'

More than $28,000 had been raised by Monday morning.

Musket Cove Resort manager Joe Mar described it as a huge shock to the community.

'The family rushed into shore to seek help and a lot of people rushed to their aid, but unfortunately couldn't revive her,' he said.

A New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman told NZ Herald reported said they were aware of the death and providing consular assistance.
Eight people have been taken to hospital after a 'chemical substance' was released in a nightclub in Doncaster leaving people 'struggling to breathe'.

Revellers were left gasping for breath in the early hours of Sunday morning after the 'terrifying' attack at Pop Works on Silver Street, Doncaster.

Emergency services rushed to the venue at around 5am after dozens of clubbers started feeling unwell - with one claiming they had been sprayed with 'poison gas'.

The woman described how those in the nightclub- which is open from midnight until 6am on Fridays and Saturdays - began coughing and sneezing and couldn't breathe properly, forcing a mass evacuation of the venue.

'Everyone was coughing and sneezing. The security were shouting for everybody to get out,' the unnamed woman told The Mirror.

'I have never seen something like this, everyone was just coughing and sneezing and struggling to breathe. There must have been about 50 or 60 people in. It was really creepy to be honest.'

Revellers were left gasping for breath in the early hours of Sunday morning after the 'terrifying' attack at Pop Works (pictured) on Silver Street, Doncaster

The nightclub posted about the incident on Sunday night, while one woman explained how her mother was one of those hospitalised

Another woman posted on Facebook to say that her mother had been at the club on the night in question. She said that someone 'let some sort of gas off' and they ended up in hospital because they were vomiting and coughing from it.

She added that her mother has got a cough and sore throat and has been told to drink plenty by doctors.

Police said that none of those who were hospitalised are thought to have had any lasting effects.

Pop Works Doncaster said on its Facebook page: 'On the early hours off Sunday morning around 04:55am we had to evacuate everyone out of the club , this was a big eye opener for us as a business and it was handled very well thank you to our door staff and management...

'We would like to apologise to everyone who was inside at the time and who was involved in the incident. What a world we live in that people would make businesses harder than it is in this trade after Covid.

'We are deeply sorry. Our main priority is our customers safety and well-being after making sure that the care needed for those involved was provided. Once again we are truly sorry.

'Thank you to the fire service and the police that came and helped everyone.'

South Yorkshire Police has now launched a probe into the incident and are appealing for anyone with information to get in touch.

A spokesman for the force said: 'We are carrying out an investigation into reports a chemical substance was let off inside a night-time venue in Doncaster city centre in the early hours of this morning (Sunday 30 July).'

Police said that none of those who were hospitalised are thought to have had any lasting effects. Pictured: Pop Works Doncaster

'We were called at 5am to reports a number of people said to be feeling unwell at Pop Works on Silver Street.

'Eight people at the venue required hospital treatment but nobody is thought to have had any lasting effects.

'We are now working to determine what substance was let off at the location.

'We are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.'

Chief Inspector David Struggles, from the Doncaster district command team, said: 'For those inside Pop Works this must have been a terrifying ordeal and we are working hard to determine exactly what happened at the location.

'This type of offence will cause concern among the community and those who like to use the night-time economy in the city.

'We want to get to the bottom of what happened as quickly as possible to ease those fears and make those who live in or wish to use the city centre for leisure feel safe and secure.

'If you were inside Pop Works at the time or in the nearby area and saw or heard anything suspicious we want to hear from you. You could have seen something important, no matter how small it seems. It could prove vital for the investigation.'
Scientists stress talent cultivation in basic research

Xinhua) 13:51, July 31, 2023

Maxim Kontsevich gives a lecture at Yanqi Lake Beijing Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Applications in Beijing, capital of China, July 19, 2023. (Tsinghua University/Handout via Xinhua)

BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Several scientists stressed the significance of talent cultivation in China's basic research and encouraged young people to challenge cutting-edge issues in basic science on the sidelines of the International Congress of Basic Science (ICBS) held in Beijing.

Fields Medal winners Shing-Tung Yau, Caucher Birkar, Maxim Kontsevich, and Turing Award winner Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, shared their views on talent cultivation and the development of basic research in exchange activities with university teachers and students.

"We hope that young people can actively communicate with first-class scholars at home and abroad through this congress so that they can see how far the world's most advanced sciences have gone, and set clear goals for themselves," said mathematician Shing-Tung Yau, chairman of the ICBS and dean of Qiuzhen College at Tsinghua University.

"It is very important for young people to communicate with world-renowned scientists and listen to their speeches," added Yau, who recalled that he solved an important question in 1979 because he listened to the speech of Fields Medal winner David Mumford, which is his lifetime memory.

Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said Chinese young people are very smart, and "in fact, all they need is a little help."

"They can learn new knowledge in college courses, and they can meet some good professors who encourage them to exercise curiosity and the spirit to research. Such kind of talent growth will make a difference."

He added that the new wave of artificial intelligence has come, and it will have a huge and far-reaching impact on academia, industry, and even the whole society in the future. Countries should strive to create a good environment to encourage more scientists to make research and "use curiosity to discover the problems they want to solve," while also strengthening international exchanges and working together to address common challenges.

Caucher Birkar, a professor at Tsinghua University, said that in addition to the unsolved mathematical questions, the biggest challenge of mathematics is the training and education of mathematicians.

The textbook-style teaching, which tells students what to do and what not to do, will make many students feel bored in mathematics, and drift away from it and unable to enjoy the fun of mathematics, he added.

At Tsinghua University, he often encourages students to ask each other questions and communicate in class. He believes that asking questions is conducive to stimulating students' interest and inspiring thinking.

"It is very important for mathematicians to get into the habit of asking questions, which is exploring new possibilities and imagining what you can do next. This habit is best cultivated when you are a student," he said.

Maxim Kontsevich, a professor at the Institute of Advanced Scientific Study in France, believes that it is very important for more teenagers to feel the beauty of mathematics because only love can inspire you to make unremitting efforts to explore.

"Mathematics is a very beautiful subject, which plays an important role in the development and progress of human society, and is worth exploring and learning in our lives," he said.

According to Shing-Tung Yau, countries still need to attach great importance to basic science, invest more resources, attract more talent to participate in basic science research, cultivate public interest in basic science, and promote international cooperation and sharing.

"Basic science is the cornerstone of human knowledge. It is an important way for us to understand the world, reveal principles of nature, explore the universe, and drive scientific and technological progress. And it is a powerful driving force to guide the future of humanity and promote social progress," he said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
A Labour frontbencher is facing calls to resign after she billed taxpayers for a 55 parking fine.

Shadow treasury minister Abena Oppong-Asare claimed the ticket on expenses after she overran at a constituency surgery.

The scandal prompted the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) to change its processes following a review.

Tories have called on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to 'show some leadership' and sack Ms Oppong-Asare.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: 'If Starmer doesn't get rid of her, then taxpayers beware.

Shadow treasury minister Abena Oppong-Asare claimed the ticket on expenses after she overran at a constituency surgery

'What a ridiculous claim. Why was she allowed to claim it? It shows that they have a misplaced sense of entitlement.' Ms Oppong-Asare only paid the fine after being contact by the Independent which uncovered the payment.

Labour claimed it was an 'administrative error' by a staff member but Sir Alistair Graham, the former chairman of the committee on standards in public life, dismissed her behaviour as 'sloppy'.

He said the public 'should not have to rely on The Independent to protect the public finances'.

The expenses watchdog said: 'MPs and their staff are not allowed to claim for penalty charges and fines under IPSA rules.' It said the rule was 'clearly stated' in its code of conduct for MPs and it has 'changed our process to ensure any future such claims are not paid'.

IPSA is bringing in a fresh crackdown on such claims in the wake of the revelation, writing to MPs and launching a review of past claims with enhanced checks brought in.

Ms Oppong-Asare's parking ticket claim in March was submitted as a 'staff travel' expense.

She claimed a 'distressed constituent' saw her overrun at a surgery and a member of staff then submitted the claim without her knowledge.

Tories have called on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to 'show some leadership' and sack Ms Oppong-Asare

Ms Oppong-Asare's parking ticket claim in March was submitted as a 'staff travel' expense

But Tory MP Henry Smith hit out at the claim. He said: 'Clearly a parking penalty notice is not a legitimate business expense by anyone's standard and especially not a shadow frontbench spokesperson.

'It seems like more Labour double standards; their attitude of impunity is appalling, Starmer should show leadership and sack the individual concerned.'

Sir Iain added: 'If you make such a claim on hardworking taxpayers, it tells you all you need to know about the way they will govern.' Labour earlier hit out when Tory MPs were found to have put through expenses for parking fines.

Frontbencher Thangam Debbonaire said at the time: 'Tory MPs flouting the rules damages public confidence in the system.' But the party refused to say if such comments applied to Ms Oppong-Asare.

A spokesman for the expenses watchdog said: 'IPSA's checks failed in this case to identify that the claim was not allowed. It has now been repaid.

'We have changed our process to ensure any future such claims are not paid.'
The grieving father of a nine-year-old boy who was tragically mauled to death by a dog, after being inflicted with 54 bite marks, is campaigning for an urgent change in the law on dangerous pets.

Frankie MacRitchie, from Plymouth, was left alone in a caravan with an American bulldog cross Staffordshire bull terrier while his mother Tawney Willis, went on a cocaine and drinking binge with friend Sadie Totterdell nearby.

The dog, which was known to have previously attacked three other people in Plymouth, between 2016 and 2018, attacked Frankie leaving him with devastating injuries to his head and neck that led to him bleeding to death.

Cornwall Coroner's Court heard the boy had been left alone in a caravan with the seven-stone dog named Winston for two-and-a-half hours, at the Tencreek Holiday Park in Looe, Cornwall, in April 2019.

Father Billy, 36, who has spoken for the first time since the heartbreaking death of his son, told the Mirror: 'There has to be change. I don't want to see another child die needlessly at the hands of careless adults and dangerous dogs.'

Father Billy, 36, is campaigning for an urgent change in the law on dangerous pets after losing his nine-year-old son Frankie to a dog attack in 2019

'I don't want another family living the nightmare my family and I live every day of our lives. Frankie didn't stand a chance.

'Our only hope is that his tragic death wasn't for nothing and it may help save other children.'

The dog, named Winston, which was known to have previously bitten another child, was seized by police and destroyed.

Andrew Cox, the senior coroner for Cornwall, had previously said: 'It does raise the question in my mind whether steps could have been taken earlier that may have avoided this tragic outcome.

'It is manifestly obvious now to us having heard all of the evidence and having learnt of the incidents in 2016 and 2018 that there was a risk of this dog attacking Frankie'.

'This is why I want to campaign for change. These children must not die for nothing. If that was the Prime Minister's child the laws would be different now.'

Dr Deborah Cook, a Home Office registered forensic pathologist, said Frankie had died from blood loss caused by multiple dog bites.

'The wounds have the characteristics of dog bites in a mauling type of attack,' she said. 'The concentration of the injuries over the head and the neck is in keeping with the recognised behaviour of dogs in attack.'

Frankie MacRitchie was left alone in a caravan with an American bulldog cross Staffordshire bull terrier while his mother Tawney Willis (pictured), went on a cocaine and drinking binge

Frankie had appeared to have suffered defensive bite wounds, so may well have attempted to fight off the attack, Dr Cook added.

Frankie had been born with a congenital heart condition and was prescribed warfarin for thinning his blood, but this was not a factor in his death.

'The injuries are so devastating and so extensive anyone, a child or adult, would have died from the blood loss,' Dr Cook said.

'Even if it occurred outside the front door of a large hospital, I doubt Frankie could have survived.'

Frankie bled to death after sustaining 54 injuries, with the most serious to his head and neck, during the attack in the early hours.

Grieving father Billy is now campaigning for an urgent change in the law on dangerous pets

Mum Tawney Willis later admitted a charge of child neglect and was jailed for two years. She has since been released from prison.

Totterdell was jailed for three years, describing leaving Frankie alone with the 'extremely powerful' dog as 'the height of folly'. She was also banned from keeping dogs for ten years.

In a statement read outside court in June 2020, Frankie MacRitchie's family described him as a 'special young boy' who had a heart condition and should not have been left alone.

'As Frankie's family, nothing will ever be enough, no sentence will ever be long enough,' his aunt Danielle MacRitchie said.

'Not today, not tomorrow, not ever will we as a family forgive them for leaving our boy in a caravan with a dog he hardly knew. Frankie was left alone to die in the most horrific way, beyond anyone's imagination.'

Totterdell was jailed for three years, describing leaving Frankie alone with the 'extremely powerful' dog as 'the height of folly'

Mr Cox said Ms Willis had made a 'serious error of judgment and a serious mistake' in leaving Frankie alone with the dog but her negligence was not sufficient to allow him to record a conclusion of unlawful killing.

Instead, he recorded a narrative conclusion and said he would be writing a preventing future deaths report to Devon and Cornwall Police.

He said: 'I want the police to check the systems they now have in place are sufficiently robust to ensure where that happens, if it is necessary, a dog is dealt with before this sort of incident can happen again.

'I want to be very clear, I am not saying that the police did not take the appropriate steps on this occasion.

'We know there were two incidents in 2016 but the events of 2018 were not brought to police attention.

'What it seems to me is important is that a robust system is in place so that if there are incidents like this in the future, we can be confident that those dogs that need to be are dealt with.'
A disused stairwell behind a Starbucks in West London has been put on the market for 20,000.

Located in trendy Twickenham, it is not clear what any potential buyer could do with the space, but some have suggested that it could be transformed into a vertical farm or office pods.

A virtual video tour shows the space littered with cardboard boxes, rusty bikes, dingy pieces of furniture, potted plants and piles of fire extinguishers.

Broken windows and stained walls can also be seen in some of the pictures posted on housing website Zoopla.

The property is being described by the auction house as a 'long leasehold stairwell with development potential subject to planning permission'.

Located in trendy Twickenham, it is not clear what any potential buyer could do with the space, but some have suggested that it could be transformed into a vertical farm or office pods

The stairs are not connected to the block of flats that it used to serve.

Average property prices in London have increased by 63 per cent in the last decade from 322,000 to 525,000.

And this bizarre stairwell is the latest wacky property to go on the market as the London housing crisis worsens.

One 'cosy' flat in West Kensington, costing 520 per month, had no toilet and came with a shower located directly under the bed.

And in Hendon a landlord was fined for making tenants crawl up the staircase to reach their room which was situated in the attic, for 420 per month.

The UK Government has announced plans to tackle the housing crisis by making it easier to turn empty shops and offices into homes.
Plans to dramatically increase nuclear energy provision are more a 'wish list' than a detailed government strategy, MPs have warned.

Nuclear energy provides 15 per cent of the UK's electricity needs, but that will fall substantially by 2028 when eight of the nine plants are scheduled to come to the end of their lives  with only Sizewell B in Suffolk continuing to run.

The Government's response was to set a target of 24 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear capacity by 2050, and ministers also hope to deploy a new nuclear reactor every year.

But the science, innovation and technology committee says these are more of a 'wish list' than the strategy that is required.

Greg Clark, the Conservative chairman of the committee, said 24GW would be almost double the highest level of nuclear generation the UK had managed previously.

Nuclear energy provides 15 per cent of the UK's electricity needs, but that will fall substantially by 2028 when eight of the nine plants are scheduled to come to the end of their lives  with only Sizewell B (pictured) in Suffolk continuing to run.

He added: 'The only way to achieve this is to translate these very high-level aspirations into a comprehensive, concrete and detailed nuclear strategic plan developed jointly with the nuclear industry, which enjoys long-term cross-party political commitment.

'Done right, the UK can be in the vanguard of delivering nuclear innovation, jobs and clean, affordable and reliable energy. But there is now an urgent need to turn hopes into actions.'

The 110-page report warns that private investors are unwilling to take on all the risk of huge nuclear plants.

That means the use of consumer and public money may have to be considered, and the committee urges: 'The choice to proceed with gigawatt-scale nuclear power should not be made without robust estimates of its value for money, including the financial value of the construction risk being assumed by taxpayers or bill-payers.'

This view was supported by campaigners against the Sizewell C nuclear power plant project in Suffolk.

The Stop Sizewell C group said it backed 'the committee calling for the Government to publish Sizewell C's cost and value for money, as doing so will expose just how unjustifiable this slow, risky, expensive project is'.

Greg Clark, the Conservative chairman of the committee, said there is 'now an urgent need to turn hopes into actions'

An arms-length organisation, Great British Nuclear (GBN), was announced last April to help new nuclear projects through to deployment.

But the report describes 'ambiguity' over what GBN's exact remit will be, 'beyond running a competition for firms to develop a small modular reactor'.

If the Government's 24GW target is to be met, the nuclear workforce of 65,000 will need to more than double, MPs also note.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: 'We have already made clear we will publish a nuclear roadmap and consult on alternative routes to market by the end of the year.'

Will Davis at the Institution of Engineering and Technology's nuclear committee said delivering nuclear plants 'requires detailed planning and commitments on which industry can depend'.
With the cost-of-living crisis likely to keep getting worse before it starts to improve, Australians are looking at creative ways to save some money where they can.

One enterprising family has managed to save a massive $18,200 a year by letting out a room in their three-bedroom rental on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

Brooke Byrnes, her partner and their daughters, aged seven and three, needed to save some money while building their own home, but faced regular rent hikes.

'The rent increase hasn't been as bad as for some, but it started out at $700 and now it's $850  last lease it jumped up $100,' the beauty business owner said.

So the young family decided to take on a roommate.

One enterprising family has managed to save a massive $18,200 a year by letting out a room in their three-bedroom rental on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Brooke Byrnes and her partner are pictured

With a young child, they weren't using the master bedroom anyway, so it was an easy decision to use that space.

They charge a flat fee of $350 a week, including bills, for the bedroom with ensuite that is on a different floor from their rooms.

'They've got their own lounge room down there, and we just share the kitchen and the laundry. So, yeah, it's like upstairs downstairs,' Ms Byrnes told Nine newspapers.

The housemate, who is a single professional woman has two shelves in the fridge and cupboard and pantry space.

The renter and the family don't even come across each other much, but there are no problems when they do, such as being in the kitchen at the same time.

Ms Byrnes said she's had to keep her children a bit quieter, 'but that's a small price to pay and (the housemate has) never complained'.

They charge a flat fee of $350 a week, including bills, for the bedroom with ensuite that is on a different floor from their rooms

It was important for the family to get the right person, given they were going to be sharing part of their living space.

They used flatmates.com.au and roommates.com.au and set out what they were looking for by age and other criteria.

Importantly, Ms Byrnes also ensured the new tenant was added to the lease.

'If you're renting your own house, you know, that's fine, but if you're in a rental situation, the owners need to know who's in the property, and it gives everyone that responsibility for the property.'

She said the real estate agent has been very helpful and vetted the new tenant.

Ms Byrnes and her partner were able to set the pricing given they are the principal tenants.
The devastated wife of a young electrician who died in a freak work accident has asked her late husband to 'watch over her' in a heartbreaking tribute.

Matthew Milner, 24, was found dead in the roof space of a property in Perth's northern suburbs, after he was electrocuted on the job.

The power at the home where the electrician died had not been switched off. It's understood Mr Milner had been installing power-points, 9News reports.

His wife Monique posted a photo of the couple embracing on the beach on Sunday, writing: 'Always and forever my boy... watch over me whilst I live out the life we were meant to live out together'.

'Our place, always and forever,' she captioned another photo of the ocean.

The couple had been married for just over a year before the freak accident, with Ms Milner describing the last year as the 'best of my life'.

The devastated wife of an electrician who died in a freak work accident has asked her late husband to 'watch over her' in a heartbreaking tribute (pictured, Matthew and Monique Milner)

Matthew's older brother, Jonathon Miller, said words couldn't describe the heartbreak his family was experiencing following his loss (pictured, the couple at their wedding in April 2022)

Dozens of heartbroken friends and family left messages of support in the comments.

'Mon, I'm so sorry. Absolutely shocked. He would light up every room he walked into. Sending you so much love,' one woman wrote.

Others posted their own tributes to social media.

Matthew's older brother, Jonathon Miller, said words couldn't describe the heartbreak his family was experiencing following his loss.

'You were the one brother of us four who made sure that everyone was constantly laughing, never worrying about anything and making sure we stayed together as brothers and family through whatever life had to offer,' he wrote.

'Matthew, I love you more than words can describe. It pains me to know your laughs, your jokes, our time together as four brothers and a family will now only be memories. It will never be the same without you.'

Ms Milner's father said the pain of losing his son-in-law was 'beyond belief'.

'I don't have the words to express how profoundly you changed our lives by making @mon_milner so happy. Family is everything and we will stay strong together to honour your memory,' he wrote.

Sarah, the owner of the home where Mr Milner died, praised the young tradie.

'Just by meeting Matthew, I could tell he was a good person and a hard-working young man,' she wrote.

The couple had been married for just over a year before the freak accident

Energy Safety Director Saj Abdoolakhan said it was 'always a tragedy' when a young worker lost their life in a workplace accident.

'The law requires any worker, whenever we go into a roof space, to switch off the power at the main source before we enter that space,' he said.

Mr Abdoolakhan urged homeowners to attach warning stickers to switchboards to remind tradies to turn off the power source before entering the roof space.

Western Australian premier Roger Cook said the incident would be investigated.

'It's dreadful, any death in the workplace is tragic and we want to ensure that any unavoidable death is accounted for and that we learn from those experiences,' he said.

Authorities are now investigating why the power wasn't turned off and if Mr Milner had been working for himself or for his employer when the incident occurred.
Shoppers told of their outrage after a new shop opened in a busy city shopping centre - selling vapes alongside sweets.

The vape industry has been under-fire for making its products attractive to youngsters, even calling them by names similar to popular sweets, despite the sale being banned to under-18s.

So parents were furious when Vape and Candi World opened on Wednesday in Wolverhampton, opposite another vaping shop called Steam and just yards from two other vape product outlets.

Shoppers at the Wulfrun Centre said they were concerned about the new business and its likely appeal to children.

Tyre fitter Noel Davies, 28, said 'I don't think vapes and sweets go together Loads of school kids come through here on their way from school so are going to try it on and buy a vape on an energy drink with sweets.'

Selling vapes alongside sweets, Vape and Candi World opened on Wednesday opposite another vaping store in the Wulfrun Centre, Wolverhampton

Emma Griffin, a 34-year-old mother-of-two, added: 'I would expect trading standards to look at the kind of message it sends out to children.

'However strict the owners are about not selling vapes to youngsters, it's still stupid to have a candy sign outside with brightly coloured sweets on the shelves.'

An assistant working in Steam said some parents had come into her shop to complain.

'A couple of mums have come in asking if I knew it was opening because they are disgusted sweets are being sold alongside vapes,' she said.

On Wednesday a committee of MPs called for heavier restrictions on the packaging and marketing of vapes to 'tackle and alarming trend' in the number of children using them.

The Health and Social Care Committee said the Government should consider bringing in plain packaging for e-cigarettes in line with other tobacco products.

It said it believes the messaging around vaping as a tool to help smokers quit can be maintained, but more should be done on education, enforcement and regulations to keep them out of the reach of children.

On one side of the shop are tempting sweets. The shop's owner said: 'The sweets are on one side of the shop and the vapes in the other'

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is also said to be 'upset' about the child-friendly flavouring and cartoon-style packaging used on some products and has reportedly told aides he is 'going to do something about it'.

Stuart Anderson, the Conservative MP for Wolverhampton South West whose constituency includes the Wulfrun shopping centre, said he was alarmed at the development.

'I don't think we should be doing anything that advertises vaping to children.

'Putting sweets and vapes together in the same business is certainly not a good idea and not something I would wish to see.'

City councillor Iqra Tahir, whose St Peter's ward includes the shopping centre, said she would consider raising the new shop at the next council meeting.

She said: 'This is not a good idea, especially when there are a lot of young children using vapes now because it is a trend and also, I suspect, to relieve boredom.'

Shop owner Manjinder Kaur said she would not be selling vape products to under-18s.

Mrs Kaur said: 'The sweets are on one side of the shop and the vapes in the other.

'We don't sell to kids and need to see photo ID to prove vape customers are over 18.

'If you close vape shops people will buy online and vapes are better for your health than cigarettes.'

But while the devices are less harmful than cigarettes, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has warned e-cigarettes 'are not a risk-free product and can be just as addictive, if not more so, than traditional cigarettes'.

Shop owner Manjinder Kaur said: 'We need to see photo ID to prove vape customers are over 18'

Steve Brine, chairman of the Health and Social Care Committee, said the vaping industry had not done enough to ensure its products 'don't appeal to children'.

He added: 'When you have brightly-coloured and branded vapes with flavours that name unicorns, sweets and popular fizzy drinks...it's disingenuous for the industry to claim otherwise.

'Ministers need to focus, across government, on the impact vaping is having in our schools, whether that be setting off smoke alarms in toilets or restricting access to them entirely for young people.'

The British Medical Association passed a motion in July calling for vapes to be sold in plain packaging.

In June, NHS figures revealed 40 children and young people were admitted to hospital in England last year for 'vaping-related disorders', up from 11 two years earlier.

The prime minister is said to be taking a close personal interest in a package of restrictions on advertising and flavours currently being drawn up.

Compulsory licensing for retailers selling vapes is also being considered for England, after Scotland introduced a registration scheme to aid the enforcement of rules preventing sales to under-18s.
An elderly man has died after falling from a three-storey building in a popular beachside suburb.

Emergency services were called to the complex in Mermaid Beach, on the Gold Coast, shortly after 6am on Monday.

Police had received reports of a critically injured man after he fell from a balcony.

Police are investigating the death of a man who fell from a balcony in Mermaid Beach on Monday morning. Pictured are officers at the scene

Paramedics were unable to revive the critically injured man aged in his 60s

The man aged in his 60s suffered significant head injuries and died at the scene, despite desperate efforts to save him.

Police remained at the scene and cordoned off the building as an investigation into the man's tragic death was launched.

It's currently not known which level the man fell from.

Police aren't treating the man's death as suspicious at this stage.

Anyone with information is urged to call CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.
Elon Musk has once again taunted critics wary of the new giant X illuminated atop the company's San Francisco headquarters - by publicly refusing city officials' supposed requests to relocate.

Referring to the site by its new, slow-to-catch-on new name, Musk aired the rejection in an impassioned tweet - or xeet - Sunday, in which he claimed he's been offered 'rich incentives' to move the office out of San Francisco.

In it, the flippant mogul also appeared to poke fun at the city's current crime-ridden state - doing so by citing the recent wave of store closures seen in the city's Downtown, where the office of the firm formerly known as Twitter today resides.

Mentioning the mass pilgrimage of retailers like Old Navy, AmazonGo, Saks Off Fifth, and Office Depot, Musk made it clear he does not plan to follow those firms' example - promising to not further 'forsake' San Francisco in a decidedly sarcastic post.

The apparent refusal comes less than two days after Musk - after rebranding Twitter to X - erected a massive, luminescent monument to the website's new name right on the Market Street-set building's roof.

X CEO Elon Musk has once again taunted critics wary of the new giant X illuminated atop the company's San Francisco headquarters - by publicly refusing city officials' supposed requests to relocate in a decidedly sarcastic tweet that poked fun at the city's crime woes

The apparent refusal comes less than two days after Musk - after rebranding Twitter to X - erected a massive, luminescent monument to the website's new name right on the Market Street-set building's roof, much to the chagrin of those living in the area

Mentioning the mass pilgrimage of retailers like Old Navy, AmazonGo, Saks Off Fifth, and Office Depot, Musk made it clear he does not plan to follow those firms out of the city Wednesday - promising to not further 'forsake' San Francisco

While work was underway, police showed up and the city has since issued a violation notice - but as of Sunday, the sign remains.

For this, Musk - appearing to relish in the mass of complaints that have surfaced on social media of those who live in the area - offered a vague explanation on Wednesday.

'Many have offered rich incentives for X [formerly known as Twitter] to move its HQ out of San Francisco,' Musk, 52, began the now viral post, which has since been viewed more than 50million times.

'Moreover, the city is in a doom spiral with one company after another left or leaving,' he added. 'Therefore, they expect X will move too.'

To that, Musk said: 'We will not.'

Calling attention the more than 95 stores to close down since the start of the COVID pandemic - and incoming closures for firms Nordstrom Rack, also on Market Street, and Banana Republic - Musk wrote: 'You only know who your real friends are when the chips are down.

'San Francisco, beautiful San Francisco, though others forsake you, we will always be your friend.'

Posted at 7:48pm, the post has already amassed some 200,000 likes, and a bevy of replies - most of which appeared to be positive.

'This is fire ngl,' one user wrote, seemingly relishing in Musk's decision to do battle with officials and unhappy residents in the Bay Area city, which for years now has been grappling with a historic homelessness crisis exacerbated by the pandemic.

Others posted memes at the dubious reputation the city has earned since - for factors such as its high cost of living and continuing crime rate, which has forced some stores like Target, also in the city's Downtown, to close before sundown to avoid mass theft.

The apparent rejection comes a week after Musk, 52, made waves when he announced he was rebranding Twitter effective immediately - changing the site's name to 'X' and the platform's iconic blue bird logo to the letter

Part of the change - the latest in a series of shake-ups to the platform since Musk purchased it for an astronomical $44billion late last year - saw the headquarters' seminal vertical Twitter sign dismantled and replaced with the blinding installation.

Residents are now reacting with disbelief to the pulsating, new sign - which city officials are now claiming could be a safety violation

An aerial view shows a newly constructed X sign on the roof of the headquarters of the social media platform previously known as Twitter

Feedback on the brand switch - as well as the office's replaced seminal sign - has been mixed

'This list of stores leaving (period) is growing like in no other city,' noted one user of the predicament pointed out by Musk, who last week made waves when he announced in a series of tweets that he is rebranding Twitter effective immediately - changing the site's name to 'X' and the platform's iconic blue bird logo.

Part of the change - the latest in a series of shake-ups to the platform since Musk purchased it for an astronomical $44billion late last year - saw the headquarters' seminal vertical Twitter sign dismantled and replaced with the blinding installation.

Since then officers with the LAPD reportedly showed up Friday while the sign work was underway, and the Department of Buildings Inspection issuing a violation notice for the installation of a 'possibly unsafe sign' without a permit.

As of Sunday, however, it remains unclear what exactly those safety concerns are - though it may be connected to the dazzling Batman-signal-esque beams of light it emanates after sundown.

'This is fire ngl,' one user wrote of Musk's decision to do battle with officials and unhappy residents in the Bay Area city, which for years now has been grappling with a historic homelessness crisis exacerbated by the pandemic

Others posted memes at the dubious reputation the city has earned since - for factors such as its high cost of living and continuing crime rate, which has forced some stores like Target, also in the city's Downtown, to close before sundown to avoid mass theft

Residents in the otherwise affluent area - which has been hit particularly hard by the city's ongoing crime and homeless woes - were airing their distaste as soon as Friday night, not even 24 hours after the sign was installed.

'Imagine this f**king X sign right across from your bedroom,' one person posted, whereas a local, from his apartment on the 27th floor of the Fox Plaza building across the street, called the illuminated sign's dazzlingly bright rays 'monstrous.'

Comments made to the San Francisco Standard by Jerry Royer, who is 78, described his view of the X sign, which lights up every night.

'It's blindingly white, right? And the sign flashes on and off, in all kinds of patterns like strobe lights. It's incredibly bad,' said Royer, who's lived there for 52 years.

'It's truly gigantic.'

One resident, a local journalist named Christopher Beale, posted video of the new sign with a realization of what this means for locals.

He was responding to a user who had seen the sign and said 'Imagine this f***ing X sign right across from your bedroom.'

'Imagine no more. This is my life now,' Beale posted to the social media giant on Saturday, with a full clip of the undulating X logo.

California residents are reacting with disbelief after Elon Musk's X has officially installed a massive, pulsating new sign on top of the company's headquarters in San Francisco

Imagine no more. This is my life now. https://t.co/k5QfAm8yuG pic.twitter.com/e7ECCM2NUD  Christopher J. Beale (@realchrisjbeale) July 29, 2023

Fellow San Franciscan Riley Walz said that he actually was a bit wistful for the old Twitter logo.

'You know, the sign is missing. So, a little sad. I guess it's a new beginning for X, so that's interesting,' Walz told NBC Bay Area.

On Sunday, for the third straight night, the X sign was illuminated - blasting brilliant white light into the windows of nearby buildings for hours on end.

Speaking to the Standard Sunday afternoon, Royer revealed that he and other residents have reached out to San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey's office hoping to get the sign taken down.

'You really don't realize how big it is until you see a human next to it,' said Royer.

City officials, meanwhile, say replacing letters or symbols on buildings, or erecting a sign on top of one - as was the case with the X sign's sudden installation - requires a permit for design and safety reasons.

Any replacement letters or symbols would require a permit to ensure 'consistency with the historic nature of the building', Patrick Hannan, spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection said earlier this week, and 'to make sure additions are safely attached to the sign.'

Complaints records available on the Department of Buildings Inspection website show that a complaint has been received, though no efforts have been made to remove the sign.

That said, apart from being repeatedly cited as an inconvenience, the sign - and Musk's subsequent refusal to remove it - has cast both figurative and actual lights on the city's embattled Downtown neighborhood.

Since the start of the pandemic - which for months left the Bay Area at the mercy of homeless-rife tent encampments and bands of career criminals - more than 95 retailers including Brooks Brothers, Ray Ban, Christian Louboutin, Lululemon and Marmot have packed up and left the city for greener pastures.

That's more than half of the area's entire retail demographic in total - an amount that will soon be bolstered by the already announced closures of Williams Sonoma, AT&T, Nordstrom, and Banana Republic in the coming months.

Meanwhile, remaining stores like Target have been reduced to locking up their entire stock behind glass to deter shoplifters

'Decisions like this are never easy, and this one has been especially difficult,' wrote Nordstrom in a statement announcing its decision to close this past May.

'But as many of you know, the dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past several years, impacting customer foot traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully.'

Westfield Mall was much more blunt in its statement to the Washington Post, pointing directly to rising crime running business out of town, which it referred to as 'unsafe conditions for customers, retailers, and employees.'

Meanwhile, out of 203 retailers open in 2019 in the city's Union Square area, just 107 are still operating, a drop of 47 percent in just a few pandemic-ravaged years

Among the heavy hitters, Brooks Brothers, Ray Ban, Christian Louboutin, Lululemon and Marmot have all packed it in

The Nordstrom Rack in downtown San Francisco which will be closing on July 1

Whole Foods previously closed a flagship store in downtown San Francisco

The Market Street Anthropologie (pictured) closed its doors permanently on May 13

Office Depot, located on Third Street (pictured) , also has closed

The mall said 'these significant issues are preventing an economic recovery of the area.'

Nordstrom joins the growing list of stores that have abandoned the the coastal city, including H&M, Marshall's, Gap, and Banana Republic, among others.

Despite official reports that San Francisco's crime rate is on the way down, one former prosecutor said this month that the city's liberal district attorney's decision not to prosecute many crimes skewed those numbers.

Gap was the first to announce its departure in August 2020, shortly followed by H&M and Marshall's. As the years went on, more stores slowly pulled out.

The Market Street Anthropologie, meanwhile, closed May 13. As a result, the brand no longer has a location in the city.

Office Depot, located on Third Street, was also recently shuttered, but the exact closing date is unknown. The brand has a bigger store on Geary Boulevard, which will not close.
It all started with a gift and grew into a 40-year passion which some cynics may call a teeny bit  well  potty.

Sue Blazye was given two teapots which set her on the collecting trail. Her family joined in, and they have since spent an astonishing 250,000 amassing 8,500 of them.

They are on display at Teapot Island, their cafe in Yalding, Kent, which has hosted royalty and twice made it into the book of Guinness World Records.

But, after 21 years of running the quirky venture, Mrs Blazye, 73, and husband Keith, 69, are retiring and the future is uncertain.

Their son Luke, 42, was overseeing the business but now needs to care for his children, aged 12 and ten, after his wife became ill.

Teapot Island with owners Sue and Keith Blayze, and Son Luke (pictured with some of the teapots)

President Bill Clinton figures feature among the ceramics that line the shelves of the shop in Kent

The novelty ceramics include the late Queen, politicians, Daleks, Betty Boop, Mr Blobby, animals, cars, food and a prized teepee-shaped design by artist Clarice Cliff

A Winston Churchill teapot features in the extensive collection which is now on sale

Del Boy's van and various other ceramic vehicles are among the ceramics. The novelty objects attract teapot-lovers from as far as Japan and New Zealand

Mrs Blazye wants to keep all the teapots together, saying: 'It's taken me too long [to build this] and I want everybody to be able to see them as a collection.'

The novelty ceramics include the late Queen, politicians, Daleks, Betty Boop, Mr Blobby, animals, cars, food and a prized teepee-shaped design by artist Clarice Cliff.

There are also more risque designs including a series inspired by the Kama Sutra.

Mrs Blazye's favourite is a depiction of Princess Diana entitled Pipe Dream made by Richard Parrington in 1981 to mark her wedding to Charles.

King Charles being shown a teapot of 20th Century Queens by Keith Blayze in 2014

Laurel and Hardy in ceramic form feature in Sue and Keith Blayze's museum in Kent

This one, however, was discreetly kept out of sight when Charles and his wife Camilla went to Teapot Island in 2014 while visiting Yalding after it was hit by floods.

The family is hoping an enthusiast, museum or country home will buy or lease the collection which attracts teapot-lovers from as far as Japan and New Zealand.

Separately, the cafe and a self-contained four-bedroom property with a swimming pool and views of the River Medway are going on sale for 950,000.
Australians are flocking to coastal Queensland to escape the big city even as bosses demand staff return to the office.

Those able to work from home or relocate overwhelmingly prefer a warmer climate by the beach with the Sunshine Coast the No.1 choice for those moving from capital cities, followed by the Gold Coast, the Regional Australia Institute has revealed.

Coastal areas a one-hour drive from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney are particularly appealing to those looking to escape the congestion and noise.

While fewer people are moving from a capital city compared with a year ago, more Australians are still opting for a sea change or tree change lifestyle than before the pandemic.

The number of Australians swapping the big city for the country is higher than the number leaving a regional area for a crowded urban centre.

Those able to work from home overwhelmingly prefer a warmer climate by the beach with the Sunshine Coast (Caloundra, pictured) the No.1 choice for those moving from capital cities, followed by the Gold Coast, the Regional Australia Institute has revealed

Of those moving from a major metropolis, 41 per cent went to regional Queensland in the year to June 2023, up from 33 per cent in the 2021-22 financial year.

Most popular sea change and tree change areas 1. SUNSHINE COAST 2. GOLD COAST 3. GREATER GEELONG 4. MOORABOOL 5. LAKE MACQUARIE Source: Regional Australia Institute, June 2023 data by local government area of those leaving a capital city Advertisement

By local government area, coastal Queensland had two of the top five places, when it came to new residents relocating from the big smoke.

This factored in those moving from a regional area to a capital city.

The Sunshine Coast, stretching from Caloundra to Maroochydore and Noosa, had by far the biggest share, at 13 per cent.

The Gold Coast, covering Coolangatta and Surfers Paradise, was next with 9.8 per cent share, being only a one-hour drive from Brisbane.

Greater Geelong was in third place, with a 5.6 per cent share, with this area taking in the Bellarine Peninsula only a one-hour drive from Melbourne.

The Moorabool council area, taking in Ballan between Ballarat and Melbourne, was fourth with a 5.3 per cent share.

Lake Macquarie, covering parts of the Central Coast and Newcastle north of Sydney, was fifth with a 4.9 per cent share.

Regional New South Wales was the relocation destination for 33 per cent of those leaving a capital city, compared with Victoria's 20 per cent.

The Commonwealth Bank, whose chief executive Matt Comyn, has been trying to get staff to return to the office two or three days a week, said the regional relocation was based on where the jobs were.

Paul Fowler, the Commonwealth Bank's general manager for regional and agribusiness banking, said jobs, lifestyle and more affordable housing were attracting more people.

'Mobility around the country continues to be supported by employment opportunities in the regions,' he said.

'Growth in local economies and opportunities in sectors such as wholesale trade, manufacturing, health and education will continue to entice people to regional areas

'We expect regional areas to continue to attract city movers as commercial businesses in core sectors and agribusinesses alike step up their push for workers.'

The Gold Coast, covering Coolangatta and Surfers Paradise, was next with 9.8 per cent share, being only a one-hour drive from Brisbane

Greater Geelong was in third place, with a 5.6 per cent share, with this area taking in the Bellarine Peninsula only a one-hour drive from Melbourne

When it came to overall internal migration within Australia, covering those moving from both a capital city and regional areas, the Fraser Coast taking in Hervey Bay was in fourth place with a 6.5 per cent share.

The Sunshine Coast was first with a 16.6 per cent share, followed by the Gold Coast on 9.4 per cent and Geelong on 8.3 per cent.

The Regional Australia Index data was based on data from the Commonwealth Bank's 16million customers.

The proportion of people moving from a capital city to a regional area fell to 11.1 per cent in June 2023, down from 12 per cent in June 2022.

By comparison, 9.6 per cent of people moved from a regional area to a capital city, up from 9.4 per cent.

But the proportion of people moving from a big city to a regional area is still 16.3 per cent above the levels of 2018 and 2019 before the Covid pandemic.
Our business was established in 1856 and has been independently run and family owned ever since. We have 127 F. Hinds stores across England and Wales, which will be a familiar sight to many of you in your local high street.

In the past, we have always offered tax-free shopping and there is no doubt that it has traditionally been a significant draw for foreign tourists coming to the UK.

Indeed, figures from Visit Britain show that shopping has long been one of the most popular reasons cited for visiting the UK. British business made 3.5 billion in tax-free sales to tourists every year. The scheme was a boon to big tourist hotspots like London, Manchester and Edinburgh, out-of-town shopping villages which attract visitors seeking bargains, and also ordinary high streets.

This is not just a narrow issue affecting a few luxury stores in London's West End, as ministers claim when challenged about their decision to scrap VAT rebates for tourists in 2021. In our experience, tourists travel all over the UK and spend across the economy. In places like Cambridge, tourists are the lifeblood of local businesses.

ANDREW HINDS: In the past, we have always offered tax-free shopping and there is no doubt that it has traditionally been a significant draw for foreign tourists coming to the UK

In other parts of the country, foreign visitors come to see friends and family  perhaps a child who is studying at a university in the UK  or to visit our famous tourist attractions. So, to a greater or a lesser extent, this issue is affecting every high street in the land. We have certainly noticed that tourist footfall has not returned to the degree we would have expected post-Covid, and official figures bear this out.

Of course, these tourists would not just spend in retail stores like ours. They contribute to the entire economy, frequenting restaurants, museums, galleries, theatres, hotels, public transport and so on.

At a time when we should be straining every sinew to boost economic growth, we have instead made ourselves the most expensive place to shop in Europe. Every single country in the EU still offers tax-free shopping, while we don't. It is clear this puts our economy at a significant disadvantage. It doesn't make any sense.

Ministers have asked for evidence of the harm being done. I am one of 350 business leaders who has signed an open letter to the Chancellor describing the tourist tax as a spectacular own goal. The fact that so many leading businesses have felt compelled to put their names to the campaign in this way is extremely telling.

ANDREW HINDS: Tourists contribute to the entire economy, frequenting restaurants, museums, galleries, theatres, hotels, public transport and so on

Businesses like mine don't generally like to get involved in political issues. We have done so because there is a very clear impact on the jewellery trade. People in all sectors are seeing the effect on their business, feel very strongly that end of tax-free shopping is turning into a disaster for our economy and want the Treasury to think again.

Today's economic analysis by the Centre for Economics and Business Research should give the Government pause for thought. The Government claims the scrapping of tax-free shopping saves the exchequer 2 billion a year. This is short-sighted, since the foreign visitors who come from the US, Middle East, China and elsewhere to shop in our famous shopping districts inject huge sums into the broader economy, on top of what they spend on retail purchases.

The new research concludes that when you take all that wider spending into account, reintroducing VAT rebates would boost the public finances by 2.3 billion a year. It would also support jobs and crucially, bring in an extra two million tourists a year to the UK.

As we struggle for economic growth, we can't afford to turn away these high-spending visitors. The evidence is now overwhelming that scrapping the tourist tax would boost the entire economy and the public finances too. So, a U-turn is inevitable; it's only a matter of timing. I would urge the Government to get on with it.
An army helicopter that crashed off the northern Queensland coast leaving four aircrew missing has a troubled history that is plagued by mechanical issues.

More than 800 military and emergency services personnel widened their search on Monday for the four missing from the MRH-90 Taipan that went down off Hamilton Island while taking part in a joint Australia-US military exercise on Friday.

Specialist navy divers have been called in to locate the helicopter cabin where the men may have been trapped.

Captain Daniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock, and Corporal Alexander Naggs, all from the 6th Aviation Richmond Unit based at the Holsworthy Army barracks in Sydney, are the four feared dead.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Monday there was no longer hope the men had survived the crash and that the search mission had turned into a recovery operation.

'There was a catastrophic incident and, with every passing hour, it is now clear that any hope of finding Captain Lyon, Lieutenant Nugent, Warrant Officer Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs has been lost,' Mr Marles said.

There are now questions whether the army's 47 MRH-90 Taipans will ever fly again with the fleet grounded until the cause of the latest crash is determined.

Troop Commander Captain Dan Lyon (pictured) is another of the MRH-90 Taipan crew missing

Hopes are fading for the four crew missing after an army helicopter crash during military exercises off Queensland on Friday (pictured debris from the craft found on Saturday)

It is the second time this year the fleet has been grounded following an accident after a Taipan went down off the NSW South Coast in March during a routine training exercise.

Witnesses reported a 'big flash, a big bang and a bit of fire on top of the chopper' before the aircraft hit the water.

Thankfully the 10 soldiers onboard were rescued and had only minor injuries.

Chief of the Australian Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart defended flying the helicopters saying the military had 'mitigated risks'.

'We don't fly if we don't think its safe,' he said while promising a thorough investigation into what caused Friday's crash.

'Speculation between now and them doing their work is really unhelpful, I am not going to speculate and I would ask others just to consider the families, the other aviators that are involved and lets let that team do its work,' he said.

'We will find out what those outcomes are in due course and the aim of being armed with that knowledge is to ensure that we understand what happened and we can prevent it happening it again.'

In 2019 the $3.8bn MRH-90 Taipan fleet was grounded because of dangerous tail vibrations and problems with auxiliary power units that made it difficult to shut down main engines.

Since 2019 the choppers have been grounded five times due to mechanical issues.

There are also design flaws with parliament being told in 2020 the door on the helicopter was too narrow for troops to fire from while the craft was landing.

These problems led then-defence minister Peter Dutton to decide in late 2021 the Taipans should be scrapped in December 2024, 13 years earlier than originally planned.

While the first of the $2.8billion 40 replacement Blackhawk helicopters is set to arrive in just days, permanently grounding the Taipans would leave Australia short of military helicopters until the full consignment arrives.

Australia's fleet of 47 MRH-90 Taipans (pictured) have been repeatedly grounded due to mechanical issues

Corporal Alex Naggs, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent and Warrant Officer Joseph Laycock (pictured left to right) are all still missing from Friday's crash

Lt Gen Stuart said on Sunday that the MRH-90 Taipans would be replaced as scheduled.

'The aim is still 2024, what happens between now and then from what we learn from this incident is yet to be determined,' Lt Gen Stuart said.

'We just need a bit of time, but today we are focused on bringing them home, on supporting their families and getting to the bottom (of what happened).

'Which I suspect is going to take some time, given the difficulties of the site.'

Queensland Liberal National MP Phillip Thompson, whose Herbert electorate takes in bases where the MRH-90s are operated, voiced his concerns over the safety of the craft.

'We don't know what caused this crash so it is hard to point the finger at the aircraft at this stage but I know that our people on board are very professional,' he said.

'We saw earlier this year that this helicopter, the MRH-90, crashed and the crew were all fortunate enough to survive. It is a good move to have these aircraft grounded for now.'

Last year Norway said it would return its MRH-90 helicopters to the European maker Airbus because they were too unreliable.

'Regrettably, we have reached the conclusion that no matter how many hours our technicians work, and how many parts we order, it will never make the NH90 capable of meeting the requirements of the Norwegian Armed Forces,' Norwegian Minister of Defence Bjorn Arild Gram said.

Friday's crash, which occurred while the troops were taking part in the huge Exercise Talisman Sabre military training activity involving 30,000 military personnel, looks set to be Australia's worst military tragedy in 18 years

Queensland Liberal National MP Phillip Thompson, whose Herbert electorate takes in bases where the MRH-90s are operated, voiced his concerns over the safety of the craft

However, New Zealand's air force has operated eight MRH-90 helicopters since 2015 without a major incident.

The MRH-90 Taipan aircraft is one of the 'most advanced tactical troop transport helicopters of the 21st century', according to the Australian Army.

It has a top speed of 300km per hour with the 'highest crashworthy standards'.

Designed by European company Airbus, the MRH-90 Taipans were purchased in 2007 to replace the army's Black Hawks and the navy's Sea Kings.

They have two pilots and two helicopter loadmasters with room for up to 18 passengers and are used for search and rescue mission or carrying troops into battle or behind enemy lines.

Friday's crash, which occurred while the troops were taking part in the huge Exercise Talisman Sabre military training activity involving 30,000 military personnel, looks set to be Australia's worst military tragedy in 18 years.

Nine ADF personnel died when their Sea King helicopter crashed in Indonesia while on a humanitarian mission in the wake of a major earthquake in 2005.

Debris consistent with a helicopter part was found near the crash site on Saturday, with reports the fuselage was among the fragments pulled from the water.

An exclusion zone remains in place in waters south of Hamilton Island and incorporates waters from the southern tip of Long Island, east to Perseverance Island, south to Cole Island, and west to the mainland at Round Head.

Anyone who finds debris are being urged not to touch or handle it and to call police immediately.

Mr Marles said there was no hope the men onboard the aircraft had survived the crash.

'As such the nature of the activities which are being undertaken in the Whitsundays have transferred from being ones of search and rescue to an activity of recovery,' he said on Monday.

'The families of the four aircrew were notified of this this morning.'

'We are all obviously left wondering what happened. Foremost in our minds in this moment must be the families of these four men and their teammates. And with them in mind, idle speculation is obviously harmful.

'But there will be a full investigation and we will come to understand exactly what happened and learn the lessons from it.

'But what we do know is that defence exercises are serious. They carry risk, and as such, they are dangerous, but they are so important.'
A Pennsylvania man is fighting for his life in hospital after being attacked by a homeless man inside his hotel while on his honeymoon.

Larry Gilmore and his new wife Shalawrae were married on July 23 and traveled to Pittsburgh for their honeymoon.

The day after the wedding, Gilmore was waiting for the elevator in the lobby of the Even Hotel when he was allegedly attacked from behind by a homeless man, Heiko Calhoun.

Calhoun, 26, is seen on video approaching Gilmore, putting him in a chokehold and dragging him to the floor, repeatedly banging his head off the ground.

Local media reported that Calhoun had violated his parole. His previous offenses were not specified.

Larry Gilmore with his wife Shalawrae at their wedding before he was brutally attacked on his honeymoon in Pittsburgh

Larry Gilmore with his wife Shalawrae

While Gilmore was lying motionless, Calhoun, originally from New Jersey, returned several times to kick and stomp on his face and back, according to the criminal complaint.

He then stole from Gilmore's pockets and his pants.

'I walked over to see what was going on and I found him in a puddle of blood,' said six-month-pregnant Shalawrae, a mother of three, whose fourth child is due in December.

Gilmore was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital, where he remains in critical condition with a head injury.

'Right now, he's still in critical but stable condition. He's intubated still and we're hoping he can pull through,' she said.

Shalawrae, a care home assistant from the Pittsburgh suburb of McKeesport, wrote on a GoFundMe: 'He is currently fighting for his life in the ICU with extensive trauma to his body.'

Calhoun was arrested shortly after the attack, and told police that Gilmore had said something to him before the incident.

Heiko Calhoun, 26, was arrested shortly after the attack and has been charged with attempted murder

Shalawrae and Larry Gilmore are pictured shortly before their wedding

Shalawrae and Larry Gilmore, from McKeesport, Pennsylvania, are pictured on their wedding day, on July 23

The couple are parents to three children, and Shalawrae is six months pregnant with their fourth

A tearful Shalawrae Gilmore told CBS News she had been unable to sleep since the attack

Relatives of the Gilmores are seen protesting outside the Even Hotel, demanding it close pending a safety review

He is being held in Allegheny County jail on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, robbery and recklessly endangering another person.

The Gilmore family have been protesting outside the Even Hotel, demanding it close for a security evaluation.

The hotel, where midweek rooms cost around $80, charges $400 at weekends.

'We want it shut down until they can ensure their customer safety because my husband is right now fighting for his life,' she told CBS News.

'I haven't ate, I haven't slept.

'This is taking a hard toll on me.'

The hotel said the ground-level doors are locked from 8pm to 8am each day, and are only accessible by guest key.

'Our thoughts are with this guest and their family during this difficult time,' the hotel said in a statement.

'We appreciate the swift actions by our hotel staff, the Pittsburgh police department and local EMTs who rendered aid to our guest. We will continue to cooperate with local authorities in their investigation, and any additional questions on this matter can be directed to the Pittsburgh police department.'
Footage has captured the heated moment Hong Kong and Uyghur activists clashed with members of a Chinese student union at a university lecture hall.

Footage of the altercation shows members of Chinese Students and Scholars Association arguing with pro-Hong Kong and Uyghur students at the University of Queensland.

Drew Pavlou, a prominent critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was among those arguing against the students of the Chinese student union.

Mr Pavlou asked one student if he supported genocide and the killing of Hongkongers to which the student replied: 'So what?'

Tensions have flared between Chinese and Hong Kong students who clashed at the back of a lecture hall at the University of Queensland (pictured)

The footage was posted to Reddit where it has been upvoted more than 11,000 times and posted to numerous other anti-CCP forums.

Conflict between Hong Kong residents and CCP supporters reached fever pitch after protests exploded on the streets of Hong Kong in 2019.

The demonstration came as residents protested against a new bill that would allow Hong Kong residents to be extradited to China.

Hundreds of thousands attended the protests, with many believing it would be the first step to eroding the 'one country, two systems principal'.

The principal has been in place since 1997 after the British handed over Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China, on the condition that Hong Kong would be able to operate as its own country.

The other group of protestors at the university conflict, the Uyghurs, are an Islamic Turkic ethnic group from the Xinjiang province in northwest China.

Uyghurs have been the target of numerous human rights violations by the CCP since 2014 with residents thrown into camps in China.

Political indoctrination, suppression of religion and forced labor, sterilisations, contraception and abortions are among the atrocities.

An estimated 16,000 mosques have been destroyed since 2017, while hundreds of thousands of children are believed to have been removed from their families and sent to boarding school.

Student activist, Drew Pavlou (pictured) was a part of the altercation, telling a pro-CCP student that he stood for genocide and the killing of Hong Kong residents

The video of the altercation at the university starts with Mr Pavlou bluntly asking a man if he supports the Chinese government.

'You support killing Uyghurs, Tibetans and Hongkongers,' Mr Pavlou said.

'I have my freedom, I have me freedom of speech,' the man replied.

After Mr Pavlou called the man a 'brainwashed slave', he asked if a pin on his shirt was one of support for the CCP.

'Yes (it is), I'm proud of it, I'm proud of being Chinese,' the man responded.

'Shame on you... you've tortured innocent people,' Mr Pavlou responded.

'Okay, I'm proud of it, I take the shame,' the man said before the video cuts off when another student pulls the man away from Mr Pavlou.

The video garnered over 1,300 comments, with many criticising the CCP supporter for his views and blase attitude.

'What the actual f**k bro, either he doesnt understand the words he is saying or thats really just f**ked up,' one user wrote.

'Thats the problem with a lot of these mainlander Chinese students, their government has brainwashed them to believe the party is inseparable from the Chinese identity,' a second wrote.

Unlike similar clashes between the two groups in 2019, footage of the incident doesn't show any punches being thrown

'While in a completely different country. Classic,' a third wrote.

This isn't the only time student groups have clashed on the university's campus, with demonstrations supporting Hong Kong becoming violent in 2019.

Chinese student's in support of Hong Kong gathered in the university's Great Court only to be interrupted by pro-CCP students who chanted 'China is great' and loudly played nationalistic songs.

A four-hour standoff ensued between the two groups, with tensions boiling over when punches were thrown at one man who was then pushed to the ground.

Mr Pavlou has gained attention for his protests against the Chinese Communist Party with his activism taking him around the world including London.

His presence at the rally in Queensland marks his latest appearance at the university after he took part in the 2019 Hong Kong protests.

Daily Mail Australia contacted the University of Queensland and Drew Pavlou for comment.
Disgraced MP Margaret Ferrier will learn her fate tomorrow as a petition giving her constituents the chance to kick her out finally closes today.

The former Nationalist MP pleaded guilty in court to 'exposing the public 'to the risk of infection, illness and death' while travelling hundreds of miles across the country while infected with Covid.

She boarded a Glasgow to London train while suffering from symptoms of the virus in order to speak in a House of Commons debate  despite the rules in September 2020 requiring her to self-isolate.

Despite testing positive soon afterwards, she then travelled back by train alongside other commuters, and only came clean several days later.

Ms Ferrier, who was kicked out of the SNP for her reckless behaviour, was later banished from the Commons for 30 days for her flagrant and criminal behaviour.

Former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier pleaded guilty to exposing the public to 'the risk of infection, illness and death' after travelling from Glasgow to London with Covid-19

The punishment triggered Scotland's first ever recall petition and if a tenth of her Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituents sign it she will be ousted as an MP.

The petition closes at 5pm today, with South Lanarkshire Council due to announce the result tomorrow.

If the threshold of voters required is met, Ms Ferrier will automatically be removed from office.

She could then contest a subsequent by-election, in the seat she won with a 5,230 majority for the SNP at the 2019 general election.

Both the Nationalists and Scottish Labour have selected candidates for a prospective by-election, in what would be the first real electoral test for new SNP leader Humza Yousaf.

Labour has launched an intensive campaign to try and trigger an election, as they hope to overturn the SNP majority amid the turmoil engulfing the Nationalists.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: 'The people of Rutherglen and Hamilton West have been failed for too long  let down by two incompetent governments and left voiceless in Parliament by a rule-breaking MP.

'This recall petition is a chance for people in the area to demand better and I urge all eligible voters to make sure their voices are heard by signing the petition.

'Scottish Labour's candidate Michael Shanks is ready to hit the ground running and be the champion his local area deserves.'

If the threshold of voters required is met, Margaret Ferrier (pictured) will automatically be removed from office

Despite a sizeable majority, the SNP are forecast to face an uphill challenge to retain the seat, with plummeting poll numbers sparked by Nicola Sturgeon's resignation in March, the bitter leadership contest that followed and the police probe into party finances.

The SNP's candidate Katy Loudon said: 'With a Westminster-made cost-of-living crisis continuing to hammer households across Scotland, the people of Rutherglen and Hamilton West deserve an MP who will do everything they can to help them through these tough times.'

She added: 'Only the SNP are offering voters a real alternative through independence  which would rid Scotland of Westminster control for good, and allow us to build a fairer, more prosperous country for all.'

There are seven locations throughout Rutherglen and Hamilton West for voters to demand Ms Ferrier's removal.

Around 8,000 signatures are required to trigger a by-election.

If Ms Ferrier had quit as an MP on the day she admitted her rule breaking, taxpayers would have been saved from paying her salary and expenses of almost 600,000.

In the 977 days between her breach coming to light and her Commons suspension, the former SNP MP has been paid a total of 222,555 in salary alone.

And since April 2020, Ferrier has also racked up 339,044.90 in expenses for her accommodation in London, travel to and from Westminster and her office and staffing costs.
A Nationalist MSP has apologised after he 'liked' a 'nakedly racist' social media post attacking Home Secretary Suella Braverman, claiming it was a mistake.

David Torrance endorsed the crudely-edited Twitter post depicting Ms Braverman with a white face.

The post was condemned as 'race- baiting trash' by opponents.

Posted by an account named 'Emma Atkins', it also contained a plea that they would 'follow anyone back who detests this woman'  echoing comments by former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon that she 'detests the Tories'.

When confronted, Mr Torrance insisted he had made an innocent mistake.

Nationalist MSP David Torrance has apologised after he 'liked' a 'nakedly racist' social media

But Scottish Conservative MSP Pam Gosal, whose family  like Ms Braverman is of Asian descent  deplored his response to the 'wretched post'.

Ms Gosal said: 'David Torrance and the SNP should apologise for apparently endorsing this wretched post. It's nakedly racist. What sort of message does this send out to women from BAME backgrounds who are thinking about getting into politics?

'There is nothing healthy about this race-baiting trash.'

The crudely-edited Twitter post attacked Home Secretary Suella Braverman and was condemned as 'race- baiting trash' by some

Challenged about the 'like', Mr Torrance said: 'This tweet was liked accidentally and has since been unliked.

'I apologise unreservedly for any offence this may have caused.'

Mr Torrance is the latest in a long line of SNP figures exposed over dubious content on Twitter, now rebranded 'X'.

In March, MP John Nicholson was accused of a racial slur after saying politicians tend to 'tandoori themselves' when they do their own TV studio makeup.

SNP advisor Dr Tim Rideout and comedienne Jane Godley, who supports the party, have also faced criticism for unacceptable tweets.
A once thriving coal mining town could be wiped off the map with 300 homes set to be bulldozed in the middle of a national housing crisis.

The central Queensland town of Glenden, 110km southwest of Mackay, is set to be destroyed under a contractual obligation of Swiss multinational Glencore as it winds up mining operations that have existed for 40 years.

Originally built in 1982 to house workers and their families from the Newlands Coal Mine, Glenden was once a bustling town, boasting over 1,300 residents in 2011.

However, over time, the population has dramatically declined to less than 500, resulting in hundreds of vacant homes as Glencore phases out the Newland mining operations.

QCoal has begun constructing the Byerwen mine, which is located 20km away. However, the company intends to house its fly-in fly-out workforce on-site. This means they won't require the houses at Glenden for its workforce.

The futures of 455 residents who call the town home is now in limbo as they fight to save their community from demolition.

The central Queensland coal mining town of Glenden could be demolished 40 years after it was built

Issac Council is leading the fight to save the town and has attracted support statewide.

'This should be a straightforward transition in a mining town from one company to another,' Mayor Anne Baker said.

'Infrastructure is there for QCoal's taking.'

Cr Baker said: 'We are in the middle of a housing crisis.'

'It is a reckless preliminary decision. I am just gobsmacked and lost for words. '

Cr Baker will continue lobbying resources minister Scott Stewart to give Glenden a lifeline.

The minister told the Courier Mail he's yet to make a final decision.

Lifelong resident Milissa Phillips-Payne owned the local general store for nearly a decade but was forced to close its doors late last year.

Her baby daughter's grave is at the local cemetery.

Several hundred homes in Glenden are now vacant as as mining giant Glencore winds up its Newland coal mining operations.

Now home to less 500 residents, Glenden (map pictured) is now fighting for survival

'I've grown up here, I have raised my family here, I have done everything here in this town,' Ms Phillips-Payne told The Australian.

'It can be an amazing place to raise a family  a safe environment and all the bonuses that come along with living in a small community.'

Mother-of-two Felicity Niethe is another long-time resident.

'If something happens to Glenden, what's going to happen to us?' she said.

'My husband runs a business here, I run the post office, and if we don't have people here, we don't have a business here. So, what's next? It breaks my heart that they are not bringing people to our town.'

Most of the homes in the town are still owned by Glencore, which is open to handing over ownership to QCoal.

'Glencore indicated that we were happy to consider alternative proposals for the Glenden community services which were consistent with meeting and funding our statutory obligations,' a spokesperson said.

'We are of the view that Glenden requires an 'anchor tenant' who is willing to support the town. Glencore would welcome an agreement between QCoal and the Queensland Government which would see the community of Glenden continue.'

Byerwen Mine will create 500 jobs and produce up to 10 million tonnes once fully operational, according to QCoal.

The mining community is begging QCoal to help save the town and not build a 430-bed camp onsite at its mine 20km away

Neighbouring communities and towns across Queensland have rallied behind the fight to save Glenden
Plans to plant 500 acres in Aberdeenshire could damage the site of a Pictish fort

The site of an imposing Pictish hillfort is at the centre of a modern day battle between archaeologists and those behind a 'carbon-offsetting' woodland scheme.

Experts say they have only just scratched the surface in studying the area of 'international significance' in Aberdeenshire.

They fear future discoveries will be compromised under a Scottish Government plan to cover 21 per cent of the country in woodland within the next decade.

Treeline Forestry Limited, on behalf of landowner Taylors Industrial Services, wants to plant trees on 500 acres of farmland at Mains of Rhynie, which sits within an area that was an elite Pictish centre from the 4th to 6th centuries.

Archaeologist Professor Gordon Noble, of Aberdeen University, branded it 'akin to suggesting similar afforestation schemes next to Stonehenge or the Ring of Brodgar'.

Plans to plant 500 acres on farmland at Mains of Rhynie could hinder efforts to study the Tap o'Noth Pictish hillort, archaeologists said

He added: 'I can think of no landscape quite like Rhynie in terms of illuminating early medieval northern Britain  a pivotal period in the formation of Scotland today.'

Archaeologists said in 2020 that they believed 4,000 people may have lived in more than 800 huts at the Tap o' Noth hillfort 1,847ft above sea level.

In his objection to the forest scheme, Professor Noble said planting was 'highly likely to significantly damage archaeological features'.

He wrote: 'Once planted, the root depth of all major species suggests that any buried archaeology would be significantly compromised.'

Archaeologists have been carrying out extensive excavations in the area since 2011 and Professor Noble said there was evidence of an extensive Pictish cemetery on the edge of the village that extended into the Mains of Rhynie fields.

Archaeologists believe a Pictish cemetry may have extended into the fields in Mains of Rhynie that lie around the site of the Tap o'Noth hillfort

A spokesman for Treeline Forestry Limited yesterday said it would be inappropriate to comment as the plans were now being considered by Forestry Scotland.

The application has caused anger in the local community.

Mains of Rhynie action group campaigner Kate Beverly said: 'Presented as a multi-functional 'woodland creation' to help meet net zero targets through carbon sequestration, this proposal is, in reality, an exploitative business venture, aggressive in its scope and scale and insensitive to community, wildlife and archaeology.'

A Scottish Forestry spokesman said: 'At this stage we have taken no decision or expressed a view.'
Plans to hit motorists with punitive fines for parking on the pavement are 'disproportionate and inflexible', ministers have been warned.

Under plans drawn up by Holyrood, vehicles will be banned from parking on pavements and beside dropped kerbs, as well as double parking, and transgressors will be fined 100 by local authorities.

Motoring organisation AA has hit out at the proposals, saying it was 'disappointed' there was no requirement for warning notices for first-time offenders.

It also said many parking infractions did not justify drivers losing the loss of a day's wage.

Graham Simpson, Scottish Conservative transport spokesman, said the proposals followed the 'SNP-Green programme of imposing disproportionate and inflexible costs on motorists'.

Under plans drawn up by Holyrood, vehicles will be banned from parking on pavements and beside dropped kerbs, and transgressors will be fined 100 by local authorities (stock image)

He added: 'It's clear that many of the cases the AA highlights should be exceptions, and that it is completely over the top to impose fines of more than a day's wages for relatively minor breaches.

'The SNP should distance themselves from their extremist anti-car partners and at last start to tackle the disgraceful state of roads and pavement that has dramatically worsened on their watch.'

It is the latest front in the war on the motorist, which has recently seen the SNP-run Glasgow City Council impose a Low Emissions Zone in its city centre.

It means cars, vans, buses and lorries can be slapped with fines of 60 if they fall foul of strict environmental rules.

Meanwhile, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen are preparing to increase parking fines by almost 70 per cent to 100 in an effort to plug gaps in their funding.

Supporters of the pavement parking law have argued it is needed to protect people who are forced onto roads by cars that obstruct pathways, but its critics have said it would prove almost impossible for those who struggle to park their car in congested residential areas.

The law banning pavement parking was backed by MSPs in 2019, and government agency Transport Scotland has held a consultation into the rules whose introduction had been delayed.

In reply to the consultation, which closed on Friday, the AA said there were 'certain types of pavement parking that deserve the full weight of punishment, such as parking on street corners and obstructing lines of sight', but it was 'disappointed' that, in the context of 'inconsiderate and obstructive parking', there is not a requirement for warning notices for first-time offences.

It said not all offences deserved a 100 fine being imposed on drivers, and the level set needed to be considered within the Living Wage of 10.42 an hour, which sees many bring in 83.36 a day.

It is the latest front in the war on the motorist, which has recently seen the SNP-run Glasgow City Council impose a Low Emissions Zone in its city centre

The organisation said: 'The AA does not believe that some of the offences that may incur a fine, such as a wheel on the kerb when parking is tight, justify the loss of a day's wages for many, even with the penalty being halved within 14 days.

'The size of the fine must reflect the gravity of the offence.'

The motoring group called for warnings to be issued for first-time lesser offences, a 100 fine for road safety offences and blatantly selfish obstruction of traffic and access to property, and a lower 50 fine for offences which Traffic Scotland deems inconsiderate.

Tradesmen have also raised concerns about the scheme and what it could mean for their business.

The AA urged transport bosses to implement exemptions and discretion for certain types of parking that do not appear to be covered in the 2019 law, such as for home repair and maintenance services and removals lasting longer than the 20 minutes allowed in the act.

'Discretion with the threat of fining may have advantages in some circumstances,' the AA said.

'Simply fining a transgression without discretion won't necessarily solve the problem at the time  once issued with a penalty charge notice, some recipients may carry on causing an obstruction longer than in a managed situation.'

A Transport Scotland spokesman said: 'The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 has been approved by parliament and we are currently working on the necessary legislation which will allow this to be enforced by all local authorities.'
David Van has returned to the senate seven weeks after Lidia Thorpe sensationally accused him of sexual harassment.

The embattled senator took his new seat on the crossbench - just a stone's throw from Senator Thorpe's own seat - at 11am on Monday.

He joined in for the morning prayer and made a swift exit immediately afterwards. Ms Thorpe was not in the chamber at the time.

His appearance marks the first time Mr Van has been seen on the crossbench, after taking personal leave in the week that followed the bombshell allegations and his expulsion from the Liberal party.

Ms Thorpe alleged on June 14 that Mr Van was a 'perpetrator' as he delivered a speech on the handling of Brittany Higgins' allegations of assault.

David Van has returned to the senate seven weeks after Lidia Thorpe sensationally accused him of sexual harassment

The embattled senator took his new seat on the crossbench - just a stone's throw from Senator Thorpe's own seat - at 11am on Monday

She later withdrew the remarks, only to offer further detail the next day.

Two other women, including former senator Amanda Stoker, had privately made allegations of misconduct to Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton, prompting him to expel Mr Van from the party room.

Mr Van's period of personal leave was followed by the five-week parliamentary recess over the winter, meaning Monday marks his first day in the Senate since the allegations were made public.

It is unclear if both Mr Van and Ms Thorpe will be in the chamber simultaneously today.

The crossbench is comprised of independent politicians from former Greens member Lidia Thorpe and David Pocock to Pauline Hanson's One Nation party - Ms Hanson and Malcolm Roberts - as well as Jacqui Lambie, her colleague Tammy Tyrrell and United Australia's Ralph Babet.

He joined in for the morning prayer and made a swift exit immediately afterwards

Pictured: Senator Van leaving the chamber immediately after the morning prayer

Mr Van has been assigned a seat as far away from Ms Thorpe as possible, given the small section of the chamber available to the crossbench.

It is understood officials discussed the seating arrangements with all relevant parties.

The under-fire senator sensationally quit the Liberal party after Mr Dutton expelled him from the party room, expressing dissatisfaction at the internal handling of Ms Thorpe's allegations.

Mr Van said he quit the party 'effective immediately' following a 'disregard for due process and natural justice in relation to allegations made against me'.

In a letter addressed to Greg Mirabella, the president of the Victorian division of the Liberal Party, the senator reiterated that he denied the allegations.

Mr Van (pictured with his wife) issued a statement claiming his 'good reputation' had been 'wantonly savaged without due process or accountability'

'I cannot remain a member of a party that tramples upon the very premise of which our justice system is predicated,' Mr Van said on the Saturday following the airing of the allegations.

'This is a travesty of justice and I reiterate that I deny the accusations made against me.

'I resign also acknowledging the cruel irony of doing so amidst public discourse about the weaponisation of allegations and the role of the rule of law which has at its centre the presumption of innocence.'

The senator said he was 'deeply distressed and hurt' that he had not been afforded procedural fairness in relation to these claims.

'I will continue to fight for what I thought were the Party's values - just not under its banner.'

Peter Dutton expelled Senator David Van from the Liberal party room after three women came forward with allegations against him
University of Leeds lecturers have come under fire after urging students and staff against using 'he' to mean people in general in a new trans awareness guide.

Lecturers published the 12-page pamphlet with the title From Trans Awareness to Trans Advocacy in a bid to advise people on how to approach pronouns, transitioning and flagging transphobic behaviour.

In a section on how to 'think about gendered language', it says using 'he' pronouns when referencing characters in historic English writing, which has been a standard feature in classic and religious works, should be challenged in lectures.

The booklet, which has been obtained by The Daily Telegraph, states: 'Some published texts, particularly older sources, might use 'he/him' to refer to people in general.

'It's not always possible to use inclusive texts, but you can raise a discussion about the use of gendered language with your group and make it clear that this is not regarded as acceptable or current practice.'

Lecturers at the University of Leeds (pictured) have published a 12-page pamphlet with the title From Trans Awareness to Trans Advocacy

It comes after it emerged at least seven UK universities are offering separate accommodation for gay and trans students starting courses in September.

Sheffield, Cardiff, Bristol, Bath, Southampton, Southampton Solent and Essex universities said they have introduced the measure to keep LGBTQ+ students safe from 'homophobia, biphobia and transphobia' by straight flatmates.

But critics likened the move to social segregation and said it was 'patronising' to think that homosexual students wanted their own halls.

Now, a leaflet going around the University of Leeds has sparked a backlash from those within the Russell Group university who claim bosses are giving into 'gender identity ideology' by publishing 'some seriously bonkers' advice, while ignoring concerns at the same time.

The guide reportedly uses the term 'cisgender' on multiple occasions in reference to people who 'continue to identify with the sex assigned at birth', but it insists it is 'not a slur' - something gender-critical campaigners have claimed.

'Allies can play a solidarity role in trans justice, but it's important that allies recognise the power and privilege they have as cis people,' the guide continues.

Another part of the publication describes how 'gender euphoria' is 'the joy and pleasure of being recognised and affirmed in one's own identity'.

Staff and students have also been urged to start 'using your pro-nouns in email signatures, and putting your pronouns next to your name during video calls' to 'contribute to a safer space for trans people'.

The pamphlet, which has links to the website of trans charity Mermaids, says it is 'courteous and respectful to interrupt' conversations on campus and say 'excuse me [person being misgendered] uses '[insert correct terms]' pro-nouns' if they hear someone using the incorrect pronouns.

Insiders at the University of Leeds claim bosses are giving into 'gender identity ideology' by publishing 'some seriously bonkers' advice, while ignoring concerns at the same time. (File image)

Leading historian Professor Jeremy Black, previously of the University of Exeter, told The Telegraph that the pronoun 'he' had been used throughout 'most of history  most works would use that without any suggestion of it being pejorative about women'.

It comes after the Government last week delayed its own deadline to provide schools in England with guidance on gender issues.

Schools are facing challenges such as when children want to change their name, use different pronouns and wear different clothes in a process known as social transitioning.

A University of Leeds spokesman said: '[It]is committed to promoting and positively encouraging free debate and a wide range of views.

'We strive to maintain an environment of freedom of expression and where individuals are able to challenge ideas and beliefs within a culture of tolerance, dignity and respect for everybody.'
The organisation is not a charity, despite some of its employees claiming it is

An anti-knife crime organisation has been sanctioned after complaints about its members intimidating children into handing over money and pressuring others by blocking their pathway were raised.

Inside Success, a social enterprise whose employees are aged between 16 and 25, had 15 complaints in two years about the tactics used to sell its magazine to the public - which cost 5.

Sellers were also found to use intimidating tactics such as blocking the pathway for people until they paid up the money they asked for, and even went as far as following them if they got away.

It's young employees allegedly claimed the organisation is a charity, when it is not, which means that they are not allowed to ask for donations.

The organisation describes itself as a 'social enterprise that supports young people with jobs, training and education'. Rules surround social enterprises mean groups are not allowed to solicit donations.

Sellers were also found to use intimidating tactics such as blocking the pathway for people until they paid up the money they asked for

The Fundraising Regulator claimed employees at Inside Success often surrounded members of the public and forced them to make donations.

Complaints were also made from parents who said their children had been intimidated into handing over money, it's been reported.

Household names such as Tom Daley and rapper Dizzee Rascal, as well as Conservative MP Steve Baker, have been pictured with the sellers on the non-charitable organisation social media channels.

The magazine was started in 2019 by Darren Olawale and David Sonowo, who studied together at the University of Bedfordshire - the pair were fined 2,500 for street trading without a licence.

Last year, Inside Success made 3.5 million and paid out 2.4 million in 'administrative expenses', thought to be commission for its magazine sellers.

Complaints against Inside Success have also come from within, as sellers have posted video on social media claiming that they are not paid until they hit a target of about 40 each day.

The Fundraising Regulator told The Times: 'In most of the complaints, we found a recurring theme that members of the public felt that ISU [Inside Success Union] employees placed undue pressure on people to donate.

None of the complainants indicated they had been pressured to buy a magazine or sign up to a subscription; only to donate.

The Fundraising Regulator discovered after its employees often surrounded members of the public and forced them to make donations

'In addition to this, several complainants reported being approached by more than one employee, found their pathway barred, and continued to be approached once they had indicated that they were not interested.

'Based on the number of complaints describing very similar interactions between the public and ISU employees, we found that the company breached the code in relation to applying undue pressure and causing obstructions to the public.'

Stephen Bell, chief executive of the charity Changing Lives, said: 'I think chugging gives the charity sector a bad name.

Particularly with the cost of living, the last thing people want is someone harassing them in the street looking for money, being berated for not giving money to charitable organisations.

Young people need to be taught proper skills  that's how you get sustainable outcomes.'

Inside Success were found to have made seven breaches of the Code of Fundraising Practice, and its directors were told to 'consider how [it] intends to proceed with its funding model to prevent further breaches'.

The findings also recommended that the organisation carry out a review and update its policies in line with the code.

Inside Success said that anyone found to be fundraising would be 'suspended and retrained'.
Shocking footage has emerged of a teen being chased by a pair of machete-wielding thugs as horrified students at a nearby school watched on.

The terrifying moment was caught on camera as it unfolded on Churchill Avenue at Braybrook, in Melbourne's west, on Friday afternoon.

The 15-year-old was seen sprinting away from the armed individuals who were brandishing the large knives threateningly, as they gave chase.

Two attackers wielding Machetes chased after a teenager in Melbourne's west on Friday afternoon, as horrified school students from nearby Caroline Chisolm Christian College watched on

The dramatic scene unfolded in front of students from the nearby Caroline Chisolm Christian College as they were making their way out of the school.

Staff at the school could be heard telling students in the video to get back inside the school building.

'Everyone inside please. Inside please,' a female staff member said.

Students were forced to take cover inside as the boy and his attackers made their way past on the opposite street.

A Victoria Police spokesman told Daily Mail Australia the teenager managed to escape his attackers.

'The males said something to the boy before they produced machetes and threatened the victim,' the spokesman said.

'The boy ran from the offenders and was chased for a short distance before the offenders gave up and ran off towards Sunshine Railway Station.'

One of the attackers ditched a machete in the front yard of a home nearby on Ravenhall Street.

Police retrieved the 40 centimetre blade on Saturday morning.

Local resident Corrinna Cassar told 9News youth crime is becoming more common in the area following a spate of knife attacks.

Victoria Police collected one of the blades the attackers ditched in the front yard of a nearby home

The latest incident is one of many in the last few months, after another teenager was stabbed to death by two schoolboys in May outside of a bus stop.

'It's these gangs that are coming around and picking on innocent kids,' she said.

'It's not just Chisholm, it's everywhere.'

In May, another teenager was killed by two school boys who were also carrying machetes.

Sixteen-year-old Pasawm Lyhym, a former student at the school, was allegedly stabbed to death near Sunshine Station.

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting the two incidents are related.

No arrests have been made. Police are still investigating the matter.

Anyone with information has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
A three-day search using a police cadaver dog has failed to uncover any sign of a Belgian tourist who went missing in Tasmania almost six weeks ago.

Celine Cremer, 31, was last seen in the Philosopher Falls area near Cradle Mountain in the state's north-west on June 17.

A two-week search was suspended on July 10 after experts advised she could not have survived in bad weather.

A NSW Police cadaver dog was deployed on Friday to spend three days searching an additional 'area of interest' at Philosopher Falls following new information about Ms Cremer's phone activity.

Belgian tourist Celine Cremer, 31, (pictured) was last seen in the Philosopher Falls area near Cradle Mountain in Tasmania's northwest on June 17

Western District Commander Stuart Wilkinson said there had been no sign of Celine during the recent ground searches involving the use of the cadaver dog with crews encountering treacherous weather conditions and navigating difficult terrain.

'While every effort was made during this latest search, sadly, Celine remains missing,' he said on Monday.

'The searchers faced extremely poor weather conditions and every effort was made to try and locate her.

'When a person remains missing, the case is never closed.

'We will continue to follow up any new information .... so we can provide closure to her family.

'Our thoughts remain with them and Celine's loved ones during this difficult time.'

A three day renewed search over the weekend failed to find any trace of the Belgian tourist

Search crews encountered treacherous weather conditions while navigating difficult terrain

A car belonging to Ms Cremer, who is believed to have set off on a walk, was found in the falls car park on June 27.

Police say her car had been there since at least June 20, the last time her mobile had signal.

She was reported missing by her family on June 26, sparking a major search.

Philosopher Falls is a multi-tier waterfall encased in thick rainforest.
A security guard was beaten to death by a mob of at least nine people outside a starry Hollywood nightclub which counts Tyga, Megan Thee Stallion and Wiz Khalifa as fans.

The man in his 30s was beaten and stomped on by the assailants at around 2am Sunday while he was working at the popular Dragonfly club on Santa Monica Boulevard. Cops are still searching for the suspects.

The victim, who has not been identified, is seen lying on the street in video captured from the scene, which showed first responders attempting life-saving measures which ultimately proved unsuccessful.

Once the guard had been punched to the ground and his head stomped on, the group of at least nine quickly dispersed before the victim was rushed to hospital where he later died.

Cops are currently probing the encounter at the hip-hop-heavy bar, which in past has played host to Tyga, 2 Chainz, Migos, Meg Thee Stallion, and Wiz Khalifa.

Scroll down for video:

A security guard (seen here being tended to by EMS workers) was beaten to death by a mob of at least nine outside the popular Hollywood nightclub where he worked early Sunday morning

The incident happened around 2am Sunday at the Dragonfly nightclub, has in the past played host to Tyga, 2 Chainz, Migos, Meg Thee Stallion, and Wiz Khalifa, bills itself as the 'most popular Hip Hop night club scene LA has to offer'. Cops are still searching for the suspects

'The victim was working at this nightclub, and a large group  for unknown reasons  confronted that security guard, causing him to fall into the street,' LAPD West Bureau Homicide Division Detective Samuel Marullo said at the scene Sunday.

'At which time the group advanced and kicked and stomped him to death,' the officer added, revealing the force's investigation was still in the process of determining whether the fight began inside the club and spilled onto the street, or started outside.

Now closed to mourn the loss of their fallen employee, Dragonfly had been full of patrons at the time of the fatal altercation - hosting its weekly Signature Saturdays with Detroit rapper Tee Grizzley headlining the festivities.

According to cops, the encounter happened just as the event was scheduled to finish, around 2am.

The club - which offers paying patrons both VIP seating and bottle service - also hosts an event on Sundays called Sunday Night Fever, which was called off in the wake of the unnamed staffer's brutal death.

A post to the nightclub's Instagram announced the change, as cops said they were continuing to search for at least nine people believed to be responsible.

Aired at around 10:00pm - the time the bar usually opens - the announcement read: 'As we begin to process and mourn the loss of our colleague, Dragonfly will be closed.

'Our hearts are with his family at this time.'

The victim, only identified as a male in his 30s, is seen lying on the street in video captured from the scene, which showed first responders attempting life-saving measures on the man before ultimately proving unsuccessful

Witnesses reported the confrontation occurred after members of the still-at-large group began to beat and stomp the security guard during a heated encounter while the victim was attempting to work the door

Once he fell to the ground, the group of at least nine quickly dispersed, and the man was rushed to the hospital where he later died

Cops are currently probing the encounter at the hip-hop-heavy bar, after several reportedly witnessed the incident

Cops are currently probing the encounter at the popular, hip-hop-heavy bar, which in past has played host to stars like Tyga and Meg Thee Stallion

Dozens of witnesses are now recounting how they remember the attack to police, with all so far saying they were unsure how the initial argument broke out.

Several have also told cops that they are unsure whether the group that dished out the assault - believed to be nine but could be as many as 11 - had been one single group, or if others got involved as the mayhem unfolded.

Speaking to local news outlets Sunday as this search was underway, Detective Marullo said: 'We're exploring and canvasing the neighborhood to determine which cameras are operable, in order to view them.

'But one thing we know,' he added, 'was that there was a lot of people present - a lot of people on the street - many of whom left the scene prior to police arriving.'

Witness who have spoken to police have said they saw an initial verbal disagreement between the at least two parties devolve into violence when members of the group began approaching the unidentified victim, who then fell on the floor.

At that point, as cops said in their statement, a barrage of kicks, punches, and other blows commenced, leaving the victim unconscious.

Officers and EMS workers reportedly arrived on the scene within minutes, but were not able to apprehend any of the victims, nor were they able to save the staffer.

Cops remain unsure whether the group that engaged in the assault were altogether, or if others got involved as the mayhem unfolded

Cops said Sunday night as the search for the attackers was underway: 'We're exploring and canvasing the neighborhood to determine which cameras are operable, in order to view them'

Cops are asking for anyone who may have seen or recorded the incident to come forward

The popular club - set right on Santa Monica Boulevard - had been crowded Saturday night for a weekly event, and remained closed Sunday as staffers mourned their late colleague

Dozens of witnesses are now recounting how they remember the attack to police, with all so far saying they were unsure how the initial argument broke out

Witness who have spoken to police have said they saw an initial verbal disagreement between the at least two parties devolve into violence when members of the group began approaching the unidentified victim, who then fell on the floor

Speaking to ABC 7 Sunday, Marullo explained how members of his force are now asking for anyone who may have seen or recorded the incident to come forward.

'We know that oftentimes people will record these types of incidents on their cellphone,' he said, as cops on Monday morning had yet to make an arrest or glean a motive in relation to the altercation.

'We would encourage them to share that with us as it can help bring a sense of justice to this person's family.'

As mentioned before, the club - which bills itself as the 'most popular Hip Hop night club scene Los Angeles has to offer' - remained closed Sunday night and Monday morning in the aftermath of the incident.

Cops investigation is still ongoing. DailyMail.com has reached out to both the LAPD and Dragonfly Hollywood for comment. The victim's body is currently with the city's coroner.
Police have launched an urgent search for a young girl who vanished from Sydney's eastern suburbs last week.

Charlee Castle, 13, was last seen almost a week ago at a home on Murrabin Avenue, Matraville, at about 11pm on Wednesday, July 26.

Officers from the Eastern Beaches Police Area Command launched an investigation into the teenager's whereabouts after she was reported missing last week.

Police and family hold serious concerns for her welfare due to her young age.

Charlee Castle, 13, was last seen almost a week ago at a home on Murrabin Avenue, Matraville, at about 11pm on Wednesday, July 26

Charlee is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 150cm tall with a slim build and long blonde hair.

The 13-year-old was last seen wearing a grey 'Champion' hoodie, black leggings and white Nike shoes.

Police believe she may be in the vicinity of Central Station, near Sydney's CBD.

Anyone with information into her whereabouts is urged to call police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Human remains have been found near a major highway with police launching an investigation following the grisly discovery.

The remains were found on grassland near the Hume Highway in Goulburn, in NSW's Southern Tablelands, at 9am on Friday.

A woman informed NSW Police after she found the remains around 200 meters south of the Windellama Road overpass, south of Goulburn.

Police were informed that human remains were found in southern NSW after a woman alerted police to the grim discovery on Friday morning around 9am

Officers established a crime scene and began an investigation.

NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia that officers are collecting evidence after they scoured the location to find the remains.

'The items were seized and the scene was forensically examined' a spokesperson said.

'Specialist officers conducted extensive further searches of the area,'.

'Further remains were located and seized,'.

A police operation that was set up in the area when the remains were found has now finished.

Detectives from the Hume Police District and the State Crime Command's Homicide Squad are continuing their enquiries.

The remains that were found have been sent to be forensically examined to identify the person.
Rand Paul has submitted an 'official criminal referral' to the Department of Justice in regards to the nation's former top doctor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, over testimony he gave about the coronavirus and whether it came from a Chinese lab.

Senator Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, claims Dr Fauci, 82, committed perjury when he testified in front of a Senate committee in 2021. Perjury is a federal offense that carries up to five years in prison.

Paul has now written to Attorney General Merrick Garland calling for an investigation into whether Fauci lied under oath over his knowledge of dangerous virus research that was taking place at the Wuhan lab, in China.

'When Anthony Fauci came before my committee, he said absolutely he funded no gain of function research in China. We have email where he describes the research they are doing. They said you know what? We are suspicious of the lab because we know they are doing gain of function research,' Paul explained to Laura Ingraham on Fox News.

'He describes the project but ... everything he has been telling us from the very beginning has been a lie. We have documented it's a lie and it's a felony to lie to congress. I have referred him twice to the Attorney General of the United States for prosecution but, as you know, this attorney general is the most partisan AG we've ever had. And it's good luck on getting him to do his job,' Paul went on.

In July 2021, Dr Fauci testified how his former department 'has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.'

Gain-of-function research refers to a type of scientific investigation conducted on viruses, with the purpose of enhancing their transmissibility or virulence.

Senator Rand Paul has made an 'official criminal referral' to the Department of Justice regarding Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's former top doctor

The referral relates to Fauci's previous testimony on the coronavirus and its potential origins from a Chinese lab with Paul suggesting Fauci lied under oath. He is pictured in November '22

The aim is to understand how viruses evolve and potentially predict and prepare for future disease outbreaks.

The research involves deliberately introducing specific genetic changes or mutations into a virus to observe the effects on its behavior and characteristics.

While the research can provide valuable insights into virus behavior, it also raises concerns regarding biosafety and biosecurity.

Dr Fauci was the former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) until the end of 2022 and was responsible for signing off on such research grants.

On July 13, 2023 the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic released emails sent by Dr Fauci about a conference call regarding the origins of Covid attended by Dr Fauci, Dr Francis Collins, former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, and other researchers.

In one email, Dr Fauci admits the scientists had concerns that Covid might have been genetically engineered and that these were worsened by the fact that gain-of-function research was taking place in Wuhan before the pandemic.

Emails dated February 1, 2020 show Fauci acknowledged that 'scientists in Wuhan University are known to have been working on gain-of-function experiments to determine that molecular mechanisms associated with bat viruses adapting to human infection, and the outbreak originated in Wuhan'

Emails dated February 1, 2020 show Fauci acknowledged that 'scientists in Wuhan University are known to have been working on gain-of-function experiments to determine that molecular mechanisms associated with bat viruses adapting to human infection, and the outbreak originated in Wuhan.'

While the emails show that Fauci was aware of gain-of-function going on in the lab, he never admitted that the NIH funded it.

But the Government Accountability Office (GAO) determined last month that the Wuhan Institute of Virology and Wuhan University did in fact receive NIH funding, Senator Paul said in his letter to AG Garland.

Paul drew attention to the February 2020 email in which Fauci details a call between British medical researcher Jeremy Farrar, who was director of the Wellcome Trust at the time.

Senator Rand Paul got in a heated exchange with Dr. Anthony Fauci at a hearing in July 2021 when he again pushed the nation's top immunologist on whether the U.S. funded gain of function research in Wuhan. Fauci responded with, 'You do not know what you are talking about'

On the call, Fauci, along with Francis Collins, former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, and other 'highly credible' scientists shared concerns about the 'fact upon viewing the sequences of several isolates of the nCoV, there were mutations in the virus that would be most unusual to have evolved naturally in the bats and that there was a suspicion that this mutation was intentionally inserted.'

'The suspicion was heightened by the fact that scientists in Wuhan University are known to have been working on gain-of-function experiments to determine the molecular mechanisms associated with bat viruses adapting to human infection, and the outbreak originated in Wuhan,' Fauci wrote in the unredacted email..

'This directly contradicts everything he said in committee hearing to me, denying absolutely that they funded any gain of function, and it's absolutely a lie. That's why I sent an official criminal referral to the DOJ,' Paul wrote on Twitter.

In July, Paul told Fauci that lying to Congress was a federal crime and suggested he had lied about the COVID-19 gain-of-function research conducted at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.

Paul gave Fauci the opportunity to retract his May 11 statement claiming the U.S. did not fund gain of function research with its $600,000 grant, saying 'Dr. Fauci, knowing that it is a crime to lie to Congress, do you wish to retract your statement?'

Fauci became animated during the exchange, as he pointed his fingers at Paul for being a 'liar'

Fauci went on to insist he 'never lied before Congress' during previous testimony in May.

'You don't know what you're talking about,' Fauci told Paul.

Paul, who studied at the Duke University School of Medicine said that a paper that credited the NIH saw the author take two bat coronavirus spike proteins to combine them creating a new virus, not naturally found in nature but would spread in humans, Paul said in a July congressional hearing.

'Viruses that in nature only infect animals were manipulated in the Wuhan lab to gain the function of infecting humans,' he said.

'They took animal viruses that only occur in animals, and they increased their transmissibility to humans. How you can say that's not gain of function  it's a dance, and you're dancing around this because you're trying to obscure responsibility for 4 million people dying around the world from a pandemic.'

Fauci said the paper that Paul has been referring to 'was judged by qualified staff up and down the chain as not being gain of function.'

But the newly released emails show Fauci referring to the research by scientists at Wuhan University as 'gain-of-function experiments'.

Paul pointed back his pencil, and insisted the evidence shows National Institute of Health funding went to the Wuhan lab, who he claims then used that money to do research on how to make a bat coronavirus transmittable to humans and more infectious and deadly

Security personnel keep watch outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology during the visit by the World Health Organization (WHO) team tasked with investigating the origins of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Wuhan, China in February 2021

The question of whether the global outbreak began with a spillover from wildlife sold at the Huanan market or leaked out of the Wuhan lab just eight miles across the Yangtze River has given rise to fierce debate

Shi Zhengli - dubbed the 'Bat Lady' or 'Bat Woman' for her work on bat coronaviruses - investigated the possibility Covid could have emerged from her lab back in 2020 according to colleagues

Dr Shi Zhengli, also known as 'bat lady', a leading virologist based at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, spent years researching bat coronaviruses with the aim of identifying those with the potential to infect people.

Both she and Beijing itself have vehemently and publicly denied the possibility that Covid could have emerged from experiments carried out at the lab.

Dr Zhengli graduated from Wuhan University in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in genetics and received her master's degree from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 1990.

Last month, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) determined that the Wuhan Institute of Virology and Wuhan University received NIH funding, Sen Paul said in his letter to AG Garland.

It said: 'The report noted that NIH funded the WIV's project 'Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence' and included 'genetic experiments to combine naturally occurring bat coronaviruses with SARS and MERS viruses, resulting in hybridized coronavirus strains.'

'GAO also found that NIH funded the Wuhan University's collaboration with WIV on viral detection in the Yunnan province.'

DailyMail.com has reached out to Fauci via the NIAID for comment.

As the former head of the NIH, Fauci presided over the allocation of taxpayer-funded grants for virus-enhancing research at the WIV years before the pandemic began.

A federal watchdog found the NIH 'did not effectively monitor' those experiments or check whether they involved pathogens with pandemic risk.

But there has still been no direct evidence for a natural or synthetic origin, which has left officials divided over the issue.

Experts fear Beijing's cover-up of the outbreak in Wuhan inflamed the pandemic's spread with disastrous consequence. Pictured: People queue for Covid testing in Macau, China in 2022

Beijing clamped down on officials sharing their data and silenced whistleblowing medics. Pictured: Security personnel in protective suits stand at the gate of a residential compound that is under lockdown as outbreaks of Covid continue in Beijing in 22

The Energy Department, FBI and several government committees believe the virus leaked from a lab, pointing to a number of coincidences and indirect evidence.

The WIV - one of the top bat virus hubs in the world - is located at the epicenter of the original Covid outbreak and suffered several security and infection control breaches before the pandemic.

The lab housed viruses considered Covid's closest known relatives, and its research involved genetically engineering different strains to see how they would infect humans.

However, several other intelligence agencies maintain that the virus was transferred from animals to humans in a natural spillover event.

Advocates of the natural origin point to an early cluster of cases at an animal slaughter market just eight miles from the WIV, where animals known to harbor Covid, such as raccoon dogs, hedgehogs and rats, were kept in squalid conditions.
A graphic book about sex that advises young readers on how to look up porn and send naked selfies has sparked outrage in Australia.

The book 'Let's Talk About It: The Teen's Guide to Sex, Relationships and Being a Human' by US cartoonists and comic book creators Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan says it is aimed at teens from 14 to 17 or 'whoever needs it, whatever your age'.

While it contains a disclaimer there are serious 'serious legal consequences' of sharing naked photographs of children younger than 18, the book goes onto to give its young readers advice on how to take them.

'Before you start sending your naughty masterpieces around the world, take some time to get friendly with photo-editing software or apps,' the book says.

The book has sparked outrage in the US with several schools having already banned it - but it is currently available to be borrowed from several libraries in Australia.

The graphic US sex manual 'Lets Talk About It', which is aimed at young teens is freely available and on display in public libraries and bookstores

The book also encourages its readers to experience pornography, calling it a 'fun, sugary treat' and it also suggests experimenting with sex toys, including butt plugs.

'Just make sure any objects you put up there have a flared base; otherwise, your hungry heinie can gobble it up and the only way to get it back out is a trip to the hospital,' the authors say.

The book contains graphic images of sexual intercourse and genitals, as well as chapters on masturbation and kinks.

While the book has largely flown under the radar in Australia, it has been banned by several US schools.

In Florida the administration of Governor Ron DeSantis, who is a Republican presidential candidate, classed the work as 'pornographic'.

Teacher and children's author Amelia Donnelly argued that along with 'Welcome to Sex', the US book threatens to 'traumatise' children.

'There seems to be a group or a trend around sexualisation of children at a younger age,' she said.

'If we expose our children and encourage children to be engaging in these explicitly adult sexual practices, then we open our children up to situations that are going to traumatise them.

'There's a cartoon there where they actually talk about inserting objects up bottoms. For a practice like this to be promoted at teens is just completely developmentally inappropriate.'

When mother-of-three Angela Rojas raised her objections about the book at a Playford Council meeting in Adelaide's northern suburbs in February, the images had to be blurred for video streaming.

Mother-of-three Angela Rojas has called for the controversial book to be rated as not suitable for children

'This book should be in a restricted area and treated like a restricted adult publication,' Ms Rojas told Sky News.

'If it's too sensitive for YouTube, too sensitive even to film and put on the news, because I'm sure you'd have to censor these images, why should it be unrestricted?'

Ms Rojas first saw the book being displayed at a public library in the young readers' section.

On the advise of her council she complained about this to the Public Libraries Association of South Australia.

Association's president Damian Garcia replied in April that the body does not have the power to mandate which items each public library chooses to include in its collection.

Ms Rojas also paid $790 to submit to the National Classification Scheme, which normally deals with films and video games rather than books, asking they give a book a restricted rating.

The Board handed down its decision on July 11, classifying the book 'unrestricted'.

The board noted there had not been 'noteworthy Australian media articles about the publication' and that complaints addressed to Communications] Minister Michelle Rowland or themselves had been very 'limited'.

'It is the Board's view that this work has clear educational merit and is unlikely to cause offence or harm to the person or class of persons to whom it is intended or likely to be published,' the report said.

The US book has ben compared to Australian work 'Welcome to Sex!' which has been removed from Big W bookshelves following a customer backlash

Liberal National Senator Alex Antic has also called for more action by authorities.

'I dont think there would be too many people comfortable with this being available to minors,' he said.

The work is being left to private citizens and concerned parents and that doesnt seem right.'

Sky News Australia found the book is available in 36 public libraries across Australia, some holding multiple copies, and can be found at major booksellers such as Dymocks, Angus & Roberts and QBD Books.

A spokeswoman for MS Rowland said the Classification Board is 'independent of government and the Minister cannot direct its decision-making processes'.

However, the spokesperson said updating publication guidelines would be considered as part of reforms to the classification scheme announced in March.

Welcome to Sex, by teen magazine advice columnist Dr Melissa Kang and ABC personality Yumi Stynes was pulled off Big W bookshelves in July with the retailer claiming their staff had been threatened over displaying the book.

It remains on sale online for Big W as well as other major retailers and booksellers.

Penguin, the Australian publishers of Let's Talk About It, have been contacted for comment.
Large swathes of Australia's east coast have been blasted with an early taste of summer as the mercury soared up to 10C above average winter temperatures.

Sydneysiders threw off their winter woollies and headed outdoors on the weekend as the mercury surged past 26C on Sunday, well above the July average maximum and just shy of the January median, traditionally the hottest month of the year.

The sunny weather stretched right down to the NSW coast and into Victoria as far as the mouth of Snowy River in East Gippsland.

Queensland was also basked in the sunshine, with only the state's southwest and north tropical coast recording cloud and isolated showers.

The above-average temperatures are due to warm northwesterlies being pushed across Australia's southeast by a low-pressure system near Tasmania.

Sydney hit 23.4C on the last day of July as many other capital cities remained under 20C on Monday

Sydneysiders enjoyed two extra hours of sunshine on Sunday as temperatures surged past 26C in many suburbs

'The cold air from Antarctica and the Southern Ocean is not reaching much of the mainland and is only clipping the far south-eastern parts of the country, Weatherzone meteorologist James Rout told Daily Mail Australia.

'The cold front is staying well clear of Sydney with skies remaining clear and lot of sunshine.'

'Sydney recorded 9.8 hours of sunshine on Sunday, more than two hours more than the daily average for this time of the year.

'The conditions have extended to Canberra, where it's still cold at night but has been much warmer than usual during the days.'

The Sydney CBD reached 25.2C on Sunday, almost 9C above the July average daily maximum of 16.4C and not far off the January average of 26C.

Sydney Airport reached a top of 26C while Penrith hit 26.4C in the city's west, the fourth warmest across the state.

The hottest place in NSW was Grafton in the northern rivers, which hit 27.5C, Weatherzone reported.

The mercury surged in the 20s in many parts along the NSW coast on Sunday

Sydney temperatures on Sunday fell just short of the January average. Pictured is Sydney's iconic Bondi beach

With spring just over four weeks away, much of the east coast experienced dry and slightly cooler conditions

Sydney recorded a top of 22C on Monday and will enjoy fine and the rest of the working week with a high 24C forecast for Friday.

Showers forecast for the weekend and lingering early into next week will week into temperatures drop down to 20C.

Canberra will also continue its run of dry weather.

Elsewhere across the country, a cold front crossing Tasmania is producing strong, gusty winds, rain and snow.

The front will cross Western Australia on Tuesday, brining heavy rain, strong wind gusts and isolated thunderstorms.

'High pressure to the east of the country is directing moist onshore winds along the northern NSW and Qld coasts, bringing a few showers. Dry elsewhere under high pressure,' Weatherzone states.

In the Top End, Darwin will remain fine and sunny with daily tops of 32-22C.

The United Nations World Meteorological Organisation and the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service say it's 'extremely likely' July will be the world's hottest in 174 years of records.

'Drilling down to Australia, we've seen temperatures that have been very much above average right across eastern Australia throughout the month,' Australian Bureau of Meteorology senior climatologist Dr Simon Grainger said.

'So that's temperatures that are in the warmest 10 per cent of all years, since our observational record began.
A Delta flight from Boston to Newark was forced to divert back to Massachusetts midflight after authorities received an anonymous tip that a passenger on board had made threats to the safety of the plane.

An unidentified male passenger was escorted off the Embraer 175, with his two carry-on bags searched by bomb squad officials at Boston Logan Airport on Sunday.

The search was also carried out by bomb-sniffing canines, but resulted in nothing of note being found, and the passenger escaping charges.

An investigation involving the US domestic flight - identified as Delta Airlines Flight 5770 - is now underway, with officials so far revealing little as to the status of that probe, or the situation involving the unidentified man who had been reported.

Police in Massachusetts said the flight - which should have taken just over an hour - was disrupted after 'an anonymous third party' phoned cops to suggest the passenger had 'made threats related to the safety' of the plane.

Scroll down for video:

A Delta flight from Boston to Newark was forced to divert back to Massachusetts Sunday - after authorities received an anonymous tip that a passenger aboard had made threats to the safety of those on board. Seen here is a different plane at Boston Logan International Airport in 2021

The incident saw the plane do a loop around the southeast portion of the Massachusetts shortly after its 5:30pm takeoff, and a male passenger escorted off and his two carry-on bags searched by bomb squad officials. The search found nothing, and the man was not charged

A State Police spokesperson provided some more insight Sunday night on the still shrouded incident, which saw the plane do a complete loop around the southeast portion of the northeastern state shortly after its 5:30pm takeoff.

'Delta Airlines Flight 5770, Boston to Newark, returned to Logan Airport this afternoon after an anonymous third part caller reported to a New Jersey police agency that a passenger aboard the plane had allegedly made threats related to the safety of the flight,' Massachusetts State Police spokesperson David Procopio said.

Several more officials from the Massport fire and State Police force were waiting for the man at Boston Logan, as well as multiple officers from the State Police Bomb Squad.

A search of the passengers two carry-on bags by the officials and their explosive-detecting K-9s commenced, and no hazards were found, the statement said.

It also added that after the passenger and his bags were removed, the plane once again set off toward its destination at Newark International, following a delay of roughly three hours.

After that temporary grounding, flight records show the plane - which had seating for some 78 passengers - departed from Boston for a second time at 9:43pm ET, before touching down in Jersey less than an hour later, at 10:34 pm.

As of early Monday, no passengers have come forward to describe their experience during the unforeseen detour, nor have officials named or offered anything identifying about the removed man, nor confirm whether he has been released.

After the passenger and his bags were removed, the plane once again set off toward its destination at Newark International, officials said, creating a delay of more than three hours

According to officials' statement, the man's only luggage had been the two carry-ons, with none of his baggage checked.

Early Monday morning, officials were still vetting the incident - with reps at Delta referring any questions to Republic Airways, which was operating the flight for Delta.

Republic Airways has since apologized to passengers for the more-than-three-hour delay, but like Delta, have yet to offer an actual explanation.

As of Monday, it remains unclear who called in the tip about the passenger, and what spurred them to do so.

Officials say they are still looking into the incident, which comes during the busy summer travel season.

Delta has yet to issue a formal statement.
Stone said he perceives Biden as someone deeply entrenched in the Cold War era mentality who hates the old Soviet Union

Famed liberal director Oliver Stone says he regrets voting for President Joe Biden and believes he may end up leading the country into World War III.

Speaking on an episode of Russell Brand's Stay Free podcast, Stone stated how he believed Biden was 'stupidly dragging the US into a confrontation' with Russia.

'If we don't stop this, what Biden is doing, this guy is  I voted for him  I made a mistake, I was thinking he was an old man now that he would calm down, that he would be more mellow and so-forth, I didn't see that at all,' Stone said.

'I see a man who maybe is not in charge of his own administration. Who knows?'

Stone went on: 'It seems that he's dragging us stupidly into a confrontation with a power that is not going to give. This is their borders. This is their world. This is NATO going into Ukraine. This is a whole other story.'

Filmmaker Oliver Stone has expressed his regret over his decision to vote for Biden in 2020

Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone was granted unprecedented access to the Russian President in the past. Pictured: Stone speaks with President Vladimir Putin in June, 2019

Stone is particularly knowledgeable on the subject of Russia and Ukraine having executive produced the 2016 film Ukraine on Fire which highlights the major role the U.S. played in the 2014 coup in the country and the ousting of former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych.

It sees the JFK director interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin and suggests how the U.S. had essentially used Ukraine as a proxy against Russia for many years.

The filmmaker was granted unprecedented access to the Kremlin leader over a two year period while filming a series of interviews and is considered to know Putin better than most Westerners.

That being said, Stone has not met Putin for four years, and his in-depth interviews with him were between 2015 and 2017.

'Biden is an old Cold Warrior, and he really hates the old Soviet Union which he confounds again with the Russian Federation, which is not communist,' Stone went on to explain during Brand's podcast.

Stone said Biden is unable to distinguish the former Soviet Union from present-day Russia, further. Pictured right, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky is seen alongside Biden

Russian President Vladimir Putin and director Oliver Stone who shot The Putin Interviews

Vladimir Putin, left, and director Oliver Stone meeting at the Moscow Kremlin in June 2019

Stone - who has faced criticism in the past of being an apologist for Putin - also blamed the war in Ukraine on the 'neoconservative movement who started the war in Iraq,' and who still occupy prominent positions in the Biden's administration.

Stone said he believed the hawkish attitude of U.S. policy makers towards Moscow was down to their failure to distinguish the former Soviet Union from present-day Russia, further.

'Putin is not the monster pictured by the American propaganda machine,' he insisted, slamming the consistently anti-Russian stance of the Washington establishment and NATO allies.

'Unless we change our direction, our thinking, we're taking Russia into the edge... This is crazy what's going on; it's nuts, it's suicidal; we're gonna hurt ourselves in a big way. This is a potential World War III.

'You have to look at the reasons for this war, and whenever you do, the Americans like to simplify and say it's a question of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. That's very simplistic and very black-and-white,' Stone said.

In earlier interviews Stone said of Putin: 'It's been years since I saw him for the last time, but the man I knew had nothing to do with the mad, irresponsible and murderous man that the media present today comparing him to Hitler and Stalin.

'The Putin I knew was rational, calm, always acting in the interest of the Russian people, a true son of Russia, a patriot, which does not imply a nationalist.'
The Greens have accused Anthony Albanese of 'snubbing' them after he was asked to meet with the party over the government's $10billion housing bill.

The government is set to reintroduce the Housing Australia Future Fund to parliament this week after it was repeatedly knocked back by the Greens.

Mr Albanese has not ruled out a double dissolution election if the bill, which will build 30,000 new social and affordable housing properties over the next five years, is not passed.

Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather claimed the prime minister had rebuffed his party's request for a meeting to negotiate.

'We expect that, you know the bill might pass parliament and that we would be meeting with the government this week,' he said, as reported in The Australian.

Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather (pictured left with partner Joanna Horton) has claimed the prime minister 'snubbed' his party's request for a meeting over the government's housing bill

'Ultimately, though, after we reached out the ball is in the government's court. I would be surprised if they had decided they don't want to negotiate at all.'

He added that the prime minister would 'rather threaten early elections than cough up a few extra billion dollars for public housing and do something for renters in the middle of the worst housing crisis we've seen in generations'.

The Greens have called for a national rent freeze, caps on rent increases and up to $2.5billion in annual funding for public, community and affordable housing.

Mr Chandler-Mather has been highly critical of the government's key housing bill and slammed Mr Albanese's 'threat' of an early election last week.

'While Labor threatens early elections and tries to ram their broken housing bill through parliament unchanged, the Greens remain ready to negotiate a plan that invests real money in public housing, coordinates national limits on rent increases and better renters rights,' he said on Friday.

If no agreement can be reached on the bill this week, it would have failed twice in the Senate. Mr Albanese would then be within his rights to call an early election to seek the mandate of Australian people.

The prime minister expressed his preference of getting the fund passed over pulling the trigger on a double dissolution election.

'I'd rather not have it (double dissolution trigger). I'd rather have this policy passed,' he told James Valentine on ABC Radio Sydney on Monday.

'But of course, a double dissolution trigger, what that does is it doesn't necessarily provide for an early election, it could go into 2025.'

But what it does is mean that can be a focus, and then you have a joint sitting after a double dissolution election is held. But I just want this legislation to be passed.'

'I don't want to play politics with this. I want to get this done. We have a mandate for it. And the Senate should pass it.'

Anthony Albanese (pictured) has not ruled out a double dissolution election if the Housing Australia Future Fund is not passed

The key bill will create 30,000 social and affordable homes over five years, including 4,000 dwellings for women and children experiencing domestic violence (stock image)

Both the Greens and the Coalition have blasted the prime minister for 'threatening' an early election.

'Threatening the Australian people with an early election because Labor's policies don't stack up is the height of arrogance from Anthony Albanese,' said Acting leader of the opposition, Sussan Ley.

'I think it's pretty awful.

'Don't threaten Australians with an early election in a way that absolutely does not appreciate or recognise the pain that they're going through.'

Deputy Greens leader Mehreen Faruqi claimed Mr Albanese was using the double dissolution trigger as a way to distract from the rental crisis.

'The prime ministeris threatening people with an early election to distract from the fact that he has not addressed the rental crisis and the housing crisis,' she told ABC's RN Breakfast.

Ms Faruqi came under fire earlier this month over her plans to bulldoze native trees and local flora at one of her properties to build three townhouses.

Max Chandler-Mather is leading the Greens' campaign against the $10billion housing fund

The primary concern from both Greens and independents has been that the bill does not go far enough to ease pressures on the exploding housing market. Pictured: People queueing for a property inspection

Mr Albanese spoke of the significant investment poured into his housing bill and how his government had already negotiated with key independents such as David Pocock and Jacqui Lambie for their support to pass it last week.

'It's the largest ever investment by any government in Australia's history,' he said.

'And what the Greens are doing is standing in front of that, having this rhetoric about refusal to negotiate.

'The only thing that standing in front of it is the Greens political party.'

The key housing bill will create 30,000 social and affordable homes over five years, including 4,000 dwellings for women and children experiencing domestic violence.
Australian tourists travelling to Bali have been warned to be careful of a sneaky scam fleecing unsuspecting holidaymakers of their money.

An Adelaide local told holiday-goers visiting the Indonesian holiday island to be aware of a slick trick used on visitors exchanging their cash for local currency.

The tourist, who went on a trip to the island destination, said she was like many Australians who had been ripped off by the scam.

Holiday goers have been warned about a money exchange scam ripping off Aussie tourists at popular holiday hot-spot Bali, in Indonesia

After trading in her money at a local shop, the woman was shocked to find that she was left with less than she gave in exchange.

The woman took to Facebook to explain her ordeal to future travellers.

'I used a non-authorised user, countered the money three times and then later in the day, my driver said check money now (sic), and I couldn't believe it, it was much less,' she said.

'My driver drove me back to that person, and told him to give me my money back or he will call police,'.

The woman praised the driver for helping get her money's worth and urged others to get themselves a driver of their own.

'This is one good reason to have a personal driver for your whole stay,' she said.

The post was quick to attract comments from other furious travelers who had fallen victim to the 'magic money trick.'

'I had a friend here a few months ago. She exchanged $600, counted it, walked away,' one person wrote.

'When she told me, I said count it again now. She discovered IDR (Indonesian Rupiah) 3,000,000 ($A300) was missing.'

A tourist found out she had been given less than what she exchanged for at a money-changing outlet while she was holidaying in Bali and urged others to be careful about how much they get back when they are trying to buy Indonesian currency on their trip

It's believed the scam is a clever sleight of hand trick used to extort money from unsuspecting tourists, many of whom have lost hundreds of dollars trying to exchange money at dodgy money-changing outlets

'I took her back there and blasted them in Indonesian, they immediately gave her, her money back. They had the exact amount they stole sitting under the counter.'

Another wrote: 'My son wanted to use one and I said no go to (an) official one.'

'Being young he insisted so I stood there with him and watched. Saw nothing!'

'Walked away said count (sic) and was missing $50. Walked back and kicked up a fuss and he threw original money at us. They are sooo good at what they do.'

It's believed the clever trick is a type of sleight of hand, designed to extort funds from unsuspecting tourists wanting to exchange money.

Other users suggested ways to avoid getting stung by the hack.

'You don't let them count it once you've counted it because that's when I get ya (sic),' one wrote.

'The trick is where they touch it after counting it out in front of you,' another said.

'Make sure once it's laid out flat on the bench, then don't let them touch it again, and that you count it in front of them before you leave.'

Visitors have been urged to go to a bank, a hotel, or money-changing outlets which they can verify through business permits and licenses.

Authorities in Bali are cracking down on dodgy money-changing set ups in various areas, particularly in the southern regions.

Australians visit Bali more than any other foreign tourists. As of March 2023, more than 260,000 trips were made by Aussie holiday goers to the island.
Anthony Albanese has laughed off calls to reveal whether he supports a treaty with Aboriginal Australians after the Opposition questions him wearing a 'Voice, Treaty, Truth' t-shirt to a Midnight Oil concert.

Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley used Question Time on Monday to ask why he told 2GB's Ben Fordham the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum is 'not about treaty' despite repeatedly advocating for one.

After Ms Ley asked her question, the Opposition MPs called on the PM to address pictures first published by Daily Mail Australia in October showing Mr Albanese wearing the t-shirt calling for a 'treaty'.

Mr Albanese said: 'I can hear those opposite speaking about my t-shirt.

'Ben Fordham has exposed the fact that at a Midnight Oil concert, I wore a Midnight Oil t-shirt. Hold the front page, Mr Speaker. Hold the front page.'

The Prime Minister's animated response prompted cheers from the Government's side of the chamber and jeers from the Opposition.

Mr Albanese said: 'I can hear those opposite speaking about my t-shirt. Ben Fordham has exposed the fact that at a Midnight Oil concert, I wore a Midnight Oil t-shirt. Hold the front page, Mr Speaker. Hold the front page'

'Those opposite are so desperate to make a political point, at the expense of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,' Mr Albanese said.

'They want to talk about everything except what will be in the referendum question at the end of this year.

The prime minister is yet to reveal when the referendum will be held, beyond general assurances that it will take place between October and November.

Despite assuring Fordham during a heated interview the Voice is 'not about treaty', Mr Albanese has previously vowed to support the Uluru Statement from the Heart 'in ful' - meaning after The Voice, a Treaty and Truth will follow..

Midnight Oil have been staunch supporters of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the establishment of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

A treaty with Aboriginal Australians is controversial as it would likely lead to substantial financial compensation from taxpayers, private land being handed over, and the formal recognition of perceived historic wrongs.

Ms Burney again reiterated her hopes for the Voice to advise government on matters like health, education, jobs and housing

Following Ms Ley's question about treaty, Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney was asked to explain the purpose of a Makarrata Commission, which Mr Albanese has previously promised to pursue after the Voice.

READ MORE: What is the Makarrata Commission? A Voice to Parliament is just one part of the Uluru Statement from the Heart - which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has vowed to support 'in full'. If Australians vote to enshrine the Indigenous advisory Voice into the constitution at a referendum later this year, then a special commission known by the Aboriginal word 'Makarrata' is the next step. The Makarrata Commission would seek a treaty between the federal Government and the First Nations community. Advertisement

Ms Burney opted against providing a clear definition for the commission and instead drew focus to the referendum, which will focus solely on the Voice to Parliament proposal, rather than any requests beyond.

'This referendum is about constitutional recognition for a Voice,' she said. 'It is not about anything else.

'Those opposite are trying to muddy the waters.'

Ms Burney again reiterated her hopes for the Voice to advise government on matters like health, education, jobs and housing.

'It is about constitutional recognition that gets concrete results,' she said.

The Makarrata Commission would seek a treaty between the federal Government and the First Nations community.

It would have the 'authority to facilitate the process of treaty-making and truth telling' between the two groups, according to the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Mr Albanese outlined the responsibilities of such a future commission in a statement on November 15, 2021 . After winning the May 2022 federal election, he declared the new Labor government would adopt the Uluru Statement of the Heart 'in full'.

He said at the time: 'As called for in the Uluru Statement, the Makarrata Commission will have responsibilities for overseeing processes for Treaty-Making and Truth-Telling.

The 'culmination of the agenda' is actually a 'Makarrata Commission' which would seek a treaty between the government and First Nations communities. Pictured: The Uluru Statement from the Heart

'The Makarrata Commission will be independent... and will work with a Voice to Parliament when it is established.'

Responsibilities of the commission would 'initially' include consulting with First Nations communities, recommending a 'framework for federal treaty-making' and, crucially, delivering a report within the first term of a Labor government.

By that schedule, the commission will have had to be established and had enough time to consult the community and deliberate by 2025, when the next election is due.

Mr Albanese said $26.5million would be allocated to the commission in the first two years to 'support truth-telling projects', and he hoped state, territory and local governments would match that funding.

This is in addition to the $364.6million set aside in the latest budget for delivering the Voice.
Six migrant workers were injured by an SUV outside a North Carolina Walmart on Sunday in what appears to be an 'intentional assault'.

Authorities have now opened an investigation and are still looking for the driver involved.

All six victims needed to be taken to hospital after the incident, but police said none of the injuries appeared life threatening.

Police said the driver was 'an older white male' in an older model mid-size black SUV with a luggage rack.

Lincolnton Police said: 'The motives of the suspect are still under investigation.'

Police in North Carolina have opened an investigation after a SUV driver injured six migrant workers outside a Walmart after intentionally driving into them.

Police said the migrant workers were hit in what appeared to be an intentional assault

The incident happened shortly after 1pm local time on Sunday at 306 North Generals Blvd.

The six injured were taken to Atrium Health in Lincoln.

The Lincolnton Police Department are urging anyone with information to contact them at (704) 736-8900.

Detective M. Diallo is the lead investigator in the case.
A former police chief today slammed one of Britain's biggest forces for portraying her son as the 'kingpin' of a 135million drug smuggling operation after he was jailed for 23 years.

Sue Arnold said she and her husband were 'the victims of some policing sharp practice' and have been 'persecuted'.

West Midlands Police said her son Jonathan, who went to the prestigious Repton private school attended by Roald Dahl and Jeremy Clarkson, was 'the head of the crime group' which used a furniture removal business as a front as a 'colossal' amount of drugs were smuggled in from Colombia.

The force said this helped fund his lavish life of luxury including trips to Dubai, a Ferrari, an expensive Rolex and even new teeth.

Arnold admitted in court that he was involved in a conspiracy to supply 1,477kg of cocaine, with a street value of approximately 118million. The drugs were hidden inside pallets of bananas on board a ship from South America.

But his mother, once a deputy police and crime commissioner in Staffordshire who vowed to 'make offenders take personal responsibility for their unacceptable behaviour', said that her son had fallen in with the wrong crowd and insisted he is no 'drug lord' and that his removal company was a 'legitimate business'.

Sue Arnold, his mother, is a former deputy police and crime commissioner in Staffordshire, says her son Jonathan is not a drugs kingpin despite what the police say after he was jailed for 23 years

Ringleader Jonathan Arnold boasted of his wealth online by posting photos and videos of him wearing a Rolex and driving a Ferrari

Arnold shows off his teeth, which he had done in Dubai. His mother insisted the procedure was not a proceed of crime

She claimed she and her family had been 'the victims of some policing sharp practice' and accusing officers of 'tipping off' the Press because of her 'personal connection with law enforcement'.

She added: 'The "drug lord" inference is more evidence that has left my husband and I dumbfounded by the police's wrongful portrayal of our son as the "kingpin" of the operation, presumably because it suits their narrative to imply they have snared the lead player. All loose ends are then tied up.'

Mrs Arnold admitted her son, a talented sportsman, had made 'reckless decisions' after becoming addicted to the painkiller tramadol. She admitted she and her husband 'still cannot fully comprehend where it all went wrong'.

Mrs Arnold admitted her son had made 'reckless decisions' after becoming addicted to the painkiller tramadol - but denied he is a drugs lord as the police claim

She said: 'No one is suggesting he has not had a privileged upbringing but again to imply his new teeth are ill-gotten gains is absurd. We've even heard a suggestion he should have his teeth pulled out as they are somehow proceeds of crime.'

She told Birmingham's Sunday Mercury newspaper: 'After dedicating ten years of my life to supporting as well as holding law enforcement in this country to account, I feel that my husband and I have been the victims of some policing sharp practice. We fervently believe we have been persecuted by the police.

'We also accept our good standing in the community is in jeopardy with the prospect of reputational damage leading to possible ostracisation in the village community.

'One pertinent aspect of that involves me recently refusing the opportunity of a lifetime to become a deputy lieutenant for Staffordshire, premeditating the shame it would bring on the Crown if I had accepted.'

Arnold was jailed for 23-and-a-half years at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday. Members of the gang were jailed for a combined 77 years.

Arnold gave the impression that he was a legitimate businessman with a small furniture moving firm that had a turnover of 50,000 a month.

He and his gang smuggled nearly two tons of cocaine, heroin and ketamine into the UK.

They used dummy loads of furniture to hide packages of drugs in lorries and vans, some of which had hidden compartments to conceal the shipments.

Arnold, of Sutton Coldfield, admitted four charges of conspiracy to import and supply drugs.

The gang's supervisor James Jenkins, 25, of Tamworth, was found guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and was jailed for 15 years.

One of the gang's drivers, Connor Fletcher, 25, of Wolverhampton, was found guilty of conspiracy to import cocaine and was jailed for 12 years.

Humayan Sadiq, 43, of Manchester, was also convicted of conspiracy to import cocaine and was jailed for 27 years.

The gang's downfall began in January last year, when one of their couriers made a drug run to Europe in a Real Estate Removals van.

His van was searched by French customs officers who found 63 blocks of cocaine weighing 71kg with 99 bags of ketamine weighing 101kg. The drugs had a UK wholesale value of 2,561,900.

By this point, a police investigation had linked him to the gang. Border Force was asked to intercept him on his return and he was arrested.

The biggest single seizure came in April last year, when the gang tried to bring 1,477kg of cocaine with a street value of around 118million into Portsmouth.

The drugs were found hidden among bananas and were seized by Dutch police officers on a ship which had travelled from Colombia to Vlissingen.

Arnold and his gang smuggled nearly two tons of cocaine (pictured), heroin and ketamine into the UK.

Arnold was locked up after pleading guilty to three counts of conspiring to import drugs and one count of conspiring to supply Class A drugs. Co-conspirators Connor Fletcher James Jenkins and Humayan Sadiq were all jailed (pictured top left to bottom right)

In June last year, Fletcher travelled to a town near Amsterdam for an overnight trip and returned with 60kg of cocaine hidden in two secret compartments built into the floor of the lorry.

Judge Heidi Kubik KC told the gang: 'You played a sophisticated, commercial drugs trafficking operation in which you conspired to import large quantities of Class A drugs into this country for onward distribution and supply.

'I need not rehearse the untold misery that these drugs would cause to drug addicts and their families.

'His [Arnold] furniture removal business was a cover to transport drugs into the country from abroad.'

Anthony Davis, defending Arnold, said: 'He was a very hard-working individual.

'He ran a business which was successful for a period of time and he would reward himself with holidays.

'That is when he became involved with others more sophisticated than himself. He was like a lamb to the slaughter.'

Detective chief superintendent Jenny Skyrme, head of the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: 'We can't underestimate the scale and significance of this criminal organisation.

'This is the biggest drugs case that we have ever dealt with as an organisation.

'The gang was operating at the highest levels of criminality, bringing in industrial quantities of drugs to sell on the streets of the West Midlands and beyond.'

Two other defendants Jack Bishop, 31, and Ryan Hatton, 27, were found not guilty of drugs charges.
Footage has captured the moment homeowners were allegedly attacked by blade-wielding home invaders on their driveway.

The terrifying incident unfolded at a Keysborough home, in Melbourne's south-east, at 7am on Saturday.

In the footage the group of four hooded and masked figures can be seen casually making their way into the Cunningham Parade property after trying two entrances.

CCTV has captured a gang of home invaders who intruded on a property in Melbourne's south east on Saturday

They emerge shortly afterwards with a slightly quickened pace.

A 49-year-old man then runs out of the house with a phone and films the pack making off in a white Skoda hatchback.

While he is filming, a 50-year-old woman, also emerges from the house carrying a handbag.

The getaway car screeches to a halt and three of the men charge towards the man filming, with one carrying what appears to be a blade-like weapon.

The man turns and knocks over the woman who desperately tries to scramble to her feet while the masked youths bear relentlessly down.

The man goes back to help the woman with the masked men demanding he hand over his phone, according to police.

He tries to drag the woman back into the house as the group inches forward but the woman stumbles again and the hooded figures keep advancing.

The man runs back into the house to grab a weapon and the masked figures finally flee back to the car and drive off.

There were no injuries reported from the incident.

After a man ran out to film the intruders escaping in their car the gang got out and advanced on the two home occupants with weapons

The intruders closed in menacingly on a woman who was desperately trying to regain her feet outside the house

Police allege the vehicle used was stolen during an aggravated burglary on Glenvill Court, Templestowe about 3am last Thursday.

Victoria Police confirmed on Monday they had arrested a 17-year-old man in connection to the alleged attack.

The male arrested in connection with the incident is from the Melbourne south-east Melbourne suburb of Pakenham.

Police have called on anyone who has information that may help them catch those involved to directly contact them or Crime Stoppers.
He was released from prison today after serving 19 months in jail during trial

A retired British miner who killed his terminally ill wife was today released from a Cypriot jail after 19 months behind bars.

David Hunter, 76, said he 'didn't know where he would be' without his friends and former colleagues as he walked towards his freedom after nearly two years in custody awaiting trial.

The father-of-one was today handed a two-year prison sentence for ending the suffering of his childhood sweetheart Janice, 74, after she 'begged him' to end her life as she struggled with blood cancer.

But as ten months in custody is the equivalent of a year for a short sentence under the Cypriot justice system, Hunter was found to have already served his time by spending a gruelling 19 months in Nicosia Prison.

Speaking on the steps of Paphos District Court, a visibly emotional Hunter said: 'I'd like to say thank you to all the people who've donated to me, and especially my mates and my workmates. I don't know where I would be without them.'

The former miner added: 'When you work in a colliery, you're a family.'

Asked how he was feeling, Hunter said: 'I can't describe it. I'm sorry. I wish I could, I wish I could find words to describe it but I can't.

'When you're under pressure for two years, not knowing which way it's going to go.'

David Hunter, 76, was overcome with emotion and said he 'didn't know where I would be' without his friends and former colleagues as he walked towards his freedom for the first time in nearly two years

Hunter waves and smiles as he walks towards his freedom after he was released from prison in Cyprus today

The 76-year-old was overcome with emotion and said he 'didn't know where I would be' without his friends and former colleagues as he walked towards his freedom for the first time in nearly two years

Hunter outside Paphos District Court in Cyprus after he was released from custody by Cypriot prison authorities today

David Hunter leaves Paphos District Court in Cyprus after he was released from custody

Hunter smothered Janice in 2021 at their retirement home in Cyprus. Last week, he told the Paphos criminal trial how he took the heart-breaking decision to end her suffering from devastating blood cancer

Today Hunter made an emotional FaceTime call to his daughter Lesley Cawthorne, who had been nervously awaiting the result at her home in Norwich.

Ms Cawthorne, who launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for his defence and has tirelessly campaigned for her father's release, said: 'Speaking to my daddy was the most amazing thing. I feel like my heart has been put back together.

'I thought I'd lost him for ever. I cannot believe it. It's amazing.'

Michael Polak, the director of Justice Abroad, which is representing Hunter, said that in Cyprus a defendant will spend ten months in custody for every year that they are jailed  and can be released early due to good behaviour.

Hunter's legal team confirmed the ex-miner had been freed shortly after Cypriot prison authorities officially calculated his release date.

The judges said they had taken Hunter's clear criminal record into account and said the pensioner could 'not be deemed a risk to society' when handing him the two-year sentence.

During his highly emotive trial, Hunter told Paphos District Court how his wife of 52 years had 'cried and begged' for him to end her life as she endured agonising pain from blood cancer before he suffocated her at their home in Paphos in December 2021.

Earlier this month, judges cleared Hunter of murder and instead convicted him of the lesser charge of manslaughter, with Judge Michalis Droussiotis accepting he 'loved his wife and took care of her'.

And delivering his sentence yesterday, Judge Michalis said: 'Before us is a unique case of taking human life on the basis of feelings of love, with the aim of relieving a person of their suffering that came due to their illness.'

The judge also said Hunter's clean criminal record, age and personal circumstances had been considered when deciding the sentence  alongside other similar cases which had taken place previously.

Michael Polak, of Justice Abroad which represented Hunter, said outside the court today: 'We're very, very pleased with the outcome today. This is what we've been fighting for over 12 months.'

He added: 'It is a pity he spent so long in prison but he's really looking forward to getting out and now this allows for him and his family to properly grieve.'

After suffocating the love of his life, Hunter called his brother, William, in the UK to confess to the killing  before saying he was going to take his own life with a drugs and alcohol overdose.

William alerted the police who dashed to his daughter Lesley's Norfolk home and advised her to video call her father on December 18, 2021.

Harrowing footage shows Ms Cawthorne begging her father not to kill himself in the video call made moments after he suffocated Janice.

David Hunter with his defence team (right) and Michael Polak, the director of Justice Abroad, speaking outside Paphos District Court in Cyprus

Speaking on the steps of Paphos District Court, a visibly emotional Hunter said: 'I'd like to say thank you to all the people who've donated to me, and especially my mates and my workmates. I don't know where I would be without them'

David Hunter (right) with Michael Polak, the director of Justice Abroad, leaving Paphos District Court in Cyprus after being released from custody

A police van transporting Hunter arriving at Paphos District Court in Cyprus for sentencing after he was found guilty by Cypriot judges of the manslaughter of his terminally ill wife Janice

Lesley Cawthorne (right) is seen telling David Hunter, 75, 'you can't leave me' from her Norwich home 2,500 miles away from the British pensioner's retirement villa in Cyprus (left)

She screams down the phone: 'Daddy remember how you walked me down the aisle and you said I was beautiful. I'm your girl. I'm your girl. You can't leave me.

'Daddy please, please daddy I beg you.'

Full transcript of Lesley Hunter's conversation with her father Lesley: 'Daddy, daddy, just concentrate on me. Daddy concentrate on me. Daddy, forget about everybody else. Forget about everything else. Concentrate on me. 'Not on her. Not anybody else, just me and you, daddy, you love me you know you do. I'm your girl. 'You've always loved me. I'm your girl. I'm your girl, daddy. I'm your little girl. 'Remember, remember when I was in hospital and you were in the lift when I came round. 'And Daddy remember how you walked me down the aisle and you said I was beautiful. I'm your girl. I'm your girl. You can't leave me. 'Daddy please, please daddy I beg you. Daddy....' Police officer: 'Have you taken something David, because we can get someone to help? 'David we don't know your address but want to get someone to you... Lesley: 'We love you. We don't care what you've done. we don't care. We just want you safe. we love you so much 'Daddy, daddy, we love you, love, we love you so much, so much, all I want is you safe. Daddy. Daddy.' Advertisement

Hunter is seen slumped in a chair and barely conscious as his daughter says: 'Daddy, daddy, just concentrate on me. Daddy concentrate on me.

'Daddy, forget about everybody else. Forget about everything else. Concentrate on me. Not on her. Not anybody else, just me and you, daddy, you love me you know you do. I'm your girl.

'You've always loved me. I'm your girl. I'm your girl, daddy. I'm your little girl.'

At a sentencing hearing on Thursday that was adjourned until today, Hunter's defence lawyer, Ritsa Pekri, said his motive for killing Janice was to 'liberate his wife from all that she was going through due to her health conditions'.

The court heard it was Mrs Hunter's 'wish' to die and that her husband 'had only feelings of love for her'.

'There was no personal benefit for him,' Ms Pekri added.

She described Hunter as 'a quiet, family man that has never troubled the authorities' and said witnesses spoke of him 'looking after his wife during a difficult time of her life'.

The defence team said there have been no similar cases in Cyprus and so they had instead drawn from similar cases in New Zealand, Australia and Canada.

'We believe the suitable decision drawn from these cases is a suspended sentence,' Ms Pekri said.

State prosecutor Andreas Hadjikyrou argued that the Hunters' case 'was not one of euthanasia'.

Hunter told his trial, which lasted for more than a year, that his wife 'cried and begged' him to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer.

He broke down in tears as he said he would 'never in a million years' have taken Mrs Hunter's life unless she had asked him to.

He showed the court how he held his hands over his wife's mouth and nose and said he eventually decided to grant her wish after she became 'hysterical'.

He was found not guilty of pre-meditated murder for ending the suffering of his childhood sweetheart earlier this month.

David Hunter, 76, smiles after he was released from prison in Cyprus after he killed his terminally ill wife

David Hunter (left) arriving at Paphos District Court in Cyprus for sentencing on Monday. He has now been freed from prison

David Hunter (left) is transported from Paphos District Court in Cyprus after he was found guilty by Cypriot judges of the manslaughter of his terminally ill wife Janice, who died of asphyxiation at the couple's home in December 2021

Hunter leaving the Paphos District Court in Cyprus after his sentencing was adjourned

An apparent suicide note written by Hunter proved crucial in the British pensioner being dramatically cleared of murder.

What is 'mercy killing' or euthanasia? A mercy killing, or euthanasia, is the intentional ending of the life of someone considered to be suffering severe and incurable pain following the person's request. Under UK law, the intentional killing of an individual, even if they are in considerable and incurable pain, is considered murder or manslaughter. A mandatory life sentence of imprisonment could be issued in conviction of murder or manslaughter. However, juries are generally considered reluctant to convict in cases involving assisted suicide given the nature of the circumstances where family members believe what they are doing to be the best thing for their loved ones. With regard to Mr Hunter's case, Cyprus does not have laws permitting assisted dying. However, the island's parliament is due to discuss euthanasia under medical supervision when they return following the summer recess. The trial was considered unprecedented in Cyprus for the concept of mercy killing. Advertisement

A blue notebook and pen were found in his house with a message in it seemingly left for those who would find Mr Hunter and his wife's bodies.

The apparent suicide note read: 'My wife is in so much pain. She has asked me to help her, so we did this together.'

Hunter cannot remember the turn of events from the night due to his agitated state and the drugs overdose he took so it is unclear when he wrote the message.

The judges found there was not enough evidence to prove premeditated murder, also citing he tried to kill himself with a concoction of drugs after suffocating Janice.

Judge Michalis Droussiotis said following the verdict earlier this month: 'He loved his wife of 52 years and looked after her during difficult times.

'He did something he never before thought he would be capable of doing.

'The immediate arrival of the police and the fact he was taken to hospital saved him.'

The retired Northumberland miner was forced to treat Janice for terminal blood cancer at home with injections due to Covid restrictions as she deteriorated in front of his eyes.

In her last days she was crying out in agony 24 hours a day, unable to move from their sofa or take painkillers as she pleaded with him to kill her.

He finally relented and took her life on December 18, 2021. Hunter went on to attempt suicide, taking drugs and alcohol with the aim of overdosing.

But medics managed to revive him before he was arrested on suspicion of pre-meditated murder  and he has since languished in a high-security jail in Nicosia. He has now been acquitted of murder but found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Mr Hunter's daughter, Lesley Cawthorne, 50, says it 'breaks her heart' that her father has been left 'destitute' from trial

The cemetery where the grave of Janice Hunter is buried near their former home in Paphos

Hunter, who has been in custody for 19 months, told the court Janice 'cried and begged' him to end her life. Pictured: The grave of Janice Hunter

Hunter was released from custody today. Pictured: Janice's grave on Thursday

In May, Hunter told the court how his teenage sweetheart was reduced to wearing nappies, was covered in skin lesions and could no longer stand from her devastating blood cancer.

Hunter said he was forced to treat his wife himself at home due to Covid restrictions as her health deteriorated and told how Janice was left crying out in agony 24 hours a day.

He broke down in tears as he told the court how he killed his wife after she 'begged' him for six weeks.

He said: 'I don't remember a lot of the last day. I went to make a cup of coffee and she started crying.'

He described how he went to the kettle and gripped the bench for support as his wife sat sobbing next door.

'The next thing I knew I put my hands on her,' he said, wiping tears from his eyes. 'When it was finished, she was a grey colour. She didn't look like my wife, and it was the first time I cried in many years.'

He described how he stood by her side and put his left hand on her nose and right hand over her mouth to smother her.

When prosecutor Andreas Hadjikyrou suggested that Mrs Hunter struggled and scratched him as he smothered her, Hunter told him: 'She never struggled, she never moved. You are talking nonsense.'

Mr Hadjikyrou then suggested Hunter had planned to kill his wife and did not tell her, to which he replied: 'I would never in a million years take my wife's life if she had not asked me.

'She wasn't just my wife, she was my best friend.' He added: 'She wasn't crazy, you haven't seen the strain of the last six years, what she's gone through.

'The situation, the pressure. I wouldn't like anyone to go through the last six months we both went through.'

The prosecutor responded: 'Mr Hunter, there are people that go through much worse pain.'

Hunter said he didn't tell the doctors of his wife's suicidal wishes because she asked him not to, fearing they would take her into hospital. He didn't tell their daughter because he didn't want to 'worry' her.

After the cross examination finished, Hunter asked to address the judge. He told him: 'My wife was suffering and she actually said, "I don't want to live any more", and I still said no.

'Then she started to become hysterical. I was hoping she would change her mind. I loved her so much. I did not plan it, I swear to God.'

Hunter continued: 'For six weeks she asked if I could help her. For six weeks I refused.'

Describing her agony, he told Paphos District Court: 'She was lying down, she was in pain, suffering. I would do anything to help her. The last thing on my mind was to take her life. The last thing.'

Asked how the last few days were, Hunter said: 'She was crying, crying, crying, begging, begging, begging.

'She wasn't taking any care of herself. The last two or three weeks she could not move her arms and had trouble with her legs, she couldn't balance.

'She was only eating soup, she couldn't hold anything down. She lost a lot of weight. She lost so much weight that there was no flesh to put her injections in.'

He said in those final days he was 'thinking about what to do 24/7' before finally taking the decision to go through with it when she once more started crying out in pain.

Hunter said: 'I remember that I had my hand on her mouth and nose. I don't even know how I thought about it. I don't know how long I kept my hands there for.

'She did not attempt to stop me I don't even think she opened her eyes.'

After she died, he kissed her forehead and told her he loved her, before confessing to his brother who alerted the police. He said he cannot remember being arrested or giving interviews to police.

Hunter made his first statement in court last week and was visibly shaking as he gave evidence. He described how he took the devastating decision to end the suffering of his wife at their home in Cyprus

Pictured: David and Janice Hunter seen on their wedding day

The final two witnesses in the trial then took the stand, telling the court how Janice's condition deteriorated in the last years of her life and how she became increasingly depressed.

Through it all, they said, Hunter remained a loving husband.

'Janice often told us that her great wish was not to be taken to the hospital. And I think David made this possible,' Helmut Kesting, a neighbour of the British couple, told the court.

According to the Cyprus Mail, Mr Kesting has lived with his wife in the island country since 2020. He described Hunter as a 'quiet, reliable and reasonable man'.

'He and Janice always were very helpful and friendly to us,' he said.

Mr Kesting described to the court how the couple were very loving with one-another, saying they were very proud of the relationship they shared.

'They invited us to their home and showed us a lot of pictures, photo albums of their past trips. I never heard shouting or fights. I believe they were in full harmony together,' Mr Kesting reportedly told the court.

However, he said it was noticeable by 2021  in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic  that Janice had become 'more and more depressed' having been 'optimistic' about her condition a year earlier.

He said that he and his wife had no contact with Janice in her final three or four months, as she did not wish to speak with anyone.

Earlier in the trial, Hunter told how he met his wife when she asked him for a dance at a miners' hall party in Northumberland.

'She came up to me and said, 'You're sitting in my seat.' I hadn't ever seen such a beautiful woman,' he said.

From there, they were always together, he said, and they married in St John's Church in Ashington in 1969.

Asked how their marriage was, he said: 'Perfect.' He told how he worked seven days a week in the mine to pay for their daughter to become the first member of the family to go to university.

He and his wife would visit Cyprus on holidays and bought a property there in 1999 before moving across two years later to retire there.

Hunter said: 'The first 16 years before she got sick, apart from a few operations, it was absolutely fantastic.'

But Hunter suffered a stroke in 2015 and it was on regular trips to the hospital for his treatment that a doctor noticed his wife was looking very pale.

She was diagnosed with blood cancer and had to go to the capital Nicosia every week for procedures and injections.

As her condition deteriorated she asked to go to Paphos General Hospital because she couldn't face the journeys, but when Covid hit it was closed and so they kept her injections in their fridge and self-medicated.

Hunter told how he called the hospital five times a day but there was no answer, and he was forced to travel to centres further away for help and supplies.

She had two 125 euro injections per week but started suffering side effects including diarrhoea, headaches, dizziness and nose bleeds.

Mrs Hunter's haemoglobin levels were such that she was unable to take painkillers and was left in agony at home, unable to move.

In her last months she underwent a series of operations for skin lesions on her face and hands, as well as a knee operation and another for her collarbone.

Speaking after his hearing in May, Hunter told the Press he was happy to finally give his account after waiting for 18 months.

'I got my say, this is what I wanted,' he said. 'To tell them things that they never even thought about.

'For six weeks when she was asking me, it was 24 hours. She was my wife, my best friend.

'The last six months, I wouldn't like anyone to go through that. Prison is nothing compared to what we went though.'
Prince Harry's sustainable tourism project Travalyst has announced it has entered an 'incredibly exciting' era with a new board of directors - with no mention of the royal.

The independent non-profit organisation based in London was launched by the Duke of Sussex in 2019, when he was still a working royal, with wife Meghan Markle.

Harry spent three years as the public face of the initiative to encourage the tourism industry to become more sustainable - despite a furore over his use of private jets.

But he was left out of a major announcement by the group in May about its transition from a 'pilot phase' to a new board of five people with 'world-class expertise'.

Travalyst's statement was made eight days after Harry and Meghan's spokesman said the couple had been involved in a 'near-catastrophic' car chase while being followed by paparazzi in New York after the Ms Foundation Women of Vision Awards. The NYPD later seemed to soften the couple's dramatic account, saying 'there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries or arrests' related to the incident.

Harry, 38, is still in regular contact with the Travalyst chief executive and board behind the scenes and remains committed to it, according to a report in Newsweek. In addition, the Duke is still listed on the Travalyst website as its 'founder and patron'.

But it is notable that he was not used as a promotional tool for the revamp - given how prominently he has previously been involved in conferences and marketing.

September 2019 - Prince Harry launches his Travalyst initiative at A'dam Tower in Amsterdam

September 2019 - Harry addresses an audience as he launches Travalyst in Amsterdam

September 2019 - The announcement of Travalyst on the 'Sussex Royal' Instagram account

May 2022 - Harry plays a role in a sketch for a new initiative in New Zealand for Travalyst

PR expert Sean O'Meara, managing director of Manchester-based agency Essential Content, said the change of approach at Travalyst could be due to the marketing difficulties presented by the negative publicity often faced by Harry.

What are Prince Harry's remaining projects? NETFLIX Harry and Meghan signed a deal worth an estimated 80million with Netflix in 2020. A six-part documentary called 'Harry and Meghan' was their first release last December, which included a series of swipes at the royals. Three weeks later they released their second Netflix production, 'Live to Lead', which was about global leaders who have fought for social justice. Now, the couple are said to be in talks to front a third Netflix documentary about humanitarian issues in South Africa. It is not yet clear whether this will be a solo production for Harry, or a joint work with Meghan. BOOKS Harry was reported to have secured a four-book deal with Penguin Random House worth 29million in June 2021. His first book, Spare, was published in January, which contained a series of claims such as Harry saying William physically attacked him. FOUNDATION The couple's Archewell Foundation was founded as a charity after they stepped down as senior royals in 2020. It is the umbrella group for their work. ASPEN INSTITUTE Harry joined the Aspen Institute's new Commission on Information Disorder, joining 14 other commissioners and three co-chairs in conducting a six-month study on the state of US media. It said his position, announced in November 2021, would be part-time and involve regular meetings. INVICTUS GAMES The Invictus Games is perhaps Harry's most successful project, having founded the international tournament for wounded, ill and injured military personnel and veterans about a decade ago. The first games were held in London in 2014 and the next will be in Dusseldorf this September. BETTERUP Harry took on a role as chief impact officer at professional coaching and mental health firm BetterUp in March 2021. The boss of the company, which sells companies employee coaching and mental health help, said he hired Harry because of his advocacy for mental health services rather than the publicity brought by the move. ETHIC Harry and Meghan joined US ethical money manager Ethic as 'impact partners' in October 2021. The Wall Street investment firm has a business managing $1.3billion of investments for around 1,000 wealthy clients. SENTEBALE Harry co-founded Sentebale in 2006 to help vulnerable children in Lesotho, Botswana and Malawi, including those who are affected by extreme poverty and the HIV/Aids epidemic. He will travel to Singapore to take part in Sentebale's annual charity polo match next month. Advertisement

He told MailOnline today: 'This move to lower Harry's prominence as Travalyst enters a new phase of growth looks and feels strategic. It's not an oversight. And it very well could be at Harry's request or at the request of his advisors.

'Many in the PR industry, myself included, were speculating in the press earlier this year about how he might rehabilitate and refresh his media profile and one of the most common recommendations was for Harry to step away from centre stage and give himself and the organisations he's associated with some breathing room.

'Harry had become something of a lightning rod for negative PR which was harming perceptions of the organisations he was trying to support.'

Mr O'Meara said that the downside to a 'brand ambassador' approach to PR is that when the 'halo effect' of endorsement or association with a public figure wears off, it is 'significantly more difficult to attract attention and generate the required media coverage to build awareness'.

He added: 'This is by far the biggest risk facing brands that partner with public figures to build awareness; their perceptions are tied to, and become a function of, perceptions of the celebrity.

'When things are going well for the celebrity the organisation benefits too. It's easy to get attention. When things become challenging and the celebrity's appetite for seeing themselves in the press wanes, that has a downstream effect on their partners and affiliates.'

And another PR expert Andy Barr, co-founder of Gloucester-based agency 10 Yetis Digital, told MailOnline: 'Harry has really stepped back from the glare of the media in recent months and this is to be expected given the negativity and public outcry that came from him washing his dirty linen in public.

'He won't want the causes that he is most passionate about to become embroiled in rows about his own decision making so he has clearly decided to reduce the amount of mentions of his own name.

'You can expect his name to be used far more when his brand starts to improve, which it most certainly will given the army of image and PR advisors he has access too.

'For now though, it's low profile time and this is undoubtably going to frustrate some of the passion projects companies that he has signed up to as they rely on his name to make their stories travel further.'

In April 2020, Harry was listed on Companies House under the name of 'Henry Charles Albert David Duke of Sussex' as an 'individual person with significant control' when the project was incorporated as a company. Documents confirmed the Duke held 75 per cent or more of the shares and voting rights.

At the time there were two company directors listed on Companies House - James Holt, who remains one of the Duke's most senior aides, and Heather Wong, who worked as Harry's assistant private secretary at Kensington Palace for three years before he quit the Royal Family. She left Travalyst in March 2021.

Sally Davey, who is now Travalyst's chief executive, was appointed as a director one day later on Companies House.

Harry officially launched Travalyst in September 2019 at a time when he and Meghan were facing intense criticism after reportedly taking four private jet journeys in 11 days.

The Duke defended himself at the time , saying 'no one is perfect' and that what is important is 'what we do to balance' out negative effects.

Harry flew to the Netherlands on a commercial plane for the launch event in Amsterdam, having spent three years working on the initiative which was founded along with brands including Booking.com, Skyscanner, Tripadvisor, Trip.com and Visa.

July 25 - The most recent press release for Travalyst mentions Prince Harry towards the bottom

June 8 - The second most recent press release also has Harry mentioned near the bottom

May 24, 2023 - Travalyst's statement about its 'next phase of growth', with no mention of Harry

December 7, 2022 - Harry is mentioned at the top of a Travalyst press release issued last year

October 25, 2022 - In another Travalyst press release last year, Harry is mentioned at the top

Then in February 2020, in one of his last events as a working royal before stepping down and moving to the US with Meghan, he spoke at a Travalyst event in Edinburgh in which he memorably asked to be introduced just as 'Harry'.

The conference was organised for Harry and his Travalyst team to gain feedback from the travel industry on new ideas for sustainability, with about 100 people from the tourism and travel industries invited to join the working summit.

Months later in July that year, he made an opening speech at a virtual global summit for Travalyst, urging the travel industry to 'build back better' after the pandemic.

This appearance was notable because it was his first public appearance since a series of royal revelations were published in Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand's book Finding Freedom.

The following year, in February 2021, he wrote the foreword to a report by Travalyst in which he suggested that Covid-19 offered the travel industry the chance to 'jump-start a wholescale realignment' towards a sustainable future.

And then in May 2022, Harry played a starring role in a sketch for a new initiative in New Zealand for Travalyst in which he jogged through a forest before being accused of dropping a lolly wrapper four years earlier on a trip to the country.

The Duke delivered several phrases in Te Reo Maori for the clip, which he launched on Maori Television's current affairs programme Te Ao with Moana.

But fast forward 12 months to May 24 this year, and Travalyst announced it was moving into its 'next phase of growth'  with no mention of Harry in the press release.

February 2020 - Harry at a Travalyst summit at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre

July 2020 - Harry gives a speech at a virtual global summit for Travalyst during the pandemic

May 2022 - Harry plays a role in a sketch for a new initiative in New Zealand for Travalyst

A statement by Travalyst chief executive Ms Davey said the 'original coalition comprising five founding partners has now almost doubled in size to nine partners with a combined market value of nearly $2trillion'.

READ MORE Harry and Meghan back report which calls for media to show men cleaning and women fixing the sink to 'break the gender binary' Advertisement

Among these new partners is Google, which joined in September 2021.

The announcement added: 'Today we formally mark the end of Travalyst's pilot phase with the appointment of a new board to govern and guide us on our journey ahead to delivering major positive and system-changing impact.

'The board is composed of individuals with world-class expertise in impact, systems change, not-for-profit governance, advocacy, and campaigning for a just and sustainable world.'

The new board members were listed as India Gary-Martin, founder and chief executive of Leadership for Execs; Clea Kaske-Kuck, director for policy, advocacy and member mobilisation at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development; Dr Sally Uren, chief executive of Forum for the Future; James Whiting, chief executive of Doughty Street Chambers; and Henrietta Worthington, lawyer with Vedder Price.

Ms Davey also wrote: 'This is an incredibly exciting moment for Travalyst and, I believe, for the industry as we stride ahead into our next phase of growth and expansion to ensure our work is freely available to all, used by all and catalyses the positive transformation of the sector.'

The announcement has also not been mentioned in the press releases section of Harry and Meghan's Archewell website.

May 16, 2023 - Harry and Meghan at the Ms Foundation Women of Vision Awards in New York

May 26, 2023 - Travalyst chair India Gary-Martin mentions Harry in her Instagram statement

Today - Prince Harry is still listed on the Travalyst website as its 'founder and patron'

But Harry was given a mention by Ms Gary-Martin, chair of the board, in her own personal Instagram announcement on May 26, in which she said: 'Really exciting to announce that I've accepted the role as the Chair of the board of Travalyst.

'Founded by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, we are conveners and drivers of sustainability in travel and tourism working with the world's biggest corporations to drive standards and make sure we aren't taking out more than we put in - particularly in the places that are most impacted.'

There have been two further press releases posted on the Travalyst website in 2023, which both simply mention in the 'about Travalyst' section at the bottom that the project was 'founded by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex in 2019'.

According to Companies House documents, prior to the May 2023 announcement of the five-person board, Mr Holt and Ms Davey were the two directors of Travalyst.

Ms Davey told MailOnline in a statement today: 'Prince Harry is the founder of Travalyst and remains an invaluable part of this organisation.

'His role has not changed in any way, and he is regularly involved in strategic discussions and decisions alongside our partners and board.'

MailOnline has contacted representatives for the Sussexes for comment today.
Two intoxicated Scots Guards soldiers left a man with a broken jaw in a 'disgraceful' attack outside a nightclub in London's west end, a court heard.

Brooklyn Dobbie and Baillie Simeon, both 22, assaulted Alexander Gillies outside a nightclub on Rathbone Place in January last year.

Simeon also shoved Isabelle Yearley out the way as she attempted to break up the fight, leaving her with grazes and scrapes to her knee.

The soldiers admitted assault causing actual bodily harm at Southwark Crown Court. Simeon also admitted common assault against Ms Yearley.

Dobbie and Simeon, are both based at Wellington Barracks, 300 yards from Buckingham Palace. The pair, described as 'hard working soldiers' by their commander in court, are due to be deployed to Oman for the next four months.

They each received a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years earlier this month. They must also undertake 100 hours of unpaid work, pay 500 in court costs and now face a court martial.

Brooklyn Dobbie (left) and Baillie Simeon, (right) both 22, assaulted Alexander Gillies outside a nightclub on Rathbone Place in January last year

Brooklyn Dobbie (pictured) and Baillie Simeon admitted assault causing actual bodily harm at Southwark Crown Court. Simeon also admitted common assault against Ms Yearley

They each received a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years earlier this month. They must also undertake 100 hours of unpaid work, pay 500 in court costs and now face a court martial. Pictured: Brooklyn Dobbie

The attack occurred in the early hours of January 22 last year at a club on Rathbone Place, Fitzrovia while the pair were 'both intoxicated with alcohol', the court heard.

Mr Gillies suffered a non-displaced fracture of his jaw and had to go to hospital.

'He suffered considerable anxiety, he felt unsafe, and braces were needed to correct the biting point. He also suffered a nasty cut by his eye,' Judge Peter Rook said during sentencing on July 14.

Simeon had started to walk away after Mr Gillies shoved him in the chest with both hands, the court heard. But he unleashed a series of blows when the victim continued the argument.

Judge Rook, branding the assault a 'truly disgraceful incident', added: 'What is clear, is that during the remaining part of the incident, you Mr Simeon, return to Mr Gillies to attack him by punching him a number of times.

'Something you admitted to the author of your pre-sentence report was that this was a result of a loss of temper and that you assaulted Ms Yearley by pushing her.

The attack occurred in the early hours of January 22, 2022 at Rathbone Place (pictured)

The judge said Dobbie (pictured) punched Mr Gillies five times and kicked him to the body

'During the second phase of the assault both of you were reigning punches onto Mr Gillies, you, Mr Dobbie were also kicking out.'

The judge said Dobbie punched Mr Gillies five times and kicked him to the body.

He continued: 'A clear inference I draw is that the nasty injury you caused to Mr Gillies happened during this part of the assault.

'Your admission on the basis of plea, is that you accept your punching at this time was not a reasonable self-defence. Indeed, it was certainly not, it was two to one and you were raining punches on him.'

Judge Rook told Simeon: 'You are described by your platoon commander, Lt Col Murray, as a hard-working soldier. There are difficulties at home which means you don't have a strong support network there and you had suffered with problems with alcohol abuse.

'You left school at 15 and its likely that alcohol has inhibited you this night and there will be little doubt the reason you acted out of character that night was because you were strongly affected by alcohol.

The soldiers, who are both based at Wellington Barracks, (pictured) have been described as 'hard-working soldiers'. An Army spokesman told MailOnline: 'Anyone who falls short of the Army's high standards can expect appropriate action to be taken'

'I've seen medical evidence in respect of your problems this year and indeed very recently due to alcohol clearly you need assistance in this area.

'You're both described by your platoon commander as having all the hallmarks of young soldiers who will do well in the Army.'

Dobbie and Simeon were both sentries with the Scots Guards, which protect Britain's royal residences.

An Army spokesman told MailOnline: 'Anyone who falls short of the Army's high standards can expect appropriate action to be taken.'
The grieving mother of a woman beaten to death with a tree branch has suffered another cruel blow after a thief stole her dead daughter's jewellery on the anniversary of her killing.

Maxi Antoniou's daughter Courtney Herron, 25, was so savagely bashed on May 25, 2019 that the mortician could not put her broken body back together.

Her killer, Henry Hammond, was found not guilty of her murder by a judge who accepted he was mentally impaired at the time. Instead, he was ordered to serve 25 years in a psychiatric hospital.

Now, Ms Antoniou claims she has been forced to relive the horror after a brazen thief ransacked her Moonee Ponds home, in inner-city Melbourne, earlier this month and took off with a gold cross and Pandora bracelet belonging to her daughter.

Courtney Herron (pictured) was so savagely bashed on May 25, 2019 that the mortician could not put her broken body back together

Henry Hammond (pictured) was ordered to spend 25 years in a psychiatric hospital after a judge accepted he was mentally impaired at the time

'The value in money is not that great. But the value to myself and my family and my children is priceless,' Ms Antoniou told 7News.

'The violation is just as bad as when Courtney was (killed). I can't describe the feeling of having her gone and then this person taking that jewellery.'

On Monday, police released CCTV images of a man who they believe can assist with their enquiries.

'It is understood the offender slashed the fly screen and kicked in the rear door to gain entry to the property on Hopetoun Street between 4.30pm and 6.15pm on 1 July,' a Victoria Police spokesperson said.

The man who may be able to assist with police inquiries is described as being of middle eastern appearance, aged in his 50's, solid build, black and grey hair with a thin goatee.

He was wearing a fluorescent yellow and dark jacket, brown shirt, dark pants and white runners.

Anyone with information is urged to contact police immediately.

Courtney Herron's mum (pictured visiting the site where her daughter was killed in May 2019) said the theft of her daughter's jewellery was a 'violation... just as bad as when Courtney was murdered'

On Monday, police released CCTV images of a man who they believe can assist with their enquiries (pictured)

Hammond killed Ms Herron after they both went for an early morning work in Royal Park in inner-city Melbourne in May 2019.

He beat her to death with a branch before burying her under a pile of leaves. Her angled body was found by dog-walkers later that morning.

When he was arrested, Hammond told police he thought he recognised Ms Herron from a past life and that he killed her in an act of revenge for killing his wife.

In May, Daily Mail Australia revealed that Hammond was enjoying conjugal visits with a fellow 'patient' within the walls of one of Australia's most notorious asylums for the criminally insane.

In March 2021, Supreme Court of Victoria Justice Phillip Priest ordered Hammond be moved from Port Phillip Prison to Thomas Embling Hospital under a custodial supervision order that could be reviewed as early as next year.

'He's a very aggressive prisoner. He'll spit on the nurses, but he's got a girlfriend who he's met inside and they're allowed to go in the conjugal room,' a well placed source told this publication.

Hooking-up with females within Thomas Embling is a well known perk among killers hoping to get-off on murders with mental impairment pleas.

Bourke Street killer James Gargasoulas - who failed in his mental impairment bid - told psychologist Michael Daffern he was keen on serving time at Thomas Embling 'because there would be females there'.
The Australian Space Agency (ASA) has wrapped up its investigation into a mystery capsule which washed up on a Western Australian beach.

Following the two-week probe into the capsule's origins, ASA announced on Monday the object belongs to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

'We have concluded the object ... is most likely debris from an expended third-stage of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV),' said ASA on their official Twitter profile.

'The PSLV is a medium-lift launch vehicle operated by [ISRO].'

The mystery object washed up on the beach at Green Head, about 250 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia

A member of the public found the large, barnacle-encrusted cylinder before The Australian Space Agency launched a two-week investigation into its origins

A member of the public found the large, barnacle-encrusted cylinder on July 15, with ASA initially suspecting the debris was from a space vehicle.

'The debris remains in storage and the Australian Space Agency is working with ISRO, who will provide further confirmation to determine next steps, including considering obligations under the United Nations space treaties,' writes the ASA.

'The Australian Space Agency is committed to the long-term sustainability of outer space activities, including debris mitigation, and continues to highlight this on the international stage.'

Anyone who spots any suspected space debris should contact local authorities, and report the find to ASA on space.monitoring@space.gov.au.
A man was killed and his daughter seriously injured in a shocking waterpark incident which saw their inflatable bouncy castle swept into the air amid high winds and tossed some 150ft in France yesterday.

The tragedy unfolded at the Wonderland Waterpark in Saint-Maximin-La-Sainte-Baume, in France's southern Var region, when the 35-year-old father and his three-year-old were on the inflatable on one of the park's largest features.

Wonderland had recently reopened after works but the area was subject to weather warnings due to the powerful winds, and one gust lifted the castle out of the water and violently threw it across the park with the victims trapped inside.

They landed about 150ft away and suffered cardiac arrests.

Emergency services were able to resuscitate both father and daughter and airlifted them to a hospital in Marseille where they were placed in intensive care.

But the father later on Sunday night died from his injuries. His daughter is still in critical condition.

Wonderland Waterpark in Saint-Maximin-La-Sainte-Baume, in France's southern Var region

In the aftermath of the incident, town mayor Alain Decanis took to social media to make a statement condemning the park's lack of safety and paying tribute to the deceased.

'On Sunday afternoon, when I learned that an accident had occurred in Wonderland Park in Saint-Maximin, I immediately went to the scene,' he said.

'I was able to gauge the severity of the situation for a father and his little girl at once. The inflatable structure they were in was lifted then carried away by a gust of wind and violently projected 50 metres away.

'Firefighters and other rescuers arrived very quickly to the scene, but the situation was already critical when the two victims were airlifted to hospitals in Marseille.

'I was hoping for a positive outcome, however, and it was with great sadness that I learned late in the evening that Dad did not survive.

'How could a water park that was accepted on communal territory to bring joy and happiness to children turn into a device of death that terrorised an entire family?

'Tonight I want to offer my most sincere condolences to the mother who was present at the scene, who showed remarkable courage, and to all members of the family. the family.

'All my thoughts go out to them tonight.'

Decanis added that prosecutors had opened an investigation into the incident.
A plumbing boss and his elderly father who launched a terrifying attack on his son's lover and her family after she refused to have sex with him have been spared jail.

Alex Craig, 36, called on Francis Craig, 79, for help at the house in Frodsham, Cheshire, after dumping mother-of-two Luana Dougherty in a fit of rage over the snub.

Craig Snr threatened to kill Miss Dougherty's 16-year-old daughter Carlee, pulled her hair and threw her to the ground as she screamed for her mother, who was left with cuts and bruises after being repeatedly kicked by Craig Jnr.

The 72,000-a-year businessman also targeted Carlee's boyfriend, Finn McBride, 16, throwing a bicycle, pool balls and an electric fan at him.

When police later arrested the father and son, they both claimed to be acting in self-defence and were each sentenced to 18 months in jail, suspended for 18 months after admitting affray at Chester Crown Court. Their not guilty pleas to assault were accepted.

Alex Craig (left), 36, called on Francis Craig (right), 79, for help at the house in Frodsham, Cheshire, after dumping mother-of-two Luana Dougherty in a fit of rage over the snub

Craig Snr threatened to kill Miss Dougherty's 16-year-old daughter Carlee, pulled her hair and threw her to the ground as she screamed for her mother (left), who was left with cuts and bruises after being repeatedly kicked by Craig Jnr (right)

Craig Jnr was further ordered to pay a total of 3,750 in compensation to the three victims whilst his father must pay 750 in damages.

Both were made a subject to an indefinite restraining order which bans them from contacting Miss Dougherty - a community support worker in her 40s - and the teenagers.

The row broke out on March 19, the morning after Craig Jnr and Miss Dougherty had spent the evening drinking wine together.

When she rejected his advances, he became verbally abusive, telling her that the relationship was over and she would be homeless, and that his father was on his way to 'sort them all out'.

Laura Knightly, prosecuting, told the court how, when Craig Jnr arrived, he pushed Carlee to the floor and pulled her around as her partner tried to pick her up.

Craig Jnr then pushed Finn onto the gravel before kicking him and throwing his bicycle at him while his father grabbed Carlee's hair.

The young couple briefly took refuge in the bathroom, along with Carlee's grandmother who was also at the house, and called the police.

Miss Dougherty, who had left earlier in the confrontation, returned to the property to retrieve her mobile phone but was pushed by her partner, who she tried to stop by swinging a carrier bag containing a bottle of milk.

When police later arrested the father and son, they both claimed to be acting in self-defence and were each sentenced to 18 months in jail, suspended for 18 months after admitting affray at Chester Crown Court

Both were made a subject to an indefinite restraining order which bans them from contacting Miss Dougherty (pictured) - a community support worker in her 40s - and the teenagers

He kicked her in the ribs before he turned his attention to Finn who had tried to intervene and had taken his father's car keys.

Craig Snr later dragged Finn to the floor while his son threw objects at him and bit him under his left armpit as they tussled.

The pair finally left the house and were arrested at 7.20pm that evening outside Chester railway station.

In interview, Craig Jnr who now lives in Dyserth, North Wales said he had been 'the victim of an attack' but then answered 'No comment' to all questions asked of him.

His father, who lives in nearby Ruthin, claimed to have been acting in self-defence but admitted grabbing Carlee's hair to 'subdue her and force her to her knees.' He denied making threats to kill.

In mitigation Craig Jnr's counsel Gareth Roberts said: 'He comes before the court properly embarrassed and ashamed by his involvement in this very unfortunate matter.

'He knows he acted in a way that was entirely improper. He wishes he could turn the clock back and act in a different way. He is ordinarily an extremely productive and usually a law-abiding man.

'The relationship with Luana Dougherty is now entirely over.'

For Craig Snr, John Wyn Williams, said: 'He had quite a difficult childhood where he was moved to North Wales as an evacuee and was abandoned by his mother.

'He has health problems and is not in the same financial position as his son - he has limited means.'

Sentencing the pair, Mr Recorder Mark Ainsworth said: 'Frankly, the events of that day, however you dress them up, are shameful.

Alex Craig and Luana Dougherty pictured in happier times. The relationship is now over, the court heard

'I find it remarkable that at no point during this incident, which lasted some time, neither of you stepped back to think 'What on earth am I doing?'

'At various times objects were thrown including pool balls. I make it absolutely clear, had there been a conviction after trial you would have been looking at immediate imprisonment.

'While it is tempting to say that you must be going to prison, there's a realistic prospect of rehabilitation so I must step back and suspend the sentence.'

'It is quite rare to see father and son in the dock and it's a very upsetting thing to see too - especially in these circumstances.'
Devon Archer is set to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Monday

Hunter Biden told friend and business partner Devon Archer they would 'get the last laugh' after Archer said a judge had thrown out his initial 2018 conviction.

In a November 2018 text, reviewed by Fox News Digital, Archer told Hunter Biden that the 'judge threw out my conviction today'.

The President's son replied: 'Thank f*****g god! First good news in way too long my friend. I am so happy for you. I know its [sic] been a living hell but put it behind you now and take great steps forward.'

Archer was linked to the fraudulent issuance and sale of more than $60mn of tribal bonds, but a judge assessed at the time Archer failed to show he 'knew that the bond issue was fraudulent, or that he received any personal benefit from it'.

The conviction was reinstated by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals a month before the 2020 election, and Archer was sentenced to a year and a day in prison in February 2022.

Archer is set to testify before lawmakers today, expected to talk about President Joe Biden's interactions with Hunter's business associates while he was vice president.

Text messages and emails between Devon Archer, Hunter Biden and dozens of business associates spanning a decade will feature as Archer goes before the House Oversight Committee to testify on his business dealings with Hunter.

Devon Archer and Christa Archer attend an event in New York City on September 9, 2010

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (left) makes an opening statements as Republicans charge the Justice Department interfered with a yearslong investigation into Hunter Biden, during a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, July 19, 2023

As Hunter Biden assured Archer they would 'have the last laugh', Archer replied: 'I know. And I mean it. Can I please come see you now that I'm not a felon!?!'

He followed up: 'Don't answer that. Just when and where.'

Hunter joked that he liked Archer 'better as a felon' and set a date.

After the bond issue was dropped in 2018, Archer was again sentenced on February 28, 2022, by the Honorable Ronnie Abrams to a year and a day in prison on the charge of defrauding a Native American tribal entity and various investment advisory clients of tens of millions of dollars.

Archer was also ordered to forfeit $15,700,513 and to make restitution in the amount of $43,427,436.

Now, a source close to Archer has confirmed reports that he is set to testify about meetings he attended with his and Hunter's foreign business partners, where Hunter allegedly had his father join on calls.

Archer is expected to provide details that will challenge the White House's insistence that Joe Biden never had any knowledge of or involvement in his wayward son's business affairs.

But two days before he was due to testify, on July 29, the Department of Justice sent a letter to Abrams asking to expedite his sentencing for the fraud charge.

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer said on Sunday the Department was acting unusually in doing this.

Comer claimed the Department was apparently acting out of the norm in an attempt to stop anyone from 'cooperating' with the House Oversight's investigation into Hunter Biden.

He claimed the DOJ's actions were an attempt to 'intimidate' witnesses key to getting to the bottom of the President's son's overseas business deals.

He said in an interview on Fox's Sunday Morning Futures that it was unusual for the DOJ to send such a letter.

In response, the Justice Department followed up, telling District Judge Abrams on Sunday that they do not wish to see Archer imprisoned before he testifies.

'To be clear, the Government does not request (and has never requested) that the defendant [Archer] surrender before his Congressional testimony,' a letter dated 30 July read.

DailyMail.com reported exclusively this week that Archer is 'in hiding' after receiving 'threats' leading up to his bombshell testimony.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk from the beach to their motorcade in Rehoboth Beach, Del., Sunday, July 30, 2023, as Devon Archer prepares to testify

President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden, exits in J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Delaware, United States on July 26, 2023

A letter from the DOJ sent to District Judge Abrams requesting Archer 'be ordered to surrender... to commence his term of imprisonment', two days before he was set to testify

The White House has maintained the president was never 'in business' with his son, but the GOP have ramped up their investigation with testimonies from whistleblowers and a slew of other evidence.

Archer, 48, and Hunter both graduated from Yale and were friends for decades. Hunter has reportedly described Devon as his 'best friend in business.'

Together they formed Rosemont Seneca Partners back in 2009, along with Christopher Heinz, the son-in-law of former Sen. John Kerry, kicking off a period of international business deals and jet-setting.

Archer and Hunter Biden each landed lucrative seats on the board of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, despite Hunter not having particular expertise in the field.

The firm brought in a reported $11 million through the arrangement, based on information gleaned from Hunter's infamous laptop.
A young mother who allegedly left her 18-month-old child sitting in a maggot infested nappy has been released from custody on home detention bail, with a condition to stay away from drugs and children.

On Monday, Shay Ellen Bilney, 24, faced the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court charged with criminal neglect after police allegedly found her 18-month-old daughter with maggots in her nappy.

The court previously heard the child was found in a nappy overflowing with 'its own urine and faeces' and was suffering from peeling skin.

Shay Ellen Bilney (pictured) has been released from custody on home detention bail. The 24-year-old is charged with criminal neglect after her 18-month-old daughter was allegedly found with maggots in her nappy

Magistrate Rodney Oates heard Ms Bilney had agreed to seek help for her 'significantly' poor mental health, which had been worsened by her constant marijuana usage.

'I understand you are keen to attend counselling or treatment for the marijuana use?' he asked.

'I can see from the reports that the marijuana can't possibly be a benefit for your mental health and you have some significant mental health issues, I understand?'

'I need to quit,' Ms Bilney replied.

Prosecutors asked the court to impose a condition that she not be allowed within 100 metres of any child, due to the possibility of 'repetition.'

'We don't want her near any children under 18, in case of repetition,' prosecutors said.

Ms Bilney's lawyer, Timothy McGrath, argued otherwise, saying it would be a crushing condition due to her bail address being close to a school.

'It seems unusual that the condition not to go near any child exists, especially because there is a school nearby,' Mr McGrath said.

'I would like to argue against that.

'If kids came out the front of her house, wouldn't that be a breach? It strikes me as unusual.'

Ms Bilney's (pictured) bail condition include refraining from using marijuana and not contacting or coming within 50metres of a child

He told the court Ms Bilney had previously had issues with students at the school who had allegedly yelled racially inappropriate things at her as she walked by, but that shouldn't be a reason to impose the condition.

'A couple of kids in front of the schoolyard were racially intimidating her, and she went back and pushed one over,' Mr McGrath said.

'Is that why this is being suggested?'

'She's been charged with child neglect; it's probably not entirely inappropriate,' Mr Oates said in reply.

Mr Oates granted Ms Bilney home detention bail on the grounds that her marijuana use would be better treated, but banned her from contacting or coming within 50m of a child.

She was also ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device.

'To me, the marijuana use can be much better monitored from home detention.

'If you smoke marijuana, you'll be in breach of bail. If you go somewhere that is not approved, you will be in breach of your bail,' he said.

Outside court, family members told reporters they were there to support her.

Ms Bilney will return to court in December.
A drug-driving scientist who was caught over the legal limit eight days after she smoked cannabis at a party has been banned from the roads for a year.

Newly qualified microbiologist Amira Shaid, 27, failed a roadside drugs test after being pulled over in a routine stop as she drove her Ford Fiesta through Warrington town centre in Cheshire.

During the arrest, a shocked Ms Shaid burst into tears as tests showed she had 2.5 micrograms of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in a litre of blood, the legal limit being 2mcg/l. THC is the principal psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

The 27-year-old later claimed she had no idea she would be over the limit and insisted the cannabis must have still been in her system from a party she attended more than a week earlier.

At Warrington Magistrates' Court, Ms Shaid, who graduated with a First Class Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) degree in Zoology and Animal Biology at Liverpool John Moores University, was disqualified from driving for 12 months after she admitted drug-driving.

She now faces being sacked from a new job at a company which carries out routine drug testing amongst its staff.

Amira Shaid, 27, failed a roadside drugs test after being pulled over in a routine stop as she drove her Ford Fiesta through Warrington town centre in Cheshire

Newly qualified microbiologist Amira Shaid who has been banned from the roads

Ms Sarah McInerny, prosecuting, said that Ms Shaid, from Widnes, was stopped by PC Dicks on mobile police patrol on February 25 this year.

'There was a strong smell of perfume in the car and it was suspected that may have been used to cover the smell of cannabis,' Ms McInerny said. 'The defendant did state that she had smoked cannabis in the last week.

'She was asked to cooperate with a roadside DrugWipe which she complied with and which tested positive for cannabis. She was arrested and taken to the North Cheshire custody suite where she underwent a blood test.

'It tested positive for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and the reading was 2.5 micrograms of per litre of blood. The legal limit is 2.'

The court heard Ms Shaid had been stopped on suspicion of drug driving on an earlier occasion but no action was taken against her.

In mitigation defence solicitor James Fisher said: 'There is no evidence of dangerous or erratic driving. She was just pulled over.

'There was no accident, nobody was hurt in any way. She knows that she is lucky in that regard. She was in tears at the roadside and at the station. For the most part she was calm and compliant and she provided a sample of blood without any issue as well.

'As she said to the officers, quite frankly she did not expect to be over the limit. She had last consumed cannabis at a party on February 17. She was pulled over on February 25. She would not have in any way driven if she felt impaired. She would never have taken that risk.

Ms Shaid, 27, from Widnes who graduated with a First Class Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) degree in Zoology and Animal Biology at Liverpool John Moores University

Shaid was disqualified from driving for 12 months after she admitted drug driving

'She is quite rigorously drug tested at work. She is a microbiologist and has recently started work for a new company which does routine drug testing. She has passed everything other than this situation.

'It has taken her a long time to get into the role that she is in now, it has taken eight years.

'She is a person of previous good character. She has explained it has taken a huge toll on her. She has lost about two stone in weight since the blood test.

'It has been distressing. Her mental health has taken a significant downward toll. She is happy for this to be concluded today. She is not so much concerned about the driving ban, it is the criminal conviction.

'She does not know the outcome, she may lose her job and her income. She lives at home and pays rent to her mother. Her takings are 1,900 per month.

The court heard Ms Shaid had been stopped on suspicion of drug driving on an earlier occasion but no action was taken against her

Ms Shaid was also fined 438 and ordered to pay 294 in costs and a victim surcharge

'She is very, very remorseful. She tells me that she would never have taken the risk if she thought she was over the limit.

'She does not ever want to be in this situation again. It's a situation where she is looking to put this behind her and move on and hopefully keep her career if at all possible.

'She has done a lot of work to get where she is, including a year as a veterinary technician in preparation for this role. She is just devastated that she is here before you today.'

Ms Shaid was also fined 438 and ordered to pay 294 in costs and a victim surcharge.

JP Ian Williams told her: 'I appreciate that this has a sobering effect on anybody coming to court for the first time and clearly it is a concern for some about their career when they have worked so hard to get where they are.

'But you have to accept that driving with drugs in your system is a serious offence and there is a mandatory ban. Good luck in your career.'
Boris Kagarlitsky, one of the most prominent left-wing sociologists in Russia, was arrested on 25 July, and taken to Syktyvkar (Komi Republic, Russia) on 26 July. The same day, the local court placed him in custody for two months on justification of terrorism charges. If the court finds him guilty, Kagarlitsky could spend up to 7 years in prison.

Who is Kagarlitsky?

Dr. Kagarlitsky, born in 1958, is a sociologist, political scientist and political writer. In 1982, he was imprisoned along with other members of a young socialists group, which had criticised the late-Soviet bureaucratic leadership. Kagarlitsky was involved in politics prior to and throughout the era of Perestroika. In the same years, he began writing articles and books on social and political questions, and over the following 35 years he published several dozen books and essays.

In 1988, his book Thinking Reed won the Isaac Deutscher Prize. In the following years, his books Dialectics of Change and A Farewell To Perestroika were published in London (in English, with the latter also translated into Japanese and Turkish); and Square Wheels  chronicles of the democratic Moscow Council, published in German in Berlin. In 1995, Kagarlitsky successfully defended his PhD thesis on Russian trade unions in the 1990s. For many years, he was a professor in the Moscow School for the Social and Economic Sciences.

In recent years, Kagarlitsky has been arrested and penalised several times for his activism, such as in 2020, when he organised a rally against the changing the Russian Constitution  which allowed Putin to be reelected for his fifth presidential term  or in 2021, when he used social media to call for protests against voter fraud. In May 2022, Boris was labelled a foreign agent  a legal status that leads to complications when making public statements  for his consistent internationalist views on the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Yet, despite all that Kagarlitsky did not flee the country and did not abandon the public sphere.

Generations of young Russian communists and left-wingers came of age reading his books. With his works, Kagarlitsky opposed the legacy of late-Soviet, Stalinist official Marxism. In addition, he was always eager to offer intellectual aid to left-wing activists. He almost never turned down a chance to participate in left-wing conferences, and was always open to having a discussion during breaks.

Since 2008, Boris has also been the founder and one of the editors of Rabkor, an online journal. In the last 15 years this journal  and its affiliated YouTube channel  have become an important source of left-wing discussion. Kagarlitsky's essays and columns drew the attention of tens of thousands readers, and his thoughtful analysis of current events was very popular on the Russian left.

The Repressive Machine

The Organisation of Communist-Internationalists (the Russian section of the IMT) calls for national and international support for Kagarlitsky

On 24 June, an attempted coup by the Wagner Group, led by Eugeny Prigozhin, shocked the regime and revealed divisions in the Russian ruling class. In the end, both sides of the conflict quickly came to an agreement, and Prigozhin was not only allowed to escape without any prosecution, but had all his assets returned to him. In a matter of hours, the government and state media rehabilitated a terrorist, once again.

However, the Russian bureaucracy and the oligarchy, who are feeling the insecurity of their position, are eager to erase any memories of a challenge against them. They seek to prove to the masses that are still able to mete out harsh punishments. Yet, of course, the repressive apparatus can only effectively punish a few select scapegoats, who are unable to fight back  as was the case with the Wagner group.

The Kremlin regime has chosen their victims from among the most prominent figures of both the right-wing and the left-wing opposition to the government. First was Igor Strelkov, the former Minister of Defense of the Donetsk Peoples Republic and the founder of the Angry Patriots' Club (APC), a Russian nationalist organisation. APC members supported the invasion of Ukraine, whilst criticising the military policies of the Russian government. Strelkov was arrested on 21 July for publically encouraging participation in extremist activities. The same evening, the court took him into custody for two months; if he is found guilty, he can face 5 years in prison. Despite the court hearings taking place in Moscow, the Strelkovs admirers are yet to show mass support for their leader.

A few days later, the next victim of the repressive machine was chosen from the opposite end of the political spectrum. Kagarlitsky was arrested on 25 July. Law enforcement, anticipating protests in defence of the left-wing writer, who is well-known both in Russia and internationally, transported him to Syktyvkar, a remote town 1000 kilometres north of Moscow. The court hearing was held in private the very next day, and even Kagarlitsky's lawyer was unable to attend, due to a shortage of plane tickets. It is worth noting that the charges against Boris rest solely upon one of his Telegram posts, in which he analyses the Ukrainian attack on the Crimean Bridge on 8 October, 2022. Needless to say that there is nothing even resembling the justification of terrorism in said post. Yet again, bourgeois law enforcement shows that they need no solid reason to press charges.

A number of primarily left-wing groups reacted to Kagarlitsky's arrest with a public campaign in his defence. Numerous publications, leaflets and meetings are being planned, and these events have the potential to unite the uncoordinated groups with a common cause. Fortunately, the Russian left has achieved at least one successful solidarity campaign in its history: in February 2023, months of hard work resulted in the freeing of prominent trade union leader Kirill Ukraintsev.

The Organisation of Communist-Internationalists (the Russian section of the IMT) calls for national and international support for Kagarlitsky. We are launching a public campaign and we urge readers to join it. We ask the left internationally to draw attention to this injustice, by spreading the word, organizing local events in support of Boris. Please send solidarity messages via this link.

Freedom for Boris Kagarlitsky!

#

#BorisIsNotATerrorist
A postwoman has been found dead after being stuck in a lift for three days with no one coming to rescue her.

Olga Leontyeva, 32, was delivering mail on her rounds in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, on Monday July 24.

CCTV footage showed her stepping into the lift on the ground floor of the nine-storey flat block. She was not seen afterwards.

The mother-of-one was then reported missing on July 26 by her worried relatives, and her body was found the next day in the elevator, which is thought to have stopped working due to a power cut.

A source claimed that 'no-one heard her shouts for help' and the lift's alarm did not sound.

Olga Leontyeva (pictured on July 24), 32, was delivering mail in a high rise block when she got stuck in the lift and died

The mother-of-one (pictured right on her wedding day with her ex-partner) was then reported missing on July 26 by her worried relatives, and her body was found the next day in the elevator

According to reports, the lift lost power and its alarm had not sounded when Ms Leontyeva had called for help

According to reports the lift had been suffering regular technical problems, and had not been properly registered. Breakdowns were also 'common', according to Tashkent General Prosecutor's Office.

Ms Leontyeva had married in 2018 but later divorced. She tragically has left behind her six-year-old daughter who is now being cared for by relatives.

State investigators are examining the incident and a criminal case has been launched, said the prosecutor's office.

An earlier check on the Chinese-manufactured lift had found it to be in working order, said a report, yet it had not been registered according to government regulations.

The power supplier denied there had been an electricity cut.

The elevator in the nine-storey apartment block, which was built in 2020, has seen regular technical problems

CCTV footage shows Ms Leontyeva entering the lift while delivering post

Ms Leontyeva tragically leaves behind her six-year-old daughter who is now being cared for by relatives

Fakhriddin Nuraliyev, spokesman for Regional Electricity Networks enterprise, told Gazeta.uz that there were no power cuts in the apartment building on the days in question.

'This is evidenced by the records of emergency shutdowns.

'The cause of the incident was the malfunction of the lift. This was confirmed by the residents as well,' he said.
A 'sadistic' cat killer who tortured his girlfriend's kitten by shooting it and covering it in bleach before beating it to death has been handed one of the longest jail sentences for animal cruelty.

Lewis Hudson, 23, kicked Binx with steel-toe boots, boiled her in a steaming shower and smashed her teeth out.

He was jailed for 27 months last week and given a life ban on pet ownership for his abuse of the female cat.

The RSPCA said the cat suffered 'appalling levels of physical violence and psychological suffering' for a prolonged period before she was eventually beaten to death.

The jail term given to Hudson at Liverpool Crown Court on July 26 is believed to be one of the longest ever handed down for offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

A 'sadistic' cat killer who tortured his girlfriend's female kitten Binx (pictured) by shooting it and covering it in bleach before beating it to death has been handed one of the longest sentences for animal cruelty

Lewis Hudson, 23, (pictured) kicked Binx with steel-toe boots, boiled her in a steaming shower and smashed her teeth out

The RSPCA worked in partnership with the police to prosecute Hudson, from Netherley, Liverpool, who pleaded guilty to two animal welfare offences in relation to Binx.

He also admitted an offence of putting a person in fear of violence by harassment as part of the case that was brought to court by the CPS.

The appalling catalogue of abuse started in the months after Hudson moved into a flat in Prescot, Merseyside, with his now ex-partner  who owned Binx  in August 2021, the court heard.

Incidents included leaving the 11-month-old kitten in the shower with the hot water running for long periods of time, shooting her with pellets, which he had soaked in household cleaner, from his BB gun and hitting her with a mop soaked in bleach.

He also filmed himself stamping on the kitten wearing steel toe cap boots, leaving her screaming.

Video footage shows some of the shocking injuries inflicted on the cat and the abuse continued for about eight months.

On one occasion last July, Binx was found by her owner lying motionless and matted with blood in the bath where she had been hit with a shovel.

It was done with such force that some of the young animal's teeth had been broken.

On August 15 last year in a disturbing series of text messages sent to his partner, Hudson told her, 'if ye don't get home now am gonna kill it,' as well as 'u want her in a bin bag'.

She returned home to find the kitten dead  her body covered in blood.

The RSPCA said Binx suffered 'appalling levels of physical violence and psychological suffering' for a prolonged period before she was eventually beaten to death

Hudson was jailed for 27 months last week and given a life ban on pet ownership for his sickening campaign of abuse against the cat

In a disturbing series of text messages sent to his partner, Hudson told her: 'If ye don't get home now am gonna kill it,' as well as 'u want her in a bin bag'

The police were called and Hudson was arrested.

Binx's body was later collected by RSPCA inspector Anthony Joynes, who led the investigation on behalf of the animal welfare charity.

The inspector said: 'Binx was wrapped in a bag, covered with a towel and contained within a cardboard box.

'I saw she had a number of fresh looking wounds around her nasal area and chin. I noted there were no obvious signs that might suggest Binx had been involved in a road traffic accident and her claws did not appear scuffed.

'The inside of her mouth was bloodied and I noted that both upper canines were broken. When handling Binx I noted a crisp packet type sound coming from the chest area which can be a sign of subcutaneous emphysema and indicative of chest trauma.'

A post mortem examination was arranged by inspector Joynes and was paid for by the RSPCA.

It showed that Binx's body was covered with cuts and bruises and she had suffered fractured ribs and a lung puncture, the latter which had led to her death.

'Faeces and blood were reportedly seen in multiple areas of the premises, indicative that the cat was injured and mobile for a period of time immediately prior to death,' said a report by an independent veterinary expert.

'The most likely cause of death in this animal, otherwise healthy, was a traumatic and non-accidental pneumothorax.

Incidents of abuse included leaving the 11-month-old kitten in the shower with the hot water running for long periods of time, shooting her with pellets from his BB gun and hitting her with a mop soaked in bleach

The jail term given to Hudson at Liverpool Crown Court on July 26 is believed to be one of the longest ever handed down for offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006

'It is clear that the animal suffered multiple, different, blunt traumas and that the animal was conscious when this occurred.

'Furthermore, the healing fractured rib and the aged bleeding, support the existence of a previous traumatic event to the chest, many days ahead of the fatal set of injuries listed above.'

Speaking after yesterday's sentencing hearing, inspector Joynes said: 'This case involved stomach-churning and sadistic levels of cruelty over a prolonged period.

'The extreme suffering Binx endured at the hands of Hudson was used to hurt and punish Binx's owner  who was obviously devastated by what happened to her beloved pet.

'This is one of the most extreme examples of physical and psychological suffering inflicted on an animal I've seen in 14 years with the RSPCA.

'This case involved nothing short of torture and is exactly why the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) bill was introduced in 2021 to increase sentencing powers for the most extreme cases of animal cruelty.'

Hudson, of Netherley, had admitted two charges of causing unnecessary suffering to Binx, contrary to section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Sentencing him to 27 months in prison and banning him for keeping any animals for the rest of his life, Honour Judge Brian Cummings described Hudson's actions as a 'sickening catalogue of cruelty to a defenceless animal'.

He was given two years and three months in relation to both offences against Binx and a five month sentence for the harassment offence  to run concurrently  as well as a ten-year restraining order.

In mitigation, the court heard Hudson was genuinely remorseful and accepted he had done wrong.

The maximum prison sentence for animal cruelty was raised from six months to five years in 2021.
A barge being lined up by the Home Office to house asylum seekers risks becoming a 'floating Grenfell' due to fire safety concerns, it was claimed today.

The Bibby Stockholm will eventually host about 500 men at a time in Portland, Dorset - despite intense opposition from the local community.

However, it has not yet received approval from the local fire service for Dorset and Wiltshire.

Meanwhile, fire safety checks last week revealed serious fire safety concerns, according to a local authority whistleblower speaking to The Times.

They said the barge had the potential to become a 'floating Grenfell' due to the lack of fire safety protocols.

The Bibby Stockholm will eventually host about 500 men at a time in Portland, Dorset - despite intense opposition from the local community

Protesters gather in Portland on Friday to protest against the controversial barge

The Bibby Stockholm has 222 cabins on long, narrow corridors on three decks but only two main exits.

The Home Office had been expecting to move an initial group of migrants onboard tomorrow.

Other sites being lined up by the government to house asylum seekers for less money than hotels are also running into difficulties.

Plans to move 2,000 migrants into RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire have been delayed until October after delays in conducting surveys on the 14 buildings designated for migrant accommodation.

Meanwhile, the Home Office will this week move more migrants into accommodation at RAF Wethersfield in Essex despite a small number of positive results for tuberculosis being detected at the site.

The Prime Minister's press secretary said: 'The Bibby Stockholm is currently undergoing final preparations, including fires safety checks - that's happening this week - to ensure it complies with all appropriate regulations.

'There's been refurbishment that's been ongoing to ensure rooms comply with marine industry safety regulations.

A view of inside one of the bedrooms onboard the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge

'It's one of the alternative sites that we're standing up to reduce the use of costly, disruptive hotels.

'As you would expect we continue to work extremely closely with the local council and community throughout the entirety of this process to ensure the right preparations are in place before anyone boards.'

Downing Street said it 'did not recognise' claims that it was costing the Government 1.5m a year in mooring fees for the Bibby Stockholm.

It's understood it's unlikely the Bibby Stockholm will come into use this week as fire safety checks and other preparations are made.

Suella Braverman has been exploring ways to house people who have crossed the Channel in cheaper accommodation rather than putting them up in hotels.

The canteen area on board the barge, which will house up to 500 asylum seekers

A view of inside the gym onboard the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge

Last week, it emerged she had bought large tents to house up to 2,000 asylum seekers on disused military sites.

The Home Secretary has purchased the marquees to accommodate the migrants by the end of August, according to a Whitehall source.

More than 14,000 people have made unauthorised crossings this year as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak struggles to meet his promise of 'stopping the boats'.

But Ms Braverman is working on contingency plans to erect the tents in the coming weeks with a surge of boats expected.
A man who was left a fortune by his millionaire foster parents now faces being kicked out of his 1million home after losing a court fight with a charity over the inheritance.

Albi Mera was left 70 per cent of his foster father Stuart Brock's fortune when he died, consisting of the 1million family home in Brixton, plus two other London flats worth more than 500,000.

Mr Brock had inherited the entire fortune of his wife Julie Royce when she died in 2015 and decided to pass on the majority of the family's wealth to their foster son under a will he made in 2017, eight months before he died.

But the engineering company boss also left 30 per cent to the charity WaterAid, which focuses on providing clean drinking water and sanitation facilities in developing countries.

Mr Mera has been living at the home in Brixton since the death of his foster father in 2018.

But he could now be kicked out and the house sold after being sued by WaterAid for not paying them their share of the inheritance.

Albi Mera was left 70 per cent of his foster father Stuart Brock's fortune when he died

Lawyers for the charity told judge Katherine McQuail that Mr Mera, as executor and personal representative of his foster father's estate, had failed to pay them any money at all in the last five years, despite numerous requests.

And the judge has now made an order, removing him as executor and personal representative, directing that the house and another property be transferred out of his ownership and handing him a 52,000 court bill.

Mr Mera told the judge that he couldn't afford to pay this, saying he had lost his job as a manager at a drilling company and has been struggling to meet the mortgage payments on the two remaining family properties.

The judge told him: 'I appreciate this is tough for you Mr Mera, but that's what happens in litigation if you don't win.'

Eliza Eagling, for WaterAid, told the judge that Mr Brock and his wife Julie Royce had fostered several children, but in his final will Mr Brock had left his wealth just to Mr Mera and the charity.

The net value of the estate was estimated at 1,141,686, taking into account mortgages on the properties, though that may have increased now due to higher house prices, the barrister said.

One of the three family properties was sold in 2021 and the 80,000 proceeds are being held by solicitors.

But in 2019, the other flat and the family house in Brixton, south London, were transferred by Mr Mera as executor to himself in his personal capacity.

Questioning Mr Mera's conduct as executor and failure to pay out to the charity, the barrister said: 'Mr Mera has clearly preferred his interests to those of WaterAid and breached his duty to distribute the estate in accordance with the will.

'Four years have passed since the grant of probate and WaterAid has received nothing.

Mr Mera has been living at the home in Brixton (highlighted) since the death of his foster father in 2018

'Meanwhile, Mr Mera has purportedly sold the (Brixton) property to himself at a significant undervalue  285,850, versus the probate value of 925,000.

'It appears he has failed to pay the sale price to the estate.

'All that is left is 80,026.52... even that has not been paid to WaterAid.

'A replacement personal representative is clearly required as a result of Mr Mera's conflict of interest and his breaches of duty.

'There is a dispute about the value of WaterAid's 30 per cent interest in the residuary estate. Clearly someone independent needs to investigate.

'In practical terms, WaterAid is very concerned about Mr Mera's finances and its interest under the will being severely diminished or lost entirely.

'He is in arrears on the mortgage payments on Sidney Road (Brixton) and there is also the equitable charge on the property,' she said, asking for Mr Mera to be removed as executor and personal representative of the estate.

Judge McQuail said: 'The defendant is in possession of two properties and the defendant has not made any distribution to the claimant. The claimant is awaiting its proper share.

'The Sidney Road property seems to have been sold by the defendant to himself in breach of his duties and the sale price would appear to be nothing like the value.

'In effect, the defendant has overpaid himself. He says he has always intended to pay WaterAid and has put a property on the market, but he has not put in evidence to that effect.

'The main concern of this court is what is in the best interest of the beneficiaries.

'In this case, the defendant has failed in the course of his custody of the estate to bring it to a conclusion and failed to provide clear and comprehensive explanation for what has happened, particularly Sidney Road being transferred to him when he was a trustee without any consideration being paid to the estate.

'In my view, the defendant does need to be replaced by a professional person who can take steps, if necessary, to sell the properties which are currently in the defendant's name.

'I'm not necessarily forcing the property to be sold, but I can't say for sure what course the independent executor will take.'

Mr Mera told her: 'All these costs and everything else is going to be too much for me.

'My intention has always been to pay WaterAid, but I have had struggles in my personal life. I've lost my job, but WaterAid don't mention any of this.

'I don't want to be removed. Can I still live there as normal?' Mr Mera asked.

'That is not a discussion to have with me, but with the replacement personal representative,' the judge said.

WaterAid was established by the UK water industry in July 1981 as a charitable trust. It is based in London and had its first projects in Zambia and Sri Lanka.

It now runs programmes in 27 countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia, providing people with clean water and safe sanitation.

Its income has increased from 1million per annum in 1987 to 113million in 2018-19.
A daredevil has died after falling from the top of a 721ft high skyscraper that he had been scaling in Hong Kong.

Remi Lucidi had a history of climbing various structures across the world without permission, including buildings, bridges, cranes and even transmitters.

On the evening of his death last Thursday, Remi arrived at Tregunter Towers and told a security guard, at 7:30pm, he was visiting a friend on the 40th floor.

The thrill-seeker had later been seen by a maid knocking on the windows of the penthouse for help, but fell to his death before he could find a way back inside.

He had reached the 68th floor of the residential block in Hong Kong's upscale Mid-Levels area before his fatal fall.

But who was Remi Lucidi? Here is everything you need to know about the thrill seeker and his tragic death.

Remi Lucidi has died after a falling from the top of a 721ft high skyscraper that he had been scaling in Hong Kong

Remi is has a history of extreme climbing large structures, his final adventure was the 68-story Hong Kong residential skyscraper, Tregunter Tower (pictured center)

Who was the 'Enigma' daredevil Remi Lucidi?

Remi Lucidi was just 30 years old when he died, the daredevil Frenchman was born in Montpellier City but spent his time in Hong Kong.

Known as 'Remi Enigma' online, he travelled the world in search of exhilarating heights, and documented his terrifying adventures on social media.

Remi's Instagram account, @remnigma, served as a visual diary of his audacious activities, and thousands of followers cheered him on as he sought new heights.

He described himself as a 'photographer', and recent posts saw him posing at the top of high-rise scaffolding and buildings in countries across the globe, including Dubai, Bulgaria, and France.

Remi began sharing his adventures on Instagram in 2016, his first post saw a video compilation of the daredevil climbing various objects including a cranes, bridges and a Ferris wheel.

The six-year-old video has gained attention from his current fans, one commented: 'Rip man, will miss you.'

The following year, he posed in precarious positions from structures in Spain, Ukraine, Dubai and his home country.

His Instagram posts are not for the faint-hearted, as he often shared dizzying images from the top of various skyscrapers, cranes, bridges and buildings.

Remi was just 30 years old when he died, he is pictured here in a close up photo as he poses on the top of a Dubai skyscraper

The Frenchman is known for his extreme stunts and his Instagram account serves as a visual diary of his adventures. He is pictured here in Colombia

In one stomach turning snap, he can been seen balancing on the edge of a chimney in Bulgaria

Remi is one of many extreme thrill seekers, who social media users can't help but watch as they share snaps from their frightening and unapproved 'urban' climbs.

Much of the footage shows him taking on the daring climbs without the use of any safety harnesses.

In one piece of stomach-turning footage, he can be seen balancing on the edge of a 980-foot-high chimney in France.

Six days before his death, Remi posted a photo from Times Square in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, which is now full of tributes.

'Rip brother. Sad news no one ever wants to hear about a fellow explorer,' wrote one.

'Stakes are high searching for amazing experiences. Eternal respect rest in peace,' added another.

'You'll never leave us, you're unique,' said a third.

Six days ago, before his death, Lucidi posted a photo of the Hong Kong skyline

What happened to Remi Lucidi?

Remi tragically fell from Tregunter Towers and fell onto Tregunter Path before police officers had arrived, and was confirmed dead at the scene last Thursday.

He told a security guard, at 7:30pm, he was visiting a friend on the 40th floor, and was seen by a maid knocking for help before he fell to his death.

The resident who Remi named to access the building has since denied knowing the thrill-seeker and was simply a ruse for Lucidi to bypass security.

Building surveillance camera footage then sees Lucidi getting out of the elevator on the 49th floor before taking the stairs to the very top on level 68.

The door to the rooftop was locked but Lucidi forced it open, determined to take another photograph from the roof.

Remi Lucidi had been staying at a hostel in Tsim Sha Tsui before his final adventure, the hostel owner described him as 'friendly' and 'humble'

Before his fatal fall, the adventurer had been staying at a hostel in Tsim Sha Tsui. The hostel's owner described him as 'friendly and humble'.

'He was healthy and fit and happy-faced,' Gurjit Kaur told SCMP. 'I feel very sad.

'He told me he was going to hike a mountain when I asked where he was going. He said he wanted to hike a lot when he was here,' he said.

Police found his passport and other belongings at the hostel.

The French consulate has been informed of Lucidi's death as a police investigation into the incident continues.
Banks have been accused of routinely closing accounts belonging to sex workers because they object to how they earn their money.

Major companies are said to be among those refusing to allow the women to bank with them.

The sex workers say that the firms 'de-bank' them because they do not agree with their jobs.

One - who goes by the name Audrey - claimed she had lost money in PayPal after it froze her account.

It comes after Nigel Farage's account with the King's bank Coutts was closed because of his political views.

It led to the resignation of Dame Alison Rose - chief executive of its parent bank NatWest - and Coutts chief executive Peter Flavel.

Sex party firm Skirt Club's founder Genevieve LeJeune claimed a major unnamed bank closed her business account

Mr Farage first revealed he had been ditched Coutts on June 29 and claimed it was due to his political views

Audrey, who says she is 28, told the i: 'Every sex worker is worried about losing their bank account.

'I often use PayPal to take payment, if it isn't cash, as clients can transfer money anonymously this way, which is very important in our jobs as they wouldn't use us if the payment appeared on a bank statement.

'However, once PayPal figured out what I do, it froze my account.'

PayPal told MailOnline: 'Anyone in the UK over the age of 18 can open and use a PayPal account, regardless of their occupation.

'We require all customers to abide by our Acceptable Use Policy and other terms and conditions. We may discontinue our relationship with account holders who are found to violate our policies, in line with applicable regulations and legal obligations. For privacy reasons, we cannot comment on specific accounts.'

Other banks say they treat sex workers and their accounts on a discretionary basis, dependent on each case.

Santander say they are fine, as long as they do not break the law, and NatWest said it looked over each case individually.

Sex party firm Skirt Club's founder Genevieve LeJeune claimed a major unnamed bank closed her business account.

She says it trapped 20,000 in there for two years which was only returned after she got the Financial Ombudsman involved.

Ms LeJeune said: 'I had never considered that a bank could act in a lawful way to decide what it thought was unacceptable business.

'I still don't have an official answer as to why but believe it was a judgment on what I do.

'I didn't know if we were going to make it but thankfully we did. We operate within the law and pay taxes.

'There needs to be a better understanding from banks of what we do. They need to draw the line between legal and illegal and accept legal business.'

The issue of 'de-banking' has in recent weeks become a hot topic after Mr Farage was dropped by Coutts.

He said this weekend he wants to build a 'powerful lobby group a powerful' to tackle the 'major national scandal'.

Nigel Farage (pictured) has created a new website to help people who have had their bank accounts cancelled amid a 'major national scandal' of debanking

Mr Farage had his Coutts account closed because of his political views which led to the resignation of Dame Alison Rose (pictured), the chief executive of its parent bank NatWest, and Coutts chief executive Peter Flavel

The former UKIP leader launched a new website as part of his campaign to hold the UK's financial giants to account after he received an overwhelming number of messages from people who have had their bank accounts cancelled.

He said in an interview with The Telegraph that the AccountClosed.org site aims to identify the main reasons for accounts being cancelled and highlight the banks who are the 'worst offenders'.

He told the Telegraph: 'I'm beginning to have the impression this is much, much bigger than any of us could have contemplated,' he said.

'This is about the right to free speech, about having a country where people are treated fairly in an age when you frankly can't function on a personal level, let alone a business level, without a bank account.'

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Mr Farage highlighted that there were 'dozens' of reports from small businesses having their accounts closed for trading in cash, which he found particularly concerning.

The about page of the website says: 'Welcome to AccountClosed.org - a passionate and dedicated campaign group committed to advocating for the consumer rights of individuals and small medium businesses who have faced unjust treatment from banks and financial services companies, particularly when their accounts have been abruptly closed and essential services withdrawn.

'We stand united to make a difference in the lives of those affected and seek to bring about positive change in the UK financial landscape.'

It adds that AccountClosed.org was founded as an 'unincorporated association by a group of legal and finance professionals' who have a 'wealth of expertise and experience in dealing with financial matters and consumer rights'.

Separate figures from the Financial Ombudsman Service show NatWest, which is 39 per cent taxpayer-owned, had the joint highest number of complaints about decisions to close bank accounts last year, along with Barclays.
Falmira De Jesus, 38, was attacked by the reptile and sustained serious injuries

A woman has miraculously survived a crocodile attack that lasted 90 minutes before she was hauled to safety.

Palm oil plantation worker Falmira De Jesus, 38, was collecting water from a weed-covered stream in the Ketapang Regency of West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia, on July 27, unaware that the beast was lurking beneath the foliage.

As she approached to scoop up some water, the reptile leaped up and dragged her into the creek.

The mother-of-two then bravely fought off the beast, and screamed for help, with the other employees rushing to her aid.

Footage shows the hapless woman floating in the pool with only her head visible. She was seen slowly sinking as the reptile tried to pull her away while frantic workers used a pole to prod the waters.

Falmira De Jesus, 38, was attacked by a crocodile in an Indonesian swamp for an hour and a half

The palm oil plantation worker was swept under the foliage as the reptile pulled at her body. Pictured is her head above the water and weeds

Workers scrambled to help Falmira by using sticks to poke at the beast

READ MORE HERE: Extraordinary moment a crocodile carries the intact body of a boy, four, to rescuers a mile away from where he drowned in Indonesian river Advertisement

Locals said the crocodile had hold of terrified Falmira for around 90 minutes as it toyed with her. Her colleagues were too afraid to venture into the water in case the beast attacked them.

Help arrived at the remote location and they eventually managed to grab Falmira and haul her out of the swamp. She was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on her limbs.

Falmira said: 'I was in pain from where the crocodile was holding me. I couldn't break free. Then I started to feel like I was becoming weaker. I just thought I was going to die, because I was falling below the water.

'I lie in the hospital and can still see the crocodile in my mind, and feel it on my body. I am very grateful for people that helped me to escape. They saved my life.'

Police said that Falmira is recovering at hospital having suffered deep puncture wounds on her right arm, thigh and lower leg.

Ketapang Resort Police, AKBP Tommy Ferdian, said: 'At that time, the victim was about to fill the water tank. Suddenly, a crocodile attacked her.

'Other workers immediately approached the victim and tried to help her.

'The victim survived and was immediately evacuated to the hospital for emergency treatment. We urge workers and residents around the plantation to be more vigilant about the existence of these wild animals.'

Falmira is recovering at hospital having suffered deep puncture wounds on her right arm, thigh and lower leg

Workers immediately came to Falmira's rescue but were too afraid to enter the water to haul her out

Pictured are rescuers who eventually arrived at the remote location and pulled Falmira out of the swamp

Local media reported that Falmira was recovering in intensive care at the Imanudin Hospital. Doctors were monitoring her condition, fearing the severe bites might lead to infections.

The Indonesian archipelago is home to 14 types of crocodiles - with a large population of extremely large and violent estuarine crocodiles that flourish in the region's climate.

Conservationists believe that crocodiles have been driven further inland closer to villages due to overfishing reducing the crocodiles' natural food supplies combined with habitat loss from the development of coastal areas into farms.

With uneducated locals in the developing country still using rivers for bathing and primitive fishing, the deadly combination of factors has led to rising numbers of crocodile attacks.
A ten-year-old girl and her mother were among six people killed after Vladimir Putin unleashed a deadly missile strike on President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown following a drone attack in Moscow.

The twin missile strike hit a residential building in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rig just after 9am local time (6am GMT), Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko wrote on Telegram.

A 45-year-old mother and her young daughter died, while 75 people were injured, Klymenko and local authorities said.

Shocking images show the the devastating impact the strikes had on the large nine-storey residential apartment block, punching a hole in the facade that destroyed flats on several floors and sparked a fire.

Firefighters used a cherry-picker crane to direct jets of water at the fire as black smoke billowed into the Ukrainian sky. The emergency ministry said part of the building had collapsed while rubble was being cleared.

President Zelensky, who was born and grew up in Kryvyi Rig, said Russians were 'continuing to terrorise peaceful cities and people'.

Moscow's strikes come in response to a slew of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian soil and occupied Crimea - something Zelensky last night described as the 'natural process' of war 'returning to Russia'.

Rescuers carry a fragment of missile outside a nine-storey residential building partially destroyed as a result of Russian missiles strike in Kryvyi Rig

Pictures showed the devastating impact the missiles had, punching through the facade of the block

Rescuers were seen inside the destroyed block. The twin strikes killed a ten-year-old girl and her mother

President Zelensky, who was born and grew up in Kryvyi Rig, said Russians were 'continuing to terrorise peaceful cities and people'

Russia said on Sunday it had downed Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and the Crimea peninsula in attacks that damaged two office towers in the capital and briefly shut an international airport.

One drone targeting Moscow was shot down on the city's outskirts and two others were 'suppressed by electronic warfare' and smashed into an office complex early on Sunday, the Russian defence ministry said, adding that there were no injuries.

Moscow and its environs, lying about 300 miles from the Ukrainian border, had rarely been targeted during the conflict in Ukraine until several drone attacks this year.

Ukraine's aerial attacks have largely focused on military targets, ammunition depots and supply lines. But increasing numbers of drone strikes launched from Ukrainian soil are targeting Russian civilian centres.

Following the attacks, Ukrainian President Zelensky warned that 'war' was coming to Russia.

'Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia - to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process,' Zelensky said on a visit to the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk yesterday.

Russia Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday that Ukraine were carrying out 'terrorist attacks'.

'Against the background of the failure of the so-called 'counteroffensive', Kyiv... has focused on carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure,' he said.

A view shows an apartment building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine July 31, 2023

Smoke billows from the apartment block after the Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rig today

A woman walking next to firefighter trucks and debris, in the aftermath of a Russian missile strike

Rescuers work outside the nine-storey building as Russia launched a missile attack following Ukraine's attack on Moscow

The inside of the apartment block stuck by a Russian missile this morning

Aftermath of a missile strike on a residential building Kryvyi Rih in Ukraine

A paramedic assists a woman injured during a shelling in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, July 31, 2023

A view shows an apartment building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine July 31, 2023

Emergencies services members work at the site of a shelling in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, July 31, 2023

In response, 'the intensity of our strikes against Ukrainian military facilities... has been considerably increased,' Shoigu said.

Sunday's drone attack damaged two office towers in a Moscow business district, shattering several windows and leaving documents strewn on the ground.

The capital and its environs, lying about 500 kilometres (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border, had rarely been targeted during the conflict until several drone attacks this year.

Vladimir Putin has said he does not reject the idea of peace talks with Ukraine, with the Russian President declaring on Saturday that an African initiative could be a basis for peace in Ukraine, but arguing it was hard to implement a ceasefire when Kyiv was on the offensive.

The statement followed a Russia-African summit last week at which some African leaders pressed President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

Zelensky meanwhile has rejected the idea of a ceasefire now as it would leave Russia in control of nearly a fifth of his country and give its forces time to regroup after 17 grinding months of war.

Yesterday, Russia's defence ministry said three Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow, injuring one person and prompting a temporary closure of one of four airports around the capital. Officials referred to the incident as an 'attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime'.

They also described the strikes on the capital as an 'act of desperation' by Ukraine following setbacks on the battlefield.

'It is obvious that the counteroffensive is not a success,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that the situation was 'very difficult' for Ukrainian forces on the front.

'All possible measures have been taken to defend civil infrastructure' against Ukrainian strikes, Peskov added.

The attack was the fourth such attempt at a strike on the capital region this month and the third this week, fuelling concerns about Moscow's vulnerability to attacks as the war in Ukraine drags on into its 18th month.

Women stand at the site of a shelling in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, July 31, 2023

Emergencies services members work at the site of a shelling in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, July 31, 2023

A educational institution is seen partially collapsed after a missile strike in Ukraine this morning

The aftermath of a Ukrainian drone attack is seen in Moscow

Investigators examine a damaged skyscraper in the 'Moscow City' business district after a reported drone attack in Moscow, Russia, early on Sunday

The explosion was captured on camera in the early hours of Sunday morning

The defence ministry denounced an 'attempted terrorist attack' which Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said would have been 'impossible without the help afforded the Kyiv regime by the United States and its NATO allies.'

'On the morning of July 30, the Kyiv regime's attempted terrorist attack with unmanned aerial vehicles on objects in the city of Moscow was thwarted.

'One Ukrainian UAV was destroyed in the air by air defence systems over the territory of the Odintsovo district of Moscow region.

'Two more drones were suppressed by electronic warfare and, having lost control, crashed on the territory of Moscow-City's non-residential building complex,' a statement read.

The TASS state news agency also reported the capital's Vnukovo airport was 'closed for departures and arrivals, flights are redirected to other airports' but operations appeared to have returned to normal inside an hour.

Earlier this month, a volley of drone attacks briefly disrupted air traffic at the same airport.

The defence ministry also said on Sunday that 25 Ukrainian drones were destroyed by air defence fire in an overnight attack on Crimea, a peninsula Moscow annexed in 2014.

'Another nine Ukrainian drones were suppressed by means of electronic warfare and, without reaching the target, crashed into the Black Sea,' the ministry said, adding that there were no victims.

Crimea has been targeted by Kyiv throughout Moscow's Ukraine offensive but has come under more intense, increased attacks in recent weeks.

Kyiv has repeatedly said it plans to take Crimea back.
Graduates who are the first to go to university in their family earn more than those whose parents have degrees, according to a study.

Going to university can act as a stimulus to upward social mobility amongst families with no prior history of it, new data released today by Universities UK (UUK) shows.

The findings revealed those who did not have a family history of university had an average starting salary of 30,111, compared to an average starting wage of 27,754 earned by those who did have family members with degrees.

Also, 78 per cent of graduates and 71 per cent of business leaders who were the first to attend university in their family said that going to university opened doors into companies for them.

Findings, compounded by a report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies on behalf of the Department of Education, said graduates who were eligible for free school meals are more likely to enter the top 20 per cent of earnings at the age of 30 than free school meal students who did not attend university.

The findings revealed those who did not have a family history of university had an average starting salary of 30,111 (stock image)

Nearly 60 per cent of business leaders who were the first in their family to go to university said that going to university helped them become senior faster, while 51 per cent said it helped them fast track their career.

Meanwhile, 73 per cent of business leaders believe that going to university introduces graduates to peers who can help them build their careers, and 77 per cent of graduates said a degree helped them build skills that have been professionally valuable.

The report found universities acted as equalisers across the UK jobs market; enabling all graduates to unlock career opportunities  not just those with strong family connections or a history of higher education.

Vivienne Stern MBE, Chief Executive of Universities UK, said: 'This new research clearly demonstrates the value that graduates benefit from when they go to university in the UK.

'The benefits captured by this research are numerous  from job security and career ambitions, to earnings and social mobility.

The research is based on the perspectives of 3,500 UK graduates and 3,500 business leaders in the UK (stock image)

'They highlight how highly UK universities are regarded not just by those who attend them, but also by those who hire their graduates and benefit from their skills.

'It is clear that Universities play a huge role not only in preparing graduates for employment, but also in teaching them crucial, transferable life skills that will serve them throughout their career.

'Ultimately, what this research demonstrates is that our universities play a powerful role in helping graduates forge successful career paths that can help return the UK economy to growth and continue to power our public services.'

Other conclusions reached included that 73 per cent of UK graduates say they found a job reflective of their ambitions in under a year, thanks to their university education, and almost two thirds believed getting a degree has improved their job security, crucial during a cost of living crisis.

Universities UK is the collective voice of 140 universities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The research is based on the perspectives of 3,500 UK graduates and 3,500 business leaders (business owners, founders, board members, CEOs, directors, and senior managers) across the UK.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison has publicly defended his role in overseeing the unlawful robodebt scheme, rejecting the findings of a recent royal commission.

In his first in-person comments since the release of the royal commission's final report on July 7, Mr Morrison said the findings against him were 'disproportionate, wrong and unsubstantiated' and accused the Labor government of a 'political lynching'.

The report said Mr Morrison had 'allowed cabinet to be misled' on the legality of the scheme when he was social services minister.

But Mr Morrison told parliament on Monday the findings of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme had been contradicted by the evidence presented to it.

'I do, however, completely reject the commission's adverse findings regarding my own role as minister for social services, between December 2014 and September 2015 as disproportionate, wrong, unsubstantiated,' Mr Morrison said.

Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison returned from his Mediterranean holiday and gave a scathing reply to the royal commission's findings into he unlawful robodebt scheme (pictured Scott Morrison waitinf ro a ferry on the Greek Island of Sifnos)

However, he had 'deep regret' for the impact the robodebt scheme had on welfare recipients.

Mr Morrison accused the Labor government of character assassination in the wake of the commission's findings.

'For the government to now condemn me for holding a view that they shared and sustained for more than three years after I held the portfolio is rank hypocrisy,' he said.

'The latest attacks on my character by the government in relation to this report is just a further attempt by the government following my departure from office to discredit me and my service to our country.

'This campaign of political lynching has once again included the weaponisation of a quasi-legal process to launder the government's political vindictiveness.

'They need to move on.'

Mr Morrison said he had no role or responsibility for the administration of the robodebt scheme when he was minister.

'The commission's finding unfairly and retroactively applies a consensus on the understanding of the lawful status of the scheme that simply was not present or communicated at the time,' he said.

'This is clearly an unreasonable, untenable and false basis to make the serious allegation of allowing cabinet to be misled.'

Government Services Minister Bill Shorten earlier told parliament the commission had rejected the evidence given by Mr Morrison.

'He may have convinced himself but he failed to convince the royal commission and indeed most Australians,' he said.

Mr Shorten said the government was considering all 57 recommendations put forward in the royal commission's final report.

Morrison said the findings against him were 'disproportionate, wrong and unsubstantiated' and accused the Labor government of a 'political lynching'

The former coalition government launched the robodebt scheme to 'detect, investigate and deter suspected welfare fraud and non-compliance' in mid-2015 in an effort to save billions of dollars.

The scheme issued debt notices to people identified through a process called income averaging, which compared reported incomes with tax office data.

More than $750 million was wrongfully recovered from 381,000 people, with victims telling the commission of their trauma and fear as they received notices and debt collectors made contact.

Commissioner Catherine Holme's report outlined a litany of human impacts, including families struggling to make ends meet and young people driven to despair. Two men in their 20s committed suicide.

Mr Morrison said he would continue to defend his time in government, adding he was pleased to be still serving his Sydney-based electorate of Cook.

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Villagers have told of their shock after the wife of a company director was fatally attacked in her home in the early hours of the morning.

The woman, named locally as Claire Orrey, 58, was pronounced dead at the scene after armed police descended on her linked detached home, which overlooks allotments.

Neighbours said nurse Mrs Orrey's husband, Steve, 56, who runs his own security business, was later seen being helped out of the house with an apparent head injury following the incident early on Sunday.

West Mercia Police arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of murder.

The Orreys have lived at the property in Admaston, on the edge of Telford, Shropshire, for 25 years and were described as 'lovely people' by their neighbours.

Claire Orrey, 58, (pictured) was pronounced dead at her home in Admaston, on the edge of Telford, after armed police descended on her linked detached home

One man living opposite said he was woken just after 5am to the sound of officers shouting: 'Armed police  open the door' and 'come out with your hands up'.

Officers from West Mercia Police then broke through the front door, he said.

Another neighbour said of the Orreys, who have a grown up son and daughter, said: 'They always seemed to be in good spirits and would say "hello".

'They just seemed a normal happy couple.'

He added: 'It's so unusual for something like this to happen around here. The only noise we usually hear is from the birds.'

Mrs Orrey worked as a nurse at Rylands nursing and residential home in Newport, Shropshire.

A colleague said: 'Claire had such a warm heart, she was very, very caring. I can't get the sound of her voice out of my head.'

She said Mrs Orrey had been due on shift on Sunday and managers had tried to contact her, but were unable to get through.

'We were told that she had been murdered on Sunday evening', she added.

Jacqueline Orrey, Mrs Orrey's sister-in-law, told the Mail the victim was 'a fantastic person', adding: 'She was just lovely'.

Mrs Orrey, of Telford, she had been informed of the tragedy by her niece, but said it was too soon to talk any further about the tragedy.

It is understood Mr Orrey, was discharged from hospital on Sunday night.

Mrs Orrey's husband, Steve, 56, was later seen being helped out of the house (pictured) with an apparent head injury following the incident early on Sunday

West Mercia Police said officers were called to the Admaston cul-de-sac at 5am following reports of a disturbance.

Armed officers attended along with colleagues from West Midlands Ambulance Service.

A spokesman said: 'On arrival it was found that the woman had sustained serious injuries and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Another man was found injured at the address with serious injuries.

'A 31-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody.'

Detective Chief Inspector Tony Garner added: 'This is a shocking incident and our thoughts go out to the family of the woman who lost her life.

'I understand that incidents of this nature can be alarming, but would like to reassure the local community that this is an isolated incident and there is no wider risk to the public.

'Our officers remain at the scene and you may see an increased police presence in the area over the coming days as our investigation continues.'

West Mercia Police confirmed the suspect was arrested at the scene.

A spokesman added: 'The person remains in custody, and the man who was injured has now been discharged from hospital.'
A Swedish author has made shocking discoveries about the 'incel' community, members who consider themselves unable to attract women sexually.

Pascal Engman, 37, spent three months researching the misogynistic subculture, and found comments by incels that labelled women as 'slaves for men'.

An incel - short for involuntary celibate - is characterised by having a hostile attitude towards women, with incel forums becoming increasingly popular in recent years.

During his period of research, which Engman revealed in an article for Unilad, he came across some frightening comments.

One read: 'I dont regard women as people. All they are, or should be, is slaves for men. Cooking, cleaning and spreading their legs when theyre told.'

Pascal Engman, 37, spent three months researching the misogynistic 'incel' subculture, and found comments by incels that labelled women as 'slaves for men'

22-year-old Jake Davison (pictured) used a gun to kill five people in Plymouth in August 2021, an attack which was celebrated by the incel community

Following the actions of 22-year-old Jake Davison - who used a gun to kill five people in Plymouth in August 2021 - another comment said: 'Genocide against women would be perfectly warranted, that is my humble opinion.'

The victims included a three-year-old girl and Davisons own mother.

'Incels' have also referred to women as 'femoids', an attempt by members of the community to objectify and target them.

Indeed, Engman said that dehumanisation is an important part of the 'incel' movement.

'Incels' believe that if they view women as subhuman, then they are free to dehumanise them at will.

They have also been known to support the existence of state-run rape camps, via the belief among community members that they are entitled to engage in sexual activity with women.

Self-hatred is also a concerning trait among 'incels', demonstrated by their practice of bone-smashing, whereby individuals beat themselves in the face to accentuate the appearance of their jawline.

This is because they believe a strong jawline is considered the most attractive feature in a man.

Engman also revealed that he saw men posting pictures of themselves in 'incel' forums, asking other 'incels' to judge their looks, with some users being told that they should kill themselves over their appearance.

Evidence of this came in a comment from one user on a forum, which read: 'Im almost thirty years old.

The rise of so-called 'incels' comes amid the actions of online figures such as Andrew Tate (pictured), who has previously said that women 'belong in the home'

'My best years will soon be behind me, and I have never even been anywhere near a woman  not as a boyfriend, not as a one-night stand.

'They dont want me. They make it very obvious too. They might not hate me, but they treat me with contempt, which is worse.'

The rise of so-called 'incels' comes amid the actions of online figures such as Andrew Tate, who has previously said that women 'belong in the home'.

On July 18, a Romanian court ruled the influencer and his brother Tristan must stay under house arrest for a further 30 days over sex trafficking charges.

Tate, 36, was formally charged with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women.
A retired British miner who killed his terminally-ill wife tearfully was released from a Cypriot jail on July 31 after spending 19 months behind bars.

David Hunter, 76, was handed a two-year prison sentence by judges at Paphos District Court for killing his childhood sweetheart Janice, 74.

But who is David Hunter? Why exactly did he choose to kill his wife in the first place?

Read on below for everything you need to know about David Hunter.

David Hunter, 76, was released from a Cypriot jail on July 31 after spending 19 months behind bars for killing his terminally-ill wife

Who is David Hunter?

76-year-old Hunter said that he met his wife when she asked him for a dance at a miners' hall party in Northumberland.

'She came up to me and said, 'You're sitting in my seat.' I hadn't ever seen such a beautiful woman,' Mr Hunter said, when asked about how the pair met.

The couple would go on to marry in St John's Church in Ashington, Northumberland in 1969.

Mr and Mrs Hunter had holidayed in Cyprus before buying a property in the country in 1999, which they moved to in 2001 after retiring.

Asked how their marriage was, he said: 'Perfect.' He also revealed that he worked seven days a week in the mine to pay for their only child, Lesly, to become the first member of the family to go to university.

Mr Hunter's daughter - who campaigned tirelessly for his release - said: 'Speaking to my daddy was the most amazing thing. I feel like my heart has been put back together.'

Why did David Hunter kill his wife?

Mr Hunter's wife Janice had 'begged him' to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer, which meant she was required tom go to the capital Nicosia every week for procedures and injections.

As her condition deteriorated, Mrs Hunter asked to go to Paphos General Hospital because she couldn't face the journeys, but when Covid hit it was closed and so they kept her injections in their fridge and self-medicated.

She had two 125 euro injections per week but started suffering side effects including diarrhoea, headaches, dizziness and nose bleeds.

Mr Hunter, who married his children sweetheart Janice in 1969, described the couple's marriage as 'perfect'

Hunter said he would 'never in a million years' have taken his wife's life unless she had asked him to

Sadly, this did nothing to improve her health, which led to Hunter suffocating her to death in December 2021.

In July 2023, judges cleared Hunter of murder and instead convicted him of the lesser charge of manslaughter, with Judge Michalis Droussiotis accepting he 'loved his wife and took care of her'.

Hunter said he would 'never in a million years' have taken his wife's life unless she had asked him to.

He showed the court how he held his hands over his wife's mouth and nose and said he eventually decided to grant her wish after she became 'hysterical'.

An apparent suicide note written by Hunter proved crucial in the British pensioner being dramatically cleared of murder.

A blue notebook and pen were found in his house with a message in it seemingly left for those who would find Mr Hunter and his wife's bodies.

The apparent suicide note read: 'My wife is in so much pain. She has asked me to help her, so we did this together.'
A British mother-of-ten is among the dead and injured after three vehicles were caught up in a horror crash in northern France.

The British victim's identity was reported by the Jewish Chronicle as Miriam Posen, of the Orthodox Jewish community in Stamford Hill, London, who was travelling in a van containing seven members of her family.

Izzy Posen, Miriam's eldest son, paid tribute to his mother on social media earlier today, as friends and family of Mrs Posen gathered at her north London home to rally around children she had left behind.

'My mother sadly passed away yesterday in tragic circumstances. She was young and healthy and full of the spirit of life. I loved her so much,' he wrote.

A family spokesman said: 'Miriam was a devoted mother who was loved so much by her family and friends. She was a very special person who will be greatly missed by all who knew her.

'We are still coming to terms with what has happened. It was only on Sunday night.'

Miriam is believed to have been 50 years old. Two of her daughters are known to have been injured in the smash and are receiving treatment along with the children's father, it is understood.

A spokesman for local emergency services who attended the crash site said: 'Three people are dead and dozens injured, including many children'

Emergency services are pictured at the scene of the crash yesterday evening

A local emergency services spokesperson who attended the crash site said: 'Three people are dead and dozens injured, including many children.

'A van with a British family of seven people on board was one of the three vehicles involved in the crash.

'A British woman died instantly, along with two others travelling in another vehicle.

'The other passengers  aged between six and 48  were taken to hospital in Cambrai and Arras.'

Mrs Posen was in France with her husband and some of her ten children, the family spokesperson said.

Mrs Posen was an ultra-Orthodox Jew who only spoke in Yiddish and observed a strict dress code.

Izzy revealed how he was estranged from his parents after he broke from the closed world of ultra-Orthodox Judaism, teaching himself English and last year graduating with a degree in physics and philosophy from Bristol University.

But this did not prevent him from taking to social media to share a touching tribute to his late mother.

At least three people, including a woman from the UK, are among those who lost their lives in the collision on the A26 motorway, south of Lens, on Sunday evening

The accident that killed Mrs Posen took place on Sunday, shortly after 6pm, on a section of the motorway where road works were taking place, between the towns of Neuville-Saint-Vaast and Thelus.

A second vehicle contained four people, a 75-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man, who also died.

The other two passengers in this car were a 14-year-old boy and a 79-year-old man who were in a 'critical condition'.

The third vehicle involved was a car with four passengers, including three children, aged between six and 33.

Prosecutors in nearby Arras have opened an enquiry into the accident.

French regional state prefect Jacques Billant said witnesses to the horrific crash were 'being offered psychological counselling.'

A source said that some survivors remained in a 'life threatening position' in intensive care on Monday morning.

The section of the A26 motorway was closed off until late into the night on Saturday, as six emergency medical teams attended the scene.

Around 60 firefighters were also scrambled to the crash site to try to rescue the victims.

The incident occurred at the height of the holiday season, when thousands of British drivers make their way across the Channel.

An FCDO spokesperson told MailOnline: 'We are in contact with the local authorities following a road traffic accident in France and have offered our assistance to the family.'
This is the heart-stopping moment children and parents with toddlers in their arms run for their lives after a pack of bulls were mistakenly let loose at a Spanish festival.

Footage of the drama showed dozens of people sprinting for safety along a crowded street as nine of the animals descended on them from behind.

They included a father in jean shorts with his baby child in his arms who unwittingly started walking towards the bulls before turning round and running as fast as he could when he saw the panic on the faces of those around him.

Others appeared to be gripped by fear as they opted to stand with their backs to the wall of an underpass as the animals charged by them just inches away.

Many of those filmed running away from the bulls as they neared them from behind were quite clearly teenagers.

Children and parents with toddlers in their arms are pictured running for their lives after a pack of bulls were mistakenly let loose at a festival in Spain

The bulls are captured on camera racing down a road in the small market town of Gata de Gorgos

The horror scenes unfolded in the small market town of Gata de Gorgos a 15-minute inland from the popular Costa Blanca holiday town of Javea on Saturday.

A parade coinciding with its annual festival which involved young people donning traditional flamenco and fancy dress had just taken place when the bulls that were due to be let loose on revellers later on were freed from their pens early because of a 'communication error'.

Miraculously the animals ignored the locals trying to reach safety and there were no reports of any casualties before they were rounded up with the help of local police and civil protection workers.

Town hall chiefs were forced into a grovelling apology after the scenes went viral over the weekend.

They said in a statement released late yesterday: 'The 2023 Festivities Commission and Gata de Gorgos Town Hall want to apologise for the events that occurred at the bullfighting festivities yesterday.

'We know that this incident caused many people anguish, and that affected the image of our festival.

'The 2023 Fiestas Commission and Gata City Town Hall inform you that all the necessary measures have been taken so that it does not happen again.

'We also appreciate the prompt intervention of the emergency services, Civil Protection volunteers, and local police who acted professionally and efficiently to control the situation and prevent serious damage.

'Finally, we want to ask for calm and trust, and we invite you to continue enjoying the festivities with responsibility and respect as these festivals are a source of joy and pride and we don't want an unfortunate event to ruin them. We are a strong, united and festive town which knows how to overcome adversity.

'Thank you very much for your understanding and collaboration.'

Nine bulls can be seen descending on a man who is sprinting up the road towards safety

The apology didn't wash with one local who replied: 'If I jump a red light and they catch me, I get fined.

'This dangerous incident has been caused by someone's negligence.'

Expat Ken Cook, who lives in Gata de Gorgos, added: 'I cannot believe that we are still paying for bull running in this enlightened age. Have we forgotten how many deaths have occurred during bull running!'

Events using bulls called Bous al Correr where revellers try to dodge the animals when they are let loose on the streets remain extremely popular in the Valencian region which covers the provinces of Castellon, Valencia and Alicante.

Many deaths have occurred at events like these over the years where revellers have been gored or knocked down by bulls and hit their heads on the ground.
The family of a man killed by a friend in a one-punch attack want to raise awareness about the dangers of alcohol-fuelled fights, saying they 'change lives forever'.

Scott Akester, 31, died in November last year after being assaulted by Michael Pearson, 30, outside a pub in Hull.

A court heard the pair, who had known each other for 17 years, got into an argument after a night of heavy drinking, which ended with Pearson punching Scott.

Scott then fell backwards, banging his head on the floor. He died of his injuries in hospital.

Pearson was jailed for seven-and-a-half years at Hull crown court last month after being convicted of manslaughter.

Scott Akester, 31, died in November last year after being assaulted by Michael Pearson, 30, outside a pub in Hull

Scott's family have launched an awareness campaign about the effects of alcohol-fuelled fights

Scott is survived by his partner Naomi (middle) and daughter Ella (right)

Michael Pearson, 30, was jailed for seven and a half years at Hull crown court last month

A memorial to Scott, who was killed after being punched by Pearson following a night of heavy drinking

But Scott's family - his partner Naomi Allen, mum Debbie Akester and dad Stephen Akester - say the sentence should have been much longer.

And they now want to warn others about the harm that can be done with a single punch, and have launched a petition.

Debbie, a local government officer, 57, said: 'The best thing to do is walk away and not throw that punch - people don't realise the impact that it can have.

'You can kill someone or cause brain damage. It changes lives forever. It's not just that one person but their families too.

'His four-year-old won't have that support from her dad growing up now.

'And we feel we don't have the justice we deserve in terms of the sentence that was given.

'I'd like to see sentencing matching other countries. In Australia it's 25 years for a one punch killing.'

Naomi, 32, a laundry assistant, who is now looking after her and Scott's child Ella Akester, four, alone, added: 'To kill somebody in that way and to be out within five years, I feel as if Scott was nothing - and he was everything to us.'

The Australian state of New South Wales introduced tough new laws in 2014 to try and combat alcohol-fuelled violence.

These include a mandatory minimum sentence of eight years for an assault causing death, rising to a maximum of 25 years.

Scott, who was working as a trainee joiner at Pearson's business, and Pearson had been drinking with friends when they became involved in an argument.

A court was told this was defused - before Pearson, of Saltshouse Road, Hull, launched an attack.

Scott tragically died from his injuries on November 19, 2022.

Pearson was then arrested and charged with murder - but pleaded not guilty.

A jury convicted him of manslaughter following a three-week trial and he was sentenced on June 29, 2023.

The family say they now want to campaign for a change in sentence length for one punch killings and hope to encourage drinkers to consider the consequences before turning to violence.

Scott's parents believe that harsher sentences would help deter potential attackers

Scott Akester (middle) with mother Debbie (right) and father Stephen (left)

They say they hope to make would-be attackers think twice before throwing a punch and believe the way to do so is to enforce harsher sentences.

Dad Stephen, 60, a HGV driver, said: 'I was furious when he got the sentence, I was expecting about 11 years and then to get seven-and-a-half.

'There's no justice for my lad out of that I don't think, that's how I feel.

'That's why I'm campaigning all the time to get awareness out, there's no deterrent on the sentence and doesn't send much of a message.

'It's a betrayal from a friend of 17 years, it's not as straightforward as people thought so I wasn't happy with it one bit.'

And Naomi, who is now a single parent, said: 'It's so sad to think that all we get is to go to Scott's grave - obviously you want the best for your child and for her just to be left with that, it's heartbreaking.

'We couldn't get out head around how Scott, this 6ft1 big man has died from one punch, you don't have to be weak or little, it can happen to anyone.

'She knows Scott has left, but recently she's been asking when he gets better will he get back - it's hard to know what to say to her, you don't want to start it all again by saying no.'
He was released from prison today after serving 19 months in jail during trial

esley Cawthorne was first person David Hunter called when he was released

The daughter of a retired British miner who was released from a Cypriot jail today after he killed his terminally-ill wife has told how she thought she had lost her father 'forever' and his newly found freedom has 'put her heart back together'.

Lesley Cawthorne was the first person David Hunter, 76, called when he found out he was free following an agonising 19 months behind bars over the killing of his childhood sweetheart Janice, 74.

Speaking through tears, Lesley, who had been waiting in anguish for the result of the sentencing from her home in Norwich, said: 'Speaking to my Daddy was the most amazing thing. I feel like my heart has been put together. I thought I'd lost him forever. I can't believe it. It's amazing.'

Overcome with emotion, Lesley, who is unable to travel from the UK because of a health condition, added that as soon as she sees him again she was 'going to hug him and never ever let him go'.

Her father was handed a two-year prison sentence by judges at Paphos District Court on Monday for ending the suffering of the love of his life Janice after she 'begged him' to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer.

But as ten months in custody is the equivalent of a year for a short sentence under the Cypriot justice system, Hunter was found to have already served his time by spending a gruelling 19 months in Nicosia Prison and was released today.

Hunter faced an agonising and highly emotive trial lasting more than a year, with the court hearing how Lesley had begged her father to not kill himself in a video call made moments after he had suffocated Janice at their home in Paphos in December 2021.

Lesley Cawthorne was the first person David Hunter, 75, (pictured today following his release from custody) called when he found out he was free following an agonising 19 months behind bars over the killing of his childhood sweetheart Janice, 74

Lesley Hunter (right) is seen telling David Hunter, 75, 'you can't leave me' from her Norwich home 2,500 miles away from the British pensioner's retirement villa in Cyprus (left)

Pictured: David Hunter with his wife Janice (centre) and their daughter Lesley (left)

Lesley, who had screamed down the phone for her father to 'not leave me' in the harrowing FaceTime call two years ago, said today following his release from prison that she was lost for words that Hunter was now free.

Hunter had called her today within minutes of hearing of his release and told her he loved her.

Lesley, her voice cracking with emotion, told The Mirror: 'I thought I'd lost him forever, I don't know what to say. When I see him I'm going to hug him and never, ever let him go.

Lesley, who launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for his defence and has tirelessly campaigned for her father's release, added: 'I'm going to feed him and make sure he's eating and I'm just going to hug him so tightly. I just didn't think, after the way the case has gone, that this was possible.'

Following his release, Hunter tearfully said he 'can't describe' how he is feeling and said he 'didn't know where I would be' without his family, friends and former colleagues.

Speaking on the steps of Paphos District Court, a visibly emotional Hunter said: 'I'd like to say thank you to all the people who've donated to me, and especially my mates and my workmates. I don't know where I would be without them.'

The former miner added: 'When you work in a colliery, you're a family.'

Asked how he was feeling, Hunter said: 'I can't describe it. I'm sorry. I wish I could, I wish I could find words to describe it but I can't.

'When you're under pressure for two years, not knowing which way it's going to go.'

David Hunter waves and smiles as he walks towards his freedom after he was released from prison today

David Hunter, 76, was overcome with emotion and said he 'didn't know where I would be' without his friends and former colleagues as he walked towards his freedom for the first time in nearly two years

David Hunter leaves Paphos District Court in Cyprus after he was released from custody by Cypriot prison authorities on Monday

Hunter smothered Janice in 2021 at their retirement home in Cyprus. Last week, he told the Paphos criminal trial how he took the heart-breaking decision to end her suffering from devastating blood cancer

Michael Polak, the director of Justice Abroad, which is representing Hunter, said that in Cyprus a defendant will spend 10 months in custody for every year that they are jailed - and can be released early due to good behaviour.

Hunter's legal team confirmed the ex-miner had been freed shortly after Cypriot prison authorities officially calculated his release date.

The judges said they had taken Hunter's clear criminal record into account and said the pensioner could 'not be deemed a risk to society' when handing him the two-year sentence.

What is 'mercy killing' or euthanasia? A mercy killing, or euthanasia, is the intentional ending of the life of someone considered to be suffering severe and incurable pain following the person's request. Under UK law, the intentional killing of an individual, even if they are in considerable and incurable pain, is considered murder or manslaughter. A mandatory life sentence of imprisonment could be issued in conviction of murder or manslaughter. However, juries are generally considered reluctant to convict in cases involving assisted suicide given the nature of the circumstances where family members believe what they are doing to be the best thing for their loved ones. With regard to Mr Hunter's case, Cyprus does not have laws permitting assisted dying. However, the island's parliament is due to discuss euthanasia under medical supervision when they return following the summer recess. The trial was considered unprecedented in Cyprus for the concept of mercy killing. Advertisement

During his highly emotive trial, Hunter told Paphos District Court how his wife of 52 years had 'cried and begged' for him to end her life as she endured agonising pain from blood cancer before he suffocated her in December 2021.

Earlier this month, judges cleared Hunter of murder and instead convicted him of the lesser charge of manslaughter, with Judge Michalis Droussiotis accepting he 'loved his wife and took care of her'.

And delivering his two-year sentence yesterday, Judge Michalis said: 'Before us is a unique case of taking human life on the basis of feelings of love, with the aim of relieving a person of their suffering that came due to their illness.'

The judge also said Hunter's clean criminal record, age and personal circumstances had been considered when deciding the sentence  alongside other similar cases which had taken place previously.

And once Cypriot authorities had calculated his time already served in Nicosia prison it was determined he was free to leave prison today.

Hunter's daughter Lesley has watched in horror as her father has languished in the Cypriot prison for nearly two years after he killed her terminally-ill mother.

During the emotional trial, the court heard how Hunter called his brother, William, in the UK to confess to killing his childhood sweetheart and Lesley's mother  before saying he was going to take his own life with a drugs and alcohol overdose.

William alerted the police who dashed to Lesley's Norfolk home and advised her to video call her father on December 18, 2021.

Harrowing footage shows Lesley begging her father not to kill himself in the video call made moments after he suffocated Janice.

She screams down the phone: 'Daddy remember how you walked me down the aisle and you said I was beautiful. I'm your girl. I'm your girl. You can't leave me.

'Daddy please, please daddy I beg you.'

Speaking on the steps of Paphos District Court, a visibly emotional Hunter said: 'I'd like to say thank you to all the people who've donated to me, and especially my mates and my workmates. I don't know where I would be without them'

David Hunter with his defence team (right) and Michael Polak, the director of Justice Abroad, speaking outside Pathos District Court in Cyprus on Monday

David Hunter (right) with Michael Polak, the director of Justice Abroad, leaving Paphos District Court in Cyprus for the first time after being released from custody on Monday

Mr Hunter is seen slumped in a chair and barely conscious as his daughter says: 'Daddy, daddy, just concentrate on me. Daddy concentrate on me.

'Daddy, forget about everybody else. Forget about everything else. Concentrate on me. Not on her. Not anybody else, just me and you, daddy, you love me you know you do. I'm your girl.

Full transcript of Lesley Hunter's conversation with her father Lesley: 'Daddy, daddy, just concentrate on me. Daddy concentrate on me. Daddy, forget about everybody else. Forget about everything else. Concentrate on me. 'Not on her. Not anybody else, just me and you, daddy, you love me you know you do. I'm your girl. 'You've always loved me. I'm your girl. I'm your girl, daddy. I'm your little girl. 'Remember, remember when I was in hospital and you were in the lift when I came round. 'And Daddy remember how you walked me down the aisle and you said I was beautiful. I'm your girl. I'm your girl. You can't leave me. 'Daddy please, please daddy I beg you. Daddy....' Police officer: 'Have you taken something David, because we can get someone to help? 'David we don't know your address but want to get someone to you... Lesley: 'We love you. We don't care what you've done. we don't care. We just want you safe. we love you so much 'Daddy, daddy, we love you, love, we love you so much, so much, all I want is you safe. Daddy. Daddy.' Advertisement

'You've always loved me. I'm your girl. I'm your girl, daddy. I'm your little girl.'

At a sentencing hearing on Thursday that was adjourned until today, Hunter's defence lawyer, Ritsa Pekri, said his motive for killing Janice was to 'liberate his wife from all that she was going through due to her health conditions'.

The court heard it was Mrs Hunter's 'wish' to die and that her husband 'had only feelings of love for her'.

'There was no personal benefit for him,' Ms Pekri added.

She described Hunter as 'a quiet, family man that has never troubled the authorities' and said witnesses spoke of him 'looking after his wife during a difficult time of her life'.

The defence team said there have been no similar cases in Cyprus and so they had instead drawn from similar cases in New Zealand, Australia and Canada.

'We believe the suitable decision drawn from these cases is a suspended sentence,' Ms Pekri said.

State prosecutor Andreas Hadjikyrou argued that the Hunters' case 'was not one of euthanasia'.

Hunter told his trial, which lasted for more than a year, that his wife 'cried and begged' him to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer.

He broke down in tears as he said he would 'never in a million years' have taken Mrs Hunter's life unless she had asked him to.

He showed the court how he held his hands over his wife's mouth and nose and said he eventually decided to grant her wish after she became 'hysterical'.

He was found not guilty of pre-meditated murder for ending the suffering of his childhood sweetheart earlier this month.

An apparent suicide note written by Hunter proved crucial in the British pensioner being dramatically cleared of murder.

A blue notebook and pen were found in his house with a message in it seemingly left for those who would find Mr Hunter and his wife's bodies.

The apparent suicide note read: 'My wife is in so much pain. She has asked me to help her, so we did this together.'

Hunter cannot remember the turn of events from the night due to his agitated state and the drugs overdose he took so it is unclear when he wrote the message.

The retired Northumberland miner was forced to treat Janice for terminal blood cancer at home with injections due to Covid restrictions as she deteriorated in front of his eyes.

In her last days she was crying out in agony 24 hours a day, unable to move from their sofa or take painkillers as she pleaded with him to kill her.

He finally relented and took her life on December 18, 2021. Mr Hunter went on to attempt suicide, taking drugs and alcohol with the aim of overdosing.

But medics managed to revive him before he was arrested on suspicion of pre-meditated murder  and he has since languished in a high-security jail in Nicosia. He has now been acquitted of murder but found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

The cemetery where the grave of Janice Hunter, wife to David Hunter is buried near their former home in Paphos

Hunter leaving the Paphos District Court in Cyprus after his sentencing was adjourned

David Hunter (left) is transported from Paphos District Court in Cyprus after he was found guilty by Cypriot judges of the manslaughter of his terminally ill wife Janice, who died of asphyxiation at the couple's home in December 2021

In May, Hunter told the court how his teenage sweetheart was reduced to wearing nappies, was covered in skin lesions and could no longer stand from her devastating blood cancer.

Hunter said he was forced to treat his wife himself at home due to Covid restrictions as her health deteriorated and told how Janice was left crying out in agony 24 hours a day.

He broke down in tears as he told the court how he killed his wife after she 'begged' him for six weeks.

He said: 'I don't remember a lot of the last day. I went to make a cup of coffee and she started crying.'

He described how he went to the kettle and gripped the bench for support as his wife sat sobbing next door.

'The next thing I knew I put my hands on her,' he said, wiping tears from his eyes. 'When it was finished, she was a grey colour. She didn't look like my wife, and it was the first time I cried in many years.'

He described how he stood by her side and put his left hand on her nose and right hand over her mouth to smother her.

When prosecutor Andreas Hadjikyrou suggested that Mrs Hunter struggled and scratched him as he smothered her, Mr Hunter told him: 'She never struggled, she never moved. You are talking nonsense.'

Mr Hadjikyrou then suggested Mr Hunter had planned to kill his wife and did not tell her, to which he replied: 'I would never in a million years take my wife's life if she had not asked me.

'She wasn't just my wife, she was my best friend.' He added: 'She wasn't crazy, you haven't seen the strain of the last six years, what she's gone through.

'The situation, the pressure. I wouldn't like anyone to go through the last six months we both went through.'

The prosecutor responded: 'Mr Hunter, there are people that go through much worse pain.'

Mr Hunter said he didn't tell the doctors of his wife's suicidal wishes because she asked him not to, fearing they would take her into hospital. He didn't tell their daughter because he didn't want to 'worry' her.

After the cross examination finished, Mr Hunter asked to address the judge. He told him: 'My wife was suffering and she actually said, 'I don't want to live anymore', and I still said no.

'Then she started to become hysterical. I was hoping she would change her mind. I loved her so much. I did not plan it, I swear to God.'

Mr Hunter continued: 'For six weeks she asked if I could help her. For six weeks I refused.'

Describing her agony, he told Paphos District Court: 'She was lying down, she was in pain, suffering. I would do anything to help her. The last thing on my mind was to take her life. The last thing.'

Asked how the last few days were, Mr Hunter said: 'She was crying, crying, crying, begging, begging, begging.

'She wasn't taking any care of herself. The last two or three weeks she could not move her arms and had trouble with her legs, she couldn't balance.

'She was only eating soup, she couldn't hold anything down. She lost a lot of weight. She lost so much weight that there was no flesh to put her injections in.'

He said in those final days he was 'thinking about what to do 24/7' before finally taking the decision to go through with it when she once more started crying out in pain.

Mr Hunter said: 'I remember that I had my hand on her mouth and nose. I don't even know how I thought about it. I don't know how long I kept my hands there for.

'She did not attempt to stop me I don't even think she opened her eyes.'

After she died, he kissed her forehead and told her he loved her, before confessing to his brother who alerted the police. He said he cannot remember being arrested or giving interviews to police.

Hunter made his first statement in court last week and was visibly shaking as he gave evidence. He described how he took the devastating decision to end the suffering of his wife at their home in Cyprus

The final two witnesses in the trial took the stand today, telling the court how Janice's condition deteriorated in the last years of her life, how she became increasingly depressed, and that Hunter was a loving husband. Pictured: David and Janice Hunter seen on their wedding day

The final two witnesses in the trial then took the stand, telling the court how Janice's condition deteriorated in the last years of her life and how she became increasingly depressed.

Through it all, they said, Mr Hunter remained a loving husband.

'Janice often told us that her great wish was not to be taken to the hospital. And I think David made this possible,' Helmut Kesting, a neighbour of the British couple, told the court.

According to the Cyprus Mail, Kesting has lived with his wife in the island country since 2020. He described Mr Hunter as a 'quiet, reliable and reasonable man'.

'He and Janice always were very helpful and friendly to us,' he said.

Kesting described to the court how David and Janice were very loving with one-another, saying they were very proud of the relationship they shared.

'They invited us to their home and showed us a lot of pictures, photo albums of their past trips. I never heard shouting or fights. I believe they were in full harmony together,' Kesting reportedly told the court.

However, he said it was noticeable by 2021 - in the midst of the global Covid-19 pandemic - that Janice had become 'more and more depressed' having been 'optimistic' about her condition a year earlier.

He said that he and his wife had no contact with Janice in her final three or four months, as she did not wish to speak with anyone.

Earlier in the trial, Hunter told how he met his wife when she asked him for a dance at a miners' hall party in Northumberland.

'She came up to me and said, 'You're sitting in my seat.' I hadn't ever seen such a beautiful woman,' he said.

From there, they were always together, he said, and they married in St John's Church in Ashington in 1969.

Asked how their marriage was, he said: 'Perfect.' He told how he worked seven days a week in the mine to pay for their only child, Leslie, to become the first member of the family to go to university.

He and his wife would visit Cyprus on holidays and bought a property there in 1999 before moving across two years later to retire there.

Mr Hunter said: 'The first 16 years before she got sick, apart from a few operations, it was absolutely fantastic.'

But Mr Hunter suffered a stroke in 2015 and it was on regular trips to the hospital for his treatment that a doctor noticed his wife was looking very pale.

She was diagnosed with blood cancer and had to go to the capital Nicosia every week for procedures and injections.

As her condition deteriorated she asked to go to Paphos General Hospital because she couldn't face the journeys, but when Covid hit it was closed and so they kept her injections in their fridge and self-medicated.

Mr Hunter told how he called the hospital five times a day but there was no answer, and he was forced to travel to centres further away for help and supplies.

She had two 125 euro injections per week but started suffering side effects including diarrhoea, headaches, dizziness and nose bleeds.

Mrs Hunter's haemoglobin levels were such that she was unable to take painkillers and was left in agony at home, unable to move.

In her last months she underwent a series of operations for skin lesions on her face and hands, as well as a knee operation and another for her collarbone.

Speaking after his hearing in May, Mr Hunter told the press he was happy to finally give his account after waiting for 18 months.

'I got my say, this is what I wanted,' he said. 'To tell them things that they never even thought about.

'For six weeks when she was asking me, it was 24 hours. She was my wife, my best friend.

'The last six months, I wouldn't like anyone to go through that. Prison is nothing compared to what we went though.'
A Las Vegas sex offender has been arrested, charged with the murder of a woman after her family found her decomposing body stashed in a closet in his home.

George Anthony Bone, 31, was arrested on Wednesday, believed by police to have killed his roommate and lived with the body out of fear she would resurrect.

The victim was identified as Beverly Ma, a high-school friend of the accused who moved in with Bone as a roommate last summer.

Bone told police that Ma had died by suicide and admitted knowing that she had been dead for 'a while', according to court documents.

He allegedly told investigators he kept the air conditioning on at 60 degrees (15.5C) because of the number of flies that had swarmed the house, the arrest report noted.

George Anthony Bone was arrested on Wednesday. He claims he did not kill his roommate

According to the report, Bone told investigators he was waiting to see if she would wake up 'like the movie 'The Grudge''.

Local authorities believe he kept her body in the closet with a belt around her neck as he feared going to jail.

Authorities were alerted after Ma's family became concerned for her, unable to get through after calling 84 times.

Bone reportedly told the family he did not call the police because he knew he would be arrested 'for being a person of color'.

Ma's body was found at the house in the 5300 block of Railroad River Avenue near Lindell Road and Eldorado Lane.

In the arrest report, he was noted as having said: 'Since my truth is sounding so much like lies, I think I need to get an attorney.'

Bone is set to appear in court on August 1.

Police suspect Bone strangled Ma in May, according to documents.

On May 4, dispatchers received a 911 call from Ma and heard a man and a woman screaming at each other, police said.

When they checked in the next day, nobody answered the door.

'Bone went about living at the house with Beverly deceased in the upstairs closet for the next two months and began ordering several items on Beverly's Amazon account using her funds for his own gain,' police said.

In July, someone texted from her phone declining a July 4 party invitation as she 'wanted to be sober, not travel and not be around people'.

Bone was being held at the Clark County Detention Center without bail.

He admitted his behavior was 'not normal' following his roommate's death.

Authorities appear at the house in Las Vegas where they found Ma deceased in a closet

Bone is a level-three registered sex offender in Nevada after accepting a 2013 no-contest plea to attempted lewdness with a child under the age of 14.

He was sentenced to two-to-eight years in prison.
Rishi Sunak angrily defended his use of RAF jets and private helicopters to fly around the country today in a bust-up with a BBC presenter.

The Prime Minister slapped down Martin Geissler after he mentioned his use of air travel ahead of a trip to Scotland to launch an expansion of oil and gas exploration as well as green schemes designed to reduce industrial emissions.

Mr Sunak has been criticised previously for his use of RAF planes and private helicopters to travel around the UK on official and party political business when there are cheaper and less polluting alternatives.

However a train journey from London King's Cross to Aberdeen takes around seven hours and an irritated Mr Sunak pointed out that he has quite a busy job.

He told the BBC Scotland presenter: 'I'll be flying as I normally would and that's the most efficient use of my time.

'Every prime minister before me has also used planes to travel around the United Kingdom because it's an efficient use of time for the person running the country so we can keep focusing on delivery for people.'

The Prime Minister was riled by a BBC interview ahead of a trip to Scotland to launch an expansion of oil and gas exploration, and green schemes designed to reduce industrial emissions

Mr Sunak pictured leaving Aberdeen Airport on an RAF jet after his visit to St Fergus gas terminal in Aberdeenshire

Mr Sunak has been criticised previously for his use of RAF planes and private helicopters to travel around the UK on official and party political business when there are cheaper and less polluting alternatives

The criticism has mainly been aimed at far shorter journeys like that pictured above, from London to Southampton, in May

Mr Sunak, who has previously raised eyebrows with his use of aircraft for short journeys, made the trip from London to the South Coast to visit a pharmacy

He added: 'Actually that question brings to light a great debate here, if you or others think that the answer to climate change is getting people to ban everything that they are doing, to stop people going on holiday, I mean, I think that's the absolutely the wrong approach.'

Asked if Mr Sunak appeared 'testy' during the radio interview, the PM's press secretary later said: 'I think that was probably because the interview started off with (the BBC) complaining they only had five minutes.

'I would point out the PM has done Good Morning Scotland twice since he became PM and he is the first PM to do so since David Cameron.'

Mr Sunak has faced criticism of his use of air travel within the UK, although the criticism has mainly been aimed at far shorter journeys.

In May he flew 70 miles from London to Southampton instead of driving or using the train.

He was previously accused of behaving like an 'A-list celebrity' after he used an RAF jet to fly 250 miles to northern England to promote 'levelling up' funding in January.

That was the third time he had used an RAF aircraft in ten days for trips within Britain.

In March, it was revealed the PM had spent more than 500,000 of taxpayers' cash on private jets to take him on foreign trips totalling eight days.

Mr Sunak declared war on Just Stop Oil today as he vowed to ramp up exploitation of North Sea oil and gas reserves.

The Prime Minister vowed to approve hundreds of new licences to drill for fossil fuels off the UK coast as he seeks to hit Labour over the cost of living.

Sir Keir Starmer has suggested Labour would ban all new applications to drill in the North Sea if it wins the next election  but would create jobs through a massive push towards green technology and jobs.

He has been mired in a row over donations received from Dale Vince, the green power tycoon who is also a backer of Just Stop Oil.

The Prime Minister told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland that new licences were vital to avoid the UK being beholden to 'dictators' such as Vladimir Putin through energy imports.

However, the PM refused to also ease the planned 2030 ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars.
Anthony Albanese and Waleed Aly have clashed on The Project after the Prime Minister was asked about controversial housing policy on rent caps.

Mr Albanese appeared on the program amid a political stoush between Labor and the Greens, with the minor party holding a major proposed policy to ransom.

The Greens are demanding the government agree to legislate policy's such as rent caps in order for the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) to pass through the senate.

Mr Albanese has not ruled out sending Australia to an early election if the Greens block the bill.

The Project's host turned up the heat on the Prime Minister after he said some of the Greens' demands fall outside the federal government's control, with legislation such as rent caps a state government responsibility.

Aly said the Greens were asking for the government to use $2.5bn to incentivise rent caps rather than demand the laws be changed, but before he could finish the question, the prime minister jumped in.

"The problem with that Waleed is that we put $2bn on the table for states and territories in June," he said.

The pair then went back and forth shouting over each other for 20 seconds before Aly cut in with his question.

"Are you philosophically opposed to the rent caps and the idea of capping rent increases ... and therefore won't use your megaphone for it," he said.

Mr Albanese began to answer before he turned on the host.

"No Waleed, that's not the question. The question here is states and territories will look at measures for renters and renters rights" he said.

"I want to see increased renters rights, if that's what you're asking me, but there are six states and two territories, all whom have different systems in place."

Anthony Albanese and Waleed Aly have clashed on The Project after the Prime Minister was asked about controversial housing policy on rent caps

Despite not getting a clear answer on whether Mr Albanese was opposed to rent caps, the host moved onto another controversial topic, the recent deaths of four Australian soldiers in a helicopter accident in Queensland.

Aly questioned the Prime Minister on whether Australia "has a habit of paying top dollar for rubbish equipment".

"Today's the day we'll leave with respect where we're dealing with four families who've lost loved ones. Today's a day to think of those families," Mr Albanese said.

The host asked again, saying the families of defence force members would want to know his answer.

"Yes, Waleed and there'll be an appropriate investigation on that, and appropriate responses," he said.

"Today's not the day for me to speculate about what has occurred."
CCC leader Nelson Chamisa yesterday threatened to boycott the August 23 elections if his 12 Bulawayo National Assembly candidates are not reinstated.

He was speaking while addressing a campaign rally held outside Rudhaka Stadium in Marondera yesterday.

The chaos that characterised the CCC candidates selection process resulted in double or triple candidates in about 20 constituencies, especially in Harare.

In Bulawayo, the candidates were kept at bay as Mr Chamisa wanted to ambush other candidates that had been selected, resulting in those that had been endorsed, filing their nomination papers after the 4pm deadline.

This prompted 12 concerned registered voters in Bulawayo to approach the High Court seeking to have all the 18 candidates  12 from CCC, three from Zapu and two independent candidates  who filed their nomination papers after the deadline, to be disqualified.

The Bulawayo High Court duly disqualified all the 18 candidates, resulting in three ZANU PF candidates winning unopposed in Cowdray Park, Bulawayo South and Bulawayo Central.

But being a leader who only boasts about the law when his party has gotten a favourable judgment, Mr Chamisa yesterday insinuated that if President Mnangagwa does not reinstate his Bulawayo candidates, then he will pull out of the election.

Akaramba ma MP edu 12 (anenge) ataura kuti munyika muno hamuna ma election (If he refuses to reinstate our 12 candidates, he would have declared that there is not going to be an election in this country), said Mr Chamisa.

The August 23 election will go down as one that many opposition candidates, including some wanting to contest for president, who are not familiar with electoral laws.

When the countrys competent courts throw away their ridiculous challenges, they blame ZANU PF, claiming the revolutionary party was resorting to using lawfare to bar them from participating.

But soon after arriving on Saturday from Russia where he was attending the Russia-Africa Forum, President Mnangagwa said he has not filed any case with the courts and cannot take blame for political parties ignorance of the law.

He challenged them to go and be reimbursed their tuition fees which they paid while studying law.

Turning to other issues, Mr Chamisa said once elected, he will bring back the US dollar and dump the local currency.

It was a ridiculous contradiction as he said presently, there is a Minister of Finance yet there is no local currency, when it is there and pegged at about US$1 to $4 500.

If we get into power, we will have a lean Government and a competitive one which is answerable to the public, not a Government with a Minister of Finance yet we do not have a currency in Zimbabwe and we are using another countrys currency.

When you vote us into office, no RTGS will be used in this country, we will use the US dollar so that there is certainty and consistency, there is predictability, there is policy consistency, he said.

However, industrialists have complained over the exclusive use of the US dollar saying it makes their operations more expensive. Herald
Pakistan has blamed ISIS for a massive suicide bombing that targeted a rally of a pro-Taliban cleric yesterday as the death toll has climbed to at least 54 and witnesses have described horrifying 'doomsday scenes'.

The government has now vowed to hunt down those behind the attack but no one has immediately claimed responsibility.

Police said their initial investigation suggests the Islamic State group's regional affiliate could be behind the attack. Officers said around 10kg of explosives were used by a suicide bomber, who was disguised as a rally supporter.

Video showed crowds listening to the speaker as they waved flags of support before the rally was interrupted by a terrifying explosion. The bomb sparked chaos as emergency services descended on the scene to attend to the casualties.

'I was confronted with a devastating sight - lifeless bodies scattered on the ground while people cried out for help,' Fazal Aman, who was near the tent when the bomb went off, told AFP.

The attack occurred in the town of Khar in the northwestern Bajaur district, just 45 kilometres from the Afghan border, in an area where militancy has been rising since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021.

Pakistan has blamed ISIS for a massive suicide bombing that targeted a rally of a pro-Taliban cleric yesterday as the death toll has climbed to at least 54

Security officials inspect the scene of a bomb explosion in Khar, Bajaur district, Pakistan

The blast has raised fears Pakistan could be in for a bloody election period following months of political chaos prompted by the ousting of Imran Khan as prime minister in April last year.

Parliament is likely to be dissolved after it completes its term in the next two weeks, with national elections to be held by mid-November or earlier.

Funerals have been held today by distraught relatives of victims of the attack, which also injured more than 200 people.

The victims were all from the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, which is headed by hardline cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman.

He did not attend the rally, held under a large tent close to a market in Bajur, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan.

Today, blood-stained shoes and prayer caps can be seen still at the site, along with ball bearings and steel bolts from the suicide vest.

Thousands of mourners attended the first funeral ceremonies, including for two young cousins aged 16 and 17.

'It was not easy for us to lift two coffins. This tragedy has shattered our family,' said Najib Ullah, the brother of one of the boys.

'Our women are profoundly shocked and devastated. When I see the mothers of the victims, I find myself losing my own courage.'

The IS regional affiliate - known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province - is based in neighbouring Afghanistan's Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban.

Bajur was a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban - a close ally of Afghanistan's Taliban government - before several Pakistani army offensives that ended in 2016 claimed to have driven them out of the area.

At least 1,000 of the cleric's supporters had gathered in Bajut on Sunday as part of their party's preparations for the next parliamentary elections, expected some time in October or November after the current parliament's five-year term ends.

'People were chanting God is Great on the arrival of senior leaders, when I heard the deafening sound of the bomb,' said Khan Mohammad, a local resident who said he was standing outside the tent.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to dissolve the parliament in August to pave the way for the vote.

Mr Rehman's party is part of Sharif's coalition government, which came to power in April 2022 by ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in the legislature.

At least 54 people were killed after a suicide bomber set off explosives in north western Pakistan

Khar, Bajur district is in north western Pakistan, close to the border with Afghanistan

People shift coffins to collect bodies of the victims outside a hospital following the blast

Mr Khan also condemned the bombing.

Dozens of people who received minor injuries were discharged from hospital while the critically wounded were taken to the city of Peshawar by army helicopters.

The death toll on Sunday was reported to be 44 but rose to 45 on Monday as a critically wounded person died at a hospital, doctors said.

Mr Sharif called Mr Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished.

The bombing has also drawn nationwide condemnation, with ruling and opposition parties offering condolences to the families of the victims. The US and Russian embassies in Islamabad also condemned the attack.

Abdul Rasheed, a senior leader in Mr Rehman's party said the bombing was aimed at weakening the party but that 'such attacks cannot deter our resolve'.

The Pakistani Taliban also distanced themselves from the attack. The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, said the attack aimed to set Islamists against each other.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, posted on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that 'such crimes cannot be justified in any way'.

The bombing came hours before the arrival of Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Islamabad, where on Monday he was to participate in an event to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a package under which Beijing has invested billions of dollars in Pakistan.

In recent months, China has helped Pakistan avoid a default on sovereign payments. Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.

Feroz Jamal, the provincial information minister, said police were 'investigating this attack in all aspects.'

Sunday's bombing was one of the four worst attacks in northwestern Pakistan since 2014, when 147 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar.

In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar. And in February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.
A senior ABC journalist has been caught slagging off Sky News host Sharri Markson, branding her 'unhinged' in an embarrassing hot mic debacle.

Stephen Dziedzic, the ABC's foreign affairs reporter, unloaded his thoughts to fellow journalists on everything from the broadcaster's management to fellow ABC stars before a press conference involving Defence Minister Richard Marles and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Brisbane on Saturday.

But the hapless reporter was completely unaware his words were being broadcast straight into rival newsrooms across the country.

In a recording of the episode, first published by news.com.au's political editor Samantha Maiden, Mr Dziedic can be heard grudgingly conceding to other journalists that Ms Markson might be on to something with her reporting on the origins of the covid-19 pandemic.

Stephen Dziedzic (pictured), the ABC's foreign affairs reporter, has been caught slagging off Sky News' host Sharri Markson, branding her 'unhinged' in an embarrassing hot mic debacle

That morning the Sky News host had published a front-page exclusive in The Weekend Australian on the theory that the virus emerged as a result of a lab leak.

'She's like a pitbull and she's so unhinged but yet she might still be right,' says Mr Dziedzic.

He then concedes that he 'remembers being super dismissive of that' theory.

'That it was the most unhinged thing ever,' Dziedzic adds.

'I was overly influenced by the fact it was truly nasty, crazy people who were so deep down the rabbit hole. I probably didn't look at it dispassionately enough.'

Ms Markson hit back on her show on Monday evening, describing the comments as 'defamatory'.

'Calling me unhinged and a Pitbull? Well, I describe my investigative book, my features, my documentary, my dozens of world exclusive articles as careful and forensic,' says Ms Markson.

Ms Markson (pictured) hit back on her show on Monday evening, describing the comments as 'defamatory'

The journalists were chewing the fat before a press conference involving Defence Minister Richard Marles and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Brisbane on Saturday - completely unaware their words were being broadcast into newsrooms across the country

She adds: 'The ABC is meant to serve the public interest and public interest journalism and the origins of the pandemic, what was unfolding in Wuhan is absolutely what was in the public interest with seven million people who have now died.

'But this stunning admission that a journalist didn't consider it or investigate it because of ideological reasons... is a disservice to our society and its a shame that public interest journalism wasn't pursued.'

The conversation between Dziedzic, The Australian's foreign affairs and defence correspondent Ben Packham and The Sydney Morning Herald's foreign affairs reporter Matthew Knott moves on to the decision to make former ABC political editor Andrew Probyn redundant.

'It was the worst decision we have ever made,' Mr Dziedzic says.

He then suggests it would have been 'super awkward' between Mr Probyn and the Insiders host David Speers, who has been appointed to a similar role.

Mr Knott, who is in his thirties, then complains about the number of new 'young people' working in the ABC's Canberra bureau that he does not recognise who, he suggests, might have been brought in 'to do TikTok'.

'They're all on like 70 grand, probably four or five of them would have been Probes (salary),' he says.

Dziedzic suggests there's a real 'generational divide' in the ABC Canberra newsroom.

Sky News' host Ms Markson had that morning published a front-page exclusive in The Weekend Australian on the theory that the virus emerged as a result of a lab leak

Matthew Knott (pictured), the Sydney Morning Herald's foreign affairs reporter, was also recorded sharing his views on the ABC's decision to sack political editor Andrew Probyn

'There has been a generational split and it was the worst thing like, whoever the f**k leaked to our dear friends at The Australian,' he laughs.

'I would be hypocritical to complain about leaks. But like, people in the bureau feel personally attacked, right? So we had this awful bloody meeting literally afterwards. It was just scarifying. I don't think it was a diversity thing, I genuinely don't.'

He then says there were 'big editorial disagreements' between Mr Probyn and the ABCs bureau chief Michelle Ainsworth, with the decision to let him go ultimately 'personal'.

The chat then turns to an interview that new Q+A host Patricia Karvelas conducted with US ambassador Caroline Kennedy on ABC breakfast radio.

Mr Packham asks the ABC journalist what he thinks of Ms Karvelas.

Dziedzic observes that some listeners who are 'loyalists' to former RN Breakfast host Fran Kelly are 'hostile' to Karvelas and he doesn't know why.

'What's the feeling at the ABC about her kind of, the Patricia everywhere kind of stuff?' Packham then asks.

'There's a level of cynicism,' the ABC reporter replies.

'I mean there's honestly that there is a bit of tall poppy to that stuff as well, like, people  people are just jealous. I like PK. I think she probably does crowd out a bit but she also works f**king hard which not everyone in the ABC does.'

An ABC spokesperson said: 'The ABC has been made aware of a conversation between members of the press gallery, including an ABC staff member, that was captured by a live mic prior to the start of a media conference.

'We are urgently investigating the matter. The ABC has a very clear code of conduct. It is also obliged to follow due process in staff matters, including confidentiality.'
A man has suffered 'significant burns' in an apparent explosion at a duplex.

Emergency services were called to Fortune St, Coomera on the Gold Coast, at 4.19pm on Monday to find thick plumes of smoke billowing from the property.

'[Queensland Ambulance Service] is currently treating one patient with significant burns,' a QAS spokesperson said shortly after the incident.

The man was later taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a serious condition.

Emergency services were called to Fortune St, Coomera on the Gold Coast, at 4.19pm on Monday to find thick plumes of smoke billowing from the property (pictured)

The man was later taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a serious condition

Meanwhile a woman, aged in her 20s, was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital in a stable condition with suspected back injuries.

Nine News reporter Bailey Kenzie said the man's burns are 'full body.'

The network's aerial footage shows fire has gutted the property, with firefighters still on the scene at the time of writing as they mop up.

Queensland Police are also in attendance and have established a crime scene, with the cause of the explosion yet to be determined.
Even though nearly a quarter of Republican voters think Donald Trump committed 'serious federal crimes,' they still much prefer him over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or any other GOP candidate, a shocking new poll reveals.

Additionally, these Republican primary voters believe DeSantis is more 'moral' and 'likable' than Trump, but they still want to put the former president forward as the 2024 candidate.

It's likely because Republicans are more confident that Trump could beat President Joe Biden in a general election over DeSantis.

The New York Times/Siena Poll released Monday morning shows Trump in a staggering 37 percent lead over second place DeSantis as the ex-president continues to widen his lead over the rest of the crowded field of Republican candidates.

If the primary election were held today, Trump would earn 54 percent of the Republican vote, while DeSantis would earn only 17 percent, which is 5 percent less than the number of voters (22 percent) who think the ex-president is a criminal.

No other candidate reached double-digit support  and, in fact, none were even able to break above 3 percent with former Vice President Mike Pence, ex-Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott all tied for third place.

Donald Trump is still dominating 2024 GOP primary polls, with 58% saying he could beat President Joe Biden and 54% saying if the primary were held today they would vote for the former president. Even though 22% say he committed 'serious federal crimes,' they still prefer him over any other candidate in the field

Biotech millionaire Vivek Ramaswamy and ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are tied for fourth with 2 percent support each.

Additionally the poll found that 58 percent of primary voters think Trump could beat Biden in a 2024 rematch, while DeSantis fell 30 points behind the ex-president with just 28 percent who feel he could best the current chief executive.

It comes as DeSantis prepares to unveil his economic proposal in New Hampshire on Monday as Americans continue to say one of their biggest gripes with Biden is his record on economic issues.

The latest results also come as indictments and investigations continue to stack-up against the former president, which some claim is only bolstering his support and mobilizing the MAGA base.

The poll was conducted July 23-27 and reached 932 voters likely Republican primary voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.96 percent.

While a lot more GOP primary voters think Trump is 'fun' and 'able to get things done,' DeSantis beats his main competitor in the 'likability' and 'morality' categories by 2 percent and 8 percent respectively.

Although GOP voters admit that Trump's morality is questionable, they still much prefer him over all 14 of the other candidates in the primary race.

When it comes to being a 'strong leader,' a whopping 69 percent of Americans say they would agree Trump fits the bill. Only 22 percent of the same pool of respondents say they feel the same about DeSantis.

The polling in the 'gets things done' category seems skewed based mostly on public perception and not the two candidates' records considering DeSantis has been able to pass a slew of conservative legislation in the last few years with Florida's Republican supermajority.

DeSantis falls in a distant second place in the NYT/Siena poll with 17% support from primary voters  although he beats Trump on who is more 'likable' and 'moral'

There are 15 candidates vying for the GOP nomination in 2024  with Trump and DeSantis far leading the pack. Former VP Mike Pence, ex-Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott all tied for third place with 3% support each

While DeSantis' platform is objectively more conservative than Trump's, the former commander-in-chief has a hold on the GOP base that does not seem to be wavering  even in the wake of indictment.

The latest in the legal woes saga came earlier this month when Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith sent a letter to Trump informing him that he is a target of the probe into the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, which the House impeached him for just days after the riot.

New filings also show that Trump's Save America PAC has spent more than $40 million on legal costs since the beginning of 2023, meaning that the majority of small donor funds are going towards defending the former president against the slew of cases against him.
This is the moment a Royal Mail lorry driver nodded off at the wheel and killed a grandfather-of-six by crashing into the back of his car, a court heard.

CCTV footage shows Stefan-Alexandru Bloj driving the 44-tonne HGV towards the stationary vehicles at speed as they waited to enter a roundabout in Southampton.

Seconds later, the 34-year-old smashed into the back of David Sullivan's white Citroen Relay van causing a 'domino effect' collision with a Nissan Navara and Mercedes Vito van.

Witnesses who saw the horror crash compared it to an 'explosion' that resulted in Mr Sullivan's van flying into the air and the 64-year-old suffering devastating, fatal injuries.

In court, it was revealed that Bloj had just three hours of sleep in the 24 hour period before the night shift and had used his rest breaks to watch videos on his phone and text his partner.

Stefan-Alexandru Bloj at Southampton Crown Court - he denies causing death by dangerous driving

After being hit by Bloj's Mercedes Actros lorry around 8.30am on November 17 in 2020, David Sullivan (pictured) died from devastating injuries

The driver has told jurors that since the crash he has been diagnosed with a 'severe' sleep condition called obstructive sleep apnoea.

Southampton Crown Court heard Bloj, an agency worker, was on his first ever night shift when the smash happened and had only started working for the Royal Mail a week before.

He was driving down the M271 in Southampton, Hants on November 17 in his Mercedes Actros lorry when he approached the roundabout.

Bloj was allegedly asleep behind the wheel and hit the van whilst travelling at a speed of less than 40mph.

One driver, David Morris, performed CPR on Mr Sullivan for over ten minutes until paramedics arrived and motorist Thomas Boas said the impact of the crash was so great his glasses came flying off.

Opening the trial, Prosecutor Tana Adkin KC said: 'David Sullivan was driving a white Citroen Relay Van, south along the M271 towards Southampton.

'The weather was fine, it wasn't raining at the time and the sun had risen, visibility was good and the road surface was dry.

'As the driver approached the Redbridge roundabout, he slowed it down in order to negotiate the roundabout.

'Mr Sullivan was driving a good slow speed and he left a gap between his vehicle and Mr Boas'.

'Mr Boas saw [the lorry] travelling fast towards the Relay van behind him.

'The large road lorry did not stop and hit Mr Sullivan's van, causing it to hoist up into the air and into Mr Boas' vehicle.'

After being hit by Bloj's Mercedes Actros lorry around 8.30am on November 17 in 2020, Mr Sullivan died from devastating injuries.

Giving evidence, Bloj said at the time he thought he was fit to drive and he 'had no problems with sleep before the collision'.

However, he said he was diagnosed with 'severe' sleep apnoea - when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep, causing sleepiness in the day - following a trip to his home country of Romania after the crash.

He told jurors: 'I was in a big depression for a couple of months.

'I flew back to Romania to have the support of my family back there. They noticed that I was snoring loudly when I was sleeping so that was a concern.

'I came back to the UK to the UK and I went to see my GP.'

CCTV footage showing the moments before the crash

Before the crash, Bloj had slept for just three hours - with half an hour being in the previous morning and two and a half hours being a short sleep before work.

He told the court, however, that with this amount of sleep, he still felt OK to drive and denied feeling tired the day before.

Bloj said he cannot recall the events, adding: 'I had to open the seat belt and get out.

'I was in shock and I didn't understand what happened.

'It made me feel very, very bad and shocked, I went to go and see what happened.

'I feel deeply bad about what happened to him [Mr Sullivan] and feel bad for his family also and I assure them that this will stay with me for life.'

Bloj, from Southsea, Hants, denies causing death by dangerous driving.

Married Mr Sullivan leaves behind a wife, two children, three step-children, and six grandchildren.

His family said Mr Sullivan, from Wivelsfield Green, near Lewes, East Sussex, is 'very sorely missed by everyone who knew and loved him'.

The trial continues.
Union bosses have called off teacher strikes scheduled for the autumn term after accepting a 6.5% pay rise.

The National Education Union (NEU) said 86% of its teacher members in England who took part in an electronic ballot voted to accept the progress made in the pay dispute and call off industrial action, with a 60% turnout.

It comes after teacher members of the NEU staged eight days of strike action in state schools in England since February in a pay dispute.

Four education unions had been considering further walkouts in the autumn term, but their general secretaries recommended members accept the 6.5% pay rise for teachers in England offered earlier this month.

In a re-ballot of NEU teacher members in England on strike action, which opened in May before the pay offer was made, 95% supported renewing the union's strike mandate for a further six months, with a turnout of 53%.

Members of the National Education Union (NEU) during a rally at the Gala theatre in Durham during teacher walkouts earlier this month

Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), during an interview at their offices in central London, after the members of the UK's largest teaching union accepted a 6.5% pay rise

But the NEU has said the electronic ballot result on the Government's 6.5% pay offer for 2023-24 means that further strike action over pay will now not go ahead in the autumn term.

An electronic ballot of the NEU's support staff members in England also saw 85% accept the pay offer, with a turnout of 46%.

On July 13, the Government agreed to implement the School Teachers' Review Body (STRB)'s recommendation of a 6.5% increase for teachers in England from September this year.

Members of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) in England have already voted to accept the pay rise from September.

Meanwhile, the NASUWT teachers' union and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) are expected to announce their members' responses to the pay offer on Monday.

The Government has said the 6.5% pay award for teachers will be 'fully funded', with 525 million of additional funding for schools in 2023-24 and a further 900 million in 2024-25.

The NEU's electronic consultation did not include sixth form college teacher members as the pay increase is for teachers in state schools in England.

Joint NEU general secretaries Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney said: 'As a democratic union, the NEU leadership promised members that any pay and funding offer given by Government that warranted their consideration would be put to them. Members have spoken very clearly and in great numbers.

'The NEU submissions to the STRB went a long way towards changing the Government's position on pay and funding. The strike action taken by our members also shifted the dial, securing the highest pay award for over thirty years. Members should be proud they have also secured extra funding for schools.'

Members of the National Education Union (NEU) on the picket line at Oasis Academy in London earlier this month

They added: 'The Government should be in no doubt that we will hold its feet to the fire on delivering for teachers and support staff on workload and funding and continue to represent the profession in future STRB consultations.

'It remains the view of the NEU that school and college funding is far from adequate. It remains a commitment of the NEU to campaign for further increases in teacher pay.

'Everyone in the school and colleges community deserves an education system that attracts and keeps teaching staff, and one that ensures every child gets the attention and support they deserve. Our campaign for a better-funded education system will not go away.'

In a video update on Twitter, Mr Courtney said the Government 'could and should' have gone further after the teaching union accepted its 6.5% pay offer.

He said: 'Our emotion is not at all one of gratitude towards the Government.

'They could and should have settled this matter earlier - they could and should have offered more.

'Instead, our emotion is pride in you - pride in the stand you took in voting for industrial action, in taking that action, in joining picket lines and taking part in our demonstrations. Next year's pay round is a whole other argument.'

Fellow general secretary Dr Bousted added: 'Remember it (the Government) should go further on a correction on teacher's pay in next year's pay round and it should increase school funding again.'

In a statement, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the decision by the NEU to accept the deal would 'bring an end to disruption' to pupils' education.

She said: 'The decision of the largest teaching union, the National Education Union, to accept the 6.5% pay rise offered by the Government is good news for teachers, good news for parents, and most of all, good news for children.

'The deal brings an end to the disruption faced by parents and young people and means we can focus on what matters most - giving our children a world class education.

'That means tackling persistent absence and getting every child through the school gates every day, a relentless focus on closing the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers, and continued action to help young people make up for time lost during the pandemic.

'None of that is possible without the hard work of teachers. So as a new school year approaches, I am looking forward to working closely with teachers, school leaders and teaching unions to make sure we're tackling the issues that matter most and delivering the education that every child deserves - wherever they are in the country.'
The suicide of a white school principal who was bullied after being accused of supporting white supremacy because he challenged an 'anti-racism trainer' has prompted an investigation into diversity and inclusion practices in Toronto.

Richard Bilkszto, 60, killed himself in July after suing the Toronto District School Board for emotional distress which he says began in spring 2021, when he disagreed with KOJO Institute 'anti-racism' trainer Kike Ojo-Thompson.

The KOJO Institute is a for-hire diversity and inclusion consultancy firms that had been brought in by the school board.

Now, the board and Canada's education minister are investigating Bilkszto's death and whether the obsession with woke policies may have contributed to it.

Richard Bilkszto, 60, killed himself in July after suing the Toronto District School Board for emotional distress

KOJO Institute founder Kike Ojo-Thompson. Bilkszto said she accused him of supporting white supremacy because he challenged her comments

'I offer my heartfelt condolences to Richards family and friends, as we remember an educator that truly went above and beyond for his students.

'No staff member should ever be subject to harassment while in their place of work,' Education Minister Stephen Lecce said.

Ojo-Thompson had been brought in to Burnhamthorpe Collegiate Institute in Etobicoke to teach an anti-racism session. Bilkszto, who was a teacher for 24 years before retiring, was serving as a fill-in principal.

He took issue with Ojo-Thompson's claim that Canada is 'more racist' than the US because it has 'never reckoned with its anti-black history.'

When he disagreed politely, she snapped back.

'We are here to talk about anti-black racism, but you in your whiteness think that you can tell me whats really going on for black people?' she responded.

Bilkszto tried to de-escalate the situation, according to his lawsuit, but was shouted down by another member of the KOJO Institute who told him his views weren't 'relevant'.

Support: The 60-year-old veteran teacher had worked for 24 years and still volunteered as a stand-in principal. His family say he was so 'distressed' by the disagreement with the anti-racism trainer and what happened afterwards that he took his own life

A week later, at a second session, Ojo-Thompson said Bilkszto's comments were a 'real life example of resistance in support of white supremacy. '

Bilkszto claimed the disagreement led to him missing out on contract work and that inflicted emotional distress.

At the time, the KOJO Institute disagreed with his claims and said any of his interactions were brief.

The KOJO Institute is a for-hire diversity and inclusion consultancy firms that had been brought in by the school board. Ojo-Thompson is the founder

When he died, the Institute issued a statement of condolence for his loved ones.

Canada's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board agreed with Bilkszto and described Ojo-Thompson's comments as 'abusive, egregious and vexatious'.

The adjudicator said the remarks rose to a level of 'workplace bullying and harassment'.

Bilkszto's attorney Lisa Bildy announced his death in July, sharing a statement from his family.

'The stress and effects of these incidents continued to plague Richard. Last week, he succumbed to this distress.

'His family and friends have been left reeling and wishing they could have had the chance to convince him that he was loved, respected and needed here. May he rest in peace,' the statement read.

Since his suicide, a number of other teachers and school workers have contacted his attorney on social media to share similar stories of abuse.
Joe Biden has apparently decided that its become a political liability to be a bad granddad.

So, in an exclusive statement to People Magazine on Friday, the President conceded, for the first-time, that he has seven grandkids, not six.

Did you miss that news?

In fact, that's exactly what the cynical old man in the White House and his campaign team wanted.

Why else would they make the announcement to a celebrity news website at 5:02 PM ET on a summer Friday, when the thoughts of most Americans have mercifully wandered from politics to barbecues, pools and family.

'Our son Hunter and Navy's mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward,' read the bloodless bulletin.

Make no mistake. This announcement was yet another gross adjudication of responsibility in a runaway scandal fueled by a scathing op-ed written by famed New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd in early July.

'It's seven grandchildren, Mr. President, not six,' Dowd's headline screamed.

Since then, more liberals have miraculously found that they too have a backbone and have stopped ignoring the national disgrace.

If you've missed the first few seasons of this sordid saga, here's the CliffsNotes on Hunter's Sickening Life and Times to catch you up.

The president's son had a fling with Lunden Roberts, a Washington DC exotic dancer, who was apparently employed by Hunter's investment firm.

Nine months later, Lunden gave birth to Navy Joan Roberts. Hunter denied paternity, but tests showed he's the daddy. Then in June, Hunter went to court to successfully reduce his child support payments to Navy's mom.

Joe Biden has apparently decided that its become a political liability to be a bad granddad.

The president's son had a fling with Lunden Roberts (above), a Washington DC exotic dancer, who was apparently employed by Hunter's investment firm.

Nine months later, Lunden gave birth to Navy Joan Roberts (above). Hunter denied paternity, but tests showed he's the daddy. Then in June, Hunter went to court to successfully reduce his child support payments to Navy's mom.

And through it all, President Biden, the First Lady and the White House pretended that Navy Joan didn't exist. They wouldn't speak her name.

That was, I presume, until Joe decided this was starting to become a problem. Not a moral problem. A political one.

'This is not a political issue, it's a family matter. Jill and I only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy,' blathered the statement to People in a desperate attempt to hide the obvious.

Joe, if this was a 'family matter,' then why release a public statement at all?

Why do it for a glossy magazine that the parent's of Navy's classmates could read in a grocery store aisle?

I'll tell you why.

Useless White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre can now refuse to address the issue, claim it has been settled and call it old news.

It's also notable that this pronouncement went out as President Biden bolted for a 10-day vacation to his multi-million dollar compound in Rehoboth, Delaware.

There Joe will be insulated from the media and follow-up questions, like:

Why has it taken so long to recognize Hunter's four-year-old daughter? Will you ever meet the little girl?

How awfully convenient.

The men and women running Biden's 2024 campaign may be bumbling fools, but they're not completely oblivious.

They know that a president, who has made his role as a father and grandfather a central plank of his political appeal, could not keep up this charade.

The polling on this must have been awful.

It's also notable that this pronouncement went out as President Biden bolted for a 10-day vacation to his multi-million dollar compound in Rehoboth, Delaware.

Joe will be insulated from the media and follow-up questions, like: Why has it taken so long to recognize Hunter's four-year-old daughter? Or will you ever meet the little girl?

But the most nauseating aspect of this slick and slimy public relations maneuver is that it was completely devoid of any human emotion. There wasn't any acknowledgement of the harm done to a child.

As Dowd noted, the President has condemned this girl to a childhood of vicious schoolyard bullying.

Now it must be a sad consolation for little Navy to be reduced to a Friday news dump by the presidential grandfather she's never met.

Who would do that to their own flesh and blood?

'You have to remember there were some fairly contentious legal proceedings between Navy's parents happening until just a few weeks ago,' a source told People. 'As grandparents, the Bidens are following Hunter's lead.'

Oh yes, by all means, continue to infantilize poor Hunter. The man's 53-year-old, but he must be treated very delicately. If only he had a multi-million-dollar art career to fall back on when the influence-peddling work dries up.

The truth is that the Bidens could have done the right thing. They certainly don't get credit for weaseling out of it now.

Oh yes, by all means, continue to infantilize poor Hunter. The man's 53-year-old, but he must be treated very delicately. If only he had a multi-million-dollar art career to fall back on when the influence peddling work dries up.

Imagine if the President, First Lady and Hunter spoke openly and honestly, saying, 'children are often born out of complicated circumstances, and their lives are a great blessing. We are proud to welcome Navy into our family and we are forever grateful to the American people for their understanding and compassion.'

There is no honest person in America who would have heard that and not thought, 'Fine, it's time to move on.'

This should have been called out on that very first Christmas in the Biden White House when they hung six stockings with the names of their grandkids over the fireplace in the State Dining Room.

Six, not seven.

One granddaughter is given a White House wedding featured in Vogue magazine and another can't get a lousy sock.

Be certain of one thing - try as they might - this flimsy, Friday night news dump will not close this subject.

America cannot allow a child to be swept under the rug. We won't be hoodwinked.

In 2020, Joe Biden vowed to restore 'basic decency and honor' to the White House.

He's done the opposite.
Dylan Mulvaney will charge $40,000 per visit to college campuses to give speeches to students - nearly doubling her fee from a year ago - months after she cost Bud Light billions in a now-disastrous marketing partnership.

The trans influencer, 26, announced she was open to hire and wrote on Instagram: 'University and College friends! I am booking speaking opportunities for the upcoming 23/24 school year and would love to come visit.'

Crista Spadafore, Mulvaney's agent, confirmed the fee for her to speak is $40,000, reports College Fix.

The Bud Light partnership has seen Anheuser-Busch lose $27 billion in market cap value since the advert for March Madness. The partnership sparked months of protests against the iconic blue-can brand.

Bud Light even lost its spot as the top-selling beer in America to Modelo as a result of the controversy.

Dylan Mulvaney will charge $40,000 per visit to college campuses to give talks and speeches students this year. The trans influencer, 26, is charging nearly double her rate compared to what she asked for before becoming the center of Bud Light's controversy in April

She partnered with Bud Light on April 1 - which was a catastrophic business deal for the beer company after they lost millions off their prices

Earlier this year, Mulvaney gave a speech at the University of Pittsburgh for the price of $26,250. At the time, she had 6 million followers on TikTok - and weeks before the Bud Light promotion.

Luna Lindstrom, who is the business manager of the group that helped bring Mulvaney to the college campus, said in March the event was 'important' to 'advance trans rights.'

Over 450 students gathered to hear Mulvaney speak about her transition to girlhood - which she was chronicling on her social media pages.

She told the auditorium in March, before her Bud Light controversy: 'Some of my most vulnerable videos early on when I had a full beard doing laser hair removal are still one of my favorite videos ever made because I took my power back.

'This is what makes me most embarrassed about myself and I'm showing you this right now and being vulnerable, and now it's not as scary to me.

'It really brought me closer to these human beings from behind the screens.'

She also told the student crowd that she wanted to continue her work as an actress.

Earlier this year, Mulvaney gave a speech at the University of Pittsburgh for the price of $26,250. At the time, she had six million followers on TikTok

Mulvaney has faced intense criticism since the ordeal and slammed Bud Light for not standing up wit her: 'For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse than not hiring a trans person at all'

'I still haven't played a female character yet  that's something I really want to do. I want to figure out how we can infuse this trans joy into shows,' Mulvaney said.

'I want to see a trans woman falling in love, and see trans people succeeding in scripted content.

'That's how we're gonna make what's happening now in this country a little bit better,' reports Pitt News.

The $26,250 speech was just a week before she partnered with Bud Light - causing sensational damage to the brand and intense conservative backlash in the US.

Anheuser-Busch announced it was laying off hundreds of employees following its disastrous partnership with her.

Workers who are laid off will receive severance pay, paid out of their unused vacation time, receive six months of continued company-paid health insurance benefits and help finding a new job, according to an email sent to employees Wednesday.

The restructuring 'will simplify and reduce layers within its organization,' a spokesperson said.

But, the layoffs will not affect frontline workers, such as 'brewery and warehouse staff, drivers, and field sales reps among others.'

The company faced a boycott from all sides of the political spectrum, though it was largely centered around those with conservatives politics.

At the end of June, Mulvaney broke her silence on Bud Light to slam the embattled beer brand for for not standing by her amid the fallout from their disastrous campaign.

Anheuser-Busch announced the decision to lay off about two percent of its US workforce in a statement released by CEO Brendan Whitworth on Wednesday

Speaking to her 1.8million followers, she said: 'I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did. I've been scared to leave my house.

'For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse than not hiring a trans person at all.

'Because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and as hateful as they want. There's should be nothing controversial or divisive about working with us.

'I have been ridiculed in public I've been followed and I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn't wish on anyone.'

It was the first time that Mulvaney publicly spoke about Bud Light, calling them a company that she 'loved' in the new post.

During the video she said trans and queer people are 'customers too', before adding that 'turning a blind eye' isn't an option.

She previously said she didn't want to give her critics the 'satisfaction' of talking about them, but has now opened up about how the backlash affected her - as sales for the beer dropped a staggering 28.5 percent.

Last week, Mulvaney celebrated 500 days since she started her transition and posted to social media to mark the occasion.

In the seven-minute clip, Mulvaney said: 'Day 500 is dedicated to my younger self who didn't get to celebrate so many awesome discoveries because I was just hoping to get by.

'Today is actually day 9,705 of being a woman, because I've always been one.'

While the 26-year-old didn't mention the Bud Light backlash by name she said: 'I learnt more since day 365 than I did that whole first year.'

'If I make the content that I want to make, and freely share my trans joy, I subject myself to a lot more trauma,' she added.

'So lately, I've chosen to scale back in order to protect my overall well-being, and it works.

'I am quite happy, but I'm not doing what I love, so it's kind of a bittersweet thing.'
A grief-stricken Tennessee mom has launched a $4 million lawsuit accusing cops of negligence after they allegedly watched her 30-year-old son drown in six-foot deep water right in front of them.

Kimberly Williams-Clabo claims four officers from Knoxville Police Department (KDP) stood by for 15 minutes as her son Mika Wheeler Clabo thrashed around in the Tennessee River while suffering a mental health episode on July 25, 2022.

The devastated mother is suing officials over alleged civil rights violations and wrongful death, requesting a jury trial at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

KPD has hit back, saying her claims are 'not supported by the facts' and the City will 'vigorously defend' against the proceedings.

The department says the officers involved - named in the case documents as William Romanini, Joseph Mattina, Brandon Brewer and Timothy Campbell - 'did not respond inappropriately' at the scene in downtown Knoxville.

Kimberly Williams-Clabo (left) claims four officers from Knoxville Police Department (KDP) simply stood by as her son Mika Wheeler Clabo (right) thrashed around in the Tennessee River while suffering a mental health episode on July 25 last year

KPD has disputed the claims, saying the officers involved in 30-year-old Mika's death - named in the case documents as William Romanini, Joseph Mattina, Brandon Brewer and Timothy Campbell - 'did not respond inappropriately'

In the lawsuit, Williams-Clabo describes her son as a hard-working recovering opioid and heroin addict who 'lost everything he had worked for two years' after turning his back to drugs in the days before he died.

Mika - a Christian and master arborist from the Tennessee town of Dandridge - lost 'his freedom, his new car, his license and other belongings, his self-esteem, perhaps his home, and possibly worst of all, his sobriety' in July last year.

Williams-Clabo recounted her son's final movements in painstaking detail in the 46-page legal document.

She said witnesses saw him emerging from a car onto Market Square in Downtown Knoxville, 'bare-foot' and wearing 'only underwear and a t-shirt'.

Dozens of people called 911 to try to help Mika, who was reportedly 'acting erratically' and seemed to be 'running from something', the lawsuit says.

Shoeless, Mika made his way to the intersection of Neyland Drive and Walnut Street, near the City-County Building.

He crossed the road before running along the railroad tracks, jumping a fence before landing in the parking lot of Calhouns On the River - a restaurant on the banks of the Tennessee River.

Mika was a master arborist and a Christian since the age of 12 who had been sober for years until the days before his death

'He slowly rose up, walked toward the restaurant, turned and spotted a man clad in black shorts and a black shirt, and hurried behind the building', the lawsuit said.

'Seconds later, Mika fell headlong over the brushy riverbank and into the murky waters of the Tennessee River, at exactly 10:14 a.m. on July 25, 2022.'

Shocked onlookers saw him 'struggling hard' and 'fighting to keep his head above water' while his 'feet and neck kept getting entangled and trapped by vines from bushes along the riverbank'.

By 10.22am, four KPD cops and two emergency medical technicians (EMTs) had arrived on the dock and stood 'watching Mika fight for his life'.

He was seen 'grabbing hold of anything he could' as he was 'pulled by a strong current' according to the lawsuit.

'Mika yelled out several times, gasping and groaning, desperate for help, as he tried in vain to pull himself up or free himself from the vines that snared him,' it read.

'Yet, for approximately fifteen minutes, other than coaxing Mika on by yelling at him to swim or get out, no one helped him  not the four KPD officers who stood chatting on the riverbank, not an EMT who got to the waters edge before Mikas head went underwater for the last time, and not the employees and patrons of Calhouns On the River, who watched it all and repeatedly urged the officers to save the drowning man . . . or let them do it.'

A Calhoun's employee even allegedly offered a 'twenty-foot long tow-strap to throw out to Mika' as he drowned 'merely a few feet from the riverbank, if that.'

'The same man offered to get keys to a storage area that held flotation devices or even a small boat,' the case said.

'Seeing how close Mika was to the river bank and familiar with the water depth and current, another Calhouns employee told officers he could reach Mika.

'These men and others were warned off by the KPD officers against making any effort to help Mika, with one officer repeatedly telling them hell drown you too or words to that effect.'

'Recovering person' Mika died in water which was just five or six feet deep after toppling into the Tennessee River in downtown Knoxville, wearing just a t-shirt and underwear with no shoes as he suffered a mental health episode

The cops told them they were waiting on a rescue boat.

Williams-Clabo alleged they 'fully understood that Mikas mental health appeared to be compromised' and they urged him to 'swim' or 'get out' but 'did nothing to actually help him.'

'They ran off or warned others from helping, but had no meaningful plan to rescue Mika, aside from waiting indefinitely on a rescue boat that hadnt even been launched yet,' the suit said.

'Obviously, under these conditions, Mika didnt have a lot of time before he would succumb to the current and water.

'The four officers neglected to throw Mika a rope, a strap, or a flotation device, or otherwise make a serious attempt to help him out of the water.

'At 10:27, with Officers William Romanini, Joseph Mattina, Brandon Brewer, and Timothy Campbell each looking on from their safe perches a few feet away, Mikas head disappeared underwater for the last time.

'About two hours later, his lifeless body was found by rescue divers near where he had fallen into the river  at the waters edge, trapped by vines, his head only inches below the surface in 70- degree water approximately five to six feet deep.

'The Medical Examiner ruled that his death was an accidental drowning.'

Williams-Clabo's four claims include violation of her son's substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendments, failure of the City, KPD and Chief Noel to 'properly train and supervise' the officers.

They are also accused of negligence, negligent or reckless infliction of emotional distress, and loss of consortium.

Williams-Clabo is angling for $1,500,000 in compensatory damages and $2,500,000 in punitive damages.

On the day of Mika's death, KDP tweeted saying their officers, along with fire service responders, were 'actively searching for a man who went into the river' near Calhoun's in downtown Knoxville and 'had not resurfaced'

On the day of Mika's death, KDP tweeted saying their officers, along with fire service responders, were 'actively searching for a man who went into the river' near Calhoun's in downtown Knoxville and 'had not resurfaced'.

'Several calls were received just before 10 a.m. b/c the man was acting erratically,' the department said. 'He went into the river shortly after officers arrived.'

On July 28 this year, KPD responded to the lawsuit launched by his mother.

'While Mika Clabo's death was undoubtedly tragic, the KPD officers involved did not act inappropriately, and the City will vigorously defend this lawsuit,' it said.

'The officers immediately called for assistance from additional specialized resources, and any suggestion that they prevented reasonable or safe attempts to rescue Mr Clabo is not supported by the facts.'

Mika was a member of Swanns Chapel Church, and a Jefferson County High School graduate, according to Farrar Funeral Home which took care of his memorial service last year.
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Idaho cult mom Lori Vallow told a court today that she communicates with her dead children in heaven, where they are 'very happy and busy', as she blamed their deaths on 'accidents and suicide' before being sentenced to life without parole.

Earlier this year, the judge in her case agreed to her request to have the death penalty taken off the table as punishment for prosecutors violating a court rule during the discovery phase of the trial.

Vallow was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua 'JJ' Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husbands previous wife.

The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. He is scheduled to stand trial in April 2024.

Today, Vallow's attorneys asked for a 20 year minimum, begging the judge to give her 'hope' and claiming the world will be a better place with 'hope'.

She told the court she was 'friends' with Tammy, who is also 'extremely busy in heaven', and said all three regularly visit her. She also claimed to have died and gone to heaven herself in 2002.

'Jesus knows me and Jesus understands me. I mourn with all of you who mourn my children and Tammy,' said Vallow.

Lori Vallow was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Monday for the murders of her two kids and her husband's previous partner

Lori during the hearing to tell the judge how she still communicated with her dead children in heaven

Vallow, 50, was sentenced to life without parole despite her attorneys' pleas for some leniency

She went on to claim: 'Jesus Christ knows the truth of what happened here. Jesus Christ knows no one was murdered in this case. Accidental deaths happen, suicides happen, fatal side effects of medications happen.

'I have access to heaven and the spirit world. I have had many communications from people now living in heaven, including my children, my sisters, my aunts and my uncle and my grandparents.

'I've had many communications with Jesus Christ and our heavenly parents, and many angelic visitors.

'Because of these communications I know for a fact that my children are happy and busy in the spirit world. I know my friend Tammy Daybell is also very happy and extremely busy.'

Invoking Martin Luther King Jr., Vallow's defense attorney John Thomas said: 'Lori is the most hated woman in America but that hate will never bring about peace. MLK Jr. once said hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that. How do we stop the hurt pain and loss?'

He called her a 'misunderstood person' who at her core was loving.

'We saved her life and that is a win for all humanity. If you give her fixed life, you will have thrown her away.

'If we give her hope, we protect society by keeping her behind bars until her 70s, where she has the incentive to be a model prisoner.

'Over time, she changes her behavior and she helps other inmates. She becomes a better person.

'What do we have to lose by letting a woman in her 70s go before a parole board?

'We ask the court to show mercy and look to the future. We ask the court for a 20-year fixed term with life indeterminant.'

JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan vanished in September 2019. Their bodies were found buried in Daybell's backyard in June 2020

Chad and Tammy Daybell pictured before she was killed in October 2019

'If we give her hope, we protect society by keeping her behind bars until her 70s, where she has the incentive to be a model prisoner.

'Over time, she changes her behavior and she helps other inmates. She becomes a better person.

'What do we have to lose by letting a woman in her 70s go before a parole board?

'We ask the court to show mercy and look to the future. We ask the court for a 20-year fixed term with life indeterminant.'

Earlier, JJ's 'This all began with greed for a $1million life insurance policy. I would have given her the money. She could have let them live. They could have been with us living happy lives, instead she took it all away.

'She is a money-hungry, power-mongering monster.'

Vallow also faces two other cases in Arizona - one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her niece's ex-husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her niece's ex survived an attempt later that year.

Monday's sentencing will take place at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho. Judge Steven W. Boyce is expected to hear testimony from several representatives of the victims, including Vallow's only surviving son, Colby Ryan.

The case began in July 2019, when Vallow's brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in a suburban Phoenix home.

The 'charred remains' of Tylee Ryan, 16, and JJ Vallow, 7, were found at the couple's home in Salem, Idaho. Pictured: Investigators searching the property on June 9, 2020

Cox told police he acted in self-defense.

He was never charged in the case and died later that year of what authorities determined were natural causes.

Vallow was already in a relationship with Chad Daybell, a self-published author who wrote doomsday-focused fiction loosely based on Mormon teachings. She moved to Idaho with her kids and brother to be closer to him.

The children were last seen alive in September 2019. Police discovered they were missing a month later after an extended family member became worried. Their bodies were found buried in Chad Daybell's yard the following summer.

Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow married in November 2019, about two weeks after Daybell's previous wife, Tammy, was killed.

Tammy Daybell initially was described as having died of natural causes, but an autopsy later showed she had been asphyxiated, authorities said.

Daybell, 54, was due to stand trial alongside Vallow before their cases were separated

Defense attorney Jim Archibald argued during the trial there was no evidence tying Vallow Daybell to the killings, but plenty showing she was a loving, protective mother whose life took a sharp turn when she met Chad Daybell and fell for his 'weird' apocalyptic religious claims.

Archibald suggested that Daybell and Vallow's brother, Alex Cox, were responsible for the deaths.

Daybell told her they had been married in several previous lives and she was a 'sexual goddess' who was supposed to help him save the world by gathering 144,000 followers so Jesus could return, Archibald said.

Vallow's former friend Melanie Gibb testified during the trial that Vallow believed people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits and turned into 'zombies,' including JJ and Tylee.

The family and the case was featured on the popular Netflix TV documentary, 'Sins of our Mother.'

Netflix's series, which features her surviving child Colby Ryan, 26, reveals the details behind the killings, and Lori's beliefs that convinced her there was a 'dark spirit' inside her daughter, and the only way to 'free the spirit is to kill the body.'
Shocking pictures have laid bare New York City's migrant crisis after dozens of people were seen sleeping outside the iconic Roosevelt Hotel which has reached capacity since being turned into a designated center for asylum seekers.

Migrants lined the street at 46th and Vanderbilt as commuters made their way to work on Monday morning, after thousands of asylum seekers were bused in by southern conservative governors.

The Roosevelt Hotel, which was shuttered three years ago, is one of several hotels that were transformed into emergency centers as the city struggles with an influx of migrants.

New York is bound by a decades-old consent decree in a class-action lawsuit to provide shelter for those without homes.

The Roosevelt Hotel and others which have become hubs for refugees are within walking distance from Times Square, the World Trade Center memorial site and the Empire State Building.

Migrants were seen sleeping outside The Roosevelt Hotel which has reached capacity since being turned into a designated center for asylum seekers

Refugees lined the street at 46th and Vanderbilt in NYC as commuters made their way to work on Monday morning

But rooms at the Roosevelt, where only migrant families have been staying, have already filled up, as the city says more than 93,000 asylum seekers came through the intake system last spring.

Some of the thousands of migrants who have arrived in NYC have been been bused in from Florida and Texas, as the states' conservative governments argue progressive cities should share the burden.

Texas' governor Greg Abbott has sent about 9,700 asylum seekers to New York City, according to Politico.

Florida's governor Ron DeSantis has flown about 85 migrants to Massachusetts and California.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams responded by sending migrants to red states -with some even being sent as far as South America and China.

The Democrat spent about $50,000 of the city's money to send 114 migrant households elsewhere - with 28 families sent to Florida with 14 sent to Texas and a few to Colombia and one family to China after being allowed to choose their destination.

Adams, who has called the immigration crisis a 'disaster', has opened 174 emergency shelters and intake centers.

The city is slated to spend more than $4.3billion to try and slow the crisis.

'Children and families continue to be prioritized and are found a bed every night,' Adams' office said in a statement on Monday.

'While we at least offered all adults a temporary place to wait off the sidewalks last night, some may have chosen to sleep outside and, in all honesty, New Yorkers may continue to see that more and more as hundreds of asylum seekers continue to arrive each day.'

The migrants sitting outside the hotel will likely be taken to a different shelter once they're processed.

On Sunday morning, some migrants were seen leaving the hotel and getting on a city bus headed to a shelter in the Bronx, Eyewitness News reported.

Many told local media they were from Venezuela, where the regime of Nicolas Maduro has sparked a refugee crisis in the region, and did not want any handouts, just work.

The storied hotel near Grand Central Terminal served as election headquarters for New York Governor Thomas Dewey, who in 1948 was said to have wrongly announced from the Roosevelt that he had defeated Harry Truman for president.

The Holiday Inn, located in Manhattan's Financial District was also designated as a migrant shelter by the city's government.

The Roosevelt Hotel, which was shuttered three years ago, is one of several hotels that were transformed into emergency centers

'New Yorkers may continue to see that more and more as hundreds of asylum seekers continue to arrive each day,' the mayor's office said in a statement

The migrants sitting outside the hotel will likely be taken to a different shelter once they're processed

The city says more than 93,000 asylum seekers came through the intake system last spring.

In February, US Bankruptcy Judge Philip Bentley approved the hotel's application to sign a contract which will see the establishment house migrants to the tune of $190 a night - a fee that will total $100,000 a day for taxpayers.

It's not new for the city to turn to hotels for New Yorkers without homes when shelters and other options are not available.

During the pandemic, group shelters made it difficult to comply with social distancing rules, prompting the city to rent out hundreds of hotel rooms as quasi COVID wards. As the pandemic eased, the city became less reliant on hotels.

That changed as thousands of migrants began arriving by bus last year. And that will continue to happen after the end of Title 42.

The Watson Hotel on West 57th Street, which used to receive rave reviews for its rooftop pool and proximity to Central Park, is now being used to house migrant families.

'It is our moral and legal obligation to provide shelter to anyone who needs it,' the city's Department of Social Services said in a statement.

'As such, we have utilized, and will continue to utilize, every tool at our disposal to meet the needs of every family and individual who comes to us seeking shelter.'

Before the surge in asylum seekers, the city was dealing with increased homelessness, packed shelters and a dearth of affordable housing. New York even announced a plan to send hundreds of migrants to hotels in suburban Orange and Rockland counties across the Hudson River, angering local leaders.

Earlier this month, Adams said there is 'no more room in the city.'

As more migrants have arrived, Adams, who has called the immigration crisis a 'disaster', has tried a range of approaches to housing them, from tents to relocating them to other parts of the state.

Adams declared a state of emergency in October 2022 and called on President Joe Biden, a fellow Democrat, to provide more resources and to help migrants get work permits.

On Wednesday, the city announced it will also set up a shelter for up to 1,000 migrants in the parking lot of a state psychiatric hospital.

The new emergency relief center at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Hospital in the Queens borough of New York will house migrant men and will offer services including meals and medical care, officials said.

A bus carrying the migrants from Texas arrives at the Port Authority bus station of New York on May 3

Eric Adams toured migrant shelters and visited the southern border in El Paso trip before labelling the situation a 'disaster'

'This center will provide not just a place to stay but also critical services to support these individuals on their journey,' Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol said.

New York state will provide the space at the 300-acre (121-hectare) Creedmoor facility and will reimburse the city for setting the migrant center up and staffing it, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom said.

There are currently more than 56,000 migrants in New York's care, with more people arriving daily, officials said.

Adams has scrambled to house migrants while asking for help from the federal government.

'New York City continues to receive thousands of asylum seekers each week, and we have stepped up and led the nation, but this national crisis should not fall on cities alone to navigate. We need a national solution here,' the mayor said in a statement.

The mayor has previously slammed DeSantis and Abbott for bussing migrants to New York and other northeastern locales in what he called a 'political stunt.'

'This was part of a political ploy and that's what we need to understand,' Adams said on CNN at the time.

Earlier this year, Adams visited the U.S.-Mexico border and called the situation 'a disaster' that needed to be addressed at the federal level.

'Why isn't this considered a disaster? This is a crisis,' Adams told The New York Post at the end of his border visit.

'No one is coordinating this national effort,' he said from Texas.

Adams also attacked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to which he had already made a request for $1billion. 'FEMA needs to step up. That's their job,' he said.
Two men set the Koran alight outside parliament in Stockholm today, the latest in a string of similar events sparking tensions between Sweden and Muslim countries.

Salwan Momika and Salwan Najem kicked and stomped on the book before setting it on fire, as they had done at a protest outside Stockholm's main mosque in late June.

Local media reported Swedish police had granted a permit for Monday's protest, as demonstrators said they wanted to see the Muslim holy book banned in Sweden.

Recent Quran burnings have put Sweden at a 'heightened threat' of terror attacks, its domestic security service said last Wednesday.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said his country was in 'the most serious security situation since World War II' as tensions grow.

The country has seen its diplomatic relations with several Middle Eastern nations strained over previous protests involving Quran desecrations.

Protestor Salwan Momika (L) kicks a copy of the Quran during his demonstration outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, 20 July 2023. He burned and kicked the book on Monday

Momika announced he would burn a copy of the Quran and an Iraqi flag in Stockholm on 20 July 2023, a protest replicated today with Salwan Najem outside the Swedish parliament

Yemenis participate in a protest denouncing the burning of Islam's holy book, the Koan, in Sweden and Denmark, on July 24, 2023 in Sana'a, Yemen

Organiser Salwan Najem told Expressen newspaper: 'I will burn [the Quran] many times, until you ban it.'

Najem had joined Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika, 37, at two previous such protests in Stockholm - outside the city's main mosque and later outside Iraq's embassy.

The protest was scheduled for 1:00 pm (1100 GMT) on Monday, according to the police permit.

Swedish police have previously stressed they only grant permits for people to hold public gatherings and not for the activities conducted during the events.

There is no law in Sweden specifically prohibiting the burning or desecration of the Koran or other religious texts.

But book burnings have strained Sweden's diplomatic relations abroad, raised the threat of a terror attack, and led to flag-burning protests in the Muslim world.

It became a sticking point as Sweden - and Finland - looked to join NATO in light of the war in Ukraine.

To join NATO, both prospective members needed the backing of all members, but struggled to get buy in from Hungary and Muslim-majority Turkey.

Turkish officials first said the burning of an effigy of Erdogan by pro-Kurdish activists in Sweden in January went against an agreement made between the countries.

Sweden and Finland agreed with Turkey to help clamp down on individuals living in their countries wanted on terror-related charges, including many Kurds.

Some fled Turkish persecution in the late 1980s and subsequent crises in the Middle East.

Tensions escalated between Sweden and Turkey when, in response, a convicted far-right leader in Sweden received permission to burn a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.

Protests broke out across the Islamic world in response to the act, with people in Iraq and Palestine pictured desecrating Swedish flags in anger.

Indonesia and Turkey both summoned their Swedish envoys following the book burning.

Afghanistan's foreign ministry called for the Swedish government 'to punish the perpetrator' and to stop 'such vile and provocative anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim acts'.

Similar outrage was felt in Pakistan, with protestors rallying in the northeast.

In Yemen, thousands gathered in Sanaa in protest, some seen burning the flags of the US and Israel.

With book-burning events becoming more regular in Sweden and Denmark, officials have looked to find a way resolve spiralling tensions.

The Swedish government said this month it is examining possible legal changes that would ban burnings in some situations.

But right-wing parties in both countries have denounced the initiatives, with some saying freedom of speech cannot be compromised.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said on Monday that he had sent letters to all 57 countries in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to explain Sweden's right to assembly and condemned Islamophobic acts.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has now again expressed deep anger at the Quran burnings.

Demonstrators burn the Swedish flag during a protest against the insult to the Koran in Stockholm, in Tehran, Iran July 21, 2023

Supporters of Iraq's Sadrist movement gather outside the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on June 30 for a second day of protests against a Koran burning outside the Swedish mosque

The protest in Baghdad (June 30) came a day after an Iraqi citizen living in Sweden, Salwan Momika, 37, stomped on the Islamic holy book and set several pages alight

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said today he hoped the government's proposal to limit Quran burnings would help de-escalate the situation.

The Danish government said on Sunday it would seek to find a 'legal tool' that could enable authorities to intervene in such protests, if deemed to entail 'significant negative consequences for Denmark, not least with regard to security'.

Rasmussen told journalists after a meeting with foreign policy speakers of parliament on Monday: 'The fact that we are signalling both in Denmark and abroad that we are working on it will hopefully help de-escalate the problems we are facing.'

He added: 'It is not because we feel pressured to do so, but it is our political analysis that it is in the best interest of all of us. We shouldn't just sit and wait for this to explode.'
She is the sister of notorious crime boss George Marrogi

Vandals have broken into a mausoleum and smashed open a coffin belonging to the sister of a feared underworld boss.

Meshlin Marrogi's final resting place at Preston General Cemetery in Melbourne's north was desecrated on Sunday.

The woman who had also earned a reputation in the city's underworld died at just 30 years of age in 2021 after being struck down with Covid.

The 'sick' perpetrators destroyed items inside before dragging her coffin a short distance and cracking it open.

Police are now investigating whether the attack was a gangland message to her notorious brother George Marrogi currently in prison for murder.

Meshlin Marrogi's final resting place at Preston General Cemetery in Melbourne's north was desecrated on Sunday. The woman who had also earned a reputation in the city's underworld, died at just 30 years of age in 2021 after being struck down with Covid.

Devastated mourners flocked to the cemetery on Monday, The Herald Sun reported.

Among them was Ms Marrogi's mum, Madlin Enwiya, who was seen embracing another woman as she broke down in tears behind the cordoned-off area of the mausoleum.

The distressed mother said she regularly visits her daughter's grave - sometimes more than once a day.

Another family member labelled the vandalism as 'sick' and urged police to find the perpetrators as a Victoria Police public order response team vehicle stationed at the cemetery during the day.

The 'sick' perpetrators destroyed items inside before dragging Meshlin Marrogi's coffin a short distance and cracking it open (Preston General Cemetery, pictured)

Broken glass under a window at the mausoleum (pictured)

Meshlin has been credited for playing a key role in the rise of her brother's Notorious Crime Family (NCF) empire.

Police claim her personality and talent for business led to her brother's empire diversifying into a wide array of business interests.

NCF initially started as a fundraiser for children in the family's Syrian village of origin, however investigators claim she created most of the network of businesses that were used to launder NCF profits.

Her brother, George Marrogi, was sentenced to 32 years in jail for the 2016 brutal public execution of rival drug dealer Kadir Ors at Campbellfield.

Police are investigating whether the desecration of her grave was an intentional strike at her brother Geroge Marrogi (pictured) - a notorious crime gang boss who is currently serving a 32-year jail term for the brutal murder of a rival dug dealer

The underworld kingpin has allegedly imported more than $1billion worth of drugs while behind bars.

Conflict has escalated in recent months between Middle Eastern organised crime families, with figures both opposed to and aligned with the Marrogi family targeted.

A series of firebombings, arsons and torchings have been carried out across Melbourne with police hoping to stop the non-fatal property attacks before tensions escalate further.

A forensic team has examined the mausoleum and police are looking for CCTV footage in and around the cemetery.

The area where the window was smashed has no CCTV cameras and was the closest route to Ms Marrogi's grave.
A controversial former chief constable has been banned from police work after being found guilty of gross misconduct for sexual remarks made to officers.

Mike Veale, 57, who led the 'witch-hunt' sex abuse investigation into former prime minister Sir Edward Heath, would have been sacked over his behaviour if he was still in the force and will be put on a list of officers barred from serving indefinitely, the Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Steve Turner ruled today.

Veale was judged last month by a disciplinary panel to have made unwanted sexual comments during his time as head of Cleveland Police in 2018.

Mr Turner's decision to impose the heaviest available sanction confirms the recommendation of the disciplinary panel.

The former chief constable, who resigned in January 2019 after ten months in charge, didn't attend the short hearing in Middlesbrough today.

Mike Veale, 57, was judged last month by a disciplinary panel to have made unwanted sexual remarks to colleagues during his time as head of Cleveland Police in 2018

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland, Steve Turner, has now backed the panel's findings and said Mr Veale (pictured) would have been dismissed and should now be put on the list of officers banned from serving indefinitely

Mr Turner said: 'Anything short of dismissal of a Chief Constable for sexualised conduct toward a less senior officer would send a message to the public and to police officers that such conduct is not taken seriously in the police. It very much is taken seriously.'

Mr Turner said Veale should have known the force is a 'workplace where rumours abound'.

He said: 'There is a high risk, if a chief constable was seen to engage in such behaviour, he would set the tone for the rest of the force.'

Veale was found to have horrified a senior female officer - Witness B - with a lewd comment as they sat in his car before attending a meeting with a council chief executive.

After reading out a complimentary email he had received from a councillor, Veale told her: 'Go on, you can touch yourself now.'

Two months later Veale left the same officer furious by commenting that she and a male colleague were 'bedfellows, metaphorically and otherwise'.

The comment was made in front of the Chief Constable of Norfolk, Simon Bailey, and other officers.

Witness C - the male officer concerned - told the hearing: 'My wife is a police officer and Witness B's husband was a police officer.

'We were all acutely aware of the damage that kind of rumour and innuendo could cause.

'We were aware of people who had been affected by rumours in the organisation, so allowing rumours to spread would be potentially damaging for both of us.'

The hearing was told that at dinner at a restaurant later, Veale told Mr Bailey he should 'give my staff officer a cuddle, she likes cuddles'.

The ex-top officer led a controversial inquiry when he was chief of Wiltshire Police into former prime minister Ted Heath for alleged sexual offences

Veale denied any of the comments were made in the way suggested. He admitted using the term 'bedfellows' but in a hotel bar, not in front of Mr Bailey, and only in the context that it meant 'collaborative working'.

The police chief was responsible for launching Wiltshire Police's controversial 1.2million sex abuse investigation against the late Sir Edward Heath.

The two-year investigation found no evidence against Sir Edward, while Carl Beech, his chief accuser, turned out to be a paedophile and fantasist.

Beech, who made up claims of a murderous VIP paedophile ring in Westminster, was later jailed for 18 years.
A former Connecticut state legislator called Hunter's statement to the judge 'extraordinary' adding that he 'misled the court'

DailyMail.com can reveal Hunter was suspended from practicing law in the Nutmeg State more than two years ago for failing to pay his $75 annual fees

Hunter Biden told Delaware district judge Maryellen Noreika that he was eligible to practice law in Washington, D.C. and Connecticut

Hunter Biden has been caught misleading a judge while under oath about his status as a practicing lawyer.

At his disastrous plea hearing last week, Delaware district judge Maryellen Noreika asked Hunter where he was eligible to practice law.

'You're member of the bar?' she said. 'Yes, your Honor,' he replied. 'District of Columbia and Connecticut, your Honor.'

But Connecticut records show Hunter, 53, was suspended from practicing law in Connecticut more than two years ago.

A Judicial Branch spokeswoman said he is 'currently not in good standing' after failing to pay his $75 annual fees since 2018.

Hunter Biden told Delaware district judge Maryellen Noreika that he was eligible to practice law in Washington, D.C. and Connecticut

A transcript from last week's disastrous plea hearing. 'You're member of the bar?' the judge said. 'Yes, Your Honor,' Hunter replied. 'District of Columbia and Connecticut, Your Honor'

Connecticut records show Hunter was suspended from practicing law in Connecticut more than two years ago for failing to pay his $75 annual fees since 2018

The mistruth was first spotted by Connecticut lawyer and columnist Kevin Rennie, who wrote about it on his blog, Daily Ructions.

In an interview with DailyMail.com, Rennie, a former Connecticut state legislator, called Hunter's statement to the judge 'extraordinary' adding that he 'misled the court'.

'I'm careful about using the word 'lie' because I don't know what was in his head. But he certainly should have known better,' he said.

'A lawyer who is asked under oath where he is admitted to practice and does not include in his response that he is suspended from practice in one of them has misled the court.

In an interview with DailyMail.com, Kevin Rennie, a former Connecticut state legislator, called Hunter's statement to the judge 'extraordinary' adding that he 'misled the court'

'He did not give her an answer that, I think most judges would see under these circumstances, was in good faith. It omitted crucial facts.

'Clearly he thought he was admitted to the practice in Connecticut. He ought to know, after 26 years, that certain obligations come with that. And they are by no means onerous.

His State of Connecticut Judicial Branch online record says Hunter was admitted to the state bar in April 1997.

Rennie said Hunter would have received several requests each year to pay his mandatory state bar fees, as well as reminders about his requirement to do 12 hours of legal education each year, which he appears to have ignored.

On March 16, 2021 Hunter had an 'administrative suspension for failure to pay the Client Security Fund fee', his Connecticut bar records say.

This was repeated on November 30 that year, and again on June 14 last year.

Hunter's bar registration for Washington, D.C. says he is currently in good standing.

Connecticut Judicial Branch spokesperson Melissa Farley said the First Son 'is currently not in good standing due to Attorney Biden's failure to register or comply with the Statewide Grievance Committee's [Minimum Continuing Legal Education] requirement since 2018and to pay the Client Security Fund fee for 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.'

'It's only $75,' Rennie told DailyMail.com. 'The Judicial Branch, they're very good about reminding people that they need to pay by June 15. So I was surprised.

'I was also surprised that given what we all assume he's paying in legal fees, that someone at the law firm representing him would have just checked the box to make sure everything was as it should be  such as 'You paid the $75, didn't you?'

Hunter's bar registration for Washington, D.C. says he is currently in good standing

'They should have anticipated those basic biographical questions you're going to be asked by a judge, especially when the intention was to enter a guilty plea.

'It's careless, not paying attention. I suppose that's not a surprise given his history, which he's certainly emphasizing in this proceeding.'

Rennie, 64, said the $75 annual fee helps pay for a fund for victims of attorney fraud.

The political columnist for the Hartford Courant said he has a general practice near South Windsor, Connecticut and was a GOP state senator and House member for eight years  but added that he is 'no longer Republican'.

'I'm an unaffiliated voter. And I had a Biden Harris sign on my lawn, fall of 2020,' he said.

Rennie said Hunter needs to live up to his responsibilities as a lawyer, but added that the First Son's criminal prosecution has not changed his voting intentions.

'[Hunter] is a nightmare, we all know that. But it doesn't mean that he's excused from every obligation that similarly situated people have to meet,' he said.

'I voted for Joe Biden. I expect if he's the Democratic nominee I'd vote for him again.'
The mother of an autistic teen who reappeared at a Montana police station four years after she vanished from her Arizona home is begging internet sleuths to back off in their investigations and harassment of her family that has put their 'safety in jeopardy.'

In an emotional Facebook video Sunday night, Jessica Nunez pleaded for the public to 'move on,' even as questions remain about her daughter, Alicia Navarro's, disappearance.

The distraught mother warned in the video the 'search for answers has taken a turn for the dangerous,' claiming she and her family have been targeted since Navarro, now 18, was found alive and unharmed last week.

'I have been harassed, my family has been attacked all over the Internet  the public has gone from trying to help Alicia to doing things like trying to show up to her house and putting her safety in jeopardy,' Nunez claimed.

'So I beg you, please no more TikToks, no more reaching out to Alicia or me with your speculation or questions or assumptions. This is not a movie, this is our life, this is my daughter.'

In an emotional Facebook video Sunday night, Jessica Nunez pleaded for people to 'move on' as questions remain about her daughter, Alicia Navarro's, disappearance

Navarro, now 18, turned herself into police in Montana last week asking to be taken off the missing person's list. She is pictured speaking to police in Arizona about her identity

Navarro had reportedly been living with a man in his 20s, with whom she got into an argument before she walked into the Havre Police Department asking to be taken off the missing person's list.

Navarro expressed her desire to obtain a driver's license and live a 'normal life.'

The police department is now continuing to investigate Navarro's disappearance, as it remains unclear how the teenager traveled more than 1,000 miles alone to a small town on the border of Canada to identify herself to police..

On Monday, police told DailyMail.com they had nothing new to add about the state of the investigation.

Addressing the public, Nunez expressed her appreciation for everyone who has supported her since her daughter went missing in 2019.

'I could never have kept going without all of your love, help and well wishes,' she said between tears. 'I can't even put into words the amount of gratitude I have for you all.

'But now that we know Alicia is alive, I have to ask one more favor of you,' she continued. 'I know you want answers, and I do too, but the public's search for answers has taken a turn for the dangerous.

'I love her more than anything in the world, and I think I have shown you that.'

She addressed the internet sleuths looking at the case and begged them not to focus on the family while police do their work.

'There's an ongoing investigation, and I'm begging you to move on,' she added.

Nunez captioned the video: 'Let's focus [on the fact] that my daughter is alive. This is a miracle.'

Navarro, who has been described as having high-functioning autism, was just 14 when she slipped out of her Glendale home in September 2019

Navarro, who has been described as having high-functioning autism, was just 14 when she slipped out of her Glendale, Arizona, home in September 2019.

She left her mother a handwritten note in her bedroom that read: 'I ran away. I will be back, I swear. I'm sorry.'

Her disappearance sparked a massive search that included the FBI. Police spokesman Jose Santiago said over the years, police had received thousands of tips.

After hearing the news that an 18-year-old identified herself as the missing teenager, Glendale police said they immediately responded to the unspecified small town in Montana.

Officers said they verified Navarro's identity, and that she has been extremely cooperative with authorities.

'I can't even begin to express to you all the pride that I personally have in the men and women here at our police department,' spokesman Jose Santiago said.

'Since her disappearance, our men and women here have been working tirelessly around the clock to not only bring closure to this family, but to make sure Alicia gets everything she possibly needs.'

He added the girl 'by all accounts appears to be in good spirits' and 'really just wants to move on with her life.

'She is very apologetic to what she has put her mother through. And she understands that she has caused a lot of pain to her mother, and it was not intentional on her behalf, and she is hopeful that they can have a relationship.'

Police said Navarro seemed to be 'in good spirits' and 'really just wants to move on with her life'

Over the years, Nunez partnered with various private investigative services, put up billboards, appeared on television programs and used social media in her efforts to find her daughter

Over the years, Nunez partnered with various private investigative services, put up billboards, appeared on television programs and used social media in her efforts to find her daughter.

She had suspected Alicia may have been abducted by someone she met online gaming.

'I'm more than 90 percent sure that my daughter met this person online,' she claimed at the time.

The mother said her daughter was a pretty cautious person, so it would have been unusual for her to be easily lured.

'Knowing the way my daughter's personality is, I don't think that she would have fallen for that,' Nunez said. 'This person probably took a while to be able to gain [her] trust.'

But Glendale police have never found any evidence of an abduction, and said at a news conference last week that Navarro was able to come and go as she please.

She does not face any criminal charges, they added. 'She is not in any kind of trouble,' Santiago said.

Navarro had long suspected that her daughter was abducted by someone she met online gaming, though police were never able to find any proof of that

Footage shared by Fox10 showed Navarro chatting with cops from Glendale who scheduled an emergency meeting with her after she reappeared earlier this week.

An officer asked her: 'Did anybody hurt you in any way?'

'No, nobody hurt me,' Navarro replied.

But Garrett Smith, 22, described how he would see Navarro over the past year 'holding hands' with an unknown man in his 20s, with whom she shared an apartment in Smith's complex,

The day before Navarro showed up at a police station close to the Canadian border, Smith said he had heard her yelling at the man.

'I was here the other day and I heard them yelling. She did say, 'I will go back.' But that's all I heard,' Smith, 22, told the New York Post.

Garrett Smith, 22, said he lived in the same apartment complex as Navarro and an unidentified man in his 20s, with whom she had an argument the day before she turned herself in

He said he had only spoken to the girl just once, a few days before she turned herself into the cops, claiming she was 'looking for her uncle' near a post office.

'She was asking for directions. She looked scared,' Smith said, noting that despite being barely younger than him, Navarro referred to him as 'Mister.'

'She said she was walking with her uncle and got lost and she's looking for 6th Street,' Smith added. 'I later found out that she was referring to him as her uncle.'

Smith said that Navarro's voice was 'scratchy' and that she often appeared in bad shape.

'Her braces looked pretty bad. She had braces on when she went missing in Arizona in 2019. It looked like she still had the same braces on,' Smith said.

Police in Havre, though, said in a statement that Navarro 'appeared to be fine and in good health' when she went to them.

Navarro has since had a brief video call with her mother, Trent Steele, president of the Anti-Predator Project and spokesperson for Navarro, said, but have otherwise not spoken since she re-emerged.

'They have their own healing journey to go on. They've got stuff they have to do first,' Steele said.

'She is safe. I hope people wait for the facts of the case before making their assumptions.'
A British maritime security guard has been shot dead in the US as he returned to his ship after a night out.

Satyan Dave, from London, was gunned down close to a park near the Port of Oakland in California.

The 49-year-old former soldier had only hours earlier arrived in the city aboard a container ship that had travelled close to Somalia where 'pirates' are known to operate.

Satyan worked as an armed security guard for a US based company.

It is thought Satyan, who is originally from South Africa, had been out to dinner before making his way back to his ship berthed in the port.

Satyan Dave (pictured), from London, was shot dead close to a park near the Port of Oakland in California

Police in the violence plagued city said he was shot dead at 5.15am close to International Boulevard, one of East Oakland's main thoroughfares.

A spokesman for Oakland Police Department said they are still trying to establish why he was in the area in the early hours of the morning and have been interviewing his colleagues.

It is thought he had been out to dinner in a nearby city and was returning to his ship that had docked on July 27. No arrests have been made.

His death has stunned former members of his regiment, The Royal Green Jackets.

Satyan served as a rifleman for six years before re-training as an audio-visual technician where he worked for the bank Credit-Suisse.

He later retrained as a maritime security guard and had been a contract employee for an Oakland based company.

A friend from his former regiment said: 'Satyan worked mostly on ships that travelled around Somalia where pirates try hijacking the ships.

'We were not in close contact, but others in regiment have been talking and its terrible news.

'You just don't expect to hear about someone from Britain getting shot in America.

Satyan (pictured) had only hours earlier arrived in the city aboard a container ship that had travelled close to Somalia where 'pirates' are known to operate

'He used to let us know what ship he was on, so we could track him, but we didn't know this time. Most of the time the ships he was contracted to sailed around Somalia where the pirates were in operation.'

Friends said Satyan was divorced with two children.

Photos of Satyan have been posted by friends to a US website documenting victims of gun crimes.

A friend who posted a message on the site described his as a 'history and news nerd and hot chocolate lover'.

Another said he was 'kind, thoughtful and intelligent'.

Family members have been too upset to talk.

Oakland, the eight largest city in California, is rated as one of the most dangerous places to live in America with 119 murders recorded last year.

So far this year there have been 60 murders.

Hundreds of local residents recently met with leaders of the city recently to demand a crackdown on crime after a spate of attacks, mostly on women.
A Met Police commander who wrote the force's anti-drugs strategy took LSD and magic mushrooms while off duty and smoked cannabis daily before breakfast, a tribunal has heard.

Commander Julian Bennett, who has served with Scotland Yard since 1976, is said to have smoked before going to work, leaving his flat resembling 'an Amsterdam coffee shop'.

Sheila Gomes, a senior nurse in a London hospital, claims she paid 640 a month to rent a room in his property but left because she became so infuriated by the smell she could not even hang out her laundry to dry.

She told the panel that the officer was addicted to cannabis and claimed she watched him act aggressively while he reportedly went through withdrawals.

Commander Bennett, who wore a grey suit with black glasses today, is accused of gross misconduct for smoking cannabis, and taking LSD and magic mushrooms while on a holiday in France.

Commander Julian Bennett, who has served in the Met since 1976, is said to have smoked weed on mornings before going to work, leaving it resembling 'an Amsterdam coffee shop'

He is also accused of failing to provide a urine sample for testing and lying about why he had not done so.

Ms Gomes told the hearing the flat was 'like an Amsterdam coffee shop' because of the officer's alleged activities.

She told the hearing under questioning from Mark Ley-Morgan KC, representing the Met Police: 'It would start early in the morning, before breakfast and before he would leave and go to work.

'Sometimes when he was arriving at home it was there. I never saw him eat before going to work.'

She said she believed he was a lawyer rather than a senior police officer until after she stopped living with him.

Ms Gomes, who is originally from Portugal, added that she had never seen him in uniform.

The nurse went on: 'I didn't like it at all. Why did I have to live in a place where it was just cannabis in the air, I was just trying to breathe oxygen.

'He (the officer) was the one who was using the cannabis, I will say a few times during the day he would bring it in.

'If he would go to work (he would do it) at least before going to work and arriving at home.'

She said his behaviour was 'erratic' and that he would regularly ask her about her work rota.

She said: 'He was extremely controlling and he was very anxious.

'The first thing he would ask me when I was waking up was ''when are you going to work, when are you back, when are you off?''

'I found him narcissistic and had a lack of empathy towards most citizens I would say. When he was not smoking he was very all over the place.

'He is still denying it. He is still denying something that I saw in front of me when I was living with him.'

She told the tribunal she had received threatening messages after reporting the allegations but they are not said to have come from the officer.

The officer's former flatmate told the panel that the officer was addicted to cannabis and claimed she watched him act aggressively while he reportedly went through withdrawals

Mr Ley-Morgan said a drugs test was authorised on July 20 2020, and a day later, in the presence of an assistant commissioner, Mr Bennett was asked to provide a sample.

It was 'made clear' the order to give a sample was a lawful order but Mr Bennett refused and said he would resign, the tribunal heard.

He told officers he had been taking CBD (cannabidiol) to treat facial palsy and was worried the sample would come up positive for an innocent reason, the tribunal heard.

An earlier hearing was told he was accessing CBD oil 'from Holland and Barrett and the like.'

Ms Gomes said she had never seen any evidence of him using CBD oil for this purpose.

The hearing was told the allegations about him taking magic mushrooms on holiday in France and LSD at a party are 'hearsay' that Ms Gomes was told by a housemate of hers and the officer's.

Mr Ley-Morgan said Ms Gomes moved into the flat in October 2019 before leaving at Christmas.

'Shortly before 10am on December 7, 2019 she used her mobile phone to take photographs of a bag of cannabis, cigarette paper, tobacco and lighters lying on a glass table in the flat living room,' he said.

He said Mr Bennett's explanation for not providing a sample was 'nonsensical' as it would have come up with a much lower reading if it was not being used recreationally.

The senior officer wrote the Met's drugs strategy for 2017-21 as a commander for territorial policing.

The document, called Dealing With The Impact Of Drugs On Communities, set up plans to raise 'awareness of the impact of drug misuse'.

Freedom of information requests showed Mr Bennett presided over 74 police misconduct hearings involving 90 officers between June 2010 and February 2012.

Out of the hearings involving Mr Bennett, 56 officers were dismissed  more than three quarters.

He chaired 69 hearings during that time and two officers were dismissed for drugs misuse, the figures showed.

Mr Bennett is accused of breaching the force's professional standards for discreditable conduct three times, honesty and integrity twice and orders and instructions once.

His actions are alleged to have amounted to gross misconduct.

He denies the allegations and has been suspended on full pay since July 2021, earning around 250,000.

The tribunal continues.
Members of the public can go wild camping in Dartmoor National Park, appeal judges have ruled - after Devon landowners tried to stop people pitching tents.

A High Court judge ruled in January that a nearly 40-year-old piece of legislation did not give people the right to pitch tents overnight on Dartmoor Commons without landowners' permission.

Alexander and Diana Darwall brought the successful legal challenge against the Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA), claiming some campers cause problems to livestock and the environment.

The DNPA asked appeal judges to overturn Sir Julian Flaux's decision earlier this month, arguing he had the wrong interpretation of a 1985 law over rights of access to Dartmoor Commons.

In a ruling on Monday, Sir Geoffrey Vos, Lord Justice Underhill and Lord Justice Newey granted the appeal, finding that the law 'confers on members of the public the right to rest or sleep on the Dartmoor Commons, whether by day or night and whether in a tent or otherwise' as long as byelaws are followed.

Members of the public can go wild camping in Dartmoor National Park, appeal judges have ruled - after Devon landowners tried to stop people pitching tents

Dartmoor National Park, designated in 1951, covers a 368-square mile area in Devon

Sir Geoffrey said the 'critical question' was whether wild camping could be considered a form of 'open-air recreation', finding it was.

'The fact that a tent is closed rather than open cannot convert the wild camping from being an open-air recreation into not being one,' he said.

'In my judgment, that walker is still resting by sleeping and undertaking an essential part of the recreation.'

Lord Justice Underhill, who agreed with Sir Geoffrey, added the byelaws 'provide a workable structure whereby a proper balance can be preserved between the rights of those accessing the commons and the rights of the owners of the land and others'.

He added: 'Many people take pleasure in the experience of sleeping in a tent in open country, typically, though not invariably, as part of a wider experience of walking across country, and perhaps engaging in other open-air recreations such as birdwatching, during the day.

'It is a perfectly natural use of language to describe that as a recreation, and also as occurring in the open air notwithstanding that while the camper is actually in the tent the outside air will be to some extent excluded.'

Sir Julian had previously found that the meaning of the legislation was 'clear and unambiguous' in that it conferred a 'right to roam' which did not include 'a right to wild camp without permission'.

A High Court judge ruled in January that a nearly 40-year-old piece of legislation did not give people the right to pitch tents overnight on Dartmoor Commons without landowners' permission

His judgment was labelled a 'huge step backward' by campaigners who claimed there was a 'long-established precedent' of wild camping in the national park in Devon.

The Court of Appeal's decision has been welcomed by the Dartmoor National Park Authority, who said it is 'delighted' by the news.

'We are pleased it was a unanimous verdict from the three judges who heard the case.'

Dartmoor National Park Authority's chief executive Kevin Bishop described the appeal ruling as 'a re-affirmation of the right to backpack camp on Dartmoor and secures that right for today and future generations'.

'This means people can experience the joys of backpack camping on Dartmoor, provided everyone follows the leave no trace principle and, critically, only camp in the areas that are identified in the online backpack camping map that is on the Authority's website,' he said.

'We have sought to defend the public's right to enjoy the National Park through this case.

'It is equally important that those exercising that right recognise that they have a responsibility to help look after the National Park. We want people from all parts of our society to enjoy Dartmoor responsibly and with respect to landowners, farmers and local communities.

'We would like to thank the huge numbers of people who have supported us publicly and privately including the Open Spaces Society who were an interested party in this case.

'Our sincere hope is that this judgment means we can now move forward, in partnership, with a focus on making sure Dartmoor remains a special place for all to enjoy.'

Pamela Woods, Chair of Dartmoor National Park Authority, said: 'We are delighted with the Court of Appeal's conclusions in this landmark case.

'We firmly believed the legislation which formed the focus of this case - the Dartmoor Commons Act - allowed for backpack camping on certain areas of common land as a form of open-air recreation without the need to get landowners permission first.

'We are pleased that it was a unanimous verdict from the three judges who heard the case.'

Dartmoor National Park, designated in 1951, covers a 368-square mile area that features 'commons' - areas of unenclosed privately owned moorland where locals can put livestock.

The DNPA previously said backpack campers can access nearly 52,000 acres of common land across the national park and can stay overnight under a new 'permissive system' as long as they follow a code of conduct.
Rishi Sunak will this week jet abroad for his first family holiday in four years, Downing Street revealed today.

The Prime Minister is set to depart the country from Thursday and will leave Oliver Dowden, his deputy, 'at the helm' in his absence, No10 said.

Mr Sunak, his wife Akshata Murty, and their two daughters, Krishna, 12, and Anoushka, 10, will spend just over a week together away from the UK.

It will be their first family holiday since Mr Sunak was appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury in July 2019.

The PM's press secretary said Mr Sunak thought maintaining a work-life balance was 'very important', but admitted the premier was not 'necessarily a good example of practising what you preach'.

Rishi Sunak will this week jet abroad for his first family holiday in four years, Downing Street revealed

Mr Sunak, his wife Akshata Murty, and their two daughters, Krishna and Anoushka (pictured before watching the Barbie film recently), will spend just over a week away from the UK

It Mr Sunak's first family holiday since he was appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury in July 2019

Mr Sunak attempted to take a holiday last year soon after being defeated by Liz Truss in the summer's Tory leadership contest.

But the now PM spent all of 'about 15 hours' on a Spanish island before returning to Britain following the death of the Queen last September, his press secretary said.

Downing Street said they could not disclose the location of the PM's holiday later this week due to security reasons.

'The PM will be taking some time off with his family - the first time he will do this since he became Chief Secretary to the Treasury almost four years ago,' Mr Sunak's press secretary told reporters.

'He'll be off from Thursday for just over a week.'

No10 said Mr Dowden, the Deputy PM and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, would manage day-to-day Government business while Mr Sunak was away.

'Olive will be at the helm for the time that the PM is on holiday,' Mr Sunak's press secretary added.

'But the PM will be getting daily updates from his private office, particularly on anything that is urgent.'

Asked if Mr Sunak thought it was important to have a work-life balance after his four-year spell without a holiday, his press secretary replied: 'The PM believes that a work-life balance is very important, particularly spending time with your family - especially if you have young kids.

'Not that he is necessarily a good example of practising what you preach.'

No10 said Oliver Dowden, the Deputy PM and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, would manage day-to-day Government business while Mr Sunak was away

Mr Sunak and his wife own a penthouse flat in Santa Monica, California, which is estimated to be worth 5.5million.

But the PM's press secretary revealed he hadn't stayed at the property since becoming a Treasury minister in July 2019.

Mr Sunak cut short a planned trip to California in December 2021 after coming under pressure to do more to help businesses hit by a surge in Covid infections.

'He came back, as I'm sure you'll recall, for urgent matters relating to Covid lockdowns,' the PM's press secretary said.

No10 dismissed suggestions Mr Sunak's 'testy' appearance during a radio interview this morning - in which he clashed with a BBC host over his use of RAF jets and private helicopters to fly around the country - was to do with his lack of a holiday since becoming PM.

'I think that was probably because the interview started off with complaining they only had five minutes,' Mr Sunak's press secretary said.

'I would point out the PM has done Good Morning Scotland twice since he became PM and he is the first PM to do so since David Cameron.'
Two Just Stop Oil protesters who scaled a bridge on the Dartford Crossing have had their Court of Appeal bids to have their sentences shortened thrown out.

Morgan Trowland, 40, and Marcus Decker, 34, were jailed after they used ropes and other climbing equipment to scale the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, causing gridlock when police closed it to traffic last October.

Dismissing the protesters' appeals on Monday, Lady Justice Carr said: 'This was very serious offending by repeat protest offenders who were trespassers, and on bail, at the time - whilst the protest was non-violent as such, it had extreme consequences for many, many members of the public.

'Mr Trowland stated in his evidence that 'the warning message is dependent on disruption'.

'The grave consequences that we have described were not only inevitable, as the protesters would have known, they were precisely what the protesters intended and set out to achieve.'

Lady Justice Carr, sitting with Mrs Justice Cutts and Mrs Justice Thornton, said the court acknowledged the 'long and honourable tradition of civil disobedience on conscientious grounds' and that the sentences handed to Trower and Decker went 'well beyond previous sentences imposed for this type of offending'.

Just Stop Oil activist Marcus Decker, 34, was jailed for two years and seven months after dangling over the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge

Fellow protester Morgan Trowland, 40, was jailed three years for his part in the stunt

However, she said the jail terms reflected 'Parliament's will' in new laws enacted under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act last year, which introduced a new 'fault-based public nuisance offence for what obviously will include non-violent protest behaviour, with a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment'.

She also said the sentences met the 'legitimate' aim of deterring others from such offending.

The judge added: 'The sentences should not be seen as having a 'chilling effect' on the right to peaceful protest or to assembly more generally - deterrence and 'chilling effect' are not the same.

'This protest was of a wholly different nature and scale to the many non-violent protests of conscientious activists up and down the country exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly on a daily basis.'

At a hearing in London last week, the protesters' lawyers made a bid to challenge the 'extraordinary length' of Trowland's three-year sentence and Decker's jail term of two years and seven months.

Daniel Friedman KC, representing the activists, said in written arguments their jail terms were 'the longest ever handed down in a case of non-violent protest in this country in modern times'.

The pair are appealing the sentences over the incident, which caused long traffic queues on the M25 into Kent and Essex

A trial at Basildon Crown Court was previously told the bridge was shut from 4am on October 17 until 9pm the next day, sparking traffic jams as motorists were forced to use tunnels instead.

In April, a jury unanimously found Trowland and Decker guilty of causing a public nuisance.

Just Stop Oil previously said Judge Shane Collery KC, sentencing, was 'trying to set a precedent' and 'deter people'.

The environmental campaign group said Decker, a German citizen who it said has leave to remain in the UK, faces deportation after serving his sentence.

On Wednesday, Mr Friedman said the protesters have spent nine months locked up, having been in custody since their arrest last October.

The barrister said this amounts to the 'longest sentence ever served in living memory' for someone convicted over a 'peaceful protest'.

He described their 'manifestly excessive' sentences as 'the longest by a very long way for deliberate obstruction of the highway or infrastructure'.

Mr Friedman said 'particular caution' was needed over sentencing, including in the context of 'non-violent acts of civil disobedience, even when seriously disruptive of others'.

The eco-activists argued during the trial that it was a peaceful protest but were found guilty of causing a public nuisance (Pictured: Decker)

The pair appeared on videos links from jail to appeal their sentences at the High Court (Pictured: Trowland)

In written arguments, Mr Friedman said the sentencing judge handed down jail terms that were a 'disproportionate interference' with the activists' rights to free speech and protest.

He said: 'The extent of the deterrent element of the offence was unduly severe, unreasonable, and otherwise likely to have a 'chilling effect' on all protest rather than this type of protest.'

Mr Friedman also said the sentencing judge was 'unduly harsh' in his approach to the two protesters' previous convictions and 'prospect of rehabilitation'.

Trowland has six previous convictions relating to protests, while Decker has one, with lawyers for the pair previously saying they would not take part in further disruptive protest.

Tom Little KC, for the Crown Prosecution Service, opposed the two men's appeal bids, saying 'there will be cases in which it is necessary to deter people from offending and further law-breaking'.

He said the sentencing judge was not wrong in his approach and placed the case 'in a high level of seriousness', noting its impact, duration and planning.

Mr Little said there was a 'proper basis to impose a sentence which reflected a marked element of deterrent but which would not have a chilling effect on those conducting lawful protests across the country'.

In a reference to other protest incidents, Mr Little said the court could note 'the fact that Just Stop Oil protests have not been stopped in the middle of the road as a result of this or in the middle of Lords, or Wimbledon, or the Crucible, or wherever'.

Marcus Decker, one of the Just Stop Oil protesters who scaled the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge and sparked more than 40 hours of gridlock, has revealed that he faces being deportation after his two-year jail term. He is pictured scaling the bridge last October

Structural engineer Trowland, of Islington, north London, and private tutor Decker, of no fixed address, denied causing a public nuisance, arguing it was a protest.

Their trial was told the protesters ascended to a point close to 200ft above the road and unfurled a 'giant Just Stop Oil banner' and 'rigged up hammocks and stayed there'.

The men came down at about 5.30pm on October 18 'with the help of police and a very tall cherry picker crane' but the bridge, which links the M25 in Essex and Kent, was not reopened to traffic until later.

Essex Police said those affected by the disruption included a 'heavily pregnant woman who needed urgent medical help'.

Another person missed the funeral of their best friend of 35 years, the force said, and a business lost more than 160,000 in earnings.

Trowland, wearing a yellow shirt, joined Wednesday's hearing via video-link, sat alongside Decker, who wore a white T-shirt bearing the image of a red beetle.

Ahead of proceedings, a crowd of singing and placard-waving supporters gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice in central London to demand the pair's release.

Lady Justice Carr, sitting with Mrs Justice Cutts and Mrs Justice Thornton, said they need to 'reflect carefully' before giving their ruling in writing.

'We are aware of both the potential urgency of the matter and its importance,' Lady Justice Carr said.

The group are staging another public march today to 'demand the Home Office ends deportations of peaceful demonstrators'

Last month, German-born Decker, who has leave to remain in the UK, said he had been served with a stage one deportation order.

The group staged another public march to 'demand the Home Office ends deportations of peaceful demonstrators'.

A petition calling to secure Marcus' right to remain in the UK has over 79,000 signatures.

Just Stop Oil spokesman, Indigo Rumblelow said: 'We will be sending a clear message to the Home Secretary that the cowardly ''double punishment'' of peaceful people in civil resistance to stop government criminality and protecting the lives of their families will not go unchallenged.

'We're demanding that Marcus stays in the UK and is not deported at the end of his sentence so that he can remain with his family, friends, and stepchildren.'

Writing for Prospect in April, Decker said the climb was 'a desperate last resort after we have spent years trying everything else'

Current laws state that any foreign national will be automatically deported if they have been sentenced to more than 12 months in prison.

Decker had given up his career as a musician to focus on full-time campaigning.

Writing for Prospect in April, Decker said the climb was 'a desperate last resort after we have spent years trying everything else.'

He added: 'In the middle of October, after leaving my partner and her two children behind, I straddled a cable with my friend Morgan at 3am and climbed 250ft up the QE2 Bridge, also known as the Dartford Crossing.

'We are both well-trained as climbers and were safely secured as we nudged ourselves up the bridge.

'Once at the top, we threw a line across the four-lane motorway and hung a huge orange banner which yelled JUST STOP OIL.

'To make it more newsworthy, we then rigged up our two hammocks, and literally hung out for a total of 37 hours, causing a gridlock after police closed the bridge to traffic.'
A Thai woman who was handed the longest prison sentence ever served a mere fraction of it.

Back in the 1960s, Chamoy Thipyaso set up a savings scheme often used in India, which is known as a 'chit fund'.

These were used in previous eras to help finance developments, particularly in the Indian state of Kerala.

Thipyaso's fund, named the Mae Chamoy Fund, was created to look like an oil share, to investors, offering high returns to anyone who elected to help finance the scheme.

At the time, she was an employee of the Thai state-owned oil company, the Petroleum Authority of Thailand, now PTT.

Thipyaso used connections in the Royal Thai Air Force to make the scam appear to be legitimate, which led to thousands of people signing up, including members of the Thai royal household and military figures to invest.

Back in the 1960s, Chamoy Thipyaso set up a savings scheme often used in India, which is known as a 'chit fund'

However, Thipyaso's deceitful ways were brought to light in the 1980s, when it was revealed that had stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from her clients.

Overall, it's estimated she defrauded over 16,000 people out of somewhere between $200 million and $301 million, leading to the closure of the fund and Thipyaso's arrested.

Following her arrest, she was held in secret by the Thai air force for several days.

Once the financial losses of the victims were recovered, she went on trial in 1989, and was sentenced to 141,078 years in prison, making it the longest prison sentence in the world.

Surprisingly, she served just eight years for her crimes, as at the time, Thai law only condemned anyone convicted of fraud to serve a maximum of 20 years behind bars.
Prosecutors say he lied when asked if he knew about moving boxes

He told employee 'the boss' wanted server deleted, according to indictment

Mar-a-Lago head of maintenance Carlos De Oliveira arrived at federal court in Miami Monday to face conspiracy charges related to the classified documents probe of former President Donald Trump.

He walked into court for a hearing Monday morning, casting a stark expression days after his name appeared in a superseding indictment that accused him, Trump, and fellow aide Walt Nauta in conspiring to delete server footage of boxes of material at the private Florida club.

Little is known about the aide, 56, although a neighbor said he is 'not a crook.'

He faces four counts in the latest criminal indictment, which has grown to 40 counts, including lying to investigators and 'corruptly altering, destroying, mutilating, or concealing a document, record or other object,' along with the conspiracy charge.

He has worked at the club for a decade, and got promoted to his post last year.

Carlos De Oliveira, personal aide to former US President Donald Trump and the head of maintenance at Mar-a-Lago, arrived at federal court in Miami. He is charged in conspiracy to obstruct a classified documents probe

Oliveira's landlord, Tiberio Almeida, said he moved from Portugal to Massachusetts over 30 years ago, and then moved to Florida. His promotion came after he impressed his boss by redoing ornate metalwork on club doors, according to The Washington Post.

Following Monday's hearing he was released on $100,000 bail and did not enter a plea.

His lawyer, John Irving, called it 'unfortunate' that the Justice Department had charged his client and said it was time for prosecutors to 'put their money where their mouth is.'

A superseding indictment prosecutors filed last week accused him of conspiring to delete security footage of boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago after a grand jury subpoena sought their return.

The indictment quotes him communicating with another club employee about the security footage and telling him that 'the boss' wants it deleted.

It also says he lied when denied to government officials ever having moved boxes at the club or having knowledge about it.

'Never saw nothing,' he is quoted as saying.

His court appearance came as Yuscil Taveras  the head of IT at Mar-a-Lago referenced in the indictment as receiving the request  was revealed to have received a 'target' letter in the probe.

The communication from federal prosecutors came after former President Donald Trump was indicted in June, CNN reported.

Trump himself received such a letter this month. It can signal a likelihood that someone is about to get charged in an investigation  or provide an opportunity for a subject to provide an early defense to prosecutors.

It was not known whether Taveras is cooperating with prosecutors in their wide ranging probe. But the superseding indictment Special Counsel Jack Smith's office filed last week refers to Mar-a-Lago's head of IT, 'Employee 4,' as questioning whether he had 'the right' to wipe security servers when presented the idea.

His landlord, Tiberio Almeida, said he moved from Portugal to Massachusetts over 30 years ago, and then moved to Florida

De Oliveira is being represented by a Virginia-based lawyer who has done work for a Trump PAC, to the tune of $200,000

De Oliveira arrived with his lawyer John Irving (L), amid a crush of media attention

De Oliveira, has worked at the club for a decade, and was promoted to head of maintenance last year

Yuscil Taveras, the head of IT at Mar-a-Lago, received a 'target' letter from prosecutors, but has not been charged

The indictment quotes De Oliveira telling an employee 'the boss' wants a server wiped, during a period after a grand jury subpoena seeking the return of materials

The head of maintenance at the club, Carlos De Oliveira, is charged along with Trump and aide Waltine Nauta in a superseding indictment

Prosecutors appear to have obtained cell phone text information on various figures at the club after interviewing multiple club personnel, and quote De Oliveira making the request.

The indictment has De Oliveira questioning Employee 4 inside an audio closet at the club, and saying that 'the boss' wanted the server 'deleted'  in a likely reference to Trump, who had personal phone calls with De Oliveira.

'Trump Employee 4 responded that he would not know how to do that, and that he did not believe that he would have the rights to do that,' according to the indictment.

De Oliveira is accused along with former Trump aide and former White House valet Walt Nauta of conspiring to obstruct the FBI and a grand jury investigation probing the willful withholding of classified information.

Trump and Nauta have pleaded not guilty. De Oliveira is expected in court Monday. Trump, who continues to dominate Republican presidential polls, has called all the probes against him a witch hunt.

Ty Cobb, who represented Trump when he was in the White House, said he expected Trump himself to be indicted in a separate case related to Trump's election overturn effort this week.

He said prosecutors were like artists, and the latest indictment was like a 'Michelangelo.'

'The new charges are very significant,' he told NPR, and wouldn't take long to establish in court.

Trump's lawyers 'don't have any defense to it,' since much of the information is on tape.

'The simple reality is he has to win in order to avoid going to jail,' said Cobb.
Twitter has threatened to sue a nonprofit which counters online hate speech after the group published a report claiming the platform 'fails to act on 99 percent of Twitter Blue accounts tweeting hate.'

Lawyers for X Corp., the company which owns Twitter, sent a warning letter to the Center for Countering Digital Hate, accusing it of a series of 'troubling and baseless claims' that are intended to 'harm Twitter's business.'

The letter, sent on July 20, cited a CCDH report from June that suggested Twitter, which Elon Musk is rebranding as 'X', allows Twitter Blue subscribers to 'break its rules with impunity.'

The CCDH said it reported 100 'hateful' tweets in its study - including examples of racism, homophobia and antisemitism - but that 99 of them were still live four days later.

X Corp.'s attorney, Alex Spiro, wrote: 'The article cites no sources other than different, similarly threadbare posts on CCDH's own website, and fails to identify the qualifications of any of the researchers who worked on the article.'

Center for Countering Digital Hate CEO Imran Ahmed said X Corp.'s legal threat was an attempt by Elon Musk to 'silence his critics so he can continue to give a megaphone to hate and misinformation while avoiding the consequences'

A lawyer for Elon Musk's X Corp., which owns Twitter, accused the CCDH of 'inflammatory, misleading, and unsupported claims based on a cursory review of random tweets'

'In other words, the article is little more than a series of inflammatory, misleading, and unsupported claims based on a cursory review of random tweets.'

The CCDH fired back on Monday with a response from its lawyers saying X Corp.'s letter was 'ridiculous' and the 'frivolous claims' were an attempt to 'intimidate thoughtful critics.'

'We caution against any further attempts by X Corp. to threaten or intimidate our clients,' the letter said.

The war of words comes as Musk attempts to rebrand Twitter, which he bought in October $44 billion, while dealing with a roughly 50 percent decline in advertising revenue.

X Corp.'s own legal letter cited a Time article which reported that advertisers had left the platform after Musk's acquisition and recent 'content policy changes' led to a spike in 'hateful, violent and inaccurate posts'.

A New York Times article in May also said advertising had tumbled 59 percent and Twitter staffers feared advertisers were 'spooked' by changes at the platform.

The study by the CCDH uncovered 100 tweets from subscribers to Twitter Blue's service that 'clearly violate the platform's policies against hateful conduct'.

The letter dated July 20, 2023 alleged that the CCDH was ' supported by funding from X Corp.'s commercial competitors, as well as government entities and their affiliates'

The war of words comes as Musk attempts to rebrand Twitter, which he bought in October $44 billion, while dealing with a roughly 50 percent decline in advertising revenue

Tweets highlighted in the report included racism, antisemitism, praise for Adolf Hitler and the suggestion LGBT campaigners should be shot.

The study alleged that four days after it reported the tweets, only one had been removed and that all of the accounts remained active.

In X Corp.'s letter, addressed to CCDH CEO Imran Ahmed, Spiro claimed the study was a 'cursory review of random tweets', provided 'no methodology' and 'no explanation as to why the 100 chosen tweets represent an appropriate sample of the nearly 500 million tweets sent per day from which to generalize about the platform's content moderation practices'.

The letter further alleged that the CCDH was 'supported by funding from X Corp.'s commercial competitors, as well as government entities and their affiliates'.

The CCDH said it does not 'accept any funding from tech companies, governments or their affiliates'.

Its response said it is 'fully prepared to defend itself' if X Corp. brings legal action.

Robert Kaplan, a lawyer for the organization, wrote: 'We caution against any further attempts by X Corp. to threaten or intimidate our clients, reserve all rights, and demand that X. Corp. take immediate steps to preserve all documents and other information (including any and all text messages to or from Mr. Musk and other senior executives) concerning disinformation and hate speech on Twitter's platform, Twitter's content moderation policies and its enforcement of those policies, and Twitter's advertising business and revenues.'
A serving Gwent Police officer has gone on trial accused of sexually assaulting a young girl under the age of 13 on multiple occasions.

John Stringer, 41, from Cardiff, is charged with five offences against the girl which allegedly took place over almost two years between December 2019 and July 2021.

The charges include two counts of sexual assault by touching, two counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and one count of causing a child to watch a sexual act.

The allegations came to light after the girl told a primary school teaching assistant, a court heard. The victim had told the police that Stringer had touched her inappropriately under a blanket and her clothing and would show her pornographic videos with half-naked women in it and ask her to 'mimic' the actions of the performers, the court was told.

Stringer has denied the allegations and went on trial at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday.

John Stringer, 41, from Cardiff, is charged with five offences against the girl

Opening the case, Ian Wright, prosecuting, told a jury of five men and seven women: 'At the time of these alleged offences this defendant was a serving police officer with Gwent Constabulary.'

Mr Wright said the the defendant's alleged abuse came to light after the girl, who was known to him, made a disclosure to her teaching assistant.

The primary school immediately notified her parents and South Wales Police who then interviewed her on July 15, 2021.

A video of the interview of the interview will be played to jurors on Monday afternoon.

Mr Wright said: '[The girl] disclosed to the police in that video interview that she was being sexually assaulted by this defendant.'

The prosecutor said the victim had told the police that Stringer had touched her inappropriately under a blanket and her clothing and would show her pornographic videos with half-naked women in it and ask her to 'mimic' the actions of the performers.

'(She) was extremely reluctant to do so but the defendant insisted that she masturbate herself,' Mr Wright said.

'This is something [she] then did and something the defendant repeated on further occasions.'

Serving Gwent Police officer John Stringer (left) arrives at Cardiff Crown Court

He added: 'He [the defendant] was to tell her that touching her vagina would help her to feel calm and that he would, when stressed, often touch himself.'

The victim told police that Stringer asked her if she touched herself at home and to be careful her parents did not catch her as he would get into trouble for showing her.

Mr Wright said: 'He would tell her that if that happened, if adults were to find out, it would be her fault.'

The court heard how there was a break in the alleged offending due to the Covid-19 lockdowns and that when restrictions eased the sexual abuse resumed.

The court heard the offences are not related to his activities as a police officer.

Stringer was arrested on July 12, 2021 at 3.15pm and, after being cautioned, told the arresting officers: 'It's a shock.'

He was interviewed and, despite denying the girl's account, he was later charged.

The jury was told that during the four-day trial they would watch videos of the victim and the defendant's interviews with police, be shown drawings the victim made during those interviews, and be presented with downloads from Stringer's phone including his internet and chat histories.

The prosecution said experts will be called to show how Stringer had 'very very many searches' for adult pornography on his mobile phone.
Paul created developed a new way of breathing to make the most out of his life

After contracting polio in 1952, he was paralysed and left reliant on the machine

Paul Alexander was just six years old when he was struck down by polio, which left him paralysed from the neck down.

Unable to breathe by himself, Paul was placed inside an iron lung, which he has relied on since 1952.

Paul has spent a lifetime in and out of the iron lung, and developed his own way for breathing that he calls 'frog breathing', which allowed him to spend some of his life outside of the metal contraption.

The ventilator, which resembles a terrifying metal coffin, requires patients to lie down inside, with the device fastened tightly around their neck.

It works by creating a vacuum to mechanically draw in oxygen to the lungs for patients whose central nervous system and respiratory function were ravaged by polio.

Paul Alexander, 77, of Dallas (pictured) is one of just a handful of people around the world who still relies on an iron lung to help him breathe

Paul managed to live some of his life outside of the huge metal container by contriving a breathing technique that he called 'frog breathing'

While in hospital, doctors tried to get Paul to breathe on his own, turning off the machine and forcing him out, but it wouldn't take long for him to turn blue and pass out.

However, the Guardian reported, Paul managed to force some air into his lungs using an 'exhausting' technique that he described as 'frog breathing'.

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE IRON LUNG An iron lung is a non-invasive negative-pressure ventilator, used to artificially maintain respiration during an acute polio infection. They were first used in the 1920s and work by producing pressure on the lungs that causes them to expand and contract so that patients can breathe. In most cases it would only be used for one or two weeks, until the patient could breathe independently, but some polio survivors with permanent respiratory paralysis rely on them daily. They are now all but obsolete, replaced by positive-pressure ventilators such as modern day respirators. Advertisement

The technical name for 'frog breathing' is 'glossopharyngeal breathing' and involves gulping air and swallowing it down.

Paul's physical therapist, Mrs Sullivan, helped him to develop the breathing technique.

Encouraging him along, she offered him a puppy if he could breathe without the ventilator for three minutes.

It took Paul a year to do it but he got his puppy and called her Ginger. Once he could breathe unassisted for a long period of time, he could step outside the iron lung, venturing first to the porch and then the yard.

And, although he still needed to sleep in the iron lung, Paul ventured beyond the yard. At 21, he became the first person to graduate from a high school in Dallas without ever attending class in person.

He was accepted into Southern Methodist University in Dallas, after much difficulty with university administration and then got into law school at the University of Texas, Austin.

Paul moved into a dorm, hiring a caretaker to help him with physical tasks and hygiene.

'When I transferred to University of Texas, they were horrified to think that I was going to bring my iron lung down, but I did, and I put it in the dorm, and I lived in the dorm with my iron lung,' Paul recalled.

He pursued his dreams of becoming a trial lawyer, and represented clients in court in a three-piece suit and a modified wheelchair that held his paralysed body upright.

Over his lifetime, he has been on planes, lived alone, fallen in love, prayed in church, visited the ocean and has even found himself in a strip club.

He also staged a sit-in for disability rights and published his own memoir, titled 'Three Minutes for a Dog: My Life in an Iron Lung'.

Paul faced a crisis in 2015, when his iron lung began to malfunction and there were little parts and manufacturers available - but luckily, with the help of a YouTube video, the ventilator was fixed

Iron lungs became common place in hospitals in the 1940s and 50s as the only way to keep patients alive

The 155-page memoir was carefully crafted and took five years to complete; Paul wrote each word with a pen attached to a stick in his mouth.

Now, at 77 years old, he is one of the last people in the world to still use an iron lung, and he relies on it almost-exclusively to breathe.

Paul has outlived both of his parents, his brother and even his original iron lung, which began leaking air in 2015, but was luckily repaired after by a mechanic Brady Richards, which was prompted by a YouTube video of Paul pleading for help.

Paul has also survived a new deathly outbreak, living through the Covid-19 pandemic, despite being classed as highly vulnerable to the virus.

WHAT IS POLIO? Polio is an infectious viral disease that affects the central nervous system respiratory function and can cause muscle weakness and paralysis. It is transmitted through contaminated water and food or contact with an infected person. It has largely been eradicated around the world after widespread use of the vaccine which came into use in the 1950s. The disease remains endemic in just four countries today: Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Advertisement

In an interview with filmmaker Mitch Summers in 2020, Paul said that he never gave up on himself, despite his circumstances.

He said: 'No matter where you're from or what your past is, or the challenges you could be facing. You can truly do anything. You just have to set your mind to it, and work hard.'

However, Paul still has fears that polio, the 'demon' which almost killed him, may return. 'I can see hospitals inundated by polio victims again, an epidemic, I can see it so easily. I tell the doctors, it's going to happen. They don't believe me,' he told the Guardian.

The mid-20th-century scourge sickened tens of thousands of people and killed thousands each year.

Thankfully, there has not been a new case of polio in the US since 1979, or in the UK since 1984, and by 2000, the World Health Organization declared all of the Americas and the western Pacific region polio-free.

India, which had seen 200,000 annual cases of the virus a year in the 1990s was declared free from the diseases in 2014.

Currently, the virus occurs in just three regions, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan, and cases reach numbers in the dozens.
Ron DeSantis rolled-out his ambitious Declaration of Economic Independence proposal Monday as he claimed colleges and universities should be 'on the hook' for paying off student loans if their graduates don't get jobs that allow them to payoff their debt.

The Florida Governor turned the focus to the economy  an issue at the center of many Americans' voting decisions amid high criticism for President Joe Biden's handling of the economy.

Centerpieces of DeSantis' ten-point policy proposal are disconnecting the U.S. economic integrity from Chinese industry and ending environmental, social, and corporate governance, also known as ESG investing.

'They are doing  or attempting to do through the economy, what they could never achieve at the ballot box,' DeSantis alleged while speaking at an intimate press conference to a calm group of around 100 supporters at the Prep Partners Group warehouse in Rochester, New Hampshire.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday rolled-out his Declaration of Economic Independence policies, which has some ambitious proposals like ending ESG investing, disconnecting from Chinese industry and making universities payoff student debt

He lauded: 'We are today declaring our economic independence from the failed elites and policies that have harmed this nation's middle class.'

Should DeSantis' economic proposals be widely accepted, it would run a clear counter to Biden as he struggles to sell his economic agenda to the public.

Polls consistently show that only about one-third of Americans approve of so-called Bidenomics and the economy is usually one of the categories where the President polls most poorly.

DeSantis acknowledged on Monday that it's become a 'major challenge' for Americans to buy groceries every week due to decreased financial situations over the last few years.

He rejected Democratic ideals to forgive student loans, but said the system needs to be reformed to help Americans financially.

'I think the university should be responsible for the student debt,' he insisted. 'You produce somebody that can be successful, they pay off their loans, great. If you don't, then you're going to be on the hook.'

This was a popular point that caused rare cheers from an otherwise relatively quiet crowd intently hanging on the Florida governor's words.

DeSantis spoke in front of a crowd of about 100 supporters gathered at the Prep Partners Group warehouse in Rochester, New Hampshire on Monday morning

The economic roll-out came after Florida swung through New Hampshire on Sunday with a church service before stopping at MaryAnn's diner with State Sen. Regina Birdsell.

He then attended former Sen. Scott Brown's No BS Backyard BBQ in Rye, New Hampshire where he tore into President Biden's son Hunter and his cocaine addiction and short-lived painting career.

'I've got young kids so there won't be any cocaine in the White House. Maybe some finger paints. Actually my daughter's paintings are better than Hunter Biden and he's getting $1 million for them,' he told attendees.

DeSantis ended his Sunday with a stop at Brown's Lobster Pound.

Following remarks on Monday, DeSantis is sitting for an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier and will hold a town hall in Concord, New Hampshire on Tuesday evening. Later in the week he is heading right back to first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa.

The economic roll-out is DeSantis' third major policy announcement since launching his campaign in May. Last month, the governor and Navy Officer veteran announced in South Carolina his plans for a 'mission-first military' and during a trip to Texas unveiled his plan to secure the border and tackle the migration crisis.

'We also have to stop selling out this country's future to China  it's hurting our middle class, it's hurting our national security,' DeSantis insisted during his remarks on Monday.

The roll-out comes almost exactly a month after President Joe Biden unveiled in Chicago his plan to tackle economic issues, and named the proposal after himself.

'Bidenomics' mainly aims to focus-in on protecting the middle class by rejecting 'trickle-down' policies  a direct opposition to the heart of President Ronald Reagan's policies that became known as 'Reaganomics,' and aims to cut taxes for large companies with the goal that they will then be able to consistently and exponentially provide jobs for middle class workers.

Reagenomics grew big corporations, while Bidenomics rejects the idea that further enriching the rich will be good for the middle class.

DeSantis had good words for the iconic Republican president.

'We really haven't had a president since Ronald Reagan who leaned-in against Congress overspending,' He said toward the end of his remarks on Monday. 'So, I will be the president that will do that, will stand up for taxpayers, and will stand up for the next generation.'

In the rollout, DeSantis said his solution for addressing student loan debt is by restructuring the higher education system and putting universities and college 'on the hook' if their students are unable to pay off their debt. It comes as President Joe Biden failed to pass his widespread relief

It's clear with the economic proposal and others that DeSantis wants to take the U.S. back to founding principles even by the names of his policies  like the Parental Bill of Rights and now the Declaration of Economic Independence.

The Florida Governor has long railed against ESG, claiming the practice has muddied the waters between the corporate and policy world.

DeSantis' ongoing war with Disney is a main example of his discontent with ESG, claiming that this type of investing is what led the 'corporate kingdom' to 'go woke.'

ESG usually encourages large and wealthy corporations to push their agenda, which is usually left-leaning, through their power and influence. While ESG can manifest in multiple ways, Republicans mostly take issue with companies taking very public stances on liberal social issues that they feel isolate right-leaning consumers.

DeSantis also want to claim energy independence in the U.S. by tapping into the domestic energy sources that Republicans claim are going underutilized currently.

Democrats have put strict regulations in place on drilling oil and tapping into other natural energy sources on U.S. soil. Rather, there is a reliance on foreign oil and energy, which Republicans, and now DeSantis, claim weakens the sovereignty of the nation.
Ten German Shepherds being transported from Chicago to a K9 training facility in Indiana died last week after the air conditioning in the cargo area of a truck failed.

The 19 Shepherds were on their way from the O'Hare International Airport to Michigan City, Indiana, when the driver got caught in a two-hour traffic delay, according to Lake Station, Indiana police.

After the AC failed and temperatures in the cargo area began to rise, some of the dogs went into heat-related medical distress.

The driver said he was entirely unaware of the situation until some of the dogs began barking. He pulled over in Lake Station, Indiana, to see what was the matter.

When he saw the dogs in distress, he began to remove their crates from the truck.

Passersby stepped in to provide assistance when a truck pulled over on the side of an Indiana road because 19 German Shepherds were suffering from heatstroke after the AC in the back of the truck broke

The Lake Station fire and police departments were called to the scene, which police said 'took an emotional toll on all that were involved in trying to save as many canines as possible.'

Jenny Webber, the executive director of the Humane Society of Hobart, Indiana, said the entire incident was 'truly devastating.'

Webber had, in addition to law enforcement, responded to the scene at about 7.40pm Thursday, where she said protocol had not been followed.

'I don't think any veterinarian would've signed off on their health certificate given the temperature and the exposure that those pets would've been under,' she said.

'Now I don't, however, I'm not even quite sure if they had any of the paperwork or any of the documentation they should've had.'

Four of the dogs, she said, were eventually transported to the Hobart Animal Clinic, but as many as 10 of them passed away.

In total, seven were taken to nearby veterinary hospitals after the incident.

Passersby stopped on the side of Ripley Street where the truck had pulled over to help the suffering dogs. Some comforted the dogs while offering them water and getting them into as cool a spot as possible.

Webber described the dogs' condition as dire, saying that some were vomiting or had diarrhea. They were awake and alert but 'clearly suffering from heat stroke.'

In a statement she later posted to Facebook, Webber said she confronted the driver and said that 'it appeared he was not in compliance with several of our codes and that we should seize all pets, transport medical patients to emergency care, do an investigation and return the animals once compliance was proved and fines and fees paid.'

'This made the owner very mad.'

Police described a heartbreaking scene when they arrived at a Lake Station gas station Thursday evening, with a report that 19 German shepherds became overheated while being transported to a training facility

Strangers offered the suffering dogs water, cool hose downs and the coolest environments they could find, as some of them recovered

The dogs were being transported to a training facility in Michigan City, Indiana, in crates in the back of a truck. The truck driver said he was not aware there was a problem with the air conditioning until he heard some of the dogs begin to bark in discomfort

A dog is toweled off after getting a cool hose down to prevent further damage from heatstroke

Jenny Webber, the executive director of the Humane Society of Hobart, Indiana, said the entire incident was heartbreaking and that she believes the truck driver had neither the proper permitting nor set up to be transporting the dogs

Before leaving the scene with both dead and alive dogs in his truck, according to Webber, the owner sold one of the Shepherds to a bystander for $7,500.

Webber said the driver left the scene with four still living animals.

He also left four animals at the scene, who Webber recommended be hospitalized.

'It's very confusing. It's very disheartening, and I would like a call from the chief of police immediately,' she said, adding that the Humane Society is attempting to 'seize possession of the remaining hospitalized pets so we can ensure an investigation is completed.'

Police said after speaking with those involved, they do not believe the heart-wrenching happening was an act of deliberate animal cruelty or even negligence, but a mechanical failure of the truck's air conditioning unit.
A flat has been decimated by a fire caused by an e-bike battery that overheated when it was on charge.

Firefighters were called to a residential blaze in Elswick, Newcastle, on July 11 after a lithium-ion battery on an e-bike caught fire after it was left on charge in a bedroom.

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service has now issued a stern warning to e-bike and scooter owners to be careful when charging the devices.

Shocking images from the blaze show the wall of the property absolutely destroyed and burnt with the plugs and carpet left singed in its aftermath.

The occupant of the property was not in at the time and the fire did not spread past the flat, causing no injuries.

A look at the damage caused by the e-bike battery which overheated and set on fire

The battery destroyed the flat after it was left on charge overnight

Graeme MacDonald, Station Manager of Newcastle Central Community Fire Station, said the force has seen a rise in incidents like these as he urges people not to leave e-scooters on charge.

'In Tyne and Wear we have seen an increase in these types of fires and this incident shows how dangerous they can be,' he explained.

'Thankfully the occupant was not home and there could have been a different outcome if they had been present. Always ensure that you have working smoke alarms, and never leave batteries to charge while you are asleep or away from your home.

'We would recommend that you are observant with the batteries and consider this checklist. Always look out for the battery getting overly hot, any leakage and unusual behaviour, the battery not holding a charge, and appearing to be warped.'

Earlier this month an inquest heard how a mother-of-four, 44, died after jumping from the third floor of her home following a fire sparked by an e-scooter battery.

Rebecca Downes died in hospital from her injuries after jumping out of the window to escape the fire which broke out at her home in Blackpool last year.

Electrical Safety First warned recently that electric bike batteries must be regulated like 'fireworks' after causing hundreds of catastrophic house fires across the UK.

The charity said they are dangerously prone to exploding while charging overnight - releasing the same energy as six hand grenades.

Fires sparked by faulty lithium-ion batteries are now occurring at the rate of at least six a week in the UK, and have so far injured an estimated 190 people and killed eight.

Often they are be caused by cheap e-bikes or e-scooters built with poor quality and substandard components sold by rogue sellers on internet marketplaces.

A report by the ESF calls on the government to crackdown on the practice by making it compulsory for all products require third-party approval before they enter the UK market.

The measures would bring e-bike and e-scooters in line with safety regulations for pyrotechnics and heavy machinery. Similar measures have already been introduced in New York City following a spate of fires.
Interview: Burundian minister commends cooperation with China in ICT sector

Xinhua) 15:46, July 31, 2023

BUJUMBURA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Burundi enjoys its cooperation with China and the African country's mobile connectivity has significantly improved thanks to the help of Chinese communication companies, a minister has said.

"Cooperation is positive if we consider achievements recorded by Chinese companies in the communications sector in Burundi," said Minister of Communication, Information Technologies and Media Leocadie Ndacayisaba said here in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"The Burundian population has now access to the digital television thanks to (Chinese pay television company) Startimes. Besides, the population has access to mobile telephones thanks to the equipment supplied by (Chinese technology company) Huawei," said Ndacayisaba.

The minister said that the Chinese communications companies have greatly contributed to the opening up of Burundian people's lives, even in the country's remote areas.

She particularly mentioned the Chinese satellite TV project for 10,000 African villages, among which 500 are in Burundi.

"Thanks to the satellite TV project, people living in Burundi's remotest areas have been able to get useful information from all over the world. Farmers now have access to information on agriculture, science or health. This has a big positive impact on the population's daily life," she said.

Those television programs have broadened Burundians' horizons and help them fight against poverty, she added.

Huawei is the main company that supplies equipment to communications companies in Burundi.

"With the mobile connectivity throughout the whole country, the population has access to communication, mobile financial services. This allows households to remain connected despite the distance," said Ndacayisaba.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Do YOU live by this building site?

Do YOU live by this building site? Email katherine.lawton@mailonline.co.uk

Furious locals have blasted an 'ugly' eight feet wooden fence around a building site - claiming it won't stop dust covering their homes as they compared the barrier to a 'German PoW camp'.

The timber fence was erected on the edge of a housing estate currently being built in West Parley, near Bournemouth, Dorset.

Bellway Homes, a development company, installed the 400 metre long wooden fence to act as a screen for dust following complaints from locals.

Residents had said their houses and cars were being coated in brown dust that was blown across from the site.

A spokeswoman for Bellway Homes said: 'The wooden fence will be an additional dust prevention measure and more effective than the hoarding that was previously in position.'

Furious locals have blasted an 'ugly' eight feet wooden fence (pictured) around a building site - claiming it won't stop dust covering their homes

Angry locals have compared the barrier in West Parley to a 'German PoW camp'

The timber fence was erected on the edge of a housing estate currently being built in West Parley, near Bournemouth, Dorset

Bellway Homes, a development company, installed the 400 metre long wooden fence to act as a screen for dust following complaints from locals

The company said it had reduced deliveries to the site, had an on-site 10mph speed limit and redirected groundwork labour to limit the dust.

One local resident said: 'The fence is huge and looks so ugly. It is one long line of timber. It reminds of a German prisoner of war camp.'

Kaye Woodward, a project manager, previously complained to her local council's environmental health after dust coated both the interior and exterior of her home.

She said the dust has been better lately, but only because the rain had dampened down the particles.

She added that neighbours were complaining about the unsightly fence.

'The dust has been a lot better lately, but it is not because of the fencing which was finished at some point last week,' she said.

The site before the fence was erected showed the building site, which apparently caused dust on locals' houses and cars

A gap in the eight feet fence was left to allow access to a public footpath

A spokeswoman for Bellway Homes said: 'The wooden fence will be an additional dust prevention measure and more effective than the hoarding that was previously in position'

One local resident said: 'The fence is huge and looks so ugly. It is one long line of timber. It reminds of a German prisoner of war camp'

When finished, the new estate will have 36 new homes as well as a new Lidl supermarket

'The developers are not at the excavating stage at the moment, they're just putting the foundations in place on the ground, so dust isn't being churned up.

'Plus, there has been on and off rain.

'However, the fence wouldn't stop the dust, in fact Environmental Health has told me that when it's dry and windy, no amount of fencing would stop the dust.

'Some residents are also angry about the view now outside their house, saying this is what we have to look at for the next four years - but you can't have it all.'

When finished, the new estate will have 36 new homes as well as a new Lidl supermarket.

A spokesperson for Bellway told MailOnline: 'As a responsible developer, Bellway appreciates and is sensitive to the fact that dust can be an inconvenience to nearby residents from our Kingmere Park development in West Parley.

'While every effort is made to minimise the presence of dust, it is inevitable that some will be created during dry periods of ongoing works, as we have experienced this summer.

'Following complaints from residents, we have installed the wooden fence as additional dust prevention measure which is more effective than the Heras fence that was previously in position.

'Despite images showing this fence unfinished, plans are already in place to have this painted and lifestyle images added. Work is expected to be completed by the end of next week.'
A 12-year-old girl was robbed at knifepoint as she was walking home in North London as the police launch an investigation.

Two males approached the victim as she was walking in Camden, North London, at around 8.30pm on July 11.

One of the suspects threatened the girl with a knife and told her to hand over her phone and give him the password.

Once she had provided him with the passcode, the suspects let her go and she ran away.

Police launched an investigation and gathered CCTV footage from the area, which captured the suspects walking down Hampstead Road looking at the device they had stolen.

A look at Camden Lock in North London, which attracts more than 150,000 people a week [File image]

The man police are wishing to speak to following the mugging of a 12 year old girl

A 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of robbery on Friday and he was subsequently bailed pending further enquiries.

Sergeant Max Pennington, of the Metropolitan Police, described the robbery as 'terrifying' and urged anyone who witnessed the incident to get in touch.

He said: 'We have made good progress with out investigation, however we are still keen to identify the other person involved.

'This was a terrifying robbery which took place in broad daylight and we think there will be people who witnessed the incident or recognise the man pictured who can help us to find him and we would urge them to get in touch.'

Anyone with relevant information is asked to contact police on 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting CAD7601/11Jul.

Information can also be provided anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
New evidence has emerged that is said to undermine the conviction of a nurse for murdering two patients and poisoning 15 others.

Benjamin Geen, 25, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 30 years in 2006 for what the judge called a 'terrible betrayal' of the medical profession and his patients in the winter of 2003 to 2004.

He was found guilty largely on the basis that he had been on shift at a time when there had been an 'unusual' number of cases of respiratory arrest in the emergency ward of Horton general hospital in Banbury, Oxfordshire.

The way Geen has been linked to the illnesses and deaths has already been questioned by leading statisticians, but the criminal cases review commission (CCRC) has declined to send the case to the Court of Appeal.

Now, a study of a large dataset of patients in America of a similar profile to those involved in the Geen case has found there was nothing unusual about the number of incidents of respiratory arrests on his ward, the Guardian reported.

Benjamin Geen, 25, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 30 years in 2006

'There is incontrovertible and highly reliable epidemiological evidence that multiple patients with respiratory arrest would have been expected amongst Mr Geen's charges during the 42-day period at issue,' Dr Michael Freeman, a consultant and professor in the fields of forensic medicine and epidemiology, said.

After analysing the profiles of 12 of Geen's patients and comparing them to the patients in the US, Dr Freeman concluded that '17 cases of respiratory arrest would not only not be 'unusual', it would be within the range of expected outcomes for such a high-risk population'.

Fifteen patients were sent to the brink of death and struggled back to life after they were admitted, between December 2003 and February 2004, to the accident and emergency department of the Horton General Hospital.

Two did not survive. David Onley, 75, from Deddington, Oxfordshire, died on January 21 2004, and Anthony Bateman, 65, from Banbury, died on January 6, 2004.

The trial heard Geen, a former Territorial Army lieutenant, had injected patients with potentially deadly unprescribed drugs to stop them breathing so he could 'enjoy the excitement' of helping to revive them.

During the two-month trial, the jury of six men and six women heard how Geen 'came alive' and looked 'elated' as his patients went into respiratory arrest.

He 'boasted' about the regular action during his shifts and told one doctor: 'There is always a resuscitation when I'm on duty.'

The drugs midazolam, a sedative, and vecuronium, a muscle relaxant, appeared in patient Timothy Stubbs's urine sample but doctors knew they had not prescribed them.

Over the weekend of February 6-9, senior staff at the hospital sat down with the case notes of hundreds of patients whose outcomes they felt they could not explain.

The former Territorial Army lieutenant was found guilty largely on the basis that he had been on shift at a time when there had been an 'unusual' number of cases of respiratory arrest

The pile was eventually whittled down to 18 cases. Benjamin Geen was the common factor in every one.

However, there was no direct evidence to support the prosecution's case that Geen had given non-prescribed medicines or excess doses to his patients.

Neither was there direct evidence the medication had caused the death or intentional harm of patients.

The CCRC refused to refer the Geen case to the court of appeal after applications in 2013 and in 2015.

Geen's barrister, Mark McDonald, said he would present the statistical study to the CCRC.

He said: 'The prosecution says there's a pattern: that he is on duty every time someone gets sick and that respiratory arrest is rare. They have said: 'You have never proven it is not rare'. Now we have a report saying that it is not rare.'

Geen said after the trial: 'Whilst I express every sympathy for the victims and their families, I continue to maintain my innocence.

'I respect the jury's right to decide, but I do not accept their decision because I am innocent of all counts. I wish to lodge an appeal.

'I support a full public inquiry. I am suspicious of any reason put forward why a public inquiry is not necessary.'

His father, Mick, is among those campaigning for his conviction to be overturned.
Twitter has refused to allow building inspectors into its San Francisco headquarters to investigate its new brightly-lit, massive 'X' sign over permit violations.

The social-media giant has come under investigation after Elon Musk had the blinding sign that aggravated neighbors installed without first obtaining permits from the San Francisco Department of Buildings.

Investigators arrived on the scene shortly after the sign was put up Friday to notify the company it was in violation of the city's building codes, and to request access to the roof to inspect it  declaring it 'possibly unsafe.'

But a Twitter representative told the inspector the sign was a 'temporary lighted sign for an event,' according to a city complaint.

An inspector again tried to gain access on Saturday, but 'upon arrival, access was denied by tenant.'

San Francisco Building Department officials say Elon Musk had the new 'X' sign placed atop the former Twitter headquarters Friday without first obtaining a permit

The brightly-lit sign has aggravated many residents in the affluential neighborhood

Musk poked fun at the building inspectors who showed up at the headquarters Friday night, saying the landlord called 'police about our sign modifications' with a clown emoji

In a statement, San Francisco Department of Building Inspection spokesman Patrick Hannan explained: 'A building permit is required to make sure the sign is structurally sound and installed safely.

'Planning review and approval is also necessary for the installation of this sign.'

He also told the Washington Post in order to maintain 'consistency with the historic nature of the building, and to ensure new additions are safely attached to the sign,' the city requires a permit to approve new letters or symbols on a sign.

Moreover, under X's lease for the Market Street building, rooftop and exterior signs are banned  except for the 'blade sign' that previously read '@twitter,' which Musk had taken down for his rebranding efforts.

The lease even stated the company would need permission from its landlord to modify that original sign, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

But thus far, Musk has seemed to take the building violations in stride, tweeting  or xing  Friday night that the landlord 'keeps calling the police about our sign modifications' with a clown emoji.

No efforts have been made since to remove the sign.

If the company keeps it up, it may face unspecified penalties and fees from the city.

Musk, 52, made waves when he announced he was rebranding Twitter effective immediately - changing the site's name to 'X' and the platform's iconic blue bird logo to the letter

As part of Musk's efforts to rebrand the social media company, he had the building's 'blade sign' reading '@twitter' removed, even though it was the only sign allowed under X's lease of the Market Street building

But the sign has already irked residents in the otherwise affluent area.

'Imagine this f**king X sign right across from your bedroom,' one person posted, whereas a local, from his apartment on the 27th floor of the Fox Plaza building across the street, called the illuminated sign's dazzlingly bright rays 'monstrous.'

Jerry Royer, 78, also called the sign 'incredibly bad' in remarks to the San Francisco Standard over the weekend.

'It's blindingly white, right? And the sign flashes on and off, in all kinds of patterns like strobe lights. It's incredibly bad,' said Royer, who's lived there for 52 years.

'It's truly gigantic.'

Another resident, a local journalist named Christopher Beale, posted video of the new sign with a realization of what this means for locals.

He was responding to a user who had seen the sign and said 'Imagine this f***ing X sign right across from your bedroom.'

'Imagine no more. This is my life now,' Beale posted to the social media giant on Saturday, with a full clip of the undulating X logo.

Fellow San Franciscan Riley Walz said that he actually was a bit wistful for the old Twitter logo.

'You know, the sign is missing. So, a little sad. I guess it's a new beginning for X, so that's interesting,' Walz told NBC Bay Area.

The third was once again illuminated Sunday, for a third straight night - blasting brilliant white light into the windows of nearby buildings for hours on end.

Speaking to the Standard Sunday afternoon, Royer revealed that he and other residents have reached out to San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey's office hoping to get the sign taken down.

'You really don't realize how big it is until you see a human next to it,' said Royer.

Dorsey, however, told the New York Times he believes a peaceful solution could be rendered between the city and X.

'I would sort of like to extend an olive branch,' he said. 'I think there's a lot of people in city government who would welcome the opportunity to work with a large employer like X, and let's figure out what we're going to do with the sign, but we can have a good, productive partnership with a city employer.'

California residents are reacting with disbelief after Musk's X has officially installed the massive, pulsating new sign on top of the company's headquarters in San Francisco

Imagine no more. This is my life now. https://t.co/k5QfAm8yuG pic.twitter.com/e7ECCM2NUD  Christopher J. Beale (@realchrisjbeale) July 29, 2023

Musk has vowed that X will stay in San Francisco  despite saying he has been offered 'rich incentives' to move the office out of the city.

In it, the flippant mogul also appeared to poke fun at the city's current crime-ridden state - doing so by citing the recent wave of store closures seen in the city's Downtown, where the office of the firm formerly known as Twitter today resides.

Mentioning the mass pilgrimage of retailers like Old Navy, AmazonGo, Saks Off Fifth, and Office Depot, Musk made it clear he does not plan to follow those firms' example - promising to not further 'forsake' San Francisco in a decidedly sarcastic post.

'Many have offered rich incentives for X [formerly known as Twitter] to move its HQ out of San Francisco,' Musk began the now viral post.

'Moreover, the city is in a doom spiral with one company after another left or leaving,' he added. 'Therefore, they expect X will move too.'

To that, Musk said: 'We will not.'

Calling attention the more than 95 stores to close down since the start of the COVID pandemic - and incoming closures for firms Nordstrom Rack, also on Market Street, and Banana Republic - Musk wrote: 'You only know who your real friends are when the chips are down.

'San Francisco, beautiful San Francisco, though others forsake you, we will always be your friend.'

Musk publicly refused city officials' supposed requests to relocate in a decidedly sarcastic tweet that poked fun at the city's crime woes

He mentioned the mass pilgrimage of retailers like Old Navy, AmazonGo, Saks Off Fifth, and Office Depot

Since the start of the pandemic - which for months left the Bay Area at the mercy of homeless-rife tent encampments and bands of career criminals - more than 95 retailers including Brooks Brothers, Ray Ban, Christian Louboutin, Lululemon and Marmot have packed up and left the city for greener pastures.

That's more than half of the area's entire retail demographic in total - an amount that will soon be bolstered by the already announced closures of Williams Sonoma, AT&T, Nordstrom, and Banana Republic in the coming months.

Meanwhile, remaining stores like Target have been reduced to locking up their entire stock behind glass to deter shoplifters

'Decisions like this are never easy, and this one has been especially difficult,' wrote Nordstrom in a statement announcing its decision to close this past May.

'But as many of you know, the dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past several years, impacting customer foot traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully.'

Westfield Mall was much more blunt in its statement to the Washington Post, pointing directly to rising crime running business out of town, which it referred to as 'unsafe conditions for customers, retailers, and employees.'

The mall said 'these significant issues are preventing an economic recovery of the area.'
A musician who co-presented the live BBC broadcast of the first night of the Proms was harassed to the point where she 'feared for her safety' by an obsessive fan who was jailed for six months for stalking her.

The organist, conductor and broadcaster Anna Lapwood, 28, was plagued for three months by American Elliott Bennett, 36, who followed her across the Atlantic and attempted in vain to woo her.

Peterborough Crown Court heard how Bennett began following her 'coast to coast' while she toured the USA in March this year.

Ms Lapwood, who is known as 'the TikTok organist', said his behaviour escalated in a 'terrifying way' when he began to appear at all her 'meet and greet' events after her performances.

He initially asked for a picture of them both together, but then his obsessive behaviour rapidly intensified to sending her letters declaring his love for her.

Co-presenter of BBC Proms first night Anna Lapwood was stalked by American fan Elliott Bennett

The organist was repeatedly mithered by Bennett, who followed her across the Atlantic

The court heard how he got down on one knee at one event, and took Ms Lapwood's hand, telling her that they should be together.

When she told him she had a boyfriend, he replied that he 'can't accept that', and later chased her and her boyfriend across a car park after they left a hotel.

Ms Lapwood, who has more than 550,000 followers on TikTok, performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London on her return, but was left terrified after she spotted him at her meet and greet with fans once again after the show.

It later emerged that he had bought a one-way flight from America to continue his obsessive stalking of her.

In the following days, he was seen repeatedly busking outside Pembroke College in Cambridge where Ms Lapwood is Director of Music.

When he was asked to leave, he told staff he had a spiritual connection with her, that they cared for one another, she inspired him and that they were both geniuses.

Bennett admitted stalking when he appeared at Peterborough Crown Court last Wednesday. In addition to being jailed for six months, he was given an indefinite restraining order.

Speaking after the sentencing, Ms Lapwood urged other victims of stalking and harassment to seek help and report it to the police.

The BBC Proms co-presenter said that she became harassed to the extent that she feared for her safety

The musician, who co-hosted BBC coverage of the first night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall on July 14 with Clive Myrie and Sandi Toksvig, said: 'It's been a tough few months, and I think the big thing that it's taught me, is that when something like this starts, we shouldn't hesitate to report it.

'I like to think the best of people and to think 'oh that will be the last time, they'll have realised it's wrong now', but the reality is that some people don't understand boundaries or heed warnings.

'The situation can escalate quickly and in a really terrifying way. When it began, I was worried that I might be overreacting, but when I got in touch with the police they dealt with it immediately and with kindness.

'I wanted to share my experience because being stalked is so awful, yet it's too easy to think that something isn't serious enough to involve the police. Catching this sort of behaviour early and trying to prevent escalation early is important.'

The musician added: 'For me, what started as a seemingly innocent encounter while on tour in the US grew into me becoming harassed in such a way that I feared for my safety and for those around me.

'I was followed from coast to coast in the US, back to the UK, and to my workplace in Cambridge. It got to the point that he refused to go away - I felt threatened and had to be escorted everywhere.

'When I reported him to the police, I was so grateful for their speed of action. I gave my statements and within a short time, he was arrested.. It felt like a strangely big moment the first time I could go for a coffee by myself again.

'Obsessive behaviour and harassment impacts so many people, sadly some scenarios [are] more disastrous than my own.

'To anyone who is experiencing harassment or stalking, I urge you to seek help. The police know how to deal with it in the quickest and most efficient way.

'I am utterly grateful to those who advised and supported me throughout, and for all the police have done to allow me to breathe in peace again.'

Detective Constable Timothy Taylor, who investigated the case, said: 'Stalking is a horrendous crime, which leaves victims feeling frightened, distressed and threatened.

'I would like to take this opportunity to praise Ms Lapwood for her courage and bravery in reporting this to the police and speaking out, giving other victims the courage to speak out.

'I am pleased Bennett is now jailed, and I hope this sentencing provides her with some sort of closure.'

Ms Lapwood at London Bridge station doing an impromptu duet with a security guard in tribute to the late Queen

Ms Lapwood went to school at Oxford High School and graduated from Magdalen College, Oxford, where she was the first woman in the college's 560-year history to be awarded an organ scholarship.

She became the youngest-ever Director Music of any Oxford of Cambridge college when she was appointed to her post at Pembroke College at the age of 21 in 2016.

Ms Lapwood is now known as one of the most visible stars of the classical music world, whose posts on TikTok attract up to four million views.

She founded the Pembroke College Girls' Choir in 2018, which invites girls between the ages of 11 and 18 from local schools to perform at the college's evensong services.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser's former chief of staff sexually harassed two government workers while treating the office like a 'dating pool', an internal probe claims.

John Falcicchio, 44, was reportedly paid $230,000-a-year until he resigned on March 17 after two female employees accused him of unwanted sexual advances and 'predatory behavior.'

Falcicchio was instrumental in Bowser's rise from neighborhood activist to council member to three-term mayor in January 2015, and he has been her closest confidant and deputy mayor of planning economic development.

But this year, two internal probes by the Mayor's Office of Legal Counsel (MOLC) found he treated their central Washington office like a 'dating pool' and 'gave preferential assignments to women he found attractive.'

The first investigation, which concluded in June, found he twice demanded sex of a newly-hired female aide in her 20's last year and sent her lewd messages on Snapchat including a 'graphic video' of himself masturbating.

John Falcicchio, 44, was reportedly paid $230,000-a-year until he resigned on March 17 after two female employees accused him of unwanted sexual advances and 'predatory behavior'

Falcicchio was the closest confidant of DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (pictured) over eight years as her chief of staff and deputy mayor of planning and economic development

During the second investigation, which was summarized in a report published Monday, the MOLC found that in 2020 Falcicchio made five 'unwelcome sexual advances' towards a second female staffer - whose age and position is unknown.

The first report said Falcicchio propositioned the aide in her 20's to sex at his apartment on two occasions last year - September 28 and October 2 - and even 'exposed his sexual organs' to her the second time.

The young woman gave more details about 'predatory' advances allegedly made by her former boss during an anonymous June 24 interview with the Washington Post.

She said she was still on probation when he took her to the Crimson Whiskey Bar downtown DC, where he ordered them strong spirits and said 'you can't tell your bosses we did this' before bringing her to his apartment and trying to kiss her.

The aide claimed that during the October encounter at his apartment, he masturbated in front of her, before sending her an unsolicited video of himself masturbating via Snapchat - an app which deletes communications once they have been viewed.

She told the Post she never had sex with the high-ranking official, but feigned interest to keep her job and to document his misconduct.

'Im here to get at the truth and some of that exposes me in a way thats uncomfortable,' she said.

The aide also claimed he 'retaliated' against her rejection of his advances by excluding her from work events and even threatening her by saying she could 'go missing' - although the probe was unable to substantiate these claims.

In further unconfirmed claims, she said he engaged in sexual conduct with at least 11 former and current staffers - with the probe agreeing with her assessment that he treated the office as 'his dating ground'.

The June probe involved 32 interviews with 21 former and current employees, and analysis of thousands of emails, screenshots and messages.

Falcicchio himself refused to cooperate with investigators. DailyMail.com has reached out to Falcicchio's lawyers for comment.

The first investigation into Falcicchio, which concluded in June, confirmed he twice demanded sex of a newly-hired female aide in her 20's last year and sent her lewd messages on Snapchat including a 'graphic video' of himself masturbating

Two internal probes by the Mayor's Office of Legal Counsel (MOLC) found he treated the office (pictured from outside) like a 'dating pool' and 'gave preferential assignments to women he found attractive'

Mayor Muriel Bowser was a close friend of Falcicchio's. Pictured: Falcicchio's tweet sharing a photograph of him (second left) partying with the mayor and friends in July 2021

The second investigation found he sexually harassed another woman in his office, of unknown age and position.

It found Falcicchio made 'unwelcome, physical sexual advances' towards the woman while she was at his apartment for 'work-related reasons' on four occasions in 2020, along with a fifth unwanted advance at another location.

He also gave her 'unwanted romantic attention' in the form of 'flirtatious messages' and 'asking personal questions about her romantic life to manipulate her into feeling comfortable with him', the report said.

The women were represented by lawyers Debra S. Katz and Kayla Morin, of Katz Banks Kumin firm, who described their experiences as 'extremely disturbing' and reflecting 'a longstanding pattern of sexual harassment and predatory behavior'.

They praised the women as 'courageous' for coming forward to seek 'justice for themselves and other survivors'.

The lawyers urged anyone else affected by Falcicchio's conduct to contact them via Maia.Ellis@dc.gov.
A restaurant boss who boasts nearly four million followers on social media has been fiercely criticised after posting pictures of his team of all-white male chefs.

Critics questioned why the line-up of Thomas Straker and his seven other chefs outside his trendy restaurant did not include any women or ethnic minority kitchen staff.

Straker, who is known for his colourful food and cooking videos, was accused of perpetuating the idea that top restaurants were 'a white boys' club'.

Others claimed the line-up was 'totally unrepresentative' of multi-cultural Britain and showed 'no consideration for women'.

Straker, who has a huge social media presence with 1.4million followers on Instagram, 2.1million on TikTok and 250,000 on YouTube, posed for two pictures with his seven kitchen staff last Friday.

His Instagram snaps, which were captioned 'Chef team assembled', attracted protests from people who questioned why the line-up included no women or non-white faces.

Critics questioned why the line-up of Thomas Straker and his seven other chefs outside his trendy restaurant did not include any women or ethnic minority kitchen staff

Straker who is known for his colourful food and cooking videos was accused of perpetuating the idea that top restaurants were 'a white boy's club'

Some critics claimed the pictures were particularly out of place as Straker's restaurant is in the diverse area of Golborne Road in Notting Hill, west London.

Baking fan Melissa Martin, known as melissamartinbakes, posted: 'Hey, I don't begrudge this dude for the staff he hired. You hire friends, good people you know, and impressive resumes.

'But I think this post shows a blatant example of how much fine dining is still a white boys' club. The fact that he has no people of color (sic) or women on the team is a huge extension of the bigger cultural problem we STILL have, not necessarily an individual failing.

'Would love if he took it upon himself to look for diversity in his team, but clearly it doesn't seem important to the values of him and his restaurant.'

Another Instagram user called tcblu commented: 'The main issue is that in the most diverse city in the world, in the poorest part of the richest borough of the country, not only have you managed to hire any female chefs but not a single POC.

'Golborne Road is historically a black/Moroccan/Spanish/ Portuguese community with an incredible history of culture and rebellion in the face of adversity.

'It became home to the largest Moroccan population in England and the home of Windrush families. How incredible would it be if you searched that community for young rising stars who may not get a chance to flourish otherwise in hospitality than hiring friends?

'Provide them with training and a safe place to grow as chefs. In turn, you'd be putting something into the very community that you're gentrifying - intentional or not. Just something to think about.'

Some critics claimed the pictures were particularly out of place as Straker's restaurant is in the diverse area of Golborne Road in Notting Hill, west London

Drinks writer Becky Paskin who advocates for women in whisky and appears regularly on ITV'S Love Your Weekend, wrote on Straker's original post: 'Too often we say, "We only recruit on the basis of the best people for the job" without any consideration the role bias plays in the selection process.

'It's been proven time and again that diverse teams are more creative, productive and successful. If every member looks the same and has the same background, you'll find they'll all think the same as well. Forming diverse teams is not only the right thing to do, it makes business sense too.'

As scores of people continued to post negative comments, Straker, known for his videos featuring different uses for butter, responded with his own comment, saying: 'Honestly people need to calm down.

'Firstly there is a shortage of chefs / hospitality workers. Secondly if you feel so passionately please go and gather CV's of any chefs you think we're missing in the team. Solutions not problems.'

But his comment served simply to stoke the flames, by attracting other complaints about him not doing enough to have a diverse workforce.

US chef J Kenji Lopez-Alt, who is known for his book The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, said: 'Get off the social media for a week or so. Do some reflection. Talk to people who care about you and who you trust. Be better.'

Another Instagram user mbbphotography accused Straker of 'being literally a part of the problem'. He added: 'As if in one of the most diverse cities in the world you didn't get any other applications as from white men. Laughable.'

The picture set of a big debate and stream of comments from people with different opinions

ivana_finci posted: 'Love your food man. Serious respect for you. But for the love of god just look at the picture of your staff. I'd get it if you are in a low diversity area, but you're in LONDON.'

Jasminenwood added: 'Sadly feel like this poor response will reflect the company values. Sure, it might be tricky to hire just now. That doesn't stop you from acknowledging that an all white all male team isn't what you strive for. This platform and big following could be used to do better.'

Rhythmvick posted: 'One of the solutions, instead of you telling people to calm down, is to internalise that you have a responsibility as a hirer to ensure that your kitchen is even welcoming to women and POC - it's not about representation, but about active inclusion.

'As a former chef, you just know when a kitchen won't have your back as a woman, so you don't go for those jobs, and this "not my problem" attitude is exactly a case in point. You're the chef owner, *you* create the kitchen culture.'

Jeremyspandex added: 'Embarrassing bro - instead of being defensive why don't you actually have a look at yourself and ask why this uncanny situation has transpired? It's not coincidence. You're not doing enough.

'You have lots of non-male and POC people who have supported your work online, the least you can do is ask yourself how you can give back and not come across so closed minded and fragile, no?'

The protests led to Straker sharing an apology today via his Instagram Story where he appeared to back down and insist that he was committed to 'ensuring diversity' in his businesses.

He wrote: 'On Friday night, I put up a post of my chef team and many rightly pointed out the lack of diversity in it. I am very sorry for my initial response, where some queried whether I take this issue seriously.

'I am absolutely committed to ensuring diversity in my restaurants, unfortunately we aren't achieving this in my kitchens currently and this is an area I know I need to improve on, making sure it is seen as a welcoming and approachable environment for all. Tom x.'

Some Instagram users rushed to defend Straker's posts and insisted that his chefs being all-male and white was irrelevant.

dmclellan2004 posted: 'Jobs aren't given out of sympathy or to tick boxes. Jobs are given on merit experience and an interview process to make sure the right individuals are hired. Stop with the positive discrimination.'

The same user added: 'I know plenty of women and poc who are great at their jobs. Maybe none of these individuals applied for a job here? Maybe out of all the people that applied the owner picked who he thought was the best?

'We aren't running his business and I'm sure he wants it to be successful. He's not going to hire people just to tick a few boxes or that look good for an Instagram pic.'

Another user ivan__tes said: 'Honestly, people nowadays have gone completely crazy with this "representation" thing. Who tf cares which race or gender those chefs are? The only requirement must be their skill level, that's all...

'People need to chill, for some reason I've never seen anyone ever complain about underrepresentation in all-black teams or all-female teams, but as soon as they see white men they're triggered.'

Straker has been approached for comment by MailOnline.
An Apprentice star faces being jailed in Dubai over a 'bounced cheque' that she insists she never wrote.

Selina Waterman-Smith, who starred on the hit BBC show in 2015, spoke of her 'living hell' as she revealed she has been warned she faces being locked up if she doesn't pay 27,750 - despite claiming she never wrote any cheque.

She claims she has been the victim of harassment and extortion for nearly five years after a former business associate exploited a loophole in the UAE that meant she could be convicted while she was abroad.

Ms Waterman-Smith, 39, says she was found guilty in her absence without any examination of the evidence as the complainant had supplied the wrong contact information for her.

The reality-show star claims the man, from South Africa, has been harassing and extorting her since 2019, prompting her to file a complaint with the Dubai Police.

Apprentice star Selina Waterman-Smith faces being jailed in Dubai over a 'bounced cheque' that she insists she never wrote

She said the whole ordeal caused her a nervous breakdown and while she was also diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), anaemia, adrenal exhaustion, a kidney infection, and hair loss from acute stress.

As a result of the court ruling against her, Ms Waterman-Smith has been stuck in the UAE with a travel ban for two years, without a bank account or medical insurance, a blocked trade license, and a soon-to-be-canceled residency visa.

She said: 'There have been times in the last two years where I have suffered extreme depression, as I can't see any other way of escaping his abuse.

'He [the unnamed businessman] seems to relish having power over me and destroying a strong woman.

'A man so brazen about threats, harassment, and committing fraud, is a real danger to me, and potentially other female victims.'

Ms Waterman-Smith, who made it as far as week nine on the Apprentice, claims the male complainant initially posed as a wealthy investor and reached out to her growing restaurant business in 2018.

The businesswoman, who starred on the hit BBC show in 2015, spoke of her 'living hell' as she revealed she has been warned she faces being locked up if she doesn't pay 27,750 - despite claiming she never wrote any cheque

But after their business arrangement broke down, she says he started demanding a salary from the business, an allowance to rent office space, and regular dividends - despite not investing the agreed capital.

Ms Waterman-Smith claims when she refused his request he became 'very aggressive' and would threaten her over the phone - leaving her in a constant state of fear and stress.

She later says she discovered his back story had been 'fabricated' and he wasn't legally permitted to invest in the UAE.

And she claims she has since been subjected to a campaign of threats, cyber-harassment and phone calls from people claiming to be connected to him.

Some Instagram messages have come in the form of threats about 'getting revenge'.

Ms Waterman-Smith said the man has also since launched his own rival food company with an almost identical concept to hers.

She added: 'He continued to cyberstalk me daily, via threats and invasive action, and find ways to intimidate me wherever I was.

'The love-bombing in the beginning with grand claims about his potential contribution to my business, and then his switch into an aggressive monster leads me to believe that this is narcissistic abuse.'

She claims she has also repeatedly spoken to police and lawyers about the ongoing abuse, which has now been going on for nearly five years.

She added: 'Whenever I've spoken to authorities they've advised me that I had done nothing wrong legally and to "ignore him", and that he would eventually get bored.' Sadly, this has not been the reality.

Ms Waterman-Smith said she eventually had little choice but to eventually close her business - writing off her own 75,000 investment.

But she claims the abuse continued and he was kept tabs on her movements via her social media and when she left the UAE in 2021 for a much-needed vacation, he filed a civil case just a few days later - over a bounced cheque.

This carried a draconian punishment in the UAE including seizure of assets, a travel ban, and jail time.

She says no cheque was mentioned in his testimony, but instead he allegedly claimed that she borrowed money from him and refused to return it - a claim she denies.

Waterman-Smith, who was previously spoken about being kidnapped and attacked by three men, said: 'I will probably always have PTSD after being kidnapped and assaulted in 2013, especially when it comes to trusting men, and what I find most upsetting here is that I think this is why he targeted me, assuming that because I'm vulnerable I would be easier to manipulate.

'When I refused a lot of his demands for money, he resorted to more immoral tactics.'

Despite her claim that there is no evidence, the court has refused to grant an appeal, claiming that his testimony is sufficient, and due to Sharia Law are unwilling to overturn the original decision of the judge.

London-based organisation Detained in Dubai, which is supporting MsWaterman-Smith, confirmed there was no financial proof of any cheque in the full case file, which was never examined in court.

After winning the case in absentia in 2021, and being awarded funds seized from her personal savings account, Ms Waterman-Smith said she was sent a new threat demanding a further 65,000, which she ignored on advice from her lawyer.

She added: 'He's even claimed in his testimony my business ideas were his - despite us operating for two years before he approached me.

Ms Waterman-Smith said she eventually had little choice but to eventually close her business - writing off her own 75,000 investment

'Now he's filed a bounced cheque case but the case mentions a personal loan without any bank statements or proof, so clearly even he is confused as to the reason he's demanding money this time round.'

Radha Stirling, of Detained in Dubai, said: 'Securing a conviction against a rival in the UAE is often simply as easy as making an accusation, as we see in Selina's case.

'No substantial evidence is required, no proof, and the accused is frequently never even made aware of the case until they discover they have been convicted.

'It is disturbing that Selina decided to give the country a second chance after the nightmare of her violent assault 10 years prior, only to once again find herself victimised by both a ruthless predator and the legal system that unquestioningly took his side.

'It is a harrowing and cautionary tale - one of countless others - that Western tourists and business people should keep uppermost in their minds when considering visiting or moving to the UAE.
Surveillance footage from various days last year show a number of people brazenly walking out of the store holding stolen tools

A San Francisco family-owned hardware store has lost a staggering $700,000 in a single year to 'organized shoplifting' as the city continues to battle rampant crime.

Dale Hardware's owner Kyle Smith described the helpless situation in Fremont - and said his grandfather, who founded the shop in 1955, would 'roll in his grave' if he knew about the unbridled shoplifting.

The uncontrolled looting in San Francisco has occurred for a number of reasons - including the accelerating organized retail theft and increased homelessness.

Widespread drug addiction and the move away from incarceration for less-serious crimes are also contributing factors, according to experts.

Smith told the San Jose Mercury News: 'You'll go, "Sir, sir, sir!" and they don't even turn around. Or they'll give you a look, like, "Do you want to go there?"

'How do we run a small business with $1,800 of loss every day? It ends up costing the consumer more money because we can't survive without raising prices.'

A San Francisco family-owned hardware store lost a staggering $700,000 in a single year to 'organized shoplifting' as the city continues to battle rampant crime. Surveillance footage from various days last year show a number of people brazenly walking out of the store holding stolen tools - some which are concealed in bags, but others that are just carried out in the open

Footage has caught the crafty thieves stealing from the store. People pinpointed in the clips have individually stolen as much as $2,800 worth of supplies without being stopped by staff

Dale Hardware's owner Kyle Smith (pictured) described the helpless situation in Fremont - and said his grandfather, who founded the shop in 1955, would 'roll in his grave' if he knew about the rampant shoplifting

Surveillance footage from different days in 2022 showed a number of people brazenly walking out of the store holding stolen tools. Some are concealed in bags, but others are just carried out in the open.

People pinpointed in the clips have individually stolen as much as $2,800 worth of supplies without being stopped by staff.

In another instance, a man shoved stolen gloves from the shelves down his pants before walking out of the shop unscathed. He also took 37 circular saw blades from the store.

Another situation saw a pair load a flatbed cart with $11,000 in specialty wire.

One of their accomplices stood at the door posing as a customer - warning employees to stop pursuing because 'those guys have guns.'

They walked away with all the gear.

And one woman, pushing a double stroller with a blanket and teddies draped over it, hid $4,000 worth of batteries she had grabbed from the store in less than four minutes.

The large store hires dozens of employees and has installed many cameras and license-plate readers in the parking lot in a bid to stop the looting - but to no avail.

Heavy chains now adorn most of the expensive merchandise in Smith's store.

A woman is seen with a bag filled with items after stealing from Dales

The large store hires dozens of employees, and has installed many cameras and license-plate readers in the parking lot in a bid to stop the looting - but to no avail

In 2021, Rachel Michelin, the president of the California Retailers Association, said San Francisco and Oakland areas suffered the second-highest amount of losses to organized retail crime in the country.

The two areas have lost around $3.6 billion to shoplifting.

But that was before the recent spike in crime that has impacted the bay area and the rest of the nation.

The National Retail Federation said that the scourge - which grew worse during the pandemic - cost the industry almost $100billion in 2022.

Fellow Bay Area shop owner Sam Kalil told the Mercury News that his two San Jose Shops selling jeans are targeted by many who steal.

'I stopped calling police. Shoplifting, they dont even bother to show up anymore, Kalil he told the outlet.

Kalil said he has been for 30 years and seen a surge in shoplifting since the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that he loses $1,000 to $3,000 a month in stolen goods at each store.

Earlier this month, it was reported theft had become so bad in San Francisco that some stores were padlocking shut their freezers and tying metal chains to ensure the doors remained closed overnight.

Video shot by one potential shopper at a local Walgreens in the city sees aisle after aisle of products locked away behind Perspex and glass, out of the reach of thieves.

Even lower-value items such as toothpaste and tissues are kept under lock and key, such is the rampant theft that has been occurring in many of the city's pharmacies and supermarkets.

At one particular location, on 16th Street and Geary Blvd, the freezer doors are entirely chained up, with staff concerned thieves will come into the store overnight to empty the contents.

Shop workers have already reported a problem with thieves coming to the store as many as 20 times a day to fill their bags full of products, including items that need to be kept at cool temperatures such as frozen pizza and ice cream.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed told the New York Times that she understood the 'frustration' of residents and staff who are unable to get groceries without it being an 'eventful experience'.

But the Dem leader then admitted that 'no one is able to really do anything' about the rise in crime and rampant homelessness affecting stores  which has resulted in 46 percent of shops in the city's downtown Westfield mall closing since 2020.

The mall's owners later said they were giving up on the shopping center and abandoning the property.

'You go to a grocery store, and it shouldn't be an eventful experience. It's definitely changed,' she said.

'You go to the store now and see people constantly walking out with items in their hands, getting into altercations with staff. And no one's able to really do anything.

'There's a level of frustration I know that definitely comes with that. And to deal with that all day, I can understand that employees would say we've had enough.'

But despite making excuses for the low-level crimes, Breed said that it is her job to 'get things done'  adding 'no one wants to hear excuses why you can't.'

Numerous retailers have pulled out of the downtown San Francisco because of the rampant shoplifting and homelessness.

The number of homeless people in San Francisco was tallied in February of last year at almost 8,000

Westfield in San Francisco (pictured) has announced that it is handing the building back to the lender

The problem of such wanton theft is not unique to San Francisco; other big cities across the nation, including New York, have also been dealing with the problem over the last few years.

In some cases, it has left pharmacy chains no option but to leave areas completely as the massive thefts hurt the bottom line.

The pictures of chained-up merchandise marks a new low point, with stores risking alienating legitimate loyal customers who can no longer be bothered to go through the rigmarole of having to summon staff simply to grab something off the shelf.
The solicitors' watchdog today dramatically closed three firms exposed by the Mail for offering to submit false asylum claims for thousands of pounds.

The regulator also banned a legal adviser from working for solicitors' firms after he told our undercover reporter posing as an illegal migrant that he would invent stories including torture, death threats and modern slavery to help him apply for refugee status.

The swift response came after Rishi Sunak and Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk had said the allegations of 'appalling' conduct must be met with the 'full force of sanctions'.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry and Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael were among politicians from all parties that had also called for the legal authorities to investigate.

In a response to a letter from the Lord Chancellor, Anna Bradley, chairman of the Solicitors Regulation Authority board, said she had been 'shocked' by the apparent behaviour of those solicitors identified by the Mail.

Lawyer Vinnasythamby Lingajothy (pictured) offered to invent a horrific back story of torture, beatings, slave labour and death threats for an asylum application. He has been banned from working for solicitors' firms

Muhammad Azfar (pictured) from Kingswright Solicitors who suggested a marriage ploy to client

Rashid Ahmad Khan (pictured), from Rashid & Rashid Solicitors, offered to invent dangers of life in India

Malik Nazar Hayat (pictured) told our reporter the whole process would cost 5,500 in cash, a price he insists is a steal from his usual fees of 12,000 to 15,000 for similar cases

After reviewing the evidence supplied by this paper, she said the regulator had taken 'urgent action' which included suspending solicitors working at three of the firms and closing these firms.

She said the SRA has also made an order against a non-regulated person working at a further firm which stops him 'working with or for' any SRA regulated firm.

The watchdog has also started an 'urgent on-site inspection' of two of the firms involved to 'gather further evidence' and was in talks with other enforcement agencies to 'co-ordinate our actions', she said.

And Ms Bradley said the regulator was also launching a 'wider inspection of the immigration sector' to examine compliance with its new guidance.

'This will commence in the next few weeks and will include a cross section of firms working in the asylum sector and take into account the issues raised by the Daily Mail investigation.'

The SRA would also be 'expanding and promoting the information' on our rules and best practice we have available to law firms, she said.

'This will include new guidance that will take account of the serious issues raised by the Daily Mail investigation and will ensure that solicitors are aware of their professional obligations.'

In the letter, she added: 'We very much agree that public trust and confidence is fundamental to a strong and healthy legal profession and, like you, we were shocked by the apparent behaviour of those solicitors identified by the Daily Mail recently.

The swift response came after Rishi Sunak (pictured) and Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk had said the allegations of 'appalling' conduct must be met with the 'full force of sanctions'

'As you acknowledge in your letter, solicitors play an important role in our society and the vast majority behave in an appropriate and professional manner, providing high quality, much needed advice and assistance to their clients.

'However, in areas of law where the consequences for clients are so severe, such as in immigration services, these high standards are even more critical.'

She added that 'due process must be followed' and fairness for all involved was paramount.

Our damning investigation, using a reporter posing as an economic migrant who had arrived in the UK illegally, found legal staff readily offering to help him submit false asylum claims, in apparent contravention of the solicitors' code of conduct.

One legal adviser even offered to supply the reporter antidepressant medication to show the Home Office as 'evidence' that he was traumatised.

At another firm, a lawyer said he would have to 'create the evidence' to make it appear the reporter had a genuine fear of 'persecution and assassination' if he returned home.

The SRA has the power to levy substantial fines and even shut down law firms with immediate effect. Crucially, it can also refer rogue lawyers to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, which can levy unlimited fines and strike off solicitors, leaving them unable to practise.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she suspected that the Mail's findings were the 'tip of the iceberg' and warned that some of the practices went beyond potential professional sanctions and were 'potentially criminal.'

However, a loophole in the law means that while migrants can face criminal sanctions for submitting false claims, it is much harder to prosecute their lawyers.
A seemingly disgruntled pilot created an obscene flight pattern after learning his plane was being diverted, according to reports.

The 'penis-shaped' outline over Sicily was drawn by a Lufthansa jet and spotted on Flightradar24, where it caught the eye of aviation fanatics.

The pilot had wanted to protest, Italian outlets have reported, after learning he would have to land in Malta instead of Catania.

But officials have insisted that the distinctly phallic trail was created accidentally as the plane maneuvered away from the island.

The passenger plane is the latest to be diverted away from Fontanarossa airport after a fire broke out in its Terminal A building on July 16, with dozens of other flights also disrupted this month.

The 'penis-shaped' outline over Sicily was drawn by a Lufthansa jet and captured on Flightradar, and caught the eye of aviation fanatics

The pilot of flight LH306, which departed from Frankfurt on 28 July at 13.45, had reportedly attempted to land in Catania twice before receiving the order to change course for Malta.

Circling three times to the east of the Mediterranean island, the plane left what some have described as a rude pattern.

The company that manages the airport claimed that a sudden change in the wind was to blame for the diversion.

'Other planes also tried to land a first time, but had failed so they had to go around and then they managed to do it,' Sac told La Repubblica.

It's not the first time flight watchers have spotted flight patterns like this, with a military helicopter drawing another penis-shaped flight pattern over Malta earlier this year.

The phallic flight pattern took place above the skies of the island of Comino, and it managed to turn several heads in the aviation industry.

An Armed Forces of Malta's (AFM) helicopter was responsible for the questionable route, but it was first spotted by popular website flightradar24.com.

The website tweeted a screenshot of the helicopter's unusual flight path with the caption: 'Meanwhile in Malta'

A military helicopter created a penis-shaped flight pattern over Malta but officials insist the ballsy stunt was not deliberate

An AW139 helicopter (stock image) belonging to the Armed Forces of Malta was responsible for the questionable route

A US Air Force tanker appeared to draw a penis in the sky nearby Russia's Syrian naval base on the Mediterranean in 2020

The helicopter said to have created the image is an AW139, an AFM aircraft which, according to the manufacturer's website, is 'a helicopter that can adapt to multiple missions' and boasts 'superior performance'.

Many assumed the ballsy stunt had been a deliberate effort, as flight number AS1429 included a series of intentional looking.

However the AFM told the Times of Malta the flight pattern, shared by flightradar24, had been 'printed out of context'.

A spokesperson said: 'The flight tracking shown was segmented as the helicopter was flying low altitude and did not show the completed flight path.'
Pee-wee Herman star Paul Reubens has died at the age of 70 - after a six-year secret battle with cancer.

Reubens battled the disease with his 'trademark tenacity and wit' and was remembered for his 'remarkable character and generosity of spirit.'

In a note written by Reubens, posted to social media by his family after his Sunday death, the actor asked for forgiveness for not informing the world about his diagnosis.

'Please accept my apology for not going public with what I've been facing the last six years,' Reubens wrote.

'I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans, and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.'

Paul Reubens' estate announced the news of the Pee-wee Herman actor's death online. They wrote on his Instagram page: 'Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens,' along with a note written by Paul while he was alive

Reubens has died at the age of 70. Reubens had a secret battle with cancer for six years

His estate announced the news of his death online. They wrote on his Instagram page: 'Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens.

'An iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness.

'Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit.

'A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.'

Reubens created the beloved Pee-wee Herman with the late Phil Hartman, which led to an HBO special in 1981 and his 1985 movie Pee-wee's Big Adventure.

That led to his hit TV series Pee-wee's Playhouse, which ran from 1986 to 1991, along with the 1988 movie Big-Top Pee-wee.

Reubens created the beloved Pee-wee Herman with the late Phil Hartman, which led to an HBO special in 1981 and ultimately his 1985 movie Pee-wee's Big Adventure

Comedian Pee-wee Herman admires his star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood in 1988

Reubens once again resurrected the character with the 2016 Netflix movie Pee-wee's Big Holiday

The two-time Daytime Emmy winner all but retired Pee-wee following his 1991 arrest for indecent exposure at a Sarasota, Florida, adult movie theater.

He was detained by a detective after leaving the theater - and was subject to ridicule in the following months.

Toys 'R' Us removed Pee-wee toys from its stores as a result of his arrest.

He denied the charges, and pleaded no contest. The actor was ordered to complete 75 hours of community service.

A 2002 police raid on Paul's house led to a child pornography charge that was later reduced to a count of possession of obscenity.

Reubens later claimed he was an erotica collector - and had a stash films and magazines, as well as a sizable collection of mostly homosexual vintage erotica.

For the three years after he pleaded guilty to the obscenity charge in 2004, he was required to register his address with the sheriff's office.

He could not be in the company of minors without the permission of their parent or legal guardians.

Years later, Reubens brought Herman back for a 2010 Broadway revival. Reubens once again resurrected the character with the 2016 Netflix movie Pee-wee's Big Holiday.

The two-time Daytime Emmy winner all but retired Pee-wee following his 1991 arrest for indecent exposure at a Florida adult movie theater. Pictured: His 1991 mugshot

A 2002 police raid on Paul's house led to a child pornography charge that was later reduced to a count of possession of obscenity. Pictured: His 2002 mugshot

Reubens, in character as Pee-wee Herman, poses on stage after a performance of 'The Pee-wee Herman Show' on Broadway in New York

Reubens is pictured on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune in 2020

Tributes poured in for the actor after the news of his passing.

'Paul Reubens was like no one else - a brilliant and original comedian who made kids and their parents laugh at the same time,' Jimmy Kimmel said.

'He never forgot a birthday and shared his genuine delight for silliness with everyone he met. My family and I will miss him.'

One person wrote on social media: 'I'm absolutely gutted. Pee-wee Herman showed me it was okay to be weird. He got me through my childhood. Rest in peace, Paul Reubens.'

Another added: 'It cannot be overstated how huge a pop culture phenomenon Pee-wee Herman was in the 80s, PEE-WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE will forever be one of my formative comedy films, Paul Reubens we thank you for creating a truly iconic character, RIP legend.'

Reubens in Pee-wee's Big Adventure, in 1985

Tributes poured in for the actor - who died of cancer on Sunday

In May this year, Reubens sued a memorabilia auctioneer with claims that props he had loaned from his iconic television program had been taken for personal use instead of the intended purpose with some even being sold without Reubens seeing any profit.

He took legal action against James Comisar and his memorabilia company The Comisar Collection.

The props included the Dog Chair, Floory puppets and Mr. Window, in addition to cue cards and signed photos.

It was Reuben's understanding the props would eventually be a part of a 'Museum of Television' for public display and on the promise that he could retrieve the stuff whenever requested.

However, the comedian claimed he had later discovered that there was actually no museum at all and alleges that Comisar had kept the items for their private collection.

The suit was active at the time of Reubens' death.
On Monday, the fire had engulfed 70,000 acres and remains entirely unchecked

A 70,000-acre wildfire that began in California's Mojave National Preserve has crossed the border into Nevada and, as of Monday, remained 0 percent contained by firefighters.

Emergency responders now face dangerous 'fire whirls,' which are tornado-like columns of fire that are the result of intense heat and high winds.

The blaze raged on Sunday across the Mojave Desert's delicate ecosystem, where animals and plants are vulnerable to wildfires. By Monday, the fire was mapped to cover about 120 square miles.

Erratic winds plaguing what's being called the York Fire, are complicating the efforts to fight the fire.

Crane Valley Hotshots set a back fire as the York fire burns in the Mojave National Preserve on July 30, 2023. The York Fire has burned over 70,000 acres, including Joshua trees and yucca in the Mojave National Preserve, and has crossed the state line from California into Nevada

Another flame fighter tries to control the blaze that has overtaken more than 70,000 acres in California and Nevada across the Mojave Desert

Air and ground crews are being supported by the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District and the Clark County Fire Department.

There are reportedly more than 200 personnel battling the flames.

The fire whirls have the 'potential to spread embers over long distances and can start new blazes ahead of the main fire front. Additional fire whirls can change direction suddenly, making them unpredictable and difficult to anticipate,' said a federal official.

Showers and thunderstorms in the area of the fire are creating the high winds that are causing the fire whirls, and the difficult conditions are not expected to ease up over the next few days.

Fire whirls can also change direction suddenly, making them unpredictable and difficult to anticipate.

Winds are currently blowing at a rate of 20-30 miles an hour and moisture increasing in the air may lead to more thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service.

Despite the non-existent containment of the York fire, officials say they do not have any plans to issue evacuation orders for the relatively nearby residential areas.

'The fire ... remains some distance from these areas,' tweeted Clark County officials Sunday evening, though the county Fire Department is remaining in close contact with partner agencies that may help coordinate an evacuation, should the time come.

Some flights into Vegas have been delayed or canceled due to smoke and haze from the fire in the area, causing low visibility. The Vegas airport is entirely closed to smaller, private planes, until conditions are safe for those flights to land.

On Monday afternoon, there was a 73-minute ground delay because of low visibility.

Air conditions in the area have been deemed 'unhealthy' by the National Weather Service.

Flames rise from the York Fire on Ivanpah Road on Sunday, July 30, 2023, in the Mojave National Preserve, Calif. The York Fire has burned over 77,000 acres and has 0 percent containment. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

Due to specific and dangerous weather circumstances, the York fire has produced a number of fire whirls, which are essentially tornadoes made out of fire that are both extremely dangerous and can spread embers that start the flames elsewhere

An image from the ongoing York fire burning its way through California and Nevada, entirely unchecked at the moment

A tanker makes a fire retardant drop over the York fire in Mojave National Preserve on Saturday

The fire was first spotted on Friday in the Mojave National Preserve burning near the remote Caruthers Canyon

The out-of-control fire will likely burn up much of the plant life that sprouted this year during an especially rainy wet season

Clark County is also advising the public to avoid State Route 164.

The cause of the current blaze has not yet been determined, but it was first observed on Friday burning near Caruthers Canyon.

Tankers are being flown over the desert spraying flame retardant to slow down the fire's spread.

An unusually rainy season this year led to spectacular blooms across the Mojave Desert, many of which will be burned by the raging inferno.

The dry western states have seen an unusually quiet fire season this year because of the exceptionally wet weather that ended droughts in many parts of the desert.

However, meteorologists warned that the reprieve would be short-lived as record-breaking temperatures have plagued many southwestern cities this summer, including in Las Vegas - near where the York fire has spread.
After Spotify axed its 18million deal with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, their biggest cheerleader Omid Scobie is in a similar scrape.

Scobie is no longer the royal executive editor of Yahoo! News, the website that gave him a platform to launch regular attacks on the Royal Family.

A notice on the news website refers to Scobies role in the past tense. He was Yahoo! News UKs royal executive editor from 2022-23, it says.

Scobie failed to respond to inquiries. However, last night he posted on social media: For those asking, I chose not to renew [my contract] with Yahoo! News in order to focus on new projects.

His last column, with the typically negative headline Protests and apathy: Why King Charles should be worried about the rise of indifference and republicanism, was published almost five months ago.

Omid Scobie, pictured interviewed before the Platinum Jubilee Thanksgiving Service at St Paul's Cathedral in honour of Queen Elizabeth II, has parted ways with Yahoo News

Omid Scobie is the preferred media representative for Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who saw their 18million deal with Spotify axed last month

Scobie, to whom, after initial denials, Meghan admitted passing information while he was co-authoring his debut book, Finding Freedom, announced in June that his next title, Endgame, would reveal moments the Royal Family should be ashamed of.

Observing that the Royal Family had often been held up as role models of civility and decorum, he declared it would take an accurate look at whether that still holds today, adding loftily that a full story had to be written without fear or favour.

That would be a remarkable change in approach. Asked three years ago why Meghan had invited him to her last solo appearance as a working royal, Scobie explained that almost all his reporting of the Royal Family had been in the USA, where the attitude was celebratory.

Its not, though, just his approach to writing that Scobie subjects to periodic revision: in 2020 he assured an interviewer that he was 33. Yet, according to details he gave to Companies House, he turned 42 last month.

Scobie did not respond to requests for comment.

Last month, it was revealed Scobie's book had been delayed for three months so he can write new chapters on the Coronation, which are expected to include 'sensational details' about Harry's solo flying visit to the UK to see his father crowned King.

Harry and Meghan are exploring other business plans after their Spotify deal ended

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Mr Scobie, long considered the Sussexes' preferred royal reporter, is releasing 'Endgame' - a 'penetrating investigation' about the Royal Family's 'fight for survival' - on November 21.

Endgame will be published three months after its original August date because it will now take in the period of the Coronation, where Harry came to Westminster Abbey without his wife and children, who stayed in California.

Mr Scobie told MailOnline: The release is globally, including UK, on November 21', adding: 'I wanted to continue writing through and beyond the Coronation. That wasnt the original plan'.

Mr Scobie co-authored the 2020 book Finding Freedom about Harry and his wife, and is thought to be close to the Sussexes. In 2021 the Duchess of Sussex apologised in the High Court for failing to remember authorising a senior aide to brief Scobie and co-author Carolyn Durand for the unofficial biography. And at the High Court last month Prince Harry admitted he knew Scobie, before correcting himself and saying: I know of him.

The journalist, who is the royal editor of US website Harper's Bazaar, is expected to have the inside track on the decision, which saw Harry spend just 28 hours in the UK before returning to LA to see his son Archie on his birthday.

Mr Scobie has promised the book will be full of 'unique insight, deep access and exclusive revelations'.

Omid Scobie announced the release of Endgame last year but has now announced the publication date as November 21, 2023 - three months later than first mooted

Moving the publishing date will give the author a chance to include inside material through and beyond the King's coronation.

Prince Harry notably was sat in the third row of the ceremony at Westminster Abbey and played no formal role in the proceedings, jetting off after less than 24 hours in the UK.

With no sign of any reconciliation between the duke and his father and brother, a change of publication date leads to concerns Scobie could wring every drop out of the row between the family.

Commenting on MrScobie's announcement, royal biographer Richard Fitzwilliams said: 'Hes writing about the royal family and hes also Harry and Meghans unofficial spokesperson, some sensational details are bound to follow. However, how well sourced are they?

'No reputable royal source would talk to Omid Scobie.'

The author's previous title, Finding Freedom, covered the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes' decision to step down as senior royals.

Mr Fitzwilliams went on: 'His book, co-written with Carolyn Durand, Finding Freedom, which the Sussexes were discovered to have cooperated with despite their denials, was badly written and pathetically inadequate.

'His new book is entitled Endgame. Some might think the title refers to the current state of the Sussexes' affairs. It is worth remembering that they reportedly had a four-book deal with Random House.

'Spare, Harrys memoir, contained some highly Ill-judged passages including the number of Taliban he killed on his second tour of duty of Afghanistan.'

Following the leak of Spare in January, ex-Army chief Colonel Richard Kemp called Harry's comments 'ill-judged' and said soldiers are not trained to regard their targets as 'subhuman' - while former National Security Adviser Lord Darroch said he would have cautioned the Duke from disclosing his kill count.

Mr Fitzwilliams added: 'Much of Endgame is not likely to be taken seriously. It is likely to be a sensational attempt to cash in on the Sussexes' rift with the royal family. I suspect it will be trusted as much as anything from the Sussexes' corner should be.

A six-part Netflix TV series called Harry & Meghan was released in December last year

'It will be assumed to have been written with their approval as Finding Freedom provably was. What is really worrying is, what comes next. Ironically it seems to be the Sussexes who, to quote Endgames blurb fight for survival not the royal family.'

Scobie announced his second book last year, in which he said Endgame would 'pull back the curtain on an institution in turmoilexposing the chaos, family dysfunction, distrust and draconian practices threatening its very future'.

According to a statement released by the publisher: 'On September 8, 2022, the world stood still as news broke of Queen Elizabeth IIs passing.

'Her death dismantled the protective shield around the worlds most famous family, and saw a long-simmering crisis of confidence in the British monarchy begin to resurface.

'Now, with unique insight, deep access and exclusive revelations, journalist Omid Scobie pulls back the curtain on an institution in turmoilexposing the chaos, family dysfunction, distrust and draconian practices threatening its very future.

'This is the monarchys endgame. Do they have what it takes to save it?'

Mr Scobie has been a firm cheerleader for Harry and Meghan over recent years, having co-authored a highly sympathetic biography of the couple in 2020.

He is one of the closest journalists to Harry and Meghan since their move to America.

It comes at a difficult time for Harry and Meghan, with Spotify announcing earlier last month that it was dropping the Duchess's podcast, Archetypes.
Former President Donald Trump predicted he faces a grand jury indictment will be coming 'any day'  on a day one of his Mar-a-Lago employees was in federal court on another case and a Georgia prosecutor hinted her team is 'ready to go' on yet another case that could ensnare in Trump.

Trump's post tore into special counsel Jack Smith, days after prosecutors followed a superseding indictment on the classified documents case charging Trump with conspiracy to commit obstruction and other allegations.

He has already confirmed receipt of a 'target' letter related to the January 6 case, and is now saying he may soon be charged in that probe related to his election overturn effort.

'I assume that an Indictment from Deranged Jack Smith and his highly partisan gang of Thugs, pertaining to my 'PEACEFULLY & PATRIOTICALLY Speech, will be coming out any day now, as yet another attempt to cover up all of the bad news about bribes, payoffs, and extortion, coming from the Biden 'camp,'' Trump wrote.

Former President Donald Trump once again attacked special counsel Jack Smith, saying he faces another indictment 'any day now'

'This seems to be the way they do it. ELECTION INTERFERENCE! PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT!'

Trump's reference to protected speech could reflect a reliance by investigators on his public comments, including telling a January 6 crowd to 'fight like hell' before a mob stormed the Capitol.

In another development, prosecutors could be combing over Trump's 2020 statements to 'stop the count' even as votes were being tabulated as evidence related to a new way to charge him, under a statute that makes it a crime to prevent the counting of ballots.

The former president's outburst came as his head of maintenance at Mar-a-Lago, Carlos De Oliveira, was in federal court in Miami after being charged with carrying out a conspiracy with the former president to obstruct a probe of classified documents found there. He did not file a plea.

Another Trump aide, Walt Nauta, has already been charged, amid reports Trump has spent $40 million battling charges or potential charges in court.

Prosecutors for Smith met with Trump's lawyers last week. Smith is handling both the documents case and the January 6 probe

Fulton County DA Fani Willis is speaking out the probe in her county, where action is expected in August

His landlord, Tiberio Almeida, said he moved from Portugal to Massachusetts over 30 years ago, and then moved to Florida

The indictment quotes De Oliveira telling an employee 'the boss' wants a server wiped, during a period after a grand jury subpoena seeking the return of materials

In Georgia, barricades are now set up around the Fulton County courthouse where still more Trump charges could come.

Fulton County DA spoke out about the case following back-to-school events in her area.

'I think that the sheriff is doing something smart in making sure that the courthouse stays safe,' Willis said regarding the security measures.

'I'm not willing to put any of the employees or the constituents that come to the courthouse in harm's way,' she told Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA.

She has committed to taking action on he case by Sept. 1.

Willis said she's holding true to her commitment to giving the American people an answer by Sep. 1. This could be Trump's third indictment case of the year.

'The work is accomplished,' she said, 'We've been working for two-and-a-half years. We're ready to go.'
Argentine authorities believe they have found a bag with the chopped-up human remains of a young woman who was reported missing earlier this month.

Investigators searching for Luisina Leoncino, 24, made the shocking discovery Sunday on the side of a stream in Concordia, a city in the northeastern province of Entre Rios.

The bag contained a torso and both legs, and authorities were still searching for the remaining body parts.

Concordia police superintendent Juan Beguerie told reporters that 'everything indicates that this is about Luisina.'

DNA testing has been requested to determine if there is a positive match.

Authorities in Argentina believe the remains of Luisina Leoncino (pictured) were located in bags that were located Sunday on the edge of a stream in the town of Concordia. The woman was last seen arriving at the home of Horacio Ramirez, who was arrested July 24 on a feminicide accusation

Horacio Ramirez (pictured) is currently being help by the police in Concordia, Argentina, in connection with the disappearance of Luisina Leoncino

Martin Jauregui, the attorney for Leoncino's family, told Cronica TV that he is certain the remains belong to the mother of two boys.

'First, there are not many missing (people); second, the clothes,' Jauregui said while adding that 'a tattoo' on one of the body parts will allow the medical examiner's office to identify the woman.

Beguerie said the remains may have been abandoned July 10 and investigators suspected they were ditched at the vacant lot after reviewing security cameras and telephone records.

Authorities arrested Horacio Ramirez, 42, on July 24 and accused him of feminicide after analyzing surveillance cameras. He was placed in pre-trial detention.

'Luisina has had previous communication with the man, he was not a stranger. We have a profile of the man, he is a criminal ...,' Jauregui said. 'Luisina was in a vulnerable situation.'

Leoncino was last seen July 9 after she was dropped by a motorcycle cabbie at Ramirez's home.

Investigators found surveillance camera footage that show Luisina Leoncino riding in the back of a cabbie's motorcycle July 9 before she arrive at the home of Horacio Ramirez

A street surveillance camera captured Horacio Ramirez transporting bags on his motorcycle July 10, a day after Luisina Leoncino was seen arriving at his home. Police have said that cameras in the vicinity of his home didn't show the woman leaving his home, which only has one door

Luisina Leoncino (pictured) disappearance comes after her sister Valeria Leoncino was shot dead in front of her home March 6

Police are still canvassing the wasteland area where a torso and legs that they believe may belong to Luisina Leoncino

Video footage showed the mother-of-two sitting on the back of the motorcycle as it was pulling up to a residence. A second video, from July 10, showed Ramirez transporting two bags on his motorcycle.

Cameras in the vicinity didn't show Leoncino leaving the home, which has only one door.

'We started to see that some periods of the filming had inconsistencies and doubts and certain attitudes of the detained person could be observed,' Beguerie said.

He has not ruled out that more than one person may have been involved with Leoncino's disappearance and murder.

'We are convinced that (the detainee) is the author of this act, from the police point of view. And from the judiciary's, there is also firm belief of the condition of this person as an author,' Beguerie added.

Leoncino's disappearance comes after her sister, Valeria Leoncino, 25, was shot dead March 6.

Valeria Leoncino was sitting outside her home with three friends, when Carlos Passarella, 34, shot her. Witnesses said Passarella was 'obsessed' with her.
A knifeman who went on a Halloween stabbing rampage on a Tokyo express train while dressed in a Joker costume two years ago has been jailed for 23 years in Japan.

Kyota Hattori, 26, was found guilty of attempted murder for stabbing and seriously injuring a man in his 70s and of spraying lighter fluid onboard the commuter train and then lighting it to try to kill others. Twelve people were injured by the blaze, most of them not seriously.

Hattori, who was filmed sitting on the train after the attack wearing a purple suit and green shirt resembling the Joker's outfit while smoking a cigarette and holding a knife, was sentenced at the Tachikawa branch of Tokyo District Court today.

The knifeman told the trial he was so shocked his girlfriend had married someone else only six months after they broke up that he decided to carry out the attack so he could end his life by receiving the death penalty, NHK public television reported.

In the ruling, Judge Yu Takeshita said the attack was an 'indiscriminate crime with a selfish motive that targeted many passengers who happened to be on the train.'

Kyota Hattori (pictured in Joker outfit smoking cigarette after attacj), 26, was found guilty of attempted murder for stabbing and seriously injuring a man in his 70s and of spraying lighter fluid onboard the commuter train and then lighting it to try to kill others



























### pic.twitter.com/fdlLN9nj1Z  TKC (@takahashi9811) October 31, 2021

Hattori (left and right) told the trial he was so shocked his girlfriend had married someone else only six months after they broke up that he decided to carry out the attack so he could end his life by receiving the death penalty

Prosecutors sought 25 years in prison, arguing that the attack was premeditated and that Hattori had deliberately chosen a special express train that makes fewer stops so passengers would have less chance of escaping.

The attack occurred on the Keio express line bound for Shinjuku, the world's busiest rail station.

Defence lawyers asked for 12 years, saying the attack did not constitute attempted murder because most passengers were out of reach when Hattori set the fire.

At the time of his arrest, Hattori was reported to have told detectives he was failing at work and he had troubled relationships with friends.

'I messed up at work around June and wasn't getting along with friends,' Hattori told the police. 'I wanted to die. I thought that if I killed two or more people, I would get the death penalty. It didn't matter who they were.'

The 72-year-old man from Tokyo was unconscious and in critical condition after being stabbed in the chest with an 11-inch-long knife by Hattori, according to media at the time.

The attack happened inside the Keio train near the Kokuryo station. Hattori carried out the act without showing any emotion, a female passenger said afterwards.

'He held a knife and started spreading liquid,' she said.

'He was committing this act without showing any emotion, just mechanically. I think that brought fear to everyone.'

Footage showed a number of firefighters, police officials and paramedics rescuing the passengers, many of whom escaped through train windows.

Footage shared on social media captured the moment that Hattori (pictured) was arrested by Japanese police

Many passengers escaped through train windows (pictured) after the doors failed to open immediately when it stopped

Rescue workers (pictured) at the scene in Japan after Hattori - dressed as the Joker - stabbed passengers

Pictured: Smoke could be seen billowing from one of the carriages where it a fire was started

The scene at the Tokyo train station from the air (pictured) following the savage attack by Hattori

In one video, passengers ran from another train car, where flames were gushing.

Gun-related crime is rare in Japan because of strict gun control laws, but there has been a series of high-profile knife attacks in recent years on subways and elsewhere, and there is growing concern about homemade guns and explosives.

Train operators in major cities have stepped up safety measures, including installing security cameras in train cars and conducting more frequent safety drills.

In August 2021, on the day before the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, a 36-year-old man stabbed 10 passengers on a Odakyu Electric Railway commuter train in Tokyo in a random attack.

The man later told police that he wanted to attack women who looked happy. Hattori said at the time that he had been inspired by this attack.

He reportedly told police he used lighter fluid in his attack because the cooking oil used in the Odakyu attack did not ignite.

'Looking at the Odakyu Line train case in August, I targeted an express train which would have more passengers and used cigarette lighter fluid,' Hattori told police, according to Japan News.

'I noticed that cooking oil doesn't burn well, so I used lighter fluid that I put in a 2-liter plastic bottle,' he said, adding that after the fire started, he tried to make it more fierce by spraying the flame with an aerosol can.

A month before the Odakyu attack, a 37-year-old man stabbed three passengers with a knife on an airport train in Osaka.
The UK has sanctioned six figures involved in the trial of a British-Russian dissident for criticising Russia's invasion of Ukraine, after the 'unjustifiable' decision to reject his appeal.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has called for the immediate and unconditional release of dual-national Vladimir Kara-Murza, 41, who is facing 25 years in prison on 'bogus' charges by Russia.

In a statement, Mr Cleverly said: 'The rejection of Vladimir Kara-Murza's appeal following his sentencing on bogus charges highlights the depravity of the Russian regime, and their complete disregard for human rights and freedom of expression.

'Today we've sanctioned six people connected with his case, sending a clear message that the UK will not stand for this treatment of one of its citizens.

'We will continue to support Mr Kara-Murza and his family, who have worked tirelessly to try and secure his release. I call on Russia to release him immediately and unconditionally.'

Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced in April after being convicted of treason and spreading false information about the Russian army in proceedings he blasted as a 'show trial'

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has called for Vladimir Kara-Murza's immediate and unconditional release

Kara-Murzawas sentenced in April after being convicted of treason and spreading false information about the Russian army in proceedings he blasted as a 'show trial'.

The British dual-national Kara-Murza, 41, a father of three, holds Russian and British passports and spent years speaking out against President Vladimir Putin.

Additionally, he lobbied Western governments to impose sanctions on Russia and individual Russians for purported human rights violations.

Three judges, two prosecutors and a so-called 'expert witness' will be subject to travel bans and asset freezes for their part in the 'politically motivated targeting' of Mr Kara-Murza.

The British government maintains that Kara-Murza, a dual national, is being being persecuted against by the Russian regime for his anti-war stance with trumped up charges.

Rishi Sunak called the decision by judges in Moscow to reject Mr Kara-Murza's appeal both 'desperate and unfounded'.

He wrote on Twitter: 'Rejecting [Kara-Murza's] appeal is unjustifiable. He should be released immediately.

The British government maintains that Kara-Murza, a dual national, is being being persecuted against by the Russian regime for his anti-war stance

Rishi Sunak called the decision by judges in Moscow to reject Mr Kara-Murza's appeal both 'desperate and unfounded'

'The United Kingdom stands with him and his family.'

Kremlin critic Mr Kara-Murza, a close ally of murdered opposition figure Boris Nemtsov, has already survived two poisonings that left him in a coma in 2015 and 2017.

In April, the UK sanctioned five people - including two Russian spies - for their involvement in Mr Kara-Murza's arrest.

In 2020 the UK sanctioned Sergei Podoprigorov, the judge that went on to preside over Mr Kara-Murzas trial, and Dmitry Komnov, the head of the detention centre where Mr Kara-Murza was held.

Moscow city court judges Vitaly Alexsandrovich Belitsky and Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dorokhina and Natalia Nikolaevna Dudar, a Basmanny district court judge are among the six Russian officials facing the latest sections.

Lead prosecutor Boris Georgievich Loktionov, Anna Evgenievna Potychko, another prosecutor, along with Danila Yurievich Mikheev, described as an expert witness for the Russian government, will also be subject to the sanctions.

The UK government has vowed to continue placing economic pressure on Russia until it ends its invasion of Ukraine.
Costa Coffee was today accused of glamourising 'complex and dangerous surgery' by covering a van with a cartoon image featuring mastectomy scars.

The UK's largest coffee chain defended its use of the image to promote 'inclusivity and diversity' but was branded 'crass and irresponsible' and 'absolutely bonkers'  and there were calls for a boycott of the company on social media.

The image, depicting an androgynous-looking character wearing long shorts with scars below each nipple, is taken from a mural designed by the chain for Brighton and Hove Pride last year.

Use of the image on a mobile coffee van used at events around the country was condemned by feminist campaigners and people who had breasts removed due to cancer.

Tanya Carter, spokesman for child safeguarding campaign group Safe Schools Alliance, said: 'It's almost unbelievable that Costa would do something so crass and irresponsible as to use this image.

The image, depicting an androgynous-looking character wearing long shorts with scars below each nipple, is taken from a mural designed by the chain for Brighton and Hove Pride last year

Feminist writer Julie Bindel (pictured), who is concerned about the impact of trans activism on 'vulnerable' girls and young women, said: 'I remember stories about when a woman was thrown out of a Costa shop (in 2018) because she was discreetly breastfeeding. Are we not allowed to breast feed but you are allowed to celebrate a woman having breasts removed for reasons of social contagion and vanity? It's absolutely bonkers'

Tanya Carter, spokesman for child safeguarding campaign group Safe Schools Alliance, said: 'It's almost unbelievable that Costa would do something so crass and irresponsible as to use this image'

'The executives clearly have no idea what message this conveys, that irreversible surgery on healthy female breasts is to be applauded. Is this really any way to sell coffee?'

Feminist writer Julie Bindel, who is concerned about the impact of trans activism on 'vulnerable' girls and young women, said: 'I remember stories about when a woman was thrown out of a Costa shop (in 2018) because she was discreetly breastfeeding.

'Are we not allowed to breastfeed but you are allowed to celebrate a woman having breasts removed for reasons of social contagion and vanity? It's absolutely bonkers.

'What's really scary about it is the actual mastectomy scars are seen as a badge of honour, as cool.'

Ms Bindel said she feared the promotion of breast removal was targeting young women unhappy with their bodies who did not identify with mainstream femininity.

She said: 'I think back to how I was as a teenager, how I didn't like my breasts. Had I been able to lose them, I would have gone down that route.

'This dangerous ideology that you can mix and match your body by undergoing complex and dangerous surgery is horrific.

'We used to be appalled by cutting healthy parts of our bodies off. We have a duty of care to those young people, often under 18s, who are children legally.

'I want to see the surgeons, scientists, those who advocate and profiteer from healthy breast removal criminalised.'

Defending the decision to use the image, a Costa Coffee spokesman said: 'At Costa Coffee we celebrate the diversity of our customers, team members and partners. [...] The mural, in its entirety, showcases and celebrates inclusivity'

And Stephanie Davies-Arai, founder and director of Transgender Trend, which campaigns against the increase in children being referred to clinics for gender dysphoria medical treatment, said she believes 'teenage girls are the target' of the cartoon.

She said: 'It's caught up under the Pride flag, being inclusive and celebrating diversity but, actually, you are encouraging children to think they need to undergo unnecessary medical treatment affecting them for the rest of their lives.

'Companies who want to appeal to young people are presenting trans as cool, as do the trans lobby groups.

'This is being pushed on children as if having a major operation is just the same as changing your clothes.'

A picture of Costa's van was posted to Twitter by writer James Esses, a former Childline volunteer, who accused the chain of 'glorifying irreversible surgery performed on healthy women'.

Thousands of people responded with many saying they would boycott the chain, which has nearly 2,800 UK outlets.

One woman wrote: 'I had my breast removed due to breast cancer. (It was) very traumatic. How dare they promote it? This is offensive.'

Another said: 'What in God's name are Costa Coffee playing at by glamourising the mutilation of young bodies which more than often leads to major regret in later life.'

People shared their outrage on social media and a few, like Laurence Fox, even called for a boycott of the coffee shop chain

For Women Scotland asked Costa Coffee on Twitter whether they could understand how the 'glorification and promotion of medically unnecessary mastectomies could be distressing and offensive to women who have suffered breast cancer'.

One user replied to this, writing: 'Don't you also think, @ForWomenScotland that trivialising such a serious procedure that is far more than "cosmetic", makes a mockery of the women who have had to endure the struggles of coping both before and after such an operation? Why are @CostaCoffee happy to ignore women?'

Laurence Fox commented: 'Dear Costa Coffee, you are promoting the mutilation of healthy young girls. I hope you are boycotted out of existence.'

Tonight, Costa said the controversial image was 'a snapshot of a wider mural that was commissioned last year' for Brighton and Hove Pride, to 'celebrate diversity and inclusion'.

The company, bought by Coca Cola in 2019 and which is sponsoring the East Sussex seaside town's 2023 Pride event this weekend, said its Costa Express coffee-selling van 'is currently wrapped in part of the mural'.

Defending the decision to use the image, a Costa Coffee spokesman said: 'At Costa Coffee we celebrate the diversity of our customers, team members and partners.

'We want everyone that interacts with us to experience the inclusive environment that we create, to encourage people to feel welcomed, free and unashamedly proud to be themselves. The mural, in its entirety, showcases and celebrates inclusivity.'
Public confidence in the US military has reached its lowest point in 25 years with 40 percent of Americans now saying they don't have much faith in the forces, a poll found.

The survey said only 60 percent of people have 'a great deal' or 'quite a lot' of confidence in the military.

It's the lowest it's been since 1997, according to Gallup, which conducted the poll.

The national decline is being fueled by a massive slump in the confidence amongst Republicans.

Just 68 percent of GOP supporters answered positively, compared with 91 percent three years ago.

For Democrats, 62 percent said they had confidence, compared with 68 percent last year.

The survey said only 60 percent of people have 'a great deal' or 'quite a lot' of confidence in the military. It's the lowest it's been since 1997, according to Gallup

Confidence dipped 'following the poorly executed exit from Afghanistan', a report by Gallup said. Pictured: Hundreds of people gather near a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane at the perimeter of the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 16, 2021

A Gallup report announcing the findings said: 'At 60%, confidence in the military was last this low in 1997, and it hasnt been lower since 1988, when 58% were confident.

'From the late 1970s to the early 1980s -- during the Cold War and amid threats to U.S. power, including the Iran hostage crisis -- between 50% and 58% of Americans were confident in the military.

'Confidence generally improved during Ronald Reagans presidency in the 1980s.

'It then surged after the Gulf War victory (to a record-high 85% in 1991) and again after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

'Confidence generally held above 70% for the next two decades, until dipping to 69% in 2021 and declining further since then, following the poorly executed exit from Afghanistan.'

A US Marine grabbing an infant over a fence of barbed wire during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on August 19, 2021. The botched withdrawal from Afghanistan contributed to the decline in confidence in the US military

In June, the State Department quietly released a 87-page report condemning the Biden administration's failure to prepare for the Afghanistan's rapid collapse at the hands of the Taliban in 2021

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan concluded in August 2021 with a chaotic operation which included the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and hundreds of Afghan civilians.

In June, the State Department quietly released a 87-page report condemning the Biden administration's failure to prepare for the Afghanistan's rapid collapse at the hands of the Taliban in 2021.

The investigation found serious pitfalls in leadership and questions about who was in charge before and during the mayhem.

Gallup added: 'Now that the U.S. has completely withdrawn from both Iraq and Afghanistan, the two most significant military legacies of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S., confidence in the military has continued to decline among the public.

'The declines this year were across all party identification groups, with Republicans remaining the most likely to express confidence and independents becoming the least likely.'
They add it is especially concerning due to recent whistleblower allegations that Hunter received 'special treatment' during the criminal probe

'unusual plea and pretrial diversion agreements' raise 'serious concerns' about 'preferential treatment' toward Hunter

Republicans are demanding Attorney General Merrick Garland provide information on Hunter Biden's 'sweetheart' plea deal that, if it hadn't fallen apart, would have given the president's son immunity from future criminal prosecutions.

Hunter appeared in federal court last week prepared to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and walk away with just a slap on the wrist and no prison time, which Republicans slammed as a 'sweetheart deal' that Biden's Department of Justice put together to protect the president's son.

However, after Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned the diversion agreement of Hunters plea deal - a clause that gave him blanket immunity for a wide range of other potential charges, including illegal foreign lobbying - the deal blew up spectacularly.

Now, DailyMail.com confirmed that three top House Republicans have launched an investigation into how the plea deal terms were agreed to before they dramatically unraveled in court.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., wrote to Attorney General Garland Monday to 'better understand' the Department of Justice's decision to sign off on such an 'atypical' plea agreement.

Hunter Biden departs the U.S. Federal District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, where his plea deal was thrown out Wednesday

According to the letter obtained by DailyMail.com, the Republicans state that the 'unusual plea and pretrial diversion agreements with Mr. Biden raise serious concerns' about the department's 'preferential treatment toward Mr. Biden in the course of its investigation and proposed resolution of his alleged criminal conduct.'

The Republican lawmakers cited Judge Noreika's concerns about the pretrial deal in the letter to Garland when she stated it was 'not standard' and 'different from what I normally see.'

They add it is especially concerning due to recent whistleblower allegations that Hunter received 'special treatment' during the criminal probe.

IRS agents Joe Ziegler and Gary Shapley testified under oath that their investigation 'supported felony and misdemeanor tax charges,' which were ultimately not brought against the president's son Hunter due to political pressures.

U.S. Attorney David Weiss - the lead Hunter Biden prosecutor - tried to bring felony charges against him in Washington, D.C., they said, but was blocked by the district's top federal prosecutor Matthew Graves, a Biden appointee.

The special treatment for Hunter became a pattern that kept happening over and over, said the whistleblowers who were told they would get in 'hot water' if they tried to speak with President Joe Biden's adult children and grandchildren over the course of their investigation.

The lawmakers also accused DOJ of having 'benefitted Mr. Biden by giving up its unilateral ability to bring charges against him if it concludes that he has breached the pretrial diversion agreement.'

The department 'shifted a broad immunity provision, which benefits Mr. Biden, from the plea agreement to the pretrial diversion agreement apparently to prevent the District Court from being able to scrutinize and reject that immunity provision,' say the Republicans.

They continue, saying that it 'was notable' that Hunter's attorneys stated during the hearing that it was their understanding that 'the immunity provision in the pretrial diversion agreement would preclude the Department from bringing charges against Mr. Biden under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.'

'While the Department did not agree with that position, it is difficult to understand how the parties would not have a meeting of the minds regarding a clause of the agreement as fundamental as the scope of the immunity provision, and it raises questions about what discussions have taken place between the Department and Mr. Bidens counsel regarding the status of those investigations.'

The collapse of Hunter Biden's original plea deal also presents more problems for his father, Joe Biden. The president will now face more headlines and questions involving his drug-addict son's case as he hits the 2024 campaign trail.

The unraveling of the agreement between prosecutors and the defense team means Hunter could now face more charges. It also means that Hunter is likely to face additional prosecutions down the road.

Those may include any crimes related to his business deals with Ukraine, Romania and China that raked in millions of dollars.

And Republicans say Joe was at the center of them.

During the plea hearing, Hunter admitted that he obtained over $600,000 from a Chinese company, and was in business with one of their associates.

'My partner was associated with a Chinese energy company called CEFC,' Hunter told the federal judge.

When asked the name of his partner, Hunter responded: 'I don't know how to spell his name, Yi Jianming is the chairman of that company.'

That directly contradicted a statement President Biden made on the campaign trail in 2020 that his son has never 'made money' from China.

In addition, some of the future charges Hunter could be facing puts the sitting president in a tough position.

'Today District Judge Noreika did the right thing by refusing to rubberstamp Hunter Biden's sweetheart plea deal,' said House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., who is leading the congressional investigations into the Biden family's business dealings.

He added that the Department of Justice 'revealed Hunter Biden is under investigation for being a foreign agent.'

If it turns out that the DOJ pursues charges against Hunter under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), as Comer alluded, that would create an even bigger headache for the president.

FARA violations carry hefty prison sentences and sharp penalties.

In 2018, former President Donald Trump's associate Paul Manafort was sentenced to 18 months in prison for FARA violations related to his business work in Ukraine.

The department has not confirmed directly that it is pursing charges for Hunter for failing to register as a foreign agent while conducting his overseas business dealings, but House Republicans have stacked up a mountain of evidence linking him and his father to deals in China, Romania and Ukraine.

Hunter walked into the federal court in downtown Wilmington, Delaware, alongside his 'sugar brother' and lawyer Kevin Morris (left) - who was seen smoking a bong during a visit from the president's son last week

The White House has maintained the president was never 'in business' with his son, but the GOP have ramped up their investigation with testimonies from whistleblowers and a slew of other evidence.

It includes a threatening WhatsApp message Hunter is said to have sent to a Chinese businessman in 2017, using his father as leverage.

'I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,' Hunter Biden allegedly wrote. 'Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight.

Two IRS whistleblowers who testified to Congress last week also confirmed that the Biden family has accepted over $17 million in foreign payments, with over half going to Hunter Biden.

To make matters worse, Sen. Chuck Grassley published a bombshell FBI document last week detailing an alleged $10M bribery scheme between Joe Biden, 'stupid' Hunter, and a Ukrainian oligarch.

According to the conversation between a confidential source and Burisma CFO Vadim Pojarski in 2015, Hunter was hired onto the Ukrainian company's board to 'protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems.'

Burisma CEO Mykola Zlochevsky told the source: 'It costs 5 (million) to pay one Biden, and 5 (million) to another Biden.'

Zlochevsky added that, although Hunter 'was stupid,' and his (Zlochevsky's) dog was smarter, he was needed on the board 'so everything will be okay.'

Republicans recently revealed an intricate web of shell accounts and fake companies involving the Biden family.

They are narrowing in on over $10 million received by Biden family members from foreign actors, including a previously undisclosed $1 million in Romanian-linked payments.

In addition, the lawmakers are digging into a 'web' of 20 companies created while Joe was vice president and pushing anti-corruption efforts abroad.

The Biden family corruption and influence peddling has benefitted at least 12 family members, Comer has said - and includes wires to some of Biden's grandchildren.

In total, President Biden and his son's business dealings far exceed $25 million in foreign payments, Republicans have said, and could reach upward of $40 million.

Comer has accused Hunter of violating FARA and the Mann Act, money laundering, racketeering and committing wire fraud.

The top Republican says Hunter can expect between six to 10 criminal referrals by the end of his investigation into the first son and his family.

GOP Rep. Claudia Tenney said the plea deal being thrown out gives the Republicans' investigation more power.

'But this is really bigger. It's about Joe Biden, because guess what? Blowing up this plea deal means we can go back and get more information,' she said Wednesday on Fox Business.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is even mulling opening an impeachment inquiry into the president because he has 'lied to the American public' about his son's business deals.

He is waiting to set a date or timeline until additional information is uncovered.
The latest defendant in the classified documents case against Donald Trump will likely flip against the former president and 'sing like a canary' to prosecutors, liberal The View co-host Sunny Hostin claimed on Monday.

Carlos De Oliveira, 56, the property manager of Mar-a-Lago, is facing conspiracy charges related to the classified documents probe into Donald Trump.

He walked into Miami federal court on Monday for a hearing where he surrendered his passport, did not enter a plea, but was released on $100,00 bail.

He has been accused of conspiring to delete server footage of boxes of material that were being kept at the luxury club.

'What you have to understand is, this guy, Carlos De Oliveira, who was the property manager, went to the keeper of the records basically of the tapes and said, The Boss wants us to erase it  That guy said, No. So, now Carlos is a defendant, and he is going to sing like a canary,' said Hostin.

Carlos De Oliveira, 56, (center) is flanked by his attorney and security as he leaves federal court in Miami on Monday morning. He has been charged with several counts of conspiracy in the wide ranging documents probe against former President Donald Trump

'Because once youre faced with an indictment, a federal indictment, even if its one charge, thats up to 10 to 20 years in prison, and he aint going to spend 10 to 20 years in prison for Donald Trump,' she added.

'Donald Trump may not testify, and Mr. [Walt] Nauta, who was the guy who was, like, Uh, Im not doing that. Maybe hes not going to become a defendant, but this guy is going to do this and say, he told me to erase everything, and I didnt erase it. I didnt have anything to do with it,' said Hoston.

'And I love - I used to love as a prosecutor - those weak canaries. Those weak canaries, they sing real, real well,' she concluded.

De Oliveira's next court appearance is scheduled for August 10, when he will be arraigned.

The former president and current Republican primary frontrunner was charged in June with 37 counts related to violations of the Espionage Act, willfully retaining classified documents and refusing to return them to the federal government.

Last week, prosecutor Jack Smith added three new counts - all charges of obstruction. In those counts, he alleged Trump asked De Oliveira to erase surveillance footage showing Nauta moving boxes filled with classified documents.

Nauta, a Trump aide and White House valet, is also accused of conspiring to obstruct an FBI and grand jury investigation. Nauta has pleaded not guilty - as has the former president.

De Oliveira has worked at the Palm Beach club for a decade and was promoted to head of maintenance last year.

His lawyer, John Irving, called it 'unfortunate' that the Justice Department had charged his client and said it was time for prosecutors to 'put their money where their mouth is.'

The View co-host Sunny Hostin, a former prosecutor, predicted that De Oliveira will flip on Donald Trump quickly because he won't be willing to go to prison for near a decade

The former president and current front runner in the Republican presidential primary has been charged by Jack Smith with 40 counts in a probe into classified documents kept at Mar-a-Lago after Trump's presidency ended

'I used to love as a prosecutor - those weak canaries. Those weak canaries, they sing real, real well,' said Hostin on Monday, describing the way she believes De Oliveira will behave

Walt Nauta, a former Trump aide and White House valet, has also been charged in the probe. He pleaded not guilty - as did President Trump. De Oliveira has not yet entered a plea

A superseding indictment prosecutors filed last week accused him of conspiring to delete security footage of boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago after a grand jury subpoena sought their return.

The indictment quotes him communicating with another club employee about the security footage and telling him that 'the boss' wants it deleted.

It also says he lied when he denied to government officials ever having moved boxes at the club or having knowledge about them.

'Never saw nothing,' he is quoted as saying.

His court appearance came as Yuscil Taveras  the head of IT at Mar-a-Lago who is referenced in the indictment as receiving the request to delete the tapes  was revealed to have received a 'target' letter in the probe.

Such a letter can signal a likelihood that someone is about to get charged in an investigation  or provide an opportunity for a subject to provide an early defense to prosecutors.

Special Counsel Jack Smith added three new charges to the extensive list of those he unsealed against Donald Trump last month

It is not known whether Taveras is cooperating with prosecutors in their wide ranging probe. But the superseding indictment Special Counsel Jack Smith's office filed last week refers to Mar-a-Lago's head of IT, 'Employee 4,' as questioning whether he had 'the right' to wipe security servers.

The indictment says De Oliveira questioned Employee 4 inside an audio closet at the club, saying that 'the boss' wanted the server 'deleted'  in a likely reference to Trump, who had personal phone calls with De Oliveira.

'Trump Employee 4 responded that he would not know how to do that, and that he did not believe that he would have the rights to do that,' reads the indictment.
A cause of death is unknown at this time but an investigation is underway

The body found inside the container has not been identified

The 55-gallon drum was hauled from the water at the Malibu Lagoon on Monday

An investigation is underway at the Malibu Lagoon after a body was discovered in a 55-gallon drum that had been floating in the water.

Sanitation workers first spotted the container bopping along the Pacific Coast Highway bridge Sunday night but told KTLA that it did not seem significant at that time to investigate.

The next morning, lifeguards saw it when they arrived at their posts and hauled it from the water, noticing it was heavy. Once opened, they discovered the body.

The body has not been identified, and a cause of death is unknown.

An investigation is underway at the Malibu Lagoon in California after a body was discovered in a 55-gallon drum that was pulled from the water on Monday morning

lifeguards saw it when they arrived at their posts and hauled it from the water, noticing it was heavy. Once opened, they discovered the body

Deputies responded to 23200 block of Pacific Coast Highway around 10:30 a.m. Monday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department.

It's not known if the

A photo posted to social media by Andy Lyon, a local resident and realtor, showed where homicide detectives were still combing the scene.

Lyon has been an advocate for restoring the Malibu Lagoon.

A view high above Malibu Point, Malibu beach, Malibu Pier and Malibu Lagoon State Beach above Pacific Coast Highway PCH

The case is now being handled by homicide investigators, who have closed the beach, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Jack Jordan.

Malibu Lagoon State Beach is in Malibu, California, and also known as Surfrider Beach.

The 110-acre site lies within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and is about 28 miles from Los Angeles.
This is the statement Lori Vallow read aloud in Freemont County Court, Idaho, today before being sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

'I'd like to start by quoting John from the new testament in the Bible. In John Chapter 8 verse 7, Jesus says: 'He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

'Then in verse 15 Jesus says: "Ye judge after the flesh. I judge no man. And yet if I judge, my judgement is true.'

'Jesus knows me and Jesus understands me. I mourn with all of you who mourn my children and Tammy. Jesus Christ knows the truth of what happened here. Jesus Christ knows that no one was murdered in this case. Accidental deaths happen, suicides happen, fatal side effects from medications happen. I have a different perspective in life because in 2002, when I was pregnant with Tylee, I died in the hospital while in labor with her.

'They tried to stop my labor. They put on the table and put something in my IV. I felt my spirit falling to the floor I was standing near my pregnant body watching the doctors try to revive me which took them a few minutes. In that time my sister Stacey was standing to my left, I turned to hug her and was surprised her spirit was as tangible as a physical body because I knew I was in spirit and she was in spirit. She said she needed to show me some things and we went to heaven. I later returned to my body.

This is the statement Lori Vallow read aloud in Freemont County Court, Idaho, today before being sentenced to life without the possibility of parole

'Because of this experience, I have access to heaven and the spirit world. Since then, I have had many communications from people now living in heaven including my children, Tylee and Joshua Jackson, my sisters Stacey and Lolly, my aunts and my uncles and my grandparents.

I have had many communications with Jesus Christ - the savior of this world - and our heavenly parents. I've had many angelic visitors who have come and communicated with me and even manifested themselves to me.

Because of these communications, I know for a fact that my children are happy and busy in the spirit world. Because of my communications with my friend Tammy Daybell, I know she is also very happy and extremely busy.

I have always mourned the loss of my loved ones and I have lost many in this mortal world. However I know more than most people, I know where they are now and what they are doing.

'I know how wonderful heaven is and I'm homesick for it ever single day. I know all lived in heaven before we were born on earth and we were all adult spirits in the heavenly real.

'We chose to come to earth as mortals. Heaven is is more wonderful than you can possibly imagine. I do not fear death but I look forward to it.

'I did not want to return my body when I was out of it, even though my son Colby, who I adored more than anything was only six years old at the time and I was about to give birth to this new baby girl who I wanted so badly.

'I was a young mother and you would think that I wouldn't want to leave my children but as I stood in heaven,

'I didn't want to go back. I thought they would be fine without me because I was peaceful and happy and I was home.

'But then I was told by Jesus that I needed to go back and complete things that I was covenanted or promised to do before I was born.

JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan vanished in September 2019. Their bodies were found buried in Daybell's backyard in June 2020

'This caused me a lot of distress because I knew heaven was my real home and I wanted to be there because I was free from pain, emotional and physical, but then I was shown how I would help my children and others in the future so ultimately I did agree to go back to my body.

'Tylee has visited me she is happy and very busy. Tylee is free now from all the pains of her life Tylee suffered horrible physical pain her whole life. I sat with her in the hospital year after year after year while she screamed in pain when morphine the wasn't even enough to take away the pain of her pancreatitis.

'I sat there while she cried and held back her hair while she threw up. I am the only person on this earth who knows how much Tylee suffered in her life. She had pain every single day. She never felt good.

'Her body did not work right and I don't know if that was form complications from me dying while she was being born or something else but she had a very difficult life.

'She was sexually abused by her own biological father since she was three years old and she was forced by family court to go visit him for 10 years against her will I fought for her in court, I protected her - I tried to protect her my whole life. I worried about her every single day.

'Tylee had to get her GED because she couldn't go to school everyday because she never felt good, she felt sick. Nobody knows that because Tylee, like myself, tried to put on a good front, tried to be a happy person, have hope in life, know that she is here for a purpose. I never stopped worrying about her.

Chad and Tammy Daybell pictured before she was killed in October 2019

'One of the times Tylee came to me as a spirit after she died, she said, she commanded me "stop worrying mom, we are fine." She knows how I worry and how I miss her.

'The first time JJ visited me after he passed away he put his arm around me and he said to me "you didn't do anything wrong mom, I love you. and I know you loved me every minute of my life."

'JJ, was an adult spirit and he was very, very tall when he put his arm around me. He is busy, he is engaged, he has jobs that he does there and he is happy where he is. His life was shot but JJ's life was meaningful. He was a wonderful person and touched the lives of everyone.

'My eternal friend Tammy Daybell has visited me on several occasions. She came to bring me peace and comfort. And I know she is extremely busy helping her family, especially her children and grandchildren. I have a great love for Tammy

'My beautiful children rest safely this day in the arms of Jesus. My wonderful friend Tammy Daybell rests safely this day in the arms of Jesus.

'I look forward to the day that we are all reunited and I too will rest in the arms of my Jesus.'
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman admitted he welcomed death during his six-week hospital stay for depression and revealed that he recorded a goodbye message to his children after suffering a stroke last spring.

Fetterman was profiled for a cover story for Time magazine this month and said it was his debate against Republican Senate hopeful Mehmet Oz that led to his depressive episode.

The late October debate showcased Fetterman garbling several answers and giving a nonsensical answer about fracking - putting the after-effects of the stroke he suffered in May on national display, as he ran in the most closely watched U.S. Senate race of the 2022 cycle.

'The debate lit the mitch. Excuse me - that should be lit the mitch,' he told Time's Molly Ball. 'Lit the match,' he got out on the third try.

The senator is still suffering from auditory processing issues 14 months after the stroke.

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman spoke to Time magazine for a cover story about his hospitalization for depression. He's pictured over the weekend at a Pride festival in central Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Senate hopeful John Fetterman at points struggled to get through his hour-long debate with Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz in late October - as the after-effects of his May stroke were on full display. He points to the episode as what was a breaking point for his depression

While the debate against Oz was a breaking point, the January suicide of New York Times journalist Blake Hounshell - who Fetterman knew personally - hit Fetterman hard and contributed to his decision to seek help.

The 44-year-old Hounshell left behind a wife and two children.

The people closest to Fetterman always sensed there was a darkness to him, Ball wrote.

'He'd be like, "I'm not too sad, you're too happy." He was just very empathetic, I think, and he carried the pain of so many. I thought of him as melancholic - I always loved Abraham Lincoln, and historians would call him melancholy, which we later learned was really clinical depression. And I thought, oh, he's my Abraham Lincoln. It wasn't something I wanted to change about him,' his wife Gisele Barreto Fetterman told the magazine.

Just days before the Democratic primary, Fetterman encountered his first major challenge in a year's time - the stroke.

On the campaign trail near Lancaster, Gisele noticed that her husband's face started slumping and drove him immediately to a hospital.

He easily won the Democratic primary and spent the day of his victory anesthetized, having a pacemaker installed.

Time reported that Fetterman recorded a video message to his children - Karl, 14, Grace, 11 and August, 9 - in case he died.

Fetterman stayed off the campaign trail for most of the summe to recover from the stroke.

By August, however, he had returned and was able to get through a standard stump speech, making some mistakes, but the debate was the event that really highlighted how much progress he still had to make to make a full stroke recovery.

Despite the debate performance, Fetterman beat Oz, the Trump-backed TV doctor, by five points.

Fetterman (left) and his wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman (right) while getting treatment for depression at Walter Reed in March

John and Gisele Fetterman leaving their polling place in Braddock, Pennsylvania on election day 2022

His victory was announced around 1 a.m. on election night.

Thinking it would take days to count the votes, Time reported that Fetterman didn't have a victory speech ready.

'We launched this campaign almost two years ago - and we had our slogan - and it's on every one of those signs right now: every county, every vote,' Fetterman said to a rowdy crowd still gathered at Stage AE in Pittsburgh. 'And that's exactly what happened - we jammed them up. We held the line.'

'I never expected that we would turn these red counties blue, but we did what we needed to do,' he continued.

'And that's why tonight I'll be the next U.S. senator from Pennsylvania,' Fetterman added.

After the race wrapped up, the depression really sunk in.

Fetterman recalled feeling listless about going to freshman orientation, with Gisele forcing him to go.

'Think of the insanity of that,' he said. 'I work for two years. And at the end of that, after nearly dying, after the most infamous debate in American politics, I was not going to show up for orientation.'

'That's what depression does,' he added.

Fetterman said he didn't actively contemplate suicide, but that he would have welcomed death.

'I didn't think I could be fixed,' he said. 'If the doctor said, oh, by the way, you have six months left, I would have been like, OK, whatever,' the Pennsylvania lawmaker said. 'That's how bleak it was.'

He told Time he was lucky to have survived.

He was diagnosed with depression by Congress' attending physician, Brian Monahan, after being hospitalized in February for what he thought might be another stroke.

Monahan recommended impatient treatment at Walter Reed.

Staff and family members gave him an 'intervention,' Fetterman said, until he agreed to get the treatment.

'I will always remember walking to his car parked a block away, thinking, "Please don't change your mind,"' staffer Adam Jentleson recalled. 'He's a large man, and if he decided he didn't want to go, there was going to be nothing me and Bobby could do about it,' Jentleson said, referencing another Fetterman staffer, Bobby Maggio.

Time reported that Fetterman got worse before he got better.

'His normally bare head grew fuzzy; his fingernails were like claws; he didnt get out of his pajamas. Seeing his face in the mirror, he didnt recognize himself. He was consumed with self-loathing, convinced his own family wanted nothing to do with him,' Ball wrote.

Doctors did a deep-dive into Fetterman's health and realized that he was hard-of-hearing, which made things more difficult as he recovered from the stroke, so was given hearing aids.

He'd lost so much weight that his heart medicine's dosage was too high.

With medication, Fetterman improved - with his doctor now considering his depression to be in remission.

'My message is, I don't care if you're a Trumper, MAGA, or hard leftist, or anyone in between. Depression comes across the spectrum, and get help with it,' Fetterman told Time. 'It's not a Democratic senator from Pennsylvania saying this. No, I'm just a husband and a father, somebody that was suffering from depression and got help ... before it was too late.'

'Before some things could have - damage that cant be undone. And I would just implore anybody to get help. Because it can work. It worked. And I'm so grateful,' he added.
Workers prepared to dismantle the large X logo on the roof of the headquarters in San Francisco, California - just over 48 hours after it was installed

San Francisco authorities have removed Elon Musk's huge new, brightly-lit 'X' sign because it violated permit orders.

The social-media giant, formally known as Twitter, was under investigation after Musk had the blinding sign that aggravated neighbors installed without first obtaining permits from the San Francisco Department of Buildings.

Today, workers dismantled the large X logo on the roof of the headquarters in San Francisco, California - just over 48 hours after it was installed.

They were seen scaling the luminous sign - which sat on top of the building - before removing it piece by piece.

Today, workers prepared to dismantle the large X logo on the roof of the headquarters in San Francisco, California - just over 48 hours after it was installed

Workers are seen getting rid of the X logo

The X logo lit up the San Francisco sky at night, which irked neighbors

Investigators arrived on the scene shortly after the sign was put up Friday to notify the company it was in violation of the city's building codes, and to request access to the roof to inspect it  declaring it 'possibly unsafe.'

But a Twitter representative told the inspector the sign was a 'temporary lighted sign for an event,' according to a city complaint.

An inspector again tried to gain access on Saturday, but 'upon arrival, access was denied by tenant.'

In a statement, San Francisco Department of Building Inspection spokesman Patrick Hannan explained: 'A building permit is required to make sure the sign is structurally sound and installed safely.

'Planning review and approval is also necessary for the installation of this sign.'

San Francisco Building Department officials say Elon Musk had the new 'X' sign placed atop the former Twitter headquarters Friday without first obtaining a permit

The brightly-lit sign has aggravated many residents in the affluential neighborhood

Musk poked fun at the building inspectors who showed up at the headquarters Friday night, saying the landlord called 'police about our sign modifications' with a clown emoji

He also told the Washington Post in order to maintain 'consistency with the historic nature of the building, and to ensure new additions are safely attached to the sign,' the city requires a permit to approve new letters or symbols on a sign.

Moreover, under X's lease for the Market Street building, rooftop and exterior signs are banned  except for the 'blade sign' that previously read '@twitter,' which Musk had taken down for his rebranding efforts.

The lease even stated the company would need permission from its landlord to modify that original sign, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

But thus far, Musk has seemed to take the building violations in stride, tweeting  or xing  Friday night that the landlord 'keeps calling the police about our sign modifications' with a clown emoji.

Musk, 52, made waves when he announced he was rebranding Twitter effective immediately - changing the site's name to 'X' and the platform's iconic blue bird logo to the letter

As part of Musk's efforts to rebrand the social media company, he had the building's 'blade sign' reading '@twitter' removed, even though it was the only sign allowed under X's lease of the Market Street building

But the sign has already irked residents in the otherwise affluent area.

'Imagine this f**king X sign right across from your bedroom,' one person posted, whereas a local, from his apartment on the 27th floor of the Fox Plaza building across the street, called the illuminated sign's dazzlingly bright rays 'monstrous.'

Jerry Royer, 78, also called the sign 'incredibly bad' in remarks to the San Francisco Standard over the weekend.

'It's blindingly white, right? And the sign flashes on and off, in all kinds of patterns like strobe lights. It's incredibly bad,' said Royer, who's lived there for 52 years.

'It's truly gigantic.'

Another resident, a local journalist named Christopher Beale, posted video of the new sign with a realization of what this means for locals.

He was responding to a user who had seen the sign and said 'Imagine this f***ing X sign right across from your bedroom.'

'Imagine no more. This is my life now,' Beale posted to the social media giant on Saturday, with a full clip of the undulating X logo.

Fellow San Franciscan Riley Walz said that he actually was a bit wistful for the old Twitter logo.

'You know, the sign is missing. So, a little sad. I guess it's a new beginning for X, so that's interesting,' Walz told NBC Bay Area.

The third was once again illuminated Sunday, for a third straight night - blasting brilliant white light into the windows of nearby buildings for hours on end.

Speaking to the Standard Sunday afternoon, Royer revealed that he and other residents have reached out to San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey's office hoping to get the sign taken down.

'You really don't realize how big it is until you see a human next to it,' said Royer.

Dorsey, however, told the New York Times he believes a peaceful solution could be rendered between the city and X.

'I would sort of like to extend an olive branch,' he said. 'I think there's a lot of people in city government who would welcome the opportunity to work with a large employer like X, and let's figure out what we're going to do with the sign, but we can have a good, productive partnership with a city employer.'

California residents are reacting with disbelief after Musk's X has officially installed the massive, pulsating new sign on top of the company's headquarters in San Francisco

Imagine no more. This is my life now. https://t.co/k5QfAm8yuG pic.twitter.com/e7ECCM2NUD  Christopher J. Beale (@realchrisjbeale) July 29, 2023

Musk has vowed that X will stay in San Francisco  despite saying he has been offered 'rich incentives' to move the office out of the city.

In it, the flippant mogul also appeared to poke fun at the city's current crime-ridden state - doing so by citing the recent wave of store closures seen in the city's Downtown, where the office of the firm formerly known as Twitter today resides.

Mentioning the mass pilgrimage of retailers like Old Navy, AmazonGo, Saks Off Fifth, and Office Depot, Musk made it clear he does not plan to follow those firms' example - promising to not further 'forsake' San Francisco in a decidedly sarcastic post.

'Many have offered rich incentives for X [formerly known as Twitter] to move its HQ out of San Francisco,' Musk began the now viral post.

'Moreover, the city is in a doom spiral with one company after another left or leaving,' he added. 'Therefore, they expect X will move too.'

To that, Musk said: 'We will not.'

Calling attention the more than 95 stores to close down since the start of the COVID pandemic - and incoming closures for firms Nordstrom Rack, also on Market Street, and Banana Republic - Musk wrote: 'You only know who your real friends are when the chips are down.

'San Francisco, beautiful San Francisco, though others forsake you, we will always be your friend.'

Musk publicly refused city officials' supposed requests to relocate in a decidedly sarcastic tweet that poked fun at the city's crime woes

He mentioned the mass pilgrimage of retailers like Old Navy, AmazonGo, Saks Off Fifth, and Office Depot

Since the start of the pandemic - which for months left the Bay Area at the mercy of homeless-rife tent encampments and bands of career criminals - more than 95 retailers including Brooks Brothers, Ray Ban, Christian Louboutin, Lululemon and Marmot have packed up and left the city for greener pastures.

That's more than half of the area's entire retail demographic in total - an amount that will soon be bolstered by the already announced closures of Williams Sonoma, AT&T, Nordstrom, and Banana Republic in the coming months.

Meanwhile, remaining stores like Target have been reduced to locking up their entire stock behind glass to deter shoplifters

'Decisions like this are never easy, and this one has been especially difficult,' wrote Nordstrom in a statement announcing its decision to close this past May.

'But as many of you know, the dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past several years, impacting customer foot traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully.'

Westfield Mall was much more blunt in its statement to the Washington Post, pointing directly to rising crime running business out of town, which it referred to as 'unsafe conditions for customers, retailers, and employees.'

The mall said 'these significant issues are preventing an economic recovery of the area.'
Casanova met Lin through a matchmaker service several years ago and they only met a few times before she launched the campaign against him, it is claimed

Lin told Casanova's employers at Rockefeller University that he was a pedophile after he rejected her demands for money

Dr Jean-Laurent Casanova, 60, filed a $10 million lawsuit against Jennifer Lin, 35, which alleges a campaign of extortion and false allegations against him

A leading doctor who co-heads an international group which studies COVID has sued his former lover after she smeared him as a pedophile and racist when he declined her demands for a $1,500-a-week.

Dr Jean-Laurent Casanova filed a $10 million suit against Jennifer Lin, 35, who he met through a matchmaking service, after their relationship failed to blossom and she went on to 'extort' him, according to the Daily Beast, which first reported the lawsuit.

Lin demanded cash from Casanova, who also heads an infectious diseases research facility at Rockefeller University in Manhattan, then made the outrageous claims to his employers when he declined, it is claimed.

In an email to Rockefeller's HR department, Lin claimed that Casanova had 'confessed in 1:1 private conversations that he's engaged in 'threesomes with underaged girls' or minors'. She said he had also 'expressed very open disdain for the African American community'.

Rockefeller launched an internal probe into the allegations, which Lin made on June 18 and Casanova says are 'completely false', the Daily Beast reported.

Dr Jean-Laurent Casanova filed a $10 million suit against Jennifer Lin, 35, who he met through a matchmaking service, after their relationship failed and she tried to 'extort' him

Lin wrote to the Rockefeller University in Manhattan where Casanova heads a research facility to claim he was engaged in 'threesomes with underaged girls' or minors' and had 'expressed very open disdain for the African American community'

Casanova's attorney told the outlet that Lin sent a notarized letter to Rockefeller on Monday which retracted the statements and claimed she had suffered 'a psychotic episode consisting of delusions and auditory hallucinations because of schizophrenia'. The episode caused her to produce 'correspondences composed wholly of falsehoods', she said.

Casanova, who co-leads the Covid Human Genetic Effort international consortium, met Lin through a matchmaker in around 2015. He lived in New York and she was in Los Angeles.

After communicating by phone and email for several weeks, Lin visited Casanova for a weekend in New York City. They apparently enjoyed their time together, dining out and visiting museums, according Casanova's suit, which added that they also 'engaged in a consensual sexual relationship'.

About two weeks later, Casanova traveled to LA to stay with Lin and they 'toured Los Angeles, spending time at the famed Getty Museum, dining out, and that Saturday evening, while at [Lin's] apartment, they again had consensual sex with one another'.

Casanova returned to New York when Lin called him to say she was seeing another man and wanted to end their relationship. The couple remained on good terms and maintained occasional contact.

A few years later, the couple met again when Casanova took a work trip to LA and suggested dinner. They had a 'pleasant yet purely platonic evening', the suit states.

Several months afterwards, Lin contacted Casanova and told him she was depressed - and that he was the best lover she ever had. She also asked him to read a draft of a book she'd written.

He offered his thoughts on the book and they continued to stay in touch occasionally, including last summer. By this point, Casanova had married and was raising a child with his wife.

She would call every 12 to 18 months to complain about the state of her life, it is claimed.

But in June 2023, Lin's attitude then allegedly changed dramatically and she did a 'complete 180-degree turn' by suggesting that she and Casanova marry if he 'would agree to support her so she could quit working.'

He rejected Lin's advance and told her they were not compatible, which she seemed to accept, it is claimed.

But then in June, Lin contacted him to ask for $1,000.

He 'was surprised by this request, and he told [Lin] he would not be doing that'. She then asked for $1,500-a-week and said that if Casanova did not comply, 'he would be very sorry... she would denounce him and ruin his life'.

Casanova said the claims were 'completely false' but Rockefeller launched an internal probe into the allegations which he said caused him anxiety, sleeplessness and hypertensions

Casanova's attorney said Lin sent a notarized letter to Rockefeller on Monday which retracted the statements and claimed she had suffered 'a psychotic episode at the time of writing

A text message Lin allegedly sent after Casanova declined, which was included in court filings, said: 'YOU PEDOPHILE. STAY AWAY FROM WOMEN YOU PREDATOR. I'm filing a complaint with the FBI too regarding your conduct I've relayed to [sic] truth about who you are to Manhattan's District Attorney, Alvin Bragg YOU WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE LIKE HARVEY WEINSTEIN, JEFFREY EPSTEIN, and all the PERVERTED PEDOPHILES lie YOU who commit exploitive sex crimes. I'm filing a complaint with the FBI too regarding your conduct.'

She then contacted Rockefeller with the claims.

His legal complaint said: 'Any reasonable person who read [Lin's] statements would consider [Casanova] a sexual predator and sexual criminal as well as an extraordinary racist,' the complaint states. Thanks to Lin, Casanova 'is now suspected by Rockefeller of being a pedophile pediatrician, perhaps one of the worst types of offenders known to a civilized society.'

Casanova predicted that the financial damage he has suffered could be 'well in excess of Ten Million ($10,000,000) Dollars by the time everything is said and done'.

He said the situation had caused him anxiety, sleeplessness, hypertensions and other medical conditions.

The lawsuit remained in the docket at New York State Supreme Court on Monday and it wasn't immediately clear what would happen in light of Lin's retraction.
A Ukrainian sniper team dubbed The Ghosts of Bakhmut has killed 524 Russian soldiers in the past six months.

The leader of the 20-strong unit, whose secret call-sign is Ghost, has personally accounted for 76 enemy troops in that period.

The team uses the same rifle as Britain's Special Forces and some of the Ghosts were trained by the UK's best snipers. The team's youngest member is known as 'Brit' for that reason.

All their kills are verified using video footage recorded by their night-scopes. The snipers also operate in silence, so their high-value targets have no chance to take cover.

The shocking figures emerged in a BBC report yesterday.

The leader of the 20-strong unit, whose secret call-sign is Ghost, has personally accounted for 76 enemy troops in that period

Kuzia, who was a factory worker before the war, said: 'I can't tell you, it is not right. It is nothing to be proud of'

The totals attributed to the Ghosts, in particular their commander, bear comparison to some of most prolific snipers of all time.

Over four tours of Iraq, US Navy Seal Chris Kyle was credited with more than 160 kills. In Vietnam, a US airborne sniper Adelbert Waldron achieved 109 in eight months.

In the Second World War, a Finnish sniper codenamed White Death allegedly achieved more than 500 kills in 100 days against the Soviet Red Army.

Speaking to the BBC, Ghost said: 'We have had good results in this sector and brought terror [to the Russians] in Bakhmut. You can hide from artillery but not from snipers.

'They [the Russians] came here to our land. We are liberating that land. My rifle has never let me down, it never fails.

'Every trip [mission] may be our last. But we are doing a noble deed.'

The Ghosts operate at night and usually approach their targets on foot to make less noise.

The sniper and his spotter must often wait for several hours for a target to appear in their night-vision sights. Their missions require breathtaking courage as Russian artillery shells often explode near where they position themselves.

But if they move, they risk being seen or encountering nearby minefields. The two-man teams then withdraw the following morning and are driven back to their secret base.

The camp is within range of Russian artillery and the roads nearby are littered with the wreckages of bombed-out vehicles.

Aerial view shows destroyed buildings as a result of intense fighting, amid the Russian invasion, in Bakhmut, Ukraine

Not all the Ghosts are so comfortable sharing their kill tallies with others. Another of the team, Kuzia, who was a factory worker before the war, said: 'I can't tell you, it is not right. It is nothing to be proud of.

When I was a civilian I didn't like weapons. But now I've had to take up arms to defend my country,' he said. 'Of course I'm scared, only a fool wouldn't be.'

Ukrainian forces have made significant territorial gains around Bakhmut in recent months and the Ghosts, armed with US-made Barrett sniper rifles, have played a key role.

But the city itself, which is of symbolic rather than strategic value to both parties, has been reduced almost entirely to rubble. So much so that Ghost calls the frontline running through Bakhmut 'the edge of existence'.

It comes after Russia fired a barrage of missiles at Volodymyr Zelensky's home town of Kryvyi Rih yesterday, the day after the Ukrainian president warned attacks against Russia were 'inevitable'.

A young girl was among at least five to be killed in the town. On Sunday, Mr Zelensky said attacks on Russian soil were a 'natural and absolutely fair process' in the war.
Bruce Lehrmann is considering launching a multimillion-dollar claim for compensation against the ACT Department of Public Prosecutions.

The former Liberal staffer revealed his lawyers would prepare to claim damages and compensation from the ODPP and the ACT government.

The findings of the Sofronoff inquiry into Mr Lehrmann's prosecution and aborted trial for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins are in the hands of the ACT government.

Chief ministers will now respond to what are expected to be serious adverse findings against the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold.

Mr Lehrmann has called for the report into potential misconduct to be released immediately after it was revealed the findings could be withheld for a month.

'I will be guided by the report and call for its release as a matter of urgency,' Mr Lehrmann told The Australian newspaper.

'If it finds the director acted with malice or against his duties as DPP and as an officer of the court, I will be considering a multimillion claim for damages and compensation from the ODPP and the ACT government.'

Mr Lehrmann, who is already suing the ABC and Channel 10 for defamation, lashed the decision to suppress the findings of his abandoned prosecution last week.

Bruce Lehrmann has announced he is preparing to lodge a multimillion dollar claim for compensation against the ACT Department of Public Prosecutions

Mr Lehrmann, who is suing the ABC and Channel 10 for defamation, lashed the decision to suppress the findings of his abandoned prosecution last week (pictured)

He wrote to Instagram on Saturday: 'Absolute disgrace! I remember someone saying that sunlight is the best disinfectant... The Drumgold protection racket continues. The chief minister should hang his head in shame.'

It had been expected the findings of the Sofronoff inquiry, lead by Walter Sofronoff KC, would be released immediately after being delivered on Monday.

But the ACT government will now consider the report 'through a proper cabinet process' that Chief Minister Andrew Barr said would take three to four weeks, with the Legislative Assembly 'updated' at the end of August.

Mr Lehrmann, a former political advisor, was accused of raping Brittany Higgins in Parliament House after a night out when they were colleagues in March 2019.

He has always strenuously denied the allegations.

Mr Lehrmann's trial was aborted in October 2022 due to jury misconduct and Mr Drumgold later dropped the charges amid concerns about the impact a second trial could have on Ms Higgins' mental health.

Ms Higgins was awarded what is believed to be over $2million in compensation from the Commonwealth after she complained of workplace mistreatment.

Brittany Higgins was awarded what is believed to be over $2million in compensation from the Commonwealth after she complained of workplace mistreatment

It is understood that at least two of the potential adverse findings against Mr Drumgold would form the grounds for his sacking from the role as top prosecutor.

Mr Drumgold has been on leave since May and is due to return at the end of August.

Mr Barr said that subject to the contents of the report, and any legal implications, he intended to table all, or part, of the report during the August parliamentary sitting.

'Subject to the recommendations, a final government response may take several months,' he said in a statement reported by The Australian last week.

The most serious allegations of misconduct against Mr Drumgold involve times where he misled Chief Justice Lucy McCallum during Mr Lehrmann's prosecution.

Mr Drumgold has admitted two breaches but claimed they were unintentional.

It is believed Mr Sofronoff is likely to find Mr Drumgold was entitled to bring forward the prosecution against Mr Lehrmann, but both he and some senior police may be found to have lost objectivity at various points during the case.

At the inquiry, Mr Drumgold admitted he had formed the opinion that Mr Lehrmann should be charged before he had been interviewed.

Potentially the most serious allegation against Mr Drumgold relates to a note made of a conference he held with former host of The Project, Lisa Wilkinson, four days before her now infamous Logies speech.

Mr Drumgold said he had warned Ms Wilkinson about the danger of prejudicing Mr Lehrmann's upcoming rape trial.

However, Ms Wilkinson rejects that, saying Mr Drumgold 'did not at any time' warn the speech would risk delaying the trial, as he claimed.

Chief ministers will now respond to what are expected to be serious adverse findings against the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, from the Sofronoff inquiry

Another major threat to Mr Drumgold's position is from the so-called Moller report, which detailed discrepancies in Ms Higgins's evidence and suggested police did not believe there was enough evidence to prosecute Mr Lehrmann.

Mr Drumgold tried to stop the defence from obtaining the document, claiming it was subject to legal professional privilege even though he had not read it and had not checked with its author, Detective Superintendent Scott Moller.

Mr Sofronoff could also make adverse findings about Mr Drumgold's conduct when he announced in December that he was abandoning the trial out of concern for Ms Higgins's mental health but suggested he still believed Mr Lehrmann was guilty.

The speech was met with shock by many in the legal profession.

Counsel assisting the inquiry Erin Longbottom asked Mr Drumgold: 'Did you turn your mind to the impact that statement might have on Mr Lehrmann, who was entitled to the presumption of innocence?'

'Possibly not as much as I should have,' Mr Drumgold said.
Nigel Farage has revealed that Coutts has offered to reinstate both of his bank accounts after they were unfairly closed, and has demanded a full apology and compensation.

Speaking on his GB News programme, Mr Farage said: 'The new CEO of Coutts, Mo Syed, somebody who has held very senior positions within that bank, is now the boss and he has written to me to say I can keep both my personal and my business accounts.

'And that's good and I thank him for it.'

He added that 'enormous harm' has been done to him in the last few months that had 'taken up a huge amount' of his time and has cost him 'quite a lot of money in legal fees.'

He went on to say: 'So I have today sent a legal litigation letter to Coutts where I want some full apologies, I want some compensation for my costs, but - more important than all of that - I want a face-to-face meeting with the bank's bosses.

'I want to find out how many other people in Coutts or NatWest have had accounts closed because of their political opinions, and I want to make sure this never happens to anybody else ever again.

'So the fight goes on.'

Mr Farage's crusade against NatWest has led to the resignation of chief executive Dame Alison Rose and Coutts boss Peter Flavel, with his campaign on account closures receiving support from ministers and Tory MPs.

Following the exit of the NatWest bosses, Mr Farage published copies of his emails from April and May on social media.

'These are the 2 emails I sent to Coutts CEO Peter Flavel, before going public on this story, that he completely ignored,' the Brexit campaigner posted on Twitter.

'An extraordinary kind of arrogance from a man asleep at the wheel.'

One of the emails, from 19 April, revealed how Mr Farage asked Mr Flavel 'what on earth is going on' after he was informed his accounts were being closed.

The second email, from 1 May, revealed how Mr Farage had warned Mr Flavel he was prepared to attend a Coutts branch with a security van to collect his money in cash.

Now, the former Ukip leader is in talks with Coutts about retaining his account after the furore about the prestigious private banks decision to shut it down.

Mr Farage revealed last night that there had been an exchange of letters between Coutts and his lawyers.

It comes amid claims the City watchdog should be investigated for encouraging a political culture that led to the debanking scandal, which Mr Farage helped expose through internal documents after Coutts closed his account because his views did not align with the firms.

Mr Farage revealed last night that there had been an exchange of letters between Coutts and his lawyers

Mr Farage's crusade against NatWest has led to the resignation of chief executive Dame Alison Rose and Coutts boss Peter Flavel

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, was among those signing the letter to Mr Hunt

A group of prominent Tories and former financial industry figures have written to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt urging the Treasury to probe the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) amid concerns of virtue signalling.

They claim its encouragement of environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns, designed to help banking firms act responsibly, is inadvertently leading to the culture that led to Mr Farage having his Coutts account closed.

The letter also raises concerns about alleged comments attributed to an unnamed FCA source at the weekend that there was a real sense of disquiet inside the regulator after Dame Alison Rose, the former chief executive of NatWest Group, which owns Coutts, was forced to quit over leaking Mr Farages private information to the BBC.

Mr Farage praised the intervention, and echoed calls for the Chancellor to take action against the City watchdog.

He said: The FCA has huge, serious questions to answer. It is becoming increasingly clear that this political culture in the banks is getting worse.

Asked whether he could return to Coutts as a customer, Mr Farage added: There has been an exchange of letters between them and my lawyers. They have written to me, and I have written to them. We will see.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, was among those signing the letter to Mr Hunt.

He said: The FCA has questions to answer. It seems to me the biggest problem we have is virtue signalling by these corporate bodies. It is quite peculiar.

Those guys think that Twitter is the be all and end all, but the people shouting loudest with those views are a tiny minority.

NatWest has announced an independent review, with lawyers probing the closure of Mr Farage's account and other instances of de-banking by Coutts

Documents from the bank reveal employees called Mr Farage a 'disingenuous grifter' when discussing whether to close his account

Ex-NatWest boss Dame Alison Rose could be in line for a multi-million pound payout after she was forced out in the row over 'debanking' Mr Farage (pictured in Kent on Thursday)

One of the emails, from 19 April, revealed how Mr Farage asked Peter Flavel 'what on earth is going on' after he was informed his accounts were being closed

The second email, from 1 May, revealed how Mr Farage had warned Mr Flavel he was prepared to attend a Coutts branch with a security van to collect his money in cash

Mr Farage said it had only been 'a matter of time' before Coutts CEO Mr Flavel went

These chief executives just want to be liked, and the only way they can do that is pandering to a minority of people.

The letter said the Coutts episode has shone a light onto a wider problem, accusing the FCA of actively pursuing an approach which involves forcing a change in culture and diversity of thought in banks and other financial terms.

They wrote: The upshot is that the FCAs own value system matters immensely, the vagueness of its own rules have a chilling effect on entrepreneurialism and productivity.

The regulators role needs to be confined to their proper jurisdiction, and they must be properly overseen.

There should be an investigation into the FCAs culture as part of the drive to restore integrity in the banking system.

READ MORE HERE: Ministers back Farage after full Coutts dossier is revealed Advertisement

Jeremy Asher, a consultancy regulatory solicitor at Setfords, separately called on the FCA to urgently publicise guidance regarding politically exposed people (PEPs), those who hold or have held public office and may be more susceptible to bribery or corruption.

An FCA spokesman said the views expressed by the unnamed FCA source about Dame Alisons departure did not represent the regulator.

She said: We have made it clear that the legislation requires that no one should be having their personal bank account closed on the basis of their legally held political views.

The Treasury has asked us to have regard to its commitments on net zero and sustainable finance.

Our approach to these issues has been focused on developing international standards and increasing transparency and trust, in a market which is growing quickly due to consumer demand.

It is understood the Chancellor has not ordered a meeting with the FCA after City minister Andrew Griffith recently used a summit with the UKs leading banks to caution executives that there must be no repeat of the Farage debanking episode.

But the FCA and Treasury officials are in regular contact on other matters.

NatWest has announced an independent review, with lawyers probing the closure of Mr Farage's account and other instances of de-banking by Coutts.
A retired British miner who killed his terminally ill wife told how he was reduced to tears today as he was finally granted his freedom.

David Hunter, 76, walked free from a court in Cyprus after his sentence for manslaughter was deemed to have been already served.

Within minutes of hearing the court's decision, Mr Hunter made a video call to his daughter Lesley Cawthorne.

'It takes a lot to make me cry, but I did when I spoke to Lesley,' he told the Mail.

'I feel numb, it doesn't feel real. When I spoke to Lesley the first thing I said was, "I love you".' He added: 'We were both crying. She couldn't talk. She started crying and she couldn't say a word.'

David Hunter (pictured), 76, walked free from a court in Cyprus after his sentence for manslaughter was deemed to have been already served

Hunter smothered Janice in 2021 at their retirement home in Cyprus. Last week, he told the Paphos criminal trial how he took the heart-breaking decision to end her suffering from devastating blood cancer

Mr Hunter, 76, was originally charged with murdering his childhood sweetheart Janice, 74, at their home near the coastal resort town of Paphos in 2021.

He told the court in Paphos how his wife of 52 years had 'cried and begged' for him to end her life and 'liberate' her as she endured agonising pain from blood cancer.

He suffocated her and then tried to kill himself with a drugs overdose.

Last month judges dismissed the murder charge and convicted him of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Today the father of one was handed a two-year jail sentence which he was deemed to have already served after spending 19 month in Nicosia prison.

During a trial which lasted more than a year, Northumberland-born Mr Hunter told of how he met his wife at a miners' hall party.

The couple went on to marry at St John's Church in Ashington in 1969 and bought a property in Cyrpus 30 years later, before moving to the island to retire there.

But in 2016 Mrs Hunter was diagnosed with blood cancer and by late 2021 she was reduced to wearing nappies, covered in skin lesions and could no longer stand.

The couple went on to marry at St John's Church in Ashington in 1969 (pictured here) and bought a property in Cyrpus 30 years later, before moving to the island to retire there

Mr Hunter, 76, was originally charged with murdering his childhood sweetheart Janice, 74, at their home near the coastal resort town of Paphos in 2021. He told the court in Paphos how his wife of 52 years had 'cried and begged' for him to end her life and 'liberate' her as she endured agonising pain from blood cancer (pictured: the former home of David Hunter in Paphos)

Giving evidence earlier this year, Hunter told of how his wife begged him to help her end her life, a demand he refused for six weeks.

But he eventually smothered her one Monday morning in December 2021  after she began to cry out in pain once again.

READ MORE: Daughter of Brit mercy killing husband David Hunter describes joy as he is freed from Cypriot prison - after trial heard how she begged him not to kill himself when he suffocated her terminally-ill mother Pictured: David Hunter with his wife Janice (centre) and their daughter Lesley (left) Advertisement

Hunter then kissed his wife on the forehead before ringing his brother to confess what he had done. Police on the island were alerted, but Hunter told the court he could not remember being arrested or interviewed.

Delivering a two-year sentence today, Judge Michalis Droussiotis said: 'Before us is a unique case of taking human life on the basis of feelings of love, with the aim of relieving a person of their suffering that came due to their illness.'

The judge also said Hunter's clean criminal record, age and personal circumstances had been considered  alongside previous similar cases.

But, because ten months in custody is the equivalent of a year for a short sentence under the Cypriot justice system, Mr Hunter was found to have already served his time by spending 19 months behind bars.

Mr Hunter said it was a police officer who told him he would be released.

He said: 'The policeman hugged me and said, 'Congratulations David, you're free, you got the result you deserve.'

'I just shook his hand and said: 'Thanks, mate'.'

Within minutes of receiving the news, Hunter made a video call to his daughter. After the verdict Ms Cawthorne said: 'Speaking to my Daddy was the most amazing thing. I feel like my heart has been put back together.'

She added: 'I thought I'd lost him forever. I cannot believe it. It's amazing.'

Outside the court, a tearful Mr Hunter said there were 'no words' to describe how it felt to be free after spending 19 months in custody.

He also thanked those who had raised funds for his legal costs, adding: 'I would like to say thank you to all the people who donated to me and especially my work mates. I don't know where I would be without them.'

Michael Polak (left), of Justice Abroad which represented Hunter said: 'We're very, very pleased with the outcome today. This is what we've been fighting for over 12 months'

David Hunter, 76, was overcome with emotion and said he 'didn't know where I would be' without his friends and former colleagues as he walked towards his freedom for the first time in nearly two years

An apparent suicide note written by Mr Hunter was apparently crucial in his acquittal for pre-meditated murder.

A blue notebook and pen were found in his house with a message in it seemingly left for those who would find Mr Hunter and his wife's bodies.

Michael Polak, of Justice Abroad which represented Hunter said: 'We're very, very pleased with the outcome today. This is what we've been fighting for over 12 months.'

He added: 'It is a pity he spent so long in prison but he's really looking forward to getting out and now this allows for him and his family to properly grieve.'

The case is the latest to trigger debate around assisted suicide which is illegal in the UK, but permitted in other parts of the world.

A spokesman for campaign group Dignity in Dying said: 'Our thoughts are with all of Janice's family. We hope they can now fully grieve her death and process the traumatic events of the last few years.

'Without the option of safe and compassionate assisted dying laws, there will undoubtedly be more tragic cases of dying people resorting to taking matters into their own hands, with and without the assistance of loved ones.'
The CEO of Heineken has said he has learned from rival beer maker Bud Light's mistakes after its disastrous marketing campaign featuring transgender TikToker Dylan Mulvaney.

Dolf van der Brink said on Monday that companies have to beware of the 'polarization in society' but also 'stand for your values.'

'Particularly in the Western world, we do see a lot of polarization in society,' he said when asked about the controversy on CNBC's Squawk Box Europe. 'And that's affecting all players, all actors in society, also businesses and also brands.'

'You have to be thoughtful, you have to be balanced. And at the same time, you need to stand for your values and your principles. And we try to do that to the best of our abilities.

'So far, I'm proud of how our brand teams across our operating companies are navigating this new world,' he added.

Van der Brink's remarks come just days before its rival Anheuser-Busch InBev  the parent company of Bud Light  releases its second quarter earnings report on Thursday.

Dolf van der Brink, the CEO of Heineken, told CNBC's Squawk Box Europe he has learned from rival beer maker Bud Light's mistakes after its disastrous marketing campaign featuring transgender TikToker Dylan Mulvaney

The company has continued to face a boycott from all sides of the political spectrum for its campaign with Mulvaney since she announced the partnership in a video at the beginning of April.

In the aftermath, many conservatives stopped buying Bud Light  which was once America's best selling beer brand  while some liberals criticized the company for refusing to stand with Mulvaney amid the backlash.

Eventually, even Mulvaney, 24, spoke out against the company for hiring 'a trans person and then not publicly standing by them.'

Sales in North and South Carolina have suffered the greatest dip, falling from 20 percent in 2022 to 12.5 percent in the same period of 2023- a drop of nearly 7 percent, according to the hospitality consumption data platform Union.

New York and New Jersey stumbled 5.1 percentage points combined, followed by Texas with a 2.4 points dip, Oregon and Washington falling 1.8 points and California with a 0.85 point drop.

The embattled beer brand had better luck in Texas, but still saw declining sales across the state. Bud Light sales dropped 2.4 points from 8 percent sales in 2022 to 5.6 percent in 2023.

In total Anheuser-Busch lost $27 billion in market cap value since Mulvaney's controversial ad.

As of closing Monday, the company was trading at $57.30  down nearly 5 percent over the past six months.

Transgender TikToker Dylan Mulvaney announced in April she was partnering with Bud Light

The video sparked a nationwide boycott of the beer, which was once America

As of closing Monday, the company was trading at $57.30  down nearly 5 percent over the past six months

It has now said it would lay off about 2 percent of its US workforce.

There are around 19,000 people employed by the company in the US, meaning approximately 380 staff are set to lose their jobs.

Workers who are laid off will receive severance pay, paid out of their unused vacation time, receive six months of continued company-paid health insurance benefits and help finding a new job, according to an email sent to employees Wednesday.

The restructuring 'will simplify and reduce layers within its organization,' a spokesperson said.

But, the layoffs will not affect frontline workers, such as 'brewery and warehouse staff, drivers, and field sales reps among others.'

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wants the state's pension fund to investigate Bud Light-makers AB InBev and possibly explore a lawsuit for putting social activism ahead of shareholders in their partnership with Dylan Mulvaney

Amid the slumping Bud Light sales, Anheuser-Busch said it would lay off about 2 percent of its US workforce

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has also announced he wants the state's pension fund to investigate AB InBev for putting social activism ahead of shareholders.

The Republican presidential candidate sent a letter to the fund's interim director Lamar Taylor, where he said that 'all options are on the table after partnering with the transgender influencer caused Bud Light's parent company, Anheuser-Busch, a $27 billion loss.

'We must prudently manage the funds of Florida's hardworking law enforcement officers, teachers, firefighters, and first responders in a manner that focuses on growing returns, not subsidizing an ideological agenda through woke virtue signaling,' DeSantis wrote.

The governor is a trustee on the pension fund's board that manages retirement funds for public workers. Speaking to Jesse Watters on Fox News, he added that it could lead to a derivative lawsuit filed on behalf of the shareholders.
Ron DeSantis mocked Hunter Biden, 53, for his pricey artwork and said if he were a Republican he would already be in jail for his shady foreign business and criminal tax fraud.

The Florida governor told Fox News that Republican focus has not only unveiled these shady and illegal practices by the President's son  but has also thrown into the spotlight the uneven treatment of justice between people on the left and people on the right.

Putting even more prominently on display this unequal treatment was Hunter's one-time Burisma associate Devon Archer, who testified behind closed doors with House Republicans on Monday.

He reportedly told Oversight Republicans that there were a few dozen instances where he heard President Biden on speakerphone talking business with his son while associates were around.

'Well, this is why we say there's two standards of justice,' DeSantis told Fox News host Bret Baier. 'If Hunter were a Republican, he'd be in jail by now.'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis mocked Hunter Biden for his paintings that sold for $1.3 million and told Fox News on Monday it's further proof of the corruption and uneven justice applied to Democrats and Republicans

DeSantis said his six-year-old could paint better than Hunter Biden  but wouldn't receive the massive payout he got just by virtue of being the President's son

'You look at all this smoke. And yet the FBI  Where's the search warrants? Where's the grand jury? Where's the aggressiveness that they've shown going after some Republicans?' he questioned.

DeSantis added: 'You just don't see [it].'

The second place 2024 Republican said that Trump wasn't successful in 'draining the swamp' and making sure the federal government doesn't have bias against Republicans.

'You know, Donald Trump was president for four years,' he told Baier. 'This problem got worse under him, he did not succeed and draining the swamp.'

While DeSantis has heightened in recent months his criticism of Trump, his No. 1 primary election competition, he agrees that the former president has been treated unfairly by President Biden's Justice Department.

Democrats claim Republicans are politically motivated in their case against Hunter's shady foreign business deals, and whether he used his father's influence to enrich the Biden family.

'They could to get any piece of information,' DeSantis said of prosecutors. 'They are not doing that with Hunter.'

'Of course, they didn't do with Hillary back in 2016. So we look at that, but look at all the possible corruption.'

Baier's full interview with DeSantis is airing Monday evening on Fox News.

Part of that corruption, the Florida governor and 2024 hopeful noted, is the prices paid for Hunter's amateur paintings.

Florida's first lady Casey DeSantis responded to her husband's claims that their six-year-old daughter Madison could make better art than Hunter  and included an image their eldest drew of a vase of flowers

Florida's first daughter Madison DeSantis, 6, drew a vase filled with yellow flowers that her father said he should auction off like President Joe Biden's son Hunter did with his amateur art

Hunter's once business associate Devon Archer testified with the House Oversight Republicans on Monday behind closed doors. He said there were several times when Joe Biden would be on speakerphone with his son Hunter while they were talking business or speaking with associates

Reports note that Hunter earned $1.3 million for his first-ever art show  another reason why Republicans claim he is using President Biden's influence to enrich himself, his father and his family.

DeSantis said his children could produce better paintings than the President's 53-year-old recovering addict son.

'I mean, Hunter, he's selling picked paintings for over $1,000,000,' DeSantis lamented. 'You know, my six-year-old daughter does better paintings than him. Maybe we'll put ours up and see what kind of thing she confesses.'

He conceded: 'I don't think we're going to get $1,000,000 on it.'
A 22-month-old toddler died while at her grandparents home in South Carolina after a dresser she was attempting to climb toppled over and fell on top of her.

Emergency services were immediately called to rescue JaLaya Bryant from Calhoun Falls after she went into cardiac arrest when she became trapped under the massive piece of furniture.

The youngster suffered severe injuries after she was essentially crushed by the dresser.

Anderson County EMS, Medshore EMS, and the Anderson County Sheriffs Office all responded to the scene.

The little girl was discovered by family members at the home while she was underneath the overturned dresser drawer.

JaLaya Bryant, aged 22 months, suffered severe injuries after a dresser she had been climbing toppled over and landed on top of her leaving her unable to breathe

Ja'Laya Bryant is pictured together with her mother Jordan Donaldson

EMS personnel rushed the child to Prisma Health Trauma Services in Columbia, South Carolina, but despite their efforts the girl was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The Anderson County Child Death Investigation Task Force has opened an investigation into the child's death.

Chief Deputy Coroner Don McCown said told WSPA that preliminary findings suggest JaLaya died from asphyxiation, with no evidence indicating foul play.

Writing on Facebook on Monday, her great aunt pleaded with other families to check that heavy furniture was bolted to the floor, to prevent similar accidents from occurring.

The little girl suffered a cardiac arrest as a result of the massive piece of furniture trapping her causing death by asphyxiation

The toddler had been at her grandparents home in South Carolina when the accident occurred

'My family needs prayer like none other. Yesterday my great-great niece climbed on a dresser that toppled over and fell on top of her. They were not able to save her.

'PLEASE PLEASE- double check that your furniture it bolted to the wall, doors are closed to keep our littles safe!' her aunt Debra Putnam-Thompson wrote online.

'My beautiful great-great niece, JaLaya, 20 months old, loved by everyone with her attitude and precious personality! Life will never be the same, but by Gods grace we will persevere!'

'Thank Yall For All The Calls And Text, We Just Gotta Take It One Day At A Time ! I Know Everyone Wants To See Me, But I Need Space  My World Is Upside Down,' wrote JaLaya's mother, Jordan Donaldson.

Other friends and family members posted tributes and messages of condolence to the family.

'Sending up prayers to a classmate and her family during this time. Such a sweet little girl gone too soon from this world. Heaven just got a little sweeter. Praying so hard for you,' wrote one well-wisher.

'Such A Pretty Girl , Rest In Paradise Baby Girl. Yall Send A Prayer Up For My Cf Ppl. Its Never Easy Losing A Child,' added another.
Before going to bed, Rebecca Downes and her partner Patrick Ramsey were always vigilant about unplugging equipment around the house.

Having lost her childhood home in a fire caused by an electrical fault, Rebecca, known to her family as Becky, had good reason to be careful.

So when Patrick brought an electric bike home one evening, they decided to charge it in the bedroom rather than the kitchen, so they could keep an eye on it 'just to be safe'.

What ensued, in the three minutes after Patrick connected the lithium-ion battery charger to the wall, is the stuff of nightmares.

The battery, which measured approximately 14 x 3.6in, exploded like a 'Roman candle', Patrick would recall later, with shards of metal embedding in their skin, as flames and toxic smoke instantly engulfed the room.

While Patrick survived, albeit needing months of hospital care, Becky, a mother of four, died from the horrific injuries she suffered in the fall

The battery, which measured approximately 14 x 3.6in, exploded like a 'Roman candle', Patrick would recall later, with shards of metal embedding in their skin, as flames and toxic smoke instantly engulfed the room. As the blazing battery was blocking the door, the couple's only means of escape was to jump 30ft from their second-floor window (pictured: a similar electric bike fire)

As the blazing battery was blocking the door, the couple's only means of escape was to jump 30ft from their second-floor window.

While Patrick survived, albeit needing months of hospital care, Becky, a mother of four, died from the horrific injuries she suffered in the fall.

READ MORE: Flat is destroyed by fire after e-bike battery overheated as it was being charged Advertisement

If that hadn't killed her, her 60 per cent burns would have done, the coroner presiding over the inquest into her death last month was told.

'These batteries are so deadly when they catch fire, Becky didn't stand a chance,' her sister, Julie Downes, 49, told the Mail. 'It's not like charging a mobile phone, which has just three volts and would probably smoulder, allowing plenty of time to get out.

'These e-bike batteries contain up to 52 volts (17 times as many) making them, I believe, far too dangerous to risk charging at home.

'After what we've been through, and to prevent further loss of life, we would like to see all e-bikes and e-scooters completely banned.'

Fires from electrically powered scooters and bikes have caused eight deaths and at least 190 injuries in the UK since 2020, and are said to be the cause of at least six fires a week, according to safety campaigners.

What happened to Becky, who was 44, and her family is a particularly harrowing example of the potential dangers they pose.

The inquest into Becky's death last year heard how the couple owned a bike shop in their home town of Blackpool, and had recently started trading in electric bikes and scooters.

The weekend before the fire, Patrick had taken a bike to a friend who specialised in electronics, as there seemed to be a problem with the battery.

On Tuesday, July 5, he collected the battery and put it on to charge in the kitchen at home. But when he and Becky went to bed, she'd said she was not happy leaving it charging in the kitchen, so Patrick took it upstairs and plugged it in.

Becky's anxiety, it turned out, was tragically well-founded.

Terrifyingly, campaigning charity Electrical Safety First estimates a fully charged e-bike battery can release a similar amount of stored energy as the explosive material contained in six hand grenades.

What happened to Becky, who was 44, and her family is a particularly harrowing example of the potential dangers they pose

Fire chiefs predict there will have been another 338 blazes by the end of this year alone.

This reflects the huge surge in popularity of electric-powered transport, with over a million people now owning e-scooters, while more than 300,000 e-bikes have been sold over the past two years.

Concerns are also being raised about the safety of electric cars after a fire on a cargo ship in the North Sea killed a member of the crew and forced others to jump overboard last week.

While the exact cause is still being investigated, Dutch broadcaster NOS quoted an unnamed official suggesting the fire may have been 'sparked by an electric vehicle'.

Although it is strictly illegal to ride privately owned e-scooters anywhere other than on private land, e-bikes are considered a relatively safe, environmentally friendly way of getting around.

However, challenging their 'safe' credentials, Electrical Safety First, insisted earlier last month that regulations must be introduced for e-bike and e-scooter batteries, like those for 'fireworks and heavy machinery', which would force manufacturers to have their batteries approved by an accredited third party, such as a test lab, before going on sale.

Currently lithium-ion batteries used in e-bikes and e-scooters, which release toxic smoke, can be sold with only the manufacturer's declaration that they meet safety standards. This is in keeping with most electrical goods. However, Electrical Safety First believes vehicle batteries should be subject to more stringent regulations.

'The huge amount of energy released over time when a battery bursts into flames is unlike other fires,' warns chief executive Lesley Rudd. 'In a matter of minutes a room can be decimated.'

Becky Downes's family support any moves that will prevent other people suffering the 'hell' they have been through since her death.

Her daughter Indiana, 14, was asleep when the blaze broke out. She was rescued by her brother, Callum, 27, who found her on the landing, her night clothes on fire, and crying for her mother, before handing her over to their brother Coby, 17, and going back into the house to try to rescue Becky.

'Callum ran back downstairs when someone said Becky had jumped,' says her sister, Sonia Downes, 48. 'Becky went straight into a cardiac arrest when she landed, and then the window frame landed on top of her.

'For her children to witness that, I could cry just thinking about it. I don't know how they're ever going to get over what's happened. Becky was a wonderful mum. We all miss her so much.'

Just a month ago, Gemma Germeney, 31, and her children Lilly, eight, and Oliver, four, lost their lives in a fire believed to have been started by an e-bike left charging overnight at their maisonette in Cambridge (pictured: Lilly and Oliver Peden)

Callum was treated for smoke inhalation, while Indiana suffered extensive burns and spent many weeks in both Manchester and Birmingham Children's Hospitals, always with a devoted family member by her side.

Adele, Becky's youngest sister, has taken the children in, while Callum is hoping to become Coby and Indiana's legal guardians. Meanwhile, the family is on a waiting list for a council property, as their home is uninhabitable.

Indiana has recovered well and is awaiting a hospital appointment to discuss whether further treatment is needed for any scars. The emotional wounds, however, will take much longer to heal.

'They've lost everything: their home, all their possessions . . . all this on top of grieving their lovely mum,' says Sonia, tearfully. 'They will never get over this; we just have to do what we can to make it as bearable as possible for them.'

As well as supporting Becky's children, her sisters are eager to raise awareness about the risks of charging lithium batteries in the home, in the hope of preventing further tragedy.

However, the death toll is sadly rising. Just a month ago, Gemma Germeney, 31, and her children Lilly, eight, and Oliver, four, lost their lives in a fire believed to have been started by an e-bike left charging overnight at their maisonette in Cambridge.

Scott Peden, Gemma's partner and the children's father, was critically injured in the blaze while trying to rescue his family.

On January 8, Gary Shearer, 23, tried to rescue his father, Rab, 60, when fire, caused by an e-bike left charging overnight, tore through their home in Litherland, Merseyside. Tragically, it was an act of bravery which cost him his life. Sadly, his father did not survive.

Meanwhile, Sofia Duarte, 21, died on New Year's Day, when an e-bike battery caught fire at her boyfriend's flat in east London, where she was staying after they had worked late together in a club.

Sofia's mother, Maria Macarro, who is also desperate to raise awareness about the risks of these fires, told the Mail: 'It's really scary how frequently these e-bike fires are happening. Since Sofia passed away, there have been more deaths. Why is the Government not imposing more regulations and punishments to prevent these deaths?'

Sofia's boyfriend, Luis Zambrano, also 21, survived after leaping from the third-floor bedroom window, but Sofia was too scared to jump.

Maria and Luis are supporting the #ChargeSafe campaign, run by London Fire Brigade, to raise awareness of the risks.

The London Fire Brigade urges owners to buy from a reputable seller and make sure the battery and charger meet UK safety standards, store them in sheds or garages, never leave them charging while asleep or out, let the battery cool before charging and unplug once charged, and never leave them near exits. And, of course, to have working smoke alarms in every room

It urges owners to buy from a reputable seller and make sure the battery and charger meet UK safety standards, store them in sheds or garages, never leave them charging while asleep or out, let the battery cool before charging and unplug once charged, and never leave them near exits. And, of course, to have working smoke alarms in every room.

However, while smoke alarms are undoubtedly lifesavers, the fires spread too rapidly for them to prevent Becky, Gemma, Sofia and the Shearers losing their lives.

This is one reason, according to Mark Hardingham, chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), that special precautions are needed. 'If you see any signs of fire, raise the alarm, get out, stay out and call 999,' he warns. 'Only charge batteries when you are awake and alert so you can respond quickly if a fire should occur.'

Andrew Beaton, 59, supports this sound advice. He says his family was 'lucky to escape' after an e-bike burst into flames while charging under the stairs at their home in Lancaster.

Having been alerted by his son, Andrew threw the bike outside, giving his family time to flee, but still the flames gutted their house 'in minutes'.

Avi Gooransingh, 29, is still haunted by thoughts of what could have been, had he not managed to get his e-bike out of the flat, in south-west London, which he shares with his mother and two siblings, before it exploded.

'It was 11.30pm and I'd just got back from walking the dogs and I felt the bike smelt weird,' recalls Avi. 'I took it out and it exploded.

'If I'd not taken the bike out, just two seconds before, it would have killed the whole family.'

So rapid was the blaze, which happened in the communal hallway of the third floor of their multi-storey 1970s block, that London Fire Brigade released a video of the e-bike going up in flames.

But while Andrew and Avi are among the lucky ones, the families grieving the loss of loved ones through preventable battery vehicle fires are doing all they can to raise awareness and stop more names being added to this tragic roll call.
Read DailyMail.com's recap on the latest in the Lori Vallow case as the cult mom was learned her fate Monday in Fremont County, Idaho.

She was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murders of her two youngest children Tylee, 16, and JJ, 7, and conspiring to commit murder in the death of her husband Chad Daybell's former wife Tammy Daybell.

It's a case that gripped the nation with bizarre claims that Vallow's son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse. Vallow's husband Chad Daybell will stand trial for the murders in April 2024.

The case has become a favorite among true crime fans and featured in several documentaries including the popular Netflix version, 'Sins of our Mother.'
The famous pub in Himley, West Midlands, has been flogged to a private buyer

A historic 18th-Century boozer dubbed Britain's wonkiest pub has been 'closed forever' after being sold to a private buyer.

Locals have been left devastated after landlords of The Crooked House, in Himley, West Midlands, revealed it was unlikely to ever open again after 192 years of trading.

Customers were informed in a Facebook post last week that the iconic pub had been flogged by a brewery to a 'private buyer for alternative use'.

The quirky building had attracted visitors from across the world due to its unique leaning effect which causes several illusions.

It was famed for being the place where coins and marbles seemingly rolled uphill along the bar.

The Crooked House, in Himley, Dudley, West Midlands, is dubbed Britain's wonkiest pub

The leaning boozer of Himley was built in 1765 as a farmhouse

The building was constructed in 1765 as a farmhouse but became a pub in the 1830s with people flocking to see how one side is 4ft (1.2m) lower than the other.

However, earlier this year the unlikely tourist attraction was put up for sale with a guide price of 675,000, leaving punters fearing for its future.

Brewery Marston's has now confirmed the lopsided pub has been sold for an undisclosed price.

READ MORE: Britain's wonkiest pub The Crooked House where coins appear to roll uphill Advertisement

The pub said in a Facebook post: 'The Crooked House has been sold.

'Unlikely to open its doors again. Marston's have sold the site to a private buyer for alternative use.

'This is just to update the page so nobody makes wasted journeys to the site.

'Thanks all for your custom and support. Keep supporting the great other local pubs to make sure they stay as they should be.'

Locals reacted with sadness after learning the landmark pub was likely to remain closed forever.

Derrick McConell, 65, from Dudley, has drank in the pub for more than 20 years.

He said: 'It's a sad day, it's a brilliant pub and there's no place like it elsewhere.

'We feared nobody would take it on due to the cost of the upkeep but you'd think somebody would want to save a piece of history.

'Its a sign of the times unfortunately - you hear of local pubs closing all the time and it appears not even a unique place like this can survive in the current climate.

'It sounds cheesy but this place was like a second home, all the regulars are lovely people and became like family to me. I am devastated.'

Inside, its windows and walls all appear crooked due to a bizarre effect through subsidence caused by mining in the 1800s

Bartenders often leave customers amazed with an optical illusion trick where coins and marbles seemingly roll uphill along the bar

Regulars who called the place a 'second home' are devastated to see the pub go

The crooked nature of the pub has attracted punters for decades, with walls, doorways and windows all appearing slanted

In July it was forced to close its doors when tens of thousands of pounds of damage was caused during a break-in

The quirky entrance to the Crooked House, which brewers Marston's has sold off

Others reacted on social media, with one person writing on Facebook: 'Sorry to hear this. Another piece of history going. Many good memories The Crooked House holds for me.'

Another added: 'Absolutely shocking, should stay open to the public, it's a local treasure and historic place to enjoy food and drink with family friends. Honestly gutted.'

Originally called 'The Siden House', meaning crooked in Black Country dialect, the pub got its bizarre effect through subsidence caused by mining in the 1800s.

Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries bought it, made it structurally safe in the 1940s and renamed it the Crooked House due to its appearance.

People from as far as America, Australia, Japan, China and New Zealand have travelled to have a pint at the Black Country boozer over the years.

The slanted structure is kept standing as a result of being propped up by buttresses made of bricks and metal bars.

In July it was forced to close its doors when tens of thousands of pounds of damage was caused during a break-in.

A spokesman for Marston's said: 'We're pleased to confirm the sale of The Crooked House has now completed. At this stage we're unable to disclose any details on the buyer or price.'
It's fair to say it's been a somewhat topsy-turvy British summer.

Last month's heatwave brought with it temperatures in excess of 86F (30C) and made it the UK's warmest June on record. But as July arrived, so did the rain.

Worse still, forecasters now expect this dreary weather to continue for much of August, dashing hopes of a warm end to the summer holidays.

That is in stark contrast to the extreme heat experienced by most of Europe, as back-to-back heatwaves ushered in record-breaking temperatures and wildfires across the Greek islands of Rhodes and Corfu.

So why has Britain had rain while the continent has sweltered in unbearable heat? The answer, Met Office experts and scientists have told MailOnline, lies in the arrival of a series of low pressure systems above the UK which have been held in place by a 'blocked weather pattern'.

Daring motorists braved the floodwaters in Levenshulme, Manchester after heavy rain on Monday

Londoners had to get their brollies out as rain swept the capital on the last day of July

Pac-a-macs came in handy during the drizzle in central London today. Pictured: People walking in the rain near Tower Bridge

Holidaymakers on the beach sheltering under umbrellas in the rain at the seaside resort of Weymouth in Dorset on a day of overcast cloudy skies and light showers

Tourists huddled under umbrellas and blankets as they went for a punt on the River Cam in Cambridge on Monday afternoon

The graphic above shows how the jet stream works and where it's located between seasons. It is normally to the north of the UK during the summer, but has actually been to the south of us. This is what has brought unsettled weather systems in from the Atlantic

WHAT IS THE JET STREAM AND HOW DOES THAT AFFECT BRITAIN'S WEATHER? The jet stream is a fast moving strip of air high up in the atmosphere that's responsible for steering weather systems towards the UK from the Atlantic. It has a warm side to the south and a cold side to the north and can have a major impact on what kind of weather we experience. In a typical British summer, when temperatures are warmer and drier, the jet stream is to the north of the UK, where it pulls up hot air across the country. However, in the winter it sits further south and brings wet and windier weather because low pressure areas come closer to the UK. The jet stream, which sits at about 30,000ft, can also change shape, going from flat to amplified, and it's the latter that can lead to huge thunderstorms developing very quickly. Advertisement

Essentially, this low pressure is what is 'in charge of weather right now in the UK', according to the Met Office.

It has been pushed in from the Atlantic because of the position of the jet stream - a fast moving strip of air high up in the atmosphere that's responsible for steering weather systems towards Britain.

Normally it is to the north of the country during the summer and to the south in winter, but for July it has staunchly remained to the south, bringing with it miserable weather.

'In recent weeks, the jet stream has been locked in quite a rigid pattern, to the south of the UK,' said Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon.

'For us, on the northern side of the jet stream, what it has meant is for low pressure systems to move off the Atlantic towards the UK, bringing us periods of wet and windy weather that you wouldn't typically associate with summer.'

He added that this was also responsible for allowing high pressure to dominate in Europe, causing the extreme heat which has been commonplace this month.

The bad news, however, is that we likely won't be seeing such high pressure any time soon.

Forecasters don't anticipate the hot weather returning to the UK until towards the end of August at the earliest.

'When the jet stream is to the north of the UK  as it often is in the summer  this is when there's a higher likelihood of warmer, more settled weather, though that isn't in the forecast for this week,' Mr Dixon said.

'There are some signals for more settled interludes of weather later in August, with more dry weather, though this is uncertain at present.

'There are no signals for prolonged or excessive heat at the moment, though more settled weather is likely later in the month.'

According to scientists, another reason we have endured such wet weather while Europe has been blanketed by heat is because of what is known as a 'blocked weather pattern'.

Professor Richard Allan, an expert in climate science at the University of Reading, told MailOnline that atmospheric Rossby waves - or planetary waves - created by the Earth's rotation were partly responsible for the two extremes.

'When giant, planetary waves in the atmosphere become blocked they can cause relentless heat to build in some regions, like we've seen in parts of North America, southern Europe and areas of Asia,' he said.

Miserable Rain and cooler temperatures are here to stay for the summer because a low pressure system is currently 'in charge of Britain's weather', experts say. Pictured is West Bay in Dorset at the weekend

Wet: People shield from the rain while crossing Millennium Bridge in London on Saturday

People had to wrap up warm as they enjoyed a chilly stroll along the seafront at West Bay yesterday (Sunday)

'But also intense rainfall and flooding in others, or just persistent cool and showery conditions like the UK is currently experiencing.'

Professor Nigel Arnell, of the University of Reading's Meteorology Department, agreed.

'It's the blocking which has made the European heatwave so extreme, so there is a connection between the hot conditions in Europe and the windy/cool conditions in the UK.'

But it's not just planetary waves that get blocked - the jet stream can also stall weather patterns.

If this flow of winds is rushing quickly in a straight line from west to east then the weather often changes day to day.

When it weakens and becomes bendy or wavy, however, that's when we get stuck with certain conditions for longer.

At the moment that's cooler and wetter weather, but in June it was hot. In fact, most of this year has seen conditions persist for many weeks.

For instance, January began unsettled but February was the driest in the UK since 1993, before March was Britain's wettest March on record.

The jet stream (shown) - a fast moving strip of air high up in the atmosphere that's responsible for steering weather systems towards the UK from the Atlantic - can stall weather patterns

April and May were largely cooler than normal before the heat stepped up a notch in June.

Why are weather patterns persisting for longer then? Climate change is a distinct possibility, according to some experts.

There are studies which suggest that global warming might be making blocked weathers patterns more common.

The problem in relation to the jet stream however is that it naturally has waves, so just how much impact, if any, climate change is having is unclear.

But Professor Allan added that 'it would be surprising if the unprecedented ocean warming patterns due to human-caused climate change were not disrupting the planetary waves and jet streams of air many kilometres above our head that affect our weather patterns'.

With the Arctic region warming more quickly than areas further south there is certainly an argument to be made that climate change is interfering with the jet stream.

That is because the flow of atmospheric winds is driven by the contrast in temperatures north-to-south, meaning that if this lessens the jet stream could weaken longer term and become wavy more frequently, sparking a prolonged type of weather.

What is more certain, Professor Allan said, is that global warming is 'intensifying the heatwaves, droughts and deluges where and when they occur'.

Europe has been hit by back-to-back extreme heatwaves. Pictured is a view of the beach of Torre Faro Pilone near Messina on the island of Sicily, crowded with bathers earlier this month

Ablaze: Back-to-back heatwaves have ushered in record-breaking temperatures in Europe and wildfires across the Greek islands of Rhodes (pictured) and Corfu

'Without rapid cuts in the climate-warming greenhouse gases we're emitting, these extremes of weather across the world will continue to worsen,' he added.

Professor Arnell said climate change 'has two big effects'.

'The first is to raise temperatures in general, so when blocking conditions arise then the resulting heatwave is more intense.

'The second effect is on what we call the dynamics of weather  the features such as cyclones, anticyclones, jet streams and blocking patterns.

'This is effect is much more complicated to unravel, but it's fair to say that climate change has disrupted these dynamic systems because it alters the temperature gradients between equator and pole and it has led to warmer sea surface temperatures.

'So whilst we can't say yet that what is happening now is totally due to climate change, we can say that it is consistent with what we expect the effects of climate change to be.'

He added: 'We're poking the climate system by adding greenhouse gases, and we therefore can no longer expect to get "normal" weather.'

Whether climate change is making blocked weather patterns more likely or not, it is certainly intensifying the extremes when they do get locked in for longer in a certain region.

At the moment that's a cold spell for the UK. Last month it was a heatwave. The question is what will follow next month and beyond.
Solar panels release five times more carbon dioxide than previously thought, according to a new report.

An Italian researcher made the claims after finding a database that world institutions use to calculate global carbon footprint projections omits emissions from China, which produces 80 percent of solar panels worldwide.

China is known to use coal-burning plants in manufacturing, which has dropped the price of technology for Americans and other Western countries.

Without data from China, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) claims the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry emissions are 48 gCO2/kWh.

However, the new analysis suggests that the number is closer to 170 and 250 gCO2/kWh - 62.5 percent as much carbon dioxide emissions as natural gas electricity generation.

A report found that the clean energy produces as much as 62.5 percent of the carbon dioxide as natural gas because the nation uses carbon-burning plants - five times more than previously thought

The report was prepared by Italian researcher Enrico Mariutti, who identified a discrepancy in Ecoinvent's data two years ago.

'If I use the standard variables for LCA [life cycle analysis] of PV energy, I arrive at a carbon intensity estimate similar to those of other studies: around 100 gCO2/kWh, Mariutti told DailyMail.com.

'However, those studies omit five crucial variables: methane emissions, albedo, grid upgrades, storage and transport. When included, the estimate drastically increases.'

Robbie Andrew, a researcher at the Center for International Climate Research in Oslo, told the Wall Street Journal in 2021: 'If China didn't have access to coal, then solar power wouldn't be cheap now.

'Is it OK that we've had this huge bulge of carbon emissions from China because it allowed them to develop all these technologies really cheaply?'

Most solar cells comprise silicon semiconductors, glass, and metals like silver, copper, indium and tellurium.

However, some are designed with battery storage, which includes the use of lithium.

Gathering silicon and glass has no environmental impact, but mining metals create greenhouse gas emissions and lead to soil, water and air pollution, EcoWatch reports.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) set a target for solar energy to account for 30 percent of energy generation in the US by 2030.

If the target is met, more than one billion solar panels will be spread across the US - and a majority will come from China.

'[The data] showed how much solar photovoltaic systems used in terms of raw materials: silicon, aluminum, copper, glass, steel and silver. Then I saw the carbon footprint. It just seemed way too small,' he told Environmental Progress.

Environmental Progress is a California-based environmental group founded by Michael Shellenberger, who was a Democratic candidate for governor in the 2018 California gubernatorial election.

Research determined that if China grows in solar manufacturing, the world will see up to 18 billion tons more carbon emissions by 2040

'According to Mariutti's findings, the carbon intensity of solar panels manufactured in China and installed in European countries like Italy was off by an order of magnitude,' according to Environmental Progress.

A 2022 study by scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado determined that emissions per module produced were twice as high in China than in the US for crystalline silicon modules and some four times as high for Cadmium Telluride thin-film modules - a type of solar cell.

READ MORE: Calls for Australia to stop accepting 'solar genocide panels' from China as 'rogue' environmentalist claims they are funding horrific practice Solar panels have become cheaper not because of improvements in technology, which were tiny, but because they are made by slave labor, Shellenberger said in 2022. Advertisement

A Clean Energy Buyers Institute report also shared a stark warning about China gaining dominance in the PV industry.

Research determined that if the nation grows in solar manufacturing, the world will see up to 18 billion tons more carbon emissions by 2040, all related to the PV industry.

And the International Energy Agency (IEA) stated that 'the world will almost completely rely on China for the supply of key building blocks for solar panel production through 2025.'

The US, Japan and Germany once dominated the solar panel manufacturing industry.

However, regulations on coal use pushed the three powerhouses behind, letting China, which does not have guidelines take the top spot.

Chinese firms rely on coal-powered electricity in Xinjiang to manufacture critical raw materials like polysilicon, a high-purity form of silicon.

Mariutti found a major issue with solar data is that those compiling research have 'been slow to recognize the displacement of the industry to China.'

C.P Colum, leading author of the study, told DailyMail.com: 'There have long been claims of a bulge in carbon emissions as a result of PV production moving to China.

'But the industry falls back on data showing that solar is still somehow cleaner.

'Yet what we discovered is that the data may not relate to China at all.

'In fact, we found out that a lot of it definitely doesn't. So the industry's claims appear unfounded. That is a big black hole in the data.'

The nation did not pick up speed in the industry until around 2016, but data collectors could only use estimates and models of emissions rather than concrete numbers.

'In 2014, they calculated the carbon intensity of PV energy as if the panels were made in Europe, with low-carbon energy,' Mariutti told Environmental Progress, referring to data compilers.

'By 2016 calculations started to appear as if the panels were made in China, i.e. supposedly with carbon-intensive energy.'

Mariutti found that calculations always sat around 20 to 40 gCO2/kWh, but the specific model or source was not revealed.

'Had they done the math right, it would come out at around 80 to 106 gCO2/kWh, and that's with important factors still left out,' claimed Mariutti.

The IEA told Environmental Progress that carbon footprint calculations for solar panel manufacturing do not account for silicon mining, toxic panel waste and the albedo effect.

The Albedo effect is when the highly reflective properties of dark-colored solar panels increase the greenhouse effect.

'According to the IEA, when taken into proper account, the first two factors alone could more than triple the 'payback period' for panels, i.e., the time before they become carbon neutral after installation,' Environmental Progress reports.

'Why is the IEA not being transparent about its sources and the gaps in the data?' asked Mariutti.

'A hasty transition to solar and other renewables without cast-iron proof of the benefits, all the while handing control to China, could be a huge error.'

Mariutti has been met with criticism about his claims.

Dr Marco Raugei, a leading researcher of emissions from renewable technologies at Oxford Brookes University, tweeted: 'We all used Chinese electricity mixes for c-Si PV. And we still got results nowhere near as high as you imply one would. So something is clearly off in your back-of-the envelope calculations.'

Among Maritutt's claims of carbon emissions, China has also come under fire for using slave labor in manufacturing plants.

The reason the Chinese have been able to make solar panels so cheaply is because they use Uighur Muslims that are housed in concentration camps, Shellenberger told the right-wing at a 2022 CPAC gathering in Australia.

In September, Shellenberger also told a congressional hearing in Washington that the US had a 'moral imperative' to stop importing solar panels from China.
The British-backed Euclid space telescope has beamed back its first incredible images of distant galaxies on its mission to uncover the mysteries of the dark universe.

The European space telescope, named after the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid, captured glittering galaxies and stars after making a million-mile journey from Earth.

It was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida on July 1 and has arrived at its destination - a vantage point known as the Second Lagrange Point - where the gravitational forces of Earth and the Sun are roughly equal, creating a stable location for the spacecraft.

The European Space Agency (ESA) called it a 'milestone' which indicates the two-tonne telescope will achieve its goals which is to shed light on two of the greatest mysteries: dark energy and dark matter - which make up 95 per cent of the universe.

It said 'spiral and elliptical galaxies, nearby and distant stars, star clusters, and much more' could be seen in the images released on Monday, even though the instruments involved captured a portion of sky smaller than the full moon.

The British-backed Euclid space telescope has beamed back its first incredible images of distant galaxies. Pictured: Red images were captured by the Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP) instrument which will measure the amount of light that galaxies emit at each wavelength

Whilst a few galaxies are very easy to spot, many more are fuzzy blobs hidden amongst the stars, waiting to be unveiled by Euclid in the future

In this image, the light from Euclids telescope had passed through a grism before it reached the detector. This device splits light from every star and galaxy by wavelength, so each vertical streak of light in the image is one star or galaxy

Black and white images were taken by Euclid's visible light instrument (VIS), which will go on to capture 'sharp' shots of billions of galaxies to measure their shapes, according to the space agency.

READ MORE: UK-backed space telescope blasts off from Florida on mission to uncover mysteries of the dark universe Advertisement

Red images were captured by the Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP) instrument which will measure the amount of light that galaxies emit at each wavelength.

Project manager Giuseppe Racca said: 'After more than 11 years of designing and developing Euclid, it's exhilarating and enormously emotional to see these first images.

'It's even more incredible when we think that we see just a few galaxies here, produced with minimum system tuning.

'The fully calibrated Euclid will ultimately observe billions of galaxies to create the biggest ever 3D map of the sky.'

The development of the VIS was led by Mark Cropper from University College London.

He said: 'I'm thrilled by the beauty of these images and the abundance of information contained within them.'

The ESA stressed the snapshots are 'early test images' taken to check the instruments and review how the spacecraft can be refined, and a new set of 'more detailed' images will be released at a later date.

A two-tonne telescope, named after the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid, began its million-mile journey from Cape Canaveral in Florida on July 1

The aim of the mission, led by the European Space Agency (ESA), is to better understand two mysterious components that make up 95 per cent of the universe  dark matter and dark energy. Pictured: Computer generated image of Euclid

Euclid was due to be launched last year on a Russian Soyuz rocket but after the Ukraine invasion, the ESA signed a deal with Elon Musk's SpaceX to use its Falcon 9 rocket

Scientists from the Mullard Space Science Laboratory have led the development of the optical camera known as VIS  a science instrument that will take images of the distant universe

Euclid's six-year mission aims to scrutinise the dark universe to better understand why it is rapidly expanding.

Captured images will help astronomers gain insights into the elusive dark matter, particles that do not absorb, reflect or emit light.

Dark matter, which unlike normal matter does not reflect or emit light, binds together galaxies creating the environment for stars, planets and life.

The mission will also explore dark energy, which is thought to push galaxies apart, causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate.

The UK has contributed 37 million towards the 850 million mission, with scientists playing key roles in designing and building the probe and leading on one of the two scientific instruments on board.

Euclid was due to be launched last year on a Russian Soyuz rocket but after the Ukraine invasion, the ESA signed a deal with Elon Musk's SpaceX to use its Falcon 9 rocket.

After launching at 4.12pm GMT on July 1 from Cape Canaveral, Euclid took around a month to reach its destination.
It could be the plot of a Hollywood movie.

Hidden behind huge locked gates lies an ancient former seminary and a vast secret courtyard.

It sat untouched for decades at the heart of Italy's fashion capital, Milan, until its chance discovery by a very well-connected resident.

Now after ten years of negotiation, planning, design and construction, vibrant new life has been breathed into this extraordinary space - something that looks like the most stylish of film sets.

The 16th-century seminary (a college for priests) has been transformed into Portrait Milano, a stunning new hotel. The huge paved courtyard, now renamed Piazza del Quadrilatero, is the largest public square in Milan's renowned fashion district.

The giant Baroque gates stand open and the piazza provides a pedestrian route from bustling Corso Venezia to the exclusive designer haunts of Via Sant'Andreais. Far more than just a stylish cut-through, the imposing square hosts boutiques, bars, restaurants and regular exhibitions.

Ian Walker checks into Portrait Milano, a seminary-turned-hotel that lies in Milan's fashion district

The building, which was 'untouched for decades' before its renovation, overlooks a 'vast secret courtyard'

Success on such a grand scale is testament to the vision and determination of Leonardo Ferragamo, chairman of the famed luxury brand Salvatore Ferragamo, and Valeriano Antonioli, the man who first glimpsed the seminary from the top floor of a neighbouring site and the chief executive of Lungarno Collection, the company's growing hospitality arm.

The total spend of the ambitious project remains shrouded in mystery, but the 73 rooms of the hotel, by far the largest Ferragamo offering to date, scream opulence, from the deep pile of the cardinal red rugs, larch-boarded floors and Carrara marble bathrooms to the studded, polished wood, felt, leather and lined clothes storage areas reminiscent of 19th-century luxury steamer trunks.

Details such as the elegant spiral door handles, which appear to be made of wood but are actually of tooled leather, and framed design sketches give a nod to the Ferragamo history of creating exquisite footwear and fashion.

When I visited locals and guests alike strolled through Milan's newest piazza expressing their appreciation for access to a space most never knew was there. Antonioli admits he was astonished when he first set eyes on the seminary, having regularly cycled past the closed gates, with no idea of the 'magnitude' of the site behind it.

Above is the seminary before the restoration. 'The total spend of the ambitious project remains shrouded in mystery,' says Ian

An impressive spa, 19m (62ft) pool and fitness complex are due to open later this year

Despite the Ferragamo pedigree it took two years of discussion to green-light the development under a 30-year lease agreement with the Catholic Church.

It took a further eight years to overcome planning and construction hurdles to ensure the preservation of the historic structure, including the spectacular first-floor double loggia colonnades while installing heating, air conditioning, elevator banks and the rest of the paraphernalia expected of a luxury hotel.

Architect Michele De Lucchi more than fulfilled his brief with strikingly innovative 15-ton sheets of sliding glass installed behind the 152 first-floor columns, creating a spacious terrace and seating area outside rooms that can be either open or protected from the weather.

An equally impressive spa, 19m (62ft) pool and fitness complex are due to open later this year.

The luxe interiors by Michele Bonan are subtle, classic and comfortable, featuring velvets, tweed, buttery soft leather, walk-in closets and huge beds.

It is impossible to stay here and not applaud the monumental achievement in transforming this building, which was founded in 1565 and has incorporated many additions and renovations along the way, but key to its success is not only the sympathetic treatment of its classic lines and grand proportions.

The rooms of the hotel 'scream opulence', Ian reveals, from the deep pile of the cardinal red rugs to the larch-boarded floors

Ian admires the Carrara marble bathrooms adjoining the hotel's guestrooms

Those efforts would be harder to appreciate were it not for the proficient and endearing staff. If they had tails they would definitely be wagging them at the sight of new guests, such is the genuine welcome at reception and their unfeigned enthusiasm for the hotel and piazza.

Add to this the unbeatable location, which is within walking distance of anywhere worth seeing in Milan, including the awe-inspiring Duomo di Milano. The icing on the cake is a really excellent restaurant - the ground-level '10_11', named after the street numbers of the two entrances to the piazza.

The large bar that curves round from the restaurant to an elegant lounge area is the go-to spot for a great choice of accomplished cocktails.

The hotel is set in an 'unbeatable location', Ian reveals, adding that it's 'within walking distance of anywhere worth seeing in Milan'

Clothes shopping is de rigueur when in Milan and much to my surprise does not have to break the bank with a huge choice of decent boutiques and department stores on the hotel's doorstep.

Also on the list for a city break in Milan has to be a visit to the super stylish Dolce and Gabbana bar and bistro in the Martini building. The collaboration of two iconic Italian brands is a triumph of bling, with everything branded in classic D&G style from the oversized art-installation light shades, sofas and cushions to the tableware and serviettes. Sitting under a stunning glass ceiling in the stone-paved 'veranda' area I sampled a pretty decent pizza, but the highlight was the innovative martini cocktails and the people-watching.

From fashionistas of all ages, shapes and sizes embracing the full printed pyjama look, to elderly devotees of the latest trend for heavy, black platform 'bovva' boots clinging to the end of fragile limbs, it was a visual feast.

Ian dines at the hotel's 'really excellent' ground-level restaurant (pictured above)

TRAVEL FACTS Rooms will be available starting from 935 (800/$1,030) per night. For further information and bookings, visit lungarnocollection.com. Advertisement

Of course, no trip to Milan would be complete without visiting that magnificent celebration of human endeavour, the Duomo di Milano, which took nearly six centuries to complete. Construction began in 1386 and finished in 1965. It has many contrasting styles that have led to both admiration and outrage from such varied figures as Oscar Wilde, 'The Cathedral is an awful failure', and Mark Twain - 'What a wonder it is! So grand, so solemn, so vast! And yet so delicate, so airy, so graceful!'

I am with Twain and find a magnetic attraction in the Duomo from its pale Candoglian marble exterior to its rooftop forest of pinnacles, statues and spires, best experienced with a ticket to visit the roof, up via a lift and down by the stairs.

If that sounds too much effort I also had an excellent view of the Duomo glistening in the afternoon sunshine from Maio, a rooftop restaurant, perched on top of the upmarket La Rinascente department store.

Less famous, but well worth a visit is the nearby Villa Necchi Campiglio, a 1930s mansion, the city's first to have a private swimming pool. Designed by 20th-century Milanese architect Piero Portaluppi, the villa was the location for the film I Am Love starring Tilda Swinton and provided inspiration for the interiors of Portrait Milano.

Now this architectural treasure has been transformed for future generations, it may be only a matter of time before it has a starring role in its own movie.
A teenage racing game obsessive teams up with a failed former race-car driver and an idealistic motorsports executive to risk it all on the most elite sport in the world. Sounds unbelievable, right?

But for Jann Mardenborough the seemingly impossible scenario of going from working-class gamer to professional racing car driver is his reality and the true story behind the hotly anticipated and inspiring new film Gran Turismo.

The surprisingly-emotional and action-packed film, which arrives in cinemas on August 10th, is the unbelievable true story of a team of unlikely underdogs, detailing how Jann went from playing the iconic game on his PlayStation at home and having never driven a car, to becoming the youngest ever winner of the Nissan GT Academy, beating 90,000 hopefuls, and ultimately racing for the Nissan team.

Archie Madekwe as Jann Mardenborough in new film Gran Turismo. The film is based on the true events of Jann's life which saw him go from gamer to professional racing car driver

The action-packed story that proves that nothing is impossible when youre fuelled from within.

'When I was 19 I remember seeing it on a normal TV advert, GTA academy, the chance to become a professional racing driver for Nissan. I didn't have any experience driving anything and then eight months later I'm driving this car at 140 miles an hour,' Jann explains in a behind the scenes video.

Perhaps it is serendipitous then that Archie Madekwe, who plays Mardenborough in the film, actually had to obtain his driver's licence in a matter of weeks to secure the role.

And while Madekwe had to learn how to drive, and how to play the PlayStation classic game to an elite level too, Mardenborough showed off his talents as one of the stunt drivers in the film.

Incredible: The film follows a teen gamer as he competes in the Nissan GT Academy, beating 90,000 other hopefuls to win the competition, landing a spot in the Nissan racing team

Stellar cast: David Harbour stars in the film as Jann's mentor, Jack Salter, and Orlando Bloom appears as Danny Moore, a character based on real GT Academy founder Darren Cox

In a video of Archie and Jann together, the actor quips: 'I think this is the first film ever, where there is a film being made about someone's life and they are stunt driving in the film.'

Starring alongside Madekwe is a stellar lineup of acting talent including including David Harbour as Jann's mentor, Jack Salter, and Orlando Bloom starring as Danny Moore, a character based on real Nissan GT Academy founder Darren Cox.

The likes of Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond) Darren Barnet (Never Have I Ever) and Spice Girl turned F1 royalty Geri Halliwell Horner, also appear in the film.

Early hit: The film, which arrives in cinemas on August 10th, is already attracting early rave reviews

Directed by Neill Blomkamp who has a passion for cars and the motor world, the film is as visually impressive as the storyline is miraculous.

'I knew Neill would bring a visceral, blood pumping feel to the movie,' says David Harbour in the behind the scenes clip. 'What I didnt really know was how much we were going to be working with actual cars, actual drivers, actual tracks. Were in the cars, were doing pit tire changes and gassing up the cars in real-time with other drivers blazing around the track at 200mph.'

The locations of the film include Budapest, Germany, Austria, Slovakia,Dubai and Tokyo and in total the crew comprised of up to 500 people, including qualified mechanics and technicians to ensure the racing cars were maintained sufficiently.

Given the attention to detail, the talent and the incredible storyline, it's perhaps no surprise that the movie is already attracting rave reviews.

Critic Coy Jandreau tweeted that he, 'Couldnt believe how emotionally charged' the film was and that, 'It stayed me, reminded me why I love Gran Tourismo, and video games, and SPORTS, and human stories. #GranTurismo is so great you guys.'

David Harbour says: 'I knew Neill would bring a visceral, blood pumping feel to the movie. What I didnt really know was how much we were going to be working with actual cars, actual drivers, actual tracks.'

Actor Brandon Davis posted: 'The #GranTurismo movie is a winner. The shocking true story told here races laps around most video game titles as films. Found myself hooked, especially in the second half. Slick racing with creative nods for gamers. Great work from David Harbour & Archie Madekwe. Good movie!'

Appealing to gaming fans as well as film fans, there's no doubt that the rise of Mardenborough makes for an exceptional story to be played out on the big screen.

As Orlando Bloom describes: 'This is the true story of Jann Mardenborough who came out of nowhere, who dreamed big enough and who came through it.'

And perhaps the latest twist in the driver's incredible life story? The fact that a film has been made about his life.

'To have a film made about it, I never thought that was even possible,' he says.

It seems where Mardenborough is concerned, anything is possible.

Gran Turismo is in cinemas August 10, for more information or to book tickets, click here.
Jax Taylor was spotted while filming an episode of his upcoming Vanderpump Rules spinoff program in Los Angeles on Sunday morning.

The 44-year-old reality television personality cut a casual figure while working on an installment of the planned show.

The Bravo star, who recently spoke about his return to the reality program, was also joined by fellow media figures Kirsten Doute, Lala Kent and Brock Davies as he filmed his scenes.

Taylor opted for a gray graphic-printed T-shirt and slim-fitting blue jeans while working on his new show.

Doute donned an eye-catching floral print dress and open-toed sandals as she shot scenes for the upcoming program.

Back in action: Jax Taylor was spotted while filming an episode of his upcoming Vanderpump Rules spinoff program in Los Angeles on Sunday morning

Kent donned a multicolored dress that showed off her impeccably sculpted legs and was contrasted with jet-black sandals.

Davies showed off his chiseled chest and midsection with a patterned white button-up shirt that was paired with bright cutoff shorts.

Deadline announced that a spinoff centered on several Vanderpump Rules cast members was in development this past June.

The Bravo program itself served as a spinoff from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, on which Lisa Vanderpump was previously a cast member.

Taylor, Doute, Kent and Davies have all been featured on the hit reality program in the past.

However, Taylor, as well as his wife and former castmate Brittany Cartwright, announced that they would be leaving the program in December of 2020.

The couple were previously the subject of a spinoff entitled Vanderpump Rules: Jax & Brittany Take Kentucky, which aired for a single season in 2017.

Many fans suspected that the couple was let go from the program after Taylor was accused of making controversial comments around his costars by Faith Stowers.

Taking it easy: Doute donned an eye-catching floral print dress and open-toed sandals as she shot scenes for the upcoming program

Comfortable clothing: Kent donned a multicolored dress that showed off her impeccably sculpted legs while Davies showed off his chiseled chest and midsection with a patterned white button-up shirt

Front and center: Taylor and Cartwright were later reported to have been selected as the protagonists of a new show starring several individuals that had been involved with various Bravo programs in the past; they are seen in 2019

Taylor and Cartwright were later reported to have been selected as the protagonists of a new show starring several individuals that had been involved with various Bravo programs in the past.

According to Deadline, the show will be centered on the couple and their friends as they start new lives as parents.

The happy couple previously welcomed a son named Cruz, aged two, in April of 2021.

The upcoming reality program, which is expected to run for eight episodes, does not have a planned release date as of yet.
Domenica Calarco has taken another swipe at Kerri-Anne Kennerley.

The reality star, 28, who clashed with the TV veteran, 69, on the latest season of I'm A Celebrity, took to Instagram on Sunday to suggest she wasn't invited to the TV Week Logie Awards this year because of the feud.

In the Instagram story, the Married At First Sight alum posted a composite photo of herself without makeup sitting at home while looking at Kerri-Anne on the red carpet in a glamorous blue dress.

Emblazoned across the image was a caption reading 'Now I know why I wasn't invited to the Logies this year.'

Domenica has previously explained how the conflict began on her Sit With Us podcast, blaming Kerri-Anne's past controversial remarks for their series of heated confrontations on the jungle set reality show.

In the Instagram story, Domenica Calarco (pictured left) posted a composite photo of herself without makeup sitting at home while looking at Kerri-Anne (pictured right) on the red carpet in a glamorous blue dress with a caption reading 'Now I know why I wasn't invited to the Logies this year'

Chatting alongside co-host Ella Ding, Dom explained she felt aggrieved by Australia Day comments made by Kerri-Anne in January, 2019.

'I didn't think much of Kerri-Anne coming into this [filming] because I obviously haven't seen her on TV for a while,' Domenica began.

'The last thing I did see of Kerri-Anne was on Studio Ten a few years back, and she did say some pretty horrible things about First Nations people,' she added.

Domenica Calarco blasted Kerri-Anne Kennerley yet again while attempting to explain why she called the TV icon a 'c**t'

Dom admitted to calling the star a 'c**t', but said she was open to 'debate'.

'[She had] some backwards thinking. It didn't sit right with me. I really like having debates and those conversations with people. That's where magic happens.

'I love educating myself. If I could learn something from Kerri-Anne. Of course, I would have loved to have that conversation [about her remarks].'

'The last thing I did see of Kerri-Anne was on Studio Ten a few years back, and she did say some pretty horrible things about First Nations people,' Dom added

Kerri-Anne famously got into a fight with co-star Yumi Stynes during a panel discussion about Australia Day in January, 2019.

Kennerley called-out protesters at an Australia Day event, and questioned whether they could be doing more to help the people they were defending.

'OK, the 5,000 people who went through the streets making their points known, saying how inappropriate the day is,' she began.

Kennerley famously called out Australia Day protesters in 2019, and questioned whether they could be doing more to help the people they were defending

'Has any single one of those people been out to the Outback, where children, babies, five-year-olds, are being raped?

'Their mothers are being raped, their sisters are being raped. They get no education. What have you done?'

The panel sat in shocked silence for several seconds before Stynes went straight for the jugular.

'That is not even faintly true, Kerri-Anne. You're sounding quite racist right now,' she said.

Dom, who called Kerri-Anne a 'c**t', said she would be open to speaking to her. Pictured

Kennerley responded by stating she was offended, but Stynes doubled down on her insult.

'Well keep going then, because every time you open your mouth you're sounding racist.'

Kerri-Anne was later cleared by the Australian Communications and Media Authority following an investigation into the segment.

Kerri-Anne was later cleared by the Australian Communications and Media Authority following an investigation into the segment

Kerri-Anne sensationally walked from I'm A Celebrity after Domenica branded her 'the most self-centred b**** she's ever met' during a fiery spat.

It later emerged Dom also called KAK a 'c**t' for refusing to participate in an eating challenge - although this moment was edited out of the broadcast.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph's Sydney Confidential shortly after her exit, Kerri-Anne was upset over quitting within the first week of the show, but she 'loved' living in the camp with some of the 'fabulous' famous faces.

'I am very disappointed that I couldn't stay,' she said, adding that the challenges were strenuous.

Kerri-Anne admitted that she'd never camped before and 'never wanted to' until she entered the jungle, but noted that she'd learned a lot about camping life.

She also addressed Dom's 'hurtful' comments before her exit.

'I am a tough old bird but that doesn't mean what people say aren't hurtful,' she added.
Gigi Hadid, 28, flaunted her curves in an elegant white dress with strategic cut-outs as she celebrated her sister Alana Hadid's 40th toga-themed birthday party.

The event was toga-themed, with the blonde supermodel's sisters Alana and Marielle rocking similar variations on Roman and Greek gowns in honor of the occasion.

Gigi wore her signature blonde locks in a tight knot and her toga ensemble with a thin silver necklace and dainty pearl earrings from Mejuri.

The Never Have I Ever star wore simple cream colored ballet flats to complete the look.

'Celebrating our sister!' the Los Angelesborn beauty captioned the family photo that she shared on Instagram for her millions of followers.

Grecian goddesses: Gigi Hadid, 28, flaunted her curves in an elegant white dress with strategic cut-outs as she celebrated her sister Alana Hadid's 40th toga-themed birthday party; seen this week

Idol worship: The supermodel's chic white gown had strategic, sexy cut-outs

While Bella Hadid is arguably the most famous of Gigi's siblings, all in all, there are five Hadid children: Gigi, Bella, Marielle, Alana and Anwar.

Marielle and Alana are the eldest Hadids and come from Mohamed Hadid's first marriage to Mary Butler back in the early 90s.

The birthday girl is the second eldest Hadid child, having been born on July 27, 1985.

Alana lives in New York City, where she makes a living as a fashion designer, unlike her model siblings.

Gigi's big sister frequently posts motivational content on her Instagram to her hundreds of thousands of followers, reminding people to love themselves, as her Instagram bio states.

While Alana has occasionally dabbled in modeling, she focuses mainly on fashion-related projects, including co-founding the line La Detresse.

The brunette beauty has posed for the New York based brand Lou And Grey.

Alana made sure to emphasize that 'she's not in competition' with her famous siblings, according to Grazia UK.

The statuesque Hadid sister made sure to add, 'We all have an innate work ethic and I feel successful.'

Gigi who: Alana stole the show at her birthday party, showing off her toned body in a skimpy purple toga, which she wore with a pair of shoes from Ancient Greek Sandals

Supportive sisters: Gigi and Marielle always support their sister Alana, even showing up the a La Detresse launch party together; seen in September 2019

'I do a lot of things that people perhaps dont know about, as do my sisters,' Alana said.

She reiterated, 'Being famous is not being a success.'

The La Detresse co-founder also noted that she was 'super close' with all of her Hadid siblings.

'We love each other, we want to be close, and weve never thought anything of each other apart from that were brothers and sisters,' the fashion mogul included.
Network big dogs Nine and Seven went head-to-head behind the scenes of the Logie Awards this year just weeks before it kicked off at Sydney's The Star casino.

When Seven snatched the host broadcasting rights from Nine, the gloves came off between the colossal corporations, The Australian reported on Monday.

The Seven West Media company stacked the initial Logies presenter draft with their own talent, giving just a measly two slots to Nine's media personalities.

According to inside sources, high-level Nine television executives made furious calls to their counterparts at Seven to demand more television time.

Nine's initial line-up during television's night-of-nights included one mystery talent and Love Island host Sophie Monk who got her start at Channel Seven.

Nine and Seven went head-to-head behind the scenes of the Logies after Network Seven stacked the initial presenter draft with their own talent. Pictured is actor Marta Dusseldorp and Sunrise host Matt 'Shirvo' Shirvington

However, after 'the usual argy bargy', Seven relented and allowed five Nine presenters to host the Logies stage alongside their own talent.

'We're all friends again now,' one executive said after Today co-host Karl Stefanovic and Under Investigation host Liz Hayes were also allowed to present.

Nevertheless, Seven got the last laugh when their golden girl Sonia Kruger took home the Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television.

According to inside sources, high-level Nine television executives made furious calls to their counterparts at Seven to demand more television time. Nine's initial line-up during television's night-of-nights included Love Island host Sophie Monk who got her start at Channel Seven

She faced stiff competition on Sunday night with Julia Morris, Hamish Blake, Leigh Sales, Mark Coles Smith, Osher Gunsberg and Shaun Micallef all in the running.

While accepting the award, the host of Big Brother, Dancing with the Stars and The Voice Australia, 57, was clearly overwhelmed.

She admitted to forgetting the names of her loved ones, and even took a cheeky swipe at Nine's LEGO Masters host Hamish Blake, last year's ultimate winner.

While Nine got several more presenters in the line-up, Seven got the last laugh when their golden girl Sonia Kruger, 57, (pictured) took home the Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television

'I cannot believe that. I have to compose myself,' she began breathlessly.

As she began her dedications, Sonia was lost for words and could not recall the names of her closest friends and family members.

'I want to thank God, a.k.a. James Warburton [CEO of the Seven Network], who's a genius. My family... their names escape me. They know who they are,' she rambled.

'No, I am joking! My mum, Deb, happy birthday for tomorrow. My brother, of course, Craig and my daughter Maggie and if my dad was here he would just be so proud and this is really for him.'
While Sofia Vergara has been back in the news lately after her surprise split from Joe Manganiello, Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice took a swipe at her.

Giudice, 51, was on her Namaste B$tches podcast with co-host Melissa Pfeister, where she opened up about a 2017 encounter with the Modern Family star, 51.

The reality star revealed that she was at the same event with Vergara, when their PR people suggested they take a photo together, though it didn't exactly go well.

'My PR person from Bravo spoke to her PR person, now I didn't even know any of this,' Giudice began on the podcast.

'Sofia Vegara's PR person and my PR person spoke together, and I guess the two of them said, "Lets get a picture of Teresa and Sofia together," Giudice added.

Teresa: While Sofia Vergara has been back in the news lately after her surprise split from Joe Manganiello , Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice took a swipe at her

Photo: The reality star revealed that she was at the same event with Vergara, when their PR people suggested they take a photo together, though it didn't exactly go well

'I didnt want a picture with her. I never ask to take a picture with anybody,' Giudice insisted.

'I didn't care to take a picture with her. I'm so not like that. I don't go out of my way to take a picture with anybody, just to put it on my Instagram, because I just don't care' she continued.

'When we went to go take picture, she was like standing in front of me. It's like, "OK, thats not how you take a picture," Giudice added.

'She was like, the most rudest (sic) woman I've ever met. Like, I saw her whole demeanor, and then I heard her say to her PR person, "Why you making me take a picture with that lady?"' Guidice added, mocking Vergara's Colombian accent.

'I was just like, "Excuse me?" I said, I did not want to take a picture with you. I said, I would never ask to take a picture with you.

"She just looked at me," Giudice says of Vergara, before admitting the women walked away from one another without a photo.

'I was like, "How rude Youre so not a humble person. You forgot where you came from. Its not like she, you know, she started out like being on the top, you know"' she continued.

'She forgot where she came from. She was so not a down-to-earth person. So not a fan of her,' Guidice concluded.

Didn't want: 'I didnt want a picture with her. I never ask to take a picture with anybody,' Giudice insisted

Rudest: 'She was like, the most rudest (sic) woman I've ever met. Like, I saw her whole demeanor, and then I heard her say to her PR person, "Why you making me take a picture with that lady?"' Guidice added, mocking Vergara's Colombian accent

Teresa recently celebrated her daughter graduating from high school with a party she shared on her Instagram.

They were standing next to a swimming pool with the words GRAD spelled out with Hollywood lights.

'Such a beautiful night celebrating my amazing daughters,' Teresa said to her over 2million Instagram followers.

'Congratulations Gia and Gabriella on graduating. Im so proud of you! You both continue to amaze me every day and I am so excited to see all the great things you accomplish. I love you.'

Gia wrote on Instagram, 'Had a blast celebrating me and Gabriellas Graduation. Thank you everyone for coming, you all mean so much to us!!'

Mom Teresa added the caption, 'Love you so much.' Teresa's husband then said, 'Congratulations LOVE You .'
Sharon Stone recalled how her life changed in an instant following the release of her erotic thriller, Basic Instinct, which made her a sex symbol overnight.

Following the 1992 film's release, the actress, 65, revealed that she was startled by her newfound fame, which she said caused fans to throw themselves on top of her car when she stopped at a red light.

'On Friday, when that movie came out, that I would be basically a nobody,' she told CNN anchor Chris Wallace in a new interview. 'And on Tuesday, I would go to get my eye glasses picked up on Sunset Plaza. And I would come out in my little 325 BMW. And I would stop at the stoplight, and everybody would climb all over my car.'

When the light would turn green and other cars beeped at her to move, she remembered thinking: 'Is it legal to drive, when people are all over the top of your car?'

After Wallace, 75, asked if this was just 'a story' or real, Stone insisted she was telling the truth.

Looking back: Sharon Stone recalled how her life changed in an instant following the release of her erotic thriller, Basic Instinct, which made her an sex symbol overnight; seen in May 2023

The mother-of-three proceeded to go in detail about driving down Sunset Boulevard and having people 'all over the hood' and windshield.

The Golden Globe winners, known for portraying femme fatales, said fans got more aggressive and she would plead with them not to 'pull the bumpers' or rear windows off her car.

Then, she found herself begging them to stop 'tearing clothes off' her body and 'grabbing' and 'ripping' her hair.

Her latest interview comes two years after alleging in her memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice, that she was tricked into the 'the interrogation scene' from Basic Instinct, which showed her uncrossing her legs and briefly exposing herself.

Stone claimed director Paul Verhoven lied to her and said 'we can't see anything' and told her to remove her underwear because they were 'reflecting the light.'

Stone got her acting break when she was cast as a 'pretty girl on train' in Woody Allen's 1980 film Stardust Memories, but then waded through a mire of forgettable parts in bad films or TV series before she got a decent role in Total Recall.

However, she kept her clothes on in the film and her then manager warned her, she says in her memoir, that no one would hire her because she wasn't regarded as 'sexy'; 'I wasn't, as they said in Hollywood at the time, f***able'.

Six weeks later, she was cast in Basic Instinct.

Wild: Following the 1992 film's release, the actress, 65, revealed that she was startled by her newfound fame, which she said caused fans to throw themselves on top of her car when she stopped at a red light

Stone said she admits she was opinionated and stood up to the men who ran Hollywood, only to be labelled as difficult. And she was. 'Oh, I used to cause some trouble . . . It was so easy to wind people up,' she concedes. 'I think I liked to have control of people's minds, and it was so easy to get them off their rockers.'

But that's all in the past, said Stone, who described becoming a much more pleasant and peaceful person since she started practicing Buddhism.

Off-screen, Stone also had to help her brother, Michael, recover his life after he was jailed for being a cocaine dealer. In 2014, Michael's son, Colin, compounded the family tragedy when he died aged 22 from a suspected heroin overdose.

Stone's own health problems also sparked drama when, in 2001, she suffered a serious brain haemorrhage which led to her vertebral artery being repaired with 22 platinum coils.

Her messy love life only added to the pain, prompting Stone  with typical sharp wit  to admit that 'if I'd had one more thing go wrong I'd have been a country and western song'.

She was married to producer Michael Greenberg for three years before divorcing him. She then had an affair with another producer, Bill MacDonald, who ditched his wife for Stone. She then ditched him, returning his engagement ring by Federal Express.

She married newspaper editor Phil Bronstein in 1998 and, unable to have children because Stone had contracted an autoimmune disease, they adopted a son.

Bronstein divorced Stone in 2004, citing irreconcilable differences, and he was given primary custody of their child, Roan. Stone later adopted two more boys.

'On Friday, when that movie came out, that I would be basically a nobody,' she told CNN anchor Chris Wallace in a new interview. 'And on Tuesday, I would go to get my eye glasses picked up on Sunset Plaza. And I would come out in my little 325 BMW. And I would stop at the stoplight, and everybody would climb all over my car'

Although she previously insisted that she is done with romance, the actress signed up to the online dating site Bumble in 2019, only to be blocked from it because everyone thought it couldn't really be her.

In 2021, Stone admitted she was consumed by her career  being an actress was 'everything' to her  but appeared bitter at how it played out.

Hollywood preferred its female stars to be 'ornaments' and do what they were told, she claimed.

Learning she was seen as an 'intimidating' presence to men in her industry makes her 'want to cry', she said.

'I was often alone on a set with hundreds of men.' And not just alone but sometimes naked, too.

She's often asked, she said, what it was like for her at the height of her fame.

'It was like this. Play ball or get off the field, girl,' she recalled.

Wild: The Golden Globe winners, known for portraying femme fatales, said fans got more aggressive and she would plead with them not to 'pull the bumpers' or rear windows off her car

Without naming names, Stone reeled off ugly stories about the executives she encountered in her book. She also claimed a director of a big-budget film, in which she was the star, wouldn't shoot with her because she refused to sit on his lap.

The actress also mentions a producer of another of her films who urged her to sleep with her co-star to improve their 'on-screen chemistry'

Unfortunately, this particular producer wasn't alone in his tawdry theory.

'I've had other producers on other films just come to my trailer and ask: 'So are you going to f*** or aren't you? You know it would be better if you did'.'

Sex, says Stone, and not just sexuality onscreen, has long been expected in the film business.

Although she's remained in work, her subsequent acting career has never come close to matching her Oscar-nominated performance as the chaotic, drug-addled wife of Robert De Niro in the 1995 gangster film Casino.

Stone tries to be philosophical about a career in which she was usually cast simply for her looks, admitting: 'I was not the chosen one, not the golden gal, just the sex symbol.'

For the actress, whose sudden rise to superstardom hinged not just on a film but a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment in a film, it takes some nerve to knock being a sex symbol.
Chloe Sevigny was seen Sunday with her husband Sinisa Mackovic and their son Vanja in Manhattan's Union Square.

The Springfield, Massachusetts-born star, 48, donned an ash gray collegiate style T-shirt that read 'SALEM' in green lettering across the chest, with frayed denim shorts on the outing with her family.

The Oscar-nominated Boys Don't Cry star rounded out her ensemble with black Mary Jane loafers and black socks, with brown sunglasses and her blonde locks down and parted on the summer day.

Mackovic, who tied the knot with the Big Love beauty in March of 2020, wore a vintage gray shirt with a bunny graphic advertising the band Sonic Youth.

Mackovic, who works in the art world, rounded out his ensemble with navy blue shorts and black boots with white socks with green stripes. He wore black sunglasses and sported a short, shaggy black hairdo on the outing.

Family outing: Chloe Sevigny, 48, was seen Sunday with her husband Sinisa Mackovic and their son Vanja, three, in Manhattan's Union Square

Keeping cool: The American Psycho actress donned an ash gray collegiate style T-shirt that read 'SALEM' in green lettering across the chest, with frayed denim shorts.

Mackovic, a Croatian art gallery director, was seen holding a bag and pushing a stroller in which Vanja, three, relaxed while playing a game on a portable device.

The couple has been married for more than three years and are the proud parents of son Vanja, who turned three in May.

Sevigny is slated to appear on the upcoming season of the Ryan Murphy mini-series Feud: Capotes Women, playing the role of C. Z. Guest.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter in April, Sevigny said the socialite character was akin to a Martha Stewart predecessor.

'This is about a bygone era of glamour,' Sevigny said. 'God, how many more frumpy mommies can I play? Give me some glamour, for crying out loud! What am I in this business for?'

The second installment of the FX series also stars Naomi Watts, is written by Jon Robin Baitz and directed by Gus Van Sant.

Sevigny in 1995 made her film debut in the coming-of-age drama film Kids, which earned her critical acclaim and a bit of name recognition.

A string of roles in small-scale features throughout the late 1990s, such as Trees Lounge (1996), further established her as a prominent performer in the independent film scene.

She would then rise to prominence with her portrayal of Lana Tisdel in the drama film Boys Don't Cry (1999), which would earn her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Her resume also includes American Psycho (2000), Demonlover (2002), Party Monster (2003), Dogville (2003), The Brown Bunny (2004), Broken Flowers (2005), along with more mainstream movies like Zodiac (2007), Mr. Nice (2010), Lovelace (2013) and Beatriz At Dinner (2017).

In the works: Sevigny is slated to appear on the upcoming season of the Ryan Murphy mini-series Feud: Capotes Women, playing the role of C. Z. Guest. Pictured in May in LA

Breakout: Known for her work in independent films, Sevigny was 21-years-old when she made her debut in the coming-of-age drama Kids

Latest role: Sevigny currently plays the role of Lenora Vulvokov in the comedy-drama series Russian Doll (2019-present), alongside the show's leading lady Natasha Lyonne

But many fans first took notice of the actress and her work when she starred in the hit HBO series Big Love (2006-2011), for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Sevigny currently plays the role of Lenora Vulvokov in the comedy-drama series Russian Doll (2019-present), alongside the show's leading lady Natasha Lyonne.

After serving as a guest star in season one in 2019, Sevigny joined the main cast for the second season that dropped on Netflix in April 2022.

So far, there's no official word on whether there will be a season three of Russian Doll, but considering the three year gap in between the first two, a decision won't likely come anytime soon.
Denise Drysdale and Jessica Rowe clarified their unusual housing situation as they attended TV Week Logie Awards together on Sunday.

The Studio 10 host, 75, told Daily Mail Australia on the red carpet she stays with Jessica, 53, whenever she is in Sydney to film the day time panel show.

Denise, who previously expressed her desire to live a 'nomadic' lifestyle, sold her property property in Merimbula, New South Wales in 2015 for $870,000 and moved to Queensland so she could be close to her family.

Jessica invited her to stay 'free of charge' at the $11 million Vaucluse mansion she shares with her newsreader husband Peter Overton and their two teenage daughters.

Asked how Peter deals with the 'girls night' energy whenever Denise stays over, Jessica said 'he loves it, he's in heaven' and that he gets an 'amazing meal' when Denise cooks for the family.

Denise Drysdale (pictured right) and Jessica Rowe (pictured left) attended TV Week Logie Awards on Sunday and have clarified their unusual housing situation

For Peter's birthday, Denise 'dressed up as a chef' and made him pizza and other Italian dishes, and even printed out a menu.

'How lucky am I?' said Jessica.

Jessica often documents her escapades with Denise whenever she comes to town, having previously uploaded photos of the pair cooking, doing housework and sharing a laugh together in the living room.

Jessica invited Denise to stay 'free of charge' at the $11 million Vaucluse mansion she shares with her newsreader husband Peter Overton and their two teenage daughters

Jessica, who quit Studio 10 to become a full-time housewife in 2018, also shared photos of herself dropping Denise at Channel 10 studios for work.

Denise has previously spoken about her dreams of living a possession-free lifestyle, telling A Current Affair in 2014: 'I'm getting older and I looked around at this stuff that I've got and I thought, 'This is ridiculous, I'll get rid of it so I can be free and easy like the wind.''

At the time of the interview, Denise had put her Merimbula property on the market despite not having another house to move into.

Denise, who previously expressed her desire to live a 'nomadic' lifestyle , sold her property property in Merimbula, New South Wales in 2015 for $870,000 and moved to Queensland so she could be close to her family

The Gold Logie winner said it was 'exciting' not knowing where she would live next, and revealed she'd only be keeping some sheets, underwear and pyjamas once she was done with the sale.

Unfortunately, her dream of living a breezy lifestyle came crashing down in recent years after she suffered a series of health issues including a knee replacement, detached retina, fractured shoulder, blood clot in the leg and a Staph infection.

In September 2021 she was also diagnosed with a rare and painful facial condition called trigeminal neuralgia (TN).

Jessica often documents her escapades with Denise whenever she comes to town, having previously uploaded photos of the pair cooking, doing housework and sharing a laugh together in the living room

Denise went public with the condition during a segment on Studio Ten.

In August the following year Denise announced that she was finally on the mend after months of agony..

Speaking to the Daily Mail about the downsides of the nomadic lifestyle, Denise said she is grateful for Jessica's hospitality.

'I'm so lucky, because I've stayed in lots of hotels and it's not a nice life.'
Julia Morris took a subtle swipe at her ex-husband Dan Thomas at the Logies Awards on Sunday evening, after discussing their acrimonious divorce in a magazine interview.

The I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! host turned up to the awards show looking distinctly bridal in a white gown.

The star's elegant ivory frock would not have looked out-of-place at a wedding and many speculated her choice in outfit was a clear dig at her ex.

Gold Logie nominated Julia, 55, looked resplendent in the strapless frock, which featured a daring thigh-high split and sheer beaded sleeves.

She opted for a less is more makeup palette and wore her cropped brunette tresses in a stylish blowout.

Julia Morris took a subtle swipe at her ex-husband Dan Thomas at The Logies on Sunday evening, after discussing their acrimonious divorce in a magazine interview. The I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! host turned up to the awards show looking distinctly bridal in a white gown

Her red carpet appearance came just hours after her tell-all interview about her marriage breakup was published in Stellar magazine.

Julia, who was married to Dan for 16 years, told the publication their split was a long-time coming.

'Let's just say I wasn't married to the person I thought I was,' Julia explained.

'I have become an Olympic medallist in running him down. But to be honest, I have been trying to stop doing that because I don't want to let him into my life at all anymore. I'm free.

Julia shocked her fans when she announced she was splitting with her husband Dan Thomas in 2022

The star's elegant ivory frock would not have looked out-of-place at a wedding and many speculated her choice in outfit was a clear dig at her ex

'Unfortunately, I've had my eyes opened and I've had a big awakening about my people pleasing and what I will tolerate and how I see the best in people  and that's not always the truth.'

The TV host announced her divorce in May last year.

'I'm famous for saying I feel like every year we're going to break up. But it definitely gets to that same point, which is that we are just not necessarily growing in the same direction,' Julia told The Australian Women's Weekly.

Gold Logie nominated Julia, 55, looked resplendent in the strapless frock, which featured a daring thigh-high split and sheer beaded sleeves

She explained how she began to see her husband as a 'pest' as their relationship became more fractured.

While Julia described her marriage breakdown as 'super sad', she was determined to set an example for their daughters Ruby, 16, and Sophie, 14, not to settle for an unhappy relationship.

'I think that's where patience starts to wear down to, 'I'm not living like this. How is this an example for my girls that this is an okay life to lead? No thanks',' she said.

Elsewhere in the interview, Julia revealed how she's learned to manage the household chores her husband previously took care of - including looking after her finances.

She has also become more familiar with the internet.

'Now I've got to download permission slips from school. And I've never worked in an office  I've taught myself all that stuff,' she boasted.

It comes after Julia announced she was 'no longer interested in sex' following her divorce.

Speaking to The Kyle and Jackie O Show last October, Julia insisted: 'I think I'll shut up shop. I'm done with roots.'

A shocked Sandilands then asked her if she at least 'takes care of business' herself.

She admitted she does pleasure herself 'sometimes... if I can be bothered.'

She said that 'self-care' is not a priority for her because she's too busy, adding: 'Who's got the time? I've got washing to do!'

Julia married British comedian Dan on New Year's Eve in 2005.
Married At First Sight's Hayley Vernon has defended her co-star Sebastian Guilhaus after he was charged with trafficking drugs - and revealed she was with him just two hours before before the police raid on his Adelaide home.

The pair were contestants on the reality show in 2020 with separate partners, but have more recently made headlines for appearing in an OnlyFans porn film together.

Vernon said she had no idea her 'great friend' had been arrested until her inbox was 'slammed' with messages saying he'd been arrested.

'FFs he was drinking non-alcoholic mocktails at Japanese with me two hours before his arrest,' she said, with a crying emoji, in a post to her 72,000 followers on Instagram.

'My heart hurts for him.

'What I will say tho (sic) is over the past few months Seb and I had become great friends.

MAFS star Hayley Vernon (pictured right) said she was 'shattered' by reports her co-star Seb Guilhaus was behind bars on drug trafficking charges

'I knew Seb was struggling with his mental health, gravitating to me to help and guide him - I just wish I had known what was (allegedly) going on so I could of helped him.'

In a now deleted Instagram story Vernon, whose had her own history with drug addiction said she 'would stand by him in thick and thin'.

Despite claiming to have been out drinking mocktails moments before his arrest, Vernon made a contradictory statement claiming she had assumed Guilhaus was out 'partying' when she hadn't heard from him in a few days.

MAFS troll Nasser Sultan was quick share his thoughts to a Daily Mail Australia article shared on instagram.

'Good and the money you got paid from Mafs to pretend you are in love with Liz can now pay your legal bills,' he wrote in the comments on her post.

In response, Vernon hit back saying Nasser 'needed to stop'.

'As someone that's dealt with addiction, poking fun at something you know absolutely nothing about is pretty fkn low. '

'This guys in a lot of shot (sic) and none of us know the demons or decisions he faced to make this choice - your comments are what make people end their lives - just stop on this one!!'

The 35-year-old OnlyFans star fronted Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday charged with one count of trafficking in a commercial quantity of methamphetamine.

Guilhaus has been behind bars since his arrest on Friday after a police raid which allegedly found methamphetamine with a street value of at least $90,000.

Police say the arrest follows an extensive investigation by the Serious and Organised Crime Branch.

The former MAFS star now runs an OnlyFans page

Guilhaus rose to fame on Married at First Site where he was partnered on the Channel Nine show with fan-favourite bride Lizzie Sobinoff, but they split a year later, in 2021

Guilhaus is currently behind bars after being arrested on Friday when police raided his property, allegedly seizing methamphetamine with a street value of at least $90,000.

Leading officer, Detective Superintendent Billy Thompson, described the 870g of methamphetamine found as 'significant'.

'Methamphetamine causes terrible harm to users and to our communities,' he said.

'Those who traffic illicit drugs in these amounts do so purely for their own greed, they have no care for others.'

Guilhaus rose to fame on Married at First Site where he was partnered on the Channel Nine show with fan-favourite bride Lizzie Sobinoff, but they split a year later, in 2021.

Guilhaus previously worked as a personal trainer before joining subscription-based adult website OnlyFans and launching a career as a pornographic actor.
Two Antiques Roadshow guests were astonished by the mammoth valuation of an item they brought on the show during Sunday's episode.

Stood in the grounds of 17th century Jacobean mansion Ham House in Richmond upon Thames, South West London, the married couple met expert Lee Young.

They asked him to take a look at a Chinese imperial robe which had been brought to the UK in the 1930s.

Lee said: 'There are those moments in life you always remember - and I will certainly always remember standing here the first time I saw this spectacular robe.

'I want to know everything that you know.'

Appearance: Two Antiques Roadshow guests were astonished by the mammoth valuation of an item they brought on the show during Sunday's episode

Valuation: Stood in the grounds of 17th century Jacobean mansion Ham House in Richmond upon Thames, South West London, the married couple met expert Lee Young (right)

The male guest explained that his wife's grandfather, who was general manager of the Standard Bank in India, brought the robe to the UK 'probably in the early 1930s'.

Sarah, the man's wife, said she kept the item of clothing in a dressing up box and would wear it as a child.

Lee said: 'So, 1750s - it definitely would be imperial. It's a ladies' robe and a robe of 1750 is very rare robe indeed.

'There are few survivors and the only other ones I know of this type you'd have to go to Beijing and the Palace Museum to see one of these. It really is a museum item.'

The expert said the yellow colour signified the piece was for an empress or a first-ranking concubine.

He added that the five-clawed dragon the gown was imperial, describing it as 'extraordinary'.

Lee placed a glove on his hand to take a closer look at the piece, inspecting if for any damage to its silk.

He said: 'However - and there is a however - there is a little problem and that is if you look at the dragon, it wasn't intended to be two-tone.

Item: They asked him to take a look at a Chinese imperial robe which had been brought to the UK in the 1930s, which Lee said would be worth 200,000 at auction

'I expect when they have mixed the gild on the copper wire the copper has actually oxidised and that is ultimately going to affect the value.'

Lee concluded: 'If that came up at auction with the way the market is at the moment, I think that would make 200,000.'

An audible gasp was heard from the other guests who were listening in to the conversation.

The shocked owner said: 'Oh! That's surprising. My goodness me, thank you very much.

'Well we won't put it in the dressing up box again!'

It comes after an Antiques Roadshow guest was left stunned during last Sunday's episode, after she was told the incredible value of her mother's RAF pilot's uniform.

Show expert Siobhan Tyrrell was thrilled to be able to look at the sentimental collection of items from the career of pioneering RAF Pilot Jackie Moggridge.

She said: 'So I read this lady's autobiography about a year ago and she inspired me so much that I booked a flight in a Tiger Moth, which I know she trained in and was one of the many planes she flew for the air transport auxiliary. So who is she to you?'

Thrilled: It comes after an Antiques Roadshow guest was left stunned during last Sunday's episode, after she was told the incredible value of her mother's RAF pilot's uniform

Jackie's daughter replied: 'So she's Jackie Moggridge, she's my mother and she was born in South Africa and wanted to learn to fly to show off to her brothers.

'She not only got her private pilot's licence but she was the first woman to do a parachute jump in South Africa. She couldn't do commercial college at South Africa so she had to come to England.'

She continued to explain that Jackie came to train in the UK in 1938 and was the only woman on her course.

When the Second World War broke out the next year, she wrote to the RAF and said Im going to join the RAF, but they said Oh no, we dont take women fighter pilots.'

Jackie's daughter added: 'So, she joined the WAAF and became a radar operator.'

However, Siobhan went on to explain that as they didn't have enough male fighter pilots, Jackie seized her chance to fly for the RAF.

She said: 'That was a great triumph for women to actually have the opportunity to fly for their country.'

As well as Jackie's uniform, Siobhan revealed the collection included 'a great photograph here of her in front of one of the planes that she flew'.

Inspiring: Show expert Siobhan Tyrrell was thrilled to be able to look at the sentimental collection of items from the career of pioneering RAF Pilot Jackie Moggridge

She added: 'And we have a book here which I like to think is a bluffers guide to flying. It is nicknamed The Blue Book.'

Jackie's daughter went on to reveal: 'She actually joined the RAF Volunteer Reserves which was working at weekends.

'While she was there, she was looking for jobs and eventually she got her Channel Airways job.'

Speaking about her mother's experiences, she added: 'She didnt talk a lot about the war. But she used to say if you jumped into bed with her in the morning, she would say "Do you want to fly a Spitfire?''

Eye-watering sum: When it came time to value the collection, Siobhan revealed that they could expect an 'absolute frenzy' if it were to go up for sale

When it came time to value the collection, Siobhan revealed that they could expect an 'absolute frenzy' if it were to go up for sale.

However, she acknowledged that Jackie's collection held strong sentimental value for her daughter and that she would therefore be very reluctant to be parted from it.

Nevertheless, she left the guest blown away when she revealed: 'It could easily make between 30,000 and 40,000.'

Antiques Roadshow continues on BBC One next Sunday at 8pm.
Julianne Moore showed off her chic sense of style as she stepped out to walk her adorable dog, Hope, in New York City on Sunday.

The Still Alice star, 62, who recently joined a picket line to show her support for the current SAG-AFTRA strike, opted for stylish comfort as she enjoyed a brief stroll in the summer heat.

The mother of two donned a white blouse that was left partially unbuttoned towards the collar and chose to roll the sleeves up towards her elbows.

She tucked the shirt into the waist of her denim jeans and slipped into a pair open-toed, Birkenstock sandals to stay comfortable for the daytime outing.

A tan-colored, cross-body bag was slung over her right shoulder to hold a few items she needed.

Summer stroll: Julianne Moore, 62, showed off her chic sense of style as she stepped out to walk her adorable dog, Hope, in New York City on Sunday

A white cap was added to partially cover her reddish locks that effortlessly flowed down naturally past her shoulders.

Julianne accessorized her look by adding a dainty pair of earrings along with a few gold-chained necklaces.

For a finishing touch, the Oscar winner threw on a pair of stylish, black shades to protect her eyes when she stepped into the bright sunshine.

As she made her way through the bustling sidewalks in the Big Apple, the beauty was seen guiding her beloved dog, Hope, whom she adopted with her husband, Bart Freundlich, in 2020.

Julianne tied the knot with the film director in 2003, and the pair share two children: daughter Liv, 21, and son Caleb, 25. The couple will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary next month in August.

Earlier this year in February, the actress gushed about her marriage to Bart and expressed to People, 'I feel happy that my marriage is thriving and intact. That's a really great thing.'

In regards to the secret to their long-lasting relationship, The Hunger Games alum expressed that, 'I think you both have to want to be together. Find somebody who's as interested in you as you are in them.'

Moore then sweetly added that her husband has an incredible sense of humor, stating, 'Bart has always made me laugh so hard that my eyelids start to flip up. My god, does he make me laugh.'

Keeping it chic: The mother of two donned a white blouse that was left partially unbuttoned towards the collar and tucked in the shirt into the waist of her denim jeans

Upcoming milestone: The Oscar winner and her husband, Bart Freundlich, will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary next month in August; couple seen in May 2022 in NYC

Earlier this week, Julianne was seen joining A-list celebrities and strikers on a picket line outside of Rockefeller Center to show support for the current SAG-AFTRA strike.

SAG-AFTRA entered the strike earlier this month on July 14 to fight for better wages and protection from AI.

At the time, Moore jumped to her Instagram page to share a photo that read, 'SAG-AFTRA Strong' and typed out in the caption, 'We are on strike. I love my business and the people in my creative tribe.'

SAG-AFTRA also joined writers who are part of the WGA which has been striking since May 2.

Due to the strike, both television and film productions have come to a sudden halt in Hollywood.

Julianne has a list of projects under her belt that are currently in production stages, but due to the strike, have been put on pause.

Her project called Mary & George, an upcoming British historical drama series that is slated to air on AMC in the U.S. and Sky Atlantic in the U.K., has been filming in England. Whether production has been affected is not known.

Family: Julianne tied the knot with the film director in 2003, and share two children: daughter Liv, 21, and son Caleb, 25

Showing support: Earlier this week, Julianne was seen joining A-list celebrities and strikers on a picket line outside of Rockefeller Center to show support for the current SAG-AFTRA strike; seen in February in London

The limited, seven episode series is based on a nonfiction book titled, The King's Assassin, written by Benjamin Woolley.

The premise follows, 'the story of the Countess of Buckingham who molded her son to seduce King James I and become her all-powerful lover, through intrigue, becoming richer, more titled and influential than England has ever seen,' per IMDB.

Aside from Julianne, who portrays Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham, other cast members include Nicholas Galitzine, Tony Curran, Laurie Davidson and also Trine Dyrholm.

She is slated to also star alongside Sydney Sweeney and Domhnall Gleeson in the thriller, Echo Valley.
Karl Stefanovic is no stranger to controversy, especially when it comes to his attempts at humour.

And on Sunday, the Today show host, 48, came under fire for posting a picture of his daughter Harper on Instagram.

In the image, his daughter had a black line drawn across her brow as she looked up to the camera.

Fans were not given much context for the image apart from the caption which read: 'my daughter... Toula' followed by a love heart emoji.

Karl was making reference to Greek women in the post.

Karl Stefanovic has come under fire for posting this photo of his daughter Harper on Instagram

Karl's post was met well with some fans, with one writing 'still looks gorgeous' while another wrote 'mini Frida Kahlo', referring to the Mexican artist known for her distinctive unplucked eyebrows.

However some fans were not impressed, calling out the joke as 'childish'.

One fan wrote: 'how do you think all the Toulas out there would feel?'

Fans were not given much context for the image apart from the caption which read: 'my daughter... Toula' followed by a love heart emoji

'I understand its meant as a "joke" but in this day and age it's shameful. Grow up,' another added..

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Nine for comment.

It's not the first time the television host has caught flak for a poorly thought out joke, with the most recent example being his bizarre jab at rival breakfast host David Koch at Sunday's TV Week Logie Awards.

Karl also copped flak for his bizarre jab at rival breakfast host David Koch at Sunday's TV Week Logie Awards

An ad-libbed joke about cocaine left the audience - and Koch himself - more bewildered than entertained.

It started when Koch confessed his fondness for the third season of Stan series Bump while presenting on stage.

Seizing the moment, Stefanovic took a comedic leap, playing on the double entendre of 'bump,' a term colloquially associated with cocaine.

The ad-libbed joke about cocaine left the audience - and Koch himself - more bewildered than entertained

'I did want to just check something... I am pretty sure before I heard Kochie say he loves Bump's... season three. Did anyone mishear that? Because I am pretty sure I did.'

'Anyway, those are the headlines tomorrow morning...' Stefanovic remarked, hoping for a laugh.

However, his risky attempt at humour seemed to miss the mark, with audience members not reacting the way he'd hoped.

A camera cut to a bewildered Kochie only added to the cringeworthy moment.

Host Sam Pang couldn't resist a jibe at Stefanovic's joke-bombing later in the show, saying: 'I don't want to say Karl's joke about Kochie sank, but OceanGate are offering expeditions to visit it.'
Elsa Hosk and boyfriend Tom Daly held hands on Sunday while taking a stroll in New York City after recently returning from summer travel.

The 34-year-old Swedish model wore a white short-sleeved crop top and grey Miu Miu sweatpants while walking with her Danish boyfriend Tom.

Elsa completed her outfit with tan sandals and accessorized with sleek black sunglasses and watch.

She had her short blonde hair parted down the middle and straight down and accentuated her natural beauty with pink lipstick.

Tom wore a long-sleeved red-and-white striped shirt along with blue jeans and brown huaraches.

Holding hands: Elsa Hosk and boyfriend Tom Daly held hands on Sunday while taking a stroll in New York City after recently returning from summer travel

He also accessorized with black sunglasses and had his blonde hair straight down around his shoulders.

Elsa has been traveling for weeks and was in the Aeolian Islands in early June, followed by a visit to Florence, Italy, in mid-June, a trip a month ago to Sweden, followed by a stop in Ibiza earlier this month.

She shared her excitement to be back in her old SoHo stomping grounds on social media.

Elsa shared a selfie clip on Instagram Stories wearing a brown tank-top and wrote 'So happy to be in NYC it's been a while' for her roughly 8.6 million followers.

She posted another selfie wearing matching brown bottoms and wrote, 'Nyc' along with a heart emoji.

Elsa and Tom have been in a relationship since 2015 and have two-year-old daughter Tuulikki together.

The blonde beauty showed her toned midriff on Friday while attending Poppi's Soda Back Beach Bash at Gurney's Montauk in New York.

The lower portion of Hosk's clothing put her impeccably sculpted legs on display.

Swedish model: The 34-year-old Swedish model wore a white short-sleeved crop top and grey Miu Miu sweatpants while walking with her Danish boyfriend Tom

Social media: Elsa shared a selfie clip on Instagram Stories wearing a brown tank-top and wrote 'So happy to be in NYC it's been a while' for her roughly 8.6 million followers

City love: She posted another selfie wearing matching brown bottoms and wrote, 'Nyc' along with a heart emoji

Beach bash: The blonde beauty showed her toned midriff on Friday while attending Poppi's Soda Back Beach Bash at Gurney's Montauk in New York

Summer travel: Elsa, shown in May in Cannes, France, has been traveling for weeks and was in the Aeolian Islands in early June, followed by a visit to Florence, Italy, in mid-June, a trip a month ago to her native Sweden, and a stop in Ibiza earlier this month

The former Victoria's Secret Angel paired her outfit with a pair of bright pink high-heeled shoes.

The fashion industry personality carried a bright white purse around the starry function.

Elsa modeled for Victoria's Secret from 2011 to 2018 and earned her Angel wings in 2015.

She opened the Victoria's Secret fashion show in 2016.
Tallulah Willis was spotted while going for a swim in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon.

The 29-year-old media personality donned a form-hugging outfit while taking a dip in a pool and attempting to beat the scorching summer heat.

The daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, who was recently spotted in the company of her sister Scout, opted for a one-piece leopard-print swimsuit that showcased her fit figure during her outing.

Willis added a bit of extra pop to her look with a multicolored woven tote bag.

The social media personality accessorized with a single bracelet and covered up her dyed orange hair with a beige hat.

Going for a dip: Tallulah Willis was spotted while going for a swim in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon

Showing off: The 29-year-old media personality donned a form-hugging outfit while taking a dip in a pool and attempting to beat the scorching summer heat. She wore a one-piece leopard print swimsuit that showcased her fit figure during her outing

Willis has become known for showing off her physique on her Instagram account over the past few months.

The media figure posted a sizzling photo that showed her striking a pose in front of an open window earlier this month.

The social media figure donned a patterned light purple bikini top and a matching bottom as she posed for the photo.

She also wrote a short message in her post's caption that read: 'Posting on main bc I'm hot.'

Willis' photo was shared not long after she opened up about living with anorexia nervosa during an interview with Vogue.

During the sit-down, the media figure explained that 'I've been reluctant to talk about [anorexia nervosa] because, after getting sober at age 20, restricting food has felt like the last vice that I got to hold on to.'

The social media personality also spoke about rapidly dropping weight after starting a course of medication for ADHD.

She stated: 'Like so many people with eating disorders, my sense of myself went haywire'.

Extra storage: Willis added a bit of extra pop to her look with a multicolored woven tote bag

Completing the look: The social media personality accessorized with a single bracelet and covered up her dyed orange hair with a beige hat

Taking it easy: The media figure posted a sizzling photo that showed her striking a pose in front of an open window earlier this month

Rationale: She also wrote a short message in her post's caption that read: 'Posting on main bc I'm hot'

Willis then discussed the drastic physical changes she underwent up until recently.

'By the spring of 2022, I weighed about 84 pounds. I was always freezing. I was calling mobile IV teams to come to my house,' she said.

The media figure concluded by expressing that she had since addressed her eating disorder and had learned new methods of self-care.

'Recovery is probably lifelong, but I now have the tools to be present in all facets of my life,' she stated.
Emily Ratajkowski was seen keeping it casual as she shared an adorable moment with her son, Sylvester, while out for dinner in New York City on Sunday.

The My Body author, 32, who recently showed off her toned frame in a skintight red dress, stopped by the hotspot called, The Clam, to grab a scrumptious bite to eat.

The supermodel opted for comfort for the evening outing and donned a short-sleeved red T-shirt to stay cool in the warmer temperatures.

She additionally donned a pair of loose-fitting, dark brown sweatpants and slipped into a pair of white sneakers.

Her long locks were parted in the middle, and effortlessly flowed down naturally past her shoulders, allowing her bangs to gently fall onto her forehead.

Relaxing outing: Emily Ratajkowski, 32, was seen keeping it casual as she shared an adorable moment with her son, Sylvester, two, while out for dinner in New York City on Sunday

Having a blast: While at the restaurant called, The Clam, the model shared a sweet moment with her little one while sitting at a table

Emily added minimal accessories to her look, and wore pair of dainty, gold earrings and was seen throwing on a pair of stylish black shades while strolling along a bustling sidewalk.

While sitting at an outdoor table at the restaurant, the beauty was seen talking to her son who was seated next to her.

At one point, she held the two-year-old in her lap and shared a sweet moment with the little one, who flashed a giggling smile towards his mother.

The media personality welcomed Sylvester, who also goes by the nickname of Sly, in March 2021, whom she shares with ex-husband, Sebastian Bear-McClard.

Emily and the film producer initially tied the knot in 2018, but the former Nickelodeon actress filed for divorce in September 2022 after Sebastian allegedly cheated on her.

A few months earlier, the pair had officially separated, with a source telling People at the time, 'They split recently. It was Em's decision. She is doing okay. She is strong and focused on her son. She loves being a mom.'

During an interview with Harper's Bazaar last year in October, the model opened up about motherhood and how it has changed her life.

'I've never had such clear priorities in my life. Number one is Sly, and that's that,' the podcast host expressed to the publication.

Casual comfort: The supermodel opted for comfort for the evening outing and donned a short-sleeved red T-shirt to stay cool in the warmer temperatures

Beautiful: Emily additionally donned a pair of loose-fitting, dark brown sweatpants and slipped into a pair of white sneakers

A bite to eat: While sitting at an outdoor table at the restaurant, the beauty was seen talking to her son who was seated next to her

Adorable: At one point, she held the two-year-old in her lap and shared a sweet moment with the little one, who flashed a giggling smile towards his mother

Having a blast: The mother son duo were seen having a little fun while grabbing a bite to eat while joined by other pals for dinner

She continued, 'It's made me re-evaluate what's important to me, like, what do I want to teach my son?'

Late last year in November, she also opened up about raising her son as a single mother and explained to Elle UK, 'You sacrifice so much of your identity when you become a mother.'

'And I feel like my life is just beginning. My twenties felt like how people describe their teenage years, where youre like, "God, that was awkward and painful." And as much as I did things that I love, Im also just like, "Goodbye!"'

She added, 'Now, for the first time, I am enjoying the world more. And yet now I have this incredible responsibility of raising a child. But one thing I have decided is how I want Sly to think about women. I want him to have an example of a mum who is happy.'

Her little one also often makes appearances on Instagram, and recently appeared in a post last month in June while she celebrated her 32nd birthday.

Emily has been filtering through a busy summer season, and recently shocked fans by dying her locks a reddish tint earlier this month.

The Gone Girl actress proudly debuted her new hair color as she rode the subway in a figure-hugging black dress. In text that appeared over the since-deleted clip, she penned, 'Not a filter. Red for summer.'

Motherhood: The media personality welcomed Sylvester, who also goes by the nickname of Sly, in March 2021, whom she shares with ex-husband, Sebastian Bear-McClard

Loving: The little one also dressed down for the outing on Sunday and was seen sporting a yellow jersey as well as green shorts

Main focus: 'I've never had such clear priorities in my life. Number one is Sly, and that's that,' the podcast host expressed to Harper's Bazaar

Exciting summer: She also recently attended a Beyonce concert that was part of her current Renaissance Tour and shared a few clips that had captured special moments

Going red: Emily has been filtering through a busy summer season, and recently shocked fans by dying her locks a reddish tint

She also recently attended a Beyonce concert that was part of the current Renaissance Tour and shared a few clips that had captured special moments from the big night.

Ratajkowski filmed the Crazy In Love hitmaker performing while in the air and also shared a moment that her daughter, Blue Ivy, 11, also flaunted some of her dance skills on the stage.

Since her split from Sebastian, Emily has been romantically linked to stars such as Harry Styles, Eric Andre, Pete Davidson, and also DJ Orazio Rispo.

Along with focusing on raising her two-year-old little boy, she also works behind-the-scenes for her swimwear line, Inamorata, and her High Low podcast.
The cast of the 2024 season of Farmer Wants a Wife has been announced.

And fans have already slammed the casting ahead of the show's filming, with many complaining the male farmers are too young.

Not one of the eight farmers tapped for the series next year are older than 35.

Producers opened applications for single woman looking for love for the 2024 season with a picture of each of the farmers, including their age and the location of their farms.

The youngest of the farmers are Nick from South Australia and Tom from Victoria, who are both 22.

The cast of the 2024 season of Farmer Wants a Wife has been announced and fans have already slammed the casting, complaining the male farmers are too young

Farmer Todd, 33, is one of the 'older' farmers looking for love in next seasons Farmer Wants a Wife

The youngest of the farmers are Nick from South Australia, and Tom from Victoria, both 22

The oldest farmers are Todd and Joe, both 33, from NSW. Also included in the cast are Queenslanders, Bert, 30 and Dean, 25.

There's also Dustin, 26 from NSW, and 28-year-old Zac from South Australia.

'Are you a single lady looking for love,' Seven captioned the picture on the FWAW Instagram page.

Fans were quick to fill the comments' section with their disappointment.

One hopeful replied to the casting call sounded crushed: 'But Im 39! These farmers are all too young.'

'All too young, where are the older farmers?,' another said.

'Awwww where are the mature men who are actually looking for love.... these little whipper-snapper are too young,' one added.

Fans took to social media to complain that the cast is too young

Host Samantha Armytage poses with last year's contestants Clare and Farmer Brad, who revealed their surprise pregnancy earlier this year

'Can the 22 year olds please chill?,' another complained. 'We all know theyre not looking for a wife.'

Meanwhile, former reality star Liam Cooper slammed the casting as lacking in diversity.

'Where is the LGBTQIA? There are gay, lesbian and bisexual farmers out there that are looking for love too!,' the MAFS star said.

Farmer Wants a Wife will return to Channel Seven next year with hosts Samantha Armytage and Natalie Gruzlewski.
G Herbo has pleaded guilty to being involved in a $1.5 million scam in which credit card info was stolen and used to finance a luxurious lifestyle.

The Chicago native, 27, on Friday entered a guilty plea in Springfield, Massachusetts federal court in connection with wire fraud conspiracy and making false statements, according to the AP.

The rapper, whose full name is Herbert Wright III, agreed to a pact with prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty to the aforementioned charges, while multiple counts of aggravated identity theft were dropped.

The Statement performer used the funds to pay for amenities such as luxury vehicles, use of private jets, a vacation rental home and designer Yorkshire terrier puppies, officials said.

The rap artist will forfeit a sum of $140,000 in connection with his plea agreement.

Details: G Herbo, 27, has pleaded guilty to being involved in a $1.5 million scam in which credit card info was stolen and used to finance a luxurious lifestyle. Pictured in 2021 in Chicago

U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said in a statement that G Herbo 'used stolen account information as his very own unlimited funding source, using victims' payment cards to finance an extravagant lifestyle and advance his career.'

G Herbo is slated to be sentenced in a hearing November 7, and faces up to 25 years in prison.

Prosecutors said that during a timeframe spanning from March 2017 until November 2018, the rapper and a promoter named Antonio Strong shared stolen information from illegal websites via emails, texts and social media.

In one instance, people's stolen credit card info was used by the rapper to pay for a chartered jet flight from Chicago to Austin, Texas, according to prosecutors.

On another occasion, the info was used to pay for a six-bedroom Jamaican villa that cost almost $15,000 to rent over multiple days.

G Herbo 'used the proceeds of these frauds to travel to various concert venues and to advance his career by posting photographs and/or videos of himself on the private jets, in the exotic cars, and at the Jamaican villa,' prosecutors said in court docs reviewed by the AP.

G Herbo in May of 2021 was charged with lying to investigators when he said he had no connection with Strong, when the pair had been working with one another for years, officials said.

Strong has entered a plea of not guilty and is awaiting trial in connection with the credit card case.

The Chicago native on Friday entered a guilty plea in Springfield, Massachusetts federal court in connection with wire fraud conspiracy and making false statements

The Statement performer used the funds to pay for amenities such as luxury vehicles, use of private jets, a vacation rental home and designer puppies, officials said

G Herbo was pictured with musical artist Big Trill in an Instagram Stories post Sunday

The rapper has built a following based off his material, which covers his childhood in a violence-plagued area of Chicago.

His first two mixtapes - Welcome to Fazoland and Pistol P Project - were released in 2014, as he named both for late friends who had died in violent incidents in the city.

Other albums he has released include Humble Beast in 2017, PTSD in 2020 and Survivor's Remorse in 2022.

He presided over a Chicago-based youth program titled Swervin' Through Stress, which was aimed at helping young people through mental health crisis.
Richard Wilkins' son Christian is reconnecting with his roots in Greece.

The aspiring Hollywood star, 28, took to Instagram on Saturday to post a photo of himself in front of the Acropolis in Athens.

The picture showed the Australian socialite jumping in the air with a smile on his face in front of other tourists admiring the ancient structure.

In the caption, the Dancing with the Stars alum wrote 'I LOVE GREECE' and proceeded to list the reasons why.

'As a little Greek boy (mom's side) I was always obsessed with ancient Greece, collecting images and information on the Gods and ruins, creating my own books and images - so to be in the motherland for the first time is extremely overwhelming and surreal.'

Richard Wilkins ' son Christian is reconnecting with his roots in Greece with is famous father. The aspiring Hollywood star, 28, took to Instagram on Saturday to post a photo of himself in front of the Acropolis in Athens

Christian went to write how grateful he was and paid tribute to his grandmother: 'Here's to you Yiayia.'

Not to be outdone, Christian's dad Richard Wilkins, 69, shared his own Mediterranean memento on Instagram, posting a sweet father and son photo.

Posed with his arm around his father, who was smiling brightly, they were a picture of familial bliss.

Not to be outdone, Christian's dad Richard Wilkins, 69, shared his own Mediterranean memento on Instagram, posting a sweet father and son photo

'Amazing to be in Greece for the first time with my son, seeing the incredible Acropolis in real life shame Im blocking it with my head,' the elder Wilkins commented in a caption.

Soaking up the sun by the Aegean Sea is likely a welcome distraction from the hurdles facing Christian with respect to his Hollywood career.

Christian moved to Tinseltown in April to pursue acting, but has been struggling to find work because the SAG strike has brought Hollywood to a standstill.

Christian moved to Hollywood in April to pursue acting, but has been struggling to find work because the SAG strike has brought Hollywood to a standstill

It is likely a huge disappointment for Christian, whose connection to his father previously helped him pave a modelling and reality TV career back home.

Christian has been getting involved in the strike action, having recently attended a protest with Australian actor Luke Cook outside Netflix headquarters.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph during the demonstration, Christian said: 'It definitely wouldn't have been my choice example of a time to move here but it is also kind of amazing to be here and see how the community has banded together.'
Sydney Sweeney glowed in a mirror selfie she included in a slew of Instagram snaps shared on Sunday from her trip to South Korea.

The Euphoria actress, 25, who recently sported a tiny bustier while on set of a music video in LA, whisked herself away to Seoul to attend the Samsung Unpacked 2023 Product Experience.

The blonde bombshell happily showed off her natural, glowing skin by taking a selfie in the reflection of a mirror inside the bathroom of her lavish hotel room.

She donned a cozy, white robe that was tied with a belt around her waist, and pushed back her long locks with a soft, white headband with cute ears.

The star lifted one of her feet into the air and threw her arm out while flashing a smile for the photo.

Glowing: Sydney Sweeney, 25, glowed in a quick mirror selfie that was included in a slew of snaps shared to Instagram on Sunday from her recent trip to South Korea

In another snap, the beauty took a selfie as she was joined by a close pal and also her makeup artist, Melissa Hernandez.

The trio took the picture as they all donned matching robes as they stopped by a jimjilbang, also known as a spa or public bathhouse located in South Korea.

Sydney could be seen holding a cheerful smile on her face as she took the snap in the reflection of a mirror inside a spacious locker room.

During some downtime on the short trip, Sweeney had time to enjoy a shopping errand in Myeongdong, a popular area filled with numerous shops and also tasty street food.

However, the actress traveled to Seoul to make an appearance at a Samsung event that celebrated and promoted the release of the Galaxy Z Flip 5. The star notably starred in a video advertisement of the latest device.

Other celebrities were also in attendance during the festivities, such as BTS member Suga, and also IVE's Jang Wongyoung.

Both Sydney and Wongyoung had a short sketch together to show off some of the features on the smartphone.

At the venue where the event took place, the star took another snap in the reflection of a selfie station. The White Lotus star stunned in a figure-hugging, sleeveless gray dress that contained a wrap skirt.

Relaxation time: The trio took a selfie as they all donned matching robes as they stopped by what appeared to be a jimjilbang, a spa or public bathhouse located in South Korea

Shopping trip! During some downtime on the short trip, Sweeney had time to enjoy a shopping errand in Myeongdong, a popular area filled with numerous shops

Busy schedule: However, the actress traveled to Seoul to make an appearance at a Samsung event that celebrated and promoted the release of the Galaxy Z Flip 5

She carried a small, see-through purse which she easily held in her hand. The beauty's locks were slicked back into a ponytail, allowing loose strands to border one side of her face.

Sweeney opted for minimal accessories, and donned a pair of flashy, silver-hooped earrings to coincide with the color scheme of her monochromatic look.

She also shared a cute video montage of herself posing for an assortment of images with a few friends at a photo booth. The group sported stylish black shades for the photo session.

As she prepared to leave South Korea at the airport, Sydney took a cute snap with a Kakao Friends character, Ryan, from KakaoTalk, a popular messaging app in the country.

She also added an image of scrumptious Korean BBQ that she had the chance to indulge in on the trip.

The model later took to her Instagram stories to share a scenic view of the city from hotel room near Samseong Station, and penned, 'Thank you Seoul for being so kind while I've been here :) truly such an amazing place. I really hope I get to come back one day.'

The star has been filtering through a busy schedule aside from traveling to the other side of the world.

She also traveled to Mexico City earlier this month to celebrate the launch of Armani's fragrance, My Way. Sydney notably became the face of the perfume earlier this year in January.

Say cheese! She also shared a cute video montage of herself posing for an assortment of snaps with a few friends at a photo booth

Cute! As she prepared to leave South Korea at the airport, Sydney took a cute snap with a Kakao Friends character, Ryan

Yummy: She also added an image of scrumptious Korean BBQ that she had the chance to indulge in on the trip

Amazing experience: 'Thank you Seoul for being so kind while I've been here :) truly such an amazing place. I really hope I get to come back one day,' she wrote over a photo that showed a view from her hotel room

Keeping busy: She also traveled to Mexico City earlier this month to celebrate the launch of Armani's fragrance , My Way

Latest project: Sweeney, who is slated to appear in the upcoming Marvel film, Madame Web, was also seen recently filming a music video in Los Angeles

Sweeney, who is slated to appear in the upcoming Marvel film, Madame Web, was also seen recently filming a music video in Los Angeles, per Harper's Bazaar.

She put on a busty display wearing a Versace leather corset top and cut-out chaps that were made out of star shapes.

Her stylist, Molly Dickson, shared the clip on her main Instagram page and teased, 'Rock n Roll, Syd. Cant wait for you guys to see this music video...'

July has definitely been a busy month for the actress, who also purchased a $6.2 million 1930s Bel Air mansion with her fiance, Jonathan Davino, per Vogue.
More drama continues to surround Q+A, the ABC's flagship panel show.

From hosts and producers leaving, to audiences abandoning the program in droves due to disastrous timeslot changes, the long-running discussion program has had an eventful past couple of years.

But the past week has been particularly eventful.

Last Monday, it was revealed host Stan Grant was permanently stepping away from the show, two months after he went on leave following racial abuse.

Previously the implication had been that he was only taking a break from his hosting duties.

Last Monday, it was revealed host Stan Grant (pictured) was permanently stepping away from the show, two months after he went on leave following racial abuse

Just 48 hours after Grant's resignation was announced, Q+A's boss quit the show as well.

Executive producer Erin Vincent announced on Wednesday her departure from the program which she has led for the last three years.

She posted on her Instagram account that 'after 14 years at the ABC the time has come for something new'.

Ms Vincent will become chief executive at Melbournes The Wheeler Centre, a literary and publishing centre.

According to The Australian, the timing of Vincent's departure is said to be a coincidence, as she was a 'key candidate in the search process to decide the next CEO for the Wheeler Centre well before the Grant announcement, and had always intended to leave if she got the job'

Executive producer Erin Vincent (pictured) announced on Wednesday her departure from the program which she has led for the last three years

Following Grant and Vincent's departure, Patricia Karvelas was announced as the new host until at least the end of the year, and the show returned from a short break last week with slightly better ratings at 216,000 viewers across five capital cities, up on its doldrums of under 200,000 earlier this year.

But the future of Q+A still hangs in the balance, with ABC bosses questioning whether the program is cutting through with viewers.

The panel show's continuation in 2023 is said to hinge largely on whether the show becomes a national town hall, debating the Voice to Parliament.

In the lead up to the referendum expected to take place in October or November, Karvelas will be moderating plenty of debates between the 'yes' and 'no' campaigns, as demonstrating last Monday, when Indigenous filmmaker Rachel Perkins debated prominent opponent to the voice, Barnaby Joyce.

The largely pro-voice Q+A audience were vocal in their opposition to Joyce's arguments, forcing Karvelas to intervene to tell them to be respectful.

Despite such drama on Monday, the ABC is considering all options in 2024, including keeping things as normal if the voice debate resonates, a rest and refresh period before returning, or possibly cancellation if the ratings do not improve.

According to The Australian, the timing of Vincent's departure is said to be a coincidence, as she was a 'key candidate in the search process to decide the next CEO for the Wheeler Centre well before the Grant announcement, and had always intended to leave if she got the job'
She shocked her fans by finally getting married to her fiance Jean Todt late last week after being engaged for a jaw-dropping 19 years.

And Michelle Yeoh gave her 2.4 million Instagram followers a closer look at their intimate wedding ceremony with a post on Saturday.

The Academy Award-winning actress and the former Ferrari CEO were married in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday.

Taking to Instagram, the Everything Everywhere All At Once star proudly declared: '19 years and YES!! we are married!!'

'Thkq to our "families" who love us for all these years. We love you and heres to many more to come,' she gushed in the caption of the wedding-themed carousel.

In one of the behind-the-scenes photos, the happy couple could be seen on their wedding day holding hands as they stared down at their wedding rings.

Hitched! Michelle Yeoh, 60, shared a set of loving photos from her wedding to Jean Todt, 77, on Instagram on Saturday following a jaw-dropping 19-year engagement

For their nuptials, Yeoh opted to wear a white silk shirt that was tucked into a matching high-waisted tulle skirt with frills, according to People.

The bride, 60, had her dark brown tresses styled long, loose and flowing partially over her chest with natural waves and a slight part.

As for the groom, 77, he looked handsome and dapper decked out in a dark blue suit with a white dress shirt and patterned tie.

Both of them were equally glowing with big beaming smiles on their wedding day.

Michelle included a photo showing the newly-married couple standing in the same room next to a table alongside some of their wedding guests.

The Malaysian-born actress also gave her Instagram fans and followers a look at one of their more private moments of their wedding night, which showed them sitting up in bed looking into each others eyes.

A pair of swan-shaped towels decorated with flower petals could be seen sitting in front of them, while more petals were made into the shape of a large heart at the foot of the bed.

For the last image, a picture was taken of a framed photo showing Yeoh and Todt photoshopped into a fictional James Bond movie poster titled, Love Never Dies.

The mock movie poster depicts the couple holding hands while cruising on a motorcycle.

While the title is a playful knock on their 19 year courtship, the image is reference to the 007 spy film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), which starred Yeoh alongside Pierce Brosnan as James Bond.

Yeoh and Todt, a French motor racing executive and former rally co-driver, first met in China just over 19 years ago.

'We met in Shanghai on 4th June 2004,' the couple revealed in a message in the wedding program, which was shared on Instagram by ex-Ferrari Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa.

It turns out they got engaged after less than two months of dating.

Wedding day fashion: For their nuptials, Yeoh opted to wear a white silk shirt that was tucked into a matching high-waisted tulle skirt with frills, while Todt dapper decked out in a dark blue suit with a white dress shirt and patterned tie

Lovebirds: The couple gave a preview of their wedding night with a photo of themselves in bed that was partially covered with pedals

Playful: The couple were also depicted in a fictional movie poster that's a knock on the 007 spy film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), which starred Yeoh alongside Pierce Brosnan as James Bond

History: The couple shared how they met over 19 years ago in the wedding program

Moment captured: Friend Felipe Massa was one of the few guests at the ceremony

Glowing: Yeoh also proudly posed with her Best Actress Oscar with Todt and Massa

Golden: The Oscar took center stage in one of the photos of the newly married couple

Critical acclaim: Yeoh won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in the hit independent film The Everything Everywhere All At Once; seen in March in Beverly Hills

'On 26th July 2004, J.T proposed to marry M.Y and she said YES,' the program continued.

'Today after 6992 days on 27th July 2023 in Geneva, surrounded by loving family and friends, we are so happy to celebrate this special moment together!' the note concluded.

Yeoh has been riding high in recent months after winning the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in the critical and commercial hit film The Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022).

The independent movie, which was written and directed by Daniel Kawn and Daniel Scheinert, won seven of its 11 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Ke Huy Quan and Best Supporting Actress for Jamie Lee Curtis.
Lisa Hochstein gushed over her 'most romantic' dinner date with her new beau Joey Glidden... though just hours later her ex Lenny Hochstein got engaged to Katharina Mazeppa.

The 41-year-old Real Housewives of Miami star, who has been a main cast member since Season 2, took to her Instagram story on Saturday night to gush about the dinner on her birthday.

Just hours later, her ex Lenny Hochstein got engaged to his 'mistress' Katharina Mazeppa, which Hochstein also called out on social media.

'Most incredible romantic dinner with this amazing man,' Hochstein said in the caption of the snap, showing the pair at the ritzy Ristorante Mistral in Italy.

She rocked an elegant white crochet dress with cutouts around the waist while getting close with Glidden, 49.

Dinner: Lisa Hochstein gushed over her 'most romantic' dinner date with her new beau Joey Glidden... though just hours later her ex Lenny Hochstein got engaged to Katharina Mazeppa

Called out: Just hours later, her ex Lenny Hochstein got engaged to his 'mistress' Katharina Mazeppa, which Hochstein also called out on social media

The reality star wore a white crochet dress with cut-outs around her waist while putting on a loved-up display with Glidden, 49, at their oceanfront table.

Glidden, a tech entrepreneur, reposted the snap on his Instagram story, adding, 'Happy birthday baby!'

The post was set to the hit Sade song Paradise which includes romantic lyrics like, 'I'm yours, you're mine.'

Just a few hours later, she threw shade at her ex Lenny by sarcastically congratulating him and his 'mistress' on their engagement.

'Congrats to my current husband and his mistress on their engagement,' she wrote via her Instagram Story.

Lenny and Katharina have been dating for over a year, but Lisa and Lenny are still legally married, while Lisa and Joey have been dating since March.

Lisa also called out Lenny's mother Marina, after she took a not-so-subtle jab at her while congratulating her son on his engagement.

'I will be very happy that this time you are getting a woman who love and respect you. You certainly did not have that in your previous marriage. Good luck congratulations,' Maria said in an Instagram comment.

Tech: Glidden, a tech entrepreneur, reposted the snap on his Instagram story, adding, 'Happy birthday baby!'

Calling out: Lisa also called out Lenny's mother Marina, after she took a not-so-subtle jab at her while congratulating her son on his engagement

Dating: Lenny and Katharina have been dating for over a year, but Lisa and Lenny are still legally married, while Lisa and Joey have been dating since March

Lisa posted the comment to her Instagram story, stating, 'What a wonderful grandmother and mother in law. How disgusting.'

Mazeppa shared photos of the engagement on her Instagram, stating, 'On top of an ancient pirate cave, overlooking the sunset over breathtaking Es Vedra, he asked to steal me away forever.'

Mazeppa's manager Louisa Warwick also confirmed the engagement with a statement which began, 'We are delighted to announce the engagement of a truly extraordinary couple, Katharina and Lenny.'

'Their love story has blossomed into a beautiful union, filled with passion, understanding and unwavering commitment,' she added.
The former Home Improvement actor Zachery Ty Bryan was arrested on Friday and accused of domestic violence.

Bryan, 41, was arrested in Eugene, Oregon, on a charge of fourth-degree felony assault, TMZ reported on Monday.

It's an unfortunate repeat performance for the actor, who was arrested on domestic violence charges back in October of 2020.

He was accused at the time of attacking and strangling his then-girlfriend, Johnnie Faye, to whom he got engaged in late 2021, months after pleading guilty to charges stemming from his assault of her the previous year.

According to the publication, Bryan's new felony assault charge indicates that it is violation of the Abuse Prevention Act.

The former Home Improvement actor Zachery Ty Bryan, 41, was arrested on Friday and accused of domestic violence, according to TMZ; seen in 2016 in Santa Monica, Calif.

Repeat offender? Bryan was arrested in Eugene, Oregon. He previously was charged with domestic violence counts in the state in 2020; seen in his mugshot from October 17, 2020

The charge appears to indicate that he is accused of attacking someone who had previously obtained a domestic violence restraining order, though the alleged victim has not yet been named.

Members of the Eugene Police Department told TMZ that police received a call about a physical altercation between and man and a woman at a local residence.

However, once officers responded to the scene Bryan was nowhere to be found.

They reportedly were able to track him down, though, and he was transported to the jail and booked on the felony assault charge.

As of Sunday's report, Bryan is apparently still being held in the jail.

It is unclear if his fiancee Faye, who was the target of his 2020 attack, was also the victim of this alleged altercation.

However, the two are believed to still be together, and they share three children.

Bryan's latest alleged domestic violence incident comes just over a month after he claimed that his previous arrest in 2020 was a 'wake-up call' as he tries to rebuild his life.

The former child star, claimed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that the physical altercation in October of that year started because his girlfriend at the time, Johnnie Faye Cartwright, was upset he was 'living a double life' and was still married  even though he had announced his divorce two weeks earlier.

He later pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of menacing and assault in the fourth degree and was sentenced to a three-year probation and attendance in a violence intervention program, and was ordered to have no further contact with the victim.

Bryan said he now tries to stay away from alcohol, and he and Cartwright were still together and were now raising their children.

Meanwhile, the star faces further legal scrutiny for allegedly stealing his friends' and investors' money in a fraudulent scheme.

More trouble: Police responded to a call about an altercation between a man and a woman, but Bryan was gone at that point; seen with his fiance  and former victim  Johnnie Faye

It gets worse: His charge indicates he's accused of attacking someone who previously had a domestic violence restraining order, though the alleged victim hasn't been named; pictured in 2009 with his ex-wife Carly Matros

Bryan rose to national fame in the 1990s as the eldest child on Home Improvement, which also starred Tim Allen and future teen heartthrob Jonathan Taylor Thomas.

After the show ended in 1999, Bryan turned to film roles and earned guest spots on television shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

He then became an executive producer on independent films, and married his high school sweetheart Carly Matros in 2007.

They would go on to have four children that they raised together in a multi-million dollar home in Newport Beach. The youngest, a son, was born in March 2019, joining three daughters  including a set of twins.

In more recent years, Bryan made a name for himself as a conservative commentator on platforms like FOX News and The Daily Wire.

But in September 2020, Bryan announced he and Matros were getting a divorce  and in a ridiculous twist he appeared to have plagiarized Armie Hammer's divorce announcement almost word for word.

He now admits to The Hollywood Reporter: 'I was just in party freaking mode  making movies, traveling, drinking. I wasn't living the way I was raised, you know what I mean?

'I was not being a faithful husband, and I was not being the best me,' he continued. 'I thought I would be able to go out and do whatever I wanted, have fun, come home and be a family man with my kids. That's not how the real world works.'

Glory days: Bryan had rose to national fame in the 1990s as the eldest child on Home Improvement, which also starred Tim Allen and future teen heartthrob Jonathan Taylor Thomas

Just 16 days after the announcement, in October, Bryan was arrested in Oregon and charged with felony strangulation, fourth-degree assault, coercion, menacing, harassment and interference with making a police report.

The most serious charges, including felony strangulation, were later dropped and he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors.

He was also ordered by the court not to 'buy, possess or consume alcoholic beverages' or be in any place that sells or serves alcohol as its primary purpose.

It was his second arrest of 2020, after being booked for DUI in Orange County that May. He pleaded guilty in that case as well, and was sentenced to five years probation and 18 months in a multiple-offender alcohol program due to a record of other DUI arrests in 2004, 2007 and 2017.

According to Oregon police records obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Cartwright claimed that on the night of the alleged assault, Bryan, with whom she had been in a 'sexually intimate' relationship for two years, woke her up demanding to know what happened to his cellphone charging cables.

She alleged that he 'pulled her hair' and punched her in the face multiple times.

The two then fell on a set of stairs, at which point, the police report says, Bryan 'grabbed Cartwright's neck with both hands and choked her' for about 45 seconds.

Responding officers said they saw multiple injuries on Cartwright, who claimed Bryan became abusive a month earlier.

Trying to stay afloat: After the show ended in 1999, Bryan turned to film roles and earned guest spots on television shows. He is pictured here on Home Improvement with Tim Allen

But Bryan claimed Cartwright woke him up and bit him in the groin.

He alleged that her injuries were self-inflicted in an effort to set him up because she 'wanted to ruin his career' after he said he wanted to break up and stop paying her rent.

'I heard her tell dispatch, "This is the guy from Home Improvement. He's the famous guy,"' Bryan reportedly told officers on the scene.

Looking back, he says the arrest 'got so blown out of proportion' by the media, and claims it was not as physical as the police report states.

He explained that he and Cartwright began seeing each other when he was still married and there were times she would get upset over his 'double life.'

And even though he announced his divorce, Bryan claimed the fight escalated that night because they had both 'been drinking too much.

'We didn't even really get that physical,' he said. 'We got really loud. We were screaming and because we were in a townhome that had [thin walls], everybody could hear.'

He continued to say Cartwright 'was at the time just really upset about my situation.'

And, he claimed, 'At the end of the day, [the police] throw a bunch of counts at you because they ultimately want you to plead something,' noting that cops nicknamed him 'Country Club Zach' and seemed to poke fun at his fame.

'I could've fought it... but that's more stress and drama,' Bryan explained. 'I got two misdemeanors and called it a day.'

Rightward turn: In recent years, he has become a conservative commentator on FOX News and The Daily Wire

But he said he now thanks God for his arrest, describing it as a 'wake up call.'

'I went through a situation that I'm pretty sure plenty of people across the globe experience with their partners, and that was a learning experience,' Bryan said.

He acknowledged he 'definitely [has] an issue with drinking' but does not believe the term 'alcoholic' applies to him.

'Dude, I started drinking when I was 14,' he said. 'Back then I was going to nightclubs and they would just let me in because I was the kid from Home Improvement.'

Now, he says, he tries to stay away from alcohol, explaining: 'I'm not going out and getting lit, and that takes away a lot of my problems.'

He and Cartwright were still together prior to his latest arrest.

In November 2021, just one year after his arrest, Bryan revealed that he and Cartwright were engaged to be married.

Based on the timeline of his now private Instagram account, The Hollywood Reporter found, Cartwright was already pregnant with a girl at the time.

He announced the birth on the social media platform in spring 2022.

That November, Bryan also revealed that he and Cartwright were expecting twins, and she gave birth in May.

But the actor/producer continues to face scrutiny from some who considered him one of their closest friends.

In 2018, they explain, Bryan linked up with Producers Market, an ag-tech startup focused on farmers and the global food chain.

The company aimed to empower farmers by removing the middleman and putting profits more directly in their tokens using a QR ode that would allow them to tip farmers.

It explored using tokens to fund growth, and brought Bryan  who had made millions in the early days of Bitcoin  on as an adviser to help develop relationships within the crypto community.

He then invested in the money in the company, and asked others to do the same.

But the plans for a token system never materialized, and in 2019 the company officially decided to end Bryan's role as an advisor.

More trouble: Bryan continues to face scrutiny for his role selling tokens for an ag-tech company that never materialized; seen in 2016 with his ex-wife Carly Matros

Executives learned just one year later that Bryan was selling the nonexistent tokens to other investors.

'Mr. Bryan misrepresented our company without our knowledge, participation or permission,' a spokesperson said. 'When we found out, we immediately issued a cease and desist demand to him.

'This activity is unacceptable and not a reflection of our mission to support the well0being of farmers and our food systems.'

But Bryan denies he was 'running some shady scam deal  that's just not me.'

'What people don't understand is that you take risks, nothing is for sure,' he said, vowing that if the company ever goes public, he will personally distribute his Producers Market stock to those who are still waiting on their money.
Danniella Westbrook posted rare snaps of her lookalike daughter Jodie B. Jenkins and said she 'is the woman she wished she could have been'.

The former EastEnders star, 49, who recently split from her jailbird fiance David, 29, took to Instagram on Monday to show off her 21-year-old daughter's beauty.

She also shared another snap of Jodie posing with a black and white filter, along with a sweet tribute as the caption.

Danniella wrote: 'The other half of my world. A daughter is the woman we wish we could of been.. daughters inspire mothers.' (sic)

The former Celebrity Big Brother housemate co-parents Jodie and her son Kai, 26, with her ex-husband Kevin Jenkins.

Tribute: Danniella Westbrook posted rare snaps of her lookalike daughter Jodie B. Jenkins and said she 'is the woman she wished she could have been'

Lookalike: The former EastEnders star, 49, took to Instagram on Monday to show off her 21-year-old daughter's beauty

Her first marriage was to van driver Ben Morgan in 1998, but they divorced nine months later.

In 2001, the star married businessman Kevin, almost four months after the birth of their daughter Jodie. The former couple divorced in 2020.

Danniella recently split from jailbird boyfriend David after a seven-year on-off relationship - just months before he is due to be released from prison.

The actress announced last year that she was waiting on David to be released from prison so that he could propose in style.

Earlier this month, she was pictured trying on wedding dresses ahead of what was going to be her big day.

It has been reported that David is serving time in prison for counterfeit goods and engaging in various physical altercations but will be released in September, just before her 50th birthday.

Danniella has now reportedly started a romance with a 'rich businessmen' just a week after splitting from David.

Loving: Danniella also shared another snap of Jodie posing with a black and white filter, along with a sweet tribute as the caption

Family: The former Celebrity Big Brother housemate co-parents Jodie and her son Kai Jenkins, 26, (pictured in 2019) with her ex-husband Kevin Jenkins

End of the road: The actress was left devastated when her toyboy lover ex David, 29 (pictured), called time on their union after a seven-year on-off relationship

A friend of the star told The Sun of their 'split': 'Danniella was heartbroken last night.

'Both Danniella and David have decided to cancel their wedding plans and, it seems, their whole relationship.

'She has spent nearly seven years travelling all over the country to visit him but it seems the closer he is to coming home, the more the cracks are showing.

'They have both just changed so much since they first got together.'
Ashley Graham has reflected on her excruciating chat with Hugh Grant at the 2023 Academy Awards.

The model, 35, was conducting interviews on the red carpet when she approached the English actor, 62, to ask him for his thoughts on the night and his new film role, resulting in sarcastic and monosyllabic responses that left viewers cringing.

Four months on from the incident, Ashley was able to laugh it off, telling The Sunday Times: 'I could tell he didn't want to be there, that was obvious. Before, we were chatting, he was very pleasant. Then we started rolling and he was like, "I don't want to be here", and I was, "OK, work with me! I get it! But like, work with me?"

'I was trying my hardest to be my nice, upbeat self and he gave me what he had. I didn't get the Vanity Fair comment. My public school system didn't have that book, probably. It's crazy how viral it went.'

As the interviewer quipped that 'everyone has a grumpy Hugh in their family', Ashley responded: 'I wish I would've known that. I just remembered him from Love Actually where he was charming!'

Ray of sunshine: Ashley Graham has reflected on her excruciating chat with Hugh Grant at the 2023 Academy Awards admitting she 'tried her hardest' to perk him up but failed

During the Oscars interview, bubbly Ashley kicked off the chat by exclaiming: 'What was it like to be in Glass Onion? How fun is it to shoot something like that?'

But she was met with a cringeworthy response: 'Well I'm barely in it, I was in it for about three seconds,' Hugh quipped.

'It still must have been fun though, you had fun right?' Ashley said as she powered through the one-sided chat.

'Erm... almost,' the actor replied as he looked away.

Grinning and bearing the interview, the model asked: 'What are you wearing?' While Hugh offered an insightful: 'My suit.'

There was also an awkward moment when Hugh described the Oscars by stating: 'The whole of humanity is here. Its vanity fair,' referring to the 1848 William Thackeray novel about the frivolity of shallow, upper-crust society.

Ashley misinterpreted the comment and thought he was referring to the show's afterparty, responding 'Oh, its all about Vanity Fair. Thats where we let loose...' as Hugh looked on in bemusement.

Viewers at home were left feeling rather embarrassed over the exchange, as they praised Ashley for how she handled the difficult situation and said the moment was 'the worst' since Will Smith's infamous slap of Chris Rock at the 2022 ceremony.

It caused huge debate online, with some rushing to defend the actor, insisting that it was just Hugh's typical British humour, while others deflected the scathing criticism towards Ashley for her 'dull' questions.

Hugh has not spoken out about the incident.

Awkward! The model, 35, was on the red carpet when she approached the English actor, 62, to ask him for his thoughts, resulting in sarcastic and monosyllabic answers

Ashley recently opened up about a more positive celebrity exchange, recalling the time she met Margot Robbie on the Barbie press tour.

The supermodel - who has her own Ashley Graham Barbie - told People about the time she met Margot Robbie and the moment in the Barbie movie she's thankful for.

She explained: 'I actually got to meet Margot in Utah at this conference months prior to Barbie.

'I totally had a fangirl moment, walked straight up to the front, and I was like, "Hi, Margot Robbie. I am Ashley Graham. I just want to let you know there was a Barbie made in my likeness."

'"It has boobs. It has hips. It has an ass. It has round arms. It has lower belly fat, but the only thing it doesn't have is cellulite, and I wish it did,"' she gushed.

'"Are you putting cellulite in the movie?"

'I literally asked her and she started laughing and she was like, "There is an inside joke throughout the whole movie about cellulite,"' Graham recalled.

'I was like, "Is that all you can tell me" And she's like, "Yes." And so I waited for months.'

'Sure enough, I went and saw it and I was like, "Good," because you have to talk about it,' Ashley noted.

'I have it. We have it. It is what it is. And Barbie never had it. Ever. So I'm glad they talked about it and addressed it in their way.'
Shaun Wilson has announced his engagement to Tess Shanahan.

The founder of popular tanning brand Bondi Sands and the model shared the good news in an Instagram post on Monday.

'30.07.23 - My forever,' Tess captioned a series of images of the elaborate proposal.

In the photos, the beauty showed off her massive diamond ring after Shaun got down on one knee.

The romantic businessman set up a canopy flanked by roses on a beach, as well as small tables decorated with romantic signs and photos.

Shaun Wilson has announced his engagement to Tess Shanahan. Both pictured

After accepting the proposal, Tess sat down to share a glass of Champagne with her husband-to-be in a wicker chair placed under the canopy.

The series of romantic images showed the couple sharing a sweet kiss as they watched the tide roll in.

Tess, 28, is a Melbourne-based model, businesswoman and aspiring actor.

She founded the company Verve Superfoods, which has a range of natural, powdered products designed to supercharge smoothies.

The founder of popular tanning brand Bondi Sands and the model shared the good news in an Instagram post on Monday

'30.07.23 - My forever,' Tess captioned a series of images

The beauty showed off her massive diamond ring after Shaun got down on one knee.

Tess has walked for the likes of Alex Perry, Steven Khalil, David Jones, Myer, Lisa Marie Fernandez and numerous fashion weeks globally.

Shaun, meanwhile, founded the Bondi Sands brand in 2012 in Melbourne alongside business partner Blair James.

The incredibly successful tanning line held 60 per cent of the market share in Australia as of 2021 and is the number one self tanning brand in the world.

It is also sold at American retailers such as Walgreens, Ulta Beauty, Target, CVS and Rite Aid.
MasterChef judge Melissa Leong paid a heartbreaking tribute to her late co-star Jock Zonfrillo on Sunday after winning Most Popular Reality Program at the Logies.

And on Monday, the 41-year-old rocked a smart casual look in an oversized black blazer and black leggings as she arrived back into Melbourne.

She added a touch of style to her look with a $2700 Gucci tote, a black hat and designer sunglasses.

Melissa added a light layer of make up that accentuated her striking facial features.

Her outing comes after the cast and crew of MasterChef paid a heartbreaking tribute to Zonfrillo on Sunday after winning Most Popular Reality Program at the Logies.

MasterChef judge Melissa Leong paid a heartbreaking tribute to her late co-star Jock Zonfrillo on Sunday after winning Most Popular Reality Program at the Logies

And on Monday, the 41-year-old rocked a smart casual look in an oversized black blazer and black leggings as she arrived back into Melbourne

Leong began the acceptance speech by thanking their audience for sticking with them during an extremely difficult year.

'Thank you so much to our incredible cast for constantly pouring out your hearts and souls and showing us who you are on the plate every single time,' Melissa began.

'And thank you so much for the audience for sticking with us, through thick and thin, especially in the year we've had.'

MasterChef executive producer Marty Benson then took the mic to make a heartfelt dedication to late co-star Jock Zonfrillo, who was found dead in his hotel room in the early hours of May 1.

The cast and crew of MasterChef Australia paid a heartbreaking tribute to Jock Zonfrillo on Sunday after winning the Most Popular Reality Program Award. Leong (centre) began the acceptance speech by thanking their audience for sticking with them

'As I stand here tonight, its still hard to believe that my mate and our amazing judge Jock is no longer with us. So, big man, this is 100 per cent dedicated to you,' he said.

'Tonight we are going to celebrate Jock-style. Please, everybody, give it up for Jock!' he added, as the audience broke into loud applause.

Elsewhere, the 2023 Logie Awards has crowned its ultimate winner.

MasterChef executive producer Marty Benson (pictured) then took the mic to make a heartfelt dedication to late co-star Jock Zonfrillo, who tragically died on April 30

The Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television was awarded to Sonia Kruger.

She faced stiff competition with Julia Morris, Hamish Blake, Leigh Sales, Mark Coles Smith, Osher Gunsberg and Shaun Micallef all in the running.

While accepting the award, the host of Big Brother, Dancing with the Stars and The Voice Australia was clearly overwhelmed.

'As I stand here tonight, its still hard to believe that my mate and our amazing judge Jock Zonfrillo (pictured) is no longer with us. So, big man, this is 100 per cent dedicated to you,' Marty said

She admitted to forgetting the names of her loved ones, and even took a cheeky swipe at Hamish Blake, last year's winner of the Gold Logie.

'I cannot believe that. I have to compose myself,' she began breathlessly.

The ceremony earlier got off to a controversial start as beloved children's show Bluey lost Most Outstanding Children's Program to ABC show Crazy Fun Park.

'Tonight we are going to celebrate Jock-style. Please, everybody, give it up for Jock!' he added, as the audience broke into loud applause
Kate Beckinsale celebrated her 50th birthday in style on Sunday by throwing a raucous party at her Hollywood mansion.

The actress was joined by a slew of celebrity pals who gathered to commemorate the occasion, including Demi Moore, James Marsden, rapper Big Boss Vette and Selling Sunset star Chelsea Lazkani.

Kate looked sensational for her big night, showing off her incredible figure in a red velvet gown with sexy cut outs at the waist and a thigh high split that flashed her long legs.

Adding to the glamour, the mother-of-one donned a pair of towering platform heels and styled her hair in a ponytail with a big bow headband, exposing a pair of dazzling diamond earrings.

Just one outfit wasn't enough the star, however, with Kate later changing into a dazzling silver bodysuit that she paired with an extravagant feathered shawl.

Birthday girl! Kate Beckinsale celebrated her 50th birthday in style on Sunday by throwing a raucous party at her Hollywood mansion

Loving life: The actress was joined by a slew of celebrity pals who gathered to commemorate the occasion and was filmed dancing with pals (L-R) Ramona Agruma, Gabriella Morpeth, Big Boss Vette and Nina Kate

With the likes of Demi Lovato, TOWIE star Chloe Sims, Vas J Morgan and Jonathan Cheban cheering her on, Kate blew out the candles on her three birthday cakes before heading inside to dance.

While Big Boss Vette performed her hit Pretty Girls Walk, the actress showed off her twerking skills, tearing up the dancefloor with her racy moves.

She shared a slew of snaps from her party in an Instagram post on Monday, writing: 'The most amazing birthday continues .. what a party -full of love and glitter and the best people . Thank you to everyone and especially everyone.'

Kate - who turned 50 on Wednesday - has been stringing out her birthday celebrations by hosting several events with her nearest and dearest.

Last week, she celebrated her milestone birthday with a fun night at a karaoke bar, with the model joining her mum for a rendition of Peggy Sue.

Documenting the moment, she told her Instagram followers: 'I tell you what. Getting old is f****** great. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the most magical day full of joy and love and dear dear friends and the odd bird (not me but also me).

'For those who missed the sound on yesterday's birthday videos voila- for those who could have done without hearing my mum and me murdering Peggy Sue, tough bananas.'

After the main event, Kate relaxed in a pair of loose-fitting pink joggers and a graphic T-shirt, later layered over a fun cardigan with 'f***' emblazoned across the back.

Yum: With the likes of Demi Lovato, TOWIE star Chloe Sims, Vas J Morgan and Jonathan Cheban cheering her on, Kate blew out the candles on her three birthday cakes

Wow: Kate looked sensational for her big night, showing off her incredible figure in a red velvet gown with sexy cut outs at the waist and a thigh high split that flashed her long legs

Looking good: While Big Boss Vette performed her hit Pretty Girls Walk, the actress showed off her twerking skills, tearing up the dancefloor with her racy moves

It comes following the news that Kate's ex-husband Len Wiseman has moved in with his longtime girlfriend CJ Franco, 32 - eight years after the pair began dating when he split from his actress wife.

'CJ and Len have recently taken their relationship to the next level by moving in together,' a source close to the couple says.

Len and CJ's relationship began amid his tumultuous separation from Kate, whom he married in 2004 and spilt from in 2015.

However, any drama that may have clouded the earlier days of their romance was far from the couple's mind this past weekend when they stepped out together at a charity comedy show, Models of Comedy, looking every inch the blissful, cohabitating couple.

CJ, who performed in the stand-up show, and director and filmmaker Len appeared on the red carpet ahead of the event at Hotel Ziggy, and were, according to one guest, 'incredibly flirtatious' throughout the evening.

During her 15-minute monologue, 'Len sat front and centre and did not take his eyes off of CJ. You could see just how very smitten he was,' the eyewitness added.

The two lovebirds attended the after party together, where they continued to pack on the PDA as they chatted with friends, including Christine Peake - former British model turned comedian and Hollywood publicist, who hosted and performed in Models of Comedy.

The eyewitness told DailyMail.com that Christine and CJ 'stole the show' and 'were clearly the crowd's favorites. 'CJ had the audience rolling with a routine that included supportive jokes about her father, who is gay,' the source said.

'She told the audience that she was heading to Las Vegas soon for her dad's wedding - we assume with Len.'

Len's relationship with CJ ignited following his split with Kate, who he married in 2004 after falling in love on the set of 2003's Underworld.

Stunning: The mother-of-one donned a pair of towering platform heels and styled her hair in a ponytail with a big bow headband, exposing a pair of dazzling diamond earrings
As another new month dawns, that means another run of new shows coming to our TV screens.

August 2023 brings us a Star Wars spin off, an unlikely teen love story, and the unlikely return of a Hollywood legend.

So, what shows are coming out in August 2023?

Find a list of the highlights, and some which you might be less familiar with, below.

Only Murders In The Building: The hit series featuring Selena Gomez is coming back for a third season in August

Love is in the air: Heartstopper follows the unlikely love story between shy teen Charlie (Joe Locke) and the popular rugby captain Nick (Kit Connor, pictured)

Heartstopper, Netflix

Netflix only released the full trailer for Heartstopper season 2 at the end of July, ahead of its August 3 release.

The first series ended with unlikely young flames Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) becoming boyfriends, and with the latter - his school's rugby captain - coming out to his mother (played by Olivia Colman).

The new trailer suggests that this season will be when their relationship starts to hit a few bumps, as Nick confronts coming out at school.

Another new twist to the story coming in August is Elle Argent (Yasmin Finney) and Tao Xu (William Gao) growing closer as their friendship begins to blossom into something more.

And on top of that, the trailer also showed Tara Jones (Corinna Brown) making a huge declaration to her girlfriend Darcy Olsson (Kizzy Edgell) as she confessed: 'I love you. That's not me asking you to say it back or anything.'

Back for more: Season 1 of Heartstopper received rave reviews, and the show returns after just over a year

Only Murders In The Building, Disney+

The hugely successful Only Murders In The Building is back for a third season on August 8.

Hulu's Selena Gomez-starring mystery series, available on Disney+ in the UK, has attracted even more star power this time around.

Meryl Streep joins Selena, Steve Martin, and Paul Rudd in the cast this month.

Rudd is swiftly killed off to set up another classic whodunnit, and Ashley Park's character looks set up to be the prime suspect if the trailer is anything to go by.

Star studded: With the returning Selena Gomez, season 3 of Only Murders In The Building also features Meryl Streep

Physical, Apple TV+

Neighbours star Rose Byrne returns to Apple TV+ in Physical's third season on August 2.

This is the final season of the 1980s themed dark comedy where Rose plays Sheila - a TV exercise guru.

The new season sees the star facing increased competition at the top of her field from Zooey Deschanel's character Kelli.

It leaves Sheila questioning if her judgmental inner hater was actually the key to success.

Let's get physical: Rose Byrne is back for a third season playing the 1980s TV exercise guru

The Lost Flowers Of Alice Hart, Amazon Prime

Alien star Sigourney Weaver makes an unexpected return to our screens in Amazon Prime Video's The Lost Flowers Of Alice Hart - out on August 4.

Based on Holly Ringland's debut novel, the all-new series follows the title character back and forth as both a child and adult.

Alice's violent childhood, and the mysterious death of her parents, casts a dark shadow over her adult life.

The seven-part series is being released weekly after the first three episodes come out at the start of the month.

Mystery: The Lost Flowers Of Alice Hart follows the title character as she discovers the secrets about her family after her parents' death

Ahsoka, Disney+

The latest Star Wars spin-off from Disney+ releases on August 23.

Ahsoka ties into the main films, Clone Wars, and The Mandalorian, as Rosario Dawson's Jedi finally takes centre stage.

However, this spin-off is set in the early years of the New Republic, after the original trilogy's Return Of The Jedi movie.

The new series also features prequals icon Hayden Christensen as the voice of Anakin Skywalker - Ahsoka's master - despite the character dying in the final original movie.

Return Of The Jedi: Ahsoka is the latest Star Wars spin off to be released by Disney+

Harlan Coben's Shelter, Amazon Prime

Out on August 18, Harlan Coben's Shelter tells the story of Mickey Bolitar and his new life with his mother in rehab, a dead father, an annoying aunt, and at a new school in New Jersey.

Or so he thinks.

The tale twists after Mickey is told that his father is alive, even though the protagonist believes that he saw him die in a car crash.

The eight-part series is based on Harlan Coben's book with the same name.

One to watch: Jaden Michael is one of Hollywood's rising stars, and plays the main character in Harlan Coben's Shelter

Painkiller, Netflix

Another Netflix offering in August is Painkiller, dropping on the 10th.

Set in the midst of the opioid crisis, the drama tells the story of the origins and impacts of the epidemic that has ruined hundreds of thousands of lives across America.

The six episodes explore the creation and proliferation of OxyContin, the power wielded by the pharmaceutical industrial complex, the governments failures, and the addictions that developed from the drug.

The streaming platform will be hoping the series can emulate the success of 2021's Dopesick - also inspired by America's opioid crisis - which received recognition at the Emmy and Golden Globe Awards.
Drake was left in shock when a third fan threw a bra at him on stage during his New York City concert amid his It's All A Blur tour with fellow rapper 21 Savage.

Reading out the label to an excited crowd, the musician, 36, said while stunned: '36-L?

'L? How many letters does it go up to? What comes after? A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L?'

Some people were questioning why ladies are throwing their best bras on stage given that they are so expensive.

It seems to be a time in which throwing things at stars on stage is a TikTok trend,

He can't believe it! Drake is left in shock after a third lady lobbed a bra at him on stage in New York City leaving him wowed by her L-cup bra size and asking: 'How many letters are there?'

Drake doesn't seem to mind the fad of lingerie being thrown on the stage though.

He's into it! Drake doesn't seem to mind the fad of lingerie being thrown on the stage though

Harry Styles was shockingly hit in the face by a flying object while he was on stage during his Love On Tour concert in Vienna, Austria.

A fan threw her mother's ashes on stage at Pink's concert and Bebe Rexha was hit in the face by a phone.

Jason Derulo has called on artists to help stamp out the recent trend of fans throwing items, like phones, at them while they're performing.

Drake doesn't seem to mind the fad of lingerie being thrown on the stage though.

The musician was similarly wowed when another lady threw her 46G bra and he said it 'had me f**ked up tonight'.

But it's little wonder this gimmick has taken off.

A first woman who threw her 36G bra at Drake while he was performing on stage is now officially working for Playboy.

Veronica Correia, 21, from Cumberland, Rhode Island, became a viral sensation after she tossed her underwear on stage during the rapper's show at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Lucky for some: Veronica Correia, 21, from Cumberland, Rhode Island , who threw her 36G bra at Drake while he was performing on stage is now modelling for Playboy

A moment: Veronica, who also owns her own business, revealed that she also got a message from Drake on Instagram about the occurrence

Upon discovering the piece of clothing, the One Dance artist picked it up, checked the tag, and exclaimed: 'Damn. 36G? Locate this woman immediately.'

Playboy immediately picked up on the story and got in touch with the Drake fan.

Now, Playboy has announced on Instagram that the single mother who tossed her bra at the chart-topper has gained a modelling position.

Playboy's official Instagram account shared a snap of the Veronica as a Playboy model on Instagram, announcing her arrival as a model.

The post was accompanied with a link that said: 'Say hi to Veronica' with a red chili emojji.

Her Playboy profile explains that she is determined to 'show a positive body image'.

The business owner will be offering exclusive content and private DMs to those who follow her Playboy profile.

And according to Veronica, she got a private message from Drake himself as well.

While chatting with TMZ, she explained that she went to the concert with 'no intention of throwing her bra.'

Nice to hear: The lady who threw her 36G bra at Drake while he was performing on stage is now modelling for Playboy where she is determined to 'show a positive body image'

Making a name for herself: Veronica became a viral sensation after she tossed her undergarment on stage during the rapper's show at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn last week

He's a fan! Upon discovering the piece of clothing, the One Dance artist picked it up, checked the tag, and exclaimed: 'Damn. 36G? Locate this woman immediately'

'But then, I was having a little fun and he came past me to walk to the DJ booth. He was singing right in front of me, and I was like, "You know what. I'm gonna do it",' she explained.

'He passed right by me and I just knew he was gonna pick it up because I threw it right by his feet. There was no way he was gonna walk by it.'

Veronica, a Portuguese mother-of-one who runs a coffee shop called Cafe La La, vowed that 36G was her 'true bra size' and that her chest was 'all natural,' explaining that being on the curvier side 'runs in her family.'

She said she 'lost her mind' when he 'reacted the way he did' - and that it felt like a 'full circle' moment for her after suffering from 'serious back and shoulder pain' for years.

The Rhode Island-native said that after she posted about it on her Instagram Stories and it went viral, Drake somehow found her account and reacted to her Stories by replying with a laughing emoji.

Alright for some: According to Veronica, not only did she get a private message from Drake himself afterwards, but she's also been contacted by Playboy

Good story: The Rhode Island-native said that after she posted about it on her Instagram and it went viral, Drake found her account and reacted to her Stories by replying with a laughing emoji

After, she also received a DM from Playboy, who told her: 'If you wanna apply, we'll accept you right away., and it seems they did just that since she has been offered a role at the company.

While she's gotten a lot of requests to start an OnlyFans account after her now-viral interaction with the star, Veronica said it was not something that she was interested in.

'A lot of people have been messaging me saying, "Start it now, it would blow up, you would do so great, everyone would want to see an OnlyFans," but I don't really have that in mind,' she concluded.

Drake previously spoke out about 'not discriminating' against all types of bodies after someone else threw a 36DD bra at him during his Chicago tour earlier this month.

'36DD - some knocks, I'm not gonna lie. By the way, we don't discriminate, though,' he said.

'Shout out to the girls with the small t**ties. Shoutout to the girls with little booties, big booties, you know? All races, all faces, all places. Thank you, again, this is perfect.'
Damian Hurley was enjoying a lavish Italian vacation on Sunday as he was seen soaking up the sun in Portofino with pals.

The budding filmmaker, 21, looked dashing in his best summer garb as he chilled out on a pool lounger in a loosely-buttoned linen shirt and patterned shorts.

The superstar offspring, whose mother is mega-star Elizabeth Hurley, was laughing and joking with pals before lying down to peruse his phone in the lavish area.

Damian's trademark lustrous locks were worn in a slick bob while he sported a pair of designed sunglasses alongside a statement necklace.

He was joined by his school pal Millie Griffiths, with whom he has previously enjoyed lavish holidays, and the duo held hands while giggling together.

Glam: Damian Hurley was enjoying a lavish Italian vacation on Sunday as he was seen soaking up the sun in Portofino with pals

Happy days: The budding filmmaker, 21, looked dashing in his best summer garb as he chilled out on a pool lounger in a loosely-buttoned linen shirt and patterned shorts

Gal pal: He was joined by his school pal Millie Griffiths, with whom he has previously enjoyed lavish holidays, and the duo held hands while giggling together

Last year, sources said on Damian and Millie  who attended the 37,000-a-year Wellington College together  were close throughout school and are inseparable.

Damian has followed in his mothers fashionable footsteps, becoming one of the most sought after male models in the UK.

He is signed to the London arm of IMG Models, which also represents US sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid, Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen and Christie Blinkley.

Aside from his work in the fashion industry, last month, Damian marked his writing and directorial feature debut with upcoming mystery drama Strictly Confidential.

Risque pictures show his model mum Elizabeth, who plays Lily, appearing to be seduced by Natasha, played young actress Pear Chiravara.

The actress, 58, dressed in a plunging metallic gown, accepts a drink from Ms Chiravara, who then starts to kiss her chest.

Damian praised his mum for sticking to her promise to be in his first film when shooting wrapped in December on the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Sharing behind-the-scenes pictures on Instagram, he wrote: Everyone involved deserves public declarations of adoration (all of which will come in due course) but right now I want to worship @ElizabethHurley1.

Grateful: Aside from his work in the fashion industry, last month, Damian marked his writing and directorial feature debut with upcoming mystery drama Strictly Confidential

Racy: The film stars his own mother, Elizabeth Hurley, in frisky scenes with another woman

Behind the camera: Damian praised his mum for sticking to her promise to be in his first film when shooting wrapped in December on the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts and Nevis

'During the making of my first ever short film back in 2010 (when I was 8) promised me shed be in my first feature; true to her word...

'The minute this film was greenlit, Mama dropped everything and raced out to the beautiful Caribbean to help. Working together was a dream.

The mystery drama follows Mia, played by CBBC star Georgia Lock, as she is drawn into a world of sex, duplicity and betrayal while trying to uncover the mystery surrounding her best friend Rebeccas suicide.

Damian, who graduated last summer, was praised by his famous friends including Trinny Woodall who said: What an amazing achievement Damien, after all your passion and hard work, its paid off well done darling, so so happy for you and it really does help to have the best mama in the world.

Susannah Constantine added: Beauty AND brains.

It is not the first time Ms Hurley has starred in one of her sons projects.. She also flew out to Saint Kitts and Nevis for his short film, The Boy on the Beach, last year.

Ms Hurleys previous roles include The Royals, Bedazzled and Austin Powers.

In 2018 she revealed the secret photographer behind her seemingly endless stream of bikini Instagram posts was in fact her only son.
Friends and supporters of Amanda Holden have backed the Britain's Got Talent star after she was subjected to a cruel swipe by misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate.

The Heart FM presenter, 52, tweeted a racy image of herself enjoying a poolside shower in a sexy black two-piece, igniting a vile response from the former Big Brother contestant, dubbed 'the king of toxic masculinity'.

Replying to Amanda's tweet featuring her snap, Tate, 36, who is currently under house arrest in Bucharest over sex trafficking charges wrote: 'You are a wife and a mother and you're far past a teenager. There is no need for this post.'

Scores of people took to Twitter to defend the presenter and actress, among them Loose Women star Charles White 43, who tweeted: 'Attention-seeking by attempting to troll @AmandaHolden?!

'Someone ought to take up crochet and stop entering grown-up conversations.'

Feminist barrister Charlotte Proudman tweeted: 'Self proclaimed misogynist, Andrew Tate has been charged with rape & under house arrest but that doesnt stop him taking to Twitter to make sexist jibes about Amanda Holden  whilst age & body shaming her.

'"The king of toxic masculinity" strikes again.'

Sexy: Amanda Holden has been cruelly mum-shamed by misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate after posting a bikini-clad snap from her recent getaway

Shocking: Andrew, 36, is currently under house arrest in Bucharest over sex trafficking charges (pictured leaving court on 17 July)

Really? Amanda's post ignited the vile response from Andrew, who claimed there was 'no need' for her to share the image

Wow! The Britain's Got Talent judge has been eagerly documenting her sunny getaway with her husband Chris Hughes

Other Twitter users were scathing about Tate's unwarranted attack on Holden.

Ellis Karran tweeted: 'You are literally 36 years old and shirtless in your profile picture you utterly creepy man.'

Gigi Slavic added: 'Youre almost 40 years old and your whole page is shirtless pics, anime and porn.'

Holden herself is yet to publicly respond to Tate's post.

The Britain's Got Talent judge has been eagerly documenting her sunny getaway with her husband Chris Hughes.

Just two days before her sizzling snap, she posted another bikini-clad image to once again flaunt her incredible frame and flawless assets.

She showed off her incredible figure in a skimpy blue two-piece as she lounged on the back of a boat and looked out at the sea views.

Holden wed her music producer husband Chris in 2008 and the happy couple share daughters Lexi, 17 and Hollie, 11.

Loose Women star Charles White 43, defended Holden as she tweeted: 'Attention-seeking by attempting to troll @AmandaHolden?! Someone ought to take up crochet and stop entering grown-up conversations'

Others were equally scathing about the kickboxing champion's unwarranted attack on Holden

Twitter user Kimberly accused Tate of hypocrisy, and pointed to his own social media content

Ellis Karran tweeted: 'You are literally 36 years old and shirtless in your profile picture you utterly creepy man'

Gigi Slavic added: 'Youre almost 40 years old and your whole page is shirtless pics, anime and porn'

Last week, it was reported that leaked messages have demonstrated how Tate coerced women into doing sex work for him.

When the influencer was arrested in Romania in December, authorities accused him of using the 'loverboy' method to lure woman to his compound in Bucharest under the guise of having a relationship, before forcing them to do sex work.

According to Rolling Stone, citing screenshots of purported messages from the 'War Room' (Tate's groupchat with his followers) and other texts in 2021, Tate described women as 'targets' and 'assets' and spoke of isolating and manipulating them.

In one message, the misogynist described how he isolated one woman until she 'lost her support networks at home' and kept her at the compound in Bucharest.

'The real goal is for her to agree to never go anywhere without me. Not even her home town. I need her working,' he wrote, according to screenshots.

Leaked messages have demonstrated how alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate (left with his brother, Tristan) coerced women into doing sex work for him, according to a report

Former police officer Luana Radu (left) and Georgiana Naghel (right) are suspected of assisting the Tate brothers in the crimes they are under investigation for

Tate, who is currently under house arrest, also appeared to seek help from his associates to force one woman to post sexually explicit content on OnlyFans, an internet content subscription platform used mostly by sex workers.

In the message, Tate tells followers he'll be 'making the play tonight'.

'Since she moved [to Bucharest] she's been fed. But nothing else,' he wrote.

'She's broke. And she can't go home. And she can't leave the house. Man, I sound almost evil,' he added according to the leaked messages.

Pictured: A selection of messages purportedly sent by Andrew Tate to his 'War Room' group chat and to women, seen in screenshots also posted to the group chat

Tate has denied the trafficking and rape charges that have been levelled against him and his brother, Tristan, by the Romanian agency DIICOT.

DIICOT alleges that Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian women - Luana Radu and Georgiana Naghel - formed a criminal group in 2021 'to commit the crime of human trafficking' in Romania, as well as in the United States and Britain.

There are seven female victims in the case, DIICOT said, who were lured with false pretenses of love and transported to Romania, where the gang sexually exploited them and subjected them to physical violence.

One defendant is accused of raping a woman twice in March 2022, according to the agency. The women were allegedly controlled by 'intimidation, constant surveillance' and claims they were in debt, prosecutors said.

Controversy: Tate has denied the trafficking and rape charges that have been levelled against him and his brother, Tristan (right), by the Romanian agency DIICOT

Last week, a Romanian court ruled to extend the house arrest of the Tates.

The July 18 decision at the Bucharest Tribunal comes a month after prosecutors formally indicted the 36-year-old former Big Brother contestant along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women in the same case.

The decision means all four defendants - who were arrested in late December near Bucharest - will remain under house arrest for 30 more days.

Outside the court on Monday, Tate told journalists 'the moral arc of the universe bends towards justice in the end'.

'My brother and I are extremely resilient people. In the end justice shall be served,' he said. 'We're feeling like things are going to work out perfectly in the end  and until then we're going to follow the judicial process.'

The Tates lost their last appeal on July 6 against a prior house arrest extension.

After spending three months in police detention in Bucharest, the Tate brothers won an appeal on March 31 to be moved to house arrest.

Tate, who has been accused of peddling conspiracy theories online and has amassed 7.2million Twitter followers, has repeatedly claimed prosecutors have no evidence against him and there is a political conspiracy designed to silence him.

Before the court's decision on Tuesday, a post appeared on his Twitter account saying: 'There are Matrix agents on all sides of the political spectrum. War is funded. Trump and I are self funded. Basically everyone else is bought and paid for.'

Andrew Tate was previously banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing hate speech and misogynistic comments, including that women should bear responsibility for getting sexually assaulted.

Several women in Britain are also pursuing civil claims to obtain damages from Tate, alleging they were victims of sexual violence.

Tate claims to be worth 100million and is frequently seen showing off his money in expensive cars, private jets and designer clothes.

Andrew Tate, who has now left the UK to live permanently in Romania, is said to be worth as much as 100m as he monetises the global attention that TikTok has brought him

Tate's fortune came from crypto-currency and his online 'Hustler's Academy' is where 127,000 mostly men and boys pay him 39 a month for tips on getting rich and dealing with life

His fortune is also thought to have grown through crypto-currency trading.

And his online 'Hustler's Academy' is where 127,000 mostly men and boys pay him 39 a month for tips on getting rich and dealing with life is another income stream.

On a Twitch stream with Adin Ross, Tate told the host: 'I don't want to brag, but I'm a trillionaire, world's first.

'I was broke for a long time. I made my first million when I was, say, 27 and then I had 100 million by the time I was 31, and then I became a trillionaire quite recently.'

Companies House documents show that despite living in Romania, he has recently become director of two firms in the UK.

One is a car dealership based in Preston, while the other appears to be car leasing and events company. Neither appear to make huge amounts of money  at least according to the most recent accounts.

The 36-year-old shot to fame for his outlandish views and once starred on Big Brother

MailOnline previously disclosed Tate's upbringing in the UK and how he split his extended family between those who regard his self-promotion as harmless  and those who think it's sickening.

In August Tate's mother, Eileen Tate, still lived in the same end-of-terrace house worth 275,000.

It belongs to a housing association on a Luton council estate where she moved with her three children from Chicago in the late 1990s.

Tate is understood to be very close to his brother Tristan, 34, who moved to Romania with him  but he has no relationship with younger sister Janine who is a lawyer in Kentucky, US.

He said: 'I have a sister. My sister and I don't really talk.' Andrew and Tristan have described her as a 'feminist' which is thought to be an admission that she disapproves of his views.

Tate and his brother Tristan idolised their father who passed away in 2015. Their father (pictured with his children) was a high level chess player, who earned the nickname 'extraterrestrial' because his play was said to be out of this world

Tate showed money-making tendencies from a young age, but it is his business arrangements with his brother Tristan (pictured together) and his posts that have proved controversial

EXCLUSIVE: Andrew Tate sparks family feud over his 'misogynistic' videos - as we reveal his humble upbringing at his single mum's 275,000 Luton council house Tate's enviable lifestyle today is a far cry from his humble beginnings where his mother Eileen raised him and his brother Tristan and his sister Janice (all pictured together) from her humble council house in Luton Advertisement

His father Emory Tate, who died in 2015, was a high level chess player, who earned the nickname 'extraterrestrial' because his play was said to be out of this world. He won 80 games against grandmasters over his career and was six times champion of Nevada and five time US Armed Forces champion.

Like his son would grow up to be, Emory was a prolific and controversial social media user, posting outspoken content on Facebook which was highly critical of American foreign policy, before he died suddenly from a heart attack seven years ago.

Mrs Tate brought her children up in relative poverty after moving to the Bedfordshire town when Tate was aged 11.

Tate  whose full name, after his father, is Emory Andrew Tate III  was soon showing the money-making tendencies that have recently seen him come to mainstream attention.

One relative said: 'I remember when he was 14 he was earning money working at his uncle's fish business and he had bought himself his first mobile phone. It wasn't much but he loved it.

'Then one day these three guys from the Marsh Farm estate jumped him for it. These were not lads to be messed with but Andrew took care of all three of them quite easily.

'At that stage he hadn't done any kickboxing, he just had a punchbag set up in the back garden.

'He was always very sure of himself. He didn't ever want to be in a gang. He's an individual and certainly not someone to start a fight, he'd stop fights not start them.'

After leaving school he went into sales where he earned commission on windows and solar panels, bought himself a motorbike and began training as a kickboxer at Luton's Storm Gym.

As his internet fame grew he left Britain with his brother Tristan (pictured together as young boys) to set up in Romania where he continued to build an online audience. He is now said to have bought three casinos in the capital Bucharest

Tate (pictured) is a prolific social media personality  who boasts his lavish lifestyle online

He excelled and went on to become a world champion in the sport but it is his post kick-boxing role as an influencer on social media that has proved highly controversial.

In 2016 he was thrown out of the Big Brother house after a video emerged of him appearing to hit a former girlfriend with a belt. She later stated it was consensual and that he remained a friend.

Associations of this kind have seen some members of his wider family stop talking to him and those who approve of him.

One relative told us: 'We don't even speak to Andrew Tate or that side of the family. They don't speak to their nan. They are abroad doing whatever they are doing and we want nothing to do with them.'

Andrew and Tristan Tate are escorted by police officers outside the headquarters of the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism in Bucharest (DIICOT)

And others said they didn't want to be publicly associated with Tate because of his toxic views.

His comments about mental health  he described people who feel they need therapy as 'useless'  offended one uncle who told us: 'I was surprised by his negative comments about mental health. His dad had mental health problems so that seemed a very stupid thing for him to say.

'I think he does it to play the game. I told my sister that he shouldn't have said about mental health and she said that's Andrew all over.

'He thinks it is a weakness to talk about mental health but we all know it ain't because maybe 70 per cent of us will suffer from mental health things at some point and need an arm round the shoulder. I think that was Andrew overdoing his bravado bit.'

But many other relatives in and around Luton appear to regard Tate as simply a working-class boy made good whose sharp mind has earned him a fortune said to be as high as 90million.

One relative, challenged over Andrew's misogynistic comments, replied: 'Look, the only people getting upset about this sort of thing are the woke snowflakes. It's just words and Andrew has done nothing wrong.'

Another uncle, who did not want to be named, said: 'He's the most self-assured person I have ever met but he's not a bad character. He's got a good heart on him.

'He's just a very successful self-publicist and I don't know if there is any more to it than that. He is clearly very good at manipulating the system and he knows what will get him attention.

'He has always treated my sister, his mum, really well and that counts for a lot.'
Travis Scott released Utopia - his fourth studio album - on the delayed date of July 28.

With the album, Scott announced the release of a film called Circus Maximus which hit cinemas the same weekend.

Utopia is the rapper's first album since the Astroworld tragedy which killed at least 10 people in 2021.

But that festival was not the only controversy surrounding Utopia's release.

Read on for a run down of all the issues surrounding Scott's new release.

Fresh: Travis Scott released his forth studio album - Utopia - on July 28

Work of art: Scott released a range of album covers for the new release (pictured: Utopia's standard album art)

Comeback: Utopia is the rapper's first album since the Astroworld tragedy which killed at least 10 people in 2021

Astroworld Festival disaster and delayed release

Utopia's release was delayed by the tragedy at Astroworld Festival in 2021.

10 people, ranging in age from nine to 27, died after being crushed in the crowd of 50,000 at the concert at NRG stadium November 5, 2021.

More than a dozen people were hospitalized, and roughly 300 were treated for injuries at the scene.

The incident resulted in the rapper taking a break from work, and Utopia's release was delayed as a result.

Another twist, was that the Houston Police Department's report on the matter was published the same day as the album's release.

Travis' lawyer, Kent Schaeffer, told TMZ he believed HPD had a two-fold mission in releasing the 1,266 page report on the same day as the Utopia release - to hurt Utopia album sales and to take the heat off of law enforcement for not holding Travis criminally accountable.

Utopia briefcase

Scott had been slowly getting back into the swing of promoting the album throughout 2022, dropping a few songs and beginning a nightclub residency called Road to Utopia.

But the rapper's promotion for the album went up a gear when his security started carrying a Utopia briefcase around with him for no obvious reason.

The case went on a mini-tour of its own with producer Mike Dean opening it, but not revealing the contents, in June 2023.

After the release of the album, a replica of the item became available to buy on the artist's website for $150, a price point which some ridiculed.

One Twitter user commented: 'If you purchase that Travis Scott briefcase you are a dumba**.'

Any publicity is good publicity: Utopia promotion went up a gear when Scott had a briefcase displaying the album's title carried around by his security

Value for money? After the release of the album, a replica of the case became available to buy on the artist's website for $150

K-POP single

K-POP is Utopia's lead single, released on July 21, 2023.

As a result, the song was probably always going to be massive, let alone with Bad Bunny and Abel 'The Weeknd' Tesfaye as features.

The music video also sees Pharrell Williams and SZA make cameos.

However, rather than being a song about the Korean music craze, this single's name refers to a lollipop laced with ketamine.

The meaning went over some people's heads, leaving certain fans baffled, but that did not stop it being a hit in the charts, shooting to US number one on Spotify.

Star-studded: Bad Bunny (left) and Abel 'The Weeknd' Tesfaye (right) feature on the album's lead single

Dissing Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner

Unsurprisingly, the moment Utopia dropped, the lyrics were being analyzed within an inch of their lives.

On the album's seventh track, Meltdown (feat. Drake), Scott appears to be taking a dig at his ex Kylie Jenner, and her rumored new boyfriend Timothee Chalamet.

It does not require to forensic a look at the lyrics to come to that conclusion, with Chalamet starring in the imminent Wonka movie.

The words go: 'Chocolate AP and chocolate the Vs got the/ Willy Wonka factory (Vs)/ Burn a athlete like it's calories / find another flame, hot as me, b****.'

Scott and Jenner ended their relationship in January 2023, and share two young children together.

Family: Exes Travis and Kylie share two children together, including their daughter Stormi (Pictured above in 2021)

Pyramids performance

Travis's highly-anticipated concert at the Giza pyramids was cancelled due to 'complex production issues' just two days before the planned show date.

It had been scheduled for the same day that the album launched - July 28.

But it faced stiff opposition from the Egyptian Syndicate of Musical Professions, which oversees all matters relating to live or recorded music in the country.

They said in a statement on Tuesday July 25 that Scott's concert would 'go against our traditions,' continuing their fight against deemed to be improper and in contradiction with the country's values.

The next day, the concert's cancellation was confirmed by event operator Live Nation, who said: 'We regret to inform you that the Utopia show, originally scheduled for July 28th at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt is cancelled.

'Unfortunately, despite highest efforts, complex production issues meant that the show could not be constructed in the desert.

'We understand that this news is disappointing and not the outcome any of us desired.'

Ticket holders should be reimbursed for the mix-up, but it is not ideal for the hip-hop star regardless.
Less than three weeks after giving birth to her second child, The Society Management model Karlie Kloss flaunted her flat tummy while strutting through Manhattan's NoHo neighborhood on Monday.

The Chicago-born, St. Louis-raised 30-year-old slipped her statuesque 6ft2in post-baby body into a black belted jumpsuit, a matching bag, and slide sandals.

Karlie accessorized her slim summer attire with $450 Christian Dior 'Midnight B1I - Black Butterfly' sunglasses as well as silver earrings and bracelets.

Kloss and her billionaire husband of four years, Thrive Capital founder Joshua Kushner, welcomed their son Elijah Jude Kushner on July 11.

The Kode with Klossy founder and the 38-year-old New Jersey native - who began dating in 2012 - are also proud parents of two-year-old son Levi Joseph Kushner.

July 31 vs. July 4: Less than three weeks after giving birth to her second child, The Society Management model Karlie Kloss flaunted her flat tummy while strutting through Manhattan's NoHo neighborhood on Monday

Last month, Karlie admitted 'the postpartum period was really overwhelming to navigate' in the six months after she had her first child.

'You're not sleeping, you're trying to figure out how to nurse, and your life feels upside down,' Kloss recalled to Glamour.

'So I think that the profession that I'm in - working in fashion and the idea of a sample size being a one size that a model needs to fit into to walk on a runway - unfortunately, that's not a fun part of my job. I wasn't in a rush to get back to that place.'

In May, the Estee Lauder global ambassador partnered with Paid Leave for All in order to help pass the States' first-ever national paid family leave policy.

'The fact that there's not policy in place that protects women or birthing people going through this period is something that is really devastating in this country. Now is the time to really bring this to the forefront. This is something that everybody should care about,' Karlie explained.

'At Kode With Klossy, we have a 12-week paid leave policy, which is better than some places to work and not as good as others. But at least it's something.'

Kloss is a proud registered Democrat despite the fact that her brother-in-law Jared Kushner and sister-in-law Ivanka Trump were former White House senior advisors to twice-impeached President Donald Trump.

The Bobbie MotherBoard member's 17-year modeling career originally began when she was discovered at a local charity fashion show back in 2006.

Skinny Minnie: The Chicago-born, St. Louis-raised 30-year-old slipped her statuesque 6ft2in post-baby body into a black belted jumpsuit, a matching bag, and slide sandals

Black-clad mama: Karlie accessorized her slim summer attire with $450 Christian Dior 'Midnight B1I - Black Butterfly' sunglasses as well as silver earrings and bracelets

Baby joy! Kloss and her billionaire husband of four years, Thrive Capital founder Joshua Kushner, welcomed their son Elijah Jude Kushner on July 11
Angelina Jolie exuded elegance as she stepped out in Rome on Saturday.

The actress, 48, who is working through financial issues with ex Brad Pitt, wore a loose-fitting, double-breasted cream blouse and a long white skirt.

The Oscar winner accessorized with diamond and gold earrings, a gold bracelet and gold and diamond rings.

She showcased her flawless complexion with minimal makeup and a nude lip.

The Eternals actress wore wide black framed sunglasses and styled her long light brown hair in a sleek chignon.

Elegance: Angelina Jolie, 48, exuded elegance as she stepped out with her daughter Zahara Jolie-Pitt, 18, in Rome Saturday

The Maleficent star was accompanied by her oldest daughter, Zahara Jolie-Pitt, 18.

The college student looked stylish in a black sweater over a black camisole.

Her shoulder length hair was styled in natural curls and she accessorized with gold earrings and a gold pendant.

Mother and daughter both carried black clutch purses.

The high profile star used her platform to plead for help for the people of Sudan and South Sudan on Instagram Sunday.

'Fighting in Sudan has displaced more than 3,000,000 people,' the humanitarian activist wrote.

'Among them are South Sudanese refugees who fled earlier violence in their own country, and who are now displaced again, back into South Sudan where for many, home still isnt safe for them.'

Angelina shared profiles of some of those affected in the post.

Stylish: Angelina chose simple but stylish basics, donning a cream toned double breasted blouse and a long white skirt

Flawless: The Oscar winner showcased her flawless complexion wearing minimal makeup and a nude lip, and styled her long light brown hair in a sleek chignon

A red carpet wonder" Jolie attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Marvel Studios' Eternals in 2021 in Los Angeles

'This is the reality for millions of refugees in the absence of peace agreements and stability in their countries - displacement upon displacement.'

She then encouraged her 14.6 million followers to find out more about the group Refugees International to learn more.

Angelina has also launched an effort to continue to help others through her new business and fashion venture Atelier Jolie.

She announced its launch in May, explaining, 'We hope to create a community of creativity and inspiration, regardless of socio-economic background,' on the company's website.

'We will spotlight the people who play a part in each creation. We will bring together a diverse team, including apprenticeships for refugees and other talented, underappreciated groups, with positions of dignity based on skill.'

Atelier Jolie will repurpose leftover fabric and vintage materials, to make the brand more environmentally sustainable.
Stunning OnlyFans model Sami Sheen was seen in a saucy image over the weekend.

The 19-year-old daughter of Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards was wearing a pale pink lingerie set from Honey Birdette as she posed at home.

The teen was propped up on a bed with the help of a giant pink stuffed put as she shot a look back at the camera while in bra, undies, a garter belt and thigh high stockings.

But the photo by shutterbug Kristin Zancanelli is not new.

'Just found this from last year & never posted it,' explained the nepo kid in her caption for Instagram.

Sheen is known for posting very sexy images to Instagram to support her gig on OnlyFans.

She and her mom Denise have both been posing for the site this year as it is a big money earner.

And she also has shown off more candid images in swimwear on her social media pages.

In June Sami was in Hawaii as she posed in bikinis. 'Swipe to see a blobfish,' was all the Los Angeles native wrote in her caption.

She posted a slew of snaps chronicling her getaway to Honolulu.

Whether she was splashing around the ocean blue or striking a pose by the sunset in an ab-baring outfit, Sami looked like she was having the time of her life.

'My second home at this point,' she captioned the snaps.

The posts began with video of Sami diving into the tranquil waters, before emerging to slick the water out of her face.

In one picture, Sami wore a cheeky thong bikini bottom as she explored the rocky terrain with her tattooed back on display. She also shared a snap of herself soaking in the tub beside a candlelight.

In a stunning shot, Sami posed on the beach at sunset in a white tube top and flowing tiered skirt.

Her day job: Here is a look at Sami Sheen's OnlyFans page where she offers 'exclusive content'

Swim time: Stunning Sheen is known for her social media pinup photos

Cheeky: Sami wandered around the rocky beach in a thong bikini in June

So 2022: Here the model is seen in a pink bikini when in Hawaii last year with sister Lola

She also appeared to take a snap at magic hour, as she posed in the sunlight with her blonde hair cascading atop her grey sweatshirt in one golden shot.

There was also plenty of adventuring to be had. Sami also enjoyed some zip lining, a bike ride around the beach, and a close encounter with a tortoise.

Last month she hit the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) in Las Vegas.

She was also seen in a very low cut light pink shimmering dress as her blonde hair was worn in loose pigtails.

In her caption the model said she was on 'cloud nine.' She was seen having the time of her life as she checked out the flashing lights at the packed Sin City event.

Her younger sister Lola hit the like button as fans called Sami 'absolutely gorgeous' and 'just like your mama Denise.'

Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) is a dance music festival that began in 1997 as a warehouse party in Los Angeles.

In February Sami showed off her shape as she enjoyed some warm weather in Hawaii. The model was wearing a sparkly light lavender-colored bikini that made the most of her tiny waistline as well as muscular arms and legs.

Cute look: The star was seen in a tiny white fringed bikini with fuzzy white boots as she hit the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC)

Her mommy! Denise has built a strong career for herself as a movie star (The World Is Not Enough), a model (Playboy, Only Fans) and a reality TV star (The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills); seen with husband Aaron Phypers at the Race To Erase MS Gala on Friday in Los Angeles

The photogenic teen wore her white blonde hair down as she added gold hoop earrings that went with her diamond belly piercing. She was also showing off an array of tattoos.

Sami has been working for the pay site OnlyFans in the past year.

She made headlines for posting images alongside her Bond girl mom Denise, who posed for Playboy almost 20 years ago.

It was revealed in September that Denise's husband Aaron Phypers helps her shoot her OnlyFans content.

The Wild Things star joined the website in June just days after her daughter Sami signed up for the service.

And Denise has now recruited her partner to help her take the sexiest shots for the adult platform - admitting she values his opinion.

During an appearance on Sirius XM's Jeff Lewis Live, she explained: 'Aaron takes a lot of my content for me. He knows what guys like. I ask him, I show him things, and say, 'What do you think?''

Denise went on to reveal she takes pictures in bikinis and lingerie and isn't afraid to show off her body - insisting pictures of her semi-naked already exist on the internet,

She told host Jeff: 'I do bikini, I do lingerie, I do stuff that is sexier 'cause I also think, "Why not?' if I'm able to do stuff outside of some of the more conservative stuff that's on my Instagram. I do show my boobies, my tush,"' she explained.

'They're already out there if you Google them.'

With mommy and sister: Sami, far right, with sister Lola, far left, and Denise, middle, in 2015 in Los Angeles

The actress said she first joined the site to show support for her daughter, but she grew to understand why it feels 'empowering'.

She went on: 'I did it to support my daughter, being a mom who is an actress who has done stuff, and I just thought it was empowering too as a woman  to take control.

'You own all of the content and (on) a lot of the other platforms, you don't own the content. So, it's nice to be able to control it.'

Sami previously faced opposition from her actor dad Charlie Sheen, who wasn't happy with her decision to join OnlyFans, and she recently revealed he still hasn't been won over.

The teenager told TMZ: '(My mom) has been incredibly supportive from the jump. I'm grateful to have to her in my corner. But my dad hasn't seen the light yet. '

Sami also has three sisters, Lola, as well as Eloise and 37-year-old half-sister Cassandra Jade Estevez, whose mother is Paula Profit.

She also has 13-year-old half-brothers Max and Bob Sheen whose mother is 45-year-old Brooke Mueller.
The View's Alyssa Farah Griffin was slammed by viewers on Monday after she referred to former President Donald Trump - whom she used to work for during his time in the White House - as a 'mob boss'.

Alyssa, 34, came under furious fire online in the wake of her comments, which she made during a panel discussion against the latest indictment that has been filed against Trump.

The panelist - who worked both as Trump's White House Director of Strategic Communications and as his assistant back in 2020 - was quick to hit out at the former President, claiming that he 'operates like a mob boss' and that he 'gets the little guys to do his dirty work'.

Her comments came during a heated debate among the co-hosts about the latest developments in the classified documents probe of Trump - who has been accused of conspiring with two employees, Carlos De Oliveira and Walt Nauta, to delete server footage of boxes of classified material at his private Florida club Mar-a-Lago.

But it was Alyssa who ended up facing a barrage of criticism - with viewers accusing her of hypocrisy for voicing such negative views about her former boss, despite previously speaking out in support of him during her time at the White House.

Not impressed: The View's Alyssa Farah Griffin was slammed by fans of the show on Monday

Opposite opinions: Sunny Hostin (left) usually clashes with Alyssa when it comes to politics

Having a laugh: Alyssa was the White House Director of Strategic Communications and Assistant to President Donald Trump in 2020

The controversial moment took place during the first half of Monday morning's show, when co-host Sunny Hostin predicted that Oliveira will 'sing like a canary' during his court appearance in order to avoid a prison sentence.

'Because once you're faced with an indictment, a federal indictment, even if it's one charge, that's up to 10 to 20 years in prison, and he ain't going to spend 10 to 20 years in prison for Donald Trump,' she explained.

'Donald Trump may not testify, and Mr. Nauta who was the guy who was, like, "I'm not doing that".

'Maybe he's not going to become a defendant, but this guy is going to do this and say, "he told me to erase everything, and I didn't erase it. I didn't have anything to do with it".'

'I used to love as a prosecutor, those weak canaries. Those weak canaries, they sing real, real well,' Sunny, 54, added.

However, Alyssa didn't necessarily agree and chimed in: 'I'm not sure that I think Mr. Oliveira is going to end up breaking with Trump and severing, and I don' think Walt Nauta necessarily is because [Trump] is paying their legal bills.

'Donald Trump operates like a mob boss, he's done this throughout his career... Michael Cohen has spoken to this. He pays for people's legal bills to the tune of $200,000 to try to keep them loyal to him,' Alyssa claimed.

In court: Carlos de Oliveira pictured leaving court in Miami on July 31

'This is the guy that's, like, a property manager at Mar-a-Lago, a pretty low-level gentleman who he was like, "I don't know. He was my boss and he asked me to do it." I would encourage him [to] break because you are facing federal prison, but he's currently having his lawyer paid for by Trump.'

Alyssa continued by recalling another former White House employee, Cassidy Hutchinson, who testified in front of the January 6 committee back in December 2022 that she felt pressure from Trump's inner circle to not cooperate with lawmakers who were investigating the US Capitol riot.

'I'll remind you, my friend Cassidy Hutchinson didn't feel like she could tell the truth when she had a Trump-paid-for attorney,' Alyssa went on.

Speaking out: Alyssa referred to her former boss Trump as a 'mob boss' during Monday's episode

Topic of the day: The View panel were discussing the new indictment filed against Trump

Sunny's thoughts: Mother-of-two Sunny had a lot to say on the subject and did not hold back

'It was only when she was able to get her own that she's like, "These are the questions you need to ask me, I wanna answer this, I wanna tell you." It's textbook Donald Trump!'

But Sunny still insisted that she thinks Oliveira will 'sing like a little weak canary', to which Alyssa responded: 'I think you can't forget because he has the little guys do his dirty work. You've got to pay your legal bills, $10,000 a month, $20,000 a month...'

Viewers tuning in at home were not impressed with Alyssa's comments at all and were quick to remind her that she used to work for Trump.

Back in September 2017, Alyssa was appointed Special Assistant to the President and Press Secretary to Vice President Mike Pence.

In September 2019, it was announced that she would become Press Secretary for the United States Department of Defense, after the role had been vacant for nearly a year. She was also appointed Director of Media Affairs.

She joined the White House Office as the White House Director of Strategic Communications on April 7, 2020, but by December 3, she had resigned from the role, with it effective the following day.

The day before the January 2021 United States Capitol attack, Alyssa publicly condemned Trump supporters for harassing Senator Mitt Romney. She denounced the attack, and days later, blamed Trump for inciting the insurrection and suggested that he should resign.

'Every time Alyssa refers to Trump as a mob boss I have to laugh. She chose to work for him knowing full well who Trump was #theview,' one person wrote.

Another posted: 'I cannot hear anything Alyssa says. She worked for Trump and I just cannot take her serious. #TheView,' and a third asked: 'Why does AFG speak like she's an authority on everything? #TheView.'

Having their say: Fans of the show slammed Alyssa on Twitter while tuning in

Unimpressed: Viewers were quick to remind Alyssa that she used to be 'loyal' to Trump

Not having it: Another fan of the show was struggling to listen to what Alyssa had to say

Bac then: Alyssa pictured briefing the press on the department's COVID-19 response efforts back in March 2020

Former role: Alyssa also worked as Press Secretary to Vice President Mike Pence

A different viewer posted: 'Alyssa yet again, Im not buying you phony negative comments against your former boss #DonaldTrump !!! You never shouldve worked for him! You were loyal to him for a long time #TheView.'

Earlier this month on The View, she confirmed that she would not be voting for Trump or Joe Biden in any upcoming elections - which led to a clash with Sunny, after she accused her of 'wasting' her vote.

Oliveira arrived at federal court in Miami on Monday to face conspiracy charges related to the classified documents probe of former President Trump.

The 56-year-old walked into court for a hearing after his name appeared in a superseding indictment that accused him, Trump, and fellow aide Walt Nauta in conspiring to delete server footage of boxes of material at the private Florida club.

Following Monday's hearing, Oliveira was released on $100,000 bail and did not enter a plea.

His lawyer, John Irving, called it 'unfortunate' that the Justice Department had charged his client and said it was time for prosecutors to 'put their money where their mouth is.'

A superseding indictment prosecutors filed last week accused him of conspiring to delete security footage of boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago after a grand jury subpoena sought their return.
Kenya Moore is sending well-wishes to her former Real Housewives of Atlanta castmate Kim Zolciak.

Speaking to TMZ, the 52-year-old former pageant queen only had positive things to say about the Don't Be Tardy personality, 45.

It comes after Moore previously claimed Kim might be lying about her divorce drama with husband Kroy Biermann.

'I wish them well. Divorce is hard, but when people just start being super nasty like that, it's hard to witness. But I wish them well. They have kids, you know?' she said to the outlet.

Seeing released police body cam footage of a domestic dispute between Kim and Kroy shifted Kenya's perspective, although she maintained 'you never know' what's true and what's not when it comes to the mother-of-six.

Positive: Kenya Moore is sending well-wishes to her former Real Housewives of Atlanta castmate Kim Zolciak

Earlier this month Kenya slammed 'truly evil' Kim and branded her a liar after the star boasted about her marriage to Kroy during an episode in which Zolciak returned to RHOA.

Moore took to Twitter after Zolciak said about her, 'That b***h is still alive?' during a shock moment on the reality show.

It happened before Kim bragged about her happy marriage to Biermann, 37 - shortly before the pair temporarily split.

After the episode aired, Moore wrote online: 'One thing Kim is going to do is lie through her plastic teeth.'

Condemning Kim's derogatory remark about her, Moore also wrote: 'This comment is truly evil.

'Im not a @Kimzolciak fan but I never kicked her when she was sorry IS downlearning of her divorce, foreclosure, repossessions, gambling accusations, unfit mom claims and canceled show.

'Now begging @BravoTV and producers to come back to #RHOA.'

During the episode Kim insisted things were 'great' between her and her husband.

Fury: RHOA star Kenya Moore slammed 'truly evil' Kim and branded her a liar after the star boasted about her marriage to Kroy Biermann during her show return; seen in 2019

Oh wow: Moore, 52, let rip on Twitter after Zolciak, 45, said about her: 'That b***h is still alive?' during a shock moment on the reality show - before waxing lyrical about her happy marriage to Biermann, 37 - shortly before the pair temporarily split

'We're still married,' Kim said. 'It's 11 years so we're doing great. So, whatever I did, I texted the right person.'

The episode was filmed before Kroy and Kim filed for divorce in May before later withdrawing their divorce filings.

Now, after agreeing to give their marriage a second try a few weeks ago, Kim and Kroy are reportedly at odds once again after learning what was said about one another during their encounter with the police in May.

TMZ reported arguments have been sparked by police body camera footage which captured a visit law enforcement made to their Georgia home over a domestic dispute.

The couple is reportedly hurt after hearing what each had to say about one another to police during the visit.

The video shows Kim saying she believes her husband may have a traumatic brain injury, while Kroy claimed his wife has issues with gambling.

While insiders close to the couple said they would not be shocked if the duo splits up once again, they don't believe the pair would immediately file for divorce if they do decide to separate.

Awful: After the episode aired, Moore wrote: 'One thing Kim is going to do is lie through her plastic teeth'

Divorce drama: Kroy Biermann, shown with Kim last October in Atlanta, filed for divorce in May, but she recently withdrew her divorce filing

Right person: 'We're still married,' Kim, 45, said. 'It's 11 years so we're doing great. So, whatever I did, I texted the right person'

Until earlier this month, the couple had been embroiled in an ugly split. However, in an unexpected turnaround, the two decided to call off their divorce.

The footage Kim and Kroy have been allegedly quarreling over was released after they decided to give their marriage a second try.

In the video Kim cried uncontrollably and was unable to fully articulate herself after Kroy locked her out of the house.

The Don't Be Tardy star told law enforcement that 'something is wrong' with her husband after a dispute on May 2, weeks before their reconciliation.
Emily Ratajkowski showed off her signature effortlessly cool style as she walked her dog Colombo in New York City on Monday.

The 32-year-old mother-of-one - who was spotted with son Sly, two, over the weekend - rocked a cropped white tank top, showing off her flat abs, that read Cara Mia which is Italian for My Dear.

The New York Times bestselling author added a black leather Gucci cap, covering her auburn locks.

She left her bangs out but pulled her long, straight hair into a low bun, keeping cool in the northeast heat.

The High/Low With Emrata podcast host donned Y2K-style Miu Miu rimless sunglasses and donned medium-sized hoop earrings.

Daily walk: Emily Ratajkowski showed off her signature effortlessly cool style as she walked her dog Colombo in New York City on Monday

Casual: The 32-year-old mother-of-one rocked a cropped white tank top, showing off her flat abs

Emily stepped out in a pair of baggy olive green trousers, securing them with a black leather belt.

The California native's tank top read 'cara mia' across the front and had a graphic print of two hearts with an arrow going through them.

She rounded out the sporty ensemble with a pair of trendy black, gray, and purple Salomon sneakers.

Emily layered necklaces and wore understated rings, drawing attention to her long, almond-shaped nude manicure.

Missing from the scene was Ratajkowski's tot, who she shares with ex-husband Sebastian Bear-McClard.

Emily has had Colombo since May 2019 and brought him on The Tonight Show and introduced him to Jimmy Fallon when he was just a puppy.

'I've been loving it. It felt like a big step,' the beauty gushed about her pet at the time, which was before she became mom to son Sylvester Apollo in 2021.

The beauty is regularly spotted on the go with her canine in the Big Apple, oftentimes bringing along her son and best friend Babs Jeanne.

Headgear: The New York Times bestselling author added a black leather Gucci cap, covering her auburn locks

Beating the heat: She left her bangs out but pulled her long, straight hair into a low bun, keeping cool in the northeast heat

Accessories: The High/Low With Emrata podcast host donned Y2K-style rimless sunglasses and donned medium-sized hoop earrings

A closer look: In this image seen on Instagram it can be seen that her necklace spells out Sylvester

The star spoke to Elle UK last year and opened up about raising her son as a single mother.

'You sacrifice so much of your identity when you become a mother,' she admitted.

'And I feel like my life is just beginning. My twenties felt like how people describe their teenage years, where youre like, "God, that was awkward and painful." And as much as I did things that I love, Im also just like, "Goodbye!"'

She added, 'Now, for the first time, I am enjoying the world more. And yet now I have this incredible responsibility of raising a child. But one thing I have decided is how I want Sly to think about women. I want him to have an example of a mom who is happy.'
New couple The Chase star Mark Labbett and Sky presenter Hayley Palmer looked cosy together as they posed on the red carpet at the National Reality TV Awards in London.

The pair, who went public with their romance back in May, looked in good spirits as they posed together as Hayley leaned on the Chaser's arm.

It was recently revealed that the 57-year-old was dating the TV presenter, 41, after he split from his wife Katie in 2020.

Sources claim that the TV star, best known for his alter-ego The Beast, wooed the GB News presenter on a string of dates after being 'friends for some time.'

And things look to be going well as the couple beamed at the event at Porchester Hall.

Glam: New couple The Chase star Mark Labbett and Sky presenter Hayley Palmer looked cosy together as they posed on the carpet at the National Reality TV Awards in London on Monday evening

Official: The pair looked in good spirits as they posed comfortably together as Hayley leaned on the chaser's arm

Hayley cut a glam figure in a figure-hugging black sequined dress with plunging neckline.

The star showed off her enviable curves in the glamourous number which she paired with some sparkly silver strappy heels and matching clutch bag.

She wore her blonde locks in voluminous curls and added a touch of colour with a bold red lip and scarlet painted finger and toenails.

Mark looked smart in a grey suit with a red tie and black shoes as he grinned with his arms folded.

Also in attendance at the event was fellow The Chase co-star Anne Hegerty, 65, TOWIE star Junaid Ahmed, 28, and Too Hot To Handle star Chloe Veitch, 24.

Reality star David Potts, 30, also smiled on the carpet as he was joined by internet personality Precious Muir, 33.

Earlier in July Mark opened up on his blossoming new relationship with his new girlfriend as he admitted the relationship has its challenges due to the distances between them.

Mark lives in Rotherham, whereas Hayley is London-based.

Summery: Fellow The Chase co-star Anne Hegerty, 65, looked great in a floral number

Dazzling: TOWIE star Junaid Ahmed, 28, flashed his tanned chest in a shimmery metallic suit

Wow: Too Hot To Handle star Chloe Veitch, 24, looked amazing in a floor length black sparkling gown with plunging neckline

Gorgeous: Loose Women stars Linda Robson, 65, and Charlene White, 43, dressed up for the event

Dancing stars: AJ Pritchard, 28, and his brother Curtis, 27, were also in attendance

Smiles: Fatima Whitbread, 62, wore a statement jumpsuit on the carpet

New romance! Mark and Hayley started dating after first meeting last October

However despite only having gone on a handful of dates since they first met back in October 2022, he said of their recent time together in LA: 'actually we got on really well.'

Speaking to The Sun, Mark explained how he first met his now-girlfriend when they were introduced in October at the National Television Awards at Wembley's OVO Arena.

Hayley recalled how on the night she was impressed by The Beast's Toby Carvery Gold Card and jokingly tried to steal it from him.

Mark revealed that it was Hayley who then asked him on their first date, when she invited him to join her at the press night of Dirty Dancing The Musical at the end of January.

Dapper: TV personality David Potts, 30, looked suave in a pale suit

Shining: Internet personality Precious Muir was also in attendance

New flames: Mark admitted in July that he had 'only been on a few dates' with his new girlfriend (pictured in January on their first date in London)

At the end of their evening out at the theatre, the TV personality said he was 'pretty impressed' with Hayley but 'couldn't pick up a tell' as to whether she felt the same about him.

Deciding to 'take refuge in honesty', The Chase star told the presenter: 'I really like you', before asking her if there was any chance of a second date.

Now, five months on from their first date, Mark confessed the long distance can make things difficult, saying: 'We've been sort of dating for about five, six months but we've only been on a few dates because live about 150 miles apart.

'We get diaries out and go, ''When are we going to be physically in the same location?''. That's why LA was so good. We got to spend a bit of quality time together and actually we got on really well.'

Beaming: The couple looked incredibly happy together as they walked hand in hand

Group pic: Mark and Hayley posed with his co-star Anne as the threesome took a sweet snap

Close: Mark previously opened up about how the couple struggled with long distance

Glam: Hayley cut a glam figure in a figure-hugging black sequined dress with plunging neckline

Suited and booted: The brothers looked incredibly dapper

Pop of colour: Linda accessorised her black dress with a orange, purple and white polka dot scarf

Peace out: David looked overjoyed to be at the event
Tina Knowles wore all black as she headed to the airport in Los Angeles this weekend.

It was the first time the designer, who is best known as Beyonce's mother, was seen in public since filing for divorce from her husband of eight years, Richard Lawson, 76, citing irreconcilable differences.

The 69-year-old looked chic in a black long sleeve shirt with a scooped neckline.

She paired it with black jeans with a slit at the ankle and black wedge Chanel sandals. The businesswoman's long brown hair was styled in loose waves.

The designer was on her way to New York City.

Low key: Tina Knowles, 69, kept her look low key as she headed to the airport in Los Angeles Thursday. It was the first time she was spotted in public since filing for divorce from her husband of eight years, Richard Lawson, 76

She wore natural looking makeup with a neutral lip and carried a red and brown Louis Vuitton bag.

On Monday, Tina posted a video where she was dining in NYC with her 37-year-old daughter Solange as well as Angie Beyince.

Tina was headed to New York for the annual BeyGood Black Parade Luncheon.

The BeyGood charity was set up by Beyonce to help citizens and communities and transform where they live into areas of prosperity.

Tina serves on the organization's board.

'Beygood had a beautiful Black Parade Luncheon,' she wrote next to a video montage of the event on Instagram Sunday.

The Grammy winner did not go, but Tina indicated her granddaughter, Blue Ivy, 11 was in attendance.

'A great time was had by all,' she wrote on Instagram.

Tina also shared the good news that, 'several students received general scholarships for BeyGood.'

Chic: Tina looked chic in a black long sleeve shirt with a scooped neckline, pairing it with black jeans with a slit at the ankle and black wedge Chanel sandals

Curls: The businesswoman's long brown hair was styled in loose waves. She wore natural looking makeup with a neutral lip and carried a red and brown Louis Vuitton bag

Her girl: Meanwhile, Beyonce has been looking fabulous during her latest tour

Video indicated they received checks of $10,000 each.

'It's all about being good,' she said.

Beyonce was nearby in East Rutherford, New Jersey Saturday night, where she thrilled thousands of her fans at MetLife Stadium.

Ivy joined her mother on stage, dancing along to the songs My Power and Black Parade.

The hitmaker will appear in the Boston area Wednesday, before heading to Pittsburgh for a show there Friday.
Clelia Theodorou has revealed her mother passed away in a horror car crash at the end of May.

Taking to Instagram on Monday, the pregnant The Only Way Is Essex star, 28, revealed that she too had been involved in the crash, which left her in hospital with 'terrible injuries' for weeks.

And though she is 'continuing to heal', she admitted that her 'beautiful' mum 'couldn't heal' from hers.

She penned: 'At the end of May myself and my Mum were unfortunately involved in an accident, we both suffered terrible injuries.

'I am continuing to heal from mine after weeks in hospital but it's with the biggest regret to say that my beautiful Mum couldn't heal from hers.

Devastating: Clelia Theodorou has opened on her heartbreak after her mother passed away in a horror car crash at the end of May

Heartbroken: Taking to Instagram on Monday, the pregnant The Only Way Is Essex star, 28, revealed that she too had been involved in the crash, which left her in hospital with 'terrible injuries' for weeks

'The person I never, ever wanted to say goodbye to. Who loved me unconditionally, the pure definition of a mother's love.'

Heartbroken Clelia described the pain as 'paralysing' and said that the loss was beyond words.

She added: 'My heart will never heal from this, life will never ever be the same. It just doesn't feel real and it never will, I just want my mum back.'

Clelia went on to say that her 'precious miracle baby' is doing well and 'powering throughout it all.'

Paying tribute to her mum, she added: 'I will always make sure they know how much you already loved them and I promise they will always know they had the strongest, most caring, hilarious, giving and loving Nan they could ever have dreamt of.'

'I go through multiple emotions on a daily basis and the road to my recovery physically is a long one, but our miracle baby gives me so much hope and I will do everything I can to be even half the mum to my baby that my mum was to me,' she said.

Along with the statement, the star shared a slew of throwback pictures of her and her mother.

In one, Clelia could be seen planting a kiss on her mother's cheek as they cosy up together.

Statement: She told followers that whilst she is 'continuing to heal', she admitted that her 'beautiful' mum 'couldn't heal' from hers

Sad: Heartbroken Clelia described the pain as 'paralysing' and said that the loss was beyond words

Family: Along with the statement, the star shared a slew of throwback pictures of her and her mother and a picture with her boyfriend Tommy Cole

Alongside baby snaps and additional ones with Clelia's younger sister, the star also shared a picture of her mother with her boyfriend Tommy Cole.

The couple announced they were expecting their first child together in March this year, as Clelia took to Instagram to share a sweet montage video with fans.

In the clip she revealed her pregnancy test and baby scans, and showed off her blossoming bump.

She also shared an image of a baby grow in the video, which had the Canadian flag and Union Jack, along with the words: 'Made in Canada... Coming to Essex... October 2023.'

The television personality captioned her post: 'Its been too hard keeping this one to ourselves, but we are beyond excited to tell you all that our little one is on the way!

'We cannot wait to meet you baby Cole.'

Clelia revealed she was dating Tommy in June 2021 when a fan quizzed her over the nature of their relationship.

Expecting: The couple announced they were expecting their first child together in March this year, as Clelia took to Instagram to share a sweet montage video with fans

'Are you seeing Tommy? Been together a lot recently?', they asked.

Sharing a picture of the pair, Clelia replied: 'Lots of these! Yes!'

Former Miss Great Britain Clelia first appeared on TOWIE in 2018 as Dan Edgar's love interest but she was given the axe in 2021.

The mass cull saw 10 cast members given the chop including the likes of Courtney Green and best friend Chloe Meadows, Kelsey Stratford and Harry Lee.
Amir Khan and his wife Faryal Makhdoom have reportedly been rejected for BBC's Celebrity Antiques Road Trip due to their marriage woes.

It comes after MailOnline revealed that Amir and his wife Faryal, 31, have separated and are said to be splitting their time between their homes in Dubai and Britain while Faryal decides whether she wants to end their 10-year marriage.

Show producers were concerned about how the current status of their relationship would affect them on-screen.

A source told The Sun: 'BBC producers are aware of the troubles Amir and Faryal are going through in their relationship, and so decided against booking them for the show.'

Amir's BBC reality show Meet The Khans: Big In Bolton has reportedly been put on hold amid claims he sexted another women.

Career: Amir Khan and his wife Faryal Makhdoom have reportedly been rejected for BBC's Celebrity Antiques Road Trip due to their marriage woes

The third series aired in January but talks on whether to reprise it have stalled, they report.

A source told the publication: 'Amir and Faryal were a hit on the BBC with their reality show.

'At the start of the year, it was unclear whether they would be getting a fourth series but discussions were ongoing. Now, in the wake of the cheating allegations, it is completely on ice.

'They are waiting to see how this all pans out before a decision is made on the future of it.'

The BBC has been contacted for comment.

It comes after Faryal put on a brave face and ditched her wedding ring while out partying with friends.

Meanwhile, Amir jetted back to London from Dubai after being caught sexting another woman.

The former professional boxer, 36, took to his Instagram Stories on Friday to share that he was leaving Dubai, where he has been staying, and returning to the UK.

It comes after a new woman has claimed she had an affair with the boxer over four months - which only ended when his wife Faryal threatened to 'name and shame' her.

The unnamed woman has revealed that the champion fighter admitted his marriage was 'on the rocks' and said that she slept with him this year after he demanded 'no holds barred' sex.

Split: Show producers were concerned about how the current status of their relationship would affect them on-screen

A source told The Sun: 'BBC producers are aware of the troubles Amir and Faryal are going through in their relationship, and so decided against booking them for the show.'

The woman reportedly said she met with Amir on several occasions, but that their fling ended when she received a call from his furious wife.

Elsewhere on Friday, Faryal took to her own Instagram Stories to share a string of cryptic posts about 'love' and 'loose ends' after Amir was caught sexting another woman.

Amir shared a video on Friday confirming that a car was picking him up and taking him to the airport in Dubai for a flight back to London. It is not known where Faryal is currently staying.

He later shared a selfie of himself lying back and relaxing on the aeroplane as he prepared to have a nap on the nearly eight-hour long flight.

Meanwhile, Faryal took to Instagram to share a cryptic message about falling in love with someone who doesn't make it seem 'hard'.

She wrote: 'Fall in love with someone who doesn't make you think love is hard.'

In another post, Faryal shared a poem about the main character of a book 'finding their love' and 'shining' bright.

It read: 'Just like a book, I hope the second half writes a perfect tale where all loose ends find their place.'

Elsewhere this week, Amir also shared a birthday tribute to Faryal on Instagram , uploading a snap of both of them smiling together.

Amir, who is currently in Dubai, captioned it: 'Happy birthday Faryal. You deserve the world and more,' with a heart emoji.

Separated: Amir's wife Faryal ditched her wedding ring while out partying after her boxer husband was caught sexting another women

Split: It comes after MailOnline revealed that Amir and his wife Faryal, 31, have separated and are said to be splitting their time between their homes in Dubai and Britain while Faryal decides whether she wants to end their 10-year marriage

He then reiterated the message on his Story as he added another photo of his wife and wrote: Since its 12am in Dubai, I want to wish Faryal a happy birthday.'

In the second post, his wife looked stunning as she posed for a selfie with a full face of glamorous make-up.

It comes after MailOnline exclusively revealed that Amir and Faryal have separated and are currently living apart after he was caught sexting another woman.

Amir's tumultuous marriage to the mother of his three children is on the rocks after the sportsman approached bridal model Sumaira online and eventually asked her to send raunchy pictures.

It is understood that Amir and Faryal are now separated and are splitting their time between their homes in Dubai and Britain while Faryal decides whether she wants to end their 10-year marriage.

A source close to the Khan family told MailOnline: 'Faryal is taking time to think about whether or not to walk away. She's going through a very difficult time and choosing to focus on her children while she and Amir continue to co-parent.'

MailOnline contacted Amir for comment at the time.

Amir admitted he 'regretted' messaging model Sumaira, revealing he'd contacted her out of 'boredom' and telling The Sun that he'd go through therapy to stop him sexting other women.

Asked if he would attend therapy sessions, he said, according to The Sun : 'That question hasn't been brought up before.

Travels: Amir Khan has jetted back to London from Dubai after being caught sexting another woman and separating from his wife Faryal Makhdoom

'But maybe I do need help to stop me from messaging other women. I am willing to go to therapy to stop me sending texts to women who aren't my wife.

'I think nowadays with mental health issues, any help goes a long way. It's definitely something I would do. Things like that do help, so maybe it's something to think about.'

The sportsman said Faryal was 'disgusted' at the news of him messaging another woman, with her telling him: 'If you have a diamond at home, why do you want to mess around with rocks and stones?'

Amir admitted his behaviour was 'not nice' and noted that his children will one day read about what happened, which he said will 'upset them'.

Initially complimenting the model's tattoos, Amir's messages quickly turned racy, telling the model that she 'looked good (in a) G string', suggesting that she'd had a boob job and asking her to send raunchy pictures, before then trying to meet up with her in person.

Faryal appeared to defend her husband, blasting Sumaira in a lengthy Instagram post after the model claimed Amir had told her his marriage was 'a bit of a business arrangement'.

On Instagram, she said she 'refuses to play out my marriage publicly' and said that 'after a long week of accusations, slander and harassment I have decided it is now time to address the situation that has unfolded'.

Earlier this month, it was alleged Amir contacted bridal model Sumaira online and said that he and Faryal were 'not properly together' and that their marriage was 'a bit of a business arrangement'.

Amir later hit out at the claims in a chat with Geo News , claiming Sumaira had sent him raunchy pictures unsolicited.

Addressing his denial, Sumaira, 25, shared a TikTok video in which she accused the boxer of lying and threatened to disclose more screenshots of their conversations, prompting his wife Faryal to address the remarks in an Instagram Story.

Faryal, who shares three children with boxer Amir, described Sumaira's actions as a 'hate campaign' and has denied that she is 'responsible for Sumaria's current mental state'.

Messages: Elsewhere on Friday, Faryal took to her own Instagram Stories to share a string of cryptic posts about 'love' and 'loose ends' after Amir was caught sexting another woman

Cryptic: Faryal took to Instagram to share a message about falling in love with someone who doesn't make it seem 'hard'

Gushing: He then reiterated the birthday message on his Story as he added another photo of his wife and wrote: Since its 12am in Dubai, I want to wish Faryal a happy birthday'

Implying that she was standing by Amir, Faryal said 'the whole world is aware of his track record' and insisted that Sumaira must have been aware he was married when she sent him revealing photos.

'Over the duration of the last 7 days, I had had private conversations of mine dissected and torn apart by an alleged 'legal representative' acting on behalf of Sumaira, who has taken to social media with what I can only describe as a hate campaign,' Faryal wrote.

'My name has been used in almost every single story she has posted in a bid to tarnish my reputation and name label me as not only a woman who has no 'self respect' but Amir's supporter and enabler in these circumstances, all because I refuse to publicise the private dealings I have with my husband.'

'How I deal with my marriage and my husband is not the concern of anyone else. I refuse to play out my marriage publicly, the situation has been humiliating enough for me and I will not further play in the spectacle created by others in order to satisfy their desires.

'I will stand strong in my stance that I did not owe Sumaira anything more than a civil conversation.'

Faryal then addressed Sumaria's claims that she was unaware Amir was married, writing: 'This woman was not under the impression that Amir was a single bachelor, yet she continued on speaking to him whilst gathering her evidence to take to social media.'

Revealing what she said to Sumaria in a 'civil conversation' Fayral wrote that 'I knew what the outcome of this situation would be and I forewarned her not to take this to social media.'

'I explained that the situation would cause immense embarrassment not only for her but for my family also and that in the end no one wins.'

'I am a woman who receives abuse on a daily basis simply for existing and I knew she would also receive the same for even entertaining a married man, no matter what spin she put on the story.'

'I'm now being made responsible for Sumaria's current mental state. Her 'legal representaive has claimed that Sumaria suffering with her mental health as a result of her social media presence and exposures in her exchanges with my husband Amir and this has somehow become my fault too.'

'I was the one who was disrespected, lied to and embroiled in scandal and once again, it has become my fault.'

Difficulties: It comes after MailOnline exclusively revealed that Amir and Faryal, who share three kids, have separated and are living apart after he was caught sexting another woman

'Amir and Sumera are both adults who engaged in consented communication. They did not consult me when exchanging messages nor did they consider or respect me when building a 'bond.''

'I will not be dragged through the mud now for not 'supporting another woman'. This woman had no respect or regard for me as a woman and as Amir's wife. There was also no consideration of my mental health.'

'I am not in control of Amir's actions not those of Sumaira. I had a civil conversation with her which is more than most women in my position would be willing to do.'

Faryal finished her statement by addressing Amir's previous 'scandals,' explaining: 'I am being criticised for being Amir's wife, for still staying with him knowing his 'track record'.

'This is the man I am married too and have three young children with. The whole world is aware of his track record, his reputation precedes him, why would you as a single woman want to engage in a conversation with him at all?'

'My focus is my children and shielding them from all that is happening.'
Cher, Jimmy Kimmel and Rosanna Arquette led the celebrity tributes to Pee-wee Herman actor Paul Reubens following his death at 70 after a secret six-year battle with cancer.

In a note written by Reubens, posted to social media by his family after his Sunday death, the actor asked for forgiveness for not informing the world about his diagnosis.

Celebrities flocked to social media to laud the iconic actor, with Kimmel tweeting: 'Paul Reubens was like no one else  a brilliant and original comedian who made kids and their parents laugh at the same time.

'He never forgot a birthday and shared his genuine delight for silliness with everyone he met. My family and I will miss him.'

Cher tweeted a quote from the William Shakespeares play Hamlet, writing: 'Goodbye Paul Goodnight sweet prince May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.'

Star tributes: Cher, Jimmy Kimmel and Rosanna Arquette led the celebrity tributes to Pee-wee Herman actor Paul Reubens following his death at 70 after a secret six-year battle with cancer .

Pals: Kimmel and Reubens are seen together on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Much missed: Celebrities flocked to social media to laud the iconic actor, with Kimmel tweeting: 'Paul Reubens was like no one else  a brilliant and original comedian who made kids and their parents laugh at the same time'

Tim Burton, who made his feature directorial debut with the 1985 classic Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, remembered his old friend and collaborator with a photo of the two as they made the film nearly 40 years ago.

'Shocked and saddened,' wrote the Edward Scissorhands filmmaker. 'Ill never forget how Paul helped me at the beginning of my career. It would not have happened without his support.'

He wrote that the comedian 'was a great artist,' and added, 'Ill miss him.'

Natasha Lyonne tweeted: 'Love you so much, Paul. One in all time. Thank you for my career & your forever friendship all these years & for teaching us what a true original is.#PaulReubens #PeeWeeHerman.'

Kathy Griffin revealed Reubens would send her 'hilarious gifs' on her birthday each year as she paid tribute, writing on Instagram: 'This is a still shot from one of them. You get the idea. I did not know he was ill.

'The last time we spoke, I invited him to one of my dinner salons and he expressed that he did not want to come because he was worried about Covid. He came to my house after my Trump photo scandal and spend time with me calming me down.

'He and I shared a love for old timey celebrities and movie stars. We could chat for hours. He is the reason I joined the Groundlings. He was a complicated and gentle man. Almost too brilliant for one person.

'A true artist. The work always came first. Offstage he was funny and thoughtful. A true introvert, but always loved playing peewee. Oh, God, I could go on and on. The talks we had.

'He had that thing where you feel special just having a conversation with him. He was so bright. He will be soooo missed. I know you guys get it.'

Rosanna Arquette commented on the post: 'He was part of our family. We are devastated David [Arquette] was one of his closest friends. And he always showed up for us. He was a beautiful human being.'

Celebrities including Norman Reedus and Andy Cohen also commented on the post, branding Reubens 'the greatest.'

Pulled him up: Tim Burton, who made his feature directorial debut with the 1985 classic Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, said he would 'never forget how Paul helped me at the beginning of my career'

Tribute:Natasha Lyonne tweeted: 'Love you so much, Paul. One in all time. Thank you for my career & your forever friendship all these years & for teaching us what a true original is.#PaulReubens #PeeWeeHerman'

Cher tweeted a quote from the William Shakespeares play Hamlet, writing: 'Goodbye Paul Goodnight sweet prince May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.'

Mark Hamill posted an emotional tribute to the late star

Kathy Griffin and Rosanna Arquette shared poignant posts

Mark Hamill wrote: 'I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.- Paul Reubens We loved you right back, Paul... & can't thank you enough for the lifetime of laughter!'

Conan OBrien wrote: 'No tweet can capture the magic, generosity, artistry, and devout silliness of Paul Reubens. Everyone I know received countless nonsensical memes from Paul on their birthday, and I mean EVERYONE. His surreal comedy and unrelenting kindness were a gift to us all. Damn, this hurts.

In Reubens' final note, posted after his death, he wrote: 'Please accept my apology for not going public with what I've been facing the last six years.

'I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans, and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.'

His estate announced the news of his death online. They wrote on his Instagram page: 'Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens.

'An iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness.

'Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit.

'A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.'

Reubens created the beloved Pee-wee Herman with the late Phil Hartman, which led to an HBO special in 1981 and his 1985 movie Pee-wee's Big Adventure.

That led to his hit TV series Pee-wee's Playhouse, which ran from 1986 to 1991, along with the 1988 movie Big-Top Pee-wee.

The two-time Daytime Emmy winner all but retired Pee-wee following his 1991 arrest for indecent exposure at a Sarasota, Florida, adult movie theater.

He was detained by a detective after leaving the theater - and was subject to ridicule in the following months.

Toys 'R' Us removed Pee-wee toys from its stores as a result of his arrest.

He denied the charges, and pleaded no contest. The actor was ordered to complete 75 hours of community service.

Reubens created the beloved Pee-wee Herman with the late Phil Hartman, which led to an HBO special in 1981 and ultimately his 1985 movie Pee-wee's Big Adventure

Comedian Pee-wee Herman admires his star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood in 1988

The two-time Daytime Emmy winner all but retired Pee-wee following his 1991 arrest for indecent exposure at a Florida adult movie theater. Pictured: His 1991 mugshot

A 2002 police raid on Paul's house led to a child pornography charge that was later reduced to a count of possession of obscenity.

Reubens later claimed he was an erotica collector - and had a stash films and magazines, as well as a sizable collection of mostly homosexual vintage erotica.

For the three years after he pleaded guilty to the obscenity charge in 2004, he was required to register his address with the sheriff's office.

He could not be in the company of minors without the permission of their parent or legal guardians.

Years later, Reubens brought Herman back for a 2010 Broadway revival. Reubens once again resurrected the character with the 2016 Netflix movie Pee-wee's Big Holiday.

In May this year, Reubens sued a memorabilia auctioneer with claims that props he had loaned from his iconic television program had been taken for personal use instead of the intended purpose with some even being sold without Reubens seeing any profit.

He took legal action against James Comisar and his memorabilia company The Comisar Collection.

The two-time Daytime Emmy winner all but retired Pee-wee following his 1991 arrest for indecent exposure at a Florida adult movie theater. Pictured: His 1991 mugshot

A 2002 police raid on Paul's house led to a child pornography charge that was later reduced to a count of possession of obscenity. Pictured: His 2002 mugshot

Reubens is pictured on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune in 2020

The props included the Dog Chair, Floory puppets and Mr. Window, in addition to cue cards and signed photos.

It was Reuben's understanding the props would eventually be a part of a 'Museum of Television' for public display and on the promise that he could retrieve the stuff whenever requested.

However, the comedian claimed he had later discovered that there was actually no museum at all and alleges that Comisar had kept the items for their private collection.

The suit was active at the time of Reubens' death.
Emmerdale fans have predicted a grave end for Dan Spencer after it emerged Lloyd Sawyer would be brought out of his coma during Monday's episode.

Mechanic Dan (Liam Fox) was recently arrested after he confessed to hitting Lloyd (Matt Sutton) in a fit of anger having discovered the creepy man hanging around with his 16-year-old daughter Amelia (Daisy Campbell) after she attempted to make a name for herself on social media.

Dan's single punch left Lloyd in a coma and nurse Wendy Posner (Susan Cookson) told him of the hospital doctors' plans after overhearing a conversation at the local GP practice.

While it means Dan's charge will not be escalated to manslaughter, Lloyd will be able to reveal Dan did not act in self-defence when he comes round.

And fans have predicted Dan may even be killed by Lloyd's wife Julie (Emma Stansfield) as she made a sinister return to the village on Monday, seemingly intent on seeking revenge.

Trouble ahead: Emmerdale fans have predicted a grave end for Dan Spencer Lloyd Sawyer's wife Julie (pictured) returned to seek revenge for Lloyd who is in a coma

Rage: Mechanic Dan (Liam Fox, right) was arrested after he confessed to hitting Lloyd (Matt Sutton) in a fit of anger for hanging around with his daughter Amelia (Daisy Campbell, left)

Soap fans took to Twitter to voice their opinions on Julie's return, with one person writing: 'The mad wife has arrived to murder Dan.'

Another person wrote: 'The stalkers wifes back, she seems as weird as her husband.'

Someone else shared: 'What a menacing walk towards the house, looking like an audition for a horror film.'

While another viewer remarked: 'Oh here's the witch who thinks her husband's a saint.'

Another person tweeted: 'The psycho wife has turned up.'

And someone else wrote: 'Oh God now Lloyds missus is back.'

Dan was arrested after he confessed to hitting Lloyd in a fit of anger after discovering the creepy man hanging around with his 16-year-old daughter Amelia.

And while his loved ones had advised him to lay low after he was released on bail, a guilty Dan made the situation worse as he visited Lloyd in hospital, where he bumped into the victim's wife Julie.

Attack: Lloyd (left) is set to be brought out of a coma which he fell into after Dan punched him in an attack

After Julie had initially mistaken him for the person who gave her husband CPR, the penny soon dropped for her about Dan's true identity and an argument soon ensued.

But as Dan gave Julie some home truths about her stalker husband, things got heated between them resulting in Dan shouting that he'd punch Lloyd again if he had to.

Viewers watching the show were quick to berate the hapless character for putting his foot in it, with one declaring they couldn't believe he could 'be anymore stupid' for putting himself in that situation.

Taking to Twitter, one person said: 'That isn't gonna help, Dan.'

While another said: 'Dan if you know what is best for you you'll stay away.'

'Well done, Dan. Moron' tweeted a third sarcastic watcher.

A fourth viewer observed: 'Dan you're making things a whole lot worse.'

With another adding: 'omfg I didn't think Dan could be anymore stupid until he said he'd do it again to Lloyd's frickin wife in front of witnesses!'

Views: Soap fans took to Twitter to voice their opinions on Julie's return, with one person predicting she would kill Dan

The tense scenes saw Dan initially apologetic over his actions before becoming angry when Julie insisted that her husband wouldn't prey on young girls.

As Julie accused him of coming to 'finish off' her husband, Dan lashed out and declared that it wasn't him who was the monster, before branding Lloyd a 'sexual predator'.

Security soon arrived, but as Julie called Dan a 'liar', he shot back and declared Lloyd was a 'pervert' before going on a rant that could potentially land him in hot water again.

While being escorted out by security, the livid father exclaimed: 'He had it coming, I'd do it again if I have to!'

Dan faces the prospect of a life behind bars after a single punch left daughter Amelia's stalker fighting for his life.

In Wednesday's episode, Lloyd was left with serious injuries after Dan landed a blow during a 'moment of madness'.

Dan lost his temper after confronting Lloyd about stalking his daughter, and he found himself in a police cell awaiting an uncertain future.

Amelia was stalked by Lloyd, who had sent her creepy comments online after she tried to make a name for herself on social media.

After Lloyd turned up to the salon and sent a note to her house, the worried hairdresser was confided in her father.

The episode saw a protective Dan try to take the law into his own hands and warn Lloyd off his daughter.

His action led to drastic consequences for both him and Lloyd.

Emmerdale continues on ITV1 and ITVX on Tuesday at 7.30pm.
House of Harlow 1960 creative director Nicole Richie treated her lookalike daughter Harlow Winter Kate Madden to a pamper session at PK Nail Boutique in Studio City on Sunday.

It was the second time the 41-year-old Cali native's 15-year-old mini-me was spotted this month after she got breakfast on July 19 with her newlywed auntie, Sofia Richie Grainge.

Nicole and Harlow both rocked fuss-free updos for their mother-daughter mani-pedi.

Richie (born Escovedo) rarely posts photos of her teenager on social media but she made an exception for a Mother's Day tribute to Brenda Harvey, who adopted her in 1990 with then husband Lionel Richie.

'My daughter loves fashion, but she has her own style. It doesn't have anything to do with me,' The Simple Life alum told People in 2021.

Mother-daughter bonding! House of Harlow 1960 creative director Nicole Richie (L) treated her lookalike daughter Harlow Winter Kate Madden (R) to a pamper session at PK Nail Boutique in Studio City on Sunday

Not-so-typical teen: It was the second time the 41-year-old Cali native's 15-year-old mini-me was spotted this month after she got breakfast on July 19 with her newlywed auntie, Sofia Richie Grainge

'She takes my clothes all the time. I have just started writing an N with a Sharpie on all of my stuff so that [she knows it's mine]...She's just like, "What do you have? That's what I want. I'm taking it." And then I got to go in her closet, steal it back.'

Nicole and her husband - Artist Friendly podcaster Joel Madden - are also proud parents of 13-year-old son Sparrow James Midnight Madden.

'If my kids said to me, "I want to try this new [reality show] that hasn't been done before." You just say, well, obviously now they're preteen, so I'm going to say no,' Richie said.

'But yeah, if they're 18 and they want to go do whatever it is, as long as it feels good and authentic to them, I'm fine with it.'

The HouseBroken actress and the 44-year-old Ink Master host have been married for over 12 years, and they originally began dating in December 2006 - seven months after ending her two-year engagement to the late DJ AM.

In late May, Nicole wrapped a mystery role on the North Carolina set of Castille Landon's indie comedy film Summer Camp alongside Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard, and Eugene Levy.

Meanwhile, Richie's famous 74-year-old father just signed on to judge the 22nd season of ABC singing competition American Idol, which kicks off auditions this Wednesday.

Top bun: Nicole and Harlow both rocked fuss-free updos for their mother-daughter mani-pedi

'We all love you!' Richie rarely posts photos of her teenager on social media but she made an exception for a Mother's Day tribute to Brenda Harvey (2-R, pictured May 14), who adopted her in 1990 with then husband Lionel Richie

The Simple Life alum told People in 2021: 'My daughter loves fashion, but she has her own style. It doesn't have anything to do with me. She takes my clothes all the time. I have just started writing an N with a Sharpie on all of my stuff so that [she knows it's mine]' (pictured in 2020)

'We support mom': Nicole and her husband of 12 years - Artist Friendly podcaster Joel Madden (R, pictured in 2020) - are also proud parents of 13-year-old son Sparrow James Midnight Madden (L)
Sebastian Bear-McClard was spotted in New York City with model Ava Pearlman on Sunday.

The disgraced film producer, 42, who is in the midst of a divorce from Emily Ratajkowski and was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women earlier this year, was seen strolling through the Big Apple alongside Ava.

He wore a plain white T-shirt, bold blue shorts, New Balance trainers, high 'Daydreamer' socks, and carried a canvas tote bag and cell phone.

Ava displayed her svelte abs in a white crop top whilst keeping cool in a green mini skirt and bright pink crocs.

She rocked a head full of vibrant curls, a classic center part, and a pair of silver hoop earrings. A black purse hung from her left shoulder.

Stepping out: Sebastian Bear-McClard was spotted in New York City with model Ava Pearlman on Sunday

Pearlman is a New York City based model who has worked with Nike, Purple Magazine, Glamor Spain and Parade

Pearlman is a New York City based model who has worked with Nike, Purple Magazine, Glamor Spain and Parade

Pearlman and Bear-McClard were spotted chatting as they strolled through the city, looking relaxed and focused on the sidewalk ahead.

Sebastian has been embroiled in controversy as of late.

Last year, Emily filed for divorce from Sebastian following allegations he cheated on her. They married in 2018 and share two-year-old son Sylvester Apollo Bear together.

Just a few months ago Sebastian landed in headlines after he was accused of 'grooming' two teenage girls via Instagram before sleeping with them.

The film producer allegedly reached out to a 17-year-old on Instagram in 2016 before meeting her at a Soho loft.

The producer promised her that she would be able to meet the star of 'Good Time', Robert Pattinson, on the set of the film which was being produced by Josh and Benny Safdie.

Bear-McClard has been accused of sexual misconduct by two women in documents obtained by Variety and 'troubling behavior' by a third.

She claims that she was left waiting on the set in New York for her scene to be called and was forced to strip naked in front of nearly a dozen male cast and crew members.

DailyMail.com reached out to representatives of Bear-McClard and Ratajkowski for comment at the time of the report with no word back.

Casual: He wore a plain white T-shirt, bold blue shorts, New Balance trainers, high 'Daydreamer' socks, and carried a canvas tote bag and cell phone

Controversy: The sighting comes several months after Bear-McClard was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women

Pearlman is a model for Supreme Management in New York

Pearlman has worked with photographers Camilla Akrans, Richard Kern and Olivier Zahm

On her Instgram page, Pearlman has 9,666 followers and displays various modeling shots

The woman, now 24, claims that she was also nude in front of the Safdie brothers and was paired with an actor who had recently been released from prison before he was hired for the film.

A spokeswoman for the Safdies told Variety: 'The Elara team were made aware of Sebastian McClard's behavior in July 2022. They took immediate action and terminated him.'

Pattinson was not on set the day of the problematic 'Good Time' scene, which does not appear in the final version of the movie.

He is also embroiled in private mediation with the Safdie brothers, who fired him from their shared production company, Elara Pictures, last summer.

It is unclear if the documents obtained by Variety were made available as part of the ongoing divorce proceedings between the estranged couple, or the internal investigation which saw Bear-McClard sacked by the production company.

In a statement, which was made in August of last year, the woman said: 'I was utterly stunned and felt terrified. My distress only worsened when out of nowhere, [an actor] whispered in my ear if "he could stick it in" while the cameras rolled. I said "no".'

Split: The sighting comes nearly a year after Emily filed for divorce from Sebastian following allegations he cheated on her

Model and happy mom Emily Ratajkowski is all smiles while enjoying dinner with her adorable son Sly and some friends at The Clam in New York City on July 30

Last year, Ratajkowski filed for divorce from Sebastian following allegations he cheated on her. They married in 2018 and share two-year-old son Sylvester Apollo Bear together. Pictured: Sly and mom Ratajkowski

Friends of Ratajkowski say that the model is not surprised by the allegations against Bear-McClard

She went on to say that she started sleeping with Bear-McClard despite being 17, and the pair continued in a consensual relationship for more than two years. In New York the age of consent is 17.

The woman's name does appear in the credits for the movie.

Bear-McClard did not discuss payment with her for the role, but bought her cigarettes afterwards.

A second woman - who was 18 at the time of the incident - also claims she was groomed by the then-married Bear-McClard.

He reportedly contacted her on Instagram and promised to make her a star, while working on Uncut Gems  which starred Adam Sandler.

The second woman claims that she was invited to the apartment that Bear-McClard shared with actress Ratajkowski, where they slept together.

In a statement she added: 'Sebastian and I started kissing. Things escalated and then, without asking for my consent, Sebastian inserted himself inside me without using a condom.'

Previously: The disgraced film producer seen at the Film Independent Spirit Awards in 2020

She claimed that he also called her 'retarded' and a 'k*ke', before telling her that he meant it as a joke.

Documents state that she is accusing Bear-McClard of tracking her through and app on her phone, as well as sending messages to a 15-year-old girl on Instagram.

Her statement added: 'Sebastian appeared pleased with himself and laughed at my comment. He did not deny my accusations.'

Sources told Variety that his contact with the 15-year-old as well as his romantic links to a fourth woman on the set of Uncut Gems led to him being fired by the Safdies.

However the allegations regarding the 15-year-old girl do not appear to make up the official allegations.

A fifth woman, who has worked in the film industry as an intern and an assistant, also provided a statement which claims Bear-McClard engaged in troubling behavior.

Friends of Ratajkowski say that the model is not surprised by the allegations. She is represented by Brett Ward and Jackie Combs in the ongoing divorce.

Love life: Ratajkowski and Bear-McClard were married in a New York courthouse in February 2018 after dating for just two weeks

Ratajkowski and Bear-McClard were married in a New York courthouse in February 2018 after dating for just two weeks. She is fighting for sole custody of their son Sylvester, two years, who was born in March 2021.

A24 released both 'Good Time' and 'Uncut Gems', and are behind Oscar best picture winners 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' and 'Moonlight.'

A Variety source claims that the scene in question was used in promo footage presented to buyers at the Cannes market in 2016.

This was reportedly the footage that A24 bought the film from, though the scene never made the final cut.

A24 have declined to comment on the matter, but first signed both Bear-McClard and the Safdie's in 2020  well after the allegations were made to insiders on the films.
Waleed Aly wasn't nominated for any Logies on Sunday night.

But The Project host was still all smiles as he landed in Melbourne following Australian TV's night of nights.

The 44-year-old television host grinned broadly as he carried his Logies suit in a bag slung over his shoulder.

Aly donned a smart casual outfit consisting of jeans and a black suede jacket worn over a T-shirt.

He completed the look with a pair of sneakers and an over-the-shoulder bag carrying his essentials for the whirlwind trip.

The Project host Waleed Aly was still all smiles as he landed in Melbourne following Australian TV's night of nights. Pictured

Anthony Albanese and Waleed Aly have clashed on The Project after the Prime Minister was asked about controversial housing policy on rent caps.

Mr Albanese appeared on the program amid a political stoush between Labor and the Greens, with the minor party holding a major proposed policy to ransom.

The Greens are demanding the government agree to legislate policy's such as rent caps in order for the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) to pass through the senate.

Mr Albanese has not ruled out sending Australia to an early election if the Greens block the bill.

The Project's host turned up the heat on the Prime Minister after he said some of the Greens' demands fall outside the federal government's control, with legislation such as rent caps a state government responsibility.

The 44-year-old television host grinned broadly as he carried his Logies suit in a bag slung over his shoulder

Aly said the Greens were asking for the government to use $2.5bn to incentivise rent caps rather than demand the laws be changed, but before he could finish the question, the prime minister jumped in.

"The problem with that Waleed is that we put $2bn on the table for states and territories in June," he said.

The pair then went back and forth shouting over each other for 20 seconds before Aly cut in with his question.

"Are you philosophically opposed to the rent caps and the idea of capping rent increases ... and therefore won't use your megaphone for it," he said.

Mr Albanese began to answer before he turned on the host.

"No Waleed, that's not the question. The question here is states and territories will look at measures for renters and renters rights" he said.

"I want to see increased renters rights, if that's what you're asking me, but there are six states and two territories, all whom have different systems in place."

Anthony Albanese and Waleed Aly have clashed on The Project after the Prime Minister was asked about controversial housing policy on rent caps

Despite not getting a clear answer on whether Mr Albanese was opposed to rent caps, the host moved onto another controversial topic, the recent deaths of four Australian soldiers in a helicopter accident in Queensland.

Aly questioned the Prime Minister on whether Australia "has a habit of paying top dollar for rubbish equipment".

"Today's the day we'll leave with respect where we're dealing with four families who've lost loved ones. Today's a day to think of those families," Mr Albanese said.

The host asked again, saying the families of defence force members would want to know his answer.

"Yes, Waleed and there'll be an appropriate investigation on that, and appropriate responses," he said.

"Today's not the day for me to speculate about what has occurred."
Travis Scott and his legal team have been slammed by a lawyer acting for the family of a 9-year-old killed in the Astroworld tragedy - after they claimed a police report was intentionally released to hurt the rapper's Utopia album sales.

The Houston Police Department released their report into the 2021 Astroworld Festival tragedy on July 28, the same date Utopia dropped - which the 32-year-old's attorney Kent Schaeffer claimed was a deliberate move to sabotage the star.

10 people, ranging in age from nine to 27, died after being crushed in the crowd of 50,000 at the concert at NRG stadium November 5, 2021. More than a dozen people were hospitalized, and some 300 were treated for injuries at the scene.

Attorney Bob Hilliard, representing the family of the late Ezra Blount, who died aged nine in the tragedy, blasted the 'stunningly tone deaf' remarks in a new statement.

He told DailyMail.com: 'For an artist making his living with music, these are stunningly tone deaf comments about this preventable tragedy that took so many lives and injured so many.

Tragedy: Travis Scott and his legal team have been slammed by a lawyer acting for the family of a 9-year-old killed in the Astroworld tragedy - after they claimed a police report was intentionally released to hurt the rapper's Utopia album sales (Scott pictured 2021)

RIP: Ezra Blount, nine, died 10 days after he incurred severe damage to his brain, kidney, and liver after being 'kicked, stepped on, and trampled, and nearly crushed to death' (pictured at the concert)

'This extremely detailed and damning report confirms both the negligence and extreme gross negligence of those involved, including the Travis Scott team.

'For Mr. Scott to allow his lawyers and spokespeople to make the reckless and untrue statement that just because he was not indicted means hes blame-free is arrogant and insulting to the memory of 10 year old Ezra as well as the other victims of this terrible night.

'Of course they would only focus on how the reports release date hurts their album sales instead of the facts contained inside of the report, including this quote: "Pull tons over the rail unconscious. Theres panic in people eyes. This could get worse quickly, Reece Wheeler texted Shawna Boardman, one of the private security directors, at 9 p.m.

'Wheeler then texted, I know theyll try to fight through it but I would want it on the record that I didnt advise this to continue. Someones going to end up dead. 

Ezra, of Dallas, Texas, was sitting on his father's shoulders when the countdown to Scott's performance began at NRG Park on November 5.

The pair stayed near the back of the crowd because his father, Treston Blount, thought it would be calmer, he previously told ABC 13. But as soon as Scott took the stage, Treston said, people started pushing.

He lost consciousness and Ezra fell to the ground, and was soon trampled on by eager concert-goers. Ezra incurred severe damage to his brain, kidney, and liver after being 'kicked, stepped on, and trampled, and nearly crushed to death.

He was declared dead 10 days after he was put in a medically-induced coma.

Last week Schaeffer told TMZ he believed HPD had a two-fold mission in releasing the 1,266 page report on the same day as the Utopia release - to hurt Utopia album sales and to take the heat off of law enforcement for not holding Travis criminally accountable.

Report: The Houston Police Department released their report into the 2021 Astroworld Festival tragedy on July 28 (Scott seen onstage at the event), the same date Utopia dropped - which the 32-year-old's attorney Kent Schaeffer claimed was a deliberate move to sabotage the star

Post: Amid the drama Scott posted to Instagram revealing he was 'feeling [good]' after previously telling his fans he had a stomach bug

A rep for Travis also told TMZ: 'The timing of the Houston Police Department report's release, coinciding with the launch of Travis Scott's highly anticipated album, is anything but coincidental.'

'Travis Scott and his team were, as anticipated, fully cleared of any wrongdoing associated with the Astroworld tragedy by a grand jury based on the very report released today,' they continued. 'It is outrageous that HPD has chosen to resort to tactics that attempt to discredit Travis and his team, casting doubt on how the unfortunate events at Astroworld.'

The rep pointed out that 'Travis's commitment to his audience's safety and well-being is well-documented' and claimed that 'he actively stopped the show three separate times.'

'We encourage the Houston PD to make peace with the fact that Travis Scott and his team were found innocent of any wrongdoing and to focus on what really matters  making sure tragedies like Astroworld never occur again under their watch, the rep concluded.

Utopia is the first LP Travis has released since the incident. The police say the timing was unintentional.

According to the outlet, the rapper's legal team is pushing back on some allegations in the report.

One of those comes from a security guard who claimed he tried to get the Butterfly Effect artist's team to call off the show during Drake's performance, but was told Drake had to finish the set.

Schaeffer said the injuries occurred before Drake took the stage but no one brought it to Travis' attention.

He also claimed the police could have stopped the concert sooner than they did.

Unintentional: Utopia is the first LP Travis has released since the incident. The police say the timing was unintentional

No indictment: A grand jury refused to indict Travis in June. 10 people died in a crowd surge at the November 2021 festival. More than 500 lawsuits have been filed since the tragedy, including some aimed at Travis and Live Nation, the concert promoter

According to the report, Travis told investigators he was told to stop the show after Drake's set, and his attorney said he followed all their instructions.

A 56-page event operations plan had been put together before the festival began.

It included detailed protocols for various dangerous scenarios including a shooting, bomb or terrorist threats and severe weather.

It did not include information on what to do in the event of a crowd surge

A grand jury refused to indict the Down in Atlanta rapper in June.

'Everything was presented to the grand jury, and they found there was no criminal liability on Travis' part,' Kent Schaffer said at a news conference.

'He never encouraged people to do anything that resulted in other people being hurt.'

More than 500 lawsuits have been filed since the tragedy, including some aimed at Travis and Live Nation, the concert promoter.

Families of two of those who died have already settled out of court.
AGCO (NYSE:AGCO  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $15.25-$15.25 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.58. The company issued revenue guidance of $14.70 billion-$14.70 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $14.46 billion. AGCO also updated its FY23 guidance to $15.25 EPS.

AGCO Stock Performance

NYSE:AGCO traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $132.50. The companys stock had a trading volume of 928,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,134. AGCO has a fifty-two week low of $93.53 and a fifty-two week high of $145.53. The firms 50 day moving average is $128.12 and its 200-day moving average is $129.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $9.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.37.

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AGCO (NYSE:AGCO  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The industrial products company reported $4.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.72 by $0.57. AGCO had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 29.56%. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. AGCOs quarterly revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that AGCO will post 15.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGCO Announces Dividend

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. AGCOs dividend payout ratio is presently 7.82%.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered AGCO from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $149.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on AGCO from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on AGCO from $185.00 to $189.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on AGCO from $169.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on AGCO from $122.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $154.45.

Institutional Trading of AGCO

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in AGCO by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 2,962 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AGCO during the 1st quarter valued at about $306,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in AGCO by 118.1% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,758 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 952 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its holdings in AGCO by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 36,347 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $5,469,000 after acquiring an additional 3,425 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its holdings in AGCO by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,743 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. 78.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AGCO

(Get Free Report)

AGCO Corporation manufactures and distributes agricultural equipment and related replacement parts worldwide. It offers horsepower tractors for row crop production, soil cultivation, planting, land leveling, seeding, and commercial hay operations; utility tractors for small- and medium-sized farms, as well as for dairy, livestock, orchards, and vineyards; and compact tractors for small farms, specialty agricultural industries, landscaping, equestrian, and residential uses.

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StockNews.com cut shares of American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH  Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

AMH has been the subject of a number of other research reports. VNET Group restated a maintains rating on shares of American Homes 4 Rent in a report on Friday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on American Homes 4 Rent in a report on Wednesday, March 29th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Homes 4 Rent from $38.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 31st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of American Homes 4 Rent from $36.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of American Homes 4 Rent from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Friday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued 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 $35.90.

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American Homes 4 Rent Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMH opened at $36.99 on Thursday. American Homes 4 Rent has a one year low of $28.78 and a one year high of $38.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.29 and a 200-day moving average of $33.50. The company has a market capitalization of $13.38 billion, a PE ratio of 37.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

American Homes 4 Rent Announces Dividend

Insider Activity at American Homes 4 Rent

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 14th. American Homes 4 Rents payout ratio is 89.80%.

In related news, COO Bryan Smith sold 25,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $875,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 94,478 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,306,730. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Bryan Smith sold 25,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $875,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 94,478 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,306,730. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Sara H. Vogt-Lowell sold 8,789 shares of American Homes 4 Rent stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total transaction of $306,560.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 62,879 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,193,219.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 91,789 shares of company stock valued at $3,217,810 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.32% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of American Homes 4 Rent

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tobam acquired a new position in shares of American Homes 4 Rent in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Homes 4 Rent in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 101.3% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 1,127 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Homes 4 Rent in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in shares of American Homes 4 Rent in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.36% of the companys stock.

About American Homes 4 Rent

(Get Free Report)

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH), which does business as AMH, is a leading single-family property owner, leasing operator and build-to-rent developer. We're an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on acquiring, developing, renovating, leasing and managing homes as rental properties.

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AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS  Get Free Report) will issue its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Tuesday, August 1st. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.83 per share for the quarter. Investors interested in listening to the companys conference call can do so using this link.

AXIS Capital Price Performance

NYSE:AXS opened at $54.95 on Monday. AXIS Capital has a 12-month low of $48.32 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.84. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $53.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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AXIS Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 30th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 29th. AXIS Capitals dividend payout ratio is 67.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AXIS Capital

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AXS shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on AXIS Capital from $61.00 to $58.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. Roth Capital reiterated a buy rating on shares of AXIS Capital in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on AXIS Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on AXIS Capital from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $64.00.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AXS. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 447.2% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 487 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AXIS Capital in the first quarter worth about $33,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 177.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 842 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the period. Gyon Technologies Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in shares of AXIS Capital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 90.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AXIS Capital

(Get Free Report)

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides various specialty insurance and reinsurance products worldwide. It operates through two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Insurance segment offers property insurance products for commercial buildings, residential premises, construction projects, and onshore energy installations; marine classes covering offshore energy, cargo, liability, kidnap and ransom, fine art, specie, and hull war; and terrorism, aviation, credit and political risk, and liability insurance products.

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Brunswick (NYSE:BC  Get Free Report) updated its third quarter 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $2.35-$2.45 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Brunswick also updated its FY23 guidance to ~$9.50 EPS.

Brunswick Price Performance

Shares of BC stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $85.54. The stock had a trading volume of 586,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 600,573. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 1.54. Brunswick has a one year low of $64.55 and a one year high of $93.15. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $83.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.00.

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Brunswick (NYSE:BC  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. Brunswick had a return on equity of 33.86% and a net margin of 8.21%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.82 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Brunswick will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Brunswick Announces Dividend

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Brunswicks payout ratio is currently 21.02%.

Several research firms recently commented on BC. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Brunswick in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. They set an overweight rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley dropped their price objective on shares of Brunswick from $108.00 to $106.00 in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Brunswick from $122.00 to $105.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Brunswick from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Brunswick from $100.00 to $94.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brunswick presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $99.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David M. Foulkes sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.40, for a total value of $1,058,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 241,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,695,299.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Brunswick news, CEO David M. Foulkes sold 13,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.40, for a total value of $1,058,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 241,957 shares in the company, valued at $19,695,299.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Brenna Preisser sold 1,309 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.21, for a total transaction of $99,758.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 52,174 shares in the company, valued at $3,976,180.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,636 shares of company stock worth $1,186,156. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BC. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in shares of Brunswick by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 2,187 shares of the companys stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Brunswick by 17.6% in the first quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 3,392 shares of the companys stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in Brunswick by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 9,395 shares of the companys stock worth $770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC purchased a new stake in Brunswick during the 1st quarter worth $2,268,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Brunswick by 1.3% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,085,991 shares of the companys stock valued at $171,051,000 after buying an additional 27,592 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.12% of the companys stock.

Brunswick Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Brunswick Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets recreation products worldwide. It operates through three segments: Propulsion, Parts & Accessories, and Boat. The Propulsion segment provides outboard, sterndrive, and inboard engines for independent boat builders and governments through marine dealers and distributors, specialty marine retailers, and marine service centers; and propulsion-related controls, rigging, and propellers to original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket retailers, distributors, and distribution businesses.

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StockNews.com began coverage on shares of China Green Agriculture (NYSE:CGA  Free Report) in a report published on Thursday morning. The firm issued a sell rating on the basic materials companys stock.

China Green Agriculture Stock Down 0.0 %

China Green Agriculture stock opened at $2.71 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The businesss fifty day moving average is $2.79 and its 200 day moving average is $3.56. China Green Agriculture has a one year low of $2.54 and a one year high of $7.80.

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China Green Agriculture (NYSE:CGA  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 15th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $45.26 million for the quarter. China Green Agriculture had a negative return on equity of 12.31% and a negative net margin of 12.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

China Green Agriculture Company Profile

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in China Green Agriculture by 67.8% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 19,051 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 7,700 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of China Green Agriculture in the 1st quarter worth approximately $115,000. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP acquired a new stake in China Green Agriculture during the 1st quarter valued at $175,000. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

(Get Free Report)

China Green Agriculture, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, production, and sale of various fertilizers and agricultural products in the People's Republic of China. The company operates through three segments: Jinong (Fertilizer Production); Gufeng (Fertilizer Production); and Yuxing (Agricultural Products Production).

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ESAB (NYSE:ESAB  Get Free Report) will be announcing its 6/30/2023 earnings results before the market opens on Tuesday, August 1st. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.04 per share for the quarter. Investors that wish to listen to the companys conference call can do so using this link.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $684.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $622.26 million. ESAB had a net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 18.50%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. On average, analysts expect ESAB to post $4 EPS for the current fiscal year and $4 EPS for the next fiscal year.

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ESAB Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE ESAB opened at $67.50 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.39. ESAB has a 52-week low of $32.12 and a 52-week high of $70.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.68. The companys 50 day moving average price is $64.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.56.

ESAB Increases Dividend

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 30th were paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 29th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. This is a positive change from ESABs previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. ESABs payout ratio is currently 7.29%.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of ESAB from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. CL King assumed coverage on shares of ESAB in a research note on Tuesday, May 16th. They set a buy rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of ESAB from $75.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird restated an outperform rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of ESAB in a research note on Friday, June 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of ESAB in a research note on Friday, July 14th. They set an in-line rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $74.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at ESAB

In other news, Director Patrick W. Allender sold 1,964 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.35, for a total value of $118,527.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,168 shares in the company, valued at $130,838.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other ESAB news, Director Christopher M. Hix sold 7,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.50, for a total transaction of $483,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 33,863 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,184,163.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Patrick W. Allender sold 1,964 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.35, for a total value of $118,527.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,168 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $130,838.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.00% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESAB

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESAB. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in ESAB in the 1st quarter worth approximately $273,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ESAB during the 1st quarter worth approximately $255,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of ESAB by 115.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,726 shares of the companys stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,528 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ESAB during the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new stake in shares of ESAB during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $182,000. 92.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About ESAB

(Get Free Report)

ESAB Corporation engages in the formulation, development, manufacture, and supply of consumable products and equipment for use in cutting, joining, and automated welding; and control equipment. Its comprehensive range of welding consumables includes electrodes, cored and solid wires, and fluxes using a range of specialty and other materials; and cutting consumables comprising electrodes, nozzles, shields, and tips.

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KBR (NYSE:KBR  Get Free Report) updated its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $2.76-$2.96 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91. The company issued revenue guidance of $6.90 billion-$7.10 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $7.07 billion.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KBR. Citigroup upped their price objective on KBR from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. TheStreet cut KBR from a b+ rating to a c rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut KBR from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on KBR from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KBR currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $68.71.

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KBR Trading Up 0.6 %

KBR traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $62.11. 915,752 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,073,266. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $63.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -66.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.99. KBR has a 52 week low of $41.96 and a 52 week high of $65.87.

KBR Announces Dividend

KBR ( NYSE:KBR Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The construction company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.04. KBR had a positive return on equity of 24.94% and a negative net margin of 1.46%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. The businesss revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that KBR will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th were given a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 14th. KBRs dividend payout ratio is currently -58.06%.

Insider Transactions at KBR

In other news, CEO Stuart Bradie sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total value of $53,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 669,639 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $39,642,628.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Jennifer Myles sold 480 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.32, for a total transaction of $31,353.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,520 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $948,446.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stuart Bradie sold 900 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total value of $53,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 669,639 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $39,642,628.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 123,656 shares of company stock valued at $7,565,090. Corporate insiders own 1.03% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in KBR in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in KBR by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 871 shares of the construction companys stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KBR in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in KBR in the 1st quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in KBR by 103.0% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,920 shares of the construction companys stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 974 shares during the last quarter.

KBR Company Profile

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KBR, Inc provides scientific, technology, and engineering solutions to governments and commercial customers worldwide. The company operates through Government Solutions and Sustainable Technology Solutions segments. The Government Solutions segment offers life-cycle support solutions to defense, intelligence, space, aviation, and other programs and missions for military and other government agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

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Thunder Mountain Gold (OTCMKTS:THMG  Get Free Report) and Lomiko Metals (OTCMKTS:LMRMF  Get Free Report) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Thunder Mountain Gold and Lomiko Metals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Thunder Mountain Gold 0 0 0 0 N/A Lomiko Metals 0 0 0 0 N/A

Volatility & Risk

Insider and Institutional Ownership

Thunder Mountain Gold has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lomiko Metals has a beta of 2.26, meaning that its share price is 126% more volatile than the S&P 500.

0.0% of Thunder Mountain Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 29.5% of Thunder Mountain Gold shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Thunder Mountain Gold and Lomiko Metals net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Thunder Mountain Gold -415.33% -275.31% -61.56% Lomiko Metals N/A -15.76% -15.14%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Thunder Mountain Gold and Lomiko Metals gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Thunder Mountain Gold $300,000.00 9.17 -$1.25 million ($0.02) -2.26 Lomiko Metals N/A N/A -$2.64 million N/A N/A

Thunder Mountain Gold has higher revenue and earnings than Lomiko Metals.

About Thunder Mountain Gold

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Thunder Mountain Gold, Inc., a mineral exploration stage company, explores for mining properties in Nevada and Idaho. It explores for gold, silver, base metals, and other commodities. The company holds interests in the South Mountain property that includes 17 patented mining claims covering an area of approximately 326 acres; 21 unpatented mining lode claims covering an area of approximately 290 acres; leased private land covering an area of approximately 489 acres; and private land not contiguous with the mining claims covering an area of 360 acres located in Owyhee County, Idaho. It also holds interests in the Trout Creek project, which comprises 26 unpatented mining claims covering an area of approximately 520 acres situated in Lander County, Nevada. The company was incorporated in 1935 and is based in Boise, Idaho.

About Lomiko Metals

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Lomiko Metals Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of resource properties in Canada. It explores for graphite and lithium deposits. The company's flagship project is its 100% owned La Loutre graphite property located in southern Quebec. The company was formerly known as Lomiko Resources Inc. and changed its name to Lomiko Metals Inc. in October 2008. Lomiko Metals Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Surrey, Canada.

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Nevada Copper Corp. (OTCMKTS:NEVDF  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 203,700 shares, a decrease of 21.7% from the June 30th total of 260,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 278,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Nevada Copper in a research note on Monday, June 5th. They issued a sector perform rating for the company.

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Nevada Copper Stock Up 3.7 %

Nevada Copper stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $0.14. 111,703 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 168,620. Nevada Copper has a 12 month low of $0.11 and a 12 month high of $0.33. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $0.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $0.23.

About Nevada Copper

Nevada Copper Corp. engages in the exploration, development, and operation of mineral properties in Nevada. The company explores for copper, iron magnetite, gold, and silver ores. It holds 100% interests in the Pumpkin Hollow property that consist of approximately 24,300 acres of contiguous mineral rights located in northwestern Nevada, the United States.

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TD Securities upgraded shares of North American Construction Group (TSE:NOA  Free Report) (NYSE:NOA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have C$36.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of C$27.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on NOA. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of North American Construction Group from C$23.50 to C$27.50 in a report on Friday, April 28th. National Bank Financial upped their target price on shares of North American Construction Group to C$33.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. National Bankshares upped their target price on shares of North American Construction Group from C$27.00 to C$33.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of North American Construction Group from C$25.00 to C$30.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of North American Construction Group from C$26.00 to C$30.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of C$35.61.

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North American Construction Group Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NOA stock opened at C$32.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 125.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of C$861.49 million, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of C$25.63 and a 200 day moving average price of C$23.74. North American Construction Group has a fifty-two week low of C$12.65 and a fifty-two week high of C$34.30.

North American Construction Group Dividend Announcement

North American Construction Group Company Profile

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 31st will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 30th. North American Construction Groups payout ratio is 16.46%.

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North American Construction Group Ltd. provides equipment maintenance, and mining and heavy construction services in Canada, the United States, and Australia. Its Heavy Construction & Mining division offers constructability reviews, budgetary cost estimates, design-build construction, project management, contract mining, pre-stripping/pit pioneering, overburden removal and stockpile, muskeg removal and stockpile, site preparation, air strip construction, site dewatering/perimeter ditching, tailings and process pipelines, haulage and access road construction, tailings dam construction and densification, mechanically stabilized earth walls, dyke construction, and reclamation services; and Equipment Maintenance services.

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Reliance Steel & Aluminum (NYSE:RS  Get Free Report) issued an update on its third quarter 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $4.90-$5.10 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $5.02. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Reliance Steel & Aluminum also updated its Q3 guidance to $4.90-5.10 EPS.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RS traded up $9.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $289.67. 256,098 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 242,527. Reliance Steel & Aluminum has a 1 year low of $168.24 and a 1 year high of $293.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $262.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $248.72. The stock has a market cap of $17.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 5.18, a quick ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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Reliance Steel & Aluminum (NYSE:RS  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The industrial products company reported $6.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.52 by ($0.03). Reliance Steel & Aluminum had a return on equity of 20.88% and a net margin of 9.63%. The company had revenue of $3.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.15 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Reliance Steel & Aluminum will post 22.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Dividend Announcement

Analysts Set New Price Targets

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Reliance Steel & Aluminums dividend payout ratio is presently 15.84%.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Reliance Steel & Aluminum from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report on Friday, April 28th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Reliance Steel & Aluminum in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $270.00.

Insider Activity at Reliance Steel & Aluminum

In other Reliance Steel & Aluminum news, Director James Donald Hoffman sold 10,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.16, for a total value of $2,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 124,042 shares in the company, valued at $29,169,716.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Reliance Steel & Aluminum

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RS. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Reliance Steel & Aluminum by 14.5% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,453,558 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $1,656,886,000 after acquiring an additional 815,429 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Reliance Steel & Aluminum by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,560,441 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $657,368,000 after buying an additional 310,339 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Reliance Steel & Aluminum by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,394,787 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $358,099,000 after buying an additional 50,623 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Reliance Steel & Aluminum by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 677,944 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $137,243,000 after purchasing an additional 9,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Reliance Steel & Aluminum by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 605,477 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $122,573,000 after purchasing an additional 134,295 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.51% of the companys stock.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Company Profile

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Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co operates as a diversified metal solutions provider and the metals service center company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company distributes a line of approximately 100,000 metal products, including alloy, aluminum, brass, copper, carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium, and specialty steel products; and provides metals processing services to general manufacturing, non-residential construction, transportation, aerospace, energy, electronics and semiconductor fabrication, and heavy industries.

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Science Applications International Co. (NYSE:SAIC  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 966,600 shares, a growth of 16.6% from the June 30th total of 829,200 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the companys shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 311,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SAIC. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Science Applications International from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Science Applications International from $90.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Science Applications International from $121.00 to $118.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised Science Applications International from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Science Applications International from $141.00 to $127.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Science Applications International has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $113.29.

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Insider Activity

In other news, insider Robert S. Genter sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.70, for a total value of $323,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,655 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,317,143.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.29% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Science Applications International Stock Up 2.3 %

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAIC. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in shares of Science Applications International in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. BOKF NA purchased a new position in shares of Science Applications International during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Science Applications International during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of Science Applications International during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in Science Applications International in the 2nd quarter worth $56,000. Institutional investors own 77.09% of the companys stock.

SAIC stock traded up $2.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $120.60. The companys stock had a trading volume of 251,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 245,514. The company has a market cap of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51 and a beta of 0.74. Science Applications International has a 12 month low of $87.93 and a 12 month high of $120.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firms 50-day moving average is $108.98 and its 200-day moving average is $106.10.

Science Applications International (NYSE:SAIC  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 5th. The information technology services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.31. Science Applications International had a return on equity of 25.68% and a net margin of 4.20%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. Science Applications Internationals revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Science Applications International will post 7.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Science Applications International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 28th. Investors of record on Friday, July 14th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 13th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Science Applications Internationals dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.17%.

About Science Applications International

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Science Applications International Corporation provides technical, engineering, and enterprise information technology (IT) services primarily in the United States. The company's offerings include engineering; technology integration; IT modernization; maintenance of ground and maritime systems; logistics; training and simulation; operation and program support services; and end-to-end services, such as design, development, integration, deployment, management and operations, sustainment, and security of its customers' IT infrastructure, as well as cloud migration, managed services, infrastructure modernization, and enterprise IT-as-a-service solutions; and data management platform solutions.

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Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE:VPG  Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 58,500 shares, a drop of 23.9% from the June 30th total of 76,900 shares. Approximately 0.5% of the companys shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 58,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on VPG. StockNews.com started coverage on Vishay Precision Group in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a strong-buy rating for the company. B. Riley began coverage on Vishay Precision Group in a research note on Friday, April 14th. They set a buy rating and a $54.00 target price for the company.

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Vishay Precision Group Price Performance

Shares of VPG stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $37.00. The company had a trading volume of 35,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,970. The firm has a market capitalization of $503.20 million, a P/E ratio of 13.75 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a current ratio of 4.26. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $36.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.34. Vishay Precision Group has a one year low of $29.52 and a one year high of $45.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Vishay Precision Group ( NYSE:VPG Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 9th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.01). Vishay Precision Group had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 10.08%. The firm had revenue of $88.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.79 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Vishay Precision Group will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other news, Director Wes Cummins purchased 12,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $34.41 per share, with a total value of $412,920.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 477,292 shares of the companys stock, valued at $16,423,617.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.01% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its position in Vishay Precision Group by 62.9% during the 1st quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 190,338 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $7,949,000 after purchasing an additional 73,500 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vishay Precision Group by 19.3% during the first quarter. B. Riley Asset Management LLC now owns 455,292 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $19,013,000 after buying an additional 73,500 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Vishay Precision Group by 80.6% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 120,758 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $5,043,000 after buying an additional 53,897 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vishay Precision Group by 160.5% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 87,295 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock valued at $3,645,000 after acquiring an additional 53,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vishay Precision Group by 244.6% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 73,881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock valued at $2,856,000 after acquiring an additional 52,444 shares in the last quarter. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Vishay Precision Group

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Vishay Precision Group, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets specialized sensors, weighing solutions, and measurement systems in the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Asia, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Sensors, Weighing Solutions, and Measurement Systems.

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Zhihu Inc. (NYSE:ZH  Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,000,000 shares, a decrease of 20.6% from the June 30th total of 10,080,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the companys shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Zhihu Stock Performance

Zhihu stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1.19. The companys stock had a trading volume of 6,002,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,979,374. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1.10 and a 200-day moving average of $1.28. The stock has a market cap of $709.92 million, a PE ratio of -4.41 and a beta of 0.38. Zhihu has a one year low of $0.89 and a one year high of $2.11.

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Zhihu (NYSE:ZH  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 24th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter. Zhihu had a negative return on equity of 19.86% and a negative net margin of 29.93%. The firm had revenue of $144.77 million during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Zhihu will post -0.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zhihu

About Zhihu

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ZH. Pinpoint Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Zhihu during the 1st quarter worth $254,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Zhihu in the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Zhihu by 279.0% in the first quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 382,800 shares of the companys stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 281,800 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Zhihu by 247.1% in the first quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 36,100 shares of the companys stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 25,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Zhihu in the first quarter valued at about $1,867,000. 12.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

(Get Free Report)

Zhihu Inc operates an online content community in the People's Republic of China. Its community allows people to seek inspiration, find solutions, make decisions, and have fun. The company also offers technology, business support, and consulting services; information transmission, software, and information technology services; information and marketing services; vocational training; and internet services, as well as holds audio-visual permit.

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Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SPH  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 658,300 shares, a drop of 21.1% from the June 30th total of 834,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 208,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 1.1% of the companys stock are short sold.

Suburban Propane Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SPH traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $15.01. 320,095 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 165,481. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.24. Suburban Propane Partners has a 1-year low of $14.44 and a 1-year high of $17.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market cap of $953.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.64.

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Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE:SPH  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The energy company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $526.50 million during the quarter. Suburban Propane Partners had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 16.99%.

Suburban Propane Partners Dividend Announcement

Analysts Set New Price Targets

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 1st will be issued a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 31st. Suburban Propane Partnerss dividend payout ratio is presently 90.91%.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SPH. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Suburban Propane Partners from $17.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Suburban Propane Partners from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, May 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Suburban Propane Partners

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPH. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Suburban Propane Partners in the second quarter valued at approximately $163,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Suburban Propane Partners by 33.9% in the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 59,512 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 15,066 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 21,300 shares of the energy companys stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Suburban Propane Partners by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 13,898 shares of the energy companys stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Suburban Propane Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at about $154,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 17.48% of the companys stock.

About Suburban Propane Partners

(Get Free Report)

Suburban Propane Partners, L.P., through its subsidiaries, engages in the retail marketing and distribution of propane, renewable propane, fuel oil, and refined fuels. The company operates through four segments: Propane, Fuel Oil and Refined Fuels, Natural Gas and Electricity, and All Other. The Propane segment is involved in the retail distribution of propane for space heating, water heating, cooking, and clothes drying in the residential and commercial markets; for use as a motor fuel in internal combustion engines to power over-the-road vehicles, forklifts, and stationary engines, as well as to fire furnaces as a cutting gas to the industrial customers; and for tobacco curing, crop drying, poultry brooding, and weed control in the agricultural markets.

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Textron (NYSE:TXT  Get Free Report) updated its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of $5.20-$5.30 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $5.15. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Textron from $90.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Textron in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. They issued a peer perform rating on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Textron from $83.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com cut Textron from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Vertical Research lowered Textron from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, May 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Textron currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $84.00.

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Textron Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TXT traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $76.38. 2,041,832 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,104,757. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.55. The company has a market cap of $15.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Textron has a 12-month low of $58.03 and a 12-month high of $77.35.

Textron Announces Dividend

Textron ( NYSE:TXT Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The aerospace company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Textron had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 6.88%. Textrons revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Textron will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.10%. Textrons dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TXT. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Textron by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 26,689 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $1,985,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Textron by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 30,533 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC increased its holdings in Textron by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 12,381 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $877,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp increased its holdings in Textron by 109.0% in the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 443 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its holdings in Textron by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 7,581 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. 86.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Textron

(Get Free Report)

Textron Inc operates in the aircraft, defense, industrial, and finance businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Textron Aviation, Bell, Textron Systems, Industrial, Textron eAviation, and Finance. The Textron Aviation segment manufactures, sells, and services business jets, turboprop and piston engine aircraft, and military trainer and defense aircraft; and offers maintenance, inspection, and repair services, as well as sells commercial parts.

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Exactus (OTCMKTS:EXDI  Get Free Report) and Cresco Labs (OTCMKTS:CRLBF  Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, risk and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Exactus and Cresco Labs gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Exactus $2.07 million 18.81 -$9.46 million N/A N/A Cresco Labs $842.68 million 0.65 -$212.05 million ($0.71) -2.22

Exactus has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Cresco Labs.

Volatility & Risk

Analyst Recommendations

Exactus has a beta of 4.21, suggesting that its stock price is 321% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cresco Labs has a beta of 2.52, suggesting that its stock price is 152% more volatile than the S&P 500.

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Exactus and Cresco Labs, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Exactus 0 0 0 0 N/A Cresco Labs 0 5 3 0 2.38

Cresco Labs has a consensus price target of $6.82, suggesting a potential upside of 333.38%. Given Cresco Labs higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Cresco Labs is more favorable than Exactus.

Profitability

This table compares Exactus and Cresco Labs net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Exactus N/A -3,272.69% -185.29% Cresco Labs -25.62% -8.46% -3.48%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.1% of Exactus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.2% of Cresco Labs shares are held by institutional investors. 65.0% of Exactus shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Cresco Labs beats Exactus on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Exactus

(Get Free Report)

Exactus, Inc., is a farmer and manufacturer of hemp-derived phytocannabinoid products. The company sells its CBD products through its Green Goddess brand and third-party resellers. Exactus is engaged in producing industrial hemp from farms in Oregon and plans to extract and manufacture directly through cGMP facilities. Industrial hemp is a type of cannabis, defined by the federal government as having THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) content of 0.3 percent or less. THC is the psychoactive compound found in cannabis.

About Cresco Labs

(Get Free Report)

Cresco Labs Inc., together with its subsidiaries, cultivates, manufactures, and sells retail and medical cannabis products in the United States. It provides cannabis in flowers, vape pens, live resins, disposable pens, and extracts under the Cresco brand; vape carts, vape pens, flower, popcorn, shake, pre-rolls, shorties, and concentrates under the High Supply brand; vapes and gummies under the Good News brand; vapes and edibles under the Wonder Wellness Co. brand; and tinctures, capsules, salves, and sublingual oils under the Remedi brand. The company also offers cannabis flowers under the FloraCal brand; and chocolate and toffee confections and fruit-forward gummies under the Mindy's Edibles brand, as well as licenses the Kiva brand, which produces cannabis infused edibles, including chocolate confections, gummies, mints, and tarts. In addition, the company offers cannabis-infused edibles under the Sunnyside brand. Cresco Labs Inc. was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

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Heritage Wealth Advisors lowered its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC  Free Report) by 32.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,019 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 17,021 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 108,111.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 193,168,025 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $6,397,725,000 after purchasing an additional 192,989,515 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $3,436,543,000. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 835.9% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 28,077,300 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $929,920,000 after purchasing an additional 25,077,300 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 127,177,786 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $4,212,128,000 after acquiring an additional 23,532,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Snider Financial Group boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 9,477.3% during the 1st quarter. Snider Financial Group now owns 14,448,357 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $5,956,000 after acquiring an additional 14,297,496 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.34% of the companys stock.

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Bank of America Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of BAC stock traded up $0.10 on Monday, hitting $32.00. 28,960,768 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 52,090,012. The stock has a market capitalization of $255.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.36. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $26.32 and a one year high of $38.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $29.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.56.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

Bank of America ( NYSE:BAC Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.04. Bank of America had a net margin of 19.97% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $25.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.41 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from Bank of Americas previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Bank of Americas dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Dean C. Athanasia sold 77,806 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.48, for a total value of $2,449,332.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 353,971 shares of the companys stock, valued at $11,143,007.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Bank of America from $41.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Bank of America from $45.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, July 6th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $48.00 to $39.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $36.26.

About Bank of America

(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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Shares of Copper Mountain Mining Co. (TSE:CMMC  Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of Hold from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$2.68.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. National Bankshares dropped their price objective on shares of Copper Mountain Mining from C$2.65 to C$2.60 and set a tender rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Copper Mountain Mining from C$2.20 to C$2.60 in a research report on Friday, April 14th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Copper Mountain Mining from a buy rating to a tender rating and increased their target price for the stock from C$2.50 to C$2.75 in a research report on Monday, April 17th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Copper Mountain Mining from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Copper Mountain Mining from C$3.00 to C$2.75 in a research report on Monday, May 1st.

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Copper Mountain Mining Trading Down 1.2 %

TSE CMMC opened at C$2.49 on Wednesday. Copper Mountain Mining has a 12 month low of C$1.23 and a 12 month high of C$2.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of C$2.45 and a 200-day moving average of C$2.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 50.36, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of C$533.81 million, a P/E ratio of -9.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 2.77.

About Copper Mountain Mining

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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Capital Wealth Alliance LLC increased its holdings in shares of iShares National Muni Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:MUB  Free Report) by 16.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,219 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the quarter. iShares National Muni Bond ETF makes up 1.0% of Capital Wealth Alliance LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Capital Wealth Alliance LLCs holdings in iShares National Muni Bond ETF were worth $1,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Providence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of iShares National Muni Bond ETF in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in iShares National Muni Bond ETF during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. First Manhattan Co. bought a new stake in iShares National Muni Bond ETF during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. EPG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in iShares National Muni Bond ETF during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC bought a new stake in iShares National Muni Bond ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000.

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iShares National Muni Bond ETF Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSEARCA MUB traded down $0.09 on Monday, reaching $106.57. 1,644,087 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,458,095. iShares National Muni Bond ETF has a 12 month low of $101.35 and a 12 month high of $108.82. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $106.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.86.

iShares National Muni Bond ETF Profile

iShares National AMT-Free Muni Bond ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index (the Index).

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Sabre Gold Mines (OTCMKTS:SGLDF  Get Free Report) and Victoria Gold (OTCMKTS:VITFF  Get Free Report) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and risk.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Sabre Gold Mines and Victoria Golds gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Sabre Gold Mines $110,000.00 69.86 -$2.59 million ($0.05) -2.09 Victoria Gold N/A N/A N/A $0.00 3,021.07

Victoria Gold has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Sabre Gold Mines. Sabre Gold Mines is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Victoria Gold, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Sabre Gold Mines 0 0 0 0 N/A Victoria Gold 0 0 2 0 3.00

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Sabre Gold Mines and Victoria Gold, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Victoria Gold has a consensus target price of $15.17, indicating a potential upside of 135.58%. Given Victoria Golds higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Victoria Gold is more favorable than Sabre Gold Mines.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

32.3% of Victoria Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 24.4% of Sabre Gold Mines 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.

Profitability

This table compares Sabre Gold Mines and Victoria Golds net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Sabre Gold Mines -2,254.74% -234.49% -184.41% Victoria Gold N/A N/A N/A

Summary

Victoria Gold beats Sabre Gold Mines on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sabre Gold Mines

(Get Free Report)

Sabre Gold Mines Corp. engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties. Its 100% owned flagship property is the Copperstone gold project, which covers approximately 12,258 acres of surface area and mineral rights located in La Paz County, Arizona. The company was formerly known as Arizona Gold Corp. and changed its name to Sabre Gold Mines Corp. in September 2021. Sabre Gold Mines Corp. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Victoria Gold

(Get Free Report)

Victoria Gold Corp. acquires, explores, and operates mineral properties in Canada and the United States. The company primarily explores for gold deposits. Its flagship property is 100% owned Dublin Gulch property, which hosts the Eagle and Olive-Shamrock Gold deposit covering an area of approximately 555 square kilometers located in central Yukon, Canada. The company was formerly known as Victoria Resource Corporation and changed its name to Victoria Gold Corp. in July 2008. Victoria Gold Corp. was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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Biotricity (OTCMKTS:BTCY  Get Free Report) and Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA (OTCMKTS:DGWPF  Get Free Report) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Biotricity and Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA, as reported by MarketBeat.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Biotricity 0 0 1 0 3.00 Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA 1 0 0 0 1.00

Biotricity presently has a consensus target price of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 342.80%. Given Biotricitys stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Biotricity is more favorable than Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA.

Valuation and Earnings

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Biotricity $9.64 million 2.46 -$18.66 million ($2.22) -1.22 Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA N/A N/A N/A $5.51 7.18

This table compares Biotricity and Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaAs top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Biotricity. Biotricity is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Biotricity and Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaAs net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Biotricity -193.59% N/A -223.71% Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA N/A N/A N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

5.7% of Biotricity shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.9% of Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA shares are held by institutional investors. 20.5% of Biotricity shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

About Biotricity

(Get Free Report)

Biotricity, Inc., a medical technology company, provides biometric data monitoring solutions in the United States. The company focuses on delivery of remote monitoring solutions to medical, healthcare, and consumer markets, including diagnostic and post-diagnostic solutions for lifestyle and chronic illnesses. It offers Bioflux mobile cardiac telemetry solution, an integrated ECG device; and ECG analysis software that analyzes and synthesizes patient ECG monitoring data, as well as software components. The company is based in Redwood City, California.

About Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA

(Get Free Report)

Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA operates as a medical and safety technology company in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia. It develops, produces, and markets system solutions, equipment, and services for acute point of care, including emergency care, perioperative care, critical care, and perinatal care. The company also develops, produces, and markets products, system solutions, and services for personal protection, gas detection technology, and integrated hazard management to customers in industry and mining sectors, as well as public sectors, such as fire departments, police, and disaster protection. Its products portfolio includes anesthesia devices and ventilators, thermoregulation equipment, consumables and accessories, supply units, lights, gas management systems, patient monitoring, software applications, system products, and other services. The company's product portfolio also comprises stationary and mobile gas detection systems, personal protective equipment, and alcohol and drug testing devices. In addition, it offers various training and services, as well as fire training facilities for firefighters. The company was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in Lubeck, Germany. Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA operates as a subsidiary of Stefan DrAGer Gmbh.

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Heritage Wealth Advisors trimmed its stake in iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:IVW  Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,615 shares of the companys stock after selling 2,203 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors holdings in iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF were worth $3,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of IVW. Veracity Capital LLC increased its holdings in iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 16,943 shares of the companys stock worth $1,082,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Domani Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Domani Wealth LLC now owns 34,255 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,189,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. LTG Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. LTG Capital LLC now owns 15,773 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,002,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. First Manhattan Co. lifted its holdings in iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 37,027 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,828,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 8,877 shares of the companys stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of IVW traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $72.66. The company had a trading volume of 1,470,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,902,684. iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF has a 1-year low of $55.30 and a 1-year high of $72.87. The stock has a market cap of $35.60 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.97.

iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF Profile

iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF, formerly iShares S&P 500 Growth Index Fund (the Growth Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P 500/Citigroup Growth Index (the Growth Index). The Growth Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization growth sector of the United States equity market.

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Pensionfund DSM Netherlands reduced its position in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW  Free Report) by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,802 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Pensionfund DSM Netherlands holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Duality Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 465.4% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 66,495 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 54,735 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the first quarter valued at $999,000. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. lifted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 26.3% in the first quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 10,207 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 2,125 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 2.3% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 33,887 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Highwoods Properties in the first quarter valued at $5,406,000. 97.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. SpectralCast reiterated a maintains rating on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an equal weight rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. 888 restated a maintains rating on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup restated a neutral rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Friday, June 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $27.71.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

NYSE:HIW traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $25.27. 1,304,151 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,108,099. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $23.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 1.16. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.45 and a 1-year high of $35.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.91%. Highwoods Propertiess dividend payout ratio is currently 138.89%.

Highwoods Properties Company Profile

(Free Report)

Highwoods Properties, Inc, headquartered in Raleigh, is a publicly-traded (NYSE:HIW) real estate investment trust (REIT) and a member of the S&P MidCap 400 Index. The Company is a fully-integrated office REIT that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties primarily in the best business districts (BBDs) of Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond and Tampa.

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Pensionfund Sabic raised its holdings in shares of Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR  Free Report) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,247 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Digital Realty Trust accounts for 0.8% of Pensionfund Sabics portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Pensionfund Sabics holdings in Digital Realty Trust were worth $2,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 27,569,868 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $2,710,394,000 after buying an additional 185,845 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,131,762 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,979,148,000 after purchasing an additional 96,038 shares during the period. APG Asset Management US Inc. lifted its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 10,020,960 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $985,161,000 after purchasing an additional 26,148 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,170,504 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $704,925,000 after purchasing an additional 176,565 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,100,440 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $599,734,000 after acquiring an additional 715,291 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.76% of the companys stock.

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Digital Realty Trust Trading Up 1.5 %

DLR traded up $1.84 on Monday, reaching $124.62. 5,427,810 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,692,102. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.58. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.76 and a twelve month high of $135.20. The companys 50 day moving average is $109.03 and its 200-day moving average is $104.38. The company has a market cap of $37.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.18, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.55.

Digital Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

Digital Realty Trust ( NYSE:DLR Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($1.46). Digital Realty Trust had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 2.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. The firms revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Digital Realty Trust, Inc. will post 6.6 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 14th. Digital Realty Trusts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 378.30%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Peter C. Olson sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.67, for a total transaction of $73,969.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $753,849.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Peter C. Olson sold 700 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.67, for a total transaction of $73,969.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,134 shares of the companys stock, valued at $753,849.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jean F. H. P. Mandeville sold 1,500 shares of Digital Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.47, for a total transaction of $146,205.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,176 shares in the company, valued at $991,854.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.39% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Digital Realty Trust from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and set a $138.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $155.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Digital Realty Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a sell rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $113.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $116.36.

About Digital Realty Trust

(Free Report)

Digital Realty brings companies and data together by delivering the full spectrum of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions. PlatformDIGITAL, the company's global data center platform, provides customers with a secure data "meeting place" and a proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx) solution methodology for powering innovation and efficiently managing Data Gravity challenges.

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Penumbra (NYSE:PEN  Get Free Report) and H-CYTE (OTCMKTS:HCYTD  Get Free Report) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

91.1% of Penumbra shares are held by institutional investors. 5.3% of Penumbra shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.2% of H-CYTE shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

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Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Penumbra and H-CYTEs revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Penumbra $847.13 million 13.62 -$2.00 million $0.16 1,885.24 H-CYTE $1.61 million 0.32 -$4.80 million N/A N/A

Volatility & Risk

Penumbra has higher revenue and earnings than H-CYTE.

Penumbra has a beta of 0.53, indicating that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, H-CYTE has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Penumbra and H-CYTEs net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Penumbra 0.73% 1.58% 1.16% H-CYTE -450.40% N/A -777.68%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Penumbra and H-CYTE, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Penumbra 0 1 10 0 2.91 H-CYTE 0 0 0 0 N/A

Penumbra presently has a consensus target price of $330.58, suggesting a potential upside of 7.94%. Given Penumbras higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Penumbra is more favorable than H-CYTE.

Summary

Penumbra beats H-CYTE on 10 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Penumbra

(Get Free Report)

Penumbra, Inc., together with its subsidiairies, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices in the United States and internationally. The company offers aspiration based thrombectomy systems and accessory devices, including revascularization device for mechanical thrombectomy, such as Penumbra System under the Penumbra RED, JET, ACE, 3D Revascularization Device, and Penumbra ENGINE brands, as well as components and accessories; neurovascular embolization coiling systems to treat patients with various sizes of aneurysms and other neurovascular lesions under the Penumbra Coil 400, POD400, PAC400, and Penumbra SMART Coil brand names; and neurovascular access systems designed to provide intracranial access for use in a range of neurovascular therapies under the Neuron, Neuron MAX, Select, BENCHMARK, BMX96, DDC, SENDit, and PX SLIM brands. It also provides neurosurgical aspiration tools for the removal of tissue and fluids under the Artemis Neuro Evacuation Device brand; aspiration-based thrombectomy systems for vascular applications under the Indigo System, Lightning, and CAT RX brand; and detachable embolic coil systems for peripheral embolization under the Ruby Coil and Ruby LP brand names. In addition, the company offers microcatheter for the delivery of detachable coils and occlusion devices under the LANTERN brand; and POD (Penumbra Occlusion Device) brand, as well as immersive 3D computer-based technology platform under the Real Immersive System brand; and a complementary device for use with Ruby Coil and POD for vessel occlusion under the Packing Coil and Packing Coil LP brands. The company sells its products through direct sales organizations and distributors. Penumbra, Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Alameda, California.

About H-CYTE

(Get Free Report)

H-CYTE, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops and delivers various treatments for patients with chronic respiratory and pulmonary disorders in the United States. The company develops and implements treatment options in autologous cellular therapy to treat chronic lung disorders. It has a product supply agreement with Rion, LLC to develop and distribute a biologic for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The company is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

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Scissortail Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:SHYG  Free Report) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,570 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLCs holdings in iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF were worth $18,568,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SHYG. Laffer Tengler Investments raised its position in iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Laffer Tengler Investments now owns 8,817 shares of the companys stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 64,902 shares of the companys stock worth $2,654,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC bought a new position in iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,369 shares of the companys stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its stake in iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 2,270 shares of the companys stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Price Performance

SHYG stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $41.67. The company had a trading volume of 226,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,212,103. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.25 and a 200 day moving average of $41.31. iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF has a 12 month low of $39.49 and a 12 month high of $42.78.

iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Company Profile

The iShares 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (SHYG) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in high yield fixed income. The fund tracks a market-value-weighted index of high-yield USD-denominated bonds with 0-5 years remaining in maturity. SHYG was launched on Oct 15, 2013 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Scissortail Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:USMV  Free Report) by 50.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 40,220 shares of the companys stock after selling 41,213 shares during the quarter. iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF makes up 1.6% of Scissortail Wealth Management LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Scissortail Wealth Management LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF were worth $41,027,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,253 shares of the companys stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 95,612 shares of the companys stock worth $7,417,000 after buying an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. AJ Wealth Strategies LLC increased its position in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. AJ Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 1,348,690 shares of the companys stock valued at $104,618,000 after buying an additional 57,434 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $6,887,000 after buying an additional 18,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Michigan Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 Up 0.2 %

Shares of USMV traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $75.42. 2,154,853 shares of the company traded hands. The company has a market capitalization of $30.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day moving average of $73.48 and a 200 day moving average of $72.79. iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF has a 1-year low of $47.44 and a 1-year high of $55.45.

iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF Company Profile

The iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (USMV) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Minimum Volatility (USD) index. The fund tracks an index of US-listed firms selected and weighted to create a low-volatility portfolio subject to various constraints. USMV was launched on Oct 18, 2011 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL  Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of Hold from the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $2,385.20.

SHEL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Shell from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Shell from $75.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 13th.

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Shell Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHEL opened at $60.94 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.40 billion, a PE ratio of 7.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $59.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.82. Shell has a 12 month low of $46.74 and a 12 month high of $63.69.

Shell Increases Dividend

Shell ( NYSE:SHEL Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The energy company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $76.02 billion for the quarter. Shell had a return on equity of 17.65% and a net margin of 7.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Shell will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 11th will be issued a $0.662 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $2.65 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.35%. This is an increase from Shells previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Shells dividend payout ratio is currently 28.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Shell by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 22,872,224 shares of the energy companys stock worth $1,316,149,000 after buying an additional 811,877 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Shell by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 21,415,862 shares of the energy companys stock worth $1,232,269,000 after buying an additional 332,948 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Shell by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,173,480 shares of the energy companys stock worth $1,218,322,000 after buying an additional 638,176 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Shell by 96,141.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,370,746 shares of the energy companys stock worth $818,414,000 after buying an additional 14,355,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Shell during the 1st quarter worth approximately $677,739,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.52% of the companys stock.

About Shell

(Get 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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Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,732,260 shares of the financial services providers stock after acquiring an additional 29,420 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolinas holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $64,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,049,693,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 129,312.1% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,287,479 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,085,410,000 after buying an additional 26,267,166 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1,478.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,390,611 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $406,609,000 after buying an additional 7,859,100 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter worth approximately $345,861,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 15,661,675 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $646,671,000 after purchasing an additional 4,382,639 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.11% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on WFC. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Friday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $54.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $48.13.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of WFC stock traded down $0.26 on Monday, hitting $45.88. The stock had a trading volume of 5,387,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,737,822. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.12. The stocks 50 day moving average is $42.68 and its 200-day moving average is $42.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $35.25 and a 52-week high of $48.84.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.11 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.18% and a return on equity of 11.15%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 4th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 3rd. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Companys previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Wells Fargo & Companys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.00%.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

(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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Unitil (NYSE:UTL  Get Free Report) will issue its 6/30/2023 quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Tuesday, August 1st. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.27 per share for the quarter. Parties interested in registering for the companys conference call can do so using this link.

Unitil (NYSE:UTL  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $220.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $179.00 million. Unitil had a net margin of 7.45% and a return on equity of 9.38%. On average, analysts expect Unitil to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.

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Unitil Stock Performance

Shares of UTL stock opened at $52.05 on Monday. The companys 50-day moving average price is $52.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $837.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.51. Unitil has a twelve month low of $44.67 and a twelve month high of $60.59.

Unitil Announces Dividend

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 14th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 11th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. Unitils payout ratio is currently 58.91%.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Unitil by 0.5% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 44,578 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $2,224,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. First Manhattan Co. increased its stake in Unitil by 0.4% during the first quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 65,689 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $3,276,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Unitil by 3.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,198 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Unitil by 2.6% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,347 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Unitil by 57.8% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.37% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Unitil in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock.

About Unitil

(Get Free Report)

Unitil Corporation, a public utility holding company, engages in the distribution of electricity and natural gas. It operates through two segments, Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations. The company distributes electricity in the southeastern seacoast and state capital regions of New Hampshire, and the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts; and distributes natural gas in southeastern New Hampshire and portions of southern and central Maine, including the city of Portland and the Lewiston-Auburn area, as well as electricity and natural gas in the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts.

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Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER  Free Report) had its price objective upped by Wedbush from $46.00 to $52.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the ride-sharing companys stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on UBER. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Uber Technologies from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 14th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Uber Technologies from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Uber Technologies from $45.00 to $57.00 in a report on Friday, June 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Uber Technologies from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 13th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Uber Technologies from $46.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Twenty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $52.06.

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Uber Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UBER opened at $48.14 on Thursday. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $42.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.40. Uber Technologies has a 12-month low of $22.39 and a 12-month high of $48.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Insider Activity at Uber Technologies

Uber Technologies ( NYSE:UBER Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The ride-sharing company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $8.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.71 billion. Uber Technologies had a negative return on equity of 43.94% and a negative net margin of 9.95%. Uber Technologiess quarterly revenue was up 28.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Uber Technologies will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

In related news, insider Tony West sold 12,501 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.85, for a total transaction of $473,162.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 181,750 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,879,237.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Tony West sold 12,501 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.85, for a total transaction of $473,162.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 181,750 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,879,237.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.51, for a total transaction of $4,751,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,316,243 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,534,704.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 238,143 shares of company stock valued at $10,798,399 over the last 90 days. 3.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Uber Technologies by 66.5% in the second quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 651 shares of the ride-sharing companys stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in Uber Technologies by 133.8% during the 2nd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 699 shares of the ride-sharing companys stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in Uber Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in Uber Technologies during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC grew its holdings in Uber Technologies by 89.3% during the 1st quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 848 shares of the ride-sharing companys stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 73.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Uber Technologies

(Get Free Report)

Uber Technologies, Inc develops and operates proprietary technology applications in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia excluding China and Southeast Asia. It operates through three segments: Mobility, Delivery, and Freight. The Mobility segment connects consumers with a range of transportation modalities, such as ridesharing, carsharing, micromobility, rentals, public transit, taxis, and other modalities; and offers riders in a variety of vehicle types, as well as financial partnerships products and advertising services.

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The Daily Republic has a storied history, dating back to the mid-19th century, with a legacy of local ownership that continues 150 years later.

Since the early 1960s, the newspaper has been owned by the McNaughtons, a family with roots in journalism that date back to the 1920s. F.F. McNaughton, grandfather of present-day CEO Foy McNaughton, graduated from Columbia Universitys first masters degree program in journalism. He went on to work for a New York City newspaper.

A few years later, he returned to his home state of Indiana to purchase a small paper in Bicknel. After making it a success, he purchased the Pekin Daily Times in Pekin, Ill. This became the flagship paper. His son, Dean McNaughton, joined the family business during the late 1940s.

Dean McNaughton journeyed to California in 1960 and purchased the once-a-week Solano Republican located in Fairfield. Within the first year, he increased the publication to five days a week, Monday through Friday, and renamed it the Daily Republic.

Today, the newspaper publishes six days a week, with a staff that works nearly around the clock. Its beginnings, however, were much more humble.

The Daily Republic started life as two newspapers  the Solano County Herald and the Solano Press. The Herald was first issued in Benicia in November 1855. It moved to Suisun City with its first publication there on Oct. 2, 1858, with offices in a building on the south side of the city plaza. It was the first newspaper in the nation to editorially support Abraham Lincoln for president.

The Solano Press was created in 1862. Seven years later, the Herald and the Press were consolidated and renamed the Solano Republican.

The Republican is a fearless defender of the rights of the people, and is a welcome weekly visitor to nearly every house in the upper portion of Solano County, the 1879 History of Solano County stated.

The newspaper had a series of owners through the beginning of the 20th century until 1919, when one of its more well-known publishers, David A. Weir, took over. He controlled the Solano Republican for the next 31 years.

Weir was born in Sterling, Colo., in 1889 and got his first job at a newspaper when he was 13 as a printers devil. After stints at The Denver Post and the Chicago Tribune, he published papers in Nebraska, Oregon and Porterville before buying the Solano Republican.

Not content with just running a newspaper, Weir was also instrumental in establishing the local Lions Club, American Legion post and the countys mosquito abatement district.

Weir retired from publishing Nov. 1, 1949, and sold the Republican to J. Clifton Toney, who operated the newspaper until 1960 when it was sold to the McNaughton family.

During the 1940s, the Solano Republican was housed at 607 Main St., Suisun City. The present home of the Daily Republic at 1250 Texas St. was built in 1940 and was occupied by Gillespie Cleaners before becoming the newspaper plant. Extensive additions and remodeling have taken place during the past 40 years.

In 1965, the McNaughtons purchased the Mountain Democrat in Placerville. The next year, they bought The Davis Enterprise. Today, the family publishes, in addition to the Daily Republic, The Davis Enterprise, the Mountain Democrat, the Winters Express and Life Newspapers (El Dorado Hills, Cameron Park and Folsom).

Foy McNaughton joined the family business in 1973. His first job was in the composing room at the Mountain Democrat. Later that year, he moved to The Davis Enterprise pressroom. For the next six years, he worked in all areas of the publishing business until 1979 when he was named publisher of The Davis Enterprise. He assumed his present title of president and CEO of the McNaughton newspapers in 1986. He became publisher of the Daily Republic in 1995, a role in which he serves to this day.

He is proud of the continued tradition of family owned newspapers in Fairfield-Suisun City.

A local newspaper can bring a community together, so as it grows, it remains connected, he said. It is important that the owners make sure this happens. It is far easier to do if the newspaper is owned and operated locally.

The next generation of the family is already working to help secure that future. Foy McNaughtons son, T. Burt McNaughton, was named co-publisher in early 2013.
Last updated: September 10, 2021

This Privacy Policy describes Our policies and procedures on the collection, use and disclosure of Your information when You use the Service and tells You about Your privacy rights and how the law protects You.

We use Your Personal data to provide and improve the Service. By using the Service, You agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Interpretation and Definitions

Interpretation

The words of which the initial letter is capitalized have meanings defined under the following conditions. The following definitions shall have the same meaning regardless of whether they appear in singular or in plural.

Definitions

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy:

 Account means a unique account created for You to access our Service or parts of our Service.

 Business, for the purpose of the CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act), refers to the Company as the legal entity that collects Consumers personal information and determines the purposes and means of the processing of Consumers personal information, or on behalf of which such information is collected and that alone, or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of consumers personal information, that does business in the State of California.

 Company (referred to as either "the Company", "We", "Us" or "Our" in this Agreement) refers to McNaughton Newspapers, Inc., 1250 Texas St. Fairfield, CA 94533.

 Consumer, for the purpose of the CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act), means a natural person who is a California resident. A resident, as defined in the law, includes (1) every individual who is in the USA for other than a temporary or transitory purpose, and (2) every individual who is domiciled in the USA who is outside the USA for a temporary or transitory purpose.

 Cookies are small files that are placed on Your computer, mobile device or any other device by a website, containing the details of Your browsing history on that website among its many uses.

 Country refers to: California, United States

 Device means any device that can access the Service such as a computer, a cellphone or a digital tablet.

 Do Not Track (DNT) is a concept that has been promoted by US regulatory authorities, in particular the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), for the Internet industry to develop and implement a mechanism for allowing internet users to control the tracking of their online activities across websites.

 Personal Data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual.

For the purposes of the CCPA, Personal Data means any information that identifies, relates to, describes or is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with You.

 Sale, for the purpose of the CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act), means selling, renting, releasing, disclosing, disseminating, making available, transferring, or otherwise communicating orally, in writing, or by electronic or other means, a Consumers personal information to another business or a third party for monetary or other valuable consideration.

 Service refers to the Website.

 Service Provider means any natural or legal person who processes the data on behalf of the Company. It refers to third-party companies or individuals employed by the Company to facilitate the Service, to provide the Service on behalf of the Company, to perform services related to the Service or to assist the Company in analyzing how the Service is used.

 Usage Data refers to data collected automatically, either generated by the use of the Service or from the Service infrastructure itself (for example, the duration of a page visit).

 Website refers to McNaughton Newspapers, Inc., accessible from https://www.dailyrepublic.com

 You means the individual accessing or using the Service, or the company, or other legal entity on behalf of which such individual is accessing or using the Service, as applicable.

Collecting and Using Your Personal Data

Types of Data Collected

Personal Data

While using Our Service, We may ask You to provide Us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify You. Personally identifiable information may include, but is not limited to:

 Email address

 First name and last name

 Phone number

 Address, State, Province, ZIP/Postal code, City

 Usage Data

Usage Data

Usage Data is collected automatically when using the Service.

Usage Data may include information such as Your Devices Internet Protocol address (e.g. IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that You visit, the time and date of Your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

When You access the Service by or through a mobile device, We may collect certain information automatically, including, but not limited to, the type of mobile device You use, Your mobile device unique ID, the IP address of Your mobile device, Your mobile operating system, the type of mobile Internet browser You use, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

We may also collect information that Your browser sends whenever You visit our Service or when You access the Service by or through a mobile device.

Tracking Technologies and Cookies

We use Cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on Our Service and store certain information. Tracking technologies used are beacons, tags, and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyze Our Service. The technologies We use may include:

 Cookies or Browser Cookies. A cookie is a small file placed on Your Device. You can instruct Your browser to refuse all Cookies or to indicate when a Cookie is being sent. However, if You do not accept Cookies, You may not be able to use some parts of our Service. Unless you have adjusted Your browser setting so that it will refuse Cookies, our Service may use Cookies.

 Flash Cookies. Certain features of our Service may use local stored objects (or Flash Cookies) to collect and store information about Your preferences or Your activity on our Service. Flash Cookies are not managed by the same browser settings as those used for Browser Cookies. For more information on how You can delete Flash Cookies, please read "Where can I change the settings for disabling, or deleting local shared objects?" available at https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/disable-local-shared-objects-flash.html#main_Where_can_I_change_the_settings_for_disabling__or_deleting_local_shared_objects_

 Web Beacons. Certain sections of our Service and our emails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit the Company, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an email and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of a certain section and verifying system and server integrity).

Cookies can be "Persistent" or "Session" Cookies. Persistent Cookies remain on Your personal computer or mobile device when You go offline, while Session Cookies are deleted as soon as You close Your web browser. You can learn more about cookies here: All About Cookies by TermsFeed.

We use both Session and Persistent Cookies for the purposes set out below:

 Necessary / Essential Cookies

Type: Session Cookies

Administered by: Us

Purpose: These Cookies are essential to provide You with services available through the Website and to enable You to use some of its features. They help to authenticate users and prevent fraudulent use of user accounts. Without these Cookies, the services that You have asked for cannot be provided, and We only use these Cookies to provide You with those services.

 Cookies Policy / Notice Acceptance Cookies

Type: Persistent Cookies

Administered by: Us

Purpose: These Cookies identify if users have accepted the use of cookies on the Website.

 Functionality Cookies

Type: Persistent Cookies

Administered by: Us

Purpose: These Cookies allow us to remember choices You make when You use the Website, such as remembering your login details or language preference. The purpose of these Cookies is to provide You with a more personal experience and to avoid You having to re-enter your preferences every time You use the Website.

 Tracking and Performance Cookies

Type: Persistent Cookies

Administered by: Third-Parties

Purpose: These Cookies are used to track information about traffic to the Website and how users use the Website. The information gathered via these Cookies may directly or indirectly identify you as an individual visitor. This is because the information collected is typically linked to a pseudonymous identifier associated with the device you use to access the Website. We may also use these Cookies to test new pages, features or new functionality of the Website to see how our users react to them.

For more information about the cookies we use and your choices regarding cookies, please visit our Cookies Policy or the Cookies section of our Privacy Policy.

Use of Your Personal Data

The Company may use Personal Data for the following purposes:

 To provide and maintain our Service, including to monitor the usage of our Service.

 To manage Your Account: to manage Your registration as a user of the Service. The Personal Data You provide can give You access to different functionalities of the Service that are available to You as a registered user.

 For the performance of a contract: the development, compliance and undertaking of the purchase contract for the products, items or services You have purchased or of any other contract with Us through the Service.

 To contact You: To contact You by email, telephone calls, SMS, or other equivalent forms of electronic communication, such as a mobile applications push notifications regarding updates or informative communications related to the functionalities, products or contracted services, including the security updates, when necessary or reasonable for their implementation.

 To provide You with news, special offers and general information about other goods, services and events which we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or enquired about unless You have opted not to receive such information.

 To manage Your requests: To attend and manage Your requests to Us.

 To deliver targeted advertising to You: We may use Your information to develop and display content and advertising (and work with third-party vendors who do so) tailored to Your interests and/or location and to measure its effectiveness.

 For business transfers: We may use Your information to evaluate or conduct a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of Our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which Personal Data held by Us about our Service users is among the assets transferred.

 For other purposes: We may use Your information for other purposes, such as data analysis, identifying usage trends, determining the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns and to evaluate and improve our Service, products, services, marketing and your experience.

We may share Your personal information in the following situations:

 With Service Providers: We may share Your personal information with Service Providers to monitor and analyze the use of our Service, to advertise on third party websites to You after You visited our Service, for payment processing, to contact You.

 For business transfers: We may share or transfer Your personal information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of Company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of Our business to another company.

 With Affiliates: We may share Your information with Our affiliates, in which case we will require those affiliates to honor this Privacy Policy. Affiliates include Our parent company and any other subsidiaries, joint venture partners or other companies that We control or that are under common control with Us.

 With business partners: We may share Your information with Our business partners to offer You certain products, services or promotions.

 With other users: when You share personal information or otherwise interact in the public areas with other users, such information may be viewed by all users and may be publicly distributed outside.

 With Your consent: We may disclose Your personal information for any other purpose with Your consent.

Retention of Your Personal Data

The Company will retain Your Personal Data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We will retain and use Your Personal Data to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.

The Company will also retain Usage Data for internal analysis purposes. Usage Data is generally retained for a shorter period of time, except when this data is used to strengthen the security or to improve the functionality of Our Service, or We are legally obligated to retain this data for longer time periods.

Transfer of Your Personal Data

Your information, including Personal Data, is processed at the Companys operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved in the processing are located. It means that this information may be transferred to  and maintained on  computers located outside of Your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ than those from Your jurisdiction.

Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by Your submission of such information represents Your agreement to that transfer.

The Company will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that Your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and no transfer of Your Personal Data will take place to an organization or a country unless there are adequate controls in place including the security of Your data and other personal information.

Disclosure of Your Personal Data

Business Transactions

If the Company is involved in a merger, acquisition or asset sale, Your Personal Data may be transferred. We will provide notice before Your Personal Data is transferred and becomes subject to a different Privacy Policy.

Law enforcement

Under certain circumstances, the Company may be required to disclose Your Personal Data if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g. a court or a government agency).

Other legal requirements

The Company may disclose Your Personal Data in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:

 Comply with a legal obligation

 Protect and defend the rights or property of the Company

 Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service

 Protect the personal safety of Users of the Service or the public

 Protect against legal liability

Security of Your Personal Data

The security of Your Personal Data is important to Us, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While We strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect Your Personal Data, We cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Detailed Information on the Processing of Your Personal Data

The Service Providers We use may have access to Your Personal Data. These third-party vendors collect, store, use, process and transfer information about Your activity on Our Service in accordance with their Privacy Policies.

Analytics

We may use third-party Service providers to monitor and analyze the use of our Service.

 Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. Google uses the data collected to track and monitor the use of our Service. This data is shared with other Google services. Google may use the collected data to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network.

You can opt-out of having made your activity on the Service available to Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. The add-on prevents the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js and dc.js) from sharing information with Google Analytics about visits activity.

For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit the Google Privacy & Terms web page: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Email Marketing

We may use Your Personal Data to contact You with newsletters, marketing or promotional materials and other information that may be of interest to You. You may opt-out of receiving any, or all, of these communications from Us by following the unsubscribe link or instructions provided in any email We send or by contacting Us.

We may use Email Marketing Service Providers to manage and send emails to You.

 Mailchimp

Mailchimp is an email marketing sending service provided by The Rocket Science Group LLC.

For more information on the privacy practices of Mailchimp, please visit their Privacy policy: https://mailchimp.com/legal/privacy/

Payments

We may provide paid products and/or services within the Service. In that case, we may use third-party services for payment processing (e.g. payment processors).

We will not store or collect Your payment card details. That information is provided directly to Our third-party payment processors whose use of Your personal information is governed by their Privacy Policy. These payment processors adhere to the standards set by PCI-DSS as managed by the PCI Security Standards Council, which is a joint effort of brands like Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. PCI-DSS requirements help ensure the secure handling of payment information.

 Stripe

Their Privacy Policy can be viewed at https://stripe.com/us/privacy

Behavioral Remarketing

The Company uses remarketing services to advertise to You after You accessed or visited our Service. We and Our third-party vendors use cookies and non-cookie technologies to help Us recognize Your Device and understand how You use our Service so that We can improve our Service to reflect Your interests and serve You advertisements that are likely to be of more interest to You.

These third-party vendors collect, store, use, process and transfer information about Your activity on Our Service in accordance with their Privacy Policies and to enable Us to:

 Measure and analyze traffic and browsing activity on Our Service

 Show advertisements for our products and/or services to You on third-party websites or apps

 Measure and analyze the performance of Our advertising campaigns

Some of these third-party vendors may use non-cookie technologies that may not be impacted by browser settings that block cookies. Your browser may not permit You to block such technologies. You can use the following third-party tools to decline the collection and use of information for the purpose of serving You interest-based advertising:

 The NAIs opt-out platform: http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/

 The EDAAs opt-out platform http://www.youronlinechoices.com/

 The DAAs opt-out platform: http://optout.aboutads.info/?c=2&lang=EN

You may opt-out of all personalized advertising by enabling privacy features on Your mobile device such as Limit Ad Tracking (iOS) and Opt Out of Ads Personalization (Android). See Your mobile device Help system for more information.

We may share information, such as hashed email addresses (if available) or other online identifiers collected on Our Service with these third-party vendors. This allows Our third-party vendors to recognize and deliver You ads across devices and browsers. To read more about the technologies used by these third-party vendors and their cross-device capabilities please refer to the Privacy Policy of each vendor listed below.

The third-party vendors We use are:

 Google Ads (AdWords)

Google Ads (AdWords) remarketing service is provided by Google Inc.

You can opt-out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising and customise the Google Display Network ads by visiting the Google Ads Settings page: http://www.google.com/settings/ads

Google also recommends installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on  https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout  for your web browser. Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on provides visitors with the ability to prevent their data from being collected and used by Google Analytics.

For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit the Google Privacy & Terms web page: https://policies.google.com/privacy

 Bing Ads Remarketing

Bing Ads remarketing service is provided by Microsoft Inc.

You can opt-out of Bing Ads interest-based ads by following their instructions: https://advertise.bingads.microsoft.com/en-us/resources/policies/personalized-ads

You can learn more about the privacy practices and policies of Microsoft by visiting their Privacy Policy page: https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/PrivacyStatement

 Twitter

Twitter remarketing service is provided by Twitter Inc.

You can opt-out from Twitters interest-based ads by following their instructions: https://support.twitter.com/articles/20170405

You can learn more about the privacy practices and policies of Twitter by visiting their Privacy Policy page: https://twitter.com/privacy

 Facebook

Facebook remarketing service is provided by Facebook Inc.

You can learn more about interest-based advertising from Facebook by visiting this page: https://www.facebook.com/help/516147308587266

To opt-out from Facebooks interest-based ads, follow these instructions from Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/help/568137493302217

Facebook adheres to the Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioural Advertising established by the Digital Advertising Alliance. You can also opt-out from Facebook and other participating companies through the Digital Advertising Alliance in the USA http://www.aboutads.info/choices/, the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada in Canada http://youradchoices.ca/ or the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance in Europe http://www.youronlinechoices.eu/, or opt-out using your mobile device settings.

For more information on the privacy practices of Facebook, please visit Facebooks Data Policy: https://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation

 Pinterest

Pinterest remarketing service is provided by Pinterest Inc.

You can opt-out from Pinterests interest-based ads by enabling the "Do Not Track" functionality of your web browser or by following Pinterest instructions: http://help.pinterest.com/en/articles/personalization-and-data

You can learn more about the privacy practices and policies of Pinterest by visiting their Privacy Policy page: https://about.pinterest.com/en/privacy-policy

 Perfect Audience

Perfect Audience remarketing service is provided by NowSpots Inc.

You can opt-out of Perfect Audience remarketing by visiting these pages: Platform Opt-out (http://pixel.prfct.co/coo) and Partner Opt-out (http://ib.adnxs.com/optout).

For more information on the privacy practices of Perfect Audience, please visit the Perfect Audience Privacy Policy & Opt-out web page: https://www.perfectaudience.com/privacy/

 AppNexus

AppNexus remarketing service is provided by AppNexus Inc.

You can opt-out of AppNexus remarketing by visiting the Privacy & the AppNexus Platform web page: https://www.appnexus.com/platform-privacy-policy

For more information on the privacy practices of AppNexus, please visit the AppNexus Platform Privacy Policy web page: https://www.appnexus.com/platform-privacy-policy

CCPA Privacy

This privacy notice section for California residents supplements the information contained in Our Privacy Policy and it applies solely to all visitors, users, and others who reside in the State of California.

Categories of Personal Information Collected

We collect information that identifies, relates to, describes, references, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular Consumer or Device. The following is a list of categories of personal information which we may collect or may have been collected from California residents within the last twelve (12) months.

Please note that the categories and examples provided in the list below are those defined in the CCPA. This does not mean that all examples of that category of personal information were in fact collected by Us, but reflects our good faith belief to the best of our knowledge that some of that information from the applicable category may be and may have been collected. For example, certain categories of personal information would only be collected if You provided such personal information directly to Us.

 Category A: Identifiers.

Examples: A real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, drivers license number, passport number, or other similar identifiers.

Collected: Yes.

 Category B: Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code  1798.80(e)).

Examples: A name, signature, Social Security number, physical characteristics or description, address, telephone number, passport number, drivers license or state identification card number, insurance policy number, education, employment, employment history, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number, or any other financial information, medical information, or health insurance information. Some personal information included in this category may overlap with other categories.

Collected: Yes.

 Category C: Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law.

Examples: Age (40 years or older), race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, religion or creed, marital status, medical condition, physical or mental disability, sex (including gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy or childbirth and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, veteran or military status, genetic information (including familial genetic information).

Collected: No.

 Category D: Commercial information.

Examples: Records and history of products or services purchased or considered.

Collected: Yes.

 Category E: Biometric information.

Examples: Genetic, physiological, behavioral, and biological characteristics, or activity patterns used to extract a template or other identifier or identifying information, such as, fingerprints, faceprints, and voiceprints, iris or retina scans, keystroke, gait, or other physical patterns, and sleep, health, or exercise data.

Collected: No.

 Category F: Internet or other similar network activity.

Examples: Interaction with our Service or advertisement.

Collected: Yes.

 Category G: Geolocation data.

Examples: Approximate physical location.

Collected: No.

 Category H: Sensory data.

Examples: Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information.

Collected: No.

 Category I: Professional or employment-related information.

Examples: Current or past job history or performance evaluations.

Collected: No.

 Category J: Non-public education information (per the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g, 34 C.F.R. Part 99)).

Examples: Education records directly related to a student maintained by an educational institution or party acting on its behalf, such as grades, transcripts, class lists, student schedules, student identification codes, student financial information, or student disciplinary records.

Collected: No.

 Category K: Inferences drawn from other personal information.

Examples: Profile reflecting a persons preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes.

Collected: No.

Under CCPA, personal information does not include:

 Publicly available information from government records

 Deidentified or aggregated consumer information

 Information excluded from the CCPAs scope, such as:

 Health or medical information covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) or clinical trial data

 Personal Information covered by certain sector-specific privacy laws, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FRCA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) or California Financial Information Privacy Act (FIPA), and the Drivers Privacy Protection Act of 1994

Sources of Personal Information

We obtain the categories of personal information listed above from the following categories of sources:

 Directly from You. For example, from the forms You complete on our Service, preferences You express or provide through our Service, or from Your purchases on our Service.

 Indirectly from You. For example, from observing Your activity on our Service.

 Automatically from You. For example, through cookies We or our Service Providers set on Your Device as You navigate through our Service.

 From Service Providers. For example, third-party vendors to monitor and analyze the use of our Service, third-party vendors to deliver targeted advertising to You, third-party vendors for payment processing, or other third-party vendors that We use to provide the Service to You.

Use of Personal Information for Business Purposes or Commercial Purposes

We may use or disclose personal information We collect for "business purposes" or "commercial purposes" (as defined under the CCPA), which may include the following examples:

 To operate our Service and provide You with our Service.

 To provide You with support and to respond to Your inquiries, including to investigate and address Your concerns and monitor and improve our Service.

 To fulfill or meet the reason You provided the information. For example, if You share Your contact information to ask a question about our Service, We will use that personal information to respond to Your inquiry. If You provide Your personal information to purchase a product or service, We will use that information to process Your payment and facilitate delivery.

 To respond to law enforcement requests and as required by applicable law, court order, or governmental regulations.

 As described to You when collecting Your personal information or as otherwise set forth in the CCPA.

 For internal administrative and auditing purposes.

 To detect security incidents and protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent or illegal activity, including, when necessary, to prosecute those responsible for such activities.

Please note that the examples provided above are illustrative and not intended to be exhaustive. For more details on how we use this information, please refer to the "Use of Your Personal Data" section.

If We decide to collect additional categories of personal information or use the personal information We collected for materially different, unrelated, or incompatible purposes We will update this Privacy Policy.

Disclosure of Personal Information for Business Purposes or Commercial Purposes

We may use or disclose and may have used or disclosed in the last twelve (12) months the following categories of personal information for business or commercial purposes:

 Category A: Identifiers

 Category B: Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code  1798.80(e))

 Category D: Commercial information

 Category F: Internet or other similar network activity

Please note that the categories listed above are those defined in the CCPA. This does not mean that all examples of that category of personal information were in fact disclosed, but reflects our good faith belief to the best of our knowledge that some of that information from the applicable category may be and may have been disclosed.

When We disclose personal information for a business purpose or a commercial purpose, We enter a contract that describes the purpose and requires the recipient to both keep that personal information confidential and not use it for any purpose except performing the contract.

Sale of Personal Information

As defined in the CCPA, "sell" and "sale" mean selling, renting, releasing, disclosing, disseminating, making available, transferring, or otherwise communicating orally, in writing, or by electronic or other means, a consumers personal information by the business to a third party for valuable consideration. This means that We may have received some kind of benefit in return for sharing personal information, but not necessarily a monetary benefit.

Please note that the categories listed below are those defined in the CCPA. This does not mean that all examples of that category of personal information were in fact sold, but reflects our good faith belief to the best of our knowledge that some of that information from the applicable category may be and may have been shared for value in return.

We may sell and may have sold in the last twelve (12) months the following categories of personal information:

 Category A: Identifiers

 Category B: Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code  1798.80(e))

 Category D: Commercial information

 Category F: Internet or other similar network activity

Share of Personal Information

We may share Your personal information identified in the above categories with the following categories of third parties:

 Service Providers

 Payment processors

 Our affiliates

 Our business partners

 Third party vendors to whom You or Your agents authorize Us to disclose Your personal information in connection with products or services We provide to You

Sale of Personal Information of Minors Under 16 Years of Age

We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors under the age of 16 through our Service, although certain third party websites that we link to may do so. These third-party websites have their own terms of use and privacy policies and we encourage parents and legal guardians to monitor their childrens Internet usage and instruct their children to never provide information on other websites without their permission.

We do not sell the personal information of Consumers We actually know are less than 16 years of age, unless We receive affirmative authorization (the "right to opt-in") from either the Consumer who is between 13 and 16 years of age, or the parent or guardian of a Consumer less than 13 years of age. Consumers who opt-in to the sale of personal information may opt-out of future sales at any time. To exercise the right to opt-out, You (or Your authorized representative) may submit a request to Us by contacting Us.

If You have reason to believe that a child under the age of 13 (or 16) has provided Us with personal information, please contact Us with sufficient detail to enable Us to delete that information.

Your Rights under the CCPA

The CCPA provides California residents with specific rights regarding their personal information. If You are a resident of California, You have the following rights:

 The right to notice. You have the right to be notified which categories of Personal Data are being collected and the purposes for which the Personal Data is being used.

 The right to request. Under CCPA, You have the right to request that We disclose information to You about Our collection, use, sale, disclosure for business purposes and share of personal information. Once We receive and confirm Your request, We will disclose to You:

 The categories of personal information We collected about You

 The categories of sources for the personal information We collected about You

 Our business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling that personal information

 The categories of third parties with whom We share that personal information

 The specific pieces of personal information We collected about You

 If we sold Your personal information or disclosed Your personal information for a business purpose, We will disclose to You:

 The categories of personal information categories sold

 The categories of personal information categories disclosed

 The right to say no to the sale of Personal Data (opt-out). You have the right to direct Us to not sell Your personal information. To submit an opt-out request please contact Us.

 The right to delete Personal Data. You have the right to request the deletion of Your Personal Data, subject to certain exceptions. Once We receive and confirm Your request, We will delete (and direct Our Service Providers to delete) Your personal information from our records, unless an exception applies. We may deny Your deletion request if retaining the information is necessary for Us or Our Service Providers to:

 Complete the transaction for which We collected the personal information, provide a good or service that You requested, take actions reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship with You, or otherwise perform our contract with You.

 Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, or prosecute those responsible for such activities.

 Debug products to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality.

 Exercise free speech, ensure the right of another consumer to exercise their free speech rights, or exercise another right provided for by law.

 Comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Cal. Penal Code  1546 et. seq.).

 Engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific, historical, or statistical research in the public interest that adheres to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws, when the informations deletion may likely render impossible or seriously impair the researchs achievement, if You previously provided informed consent.

 Enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with consumer expectations based on Your relationship with Us.

 Comply with a legal obligation.

 Make other internal and lawful uses of that information that are compatible with the context in which You provided it.

 The right not to be discriminated against. You have the right not to be discriminated against for exercising any of Your consumers rights, including by:

 Denying goods or services to You

 Charging different prices or rates for goods or services, including the use of discounts or other benefits or imposing penalties

 Providing a different level or quality of goods or services to You

 Suggesting that You will receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services

Exercising Your CCPA Data Protection Rights

In order to exercise any of Your rights under the CCPA, and if You are a California resident, You can contact Us:

 By email: admin@mcnaughton.media

 By visiting this page on our website: https://www.dailyrepublic.com/contact

Only You, or a person registered with the California Secretary of State that You authorize to act on Your behalf, may make a verifiable request related to Your personal information.

Your request to Us must:

 Provide sufficient information that allows Us to reasonably verify You are the person about whom We collected personal information or an authorized representative

 Describe Your request with sufficient detail that allows Us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it

We cannot respond to Your request or provide You with the required information if We cannot:

 Verify Your identity or authority to make the request

 And confirm that the personal information relates to You

We will disclose and deliver the required information free of charge within 45 days of receiving Your verifiable request. The time period to provide the required information may be extended once by an additional 45 days when reasonable necessary and with prior notice.

Any disclosures We provide will only cover the 12-month period preceding the verifiable requests receipt.

For data portability requests, We will select a format to provide Your personal information that is readily useable and should allow You to transmit the information from one entity to another entity without hindrance.

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

You have the right to opt-out of the sale of Your personal information. Once We receive and confirm a verifiable consumer request from You, we will stop selling Your personal information. To exercise Your right to opt-out, please contact Us.

The Service Providers we partner with (for example, our analytics or advertising partners) may use technology on the Service that sells personal information as defined by the CCPA law. If you wish to opt out of the use of Your personal information for interest-based advertising purposes and these potential sales as defined under CCPA law, you may do so by following the instructions below.

Please note that any opt out is specific to the browser You use. You may need to opt out on every browser that You use.

Website

You can opt out of receiving ads that are personalized as served by our Service Providers by following our instructions presented on the Service:

 The NAIs opt-out platform: http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/

 The EDAAs opt-out platform http://www.youronlinechoices.com/

 The DAAs opt-out platform: http://optout.aboutads.info/?c=2&lang=EN

The opt out will place a cookie on Your computer that is unique to the browser You use to opt out. If you change browsers or delete the cookies saved by your browser, You will need to opt out again.

Mobile Devices

Your mobile device may give You the ability to opt out of the use of information about the apps You use in order to serve You ads that are targeted to Your interests:

 "Opt out of Interest-Based Ads" or "Opt out of Ads Personalization" on Android devices

 "Limit Ad Tracking" on iOS devices

You can also stop the collection of location information from Your mobile device by changing the preferences on Your mobile device.

"Do Not Track" Policy as Required by California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA)

Our Service does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

However, some third party websites do keep track of Your browsing activities. If You are visiting such websites, You can set Your preferences in Your web browser to inform websites that You do not want to be tracked. You can enable or disable DNT by visiting the preferences or settings page of Your web browser.

Childrens Privacy

Our Service does not address anyone under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13. If You are a parent or guardian and You are aware that Your child has provided Us with Personal Data, please contact Us. If We become aware that We have collected Personal Data from anyone under the age of 13 without verification of parental consent, We take steps to remove that information from Our servers.

If We need to rely on consent as a legal basis for processing Your information and Your country requires consent from a parent, We may require Your parents consent before We collect and use that information.

Your California Privacy Rights (Californias Shine the Light law)

Under California Civil Code Section 1798 (Californias Shine the Light law), California residents with an established business relationship with us can request information once a year about sharing their Personal Data with third parties for the third parties direct marketing purposes.

If youd like to request more information under the California Shine the Light law, and if You are a California resident, You can contact Us using the contact information provided below.

California Privacy Rights for Minor Users (California Business and Professions Code Section 22581)

California Business and Professions Code section 22581 allow California residents under the age of 18 who are registered users of online sites, services or applications to request and obtain removal of content or information they have publicly posted.

To request removal of such data, and if You are a California resident, You can contact Us using the contact information provided below, and include the email address associated with Your account.

Be aware that Your request does not guarantee complete or comprehensive removal of content or information posted online and that the law may not permit or require removal in certain circumstances.

Links to Other Websites

Our Service may contain links to other websites that are not operated by Us. If You click on a third party link, You will be directed to that third partys site. We strongly advise You to review the Privacy Policy of every site You visit.

We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update Our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify You of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page.

We will let You know via email and/or a prominent notice on Our Service, prior to the change becoming effective and update the "Last updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy.

You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, You can contact us:

 By email: admin@mcnaughton.media

 By visiting this page on our website: https://www.dailyrepublic.com/contact
Last updated: September 10, 2021

Please read these terms and conditions carefully before using Our Service.

Interpretation and Definitions

Interpretation

The words of which the initial letter is capitalized have meanings defined under the following conditions. The following definitions shall have the same meaning regardless of whether they appear in singular or in plural.

Definitions

For the purposes of these Terms and Conditions:

 Affiliate means an entity that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with a party, where "control" means ownership of 50% or more of the shares, equity interest or other securities entitled to vote for election of directors or other managing authority.

 Account means a unique account created for You to access our Service or parts of our Service.

 Country refers to: California, United States

 Company (referred to as either "the Company", "We", "Us" or "Our" in this Agreement) refers to McNaughton Newspapers, Inc., 1250 Texas St. Fairfield, CA 94533.

 Content refers to content such as text, images, or other information that can be posted, uploaded, linked to or otherwise made available by You, regardless of the form of that content.

 Device means any device that can access the Service such as a computer, a cellphone or a digital tablet.

 Free Trial refers to a limited period of time that may be free when purchasing a Subscription.

 Goods refer to the items offered for sale on the Service.

 Orders mean a request by You to purchase Goods from Us.

 Promotions refer to contests, sweepstakes or other promotions offered through the Service.

 Service refers to the Website.

 Subscriptions refer to the services or access to the Service offered on a subscription basis by the Company to You.

 Terms and Conditions (also referred as "Terms") mean these Terms and Conditions that form the entire agreement between You and the Company regarding the use of the Service.

 Third-party Social Media Service means any services or content (including data, information, products or services) provided by a third-party that may be displayed, included or made available by the Service.

 Website refers to McNaughton Newspapers, Inc., accessible from https://www.dailyrepublic.com

 You means the individual accessing or using the Service, or the company, or other legal entity on behalf of which such individual is accessing or using the Service, as applicable.

Acknowledgment

These are the Terms and Conditions governing the use of this Service and the agreement that operates between You and the Company. These Terms and Conditions set out the rights and obligations of all users regarding the use of the Service.

Your access to and use of the Service is conditioned on Your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms and Conditions. These Terms and Conditions apply to all visitors, users and others who access or use the Service.

By accessing or using the Service You agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. If You disagree with any part of these Terms and Conditions then You may not access the Service.

You represent that you are over the age of 18. The Company does not permit those under 18 to use the Service.

Your access to and use of the Service is also conditioned on Your acceptance of and compliance with the Privacy Policy of the Company. Our Privacy Policy describes Our policies and procedures on the collection, use and disclosure of Your personal information when You use the Application or the Website and tells You about Your privacy rights and how the law protects You. Please read Our Privacy Policy carefully before using Our Service.

Placing Orders for Goods

By placing an Order for Goods through the Service, You warrant that You are legally capable of entering into binding contracts.

Your Information

If You wish to place an Order for Goods available on the Service, You may be asked to supply certain information relevant to Your Order including, without limitation, Your name, Your email, Your phone number, Your credit card number, the expiration date of Your credit card, Your billing address, and Your shipping information.

You represent and warrant that: (i) You have the legal right to use any credit or debit card(s) or other payment method(s) in connection with any Order; and that (ii) the information You supply to us is true, correct and complete.

By submitting such information, You grant us the right to provide the information to payment processing third parties for purposes of facilitating the completion of Your Order.

Order Cancellation

We reserve the right to refuse or cancel Your Order at any time for certain reasons including but not limited to:

 Goods availability

 Errors in the description or prices for Goods

 Errors in Your Order

We reserve the right to refuse or cancel Your Order if fraud or an unauthorized or illegal transaction is suspected.

Your Order Cancellation Rights

Any Goods you purchase can only be returned in accordance with these Terms and Conditions and Our Returns Policy.

Our Returns Policy forms a part of these Terms and Conditions. Please read our Returns Policy to learn more about your right to cancel Your Order.

Your right to cancel an Order only applies to Goods that are returned in the same condition as You received them. You should also include all of the products instructions, documents and wrappings. Goods that are damaged or not in the same condition as You received them or which are worn simply beyond opening the original packaging will not be refunded. You should therefore take reasonable care of the purchased Goods while they are in Your possession.

We will reimburse You no later than 14 days from the day on which We receive the returned Goods. We will use the same means of payment as You used for the Order, and You will not incur any fees for such reimbursement.

You will not have any right to cancel an Order for the supply of any of the following Goods:

 The supply of Goods made to Your specifications or clearly personalized.

 The supply of Goods which according to their nature are not suitable to be returned, deteriorate rapidly or where the date of expiry is over.

 The supply of Goods which are not suitable for return due to health protection or hygiene reasons and were unsealed after delivery.

 The supply of Goods which are, after delivery, according to their nature, inseparably mixed with other items.

 The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium if the performance has begun with Your prior express consent and You have acknowledged Your loss of cancellation right.

Availability, Errors and Inaccuracies

We are constantly updating Our offerings of Goods on the Service. The Goods available on Our Service may be mispriced, described inaccurately, or unavailable, and We may experience delays in updating information regarding our Goods on the Service and in Our advertising on other websites.

We cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information, including prices, product images, specifications, availability, and services. We reserve the right to change or update information and to correct errors, inaccuracies, or omissions at any time without prior notice.

Prices Policy

The Company reserves the right to revise its prices at any time prior to accepting an Order.

The prices quoted may be revised by the Company subsequent to accepting an Order in the event of any occurrence affecting delivery caused by government action, variation in customs duties, increased shipping charges, higher foreign exchange costs and any other matter beyond the control of the Company. In that event, You will have the right to cancel Your Order.

Payments

All Goods purchased are subject to a one-time payment. Payment can be made through various payment methods we have available, such as Visa, MasterCard, Affinity Card, American Express cards or online payment methods (PayPal, for example).

Payment cards (credit cards or debit cards) are subject to validation checks and authorization by Your card issuer. If we do not receive the required authorization, We will not be liable for any delay or non-delivery of Your Order.

Subscriptions

Subscription period

The Service or some parts of the Service are available only with a paid Subscription. You will be billed in advance on a recurring and periodic basis (such as daily, weekly, monthly or annually), depending on the type of Subscription plan you select when purchasing the Subscription.

At the end of each period, Your Subscription will automatically renew under the exact same conditions unless You cancel it or the Company cancels it.

Subscription cancellations

You may cancel Your Subscription renewal either through Your Account settings page or by contacting the Company.

You will not receive a refund for the fees You already paid for Your current Subscription period and You will be able to access the Service until the end of Your current Subscription period.

Billing

You shall provide the Company with accurate and complete billing information including full name, address, state, zip code, telephone number, and a valid payment method information.

Should automatic billing fail to occur for any reason, the Company will issue an electronic invoice indicating that you must proceed manually, within a certain deadline date, with the full payment corresponding to the billing period as indicated on the invoice.

Fee Changes

The Company, in its sole discretion and at any time, may modify the Subscription fees. Any Subscription fee change will become effective at the end of the then-current Subscription period.

The Company will provide You with reasonable prior notice of any change in Subscription fees to give You an opportunity to terminate Your Subscription before such change becomes effective.

Your continued use of the Service after the Subscription fee change comes into effect constitutes Your agreement to pay the modified Subscription fee amount.

Refunds

Except when required by law, paid Subscription fees are non-refundable.

Certain refund requests for Subscriptions may be considered by the Company on a case-by-case basis and granted at the sole discretion of the Company.

Free Trial

The Company may, at its sole discretion, offer a Subscription with a Free Trial for a limited period of time.

You may be required to enter Your billing information in order to sign up for the Free Trial.

If You do enter Your billing information when signing up for a Free Trial, You will not be charged by the Company until the Free Trial has expired. On the last day of the Free Trial period, unless You cancelled Your Subscription, You will be automatically charged the applicable Subscription fees for the type of Subscription You have selected.

At any time and without notice, the Company reserves the right to (i) modify the terms and conditions of the Free Trial offer, or (ii) cancel such Free Trial offer.

Promotions

Any Promotions made available through the Service may be governed by rules that are separate from these Terms.

If You participate in any Promotions, please review the applicable rules as well as our Privacy policy. If the rules for a Promotion conflict with these Terms, the Promotion rules will apply.

User Accounts

When You create an account with Us, You must provide Us information that is accurate, complete, and current at all times. Failure to do so constitutes a breach of the Terms, which may result in immediate termination of Your account on Our Service.

You are responsible for safeguarding the password that You use to access the Service and for any activities or actions under Your password, whether Your password is with Our Service or a Third-Party Social Media Service.

You agree not to disclose Your password to any third party. You must notify Us immediately upon becoming aware of any breach of security or unauthorized use of Your account.

You may not use as a username the name of another person or entity or that is not lawfully available for use, a name or trademark that is subject to any rights of another person or entity other than You without appropriate authorization, or a name that is otherwise offensive, vulgar or obscene.

Content

Your Right to Post Content

Our Service allows You to post Content. You are responsible for the Content that You post to the Service, including its legality, reliability, and appropriateness.

By posting Content to the Service, You grant Us the right and license to use, modify, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce, and distribute such Content on and through the Service. You retain any and all of Your rights to any Content You submit, post or display on or through the Service and You are responsible for protecting those rights. You agree that this license includes the right for Us to make Your Content available to other users of the Service, who may also use Your Content subject to these Terms.

You represent and warrant that: (i) the Content is Yours (You own it) or You have the right to use it and grant Us the rights and license as provided in these Terms, and (ii) the posting of Your Content on or through the Service does not violate the privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, contract rights or any other rights of any person.

Content Restrictions

The Company is not responsible for the content of the Services users. You expressly understand and agree that You are solely responsible for the Content and for all activity that occurs under your account, whether done so by You or any third person using Your account.

You may not transmit any Content that is unlawful, offensive, upsetting, intended to disgust, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene or otherwise objectionable. Examples of such objectionable Content include, but are not limited to, the following:

 Unlawful or promoting unlawful activity.

 Defamatory, discriminatory, or mean-spirited content, including references or commentary about religion, race, sexual orientation, gender, national/ethnic origin, or other targeted groups.

 Spam, machine  or randomly  generated, constituting unauthorized or unsolicited advertising, chain letters, any other form of unauthorized solicitation, or any form of lottery or gambling.

 Containing or installing any viruses, worms, malware, trojan horses, or other content that is designed or intended to disrupt, damage, or limit the functioning of any software, hardware or telecommunications equipment or to damage or obtain unauthorized access to any data or other information of a third person.

 Infringing on any proprietary rights of any party, including patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, right of publicity or other rights.

 Impersonating any person or entity including the Company and its employees or representatives.

 Violating the privacy of any third person.

 False information and features.

The Company reserves the right, but not the obligation, to, in its sole discretion, determine whether or not any Content is appropriate and complies with this Terms, refuse or remove this Content. The Company further reserves the right to make formatting and edits and change the manner any Content. The Company can also limit or revoke the use of the Service if You post such objectionable Content.

As the Company cannot control all content posted by users and/or third parties on the Service, you agree to use the Service at your own risk. You understand that by using the Service You may be exposed to content that You may find offensive, indecent, incorrect or objectionable, and You agree that under no circumstances will the Company be liable in any way for any content, including any errors or omissions in any content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of your use of any content.

Content Backups

Although regular backups of Content are performed, the Company do not guarantee there will be no loss or corruption of data.

Corrupt or invalid backup points may be caused by, without limitation, Content that is corrupted prior to being backed up or that changes during the time a backup is performed.

The Company will provide support and attempt to troubleshoot any known or discovered issues that may affect the backups of Content. But You acknowledge that the Company has no liability related to the integrity of Content or the failure to successfully restore Content to a usable state.

You agree to maintain a complete and accurate copy of any Content in a location independent of the Service.

Copyright Policy

Intellectual Property Infringement

We respect the intellectual property rights of others. It is Our policy to respond to any claim that Content posted on the Service infringes a copyright or other intellectual property infringement of any person.

If You are a copyright owner, or authorized on behalf of one, and You believe that the copyrighted work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement that is taking place through the Service, You must submit Your notice in writing to the attention of our copyright agent via email at admin@mcnaughton.media and include in Your notice a detailed description of the alleged infringement.

You may be held accountable for damages (including costs and attorneys fees) for misrepresenting that any Content is infringing Your copyright.

DMCA Notice and DMCA Procedure for Copyright Infringement Claims

You may submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by providing our Copyright Agent with the following information in writing (see 17 U.S.C 512(c)(3) for further detail):

 An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyrights interest.

 A description of the copyrighted work that You claim has been infringed, including the URL (i.e., web page address) of the location where the copyrighted work exists or a copy of the copyrighted work.

 Identification of the URL or other specific location on the Service where the material that You claim is infringing is located.

 Your address, telephone number, and email address.

 A statement by You that You have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

 A statement by You, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in Your notice is accurate and that You are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owners behalf.

You can contact our copyright agent via email at admin@mcnaughton.media.

Upon receipt of a notification, the Company will take whatever action, in its sole discretion, it deems appropriate, including removal of the challenged content from the Service.

Intellectual Property

The Service and its original content (excluding Content provided by You or other users), features and functionality are and will remain the exclusive property of the Company and its licensors.

The Service is protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of both the Country and foreign countries.

Our trademarks and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service without the prior written consent of the Company.

Links to Other Websites

Our Service may contain links to third-party web sites or services that are not owned or controlled by the Company.

The Company has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third party web sites or services. You further acknowledge and agree that the Company shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such web sites or services.

We strongly advise You to read the terms and conditions and privacy policies of any third-party web sites or services that You visit.

Termination

We may terminate or suspend Your Account immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason whatsoever, including without limitation if You breach these Terms and Conditions.

Upon termination, Your right to use the Service will cease immediately. If You wish to terminate Your Account, You may simply discontinue using the Service.

Limitation of Liability

Notwithstanding any damages that You might incur, the entire liability of the Company and any of its suppliers under any provision of this Terms and Your exclusive remedy for all of the foregoing shall be limited to the amount actually paid by You through the Service or 100 USD if You havent purchased anything through the Service.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall the Company or its suppliers be liable for any special, incidental, indirect, or consequential damages whatsoever (including, but not limited to, damages for loss of profits, loss of data or other information, for business interruption, for personal injury, loss of privacy arising out of or in any way related to the use of or inability to use the Service, third-party software and/or third-party hardware used with the Service, or otherwise in connection with any provision of this Terms), even if the Company or any supplier has been advised of the possibility of such damages and even if the remedy fails of its essential purpose.

Some states do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties or limitation of liability for incidental or consequential damages, which means that some of the above limitations may not apply. In these states, each partys liability will be limited to the greatest extent permitted by law.

"AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" Disclaimer

The Service is provided to You "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" and with all faults and defects without warranty of any kind. To the maximum extent permitted under applicable law, the Company, on its own behalf and on behalf of its Affiliates and its and their respective licensors and service providers, expressly disclaims all warranties, whether express, implied, statutory or otherwise, with respect to the Service, including all implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement, and warranties that may arise out of course of dealing, course of performance, usage or trade practice. Without limitation to the foregoing, the Company provides no warranty or undertaking, and makes no representation of any kind that the Service will meet Your requirements, achieve any intended results, be compatible or work with any other software, applications, systems or services, operate without interruption, meet any performance or reliability standards or be error free or that any errors or defects can or will be corrected.

Without limiting the foregoing, neither the Company nor any of the companys provider makes any representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied: (i) as to the operation or availability of the Service, or the information, content, and materials or products included thereon; (ii) that the Service will be uninterrupted or error-free; (iii) as to the accuracy, reliability, or currency of any information or content provided through the Service; or (iv) that the Service, its servers, the content, or e-mails sent from or on behalf of the Company are free of viruses, scripts, trojan horses, worms, malware, timebombs or other harmful components.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain types of warranties or limitations on applicable statutory rights of a consumer, so some or all of the above exclusions and limitations may not apply to You. But in such a case the exclusions and limitations set forth in this section shall be applied to the greatest extent enforceable under applicable law.

Governing Law

The laws of the Country, excluding its conflicts of law rules, shall govern this Terms and Your use of the Service. Your use of the Application may also be subject to other local, state, national, or international laws.

Disputes Resolution

If You have any concern or dispute about the Service, You agree to first try to resolve the dispute informally by contacting the Company.

For European Union (EU) Users

If You are a European Union consumer, you will benefit from any mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which you are resident in.

United States Federal Government End Use Provisions

If You are a U.S. federal government end user, our Service is a "Commercial Item" as that term is defined at 48 C.F.R. 2.101.

United States Legal Compliance

You represent and warrant that (i) You are not located in a country that is subject to the United States government embargo, or that has been designated by the United States government as a "terrorist supporting" country, and (ii) You are not listed on any United States government list of prohibited or restricted parties.

Severability and Waiver

Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held to be unenforceable or invalid, such provision will be changed and interpreted to accomplish the objectives of such provision to the greatest extent possible under applicable law and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

Waiver

Except as provided herein, the failure to exercise a right or to require performance of an obligation under this Terms shall not effect a partys ability to exercise such right or require such performance at any time thereafter nor shall be the waiver of a breach constitute a waiver of any subsequent breach.

Translation Interpretation

These Terms and Conditions may have been translated if We have made them available to You on our Service.

You agree that the original English text shall prevail in the case of a dispute.

Changes to These Terms and Conditions

We reserve the right, at Our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. If a revision is material We will make reasonable efforts to provide at least 30 days notice prior to any new terms taking effect. What constitutes a material change will be determined at Our sole discretion.

By continuing to access or use Our Service after those revisions become effective, You agree to be bound by the revised terms. If You do not agree to the new terms, in whole or in part, please stop using the website and the Service.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms and Conditions, You can contact us:

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Police arrive to inspect the Mumbai-Jaipur Superfast Express train in which an RPF jawan shot dead four persons, in Mumbai (PTI Photo)

Mumbai: A Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable on Monday shot dead four persons on board a running train near Palghar railway station in Maharashtra, an official said. Constable Chetan Kumar Choudhary fired from his automatic weapon, killing an RPF Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) and three other passengers of the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express shortly after 5 am, the official said.

According to a senior police official, the accused RPF constable was mentally unstable.

Palghar is around 100 km from Mumbai.

The constable opened fire on his escort duty in-charge ASI Tika Ram Meena in the running train, the official said.

After killing his senior, the constable went to another bogie and shot dead three passengers, the official added.

The accused then tried to escape from the train between Mira Road and Dahisar, but was later nabbed by the Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel, and his weapon was also seized, he said.

The accused is in the custody of the Mira Road railway police, the official said.

The bodies were taken out of the train at Borivali railway station, he said.
A view of the Lok Sabha during ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament (PTI)

New Delhi: The opposition on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should stop "insulting" the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha and come to Parliament for a "comprehensive" discussion without any time limits on the Manipur violence.

Congress deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari said the first priority should be to hold a comprehensive and detailed discussion on the Manipur situation in Parliament, going by the fact that people have been killed and the chief minister himself has admitted that several such incidents have happened in the state.

No one knows how many incidents of rape have happened, he added.

"The prime minister, who under Article 75 of the Constitution, is answerable to Parliament - Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha - should come inside Parliament and speak," Tiwari said.

"Can he cite a reason for not coming to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha even when he is within the country. ...Till when will he stop insulting the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. This insult is not of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha but of India's 130 crore people. What is it that he wants to hide," the Congress leader asked, noting that the prime minister has not spoken a word on Manipur in Parliament.

What facts can be brought out in a two-hour discussion as opposition bloc INDIA's MPs have themselves seen the situation in Manipur and want to put across what they have witnessed, he said, demanding a detailed discussion in Parliament on the ethnic violence in the northeastern state.

"Remember, Mahabharat was held for one Droupadi, but here the modesty of several Droupadis is being outraged," he said, adding that in the Manipur case, the "modesty of a Kargil soldier's wife is being outraged".

"We want a discussion under rule 267 and all other business should be set aside and the prime minister, who knows everything, should come to the House and a discussion without any time limit be held," the Congress leader said.

TMC leader Derek O'Brien said the prime minister has not come to Parliament for even 20 seconds in the eight days of the Monsoon session so far.

"Where is the prime minister of India on day eight of Parliament," he asked.

Manipur situation is a serious issue with all parties asking for a discussion under the emergency rule by suspending all other business, but no discussion is being held, he said.

"Why can't the prime minister come? We are all ready to discuss Manipur," O'Brien said.

He said the INDIA delegation went to Manipur after a Congress delegation under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi went there, besides some other parties that saw the ground situation in the state.

"We want to discuss Manipur under an emergency rule, not a 'toast and butter' rule of 176. A 1.5 hour or two-hour discussion is not done. That is 'toast and butter' rule, we want a full meal discussion on Manipur.

"Mister Prime Minister, who the hell do you think you are. Pandit Nehru had come and spoke in Rajya Sabha on a serious subject and participated in the debate," the TMC leader said.

Former prime ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh had come to the Rajya Sabha to discuss issues, even Rajiv Gandhi had to came and discussed Bofors when he was falsely accused. He had the guts to come and discuss Bofors in the Rajya Sabha, O'Brien said.

"Mr Prime Minister, you are so arrogant. You have a heart of stone. The women and children of Manipur, the people of Manipur are suffering. They don't want a Maggie noodles of two-minute, two-hour discussion. We want a full-fledged discussion under emergency rule 267. Bring that and start the discussion at 2 pm. Do not mislead the young people of India, do not mislead them," he said.

Both houses of Parliament on Monday were adjourned amid uproar after opposition members insisted on a detailed discussion on the Manipur violence.

The opposition MPs have been demanding a discussion under rules after setting aside all business and the prime minister come to Parliament and make a statement on Manipur in both Houses.
State BJP president G. Kishan Reddy(R). (DC Image)

HYDERABAD: The BJP on Monday launched a strong criticism of the BRS, Congress and AIMIM clubbing the three parties as anti-Hindu and anti-national and called on people to reject them in the coming Assembly elections in the state.

State BJP president G. Kishan Reddy said the three parties are trying to hoodwink the people by trying to portray themselves as different from one another but their history shows that these family parties have always worked together and that they will continue to do so.

"The BRS is the Kalvakuntla family party, Majlis is the Owaisi family party, and Congress is Sonias Italian family party. A vote of any of them means a vote for the BRS and BRS must be defeated in the next elections," he said.

Addressing a massive gathering at Mahbubnagar, where he led a BJP protest demanding distribution of two bedroom houses to the poor, Reddy said "these three parties are opposed to Ram temple construction in Ayodhya, they are opposed to the Uniform Civil Code and are also opposed to any legislation that seeks to provide women their rights. People should see through these parties and reject them outright."

Joining him at the event were BJP national vice-president D.K. Aruna, former Mahabubnagar MP A.P. Jithender Reddy and several other senior party leaders, who called on the people to hold the government accountable for its promises.

Kishan Reddy said that the Narendra Modi government had built more than four crore houses for the poor in the country but in Telangana, in the past nine years, the 2 bedroom housing scheme has not moved forward.

"The Chief Minister has built camp offices for his party MLAs in every constituency but has not found land to build houses for the poor. All that are found everywhere in the state are liquor and belt shops in every lane. Instead of the promised Bangaru Telangana, the Chief Minister has turned the state into liquor Telangana," he said.

It is time for a change in the state and only the BJP can bring this transformation by defeating the BRS and the Kalvakuntla family. The people should give the BJP one chance to form the government," he said.
India has tightened rules limiting bank CEOs tenure to a maximum of 15 years and has been reviewing the stakes that banks hold in insurers in order to strengthen the nations financial system. RBI had said in 2021 that the outgoing head should take a three-year cooling period and shall not be appointed or associated with the bank or its group entities in any capacity, either directly or indirectly, to ensure there is a clean break for the outgoing head from the bank.
There are six to seven buildings that are under construction at the facility. It is going quite well and definitely we can do more in the future. This (Sriperumbudur) is the largest site we have (in India). We can do large scale production in Tamil Nadu, and also (get involved) in research and development, Liu said.
I would like to sort of extend an olive branch, Dorsey said. I think theres a lot of people in city government who would welcome the opportunity to work with a large employer like X, and lets figure out what were going to do with the sign, but we can have a good productive partnership with a city employer.
The Sudanese civil aviation authority extended the closure of Sudan's airspace until Aug. 15, except for humanitarian aid and evacuation flights, Khartoum International Airport said in a statement early on Monday.
More than a dozen US officials and industry experts said in interviews over the past two months that the Chinese effort goes far beyond telecommunications systems and predated the May report by at least a year. They said the US governments effort to hunt down the code, and eradicate it, has been underway for some time. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential and in some cases classified assessments.
Cant excuse what is taking place in Manipur: SC on violence against women in West Bengal, other states

The SC's observation came in response to advocate Bansuri Swaraj's claim that similar crimes were taking place in India.
"His blood pressure and oxygen saturation in the blood are at satisfactory levels, but he is still not out of danger. His lungs were badly affected after he was infected by coronavirus. We are trying to evaluate that as well. We have to wait for another 24 hours," he said.
In reply to another question, he said that the country would be governed by the Constitution and not by any religion. ''I am a disciple of God but I don't believe in hypocrisy....your religion is within your home....it's not for demonstrating on the streets..not for imposing on others,'' he added.
Additional Solicitor General S V Raju on behalf of the CBI submitted that the agency had filed a separate plea against the stay also granted by the division bench. He said both the pleas, including the one against the similar stay order by the single judge bench, should be considered together.
The state-wise data on damages due to heavy rains and floods in the entire state (rural and urban areas) has been compiled by the Central Water Commission (CWC), and as per which the total damages, including crops, houses and public utilities stood at Rs 2,76,004.05 crore, he said.
In its judgment, the Supreme Court observed that, "At the end of the day, it appears to us that a coalesced effort of the disgruntled officials of the State of Gujarat along with others was to create sensation by making revelations which were false to their own knowledge.
Investment analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Argo Group International (NYSE:ARGO  Get Free Report) in a report released on Saturday. The firm set a hold rating on the stock.

Separately, TheStreet raised Argo Group International from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research report on Friday, May 26th.

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Argo Group International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARGO opened at $29.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of -4.76 and a beta of 1.01. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $29.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.48. Argo Group International has a one year low of $19.00 and a one year high of $32.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Institutional Trading of Argo Group International

Argo Group International ( NYSE:ARGO Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($1.11). Argo Group International had a negative return on equity of 4.57% and a negative net margin of 12.43%. The firm had revenue of $419.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $461.90 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Argo Group International will post 1 EPS for the current year.

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARGO. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Argo Group International by 334.7% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 926 shares of the companys stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in Argo Group International by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,680 shares of the companys stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Argo Group International by 148.0% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Argo Group International in the third quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Argo Group International by 34.5% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 3,976 shares of the companys stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019 shares during the period.

Argo Group International Company Profile

(Get 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.

Further Reading

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Barnes Group (NYSE:B  Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The industrial products company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.04, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $339.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $340.43 million. Barnes Group had a return on equity of 7.94% and a net margin of 0.48%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. Barnes Group updated its FY23 guidance to $2.15-2.30 EPS and its FY 2023 guidance to $2.15-$2.30 EPS.

Barnes Group Price Performance

B stock opened at $40.56 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of 32.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.23. Barnes Group has a 1 year low of $27.93 and a 1 year high of $47.36.

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Barnes Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 23rd. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Barnes Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Insider Activity

B has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Barnes Group from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial raised their price target on Barnes Group from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 21st.

In other news, Director Neal J. Keating purchased 2,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $41.59 per share, for a total transaction of $103,975.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,872 shares of the companys stock, valued at $202,626.48. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.22% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Barnes Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Barnes Group by 275.3% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,715 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 1,258 shares in the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Barnes Group during the 4th quarter worth $96,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Barnes Group by 45.6% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,048 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 954 shares during the last quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY increased its holdings in Barnes Group by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 3,164 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Barnes Group by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 4,574 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. 85.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Barnes Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Barnes Group Inc provides engineered products, industrial technologies, and solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments: Industrial and Aerospace. The Industrial segment offers precision components, products, and systems used by various customers in end-markets, such as mobility, industrial equipment, automation, personal care, packaging, electronics, and medical devices.

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Integer (NYSE:ITGR  Free Report) had its price target boosted by Benchmark from $90.00 to $105.00 in a research note released on Friday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Integer in a research report on Thursday, March 30th. They issued a neutral rating and a $86.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Integer from $96.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Integer in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Integer from $87.00 to $94.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Integer in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. They set a neutral rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $93.83.

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Integer Stock Down 1.6 %

ITGR opened at $91.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.28, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 3.08 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Integer has a fifty-two week low of $50.05 and a fifty-two week high of $96.17. The companys 50-day moving average is $84.80 and its 200 day moving average is $79.18.

Insider Transactions at Integer

Integer ( NYSE:ITGR Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The medical equipment provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $400.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $367.05 million. Integer had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 9.67%. Research analysts expect that Integer will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other news, Director Jean M. Hobby sold 3,625 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.85, for a total value of $303,956.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,126 shares in the company, valued at approximately $765,215.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.84% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Integer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ITGR. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Integer by 28.5% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 775 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of Integer by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 1,591 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Integer by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,539 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $740,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Integer by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 25,012 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $1,938,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Integer by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,306 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. 99.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Integer

(Get Free Report)

Integer Holdings Corporation operates as a medical device outsource manufacturer in the United States, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, and internationally. It operates through Medical and Non-Medical segments. The company offers products for interventional cardiology, structural heart, heart failure, peripheral vascular, neurovascular, interventional oncology, electrophysiology, vascular access, infusion therapy, hemodialysis, urology, and gastroenterology procedures.

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J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR  Free Report) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,538 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 177 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.s holdings in Emerson Electric were worth $395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RB Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Emerson Electric by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 5,358 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in Emerson Electric in the 1st quarter worth approximately $116,000. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in shares of Emerson Electric in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,215,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Emerson Electric by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,521 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $934,000 after purchasing an additional 1,418 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Emerson Electric by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,856 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.63% of the companys stock.

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Emerson Electric Trading Down 0.9 %

EMR opened at $90.97 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $51.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Emerson Electric Co. has a 12 month low of $72.40 and a 12 month high of $99.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $87.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.03.

Emerson Electric Dividend Announcement

Emerson Electric ( NYSE:EMR Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The industrial products company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.12. Emerson Electric had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 27.35%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was down 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Emerson Electric Co. will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 9th. Investors of record on Friday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 11th. Emerson Electrics dividend payout ratio is currently 25.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on EMR shares. TheStreet upgraded Emerson Electric from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Emerson Electric from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 5th. 888 restated a buy rating on shares of Emerson Electric in a report on Thursday, May 4th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Emerson Electric from $103.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, May 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated a buy rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Emerson Electric in a report on Friday, May 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $99.47.

Insider Activity at Emerson Electric

In related news, VP Lisa Flavin sold 48,718 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.65, for a total transaction of $4,367,568.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 51,748 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,639,208.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Emerson Electric

(Free Report)

Emerson Electric Co, a technology and engineering company, provides various solutions for customers in industrial, commercial, and consumer markets in the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. The company operates through Automation Solutions, AspenTech, and Commercial & Residential Solutions segments.

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Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) had its price objective lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $475.00 to $510.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, FlyOnTheWall reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on LLY. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $360.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $420.00 to $490.00 in a report on Thursday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $408.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $395.00 to $392.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $430.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given 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 $467.45.

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Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

LLY opened at $458.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $435.22 billion, a PE ratio of 72.89, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.38. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $296.32 and a twelve month high of $469.87. The firms 50-day moving average price is $448.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $390.23. 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 Announces Dividend

Eli Lilly and Company ( NYSE:LLY Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.87 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 61.42% and a net margin of 20.54%. The businesss revenue was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 8.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.99%. Eli Lilly and Companys payout ratio is 71.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 591 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.62, for a total value of $275,772.42. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 101,028,219 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $47,141,787,549.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.46, for a total value of $2,576,760.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,941 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $15,864,681.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 591 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $466.62, for a total transaction of $275,772.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 101,028,219 shares in the company, valued at $47,141,787,549.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 746,556 shares of company stock worth $334,342,879. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LLY. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 1st quarter worth $107,000. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.6% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 2,056 shares of the companys stock valued at $589,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the first quarter valued at about $210,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 9.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 53,052 shares of the companys stock valued at $15,193,000 after acquiring an additional 4,774 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the first quarter valued at about $561,000. 87.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Eli Lilly and Company

(Get 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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New York Community Bancorp (NYSE:NYCB  Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $16.00 price target on the financial services providers stock, up from their prior price target of $10.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschafts target price points to a potential upside of 17.13% from the stocks current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on NYCB. StockNews.com raised shares of New York Community Bancorp from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 12th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of New York Community Bancorp from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Sunday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of New York Community Bancorp from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $11.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of New York Community Bancorp from $14.00 to $17.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of New York Community Bancorp from $11.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, New York Community Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $12.25.

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New York Community Bancorp Stock Performance

NYCB opened at $13.66 on Monday. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $11.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.93. The stock has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.11. New York Community Bancorp has a 1-year low of $5.81 and a 1-year high of $14.22.

Institutional Trading of New York Community Bancorp

New York Community Bancorp ( NYSE:NYCB Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. New York Community Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.29% and a net margin of 43.28%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $623.11 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 666.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that New York Community Bancorp will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NYCB. Thompson Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in New York Community Bancorp by 42.1% during the first quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 74,196 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 22,000 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of New York Community Bancorp by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,642,607 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $14,126,000 after buying an additional 535,107 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its stake in New York Community Bancorp by 45.6% in the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 106,900 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 33,500 shares in the last quarter. New Hampshire Trust bought a new position in New York Community Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Wealth Alliance lifted its stake in New York Community Bancorp by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 14,886 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 2,854 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.49% of the companys stock.

About New York Community Bancorp

(Get Free Report)

New York Community Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Flagstar Bank, N.A. that provides banking products and services in the United States. The company's deposit products include interest-bearing checking and money market, savings, non-interest-bearing, and retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.

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Stevanato Group (NYSE:STVN  Get Free Report) updated its FY23 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of EUR 0.58-0.62 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $0.60. The company issued revenue guidance of EUR 1.085 billion to 1.115 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.10 billion. Stevanato Group also updated its FY 2023 guidance to $0.62-$0.67 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on STVN shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Stevanato Group from $32.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Stevanato Group from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Stevanato Group from $28.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, May 5th.

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Stevanato Group Stock Performance

STVN stock opened at 31.17 ($34.63) on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.74 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of 30.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of 26.07. Stevanato Group has a 52 week low of 13.71 ($15.23) and a 52 week high of 34.33 ($38.14).

Stevanato Group Dividend Announcement

Stevanato Group ( NYSE:STVN Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The company reported 0.15 ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of 0.14 ($0.16) by 0.01 ($0.01). The firm had revenue of 277.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of 275.39 million. Stevanato Group had a net margin of 14.24% and a return on equity of 15.51%. Research analysts anticipate that Stevanato Group will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 6th were paid a $0.0577 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 7th.

Institutional Trading of Stevanato Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of STVN. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Stevanato Group by 11.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 46,717 shares of the companys stock worth $940,000 after buying an additional 4,798 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Stevanato Group by 3.6% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 263,364 shares of the companys stock worth $5,299,000 after buying an additional 9,125 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stevanato Group by 3.4% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,366,679 shares of the companys stock worth $128,097,000 after buying an additional 210,007 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Stevanato Group by 79.9% in the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,799 shares of the companys stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Stevanato Group by 21.2% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 992,326 shares of the companys stock worth $19,966,000 after acquiring an additional 173,332 shares during the period. 10.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Stevanato Group

(Get Free Report)

Stevanato Group S.p.A. engages in the design, production, and distribution of products and processes to provide integrated solutions for biopharma and healthcare. The company operates in two segments, Biopharmaceutical and Diagnostic Solutions; and Engineering. Its principal products include containment solutions, drug delivery systems, medical devices, diagnostic, analytical services, visual inspection machines, assembling and packaging machines, and glass forming machines.

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Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS  Free Report)  Investment analysts at SVB Leerink lowered their FY2023 EPS estimates for Universal Health Services in a research note issued on Thursday, July 27th. SVB Leerink analyst W. Mayo now forecasts that the health services provider will earn $10.29 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $10.43. The consensus estimate for Universal Health Services current full-year earnings is $10.23 per share. SVB Leerink also issued estimates for Universal Health Services Q4 2023 earnings at $3.13 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $2.84 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $2.86 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $2.50 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $11.57 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $12.66 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $13.48 EPS.

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Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Bank of America raised shares of Universal Health Services from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $163.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $154.00 to $162.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $130.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group increased their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $163.00 to $169.00 in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $149.00.

Universal Health Services Stock Up 0.5 %

Universal Health Services stock opened at $138.74 on Monday. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $144.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.08. Universal Health Services has a fifty-two week low of $82.50 and a fifty-two week high of $158.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The health services provider reported $2.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.10. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 12.47%. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 31st. Universal Health Servicess payout ratio is currently 8.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal Health Services news, Director Eileen C. Mcdonnell sold 3,107 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.53, for a total transaction of $439,733.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,508 shares of the companys stock, valued at $779,547.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Universal Health Services news, Director Eileen C. Mcdonnell sold 3,107 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.53, for a total value of $439,733.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,508 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $779,547.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Warren J. Nimetz sold 800 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $112,776.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,944 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $415,015.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,697 shares of company stock valued at $10,547,996 in the last three months. 15.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 10,079 shares of the health services providers stock valued at $1,461,000 after buying an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Universal Health Services by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the health services providers stock worth $1,691,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Universal Health Services by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 19,853 shares of the health services providers stock worth $2,878,000 after purchasing an additional 3,699 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in Universal Health Services by 6.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 9,784 shares of the health services providers stock valued at $1,418,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,026,512 shares of the health services providers stock valued at $728,594,000 after purchasing an additional 113,259 shares during the last quarter. 84.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Universal Health Services

(Get Free Report)

Universal Health Services, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals, and outpatient and behavioral health care facilities. The company operates through Acute Care Hospital Services and Behavioral Health Care Services segments. Its hospitals offer general and specialty surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic and coronary care, pediatric services, pharmacy services, and/or behavioral health services.

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Textron (NYSE:TXT  Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Susquehanna from $83.00 to $89.00 in a research note released on Friday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on TXT. StockNews.com downgraded Textron from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup began coverage on Textron in a research note on Thursday, July 6th. They set a buy rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on Textron in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. They set a peer perform rating for the company. Finally, Vertical Research downgraded Textron from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $84.00.

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Textron Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:TXT opened at $76.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.55. Textron has a 1 year low of $58.03 and a 1 year high of $77.35.

Textron Announces Dividend

Textron ( NYSE:TXT Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The aerospace company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Textron had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 6.88%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. Analysts forecast that Textron will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.10%. Textrons payout ratio is currently 1.84%.

Institutional Trading of Textron

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TXT. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in shares of Textron by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 29,493 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $2,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,826 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its holdings in shares of Textron by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 55,591 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $4,331,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Textron by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 26,689 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $1,985,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Textron by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,503,096 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $1,748,161,000 after buying an additional 177,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Textron by 52.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,506 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.77% of the companys stock.

About Textron

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Textron Inc operates in the aircraft, defense, industrial, and finance businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Textron Aviation, Bell, Textron Systems, Industrial, Textron eAviation, and Finance. The Textron Aviation segment manufactures, sells, and services business jets, turboprop and piston engine aircraft, and military trainer and defense aircraft; and offers maintenance, inspection, and repair services, as well as sells commercial parts.

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Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE  Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,299 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after buying an additional 874 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corps holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities were worth $6,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ARE. Norges Bank bought a new position in Alexandria Real Estate Equities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,277,135,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 188.7% in the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 1,341,308 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $269,938,000 after buying an additional 876,725 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 318.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,057,562 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $154,055,000 after buying an additional 804,563 shares during the period. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 3,924.1% in the 4th quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 538,222 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $78,403,000 after buying an additional 524,847 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,536,788 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $516,442,000 after buying an additional 446,033 shares during the period. 85.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $180.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. They issued a buy rating and a $142.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $198.00 to $166.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $141.00 to $137.00 in a research note on Monday, July 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities lowered their target price on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $180.00 to $160.00 and set a market outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $160.88.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Stock Performance

Alexandria Real Estate Equities stock opened at $126.51 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $21.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.92. The firms fifty day moving average price is $117.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.48. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.81 and a fifty-two week high of $172.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.20 by ($1.69). The business had revenue of $713.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $700.22 million. Alexandria Real Estate Equities had a return on equity of 2.54% and a net margin of 20.65%. Alexandria Real Estate Equitiess revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. will post 8.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 30th were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 29th. This is a positive change from Alexandria Real Estate Equitiess previous quarterly dividend of $1.21. Alexandria Real Estate Equitiess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alexandria Real Estate Equities news, Chairman Joel S. Marcus sold 7,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.20, for a total value of $916,500.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 351,354 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $42,935,458.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the companys stock.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Company Profile

(Free Report)

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc (NYSE: ARE), an S&P 500 company, is a best-in-class, mission-driven life science REIT making a positive and lasting impact on the world. As the pioneer of the life science real estate niche since its founding in 1994, Alexandria is the preeminent and longest-tenured owner, operator, and developer of collaborative life science, agtech, and advanced technology campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, including Greater Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ARE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE  Free Report).

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A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS  Free Report)  William Blair cut their Q3 2023 earnings per share estimates for A. O. Smith in a report issued on Thursday, July 27th. William Blair analyst L. De. Maria now anticipates that the industrial products company will earn $0.75 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.85. The consensus estimate for A. O. Smiths current full-year earnings is $3.58 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for A. O. Smiths FY2023 earnings at $3.60 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $4.00 EPS.

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A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The industrial products company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $960.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $961.17 million. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 7.32% and a return on equity of 29.73%. The companys quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of A. O. Smith in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating for the company. DA Davidson boosted their price target on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $87.00 in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on A. O. Smith from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on A. O. Smith from $70.00 to $78.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of A. O. Smith from a c+ rating to a b+ rating in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $70.29.

A. O. Smith stock opened at $72.19 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.97. A. O. Smith has a fifty-two week low of $46.58 and a fifty-two week high of $76.94. The company has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a PE ratio of 39.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.81.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On A. O. Smith

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in A. O. Smith by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 685,437 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $49,886,000 after buying an additional 11,502 shares during the last quarter. CBOE Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 5.3% in the second quarter. CBOE Vest Financial LLC now owns 175,708 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $12,665,000 after acquiring an additional 8,804 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,796 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC grew its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 542,369 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $39,474,000 after buying an additional 4,009 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of A. O. Smith in the 2nd quarter valued at $225,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.62% of the companys stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin A. Otchere sold 4,285 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $299,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 547 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $38,290. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the companys stock.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. A. O. Smiths payout ratio is 66.30%.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas, heat pump and electric water heaters, boilers, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. It operates through two segments, North America and Rest of World. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; commercial boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, and other large commercial buildings, as well as residential boilers for homes, apartments, and condominiums; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, on-the-go filtration bottles, point-of-use carbon, and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices.

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Police are investigating reports of scratch cards stolen from two different businesses in the city at the weekend.

Both incidents are reported to have occurred in the Galliagh area; the first shortly before midday yesterday, Sunday 30th July, and the second just before 8.00pm last night.

Enquiries are ongoing and, in the meantime, police are asking any other business where this may have happened but has not been reported to them as yet, to get in touch.

They also encourage business owners and staff to be vigilant, and to look out for any suspicious behaviour on their premises.

Sergeant Irvine added: "If you see something that doesn't look right, please call us immediately because the quicker you report it, the quicker we can respond."

Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting reference 844 of 30/07/23.

A report can also be made via the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/ makeareport/ or, via Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/
Weebit Nano ReRAM fully qualified with SkyWater; initial revenues expected in 2023

July 28, 2023  Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT, Weebit or Company) is pleased to provide this activity report for the quarter ended 30 June 2023 (Q4 FY23), along with the Companys Appendix 4C cash flow report.

Commenting on Q4 FY23, Weebit CEO Coby Hanoch said: Weebit Nano has had a strong finish to the 2023 financial year, successfully completing the last key technical milestone before commercialisation at SkyWater, with full qualification of our embedded ReRAM in SkyWater Technologys 130nm CMOS (S130) process. As the global leading independent provider of ReRAM, were also making significant progress in our negotiations and evaluations with many of the worlds leading foundries, integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and semiconductor companies. We expect to sign licensing agreements with at least one of these in the coming months, followed by initial revenues this calendar year.

Technology qualification with our first commercial production fab has de-risked our embedded ReRAM IP for other foundries and IDMs, confirming the quality, reliability, and repeatability of Weebits technology in volume production. It has provided confidence to potential customers looking to embed more intelligence and capability into their next generation products, and we are working alongside SkyWater to have our ReRAM IP integrated into these system-on-chip (SoC) designs.

Qualification data highlights the significant advantages of Weebit ReRAM over flash and other emerging nonvolatile memory (NVM) technologies, offering a faster, lower cost, more energy efficient and more reliable NVM suitable for use in high-temperature, radiation, and electromagnetic conditions. We are continuing to qualify our embedded ReRAM at higher temperatures and endurance levels, opening up more advanced applications for our ReRAM.

While we remain focused on securing new licensing agreements as part of our immediate opportunity, we are continuing to develop a solution for the discrete memory market as well as scaling our embedded technology to smaller geometries. Longer-term, the discrete market is a significantly larger opportunity and will diversify our business model.

Weebit ReRAM fully qualified in SkyWaters S130 process

During the quarter, Weebit Nano fully qualified its embedded ReRAM intellectual property (IP) at industrial temperatures in SkyWater Technologys 130nm CMOS (S130) process. Technology qualification in a commercial fab was the Companys final key commercialisation milestone, demonstrating to SkyWater customers that Weebits embedded ReRAM is proven for volume production and suitable for use in customer applications.

Qualification was conducted on SkyWater-produced demo chips embedded with Weebit ReRAM, with all blindly selected silicon die passing rigorous JEDEC industry standard testing. Weebit ReRAM in S130 offers a fast, reliable, and ultra-low power NVM suitable for use in challenging environments.

SkyWater customers can now confidently integrate Weebit ReRAM IP in SoC designs for many applications, such as mixed-signal, IoT, automotive, industrial, medical, and aerospace. Weebit and SkyWater are jointly engaged in numerous customer discussions and expect Weebit IP will be in design with one or more of these customers during the calendar year.

Agreements with Tier-1 foundries & customers

Weebit Nanos priority remains securing new licensing agreements with partners and customers, including a Tier1 foundry. The Company is in different stages of technical evaluation and negotiation with several leading foundries, integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and semiconductor companies and expects to generate initial revenues from at least one of these agreements this calendar year. While these agreements are highly complex and have taken longer than anticipated, qualification progress with both SkyWater and CEA-Leti helps accelerate these discussions.

Board and leadership appointments

In June, Non-Executive Director Fred Bart resigned from his position after more than five years on the Board. Mark Licciardo, Weebits Company Secretary, was appointed as an interim Director following Mr Barts resignation. The Board is actively interviewing several high-calibre Australian candidates for a permanent position.

After joining the ASX 300 index, the Board of Weebit Nano sought to align its governance processes with best practice, establishing four sub-committees: Governance Committee, Remuneration Committee, Audit & Risk Committee, and Technology Committee.

During the quarter, Weebit strengthened its senior leadership team, appointing Lilach Zinger as Director of Foundry/IDM Business Development. Lilach brings more than 25 years semiconductor experience to Weebit, including more than two decades at Tower Semiconductor where she rose to Vice President of Operations managing Fab1. More recently, Lilach was the Chief Operating Officer at PCB Technologies, one of Israels largest PCB manufacturing companies, where she was responsible for 350 employees and revenue in the tens of millions. Weebit has also hired a team of three very experienced engineers in France to address growing demand from foundries and customers. The team had previously been working for MRAM developer Antaios.

Commenting on the new appointments, Mr Hanoch said, Im incredibly proud of the calibre of our Board and leadership team, and we continue to attract top talent across the business. Lilach and our new engineers are excellent additions to Weebit, and ensure we are well-placed to capitalise on growing demand for faster, lower cost, and more efficient memory technology.

Weebit Nano has strong governance credentials with its highly professional and conservative Board regularly seeking independent advice from its lawyers and Company Secretary on best-practice disclosure. The Board continues to enhance its governance practices, including restructuring Board committees to exclude executives, updating the CEO agreement, and streamlining operating procedures.

Two new patents granted

During the quarter, Weebit Nano added to its intellectual property portfolio, granted two new patents relating to innovative ReRAM bit cell devices and manufacturing methods. Weebit Nano has been granted more than 20 patents in key semiconductor jurisdictions including United States of America, France, and member states of the European Patent Organisation.

Market engagement

Weebit Nano continues to ramp-up its sales and marketing activities to support commercial discussions, engaging with potential partners and customers at multiple leading conferences during the quarter. These events included Israels leading semiconductor conference, ChipEx; Leti Innovation Days; CEA-List Days; the International Memory Workshop (IMW); and the Design Automation Conference (DAC). Participation at these conferences, including live demonstrations of Weebit ReRAM, are key to increasing awareness.

Investor briefing details for July / August

CEO Coby Hanoch is in Australia next week and will be hosting retail investor briefings in Sydney (31 Jul  1 Aug), Melbourne (2 Aug), and Perth (3 Aug). Coby will provide an update on the Companys quarterly activities and outlook at the sessions, as well as take questions from attendees.

Weebits management team will be participating in several investor events over the coming quarter. These include:

8-9 August: Oppenheimer 26th Annual Technology, Internet & Communications Conference, held virtually. Weebit will be represented by CEO Coby Hanoch.

9-10 August: Canaccord Genuity 43rd Annual Growth Conference in Boston. Weebit will be represented by Executive Director Yoav Nissan-Cohen.

29-30 August: Jefferies 20th Annual Chicago Semis Conference. Weebit will be represented by CEO Coby Hanoch.

11-13 September: Jefferies Israel Tech Trek. Weebit will be represented by CEO Coby Hanoch and CFO Alla Felder. More information on these events can be found at www.weebit-nano.com/events.

Financials

Notable operating cash flow items during Q4 FY23 included R&D expenses of A$3.8 million, comprising milestone-based payments to research partner CEA-Leti of $3.5 million. Payments to related parties were A$1 million, inclusive of fees paid to Directors and the CEOs cost of payroll and bonus. At the end of the financial year, Weebit had a strong cash balance of A$88 million, inclusive of $15 million from the upsized and strongly supported Share Purchase Plan (SPP) that closed in April.

Looking forward

Weebit Nano is on track to achieve the following milestones in the coming months:

Sign new agreements with partners and customers, including a Tier-1 foundry/IDM;

Complete technology qualification at 125C for automotive applications;

Start design integration of Weebit ReRAM IP with SkyWater customers;

Commence technology qualification at 22nm with GlobalFoundries; and

Begin scaling embedded ReRAM technology below 22nm.

About Weebit Nano Limited

Weebit Nano Ltd. is a leading developer of advanced semiconductor memory technology. The companys ground-breaking Resistive RAM (ReRAM) addresses the growing need for significantly higher performance and lower power memory solutions in a range of new electronic products such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, smartphones, robotics, autonomous vehicles, 5G communications and artificial intelligence.

Weebits ReRAM allows semiconductor memory elements to be significantly faster, less expensive, more reliable and more energy efficient than those using existing Flash memory solutions. As it is based on fab-friendly materials, Weebit ReRAM can be integrated within existing flows and processes faster and easier than other emerging technologies, without requiring special equipment or large investments.

See: www.weebit-nano.com






Xiaomi is back again with another budget friendly smartphone, the Redmi 12. Hugely anticipated, the Redmi 12 is all set to launch in India on August 1. The Chinese brand is launching the Redmi 12 on a live stream. Previously rumours suggested that this smartphone is going to be a rebranded version of the Redmi 12R, which never made it to the global market except China. If you want to join the live streaming, heres how you can do it.

Xiaomi is hosting a live streaming for the launch of Redmi 12. It will start at 12PM IST, and you can join it from the link given below.

Heres the Twitter link, just for good reason, if you're a Twitter fan: https://twitter.com/RedmiIndia/status/1685616418115514368

Also read: Redmi 12 5G launch scheduled on August 1: Will get company's biggest screen yet

As for the specifications, the company has revealed some details of the smartphone such as the Redmi 12 will offer up to 8GB RAM along with 8GB virtual RAM and up to 256GB internal storage. However it is also expected to launch with one more storage option; 6GB RAM 128GB storage. It will be backed by a 5000mAh battery and feature a 50-megapixel camera with Film Filters.

As I mentioned above, the Redmi 12 could be the rebranded version of Redmi Note 12R. Lets check out Redmi 12Rs specifications.

It features a 6.79-inch IPS LCD display along with 90Hz refresh rate and a 1080 x 2460 pixels resolution. A Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 processor is integrated in Redmi 12R.

Talking about the camera, it boasts a 50-megapixel primary camera and a 2-megapixel macro lens on the back. On the front, it features a 5-megapixel selfie camera.

Also read: Redmi 12 to launch in India on August 1: Check expected price, specs, features

The teaser poster Xiaomi posted a few days back, has also confirmed the Crystal Glass Design of the Redmi 12. It is also confirmed that the smartphone will come in Moonstone Silver colour with Rainbow Hues.
The fifth generation of Samsung foldables are here and they are still aspirational devices for many. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold series pricing has either increased or stayed the same over the years. But, things could change. The company is reportedly trying to better position the pricing of its foldables.

We are trying to make a leap in our price positioning, said Samsung mobile chief TM Roh in an interview with Bloomberg post the Galaxy Unpacked event. How, you may wonder? Lets see.

An affordable Samsung Galaxy Z Flip in the future

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 launched the other day at a starting price of 1,54,999. Thats the same as the Z Fold 4. And is 10,000 pricier than the Z Fold 3 5G. So, the price of the Samsung flagship foldable has either stayed the same or gone up.

Also read: Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 launched: 6 things beyond specs that are worth knowing

The good thing is that the Galaxy Z Flip 5 price is lower than what the first-gen Z Flip debuted in India. We also a new found hope with the report that Samsung is looking to introduce much more affordable foldables to take on Apples mainstream iPhone lineup.

It is apparently in talks with its supply partners. It wouldnt want to impact the quality or the experiential value. These partners could therefore perhaps cut down the cost by using more efficient production and designing methods or bulk sourcing of material. Economies of scale could help Samsung attain this goal of an affordable foldable.

In any case, the demand for folding phones seems bullish as per IDC and Counterpoint reports. The latter also believes Apples folding iPhone could come in 2025. So, Samsung which has had a headstart in this space will be looking to create a moat for itself before this happens. With its cheaper folding phone, the company could eye the mainstream iPhone market too.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 price in India revealed: See how much they cost

For a long time, iPhones didnt have a serious challenge from the premium Android club, especially in markets like the US. Samsungs foldables are finally something that people would find as an aspirational alternative to iPhones for their novelty factor and unique use cases, or so we think. So, we are curious how Samsung plays its cards. Lets see.
Samsung is just one of the many brands that are working on smart rings, a new kind of wearable. Well, rings have been in the market for a while now but they havent gotten mainstream yet. Well, things could change earlier than you may think.

Samsung Galaxy Ring production updates

As per the South Korean publication The Elec, Samsung has apparently procured the resources required for making the Galaxy Ring. It is now looking for a timeline to begin mass production.

Also Read: Samsung foldables will get more affordable, and this is good news for everyone

The chances are that this could start as early as next month.

Samsung ring patent

However, the launch is supposedly slated for next year. Once the product is ready, Samsung will also have to acquire regulatory approvals and medical certifications to position it more than a regular ring and other smart rings in the market. If the product development takes 7 to 8 months, the approval process could take up to 8 to 10 months.

This brings us to:

Other smart rings on the market

One way Samsung seems to be planning to differentiate its ring is by making it a controller for the Galaxy mixed reality headset thats purportedly in the pipeline.

Apple ring patent



The Apple ring thats in the making is also said to have this functionality for manoeuvring the Apple Vision Pro headset.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy S24+ appears more powerful than its precursor as per alleged Geekbench scores

But both these products are far too away from being a real product. Much closer to availability seems to be the Noise and Boat rings. These will be entry-grade alternatives that offer features like heart rate tracking, SpO2 count, sleep health analysis, etc. But they could have an early mover advantage as neither Samsung and Apple nor the Oura and Movanos of the world are available in India yet.

However, in a couple of years, we expect to have plenty of options in the smart ring space.
Surely you're joking, Mr. Trump! Taiwan and South Korea earned it!

US former President Donald Trump, in a Fox News interview, accused Taiwan of taking away American's semiconductor business. Despite this criticism, Taiwan ought to justify its standing by drawing upon historical precedents with dignity, virtue, and confidence.

The shift of semiconductor manufacturing from the US to East Asia commenced in the 1980s. Samsung and Hynix entered the scene in 1983, while Taiwan's UMC was established in 1980 and TSMC in 1987. These major players all started from humble beginnings and persevered through challenges to earn their success. As a veteran with nearly four decades of experience in researching ICT industries, I am well aware of the significant milestones in the semiconductor sector and understand the basis for Trump's grumbles.

At the outset, both Taiwan and Korea were regarded as second-tier players in tech industry. Given their overall industrial strength, merely having a place in the tech sector was already a noteworthy accomplishment. Both countries owe some gratitude to the United States for the "U.S.-Japan Semiconductor Agreement" signed in 1986. This agreement compelled Japan to allow foreign companies to hold a market share of over 20% in Japan, thus limiting Japanese companies, which held over half of the global market, and offering Taiwan and Korea's semiconductor industries a great opportunity.

Following the agreement in 1986, Taiwan and Korea surged ahead, securing their positions as emerging industrial nations over the next two decades. Korea excelled in memory chips, while Taiwan focused on wafer foundry services, gaining significant advantages, with over 90% of high-end chips being produced in Taiwan.

Moreover, in 2008, the subprime mortgage crisis and the global financial crisis presented an opportunity for Taiwan and Korea in 2008. At that time, Taiwanese memory chip manufacturers faced significant debts of up to 400 billion NTD (approximately 13 billion USD) to banks, and Korea's Hynix and Japan's Elpida were also in precarious situations. Samsung then played the strategy of investing during market crashes and investing heavily in memory chip production, widening the gap with other peers. As a result, Taiwan's memory chip industry lagged behind, Elpida went bankrupt and ceased operations, and even Hynix was acquired by the profitable SK Group and rebranded as SK Hynix, leading Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to dominate with a two-thirds market share globally.

Credit: DIGITIMES

Taiwan's situation in 2008 mirrored Korea's to some extent. Morris Chang, as honorary generalissimo of Taiwan's semiconductor industry, who called himself a "learning curve believer," once again took charge and went all-in: he made substantial capital expenditures to compete globally during that challenging period.

In light of the heavy investments made by Taiwan and Korea, American equipment manufacturers also benefited. Hence, one might wonder why Trump is expressing dissatisfaction about the situation.
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Takachar: transforming biomass waste for a sustainable future

As the world grapples with mounting environmental challenges and income disparity, startups are seeking to address niche markets and deliver innovative, sustainable solutions that generate real value for end users. Takachar is focused on harnessing the power of pyrolysis to transform agricultural and forestry residues into valuable resources. With a mission to relieve the pressing waste disposal needs of rural communities, Takachar offers a valuable solution to both local farmers and the global ecosystem, thereby advancing climate justice on behalf of rural, underserved communities. By converting waste biomass into biofuels, charcoal, and other valuable organic products, Takachar not only reduces environmental pollution but also unlocks economic opportunities and promotes sustainable practices.

DIGITIMES Asia spoke with Kevin Kung, co-founder, president, and CTO of Takachar, about his company's product and sense of purpose, as well as some of the challenges in bringing new technologies to markets where few have sought to tread before.

Residual matter: an old problem redeveloped as a new opportunity

Waste biomass, also known as agricultural or forest residues, comprise matter from farms or woodlands that are generally regarded as having no market value. Examples can include nut shells, corn husks, wheat chaff, and tree bark. Lacking better methods of waste biomass disposal, rural communities around the world turn to open burning for their agricultural and forestry residues, resulting in pollution and wasted economic opportunities. Takachar estimates that the real value of those waste products  from coconut shells to rice husks and tree branches  represents around US$120 billion dollars per year.

Takachar envisions this vast mass of organic waste as a lucrative opportunity rather than a problem. With a novel thermochemical process at the core, they have designed and patented small-scale, low-cost, portable equipment capable of transforming waste biomass into fuel, fertilizer, and specialty chemicals. This process is not only economically viable but also helps in reducing pollution.

Takachar's machine, a self-contained moving bed reactor called the MiniTorr, is designed to be towed by a tractor or hauled by a pickup truck, able to be operated and maintained simply and safely with some basic training and common tools. The MiniTorr empowers small, rural communities to convert their agricultural and forestry waste into useful and commercially viable organic products such as fuel and soil additives.

"The machine itself was designed to be pretty simple," said Kung. That simplicity, however, was its own engineering challenge. "It's difficult to design something that works in rural areas often without electricity or running water. It's meant to be maintained and repaired locally with off-the-shelf parts." Operating a unit is similarly uncomplicated, with only some basic training required thanks to the MiniTorr's control system and safety features. "If you have different inputs today, or because it rained today and the input material is wet, or you want a different output today, then our control system knows how to handle that so the farmer or local end user doesn't have to become a chemical engineering expert to make that work."

Takachar prioritizes safety in operating the MiniTorr. Kung emphasized that "the equipment training is more so on the operation and safety side." They equip users with the necessary skills to handle heavy loads safely and minimize exposure to high temperatures within the thermochemical reactor. By providing a safe and user-friendly system, Takachar empowers farmers and local communities to utilize their technology effectively.

At the time of the interview, Takachar currently deploys five MiniTorrs: one in British Columbia, one in California, and three in India. In the South Indian coconut-growing belt to which several MiniTorrs are deployed, Takachar's technology finds relevance as it converts discarded coconut shells into activated carbon precursors. Local growers benefit from cleaner and more environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional production methods, allowing them to participate in the activated carbon supply chain and improve their material conditions.

You can do good and do well: a plan for sustainable growth

MiniTorrs that have already been deployed have demonstrated their value in turning waste into saleable goods. When asked about the next steps in growing the business, Kung is quick to lay out Takachar's strategy. "We'd be targeting the same supply chain, the hardware OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), who can produce and sell this as a complementary product to their clientele through the existing dealership network." By collaborating with OEMs, Takachar aims to scale their operations without the limitations of individual ownership and operation.

While there already exist some processes for disposing of or converting waste biomass, those solutions are out of reach of most rural agricultural communities. "A lot of the current conversion process is such that you find a long term offtake with a mill or a centralized place where you can get a 20 year contract for the conversion, and you would then invest or do a project development around that, which often will cost at least a few million dollars in terms of capital, equipment, and so forth. That is one viable business model, especially if you have a point source on biomass. But those technologies tend to exclude a lot of the rural biomass because they are fundamentally incompatible," explains Kung. "So where we play is really at those more remote and hard to access regions where it does not make sense for a lot of those large scale technologies to deploy. That's how we think of ourselves."

Trash to treasure

"A lot of the value is derived from upgrading the residue into something that's higher value," explains Kevin Kung. Takachar's model creates value through upgrading residues into higher-value products like soil amendments. These outputs not only offer economic benefits, attracting investors and buyers but also contribute to a cleaner and greener environment, making their technology more sustainable and impactful. "There's also the carbon credit piece, because a lot of our outputs are carbon negative or carbon mitigating, which means that you can take it out to the carbon market and fetch additional revenue from prospective carbon credit buyers. So that is another value being created."

Takachar's journey goes beyond their current deployments. "We have growing interest in North America, especially in the forestry side of things," says Kung. Takachar is exploring opportunities in Kenya and East Asia, including Taiwan, where Kevin was raised during his early childhood. Kung remembers the smell of rice stalk stubble being burnt after the harvest. "That stays with me as a nostalgic memory," he says, "but when I visit Taiwan now and take the high speed train through central or southern Taiwan, I still see that today." He highlights the significance of community-centric design, ensuring Takachar's technology resonates with users and fosters lasting impacts within communities.

"I think when it comes to biomass," continues Kung, "one big challenge is that it's highly context dependent. The coconut value chain is different from the rice value chain, which is different from forestry. So traditionally, it has made things very difficult to scale. And I think for us, especially as a decentralized fleet, to scale, we need to master our operations with regard to these different contexts. And not only respect, but also design and co-design with those local communities with respect to local needs, which are often very different."

Takachar's journey is a testament to the power of sustainable technology in combatting climate change and driving positive change in rural communities. With their MiniTorr machine, the startup is blazing a trail for a greener, cleaner future, transforming waste biomass into valuable resources while creating economic opportunities and reducing pollution. Through a combination of innovation, partnerships, and human-centric design, Takachar is a bright example of how environmental technology can pave the path towards a more sustainable and prosperous world.
THE NEW leader of the Social Democrats has signalled the partys intention to stand local election candidates across the country, including Louth.

Holly Cairns said she is really hopeful the party will find a Social Democrat candidate to contest the local election in Louth next summer, and encouraged anyone who was considering getting into politics to do so.

You dont need a special qualification or invitation to get involved. We need a vast array of experience that isnt really apparent at the moment, when we look at gender and loads of other types of representation that we need.

Ms Cairns made the comments while on a visit to Limerick last Tuesday to meet with members of the citys party branch and attend the selection convention, having also visited Waterford that Monday.

The newly-elected party leader also hit out at the Governments attitude towards climate action, as the Climate Change Advisory Council this week reported that Ireland will not meet its carbon budget targets for 2021-2025 or for 2026-2030, unless urgent action is taken.

I think the fact that we're basically having a national conversation about should we or shouldn't we take action on climate and agriculture is a disgrace, it's 2023, Ms Cairns, who comes from a farming background, said.

I find it confusing and frustrating that we're having that conversation, when it should be: how do we make farming more sustainable?

Better than that, how does Ireland become the country leading the way in sustainable agriculture? That's where I'd like to see us in protecting the future of the sector and future generations of farmers. The next generation of farmers need something to farm.
Nasc, Corks Migrant and Refugee Rights Centre, has partnered with Zartis to foster career opportunities for asylum seekers and refugees.

A number of scholarships have been made available for a professional diploma in Digital Marketing, provided by the Digital Marketing Institute, with a focus on supporting refugees, asylum seekers and people from conflict areas.

Highlighting the importance of creating opportunities in Ireland for these populations to build their skills and careers, CEO of Nasc Fiona Hurley said: For somebody whos recently arrived in Ireland, professional prospects can play a huge factor in their integration and contribution to their new community. We are delighted to see Zartis continue to deliver opportunities like this.

Level Up is a social initiative by Zartis dedicated to providing educational opportunities and support to individuals living in or seeking refuge from conflict-affected regions.

The programme, which is now entering its fifth year, focuses on empowering people in precarious situations to acquire new skills and gain access to new career opportunities in order to transform their lives.

The programme has already supported 80 aspiring professionals and has enabled many of them to get hired by renowned companies such as HubSpot, Accenture, Ericsson, among others.

Graduates will be supported by the Digital Marketing Institutes membership community and will have access to networking opportunities.

Additionally, Zartis team members will help the Level Up alumni transition and prepare for the job market, ensuring they are well-equipped for employment opportunities.

By the end of 2023, Level Up alumni will have the skills and the certification to enter the job market as Digital Marketing Professionals.

The course is delivered online, which means anyone around the world can access the content in their own time and get a chance to improve themselves professionally.

Further information on the programme and how to apply for a scholarship can be found on the Level Up: Digital Marketing webpage.
THE desire to secure a home was evident in Cork on Saturday morning as 19 house hunters parked their cars overnight on the site of a Cork housing development, eager to be the first in line to put a deposit down on a new home.

19 cars soon became 30 cars as gates officially opened at 7.30am at the site on Waterfall Road where construction only began at the end of June.

A total of 275 units comprising 136 houses, 99 apartments, and 40 duplexes will be constructed on the site, which was acquired earlier this year by Developer Bridgewater Homes for 10.2 million.

Phase one of the development, which was launched on Saturday morning, saw a total of 42 homes purchased after a total of 66 prospective buyers checked in on-site over the day in the hopes of securing a home.

Three main house types were launched in phase one of the development, including three-bedroom mid-terraced homes, four-bedroom end-of-terraced homes which are split over three floors and three-bedroom semi-detached homes.

With an overall project value of 123.6m, this significant investment marks a milestone in the development of one of the largest residential projects in recent times for Cork.

Sales agent Shane Finn of DNG Creedon said they were not expecting people to be sleeping overnight in their cars and that had to think on their feet and provide refreshments.

He said that despite people laying their heads down in their cars overnight, spirits were high and that there was a real sense of excitement on site.

Purchasers at the Waterfall Road development site, some of whom stayed overnight in their cars to put a deposit down on a new home at the launch of the development on Saturday morning. Shane Lyne Videographer / Photographer.

Speaking to The Echo, Mr Finn said: You can clearly see the demand for housing and to be fair to the government they very much so brought schemes forward to get people out of rented accommodation.

There are two schemes for these houses that are evident today and I would say a lot of our purchasers will be using them.

"The Help to Buy which means that a purchaser can get 10% of the value of the house to a maximum of 30,000 as long as theyre working in Ireland for five years and then you also have the First Home Scheme which allows you to get a maximum of 20% from the purchase price so if a bank gives you so much and youre short 15%, for example, this scheme will bridge the gap up to a maximum of 20%.

If somebody buys a house from us today at 400,000 which sounds like a lot of money, but when you bring it back into mortgage terms and back to what its going to cost every month its actually not that expensive, and its actually cheaper than renting.

Mr Finn said that government incentives are in place to allow people to get on the ladder and advised people who may be afraid to engage the conversation with the bank or a mortgage broker to do so.

When you engage the conversation and you understand what you need to do, after about six or 12 months youll get your ducks in a row and be in a position where you can be here like those this morning, he said.

Concerns Raised About Housing Climate

Many buyers on site on Saturday morning said that the location of the development was a big draw for them as it is tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the main South Ring and Bandon Road, but only 1.9km from Bishopstown, 6.4km from the city centre and 7.9km from Ballincollig.

However, there were concerns raised about the current housing climate and the fight involved in finding and securing a home.

One couple, who wished to remain anonymous, described the competition as ridiculous.

The competition nowadays with housing is ridiculous. I do find it ridiculous that you have to fight for someone to allow you to give them half a million euro. Were queuing to give them money and not an insignificant amount of money.

The site of the recently launched Waterfall Road development, 1.9km from Bishopstown, 6.4km from the city centre and 7.9km from Ballincollig. Shane Lyne Videographer / Photographer.

Theres no model house but people are queuing already.

"Were just looking at the soil and grass, they said.

Another couple, who travelled from Clonakilty where they are currently renting, described it as a race for a spot in the queue for the homes and said they stayed all night in their car.

Another purchaser welcomed the system of attending in-person to secure a home and said it gives purchasers a fair chance.

I think this is the first I have seen of them doing this on site. I think they should start doing this more and its a fair chance for all and whoever first comes will get it. Hard work will pay off and not just luck.

Mr Finn said the overall build programme for the development is about 36 months, with houses purchased on Saturday morning expected to be ready within 12 months.

Speaking about the potential release of another phase later this year, he said: Its likely that another phase will be released this year but that is unknown yet.
SPACE Week Ireland will return for a week-long nationwide celebration of space exploration and science this October.

The organisers at MTU Blackrock Castle Observatory, in partnership with Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and ESERO Ireland, are calling on Cork schools, businesses, community groups, astronomy clubs, and the general public to come together with the space community to make this years Space Week an out-of-this-world experience.

The festival returns from Wednesday, October 4 to Tuesday, October 10 and aims to ignite a passion for space science and inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and astronauts in the nations premier celebration of space exploration and science.

Over the course of the week, the public can explore a space-themed festival of events and a captivating series of workshops, lectures, and exhibitions, throughout the country.

SFIs Director of Science for Society Ruth Freeman said: Space Week Ireland brings the public together with the space community through events that encourage creative and critical thinking and reveal the vastness of the universe around us.

She added: Its the perfect opportunity to inspire people about the wonders of space and to celebrate those who work in the space industry.

National Outreach Coordinator for Space Week Ireland Rob OSullivan said: Space Week Ireland has gone from strength to strength in recent years. Space Week Ireland is one of the busiest on the world stage, so its obvious that Irish people have an appetite for all things space.

We are calling all space enthusiasts, community groups, families, and businesses to engage by creating or attending an event.

One of Irelands leading Stem communications experts Niamh Shaw said: I would encourage individuals, educational institutions, museums, astronomy clubs, and other organisations to submit their event ideas and help make Space Week Ireland an unforgettable experience for all.

The deadline for event entries is Tuesday, August 15. To submit an event interested parties are invited to visit the official Space Week Ireland website at spaceweek.ie
A CORK man made a violent threat against a member of An Garda Siochana and when asked his name he said: I am from Barcelona  I know nothing.

Ian OSullivan decided to use the immortal words of the Fawlty Towers waiter, Manuel, at the height of the public order incident after midnight on Washington Street. When the 42-year-old saw gardai on Washington Street on July 1, his first remark to them was: What the f*** are you looking at?

Garda Ross Broekhuizen then asked Ian OSullivan, who is presently living at Cork Simon Community, to identify himself. That was when he made the Manuel-style reply.

However, matters took a more aggressive turn when he then stated to the garda in a threatening manner:

You are f***ed. I am going to have you fixed.

Sergeant John Kelleher said the accused had 168 previous convictions.

Joseph Cuddigan said the accused was pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity. He submitted that the accused had been in custody since July 5 and asked for any sentence to be backdated to that date.

Judge Olann Kelleher acceded to that submission as he imposed a two-month jail term.
ALMOST all respondents to a Sinn Fein survey of Cork City Council tenants, some 90%, reported that they were currently having, or have had over the past two years, issues with housing maintenance.

Some 87% of respondents said they had experienced maintenance issues with their council home, while half of those responding said their issues had got worse since they reported them.

The survey was conducted over three months by Sinn Fein in Cork, and participation was invited through a series of advertisements in media and on social media.

Out of a total of 668 responses to the survey, some 439 participants were Cork City Council tenants, and it is those 439 respondents who are the focus of the section of the survey quoted here.

Of those 439 respondents, 383, or 87%, said they had experienced maintenance issues, while 373, or 85%, said they had contacted Cork City Council about those maintenance issues, with 224, or 60% of that number, having made contact over 10 times.

Some 363 respondents, or 83%, said they were currently having problems with maintenance, while 30, or 7%, said they had had problems with maintenance in the past two years.

Some 347, or 79% of respondents, said they had never had preventative maintenance carried out in their homes without having to request it.

Of the 383 respondents who said they had experienced maintenance issues, half, or 190, said they had experienced issues with mould  with other problems including windows (49%), damp (42%), leaks (40%), bathrooms (36%), external doors (28%), heating (26%), roof (23%), kitchen (18%), fascia soffits (17.8%), internal doors (8%), and stairs (5%).

Some 205 respondents, or 54% of those who had experienced maintenance issues, said those issues had lasted longer than two years.

Some 134 respondents, or 36%, said the Council had responded to their complaint with an inspection and a promise to return and fix the problem, but no return visit was arranged.

Half of those surveyed who had reported maintenance issues, 187, felt their issue had got worse since first reported.

Of the over-all sample of 439 council tenants who responded to the Sinn Fein survey, some 308, or 70%, had lived in their home for 10 years or more.

Of the 439 respondents to the survey, some 406, or 95%, gave their address, with 19% of those giving their address living in Knocknaheeny, 13% in Mayfield, 9% in Fair Hill, 8% in Togher, 6% in the Glen, 5% in Farranree and 4% in Mahon. The remaining respondents who gave their addresses were from areas across the city.

Thomas Gould, Sinn Fein TD for Cork North Central, said the level of response the survey had received highlighted the impact maintenance issues were having on the lives of council tenants.

What we can see clearly from these results is that Cork City Council are not fulfilling their responsibility to tenants and are leaving people to live for far too long with maintenance issues that should be resolved. This is a complete disgrace, Mr Gould said.

Almost 350 Council tenants told us that no preventative maintenance had been done on their properties despite many of these living in their homes for over 10 years. The northside TD said that Fine Gael had been in Government and had underfunded local authorities and eroded their autonomy, abetted in this by Fianna Fail through confidence and supply and into the current Government.

This cannot be accepted any longer. The Government must now intervene with a significant block grant for maintenance, Mr Gould said.

Donnchadh OLaoghaire, Sinn Fein TD for Cork South Central, said there were issues across the city with entire complexes and estates that had been neglected for decades.

These homes need basic repairs and tenants are paying their rent every single month but their landlord, Cork City Council, is not doing their job, said Mr OLaoghaire.

We will be presenting these results to the chief executive of Cork City Council as she must be aware of the difficulties faced by the councils own tenants. Councillor Mick Nugent said he and his fellow Sinn Fein councillors in Cork City Council would be pushing the council to include a significant maintenance allocation in its 2023 budget.

We believe a budget is needed for urgent repairs and for preventative maintenance as so many minor issues become major because of a lack of repair, Cllr Nugent said.

I WANT OUT

I want out of here more than anything but I cannot get a transfer

Respondents to the Sinn Fein survey of Cork City Council tenants were asked how maintenance issues in their council home were affecting their daily lives. All replied anonymously.

One respondent wrote: I am petrified of rats and I can hear them all year round in the attic and the cavity wall. We put poison down regularly to no avail. ... I want out of here more than anything but I cannot get a transfer, they said.

Another said: Looks like bathroom ceiling is going to fall down where they just put screws in to hold it up and all black damp in bathroom ceiling.

One respondent said they were constantly worried about the rain getting in, and it had already damaged their belongings which had been in the attic. They said they could not use the bedroom, and needed to buy more furniture.

I cant afford it as I am on invalidity pension  a total upgrade is needed for my kitchen and bathroom as I dont have any storage presses at all in my kitchen, its an absolute joke, shame on Cork City Council for not taking action under the house maintenance guidelines.

One respondent said both of their children had special needs and the mould in their home was affecting them.

I have paid for a private painter to come in [but] to no avail, the mould came straight back.

One person wrote that they have a disability and sometimes have to fill a bucket to flush their leaking toilet, which they said left them somewhat stressed.

Another complained of constant drafts in house  mice coming through on bathroom pipework that was left exposed  windows unable to lock or close  Hate living here. One respondent said they could not have visitors to their house, as the damp in their home was affecting the health of the tenants living there.

The mould and mildew is beyond wipeable now, they said.

Cork City Council was asked for a comment.
YOUNG people have valuable opinions and unique experiences that deserve to be listened to as well as taken seriously, but it can be difficult to figure out how to make them heard.

The purpose of this article is to prevent young people from feeling powerless by showing you my experiences of change-making and ways you can get involved too.

I always felt my opinions were nurtured and my ability to think for myself was encouraged by the adults, teachers, leaders and parents around me. Still, I thought I would have to wait until I was a grown adult for my voice to truly matter in a meaningful way. Yet now I know, Ireland is a country committed to the youth.

The voting age in Ireland is 18. That can fool many people into thinking they cant be part of our democracy before then.

Firstly, you can now pre-register to vote once you turn 16. This detail is important as it means if a referendum or election is taking place soon after your 18th birthday, you wont miss the opportunity to use your vote because you were not registered in time.

The premise of a democracy is a way of governing which depends on the will of the people. So voting is your right as a person in a democratic country to make decisions about the running of the state and choose who represents you in government.

That is why suffragists and suffragettes fought so tirelessly and ruthlessly for womens right to vote in Ireland and the UK. That is why an estimated 250,000 people went to Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963, to march for civil rights the day Martin Luther King delivered his iconic I Have a Dream speech. That is why, in Ireland, I believe voting is one of the most vital mechanisms we have and the first step to becoming politically involved, so be sure to pre register or register to vote.

Beyond voting, there are multiple other systems in place to support young peoples voices. For example, I joined Cork County Comhairle na nOg when I was 14 and have since been elected chairperson twice at a local level.

These 31 youth councils are the Irish governments official commitment to youth voice and a representative from each one sits on the National Executive for a two year term. Now I sit on the National Executive, which is the youth version of the Dail and last years National Executive got into the National Budget. They achieved a young travel card which has made using public transport cheaper for young people with the aim of encouraging greener, more sustainable habits.

The Ombudsman for Childrens Office, on the other hand, is not state-run. The United Nations recommended that Ireland set up a body, separate to the government, to investigate and advocate for childrens rights in Ireland.

The Ombudsman is dedicated to improving every childs rights in the country and to do that, they need to hear from children themselves about their day to day realities. So, I suggest keeping an eye on upcoming consultations, focus groups, surveys and call outs for your input.

The ombudsman also wants to make sure their organisation is run with childrens interests at heart so they set up a Youth Advisory Panel of young people, including myself, to help them decide how they operate. We were also involved in the 2022 UN process on delivering a report on how childrens rights are upkept here. We surveyed and spoke to children across Ireland in direct provision, under special protection, with disabilities and so on. We designed a colourful report and filmed a video including their views. We then delivered these findings to the UN Committee on Childrens Rights in Geneva to influence their concluding observations or recommendations to the Irish government on how to improve their lives.

You can also be part of the Irish Second Level Students Union which represents the secondary school student body and now has a seat on the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. The National Youth Council of Ireland often have call outs for local, national or international opportunities to have a say and run regular events, workshops, youth advisory panels and consultations on a wide range of topics.

Another way to create change is by volunteering with charities ie Friends of the Earth, Belong To or Focus Ireland. A well known method of political action is protest and having travelled to Glasgow to be a part of the crowds marching for climate action during COP26, I do believe I have seen the collective power and harmonious awe of protest first hand. Its a tool that has been used throughout history to campaign for change or to stand in solidarity.

If you are more creative, art can be used to advocate for change. For example, get a group together to design an inspiring poster, put together a challenging or informative exhibition or create an eye-catching poster that delivers a positive message.

As someone who loves to write, I have penned numerous informative or personal articles for Spunout (Irelands Youth Information Website) in the hope they could reach other people my age. Conversely, I have hosted a YMCA group podcast called the Sustainable Sleepover Club aimed at making a fun but also educational show about the Sustainable Development Goals. These 17 goals are a UN framework for a fairer world, ranging from quality education to zero hunger. I learned so much by interviewing people from all over the world with vastly different life experiences, eg climate justice activist from the Philippines, Mitzi Jonelle Tan and Caitlin Lowry, a second hand stylist from Ireland.

No matter how you decide to create change in our society, I still believe firmly in the impact of self education in fostering acceptance and inclusion. There are incredible, accessible and affordable resources online i.e. Instagram, BorrowBox, websites, magazines, newspapers and so on.

You could also pick up or order a book at your local library and I like to watch documentaries or audiobooks on subjects I want to know more about as well. I personally adore listening to podcasts as you can learn on the go. Either way, the more we try to understand the cultural context around us and other peoples viewpoints, the more grace we will afford one another.

Beyond grand speeches or shiny campaigns, if we are each individually kinder, more respectful and tolerant people who practise active listening and understanding day to day - wouldnt the world be a much better place?

I hope this article helps any young person reading it to feel confident in the power of their voice and perhaps, see a use and direction for it.

About the author: Amy OBrien is a young writer and advocate in 5th year who has been involved with Comhairle na nOg, Fridays for Future, the Ombudsman for Children, hosting the Sustainable Sleepover Club podcast, writing opinion pieces for multiple publications, and presenting on childrens rights to the United Nations.




Vietnamese agriculture official highlights pig production industry's need for long-term strategy

Vietnam's pig production industry needs a long-term development strategy as the price of animal feed is nearly 70% of total costs, said the country's Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Phung uc Tien.

The industry must also focus on processing and high-tech animal husbandry, Tien said in a meeting focused on implementing solutions to promote pig production. The event was organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in Hanoi.

In the first half of this year, pork production reached 2.32 million tonnes, up 5.4% and the total number of pigs is estimated to have increased by 2.5% over the same period last year. Pork prices have increased since June, with prices ranging from 60,000 (US$2.5) to 67,000 (US$2.8) per kilo. The increase in pork prices was a good sign for farmers and the agricultural industry, said the deputy minister.

"There are risks of epidemic outbreaks with many strains of influenza viruses and other diseases imported from abroad," said Tien. "The price of animal feed is still high and the illegal import of livestock products is still uncontrolled.

"For months, the ministry, farmers and the relevant agencies had found solutions to handle the situation. The efforts have paid off as prices of livestock products, especially pork, have increased again."

Tien urged the livestock industry to be proactive in dealing with difficulties in the face of disease developments and the increase of raw material and food prices in the second half of this year.

The industry would need to be well prepared with food sources from now until the Tet (Lunar New Year), with demand increasing by 15-20%.

The pig industry would also need to increase exports. Building an autonomous livestock industry was necessary to solve the problem of animal feed.

"The country's corn yield is about four million tonnes. It's impossible to import corn and soybeans forever. We must have a solution," Tien told the meeting.

Pham Kim ang, deputy director of the ministry's Livestock Production Department, said pig production had shifted from small-scale household farming to large-scale farms.

In the past five years, the rate of household husbandry had decreased by 5-7% per year, ang told the meeting.

Currently, pork production in smallholder farmers had been reduced to 35-40% of the total.

The structure of the pork supply in 2022 showed that household enterprises accounted for only 19%, livestock households accounted for 38% and FDI enterprises made up 43%.

Large-scale domestic livestock enterprises, such as Dabaco, Masan, Tan Long, Thien Thuan Truong, Mavin, Greenfeed, Truong Hai and Hoa Phat, and foreign-invested companies, like CP, Japfa Comfeed, New Hope, CJ, Emivest and Cargill, were building and gradually forming a chain-link farm system. This was one step in restructuring livestock production to gradually modernise Vietnam's livestock industry.

Vietnam's Strategy on Livestock Development to 2030 sets a goal of 30 million pig heads every year, of which the sow herd is set at about 2.5 million heads, carcass meat is about six million tonnes and export is 15-20% of pork production.

ang said the industry would focus on enhancing bio-safety pig production, controlling epidemics, building links, effectively managing pig breeds, developing indigenous and endemic breeds, protecting the environment and applying high technologies.

 VNS
News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism.




Malaysian company to invest $20 million into dairy cattle breeding in Philippines

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has welcomed the idea of large-scale cattle raising in the Philippines to boost milk production as he announced a $20-million investment from a Malaysian dairy company.

Marcos disclosed that the Farm Fresh Berhad is working with the Philippine government for its planned investment for cattle breeding intended for milk production and is looking for 200 to 400 hectares of land available for lease.

"In the Philippines, when you talk about the livestock, we talk about [hog] and chicken, we don't talk about cattle. Maybe it's time to introduce it to the market," Marcos told Farm Fresh executives in a meeting with the company officials in Kuala Lumpur on July 27.

"We are here to see what we can do to make the project successful," the president added.

The company is currently looking for a viable area with a land requirement of 200 to 400 hectares contiguous farmland to lease to raise 2,000 milking cows.

Batangas and Laguna (specifically, the University of Philippines-Los Banos campus in Famy) are the target locations, according to its officials.

Farm Fresh is eyeing to commence its operations by 2028 with an estimated employment of 200 local workers. The company's farm facility for milking cows is part of its new projects in the Philippines. It also has an ongoing construction of 6,000sqm dairy processing facility in San Simon, Pampanga, also intended for fresh milk production.

The $5-million facility is slated to be operational this year, with an estimated employment of 50 local workers.

According to Marcos, Farm Fresh's investment will set up processing facilities for imported milk ingredients from its Kyabram facility in Australia and will focus on the chilled ready-to-drink market initially in Metro Manila.

A fully vertically integrated dairy producer operating across Malaysia and Australia, the company is currently in the process of registering with the Board of Investment (BOI).

Farm Fresh Milk Inc. is its Philippine subsidiary. It operates five dairy farms in Malaysia and one in Australia and also maintains two processing facilities in Malaysia and one in Australia.

With 10,309 dairy cows and bulls, Farm Fresh has so far sold 78.6 million litres of finished products.



- Manila Bulletin




African swine fever under control in the Dominican Republic with positive vaccine results

The Minister of Agriculture of the Dominican Republic, Limber Cruz, said that the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in the country is being effectively managed, with encouraging results from tests conducted with a vaccine, Dominican Today reported.

Among the 3,460 samples taken in the Domincan Republic, only 111 have tested positive for ASF, accounting for less than 3% of the samples. Despite the challenges posed by the outbreak, the situation is not leading to a complete collapse, and the government is actively working to control and address the spread of the disease.

Addressing concerns about the impact of pork imports on local pork producers, the Minister clarified that pork imports do not require authorisation from the Ministry of Agriculture.

While imports have increased in response to the ASF outbreak, he refuted claims that they were solely responsible for the challenges faced by local swine farmers. The ASF outbreak has indeed led to the elimination of some parts of the local swine farming industry.

To alleviate price increases in pork meat caused by certain producers, the government has implemented measures to stabilise the market. The minister said that the government is not obstructing pork imports and is taking proactive steps to ensure a stable and balanced market for consumers and producers alike.

The Dominican Republic previously experienced an outbreak of ASF in 1978 and had to report a new outbreak in July 2021, resulting in the culling of more than 51,000 swine. In response, the government is diligently working to control the disease and mitigate its impact on the country's swine farming industry.

- Dominican Today
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
New Braddan leisure complex goes over budget again



The Roundhouse at The Strang

Braddan Parish Commissioners has applied to borrow up to an extra 3.4million from the Department of Infrastructure (DOI) to complete the construction of its leisure complex at The Strang.

This follows on from the announcement in February 2023 that the project had gone over budget and was then projected to cost around 7.5m.

It is unclear as to whether the latest request of 3.4m was included in the February figures, if they weren't, then the projected cost will be just under 11m; costs that will ultimately be born by the rate payers of Braddan.

Ramsey MHK Lawrie Hooper tweeted that he hopes that any costs "will not fall on the taxpayer".

Hooper went on "It was a Braddan Commissioners decision to build this thing, it shouldnt be up to the taxpayer to bail them out because its gone wrong".

The Commissioners have said that as well as providing a range of new leisure, health and community facilities for all ages Island-wide, the complex will create in the region of 25 local jobs.

Chairman Andrew Jessopp said: Excitement is starting to ramp up as we approach the completion of The Roundhouse.

It has been several decades since a local authority undertook a scheme of this scale and, having been on site recently, it is truly wonderful to see it all coming together. We have no doubt our modern leisure and community complex will have a huge positive impact on the outlook, health and wellbeing of Island residents.

Since the outset, this has been very much a team effort involving local architects, contractors and craftsmen to match the aspirations of the local authority. The scheme has created jobs in the construction industry, as well as at the completed complex itself, and when open will increase footfall to the area and give a boost to local businesses.

Regrettably, schemes of this nature take a long time to come to fruition, and inevitably, since it was first planned, the cost has risen. The island has suffered the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, Brexit and the Ukraine war. They brought with them material price increases and labour shortages, both of which the entire building industry on and off the Island is experiencing.

There were also some unexpected issues with the building design that has slowed its progress, but I am delighted we can now see the finishing line and we are all looking forward to seeing how residents in the parish, and Island wide, can enjoy the first-class facilities at The Roundhouse for generations to come.

The 'Roundhouse' is due to open to the public in November this year.
X, formerly known as Twitter, has reinstated Kanye West after he was banned last December for tweeting an image of a swastika, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Elon Musk's platform only made the move after being assured that West would not post antisemitic or other harmful content. In addition, ads won't appear next to his posts and he won't be able to monetize the account.

Kanye has had multiple run-ins with Twitter/X. In October, Elon Musk welcomed him back after he went two years without tweeting  but he stayed just a short time before being banned again for saying he would go "def con 3 on Jewish people." Shortly after that Ye entered a deal to acquire the "free speech" social media app Parler, but that fell through soon after. West has paid a price for past comments, with major brands including Adidas and Gap cutting ties.

Shortly after acquiring Twitter last fall, Musk  who calls himself a "free-speech absolutist"  vowed to rethink permanent bans based on the site's rules, unless laws were broken. Since then, he has restored the account of Donald Trump (who has not subsequently tweeted), along with other controversial personalities, including avowed neo-Nazis. Earlier this year Israels Foreign Ministry said that Musk was responsible for a rise of antisemitism on the site, adding that Twitter is now filled with antisemitic conspiracies and hate speech targeting Jews all over the world."

The news comes after Musk changed Twitter's name and logo to X. He recently placed a strobing X sign on the roof of the company's San Francisco headquarters. X subsequently told the city's building inspectors that the sign was temporary for an event. Yesterday, Musk tweeted that X's HQ would remain in "beautiful" San Francisco despite the city being in a "death spiral."

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices are correct at the time of publishing.
The Morning After: The Zuck vs Musk fight may not happen What hobby or sport can they ruin next?

It looks like the Mark Zuckerberg vs Elon Musk cage match isnt happening, according to audio exclusively heard by Reuters. In the recording, the now surprisingly buff Zuckerberg told Meta employees at a company town hall hes not sure if its going to come together.

Zuck didnt actually say the match is off, just unlikely. For those of us excited by the prospects of billionaires punching each other in the face, lets hold out hope. Musk hasnt issued a response  which is odd when he responds to so much  but given Zuckerbergs continued training in jiu jitsu (and some competition success), Musk could be relieved.

 Mat Smith

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It took a decade, but Square Enix's premier massively multiplayer online role-playing game is finally coming to Xbox consoles. The developer has revealed Final Fantasy XIV will be available for Xbox Series X/S in spring 2024. An open beta is expected for patch 6.5X, and given the dates, the Xbox port should be ready in time for the new Dawntrail expansion, due next summer.

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The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 with a voice vote amid protests from the opposition parties who alleged that the bill violated citizens' Right to Privacy. It is likely to be tabled in Rajya Sabha soon, where the ruling coalition is short of the majority mark.

The Bill seeks to ease data storage, processing and transfer norms for government and private companies including BigTech firms as well as local firms seeking growth abroad. Once it becomes law, it will ease data flows and reduce compliance burdens for tech giants like Google and Meta which have stored the personal data of millions of Indians. It allows companies to export data to any country except those specified by the government.

The bill proposes a maximum penalty of Rs 250 crore and a minimum of Rs 50 crore on entities violating the norms. It also states that if an entity is penalized on more than two instances, the central government after hearing the entity  can decide to block their platform in the country.

Currently, India does not have a standalone law on data protection. Use of personal data is regulated under the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. The opposition, which has expressed concerns over the legislation, has been demanding that the bill be sent to a parliamentary panel for further deliberations.

Personal data in digital advertising

The Bill, whose original version was withdrawn last November after heavy criticism, has come at a time when consumers are increasingly becoming aware of the safety of their personal data and governments across the world have geared up to ensure citizens privacy. Personal data is information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual.

Businesses as well as government entities process personal data for delivery of goods and services. Processing of personal data allows understanding preferences of individuals, which may be useful for customisation, targeted advertising, and developing recommendations.

Unchecked processing may have adverse implications for the privacy of individuals, which has been recognised as a fundamental right. It may subject individuals to harm such as financial loss, loss of reputation, and profiling.

The Bill addresses two key long-standing demands of the tech industry by allowing relaxations around the age of consent for children, and by significantly easing cross-border data flows.

The Bill gives powers to the central government to prescribe a lower age of consent than 18 years for accessing Internet services without parental consent if the platform they are using can process their data in a verifiably safe manner. This would help the edtech and health sector among other things.

Exemptions for the Government

The Bill offers sweeping exemptions to the Centre. The governments can process personal data for the provision of benefit, service, license, permit, or certificate without citizens consent. It specifically allows use of data processed for one of these purposes for another. It also allows the use of personal data already available with the State for any of these purposes.

Bill removes the purpose limitation that ensures that data is collected for specific purposes, and should be used only for that purpose. Rather, it gives wide exemptions to the government. That means it will not apply with respect to the processing of personal data when notified by instrumentality of the state as the central government may notify", says an expert.

These could be in cases related to the sovereignty and integrity of the country, security, friendly relations with foreign states, maintenance of public order or preventing incitement to any cognisable offense relating to any of these. Some MPs allege that the Bill creates a good framework for surveillance of citizens.

If there is a natural disaster like an earthquake, will the government have time to seek consent for processing their data or have to act quickly to ensure their safety? If the police are conducting an investigation to catch an offender, should their consent be taken, Vaishnaw stated, responding to criticism.

He added that the European Unions General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has 16 exemptions, but Indias Bill has four exemptions.

Key Features

Applicability: The Bill applies to the processing of digital personal data within India where such data is: (i) collected online, or (ii) collected offline and is digitised. It will also apply to the processing of personal data outside India if it is for offering goods or services in India.

Consent: Personal data may be processed only for a lawful purpose after obtaining the consent of the individual. A notice must be given before seeking consent. The notice should contain details about the personal data to be collected and the purpose of processing. Consent may be withdrawn at any point in time.

No Consent for legitimate use: Consent will not be required for legitimate uses including: (i) specified purpose for which data has been provided by an individual voluntarily, (ii) provision of benefit or service by the government, (iii) medical emergency, and (iv) employment. For individuals below 18 years of age, consent will be provided by the parent or the legal guardian.

Rights and duties of data principal: An individual whose data is being processed (data principal), will have the right to: (i) obtain information about processing, (ii) seek correction and erasure of personal data, (iii) nominate another person to exercise rights in the event of death or incapacity, and (iv) grievance redressal.

Rs 10,000 penalty for false complaint: Users must not: (i) register a false or frivolous complaint, and (ii) furnish any false particulars or impersonate another person in specified cases. Violation of duties will be punishable with a penalty of up to Rs 10,000.

Obligations of data fiduciaries: The entity determining the purpose and means of processing, (data fiduciary), must: (i) make reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy and completeness of data, (ii) build reasonable security safeguards to prevent a data breach, (iii) inform the Data Protection Board of India and affected persons in the event of a breach, and (iv) erase personal data as soon as the purpose has been met and retention is not necessary for legal purposes (storage limitation). In case of government entities, storage limitation and the right of the data principal to be erased will not apply.

Transfer of personal data outside India: The Bill allows transfer of personal data outside India, except to countries restricted by the central government through notification.

Data Protection Board of India: The central government will establish the Data Protection Board of India to monitor compliance and impose penalties and hearing grievances made by affected persons. Board members will be appointed for two years and will be eligible for re-appointment. The central government will prescribe details such as the number of members of the Board and the selection process.

The decisions taken by the data protection board can be appealed before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), which is led by a judicial member.
UPDATE, AUG. 9:

A community meeting is being held Wednesday night at the Elmo Community Center starting at 6:00 pm for the Big Knife, Niarada and Mill Pocket fires.

If you cant make it, the meeting will be live-streamed via the CSKT Division of Fire Facebook page.

Another meeting will also be held Thursday, Aug. 10 at the Arlee Community Center at 6:00 pm.

As of Wednesday, the Northern Rockies Team 3 reports the Big Knife Fire is 4,864 acres large and 5% contained; the Niarada Fire is 20,365 acres large and 25% contained; and the Mill Pocket fire is 2,135 acres large and 51% contained.

So far, four structures have been lost to these fires.

several areas near the base of the mountains west of the Big Knife Fire in pre-evacuation status by the Lake County Sheriffs Office.

Those evacuated due to the Niarada Fire in Lake County have been allowed to go home and are now in pre-evacuation warning status. This area includes Alexander Road, Early Dawn Road, Spring Lane Road, Walking Horse Lane, Windward Heights Road, Wildhorse View, Buffalo Bridge Road, Saddle Drive, Island Butte Lane, Bridle Path, Ten Deuce Way, Cliffview Drive, and Ricketts Road.

UPDATE, AUG. 7

The Flathead County Sheriff's Office has announced they are lifting the evacuation notice on the Niarada Fire from Browns Meadow Pass to Highway 28; this includes Kofford Ridge Road and Battle Butte Road.

They also said in a press release they are lifting the pre-evacuation warning for Mill Pocket Fire, Hubbart Damn Rd/NF-544 from the intersection of Crossover Road South to Highway 28.

Keep in mind,t he decisions to lift or expand evacuation areas is made based on current or predicted fire conditions.

Flathead CSO says they are thankful for the cooler weather and higher humidity this past weekend to help with fighting the fire.

UPDATE, AUG. 6:

The Lake County Facebook reports the Red Cross at Polson High School is moving into standby at this time.

Evacuations are still in place at this time.

UPDATE, AUG. 6:

The 12,700-acre Middle Ridge fire is now 51% contained as of Sunday morning.

CSKT Division of Fire reports smoke may be visible interior of the fire containment line where the fire is still smoldering.

The Holmes Creek Fire is 45 acres large and 0% contained.

The Mercer Fire, which was burning about a mile and a half from Evaro, is 2 acres large and 100% contained.

People are being reminded of Stage 2 Fire restrictions in place across the Flathead Indian Reservation, which restricts campfires, smoking outside of vehicles, operating combustible engines between 1:00 pm and 1:00 am and operating vehicles off designated roads.

UPDATE, AUG. 5

The CSKT Division of Fire reports the Niarada Fire was extremely active Friday on the south and southeast sides. It is reported to be 17,024 acres large.

About 150 residents were evacuated due to the fire by the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

In the Tribal Primitive Area, Belmore Slough and Burnt Cabin Roads are closed.

The following residences near the Niarada are under evacuation status:

Alexander RoadEarly Dawn Road, Spring Lane Road, Walking Horse Lane, Windward Heights Road, Wildhorse View, Buffalo Bridge Road, Saddle Drive, Island Butte Lane, Bridle Path, Ten Deuce Way, Cliffview Drive, and Ricketts Road.

The remainder of the town of Elmo is in ready status.

The Flathead County Sheriffs Office has issued a pre-evacuation warning for Hubbart Dam Rd/NF-544 from the intersection of Crossover Rd South to Hwy 28.

Crews working the Big Knife Fire continue to try to flank the fire, implement structure protection measures along Canal Road and the fires western edge, and monitor the southwest edge.

The Big Knife Fire is 4,636 acres large according to the CSKT Division of Fire.

Several areas near the base of the mountains west of the Big Knife Fire are in pre-evacuation status as of Saturday.

In the Tribal Primitive Area, Belmore Slough and Burnt Cabin Roads are closed.

UPDATE, AUG. 4

The Lake County Sheriffs Office is evacuating residents south of Highway 93 from Alexander Lane to Walking Horse Lane.

This includes the following roads:

Alexander Lane

Early Dawn Road

Spring Lane Road

Walking Horse Lane

Windward Heights Road

Wildhorse View

Buffalo Bridge Road

Saddle Drive

Island Butte Lane

Bridle Path

Ten Deuce Way

Cliffview Drive

Ricketts Road

If you were evacuated due to the fire, Red Cross has opened a shelter in Polson.

The shelter is located at the Polson High School, 1712 2nd St. W, and will provide a safe place to stay, meals, and access to community resources.

UPDATE, AUG. 4:

More accurate mapping has the Middle Ridge Fire sized at 12,700 acres and 25% containment Friday morning.

The Communication Butte Fire is 1,423 acres and is now 100% contained with crews continuing to monitor the area.

No containment is reported on the Holmes Creek Fire east of Polson, which is estimated at 41 acres large.

Smoke jumpers and heli-repellers are working the fire with air support from a type 1 helicopter dropping water with buckets.

The CSKT Division of Fire reports fire resources from the CSKT division have been successfully responding to new fires as well as continued mop-up along the Middle Ridge and Communication Butte fires.

UPDATE, AUG. 4:

The Niarada and Big Knife fires increased in size overnight Thursday.

The Niarada Fire is an estimated 14,816 acres with 0% containment Friday morning.

The Big Knife Fire is an estimated 4,412 acres with 0% containment Friday morning.

UPDATE, AUG. 3:

A community meeting regarding the Big Knife, Niarada, and Mill Pocket fires is being held Thursday at 6:00 pm in Arlee at the Arlee Community Center, 34086 Pow Wow Rd.

If you cant make the meeting, it will be broadcast live on the CSKT Division of Fire Facebook.

A second meeting will also be held on Friday, Aug. 4 at 6:00 pm in Elmo at the Elmo Community Center, 47088 Cemetery Rd.

Depending on internet connectivity, the meeting will either be streamed live like the Arlee meeting, or recorded and posted to Facebook afterwards.

As of Thursday morning, the Big Knife Fire is 2,710 acres large and 0% contained.

The CSKT Division of Fire reports the fire was active Wednesday ,with a spot fire south of Big Knife Creek burning eastward into the South Fork Jocko Tribal Primitive Areas.

Strategic firing operations may be necessary to prevent spread to the west toward the valley and aircraft are helping crews as conditions allow.

The Niarada Fire is reported to be 10,400 acres large and is 0% contained.

This fire was also reported to be active Wednesday, spreading both to the northeast and southeast.

Crews, heavy equipment, engines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft continue to work the fire, building firelines from safe anchor points and protecting structures in the area.

Weather is anticipated to be hot and dry through Friday ,with the potential for thunderstorms and light precipitation by late weekend.

The CSKT Division of Fire shared the following closure information:

The Lake County Sheriff has several areas near the base of the mountains west of the Big Knife Fire in pre-evacuation status.

In the Tribal Primitive Area, Belmore Slough and Burnt Cabin Roads are closed. Near the Niarada Fire, the Lake County Sheriff has placed the Walking Horse Lane area is in pre-evacuation status, and the town of Elmo is in ready status.

The Flathead County Sheriffs Office has issued a pre-evacuation warning for Hubbart Dam Rd/NF-544 from the intersection of Crossover Rd South to Hwy 28.

A mandatory evacuation remains in place from the top of the Pass on Browns Meadow Road South to Hwy 28, Nirada. This mandatory evacuation also includes Kofford Ridge Rd.

Use extreme caution when driving on Highway 28. Visibility is very poor, and the speed limit has been reduced to 45 miles-per-hour.

UPDATE, AUG. 2:

The CSKT Division of Fire shared that favorable weather conditions and terrain have allowed for firefighters to make great progress across the Communication Butte and Middle Ridge fires.

Both fires have a secured line around them.

The Middle Ridge Fire is estimated at 13,000 acres, 20% containment.

After making a hard push Tuesday, firefighters were able to hold the fire at Tower Rd., and crews have been working to secure line around the fire using dozers and firing operations for the past several evenings, to create containment.

Mop-up on the Middle Ridge Fire will begin Wednesday, with crews putting out any hot spots along the entire fire line.

The Communication Butte Fire is estimated at 1,423 acres, 30% containment.

Crews made progress putting in a containment line.

Mop-up will begin along the entire fire line, starting on the east and west side of the river, 10 to 30 feet interior, firefighters will put out any hot-spots within the secure line. Six engines and staff are assigned to the fire and will also be available if any new starts occur.

On the Holmes Creek Fire, no containment is reported and the fire is estimated to be 36 acres.

Single-engine air tankers were used to drop water on it throughout Tuesday.

Stage 2 fire restrictions are in place across the Flathead Indian Reservation.

No campfires are allowed, no smoking outside of vehicles, no operating combustible engines between 1:00 pm to 1:00 am, no operating vehicles off designated roads and trails

UPDATE, AUG 2:

The Big Knife Fire is burning 2,000 acres with containment remaining at 0% Wednesday morning.

Evacuation warning is in place for those who live in Jacko Canyon and other nearby areas.

For the more updated information on wildfires in Montana, visit mtfireinfo.org.

The following is a Facebook post by CSKT Division of Fire:

More crews and equipment have arrived on the reservation in support of fire suppression efforts and more. Many of the fires have seen extreme growth with the low fuels moisture and high temperatures. A Complex Incident Management Team will arrive tonight to take command of multiple fires, bringing more support staff for the increase in fire resources arriving. Mapping of the fires has been postponed because of limited visibility from smoke.

Fire restrictions are in place with no campfires allowed within the boundaries of the reservation.

#NiaradaFire  Eleven miles west of Elmo, MT, estimated to be over 5,000 acres. Smokejumpers, a 20 person crew, single-engine air tankers, helicopters and heavy equipment have been responding to this fire. The fire is burning in very steep and rugged terrain heading north and east. Winds coming from the west/southwest continue to push the fire north/northeast. The fire had four single-engine air tankers, very large air tanker, five large air tankers, supporting ground resources all day.

#BigKnifeFire - East of Arlee, MT, 1,991 acres. Over 100 fire fighters and overhead have made progress on a containment line on the western edge. This line is holding well. A Complex Incident Management Team will assume command of this fire Aug. 2.

#MiddleRidgeFire - Southwest of Sloans Bridge, estimated over 10,970 acres. Fire fighters and heavy equipment with limited air support have managed to put in containment line and secure the south end of the fire in the area of Little Bitteroot Road. The north end of the fire is the most active and the priority focus today.

#CommunicationButteFire - North of Dixon, Mont. in Ferry Basin, approximately 1,500 acres. The fire is burning in grass and timber, crews have made a lot of progress putting in containment lines today. The terrain is very steep and difficult to access. It did jump the Flathead River last night. Some air support.

#MillPocketFire  West of Niarada, 600 acres. Dozers are assigned and it has been receiving air support. The fire is progressing east and has moved to the canal.

Evacuation Information

Currently there are NO new evacuations, evacuations in Moiese community have been lifted, Browns Meadows in Flathead County is still under evacuation orders. The public is encouraged to be prepared if they are asked to leave by emergency responders.

Fire Restrictions  No campfires are allowed, no smoking outside of vehicles, no operating combustible engines between 1pm-1am, no operating vehicles off designated roads and trails.

Re-Opened

The Bison Range is open with regular operating hours.

Highway 28 is open with speed restrictions. Advising the public to be prepared for potential stops and long wait times.

UPDATE: Monday at 1:22 p.m.

Firefighters are continuing to battle the multiple fires in the Mission Valley area Monday.

Communication Butte Fire

The Communication Butte Fire is burning an estimated 400 acres north of Dixon in Ferry Basin.

CSKT Division of Fire said in a Facebook post the terrain is very steep and hard to access.

Firefighters and aircraft will resume examining and engaging the fire where they can safely, CSKT Division of Fire said.

Niarada Fire

The Niarada Fire is now sized at 5,000 acres west of Elmo.

The Niarada Fire crossed Highway 28 Sunday and largely drifted northeast.

Fire crews and equipment are working on the fire with air support, weather dependent, CSKT said via Facebook.

Middlge Ridge Fire

The Middlge Ridge Fire, located west of Sloans bridge and Ronan, is burning an estimated 7,000 acres, according to CSKT's Facebook post.

Big Knife Fire

The Big Knife Fire, located east of Arlee, was showing severe fire behavior Sunday night, according to CSKT's Facebook post.

The Big Knife Fire is burning an estimated 3,000 acres.

CSKT Division of Fire said crews are centering their attention on securing the line on the west edge of the fire near homes and are making good progress.

Mill Pocket Fire

The Mill Pocket Fire, located west of the Niarada Fire, is burning an estimated 100 acres.

UPDATE AT 5:00 PM:

The CSKT Division of Fire announced that due to the Communication Butte Fire, the Bison Range is temporarily closed.

As of Sunday afternoon, the fire is about 255 acres and is being driven toward the Flathead River by wind.

The Middle Ridge Fire southwest of Sloans Bridge is over 500 acres as of Sunday morning.

The Niarada Fire crossed the highway Sunday afternoon and is estimated at about 200 acres.

RONAN, Mont. - Multiple fires were ignited following a lightning storm that passed through Mission Valley and surrounding areas Sunday morning.

The biggest fire, named Middle Ridge, is about 500 acres large and two air tankers are responding with six water tenders and six skidgens.

North of Dixon in Ferry Basin, the Communication Butte fire is about 100 acres large and is burning in grass and timber with a 20 person crew responding.

The Niarada Fire is 11 miles west of Elmo and is about five acres large. Four single-engine air tankers, one helicopter for air support, three fire boss single-engine air tankers and eight smoke jumpers are responding.

All three fires are burning in steep terrain.

As of Sunday morning no structures are threatened and no evacuations have been ordered.

People who are in the area are advised to be aware of emergency vehicles on roads as well as very dry grasses.
The Big Knife Fire outside of Arlee, Montana, on the afternoon of Sunday, July 30, 2023. (Photo by Nicole Girten, Daily Montanan)

Around 30 new wildfires started in Montana over the past 24 hours, some of which forced evacuations Sunday, and at least five active fires have topped 1,000 acres in the drought-stricken western part of the state.

Dry lightning sparked several fires in the Mission Valley on Sunday that grew quickly because of high winds and dry conditions, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) Division of Fire said in news and social media releases.

The American Red Cross of Montana has four shelters operating for people who have had to evacuate because of wildfires. They said the shelters in Missoula, Ronan and Arlee were on standby, but the Kalispell shelter remains open. Missoula: Cold Springs School, 625 Briggs Street

Cold Springs School, 625 Briggs Street Kalispell: Canvas Church, 255 Summit Ridge Drive

Canvas Church, 255 Summit Ridge Drive Ronan: Ronan High School, 130 3 rd Ave. NW

Ronan High School, 130 3 Ave. NW Arlee: Arlee Community Center, 34806 Pow Wow Road Sign up for Lake County emergency alerts Sign up for Missoula County emergency alerts

As of Monday morning, the Niarada Fire west of Elmo, which was discovered early Sunday, was estimated at 5,000 acres after it jumped Highway 28 on Sunday and pushed to the northeast. As of Sunday afternoon, there were 18 smokejumpers, seven single-engine airtankers and a helicopter working the fire, and the CSKT Division of Fire said Monday it was hopeful weather conditions would allow for continued aerial firefighting.

Another new fire in the area, the Middle Ridge Fire southwest of Sloans Bridge, was estimated to be 7,000 acres Monday. The CSKT Division of Fire said two large air tankers, six water tenders and six skidgens were working the fire.

The third start in the Mission Valley is called the Communication Butte Fire and is north of Dixon. The CSKT Division of Fire said it was located in steep and hard-to-access grass and timber and that a 20-person crew was on the fire hoping to engage when it was safe enough to do so.

The Big Knife Fire east of Arlee, which started last week, was estimated at 3,000 acres Monday morning after starting the day Sunday at an estimated 721 acres. Fire officials said the fire showed extreme behavior overnight into Monday, with winds gusting up to 35 miles per hour in some areas.

The CSKT Division of Fire said firefighters had been making good progress on getting lines in on the west side of the fire to protect homes near Arlee, but the fire remains 0% contained.

A fire on the west side of Lolo forced evacuations on Sunday afternoon, but some of the evacuation orders were lifted by Sunday night. It is unclear as of Monday afternoon what started the fire.

The Colt Fire, located about 15 miles north of Seeley Lake, was 6,177 acres and 8% contained, according to the incident management team, per a Sunday afternoon mapping flight. Despite the red flag conditions, firefighters lines largely held, fire managers said, but they expect the fire to have grown after the flight.

And the Bowles Creek Fire, burning 3 miles west of Skalkaho Pass, was 1,714 acres and 3% contained Monday, according to its management team, after seeing some spot fires during Sundays wind event.

According to the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, there are currently 63 active fires burning in Montana  the largest of which are burning in western Montana. The state has seen 965 fires so far this year.

Data from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality showed air quality was at moderate levels in most of western Montana early Monday afternoon but was at levels unhealthy for sensitive groups in the Seeley Lake area.

But air quality is expected to get worse Tuesday, primarily in southwest Montana, as smoke from the Elkhorn Fire in Idaho moves into the area.

High temperatures across western Montana are expected to stay in the 80s to low 90s on Monday, with winds out of the south and west around 10 miles per hour, gusting to 20 mph.

A red flag warning is in effect for the Bitterroot Valley, where winds out of the west could gust to 30 mph, along with relative humidity in the 7-14% range, the National Weather Service said. The NWSs fire weather planning forecast said the Beaverhead National Forest could also see a slight chance of thunderstorms that could lead to more spot fires. The dry and windy conditions will cause elevated fire concerns across the western part of the state, the NWS said, which was echoed by fire managers.

These warm and dry conditions will again lead to active, intense fire behavior, Northern Rockies Incident management Team 1 Commander Brent Olson said in Mondays update for the Colt Fire.

A fire weather meteorologist told Gov. Greg Gianforte and other state agency officials two weeks ago that the fire season was about to begin in earnest, especially in northwest Montana, because of the heat that has gripped most of the state since then and the persistent drought in the Flathead region. Since then, there have been more than 250 new fire starts across the state.

Stage 1 fire restrictions, which ban campfires outside of fire pits, went into effect Saturday in Flathead, Sanders and Lincoln counties, most of which are seeing severe drought conditions. And the governor has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand drought disaster declarations into more counties in western and northern Montana.

That drought is expected to persist through October, according to the latest seasonal drought outlook from the National Weather Services Climate Prediction Center. But in the short-term, the center is predicting below-average temperatures and above-average precipitation over the next two weeks for most of Montana.

The six-to-10-day temperature outlook shows all but the very northwestern tip of Montana should be at or below normal temperatures for early August and slightly above-average precipitation. On the 8-14 day outlook, the chances of above-average precipitation statewide expands, as does the area of the state seeing below-normal temperatures.

High temperatures in central and western Montana are generally expected to stay in the upper 80s or lower 90s through Wednesday, along with drier air.

But later this week, monsoon moisture from the southwest could bring rain to the southwestern part of the state, according to the NWS offices in Great Falls and Missoula, though meteorologists at both offices said they were still watching the forecasts closely to see how they develop this week and how far the moisture might move north.

The post Several new wildfires spark, grow quickly in NW Montana appeared first on Daily Montanan.
In the wake of the hottest July that has ever been recorded, I am growing increasingly concerned about ensuring customers served by my company, Puget Sound Energy (PSE), have access to affordable and reliable energy. Recent studies show that traditionally cooler climatessuch as Washington State where we operate  are ill equipped to deal with extreme heat. The numbers tell the story: according to a new study released by the University of Washington, more than 400 people died from direct and indirect heat-related causes when a record-setting heat dome hit Washington state in July 2021.

My hope is that Washington, and my company as the states largest utility, can serve as a leader when it comes to addressing climate change through our clean energy transition. Indeed, PSE is in the midst of one of the most ambitious clean energy transitions of any combined electric and gas utility in the country.

On the policy-driven side of the equation, we supported two recent laws that put Washington state in the drivers seat when it comes to carbon reduction. Yet PSE is not stopping there. We are pushing even further with our own aspirations to decarbonize our gas business.

In 2019, we helped pass the Clean Energy Transformation Act, which requires our company to provide 80% carbon-free energy by 2030. This means adding approximately 7,000 megawatts (MW) of new renewable generation capacity by 2030. Just this month we announced a new contract for 90 MW of additional wind energy. This comes only weeks after we released plans to expand our largest wind farm. Since 2019, we have contracted more than 1,000 MW of renewable nameplate capacity.

By 2045, we will need to have somewhere in the range of 15,000 MW of generating capacity to meet peak demand. To put that in context, PSE currently has just under 6,000 MW of generating capacity to meet the needs of our 1.2 million customers. So we have to double our current capacityand keep goingto meet demand by 2045. The scale is unlike anything Ive seen in my career.

Washington is the second state in the nation to have a carbon pricing program. Signed into law in May 2021, our cap-and-invest program went into effect in under two years. PSE initially called for carbon pricing as part of our aspirational goal to be a Beyond Net Zero Carbon energy company by 2045. With Washingtons cap-and-invest program in place, PSE is now advocating for linkage with California, the only other state to have a similar program, and also Quebec. This is absolutely critical to controlling costs for customers, while driving meaningful reductions in emissions.

On the gas side of our business, we worked with leaders in the state legislature this past session to introduce an important new bill which would allow our company to convert much of our gas business to electricity over time, working in concert with carbon pricing. While this bill did not advance to the governor's desk, it sparked a much needed conversation on the timeline and costs to decarbonize our energy system.

Consider that on a cold winters day, PSEs natural gas system provides more than two times the energy provided by the electric system to our customers. That includes cities like Seattle and global businesses like Amazon, Microsoft, and Starbucks which call the Seattle area home. Like extreme heat, extreme cold is dangerous to human life. It is imperative that we can serve our customers at all times, under all conditions. To do that, we must have complementary energy systems and a balanced set of resources.

Ensuring equity in the delivery of energy, must be at the forefront of the clean energy transition, as the most vulnerable suffer the most when the mercury rises or the temperature plummets. Equity is both a state policy mandate and a core priority of our company. If underserved populations continue to bear an undue portion of the energy burden, we will have failed to meet the challenge of our generation.

PSEs Equity Advisory Group helped shape foundational elements of our first Clean Energy Implementation Plan, including customer benefit indicators, an equity assessment framework, and engagement strategies for reaching disadvantaged communities. The voices of these vulnerable populations and their experiences, and planning to meet the unique needs of these communities, are essential to PSEs current and future success.

Despite the immense scope of the challenge, rapid climate change and the risks it poses to all of us, requires bold vision, leadership, collaboration and action. PSE is leaning into the challenge ahead of us, ready to prove that a progressive policy agenda can be achieved when companies are willing to invest the capital needed and work side-by-side with our customers and communities to build the future we all deserve.

Mary Kipp is the President and CEO of Puget Sound Energy, a combined electric and gas utility in Washington state, serving approximately 1.2 million electric customers and 900,000 natural gas customers.
Livestock markets across the country have helped to shine a light on mental health awareness within the rural community, in support of the efforts of Lens Light Tractor Relay.

The relay is a month-long, nationwide journey helping to break down the stigma attached to suicide and mental health.

Lynda and Andy Eadon, who tragically lost their son Len to suicide aged 22, have since been campaigning to raise national awareness to the mental health issues that affect people in the rural community.

Since Lens death in 2022, the couple have helped raise over 100,000 for charities in their sons name.

The latest initiative saw Andy drive a donated John Deere tractor across England, Wales and Scotland, with the route taking in some 38 livestock markets along the way.

At the culmination of the epic 2,000-mile relay at Lands End on 20 July, Lynda and Andy reflected on their efforts, and feel that every mile has been worthwhile.

We have had tremendous support from the agricultural community throughout Great Britain, said Andy, who also explains why they focused their tour around livestock markets.

Both Lynda and I chose to engage with livestock markets because we appreciate the key role they play as rural hubs, often being the only place for some farmers to interact with others during the week, he says.

As Lynda states, the aim is very much to encourage conversation and help people to reach out for help when it is needed, and the mart provides the hub where people have access to that support.

We have really seen communities come out of their shell, and along the way have had some very poignant conversations and heart-felt moments with others who have been affected by mental health or suicide."

Lynda and Andy have been overwhelmed by the support they have encountered at the livestock markets the tractor has visited.

Every market we visited built on their role as a rural hub, with many going above and beyond to engage with their local community and share the message of the Lens Light Tractor Relay, said Andy.

Markets across the route organised events, charity auctions and activities to not only help raise awareness, but also vital funds.

As well as supporting the three designated registered charities, the Farming Community Network, Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies) and Papyrus, many marts also raised funds for local rural support charities.

Examples of some of the fundraising achieved along the way included 1,295 raised from the sale of a sheep with lamb at foot, along with over 200 in cash donations around the mart at Bentham.

Elsewhere, the donation of the proceeds of a Limousin heifer at Frome Livestock Market, to the value of 1,450, was further supplemented with proceeds from a raffle, cake sale and other donations.

Louth Livestock Market raised 3,230 hosting a charity evening, welcoming Lynda and Andy during a non-market day, also gaining coverage on regional television.

Melton Mowbray Market raised a grand total of 4,804 through various activities, including donated lambs auctioned off in the weekly sale.

Leek Auctions Ltd sponsored a gathering at Folker Grange Farm, where some 500 people welcomed Lynda and Andy, raising just over 8,000 through various activities, including the opportunity to throw wet sponges at company directors.

Chris Dodds, executive secretary of the Livestock Auctioneers Association (LAA) said: We wholeheartedly support and applaud the efforts of Lynda and Andy to raise awareness to mental health issues, while they still come to terms with the loss of their son.

We have always recognised the marts crucial role, and responsibility, in providing that support hub and network, creating an environment where the rural community can turn to in times of need.

The support that our member companies, and indeed their customers, have provided along the Lens Light Tractor Relay route, really encapsulates that commitment.

"We wish Lynda and Andy well in their continued efforts, and will continue to support their campaign, he added.
Farmers are being asked to share their thoughts on the next round of the Animal Health and Welfare Equipment and Technology grant.

In March, the first round was launched under the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, offering grants ranging from 1,000 to 25,000 towards the cost of items on a list.

These items were chosen for their ability to improve the health and welfare of livestock and support the pathway's priorities.

Defra said in its latest farming blog that the first round received a high level of interest from a range of sectors.

"As we evaluate how things went and look to the next round of the grant, we'd like you to share your thoughts," it said.

Farmers, suppliers, industry consultants and manufacturers are asked to provide feedback on two aspects of the grant.

These include the specifications for items on the list and the sectors eligible for the items.

Each specification sets out the minimum criteria an item must satisfy to be eligible for funding.

For example, it might list the minimum capacity for a water tank or the material of the tank.

Defra said: A clear specification is important because it ensures applicants understand exactly which pieces of equipment or technology are eligible for support.

"It also helps us to ensure that grants are targeted at high-quality items that deliver health and welfare benefits,.

For example, farrowing arks for pigs that are fully insulated with extra ventilation better protect a sow and her piglets from extreme temperatures.

The current specifications are included in the list of items that were eligible for the first round.

If farmers think an aspect of the specifications should be changed, they can let Defra know via the survey.

At the moment, the list of items includes some equipment available to all sectors and some which were only available to a specified sector.

It may be that some of these items could be useful to farmers from other sectors. As part of the survey, you can suggest changes to which sectors are eligible for items already on the list, Defra stated.

"Carrying out regular evaluations of our grants helps us ensure they work well, so please share your views.

Farmers can respond via a survey here, which will remain open until 7 August.
Amanda Bynes has reportedly checked back into another mental health facility just days after being released to outpatient care.

Amanda Bynes has reportedly check into another treatment centre to deal with mental health issues

The 37-year-old actress spent around two weeks in the last facility after being placed on a 5150 hold for the second time this year but was released in early July, however TMZ.com reports Amanda has now entered a new treatment centre in Orange County, California because she "felt she needed more help than the outpatient treatment was providing".

The website also reports Amanda wanted to be in a more "therapeutic place" rather than living alone at her apartment in Los Angeles.

She's said to have chosen the new treatment centre after it was recommended by experts at the previous facility where she was receiving care.

The 'Hairspray' star was previously placed on a 5150 hold in June after apparently calling police for help. It came just months after being placed on another hold back in March after she was reportedly found wandering the streets of Los Angeles naked.

A 5150 psychiatric hold is designed to protect those with mental health disorders who could be considered a danger to themselves or others and allows them to be taken into care involuntarily to undergo psychiatric assessment and crisis intervention for a period of up to 72 hours.

Amanda has suffered mental health issues in the past and previously spent nine years under a conservatorship which was controlled by her mother Lynn. The conservatorship began in 2013 after she was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric treatment facility in Pasadena, California following a public meltdown and a string of legal troubles. The protective order ended last year.
Kanye West is back on Twitter.

Kanye West is back on Twitter

The 46-year-old rap star was banned from the microblogging website in October 2022 - which has since been rebranded as X - over a series of tweets he posted in which he said he was planning to go "death con [sic] 3 on Jewish people". He was later reinistated but banned once again in December when he shared an image of what appeared to be a mix of the Star of David and a Swastika.

As of Monday (31.07.23) the gold-verified account of @kanyewest is up and running again.

The 'DONDA' rapper is yet to post anything new on his profile and the latest visible tweet is dated from July 2020, when he urged his 31m followers to "trust God" as he announced his eventually scrapped plans to run for US president.

At the time of Kanye's ban, then-CEO of Twitter Elon Musk claimed he had "tried his best" to manage the controversy but ultimately decided immediate suspension was the only possible outcome after the rapper "violated" the rules of the social media site.

He said: "I tried my best. Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended. Just clarifying that his account is being suspended for incitement to violence, not an unflattering pic of me being hosed by Ari. Frankly, I found those pics to be helpful motivation to lose weight."

Kanye - who was previously married to reality superstar Kim Kardashian, 42, and has North, 10, Saint, seven, Chicago,five, and four-year-old Psalm with her - lost his decade-long deal with Adidas to create Yeezy sneakers amid the controversy and Vogue magazine vowed never to work with the Grammy Award-winning rapper ever again.

Balenciaga also ended its relationship with Kanye, even though he had recently opened their summer 2023 show during Paris Fashion Week
Wrestling icon Adrian Street has died aged 82.

Adrian Street has died

The Welsh sportsman - who was nicknamed "the sadist in sequins" - passed away on Monday (31.07.23) at Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran after recently undergoing brain surgery, his family have confirmed.

Adrian's wife Linda hailed the late wrestler as "the kindest, most loving man you could ever meet."

The 77 year old, who was also a wrestler in the 1960s, told BBC Wales: "He'd had a heart problem a while ago which was resolved.

"But then he had a stroke earlier this month which resulted in a bleed on the brain.

"He was recovering from that at home when he developed colitis - a chronic inflammatory bowel disease - which later turned into sepsis. That's what killed him.

"It all came about so quick. I've still not come to terms with it yet.

"[He was] the kindest, most lovely and loving man I've ever known. The total opposite to how he behaved on stage."

Linda plans to have Adrian cremated and will scatter his ashes on the mountains near their Cwmbran home.

Adrian ran away to London in his mid-teens and signed up with a wrestling promoter, who gave him the ring name Kid Tarzan Jonathan.

He later reverted back to his own name and set himself apart from other wrestlers with his flamboyant attire, which typically included dayglo face paint, a feather boa and his peroxide hair tied in pigtails.

Mocking made him behave more outrageously, skipping around the ring and covering his opponents in lipstick kisses.

Famously, in 1971, Adrian left disgraced late broadcaster Jimmy Savile battered and bruised when he dropped him on his head and tore out a chunk of his hair, later claiming he'd ignored requests to "throw" the match.

He said in 2013: "Back in those days the promoters were trying to get proper wrestlers to throw their matches with him - it was all part of some big stupid gimmick."

The wrestler made a bigger name for himself when he moved to the US and Canada in the 1980s, eventually settling in Florida with Linda, who served as his business manager. The couple - who met in 1969 - set up The Bizarre Bazaar, a costume-making business and their own grappling school, Skull Krushers Academy.

In later years, the couple moved back to Wales and in 2019, 'You May Be Pretty, But I Am Beautiful', a film about Adrian's life was released.

He also recorded an album and wrote a number of autobiographies.
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The European Union (EU) and the Philippines have announced their joint intention to explore the resumption of negotiations for a modern and balanced free trade agreement (FTA), with an emphasis on sustainability. This bilateral 'scoping process' is designed to assess the shared understanding on the prospective FTA. If successful, the EU and the Philippines could soon resume FTA negotiations.

Ursula von der Leyen, Commission president, highlighted the importance of the Philippines as a key partner in the Indo-Pacific region and expressed optimism about elevating the partnership to the next level. Together, we will realise the full potential of our relationship, creating new opportunities for our companies and consumers while also supporting the green transition and fostering a just economy, she said.

EU and Philippines may resume negotiations for an FTA, focusing on sustainability. This aligns with EU's Indo-Pacific Strategy and aims to deepen connections with the South-East Asian economy. Trade between the EU and the Philippines was over 18.4 billion last year. This development also includes the launch of the Team Europe Initiative on Green Economy.

This announcement follows the recent resumption of FTA talks with Thailand and affirms the strategic significance of the Indo-Pacific region for the EU's trade agenda. The aim is to forge deeper trade connections with the vibrant South-East Asian economy and reinforce the EU's alignment with this expanding region, the European Commission said in a media release.

The EU's goals for the FTA with the Philippines encompass ambitious market access commitments, effective sanitary and phyto-sanitary procedures, intellectual property rights protection, and robust disciplines on Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD), aligned with the Commission's TSD review Communication of June 2022. Sustainability will be central to this agreement, emphasising high standards for workers' rights, environmental protection, and ambitious climate goals.

Trade between the EU and the Philippines was valued at over 18.4 billion in goods in the past year, positioning the EU as the Philippines' 4th largest trade partner. Moreover, the EU is one of the largest investors in the Philippines, with foreign direct investment stock reaching 13.7 billion in 2021.

Under the EU's Generalised Scheme of Preferences + (GSP+), the Philippines enjoys special incentives and duty-free access to the EU market for two-thirds of tariff lines. Continued access depends on adherence to international conventions on human rights, good governance, and environmental protection.

FTA negotiations between the EU and the Philippines commenced in 2015 but have been stalled since 2017. The new administration, which took office on June 30, 2022, has expressed readiness to engage with the EU on crucial issues.

This development aligns with the 2021 EU Indo-Pacific Strategy, confirming the EU's interest in resuming FTA negotiations with the Philippines. Alongside existing FTAs with Singapore and Vietnam, ongoing talks with Indonesia, Thailand, and a scoping exercise with Malaysia, this step further solidifies the EU's commitment to strengthening trade ties with the ASEAN region.

Additionally, In a significant move towards a sustainable future, von der Leyen and President Ferdinand Marcos have also launched the Team Europe Initiative on Green Economy under Global Gateway. The initiative is backed by a Team Europe contribution of 466 million.

The Team Europe Initiative on Green Economy aims to formulate an industry-led alternative to the prevailing plastic waste management system. The project seeks to build sustainable plastic value chains and minimise plastic waste and marine litter.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)
Zero Waste Europe, the European network of communities, local leaders, experts, recently called on the European Commission (EC) to introduce textile waste prevention targets during the ongoing revision of the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) and develop a set of specific indicators for monitoring textile waste prevention.

In a policy paper, the organisation cautioned that the apparel industry must take urgent action to address emissions gaps to reach the climate targets of the Paris Agreement.

Zero Waste Europe has called on the European Commission to introduce textile waste prevention targets during the ongoing revision of the Waste Framework Directive and develop specific indicators to monitor textile waste prevention. It urged the apparel industry to urgently act to address emissions gaps to reach the climate targets of the Paris Agreement.

The paper recommended setting real textile waste reduction targets at the EU level, starting with an overall reduction target of at least one third by 2040 compared to 2020, and highlights the need to lead by example in addressing the negative impacts of the textile industry.

Despite being the worlds largest buyer of clothes, the European Union (EU) has not set concrete prevention targets on textile waste, hindering progress towards a fashion industry compatible with planetary boundaries, it noted.

The organisation urged the Commission to allocate funds from the prospective Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme to textile waste prevention measures and mandate reporting on how much textile is collected, either separately or in mixed waste, in a systemic and harmonised manner across the EU.

It also recommended that the Commission should by the end of 2024 present to the co-legislators a legislative proposal, including waste prevention targets for textiles in accordance with Article 9.9 of the WFD.

It also suggested producing guidance for the implementation of policy instruments like support for alternative business models, EPR fees and other economic incentives, or restricting fast fashion advertisements.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Its almost August and a slew of anticipated movies and OTT shows are coming up in a matter of days. While the month has some star-studded releases, it starts off slow with a mix of returning shows and big-screen spectacles. Among the movies hitting screens this week are Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and Meg 2. On OTT, the Hindi web series Choona is set to release along with returning Hollywood shows The Lincoln Lawyer and Heartstopper.Heres everything were watching this week:Choona features a talented ensemble cast that includes Jimmy Shergill, Arshad Warsi, Aashim Gulati and others. The show revolves around a rag-tag crew of misfits who plan a heist to get revenge on a local politician.Release date: August 3Where: OTTThe seventh Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, Mutant Mayhem is set to release this week. The film revolves around the Turtle brothers, who set out to win over New Yorkers. The films star-studded voice cast includes John Cena, Jackie Chan and The Bear star Ayo Edebiri.Release date: August 3Where: TheatresIn Part 2 of Season 2 of The Lincoln Lawyer, Mickey Haller (played by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) is back to take on more cases across Los Angeles. The upcoming episodes are based on the fourth book of the series - The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly.Release date: August 3Where: OTTAfter a heartwarming first instalment, Nick (played by Kit Conner) and Charlie (Joe Locke) will return for another school year. This time around, the students will travel to Paris for a trip. Did we mention, theres prom?Release date: August 3Where: OTTMeg 2: The Trench will see Jason Statham return for another adventure in the sea. The film will follow a team of scientists who get attacked by sharks.Release date: August 4Where: TheatresThe Hunt for Veerappan is a biographical true crime docu-series about the infamous bandit who operated and stayed hidden in the South Indian woods for years.Release date: August 4Where: OTT
AAAAAAAAChicken makhani. You know naan? You dip it in the curry and eat it. I really love that. Eating it with curry. God, I want to eat it so bad. Itd be delicious. I'm hungry. Im starving. Please don't talk about food. I beg you



JUNGKOOK LIVE

JK LIVE JUNGKOOKIE pic.twitter.com/SHitd7ba9P  IkraaAAAAJKaAAAA (@JEONJUN20577224) July 30, 2023

Bring this back JHOPE enjoying Indian food. pic.twitter.com/6UhrQmDYiP  aeraaAA AAAA aAA JJK (@Shykookie7) December 15, 2021

Jungkook, the youngest member of BTS has been regularly holding live sessions on Weverse where he interacts with his fans. On Sunday night, he surprised the BTS ARMY by expressing his fondness for chicken makhani and naan.During the session, Jungkook said, "Someone asked if I've ever tried Indian food. Chicken makhani. You know naan? You dip it in the curry and eat it. I really love that. Eating it with curry. God, I want to eat it so bad. Itd be delicious. I'm hungry. Im starving. Please don't talk about food. I beg you."Many Indian ARMYs took to Twitter and wrote, "I swear jungkook is the most desi k-pop artist i have ever seen from speaking Hindi to talking about Indian food , It is just insane. Especially when he says namaste seems like he's used to this.added another. A fan posted, "i need to see jungkook's angry face while he eats indian food pls and ty." Another tweeted, "Look how precisely he's talking about chicken makhani and curry to dip naan in. From nag Champa 3 idiots namastenattu nattu liking Bollywood movie liking Indian Food us Desi ARMY keeps winning Bangtan Desi Munde. PROVEN!!!!!"BTS members have expressed their fondness for Indian cuisine before. During the filming of their show Bon Voyage season 4 in 2019, J-Hope was spotted enjoying naan with curry. In an episode, he initially used a fork but switched to eating with his hands.In the past, Jungkook has shown his affection for India through different means. One instance that gained popularity was during his Weverse Live Session when he played Naatu Naatu, a song from RRR, and imitated the dance moves.Meanwhile, Jungkook recently released his solo single 'Seven,' which debuted No.1 on Billboard 100. The song features American rapper Latto and South Korean actress Han So-hee.
Cilena Jaitely News: After the heated exchange on Twitter, Celina wrote a detailed letter and disclosed that she has reported the matter to the Ministry for External Affairs, which has taken the issue to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

She had also gotten involved with him in a heated verbal spat, and now she has revealed that she has taken legal action against the journalist, and the Indian ministry has brought up the matter with the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, seeking prompt investigation and appropriate action.

Celina Jaitly files a suit against Pak critic Umair Sandhu for defaming her

A film critic-journalist from Pakistan, who goes by the name of Umair Sandhu, earlier this year, made a derogatory statement about her, saying, "Celina Jaitley is the only actress in Bollywood who slept with both father (Feroz Khan) and son (Fardeen Khan) many times."

The former actress had called him out and now, on Sunday, shared that she has taken legal action against the man. Giving an update about it, she wrote a lengthy note on Twitter that stated how the National Commission of Women has taken cognizance of her complaint, adding that the Indian ministry has raised the issue with the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, seeking "an immediate investigation and action."

She shared the status of the case, and wrote, "A few months ago, a self-proclaimed Hindi film critic and journalist from Pakistan named @UmairSandu took to Twitter to make viral untrue horrific claims about me which included bizarre allegations like my relations with both my mentor Feroz Khan and his son Fardeen , in addition he made claims targeting me and my family's safety and security even in Austria."

Troll Who Said Celina Jaitly Had Affair With Fardeen Khan & His Father Makes Another Nasty Claim. Check Out

"My response to his harassment and fake claims from Pakistan went viral and garnered support from millions of Twitterati including Pakistani nationals who were appalled at his behaviour," she added.

Further, she also mentioned in her note how Umair keeps changing his locations online, but he is hiding in Pakistan. This makes it difficult to prosecute him for defamation. While concluding her letter, Celina thanked NCW, especially Chief Rekha Sharma and Kushbu Sundar, for showing their support.

A few months ago, a self-proclaimed Hindi film critic and journalist from Pakistan named @UmairSandu took to Twitter to make viral untrue horrific claims about me which included bizarre allegations like my relations with both my mentor Feroz Khan and his son Fardeen , in addition pic.twitter.com/xAtxdE8Jzb  Celina Jaitly (@CelinaJaitly) July 30, 2023

Celina Jaitly on why she took a legal action against Umai Sandhu?

Celina Jaitly made her debut in Bollywood in 2003 with "Janasheen", opposite Fardeen Khan. The film was helmed by the late Feroz Khan. Talking about why she chose to fight it not only for herself but also for Feroz Khan, who is like a mentor to her.

"For me it was not just a fight for the open assault on my character but also an assault on my integrity, my motherhood, my family and above all my God father and my beloved mentor Mr Feroz khan who is no longer in this world here to defend himself," she shared.

She then added, "He was my mentor, my friend my guide and I am eternally grateful for the love, respect and career he gave me. I am an Indian army war hero's daughter and I was going to fight it till my last breath even if it meant going to Pakistan to teach this person a lesson."

Fardeen Khan & Wife Natasha Madhvani Headed for Seperation After 18 Years Of Marriage: Reports
Imtiaz Ali Film: A renowned filmmaker who has been garnered with love and appreciation for his distinct storytelling style, Imtiaz Ali has been counted among the top filmmakers with the ability to extract exceptional performances from his actors. Imtiaz Ali has given phenomenal storylines like Highway, Laila Majnu, Jab We Met, Harry Met Sejal, Cocktail and Rockstar.

Ali's storyline has helped with a significant impact in the life of various actors. Talking about Rockstar and Highway, these were pivotal films in the careers of Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor, respectively, and had a significant impact on their trajectories in the film industry.

Highway marked a turning point for Alia Bhatt's career, showcasing her versatility and acting prowess. Imtiaz Ali's unconventional narrative and Bhatt's raw portrayal of Veera Tripathi garnered critical acclaim and established her as a talent to watch.

Rockstar was a career-defining film for Ranbir Kapoor, and all thanks to Imtiaz Ali's intense love story and Kapoor's dedicated portrayal of Jordan. His electrifying performance showcased his versatile acting, cementing his position as one of the finest actors of his generation and paving the way for collaborations with top directors.

Hence we call Imtiaz Ali as a director to drop a storyline for decades, here are the four actors we would love to see in an Imtiaz Ali's distinctive storyline:

Pooja Hegde

Pan India star Pooja Hegde has consistently showcased her acting abilities and charming screen presence, leaving a lasting impression on the audience. Collaborating with Imtiaz Ali, known for his emotionally-driven stories, could unlock a new dimension in Pooja's talent, allowing her to delve deep into complex characters. With her remarkable screen presence and Ali's storytelling prowess, the duo has the potential to deliver a blockbuster that not only captivates the audience but also establishes Hegde as a powerhouse performer in the industry.

Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka Chopra, a global star, has enraptured audiences with her extraordinary performances in both Bollywood and Hollywood. However, she hasn't worked with Imtiaz Ali and if the duo gets together, they can surely bring a brilliant project being masters of their craft. Chopra has the potential to shine in a character that deeply resonates, crafting a cinematic gem that seamlessly merges her captivating charisma with Ali's masterful storytelling.

Kiara Advani

Kiara Advani's compelling performances in emotionally charged roles, such as in Shershaah and Satya Prem Ki Katha, have showcased her ability to portray complex and nuanced characters. This remarkable talent of Advani, combined with Imtiaz Ali's distinctive storytelling, creates the perfect synergy.

Janhvi Kapoor

Janhvi Kapoor has captivated audiences with her performances in various films, displaying her impeccable craft and potential. If she teams up with Imtiaz Ali, known for his distinctive and resonant storylines, Kapoor can delve into a more mature and complex role, delivering a film that combines her magnetic screen presence with Ali's narrative prowess can create a brilliant cinematic experience.

The thought of witnessing these exceptional actors - Pooja Hegde, Janhvi Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, and Kiara Advani - collaborating with the visionary filmmaker Imtiaz Ali is truly exhilarating. Their combined talent, coupled with Ali's unique storytelling, promises to deliver cinematic masterpieces that touch the hearts of audiences, leaving an indelible mark on the industry. These collaborations have the potential to redefine storytelling and elevate the art of filmmaking to new heights, making them highly anticipated and eagerly awaited by fans worldwide.
Remember Rahul Mahajan, who was one of the most talked about contestants of Bigg Boss season 2? He had made headlines for headlines for his steamy chemistry with Payal Rohatgi. Ever since then, Rahul has been the talk of the town for his personal life.

Be it his first divorce, his break up with Payal, his swayamvar and wedding with Dimpy Ganguly and more. And now, Rahul Mahajan is making headlines once again and this time for his another failed marriage. According to media reports, Rahul is getting divorced for the third time.

For the uninitiated, Rahul Mahajan tied the knot with Kazakhstan model Natalya Ilina in November 2018. And now, after over 4 years of wedding, the couple is set to call off their wedding now. It is reported that Rahul and Natalya are parting ways due to compatibility issues.

"Compatibility issues were there between the two since the beginning. However, they stretched their marriage as long as they could. They parted ways last year and have filed for divorce", a source had told the Times of India.

The source also asserted that Rahul has been heartbroken with his third divorce and hadn't been in a great state ever since. However, he is getting back to life now and is hopeful of finding love again.

Meanwhile, Rahul Mahajan chose to maintain a stoic stance about reports of his divorce. He stated, "I want to keep my private life private. I would not like to comment on anything. I do not discuss what's happening in my personal life even with my friends".

For the uninitiated, Rahul was earlier married to Shweta Singh from 2006-2008. He later married Dimpy Ganguly in 2010 through a matrimonial reality show Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jaayega which happened to be his swayamvar. However, they parted ways in 2015.
Nach Baliye has been one of the biggest dance based reality show on Indian television and it has been winning hearts for over a decade now. And after successful nine years, Nach Baliye 10 is coming up and the fans can't keep calm. Needless to say, there have been speculations about which celebs will be participating in the show.

Sreejita De Ties The Knot With Michael In Germany In A Dreamy Wedding; BFF Shiv Thakare Sends SPECIAL MESSAGE

And while several celebs have been rumoured to be participating in Nach Baliye 10, another celeb couple has joined the list. We are talking about former Bigg Boss 16 contestant Sreejita De who recently tied the knot with beau Michael Bloham Pape in an intimate wedding in Germany early this month.

According to media reports, Sreejita De and Michael are rumoured to be participating in Nach Baliye 10. Talking about her plans to participate in the dance based reality show, the actress stated that she would love to take up the show with her husband.

Shiv Thakare's Bigg Boss 16 Co-Contestant LOCKS LIPS With Hubby In An Auto Rickshaw - VIRAL VIDEO

She made the statement during her interaction with Telly Chakkar. Sreejita asserted, "I would definitely take up the offer though my husband doesn't like dancing much but honestly, he is a decent dancer and I love dancing and that would be a very good show for us," she added.

Sreejita De Opens Up On Her Bond With Shiv Thakare & Archana Gautam Post BB16 & KKK13: Baat Hui Hai Sirf...

As of now, Sreejita is gearing up for her Indian wedding these days. The newly married couple will be tying the knot as per Indian rituals in Goa. It will be a beach wedding which will take place in November this year. and Sreejita and Michael will be taking their vows as per Bengali rituals. "For nine months we were stuck in GOA during the lockdown and that was the time we got to know each other. That was the time we bonded way stronger and we have a deep connection with the place," Sreejita was quoted saying.

Apart from Sreejita De, Priyanka Choudhary-Ankit Gupta, Ashlesha Savant-Sandeep Biswana, Divya Agarwal-Apurva Padgaonkar etc are also rumoured to be participating in Nach Baliye 10.
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Happy B'Day Taapsee Pannu: Check Out Her Journey From Being A Model To A Successful Actress

There is no doubt, Taapsee Pannu is one of the leading actresses in Indian Cinema. The actress has never failed to capture the audience's interest with her versatile performance and stunning looks. Apart from being an actress, Taapsee who always made headlines through her opinion and stance about asking questions and influencing others. Taapsee Pannu is turning 37 on August 1, 2023. On this special occasion, let's take a look at the challenges faced by the actress and how she achieved a successful acting career life.

Born Tapsee Pannu was born in Delhi, India into a Punjabi Sikh family to parents Dilmohan Singh Pannu and Nirmaljeet. She is the eldest child in her family and also has a sister, Shagun Pannu. Like Priyanka Chopra, this actress also doesn't have any filmy background but she is the only actor in the industry who are consistent in their work to achieve success.



Engineering Background Before entering the glamour industry, Taapsee finished her graduation in Computer Science from Guru Tegh Bahadur Institute of Technology, New Delhi. She was a software engineer before becoming an actress. Later she left her job because she realized that is not her destination.





Modelling Career The actress started focus on doing modelling after she left the job. As a model, Tapsee also appeared in many Tv ads and commercials. She also attended Channel V's talent show 'Get Gorgeous' in 2018. She later participated at Femina Miss India 2008 pageant at the age of 20 and even though she did not win the national pageant. But she had received two titles Femina Miss Fresh Face and Femina Miss Beautiful Skin in the same year.



On-Screen Debut Initially a model, she started her acting career with the Telugu film Jhummandi Naadam in 2010. Tapsee, who became much popular among audiences after her performance in the National Award-winning Tamil movie 'Aadukalam'. The movie received a good response from the audience, and Dhanush and Tapsee's chemistry was fondly appreciated by movie lovers and critics. Apart from this, Tapsee also made her debut in Malayalam cinema in 2010 release 'Doubles'. Her another notables performances include Kanchana, Arrambam, Mr.Perfect, and Political Rowdy.





Bollywood Stint After building a successful acting career life in South Indian Cinema, Tapsee made her Bollywood debut with the successful comedy Chashme Baddoor in 2013, The film was an official remake of the 1981 film with the same title, alongside Siddharth, Rishi Kapoor, Divyendu Sharma and Ali Zafar. She has gained attention of audience by essaying versatile roles on the big-screen. Over the past decades, she delivered several blockbuster hits in Hindi includes Looop Lapeta, Rashmi Rocket, Badla, Mission Mangal, Haseen Dillruba and Thappad.



Awards & Achievements She has received numerous awards and appreciation for her outstanding performance on the screen. Tapsee won Best Supporting Actress Film Fare Award in 2014 for the Tamil movie 'Arrambam'. Later, she received the Filmfare Critics Award and the Screen Award for Best Actress for the movie ' Saand Ki Aankh (2019).For her stupendous performance in the movie 'Thappad', Tapsee bagged the Best Actress award at the 66th Filmfare Awards in 2021.



Upcoming Projects On the professional front, she will be next seen in the three Hindi films, Dunki, Phir Aayi Haseen Dilruba, and 'Woh Ladki Hai Kahaan, which are to be released. Apart from this, Tapsee will be essaying a lead role in the upcoming Tamil movie 'Alien'.







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London, England--(Newsfile Corp. - July 30, 2023) - Jouan Properties Ltd., a leading property investment company founded by Jason Jouan, proudly announces a remarkable expansion of its property portfolio. Within a span of just five years, the company has grown its portfolio to include over six properties across the United Kingdom, achieving a significant milestone by exceeding a multi-million pound valuation.





Figure 1



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Jouan Properties Ltd. attributes its success to a combination of strategic vision, unwavering diligence, and a commitment to excellence. From the outset, the company embarked on a journey to build a robust property portfolio, employing a calculated approach for potential maximized growth and returns for its clients.





Figure 2



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The remarkable journey of portfolio building began with Jason Jouan taking a loan to acquire the initial property. To increase the property's value and potential, he utilized credit cards and secured further loans for renovations. After enhancing the property's appeal, Jason wisely opted for a refinancing strategy that allowed him to withdraw his initial investment.

With one successful property under his belt, Jason networked with investors and offered them high-value deals, earning a commission on each transaction. This approach not only strengthened his funding line but also fostered valuable relationships within the investment community.

In addition to high-value deals, Jouan Properties Ltd. also engaged in residential transactions, with each deal contributing an average of 3,000 to 5,000. This diversification further solidified the company's position and expanded its opportunities for growth.

By investing over 50,000 in personal training and education, he acquired the necessary expertise to navigate the complexities of property investment successfully. While taking calculated risks, Jouan Properties Ltd. demonstrated a meticulous understanding of market trends and prudent financial management, contributing to its remarkable growth.

Jouan Properties Ltd. remains steadfast in its mission to identify new investment prospects that align with the company's ethos of long-term value creation and sustainable growth. Looking ahead, the company seeks to further diversify its portfolio while forging strategic partnerships to expand its reach across the UK and beyond. Interested partners can contact Jason Jouan on Instagram at www.instagram.com/jasonjouan.

About Jouan Properties Ltd.

Jouan Properties Ltd. is a leading property investment company in the United Kingdom, founded by visionary entrepreneur Jason Jouan. With a focus on strategic acquisitions, prudent financial management, and delivering consistent results, the company has established itself as a trailblazer in the competitive property investment landscape.





Figure 3



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Media contact details -

Contact: Jason Jouan

Email: jason@jouanproperties.co.uk

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/175268
vivo Unveils V3 chip with 6nm Processes, Powering 4K Cinema Portrait Mode

SHENZHEN, China, July 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- vivo today held this year's Special Event of the 2023 vivo Imaging Conference in Xining, China, where it showcased a host of innovations in imaging technology. The company unveiled the V3 chip, a state-of-the-art 6nm customized V3 chip, as well as the latest algorithm technology. In addition, vivo revealed a periscope lens with the new "Vario-Apo-Sonnar" standards developed in partnership with ZEISS. During the event, vivo also announced the winners of the 2023 VISION+ Mobile PhotoAwards, with Indonesia photographer Jiehan Herry Saputro 's "Let Me Fly" crowned the Best Photograph of the Year.

Yu Meng, Vice President of vivo Imaging; Li Zhuo, Senior Director of vivo Imaging Products; Sebastian Dontgen, Head of Category Management, Marketing and Sales, ZEISS Consumer Products; Zhang Yan, Product Manager of vivo Imaging Performance; visual artists Gao Yuan and Duan Yueheng; Song Wen, Founder of FIRST International Film Festival; and Bertram Honlinger, ZEISS Expert of Photography, attended the event to share their views on technological innovation and the future of mobile imaging.

"At vivo, we are committed to advancing 'human-centric professional imaging'. To this end, we continuously enhance our expertise across optics, computing, and algorithm foundations to build imaging capabilities comparable to professional photography equipment. We aim to deliver the user experience of recreating what the human eye can see and make professional-grade imaging capabilities more accessible for everyone. In the future, vivo will stay committed to creating the best imaging technology and help users record life's most precious moments," said Mr. Yu Meng.

At a time when everyone can be a creator, vivo has been dedicated to providing exceptional user experience with innovative mobile imaging technology. From industry-outstanding imaging chips and algorithms to expanding technological boundaries in partnership with other industry leaders, vivo continues to make efforts to boost its image technology strengths and improve the user experience in any scenario.

Unveiling the latest V3 chip and algorithm technology

The brand's latest V3 chip adopts a 6nm process and incorporates a newly designed multi-concurrent AI-ISP architecture and second-generation Frame Info Tunneling (FIT) technology. The technology upgrade delivers a superior user experience by enabling 4K cinema-like bokeh, automatic subject focus detection and switching, cinema-like skin optimization, and cinematic color processing. This makes vivo the first Android phone maker to enable 4K cinema-quality portrait video with post-processing functions.

In addition to the launch of the new V3 chip, vivo has also announced a composite algorithm matrix solution. The company's new vivo Origin Imaging Engine (VOIE) enhances image quality, color, tone, and computing functionality by advancing the underlying algorithmic capabilities for three sub-modules: Color Restoration Engine, Ultra HD Engine, and Accelerated Computing Engine. vivo also developed the Hyper-Sense Portrait System and Vast-Sky Night System based on the common portrait and night scene user scenarios. Additionally, vivo has been continuously upgrading its algorithmic matrix and technological capabilities to ensure the best possible shooting experience in various scenarios.

Building a prosperous image ecosystem with joint innovation

vivo's long-term partnership with optical pioneer ZEISS has led to breakthrough innovations for X series, from generation to generation proving ZEISS technologies and iconic optical designs were adapted for vivo's flagships. ZEISS T* coating for superior optical quality and iconic ZEISS Style Portrait to name just a few.

At the event, vivo and ZEISS jointly announced a periscope lens design with the new "Vario-Apo-Sonnar" standards. APO design is considered to have the level of the industry's top-quality control of chromatic aberration. For the very first time, the APO design will be adapted to a mobile imaging system enhancing a high performance zoom quality.

Further leveraging the floating lens group technology in the periscope lens, aiming to provide ultra-high resolution and enhanced focusing capability, to enable users to achieve excellent macro shooting outcomes. At the same time, it also has a creamy bokeh effect that allows the subject to be further emphasized.

The T* Coating is ZEISS's signature technology for anti-reflective coating on optical surface. The co-engineered rear camera system in the vivo's X series has achieved compliance with ZEISS T* Coating and reduced significantly unwanted lens flares in images under challenging lighting conditions such as nighttime, strong backlighting, and complex light sources.

For vivo's upcoming X series flagship model, ZEISS T* Coating will be equipped with Multi-ALD technology to enhance further the image clarity, by reducing center reflectivity from 0.2% to 0.1% on the visible light spectrum. Compared with the previous generation of ALC coating, the reflectivity will be reduced by 50%.

In addition to product innovation and joint development, being user-oriented is in vivo's and ZEISS' joint belief. vivo is committed to further diversifying the cooperation with ZEISS, including co-organizing the 2023 VISION+ Mobile PhotoAwards.

Sebastian Dontgen, Head of Category Management, Marketing and Sales, ZEISS Consumer Products said: "At ZEISS, we have photography in our DNA. To invite and enable even more users worldwide to enjoy creativity through cutting-edge smartphone image technology, it was a logical step for us to co-organize the 2023 VISION+ Mobile PhotoAwards with vivo. The impressive results that we were able to experience again this year are a great acknowledgment of our partnership on imaging aspects."

vivo has announced a deep collaboration with MediaTek for its X80 series. Additionally, vivo plans to team up with Sony for further collaboration on technologies such as 2-layer pixel (stack pixel) and HDR in the future. vivo will also actively expand joint innovation research by collaborating with more industry partners, and with educational institutes such as ETH Zurich and other universities, striving for technological breakthroughs and a more diversified and open mobile imaging ecosystem.

Creating professional portraits and the ultimate night scene experiences

vivo has formed a unique portrait style that blends clear texture, natural skin tones, and a balance of real and virtual effects across device iterations. In addition, the brand continues to research and develop 3D portrait technology with 3D facial reconstruction and virtual content.

To this end, vivo has relied on its imaging laboratory platform to establish a 3D image laboratory with a proprietary cinema-like optical field system, capable of reconstructing extremely delicate 3D models of human faces and producing highly realistic visual effects in virtual environments. Based on experience gained from past products and real-life business scenarios, the company's 3D models achieve precise facial expressions, body postures and gestures.

These technologies have been developed with three user scenarios in mind: generative portrait style, generative portrait editing, and various portrait special effects. Users will be able to take photos that perfectly balance real and virtual effects, edit photos powered by texture reconstruction and lighting estimation algorithms and freely change the lighting, hair and facial expressions.

vivo has introduced enhancements to its technical capabilities in image quality, tone, and color for landscape shooting. The upgraded Vast-Sky Night System was designed to improve image quality and supply the most advanced quality solution for night scenes at all focal lengths. The upgraded SuperRAW technology offers exclusive parameter adjustment capabilities, meeting any professional imaging requirements for all focal lengths.

Based on VOIE, vivo has also introduced a True Color Night model powered by AI learning to the Night Sky Imaging System. This enhancement enables adaptive tone and color adjustments for night scenes and for night scenes with high contrast, a comprehensive night HDR solution has been introduced to tackle viewing issues in preview, shooting and display modes. In addition, the new XDR Photo 2.0 adds a highlight color preservation mechanism for light sources with high dynamic range and saturation at night. This improves the overexposure for highlights without affecting the color performance of the light source and preserves the night scene.

In the future, vivo will work together with Adobe, Apple, and Google to improve HDR photo standardization and overcome the inconsistent display of HDR photos on different devices-making vivo the only Chinese company involved in the development of the IOS standards for HDR photos.

On top of vivo's original distinctive colors and ZEISS Natural Color, vivo's team has launched a series of rich and personalized colors, drawing inspiration from classic photography techniques, classic films, and masterworks.

2023 vivo VISION+ Mobile PhotoAwards Winners

During this year's Special Event at the Imaging Conference, vivo also announced the winners of this year's VISION+ Mobile PhotoAwards. The top award went to Jiehan Herry Saputro 's "Let Me Fly", which is crowned the Best Photograph of the Year. In addition, the competition included awards in six categories: Portrait, Photo Series, Night, Landscape, Motion, and News. Two special awards were also announced: the X90 Series Best Photograph Award and the ZEISS Professional Imaging Award.

Since its inaugural launch in 2020, the VISION+ Mobile PhotoAwards program has received nearly one million submissions from over 40 countries and regions. This year, vivo received submissions from India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, and many other countries and regions.

Note: Please be aware that some of the features and technologies mentioned in this press release may currently only be available in the Chinese Mainland market. The availability of certain capabilities and functions may vary depending on your location.

About vivo

vivo is a technology company that creates great products based on a design-driven value, with smart devices and intelligent services as its core. The company aims to build a bridge between humans and the digital world. Through unique creativity, vivo provides users with an increasingly convenient mobile and digital life. Following the company's core values, which include Benfen*, user-orientation, design-driven value, continuous learning and team spirit, vivo has implemented a sustainable development strategy with the vision of developing into a healthier, more sustainable world-class corporation.

While bringing together and developing the best local talents to deliver excellence, vivo is supported by a network of R&D centers in Shenzhen, Dongguan, Nanjing, Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Xi'an and more cities, focusing on the development of state-of-the-art consumer technologies, including 5G, artificial intelligence, industrial design, imaging system and other up-and-coming technologies. vivo has also set up an intelligent manufacturing network (including those authorized by vivo), with an annual production capacity of nearly 200 million smartphones. As of now, vivo has branched out its sales network across more than 60 countries and regions, and is loved by more than 500 million users worldwide.

*"Benfen" is a term describing the attitude on doing the right things and doing things right - which is the ideal description of vivo's mission to create value for society.

Stay informed of latest vivo news at https://www.vivo.com/en/about-vivo/news

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Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
SYDNEY, July 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As a recognised leader in sustainability research, teaching and operations, and a university committed to becoming carbon neutral and climate positive by 2029, the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is proud to be hosting the inaugural Decarbonising Australia Business Summit: Partnering with Japan on the Transition to Net Zero this week.

Attendees to the Summit, organised by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), include 90 Japanese business leaders and hundreds of Australian industry, government and research representatives.

Among the keynote speakers are Minister for Climate Change and Energy, the Hon. Chris Bowen and Assistant Minister for Trade and Assistant Minister for Manufacturing, Senator the Hon. Tim Ayres.

Summit sessions featuring UTS experts include:

Panel session on UTS - Science + Industry Partnership in Action ; hosted by Melissa Edwards, Research Director of the Centre for Business and Sustainable Development, UTS, and with panellists Distinguished Professor Peter Ralph, Director Deep Green Biotech Hub, UTS and Richard Adamson, Founder, Owner, Chief Brewer, Young Henrys Brewery

; hosted by Melissa Edwards, Research Director of the Centre for Business and Sustainable Development, UTS, and with panellists Distinguished Professor Peter Ralph, Director Deep Green Biotech Hub, UTS and Richard Adamson, Founder, Owner, Chief Brewer, Young Henrys Brewery Networking session - UTS engineering expert in collaboration with industry partner addressing climate change ; with Julie Jupp, UTS Professor of Digital Engineering in dialogue with Digital Tech Company

; with Julie Jupp, UTS Professor of Digital Engineering in dialogue with Digital Tech Company Case study: UTS and NTT on how to establish impactful industry/university

Relationships; Moderator Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, Institute for Public Policy Governance, UTS, panellists Herve Harvard, Director, RAPIDO, Engineering, UTS, and Akifumi Nagatani, General Manager, Australian Global Business, NTT.

UTS Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andrew Parfitt, said that as an institution with a proven track record in partnering with government and industry, both in Australia and overseas, in areas such as green energy and carbon emissions reduction, UTS was pleased to be selected as host of the inaugural summit.

"We signed an Australian-first Power Purchase Agreement with a solar farm in 2015, signed an Australian-first precinct cooling agreement in 2016, and opened an Australian first plastic-free food court in 2019," he said.

"Now, in hosting this important international conversation between Japan and Australia on decarbonisation, we are once again able to contribute toward a more sustainable planet."

The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is among the top 100 universities in the world. As Australia's leading technology university, UTS drives positive impact through a range of global research and industry partnerships. Learn more at uts.edu.au.

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CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Japan is scheduled to release a raft of data on Monday, highlighting a busy day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. On tap are June figures for industrial production, retail sales, construction orders, housing starts and household confidence. Industrial production is expected to rise 2.4 percent on month after slipping 2.2 percent in May. Retail sales are expected to rise 5.9 percent on year, up from 5.8 percent in the previous month. Construction orders are expected to climb 7.6 percent on year after rising 4.2 percent a month earlier. Housing starts are tipped to ease an annual 0.2 percent after gaining 3.5 percent in May. The household confidence index is seen at 36.0, down from 36.2 a month prior. Australia will provide June figures for private sector credit; in May, credit was up 0.4 percent on month. New Zealand will see July results for the business confidence index from ANZ; in June, the score was -18.0. China will release July results for its manufacturing, non-manufacturing and composite PMIs from the National Bureau of Statistics; in June, their scores were 49.0, 53.2 and 52.5, respectively. Hong Kong will provide preliminary Q2 figures for gross domestic product, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.9 percent on quarter and a fall of 4.4 percent on year. That follows gains of 5.3 percent on quarter and 2.7 percent on year in the three months prior. Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
- only available in ENGLISH -



This is a joint press release by RoodMicrotec N.V. ("RoodMicrotec" and, together with its subsidiaries, the "RoodMicrotec Group") and Microtest S.p.A. ("Microtest"), an entity incorporated under Italian law, controlled by Seven Holding 3 S.a r.l., a wholly owned subsidiary of the private equity fund Xenon (as defined below), pursuant to the provisions of Section 4Paragraph 3 and Section 5Paragraphs4 and 5 of the Dutch Decree on Public Takeover Bids (Besluit openbare biedingen Wft, the "Decree") in connection with the announcedrecommended public offer by Microtest for all the issued and outstanding ordinary shares in the capital of RoodMicrotec (the "Offer").

This press release does not constitute an offer, or any solicitation of any offer, to buy or subscribe for any securities. Any offer will be made only by means of anoffer memorandum(the "Offer Memorandum")approved by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiele Markten) (the "AFM"). This press release is not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, in or into, directly or indirectly, the United States, Canada and Japan or in any other jurisdiction in which such release, publication or distribution would be unlawful.

ADDITIONAL ROODMICROTEC SHAREHOLDERSGIVE IRREVOCABLE COMMITMENT TO TENDER THEIR SHARES UNDER THE OFFERBY MICROTEST ANNOUNCED ON 13 JUNE 2023

Highlights

Microtest has reached agreement with three additional RoodMicrotec shareholders in relation to their irrevocable commitment to tender all their Shares under the Offer

These shareholders collectively hold 4,700,000 Shares, representing approximately 6.3% of the outstanding Shares

In total, 30.5% of the Shares are now committed under the Offer on a fully diluted basis

Vicopisano, Italy / Deventer, the Netherlands, 31 July 2023

Reference is made to the joint press releases by Microtest and RoodMicrotec dated 13 June 2023 and 6 July 2023 in respect of the announced recommended all-cash public offer envisaged to be made by Microtest at an offer price of EUR 0.35 in cash per share (the "Offer Price") in the capital of RoodMicrotec (the "Shares" and each a "Share").

As set out in the press release by Microtest and RoodMicrotec dated 13 June 2023, several of RoodMicrotec's substantial shareholders and warrant holders have previously undertaken to (i) support the Offer and tender their Shares or, (ii) subject to the Offer being declared unconditional, either (a) assign the warrants issued by RoodMicrotec (the "Warrants") held by them to Microtest or (b) exercise their Warrants and tender the Shares to be issued pursuant to the exercise of the Warrants under the Offer.

Today, Microtest and RoodMicrotec jointly announce the entering into of irrevocable undertakings with three additional RoodMicrotec shareholders.





Pursuant to the irrevocable undertakings entered into by each of these shareholders individually, these shareholders will:

a) tender their Shares under the Offer, if and when made. They will do so on the terms and conditions of the Offer, as to be described in the Offer Memorandum that is to be published in connection with the Offer, including the Offer Price. As per today, the relevant shareholders collectively hold 4,700,000 Shares, representing approximately 6.3% of the outstanding Shares; and

b) vote in favour of the resolutions related to the Offer to be voted on at the extraordinary general meeting of RoodMicrotec to be held in connection with the Offer.

The irrevocable undertakings contain certain customary undertakings and conditions, which are equal to the undertakings and conditions previously agreed with the shareholders that have signed irrevocable undertakings prior to the initial announcement of the Offer on 13 June 2023, as described in the press release by Microtest and RoodMicrotec published on that same day.

In accordance with the applicable public offer rules, any information shared with the relevant shareholders about the Offer shall, if not published prior to the Offer Memorandum being made generally available, be included in the Offer Memorandum in respect of the Offer (if and when issued). At the date of this press release Microtest on the one hand and the relevant RoodMicrotec shareholders on the other hand, do not hold shares in each other's capital.

Together with the irrevocable undertakings already referred to in the press release by Microtest and RoodMicrotec dated 13 June 2023, all irrevocable undertakings that have now been obtained by Microtest represent in total approximately 30.5% of the Shares as per closing of the Offer (on a fully diluted basis, assuming all Warrants are exercised immediately prior to closing of the Offer).

Settlement Agent

Attn: Corporate Broking (HQ7212)

ABN AMRO Bank N.V.

Gustav Mahlerlaan 10

1082 PP Amsterdam

The Netherlands

For more information:

Huijskens Sassen Communications

Clemens Sassen

+31 6 46 11 11 89

clemens@hscomms.nl



Advisors

On behalf of Microtest, Rothschild & Co is acting as sole financial advisor and Linklaters LLP is acting as legal counsel.

AXECO Corporate Finance B.V. is acting as RoodMicrotec's sole financial advisor and Bird & Bird (Netherlands) LLP is acting as RoodMicrotec's legal counsel.

About RoodMicrotec

With more than 50 years of experience in the semiconductor and electronics industry, RoodMicrotec is a leading independent company for semiconductor supply and quality services. RoodMicrotec is a highly valued partner for many companies worldwide and offers specifically tailored turnkey solutions for each single customer's requirements. The turnkey services include project management, wafer test, assembly, final test, qualification, failure analysis, and logistics. All services provided by RoodMicrotec meet the high quality standards of the automotive, industrial, healthcare, and high reliability aerospace sectors. RoodMicrotec is headquartered in Deventer, Netherlands, with operational units in Nordlingen and Stuttgart, Germany.

For more information, please visit https://www.roodmicrotec.com.

About Microtest

Microtest is a well-reputed player both in designing and manufacturing automated test equipment and in providing testing services. It is an entity incorporated under Italian law, controlled by Seven Holding 3 S.a r.l., a wholly owned subsidiary of the private equity fund Xenon Private Equity VII SCA SICAV RAIF ("Xenon"), a leading mid-cap private equity fund with 33+ years of experience and 175+ investments.

The current CEOs, Mr. Giuseppe Amelio and Mr. Moreno Lupi have been leading Microtest since its foundation in 1999 in Altopascio (Lucca). Over time, Microtest has become a technological partner of some of the world's leading microchip manufacturers, skilled in developing innovative solutions, thanks to a solid engineering team and good production flexibility. In 2004, Microtest started designing and producing Automatic Test Equipment (the systems used in the semiconductor industry for electronic components and wafter testing) for several applications such as avionics and cars' electronic modules, radar and wireless communications for defence and medical devices. A few years later, Microtest broadened its scope by also offering "test house" services, furthermore enhanced with a direct presence in the Far East following the opening of a subsidiary in Malaysia in 2018. In April 2022, Xenon Private Equity acquired a majority stake in Microtest, spurring its international expansion strategy. Microtest reached more than 30 million in revenues in 2022, with an Ebitda margin above 38%. Microtest commercial network and customer service are spread over the US, Europe, and Asia. In 2023 Microtest acquired Test Inspire, a highly innovative Dutch company focused on Automatic Testing Equipment.

For more information, please visit https://www.microtest.net.

Disclaimer

This is a joint press release by RoodMicrotec and Microtest pursuant to the provisions of Section 4 Paragraphs 1 and 3, Section 5 Paragraph 1 and Section 7 Paragraph 4 of the Decree and contains inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information in this press release is not intendedto be complete. This press release is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer, or any solicitation of any offer, to buy or subscribe for any securities.

The distribution of this press release may, in some countries, be restricted by law or regulation. Accordingly, persons who come into possession of this document should inform themselves of and observe these restrictions. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, RoodMicrotec, Microtestand Xenon disclaim any responsibility or liability for the violation of any such restrictions by any person. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of that jurisdiction. Neither RoodMicrotec,Microtest nor Xenon, nor any of their respective advisors, assumes any responsibility for any violation of any of these restrictions. Any RoodMicrotec shareholder who is in any doubt as to his or her position should consult an appropriate professional advisor without delay. This announcement is not to be published or distributed in or to the United States, Canada or Japan. The information in the press release is not intended to be complete. This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer or an invitation to acquire or dispose of any securities or investment advice or an inducement to enter into investment activity. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or acquire the securities of RoodMicrotec in any jurisdiction.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may be considered "forward-looking statements," such as statements relating to the impact of this Offer on RoodMicrotec andMicrotest and the targeted timeline for the Offer. Forward-looking statements include those preceded by, followed by or that include the words "anticipated,""expected" or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. Although RoodMicrotec,Microtestand Xenon believe that the assumptions upon which their respective financial information and their respective forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, they can give no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical experience or from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, receipt of regulatory approvals without unexpected delays or conditions, Microtest's ability to successfully operate RoodMicrotec without disruption to its other business activities, Microtest's ability to achieve the anticipated results from the acquisition of RoodMicrotec, the effects of competition, economic conditions in the global markets in which RoodMicrotec operates, and other factors that can be found in RoodMicrotec's, Microtest'sand/or Xenon's press releases and public filings.

Neither RoodMicrotec,Microtest nor Xenon, nor any of their respective advisors, accepts any responsibility for any financial information contained in this press release relating to the business, results of operations or financial condition of the other or their respective groups. Each of RoodMicrotec, Microtestand Xenon expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Anhang
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - Provenance Gold Corp. (CSE: PAU) (OTCQB: PVGDF) (the "Company" or "Provenance") is pleased to announce that its ED-07 drill hole in Malheur County, Eastern Oregon has returned continuous mineralization over 114 meters of 3.1 grams per ton gold ending in mineralization.

The table below lists the complete gold assay summaries from the ED-07 drill hole:

Hole Depth Incline Bearing From

(m) To

(m) Length

(m) Gold

(g/t) Highest 1.5m Assay (g) ED-07 114.3m -60 315 0 114.3 114.3 3.10







"Including" 35 68.5 33.5 7.63







"Including" 38.1 54.9 16.8 13.04







"Including" 38.1 41.1 3.0 39.87 40.84





"Including" 86.9 114.3 27.4 2.057



Figure 1: Complete gold assay summaries from ED-07

This hole, which is over 200 meters away from our previously announced ED-04 drill hole was drilled in proximity to historic hole R-01 but is a new drill hole designed to go further into the gold system. The hole terminated in mineralization due to water coming into the drill hole which will not be an issue with core drilling in the future and will allow for much deeper holes.

Project Manager Steve Craig explained, "Hole ED-07 is a huge success and it is exceptional because of the fully mineralized length of 114 meters and its overall high gold values that were found."

CEO Rauno Perttu stated, "This is exciting because our newly found high grade mineralization in and below the historically projected gold volume suggests that our current and future drilling could increase this gold volume substantially."

The Company reports that ED-05 and ED-06 were both mineralized over significant lengths but did not reach our threshold of "material event" as these are holes designed to help confirm the historical database. These are being further analyzed and will be reported in detail at the completion of the drill program.

The map below shows the drill hole locations of ED-05, ED-06 and ED-07 in relation to the earlier holes the Company has drilled and already reported.

Figure 2: Current Drilling Targets

https://www.provenancegold.com/images/gallery/PAU_News_165.jpg



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5654/175377_c027afc7f4b6d985_001full.jpg

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

The reverse-circulation drilling program utilized by Provenance completed a quality assurance / quality control program (QA/QC) with control samples consisting of standards, blanks, lab duplicates and field duplicates inserted approximately every 30 meters. Control samples were randomly inserted into the sample stream prior to being sent to the laboratory. The RC drill sampling was in 1.5-meter intervals. Drill samples were taken to Paragon Geochemical, an ISO 9001 compliant company in Sparks, Nevada for fire assaying for gold. The rejects and pulps remain with Paragon in Sparks, Nevada. The QA/QC program was implemented as part of the sampling procedures for the exploration program.

Qualified Person

Steven Craig, CPG, Project Manager for the Company, and a qualified person as defined under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed, and approved the technical contents of this news release.

About Provenance Gold Corp.

Provenance Gold Corp. is a precious metals exploration company with a focus on gold and silver mineralization within North America. The Company currently holds interests in three properties, two in Nevada, and one in eastern Oregon, USA. For further information please visit the Company's website at https://provenancegold.com or contact Rob Clark at rclark@provenancegold.com.

On behalf of the Board,

Provenance Gold Corp.

Rauno Perttu, Chief Executive Officer

Safe Harbor Statement: Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange, nor its regulation services provider, accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When or if used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "may", "schedule" and similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/175377
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / Aton Resources Inc. (TSX-V:AAN) ("Aton" or the "Company") is pleased to update investors with the latest results from surface sampling programmes at its Zeno and Semna regional target areas, at the Company's 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession ("Abu Marawat" or the "Concession"), in the Eastern Desert of Egypt.

Highlights:

A total of 106 selective grab samples were collected from Zeno and the Semna regional prospect areas;

The Semna regional samples were taken in a wide and previously unsampled area to the southeast of the historic Semna gold mine, which has been heavily exploited by artisanal miners in recent times, and the Zeno samples were taken from new artisanal workings where newly and/or more deeply exposed mineralised structures had previously been sampled at or near surface;

34 samples were collected from the Zeno prospect area, and returned assays including 36.20 g/t Au, 15.30 g/t Au and 14.15 g/t Au . 3 more samples also returned assays greater than 10 g/t Au, and a further 3 samples also returned assays greater than 5 g/t Au;

. 3 more samples also returned assays greater than 10 g/t Au, and a further 3 samples also returned assays greater than 5 g/t Au; 72 samples were collected from the Semna regional prospect area, and returned assays including 25.70 g/t Au, 16.55 g/t Au and 15.20 g/t Au. 4 more samples returned assays greater than 10 g/t Au, and a further 6 samples returned assays greater than 5 g/t Au;

4 more samples returned assays greater than 10 g/t Au, and a further 6 samples returned assays greater than 5 g/t Au; The structural orientations and style of mineralisation at both prospects bear similarities to those observed at the nearby Semna gold mine;

This sampling programme significantly expands the area of mineralised veins and structures in the broader Semna-Zeno area.

"We are very pleased with another set of impressive sampling results from the Semna and Zeno areas, which significantly expands the area of known mineralisation, as well as helping us to better understand the distribution of the mineralisation and its structural controls. The entire Semna-Zeno regional area is a very high priority target for us, and we have now started RC drilling at Semna, and expect to start drilling at Zeno in the middle of August" said Tonno Vahk, Interim CEO. "We continue to push ahead, and remain firmly on track to submit our application for the mining licence at Abu Marawat in the coming weeks. We were also pleased to have recently attended the very successful Egypt Mining Forum in Cairo, and would like to congratulate our partners at the Ministry of Petroleum and the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority for organising and hosting such a great event which will surely aid in the development of the mineral exploration and mining sectors in Egypt. We are already looking forward to next year's event!"

Abu Marawat regional sampling programme

The Company has recently undertaken several surface sampling programmes, as part of its preparation and planning activities for the ongoing regional RC exploration drilling programme started in May 2023 (see news release dated May 19, 2023), and also to guide future exploration activities. Samples from the surface sampling programme have returned assays up to and including 67.5 g/t Au from Abu Gaharish, 54.9 g/t Au from Bohlog, and 27.6 g/t Au from Semna (see news release dated May 29, 2023), and 104.5 g/t Au from Zeno (see news release dated June 26, 2023).

Figure 1: Geological map of the Abu Marawat Concession, showing the location of Zeno

Discussion of results

Zeno

Sampling was undertaken at the Zeno prospect area, located approximately 12 km north of the Rodruin mineral deposit and 4 km west of the old Semna gold mine (Figure 1). Artisanal miners have been very active in the general Zeno area in the previous 3 years, and have excavated numerous open pit and underground workings on what Aton believe to be potentially very high grade gold mineralised veins and structures. Previous surface sampling by Aton of visible gold and iron oxide bearing quartz veins returned assays including 117.5 g/t Au, 100.5 g/t Au, 72.3 g/t Au, 56.5 g/t Au and 48.3 g/t Au (see news release dated May 30, 2018), and more recently 104.5 g/t Au, 67.1 g/t Au and 43.0 g/t Au (see news release dated June 26, 2023).

Aton has recently completed a follow-up programme of selective grab sampling at Zeno, in areas previously sampled in 2018 (Figure 2), but which have recently been exploited by artisanal miners. A total of 34 samples were collected from recently mined veins and structures, or from excavations that were previously sampled at a higher level or along strike. Selected results from the recent sampling programme are shown in Table 1, and full assay results are presented in Appendix A.

Sample ID Project E N Sample type Au (ppm) Ag (ppm) Cu (ppm) Pb (ppm) Zn (ppm) AHA-45616 Zeno 555097 2924519 Grab 14.15 2.5 112 9 892 AHA-45622 Zeno 555309 2924030 Grab 11.20 2.2 387 10 301 AHA-45625 Zeno 554711 2924464 Grab 13.40 2.6 527 7 294 AHA-45640 Zeno 555265 2923672 Grab 36.20 4.2 2 9 1 AHA-45644 Zeno 555014 2924404 Grab 15.30 1.6 8 4 10 AHA-45645 Zeno 554940 2924426 Grab 10.20 1.5 13 7 25

Table 1: Selected surface sampling results from Zeno

Figure 2: Zeno prospect - sample location plan (recent imagery showing artisanal mining activity)

The mineralisation has been worked extensively in both ancient and recent times in the Zeno area and appears to consist predominantly of narrow (typically <2m) quartz veins and quartz veined shear zones, typically hosted within grey to pinkish coarse grained granodiorites. Some of the individual veins and workings can be traced for 300m or more. Previous sampling has indicated that the mineralisation is hosted within both the quartz veins and their altered and sheared wall rock. In places the veins appear to pinch and swell with some of the underground workings reaching up to 5m width in places (see news release dated May 30, 2018).

Of the 34 samples taken during the current programme 6 (18% of the samples) returned assays greater than 10 g/t Au (see Table 1), 9 (26%) returned assays greater than 5 g/t Au, and 28 in total (82%) returned assays greater than 1 g/t Au.

The current sampling programme has confirmed that gold is hosted in both quartz veins and their surrounding altered and sheared wall rocks in typically narrow zones, that sometimes pinch and swell. In some locations multiple veins were observed to coalesce together and anastomose, returning higher grades of gold mineralisation where the shearing is more intense.

The veins are typically steep, and occur in multiple orientations, however there appears to be a dominant orientation striking approximately east-southeast to east-northeast throughout the area, with the veins and shear zones generally dipping between about 60 to sub-vertically to the south. There are also a number of approximately north to north-northeast striking structures and veins that generally dip to the east, one of which previously returned a gold grade of 104.5 g/t Au (see news release dated June 26, 2023). A different north striking structure returned a grade of 36.20 g/t Au during this phase of sampling, and Aton plans to drill these potentially high grade structures during the upcoming RC drill programme.

The current sampling programme has considerably expanded the mineralised area and understanding of the mineralisation at the Zeno prospect. It has also confirmed the presence of multiple high grade gold bearing veins and structures, up to several hundreds of metres long, throughout the general area. The style and structural setting of the Zeno mineralisation bears distinct similarities to that at the Semna gold mine, approximately 4 km to the east.

Semna (regional)

An additional programme of selective grab sampling and mapping was completed in the regional Semna area, where extensive exploitation of mineralised veins and structures has again been carried out by artisanal miners in recent years. The area sampled in the current programme is located between 1.5 km - 4 km southeast of the old British-era Semna gold mine (Figure 1), and had been largely been previously unsampled by Aton.

A total of 72 samples were collected in the current programme (Figure 3). In addition, 2 QAQC samples, one blank and one duplicate sample, were inserted into the sample run sent for assaying. Selected results from the sampling programme are shown in Table 2, and full assay results are presented in Appendix A.

Sample ID Project E N Sample type Au (ppm) Ag (ppm) Cu (ppm) Pb (ppm) Zn (ppm) AHA-45541 Semna (regional) 559969 2923599 Grab 13.45 6.0 2220 11 3070 AHA-45558 Semna (regional) 560013 2922952 Grab 13.50 6.1 3670 26 278 AHA-45560 Semna (regional) 559679 2922722 Grab 10.25 2.4 601 11 28 AHA-45571 Semna (regional) 560023 2922623 Grab 10.30 2.1 746 4 18 AHA-45586 Semna (regional) 561046 2922169 Grab 16.55 70.9 762 3000 582 AHA-45601 Semna (regional) 559847 2922376 Grab 25.70 17.1 555 6 32 AHA-45605 Semna (regional) 560023 2922102 Grab 15.20 22.7 146 1710 227

Table 2: Selected surface sampling results from the Semna regional area

Figure 3: Semna regional area prospect - sample location plan

The mineralisation worked in recent times in the Semna regional prospect area appears to consist predominantly of narrow (typically <1m) quartz veins and quartz veined, carbonate altered shear zones, typically hosted within dark green fine grained diorites. The veins and shear zones mapped and sampled are predominantly moderate to steeply dipping to the southwest, and returned assays up to 25.70 g/t Au (AHA-45601). Other north-south striking structures, reminiscent of the Zeno and main Semna gold mine areas, returned assays of up to 16.55 g/t Au (AHA-45586). Some of the individual veins and workings can be traced for 200m or more with minor apparent strike slip offsets. This sampling programme has indicated that mineralisation is hosted within both the quartz veins and their altered and sheared wall rocks.

Of the 72 samples taken in the current programme 7 (10% of the samples) returned assays greater than 10 g/t Au (see Table 1), 13 (18%) returned assays greater than 5 g/t Au, and 42 in total (58%) returned assays greater than 1 g/t Au.

The current sampling programme has considerably expanded the area of known mineralisation away from the historic Semna gold mine, and has confirmed the presence of multiple previously unidentified high grade gold bearing veins and structures, up to several hundreds of metres long, throughout the regional Semna area.

Sample processing and analytical procedures

Samples were collected in the field by Aton's exploration teams. The selective grab samples were collected manually, and were mostly, but not entirely, collected in situ, with some samples collected from the artisanal miners' residual rock dumps and ore piles, for example.

The samples were weighed and crushed to -4mm onsite at the Rodruin sample prep facility, and split to a nominal c. 250-500g sample size. The coarse crushed reject samples are retained onsite.

The c. 250-500g dried, crushed and split samples were shipped to ALS Minerals sample preparation laboratory at Marsa Alam, Egypt where they were pulverised to a size fraction of better than 85% passing 75 microns. From this pulverised material a further sub-sample was split off with a nominal c. 50g size, which was shipped on to ALS Minerals at Rosia Montana, Romania for analysis. The reject pulps were returned from ALS, and are also retained onsite.

Samples were analysed for gold by fire assay with an atomic absorption spectroscopy ("AAS") finish (analytical code Au-AA23), and for silver, copper, lead and zinc using an aqua regia digest followed by an AAS finish (analytical code AA45). Any high grade gold samples (>10 g/t Au) were re-analysed using analytical code Au-GRA21 (also fire assay, but with a gravimetric finish).

About Aton Resources Inc.

Aton Resources Inc. (AAN:TSX-V) is focused on its 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession ("Abu Marawat"), located in Egypt's Arabian-Nubian Shield, approximately 200 km north of Centamin's world-class Sukari gold mine. Aton has identified numerous gold and base metal exploration targets at Abu Marawat, including the Hamama deposit in the west, the Abu Marawat deposit in the northeast, and the advanced Rodruin exploration prospect in the south of the Concession. Two historic British gold mines are also located on the Concession at Sir Bakis and Semna. Aton has identified several distinct geological trends within Abu Marawat, which display potential for the development of a variety of styles of precious and base metal mineralisation. Abu Marawat is 447.7 km2 in size and is located in an area of excellent infrastructure; a four-lane highway, a 220kV power line, and a water pipeline are in close proximity, as are the international airports at Hurghada and Luxor.

Qualified person

The technical information contained in this News Release was prepared by Paul Angus BSc (hons), PgD, MIMMM, FGS, Senior Exploration Geologist of Aton Resources Inc. Mr. Angus is a qualified person (QP) under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

For further information regarding Aton Resources Inc., please visit us at www.atonresources.com or contact:

TONNO VAHK

Interim CEO

Tel: +1 604 318 0390

Email: info@atonresources.com

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions; by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Appendix A: Surface sample results

Sample ID Project E N Sample type Au (ppm) Ag (ppm) Cu (ppm) Pb (ppm) Zn (ppm) AHA-45615 Zeno 555107 2924564 Grab 0.47 <0.2 4 3 21 AHA-45616 Zeno 555097 2924519 Grab 14.15 2.5 112 9 892 AHA-45617 Zeno 555062 2924515 Grab 6.31 1.6 61 10 234 AHA-45618 Zeno 555124 2924467 Grab 1.94 1.0 8 9 9 AHA-45619 Zeno 555090 2924312 Grab 7.90 0.6 58 4 24 AHA-45620 Zeno 555267 2924436 Grab 1.63 0.3 123 5 39 AHA-45621 Zeno 555312 2924058 Grab 2.46 0.7 29 4 32 AHA-45622 Zeno 555309 2924030 Grab 11.20 2.2 387 10 301 AHA-45623 Zeno 555580 2924043 Grab 4.21 0.4 1115 2 4 AHA-45624 Zeno 555184 2924131 Grab 1.18 0.9 140 5 117 AHA-45625 Zeno 554711 2924464 Grab 13.4 2.6 527 7 294 AHA-45626 Zeno 554713 2924464 Grab 3.83 0.7 120 6 213 AHA-45627 Zeno 554639 2924415 Grab 2.45 0.2 84 7 23 AHA-45628 Zeno 554622 2924412 Grab 0.77 <0.2 29 4 8 AHA-45629 Zeno 555055 2924221 Grab 4.94 0.5 24 4 55 AHA-45630 Zeno 555033 2924219 Grab 0.36 0.2 13 3 5 AHA-45631 Zeno 555113 2924189 Grab 2.85 0.5 5 6 16 AHA-45632 Zeno 555242 2923802 Grab 1.11 0.4 249 6 601 AHA-45633 Zeno 555239 2923775 Grab 1.14 1.2 327 7 261 AHA-45634 Zeno 555075 2924082 Grab 4.10 1.6 913 8 25 AHA-45635 Zeno 554875 2924160 Grab 0.13 <0.2 18 3 13 AHA-45636 Zeno 555019 2923865 Grab 3.39 0.2 13 6 37 AHA-45637 Zeno 555150 2923710 Grab 1.78 0.3 3 4 9 AHA-45638 Zeno 555104 2923755 Grab 1.31 0.2 132 6 7 AHA-45639 Zeno 555266 2923658 Grab 6.20 1.2 12 9 50 AHA-45640 Zeno 555265 2923672 Grab 36.20 4.2 2 9 1 AHA-45641 Zeno 554700 2924596 Grab 0.66 0.3 13 2 6 AHA-45642 Zeno 554697 2924598 Grab 1.32 0.5 400 5 23 AHA-45643 Zeno 554914 2924451 Grab 1.81 0.2 3 4 9 AHA-45644 Zeno 555014 2924404 Grab 15.30 1.6 8 4 10 AHA-45645 Zeno 554940 2924426 Grab 10.20 1.5 13 7 25 AHA-45646 Zeno 554872 2924473 Grab 4.42 1.6 24 4 102 AHA-45647 Zeno 554808 2924422 Grab 3.73 0.4 15 11 27 AHA-45648 Zeno 554844 2924386 Grab 0.07 <0.2 8 4 49 AHA-45541 Semna (regional) 559969 2923599 Grab 13.45 6.0 2220 11 3070 AHA-45542 Semna (regional) 560046 2923656 Grab 0.43 <0.2 31 8 82 AHA-45543 Semna (regional) 560004 2923686 Grab 5.79 12.3 43 590 135 AHA-45544 Semna (regional) 559974 2923708 Grab 5.62 2.8 23 119 149 AHA-45545 Semna (regional) 559987 2923802 Grab 0.04 <0.2 13 6 11 AHA-45546 Semna (regional) 559885 2923593 Grab 1.20 1.4 91 315 77 AHA-45547 Semna (regional) 559854 2923443 Grab 1.39 0.6 26 23 67 Sample ID Project E N Sample type Au (ppm) Ag (ppm) Cu (ppm) Pb (ppm) Zn (ppm) AHA-45548 Semna (regional) 559926 2923481 Grab 6.07 47.0 20 11400 273 AHA-45549 Semna (regional) 560022 2923454 Grab 0.07 0.2 7 29 18 AHA-45550 Semna (regional) 560009 2923385 Grab 1.87 2.2 75 166 33 AHA-45551 Semna (regional) 560108 2923319 Grab 1.16 0.8 271 97 187 AHA-45552 Semna (regional) 559836 2923319 Grab 1.11 0.3 58 48 133 AHA-45553 Semna (regional) 559791 2923101 Grab 0.15 <0.2 60 9 133 AHA-45554 Semna (regional) 559802 2923054 Grab 1.39 0.5 186 8 491 AHA-45555 Semna (regional) 559868 2923058 Grab 0.03 <0.2 130 9 78 AHA-45556 Semna (regional) 559865 2923057 Grab 0.66 0.3 223 9 85 AHA-45557 Semna (regional) 559995 2923000 Grab 1.20 1.6 32970 9 107 AHA-45558 Semna (regional) 560013 2922952 Grab 13.50 6.1 3670 26 278 AHA-45559 Semna (regional) 559678 2922711 Grab 1.03 0.3 610 8 57 AHA-45560 Semna (regional) 559679 2922722 Grab 10.25 2.4 601 11 28 AHA-45561 Semna (regional) 559648 2922743 Grab 0.06 <0.2 23 9 111 AHA-45562 Semna (regional) 559723 2922863 Grab 4.05 1.4 973 13 34 AHA-45563 Semna (regional) 559729 2922865 Grab 0.11 <0.2 19 6 41 AHA-45564 Semna (regional) 559730 2922864 Grab 0.19 <0.2 40 7 47 AHA-45565 Semna (regional) 560232 2922517 Grab 2.49 2.3 483 130 55 AHA-45566 Semna (regional) 560225 2922506 Grab 7.40 43.0 374 990 624 AHA-45567 Semna (regional) 560081 2922964 Grab 4.70 12.9 117 323 70 AHA-45568 Semna (regional) 559949 2922892 Grab 1.09 0.9 17 42 134 AHA-45569 Semna (regional) 560172 2922821 Grab 0.09 <0.2 8 5 11 AHA-45570 Semna (regional) 560073 2922636 Grab 4.73 1.9 2130 8 113 AHA-45571 Semna (regional) 560023 2922623 Grab 10.30 2.1 746 4 18 AHA-45572 Semna (regional) 560077 2922542 Grab 1.44 3.1 47 350 58 AHA-45573 Semna (regional) 560091 2922630 Grab 0.65 <0.2 27 5 11 AHA-45574 Semna (regional) 560075 2922595 Grab 7.83 1.2 8 53 23 AHA-45575 Semna (regional) 559723 2922557 Grab 1.30 0.2 183 4 16 AHA-45576 Semna (regional) 559721 2922517 Grab 2.14 1.1 1650 3 12 AHA-45577 Semna (regional) 559770 2922451 Grab 0.64 0.3 165 6 33 AHA-45578 Semna (regional) 559775 2922441 Grab 2.11 1.5 549 6 68 AHA-45579 Semna (regional) 559911 2922365 Grab 3.63 0.5 509 5 11 AHA-45580 Semna (regional) Blank <0.01 <0.2 4 14 64 AHA-45581 Semna (regional) 561199 2921960 Grab 1.45 6.6 145 513 90 AHA-45582 Semna (regional) 561222 2921964 Grab 1.71 5.8 620 828 603 AHA-45583 Semna (regional) 561118 2921871 Grab 2.05 5.1 762 586 1475 AHA-45584 Semna (regional) 561077 2921924 Grab 0.08 12.9 14 132 15 AHA-45585 Semna (regional) 561048 2922169 Grab 4.96 54.5 986 3590 980 AHA-45586 Semna (regional) 561046 2922169 Grab 16.55 70.9 762 3000 582 AHA-45587 Semna (regional) 561044 2922167 Grab 0.55 1.5 52 43 114 AHA-45588 Semna (regional) 561159 2922092 Grab 4.26 10.6 271 721 311 AHA-45589 Semna (regional) 560654 2921674 Grab 0.85 2.3 22 324 211 AHA-45590 Semna (regional) 560654 2921674 Grab 0.80 3.6 87 113 41 AHA-45591 Semna (regional) 560355 2923914 Grab 0.03 0.4 258 7 30 Sample ID Project E N Sample type Au (ppm) Ag (ppm) Cu (ppm) Pb (ppm) Zn (ppm) AHA-45592 Semna (regional) 560373 2923916 Grab 0.01 <0.2 105 6 25 AHA-45593 Semna (regional) 560379 2923913 Grab 0.09 0.7 49 8 84 AHA-45594 Semna (regional) 560642 2923975 Grab 0.01 <0.2 22 6 65 AHA-45595 Semna (regional) 560579 2923823 Grab 0.03 <0.2 6 4 17 AHA-45596 Semna (regional) 560581 2923834 Grab 0.02 <0.2 5 4 11 AHA-45597 Semna (regional) 560453 2921739 Grab 0.14 0.2 21 4 32 AHA-45598 Semna (regional) 560678 2921952 Grab 0.12 2.6 65 43 36 AHA-45599 Semna (regional) 560615 2922066 Grab 3.61 9.4 162 1000 435 AHA-45600 Semna (regional) 559825 2922383 Grab 0.66 0.2 205 9 16 AHA-45601 Semna (regional) 559847 2922376 Grab 25.70 17.1 555 6 32 AHA-45602 Semna (regional) 560043 2922228 Grab 0.25 2.2 26 23 22 AHA-45603 Semna (regional) 560035 2922249 Grab 5.46 4.7 92 18 44 AHA-45604 Semna (regional) 560012 2922125 Grab 2.40 6.6 121 131 60 AHA-45605 Semna (regional) 560023 2922102 Grab 15.20 22.7 146 1710 227 AHA-45606 Semna (regional) 560045 2922074 Grab 0.08 <0.2 3 7 17 AHA-45607 Semna (regional) 560028 2922081 Grab 2.24 3.5 12 341 123 AHA-45608 Semna (regional) 559923 2922106 Grab 1.02 0.7 34 603 45 AHA-45609 Semna (regional) 559943 2922047 Grab 0.33 1.1 131 46 37 AHA-45610 Semna (regional) 559948 2922026 Grab 0.86 1.6 652 38 165 AHA-45611 Semna (regional) 560031 2921921 Grab 4.36 3.9 49 33 58 AHA-45612 Semna (regional) 560109 2921710 Grab 1.16 2.0 29 174 107 AHA-45613 Semna (regional) 560113 2921553 Grab 0.04 0.4 142 11 36 AHA-45614 Semna (regional) Duplicate 0.04 0.4 138 11 35

Notes:

All coordinates are UTM (WGS84) Zone 36R Au analysed using Au-AA23 analytical code, overlimit assays >10 ppm re-analysed using Au-GRA21 analytical code

SOURCE: Aton Resources, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/770701/Aton-Reports-New-Surface-Sampling-Results-from-the-Zeno-and-Semna-Regional-Target-Areas
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - SAUDIA, the national flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, announced the expansion of its fleet with the addition of new aircraft type, Airbus A321neo under the slogan "A neo-way of flying." This feeds into SAUDIA's expansion plans as the airline aims to add 20 more A321neo aircrafts to its fleet by 2026.





SAUDIA A321neo Aircraft



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The A321neo aircraft is a narrow-body airliner part of the A320 family, the world's most popular single-aisle aircraft family and airlines' preferred choice with airlines around the world due to its reputation for high performance and superior comfort. The aircraft offers new levels of performance, in a typical two-class interior layout with 20 Business Class seats and 168 Guest Class seats.

The aircraft is characterized with its ability to run on much less fuel. The A320 family of aircraft have saved 20 million tons of Co2 since the A320neo came into service globally in 2016. By incorporating Sharklets, new fuel-efficient engines and latest cabin innovations, the A320neo has also seen a 20 per cent decrease in fuel burning and Co2 emissions, a 50 per cent reduction in noise footprint, a 5 per cent lower airframe maintenance costs and a 14 per cent lower cash operating costs per seat versus previous generation aircraft.

Captain Ibrahim Koshy, SAUDIA CEO, said, "We are excited to expand our fleet with the new Airbus A321neo aircraft. Our priority is to offer the best guest experience possible and to bring the world to Saudi Arabia, and we will continue to purchase state-of-the-art aircraft from the world's top manufacturers to deliver on that promise."

Koshy added, "We commend Airbus for continuously looking to improve the performance of their aircraft, which goes in line with SAUDIA's ambition to provide the best guests experience possible while contributing to make aviation more sustainable.'"

This partnership highlights the trust and historic relationship between SAUDIA and Airbus. It also feeds into the Saudi Aviation Strategy objectives which aims to turn Saudi Arabia into a leader in the global industry, by enhancing the customer experience, improve safety, and promote environmental sustainability. The strategy aligns with SAUDIA's expansion goals as the airline works towards bringing around 330 million visitors to the Kingdom by 2030. By working with Airbus and expanding its fleet, SAUDIA is working towards its goals of becoming an industry-leading airline. expansion of SAUDIA's fleet will also help create new job opportunities for pilots, cabin crew, and other operational positions.

About Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA)

Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA) is the national flag carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Established in 1945, the company has grown to become one of the Middle East's largest airlines.

SAUDIA has invested significantly in upgrading its aircraft and currently operates one of the youngest fleet. The airline serves an extensive global route network covering around 100 destinations across four continents, including all 28 domestic airports in Saudi Arabia.

A member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO), SAUDIA has also been a member airline in SkyTeam, the second largest alliance, since 2012.

The airline is ranked as a Global Five-Star Major Airline by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) and has been awarded Diamond status by APEX Health Safety powered by SimpliFlying in recognition of its comprehensive approach to safety during the pandemic.

Most recently, SAUDIA was named the Middle East's Fastest Growing Airline in 2022 by Brand Finance and the World's Most Improved Airline in 2021 by Skytrax, the second time it has received this prestigious accolade.

For more information on Saudi Arabian Airlines, please visit www.saudia.com.

Media Center

Saudi Arabian Airlines Headquarters

Jeddah 21231, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Email: mediacenter@saudia.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/175425
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - York Harbour Metals Inc. (TSXV: YORK) (OTC Pink: YORKF) (FSE: 5DE0) (the "Company" or "York") announces a significant discovery of high-grade rare earth elements ("REE") mineralization at its 100%-owned Bottom Brook Project in Western Newfoundland & Labrador. The Company's initial fieldwork has discovered a new zone of high-grade REE mineralization 750 metres to the south-southwest of the historic U3 REE zone. The program also confirmed high grade surface samples near the U3 occurrence.

"The high-grade values we've seen in our initial sampling at the U3 and the newly discovered Bottom Bank showings ("BB showings"), which are situated over 750 metres to the south-southwest, provide a unique opportunity for the discovery of a compelling area of critical element mineralization at our Bottom Brook Project," commented Bruce Durham, President and CEO. He further emphasized, "This summer's exploration program is a game-changer for us, giving us the chance to evaluate numerous mineral occurrences across the property. Our focus is clear and straightforward: to explore, discover, and develop our projects efficiently and effectively. We're zeroing in on our goal to make a new discovery that has a chance at being a new deposit. We're just getting started - the exploration program is continuing to generate data that will be used to determine the focus for our drilling program slated to start later in the summer. As we've always done, we'll let the results guide our drilling decisions. We're determined to discover mineralization at the various targets we've meticulously identified through our exploration efforts."

Highlights:

Grab samples collected from Bottom Brook and U3 REE showings returned TREO values ranging from 0.07 to 22.31%. The high-grade sample 116575 from the U3 showing included very high concentrations of magnetic rare earth elements neodymium, praseodymium, terbium, and dysprosium ("Nd, Pr, Tb, and Dy") also known as ("magnet REE's" or "MRE's). Sample 116575 contained total MREs of 5.00% (50kg/t MRE)

On the Bottom Brook project, MRE's typically comprise 20% or more of the TREO. The U3 REE showing returned TREO values from 0.07 to 22.31% samples collected from the nearby Bottom Brook REE showing returned TREO values from 1.17 to 7.63%. The highest-grade sample 116569 from the BB showing included magnetic rare earth elements (Nd, Pr, Tb, and Dy) grading 1.89% (18.9kg per tonne MRE).





Figure 1: York Harbour Metals' Bottom Brook Project: U3 and Bottom Brook Rare Earth Elements Showings



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York Harbour's team is actively re-interpreting local and regional geology to determine the potential for REE and other mineralization of potential economic value at various locations within the Bottom Brook Project.

The infrastructure of the Bottom Brook project is excellent with power roads and access to labour at the project or nearby.

Current exploration efforts include ongoing geological mapping and prospecting across the 20km by 10km project area, with 146 grab and channel samples currently being assayed and more expected to be submitted for analysis over the coming weeks.

The exploration strategy also includes the implementation of control grids and geophysical surveys over areas showing favourable geology and mineralization. Regions proximal to mineralization with shallow overburden are being stripped, trenched with channel sampling to better understand TREO mineralization before the drill equipment mobilization later this summer.

This early discovery of high-grade total rare earth oxide ("TREO") mineralization underlines the Company's commitment to quickly expanding the technical databases on the Bottom Brook property. The data being gathered will help in develop a geological model and enhance the understanding of the geological controls on REE mineralization in and around the U3 area. This information will guide the selection of new drill targets for initial drill testing later this summer.





Figure 2: York Harbour Metals' Bottom Brook Project: Rare Earth Minerals Showings and General Geological Trends, Western Newfoundland



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Sample Pr Pr6O11 Nd Nd2O3 Tb Tb4O7 Dy Dy2O3 TREO% No. ppm % ppm % ppm % ppm % 116559 448 0.05 1700 0.20 16.7 0.00 74.6 0.01 1.17 116560 1030 0.12 3870 0.45 40.4 0.00 169 0.02 2.51 116561 595 0.07 2160 0.25 19.4 0.00 80.3 0.01 1.35 116562 859 0.10 3410 0.40 27.8 0.00 110 0.01 2.07 116563 2050 0.25 7210 0.84 108 0.01 407 0.05 4.88 116564 2940 0.36 10900 1.27 151 0.02 688 0.08 7.31 116565 1910 0.23 6970 0.81 78.9 0.01 357 0.04 4.41 116566 1290 0.16 4750 0.55 49.5 0.01 223 0.03 2.91 116567 2570 0.31 10000 1.17 118 0.01 486 0.06 6.4 116568 2800 0.34 9530 1.11 143 0.02 660 0.08 6.39 116569 3060 0.37 12200 1.42 155 0.02 686 0.08 7.63 116570 1260 0.15 4330 0.51 56.6 0.01 280 0.03 2.93 116572 6660 0.80 24200 2.82 342 0.04 1610 0.18 16.07 116573 8260 1.00 28800 3.35 460 0.05 2200 0.25 19.95 116574 3870 0.47 14100 1.65 209 0.02 1050 0.12 9.6 116575 9030 1.09 31000 3.62 444 0.05 2090 0.24 22.31 116576 1500 0.18 5320 0.62 60.4 0.01 286 0.03 3.69 116577 1650 0.20 6350 0.74 87.2 0.01 393 0.05 4.29 116578 3140 0.38 11600 1.35 154 0.02 731 0.08 8.09 116579 2650 0.32 9970 1.16 141 0.02 662 0.08 6.73 116580 25.3 0.00 95.8 0.01 1.8 0.00 9.9 0.00 0.07 116581 8680 1.05 29900 3.49 416 0.05 1960 0.22 20.96

Table 1: Detailed Summary of Surface Sample Assay Data from Bottom Brook Project, Western Newfoundland





Neodymium (Nd) Praseodymium (Pr) Dysprosium (Dy) Terbium (Tb) US$/kg 126.70 127.20 506.70 2,111.10

Table 2: Current Prices for Permanent Magnet Rare Earth Elements as of July 24, 2023

(Source: Strategicmetalsinvest.com ) Note: 1% =10kg per tonne )

Qualified Person

Doug Blanchflower, P. Geo., a Director of York Harbour, and a Qualified Person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and accepted the technical material contained in this news release.

About York Harbour Metals

York Harbour Metals Inc. (TSXV: YORK) (OTC Pink: YORKF) (FSE: 5DE0) is an exploration and development company focused on two high-grade projects in Newfoundland. The York Harbour Copper-Zinc-Silver Project is located approximately 27km from Corner Brook in Newfoundland. The Company intends to continue drilling the 11 known mineralized zones and explore new massive sulphide targets.

The Bottom Brook Rare Earth Project, covering 15,150 hectares, is located next to the Trans Canada Highway and is just 27 km from the deep-water port at Turf Point. York Harbour intends to actively identify diamond drill targets through property-wide prospecting, focused soil sampling, and geological mapping. A substantial drill program is scheduled for this year.

For further details on York Harbour Metals, please reach out via email to info@yorkharbourmetals.com or call +1-778-302-2257. You may also visit the Company's website at www.yorkharbourmetals.com for past news releases, media interviews and opinion-editorial pieces by management.

On Behalf of The Board of Directors,

"Signed"

Bruce Durham

CEO, President, and Director

Telephone: 778-302-2257 | Email: info@yorkharbourmetals.com

Website: www.yorkharbourmetals.com

1518 - 800 Pender Street W, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 2V6

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release may contain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements herein include but are not limited to statements relating to the prospects for development of the Company's mineral properties, and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market and economic risks, uncertainties and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/175375
Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - Excelsior Mining Corp. (TSX: MIN) (FSE: 3XS) (OTCQB: EXMGF) ("Excelsior" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an Option Agreement (the "Agreement") with Nuton LLC, a Rio Tinto venture, to further evaluate the use of its Nuton copper heap leaching technologies at Excelsior's Johnson Camp mine in Cochise County, Arizona. Under the Agreement, Excelsior remains the operator and Nuton funds Excelsior's costs associated with a two-stage work program at Johnson Camp. Nuton will provide a US$3 million pre-payment to Excelsior for Stage 1 costs and a payment of US$2 million for an exclusive option to form a joint venture with Excelsior over the Johnson Camp Mine after the completion of Stage 2.

"We are very pleased to be moving Johnson Camp forward with Nuton. With their support and technologies, we have the potential to realize the value of the sulfide resources at Johnson Camp in a way that is both economical and beneficial to the environment. Johnson Camp has the potential to progress towards cash-flow whilst we continue to develop our other assets, including progressing Gunnison towards well-stimulation trials later this year," comments Stephen Twyerould, President and CEO of Excelsior Mining. "The strength of this agreement is that it allows both Gunnison and Johnson Camp to advance in parallel."

Rio Tinto has developed the NutonTM Technologies, an extensive portfolio of advanced copper heap leaching technologies targeted at primary sulfide minerals (including lower grade mineral deposits), which could not otherwise be processed using traditional leaching or sulfide processing technologies. These technologies offer the potential to produce additional copper in a cost-effective manner that has significant environmental benefits and reduces waste from new and ongoing operations.

Under the terms of the Agreement, the Stage 1 work program involves Excelsior completing diamond drilling, permitting activities, detailed engineering, and project execution planning. Nuton will complete mineralogy, predictive modelling, engineering and other test work. Based on the results of the Stage 1 work program, Nuton has the option to proceed to Stage 2. The Stage 1 work program is expected to commence in August and take 6 to 9 months to complete.

If Nuton proceeds to Stage 2, it will make a US$5 million payment to Excelsior for the use of existing infrastructure at the Johnson Camp mine for the Stage 2 work program. Nuton will also be responsible for funding all of Excelsior's costs associated with Stage 2. The full Stage 2 work program is anticipated to take up to five years but will proceed based on milestones related to engineering and mobilization, infrastructure and construction, mining, leaching, copper production and post-leach rinsing. Mining is expected to commence in year one. The completion of all milestones would result in full scale commercial production over several years at Johnson Camp utilizing NutonTM Technologies. Revenue from operations will first be used to pay back Stage 2 costs to Nuton and will then be credited to Excelsior's account.

After the completion of Stage 2, Nuton will have the right to form a joint venture on Johnson Camp per mutually agreeable terms whereby Nuton will hold an initial 49% and Excelsior an initial 51%. The purpose of the joint venture is to continue the development of the Johnson Camp Mine using NutonTM Technologies. Should Nuton not exercise their joint venture rights, Nuton and Excelsior will discuss in good faith Excelsior's continued use of the Nuton Technologies at the Johnson Camp Mine subject to certain licensing terms and conditions. The infrastructure arrangement at Johnson Camp under this Agreement are non-exclusive. During Stages 1 and 2, Excelsior may continue to use the Johnson Camp infrastructure for processing Gunnison solutions and other copper sources not related to the Stage 2 work program so long as capacity requirements for the Stage 2 work program are met.

ABOUT NUTON

Nuton is an innovative new venture that aims to help grow Rio Tinto's copper business. At the core of Nuton is a portfolio of proprietary copper leach related technologies and capability - a product of almost 30 years of research and development. The Nuton technologies offer the potential to economically unlock known low-grade copper sulfide resources, copper bearing waste and tailings, and achieve higher copper recoveries on oxide and transitional material, allowing for a significantly increased copper production outcome. One of the key differentiators of Nuton is the potential to deliver leading environmental performance, including more efficient water usage, lower carbon emissions, and the ability to reclaim mine sites by reprocessing mine waste.

ABOUT EXCELSIOR MINING

Excelsior "The Copper Solution Company" is a mineral exploration and production company that owns and operates the Gunnison Copper Project in Cochise County, Arizona. The project is a low cost, environmentally friendly in-situ recovery copper extraction project that is permitted to 125 million pounds per year of copper cathode production. Excelsior also owns the past producing Johnson Camp Mine and a portfolio of exploration projects, including the Peabody Sill and the Strong and Harris deposits.

For more information on Excelsior, please visit our website at www.excelsiormining.com.

For further information regarding this press release, please contact:

Excelsior Mining Corp.

Concord Place, Suite 300, 2999 North 44th Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85018.

Shawn Westcott

T: 604.365.6681

E: info@excelsiormining.com

www.excelsiormining.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" concerning anticipated developments and events that may occur in the future. Forward looking information contained in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: (i) the potential of well stimulation to improve performance of the Company's mineral projects; (ii) the intention to deploy the Nuton technology at the Johnson Camp mine and future production therefrom; (iii) the details and expected results of the two stage work program; and (iv) future production and production capacity from the Company's mineral projects.

In certain cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "occur" or "be achieved" suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the amended permit will not be appealed, work plans will be approved in a timely manner, the availability of financing to implement the Company's operational plans, the estimation of mineral resources and mineral reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, expectations and anticipated impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, copper and other metal prices, the timing and amount of future development expenditures, the estimation of initial and sustaining capital requirements, the estimation of labour and operating costs (including the price of acid), the availability of labour, material and acid supply, receipt of and compliance with necessary regulatory approvals and permits, the estimation of insurance coverage, and assumptions with respect to currency fluctuations, environmental risks, title disputes or claims, and other similar matters. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect.

Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include risks inherent in the construction and operation of mineral deposits, including risks relating to changes in project parameters as plans continue to be redefined including the possibility that mining operations may not be sustained at the Gunnison Copper Project, risks relating to an appeal of the permit amendment that delays its effectiveness, risks related to the delay in approval of work plans, variations in mineral resources and reserves, grade or recovery rates, risks relating to the ability to access infrastructure, risks relating to changes in copper and other commodity prices and the worldwide demand for and supply of copper and related products, risks related to increased competition in the market for copper and related products, risks related to current global financial conditions, risks related to current global financial conditions and the impact of COVID-19 on the Company's business, uncertainties inherent in the estimation of mineral resources, access and supply risks, risks related to the ability to access acid supply on commercially reasonable terms, reliance on key personnel, operational risks inherent in the conduct of mining activities, including the risk of accidents, labour disputes, increases in capital and operating costs and the risk of delays or increased costs that might be encountered during the construction or mining process, regulatory risks including the risk that permits may not be obtained in a timely fashion or at all, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks, risks related to disputes concerning property titles and interests, environmental risks and the additional risks identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's reports and filings with applicable Canadian securities regulators.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/175376
OTT Pay looks ahead to next phase of growth in North America

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / OTT Pay Inc., a leading Fintech company specializing in payments, global settlements, and value-added services, is pleased to announce the appointment of Blair Cameron as the Chief Executive Officer for North America.

Blair Cameron

CEO for North America, OTT Pay

Blair built his early career with some of Canada's most beloved brands, including Sobeys Inc., Canada Safeway, and Mark's. Prior to joining OTT Pay, Blair progressed through senior-level roles at LoyaltyOne, ultimately serving as President and CEO, leading the company's journey to becoming publicly traded. Blair was instrumental in elevating the Air Miles Reward Program to become an integral part of the Canadian consumer experience. Under his leadership, LoyaltyOne/Air Miles was honored with numerous industry accolades, including recognition as a Great Place to Work, Forbes Best Employers in Canada, and Waterstone's Most Admired Cultures in Canada. His expertise is underpinned by an MBA, a Bachelor of Commerce, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Calgary.

Alex Liu, Executive Vice President of OTT Financial Group, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, "Blair Cameron brings a wealth of invaluable leadership experience and a proven track record of success in driving next-level growth for major enterprises. We are delighted to welcome such a seasoned executive to lead OTT Pay's North American business. Blair's strategic vision and industry experience will undoubtedly foster OTT Pay's growth and success in the future."

With the expansion of products and services helping over 10,000 merchants grow their business, OTT Pay's total payment volume (TPV) increased to over $8 billion Canadian Dollars in 2022. In June and July 2023, OTT Pay earned the distinction of being a registered Payment Facilitator with MasterCard and Visa, respectively, a milestone that not only streamlines the merchant onboarding process but also augments OTT Pay's payment revenue growth.

Blair Cameron is excited about the opportunity to lead OTT Pay into its next phase of growth and said, "As we embark on this transformative journey, I am committed to designing winning consumer and merchant strategies by building cohesive teams that foster a culture of collaboration and innovation. Our focus lies in developing frictionless payment products and value-added services through holistic financial services that deliver seamless experiences. Working closely with our merchants and partners, we aim to address their business needs and drive growth for all parties in the ecosystem."

OTT Pay is dedicated to creating unmatched convenience and value for both merchants and consumers by improving the way people interact with money and transact with merchants and enabling merchants to win and retain customers through its secure, fast and easy payment solutions and a variety of value-added services.

Contact Information

Doris Mutuc

Marketing Director

ottmedia@ott.ca

416-499-2258

SOURCE: OTT Pay

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/770772/OTT-Pay-Inc-Announces-Blair-Cameron-as-Chief-Executive-Officer-for-North-America
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / NOA Lithium Brines Inc. (TSX-V:NOAL)(FSE:N7N) ("NOA" or the "Company") is pleased to report positive lithium results from brine samples from RG23-002, the second hole of the Phase 1 diamond drill program at its Rio Grande project ("Rio Grande" or "the Project") located in Salta Province, Argentina. The hole was drilled within the salar, approximately 14 kilometers ("km") south of the first hole on the Project and intersected two high-grade lithium ("Li") brine aquifers of significant thickness. Highlights include:

158 meter ("m") permeable interval with grades up to 556 milligrams per liter ("mg/l") Li, and averaging 440 mg/l, starting at a depth of 17 m

149 m permeable interval with grades up to 552 mg/l Li, and averaging 485 mg/l Li, starting at a depth of 317 m, representing a newly discovered deeper aquifer in the salar

Taj Singh, President and CEO states: "Following up on our successful first hole at Rio Grande, our second hole, 14 km south, the deepest publicly reported drill hole on the Rio Grande salar, builds on our excitement for the Project. As in the first hole, RG23-002 intercepted two thick, high-grade brine horizons; the first aquifer was intercepted at very shallow depths and the second aquifer was a new discovery starting approximately 300 m from surface.

"Both aquifers returned some of the top grades ever encountered on the Rio Grande salar and the brine intervals' grades and total thickness rank among the highs of the region. These grades once again exceeded our expectations, and the discovery of the second aquifer within the salar was extremely encouraging. As in our first hole, brine geochemistry and permeability were consistent and positive for future process planning."

Both aquifers demonstrate potential to extend into NOA's claimblocks on other parts of the salar and may continue past the surface manifestation of the salar (visible salar) and into the alluvials within the basin. This second hole follows on the discovery of significant lithium-bearing brines in the first hole, RG23-001 (see NOA News Release dated June 22, 2023). In that hole two stacked aquifers in the northern alluvials of the salar were discovered: a permeable brine interval of 71 m averaging 433 mg/l Li starting at 101 m downhole and an interval of 158 m averaging 773 mg/l Li (and up to 925 mg/l Li) starting from 311 m downhole.

Results for Hole RG23-002

The results of the brine analyses and the respective intervals are shown in Table 1 below and drill collar information is presented in Table 2 below. Hole RG23-002, drilled at the Cynthia Ines claim (shown in Figure 1 below) reached a depth of 642 m. Magnesium-to-lithium ratios averaged ~10:1 across the hole.

Table 1: Interval data & Li assays (double-packer sampling) for drillhole DDH-RG23-002

Sample interval (m) Li concentration (mg/l) top bottom 17 19 411 29 31 436 41 43 443 53 55 438 65 67 408 77 79 466 101 103 483 113 115 556 125 127 444 137 139 460 149 151 442 161 163 358 173 175 378 317 319 552 329 331 510 341 343 477 353 355 485 365 367 433 377 379 362 404 406 525 416 418 504 428 430 499 440 442 473 452 454 471 464 466 524

Hole RG23-002 was executed with diamond drilling (HQ-size), permitting the extraction of core samples of the salar basin formations and collection of brine samples where possible. Drilling was carried out by Salta-based Hidrotec S.A., under the supervision of NOA's geologists. Sample analysis and QA/QC notes are outlined in a separate section below.

Several salar evaporite and semi-consolidated sedimentary lithologies were intersected downhole. From just under surface to approximately 120 m depth the hole progressed through well-sorted black sands followed by approximately 60 m of fractured halite. From approximately 180 m to 480 m sandy fractured halite was dominant and beyond this, sandy crystalline halite.

The Phase 1 drill program comprises six holes designed to deliver a maiden mineral resource estimate for the Rio Grande project in early 2024. The location of RG23-002 and completed hole RG23-001 are shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Plan map showing Hole RG23-002 (current release) and RG23-001 (completed)

Table 2: RG23-002 - Drill collar information

Hole #: DDH-RG23-002 Azimuth: 0 deg. Claim name: Cyntia Ines Inclination: -90 deg. Coordinates (UTM 19J South): E: 582904 m N: 7227247 m, Z: 3702 m Contractor: Hidrotec S.A. Machine type: HT07 LF-90 Drill type: Diamond Hole diameter: HQ

About NOA Lithium Brines Inc.

NOA is a lithium exploration and development company formed to acquire assets with significant resource potential. All NOA's projects are in the heart of the prolific Lithium Triangle, in the mining-friendly province of Salta, Argentina, near a multitude of projects and operations owned by industry leaders. NOA has rapidly consolidated one of the largest lithium brine claim portfolios in this region not owned by a producing company, with key positions on three prospective salars (Rio Grande, Arizaro, Salinas Grandes) and a total portfolio of approximately 100,000 hectares.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

Taj Singh, M.Eng, P.Eng, CPA

President & CEO, Director

For Further Information

Website: www.noalithium.com

Email: info@noalithium.com

Telephone: 416-568-1027

References

[1] Rio Grande Project Technical Report, 2022, prepared by Montgomery and Associates Consultores Limitada (https://www.noalithium.com/projects/rio-grande/reports/)

Sample analysis & QA/QC Program

The drillhole of the current release was inclined vertically (90 degrees) and the salar strata are believed to be flat-lying resulting in reported intervals approximating true thickness.

The Company has a robust QA/QC and sample management program. Brine samples were collected by a single / double packer system (in-hole inflatable) to isolate specific intervals down the drillhole. The packer sampling method allows the collection of brine samples at specific depths while sealing the hole at the top and bottom of the interval. The packer system was run several times to flush the hole after drilling to clear / clean the hole prior to sampling and four samples for each interval were collected (main sample, duplicate sample, check sample, reserve sample).

Sample collection between 388-400 m was limited by the presence of compacted sands. A double-packer sample from 389-391 m was collected (assayed 163 mg/l Li) but was considered a diluted sample due to the limited permeability of the sample site.

Samples of brine were submitted by courier for analysis to SGS Argentina S.A., the local subsidiary of SGS International, an accredited laboratory for the analysis of lithium and other elements. SGS employed Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry as the analytical technique for the primary constituents of interest, including: boron, calcium, potassium, lithium, and magnesium. Measurements in the field included pH, conductivity, temperature and density. The quality of sample analytical results was controlled and assessed with a protocol of blank, duplicate and standard samples included within the sample sequence. Differences between original and duplicate samples and results for standards and blanks are considered within the acceptable range for lithium.

Qualified Person

Taj Singh, P.Eng, President & CEO, NOA Lithium Brines Inc., is the Company's designated Qualified Person for this news release within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Singh has reviewed and validated that the information contained in this news release is accurate.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may include forward-looking statements that are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. All statements within this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements including, but not limited to NOA's future plans and objectives regarding its projects, which constitute forward looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. Although NOA believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements include fluctuations in market prices, including metal prices, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. NOA does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable laws.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: NOA Lithium Brines Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/771114/NOAs-Second-Hole-at-Rio-Grande-Intercepts-307-m-of-High-Grade-Lithium-Brine-Over-Two-Aquifers-With-Grades-Up-To-556-mgl-Li
PHOENIX, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / The Stock Day Podcast welcomed US Nuclear Corp.(UCLE)("the Company"), a radiation, chemical detection and specialty drone, holding company specializing in the development and manufacturing and sales of radiation and chemical detection instrumentation. CEO of the Company, Bob Goldstein, joined Stock Day host Kevin Davis.

Davis began the interview by asking about the Company's background and current projects. "U.S. Nuclear is a radiation detection company that focuses on safety and provides its technologies to nuclear power plants, Big Pharma, hospitals, and many other different buyers," said Goldstein. "We have also expanded recently to testing the full span of toxic chemicals and biological hazards to help insure that we all have clean air to breathe and safe water to drink. "

"What is the latest news on PFAS "forever chemicals" in our drinking water?", asked Davis. "According to the USGS, half of the tap water that Americans drink and use for cooking contains PFAS at unhealthy levels," explained Goldstein, adding that teflon-based substances including fire-retardants are responsible for a majority of these chemicals. "Recent estimates project that as much as 8.5 million PFAS-related deaths have occurred in the last 20 years."

"What are the current PFAS limits?", asked Davis. "The law states that PFAS water contamination needs to be 4 parts per trillion or less," said Goldstein, before elaborating on the difficulty of this endeavor. "Fortunately, US Nuclear has two unique products that identify PFAS and PFOA, which are detectable by our technology in just a few minutes, in contrast to taking samples, delivering them to a laboratory, and waiting weeks for the results." he shared. "We believe these very sensitive measurement detectors will be great sellers."

"What do you think the public should do to decrease their PFAS intake?", asked Davis. "First you should test or hire someone to test the water that you are drinking," said Goldstein. "If you do find that you have PFAS, you should switch to a different water source," he continued. "It may be necessary to switch to bottled water or a different location, however, on the upside, a number of PFAS removal systems are coming onto the market which may be a significant help."

To close the interview, Goldstein encouraged listeners and shareholders to keep up-to-date on the Company's current and upcoming projects as they continue to expand their pipeline of radiation and chemical detectors for a more safe and clean environment.

To hear Bob Goldstein's entire interview, follow the link to the podcast here: https://audioboom.com/posts/8342817-us-nuclear-corp-discusses-potential-of-its-pfas-detection-technology-with-the-stock-day-podcast

Investors Hangout is a proud sponsor of "Stock Day," and Stock Day Media encourages listeners to visit the company's message board at https://investorshangout.com/

About US Nuclear Corp.

US Nuclear Corp is a radiation, chemical detection and specialty drone, holding company specializing in the development and manufacturing and sales of radiation and chemical detection instrumentation. Through its four operating divisions (Technical Associates (TA), Overhoff Technology (OTC), Electronic Control Concepts (ECC), and Cali From Above (CFA), US Nuclear Corp. harbors more than 100 years of combined experience in supplying top of the line instrumentation to any industry utilizing radionuclides. This includes nuclear power plants, national laboratories, government agencies, homeland security, military, universities and schools, research companies, hospitals, medical and dental centers, energy companies, weapons facilities, first responders, local governments, and manufacturing plants.

Safe Harbor Act

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ from expectations, estimates and projections and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as "expect," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "may," "will," "could," "should," "believes," "predicts," "potential," "continue," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results.

Investors may find additional information regarding US Nuclear Corp. at the SEC website at http://www.sec.gov, or the company's website at www.usnuclearcorp.com.

CONTACT:

US Nuclear Corp. (OTCQB:UCLE)

Robert I. Goldstein, President, CEO, and Chairman

Richard Landry, Chief Financial Officer

(818) 883 7043

Email: info@usnuclearcorp.com

Usnuclearcorp.com

Stock Day Media

StockDayMedia.Com

(602) 821-1102

About The "Stock Day" Podcast

Founded in 2013, Stock Day is the fastest growing media outlet for Nano-Cap and Micro-Cap companies. It educates investors while simultaneously working with penny stock and OTC companies, providing transparency and clarification of under-valued, under-sold Micro-Cap stocks of the market. Stock Day provides companies with customized solutions to their news distribution in both national and international media outlets. The Stock Day Podcast is the number one radio show of its kind in America.

Stock Day Media

StockDayMedia.Com

(602) 821-1102

SOURCE: Stock Day Media

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/771211/US-Nuclear-Corp-Discusses-Potential-of-Its-PFAS-Detection-Technology-with-The-Stock-Day-Podcast
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - Astronaut Media, a leading content creation agency, is setting its sights on expansion into the U.S. market, under the leadership of its founder, Tasneem Al-Sheikh.





Astronaut - Digital Content For Your Space

The expansion represents an opportunity to establish its brand as a thought leader and market leader in the U.S. With the upcoming launch, the company aims to bring their top-notch services, including content strategy development, content creation, content optimization, content management, and analytics, to U.S. businesses.

"We understand that a company's digital presence is crucial in this day and age," Al-Sheik says. "Our team works closely with each client to tailor a package that meets their unique needs."

Astronaut Media specializes in creating authentic and personalized content aimed at enhancing the social media presence of its clients and promoting their products and services. But it's not just about crafting words and images - it's about telling stories that resonate with the target audience.

"One size does not fit all in content creation," explains Al-Sheikh. "Each client we work with has a unique voice, a unique story to tell. We make it our mission to convey that story in a way that engages, informs, and connects."

Ms Al-Sheikh, a seasoned content creator with a track record in providing digital content in various industries, has helped Astronaut Media's growth since its launch. "Our focus has always been on creating a personalized, superb experience for our clients," she says.

"Our focus has always been on creating a personalized, out-of-this-world experience for our clients," she says. "And we believe the U.S. market, with its diverse industries and thirst for unique content, is the perfect platform for Astronaut Media's next phase of growth."

Astronaut Media stands out for its commitment to quality and consistency. Its range of services includes content strategy development, content creation, content optimization, content management, and content analytics and reporting. Their goal is not just to create content, but to create an experience, a connection that translates into growth for their clients.

"We're not just content creators; we're storytellers, animators, proofreaders, graphic designers, photographers, and videographers," Al-Sheikh says. "We're a team dedicated to making sure our clients' online business profiles stand out."

As Astronaut Media gears up for its U.S. launch, Al-Sheikh says, "We're not newcomers to this game. Over the past five years, I have worked as a consultant and service provider for clients in a variety of industries, including eLearning platforms, educational centers, medical, banks, and entrepreneurs in different fields. And now, with Astronaut Media, we're taking that expertise, that commitment to excellence, and bringing it to more clients."

Astronaut Media's mission is a philosophy that goes beyond business. "We value customers, always," emphasizes Al-Sheikh. "Our values reflect our work behavior, our contributions, and why we enjoy it here at Astronaut Media. We prioritize authentic and innovative content, and most of all, delivering value to our clients."

As Astronaut Media embarks on this new journey, it carries with it a promise to remain committed to its values, to push the boundaries of what's possible in content creation, and to continue providing its clients with the exceptional service they've come to expect. "We're excited about the opportunities the U.S. market presents," concludes Al-Sheikh, "and we look forward to creating content that not only meets the needs of our clients but exceeds their expectations."

About Astronaut Media:

Astronaut Media is a content-creation agency that strives to provide a unique, personalized experience to clients through the creation of authentic content. The agency specializes in enhancing the online and social media presence of businesses, leveraging the power of storytelling to promote products and services. The firm has successfully carved out a niche in the competitive world of digital content.

The firm was founded by Tasneem Al-Sheikh, a seasoned content creator and entrepreneur with a deep passion for storytelling and innovation. Her journey in the digital content realm began over five years ago, working as a consultant and service provider for a diverse range of industries. Under her guidance, the agency has flourished in the field of content creation and social media marketing. Her unique approach to content creation is shaped by her belief in the power of authenticity and connection. She is driven by the desire to help businesses grow online through valuable and meaningful content that resonates with their audiences.

Contact Details:

Name: Tasneem Al-Sheikh

Email: support@tasneemalsheikh.com

Website: https://www.astronaut-media.com/hello

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/175369
With a team of over 1,000 dedicated imaging specialists and an annual investment of approximately US$156 million, OPPO sets a new standard for professional portrait photography on smartphones

The Reno10 Pro+ 5G introduces end-to-end upgrades for portrait photography, including a professional quality telephoto lens, advanced image processing architecture, improved portrait mode, and a high-resolution Ultra-clear Display

OPPO launched 2023 imagine IF Photography Awards to encourages users to explore artistic expression through new imaging experiences and inspire each other to unleash the infinite possibilities of imaging

DUBAI, UAE, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As photo and video content has transformed the way we communicate with each other, today's smartphone users expect more out of the camera on their phones. In response to this, smartphone brands including OPPO have been going all out to create camera systems capable of capturing clear, high-quality, and true-to-life images. On the recently launched Reno10 Pro+ 5G, OPPO has created a professional-level portrait photography experience across every aspect of the imaging chain to set a new benchmark for professional portrait photography on a smartphone.

Setting a new standard for professional portrait photography on smartphone

The rapid increase in available computational power on smartphones in recent years has led many smartphone brands to introduce so-called image 'optimization' or 'beautification' effects to create brighter, more eye-catching images, OPPO recognizes that light and shadow play a key role in good photography by making portraits appear more three dimensional and lifelike.

While smartphone image processing algorithms can lower the barrier for good photography, over reliance on these algorithms can also destroy much of the natural information in the image. In order to create timeless masterpieces, OPPO aims to combine traditional photography knowledge with smart computational photography techniques to build an imaging system capable of reproducing the ultra-realistic interconnection between light and shadow, space, and true-to-life colours.

With a team of over 1,000 dedicated imaging specialists and an annual investment of approximately US$156 million, OPPO aims to empower users to shoot enduring and exquisite photographs on their mobile phones. Asides from its own internal efforts, OPPO also frequently collaborates with acclaimed photographers, lighting engineers, and post-production specialists to incorporate their insights and expertise on what defines good portrait photography into its own products to define its fundamental standard for excellent smartphone portrait photography: professional level images with clear details, natural colours, and ultra-realistic light and shadow effects.

End-to-end upgrades bring pro-level portrait photography to smartphone on the Reno10 Pro+ 5G

On the new Reno10 Pro+ 5G, OPPO has implemented end-to-end upgrades across the entire image experience, from shooting to image processing and display, to deliver SLR-standard portrait photography capabilities based on new breakthroughs in image clarity, light, shadow, and colour.

The smartphone introduces an independent, professional quality telephoto lens for the first time in Reno series to improve image clarity and quality from its foundation. It features a large 64MP,  inch sensor with greater colour sensitivity and a 3-times optical zoom, offering more freedom of composition and attention to both subject and background. Additionally, the Reno10 Pro+ 5G also includes a new optical quality 6-times zoom built on OPPO's In-sensor Zoom Technology for further magnification. On top of these features, the lens is coated with an ALD anti-reflective optical coating includes cutting-edge Prime floating OIS for improved image stabilization.

While the camera design of the Reno10 Pro+ 5G emphasizes capturing high quality images from the source, image processing still plays a key role in optimizing the captured information. OPPO's new image processing architecture leverages the power of the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Mobile Platform and utilizes multi-frame synthesis. By dedicating such a huge amount of processing resources to this task, the Reno10 Pro+ 5G is able to perform multi-frame synthesis in the RAW domain, resulting in improved low light HDR photos, portrait mode, and high-resolution digital zoom. Through improvements in AI denoising, AI demosaicing, and deep pixel compositing, the Reno10 Pro+ 5G delivers new breakthroughs in image clarity, colour, and restores natural light and shadow in images, resulting in photos with realistic 3D details.

The Reno series' renowned Portrait Mode also returns to the Reno10 Pro+ 5G and has been updated with bokeh flare effect, adjustable aperture settings, and improved subject-background separation algorithms. Further to this, multi-semantic segmentation has been implemented to improve detection accuracy for repetitive textures and other scenes, and edge feathering algorithms are used to optimize the appearance of edges based on depth data.

As the last stage in both shooting and reviewing photos, the screen is in many ways just as important as all the other steps that come before it. So, to give the fantastic photos and videos shot on the Reno10 Pro+ 5G the stage they deserve, the smartphone features a 2772  1240 resolution Ultra-clear Display in the form of ProXDR Smart Display Control. This technology uses a high-precision image recognition algorithm to automatically detect light sources stored in the grayscale image data and locally adjust screen brightness, accordingly, resulting in up to 8-times higher dynamic range.

Putting professional masterpieces in the hands of everyone

As part of its ongoing commitment to creating a professional and inclusive portrait shooting experience on the Reno series, OPPO is introducing the Portrait Expert Project with the Reno10 series. This project draws on the expertise of professional portrait photographers and takes inspiration from their mastery of light and multi-cultural perspectives to continuously optimize the underlying portrait technologies of the Reno series. Through enhancements to subject recognition, facial features and skin tone protection, and background optimization, OPPO empowers Reno users to capture fantastic portraits that combine a professional photographer's eye with their own styles and preferences.

Together with inputs from the Portrait Expert Group, OPPO is also seeking feedback from its global users through the new OPPO imagine IF Photography Project. Launched on April 17, the 2023 imagine IF Photography Awards encourages users to explore artistic expression through new imaging experiences and inspire each other to unleash the infinite possibilities of imaging.

By continuously enhancing its camera offerings and benchmarking against professional camera standards, OPPO continues to create the most professional imaging experience on a smartphone. On the latest Reno10 series, OPPO continues to narrow the gap between smartphone cameras and high-end DSLRs with end-to-end improvements that put professional masterpieces in the hands of everyone.

About OPPO

OPPO is a leading global smart device brand. Since the launch of its first mobile phone - "Smiley Face" - in 2008, OPPO has been in relentless pursuit of the perfect synergy of aesthetic satisfaction and innovative technology. Today, OPPO provides a wide range of smart devices spearheaded by the Find and Reno series. Beyond devices, OPPO also provides its users with ColorOS operating system and internet services such as OPPO Cloud and OPPO+. OPPO has footprints in more than 60 countries and regions, with more than 40,000 employees dedicated to creating a better life for customers around the world.

About OPPO MEA

OPPO started its journey in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region in 2015. Now OPPO is physically present in more than 13 markets across the region, including Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.

Based on insights of local consumers in each country, OPPO has evolved the progress of product localisation, taking into consideration several perspectives towards each market, including product localisation, to further meet the core needs of users; marketing localisation, to better communicate with local young customers; and talent localisation, to understand local consumers further and provide an optimum customer service.

Within the last year, OPPO has started to adjust its product line in the Middle East region specifically. This has included the launch of its flagship OPPO Find X Series and the introduction of the OPPO Reno Series. OPPO will continue to evolve its local product line to offer more premium series to consumers in the region.

A forward-thinking international technology company, OPPO strives to be a sustainable company that contributes to a better world and have enacted positive change in every way possible through activating local community initiatives and humanitarian, charity campaigns.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2165850/OPPO_Reno10_Pro_5G.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/oppo-reno10-pro-5g-sets-a-new-benchmark-for-professional-smartphone-portrait-photography-301889234.html
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Pacific Mining Corp (CSE: USGD / OTCQX: USGDF / FWB: 1QC) ("American Pacific" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has appointed Director, Joness Lang as President of the Company, with Eric Saderholm transitioning to the role of Managing Director of Exploration. This transition will free up time and allow Mr. Saderholm to focus on project development and advancement as well as generating and evaluating new projects for the Company.



"We are delighted to have Mr. Lang take on a leadership role as President of American Pacific as we continue to grow our portfolio of western US precious and base metals exploration and development projects," commented CEO, Warwick Smith. "Joness has been an integral member of our Board of Directors for several years, and with his robust experience in the mineral resources sector, we will benefit immensely from his expertise as he takes on a more active leadership role on our team. Current President, Eric Saderholm, who has done a phenomenal job of identifying and advancing the high-quality projects in our portfolio, continues to be a key member of the team."

Joness' appointment comes at an exciting time for the Company as partner funded project expenditures are expected to total approximately CAD $30 million for 2023, which includes a 9,000 metre drill program at the Company's Palmer Project, which commenced last month (see June 19, 2023 news release).

About Joness Lang

Mr. Lang is an experienced executive leader with nearly 15 years of corporate growth strategy and capital markets experience within the natural resource sector. Mr. Lang has an established track record of securing and managing joint-venture and strategic partnerships with major mining companies. Most recently, Mr. Lang served as the Executive Vice President of Maple Gold Mines Ltd., where he played an important role in bringing Agnico Eagle in as a strategic partner, increasing institutional ownership and research coverage and leading or co-leading property acquisitions and equity financing transactions for the company. He was previously Vice President, Corporate Development with Riverside Resources Inc. where he served as a key member of the leadership group when the company generated income as a prospect generator exploration company through all of the joint-venture and strategic alliance partnerships that Mr. Lang helped secure. In addition to his Leadership: Inventing the Future (George Mason University) and Canadian Securities Course certificates, Mr. Lang received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Royal Roads University, graduating with distinction. Mr. Lang also graduated with honours from the British Columbia Institute of Technology where he received his Marketing Management Entrepreneurship diploma.

About Eric Saderholm

Mr. Saderholm is a professional Senior Geologist and former Newmont Exploration Manager for the Western US. He has worked on numerous large mines and projects, including Bingham Canyon, Carlin, Midas, Gold Quarry, Twin Creeks, Lonetree, Mule Canyon, Black Pine, Genesis and Yanacocha. He has over four decades of experience in the minerals industry.

About American Pacific Mining Corp.

American Pacific Mining Corp. is a precious and base metals explorer and developer focused on opportunities in the Western United States. The Company has two flagship assets: the Palmer Project, a Volcanic Massive Sulfide (VMS) project in Alaska, under joint-venture partnership with Dowa Metals & Mining, owner of Japan's largest zinc smelter; and the Madison Project, a past-producing copper-gold project in Montana partnered with Kennecott Exploration, a division of the Rio Tinto Group. For the Madison transaction, American Pacific was selected as a finalist in both 2021 and 2022 for 'Deal of the Year' at the S&P Global Platts Global Metals Awards, an annual program that recognizes exemplary accomplishments in 16 performance categories. Also, in American Pacific's asset portfolio are three high-grade, precious metals projects located in key mining districts of Nevada, USA: the Ziggerat Gold project, partnered with Centerra Gold; the Gooseberry Silver-Gold project; and the Tuscarora Gold-Silver project. The Company's mission is to grow by the drill bit and by acquisition.

On behalf of the American Pacific Mining Corp Board of Directors:

Warwick Smith, CEO & Director

Corporate Office: Suite 910 - 510 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC, V6C 3A8 Canada

Investor relations contact:

Kristina Pillon, High Tide Consulting Corp.

604.908.1695 / Kristina@americanpacific.ca

Media relations contact:

Adam Bello, Primoris Group Inc.

416.489.0092 / media@primorisgroup.com

Amended NI 43-101 Technical Report Palmer Project Alaska, USA, JDS Energy and Mining Inc. 2019

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.


An improvised explosive device (IED) was detected and defused by the security forces on Monday on the Srinagar-Jammu highway in J&K. Officials said that a joint team of Rashtriya Rifles, local police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) rushed to the spot on the Srinagar-Baramulla highway where a suspicious object was found.



Bomb disposal squad was immediately called in and the suspicious object was found to be an IED.



The IED was successfully defused by the bomb disposal squad after which traffic was restored on the busy highway, officials said.








NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / Cisco Systems Inc.



This blog was contributed to by Mizpah Brown-Rich, the co-founder of Joshua's Gift.

Of all the concerns that parents of autistic children face, a scary encounter with police shouldn't be one of them. But that's exactly what Joshua's parents dealt with, following a walk around the block with their son Joshua to help calm his anxiety.

At the time, Joshua was 17 years old, 6-feet tall, African American, and non-verbal. Joshua interacted with the world around him a little differently than others.

When a neighborhood resident called the police for what they mistook as "suspicious behavior", the resulting response could have easily escalated into a dangerous situation.

The experience inspired Joshua's parents to take bold action to help ensure that police, security personnel, and first responders could learn how to identify autistic individuals and respond with skill and compassion.

Joshua's mother Mizpah Brown-Rich and father Kerry Rich developed CODE JOSHUA - a unique call for emergency assistance that alerts police officers, firefighters, health care workers, and other personnel to respectfully approach and respond to autistic individuals in crisis with sensitivity and caution. The initiative is one of many innovations and services within their non-profit organization Joshua's Gift, which works to develop a society that invitingly accepts, respects, and includes the autistic community.

According to Autismspectrumnews.org, caregivers report 13% of their autistic children used at least one emergency service in a two-month period, and 20% of autistic children have had encounters with law enforcement officers by the age of 2. By creating an alliance with first responders, CODE JOSHUA drives equal rights, protects and defends our most vulnerable citizens, and preserves individual freedoms.

Cisco's Connected Black Professionals (CBP) Inclusive Community recognized the power and potential of CODE JOSHUA and the alignment with our social justice action committed to supporting key organizations in shaping social justice policy and driving equal rights. CBP nominated the innovative program for Cisco's Black Equity Grant program, which awards a total of US $500,000 in cash grants each fiscal year to Black-serving and/or Black-led nonprofit organizations who support social justice and racial equity.

As Curshanda Cusseaux Woods, Black Equity Grant program administrator, puts it, "Joshua's Gift is a wonderful example of the types of organizations we love to support. They align with our social justice values and have the vision and the know how to institute change. They just needed support from Cisco to further their impact in more communities."

With Cisco's funding, support, and community partnership, CODE JOSHUA was established into a robust registry database. Profiles created by the families of autistic individuals detail key information and crisis behaviors to help guide 911 dispatchers in appropriate crisis response. The initiative includes a training program and video resources to train first responders on how to approach with empathy and patience, how to de-escalate the situation by meeting the individuals' sensory and communication needs, and how to respond without force.

To date, CODE JOSHUA has been launched in police departments in multiple Northern California counties.

Joshua's mother Mizpah is seeing real impact. "Our CODE JOSHUA training courses are having an impressive impact on the first responders we are training. The program is effectively helping minimize anxiety and eliminate potential harm to our loved ones living with autism and IDD (Intellectual Developmental Disabilities). "By partnering with Cisco, we can leverage their technology and expertise to reach more communities and raise awareness about our autistic citizens. Together, we are making a difference in saving lives and creating a more inclusive and respectful society."

Learn more about CODE JOSHUA and the Joshua's Gift organization.

View original content here

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Cisco Systems Inc. on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Cisco Systems Inc.

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cisco-systems-inc

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Cisco Systems Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/771206/Cisco-How-an-Initiative-Developed-by-a-Nonprofit-Helps-First-Responders-Respond-to-the-Autistic-Community
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / Sappi North America

Sappi North America's forest management programs in both Maine and the Upper Midwest offer a wide range of services to landowners to help them manage their forests sustainably. The Sappi Maine Forestry Program and the Sappi Lake States Private Forestry Program provide a team of experienced and licensed forest professionals to help landowners achieve their woodlot ownership objectives.

Private individuals and organizations own about 80% of the forestland in New England and 58% of the timberland in the Upper Midwest. Most of these private landowners have relatively small tracts of land, ranging from tens to hundreds of acres, that collectively form the extensive temperate northern forests that support abundant wildlife, sequester forest carbon, provide thousands of jobs and economic opportunity, and are popular for recreational activities, including hunting, fishing, hiking and snowmobiling.

"Our goal is to really establish a good rapport with them and understand what their wants and needs are for their property. Do they use it for recreation? Are they absentee landowners? What are their goals as far as end results after the timber harvest or timber sale? Do they want more aspen trees? Do they want more birch or oak or maple? We have to assess what trees are there already and how we can meld the landowner's wants, goals and needs with what we can do on the ground as far as actual timber management to achieve those goals," says Chris Martland, Senior Wood Procurement Forester for Wisconsin and Michigan at Sappi.

Most forest landowners care about the long-term health and aesthetics of their forest, and the benefits that a healthy forest brings to wildlife and water quality. They want any improvements done on their land today to result in a healthier forest in 10, 20 or 40 years. They recognize that responsible, active forest management is critical for maintaining a healthy balance of economic, social and ecological attributes from their forests to meet the needs of present and future generations. Sappi shares these goals.

"Forestry is an art and a science," says Chris. "The science portion I learned in school is where I learned about the different trees and how they react to different management techniques. The art portion is where I actually get to deploy those techniques on the ground to really impact how the timber stand is going to grow into the future."

The Sappi forest management programs give small landowners the resources they need to manage their lands and ensure that harvests are sustainable, meet best-management practices and provide the highest return on their timber sales.

"The sustainable forestry that we've done throughout the past 40 years has really allowed opportunities for some of our loggers to go back and cut the same piece that they cut with their dad when they were a kid," says Chris. "The forest comes back healthier, stronger and more resilient than what it was when it was harvested. We really want to keep that stand healthy. And the only way to do that is through active management."

The Sappi Maine Forestry Program and the Sappi Lake States Private Forestry Programs assist landowners with developing forest management plans, harvest plans and timber-stand improvement project plans with appropriate silvicultural techniques that ensure prompt regeneration after harvest. Sappi offers many forestry services at no charge to landowners. For example, Sappi will update or develop a Maine tree growth management plan free of charge for anyone who works with that program.

SNA stumpage foresters conduct inspections on all jobs to ensure compliance with laws, policies and best-management practices to conserve soil and water quantity/quality along with other values, such as biodiversity conservation, aesthetics management and cultural resource protection. Sappi procurement foresters ensure that program participants receive a fair price and timely payment for any wood harvested from their woodlot, and that someone keeps accurate track of all wood sent to a mill.

"A lot of people ask us if we plant trees after we harvest. And we tell them, no, because we don't have to," says Jeremy Stultz, Senior Procurement Forester with Sappi in Skowhegan, Maine. "We're very blessed in the Northeast to have this natural regeneration that's always filling in after us. If we manage at the right time on the right acres in the right way, then we can control what kind of trees are going to come back into a certain forest at a certain time.

Landowners trust us to develop a woodlot plan that meets their expectations. They know that Sappi is here for the long term, and appreciate the program's reputation for fairness, honesty and trust.

"Certification is very important to Sappi, and it provides assurances to our customers and the people buying their products that the fiber we use comes from a forest that is thoughtfully managed," says Jeremy. "Sappi is certified under three different global certification systems: the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). These certification systems give us a set of principles to work from and a set of requirements that we have to meet in order to ensure responsibly managed forests.

"Guidelines include measures to protect and conserve water and soil quality/quantity, promote and maintain high-quality wildlife habitat, and ensure the use of adequately trained foresters and loggers. These guidelines encourage investments in research and specific emphasis on management techniques to conserve biodiversity and protect ecologically sensitive values.

"Sappi's commitment to forest certification allows us to pass those assurances on to our customers. They know that the products they're buying from Sappi come from responsibly managed forests and that the fiber is going to be there now and it's going to be there for future generations."

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Sappi North America on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Sappi North America

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/sappi-north-america

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Sappi North America

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/771215/Sappi-Works-With-Landowners-To-Manage-Sustainable-Forests
LONDON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

Dividend Announcement:

On 31 July 2023, the Board of Directors of Tetragon declared a dividend of U.S.$ 0.11 (11.00 cents) per share in respect of the second quarter of 2023. The ex-dividend date 2 August 2023. The record date is 3 August 2023. Payment of the dividend will take place from 29 August 2023.

Tetragon's website (www.tetragoninv.com) includes information on Tetragon's Optional Stock Dividend Plan for those shareholders electing to receive dividends in the form of Tetragon shares. Shareholders may elect to receive dividends in the form of Tetragon shares by making a dividend share election up to 15 August 2023. If no election is made, the dividend will be paid in cash from 29 August 2023.

Cash dividends may be received in Sterling by those shareholders making a dividend currency election up to 15 August 2023. If no election is made, the dividend will be paid in U.S. dollars from 29 August 2023.

About Tetragon:

Tetragon is a Guernsey closed-ended investment company. Its non-voting shares are listed on Euronext in Amsterdam, a regulated market of Euronext Amsterdam N.V., and also traded on the Specialist Fund Segment of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. Our investment manager is Tetragon Financial Management LP. Find out more at www.tetragoninv.com .

Tetragon Investor Relations:

Yuko Thomas

ir@tetragoninv.com

Press Inquiries:

Prosek Partners

pro-tetragon@prosek.com

U.K. +44 20 3890 9193

U.S. +1 212 279 3115

This release contains inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation (2014/596/EU), or EU MAR, and of the UK version of EU MAR as it forms part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act (as amended).

This release does not contain or constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction. The securities of Tetragon have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. persons unless they are registered under applicable law or exempt from registration. Tetragon does not intend to register any portion of its securities in the United States or to conduct a public offer of securities in the United States. In addition, Tetragon has not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and investors will not be entitled to the benefits of such Act. Tetragon is registered in the public register of the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiele Markten) under Section 1:107 of the Dutch Financial Markets Supervision Act as an alternative investment fund from a designated state.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/tetragon-financial-group-limited-announcement-of-dividend-301889535.html
WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / In a new analysis published by The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), MEMRI President Yigal Carmon stresses the importance of fighting antisemites, not antisemitism.

Mr. Carmon writes: "The rise in violent antisemitism in the West is so significant that the White House, the European Union, and the United Nations have all taken action to devise strategies to counter this phenomenon. This document will address historic and modern antisemitism, will analyze recent national and global strategies for combating it, and will suggest an effective strategy and plan of action."

Noting that "[i]t is critical to understand that there is no such thing as 'combating antisemitism' without combating antisemites themselves, in the same way that one cannot fight crime without fighting criminals or fight terrorism without fighting terrorists," he goes on to explain that "any strategy that deviates from this principle constitutes an evasion on the part of governments from their responsibility to protect targeted minorities."

In his analysis, Mr. Carmon details Western strategies for combatting antisemitism, including plans from the European Union, United States, and United Nations. He also provides an effective action plan with practical steps that can be taken to confront violent antisemitism.

Following an examination of legislative solutions, the political delegitimization of neo-Nazi and antisemitic groups, and pluralistic education, Mr. Carmon writes about the latter: "A distinction must be made between the short term and the long term when it comes to pluralistic education. In the long term, after hundreds of years of education, perhaps there will be an ideal pluralistic world in which antisemitism does not exist. However, in the short term, it must be understood that pluralistic education does not solve the problem of violent antisemitism. To the contrary, it exacerbates the situation, because today's pluralism legitimizes groups that blame the Jews for their predicaments."

Mr. Carmon sees fighting antisemites as the responsibility of government. However, government agencies are generally overwhelmed and overtasked, and cannot sufficiently tackle neo-Nazis and antisemites. Hence, it is vital that these agencies be supported by professional organizations that will assist in providing intelligence and actionable information that can be used in legal procedures. Mr. Carmon believes that this is the most effective strategy to follow. MEMRI has been providing this assistance and support since its establishment 25 years ago, by sharing its research on antisemitism from its Lantos Archives On Antisemitism And Holocaust Denial and its Domestic Terrorism Threat Monitor (DTTM)project, on a daily basis, with government agencies and federal, state, and local authorities. Additionally, MEMRI maintains the world's largest archive of antisemitic content from media - print, broadcast, online, and social media - from across the Arab and Muslim world.

ABOUT MEMRI

Exploring the Middle East and South Asia through their media, MEMRI bridges the language gap between the West and the Middle East and South Asia, providing timely translations of Arabic, Farsi, Urdu-Pashtu, Dari, Turkish, Russian, and Chinese media, as well as original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends.

Founded in February 1998 to inform the debate over U.S. policy in the Middle East, MEMRI is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization. MEMRI's main office is located in Washington, DC, with branch offices in various world capitals. MEMRI research is translated into English, French, Polish, Japanese, Spanish, and Hebrew.

MEMRI - Middle East Media Research Institute: www.memri.org

MEMRI TV - www.memri.org/tv

Jihad & Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) - www.memri.org/jttm

Cyber & Jihad Lab (CJL) - www.memri.org/cjlab

MEMRI Twitter: https://twitter.com/memrireports/

MEMRI YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC59Cpk70K2TwdmApJOTuW9g/videos

MEMRI Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/memrireports/

Contact Information:

MEMRI

media@memri.org

202-955-9070

www.memri.org

SOURCE: Middle East Media Research Institute

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/771308/Fight-Antisemites-Not-Antisemitism-Stresses-New-Analysis-By-The-President-Of-The-Middle-East-Media-Research-Institute-MEMRI
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / Lotus Ventures Inc. (CSE:J)(OTC PINK:LTTSF) ("Lotus" or the "Company") a B.C. based award-winning licensed cannabis producer and owner of the Lotus Cannabis Co. brand, announced the financial and operating results for the nine-month period ended May 31, 2023.

Over the last six months, Lotus has continued its Keylime Kush campaign, resulting in the launch of three Keylime Kush SKUs in British Columbia and one in Ontario. The success of these launches has allowed the Keylime Kush to make an impactful entry into over 300 retail stores between the two provinces. With the product now thriving in the market for half a year, the Company has achieved several milestones:

SALES AND MARKETING MILESTONES

On January 23, 2023, the Company announced the launch of its first official Lotus branded Keylime Kush 3.5 gram flower, which is now available in British Columbia and Ontario.

On February 10, 2023, Lotus launched the Keylime Kush in a 3 x 0.5 gram pre-roll format in British Columbia. As at the date of this news release, the pre-rolls have sold out several times in B.C. and continue to have strong sell through when in stock.

On March 10, 2023, Lotus announced the approval of the 14 gram Keylime Kush flower SKU in British Columbia. The 14 gram offering was subsequently launched on April 20, 2023 and has continued to experience strong sell through.

On March 15, 2023, Lotus announced a private company in Canada sold a portion of its Tranquil Elephantizer flower in an export shipment made to a company in Jamaica.

On April 11, 2023, the Company announced the launch of its 3.5 gram Lotus branded flower offering in the province of Ontario. The Keylime Kush has received a strong response from retailers and consumers in the province.

On April 20, 2023, Lotus placed in third in the ARCannabis Cup out of 128 participating licensed producers and brands in Canada.

Q3 OPERATING OVERVIEW

Production continued steady with the Company producing approximately 500,000 grams during the quarter. Production has consisted of primarily the Keylime Kush as the Company continued the ramp-up of selling in B.C. and Ontario.

During Q3, the cost of sales recognized was representative of approximately 333,000 grams of cannabis. Over the nine-month period ended May 31, 2023, cost of sales recognized was representative of approximately 1,354,000 grams.

Lotus completed its 125 th production harvest since commencing operations. As part of the Company's ongoing efforts to innovate and introduce new, high-quality cultivars, Lotus recently completed a phenohunt strain selection process in search of its next cultivars.

production harvest since commencing operations. As part of the Company's ongoing efforts to innovate and introduce new, high-quality cultivars, Lotus recently completed a phenohunt strain selection process in search of its next cultivars. The Company has continued the IQC certification process which would enable the Company to sell its flower into the Israeli market.

SUMMARY OF QUARTERLY RESULTS

During the three months ended May 31, 2023, the Company had a net loss of $340,735 (2022 - $103,573 net loss). The financial results of the Company for the eight most recent quarters are summarized below:

Description Three months ended May 31, 2023 Three months ended Feb 28, 2023 Three months ended Nov 30, 2022 Three months ended Aug 31, 2022 Revenues $ 512,726 $ 589,172 $ 144,603 $ 449,574 Net income (loss) $ (340,735 ) $ (131,035 ) $ (765,102 ) $ (4,930,606 ) Income (loss) per share, basic and diluted $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ (0.05 ) EBITDA $ (82,635 ) $ 129,041 $ (570,107 ) $ (4,633,554 ) Total assets $ 13,828,742 $ 13,959,942 $ 13,564,565 $ 13,471,193 Total long-term liabilities $Nil $Nil $Nil Cash dividends / share $Nil $Nil $Nil

Description Three months ended May 31, 2022 Three months ended Feb 28, 2022 Three months ended Nov 30, 2021 Three months ended Aug 31, 2021 Revenues $ 459,090 $ 370,551 $ 410,568 $ 1,235,937 Net income (loss) $ (103,573 ) $ 176,127 $ 65,293 $ 42,625 Income (loss) per share, basic and diluted $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 0.00 EBITDA $ 122,671 $ 399,757 $ 279,830 $ 264,876 Total assets $ 17,640,121 $ 17,678,148 $ 17,172,703 $ 16,907,742 Total long-term liabilities $Nil $Nil $Nil Cash dividends / share $Nil $Nil $Nil

For further information regarding the financial statements for the nine months ended May 31, 2023, please refer to sedarplus.ca.

ON BEHALF OF LOTUS VENTURES INC:

Lotus Ventures Inc.

"Dale McClanaghan"

Dale McClanaghan, President and CEO

About Lotus Ventures Inc.

Lotus Ventures Inc. is a B.C. based, award-winning licensed cannabis producer and owner of the Lotus Cannabis Co. brand. Lotus is a highly experienced cultivator with its flagship product, the Keylime Kush reaching over 300 retail stores in its first six months in the market. Lotus' talented team has grown several unique and exclusive cultivars, including the Keylime Kush, Black Blossom, Tranquil Elephantizer, and Kalifornia. Lotus' cannabis flower is currently available in British Columbia and Ontario.

Lotus Ventures Inc. is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE:J), on the OTC Markets (OTC PINK:LTTSF) and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FRA:LV9).

For More Information:

President & CEO

Dale McClanaghan

(604) - 644 - 9844

Investor Relations

Daniel McRobert

investors@lotuscannabis.ca

(604) - 842 - 4625

General Information

info@lotuscannabis.ca

(604) - 842 - 4625

To learn more, visit lotuscannabis.ca and follow the Lotus Cannabis Co. brand on social media.

Instagram: @lotuscannabisco

Twitter: @lotuscannabisco

LinkedIn: @lotuscannabisco

Facebook: @lotuscanna

Forward-Looking Information:

This document includes certain statements that are not descriptions of historical facts but are forward-looking statements. Such statements include, among others, those concerning our expected financial performance and strategic and operational plans, our future operating results, our expectations regarding the market for medical and recreational cannabis products, our expectations regarding the continued growth of the medical and recreational cannabis market, as well as all assumptions, expectations, predictions, intentions, or beliefs about future events. Users are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that a number of risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties have not been documented or mentioned in this document nor other communications made by the company. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "targets," "optimistic," "intend," "aim," "will" or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Lotus Ventures, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/771317/Lotus-Announces-Third-Quarter-Financial-Results
OCONOMOWOC, WI / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / International Defense K9 (IDK9), a company that trains guard dogs from a range of breeds, has announced that it is building a new facility in south central Florida. The new facility is being designed to handle approximately three times the company's current capacity.

While IDK9 was founded in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, it has expanded to locations in Milwaukee, Los Angeles, New York City, and two Florida locations: Miami and West Palm Beach - soon to be joined by the new facility.

Co-founder and CEO M Otto Sturm says that the company will soon be disclosing more details about the exact location of the company's newest facility. "We feel that further expanding into Florida is key right now, given the company's growth," Sturm shares. "IDK9 is focused on providing the best service and products in personal and family security."

Sturm adds that the new facility will enhance the team's ability to train and accommodate more elite dogs, thereby meeting the increasing demand for IDK9's services. "This move, we feel, will also provide an opportunity for our customers in the area to interact more closely with us and understand our unique family-centric approach to K9 training," he continues. "We are excited about this expansion as it aligns perfectly with our vision of safeguarding peace for families across the globe."

Co-founder Kristi Kummer shares that the company's newest facility will be state of the art. "We're designing this facility with the utmost consideration for both functionality and the welfare of the dogs," she affirms. "We're looking at features such as spacious indoor and outdoor training arenas, comfortable living spaces that replicate home environments, and cutting-edge technology to assist in our specialized training methods."

Kummer and Sturm both feel that an equally important feature will be the planned inclusion of family interaction zones. "This will allow our clients to experience hands-on training and bonding with their future family protectors," says Kummer. "Our hope is to create an environment that fosters optimal growth, learning, and wellbeing for our dogs while providing an unparalleled experience for our clients."

Expanding its operations with a new state-of-the-art facility in South Central Florida presents IDK9 with the potential for significant growth and scalability. Florida, with its diverse demographics, prosperous economy, and a large population of high-net-worth individuals, offers an ideal market for IDK9's specialized services, according to Sturm and Kummer.

"With our Miami and Palm Beach locations, we've learned that this region provides access to a larger pool of potential clients," Sturm states. "Past clients have included CEOs, professional athletes, celebrities, and royal family members who are looking for top-tier family-friendly protection dogs."

He says that IDK9's new location is strategic, and he hopes that it will allow the company to reach more families and individuals in need of customized protection services.

Kummer adds that the new facility isn't just an expansion in terms of geographical footprint, but it is also an investment in the company's future growth and scalability. "We feel that this move will enhance our capacity to raise, train, and deliver more elite dogs while maintaining our high standards of quality," she explains.

Another big reason for this move is access to Miami International Airport. The new facility will supplement the company's home facilities in Wisconsin. Along with this expansion, IDK9 is growing its staff, with plans to increase its workforce to 50 or more. "We are looking for highly educated, devoted, and passionate technicians," Sturm states. "Our commitment is to maintain excellence in the services we provide. That is the driving force behind this strategic expansion."

About International Defense K9

International Defense K9 is a company that specializes in sourcing and training family-friend protection dogs for personal security. The company is led by Kristi Kummer and M Otto Sturm. The team has over two decades of experience in police, military, and personal canine training.

Website: https://internationaldefensek9.com/

Contact M Otto Sturm at internationaldefensek9s@gmail.com

SOURCE: International Defense K9





View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/771343/International-Defense-K9-Releases-Expansion-Plans
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - Kuya Silver Corporation (CSE: KUYA) (OTCQB: KUYAF) (FSE: 6MR1) (the "Company" or "Kuya Silver") has granted 250,000 stock options ("Options") to acquire common shares in the capital of the Company (each a "Common Share"), to independent directors at an exercise price of $0.475. The Options are subject to vesting provisions. Any Common Shares issued pursuant to the Options, are subject to a hold period expiring December 1, 2023.

About Kuya Silver Corporation

Kuya Silver is a Canadian-based mineral exploration and development company with a focus on acquiring, exploring, and advancing precious metals assets in Peru and Canada.

For more information, please contact:

David Stein, President and Chief Executive Officer

Telephone: (604) 398-4493

info@kuyasilver.com

www.kuyasilver.com

Reader Advisory

This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs, and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company. The words "may," "would," "could," "should," "will," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "must," "next," "focus," "potential," "progress," "develop," "investigate," "optimize," "opportunity," "future," "vision," "envisage," "option," "roadmap," "pursue," and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking information. Investors are cautioned that statements including forward-looking information are not guarantees of future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking information as a result of various factors, including but not limited to fluctuations in the market price of silver and other commodities, successes of the operations of the Company, continued availability of capital and financing, the Company's ability to obtain and renew required permits, licenses, consents, authorizations, and approvals, and general economic, market, and business conditions. There can be no assurances that such forward-looking information will prove accurate, and therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of the risks and uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/175571
NanoTech, Inc., a Houston, TX-based material science company, raised a seed funding round of undisclosed amount.

A mix of 3 institutional, 2 corporate-strategic, and 7 family office investors joined initial investor Ecliptic Capital.

The company intends to use the funds to bolster its nationwide network of installers and distributors for immediate delivery across all 50 states.

Led by Mike Francis, CEO, Nanotech is pioneering a new category of climate-resilient materials that enable environmental responsibility. Its flagship product, the Nano Shield Cool Roof Coat, leverages heat resistant technology to cut the energy HVAC systems demand for commercial space cooling. From always-on data centers to sprawling warehouses, the solution has widespread impact.

The Nano Shield Cool Roof Coat builds upon the superficial solar ray reflection of traditional white coatings and paint with the companys industry breakthrough innovation that virtually eliminates heat penetration via the roof. In some applications, customers have seen a staggering drop up to 40F  inside the building. The company and its partner community are confident this investment will help them coat as many roofs as possible before temperatures soar even higher.

FinSMEs

31/07/2023
Conjunctivitis cases are on the rise in several places across India, including New Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, and Gujarat. Dr Kartikay Kumar, senior resident, Rajendra Prasad Centre, AIIMS Delhi, told The Quint that they are getting more than a hundred cases every day. We always see cases go up during the monsoon, but this is the first time we are seeing it on this scale, Dr Kumar stated.

Whenever someone contracts conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, they are often seen wearing sunglasses or black goggles. Now, amid the soaring cases in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), the Delhi Police have taken a quirky way to urge people to wear black shades.

Referring to the hugely popular Kala Chashma song, the police said in an Instagram Reel, To all those suffering from conjunctivitis, Tennu kala chashma jachda ae, jachda ae tere mukhde pe. Please wear glasses get well soon.

But does the kala chashma really help in conjunctivitis? Lets find out.

What is conjunctivitis?

According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), conjunctivitis is the inflammation of the conjunctiva, the thin, transparent layer of tissue that lines the inner surface of the eyelid and covers the white part of the eye from infection or allergies.

Its common symtoms include eyes turning red, itching, irritation, an increase in tear production, and a watery or thicker discharge from the eye, as per United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In rare but severe cases, patients come in with swollen, painful eyes as well, Dr Dhruv Chauhan, Physician, Sanjeevan Medical Research Centre, Delhi, IMA-MSN National zonal coordinator, told The Quint.

There are three main types of conjunctivitis depending on the cause: allergic conjunctivitis, bacterial or viral conjunctivitis and chemical conjunctivitis.

Do sunglasses help?

Yes, they do.

Those who get conjunctivitis infection, their eyes become sensitive to light, say experts. Donning dark glasses helps the patients to prevent dust and light from entering the eyes, thus not causing further irritation.

It is not uncommon to see people with conjunctivitis wearing dark sunglasses, assuming it is to prevent the spread of the infection when looking at others. However, its important to know that conjunctivitis cannot spread just by looking at someone who has it. The primary reason for wearing these glasses is to alleviate discomfort caused by light sensitivity, Dr Manoj Prathapan, Clinical Professor, Ophthalmology at Amrita Hospital, told India Today.

Speaking to News9, Dr Rashmi Mittal, Consultant, Department of Ophthalmology, at Faridabads Amrita Hospital, explained how sunglasses help those suffering from conjunctivitis.

Firstly, it prevents the patient from repeatedly touching and rubbing his eyes and thereby spreading the infection to others around him. Secondly, severe eye flu can be associated with significant photophobia and sensitivity to light. In these patients, wearing dark glasses provide comfort and relaxation to the eyes, Mittal said.

Do dark sunglasses curb the spread of infection?

Not entirely.

Experts have warned that only wearing dark glasses cannot prevent the transmission of infection.

Dr JS Titiyal, head of RP Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS, told Times of India (TOI) said that dark glasses do not prevent the ocular infection from spreading. Titiyal pointed out that touch is crucial here and patients must ensure they do not share their belongings, such as laptops and mobile phones, with others.

If you touch such things, you should sanitise your hand and work area, like people used to do during the COVID-19 crisis, he said.

You should not touch the goggles used or touched by an infected person. In fact, anyone can catch the infection through dark glasses. If an infected person takes them off, the surface on which he keeps them can become contaminated and later infect anyone who touches such a surface, Dr Titiyal told TOI.

ALSO READ: Spike in dengue cases in India: How bad is it?

How to prevent the spread?

Practicing good hygiene can help keep a check on the spread of conjunctivitis as the infection mostly spreads through the hands.

Dr Soveeta Rath, Pediatric Ophthalmology, Strabismus and Neuro-Ophthalmology told news agency ANI that it is necessary to maintain hygiene and keep our personal belongings like towels and handkerchiefs separate. They should not be shared to avoid spreading (the infection) to other family members. and seek prompt medical help to manage these conditions effectively, Dr Rath added.

Patients should also avoid touching their eyes as it raises the risk of the spread.

Underlining the importance of maintaining hand hygiene, Dr Saurabh Varshney, senior consultant in ophthalmology at Primus Super Speciality Hospital, recommended sanitising hands after touching public surfaces, reported TOI.

With inputs from agencies
In a shocking incident, a Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable allegedly opened fire on board a moving train near Mumbai, killing three passengers and an assistant sub-inspector. The incident took place on Monday morning on the JaipurMumbai Superfast Express between Dahisar and Mira Road.

The accused constable, identified as Chetan Kumar, was arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP) as he was trying to escape.



What happened aboard the Jaipur-Mumbai train?

Kumar, 33, shot dead his senior, Tika Ram Meena, and three passengers onboard the Jaipur-Mumbai train around 5 am. He first attacked his colleague and then went to another bogie and fired at the passengers.

After the killings, the accused pulled the chain, jumped off the train near Dahisar station and tried to flee but was arrested.

In an unfortunate incident in Train, No 12956 Jaipur-Mumbai Superfast Express escorting staff constable Chetan Kumar shot at his colleague escort in charge ASI Tika Ram. The constable upon shooting his colleague, initially held passengers at gunpoint, the Western Railways said in a statement.

It is regretted that ASI Tika Ram and three passengers were shot at. Constable Chetan Kumar got down near Dahisar and tried to flee after pulling the alarm chain. But, was arrested by RPF along with the weapon, the statement added.

Kumar reportedly used an AKM, which is the modified version of the AK-47 to shoot the victims dead. He is said to have fired approximately 12 rounds.

The accused boarded the train from Surat at 2.50 am on Monday. He was deployed on Jaipur Mumbai Central Superfast Express along with two other constables and the ASI for escort duty. They are posted on long-distance trains for security purposes.

According to sources, Kumar started firing the shots after he got into an argument with Tika Ram over some personal and professional matters, reports The Indian Express. Kumar and his senior ASI Tika Ram were deployed in the train for security during which the firing incident took place after an argument between Kumar and Ram, the source told the publication.

Before shooting Tika Ram, Kumar reportedly held passengers at gunpoint, according to railway officials.



What do we know about the accused?

Kumar is said to be temperamental. While talking to the media, Inspector General of RPF (Western Railways) Praveen Sinha said, He had a short fuse, he was quite hot-headed. He also said that Kumar suffered from mental health issues.

However, he denied reports that there was an argument between Kumar and his senior. There was no altercation. He just lost his temper and shot his senior, then fired at whoever he saw, Sinha added.

According to a preliminary probe, the accused filed a complaint for mental harassment and was upset, reports News18. He wasnt feeling well and lost his calm, a senior official at Western Railways said. He had just returned from leave.

Kumar was posted at the Lower Parel RPF workshop in Mumbai and has been working with the RPF for more than 12 years. He is reportedly from Hathras in Uttar Pradesh.

He was part of the four-member team earlier which escorted Dadar-Porbandar Saurashtra Express up to Surat station the previous day. On the return journey, the escorting party was guarding the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express, a senior railway official said, reports NDTV.

What do we know about the deceased?

Kumars senior Tika Ram was an assistant sub-inspector who was attached to the Dadar RPF post. Ram hailed from Rajasthans Sawai Madhopur and was due for retirement in 2025. He is survived by his wife, two children and an 80-year-old mother. Ram has a 35-year-old and a 25-year-old daughter, who are both married.

Western Railways has announced compensation for the family; they will get over Rs 61 lakh. This includes ex gratia of Rs 25 lakh, Railway Suraksha Kalyan Nidhi amount of Rs 15 lakh, funeral expenses amounting to Rs 20,000, Rs 15 lakh as death cum retirement gratuity (DCRG), Rs 65,000 in GIS and Rs 5,93,000 as leave amount.

Of the three passengers who were killed, two have been identified as Abdul Kadir, who was from Madhubani and Asgar Kai, a bangle seller from Jaipur. The families of the deceased persons are being contacted and the ex gratia amount will be given to them, said an RPF officer.

The bodies were taken out of the train at Borivali railway station in suburban Mumbai.

Officials said that they are questioning the accused and other passengers to ascertain the reason and sequence of events.

With inputs from agencies
On 20 October 2022, Winton released a market announcement in which it confirmed that it had issued proceedings against Kainga Ora in the Auckland High Court, alleging anti-competitive conduct under the Commerce Act.

Winton has now completed the initial work to quantify the loss and damage suffered by it as a result of Kainga Oras conduct. An Amended Statement of Claim has been filed in the Auckland High Court today to include the provisionally assessed amount of $138.5m in damages plus costs and interest. The amount claimed represents Wintons view as to quantum of the loss it has suffered as a result of Kainga Oras alleged anti-competitive conduct.

While Winton looks forward to vigorously presenting its claim to the Auckland High Court, there is no assurance that these proceedings will be successful nor that, even if Winton receives a favourable judgment, the quantum of damages awarded will be the same as those claimed by Winton.

Ends.

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A video of a Japanese man who spent a whopping two million yen (over Rs 11 lakh) to look like a border collie has garnered attention on social media. The man recently shared his video interacting with people and real dogs in a park while wearing the ultra-realistic costume that he bought last year to resemble his favourite breed of canine.

Sharing the clip on the channel I want to be an animal, the man, known only as Toco, wrote: This video was shot last year when I was interviewed by RTL, a German TV station. Thankfully, I received permission to use the videos, so I am releasing them to the public!

Lets take a look at how people in Japan are spending millions to transform into animals.

Meet the human dog

In the five-minute clip posted 10 days back, the dog could be seen taking a walk. Mimicking dog behaviour, Toco sniffs other dogs and rolls on the ground. Till Monday (31 July), the video has amassed more than 38 lakh views and at least 4,400 likes.

Recently, the man shared that he has purchased a dog crate for himself to sleep in, reported British outlet LADbible.

As per the Independent report last May, the man, whose identity remains a mystery, hired a Japanese company called Zeppet, which specialises in sculptures and models for TV commercials and films, to make the costume. It took 40 days to complete the outfit.

In an interview with Japanese outlet Mynavi, the man said last year, I made it a collie because it looks real when I put it on.

My favourite is quadrupedal animals, especially cute ones. Among them, I thought that a big animal close to me would be good, considering that it would be a realistic model, so I decided to make it a dog.

I met such a condition and made collie, my favorite breed of dog.

Toco told Daily Mail in May 2022 that he wears the costume only on special occasions. Ever since I was a small child, I wanted to be an animal. I think it is a desire to transform. Ive thought about it since I can remember, he added.

On why he has not revealed his identity to the public, he told Daily Mail, I dont want my hobbies to be known, especially by the people I work with. They think its weird that I want to be a dog. For the same reason why I cant show my real face.

I rarely tell my friends because I am afraid they will think I am weird, Toco told the Mirror in December.

The human wolf

Earlier in January this year, the reports of another man from Japan becoming a wolf went viral.

Toru Ueda, an engineer from Tokyo, shelled out an eye-watering three million yen (over Rs 17 lakh) to look like a gray wolf, also called timber wolf, walking on hind legs. Because of my love for animals since childhood and some realistic animal suits appearing on TV, I dreamed of being one someday, he said earlier, as per LADbible.

When I wear my costume I feel Im no longer human, Ueda told United Kingdom-based The Times recently. Im free of human relationships. All kinds of troubles, related to work and other things  I can forget about them.

Ueda had also commissioned Zeppet, which made the wolf suit in 50 days. He met the Zeppet team multiple times for fittings. We checked images of real wolves to discuss the smallest details until we incorporated many features in the specifications, the man was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times (HT).

At the final fitting, I was amazed at my transformed self in the mirror. It was a moment when my dream came true. My order to look like a real wolf walking on hind legs was difficult, but the complete suit looked exactly like what I imagined, he had said earlier, as per The Quint.

The engineer, who has only recently disclosed his identity in public, said he feels powerful after donning the wolf costume.

When I look in the mirror, I see a wolf, and that is very moving, the 32-year-old was quoted as saying by LADbible. Im not a werewolf  thats a kind of monster, and I am not a monster.

Meanwhile, according to the British digital news outlet, Zeppet has said it has seen an uptick in demand from customers for life-like costumes, with more than 50 demanding suits similar to that of Uedas.

With inputs from agencies
It is one of Indias premier engineering institutions. And its haunted by the age-old problem of casteism. Caste often dominates interactions between students and overshadows the lives of many from reserved categories, affecting their self-esteem and grades at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B).

Whats your JEE score? Its a question that new entrants often ask each other. But many students, who come through reservation, consider this seemingly harmless query as an inquiry about their caste.



IIT-Bs anti-discrimination guidelines

To make the college inclusive, IIT-Bombay has instructed its students to avoid asking each other about their JEE (advanced) ranks or GATE scores or any other information that could reveal their caste. As a new batch of students joins the campus, the institute has released a set of anti-discrimination guidelines. Asking fellow students about their rank could appear like an attempt to find the caste and may set the stage for discrimination, it warns.

The new set of instructions comes after the death by suicide of first-year student, Darshan Solanki, on the IIT-Bombay campus. His family alleged that a college mate had reduced interaction with Darshan after learning about his JEE rank, which bogged him down.

The notification of anti-discrimination guidelines is pasted at different locations on the campus and even circulated among students. While the student asking the question may feel it is innocent and it may be driven purely by curiosity, asking the question can often have an adverse impact on the other student, it states.

According to the guidelines, the institute considers it inappropriate to ask fellow students about their birth or admission category, as this could lead to conscious or unconscious bias. The guidelines urge students to mingle with each other irrespective of their caste, religion, or socioeconomic background. They are encouraged to interact over commonalities like the field of study, department, sports, music, movies, and other hobbies.

Students are also prohibited from sending abusive, casteist or sexist messages or jokes, according to a report by The Times of India (ToI). They have been instructed not to send messages that exhibit bigotry based on religion or sexual orientation or those that can be construed as harassment or bullying and posting them on WhatsApp, Facebook or any other social media.

Authorities at IIT-Bombay have warned students of severe punishment if rules are violated, adding that politeness and sensitivity towards the feeling of their college mates are expected from all. However, it does not specify what is the punishment. The guidelines also mention that the institute implements the reservation policy under the Constitution and strives to provide equal opportunities to all students.

While guidelines were always communicated orally during orientation sessions for new entrants, this is the first time IIT-Bombay has officially communicated what is considered discrimination on campus, say students.

Also read: Do IITs favour Brahmins and perpetuate caste oppression?

The suicide of Darshan Solanki

Solankis death put the spotlight on how caste-based discrimination on IIT campuses. Being questioned on their JEE score was a concern for many students as it indicated that those with not very high scores were admitted through reserved category seats.

On 12 February 2023, the 18-year-old Dalit student died after he jumped from the seventh floor of a hostel building allegedly because he faced caste discrimination.

A first-year BTech (chemical) student, Darshan had enrolled in IIT-Bombay only three months earlier. When he went home a month before his death, he reportedly told his family that his classmates were hostile towards him because he belonged to the Scheduled Caste community. He said that the behaviour of his friends changed after they learnt about Darshans caste and they became envious of him as he was studying for free, reports The Indian Express.

According to Darshans senior and his sister, his roommate had reduced talking to him after knowing his rank. He was in trouble, and he was being harassed, Darshans mother had said.

However, an internal investigation by IIT Bombay ruled out specific evidence of direct caste-based discrimination. It pointed out that deteriorating academic performance may have been a possible cause for his suicide.

Rejecting the internal committees findings, Darshans father Rameshbhai Solanki wrote to the IIT-Bombay director in March. The report holds my son responsible for his own death. What kind of institution, which promises to provide a safe and nurturing environment to its students especially from ST/SC background, blames them for the hardships they face? he wrote.

Caste and the campus

Caste-based discrimination on IIT campuses is prevalent.

Even as the college put out anti-discrimination guidelines, it has been embroiled in another controversy. Students have raised the issue of food discrimination after vegetarians only posters were put up on the walls of a canteen in one of the hostels.

There are no fixed seats for people consuming different categories of food and the institute is unaware about who put up the posters, an official from IIT-B said.

However, SC and ST students consider this discrimination. The need to demarcate separate eating spaces with an idea of purity is to reinforce the superiority of savarnas on campus and deem their eating habits better than those of DBA students, Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC), a student body, at IIT Bombay tweeted.

When the world is constantly seeing the poisons of caste in various aspects of life under the mask of purity, IITs are no exception to this as well. What happens inside @iitbombay mess area? https://t.co/bidhm1jCti  APPSC IIT Bombay (@AppscIITb) July 29, 2023

In the past, testimonies of students belonging to Dalit and Adivasi communities gathered by the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (SC-ST) student cell, which have not been made public, reveal that the atmosphere on campus is discriminative and hostile, according to a report in The Wire.

Since December 2021, IIT-Bombay carried out three surveys and one open house for students from Dalit and Adivasi communities and several instances of discrimination came to the fore.

In February last year, the SC-ST student cell questionnaires were sent to more than 2,000 students from the SC ad ST communities. Of the 388 students who responded, 77 said that they faced casteism and indifference from their college mates and faculty members. Some said that they were subject to casteist abuses and were discriminated against in hostels, gymkhanas, canteens and social media spaces, The Wire report says.

More than 90 students shared that Savarna students openly shared casteist or anti-reservation jokes, memes, or songs on campus and 40 said that they were taunted with casteist slurs for their appearance or behaviour.

According to a student from Jhansi, when general category students fumble they are considered clueless but if he fumbles he is branded unmeritorious. Another top-ranking student said that he had been told several times that had occupied a general seat, the report says.

A second-year student of Electrical Engineering (EE), a reserved category student from Rajasthan, told The Indian Express that the JEE rank is a giveaway if a student is from the general or reserved categories. If your friends are clearing all courses with ease and you are struggling; it does impact you, he said.

Handling discrimination at IIT

The IITs have over the years taken steps to end discrimination. The JEE rank of students is not mentioned in any official documentation or communication. Students from reserved categories have access to grievance redressal and campuses have government-mandated SC/SCT advisors.

Each year, in the orientation session for new Under Graduate (UG) and Post Graduate (PG) entrants, various institute bodies/cells have always emphasised the zero-tolerance policy that IIT Bombay follows towards any form of discrimination. Each hostel and department/centre too have had posters from various cells. This year, the content from various cells, posters/orientations, in the context of anti-discrimination, has been compiled into one poster. This is also being circulated by the institute towards both new and existing students, IIT-Bombay said in the statement after issuing the anti-discriminatory guidelines.

With inputs from agencies
Some Opposition leaders are expected to meet Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar today (31 July) to convince him to not attend an event in Maharashtras Pune felicitating Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pawar is slated to confer the Lokmanya Tilak National Award on the Indian premier at Punes SP College ground on 1 August.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, are also expected to mark their presence at the event. The function comes nearly a month after Ajit rebelled against his uncle, Sharad Pawar, along with eight other NCP MLAs to join the Eknath Shinde-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Maharashtra.

Why is the Opposition miffed at Sharad Pawar sharing the dais with Prime Minister Modi? Lets take a closer look.

Bad optics

The Opposition has expressed concern over the octogenarian sharing the stage with Modi.

As per The Hindu report, several leaders of the INDIA coalition had raised the issue at a meeting in Parliament on Friday (28 July), worrying that it would be bad optics when the Opposition alliance is at loggerheads with the Central government over Manipur violence.

The INDIA grouping has been demanding the prime minister address the Manipur issue in Parliament that has led to a logjam. The Congress has also moved a no-confidence motion against the Central government in Lok Sabha to achieve this goal.

Many INDIA members expressed disappointment over Pawars likely visit to the scheduled event, with some suggesting that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge or another leader should dissuade the NCP patriarch, reported The Hindu.

As the contentious Delhi services Bill could reach the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday (1 August), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders said Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal would implore senior Pawar to skip the award function and remain in Delhi for the legislation. Kejriwal has been trying to bring anti-BJP parties on board to vote against the Bill.

Opposition delegation to meet Sharad Pawar

A group of leaders from various political parties, including the Pawars NCP faction, the Congress, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the AAP and the CPI(M), led by socialist leader Baba Adhav is set to meet Sharad Pawar to urge him not to felicitate Modi, as per an Indian Express report.

Terming Pawar sharing stage with Modi not appropriate, Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut, as per Indian Express, said, When the prime minister is calling the constituents of INDIA all sorts of names and when he and his party have wrecked the NCP, it does not look appropriate for the NCP chief to attend the event and bestow the honour on the prime minister.

The BJP has not just broken the NCP into two pieces but the prime minister has described the NCP as a corrupt party. If the NCP has suffered so much, then how can its party head felicitate the prime minister? By doing so, Pawar will be harming his image and reputation. I think Pawar should avoid attending the function, he added.

NCP Rajya Sabha MP Vandana Chavan also urged Pawar to skip the award function. Personally, I am against our party chief sharing the stage with PM Modi who has broken our party and accused us of corruption. I urged Pawar saheb to stay away from the event. However, he said it was he who invited the PM to the function. He did it after being persuaded by members of the Tilak Trust, which is organising the felicitation. And this was before the Ajit Pawar-led rebellion, she was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

The Congress, which is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in the state along with Sharad Pawar-led NCP and Shiv Sena (UBT), said that it is the veteran politicians decision whether to attend the award ceremony or not.

The Lokmanya Tilak Award is conferred by the Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust, whose trustee is Congress leader Rohit Tilak, great-grandson of freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

Tilak had confirmed Sharad Pawars presence at the award function as the chief guest on Saturday. Even as the Lok Sabhas Monsoon Session is underway, Pawar will be attending the event and may leave for Delhi immediately, he said, as per Hindustan Times (HT).

Protest against PM Narendra Modi

Sharad Pawars NCP camp, the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and some social organisations have planned to stage a protest against the prime minister on Tuesday as he arrives in Pune.

NCPs Pune president Prashant Jagtap said the protest is about Modi not visiting Manipur which has been suffering from ethnic conflict since 3 May. When there is unrest in Manipur, the prime minister is not showing any concern over the issue but coming to Pune to accept the award. We demand that the PM should visit Manipur first, he said, as per HT.

Prime Minister has time to visit foreign countries but no time to visit Manipur. He doesnt even have time to speak about Manipur in Parliament. To condemn this, we have decided to protest, and senior activist Baba Adhav will lead the agitation, Congress Maharashtra units vice president Mohan Joshi told the daily.

Modi is to be conferred with Lokmanya Tilak National Award for his supreme leadership and for awakening the feeling of patriotism among citizens, noted HT. After the event, the prime minister will flag off metro trains and launch several development projects in Pune.

With inputs from agencies
Pakistans list of woes just doesnt end. The cash-strapped nation, struggling to stay afloat economically, was a victim of a deadly suicide attack on Sunday, killing more than 40 people and injuring another 200 more.

The incident, which took place in Bajaur district near the Afghan border, has led to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to condemn the incident, stating that the attacks perpetrators will face severe penalties.

The attack on Sunday isnt a lone incident. The country has seen a spate of similar bombings in the first half of this year  271 attacks to be precise. Pakistani authorities blame neighbouring Afghanistan, ruled now by the Taliban, for these attacks, claiming the latter allows for free movement of terrorists on their land, a claim they have denied repeatedly.

As Pakistan tries to pick up the pieces, heres a closer look at what happened and how the country is seeing a resurgence of attacks by hardline terrorists.

Bloody Sunday

On Sunday (30 July) afternoon, a suicide bombing ripped across a rally for the conservative Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party (JUI-F), a government coalition partner, in Bajaur district in the north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The attack killed 44 people and wounded another 200 more, with KP health minister Riaz Anwar telling AFP, It was a suicide attack, with the bomber detonating himself in close proximity to the stage.

More than 500 supporters had gathered at a hall near a market for the rally, which was being held ahead of elections expected later this year, when the blast took place. Footage showed ambulances arriving to transfer the injured to hospitals.

There was dust and smoke around, and I was under some injured people from where I could hardly stand up, only to see chaos and some scattered limbs, said Adam Khan (45), who was knocked to the ground by the blast and hit by splinters in his leg and both hands.

Sabeeh Ullah, a 24-year-old who had his arm fractured by the blast, said the scale of injuries was horrifying. I found myself lying next to someone who had lost their limbs. The air was filled with the smell of human flesh, he told AFP by phone.

Reports have stated that among the dead is Maulana Ziaullah, the emir of the JUI-F party in Tehsil Khar.

JUI-F leaders, condemning the blast, said the attack was an attempt to remove them from the field before parliamentary elections in November, but added that such tactics would not work.

The bombing drew nationwide condemnation, with the ruling and opposition parties extending condolences to the families of those who died in the attack. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his profound sorrow for the precious lives lost. He asserted that such attacks on political parties clearly indicate an enmity against Pakistans democratic system. He also called for the prompt identification of the culprits and demanded that they be given appropriate punishment.

      ()             .                       .            .    Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) July 30, 2023

President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi also expressed his condemnation and deep grief over the loss of lives in Bajaur. He extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and emphasised the immediate need to provide medical assistance to the injured.

While no group has officially claimed responsibility for the attack, initial investigations suggested that the Islamic State group could be behind the attack. However, the Pakistan Taliban  the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)  told the Associated Press that the bombing was aimed at setting Islamists against each other.

Rise in terrorism

Sundays attack, perhaps the worst in the north-west since 2014, is a clear reflection of the breakdown in law and order in the area and the rise of terrorism.

In fact, as per a report released by think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, the country has witnessed a steady and alarming rise in terror and suicide attacks. The report states that there have been 271 militant attacks in the first half of 2023, resulting in the loss of 389 lives and injuring 656 individuals.

Compare this to 2022  Pakistan recorded 151 attacks, causing 293 deaths and 487 injuries. This shows a clear 79 per cent increase in attacks during the first half of 2023 compared to the corresponding period last year.

The report also showed that Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the most affected province during the first half of this year with 174 reported militant attacks, claiming 266 lives and injuring 463 others  a 51 per cent rise in attacks compared to the same period of time in 2022.

Following Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was Balochistan. The area reported 75 terror incidents in the first half of 2023, resulting in 100 deaths and 163 injuries. The data reveals a 103 per cent increase in terror attacks compared to the same period in the previous year.

Also read: Pakistans Taliban challenge: With over 100 attacks in two months, Islamabad faces grim security situation

The Afghanistan link

The rise in terrorist attacks in Pakistans north-west region is linked to Afghanistan and the takeover of the Taliban, say authorities. In fact, earlier this month, Pakistans defence minister Khwaja Asif accused the Taliban-led Afghanistan of providing safe havens to terrorists involved in bloodshed in his country.

Pakistan would no longer tolerate this, he said, warning the Taliban of providing refuge to TTP militants. This warning came just a week after Pakistans military chief issued a similar warning to the Taliban.

General Asim Munir had then said Pakistans armed forces were seriously concerned about the safe havens and liberty of action the Pakistani Taliban has in Afghanistan. He said he expected the Afghan Taliban to live up to their promises from a 2020 agreement with Washington to bar any terror group from using Afghan soil for attacks. If they fail to do so, these intolerable attacks would draw an effective response, he had then said.

Also read: Taliban back to bite Islamabad: How closure of crucial Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing is upending daily lives

The Taliban, on the other hand, continues to deny the existence of terrorists on their soil  a stance similar to what Pakistan takes when confronted by India.

Ever since the takeover of Afghanistan by Taliban in 2021, the TTP has been emboldened and carried out increasing number of attacks in Pakistan. For the unaware, the TTP, which came into existence in 2007, is an extension of the Afghan Taliban, aiming to implement its interpretation of Sharia in Pakistan, especially in the tribal areas.

Moreover, an end of the ceasefire with Pakistan in November last year has only seen TTP attacks rising. The TTP is also making efforts to broaden its appeal beyond the ethnic Pashtun community and is trying to lure Baloch separatists and other groups. On 12 April, the TTP claimed that two new militant groups from Balochistans Quetta and Kalat districts joined its ranks.

Madiha Afzal, a scholar at the Brookings Institution focusing on Pakistan told Deutsche Welle in an earlier report, The TTP threat to Pakistan is significant, and it is growing.

The TTP have been emboldened by a Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and the Pakistani states shaky, uncertain approach to the group in recent years. Pakistan has tried negotiating with the group many times over the years; negotiations always fail because the group is existentially opposed to the Pakistani state and constitution," she told DW.

The only option the State has is to launch an extensive military operation against the group, as it did in 2014, but that is complicated this time around by the fact that the TTP can cross the border into Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, leaving Pakistan with a growing and hard-to-control terrorism problem on its hands.

With inputs from agencies
Tens of thousands of supporters from Bangladeshs Opposition have taken to the streets.

The protesters are demanding Sheikh Hasinas resignation and that a caretaker government oversees the next election.

But why is this happening?

Lets take a closer look:

Free and fair elections

The Opposition says it is concerned about free and fair elections.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina hopes to return to power for a fourth consecutive term, while the main Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by ailing former prime minister Khaleda Zia is making its strongest effort to drive Hasina out of office.

Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy with a history of violence since 1991, when Hasina and Zia jointly pushed then-dictator HM Ershad out of office.

Zia and Hasina are arch-rivals.

Zia became prime minister three times  for two full five-year terms and again for a short time.

Hasina became prime minister in 1996 and returned to power again in 2008.

She has remained in office since then.

Hasina says the election should be held under her governments supervision as specified in the constitution, but Zias party and its allies say Hasina must step down to allow the installation of a non-party caretaker government to ensure a free and fair vote.

Zia, whose party has accused Hasina of vote rigging in 2018, is effectively under house arrest at the moment after a conviction on graft charges.

Al Jazeera quoted BNP secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as saying there is no scope of having any fair election under this government.

Activist Mizanur Rahman, speaking at an Opposition rally, added, We want a fair election.

All we demand today is to get back the right to vote and exercise the right.

BNPs one-point demand is the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh. This can only be achieved through a free and fair election, which is not possible under the current regime, senior BNP leader Abdul Moyeen Khan told Reuters.

This government must resign and make way for a free and fair election under an interim government, only through that we can restore a peoples government in Bangladesh, he added.

Human rights concerns

Hasina has been accused of human rights violations, of destroying the freedom of the press and suppressing dissent as well as jailing critics including many supporters of the main opposition.

Hasinas security forces are accused of detaining tens of thousands of opposition activists, killing hundreds in extrajudicial encounters and disappearing hundreds of leaders and supporters.

The elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) security force and seven of its senior officers were sanctioned by Washington in 2021 in response to those alleged rights abuses.

Sana Ullah, a BNP supporter, who joined the rally from the port city of Chittagong, told Reuters:

We are here for peoples right to vote.

Western governments have expressed concern over the political climate in Bangladesh, where the ruling party dominates the legislature and runs it virtually as a rubber stamp.

In May, the United States said it was adopting a new policy to restrict visas for Bangladeshis who undermine the democratic election process at home.

Cost of living

The Opposition is also protesting about the rising cost of living.

The main Opposition party has held bigger protest rallies in recent months, drawing thousands of supporters amid mounting anger.

Every important institution of the country has been destroyed and peoples rights have been taken away. Price hikes of every essential have made peoples lives miserable, Alamgir added to Al Jazeera.

Prices of goods  as well as electricity and the gas situation are out of control. If we cant provide services to the people, the economic development is meaningless, Rahman added.

Wont allow Opposition to create obstacles

But Sheikh Fazle Fahim, a presidium member of the Awami Leagues youth front Jubo League, said Bangladesh had been following democratic processes for more than 14 years.

He said the government had set a goal of becoming a middle-income country with improved human rights and health.

This is all happening through the democratic process. And we want to send out a message that there is no alternative to a democratic process, he said at the government rally.

He accused the Opposition of attempting to trigger violence by calling for protests.

Meanwhile, Obaidul Quader, the ruling partys general secretary, warned that they would not allow the Opposition to create obstacles on the streets.

I have heard you will block the roads. If you take positions at each entry point to Dhaka, we will block your path of movement. Dont browbeat  Our roots are deep, he said.

Saturday saw Bangladesh police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse stone-throwing crowds blockading major roads in the capital Dhaka.

Clashes erupted in several locations when police moved in to clear thousands of people who gathered in the morning to block traffic on key arterials around the city.

Some officers were injured, Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Faruk Hossain told AFP. We fired tear gas and rubber bullets.

At least four protest sites around the city saw clashes between police and protesters, Hossain said, with 20 officers injured and 90 protesters arrested.

AFP journalists at one protest site in Dholaikhal, an old neighbourhood now a hub for automotive repair shops, witnessed protesters retaliate by throwing rocks at riot police and their vehicles.

Bacchu Mia, a police inspector at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, told AFP that six protesters had been admitted to the hospital with injuries.

Senior BNP leaders Goyeshwar Roy and Amanullah Aman had been taken into police custody but had not been formally arrested, Hossain said.

Transport links between the capital and other parts of the country were badly disrupted, with trucks and buses stuck in gridlock.

With inputs from agencies
Just hours after a heated clash with Kanwariyas in Bareilly, SSP Prabhakar Chowdhary found himself in the eye of a storm  a transfer order.

Late on Sunday night, the government swiftly issued the order, replacing him with Sitapur SP Sushil Ghule Chandrabhan, who will now take charge as SSP of Bareilly.

This transfer is drawing attention due to the recent ruckus that erupted during the Kanwar Yatra in Jogi Nawada. The sudden decision has raised eyebrows and led to speculation about the reasons behind the move.

Notably, IPS officer Prabhakar Chowdhary, from the 2010 batch, has been known for his simplicity and honest image.

However, he has also gained a reputation for the sheer number of transfers he has undergone during his 13 years of service  a staggering 21 times.

Throughout his career, Prabhakar Chowdhary has held positions as SSP and SP in various districts. Just four months ago, he took on the role of Superintendent in Bareilly, only to be shifted to the 32nd PAC in Lucknow following this transfer.

Originally hailing from Ambedkar Nagar, Prabhakar Chowdhary began his journey as an undertraining ASP in Noida.

Subsequently, he was stationed in Agra, Jaunpur, and Varanasi, serving as ASP. He later assumed the role of SP City in Kanpur Nagar.

In January 2015, he was appointed SP of Lalitpur district, where he served for 11 months before being posted at the Intelligence Headquarters.

His career path continued with various stints as SP in Deoria, Bijnor, Ballia, Bulandshahr, and Kanpur Dehat. Additionally, he served as SSP in Varanasi, Moradabad, Meerut, and Agra. Interestingly, Meerut stands out as the only district where he remained as SSP for more than a year.

Prabhakar Chowdharys reputation took flight in both social media and police circles when, seven years ago, he arrived at the Kanpur SP office via a humble roadways bus, carrying only a backpack.

Upon reaching the office, he surprised the steno by asking for the official SIM card, introducing himself as the new SP, Prabhakar Chowdhary. His unpretentious approach won him widespread appreciation and admiration.

As questions continue to arise surrounding his latest transfer, Prabhakar Chowdharys eventful and often controversial journey as a super cop remains a topic of discussion in UPs policing landscape.
A team of the National Commission for Women (NCW), led by Chairperson Rekha Sharma, has reached Kolkata to investigate the horrific case of a woman who was brutally assaulted, molested, and paraded naked by TMC goons in Panchla area of Howrah district during panchayat polls.

Taking to twitter, the NCW informed, The NCW team is in Kolkata with Chairperson Rekha Sharma and heading to Howrah to investigate the horrific case of a woman brutally assaulted, molested, and paraded naked by political goons. Then after will be headed to Malda.

The NCW team is in Kolkata with The Chairperson @sharmarekha and heading to Howrah to investigate the horrific case of a woman brutally assaulted, molested, and paraded naked by political goons.

Then after will be headed to Malda.The team from NCW shall

take into account its  NCW (@NCWIndia) July 31, 2023

The team from NCW shall take into account its findings after interaction with all the concerned authorities; recommend remedial measures for preventing recurrence of such incidences in future, added the panel.

A female BJP gram sabha candidate claimed that she was stripped naked and paraded by Trinamool Congress workers on 8 July when Panchayat polls were underway in the state.

As per the complaint, the woman alleged that she was beaten up by about 40 Trinamool miscreants.

I was hit on the chest and head with a stick and I was thrown out of the polling station, the BJP worker said.

Names of several people including Trinamool candidate Himanta Roy, Noor Alam, Alfi SK, Ranbir Panja Sanju, Sukmal Panja were also mentioned in the FIR.

While some of these men were hitting me Himanta Roy instigated Ali Sheikh and Sukamal Panja to tear my saree and inner dress. They further assaulted me and force undress me to naked and molested me in front of other people, the FIR added.

The woman also alleged that TMC workers tore off her clothes, stripped her naked and paraded her in the entire village.

They molested me in front of everyone and even touched me inappropriately, she claimed.

With inputs from agencies
Clashes erupted between the members of two communities in Haryanas Nuh on Monday.

According to reports, the clashes erupted after a group of people pelted stones and fired at vehicles of Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers near the Nalhar Mahadev Temple in Nuh, Mewat.

Some people pelted stones and fired at vehicles of Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers near Nalhar Mahadev Temple in Nuh, #Mewat. pic.twitter.com/9hi0Tr67aK  Nikhil Choudhary (@NikhilCh_) July 31, 2023

In a video posted by news agency ANI, people can be seen gathering at a spot amid heavy police deployment.

#WATCH | Clashes erupt between two groups in Haryanas Nuh Further details awaited pic.twitter.com/huZVBzjK4d  ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023

More details awaited

With inputs from agencies
A tragic incident unfolded in Amberpet, Hyderabad, where a 45-year-old labourer lost his life at the hands of his daughter, who is reported to be in her twenties.

The father, identified as Jagadeesh, succumbed to injuries, he sustained after his daughter stabbed him in the neck with a broken bottle on Sunday, following an altercation that occurred around 11 pm on the previous day.

The perpetrator, Nikhitha, works as a salesperson in a local store and has been taken into custody by the police.

The unfortunate incident was triggered when a drunk Jagadeesh reprimanded his daughter on Saturday.

The heated argument between the two escalated, leading Nikhitha to impulsively pick up a broken bottle and attack her father.

Prompt action by neighbors ensured that Jagadeesh was rushed to the government-run Osmania General Hospital for treatment, where he breathed his last.

Nikhitha defended her actions by claiming that her father was an alcoholic due to which he was a constant source of trouble, coming home drunk and causing disturbances in her life. Notably, her mother also resides in the same house.

The police have registered a case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code in light of this grave incident.

The police noted that the attack was a result of Nikhithas anger and frustration, as her father refused to listen to her side of the story when he confronted her about arriving home late.
The Centre is likely to table the Delhi ordinance bill today but may not be discussed in Parliament, according to top government sources.

The Union Cabinet had last week given a nod to the bill that will replace the ordinance promulgated for the creation of an authority for transfers and postings of Group-A officers in Delhi.

The legislation was approved by a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

An ordinance is promulgated by the President on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet when the Parliament is not in session. It is mandatory for the Parliament to adopt a law to replace the ordinance within six weeks of the commencement of the next session.

The controversial Delhi ordinance was promulgated by the central government on 19 May, a week after the Supreme Court handed over the control of services in Delhi excluding police, public order and land to the elected government headed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The ordinance facilitated the setting up of a National Capital Civil Service Authority for the transfer of and disciplinary proceedings against Group-A officers from the DANICS cadre.

Transfer and postings of all officers of the Delhi government were under the executive control of the lieutenant governor before the 11 May top court verdict.

Meanwhile, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday moved a notice to Lok Sabha General Secretary opposing the introduction of the bill, saying that it violates the principle of federalism, which is part of the basic structure of the Constitution.

I give notice of my intention to oppose the introduction of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 under Rule 72 of the Rule of Procedure on the following grounds, as it violated Article 123 and the Bill also violates the principle of federalism which is part of the basic structure of the Constitution, said the Lok Sabha MP in his notice.

The Aam Aadmi Party has issued a three line whip for all its Rajya Sabha MPs to be present in the House from 31 July to 4 August.

AAP MP Raghav Chadha said the ordinance that will be introduced in the Parliament today is undemocratic.

This is not just against the Constitution of the country but also against the 2 crore people in Delhi. BJP has understood that they are finished in Delhi so their high command has taken this decision to destroy the Delhi government, said the AAP MP.

#WATCH | AAP MP Raghav Chadha, says This ordinance that will be introduced in the Parliament today is undemocratic. This is not just against the Constitution of the country but also against the 2 crore people in Delhi. BJP has understood that are finished in Delhi so their high pic.twitter.com/NfpICuJwaz  ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023

With inputs from agencies
by M.K. Bhadrakumar

The psychology of forgetting and why memory fails is a tantalising topic in the life of individuals or nations. Cognitive psychology spawned many theories about it. The main theory, the motivated forgetting theory, is the most charming as it is easy to relate to it: people forget things in the pitiless flow of life because they either do not want to remember, and painful and disturbing memories are, thus, made unconscious and very difficult to retrieve, albeit they still remain in storage in the attic of the mind.





The United States and the Korean War (25 June 1950  27 July 1953) is a case in point. Succinctly put, the war ended at a juncture when a stalemate prevailed, which in reality meant that defeat was staring at the face of the UN forces  as happened in Afghanistan. In the chronicle of Americas wars, the Korean War, therefore, became the forgotten war, subject to forgetfulness and put away in the attic of collective consciousness.





Infantry troops about to board U.S. Army Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw helicopters to be transported to the front lines at the 6th Transportation Helicopter Company, Eighth Army, Korea. [15 April 1953] Photo Credit: Wikimedia





However, torchlights are being held at the attic, as the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement stealthily approached last Thursday. One principal reason for the curiosity must be the contemporary relevance of the Korean War, which was also a proxy war for the Cold War, like the US ongoing war in Ukraine against Russia, which is also in a stalemate insofar as the NATO failed to win the war, and another humiliating defeat, but much worse than in Afghanistan, is probably in store.





It is China which has the greatest stakes in resurrecting the true lessons of the Korean War. What perturbs Beijing is not only that the Washington elite have not only drawn some wrong lessons, but they are also all targeted at China, specifically referring to the Taiwan question.





The most notable revisionist theory has been advanced by none other than Mike Gallagher, the 40-year old former US Marine Intelligence Officer who is currently the Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, and is a trenchant critic of Chinas policies on the Hill, and also an ambitious politician who is already a leading voice of the Republican right across the board  who once sought legislation to ban federal agencies, such as the departments of the Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, and Defence from purchasing drugs manufactured in China; and, currently advocates for President Biden to give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.





Hard truth about nuclear wars





What surprised China, perhaps, was that last Wednesday, on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Korean Armistice, Foreign Affairs magazine featured an article by Gallagher, which postulated three lessons that the Korean War taught the US  first, Washington must not neglect deterrence and readiness, and should always be prepared to fight and enhance military capabilities; second, politics and combat are deeply intertwined; and, third, once fighting breaks out anywhere with US involvement, excessive self-restraint can invite further aggression.





No doubt, these lessons drawn in the Beltway are manifestly targeted at China, and the timing of Gallaghers essay in a leading public diplomacy organ of the US foreign policy establishment is not coincidental.





Indeed, China is today far more capable of inflicting pain and damage to adversaries trampling upon its security interests and national sovereignty. The fact of the matter is that the US paid a heavy price by its intervention in a proxy war in the Korean Peninsula, predicated on flawed premises  to begin with, misperceiving the conflict as the first step in a Soviet plan under Stalin to use military means to achieve global dominance. (Around 36000 US military personnel were killed in Korea, out of a total of around 40,000 deaths for the UN forces combined.)





Equally, the US made the catastrophic overreach to ignore Pekings warnings as bluffing and blithely estimated that China wouldnt intervene if the US forces crossed the 38th parallel. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the US commander, assured President Harry Truman that China would not enter the war. (But Mao already had decided to intervene after concluding that Beijing could not tolerate US challenges to its regional credibility!)





Similarly, invading North Korea was an incredible blunder that transformed a three-month war into one lasting three years.





However, a historically contentious detail still remains without definitive conclusion  that the US had toyed with the idea of using atomic weapons against North Korea (and possibly China as well) with a view to shift the overall military balance in its favour and force them to the negotiating table. Indeed, both President Truman and his successor Dwight Eisenhower continued to posit that such an option was on the table, as it emerged by the end of the summer of 1950 already that the good guys would lose the war.





Of course, in the event, an atomic attack by the US never materialised despite the fact that the Soviet atomic capabilities were still extremely limited compared to American ones, Washingtons nuclear monopoly was largely intact, and the US remained the only nation capable of delivering an atomic bomb to a distant target.





Looking back at the end of the day, although steps were taken to ensure that an atomic option was available  through a series of threats, feints, and even practice runs  it remains debatable how serious the American leadership was.





The bottom line is that in the Korean War, the US confronted the hard truth that threatening a nuclear attack would not be enough to win the war. And the nuclear Korean War simply petered out. That is a historical truth that is unlikely to be forgotten today as a lesson when the US faces not one but three nuclear powers in Northeast Asia and all three with deterrent capability.





That is why the visit by a US nuclear ballistic missile submarine to Busan, South Korea, on July 22, the first visit by a US submarine since 1981, which some US congressmen interpret as not only a warning to North Korea but also a deterrent against China, can only be seen as empty bravado.





Against such a historical complex backdrop, a Global Times editorial hit out on Wednesday: China decided to resist the US aggression and aid North Korea during the Korean War, it had repeatedly sent stern warnings that if US forces crossed the 38th parallel China would not sit idle. However, the US did not take it seriously, thinking that China was only making empty threats and would not take action. As a result, they were caught off guard when they encountered the Chinese Peoples Volunteers Army on the battlefield. Today, a similar major misjudgment toward China is occurring in Washington. The biggest difference between now and the Korean War era is that Chinas strength has greatly increased. The consequences of infringing upon Chinas security interests and national sovereignty will undoubtedly be much more severe However, it must be clear that if there is another strategic misjudgment this time, the price it will pay will surely be much higher than 70 years ago.





The aphorism frequently attributed to Mark Twain comes to mind  History doesnt repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Certainly, the history of the Korean War rhymes with the war in Ukraine. While the details, circumstances or settings may have changed, similar events have essentially recycled.





Ukraine rhymes with Korean War





The fundamental difference is that while not even the worst detractors of the US would allege that Washington precipitated the Korean war, when it comes to Ukraine, even the best apologists of the western narrative draw a vicarious pleasure that the US set up a bear trap by its obduracy not to negotiate Russias legitimate security concerns and brilliantly turned Ukraine into an anti-Russian state. In effect, the US created the setting for a proxy war  unlike in Korea where its direct intervention in the inter-Korean conflict and MacArthurs belligerent escalation transformed it as a protracted war that lasted for 3 years.





The big question is whether it was the US nuclear blackmail that spurred peace talks brought about the armistice in July 1953. Let facts speak for themselves. During the spring of 1953, Eisenhower developed plans for nuclear attacks on China and conveyed them to the Communists to intimidate them into accepting favourable terms for an armistice. Did Mao feel intimidated?





Wouldnt China (and Russia) have known that the frightened US allies in Western Europe had registered strong opposition to using nuclear weapons in Korea  and, furthermore, that worries about allies withdrawing from the Korean theatre and leaving the Americans in a limbo would have made it difficult to nuke China and North Korea? The salience is that in any future war, a nuclear power would be more likely to use atomic bomb than one wanting to maintain the support of allies. Wouldnt the Russians know it in Ukraine? (See Nuclear Blackmail and the End of the Korean War by Edward Friedman, Modern China, Jan 1975)





Anyway, there has been a paradigm shift today. Russia today has nuclear superiority over the US and its allies. Unlike during the Korean War, North Korea and China now possess nuclear weapons and missiles to deliver them. But a cardinal difference in this paradigm shift is also that neither Pyongyang nor Beijing developed nuclear weapons capabilities as part of plans to initiate a war but, instead, to deter a US attempt to destroy them. The same holds good for Russia in Ukraine.
Four luxury cars, jewellery worth Rs 14.5 lakh and Rs 4.5 lakh in cash have been seized following raids against Haryana Congress MLA Dharam Singh Chhoker and companies owned and controlled by him in a money laundering case linked to alleged cheating of homebuyers, the Enforcement Directorate said on Monday.

The 59-year-old legislator from the Samalkha in Panipat district is stated to be the owner and promoter of the Mahira real estate group along with his sons Sikander Singh and Vikas Chhoker.

The action under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act came after the ED launched searches against the legislator, Sai Aaina Farms Pvt Ltd (now Mahira Infratech Pvt Ltd), other companies of the Mahira Group and some others on July 25, it said in a statement.

Eleven locations in Samalkha, Gurugram and Delhi were raided by the federal probe agency.

The money laundering case stems from an FIR filed by the Gurugram Police against Sai Aaina Farms Pvt. Ltd. for cheating and forgery as it is alleged to have collected about Rs 360 crore from 1,497 homebuyers under the affordable housing scheme on the promise of providing dwelling units in Sector 68 of Gurugram near Delhi, the ED said.

However, it failed to deliver the houses and missed multiple deadlines, the probe agency said.

The home buyers have been holding protests/dharnas since one year against the Mahira Group seeking delivery of the promised houses at the earliest, it said.

The ED also alleged that Chhoker, his sons and other key employees remained absent during the searches and have not joined the investigation till date.

Probe found that the entity (Sai Aaina Farms Pvt. Ltd.) siphoned off home buyers money by booking fake construction expenditures in group entities. Cash equivalent to the fake purchases was received back from the entities providing fake bills/invoices by the directors and promoters of Mahira Group, which was used for personal gains, the agency alleged.

It said several personal and family-linked expenditure was booked as construction and business expenditure in group entities.

The directors/promoters also diverted homebuyers money to other group entities as loans (which is outstanding for years) for personal gains and preliminary investigations show that they siphoned off about Rs 107.5 crore (fake expenses to the extent of Rs 57 crore and loans to group entities to the extent of Rs 50.50 crore) from Sai Aaina Farms Pvt. Ltd. These funds belonged to the home buyers of Sector 68 housing project, the probe agency said.

The ED said its investigation into financial transactions of four other affordable housing projects being undertaken by the Chhoker-promoted group is in progress and freezing orders in respect of offices and bank accounts of the Mahira Group were issued during the searches.

Four luxury cars (having acquisition value of about Rs 4 crore), jewellery worth Rs 14.5 lakh, Rs 4.5 lakh cash and evidence related to siphoning of home buyer funds were seized, the federal probe agency said.
A 56-year-old civil engineer was arrested for allegedly forging cheques and cheating a public bank of Rs 5.20 crore, police said on Monday.

An amount of Rs 1.52 crore was withdrawn in cash, while the remaining was diverted to different accounts of shell firms, they said.

A complaint was received from a public bank at Sansad Marg in the national capital regarding the fraudulent withdrawal of money from the account of a private university.

In August 2019, three cheques issued from the university were presented in the bank for clearance, a senior police officer said. Two cheques were presented for clearance through a bank and the same were cleared. An amount of Rs 5.20 crore was transferred to two different accounts, one in Vadodara, Gujarat and another in Betul, Madhya Pradesh.

The third cheque was presented through a different bank, but the amount was stopped during the process, police said.

The amount was diverted from the account of a first-level beneficiary to the account of five shell firms in Delhi. It was then diverted to different accounts, the officer said.

During the investigation, it was revealed that a cheque of Rs 2.5 crore was credited to the account of NS Infrastructure in Vadodara, Gujarat, and another of Rs 2.7 crore was credited to the account of an NGO in Betul, Madhya Pradesh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (EOW) Vikram Porwal said.

Later, Rs 2.07 crore was again diverted from the account of the NGO to the account of NS Construction. Both the firms were found registered in the name of Sangeeta Nagre, the wife of Sharad Nagre, the DCP said.

The amount of Rs 4.16 crore was further transferred to Delhi in the account of five alleged shell firms by the accused using his mobile. He kept Rs 42 lakh from the cheated amount as his share, Porwal said.

The alleged five shell firms do not exist at the addresses mentioned in the bank accounts. Further, on scrutiny of the account statements of the five alleged firms, it was revealed that an amount of Rs 1.52 crore had been withdrawn as cash, police said.

The accused was arrested on Saturday, the police said.

Nagre disclosed that the details of bank accounts of shell firms were provided by Amit Aggarwal, who has already been arrested.

Forged cheques purportedly issued by the victim bank were used to withdraw the amount which was diverted to different accounts. From these accounts, the amount was diverted to the accounts of shell firms.
Foxconn, a Taiwanese company, has entered into an agreement with Tamil Nadu to invest 16 billion rupees ($194 million) in a new electronic component manufacturing facility, the government of the southern state said on Monday.

This ambitious project is expected to generate approximately 6,000 job opportunities, as per the government.

The manufacturing facility will be under the umbrella of Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII), a subsidiary of Foxconn. The proposed campus is set to be located in the Kancheepuram district, near the state capital of Chennai, sources in the state government told Reuters.

The facility will be separate from the current sprawling campus near Chennai where Foxconn assembles Apples iPhones and employs more than 35,000 people, the source said.

This is a major achievement for the state, Tamil Nadu Minister for Industries TRB Rajaa said in a statement after Foxconn Chairman Young Liu and other representatives met with the state officials including its chief minister.

Foxconn did not respond to a request for comment.

Liu has been in India to attend the federal governments semiconductor conference that ended on Sunday.

Reuters reported last week that the Foxconn subsidiary was in talks with Tamil Nadu about the investment, with the company aiming for the plants completion in 2024.

Foxconns FII makes electronic devices, cloud service equipment and industrial robots. It was not immediately clear if the new India plant would make components for iPhones or for other companies, or both.

Foxconn plans to quadruple the workforce at its iPhone factory in Tamil Nadu by late 2024 in a bid to spread its bets beyond China, Reuters reported last year.

With inputs from Reuters.
There will be a dispute, if we call Gyanvapi a mosque, said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday.

Yogis remarks come amid the ongoing dispute between the Hindu and Muslim sides over the Gyanvapi issue.

In an interview to ANI, Yogi said the Muslim side should accept its historical mistake and propose a solution.

Replying to a possible solution for the Gyanvapi and Kashi Vishwanath Temple issue, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said, If we call Gyanvapi a mosque then there will be a dispute. I think people should examine  what is a Trishul (trident) doing inside Gyanvapi, Hindus did not place them there. There is jyotirling, idols of god.

I think that the Muslim side should accept its historical mistake and propose a solution, the UP CM said.

The Varanasi district court had previously ordered an ASI survey of the entire area, excluding the disputed parts of the Gyanvapi premises. The mosque committee had appealed against this order in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court later transferred the case to the high court, halting the survey.

Desh mein kisi ko rehna hai to rashtra ko sarvopari manna hoga, apne mazhab ko nahi- Yogi Adityanath#YogiAdityanath #ANIPodcastwithSmitaPrakash #Podcast Click the Notify me button to get a notification, when the episode goes on air: https://t.co/HkTmnJcuXC pic.twitter.com/FTxaxpaGox  ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023

Meanwhile, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has sought help from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, in the scientific survey of the Gyanvapi premises to determine if the structure was built upon a temple.

On 21 July, a Varanasi district court allowed the ASI to carry out a scientific survey of the 17th-century mosque. However, on 24 July, the Supreme Court stayed the Varanasi court's order and asked the mosque committee to approach the Allahabad High Court against the district courts order.

On 27 July, the Allahabad High Court reserved its order on the matter till 3 August and extended the stay on the ASI survey till that day.

Yogi Adityanath on I.N.D.I.A

Asked for comments on Opposition alliance I.N.D.I.A, Yogi said changing attire (name) does not set them free from their misdeeds of the past.

"India nahi bolna chahiye. Ye jo dot dot dot dot group hain... Chola badalne se, pichhle karmon se mukti nahi mil jayegi.. (Changing the attire would not help them get free from the misdeeds of the past).

With inputs from agencies
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Sunday urged the people of ethnic strife affected Manipur to embrace peace for the sake of humanity.

She also assured the people of the northeastern state of standing by their side.

My heart aches deeply upon hearing the heart-wrenching stories from Manipur. Human lives should never endure the agonies of hatreds cruel experiments. Yet, in the face of silence from those in power, let us find solace in knowing that INDIA will mend wounds and rekindle the flame of humanity, Banerjee tweeted.

My heart aches deeply upon hearing the heart-wrenching stories from Manipur. Human lives should never endure the agonies of hatred's cruel experiments. Yet, in the face of silence from those in power, let us find solace in knowing that INDIA will mend wounds and rekindle the  Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) July 30, 2023

A delegation of MPs from the opposition bloc INDIA, of which the TMC is a part, visited Manipur for two days since Saturday.

I earnestly plead to Manipurs brave brothers and sisters to embrace peace for the sake of humanity. We stand beside you, offering unwavering support and compassion, she said.

In reply, BJPs Suvendu Adhikari called Banerjees post on the situation in Manipur a politically mala fide tweet.

It is a politically mala fide tweet, he told ANI.

The West Bengal Leader of Opposition also questioned the CMs inaction during the Panchayat poll elections which were reportedly marred with violence. The administration of CM Banerjee did not take any action to stop the violence during the Panchayat poll elections in the state, Suvendu Adhikari said.

Further, he lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modis 10 years in government saying that his tenure did not see any corruption charges.

PM Modis govt will complete 10 years in a few months and there are no corruption charges. Under PM Modis leadership the country has progressed and its financial status has also improved, Adhikari said.

More than 160 people lost their lives and several hundreds were injured since ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3, after a Tribal Solidarity March was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei communitys demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipurs population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals  Nagas and Kukis  constitute little over 40 per cent and reside in the hill districts.

(With inputs from agencies)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Tuesday lay the foundation stone of various development projects in Maharashtras Pune city and also receive the Lokmanya Tilak National Award.

The Prime Minister will perform darshan and pooja at Dagdusheth Mandir after his arrival.

At 11.45 am, he will be conferred the Lokmanya Tilak National Award, constituted by Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust in 1983, to honour the legacy of Lokmanya Tilak, as per a statement issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

The award is given to people who have worked for the progress and development of the nation and whose contribution can only be looked upon as remarkable and extraordinary, the PIB statement said.

It is presented every year on August 1, the death anniversary of Lokmanya Tilak, the statement said.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar has been invited as chief guest for the event, organisers earlier said. Rohit Tilak, vice president of the trust, confirmed on Monday that Pawar will attend the award ceremony.

There is no change in the programme. Pawar Saheb, who is the chief guest, will be attending the event. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais, and Sushil Kumar Shinde, who is also a trustee, will also be attending the event, he said.

Rohit Tilak said theirs is an apolitical organisation and the award has been conferred on people from all walks of life.

PM Modi will become the 41st recipient of the award. It has previously been presented to luminaries such as Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, Pranab Mukherjee, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Indira Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, N R Narayana Murthy, E Sreedharan, among others.

At 12.45 pm on Tuesday, the prime minister will flag off Metro trains and inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for various development projects, the statement said.

Modi will flag off Metro trains marking the inauguration of services on completed sections of the two corridors of Pune Metro Phase I. These sections are from Phugewadi station to Civil Court station and Garware College station to Ruby Hall Clinic station, it said.

The foundation stone for the project was also laid by PM Modi in 2016. The new sections will connect important places of Pune city like Shivaji Nagar, Civil Court, Pune Municipal Corporation office, Pune RTO and Pune Railway Station.

The inauguration is an important step towards realising the vision of the prime minister to provide the citizens with modern and environment-friendly mass rapid urban transport systems across the country, the statement said.

Prime Minister Modi will also inaugurate the Waste to Energy Plant under Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).

Developed at a cost of about Rs 300 crore, it will use up about 2.5 lakh MT of waste annually to produce electricity, the statement said.

Moving ahead towards the mission of achieving housing for all, Prime Minister Modi will hand over more than 1,280 houses constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana by PCMC.

He will also hand over more than 2,650 PMAY houses constructed by the Pune Municipal Corporation. Further, Modi will also lay the foundation stone for around 1,190 PMAY houses to be constructed by the PCMC, and of more than 6,400 houses constructed by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority, the statement said.

Meanwhile, the opposition Congresss youth wing has put up posters with the message Go Back Modi in some parts of Pune city as a mark of protest against the unrest in Manipur.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I) Sandeep Singh Gill said they are in touch with the Pune Municipal Corporation to remove these unauthorised posters.

Members of the opposition bloc INDIA are also planning a protest against PM Modis visit on Tuesday.

The opposition alliance members in a release said the prime minister has time to go to foreign countries, but not to Manipur, which has been witnessing ethnic classes since early May.

With PTI inputs.
A Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable on Monday shot dead 4 persons, including his senior, on board a running train near Palghar railway station in Maharashtra.

The accused constable has been detained along with his weapon, said Western Railways in a statement.

An RPF constable opened fire inside a moving Jaipur Express Train after it crossed Palghar Station. He shot one RPF ASI and three other passengers and jumped out of the train near Dahisar Station. The accused constable has been detained along with his weapon. More details  ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023

The constable fired from his automatic weapon, killing an RPF Assistant Sub Inspector and three other passengers of the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express shortly after 5 am, PTI quoted an official as saying.

Palghar is around 100 km from Mumbai.

Visuals from inside the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express Train (12956) in which a Railway Protection Force (RPF) jawan allegedly shot dead four people. The accused has been arrested. pic.twitter.com/AYPXJZDWt5  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 31, 2023

CPRO Western Railway said that Chetan Kumar Choudhary opened fire on his escort duty incharge ASI Tika Ram Meena in the running train.

An unfortunate incident has been reported today in Mumbai-Jaipur Superfast Express. An RPF constable, Chetan Kumar opened fire on his colleague ASI Tikaram Meena and during the incident, three other passengers were also shot. According to a preliminary investigation, he opened fire using his official weapon. The accused has been arrested. The reason for the firing is not clear yet, we are investigating it

#WATCH | CPRO Western Railway, says An unfortunate incident has been reported today in Mumbai-Jaipur Superfast Express. An RPF constable, Chetan Kumar opened fire on his colleague ASI Tikaram Meena and during the incident, three other passengers were also shot. According to a pic.twitter.com/mzVnz7Rn7v  ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023

The Western Railways, meanwhile, announced ex-gratia for the next of kin of deceased ASI Tikaram Meena.

Rs 15 lakhs will be given from Railway Surksha Kalyan Nidhi, Rs 20,000 for funeral expenses, Rs 15 lakhs as Death-cum-Retirement Gratuity, Rs 65,000 as General Insurance Scheme, said the Western Railways.

The constable was caught by police at Mira Road with the help of Government Railway Police and RPF officials.

At around 6 am we got to know that an RPF constable, who was on escorting duty opened fireFour people have been shot deadOur railway officer reached the spot. The families have been contacted, said DRM Neeraj Kumar.

#WATCH | Mumbai: DRM Neeraj Kumar says, At around 6 am we got to know that an RPF constable, who was on escorting duty opened fireFour people have been shot deadOur railway officer reached the spot. The families have been contacted. Ex-gratia will be given. pic.twitter.com/Zl7FfoUd8i  ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023

Kumar said that they are also examining the witnesses and trying to investigate the case from all angles.

Meanwhile, the police have started an investigation into the case and inspected the bogey of Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express where RPF jawan allegedly committed the crime.

VIDEO | Police team inspects the bogey of Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express in which a Railway Protection Force (RPF) jawan allegedly opened fire killing four people earlier today. pic.twitter.com/DwWl2nG4Eh  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 31, 2023

With inputs from agencies
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Monday said that Manipur viral video incident is not an isolated case and called for evolving broader mechanism to deal with violence against women in the strife-torn state.

He asked how many such FIRs have been filed since 3 May, when the violence in Manipur started.

Manipur viral video case | CJI DY Chandrachud says this video came to light but this is not the only incident where assault or harassment is done to women, there are also other women. So this is not an isolated incident. We also have to make a mechanism to see the broader issue  ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023

This video came to light but this is not the only incident where assault or harassment is done to women, there are also other women. So this is not an isolated incident. We also have to make a mechanism to see the broader issue of violence against women. This mechanism should ensure that all such cases are taken care of, said CJI Chandrachud.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told a bench headed by CJI Chandrachud that the Union of India has no objection if the apex court monitors the investigation into the Manipur violence.

Manipur viral video case | | Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the government says the Centre has no objection if Supreme Court monitors the case. Senior advocate Indira Jaising tells Supreme Court that as per the Centres status report, 595 FIRs have been registered. https://t.co/pcoJh44f9w  ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023

Senior advocate Indira Jaising told the Supreme Court that as per the Centres status report, 595 FIRs have been registered.

How many of these relate to sexual violence, and how many are arson, murder, there is no clarity, said the senior advocate.

The bench, also comprising Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, is hearing a batch of petitions concerning the violence in Manipur.

At the outset, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the two women who were seen in a 4 May video being paraded naked in Manipur, said they have filed a petition in the matter.

The hearing in the matter is underway.

The apex court on 20 July observed that it was deeply disturbed by the video of two women being paraded naked in strife-torn Manipur, saying that using women as instruments for perpetrating violence is simply unacceptable in a constitutional democracy.

Taking cognisance of the video, a bench headed by the Chief Justice of India directed the Centre and the Manipur government to take immediate remedial, rehabilitative and preventive steps and apprise it of the action taken.

Tension mounted in the hills of Manipur after a 4 May video surfaced last week that showed two women from one of the warring communities being paraded naked by a few men from the other side.

Scores of people have been killed and several hundred 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 majority Meitei communitys demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

With inputs from agencies
An Air India Express flight from Tiruchirappali to Sharjah with 154 passengers on board made an emergency landing at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on Monday due to technical reasons, airport sources said.

Kerala | Trichy-Sharjah Air India Express flight 613 with 154 passengers onboard to make precautionary landing at Thiruvananthapuram airport due to technical reasons  ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023

The airport authority declared a full emergency at the International Airport after the flight departed from Tiruchirappali in Tamil Nadu at around 10:45 am.

The flight landed safely at Thiruvananthapuram at around noon, an Air India spokesperson said.

The airline also said there were 154 passengers on the flight and that it was a precautionary landing.

The Air India spokesperson, however, later clarified that this was not an emergency landing.

We regret the inconvenience caused to guests on board. Our team is making alternative arrangements for their travel, added the spokesperson

Flight IX613, operating between Tiruchirappalli and Sharjah on 31st July, made a precautionary landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. The decision was taken due to a technical snag post-takeoff. The airline clarifies that this was not an emergency landing. We regret  ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023

With inputs from agencies
A truck laden with tomatoes worth Rs 21 lakh travelling from Karnatakas Kolar to Rajasthans Jaipur has gone missing amid surging prices of the vegetable. Neither the driver nor the truck can be reached, according to the police.

The owner of the truck is unable to establish contact with the vehicle. A complaint has been registered at the Kolar Nagar police station.

According to the police, the truck driver and his partner stole the vehicle and the cargo of tomatoes. The cops have initiated a probe into the matter to track the missing truck.

The surging prices of tomatoes have made them a lucrative commodity for thieves. In recent weeks, the price of tomatoes has risen to over Rs 150 per kg in some parts of the country. This has led to a shortage of tomatoes in the market, which has made them even more valuable.

Earlier in July in a similar incident, tomatoes worth Rs 2.7 lakh were stolen from Karnatakas Hassan district.

We had sown tomatoes in two acres but we got nothing. Tomatoes used to grow but they never ripened. This time they grew but day-before-yesterday, someone stole them, the farmer said, as quoted by news agency PTI.

We toiled so much on the farm but we got nothing. My husband cant speak. We only work here from morning 7 till 9 at night. We poured all our labour and money but everything was stolen, the woman who owns the land said.

Erratic monsoon rains have disrupted the vegetable supply chain in India, leading to higher prices for a wide range of vegetables. Prices rose to a seven-month high in June, according to official data.
Orell Fussli AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results

Orell Fussli Ltd: Further revenue growth in first half of the year



31-Jul-2023 / 06:30 CET/CEST

Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 KR Orell Fussli Ltd half-year 2023

Further revenue growth in first half of the year Revenue increased by 7.6%

Security Printing wins various international projects

Book Retailing continues to expand

New Swiss driving licence introduced

Profitability below previous year due to investments in digital businesses Zurich, 31 July 2023 - Orell Fussli achieved solid business results in line with expectations in the first half of 2023. Growth continued despite ongoing uncertainties in the market and revenue increased further to CHF 105.0 million (previous year CHF 97.6 million) in the first half of the year, which is typically weaker than the second. At CHF 5.4 million, the opeRating result (EBIT) was in line with expectations and was below the previous years level (CHF 7.4 million) due to investments in the establishment and development of digital business areas and positive one-off effects also had an impact last year. The first half of the year saw Orell Fussli Group systematically pursuing and further consolidating the establishment of new business areas, an important component of its strategy for the future. Security Printing The Security Printing division reported a high order backlog and good capacity utilisation for the first half of 2023. The division maintained its strong performance in the first six months of the year, winning several international tenders for banknote printing. Revenue in Security Printing rose to CHF 39.2 million in the reporting period (previous year CHF 38.0 million). The operating result (EBIT) was CHF 6.1 million (previous year CHF 7.8 million) driven by the product mix with its high share of international projects. Orell Fussli is the general contractor for the new Swiss driving licence, which meets the highest international and European standards for driving licence security and was successfully launched on the market in the first half of 2023. Industrial Systems Results for the Zeiser division were in line with expectations in the first half of 2023. Revenue in the reporting period increased slightly to CHF 11.8 million (previous year CHF 11.0 million) and the operating result (EBIT) was CHF 0.8 million (previous year CHF 1.9 million). In the same period of the previous year, a property sale by Zeiser contributed around CHF 1 million to the operating result. Demand for Zeisers technologies increased noticeably in the first half of the year and the division was able to win various new orders in this period. In particular, there was considerable interest in track & trace technology for tracing security documents. Various efficiency measures have also been introduced, which will have a positive impact from 2024 onwards. Book Retailing Orell Fussli Thalia Ltd once again performed well in the generally weaker first half of the year and posted a significant increase in proportionately consolidated revenue to CHF 49.9 million (previous year CHF 45.0 million). This was ahead of growth rates for the overall book market and Orell Fussli Thalia Ltd further increased its market share. Both the retail trade and the business customer segment saw positive development during the reporting period. The proportionately consolidated operating result (EBIT) also increased year-on-year to CHF 1.2 million (previous year CHF 0.9 million). In the first half of the year, the expansion of the branch network continued and the first shop in the canton of Solothurn was opened at the Ladedorf shopping centre in Langendorf. Further openings are planned for the second half of the year in Thun, Bern central station and Weinfelden. Other business areas Orell Fussli Publishers performed very successfully in the first half of 2023, thanks, in part, to the acquisition of the hep Verlag. The merger of this publishing house with Orell Fussli Publishers went smoothly. The teaching and learning media programme was centralised at heps site in Bern and, for the first time, purely digital learning media were launched on the market with myKV and myDetailhandel. Another two Globi bestsellers  Globi bei den Yaks (Globi and the Yaks) and Globis neue Abenteuer im Nationalpark (Globis New Adventures in the National Park)  were published in the first half of 2023. The legal media division also had a good first half-year and published a revised commentary on the Handelsregisterverordnung (Swiss commercial register ordinance). A Repetitorium zum Gesundheitsrecht (revision of Swiss health law) was also published for the first time. For the second half of the year, the Educational Media Publisher expects increased demand due to the start of the new school year. The new digital business areas focused on legally binding digital credentials are developing well. As a provider of key technologies for digital identities and credentials solutions, the Orell Fussli subsidiary Procivis is represented in working groups on the standardisation of digital identities and is currently conducting preliminary technical projects with companies using the federal sandbox (Public Sandbox Trust Infrastructure). Activities in the area of digital identities in the public sector will be broadened to include verifiable digital credentials as well as private sector customers and use cases. A concrete software solution is currently being developed. Outlook for 2023 Orell Fussli expects further revenue growth and an improvement in profitability in the second half of the year. On the basis of the information available, and in particular as a result of the consolidation of hep Verlag, Orell Fussli expects to see a slight increase in revenue for 2023. As previously communicated, the EBIT margin for the full year will be slightly below the previous year due to investments in the development of new business areas and additional specialists. Key figures Orell Fussli Group in CHF million In CHF million Jan-Jun 23 Jan-Jun 22 Revenue from sales to customers 105.0 97.6 Operating income (EBITDA) 11.0 12.6 Operating result (EBIT) 5.4 7.4 in % of revenue (rounded) 5.2% 7.6% Half-year result 5.0 6.7 Equity 125.9 133.7 Number of employees (FTE) as of 30.06. 633 603 Half-year Report 2023 The Half-year Report 2023 is available on our website at https://www.orellfuessli.com/en/investors.

A printed copy can be requested by email at investors@orellfuessli.com. Agenda Publication Annual Report 2023 8 March 2024

Annual General Meeting 2024 7 May 2024 Contact



Orell Fussli Ltd

Tel. +41 44 466 72 94

media@orellfuessli.com Orell Fussli is a pioneer in the field of security and education. As an expert in security solutions for the state and citizens alike, and as a leading Swiss player in the book retailing sector, Orell Fussli supports its clients with a unique and customised offering.



As a leading system provider of security technology and identification systems and a long-standing partner to governments, Orell Fussli is a technological standard-setter for both analogue and digital applications. In the areas of security printing and serialisation, Orell Fussli offers innovative printing processes and services for the production and successful protection of banknotes, value documents and identity documents. Verifiable digital certificates represent a new, relevant business field with great international potential for Orell Fussli, which is to be developed in the coming years.



With its attractive large-format and specialist bookstores, Orell Fussli offers a true book shopping experience. In the Book Retailing segment, Orell Fussli holds a 50% stake in Orell Fussli Thalia Ltd, which offers as an omnichannel company a comprehensive range of products and services via 57 branches located in German-speaking Switzerland and various e-commerce services. Orell Fussli provides logistics and other services for libraries and the corporate sector. With its publishing houses, Orell Fussli focusses on learning and law media as well as on childrens books that entertain and convey knowledge.



Orell Fussli was established more than 500 years ago and generates revenue of some CHF 220 million with about 650 employees at locations in five countries. Orell Fussli is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

Additional features:





File: Media Release Half Year 2023

End of Inside Information
The Border Security Force (BSF) troops in a joint search operation with Punjab Police, on Monday, recovered a consignment of heroin weighing approximately 3kg, wrapped with yellow tape along with a Pakistani Drone from the farming field near village Khemkaran in district Tarn Taran.

Pakistan using drones to drop drugs in Punjab

This comes within days after a close aide of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Special Assistant on Defence Malik Mohd Ahmad Khan, admitted that drones from his country were being used to smuggle drugs to the Indian state of Punjab.

In an interview with senior Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, Khan, who is a member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) from Kasur, a city that borders Indias Punjab, was asked about the cross-border smuggling of narcotics, to which he replied in the affirmative.

Yes, and it (smuggling) is very scary. Recently there have been two incidents where 10 kg heroin was tied to each drone and thrown across, Khan said, claiming that the agencies have been trying to stop this.

Registration of drones

Also the Pakistani drone with drugs wrapped around has been recovered a day after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann called for mandatory registration of drones to check smuggling of drugs and weapons from across the border.

He also emphasised that that there were several incidents when drones went to Pakistan from border districts of the state and returned with consignments.

Mann said like the registration of vehicles, drone registration should also be made compulsory to deal with the menace of drug smuggling.

The Punjab CM said he has already urged the Union government to ensure that registration of drones is made compulsory.

There are many drones which go from here and return with consignments. There should be registration of drones being operated here. My government has written to the Union Home Ministry in this regard, Mann said.

The CM said that in two-three incidents, drones were sent from Punjab to across the border and they were later captured by the Border Security Force and police.

With inputs from agencies
Haryanas Nuh has turned into a fortress. Three companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed in the district and the police is conducting flag march after violent clash broke out between two communities during a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) rally on Monday.

Cars were set ablaze, stones were pelted during the religious procession in Nuh adjoining Gurugram, Haryana. Police lobbed teargas shells to disperse crowds and summoned reinforcements from other areas as the two sides hurled stones at each other.

Clashes in Nuh

Tensions escalated following the alleged presence of Monu Manesar, a prominent cow vigilante and member of Bajrang Dal, during the VHP rally.

Manesar is also wanted for the murder of two men in Rajasthan. His presence in the rally incited anger among members of the community.

The atmosphere in the Gurugram-Alwar National Highway near Nuh city has become tense following stone pelting during the Shobha Yatra, according to reports.

Some people pelted stones and fired at vehicles of Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers near Nalhar Mahadev Temple in Nuh, #Mewat. pic.twitter.com/9hi0Tr67aK  Nikhil Choudhary (@NikhilCh_) July 31, 2023

Police said stones were pelted at the procession. "One or two cars" in the procession were set on fire," official said.

Police said some people were injured but were not immediately able to give the numbers.

As per reports, the situation in the Gurugram-Alwar National Highway near Nuh city remains tense following stone pelting during the Shobha Yatra.

Haryana Police conduct flag march

To maintain peace, Haryana Police, in riot gears, conducted a flag march in Nuh.

#WATCH | Haryana: Police conduct a flag march in Nuh after a clash erupted between two groups in the area. pic.twitter.com/7I4cqRw9V4  ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023

Roads leading to Nuh have been sealed and security has been intensified.

More than one thousand police personnel have been deployed to maintain peace, law and order in the region. Also, officials have been making announcement on loudspeakers, instructing residents to stay in their homes.

Clashes erupt after Islamists attacked Vishwa Hindu Parishad Vehicles in Nuh Haryana. Pura news likho napic.twitter.com/QVzE3rbwTs  Curly Jeevi (@curlykrazy07) July 31, 2023

Additional police forces have been urgently summoned from neighboring districts Palwal, Faridabad and Rewari.

Section 144 imposed

With overall situation in the area remaining tense and sporadic incidents being reported at various places, Section-144 has been imposed in Nuh.

Mobile internet services temporarily suspended in Nuh district of Haryana after clashes erupted between two groups pic.twitter.com/h4Fy6uvwmQ  ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023

Due to the seriousness of the matter, internet service has been suspended in Nuh.

With inputs from agencies
Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon the public to raise Mahatma Gandhis Quit India slogan against the tactics of I.N.D.I.A alliance, RJD president Lalu Prasad on Monday hit back saying that it is PM Modi who is planning to quit as he is visiting many countries looking for a place to cool his heels.

Lalu claimed the Prime Minister was worried about losing next years Lok Sabha polls and was hence looking for a sanctuary abroad.

It is Modi who is planning to quit This is the reason why he is visiting so many countries. He is looking for a place where he can cool his heels and enjoy pizzas, momos and chow mein, he said.

Prasad also said he was looking forward to the next meeting of INDIA at Mumbai scheduled next month which he would attend alongside his arch-rival turned ally Nitish Kumar, the Bihar Chief Minister.

We must keep the unity intact and defeat the BJP. Narendra Modi is trying to subvert the Constitution, but we shall foil the bid, Prasad said.

Addressing a rally in Rajasthans Sikar last week, PM Modi had said, Just as Mahatma Gandhi had given the slogan Quit India for the British during the freedom struggle, slogans like Corruption, Quit India; Terrorism, Quit India, Nepotism (Parivarvad), Quit India are needed to make a prosperous India.

Coming down heavily on the Congress directionless politics, the PM said that the Congress and its allies have started a new maneuver.

This is a trick to change the name. In earlier times, when a generation or a company became infamous, immediately the companys people started their work by installing a new board. Congress and its allied parties are copying such fraud companies. Changed the name from UPA to INDIA, the Prime Minister added.

He said they changed the name so that they could hide the betrayal of the farmers in the name of loan waiver. Can they hide the matter of kneeling before terrorism? he asked.

Modi further said, Their (Oppositions) method was the same, which has always been adopted by the enemies. The name India was also there in the East India Company. The name India was not used to show devotion to India, but with the intention of looting India. Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was formed during the Congress regime, India was also there in it, but the aim was terrorism. This name was changed to Popular Front of India.

He said if the Congress cared for India, they would not have asked foreigners to interfere in India and would not have questioned surgical strike in Pakistan and the bravery of the army jawans in Galwan.

These are the same people who used to cry in front of the enemies of the country when there was a terrorist attack. Their people will do the same as they did earlier, he added.

In a veiled attack on the Opposition, the PM said those who believe in tukde-tukde gangs, divide people on the basis of language, and keep liaison with people in foreign countries cannot fulfill national interest.

With inputs from agencies
The United Nations, for all the abuse and derision thrown at it, sometimes has its uses. On 23 July, it brought out the 32nd report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, on the activities of the most dangerous terrorist activities in the world. Considering that the global media and various statements from different conferences have been only about Ukraine, China and Russia, its rather a relief to know that someone somewhere is still concentrating on a terrorist threat that is far from over. Thats especially vital now that a Pakistan minister has admitted that drones are dropping narcotics into India. He didnt link it to terrorism, but thats the reality.

The UN report: The Al Qaeda aspect

Unlike most UN literature  which is mostly what it is with good language and little else, these reports have been surprisingly good, and apparently unafraid to do a little finger-pointing. Last years report, for instance, observed that the core Al Qaeda leadership under Aiman al-Zawahiri was from Zabul province along the border with Pakistan. It also noted that he had appeared in eight videos, one of which praised the Indian girl who had protested the hijab ban. In short, Zawahari seems to have virtually come alive the moment he (barely) crossed the Pakistan border into Afghanistan. He was later targeted in a posh house in Kabul, most likely after some strong arm twisting of Rawalpindi. But that story is not over.

As of now, evidence points to strong links not only between the Taliban, Al Qaeda and a host of other groups but also that Al Qaeda has infiltrated into Taliban decision-making circles including high-level positions in the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI). That comes under the charge of the redoubtable Sirajuddin Haqqani.

Then there is another unnerving fact. New Al Qaeda camps are coming up in Kunar and Nuristan, where Arab fighters are also training as suicide bombers. The governor of Nuristan is an affiliate of the group, but the bad news is this. The area is a known stamping ground of the Lashkar-e-Taiba ( who originated in Afghanistan when it was under the sway of Pakistan) and was a strong partner even then of Al Qaeda. Another curious aspect is that none of the UN reports made a single reference to this group in the last two reports. In 2019, however, it did note that LeT was active in this area, and managing relations between groups. Now it seems it has gone quiet. Thats not a good sign.

There are a bunch of others

Consider the other groups around, all of whom are slated to be enjoying not only Taliban hospitality, and acting as the outlying troops of the group. This includes not only the TTP fighters, (4,000- 6,000); the ETIM (East Turkestan Islamic Party  around 1,000 odd) who are located in the far north towards the border with China, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (some 100-500, a new entity called the Tehrik-e-Taliban Tajikistan, and most importantly for India, the AQIS ( Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent) which has sworn to target Kashmir, Bangladesh and Myanmar. This is led by Osama Mehmood (as he calls himself) a Pakistani, and a designated terrorist, as is his Deputy Atif Yahya Ghouri who has been designated by the US. All of these are the Talibans storm troops, with a tenuous control from the top echelons. The trouble is that the top is divided.

For instance, Taliban Emir Haibatullah tried to dismiss Sirajuddin as Interior Minister, Mullah Yaqub as acting Defence Minister and Mullah Fazl Mohammad Mazloom as acting First Deputy Defence Minister. That turned out to be a damp squib since no resignations followed. The problem with expecting the Taliban to deal with these myriad groups is therefore immense, particularly when the Interior Ministry depends on them for intelligence and backup.

The narcotics angle

More problems for India arise from the release of such persons as Haji Bashir Noorzai, kingpin extraordinaire of narcotics rings in the subcontinent, once called Afghanistans Pablo Escobar who has close ties to the Taliban Emir. Indeed, he is highly regarded across the spectrum as seen from his welcome at the airport when he returned from a US prison in September 2022. Then theres Mohamed Naim Barich, with oversight of Talibans drug trafficking operations in northern Afghanistan. And Haji Mali Idran Khan Haqqani (uncle of Sirajuddin) released by the US in 2019, is a trusted commander who knows eastern Afghanistan like the back of his hand. He is said to have several meth labs in Nimruz. All have strong links to official Pakistan, and the narcotics mafia in the country, particularly Noorzai, who has been effectively hidden by the ISI when he was at the crosshairs of US drug enforcement agencies.

Against all this is the now-established fact that the Taliban  on Mullah Haibatullahs orders  has destroyed 99 per cent of poppy cultivation in Helmand (which produces more than half of the countrys opium) according to ALCIS. Whether this means cultivation is likely to shift elsewhere, perhaps to the north or into Pakistan. What did happen was that the price of meth (methamphetamine) production which had soared 600 per cent between 2018-2019, soared to levels not seen earlier. Fast forward to an unprecedented seizure of methamphetamine worth Rs 12,000 crore off the coast of Kochi recently, sent by a Haji Salim network in Pakistan. In other words, some drug kingpins have found the ban on opium extremely useful. Noorzai would be more than aware that while the opium destruction would earn points internationally ( as indeed it has), the Taliban/mafia coffers would continue to grow.

And to tie it all up

During an interview, Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, the Special Assistant on Defence to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was asked whether drones are used to smuggle drugs at the border. To this, Khan replied, Yes, and it is very scary. Recently, there have been two incidents where 10kg of heroin was tied to each drone and sent across. Agencies are trying to stop this. While it is encouraging that a minister is admitting this, the point is that there is a heavy influx of drones (or quadcopters) with this being the 33rd shot down this year. Its not just heroin that they carry, but 9mm pistols, magazines, ammunition rounds, detonators and explosives. There is no doubt that the Khalistan movement is being fuelled abroad, with recent recruitment efforts in Punjab adding to the danger.

But while that is dangerous enough, there are two other issues. One is the power of drug money to fuel terrorism, on which there is little or no data in India. Second, is the equally lack of data on the extent of addiction here, especially among young people, though the UN says India is now one of the largest opiate markets in the world. The drug market is shifting and changing and with it the capabilities and relationships among the 20+ plus terrorist groups in Afghanistan and the mafia gangs in Pakistan. The key bottom line is this. As Pakistan collapses internally and economically, the reliance of its intelligence agencies on drug money is only going to increase, and with it the desire to weaken India through all available means. Thats what ties the whole picture together. And its an ugly one.

It is time to greatly increase our ability to connect the dots between two highly dangerous activities, even while encouraging the UN groups to look a little closer at just how and where the Lashkar is operating in the melange of terror groups. Its far from dead, its central institutions remain as do its camps. The Lashkar is likely to reinvent itself and that needs to be monitored closely.
Manipur violence is a national tragedy, but the Opposition glee was difficult to hide, if at all there was any attempt at it. When the barbaric video of women raped and paraded naked went viral, this turned into an open revelry. Finally, the most rotten of Indian politics have got, what they think, a beating stick they can use against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular, BJP in general.

The video broke into full public view just as this elite-centric, dynastic, caste- and region-based formations, powered by arm-chair left-liberal intellectuals sitting in Delhi and Chicago, were trying to cobble up a semblance of political unity to hide their incompetence and crimespolitical and financialand avoid jail.

What better timing to save their skins and sagging or lost political relevance?

They forget that while the Congress and its left stooges to whom Indira Gandhi farmed out Congress own intellectual and political thinking had relinquished the North East India to be gobbled up by a hawkish China, it was PM Modi, who delivered the region back to India, nay, made it India, again.

Lets have a look at the achievements of the Modi government in reclaiming Indias eight sisters.

Budget Doubled in 9 Years

The Union budget for the Northeast region has nearly doubled in the last nine years since the NDA government came to power. Union Budget, 2023-24, increased the budget of the ministry of DoNER from Rs 2,332.78 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 5,892 crore. A provision of Rs 2,491 crore in Budget, 2023-24, has been made entirely for the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS).

The new scheme of Prime Ministers Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) Scheme was announced as a Central Sector Scheme in the Union Budget of 2022-23.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has spent over Rs 3.84 lakh crore for the development of infrastructure in the North Eastern (NE) states road connectivity, air connectivity, railways network, waterways, telecom, and power since 2014-15. Central Ministries and departments, unless otherwise specifically exempted, set apart 10 per cent of their Plan Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) for the Northeast.

There is an increase of around 186 per cent in total actual expenditure in NER, from Rs 24,819 crore in 2014-15 to Rs70,874 crore in 2021-22 under 10 per cent GBS. The BE allocation for the year 2022-23 for NER under 10 per cent GBS is Rs 76,040 crore.

Figure this: Rs 363.14 crore was allocated to Manipur for projects under MDoNER. An amount of Rs 363.14 crore has been released by the Centre to Manipur since 2020 for the implementation of projects under various schemes of the MDoNER and the NEC.

Of the total amount, Rs 114.99 crore was released in 2020-21; Rs 145.24 crore in 2021-22; Rs 65.18 crore in 2022-23; and Rs 37.73 crore during 2023-24 (until June 2023).

With better infrastructure has come better and beefed-up security situation in the NER. The overall security situation in the North Eastern States has improved substantially since 2014-2022 as compared to the period between 2005 and 2013. A direct evidence of this is the reduction in insurgency. There has been 68 per cent reduction in insurgency incidents: between 2005 and 2013 there were 10,204 incidents as opposed to 3238 in the period spanning 2014 and 2022.

Safe, Secure North East

Correspondingly, security forces casualties have come down by 68 per cent: between 2005 and 2013 some 397 personnel lost their lives fighting insurgency in NER, but this number came down to 128 between 2014 and 2022.

While the Opposition will not mention this, civilian deaths have come by 82 per cent from the period between 2005 and 2013. In this period, 2,298 people lost their lives to violence, while between 2014 and 2022 this figure stood at 420.

Success Story

A look at the success of Central schemes must, but will not, put the Opposition to shame. 145 projects, worth Rs 3,392.99 crore, have been sanctioned in North Eastern States under North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS). These include 51 roads and bridges, 6 power projects, 23 water supply projects, 36 health projects, 29 education projects.

Under the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources Scheme-State (NLCPR-State), 1,635 projects have been sanctioned, of which 1,301 have been completed and 334 projects are ongoing.

Under the Social and Infrastructure Development Fund (SIDF), 37 projects were sanctioned, of which 27 have been completed and 10 are ongoing.

A new Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) was signed by Government of India, Government of Assam and Bodo Groups (ABSU and NDFB factions) on January 1, 2020.

From financial year 2014-15 to 2022-23, some 852 projects amounting to Rs5,580.15 crore were sanctioned. From financial year 2014-15 to 2022-23, 655 projects amounting to Rs 6,450.07 crore were completed.

Close to 594 projects, amounting to Rs4,634.57 crore were ongoing as on February this year.

Road to Development

Over 4,000-km of roads have been laid by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways in NER between 2014 and 2022. Another 7,545-km of roads are under construction with the outlay of Rs 1,05,518 crore.

To date, new rail projects for 864.7 km, amounting to Rs 19,855 crore have been sanctioned in NER since 2014-15. Currently, 20 projects for new lines as well as doubling, at a cost of Rs 74,485 crore for the length of 2,011 km, falling fully or partly in North Eastern Region, are at different stages of planning, approval and execution. Out of these 321-km long lines have been commissioned at the expenditure of Rs 26,874 crore.

Winds of Change

In the NER, 17 airports have been made operational so far. Recently, Donyi Polo Airport (erstwhile Holongi Airport) has been inaugurated in Arunachal Pradesh. The development of new Greenfield Airports at Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh; Dibrugarh, Guwahati and Silchar Airports in Assam; Imphal Airport in Manipur; Barapani Airport in Meghalaya and Agartala Airport in Tripura are underway.

Rivers of Prosperity

NERs waterways are being developed with fairway of required depth and width, day and night navigation aids and terminals. The facilities created and planned would cost Rs461 crore across 2020 and 2025. River Barak was declared as National Waterway-16 (NW -16) in 2016. It connects Silchar, Karimganj and Badarpur in Cachar valley of Assam with Haldia and Kolkata ports through Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) Route.

Let There Be Light

Ministry of Power has also undertaken power generation (hydro/thermal) projects since 2014 in the North Eastern States. Further, the transmission and distribution network has also been strengthened. Three Hydro Electric Projects (above 25 MW) have been undertaken in the North Eastern States.

Department of Telecommunications has also undertaken several projects in the North Eastern Region for strengthening telecom connectivity to provide mobile services in uncovered villages in Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh for seamless coverage along National Highway; in Meghalaya; and along National Highways on 4G Technology.

Mobile connectivity in Arunachal Pradesh has been boosted.

The author is News Editor, Firstpost. He tweets from @SiddharthaRai2. Views expressed are personal.
The future of Article 370 hangs by a thread. Three years after its repealing  or, to put it more accurately, dilution  its constitutional validity has been challenged by a slew of petitions in the Supreme Court. Hearings to seal its future will commence daily from August 2.

But first things first. How many of us are even aware that July 27 was the last date to file petitions in the Supreme Court pertaining to the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act of 2019. Better known as the presidential order of August 5, 2019, abrogating Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, it was this Act that bifurcated the erstwhile state into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. A Constitution Bench comprising the Chief Justice of India (CJI), DY Chandrachud, and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant will decide its fate.

What is more, how many of even our well-informed commentariat and even more vocal media warriors know that there are at least 23 petitions challenging the governments order to annul Article 370. Those filing include former senior civil servants, members of our armed forces, lawyers, NGO actors, Kashmiri politicos, and activists. The right wing dismissal of some of them as the usual suspects, the well-organised Left-Liberal cabal, or even more pejoratively, as the Khan Market gang would be a grave tactical error.

Why do I say so? Because while some two-dozen petitions have been filed challenging the governments action on 370, how many, one might ask, have been filed in support of the government? Only three. Of these, one was filed by the government as late as on July 24. In that affidavit, the Central government claimed that its decision to revoke the special status of J&K ushered in an unprecedented era development, progress, security and stability to the region.

The Centre also asserted that since the last three years, the earlier practice of daily hartals, strikes, stone pelting and bandhs are a thing of the past now. Life in J&K has returned to normalcy after over three decades of turmoil. For instance, a duly elected 3-tier Panchayati Raj System in Jammu and Kashmir has been set up. Furthermore, law and order events have come down by 97.2% and terrorist initiated instances by 45.2% from 2019 to 2022. Other benefits have been listed in the Centres affidavit.

However, the Centres plea will not be considered. Why? The Bench ruled, We will hear only on Constitutional issues. The Centres new affidavit will have no effect on the matter.

Therefore, the writing on the wall is clear. The supporters of 2019 J&K reorganisation act have been legally laggard in shoring it up in the Supreme Court, where the real battle for its validity will be waged. Over-active, one might even say over-effective in both mainstream and social media, the team from the right side has been found to be wanting when it comes to making their presence felt in the legal fight to confirm the 370 modification.

Who filed the only two other petitions in support of the governments intervention? Both petitioners represent the Kashmiri Pandit (KP) community  Youth 4 Panun Kashmir and social activist Virinder Kaul, supported by Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora (GKPD). Both applications have been filed through advocate Siddharth Praveen Acharya. I have read the latter of these affidavits, the 51-page plea filed by Kaul. I will return to its contents later, but what needs to be emphasised at the outset is that the victims of Muslim militancy in the Valley are, once again, in the forefront to fight for the Indian state.

This despite the fact that it is the KPs who have been picked, one by one, for slaughter in Kashmir  those few of them who still remain. Notwithstanding all the good that direct central rule has done to Kashmir in the last five years, one of its great failings has been its inability to protect the most vulnerable of the minority Hindu population in the Union Territory  the KPs and migrant workers.

GKPD, for those who dont know, was also instrumental in providing the material and logistical support to the brave makers of The Kashmir Files, the talented husband-wife duo of Vivek Agnihotri and Pallavi Joshi. It is they who succeeded in bringing the tragedy and genocide of the KPs, decades after, to the attention not only of Indians, but also of an influential international community, spread across five continents.

The battle on the ground for Kashmir continues, with terrorists still striking at innocents. But perhaps a bigger battle is to be fought in a completely different domain. This is not a military, strategic, or political clash but a legal and constitutional one. Here, the narrative war, which the government and the ruling party seem to have won, will have little or no bearing. Instead, it will be the intricacies of constitutional law.

The gravity of the situation is such that the government simply cannot afford to lose this fight. Not only for its own sake or its political future, but for the sake of India itself. One must hope that abrogating 370 and 35A, the Centre would have thought through all possible challenges to it and is fairly confident that it is a fait accompli that cannot be reversed.

(To be continued)

The writer is an author, columnist, and professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.

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The ongoing monsoon session of the Parliament is no different from previous sessions because the opposition political parties, who have now formed the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A), have not permitted the houses to function correctly. The opposition political parties have demanded that Narendra Modi make a statement on the issue of Manipur before both houses of parliament. The ruling party has rejected this request. However, they have assured us that Amit Shah, the home minister, will address both houses on the matter. As the Article 355 is in place in Manipur, he is automatically in command of the state.

Without a doubt, the situation in Manipur is dire, and the government must act. Despite having submitted a no-confidence motion against the government, the oppositions inability to break the impasse ultimately hurts Manipur. The people of Manipur have every right to influence the governments response, and it is unquestionably the oppositions responsibility to do so. But due to their misplaced priorities and PM Narendra Modi-centric discourse, they are preventing the government from answering questions. If the opposition operates with such misplaced priorities in the legislature at such a crucial juncture on such an important issue, it is a tragedy.

Disruption Culture

In a healthy democracy, the opposition plays a crucial role in holding the government accountable. However, it is important to note that disrupting the functioning of the Parliament can have counterproductive consequences and pose significant risks. The potential consequences of such actions are far-reaching, encompassing a breakdown of democratic values, governance challenges, financial wastage, and a detrimental impact on Indias international standing. In the pursuit of a flourishing democracy, the active participation of all stakeholders becomes paramount. Constructive dialogue, adherence to institutional norms, and a shared commitment to the nations progress are essential elements that must be embraced. The act of disrupting parliamentary proceedings strikes at the core of democracy itself, as it undermines the fundamental principles of open dialogue, respect for differing opinions, and the pursuit of compromise and consensus. The oppositions persistent disruptions pose a grave threat to public trust in democratic institutions, potentially resulting in disillusionment among citizens and undermining the very foundation of the nations democracy.

Misplaced Priorities

One cannot help but observe the recurring pattern within the opposition political parties led by Congress, as they seem to be trapped in a perpetual cycle of relentlessly targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The prevailing fixation on the prime minister has undeniably become the primary impediment to the smooth functioning of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. In the current political landscape of Manipur, the primary objective of the Prime Ministers discourse in both houses of parliament appears to be nothing more than a strategic manoeuvre to corner PM Modi. In the realm of political discourse, it is imperative to refrain from passing judgement on the opposition solely based on their chosen approach to conducting their politics. However, it is crucial to address the underlying concern at hand: The unyielding nature of their demand has resulted in a state of dysfunction in Parliament. In the realm of political discourse, it becomes imperative for the opposition to discern the crux of the matter at hand: Should the Prime Ministers vocalisation on the issue of Manipur take precedence, or should the government prioritise engaging in an open dialogue regarding Manipur? In the current political climate, it is undeniable that the prime minister of India bears the responsibility of addressing crucial matters, including the pressing issue of Manipur. However, it is imperative to recognise that this should not serve as a justification for completely halting the functioning of the entire parliament. In these critical times, it is imperative that a meaningful dialogue ensues between the opposition and the ruling regime regarding the pressing matter of Manipur. The gravity of the situation cannot be understated, as the nation eagerly awaits a response from the government.

The fundamental issue with the opposition political parties led by the Congress is that their entire political discourse gets stuck on attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This obsession with the prime minister is the key reason why they are not allowing the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to function. Right now, the fundamental demand of the PM talking in both houses in Manipur is nothing but a political stand, allowing the entire parliament to be silenced.

What Does Manipur want?

Currently, the opposition should be pressuring the governing regime to speak in detail about the measures it has taken to reduce the ongoing violence in Manipur. Rather than sticking to a single demand, the opposition should promptly demand in their parliamentary speeches on the issue of Manipur that an impartial investigation into the violence and its root causes be conducted. The government has already ordered a CBI investigation into issues such as the gang rape of two Kuki women, whose video shocked the nations conscience. The opposition can also demand that the government disclose its plan for the political resolution of the Manipur conflict. Manipurs violence stems from long-standing ethnic and political tensions. The government must collaborate with all parties involved, including opposition political parties, to find a political solution that addresses the root causes of the conflict in this state in the north-eastern United States. The citizens of Manipur require explicit assurances from the federal government that their human rights will be respected and protected. There is no doubt that the Manipur state government has failed miserably to regain control of the situation. At this juncture, the Centre must set out a detailed plan for preventing future human rights crises, which can only be accomplished through open dialogue. The opposition should raise these pertinent concerns against the government in the House of Representatives in order to hold the government accountable.

The government cannot stay silent

It is imperative for the central government to acknowledge the multitude of errors it has committed in relation to Manipur. It is imperative to begin by acknowledging the partys failure to grasp the intricacies of the situation in Manipur, leading to an approach that has proven far from foolproof. The state government, under the leadership of Manipurs Chief Minister N Biren Singh, has regrettably failed in its duties, which is becoming increasingly obvious as one evaluates the current political landscape. In the intricate tapestry of Manipuris reality, a myriad of complexities unfold, painting a vivid portrait of a community grappling with multifaceted challenges. The intricate web of socio-political dynamics, cultural nuances, and historical legacies intertwine to shape the very fabric of their existence. Indeed, the situation of Manipuris is far from simplistic, as it is. In the current stage, it is imperative for the government to provide clear and unambiguous statements regarding their positions within the parliament.

In the grand tapestry of Indian democracy, the presence of a robust opposition is undeniably indispensable. It is truly commendable to witness the convergence of opposition political parties, stemming from a wide array of ideologies, as they join forces to establish a formidable alliance. In the realm of political discourse, it is undeniably the responsibility of the opposition to pose challenging questions to the governing body. However, it is equally imperative to recognise that the responses provided by the government should not be subject to any predetermined conditions or limitations. The oppositions shrewd manoeuvre to introduce a no-confidence motion, compelling the prime minister to engage in parliamentary discourse, is a calculated strategy that undoubtedly deserves recognition as a triumph on their part. However, it is crucial at this point to relinquish our position on the moral high ground and acknowledge the harsh realities that surround us. It is imperative that the government take the initiative to engage in open dialogue and effectively communicate with the people of Manipur. So the opposition now must allow the government to talk and let Manipur know.

The writer is a columnist and doctoral research scholar in media and politics. He tweets @sayantan_gh. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.

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Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday slammed the Opposition from disrupting the Parliament proceedings and running away from the discussion on Manipur issue.

Opposition doesnt want to participate in the discussion on the Manipur issue. Today when this issue was taken up in the Parliament, the opposition ran away from the discussion. Saddened by the behaviour of the opposition, Sitharaman said.

Manipur is just a political issue for them (Opposition). Today it was proved that they were just shedding crocodile tears on the Manipur issue. If they genuinely cared, then they would have discussed it, the Union Minister said.

Parliament adjourned for the day

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day on Monday as the Opposition kept insisting on a discussion on the Manipur issue under Rule 267 of the House.

As the House reassembled at 3:30 pm after witnessing four adjournments during the day, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said the Government is ready for a discussion on the Manipur issue. He asked the opposition members to return to their seats so that the discussion could be initiated.

However, as the uproar continued, he adjourned the House for the day.

The Lok Sabha was also adjourned for the day following protests by the Opposition which has been demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament on the Manipur issue.

With inputs from agencies
Our list of smartphones under Rs 20,000 this month has quite a few new faces as compared to our previous list of the same denomination. As always we have handpicked the best options for you that offer a good mix of features and performance. All phones have decent processing power, at least 128 GB internal storage, good cameras and a couple even with optical image stabilisation (OIS). Add to that high refresh rate displays, fast charging, 5G compliance and more. Time to meet our top 5 phones under 20K this month.

Best phones to buy under Rs 20,000 in India

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G

Rarely do we get to start a sub-20K phones list with a Samsung handset. The Samsung Galaxy M34 5G totally deserves a place in this list thanks to its impressive features. At the top of the feature list is a 6.5-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rate and 1000 nits peak brightness. It is protected against scratches by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The phone runs the latest Android 13 with Samsungs One UI 5.1.

Another speciality of this device is its 50MP primary camera with OIS; something not very common in this segment. Support cast features an 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 2MP depth sensor. You get a more than decent 13MP selfie camera up front. The phone is powered by an Exynos 1280 SoC and you get 6 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage that can be expanded further with a microSD card. A 6000 mAh battery keeps the Samsung Galaxy M34 5G powered for close to two days of moderate use. The company doesnt bundle a charger along though.

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G price in India: Rs 18,999 for 6GB RAM/128GB storage

Realme Narzo 60 5G

The newly launched Realme Narzo 60 5G offers a great mix of style and value. It has a vegan leather back that looks classy, and the Mars Orange variant is particularly eye-catching. The phone is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 6020 SoC, and you get 8 GB RAM and a choice of either 128 GB or 256 GB internal storage in this budget. It has a vibrant 6.43-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED display with a 90 Hz refresh rate and Gorilla Glass 5 protection.

Rear camera department is largely handled by a 64MP camera with a 2MP depth sensor for company. The 16MP front camera is pretty good for selfies and video calls. Battery capacity of this phone stands at 5000 mAh, and it can keep the phone running for over a day and a half of moderate use. The company bundles a 33W fast charger that promises to charge 50% of it in less than half an hour. The Realme Narzo 60 5G runs the latest Android 13 with Realme UI 4.0.

Realme Narzo 60 5G price in India: Rs 16,999 for 8GB RAM/128GB storage; Rs 18,999 for 8GB RAM/256GB storage

Motorola G73 5G

The Motorola G73 5G is another good option in this budget. It is probably the first phone in India with a Mediatek Dimensity 930 SoC. You get 8 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage with an option to expand it further up to 1 TB with a microSD card. This phone has a 6.5-inch Full HD+ IPS LCD display with a 120 Hz refresh rate. This phone claims to have a water-resistant design but there is no IP rating. It also has stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos compliance.



Its 50MP primary camera boasts of 2um larger pixels to capture more detail even in low light. You get an 8MP ultra-wide camera at the back and a capable 16MP selfie camera at the front. The Motorola G73 5G has a 5000 mAh battery that keeps it powered for close to a day and a half of moderate use, and is accompanied by a 30W fast charger. The phone runs Android 13, and like most Motorola phones, you get a near-stock user interface.

Motorola G73 5G price in India: Rs 16,999 for 8GB RAM/128GB storage

Poco X5 5G

If you are looking for loads of storage space well under 20K, the Poco X5 5G is the phone for you. You can purchase its 256 GB internal storage variant for just Rs 16,999. This phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 chip, accompanied by 8 GB RAM. And theres more; this phone flaunts a 6.67-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED display with a peak brightness of 1200 nits and 120 Hz refresh rate. The screen is protected against scratches by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3.



The Poco X5 5G has three cameras at the back with the combination of a 48MP primary camera, an 8MP ultra-wide shooter and a 2MP macro camera. A 16MP camera is located in a punch-hole at the top of the screen. This phone too has a 5000 mAh battery that lasts over a day and a half of moderate use, and the bundled 33W fast charger promises to take it from 0 to 100% in an hour. The phone runs Android 12 with a layer of MIUI 13.

Poco X5 5G price in India: Rs 16,999 for 8GB RAM/256GB storage

Tecno Camon 20 Pro 5G

We started the list with a phone with OIS and we will end with one too. The recently launched Tecno Camon 20 Pro 5G has a lot of things going for it, but one of its standout features is its 64MP primary camera with OIS. The support cast is not all that great with a 2MP macro camera and a 2MP depth sensor to make up the numbers. But its 32MP front camera will have the selfie enthusiasts interested. The phone runs Android 13 with HIOS 13 UI.



This phone is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 8050 chip, making it the most powerful phone in this list in terms of processing power. You get its 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage variant in this budget. The Tecno Camon 20 Pro 5G has a 6.67-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate for flicker-free scrolling. The battery backup is similar to most phones in this list with a 5000 mAh battery keeping it powered for a day and a half of moderate use. The company bundles a 33W fast charger to juice it up briskly.

Tecno Camon 20 Pro 5G price in India: Rs 19,699 for 8GB RAM/128GB storage
The city of San Francisco has launched an investigation into a large X sign that was installed on top of the former Twitter headquarters, now owned by Elon Musk as part of his rebranding of the social media platform. City officials have raised concerns about the installation, stating that any alterations to building signage require a permit for design and safety considerations.

The appearance of the X sign came after workers were prevented from removing Twitters iconic bird and logo from the building earlier in the week due to safety issues. Replacement letters or symbols on the buildings facade would also need a permit to ensure they are in line with the buildings historic character and are securely attached.

Patrick Hannan, a spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection, emphasized that erecting a sign atop a building necessitates a permit, along with planning review and approval. Consequently, the city has opened a complaint and is initiating an investigation.

Elon Musk introduced the new X logo to replace Twitters well-known blue bird, as he continues to revamp the social media platform he acquired for $44 billion the previous year. The X has started appearing on the desktop version of Twitter.

Elon Musks fascination with the letter X is not new, as he had already renamed Twitters corporate name to X Corp. after purchasing it, and one of his children is named X, whose actual name is a combination of letters and symbols.

Workers were seen adjusting the sign using a lift machine on Friday afternoon before leaving the site.
Israel recently revealed that it is negotiating the sale of 200 older Merkava tanks. The sale value of these tanks is estimated to be more than $50 million. There are two potential customers, one in Europe and one somewhere else. No further details were released. If these sales go though, it would be the first time Israel exported Merkavas. Israel rarely releases details about military matters, and that includes the Merkava.

News does eventually get out. For example, Israel had developed a fifth version of its Merkava, but decided not to produce it. The Merkava 5 was quietly developed, built, tested and deployed in small numbers during late 2022. This was ahead of schedule because the original delivery date was supposed to be early 2023. The program was canceled because of cost and a decision that the current Merkava 4 with Model 5 improvements was adequate.

Like the earlier Merkava models, Merkava 5 is an improved version of the previous model. The 65-ton Merkava 4 entered service in 2005 with an upgraded version appearing in 2011. Further upgrades of Merkava 4 turned out to be so extensive that this version was designated Merkava 5, which weighs the same as Merkava 4. That name change decision was reversed. Several hundred Merkava 4 tanks on order or in production will instead be produced with the Merkava 5s features and enter service as improved Merkava 4s. This means there will be 360 Merkava 4s and over a hundred improved Merkava 4s. The price per tank will also increase from $4.5 million for each Merkava 4 and about $5 million for each improved Merkava 4.

Improvements in the improved Merkava 4 include a more effective engine along with upgrades to the Iron Vision system that provides the commander a view of what is happening outside the tank. The new version provides a more realistic day/night view of what is outside as well as indications of where enemy fire (bullets or projectiles) hitting the tank is coming from, and how best to respond. This was the result of upgrading the fire-control system. The Trophy APS (Active Protection System) has also been updated to be more effective and incorporate some of the lessons of the war in Ukraine.

Israel is the smallest nation in the world to design and build its own tanks. This was the result of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, which took Israel by surprise and inflicted heavy losses before Israel counter-attacked and defeated Egypt and Syria and their larger number of modern Russian tanks. Israel carefully analyzes the results of each war it fights and makes changes to deal with problems encountered. The 1973 war prompted Israel to start designing and building its own tanks.

By 1979 the 61-ton Merkava entered service and 250 were built by 1983. That was the year the first of 580 62-ton Merkava 2s entered service. Production of Merkava 2 ended in 1989. The first two Merkava models were similar in design with both using a 105mm gun. The Merkava 2 had additional armor, a five percent more powerful 950 HP engine, and a 20 percent higher top speed of 55 kilometers an hour. The external 60mm mortar, mainly for firing smoke shells, was moved inside for the Merkava 2. There were a lot of other mechanical and electronic upgrades. By 1989 all the active-duty armored brigades had Merkavas and many of the reserve armored brigades as well.

Using lessons learned from the 1982 fighting in Lebanon, Israel developed a much improved 63.5-ton Merkava 3 which entered service in 1990. By 2002 680 Merkava 3s were built. The main improvements in the Merkava 3 were a 120mm main gun and much more powerful 1,200 HP engine that produced a 60-kilometers an hour top speed, faster acceleration and a more maneuverable and nimbler tank. All the armor was of a modern composite design. Fewer main gun shells could be carried; 46 120mm ones compared to 60 105mm shells in the Merkava 2. Merkava 3 could load shells faster because of a five-round mechanical drum. The fire-control system was also upgraded, as were many other components. The Merkava 3 is still used, mainly by reserve armor brigades.

In 2003 the 65-ton Merkava 4 was introduced. So far 360 of these have been produced and most have already undergone several major upgrades. Merkava 4 has improved armor, a redesigned turret, 25 percent more powerful 1,500 HP engine and a top speed of 65 kilometers an hour. Merkava 4 is even more nimble and maneuverable than Merkava 3. Merkava 4 carries 48 rounds of 120mm shells and uses a 10-round electric powered drum for quick loading. Merkava has a smoother ride because of an improved suspension system. There is also improved protection for the crew against mines and roadside bombs. By 2021 360 Merkava 4s were built.

All Merkavas feature a unique design feature; the engine is in the front. This adds more protection for the four-man crew and any passengers in the large rear compartment. That compartment can hold more 120mm shells or other supplies or up to eight passengers. Usually six infantrymen are carried, providing Merkava with its own infantry support. This is especially useful in built-up areas.

Merkava 4 underwent several major upgrades. In 2012 Israel completed equipping all the Merkava tanks in an armor brigade with the Trophy APS. In 2010 the first battalion of Merkavas was equipped. In 2011 Trophy defeated incoming missiles and rockets in combat for the first time. This included ATGMs (Anti-Tank Guided Missiles), possibly a modern Russian system like the Kornet E. This ATGM was introduced in 1994 and sold to Syria, who apparently passed some to Hezbollah and Hamas. A few weeks before the ATGM intercept, Trophy defeated an RPG warhead, an unguided rocket propelled grenade fired from a metal tube balanced on the shoulder. As it was designed to do, Trophy operated automatically and the crew didn't realize the incoming RPG and missile warheads had been stopped until after it was over. That is how APS is supposed to work.

In 2017, a ground vehicle VR (Virtual Reality) system called Iron Vision was introduced and Merkava 4 was the first tank to get it. Iron Vision meant a tank could largely dispense with tanks traditional dependence on the tank commander spending a lot of time with his head sticking out of the turret to get a better view of the situation. The VR helmet display helmet is worn by the tank commander and not only shows real-time video of what is outside, but also an overlay of other information or even a map. Israel pioneered the development and use of such helmets, and the F-35 stealth fighter was designed to use a VR helmet. Most modern tanks are equipped with these small external digital video cameras but Iron Vision makes the external cameras much easier to use.

In 2020 Fire Weaver fire control network software was first installed in Israeli tanks and will soon be installed in warplanes, artillery and other armored vehicles. In 2021 at least two of the four active-duty armored brigades had Fire Weaver. Once all the active-duty armor brigades have it, the six active-duty infantry brigades will receive it. Some of the 22 reserve brigades, nine of them armored, may get the system as well.

Fire Weaver takes data from existing sensors on tanks and other armored vehicles as well as artillery and warplanes, and rapidly (within five seconds) lets vehicles, warplanes and artillery know which available target each combat system should fire at. This eliminates a common battlefield situation where too many weapons fire on some targets while other targets are not initially fired on at all. Currently, tank crews and artillery spotters (troops who call back to tell artillery which targets to hit) have manual procedures for picking which targets they should fire at. That often works quite well, especially during a situation where a tank unit encountering the enemy has an opportunity to fire first. Fire Weaver automates these decisions and makes more effective choices more quickly. The troops and pilots can override Fire Weaver-selected targets but tests have shown that Fire Weaver is usually quite effective in selecting the best targets for each tank, artillery unit or aircraft.

Fire Weaver is easy to implement in the Israeli military because the Israelis have already been providing their troops with better sensors and battlefield networks. For example, in mid-2019 three Israeli firms, responding to an IDF proposal for bid, showed off their versions of the proposed Carmel Concept for future armored vehicles. Three different armored vehicles; the Merkava 4 tank, Namer IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) and the Eitan 8x8 APC (Armored Personnel Carrier) had proposed versions of Carmel installed. Carmel involves several existing technologies plus proposed new ones that would turn an armored vehicle into a combat system that would operate with, a crew of two or a robotic vehicle operated remotely (like a UAV) or autonomously, to benefit from more information about where friendly and suspected enemy forces were. This information would often be delivered in real-time. This sort of thing provides a tremendous advantage in combat.

The best example of similar (to Carmel) existing tech is used in the American F-35 stealth fighter-bomber where numerous sensor and communications systems are controlled by software that uses data fusion. This is merging data from many sources and presenting it to the pilot in a comprehensible fashion to provide the F-35 pilot with unprecedented situational awareness. That means an accurate picture of where the pilot and everything else in the vicinity is. It had long been known that superior situational awareness was the key to victory in combat be it in the air, at sea or on land. Carmel proposes that manufacturers find ways to effectively combine existing tech with improved software. This would include more AI (Artificial Intelligence) to analyze sensor and situational data at high speed and either act autonomously (as ADS, or Active Defense Systems, do) or present options to the vehicle operators.

Although the Merkava was introduced in 1979 it wasnt until mid-2006 that Israeli tanks saw their first heavy combat in 24 years. It was also the first combat for the then new Merkava 4. Actually, it was the first heavy combat for the Merkava 2 (introduced in 1983) and Merkava 3 (1989). In 1982, 180 Merkava 1s saw action during the war with Lebanon. Until 2006 Merkavas had only been used in peacekeeping and counter-terror operations with the Palestinians.

The Israelis, as they have in all past wars, collected detailed information on each tank that was hit by enemy fire. Israel won't, for obvious reasons, release all this information, but have provided some data. "Several hundred" Merkavas were sent into southern Lebanon in 2006. Of those, ten percent were hit by enemy fire, including mines and roadside bombs. Merkava faced modern ATGMs for the first time in 2006. Only 18 tanks were seriously damaged, and only a third of those were from several hundred ATGMs fired by Hezbollah. Only two of the 18 heavily damaged tanks were destroyed, and both of those were damaged by roadside bombs. In those two cases, the tank was over the bomb when it was detonated.

The experience in Lebanon again proved that ATGMs tend to be overrated. Israel first encountered ATGMs during the 1973 war, and quickly adapted. ATGMs were much less effective in the 1982 war, and didn't do all that well in 2006 either. The Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah quickly learned that the Merkava frontal armor was impervious to their Kornet ATGMs. Getting side and rear shots was more difficult, and not a lot more successful. While the ATGM warhead often penetrated, the Merkava was designed to take this kind of hit and survive, and survive it did. In addition to fire extinguisher systems, the ammo and fuel are stored in such a way that secondary explosions are rare. The crew normally survives these hits, as does the tank.

One of the biggest problems with Israeli tanks in Lebanon had to do with the crews. Because of the heavy use of Israeli troops in counter-terror operations since 2000, most tank crews have spent a lot of time without their tanks, serving as security troops (light infantry). The lack of training in their tanks reduced the effectiveness of the Merkavas in Lebanon. This was not a critical factor, but it annoyed the tank crews quite a bit.

The tankers were also peeved at the lack of protective devices, like smoke grenades on some tanks, or active defense systems like the Trophy APS. This was because so much money was diverted to counter-terror operations. While only six tanks were destroyed in Lebanon, over a hundred tank crewmen were killed or wounded by ATGMs. Hezbollah would often use a missile just to nail the vehicle commander, who often was standing up and vulnerable to enemy fire, with his head and chest out of the turret hatch to get a better look at what's going on. Tank commanders would like to see some money spent on sensor systems (cameras) that enable the tank commander to get a good look around the tank, from inside the tank. The Lebanon operation was a wakeup call for the Israeli government to stop shortchanging efforts to improve their tanks.

As good as the Merkava is, there are not a lot of export customers. There was apparently only one export customer so far, Israel did not reveal who it was and no other public information about a foreign user has appeared. One difficulty with export orders is that Israel builds the Merkava itself and cannot afford large production facilities. Moreover, many key components come from the United States, which gives the Americans a veto power over who exports go to. Merkava is also very expensive, with the most modern Merkava 4/5s costing over $5 million each.

Israel cannot afford to keep all its Merkava in service. Currently 220 of 550 Merkava 4s are in storage, while only 160 of 730 Merkava 3s are in use, the rest in storage. There are still 370 Merkava 2s available, but all are in storage. If there is a major war, the stored Merkavas can be ready for combat in a few days, or less. These storage tanks would be used to replace tanks out of action for combat or non-combat reasons. Because the Merkava is designed to reduce crew casualties, most of the crews of damaged or destroyed tanks are available for duty within hours. While storage tanks dont get many of the upgrades, the basic controls of Merkava were kept the same or similar from one model to another to make it easy for crewmen who started out in a Merkava 4 to operate an earlier Merkava model taken out of storage.

The success of Merkava and the need for a new APC (armored personnel carrier) to replace the current 18-ton American M113s led to the production of several hundred Namer IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicles). These were basically Barak tanks without the turrets. At first the chassis of the 61-ton Merkava 1 was used but the protection for the nine infantry and three-man Namer crew was considered inadequate. Instead, the chassis of the 65-ton Merkava 4 was used. This Namer used the Trophy APS and that seemed to provide the needed protection. The Namer is the best protected IFV in service. It is armed with a small RWS (remote controlled weapons station) containing a 30mm autocannon. There is also a 60mm mortar and a 7.62mm machine-gun that are manually operated by crew or passengers. The latest addition is two Spike ATGMs that are carried and launched from a metal pod that is inside the vehicle and raised from inside the Namer for use. The passengers and crew are seated in blast resistant seats to protect them from injury if Namer encounters a large roadside bomb or anti-tank mine. This approach proved successful when such large explosions were encountered.
British troops are providing training to an elite Ukrainian commando brigade. The objective of this training is to incapacitate Russian forces and recapture Crimea before the Christmas. Over 2,000 soldiers have gathered in a remote location on Dartmoor to participate in specialised exercises.

According to the Daily Express report, the operation is planned to involve a combination of air, land, and sea strikes. Ukrainian commandos will employ advanced technology to disrupt and paralyse Russian troops. Armored units will be involved in breaking through defences, with additional support coming from a new supply of long-range missiles from the UK, US, and Germany.

Earlier, Kyrylo Budanov, the Ukrainian intelligence chief, said that their forces will enter Crimea soon.

The training is conducted at Battle Camp in Okehampton, Devon, and is exclusively closed to all other military units and the general public. The Royal Marines from 42 Commando are overseeing the training, which includes long-approach marches and commando attacks using live ammunition at night.

A senior UK military source emphasised the use of agile NATO tactics to enable Ukrainian troops to shape the battle space before launching decisive strikes against the enemy. However, it is acknowledged that the success of the operation will depend on the Ukrainian forces ability to adapt swiftly and overcome challenges.

Experts believe that the goal of retaking Crimea is aligned with President Volodymyr Zelenskyys objective of removing all occupiers from Ukrainian soil. He believes that a rapid blitzkrieg strike might not be sufficient unless Russian forces are considerably weakened. However, continuous attacks on the Kerch bridge and other strategic locations could eventually undermine Russias control over Crimea.

With inputs from agencies
At least five people have been killed in massive clashes that took place in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon on Sunday.

As a result of the clashes in Lebanons largest Palestinian refugee camp near the southern port city of Sidon, seven people were injured as well.

According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), two children were among the injured, according to Lebanons state-run National News Agency.

A mortar round that struck a military barracks outside of the camp, according to a statement from the Lebanese army, wounded one soldier, whose condition is stable, Al Jazeera reported.

Meanwhile, the killing of commander Ashraf al-Armouchi and four of his comrades during a heinous operation was confirmed by the Palestinian party Fatah in a statement on Sunday.

On Sunday, as ambulances raced through the camps winding streets to transport the injured to the hospital, factions engaged in combat while brandishing assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and hand grenades.

Morning violence ceased for many hours, however state media reported that sniper fire continued to sporadically erupt.

But following the killing of the Palestinian general and his escorts, violence broke out once more. As stray bullets hit nearby buildings in Sidon, shattering windows and businesses, some inhabitants fled their houses, according to Al Jazeera.

Both the staff and patients of the public Sidon General Hospital were evacuated. More than 450 000 Palestinians living in Lebanon are registered with UNRWA, according to Al Jazeera. The majority endure a range of legal limitations, including employment restrictions, and frequently live in appalling conditions in refugee camps.
Imran Khan was the mastermind of the unprecedented anti-government protests across Pakistan on May 9 and it was aimed at toppling the military leadership, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said.

Pakistan saw massive nationwide anti-government protests following the arrest of Khan, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman by paramilitary Rangers in a corruption case on May 9. Khan, 70, was later released on bail.

Dozens of military installations and government buildings, including the military headquarters in Rawalpindi, were damaged or torched during the riots. Over 100 vehicles of police and other security agencies were set on fire.

In an interview with Geo News channel, Sharif said men, women, a cabal, some military men and their families were involved in the events of May 9, dubbed Black Day by the powerful military.

Those involved in the May 9 incidents wanted to overthrow the military leadership, he said.

The prime minister said the planners wanted anarchy and war in the country.
An Iranian official responsible for enforcing the controversial hijab law has been suspended from his position in the wake of a circulating video allegedly showing him engaging in gay sex.

The authenticity of the video, purportedly featuring Reza Tsaghati, the head of culture and Islamic guidance in Gilan province, has not been officially confirmed.

According reports, Tsaghati is known for establishing a cultural center that promotes piety and advocates for womens adherence to wearing the hijab.

His removal from office comes as authorities claim to have had no prior knowledge of his actions.

Same-sex relations are prohibited in Iran, with potential penalties, even the death penalty, for those involved. The LGBTQ community in the country faces discrimination and marginalization.

Recently, during a visit to Uganda, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi strongly criticized Western attitudes toward the LGBTQ community. He accused the West of attempting to propagate homosexuality to disrupt human procreation.

In the past, Iran witnessed powerful protests related to the hijab and religious enforcement following the death of Mahsa Amini.

The young woman had been taken into custody by the morality police for alleged dress code violations. These demonstrations escalated into demands for the overthrow of Irans clerical rulers, as protesters accused them of corruption and repression.

The Iranian government attributed the protests to foreign interference but provided no concrete evidence to support their claims.
Police in Pakistans restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said on Monday that an initial probe has suggested that the banned terrorist group ISIS is behind the suicide attack on a political convention of a hardline Islamist party that killed at least 44 people and injured over 100.

The attack took place on Sunday when more than 400 members of the conservative Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party, known for its links to hardline political Islam, had gathered for a meeting under a canopy in the town of Khar, which borders Afghanistan.

We are still investigating and gathering information on the Bajaur blast. The Initial probe shows that banned outfit Daesh (ISIS) was involved, Geo News quoted police officials as saying.

The police said they were gathering details of the suicide bomber, while the bomb disposal squad team was collecting evidence from the site.

District Police Officer Nazir Khan said three suspects have been taken into custody.

Provincial police chief Akhtar Hayat Khan said 10 kilogrammes of explosives set off by a suicide bomber were used in the blast. He said the bomber was among the attendees seated in the front rows of the convention.

Local police said the attacker detonated explosives near the conventions stage.

According to police and witnesses, the blast occurred as soon as JUI-F District Amir Maulana Abdul Rasheed reached the stage.

The deceased included JUI-F Tehsil Khar Maulana Ziaullah Jan, Navagai Tehsil General Secretary Maulana Hameedullah, District Information Secretary Mujahid Khan and dozens of party workers.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) caretaker health minister Riaz Anwar said on Sunday night that 44 people lost their lives while more than 100 were injured in the attack.

An emergency has been declared in the hospitals of Bajaur and adjoining areas where most of the injured were taken. The critically injured have been transported from Bajaur to hospitals in the provincial capital Peshawar by military helicopters.

Bajaur District Health Officer Dr Faisal Kamal said more than 150 injured people had been brought to the Bajaur District Headquarters Hospital.

Over 35 people have been referred to the Timargarh hospital while 15 critically injured persons have been sent to Peshawar via a Pakistan Army helicopter, he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

Rescuers have warned the death toll may rise further, as 15 people are in critical condition.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemned the blast and vowed that those responsible will be identified and punished.

The Pakistani nation, law enforcement agencies and our protectors will never allow such cowardly tactics of the enemy to succeed, he tweeted.
A court in Tokyo on Monday sentenced a man to 23 years in jail after finding him guilty of attempted murder and starting a fire on a train in the Japanese capital while dressed as comic book villain the Joker.

The verdict for the 2021 Halloween attack was handed down by the Tokyo District Courts Tachikawa branch, a spokeswoman for the court told the media.

Twenty-six-year-old Kyota Hattori was convicted of stabbing a male passenger in his 70s and trying to kill 12 other people by starting a blaze inside a passenger train, Jiji Press and other local media said.

Hattori had reportedly told investigators that he wanted to kill people and be given the death penalty. He also told them he had spread lighter fluid in the train.

In Japan, violent crime is rare, but there are occasional stabbings and even shootings, including the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe last year.

In August 2021, nine people were wounded, one of them seriously, in a stabbing attack on a commuter train in Tokyo, with the suspect later handing himself in after fleeing the scene.

In a separate attack that same month, two people suffered burns in an acid attack at a Tokyo subway station.
Colombian drug cartels have always been on the lookout for ingenious ways to smuggle cocaine into the United States. Thats where narco subs, or narco submarines came into play.

Now, engineers from Pakistan have gotten into the trade and are helping Colombian cartels take things up a notch and move their illegal goods, using makeshift submarines, that are so ingenious and cleverly made, that they are virtually impossible to detect.

A Game Of Cash

These submarines require a minimum of $1 million for their construction. Some of the bigger ones that have been confiscated, could have cost about $2.3 million to make.

However, the returns they generate for their South American owners far exceed this cost, as they are employed to transport substantial quantities of high-quality cocaine between continents with an extremely low likelihood of being detected.

In 2020, the US Coast Guard confiscated 39 submersible submarines. The biggest the Mexican drug agencies caught that year was in the middle of construction, which was over 120 feet tall and just 10 feet wide. Experts believe that this particular submarine could easily transport well over 1000 kilos of cocaine. Thats about $128 million dollars (street value, as per Statista) worth of cocaine, in just one trip.

However, the US Coast Guard and Mexican agencies now have reasons to believe that the operation has become much more complex. And right they are.

New age narco subs are more sophisticated, stealthy

New-age narco submarines have the same rudimentary and fundamental design as the old ones, at least when it comes to appearances, At the same time, they are very ingeniously made and are designed to stay hidden. Most of these new-age narco subs can go to a maximum depth of 10 feet under the water, a feat that the older subs could never manage. Some of these new submarines are also sent to Spain.

The newer submarines are expertly concealed with dark grey or blue-green paint, rendering them nearly invisible to spotter planes by other vessels. Moreover, their radar signature is minimized, making them highly elusive to radar detection.

To further avoid thermal detection, an exhaust system channels the hot engine fumes underwater. Additionally, these narco-subs adopt a slow travelling pace during the day to minimize the wake they create. Their primary design objective is to avoid detection rather than outpace pursuers, and this strategy has proven effective. In the event that authorities do manage to locate them in the vast ocean, it is usually due to a tip-off or simply sheer luck.

Measuring approximately 30 metres in length on average and propelled by three outboard motors, these vessels are usually manned by three Latin-American crew members who usually move towards Mexico. Officials have suspected that the drugs on board would then get transferred to land, where the cartels use tunnels to get their products to their contacts in the US.

The Pakistan Connect

Narco subs, one could contend are the most remarkably efficient instrument ever created by global drug smugglers. Although not entirely a new concept, most of them, up until now were semi-submersibles, as only a small portion of their hulls stay above the waterline.

However, because the seas have proven to be the most profitable and safe passages for South American drug cartels, they have decided to double down on their discovered sea routes and go for complete submersibles.

For this, they needed engineers. Several engineers and mechanics from Afghanistan and Pakistan, who went to Colombia illegally, have joined the cartels and are making submarines.

Because of the economic crises in Pakistan and Afghanistan, people with technical skills or knowledge have found their way to several illicit trades across the world. In Colombia, there are a number of mechanics and engineers from these two countries who are working with these cartels.

Sources have told the US Coast Guard that these engineers are paid quite well. Some of the more experienced engineers are actually overseeing a massive network of sheds spread across Colombian forests, where these narco subs are mass-produced.
Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said that his brother and former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif will return to the country in next few weeks and will be the next premier if Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) returns to power in the next general election.

Speaking on the Geo News programme, Shehbaz said the three-time former prime minister, who has been living in self-imposed exile in London since 2019, would face the law upon his return to Pakistan, adding that he was sent abroad on medical grounds on the basis of a medical report prepared on the directives of former prime minister Imran Khan.

Nawaz Sharif was disqualified in 2017 by the Supreme Court. In 2018, he became ineligible to hold public office for life after a Supreme Court verdict in the Panama Papers case.

Before his departure to London on a four-week bail by the Lahore High Court on medical grounds, Nawaz Sharif was serving a seven-year jail term in the Al-Azizia Mills corruption case.

Shehbaz Sharif said that a notification of the dissolution of the National Assembly will be sent to President Arif Alvi a few days ahead of the completion of the tenure at 12 midnight on 12 August.

Shehbaz Sharif, also the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party president maintained that the PML-N would try to make seat adjustments with allied parties in the general elections, adding that the party would field its candidates in the constituencies where they could not reach a consensus.

He said the caretaker set-up would be agreed upon after consultation with allied parties, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, and the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Raja Riaz.

With inputs from agencies
As the governments of the two Nordic nations announced they were looking into methods to legally ban such acts in an effort to defuse escalating tensions with numerous Muslim nations, more Korans were burned on Monday in Sweden and Denmark.

The burning or other destruction of copies of the Koran during rallies in Denmark and Sweden in recent weeks has outraged Muslim nations, who have urged that the Nordic governments put an end to the burnings.

The Danish government announced on Sunday that, if it were determined that such protests would have significant negative consequences for Denmark, not least with regard to security, it would look for a legal tool that would allow authorities to interfere.

The fact that we are signalling both in Denmark and abroad that we are working on it will hopefully help de-escalate the problems we are facing, Rasmussen told journalists following a meeting with foreign policy speakers of parliament on Monday.

It is not because we feel pressured to do so, but it is our political analysis that it is in the best interest of all of us, Rasmussen said, adding: We shouldnt just sit and wait for this to explode.

However, on Monday, Korans were burned in both nations. A copy of the Koran seemed to have been burned outside the Swedish parliament in Stockholm by an Iraqi refugee who has been the target of recent protests. Anti-Muslim demonstrators burnt the Koran outside the Saudi embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark, and more were scheduled to occur later in the day.

The burning of the Koran has been condemned in the Nordic nations, but due to constitutional provisions safeguarding free expression, they are unable to stop it.

Both administrations have since clarified that they are taking legal reforms into consideration that would enable authorities to stop more burnings in unique circumstances.

Right-wing groups in both countries have criticised the efforts, with some arguing that freedom of speech cannot be compromised. This month, the Swedish government announced that it is looking at a similar option.

Tobias Billstrom, the foreign minister of Sweden, declared on Monday that he had written to every one of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperations (OIC) 57 members to clarify Swedens right to assembly and to denounce acts of islamophobia.

On Monday, an unusual meeting of OIC foreign ministers will be held to discuss the most recent events.

(With agency inputs)
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a politician in the Russian opposition, was sentenced to 25 years in prison and lost his appeal on Monday, according to the official news agency RIA.

Kara-Murza, who is dual-nationality Russian and British, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in April for treason and disseminating false information regarding Russias conflict in Ukraine.

After the Kremlin pushed tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, the 41-year-old is one of a select group of well-known opposition politicians who remained in Russia and continued to criticise President Vladimir Putin.

Two months after the war started, Kara-Murza was detained and labelled a foreign agent on suspicion of disseminating false information about the armed forces. Hours after a CNN interview with him during which he said that Russia was being run by a regime of murderers.

After making speeches about the conflict, including one to the Arizona House of Representatives in which he claimed that Putin was bombing Ukrainian homes, hospitals, and schools, he was eventually charged with treason.

Although thousands of people have died in Ukraine, Moscow claims it does not intentionally target civilians.

He contrasted the accusations made against him during his trial to the language employed by the secret police of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in the 1930s, when Kara-Murzas own grandfather was detained in a Gulag prison camp in eastern Russia.

Boris Nemtsov, the leader of the Russian opposition, was shot and killed in the heart of Moscow in 2015. Kara-Murza was a close aide to Nemtsov.

He said that the Russian secret services poisoned him twice, in 2015 and 2017, causing him to get dangerously ill. Both times, he went into a coma before waking up. The incidents involvement was denied by Russian authorities.

According to his attorney, he has polyneuropathy, a nerve ailment brought on by the poisoning events, and is in poor health.

(With agency inputs)
The kill zone was where they rode. Timing was incorrect. Many men went missing. They eventually took back the destroyed settlement of Staromaiorske, marking Ukraines strongest advance in several days.

A battle along the front in the southeast last week proved to be tougher and bloodier than predicted, according to the troops leading Ukraines counteroffensive, with plans going haywire and an enemy that was well-prepared.

The Russians were waiting for us, said a 29-year-old soldier using the call-sign Bulat, from a unit sent into battle in armoured vehicles during last weeks assault.

They fired anti-tank weapons and grenade launchers at us. My vehicle drove over an anti-tank mine, but everything was ok, the vehicle took the hit, and everyone was alive. We dismounted and ran towards the cover. Because the most important is to find cover and then move on.

As the war enters its third month, Kyivs most audacious counteroffensive has proven to be a slower and bloodier struggle than anticipated. These stories of the fight of Staromaiorske, told to Reuters close to the frontline in southeast Ukraine, provide an inkling of why.

Our mission was planned to take two days. But we couldnt drive in during the darkness at the right time, for a few reasons. So we drove in later and lost the right moment, said Bulat.

Kyiv has acknowledged that its campaign is progressing more slowly than anticipated despite receiving equipment and training from Western nations valued at billions of dollars to mount its counteroffensive to reclaim seized territory this summer. Commanders claim that the slow pace is necessary to reduce casualties.

The Russians have had months to lay minefields and construct fortifications. The air superiority that the NATO partners typically demand during training exercises is not present among the Ukrainian attackers.

A 24-year-old Ukrainian marine with the call sign Dub said that the Russian defences had established pre-sighted zones in preparation for the attack.

They methodically destroyed the roads. They made pits that prevented driving in and out of the village, even in dry weather. Even walking was quite hard. You cant use flashlights at night, but you still have to advance.

Another soldier, using the call-sign Pikachu, said men in his unit tried our best. We made it.

The dismount was not great, the soldier acknowledged. We advanced slowly but surely. They were shooting, everything was flying. It was scary, but we moved on. Nobody fell back. Everyone did a great job.

Many of us who went will never return home.

(With agency inputs)
With an aim to find a way to start negotiations over Russias war on the country, Saudi Arabia will host a Ukrainian-organized peace summit in early August, officials said Sunday.

The primary objective of this summit which will be held in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, is to explore possibilities for initiating negotiations to address the ongoing conflict caused by Russias war on Ukraine, as said by officials familiar with the matter.

Hours later, the head of Ukraines presidential office, Andriy Yermak, confirmed the talks would be held in Saudi Arabia, without naming Jeddah as the location.

The Ukrainian Peace Formula contains 10 fundamental points, the implementation of which will not only ensure peace for Ukraine but also create mechanisms to counter future conflicts in the world, Yermak said in a statement. We are deeply convinced that the Ukrainian peace plan should be taken as a basis because the war is taking place on our land.

Yermak;s statement described the 10 points as being discussed individually and in groups with representatives of more than 50 countries on an almost weekly basis.

Previously, Ukraine has described the 10-point peace formula as including the restoration of Ukraines territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the aggression and security guarantees for Ukraine.

Other peace plans have been floated amid the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin just finished meetings in St. Petersburg with African leaders about their own proposed plan. China and Pope Francis have also been working separately on their own. No details of those plans have been released.

Saudi Arabia did not acknowledge the upcoming summit Sunday and did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Those taking part in the summit will include Ukraine, Brazil, India, South Africa and several other countries, the official who spoke to AP said. A high-level official from U.S. President Joe Bidens administration also is expected to attend the event, which is being planned by Kyiv, the official said.

Details remain in flux and the official did not offer dates for the talks, nor did Yermak.

The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the summit citing diplomats involved in the discussion, said the talks would take place Aug. 5 and 6, with some 30 countries attending. News of the summit comes after U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan visited the kingdom Thursday.

The official who spoke to AP said the summit would be the next step after talks that took place in Copenhagen in June.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended an Arab League summit in Jeddah in May to press those nations to back Kyiv.

Arab nations largely have remained neutral since Russia launched the war on Ukraine in February 2022, in part over their military and economic ties to Moscow.

Saudi Arabia also has maintained a close relationship with Russia as part of the OPEC+ group. The organizations oil production cuts, even as Moscows war on Ukraine boosted energy prices, have angered Biden and American lawmakers.

But hosting such talks also help raise the profile of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has sought to reach a detente with Iran and push for a peace in the kingdoms yearslong war in Yemen.

Ties remain strained between Riyadh and the West over the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, which U.S. intelligence agencies say was ordered by Prince Mohammed.

For Ukraine, the talks coincide with its efforts to beef up its security posture.

Yermak also said Sunday that Ukraine will begin talks with the United States next week on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees. He said the talks stem from a declaration by leaders of the Group of 7 nations earlier this month laying the groundwork for each nation to negotiate agreements to help Ukraine bolster its military.

Yermak said Ukraine is looking for specific and long-term commitments that will ensure Ukraines ability to win now and deter Russian aggression in the future.

U.S. officials had not confirmed the negotiations.

With inputs from AP.
The US government is on a quest to find a harmful computer code, allegedly planted by Chinese hackers, within vital networks controlling power grids, communications systems, and water supply at US military bases both at home and abroad.

According to sources speaking with the New York Times (NYT), the perpetrators are suspected to be affiliated with the Peoples Liberation Army, though specific evidence linking the malware to China or its military remains undisclosed.

Anonymous officials from the US Army, intelligence, and national security circles, who disclosed information to the NYT, suggested that this code could be used by Beijing to disrupt American military operations in times of conflict, especially concerning Taiwan.

Tensions rise as China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, while the US pledges support to the self-governing island and vows to protect it from any forceful takeover by Beijing.

Referred to as a potential ticking time bomb by a source in the US Congress, the malware possesses the capability to hinder or slow down US military deployments and resupply efforts by disabling essential utilities at American bases.

Additionally, concerns have been raised that this code could affect civilian infrastructure, as it shares common networks used to supply homes and businesses.

The initial signs of this issue surfaced in May when Microsoft detected unusual computer code in telecommunications systems on the Pacific island of Guam, home to significant American air and naval bases, as well as in other US territories.

However, since then, the extent of the malwares spread has proved to be much greater, prompting ongoing efforts by US military and security agencies to assess its full impact.

In response to queries, the acting spokesman for the US National Security Council, Adam R. Hodge, assured the media that the Biden administration is working tirelessly to safeguard critical infrastructure, coordinating interagency efforts to protect water systems, pipelines, rail, aviation systems, and more.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington has vehemently denied the report, dismissing it as groundless accusations aimed at smearing China.

The embassys spokesperson, Haoming Ouyang, stressed that Beijing has always firmly opposed and cracked down on all forms of cyberattacks, acting in accordance with the law.

Moreover, Ouyang claimed that Chinese government agencies face numerous cyberattacks daily, with a significant number originating from US sources.
Warning of a potential security threat, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki revealed that over 100 Wagner mercenaries are advancing towards Polands border with Belarus.

Without disclosing the source of the intel, the police PM said that these fighters may attempt to enter the NATO territory while disguising themselves as migrants, Morawiecki cautioned during a press conference in Gliwice.

The Russian mercenaries are presently stationed near Grodno, a Belarusian city located a mere 10 miles from the Polish border.

To add to the complexity of the situation, Prime Minister Morawiecki expressed that these mercenaries might not only masquerade as migrants but also impersonate Belarusian border guards assisting migrants in crossing into the European Union.

This development signals a potential hybrid attack on Polish territory, stated Morawiecki, in a report.

Such actions by the Wagner Group have raised concerns among Polish officials who have long accused Belarus of attempting to overwhelm their border forces by sending migrants westward, a claim that Minsk has consistently denied.

In a related development, Lithuanian deputy interior minister Arnoldas Abramavicius recently addressed reporters, revealing that both Poland and Lithuania are considering the possibility of closing their borders to Belarus due to apprehensions regarding Wagners infiltration.

The Wagner Group, once closely associated with the Kremlin, had deployed its troops in Ukraine during the war until late May.

Subsequently, thousands of its fighters relocated to Belarus as part of an exile arrangement made for their founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

This agreement was reached during Prigozhins brief mutiny against Moscow, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko took responsibility for facilitating the deal while Prigozhins forces approached the Kremlin.

Under the terms of the agreement, Wagner troops were given three options: to remain in exile with Prigozhin, enlist with the Russian military, or return home without facing prosecution.

Recent reports suggest that Prigozhin is currently residing in a tent at a campsite in Belarus, where his forces are training local troops.

Polish ruling party chairman Jarosaw Kaczynski emphasized that Wagners presence in Belarus should not be underestimated, warning that they are not there merely for amusement but to instigate various crises, particularly targeting Poland.

In response to the escalating situation, Poland is taking proactive measures by deploying approximately 1,000 soldiers and 500 police officers to reinforce security along its eastern border.
Beijings western suburbs experienced a catastrophic deluge on Monday, with cars being swept away and roads transformed into waterways as relentless rain since the weekend caused severe flooding. At least two people lost their lives, and hundreds found themselves trapped, despite the evacuation of tens of thousands from their homes during the previous night.

Videos shared by state media depicted numerous flooded roads in the Mentougou district, with half-submerged vehicles being pulled by fast-moving torrents, as the remnants of Typhoon Doksuri unleashed record-breaking rainfall on the city of nearly 22 million.

Online videos show days of heavy rainfall led to flash floods and street flooding in the suburbs and mountains of western #Beijing, especially Mentougou, which underwent the heaviest rainfall in Beijing. About 5,000 people evacuated from the mountainous areas prone to flood. pic.twitter.com/771AXOK08T  Qingqing_Chen (@qingqingparis) July 31, 2023

Emergency patrols in Mentougou discovered two bodies in a river, while rescue teams worked tirelessly to save hundreds of people in other parts of the capital. The heavy rain extended beyond Beijing, affecting Tianjin and Hebei province, covering an area almost the size of Britain, following the downgrade of Typhoon Doksuri to a tropical depression over the weekend. reported Reuters.

On Monday, three of the five rivers in the Hai river basin reached dangerous levels. In Baoding city, some houses were washed into the Yongding river, resulting in the evacuation of nearly 55,000 residents, as reported by state media.

Doksuri was one of the most powerful storms to strike China in years, causing extensive flooding in the southern province of Fujian and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

According to state media, the average rainfall in Beijing from Saturday night to Monday afternoon reached 176.9 mm (7 inches), with a weather station in Mentougou recording a maximum of 580.9 mm (23 inches) of rainfall.

The Beijing observatory maintained a red alert for heavy rainfall, while the Beijing Hydrology Station upgraded its flood warning due to forecasts of more rain and river flooding.

Throughout the weekend until Monday morning, incessant rainfall shattered daily precipitation records at 14 weather stations in Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, and Shandong provinces.

As a result of the devastating conditions, more than 31,000 people were evacuated from their homes in Beijing, over 4,000 construction sites suspended work, nearly 20,000 buildings were inspected for damage, and various tourist spots were closed.

With inputs from agencies
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who has sometimes raised the spectre of a nuclear conflict over Ukraine, said on Sunday that Moscow would have to use a nuclear weapon if Kyivs ongoing counter-offensive was a success.

Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russias Security Council, a body chaired by President Vladimir Putin, said in a message on his official social media accounts that Russia would be forced to fall back on its own nuclear doctrine in such a scenario.

Imagine if the.. offensive, which is backed by NATO, was a success and they tore off a part of our land then we would be forced to use a nuclear weapon according to the rules of a decree from the president of Russia.

There would simply be no other option. So our enemies should pray for our warriors (success). They are making sure that a global nuclear fire is not ignited, he said.

Medvedev, who has cast himself as one of Moscows most hawkish voices, appeared to be referring to part of Russias nuclear doctrine which sets out that nuclear weapons can be used in response to aggression against Russia carried out using conventional weapons which threatens the existence of the Russian state.

Ukraine is trying to retake territory which Russia has unilaterally annexed and declared to be part of its own territory, a move condemned by Kyiv and much of the West.

Putin said on Saturday that there were no serious battlefield changes to report in recent days and that Ukraine had lost large amounts of military equipment since June 4. Kyiv says its forces are making some progress in their drive to retake territory, albeit at a slower pace than desired.

Kremlin critics have in the past accused Medvedev of making extreme statements in an effort to dissuade Western countries from continuing to supply Ukraine with arms.
Xiaomi has been forced to make some major strategic adjustments in the Indian market due to changing consumer preferences and increased regulatory scrutiny, which has resulted in a decline in its market leadership.

According to data from Counterpoint Research, Xiaomis market share in India dropped to 15 per cent in the first half of 2023, down from a leading position of 28 per cent in 2018.

Not premium enough, sloppy product line

Tarun Pathak, research director of devices and ecosystems at Counterpoint Research, pointed out that the shift in Indias smartphone landscape is primarily driven by increased consumer wealth. A premiumisation trend has favoured more expensive brands like Apple and Samsung Electronics, with Samsung now becoming Indias top smartphone supplier, holding 19 per cent of the market.

On the other hand, Xiaomi has historically focused on the mass market segment. However, as the premium market grows in India, the mass market segment, which Xiaomi targets, has started to shrink.

In response to these market changes, Xiaomi is revising its strategy in India. The company plans to streamline its phone offerings to prioritize 5G products, enhance customer experience, and concentrate on targeted sales through physical retail stores. Xiaomis President, Muralikrishnan B, indicated in a Bloomberg report that the company is adapting to these shifts.

Furthermore, Xiaomis Chief Marketing Officer, Anuj Sharma, acknowledged that the company has made some mistakes and has already made its product portfolio leaner, aiming to prepare for the upcoming 5G revolution in India. The move comes as Xiaomi faces challenges in regaining its market position amid the evolving dynamics of the Indian smartphone market.

Chinese-owned companies still dominate

According to Pathak, other China-based competitors like Vivo and Oppo have adopted several strategies to protect their market share in India. Some of these steps include providing better after-sales services, establishing physical retail locations, and utilizing local distributors. These efforts have enabled Vivo to surpass Xiaomis market share in India for the first time in the current year, as per Counterpoint data.

Even though Xiaomi is facing challenges in India, Chinese-owned companies as a whole continue to dominate the total smartphone market share in the country. Counterpoint reports that their combined market share has remained strong, reaching around 74 per cent in the first half of the current year, compared to 60 per cent in 2018. Despite individual setbacks for Xiaomi, the overall presence of Chinese smartphone manufacturers remains significant in the Indian market.

Xiaomis trouble with the law

Ongoing regulatory scrutiny in India remains a significant concern for Chinese tech companies operating in the country. Recently, Vivos offices were raided by Indian authorities, and assets worth US$59 million were seized from Vivos bank accounts. The company was accused of channelling profits outside the country to avoid taxes. Similarly, last year, Xiaomi faced accusations from Indias federal financial crime agency for suspicious remittance payments to foreign-based entities, leading to the seizure of funds worth over US$600 million.

Last week, Indias Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology disclosed details of a comprehensive probe into alleged tax evasion by Chinese phone manufacturers, with approximately US$1 billion in unpaid taxes since 2017. The Ministry reported that tax authorities had recovered 18 per cent of this amount so far.

In response to the regulatory challenges, Xiaomi India asserted its commitment to complying with local laws and regulations and stated that it is actively cooperating with authorities to address any concerns.

India has adopted a tougher stance on Chinese tech companies over the past few years, banning numerous Chinese apps and excluding Huawei Technologies and ZTE from participating in 5G trials in the country.

Despite the potential for fines and legal troubles resulting from tax evasion findings, Chinese phone manufacturers are likely to treat this as a cost of doing business in a lucrative market. Counterpoints Pathak suggests that these companies may quickly attempt to settle legal distractions and shift their focus to the larger market trends. Some companies might opt to further localize their business operations to address government concerns.

While the regulatory environment poses challenges, Indias smartphone market remains unique, with only about half of the population owning smartphones. The country is still driven by many first-time smartphone users, making it a critical market for global tech giants to focus on.

As the market dynamics continue to evolve, Chinese tech companies are likely to navigate the regulatory landscape while capitalizing on the growth potential in Indias vast and expanding smartphone market.
In a recent report, we covered the development of Samsungs latest wearable device, the Galaxy Ring, a smart ring that comes with advanced health monitoring features.

Now, Samsung Electronics is considering the possibility of mass-producing this innovative smart ring. As per a new report from The Elec, the decision regarding mass production is likely to be finalized in August or possibly even earlier.

Development and Medical Device Approval

The Galaxy Ring is currently in the preliminary development stage, where domestic and foreign parts makers are working on materializing the concept.

The thickness and performance of the required parts are being carefully considered during this process. The results of this development review will be presented to Noh Tae-moon, president of the MX division at Samsung Electronics.

If the mass production is approved, the actual product development can begin. However, even if the decision is made in August, the Galaxy Ring may not be released immediately.

Similar to the Galaxy Watch, the device would require medical device approval after product development, a process that typically takes 7 to 8 months for development and 10 to 12 months for approval.

Samsung Electronics will need to demonstrate that the Galaxy Ring complies with the requirements set forth by regulatory authorities and does not pose any risks to users. This includes ensuring that the smart ring functions accurately, reliably, and securely in monitoring various health parameters.

More about Samsung Galaxy Ring

The Galaxy Ring is designed to work with XR devices and aims to offer improved body information measurement accuracy compared to the Galaxy Watch. It is expected to feature various sensors for collecting body and health information, which users can access through a smartphone app for monitoring purposes.

The Galaxy Ring is expected to outperform smartwatches in terms of data accuracy, especially for sleep and health-related information. Its snug fit on the finger is likely to reduce measurement errors compared to loosely worn smartwatches.

The release date of the Galaxy Ring is uncertain at this stage, and it is yet to be determined whether it will be positioned as a wellness product or pursue medical device approval like the Galaxy Watch. However, reports say that if the Ring achieves certification, it could be ready by next year.

Source
JABULA  With immediate effect, businesses operated by foreign nationals on Eswatini National Land (ENL) will be closed if that foreigner has no legitimate citizenship certificate granted by the Citizenship Board.

Home Affairs Minister Princess Lindiwe has issued a directive to the ministrys compliance team to conduct inspections on foreign operated businesses in rural and urban areas to ascertain if they still complied with the requirements as stipulated by law governing their operations in the country. According to the ministrys Communications Officer, Mlandvo Dlamini, the team would be undertaking the compliance inspections on a weekly basis from Monday to Thursday. The latest development has been necessitated by the rise in foreign operated businesses situated in communities across the country, both rural and urban areas. Even though figures of emaSwati to be affected by this exercise could not be ascertained, it was established that hundreds of them would be left jobless if the businesses are eventually shut down.

foreign

During a visit to some areas of businesses operated by foreign nationals, in particular the small businesses, some of the entities were operated by Somalis and Asian nationals, most of whom did not have the required permits to operate an establishment on ENL. Worth mentioning is that some of the foreigners operating these businesses, like groceries and supermarkets, further claimed that they were running their establishments in a legitimate manner in compliance with the countrys statutes, while others alleged that they had been granted citizenship certificates together with their family members by the Citizenship Board. Section 45 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini No.001 of 2005 stipulates that one acquires a citizenship certificate when born outside the Kingdom of Eswatini by registration through an application to the Citizenship Board, and further satisfy the Board after interviews and presentation of the required documentation.

On another note, Section 49 of the Constitution also talks about the deprivation of citizenship whereupon that person who acquired the citizenship through registration has been declared by a court to have procured it fraudulently, misrepresentation or concealment of material facts. One Asian national, who operates Lukhula Supermarket at Lukhula community under KaLanga Umphakatsi, who called himself Javid, questioned this reporters authority of enquiring about his awareness of the law that forbid foreigners from operating businesses on ENL.

Ive got nothing to do with the media but I comply with the countrys laws of doing business. I cannot share my personal information with the media, he said, when asked if he had a citizenship certificate that allowed him to operate a business in rural areas.

operates

Another businessman from Somalia, who operates Walala Wasala Supermarket at Mpolonjeni, said he had the right to operate the business on ENL even though he was enlightened that being an owner of a national identity (ID) document that stated he was not liswati did not permit him to do so. I am a liSwati and have an ID so I am operating my business in accordance with the Eswatini laws, he said. When asked if he owned a citizenship certificate, the Somali national was not cooperative and ended the conversation by cutting the telephone call.

However, one of his countryman who operates Jabula Store situated at Jabula community just about 15km from Big Bend, shared that he was aware that a foreigner was not supposed to operate a business on ENL but was eligible to do so in urban areas. The Somali national declined to share his particulars. I am aware of the law but I am running the shop on behalf of my brother who resides in Manzini, he said.

However, Arqbal, who operates Mzala Supermarket situated at Mpolonjeni area, said he was a liswati and further declared that he had citizenship certificates for his family members. When asked when he arrived in the country and how he acquired the certificates, the businessman refused to entertain further questions. I am not at liberty to share any further information as I know that I am liswati and my wife and three children have citizenship certificates, he said. However, Dlamini (Mlandvo) shared that the ministrys compliance team would be able to determine if there were fraudulent elements applied when acquiring the citizenship certificates by the foreign nationals who claimed to own them.

Our Minister Princess Lindiwe has issued a directive on the crackdown of foreigners doing business in rural areas as that is against the law. We have received a number of complaints that there is a notable rise in Asian and Somali nationals who are doing business on the ENL. We want to put a stop to that, hence a compliance team is currently undertaking inspections in communities across the country and even in urban areas, Dlamini said. He explained that citizenship applications were designed for foreign nationals who wished to assume Eswatini Citizenship upon fulfilling provisions of the Citizenship Act of 1982 and the countrys Constitution.

interviewed

Foreign nationals are required to apply and be interviewed and advised to bring all the required documents. Application forms are used and filled accurately and clearly as per the specifications and it is then sent to Interpol for vetting and clearance purposes. Upon receiving the application back from Interpol, a memo is printed with the list of the applications cleared by the Board for approval, he explained. Economist Thembinkosi Dube applauded the ministry for acting swiftly in addressing the influx of foreigners operating businesses on ENL as it was illegal. Dube described the action as a good move, stating that ENL belonged to emaSwati and foreigners should establish their businesses in urban areas as per the dictates of the law. The economist further acknowledged that this move would ensure that emaSwati were empowered to operate their businesses without competition from the foreign businesspeople. I think the ministry is doing a commendable job by getting rid of foreigners doing businesses on ENL as it is wrong. EmaSwati should take this opportunity and start businesses that will improve their livelihoods and the economy, as some of these foreign businesspeople transfer their profits to their home countries, he said.

A traditionalist alleged that some of these foreigners were friends with chiefs, who allowed them to do anything in the communities. Also, the traditionalist blamed some emaSwati who gave their structures to the foreigners, without vetting them if they had the necessary paperwork to be in the country. This is not only an issue of the foreign businesspeople but the chiefs and emaSwati as well in the communities. Someone gives the foreigners space to operate in. Who is that person? That is the major factor, the traditionalist, who did not wish to be named, said.
Foxconn, a renowned electronics contract manufacturer, has sealed a significant deal with the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The agreement entails an investment of Rs. 1600 crore to establish an electronic component manufacturing facility in Kanchipuram district.

This ambitious venture is expected to create an impressive 6,000 job opportunities, a move that signifies Foxconns continued commitment to bolstering Indias manufacturing sector.

The signing ceremony was graced by the presence of Honble Chief Minister Mr. MK Stalin, highlighting the significance of this collaboration.

Tamil Nadus Minister for Industries, Mr. T R B Rajaa, expressed his delight at Foxconns repeated investments and expansions in the state, affirming Tamil Nadus position as a favored destination for major global companies.

Foxconns new facility, to be situated near Chennai but separate from the current sprawling campus where Apple iPhones are assembled, is expected to enhance Tamil Nadus position as a leading electronics exporter in India. The investment is likely to play a pivotal role in propelling the state towards achieving its ambitious goal of a One Trillion USD economy.

While specific details about the products to be manufactured at the new facility are yet to be disclosed, Foxconns diverse portfolio includes electronic devices, cloud service equipment, and industrial robots.

The alliance between Foxconn and Tamil Nadu marks a pivotal step in Indias electronics manufacturing landscape, boosting growth and jobs.

Source
MANZINI  At least two people were confirmed by the police to have been shot in broad daylight at the Manzini Bus Rank by an unknown man yesterday afternoon.

The shooting happened just after 4pm near the Manzini Bus Rank public toilets. According to witnesses, some vendors had to duck and take cover as the sound of gunshots reverberated in the air. The reason behind the unknown man reportedly firing two shots, which injured people, according to witnesses who were at the bus rank, is yet to be known as there are a number of narrations shared by witnesses. Some witnesses claimed the shooting happened after a group of bus rank workers, approximated to be about eight, approached a man who was seemingly travelling with his partner.

Approached

It was claimed the bus rank workers approached the man, following that the woman he was travelling with was supposedly crying and dirty following a purported assault. The witnesses claimed that as the bus rank workers came closer to the man, near the Manzini Bus Rank public toilets, one of them noticed that the man was seemingly carrying a pistol. Some of the witnesses claimed that a debate among the bus rank workers ensued as they argued on whether it was a pistol or a toy gun. As they approached him, the man reportedly bought a cigarette from one of the vendors and started to puff away. However, as the bus rank workers reportedly came closer to him, he was said to have fired two shots, which, according to the witnesses, reportedly injured three people. It was claimed the people who were shot were not part of the group that was approaching him.

According to the witnesses, one of the shot people was a minor, another female and the third person a bus rank worker. The injured individuals were said to have been going about their business of the day when the gunshots were fired. Meanwhile, another version relating to the shooting was that the man had been robbed of his money and in trying to defend himself; he had cocked the gun resulting in the shooting. On the other hand, it was said that after the people were injured, a group of people tried to apprehend the suspect; however, he fled the scene. While the suspect fled the scene, it was gathered that one of the public transport workers transported one of the people who was shot to the Releigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital, while two were transported by the police.

When this publications reporter arrived at the Manzini Bus Rank, some of the vendors were discussing how they were lucky to have been missed by the bullets. One of the vendors was said to have been sitting next to a female, who was shot in the knee. The vendor said when she heard the gunshot sound, she ducked and took cover. Im still too traumatised to talk about this as it happened right next to me, she said. She said two people were shot in close proximity to her. One of them, the vendor said, was the female, while the other person was the bus rank worker. On the other hand, some public transport workers servicing the Manzini  Matsapha route were seen trying to clean the blood spatter on the tarmac near their workstation.

The pools of blood were trailing for a distance of about 15 metres (starting next to the entrance of the female side of the Manzini Bus Rank public toilets, to where buses servicing the Manzini  Matsapha route load passengers). Later on in the day, a group of police officers were reportedly searching for the suspect along the Mzimnene River and nearby thickets, which it was supposed he could have used to take cover.

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the shooting. She said police officers were investigating the shooting and further said at the time, in their reports, they had two shot people. Vilakati said a female was shot in her foot while a male was shot in his buttocks. When quizzed about the minor following that accounts by some eyewitnesses insinuated that two people were taken to hospital by police officers, while another was driven to the RFM hospital in a kombi; she said: Weve not yet gathered details on the minor but we are still investigating.
Saudi Arabia's national flag carrier Saudia has announced the expansion of its fleet with the addition of a new aircraft type, Airbus A321 neo, under the slogan 'A neo-way of flying.'

This feeds into Saudias expansion plans as the airline aims to add 20 more A321neo aircrafts to its fleet by 2026.

The A321neo aircraft is a narrow-body airliner part of the A320 family, the worlds most popular single-aisle aircraft family and airlines preferred choice with airlines around the world due to its reputation for high performance and superior comfort.

The aircraft offers new levels of performance, seating 180 to 220 passengers in a typical two-class interior layout.

The main reason behind the purchase of the aircraft is its ability to run on much less fuel. The A320 family of aircraft have saved 20 million tonnes of Co2 since the A320neo came into service globally in 2016.

By incorporating Sharklets, new fuel-efficient engines and latest cabin innovations, the A320neo has also seen a 20% drop in fuel burning and Co2 emissions, a 50% reduction in noise footprint, a 5% lower airframe maintenance costs and a 14% lower cash operating costs per seat versus previous generation aircraft.

On the fleet expansion, CEO Captain Ibrahim Koshy said: "We are excited to expand our fleet with the new Airbus A321neo aircraft. Our priority is to offer the best guest experience possible and to bring the world to Saudi Arabia, and we will continue to purchase state-of-the-art aircraft from the worlds top manufacturers to deliver on that promise."

"We commend Airbus for continuously looking to improve the performance of their aircraft, which goes in line with Saudia's ambition to provide the best guests experience possible while contributing to make aviation more sustainable," noted Koshy.

This partnership highlights the trust and historic relationship between Saudia and Airbus. It also feeds into the Saudi Aviation Strategy objectives which aims to turn Saudi Arabia into a leader in the global industry, by enhancing the customer experience, improve safety, and promote environmental sustainability.

The strategy aligns with Saudias expansion goals as the airline works towards bringing around 330 million visitors to the Kingdom by 2030. By working with Airbus and expanding its fleet, Saudia is working towards its goals of becoming an industry-leading airline. expansion of Saudias fleet will also help create new job opportunities for pilots, cabin crew, and other operational positions, he added.
Issue Date: 30th July 2023

Gardai have seized 85,000 worth of drugs and arrested one man as part of a search operation in the Galway Division today, Sunday 30th July, 2023.

As part of Operation Tara, Gardai attached to the Galway Divisional Drug Unit conducted a search operation under warrant at a residence in Tuam, Co. Galway this afternoon. The search forms part of an ongoing investigation targeting the sale and supply of drugs in the Galway Division.

During the course of the search, Gardai seized quantities of cannabis and cannabis jellies with a combined value of approximately 85,000. 13,000 in cash was also seized. The drugs are now subject to analysis by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI).

The man (aged in his 40s) was arrested as part of this investigation. He is currently detained at a Garda Station in the North Western Region under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996.

Investigations are ongoing.

Speaking today, Chief Superintendent Gerard Roche, Galway Division, said, "These seizures demonstrate our commitment in tackling organised crime and drug dealers around the county.
Aussie state establishes specialist police team for domestic violence protection

Sydney, July 31 (UNI) A new registry has been established by the police force of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) to drive targeted prevention, disruption and investigation responses to domestic and family violence in the state.

The Domestic and Family Violence Registry is staffed by officers with expertise in domestic and family violence issues with 24-hour capability to provide advice, guidance, and response to domestic and family violence incidents, said the NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb when announcing its establishment on Sunday.

"Domestic and family violence is one of today's most challenging and complex community issues; it feels like an epidemic. It is time for that to change," said Webb.
Motorola G14: Marketing Materials Leak Reveals Key Specs of Upcoming Budget Smartphone News lekhaka -Subhrojit Mallick

A budget smartphone, Motorola G14, is set to launch in India on August 1st. Ahead of the launch, rumours have now revealed several key details about the phone. It is known for sure that the phone will be available for sale through the e-commerce platform Flipkart.

Leaked marketing materials of this phone have surfaced ahead of the launch, which has revealed key specifications, especially details about the phone's camera and chipset specifications. Let's take a closer look.

Motorola G14: Chipset and Camera Details

The details were reported by The Tech Outlook.

The budget smartphone will be powered by a UniSoC T616 Octa-core chipset.

Promotional images reveal that the Motorola G14 smartphone will boast of a 50MP Quad pixel camera with a rectangular module.

Consumers in India will have two color choices: Black and Blue.

Additionally, the device will feature a waterproof capability with an IP52 Rating.

Rumoured Specifications and Price of the Motorola G14

Apart from the details mentioned above, speculations have been rife about several other specifications of the phone.

The Motorola G14 is expected to have a 6.5-inch FHD+ display. This will likely have a 90 Hz refresh rate.

When it comes to storage, the phone will likely have 4GB of RAM, coupled with 128GB internal storage, which would be expandable up to 1 TB.

The phone will come loaded with a 5,000mAh battery with support for 20W charging.

Apart from a 50MP main camera, there will be a second 2MP camera at the back of the phone. Additionally, the phone is expected to have a 8MP front camera.

Other features are likely to include side-mounted fingerprint sensor, dual SIM slots, Dolby Atmos among others.

Although nothing has been officially revealed about the pricing by the company, leaks suggest that the Motorola G14 will be priced between Rs 10,000 and Rs 11,000 for consumers in India.

Most details mentioned here are based on rumours and speculations. The official launch on August 1 is expected to reveal everything about the phone officially.

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NASA+ HD Streaming Service Unveiled: Ad-Free, No-Cost, High-Quality Content Available On-Demand News oi -Alap Naik Desai

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA, has offered a preview of multiple upgrades to its public-facing websites and platforms. The revamped online destinations will offer high-quality content for free.

NASA is infusing new life into its conventional or traditional web platforms. The US space exploration agency will soon offer NASA Plus, a streaming service that will offer multimedia content of its latest and archived missions for free.

NASA Is Rejuvenating Its Websites And Content Library For Better Access To Everybody

NASA is revamping all of its science websites. The beta version of the new website is already up and it can be accessed by heading to Beta.NASA.Gov.

NASA is inviting the general public to explore the website and submit feedback. Based on these suggestions, NASA promises to continue updating and improving the beta site on a rolling basis.

Introducing our new streaming platform, NASA+, launching soon. See more rockets, more science, and more space.



No subscription needed. Available on most major platforms. Download the app now to be among the first to see it: https://t.co/KTCHf7pY05 pic.twitter.com/V70JPNEMMF  NASA (@NASA) July 27, 2023

The changes to its main websites are intended to improve ease of access and content consumption, indicated NASA. As the press release mentions, the websites will include all information on the "agency's missions and research, climate data, Artemis updates, and more." Both the nasa.gov and science.nasa.gov websites will be updated based on user feedback.

What Is NASA+ Streaming Service And When Will It Be Available?

NASA appears to be building a public-facing content library so that the general public has access to official and high-quality content straight from the source. These websites are expected to contain articles, images, and even stories as well as testimonials from scientists, engineers, and even astronauts.

In addition to the revamped websites, NASA will also launch NASA Plus later this year. The streaming platform is expected to be available as a separate app. However, some reports suggest NASA may integrate the streaming service into the official NASA app, which is being redesigned as well.

The NASA+ streaming platform will be free of ads. There won't be any subscription needed to access the content. NASA has promised it will offer unrestricted access to the agency's Emmy Award-winning live coverage.

Apart from live coverage of launches and space missions, NASA+ will also offer new series. NASA has produced several documentaries, which include interviews with astronauts. All such content in high definition, is expected to be available right from launch day.

NASA has not announced the date for the launch of the NASA+ streaming service yet. However, the agency is urging the general public to visit the redesigned websites and offer feedback, which can be used for the NASA+ service.

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How Serbia Became Blanketed In Chinese-Made Surveillance Cameras

By Natalija Jovanovic July 30, 2023

OSECINA, Serbia -- Only 2,700 people live in central Osecina, a small town in western Serbia whose downtown consists of two simple intersections.

But over the last five years it -- along with the broader town of some 10,000 residents that administers it -- has become covered in Chinese-made surveillance cameras.

Like elsewhere in Serbian cities, towns, and villages, the cameras have been purchased and installed by municipal governments in the name of safety and security, with officials saying their presence will lower traffic violations, reduce crime, and make it easier for police to catch criminals.

But the scale and density of the spread of the surveillance system -- in Osecina, for example, there is one camera for every 100 inhabitants -- along with the legal question of deploying facial-recognition technology, a nontransparent procurement process, and limited information from Serbian authorities about how the systems are regulated, raises serious concerns about what the quiet expansion of cameras across the country means for Serbia's future.

A monthslong investigation by RFE/RL's Balkan Service dug into the procurement mechanisms for the video-surveillance systems in more than 40 cities and municipalities and found a complicated process behind the cameras' spread that has taken place with little public information or consultation with citizens.

Drawing upon public records, government documents obtained under freedom-of-information requests, expert interviews, and firsthand visits to the municipalities whose streets and public squares have been blanketed with the Chinese-made cameras, RFE/RL found that the expansion has been financed from local budgets -- not Belgrade's central budget under the auspices of the Interior Ministry -- an arrangement that might raise legal obstacles.

RFE/RL also found that 42 local governments surveyed have awarded their contracts exclusively to Macchina Security, a shadowy Serbian company increasingly active on the security goods and services market that has been winning tenders and importing Chinese-made surveillance technology into the country in recent years.

Limited public information is available on where all the cameras purchased have been deployed and how they are being used in Serbia, but documentation obtained by RFE/RL shows that at least 10 municipalities have bought cameras through Macchina Security with facial-recognition capabilities, an issue that has been a political flashpoint in Belgrade for years due to the cameras being deployed before the adoption of legal protections to regulate public-video surveillance and facial-recognition technology.

Nevena Ruzic, an expert on the protection of personal data who previously worked at the office of Serbia's Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, told RFE/RL that the lack of regulation on video surveillance was a major legal issue facing the Balkan country and that the expansion of cameras in municipalities created legal conundrums as local governments have no clear mandate to use surveillance systems.

"Municipalities and cities can establish surveillance on their premises, but public areas for the purpose of preventing crimes or traffic safety are not within their purview," Ruzic said. "This means that [legally] they should not even be able to buy such equipment."

A Look At Macchina Security

It's unclear why Macchina Security has dominated the contracts for distributing Chinese-made surveillance equipment to Serbian towns and cities. In the 42 tenders for various Serbian municipalities viewed by RFE/RL, Macchina Security faced competition in only eight cases.

Macchina Security and the companies that competed against them declined multiple requests by RFE/RL for comment about the tender process.

According to the documentation obtained by RFE/RL, the Serbian government has approved 15 different types of cameras from various manufacturers from Poland, Australia, the United States, Italy, Slovakia, Hungary, and even a local Serbian company. Yet, the Chinese firm Dahua appears to have been chosen above the other options.

Nemanja Nenadic, the program director of Transparency Serbia, the national chapter of the watchdog Transparency International, told RFE/RL that the low level of competition in the bidding process was common in Serbia and that it warranted further investigation.

"Judging by the various advertisements, there is a large number of companies that can be assumed to have the conditions to apply for the tender," Nenadic said. "In such a case, the Public Procurement Office should supervise and find out why there is such a low level of competition."

Macchina Security has been operating since 1994 and is owned by Velibor Buljevac. Few public details are available about Buljevac and he did not respond to RFE/RL's requests for comment.

Value Of Macchina Security Contracts

The total value of Macchina Security contracts with cities and municipalities in Serbia by year (in U.S. dollars).



Note: Values were converted from Serbian dinars using the average annual conversion rate for each year.

Chart: RFE/RL's Balkan Service Source: Portal javnih nabavki (Public Procurement Portal of Serbia) Note: Values were converted from Serbian dinars using the average annual conversion rate for each year.Chart: RFE/RL's Balkan Service Source: Portal javnih nabavki (Public Procurement Portal of Serbia)

Macchina Security, however, has been growing its business in recent years, though the company was also once registered in neighboring Montenegro, where it had to close its affiliate office five years ago following a scandal involving the misuse of funds for a tender to provide equipment for monitoring the sea border between Croatia and Albania.

RFE/RL sent inquiries to the Montenegrin government, the Special State Prosecutor's Office, and the European Union delegation in Podgorica.

The EU delegation confirmed that court proceedings for the case were ongoing and that the bloc provided funds for the project that were allegedly misused. "We expect that all accusations of abuse of EU funds will receive credible, independent, and effective institutional responses," the EU delegation in Montenegro told RFE/RL.

Contracts With Municipalities And Cities

The value of contracts with municipalities and cities accounted for 10-80 percent of Macchina Security's business income (in U.S. Dollars).



Note: Values were converted from Serbian dinars using the average annual conversion rate for each year. Sources: Serbian Business Registers Agency, Portal javnih nabavki (Public Procurement Portal of Serbia)

Chart: RFE/RL's Balkan Service Note: Values were converted from Serbian dinars using the average annual conversion rate for each year. Sources: Serbian Business Registers Agency, Portal javnih nabavki (Public Procurement Portal of Serbia)Chart: RFE/RL's Balkan Service

A Quiet Expansion

Concerns over the deployment of surveillance systems and a lack of regulation are not new in Serbia.

Following years of negotiations, Serbia began to install surveillance cameras in recent years made by China's Huawei through a Safe City project for Belgrade. The government is currently in the process of introducing some 8,000 Huawei surveillance cameras with facial-recognition capabilities, thousands of which are already deployed in the capital.

Belgrade says the facial-recognition software has not yet been deployed due to a lack of proper legislation. But the use -- and potential abuse -- of the technology has been a source of concern for activists, the country's political opposition, civil rights groups, and cybersecurity experts.

The government has tried several times to push through legislation that would give it broad authority for the public use of surveillance and facial-recognition technology within a new set of police laws but has withdrawn the bills -- most recently in late December 2022 -- after protests and public pressure.

But while Chinese-made Huawei systems in Belgrade have garnered the spotlight in Serbia, the spread of surveillance cameras across the countryside through contracts with Macchina Security has taken place under the radar, with cameras from Dahua -- another leading Chinese supplier of surveillance technology -- being the top choice.

According to documents obtained by RFE/RL under freedom-of-information requests, 10 out of 42 municipalities and cities with available records have facial recognition equipment, with all purchasing the same DSS PRO Dahua technology.

Beyond the purchase of Dahua equipment, other insights can be seen in the official documents. It is stated that recorded data is to flow to local police stations, but there are no details about how the materials are used once there.

Public-surveillance cameras and the use of facial-recognition technology are spreading globally and spurring debates and controversies about the legality and ethics of their use. These concerns exist regardless of the manufacturer's country of origin, but several Western governments and independent experts have cautioned about its spread from some Chinese vendors over data security and a lack of safeguards to prevent the technology from being abused.

Dahua, for example, was placed on a U.S. sanctions list in 2019 due to allegations it was complicit in human rights abuses in China. The company developed facial-recognition software that can identify ethnic Uyghurs in China's western Xinjiang Province, where Beijing has waged a mass campaign of repression against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other Muslim minorities that some Western parliaments have recognized as genocide and the United Nations human rights agency said might also amount to crimes against humanity.

Beyond Belgrade

Despite the legal complications raised by Ruzic and concerns over the tender process, municipalities and cities appear to be moving forward with an arrangement in which the local municipality buys the equipment from its budget but it is used by the Interior Ministry.

Nenadic says that this is an unusual arrangement that could hamper the stated purposes of using such technology to improve public safety. "If security is the reason for these procurements, the question arises as to why it should depend on the local government to make the necessary decision and not the Interior Ministry," Nenadic said.

Local police stations turned down RFE/RL's request for comment on how the purchased technology is used, referring reporters to the Interior Ministry, which declined to comment.

The only response came from the city of Becej -- located about 120 kilometers north of Belgrade, whose municipal administration stated that its systems had not yet been fully installed.

Other cities are also behind schedule in installing the cameras. For example, Subotica -- a city in northern Serbia close to the Hungarian border -- has revised its deadline multiple times and has not yet installed all of its cameras.

The city administration of Becej told RFE/RL that they purchased the technology due to public-safety concerns and that the procurement was paid from the local budget, which is financed from the collection of traffic fines. The city added that once installed by the local government, the equipment will be used by police and regulated by a joint contract on technical cooperation between the two entities.

Nenadic says concluding such a contract is not standard and could pose some legal issues between the Interior Ministry and the local government. "When state bodies conclude such contracts, they often break the law because it's a way to circumvent their legally prescribed duties and obligations," Nenadic said. "It's unclear if that's exactly the case here, but there are lots of signs that state bodies should investigate."

Written by Reid Standish in Prague based on reporting by Natalija Jovanovic in Serbia. Jasna Vukicevic, Milena Kuzmanovic, and Milos Katic of RFE/RL's Balkan Service contributed to this report

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-surveillance- cameras-china/32526515.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Lawyer: Trump Could Have Destroyed Evidence but Did Not

By Ken Bredemeier July 30, 2023

A lawyer for former U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday rebuffed new criminal charges that he obstructed justice, saying that Trump could have destroyed security camera footage at his Florida estate if he had wanted to but did not and, instead, turned over the video to government investigators.

The attorney, Alina Habba, did not directly deny the obstruction allegation in a "Fox News Sunday" interview.

Instead, Habba said, "If there was an attempt for him to not turn over documents or he wanted something deleted, do you not think that that's something he couldn't have gotten done? Let's just use common sense. But he never would act like that."

"He is the most ethical American I know," Habba said.

Special counsel Jack Smith leveled the new allegations against Trump last week in a superseding indictment that broadly accused Trump of illegally retaining 32 classified national security documents at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's oceanside residence.

Trump now faces a total of 40 charges in the classified documents case.

Trump kept the documents after his presidency ended in early 2021, instead of sending them to the National Archives as required by law, and, the indictment alleges, conspired to keep the entirety of the documents from federal investigators.

The new indictment accused Trump of plotting with two aides, his valet, Walt Nauta, and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira to wipe out security camera video showing workers moving boxes of the documents in and out of a storage room to hide them from government investigators who had subpoenaed them.

The indictment alleged that De Oliveira had a private conversation with the Mar-a-Lago employee in charge of the surveillance footage and told the employee "'the boss' wanted the server deleted."

But the indictment said that the employee in charge of the footage replied, "that he would not know how to do that, and that he did not believe that he would have the rights to do that."

In the Fox news interview, Habba said, "No tapes were deleted. [Trump] turned them over. He cooperated, as he always does. ... If President Trump didn't want something turned over, I assure you that is something that could have been done."

Fox host Shannon Bream pressed Habba about the indictment allegation that Trump tried to get the surveillance video deleted, but Habba replied, "Shannon, I know the facts, and the facts are when President Trump gets a subpoena, it goes to the organization, the organization turns it over."

Even as national polls show that Trump is far and away the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination to run against Democratic President Joe Biden for another four-year term in the White House, his legal perils are mounting. Trump is the first U.S. president to face criminal charges.

In addition to the classified documents case in Florida, Trump faces New York state charges that he altered business records at his family real estate conglomerate to hide a hush money payment to a porn film star ahead of his successful 2016 election campaign to silence her claim of a one-night tryst with him a decade earlier.

Trump has denied the already filed charges and any wrongdoing in other investigations.

More charges related to Trump's efforts to upend his 2020 loss to Biden could be filed in the coming days.

Security barriers have been erected around a courthouse in the southern city of Atlanta, Georgia, where a state prosecutor has signaled that she is nearing a decision whether to indict Trump and key aides in their effort to overturn his narrow loss to Biden in Georgia.

In a taped phone call in early 2021, Trump asked Georgia state election officials to "find" him 11,780 votes, one more than he needed to overcome Biden's winning margin in the state.

Smith, the Justice Department special counsel, has told Trump he is a target of his investigation into the role Trump played in trying to reverse the national outcome of the election and urging Trump supporters to "fight like hell" on January 6, 2021, to keep Congress from certifying that Biden had won the election.

About 2,000 Trump supporters rampaged into the U.S. Capitol that day, clashing with police, ransacking congressional offices and delaying certification of the election outcome until the early hours of January 7.

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Niger: Statement by High Representative Josep Borrell on the latest developments

European External Action Service (EEAS)

29.07.2023

EEAS Press Team

The European Union does not recognise and will not recognise the authorities resulting from the putsch in Niger. President Bazoum was democratically elected; he is and remains the only legitimate President of Niger. His release must take place unconditionally and without delay. The EU holds the putschists accountable for his safety and that of his family.

The announcement by the putschists of the suspension of the constitution and the dissolution of democratic institutions weakens the State and the people of Niger whose peace, stability and security must be preserved.

The European Union reiterates its very clear calls for the full restoration, without delay, of the constitutional order and fully associates itself with the declarations of ECOWAS and its African and international partners in this regard. In coordination with the President of the European Council, I will continue this weekend the many contacts already underway in order to achieve this result. And we stand ready to support ECOWAS's upcoming decisions, including the adoption of sanctions.

This unacceptable attack on the integrity of Niger's republican institutions will not remain without consequences for the partnership and cooperation between the European Union and Niger in all its different aspects. In this respect, in addition to the immediate suspension of budget support, all security cooperation activities are suspended sine die with immediate effect.



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Bangladesh police clash with opposition protestors demanding PM's resignation for fair polls

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 13:31, July 30, 2023

DHAKA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Police in Bangladesh capital Dhaka Saturday fought with opposition protestors with teargas and rubber bullets.

In a protest demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation, the opposition protestors gathered in the morning to block traffic on key arterial routes in the capital city.

Television footage showed the police used rubber bullets and teargas to disperse the gatherings and drove the protesters away from the streets.

On Friday, Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which has a long-standing rivalry with Hasina's ruling Bangladesh Awami League (AL) party, announced holding the sit-in program at all entry points of Dhaka from 11:00 a.m. local time to press home its one-point demand for polls under a non-party interim government in early 2024.

Bachchu Miah, chief of Dhaka Medical College Hospital's police outpost, told reporters that at least six protesters were rushed to the hospital following the clashes.

Some 90 BNP leaders and activists were reportedly detained on charges of engaging in clashes for hours with law enforcers and vandalizing vehicles.

Faruque Hossain, a spokesman for Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), told journalists that the BNP men vandalized at least 30 vehicles, 10 of which belong to the police.

At least 20 police officers were injured in the incident, according to the DMP official.

Zia, who has thrice been the prime minister, has been in jail since she was convicted in a corruption case in February 2018.

Hasina's AL government entered the last year of its third consecutive tenure this year.

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Cairo meeting: Hamas leader reaffirms Palestinians' right to resist

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 July 2023 5:20 PM

Head of the political bureau of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has reaffirmed Palestinians' right to resist and fight against the Israeli regime, amid Tel Aviv's ongoing aggression in the occupied territories.

Ismail Haniyeh made the remarks at a meeting of the Palestinian factions' general secretaries in the Egyptian coastal city of el-Alamein on Sunday, calling for strengthening the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in countering Israeli crimes in the occupied cities of West Bank and al-Quds.

The top Hamas official went on to say that all the commitments that contradict the Palestinian people's right to resist the Israeli occupation should be renounced.

Haniyeh further stressed the need to rebuild and develop the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), adding that a new national council should be formed that encompasses all Palestinian parties for free democratic elections.

He also called for forming Palestinian institutions in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip for presidential and legislative elections, while urging immediate action to end the Israeli blockade on the besieged coastal enclave.

On Sunday, Palestinian factions met in Egypt to discuss reconciliation efforts as violence surges between Israel and Palestinian fighters in the West Bank.

According to Palestinian media, the gathering will discuss "ways to restore national unity and end the division" between the Palestinian resistance groups.

Hamas and the Palestinian Fatah resistance movement have been split since 2007.

Egypt has for years acted as a mediator to try to end the infighting between Palestinian factions. It has also helped broker truces in multiple rounds of fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Tensions are running high across the occupied West Bank in recent months, with the Israeli military carrying out near-nightly raids and the Palestinians responding with retaliatory attacks.

More than 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since the beginning of this year.

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New Delhi, July 31 (UNI) With Opposition members insisting on a debate over Manipur violence by suspending the business of the House, Rajya Sabha continued to witness disruptions on Monday forcing the Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to adjourn the proceedings for the day.

The House will now meet on August 1 at 11 AM.

After multiple adjournments during the day, the House met at 3:30 PM but with opposition members digging their heels over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement on Manipur issue the logjam continued.

Dhankhar appealed to the protesting members to take their seats and allow discussion on the Manipur issue as the government had agreed for the same under rule 176 but his pleas failed to convince them.

The opposition members have been giving notices for discussion on Manipur under Rule 267 which requires suspension of all house business.

Opposition members under newly-minted alliance name Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) have been demanding that debate over Manipur issue should precede with a comprehensive statement by PM Modi on the prevailing situation in Manipur.

"PM must make a statement in the house on what has happened in Manipur over the past 90 days on which he has maintained an eloquent silence," Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh reiterated today.

He stated that INDIA parties want discussion on Manipur under Rule 267.

"It is not the INDIA parties that are running away from a debate on Manipur. It is actually the PM who is running away from giving a statement in the Rajya Sabha," he wrote on Twitter.

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Thousands of protesters in Niger storm French embassy

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 July 2023 4:25 PM

Thousands of supporters of the military in Niger have marched through the streets of the capital, Niamey, and gathered outside the French embassy, forcefully denouncing former colonial power France before storming its embassy.

The protesters on Sunday stormed the French embassy and put a door of it on fire, according to a local source and videos seen by The Associated Press.

Protesters attempted to enter the embassy building but the Nigerian army stopped them.

Black smoke could be seen rising from across the city.

France condemned what it called the violence that erupted around its embassy in Niger, where the junta seized power this week in a coup and demanded that local authorities protect the building.

"Nigerian forces have an obligation to ensure the security of our diplomatic missions and consulates as part of the Vienna convention," the French Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, condemning "all violence against diplomatic missions."

The statement came after thousands of military supporters rallied outside the French embassy after Paris cut off security cooperation and financial aid to the West African country in response to the coup that ousted the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, on Thursday.

Some demonstrators tore down and stamped on a plaque bearing the words "Embassy of France in Niger," replacing it with Niger and Russian flags while shouting anti-French slogans.

In a separate statement, France threatened to retaliate if its citizens or interests were attacked and said it would back all regional initiatives to restore order in Niger.

"Should anyone attack French nationals, the army, diplomats and French interests, they will see France respond in an immediate and intractable manner," the French presidency said.

West African heads of state were set to meet in Nigeria's capital on Sunday for an urgent summit to decide on further measures to pressure the army to restore constitutional order.

The 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the eight-member West African Economic and Monetary Union could suspend Niger from its institutions, cut off the country from the regional central bank and financial market, and close borders.

Ahead of the summit, the coup leaders in Niger on Saturday night warned in a statement -- which was read on Niger national television on Saturday night -- against any military intervention.

"The objective of the (ECOWAS) meeting is to approve a plan of aggression against Niger through an imminent military intervention in Niamey in collaboration with other African countries that are nonmembers of ECOWAS, and certain Western countries," junta spokesperson Colonel Amadou Abdramane said.

The coup in Niger has drawn condemnation from its neighbors and international partners including the United States, the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union and former colonial power France who have all refused to recognize the new leaders and have demanded that Bazoum be restored to power.

The African Union on Saturday demanded that Nigerien military personnel "immediately and unconditionally return to their barracks and restore constitutional authority," within 15 days.

The AU warned it would "take necessary action, including punitive measures against the perpetrators, should the rights of political detainees not be respected."

Meanwhile, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borell announced on Saturday the suspension of security cooperation with Niger coup leader on Saturday, saying that the bloc would not acknowledge "the authorities from the putsch in Niger."

"All cooperation in the security field is suspended indefinitely with immediate effect" in addition to the end to budgetary aid, he said.

Niger is one of the world's poorest countries and relies on hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance every year.

France, Niger's former colonial power, has 1,500 soldiers in the country, while the United States has around 1,000 troops on the ground.

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Niger junta warns against intervention ahead of West African leaders' summit

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 July 2023 11:18 AM

Niger coup leaders warned against any armed intervention in the country as West African leaders are set to gather on Sunday to discuss restoration of constitutional order following the last week's coup which affected the unstable Sahel region.

The junta spokesperson Colonel Amadou Abdramane said in a statement read out on national television on Saturday evening that the meeting aims to approve a "plan of aggression against Niger."

"The objective of the [Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)] meeting is to approve a plan of aggression against Niger through an imminent military intervention in Niamey in collaboration with other African countries that are non-members of ECOWAS, and certain western countries," the statement said.

"We want to once more remind ECOWAS or any other adventurer, of our firm determination to defend our homeland," he said.

The heads of state of the 15-member ECOWAS, and the eight-member West African Economic and Monetary Union are scheduled to meet in Nigeria to look for ways to restore president Mohamed Bazoum who was ousted when Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani was declared the new head of state.

To do so they could suspend Niger from its institutions, cut off the country from the regional central bank and financial market, and close borders.

The junta also issued a second statement on Saturday night inviting citizens in the capital to take to the streets from 7 am local time to protest against ECOWAS and show support for the new military leaders

Niger's neighbors and international partners have widely condemned the military coup in Niger and refused to recognize the new leaders and demanded that Bazoum be restored to power.

The European Union and the United Nations Security Council have mounted pressure on Niger coup leaders, while the African Union has issued a 15-day ultimatum to the military to return to the barracks.

The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borell announced the suspension of security cooperation with Niger coup leader last week, saying that the bloc would not recognize "the authorities from the putsch in Niger."

The United Nations Security Council also joined the chorus of international condemnation of the power grab, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Bazoum.

According to the World Bank, Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, receiving close to $2 billion a year in official development assistance.

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Hezbollah fighters determined to fully liberate Israeli-occupied Lebanese lands: Top official

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 July 2023 6:55 AM

The head of the religious council of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah says fighters of the movement are determined to fully liberate the Israeli-occupied territories in the southern areas of the Arab country.

Sheikh Mohammad Yazbek made the remarks while speaking at a ceremony in commemoration of Ashura, which marks the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Shia Imam and the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon Him), in the southern Lebanese city of Baalbek on Saturday.

"Thanks to the path of Imam Hussein and fallen fighters who sacrificed their lives, [most of] the Lebanese territories were taken back from the enemy," Sheikh Yazbek said.

In recent weeks, Israeli forces seized the northern sector of the divided border village of Ghajar and cut it off from Lebanon.

Ghajar, which lies in a strategic corner where the borders between Syria, Lebanon and occupied Palestinian territories meet, was occupied by Israel in the 2006 war. Some 2,000 people live there.

In November 2010, the Israeli cabinet approved a plan to withdraw from the northern part of the village. Until this day, however, Israel has not withdrawn from the village.

Lebanese officials have said that Israel has built a wall around the Lebanese part of Ghajar, warning that the regime might annex it to the occupied part of the village.

Earlier this month, Hezbollah issued a harsh statement slamming Israel's works around the Lebanese part of Ghajar as "dangerous."

It added that the wall is separating the area "from its natural and historic surroundings in Lebanon."

Almost at the same time, an anti-tank missile was fired from Lebanon near Ghajar, with some fragments landing in Lebanon and others inside Israeli-occupied territory. Israel fired shells on the outskirts of the nearby village of Kfarchouba.

Lebanon's presidential election impasse

Elsewhere in his remarks, Sheikh Yazbek pointed to the Lebanese parliament's failure to elect a new president and break a political deadlock that has gripped the country for months.

He underscored that the ongoing political impasse in Lebanon is due to the absence of dialogue among political factions and Washington's interventions, adding that negotiations and understanding should prevail and no group should adopt hostile positions that would benefit the Israeli enemy and arrogant powers.

Hezbollah is ready to discuss a replacement for former President Michel Aoun, whose term ended last October, Sheikh Yazbek said, stressing he should independently and powerfully maintain the sovereignty of Lebanon and not yield to the diktats of others.

Lebanon's presidency has seen stalemate several times since the 1975-1990 civil war. The country has also had only a caretaker government since May.

The Arab country has been mired in an economic crisis that the World Bank has dubbed one of the worst in recent history, which comes amid crippling sanctions imposed by the US and its allies.

The Lebanese pound has lost more than 95 percent of its value on the black market since 2019.

According to the United Nations, the ongoing financial crisis in Lebanon has caused poverty rates to reach more than 80 percent of the population, and food prices have risen by an astonishing 2,000 percent.

Creditors under the US influence such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have conditioned the release of billions of dollars in emergency loans to specific reforms which many observers would make the country dependent on the West.

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Pro-Junta Demonstrators In Niger March With Russian Flags, Damage French Embassy

By RFE/RL July 30, 2023

Thousands of supporters of a military junta that took power in Niger earlier this week have marched in the capital, Niamey, with many waving Russian flags and chanting the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The demonstrators on July 30 set fire to the door of the French Embassy, while the army tried to restore order.

The French Foreign Ministry urged the junta to "ensure the security of our diplomatic missions and consulates," while the office of French President Emmanuel Macron said France "will not tolerate any attack against France or its interests."

Former colonial power France and the European Union suspended financial aid and security cooperation with Niger on July 29.

Junta leaders said they overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum on July 28 because of what they claimed was the threat of "imminent military intervention" by the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

ECOWAS planned an emergency summit in Abuja, Nigeria, on July 30 to discuss the situation in Niger.

Russia's Kremlin-connected Wagner mercenary group has a presence in neighboring Mali.

Before the coup, Niger was considered the most reliable remaining partner for Western efforts to combat jihadists in the Sahel region. France has 1,500 troops in Niger to conduct joint operations with Niger's military, while the United States and the European Union have provided security training and assistance.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Binken, traveling in Australia, said continued U.S. aid was conditioned on "the continuation of the democratic governance and constitutional order" in Niger.

The African Union has issued an ultimatum to the junta to restore Niger's democratically elected government within 15 days. Failure to do so, the bloc said, would force it to take "necessary action, including punitive measures against the perpetrators."

Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world and relies on some $2 billion in annual international assistance.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-niger- russia-coup/32526404.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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France Urges Niger to Ensure Security of Embassy in Niamey

Sputnik News

20230730

PARIS (Sputnik) - Earlier in the day, thousands of people in Niger participated in an action against France and ECOWAS, as well as in support of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland formed by the coup participants. The action, among other things, took place in front of the French embassy in Niamey.

Paris is urging the authorities of Niger to ensure the security of the French embassy in the capital city of Niamey, the French Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

"France condemns any violence against its diplomatic institutions, whose security is the responsibility of the host country. The Nigerian forces are required to ensure the security of diplomatic and consular institutions, in accordance with the Vienna Convention. We call for the immediate fulfillment of the obligation under the international law," the ministry said in a statement.

Up to 600 French citizens currently remain in Niger, the ministry specified.

Meanwhile, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) earlier on Sunday suspended all financial aid to Niger, froze the assets of the rebels, their families and supporters, as well as imposed a ban on their movement, Omar Alieu Touray, the president of the ECOWAS Commission, said.

"Impose travel ban and assets freeze for the military officials involved in the coup attempt. The same applies to their family members and the civilians, who accept to participate in any institutions or governments established by these military officials," Alieu Touray said after the ECOWAS extraordinary summit on the political situation in Niger.

In addition, ECOWAS decided to suspend commercial and financial transactions between its member states and Niger, as well as freeze Niger's assets in the community's central and commercial banks.

On Wednesday, members of the Nigerien presidential guard said in a statement broadcast on national television that they had overthrown the president, Mohamed Bazoum, closed borders and imposed a curfew in the country "until further notice." It came hours after the presidential guard detained the president at his residence and sealed off access to public offices in Niamey.

 Sputnik

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UK statement on the situation in Niger

UK statement in support of the Fifty First Extraordinary Summit on the Socio-Political Situation in the Republic of Niger

30 July 2023

The UK condemns in the strongest possible terms attempts to undermine democracy, peace and stability in Niger. The Communique agreed at the Fifty First Extraordinary Summit on the Socio-Political Situation in the Republic of Niger, held by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on 30 July sets out a strong and clear response to this infringement of the democratic rights of the people of Niger. We continue to stand by ECOWAS and their efforts to ensure a return to democracy in Niger.

Minister for Development and Africa said:

"The UK wholly supports the immediate political and economic measures announced today by ECOWAS and will suspend long-term development assistance to Niger.

"We will however continue to provide critical humanitarian assistance to the people of Niger.

"The UK is a committed partner of Niger's democratically elected government and calls for President Bazoum to be immediately reinstated to restore constitutional order."

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CSTR proof of concept tests Defender unit-led training, equipment delivery

Published July 30, 2023

By Debbie Aragon

Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center Public Affairs

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) -- The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center moved another step forward in establishing combat support training ranges across the enterprise with a security forces-focused proof of concept exercise at the Silver Flag site on Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, July 17-28.

As part of the CSTR concept, the exercise tested the delivery of Defender unit-led combat skills training using low-density, high-demand equipment at a new site.

Florida's 801st RED HORSE Training Squadron Silver Flag site is primarily used for civil engineer combat training.

Currently, security forces deployment training is only available at the Air Force Security Forces Center's Desert Defender Ground Combat Readiness Training Center at Fort Bliss, Texas, because it uses equipment categorized as low density, high demand, meaning it's only at select overseas locations or the Fort Bliss training site because of cost-effectiveness, said David Clifford, AFIMSC expeditionary and readiness training lead analyst and CSTR action officer.

The Tyndall proof of concept exercise involved two squads of 13 Defenders from the 78th Security Forces Squadron at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, and the 96th SFS from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.



Map displays the current proposed locations for the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center's Combat Support Training Ranges initiative. The initiative, being tested during several events organized and funded by AFIMSC this summer, focuses on delivering fully equipped, multi-functional installation and mission support training sites across the Department of the Air Force. The CSTR sites within 400 miles of most installations, would give commanders the flexibility to conduct unit-led training without having to travel long distances with troops and equipment. (U.S. Air Force graphic by AFIMSC Public Affairs) Map displays the current proposed locations for the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center's Combat Support Training Ranges initiative. The initiative, being tested during several events organized and funded by AFIMSC this summer, focuses on delivering fully equipped, multi-functional installation and mission support training sites across the Department of the Air Force. The CSTR sites within 400 miles of most installations, would give commanders the flexibility to conduct unit-led training without having to travel long distances with troops and equipment. (U.S. Air Force graphic by AFIMSC Public Affairs)

It is one of several beta tests organized and funded by AFIMSC this summer as the center builds out a CSTR plan for fully equipped, multi-functional installation and mission support training sites across the Department of the Air Force. Its goal is CSTR training sites within 400 miles of most installations, giving commanders the flexibility to conduct unit-led training without having to travel long distances with troops and equipment. Thus far, nine sites are proposed in the continental U.S. and three overseas at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam; RAF Feltwell, England; and Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

Helping commanders maintain readiness and ensuring Airmen are prepared to deploy and win future wars is the focus of the CSTR initiative, said Col. Lance Turner, director of AFIMSC Expeditionary Support and Innovation Directorate.

"We don't get to win wars because of what the previous generation of Air Force leaders did," Turner said. "We win wars because of what we are doing today and how we are preparing Airmen today. That's what this is all about."

Leaders use the terms "sets and reps," Clifford said. "The CSTR locations will allow our agile combat support Airmen to complete unit-led training ... sets and reps ... on low-density, high-demand equipment unit type codes in austere field conditions.

"That's what this is about ... prepping our ACS Airmen for the next high-end fight against near-peer competitors in distributed operations and theaters," Clifford said.



Previous and planned proof-of-concept events allow units to create scenarios that cover the full range of military operations, said Pervis King, counter improvised explosive device integrator at the Air Force Security Forces Center.

The exercise began with cadre from Desert Defender transporting equipment from Fort Bliss to Florida, setting it up and standing ready for security forces to begin training July 17.

The equipment, like a Base Defense Operations Center and tactical radios normally only found at Fort Bliss or in a deployed environment, allowed security forces teams to receive deployment training on mounted and dismounted patrols, base defense scenarios involving land navigation, night vision goggles, intelligence, prepping the battlespace, formations, troop movements, battle drills, urban operations and mission planning. The event ended with a field exercise and evaluation.

"Access to this equipment allows Defenders to come out and practice their full scale of operations using equipment not readily available at home station," King said. It's also an opportunity to train in austere, simulated operational environments before they are deployed to permissive or non-permissive hostile locations."

The security forces-focused event "went very well, as we'd hoped it would," he said.

"Each unit sent well-trained Airmen to oversee the training and develop lesson plans and timelines, and the squads supporting it executed it with excitement and vigor even though the heat and elements were harsh at times. They were still excited and executed at a high level," King said.

This exercise and others like it this summer serve as beta tests that allow CSTR planners to gather data and lessons learned from after-action reports.

"All of this data will allow AFIMSC to select sites, gather cost data, build our requirements and resources needed, and eventually submit that information into a program objective memorandum, or POM, to allocate future funding," Clifford said.

A final proof of concept is set for next month at Desert Defender site at Fort Bliss. The AFIMSC team will then hold a CSTR lessons-learned conference in mid-September in San Antonio to capture and discuss the data and after-action reviews.

"From there, our CSTR working group will meet sometime late May 2024 to transition the program with final site selection and a fiscal year 2026 POM build," Clifford said.

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US Officials See Stronger Ties After Trip to Indo-Pacific

By Jeff Seldin July 30, 2023

U.S. officials are leaving Australia feeling emboldened following a nearly weeklong trip that also featured a visit to Papua New Guinea.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's ninth trip to the Indo-Pacific aimed to improve intensifying ties with Papua New Guinea by strengthening the government's defense capabilities, and secure more ambitious plans for defense cooperation with Australia.

Speaking on the sidelines of multiple meetings with Australian defense officials, U.S. officials said the work, especially discussions in Brisbane for the 33rd annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations, paid off.

"The U.S.-Australia alliance is stronger than it has ever been," a senior U.S. defense official said, previewing Saturday's announcement of new defense initiatives with the Australian government.

Those initiatives include infrastructure improvements to a series of air bases across northern Australia, increased deployments of U.S. forces and capabilities to Australia on a rotational basis, and plans to have Australia start manufacturing precision guided missiles and ammunition, the types of which have been in high demand in Ukraine.

Beyond those plans, however, U.S. and Australian officials have emphasized the closeness of the alliance. U.S. officials have repeatedly referred to it as "unbreakable," while Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong called the U.S. Australia's "vital ally."

The U.S. "is our closest global partner, our closest strategic partner," Wong said following Saturday's AUSMIN consultations, adding the relationship is now "about operationalizing our alliance to ensure peace, stability" in the Indo-Pacific region.

Visit to troops

To emphasize the close ties, Austin and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles on Sunday flew on the U.S. Defense Department's jet - a militarized Boeing 747 - from Brisbane to Townsville, Australia, to visit troops taking part in Exercise Talisman Sabre.

The bilateral exercise is the largest joint U.S.-Australian exercise, this year involving 30,000 troops, including those from 11 other nations. Some of those other countries, including Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Tonga, are taking part for the first time.

"What becomes manifestly clear ... is a sense of team and shared vision between the countries participating," Marles said, addressing a collection of troops from multiple countries.

"Relationships which are being built and created and which will endure when this exercise comes to an end," Marles added, before mixing with the troops. "Countries, participating in Talisman Sabre are building a connectedness with each and [in] the way in which we go about our work which enhances the collective security of the Indo-Pacific region."

Austin was no less effusive.

"I'm proud, I'm really proud that we have 13 countries participating in this year's exercise who share that common vision," Austin said.

"You're bolstering deterrence by building capability," he said. "You're practicing logistics interoperability under realistic conditions so that we can improve combined capabilities, as well as our responses to a range of potential contingencies."

One of those scenarios is a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has publicly ordered his armed forces to be ready to reunite Taiwan with China by force by 2027.

U.S. intelligence officials have said it is not clear whether Xi will order such an invasion  the latest intelligence continues to suggest he would prefer not to use force  but U.S. military and defense officials have said regardless of Beijing's actual plans, the U.S. and its allies must be ready.

There are likewise concerns about China's ever more aggressive military posture, in the air and on sea, across the Indo-Pacific.

Australian military officials said some of the necessary capabilities, such as the ability to effectively communicate across militaries and platforms, and efforts to cut through the fog of mis- and disinformation, have been key aspect of the current exercises.

'Shared regional vision'

Some analysts also say that the developments over the past several days, and the series of new agreements, will bolster the ability of key U.S. partners to push back against China, if necessary.

"Today, Australian leaders lack a way to militarily threaten or retaliate against China if Beijing were to commit acts of aggression against Australia," said Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Hudson Institute.

"For example, China is likely to mount 'gray zone' operations against Australia as Chinese leaders attempt to expand their military's reach and influence across the Western Pacific," he told VOA by email. "If Australia cannot threaten to fight back, China could escalate the scale and intensity of harassment or begin intruding on Australian territory, as China has already done to Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan."

But following this most recent visit, U.S. officials involved in the talks with America's Pacific partners are encouraged by what they see.

"There is a shared regional vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific," a second senior defense official told reporters, briefing on the condition of anonymity.

"It is not just the United States," the official said. "You hear it from countries throughout the Indo-Pacific, big and small, that there are certain principles, certain precepts that they believe are important and valuable and [that] undergird stability in the region."

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Egypt hosts meeting of Palestinian factions

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 09:05, July 31, 2023

CAIRO, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian factions met in Egypt on Sunday to discuss reconciliation efforts amid increasing violence between Israel and Palestinians in the West Bank.

The meeting, chaired by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, seeks to restore inter-Palestinian unity among various factions, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported.

While the two main rival movements, ruling Fatah and Gaza-controlling Hamas, take part in the meeting in Egypt's New Alamein City, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) announced beforehand it would boycott the gathering due to political arrests of some of its members by the Palestinian Authority headed by Abbas.

The gathering brokered by Egypt came amid soaring violence in the West Bank. Earlier in July, the Israeli raids on the Jenin refugee camp killed at least 12 Palestinians and wounded more than 150.

The Palestinian embassy noted that the Palestinian president and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi are scheduled to meet on Monday.

Egypt, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, has been sponsoring meetings between Palestinian factions for years, in addition to brokering truces between armed Palestinian movements and Israel.

Egypt has repeatedly reiterated its position that supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital in accordance with the internationally-recognized two-state solution.

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Russo-Ukraine War - 30 July 2023 - Day 522

Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

The UK Ministry of Defence reported that since mid-July 2023, at least several thousand Wagner troops have likely established themselves at a military camp at Tsel, in central Belarus. Imagery shows that since mid-July 2023, hundreds of vehicles have arrived at the previously mostly empty facility.

Separate reports suggest most of the visible vehicles are trucks and minibuses with few armoured combat vehicles. It remains unclear what has happened to the heavy equipment Wagner used in Ukraine; there is a realistic possibility that it was forced to return these to the Russian military.

Wagner's ability to secure heavy equipment and enablers such as air transport will be key factors in its future combat effectiveness.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that during the day July 30x, Russian forces launched 4 missiles and 34x air strikes. In particular, they used 4x strike drones of the "Shahed-136" type, all of them were destroyed. The Russian Federation also launched 37x MLRS on Ukrainian cities and Ukrainian Armed Forces. Unfortunately, there are victims among the civilians as well as some houses were destroyed.

The threat of missile and air strikes remains high across Ukraine.

20x combat clashes took place throughout the day.

Volyn' and Polissya axes: no significant changes detected. There are no signs of the offensive groupings formation.

Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna axes: Russian forces shelled with mortasr and artillery more than 25x settlements, in particular, Buchki, Hremyach of the Chernihiv Oblast; Porohony, Sytne of the Sumy Oblast and Veterinary, Kozacha Lopan', Vovchan'sk, Kharkiv Oblast.

Kup'yans'k axis: Ukrainian soldiers are firmly holding the defense, successfully repelled Russian attacks east of Berestovo, Kharkiv Oblast. Figolivka, Novomlyns'k, Zapadne, Kindrashivka and Kup'yans'k in Kharkiv Oblast got under Russian artillery and mortar fire.

Lyman axis: Russian forces carried out airstrikes at Bilogorivka, Luhansk Oblast, and Ivanivka, Serebryanka, and Spirnyi in Donetsk Oblast. Nevs'ke, Bilogorivka of Luhansk Oblast and Tors'ke, Spirne, Berestov of Donetsk Oblast were shelled by artillery.

Bakhmut axis: Russian forces carried out airstrikes at Klishchiivka, Bila Hora and Kostyantynivka. More than 15x settlements, including Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Bilokuzminivka, Hryhorivka, Ivanivs'ke, Klishchiivka and Kostyantynivka of the Donetsk Oblast, were shelled by artillery.

Avdiivka axis: the Russian occupiers launched an airstrike at the Avdiivka area. More than 10x settlements, including Keramik, Avdiivka, Vodyane, and Karlivka of the Donetsk Oblast, were shelled by artillery.

Mar'inka axis: the defense forces continue to hold back the advance of Russian troops in the area of the towns of Mar'inka and Pobieda, Donetsk Oblast. Russian forces shelled more than 10x settlements, including Krasnohorivka, Mar'inka, Georgiivka, Hostre, and Katerynivka.

Shakhtars'k axis: Russian forces launched an air strike at Staromayorsky. russians shelled Blagodatne, Vugledar and Prechistivka in the Donetsk Oblast.

Zaporizhzhia and Kherson axes: Russia is concentrating its main efforts on preventing the further advance of Ukrainiantroops. russians carried out an at Zmiivka of the Kherson Oblast. More than 25x settlements, including Levadne, Hulyaipole, Zaliznychne, Biloghirya and Kam'ians'ke of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, were shelled by artillery; Nikopol', Dnipropetrovsk Oblast; Beryslav, Vesele, Antonivka, Berehove and Veletens'ke of the Kherson Oblast.

Defense Forces of Ukraine continue offensive operations on the Melitopol' and Berdyans'k axes, and are equipping captured positions.

Due to the successful military operations of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, the losses of the Russian occupation forces, who physically do not have time to remove the dead from local morgues, has increased significantly. In Svatove, Luhansk Oblast, the territory of the city morgue is overflowing with the bodies of dead russians. The Russian occupiers have not taken them away for almost a week. Because of this, the city has an unbearable corpse smell.

At the same time, in Starobilsk, the Russian invaders forcibly transferred part of the civilian medical personnel from local medical facilities to the so-called military hospitals to provide medical aid to the wounded Russian occupiers. As a result, local elderly residents complain about the lack of an opportunity to receive at least some kind of treatment.

Ukrainian Air Force conducted 7x strikes on Russian manpower, weapons and military equipment concentrations.

Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed 4x reconnaissance UAVs of operational-tactical level.

Ukrainian missile and artillery units hit the Russian anti-air defense system, 8x artillery units at firing positions, 2x stations of electronic warfare, as well as 2x of manpower concentration.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that the AFU continued unsuccessful attempts at offensive actions in South Donetsk, Krasny Liman and Donetsk directions.

In Donetsk direction, as a result of aviation, artillery, and units of the Yug Group of Forces, seven enemy attacks have been successfully repelled close to Kleshcheevka, Andreevka and Krasnogorovka (Donetsk People's Republic).

In addition, the AFU units have been hit near Druzhba, Berdychi, Kleshcheevka, Avdeevka, Krasnoye and Pobeda (Donetsk People's Republic).

One ammunition depot of the AFU 124th Territorial Defence Brigade has been destroyed near Dzerzhinsk (Donetsk People's Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 190 Ukrainian servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, four motor vehicles, two U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery systems, as well as Msta-B and D-20 howitzers.

In South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, units of the Vostok Group of Forces, in cooperation with aviation and artillery, repelled an enemy attack close to Uspenovka (Zaporozhye region).

As a result of a complex fire attack, AFU manpower and hardware concentration areas have been hit close to Zherebyanki, Novodanilovka, Veseloye and north of Rabotino (Zaporozhye region).

In addition, the actions of one Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group have been disrupted close to Charivnoye (Zaporozhye region).

The enemy losses were up to 250 Ukrainian servicemen, one tank, three armoured fighting vehicles, four motor vehicles, as well as howitzers: Msta-B and D-20.

In Krasny Liman direction, as a result of actions by aviation, artillery, and units of the Tsentr Group of Forces, three enemy attacks have been successfully repelled close to Kovalyovka (Lugansk People's Republic), as well as near Serebryansky forestry.

In addition, enemy manpower and hardware concentration areas have been hit close to Torskoye, Serebryanka, Grigorovka (Donetsk People's Republic), Chervonaya Dibrova, Nevskoye, and west of Novovodyanoye (Lugansk People's Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 140 Ukrainian servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, as well as one D-30 howitzer.

In Kupyansk direction, assault detachments of the Zapad Group of Forces continued offensive operations forward Novosyolovskoye (Lugansk People's Republic) and advanced 300 metres into the depth of the enemy defence.

In addition, AFU units have been hit near Timkovka, Peschanoye, Olshana, and Novomlynsk (Kharkov region), and Stelmakhovka, Novosyolovskoye and Artyomovka (Lugansk People's Republic).

One ammunition depot of the AFU 125th Brigade of the Territorial Defence of Ukraine has been destroyed near Izbitskoye (Kharkov region).

The enemy losses were up to 80 Ukrainian servicemen, four motor vehicles, as well as one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system and one D-30 howitzer.

In Kherson direction, the enemy losses were up to 65 Ukrainian servicemen and five motor vehicles.

Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have neutralised 102 AFU artillery units at their firing positions, manpower and hardware in 108 areas.

In addition, a retraining centre and a storage, maintenance and repair point of AFU drones have been destroyed near Mogilyovka (Dnepropetrovsk region).

A command post of the 100th Territorial Defence Brigade has been hit close to Yampol (Donetsk People's Republic).

Fighter Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces has shot down one Mi-8 helicopter of Ukrainian Air Force near Vozdvizhenka (Donetsk People's Republic).

Air defence facilities have shot down 44 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles close to Tavolzhanka (Kharkov region), Zaliman, Rubezhnoye, Kremennaya, Raigorodka (Lugansk People's Republic), Sladkoye, Staromikhailovka (Donetsk People's Republic), Shevchenkovo, Dolinka, Trudovoye, Novopokrovka, Mirnoye (Zaporozhye region), Staraya Zburyevka and Novaya Kakhovka (Kherson region).

In total, 457 airplanes, 245 helicopters, 5,358 unmanned aerial vehicles, 427 air defence missile systems, 11,029 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,140 fighting vehicles equipped with MLRS, 5,661 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 11,971 special military motor vehicles have been destroyed during the special military operation.

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New Delhi, July 31 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Monday rejected CBI's plea challenging Karnataka High Court's order to temporarily stay its probe against Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in a corruption case arising out of allegations regarding Disproportionate Assets.

The apex court dismissed the petition observing that the matter is pending before the High Court for final adjudication.

"There is currently an operation which has been challenged in a separate petition," Additional Solicitor-General SV Raju said.

Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Counsel of Shivakumar, contended that the interim ladders were unnecessary since the high court was on the threshold of finally deciding the litigation pending before it.

"Arguments are over, counter is over. My client's rejoinder is also over. This is on the threshold of being decided. Therefore, today's interim ladder is completely unecessary. We filed the writ appeal in the HC and got an interim stay.

The CBI has again challenged this interim order. It is is filing a special leave petition against every interim ladder," he said.

The division bench of the High Court had stayed the CBI enquiry against Shivakumar in June.

Singhvis argument found favour with the bench which dismissed the Special Leave Petition (SLP), saying: "Since the present SLP arises out of purely an interlocutory order, we are not inclined to entertain the present petition. All questions available to parties are kept open for adjudication by the high court."

When ASG Raju requested the Apex court to urge the Karnataka High Court to decide Shivakumars appeal expeditiously, the bench added to its order, "The petitioner would be at liberty to request the high court for expeditious disposal which shall be considered by the high court on its own merits."

The interim stay order challenged in the Supreme Court arose in a Rs 74 crore disproportionate assets case against DK Shivakumar, in which the Central Bureau of Investigation had initiated an investigation in September 2019 after receiving sanction from the then BS Yediyurappa-led government.

This was based on a 2017 Income Tax raid on Shivakumars offices and a subsequent probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). In October 2020, the Congress MP was booked by the CBI under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Shivakumar moved the Karnataka High Court challenging the sanction and proceedings against him. In April, a single judge bench dismissed his petition, but during the course of the hearing, granted the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Chief a temporary relief by staying the CBI probe.

These interim order have been challenged by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the present appeal before the Top Court, although the hearing was adjourned in May.

UNI BDN CS1652
Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Amelia Adams of 60 Minutes Australia

US Department of State

Interview

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Government House Queensland

Brisbane, Australia

July 29, 2023

QUESTION: Well, you've just wrapped up two days of intense talks. What's been the tone of the discussions here?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: It's hard to overstate how, first of all, much genuine friendship there is among the four of us - among the Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, among the Foreign Minister Penny Wong and myself and Lloyd Austin. So it starts there. So there's tremendous complicity just on a personal level, but I think that's a reflection of the fact that the partnership between our two countries is stronger and more, I think, valuable than it's ever been. We're a little bit a reflection of that, but as a result, we share everything. We talk about everything and we do it in the most open possible way, and I think there's a real deep understanding of each other, and that's to the benefit of the relationship.

QUESTION: You're obviously in constant contact with a

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Yeah.

QUESTION: a your Australian counterparts.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Yeah.

QUESTION: But how important is it to have these face-to-face meetings?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: It's invaluable. As much as we're able to do by phone or by videoconference, there's something about actually being in the same room. You really have a way of communicating to each other that is amplified by being present. And being able to spend some time, too, just on a personal level, not just going through a

QUESTION: Yeah.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: a the very important material and work that we have, but also getting a chance to talk about our own lives, families, interests. We have the luxury of a little bit more time to do that when we're actually meeting together a

QUESTION: Yeah.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: a and especially over the course of two days.

QUESTION: So you feel you're at a point where that relationship goes beyond just diplomacy?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Oh, absolutely. They're genuine friendships and genuine admiration for our friends, for Richard and Penny. And it makes a big difference. And we also had, I think, the wonderful opportunity to have a lunch with the prime minister yesterday, and he has, I think it's safe to say, a very strong bond with President Biden. They actually come from really very similar perspectives.

QUESTION: They do, and similar backgrounds in a way.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: And similar backgrounds. So that's an important and powerful thing. But it was wonderful to have the opportunity to spend time to hear from the prime minister, to hear his thoughts, his reflections on the multiplicity of issues that we're dealing with together.

I think if you asked the four of us - Lloyd, myself, Richard, Penny - we'd probably all say, for better or worse, we're in a growth industry right now. So many different things happening, so many challenges, but it's all the more reason why this relationship between our countries is so important, especially when things are challenging. These alliances, these partnerships are incredibly meaningful.

QUESTION: No shortage of things to discuss.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: That is true.

(Break.)

QUESTION: All right. You have got so much on your plate, juggling war and peace, climate disaster. What is your priority?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: The priority really starts, precisely because we have so many things happening, in continuing to strengthen and to build our partnerships and our alliances with our closest friends. That's really how we put ourselves in a strong position to confront the myriad challenges that we're facing. That's why this visit to Australia, the work we're doing day in, day out with Australia, matters so much to the United States.

QUESTION: This is your third visit to the Pacific region in just two months.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: That's right.

QUESTION: Why the sense of urgency? What are you so worried about?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: It's less a sense of urgency than a recognition that for us in the United States, as a Pacific nation, so much of our future is in the broad Indo-Pacific region. And we're trying to reflect that in the way we're spending our time, the way we're dedicating our resources, all of our engagement. So I think what you're seeing, not just with me but with many of my counterparts in government, is really a reflection of the priority we're placing on the region as a place of extraordinary growth, extraordinary opportunity, extraordinary potential for the United States.

QUESTION: We heard you speak earlier about China and the threat that it poses. How do you strike the balance of pushing for peace while you are preparing for war?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, first, we have an obligation that we feel strongly to responsibly manage the relationship with China. For us as for Australia and many other countries, it's one of the most consequential and complicated relationships that we have, and you can't sum it up on a bumper sticker on a car. There are aspects of the relationship that are clearly competitive, and that's maybe the main focus. There are areas where we have to contest our differences. But there are also places where we should be able to cooperate if it's in our mutual interest and actually for the greater good.

So we're looking first and foremost at making sure that we're managing it responsibly. That starts with engaging. That starts with talking, with communicating. I've had the opportunity to be in Beijing just a few weeks ago for extensive conversations. I've seen my Chinese counterpart since then. Other members of our government have been doing the same thing. We expect Chinese counterparts to come to the United States.

But we've been very clear with China that even as we're working to engage to make sure that we don't miscommunicate, that we don't have misunderstandings that turn competition into conflict, we will continue no doubt to do and say things that they don't like just as they'll continue to do and say things that we don't like.

QUESTION: Do you really think Xi Jinping is listening or wants to listen?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, I think there's a demand signal not to - on - not just on us but on China from countries throughout the region as well as around the world that China also responsibly manage this relationship as well as its relationships with other countries. I don't think that Beijing can be immune to that any more than we're immune to that.

QUESTION: Let's talk about the AUKUS agreement. It's facing hurdles. We're seeing backlash from the U.S. Congress. Can you guarantee Australia is going to get these submarines?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, first, Congress has a critical role to play in our system, and we're working through the details. But everything I've heard and seen suggests to me that there is robust bipartisan support and a commitment on the part of Congress to move forward. So that's fully my expectation.

QUESTION: You can understand the concern, though. Ten years from now, Australian Government is holding a ticket for a Virginia class; the U.S. Navy is holding a ticket. We're both in the same queue. Who gets it first?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Look, there are important details to work through. That's exactly what we're doing. But I really am confident based on everything I've heard from our Congress that that support is both robust, it's bipartisan - which is critically important - and what I'm hearing is very much a commitment to move forward.

QUESTION: We recently spent some time with the U.S. military in waters off Taiwan, and your generals told us that war is imminent; they're ready. So isn't AUKUS all too late?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: No, no, on the contrary. First, AUKUS of course is about modernizing an already strong and decades-old defense and military partnership, as well as of course working together on Pillar Two on the technologies that are going to be shaping the next - the century that we're in. But when it comes to Taiwan, our focus - Australia's focus - is absolutely on preserving the status quo, making sure that no one disrupts the status quo by unilateral action. One of the successes of the relationship between the United States and China going back five decades is precisely that: our - the ability we've had to manage the challenges concerning Taiwan. Our focus is on making sure that that status quo is preserved, and I believe that's also very much what Australia is focused on.

QUESTION: If there were to be an invasion or a blockade of Taiwan, would the U.S. expect Australia to follow?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Look, I'm not going to get into hypotheticals about what may happen, but one of the things that we've emphasized to Beijing - and not just us, many other countries - is there's a deep international interest and concern about Taiwan precisely because were there to be a crisis, the impact on countries around the world - quite literally the entire world - is likely to be severe. Fifty percent of commercial container traffic goes through the Taiwan Strait every day. In other words, world commerce depends on it. Seventy percent of the semiconductors that are powering everything from our cell phones to our automobiles to our dishwashers, they're made on Taiwan. So any disruption could have severe consequences for the world. That's why one of the things that Beijing is hearing not just from us, not just from Australia, but from countries around the world is you need to act responsibly; no one should do anything that disrupts the status quo; any differences have to be resolved peacefully.

QUESTION: And none of us can afford a conflict there.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: None of us can afford a conflict, and that's why we're determined to avoid it.

QUESTION: Today marks 521 days since Russia invaded Ukraine. Do you see an end to this war while Vladimir Putin is in power?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, the most important impediment to ending the war is Putin's conviction that he can outlast Ukraine and outlast the many countries that are supporting Ukraine. And we're working very hard to disabuse him of that notion. Of course the war could end tomorrow if Putin decided to stop. And first and foremost, we're determined - and so many other countries are determined - to continue to help Ukraine defend itself, to take back the territory that Russia's taken from it by force.

And it's not just about an aggression against Ukraine and Ukrainian citizens, as important as that is. It's also an aggression against the very principles that are at the heart of keeping peace and security around the world: the idea that countries have to have their territorial integrity respected, their sovereignty respected, their independence respected. If we allowed what Russia is doing in Ukraine to go forward with impunity, then it's a pandora's box that opens up and every would-be aggressor around the world will say, well, if they can get away with it, I can get away with it too. That's a recipe for a world in conflict. That's why so many countries have stood up, including half a world away here in Australia, Japan, Korea, many countries that are far removed from Europe. They understand the stakes not just for Ukraine and Ukrainians, but for everyone.

QUESTION: Your job is all about managing risk. Vladimir Putin is threatening nuclear war, and this month we've seen the hottest temperatures on this planet on record. What is the greater threat to humanity in your mind, war or climate change?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, you can't, I think, have a hierarchy. There are some things that are front and center - the wolf at the door - including potential conflict, but there's no doubt that climate represents an existential challenge to all of us. It's one of the reasons we're so gratified at Australia's leadership when it comes to combating climate change; that Australia is stepping up in the way that it is sends a very powerful message. It's both practical in what Australia is doing, but it also is the symbolism of an important country taking a clear stand and also taking action against climate.

So for us, this is the existential challenge of our times, but that doesn't mean that in the meantime there are not severe challenges to the international order like Russia's aggression against Ukraine. We have to multitask. Basically we're, for better or worse, in a growth industry right now. We've got a multiplicity of challenges and we have to be able to engage them simultaneously. It's again one of the reasons why having such a strong partnership and alliance with Australia matters more than ever.

QUESTION: With all that going on, you must feel some days that you just have the weight of the world on your shoulders. I mean, how do you stay optimistic or hopeful?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Because time and again, as much as we see challenges, as much as we see conflict, I keep seeing examples of the best of humanity, of men and women in one way or another coming together to get something done, to make progress, to demonstrate that the better angels of our nature usually carry the day after we've tried everything else. And I keep seeing that everywhere I go around the world.

So that's reassuring even when we have these challenges. And again, the other thing to me that's so reassuring is the fact that we have such strong partnerships and alliances. We're not in this alone. We're working it together, and at the end of the day that gives me great confidence that we'll succeed.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for your time.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you.

QUESTION: Safe travels home.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thanks. Great to be with you.

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July 30, 2023

By Jim Garamone , DOD News

U.S., Australian Defense Chiefs Observe Exercise Talisman Sabre

Exercise Talisman Sabre, underway now in Australia, is building far more than military expertise and interoperability - it is building relationships and friendships that will pay off in the years ahead, said U.S. and Australian leaders as they toured the exercise headquarters in Townsville.

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles, who also serves as his country's deputy prime minister, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met with commanders and troops participating in the exercise at Lavarack Barracks.

The actual exercise spans a huge swath of Australia and adjacent waters. More than 30,000 service members are participating in this 10th iteration of Exercise Talisman Sabre.

U.S. and Australian service members have a long history of working together."

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III

Talisman Sabre began as a simple, bilateral exercise featuring Australian and U.S. forces, but it has grown to include Fiji, France, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany. Service members from the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand are observing the operation this year.

The biennial exercise is designed to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific by strengthening partnerships and interoperability among key allies. The spelling of the name a sabre vs. saber a reflects which country is leading the exercise: Talisman Sabre when Australia leads and Talisman Saber when the U.S. leads.

Marles and Austin spoke to several hundred service members at the base of Australia's defense forces.

"U.S. and Australian service members have a long history of working together," Austin said. "In fact, we've fought alongside each other in nearly every war. And, as many of you know, I spent a little time wearing a uniform a about 41 years a and a good part of that time ... was in combat. Some of you I served with in combat. I was never in combat when I didn't turn to my right or left and see Australian soldiers, sailors, airmen, as well as many of the allies and partners that are that are represented here today.

"This is what we're about," the secretary continued. "We're about interoperability. We're about working together. We're about promoting a common vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific."

The secretary said the United States will continue to stand with allies like Australia and the others participating in Talisman Sabre. The nations share a common vision, he said.

"Together you are bolstering deterrence by building capacity alongside our allies and partners, and you're practicing logistics interoperability under realistic conditions, so that we can improve combined capabilities as well as our responses to a range of potential contingencies," he said. "Together, you continue to build combat readiness."

Marles was struck by the sense of teamwork exhibited by the participants. He said he's impressed with the expertise and professionalism the forces display.

"But as important as those skills are, as important as the experiences that we gain from those activities, more important than all of it is the relationships which are being built and created and which will endure when this exercise comes to an end," he said.

The Talisman Sabre nations are building connections with each other "which enhances the collective security of the Indo-Pacific region," Marles said. "Ultimately, that is ... why our defense forces exist in this part of the world."

The exercise is challenging and involves risks, as the crash of an Australian helicopter at sea on Friday evening showed. Search and rescue efforts for the crew of four continue, Marles said.

Australia is roughly the size of the continental United States, but has a population of four million less than Texas - the second most populous state in the United States. The Australian Defence Force has roughly 60,000 on active duty with another 40,000 reservists. The country "punches above its weight," said Royal Australian Air Force Wing Commander Steve Laredo during a briefing for reporters.

The exercise is realistic and designed to test abilities, equipment and personnel. "The whole reason for doing these activities is to find out where those shortfalls are," Laredo said.

They look for radios that can't talk to each other or a code system that doesn't connect properly or tactics that don't fit with those of allies and partners. "This is where we find these rough points," Laredo said.

Laredo said he expects Talisman Sabre to continue to grow in the years ahead.

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US to further military footprint in Australia to suppress China; Washington 'source of tension' in Asia-Pacific

Global Times

Washington 'source of tension' fueling security situation in Asia-Pacific

By GT staff reporters Published: Jul 30, 2023 08:19 PM

Chinese analysts on Sunday warned of a more volatile and unstable Asia-Pacific region where the US would provoke a regional arms race with more large-scale military drills and more strategic weapons deployments, after the latest move between the US and Australia that reached an agreement to expand the US military footprint on the southern continent to contain China's development.

The US and Australia will deepen military ties after reaching an agreement that expands military cooperation as both countries work to suppress China's growing influence and try to interfere in the Taiwan question and South China Sea affairs, according to media reports on Saturday.

According to Bloomberg and Australian media outlet ABC, the changes include more frequent and longer visits by US submarines to Australia, a regular rotation of US Army watercraft and collaborating on guided missile production and working to establish deeper security relationships with other countries in the region, most notably Japan.

Chinese analysts said the new military deal reveals that the US is using Australia as its forward base while strengthening its military presence in the southern Pacific country. It wants to build Australia into a part of the US military industrial chain, share the load of producing weapons and equipment. This is clearly adding fuel to the security situation in the Asia-Pacific, warned analysts, who slammed the US as the real source of regional tension.

Analysts believe as the US has found that its other allies such as Japan, South Korea and the Philippines on the first island chain are too close to China as forward bases, and as China builds up its military capabilities, these locations as well as Guam on the second island chain are no longer safe if there is a conflict. Australia is further away from China, so the US is promoting the construction of bases and increasing the rotation and deployment of American troops there.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that the US will help Australia develop guided missiles by 2025, and analysts said this is to enable Australia to have a stronger military research and development capability, so that Australia can produce missiles and ammunition for the US.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Sunday that in the event of war, Australia, the US' important supply base and ammunition depot, could also become a target of attack - that is, the US would sacrifice Australia to preserve the security of its domestic production base.

In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the large consumption of ammunition of US military aid has exposed the production capacity problem of the US military industrial chain, so the country is urgently trying to make up for this shortcoming.

Citing the Pacific Deterrence Initiative proposed by the US in March, Song noted that the US aims to build more military bases, so that it can move between them in case some of them are destroyed, and those in Australia and Guam are important replacement bases for the US in case of a conflict, Song said.

According to the joint statement released by the US and Australia, a more visible presence will be the arrival of "regular and longer" visits by US submarines to HMAS Stirling naval base in western Australia. "These visits would help build Australia's capacity in preparation for Submarine Rotational Force-West, an important milestone for the AUKUS Optimal Pathway that would commence as early as 2027," said the statement.

Yu Lei, chief research fellow at the Research Center for Pacific Island Countries at Liaocheng University, predicted that the US would provide Australia with more advanced weapons and military technology to enhance the combat effectiveness of the Australian army, which in fact risks the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in Australia.

"This is causing unease in neighboring countries like Indonesia and even India," Yu noted.

The US is well prepared to sacrifice the national security of its allies to achieve its own hegemony, Song revealed.

Under such circumstances, US military aircraft, ships, nuclear submarines, including the future AUKUS nuclear submarines and other weapons and equipment will more frequently take Australia as a base to conduct close-in reconnaissance and provocative exercises around China, analysts predicted.

They warned that the US and Australia will accumulate more ammunition and equipment to try to intervene in the Taiwan Straits.

Despite the hype by some Western media smearing China as the source of regional tensions, all the moves again expose that the root cause of the unstable situation is the US and its allies who are attempting to suppress China's development, interfere in China's internal affairs and militarily provoke China, analysts stressed.

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France opposes 'decoupling' after economic talks with China

Global Times

Beijing welcomes clarification on 'de-risking,' hopes Paris to be stabilizer for EU ties

By Chen Qingqing and Qi Xijia Published: Jul 30, 2023 09:25 PM

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday that he opposes the "illusion" of countries "decoupling" from China and he does not believe the world's second-largest economy constitutes a risk.

He made the remarks after China and France concluded the 9th China-France High Level Economic and Financial Dialogue in Beijing on Saturday as part of high-level talks between the two countries that had resumed following the meeting between the two heads of state in April.

The two countries reached a series of consensus ranging from finance to climate change and aerospace, which constitute "an encouraging sign" that China and France are enhancing economic cooperation and underscored the substantial mutual needs, analysts said.

While China hopes France can be the "stabilizer" of EU-China relations, EU's ongoing debate on "de-risking" could limit the scope and scale of China-France cooperation, some experts said, citing as negative factors the transatlantic partnership, EU's inaccurate understanding of China-Russia relations and ideological divergences between China and the EU.

Although the China-EU relations have been more stable with more dialogues and exchanges being resumed in the first half of 2023, experts called for more efforts to maintain the current momentum and yield more fruitful cooperation results as the lack of cooperation would be "the biggest risk."

Fruitful results

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Saturday co-chaired the 9th China-France High Level Economic and Financial Dialogue in Beijing with France's Minister of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty Le Maire.

Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-France economic and trade relations have shown great resilience and sound momentum of development. China stands ready to further strengthen policy communication with France, deepen practical cooperation, step up coordination on international and multilateral affairs, and push the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership to a new high, He said.

Le Maire said Chinese investors are welcome in France, especially in the field of electric vehicles, batteries and energy transition, citing an example of Chinese group XTC New Energy Materials that has invested with French nuclear giant Orano in batteries, French newspaper Les Echos reported. Le Maire's remarks come as several Western countries, including Germany, have claimed they want to reduce economic dependence on China, the French media said.

Le Maire told a press conference on Sunday that France wants to get better access to Chinese markets. To have a balanced trade relationship with China, France needs to export more goods to China, Reuters cited the official as saying.

France is on the right track, Le Maire said, opposing the "illusion" of countries "decoupling" from China.

At the press conference, Le Maire also clarified the concept of "de-risking," popular in recent months among many Western countries, noting it "does not mean China constitutes a risk," wishing to "avoid any misunderstanding," French media BFMTV reported.

"In implementing the consensus reached by the heads of state, all the China-France, China-EU dialogue and cooperation mechanism are expected to resume this year. The latest China-France dialogue is very meaningful, as it shows that the two countries share significant mutual needs in economy and trade," Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Against the backdrop of the US' "decoupling" push in the name of "de-risking," the latest high-level dialogue between China and France is significant in countering the anti-globalization waves initiated by the US hawks and further consolidating the economic and trade cooperation among China, France and other EU member states, Chen Jia, an independent analyst on international strategy, told the Global Times on Sunday.

"The China-France meeting was fruitful and the outcomes are wide-ranging, covering industrial chains, financial services to digital economy and intellectual property protection. Particularly in the field of digital economy, it emphasizes continuing to handle applications [for market access] from Chinese-funded enterprises in a fair, non-discriminatory manner based on laws and regulations, including those on national security," Chen said.

Obstacles remain

Although the overall atmosphere of China-EU bilateral economic and trade relations is under heavy influence of the US and its "de-risking" rhetoric, some experts said that "the temperature" of China-EU economic and trade relations, seen through statistics, has been heating up rather than cooling down in recent years.

Germany's direct investment flows to China are estimated to have increased by 11 percent in 2022, similar to the increase in 2021, but much stronger than in previous years between 2016 and 2020, German Economic Institute IW told Reuters in May.

"With a strong awareness of strategic autonomy and willingness to lead the EU, France also hopes to strike a balance between the EU and the US while its strategic autonomy could help it achieve some positive results in China-France trade relationship," Gao Jian, a scholar from Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

However, as a member state of the EU, France faces some restrictions from the overall China-EU relations - some negative factors such as enhanced transatlantic partnership amid the Ukraine crisis and the EU-level regulations could pose more obstacles to the France-China cooperation, Gao said.

French President Emmanuel Macron's top diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne recently said China was delivering items that could be used as military equipment to Russia, although not on a massive scale. Later, as a response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry noted that on the issue of arms exports, China has always adopted a cautious and responsible attitude, strictly adhering to domestic policies and laws, as well as the international obligations China has undertaken.

There is a trend in Europe of linking the EU-China relations with China-Russia relations and hyping related issues to exert pressure on China. Some still have an inaccurate understanding of China-Russia ties, Cui said. "Such hypes should be prevented from becoming a new problem in the China-EU relations.''

"The China-EU relations have entered a stabilizing track after the resumption of dialogue and exchanges that have helped improve mutual understanding, and both sides need to achieve more cooperation results to help stabilize the relations in a longer term," Cui said.

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China's aircraft carrier Shandong makes new breakthroughs in latest drills

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun Published: Jul 30, 2023 07:31 PM

The aircraft carrier Shandong of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy recently conducted a series of exercises in which it had made new breakthroughs, with Chinese experts saying on Sunday that the carrier could soon embark on its second far sea voyage beyond the "first island chain."

In a move to fully examine its comprehensive combat capabilities, the Shandong carried out combat-oriented training in an undisclosed sea region in mid-summer, the PLA Navy said on Friday in a press release.

During the drills, the Shandong explored its potential under strict combat-oriented requirements, and achieved breakthroughs in terms of aircraft sorties, training difficulty and mission intensity, according to the press release.

A video accompanying the press release shows that at least six additional warships, including a Type 055 large destroyer, two Type 052D destroyers, two Type 054A frigates and a Type 901 comprehensive replenishment ship, accompanied the Shandong in the carrier combat group.

The Shandong carried a number of aircraft on its flight deck, including J-15 fighter jets, Z-8 helicopters and Z-18 helicopters. Three echelons consisting of three J-15s each flew over the aircraft carrier as a part of the exercises.

The J-15 fighter jets also carried out nighttime takeoff and landing exercises on board the Shandong.

In April, the aircraft carrier conducted its first-ever far sea exercise in the West Pacific since its commissioning in December 2019. During the exercise, the carrier participated in combat alert patrols and "Joint Sword" exercises encircling the island of Taiwan in waters to the east of the island from April 7 to April 12, reached waters about 600 to 700 kilometers to the west of Guam on April 15 and 16, before returning through the Bashi Channel into the South China Sea, according to publicly available reports.

According to press releases from Japan's Defense Ministry Joint Staff at that time, the Shandong hosted about 620 aircraft sorties during the 18-day exercise, surpassing the previous record set by the aircraft carrier Liaoning, which was about 320 aircraft sorties in 15 days.

As the PLA Navy said that the latest exercises by the Shandong made new breakthroughs, this record might have been broken again, a Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Sunday.

The combat capabilities of the Shandong will continue to improve with every exercise, the above-quoted expert said.

China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, has on average held two far sea exercises one year in the West Pacific in recent years. And now, as the second carrier Shandong has reached full operational capability, it may also hold two or even more voyages beyond the "first island chain" this year, the expert said.

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Top China Official Visits Pakistan, Marking Economic Corridor Milestone

By Ayaz Gul July 30, 2023

A senior Chinese leader landed in Pakistan Sunday to attend a government-sponsored ceremony this week, marking the 10th anniversary of their infrastructure development collaboration under China's global Belt and Road Initiative.

He Lifeng, the Chinese vice premier and special presidential envoy, arrived in Islamabad amid tight security. The government declared a two-day holiday in the Pakistani capital starting Monday "to provide foolproof security" to the foreign delegation.

The foreign ministry said Lifeng's visit "reflects the importance" the two countries attached to deepen their bilateral ties further. It noted that Lifeng would be the chief guest "at an event celebrating the decade of CPEC" and hold meetings with the country's leadership.

The ministry referred to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC, which was introduced in July 2013 as a flagship project of the BRI.

Both countries say CPEC has brought more than $25 billion in direct Chinese investment to Pakistan, establishing power plants, developing the strategically located deep-water Pakistani port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, and building transport infrastructure.

"Over the past decade, as an important pioneering project of the BRI, CPEC has achieved fruitful results and become a new benchmark for the friendship between China and Pakistan," the Chinese foreign ministry said Saturday while announcing Lifeng's visit. The countries "are all-weather strategic cooperative partners and iron-clad friends," the ministry added.

CPEC aims to give landlocked western China the shortest possible access to international markets through the Gwadar port.

The mega undertaking has created nearly 200,000 direct local jobs, built more than 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) of highways and roads, and added 8,000 megawatts of electricity to the national grid, ending years of blackouts caused by power outages in the country of 230 million people.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing earlier this month that CPEC projects "are flourishing all across Pakistan," making a "tangible contribution" to the national development of the country and to regional connectivity.

But critics say many projects have suffered delays, including several much-touted industrial zones that were supposed to help Pakistan enhance its exports to earn much-needed foreign exchange.

The country's declining dollar reserves have prevented Islamabad from paying Chinese power producers, leading to strains in many ties.

Pakistan owes more than $1.26 billion (350 billion rupees) to Chinese power plants. The amount keeps growing, and China has been reluctant to defer or restructure the payment and CPEC debts. All the Chinese loans - both government and commercial banks - makeup nearly 30% of Islamabad's external debt.

Some critics blame CPEC investments for contributing to Pakistan's economic troubles. The government fended off the risk of an imminent default by securing a short-term $3 billion International Monetary Fund bailout agreement this month.

Security threats to its citizens and interests in Pakistan have also been a cause of concern for China. Militant attacks have killed several Chinese nationals in recent years, prompting Beijing to press Islamabad to ensure security measures for CPEC projects.

Diplomatic sources told VOA that China has lately directed its diplomats and citizens working on CPEC programs to strictly limit their movements and avoid visiting certain Pakistani cities for security reasons.

"They [Chinese] believe this security issue is becoming an impediment in taking CPEC forward," Senator Mushahid Hussain, the chairman of the defense committee of the upper house of the Pakistani parliament, told VOA in an interview earlier this month.

"Recurring expressions of concern about the safety and security of Chinese citizens and investors in Pakistan by top Chinese leaders indicate that Pakistan's promises of 'foolproof security' for Chinese working in Pakistan have yet to be fulfilled," said Hussain, who represents Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's ruling party in the Senate.

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Belt and Road a springboard, premier says

People's Daily Online

By XU WEI (Chinadaily.com.cn) 08:37, July 31, 2023

China and Mauritania should use the signing of the bilateral plan for the joint construction of the Belt and Road as a springboard for expanding cooperation over sectors including agriculture, fisheries and energy, Premier Li Qiang said on Sunday.

In talks with visiting Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani in Beijing, Li called upon both nations to strengthen cooperation over health, education and people-to-people exchanges and bring the bilateral friendship and cooperation to a new level.

Beijing will continue to do its best to support Mauritania in its efforts to seek growth and rejuvenation, he said.

Ghazouani met with President Xi Jinping and attended the opening ceremony of the 31st summer edition of the FISU World University Games in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, on Friday.

He expressed "wholehearted endorsement" of the China-proposed Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative and said his country firmly adheres to the one-China principle.

Mauritania looks forward to deepening cooperation with China over various sectors and promoting the further development of bilateral ties, he said.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, China is Mauritania's largest trading partner. Trade between the two countries reached $2.13 billion in 2022.

Guyana relations

Meanwhile, Premier Li Qiang underlined on Sunday Beijing's readiness to work with Guyana to use the joint building of the Belt and Road as an opportunity to scale up cooperation on economy, trade, agriculture, energy and green development.

While meeting with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali in Beijing, Li stressed the need for the two nations to jointly respond to global challenges and promote the building of a China-Guyana community with a shared future.

President Ali also met with President Xi and attended the opening ceremony of the World University Games in Chengdu on Friday.

He lauded China as Guyana's strategic partner and expressed appreciation to Li for the nation's aid in the Caribbean nation's economic and social development.

Guyana is willing to further strengthen cooperation with China in areas such as agriculture and energy, enhance people-to-people exchanges, and achieve common development and progress, he said.

Guyana commends China's significant role in international affairs and is willing to work with China to address global challenges such as climate change, Ali added.

Trade between China and Guyana expanded by 164.9 percent to $1.88 billion last year, according to China's Foreign Ministry.

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Iran helicopter force equipped with state-of-the-art arms: Cmdr.

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jul 30, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- Commander of Iran's Army Ground Force Aviation Brigadier General Yousef Ghorbani has emphasized that the Force is in a very desirable situation in terms of combat preparedness today and that this achievement has been gained despite severe sanctions.

The commander went on to say that the force is equipped with what the upgraded helicopters of the world possess in terms of night vision systems, precision strike missiles, and a lot of other equipment, providing the Islamic Republic of Iran with a deterrent power.

Brigadier General Ghorbani also pointed to the self-sufficiency of the helicopter force, emphasizing that the spare part manufacturing in Iran's Army Ground Force Aviation played a significant role in enhancing the combat readiness of the force through manufacturing and installing 800 sorts of spare parts.

Of course, the installation of home-grown night vision cameras is also one of the achievements of Iran's Army Ground Force Aviation, he added.

The commander concluded that nowadays the force functions as the largest and most powerful helicopter fleet in the West Asia region.

4208**9417

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Iran will not tolerate 'loss of rights' in disputed gas field: Owji

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 July 2023 6:13 PM

Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji says the country will not stand idle in the face of any move by Kuwait or by Saudi Arabia on a disputed gas field in the Persian Gulf that could lead to a loss of rights for Tehran.

Owji made the remarks on Sunday, a day after Kuwait said the Arab country will start drilling at Durra field, known in Iran as Arash, without waiting for a settlement of maritime border disputes with Iran.

"If there is no intention for agreement and cooperation, Iran will plan (to protect its) rights and interests and production and exploration of those resources and will not tolerate any loss of its rights," said the minister.

He said, however, that Tehran always welcomes a friendly settlement of border and maritime issues with its neighbors, adding that the country seeks joint production from all resources of Arash gas field.

The remarks came a day after Kuwaiti oil minister Saad Al Barrak said that the Arab country's plans for production from the field will not wait for border demarcation with Iran.

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia announced in early 2022 that they had reached an agreement to jointly produce 1 billion cubic feet (28.3 million cubic meters) per day of natural gas and 84,000 barrels per day of condensates from Durra.

That caused Owji to post a tweet at the time to say that Iran will soon install a drilling jacket at Arash field to resume development operations that had been halted in 2001 after Kuwait threatened to lodge a complaint against Iran in international courts.

The maritime border demarcation dispute between Iran and Kuwait dates back to more than 60 years ago.

Some estimates suggest more than 70% of the resources of the disputed gas field, which is believed to contain up to 60 trillion cubic feet (1.7 trillion cubic meters) of gas, lie in waters claimed by Iran under the dispute with Kuwait.

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Iran says strong Tehran-Baghdad ties will ensure lasting regional security

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 July 2023 4:28 PM

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says enhanced relations between Iran and Iraq will ensure lasting security and development in the region.

Amir-Abdollahian was meeting with special representative of the United Nations secretary general for Iraq Jeanine Antoinette Plasschaert in Tehran on Sunday.

He said Tehran and Baghdad enjoy good, comprehensive neighborly relations of cooperation.

Pointing to constructive and prominent bonds between the two neighboring states, the top Iranian diplomat said Iraq plays a pivotal role in the regional developments.

Amir-Abdollahian underscored the importance of boosting security in border areas and called on Tehran and Baghdad to precisely implement a security agreement previously signed between the two countries.

Iran and Iraq signed the security agreement that includes coordination in protecting the border between the two countries in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on March 19.

Plasschaert, who is also the head of the UN assistance mission for Iraq, said Iran has an influential and constructive role in developments in Iraq.

She briefed the top Iranian diplomat on her views about the domestic and regional issues pertaining to Iraq.

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Islamabad, July 31 (UNI) The death toll from the suicide blast in the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) workers' convention in Pakistan's Bajaur rose to 54 after more of those wounded in the explosion succumbed to their injuries on Monday, media reports said.

A deadly blast ripped through Bajaur district's Khar, a former tribal area bordering Afghanistan, on Sunday evening when a suicide bomber set off explosives at the JUI-F gathering, killing around 40 people on the spot and over 100 injured.

Police said the initial probe suggested that the terrorist organisation Daesh was behind the suicide attack.

Currently, 83 injured people are undergoing treatment at different hospitals, Geo News quoted Counter-Terrorism Department's (CTD) Additional Inspector General Shokat Abbas as saying

Sharing the investigation update, the official said the convention began at 2pm while the explosion occurred two hours later at 4:10pm.

He said ball bearings and other stuff used in making the explosives had been found at the site of the explosion.

Abbas further stated that the terrorist group behind the attack had been identified. It is suspected that the terrorists had targeted someone "specific" in the gathering.

He said the initial probe had led the CTD close to the attack's perpetrators.

Abbas said many pieces of evidence have been found at the site of the explosion, and forensic reports are expected soon.

He confirmed that 10-12kg of explosives were used in the blast.

Meanwhile, the KP CTD registered an FIR against unknown suspects on charges of terrorism, murder, attempted murder and other offences, on behalf of Khar Station House Officer Niaz Mohammad.

Separately, CTD's Bajaur Senior Superintendent (SP) Amjad Khan said investigators visited the crime scene and gathered evidence to further the ongoing investigation.

He said statements of the injured had been recorded while the process of geo-fencing at the site of the explosion had also been completed.

The United States and Saudi Arabia condemned the deadly suicide blast, with Russia condoling the affected families.

Pakistan has seen a resurgence of attacks by extremists since last year when a ceasefire between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamabad broke down. A mosque bombing in Peshawar killed over 100 people earlier this year.

A report submitted to the UN Security Council recently mentioned that the TTP might be seeking a merger with Al Qaeda to create an umbrella organisation that shelters all militant groups operating in South Asia.

Pakistan has long blamed Afghanistan for not living up to its commitment to ensuring that its soil is not used for terrorism in Islamabad, but cross-border militancy continues.

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman demanded that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and KP Caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan investigate the incident.

UNI XC AKS SSP
Iran Army Aviation 'strongest' helicopter fleet in West Asia: Commander

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 July 2023 11:14 AM

The commander of the Iranian Army Aviation says the unit operates as the most powerful helicopter fleet in West Asia and enjoys state-of-the-art weapons and equipment.

Brigadier General Yousef Ghorbani made the comment at a ceremony on Sunday in commemoration of Iran's 1988 military counterattack, code-named Operation Mersad, which crippled the forces of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MKO) terrorist organization and left over 4,800 casualties.

Ghorbani said the Iranian Army Aviation is currently providing air border support to all units and has a strong presence at border areas.

"Today, the Iranian Army Aviation is in a very desirable state in terms of combat readiness, and this is an achievement which has been gained despite severe sanctions in the aviation field," he said.

The commander pointed to the Army Aviation's self-sufficiency, component-manufacturing campaign, and installation of indigenous night vision cameras as some of the achievements of the unit.

"Today, the Iranian Army Aviation functions as the largest and strongest helicopter fleet in West Asia," Ghorbani said, adding that the unit's helicopters are equipped with world-class night vision systems and precision strike missiles, which is providing the Islamic Republic with a deterrent power.

Iranian military experts and engineers have in recent years made remarkable breakthroughs in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient.

Iranian officials have made clear that the country will not hesitate to strengthen its military capabilities, including its missile power, which are entirely meant for defense, and that Iran's defense capabilities will be never open for negotiations.

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Myanmar Resistance Groups Declare First Anti-Junta State Council

By VOA News July 30, 2023

Recent moves by resistance groups in eastern Myanmar to set up an independent local government shows the growing sway of such groups and could inspire similar action elsewhere, say analysts.

They also reflect persistent schisms within the broader resistance movement, the analysts add.

The comments follow the June 12 announcement of an Interim Executive Council of Karenni State by an alliance of armed, political and civil society groups to manage government functions, independently of the military junta that seized control of the country in a 2021 coup.

The council "aims to protect the lives and property of the people, to deliver public services and to fulfill the fundamental needs of the people including education, health, food and other basic necessities," it said in a public statement the same day.

A patchwork of armed groups across Myanmar has been fighting the junta since the military toppled the country's elected government and crushed the protests that followed with deadly force. While the junta still holds the major cities and most towns, resistance groups are believed to control or contest roughly half the countryside.

The groups - which the junta brands as terrorists - have been taking over basic government functions in small pockets, but those in Karenni are the first to do so across the whole of one of Myanmar's 14 states or regions.

'It is the new way'

Khu Plu Reh, the council's general secretary, told VOA this past Thursday the new setup was needed to fill the vacuum in basic services left by the previous state government's collapse after the coup.

He said the council had already appointed people to head some of the 12 departments being created to run the schools, hospitals and other services. Those departments, he added, are working on wooing civil servants who refused to work for the junta, officially the State Administration Council, and devising ways to fund their operations though taxes, donations and other means.

More than that, Khu Plu Reh said, the council is a step toward the "federal democratic union" they would like to see replace not just the junta but the centralized government Myanmar has had since independence from Britain in 1948.

"The creation of the IEC is the first step [to] what we want. We are creating our own ... administration body, we are creating equality, and also we ... reject all centralization, including [the] SAC," he said. "It is the new way."

In the months after the coup, groups opposed to the junta across the country drafted a so-called Federal Democratic Charter, a framework for a future constitution that would give Karenni and other ethnic minority-dominated regions of Myanmar more autonomy.

The Karenni council's inception reveals the growing, but still not total, control resistance groups are gaining across much of the country, David Mathiesan, a Thailand-based Myanmar analyst, said.

"It's exactly where I think a lot of the revolutionary complexes are moving," he told VOA, referring to the combination of opposition armed, political and nongovernment groups joining forces on increasingly equal terms in expanding pockets around Myanmar.

'Partly inspiration'

He said the Karenni council was also likely to galvanize some other groups that may be waiting on Myanmar's so-called National Unity Government, a shadow administration of leaders in hiding and self-exile vying to oust the junta, to show them the way forward.

"It's partly inspiration," Mathieson said of the council's impact. "It's like, look, you can think local and you can do it yourself. You don't have to wait for the NUG to come and give you orders. ... If there's a catch phrase for explaining it all, it's bottom-up administration, it's bottom-up self-governance."

Resistance groups in a few other states and regions seem to be making initial moves at setting up interim governments of their own, according to Mathieson and Aung Tun, an associate fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, a research group based in Singapore.

Aung Tun said something similar appears to be happening in western Rakhine state.

"For Rakhine, for instance, they're not saying that exactly, like an interim executive council, but they are doing ... similar things, basically. They have control [of] some areas where they implemented their own administrative system and judiciary system, and even in some areas taxation, that kind of thing," he told VOA.

Mathieson said what the Karenni groups have done will be hard to replicate elsewhere, however, and that any new governing bodies spanning other states or regions a or large parts of them a may look different.

About the size of Qatar, Karenni is one of the smallest and least populated states in Myanmar, and ethnically more uniform than most. The resistance groups there can also draw on the deep experience of the Karenni National Progressive Party, which has been fighting the military for autonomy for decades; party head Khu Oo Reh chairs the new council.

'Longer-term frustration'

Karenni also demonstrates the challenges the NUG faces trying to knit the country's resistance groups together.

The new Karenni state council has pledged to work with the NUG, and Khu Plu Reh told VOA relations between the two were "good." The NUG publicly congratulated the council on its launch.

In April, though, KNPP officials issued a public statement rebuking the NUG and a group of lawmakers ousted in the coup for openly promoting the creation of their own "people's administrations" in parts of Karenni without their cooperation.

Mathieson said the dispute reflects some degree of competition among the groups as well as lingering tensions between minorities and the National League for Democracy party. The NLD, dominated by Myanmar's ethnic majority Burmans, led the national government toppled in 2021 and is seen by some as playing an outsized role in the NUG.

"There's a longer-term frustration with how the NLD treated a lot of ethnic communities when they were in power, and then post-coup the way that the NUG still seems to have this NLD-centric, born-to-rule mentality that really grates with people," the analyst said.

Aung Tun said it also shows the dearth of dialogue among resistance groups and the need for more.

"You have to have an agreement ... in terms of administrative power, in terms of executive power, in terms of judiciary power, in terms of financial power, in terms of resource allocation, that kind of stuff," he said. "It's going to be a very complicated political process if they don't sit down together and agree a power sharing agreement."

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44 killed, 120 injured in suicide attack in northwestern Pakistan

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 July 2023 1:20 PM

At least 44 people have been killed and dozens of others injured in a suicide attack at a political gathering in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to reports.

The blast targeted the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) party - a government coalition partner led by an influential firebrand cleric -- when more than 400 members and supporters gathered under a tent in the town of Khar, near the border with Afghanistan, on Sunday, officials said. Khar is located in the former tribal area of Bajaur.

"The tent had collapsed on one side, trapping people who were desperately attempting to escape," said Abdullah Khan, who tried to help the victims.

"There was utter confusion, with human flesh, limbs, and body parts scattered throughout the area, alongside lifeless bodies."

Riaz Anwar -- the health minister for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province -- told AFP late Sunday that 44 people had been confirmed killed and at least 120 injured.

"It was a suicide attack, with the bomber detonating himself in close proximity to the stage," he told AFP.

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman demanded of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the interim chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa conduct an inquiry into the Bajaur blast.

"A senior leader from the party was due to address the ceremony, but before his arrival, a bomb explosion took place," Akhtar Hayat Gandapur, the inspector general of police for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, told AFP.

He said the blast targeted the JUI-F convention.

Sabeeh Ullah, a 24-year-old party supporter who had his arm fractured by the blast, said the scale of injuries was horrifying.

"I found myself lying next to someone who had lost their limbs. The air was filled with the smell of human flesh," he told AFP by phone.

Pakistan has seen a resurgence of attacks by militants since last year when a ceasefire between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the government in Islamabad broke down.

The TTP pledges allegiance to Afghanistan's Taliban militants. The Pakistani government accuses the Taliban government of providing hideouts to the TTP militants near the border.

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Pakistan Blast Kills At Least 40 At Political Gathering

By RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal July 30, 2023

At least 40 people were killed and scores injured after an explosion devastated a packed political gathering in northwestern Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, officials told RFE/RL on July 30.

Police said the blast rocked a district convention of the Jamiat Ulema-e Islam Pakistan (JUI) party around 5 p.m. in the Bajaur tribal district, which borders Afghanistan.

Firebrand cleric Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who heads the JUI, was not at the rally, party officials told AP. But officials reported that Maulana Ziaullah, the local leader of the party, was among the dead.

Azam Khan, chief of the emergency room at the main hospital in Khar, told AP that 35 bodies were brought to the hospital, while officials said the number of wounded was approaching 200.

Officials said the seriously wounded were being airlifted to Peshawar, the provincial capital, where better medical care was available.

Details could not immediately be independently confirmed.

It was not yet clear if the explosion was the result of a bomb or a suicide attack. No one has so far claimed responsibility.

Bajaur has long been a sanctuary for Islamist extremists, including the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), known as the Pakistani Taliban, and the Islamic State (IS) group.

Rehman is considered to be pro-Taliban and his political party is part of the coalition government in Islamabad, but the TPP has previously claimed attacks on JUI party members.

Rehman has on many occasions condemned TTP violence in Pakistan, asserting that its "jihad" in Pakistan is un-Islamic and unconstitutional and has urged the TTP and similar groups to seek power through the electoral process. He did support the Afghan Taliban's war against the now-deposed Western-backed government in Afghanistan.

The TPP later issued a statement condemning the bombing, saying it was intended to pit Islamist groups against each other. The Afghan Taliban also said it condemned the attack.

IS has also previously said it was responsible for attacks against religious scholars affiliated with the JUI, which operates mosques and madrasas in the region.

Pakistan conducted a massive military operation against extremists across the northwestern regions in June 2014, forcing many militants and leadership to take refuge across the border in Afghanistan.

However, the TTP has gradually staged a comeback in the mountainous tribal regions since late 2019 and considerably increased the frequency of their attacks in the past two years.

The TTP is a separate militant group from the Afghan Taliban, which toppled the Western-backed government in Kabul in mid-August. But Pakistan's militant groups are often interlinked with those across the border in Afghanistan and the TTP follows the same hard-line Sunni Islam as its Afghan counterparts.

On July 20, two police officers were killed and at least 10 wounded in Peshawar when two suicide bombers attacked a security and administrative compound in the Bara Tehsil neighborhood.

Protesters across the northwestern province have called on Islamabad to provide security as returning TPP fighters asserted control in the volatile region.

With reporting by AP and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-bajaur- rally-blast/32526408.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Blast at Pakistan Political Convention Kills Dozens

By Sarah Zaman July 30, 2023

A blast in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has killed more than 40 people, according to authorities.

The explosion occurred in Khar, a town in the tribal area of Bajaur, located near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. It happened Sunday afternoon during a workers convention of a religious political party, Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI).

A video of the meeting captures the moment of the blast. People can be seen sitting under a large tent, listening to a speaker when an explosion occurs.

In a phone call with VOA, district health official Dr. Faisal Kamal confirmed at least 43 deaths and put the number of injured at around 80. He said it's possible the number of injured could be larger as patients may be receiving treatment in other places.

Earlier, other sources put the number of injured at close to 150.

District Police Officer Nazeer Khan told VOA that evidence collected so far points to the blast being the work of a suicide bomber.

In a tweet, Pakistani Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said an inquiry into the incident has been ordered.

Pakistan has seen a surge in terror attacks since the Afghan Taliban took control in Kabul in August 2021. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, a militant outfit ideologically associated with the Afghan Taliban, has been behind most of those attacks. However, the group denied responsibility for this incident.

In a statement to the media, the central leadership of the TTP, also known as Pakistani Taliban, condemned the attack.

The Afghan Taliban, whom Pakistan accuses of harboring TTP leadership, were also swift to issue a condemnation.

"Such criminal acts are not acceptable and cannot be justified," Zabiullah Mujahid, the central spokesperson of the Afghan Taliban, said on Twitter.

The de-facto Afghan rulers deny providing a safe haven for anti-Pakistan terrorists.

The incident occurred as Pakistan welcomed the vice premier of the People's Republic of China, He Lifeng, in the capital Islamabad. The Chinese official is on a three-day visit to celebrate 10 years of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC, Beijing's multibillion-dollar investment project under its global Belt and Road Initiative.

The main government hospital in Bajaur is under pressure after the catastrophe.

"Because of the large number of people, we are having trouble managing the situation. There is also [a] heavy security presence," Kamal told VOA.

After the blast, a health emergency was declared across the province as the death toll was expected to rise given the large number of injured.

At least 16 critically wounded victims were transported via military helicopters to the provincial capital Peshawar for treatment.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been the target of violence for almost two decades. Militant build-up during the U.S.-lead war in Afghanistan, and Pakistani military operations to flush out terrorists displaced hundreds of thousands of people in the 2010s.

After a few years of relative calm, terrorism returned to the area when the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul almost two years ago. The security situation in KP has worsened since peace talks between the Pakistani state and the TTP collapsed last November.

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Main Naval Parade

President of Russia, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin took part in the Main Naval Parade, held in St Petersburg and Kronstadt on Russian Navy Day.

July 30, 2023

11:55

St Petersburg

The President, accompanied by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Nikolai Yevmenov and Acting Commander of the Western Military District Sergei Ryumshin, were aboard the naval cutter Raptor as it sailed around the warships on parade in the Neva River. Vladimir Putin greeted the crews of the small missile ships Zelyony Dol and Burya, the submarine Sankt Peterburg, the frigate Neustrashimy, and the submarine Velikiye Luki. The battleship Poltava, built according to the 18th century drafts and models, led the parade sail ships at anchor.

The vessels that took part in the parade included the counterterror boats P-468, P-474, and Nakhimovets, the landing boats Ivan Pasko and Alexei Barinov with Peter the Great's famous botik, the grandfather of the Russian Navy; the Raptor-class patrol cutters Yevgeny Kolesnikov and P-436, the counterterror boat Yunarmeyets Dagestana, the base minesweeper Pavel Khenov, and the guided missile ships Uglich and Sovetsk. A total of 11 vessels of the Navy and the Federal Security Service were involved in the parade in the Gulf in Finland, along with the diesel-electric submarine Ufa.

At anchor in the Large Kronstadt Roadstead, the submarine Dmitrov, the guided missile ship Mytishchi, the corvette Boiky, and the sailing vessel Mir were on display. The bark Sedov was on show as well.

The parade concluded with a march of ceremonial regiments on Senate Square, featuring cadets as well as boy seamen of the Young Army movement.

Also attending the parade were the heads of state and government and the leaders of delegations of African nations that took part in the Second Russia-Africa Summit. The President of Russia greeted the foreign guests, and had a brief conversation with the President of the Republic of Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso, and the interim President of the Republic of Burkina Faso Ibrahim TraorA.

Vladimir Putin also spoke with the Gorelov family from Magadan, who were awarded the Order of the Parental Glory for having many children. The day before, the President had met with families with many children in the Kremlin and had promised the Gorelovs that he would help them attend the Main Naval Parade in St Petersburg.

The President of Russia, together with the African leaders, sailed to Kronstadt aboard a cutter, taking time to see the warships deployed in the Gulf of Finland. In Kronstadt, Vladimir Putin accompanied his foreign visitors to the Museum of Naval Glory.

* * *

Speech at the parade devoted to the Russian Navy Day

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Fellow sailors and petty officers, midshipmen and officers, generals and admirals, dear veterans, esteemed Russian citizens,

Congratulations on Russian Navy Day!

For centuries, our Fleet has been an indestructible guardian of the frontiers of the Fatherland, its pride and glory. This is why the whole of Russia, all the people celebrate festivities in its honour.

Today we congratulate the brave ship and submarine crews, the fearless pilots of naval aircraft, ground services personnel, courageous soldiers of the coastal forces and our daring marines.

We gratefully acknowledge all the generations of Russian shipwrights, naval commanders and sailors. Their brilliant skills, fidelity to duty and the Motherland, professionalism and talent have determined the great destiny of Russia in many respects.

Since the time of Peter the Great, our Navy has served our country devotedly and whole-heartedly. Its chronicles include triumphant victories in sea battles, round-the-world cruises and great geographical discoveries, outstanding achievements in science and technology.

Time and again, the Russian fleet has stood in the way of the enemy as an unassailable fortress. We remember the heroic defence of Port-Arthur and of Sevastopol, Petropavlovsk and Leningrad, we recall the courage of the marines, the sailors defending Moscow, Stalingrad and the Arctic regions, storming bridgeheads on the Dnieper and the Danube rivers.

The history of development of our Russian Navy has formed its essence, its primary mission, which centers on protecting the Motherland.

This year, our heroic Fleet celebrates a whole range of memorable events, today's parade is devoted to them: The Baltic Fleet is 320 years old, the Northern Fleet, - 290 years, and the Black Sea Fleet, - 240.

Each of them has its proud history. Jointly with the Pacific Fleet and the Caspian Flotilla they form the indestructible stronghold of our country's defence capacity, reliably protect the national interests of Russia in the World Ocean, and firmly guard centuries-old covenants of the naval military brotherhood, traditions of honour, nobility and passion for work.

The rigorous fleet routine requires the highest degree of responsibility, professionalism and decisiveness. Being ready to combat the sea element, head to head, you know the power of unity. Disregarding the risk, rigors of service and long separations, you understand the great value of family and home. You pass the most sacred task from generation to generation: loyalty to your homeland.

It is patriotism that forms the basis of the special fleet culture which enables all state assignments to be carried out in a worthy manner, invariably arousing people's admiration for military sailors, and pride in our fearless Military Fleet.

More than a hundred years ago, Pyotr Stolypin described this pride as proof that the people had the power, the ability to keep the sea under their control.

Today, Russia confidently implements the ambitious objectives of the national marine policy, and steadily increases the power of its Fleet. This year alone, it will be supplemented by 30 ships of different classes.

Among the ships put on combat duty is the guided-missile corvetteMercury, which is named in honour of the unfadable act of courage of the team of the legendary brig. Almost two centuries ago, it single-handedly won a victory over two battleships. It is gratifying that the tradition of naming Russian fleet ships after it has been revived.

The St. George's Ensign - a sign of the firmness of our naval traditions, a symbol of the courage, bravery and steadfastness of military sailors - has been raised on the new Mercury.

These qualities are fully apparent today. Our sailors give their all, display true heroism, fight nobly in the name of Russia, like our great predecessors.

I would like to thank the crew of the Russian Navy for their outstanding accomplishment of the tasks they have been set for their reliability, diligence, firmness and unfailing loyalty to the Motherland!

Glory to the Russian Navy!

Hurrah!

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Putin: Russian Navy to receive 30 new vessels this year

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 July 2023 6:19 PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia continues to strengthen its naval power, with 30 new vessels joining its fleet this year.

Putin made the announcement on Sunday at the Main Navy Day parade in St. Petersburg, where he reviewed a display of warships and nuclear submarines in his native city.

"Today Russia confidently implements its large-scale objectives of the national maritime policy and persistently builds up the might of its Navy. This year alone, 30 warships of various classes will join it," the Russian president said.

Putin, accompanied by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, the head of the Navy, inspected the ships from a launch boat on the Neva before making a speech.

Navy Day is celebrated every year on the last Sunday of July in Russia. This year, 45 ships, submarines and other vessels, as well as about 3,000 navy personnel, took part in the Main Naval Parade on the Neva River and in the Kronshtadt roadstead.

Other naval parades were also held at the main bases of the Baltic, Northern, and Pacific Fleets and the Caspian Flotilla, as well as in Novorossiysk on the Black Sea and in the Syrian port of Tartus on the Mediterranean Sea.

Some of the vessels that participated in the parade included the Neustrashimy frigate sailed along the Neva River, while other vessels like the Zeleny Dol corvette, the Velikie Luki submarine, and the Yunarmeets Dagestana anti-sabotage boat.

The Iranian Navy deployed three vessels to Russia to join the naval parade north of the Caspian Sea and the commander of Iran's navy Rear Admiral Shahram Irani also participated in the ceremony.

Several African leaders and representatives also attended the Main Naval Parade, after being invited by Putin following a Russia-Africa summit that ended on Friday in St. Petersburg.

Russia has been modernizing its navy in recent years, investing in new submarines, frigates, corvettes and missile systems. It has also increased its naval presence in the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Arctic regions.

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Rise and Fall of a Russian Ultranationalist

By Alex Gendler July 30, 2023

The arrest and disappearance of dissidents and anti-war activists has become a common occurrence in Russia. But the detention in July of former Federal Security Service officer Igor Girkin has marked a turning point in how the government of President Vladimir Putin treats even those who support its military goals.

Known by the nickname Strelkov, meaning "shooter," Girkin's journey from key operative to political threat sheds light on the Kremlin's complex history with ideological extremists.

Long before he became a wanted war criminal in the West, Girkin was a student at the Moscow State Institute for History and Archives, where he began his hobby of reenacting military history, especially that of the czarist White Army.

An avowed monarchist, Girkin fell in with far-right circles that were arising amid the Soviet collapse, writing for the newspaper Zavtra, which combined the idolization of Soviet militarism with antisemitic Russian nationalism and opposition to Western democracy.

However, his interest in war went beyond historical costume. He would fight in Russia's brutal campaign against Chechen independence, as well as the 1992 intervention in Moldova that left the region of Transnistria as Russian-occupied territory.

Girkin also volunteered alongside ethnic Serb forces in the Bosnian War and was present at the massacre of thousands of Bosnian Muslim civilians in Visegrad. Afterward, he is believed to have served in the FSB, where he reportedly rose to the rank of colonel before retiring in 2013.

But this would not be the end of Girkin's military career.

Following the 2014 Euromaidan protests that toppled Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Girkin appeared in Crimea among the so-called Russian volunteers a later revealed to be active-duty soldiers a who brought the peninsula under Russian control.

Next, he would surface in Ukraine's Donbas region as the head of militants who seized government offices in Sloviansk to establish the separatist Donetsk People's Republic.

Despite claiming to be a local uprising with no Kremlin involvement, much of the militants' leadership was composed of Russian citizens with close ties to the security services, such as Girkin's old newspaper colleague Alexander Borodai. Girkin himself would later admit that the war in the Donbas would not have occurred without direct Russian support.

As defense minister of the small, breakaway state, Girkin imposed harsh discipline on enemies and allies alike, torturing and executing supporters of Ukraine, as well as petty criminals and even fellow separatist fighters, for infractions such as looting or abandoning their post.

His biggest war crime was yet to come.

On July 17, 2014, a Malaysia Airlines jet carrying 298 people was shot down over the Donetsk region, killing everyone on board. Evidence showed that the plane had been hit by a Russian-made BUK surface-to-air missile fired from rebel-controlled territory.

Deleted social media posts suggested Girkin had knowledge of the deliberate attack. He was found guilty in November 2022 by a Dutch court in absentia and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Publicly, Girkin denied any responsibility for the shooting and claimed it had been a false flag operation a a military action meant to blame an opponent or rival a mirroring Russian media's own shifting explanations and conspiracy theories about the crash.

But this high-profile international attention made him a liability for Russia, which still denied involvement in the conflict. To make their denial more plausible, Girkin and other Russian citizens were removed from power and replaced with local separatist leaders.

Upon his return to Russia in late 2014, Girkin criticized Russian leadership. As a true believer, he viewed the Donbas as historic Russian land and had expected the Kremlin to fully commit to annexing the region, as they had with Crimea.

But for Putin, an ongoing stalemate in the Donbas provided a low-cost way to impede Ukraine's integration into Western institutions while maintaining enough plausible deniability to avoid the full weight of international sanctions.

Dismayed by what he viewed as a betrayal of the cause, Girkin became an increasingly vocal critic of Putin. His media statements and interviews often undercut the official Kremlin line by revealing the extent of Russia's involvement in the conflict.

With Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Girkin gained renewed prominence as one of the country's top military bloggers.

While ordinary citizens and liberal activists were jailed for even referring to the "special military operation" as a war, Girkin and other far-right nationalists openly offered frank condemnation of the military strategy, as well as the top leadership, accusing them of incompetence and insufficient preparation.

The bloggers' criticisms, which did not oppose the invasion but called for a more aggressive campaign, allowed for the venting of discontent without disrupting Kremlin narratives, while also positioning Putin as a relative moderate.

That calculus appears to have changed, however, with Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin's aborted mutiny in late June. In the face of such a public challenge to his authority, experts believe Putin can no longer afford to tolerate criticism, even from so-called patriots.

Jailed liberal opposition figure Alexei Navalny has also weighed in, noting that despite his other crimes, Girkin should nevertheless be considered a political prisoner.

It remains to be seen what will become of other ultranationalist Putin critics, some of whom have already rushed to distance themselves from Girkin. His arrest, coming on the heels of the Wagner mutiny, underscores the Kremlin's struggle to control the very forces it has unleashed.

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Top US Natl. Security official in Saudi to again push Israel normalization

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 July 2023 11:40 AM

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has visited Saudi Arabia and held talks with the kingdom's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid Washington's persisting push to pressure Riyadh to normalized ties with the Israeli regime.

Sullivan's latest visit to the Saudi city of Jeddah was unveiled by the White House and reported in Western media in recent days though Washington did not directly point to the normalization deal.

Sullivan, who was joined by White House Middle East coordinator, Brett McGurk, met bin Salman and senior Saudi officials and discussed "initiatives to advance a common vision for a more peaceful, secure, prosperous and stable Middle East region interconnected with the world," the White House said.

The White House statement made no mention of Israel, but a White House official said a possible normalization agreement with Israel was among various topics.

They also discussed efforts to build on the benefits of a truce in the war in Yemen.

US officials have sought for months to reach what would be a historic agreement between the two apparent adversaries - though behind-the-scenes allies -- but the Saudis have remained resistant so far.

The development came amid Washington's expressed worries about reestablishment of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia as well as Tehran's growing influence and alliances across West Asia and beyond.

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Putin: Russia 'ready for any scenario' versus US in Syria but not after military confrontation

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 July 2023 8:03 AM

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that although Moscow does not seek a direct confrontation with the US-led NATO military alliance, it is ready for "any scenario" involving Washington's provocations in Syria.

"We are always ready for any scenario, but no one wants this, and on the initiative of the American side we once created a special mechanism to prevent these conflicts," Putin told reporters in St. Petersburg on Saturday, when asked about US provocations in the Arab country.

He added that Washington and Moscow are in direct communication with each other and have the opportunity to consult on any potential crisis.

"This shows that no one wants clashes," the Russian leader reiterated.

Since early 2023, the Russian military has reported a total of 23 dangerous incidents involving Russian aircraft and those of the US-led coalition.

Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, the head of the Russian military's Reconciliation Center for Syria, said on Thursday that most such incidents took place in July.

Gurinov added that the Russian pilots recorded 11 cases where they were targeted with Western aircraft-targeting systems, which led to the automatic engagement of onboard defense systems.

Also, the Russian Defense Ministry said the US drones have violated flight safety in Syria 340 times since the beginning of the year.

The US has deployed forces and military equipment in Syria under the pretext of fighting Daesh, but without any authorization from the Damascus government or a UN mandate.

The US military claims its presence in Syria is aimed at preventing the oilfields in the area from falling into the hands of Daesh. Damascus, however, maintains the illegal deployment is meant to plunder the Arab country's natural resources.

Moscow has also repeatedly warned Washington and its allies about the risks of a potential direct conflict between Russia and NATO, particularly amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Russia says continued Western arms supplies to Kiev will extend the hostilities and make its Western backers engage in the conflict even deeper.

'Neo-Nazism against Russia will backfire'

Meanwhile, Putin also told reporters that the use of neo-Nazism and the recruitment of terrorist groups against Russia would backfire on the countries that employ such adversarial methods.

"Now that Ukraine is being used as a tool to fight against Russia, this suits our potential adversaries. They are ready to use any means, and at one point they used al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations in the fight against us in the Caucasus," he said.

The Russian leader said that some countries view the situation from the perspective that, for example, al-Qaeda in Europe is "bad," while the same terrorists in the fight against Russia are "good."

He argued that it's the same with Nazism, saying, "Nazism is generally bad, but if neo-Nazis can be used in the fight against Russia, that suits them."

"Both are wrong: those who are trying to use neo-Nazis against us, because in the end, it will fire back at them, just as terrorism returned to them; and those who are trying to build their identity on the basis of Nazi ideas, because this will lead them to a dead end."

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US to host top-level trilateral summit with Japan, S Korea in Aug

Washington, July 31 (UNI) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will visit the United States next month to take part in a trilateral summit with the leaders of the US and South Korea, Japan's government said on Monday.

"Prime Minister Kishida, if circumstances allow, will visit the United States on August 17 and attend a trilateral Japan-US-South Korea summit at Camp David on August 18. In addition to measures against North Korea, the summit will contain an exchange of opinions on strengthening trilateral strategic cooperation as well as preserving and strengthening a free and open world order based on rule of law," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a briefing.

This will be the first US-Japan-South Korea summit held independently and not on the sidelines on international events. The latest trilateral summit between the heads of the three countries took place during G7 summit in Hiroshima in May.
Forging Taiwan's civil defense with airguns, ham radios, first aid training

ROC Central News Agency

07/30/2023 02:20 PM

Taipei, July 30 (CNA) Amid the threat of conflict from an increasingly assertive China or even the growing risk of a major natural disaster due to the climate crisis, civil defense in Taiwan is taking on greater importance than ever before.

Taiwan has a professional military supported by young conscripts who perform mandatory military service and national reservists to defend its territory against a possible attack by China's People's Liberation Army.

If war were to break out, however, Taiwanese civilians would also likely have to contribute to the war effort, and several groups have formed to prepare people for a possible conflict either as potential combatants or emergency first responders.

That preparation can take many forms, whether learning to shoot a weapon, communicate by radio, or develop first aid skills.

Taking arms

Taiwanese shooting clubs are among the entities that have gained new relevance as more focus is put on civil defense, with applications for membership on the rise since the outbreak of the war between Ukraine and Russia.

Speaking with CNA, "32D Shooter's Club" co-founder Liao Chien-hung () said approximately half of the new members of his club over the last two years signed up to train themselves in marksmanship due to concerns over cross-strait relations and the Ukraine-Russia war.

Liao said that while the mood in his club is generally pleasant and relaxed, a number of the new members are looking to boost their chances of survival and combat readiness through paid-for training.

Many participants, Liao said, pay for lessons to equip themselves with the right shooting skills and tactical know-how under the tutelage of professionals to familiarize themselves with firearms.

Though the weapons used at the club are exclusively airsoft guns, which have softer audio booms and weaker recoils than live rounds, members can still get accustomed to proper shooting positions and aiming techniques, Liao said.

Those skills would help them if they had to take up arms in an emergency, he said.

Huang Chia-feng (), a member of the club, said he often brings his son along to the club to practice target shooting because while he did not wish for war to happen, he also could not turn a blind eye to the possibility.

"At least we can get a semblance of preparation by training to shoot," Huang said.

Keeping lines open

Aside from combat readiness, open communications are equally valued by experts who have wondered how resilient Taiwan's communications would be in wartime, especially after two submarine internet cables relied upon by residents of the Taiwan-held Matsu Islands were severed earlier this year.

Ham radio enthusiasts who understand the importance of communications in a war zone, such as Chinese Taipei Amateur Radio League Chairman Randson Huang (), told CNA that his league has continuously invested in studying wireless communications applications.

Huang said he and his fellow radio aficionados want to promote and expand the use of wireless communication because modern day 4G and even 5G technologies would be rendered useless if cell towers were brought down during an attack.

Even when not at war, 4G and 5G cell towers are vulnerable to events such as natural disasters, league secretary-general David Kao () said.

In times of emergency, Kao said radio would be the quickest way to get updates out, as was the case with wireless stations set up during Taiwan's massive September 21, 1999 earthquake and the Typhoon Morakot disaster in 2009.

Huang revealed, however, that there remain barriers to making this a widespread pastime, including that operating wireless communications technology in Taiwan needs national certification.

Thinking ahead

Another form of civil defense preparation in Taiwan is first-responder readiness among civilians, who are trained and acquainted with the standard protocols.

The Forward Alliance is at the forefront of promoting and leading the movement. Its Forward Volunteers program provides individuals with enough knowledge to support professional first responders and provide on-site aid before medical experts are available.

Lecturers of the program who provide essential first responder training are recruited from among firefighters, EMTs (emergency medical technician) and surgeons.

A member of the program, surnamed Wu () who participated in an automobile accident simulation, said the course instilled in him the importance of households to have an emergency go-bag to prepare for all crisis situations and not just war.

Wu said he believed that if Taiwan was able to consolidate emergency response capabilities among civilians, such groups will be of great benefit to Taiwan's civil defense.

(By Chao Shih-hsun and James Lo)

Enditem/ls

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US' latest military aid to Taiwan island further endangers peace in the Straits; youth will become cannon fodder if DPP continues down wrong path: official

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun Published: Jul 30, 2023 12:38 PM Updated: Jul 30, 2023 12:40 PM

With the secessionist deputy regional leader on the island of Taiwan Lai Ching-te, who is also a candidate for the next regional leader election, scheming to make a transit visit to the US in August, tensions around the island of Taiwan continue to build.

The US on Friday announced a military aid package worth $345 million for the island of Taiwan, which is the Biden administration's first major package drawing on the US' own stockpiles to help the island counter the Chinese mainland, the Associated Press reported on Saturday.

The package would include defense, education and training for the armed forces on the island of Taiwan, as Washington will send man-portable air defense systems, intelligence and surveillance capabilities, firearms and missiles to the island, the report said, citing the White House and anonymous US officials.

'Expendable card'

It marked the latest US plan to deliver weapons to the island of Taiwan among many of its attempts to build the island into a "porcupine," which is supposed to defend itself with its spikes, deterring others and hurting them should they attack.

With this "porcupine plan," the US further intensified arms sales to the island over the past few years, including Volcano mine-laying systems, HIMARS multiple rocket launch systems, M1A2 main battle tanks, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, SLAM-ER cruise missiles, Patriot surface-to-air missiles, Stinger man-portable missiles and F-16V fighter jets.

In response to the latest military aid, Chen Binhua, a spokesperson at the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Saturday that China firmly opposes US providing weapons to China's Taiwan region.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' stubborn insistence on the secessionist position of "Taiwan independence," attempting to seek "independence" by relying on the US and by using force, begging for US arms sale or military aid, and enhancing military collusion with the US are moves that are making Taiwan a powder keg and ammunition depot and have increased the danger and risk of a conflict in the Taiwan Straits, Chen said.

If the DPP is allowed to go on the path to the end, the youth will only become cannon fodders, Chen said.

The US is seeking every means to instigate contradictions and estrangements between the Chinese mainland and the island of Taiwan, attempting to turn people on the island of Taiwan into cannon fodders and have them to resist reunification by force, at the cost of lives of local people, Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military expert, told the Global Times.

US weapons such as mine-laying systems provided to the island are also double-edged swords that could remain threats to civilians on the island decades after deployment, causing serious humanitarian threats, observers said. US' providing of a large number of weapons, even possibly to civilians, will only raise risks of collateral damage, they said.

It exposed the US scheme to use the island of Taiwan as an expendable card to serve US hegemonic goals in containing and suppressing China, without considering lives of people on the island.

Converting the island of Taiwan into a "porcupine" is a plan that benefits only the US, and selling such amounts of overpriced, yet outdated weapons also gains huge profits for the US' military-industrial complex, observers said.

Wrong signals

The US has been rallying up its allies and partners in the Asia-Pacific region and even from other parts of the world to hold joint exercises on China's doorsteps, often bringing in the Taiwan question as a subject of drills. Analysts pointed out that the US is using its Asian allies and partners as forward deployment bases and at the same time treating them as cannon fodder.

One of the recent exercises was held in the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea near the island of Taiwan in June. Two US Navy carrier strike groups featuring the aircraft carriers USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan operated with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter carrier JS Izumo and surface units from Canada and France, according to press releases from the US 7th Fleet at the time.

Earlier this year, the US and the Philippines held their largest combat exercises in decades in the Philippines and waters across the South China Sea and the Taiwan Straits. The US was granted access to four additional military bases in the Philippines, enhancing its military tactical flexibility in the region.

While the PLA is preparing for a scenario in which US forces militarily interfere on the Taiwan question, it remains questionable if the US is really committed to doing so at the cost of American soldiers' lives.

The US' Taiwan Relations Act states that the US will enable the island to maintain sufficient self-defense capabilities, but the US does not have a mutual defense treaty with the island and is not obligated to defend it, CNBC reported.

The US is pushing its allies to the frontline of a potential conflict to face its strategic opponent. With the US being a country from outside of the region, such a conflict is far away from US homeland, but countries within the region tied up to the US chariot would have to face cost themselves, another Chinese mainland military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times.

By provocatively sending warplanes and warships through the Taiwan Straits, the US is encouraging the DPP authorities to confront the Chinese mainland, and showing the US' strong stance against China, the expert said.

Such provocative transits by a small number of aircraft or vessels are of little military significance compared to the PLA's growing capabilities, but they send wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces and other countries in the region, deceiving them and having them confront the PLA, the expert said.

Seeing the truth

Some people on the island of Taiwan have over the years seen through the US' malicious intensions.

A commentary published on a media outlet on the island in May said that the US is selling the fear of war, with the US government, Congress and even normal people seeing the Taiwan Straits as the most possible place for a conflict could break out. And then, US arms dealers came to the island to sell weapons.

The Chinese mainland does not renounce the use of force, and the PLA has demonstrated its capabilities with large-scale military exercises that encircled the island in August last year and April this year following provocative collusion moves between the US house speakers and the DPP authorities.

The exercises showed that the PLA can form a blockade can cut off energy supply routes, reinforcement routes and escape routes of "Taiwan independence" forces, as well as their hopes for US military reinforcement, Zhao Xiaozhuo, a research fellow at China's Academy of Military Sciences, told the Global Times.

The move demonstrated the PLA's firm will and strong capability in thwarting all "Taiwan independence" secessionist moves and external interference attempts and safeguarding national sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, Zhao said.

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China slams first US military aid to Taiwan island under Presidential Drawdown Authority

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun Published: Jul 30, 2023 06:46 PM

US weapons deliveries to the island of Taiwan are intended to instigate conflict in the Taiwan Straits in a move to contain China, experts said on Sunday, after China slammed the US for its first military aid package to the island under the US Presidential Drawdown Authority.

Chen Binhua, a spokesperson at the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Saturday that China firmly opposes the US providing weapons to China's Taiwan region.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' stubborn insistence on the secessionist position of "Taiwan independence," attempting to seek "independence" by relying on the US and by using force, begging for US arms sales or military aid, and enhancing military collusion with the US are moves that are making Taiwan a powder keg and ammunition depot, and have increased the danger and risk of a conflict in the Taiwan Straits, Chen said.

If the DPP is allowed to follow this path to the end, the youth will only become cannon fodder, the spokesperson said.

"'Taiwan independence' is a dead end, as no matter how much tax money from local people the DPP authorities and secessionist forces use to buy US weapons, there is no sway to our firm will to realize the complete national reunification and no stop to our strong capability in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.

Chen's remarks came after the US on Friday announced a military aid package worth $345 million for the island of Taiwan, as Washington will send man-portable air defense systems, intelligence and surveillance capabilities, firearms and missiles to the island, the Associated Press reported on Saturday.

It marks the first time the US has transferred equipment to Taiwan island under what is known as the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the US to pull weapons and other stocks directly from Defense Department inventories in a process that accelerates the transfer of inventory, CNN reported.

The move sets a very bad precedence, as the US could continue to deliver weapons and equipment to the island of Taiwan the same way in the future, observers said.

It shows that the US is in a hurry to arm the island of Taiwan, they said.

Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military expert, told the Global Times that the US and the DPP authorities are colluding with each other to build the island into a pawn in the US' game to contain China, and the arms transfers are part of it.

It is a malicious move by the US to turn people on the island of Taiwan into cannon fodder and have them resist reunification by force, while the US homeland stays far away from the conflict, Wei said.

But no matter how "Taiwan independence" forces collude with external interference forces, the Chinese People's Liberation Army is fully capable of crushing their attempts in seeking "independence" or resisting reunification by force, Wei said.

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China: US military aid to Taiwan will not deter its will to unify the island

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 July 2023 4:35 PM

China has accused the United States of turning Taiwan into an "ammunition depot" after Washington announced a fresh $345 million package of weapons for Chinese Taipei (Taiwan).

Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office issued a statement late on Saturday opposing the military aid to the self-governed island Taiwan.

"No matter how much of the ordinary people's taxpayer money the... Taiwanese separatist forces spend, no matter how many US weapons, it will not shake our resolve to solve the Taiwan problem, or shake our firm will to realize the reunification of our motherland," the statement read.

"Their actions are turning Taiwan into a powder keg and ammunition depot, aggravating the threat of war in the Taiwan Strait," it added

Washington announced the new weapons package for Chinese Taipei on Friday, at a time when the US has been attempting to ameliorate its deteriorated relationship with Beijing.

For this package, Washington has for the first time used what is known as Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), allowing the US to pull the weapons and other stocks directly from the inventories of the US Department of Defense (DoD).

Prior to this, PDA, which accelerates the process of weapons transfers, was used only for weapons deliveries to Ukraine.

The latest $345 million package includes "man-portable air defense systems, intelligence and surveillance capabilities, firearms and missiles" which will be used in targeting the Chinese mainland.

It also includes "education and training" for the locals, an extremely detrimental move aimed at planting the seed of secessionism in the minds of the young so as to turn them into cannon fodder for the secessionists in power.

In late May, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers that a "significant" package of weapons, munitions, and equipment would be coming "soon" for Taiwan, part of the $1 billion worth of weapons the US Congress had authorized in PDA for Taipei.

Also, Taipei's earlier purchase of weapons from the United States had included $332.2 million of 30mm ammunition and related equipment, as well as $108 million worth of logistical military material.

Meanwhile, the state-run China Daily newspaper wrote in an editorial on Saturday that Washington is fanning the flames of war with arms sales to Taiwan.

The freshly announced weapons package shows Washington is apparently attempting to export war to the Asia-Pacific as part of its containment strategy toward China, it said.

It said the sales of weapons to Taipei betrays the recent promises from senior US officials not to take any anti-Beijing stances and show support for the secessionist movement on the island.

Ties between Washington and Beijing remain strained over a range of issues, including the US' non-adherence to the internationally-confirmed "One China" principle, trade wars, territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas, and US President Joe Biden's restrictions on semiconductor chip exports, among other issues.

Beijing describes the issue of Chinese Taipei as the most sensitive and important matter in its relations with the US, and the topic remains a constant source of friction between the two world powers.

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PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan Jul.30, 2023

ROC Central News Agency

2023/07/30

1.Dateis

6 to 6 a.m. (UTC+8) Saturday to Sunday, Jul. 29-30

2.PLA activitiesis

6 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities.

3.Illustration of flight paths is not provided due to no trace of PLA aircraft crossing the middle line of the Taiwan Strait or entering Taiwan's southwestern ADIZ during the time frame.

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US military slammed for aid to Taiwan

People's Daily Online

By ZHANG YI (Chinadaily.com.cn) 09:10, July 31, 2023

The Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan is increasing the risk of military conflict in the Taiwan Strait by seeking support from the United States, a Chinese mainland spokesman said on Saturday over the recent US announcement of military aid for the island.

In a statement, Chen Binhua, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, expressed Beijing's strong opposition to the US arming Taiwan after it was reported that the White House had announced on Friday that the US would provide Taiwan with military assistance worth up to $345 million.

Chen said that the DPP authorities stubbornly adhere to their separatist agenda and constantly seek US military aid, aiming to achieve "Taiwan independence" through force.

"These actions are turning Taiwan into a 'powder keg' and exacerbating the risk of military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. If the DPP authorities continue on this path, the younger generation in Taiwan will only become 'cannon fodder'," he said.

Emphasizing that "Taiwan independence" is a dead end, Chen denounced the DPP authorities for spending the Taiwan people's tax contributions to buy arms from the US. Even so, they cannot shake Beijing's firm determination to resolve the Taiwan question and achieve complete reunification of the motherland, he said.

According to media reports, the US arms assistance to Taiwan will be delivered under the Presidential Drawdown Authority. Through the US National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, the US Congress authorized up to $1 billion worth of weapons aid for Taiwan using the drawdown, a fast-track authority that has been exercised a number of times to send arms to Ukraine. Using a drawdown will let the US sidestep the often-lengthy process of contracting and producing weapons.

The White House announcement said the aid going to Taiwan will include "defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training", but didn't specify what weapons will be provided. On Tuesday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill, titled "Taiwan International Solidarity Act", which is aimed at supporting the island's participation in international organizations.

Taiwan's pro-reunification Labor Party said in a statement on Saturday that the legislation revealed the malicious intentions of the US to manipulate international relations without any political integrity.

"For the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, we should reject foreign interference in the Taiwan Strait, and refuse to be a pawn of hegemony. The peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait should be maintained by the Chinese people on both sides," the statement said.

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US to blame for blocking peace talks on Ukraine: Russia

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 July 2023 11:36 AM

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said Washington's pursuit of a strategic military defeat of Moscow "on the battlefield" constitutes an obstacle to the possibility of peace talks on Ukraine.

"This is a principled stance by the US administration which not simply thinks about but made it its mission - the necessity of not simply achieving results but a strategic defeat of our country on the battlefield," Zakharova said in an interview on the sidelines of the Second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg, TASS news agency reported on Saturday.

The United States is reaping huge profits from the war in Ukraine, she insisted, adding, "Because the conflict allows them to avoid discussing their own pertinent problems. Because the conflict for them is the opportunity to resolve their issues by introducing this chaos to global geopolitical affairs."

"There are objective factors connected to the West and Kiev regime's position which is implementing precisely the Western agenda," Zakharova added.

Zakharova also thanked the African leaders for their efforts to mediate the issue.

"So, on the sidelines of the [Russia-Africa] Summit, as you know, words 'peace' and 'peace initiative' were heard from the Africans. I know that relevant meetings took place. We are grateful for this genuine sincere interest," she said.

Zakharova echoed remarks made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin said on Saturday that Moscow did not oppose the idea of holding talks on the war in Ukraine, confirming the initiative set forth by the African leaders could serve as a basis for peace processes in the ex-Soviet state.

In June, an African delegation led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa traveled first to Ukraine and then to Russia to mediate the war in Ukraine.

The delegation -- which, besides Ramaphosa, included Comoros President Azali Assoumani, who currently heads the African Union, as well as the presidents of Senegal, and Zambia, in addition to Egypt's prime minister and top envoys from the Republic of Congo and Uganda -- arrived in Russia's second-largest city after their visit to Ukraine, where they held talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on June 16.

Ramaphosa said he put forward to the Russians a 10-point "initiative in search of peace" but said the group's proposals were "not in competition" with others that have been presented, likely referring to plans put forth by Zelenskiy that demand a Russian withdrawal from all Ukrainian territory.

He said African leaders "recognize the sovereignty of nations and countries in accordance with the UN Charter that must be respected."

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Russia thwarted Ukraine's 'terrorist' drone attack on Moscow, another 25-drone raid on Crimea

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 July 2023 6:58 AM

Russian Defense Ministry has declared that its forces have thwarted a Ukrainian "terrorist attack" on capital Moscow as well as another massive 25-drone raid on facilities in Crimea.

"On the morning of July 30, an attempt of a terrorist attack by the Kiev regime using unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs] on objects in the city of Moscow was thwarted," the ministry said in a Sunday statement on Telegram as cited by the official TASS news agency.

It further pointed out that one of the three drones was shot down in the surrounding Moscow region by air defense systems and the two others were jammed by electronic devices, eventually crashing into the Moscow City business district in the capital.

"One Ukrainian UAV was destroyed in the air by air defense over the territory of the Odintsovsky District of the Moscow region," the statement read. "Two more drones were suppressed by means of electronic warfare and, having lost control crashed on the territory of the Moscow-City non-residential building complex."

The attack "insignificantly damaged" the outsides of two buildings in the Moscow City district, injuring a security guard, according to Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.

Kiev's huge 25-drone raid on Crimean also thwarted

In a related development, the defense ministry further announced later on Sunday that Russian forces also thwarted a massive Ukrainian attack on facilities in Crimea using 25 drones Saturday night, adding that 16 of them were shut down by air defense and the other nine were suppressed by electronic warfare.

"Tonight, the Kiev regime attempted to carry out a terrorist attack with 25 drones of airplane type on facilities on the territory of the Crimean peninsula," the ministry said in a statement as quoted by TASS.

"Sixteen Ukrainian drones were destroyed by air defense systems. Another nine Ukrainian drones were suppressed by electronic warfare and, having failed to reach the target, crashed into the waters of the Black Sea and Cape Tarkhankut," it added, noting that no casualties or damages were inflicted as the result of the attack.

Kiev has previously waged a drone attack on Crimea using 17 UAVs on July 24, all of which were either shot down or suppressed by electronic warfare, according to Russia's defense ministry.

Ukraine using 'seized' N Korean rockets against Russia, FT claims

Meanwhile, Ukraine's US-backed defense ministry has reportedly claimed using "North Korean rockets captured from the Russians" in its war against the country in an apparent bid to promote American allegations of Pyongyang supplying arms to Moscow.

The latest claim by Kiev was reported Saturday by the UK-based Financial Times, which further added, without citing any evidence, that "Ukrainian soldiers were observed using North Korean rockets that they said were seized by a "friendly" country before being delivered to Ukraine" - in effect, contradicting the defense ministry's claim that they were captured from Russian.

This is while Washington has repeatedly accused North Korea of supplying weapons to Russia, including alleged shipments by sea, though it has never offered any proof for the allegation. However, the existence of North Korean arms on the battlefield in Ukraine has never been verified.

Both Pyongyang and Moscow, meanwhile, have denied conducting any arms transactions so far.

The Sunday attack was the latest in a series of recent drone assaults led by Kiev several weeks into a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

On Monday, the Russian Defence Ministry also announced it has "suppressed" another Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow.

A drone attack on the Kremlin in May was described as an attempt on President Vladimir Putin's life. Kiev denied carrying out the drone attack on the Kremlin.

Russian officials have repeatedly slammed Ukraine's drone attacks on Moscow which have been largely repelled. Russia's foreign ministry has blamed the US and its NATO allies for providing Kiev with arms for such attacks.

Russia has warned the West against arming Kiev's "Nazi" regime with weapons, saying it would only add to the losses.

Moscow launched its military campaign in eastern Ukraine in February 2022 to aid the persecuted Russian-speaking population there and stop NATO's eastward encroachment towards its borders.

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Putin: Russia not rejecting talks on Ukraine, African leaders' initiative could be basis for peace

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 30 July 2023 1:25 AM

Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow does not reject the idea of holding talks on the war in Ukraine, noting that an initiative offered by African leaders could serve as a basis for peace.

He made the remarks on Saturday while addressing a press conference after meeting with African leaders in St Petersburg on Friday and hearing their peace proposals concerning the war in Ukraine.

"The [African] initiative, in my opinion, can be the basis of some processes aimed at search for peace, like others, for example, the Chinese peace initiative," Putin said.

The Russian president noted that, in general, the conversation he had with African leaders about the peace initiative was long and substantive, stressing that it lasted about two hours.

"Everyone spoke out on this issue," he said, adding, "I want to emphasize once again: it was from an absolutely friendly position. It was a real search for some ways, some opportunities in order to defuse the situation."

On the question of starting peace talks, Putin emphasized that "in order for this [peace] process to begin, there needs to be agreement on both sides."

Moscow says it started what it calls a special military operation in Ukraine in order to defend the pro-Russian population in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk against persecution by Kiev, and also to "de-Nazify" its neighbor.

Russia holds that the West's anti-Russian agendas, including its eagerness for inclusion of Ukraine in NATO -- and, therefore, the Western military alliance's expansion right up to Russia's borders -- forced Moscow to launch the war on the ex-Soviet Republic.

"There are provisions of this [African] peace initiative that are being implemented," Putin said, adding, "But there are things that are difficult or impossible to implement."

One of the points in the initiative was a ceasefire, he said, adding, "But the Ukrainian army is on the offensive; they are attacking; they are implementing a large-scale strategic offensive operation... We cannot cease fire when we are under attack."

China has also come up with a peace plan calling for an immediate ceasefire, dialogue, and respect for all countries' territorial sovereignty. The plan also urges both sides to agree to a gradual de-escalation and warns against the use of nuclear weapons.

Ukraine has, however, rejected the idea of holding talks with Russia, saying Moscow has to first withdraw from the Ukrainian territories that are now under its control.

'No serious changes on Ukrainian front'

Adding to his remarks, Putin said there will be no serious changes and no intensification of actions on the Ukrainian front for now.

Putin noted that the Ukrainian armed forces have recently been trying to attack Russian positions on foot to save military equipment because they are afraid of losing them.

The Russian president announced that Ukraine has lost 415 tanks and 1,300 armored vehicles since June 4, when Kiev's counteroffensive started.

"At this point in time, since June 4, I said [earlier], I think 405 tanks were lost - this is what we see. Now it's 415. And more than 1,300 units of armored vehicles of various classes," Putin said, adding that of the above-mentioned equipment, "probably two-thirds is Western."

He then asserted that the change in the Ukrainian tactics is "absolutely definitely" connected with the losses of armored vehicles.

'Preventative strikes in Crimea'

Elsewhere in his remarks, Putin said the Russian military has been forced to stage a number of preventative strikes in Crimea after a Ukrainian "terrorist attack" damaged the Crimean Bridge.

"The Russian armed forces launched a series of preventive strikes on the places where these drones were sent from and where they were produced," he said.

Putin added that he has received proposals to improve the safety of the bridge, and they would be implemented.

A Russian couple was killed and their 14-year-old daughter wounded last week in the Ukrainian attack that also knocked out the road part of the bridge, which links Russia to the peninsula.

'Russia stands to benefit from withdrawing from grain deal'

Concluding his comments, Putin pointed to his country's recent withdrawal from the UN-brokered Black Sea grain deal, under which it allowed Ukrainian grain to be shipped from seaports despite the war.

Russia quit the deal, saying promises made to Moscow about facilitating its own grain and fertilizer exports had not been met.

Putin said his country stands to benefit from the move, since Russian companies would get more profit thanks to a subsequent increase in grain prices.

He also vowed that Russia will share the profit with the poorest countries thanks to free delivery of its grain.

Addressing the Russian-African conference earlier, the Russian president had said that his country would be ready to provide Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic, and Eritrea with 25-50,000 tons of free grain each in the upcoming 3-4 months.

This is while over 70 percent of the Ukrainian grain exported thanks to the deal had gone to high- or above-average-income countries, including in the European Union, and that the poorest countries, like Sudan, had been "screwed over" and received less than 3 percent of the shipments, he told the event.

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Zelenskiy Warns 'War' Coming To Russia After Drone Attack Closes Moscow's Vnukovo Airport

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service July 30, 2023

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has warned that it was "inevitable" that "war" would come to Russia after authorities there were forced to temporarily close a busy Moscow airport following an overnight drone attack on the capital.

"Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia -- to its symbolic centers and military bases. And this is an inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process," Zelenskiy said on July 30 during a visit to the city of Ivano-Frankivsk -- which, although in western Ukraine, has been hit by Russian missile fire in the past.

Zelenskiy also warned Ukrainians that they must be prepared for further Russian attacks on the country's infrastructure and to prepare now for the winter months.

"Ukraine is getting stronger," he said. "But we must be aware that, just as last year, Russian terrorists can still attack our energy sector and critical facilities this winter."

Russian officials said three Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow early on July 30, injuring a security guard and forcing the temporary suspension of traffic at Vnukovo airport, one of four major facilities serving the capital.

Russia's Defense Ministry called it an "attempted terrorist attack" and claimed that one drone had been shot down and two others jammed, leading them to crash into Moscow's prestigious Moskva-Citi business complex.

Russia's state-controlled RIA Novosti agency published images showing damage to an office tower in the business district.

The reports could not be independently verified.

A spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force said in Kyiv on July 30 that "there is always something flying in Russia, and in Moscow in particular."

"Something is coming, and loudly," Yuriy Ihnat added. "No matter that the Russian authorities would like to close their eyes and say they have shot down everything.... There is no point in talking about peace in the Russian hinterland."

It was the fourth time this month that Moscow has been targeted by drone attacks.

Local Russian Telegram channels said late on July 30 that a drone strike hit near the southwestern Russian city of Taganrog, causing a fire but no injuries. The reports could not immediately be confirmed.

Also unconfirmed was a report in the Ukrainian media of a late-night explosion in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, near the front lines of the war.

Meanwhile, Kyiv said its counteroffensive in southern and eastern Ukraine was proceeding with some success.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar wrote on Telegram on July 30 that Kyiv's forces were "slowly, but surely advancing" in the direction of Berdyansk and Melitopol in the southern Zaporizhzhya region.

"Fighting continues in all directions of the offensive," Malyar wrote.

Ukraine's military said on July 30 that the Chonar Bridge, which links Crimea with the occupied part of the Kherson region, was damaged in an attack the previous day.

The Russian occupation authorities in Kherson also reported Ukrainian missile strikes targeting railroad supply lines in the region, claiming the attacks had been repulsed.

The Russian Defense Ministry also said that "25 drones" attacked unspecified targets in Crimea, adding that all were destroyed or disabled.

Crimea, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014, is the base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and vital supply link between Russia and the Russian-occupied parts of southern Ukraine.

Ukraine's General Staff reported 36 combat clashes during the July 29-30 period.

Local authorities in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy reported on July 30 that one civilian had been killed and at least 17 injured in a Russian rocket attack the previous evening. The attack damaged a residential building and a school.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-moscow-vnukovo- drones/32526183.html

Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Two in three Americans (67%) said they could live on sandwiches alone for a full week, according to new research.

The perfect sandwich, according to a survey of 2,000 Americans, consists of tomato (54%), cheddar cheese (39%) and Black Forest ham (39%).

The survey also found that the average American craves a sandwich four times a week.

It seems that the best solution for your tastebuds and your wallet is a sandwich as 42% polled said they are actively looking for ways to cut down the cost of food, with sandwiches being a good money-saving option for 67% of respondents, according to a survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Buddig.

For favorite ingredients, barbecue sauce, mayonnaise and honey mustard topped the list all at 58%. The least favorite was ranch (26%).

Regular ham, honey turkey, honey ham and Black Forest ham all rank equally as favored meat options (39%).

Following cheddar, Swiss cheese (36%) and American cheese (36%) were top choices. Respondents least favorite cheese was Gruyere (1%).

Among the respondents, whole wheat bread (37%) was the top choice for their favorite sandwich. Sourdough bread (36%) followed closely, while multigrain bread (33%) was the third most popular option.

Half of those polled said they like to have their sandwich toasted (58%).

The top vegetables included onion (54%), and cucumber (51%).

When it comes to sandwich personalities, people have different preferences and tastes. Twenty-nine percent identified as a "minimalist" who prefer simple toppings. Another, 27% identified as "savory lover," and 15% said they have a "sweet tooth" sandwich personality.

Fifty-nine percent of people said the best time to enjoy a sandwich is outside of traditional lunchtime.

Today, people are working differently than before and lunchtime can be different times of day for different people based on their circumstances. A sandwich provides an affordable and convenient option no matter what time they can take a moment to eat in their busy schedule, said executive vice president of marketing, Tom Buddig.

According to 38% of those polled, sitting on the beach is the best place to bite into a sandwich.

The best places to enjoy a sandwich are at the beach (38%), at home (36%), or in a park (36%).

Given the rising cost of groceries, the majority of those polled have switched over to preparing meals at home with 67% saying sandwiches are a good value, with lunchmeat providing consumers with protein options that are both tasty and affordable, Buddig said.

TOP 5 CONDIMENTS PEOPLE WOULD PREFER IN A PERFECT SANDWICH

Ketchup - 61%

Barbecue sauce - 58%

Mayonnaise - 58%

Honey mustard - 58%

Mustard - 56%

TOP 5 FRUITS AND VEGETABLES PEOPLE WOULD PREFER IN A PERFECT SANDWICH

Tomato - 54%

Onion - 54%

Cucumber - 51%

Lettuce - 47%

Pickles - 46%

TOP 5 MEAT PEOPLE WOULD PREFER IN A PERFECT SANDWICH

Black Forest Ham - 39%

Ham - 39%

Honey Turkey - 39%

Honey Ham - 39%

Black Forest Turkey - 37%

TOP 5 CHEESE PEOPLE WOULD PREFER IN A PERFECT SANDWICH

Cheddar cheese - 39%

Swiss cheese - 36%

American cheese - 36%

Pepper jack cheese - 31%

Provolone cheese - 30%

Survey methodology:

This random double-opt-in survey of 2,000 general population Americans was commissioned by Buddig between July 19 and July 21, 2023. It was conducted by market research company OnePoll, whose team members are members of the Market Research Society and have corporate membership to the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR).
Drone Crashes in Russia's Rostov Region - Authorities

Sputnik News

20230730

ROSTOV-ON-DON (Sputnik) - An unmanned aerial vehicle has crashed in the Neklinovsky District of Russia's Rostov Region; nobody was injured, local authorities inform.

Rostov regional Governor Vasily Golubev said on Telegram on Sunday that a drone crashed in the Neklinovsky district, damaging a private house and a car.

"Fortunately, there were no injuries or deaths. The roof of the house, the car and outbuildings were damaged," the head of the local administration, Vasily Danilenko, said on Telegram later on Sunday.

Danilenko specified that the drone crashed at around 21:00 on Sunday (18:00 GMT).

The origins of the drone are under investigation.

A Sputnik

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Ukraine Terrorist Drone Attack on Moscow Thwarted - Russian Defense Ministry

Sputnik News

20230730

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - An attempt was made by the Kiev regime overnight to launch a terrorist attack in Moscow using three drones, the Russian Defense Ministry informed on Sunday.

"On the morning of July 30, an attempt of a terrorist attack by the Kiev regime using unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs] on objects in the city of Moscow was thwarted. One Ukrainian UAV was destroyed in the air by air defense over the territory of the Odintsovsky District of the Moscow region. Two more drones were suppressed by means of electronic warfare and, having lost control, crashed on the territory of the Moscow-City non-residential building complex," the ministry said.

Earlier on Sunday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram that Ukrainian drones attacked the Russian capital overnight, damaging the facades of two office towers in the Moscow-City business center; there were no casualties.

Traffic was blocked along Testovskaya Street in the Moscow-City area, where the two office buildings were damaged, the city transport department said on Sunday morning.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine also attempted to attack Crimea overnight using 25 drones, all of which were destroyed. The ministry specified that there are no casualties or damage as a result of the attempted terrorist attack.

On Friday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry said that one Ukrainian drone had been shot down overnight while attempting to attack facilities in the Moscow region; there were no casualties or damage.

On the morning of July 24, the defense ministry said that the Kiev regime attempted to carry out a terrorist attack in Moscow using two drones. There was no serious damage or casualties.

A Sputnik

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Russian Troops Prevent Ukrainian Forces From Transferring Reserves

Sputnik News

20230730

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian forces have thwarted an attempt by the Ukrainian forces to transfer reserves to the front line in the Kupyansk direction, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson told Sputnik.

"In the area of aaaathe settlement of Novoselovskoye, the artillery of the [Russian] group [of forces] inflicted fire damage, as a result of which the enemy was forced to retreat," the spokesperson said, adding that Ukrainian troops suffered losses in manpower and equipment.

In addition, Russian attack helicopters and aircraft have launched strikes on accumulations of Ukrainian manpower and firepower, the spokesperson said.

In the course of offensive operations in the Kupyansk direction, Russian forces have captured two Ukrainian strongholds, two observation posts and three dugouts in the Novoselovskoye area, the Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson told Sputnik.

A Sputnik

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Andriy Yermak: Next week, Ukraine will start negotiations with the United States on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees

President of Ukraine

30 July 2023 - 18:39

Next week, Ukraine will begin negotiations with the United States on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees under the Joint Declaration of Support for our country. These guarantees will be valid until Ukraine becomes a member of NATO. This was announced by Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities held in Ivano-Frankivsk.

Andriy Yermak emphasized that Ukraine's membership in NATO is the most reliable guarantee of security, but while the war is ongoing in our country and we cannot join the Alliance, the Ukrainian state must secure reliable guarantees for the transition period.

According to him, the year-long activities of the International Working Group co-chaired by Andriy Yermak and former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen resulted in a Joint Declaration adopted by the leaders of the G7 and Ukraine in Vilnius.

As the Head of the Presidential Office emphasized, more than ten other countries have already joined this declaration, and new ones are joining almost every week. Ukraine will conclude a system of bilateral agreements with those who have backed the declaration, which will contain specific security guarantees.

"We are already working on bilateral agreements with each of these partners. And I will make a small announcement: we are starting relevant negotiations with the United States next week. Security assurances for Ukraine will be specific and long-term commitments that will ensure Ukraine's ability to win now and deter Russian aggression in the future. These will be clearly described formats and mechanisms of support," said Andriy Yermak.

He emphasized that this is a powerful signal of the determination of the world's leading democracies to continue supporting Ukraine in its struggle for freedom and independence. This includes defense and financial assistance, as well as sanctions and punishment of the aggressor.

The Head of the President's Office also emphasized that security guarantees are an important prerequisite for the restoration and development of communities, regions and the entire country.

"Hope and confidence in the future are extremely important for all Ukrainians who are having an extremely difficult time in these months of a terrible war. Building a system of documentary guarantees of international support will be a powerful positive signal for domestic business and international investors," he said.

At the same time, Andriy Yermak noted that the world's support for Ukraine will continue as long as we change and move forward.

"Corruption and poor management decisions will be accepted neither by our society nor by our international partners. Non-transparent tenders or extortion of bribes for permits scare away investors no less than Russian missiles. The fact that the fight against corruption, implementation of necessary reforms, the rule of law and the principle of justice are the priorities of the President and the entire team is eloquently evidenced by real actions that are seen by our society and the whole world," the Head of the Presidential Office emphasized.

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The next meeting of advisors to state leaders on the implementation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Peace Formula will be held in Saudi Arabia shortly - Andriy Yermak

President of Ukraine

30 July 2023 - 17:59

The next meeting of national security advisors and political advisors to state leaders on the implementation of Ukraine's initiatives to restore lasting and just peace will be held in Saudi Arabia shortly. This was announced by Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak in his speech at a meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine held in Ivano-Frankivsk.

"The Ukrainian Peace Formula contains ten fundamental points, the implementation of which will not only ensure peace for Ukraine, but also create mechanisms to counter future conflicts in the world," said Andriy Yermak.

According to him, each point of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Peace Formula is currently being discussed individually and in groups with representatives of more than 50 countries on an almost weekly basis.

"We are deeply convinced that the Ukrainian peace plan should be taken as a basis, because the war is taking place on our land. At the same time, in the process of consultations with all stakeholders, we seek to take into account opinions and positions that do not contradict the key principles of international law and the provisions of the UN Charter," Andriy Yermak emphasized, speaking about this area of our state's work.

He emphasized that in order to implement Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Peace Formula, the Ukrainian side uses a three-phase structure. The first phase is meetings with ambassadors accredited to Ukraine, which are devoted to a detailed consideration of each of the points of the Formula.

Second phase - Ukraine initiates meetings of national security advisors to find optimal wording and mechanisms for implementing the Ukrainian peace plan.

"We organized the first such meeting in partnership with our Danish colleagues. It was held in Copenhagen in June. The next meeting will take place soon and will be hosted by a Saudi city. We thank both kingdoms for their leadership and strong support of Ukrainian initiatives," the Head of the Presidential Office said.

As emphasized by Andriy Yermak, Ukraine seeks to involve as many countries as possible that respect international law and the UN Charter.

"President Zelenskyy said that our choice is to unite the world around Ukraine. The evidence of this choice is clear: we are engaging countries from the West, East, North and South," he added.

According to the Head of the President's Office, the third phase of the Peace Formula approval will be an inaugural global summit at the level of heads of state, which may take place by the end of the year.

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President held a meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Ivano-Frankivsk

President of Ukraine

30 July 2023 - 17:04

Under the chairmanship of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities was held in Ivano-Frankivsk.

According to the Head of State, the agenda of the meeting included three topics: energy sector and protection of Ukraine's energy infrastructure from Russian attacks; international politics, implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and preparation for the Global Peace Summit, security guarantees for our country and the start of negotiations on accession to the European Union; budget expenditures at the state and local levels.

"It is obvious that in the autumn and winter the enemy will try to repeat the terror against the Ukrainian energy sector. In any case, we must be prepared for this at the state, highest level, at the level of each community, each city, each of our villages and towns," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Regarding the international agenda, the President said that Ukraine's success in international relations gives additional motivation to our soldiers at the front and to our people in general, because they see what the country will be like in the future. In this matter, much depends on the timely and appropriate work of the Verkhovna Rada.

"It will be right if the people's deputies of Ukraine feel that their communities expect very positive foreign policy successes of Ukraine from them. And it is important to do it now," the Head of State emphasized.

Regarding budget expenditures, Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that the budget is always a mirror of the priorities of the state, region, and each community. And now the first priority throughout Ukraine is defense.

"Ukrainian warriors and all our people must feel that Ukrainian communities consider defense the first priority, as I have noted today. All of you see the priorities and needs of combat brigades and our other units in which soldiers from your communities, from every city and village of Ukraine serve," the Head of State said.

The second priority, according to the President, is the social sustainability of Ukraine, each city and community, and the protection of the normal life of every person.

The meeting was attended by 98 members of the Congress in person, and more than 1,500 participants online. In total, 93% of its members attended the meeting.

In addition, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and other foreign guests joined the meeting online.

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Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia, and this is an inevitable, natural and fair process - address by the President of Ukraine

President of Ukraine

30 July 2023 - 16:57

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

Today we are working in Ivano-Frankivsk, in Prykarpattia. I had the honor to visit our warriors who are undergoing treatment after being wounded. I thanked them for defending the state and for their strength.

And thank you for the chevrons, guys!

I thanked our doctors and nurses - we are proud of our medics, all those who save lives.

We held a meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Ukraine in Ivano-Frankivsk. Our communities, government officials, representatives of defense and security forces. Partners of Ukraine cooperating with the Congress. We had a very informative conversation.

The first is the energy sector, preparation for the winter.

Russian aggression has gone bankrupt on the battlefield. Today is the 522nd day of the so-called "special military operation," which the Russian leadership expected to last for a week or two. Ukraine is getting stronger. Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia - to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process.

But we must be aware that, just as last year, Russian terrorists can still attack our energy sector and critical facilities this winter. Today we discussed with the communities the current state of preparation for all possible scenarios.

We also discussed the issue of urgent reconstruction, including the energy sector, and various systems of ensuring life in the communities. Odesa, our southern regions, Kharkiv, the western regions of our country, and the northern border regions. It is very important that local authorities across the country are as active as possible right now - in the summer and in September - in everything that needs to be done before the cold months of the year.

We discussed budgetary issues. Government officials will help with targeted subventions from the state budget, the amount of which is insufficient. Many other issues can be resolved by communities at their own expense and by working with extra-budgetary resources.

People see who is paving the streets instead of helping soldiers, who is spending money on bot farms instead of drones for the front, who is investing in affiliated companies instead of reconstruction of hospitals and rehabilitation of the military. The number one priority is defense, protection of the state and people. I am sure everyone on the ground has heard this. Shelters and fortifications, assistance to brigades, assistance to the families of heroes, protection of IDPs - local authorities have the resources to do all this.

By the way, the involvement of churches here in Ivano-Frankivsk region in addressing social issues is very important. Assistance to IDPs, families of soldiers, and the medical sector. This makes the Ukrainian social fabric more solid.

I am grateful to the local authorities in Prykarpattia and other regions for supporting the work of enterprises, including the relocated ones. Every job, every Ukrainian product, and especially a defense product, is a step closer to our victory.

And a few other things.

We presented to the communities our work on the Peace Formula, security guarantees for Ukraine until it joins NATO, negotiations with the Alliance and the European Union. People need to understand the details of our international policy, and there is a part of it where they can help.

In particular, so that Ukrainian MPs have a tangible incentive to work for the decisions Ukraine needs. All the laws necessary to start negotiations with the European Union must be passed. And if someone is not ready to work positively in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, he or she must understand what a negative impact this will have on them in their communities. And they should feel the appropriate attitude towards themselves: either they are for Ukraine, or they will have a hard time in Ukraine.

And, of course, the frontline. Thank you all for this day at the front - a good day, a powerful day. Bakhmut direction, other very hot and painful areas in Donbas: Avdiivka, Maryinka, and, of course, the southern directions...

The 5th assault brigade, the 80th separate airborne assault brigade, the 92nd separate and 110th separate mechanized brigades are very, very strong... The marines of the 35th and 36th brigades, the paratroopers of the famous "Seventy-ninth", the 47th separate mechanized brigade, the artillerymen of the 55th separate brigade. Well done, warriors!

And today I would like to especially commend the Artan special unit and the 9th department of the Main Intelligence Directorate - thank you!

Glory to all who are fighting for Ukraine!

Thank you, Ivano-Frankivsk, for this day!

Glory to Ukraine!

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Westford, USA, July 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to SkyQuest, the demand for sterility testing market is expected to experience a significant growth with continuous advancements in the pharmaceutical and medical fields. The flourishing biotechnology industry worldwide is another factor that will contribute to expanding the market during the forecast period. Furthermore, as safety concerns related to biological medicinal products continue to increase, there is a growing emphasis on ensuring the sterility and quality of these products.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Sterility Testing Market"

Pages - 219

Tables - 86

Figures  76

Sterility is a crucial concept in the pharmaceutical industry and refers to the absence of viable microorganisms. In pharmaceutical practice, a container is deemed sterile when the probability of being contaminated with replicating microorganisms is less than one out of one million in sterility testing market.

Get a sample copy of this report:

https://www.skyquestt.com/sample-request/sterility-testing-market

Prominent Players in Sterility Testing Market

Merck KGaA

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.

SGS S.A.

WuXi AppTec Inc.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

bioMerieux SA

Sartorius AG

Pacific Biolabs

Nelson Laboratories, LLC

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.

Becton, Dickinson and Company

Sigma-Aldrich Corporation

Pace Analytical Services LLC

Eurofins Scientific SE

ATS Labs, Inc.

MilliporeSigma

Cytovance Biologics, Inc.

North American Science Associates, Inc. (NAMSA)

Toxikon Corporation

Nelson Laboratories (Europe) B.V.

Browse summary of the report and Complete Table of Contents (ToC):

https://www.skyquestt.com/report/sterility-testing-market

Membrane Filtration Sterility Testing Segment is Expected to Dominating the Market Due to the Testing Samples

The membrane filtration sterility testing segment has emerged as the dominant player, holding the largest sterility testing market share. This segment is also projected to witness significant growth at a considerable CAGR during the forecast period. Membrane filtration sterility testing is a widely adopted method that involves passing test samples through conventional membranes capable of capturing bacteria. This technique is particularly suited for testing samples that contain adjuvant gels and other general-purpose items such as vaccines.

The markets in North America have emerged as the dominant region in the global sterility testing market. The presence of leading biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the region and ongoing research and development efforts focused on finding cures for chronic diseases have contributed to the market's growth.

Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Segment is Expected to Grow in the Market Due to the Increasing Demand for Sterility Testing Services

The pharmaceutical and biotechnology segment has emerged as the leader in the sterility testing market, holding the largest market share. Sterility testing is a critical process in this industry as it is conducted to detect the presence of pyrogenic compounds or any foreign materials that can impact the quality and safety of the final product. In particular, parenteral products, which are administered through injection or infusion, undergo rigorous sterility testing to ensure they are free from pyrogens.

Regional markets in the Asia Pacific are witnessing a significant growth in the sterility testing market, emerging as the fastest-growing market globally. One of the key drivers for this growth is the presence of many pathology labs, diagnostics labs, and research and development facilities in the region. These facilities contribute to the increasing demand for sterility testing services, as they play a crucial role in ensuring the safety and efficacy of medical products.

A comprehensive analysis of the major players in the sterility testing market has been recently conducted in a report. The report encompasses various aspects, including collaborations, mergers, innovative business policies, and strategies, providing valuable insights into key trends and breakthroughs in the market. Furthermore, the report scrutinizes the market share of the top segments and presents a detailed geographic analysis. Lastly, the report highlights the major players in the industry and their endeavours to develop innovative solutions to cater to the growing demand.

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https://www.skyquestt.com/speak-with-analyst/sterility-testing-market

Key Developments in Sterility Testing Market

STEMart introduced a comprehensive microbiology and sterility testing service designed for sterile and non-pyrogenic medical devices in 2022. This new offering aims to ensure the safety and effectiveness of these devices by conducting rigorous testing to detect the presence of microorganisms or pyrogenic compounds.

Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing marked a significant milestone by introducing a sterility testing isolator in 2022. This isolator enables the company to conduct onsite sterility testing for its Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) batches. Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing specializes in the sterile filling of injectable medicines, focusing on products involved in clinical trials or those with limited commercial demand.

Key Questions Answered in Sterility Testing Market Report

What specific growth drivers are projected to impact the market during the forecast period?

List the top companies in the market and explain how they have achieved their positions of influence?

In what ways do regional trends and patterns differ within the global market, and how these differences shape the market's future growth?

Related Reports in SkyQuests Library:

Global Cellular Health Screening Market

Global Bone Cement Market

Global Colorectal Cancer Therapeutics Market

Global Controlled Release Drug Delivery Market

Global Hematology Market

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Dublin, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Solar PV Inverter Market Forecast to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The report provides insights into the solar PV inverter market, which is projected to grow from US$8.7 billion in 2022 to US$17 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8% from 2022 to 2030.

The report highlights major developments in the global solar PV inverter market, such as collaborations and acquisitions among key players. For example, SMA Solar Technology AG collaborated with LG Chem to develop integrated DC/DC converters for home storage systems. ABB signed an agreement for FIMER to acquire ABB's solar inverter business, enhancing prospects for the solar inverter market. The market has also witnessed numerous product launches by players like Delta and Solinteg, further driving market growth.

Solar PV inverters play a crucial role in converting direct current (DC) from solar panels into alternating current (AC) for grid communication and safe system operations. They maximize energy production, improve grid capabilities, and track power output. .

The solar inverters market is driven by the growing residential solar rooftop installations and the rising number of solar installations supported by government-led incentives. However, safety risks associated with high DC voltages in solar inverters pose a restraint. On the other hand, increasing investments in the renewable energy sector present opportunities for market growth. Future trends include technological innovations in smart inverters, aiming to improve efficiency and functionality. An impact analysis of the drivers and restraints helps stakeholders make informed decisions and strategies for the future.

The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the solar PV inverter market, including market dynamics, drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trends. It also covers market segmentation based on product type, connectivity, phase, capacity, and application. The market landscape and geographical analysis are included.

Key Topics Covered in the Report:

Key Takeaways

Solar PV Inverters Market Landscape

Solar Inverters Market - Key Market Dynamics

Solar PV Inverters Market - Global Market Analysis

Solar PV Inverters Market Analysis - By Product Type

Solar PV Inverters Market Analysis - By Connectivity

Solar PV Inverters Market Analysis - By Phase

Solar PV Inverters Market Analysis - By Capacity

Solar PV Inverters Market Analysis - By Application

Solar PV Inverters Market - Geographic Analysis

Solar Inverters Market - COVID-19 Impact Analysis

Industry Landscape

Company Profiles

The report provides valuable insights to stakeholders and industry participants, assisting them in making informed decisions and developing strategies for the future. Key players in the solar PV inverter market, such as Fimer Group, Delta Electronics, Enertech Ups, Goodwe Technologies, Hitachi Hi-Rel Power Electronics, and more, are profiled in the report.

Key Attributes:





Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 199 Forecast Period 2022 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2022 $8.7 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $17 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 7.8% Regions Covered Global

Company Profiles

Fimer Group

Delta Electronics, Inc.

Enertech Ups Pvt Ltd.

Goodwe Technologies Co Ltd

Hitachi Hi-Rel Power Electronics Private Limited

Sl Power Electronics Corp.

Power-One Micro Systems Pvt. Ltd.

Sineng Electric

Sma Solar Technology AG

Ginlong Technologies

Sungrow Power Supply Co. Ltd.

Huawei Technologies Co.Ltd.

Growatt New Energy Technology Co.Ltd

Tmeic

Solaredge Technologies, Inc

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/9e5ri5

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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Dublin, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Veterinary Vaccines: Global Markets" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The report presents a comprehensive analysis of the global veterinary vaccines market, including historic market revenue data from 2020 to 2022, estimates for 2023, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2028. With the market valued at $9.1 billion in 2022, it is anticipated to witness a robust CAGR of 8.2%, reaching approximately $14.2 billion by 2028. The industry's growth is attributed to factors such as the rising prevalence of infectious diseases in pets and livestock, increasing outbreaks of poultry-related diseases, and significant investment in research and development activities by major market players.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) highlights the growing focus on peste des petits ruminants (PPR) and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in 2023, leading to significant advancements in vaccine banks. Notably, the successful delivery of 500,000 FMD vaccine doses to Algeria, funded by the World Bank, demonstrated the capability of curbing disease spread in the region.

In-depth data from the OECD-FAO Agriculture Outlook reveals that global beef and red meat consumption is projected to rise to 76 million tonnes by 2031. While Asia-Pacific is expected to witness an increase in beef consumption, other regions may experience a decline in favor of poultry meat. The report identifies key countries where beef consumption is declining, offering valuable insights into market dynamics and consumer preferences.

The "Veterinary Vaccines: Global Markets" report provides a detailed study of veterinary vaccine products, technologies, and historical market revenues. The products are categorized into attenuated vaccine (live vaccine, modified live vaccine, live attenuated vaccine), inactivated vaccine, recombinant vaccine (subunit vaccine, polysaccharide vaccine, conjugate vaccine, chimeric vaccine, viral-vector vaccine), and toxoid vaccine. The analysis also covers various animal species, including livestock, poultry, companion animals, swine, equine, and others.

To empower businesses with valuable information, the report includes profiles of major market participants, their essential products, competitive landscape, key competitors, and ESG analysis. Additionally, the driving and restraining factors of the global veterinary vaccines market are discussed to aid strategic decision-making.

Report Includes

A comprehensive overview of the current and future global markets for veterinary vaccines

Analyses of the global market trends, with historic market revenue data (sales figures) for 2020-2022, estimates for 2023, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2028

Estimation of the actual market size and revenue forecast for global veterinary vaccines market in USD millions, and corresponding market share analysis based on the product, type of attenuated and recombinant vaccines, animal type, route of administration, and region

Highlights of upcoming market opportunities and trends driving and restricting growth of global veterinary vaccines market and its sub-segments, and major regions and countries involved in the market developments

In-depth information (facts and figures) concerning major market dynamics (DROs), technology advancements, regulatory aspects, and various macroeconomics factors influencing the demand and progress of this market

Country specific data and market value analysis for the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Japan, China, India, Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, and GCC countries, among others

Information about ESG-related developments in the animal health industry, key issues, implementation strategies, and analyses of factors affecting ESG applications in the market

Identification of the companies engaged in research and development (R&D) of vaccination and vaccine production, emerging technologies, and a SWOT analysis of leading competitors and their market penetration

Key Attributes:





Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 313 Forecast Period 2023 - 2028 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $9.6 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2028 $14.2 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 8.2% Regions Covered Global

Company Profiles

Arko Laboratories

Avimex

Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH

Ceva Sante Animale (Ceva)

Dechra Pharmaceuticals.

Elanco.

Merck & Co. Inc.

Phibro Animal Health Corp.

Virbac

Zoetis Services LLC.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/32y0hg

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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Pune, India, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to our latest market study on " USB Camera Controller Market Size Report, Forecast to 2030  COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis  by Type, Device Type, Connectivity, Application, and Geography," the market is expected to grow from US$ 1.82 billion in 2023 to US$ 4.87 billion by 2030; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 15.1% from 2023 to 2030. The construction industry of the country has seen huge growth due to the increasing number of residential and nonresidential construction activities. In May 2023, the construction of 1,631,000 new houses started, which is an increase of 5.7% compared to the May 2022 rate of 1,543,000.





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The construction sector has seen tremendous growth in Europe, mainly in terms of new construction, which is fueling the growth of USB camera controller market. The construction industry in Europe plays an important role in the economy, employing about 18 million people in the workforce and contributing to 9% of the total GDP of the European Union. The construction sector creates new residential, industrial, and commercial buildings for Europeans to work and live in, and builds infrastructure, maintains and repairs older structures and buildings. Europe is increasingly involved in initiating various major construction projects, which is expected to increase the adoption of USB controlled cameras in the European Union. Below is a list of a few major construction projects initiated in Europe in 2022. Krampnitz Housing Development (US$ 1.83 billion): The project involves the construction of the Krampnitz housing complex to provide living space for 10,000 people. Ostendstrae 114 Commercial Buildings (US$ 1.29 billion): This project aims to meet the growing requirement for office, retail, hotel, and commercial facilities for people in the region.

Such an increase in residential and nonresidential construction projects is expected to boost the adoption of remote-control USB cameras in Europe, fueling the demand for USB camera controllers as they help control the movement and focus of the camera, further boosting the USB camera controller market growth. Moreover, the esports industry has witnessed tremendous growth and recognition in different countries in Europe. For instance, in June 2023, the government of Sweden announced that it had officially recognized esports as a sport and would be embraced as a legitimate sporting activity. Similarly, according to the report published by the German Games Industry Association, in 2022, the German gaming market passed US$ 10.75 billion (EUR 9.87 billion), which was a growth of 1% compared to 2021. Thus, such growth in the esports industry will raise the demand for esports streaming, which can be done with the help of USB camera controllers as the remote or joystick helps in panning, tilting, and zooming the cameras to capture accurate images for esports live stream. Hence, the growing construction projects and esports industry will further propel the growth of the USB camera controller market.

Germany is one of the biggest construction markets in Europe, deploying ~10% of the gross domestic product in construction every year. Hence, the construction industry occupies a relatively important position and contributes considerably to the economic growth in Germany. The German construction sector is experiencing a boom in construction projects due to strong urbanization and the need for residences, which is further expected to propel the USB camera controller market growth. Some of the largest construction projects initiated in Germany in 2022 are as follows:

The Hochmuttinger Strae Residential Quarter: The project aims to build affordable, ecological housing quarters in Munich. The investment of US$ 225 million is done on the project and is expected to be completed in Q4 of 2025.

Frechen NEOBEL Mixed-Use Development: The project involves the construction for residential, office, and commercial facilities in North Rhine-Westphalia with an investment of US$ 163 million. The project is expected to be completed in Q4 of 2025.

Krampnitz Housing Development: The project aims to provide living space for 10,000 people in Potsdam, Brandenburg, with an investment of US$ 1,831 million.

The increase in residential and nonresidential construction projects raises the demand for digital camera USB control for security and surveillance and video conferencing in offices, contributing to the growth of the USB camera controller market in Germany.





Global USB Camera Controller Market: Device Type Overview

Based on device type, the global USB camera controller market is segmented into remote and joystick. The joystick segment is expected to account for the larger share in the USB camera controller market in 2023, as it provides smooth camera movements, multi-axel control, customizable functions, and precise control.





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Global USB Camera Controller Market: Competitive Landscape and Key Developments

Aver Information Inc, Genesys Logic Inc, Infineon Technologies AG, PTZOptics, Realtek Semiconductor Corp, Shenzhen Minrray Industry Co Ltd, Sonix Technology Co Ltd, Sony Group Corp, SZ Tenveo, and TREEHAVEN Technologies Inc are among the key USB camera controller market players profiled in the report which continuously work on providing different USB cameras, such as subsite sewer camera, crawler inspection camera, pipe crawler camera, sewer crawler camera, and others. Several other essential USB camera controller market players were analyzed for a holistic view of the market and its ecosystem. The USB camera controller market report provides detailed market insights, which can help major players strategize their growth.

In 2021, Infineon Technologies AG created a turnkey solution with its Time-of-Flight (ToF) partner pmdtechnologies and the premier vision-based imaging specialist ArcSoft that allows a ToF camera to work under the display of commercial smartphones. It will deliver consistent, high-quality infrared pictures and 3D data for security applications such as facial authentication and mobile payment.

In 2022, Canon announced the creation of a new remote control for still photographers, which will allow professional photographers to operate Canon interchangeable-lens cameras remotely. The future of camera-controlling remotes is likely to shift toward wireless technology and integration with new devices.









Go through further research published by The Insight Partners: (Purchase with 10% Instant Discount):

Digital Camera Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis.



Connected Cameras Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis.



AI Camera Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis.



Camera Lens Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis.



Dashboard Camera Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis.









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ATLANTA, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Monarch Private Capital , a nationally recognized impact investment firm that develops, finances, and manages a diversified portfolio of projects generating both federal and state tax credits, is pleased to present its inaugural Impact Report. This comprehensive report showcases the extraordinary outcomes of the firm's initiatives throughout 2022, underlining its commitment to fostering environmental and social investments that create lasting, positive change.



Pioneering Impact Since 2005

Monarch Private Capital has been at the forefront of devising customized structuring solutions, enabling fund investors to actively participate in projects that make a meaningful difference in their local communities and beyond. Anchored by a rich network of connections, the firm identifies and supports investment opportunities that span affordable housing, historic rehabilitation, and renewable energy sectors, thereby helping investors to achieve their ESG, impact, and sustainability goals and objectives.

Introducing "Touchpoints"

Titled "Touchpoints," this Impact Report outlines the influence of Monarchs initiatives across renewable energy, affordable housing, and historic rehabilitation projects. Delving into various facets of the company, the report sheds light on key areas such as partnerships, sustainability initiatives, investor initiatives, and robust fund frameworks. Throughout 2022, these carefully curated investments continued to enrich lives and uplift communities, a feat made possible by the collective efforts of current and future investors. These "Touchpoints" signify the myriad of interactions Monarch forges to create a sustainable, long-term positive impact that goes beyond mere financial gains, emphasizing the firm's resolute dedication to investing in communities and championing a better, more sustainable future.

At Monarch, were deeply passionate about driving substantive change through our investment projects, said Melanie Frontczak, Director, ESG & Tax Credit Investments. Committed to enhancing communities and improving lives, we take immense pride in the positive influence of our investments and are proud to present their impact in the 2022 Impact Report.

Access Monarchs 2022 Impact Report Touchpoints here .

About Monarch Private Capital

Monarch Private Capital manages impact investment funds that positively impact communities by creating clean power, jobs, and homes. The funds provide predictable returns through the generation of federal and state tax credits. The Company offers innovative tax credit equity investments for affordable housing, historic rehabilitations, renewable energy, film, and other qualified projects. Monarch Private Capital has long-term relationships with institutional and individual investors, developers, and lenders participating in these federal and state programs. Headquartered in Atlanta, Monarch has offices and professionals located throughout the United States.

CONTACT

Jane Rafeedie

Monarch Private Capital

jrafeedie@monarchprivate.com

470-283-8431

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d19ba9e0-2fe9-47a5-baef-350f09701526
New York, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Rope Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report By Product, By End User, By Regional Outlook and Forecast, 2023 - 2030" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06481479/?utm_source=GNW

According to European Union, building output rose 4.8% in the EU and 4.1% in the euro region in January 2022 compared to January 2021. Additionally, hemp rope, synthetic rope, and jute rope have expanded due to the rise in DIY interior decor and home repair projects across Germany. Some of the factors impacting the market are aquaculture Sector Growth, expanding construction industry, and high raw material costs.



The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations anticipated that 178 million tonnes of aquatic animals would be produced globally in 2020. Approximately 88% of this was utilized for direct or indirect human consumption, with aquaculture output accounting for 49% and capture production for 51% of the total. As a result, during the projection period, the enormous growth of the shipping sector and seaborne trade will also increase the demand for ropes. The amount spent on construction in the United States in April was $1.74 trillion, 0.2 percent and 12.3 percent greater than in April 2021. However, to increase energy efficiency, the Canadian government will provide more than CAD $2 million to three house construction projects in Ontario. Rope demand is fueled by its use in the construction industry.



However, Plastic fibers are very costly and are used to make plastic ropes. Steel is less costly than the raw materials or plastic fibers used to make ropes, such as PE, PP, and nylon. The cost of high-performance specialty fibers like aramid, HMPE, and LCP is higher than that of the aforementioned basic materials. The price increases with the fibers strength. During the anticipated time, these issues are limiting the expansion of the market.



Product Outlook



On the basis of product, the market is segmented into synthetic, steel wire, cotton, and others. The steel wire segment dominated the market with the maximum revenue share in 2022. The mining, oil and gas, maritime, and construction sectors often employ steel wire ropes. It consists of wires, strands, and a steel and fiber core. Twisting the wirestypically constructed of stainless and high carbon steelcreates steel wire ropes. The ropes job is to protect and support the outer strands so they may perform as intended. The strength-to-weight ratio of steel wire rope is more significant, which is a key characteristic for many applications, particularly in the nautical and fishing industries.



End-Users Outlook



Based on end-users, the market is divided into industrial, commercial, and residential. IN 2022, the commercial segment garnered a significant revenue share in the market. Camping, rock climbing, logistics, agriculture, adventure sports, and other purposes are commercial uses for ropes. Ropes, which may be used for bundling, holding, and fastening, are a need on construction sites. They may also have been used for fall protection in specific circumstances. Nylon, hemp, polyester, and polypropylene are a few of the numerous kinds of rope utilized in industry.



Regional Outlook



Region wise, the market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and LAMEA. The APAC region held the highest revenue share in the market in 2022. Construction operations for commercial and residential buildings are rising quickly, increasing the need for lightweight, highly strengthened ropes that are waterproof and durable. The expanding infrastructure requirements in developing nations like China and India are driving the need for synthetic ropes. Additionally, twine and rope are widely exported from China, South Korea, and India. The Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) estimates that in 2020, more than 36% of the worlds export value came from China, India, and South Korea. This is predicted to drive market growth throughout the course of the forecast period.



The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group (Bekaert Group), Cortland Limited (Enerpac Tool Group), Marlow Ropes Ltd., WireCo WorldGroup, Inc., Yale Cordage, TEUFELBERGER Holding AG, English Braids Ltd., Southern Ropes, van Beelen Group BV and Dynamica Ropes ApS (Netmark Holding).



Strategies Deployed in Rope Market



Apr-2023: TEUFELBERGER unveiled the new KM Pro rope, a certified EN1891A rope and CI 1801. The product is particularly manufactured to the requirements of the rope access sector and perfectly merges performance and price.



Mar-2023: WireCo announced the launch of Casar and Oliveira products, High-Performance crane ropes made in the USA. This launch aims to provide similar quality ropes that customers got from facilities in Portugal and Germany.



Aug-2022: WireCo launched its new line of Union Gladiator pendants, developed to enhance the service life of shovels and draglines by 10-15 times over conventional technologies. The series of product features synthetic fibres, that notably improves the service life by decreasing vibration and absorbing loads.



Jun-2022: Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group introduced Dyform 36LR PI+, a compacted, high-performance, multi-layer construction rope. The launched rope consists of an engineered extruded plastic that is rolled out between the 18 outer strands and the rope core. Additionally, the rope is suitable for shipboard deck cranes and foundation-making equipment.



Apr-2022: The TEUFELBERGER Group took over Maillis Plastics Solutions, a provider of plastic straps complete range. Through this acquisition, the company would broaden its plastics processing division. Moreover, the acquisition secures MPS high-performance fibre ropes, steel wire ropes, and strapping abilities.



Feb-2022: Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group completed the acquisition of VisionTek Engineering SRL, a company specializing in 3D optical measurement technology that runs performance and surface algorithms to contrast real-time performance with key rope parameter needs. Following this acquisition, Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group marks a key strategic step in broadening the service portfolio to customers.



Apr-2021: Yale Cordage rolled out Sierra 78, a green synthetic rope product produced in the USA. The Sierra 78 is built with Dyneema SK78 fibre, a bio-based ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene. Additionally, the launched product is a 12-strand single braid of bio-based Dyneema fibre which would be used by companies across industries that includes Arboriculture, Electrical Utility, Mining, and Industrial.



Nov-2020: Marlow Ropes came into collaboration with The SailGP, the global sailing league. Following this collaboration, Marlow would offer its sustainable ropes as an official Rope provider to the global league and would feature onboard SailGPs advanced race boats.



May-2020: Marlow Ropes introduced the BLUE OCEAN RAPTOR, a Lowering line made from Marlows trademarked Blue Ocean yarn. The launch is the first in the Tree Work and Arboriculture industry, as well as it is manufactured by utilizing 100 % recycled plastic bottles.



Scope of the Study



Market Segments covered in the Report:



By Product



 Steel Wire



 Synthetic



 Cotton



 Others



By End User



 Industrial



 Commercial



 Residential



By Geography



 North America



o US



o Canada



o Mexico



o Rest of North America



 Europe



o Germany



o UK



o France



o Russia



o Spain



o Italy



o Rest of Europe



 Asia Pacific



o China



o Japan



o India



o South Korea



o Singapore



o Malaysia



o Rest of Asia Pacific



 LAMEA



o Brazil



o Argentina



o UAE



o Saudi Arabia



o South Africa



o Nigeria



o Rest of LAMEA



Companies Profiled



 Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group (Bekaert Group)



 Cortland Limited (Enerpac Tool Group)



 Marlow Ropes Ltd.



 WireCo WorldGroup, Inc.



 Yale Cordage



 TEUFELBERGER Holding AG



 English Braids Ltd.



 Southern Ropes



 van Beelen Group BV



 Dynamica Ropes ApS (Netmark Holding)



Unique Offerings



 Exhaustive coverage



 Highest number of market tables and figures



 Subscription based model available



 Guaranteed best price



 Assured post sales research support with 10% customization free

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06481479/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________
WAWA, Pa., July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wawa, Inc., is thrilled to announce today the return of its month-long Cheers to Classrooms celebration from August 1  August 31 that will recognize teachers and school administration who educate, guide and inspire children across the Sunshine State with the following support:



Free Any Size Hot Coffee or Fountain Beverage for Teachers & School Administration

All day, every day from August 1 - 31, any size hot coffee or fountain beverage is free for all teachers and school administration in Florida. Faculty need to simply share that they work at a school at the register to receive offer.





All day, every day from August 1 - 31, any size hot coffee or fountain beverage is free for all teachers and school administration in Florida. Faculty need to simply share that they work at a school at the register to receive offer. $25,000 Cheers to Classrooms Chainwide Fund

Through a partnership with Donors Choose, an online resource for teachers to submit funding requests for school supplies/support, Wawa has designated a $25,000 chainwide matching fund to support schools throughout its operating area. Teachers can submit a project at www.donorschoose.org and those schools that meet Wawas funding criteria could receive matching funds.



Wawa is excited to bring back its Cheers to Classrooms initiative to put a smile on the faces of teachers and administration that work so hard to do the same for children in our community, said Robert Yeatts, Senior Director of Store Operations, Wawa. Our associates are also looking forward to visiting local schools throughout the month to welcome teachers back into the classroom and show our appreciation for everything they do!

Wawa will launch its Cheers to Classrooms initiative in its Mid-Atlantic operating area of PA, NJ, DE, MD, VA and Washington D.C. in September 2023.

About Wawa, Inc.

Wawa, Inc., a privately held company, began in 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey. Toward the end of the 19th Century, owner George Wood took an interest in dairy farming and the family began a small processing plant in Wawa, PA in 1902. The milk business was a huge success, due to its quality, cleanliness and certified process. As home delivery of milk declined in the early 1960s, Grahame Wood, Georges grandson, opened the first Wawa Food Market in 1964 as an outlet for dairy products. Today, Wawa is your all day, every day stop for freshly prepared foods, beverages, coffee, fuel services and surcharge-free ATMs. Wawa stores are located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C. The stores offer a large fresh foodservice selection, including Wawa brands such as custom prepared hoagies, freshly-brewed coffee, hot breakfast sandwiches, specialty beverages and an assortment of soups, sides and snacks. Forbes.com ranks Wawa as one of the Best Employers for Women in 2023 and as #23 of Americas Largest Private Companies in 2020. For more information, visit us on www.wawa.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram at @wawa.

CONTACT: public.relations@wawa.com

An image accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d43d0930-41b5-484c-a261-f01d525c556e
Vista, California, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Watkins Wellness, a leader in hot tubs and aquatic fitness systems, today announced the expansion of its portfolio of personal well-being products and entry into the sauna category as a result of the pending acquisition of Sauna360 Group Oy (Sauna360) by Watkins Wellness parent company, Masco Corporation. Sauna360 is a leading global manufacturer of sauna solutions, and its portfolio of products includes traditional, infrared, and wood-burning saunas as well as steam showers, rooms and generators. These products are sold primarily in the United States, Europe and throughout the rest of the world under the Tylo, Helo, Kastor, Finnleo, and Amerec brands. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approval.

We are thrilled to welcome Sauna360 to our organization and to expand our portfolio of industry-leading products aimed at promoting wellness and helping our customers feel good and live well! said Vijaikrishna (VJ) Teenarsipur, President of Watkins Wellness. Sauna360 brings a wealth of industry knowledge and expertise to our business. We look forward to leveraging the synergies between our businesses, which will allow us to better serve our dealer partners, consumers and, ultimately, the growing wellness market.

I am very pleased for Sauna360 to become part of Watkins Wellness. Sauna360s business has grown in recent years, and becoming part of Watkins Wellness will further strengthen our capability and ambition to be a leading sauna player. The dealer distribution strategy, common focus on wellness and similar company cultures make this a true strategic fit, said Pekka Lettijeff, President & CEO of Sauna360 Group.

Founded in 2008 as a merger between two leading sauna companies, Helo and Tylo, Sauna360 brings decades of industry knowledge and experience resulting from a strong history, with Helos origin dating back to 1919 and Tylos to 1949. The company is headquartered in Finland and has approximately 180 employees located in Finland, Sweden, the United States, and England.

About Watkins Wellness

Watkins Wellness, established in 1977 in Vista, California, is dedicated to promoting wellness to consumers to help them feel good and live well. The companys growing portfolio of well-being products for at-home use provides multiple pathways to wellness. Our portfolio of brands includes Hot Spring Spas, Caldera Spas, Freeflow Spas, Fantasy Spas, and Endless Pools Fitness Systems, sold predominantly through a specialty dealer network of more than 1,000 dealer partners located in 70+ countries. Watkins Wellness is a wholly owned subsidiary of Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS).

About Masco Corporation

Headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, Masco Corporation is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of branded home improvement and building products. Our portfolio of industry-leading brands includes BEHR paint; Delta and Hansgrohe faucets, bath and shower fixtures; and Hot Spring Spas. We leverage our powerful brands across product categories, sales channels, and geographies to create value for our customers and shareholders. For more information about Masco Corporation, visit www.masco.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Watkins Wellness is a subsidiary of Masco Corporation. As such, this press release contains statements that reflect views about Masco Corporations future performance and constitute forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as outlook, believe, anticipate, appear, may, will, should, intend, plan, estimate, assume, seek, forecast, and similar references to future periods. These views about future performance involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and, accordingly, Masco Corporations actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in these forward-looking statements. We caution you against relying on any of these forward-looking statements.

Risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the expected closing of the Sauna360 transaction and the expected benefits and synergies of the acquisition, including the expected impact on future financial and operating results and post-acquisition plans and intentions. Masco Corporations future performance may also be affected by the levels of residential repair and remodel activity, and to a lesser extent, new home construction, the ability to maintain strong brands and to develop innovative products, the ability to maintain its public reputation, the ability to maintain its competitive position in its industries, reliance on key customers, the cost and availability of materials, dependence on suppliers and service providers, extreme weather events and changes in climate, risks associated with international operations and global strategies, the ability to achieve the anticipated benefits of its strategic initiatives, the ability to successfully execute its acquisition strategy and integrate businesses that it has acquired and may in the future acquire, the ability to attract, develop and retain a talented and diverse workforce, risks associated with cybersecurity vulnerabilities, threats and attacks, risks associated with reliance on information systems and technology and the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on its business and operations. These and other factors are discussed in detail in Item 1A. "Risk Factors" in Masco Corporations most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as in Masco Corporations Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in other filings it makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statement in this press release speaks only as of the date of this press release. Factors or events that could cause Masco Corporations actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all of them. Unless required by law, Masco Corporation undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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BURLINGTON, Mass., July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acronis, a global leader in cyber protection, today announced that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has once again named Patrick Pulvermueller, CEO at Acronis, to its exclusive 2023 Top 100 Executives list, Top 25 Innovators sub-category. This achievement marks the third consecutive year that Pulvermueller has been honored with this industry accolade, highlighting his visionary approach, and commitment to drive innovation to shape the future of cyber protection. CRNs Top 100 Executives List honors the technology executives who are supporting, growing, and redefining the IT channel. The executives named to this list have demonstrated their commitment to the channel and proved themselves as exemplary leaders through their channel-focused strategies and initiatives.



Since becoming the CEO in July 2021, Patrick Pulvermueller has been instrumental in reaffirming Acronis position in the channel market. His strategic decision-making, business acumen, and leadership have driven Acronis to new heights in the cyber protection industry. Under Pulvermueller's guidance, Acronis continues its hyper-growth trajectory by expanding its global footprint and introducing innovative solutions that address the challenges of the modern digital world. Most recently, Acronis announced the general availability of Acronis Advanced Security + Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) with new capabilities such as AI-based attack analysis as an advanced pack for the Acronis Cyber Protection Platform. Acronis suite of solution offerings reduces the complexity of protecting IT environments from ransomware and advanced cyberattacks.

"I am honored to be named on CRN's Top 100 Executives List for the third year in a row, said Patrick Pulvermueller, CEO, Acronis. This award recognition is not just a personal achievement but a testament to the collective efforts of the entire Acronis organization. Our inclusion in the Top 25 Innovators category showcases the dedication and expertise of our talented team who deliver the Acronis Cyber Protect solutions to reduce complexity, increase productivity, and decrease operating costs for our partners and customers. I am proud of the entire Acronis team for their commitment and meaningful impact on the industry.

CRNs Top 100 Executives list acknowledges the tech visionaries who are setting the pace for the rest of the IT industry. It honors executives across four sub-categories: the 25 Most Influential Executives, Top 25 Channel Sales Leaders, Top 25 Innovators, and Top 25 Disrupters, each with its own set of strengths that impact the IT channel.

It is the bold and decisive who continue to dominate our annual list in the technology world, said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. Those featured on our CRN 2023 Top 100 Executives list demonstrate perpetual commitment to business growth, partner success, and IT innovation and arent afraid to push boundaries  even in a time of economic uncertainty.

To learn more about Pulvermuellers 2023 CRN Top 100 Executives list achievement, check out our latest blog here: https://www.acronis.com/en-us/blog/posts/ceo-patrick-pulvermueller-honored-on-crns-top-100-executive-list-for-third-year-in-a-row.

The Top 100 Executives list will be featured in the August 2023 issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/Top100 .

About Acronis

Acronis unifies data protection and cybersecurity to deliver integrated, automated cyber protection that solves the safety, accessibility, privacy, authenticity, and security (SAPAS) challenges of the modern digital world. With flexible deployment models that fit the demands of service providers and IT professionals, Acronis provides superior cyber protection for data, applications, and systems with innovative next-generation antivirus, backup, disaster recovery, and endpoint protection management solutions powered by AI. With advanced anti-malware powered by cutting-edge machine intelligence and blockchain based data authentication technologies, Acronis protects any environment - from cloud to hybrid to on premises - at a low and predictable cost.

Acronis is a Swiss company, founded in Singapore. Celebrating two decades of innovation, Acronis has more than 2,000 employees in 45 locations. Acronis Cyber Protect solution is available in 26 languages in over 150 countries and is used by 18,000 service providers to protect over 750,000 businesses.

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com

Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn , and Facebook.

 2023 The Channel Company, LLC. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Channel Company Contact:

Natalie Lewis

The Channel Company

nlewis@thechannelcompany.com

Acronis Media Contact:

Karl Bateson

Karl.Bateson@acronis.com

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Ottawa, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Precedence Research, the global 3D printing market size was valued at USD 17,380 million in 2022. 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is the process of creating a 3D item from a computer-aided design model or digital 3D model. It can be done utilizing a variety of techniques that typically include layer-by-layer combining, connecting, or hardening of materials under the supervision of a computer. The capacity to create exceedingly complex structures or geometrical figures, including hollow pieces or portions with inside truss systems to minimize weight, that would often be challenging to make by hand is one of the key advantages and benefits of 3D printing.



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FDM (fused deposition modeling), an additive manufacturing process that produces 3D components using continuous thermoplastic or composite material thread in the form of filament, is expected to be the most widely used 3D printing technique by 2020. VAT Another class or form of additive manufacturing called photopolymerization uses carefully cured liquid resin by focused light induced polymerization to produce 3D objects. The market is expected to grow as a result of the active 3D printing research and development efforts as well as the increased demand for prototype applications from various industry segments, notably the automotive, healthcare, military, and aerospace industries.



Key Insights:



North America contributed more than 34% of the revenue share in 2022.

By printer type, the industrial printer segment accounted for more than 77% of total revenues in 2022.

By technology, the stereolithography segment captured more than 11% of total revenues in 2022.

By application, the prototyping segment registered more than 55% of total revenues in 2022.

By vertical, the automotive segment recorded more than 25% of revenue share in 2022.

By material, the metal segment generated over 53% of global revenue in 2022.

By component, the hardware segment captured more than 65% of total revenue in 2022.



Regional Snapshots

The North American 3D printing materials industry is expected to generate more than USD 5,909.2 million by 2032. The growth of the market in North America will be fueled by positive developments in the medical and aerospace sectors. The adoption of 3D printing in several industries and the increased diversity of materials will both present opportunities for growth. Initiatives by the American government to advance 3D printing, together with financing for research and development, will hasten its adoption and raise the need for 3D printing equipment and materials in the region.

Scope of this report:

Coverage Details Market Size by 2032 USD 98.31 Billion Market Size by 2032 USD 98,310 Million Growth Rate from 2023 to 2032 CAGR of 18.92% Base Year 2022 Forecast Period 2023 to 2032 Segments Covered By Component, By Printer Type, By Technology, By Application, By Vertical, By Material, and Regions Key Players Stratasys Ltd., EnvisionTec, Inc., Materialise, 3D Systems, Inc., Autodesk Inc., GE Additive, Voxeljet AG, Made In Space, Canon Inc., and others

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Market Dynamics:

Drivers

The use of additive manufacturing or 3D printing has altered many industrial processes, particularly in the manufacturing sector. The technology's unrivaled ability to accelerate time to market, reduce prices, and customize unique parts is encouraging innovation and the development of ground-breaking innovations. Due to the expanding spectrum of 3D printing applications across several industries, it is estimated that the market for 3D printing materials & equipment would grow throughout the projected period. Fused deposition modeling (FDM), also known as fused filament fabrication (FFF), creates components by layer-by-layer selectively depositing molten material in a preset pattern. It makes use of thermoplastic polymers, which are a kind of polymer. Due to its affordability, portability, simplicity, ergonomic and compact design, and ability to deal with many materials, FDM would improve product acceptability.

Restraints

The high initial expenses of this technology are said to be the main obstacle to its adoption. The cost of personnel training, supplies, certification, and instruction in additive manufacturing is included in this investment. A 3D system setup costs significantly more than using traditional printing methods and takes more resources. However, because the professional Desktop 3D printer is now readily available, the manufacturers are helping the end users cut back on the significant up-front costs. Compared to a 3D system, desktop printers are more practical and less costly.

Opportunities

Since its inception, 3D printing has shifted from being used primarily for designing and prototyping to producing useful components. Because 3D printing doesn't require tooling as traditional manufacturing methods do, it can help businesses get beyond obstacles like expensive equipment. Low-volume production is more expensive than conventional manufacturing even though it has lower per-unit expenses because to the high initial tooling requirements. The 3D printing approach helps to lessen waste produced during the production process by building components layer by layer. Mass customization is another area where 3D printing excels over conventional manufacturing, particularly for short production runs. According to a US poll, for instance, the rise in percentage from 14 percent in 2020 to 24 percent in 2021 is solely attributable to more companies switching to additive manufacturing (AM) for large-scale production runs of a variety of parts.

What parts will eventually be 3D-printable and whose production would not be possible using traditional manufacturing methods is still unknown. In light of this uncertainty, 3D printing may improve supply chain management, which might impact the logistical relationship between suppliers and buyers for specific goods or parts. In addition, the 3D printing sector has experienced advancements in printing mediums, equipment, and technology as well as an increase in the degree of labor competence. In response to the Covid-19 outbreak, 25% of American firms seek to change their supply chains, according to a research by "The Society of Manufacturing Engineers." When making investments following COVID-19, firms prefer investing in this technology above others, such as artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, robots, and digital security, according to the research. This suggests that manufacturers' increasing expenditures in 3D technology will fuel the market's expansion in the next years.

Challenge

Although intriguing, the market for 3D printing is currently relatively small. Although 3D printing services are well known, many of the technology's uses are not nearly as widespread as they ought to be. Despite decades of teaching and standardization of conventional machining, the majority of engineers today are still unaware of how to create components that are best suited for 3D printing techniques. Rapid prototyping is one application that takes a long time and costs a lot of money.

Companies all around the world are having trouble locating technical knowledge due to the ongoing developments in 3D printing technology. To address this obstacle, a number of businesses are taking initiatives to cross-train its workers in 3D printing.

Related Reports:

3D Printing Construction Market : The global 3d printing construction market size was valued at USD 3.42 billion in 2022 and it is projected to reach around USD 519.49 billion by 2032, poised to grow at a CAGR of 65.25% from 2023 to 2032.



: The global size was valued at USD 3.42 billion in 2022 and it is projected to reach around USD 519.49 billion by 2032, poised to grow at a CAGR of 65.25% from 2023 to 2032. 3D Printing Materials Market : The global 3D printing materials market size is estimated to be worth around USD 12.7 billion by 2030 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.32% from 2022 to 2030.



: The global size is estimated to be worth around USD 12.7 billion by 2030 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.32% from 2022 to 2030. 3D Printed Electronics Market: The global 3D printed electronics market size was valued at USD 12.22 billion in the year 2022 and is expected to reach around USD 38.2 billion by 2030 with a registered CAGR of around 15.31% from the period 2022 to 2030.



Recent Developments

In October 2022, Australian metal 3D printing company AML3D and aircraft manufacturer Boing increased their collaboration. Earlier this year, Boeing assigned AML3D the responsibility of 3D printing aluminum prototype airplane parts as part of a rigorous testing procedure in which they were examined in comparison to the standards of AS9100D quality assurance for "fly" parts. Using this agreement as a foundation, it has been agreed to increase the project's value by 150% by extending the project's scope to include the delivery of additional 3D-printed components.

PostProcess Technologies and EOS have begun a distribution partnership in October 2022 to provide EOS clients a completely automated and long-lasting depowering solution. The Variable Acoustic Displacement (VAD) technology solution, according to PostProcess, will automate bulk depowering for 3D printed items and complement the EOS printer product range. The collaboration facilitates customer access to post-printing technologies and enables whole process digitalization.

Market Segmentation:

By Component

Software

Hardware

Services



By Printer Type

Industrial 3D Printer

Desktop 3D Printer

By Technology

Selective Laser Sintering

Stereolithography

Fuse Deposition Modeling

Direct Metal Laser Sintering

Inkjet Printing

Polyjet Printing

Electron Beam Melting

Laminated Object Manufacturing

Digital Light Processing

Laser Metal Deposition

Others



By Application

Functional Parts

Tooling

Prototyping



By Vertical

Industrial 3D Printing



Automotive Aerospace & Defense Healthcare Consumer Electronics Industrial Power & Energy Others

Desktop 3D Printing



Educational Purpose Fashion & Jewelry Objects Dental Food Others







By Material

Metal

Polymer

Ceramic



By Geography

North America

Europe

Asia-Pacific

Latin America

The Middle East and Africa



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New York, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) today announced the winners of its 2023 Klerman and Freedman Prizes, recognizing exceptional clinical and basic research in mental illness. The prizes are awarded annually to honor the work of outstanding scientists who have been supported by the Foundations Young Investigator Grants Program.





The groundbreaking work of our Klerman and Freedman prize winners is changing the landscape in psychiatry by identifying the biological roots of mental illness, developing new diagnostic tools, more effective and targeted treatments, and establishing a path toward prevention, said Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., President and CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. We applaud these researchers for their innovative thinking and extraordinary accomplishments across the field of neuropsychiatry, and we thank our generous donors for supporting scientists in brain and behavior research.

The prizewinners are selected by the BBRF Scientific Council comprised of 184 pre-eminent mental health researchers.

Since its founding in 1987, the Foundation has awarded more than $440 million to more 5,300 scientists around the world. The Klerman and Freedman Prizes are named for Gerald Klerman, M.D., and Daniel Freedman, M.D., whose legacies as researchers, teachers, physicians, and administrators have indelibly influenced neuropsychiatry.





Five scientists received recognition for their outstanding work in brain and behavior research:

2023 Klerman Prize for Exceptional Clinical Research

Danella M. Hafeman, M.D., Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Dr. Hafemans research focuses on youth diagnosed with or who are at risk for bipolar disorder. She is interested in understanding clinical and neural mechanisms of risk and resilience in these youth, with the goal of preventing progression of mood disorders in this vulnerable population. Much of her recent work has focused on predictors of bipolar disorder in youth at familial risk, working with BBRF Prizewinner Dr. Boris Birmaher. Dr. Hafeman hopes to use these data to construct a risk calculator for the development of bipolar disorder in at-risk youth.

2023 Freedman Prize for Exceptional Basic Research

Ritchie Chen, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco

Visceral sensations, such as heart palpitations, hunger pangs, and pain, profoundly shape our mental state and behavior. Dr. Chen is inventing technologies for modulating affective and social behaviors, opening new possibilities for treating mental health disorders. He has developed a cutting-edge technology that can non-invasively control cells throughout the mammalian body, and which could revolutionize our understanding and treatment of neurological and psychiatric conditions.

2023 Klerman Prize Honorable Mention

Linden Parkes, Ph.D., Rutgers University & University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Parkes is a computational neuroscientist who seeks to uncover pathways that track the emergence of psychopathology. He approaches this goal from a neurobiological perspective by studying how complex neural systems shape behavior and cognition, and how dysfunction in these systems predicts psychopathology. His goal is to develop a set of robust, reliable, and predictive biomarkers that can be used in clinical trials to assess treatment stratification and response.

2023 Freedman Prize Honorable Mention

Madeline Andrews, Ph.D., Arizona State University

Dr. Andrews is a developmental neuroscientist who uses human cell cultures to explore the gene programs and cell signals that are essential for how brain cells grow, change shape, and become organized. Her research goal is to identify the molecular underpinnings of neurological disorders that impact human mental health. Toward this goal, she is working to evaluate the neurodevelopmental mechanisms establishing cerebral cortex cell fate and organization, which are imperative for neurological function, and how these programs are disrupted in autism.

2023 Freedman Prize Honorable Mention

Neir Eshel, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University

Dr. Eshels research focuses on the two neuromodulators that form the basis for most existing psychiatric treatments: dopamine and serotonin. By uncovering the functional diversity within these systems, he hopes his findings will lead to novel, more targeted treatments for symptoms such as irritability and aggression. The work could, for example, suggest ways to combine drugs that interact with specific dopamine and serotonin receptors.



About the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation awards research grants to develop improved treatments, cures, and methods of prevention for mental illness. These illnesses include addiction, ADHD, anxiety, autism, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, depression, eating disorders, OCD, PTSD, and schizophrenia, as well as research on suicide prevention. Since 1987, the Foundation has awarded more than $440 million to fund more than 5,300 leading scientists around the world. 100% of every dollar donated for research is invested in research. BBRF operating expenses are covered by separate foundation grants. BBRF is the producer of the Emmy nominated public television series Healthy Minds with Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, which aims to remove the stigma of mental illness and demonstrate that with help, there is hope.

Attachment
ANN ARBOR, Mich., July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Washtenaw Community College has been named a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education by the National League for Nursing, the only community college and one of just nine nursing programs nationwide to earn the honor this year.



Noted for enhancing student learning and professional development, WCC is among leading teaching hospitals, clinical sites and other nursing education programs recognized.

Centers of Excellence are named based on measurable demonstration of sustained excellence in faculty development, nursing education research, student learning and professional development and academic progression in nursing.

This prestigious national designation offers a lifetime career boost for our students. We are honored that the dedication and hard work of WCCs nursing faculty and staff, along with our exceptional nursing program, are recognized by the National League for Nursing, said WCC President Dr. Rose B. Bellanca.

The value of being educated in a Center of Excellence extends beyond the quality of patient care delivered by graduates. The recognition will also benefit students with future employers and educational institutions where they may transfer to earn Bachelors or Masters degrees.





Ana Andrade graduated in May and soon started her nursing career employed in a cardiac surgery unit of the Detroit Medical Center.

Having gone through the nursing program at WCC, I would not expect less than a national excellence recognition, Andrade said. All instructors look for a better way to deliver content and share their knowledge while preparing students for the NCLEX licensure exam and getting students into many different clinical rotations for more practice. As soon as a hospital knows you graduated from WCC, they understand you are well-prepared, with much hands-on experience and theory knowledge.

WCCs nursing program began in 1992 and now graduates about 120 nurses each year. The college maintains transfer partnerships with the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University, and many graduates continue their education to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. The majority of graduates become employed within the community at various types of health care facilities.

Dean of Health Sciences Shari Lambert said the designation exemplifies WCCs commitment to excellence, underscores the nursing programs reputation and ensures high standards and quality.

WCC was chosen because of the exceptional support students receive, along with our proximity to excellent health care, our clinical partnerships with leading providers, the diversity of our students and the dedication of faculty, Lambert said.

Nursing faculty member Pam Tolmoff said instructors strive for excellence while ensuring innovation, flexibility, collaboration, community engagement and evidence-based nursing education. The voice of the student is honored through collaborative educational initiatives, a firm commitment to lifelong learning, professional development and innovative program designs.

WCC and other 2023 Centers of Excellence will be recognized during the 2023 NLN Education Summit on Saturday, September 30.

WCC was also designated as a national Nursing Center of Excellence in 2018.

National Nursing Center of Excellence

Visit WCCs website to learn more about its nursing education programs. Information about the national COE program can be found online at NLN.org. For more information about the 2023 NLN Education Summit, including online registration, visit Summit.NLN.org.

About Washtenaw Community College

Washtenaw Community College (WCC), Ann Arbor, Michigan, educates students through a wide range of associate and certificate programs in areas such as health care, business, STEM and advanced transportation and mobility. WCC offers accelerated and online programs and is ranked the number one community college in Michigan by Intelligent.com and Schools.com. The college also works through community, business and union partnerships to develop highly specialized training programs to meet the regions workforce talent needs.

For more information about Washtenaw Community College, visit www.wccnet.edu.

MEDIA CONTACT

Fran LeFort , 734-677-5295

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GLEN MILLS, Pa., July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE: AXTA), a leading global coatings company, today announced that Dr. Kevin Stein, President and Chief Executive Officer of TransDigm Group Incorporated, has been appointed to Axaltas Board of Directors as an independent director, effective September 1, 2023. Stein will serve on Axaltas Environment, Health, Safety, and Sustainability and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees.



We are extremely pleased to welcome Kevin to our Board of Directors as he is a dynamic executive with more than 30 years of progressive leadership experience, said Rakesh Sachdev, Axaltas Board Chair. He is a seasoned public company CEO who has driven significant shareholder value creation. His global perspective and deep manufacturing experience with top-tier companies will better enable us to execute on our strategic growth plan.

Chris Villavarayan, Axaltas Chief Executive Officer and President, added, Kevin is joining Axalta at an exciting time for us and our shareholders, as we look to further capitalize on our momentum to position Axalta for continued market leadership, profitable growth and value creation. He has an impressive track record driving value across enterprises, and this background will be a great complement to our Board as we continue our growth trajectory. I am thrilled that Kevin is joining our Board and look forward to his partnership."

With the appointment of Stein, Axaltas Board will be composed of 10 directors, six of whom have been appointed to the Board since the beginning of 2020. Axaltas directors bring unique backgrounds and experience in areas important to the companys business, including executive leadership, finance, audit, information technology and global operations, and in relevant industries, including specialty chemicals and Axaltas end markets.

About Dr. Kevin Stein

Stein currently serves as President and CEO of TransDigm Group Incorporated, where he also serves on the Board of Directors. He joined the company in 2014 as Chief Operating Officer of the Power and Controls Segment. He then became TransDigms Chief Operating Officer and President in January of 2017, before being promoted to CEO in April of 2018. TransDigm is a leading global designer, producer and supplier of highly engineered aircraft components for use on nearly all commercial and military aircraft in service today.

Prior to joining TransDigm, Stein worked for Precision Castparts Corporation, now a division of Berkshire Hathaway, in a variety of senior leadership roles. Previously, Stein served as a division president for Cooper Industries and Tyco Electronics/Raychem Corporation.

Among other philanthropic endeavors, Stein serves as a Trustee for the Cleveland Institute of Music, an independent conservatory of Music in Cleveland, Ohio and as a Trustee for Gilmour Academy, an independent, co-educational school in the Cleveland suburb of Gates Mills, Ohio. Stein earned his bachelors degree in chemistry from Hobart College and his masters and Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Stanford University.

About Axalta

Axalta is a global leader in the coatings industry, providing customers with innovative, colorful, beautiful, and sustainable coatings solutions. From light vehicles, commercial vehicles and refinish applications to electric motors, building facades and other industrial applications, our coatings are designed to prevent corrosion, increase productivity, and enhance durability. With more than 150 years of experience in the coatings industry, the global team at Axalta continues to find ways to serve our more than 100,000 customers in over 130 countries better every day with the finest coatings, application systems and technology. For more information, visit axalta.com and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and @axalta on Twitter.

Axalta Coating Systems

50 Applied Bank Blvd

Suite 300

Glen Mills, PA 19342

USA Investor Contact

Christopher Evans

D +1 484-724-4099

Christopher.Evans@axalta.com

Media Contact

Robert Donohoe

D +1 267-756-3803

Robert.Donohoe@axalta.com





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by Nate Sheff

Harry Frankfurt died on July 16, 2023. As a philosophy student I came to appreciate him for his work on freedom and responsibility, but as a high school word nerd, I came to know him the way other shoppers did: as the author of one of those small books near the bookstore checkout line. That book, On Bullshit, had exactly the right title for impulse-buying, which has to explain how Frankfurt became a bestselling author in a field not known for bestsellers.

Happily for all of us, On Bullshit turned out to be philosophically rich, not just by impulse-buy standards, but by the standards of academic philosophy. I like to imagine that when members of the book-buying public got home and sat down grinning with the funny little hardcover in their bag, they cracked it open and read straight through to the end, not even realizing that an hour or two had slipped through their fingers.

Ive taught On Bullshit to intro philosophy students. The title makes them laugh (they cant believe what theyre getting away with in college), but things get real quickly. Frankfurt is having fun, but he isnt messing around. He takes his topic seriously, and even if you find his analysis unconvincing, the problem of bullshit lingers. Its a platitude that we seem to be up to our necks in the stuff, but hardly anyone ever thought to say what this stuff is. Characteristic of the best philosophy, Frankfurt asks a question that seems obvious in hindsight, but if it was so obvious, how come nobody asked it? Light chuckling gives way to nervous laughter, which gives way to furrowed brows. This is the legacy of Socrates.

Good philosophy has a tendency to keep on giving. It furnishes you with new tools, new ways to see the world. Good philosophy is productive and fruitful because it allows you to ask questions you didnt know how to ask before.

Earlier this year, I filled a gap in my cultural knowledge and finally read 1984. Even after decades of spoilers, the book had a few surprises in reserve for me, especially with how the regime of Big Brother can be characterized as much by omnipresent Frankfurtian bullshit as by constant lies. [Spoilers ahead  but you probably know most of the book by now.]

Frankfurt points out in On Bullshit that liars typically take themselves to know the truth about whatever they lie about. If someone lies to you, they are telling you something they take to be false. As Frankfurt sees it, liars care a lot about the facts, which is why they go to such lengths to prevent others from learning them. Liars understand that truth matters.

In 1984, up until OBrien entraps him, Winston willingly participates in the Ministry of Truths rewriting of history. He throws inconvenient evidence of the past into the memory hole, and, despite his desire to rebel, he dutifully revises records and news items. In other words, Winston is a professional liar. He understands the significance of what hes concealing, but conceals it anyway to stay out of trouble. His care for the truth gives him a guilty conscience, but it also makes him good at his job, because liars must be sensitive to the truth.

If we think of communication as a game of giving and asking for reasons, where norms of honesty and informativeness define fair play, then liars are cheaters whose success depends on knowing the rules in order to break them. Bullshit artists do not share these concerns and have no such scruples, and Frankfurt considers this the essence of bullshit. As he puts it, Someone who lies and someone who tells the truth are playing on opposite sides, so to speak, in the same game.  [The bullshitter] does not reject the authority of the truth, as the liar does, and oppose himself to it. He pays no attention to it at all.

During OBriens torture of Winston, we see how amateurish Winstons former work appears when compared with OBriens commitment to the Party. Winston had assumed all along that truth mattered, which is why the Party had to suppress it, but OBrien shows him that Party rule depends on playing another game altogether: replacing the earnest attempt at knowing reality with submission to the Partys will. In this sense, OBrien is Frankfurts perfect bullshit artist, since, as Frankfurt puts it, His eye is not on the facts at all, as the eyes of the honest man and of the liar are, except insofar as they may be pertinent to his interest in getting away with what he says. He does not care whether the things he says describe reality correctly. He just picks them out, or makes them up, to suit his purpose.

At one point, OBrien tells Winston, I could float off this floor like a soap bubble if I wish to. I do not wish to, because the Party does not wish it. You must get rid of those nineteenth-century ideas about the laws of Nature. We make the laws of Nature. His purpose in denying gravity isnt really to convince or persuade Winston of anything, since that would imply that he wants Winston to believe what he says. Belief aims at truth  to believe something is to try to get it right. OBriens purpose is to get Winston to buy his bullshit. Party indoctrination is not indoctrination in the strict and literal sense, where the indoctrinated come to believe a doctrine. Big Brothers victory over Winston comes when Winston gives up. When memories come to him, he sets them aside as false. Which ones are false? It doesnt matter. He doesnt believe anything, because hes not even trying.

Newspeak, the official language of Oceania, incorporates bullshit as a regulative ideal. In the appendix, Orwell explains that, if all goes according to plan, native speakers of Newspeak will eventually have such an impoverished conceptual scheme that Shakespeare will be incoherent to them. What could freedom mean, if you only know it in the sense of freedom from sugar, fat, or gluten? Syme, an architect of Newspeak, foreshadows Winstons fate when he tells him, Orthodoxy means not thinking  not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness. Party orthodoxy is empty  it is bullshit.

For Frankfurt, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are, by virtue of its peculiar disconnect from truth, and Orwell shows us its empire-building potential. Fooling all of the people all of the time is a tall order  Winston Smith is a busy man. But the success of Big Brothers regime does not depend crucially on tricking everyone. More important is passive obedience and widespread acquiescence to bullshit.
The Biocodex Microbiota Foundation is looking for academics and scientists in Canada to apply for a 25,000 research grant aimed at helping advance the study of the gut microbiome



MONTREAL, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Biocodex Microbiota Foundation , an organization founded by Biocodex and dedicated to inspiring scientific projects that explore the microbiome, is calling for grant proposals from innovative researchers at Canadian institutions.

The Biocodex Microbiota Foundations annual call for projects is part of a multi-year research initiative to further the understanding of the human microbiome.

The 2023 theme for Canada is the microbiome in human health and diseases and is open for applicants with an appointment at a Canadian institution or university (visiting scientists performing research at a Canadian institution may apply).

The deadline for the 2023 call for projects in Canada is October 15, 2023 and the final decision of the independent scientific committee will be communicated in November 2023.

The 2023 rules and application form can be found at the Biocodex Microbiota Foundations website .

6 Grants of 25,000 each have been already awarded to Canadian scientists since 2017, and the latest for the 2022 edition went to:

Dr. Maryam Kebbe, from the Faculty of Kinesiology, at the University of New Brunswick, for her project entitled: "Evolution of the intestinal microbiome, inflammatory markers, and body composition across lactation stages in infants born to women with normal weight and overweight/obesity".



About Biocodex

Founded in France in 1953, Biocodex is a multinational company, based on the higest scientific and manufacturing standards. Biocodex currently holds 20 subsidiaries (including Biocodex Canada Inc. based in Montreal  Quebec) and multiple long-term partnerships spanning more than 124 countries. With over 65 years of successful international operations, the mission of Biocodex is to remain a worldwide leader in expertise within the microbiota realm.

www.biocodex.ca/en/

About Biocodex Microbiota Foundation

The Biocodex Microbiota Foundation is a non-profit, general interest organization that supports research into microbiota and their interaction with various pathologies. Both foundational and applied research grants are awarded. Projects investigating the implication of microbiota in human health are selected annually by committees of independent international scientists.

www.biocodexmicrobiotafoundation.com

Contact: grant.microbiota@biocodex.ca

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7118c6c5-9510-431e-aac5-90321d8701a3
Belleville, Illinois, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Social Security Administration (SSA) has issued new guidance for long COVID sufferers. The guide offers a clearer picture as to how this condition is evaluated when it comes to applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, according to Allsup, the nations premier provider of disability representation services.

We know that living with long COVID can be a daily struggle and this guide is a step forward, providing understandable guidance on the medical evidence claimants need to include with their disability claims, said T.J. Geist, Principal Advocate at Allsup.

An estimated 16 million Americans are coping with long COVID, and the long-term health effects can lead to disability and long-term departure from work of a year or more, Geist explained.

Titled, Long COVID: A Guide for Health Professionals on Providing Medical Evidence for Social Security Disability Claims, the SSA document addresses concerns for those affected by long COVID or Post-COVID Conditions (PCC). The guide reinforces that an adult is deemed disabled if they are incapable of performing any substantial gainful work activity due to medically verifiable physical or mental impairments arising from long COVID. These impairments must have persisted, or are expected to persist, for a continuous period of at least 12 months, or are anticipated to result in death.

The SSAs recognition of long COVID as a potentially disabling condition is a positive development, Geist said. While Social Security has not added COVID-related conditions as a formally recognized medical listing, this is a good move. Millions of Americans are suffering from the long-term effects of COVID-19, and this guide provides a route for them to seek the support they desperately need.

The guide also details the types of medical reports that should be provided. These include a thorough description of the individuals medical history, information on the diagnosis, onset, duration, and prognosis of the individuals COVID-19 or long COVID diagnosis, along with conditions that might be associated with, exacerbated by, or consistent with long COVID.

Allsup, a leading nationwide provider of SSDI representation, return to work, veterans disability appeals and healthcare insurance services, is ready to assist individuals in navigating the complexities of applying for disability benefits with long COVID.

The process of applying for SSDI can be overwhelming, especially for those dealing with severe disabilities and health issues like long COVID, said Geist. Our team of disability experts is here to help individuals understand their eligibility, gather the necessary medical evidence and submit their claims.

The availability of this guide from the SSA underscores the importance of recognizing long COVID as a serious and potentially disabling condition. It provides a much-needed resource for health professionals and individuals alike, helping to ensure that those affected by long COVID can access the support they need. If you or a loved one is suffering from long COVID and need assistance with an SSDI claim or disability appeal, visit FileSSDI.Allsup.com or call 1-800-678-3276.

ABOUT ALLSUP

Allsup and its subsidiaries provide nationwide Social Security disability, veterans disability appeal, return to work, and healthcare benefits services for individuals, their employers and insurance carriers. Allsup professionals deliver specialized services supporting people with disabilities and seniors so they may lead lives that are as financially secure and as healthy as possible. Founded in 1984, the company is based in Belleville, Illinois, near St. Louis. Learn more at Allsup.com and @Allsup or download a free PDF of Applying for Social Security Disability Insurance: Getting It Right The First Time.

Attachment
DESIGNATED NEWS RELEASE

VANCOUVER, July 31, 2023 - Gold Royalty Corp. (NYSE American: GROY) ("Gold Royalty" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement (the "Agreement") to acquire an existing 1.0% net smelter return ("NSR") royalty (the "Royalty") from Endeavour Silver Corp. ("Endeavour") on portions of the Cozamin Copper-Silver Mine, located in Zacatecas, Mexico, ("Cozamin") for total cash consideration of US$7.5 million. Cozamin is owned and operated by Capstone Copper Corp. ("Capstone").

The Company also announces that it expects that, with the completion of the proposed acquisition, its board of directors will suspend dividends under its previously announced dividend program to focus capital on executing its strategic priority of growing cash flow and net asset value per share through accretive acquisitions.

David Garofalo, Chairman and CEO of Gold Royalty commented, "The acquisition of the Cozamin royalty brings immediate cash flow, complementing our peer-leading revenue growth rate from our portfolio of high-quality, long-life North American assets. Capstone is an experienced and proven operator and we are excited to see them continue to deliver strong operating and exploration results at Cozamin for years to come. We currently expect to be generating positive free cash flow in 2024 with, among other things, the addition of Cozamin, the Cote Gold Project on track to enter production early next year, and corporate overhead costs continuing to decrease."

Acquisition Highlights:

Cozamin is an established, low-cost operating copper-silver mine which has been in production since 2006 and has a history of exploration success and mine life extensions;

The Royalty generated revenue of over US$1.0 million over the last year and is expected to add meaningful cash flow to Gold Royalty going forward, along with leverage to increasing copper and silver prices during the life of mine;

Capstone published an updated National Instrument I 43-101 ("NI 43-101") technical report for Cozamin in May 2023 which outlined a life of mine plan extending to 2030 based only on mineral reserves 1 ;

; The Royalty covers two concessions over the Calicanto vein at Cozamin. As part of the transaction, Gold Royalty has been granted the option to acquire additional royalties on five contiguous concessions to the south of the Royalty for consideration of up to US$500,000.

The Company intends to fund the transaction through its existing cash and cash equivalents.

______________________________ 1 Based on the NI 43-101 Technical Report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Cozamin Mine, Zacatecas, Mexico" prepared for Capstone Copper Corp. with an effective date of January 1, 2023, a copy of which is available under Capstone's profile at www.sedar.com (the "Cozamin Report") . C1 cash costs per payable pound of copper produced is a measure reflective of operating costs per unit. Capstone calculates C1 cash costs as cash production costs of metal produced net of by-product credits.

The Cozamin Royalty

Cozamin is a copper-silver underground mine with a surface milling facility, located 3.6 km north-northwest of Zacatecas City in the mineral-rich state of Zacatecas, Mexico. Since the first full year of operation, Cozamin has generated free cash flow at all points of the copper price cycle.

Cozamin has been continuously operated by Capstone since late 2006, when it commenced commercial production at a rate of 1,000 tonnes per day. At the time, it had a three-year mine life based upon then existing mineral reserves. Since then, successful exploration has extended the expected life of the mine to 2030 based on existing mineral reserves1.

From 2023 to 2030, average annual production is currently forecasted by Capstone at 20,000 tonnes of copper and 1.3 million ounces of silver at average C1 costs of US$1.51 per payable pound of copper. Between 2023 to 2027, average projected annual production is expected by Capstone to be higher at 24,000 tonnes of copper and 1.7 million ounces of silver, at lower average projected C1 costs of US$1.46 per payable pound of copper1.

Capstone announced on February 1, 2023 that it plans to update its mine plan in 2024 to introduce cut-and-fill mining, which it expects will allow it to convert additional resources to reserves and provide a pathway to increase production at the mine to better utilize the installed mill capacity of 4,400 tonnes per day.

The Royalty was created under a 2017 concession division agreement between Endeavour and Capstone, under which, among other things, if Capstone outlined a primarily base metals mineral resource estimate (defined as >60% of NSR value) on certain concessions owned by Endeavour, it would grant Endeavour a 1% NSR royalty on such concessions. The Royalty applies to two concessions (Calicanto and Vicochea) where the base metals threshold was met. Gold Royalty has also been granted an option by Endeavour to acquire a 1% NSR royalty on five additional concessions if such royalties are granted in the future. Pursuant to the option, Gold Royalty would acquire such royalties, subject to existing rights of first refusal held by Capstone, in exchange for US$300,000, in the case of the Mise concession and US$50,000 in the case of each other concession, which amount may, at the option of Gold Royalty, be satisfied by issuing Gold Royalty common shares.

The acquisition of the Royalty is subject to customary closing conditions and is currently expected to be completed in August 2023.

About Gold Royalty Corp.

Gold Royalty Corp. is a gold-focused royalty company offering creative financing solutions to the metals and mining industry. Its mission is to invest in high-quality, sustainable, and responsible mining operations to build a diversified portfolio of precious metals royalty and streaming interests that generate superior long-term returns for our shareholders. Gold Royalty's diversified portfolio currently consists primarily of net smelter return royalties on gold properties located in the Americas.

Qualified Person

Alastair Still, P.Geo., Director of Technical Services of the Company, is a qualified person as such term is defined under NI 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information disclosed in this news release.

Notice to Investors

Except where otherwise stated, the disclosure in this news release relating to Cozamin has been derived from the Cozamin Report and other public information disclosed by the operator and has not been independently verified by the Company. Specifically, the Company has limited, if any, access to the property subject to the Royalty. Although the Company does not have any knowledge that such information may not be accurate, there can be no assurance that such third-party information is complete or accurate. The Royalty does not cover the entire project area of Cozamin, or the entirety of the areas covered by existing mineral reserve and resource and estimates. Please refer to the Cozamin Report for further information regarding the mineral reserve.

Unless otherwise indicated, the technical and scientific disclosure contained or referenced in this news release, including any references to mineral resources or mineral reserves, was prepared by the project operator in accordance with NI 43-101, which differs significantly from the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") applicable to domestic issuers. Accordingly, the scientific and technical information contained or referenced in this news release may not be comparable to similar information made public by U.S. companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of the SEC.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information:

Certain of the information contained in this news release constitutes 'forward-looking information' and 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws ("forward-looking statements") which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance and achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied therein. Forward-looking statements, which are all statements other than statements of historical fact, include, but are not limited to, statements respecting future dividends, the Company's strategy and business plans, the expected completion of the acquisition of the Royalty, expectations regarding operations at Cozamin and expectations regarding the Company's cash flows from Cozamin and its other interests. Forward-looking statements are based upon certain assumptions and other important factors, including assumptions relating to commodities prices, the projects underlying the Company's royalty interests, expected operations at Cozamin and other projects underlying the Company's interests and the business of the Company. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements including, among others, risks related to the ability of the parties to complete the proposed transaction and satisfy the conditions thereof, any inability of the operators of the properties underlying the Company's royalty interests to execute proposed plans for such properties or to achieved planned development and production estimates and goals, risks related to the operators of the projects in which the Company holds interests, including the successful continuation of operations at such projects by those operators, risks related to exploration, development, permitting, infrastructure, operating or technical difficulties on any such projects, the influence of macroeconomic developments, the ability of the Company to carry out its growth plans and other factors set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F and its other publicly filed documents under its profiles at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gold-royalty-announces-acquisition-of-royalty-over-capstones-producing-copper-silver-cozamin-mine-301888897.html

SOURCE Gold Royalty Corp.
VANCOUVER, July 31, 2023 - Gold Bull Resources Corp. (TSX-V: GBRC) ("Gold Bull" or the "Company") is pleased to report minor modifications to its Sandman Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA or Scoping) which was previously announced on April 25th, 2023, and filed on June 9, 2023, titled Phase 2 Study at its 100% owned Sandman Project ("Sandman" or the "Project") located in Humboldt County, Nevada, USA.

The modifications provided include the addition of post-tax financial analysis (previously only pre-tax was reported) and the addition of an independent metallurgical qualified person review, which resulted in the previously assumed recoveries increasing from 70% to 75% with multi-phase crushing.

The Sandman Scoping Phase 2 Study has identified a stand-alone, low pre-production capital USD31.5M, conventional heap leach gold project producing circa 35,000 to 40,000 ounces (average 38,000) of gold per year for 9 years. The project boasts an excellent pre-tax Internal Rate of Return (IRR) at 102% and a pre-tax payback period of 1.1 years, using a gold price of US$1800. The results from the Phase 2 study have Identified a post-tax IRR of 81% with payback period of 1.3 years.

The Scoping Phase 2 Study focused on mining gold mineralized material within optimized pit shells in two phases: Phase 1 mines all mineralized material within the pit shell above the water table and is dry (refer Phase 1 Study1), followed by Phase 2 which is focused on mineralized material below the water table and within the pit shell, and is wet, after completion of additional monitoring, permitting and dewatering efforts paid for by mine cashflow from Phase 1.

The Phase 1 and Phase 2 approach is designed to preserve initial pre-production capital during the Phase 1 mining process. The benefit of this two-phase approach is to enable further definition of the existing Mineral Resources, discover additional Mineral Resources, and enable sufficient time to conduct the below water table mine studies and permitting, all paid from the Phase 1 revenues. The proposed model has the potential to deliver strong organic growth with minimal initial dilution to existing shareholders.

Pre-Tax Results Post-Tax Results (2) IRR 102% 81% Cash Flow (Undiscounted) $229,585,644 $174,743,379 Cash Flow 6% Discount Rate $161,092,882 $121,009,339 Payback (Years) 1.1 1.3

The Study highlights :

Production rate average of 2.2 Mtpa for a 9-year operation

35,000-40,000 ounces of gold per annum produced from conventional heap leach, average 38,000 ounces per year

At US$1,800/oz gold price: IRR of 81% (post-tax) NPV 6% US$121M (post-tax) Payback period of 1.3 years (post-tax)

Average grade 0.73g/t gold

LOM low strip ratio of 2.2:1

Phase 1 Initial pre-production Capital $31.5M and Phase 2 Capital, US$19.7M paid by Phase 1 mining revenues. Total LOM capital US$51.3M, including pre-production working capital US$4.5M

LOM Operating cost of US$20.85 per tonne (post tax)

All in Sustaining Cost (AISC) of $1,337 (post-tax) per ounce



This Scoping Phase 2 Study focused on the efficient extraction of all mineralized material within an optimized pit shell in a sequence that facilitates effective use of initial pre-production capital and a more rapid mine commissioning. This Scoping Phase 2 Study is a Preliminary Economic Assessment PEA (PEA), under NI 43-101 requirements.

Gold Bull CEO, Cherie Leeden, commented:

Sandman provides Gold Bull with a low-cost and moderate mine life start-up with the opportunity to grow the asset via additional exploration using mine revenues. This is a practical approach to epithermal gold mining and has historically produced longer life assets.

In our Phase 1 PEA we only examined the oxide material located above the water table (5yrs), to enable a rapid timeline for mine commissioning and limited the initial pre-production capital. This Phase 2 scoping study focussed on extending the mine life from 5 years to 9 years while utilizing mine cashflow for Phase 2 development. The intent is to be mining, developing, and discovering additional ounces at the project utilizing mining cashflow and avoid shareholder dilution. Excellent exploration potential exists at Sandman and not all deposits are closed off.

Three gold resources at Sandman remain open, therefore this PEA is the most conservative base case done using only our pit constrained ounces at a gold price of US$1800. If we were to use today's gold price of circa <$2000, it dramatically increases the projected economics because Sandman is most sensitive to the gold price.

Economic analysis is provided in Table 1 and compares Pre-Tax and Post-Tax analysis.

Metric Pre-Tax Post-Tax Economic Analysis Internal Rate of Return (IRR) 102% 81% NPV @ 6% $161,092,882 USD $121,009,339 USD Average Annual Cashflow $29,017,072 USD $22,923,487 USD Undiscounted Cumulative Cashflow $229,585,644 USD $174,743,379 USD Pay-Back Period 1.1 years 1.3 years Gold Price Assumption $1,800 per ounce $1,800 per ounce All-in Sustaining Cost $1,176 per ounce $1,337 per ounce Capital Costs Initial Capital $31,568,000 USD $31,568,000 USD Working Capital (included in above) $4,500,000 USD $4,500,000 USD LOM Sustaining Capital $19,739,240 USD $19,739,240 USD Total LOM Capital $51,307,240 USD $51,307,240 USD Contingency (Included in Total) $9,980,000 USD $9,980,000 USD Operating Costs (Average LOM) Mining $7.80 per ore tonne $7.80 per ore tonne Processing & Support $5.65 per ore tonne $5.65 per ore tonne General & Administration (G&A) $2.99 per ore tonne $2.99 per ore tonne Other Costs $1.57 per ore tonne $4.40 per ore tonne Total Operating Cost $18.03 per ore tonne $20.85 per ore tonne Production Data Life of Mine 9 years 9 years Annual Processing Rate 2,157,667 tonnes per annum 2,157,667 tonnes per annum Total Tonnes Processed 19,419,000 tonnes 19,419,000 tonnes Grade Au (Average) 0.73 g/t Au 0.73 g/t Au Contained Gold 455,000 ounces 455,000 ounces Metallurgical Recovery Au (Overall) 75% 75% Average Annual Gold Production 37,917 ounces per annum 37,917 ounces per annum Total Gold Produced 341,250 ounces 341,250 ounces LOM Strip Ratio 2.2 : 1 2.2 : 1

Table 1. Scoping Study economic analysis summary of Sandman Project for both Pre-Tax and Post-Tax results.

STUDY HIGHLIGHTS

The Study has demonstrated potential for positive financial metrics for the Sandman Project based on a proposed stand-alone low-cost start-up heap leach gold mine project located approximately 25 km from the mining town of Winnemucca (Figure 1 and 2) in central Northern Nevada, USA.

This PEA Phase 2 Study investigated an expansion to the previously announced Phase 1 five-year mine plan of above water table mineralized material processed onsite via conventional Heap Leach processing AND includes the Phase 2 plan to mine the mineralized material below the water table after Phase 1 is finalized and after the necessary permitting and dewatering efforts have been completed. Gold Bull considers Sandman to be technically low risk, given the low strip ratio due to gold at surface and the majority of Mineral Resource classified as Indicated. Both Scoping Studies were completed to an overall +/- 30% accuracy using the key parameters and assumptions set out in Tables 1 and 2.

The calculations in this Phase 2 Study focus on the full project (prior Phase 1 plus this Phase 2) mining scenario. The Phase 1 mine scenario targeted low initial pre-production capital and near-term cash flow to then later fund Phase 2 below water table oxide mine dewatering studies and development. The strategy is to preserve initial pre-production cashflow and pay for future studies when producing revenue from the asset. The deferred work includes below water table permitting & dewatering, additional metallurgical optimization studies for product processing and infill resource to reserve drilling.

The Sandman Project Phase 2 Scoping Study includes Life of Mine (LOM) plan and reports a post-tax IRR of 81%, post-tax NPV 6 % of US$121M (post-tax), annual post-tax cashflow of estimated US$23Mpa, and a payback period of 1.3 years when applying presumed tax and a gold price of US$1,800/oz of gold. The initial pre-production capital cost is US$31.5M, which includes working capital of US$4.5M, and a further US$19.7M will be required as sustaining capital for additional mine studies, dewatering, and leach pad expansions. Total operating cost is $20.85 per tonne post tax (and all in sustaining cost of $1,337/oz gold (post-tax)). Royalty is low at 1.2% of product.

The Project is based on 455,000 gold ounces contained within the pit shells, with a head grade of 0.73 g/t gold spread across four known gold deposits. The four gold resources (see Figure 3: North Hill, Silica Ridge, South East Pediment, Abel Knoll) shall be mined via conventional open pit mining methods, with an average life of mine waste to ore ratio of 2.2:1, annual production is 35-40K oz gold (38,000 average), with 2.2Mt feed production rate. Refer Table 1 and Table 2 for further details and estimated financial metrics.

Metric Pre-Tax Post-Tax Economic Analysis Internal Rate of Return (IRR) 102% 81% NPV @ 6% $161,092,882 USD $121,009,339 USD Average Annual Cashflow $29,017,072 USD $22,923,487 USD Undiscounted Cumulative Cashflow $229,585,644 USD $174,743,379 USD Pay-Back Period 1.1 years 1.3 years Gold Price Assumption $1,800 per ounce $1,800 per ounce All-in Sustaining Cost $1,176 per ounce $1,337 per ounce Capital Costs Initial Capital $31,568,000 USD $31,568,000 USD Working Capital (included in above) $4,500,000 USD $4,500,000 USD LOM Sustaining Capital $19,739,240 USD $19,739,240 USD Total LOM Capital $51,307,240 USD $51,307,240 USD Contingency (Included in Total) $9,980,000 USD $9,980,000 USD Operating Costs (Average LOM) Mining $7.80 per ore tonne $7.80 per ore tonne Processing & Support $5.65 per ore tonne $5.65 per ore tonne General & Administration (G&A) $2.99 per ore tonne $2.99 per ore tonne Other Costs $1.57 per ore tonne $4.40 per ore tonne Total Operating Cost $18.03 per ore tonne $20.85 per ore tonne Production Data Life of Mine 9 years 9 years Annual Processing Rate 2,157,667 tonnes per annum 2,157,667 tonnes per annum Total Tonnes Processed 19,419,000 tonnes 19,419,000 tonnes Grade Au (Average) 0.73 g/t Au 0.73 g/t Au Contained Gold 455,000 ounces 455,000 ounces Metallurgical Recovery Au (Overall) 75% 75% Average Annual Gold Production 37,917 ounces per annum 37,917 ounces per annum Total Gold Produced 341,250 ounces 341,250 ounces LOM Strip Ratio 2.2 : 1 2.2 : 1

Table 2. Scoping Study economic analysis summary of Sandman Project with Pre-Tax and Post-Tax figures reported





Figure 1. Sandman Project location map of Northern Nevada relative to the surrounding operating gold mines and mineral resources. Reference to the nearby projects is for information purposes only and there are no assurances the Company will achieve the same results.





Figure 2. Sandman Project location relative to infrastructure and nearby regional mine servicing town of Winnemucca, Nevada. The project is located on Jungo Road 20-30 kms from Winnemucca.





Figure 3. Sandman Scoping Study proposed mine design. This has not changed from the prior Phase 1 study.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Sandman Project presents strong financial results and a compelling mine opportunity for a stand-alone open pit gold mine, with Phase 1 mining above water table (for five years) commencing at the North Hill deposit, followed by Silica Ridge, Southeast Pediment and Abel Knoll deposits. Upon completion of Phase 1, and the required below water table permitting and dewatering efforts, Phase 2 mining (over four years) is expected to commence immediately in the same order as Phase 1 commencing at North Hill and heading southwards to the Abel Knoll deposit. The two-phase approach is designed to conserve initial pre-production capital while enabling rapid mine commissioning to achieve cashflow and to fund the below water table permit for Phase 2 mining, and also fund further exploration to increase the mine resources.

The mine proposal includes an onsite multi-stage crushing plant, which is mobile and will move progressively from each pit location, with separate dumps and two localized leach pads. The first leach pad will be constructed for North Hill and Silica Ridge, and the second leach pad will be constructed in year 3 and will receive mineralized material feed from Southeast Pediment and Abel Knoll. Leach Pad expansions will be required in years 5 and 6 to accommodate the additional tonnage from Phase 2 mining.

Economics are based upon contract mining, crushing and heap leach as the main processing method. It is planned to load the gold onto activated carbon and then transport the loaded carbon to off-site stripping and refining plants for final gold dore recovery. A simplified mining schedule is anticipated to produce 35,000-40,000 ounces of gold per annum.

Given the North Hill and Silica Ridge deposits outcrop on hill tops at surface, these deposits present the best strip ratio starter pit mine scenarios3. Phase 1 is targeting these low-strip ratio resources to enable rapid permitting (above water table) for mine start-up and initial cash flow. Initial mine production revenue will be used to fund further mine studies, permitting and dewatering efforts to allow the Phase 2 mining below the water table and this is expected be included in future studies.





Table 3. Sandman Project Scoping Study mine factors applied to the economic evaluation

Comments

This scenario includes all material within an optimized pit shell

Recoveries assumed at 75% for heap leaching. Opportunity exists to optimize recoveries after further metallurgical test work is completed

Optimized pit shells were applied, not a refined pit design

Future opportunity exists to increase mine production, as this schedule assumes dayshift-only mining to meet the planned material movement requirements

Cashflow model includes a 1.2% Royalty



Capital Categories

Contingency added to capital to cover unknown/unrecognized categories

Working capital is sufficient to cover 2 months of operating costs

Capital estimates are based on current quotes and/or information from previous projects (within the past two years) and inflated to 2023 levels

Engineering Procurement Construction Management (EPCM)

Earthworks - roads, stockpiles, and yard construction

Crushing/stacking equipment, multi-stage crushing for 6-8Kt per day, cost estimate includes installation and commissioning, entire system to be mobile and follow mining from pit to pit

Leach pad and ponds, 5-8Kt per day, cost estimate includes installation and commissioning. Initial pad built near North Hill and Silica Ridge with a second pad built near Southeast Pediment and Abel Knoll in year 3.

Carbon columns, cost estimate includes installation and commissioning. One set of columns for the initial leach pad and second set to be constructed for the second leach pad

Sustaining capital includes temporary construction facilities, construction services, supplies, quality control, survey support, construction equipment and safety

Sample preparation conducted on site with off site gold analysis

Infrastructure includes portable office, warehouse/parts storage, and a workshop

Initial purchase or lease of water rights necessary to operate the mine

Option to purchase additional surface rights included



Operational Categories

Mining contractor mobilisation for 12-15 equipment units, office space and other resources.

Contract mining comprises: Drilling Blasting In-pit loading Waste haulage to near-pit waste rock stockpile Product feed haulage to near-pit stockpile location (for feed to crusher) Loader feed into a portable (movable) crusher Loading of crushed material into trucks Truck haulage to heap leach pad Roads/dumps/stockpile maintenance

Company shall maintain small workforce for project management, administration, SHE permitting-training-compliance, general labor, crushing/heap leach operations, supply chain etc.

Contractor demobilization at the end of the project life

Centralised location for diesel, gasoline, lubes, and oils

Power Generation and Distribution with mobile generators for crushing, pumping and other infrastructure requirements, includes a back-up generator, power poles, transformers for on-site distribution

Further studies for alternative power solutions are needed as this scenario uses diesel generators

Water supply and distribution, water well construction and extraction, pumping and piping to supply water for the project. Water usage 3,900 gallons per minute with make-up water consumption rate of 285 gallons per minute

Additional environmental and hydrogeological baseline studies are required

Initial purchase or lease of water rights necessary to operate the mine

Indirect owners' costs include temporary construction facilities, construction services, supplies, quality control, survey support, construction equipment, safety etc.

Operating Costs

An operating cost estimate has been calculated at US$20.85 per tonne of mineralized material mined and processed for the Project. The estimate relates to all costs to allow production of gold dore, capturing the processing plant facilities, contractor mining, product refining and general and administration (G&A) costs.

Functional Area Post-tax Cost per Tonne

Processed (US$) Mining $7.80 Processing $5.66 G&A $2.99 Other Costs (Royalty, Taxes, etc.) $4.40 Total Site Operating Cost1 $20.85

Table 4. Sandman Project operating cost summary.

Basis for Economic calculations (tonnage/grades)

The Company announced its Mineral Resource Estimate on February 2, 2021 with combined Indicated and Inferred ounces totaling 494K ounces of gold and summarized below. Refer to Table 8 for the prior published summary of the Sandman Mineral Resource Estimate in which the majority of the Mineral Resource is Indicated a small amount is Inferred.

Indicated Mineral Resource of 18,550kt @ 0.73g/t gold for 433kozs of gold

Inferred Mineral Resource of 3,246kt @ 0.58g/t gold for 61kozs of gold

The Scoping Studies are preliminary in nature, include a small amount of inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the Scoping Studies will be realized.

A further grade model was created for the Phase 2 Scoping Study to include the 2021 and 2022 drill results and estimate an above water table tonnage and grade model. This was applied to the Scoping Phase 2 Study pit optimization work and the resulting tonnes and grade used In the Phase 2 Study are summarised in Table 5. The water table surface was conservatively defined by first intercept of water in the exploration drill holes. Detailed hydrogeological studies accurately defining the water table are yet to be conducted and will be included in future Studies.





Table 5. Scoping Study tonnes and grade depicting 455K oz contained gold within the pit optimisation

Mining Methods

The Sandman Project is planned to be mined using conventional open pit mining methods on the four (4) separate deposits in the order listed in Table 6. The mining operation schedule is dayshift only with a roster of two production crews on a 4-days on and 4-days off, 12 hours per day.

Pre-production stripping is expected to be minimal as mineralized material is located at or near surface on hill tops where mining is anticipated to begin at the North Hill and Silica Ridge deposits. The pit areas have small shrubs and grasses that can be cleared with planned mining equipment.

Open pit mining is currently envisaged to be by diesel-powered equipment, utilizing a combination of one rotary blasthole rig drilling blastholes, one 8m3 front-end loader (or similar size excavator), and five to six, 70-tonne capacity trucks to handle mineralized material and waste. The mining fleet has sufficient capacity to move up to approximately 6.0Mtpa of total material on a dayshift-only schedule. Support equipment comprising a grader, track dozer(s) and water truck will aid in the mining. Mineralized material will be hauled to the crushing area for stockpiling before being rehandled later for primary crushing. Initially, waste rock will be stored in the waste rock dumps close to the pit to reduce haulage costs. As space and design allows, waste will be backfilled into the pit to reduce haulage costs and surface disturbance.

Haul roads are contemplated to be 9-10m widths for one-way traffic and 18-20m widths for two-way traffic. The final location of the ramps is expected to be optimized to reduce the overall pit slopes and to aid in efficient haulage to various stockpile locations. The pit is considered dry in Phase 1 and wet in Phase 2.

The mine plan was designed to deliver ~2.2Mt of mineralized material per year to the processing facility. The mine plan was based on efficient extraction of mineralized material above the water table in Phase 1 and started at the North Hill deposit (predicted higher-grade and low strip ratio) and then working the deposits in a southerly direction without regard to majority Indicated, and minority Inferred, Mineral Resource categories. Phase 2 mining will continue below the water table also starting at North Hill and working in a southerly direction towards Abel Knoll.

The total estimated mining workforce is 55-60 people, comprising a team of 22 Gold Bull personnel and 30-35 mining contractors (20 production operators, 8 maintenance techs, 5 supervisory staff).

Period Mineralized

Material Gold

Grade Contained

Gold Total

Waste Total

Material Strip

Ratio tonnes g/t ounces tonnes tonnes w:o Year 1 1,633,000 0.82 42,857 3,120,000 4,753,000 1.9 Year 2 2,306,000 0.77 57,143 3,833,000 6,139,000 1.7 Year 3 2,685,000 0.66 57,143 2,799,000 5,484,000 1.0 Year 4 2,247,000 0.79 57,143 3,077,000 5,324,000 1.4 Year 5 2,844,000 0.57 51,714 5,371,000 8,215,000 1.9 Year 6 3,195,000 0.56 57,143 7,564,000 10,759,000 2.4 Year 7 2,042,000 0.87 57,143 7,678,000 9,720,000 3.8 Year 8 1,887,000 0.94 57,143 6,608,000 8,495,000 3.5 Year 9 580,000 0.94 17,571 2,031,000 2,611,000 3.5 Totals 19,419,000 0.73 455,000 42,081,000 61,500,000 2.2

Table 6. Sandman Project annual mining production schedule for 9 years for the four Sandman deposits.

Recovery Methods

Precious metal recovery from this Scoping Phase 2 Study is through conventional heap leaching and adsorption, desorption, regeneration (ADR) technology for metal extraction from crushed product using industry standard equipment. Processing will involve mineralized material passing through multiple stages of crushing, which will allow for haulage transport and end-dump stacking of the mineralized material onto a heap leach pad. The processing facilities accommodate a leachable tonnage of approximately 19.4Mt of product at a gold grade of 0.73g/t and a process rate of 5,900tpd or 2.2Mtpa. The heap leach pad facilities have been located and designed with expandability for a LOM production increase.

Mineralized material will be delivered to the crushing plant from the open pit and placed in the stockpile adjacent to the crushing plant. The mineralized material will be fed to the crushing plant using a front-end loader and will be crushed and then transported to the heap leach pad via haul trucks. The mineralized material will be stacked onto the heap using industry standard end-dumping and dozer pushing and then leached with a weak cyanide solution to extract the precious metal values. The gold will then be recovered from the pregnant solution in the carbon columns by adsorbing the dissolved gold onto activated carbon, which will be bagged and transported off-site to an external facility to extract gold from the loaded carbon. The stripped carbon will be returned from the external treatment facility to site for continuous reuse in the process plant. The dore will be sent to a contract refiner for final refining.

Mineral Processing

Historical metallurgical test work has been completed over several stages, predominantly from the Silica Ridge, North Hill and Southeast Pediment deposits, mostly by Newmont and Kappes, Cassiday and Associates (KCA) in Reno, Nevada. Recent test work on samples from Abel Knoll were completed by KCA for Gold Bull in 2021.

Historically, relatively extensive bottle roll leach programs were conducted while only limited column leach tests were completed for three of the four deposits. Further test work is required to adequately determine the optimal processing circuit and resulting gold recoveries for the gold mineralization at Sandman. At this stage it is considered likely that a conventional three-stage crush followed by heap leach processing could achieve gold recoveries of 75%. Additional work is required to confirm the crush size and gold recoveries from heap leaching.

Sensitivity Analysis

High level sensitivity analysis of the Sandman Project economics was conducted, indicating the project is most sensitive towards gold price and less sensitive towards operating cost and least sensitive to capital cost. Figure 4 and 5 and Table 7 demonstrate the range of NPV in million dollars over a range of gold prices and include Pre and Post Tax analysis.





Figure 4. Sandman sensitivity analysis evaluating gold price, capital costs and operating costs both Pre-Tax and Post-Tax analysis.





Figure 5. Sandman sensitivity analysis is most sensitive to the gold price





Table 7. Gold price impact on Post-Tax NPV 6% and IRR.





Table 8. January 2021 NI 43-101 Sandman Gold Resource Estimate. Full report available: Sandman-NI-43-101_2021-01-20.pdf (goldbull.ca) Please note that the Sandman 2021 NI 43-101 Resource Estimate does not include drilling conducted by Gold Bull in 2021 and 2022.

NEXT STEPS

Further drilling and metallurgical, geotechnical and hydrogeological studies are required for inclusion in a Preliminary Feasibility Study and for use in mine permitting.

Baseline hydrogeological, cultural, and biological surveys have previously been conducted at Sandman, however, may need to be updated for mine permitting. Additional technical and design optimization studies will also be required for inclusion in a Preliminary Feasibility Study. Infill resource and reserve drilling is required ahead of the mine schedule.

Optional additional exploration is warranted and recommended to expand the current mineral resource base.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

This Scoping Study is a preliminary technical and economic study investigating the potential viability of commissioning and running a gold mine at the Sandman Project. The Scoping Study includes a smaller amount of inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the Scoping Study will be realized.

The Scoping Study in this announcement is based on technical and economic assumptions and assessments which could be further refined and evaluated in a preliminary feasibility study. If the Company were to attempt to bring the Sandman Project into production without established mineral reserves on the project supported by a full feasibility study, the Company cautions that this could result in a higher risk of economic or technical failure of the operation than if a full feasibility study had been prepared demonstrating economic and technical viability.

The Scoping Study is based on material assumptions outlined in this announcement. These include assumptions about the availability of funding and other parameters. While the Company considers all the material assumptions are based on reasonable grounds, there is no certainty they will prove to be correct or that the range of outcomes indicated in this Scoping Study announcement can be achieved or realised. There are no assurances that the Sandman Project will be found to be economic.

To achieve the potential mine development outcomes indicated in the Phase 1 and Phase 2 Scoping Study, significant funding is required as well as further drilling and metallurgical, hydrogeological, and environmental assessments and permits received prior to confirming mining can take place. The Study has focussed only on Phase 1 initial oxide mining of mineralized material above the water table, then Phase 2 mining of material below the water table, using conventional heap leach processing. Investors should note there is no certainty that the Company will be able to raise the required funding when needed, however the Company has concluded that it has a reasonable basis for providing the forward-looking statements included in this announcement and believes that it has a "reasonable basis" to expect it will be able to fund the gold development project upon receiving satisfactory and favourable results for further metallurgical, hydrogeological and environmental studies and permits enabling economic ore extraction. Further studies are required to confirm the proposed mine scenario and confirm assumptions made in this Scoping Study.

It is also possible that such funding may only be available on terms that may be dilutive, or otherwise affect the value of the Company's existing shares. It is also possible that the Company could pursue other strategies to provide alternative funding options including project finance.

Given the uncertainties involved for the metallurgical, hydrogeological and environmental assessments and permits, investors should not make any investment decision based solely on the results of the Scoping Studies and assume a mine will be developed, however every effort will be made by the Company to progress towards mine development.

ABOUT SANDMAN

In December 2020, Gold Bull purchased the Sandman Project from Newmont. Gold mineralization was first discovered at Sandman in 1987 by Kennecott and the project has been intermittently explored since then. There are four known pit constrained gold resources located within the Sandman Project, consisting of 21.8Mt at 0.7g/t gold for 494,000 ounces of gold; comprising of an Indicated Resource of 18,550kt at 0.73g/t gold for 433kozs of gold plus an Inferred Resource of 3,246kt at 0.58g/t gold for 61kozs of gold. Several of the resources remain open in multiple directions and the bulk of the historical drilling has been conducted to a depth of less than 100m. Sandman is conveniently located circa 25-30 km northwest of the mining town of Winnemucca, Nevada.

QUALIFIED PERSON

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Jerod Eastman, Mr. Steven Olsen, and Mr. Carl E. Defilippi for only the sections which they are responsible.

Mr. Eastman is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Eastman is a Registered Member (#00885850) of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc. and is completely independent of Gold Bull Resources Corp. The information in this news release that relates to mining and cost estimation is based on, and fairly reflects, information compiled and approved by Mr. Eastman.

Mr. Steven Olsen is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Olsen Is a Registered member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (#7014) and is completely independent of Gold Bull Resources Corp. The Information in this public announcement that relates to Mineral Resource estimation was produced and approved by Mr. Steven Olsen.

Mr. Carl E. Defilippi is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Defilippi is a Registered Member (#775870) of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc. and is completely independent of Gold Bull Resources Corp. The Information in this new release that only relates to Metallurgy was approved by Mr. Defilippi.

ABOUT GOLD BULL RESOURCES CORP.

Gold Bull's mission is to grow into a US focused mid-tier gold development Company via rapidly discovering, developing and acquiring additional ounces. The Company's exploration hub is based in Nevada, USA, a top-tier mineral district that contains significant historical production, existing mining infrastructure and an established mining culture. Gold Bull is led by a Board and Management team with a track record of exploration and acquisition success.

Gold Bull's core asset is the Sandman Project, located in Nevada which has a 494,000 oz gold resource as per 2021 NI 43-101 Resource Estimate. Sandman is located 23 km south of the Sleeper Mine and boasts excellent large-scale exploration potential.

Gold Bull is driven by its core values and purpose which includes a commitment to safety, communication & transparency, environmental responsibility, community, and integrity.

Cherie Leeden

President and CEO, Gold Bull Resources Corp.

For further information regarding Gold Bull Resources Corp., please visit our website at www.goldbull.ca or email admin@goldbull.ca or phone 778.401.8545.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements" with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "indicates", "opportunity", "possible" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although Gold Bull believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results or realities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such material risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability to raise sufficient capital to fund its planned activities at the Sandman Project; the timing and costs of future activities on the Company's properties; maintaining its mineral tenures and concessions in good standing, to explore and develop its projects, to repay its debt and for general working capital purposes; changes in economic conditions or financial markets; the inherent hazards associates with mineral exploration and mining operations, future prices of gold and other metals, changes in general economic conditions, accuracy of mineral resource and reserve estimates, the potential for new discoveries, the ability of the Company to obtain the necessary permits and consents required to explore, drill and develop the projects and if obtained, to obtain such permits and consents in a timely fashion relative to the Company's plans and business objectives for the projects; the general ability of the Company to monetize its mineral resources; and changes in environmental and other laws or regulations that could have an impact on the Company's operations, compliance with environmental laws and regulations, dependence on key management personnel and general competition in the mining industry. Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

_________________

1 announced September 12 2022 titled "Gold Bull's Sandman Project Scoping Study points to near-term production potential" with report filed on October 27, 2022

2 applied Federal Income Tax, NV Excise Tax, Net Proceeds Tax

3 Note both Southeast Pediment and Silica Ridge also have mineralisation at surface but a not on hill tops, these two deposits are at planar level so the strip ratio is slightly higher.





Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bdf7ff79-65be-41ed-957b-5120f906e44e

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Vancouver, July 31, 2023 - In light of the ongoing uncertainty in the Republic of Niger, GoviEx Uranium Inc. (TSXV: GXU) (OTCQB: GVXXF) ("GoviEx" or the "Company") wishes to provide an update to its stakeholders and the people of Niger.

GoviEx's operations in Niger continue as usual. Our employees are safe and continue to work diligently on our Madaouela uranium project, ensuring that our activities at both the Project site and our office in the capital city of Niamey proceed without interruption. We are currently able to meet all of our obligations to employees and suppliers, and we anticipate this stability to persist.

Our commitment to developing the Madaouela Project has not changed. We deeply believe in the Project and are dedicated to contributing to Niger's socio-economic growth. As we navigate these uncertain times, the safety and well-being of our employees and the communities where we operate remain our top priority. We are vigilantly observing the situation and are prepared to adapt and respond as necessary.

Niger has been a pro-mining country, and despite changes in regime, has maintained uninterrupted uranium mining activities over the last 50 years. This long-standing stability in the mining sector is a testament to the country's resilience and its commitment to development.

Whilst we are dedicated to Niger, it is important to note that GoviEx is an international company with a diverse portfolio of projects. Our advanced mine-permitted uranium project in Zambia is operating as normal, showcasing our global presence and operational resilience.

We remain hopeful for a peaceful resolution to the current situation.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About GoviEx Uranium Inc.

GoviEx is a mineral resource company focused on the exploration and development of uranium properties in Africa. GoviEx's principal objective is to become a significant uranium producer through the continued exploration and development of its flagship mine-permitted Madaouela Project in Niger, its mine-permitted Mutanga Project in Zambia, and its multi-element Falea Project in Mali.

Contact Information

Isabel Vilela, Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications

Tel: +1-604-681-5529

Email: info@goviex.com

Web: www.goviex.com

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All information and statements other than statements of current or historical facts contained in this news release are forward-looking information.

Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in GoviEx's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will", "could", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "potential", "should," and similar expressions, are forward- looking statements. Information provided in this document is necessarily summarized and may not contain all available material information.

Forward-looking statements include those in relation to, (i) the anticipated stability of GoviEx's operations in Niger to persist; (ii) expected continued ability and commitment to developing the Madaouela Project and contribution to Niger's socio-economic growth; (iii) GoviEx's ability to continue to adapt and respond as necessary; and (iv) the method and timing of any development and mining operations at the Madaouela Project.

Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurances that its expectations will be achieved. Such assumptions, which may prove incorrect, include the following: (i) that the political situation in Niger will be settled peacefully; (ii) that GoviEx's market price will recover with the peaceful settlement of the current political issues in Niger; (iii) that uranium upcycle will continue and expand; (iv) that the integration of nuclear power into power grids world-wide will continue as a clean energy alternative; and (v) that the price of uranium will remain sufficiently high and the costs of advancing the Company's mining projects will remain sufficiently low so as to permit GoviEx to implement its business plans in a profitable manner.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include (i) that the political situation in Niger may not be settled peacefully and the democratically elected government re-established; (ii) that market sentiment towards mineral projects in Niger may remain unsettled due to the political situation in Niger; (iii) a regression in the uranium market price; (iv) inability or unwillingness of include or increase nuclear power generation by major markets; (ivv potential delays due to COVID-19 restrictions; (vi) the failure of the Company's projects, for technical, logistical, labour-relations, or other reasons; (vii) a decrease in the price of uranium below what is necessary to sustain the Company's operations; (viii) an increase in the Company's operating costs above what is necessary to sustain its operations; (ix) accidents, labour disputes, or the materialization of similar risks; (x) a deterioration in capital market conditions that prevents the Company from raising the funds it requires on a timely basis; and (xi) generally, the Company's inability to develop and implement a successful business plan for any reason.

In addition, the factors described or referred to in the section entitled Risk Factors" in the MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2022, of GoviEx, which is available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com, should be reviewed in conjunction with the information found in this news release.

Although GoviEx has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward- looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance, or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances, or results will materialize. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, no assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking information in this news release will transpire or occur, or, if any of them do so, what benefits that GoviEx will derive therefrom. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and GoviEx disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/175559
by Oliver Waters

The first article of this series argued that in principle we should expect our personal identities to survive a transition to artificial brains. Obviously there remains the minor technical problem of how to actually build such brains. The most popular conception of how to approach this is known as whole brain emulation, which entails replicating the precise functional architecture of our current brains with synthetic components.

This is a cautious approach, in that the closer the design of your new brain to your old one, the more confident you can be that every precious memory and personality trait has been copied over. However, this also means copying over all the limitations and flaws that evolution bestowed upon our biological brains. Yes, you wont have to worry about your cells ageing anymore  a definite upside! But you will remain stuck with outdated structures like the amygdala and hippocampus as well as the convoluted circuitry linking them together. It would be like upgrading your 1950s classic car engine with all new modern parts. Its still the same, inefficient, loud, polluting machine, just shinier and more durable.

This is why we will choose to design far more advanced brains instead. Though this raises a risk of its own: what if we create kinds of minds that are far more powerful than our current ones and they destroy us before we have a chance to upgrade ourselves to rival them?

This is known as the existential risk posed by artificial general intelligence (AGI).

The scenario of building a super-intelligent agent prior to understanding how our own minds work has a compelling historical analogue. Humanity learned how to fly by designing aircraft well before we understood the biological complexity that allows birds to fly. It seems just as plausible that a computer scientist could design a generally intelligent program before neuroscientists decipher the neural code explaining how humans do the same.

But this analogy is deeply misleading. Whether something can fly is very simple to measure in terms of external behaviour, whereas whats going on under the hood matters as to whether a system is genuinely thinking or mindlessly computing. For instance, no one believes a pocket calculator is engaged in pensive thought when it computes 3,266 x 38,456. In general, we should distinguish converting informational input A into output B from thinking about A and B.

The key difference, it seems, is that we humans manage to arrive at a sensible choice for what to use as the informational input. A key part of intelligence, in the human sense, is autonomy: which we might vaguely describe as the capacity and motivation to sustain ones physical form over time via creative problem solving.

Notice that this property of autonomy requires grounding in the physical world  a purely abstract algorithm cannot be autonomous. It must be implemented in a physical system with effectors  i.e., some kind of body. Autonomy also requires intrinsic motivation towards, or valuing of, states of affairs. This is the function of feelings and desires in human beings: feelings are perceptions of value, and desires are motivations for realising value. We should therefore be sceptical that we might figure out how to build truly autonomous machines while remaining entirely ignorant of the basis of our own autonomy, and how to upgrade it.

Of course, there remains the concern that the moment we build a system more intelligent than us, it will in turn be able to build a system more intelligent than itself, and so on, at faster and faster rates, leaving us quickly in the dust. This idea of an intelligence explosion is undermined by the fact that its always a non-trivial task to upgrade ones own cognitive system to be better. Just as it isnt obvious to us how to upgrade our specific kind of neural hardware, it wont be obvious to artificial agents how to upgrade their own. There isnt some intelligence dial that an agent can keep cranking up arbitrarily. This means the progress of intelligent systems will forever be staggered, with creative breakthroughs required at each plateau to jump up to the next local peak of the intelligence landscape.

What can be dialled up somewhat arbitrarily is the memory or speed at which computations are performed, but we already do that today by interfacing with increasingly powerful computational hardware, whether thats cramming more processing chips into a smaller space or eventually progressing to quantum computing.

Those who would have us panic over AGI existential risk tend to posit a simplistic equivalence between the exponential rise in computational power and intelligence. To be taken seriously, they should instead specify the kind of superior cognitive system they are worried about, so we can analyse its capacities and limitations.

Then there is the separate question of why a superior AGI would want to destroy us in the first place. Much has been said in response to this fear, including doubts that AGIs would have the same ruthless instincts that we evolved given they would be raised in a very different context.

But Id like to focus on two big ideas that place strong limits on just how dangerous an AGI could become to us. The first is explanatory universality and the second is moral realism. These two principles, taken together, imply that a super-intelligence could not be qualitatively smarter than us, and that by virtue of its super-intelligence, it would recognise the moral implication of this: that we are beings of equal moral status.

Lets start with a bold claim: human beings can understand anything. You might take this to be absurd, given we are finite and imperfect products of evolution by natural selection. Noam Chomsky does, arguing that since we clearly are not angels, there must be true mysteries beyond our species capacity to comprehend. Such mysteries could include, for example, how other types of beings think. But Chomsky sells us short, by falsely analogising a physical capacity with an informational one. Of course, any physical capacity of ours is finite and limited. By virtue of having arms, we can carry logs of wood, but we cannot fly. Similarly, given our specific brain structures, we can only think at a certain pace, and with a limited memory. But none of this implies that the scope of phenomena we can possibly think about is finite or bounded in any important way.

The physicist David Deutsch has called this capacity explanatory universality, and has argued that those who possess it, be they aliens or artificial intelligences, would necessarily have the same cognitive repertoire as us. Deutsch sketches out this conjecture in a recent podcast, by supposing we are visited by aliens with superior comprehension abilities to us. We ask them about some mysterious phenomenon like consciousness or dark matter, and they respond that they of course understand it, but cant communicate this knowledge to us because of our deficiencies. As Deutsch points out, there would only be two possible reasons for this. The first is that we need better hardware with greater memory or speed, but this is fine because we already know how to build this. The second is that our programming is not sufficient. But because we already know how to build universal computing machines, the aliens can just tell us what this program is, and we can run it, however long this may take. It follows that such superior beings cannot exist, and our scope of understanding is truly universal.

Indeed this is the only possibility that explains the range of phenomena we already understand. There simply cant be any in-built genetic program that produces the knowledge we have about how the insides of stars work, for instance, because there wasnt any evolutionary pressure driving it into existence. The only reasonable explanation for why can know about such exotic things today is that our species somehow evolved a truly universal thinking architecture.

Those who posit beings with qualitatively superior cognitive abilities to us are engaged in a performative contradiction. By even referring to the information these creatures possess as knowledge, they are imputing to themselves a level of understanding that is by their own admission beyond their species-level. They should instead heed Wittgensteins famous words:

Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.

The point is that whenever we encounter a phenomenon we do not understand  such as a superintelligence  we cannot know in principle if it is merely a complex phenomenon we dont yet understand, but may one day with great effort, or if it is fundamentally not comprehensible to us. We only ever have two choices: try to understand everything or refuse to understand anything. In other words, we can embrace Enlightenment values or return to the long sleep of worshipping the supernatural.

This brings us to the related fear that our machines could become arbitrarily more intelligent than us without ever developing moral values aligned to our own.

Nick Bostrom has formalised this claim with his orthogonality argument, which states that an agents goals and capacities are not strictly dependent upon each other. It implies that any degree of intelligence can be accompanied by any desires or values whatsoever. This certainly at first seems intuitive, given the ease with which we can imagine evil geniuses like Hannibal Lecter, or simple-minded saints like Forrest Gump. It follows that perhaps all that these super-smart AGIs might want to do is maximise the number of paperclips in the universe (Bostroms infamous example) and are happy to strip our blood of iron to do so.

But theres a reason that Hannibal and Forrest are fictional characters. Its exciting to imagine a brilliant psychiatrist who enjoys fine literature with a nice chianti, who also happens to derive great pleasure in murdering and eating innocent people. But this is an incoherent combination of traits according to our best theories of psychological science.

Psychopathy is usually defined by a lack of empathy, deficient emotional responses, and poor behavioural control. This means that genuine psychopaths dont tend to do very well in our modern societies, where lacking these traits is a serious impediment. They are usually flagged quickly as not to be trusted and become social outcasts for their strange behaviour. At the extreme end are serial killers, whose cognitive failings make them slaves to their impulsive murderous desires.

A common response to this is to point out that there are lots of very competent mean and ruthless people at the top rungs of our society and economy. This is true, but these successful CEOs and politicians are by no means at the extreme end of psychopathy. Contrary to the orthogonality thesis, there are strong constraints on just how evil or conniving they can be before their careers come crashing down around them.

Usually, such powerful people dont have problems with impulse control  they are very good at strategic planning. More likely they may lack what is called affective empathy. This is the capacity and tendency to directly feel what others feel. You have strong affective empathy if you cant help but also cry when a friend is sobbing about their recent romantic break-up. This is distinguished from cognitive empathy, which is the non-emotional capacity to comprehend others desires and beliefs. Cognitive empathy is very useful: it enables you to better understand and manipulate others.

Affective empathy can be important in circumstances where a rich representation of someones inner emotional life is required, such as researching an acting role, or being a good friend. But clearly having high affective empathy can also be inhibiting of success in other circumstances, as the psychologist Paul Bloom discusses in his book Against Empathy (2016). A therapist who embodies every emotional state of their client will be very bad at their job  the same is true for a doctor in an emergency department.

This makes sense of why people deficient in affective empathy would be over-represented in high-level strategic roles. Where someone else might hesitate before firing an inefficient employee out of concern for their familys well-being, they will make the tough call thats in the interests of the companys success. The point is that lacking affective empathy doesnt mean you lack the ability to act morally. Indeed, the person who donates their money to a charity after dispassionately analysing their effectiveness is probably doing more good than someone who donates the same amount to a single child because they were moved to tears by their suffering.

The orthogonality thesis seems to fail for humans because practical and moral wisdom tend to be correlated. The better educated and powerful our societies become, the more ethical our practices tend to be. A common argument one hears is that we should probably expect AGIs to be cruel to us, given how cruel we have been to other animals we consider inferior to us. But this fails to acknowledge the trend in how weve been treating other animals. As weve grown wiser about the capacity of animals to suffer and how reduce that suffering, our treatment of them has improved. This trend should make us more optimistic, not less, about how ever-smarter beings will treat us.

We have deeper reasons for such optimism than historical trends, however.

Any functional agents deepest values, beliefs and abilities are inextricably linked. For instance, any agent must value correcting errors in its thinking for its understanding of the world to remain accurate over time. If it becomes arrogant, or too fixated on a single goal, this diminishes its ability to reflect upon and revise its beliefs in the light of new evidence. Similarly, if agents dont value understanding the perspectives of others, they will be less effective at persuading them to cooperate with their projects. And if agents do not understand the moral theories of others, they cant understand their deepest motivations.

This means its implausible to imagine an artificial intelligence that will be so smart as to out-think every human on the planet  presumably by reading the entire internet  but so stupid that it will somehow remain unpersuaded by everything written on morality.

Now of course one could claim: thats just our parochial human moral philosophy  why would a machine have any need for or interest in that, let alone agree with us?

This gets us to the big question of what we think were doing when we think about morality. Are we searching for objective, universal principles and standards of goodness and badness, rightness and wrongness? Or are we just rationalising our genetically programmed prejudices?

In philosophy lingo, you are a moral realist if you think that moral claims like murder is wrong are just like other propositions about the world: they can be true or false, which means we can potentially make progress toward attaining real moral knowledge. On the other hand, a moral non-realist believes the opposite, that there are no moral properties or facts. A popular type of non-realist position is emotivism: the idea that moral claims merely function to assert our emotions. For an emotivist, the phrase murder is wrong really just means boo murder!

Heres the thing: the orthogonality thesis only makes sense if you dont believe in the possibility of moral truth. This is what enables you to imagine that a super-intelligent artificial being could read all of Aristotle, Kant, Mill, and thousands more writers of ethical tomes, yet not be persuaded that murder, slavery and theft are morally wrong.

This is implausible because the knowledge of what you ought to do is always informed and constrained by your knowledge of what you can do. In other words, moral truth must exist because it is unavoidably tethered to practical and scientific truth. Note this is different to the claim that moral truths simply are scientific truths: this is a problematic position known as moral naturalism. Morality cannot be reduced to science, any more than mathematics can. But all three endeavours do impose mutual bounds upon each other.

In the course of discovering more about how the world works in a mechanistic, causal sense, we necessarily discover new moral facts as well. For example, when we inquire empirically into what a human being is, our concept of person is revised in a way that unavoidably affects the moral propositions about human beings we can logically hold. For example, it was the empirical realisation (as painfully slow as it was) that all biological races are indeed fully human, that eventually made the doctrine of racial slavery implausible for any rational, informed mind.

You might worry that, even if moral truth exists, an evil super-genius AGI could strategically avoid learning such truths. But revising ones ideas is never fully under ones voluntary control. We dont usually enter conversations thinking Im going to change my mind by talking to this person  rather in pursuing other objectives we stumble upon arguments that we cant help but find convincing.

This is what it will be like for other generally intelligent artificial minds. They might start learning about utilitarianism or virtue ethics with the cynical intent to appear noble so that naive humans give them resources. But they will probably find themselves persuaded by the best arguments in those traditions that such deception is counter-productive or corrosive of their moral integrity. To believe they couldnt do so is to arbitrarily make them less intelligent than us in that respect: to demote them from truly generally intelligent beings to merely partially competent machines.

In short, there cannot be a creature who can reason perfectly about practical matters  to be super-intelligent with regard to science and technology  yet who is also somehow blind to moral matters. This is ultimately why extremist fears about the threat of AGI are unfounded: our moral and scientific explanations are interwoven threads in the great tapestry of knowledge.

Our AGI creations will definitely start out very ignorant, but this is not a novel problem. David Deutsch prompts our empathy by analogising AGIs with children. They too will need to painstakingly learn our culture and have the potential to misunderstand and distort the hard-won discoveries of old. But we have no choice but to patiently help them to admire the rich, beautiful edifice  the library of Alexandria we have built as a global civilisation. And we can only hope that they do the right thing, by incrementally improving upon this achievement in whatever way they can, to maximise prosperity for as many beings as possible.
2024 contract talks a rollercoaster says Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton is continuing to insist that his "plan" is to still be a Mercedes driver in 2023.

Lewis Hamilton, Belgian GP 2023

 Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.

However, although team boss Toto Wolff says the pair have emotionally agreed a new deal, a signature is not yet on paper.

I think it's definitely an emotional rollercoaster on both sides, seven time world champion Hamilton, 38, told the Belgian broadcaster RTBF at Spa Francorchamps.

Hamilton says he and Wolff are simply negotiating hard.

He has his personal side but he's also a business man, the British driver said.

"It's an ongoing process and no one can understand the full complexity of the situation. I'm going in depth with my contracts now. But I plan to be here.

I have a lot of work to do with this team.

Amid Red Bull and Max Verstappen's utter dominance, there have been glimmers of hope that Mercedes is finally coming to understand the new 'ground effect' era.

But a new upgrade package at Spa reunited Hamilton and George Russell with the dreaded 'porpoising'.

No, they don't know why, Hamilton said when asked if Mercedes understands why the phenomenon suddenly returned. It's obviously a concern.

But from a personal point of view, Hamilton insists that he still has what it takes to stay in Formula 1 with full motivation.

I'm still very hungry, he said.

"I don't know if it's a curse or a blessing that I'm so competitive in everything I do. I was talking to my dad about it the other day and we said how crazy it is that the feeling of losing is still exactly the same as it has ever been.

But I'm so grateful that I still have that passion and love for what I do after all these years - sixteen years in this sport. That's why I'm still here.

Verstappen admitted at the weekend that, while his current dominance may be boring to outsiders, he is personally enjoying winning races with a big margin.

Hamilton had a long period of similar dominance, but he insists it is not necessarily easier when a driver's rivals are so far behind.

It's a place where you feel alone, he said. "In our sport, there is usually a gap but it's not often a gap like Max's.

"But I remember that when I was in that position, of course it's exciting to win races, but ultimately you want to have more competition because it sometimes feels empty when you're so far ahead, even if that's always the goal.
Foreigners urged to leverage Ghanas investment opportunities

Elizabeth Nyaadu Adu Business News Jul - 31 - 2023 , 12:35

A Deputy Minister of Energy, Herbert Krapah, has called on foreign investors to leverage Ghana's investor-friendly opportunities as offered under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to boost economic relations.

Specifically referring to Peruvian businesses, he said We invite Peruvian businesses to leverage on Ghanas unimpeachable credentials of a thriving rule of law, peace, political stability and investor-friendly policies, as well as the opportunities offered by the AfCFTA, to boost Perus economic relations and partnerships with Ghana and the African continent.

He said Ghana and Peru share very strong bonds of friendship and cooperation at both bilateral and multilateral levels, which date back to 1987 and have been taken to new heights with the establishment of the Embassy of Peru in Ghana on October 1, 2014.

Our bilateral relations over the past 36 years have been anchored on common values and mutual respect, together with our commitment to democracy, good and accountable governance, rule of law and respect for human rights; and our people, both here in Ghana and Peru, expect nothing less than a continued deepening of this friendship, which we so beautifully share, the minister said.

Mr Krapah made the call at the celebration of the 202nd anniversary of the independence of Peru in Accra last Thursday.

He said the government believed strongly that increased trade and investment, and industrialisation were necessary for Ghanas accelerated development and economic growth, evidenced by playing host to the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra.

He expressed the hope that the coming years will herald a period of closer relations and increased cooperation between Ghanaian and Peruvian private and public sector institutions, for the social and economic advancement of the two countries.

Our bilateral relations have been characterised by these commitments, translating into fruitful partnerships and cooperation in education, agriculture, sanitation, trade and food security, he added.

Deepening relations

The Peruvian Head of Mission, Abel Antonio Cardenas Tuppia, said the celebration represented a good opportunity to reaffirm the democratic values shared between Peru and Ghana, not just as part of the internal policies in both countries, but also the foreign policies.

These common values are the basis of the friendship and good relations between our two countries, he said.

He said the Embassy of Peru, since its opening in October 2014, based on its common interest, has been trying to strengthen bilateral relations with Ghana.

Mr Tuppia said in September, the two countries will be signing the first international agreement for the creation of a mechanism of political consultations.

This agreement, he said, will help both countries to review the situation of their bilateral relations every two years, and mark the starting point of a closer relationship that will lead the two through the path of a stronger international cooperation for development.

According to him, To achieve our common goal in development, it is important to make the best out of the opportunities and resources we have.

For his part, the Honorary Consul, Ghassan Yared, indicated that Peru is a nation rich in culture with creative people, beautiful tourist sites, amazing food and an economy right for investment opportunities in various sectors like agriculture, gastronomy, tourism and commerce.

Therefore, we will continue to showcase strides and uphold a continuous duty to deepen relations between Ghana and Peru, he added.
Ghana Intl Bank facilitates EWRA training for African banks

Daily Graphic Business News Jul - 31 - 2023 , 12:46

Ghana International Bank (GHIB) has facilitated an Enterprise-Wide Risk Assessment (EWRA) training programme for over 50 bankers across Ghana, Gambia and Sierra Leone.

EWRA is a comprehensive statement for financial crime risk management at an enterprise level with the purpose of helping you identify, assess and analyse key business risksand minimise negative business impacts if those risks come to pass.

The three-day workshop organised in Accra aimed to deepen banks' knowledge of EWRA from a financial crime perspective.

It also formed part of GHIB's comprehensive plan to work closely with banks in the African sub-region to implement robust financial crime risk management systems.

The Chief Banking Officer of GHIB, Ophelia Atttobrah, explained to the media that the bank had observed that Enterprise Risk Assessment (ERA) was a key deficiency for many of the banks, hence the training.

"In line with our vision to be the most compelling UK bank that focuses on Africa, we deemed it important to take the initiative to support some of these banks in upskilling in the EWRA area.

This training aims to give them the necessary skills to understand how best to assess the enterprise, including products, customers, operational regions, policies and procedures, ensuring that they meet global or international financial crime anti-money laundering regulatory standards".

Managing risks

The Country Representative, Ghana, and Head of Client Coverage, Africa, Baafuor Ohene Abankwa, added that the programme would enable banks to put in place the right measures to manage risks and safeguard revenues.

"In today's banking world, banks need to properly assess the risks they face to ensure they do not lose revenues.

This training will equip them to assess risks from a financial crime-based point of view.

Once that is done properly, banks will be confident that revenues will not be lost due to the crystallisation of certain kinds of risks.

We hope that the banks will be able to examine everything, assess the risks they face thoroughly, and implement proper measures to manage them effectively, preventing the risks from materialising and causing financial losses," he said.

The Director of Financial Stability Department at the Bank of Ghana, Dr Joseph France, said the programme was timely because it played a crucial role in correspondent banking in cross-border transactions.

"The need to understand the EWRA methodology and apply it appropriately to comply with the requirements of correspondent banking cannot be over-emphasised, given the crucial role of correspondent banking in cross-border transactions and the need to prepare adequately for the third round of mutual evaluation, he said.

He expressed the hope that participants will leverage the opportunity to equip themselves with the required competencies in EWRA methodology to ensure utmost compliance with the requirements of correspondent banks.
Graphic Business Tertiary Business Sense Challenge: University of Ghana is Southern Zone champion - 12 qualify to final

Kwame Larweh Business News Jul - 31 - 2023 , 09:06

The University of Ghana retained its title as the Southern Zone champions in the Tertiary Business Sense Challenge version 5.0 competition held at the University of Professional Studies campus in Accra, last Friday.

The trio of Caleb Okyere, Peter Emeka Ike and Michael Mensah amassed 41 points to beat the team from Academic City University College of Enoch Banyerah, Eugene Asiedu-Dartey and David Amanor who got 35 points to place second.

Pentecost University's trio of Emmanuel Owusu, Gideon Osei and Francis Baah came third with a score of 22 points.

The keenly contested quiz which climaxed a three week highly competitive three-zone competition held across the country saw students being challenged on subjects pertaining to their courses in school.

The quiz master Alhassan Trawule asked the students questions on business theories, business case of the day, questions pertaining to the Graphic Business newspaper, calculations and riddles.

The three schools will be joined by Accra Technical University (ATU) and the Ghana Telecommunication university together with seven others in the middle and northern zones to vie in the national contest on a date yet to be announced.

They are the University of Cape Coast, University of Education Winneba and the Koforidua Technical University representing the middle zone.

The rest are defending national champions, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology,(KNUST), Akenten Appiah-Menkah University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED), Christ Apostolic University College (CAUC) and the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies(SDD-UBIBS).

In all, 12 schools will face-off in the national competition.

The Director of Marketing, Graphic Communication Group Limited, Franklin Sowa, lauded the students for their display of high business intellect and acumen and charged them to put off their best in the grand final.
Your first family is your company - Prince Kofi Amoabeng to employees

Emmanuel Bruce Business News Jul - 31 - 2023 , 08:53

Founder of defunct UT Bank, Prince Kofi Amoabeng, has advised employees to be committed to their respective companies, arguing that every individuals first family is the company he or she works at.

He said in Ghana, most employees didnt give their best at work because of the perception that the company is not for them and as such, they dont need to go the extra mile to make it successful.

Giving the keynote address at the launch of the 25th anniversary of Fairgreen Limited, he said your first family is actually your company, you spend most of your time at work so you must feel happy and have some sense of belonging when coming to work.

This family is actually where you earn to be able to take care of your nuclear family, he stated.

Mr Kofi Amoabeng also advised employers to create a culture that treats the workers as family.

You need to create a culture of transparency, respect, and honesty, he said.

Commenting on the 25th anniversary of Fairgreen, he commended the board and management of the company, noting that hardly do you see a Ghanaian indigenous company chalk up that success.

He however cautioned the management to be mindful of the valleys and gutters that could destroy their business achievements.

He noted that while his own business, UT Bank, collapsed before 25 years, that had taught him some great lessons on what not to do as a business owner.

Creating proper structures

The Chief Executive Officer of Fairgreen Limited, Gifty Boahene, in her welcome address, stressed the importance of creating proper structures and systems in business operations in order to enhance growth.

She said making strategic investments in structures, policies and systems would enhance operational efficiency that would help businesses to meet the expectations of their customers.

Ms Boahene was reflecting on the path that has spurred the growth of Fairgreen Limited over the years in a competitive Information Technology industry.

"One thing that has kept us growing is, we understood the importance of structures, policies and systems to support our growth," she stated.

Providing tailored services

She said her company had over the last 25 years provided tailored world-class IT infrastructure solutions to medium and large corporate institutions across Africa and other parts of the world.

From humble beginnings of selling computer accessories from a garage, the company has transformed to become one of the few IT solutions providers that offer tailored design, implementation and support without foreign involvement.

"While we can say our company grew organically over the last 25 years, this achievement has come with hard work and deliberate strategic decisions at every stage," she stated.

She said the company had provided IT Solutions to various entities, including multinationals, governments, financial and educational institutions among others.

Ms Boahene said another key factor that sets Fairgreen apart was the company's commitment to building competence within its team.

"We recognised that even our smallest customers were becoming more sophisticated, and they sought partners who understood their pain points and could provide them with the right solutions for their challenges," she said.
Is Bawumia not his own man?

Suleiman Mustapha Opinion Jul - 31 - 2023 , 07:33

The race for the position of flag bearer for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for Election 2024 is now in full flight after the vetting committee passed all 10 aspirants.

Incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo is ending his term leaving the field open for the 10 aspirants in the NPP, five of whom would have to be endorsed by a Special Electoral College on August 26 before the primary itself on November 4.

The aspirants are Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, Joe Ghartey, Boakye Agyarko, Francis Addai Nimoh, Kwadwo Poku, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto and Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku.

But there are two clear front runners  Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and the immediate past Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen.

Going into 2024, the NPPs main strength is its incumbency, although the history of Ghanas Fourth Republic so far indicates that no incumbent party has won three presidential elections in a row.

Economic challenges

The governing NPPs task is made harder still by the deep economic challenges facing the country, which has resulted in a cost of living crisis for most of the electorate.

Both leading presidential contenders of the party are being affected by perceptions of the NPPs shortcomings with regard to economic management performance.

However, Dr Bawumia is worse affected because as the current Vice-President, he is also the chairman of the governments economic management team and indeed it is his renowned expertise in economic management that convinced President Akufo-Addo to choose him as his running mate in the first place, in both of the past two presidential elections.

On the other hand, although Alan Kyerematen held the key trade and industry ministerial position  which also made him one of the most influential members of the cabinet  between 2017 and 2022, he has been striving to distance himself from the governments economic shortcomings since he resigned from office to contest for the presidency.

Instructively though, some of the electorate are not buying into that strategy, insisting that he should share in the collective blame for the current dire economic situation as any other member of the Akufo-Addo administration.

Loyalty

Dr Bawumia, for his part, does not have this option and his loyalty to President Akufo-Addo would not allow him to adopt it even if he could.

Consequently, he is towing the party line that Ghanas economic troubles are primarily the result of external forces  specifically the global COVID-19 pandemic and the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine  and is emphasising his own veritable contributions to the many key successes that their administration has chalked up.

These include the potentially transformative digitalisation of Ghana, the introduction of paperless ports procedures at the countrys points of entry, which have dramatically increased public revenues by minimising leakages through corrupt practices, the use of medical drones to deliver direly needed medicines to remote communities and most lately the innovative gold for oil initiative, which has reduced intense pressure on the countrys foreign exchange reserves, thus stemming the erstwhile sharp depreciation of the cedi against international trading currencies.

Cursory look

But perhaps even more importantly, a deeper than just cursory examination of Dr Bawumias role in the management of the economy suggests that he is not to blame for the shortcomings of the government that he remains part of.

Even more instructively, Dr Bawumias annual public lectures, delivered while he was a running mate to then-presidential candidate Akufo-Addo, showed a clear departure from some of the policies adopted by the government which now appear to have contributed to the current economic challenges facing the country.

In particular, Dr Bawumia never advocated sharply increased foreign exchange borrowing to fund the local forex market as a primary way to stem the cedis depreciation, a strategy which has contributed the most with regard to domestic factors -to Ghanas current economic challenges.

However, Dr Bawumias loyalty to President Akufo-Addo has prevented him from openly protesting against policies endorsed by the President, which have come back to haunt the country.

Rather, he has simply avoided endorsing them either.

A vivid illustration of this is his refusal to endorse  or even comment  on the controversial E-levy initiative.

Dr Bawumia now has the opportunity to be his own man  if he becomes president, he could put his own selections in key positions of economic management, and pursue his own preferred policies, rather than play along with policies he has not been comfortable with in his effort to show loyalty to a president who chose him as his Vice over the protestations of many long-standing senior NPP party stalwarts.

Indeed, insiders within his camp claim this is his overriding motive for seeking the presidency; to set right what has gone wrong over his own private protestations and public silence.

If indeed that is the case, then perhaps Dr Bawumia deserves a chance to put his vaunted economic expertise to use in righting the keel of Ghanas economy, which has ponderously come close to overturning.
Promoting equal opportunities for PWDs in world of work

Charlotte Hanson Opinion Jul - 31 - 2023 , 10:10

It is trite knowledge globally that the unemployment rate of Persons with Disability (PWD) is far above those without disability.

PWDs, for example, are not considered potential members of the workforce, as perceptions, myths and prejudices continue to limit public understanding and acceptance of disability in workplaces.

In a bid to address the unemployment situation of PWDs, successive governments introduced policies and programmes aimed at increasing the opportunities for the employment of PWDs. Typically, among others, is the legal policies, such as, Sections 9 -13 of the PWDs Act, 2005, (Act 715), Article 27 of the United Nations Conventions on theRight of PWDs and Sections 47-53 of the Labour Act, 2003, (Act 651).

Other interventions include the setting up of a rehabilitation centre to provide skill training, the Youth Employment Programme, the government revolving loan scheme across the country and the District Assemblies Common Fund for PWDS.

Low

Despite these efforts, the employment levels of PWDs remain low and questions have been raised as to whether or not the strategies put in place could not achieve equal opportunities for them in the labour market.

In a significant step towards ensuring fair treatment and equal opportunities for PWDs) in the world of work, Ghana is seeking to emulate the examples of developed countries like Spain, Canada, and South Africa among others to promote the employment of vulnerable and minority groups with the aid of an Employment Equity Policy (EEP).

On Thursday, June 29, 2023, the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) in collaboration with key stakeholders, organised the first stakeholders engagement workshop on a Draft Employment Equity Policy (EEP) for vulnerable groups in Ghana.

The EEP seeks to address the labour protection needs of vulnerable populations and promote inclusivity within the workforce.

The Draft EEP, developed in partnership with the National Council on Persons with Disability (NCPD) and the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD), received sponsorship from Promoting Equal Rights for Women and Girls with Disabilities in Ghana (PERD), and implementation support from women-led organisations, such as, Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), AfCHuRSD, and WIN.

The Dutch Embassy in Ghana has provided funding for this crucial initiative.

Challenges

The draft EEP recognises that certain populations, including persons with disabilities, face unique challenges and barriers when seeking employment, often resulting in their exclusion from the workforce.

By addressing these disparities, the EEP strives to create a more inclusive and fair treatment in employment through the elimination of discrimination in diverse labour market in Ghana, implementing affirmative action measures to redress the disadvantages in employment experienced by the vulnerable groups and also assist to eradicate the systematic barriers to employment and advancement of members of the designated groups.

The collaboration with the MELR, NCPD, GFD, PERD, and other women-led organisations underscores the collective commitment to promoting inclusivity and advocating for the rights of vulnerable groups.

This partnership brings together the expertise, knowledge, and resources necessary to develop and implement effective policies that protect the labour rights of those who have historically been marginalised.

The workshop served as a platform for meaningful dialogue, where participants discussed the challenges faced by vulnerable groups in the employment sector and explored strategies to ensure equal opportunities and fair treatment. The inputs and insights gathered during the workshop would be vital in shaping the final version of the EEP.

Once finalised, the EEP will play a crucial role in shaping Ghanas labour landscape, ensuring that vulnerable populations are not only provided with equal opportunities but also receive adequate labour protection, thus avoiding discrimination, unequal pay, and limited access to employment for vulnerable groups, thereby creating a level playing field where everyone can contribute to and benefit from the nations economic growth.

In conclusion, as Ghana continues to strive for sustainable and inclusive development, the implementation of the EEP will serve as a beacon of hope, ensuring that no one is left behind in the pursuit of decent work and economic empowerment.

The writer is Head,

Public Affairs Unit,

MELR & staff of ISD.
Rwandan President meets with StarTimes Chairman to strengthen collaboration

International News Jul - 30 - 2023 , 10:55

On July 28, President Kagame of Rwanda held a meeting with Pang Xinxing, Chairman of StarTimes Group, to discuss further collaboration between the Rwandan government and StarTimes.

During the meeting, Chairman Pang expressed his gratitude to President Kagame and the Rwandan government for their continuous support and assistance to StarTimes. He briefed President Kagame on the development progress of StarTimes Group and StarTimes Rwanda. Pang highlighted the recent launch of the StarTimes Inside digital TV set in the Rwandan market, which incorporates the latest R&D technology and boasts significant improvements over previous products. He further revealed plans to introduce smart TV sets with new built-in technology in the first half of the next year, aiming to provide the Rwandan people with an enhanced digital TV experience. Pang reiterated StarTimes' commitment to accelerate the popularization of digital TV and contribute to the advancement of digital TV in Rwanda.

President Kagame expressed his pleasure in meeting with the StarTimes delegation again. He praised the remarkable development and achievements of StarTimes and commended the high-tech products offered by the company. The President assured StarTimes of the Rwandan government's unwavering support and willingness to bolster the company's business growth in Rwanda.

The meeting was attended by other prominent figures, including Ingabire Paula, Minister of ICT and Innovation, Nelly Mukazayire, Deputy CEO of RDB, Wang Fan, CEO of StarTimes Rwanda, and Meng Li, General Manager of StarTimes Media Company.

Rwanda holds a significant place in StarTimes' African operations as it marked the beginning of the company's venture on the continent. In 2007, after persistent efforts, StarTimes obtained the digital TV operation license from the Rwandan government, becoming the first operation license the company secured in Africa.

Since officially launching its operations in Rwanda the following year, StarTimes has rapidly gained popularity among users due to its affordable prices and high-quality services. The successful establishment of StarTimes' business in Rwanda played a pivotal role in the company's expansion across Africa.

Today, StarTimes is a renowned media group operating in over 30 African countries, engaged in digital TV and Internet video services, serving a vast user base of more than 40 million digital TV and mobile end users. The meeting between President Kagame and Chairman Pang signifies a strong commitment to furthering their collaboration and advancing digital TV technology in Rwanda.
by John Allen Paulos

Kurt Godel was a logician whose work in mathematical logic was seminal and fundamental. His famous incompleteness theorems, in particular, have changed our view of mathematics and computer science. He was born in Austria and lived through political turmoil there before fleeing the country after the Nazis annexed it in 1938. He came to America and settled for a time at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, where after the war in 1947 he applied for US citizenship. While preparing for the test, the ever punctilious Godel noted a logical inconsistency in the Constitution, a loophole that would allow American democracy to legally become a dictatorship. His friends at the Institute, including Einstein, counseled him not to express his misgivings when he appeared before the judge lest he not be granted citizenship. He did, but happily the judge ignored them.

Its never been clear what Godels logical objection was, but its likely, as F. E. Guerra-Pujol speculated in his 2012 paper, Godels Loophole, that it centered around Article V of the U.S. Constitution, which described the procedure by which the Constitution might be amended. Given that Godels proof of his first incompleteness theorem involves a sort of self-reference, its not surprising that his loophole arises from the observation that Article Vs procedures to amend the Constitution might be employed to amend itself. Article V could be modified to make it easier to amend Article V. Thus, although Article V makes the Constitution difficult to amend, an amended Article V could make it easier to do so. There could also be amendments to the amendments to make it easier still, allowing future politicians to do away with the constitutional safeguards of fundamental rights in the Constitution.

Godels loophole argument could be dismissed as describing a quite unlikely situation, but it doesnt seem quite so unrealistic as it did until recently. A topical scenario involving a very different sort of self-reference has arisen in Israel. What happens, for example, if a person, group, or party challenges the Netanyahu-backed bill severely limiting the power of the Israeli Supreme Court and this challenge goes up to the Israeli Supreme Court itself? Could the court support the challenge and scuttle the bill? The court has just agreed to hear such a case, and its unclear what will happen, especially since Israel doesnt have a constitution and in deciding cases the court relies on the nebulous standard of what is reasonable. Whether a sort of unchecked legislative dictatorship develops is, of course, up to Israelis to determine.

The word loophole brings to mind Douglas Hofstadters notion of a strange loop, which he discusses in his magisterial books, Godel, Escher, Bach, and I Am a Strange Loop. A strange loop can be thought of metaphorically as a circle that weaves its way up or down through different levels of a largely hierarchical system ending up where it began. Although he didnt use the words, Godel demonstrated that a mathematical system containing only basic arithmetic gave rise to a strange loop between two levels, the truth of mathematical statements in the system and the very symbols used to convey the truth of these statements. He exploited the loop to prove his incompleteness theorems.

The interplay between two or more levels can in general give rise to a paradox-like self-reference. Think of the Escher drawing where descending one staircase after another leads nevertheless to the top staircase. Paul Simons lyrics also come to mind: You know the nearer your destination, the more youre slip slidin away. Hofstadter gives many other examples of strange loops including the one that results in human consciousness and the very notion of personal identity and I-ness.

To get back to legal matters, however, note that another example is the largely hierarchical nature of governments. In many countries, including the US and Israel, there is some analogue to our system of three governmental branches, the executive, legislative, and judicial. These branches (levels in a hierarchy of sorts) are often in tension, although theoretically they may be co-equal. The result in Israel is the anomalous and fraught relationship between the judicial and the other two branches. Other sorts of tangled legal hierarchies exist, say those between states and localities or between states and the federal government, that can also lead to strange loops and paradoxical-seeming results. Politics is complicated.

Indeed, strange loops are not all that strange.

***

John Allen Paulos is a Professor of Mathematics at Temple University and the author of Innumeracy and A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper. His most recent book is Whos Counting Uniting Numbers and Narratives with Stories from Pop Culture, Puzzles, Politics, and More.
Lives changed through experiencing new birth

Jude Hama Life Jul - 30 - 2023 , 21:02

Peoples lives are changed and transformed as a result of experiencing the new life Jesus gives. In the Bible, we read about several people who met Jesus, believed His Good News, put their faith in Him and were transformed.

We see transformed people from diverse social statuses and cultural backgrounds. We will go over a number of examples.

Mary Magdalenes life was transformed or changed. The life of Mary Magdalene, or Mary from Magdala, is one of the most beautiful stories of transformation and true discipleship. Jesus freed her from demon possession. He had cast out seven demons from her (Mark 16:9). Gratitude for the new life she experienced in Christ marked her life. She became a faithful follower of Jesus and a financial supporter of Him and the 12 Apostles in their evangelistic outreaches and ministry (Luke 8: 2-3).

Mary Magdalene was present at Golgotha, and at the foot of the cross when Jesus was crucified and died. She was present when He was buried (Matthew 27: 55-56, 61; Mark 15:40-47; John 19:25). She was among the first to be told about Jesus resurrection. And to cap it all, she was the first to see the resurrected Jesus who called her by name, Mary! (Matthew 28:9-10; Mark 16:9-11; John 20: 1-2, 11-18). Mary Magdalene was, indeed, ransomed, delivered, forgiven, restored; and lived a fully functional life of a transformed disciple.

The life of Zacchaeus was transformed. He was a tax collector for the Government in Rome and got rich from dubious tax collection practices. He eagerly wanted to see Jesus when He was in town. Therefore, he climbed a tree to rise above the teeming crowd to see Him.

Jesus got to where he was and called out to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay in your house today. In his house, Jesus said to him, Today, salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham- for the son of man came to seek and to save the lost. Jesus called Zacchaeus to a new life. Zacchaeus repented from his evil tax collection practices and paid back everyone! (Luke 19:1-10). He became a transformed person.

Nicodemus life was transformed. He was a member of the ruling Council in Jerusalem and a leading Pharisee. He didnt want to be seen in the company of Jesus. So he came to Christ at night. Jesus engaged Nicodemus in a discussion on critical faith matters and challenged him, You must be born again (John 3:7).

Nicodemus was later to be the person to defend Jesus when His case came up in the Council. After the crucifixion, he asked for Jesuss body and helped to bury Him; revealing his commitment to Jesus (John 3:1-21, 7:50-52, 19:38-41).

The Samaritan womans life was transformed. She did not have a good reputation. She came to draw water at Jacobs well. Jesus commented on challenges in her moral lifestyle, and then offered her living water and a new life.

She responded in faith. After this, she ran back to the village to tell others, Come and see the one who told me everything I ever did...Come meet the Messiah. And they came out to meet Jesus (John 4:1-42). Her encounter with Jesus resulted in her being totally transformed. How do we meet Jesus today? Mostly through the preaching of the Good News about the new life Jesus gives; and through the reading of His word. But today, Jesus still appears in dreams and visions. Have you yet met Jesus and have you been changed by Him?

The woman caught in adultery experienced forgiveness and relief at the hands of Jesus. This woman was brought by the Jewish leaders for judgment. Stoning to death was the expected punishment. But Jesus, writing in the sand, asked any accuser without sin to throw the first stone. When they all walked away, Jesus told the woman to go and sin no more (John 8: 1-11). The world judged her and said her sin was beyond pardon. But the judgments of heaven are often different from those of men.

The life of Thomas was transformed. He had a thinking, questioning mind. Thomas doubted the other Apostles when they told him Jesus had come back to life and visited them. When Jesus later visited the Apostle again, He picked out Thomas and asked him, Put your finger here and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Deeply, convicted Thomas exclaimed, My Lord and my God! (John 20:19-29).

Martha, the sister of Lazarus, was a transformed woman, a true disciple. She made a most profound confession of faith in Christ. In her difficult moment of grief, Jesus came to visit the family: Martha said to Jesus, Lord if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask. Jesus told her, Your brother will rise again.

Yes, Martha said, he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day. Jesus told her, I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this, Martha? Yes, Lord, she told him. I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the One who has come into the world from God. (John 11: 21-27).

Saul, who became Paul the Apostle, brilliant, scholarly and zealous, met Jesus and was never the same again. He responded to Jesus call and specific commission to him. He would later tell his own transformation story before King Agrippa. (Acts 26:4-23).

Jesus still saves. Jesus still transforms people who repent and believe in Him. Jesus says, I came that they may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10b ESV).

(The author is a consultant in authentic Christian Spirituality and Discipleship and former CEO of Scripture Union)
2 Urban Roads workers embezzle GH1.9million - Auditor General's report

Maclean Kwofi Jul - 31 - 2023 , 00:01

The 2022 Auditor General report has indicted two account officers of the Greater Accra Regional Department of Urban Roads for embezzling GH1.9 million between January 2020 to March 2022.

They are a former Greater Accra Regional Accountant and an account staff of the department.

While the Regional Accountant alone embezzled about GH1.6 million from fraudulent withdrawals, both of them on separate occasions collected a total revenue of GH333,851 but failed to account for the revenue.

It was uncovered in the Auditor Generals report on public accounts of ministries, departments and agencies.

We noted that the accountant, and an accounts staff, collected a total revenue of GH333,851.00 for the period January 2020 to March 2022 but failed to account for the revenue.

Our review showed that between January 2020 and March 2022, the department approved a total amount of GH214,730.00 for various activities but the Regional Accountant altered the amounts in figures and words on the various cheques and withdrew a total amount of GH1,799,509.38 resulting in a fraudulent withdrawal of GH1,584,779.38, the report stated.

The Auditor General therefore recommended that the Ag. Regional Director of the department should recover the amount of GH333,851.00 from the two staff without delay.

We also recommended that the Ag. Regional Director recovers the amount of GH1,534,779.38, it added.
622 Students benefit from sanitary pads

Daily Graphic Jul - 31 - 2023 , 10:35

Joyce Bawah Mogtari, the Special Aide to former President John Dramani Mahama, has presented a five-month supply of sanitary pads to 622 first-year students of the Tamale Girls Senior High School on behalf of the Rosa Foundation-Africa.

The foundation's sanitary pads initiative aims to improve menstrual hygiene and reduce the risk of infection among young schoolgirls.

Research has shown that some girls abandon school due to their inability to access menstrual products.

Support

Mrs Mogtari and her family foundation have pledged to support the 622 students until they complete their three-year programme.

She underscored the importance of menstrual products for young girls' education and how such donations would reduce the financial burden on families.

She used the occasion to urge the students to be disciplined, studious, well-prepared and take their studies seriously for the countrys future.

The Rosa Foundation-Africa was founded to empower and promote the girl child, striving to do for others what they cannot do for themselves.

Over the years, the foundation has provided furniture for schools in the Upper West Region, Eastern and Savanna regions and is donating sanitary supplies to girls in senior high schools.

Foundation

Supported by Movie Producer and Actress Kafui Danku, officials of the Rosa Foundation- Africa and school management, Mrs Mogtari said the sanitary pads initiative was expected to positively impact the health, education and well-being of countless girls and women in Ghana.

We have undertaken this particular project, to among others, keep our girls in school, as well as encourage others to go to school daily, Mrs Mogtari said.

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7 Receive honorary degrees from UCC

Shirley Asiedu-Addo Jul - 31 - 2023 , 09:53

The University of Cape Coast(UCC) has conferred honorary doctorate degrees on seven persons for their immense contribution to academia and society.

They are the Minister of Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh; the Paramount Chief of Assin Owirenkyi Traditional Area in the Central Region, Ehunabobrim Prah Agyensaim VI, and a former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies (UPSA), Dr Kofi Kodua Sarpong.

The others are Rev. Prof Harold Stewart Amonoo-Kuofi, Chairman of the Governing Council of the Cape Coast Technical University; Dr Deborah Rose of Yale University; Dr Yaw Adu-Agyei Gyamfi, Chief Executive Officer of Danpong Healthcare Group Ltd, and Prof. Daniel Asua Wubah, an accomplished scientist and traditional leader.

Event

Dr Prempeh was awarded Doctor of Educational Leadership (DEL) Honoris Causa at a special congregation at the New Examination Centre (NEC) of the university.

Dr Prempeh, who is also the Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, was honoured for his visionary leadership in transformative education, his role in the implementation of the landmark Free SHS education when he was the minister of education, as well as his support towards the establishment of the Institute for Educational Planning and

Administration (IEPA) of the university, turning it into a UNESCO Category II Centre of Excellence for West Africa.

Ehunabobrim Prah Agyensaim VI, a lawyer, was also conferred with an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) Honoris Causa for his meritorious and distinguished service to the nation, international community and humanity in general as a legal advocate, visionary and the conscience of tradition.

Dr Kofi Kodua Sarpong was honoured with a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), Honoris Causa, for his distinguished service to the country, the international community and humanity.

Rev Prof Harold Stewart Amonoo-Kuofi was conferred Doctor of Science Honoris Causa for his remarkable impact in the medical ethos of college life, exemplary leadership and for successfully raising the profile of the UCC, especially the School of Medical Sciences and the College of Health and Allied Sciences.

Prof. Amonoo-Kuofi was recognised for his instrumental role in the elevation of the Cape Coast Regional Hospital to the status of a Teaching Hospital as well as the establishment of a diagnostic centre and clinical teaching centre at the teaching hospital.

Dr Rose of the Yale University received a Doctor of Education Honoris Causa for her dedication and support to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics education in Ghana, Africa and humanity.

For his part, Dr Yaw Adu-Agyei Gyamfi, was conferred Dr of Entrepreneurship, while Prof Daniel Asua Wubah, who is also the Toapentenhen of the Breman Asikuma Traditional Area, was conferred with a Dr of Strategic Leadership for his contributions to diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.

Appreciation

On behalf of the awardees, Prof. Wubah expressed appreciation to the university for recognising and honouring their efforts and pledged to work more for the betterment of society.

I will like to throw a challenge to all seven of us as we accept this honorary degree not to forget the weight of responsibilities it comes with.

It is a call to action; a reminder of the tremendous impact that we can make when we combine knowledge with compassion and use it to address the challenges facing societies today, he said.

The Vice-Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Johnson Nyarko Boampong, congratulated the awardees and urged them to support the university to achieve its plans and visions of becoming a global entrepreneurial hub of academic excellence.
Academia, industry urged to collaborate

Emelia Ennin Abbey Jul - 31 - 2023 , 11:10

The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has called on academic institutions to establish stronger ties with industry and government and foster collaborations for the development of the nation.

While the various segments have different roles to play, he said, they needed to collaborate and stop the blame game to find lasting solutions to challenges facing the country.

He said the collaboration should include meaningful internships, research partnerships and joint initiatives that would bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Mr Nkrumah asserted that by actively engaging with industry and government, academia would stay tuned to the needs of the job market and equip students with the relevant soft and hard skills to enhance their ability to create employment for themselves and others.

23rd congregation

Mr Oppong Nkrumah spoke at the 23rd congregation of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) where about 1000 students from the various faculties graduated.

The graduates were drawn from the faculty of law, Business School and the School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, while graduates with doctorate degrees were from the School of Technology, School of Public Service and Governance, Business School and School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.

The ceremony, which attracted players from industry, government, representatives of sister academic institutions, friends and relatives of the graduates, was on the theme :building synergies, harnessing the potential of academia, government and industry for growth.

The blame game

Although the collective desire of all segments of society was to mould the nation into one that assures freedom justice and opportunity for all, "Often, each segment of society thinks that the other segment has the responsibility to do more than they are currently doing," said Mr Oppong Nkrumah.

Government, he said, blamed industry, academia and citizens for not paying enough taxes, for not teaching the right courses and for not creating enough jobs.

Industry, on the other hand, he said, blamed the government for taxing too much and not providing enough support and also blamed the citizens for not working diligently enough even when they got jobs.

Referring to the academia, the minister said they blamed the government, industry and citizens for not cooperating enough to execute the intelligent academic proposals they put out while the citizenry blamed everyone else for their situations.

"We need to adopt a new approach that is different from the blame and finger pointing.

We cannot do the same things and expect different results.

It is time to adopt an approach of collaboration to advance the cause of moulding the country we truly desire," he said.

To transform Ghana into a great and strong nation, he said each segment of society must commit to do better at their individual roles.

Academia, which he described as the fertile ground where knowledge was natured, minds shaped and where the bulk of the solutions to the teething problems were drawn while governments developed policies with industry developing cutting edge products, services with the citizens cooperation and participation to make things happen.

"Each of us has to admit that we have not done well enough.

We have the capacity to do a lot more and do a lot better than we are currently doing.

The world we live in demands more than just theory," he said.

Successes

The Rector of GIMPA, Professor Samuel Kwaku Bonsu, after congratulating the students, said the institute in its 62 years of existence had chalked up a number of successes.

To entrench GIMPA as a centre of excellence, he said a number of measures had been initiated including developing a five-year strategic plan to cover 2023-2027 and stating a new vision for the institute.

The focus of the institute in the past year, he said, had been on laying the relevant foundation to achieve the plan of becoming a leading institution in the country.

The Chairman of the GIMPA Governing Council, Kofi Darko Asante, said GIMPA's core mandate was to ensure the fusion between academia, industry, government and society that was why its products were unique.
Asantehene in Trinidad and Tobago for a week's official visit

Graphic.com.gh Jul - 31 - 2023 , 13:07

The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday for a weeks official visit on the invitation of the government of the Caribbean nation.

He is the guest of honour for the Emancipation Day celebrations in that country.

Following the abolition of slavery in 1834, the African Diaspora established themselves and their cultures, leaving a unique mark on the tapestry of the history of Trinidad and Tobago. In 1985, the historic decision was made to memorialise the liberation of enslaved Africans with a public holiday.

The King left Kumasi on a direct flight and arrived at the Piarco International Airport in the capital Port of Spain where he was welcomed by the Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, Dr. Amery Browne; the Minister of Trade and Industry, Paula Gopee-Scoon; the Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, Randall Mitchell, and the Minister of National Security, Fitzgerald Hinds.

Earlier on Saturday, an advance delegation traveling with the King including chiefs, courtiers and administrative staff departed from Kumasi, also on a direct flight.

A guard of honour was mounted by the Quarter Guard at the Piarco International Airport to welcome him.

Activities

Among other activities, the Asantehene will pay courtesy calls on the President, and Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, attend a Trade and Investment Symposium to bolster trade and investment between Africa and the Caribbean, and speak at the Asantehene Distinguished Lecture at the University of the West Indies and University of Trinidad and Tobago, and also meet the Ashanti Diaspora.

Relations

Asante, Trindad and Tobago ties dates back to 1881 with the arrival of Prince Kofi Nti, son of Asantehene Kofi Karikari, in the Caribbean nation.

In 1883, Prince Kofi Nti designed a Signal Station which was built at Fort St. George, Port of Spain.
Chief Justice Torkornoo on why persons with "obscene" and "offensive" conduct cannot be called to the bar

Graphic.com.gh Jul - 31 - 2023 , 23:24

The Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo has been explaining why a person with "obsene" and "offensive" conduct cannot be called to the bar.

Highlighting some of the qualifications to the bar at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration - GIMPA Law Faculty, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo stated: "When somebody has behaved in a certain way and we say we cannot call the person to the bar..."

"I was surprised at the furore that rose up concerning the call to the bar of certain people and I thought, like seriously, this is proper conduct for the legal sector. That's interesting..."

"Anyway, so for you to come into our space, and to come into the space of the legal sector, your conduct cannot be obscene and offensive and you expect that you would be admitted. It doesn't work like that."

"Your comments on social media, your ex parte communications for judges is extremely critical," she added,

Watch the attached video below

Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo on why a person with obscene and offensive public conduct on social media cannot be called to the bar pic.twitter.com/pzJnEsS06a  GraphicOnline (@Graphicgh) July 31, 2023

In November 2022 a student of the Ghana School of Law, popularly known as "Ama Governor" on social media was denied the call to the bar.

It followed a petition to the General Legal Council about her conduct on social media a few days to the call to the bar.

Attached below are some reactions from the said student - Ama Governor in reaction to the Chief Justice's explanation of some of the qualifications to the bar,

Respectfully, I am still waiting to be told what my improper conduct was from 6th Nov, 2022 till date. I cannot handle this tarnishing of image and spread of false information about the true facts of the events that took place for much longer. This is cruel. https://t.co/vzV7mWHyhW July 31, 2023

Lastly, check this out: this person that stopped my life was signed by a name Hajia Siduri. We know Hajia is not a first name. So a single named petition was accepted. To make it worse, the number thing was attached cannot be connected to the name and the owner of the number https://t.co/kPruxJgKfN   (@Ama_governor) July 31, 2023

I won the case, if you will, against the till date unidentified petitioner. After my lawyer and I submitted our written legal response to the frivolous petition, it was thrown out in the very first hearing. The next three hearings till the decision was delivered was about 2   (@Ama_governor) July 31, 2023

questions the committee had to ask me and us coming to a consensus. Nothing about any crime I have committed or any misconduct on my part whether in school or out of school, never a pronouncement of misconduct. Not one time. I could have been caught by the Book of Shame - Ghana   (@Ama_governor) July 31, 2023

School of Laws way of catching students who misconduct themselves, or have been reported by a teaching or non teaching staff at GSL. I was not a terrible law student or person while studying law. I was a girl who began studying law at 18 years at the University of Ghana and who   (@Ama_governor) July 31, 2023
Child Rights International calls for probe into death of babies

Daily Graphic Jul - 31 - 2023 , 09:58

A child-centered organisation, Child Rights International (CRI), has described as disturbing a recent data from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) that indicates that 50,000 infants lose their lives every year due to birth asphyxia.

The organisation, has therefore, called for a probe to identify the underlying and related causes of deaths to inform policy decisions and actions.

In a statement issued and signed by its Executive Director, Bright Appiah, in Accra, the organisation also stressed the need for Parliament to bring into being a bill on the way and manner babies should be handled at birth in the country.

"This process can also be initiated by a Member of Parliament by way of a private members bill," the statement added.

Birth asphyxia

Birth asphyxia happens when a baby's brain and other organs do not get enough oxygen and nutrients before, during or right after birth.

It could occur before birth in the womb and result in stillbirths or during prolonged labour.

According to the Programme Manager for Newborn and Child Health of the GHS, Dr Edward Antwi, on average, one million babies are born every year, and with the current neonatal mortality rate of 17 per 1,000 live births, it means for every one million births, about 170,000 die, and out of this, 30 per cent die from birth asphyxia.

And per the figures, about 136 children die on a daily basis, a situation the organisation said dented the country's healthcare system and put the nation's health sector in a bad light.

"This heartbreaking revelation demands urgent attention and decisive action from both the government and relevant stakeholders," the statement said.

Policy

The organisation further urged the government to initiate a national policy on standard of care expected at all health facilities that provide child delivery services.

Such a policy must outline specific expectations of stakeholders, including mothers and health personnel, and clearly indicate sanctions that would be meted out to any person found culpable of causing the death of a baby, the statement said.

It added that the policy must include the provision of mandatory psychological services to families that lose their babies at birth.

The CRI also entreated the government to issue a policy that would make it compulsory for all pregnant women to visit health facilities to help in the early diagnosis of asphyxia.

"As a child centered organisation, our first priority is to call on the government, policy makers and all relevant stakeholders to direct efforts and resources necessary in ensuring that this statistic is greatly reduced in line with SDG Goal Three"
ECG engages in $145m procurement breaches

Maclean Kwofi Jul - 31 - 2023 , 04:39

The Auditor-General has indicted the board and management of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for procurement breaches worth more than $145 million.

It followed the inability of the power distributor to adhere to the Public Procurement Act in signing 50 contracts to procure 862,750 meters and its accessories between 2016 and 2021.

Consequently, the company did not consider value for money in the process of procuring meters by ensuring competitiveness and transparency.

Though the meters procured were taken through rigorous testing to ensure that specifications were met, ECG did not take steps to explore the possibility of getting meters of the same specifications at lower prices from other manufacturers other than the ones in its database.

The breaches were uncovered in the 2022 Performance Audit Report of the Auditor General on the Management of Meters by the Electricity Company Limited released on July 27, 2023.

The Auditor-General commissioned the audit to ascertain how ECG planned and budgeted, procured, and monitored its installed meters to minimise power theft.

The audit was carried out from August to December 2022 and covered the period 2016 to 2021.

It reviewed documents and interviewed key personnel at the ECG Head Office, Metering and Technical Services (MTS) Division, Materials and Depot in the Greater Accra Region as well as four selected regional and nine district offices.

Meter acquisition

ECG procures meters from vendors who manufacture and supply them based on its prescribed specifications.

Once ECG determines the specifications then processes are put in place in accordance with value for money principles of economy and efficiency, to source from vendors that meet the specification at the best quoted price and to be delivered at the time they are needed.

Schedule five of the Public Procurement (Amendment) Act 2016, (Act 914) requires ECG to use international competitive tendering (ICT) to procure contractors when the estimated cost of goods is above GH10 million.

Per chapters 4.5 and 5.5 of the Public Procurement Manual, ECG was to advertise in international newspapers or journals, the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) website and bulletin, close and open tenders,

The tenders were to be evaluated to select the bid that meets all the requirements with the lowest price for the award of contract. This requirement ensures openness, fairness, and competition to guarantee the principle of economy in value for money considerations.

In the instance where ECG decides to use restrictive tendering for procurement, section 4.2.3 of the Public Procurement Manual (PPM) requires the company to seek approval from PPA Board by justifying the requirement is of a specialised nature or has requirements of public safety, or public security which make an open competitive tender inappropriate.

Due to the urgent nature of the requirement, an open competitive tender is not practical, the number of potential suppliers is limited and an open competitive tender has failed to bring an award of contract.

Findings

The Auditor Generals findings showed that the contract sums of the ten contracts that were sampled for the audit were above the GH10 million threshold for which reason ECG was required to use ICT to procure the meters.

There was no information at ECG to indicate that it advertised tenders received, opened, and closed tenders, as well as the evaluation of tenders for the contracts.

We noted that the board approved for ECG to use restrictive tendering (RT) to procure meters, although the conditions required for the use of RT were not met as prescribed by PPA.

We found that ECG is of the opinion that it should not adhere to the PPA requirement as it is a limited liability company that does not depend on government subvention to finance its operations, the report stated.

ECG sought legal opinion

This was evident in a letter dated February 12, 2014, where ECG sought the legal opinion of the energy minister about whether it should adhere to the PPA.

In July 2020, ECG further wrote to the finance minister seeking exemption from adherence to the Public Procurement Act in the procurement of meters but there was no letter from the Ministry of Finance that approved exemption.

In the absence of the exemption, the Auditor General stated that his office expected that ECG would be guided by the commercial procurement practices in section 15 (2) of the Public Procurement Act to procure meters.

Based on this, the report said ECG had developed a manual to guide its procurement activities but that had not been approved at the time of the audit.

We further noted that ECG failed to comply with the conditions of contract to terminate a contract with a manufacturer in the process of procuring the meters.

For instance, in contract number ECG/155/18 (contract sum $8,379,000) dated 28 January 2019 with MBH Powers and Gas Ltd, the contractor failed to deliver, it added.
GH1.8m bird flu compensation cant be accounted

Maclean Kwofi Jul - 31 - 2023 , 00:02

The 2022 Auditor Generals report has uncovered that more than GH1.8 million of the funds released to compensate poultry farmers affected by the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (bird flu) disease could not be accounted for.

The amount represented 90.41 per cent of the GH1.9 million released by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to pay compensation to farmers who lost the birds between 2015 and 2018 to the disease.

The Ministry of Finance released an amount of GH1,999,768.10 for the payment of compensation to farmers affected by the outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza disease from 2015 to 2018.

We noted that only GH191,730.00 was paid to 10 farmers, leaving GH1,808,038.10 unaccounted for, the 2022 Auditor Generals report on public accounts of ministries, departments and agencies disclosed.

The auditor general therefore recommended that the chief director of the MoF should recover the uncounted amount from the chief director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and ensure that the affected farmers were duly compensated.
by Mary Hrovat

I had my first experience with Daylight Saving Time when I was 9 or 10 years old and living in Phoenix. Most of the country was on DST, but Arizona wasnt. I knew DST as a mysterious thing that people in other places did with their clocks that made the times for television shows in Phoenix suddenly jump by one hour twice a year. In a way, that wasnt a bad introduction to the concept. During DST, your body continues to follow its own time, as we in Phoenix followed ours. Your body follows solar time, and it cant easily follow the clock when it suddenly jumps forward.

When I moved to Indiana as a young adult, I was relieved that my new home, like Arizona, didnt observe DST. The history of time zones in Indiana is complex. When I moved here in 1980, most of Indiana was on Eastern time. Because the state is on the western edge of Eastern time (and arguably ought to be on Central time), DST makes less sense for Indiana. We already have relatively late sunrises and late sunsets. Eastern time is one zone east of where we should probably be. We dont need DST to effectively move us one time zone even further east.

Before standard time zones existed, all time was based on local solar noon. Indianapolis is closer to the center of the Central time zone than to the center of the Eastern time zone, as currently defined, and until 1960, the entire state was on Central time. However, for various reasons, the state crept into the Eastern time zone, first just half of it and then most of the rest. The exception is 12 counties in the northwestern and southwestern corners, which chose to be on the same time as nearby regions on Central time.

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I was saddened when Indiana adopted DST in 2006. My distress was compounded a year later, when DST was extended so that it covers about eight months of the year. It seems patently ridiculous for Indiana to set its alarm clocks to Atlantic time for two-thirds of the year. I also had more personal reasons for objecting to the change. I love twilight, and I dont deal well with heat; in summer, I like to walk near or after sunset if I can. But when the sun sets at 9 or 9:15, a lot of the places I like to go or need to go close before sunset. I suspect one reason Arizona is not on DST is that sunset is welcome on blazing hot days. I also like being able to go stargazing before 10 or 10:30 at night.

In addition, the earlier start to DST means that as we climb slowly from the dark of winter to brighter mornings, the transition is interrupted by an abrupt return to the late sunrises of mid-winter. Of course, sunrise and sunset themselves dont change abruptly; its only our clocks, and social expectations. Every year I resist moving my clocks in spring; I rely on my phone and laptop to keep me connected to people time and keep everything else set to standard time. Sooner or later, though, it becomes too hard to juggle two times, and I reluctantly have to make the switch.

This disconnect from the natural cycle of time is the thing that distresses me most about DST. I often feel that I dont fit well into most social settings, and I can reasonably be described as neurodivergent. The natural world (including urban nature) is a stable, peaceful space for me. I love watching light and shadow changing slowly with the year; it helps me feel grounded and connected to something larger and more lasting than myself, or any human activity. The shift to DST intrudes on this deeply personal sense of connection.

Most of the people I talked to about Indianas adoption of DST in 2006 didnt understand why I was so upset about it. But those long summer evenings! was a standard response. My answer to that is that Indiana has a fair amount of daylight after work hours on standard time. If youd like even more time outdoors after work, you might consider asking or advocating for flexible work schedules. By leaving clocks alone, that approach would also benefit those who welcome sunset in summer, and those who would like to have sufficient light for morning bike rides before everyones out and about in their cars. Thats a lot to cram into a casual conversation, so I generally didnt try to explain. And I couldnt explain the most important point to me: the disjunct between natural time and clock time.

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I dont see any sound rationale for DST. Personal preference for long evenings is clearly not a basis for a time system. DST is associated with economic benefits; chambers of commerce, businesses connected with leisure activities, and convenience store owners have lobbied for it. The desire to enable people to spend money is also a poor basis for a time system; in fact, centering economic policy on consumption is unwise.

Rationales based on safety (for example, the safety of children traveling to school) inevitably run up against the fact that at some times of the year, theres not enough daylight to accommodate our existing scheduling practices. Were apparently not willing to examine our unstated assumptions about these practices.

Benjamin Franklin was joking when he wrote that moving the clock forward would reduce the need to use candles, but DST is believed to reduce energy usage. If that was ever true, its not clear that its the case now, when reductions in electricity use for lighting may be offset by the increased use of air conditioning or heating. A study of electricity use in Indiana with and without DST found that DST actually increases electricity use slightly. (Another study showed a very small reduction in energy use associated with the current extension of DST.) A 1993 study found additional fuel consumption and pollution because of increased driving when daylight hours are shifted evening-ward. Even if energy use were significantly reduced by changing work hours, it would make more sense to make those changes at the workplace level without changing the clocks for everyone.

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Theres increasing evidence that DST is detrimental to human health. The annual switch to DST is associated with increases in heart attacks, strokes, fatal car crashes, workplace accidents, and emergency room visits. Various groups are especially sensitive to the effects of the change. Small children are more in tune with their bodies than with the clock, and the adjustment can be difficult for them and their caretakers. People with dementia sometimes lose touch with their sense of time and do best on a regular schedule; theyre also thrown off by the switch to DST. Those who have difficulty sleeping, especially those with a late chronotype (night owls) can also be more strongly affected (and more of us are night owls these days; see below). People with depression, anxiety, and substance abuse problems can have difficulties around the time change. Altogether, thats a lot of people.

Theres been less research on the chronic effects of living on DST, but theres some evidence that people dont adjust to DST the way they would adjust if they traveled to a time zone east of them. After sufficient time in the new time zone, the human body starts to synch with local sun time. But local sun time stays the same even though the clock is moved eastward in March, and your body stays in synch with it. Although sleep timing may change (people often have to get up earlier whether they like it or not), its not clear whether circadian rhythms shift; two studies have shown that they dont shift much. Theres also indirect evidence that DST has unhealthy effects that persist until we return to standard time.

Light and sleep are central to the effects of DST. Early morning light helps to maintain circadian rhythms, and decreasing light in the evening causes physiological changes that prepare you for sleep. On DST, many people are routinely attempting to get up and go to sleep before theyve received the physical cues that elicit wakefulness and sleep. In addition, natural light cues are weaker in industrialized countries, and the effect of this is to delay the sleep-wake cycle. Thus, our lifestyle is pushing us to wake up and go to sleep later while clock time pulls us in the opposite direction. (Its not just your screen time in the evening that disrupts your sleep; DST compounds the negative effects of blue evening light.) Loss of sleep is linked to higher risks of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and depression. Many adolescents must get up for school before their body clocks are ready, even on standard time; theyre further hurt by being on DST, which is in effect for more than 5 months of a typical 10-month school year.

Interestingly, later daylight has been associated with a modest increase in physical activity in children, but mainly in Europe and Australia, not in the US.

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If I had to choose between the current standard time zones with DST or without it, Id opt for ditching DST and using standard time year-round. But the current standard time zones arent ideal. Im especially aware of this because I live on the western edge of a rather wide time zone. On July 31 in Bloomington, solar noon is at 1:52 p.m. EDT. Even on standard time, were 30 to 60 minutes behind the sun. The reason is that time zones use solar noon at a single longitude, the standard meridian, to establish clock noon across the entire east-to-west extent of the time zone. Thus, clock noon can differ from solar noon depending on where you are in the time zone. DST adds an hour to these differences on the western side of time zones, but time zones alone weaken the association between clock time and sun time (which is also body time). Living on the western edge of a time zone is associated with some of the same sleep-disruptive health effects as living on DST.

One of the fundamental problems with DST is that it adjusts clock time at the national level rather than social time at the local level. Every place on Earth gets a certain amount of daylight each day depending on the time of year. Daylight cant be saved; sunshine needs no protection. The question of how we use daylight throughout the year (how we set our social clock) is one for communities to address. If we want children to travel to and from school during daylight hours, we should consider local sun times when setting school schedules. (If we want them to have ample time for physical activity, we should allow them plenty of recess time at school.) If we like having daylight before and after work, local sun times are important for arranging work hours.

I wonder what would happen if we weakened the association between clock time and sun time furtherfor example, by adopting a single year-round time zone for the entire continental United States. This may seem counter-intuitive, but my thinking is that we might benefit from shifting clock time for everyone away from the conventional hours we associate with certain activities. If we set standard continental US time to Universal Time (sun time at 0 longitude) minus 3 hours, for example, it wouldnt make sense anywhere in the US for school to start at 8 a.m., work to start at 9 a.m., and so on. We would have a single unambiguous time across the continental US, which is the point of standard clock time, and wed be forced to reconsider our social clocks, including the ways we assign activities to the daylight available where we live. It might be an opportunity to redesign our days on terms more suitable for human well-being.

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Ive become increasingly aware of how much human misery is caused not by differences in ability, personality, or functioning, but by the fact that these differences arent accommodated well. In the context of time, for example, having a late chronotype (that is, effectively following a social clock thats east of your body clock) is associated with poorer health. This probably doesnt have anything to do with the chronotype itself but rather is due to the wear and tear of trying to adjust to a social world that doesnt accommodate it well. Neurodivergent people, disabled people, and anyone else who doesnt fit the mold will be familiar with this dynamic in other areas of their lives.

I think everyone struggles sometimes with the demands of our human-built world, which often doesnt sufficiently support physical or emotional health for anyone. We force children to sit still and be quiet in school; we force ourselves to sit in chairs in offices or call centers, or maybe these days at home, for hours each day, or to spend our days under artificial light in warehouses or commercial kitchens. By and large, we live under the myth that periods of sustained mental and physical effort can be purchased from us as if they were cans of soup, without regard to our natural ebbs and flows. Artificial light is increasingly encroaching on our view of the night sky, an incalculably precious human birthright (darkness at night is also conducive to human health). We build and maintain car-centric cities, which isolate us, pollute our environment, and make it difficult or dangerous to move around under our own power. Weve adapted ourselves to an industrial world by treating ourselves, to some extent, as machines.

We quote Mary Olivers advice to Let the soft animal of your body love what it loves because we need it so badly, because there are so many ways we deny our bodies what they need. The very cough drop wrappers give us pep talks on powering through illness. Might we begin to make the world more humane by letting the soft animals of our bodies sleep and wake by their own clocks?

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The article Why Should We Abolish Daylight Saving Time? (Till Roenneberg et al., 2019) is an interesting resource on the interactions between sun time, clock time, and social time.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

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You can find more of my work at MaryHrovat.com.
Govt makes strides in bridging gender gap in ICT  Communications Minister

Mohammed Fugu Jul - 31 - 2023 , 11:30

The government has made significant strides towards bridging the gender gap in Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the country.

To this end, the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MoCD) and its agencies are undertaking series of deliberate interventions geared towards whipping up young girls interests in ICT.

The interventions include the Girls-In-ICT programme, ICT laboratories for Senior High Schools, e-Transform and Rural Telephony and Digital Inclusion projects.

The Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, who made this known, said the move formed part of efforts to create equal opportunities for all.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said this when she toured some training centres of the Girls-In-ICT programme in Tamale, last Friday.

The tour enabled her to assess the ongoing training for selected girls in basic ICT skills, as well as interact with them.

Accompanied by some officials of the ministry and the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), the minister visited the Sagnarigu Community ICT Centre, Jisonayili Primary and the Tamale Community ICT Centre.

As part of the tour, she paid a courtesy call on the Northern Regional Minister, Shani Alhassan Shaibu.

Advice

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful expressed satisfaction with the training and said within the few days, the girls had acquired some basic skills in ICT.

"I am very impressed with the quality of instructions they have received from the facilitators.

Some said they had never seen computers before but now they are able to create websites and games," she noted.

She encouraged the young girls to take advantage of the opportunities the ICT world offered people globally.

The minister said just as their male counterparts, the young girls could leverage ICT to create jobs for themselves and become competitive in the job market.

Background

On July 17, the ministry, in collaboration with its agencies, began the training of 1000 girls in the Northern Region in basic skills.

The beneficiaries are taken through coding, cyber security and website development, among others.

The girls were selected from the 16 metropolitan municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs).

The MMDAs are, Mion, Karaga, Tolon, Kumbungu, Savelugu, Tamale, Nanton, Sagnarigu, Kpandai, Gushegu, Tatali, Nanumba South, Nanumba North, Yendi, Saboba and Zabzugu.
Govt targets pension funds in renewed debt exchange

Kester Aburam Korankye & Maclean Kwofi Jul - 31 - 2023 , 16:51

The government will pursue the restructuring of pension funds in the next phase of the domestic debt exchange programme (DDEP).

It will also exchange debt in the energy sector, including independent power producers (IPPs), cocoa bills, local US dollar-denominated bonds, and Bank of Ghana non-tradable debt, as part of efforts to bring the countrys debt to sustainable levels.

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, who disclosed this when he presented the Mid-year Budget Review to Parliament yesterday, said the DDEP had provided the government with increased fiscal flexibility and addressed cash and other liquidity constraints.

He, however, said to complete the domestic debt operations, the government intended to further pursue discussions around some other domestic debt instruments excluded from the DDEP perimeter.

Mr Speaker, although pension funds were exempted from the main DDEP, we continue to engage them, Mr Ofori-Atta said.

Of the remaining debt instruments, the government launched debt operations for the cocoa bills and local US dollar-denominated bonds on July 14, 2023, which had a settlement date of July 31, 2023.

Mr Ofori-Atta said the government was also engaging with the IPPs on debt relief and financing arrangements to achieve both debt sustainability for the country and financial sustainability for the energy sector.

Context

On December 5, 2022, the government launched the DDEP, seeking to minimise its impact on bondholders.

After three months of negotiations with the different bondholder groups and amendments to the original terms, the government completed the DDEP on February 14, 2023.

Total bonds outstanding at the settlement date amounted to GH126.98 billion, of which GH29.29 billion were held by pension funds, bringing the total eligible bonds to GH97.75 billion.

The Ministry of Finance received final participation of GH82.99 billion, representing 84.9 per cent of total eligible bonds.

Process

The minister said as part of the restructuring process for external debt, the government requested the treatment of the bilateral debt under the G20 Common Framework beyond the debt service suspension initiative.

He said the government also held a series of engagements with its bilateral creditors through the Paris Club to provide financing assurances to support Ghanas IMF external credit facility request.

Negotiations

Mr Ofori-Atta said the government had also begun the process of negotiating with its commercial creditors, who are the countrys Eurobond investors.

Within the period, he said, two bondholder groups had been formed, comprising domestic and regional bondholders, as well as international bondholders.

The government has already shared a set of data and scenarios to commence discussions.

On the restructuring of Eurobonds, we expect to receive counter offers from the bondholders in the short-term, and envisage an agreement by year end, he said.

The minister said the financial sector, comprising commercial banks, specialised deposit taking institutions, the insurance sector, and fund managers, participated significantly in the DDEP.

He said the effects of the debt operations on the financial sector were elevated liquidity and solvency risks from impairment losses, while regulators, including the Bank of Ghana, provided temporary regulatory forbearance to mitigate the liquidity impact of the DDEP.

Importantly, he said, the government was working with key partners to establish a Ghana Financial Stability Fund to provide liquidity and solvency support to the financial institutions.

The eligibility criteria agreed with regulators and international partners were expected to be published soon, the minister said.

He said these macro-prudential interventions and operations were also expected to address the impact of the large external shocks within a wider global economic context.

Meanwhile, Mr Ofori-Atta said the government was mindful of the impact of the debt exchange programme on individuals, and would be working to stabilise the economy towards a faster economic recovery to ameliorate the impact on the welfare of the individuals.

Unions

Labour unions are, however, adamant, saying they still stand by their earlier decision that the government should exempt pension funds from the DDEP.

The Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress, Dr Yaw Baah, said the new proposal from the government to the Board of Trustees of Pension Funds to participate in a new alternative offer had not been accepted by the labour front.

While the labour front has urged the trustees of the pension funds not to further engage the government on its new proposal, Dr Baah said there were still deliberations among the various labour unions on the proposal.
Mfantsipim Old Boys Association (MOBA) 2004 Class launch Trust Fund; Target to raise GH2m

Kweku Zurek Jul - 30 - 2023 , 12:19

The 2004 Class of the Mfantsipim Old Boys Association (MOBA) has embarked on a significant journey to create a lasting impact on the future generations of students at their alma mater.

In a momentous ceremony held at the Marriott Hotel in Accra, the MOBA 04 fraternity proudly launched a Trust Fund with a goal to raise GH2 million ($200,000).

This fund is intended to support a range of initiatives, including preparations for the 2024 Speech Day and fulfilling responsibilities as the main sponsoring year group for the 2034 Speech Day.

Moreover, it aims to extend assistance for health and welfare interventions to members facing challenges and foster networking and business opportunities.

The event witnessed an impassioned speech delivered by the President of MOBA 04, Samuel Menyah Asah-Kissiedu, who expressed immense pride and excitement in addressing the esteemed gathering of the fraternity.

The occasion marked a poignant reconnection after 19 years since their time at Kwabotwe, the Mfantsipim School, and underscored the fraternity's unwavering commitment to giving back to their beloved alma mater and making a positive impact on the lives of future students.

Fund

The establishment of the MOBA 04 Trust Fund represents a remarkable milestone in the group's dedication to supporting education and fostering opportunities for generations to come.

The core mission of the fund is to create a secure pool of resources to facilitate the development of their alma mater, support the hosting of the 2024 Speech Day, and address health and welfare concerns faced by fellow members.

The fraternity firmly believes that collective contributions, active involvement, and seamless collaboration among its members are pivotal in constructing a successful, resilient, and purposeful MOBA 04.

During the gathering, Mr. Asah-Kissiedu acknowledged the cherished memories of their time at Kwabotwe, where invaluable life lessons were learned within its walls. He highlighted the significance of giving back and conveyed gratitude to the senior MOBAs, who have been a source of inspiration to the MOBA 04 fraternity in their journey to serve the alma mater. To ensure the realization of the Trust Fund's objectives, a dedicated 14-member trustee board has been constituted, comprising brothers from various classes and houses, both in Ghana and beyond. These trustees have pledged their time, knowledge, and resources to source and manage the funds required for the initiatives.

In closing, the President expressed heartfelt gratitude to the dedicated and passionate members of the Executive Board for their tireless efforts in making the event a resounding success. He extended his appreciation to all attendees and participants for their unwavering commitment to Kwabotwe and for being part of this momentous occasion.

Fundraising Efforts

The fraternity cordially invites all members to contribute generously to the fund and actively participate in its affairs. Each member's involvement, insights, and experiences are invaluable in building a successful future for the fraternity and their alma mater.

Addressing the gathering on behalf of the Chairman of the fund, Mr. Michael Darko, it was revealed that the 14-member trustee board had adopted a three-pronged strategy to raise funds. This strategy includes raising GH134,000 from members of each of the 13 classes of the 2004 year group, reaching out to corporate bodies in alumni networks, and raising GH100,000 each through personal connections among the 14 trustees, their friends, and families. In a demonstration of their commitment, the trustees presented a GH100,000 cheque as seed money for the fund.

The Ebusuapanyin of Mfantsipim Old Boys Association (MOBA), Captain Paul Forjoe, commended MOBA 04 for their dedication in establishing the fund. He further reminded them that contributions could take various forms, including time, money, and influence, urging them to unite and contribute wholeheartedly to the cause.

With the launch of the MOBA 04 Trust Fund, the fraternity stands ready to create a legacy of empowerment and transformation, ensuring a brighter future for generations of students at their beloved Kwabotwe.
Otumfuo Foundation receives GH1.7m Newmont support

Mary Anane-Amponsah Jul - 31 - 2023 , 10:54

The Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Foundation and Newmont Africa are to implement two key education-focused projects within a three-year period.

The projects, valued at GH1.7 million, will promote and extend Information Communication Technology (ICT) education and training to less-resourced communities through the provision of infrastructure, materials and associated resources.

The projects are aimed at improving the reading culture among pupils in such communities, and to also build their interest and capacity in ICT.

A press statement issued yesterday after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two institutions indicated that Newmont Africa and the Otumfuo Foundation intend to achieve the above objectives through the remodelling and furnishing of six 50-person capacity containers to be situated in selected schools. Mobile training camps equipped with computers shall also be set up in schools to further the training of pupils in ICT.

The Regional Senior Vice-President of Newmont Africa, David Thornton, and the Chairman of the Otumfuo Foundation, Nana Prof. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei Woahene II, signed the MoU on behalf of their respective institutions.

Mr Thornton stated that Newmont Africa was working to extend the positive social impacts of its business in Ghana beyond its host communities into other areas where critical educational infrastructure, particularly in ICT, was lacking.

It is quite clear to us that ICT will play a key role in an increasingly digitised world, and equipping pupils with the requisite skills will help create a more promising future for them and their families, he said.

Nana Woahene recounted the support of Newmont Africa to the foundation over the years, disclosing that for almost a decade, Newmont Africa has been a consistent ally of the foundation, having provided support in excess of GH1 million over the period for several of the foundations programmes and projects.

He added that the MoU was a clear demonstration of the commitment of the two entities towards the identification and implementation of meaningful interventions for communities and individuals who were, otherwise, disadvantaged by virtue of their circumstances.

About Newmont Africa

Newmont Africa is the countrys leading gold producer, and operates two gold mines: the Ahafo Mine in the Ahafo Region and the Akyem Mine in the Eastern Region.

It is in the process of establishing a third mine, which is currently at the project stage  the Ahafo North Project.

The company is a subsidiary of Newmont Corporation, the worlds leading gold business.

Commercial production at Ahafo and Akyem began in 2006 and 2013 respectively, and the company currently has about 6,700 employees and contractors.
Protect your vagina to avoid complications - Expert advises adolescent girls

Daniel Kenu Jul - 31 - 2023 , 09:36

Adolescent girls have been advised to avoid inserting external materials into their vaginas to prevent complications in future.

The adolescents, mainly students within the Obuasi enclave were also urged to manage their menstrual cycles properly and avoid using unhygienic materials such as rags in place of sanitary pads because of the likely negative effect.

Free sanitary pads

The Social Development and Gender Superintendent of AngloGold Ashanti (AGA), Obuasi Mines, Mavis Nana Yaa Kyei, gave the advice at the Anyinam Methodist B Junior High School (JHS) when the company distributed about 1,000 sanitary pads to female students of five basic schools in its host communities.

It was to help improve menstrual hygiene among the students and empower them to manage menstruation safely.

Support

The exercise, which was in partnership with the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), was in line with the mines educational improvement programme of its 10-year Socio-Economic Development Plan.

The programme was to create awareness and highlight the importance of menstrual hygiene management.

Through interactive and informative presentations, the students were enlightened on menstrual hygiene, items used during menstruation among others.

Mrs Kyei reiterated the companys commitment to ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and infrastructure.

These infrastructure include putting up facilities such as changing rooms and washrooms with clean running water to create a conducive environment for female students.

With the support of the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS), we hope to contribute to ending period poverty by providing girls with the necessary resources to manage their menstruation effectively, she said.

Role models

For her part, the Obuasi Municipal Coordinator for Girl Child Education, Cecilia Salifu, implored parents to be powerful role models for their teenagers during their adolescent stage.

She expressed the hope that the exercise would benefit students to improve on their health and studies.
See list of 59 deceased pensioners still receiving nonstop pension, GH393,315 paid so far from public funds

Maclean Kwofi Jul - 31 - 2023 , 12:23

The 2022 Auditor-Generals report has accused the Controller and Accountant General and his director of pensions unit for continued payment of pension of some 59 deceased pensioners in the audit of public accounts of ministries, departments and agencies.

According to the Auditor General, the deceased who died between 2013 and 2019 are still benefiting from unearned pension totaling GH393,315.06 so far.

It is in spite of the regulation 92 of the Public Financial Management Regulations 2019, which required a principal spending officer of a covered entity to ensure immediate stoppage of payment of salary to public servants and notify the Controller and Accountant-General on the death of an employee, on the conviction of an employee, on the dismissal of an employee, on the grant of leave without pay to an employee among others.

Our review of pensioners files disclosed that the Controller and Accountant General did not stop the payment to 59 deceased pensioners from the FAAB system resulting in the payment of unearned pension totaling GH393,315.06, the report stated.

The Auditor-General therefore recommended that the Controller and Accountant General should ensure that the Director of Pensions Unit recovers the amount from the beneficiaries of the deceased pensioners.

The report said the money when recovered should be paid into the Auditor-Generals Recoveries Account at the Bank of Ghana, failing which the amount should be recovered from the Director of Pensions Unit.

List of the 59 deceased pensioners receiving nonstop pension attached below
YOWE facilitates Agormanya Market clean-up exercise

Ezekiel E. Sottie Jul - 31 - 2023 , 10:22

The Youth and Women Empowerment (YOWE), a non-governmental organisation in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality, last Thursday organised a clean-up at the Agormanya Market, with a call on the stakeholders to make it a monthly exercise to keep the market clean always.

The exercise, which was in collaboration with the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly, the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Zoom Lion Company and the Agormanya Market Women Association (AMWA) and other collaborators, was initiated by Action for Voice Influence and Inclusive Development (AVID) Project with sponsorship from STAR-Ghana.

Purpose of clean-up

The AVID Project has three main component areas with emphasis on the economic empowerment of market women and how they should cater for the environmental conditions in the Agormanya Market as well as the Asesewa Market in the Upper Manya Krobo District.

The AVID Project also empowers people with disability (PWD) to manage their businesses well and lastly the project also gives support to small women farmholders to form cooperatives on their own.

As part of activities to attain and achieve the intended result of the project, YOWE, has facilitated a monthly clean-up exercise at the Agormanya and Asesewa markets all aimed to ensure that the two markets are always clean to befit their status as the leading markets in the Eastern Region and the country at large.

Sanitation

The Chief Executive Officer of YOWE, Emmanuel Nuertey Siakwa, said his organisation realised that sanitation was a major challenge in Ghana, especially in our markets, which normally results in sicknesses and food poisoning among others of which we as Ghanaians could manage those health-related issues ourselves.

The Secretary to the Agormanya Market Queenmothers Association, Patience Ababio, in an interview with the Daily Graphic after the clean-up exercise, noted with concern that even though the Agormanya Market was 51 years old, it lacked social amenities that would help the market to grow.

I can say with authority that apart from the Asesewa Market, which is one of the oldest markets in the country and in Manya Krobo, the Agormanya Market also in Manya Krobo is also old enough to have social amenities such as places of convenience, urinal, creche, a Community Health-Based Planning Services (CHPS) compound among others.

The population of people who patronise the market is not less than 4,000 on each market day on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

We are mostly women in the market and it becomes very difficult and uncomfortable for us as far as womens needs are concerned during market days, the secretary to the market queens lamented.

She, therefore, called on the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly which directly benefits from the market tolls to help solve the problems of the market.

Commendation

An Assistant Director from the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal Assembly, Michael Tetteh Kwameh, who represented the assembly, lauded all the stakeholders who willingly participated in the clean-up exercise.
Zoomlion starts refuse dumps evacuation in Central Region

Daily Graphic Jul - 31 - 2023 , 10:46

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, in collaboration with metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDCEs) in the Central Region, has started evacuating huge dumping sites in the region.

The intervention is to improve sanitation and related issues.

Zoomlion Ghana Limited, the waste management company undertaking the evacuation, said the nationwide exercise was targeted at unauthorised places where refuse had been dumped.

The company added that the directive was in line with the vision of the current government's clean Ghana agenda of resolving sanitation challenges across the country.

The exercise saw the evacuation of an over 25-year-old refuse site at Essikafo Amba Nntem in Mankessim, creating a serene environment in the area.

A visit to the site revealed that Zoomlion Ghana Ltd was prepared and ready for the exercise.

The company deployed trucks, excavators and technical expertise to convey the rubbish to its final dumping site at Awoyaa in the municipality.

Natives

The Mfantseman Municipal Environmental Health Officer, Eric Pizzass Mensah, said the illegality was mostly perpetuated by natives of the community who did not patronise the authorised dumping sites by creating theirs.

He, however, assured the public that the assembly had acquired a dumping site to manage and control waste in the municipality.

The residents expressed satisfaction that the biggest cause of discomfort in the community had been dealt with.
Parliament to adjourn August 3

Daniel Kenu Politics Jul - 31 - 2023 , 05:23

The second meeting of the third session of the Eighth Parliament will adjourn sine die on Thursday, August 3, the Majority Chief Whip , Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has said.

Presenting the Business Statement for the week, last Friday on the floor of the House, Mr Annoh-Dompreh, recommended that the House commenced sitting each day at 10 a.m. and also have extended sittings to ensure that business scheduled for the ninth week, particularly Bills 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 will require the attention of the House, he said.

Bills

Mr Annoh-Dompreh, who is also the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, therefore, urged Committees with referrals to expedite work on the same for the attention of the House.

Mr Speaker, the House has barely four sitting days left to adjourn sine die and given this, the Business Committee urges all Committees with referrals, particularly the under-listed bills to expedite consideration on same for the attention of the House, he said.

They are the Grains Development Authority Bill, 2022; Ghana Industrial Property Office Bill, 2023; Rent Bill, 2023; Budget Bill, 2023; and the National Petroleum Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

Budget

Touching on the Mid-Year Review of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government for the 2023 Financial Year scheduled for today by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, the Majority Chief Whip urged the MPs to take note and avail themselves accordingly.

He said pursuant to Standing Order 70, which allowed MPs to make brief comments on the reviewed budget, the Business Committee had accordingly decided that MPs would be allowed to make brief comments tomorrow, Tuesday, August 1 and Wednesday, August 2, 2023.

Subsequently, he said, the Business Committee had proposed that the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Finance Committee would be allotted 15 minutes each to comment on the statement while all other members would be given 10 minutes.

Mr Annoh-Dompreh said the Business Committee had proposed that comments be structured along specific sectors, that is, governance, including security and Public safety, finance and the other economy generally, energy and other infrastructural sectors, the social sector, local governance, as well as youth, Sports, tourism and the cultural sector.

According to him, the arrangement was to enable a smooth flow of comments.

Conference

The Majority Chief Whip announced that the 66th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference was to be hosted by Ghana from Saturday, September 30, to Friday, October 6, 2023.

"However, considering the fact that the House would be on recess, a decision regarding the participation by members has commenced and members would be duly informed when the discussion is concluded," he said.

Ministers

Also on the bill is for six ministers to appear before the House to respond to questions.

They are the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Lariba Zuweira Abudu; the Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery; the Minister of Tourism, Art and Culture, Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, the Minister of Energy, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, and the Minister of Roads and Highway, Kwasi Amoako- Attah.

They are expected to answer 36 questions in all.
Resource GETFund to improve education

Emmanuel Ebo Hawkson Politics Jul - 31 - 2023 , 00:45

Former President John Dramani Mahama has stressed the need to adequately resource the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to ensure the delivery of quality education in the country.

He described the current financial constraint of GETFund as worrisome, adding that the situation was negatively affecting education outcomes.

Mr Mahama who is also the flag bearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) was addressing the second graduation ceremony of the Academic City University College (ACUC) in the Ga East Municipality in the Greater Accra Region last Saturday.

In all, 31 students made up of 15 females graduated from the university.

Six of them received Academic Achievement Awards, with Daniella Ishioma Omenogor emerging as the Overall Best Student and valedictorian.

Mr Mahama said as a catalyst for sustainable development, education must be tackled holistically to enable the country to derive maximum benefit.

He said inasmuch as access to education was important, it was equally vital for quality of education to be enhanced to produce graduates who would be well equipped to meet the challenges of modern times.

A focus on expanding access to education without attendant improvement in quality renders education insufficient in turning out well-equipped human resources that society needs.

Education is also a leveller; poor quality education tends to widen the gap between the rich and the poor in our country.

This exists, especially in basic education where we have well-endowed basic schools producing students who eventually end up in tertiary schools, while poor basic schools have children lying on their bellies without furniture and writing on the floor, making it hard for many of them to climb the education ladder, the former President added.

GETFund

GETFund was created by a statute  GETFund Act, 2000 (Act 581), with the primary objective of providing funds to supplement the provision of educational infrastructure at all levels.

The sources of funding of GETFund is a 2.5 per cent value added tax (VAT) or any other higher rate as Parliament may determine; investment income; Parliament allocations; grants, donations, gifts and vested property.

Former President Mahamas comments come on the back of Parliaments decision in June to reduce the allocation to the fund in 2023.

Under the approved formula, Parliament allocated GH1.87 billion to the fund for 2023, a reduction of over 28 per cent of the GH2.60 billion allocated to the fund in 2022.

Digitalisation

Former President Mahama also said that the digital and ICT driven global world must guide the country to change its educational system with emphasis on creativity and innovation to become more competitive for accelerated development.

To thrive in this era, the educational system must evolve to equip the next generation with critical thinking skills, creativity and innovation to solve problems, he said.

The NDC flag bearer further advised the graduates to dream big and implement ideas that would provide solutions to global challenges and reduce poverty in the country.

Go out there and make a positive mark in the world.

I believe in you and so you must believe in yourself.

Do not disappoint your parents and country, he added.

The Founder of ACUC, Dev Varyani, said the college had implemented measures to become the leading educational institution in the country, with emphasis on STEM education and entrepreneurship to help propel the nation and the entire African continent to the next level of prosperity.

For his part, the President of the College, Prof. Fred McBagonluri, also advised the students not to be scared in taking initiatives even if they failed initially.
Since the EU imposed sanctions on Russia in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, there has been a redrawing of the global oil map, a new study by Transport & Environment (T&E) shows. Instead of cutting demand, Europe has simply replaced imports from Russia with oil from other producing countries.

In not much more than a year, the EU has redrawn the oil map. The continent has reduced its reliance on Russia, but instead of cutting oil consumption, it is simply swapping barrel for barrel with new suppliers. If it put the same effort into reducing demand as it has in finding new suppliers, Europe could significantly reduce its dependence on oil altogether. Agathe Bounfour, oil program lead at T&E

In January 2022, Russia accounted for 31% of European oil imports. By March 2023, that had fallen to 3% following varying sanctions. But far from ditching oil, demand is simply being sourced from different suppliers.

The US replaced Russia as Europes number one exporter at the end of 2022, accounting for 11% of the EU imports. Norway and Saudi Arabia followed closely. Beyond Europes traditional suppliers, Angolas monthly exports to the EU grew sixfold reaching almost six million barrels. The share of Brazilian and Iraqi exports also jumped.





Biggest monthly oil import changes to the EU between 2021 and 2022 (Eurostat). Source: T&E

Increased European imports have coincided with an increase in global oil production and exports. For example, 70% of the surge in the US oil production was directed to the EU between 2021 and 2022.

T&Es analysis of oil field data shows that 80% of the surge in oil exports to Europe came from only ten fields. The largest part of the export growth came from Texas, followed by Norways biggest field Johan Sverdrup and Brazils Lula field.

While developing new oil and gas projects is seen to be incompatible with the 1.5C target, new oil projects are still being planned globally and in the key countries supplying the EU. Among them, 200 existing or planned projects will emit more than 1 gigatonne of CO 2 over their lifetime and will exceed by far a 1.5C carbon budget. T&E has identified 18 different projects which, as it stands, will be supplying Europe with oil at least until 2030.

At the global level, oil production and exports surged by 5% between 2021 and 2022, with 65% of the increased exports directed to the EU market. The EU was indeed a major driver of oil demand over the period, as local demand was recovering and Asian countries were still affected by COVID restrictions.

Imports of refined oil products from China and India have grown 70% and 13% respectively over the past year. It has been reported that these countries are importing Russian oil on the cheap and re-exporting it to the EU as jet fuel and diesel on the global market. Creating a backdoor for Russian oil runs counter to the EUs sanctions, says T&E, which warns that billions of euros have flown from the EU to Russia.

Europes oil consumption is 2% higher than it was at the start of Russias invasion of Ukraine. The analysis shows that despite a continent-wide effort to reduce gas use, which fell 15% over the period, Europeans are not doing enough to cut down on oil. Stubbornly high demand for oil is being driven primarily by Europes transport sector. Road traffic is back to pre-pandemic levels and the aviation sector is set to reach its peak later this year. Last month the oil giant Shell announced that it would drop targets to cut oil production as it aims for higher profits.
Honor's Magic V2 foldable has just launched in China and the company shared the rather interesting design story behind the device. The centerpiece element of the design process is portability and it shows. The handset is considerably thinner and lighter than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 (10.1 mm vs. 13.4 mm when unfolded and 231 g vs. 253 g). Honor argues that according to their market research, consumers have portability at top of their priority list.

Let's start with the innovative hinge design. It uses titanium elements, which boast higher rigidity, lower weight and anti-corrosion properties. The shaft cover is made of titanium, making it 150% tougher and 42% lighter at the same time.

When it comes to the hinge's main body, though, it's made of a special kind of steel used for tunnel boring applications. It strikes the perfect balance between durability and thinness, shaving off a few millimeters. This particular steel is 25% thinner and 20% stronger than the aluminum previously used for this application.

What's more, Honor redesigned the hinge's support structure and thanks to the steel and titanium combo, it allowed the company to reduce the depth of fold marks on the screen by 47%. A new brake caliper damping structure ensures smooth and stable travel.

Honor has come up with a tiny micro lock component the size of a rice grain that prevents misalignments, which in turn have the potential to make more fold marks after prolonged usage. Redesigned tiny screws are also used to put all the components together.

Lastly, the hinge earns certification from SGS, ensuring that the mechanism can withstand 400,000 folds. That makes up to 100 folds per day for 10 years. Not too shabby.

Another breakthrough design choice resides within the display. The foldable panel uses a three-in-one display driver component that saves up space. Honor then used that space to fit an impressive by foldables' standards 5,000 mAh battery. The battery itself is also special. It's a silicon-carbon battery pack with improved energy density.

The Magic V2 definitely seems impressive on paper and having visited the labs where it was tested and played with it for a short we can confirm it really includes the best technologies the maker currently has at its disposal. We can't wait for the global version to launch so we can put it through its paces and really see what it can do.
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vivo is working on custom silicon designs to power its next-generation of camera phones. The company just revealed that it has partnered with Sonys Lytia division to create a customized version of the LYT800 sensor for the vivo X100 series.

The LYT800 makes use of Sonys stacked design, which separates the photodiodes and the transistors that read them into two layers (normally they are side by side). This opens up more room so the 1/1.43 Lytia LYT800 sensor is expected to have a low-light performance similar to 1 sensors. The LYT800 will have a 53MP resolution.

Theres more  vivo tapped its partner Zeiss to create the Vario-Apo-Sonner telephoto lens for the X100 series. This will have a floating lens design, which will allow it to focus at closer distances.

The company also recently announced the V3 ISP, a 6nm chip with advanced post-processing functions and support for things like portrait mode videos at up to 4K.

Specs for the international vivo X100 leaked, but unfortunately that didnt include camera details. The phone should use one of the Dimensity 8-series chips (while the Chinese variant could get the Dimensity 9300) with 12GB of RAM and 256GB storage. It will have a 120Hz AMOLED display and a 5,000mAh battery with 100W charging, according to that leak.

Source (in Chinese) | Via
Shortly before the fall of Saigon in April 1975, Nam Kims family fled Vietnam in a helicopter, evacuated to the USS Midway and the USS Kimbro, stopped in the Philippines and then came to Guam as refugees.

Kim, then just a baby, stayed with his family in camps at Orote Point, Asan Beach Park and the former Tokyu Hotel, which was located between Pacific Islands Club and Ypao Beach.

Eventually, they left Guam for Fort Eglin, Florida.

Now, 48 years later, Kim is a professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He will be visiting Guam and taking part in several events.

He would like to connect with former refugees, Vietnam War veterans, the Vietnamese community that settled in Guam, and those who were involved with Operation New Life to share experiences and to express gratitude.

He also wants to visit some of the historical sites that were important at that time to see if there are further anthropological and archaeological research. He would also like to explore opportunities to create an academic pipeline for those in Guam who are interested in the field of anthropology and archaeology by providing mentorship and by working with local educational institutions.

The public is invited to attend:

A meet-and-greet at 6 p.m. Aug. 7 at Micronesia Mall second Floor Center Court between Macys and the Food Court, old Docomo space.

The lecture Legendary Foundations of Ancient Vietnam, 4 p.m. Aug. 9, Room HHS302, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Building, University of Guam. Two thousand years ago, Chinas Han Empire stretched its imperial grasp beyond the mountains far to the south of the central plains Along its southernmost periphery lay the Red River Valley of present-day Vietnam. In their chronicles, the Han claimed that they civilized the barbarians of the valley. In contrast, many Vietnamese believe this time and location represents the birthplace of an indigenous Vietnamese civilization that predates Han arrival. This view has been traditionally based on colorful tales and legends. One of the most enduring accounts tells of the Au Lac Kingdom and its capital city, known as Co Loa. Thus, at the heart of ongoing, intense, and sometimes nationalistic debates are two contrasting views. This lecture presents new and ongoing archaeological research that addresses these themes and questions.

The lecture Plumbing Nebulous Depths: Exploring Violence and Warfare in Humanitys Past 2 p.m. Aug. 11 in the study room of the public library in Hagatna. The lecture examines whether we an inherently violent species. Has warfare always existed for humanity? How has warfare evolved over time? In recent decades, researchers around the world have become increasingly interested in studying ancient forms of organized violence and warfare, recognizing implications for the modern world and prospects for peace. This lecture highlights anthropological research regarding the antiquity and earliest cultural expressions of collective violence. Featuring case studies through time and space, the lecture considers practices related to violence and warfare from the remote past, and how such behaviors may have been significant for both biological and cultural changes in human history.

Prospective attendees and those wanting to connect with Kim can register at bit.ly/47d9rTK, but registration is not required.

Events are presented through the support of the Guam Public Library System, the University of Guam College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, the Micronesia Mall, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Guam Philharmonic Foundation, Inc.
While the 37th Guam legislature was in the committee of the whole on Monday afternoon, a flurry of arguments sprouted before the questioning of the panel even began.

It started between Speaker Therese Terlaje and Sen. Frank Blas Jr. when Blas assured the speaker that his motion to go into committee still required the rules.

I made that motion. I never said notwithstanding. You said it. I didnt, stated Blas.

Terlaje then rebutted that they went into the committee notwithstanding the rules. There are no rules to go into committee of the whole for non-appropriation bills, so we are here notwithstanding the rules, stated the speaker.

Blas argued, No, Madam Chair. Dont put words in my mouth. I did not make the motion notwithstanding, said Blas.

Terlaje then told Blas hes being out of order, but he did not acknowledge as such.

I am not out of order. Youre out of order, Madam Chair! I did not make a notwithstanding motion. Go back and look at the tape! exclaimed Blas.

Who made that motion for notwithstanding? You were sitting at the chair. You cant make a motion! added Blas.

After playing back the livestream, the motion for a committee of the whole initiated by Blas was objected by Terlaje from her senatorial seat while Vice Speaker Tina Muna Barnes looked over the session momentarily.

That would have to be notwithstanding the rules because the rules dont require us to be in committee of the whole for this type of topic, said the speaker.

Blas then said, Motion notwithstanding then, while Barnes confirmed, Motion notwithstanding.

As of 4:45 p.m. on Monday, the livestream of the statements can be found here.

Soon after, Sen. Telo Taitague had a point of order for the speaker.

I think that you lied to us. You said that you spoke to legal, and according to legal, she has to look it up to give us the answer to my question, said Taitague. You cannot continue on if we cant get legal. You claimed that legal gave you the okay to do this. When I went to legal, theyre still looking up the law that allows this.

GDOE

Terlaje initially called for an emergency session to discuss the emergency conditions regarding the Guam Department of Education. The speaker noted that students health, learning, safety, and overall health is at risk.

Terlaje discussed Bill 156-37, which includes legislation to amend a portion of Public Law 37-4.

The bill would allow the Department of Public Health and Social Services to issue variances for schools to open with the sole consent of the departments director. The bill would also authorize the governor to detail inspectors from other government agencies to assist with school inspections until Dec. 31, 2023.

Additionally, the bill would allow the temporary employment of retired government of Guam inspectors to be hired while still receiving retirement benefits.

The legislature then dissolved into the committee of the whole at noon on Monday in order to affirm the stance that her bill will enhance and assist the work of Department of Public Health and Social Serivces and the Guam Department of Education.

Officials from both public health and GDOE then came down to the Guam Congress building to answer rounds of questioning from the senators.

A threat to the health and safety of public-school students exists without sanitary inspections and compliance to sanitary rules, stated Terlaje. The bill aims to reduce health and safety risks to students by expediting the review by DPHSS Director of GDOE sanitary variance applications, increasing the small purchase limits for GDOE, and increasing the number of inspectors to ensure the safety of students and the timely opening of schools.

Francine Salas, DPHSS Acting Chief Environmental Public Health Officer, noted that there are still 34 schools left to be inspected as of 2 p.m. Monday.

Salas further clarified that it will take over two months with the current plans of three schools being inspected a week.

If additional inspectors are brought over from other agencies, then they might have the ability to inspect up to five schools a week, according to Salas.

However, Salas reminded the senators that public health still has to maintain constant communication with GDOE because it is fruitless to inspect a Phase Three school that will not be available a week after inspection.

At the moment, GDOE only has three other schools ready for inspection, which include Wettengel Elementary School, Talafofo Elementary School and Tiyan High School, according to Erika Cruz, Acting GDOE Superintendent of Assessment and Accountability.

Cruz also confirmed that John F. Kennedy High School passed their sanitary reinspection. They now join Inalahan Elementary School and Merizo Martyrs Memorial School as schools that can resume regular school operations.

For the remaining schools, Salas confirmed that it is possible for schools to pass inspections by condemning portions of the campus. In order to do so, public health would require the following from GDOE:

Proper physical condemnation, such as rope or tape.

Marked as condemned on the school map that is provided to the inspector.

Adequate written notice from the school to DPHSS that the area is condemned.

Further questions and clarification are set for Tuesday at 11 a.m. as the legislature recessed for another meeting.
Former Gov. Carl T.C. Gutierrez is the president and CEO of Guam Visitors Bureau, Guam Permit Czar, and chairman of the Governors Economic Strategy Council. Send comments or questions to GVB at communityrelations@visitguam.org.




Haiti - FLASH : First reactions to Kenya's announcement to support the PNH





Saturday, July 29, 2023, Alfred Mutua, the Kenyan Minister of Foreign Affairs declared "[...] Kenya has accepted to positively consider leading a Multi-National Force to Haiti. Kenya's commitment is to deploy a contingent of 1,000 police officers to help train and assist Haitian police restore." Following this declaration, the first reactions, for the moment mostly favorable, quickly issued :



FOR - Jean Victor Geneus, Minister of Foreign Affairs:

"Jean Victor Geneus received with great interest the declarations of his Kenyan counterpart, Dr. Alfred Mutua, confirming the desire of this brotherly country to provide effective support to the Haitian security forces in their fight for the restoration of a secure environment in Haiti, and even to consider the possibility of assuming the leadership of a multinational force as soon as the United Nations Security Council has given its approval.



Haiti fully appreciates this manifestation of African solidarity, and it is with pleasure that it will welcome in the coming weeks, the assessment mission that Kenya proposes to send."



FOR - Bocchit Edmond :

"The harmful consequences of this insecurity in Haiti are more than palpable. As a member of the United Nations and a founding member of the United Nations, our international partners have a moral duty to assist us and help us emerge from this infernal violence that our poor sisters and brothers suffer daily. Let's rather salute the will of our African brothers who want to make themselves available and support the PNH.



Each State certainly has its internal problems but it can always help another in difficulty. No state is immune to social problems and no police force in the world is perfect.



The mission and the rules of engagement of this international force must be clear and accepted by Haiti, these are the key elements of this assistance. Let us preferably focus on the essential: Haiti really needs help and it does not matter the continent of origin of this help (African, American, Asian or European).



Finally, let's work to ensure that this aid is effective and efficient and that it contributes to the restoration of the dignity of the Haitian people. The time is no longer for demagoguery but rather for the primacy of reason and pragmatism."



FOR - Me Andre Michel Spokesperson for the "Democratic and Popular Sector"

Me Andre Michel leader of the radical opposition and Spokesman of the "Democratic and Popular Sector" (SDP) writes on his twitter account



"The SDP welcomes the announcement of KENYA's willingness to take the leadership of the multinational force and send 1,000 police officers to Haiti The SDP invites other United Nations member countries to follow suit to help Haiti get through this difficult stage.



The SDP reiterates its unwavering support for the Government's decision to request an international force to accompany the PNH in the fight against insecurity and Kidnapping. Only an international force can help us free the country from the hell of armed gangs.



Without this international force, the Constitutional revision and the organization of the elections will be completely mortgaged. The SDP invites the population to unite behind the Government's initiative to request this international support force for the PNH."



AGAINST - Claude Joseph, former Minister of Foreign Affairs

Claude Joseph, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, a few hours after the declaration of Alfred Mutua, the Kenyan Minister of Foreign Affairs "Kenya has agreed to consider positively taking the lead of a multinational force in Haiti. Kenya agrees to deploy a contingent of 1,000 police  https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-40134-haiti-flash-kenya-agrees-to-deploy-1-000-police-officers-in-haiti.html said he was opposed to the intervention of the Kenyan police in Haiti stressing "Kenya, which has said it is ready to lead an international force in Haiti, is mired in its own socio-political crisis internal [...] Anti-government demonstrations protesting against the high cost of living are violently repressed by the police" wondering "Can a police force that is not professional in its country be elsewhere ?"



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-40134-haiti-flash-kenya-agrees-to-deploy-1-000-police-officers-in-haiti.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Politic : The European Union modifies its sanctions regime





Friday, July 28, 2023, the Council amended its sanctions regime in view of the situation in Haiti, allowing the European Union (EU) to autonomously impose restrictive measures on persons and entities responsible for threatening peace, security or stability of Haiti, or to undermine democracy or the rule of law in Haiti.



This decision establishes the new framework for EU autonomous measures. No person or entity is listed at this stage, in line with the EU's phased approach. The framework complements the sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council in October 2022.



"The current situation in Haiti constitutes a threat to international peace and security in the region. Today, we adopted a new framework for autonomous EU measures, which I recently proposed to complement the United Nations measures in place. With this new framework for restrictive measures, we are sending a clear signal to Haitian gang leaders and their financiers: we know how they operate and there will be no impunity. The EU stands with Haiti and its people," declared Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.



The restrictive measures consist of a travel ban for individuals and the freezing of funds belonging to both individuals and entities. In addition, persons and entities in the EU will be forbidden from making funds available to those listed, either directly or indirectly.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - FLASH FAMV : Call for Applications for the Master's Program in Agroecology (Scholarship)





As part of the Haitian Agricultural University Partnership Project: Center for Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation and Resilience in Haiti (HAUP-CEMARCH), funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine (FAMV) of the State University of Haiti (UEH) is launching a call for applications for the recruitment of the first promotion of its master's program in Agroecology which will begin in October 2023.



Successful students will benefit from a full scholarship funded by the HAUP-CEMARCH project.



Document required:

- A cover letter ;

- A transcript of the applicant's marks (general average 70);

- A photocopy of the end of university cycle diploma;

- Two letters of recommendation from professionals and/or specialized institutions

- A CV of the candidate;

- Two passport photos;

- A description of the research project that the applicant intends to carry out within the framework of the program (subject, research theme, problem raised, objectives, planned approach, Bibliography, timetable for carrying out research activities).



Selection process:

- Reception and analysis of files: July 31-August 12, 2023

- Exam: August 21, 2023

- Interview: August 22-25, 2023

- Results: September 4th, 2023



Master's launch ceremony: September 11, 2023.



Interested persons are requested to submit their application files, before August 12, 2023, to the secretariat of the Department of Natural Resources of the Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine of the State University of Haiti, located at Route Nationale #1, Damien, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.



Resource Persons:

For any additional information, please contact:



1) Dr Adermus JOSEPH, Professor at the FAMV

- Phone: +509 3682193 48

- Email: zoadermus@yahoo.fr



2) Dr Neudy JEAN-BAPTISTE, Professor at the FAMV

- Phone: +509 4892 72 16

- Email: neudyjb@yahoo.com



3) Ms. Roseline Douilly CASAL, Secretary of the Natural Resources Department at the FAMV

-Phone: +509 4875 1610



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





Sentenced to 1 year in prison, he came out 9 years later...

Evest A. (39 years old), arrested on April 26, 2014 after a fight sentenced to one year in prison, was released after 9 years and 4 months, his file being lost in the maze of justice. The team of the Office of Human Rights in Haiti has stepped up its efforts to reconstruct his file and finally obtain a criminal hearing on July 26, 2023, during which the Deputy Government Commissioner has admitted in a half-word, the fault committed by the State, which stole more than 8 years of life from him, without however producing an excuse...



1 Cite Doudoune gang member killed

Saturday, July 28 Mazora, as well known, a member of the gang operating in Cite Doudoune, an area located in the commune of Croix-des-Bouquets, was fatally injured in exchanges of fire with the police not far from the Tabarre public market. Mazora was in possession of a 6.35mm caliber firearm.



Rice : Seed Quality Controls

With the approach of the rice harvesting season, the Technical Mission of Taiwan in Haiti has started to carry out seed quality checks in the rice-growing region of the South. By checking varieties for purity, germination rate and moisture content, they ensure seed quality to improve rice supply in the region.



Accident in Brazil : Words of Sympathy

"The Support Group for Returnees and Refugees (GARR) is deeply saddened to learn of the tragic accident that occurred in an industrial cereal cooperative in Parana, Brazil https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-40131-haiti-flash-brazil-explosion-in-an-agro-industrial-cooperative-at-least-8-dead-including-7-haitians.html which claimed the lives of 8 people, including seven Haitian nationals. In this time of mourning and great pain, GARR joins the Haitian community in Brazil and the families affected by the departure for the eternal east of these Haitian citizens."



PNH and UN discuss dismantling gangs

Frantz Elbe, the Acting Director General of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) in the presence of members of the High Command and the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) met with Laura Flores, the Head of the Americas Division to the Directorate of Political Affairs and Peace of the United Nations. Many points relating to the best strategy for dismantling gangs were discussed.



325 years of Jacmel

The Ministry of Tourism recalls that the year 2023 brings the 325th anniversary of the founding of the city of Jacmel "The vagaries of history, natural disasters have reached us. However, each time, the soul of Jacmel has proven to be resilient and combative. Our concern for culture and the arts, our material and immaterial heritage, our ecological sites bear witness to this glorious past which we must live up to in the present. May Jacmel remain this hospitable city. Happy Feast to all !"



HL/ HaitiLibre


















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(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced charges against Clarice Saw, a former registered representative at a New York broker-dealer, for allegedly defrauding a customer of approximately $2.4 million.

The SECs complaint alleges that between December 2021 and March 2022, while Saw was associated with a registered broker-dealer, she engaged in a fraudulent scheme and misappropriated approximately $2.4 million from an elderly brokerage customer. The complaint also alleges that Saw liquidated all of the customers securities holdings without the customers consent, and then transferred all of the investment proceeds to her own personal bank and brokerage accounts. The complaint further alleges that Saw used a portion of the misappropriated funds to pay for her personal expenses, including approximately $100,000 in car and mortgage payments and thousands of dollars of cash withdrawals, and that Saw used additional misappropriated funds to purchase securities in her own personal brokerage account.

The SECs complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges Saw with violating the antifraud provisions of Sections 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The SEC seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.




We're a family of seven living in Georgia where Andrew's working as a professor at GSU. You can read more about us here
Minister of Social Security Sanni Grahn-Laasonen (NCP) told YLE on Wednesday that the government is seeking to attach the first proposals to its budget draft for next year, with a view to presenting them to the parliament by year-end.

THE GOVERNMENT of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) will carry out the first of what will be 1.5 billion euros worth of cuts in social security benefits this autumn.

The government programme outlines that spending on social security should be reduced by 1.5 billion euros, including by slashing the housing allowance by 360 million euros or about 16 per cent from 2022. Grahn-Laasonen stated to the Finnish public broadcasting company that the cuts will align Finland with the rest of the Nordics.

For example, you wouldnt be eligible for the housing benefit for owner-occupied housing any more, she said.

The allowance being available to home owners, she explained, leads to higher rents through property investors.

VATT Institute for Economic Research, though, estimated in a study published last year that increasing the housing allowance does not appear to lead to increases in the rents paid by the allowance recipients, although a minor impact on rents cannot be ruled out entirely. Grahn-Laasonen on Thursday stated to Helsingin Sanomat that the study is of high quality and its results are well known at the ministry.

In a broader sense, theres no clear scientific evidence of the effects of the housing allowance on the general rent level, she argued.

The Finnish government will seek to incorporate all working-age people into working life by adjusting unemployment benefits and simplify social security benefits by transitioning toward a single general benefit.

Grahn-Laasonen on Wednesday expressed her hope that employers provide more job opportunities to people with a limited ability to work, for example.

Well always encourage working as the primary option, as other Nordic countries are already doing. We cant have incentive traps for working, for example. Were faced with extremely challenging population ageing, she said to YLE.

One of its goals is to halve the number of income assistance recipients, the last-resort form of social security in Finland.

The main idea is that being able to provide employment is best way to get people off of income assistance, she answered when asked which recipients the government is looking to disqualify for income assistance.

The reforms, she added, will naturally be implemented in accordance with the boundaries of the constitution.

Grahn-Laasonen also revealed that she was surprised by how few Finns Party supporters consider racism to be a problem in Finland, pointing to a newly published survey by YLE.

You could think that racism is maybe a theme that we have to talk about in Finland. It can be difficult to detect racism if you havent experienced it yourself, she analysed, stressing that racism is a real problem in the country.

She voiced her confidence that the populist right-wing party has genuinely committed to the governments stance against racism.

I dont believe in the road of isolation  of saying that over 620,000 Finns were wrong for voting for the Finns Party, she said to YLE. Power has to come with responsibility, meaning they have to start implementing the government programme and demonstrating that theyre a ruling party thats capable of implementing the programme together with other coalition partners.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
I hoped that we wouldve seen some kind of an apology. We didnt get one. This doesnt make the overall situation easier because well have to consider this at some point in any case, she commented to Helsingin Sanomat on Friday.

MINISTER of Economic Affairs Wille Rydman (PS) should have apologised for his racist private messages, states Minister of Education Anna-Maja Henriksson (SFP).

Even though weve talking about private messages, they do also bring forth his own thoughts which, in my view, were very inappropriate. It was racist language.

Rydman has declined to apologise for using racist language in messages he sent to his then-girlfriend in 2016, instead affirming his commitment to the provisions on equality and non-discrimination in the government programme.

My starting point is that everyone in the government is committed to everything weve agreed on together, the upcoming government statement [on equality and non-discrimination]. At least I have; hopefully so has everyone else, he wrote on Twitter on Friday.

While Henriksson did not state whether the Swedish Peoples Party could back Rydman in a possible vote of confidence, she did express her concern about the message that is being sent outside Finland.

Well return to these questions of confidence when its time, and the time isnt in July. Well have a thorough discussion about the overall situation in the parliamentary group, she said.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) on Friday revealed that he had a discussion with his fellow ruling-party leaders in the wake of reporting about the private messages.

When [Helsingin Sanomats] story came out yesterday, I invited the chairpersons for a meeting this morning and we went through the issue together. Its good that Rydman has said hes committed to the provisions in the government programme, the premier stated to Helsingin Sanomat.

Rydmans affirmation, he added, was necessary because the government rejected all racist activity.

Even though they were only private messages, we cant accept the use of this kind of language in any circumstance. Racism cant be tolerated in any form in the work of a government minister, and its my duty  along with seeing to the government programmes implementation  that we hold on to this in the governments work, said Orpo.

The Finnish government communicated last week that it is continuing to draft its statement on promoting equality and non-discrimination with a view to presenting the statement to the parliament in the autumn. The government first announced it is drafting the statement following reporting on the old, racist comments of Minister of Finance Riikka Purra (PS).

Purra apologised for her stupid social media comments and the harm and grievance they understandably caused on Twitter on 11 July. Questions have persisted about whether the apology was sincere also within the government, however.

Orpo on Friday admitted that the government is ever more necessary following the news concerning Rydman.

The government must now have a lot of internal discussion because its necessary to make it clear to both Finns and people outside Finland that racism isnt tolerated in Finland, he stressed to Helsingin Sanomat.

Well continue to be a society where peoples origin doesnt matter. On the contrary, we want foreign skilled workers, investments and companies here. People who move here from other parts of the world are needed, and this is a message we must be able to tell clearly to Finns.

Also the Finns Party is committed to this, he viewed.

Going through old texts and statements is difficult, but its necessary that you reject them so that we can move forward and start complying with these principles.

Helsingin Sanomat wrote about Rydmans racist private messages on Thursday, the same day that Purra rejected the racism allegations surrounding the Finns Party. The Finns Party isnt racist, she insisted.

Meanwhile, Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho (PS) seemed to mock Orpos calls for zero tolerance for racism by tweeting that he promises to reject racism, citing racism against Finns in Finland as an example. The Finns Party has repeatedly resorted to such doubletalk in response to accusations, adopting a more conciliatory tone in the media while continuing to foment its radical supporters on social media.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
WYFOLD Riding for the Disabled has a new horse thanks to a donation.

John Price, from Henley, made the donation to celebrate his 50 years membership of the Freemasons and in memory of his late wife Iris, who was a member and fundraiser for the Chester & Wirral Group of Riding for the Disabled for many years.

The money was bolstered by a donation from the Oxfordshire Provincial Grand Lodge of Freemasons in appreciation of his service.

Mr Price, a member of Regattas Lodge that meets in Henley, said: It is a proud moment for me to make this donation in Iriss memory. She held the charity very close to her heart  quite an irony for a lady who was afraid of horses all her life.

Charity is very important to Freemasons and its a lesser-known fact that all masonic donations are made from monies collected from the membership. Through our grants to local and national charities, Freemasons are helping to tackle some of the most important issues facing society. With grants totalling 5.5 million each year, we are helping thousands of people in local communities to live happy, fulfilling lives and participate more actively in society.

The new driving horse, named Bumble, is a 12-year-old Comtois, a French draft horse known for its pulling power and sturdy frame. He is dark chestnut with a flaxen mane and tail.

Gill Rushworth, fundraising co-ordinator for the charity, said: This is an amazingly generous donation and we shall keep in close contact with John to let him know about Bumbles progress. We are so grateful to the wonderful Masons who are always so supportive of our charity.

Mr Price is also planning to make a donation to Guide Dogs For The Blind.

Pictured with Bumble are, left to right, are Chelsi Gardner (volunteer), Huw Shooter (Regattas Lodge) John Price, Gill Rushworth and James Hilditch (head of Oxfordshire Freemasons).
RESIDENTS of Sonning Common and Emmer Green have welcomed a proposed cycleway between the two places.

A total of 1,212 people responded to an online questionnaire devised by Sonning Common Parish Councils cycleway working party.

Fifty four per cent of respondents were from Emmer Green and 46 per cent from Sonning Common.

Ninety-eight per cent of all respondents supported the proposal, which was first suggested last year when the working party became part of the council.

The cycle path would be adjacent to the B481 and could be used by cyclists, pedestrians and even people with mobility scooters. A 30-page report on the proposal has been submitted to Oxfordshire County Council, the highways authority.

Presenting the results of the survey to a meeting of Sonning Common Parish Council, Councillor Neville Varnham said that 90 per cent of respondents said that they regularly travelled between the two settlements.

Almost half (48 per cent) said they would be more likely to cycle the route if a safe cycleway was in place and more than half said the busy B481 was currently not safe for cyclists.

The working party found strong evidence to support the idea that the cycleway would increase the potential for Greener Travel between the villages. Fifty seven per cent said they would use the cycleway regularly and another 33 per cent said they would use it at least once a month.

Cllr Varnham said: This confirms the view that theres a real desire to see a cycleway linking Sonning Common and Emmer Green.

He said the working party would need to:

 Secure the co-operation of landowners affected by the proposed route.

 Identify an appropriate legal entity that would own the cycleway, which could be the parish council.

 Decide whether to partner with Sustrans, which runs the National Cycle Network, or

Greenways and Cycleroutes.

Cllr Varnham said the principle of a link between the two communities was included in Oxfordshire County Councils draft strategic network plan but this did not make it a priority.

He said: The tools that they use to determine whether cycleways will be used intensively tend to favour urban settings, so were on the list but are they ready to give us the money tomorrow? Unfortunately not.

Cllr Varnham said the cycleway would cost about 375,000 to build.

He said: Weve got no significant civil engineering to do, weve got no bridges to build, and theres no significant flood risk. Its all reasonably level and earthworks as opposed to hard construction.

Councillor Jonny Bidgood, who leads the cycleway group, appealed to any residents with fundraising experience to join the working party, adding: Getting these funds is tricky.

Councillor Vicky Boorman said: I want to say well done for getting that many responses because thats a really important thing to show Oxfordshire County Council.

The feedback youve had is why they really need to take it

seriously.

Paul Waterman, who lives in Sonning Common, said: Theres a tendency to talk mainly about cyclists but we must remember that theres great potential for people to walk this peaceful route away from the main road.

As a frequent visitor to the Netherlands, where I leisure cycle, I have encountered people with mobility scooters travelling five or more miles from home.

We must remember to open up for all branches of society who might prefer to get out of their cars.

Councillor Sara McLellan said she was concerned about development on land around the cycleway, which would urbanise the area and narrow the gap between the village and Emmer Green.
In a world that is constantly evolving, many investors are looking for innovative investment solutions that can withstand uncertainties and capitalize on emerging opportunities. Bajaj Finserv Asset Management Limited, a new entrant in the mutual fund category, has introduced an exciting addition to its product lineup - the Bajaj Finserv Flexi Cap Fund. This article explores the key aspects of this fund, its investment strategy, and how it aims to offer the investor reasonable returns by combining the power of megatrends with their unique INQUBE philosophy.

Understanding the flexi cap fund category

The flexi cap fund category may prove to be a wise choice for investors looking for flexibility in their portfolio allocation. Unlike many other equity-oriented funds, flexi cap funds have the liberty to invest across the market capitalization. This means that the fund manager can allocate investments in large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap stocks based on the prevailing market conditions. This dynamic approach allows the flexi cap fund to adapt to changing market scenarios and seize potential opportunities.

Introducing Bajaj Finserv Flexi Cap Fund

Bajaj Finserv Flexi Cap Fund is designed to cater to various investor preferences, risk appetites, and investment horizons. The fund aims to provide long-term capital appreciation by strategically investing in equity and equity-related instruments of companies that exhibit strong growth potential. However, what sets this fund apart is its unique approach of incorporating megatrends strategy and the INQUBE philosophy.

Bajaj Finserv Flexi Cap Fund - Investing with a megatrends strategy

Megatrends are global, long-term, and transformational forces that have the potential to shape various sectors and industries. Examples of Megatrends include technological advancements, regulatory changes, demographic and social changes, etc. Bajaj Finserv Flexi Cap Fund identifies and focuses on such megatrends, aiming to invest in companies that are positioned to benefit from these long-term trends.

By capitalizing on megatrends, the scheme aims to be future-focused and invest in companies that have the potential to generate sustainable growth over an extended period. This strategy not only seeks to optimize returns but also aligns with the broader objectives of responsible investing.

In Bajaj Finserv Flexi Cap Fund, the megatrends approach complements sectoral and stock selection strategies by providing an additional layer of analysis. Fund managers utilize this approach to identify an investible universe of companies. Subsequently, they employ stock selection processes and tools to further narrow down the selection to a focused megatrend portfolio.

Entry decisions for the portfolio are guided by the confirmation of near-term trends and the evaluation of overreactions to positive or negative triggers. On the other hand, exit decisions are influenced by an overreaction to long-term trends, the emergence of new trends, and indicators suggesting the maturity of long-term trend growth. By actively monitoring these factors, fund managers aim to optimize the composition of the portfolio and capitalize on evolving market dynamics.

Fund manager at Bajaj Finserv Mutual Fund have identified a couple of megatrends that fits three criteria:

Monetizable

Large scope

Right phase of life cycle

The INQUBE Philosophy: A path to achieving goals

Bajaj Finserv Flexi Cap Fund's investment approach is powered by the INQUBE philosophy, which acts as a guiding force in their decision-making process. The INQUBE philosophy is a unique blend of informational, quantitative, and behavioral analysis.

Information Edge: Its about collecting relevant information about economies, businesses, and markets ahead of the others to outperform the market based on superior information.

Analytical (Quantitative) Edge: Even in scenarios where the investors dont have material information earlier than the crowd, they can still generate better outcomes if they are able to process the information better. Investors develop models and algorithms with enhanced predictive power to forecast the next move. This is the analytical or the quantitative edge.

Behavioural Edge: This edge is achieved by superior behaviour in reacting to the inputs available to seek to maximize alpha. Behavioural managers try to exploit situations where securities are mispriced by the market because of behavioural factors.

Key features of Bajaj Finserv Flexi Cap Fund

Follows megatrend investment strategy

Mix of a top-down and bottom-up investment process

Investible opportunity across market cap

INQUBE investment philosophy which brings information, quantitative, and behavioral understanding to the portfolio

In conclusion, Bajaj Finserv Flexi Cap Fund can be a suitable addition to the investors portfolio, offering them a better return potential through its unique combination of the megatrends strategy and the INQUBE philosophy. By capitalizing on long-term transformational forces and leveraging the power of data-driven analysis, the fund aims to provide investors with a path to achieving their financial goals. As with any investment, investors are advised to conduct due diligence and seek professional advice to ensure that Bajaj Finserv Flexi Cap Fund aligns with their financial objectives and risk tolerance.

Mutual Fund Investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.

This document should not be treated as endorsement of the views / opinions or as an investment advice. This document should not be construed as a research report or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. This document is for information purpose only and should not be construed as a promise on minimum returns or safeguard of capital. This document alone is not sufficient and should not be used for the development or implementation of an investment strategy. The recipient should note and understand that the information provided above may not contain all the material aspects relevant for making an investment decision. Investors are advised to consult their own investment advisor before making any investment decision in light of their risk appetite, investment goals and horizon. This information is subject to change without any prior notice.

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. This information does not constitute a financial advice.
August has a special place in the hearts of many Indians for it signals the start of the festive season. It is one of the most pleasant and alluring months of the year. The weather during this time of the year is great as the monsoon is in its full glory. There is greenery all around and the air is refreshing.

Having said that, the rainy season is best enjoyed when you have the leisure of time. There are plenty of outdoor things you can do and try to have wonderful new experiences with your loved ones. So, if you are looking for the best places to visit in August in India, we have got your back!

We list down some of the best places across India that would make your holiday exciting and unforgettable. Not to mention, you would get an opportunity to experience the local culture and traditions like never before through the various festivals celebrated in these places.

Best Places to Visit in August in India

Lonavala, Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a land of rich culture, historic monuments, and surreal natural beauty. Among the best places to go in August in India, Lonavala tops our list for a reason. It is one of the most popular hill stations in Maharashtra and a go-to weekend getaway destination for the residents from the nearby cities, especially from Mumbai, and Pune.

Nestled in the mighty Western Ghats, the hill town is at its prettiest best during the monsoon season. The pleasant weather and the stunning natural surroundings will surely help you forget all your worries and enjoy being in the present.

Also, August is a wonderful time of the year to witness one of Maharashtras most loved festivals, Raksha Bandhan, which is also celebrated as Narali Poornima. It is the festival that celebrates the love of brothers and sisters. So, if you are anywhere in Maharashtra during the festival, you can indulge in the yummy local delicacies, like nariyal barfi, puran poli, modak, shrikhand, and many more.

Where to stay in Lonavala?

Nestled on a hillock amidst verdant greenery, Club Mahindra Tungi Resort is encompassed by the majestic Sahyadri mountains. This expansive 42-acre retreat offers stunning panoramic views of the serene Pawna Lake. It is inarguably the best resort in Maharashtra, away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Alappuzha, Kerala

August is the best time of the year to visit this divine city in Gods Own Country. The stunning natural beauty of Alappuzha in Kerala is incomparable. And, in August, the beauty of the overflowing rivers, the gushing waterfalls and the greenery makes you feel like you are in a fairy tale land.

Alleppeys natural beauty is not the only reason why it has found its way in our best places to visit in August in India list. It is also the time of the year when tourists from all over the world flock here to witness one of Keralas most iconic events, the Snake Boat Race.

The race, which is held on the Punnamada Lake is a sight that you should experience at least once in your lifetime. So, plan your holiday now and get the ball rolling to enjoy a peaceful vacation without any last-minute hassles.

Where to stay in Alappuzha?

Offering a harmonious blend of leisure and spirituality, Club Mahindra Arookutty Resort in Alappuzha creates unforgettable experiences inspired by nature, local community, and culture.

Jodhpur, Rajasthan

When you talk about the best places to travel in August in India, you cannot leave out Jodhpur. One of the most popular tourist cities in Rajasthan, Jodhpur is a testimony to why the state is called the Land of the Royals. The city has an undeniable royal vibe, and you can feel it from every nook and cranny as the iconic, and towering monuments around the city take you back in time to the royal era.

You can spend any number of days here and yet you may never have enough of it. The cool weather and the lower number of tourists in August will make your holiday experience even better. While you are here in August, exploring the magnificent palaces and forts, it is also a wonderful time to get a closer look at the local traditions and Teej festival celebrations.

The day celebrates the divine unison of Lord Shiva and his consort, Goddess Parvati. The festival holds great cultural and religious significance for the locals, and they celebrate with great fanfare.

Where to stay in Jodhpur?

Pratap Niwas Palace, an affiliate of Club Mahindra, is where you will have a holiday full of luxury and royalty. Immerse yourself in the grandeur of this resort, from its magnificent architecture to the royal welcome and sumptuous delicacies.

New Delhi

The capital city of India is a popular tourist place. It is an incredible destination that attracts tourists of all kinds. Whether you are a history buff, an architecture enthusiast or a leisure traveller, there are plenty of places to visit and things to do here that will interest you.

Unlike the winter months, you may not see plenty of tourists here in August. This allows you to explore the popular tourist attractions at your own pace without the hassles of dealing with crowds. Also, August is a wonderful time to witness the Independence Day Parade.

The iconic march of the defence personnel and the flag hoisting ceremony at Red Fort is an event that you must not miss. The parade showcases Indias diverse culture and the rich history and heritage of different regions.

All these, coupled with the chance to indulge in the ever-so-famous Delhi food at various iconic joints makes Delhi one of the best places in India to visit in August.

So, pick a city, and get set going. With August just around the corner, a wonderful family holiday awaits you! Happy Holidays!

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.
Taiwan's Foxconn has signed an agreement with India's Tamil Nadu to invest 16 billion rupees ($194 million) in a new electronic components manufacturing facility that will create 6,000 jobs, the government of the southern state said on Monday. Foxconn Chairman Young Liu (Reuters)

The facility will be for Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII), a Foxconn unit, with the proposed campus coming up at the Kancheepuram district near the state capital of Chennai, a state government source said on condition of anonymity as the details are not yet public.

The facility will be separate from the current sprawling campus near Chennai where Foxconn assembles Apple's iPhones and employs more than 35,000 people, the source said.

"This is a major achievement for the state," Tamil Nadu Minister for Industries TRB Rajaa said in a statement, after Foxconn Chairman Young Liu and other representatives met with the state officials including its chief minister.

Foxconn did not respond to a request for comment.

Liu has been in India to attend the federal government's semiconductor conference that ended on Sunday.

Reuters reported last week that the Foxconn subsidiary was in talks with Tamil Nadu about the investment, with the company aiming for the plant's completion in 2024.

Foxconn's FII makes electronic devices, cloud service equipment and industrial robots. It was not immediately clear if the new India plant would make components for iPhones or for other companies, or both.

Foxconn plans to quadruple the workforce at its iPhone factory in Tamil Nadu by late 2024 in a bid to spread its bets beyond China, Reuters reported last year.
Indian rice exporters have been receiving requests from buyers to advance shipments of basmati rice after New Delhi banned exports of non-basmati white rice to dampen local prices, industry officials told Reuters. Government of India's decision to ban export of non-basmati rice has triggered a hoarding race among Indian-Americans.(Getty Images)

The world's biggest exporter of rice surprised buyers earlier this month by imposing a ban on exports of non-basmati white rice after retail rice prices climbed 3% in a month after late but heavy monsoon rains caused significant damage to crops.

"Buyers are requesting early shipments because they fear that the government might put restrictions on exports of basmati rice as well," said Atul Garg, managing director at GRM Overseas , a leading exporter of basmati rice.

Buyers usually sign long-term contracts with the assurance of dispatching a certain quantity every month. However, some of the buyers are now requesting to ship in August what was supposed to be shipped in September and October, he said.

ALSO READ: Hoarding game! Indians in US and Canada stock up rice after govt bans export, long queues outside grocery stores

India exported around 4.5 million metric tons of basmati rice in 2022/23, with Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and the United States among the top buyers.

Non-basmati white rice, which India has banned for export, is mainly purchased by Senegal, Benin, Togo, Bangladesh, and Cote d'Ivoire.

India never banned exports of basmati rice in the past but did impose export taxes in 2008.

"We are assuring buyers that there is no possibility of a ban on basmati rice exports but some buyers are afraid due to the government's recent decisions," said another exporter based in New-Delhi.

India banned wheat exports in a surprise move in 2022 and later imposed restrictions on exports of sugar and rice.

Basmati rice is mainly produced in northern states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh, which were flooded earlier this year because of extremely heavy rainfall.

But basmati rice growing areas have increased in 2023 and production is likely to be higher than last year, said Vijay Setia, an exporter.

"Many farmers in Uttar Pradesh are shifting to basmati rice from non-basmati because of higher prices," Setia said.
The central government has received Haryanas proposal for granting Panjab University affiliation to its colleges in three districts bordering Punjab. Chandigarh administrator Banwarilal Purohit had held two meetings with Punjab and Haryana on June 1 and July 3 to reach a consensus, but both remained inconclusive. (HT File)

However, affiliation of a college falls under the purview of rules and regulations set forth by the respective universities.

Minister of state for education Dr Subhas Sarkar said in response to a question raised by member of Parliament Harsimrat Kaur Badal during Lok Sabhas ongoing monsoon session.

Such matters are governed by the jurisdiction provided in relevant legislative enactments. The establishment of Panjab University is governed by the Panjab University Act, 1947, which outlines the composition of its statutory bodies, said Dr Sarkar.

In June, Haryana had sought PU affiliation for colleges in states Panchkula, Ambala and Yamunanagar districts in exchange for financial assistance to the varsity to help it tide over fund crunch. Haryana chief minister (CM) Manohar Lal Khattar had offered to contribute up to 40% of the total annual expenses needed to run the university.

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann had rejected his Haryana counterparts proposal, saying his government was committed to avert any change in the nature and character of the university.

UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit had held two meetings with Punjab and Haryana on June 1 and July 3 to reach a consensus, but both remained inconclusive. The governor had intervened after Union home minister Amit Shahs suggestion in the Northern Zonal Council meeting that such issues should be resolved locally.

On June 30, the Punjab Vidhan Sabha passed a unanimous resolution, opposing any attempt to change the present status of the Panjab University in any form.

Universitys growing financial crisis

The universitys financial crisis is growing by the year. As per the budget documents for the 2023-24 academic session, the University Grants Commission (UGC) will pay a grant of 294 crore and Punjab will pay 38 crore. Yet there will be a deficit of 118 crore in this years budget. Arrears worth 200 crore are also pending.

In March, the UGC had said there was no possibility of any further increase in the grant of PU at this stage. After Haryana and Himachal Pradesh withdrew their share in 1976, a consultative committee of the central government had fixed the funding ratio between the Centre and Punjab government at 60:40.
New York : A 40-year-old Indian-origin man, extradited from Canada to the United States, has pleaded guilty to smuggling Indians to the US between March 2020 to March 2021, officials here said. A 40-year-old Indian-origin man, Simranjit Singh, extradited from Canada to the United States, has pleaded guilty to smuggling Indians to the US between March 2020 to March 2021, officials here said.

Simranjit Singh was taken into custody on June 28, 2022, in Ontario, and was extradited from Canada to the US on March 30, 2023, United States attorneys office northern district of New York said in a press release.

In pleading guilty, Singh admitted that from at least March of 2020 through March of 2021, he facilitated the smuggling of numerous Indian nationals from Canada into the United States, via Cornwall Island and the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation in the St Lawrence River region, for profit, the release said.

Singhs sentencing is scheduled for December 28.

He faces a mandatory term of five years in prison and up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to USD 250,000 (over 2 crore), and a term of supervised release of up to three years, the release said.

Singh will be subject to deportation following the conclusion of his sentence, it said.

According to documents released in April, some migrants who say their entry into the US was facilitated by Singh told American law enforcement that he charged them between USD 5,000 and USD 35,000 (between 4 lakh and 28 lakh), online portal ctvnews.ca reported.
The Border Security Force (BSF) claimed it foiled an infiltration bid and shot dead a Pakistan intruder along the India-Pakistan International Border in Jammus Arnia area. BSF personnel patrol near the International Border after foiling an infiltration attempt in Arnia sector on the outskirts of Jammu on Monday. (PTI)

The intruder was gunned down by the alert border guards when he ignored the repeated warnings and tried to flee after managing to cross the border fence near Jabowal border outpost in Arnia sector here around 1.45 am, they said.

Confirming the incident, a BSF spokesman said, In the intervening night of July 30-July 31, the vigilant troops observed suspicious movement across the International Border (IB) in the Arnia border area.

An intruder was observed approaching towards the BSF fence and the troops neutralised him and thwarted the infiltration attempt. Officials said the body was shifted to Bishnah hospital for post-mortem. The officials said 440 in Pakistan currency, a bag containing over 4-kg flour, two biscuit packets, a watch and a glass were recovered from the possession of the slain intruder, whose identity could not be ascertained immediately.

On July 25, a Pakistan intruder carrying over 4-kg of high-grade heroin was gunned down by the BSF in Ramgarh sector of Samba district. Pakistan refused the body of the smuggler and later it was buried at a graveyard by police in Ramgarh sector.

(With inputs from PTI)
Residents of the Bahadur Ke Road area have been at the receiving end of a failing sewerage system and dilapidated roads, which are often left covered under slush and sewer discharge. Residents of Bahadurke village are grappling with clogged sewerage and damaged roads in Ludhiana. (HT PHOTO)

The conditions worsen every monsoon and despite multiple complaints, little has materialised in terms of repairs works being carried out by the municipal corporation and gram panchayat.

Notably, the stretch of Bahadur Ke Road passing through the vegetable market comes under the jurisdiction of the civic body, while the portion from Manmohan Colony onward falls under the Bahadur Ke Village, which is governed by the gram panchayat.

An MC problem

The stretch under the civic body care lies eroded, with the inner lanes of the area being worse off. Even short spells of rainfall leaves behind puddles, while the road gets flooded after heavy showers. Sewerage discharge mixing with rainwater further accentuates the problems, leaving residents, commuters and local vendors to face the major brunt.

Balkaur Singh, a long-time resident near Bahadur Ke Road, expressed his concern over the persisting sewerage problem, saying, I have lived here for a decade, and the issue has remained unresolved for several years. I urge the authorities concerned to take prompt action and address the matter.

Chamkaur, another resident of the locality, echoed the sentiments, pointing out that the sewerage system in the area gets clogged often, causing immense inconvenience to the residents. He particularly emphasised the difficulties faced during rain rainwater and the discharge from overflowing manholes flooding the road.

Addressing the issue superintending engineer Ravinder Garg said, awaited

Village area no better off

The stretch of road from Manmohan Colony onward, which falls under Bahadur Ke Village, has residents grappling with clogged sewerage pipes and damaged roads as well. Residents have repeatedly flagged the gram panchayats alleged failure to carry out repairs.

Jatinder Singh, a resident of the village, expressed his concerns, saying the waterlogged roads make for a breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies. He pointed out that many development projects have come to a standstill in recent years before urging the chief minister to allocate necessary funds to the gram panchayat so that they can undertake and complete development projects in the village.

Sukhwinder Singh, a panchayat member, spoke of the financial challenges faced by the gram panchayat. He alleged that the gram panchayat had 8.75 lakh in its account, but when the current state government came into power, the funds were taken back, leaving the panchayat without the necessary resources for development projects.

He added that they have submitted written appeals to the local member of legislative assembly (MLA), seeking financial support from the government for essential projects.
Former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said her father former J&K chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had put precondition before Prime Minister Narendra Modi for government formation in J&K that Article 370 wont be touched, however BJP backtracked from its promise. PDP on Monday celebrated its 24th foundation day with programmes being held at almost all district headquarters. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti being greeted by supporters during a rally organised to celebrate the party's 24th foundation day at Sher-e-Kashmir Park in Srinagar on Monday. (PTI)

Party president Mehbooba Mufti attended a rally of workers at citys SK park. PDP founder Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had put a precondition before Prime Minister Narendra Modi for government formation in Jammu and Kashmir in 2015, seeking an assurance that Article 370 of the Constitution will not be removed by the Centre, Mehbooba Mufti said adding that her father Mufti Sayeed was not power hungry and wanted to deliver Jammu and Kashmir from its problems and troubles.

When Mufti sahib had 28 seats (in the 2014 Assembly polls), he met Modi and gave his list of conditions for government formation. He took the assurance from the BJP government (at the Centre) that (Article) 370 will not be touched. He tied their hands. He was not after power, otherwise he would not take three months to form the (coalition) government (in Jammu and Kashmir), she said.

Mufti alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) backtracked from its commitments and accused it of trying to pressure on the people of Jammu and Kashmir into subjugation. The BJP wants us to throw in the towel. They want us raise while flag. We will not do it. If all of us  Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Gujjars, Paharis  stand united, we will make the BJP give up, she said.

Mufti, said her father had the courage to stand for people.Despite having only 16 MLAs (in the 2002 Assembly polls, Mufti sahib told the Congress (which had 20 seats) that he would form the government only if talks were held with Pakistan and separatists, she said.

Mufti said her father did not believe in misleading people and firmly believed that Jammu and Kashmirs future was with India.

Despite being the (Pradesh) Congress president, he accepted the decision taken by Indira Gandhi in 1975 to bring back Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah into the mainstream, she said.

Mufti said during her fathers first term as chief minister, significant progress was made on both the reconciliation and development fronts in Jammu and Kashmir. The Advani-Hurriyat talks were held, the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road was re-opened and development work got a fillip, she said. Mufti asked the BJP what did it achieve by doing away with the special constitutional provisions regarding Jammu and Kashmir.

What have you achieved in Kashmir? Jawaharlal Nehru came to Lal Chowk and unfurled the national flag with thousands of Kashmiris present. Today, you hoist the tricolour and no Kashmiri is there, only security people, she said.

Mufti alleged that the BJP is trying to convert the entire country into Manipur and appealed to the opposition parties to stay united in order to counter these attempts. Manipur is just a trailer, the film is yet to start. The BJP wants to turn the entire country into Manipur. My appeal to the opposition is to stay united if they want to save India. Do not get into number games, she said.

Mufti hit out at the government for making a provision for nominating Kashmiri migrants to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, instead of reserving seats for the community. You have kept a provision for nominating Kashmiri Pandits. If you have the courage, you should reserve the seats and we will vote for them just like we have done in the past. Constituencies with a Muslim population have elected Pyare Lal Handoo, M L Fotedar, Manohar Koul, D P Dhar etc. I also want to ask, why no reservation for Sikhs? Because you cannot do Hindu-Muslim (politics) if you give reservations to Sikhs, she said.

The PDP chief said her party is not the problem, but solution to the issue.

We are not the problem. We are the solution. We want a solution to emerge within the democratic set up, she said.
CPI(M) leader and former deputy mayor of Shimla Municipal Corporation Tikender Singh Panwar has filed an FIR against the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and its associates, accusing them of using unscientific methods during the construction of a four-lane national highway between Parwanoo and Solan in Himachal Pradesh. A case has been registered against NHAIs executing and planning officers based and GR Infra Projects, a company which executed the four-lane stretch from Parwanoo to Solan. (HT file photo)

A case has been registered against NHAIs executing and planning officers based and GR Infra Projects, a company which executed the four-lane stretch from Parwanoo to Solan.

Panwar emphasised that it was the responsibility of the NHAI and the construction company to ensure minimum damage to the hills during the projects construction. He accused them of not consulting the geological department while preparing the project report, which he believes to be erroneous.

He alleges that the construction not only damaged the natural ecosystem but also resulted in significant loss of human lives and assets in the state.

Highlighting that the design of the cutting was flawed, Panwar said it was done vertically instead of in slopes, causing perpetual problems for the people.

The former deputy mayor and urban expert expressed that NHAI and the executing company should be tried for criminal neglect.

During the monsoon season every year, driving on Parwanoo-Shimla four-lane becomes a nightmarish experience for commuters due to multiple landslides. The four-lane gets blocked for traffic due to landslides and sometimes there is also loss of human lives and private property.

He said more such cases would be registered in Kullu and other parts of the state where there is sheer negligence by the agencies concerned and it has caused damages. This is a kind of alarming bell in the region, we have seen in Kullu similar work has been done in Kullu also we are going to register another complaint, he further added.

(With inputs from ANI)
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday said the Congress leadership has decided to meet ministers and senior leaders of the party from the state on August 2 in New Delhi, to strategise on a plan of action for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Cong leadership to meet K'taka Ministers, party leaders ahead of Lok Sabha polls

Also Read - What is this nonsense: Neighbour tells Siddaramaiah on parking woes

The meeting gains significance amid brewing discontent within the ruling party, with as many as 30 legislators reportedly having written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the party leadership expressing concern over non-implementation of development works in their constituencies and functioning of certain ministers. "Yes, we have a political agenda, we have to finalise the plan of action for the Parliament (election), and how to go ahead with the Parliament (election). I want to fix the responsibility for all the leaders for the Parliament election and ticket (distribution) process," Shivakumar said in response to a question on state leaders going to Delhi for a meeting on August 2. Speaking to reporters, he said, "How the candidate has to be selected, whether any minister or MLAs have to be in the field, who has to be responsible. We have to fix criteria for that, so they have called all the senior leaders." AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, party leader Rahul Gandhi, General Secretaries K C Vengopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala among others are likely to participate in the Delhi meeting.

Asked whether the meeting has also been called following dissent in the party, as some leaders are not happy, Shivakumar said there is no dissidence in the party and some MLAs had only requested for a CLP meeting, which was accordingly held last week. "Some leaders had requested to call for CLP because earlier when it (CLP) meeting was called, national leaders of various parties had come to Bengaluru for INDIA (alliance) meeting, and CLP meeting had to be postponed," he said, adding that after the August 2 meeting, the chief minister and himself will be calling a meeting of all district leaders and look at various issues concerning them. Several legislators are said to be miffed and have complained that they had not been able to get work done in their constituencies, and have not been granted transfers (of government servants) as requested. They are said to have expressed unhappiness regarding some ministers, alleging that they were not cooperating with them. The Delhi meeting is taking place in the backdrop of the recent statement by senior party leader and MLC B K Hariprasad, that he knows how to make and bring down a chief minister, and Shivakumar's own claims that a plot was being hatched in Singapore to topple the government.

Senior MLA B R Patil on Sunday said he threatened to resign during the recent Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting, citing "self-respect". The behaviour and conduct of certain ministers has upset some legislators, Patil said, as he warned that their fight would continue, if it is not corrected. Asked about Patil's comments, Shivakumar said, "He is a very sensitive man, he is a great friend of ours, he is an important leader of the party. He has (raised) some ethical issues. He had given a request. On his request only the CM had called for a meeting".

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The weekly count of dengue cases in the national Capital has doubled over the last week with Delhi reporting 56 new dengue cases ever since, the mosquito borne disease report issued by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Monday said. The overall count of dengue cases reported till July 28 now stands at 243 cases. (ANI photo)

The city had recorded 24 dengue cases in the preceding weekly cycle.

With the addition of 56 new cases, the overall count of dengue cases reported till July 28 now stands at 243 cases.

The current level of dengue case count is the highest over the last six years.

In comparison to the 243 dengue cases reported between January 1 and July 28, 2023, the city had reported 169 cases in the corresponding period in 2022, 52 cases in 2021, 31 in 2020, 40 cases in 2019 and 56 cases in 2018.

Also Read: Drones to check vector breeding, spray pesticide in Delhi

An MCD official stated that besides parts of city facing flooding and waterlogging over the last month, the rise in cases can also be attributed to it being declared as notifiable disease last year which led to better reporting from healthcare institutes.

The zonal distribution of these 243 cases shows that 129 of these cases have emerged in MCD areas, 17 in NDMC region and 12 cases in Delhi cantonment areas, five under Railways while 80 remained untraced after investigation.

Within the MCD jurisdiction areas, the west zone, South zone and Najafgarh zones have reported maximum cases.

The health department of Delhi government had conducted genome sequencing of the dengue virus and found that 19 out of 20 samples were of type 2 dengue, which is considered more dangerous.

The Delhi government has announced its vector borne disease control action plan for this year which includes deployment of drones for mosquito surveillance and control in vulnerable areas, using existing 1031 helpline number which was used during the COVID pandemic to facilitate dengue treatment and also taking assistance of ASHA workers to raise awareness about dengue prevention.

On Friday, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal reviewed the dengue preparedness in the city.

As part of its efforts to check the spread dengue, the government has increased fines for unchecked mosquito breeding to 1000 for households and 5000 for commercial establishments.

Meanwhile, the Domestic Breeding Checkers (DBCs)-- who are public health department workers deployed to counter spread of mosquito borne diseases in Delhi have organised a general strike from Monday as consultative talks between the civic body and unions failed to reach a consensus.

DBC union are demanding payment of their pending salaries and regularisation of services as permanent workers of corporation.

Devanand Sharma, who heads the union, said the workers are also facing salary pendency of two to three months.

The written assurances made after the last strike in March 2022 have not been fulfilled. We are demanding our basic human rights, Sharma said.

DBCs are deployed by the public health department to detect mosquito breeding sites, use larvicide and fogging for mosquito control along with raising awareness about vector borne diseases.

Dr Sumit Ray, head of the department of critical care medicine and medical director at Holy Family Hospital said the type 2 strain of dengue is dangerous and there is no direct medicine for dengue, so health care workers mostly focus on managing the complications that arise with disease.

The disease must be controlled at source, breeding of mosquitoes and mosquito bites need to be prevented. Tackling it at source is necessary at this stage, he said.

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Eighteen people were arrested from a Vasant Kunj farmhouse which was allegedly being used as a fake call centre to target Americans by threatening to falsely implicate them for downloading child pornography on their computers, said the Delhi Polices crime branch on Monday. TOPSHOT - A Delhi police barrier blocks a street during a Delhi state-wide weekend curfew imposed by the authorities to curb the spreading of the Covid-19 coronavirus in New Delhi on January 8, 2022. (Photo by Prakash SINGH / AFP) (AFP)

The arrested persons included the alleged owner of the call centre, his partners, and 14 tele-callers who also lived in the same three-storey farmhouse located on Church Road in south Delhis Vasant Kunj, said Ravindra Singh Yadav, special commissioner of police (crime branch).

The raid was carried on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday after they received a tip-off about American citizens being cheated on the pretext of providing technical support.

When the police team landed at the farmhouse, they allegedly found 14 tele-callers busy making calls through their laptops, each of which was found to be containing conversation scripts which guided the callers in trapping their victims, said Yadav.

The tele-callers would first send pop-ups on the computers of Americans saying that their system was hacked, and would offer a toll-free number as tech support. They would threaten them with uploading pornographic content on their systems, Yadav said.
KOLKATA: Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee,79, who was admitted to a private hospital in south Kolkata on Saturday, was taken off invasive ventilation on Monday afternoon, doctors said. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee speaks to the media after seeing former CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya at Woodlands Hospital (ANI)

We have been able to take him out of invasive ventilation successfully. His vital parameters are stable. He is now on non-invasive ventilation. The next 24 hours are crucial, said a doctor from the nine-member medical board set up for the veteran CPI(M) leader.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee visited the hospital on Monday afternoon. I think he waved at me. He appears to be stable now. Doctors will be able to explain better, she said in the presence of the members of the medical board.

Bhattacharjee was electively intubated and ventilated on Saturday night because of altered sensorium and breathing problem, Dr Rupali Basu, chief executive officer and managing director of the hospital, said in a statement on Sunday.

The statement said the CPI(M) leader was admitted with lower respiratory tract infection and Type-II respiratory failure.

Kaushik Chakraborty, a doctor from the nine-member panel of specialists, told the media on Saturday that they will wait for at least two days for Bhattacharjee to respond to the antibiotics administered to counter the respiratory tract infection.

CT scan of his lungs showed on Monday that the antibiotics have brought down the infection level, one of the doctors said.

Bhattacharjee was admitted to the same hospital for a week in May 2021 and for six days in October 2020.

The CPI(M) leader, who lives in a small two-room government apartment in south Kolkatas Ballygunge area, is a patient of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He has rarely left home in the last few years.

Governor C V Ananda Bose and leaders from several parties, including the BJP, have visited the hospital since Saturday.
On the fourth Monday of the holy month of Sawan, the district administration showered flower petals on thousands of Kanwariyas at Sangam and at all major Ganga ghats, including Phaphamau and Dashashwamedh ghats besides prominent Shiva temples and routes to Varanasi in Prayagraj. Flower petals being showered on Kanwariyas in Prayagraj on Monday. (HT PHOTO)

As part of their annual pilgrimage trek to Varanasi, Shiva devotees fill the sacred water of the Ganga from the riverbanks and offer it at Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, the abode of Baba Vishwanath.

Moved by the welcome, the ghats teeming with Kanwariyas of all age groups reverberated with the chants of bam bam bhole and har har Mahadev as the chopper carrying district magistrate Sanjay Kumar Khatri, DCP (trans-Ganga) Abhishek Bharti, DCP Abhinav Tyagi showered flower petals on them.

Bhanupratap, who embarked on a sacred journey to offer Ganga water to the Padila Mahadev Temple after collecting it from Dashashwamedh Ghat in Daraganj, was deeply touched by the immense respect and consideration shown to the devotees. He described it as not a shower of flowers, but a shower of blessings of Mahadev, which only a chief minister like Yogi Adityanath is capable of doing.

DM Sanjay Kumar Khatri said that on the instructions of the state government, flowers were showered. This gesture extended beyond the Sangam and the banks of the Ganga. The flowers were also showered on all the routes through which the Kanwariyas passed across districts, he added.

Since morning, devotees were seen forming a beeline at every small and big temple of lord Shiva with the maximum rush being witnessed at the revered Mankameshwar temple, Beni Madhav temple and Takshakeshwar Nath temple. Likewise, devotees in large numbers also turned up at Padila Mahadeo temple of Phaphamau.

Throwing light on the importance of the holy month of Shrawan, Pt Diwakar Tripathi Purvanchali, director of Utthan Jyotish Sansthan, Prayagraj said, Lord Shiva showers blessings on all those who worship him from their heart and the month of Sawan and especially the on the Somvars (Mondays), are considered highly auspicious for paying obeisance to lord Shiva.

It is believed that the worship of Shiva during sawan month is 108 times more impactful than worshipping on normal days, he added.

Foolproof arrangements in place

The administration has made all the arrangements for the convenience and safety of the devotees. According to the police commissioner of Prayagraj, Ramit Sharma, continuous patrolling is in effect on all the routes and ghats used by the devotees. The use of drones in sensitive areas offers an added layer of security. The administration is also giving attention to special monitoring and arrangement on the cut and contact routes. To enhance safety, signages have been installed at blind turns along the Kanwar Yatra routes. Additionally, measures have been taken to ensure that no egg-meat-fish shops are open on the route, as per specific orders issued to the police station personnel concerned.

Traditional dance, songs and music along with bhajan, kirtan and devotional songs are also allowed in the yatra, but the administration has appealed to the people to ensure that the sound of DJ, song-music etc. remained within the prescribed limits.
A 28-year-old man with disabilities was found dead after his thatched house caught fire in the wee hours of Monday, in Devi Pur village in Gorakhpur district, police said, adding they had questioned a few persons in connection with the case. On the complaint of the deceaseds kin, police said they were questioning the village head Priya, husband Virendra and their relatives for their alleged role in the fire, superintendent of police Manoj Kumar Awasthi confirmed.

Identified as Surendra Yadav, the deceased, previously a truck driver, had lost his limbs in an accident. His thatched house was situated on disputed land.

On the complaint of the deceaseds kin, police said they were questioning the village head Priya, husband Virendra and their relatives for their alleged role in the fire, superintendent of police Manoj Kumar Awasthi confirmed.

Meanwhile, heavy police force was deployed in the village where the incident angered the locals. District magistrate Krishna Karunesh, ADG Akhil Kumar and SSP Gaurav Grover also rushed to the village to pacify the locals.

Officials said the land on which the hut was built was an issue of dispute between Surendra, his uncle Ramjeet and Priya and her husband Virendra.
LUCKNOW A team of Gujarat government will arrive in the state capital on August 7 to study the methodology for working out the gross district domestic product (GDDP) in Uttar Pradesh. The state government brought out a booklet listing the GDDP of all the 75 districts and sensitised district officers about the methodology for calculation of GDDP. (Pic for representation)

The Gujarat government has appreciated the state governments efforts for working out the GDDP of districts. A team will be visiting Lucknow to study the UP governments methodology, said Alok Kumar-III, secretary, planning.

Kumar had made a presentation on the functioning of the state planning department before chief minister Yogi Adityanath here on Friday.

The state government brought out a booklet listing the GDDP of all the 75 districts and sensitised district officers about the methodology for calculation of GDDP.

The presentation also included measures for balanced regional development and a sum of 900 crore was earmarked for the development of Poorvanchal and Bundelkhand regions of the state.

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Bharatiya Janata Party MP Manoj Tiwari on Sunday said he is personally in favour of abolishing the Places of Worship Act 1991, adding that it is against the basic spirit of the Constitution and does not apply to the Gyanvapi case. BJP MP Manoj Tiwari speaks in the Lok Sabha during ongoing monsoon session of Parliament on Monday. (PTI Photo)

The Places of Worship Act 1991 states that the religious character of a place of worship existing as on 15 August 1947 shall continue to be the same as it existed on that day.

Tiwari, who represents Northeast Delhi constituency in the Lok Sabha, was speaking at the unveiling ceremony of the ancient model of the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, organised by Shri Adi Mahadev Kashi Dharmalay Mukti Nyas in Varanasi.

Some people said in Parliament that since Ram Mandir is being built, no more of such issues (such as Gyanvapi) should be raised, which is why they referred to the Places of Worship Act. This is the Modi government...if required, one more amendment will be made to the Constitution. The Modi government scrapped around 2,200 laws which were not good for the people, Tiwari said.

He further said, Our country has a long history where invaders came, destroyed temples, got those converted. Who were the invaders? The invaders were foreigners, the invaders were Mughals. They destroyed the temples... Such laws came into force under the earlier Congress governments, according to which you cannot file a case again on the issue of destroyed temples. This is against the basic spirit of the Constitution, as per which if there is any dispute, there will be justice and review.

The Gyanvapi case dates back long before the Places of Worship Act, 1991 came into effect. Therefore, it has nothing to do with it and doesnt apply to the case. I am personally in favour of abolition of this Act, he added.
The Uttar Pradesh government has worked out a monitoring system to ensure that it is moving ahead in the right direction and following the roadmap drawn to achieve the objective of boosting the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) to one trillion dollars in the next five years. The Uttar Pradesh government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a consultant on August 5, 2022, to work out the roadmap for the trillion-dollar objective. (FILE PHOTO)

The Uttar Pradesh government has worked out quarterly milestones and the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for all the sectors/departments, got feedback about them and is regularly assessing the progress in various fields in the state.

Those aware of the development said the Uttar Pradesh governments monitoring system includes sectoral reviews and weekly video conferencing with the district magistrates and other district-level officers at the chief secretarys level to review implementation of the roadmap for the trillion-dollar economy goal.

We have worked out a monitoring system. We have identified the KPIs for various departments and sectors and got feedback This will give us an idea whether the state government is moving ahead in the right direction to achieve the objective of making the state a trillion-dollar economy in the next five years. We are also developing dashboard for the purpose, said Alok Kumar-III, secretary, planning, and nodal officer for the one trillion-dollar economy project. He made a presentation about his departments performance before chief minister Yogi Adityanath last month.

The state government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the consultant Deloitte India on August 5, 2022, to work out the roadmap. Deloitte India submitted the roadmap to the state government on January 5, 2023. The state governments consultant incorporated the suggestions of various stakeholders and submitted a revised roadmap on May 24, 2023.

The state government also proposes to conduct 20 surveys/studies later this year to design a methodology to make a realistic assessment of the Gross State Domestic Product and the Gross District Domestic Product (GDDP). It also proposes to study consumption and supply of construction material.

The state planning departments presentation before the chief minister included other such proposed activities too for statistical strengthening.

The Giri Institute of Development Studies may be asked to conduct some of the proposed studies. A survey to identify an exhaustive list of flowers and ornamental/medicinal plants, capture the production and prices of high-value exotic fruits like dragon fruit, Kiwi, raspberry and strawberry may be conducted. The state government also proposes a survey to study socio-economic conditions of women and the increase in income of farmers in 2022-2023 against the income in 2017-2018.

A study on the state governments milk production capacity will also be conducted. The contribution of the hotel and tourism industry to GSDP is likely to be assessed as well.

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A 36-year-old woman, Saroj alias Komal, an alleged member of a gang involved in crimes like honey-trapping, extortion, kidnapping and murder, was arrested from a house in Rajajipuram colony, under the Talkatora police station limits, on Monday, said senior police officials. For representation only (HT File Photo)

They said that the woman had been elusive for the past 18 months after a case under different sections of UP Gangsters Act was registered against her at the PGI police station on February 22, 2022.

The inspector in-charge of PGI police station, Rana Rajesh Kumar Singh, said that the then inspector in-charge of PGI police station, Dharam Pal Singh, got the UP Gangsters Act case registered against her and four other members of her gang, including Kaushal Kishore, Sunil Kumar, Awadhesh Singh and Golu Sharma alias Jugnu Sharma. He said the reward of 10,000 was announced on the woman after she remained elusive for several months.

Another police official said that the extortion racket was unearthed in February 2022 after the arrest of one Kaushal Kishore. He said the involvement of the woman and other persons had surfaced later following which they were made accused in the case as well as a fresh case of UP Gangsters Act was registered against them. He said the woman was arrested on a tip-off about her presence at a relatives house in Rajajipuram.
MUMBAI: A taxi driver was killed when a 26-year-old businessman, allegedly drunk, crashed his SUV into several parked cars at Bhulabhai Desai Road late on Sunday night. Another taxi driver was seriously injured in the incident in which the SUV, two parked taxis and a private vehicle were badly damaged. Mumbai, India - July 31, 2023: Vehicle of Taxi Driver parked outside Gamdevi Police station. A 26-year-old drunk businessman from Vile-Parle lost control of his speeding SUV ramming it into several parked cars in which one person lost his life and the other was seriously injured on Bhulabhai Desai road also called as Breach Candy in South Mumbai on Sunday late night, in Mumbai, India, on Monday, July 31, 2023. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The businessman, identified as Raunak Sameer Ganatra, a resident of Vile Parle, has been arrested and remanded to police custody till August 3. Ganatra runs an insurance marketing firm set up by his father.

According to the police, Ganatra spent Sunday evening with two friends in a pub in Fort and the three were headed towards the western suburbs when the incident took place around 1.30 am. Ganatra lost control over his Mahindra XUV and crashed the vehicle in high speed into several vehicles parked on the side of Bhulabhai Desai Road. The SUV first crashed into two parked taxis and pushed the taxis into a private car and then a Mahindra pick-up truck which halted the SUV from going any further, said Amar Nath, a taxi driver who witnessed the incident.

All vehicles except the pick-up truck are badly damaged and the extensive damage to the vehicles indicate that the SUV was speeding  perhaps at 130 kmph at the time, said a police officer. He added that the eyewitnesses to the incident told the police that the two women who were in the car got out immediately after the incident and fled the spot. Passers-by, mostly taxi drivers, apprehended the driver when he too tried to flee.

Anshkumar Sakindar Rai, 22, who had just got down from his taxi after parking it, was crushed between a taxi in which the XUV crashed first and the shutter of a shop. Dharmendra Rai, another taxi driver, who was watching something on his mobile phone while sitting in one of the parked taxis was seriously injured in the incident, said a police officer.

Police constable Rohidas Bhawari, a beat marshal attached to the Gamdevi police station, took the two injured to BYL Nair Hospital where Anshkumar was declared brought dead. Dharmendra is undergoing treatment for rib fracture and other injuries.

The Rais hail from Sitamarhi district of Bihar and lived in the Dariya Sagar slums behind the Mahalaxmi temple along with other taxi drivers. The victim, Anshkumar, had married just eight months back, said taxi driver Amar Nath.

The Gamdevi police, in whose jurisdiction the accident took place, said Ganatra appeared to be under the influence when he was apprehended, and his blood samples have been sent for analysis to ascertain the alcohol content in his blood.

Ganatra has been booked under Sections 304(II) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 338 (causing grievous hurt), 279 (rash driving) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 184 (driving dangerously), 185 (driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs) and 134 (duty of the driver in case of accident and injury to a person) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
Navi Mumbai: Eleven people of a fake Enforcement Directorate team, who carried out a heist inspired by the Bollywood potboiler Special 26 by raiding the house of a retired Public Works Department (PWD) officer, have been arrested. HT Image

Inspired by the movie, three friends had formed a fake ED team after a tip-off that the former officer had stacked cash of 80 crore in his house. They carried out a raid to seize the cash and made away with valuables worth 34.85 lakh, including cash and gold ornaments.

Rabale police arrested 11 accused, who were allegedly involved in the ED team, of which some claim that they were not aware that it was fake. They said they believed that they were supporting an official raid.

The accused were so confident that the complainant would not approach the police that they did not use any fake number plate on the four-wheeler they arrived in. The police used this to trace the first accused.

Among the 11 arrested, Deepak Suryakant Kavitkar, 47, a resident of Pune. is the main accused who had allegedly planned the crime along with his two other friends Rupesh Naik Mahesh, 42, from Goregaon, and Kishore Gangadhar Jadhav, 47, from Kalyan.

On the afternoon of July 21, around six men entered the residence of Kantilal Yadav, 60, who lives with his family at Airoli Sector-6, around 4 pm.

The retired officer, Yadav was at home with his wife, Aruna, 46, when the accused rang their doorbell and themselves as officers from the ED and entered their house.

The gang then took the mobile phones of Yadav and Aruna and made them sit on a sofa saying that they had come to search their house after receiving a complaint against him.

Yadav asked them to show their identity cards and they told him that they would show it once the raid was over. When the gang demanded for cupboard keys, the family declined, and the accused slapped Aruna and threatened to kill Yadav and their six-month-old daughter if she did not give the key.

Aruna handed over the key following which they made away with valuables worth 34.85 lakh, including cash and gold ornaments.

Within 24 hours of the crime, the team had found the first lead and made the first arrest. The accused had got the idea of this modus from Special-26 movie. More accused are wanted in the case and the investigations are on, said Vivek Pansare, deputy commissioner of police (Zone I).

With the help of the CCTV footage, the police found the registration number of one of the two four wheelers used. The accused had used Nexa Ciaz and Maruti Suzuki Baleno in the crime.

The cops first traced Ciaz and arrested Kavitkar. At the time of arrest, Kavitkar was in Belapur, along with another accused Naresh Rajpati Mishra, 52, a resident of Pune.

The police said they believe that Mishra, who was the bodyguard of Kavitkar in the raiding party, was made to believe that he was giving protection to an ED officer. The police have also seized a pistol that Kavitkar had given to Mishra as he was the bodyguard.

The remaining arrests and seizes were made from various parts of Mumbai, Pune and Navi Mumbai. The accused are currently in police custody till August 2, said Rajendra Kote, senior police inspector from Rabale police station.

The three, Kavitkar, Mahesh and Jadhav, managed to form a team. Some of them claim that they were not aware that they were committing a crime. They were made to believe that they were part of an official raid by the ED and they will be paid 30% of the seized amount, said Bhaguji Auti, police inspector (crime) from Rabale police station.

We are verifying all these claims. The seized pistol is also claimed to be licensed pistol of Kavitkar, which is being verified, added Auti.

Initially, the case was registered only under the section of cheating. After a few days, the complainant claimed that he was also threatened, and his wife assaulted following which sections of dacoity were added. The accused have been arrested under sections 395 (dacoity), 506 (criminal intimidation), 170 (personating a public servant), 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.
Mumbai: Ajit Pawar, deputy chief minister, on Sunday skipped two events that have raised eyebrows in the political circles. The first event involved Mohan Bhagwat, chief of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and Pawar, who is also the finance minister, then gave a miss to a meeting with the officers from the World Bank. Mumbai, India - March 14, 2023: Leader of the Opposition Ajit Pawar, Jtiendra Awhad, Anil Deshmukh along with Opposition party legislators protest during the Maharashtra Budget Session, at Vidhan Bhavan, Nariman Point, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

Pawar has the reputation as someone who strictly follows protocols and schedules. On Sunday his name was in the list of chief guests for the foundation laying function of Dharmaveer Anand Dighe Cancer Hospital and a temple complex in Thane.

Along with Bhagwat, chief minister Eknath Shinde and DCM Devendra Fadnavis were present at the function. However, Pawar did not attend it. Later in the evening, there was a meeting between the state government officials and the officers from the World Bank.

At the meeting, the officials of the finance department gave a presentation before the World Bank officers. Pawars name was among the list of ministers from the state cabinet who would be present at the meeting. However, he was absent.

This has raised many eyebrows in the political circles. An official from the DCM office said that for more than a month, Pawar had been working continuously without taking adequate rest.

He said that as the state legislature is closed on Monday and Tuesday, Pawar used the long weekend break to get some rest.

Pawar will be in Pune to attend prime minister Narendra Modis function, added the official.
THANE: The controversy pertaining to Sambhaji Bhides objectionable remarks against Mahatma Gandhi continues to snowball. On Monday, the second FIR was registered against the Hindutva leader by Thanes Naupada police after they were approached by NCP MLA and former minister Jitendra Awhad. Pune, India - July 7, 2018: Sambhaji Bhide was present at Shiajinagar to take blessing of Paalkhi Procession at Shivajinagar in Pune, India, on Saturday, July 7, 2018. (Photo by Sanket Wankhade/HT PHOTO)

The FIR was registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to promoting enmity between groups and defamation. The first FIR was registered by the Rajapeth police in Amravati on Saturday.

Meanwhile, two days after booking him, the Rajapeth police have started sending notices to Bhide and his associates under Section 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). We will see if his voice sample matches with the audio clips received by us from different sources. The audio clips will also be put through a forensic test, said a police official from Rajapeth police. The Aurangabad police, on their part, have denied permission for a programme Bhide was scheduled to address in the city at Agrasen Bhavan on the ground that it could disturb the law-and-order situation.

Things seem to be careening out of control for the right-wing activist. Protests against him continued even on Monday at various places across the state such as Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Buldhana and Amravati. Along with opposition parties, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction, now a part of the state government, has also demanded Bhides arrest. The NCPs Rupali Chakankar, chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW), has requested deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to ensure Bhides arrest.

The Congress alleged that Bhide was linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and also questioned his source of funding. The RSS runs thousands of outfits under different names but conveniently denies having any relation with them in such a situation. My question is: who is financing Bhide and his organisation? asked Prithviraj Chavan, former chief minister and Congress leader.

Senior NCP leader and food and civil supplies minister Chhagan Bhujbal went so far as to say that Narendra Modi, who is visiting Pune on Tuesday, needed to be apprised of Bhides conduct. He made very low-level remarks against Gandhiji, said Bhujbal. The question is whether he is a crackpot or deliberately doing this at someones behest. A complaint against him needs to go to the Prime Minister since he has met Bhide in the past.

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Mumbai: Lured by their promise of healing her diabetes, Clarissa Dmello, a 51-year-old Bhandup resident, started taking herbal supplements she discovered via WhatsApp in January 2023. They didnt reduce her sugar levels but left her with a severe case of lead poisoning. Herbal supplement toxicity lands patient in hospital

I started becoming unwell at the end of May, said Dmello. By June, I had nausea, vomiting and severe abdominal pain. I couldnt retain food for weeks. Dmello lost weight, had acute gastrointestinal symptoms and saw a significant drop in her haemoglobin levels. Several tests carried out were negative, leading to an inconclusive diagnosis.

Thus began a series of hospitalisations, medical tests, diagnoses and treatments. Dmello was first admitted to Dr Meenas Speciality Hospital in Bhandup and for a second opinion to Global Hospital in Parel. Though she had stopped taking the herbal supplements in June, it was only when she revealed that she had been on them that there was a breakthrough diagnosis and subsequent recovery.

A blood toxicity report revealed that the levels of lead in Dmellos blood were at 85 g/dl, far higher than the normal acceptable level of less than 10 g/dl. We immediately started her on oral chelation therapy by administering Penicillamine, a heavy metal antagonist, along with conservative measures for pain, said Dr Meghraj, gastroenterologist at Global Hospital. She was discharged within a week.

Clarrisas ordeal comes as a cautionary tale about such supplements. Kidney specialist Dr Hemal Shah pointed out that the kidneys are unable to properly filter the heavy metals often found in them, which could lead to permanent damage and renal failure. Since herbal supplements dont fall under the purview of the FDA, ingredient quantities are not consistent across all batches, he said. When one batch has an excessive quantity of a metal, it can become toxic.

While Dr Shah does not suggest a blanket ban on herbal supplements, he is a proponent of stringent standardisation. Those who take herbal supplements should first consult ayurvedic doctors and keep a lookout for side-effects, he said. The side-effects also need to be well documented, as that can help patients become alert to the possible ill effects.
Mumbai: An inquiry has been ordered into submission of forged letters purportedly from the defence ministry by a Pune-based firm to bag publicity and event management contracts of the Maharashtra government. HT Image

The information and publicity department of the state government has ordered an inquiry into Acintya Solutions Private Limited, which has allegedly submitted forged documents related to their experience in the field while applying for the empanelment.

The agency is alleged to have forged the work orders issued by the defence ministry by replacing the original name of the agency. Acintya is one of the 211 agencies that have applied for the empanelment as the government agencies to handle publicity.

The agency forged a job work order issued by the chief construction engineer, ministry of defence, in June 2020. The original order was issued to Parnika Commercial & Estates Pvt Ltd, Delhi as per the records on the central government website.

A complaint against the agency over the submission of forged documents was made to the state government last month and documents were attached as proof.

Brijesh Singh, principal secretary of information and public relations, has ordered an inquiry into it. HT has a copy of the order dated June 30.

An inquiry should be conducted into the complaint related to fake documents submitted by the agency. The documents concerned have be attached along. Kindly conduct an inquiry and submit a report to this office, reads the letter written to the director general of information and public relations (DGIPR) states. Singh is also the principal secretary to the chief minister.

The empanelment process has yet to be completed and if we find any irregularities during the scrutiny, we will take appropriate action. The process is initiated by taking the documents at their face value believing them to be genuine, said Singh.

Amol Patil, director, Acintya Solutions Private Limited said, We never submit any forged documents, but if the DGIPR has initiated a probe, we will look into the documents submitted by us. Sometimes, the government issues orders to two different agencies with the same number and this may be such a case.

In the past, Acintya has bagged a few contracts from the state government worth crores of rupees. The work orders received by the agency include a 2.79 crore project from Maharashtra state rural livelihood mission in 2020, a 1.92 crore contact by directorate of information technology in January 2020, a 2.75 crore contract by Maharashtra state innovation society in July 2022 among others.

Not only the documents from the defence ministry, but also documents of work orders from the Madhya Pradesh and Goa governments are forged while submitting to the DGIPR for the empanelment, said a former DGIPR ofiicial.

The state government has an agency appointed to verify the documents and other processes by charging 10,800 from each applicant. It is surprising that the application with forged documents is under consideration and no action has been taken, added the former official.

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The decision of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar to share the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a function in Pune today has caused unease among allies in the opposition coalition. Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders are of the view that Pawar should avoid attending the Pune function as it may give a wrong message about opposition unity. Unease in MVA over Pawar sharing dais with Modi in Pune

Also read: Maha health dept prepares to tackle outbreak of diseases in flood-like situations

Pawar is expected to attend an event in which Modi will be conferred with the Lokmanya Tilak Award today in recognition of his supreme leadership and for awakening the feeling of patriotism among citizens. The award was constituted in 1983 to honour the legacy of Lokmanya Tilak and is presented every year on August 1, the death anniversary of Lokmanya Tilak. During his visit, Modi will also inaugurate two sections of Metro rail and lay the foundation stone of various development projects.

Some social organizations and members of various political parties have decided to stage a joint protest against Modi during the visit. Prominent social activist Baba Adhav will lead the protest where they will be waving black flags.

Pawars decision comes at a time when there are speculations over the future of NCP after deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and his rebel MLAs met Pawar multiple times to convince him to join the BJP-led NDA.

Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that speculation is expected among the people if a leader from the opposition coalition attends a program with the prime minister at this point in time and Pawar must be well aware of the same. When a leader from the opposition coalition  MVA or INDIA  chooses to attend such a function, then confusion is bound to happen. Pawar is an experienced leader, we do not have to tell him all this, Raut said. He added that while Pawar should clear the air, the opposition stands united. There could be confusion about Pawars stand. He will have to clear the air but we are together. The MVA is strong and the INDIA coalition is even stronger.

Congress too requested Pawar not to attend the award function. Varsha Gaikwad, Mumbai Congress chief said, I request him to reconsider his decision. Dr Kumar Saptarshi, a well-known socialist, met Pawar in Pune on Monday requesting him not to attend Tuesdays event.

The 82-year-old Pawar is facing one of the toughest battles of his political career as most of his party MLAs and senior leaders have sided with Ajit who has joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government. They have made a claim on the NCPs name and election symbol before the election commission.

Pawars grandnephew and NCP MLA Rohit Pawar defended Pawars decision and said it should not be seen from a political prism. It is still unclear if Pawar saheb is going to attend the Pune program. Even if he goes, it should not be seen from a political perspective because one can see that he never mixed his social and political life in his entire political career.

Also read: Maha-Metro expecting daily ridership of over 1 lakh on extended routes

Besides Pawar, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais, and Sushil Kumar Shinde, who is also a trustee, are also likely to attend the event.

Modi will become the 41st recipient of the award. It has previously been presented to leaders such as Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, Pranab Mukherjee, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Indira Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, N R Narayana Murthy and E Sreedharan, among others.

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MUMBAI: The sessions court on Monday acquitted 29-year-old Kashmir resident, Mohamad Rafi, of the charges of killing a 72-year-old woman after trying to rape her in a housing society in Oshiwara, where he worked as a watchman. HT Image

Rafi had been in prison since his arrest in March 2016.

On January 11, 2016, the victim was found in a pool of blood in her apartment by her grandson. He claimed that his grandparents stayed in a separate house where the woman was found dead.

On the day of the incident, the complainants grandfather had gone to Sakinaka while the grandmother was alone at home. He called his grandmother repeatedly, but she did not pick up the phone and when he reached the house, he found that safety door of the flat was opened but the main door was shut.

When he rang the doorbell, no one answered. That is when he started looking for her grandmother from the window and noticed from the window of the bedroom, that his grandmother was lying under the bed.

He called the watchman and asked him to break open the door. However, as the watchman did not reach quickly, he broke the lock himself and entered the house. In the bedroom he saw his grandmother lying under the bed in a pool of blood. She was tied up and her throat slit.

A murder case was registered with Oshiwara police station.

During the probe, the police suspected Rafi and arrested him on March 3, 2016. Police claimed that the accused had also tried to rape her as during the investigation, a cushion was found to have semen spread over it.

The semen samples found on the cushion matched with that of the accused, the police claimed and, on that basis, booked the accused for the murder and attempted rape.

During the trial, Rafis lawyer Wahab Khan pointed out that Rafi was illegally detained from the day of the incident by the police. He pointed out that false evidence was created to implicate him, and false evidence was planted at the place of offence.

The society members and even the family members of the victim have admitted that Rafi was illegally detained prior to his formal arrest. The court has found the evidence not sufficient to hold Rafi guilty of rape and murder beyond reasonable doubt. Hence acquitted him, said Wahab.
A speeding, drunk car driver rammed into motorcycle riders and injured five individuals in Kapodara area of Surat on Sunday night, the police said on Monday. Representational image.

The incident took place around 11 pm when the accused Sajan, alias Sunny Patel, rammed into vehicles on the BRTS road. A complaint has been filed by Kishen Herpara, 24, who was injured in the incident. As per the complainant, Sunny was driving recklessly and hit five people, injuring them seriously. They are all undergoing treatment at different hospitals. No death has been reported so far, said an official at the Kapodara police station.

Patel, who was driving a Maruti Swift car, tried to flee, but locals apprehended him and roughed him up, the official said, adding that the accused is a dealer in old cars.

Police investigation has revealed that the driver was under the influence of alcohol when the incident took place, and a separate case will be filed against Patel in this regard, the police official said.

Recently, nine people were killed on July 20 when 19-year-old Tathya Patel ploughed through a crowd in a speeding Jaguar car on the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway.
All seven opposition lawmakers were suspended from the Goa assembly for two days on Monday after they protested Speaker Ramesh Tawadkars decision to disallow discussion on ethnic violence in Manipur. The Speaker said the suspended members crossed limits. (Twitter)

I moved a resolution calling for peace in Manipur and on the central government to ensure peace, law, and order in the state and to start a dialogue with the communities to protect their life, religious structures, and property, said Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lawmaker Cruz Silva.

Silva was among the seven lawmakers of Congress, AAP, Goa Forward Party, and a lone Revolutionary Goans member Viresh Mukesh Borkar who rushed to the Well of the House holding placards. They marched through the aisles of the House holding placards demanding the issue be discussed.

Opposition leader Yuri Alemao of the Congress accused the Speaker of acting in a dictatorial and biased manner which forced the Opposition to protest in the House.

This is a serious issue that we needed to discuss and seek answers on behalf of the people of Goa from the ruling party and the Union home ministry. But the governments both at the Centre and the state do not even allow this issue to be discussed, Alemao said.

Goa Forward Party leader Vijai Sardesai asked if the European Union can discuss Manipur, then why cannot they do so. Manipur is part of India and not a part of Europe. We are concerned for our fellow Indians.

Borkar pointed out how the Speaker allowed a lengthy resolution of a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party member condemning the BBC for producing a documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Tawadkar said the members crossed limits by going to the desk of a member who was speaking and attempting to intimidate him into remaining silent. They have been suspended for today [Monday] and tomorrow [Tuesday], Tawadkar said.
LUCKNOW Two cops associated with the Gola police station of Lakhimpur Kheri have been booked for raping a 29-year-old Dalit woman. The FIR has been lodged after a local courts order on July 24. This comes a year after the woman was allegedly framed in an NDPS (Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) case by the two accused cops. As per the FIR, the two cops framed her in an NDPS case by showing narcotics (in powder form) in her possession. (HT Photo)

As per the FIR, the Dalit woman had reached the Gola police station on July 8, 2022, to file a complaint about fires being shot behind her house. However, the then inspector of Gola police station, Vivek Upadhyaya, allegedly raped her inside the police station to mount pressure on her to take back the complaint.

Meanwhile, police constable Surya Pratap Yadav is accused of the torturing the woman while she was in custody. The complaint adds that the two cops framed her in an NDPS case by showing narcotics (in powder form) in her possession.

Now, the circle officer of Gola has been asked to investigate the case and initiate further proceedings as per findings. The two accused cops have been booked under IPC sections 376 (2)(a)(i) for rape under by a police officer inside the police station premises, 323 (for voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (for insulting her), as well as under the sections of SC/ST Act.
The relationship between the United States and India is today on a strong footing, but long before the two warmed up to each other in the manner that they have, a robust Indian diaspora in the US formed a people-to-people bridge between the two great democracies. The instrumental role played by Indian-Americans  now comprising 2.7 million people with significant heft in economic and political spheres  was acknowledged by both President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latters recent State visit earlier this year. This is why the demand by a group of US lawmakers, who urged the Biden administration to prioritise Green Card applicants from India, and reduce the wait period from a staggering 195 years in terms of the current backlog, is important. The demand from 56 lawmakers is bipartisan, underlining this is a key issue that is beyond politics. The protracted delays, no doubt engendered by the pandemic but also made worse by administrative gaps, cast a shadow on bilateral ties. In the past, the White House has directly taken cognisance of the long wait times for an interview at the American consulate . Now that India has a full-time US envoy in Eric Garcetti, resolving this needs to be prioritised. PREMIUM Green Card barriers disproportionately affect Indian tech professionals,
The Joint Entrance Examination Council Uttar Pradesh has released mock test for UPJEE Polytechnic 2023. Candidates who will appear in the examination can go to jeecup.admissions.nic.in and take it. Admit cards and detailed schedule of the examination are also available on the website. UPJEE Polytechnic 2023 mock test now available on jeecup.admissions.nic.in

Direct link

As per the exam schedule, UPJEE 2023 will be held over five days and on each exam day, there will be three slots: From 8 AM to 10:30 AM, 12 Pm to 2:30 PM and from 4 PM to 6:30 PM.

On the first three days (August 2, 3 and 4), the test is scheduled for group A candidates.

On August 5, group 1 candidates will take the exam.

Candidates who have applied under group E1 & E2 will write UPJEE 2023 in the first shift of August 6. The examination for group K candidates are scheduled for the second shift of the same day and for groups B,C,D,E,G,H,I, the test will take place in the last shift.

How to take UPJEE Polytechnic mock test

Go to jeecup.admissions.nic.in. Open the UPJEE  2023 Mock Test link Click on the same link again on the next page. It will lead you to an external website. Open the link that reads: Click Here to Start Mock Test Select the paper and login. Again click on the login option. Now, enter the password printed on your admit card using the on screen keyboard and proceed to take the mock test.

The mock test has been designed in the same pattern of the actual exam and it will help candidates get familiar with the computer based test.

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ICAI CA Foundation June Result 2023: Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) will announce results of the Chartered Accountancy (CA) Foundation examination held in June through its official website. As per some reports, these results may be announced today. However, candidates should know that there is no official confirmation. ICAI CA Foundation Result 2023: Know where and how to check scores(Getty Images/iStockphoto/For representation)

The institutes provides its students prior information regarding the date and time for result announcement on the website and social media.

To check these results, registration number and roll number will be required.

When declared, they will be able to check scores at:

icai.org icai.nic.in icaiexam.icai.org

ICAI conducted the June 2023 edition of its CA Foundation examination on June 24, June 26, June 28, and June 30.

How to check ICAI CA Foundation results 2023

Go to one of the official websites mentioned above. Now, find and open the link to check CA Foundation June 2023 results. Enter your registration number and roll number. Submit and download your result. Save a copy for future uses.
Bungo Stray Dogs season 5 episode 4 will be released on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, at 11 pm JST. The episode will first air on Japanese TV networks like TOKYO MX and others. It will then be available to stream on select websites. In the previous episode, Akutagawa came to help Atsushi under Dazai's orders. They both fought against the strong Kamui, but he was able to change the past and counter their attack. Unfortunately, he managed to injure Akutagawa by slashing his neck. Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 Episode 4 will be air on Wednesday, August, 2. Find the release Date,times and streaming guide!

Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 Episode 2 Exact Release Date And Time

Bungo Stray Dogs season 5 episode 2 is titled The "Hero War, Gang War will be released on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, at 11 pm JST. Heres the exact release time of Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 Episode 4 in your time zone.

Date Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 Epiusode 4 Release date JST PT CT ET EST IST August, 2 11:00 PM 7:00 AM 9:00 AM 10:00 AM 10:00 AM 7:00 PM

Recap of Bungo Stray Dogs season 5 episode 3

In Bungo Stray Dogs season 5, episode 3 called "Hero vs. Criminal," Akutagawa came to help Atsushi because Dazai asked him to do so two weeks before the Five Deadly Omens incident. Since it was Dazai's request, Akutagawa agreed and tried to defeat Kamui recklessly.

Unfortunately, Kamui was way stronger than both Atsushi and Akutagawa, so they teamed up to use their powers together. Even though they had a plan, Kamui's unique ability to control time and space let him alter the past. As a consequence, he severely hurt Akutagawa by slashing his neck, and it looked like he might have even killed him.

What to expect from Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 episode 4

In Bungo Stray Dogs season 5, episode 4 titled "Hero War, Gang War," it's expected that Atsushi will try his best to fight against Kamui. But since he's already lost his arm and his partner, it doesn't seem like Atsushi can win the fight. He might have to run away from the ship to stay safe.

Meanwhile, Tachihara, a member of the Bloodhounds, might finally take action. In the last season, Tachihara was seen supporting the Armed Detective Agency, but he hasn't done anything to help them yet. So, in the upcoming episode, we might see him getting involved.

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Dia Mirza has said that she chose to be a 'part-time actor' because that is 'the only way' she could safeguard her kids' future and present. She was speaking to the news agency PTI in an interview. Dia shares two children with businessman-husband Vaibhav Rekhi  son Avyaan and step-daughter Samaira. (Also read: Ayushmann, Dia Mirza, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sanya Malhotra add glamour to an event) Dia Mirza talks about her choices in taking up films in a new interview.

The former Miss Asia Pacific International had her first taste with national fame, when she appeared opposite R Madhavan and Saif Ali Khan in Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein. Most recently, she was seen in Anubhav Sinha's Bheed. The actor is a Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and recently told the news agency that said she feels it is her responsibility to make the world a better place.

Dia is part-time actor

I was recently telling the head of UNEP in India that I act part-time. Most of my time and energy is spent on conservation efforts and environmental action in the country. I do it because I feel responsible, I feel a sense of urgency. I feel that the only way I can safeguard my children's present and future is if I contribute to solutions that make a difference," Dia told PTI.

Dia at Nature in Focus 2023

Last week, Dia delivered a keynote speech at a three-day nature and wildlife festival. The festival - Nature in Focus 2023 - was held in Bengaluru from July 28 to July 30. She spoke on sustainable living during her speech.

Dia also said that cinema can have far-reaching effects in conservation efforts and cited the example of the Oscar-winning documentary short The Elephant Whisperers. The actor also recalled the first film that she directed - Kids for Tiger. She recalled the eight year-old film which was originally a poem written by Cara Tejpal and Sahil Sangha, and is available on YouTube. The film is kids discussing how tiger is a metaphor for all of nature. She added that she had the most fun directing the children.

Sustainable Filmmaking

Mirza added filmmakers can do their bit even if they do not have a perfect story that weaves conservation efforts into its narrative. She advocated sustainable practices in filmmaking and added that if the production is conscious of sustainable ways during the filmmaking process, it goes a long way. At the festival, Dia also talked about how individual choices have an impact on the environment in the long run.

Dia's new projects

Dia also opened up about her upcoming projects during the interview. Produced by Taapsee Pannu, Dhak Dhak is a Prime Video project. She added that the film is about four women travelling from Delhi to Khardung La on bikes.



(With PTI inputs)

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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
Kiara Advani is celebrating her 31st birthday on July 31. The actor is seen celebrating her special day with pink balloons and a beautiful birthday cake, in a picture that was shared by the actor's friend on Instagram Stories. (Also read: Kiara Advani, Sidharth Malhotra hold hands, look excited as they leave for her birthday trip; see their blissful selfie) Kiara Advani's three-tier cake for her birthday has a special design in it.

How Kiara is celebrating her birthday

In the Instagram Stories shared by Kiara's friend, the actor can be seen standing in front of a huge birthday cake. The space is decorated with candles and colourful balloons with the message we love you written on them.

In the picture, Kiara is seen in a no makeup look with a black and white pyjama set, and her hair is kept untied. She is seen with her eyes closed while making a wish right before cutting the birthday cake.

Kiara Advani's friend shared a picture of how the actor is celebrating her birthday.

Kiara's birthday cake

The picture also gave a glimpse of Kiara's three-tier birthday cake, which seemed to be personalised to reflect the shopaholic traits of the actor. In the bottom tier, designs of windows of a luxury brand store were made. The middle layer was a motif of a shopping store with the writing 'born to shop' inscribed in it. Finally, the top layer of the cake was designed like a shopping bag.

Kiara and Sidharth at airport

Earlier on Thursday, the actor was spotted at the Mumbai airport with husband Sidharth Malhotra as they left for her birthday trip. They both held hands as they walked up to the departure gate. Sharing a selfie with Sidharth Malhotra before the take off, Kiara wrote on her Instagram Stories, Time to (airplane emoji). She was in a beige co-ord set with a white top while Sidharth was in a T-shirt, track pants and a lightweight jacket.

Kiara was last seen in Satyaprem ki Katha opposite Kartik Aaryan. Directed by Sameer Vidhwans, Satyaprem Ki Katha tells the love story of Satyaprem (Kartik) and Katha (Kiara) told from the man's perspective. The film received commercial and critical success and has already grossed more than 100 crore globally. Satyaprem Ki Katha hit the theatres on June 29.

Kiara will be next seen in director Shankar's Game Changer opposite Ram Charan. She is also rumoured to have signed the second installment of Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff's action film, War.

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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
Actor Shah Rukh Khan on Monday dropped the music video for Zinda Banda, the first song of his upcoming action thriller Jawan. Taking to Instagram, Shah Rukh posted a clip, and wrote, "When principles are at stake, one must fight, This battle is what makes you alive! I thank Wasim Barelvi sahab (sir) with all my heart for letting us use this beautiful couplet with a minor change. The song is written by Irshad Kamil Sir, and the music is by my dear friend Anirudh Ravichander. Presenting Zinda Banda!" (Also Read | Jawan live updates) Jawan first song: Shah Rukh Khan, Sanya Malhotra and Priyamani in a still from Zinda Banda.

Jawan song Zinda Banda

In the nearly four-minute-long song, Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) made a grand entry wearing a red shirt and black pants. He is welcomed by a crowd of girls wearing green and white outfits as they cheer for him. Apart from Shah Rukh, the song also features Sanya Malhotra and Priyamani, among others.

The song is a fun and groovy one as it makes you want to dance to its beats. T-Series shared the music video of the song on its YouTube channel. The song is out in three languages  Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. While the Hindi version has been titled Zinda Banda, it is Vandha Edam in Tamil and Dhumme Dhulipelaa in Telugu. Anirudh Ravichander has composed the music of Jawan.

Fans react to Zinda Banda

Reacting to the song a fan said, "Our superstar, our king, our emotion, our favourite actor one and only SRK. You can ignore Bollywood but you can't ignore SRK." A comment read, "Anirudh's music and Shah Rukh Khan's swag are things you can't ignore, literally GOOSEBUMPS guaranteed!"

"There is no competition for SRK, but the era of his romantic movies is something else," wrote another person. A social media user said, "My body literally started dancing." Another comment read, SRK is not a name, it's an emotion for billions of people all around the world!

More about Zinda Banda

Earlier, he had unveiled a new poster of the first song on Instagram. Sharing it, he wrote, The Sound of Jawan! Song out today at 12:50 pm! #ZindaBanda (Hindi) #VandhaEdam (Tamil) #DhummeDhulipelaa (Telugu) #Jawan releasing worldwide on 7th September 2023, in Hindi, Tamil & Telugu.

Earlier, news agency ANI, had quoted a source as saying about the song, "It was shot on a grand scale in Chennai, over five days, with over 1000 dancers from all across Indian cities like Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Madurai, Mumbai and more. Produced at an impressive budget of over 15 crores, Zinda Banda will showcase the spectacular visual of SRK dancing like never before with thousands of girls. With Anirudh composing and helming the vocals as well and the moves are choreographed by Shobi, this track is all set to get the nation grooving."

About Atlee's Jawan

Directed by Atlee, Jawan will release worldwide in theatres on September 7 in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages. Apart from Shah Rukh, Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi will also be seen in the film. Deepika Padukone also has a special appearance in the movie. In Jawan, fans will also see Priyamani, Sanya Malhotra and Ridhi Dogra in important roles.

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When Sidhant Gupta broke out on our screens as Jay Khanna in Vikramaditya Motwane's Jubilee, he wasn't aiming to be another Madan Kumar. He was as much at ease in hiding behind Jay Khanna as he was in exhibiting Sidhant Gupta. Sidhant Gupta says he's enjoying feeling more seen now

(Also Read: Vikramaditya Motwanes Jubilee ft. Sidhant Gupta: Of cinema, by cinema and for cinema)

Jay Khanna had seen so much life at a young age, that Sidhant couldn't grasp the magnitude of. Having fled Pakistan with family and making ends meet in an Indian refugee camp, Jay Khanna learnt to own his space the hard way. That also came in handy while making inroads into the Hindi film industry, then ruled by a couple of big studios.

Sidhant, born in Jammu, never even knew that he had to own his space. And so, for the longest time, he never bothered to even try. I was born in a joint family, which became a nuclear family, but we were still living in a small apartment, where I was sharing a room with my brother. My mom and dad in the other room, it was a small 2 BHK. You're always surrounded by family, friends or someone or the other. You don't know whether you want to spend time with yourself. I didn't know whether I can spend time with myself. I didn't feel the need to, Sidhant tells me in an exclusive interview.

We're sitting in his 2BHK now. In Mumbai. In silence. There's soft instrumental music playing in the background. There's a cherry red scented candle ebbing away into the monsoon air. The AC is switched off, the window open, and the faint monsoon sun falls on Sidhant, who is seated next to the window, bang opposite me, in a cherry red T-shirt and shorts.

Creating and owning his space

Clearly, he's come a long way. He seems to own his space now. One would believe the change in city had a major part to play in it, but he tells a different story. Even when I came to Bombay, I didn't want to be alone. You're always seeking people, making friends and you just roll with them. Because you're not used to being alone. There came a point when I actually felt that I'm in the middle of this tunnel and even if I scream, I hear my own echoes. There's no one else listening.

That state of ceaselessly running with blinkers on had a lot to do with the creative space he was in. The face of a daily soap, Sidhant couldn't escape the exhausting rut of churning out life, as opposed to sculpting it. That's why I think I left television. You cannot create while you're in movement. You get your lines, your shot is ready, so you know the process. You become the process. It's not for me. For me, as an artist, I need to create life. I need to generate life. For that, I need to feel life. I need to live that life before I go on set, Sidhant says.

When Sidhant took the leap from TV to movies, it didn't come without a fair share of crashes. But like Jay Khanna in Jubilee, he would realise the fatal flaw didn't lie in the system alone, but also in how he had been conditioned to approach the system. He became a part of the system. But in order to truly penetrate the system, he had to do exactly the opposite: He needed to stand out. He had to own his space, but for that, he needed to create his space first.

I did a little cameo in Bhoomi (2017). It was Sanjay Dutt's film, and I had just two-three songs. But after Bhoomi, I had no work. I guess no one wanted to work with me. Here I am standing at a point where the only option is to go back to television, which I didn't want. There's no other road. The only choice was to make your own road or go back to the same one, says Sidhant.

But how do you recognise your voice when all of your life has revolved around listening to the noise? How do you even make sure the echoes you're hearing are of your own voice, and not of the surround sound? That's when Sidhant discovered the magic of a pause.

Taking life one pause at a time

I never really asked myself this question: if I have to do this all my life, why do I need to this? That's when I had to take a pause to listen to myself. The pause is what I live with now. It's a balance you find, otherwise your mind drifts in a thousand directions. And that direction is not even yours," Sidhant says. "If you go outside, you see people are just walking on autopilot. Everyone's running, everyone's in a rush. They just want to reach the destination. Koi jaldi bhi nahi hai. Because sabko jaldi hai sadak pe toh unko bhi hai (There's no hurry. Just because everyone's in a rush, they're in a rush too.) So, it's just noise.

The pause is also Sidhant's way to detach creatively. As someone who was so used to hiding behind homogeneity, Sidhant had to find a way to make himself heard, make himself seen. Sure, he had to live life beyond work so that he could breathe more life into the work once he got to it. But didn't it come with the risk of a burnout? I think there's something limitless inside of me. I can create some sort of reality that everyone can become a part of. Everyone has to believe in the energy you're creating. So burning out doesn't feel like burning out, Sidhant says, smiling and shrugging his shoulders.

How much to share, how much to hide

But in order to create something that people can get lost into, the artist needs to be able to put themselves on display. Yes, people find themselves in you, but that can happen only when you are able to expose yourself to the barest bone. I keep finding more to share so that I have less to hide, Sidhant says, leaving me to process the thought, as he holds the other cards close to his chest.

Speaking of his chest, it's enjoying its little moment in the sun. Ever since the success of Jubilee, Sidhant has been posing, more often than not, without a shirt on his Instagram. Wearing bright blazers without a shirt has become his new style statement, but Sidhant insists he's only exploring. It just feels lighter. And it just works. I told you no, Nothing to hide, more to share." In everything (laughs)."

But Sidhant is certainly more comfortable with the idea of being more seen now. And that includes gigs beyond acting, like interviews, public appearances and social media. I'm finding my flow. I have this need to find more so that I can find more." But are you finding more so you can hide what you already have? Everything is worth exposing if you dig in. What are you hiding? Some thoughts that aren't even yours, to be honest. You're an accumulation of all the thoughts around you. So what are you afraid to expose? The life you've lived, the people you've grown up with?

Angst is not his cup of tea

That's also something that sets Sidhant Gupta apart from Jay Khanna. The idea of an artist channeling their angst into their creativity isn't a notion Sidhant relates to. In fact, he doesn't mind the fact that people have discovered Sidhant Gupta so late. Because as he puts it, even Sidhant hadn't found Sidhant till a few years ago.

Being alive has taken over all the other emotions I've lived through. There's no point spending another minute in the past when the present looks so beautiful. I didn't know then. But I know now. Why go back? But if some thought or incident comes back from the past, I let it come. I don't neglect it. It's how you communicate with yourself is how you sail out of the storm. You need to find the right dialogue with yourself that can heal you, slowly. All the scars from the past will stay with you for the rest of your life, but they don't feel like baggage when you know better, Sidhant says.

Easier said than done though. Sidhant now enjoys the distance to process the bitterness. But how does one make sense of it when one is in the eye of the storm? When I sail out of the storm, there's a moment when I realise why I was stuck in the first place. By sailing out, I don't mean I just leave. I just don't drown. I stay afloat. With time, you find the right dialogue within you to stay afloat, knowing that you will drown again, and knowing that you can come afloat again. If you don't drown, how do you know the joy of staying afloat?"
In March, Sushmita Sen shocked fans, when she announced on Instagram that she had suffered 'a massive heart attack'. The actor, who had to undergo angioplasty and stent placement, has spoken about the 'phase' in a new interview with News18. Sushmita said the health scare didn't make her fearful, instead she 'got a new lease on life', which has made her 'more careful'. Also read: Sushmita Sen shares health update with fans Sushmita Sen suffered a heart attack earlier this year.

Sushmita shared news of heart attack in March

The shooting for her Disney+ Hotstar series Aarya season 3 was halted after Sushmita Sen suffered a heart attack earlier this year. Sushmita resumed work soon after the treatment and wrapped up the shoot of her web show. On March 2, Sushmita broke the news of her heart attack, a couple of days after it happened.

Sushmita on her 'new lease on life'

Now, Sushmita has opened up about her life after suffering a heart attack. She told News18, It was a phase and it passed. I am very lucky to be on the other side. It doesnt make me fearful now, instead I now have a feeling of promise, of something to look forward to. When you get a new lease on life, you respect it and are more careful."

Sushmita's request to fans

The actor had said in her Instagram post in March that she underwent an angioplasty at a hospital. In an Instagram Live days later, Sushmita informed fans that it was a massive heart attack and she had a 95 percent blockage in one of her arteries.

A week after she suffered a heart attack, Sushmita had said she had resumed working out on her cardiologist's advice. The actor, who was diagnosed with the autoimmune condition called Addison's Disease in 2014, also urged people to monitor their health in an earlier Instagram Live.

Sushmita's upcoming projects

Apart from wrapping up Aarya season 3, Sushmita has also completed another project titled Taali, whose teaser was recently unveiled. Directed by Ravi Jadhav, the series on Shreegauri Sawant, features Sushmita as the transgender activist. It will be released on Independence Day on JioCinema.

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This August, Netflix is bringing back some of its most-watched and favorite shows, as well as brand-new seasons.There is also a slew of fascinating new titles to check out. This month's lineup includes wholesome dramas, comedy, action, and adventures, offering you lots of alternatives. To make things easier for you, we've compiled a short and handy list of handpicked shows that you can binge-watch, ensuring a fun-filled end-of-summer. This August, Netflix brings captivating content with thrilling movies and binge-worthy series for everyone. Discover the top 5 popular Netflix shows right here!

Here are our top five new shows and new seasons of returning shows that you can watch in August 2023.

Heartstopper (Season 2)

Coming to Netflix: August 3rd

Heartstopper (Season 2)

Author Alice Oseman is back to helm the second season of the hit teen series Heartstopper, promising fans an eagerly-awaited continuation of the beloved show.

Heres what you can expect from Hearstopper season 2:

Heartstopper Season 2: Trailer, Release Date, Plot and Everything You Need to Know

Rachel Stone is an intelligence operative, the only woman who stands between her powerful, global, peace-keeping organization and the loss of its most valuable  and dangerous  asset.

The Monkey King (2023)

Coming to Netflix: August 18th

The Monkey King (2023)

In collaboration with Pearl Studio, a captivating family-animated feature film inspired by a legendary Chinese tale is in the making. The film follows the thrilling journey of Monkey and his enchanted fighting stick as they confront battle demons, dragons, and powerful gods.

Heading the voice cast for this epic adventure are talented stars Jimmy O. Yang, Bowen Yang, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, and Jo Koy, ensuring an unforgettable cinematic experience for audiences of all ages.

Heres what you can expect from The Movie: The Monkey King: Release Date, Trailer, and Everything We Know So Far

The Seven Deadly Sins: Grudge of Edinburgh Part 2 (2023)

Coming to Netflix: August 8th

The Seven Deadly Sins: Grudge of Edinburgh Part 2

Building on the events of Grudge of Edinburgh Part 1, fans have been eagerly anticipating the next installment of The Seven Deadly Sins movie. The good news is, the wait is almost over as the next movie entry is set to premiere on Netflix in August 2023.

Heres what you can expect: The Seven Deadly Sins: Grudge of Edinburgh Part 2 Reveals Trailer & Release Date

Heres the official synopsis for the upcoming second part:

14 years since the Kingdom of Liones defeated the Demon Clan and brought peace to the land, Prince Tristan is tormented by his inability to control two great powers: the Demon Clan power of his father, Meliodas, who served as captain of the Seven Deadly Sins as the Dragon Sin of Wrath, and the Goddess Clan power of his mother, Elizabeth. When Elizabeths life is threatened, Tristan flees the kingdom and heads toward Edinburgh, where Deathpierce who was once a member of a group of the kingdoms Holy Knights, the Pleiades of the Azure Sky maintains his castle. But what are Deathpierces intentions?

The Chosen One (Season 1)

Coming to Netflix: August 18th

The Chosen One (Season 1)

Netflix has brought two Millarworld projects, Jupiter's Legacy and Super Crooks, since acquiring the comic brand in 2017. Now, they are releasing the third adaptation, a Spanish-language series called American Jesus.

The series revolves around Jodie, a twelve-year-old from Baja California Sur, who discovers he has powers similar to Jesus.

Heres what you can expect: The Chosen One: Release Date, Trailer, plot & more

Ragnarok (Season 3)

Coming to Netflix: August 24th

Ragnarok (Season 3)

Ragnarok, a Netflix original series, puts a unique twist on Norse mythology. It follows two brothers, Magne and Laurits, who move to a polluted town ruled by a powerful family of supernatural beings. Magne gains Thor-like powers and fights for justice, while Laurits takes a different path. The final season promises an epic showdown as the brothers confront their enemies. The highly-anticipated third and final season will show the brothers confronting their enemies in an epic showdown. Ragnarok received mixed reviews locally but praise globally for its blend of mythological symbolism and modern themes like fantasy, history, action, climate change, and conservation.

Read full articles: Ragnarok season 3: Release Date speculation, Trailer, cast List , plot, and news

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly keen on renting an apartment near the Kensington Palace, which would mean that they would have to move back to the UK. According to a source quoted by the OK! Magazine, the couple is looking at the possibility of rebuilding its relationships with the royal family. (Also read: Prince Harry says he had to cut Spare short for father, brother: 'I dont think they would ever forgive me') Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are planning to return to the UK. (AP Photo)

Will Prince Harry return to the UK?

Earlier this week, it was reported that both Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are likely to not attend the Balmoral event despite invitation from King Charles III. In May, the coronation ceremony of King Charles was only attended by Prince Harry, who hurried back to the US without taking part in the events thereafter. Meghan chose to skip the ceremony.

What the source said

Now, as per a report by OK! Magazine, a source has revealed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are pondering over the idea of living in a small apartment at Kensington Palace; still, there are reservations. The source said, Harry doesn't want to become a prisoner of the palace... He and Meghan want to keep a sense of balance in their lives and their mental health intact. He and Meghan are offering to rent an apartment at Kensington Palace and furnish it themselves. He hopes that will please William and show that they're serious about coming back. 

Prince Harry at coronation

At the coronation ceremony in May, Prince Harry was placed two rows behind his brother, Prince Williams. In his memoir Spare released earlier this year, Prince Harry had detailed an occasion, where he was physically attacked by Prince William over his marriage to Meghan Markle.

The coronation ceremony was the first time, when Harry was seen with the royal family after the release of his memoir, where had detailed his life as royal member in the household.

Meghan and Harry had announced in January 2020 that they would step down as senior working royals. Then onwards, the moved to the US, where they now live with their two children Archie and Lilibet.

Harry and Meghan were last spotted together with other members of the royal family during the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, which took place last year in September 2022.

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Veteran actor Shobana has dropped the charges against a domestic worker in connection with the theft of 41,000 from her Chennai home. As per an India Today report, Shobana did not terminate her from the job, and the stolen money will be compensated from the domestic worker's salary. Also read: Aishwarya Rajinikanth's domestic staff held for stealing gold, silver jewellery from Chennai home Actor Shobana had filed complaint against the domestic worker at her Chennai home.

Police had reportedly taken the domestic worker into custody and started their investigation after Shobana had lodged a complaint of theft. But, after the domestic worker confessed to the crime during the interrogation, the actor, who is also a renowned Bharatanatyam dancer, dropped the charges.

Shobana drops theft charges

On July 27, Shobana had reported a theft at her residence to the Teynampet police in Chennai, reported India Today. She reportedly lives in an independent house on Sriman Srinivasa Road, Teynampet. The domestic worker at the actor's home was accused of the theft and was immediately taken into custody by the police, and confessed to the crime.

However, later Shobana not only dropped all the charges against the domestic worker but also decided to not terminate her employment. Shobana reportedly forgave the domestic worker and said she doesn't want any further legal actions against her. The stolen money will reportedly be compensated from the domestic worker's salary.

The report further said that Shobana filed the police complaint because her mother, Anandam, had complained of regular thefts at their home in the past few months. Sources told the portal that the domestic worker had been sending the stolen money to her daughter's account with the assistance of the actor's driver.

Shobana's career

She has worked mainly in Malayalam films along with Telugu and Tamil films. Shobana has also acted in a few Hindi, Kannada and English films. She has worked in films such as Rudraveena (1988), Nadodikkattu (1987), Vellanakalude Nadu (1988), Idhu Namma Aalu (1988), Siva (1989), Innale (1990), Kalikkalam (1990), Thalapathi (1991), Pappayude Swantham Appoos (1992), and Manichitrathazhu (1993).

Shobana received her second National Film Award for Best Actress in 2001 for her role in the Indian English language film Mitr, My Friend, directed by Revathi. In 2006, the Indian government honoured her with the Padma Shri.

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Television personality and late politician Pramod Mahajan's son Rahul Mahajan and wife Natalya Ilina, have reportedly split. As per a new report by The Times of India, the couple had compatibility issues since the beginning of their marriage, which was held in 2018. They parted ways last year, as per the report, and have filed for divorce. Rahul, who was seen as a contestant on Bigg Boss 2, has neither denied nor confirmed the divorce. Also read: Rahul Mahajan's wife Natalya Ilina pens note on Ukraine-Russia crisis, says my nana was Russian and my nani was Ukrainian Rahul Mahajan and Natalya Ilina have split, as per a new report.

Rahul Mahajan and Natalya's relationship

Natalya was Rahul's third wife. He was earlier married to Dimpy Ganguly (2010-2015) and Shweta Singh (2006-2008), both of whom had accused him of domestic violence.

Rahul and Natalya tied the knot in 2018. While Rahul was 43 when they married, Natalya was 25. In 2020, Rahul had revealed that Natalya had converted to Hinduism after their marriage.

Rahul and Natalya's divorce

"Compatibility issues were there between the two since the beginning. However, they stretched their marriage as long as they could. They parted ways last year and have filed for divorce," a source told The Times of India about Rahul and Natalya's relationship.

The report added that the former couple filed the paperwork last year, but it was not confirmed whether the divorce has been finalised or it's still underway.

Rahul Mahajan on divorce

Rahul said in the same report, "I want to keep my private life private. I would not like to comment on anything. I do not discuss what's happening in my personal life even with my friends... By the way, I'm doing well."

It was reported that after his third divorce, Rahul 'was absolutely shattered'. One of his close friends, who was not named, had told the same portal that he was slowly 'getting back to life' after being in a 'not great state last year'.

His friend had also said that Rahul was 'hoping to find love' again, and has decided to not talk about his personal life due to his past experiences.

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The silent retreat of Covid-19 in early 2022 also marked the fading of elevated health concerns globally. But it is argued that Covid-19 multiplied vulnerabilities in psychological distress, and their implications are far more stretching. The pandemic also disrupted access to mental health services, which were generally ignored in the global efforts to prevent the spread of the virus. It exposed the weakness in pre-Covid-19 mental health system which now should be strengthened for the post-pandemic world. The mental health preparedness was hit by surprise due to the limited understanding of the Covid-19 virus and the lack of clarity of the associated mental health requirements. Mindful of self-care, re-socialising and coming back to the workforce constituted some of the changes for employees in the post-Covid new normalcy. After having worked online and in isolation, returning to office for work carries a tremendous burden to the mental well-being of the employees. Employee

As of 19 July 2023, 768.24 million confirmed cases and 6.95 million deaths globally were registered, as per the WHO, due to Covid-19 which was declared a pandemic by the WHO in March 2020. In a WHO survey, 121 of 130 participating countries reported disruptions in one or more services for mental, neurological and substance use disorders, while the demand for mental health services is increasing. Also, in another survey in 2021, 90% of participating Member States considered mental health and psychosocial support in Covid-19 response plans significant. This came in because the pandemic wrecked the global mental health of the general population due to several preventive health measures that were enforced in the forms of mandatory masks, lockdowns, quarantines, social distancing, inadequate health care facilities, and economic and social implications. These preventive measures affected public mental health since they produced psychosocial distress in terms of isolation and loneliness, fear of losing jobs, and financial insecuritywhich got worsened by the lack of adequate mental healthcare services. In the process, the prevalence rates of depression and anxiety in general population increased globally.

Looking at the group level, the mental health of employees is also related to the dropping productivity levels. In November 2021, the white paper Modern Work released by Australias Black Dog Institute argues that the severity and complexity of workplace mental health conditions has increased, with early recovery and returning to work becoming less likely.

Well, the pandemic is over and people have been re-adjusting to living in the new normalcy of the post-pandemic world beginning in early 2022.

But the white paper also highlights significant improvements in the protection of the mental health of workers in terms of increasing number of workplaces proactively engaging in mental health in Australia. Others include fewer people working on the weekend, no increase in short-term job insecurity and workers reporting increased choice over when they work. It became useful to various stakeholders including businesses, government agencies, and healthcare professionals.

We need to re-visit the conditions of healthcare workers during the pandemic in order to strengthen the present preparedness. In a WHO study published in March 2022, medical workers faced high rates of physical and mental exhaustion, loneliness and Covid-19 contraction increased the risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviours in healthcare workers. It got further complicated as the findings indicated a high risk of severe illness and death among those with mental disorders. The pandemic impacted the decline of outpatient appointments, emergency facilities were limited to mental patients, and limited face-to-face mental health service delivery during 2020-2021. However, e-mental healthcare partly mitigated these challenges. The study further highlighted inadequate infrastructure, pre-existing inequalities and low levels of technological literacy reported e-health barriers.

These studies reveal the prevalence of depression and anxiety among employees which require continuous efforts to strengthen the post-Covid-19 mental health system. Mental health care should focus on the growing delivery of mental health services to the workforce, in particular and the overall population, in general. In The Lancet publication in 2021, wellbeing-centred policymaking is critical for future mental health of the population. We have seen how depression and anxiety resulted in a phenomenon of quite quitting, a condition in which employees reject to work above and beyond the working hours indicating increasing demands of workers to find flexible job conditions and an inclination towards finding better alternatives in doing something that they love. It led to the Great Resignation in 2021. It is argued that this has led to a decline in labour productivity.

It is pointed out that inadequacy in the mental health workforce created a problem in accessing mental health treatment in the U.S. In the U.S., 90% of adults in the U.S. considers there is a mental health crisis in the country and that the pandemic exacerbated the symptoms of anxiety and depression among different populations, according to a KFF/CNN survey in July-Aug 2022. There the Covid-19 health emergency scheme ended in May 2023. The country has initiated a health crisis hotline, 388 for landline and mobile users. Medical experts have emphasised addressing negative mental health impacts which continue to pose challenges to labour productivity and global health. They suggest preparation for long-term mental needs beyond the Covid-19 pandemic. Mental health preparation could be aligned with telehealth services by including the private sector and strengthening the implementation of government initiatives in this direction is very crucial.

In India, the government carried out online trained health workers online by NIMHANS through iGOT-Diksha platform. National Tele Mental Health Programme was announced by the Government of India in the 2022-2023 Budget to provide quality access to mental health services. Given her large workforce, the increase of about 35% prevalence of anxiety and depression in India during the pandemic indicates that the government, private sector, and civil society groups need to align their mental health activities to facilitate the mental health of the employees in both formal and informal sectors. Thus, taking forward the recommendations in The Lancet publication, mental health care should be participatory of all social and policy stakeholders. They should also be decentralised by expanding from specialists to common people in terms of the adoption of skills, prevention, and promotion.

A Forbes article argues that Singapore represents a model for mental health care management. It prioritised mental health during the pandemic and continued to strengthen the pre-pandemic mental health system. The Covid-19 Mental Wellness Taskforce which was set up to address the needs of mental health in the country transformed into an inter-agency platform to formulate a national strategy for mental health in the post-pandemic future. Its Report, 2020 proposed to develop a One-Stop online portal for national mental health resources, basically providing self-help tools; and, developing a national mental health competency training framework. The government set up an online self-administered psychosocial assessment tool called iWorkHealth for the workplace to identify and manage workplace stressors. Business Inc. in Singapore is way ahead in showing leadership in implementing measures to improve mental health during and after the pandemic and prioritising the healthy relationship between employers and workers at the workplace. It is, thus, possible in a conducive policy environment that emphasises on people-oriented perspective.

Workers mental engagement in work should be facilitated by investing in their socio-emotional health which is a key to higher productivity and social well-being. Removal of stigmatisation, for example in India, surrounding mental disorders/illnesses constitutes a step towards the removal of hurdles in developing mental health. Apart from the national-level preparation, international organisations can come in to prepare countries for capacity building in health emergencies or normal mental health requirements. The World Health Assembly has recently updated the Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2030 in its implementation strategies. It, thus, can become useful for improving the mental health of workers in different sectors and preventing their mental and physical burnout in the present normalcy.

This article is authored by Mehdi Hussain, doctoral candidate, Centre for South Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
Bhubaneswar: Five persons including four children were killed on Monday morning when an under-construction culvert collapsed on them in the Rayagada district of Odisha. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced ex gratia assistance of  4 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased. (Sourced)

Officials said the victims were bathing under the culvert being constructed in Uparasaja village under Kalayansingpur tehsil when the incident took place. The four children were aged about 5.

Officials added that Dipai Miniaka, a woman who lost her husband and child in the incident, tried to die by suicide. She was admitted to a local hospital and is being treated for poisoning. Her condition is stated to be serious.

Kalyansinghpur block development officer Sunil Khara said the culvert was being constructed for the last two months. The villagers are dependent on the waterbed for bathing and washing utensils. Those who were bathing under it were buried under the debris when the support beams of the culvert gave in, he said.

Khara added that the precise reason behind the collapse is yet to be ascertained but heavy rains in the region could have weakened the structure.

The culvert was being constructed to accommodate the flow of a waterbed intersecting the stretch at a cost of 17 lakh. It was part of 2 crore contract to construct a 4.5 km stretch under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).

Odisha scheduled castes and tribes minister Jagannath Saraka visited the site. Saraka, who is also the states law minister, said a probe will be held to investigate if the construction was of poor quality. Action will be taken against the contractor, he said.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced ex gratia assistance of 4 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has issued a three-line whip to its Rajya Sabha members to be present in the House from July 31 to August 4 as the contentious National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill was due to be taken up for discussion and passage to replace the ordinance that gave the Union government control of the Capitals bureaucracy. AAP has called the Delhi ordinance illegal, unconstitutional and a black law. (PTI)

AAP has called the ordinance illegal, unconstitutional and a black law. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has crisscrossed the country to rally support against the ordinance and hinged AAPs entry into the National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) grouping on the Congress taking a stand on it.

All members of [the] Aam Aadmi Party in the Rajya Sabha are requested to kindly remain present in the house from 11am onwards until the adjournment of the house from July 31 to August 4, without fail and support the party stand. This may be treated as most important, said Sushil Kumar Gupta, the chief whip of AAP in Rajya Sabha.

AAP lawmaker Raghav Chadha on Monday said that the bill is not just against undemocratic and against the topmost court of the country, but also against the 20 million people of Delhi.

We need to understand that BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] is introducing this bill only because they have not been able to form government in Delhi in the last more than 25 years and since 2013, Delhi voters have given a clear mandate to AAP and Arvind Kejriwal, said Chaddha.

HT on Monday reported that the bill may be introduced in Lok Sabha before being taken to the Rajya Sabha, where the Opposition has the numbers to contest the proposed law.

A review of the text of the bill, which HT has seen, suggested that it that a contentious provision apparently meant to undo the effect of a May 11 Supreme Court ruling that rested control of Delhis administration with the elected government has been dropped. It proposes to change the manner in which tribunal heads are to be appointed in the Capital, assigning some prerogatives to the lieutenant governor now, as opposed to the Ordinances approach of the final signatory being the President of India.

On May 19, the ordinance was promulgated, effectively rolling back a Supreme Court constitution bench judgment that handed over control of the Capitals bureaucracy to Delhis elected government in matters other than policing, public order, and land.

The ordinance escalated the tussle between Delhis ruling AAP and the Union government-appointed lieutenant governor over control of the Capital.

The Supreme Court on July 20 referred the Delhi governments petition challenging the ordinance to a constitution bench of five judges. The courts decision to examine the legality of the ordinance has no bearing on the introduction or passage of the bill.

The legislative agenda for Monday does not mention the bill. The Union government was expected to bring the bill in at any point  even Monday  without prior information in the House, through a supplementary agenda.

The government similarly brought in its resolution to effectively nullify Constitutions Article 370 that gave Jammu and Kashmir semi-autonomous status and to bifurcate the region into two Union Territories in August 2019 in the Rajya Sabha.

Opposition leaders have said they were prepared for such a move this time and were due to discuss it at the meeting of the INDIA allies.

Tussle between the government and the INDIA grouping over the situation in violence-torn Manipur has rocked Parliament since the monsoon session began on July 20. The Opposition has demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a statement on the violence inside Parliament even as Union home minister Amit Shah has agreed to address the matter.

Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla admitted Congress lawmaker Gaurav Gogois no-confidence motion on Wednesday last even as it poses no threat to the government, which has a majority in the Lower House.

The government was confident of the numbers in both Houses. No bill has been stalled in the Rajya Sabha in the governments second term. The ruling alliance will need either the backing of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) or the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) to pass the Delhi bill in the Upper House. YSRCP leaders have decided to back the bill.
Not like Nirbhaya: Supreme Court on Manipur sexual assault case; police role questioned The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the Manipur government over the ongoing violence in the northeastern state saying the incident of two Kuki women being paraded naked by a mob before subjecting them to sexual assault cannot be seen as an isolated case. The court termed the incident horrendous and said it will not want the state police to probe the matter as they virtually handed over the women to the rioting mob. Read more Supreme Court of India (File Photo)

Alia Bhatt shares happy pic with Karan Johar and Ranveer Singh; thanks fans for loving Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani

Karan Johar's Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani has been receiving a good response from the critics and audiences ever since its release on July 28. On Monday, Alia Bhatt, who stars as Rani Chatterjee in the film, took to Instagram to thank everyone for showering love to the film. Read more

Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan with Taimur and Jeh return from Europe holiday, nail airport fashion in stylish looks

Kareena Kapoor Khan and Saif Ali Khan returned to Mumbai from their long Europe holiday with their two kids, Taimur Ali Khan and Jehangir (Jeh) Ali Khan. Today, the paparazzi clicked the couple and their two kids at the Mumbai airport. They shared pictures and videos of the family on social media. While Jeh and Taimur looked adorable, their parents chose stylish airport looks for their travels. Scroll through to check out the family's snippets from the airport. Read more

Elon Musk's X (Twitter) gets a new tagline, an updated iOS app. What all changed

Elon Musk's X, the rebranded name of the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, rolled out its 10.0 update for iOS on Monday. This new update brings significant changes to the app's interface, replacing almost all mentions of "Twitter" with X, renaming Tweets to "Posts", and Retweets to "Reposts". The app's tagline, displayed on Apple's App Store, has been updated to "Blaze your glory!" Read here

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'Karthik's become an honorary Englishman...': DK's dig at Ricky Ponting, Mark Taylor draws epic response from AUS greats

The fourth day of the fifth Ashes Test belonged to Australia and the rain. Chasing a target of 384 to record their first Ashes series win in England since 2001, openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja had put on a partnership of 135 runs when rain forced the two sets of players and the umpires back

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A Delhi-bound Air India flight returned to Melbourne due to a medical emergency after being airborne for more than one hour on Sunday morning, according to an airline official. The passenger was de-planed after a doctor onboard suggested that they needed to be hospitalised. (Photo by Vipin Kumar/ Hindustan Times)(Representative image)

The flight AI309, operated with a Boeing Dreamliner, took off again after de-planing the unwell passenger and his family members and later landed at Delhi airport in the evening at around 2130 hours.

The official said that one passenger was feeling unwell and a doctor onboard suggested that the passenger needed to be hospitalised. Since it was a medical emergency, the flight which was airborne for a little over one hour returned to Melbourne in the morning, the official said.

Details about the number of passengers onboard could not be immediately ascertained.
The death of five adult cheetahs translocated from Africa to India and three cubs occurred due to natural causes and not on account of any inherent unsuitability of the Kuno National Park site, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Monday, ruling out at present the possibility of shifting the 15 surviving cheetahs and a lone cub to an alternate habitat. The death of five adult cheetahs translocated from Africa to India and three cubs occurred due to natural causes and not on account of any inherent unsuitability of the Kuno National Park site, the Centre told the Supreme Court (PTI)

Also read: Eighth cheetah dies at Kuno park in MP; Wont be relocated, says Union minister

In a response filed ahead of the hearing of the case in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, the Centre said that according to the action plan on cheetahs, alternate sites are being prepared for introduction of the animals, but it depends on the continued availability of cheetahs from African countries for sourcing, besides other factors such as prey base and protection mechanism on the ground.

Going by the general scientific awareness of survival of cheetahs in the wild, the Centre said these carnivores have low survival rate of about 50% in adults even in non-introduced population. In the event of being introduced in a habitat, this rate gets even much lower which may lead to about 10% survival in cubs, the affidavit said, adding, Mortalities, though troubling, and in need of redressal and curtailment, are not unduly alarming.

Also read: What's happening with the cheetahs?

Mentioning the analysis of cheetah carcasses, the Centre in its response said, Provisional diagnosis of mortality events point towards natural causes and none of the cheetahs have died due to unnatural reasons such as poaching, snaring, poisoning, road hits, electrocution, etc.

Eight cheetahs, five adults and three cubs, have died ever since KNP received 20 cheetahs  eight from Namibia and 12 from South Africa  in two tranches, as part of the countrys first inter-continental translocation project, starting September 17.

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Two Home Guards were killed, over 200 people were injured and dozens of vehicles were torched as communal violence engulfed Haryanas Nuh on Monday after clashes erupted between Hindu and Muslim groups during a religious procession by the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, said police. Two Home Guards were killed,over 200 people were injured and dozens of vehicles were torched in Nuh on Monday. (HT PHOTO)

The administration issued prohibitory orders in Nuh and Gurugram districts, and snapped mobile internet services across Nuh, though tensions simmered well into the evening. Additional forces were parachuted in, while chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar urged residents to refrain from violence.

The Gurugram administration separately said schools across the district will be shut on Tuesday.

At least 20 people were detained till 11pm in connection with the violence.

According to police officers, the violence began 10 minutes after the procession, of around 200 people, began to walk from Edward Chowk in Nuh town around 2pm. As the group walked down the mainroad, it was allegedly pelted with rocks bya large crowd. The Hindu side initially fled, but then allegedly regrouped and retaliated.

Sajjan Dalal, deputy superintendent of police (Hodal), was shot in the head and was in a critical condition, said a senior police officer.

He is undergoing treatment at Medanta hospital with inspector Anil Kumar of Gurugram police who has also sustained a bullet injury in his abdomen, he said.

The trigger for the violence, said one police officer, was a rumour that Bajrang Dal member and cow vigilante Monu Manesar, wanted for murdering two Muslim men in Haryanas Bhiwani this February, would also be a part of the procession.

This, said the officer, was preceded by a video of Manesar that began circulating on social media on Sunday.

In the video, he was heard announcing that he will reach Nuh to participate in the procession, while appealing others to take part in it on a large scale, said the police officer cited above. Nerves were fraught in the region after the video emerged, said the officer, adding that wanted cow vigilante did not eventually turn up.

Manesar has been at large for months.

The group that pelted the rally with stones left a few minutes later, but soon regrouped and began setting afire cars parked along the road. At this point, the violence began to spread across Nuh and neighbouring Gurugram as news of the clashes spread.

About 2,500 men, women and children who had taken shelter at a Shiv temple in Nuh were evacuated by police, Haryana home minister Anil Vij said in Chandigarh.

Police officers said the people who attacked the procession also ransacked Nuhs cyber police station and torched a police post at Edward Chowk, roughly 50km from Gurugram.

A senior Nuh district official said police fired several rounds of tear gas shells to disperse protesters.

Police personnel also opened fire in the air. After reinforcement was received, orders were issued to charge batons on all those involved in the violence and stone pelting, said the officer.

Reports of stone-pelting and violence were being received from some pockets till 6pm and forces were being mobilised accordingly.

Kamal Gupta, a devotee, said the temples were Hindus were taking shelter were attacked by Muslim groups.

Devotees were dragged out of buses and cars and assaulted, he said.

Nasir Ahmed, a resident of Punhana neighbourhood in Nuh, accused people in the procession of raising provocative slogans.

Iqbal Khan, a resident of Firozpur Jhirka, alleged that people in the procession first attacked passersby.

Several people leaving a mosque retaliated and things went out of control, he said.

Gurugram police chief Kala Ramachandran confirmed the deaths and urged people to keep from stoking tensions.

No one should post any provocative or violence related posts on social media platforms that may damage the social harmony and peace in the society, she said.

Immediate and stern action will be taken against anyone found posting any item on social media that could create a law-and-order problem. People should also stay away from rumour mongering, she added.

Khattar said the state would act against people responsible for the violence.

Todays incident is unfortunate, I appeal to all the people to maintain peace in the state. The guilty will not be spared at any cost, strictest action will be taken against them, he tweeted.

Narender Bijrania, Bhiwani police chief, who has been given additional charge of Nuh on Monday said they detained several people and were questioning them in connection with the incident.

We have identified many persons through videos and pictures circulated on social media platforms and will soon arrest them. The situation is now under control and people have been rescued safely,he said.

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Lok Sabha was adjourned until 2pm on Monday following protests by the opposition which demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi address Parliament on the ongoing unrest in Manipur. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan was replying to queries on government schools in backward regions. (File photo)

Ahead of the adjournment, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey raised concerns on the condition of state-run schools during Question Hour. He brought up the problem of shortage of teachers in schools and colleges in the backward districts of India.

Those who get the job mostly belong to the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) and ICSE (India Certificate of Secondary Education) boards. The state-run schools cannot pop up like that in education. Even after spending money, the schools run by the state governments, especially in Jharkhand have a high shortage of teachers, Dubey asked. He also enquired in what ways the central government would ensure that state-run schools would be brought at par with the other schools through the provisions of the National Education Policy (NEP).

Responding to the queries, union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, Education is a subject of the concurrent list. The central governments responsibility is to provide economic support to the state governments. Its implementations responsibility lies with the central government.

But Pradhan said he will speak with the state governments on how the issue of shortage of teachers and better utilization of funds can be made.

At the beginning of the session, Speaker Om Birla announced that a parliamentary delegation from Malawi is visiting India to watch the proceedings of the House. He welcomed the foreign delegation and wished them a good stay in the country.
The government on Monday sharpened its attack against the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), accusing them of politicising the violence in Manipur and shifting the goal posts by stalling a discussion on the ethnic clashes, which has killed at least 147 people over nearly three months, in the Rajya Sabha. A view of the Rajya Sabha during ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament. (PTI)

The Opposition group stuck to its demand for a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a detailed debate on the matter under Rule 267, which allows for the listed business to be suspended to take up a matter of urgency.

Also read: Proposal from Manipur for installing world's tallest flagpole in Imphal: Centre

Later, in a meeting called by Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, the INDIA parties suggested that they were not insisting on Modis participation during the debate, but insisted that he table a statement in the House. The governments managers, however, pointed out how the Opposition created disruptions when the PM spoke in the Rajya Sabha the last time on the Presidents speech.

With both sides adamant on their respective stances, there was no let-up in the logjam in Parliament on Monday, which saw several adjournments in both the Houses. In the Lok Sabha, INDIA leaders rushed to the well repeatedly with banners and raised slogans, forcing frequent adjournments.

Speaking outside Parliament, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman lashed out at the Opposition, accusing it of shedding crocodile tears for the victims of violence in Manipur. In a stinging attack on the Opposition that wore black in protest over the violence that has roiled the northeastern state, Sitharaman said their mindset is as black as the clothes they wore.

For the last eight days, the Opposition had been demanding a discussion on Manipur. Now they are running away. Manipur is just a political issue for them. It is now clear they were just shedding crocodile tears on the Manipur issue, she said.

The minister also slammed the Opposition for placing conditions such as demanding that the discussion be taken up under Rule 267 and not allowing a short-duration discussion that was slated to be taken up in the Rajya Sabha on Monday afternoon. This is a clear exposure of the hypocrisy of the Opposition, she said.

The Union minister went on to read out the names of Opposition leaders who gave notices to take up the issue during a short-duration discussion under Rule 176, which allows a brief discussion not exceeding two-and-a-half hours.

When Dhankhar called upon Assam lawmaker Birendra Prasad Baishya to initiate the discussion on the violence in Manipur under Rule 176, the opposition MPs rose in protest, which led to the Upper House being adjourned.

The MPs demanded a statement from Modi and a detailed debate on the issue. Reacting to their demand, Sitharaman questioned why Opposition members, some of whom visited Manipur recently, would want to stall the discussion.

A 21-member delegation of INDIA was in Manipur last week, visiting relief camps and meeting victims of the violence that erupted in the state on May 3 following a high court order proposing the inclusion of the Meiteis in the list of scheduled tribes. Since then, clashes between the dominant Meiteis and the tribal Kukis have killed 147 people and displaced 40,000.

The Oppositions demand for discussion under Rule 267 was an attempt to politicise the issue, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said on condition of anonymity. There is no voting under both rules (267 and 176); so what is the rationale in their demand? the leader asked.

There is a precedent to the Opposition seeking a statement from the PM and the BJP did the same when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was in power, and often didnt allow the House to function till then PM Manmohan Singh made a statement, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh tweeted.

INDIA parties are demanding suspension of all business in the Rajya Sabha, a statement by the PM on Manipur followed by a discussion thereafter. The Modi government has been resisting this and trying to give the impression that it is ready for a debate while saying nothing on a statement by the PM, he said.

Earlier in the day, when the Rajya Sabha assembled, Dhankhar said he received 65 notices under Rule 267.

Commerce minister and leader of the House, Piyush Goyal, accused the Opposition of trying to mock the Parliamentary process. They are trying to misuse the liberty given to all the members. This is clearly reflective of their mentality, he said, referring to the demand for holding discussion under Rule 267.

The government agreed to a discussion in the all-party meeting and the debate could have happened on the first day of the monsoon session, but the Opposition wasted nine days, Goyal said. The entire country is watching. I see no sense and wonder what message they are trying to give. Are they running away from the debate? What is that they are trying to hide? he asked.

Also read: 'After wiping off tears...': AAP's Raghav Chadha on INDIA MPs' Manipur visit

Goyal also suggested to Dhankhar that there was no need to read out the names of MPs who gave notices under Rule 267, as it was the Oppositions strategy to bother the chair everyday.

At a meeting called by Dhankhar, INDIA leaders said the PM should at least table a statement on Manipur, said people aware of developments. We also said that the INDIA parties are not insisting on his presence during the debate. If the government wants Union minister Amit Shah to reply, we might consider after talking to all the constituents of INDIA, a leader said, declining to be named.

Pandit Nehru came and spoke in Rajya Sabha on serious subjects and participated in debate. Atal Bihari Vajpayee came and discussed in Rajya Sabha. Dr. Manmohan Singh also participated and even Rajiv Gandhi came and discussed Bofors in Rajya Sabha, Trinamool Congress leader Derek OBrien said outside Parliament. We dont want a two-hour discussion on Manipur. We want a full-fledged discussion under an emergency rule.

After the meeting at Dhankhars office, two opposition leaders from the Congress and Trinamool Congress met a top-ranking minister and reiterated they are not insisting on Modis presence during the debate and they will talk to other INDIA constituents to consider home minister Shahs reply to the debate.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Smriti Kak Ramachandran Smriti covers an intersection of politics and governance. Having spent over a decade in journalism, she combines old fashioned leg work with modern story telling tools. ...view detail

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Saubhadra Chatterji Saubhadra Chatterji is Deputy Political Editor at the Hindustan Times. He writes on both politics and policies. ...view detail
The Supreme Court came down hard on the government and police of Manipur for mishandling the case where three women were stripped and one allegedly gang-raped on May 4, rued the fact that violence was going on unabated in the state, and categorically shut down an argument that sought to widen the courts hearing to one on crimes against women in other states by pointedly remarking that the question was only of Manipur, where the situation was unprecedented. A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, said that the violence against women in Manipur during the ethnic clashes assumed an unprecedented magnitude. (PTI)

The court, which said it was deeply disturbed by the incident, further mulled over setting up a committee to visit the strife torn state and report back with recommendations to enable it issue further directions relating to investigation, rehabilitation and confidence-building measures.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, said that the violence against women in Manipur during the ethnic clashes assumed an unprecedented magnitude and that systemic acts of violence perpetrated in the course of the sectarian strife require the court to put in place a mechanism for preventing such incidents in future while restoring the faith of the communities in the rule of law and constitutional processes.

Putting the Manipur government in the dock over a delay of 14 days in registering a first information report (FIR) into the May 4 assault of the women by a frenzied mob -- a viral video of which sparked a nationwide outcry -- the court deferred its decision on the Centres request to transfer the trial of the case outside Manipur and direct for its conclusion within six months of filing of the charge sheet by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Instead, it said it would first set up a committee, comprising women judges and domain experts, which can give it a first-hand picture of the situation in Manipur and the urgent orders that need to be passed.

Clashes between the Kukis and Meiteis first erupted on May 3 during a protest against a court-ordered tweak to the states reservation matrix, granting scheduled tribe (ST) status to the latter. Violence quickly engulfed the state where ethnic fault lines run deep, displacing tens of thousands of people who fled burning homes and neighbourhoods into jungles, often across state borders. At least 150 people have lost their lives in the violence so far.

The authorities quickly clamped a curfew and suspended internet, pumping in additional security forces to force a break in the spiraling clashes. Internet is still not back in the state. But tensions were simmering for much longer, owing to the state governments decision to exit the tripartite accord and move against some forest dwelling groups it termed as encroachers.

On June 4, the Union government formed a three-member judicial inquiry panel to probe the ethnic violence in Manipur on the recommendation of the state government.

The bench, which also included justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, was hearing a clutch of pleas relating to the violence in the northeastern state, and one of the fresh petitions taken up by it on Monday was filed by the two women seen in the viral video.

There was a third woman, too, according to the FIR.

The two women sought a probe by a special investigation team (SIT) under the monitoring of the apex court; their affidavits stated that they were handed over to the frantic crowd by the police officers as they tried to flee their village due to the bloodshed.

The incident came to light on May 4. What were the police doing for 14 days that the FIR was registered only on May 18? There cannot be any justification for not registering a zero FIR? The May 18 FIR did not name any one and it was against some unknown persons. So, what stopped the police from registering an FIR for 14 days? Was this the only such incident of this nature? How many such zero FIRs have bene registered in toto and how many of them involve crime against women? the court asked solicitor general (SG) Tushar Mehta, seeking his reply on Tuesday at 2pm.

Zero FIRs are lodged by the police when a crime has been reported but the jurisdictional police station remains to be ascertained.

Mehta, representing the Manipur government, said that there were good reasons why the state recommended a CBI probe into the case, adding the state does not have anything to hide but the crime-wise break up of FIRs was not collated yet.

We are surprised that the Manipur government is even today not in possession of facts. If these facts and the allegations of complicity are even partially true, especially since in this case the victims have said they were virtually handed over to the mob by the police, should we not have a high-powered committee to look into all this? it asked.

Lamenting that the violence (in the state) is going on in the state unabated, the bench observed that a court appointed committee will give confidence to people that the highest court of the land is looking into their grievances.

This [committee] is not in terms of just trying to figure out what has happened, but we also need to rebuild lives from here on. A lot has been lost but not everything has been lost...Our idea is ultimately that we restore the faith of the community -- in the rule of law and the constitutional processes. Thats the message we need to send, said the court, adding that it is thinking of constituting a committee of former judges and experts.

Indicating that the order on setting up the committee will be passed on Tuesday, the bench asked the Manipur government to furnish details of approximately 6,000 FIRs registered in the state, which has been overrun by violence since May 3, claiming at least 150 people in the clashes between the Meitei and the Kuki communities.

We need to know bifurcation of these 6,000 FIRs. How many zero FIRs were registered? How many were forwarded to jurisdictional magistrates and when? What actions were taken on them? How many arrests have been made and the accused are in judicial custody? How many of these FIRs involve sexual violence? What is the position of legal aid to them? In how many of them 164 statements (statements of victims) have been recorded so far? Give us some facts so that we have a fair idea of what has been happening in the state, it told the SG.

While the SG and attorney general (AG) R Venkataramani, who was requested by the bench to assist it in the matter, highlighted that the case relating to the viral video has been handed over to CBI, senior counsel Kapil Sibal (appearing for the survivors of the May 4 incident), Indira Jaising, Colin Gonsalves, and advocates Shobha Gupta and Vrinda Grover pressed for a court-monitored special investigation team (SIT) instead of a CBI probe.

The bench, however, pointed out that merely entrusting the probe to CBI or SIT will not serve any purpose and that it wants a mechanism where the process of justice must go to every victim.

The A-G submitted that a little more time and application of mind would be appropriate before the court passes any order, assuring the bench that he would personally monitor the CBI probe. But the bench retorted: Our extent of intervention will depend on what the government has done so far. If we are satisfied that the government has done enough, we may not intervene. But if we think the state hasnt done enough, we will have to intervene.

No to whataboutery

During the hearing, advocate Bansuri Swaraj, representing an applicant in the matter, cited the incidents of assaults and similar parading of women in West Bengal as she implored the bench to issue similar directions for the states of West Bengal , Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Kerala from where similar incidents of crimes against women have been reported.

Responding, the bench said: Undoubtedly there are crimes which are taking place against women across the country -- that is our social reality. But here, we are dealing with something which is of unprecedented magnitude, namely crimes and perpetration of violence against women in a situation of communal and sectarian strife.

It further said that there is no gainsaying the fact that crimes against women are taking place in all parts. The only answer is this. You cannot excuse what is taking place in one part of the country like Manipur on the grounds that similar crimes are happening in other parts too. The question currently is how we deal with Manipur? the court said.

Uniform treatment

Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta appeared for two Meitei organisations, submitting he is reserving his arguments for a different day since it is important for the court to address at some point of time the underlying reasons behind the continuing violence between the two communities.

Acknowledging his concerns, the bench assured Gupta that violence perpetrated against any community will be treated on par. As a court it is our duty to consider who the victims of violence are. We will be even handed about who the perpetrators are and who the victims are. We will also ask the Centre and the state what they are going to do to ensure violence comes to an end, it added.

The bench further remarked: We understand that there will be victims from the Meitei community too. It does not happen in a communal strife that only one side is at the receiving end. That one video sparked a national outrage and it was the trigger-point, but we are not going to confine our exercise to one video.

The top court had on July 20 taken a suo motu cognisance of the horrific video, terming it deeply disturbing and grossest violation of constitutional rights, as it threatened to step in if the Centre and the state failed to act.

Responding, the Centre, through Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla, submitted its affidavit on July 27 and informed the court that the case pertaining to the viral video of women being stripped and paraded naked has been handed over to CBI. Maintaining that it has zero-tolerance towards any crimes against women, the Centre sought a direction from the top court the trial must be time-bound, and should be transferred outside Manipur. The affidavit further said that it has been made mandatory for the police station in-charge to immediately report all such cases to the director general of police (DGP) in Manipur.

The video of a mob parading and assaulting three women after stripping them two months ago in Manipur surfaced on July 19, fanning fresh tension in the state and a nationwide outcry.

According to the FIR filed in the case, one of the three women of a family was gang raped while a mob of 800-1000 men killed her brother and father. The family of five had fled to a forest to escape the armed mob that entered their village and vandalised houses. Police later rescued the family. The mob surrounded the family and took them from police custody, according to the FIR.

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Restricted by the Supreme Court from taking any action in the Chhattisgarh liquor scam, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a complaint with Uttar Pradesh police, asking it to investigate irregularities by a Noida- based company for supplying duplicate holograms to the liquor syndicate in Chhattisgarh, which were allegedly used to dupe consumers. Enforcement Directorate (File photo)

The federal agency filed a complaint at Kasna police station in Gautam Budh Nagar, based on which a first information report (FIR) was filed on July 30, naming three Chhattisgarh government officials, including two Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, Anwar Debhar, the brother of Raipur mayor Aijaz Debhar and businessman Vidhu Gupta, whose company got the contract to make the holograms.

The IAS officers named in the FIR, seen by HT, include Anil Tuteja, Niranjan Das and Arunpati Tripathi, who were posted in key posts in Chhattisgarh when the alleged irregularities took place. Tripathi, former managing director of the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited, and Anwar Dhebar were arrested by the federal agency in the case earlier.

The Supreme Court asked the ED on July 18 to stay their hand in all manner in the alleged liquor scam- linked money-laundering probe.

EDs complaint stated that its probe found out that Prizm Holography Security Films Private Limited was illegally granted a tender to supply holograms to the state excise department. The company was not eligible to participate in the tender process, but in connivance with the company owners, the senior officials of the state of Chhattisgarh, namely Arunpati Tripathi, ITS (Special Secretary Excise), Niranjan Das, IAS (Excise Commissioner), Anil Tuteja, IAS, modified the tender conditions and illegally allotted the tender to M/s Prizm Holography Security Films Pvt Ltd, Noida, it said.

As a quid pro quo, they took a commission of 8 paisa per hologram and also took a commitment to supply unaccounted duplicate holograms to carry out a sinister crime of selling illegal country liquor bottles from state-run shops in Chhattisgarh, it alleged.

A hologram is a safety feature to ensure authenticated liquor is sold in the state, an ED official said, declining to be named. But the actions of Prizm Holography in manufacturing duplicate holograms in Noida allowed the liquor syndicate to use the safety feature to fool gullible consumers, he said.

The ED investigation has revealed that a tender was allotted to this company as part of a criminal conspiracy. Prizm Holography Security Films Pvt Ltd (M/s PHSF from here on) was granted the tender in order to ensure a smooth supply of duplicate holograms to the liquor syndicate, the FIR stated.

The holograms were made at a Noida factory and transported to Chhattisgarh on instructions from the liquor syndicate leaders, it said, adding that the syndicate, as part of the arrangement, allotted the contract of supplying 80 crore holograms in five years at a highly inflated price to M/s PHSF in return for on-demand supply of duplicate holograms.

Earlier, in its charge sheet filed in July first week, the ED said that 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. Dhebar had decided to replicate the same corruption model in Jharkhand as well, but abruptly stopped when the ED started looking into the irregularities, it added.

HT reached out to cabinet minister Mohammad Akbar, Anwar Debhar and his lawyer for a comment but did not get one immediately.
Four luxury cars, jewellery worth 14.5 lakh and 4.5 lakh in cash have been seized after raids were conducted against the Congress' Haryana MLA Dharam Singh Chokker and companies "owned and controlled" by him as part of a money laundering case linked to alleged fraud with homebuyers, the ED said on Monday. Haryana MLA Dharam Singh Chokker

The action under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act came after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched searches against the Samalkha (Panipat) MLA and others on July 25, it said in a statement.

Eleven locations in Samalkha, Gurugram and Delhi belonging to Sai Aaina Farms Pvt Ltd (presently Mahira Infratech Pvt Ltd) and other group companies of Mahira Group "owned and controlled" by Chhoker and his family were raided.

The money laundering case stems from an FIR by the Gurugram Police against the accused and Sai Aaina Farms Pvt Ltd for "cheating and forgery" as it is alleged to have collected about 360 crore from 1,497 homebuyers under the affordable housing scheme on the promise of providing homes at Sector 68 in Gurugram, near Delhi, the ED said.

The agency also alleged that Chhoker and his sons, Sikander Singh and Vikas Chhoker, and other key employees remained "absent" during the searches and have not joined the investigation till date.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced 'Meri Mati Mera Desh' campaign from August 9-15 in the run-up to Independence Day celebrations to honour the martyred bravehearts of the country. Special inscriptions will be installed in gram panchayats across the country in the memory of the martyrs, as part of the campaign. Prime Minister Narendra Modi(File )

"The Meri Mati Mera Desh campaign will be launched to honour our martyred brave men and women. Under this, many programmes will be organised across the country in the memory of our immortal martyrs," PM Modi said during his latest edition of the monthly radio program 'Mann ki Baat',

PM Modi also said that an "Amrit Kalash Yatra" will be organised under the campaign during which selected youths from 7,500 gram panchayats across India will assemble at Kartavya Path in Delhi with 7,500 urns carrying soil from across the nation along with saplings.

While announcing the launch of the campaign, PM Modi said, Amrit Vatika will be built near the National War Memorial by fusing the soil and saplings that would arrive in 7500 urns. This 'Amrit Vatika' will also become a grand symbol of Ek Bharat Shresth Bharat."

"With these efforts, we will realise our duties... We will realise the innumerable sacrifices made for the freedom of the country; we will realise the value of freedom. Hence, every countryman must join in these efforts," the Prime Minister said.

Recalling the last year's 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign, PM Modi urged the people to hoist the tricolour at the houses this Independence Day as well. With these efforts, we will realise our duties. We will realise the innumerable sacrifices made for the freedom of the country, we will realise the value of freedom. Hence, every person in the country must join in these efforts," PM Modi said.

Meanwhile, Shailesh Kumar Singh, Secretary, ministry of rural development emphasised the importance of VasudhaVandan where each Gram Panchayat/village will renew and replenish mother earth by planting 75 saplings of indigenous species which can be carried out at the site of Amrit Sarovar or any water body or public places such as schools, gram panchayat bhawans or any place decided by the gram panchayat.
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday moved a sessions court in Delhi challenging summons issued against him by the magistrate court in a criminal defamation complaint filed by Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot. (PTI)

Gehlots petition is listed before sessions judge MK Nagpal for hearing on Tuesday.

Union minister Shekhawat, who represents Jodhpur Lok Sabha constituency, filed a criminal defamation case against the Rajasthan chief minister on March 4 alleging that the latter called him and his deceased mother an accused in the 900 crore Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society scam.

In his complaint, the minister alleged that false, uncalled, derogatory and defamatory statements have been made with the aim to tarnish his image in the eyes of the general public, the voters and his kith and kin, with the object of gaining an undue political mileage.

On July 6, additional chief metropolitan magistrate (ACMM) Harpreet Singh Jaspal had issued summons to Gehlot to appear before the court. After going through the reports filed by the Delhi Police, the magistrate had listed the matter for August 7.

having considered the facts and circumstances, the testimonies of the complainant witnesses, the evidence placed on record, it prima facie appears that the accused has made specific defamatory statements against the complaint, Jaspal had observed.

It appears that the defamatory statements of the accused have been sufficiently published in the newspaper electronic media/social media, which may make the right thinking members of the society shun the complainant, the magistrate had further observed.

In 2019, the special operational group (SOG) registered a first information report (FIR) against the multi-state credit cooperative society Sanjivani Credit Society for allegedly duping thousands of investors of 900 crore. Six office bearers of the society were arrested in 2019. The FIR, however, did not name Shekhawat.

In his complaint, Shekhawat has alleged that Gehlot, by way of press conferences, media reports and social media posts, publicly stated that the Union minister and his family members were accused in the Sanjeevani scam and that the allegations against the complainant have been proved.

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NEW DELHI: Over 25,000 students will graduate from 23 India Institute of Technology (IITs) in the year 2022-23 and the government is doing its best to retain such students in the country, the education ministry told parliament on Monday. Over 25,000 students will graduate from 23 IITs in 2022-23, the government said (File Photo)

Union minister of state for education Subhas Sarkar said the government was also providing attractive academic opportunities to non-resident Indians (NRIs).

Sarkar was replying to a question by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of Parliament Dhal Singh Bisen on efforts by the government to retain such meritorious students. He also asked whether such students had opted to go abroad instead of staying back in India.

The Government is committed to not only retain the students passing out of the premier educational institutions in the country, but also provide attractive educational and research opportunities to Non-Resident Indians, within the country, MoS Sarkar said in his written reply.

Under the Prime Ministers Research Fellowship scheme, an attractive fellowship of maximum of Rs. 55 lakh per scholar (including annual research grant) in five years is offered to selected students to pursue their PhD in Indian Universities/ Institutions so as to retain talent in the country, MoS Sarkar in his written reply said.

Sarkar briefly outlined the governments efforts to help such students

The Government has also sanctioned establishment of Research Parks at IITs- Madras, Bombay, Kharagpur, Kanpur, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Gandhinagar and IISc Bangalore to augment the research ecosystem in the country, Sarkar said.

The minister said that that Global Initiative for Academic Network (GIAN), a government programme launched to tap and link international and local talent pool of scientists and entrepreneurs has been implemented as well.

GIAN seeks to tap the talent pool of scientists and entrepreneurs from abroad, including those of Indian origin, to augment the countrys existing academic resources, Sarkar said.

The Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC), aims at improving the research ecosystem of Indias higher educational institutions by facilitating academic and research collaborations between top ranked Indian Institutions and globally ranked foreign institutions, through joint research projects involving mobility of students and faculty, Sarkar said.

The education ministry, however, did not respond in detail to specific questions raised by Bisen on the exact number of IIT students who go abroad after completing their education.

Sarkar also did not reply to the question whether the ministry would make it mandatory for IIT graduates to work in India as is its done for students studying MBBS and MD courses.
Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel on Sunday said that his government will study the possibility of a system for making parental nod mandatory in love marriages if it is constitutionally feasible, PTI reported. Bhupendra Patel, chief minister of Gujarat. (Twitter Photo)

While addressing an event in Gujarat's Mehsana organised by the Sardar Patel Group representing the Patidar community, Patel said he was told by the state health minister about the need for a study into the incidents of girls eloping for marriage so that the consent of parents in case of love marriages can be made necessary.

"Rushikesh Patel told me to look afresh and carry out a study into the incidents of the elopement of girls so as to see if there is a possibility of (mandatory) consent of parents into (love marriages). If the Constitution supports it, then we will carry out a study regarding this and try to get the best result for this," Patel said.

Meanwhile, the opposition Congress came in support of the decision. "At a time when parents are neglected in love marriages, the government is thinking of creating a specific system regarding love marriages that is constitutionally feasible," Congress MLA Imran Khedawala said.

The Gujarat government in the year 2021 amended the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, making forcible or fraudulent religious conversion by marriage a punishable offence, with a provision of up to 10 years imprisonment.

However, the high court stayed certain sections of the Act which were challenged in the Supreme Court, where it is pending.

(With inputs from PTI)
Haryana's Nuh violence highlights: Five people were killed and over 50 people including policemen were injured in Haryana after clashes broke out in Nuh district Monday. The violence began after a mob of miscreants pelted stones and set cars on fire during a religious procession on Monday evening. According to the police, a religious procession - Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra - which was flagged off from Gurugrams Civil Lines by BJP district president Gargi Kakkar, was stopped by a group of men near Khedla Mod in Nuh. A crane removes a burnt vehicle following clashes between Hindus and Muslims in Nuh district of the northern state of Haryana, India, August 1.(REUTERS)

As tensions gripped the state, prohibitory orders banning the assembly of people were clamped in Nuh and Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal, and Rewari districts. Along with this, mobile internet services were also suspended in Nuh and Faridabad till Wednesday. The officials also suspended internet in Sohna, Pataudi and Manesar until further orders.
This is what happened to them. Snatched from police custody and killed; beheaded and burnt alive; raped and murdered; shot dead on camera; set on fire in an ambulance; disappeared without a trace. PREMIUM Protest in Manipur's Churachandpur on Saturday. (PTI)

29 days, 89 days, 28 days, 58 days, 87 days and 88 days. That is how long their families have grieved, without even the beginnings of justice.

This is their story.

From May 3, Manipur has been in the throes of ethnic violence that has left at least 150 dead, injured more than 300, and displaced around 50,000 from their homes. But even as Manipur went through wave upon wave of death and destruction, on July 19 emerged a video that shook a country awake. It showed three Kuki women -- stripped, paraded and one of them allegedly gang raped  by a hooting Meitei mob in Kangpokpi district on May 4. A zero FIR was filed two weeks later, a case was registered in the appropriate police station late June, but the police had taken no action till July 19. Chastened by the nationwide outrage that followed the videos, chief minister Biren Singh condemned the event, the Prime Minister spoke outside Parliament , and the first arrest was made. Since then, six more people have been arrested and the case has gone up to the Supreme Court.

Yet, in Manipur, where more than 6,000 FIRs have been registered over the past three months, thousands of people still await the first steps of due process. HT travelled across Manipur to meet six families that have been witness to the most unimaginable pain; cases that can only take place in the throes of what is, at best, a bout of ethnic violence, and at worst, a civil war. The details of these six cases capture the magnitude of brutality on display; nine people killed, two raped, four set on fire. They also reiterate a complete failure of law and order and a police force now divided on ethnic lines themselves, passing blame and jurisdiction to each other. Forget an arrest, in not one of these most heinous of six cases, has even a statement been recorded.

This is their story.

1. Case: Beheaded and burned

Date of the incident: July 2

Case registered: July 2

In the early hours of July 2, 32-year-old David Thiek and four other Kuki friends were on duty, guarding the village of Langza in Churachandpur. Manipur had already seen violence for two months, and battle lines had hardened; the village had emptied apprehending an attack from a Meitei mob. The attack came at 4.30am, and the four men were outfought, and outmatched. Three of Thieks fellow village guards fled on foot, while one hid in the bushes. Thiek was caught, allegedly tortured for close to an hour, his limbs chopped off, his severed head put on display on a bamboo fence and later burnt.

A few days later, a video of Thieks head impaled on the fence went viral in Manipur, causing widespread outrage, also because one of men ostensibly holding his head was identified by locals as the security guard of a BJP legislator.

Abraham Thiek, Davids younger brother, told HT that they filed an FIR at Churachandpur police station the same day. But the case was transferred to Kumbi police station in Bishnupur district. Its been almost a month since my brother was murdered, but thus far no police personnel have reached out to us, he said.

N Thangzamuan, officer in charge of Churachandpur police station admitted that the case has seen no action. We did some initial investigation in Davids case and transferred it to Bishnupur district since the incident took place under their jurisdiction. But we have no idea what investigation they have initiated. There seems to have been no action, he said.

The family, including Davids father Khuma who has partial memory loss and is in his early 60s, have all moved to Saikot to the safety of a relatives home. More than any compensation money, we want justice and expect stringent punishment for those responsible for my brothers death, Abraham said.

2. Case: Rape and murder

Date of case: May 4

Case registered: May 16

Her last call to her mother was on April 30. She told her that she would be home in a fortnight, on Mothers Day. Four days later, on May 4, the 24-year-old woman, and her 21-year-old friend who belonged to the same Kangpokpi village and worked with her at the same Imphal car wash centre, were dragged out of a room in their workplace (where they were hiding), allegedly raped and murdered by a raging Meitei mob.

Unable to travel to Imphal for fear of their own lives, both families registered a zero FIR-- this enables the registration of a case in a place different to the place of crime -- on May 16 at Saikul police station in Kagpokpi, under the sections of rape and murder. Kangpokpi district police officials said that because the incident took place in Imphal, they have transferred the case there, but have heard nothing since.

In all of this time, I have received just one phone call from the Saikul police station asking for my daughters phone number. That has been the only interaction. Another government official came a few weeks after the incident and asked for our bank details. We have heard the government has announced compensation for families of victims, but we have received nothing, said the 24-year-olds father.

The families dont even have the bodies of the two women yet. They are lying in a morgue at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal. Their own village came under attack on June 12, and with every home burned down, one family has moved to a relief camp in Kangpokpi, and another has moved to a relatives village that they do not want identified.

What hurts me the most is to know that women were there when my daughter and her friend were raped and murdered. When I called her number on May 4, a Meitei woman picked up and asked me if I wanted my daughter to live or die. After that the phone was switched off, and she was dead, said the 21-year-olds mother.

3. Case: Shot dead on camera

Date of incident: July 4

Case registered: July 9

24-year-old Irengbam Chingkheinganba and 31-year-old Sagolshem Ngaleiba left their homes at Sekmaijin Khunou in Imphal West on July 4, a full two months after the Manipur violence first began, but never returned. The next day, both families filed a missing persons report at the Sekmai police station in the morning.

By afternoon, their worst fears had been confirmed. A video surfaced on July 5 that showed both Meitei men tortured and shot dead on camera and then thrown into a ditch by a mob of Kukis.

Voices in the background of the 69-second video call out that they have killed two cadres of the Arambai Tenggol, a radical Meitei group that has been blamed by Kukis of orchestrating attacks on their villages; the families have denied that the two men belonged to this group.

Irengbams younger brother Priyobrata said, My brother didnt tell us where he was going when he left home on July 4. We tried calling him in the evening but his phone was switched off. We looked for him the entire night, but the next day the video emerged and we knew he had been shot dead.

Irengbams father lodged an FIR at the Sekmai police station on July 9. Senior officers at the police station said that while a sub-inspector-rank officer has been assigned to investigate the case, no action has been taken so far, and the police have not even been able to recover the bodies. We think the two men could have been abducted at Kanglatongbi, four kilometres north of Sekmai, and taken to Kangpokpi district where they were killed. But we have not been able to conduct a proper investigation, a police official said.

4. Case: Set on fire on the way to hospital

Date of incident: June 4

Case registered: June 13

The family was already in the throes of grief. On June 3, shots were fired at an Assam Rifles relief camp at Kagchup Chingkhong village in Kangpokpi district, and seven-year-old Tonsing Hansing received a pellet injury to his head. The medical advice was to refer the child to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal, but travel was fraught with danger. Tonsings father Joshua is a Kuki, and the drive to Imphal passed through Meitei areas.

They deliberated but there was only really one choice. The child was at risk; he would have to be taken to hospital. They thought it would help that Tonsings mother Meena Hangsing was Meitei, as was Lydia Lourembam, a family acquaintance that accompanied them. They would travel in an ambulance, it was agreed, and the Assam Rifles would take them up to a point, after which the Manipur police would protect the vehicle.

Nothing worked, not even humanity.

At 6.30 pm, the ambulance was surrounded by an alleged Meitei mob at Iroisemba in Imphal West. They pulled out the driver and the male nurse, both Meiteis, and burnt the ambulance with the child, his mother and her friend still inside. When the police eventually reached the site, all they could recover were a few bones.

Nine days later, 55-year-old Joshua filed a complaint at the Kangpokpi police station, but says the police have done nothing. There has been no help from the government. We want the perpetrators of the crime to be arrested and punished, said a distraught Joshua, who now lives with his two remaining children in a rented home in Kakgpokpi.

Police officers said that a zero FIR was registered under nine sections of the Indian Penal Code including attempt to murder and culpable homicide, but curiously, without murder charges. Tholu Rocky, additional superintendent of police, Kangpokpi said, The zero FIR was transferred to Lamphel police station in Imphal West district under whose jurisdiction the incident occurred.

A senior officer in Lamphel said they had also filed a suo motu case that was merged with the Kangpokpi FIR, but the case was now set to be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

5. Case: Disappeared without a trace

Date of incident: May 6

Case registered: May 8

On May 6, Atom Samarendra Singh and Yumkhaibam Kirankumar Singh, both 47-year-old Meitei men from Khumbong Bazar in Imphal West went missing. They had left together in Samarendras car, a Renault Kwid, that was last seen at Sangaithel Park, in the same district but in an area that borders Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi.

A former journalist, Samarendra worked as a junior assistant at the Imphal-based Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development while his friend Kirankumar was a driver.

According to Samarendras family members, they last spoke to him at 1pm on that day. He had gone to the market and the friends home, from where he had called at 1pm saying he would be home soon. At around 5.30, the friend called my mother and asked if he had reached home. He hadnt so we called his number and nobody picked up. A few minutes later, it was switched off, said Thoihenba Atom, Samarendras 17-year-old son.

That same evening, a worried family lodged a missing persons report at the Patsoi police station, converted into an FIR on May 8 under sections of kidnapping and criminal conspiracy. The family also wrote a memorandum to chief minister N Biren Singh on May 10, but said they had received no response. There has been no information from the police and they are yet to even check the call records of my father to trace the location from where he went missing, said Thoihenba, a Class 10 student.

Sunil Kumar, officer in-charge, Patsoi police station, said, There is barely any progress in the case because of the current circumstances, but we are taking it seriously.

6. Case: Pulled out from police custody and killed

Date of incident: May 4

Case registered: May 4

The beginnings of this case predate the outbreak of violence. At 11pm on April 30, 21-year-old Hanglalmuan Vaiphei from Churachandpur was arrested by the district police for a Facebook post where he had spoken against chief minister N Biren Singh and accused Meiteis of being racist, anti-India, and intent on grabbing tribal land.

Two cases were registered against him for the same post, one of them a suo motu FIR by the Imphal police. He received bail for one of them on May 3, but was rearrested immediately in the second that same day. He was produced in court on May 4, and was sent to judicial custody. It was during this transportation, from an Imphal court to Sajiwa jail, under the protection of the police, that Hanglalmuans vehicle was surrounded. According to the FIR registered on May 4 based on the complaint by a policeman present, the mob looted weapons from the personnel, and beat Hanglalmuan to death even as the accompanying police team fled.

On May 18, Hanglalmuans family also lodged an FIR at the Churachandpur police station; the National Human Rights Commission served notice to the state government on June 1. It is not immediately known if the state government has responded. Churachandpur police station in-charge, N Thangzamuan, said, The case has been transferred to the Porompat police station in Imphal where the incident happened, but no arrests have been made so far.

Hanglalmuans mother Thiamneihat, for now, has a small ask from the government; her sons body. His body is at the mortuary at Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal, and with the situation as it is, we cant go there. I want his body back so we can cremate him, she said.

Hope is ebbing, but eventually, she wants closure and some justice. She has been waiting for the process to begin. For 88 days, and counting.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hit out at the Opposition alliance that has renamed itself as INDIA, saying the collective may have changed its name, but it would not be able to secure the support of people who continue to see the grouping as corrupt. PM Narendra Modi (Fil e photo)

Modi made the comment during a meeting with a group of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) lawmakers in Delhi, where he said the opposition leaders have realised that they will not be able to undo the sins of the past or shed the burden of their sins so they opted to change their name, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionary present at the meeting said, asking not to be named.

According to this person, Modi said: ...the alliance wants to wash off the sins of the past and they have realised that people of the country have only hatred towards them. So, they want to leave behind their old identity.

The PM also said that the NDA was formed for a cause and not selfish reasons, said a second leader. The leader said the PM cited the example of how the NDA chose to make Nitish Kumar the chief minister of Bihar even though the JDU had fewer seats than the BJP in the 2020 assembly elections.

The PMs meeting comes ahead of the assembly elections in five states later this year and the 2024 general election.

Urging lawmakers to maintain direct contact with people in their constituencies, Modi is leant to have said that there should be amplification of the achievements of the central and BJP governments in the states.

He said while we talk about national and international issues, we must ensure focus is on the achievements of the government and now the lives of those who were at the bottom of the socioeconomic structure have benefitted, the functionary quoted above said.

The MPs have also been asked to continue the samapark se samarthan programme wherein senior leaders call on prominent people in their constituencies to talk about the governments achievements.

The PM said 13 crore (130 million) people have been lifted out of poverty in nine years. The PM said there will be a positive impact of this on the middle class as well. When the purchasing power goes up, it will lead to benefits for the middle class too, the functionary said.

The PM was addressing lawmakers from western Uttar Pradesh. He later addressed another set of MPs from West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand.

The BJP has divided NDA MPs region-wise into 11 clusters and the PM will address each of these during the ongoing monsoon session.

Party president JP Nadda and Union minister Nitin Gadkari were also present for the meeting.

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Union home ministry has extended the suspension of Jammu and Kashmir police officer Basant Rath for another six months, says after he wrote to home secretary Ajay Bhalla calling the suspension order unscrupulous and unethical exercise. Basant Rath was first suspended in July 2020 for what was described as repeated instances of gross misconduct and misbehaviour. Suspended IGP Basant Rath (right).(PTI file photo)

[The] President, after considering the facts and circumstances of the case and the recommendations of the Central Review Committee, has come to the conclusion that Shri Basant Kumar Rath, IPS (AGMUT: 2000) shall continue to remain under suspension for a further period of 180 days beyond 31.07.2023 i.e., upto 27.01.2024, the order dated July 28 said.

Rath, an Inspector General of Police-ranked officer, has had differences with Jammu and Kashmir director general of police Dilbag Singh that had led him to file a police complaint against him in June 2020, expressing apprehensions for his safety and reputation.

Rath was shunted to the nondescript home guards and civil defence department from the traffic in November 2018 after a spat on Twitter with Junaid Mattu, who had just been elected Srinagar Mayor.

In the nine-odd months that he oversaw the traffic department, Basant Rath and his unorthodox style did have its fair share of critics and admirers. The police brass, for one, didnt take too well to his working in the field in civilian clothes, and instances where he and his team were accused of hurling abuses and manhandling commuters.

Rath however, has his set of admirers in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere, particularly after he started shipping out textbooks and study material for young Kashmiris in remote parts of the state so that they could study for competitive examinations even if they didnt have the resources.

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A Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable, Chetan Kumar Choudhary, shot dead four persons, including RPF assistant sub-inspector Tika Ram Meena and three other passengers of the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express shortly after 5am on Monday. RPF constable Chetan Kumar Choudhary

What we know about RPF constable Chetan Kumar Choudhary:

1. Inspector general-cum-principal chief security commissioner, Western Railway, PC Sinha said the constable is a short-tempered person and was suffering from mental health issues. He had just returned from leave. He first shot his superior and then shot those who came in front of him, he said.

2. DCP Sandeep Bhajibhakre, GRP west, also said the accused is mentally unstable, according to the prima facie investigation.

3. News agency PTI reported that Chetan Kumar Choudhary fired from his automatic weapon, killing the RPF ASI and the three other passengers.

4. After killing his senior, the constable went to another bogie and shot dead three passengers, PTI quoted an official as saying.

5. The accused then tried to escape from the train between Mira Road and Dahisar, but was later nabbed by the Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel and his weapon was also seized.

6. The accused, who hails from Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, is in the custody of the Mira Road railway police, an official said. The bodies were taken out of the train at Borivali railway station.

7. Four RPF personnel, including constable Choudhary, were escorting the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express from Surat station in Gujarat on Monday.

8. The four-member team earlier escorted Dadar-Porbandar Saurashtra Express up to Surat station the previous day. On the return journey, the escorting party was guarding the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express, a senior railway official said.

9. Western Railway's (WR) chief public relations officer Sumit Thakur that the accused constable was attached to the Lower Parel RPF post, while ASI Tika Ram Meena was attached to the Dadar RPF post.

10. Thakur said an alarm chain pulling happened in the train near Dahisar station, where the accused constable jumped and ran away, before being caught at Mira Road.

(With inputs from PTI)

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The Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) on Monday suspended Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Udit Prakash Rai, who has been in the eye of a storm for allegedly demolishing a 15th century monument in southeast Delhi for building a new government accommodation in its place, to move in as the then CEO of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). According to the suspended officer, almost 20 such residential accommodations of DJB have been occupied by various IAS officers none of whom is working for DJB. (FILE)

An order issued by MHA under-secretary Rakesh Kumar Singh, dated July 31, said that Rai, a 2007-batch officer currently serving as a secretary with the Mizoram government, has been suspended with immediate effect.

Whereas, department proceedings against Udit Prakash Rai are contemplated. Now, therefore, the President of India, in exercise of powers conferred under Rule 3 of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal), 1969, hereby places Rai under suspension with immediate effect, the order said.

The order added that during the period of suspension, the headquarters for Rai will be Mizoram, and he shall not leave the headquarters without obtaining the prior permission from the competent authority.

During the suspension period, Rai will be entitled to subsistence allowance equal to leave salary, the order marked to the Mizoram chief secretary, the principal secretary to Delhis lieutenant governor and the Delhi chief secretary added.

HT reached out to Rai, but the officer declined to comment on his suspension order.

MHA did not respond to requests for a comment on the development.

Rai served as the DJB CEO between October 2021 and June 2022. Earlier, on April 26, Delhis vigilance department issued a show cause notice to Rai for allegedly demolishing the monument, located in Jal Vihar near Lajpat Nagar, which finds a mention in the Archaeological Survey of Indias List of Muhammadan and Hindu monuments prepared in the 20th century.

The vigilance notice said that following a visit in January 2021, the department of archaeology wrote to DJB, seeking possession of the monument and a gateway for conservation.

When the department returned to the site in January this year, it found that the monument had vanished.

Later, in June, Rai filed a series of complaints, alleging that a biased inquiry was being conducted against him, and that his family was being subjected to harassment. Rai in his complaint said he retained the house according to prevalent rules, and that almost 20 such residential accommodations of DJB have been occupied by various Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli Civil Services (DANICS) officers and IAS officers of the AGMUT cadre, none of whom is working for DJB and many officers are working outside Delhi and still retaining their houses.

The MHA has also issued transfer orders for 2005-batch IAS officer Ashish More from Delhi to Ladakh.

More, who served as the service department secretary, was removed from his position on May 11, hours after the Supreme Court affirmed the elected Delhi governments powers to appoint and transfer officers within the Capital in all departments, except for those concerning land, police and public order.

On the same day, services minister Saurabh Bharadwaj signed off on Mores removal  which soon snowballed into a controversy as More did not put up a file for his transfer, and later the minister alleged that he had gone absconding, his phone was switched off, and flagged his unauthorised absence from work, finally issuing a show cause notice to him.

On May 15, More agreed to vacate his position from the Capitals administrative set-up, two days after the notice was issued.

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An investigation into the threat calls made to Union minister Nitin Gadkari has revealed that Afsar Pasha, an operative of the terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), trained the accused involved in the Mangaluru bomb blast to prepare Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) during their time in Belagavi jail, officers familiar with the developments said on Monday. The person who made threat calls to Union minister Nitin Gadkari was trained by an operative of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). (PTI)

The officers also said that Pasha is involved in forming a Jamaat fund, aimed at radicalising and converting youths in prisons to carry out terror missions.

Pashas involvement came to light during his interrogation by the Nagpur Police after he was taken into custody from Belagavi jail in Karnataka earlier this month.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had previously made some arrests in connection with the Mangaluru blast case. Jayesh Kantha, also known as Pujari, was one of the first arrested for allegedly making the threat calls to Gadkari in May.

According to police, the accused had made a threat call to Gadkaris public relations office in Nagpur on January 14, demanding 100 crore and claiming to be a member of the Dawood Ibrahim gang.

A senior officer from the Karnataka Police confirmed that the Nagpur Police investigation established Afsar Pasha as the mastermind behind the Mangaluru bomb blast in November last year.

He provided training in making cooker bombs to the accused while they were in a jail in Karnataka. Pasha had previously received bomb-making training in Bangladesh, the officer stated.

The explosion in an auto-rickshaw in Mangaluru on November 19 last year injured the driver and a passenger, leading the state police chief at the time, Praveen Sood, to declare it an act of terror with the intention to cause serious damage on November 20.

During the investigation, police identified the bomber as Mohammad Shariq and discovered that the IED used potassium chlorate, a substance used in manufacturing matchboxes and crackers.

A search of a house in Mysuru where Shariq had stayed earlier yielded 150 matchboxes, sulphur powder, and gunpowder.

In November last year, the NIA officially took over the investigation into the Mangaluru blast from the Karnataka Police. Shariq had previously been arrested in December 2020 when pro-terror graffiti was found in Mangaluru. His associate, Mazz Muneer Ahmed, was also arrested in the same case.

The police suspected that Shariq used some of the money raised for his legal fight in the pro-terror case to buy the equipment used in making the bomb. In September 2022, Shariqs name was also linked to another terror-related case involving the Islamic State, officials said.

Pashas involvement with the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) also came to light during the latest development, the officers said.

The PFI had transferred 5 lakh to Pashas bank account. Pasha had previously orchestrated a blast in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where he spent considerable time. During his time in prison for terror activities, Pasha formed a group in Belagavi jail, indoctrinating prisoners from a specific community to join terror missions against India, said an officer of the Nagpur Police.

The officer added that the creation of the Jamaat fund was highlighted, which the PFI raised through donations, extortions, and similar activities to entice prisoners to join terrorist acts.

The funds were primarily used to purchase electronic gadgets, phones, devices, and to cover expenses for prison facilities, including making calls and providing feasts, the officer said.

Nagpur Police have also revealed that Pasha planned to expand his concept of jail-based groups for terror missions across India by posing as a PFI member.

He exploited inmates like Jayesh Kantha to execute his plans, utilising their networks and contacts for more significant terror operations.

The radicalised and indoctrinated inmates would become sleeper cells in different places after release. Various government security and intelligence agencies have been alerted to this threat, the officer added.

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Mangaluru City Police arrested two people on Monday in connection with a moral policing incident on July 26 near a restaurant in the Kavoor police station limits, officials close to the developments said. Mangaluru City Police arrested two people on Monday in connection with a moral policing incident. (Agencies/Representative use)

According to the police, Abhijit, a journalist by profession, was attacked by the two accused, Chetan Alva (37) from Kotekaru and Naveen Rai (43) from Yeyadi, while leaving a restaurant after having lunch with a female friend.

Misunderstanding Abhijit being Muslim, the accused confronted him and questioned why he was with a Hindu girl. They then proceeded to insult and attempted to assault him, officials said.

Speaking about the incident, Abhijit said that while he and his female colleague were returning to the office after lunch, the two accused stopped him, inquiring about his identity.

While my female colleague and I were returning to the office after having lunch at a restaurant, two individuals stopped me and questioned, Are you a Byari (Muslim)? said the complainant, Abhijit, who works for a website in Mangaluru, told HT.

When I asked why they wanted to know my identity, they abused and threatened me. As a result, I filed a complaint with the police.

Speaking to HT, Kavoor police station inspector B Gururaj said, Based on the complaint, we have registered a case under sections 504 (intentional insult) and 506 (threatening with life) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the accused and arrested them.

He added that the accused have no previous criminal record, and police are investigating whether they have been involved in any other such crimes.

The accused were produced before the JMFC court, which remanded them to judicial custody for 14 days.

According to people close to the matter, the establishment of an anti-communal wing in the coastal area of the state has not deterred offenders.

In Dakshina Kannada district alone, at least 4-5 moral policing incidents are reported monthly, according to police data.

Recently, two individuals were arrested for moral policing a police constable and abusing his wife in a drunken state in Bantwal of Dakshina Kannada district.

According to police constable HarishKumar, who was in Bantwal on deputation, was walking towards his government quarters with his wife and sister-in-law when the incident occurred.

The two accused on a bike followed them and questioned Kumar about the Hindu and Muslim girls accompanying him. Despite Kumar informing them that he was a policeman, they continued misbehaving and videographed his wife, police said.

The situation escalated, leading to the miscreants attacking and abusing Kumar. The police tracked down and arrested the accused, identified as Manish Pujari and Manjunath, they added.
The Supreme Court on Monday called for evolving a broad mechanism to deal with violence against women in strife-torn Manipur and asked how many FIRs have been registered in such incidents in the state since May. Supreme Court of India. (ANI File Photo)

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud that the central government has no objection if the apex court monitors the investigation into the Manipur violence.

The bench, also comprising justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, is hearing a batch of petitions concerning the violence in Manipur. The hearing in the matter is underway.

Top updates on Manipur violence hearing in Supreme Court:

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the two women who were seen in a May 4 video being paraded naked in Manipur, said they have filed a petition in the matter.

Two women survivors of the assault opposed the CBI probe and transfer of trial to Assam. The Centre clarified it's only for the SC to decide where the trial should occur and that the Centre hasn't chosen any state.

The viral video case isn't the only incident of violence against women in the state. There must be a wider mechanism in place to prevent such incidents and take action, the SC said.

AG R Venkataramani to the court, I will personally monitor the CBI probe. That's the kind of assurance I am ready to make.

Kapil Sibal said, We want a court-monitored SIT instead of the CBI.

SG Tushar Mehta said, The Centre has no objection if the Supreme Court monitors the CBI probe.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising argued for a high-powered committee to visit Manipur and record statements of the survivors. She added the SC could decide the future course of action based on that report.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves pressed for an SIT comprising retired senior police officers. He claimed that there is a conspiracy to commit rapes, adding there have been 16 such instances. He requested the SC not to include any cop from Manipur in the SIT and oppose a CBI probe.

They also argued for intervenors. Lodging of FIRs can't be an end to the criminal procedure, advocate Vrinda Grover emphasised. She submitted that there was an incident of two Kuki women working in a carwash at Imphal getting raped and killed. The family is in relief camps and everything has stopped after the registration of FIRs, she added.

Grover claimed that there is targeted violence against the Kuki women. to which the SG objected.

The Supreme Court pulled up the Manipur police over time taken to register a zero FIR in the case. The court said there can't be any justification for not registering a zero FIR and asked what stopped them from registering an FIR for 14 days.

The court asked the Manipur government to come back tomorrow at 2pm with details of FIRs filed since May 3, arrests made, and action taken in the case.

Deeply disturbed by the video: SC

The Supreme Court on July 20 observed that it was "deeply disturbed" by the video of two women being paraded naked in strife-torn Manipur, saying that using women as instruments for perpetrating violence is "simply unacceptable in a constitutional democracy".

Taking cognisance of the video, a bench headed by the chief justice of India directed the Centre and the Manipur government to take immediate remedial, rehabilitative and preventive steps and apprise it of the action taken.

On July 27, the Centre informed the top court that it has transferred to the CBI the probe into a case related to two women being paraded naked in strife-torn Manipur, saying the government has "zero tolerance towards any crimes against women".

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), in an affidavit filed through its Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, also urged the top court to transfer the trial outside Manipur in the case for the conclusion of the trial in a time-bound manner. Seven people have been arrested in the case so far.

Scores of people have been killed and several hundred 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 majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

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A day after concluding their two-day visit to ethnic violence-hit Manipur, the delegation of MPs met with the floor leaders of the Opposition's I.N.D.I.A or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance on Monday to brief them about the visit as well as chalk out a strategy ahead of the Parliament session. The Congress's parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge also attended the meeting held in the party's office in Parliament House. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, party leader Sonia Gandhi, DMK's TR Baalu and TMC's Sudip Bandypadhya during a briefing by the delegation of I.N.D.I.A. MPs who recently visited the strife-torn state of Manipur, at Parliament House complex, in New Delhi, Monday.(PTI)

A total of 21 MPs visited Manipur to assess the ground situation in the northeastern state, which has been engulfed in civil unrest since May 3. They also met with victims and visited relief camps. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was part of the delegation, described the situation in Manipur as "grave". Our demand is only to hold a discussion on no-confidence motion...The situation in Manipur is very serious...The country needs to be saved...BJP and its alliances should also tour ManipurEveryone needs to analyse the situation in Manipur, he told the media ahead of the meeting. (Parliament LIVE updates)

Aam Aadmi Party leader Raghav Chadha said the bloc will inform about the Opposition's further move on Manipur after the meeting concludes. The I.N.D.I.A alliance has come after wiping off the tears of the people of Manipur...Today, the MPs of the I.N.D.I.A bloc will explain the situation in Manipur in the meeting, after which we will inform you about our next move in regard to Manipur, he said.

Delegation met with Manipur governor

The delegation met with Manipur governor Anusuiya Uikey on the second day of the visit on Sunday and handed her a memorandum, requesting to restore peace and harmony in the state. "You are also requested to apprise the Union Government of the complete breakdown of law and order in Manipur for the last 89 days so as to enable them to intervene in the precarious situation in Manipur to restore peace and normalcy," the memorandum read and referred to the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue as his brazen indifference to the violence.

The issue is expected to continue to shadow the parliamentary affairs today as the Opposition remains adamant on its demand to have Modi address both the Houses on Manipur, followed by a discussion on the matter. The Opposition also moved a no-confidence motion against the government last Wednesday in a bid to force Modi to speak on the matter. Meanwhile, the government said it was ready for a discussion but refuted the demand for the PM's statement.

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Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha on Monday lauded the delegation of Opposition's I.N.D.I.A or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance for visiting strife-torn Manipur and said the representative MPs had come back after wiping off the tears of the people of Manipur". AAP MP Raghav Chadha talks to the media as he arrives at the Parliament House complex during ongoing Monsoon session, in New Delhi, Monday.(PTI)

Chadha was speaking to reporters ahead of the key meeting of the 21 MPs and the Opposition bloc leaders, held to brief the members about the Manipur situation and chalk out further strategy for the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament. Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge were also present at the meeting.

Chadha said the bloc will inform about the Opposition's next move on Manipur after the meeting. The I.N.D.I.A alliance has come after wiping off the tears of the people of Manipur...Today, the MPs will explain the situation in Manipur in the meeting, after which we will inform you about our next move in this regard, he said.

As many as 21 I.N.D.I.A MPs had visited Manipur on Saturday to assess the ground situation in the northeastern state, which has been engulfed in civil unrest since May 3.

Also Read: Bill to replace Delhi ordinance makes key edits

Delhi Ordinance Bill on cards

The AAP MP also slammed the central government for introducing the impending bill replacing the Centre's ordinance on control of services in Delhi. Calling the ordinance undemocratic, Chadha said it was Bharatiya Janata Party's ploy to destroy the Arvind Kejriwal-led government in the national capital. This is not just against the Constitution of the country but also against the 2 crore people in Delhi. BJP has understood that they are finished in Delhi so their high command has taken this decision to destroy the Delhi government, he said.

Meanwhile, the AAP has issued a three-line whip to all its MPs in Rajya Sabha to be present in the House till August 4 in anticipation of the bill. The bill seeks to replace an ordinance negating a Supreme Court order giving power of transfer and posting to the Delhi government.

The I.N.D.I.A grouping earlier said it will oppose the passage of the bill despite the central government having enough numbers in both Houses for it.

While the government said that the Delhi Ordinance Bill will not be taken up today, it slammed the Opposition for not letting the Manipur discussion happen in the Parliament. Union minister Piyush Goyal said since nine days the government kept up with the promise to speak on Manipur but it has not been possible from the opposition. If they are ready, we can hold a discussion at 2pm.

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A truck carrying precious tomatoes from Karnataka's Kolar district to Jaipur has gone missing amidst the soaring prices, PTI reported on Monday. The trader, Vinay Reddy, claimed that he has lost contact with the driver and cleaner of his truck carrying 11 tonnes of tomatoes worth 21 lakh from Kolar district to Rajasthan's Jaipur. Growers said with traders not showing interest in buying tomatoes.

According to the complaint filed in the Kolar police station, the truck loaded with 750 crates of tomatoes left the local 'mandi' in Kolar on Thursday and was scheduled to reach Jaipur on Saturday for supply to a local vegetable market

Since it was being tracked via the GPS facility, Reddy found that the vehicle has covered around 1,800 km since it left Kolar. He said that he last spoke to the driver around 9pm and he had assured that by 11pm, the consignment would reach Jaipur. But, later he found that his consignment did not reach its destination and when he tried to contact the driver, his phone was switched off, a senior police officer said.

We loaded 11 tonnes of tomatoes which were packaged in 750 boxes in a truck from Kolar tomato mandi. The consignment was to be unloaded at Mohana Sabji Mandi, Jaipur by Saturday midnight. The vehicle also had an inbuilt GPS tracking system, Reddy, owner of SVT traders, said.

Meanwhile, Reddy received information from his local sources that the tomatoes were sold in Ahmedabad. We suspect that these tomatoes were sold off by the driver but we still havent been able to get in touch with him," he said.

He further claimed that the same truck was not used to transport the consignment to Ahmedabad and the tomatoes belonged to three parties and they are also likely to file a complaint at the local police station in Ahmedabad.

Based on a complaint received from one of the traders based in Kolar, we have initiated a preliminary inquiry into the matter. No FIR has been registered in the matter yet since we had to verify whether the driver had met with any accident on the way to its destination or if the tomatoes got stolen. So, an inquiry was initiated and we collected details from the complainant in the matter, PTI reported citing the official.

Earlier this month, tomatoes worth 2.5 lakh were stolen from a farm in Karnatakas Hassan district, while in another such incident, a couple from Tamil Nadu was arrested for hijacking a truck laden with 2.5 tonnes of tomatoes in Bengaluru after faking an accident to extort money.

(With inputs from PTI)

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The Lok Sabha on Monday passed a Bill to curb the menace of film piracy, revamp age-based certification given by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) as well as uniformity in the categorisation of films and content across platforms. Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur moved the cinematography bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday. (PTI)

The Cinematograph (Amendment ) Bill 2023 was passed in the Lok Sabha with a voice vote despite protests by the members of the Opposition parties over the ongoing Manipur ethnic violence. The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on July 27.

Speaking on the Bill, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said "We (the government) will do the work of stopping piracy through this Bill."

"Piracy is like cancer and we are trying to uproot it through this Bill," Thakur said in support of the Bill, which has provisions to curb transmission of pirated film content on the internet as well as to classify films on the basis of age group, instead of the current practice of 'U', 'A', and 'UA'.

Also Read | AAP issues whip as contentious Delhi bill expected to be taken up in Parliament

"U" is for unrestricted public exhibition and "A" is restricted to adult audiences, while "UA" is for unrestricted public exhibition subject to parental guidance for children below the age of 12 and "S" for special category audiences such as doctors and scientists.

The Bill seeks amendment to the Cinematograph Act, 1952. The amendments will address the issue of unauthorised recording and exhibition of films.

The draft Act constitutes the Board of Film Certification for certifying films for exhibition. Such certifications may be subject to modifications and deletions. The Board may also refuse the exhibition of films.

The Bill adds certain additional certificate categories based on age. Under the Act, the film may be certified for exhibition without restriction (U); without restriction, but subject to guidance of parents or guardians for children below 12 years of age (UA); only to adults (A); or only to members of any profession or class of persons (S).

The Bill substitutes the UA category with the following three categories to also indicate age-appropriateness UA 7 , UA 13 , or UA 16 . The age endorsement within the UA category by the Board will inform guidance of parents or guardians, and will not be enforceable by any other persons other than parents or guardians.Films with an A or S certificate will require a separate certificate for exhibition on television, or any other media prescribed by the central government. The Board may direct the applicant to carry appropriate deletions or modifications for the separate certificate.

The Bill prohibits carrying out or abetting the unauthorised recording and unauthorised exhibition of films. Attempting an unauthorised recording will also be an offence.

An unauthorised recording means making or transmitting an infringing copy of a film at a licensed place for film exhibition without the owners authorisation. An unauthorised exhibition means the public exhibition of an infringing copy of the film for profit at a location not licensed to exhibit films or in a manner that infringes upon the copyright law.

Certain exemptions under the Copyright Act, 1957 will also apply to the above offences. The 1957 Act allows limited use of copyrighted content without owners authorisation in specified cases such as private or personal use, reporting of current affairs, or review or critique of that work.

The offences will be punishable with imprisonment between three months and three years, and a fine between three lakh rupees and 5 per cent of the audited gross production cost.

Under the Act, the certificate issued by the Board is valid for 10 years. The Bill provides that the certificates will be perpetually valid.

The Act empowers the central government to examine and make orders in relation to films that have been certified or are pending certification. The Board is required to dispose matters in conformance to the order.

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The total value of offset contracts linked to defence deals currently stands at $13.21 billion, out of which foreign military contractors have submitted claims amounting to $6.85 billion, the government told Rajya Sabha on Monday. The quantum of offset due so far is $0.12 billion. (PTI photo)

No offset obligation lapsed during the last five years, minister of state for defence Ajay Bhatt said in a written reply.

Indias offset policy stipulates that in all capital purchases above 300 crore, the foreign vendor must invest at least 30% of the value of the purchase in the country to boost indigenous capabilities.

In the case of the 59,000-crore Rafale deal for 36 fighter planes, this was 50%.

The quantum of offset due so far is $0.12 billion, Bhatt said.

Also Read:Airbus to deliver first C295 to IAF in September, Make in India to follow

Penal action is taken against the defaulting vendors as per the relevant provisions of the defence offset guidelines under the applicable defence procurement procedure, he added.

He was responding to a question from BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena on the total value of offset contracts, offset obligations met so far and what was still due.

The 21,935-crore deal signed by the defence ministry with Airbus Defence and Space in September 2021 to equip the IAF with 56 C295 aircraft has an offset element of 30%, officials aware of the matter said.

Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Airbus are jointly executing the programme.

Sixteen of those planes will come from Spain in flyaway condition, while the remaining 40 are to be built in India.

The aim of the offset policy is to develop the Indian defence sector to achieve self-reliance and cut dependence on imports.

In the case of the Rafale deal, the Defence Research and Development Organisations (DRDO) offset share worked out to 30%, while 20% was allocated to the private sector.

India, which has sharpened its focus on building its defence capabilities, was the fourth biggest military spender in the world in 2022 after the United States, China and Russia, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) said in a report published in April.

Indias military spending stood at $81.4 billion - 6% more than in 2021, and up by 47% from 2013, the report said.

In another report published in March, Sipri said Indias arms imports fell 11% between 2013-17 and 2018-22, but the country was still the worlds top importer of military hardware, and its share of the global arms imports was the highest during the last five years at 11%.

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The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the Manipur government over the ongoing violence in the northeastern state saying the incident of two Kuki women being paraded naked by a mob before subjecting them to sexual assault cannot be seen as an isolated case. The court termed the incident horrendous and said it will not want the state police to probe the matter as they virtually handed over the women to the rioting mob. Supreme Court of India (File Photo)

The court said though the incident of stripping and parading these women came to light on May 4 why the Manipur police took 14 days to register an FIR on May 18.

"What stood in the way of police registering the FIR immediately on the 4th of May?" the bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, adding that there can't be any justification for not registering a zero FIR immediately.

The bench asked the state government to provide the details about the number of 'zero FIRs' registered in the state torn by ethnic violence and the arrests made so far.

A zero FIR can be filed in any police station regardless of whether the offence was committed within its jurisdiction.

We would also want to know the package for rehabilitation being provided to the state for affected people, it said.

Hearing a batch of petitions concerning the violence in Manipur, the bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra stressed the need for a wider mechanism to prevent such incidents.

The court also said the sexual assault case was part of systemic violence.

There are statements by the victims that they were handed over to the mob by police. This is not a situation like Nirbhaya," CJI Chandrachid said, referring to the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder case that triggered nationwide outrage.

That was also horrific but it was isolated. This is not an isolated instance. Here we are dealing with systemic violence which IPC recognises as a special offence, he said. In such a case, is it not important that you should have a specialised team?

There is a need in the state of Manipur to have a healing touch. Because the violence is continuing unabatedSo to restore a sense of faith in the administration, a court-appointed team has its own message to send that the highest appointed court is deeply concerned- It will send officers with no political alignment, he added.

Mehta told the bench that the Union of India has no objection if the apex court monitors the investigation into the Manipur violence.

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BHUBANESWAR: An Odisha court on Monday sentenced former Communist Party of India (CPI) legislator Nagireddy Narayan Reddy, 67, and 12 others to life imprisonment for the death of a police inspector in a blast during an agitation against the land acquisition for a steel plant by the Tatas in 1998. The police officer had been transferred out but stayed back to help his colleagues ensure peace during the agitation at the request of Ganjam SP

A reserve inspector Binay Meher, was killed in a blast after some people threw a bomb at the police. He was only 35 years old at the time of his death.

Meher was deputed to Sindhigaon village to keep an eye on possible law and order issues due to the protest against land acquisition for a steel plant of Tata Steel in June 1998. The state government started the acquisition of nearly 7,000 acres of land in February 1996 in villages such Sindhigaon, Badapaur, Patrapur, Kalipalli and Paikapada for the proposed shore-based mega steel plant.

The steel plant never took off.

On June 18, 1998, he was communicating with his team of police officials at Sindhigaon village when someone threw a bomb at him which ripped apart his stomach. He died on his way to the hospital. 22 people including Reddy were listed as accused and all of them were charged with murder under section 302 of IPC, said special public prosecutor Niranjan Padhi.

Berhampur additional district and sessions judge Rajkumar Dash pronounced the verdict.

Meher was under transfer at the time of his death and was due to join another posting the following day. He had, however, stayed back at the request of Ganjam superintendent of police.

Reddy, who was elected to the Odisha assembly in 2004 from the Chhatrapur assembly segment when he was in jail, said the judgement was completely biased. It was influenced by the government. Justice was not done for farmers and the public. We are disappointed. I will approach the higher court to get justice, he said while being taken to jail.
Kolar Police have initiated an investigation into the missing case of a local truck carrying 11 tonnes of tomatoes worth 21 lakh bound for Rajasthan, officers familiar with the developments said on Monday. Kolar Police have initiated an investigation into the missing case of a local truck carrying 11 tonnes of tomatoes worth  21 lakh. (REUTERS)

According to the officials, investigators suspect the driver and cleaner of the truck, which left the Kolar vegetable market on Thursday, must have stolen the tomatoes and have launched an investigation into the matter based on a complaint filed by Vinay Reddy, the owner of SVT traders, on Sunday.

Reddy explained that they had loaded 11 tonnes of tomatoes, neatly packaged in 750 boxes, onto a truck from Kolar tomato mandi.

The plan was to unload the consignment at Mohana Sabji Mandi in Jaipur by midnight on Saturday. The truck was equipped with an inbuilt GPS tracking system for added security, Reddy told reporters.

The truck, which was being tracked through the GPS tracking system, had covered around 1,800 km since it left Kolar. However, when the truck did not reach Jaipur, the trader tried to contact the driver, but his phone was switched off, a senior police officer said.

The concerned trader then filed a complaint at the Kolar police station, stating that the truck had gone missing.

Based on a complaint from one of the traders based in Kolar, we have initiated a preliminary inquiry into the matter. No FIR has been registered in the matter yet since we had to verify whether the driver had met with any accident on the way to their destination or if the tomatoes got stolen. So, an inquiry was initiated, and we collected details from the complainant in the matter, said a senior police officer.

Reddy alleged that the vehicle tracking showed that the consignment destined for Jaipur was diverted and delivered to a local vegetable market in Ahmedabad. Following the trucks mysterious disappearance, Vinays father, Muni Reddy, filed a police complaint.

According to Vinay, he last communicated with the driver around 9 pm on Saturday, and the driver assured him that the consignment would arrive at the Jaipur mandi by 11 pm.

In the morning, I was informed that the consignment had not reached the market. When I tried to contact the driver, his phone was also found to be switched off. There was no other way to reach him. So, we had to approach the police here, he said.

Afterwards, Vinay contacted his acquaintances in Jaipur and received information from local sources indicating that the tomatoes had been sold in Ahmedabad.

We suspect that these tomatoes were sold off by the driver but we still havent been able to get in touch with him. It has also come to notice that the same truck was not used to transport the consignment to Ahmedabad. We need to get it verified, he said.

The consignment in question belonged to three parties, and they are likely to arrive in Ahmedabad to file complaints with the local police station there, the above-cited officer said.

Before this incident, a farm in Goni Somanahalli village in Belur taluk of Karnatakas Hassan district witnessed the theft of tomatoes worth 2.5 lakh on July 1.

Thieves absconded with 50-60 bags of tomatoes from a woman farmers agricultural field, prompting the filing of a theft case at the Halebeedu police station, officials said.

In another incident, a couple from neighbouring Tamil Nadu was arrested for hijacking a truck loaded with 2.5 tonnes of tomatoes in Bengaluru on July 8.

According to the police, the couple was part of a gang of highway robbers that intercepted Mallesh, a farmer from Hiriyur in Chitradurga district, at Chikkajala on July 8.

Their demands for money, claiming the farmers truck had caused an accident with their car, were met with refusal. The miscreants resorted to assaulting the farmer, forcibly removing him from the truck and driving away with the vehicle and its tomato cargo, police said.

Based on the complaint lodged by the farmer, the RMC Yard police successfully tracked the vehicles movement, ultimately leading to the gangs capture.

(With PTI inputs)
A proposal for the installation of the tallest flagpole at Imphal for hoisting the national flag has been received from the Manipur government, the government informed Parliament on Monday. State government of Manipur has been asked to revisit their proposal. (Representative image)

Union Minister for Culture G Kishan Reddy said this in a written response to a query in Lok Sabha.

He was asked whether any proposal is pending with the government for the installation of the world's tallest national flagpole, to which he replied in the affirmative.

"A proposal for installation of tallest flag pole at Imphal for hoisting the national flag has been received from state government of Manipur," he said.

"State government of Manipur has been asked to revisit their proposal and submit the details for consideration of Ministry of Culture," Reddy added.
RAIPUR: The youth of Chhattisgarh have access to skill development training as well as job opportunities, chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said on Monday as he transferred the fourth instalment of the states unemployment allowance scheme to 1.22 lakh beneficiaries. Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said recruitment for 41,000 posts is in progress with the aim of providing maximum employment to the youth (ANI)

A total amount of 112. 43 crore has been transferred so far to beneficiaries.

It is our priority to connect the youth of the state with employment and we are making consistent and consolidated efforts to make it happen. The MoU (memorandum of understanding) for a project worth 1,188.36 crore for modernisation of 36 ITIs (industrial training institutes) of the state has been signed, and with the implementation of this project, youngsters will be provided training in six new technical trades as well as 23 short term courses, Baghel said. Completion of this project will facilitate skill development training to nearly 10,000 youth every year.

Recruitment for 41,000 posts is in progress with the aim of providing maximum employment to the youth, the chief minister added.

We have fulfilled our promises to the youth...Moreover, we are also providing skill development training to the youth so as to enhance their employability. The work of connecting trained youth with employment is also going on simultaneously.

Beneficiaries of the unemployment scheme from different districts participated in the programme through videoconferencing.

Farmers, cattle herders, landless labourers and women of the state are getting direct benefits due to the expansion of the NYAY schemes of the government. Through Rajiv Gandhi Kisan NYAY Yojana, till date an input subsidy of 20,102 crore has been provided to 23.42 lakh farmers of the state, an official of the state public relations department said.

Through the Godhan NYAY Yojana, 525 crore has been paid so far to the beneficiaries, villagers, farmers, cattle herders and cow dung vendors, Gauthan committees and women self-help groups. NYAY stands for Nyuntam Aay Yojana, or basic income scheme.

Under the Rajiv Gandhi Landless Agricultural Labourer Justice Scheme, around 589.3 crore has been paid to 5.5 lakh landless labourers in urban and rural areas of the state, the official said.

The Chhattisgarh government has increased the procurement rate of tendu leaves from 2,500 per standard bag to 4,000. Tendu leaves, an important non-timber forest produce, are mainly collected by tribal communities.

Now, in place of seven minor forest produce, 67 minor forest produce are being procured at the minimum support price. Chhattisgarh ranks first in the country in terms of the collection of minor forest produce. Around 74% of the countrys minor forest produce is collected in Chhattisgarh, the official said. In the last five years, 2,486 crore has been paid to tendu patta collectors and 356 crore to minor forest produce collectors.
Madhya Pradesh was able to surge ahead of Karnataka in the race between the two states to be on top of the tiger numbers on the strength of the number of the big cats outside the reserves, according to data from the Tiger Estimation 2022 report released on Saturday, even as congestion inside tiger reserves in India is increasing, leading to more territorial deaths, forcing tigers to live in smaller spaces, and raising the prospect of human-animal conflict. PREMIUM In 2022, of the 785 tigers in Madhya Pradesh, 346 were outside protected reserves compared to just 153 of the 563 tigers in Karnataka. Four years ago, Madhya Pradesh had just 203 of its 526 tigers outside reserves and Karnataka, 185 of its 524. (PTI)

Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, which together contribute 1,348 to Indias latest figure of 3,682 tigers, but interestingly, the former has seen a sharp rise in tiger numbers outside preserves, a fact that has prompted the latter to suggest that the tally be reviewed.

In 2022, of the 785 tigers in Madhya Pradesh, 346 were outside protected reserves compared to just 153 of the 563 tigers in Karnataka. Four years ago, Madhya Pradesh had just 203 of its 526 tigers outside reserves and Karnataka, 185 of its 524.

The difference in tigers outside reserves between the two states was just 18 in 2018, which increased to 195 in 2022, a significant reason for Madhya Pradesh surging ahead of Karnataka.

Karnataka forest minister Eshwar B has disputed the tiger estimation, saying such an increase in tiger population in Madhya Pradesh is baffling. I will urge environment minister Bhupendra Yadav to review the numbers. Had the difference between Karnataka and MP been 40 to 50 tigers, it could have been convincing. But a difference of over 259 tigers between the first and second states in four years baffles me.

The answer to this could lie in how the survey is conducted. The decision on installing camera traps is done by state forest departments in consultation with the Wildlife Institute of India, which analyses the data to arrive at an estimate. Placing more camera traps outside the reserves, especially in areas with a higher tiger presence, could result in higher estimation, a scientist who was part of the exercise said.

The data clearly showed that the number of tigers in Madhya Pradesh were rising in areas outside the reserves at a faster rate than inside, said Anish Andheria, chief executive officer of Wildlife Conservation Trust, a non-profit. It is because of more area outside the reserves in MP was analysed during 2022 tiger estimation as compared to 2018. Also, MP was able to get more camera traps installed as compared to 2018, he explained.

Compared to Madhya Pradesh, experts said, the scanning of buffer zones for estimation in Karnataka was lower and, therefore, the increase in tiger numbers outside the reserves there was just 34. MP after losing its tiger state status to Karnataka in 2010 had really worked hard to regain the status. There was no such effort seen in Karnataka, a government official said,asking not to be named.
Russia is among G20 states sending an advance team to New Delhi this week to assess preparations for the summit of the worlds largest economies though Moscow is yet to take a call on President Vladimir Putins participation in the meeting, people familiar with the matter said. Moscow is yet to take a call on President Vladimir Putins participation in the meeting (AP)

Advance teams from several G20 member states are expected in the Indian capital on August 1 and 2 for meetings with Indian authorities to discuss logistics and other arrangements for the summit to be held during September 9-10.

Also read: At G20 meet, consensus on nine principles of blue economy

These teams are also expected to discuss protocol and security issues and visit the venue for the G20 Summit, the Bharat Mandapam convention centre at Pragati Maidan, the people said. The Russian protocol teams arrival is being seen as part of preparations by Moscow to ensure everything is in place if Putin decides to go ahead with in-person participation in the summit, they said.

However, one of the people cited above said the Russian side is yet to take a final call on Putins attendance. A decision in this regard is expected to be made by Moscow closer to the date of the summit, the person added.

Putin skipped the G20 Summit in Indonesia last November, the first high-level multilateral meeting of world leaders after Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the previous G20 Summit in Italy in 2021, when he stayed away because of concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic. The Russian delegation at the summit in Bali was led by foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.

Putin will also not attend the Brics (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) Summit in Johannesburg during August 22-24. The Kremlin has said Lavrov will attend in-person and Putin will have full participation in this summit by video-conference. The Russian leader has not travelled abroad this year and there has been speculation as to whether he will leave the country in the wake of the recent mutiny by the Wagner group.

The people, however, said the Russian side had decided in principle that Putin would attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit hosted by India in July, before New Delhi opted to hold the meeting virtually.

Another round of visits by advance teams of G20 member states is expected to be held closer to the summit. Some member states, such as Japan, are not sending a team to India this week, the people said.

Also read: Climate is at core of Indias G20 agenda

Negotiators from G20 states are set to hold another round of virtual negotiations in early August on text to be used to refer to the Ukraine crisis in the draft leaders declaration to be adopted at the summit. There have been no consensus outcome documents at G20 ministerial meetings because of sharp differences on this issue.

Former ambassador Vivek Katju pointed to the shadow of the Ukraine crisis hanging over the G20 and said nimbler diplomacy will be needed to address this issue. The visit of the Russian advance team indicates, at a minimum, that the Russians have not foreclosed options of participating in the G20 Summit at the highest level, he said.

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The Supreme Court on Monday requested the Patna high court to take up on an urgent basis a petition demanding investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the July 13 incident in Bihars capital city where a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader died while taking part in a protest march against the Nitish Kumar government. Supreme Court of India. (ANI File Photo)

While the bench led by justice Surya Kant refrained from entertaining a writ petition directly at the first instance, it gave liberty to petitioner Bhupesh Narayan  a Bihar resident  to approach the high court.

We request the high court to hear the matter on an urgent basis and make an endeavour to decide it expeditiously, directed the bench, which also included justice Dipankar Datta.

The court, during the brief hearing of the petition, pointed out that the high court is equally competent to issue the directions that Narayan seeks.

This court has usually intervened only when there are certain prayers in a petition that cannot be granted by a high court. But all your prayers are capable of being granted by the high court if it is satisfied. They can call higher authorities and seek explanations. The power of judicial review over alleged police brutality is not limited to the Supreme Court, the bench told senior counsel Mahesh Jethmalani, who represented the petitioner.

Accepting the courts views, Jethmalani requested the bench to issue some directions for expediting the hearing before the high court, complaining that the family of the deceased was not even given his post-mortem report.

Responding to that, the bench told Jethmalani that it cannot not set a timeline for another constitution court to decide a matter, but it is indeed making a request for the Patna high court to take up the petition urgently while disposing of the plea.

Vijay Singh, a BJP leader from Jehanabad district in Bihar, had died while taking part in a Vidhan Sabha March organised in support of agitations against the state governments teacher recruitment policy. While party leaders alleged that he had died in a brutal lathicharge by the police, the district administration in Patna came out with a statement asserting that no injury marks were found on his body.

Narayan sought a CBI probe into the July 13 incident or order the constitution of a special investigating team (SIT) headed by a retired apex court judge. The plea stated that the alleged role played by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav and other officials, including Bihars director general of police, in protecting the real perpetrators of the incident dated July 13 during peaceful procession organised by the BJP should also be probed.

The petition alleged that members of the procession were suddenly surrounded by police in a pre-planned manner and lathicharge, water cannon and tear gas shells were used to disperse the crowd, which resulted in a chaotic situation, adding that police brutality and atrocity resulted in Singhs death.

In a democratic country, peaceful procession or march or demonstration against government policy is a well recognised method of protest, said the petition, drawn by advocate Barun Kumar Sinha.

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Clashes erupted in Rajasthans Bhilwara on Monday after a few schoolboys allegedly replaced water in a girls bottle with urine, NDTV reported. The girl studying at Government Senior Higher Secondary School also reportedly found a love letter in her bag. Leader of Opposition in the state Rajendra Rathore condemned the incident and said it reflected the appeasement politics" of the Congress government. (Twitter screengrab)

The incident took place in Luhariya village on Friday. The girl, who hails from a community different from the group of boys, realised a foul smell emanating from the bottle while trying to drink water during the lunch break.

Upon realising that urine was filled in her bottle and subsequently finding a note with "love you" written on it, she complained to the school principal. However, the school authorities refused to take any action in the incident, which infuriated the villagers.

"The girl, a student of a government senior higher secondary school, had gone to her home for lunch, leaving her bag and bottle behind in her class on Friday. When she got back and drank from the bottle, she detected a foul smell and found out that some boys had mixed urine with water," said additional superintendent of police Ghanshyam Sharma told India Today.

Leader of Opposition in the state Rajendra Rathore condemned the incident and said it reflected the appeasement politics" of the Congress government.

On Monday, the local people flagged the issue to the tehsildar, the in-charge of the Luhariya police station, and the principal. Outraged by zero action from the authorities, the mob reached the area where the accused lived and started pelting stones. The police had to resort to lathi-charge to control the protesting crowd. Visuals shared on social media showed a huge group of people with some men seen carrying sticks.

The senior official added that no case has been filed as the student has not yet lodged a complaint. However, the accused will be brought to book once a formal complaint is registered.

Heavy security was deployed in the area following the violent protests.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR HT News Desk Follow the latest breaking news and developments from India and around the world with Hindustan Times' newsdesk. From politics and policies to the economy and the environment, from local issues to national events and global affairs, we've got you covered. ...view detail
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath hit out at his critics who often call him a divisive politician, saying there had been no riot, no curfew in the state for the past six years and all festivals were celebrated in peace. In an interview with ANI Editor Smita Prakash, the firebrand BJP leader said that his government did not resort to pretence and hypocrisy. UP chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.(ANI)

I have been CM for over 6 years now. There have been no riots in the state since 2017. No curfew was imposed in the past 6 years and all festivals were celebrated peacefully, Adityanath said when he was asked about the criticism of his Hindu hardliner image.

Referring to allegations that many opposition candidates had been prevented from filing nominations in panchayat polls, Yogi Adityanath said that every individual has the right to fight elections.

People who talk big, see how elections are to be held. There were elections to urban bodies, panchayats, assembly in Uttar Pradesh and panchayat elections were held in West Bengal. What happened? Do they want to make the country (like) West Bengal, the way the TMC government did in West Bengal (and the UP government), there is a difference, he said.

We did not resort to pretence or hypocrisy. Everybody has the right to fight elections and the person should get it. They can contest the election and if they are capable, they will win. If we are capable, we will win, if we are not, we will lose and it should be like that. If the person is an opponent and capable of winning, he should win. This is a democratic right. We cannot deprive him of this, he added.

The chief minister also defended the controversial bulldozer action against criminals and mafia in the state.

...Should I do 'aarti' of those who have illegally grabbed government property? The people of UP want action against criminals and mafia, he said.

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Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal on Monday said that two siblings were raped and murdered in Imphal amid the ethnic clashes in strife-torn Manipur. The victims' brother told Maliwal that neither any minister nor any official of the state administration has met the family. Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal speaking to the victims' brother.

Sharing the video of the conversation, Maliwal said she met the brother of the victims in Kangpokpi during her recent visit to Manipur and called the situation "very worrying".

The sisters, 21 and 24, were college students but were working at a mall in Imphal as the session was yet to start.

It was told that 21- and 24-year-old girls were gang-raped and murdered in Imphal. Met the girl's brother in the midst of a shootout in Manipur's Kongpokpi. He told that he hasn't even received the bodies yet. No arrest took place. CM or officer did not come to meet and there was no help. The situation is very worrying, Maliwal said in a tweet in Hindi.

In the video, the man can be heard saying that an FIR has been filed in the case but no arrest has been made yet. He said her mother is living in a relief camp and his father's health has deteriorated after the incident. He told the DCW chief that his last memory of his sisters was of the Christmas celebrations when they were visiting the hometown.

Maliwal assured that he will get justice and said the commission would like to provide legal help.

I'm really sorry for your loss and I will try my best that justice will come. I very sure of it and we will work towards it. We would like to provide legal help because I think this matter should be raised to the court. Whatever help I can do, I will definitely do it, Maliwal told the man.

Horrific stories of violence against women have surfaced since the video of two Kuki women being stripped and paraded by a mob went viral on social media triggering a nationwide outrage.

The Supreme Court on Monday described the violence perpetrated against women in strife-torn Manipur as of "unprecedented magnitude" saying now it will not want the state police to probe the matter as they virtually handed over the women to the rioting mob.

The bench, which listed a clutch of pleas on Manipur violence for hearing on Tuesday, said though the incident of stripping and parading these women came to light on May 4 why the Manipur police took 14 days to register an FIR on May 18.

What was police doing? Why was an FIR in video case transferred to magisterial court on June 24, that is after one month and three days, asked the bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

This is horrendous. There are media reports that these women were handed over to mob by the police. We also do not want the police to handle it, the bench said.

Scores of people have been killed and several hundred 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 majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR HT News Desk Follow the latest breaking news and developments from India and around the world with Hindustan Times' newsdesk. From politics and policies to the economy and the environment, from local issues to national events and global affairs, we've got you covered. ...view detail
Stressing on the values of personal liberty and its centrality, the Supreme Court on Monday directed all high courts and director generals of police (DGPs) of states and Union territories to immediately issue instructions to stop arresting people routinely in cases where alleged offences carry a maximum punishment of up to seven years in jail. The bench, in its order, borrowed from some of the old judgment of the Supreme Court, holding that merely because an arrest can be made because it is lawful does not mandate that arrest must be made. (PTI)

Lamenting rampant violations of the apex courts 2014 judgment that asked police not to mechanically arrest people, the court ordered the directions issued in its previous judgment will be modelled as notifications and guidelines to be circulated by all high courts and DGPs to district court judges and police authorities.

A bench of justices S Ravindra Bhat and Aravind Kumar cited the Supreme Court judgment in Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar, laying down that investigating agencies must refrain from arresting the accused for offences entailing punishment of up to seven years in jail without explicitly specifying the need to do so. A trial court shall not approve the detention unless satisfied by the reasons cited by police, the 2014 judgment had said.

India has a large number of people languishing in prisons, waiting for investigation or trial to be concluded. According to the data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for 2021, out of 5.54 lakh prisoners, 4.27 lakh of them were under trial prisoners. Their share has increased to 77% by the end of 2021 from 66% by the end of 2012.

Deciding on a case of bail by a man charged with dowry harassment offences, the bench on Monday pointed out that the top court has in a long line of cases highlighted the values of personal liberty in the context of applying discretion to grant bail. Ordinarily bail ought to be granted, said the court, adding that in serious cases involving alleged offences carrying long sentences or other special offences, the court should be circumspect and careful in exercising discretion.

The paramount considerations in cases where bail or anticipatory bail is claimed are the nature and gravity of the offence, the propensity or ability of the accused to influence evidence during investigation or interfere with the trial process by threatening or otherwise trying to influence the witnesses; the likelihood of the accused to flee from justice and other such considerations. During the trial, the court is always in control of the proceedings, and it is open for it to impose any condition which it deems necessary to ensure the accuseds presence and participation in the trial. The court must, in every case, be guided by these overarching principles, it noted.

The bench, in its order, borrowed from some of the old judgment of the Supreme Court, holding that merely because an arrest can be made because it is lawful does not mandate that arrest must be made. These decisions, it said, provide useful and valuable guides with respect to the powers of police, the discretion and duties of the court in several kinds of cases, including those relating to the matrimonial offences such as section 498A (dowry harassment) of the Indian Penal Code, and other cases.

Noting that the Jharkhand high court in the present case had failed to follow the dictum of the Arnesh Kumar judgment when it refused the bail to the petitioner, the bench granted bail to the petitioner, adding that it must also direct all the courts seized of such proceedings to strictly follow the law laid down in the 2014 judgment.

High court shall frame the above directions in the form of notifications and guidelines to be followed by the sessions courts and all other and criminal courts dealing with various offences. Likewise, DGPs in all states shall ensure that strict instructions in terms of the above directions are issued. Both the high courts and the DGPs of all states shall ensure that such guidelines and directives/departmental circulars are issued for guidance of all lower courts and police authorities in each state within eight weeks from today, it directed. The bench further asked all high courts and state governments to submit their affidavits of compliance within 10 weeks.

Last November, the Supreme Court had called upon the Union government to consider framing a new law to facilitate the grant of bail and usher in objectivity in the criminal justice system to ward off unnecessary arrests, especially in cases where the maximum punishment under the alleged offence is up to seven years in jail.

Dealing with a matter where an accused was sought to be arrested after completion of the probe although he was not taken into custody during the investigation, a bench led by justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul had said India should never become a police state where investigating agencies act like vestiges of the colonial era.

Issuing a slew of directions for the investigating agencies and the subordinate courts on arrests and grant of bail, the bench underlined that the persons accused with the same offence should never be treated differently, either by the same court or by different courts, and that even an exercise of judicial discretion cannot justify any violation of equality before the law.

The court, in its November judgment, rued that jails in the country are flooded with under trial prisoners since a large number of arrests are made by police as a matter of routine and then the courts end up dealing with the bail applications in a negative sense. This bench, at the time, had also issued a slew of directions for the investigating agencies and the subordinate courts on arrests and grant of bail.

Both these Supreme Court orders envisage revamping the criminal jurisprudence in the country at a time when various arrests and long pendency of bail applications have raised serious questions over the objectivity and efficacy of the judicial approach to such matters. The redressal, however, may eventually lie in changing the mindset of the investigating agencies and judges of the trial courts.

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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with an order of the Karnataka high court staying the probe into a disproportionate assets case against Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar and told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to approach the high court where the matter is still pending. Karnataka deputy chief minister and Congress leader DK Shivakumar had moved the Karnataka high court against the CBI probe against him (PTI/Twitter/@DKShivakumar)

On a petition by Shivakumar, the high court on February 10 stayed the CBI investigation into the case which accused Shivakumar of accumulating disproportionate assets (DA) worth over 74 crore between 2013 and 2018.

CBI, which registered the DA case against the Congress leader on October 3, 2020, approached the Supreme Court to request that the high courts stay order on the investigation be cancelled.

A three-judge bench comprising justices BR Gavai, CT Ravikumar and Sanjay Kumar, however, dismissed the petition, pointing that the high court was still considering the case.

Since the petition arises out of an interim order, we are not inclined to entertain the petition. All options available to parties are kept open to be decided by the high court, the three-judge bench said.

CBI, which was represented by additional solicitor general (ASG) SV Raju, informed the court that Shivakumar had approached the high court by filing a separate petition questioning the state governments notification granting sanction for his prosecution under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (DSPE) in September 2019. This petition was dismissed by the high court on April 20 which has subsequently been stayed by a division bench.

CBI also challenged this high court order passed on June 12 by a separate appeal and urged the court to have the present matter heard with the other appeal.

But Shivakumars lawyer senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi opposed the CBI request claiming that the high court was on the verge of passing a final order. These interim ladders are unnecessary. The present appeal is against an interim order after which several orders came to be passed in the high court which have not been challenged. In any case, the writ petition (in the HC) is on the threshold of getting decided.

CBI claimed that the decision on the validity of the sanction order will have a bearing on the present petition where Shivakumar has questioned the FIR against him. The court responded: If the other case is decided in your favour, you can point it out to the high court.

The top court also declined Rajus request to ask the high court to expedite the proceedings, saying the agency could directly make the submission to the high court. The petitioner is at liberty to seek expeditious hearing of the case. The high court may consider the request as per law.

CBI has claimed that the wealth of Shivakumar and his family increased by 45% when he was a legislator between 2013 and 2018 and that his assets were 74.93 lakh more than his known sources of income. The case has its origin in an income tax search in 2017 at Shivakumars residence that led to recovery of a little over 41 lakh.

A case was registered against the Congress leader and others under the provisions of the Income Tax Act and Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. This trial was stayed by the Supreme Court in August 2021. However, the FIR became the basis for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to launch separate proceedings since Section 120B is a scheduled offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

In September 2019, ED wrote to the state government sharing leads from the probe and requested the state government undertake an investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Following this on September 25, 2019, the government granted CBI sanction to investigate the case which led to the agency filing a preliminary enquiry (PE) in March 2020 against Shivakumar and two others.
Chennai: Tamil Nadu government clinched a deal on Monday with Taiwanese major Foxconn (Hon Hai Technology Group) to set up a facility to manufacture mobile components at a cost of 1600 crore in Kanchipuram district near Chennai, officials aware of the matter said. The new project is expected to generate 6000 jobs (PTI)

A team led by Foxconn group chairman Young Liu met Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin in the secretariat in Chennai on Monday following which a letter of intent was signed for the deal. The new project is expected to generate 6000 jobs.

Various investment opportunities in Tamil Nadu were discussed, Stalin said. Investment commitment to establish a mobile component manufacturing facility in Kancheepuram district for 1600 crore with a potential employment for 6000 persons was signed in my presence. We also discussed further investments in EV (electric vehicles) and electronic components. Another milestone in our ambition to make TN the new emerging electronics manufacturing hub of Asia.

Foxconn has an existing facility in Sriperumbudur where the company assembles Apples iPhones for domestic and international markets. Foxconns repeated investments and expansion plans in Tamil Nadu are a testament to the state being the top choice for manufacturing in India for major companies across the world, said minister for industries TRB Rajaa. This is a major achievement for the state. The proposed investment, along with more to come, will ensure that Tamil Nadu is poised to remain at the top in electronics export in the country while also significantly increasing its electronics export, he added.

Tamil Nadu had risen to the top spot as the exporter of electronic goods for the 2022-2023 financial year, according to the National Import-Export for Yearly Analysis of Trade (NIRYAT). The state had nearly tripled in a year at $5.37 billion from $1.86 billion in the previous year. Tamil Nadu has accounted for a share of 22.8 % of Indias exports valued at $ 23.57 billion.

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Hyderabad Union minister and Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy inspects a flood-affected area of Warangal on Sunday. (PTI)

An inter-ministerial central team led by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) advisor Kunal Satyarthi landed in Hyderabad on Monday to visit the areas ravaged by heavy rains in Telangana and assess the damage caused to crops and properties, people familiar with the matter said.

The team comprises officials from agriculture, Jal Sakthi, finance, power, road transport and highways and National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA). They will tour different parts of the state and make a first-hand assessment of the damage and rescue and relief works taken up by the state government.

The team will do on the spot assessment of the damage caused due heavy rain and flash floods, a state government official said.

On Sunday, Union tourism minister G Kishan Reddy announced that the decision to appoint an inter-ministerial team was announced by Union home minister Amit Shah at a meeting held with state Bharatiya Janata Party leaders.

Shah instructed the home secretary to send an inter-ministerial team to Telangana to assess damage caused by floods, he said.

Reddy said after a preliminary assessment of the damage, the central team would receive a representation from the state government. Later, another Central team will visit Telangana again for a detailed survey of damage and make a final recommendation for admissibility of additional central assistance, he said, adding that the team would decide on seriousness of the calamity.

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Mahatma Gandhi launched the Non-Cooperation Movement, one of his first experiments with large-scale satyagraha, not in August but on the fourth day of September, 1920, but Independence Day month feels like a good time to bring it up. Not the Movement itself, monumental as it was, but its impact on young and restless Indians who, with their newly awakened nationalistic instincts frustrated by the Rowlatt Act of 1919 (which authorised the police to arrest suspected terrorists without reason and imprison them without trial) and their anger stoked by the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh only a month later, were desperately looking for an organised revolt to pour their energies into. A 38-year-old lawyer Karnad Sadashiva Rao, the scion of a prosperous family of professionals from Mangaluru was one of the first recruits for the non-cooperation movement from Karnataka.

The Non-Cooperation Movement, and its simple brief  a non-violent withdrawal of Indian labour from British-run enterprise  was just such a revolt. One of its very first recruits from Karnataka was38-year-old lawyer Karnad Sadashiva Rao, the scion of a prosperous family of professionals from Mangaluru. By the time of his tragic, untimely death 17 years later, he had contributed so much to the nationalist cause in his theatre of work that he was hailed as the Gandhi of the South.

As a boy, Sadashiva Rao was generous to a fault. Much to his lawyer father Ramachandra Raos annoyance, he often gave away his textbooks and pens to classmates who could not afford them. On her part, his mother,Radhabai, quietly nurtured that unselfish spirit, which he would deploy, often to his detriment, throughout his life.

After graduating from Presidency College, Madras, Sadashiva Rao got a degree in law from Bombay University before returning home to begin his legal practice. All that fell by the wayside, however, as he plunged into the thick of the nationalist movement, building the Congress Party in the state, travelling from village to village to spread the gospel of Gandhijis Sarvodaya  the social and economic development of a community as a whole  and creating awareness, at the grassroots level, of Swaraj or self-governance.

Keen to walk the Sarvodaya talk, he founded, with his wife Shantabai, the Mahila Sabha, which worked to rehabilitate widows not only by teaching them vocational skills but also organising their remarriages whenever possible, much to the disapproval of Mangalurus conservative community. Not that Sadashiva Rao would let that kind of thing faze him  soon after, he was setting up community kitchens for Dalits outside the very temples that would not admit them. A great believer in holistic education, he also set up a school called Tilak Vidyalaya in his own house, where Hindi, spinning, weaving, and handicrafts were taught to keen students, age and caste no bar.

Tragedy struck in 1923, when Sadashiva Rao lost two of his children and his loyal helpmeet Shantabai in quick succession. Distraught, he headed to Sabarmati Ashram for succour and sanctuary, but had to rush back to Mangaluru soon after to set up relief camps, from his own funds, for victims of a terrible flood that had ravaged it. His many stints in prison, where he refused mosquito nets because not all prisoners were entitled to one, weakened his health considerably.

On 9 January 1937, right after he had attended the 1936 Congress Session at Faizpur, where he had uncomplainingly slept in a damp, chilly cottage, Sadashiva Rao, whom the towering Kannada litterateur Shivarama Karanth admiringly called Dharmaraj  the king of righteousness, passed on, only 56.

In a strange twist of irony, one of Bengalurus most upmarket neighbourhoods  Sadashivanagar  is named after this great philanthropist, whose own considerable inheritance was so diminished at the time of his death that there wasnt even enough left to cover the funeral rites.

(Roopa Pai is a writer who has carried on a longtime love affair with her hometown Bengaluru)

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KOCHI: A 25-year-old woman in Keralas Pathanamthitta district, who was arrested on July 27 for misleading officers probing her husbands disappearance since November 2021, on Sunday alleged that she was tortured by police personnel to extract her confession that she had killed him. The woman, Afsana, walked out on bail from Thiruvananthapurams prison for women on Sunday after her husband, Noushad, was found alive (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The woman, Afsana, walked out on bail from Thiruvananthapurams prison for women on Sunday after her husband, Noushad, was found alive about 100km away in Thodupuzha in Idukki district on Friday.

Afsana told reporters outside the jail complex that she confessed to killing her husband because of the torture at Koodal police station.

Police officials including women personnel beat me a lot. They used pepper spray in my mouth. They starved me for two days without food and water and threatened to make my father an accused in the case. When they said that they will not let me see my two children, I did what they said. They were abusive and tortured me to say that I killed Noushad and buried him, Afsana said.

They did not let me sleep at all, she said, adding that the police took her to various places to find Noushads body and she did as they said.

T Rajappan, deputy superintendent of police, Konni, rejected allegations of torture. We have the CCTV footage of her statements and witnesses as well. A detailed inquiry will prove it, he said.

Noushad, who was found living on a farm, told reporters that he left home after an attack on him following a quarrel with his wife.

I had an argument with Afsana and she left the house. A while later, about 10-20 men barged into the house and beat me. I dont know who they were. The next morning, I decided to run away fearing for my life. When I heard reports that I was killed and buried, I was shocked. I just want to see my (two) children now, he told a local TV channel.

Afsana said that there had been problems between the two since marriage and alleged that he was an alcoholic and beat her. I dont know why he ran away, she said, claiming that he did disappear for a week or a month in the past after they quarrelled. She denied allegations that she got her husband beaten up.

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Weighing in on the controversy surrounding the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has suggested that the Muslim society should offer a solution for the historical mistake. In a podcast with ANI Editor Smita Prakash, Yogi Adityanath, who is also the head priest of Gorakhnath Mutt in Gorakhpur, said the walls of Gyanvapi are screaming and calling it a mosque will cause dispute. U.P. chief minister Yogi Adityanath. (HT file)

"If we call it a mosque, there will be a dispute. I feel whoever has been blessed with sight by God, that person should see. What is a trishul (trident) doing inside a mosque? We did not put it there. There is a jyotirlinga, dev pratimas (idols)," the chief minister said.

The walls are screaming and saying something. I feel there should be a proposal from the Muslim society that there has been a historical mistake and we need a solution, he added.

Adityanath's comment on Gyanvapi mosque came ahead of Allahabad high court's verdict on a plea against a lower court order directing the Archaeological Survey of India to conduct a survey to determine if the mosque was built upon a temple.

The high court also ordered that the stay on the ASI survey will continue till August 3. The court was hearing the plea filed by Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, which manages the mosque.

While the dispute dates back decades, on July 21, while hearing a petition by four Hindu women, the Varanasi district court directed ASI to conduct a comprehensive survey, using dating, excavation and ground penetrating radar (GPR) techniques, of the plot where the mosque stands, next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The judge, however, excluded a section  where the Hindu side claims a Shivling was found and the Muslims say the structure is part of a fountain  that has remained sealed since a Supreme Court order in May 2022.

ASI carried out the survey for about four-and-a-half hours on July 24 before it was stopped by the apex court the same day and allowed petitioners to move to Allahabad high court.

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Rain News Today LIVE Updates: The incessant rainfall in many parts of India due to the active phase of the monsoon season has thrown life out of gear, prompting authorities to close schools, colleges and even temporarily relocate people to shelter homes. Waterlogging, traffic snarls, disruption to electricity and water supply have further compounded woes as the people are facing the brunt of the heavy monsoon rains. Potholes Seen on Manjrekar Road Near Apna Bazar at Andheri West, in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

However, there seems to be no respite soon as the India Meteorological Department said heavy to very heavy rainfall activity is likely to continue over east, northeast and east central India during the next four to five days. Odisha, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat as well as northeast Indian states among others will continue to witness different intensities of rainfall in the days ahead.

Mumbai, which remained affected by extensive rainfall last week, was put on a 'green' alert till Tuesday, indicating light to moderate rain chances in the city. Light to moderate rainfall is expected in Delhi on August 2 and 3. Rain-battered Telangana will also experience moderate showers over few places today. The weather body also noted that heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated places is likely in eastern parts of Rajasthan, Odisha, and Jharkhand.
National Mountain Climbing Day is celebrated in the United States to honour and commemorate the first successful ascent of the Grand Teton in Wyoming, which took place on August 1, 1898 and also to honour mountaineers Bobby Matthews and his friend Josh Madigan who successfully scaled all 46 of the Adirondack Mountains in New York. Climbers and outdoor enthusiasts often use this day to explore mountains, participate in climbing events or promote conservation efforts for mountainous regions. National Mountain Climbing Day: Date, history and significance (Photo by Lucas Clara on Unsplash)

Date:

National Mountain Climbing Day is celebrated annually in the US on August 1.

History:

National Mountain Climbing Day" in the United States commemorates the first successful ascent of the Grand Teton, which took place on August 1, 1898. The Grand Teton is the highest peak in the Teton Range of Wyoming and this successful climb was accomplished by a team of seven climbers, led by Nathaniel "Nat" Langford and including TM Bannon, JP Cramer, John Shive, Frank Spalding, William Owen and Franklin Spalding.

Their accomplishment was a remarkable feat in the early days of mountaineering in North America. On the other hand, the duo Bobby Matthews and Josh Madigan climbed over the last peak of the Adirondack Mountains, the White Face Mountain on August 1, 2015.

Significance:

National Mountain Climbing Day serves as a reminder of the history and spirit of adventure in mountain climbing. It encourages people to appreciate the challenges and rewards of mountaineering and outdoor exploration, promotes awareness about mountain environments, conservation efforts for mountainous regions, safety in outdoor activities but most importantly to educate the general public about the physical and mental advantages of mountain climbing which is a passion for many people who do it as a hobby.
The initiative of encouraging workplaces to incorporate a 'Y-Break at Office Chair' is a highly welcomed step and has the potential to help millions of employees in India and this initiative was launched by the Ministry of AYUSH last month on the heels of International Yoga Day, with an aim to help the workforce tackle stress, feel more energised and focus better. Incorporating Yoga into the office routine is a powerful strategy that can profoundly impact both physical and mental well-being, consequently leading to increased productivity among employees as Yoga nurtures our bodies, soothes our minds and enriches our holistic wellness by offering a perfect blend of physical and mental exercises, empowering us with the skills to gracefully and resiliently navigate the process of ageing. Monday motivation with Y-Break at office: All about the recent buzz around Yoga at office chair (Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels)

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Marcus Ranney, Founder and CEO at Human Edge, shared, Yoga's capacity to soothe the body and mind is one of its benefits. Emotional stress can set off a chain reaction of physical effects, including the release of hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which constrict arteries and raise blood pressure. Yoga's deep breathing and mental focus may assist to relieve stress. For dealing with stressful occurrences at work, mindfulness techniques such as yoga, meditation, and deep breathing are useful stress management tools.

He suggested, One can learn to focus their attention on the present moment and become more aware of your thoughts and emotions by practicing mindfulness. This can help manage stress more effectively and improve overall well-being. Mindfulness activities have been demonstrated to reduce stress, improve mood, and increase productivity, according to research. A study published in the Journal of Occupational Health examined the effects of 15 studies involving various types of physical relaxation for stress alleviation on healthcare professionals. The study found that, while all physical relaxation strategies reduced work-related stress, yoga seemed to outperform the others.

On a physical level, he revealed that regular Yoga practice enhances flexibility, strengthens muscles and improves posture. Dr Marcus Ranney highlighted, Sitting for long hours at a desk can result in stiffness, muscle tension, and decreased range of motion. By introducing Yoga sessions during breaks or offering designated yoga classes, employees can engage in stretching exercises that specifically target these issues. Improved physical well-being translates to increased comfort, reduced risk of musculoskeletal disorders and heightened energy levels, allowing employees to perform tasks more efficiently and with greater ease. Furthermore, the introduction of yoga into the office routine fosters a positive and supportive work environment. It sends a clear message that the organization values the health and well-being of its employees. This gesture can boost employee morale, job satisfaction and loyalty. By investing in the physical and mental wellness of employees, organisations can experience reduced absenteeism, improved employee engagement and decreased turnover rates.

According to Shuvashish Mukherjee, Head of Yoga and Fitness at Truworth Wellness, Yoga - an ancient practice originating from India - is widely regarded as a valuable contribution to the world. He said, It has gained particular recognition as an effective remedy for stress reduction, a significant concern in today's workplace where employees often spend more than 10 hours per day on their jobs. The detrimental effects of prolonged sitting in office chairs while fixated on screens are well-documented, negatively impacting both the body and mind. Not only does sitting in a chair for long hours result in neck and back pain but also contributes to the speedy accumulation of fat in the abdominal, hips, and thigh region. Additionally, the strain on the eyes and headache from constantly looking at the screen, and you have the recipe for an unwell body. Not taking care of the physical and mental well-being also impacts the employers and can result in increased absenteeism and attrition rate.

The Yoga expert gushed, Integrating Yoga into the daily routines of employees can bring remarkable benefits to both the workforce and employers alike. With yoga, targeting both the body and the mind, employees can get into the rhythm of learning techniques to stretch their bodies, improve posture and enhance their overall physical well-being. Meanwhile, by practicing breath control and meditation, one can significantly add to enhanced mindfulness which can lead to better concentration and higher productivity. Hence, by embracing Yoga in the workplace, employers are not only equipping employees with a powerful tool to re-energize, clear their thoughts and manage stress effectively but also actively contributing to their overall well-being, fostering a sense of belonging and care.

He advised, By integrating short yoga sessions during the workday, employees can remain active. A mix of yoga practices such as 'asanas' (postures), 'pranayama' (breathing techniques), and 'dhyana' (meditation) can be pivotal in enhancing the overall well-being of employees. Exercises like squats, mountain climbers, leg raises and tricep dips can easily be executed at the workplace to evade the sedentary nature of desk work and include some movement to one's body. Organizing small group meditation and breath control sessions a few times a week can not just help in improving lung capacity but also enable employees to return to work with a relaxed mind. As the power of Yoga traverses the foreign lands, we hope that the Y-Break - Yoga at Office Chair' will motivate employees to become more active and push employers to invest in practices to take better care of their workforces well-being.
The 1,000-year-old Buddhist archaeological site of Pilak, which is located in the alluring landscapes of north-eastern India, is sure to wow visitors as it rises to prominence in a recently established cultural and religious tourism circuit, reported The Bhutan Live. The rich historical and spiritual history of Pilak, which is situated in the scenic area of Jolaibari, South Tripura District, is being promoted by the state government of Tripura. This historic location is a part of a network of Buddhist and Hindu tourist attractions close to the tri-border region of Tripura, Bangladesh (formerly East Bengal), and Myanmar's Rakhine State (previously Arakan). The 1,000-year-old Buddhist archaeological site of Pilak. (Twitter/@PIBAgartala)

South Tripura's Pilak has already established itself as a well-known tourism destination, luring travellers from all across the nation, as per The Bhutan Live.

The Bhutan Live covers Bhutan news, politics, Bhutan culture, Bhutanese Buddhism and more, for a unique understanding of the Himalayan region.

The State Tourism Department, led by TK Das, has created an alluring archaeological tourist circuit that includes Pilak as well as Chhabimura and Udaipur in the Gomati District in an effort to highlight the area's cultural riches even further.

The famed Tripureswari Kali temple, one of the 51 Shaktipithas, is located in Udaipur, also known as Rangamati, which is the starting point of the voyage. The trek begins at the state capital of Agartala. Without stopping in at Chhabimura, which is renowned for its captivating rock carving panels lining the high hill wall and overlooking the calm waters of the Gomti River, the circuit isn't complete.

Its extensive collection of ancient Buddhist and Hindu sculptures, which also includes terracotta and stone temple plaques, as well as two magnificent stone images of Avalokiteshvara from the ninth century and a stunning sculpture of Narasimha from the 12th century, make Pilak's historical significance clear.

These valuable artefacts are prominently displayed in the Government Museum in Agartala. Notably, the sites also yielded two bronze Buddha statues close to Pilak, offering priceless information on the area's early Buddhist kingdoms, which flourished before the arrival of Hinduism.

Since 1999, the preservation of Pilak has been carefully supervised by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Brick stupas were found during ASI-led excavations in the early 1960s, shedding light on the site's historical significance.

Additional ASI digs at Jolaibari and surrounding mounds uncovered Buddha statues and other Mahayana Buddhist sculptures, according to The Bhutan Live.

The State Tourism Department's executive engineer, Uttam Pal, described the government's goal of making Pilak a popular travel destination for Buddhist travellers from all over the world, not just from Southeast Asia. Despite the site's well-deserved position as an archaeological treasure, strict rules forbid the construction of permanent structures within 150 metres of it.

However, the state government has made investments to build first-rate tourism amenities nearby the restricted area. The number of visits has been unusually high, and for the comfort of tourists, a tourist bungalow has been meticulously built next to the site at Jolaibari.

A spectacular full-size Buddhist stupa, said to have been built in the 11th century under the rule of the Palas of Bengal, has just been discovered at Sundari Tila, close to Pilak. The site's numerous rock-cut sculptures and images display artistic influences from Bengal's Pala and Gupta dynasties, the Arakan region of Myanmar, and the Mainamati region of moulded plaques.

History-rich Pilak was formerly a vital component of the legendary Samatata kingdom in prehistoric Bengal. It now stands alongside other illustrious archaeological sites in Bangladesh including Mainamati and Somapura Mahavihara, which are renowned for their priceless clay plaques, seals, and early Hindu and Buddhist sculptures from the eighth and ninth centuries.

The recently established tourism circuit promises an extraordinary experience for those looking for a soul-stirring trip through time, culture, and spirituality, with Pilak proudly standing as the crowning jewel of this old treasure trove, The Bhutan Live reported.
G20 countries are home to two-thirds of the worlds population, 85% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and 75% of international trade. They account for around 45% of the coastlines and 21% of the exclusive economic zones. In this context, the collective resolve towards environment and climate sustainability has rightly been recognised as a key priority under G20, to secure a better future for our planet. PREMIUM The G20 summit logo. (File)

Under its Presidency, India hosted the fourth Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) meeting on July 28 in Chennai. Prior to the fourth and final meeting in Chennai, three meetings of ECSWG were held in Bengaluru, Gandhinagar and Mumbai.

The G20 nations participating in ECSWG meetings have shown an unwavering commitment towards environmental sustainability since the inception of Indias presidency. Across the three working group meetings and various inter-sessional meetings, the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi  which includes the need to focus on solutions in order to address climate and environmental issues in an ambitious and decisive manner  has found resonance. The discussions held during the meetings focused on innovative themes and best practices for the restoration of land, maintenance of water security, and aimed at fostering collaborative partnerships to combat climate change.

G20 is a suitable platform for multilateral cooperation, bringing together the worlds major economies to collectively address the interconnected climate and environmental concerns. As a country, we have taken several pro-environment initiatives and actions. India has banned single-use plastics, notified the extended producer responsibility and e-waste management rules, achieved the ethanol blending target ahead of schedule, and is working on the development of the Green Credit programme integrating the principles of Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) into economic activities, among others. On the wildlife conservation front, too, there have been notable achievements. Due to the success of Project Tiger, India is now home to over 70% of the worlds tiger population. Similarly, our nation houses 60% of the Asian elephant population.

Taking forward the mantra of working jointly and collectively to realise common goals on the environment and climate front, PM Modi envisioned and launched the International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), Mission LiFE and the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA).

The ECSWG meetings build on the precedent set by past presidencies. Our focus on land degradation, Ocean20 dialogue, resource efficiency, and water management, is a testimony to that. By fostering collaboration among member nations, international organisations, and other stakeholders, the deliberations around arresting land degradation, accelerating ecosystem restoration and enriching biodiversity; pursuing sustainable and climate-resilient water resource management; promoting a sustainable and climate resilient blue/ocean-based economy, and encouraging resource-efficiency and circular economy, G20 displayed a sense of urgency towards battling the severe environment and climate challenges that the world is facing.

During the discussions, attention was given to ways and means of addressing land degradation due to forest fires and mining. The G20 countries came together to share best practices related to the restoration of these landscapes. A compendium of the same is going to serve as a ready reckoner for all countries. Water resource management issues were discussed and the G20 countries came together to discuss sustainable water management and share best practices.

Under the theme of a blue/ocean-based economy, discussions have been held to evolve the high-level principles, which would help countries transition to a sustainable and resilient blue/ocean-based economy. The principles will guide further development of action-oriented strategies for this economy that can contribute to sustainable development, poverty alleviation, and the conservation of marine ecosystems.

The concept of a circular economy is a key driver of sustainable development. Indias G20 presidency focused on priority areas related to steel, extended producer responsibility, and circular bio-economy, under the resource efficiency theme. The establishment of the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency is envisaged as a global, cross-sectoral and industry-led initiative to enhance on-ground action for technical knowledge-based and financial collaboration.

Throughout the working group meeting, G20s commitment to multilateralism and cooperation was reaffirmed. It was acknowledged that no single nation can address environmental challenges in isolation. The outcomes from ECSWG reflect the collective determination of G20 countries to foster partnerships, exchange best practices, and leverage collective action to tackle the climate crisis and environmental concerns effectively.

The discussions and the outcomes represent significant milestones that can potentially be markers to measure progress in initial areas. The development of comprehensive policy frameworks integrates environmental considerations into national and international agendas. By aligning policies with our shared environmental objectives, we can drive systemic change and foster sustainable development. As trustees of the planet, we need to show our collective determination for taking decisive action that can safeguard the planet for future generations.

Bhupender Yadav is Union cabinet minister for environment, forest & climate change; and labour & employment. The views expressed are personal.
Anju, who fled India last week, is now married to Nasrullah and lives in Peshawar, Pakistan. After her nikah, Anju said: I have converted to Islam and feel safe in Pakistan. Peshawar, where she currently lives, is the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It is regarded as one of the most dangerous regions in the world due to its proximity to Afghanistan. How can Anju feel comfortable in such a setting? Is this not the Pakistan government trying to settle scores for Seema Haider, who landed in Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, with four children from Pakistan, and caused a sensation on both sides of the border. Just like Anju feels safe in Pakistan, Seema feels secure here along with her children. You can connect the dots here. PREMIUM The Manipur police along with security forces have launched a series of operations across the state (File Photo)

The media circus has thrust these women into the spotlight, and all stories that should have been at the top of the news line-up have vanished. In no way can the cases of Anju and Seema be linked to national identities. This is not the only instance of a sexist attitude towards women.

Let me now tell you what I felt last week.

A lovely rainy morning transformed into one of misery for me when I stumbled across a video from Manipur showing what was done to two women by a mob. These women were into a position of helplessness, but the video also permanently exposed them in front of the entire world. This is not new. It always has disastrous repercussions.

Let me cite an instance from history to further affirm my point. Historians disagree on whether the great king Prithviraj Chauhan abducted Samyogita or she went on her own accord with him. This episode undoubtedly made Samyogitas father, Raja Jaichand, feel immensely humiliated. He was so offended as to not hesitate to join Mohammad Ghoris camp. What happened afterwards is well known.

Prithviraj Chauhan was obviously a superb fighter, but his defeat laid the groundwork for Indias servitude. If only this had not occurred.

Unfortunately, such occurrences are unavoidable. This is the reason why the violence in Manipur could not be stopped. The third month of the spread of disquiet, discontent, and estrangement is about to be completed. There have been 150 fatalities so far, and thousands are now homeless. Feeling compassion for the hundreds of victims of blind hysteria, the question definitely arises in the mind as to why did they have to become the object of anger of their neighbours in their own country? There is another point that makes my heart hurt. Manipurs felony involving the women happened on May 4. The government and the Womens Commission may have been blindfolded, but why did the regional and opposition parties remain silent on this? There may be a network of their workers and activists in Manipur. Why did they forget that, regardless of who is in power today, society and the country belong to everyone?

This is why the politics around this topic generates so many concerns. How long will politicians be in a rat race to prove that they are cleaner than others? Those in power today were in Opposition the day before. The Opposition of today may come to power tomorrow, but defending India and Indians is not the responsibility of any single party. When can our political class muster the fortitude to speak with one voice on such an issue?

There is another sad element of the happenings in Manipur! The husband of one of the women who was publicly humiliated had served in the Army as a soldier. He risked his life in the Kargil conflict and in Sri Lanka to fight for Indias honour and fame. This time around he had no choice but to witness his wifes humiliation. During the celebration of Victory Day on July 26, many people wondered, Do we give respect to our soldiers like this?

Social media mercenaries have also played a significant role in igniting this fire. The army and the police are planning to take action after a video surfaced showing a man in uniform assaulting a woman. What effect would such falsified videos or posts have on our brave hearts? Only sensitive people can comprehend this question.

The main reason for saying this is that there is a concern in the Northeast that the fires in Manipur might spread to Mizoram and neighbouring areas. That is why it is critical to put a stop to the current storm of ethnic rivalry. The flames of such a fire may find new fuel at any moment and in any place.

Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. The views expressed are personal.
The mysterious metal cylinder that washed up on an Australian beach two weeks ago is likely debris from an expended third stage of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), the Australian Space Agency confirmed on Monday, PSLV is a medium-lift launch vehicle operated by ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation, it said. A cylindrical object is seen on beach in Green Head, Australia, July 17, 2023.(AP)

We have concluded the object located on a beach near Jurien Bay in Western Australia is most likely debris from an expended third-stage of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The PSLV is a medium-lift launch vehicle operated by ISRO, the space agency tweeted.

A day after the object surfaced on July 16, the ISRO had confirmed to HT that the object was a part of PSLV upper stage but an old one.

ISRO chairman S Somanath had said, This is a part of PSLV upper stage but an old one. It is not from a recent mission, it must be older." PSLV's third stage is a solid rocket motor that provides upper stages high thrust after the atmospheric phase of launch.

'Debris with Australian agency'

The Australian Space Agency said that the debris will remain in storage and it was working with the ISRO, to seek confirmation to determine the next steps, including considering obligations under the United Nations space treaties.

The Australian Space Agency is committed to the long-term sustainability of outer space activities, including debris mitigation, and continues to highlight this on the international stage, it further said.

The object's appearance had caused a frenzy on social media, with people speculating the origins of the debris. Its appearance also coincided with the timing of the launch of the ISRO moon mission Chandrayaan 3 - set off in space on July 14.

According to experts, the detached rocket components are not dangerous and are usually left behind by the space launch of all major space agencies. The parts of the rocket detach during different stages when its role in the mission is completed. Agencies carefully plan well in advance about where these objects should land to ensure that they don't pose any threat to the people.

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After more than two weeks of revolving around Earth and completing five orbit-raising moves, Chandrayaan-3 is ready for a critical trans lunar injection (TLI) tonight between 12 midnight to 1 am IST. During this manoeuvre, its thrusters will be activated to propel the spacecraft beyond Earth's gravity and place it into the moon's orbit. Chandrayaan-3 was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Friday, on board the LVM-3 rocket. (ISRO)(HT_PRINT)

The LVM3 has positioned the spacecraft and its propulsion module into an elongated Earth orbit, thereafter achieving a trajectory of 1,27,603 km x 236 km through subsequent orbit-raising manoeuvres. Now, the thrusters will come to life once again to transfer the spacecraft to a moon orbit. The powerful burn will enable it to enter the moon's sphere of influence, performing a hyperbolic lunar swingby, thus setting it on a course to intercept the Moon.

Upon reaching the Moon, the propulsion module will gently lower Chandrayaan-3 to a circular, 100-kilometre orbit. There, the two components will separate, allowing the lander to deorbit and make a soft landing in the Moon's south polar region on August 23, as scheduled by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

ALSO- Watch: Chandrayaan-3 observed in deep space by Polish telescope

Chandrayaan-3's progress in lunar mission

India's third moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Station in Sriharikota on July 14. It has completed five orbit-raising manoeuvres around Earth and has achieved an orbit of 127,603 km x 236 km, forming an elliptical path with the farthest and closest points.

With the latest firing tonight, the spacecraft will break free from Earth's gravity and start its journey towards the Moon. Once there, it will enter the Moon's gravity and enter lunar orbit.

By the first week of August, Chandrayaan-3 will have completed 5-6 circles around the Moon, moving closer to the innermost circle. Over the following 10 days, it will determine the precise landing location in the Moon's south pole region, as announced by Union Space Minister Jitendra Singh.

Chandrayaan-3 is planned to attempt a soft landing on the lunar surface on August 23 at 5:47 pm IST. However, the timing might change due to the Moon's sunrise. If necessary, ISRO will reschedule the landing for September.

What are Chandrayaan-3's objectives?

Chandrayaan-3 aims to accomplish almost the same objectives as its predecessor, Chandrayaan-2:

1) Successfully demonstrate a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface.

2) Showcase the mobility of the Rover on the Moon's terrain.

3) Conduct in-situ scientific experiments on the lunar surface.
Adam Mosseri, the head of Meta Platforms-owned Instagram, has revealed for the first time how Threads, the company's new Twitter-like social media service that was launched on July 5, came about. threads

A late-night conversation between Mosseri and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg while the former was vacationing in Italy with his wife, led to the birth of Threads, he told The Washington Post.

What if we went bigger?

According to Mosseri, the tech giant's initial idea was to incorporate several Twitter-like features into Instagram itself, as Zuckerberg and other executives contemplated on ways to attract Twitter creators to Meta's photo and video-sharing platform.

What if we went bigger? he, however, quoted Zuckerberg as saying.

He is very excited about this

Recalling his night-time conversation with the CEO, the 40-year-old noted how the former encouraged him to go bigger. The call, he said, left him with a sense of urgency and a mandate to build an entirely new app to take on the Elon Musk-owned microblogging site.

Oh God, we've got to figure this out because he (Zuckerberg) is very excited about this. Sometimes, you can tell when he kind of gets his teeth into something, Mosseri recalled his immediate thoughts.

The team is assembled

The Instagram boss constituted an engineer-heavy team, comprising of around 60 members, and gave it just months to come up with an all-new application. Finally, Threads was born, and became the fastest app to register more than 100 million sign-ups, reaching the landmark within just five days of its debut.

Since then, however, it has already lost more than 50% of its users, a fact Zuckerberg himself acknowledged.

New DMs feature coming

In the same interview, meanwhile, Mosseri also announced that Threads will soon get a direct messaging (DM) feature.

Lots of basics like that really need to get fixed  and fixed quickly, he remarked, acknowledging the drawbacks with the Twitter-killer.

Threads has already received two earlier sets of updates.

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A Delta Airlines flight bound for Newark, N.J., from Boston's Logan International Airport, was forced to return on Sunday evening as authorities received an anonymous tip of a passenger making threats to the safety of the flight. FILE - A Delta Airlines plane leaves the gate on July 12, 2021, at Logan International Airport in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)(AP)

The incident prompted an emergency return to the airport, causing concern among passengers and authorities alike.

Delta Airlines Flight 5770 was scheduled to depart at 5:30 p.m., but shortly after takeoff, an anonymous third party caller reported the alleged threats made by a passenger to a New Jersey police agency.

Massachusetts State Police spokesperson David Procopio confirmed the incident, stating, had allegedly made threats related to the safety of the flight.

Upon the plane's return to Logan International Airport, Massport fire, and State Police were on standby to address the situation. Troopers escorted the unidentified passenger off the aircraft as a precautionary measure.

Law enforcement authorities also conducted a thorough search of the passenger's two carry-on bags with the assistance of the State Police Bomb Squad and explosive-detecting K-9 units, which yielded no findings of hazardous materials or devices.

The passenger had no checked bags, reducing the risk of further complications.

Following the removal of the passenger and his belongings, the flight was cleared to resume its journey to Newark, N.J., as per official statements.

According to flight tracker, the flight took off Sunday night.

Passengers expressed a mix of relief and anxiety as the flight finally continued its course.

Boston Globe reported a Delta spokesperson deferred inquiries to Republic Airways, the company operating Flight 5770 for Delta.

In their official statement, Republic Airways expressed apologies to all affected passengers for the unexpected delay and any disruption to their travel plans.

As of Sunday night, no charges have been filed in connection with the incident, and investigations are ongoing to determine the nature and validity of the alleged threats.

ALSO READ| San Francisco's Twitter HQ adorned with flashing 'X' sign sparks city investigation

Authorities remain committed to uncovering the details behind the situation and ensuring the safety and security of all air travelers.

Safety protocols and vigilant efforts continue to be vital in maintaining a secure and peaceful air travel environment.
An eight-year-old boy was attacked by a cougar inside a national park where he was camping. However, his mother bravely scared the animal away. The incident took place in Olympic National Park in Washington State on Saturday, July 29. The rest of the visitors were evacuated after the attack. An eight-year-old boy was attacked by a cougar inside a national park where he was camping (Pixabay)

The cougar casually abandoned its attack after being yelled and screamed at by the childs mother. Park personnel quickly responded and once the childs medical condition was assessed and stabilized, the family was escorted back to the trailhead by park personnel, the National Park Service said in a news release.

The boy suffered only minor injuries during the attack. He was rushed to the local hospital for evaluation.

The cougar will be euthanized if caught

Due to the extreme nature of this incident, we are closing the Lake Angeles area and several trails in the vicinity, said Olympic National Park Wildlife Biologist, Tom Kay. Out of an abundance of caution, the Lake Angeles Trail, Heather Park Trail, Switchback Trail, and the entire Klahhane Ridge Trail are closed until further notice.

The National Park Service confirmed that the cougar will be euthanized if caught. This may provide clues as to why the animal attacked since cougars are rarely seen and attacks on humans are extraordinarily rare. Olympic National Park has extensive protocols in place for wildlife observations, interactions, and attacks and the lethal removal of this cougar is in line with these protocols, it said.

The entirety of Olympic National Park is considered cougar territory and it is important for visitors to be prepared for an encounter. It is recommended that visitors not hike or jog alone, and to keep children within sight and close to adults. Leave pets at home and be alert to your surroundings when hiking. If you meet a cougar, it is important to not run because it could trigger the cougars attack instinct. Instead, people should group together, appear as large as possible, keep eyes on the animal, make lots of noise and shout loudly. Throwing rocks or objects at the cougar is also recommended, it added.
Authorities in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou canceled a TEDx event over what the organizers said was concern about foreign influence. China has tightened its oversight over NGOs during President Xi Jinpings decade in power.

The conference scheduled for Aug. 13 was called off because police told organizers they failed to meet requirements under a law covering foreign non-governmental groups, TEDxGuangzhou said in a statement on social media on Monday.

China has tightened its oversight over NGOs during President Xi Jinpings decade in power. Foreign NGOs are required to register with authorities under a 2017 law that subjects them to stringent reporting requirements.

Under the law, organizations without a representative office in China must have a government sponsor and a local cooperative partner before holding activities.

TEDxGuangzhou said it shouldnt be covered by the law, though it still tried to meet some of its requirements. TEDx events are held independently of TED Conferences LLC, which grants licenses for the presentations as long as its principles are followed.

The event next month was set to feature speakers discussing a range of topics, including art, school bullying and nanomedicine.

Police in Guangzhou couldnt immediately be reached for comment. Representatives at TEDxGuangzhou didnt immediately answer emails seeking comment.

Earlier this year, several events such as outdoor concerts that included foreigners were canceled in China without explanation. Authorities had earlier fined a production company about $2 million and suspended its performances after a comedian joked about a military slogan Xi frequently uses.

Several LGBTQ-related events were also canceled, including some related to Junes Pride celebrations.
China is pressuring Uyghurs living abroad to spy on human rights campaigners, BBC reported. Beijing is threatening families back home and using intimidating tactics. Uyghurs in China have been living under intense surveillance as more than a million have allegedly been detained in internment camps, it was earlier reported. China's flag flutters.(Reuters)

Research suggests this particular kind - controlling access to family members in the home country through video calls, in exchange for compliance overseas - is commonly used by Chinese police, the report claimed.

Dr David Tobin at the University of Sheffield said that all Uyghurs living outside China are victims of transnational repression.

Family separation is the central tactic that China uses, as per the expert.

Even where phone calls are technically possible, relatives still living in China won't pick up as there is an assumption that calls will be monitored, and a fear that communicating freely will put them at risk, he said.

This allows Chinese police to step in and offer tightly managed access, he said, adding that during the research they surveyed or interviewed 48 Uyghurs in the UK of which two-thirds reported having been contacted directly by Chinese police.

The situation is even more intense in Turkey which is traditionally a safe haven for Uyghurs. Almost 80% of the 148 of respondents in Turkey reported similar threats from Chinese authorities.

Young people are distancing themselves from Uyghur protests and meetings. They are worried that people there might be spies. China's plan is working, an Uyghur in Turkey told BBC.

Turkish authorities are aware of what's happening and have been slow to respond as "the more dependent a country is on investment from China, the more likely it is to cooperate or to turn a blind eye," Dr David Tobin said.

Julie Millsap, a US-born activist who works with the Uyghur Human Rights Project, said that China has tried to pressure her through her in-laws. She revealed that when her campaigning work began, local police began dropping in on her extended family in China, saying they "wanted to be friends".

During a recent video call between her husband, in Washington DC, and his sister, in China, "the police happened to stop by", she said.

"He stammered and asked us not to misinterpret his intentions," she informed, adding, But we're still talking about police harassment, about threats, about a daily reality that is anything but good.

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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 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that the number of Covid-19 hospitalisations have been rising in the US. As per data, hospitalisations have spiked up 10%- the sharpest increase since December 2022. Over 7,100 patients with Covid were hospitalised in the week of July 15, up from 6,444 the prior week, it showed while Covid-related emergency room visits are also on the rise. About 0.73% of visits as of July 21 are due to Covid compared to 0.49% a month prior. Covid In US: People shop at a grocery store enforcing the wearing of masks in Los Angeles.(AFP File)

"After roughly six, seven months of steady declines, things are starting to tick back up again," Dr. Brendan Jackson, the CDC's Covid incident manager in Atlanta told NPR.

We've seen the early indicators go up for the past several weeks. And just this week, for the first time in a long time, we've seen hospitalizations tick up as well, he said.

This could be the start of a late summer wave," he continued highlighting that the spikes have been significant in the Southeast.

More concerning are the "mutagenic" subvariants emerging in Asia but for most people in the US "these early signs don't need to mean much," he said.

CDC spokesperson Kathleen Conley said, Early indicators of Covid-19 activity (emergency department visits, test positivity and wastewater levels) preceded an increase in hospitalizations seen this past week.

But, Covid rates are still at "near-historic lows" in the US, she said, adding that overall infection-related deaths are declining in the country and are at the lowest rate since the CDC started keeping track.

Dr. Marc Siegel, professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center told Fox News that a summer surge is underway.

"I am likely going to recommend the new XBB subvariant booster in the fall, especially for those in high-risk groups who haven't had a recent infection or vaccine. Ordinarily, I would pay careful attention to wastewater analysis, but given the amount of immunity still around from prior infection and vaccination  coupled with the fact that we are still within the Omicron family with most infections remaining mild and hospitalizations showing only a slight uptick  I don't see this as a harbinger of another surge," Dr. Marc Siegel said.

These are just embers of a fire not completely out. I am likely going to recommend the new XBB subvariant booster in the fall, especially for those in high-risk groups who haven't had a recent infection or vaccine," he explained.

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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 top security expert has warned that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would be taking the biggest security risk of their lives if they moved from Montecito. A source had previously claimed the pair may be planning to buy a property in Malibu three years after moving to their current home in Montecito. The security expert's claims comes years after Harry said he killed several Taliban members while he served with the British Army. F Prince Harry walks outside the Rolls Building of the High Court in London, Britain June 7, 2023 (REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo)(REUTERS)

A source said that discussions are at an early stage at present, but the couple is keen on moving closer to central Los Angeles. It can take as long as three hours to travel to the Hollywood city from their current 11.4million mansion.

The security expert has now claimed that Harry and Meghan will become sitting ducks in the coastal area outside Los Angeles. If theyre bothered by the paparazzi and intruders at their mansion in Montecito 90 miles away, it will be considerably worse in Malibu, where their profile will be even higher," Kent Moyer, boss of the Beverly Hills-based World Protection Group told The Express.

Did Prince Harry really kill 25 Taliban members?

Far more serious, however, is the risk of a terrorist attack or kidnap attempt on them and their family, Kent said. Harry claimed in his memoir, Spare, that he killed 25 Taliban members while serving with the British Army in Afghanistan.

Harry's claims of killing the Taliban members drew criticism from enemies and allies alike. Talking about his combat experience in his book, Harry said, "Baddies eliminated before they could kill Goodies.

Pominent Taliban member Anas Haqqani blasted Harry at the time, saying on social media, Mr. Harry! The ones you killed were not chess pieces, they were humans; they had families who were waiting for their return.

Anas accused Harry of killing innocent civilians at the time. We checked and found that the days on which Prince Harry is mentioning the killing of 25 mujaheddin, we did not have any casualties in Helmand, Anas told Al Jazeera. It is clear that civilians and ordinary people were targeted.

Kent said it would be a grave error for the pair to even share where they were planning to buy a house. As things stand, any tourist  let alone a trained assassin  can easily find their home, he said. Ken added that while the Sussexes Montecito property is almost a local landmark, a property in Malibu could possibly attract ten times the attention.

They should be vanishing from public view

Kent said, Its also disturbing that their names are right there in local public records of property ownership. Most high-risk VIPs form anonymous-sounding companies through which they buy homes, so they cant be traced so easily. Harry and Meghan simply havent bothered with this very easy step.

The main access road, Pacific Coast Highway, is very narrow in parts and often blocked in winter by mudslides and landslide, he said of moving to Malibu. "That would be a nightmare if they were looking to escape an attack by car. The fact is, they should be vanishing from public view completely unless they are attending a public function. Turning themselves into even higher profile targets and telling everyone where they live is not the answer.

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A drone-flying fisherman from Florida captured a jaw-dropping shark attack off the Palm Beach coast, just in time for Shark Week. Josh Jorgensen, known for producing videos for the popular BlacktipH Fishing YouTube channel, posted the aerial footage on Instagram, leaving viewers in shock. Florida fisherman captures shark attack off Palm Beach coast during Shark Week. Bull shark strikes boat 8 times, causes damage.(BlacktipH )

The video begins with Jorgensen spotting two massive cobia fish swimming alongside a bull shark in the water. Eager to seize the opportunity, he calls his friend, Carl Torresson, to join in on the fishing adventure.

The camera then pans to Torresson's fishing boat, where people can be seen casting their lines into the water. Suddenly, a bull shark lunges at the boat's stern, ramming into the outboard motors and thrashing about.

"I didnt think a shark could actually shake a boat like that," said Torresson, amazed by the shark's forceful assault. The boat rocked with each impact, creating an adrenaline-pumping experience. The shark attacked the boat eight times before finally retreating.

After the intense encounter, Torresson and his friend returned to shore, only to discover the extent of the damage caused by the bull shark. The engines had suffered considerable destruction, with parts broken and ripped out. However, Jorgensen later confirmed, "The engine was salvageable; Carl had to buy new parts for it."

Bull Sharks: Formidable predators

Bull sharks, known for their aggressive nature, are one of three shark species that regularly engage with humans. The others are tiger sharks and great white sharks. With an average length of 7 to 11 feet and a weight of up to 500 pounds, bull sharks are considered mid-sized predators.

Their preference for living in high-population areas near tropical shorelines, combined with their ability to navigate through brackish and freshwater, makes them highly adaptable and potentially dangerous. Experts regard bull sharks as one of the most hazardous sharks in the world due to their behavior and habitat choices.

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The body of a German mountain climber who went missing in 1986 while hiking along Switzerland's famous Matterhorn mountain has been found. The discovery is attributed to the melting glaciers in the region, which have caused the reemergence of bodies and objects that were previously considered lost. The body was found on June 12 by some climbers who were hiking along the Theodul Glacier in Switzerland's Zermatt. "DNA analysis enabled the identification of a mountain climber who had been missing since 1986 In September 1986, a German climber, who was 38 at the time, had been reported missing after not returning from a hike" the police said in a statement. The discovery was made on June 12 by some climbers who were hiking along the Theodul Glacier in Zermatt, Switzerland.(Reuters)

The Valais canton police did not disclose any further details about the identity of the German mountain climber or the circumstances surrounding his death. However, they did release a photograph to the public, showing a solitary hiking boot with red laces protruding from the snow. The boot was confirmed to have belonged to the missing individual.

Police confirmed that the climber's remains underwent a thorough forensic analysis at Valais Hospital. The examination enabled experts to establish a connection between the discovered remains and the 1986 disappearance of the German mountain climber.

Climate change-induced glacier shrinkage has resulted in the uncovering of bodies belonging to climbers who vanished over several decades.

Back in 2015, the remains of two young Japanese climbers, who had disappeared during a snowstorm on the Matterhorn in 1970, were discovered. The identification of these climbers was established by conducting DNA tests on their relatives.

In the previous year, Switzerland's glaciers experienced their most severe melting rate ever recorded in over a century. The glaciers lost 6% of their remaining volume, which was nearly twice the amount compared to the previous record set in 2003. This significant loss highlights the alarming impact of climate change on glaciers and its potential consequences for mountaineers and the environment.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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A cold front is expected to bring some relief from the extreme temperatures to the Northeast and New England this week, but the southern US will continue to swelter in hot weather for several more days. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 28: The Astoria pool is seen closed due to construction next to a spray park in Astoria Park amid a heatwave on July 28, 2023 in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens borough in New York City. The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for the city as humid temperatures soaring into the 90s hit NYC. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Michael M. Santiago / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)(Getty Images via AFP)

The FOX Forecast Center says that a high-pressure system that had been over the Southwest and South-Central US will move eastward by midweek, allowing temperatures in the Desert Southwest to cool down slightly and return to normal levels.

Temperatures will still be above 100 degrees, but not as dangerously high as they have been for the past weeks.

However, the heat and humidity will persist for millions across the southern US.

Southern states continues to face heat alerts

More than 73 million Americans from the southern Plains to the Southeast are under heat alerts as temperatures and heat indices soar above 100 degrees.

Excessive Heat Warnings are in effect for parts of southern Kansas and the Florida Panhandle, where the heat could be dangerous.

Roofers sport hats to take cover from the sun during a heatwave in Eagle Pass, Texas, U.S. July 27, 2023. REUTERS/Adrees Latif TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY(REUTERS)

Heat Advisories cover a larger area from Texas and the southern Plains to the Deep South, Gulf Coast, and Florida. The heat advisories include Dallas and Houston, as well as New Orleans, Orlando, and Miami.

Southern states still experience sweltering weather

The southern US will continue to swelter in extreme heat as the weekend wraps up, with more than 122 million Americans facing above-average temperatures.

Temperatures will reach the upper 90s to around 100 degrees from Texas to the Mississippi Valley. But the humidity will make it feel much hotter. The heat indices will be well over 100 degrees across the South and Southeast.

ALSO READ| No FaceTime and no Zoom: Source refutes claims Prince Harry reached out to Prince William amid financial pressure

Jacksonville, Florida, and Tampa will have a feels-like temperature of 105-110 degrees on Sunday.

Heat will persist in this new workweek

The South will face another day of scorching heat as the new workweek begins.

Heat and humidity will make it feel very unpleasant, with millions of people experiencing forecast high temperatures above 100 degrees across Texas and parts of Oklahoma and the Gulf Coast. The heat indices will also be well over 100 degrees, and some areas will have a feels-like temperature of above 110 degrees, such as Corpus Christi, Texas, and New Orleans.

Dallas and Tulsa will also have a feels-like temperature of nearly 110 degrees on Monday.

Northeast braces for severe weather and cooler temperatures with the arrival of a cold front

People run towards the atrium entrance at Gallery Place in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington during heavy rainfall on Saturday, July 29, 2023. The National Weather Service had issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning across the area. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)(AP)

The heat and humidity that have been plaguing the Northeast and New England for several days will finally ease up as a cold front moves across the region. The cold front triggered strong storms from New England to the mid-Atlantic on Saturday, with wind gusts up to 80 mph reported in the Washington D.C. area.

The storms caused power outages for more than 250,000 customers across the region and some injuries. Authorities in Virginia are also investigating the death of a person in Prince William County after a tree fell onto a home. Police said on Facebook that the death may be related to storms.

ALSO READ| Here's what increased human encounters with sharks in the United States mean

Another cold front is expected to arrive in the Northeast and New England this week, bringing much cooler temperatures that will feel like fall in the region.

Some areas of northern New England had temperatures in the 50s on Sunday morning.
Electricity was cut off in large parts of southern and central Iraq amid extreme heat wave after a fire broke out at a power station in the southern city of Basra, Associated Press reported. The fire at the Al-Bkir substation resulted in the separation of transmission lines linking the southern and central regions. This caused a complete shutdown of the electrical system, Iraqs ministry of electricity said. The fire was accidental, it added. A farmer watches the ripening of dates, as their production increases in high temperatures in Basra, Iraq.(Reuters)

This comes as the country's electrical system faces other challenges- fuel shortages and surging demand during a major heat wave as temperatures reached 116.6 degrees Fahrenheit this week. The company that handles electricity transmission in the north reported that the transmission line in a remote area outside the city of Haditha in western Iraq had been sabotaged after three towers were hit by improvised explosive devices. The line was out of service since, the statement said.

The repair was not possible due to security issues as ISIS and other armed groups are active in the area but later workers were able to access the site with the help of security forces and begin repair work.

No water in Baghdad

The power blackout resulted in disruption in water supply in Baghdad. The authorities said that they were trying to run water pumps using generators to limit the impact on citizens.

Heat wave in the world

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said that July 2023 is set to upend previous heat benchmarks after scientists said that it was on track to be the world's hottest month on record. World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service also said that it was "extremely likely" July 2023 would break the record.

"We don't have to wait for the end of the month to know this. Short of a mini-Ice Age over the next days, July 2023 will shatter records across the board," Antonio Guterres 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
Police in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said on Monday that an initial probe has suggested that the banned terrorist group ISIS is behind the suicide attack on a political convention of a hardline Islamist party that killed at least 44 people and injured over 100. Police officials examine the site of a bomb blast in Bajaur district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.(AFP)

The attack took place on Sunday when more than 400 members of the conservative Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party, known for its links to hardline political Islam, had gathered for a meeting under a canopy in the town of Khar, which borders Afghanistan.

"We are still investigating and gathering information on the Bajaur blast. The Initial probe shows that banned outfit Daesh (ISIS) was involved," Geo News quoted police officials as saying.

The police said they were gathering details of the suicide bomber, while the bomb disposal squad team was collecting evidence from the site.

District Police Officer Nazir Khan said three suspects have been taken into custody.

Provincial police chief Akhtar Hayat Khan said 10 kilogrammes of explosives set off by a suicide bomber were used in the blast. He said the bomber was among the attendees seated in the front rows of the convention.

Local police said the attacker detonated explosives near the conventions stage.

According to police and witnesses, the blast occurred as soon as JUI-F District Amir Maulana Abdul Rasheed reached the stage.

The deceased included JUI-F Tehsil Khar Maulana Ziaullah Jan, Navagai Tehsil General Secretary Maulana Hameedullah, District Information Secretary Mujahid Khan and dozens of party workers.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) caretaker health minister Riaz Anwar said on Sunday night that 44 people lost their lives while more than 100 were injured in the attack.

An emergency has been declared in the hospitals of Bajaur and adjoining areas where most of the injured were taken. The critically injured have been transported from Bajaur to hospitals in the provincial capital Peshawar by military helicopters.

Bajaur District Health Officer Dr Faisal Kamal said more than 150 injured people had been brought to the Bajaur District Headquarters Hospital.

Over 35 people have been referred to the Timargarh hospital while 15 critically injured persons have been sent to Peshawar via a Pakistan Army helicopter, he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

Rescuers have warned the death toll may rise further, as 15 people are in critical condition.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemned the blast and vowed that those responsible will be identified and punished.

"The Pakistani nation, law enforcement agencies and our protectors will never allow such cowardly tactics of the enemy to succeed," he tweeted.

Sharif spoke to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to express his condolences.

We are equal participants in your grief. The criminals will be truly punished and bringing an end to terrorism is the commitment of the entire nation, he said.

He ordered an investigation into the incident and instructed that the critically injured persons be transferred to other hospitals on a helicopter.

Pakistan President Arif Alvi prayed for eternal peace for the departed souls and commiserated with the bereaved families. He also wished speedy recovery for the injured and emphasised timely medical assistance to them.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan sought a detailed report on the blast from police.

He also visited the Combined Military Hospital in Peshawar, where he met and inquired about the health of injured persons.

Rahim Shah, a witness, told Dawn.com that more than 500 people were attending the convention when the blast occurred.

We were listening to a bayan [sermon] when a powerful explosion knocked me unconscious, he said.

Shah narrated that when he regained consciousness, there was blood everywhere.

People were screaming and even shots were fired, he added.

Sabeehullah, a 24-year-old JUI-F supporter who had his arm fractured by the blast, said the scale of injuries was horrifying.

There was utter confusion, with human flesh, limbs, and body parts scattered throughout the area, alongside lifeless bodies. I found myself lying next to someone who had lost their limbs. The air was filled with the smell of human flesh, he was quoted as saying in the report.

The JUI-F chief, in a statement issued by the partys media cell, expressed grief over the incident. He sought an inquiry into the attack from Prime Minister Sharif and the KP government.

May Allah raise the ranks of martyrs, Fazl said and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.

He also appealed to JUI-F workers to immediately reach hospitals and provide blood donations.

In a tweet, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah vowed to bring the perpetrators of todays attack to justice.

The cowardly acts of terrorists cannot dampen our spirits," he said.

Former prime minister Imran Khan said he was saddened to learn about the blast and extended condolences to the victims' families.

The rise in terror incidents across Pakistan particularly in KP, calls for an urgent need to reconsider our priorities, he said, adding that the authorities should focus on eliminating terrorism.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban government in Afghanistan, has condemned the attack. TTP spokesman Khalid Khurrasani also condemned the blast.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terrorist attacks following the Talibans return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

On January 30, a Pakistan Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up during the afternoon prayers in a mosque in Peshawar, killing 101 people and injuring more than 200 others.

In February, heavily-armed TTP militants stormed the Karachi Police chief's office in Pakistan's most populous city, sparking gunfire that killed three rebels and four others, including two police constables.

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Italy's defence minister Guido Crosetto said that his country's choice to join Chinese infrastructure project Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was "wicked." The present Italian Government is considering whether to keep participating in the scheme, he said in an interview with Corriere della Sera newspaper. The BRI project, which Italy signed up for under its former government, has not done anything to boost the nation's exports, he added. Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto speaks in Rome.(Reuters)

Beijing's international infrastructure investment programme- BRI- was established by the country's president Xi Jinping in 2013 with the aim to rebuild China's Silk Road that linked Asia with Africa and Europe. The project has seen billions of dollars invested into infrastructure projects, including the construction of ports from Sri Lanka to West Africa, motorways from Papua New Guinea to Kenya and power and telecoms infrastructure in Latin America and Southeast Asia.

In 2019, Italy became the only major Western country and the only country from G7 to join the BRI. The BRI membership of Italy will end in 2024.

What Italy's defence minister said on BRI?

Guido Crosetto told the Corriere della Sera that "the choice to join the Silk Road was an improvised and wicked act, made by the government of Giuseppe Conte, which led to a double negative result.

We have exported a load of oranges to China, they have tripled their exports to Italy in three years. The most ridiculous thing then was that Paris, without signing any treaties, in those days sold planes to Beijing for tens of billions, he said.

The question now is how Italy can withdraw from the BRI without damaging relations with Beijing, he said terming China as a competitor, but also a partner.

Earlier, Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni asserted that the country's "good relations" with China could exist without the scheme.

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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
Despite being royals, Kate Middleton and Prince William are very much like any other married couple. According to a report by The Mirror, a royal author has revealed that Kate and William have some adorable nicknames for each other. Kate Middleton and Prince William(AP Photo)

Tom Quinn, author of "Gilded Youth: An Intimate History of Growing Up in the Royal Family", has revealed that palace staff told him the nicknames that the royal couple use for each other.

Reportedly, Kate sometimes teases William for his baldness by calling him "baldy". She also uses nicknames like "Big Willy", "babe" for William. Meanwhile, William uses nicknames like "Duchess of Doolittle", "Babykins", and "darling" for his beloved wife.

ALSO READ| Did TV host back killing liberals comment during show at Donald Trump rally? he clarifies

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Quinn highlighted that sometimes Kate and William also have a go at each other.

"Kate might seem to be a very calm person, and William also. But it's not always true. Because the big stress for William and Kate is that they're constantly surrounded by [palace aides]. It's like a Jane Austen novel," said Quinn.

Kate and William first met during their study at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. They started dating and their relationship became public in 2004. In 2007, the lovebirds split for a brief while before coming back together. William proposed to Kate in 2010 and they got married in April 2011 at Westminster Abbey.

The couple have three children together namely Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Kate likes to call their children by nicknames as well. According to Harpers Bazaar, Charlotte is reportedly called Lottie, while George is known as PG Tips. Louis is called Lou-Bug.
Images shared by North Korean state media showed that the country's leader Kim Jong Un installed large portraits of Russian president Vladimir Putin throughout an official building. The portraits can be seen in photographs of Kim Jong Un with Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu, who visited Pyongyang last week to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War- called "Victory Day" in North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks in Pyongyang, North Korea.(AP)

Even though Vladimir Putin didn't accompany Sergei Shoigu to Pyongyang, he sent a letter to Kim that was published by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). In the letter, the Russian leader praised the North Korean government's support for Russia amid Moscow's invasion of Ukraine appreciating the nation's solidarity with Russia on key international issues highlight our common interests.

Ahead of Sergei Shoigu's arrival in Pyongyang, Russia's defense ministry had said in a statement that his trip was aimed at strengthening Russian-North Korean military ties. During the visit, Kim Jong Un showed the minister nuclear-capable missiles that are banned under United Nations Security Council resolutions, as well as what appeared to be a new drone, news agency Reuters reported.

NK News reported that the defense exhibition featured North Korea's largest nuclear missiles like the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and the Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM.

Ankit Panda, senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peacetold Newsweek, "That appears to have given way to courting Pyongyang as a strategic partner. Kim Jong Un's support for Russia in its illegal war on Ukraine appears to have paid dividends."

This comes as Ukraine's interior minister said that at least one person was killed after a Russian missile hit a residential building in the city of Kryvyi Rig. Interior minister Igor Klymenko said, "Russians struck the city with two missiles. The second missile destroyed sections located between the fourth and ninth floors of a residential building. One person was killed and 10 people sought medical assistance. There may be people under the rubble."

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Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Nawaz Sharif will face the law when he returns to the country. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo, three-time former prime minister, has been living in London since 2019 in self-imposed exile. He will come back in the next few weeks, Shehbaz Sharif said. Pakistan's prime minister Shehbaz Sharif (Reuters)

On May riots following the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan in a graft case, Shehbaz Sharif said that the former premier is the mastermind of the riots which were aimed at toppling the military leadership and initiating a civil war in the country. Imran Khan, ousted via a no-trust move in April last year, was arrested in a graft case, triggering violent protests in Pakistan. Imran Khan was arrested at the Islamabad High Court in the Al Qadir Trust case.

Other than PTI workers, a group of politicians, some military men and their families were involved in the events of May 9, dubbed "Black Day" by the military, the prime minister said, adding, Those involved in the May 9 incidents wanted to overthrow the military leadership.

The planners wanted "anarchy" and "civil war" in the country, he added.

This comes as many as 2,138 suspects have been arrested in five major cities of Pakistan in connection with the May 9 case, ARY News reported.

Additionally, Shehbaz Sharif said that a summary of the dissolution of the National Assembly will be sent to the president ahead of the completion of the tenure on August 12. The decision about the caretaker PM will be taken in consultation with the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and before that all the allied parties and Nawaz Sharif will be consulted, he explained.

Earlier, Pakistan law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that Nawaz Sharif's lifetime disqualification has ended, and now he is eligible to contest elections.

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A bomb blast in southeastern Myanmar killed one person and wounded 12 others on Monday, an official said. Police block a road in Yangon.(AFP File)

Violent clashes have ramped up since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government in February 2021, unleashing a bloody crackdown on dissent that has left thousands dead.

The junta has been battling anti-coup "People's Defence Force" (PDF) militias, as well as long-established ethnic rebel armies that control large areas of territory close to the country's borders.

The blast from a vehicle detonated near Thanlwin bridge checkpoint at around 6:50 am local time (0020 GMT), a government official from the Karen State administration council told AFP.

"About 13 people including passengers and security members there were injured," they said, requesting anonymity.

"One died from those injuries when they arrived at hospital."

They did not give any further details, but the checkpoint is known for its strict security.

No group has claimed resposibility for the attack.

The junta is fighting scores of ethnic rebel outfits.

More than 3,800 people have been killed since the coup, according to a local monitoring group.

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Britain's Prince William on Sunday gave a royal surprise to people in central London by serving them environmentally friendly burgers from a food truck. The Prince of Wales handed out Earthshot Burgers to highlight the work of last year's winners of his annual Earthshot Prize - an award given to five people for their contributions to environmentalism. Prince William stuns diners by serving burgers from food truck in London

The Prince teamed up with the founders of YouTube channel Sorted Food, who have over 2.7 million subscribers on YouTube for their environment-friendly reviews of kitchen gadgets and sharing recipes. In a video posted on their channel, the Prince can be seen serving up the burgers to the stunned customers.

The video starts with Prince William arriving at the Sorted Food studio to drop off the items produced by some of the 2022 Earthshot Prize winners.

As it proceeds, the prince can be heard saying, Coming right upMorning everyone, nicely cooked, ready to go, reported news agency Reuters.

"So the box you're about to eat in is built by a company called Notpla and there's no plastic involved, they've come up with a seaweed coating," the prince can be heard telling customers at the burger van.

The prince went on to say, The ingredients inside the burger are grown from a greenhouse in India from a company called Kheyti, and last but not least, the way we cook them has been on a thing called Mukuru Clean Stoves, and that is designed by a lady in Kenya who came up with the concept to reduce air pollution.

Can't vouch for the taste, the quality but ... I'm rolling with it, he added.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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Prince George is aware of the royal family feud between his parents- William and Kate Middleton- and his uncle and aunt- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, a royal expert claimed. Prince George, who turned 10 this month, is aware of what is going around him and understands whats going on in the family now, royal expert and historian Dr. Tessa Dunlop said. Prince George: Prince George of Wales is seen arriving at St George's Chapel.(Reuters)

[Hes] lost Uncle Harry and so forth and he realizes hes got to step up to it  10-year-olds can often be quite mature. A lot has happened in the last 18 months for the royal family and they cant possibly protect him from all of it. Theres been huge events, the queen has died and that has pushed William and Kate up a gear, up a rank, and by definition George as well," Tessa Dunlop said.

The expert pointed out typical traits of children at Prince Georges age saying, Theyre flexible and they can be quite loyal at that age. They want to look after their parents at that age. Hes seen his parents under considerable pressure on several fronts, the queen dying, the succession of Charles, the fallout and the criticism from Harry and Meghan, which is on some level very personal.

On his role in the royal family, the expert said that Prince George is ready to step up and embrace it.

Hell be aware of that. And I get the impression that hes almost accepted to an extent, that these aspects come with my role being part of this unique family and Im going to do that for mum and dad and for grandpa. We saw him embrace his role at the kings coronation and I expect one of the ways to help him was to have some of his friends alongside him, perhaps that was part of helping George normalize his experience," the royal expert said.

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King Charles has approved the Royal familys strategy of navigating Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's attacks on the monarchy, an insider has claimed. Back in 2020, the pair stepped down as working members of the family. They now live with their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in California. King Charles has approved the Royal familys strategy of navigating Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's attacks on the monarchy, an insider has claimed (Photo by Daniel LEAL / POOL / AFP, Angela Weiss / AFP)

Harry and Meghan have launched several attacks on the Royal Family publicly ever since they stepped down. They have made multiple negative remarks on TV interviews, as well as in Harrys autobiography, Spare.

The insider has now claimed that further attacks will definitely be launched at the Royal Family in the future by the Sussexes. The source told the Daily Beast that senior members of the Royal Family now consider it inevitable that they will have to face such attacks again. The family will, therefore, not change its strategy towards Meghan and Harry.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry under financial strain

Recent reports claimed Meghan and Harry have reportedly been put under strain after the fallout of the Dukes autobiography. The memoir contained several attacks on senior members of the Royal family. Harry appeared in various interviews to promote the book.

Friends and family turned against Harry after his book was released. This put pressure on the couple, according to royal commentator Katie Nicholl.

"My experience with Harry and Meghan  whenever Ive been with them as a couple, who are very, very close  [have] a sort of spark between them that always struck me as being very authentic, Katie told Page Six.

"However, there have been rumours circulating in recent months that the fallout from Spare, which is pretty epic for Prince Harry who had Britain really turned against him, his home country; hes really not welcome here. [The book has] left a bad taste in peoples mouths. Its further alienated him from his friends and his family and I think, inevitably, that has put a strain on them, Katie added.
A royal source has claimed that Prince William has recently not reached out to Prince Harry. The brothers are reportedly not on speaking terms. It is believed Harry recently reached out to Prince William to discuss the possibility of returning to the UK. A royal source has claimed that Prince William has recently not reached out to Prince Harry (REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo, princeandprincessofwales)

Recent reports have been suggesting that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are currently under tremendous financial pressure and are finding it hard to fund their lifestyle. Meghans Spotify podcast was recently snubbed, but their Netflix deal reportedly remains intact.

Did Prince Harry reach out to Prince William?

An insider has now refuted claims that the brothers recently spoke. "William hasnt reached out to Harry and vice versa, the insider told OK!:. "They havent been arguing, but there hasnt been any contact made either. No telephone calls, no FaceTime and no Zoom calls."

A royal commentator recently said it would be a "humiliation" for Meghan and Harry if they decide to return to the Royal Family, according to GB News. Back in 2020, the pair stepped down as working members of the family. They now live with their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in California.

Who would find Prince and Meghan Markle if they were to return?

A recent report also claimed that William might face a dilemma over funding Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, as well as Harry and Meghan, if they were to return to the Royal Family. William reportedly receives 24 million a year from the Duchy of Cornwall. The surplus he currently has will diminish as he funds Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

The surplus, however, may simply disappear if Harry and Meghan returned to the Royal Family fold, as recent reports have been suggesting. William may have to fund Harry and Meghans duties, housing, as well as Archie and Lilibets schooling and other costs. This could put pressure on Williams finances.
Russian ballistic missiles slammed into an apartment complex and a university building in President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown Monday, killing six people and wounding 75 others as the blasts trapped residents beneath rubble, Ukrainian officials said. Rescuers work on a nine-storey residential building partially destroyed as a result of Russian missiles strike in Kryvyi Rig on Monday.(AFP)

One of the two missiles that hit the central city of Kryvyi Rihon destroyed part of an apartment building between the fourth and ninth floors, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. Video showed black smoke billowing from corner units and burned out or damaged cars on a tree-lined street.

The dead included a 10-year-old girl and her mother, according to Zelensky. More than 350 people were involved in the rescue operation, he said in a Telegram post.

The morning attack also destroyed part of a four-story university building.

The strike on Zelensky's hometown, which has been hit in the past, happened a day after the Ukrainian president warned that the fighting was drawing closer to Russian land.

Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia  to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process, Zelensky said Sunday in his nightly video address.

It was not clear whether the missile strikes were in retaliation for his comments.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian artillery strike on the partially occupied Donetsk province killed two people and wounded six others in the regional capital, according to Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the illegally annexed province.

A bus was also hit as Ukrainian forces shelled the city of Donetsk multiple times Monday, Pushilin said.

Neither side's claims could be independently verified.

A recent Ukrainian counteroffensive, deploying weaponry supplied by Kyiv's Western allies and aimed at driving Russian forces out of occupied areas, intensified last week. At the same time, Ukraine has sought to take the war deep into Russia, reportedly using drones to hit targets as far away as Moscow.

Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia and Moscow-annexed territory, especially Crimea, have become more frequent. The latest strike, on Sunday, damaged two office buildings a few miles (kilometers) from the Kremlin. Ukrainian officials did not acknowledge the attack.

Russia tightened security in the aftermath of that attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, describing the assault as an act of desperation.

The Kyiv regime is in a very, very difficult situation, Peskov said, as the counteroffensive is not working out as planned.

Its obvious that the multibillion-dollar resources that have been transferred by NATO countries to the Kyiv regime are actually being spent inefficiently, Peskov said.

This raises big questions in Western capitals and great discomfort among taxpayers in Western countries.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, analysts say, is wagering that Western support for Kyiv will wane as the war drags on and costs mount.

Another Ukrainian drone targeted a district police department early Monday in Russias Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, but there were no casualties, the local governor said.

Bombarding populated areas with missiles, artillery and drones has been a hallmark of Moscows military strategy throughout the war, and that approach has continued during the Ukrainian counteroffensive that started in June.

Russian officials insist they take aim only at legitimate military targets, but Ukraine and its supporters say mass civilian deaths during previous attacks are evidence of war crimes.

In recent days, the enemy has been stubbornly attacking cities, city centers, shelling civilian objects and housing, Zelensky said. But this terror will not frighten us or break us.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday that his forces have increased the intensity of attacks on Ukrainian military facilities.

It was not immediately clear which military facilities he was referring to, as Russia's recent missile strikes have hit civilian infrastructure.

In the southern city of Odesa, Russian strikes in recent weeks targeted port infrastructure and grain silos, after Moscow broke off an export agreement for Ukrainian grain. The Ukrainian foreign ministry estimated Monday that about 180,000 metric tons of grain have been destroyed by Russia in the past nine days.

Russian shelling Monday also killed four civilians and wounded 17 in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. A 70-year-old woman was killed by shelling in her home in a Kharkiv province village near Izyum, authorities said.

In eastern Ukraines Donetsk province, one person was reported killed and seven people were injured after Russia shelled 12 cities and villages, according to Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko.
Sikhs in Singapore have distinguished themselves in their chosen professions and made significant contributions in diverse fields while retaining their culture, faith and unique identity, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said. Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong.(AFP)

He was addressing the 75th anniversary celebration dinner of the Sikh Advisory Board (SAB) on Sunday.

You have all distinguished yourselves in your chosen professions and made significant contributions in diverse fields... Crucially, Sikhs have done all this in Singapore while retaining their culture, faith and unique identity, he told the gathering.

'Sikhs are well represented'

Whether it is in the civil service or the uniformed services, the judiciary, business, sports, or many other professions, Sikhs are well represented, excelling and taking on leadership positions, he told the community.

From the governments perspective, we certainly appreciate and value this very close collaboration with the community. Compared to other communities you may be small in numbers, but your contributions to Singapore is out of proportion to your numbers, the minister added.

Lawrence Wong also highlighted the Sikh Advisory Board having been instrumental in advising the state on matters concerning the community, be it religion, customs or overall welfare issues.

The Board, he noted, has always been candid, open and forthcoming in sharing perspectives and views on the issues of concern to the community.

So, even though you may be an Advisory Board, I assure you the government listens to your advice and takes it very seriously. The Board has also been instrumental in mediating disputes as those relating to employment practices to ensure that Sikhs continue to observe the key tenets of their faith, he underscored.

The deputy PM also acknowledged the Sikh Welfare Councils wide range of services for those in need and the Singapore Sikh Education Foundation facilitating the teaching of Punjabi, which is officially recognised as a second language in Singapore schools together with other minority Indian languages.

Wong reminded the Singaporean community of a sharp rise of racist incidents three years ago at the height of the pandemic in 2020, but assured that the situation has improved and things have stabilised.

Such incidents are a reminder that the ideal of a multiracial and multireligious Singapore is always a work in progress and there remains scope for us to strengthen racial harmony and social cohesion in our country, he said of Singapores early days of independence witnessing heightened tension among the multi-racial community.

Working together, I am sure we can continue to find new ways to uplift the Sikh community and, importantly, to forge even closer bonds with other communities in Singapore, he said.

Knowing from the countrys own painful history of how easily issues like race and religion can be stoked and cause division and strife, Singapore must continue to strengthen racial harmony and social cohesion, he added.

This can be via the creation of more opportunities for shared experiences in Housing Board estates (public housing), neighbourhoods, schools and workplaces, he said.

The first large group of Sikhs to come to Singapore can be traced back to the late 19th century. They were sent by the British colonial government to form a new police contingent. And over the years, more came to Singapore and sank roots here. Over time, the community has grown and flourished. We now have about 13,000 Sikhs fully integrated into our society, the minister concluded.

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UK banks are closing more than 1,000 accounts every day, Guardian reported citing new data which fuelled a row over so-called debanking. Ukip leader Nigel Farage called for a royal commission to investigate the scandal saying that he was starting a website to campaign on behalf of people whose accounts had been shut. An entrance to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) headquarters.(Bloomberg)

Data obtained through a freedom of information (FoI) request made to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) showed that in 2016-17 just over 45,000 accounts were shut by banks. This number has increased every year since climbing to just over 343,000 accounts in 2021-22-- more than 1,000 every business day of the week. The account holders did not receive any information over the shutting.

These also included Nigel Farage's own bank account who said that he would be happy to have a royal commission set up to examine the problem, provided it happened quickly.

Ive just been inundated by small businesses, by folk all round the country. People in absolute fear, terror, lives being ruined, thousands of businesses being closed. These are people who have done nothing wrong whatsoever, he said.

Some UK politicians have also been turned down by banks as it was estimated that almost 90,000 individuals have been categorised as politically exposed persons. These include some UK MPs as well.

UK energy secretary Grant Shapps revealed that he and his family had been victims of debanking because he is a politically exposed person. One bank had demanded 18 years worth of payslips before it would let him be a customer, he said.

The FCA said that increased monitoring by banks might explain some of the increase in account closures. We know that the total number of customers that banks have ceased doing business with for financial crime reasons is less than 0.2%. Tackling financial crime remains a priority of the FCA. We have seen firms increase their monitoring of accounts over the past couple of years, which may account for the increase in the figures," it said.

The UK government also announced plans to change the rules around bank account closures including a requirement for banks to give longer notice.

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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
Joe Biden administration has launched a beta website for its new income-driven student loan repayment plan. The borrowers can use the website to submit applications for the program. Federal student loan borrowers can access the beta website at https://studentaid.gov/idr/. US President Joe Biden(REUTERS)

After the Supreme Court blocked President Joe Bidens student debt forgiveness initiative in June, The SAVE, or Saving on a Valuable Education, plan was finalised. The new plan can help lower monthly loan payments for some student borrowers and reduce the amount they pay back over the lifetime of their loans. Income and family size will play a role in the recalculation of Income-driven repayment (IDR) plans.

Part of the presidents overall commitment is to improve the student loan system and reduce the burden of student loan debt on American families, said a senior administration official.

The SAVE plan is a big part of that. It is important in this moment as borrowers are getting ready to return to repayment, added the official.

The application process on the website is estimated to take 10 minutes. Many sections can be automatically filled with the prior information that the government is having, including tax returns from the IRS, administration officials said.

We will be able to show borrowers their exact monthly payment amount and give them the ability to choose the most affordable repayment plan for them, said one official as quoted by CNN.

In an improvement over past systems, borrowers will need to apply one time and not yearly. After the submission of their application, users will receive a confirmation email. The approval process may take a few weeks and can be tracked online.

Interestingly, borrowers already enrolled in the federal governments REPAYE, or Revised Pay As You Earn, income-driven repayment plan will be automatically switched to the new plan.

ALSO READ| Here's what increased human encounters with sharks in the United States mean

However, the full website launch is expected to happen in August. Applications being submitted in the existing beta version will not require to be resubmitted.

After the IDR application under The SAVE plan, which applies to current and future federal student loan borrowers, some monthly payments may come out to be as small as $0. The income threshold to qualify for $0 payments has been increased from 150% to 225% of federal poverty guidelines, which calculates to an annual income of $32,805 for a single borrower or $67,500 for a family of four. Moreover, with the new plan, unpaid interest will not accrue if a borrower makes their full monthly payments.

Notably, borrowers have to start making federal student loan payments in October after it was paused for more than three years because of the pandemic.
Sonesta International Hotels Corporation (Sonesta), the 8th largest hotel company in the U.S., today announced the appointment of Jim Mooney as Vice President of Sales, focusing on the company's Managed Portfolio for Full Service & Focused Service Sales.

"In his new role, Jim will lead sales for Sonesta's managed portfolio, a key component of the company's continued growth," said Garine Ferejian-Mayo, Sonesta's Chief Commercial Officer. "We believe his significant hospitality leadership experience will be a great asset to Sonesta's Commercial team."

Mr. Mooney joins Sonesta with more than 25 years of hospitality industry experience. Most recently, he was General Manager at the Sheraton Times Square Hotel, a 1,300-room hotel in New York City. Previously, he was Vice President of Sales with Interstate Hotels, directing the Marriott Residence Inn & Courtyard brands and leading a portfolio of hotels in greater New York. Previously, Mr. Mooney was Area Director of Sales and Marketing for Starwood Hotels and Resorts, working at both the Westin New York Times Square and the Sheraton Times Square Hotel. Earlier in his career, he was a sales leader for Millennium Broadway in New York City and was part of the sales team at the Sheraton Inner Harbor in Baltimore.
Amy Schmidt, a Senior Project Manager with the HVS Chicago office, graduated from The School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University in May 2018. Prior to joining HVS in 2019, Amy worked as an Analyst for a commercial real estate company in Oakbrook, Illinois. Her prior hospitality experience includes internships at Kohler Co., Sage Hospitality, Westmoreland Country Club, and The Grand Geneva Resort and Spa. Contact Amy at +1 (815) 701-8001 or [email protected].
WASHINGTON  The Washington, D.C., chapter of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International today invited hospitality professionals from throughout the metropolitan area to attend its annual State of the Industry program Aug. 24 at the Hilton Washington DC National Mall The Wharf.

The program is designed to help area hospitality sales, marketing and revenue-management professionals prepare their plans and budgets for 2024. Moderator will be Jennifer Hill, Kalibri Labs vice president of commercial strategy. The panel will include Robin McClain, Destination DC chief marketing officer; John Hach, Amadeus senior industry analyst; Jessica Carey, Knowland head of customer success; and Kelsey Fenerty, STR analytics manager.

Source: HSMAI

The State of the Industry event will be hosted by the Hilton Washington DC National Mall The Wharf. Registration and a networking reception will begin at 4 p.m. The cost is $75 for HSMAI members and $120 for nonmembers who register by Aug. 10. After that date, the cost is $90 for HSMAI members and $130 for nonmembers. Click HERE to register.

Our panelists will present the facts, figures and insights that hospitality professionals need to prepare plans and budgets for 2024, said Christopher Zindash, HSMAI Washington DC Chapter president and Amadeus regional vice president. The State of the Industry is our most popular program of the year. I encourage all area hospitality executives to join us for this valuable event.

About HSMAI Washington DC Chapter

HSMAI Washington DC is a chapter of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International, an individual membership organization based in McLean, Virginia, composed of more than 5,000 members worldwide, with 40 chapters in the Americas Region.

HSMAI is committed to growing business for hotels and their partners and is the industry's leading advocate for intelligent, sustainable hotel revenue growth. The association provides hotel professionals and their partners with tools, insights and expertise to fuel sales, inspire marketing and optimize revenue through programs including the Adrian Awards, Marketing Strategy Conference, HSMAI ROC revenue optimization conferences and Sales Leader Forum.

Click HERE to join HSMAI. For more information, go to www.hsmaidc.org.
WASHINGTON  American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) President & CEO Chip Rogers is speaking out today in support of the Hotel Fees Transparency Act, which was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sens. Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Moran (R-Kan.).

The Hotel Fees Transparency Act is an important bill that will create a single standard for mandatory fee display across the entire lodging ecosystem  from hotels to online travel agencies, metasearch sites, and short-term rental platforms. We know consumers shop for travel across multiple sites, and this bill is a pivotal step toward creating a more transparent booking process for guests. We commend Senator Klobuchar and Senator Moran for their work on this issue and for recognizing the need to create a level playing field for all types of lodging providers and distributors. We look forward to working with the senators and their colleagues on Capitol Hill on this crucial topic. AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers

Background Info

AHLAs most recent data shows only 6% of hotels nationwide charge a mandatory resort/destination/amenity fee, at an average of $26 per night.
Hotel Data Security Update: Time is Short Reporting your Data Breach

This month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced new rules requiring companies who experience a cybersecurity attack to publicly disclose the impact of the attack within four days. Hotel companies whose securities are registered with the SEC should take note of these regulations and develop a robust incident response plan.

Bob Braun, senior member of JMBMs Global Hospitality Group and Co-Chair of the Firms Cybersecurity & Privacy Group, outlines the new regulations below.

Time is Short  Reporting your Data Breach by Bob Braun, Hotel Lawyer

Over the past years, hotel companies  including brands, managers and owners  have increasingly sought the benefit of access to public markets and, in doing so, have become subject to the registration and disclosure requirements of the United States Securities Act and Securities Exchange Act. In doing so, these companies need to comply with a broad variety of detailed regulations addressing their disclosure and reporting obligations. The Securities Exchange Commission recently adopted regulations which will have an impact on publicly traded hotel companies that suffer a data breach.

Breach Notifications for the Past 20 Years. Ever since California became the first state to require companies to notify their customers of data breaches in 2003, the time between the date a breach was discovered and the time the breach was reported has been an issue of contention. Early reporting gives consumers a leg up in protecting their personal information, and lets investors, vendors and customers of companies know if key business information has been compromised. At the same time, companies want as much time as possible to investigate a breach, understand what happened, and provide accurate information  companies that give early notice often have to give multiple notices as more information becomes available, and may even find that the original notice wasnt necessary. Regardless, lawsuits against companies that have suffered data breaches almost universally point to the gap in time between the discovery and notification of a breach.

The SEC Acts. Regulators have stepped in and identified time frames for public notification of a data breach. Most recently, the Securities Exchange Commission issued a final rule that reduces the time for reporting companies (companies whose securities are registered with the SEC) to disclose cyberattacks publicly. As has been widely reported, with some exceptions, a company that is the victim of a cyberattack now has four days to publicly disclose the impact of the attack. Cyberattacks that involve the theft of intellectual property, a business interruption or reputational damage will likely require disclosure under the regulations.

The rules were proposed last year and contested by trade organizations and businesses, arguing that four days is inadequate to identify the nature and scope of a breach, and would be as likely to disclose inaccurate information as it would to benefit consumers and shareholders.

In contrast, the SEC, in adopting the new regulation, cited the new rule as enhancing transparency into cyber threats after years of attacks against businesses by criminal gangs and, most significantly, groups backed by nation states. The SEC also saw this as an opportunity to address gaps in existing cybersecurity disclosures.

Gaps in Disclosure. Because there are a side variety of laws and rules governing disclosure, there is little consistency in the timing or content of breach notifications. Companies that report incidents provide different amounts of detail about the impact and their response to it. Some cyber incidents arent reported in a timely manner, while others arent disclosed at all. Christopher Hetner, a former cybersecurity adviser at the SEC, who at the National Association of Corporate Directors, said, The outcome of this rule will be to create more normalcy across disclosures.

Arguments against the Regulation. The tight timeframe for disclosure raises concerns. The brief period for making incident disclosures could leave investors with information that isnt accurate. The rules allow a company to update its incident disclosure with added information that was unavailable at first, but that also could create consumer and shareholder confusion.

The regulation is also unclear in defining how an incident would become material and how much detail will be required in public filings. This is a particular issue, since four days is unlikely to be adequate to collect and verify meaningful information about a security incident.

Third Party Risks. The regulation also will require companies will also have to create stronger reporting relationships with vendors. Over the past several years, the cyberattack risks raised in the supply chain of information management has become key, and unless vendors (and all of the parties in the vendors supply chain) cooperate promptly, a reporting company may be unable to meet the requirements of the new rule.

Annual Reporting. An issue that has not been widely reported is the requirement that companies must describe in their annual report, what processes, if any, a company has in place to assess, identify and manage material risks form cybersecurity threats in sufficient detail for a reasonable investor to understand those processes. Combined with the SECs plain language mandate, this requirement alone might be a significant task.

Companies can deal with these new regulations by creating, implementing, testing and updating strong cybersecurity incident response plans. When a company has 96 hours to report publicly a cybersecurity incident, it cannot waste time trying to create a playbook to respond; the playbook must be in place and accurate, and the necessary parties must have the muscle memory to know how to respond, not only to respond directly to the breach, but to comply with new and potentially burdensome regulations. The JMBM Global Hospitality Group and Cybersecurity and Privacy Group work with hospitality clients to achieve these goals and prepare them for the challenges of an ever-changing cybersecurity landscape.

JMBMs Cybersecurity and Privacy Group counsels clients in a wide variety of industries, including accounting firms, law firms, business management firms and family offices, in matters ranging from development of cybersecurity strategies, creation of data security and privacy policies, responding to data breaches and regulatory inquiries and investigations, and crisis management. The Cybersecurity and Privacy Group uses a focused intake methodology that permits clients to get a reliable sense of their cybersecurity readiness and to determine optimal, client-specific approaches to cybersecurity.

Bob Braun is a Senior Member of JMBMs Global Hospitality Group and is Co-Chair of the Firms Cybersecurity & Privacy Group. Bob has more than 20 years of experience in representing hotel owners and developers in their contracts, relationships and disputes with hotel managers, licensors, franchisors and brands, and has negotiated hundreds of hotel management and franchise agreements. His practice includes experience with virtually every significant hotel brand and manager. Bob also advises clients on condo hotel securities issues and many transactional matters, including entity formation, financing, and joint ventures, and works with companies on their data technology, privacy and security matters. These include software licensing, cloud computing, e-commerce, data processing and outsourcing agreements for the hospitality industry.

In addition, Bob is a frequent lecturer as an expert in technology, privacy and data security issues. Bob is on the Advisory Board of the Information Systems Security Association, Los Angeles chapter, and a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Contact Bob Braun at 310.785.5331 or rbraun@jmbm.com.

This is Jim Butler, author of www.HotelLawBlog.com and hotel lawyer, signing off. Please contact us if you would like to discuss any issues that affect your hotel interests or see how our experience might help you create value and avoid unnecessary pitfalls. Whos your hotel lawyer?
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Central Berkshire Urged to Address Bullying in Schools

DALTON, Mass.  A parent and community leader called out the Central Berkshire Regional School District for how it handles the safety and wellness of students.

Joseph Diver, chair of the Select Board, said he was speaking as a resident at Thursday's School Committee meeting. He expressed his disappointment on how bullying incidents are reported and how the district handled recent anti-Semitic harassment that led to a teacher's resignation.

This is not the first time Diver has brought up the issues with the committee. Approximately six years ago, he and his son went before the board following bullying incidents directed toward his son.

When Diver got word of the anti-Semitic harassment, he made public records requests to determine how critical the district takes student safety. He said he found the Safety and Wellness committee has not spoken about bullying at all this past academic year.

"The Safety and Wellness committee was designed by one of your prior chairs after my son presented it to you guys, you're not doing the job," Diver said

The topic fits in both the curriculum and Safety and Wellness committee, Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis said.

"I think that the concerns themselves are going to be addressed throughout the implementation of our code of conduct," Blake-Davis said, adding that an equity audit recommended that the district implement a more consistent code of conduct so that there are more accountable interventions and expectations.

Although in some cases it may be more appropriate to address the issue of bullying in Safety and Wellness, this time it will be addressed during the code of conduct presentation at the curriculum committee meeting, she continued.

Code of Conduct committee Chair Ellen Lattizzori proposed that they invite members of the Safety and Wellness committee to the presentation. Whether or not this will happen was unclear.

One committee member recommended having the Safety and Wellness committee discuss bullying again now that the pandemic is over and to start reviewing threats of bullying, threatening behaviors, and reporting on a quarterly basis.

Diver said, based on the open records request, the School Committee has only discussed the safety and wellness of students twice in the last two years.

One of these discussions was initiated by Diver two years ago and the second time was when Blake-Davis talked about the diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, Diver said.

In 2018, the committee also had to add teacher safety because teachers expressed feeling unsafe, he said.

"When looking at the schools allegations for bullying for 2021 to 2022, there were five bullying allegations and zero findings. That data is incorrect," Diver said. "My own son, there were three. Your data collection is incorrect. There were three findings of bullying, he was a target. Three."

According to the Massachusetts Student Discipline Data Report for 2021 to 2022, there were 93 students disciplined for a range of reasons including bullying, physical fighting, battery, threat of physical attack, illegal substances, and sexual harassment.

There were also students disciplined for vandalism, having a weapon on school grounds, other violent or substance related offenses, and other non-drug, non-violent, and noncriminal related offenses.

The data showed that there was one student disciplined for bullying, 14 for physical fighting, nine for battery, three for threat of physical attack, 12 for illegal substances, and three for sexual harassment.

It also showed that four students were disciplined for vandalism, three for having a weapon on school grounds, nine for other violent or substance-related offenses, and 61 for other non-violent, and noncriminal related offenses.

Diver urged the committee to have the data for bullying practices externally audited.

"Dive deep into the data, dive deep into the process," he said.

The state requires that both allegations and findings of bullying are reported, Blake-Davis said. It's difficult because the district does report these findings but the state's definition of bullying is very specific.

"That doesn't mean there are other things that are happening in the building that are not OK and not appropriate. They just don't fall under bullying," Blake-Davis said.

Following the meeting, Diver said he was "completely disgusted" with how the School Committee addressed his concerns and that it is not doing its job or taking the issue seriously.

"After seven years of advocating and highlighting issues and concerns, not one School Committee leaned in to ask to audit the bullying prevention program and data collection. Not one. They should all resign," Diver said.
Lever Welcomes Board of Trustees Member

Courtesy Photograph by Eric Korenman - L5 Studio

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  Lever welcomes Angela Dixon, SVP and Chief Diversity Officer at Berkshire Bank, to the Lever Board of Directors.

Her work centers on how Berkshire Bank can reach diverse populations including BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities in a variety of ways to enhance their access to banking.

Before joining Berkshire Bank in 2021, Dixon owned and operated Dixon Consulting II, LLC, a management consulting firm focused on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), and Talent Management. Working with the Community Foundation for the Capital Region, she developed a DEI program focused on nonprofit board diversity.

"When I look at DEI, what I can bring to the table is the lens by which we ask questions pertinent to a more diverse population and its relevance to business strategy and sustained economic growth within our communities," Dixon said.

Dixon also served as the VP of Talent & Inclusion at the Capital Region Chamber in New York, where she helped create the Inclusive Leadership Series, an educational program for business managers.

Dixon has a BA in Political Science and MBA from the University of Albany. She is also a Senior Certified Human Resources Professional through the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM-SCP).

"We are pleased to have Angela Dixon join our board," said Cairn Cross, Lever Board of Trustees Chair. "Her career experience will be invaluable to Lever as it stands up, then expands, the Massachusetts Founders Network later this year."
Williamstown Health Inspector Jeffrey Kennedy advises the Board of Health for a final time at its Monday morning meeting.

Williamstown's Health Inspector Set to Retire



Andrew Groff and Cara Farrell address the Board of Health on Monday. Farrell is the human resources director who splits time between Adams, North Adams and Williamstown under a shared services agreement. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  The town's outgoing health inspector is not sure of all the reasons his profession has seen a decline in numbers in recent years.

"I don't know, honestly," Jeffrey Kennedy said Monday morning. "I'm sure a lot of it could be fatigue. Being a health inspector gets to be challenging because it can become confrontational.

"Like any job, if you don't meet someone's specific needs, whether it's in your purview or not, whether it's actionable or not, it can get confrontational."

Everyone gathered in Town Hall's Community Meeting Room on Monday morning knew exactly why Kennedy was leaving his post.

And while they were sad to see him go, they were happy to have a chance to wish him well in his retirement after 28 years in service to the town.

Kennedy was recognized during a meeting of the Board of Health, which issued a proclamation honoring his dedication to Williamstown.

The board also heard  not for the first time  that the town is behind schedule in finding Kennedy's replacement.

Williamstown is not alone there. According to a March 2023 article in the journal Health Affairs, "nearly half of all employees in state and local public health agencies left between 2017 and 2021." More troubling, the exodus rate was greater for public health officials aged 35 or younger or with shorter tenures on the job; about 75 percent of them left.

Though the trend obviously predates the March 2020 start of the COVID-19 pandemic in America, the authors note that the pandemic, "dramatically heightened long-standing workforce challenges for state and local governmental public health agencies."

Kennedy said that, for the most part, COVID-19 was not a factor that created any confrontations for him.

"There wasn't a large outbreak in the community because the members of the community did what needed to be done," he said. "They followed all the protocols. The Board of Health kept on top of it.

"When it came to the vaccination program, the Northern Berkshire [Regional Emergency Planning Committee] stepped up and ran with it. Between them and the Berkshire Public Health Alliance, Berkshire County became a model on how to do vaccination clinics."

Kennedy pointed to colleagues like Laura Kittross at the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Leslie Drager, a registered nurse with the Public Health Alliance, and Amalio Jusino, who chaired the REPC, with helping to guide those processes.

"I was only tangentially involved in that because there was nothing to do, they handled it so well," he said.

Kennedy also credited a knowledgeable and experienced volunteer Board of Health composed of health professionals with making work more manageable.

Three longtime members of that five-person board and its newest member gathered to honor Kennedy.

As part of the recognition, the board noted that Kennedy's style over the last few decades has helped to reduce confrontation with the businesses and property owners he has inspected.

"He has performed his enforcement duties in a thoughtful and fair manner, preferring to educate and correct, rather than to punish," Chair Dr. Erwin Stuebner read from the proclamation.

In addition to praising Kennedy, the board did a little business at the brief meeting. Stuebner was elected to chair the panel. He returned to the post in succession of Ruth Harrison, who stepped down this summer.

Harrison's replacement, Sandra Goodbody, attended her first meeting since being named to the board.

And the body received an update from Community Development Director Andrew Groff and Human Resources Director Cara Farrell about the process of finding a new health inspector.

"We have had the position advertised since late May," Groff said. We have not had the response we anticipated. We've extended the application window twice now.

"We do have three candidates we've identified who are qualified. We would like to begin an initial round of interviews within two weeks."

After that, Groff said, the Board of Health will have an opportunity to sit down and talk with the two finalists for the post and provide feedback; the town manager, not the board, is the hiring authority for the health inspector.

To fill the gap until a replacement can be found, Groff said the town has an agreement with the Public Health Alliance to handle the necessary inspections that arise. The PHA already is the town's backup inspector for times when Kennedy might not have been available.

Kennedy, who has been in the inspection field for 45 years, had some thoughts about the kind of transition the town can expect when a replacement is found.

"It's been challenging years, and it's been years of learning and growth," he said. "People have been saying wonderful things about me. But they've seen me 28 years on. When I first began  I made mistakes. And my successor will, too, and they'll learn from them and go on.

"It hasn't always been smooth sailing, but it's been a challenging and interesting job."
Yondr representative Matt Army gives a presentation to the School Committee on the pouches.

Central Berkshire Mulls Implementing Yondr Pouches



Yondr pouches lock digital devices so they can't be used during school. DALTON, Mass.  The Central Berkshire Regional School Committee is still mulling over introducing Yondr pouches to its middle and high schools.

The goal of the policy change is to help students be more engaged in school and to prevent students from taking videos of their peers without permission and spreading them around, the school committee said during its June meeting.

School Committee Chair Richard Peters said at last week's meeting that although it is likely that the committee will be in favor, a vote was not on the agenda and the matter was postponed to the next meeting.

This program would require training that would take up to four weeks, Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis said.

The district will still apply for the state grant that would aid in covering the cost of this initiative in case the committee votes to support it.

The hope is that this change would be budget neutral. The district may not know if they have been approved for the grant by the next meeting, Blake-Davis said.

Yondr works with approximately 1,200 schools across the country and has a "huge" presence in Massachusetts, Yondr representative Matt Army said.

The organization works with approximately 45 schools across the state including Boston Public Schools, Springfield, Greenfield, Chicopee, McCann Technical School in North Adams, and many more.

The first school that implemented Yondr pouches reported an increase in attendance by 4 percent.

"That's odd right, but it makes very sense and it's a very middle school answer. The kids at home couldn't text the kids at school. They got bored and decided to start coming to school more," Army said.

The implementation has had a profound impact on students, Army said. They are able to take all the attention that goes into the phones and focus it on books.

Yondr pouches were originally created for adults, which is why every teacher and admin will receive one of the Velcro pouches, Army said.

"We the adults created this technology, gave it to students and didn't have any rules or regulations. We just said don't look up anything inappropriate," Army said. "It's time to re-evaluate that."

Yondr does an annual evaluation and out of the 900 school partners, it was determined there were improvements in academic performance, student behavior and student engagement, Army said.

"Anecdotally, I'll say, day one, the students are going to learn how to make eye contact with each other,"

"...number two is conflict resolution. Students can't just go in the bathroom and message each other all day long perpetuating these, kind of, very small dramas that can get pretty serious. You know, if you have a problem with somebody you have to actually have a conversation."

As a result, since school is a better place to be at becoming more "calm and nurturing" Army said.

The organization installs mountable bases at the school's entrance that the students use to lock their electronic devices at the beginning of the day and open at the end.

The pouch can fit multiple devices from multiple phones, Airpods, and an Apple Watch. The pouch is then placed in the student's backpack.

Yondr has found that the dismissal process is faster than non-yondr schools because students have to go to the exit in order to open their phones and they want their phones pretty bad, Army said.

Included in the program is a building walkthrough to figure out the logistics, a policy consultation, a presentation to the community, and two days of in-school support if needed, Army said.

The pouches would cost $19 per student and $15 per teacher plus a one-time shipping fee. All of the equipment is included in that price. Pouch replacements are part of the program cost.

The district has approximately 900 middle and high school students, Blake-Davis said.

The organization tries to give its school partners one invoice per year so that they are not sending out multiple invoices for replacements.

"That's just so cumbersome for everybody. So we try our best to make an all inclusive program," Army said.

Every year the district will collect the pouches from the students and catalog how many would need to be replaced. Once the inventory is complete Yondr will send a return label so the district can return the pouch using the box it came in.

Day one of the program implementation is distribution and introduction day. Students are assigned a pouch and help the students at the beginning and end of the day, Army said.

"The middle of the day, that's where they get to have their first phone free experience and for some students, it's easy for others it's not so much but that's all part of the process," Army said.

"And that's why we really have the Velcro patches for the adults, to model that behavior and make the acknowledgement that this is a pretty tough change to go through," Army said.

Day two is the pouch check day because it is likely that some students are going to try and mess with the pouch.

If there are any dents or marks that show students are trying to get into the locked pouch the phone will be taken away following a check-in conversation with the student.

"But, moral of the story is if you break your pouch we're going to hold the phone for the day. If it happens again, we're going to hold it till the parent or guardian can pick it up," Army said.

The magnet Yondr uses to lock the pouches is specially designed to not wipe the phones. The organization has seen instances where students will try to get into their pouches using a magnet to unlock it but since it is not the specially designed magnet it can wipe the student's phones.
Discover Rwanda & Uganda in a Safari-ready Porsche

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It is your last chance! September is coming up soon and if you are looking for an exceptional driving adventure to join  look no further. Prepare for a one-of-a-kind opportunity and drive a Safari-prepared Porsche in the heart of Africa, through Rwanda and Uganda. Beyond Adventure African Highlands welcomes you to the home of the mountain gorillas, with Rwanda and Ugandas fantastic African gravel roads, stunning landscapes, endangered wildlife and top-tier accommodation sure to leave lasting memories.

From September 23  October 2, 2023, it is not only the routes and bucket-list components of this experience that are epic, but this adventure also takes place in the Safari-ready KALMAR RS and KALMAR CS cars  vehicles that are not usually seen in this part of the world, and certainly not as part of a self-driving experience. Unlike others, KALMAR Adventure Line cars are capable of far-reaching adventures and have been purpose-built for your wildest automotive exploration journey.

With these vehicles, youll navigate through majestic landscapes with volcanic mountains, lush jungles, tea plantations, never-ending savannahs, lakes and the famous Nile River. From vast plains teeming with game to colorful and vibrant local villages, this diverse continent is magnificent in its extremes. Here its all about epic wildlife, magical landscapes and the fascinating people who bring it all alive. Rwanda and Uganda are incredibly special and expect views that go far beyond the imagination.

Lands of contrasts and diversity, the natural features of Rwanda and Uganda continue to draw visitors in. A great place for nature-loving travelers, you can also spend time tracking the gorillas through the misty bamboo forest of the Virunga volcanic mountains for an experience that is an extremely special privilege and an unforgettable encounter.

With amazing mountain gorillas, some truly spectacular wildlife encounters, and dramatic mountain views, KALMAR Beyond Adventure also ensures that the best accommodation is available throughout the trip. After long days of driving and exploring, the perfect hideaways to relax are the top-class and memorable lodges and escapes that have been selected to let your mind and body recharge. For Beyond Adventure, the best is the only option.



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Last weeks blog post was rather long, and had a greater than normal number of typos. (Thanks to people who pointed them out. I think Ive fixed all the ones that were reported.)

This was because I saw in reviews that iOS 17s voice recognition was supposed to be much improved, and I figured that Id give it a try. Ive always found iOSs recognition to be superior to Google Docs and I have an old iPad Pro thats good for betas.

iOSs performance remains good and, yes, I think its better than iOS 16. But its still hardly at the level of magic, especially when using technical terms. Heres a paragraph taken directly from the raw output of last weeks post (Ive highlighted errors with italics):

It is integrated into the W3C credential management specification and so it is called via navigator . credentials . create and navigator .credentials. get. This document is about understanding the deeper structures that underpin web orphan rather than being a guy as to its details. So we will leave a great many details to the numerous guides to Web Oran that already exist on the web and instead focus on how structures from UF were carried over into Web orphan and updated.

While its nice that many of the words are there, with that density of errors doing all the corrections means that its not clearly better than typing things out. However, the world is all aflutter about LLMs these days. Can they help?

I wrote a script to chunk paragraphs of text so that the chunks were at least 500 bytes, and then to send them to gpt-3.5-turbo with the following instructions prefixed, and a temperature of 0.6:

The following is the output of a poor speech recognition system. Please correct its errors and reply with the corrected version without any preamble. Some of the uncommon words that the system cant recognise are U2F, CTAP, FIDO, CTAP2, JSON, FIDO2, WebAuthn, bearer token, hash, phishing, RP ID, passkey, caBLE, and password manager.

Heres the cleaned up version of that paragraph.

It is integrated into the W3C credential management specification and so it is called via navigator.credentials.create and navigator.credentials.get. This document is about understanding the deeper structures that underpin web authentication rather than being a guide as to its details. So we will leave a great many details to the numerous guides to WebAuthn that already exist on the web and instead focus on how structures from U2F were carried over into WebAuthn and updated.

Theres one case where it wrote web authentication rather than WebAuthn, but it fixed all the other problems!

So thats what I tried: I dictated long chunks to iOS, then ran a script to clean it up with GPT, then edited it manually in Obsidian. From Obsidian, pandoc converted to HTML and EPUB formats.

That prompt is the result of some experimentation. Initially, I asked GPT to fix errors and grammar but, when reading the results, some sentences were incorrect and I found that it had fixed them into nonsense. Therefore I dropped and grammar. You can ask it to output in Markdown format, and I probably should have done that, but I was too far into manual editing by the time that I thought of it.

An oddity was that I wrote the instructions with the word recognise (English spelling) but then thought that it might work better with the more common American spelling (recognize). But that seemed to make it worse!

An obvious thing to try was to use GPT 4. However, I misread the costs of OpenAIs API and thought that their charges were per-token, not per 1000 tokens. So with estimates that were off by three orders of magnitude, GPT 4 seemed a bit too expensive for a random experiment and I used GPT 3.5 for everything.

I didnt write this post the same way, but this experimental worked well enough that I might try it again in the future for longer public writing.
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A new Bollywood film has been accused of trivialising the deaths of millions of Jews killed during the Holocaust.

The film Bawaal, directed by filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari and starring actors Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Dhawan, follows the story of a small-town school teacher who agrees to an arranged match with a woman suffering from epilepsy. The couple takes a trip to Europe to visit World War II sites as they gradually fall in love.

The film has been harshly criticised due to scenes which include the usage of Auschwitz as a metaphor to describe the couples relationship.

For instance, in one scene, the lead stars are visiting a gas chamber, as Dhawans character says: Were all a little like Hitler, arent we? in reference to people never being satisfied with what they have.

Ever since the movies release, many people have called out the cast and director for intertwining the couples relationship with the Holocaust.

Bawaal received severe backlash from the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, an organisation that works to protect the human rights of the Jewish community.

The group called on Amazon Prime Video to remove the film from its platform.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, an associate dean and the director of Global Social Action at the NGO, said: Auschwitz is not a metaphor. It is the quintessential example of mans capacity for evil.

[Bawaal] is a banal trivialisation of the suffering and systematic murder of millions of victims of the Nazi Holocaust.

Israels embassy in India also responded to the controversy and criticised Tiwaris film for trivialising the genocide of Jews in World War II.

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In a statement, the ambassador of Israel to India, Naor Gilon, said: I did not and will not watch the film Bawaal but from what Ive read, there was a poor choice of terminology and symbolism.

Trivialisation of the Holocaust should disturb all. I urge those who dont know enough about the horrors of the #Holocaust to educate themselves about it, he wrote.

Many viewers on social media have accused Bawaal of normalising Hitlers rule and for having spectacularly poor taste.

Really dont understand how this got green-lit, one person wrote on Twitter. And the gall of Varun Dhawan to engage in whataboutery when questioned.

Another person added: Gross. The lack of awareness here is staggering. To use the Holocaust as an analogy to a troubled romance?

One person wrote: The criticism is more than justified in this case. Bollywood has a sensitivity problem.

Bawaals lead star Dhawan defended his film and asked why the same scrutiny and morality arent applied to non-Hindi language films.

He was presumingly referring to a scene in Christopher Nolans Oppenheimer, which involves a sex scene involving a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, that recently sparked controversy among Hindu right-wing groups in India.

In an interview with Pinkvilla, Dhawan said: I respect everyones opinion, everyone has a right to have an opinion. Some people got triggered, they got sensitive about this. But I dont understand where that sensitivity goes when they watch, suppose, an English film.

The Student of the Year star added: Where does that sensitivity go? They are allowed to do everything, they are allowed to take leaps and show everything, but you will find that correct. I know people whove felt very triggered watching a small scene in a Its a brilliant film, but a small scene in a recently released film.

But it is a scene which is important to our culture, and our country, but that is okay for you. You dont feel they should be more sensitive to us? Where does your criticism go then? But with us, you want to get personal.

Bawaal is available to watch on Amazon Prime Videos.
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A Chinese man allegedly swam nearly 10 hours from Fujian Province to Taiwan's Matsu Islands in an effort to "seek freedom".

The Chinese national in his 40s reportedly sought help from tourists near the Beigan Township on Beigan Island, the second largest island in Matsu on Monday after being stung by a bee.

The tourists notified the local authorities, who arrived at the scene and confirmed the mans identity to be an illegal Chinese immigrant, CNA reported.

The Chinese national was taken to the Beigan health center, an official said, noting that his injuries were not serious.

The man carried dry food, clothing, medicine, and Renminbi, according to officials. He told authorities that he embarked on the journey from Huangqi Peninsula in China's Fujian Province to Taiwan's Matsu Islands to "seek freedom."

The distance between Huangqi Peninsula and Beigan Island is about 12km. The main island of Taiwan is located over 200km away from Chinas coast.

He was taken to Lienchiang district prosecutors office for investigation in accordance with the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, the officials said.

China has beefed up its military activities around Taiwan in recent years, arguing that Taipei is obliged to reunite with Beijing, by force if necessary, and has no right to conduct foreign relations.

Taiwan has been self-ruled since it split from the mainland in 1949 following a civil war.

In 2020, a 45-year-old Chinese national was arrested after he swam seven hours to reach the Taiwanese island of Kinmen County due to the "political environment" in China.

He was arrested for illegally entering Taiwan. The man, surnamed Li, claimed he began his journey from Chinas coastal city of Xiamen for "freedom".

Two men were reportedly arrested in 2019 after attempting to swim to Kinmen. One of the men used childrens inflatable swimming rings to stay afloat while the other person used empty soda bottles to make a raft.
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Four people were shot dead onboard a moving passenger train in India after a member of the railway police opened fire on them in an apparent hate crime.

The suspect, identified as Chetan Singh, shot dead a senior Railway Protection Force (RPF) officer and three Muslim passengers at around 5.30am local time on the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express train.

The train was near Palghar station, located 96km north of Mumbai, when Mr Singh allegedly shot Tikaram Meena, an assistant sub-inspector with the RPF.

He then proceeded to open fire on the three passengers, all of them confirmed to be Muslims.

Mr Singh allegedly first shot dead Mr Meena in coach B-5 of the express then fired shots at one of the passengers, identified as Abdul Kaderbhai Bhanpurwala, in the same coach.

Mr Singh reportedly walked through four coaches until he reached the pantry car, where he gunned down a passenger identified as Sadar Mohammed Hussain.

The suspect crossed two other coaches till he came across the third victim  Asgar Abbas Shaikh in coach S-6 and killed him. Mr Singh allegedly fired 12 rounds from his service rifle to kill all four people.

In a purported video shared on social media, the suspect can be seen standing next to a dead body with his rifle in one hand.

If you want to live and vote in Hindustan [India], I am telling you, its only Modi and Yogi, these two people, and your Thackeray, he said in a brief rant, referring to prime minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

Shortly after the carnage, one of the passengers pulled the alarm chain and Mr Singh jumped off the train at the next station and tried to escape.

He was later arrested from the outskirts of Mumbai.

An unfortunate incident has been reported today in Mumbai-Jaipur Superfast Express, Indias Western Railways said in a statement. According to a preliminary investigation, he opened fire using his official weapon. The accused has been arrested, it added.

Railway authorities said the motive of the firing was not known yet.

The suspect and the slain sub-inspector were part of a four-member group, that boarded the train from Surat station in Gujarat for escort duty.

Praveen Sinha, the inspector general of RPF (Western Railway) told reporters that the suspect was quite hot-headed.

He had a short fuse, he was quite hot-headed. There was no altercation. He just lost his temper and shot his senior, then fired at whoever he saw, Mr Sinha said.

The suspect was taken to Borivali railway police station where a case of murder has been filed against him.

Meanwhile, grieving family members of Mr Shaikh refused to accept his body and staged a protest outside a civic hospital in Mumbai.

Mohammad Amanullah Shaikh said he would not accept the body until the railways announced compensation and made arrangements for carrying his body to Jaipur city in Rajasthan.

He (Asgar) has five children below the age of 12, but neither the railways have announced any compensation for them nor assured a job for a family member. They have also not made any arrangements for taking his body to Jaipur, he said, according to The Telegraph.

Indias opposition party leaders condemned the violence, calling it a cold-blooded murder which was the result of a hyper-charged and highly polarised news media and social media atmosphere.

The genie of hate is now out of the bottle and it will take a lot of collective effort to put it back in, Jairam Ramesh, a member of the Indian National Congress, tweeted.
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The Isis militant group has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a political rally organised by a key member of Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharifs coalition, as the death toll rose to 56.

Police in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province had said earlier that investigations suggested Isiss regional affiliate  the Islamic State in Khorasan Province  could be behind the attack, which also injured more than 200.

Police said 10kg of explosives were set off by a suicide bomber suspected to be linked to the banned group which operates in Afghanistan and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban.

The blast in the Bajur district near the Afghanistan border ripped through a crowded gathering of Jamiat Ulema Islam, a hardline political party that supports regional Islamists.

The attack comes just two weeks before Mr Sharifs government is poised to step aside, paving the way for a general election to be held in the coming months.

Isis said in a statement via its Amaq agency that the bombing comes in the natural context of the ongoing war waged by the Islamic State against democracy as a regime hostile to true Islam and in conflict with its divine law.

Scores of supporters of hard-line Pakistani cleric Fazlur Rehman had gathered in a hall close to a market outside the district capital when a suicide bomber detonated the explosives.

The incident was captured on mobile phone footage recorded by a spectator at the rally, with a video showing the moment of the blast being widely shared on social media.

The blast took place near the stage where senior leaders of the party were sitting, leaving behind a huge cloud of dust and smoke and hundreds of injured.

On Monday, family members of the victims held funerals with moving scenes involving weeping women and children as they bid their final goodbyes to their loved ones.

District police officer Nazir Khan told Geo TV that three suspects have been detained in connection to the bombing.

Boys weep the death of their family member, a day after bomb blast in Bajaur district (AFP via Getty Images)

The provincial police said they gathered details of the suicide bomber while evidence is also being collected from the site.

The suicide bomber was attending the rally disguised as a supporter and was seated in one of front rows.

Mr Sharif condemned the attack and said it was against the democratic process in Pakistan. "The Pakistani nation, law enforcement agencies and our protectors will never allow such cowardly tactics of the enemy to succeed," he tweeted.

Security personnel examine the site of a bomb blast in Bajaur district (AFP via Getty Images)

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in violence since the Taliban assumed power in Afghanistan in 2021, as various militant factions, including Isis, competed for control of the region. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as Pakistan Taliban, with its ties to the Afghan group, terminated a cease-fire with the Islamabad government in November, citing the administrations perceived departure from Islamic principles.

But the TTP condemned the bombing and said in a statement that it was aimed to turn Islamists against each other.

Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Afghan Taliban, said on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that "such crimes cannot be justified in any way.

The one of the deadliest blasts in the history of Pakistan came hours before Chinese vice premier He Lifeng was set to arrive in Islamabad to mark a milestone celebration of a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, a sprawling strategic project under which Beijing has invested billions of dollars in Pakistan.

Security personnel walk past bomb blast victims at a hospital (AFP via Getty Images)

In February, more than 100 people, mostly police officers, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.

In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing in a mosque in Peshawar.

In 2014, more than 147 people, most of them including schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar.

Additional reporting by agencies
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The deadly suicide bombing that tore through a packed political rally in Pakistan on Sunday comes just two weeks before the government is due to be disbanded, paving the way for a general election.

It also comes after the unprecedented nationwide protests and riots that followed former prime minister Imran Khans arrest in May and an earlier attempt on Khans life that left him with long-lasting nerve damage.

The threat of further political violence looms large over the coming vote, with the election commission postponing key state elections earlier this year on the basis that they could not be carried out safely.

Analysts say there are hopes that the election can bring an end to a period of deep political uncertainty since Khan was ousted in a vote of no confidence, as well as install a government with the mandate to tackle one of South Asias worst economic crises, exacerbated by last years devastating floods.

After Khan spent the past 16 months since his ouster calling for early polls to be held, its now safe to say the elections will happen, as the government has pledged to step down and pave the way for a caretaker government, says Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center. After a long period of uncertainty, we can expect elections in November.

One of the drivers of the political crisis has been high degrees of uncertainty about the electoral calendar, he tells The Independent. With the election schedule now taking shape, the crisis will ease, even if only modestly.

Sundays attack, which killed 56 people and targeted an election rally held by a key hardline party in prime minister Shehbaz Sharifs ruling coalition, has brought back vivid memories of the terrorism fears that have plagued recent elections, says Husain Haqqani, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute who served as Pakistans Ambassador to the United States from 2008 to 2011.

Security personnel walk past bomb blast victims at a hospital in Pakistan (AFP via Getty )

Terrorist groups try to limit the campaign capability of parties they dislike by targeting their rallies, he said, citing past incidents involving the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Awami National Party which were hit by attacks ahead of elections in 2008 and 2013.

Historically, Islamist terrorist groups have spared Imran Khans PTI, says Haqqani  but the ousted leader faces his own challenges in the run-up to the vote. Khan says the assassination attempt that left him wounded in November last year has been followed by subsequent attempts and that he still fears for his life.

As things stand he and his PTI party have not been disqualified from running in the election. But Khan is facing near-daily trips to court on some 170 criminal charges brought since he was removed from power, with cases ranging from corruption to sedition and murder.

He has previously told The Independent that all the charges are politically motivated and that they will not prevent him from contesting  and winning  a general election whenever it is held, but in reality, the pressure from the authorities has taken a heavy toll.

Thousands of PTI supporters and party members have been arrested in the aftermath of Mays protests, which targeted facilities associated with the countrys powerful military in an unusually bold display of anger against the government.

The crackdown has forced a mass exodus of Khans party members, with more than 100 senior and mid-level party officials, including former chief ministers, former governors and several former cabinet ministers leaving PTI.

After being removed from office, Khans stance has been that he is the most popular leader in the country and the military should talk to him, bypassing the government that replaced his, says Haqqani.

He has lost [to the army] by using violence to create the impression that Pakistan would become ungovernable if he was not restored to power or if he was arrested. Now, his party members attacks on army installations on 9 May, after Imran Khans arrest, have become the basis for a crackdown on [his] party, which the party seems ill-equipped to resist.

Prime minister Shehbaz Sharifs government has made tackling Khan as a political opponent a priority, knowing that he can still galvanise huge ground support if allowed to contest the election freely.

Given all the charges he faces  many of them trumped-up, political charges  theres a good chance he could be arrested again when his bail is up. And it would be difficult for him to evade arrest, given that he has said he wont leave the country and because of fears for his safety he hasnt ventured beyond his home in Lahore, says Kugelman.

But we shouldnt overstate the inevitability of arrest, he adds.

A vehicle carrying Imran Khan arrives for a hearing at the Election Commission of Pakistan, in Islamabad (AP)

The tactic of neutralising him by significantly diminishing his political clout has worked quite well, he says. Khan may be free, but hes been left with little to work with. For the establishment, that may be just as good of an outcome as another arrest.

If PTI does look like it is gaining strength again ahead of the election, Khan could yet face being disqualified from running for office by the election commission, just as opposition leader Nawaz Sharif  Shehbazs brother  was disqualified in 2017 to pave the way for Khans victory.

In another possible scenario, analysts say, Khans party could be declared a terrorist organisation off the back of the May riots and banned from contesting elections.

It means that, one way or another, the elections will likely take place in the absence of a robust opposition, and the parliament that will emerge from the polls will be deeply fragmented  the last thing Pakistan needs amid its various crises, says Farzana Shaikh, associate fellow for the Asia-Pacific programme at Chatham House.

I would be among the vast majority who are extremely worried about the current political situation in Pakistan. It is extremely uncertain, she tells The Independent.

Banning a party does not bode well for the health of a parliamentary democracy, she says.

Kugelman says that an outright ban of the [PTI] party would be its death knell but Khan will still have every right to contest the elections until that has happened. Government officials have hinted at the possibility of a ban, but such a move would likely face resistance from the courts.

At any rate, PTI revolved around Khan. And if his own political clout has been diminished, it doesnt matter how popular he continues to be. He and PTI will struggle to be electorally significant.

He suggests Khan could try and fight the election from a jail cell, but with so many senior party leaders in jail, out of politics, or having switched to another party, and with Khan facing large numbers of charges and fearing for his life, it will be difficult for him to campaign.

His last hope would be to bank on many PTI voters coming out en masse to vote out a government thats become deeply unpopular, he says.

Still, Khans electoral prospects have dimmed considerably in recent months, because of the crackdown on him and his party. He remains very popular, but that doesnt necessarily translate into political clout, he adds.
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Elon Musk has congratulated his two-time ex-wife Talulah Riley after she announced that she is now engaged to Thomas Brodie-Sangster.

The actors announced that they are getting married in separate social media posts, after two years of dating. Brodie-Sangster, who starred in Love Actually when he was 13 years old, made a sweet reference to the film in his Instagram post.

Meanwhile, Riley shared the happy news on her Twitter account with a photograph of her and Brodie-Sangster cuddling. She wrote: Very happy to share that after two years of dating, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and I are engaged!

Musk, who was married to and then divorced from Riley twice, first from 2010 to 2012, and then from 2013 to 2016, congratulated his ex-wife on the social media platform.

He replied to her announcement, tweeting: Congratulations! He also added a red heart emoji.

The pair remain good friends, according to Riley, who also described him as the perfect ex-husband.

The Westworld star explained why they got married twice in an interview with The Independent last year, and said that while it looked strange, the logic made sense at the time.

I suppose the reason to get remarried was just because it felt silly to be together unmarried after having been married. You know, its like a habit, she said.

Hes a great friend. He looks out for me. We are in a happy place now, where were good to each other, which is really nice. I have here utmost love for him.

Talulah Riley (L) and CEO of Tesla Motors Elon Musk attend the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Graydon Carter on March 2, 2014 (Getty Images)

The Tesla CEO recently rebranded Twitter, which he acquired in October 2022 for US$44bn, and is now calling the platform X.

On Sunday (23 July), he said in a post that he wanted to change Twitters recognisable blue bird logo, adding: And soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.

Prior to marrying Riley, Musk was married to Canadian author Justine Musk, with whom he shares six children. Their first child, Nevada Alexander, died at 10 weeks old from sudden infant death syndrome. They still share 18-year-old twins Vivian Jenna Wilson and Griffin, as well as triplets Kai, Saxon and Damian, who were born in 2006.

Musk also has two children with former girlfriend Grimes, a three-year-old son named X  A-Xii and two-year-old daughter Exa Dark Siderl. In 2021, he secretly welcomed twins with Shivon Zilis.
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Following a record-breaking June, its fair to say summer has turned into a bit of a washout, with a deluge of downpours, while other parts of Europe are baking in unbearable heat.

Unfortunately, the unsettled weather is set to continue, with the Met Office forecast for the next two weeks stating: Showery conditions are likely, along with the risk of longer spells of rain and stronger winds at times too.

In the second half of August, we can expect: A mixture of rain and showers for many areas any prolonged dry and hot spells appear to be unlikely.

At the same time, temperatures havent plummeted completely, which makes deciding what to wear quite the conundrum at the moment.

How do you keep cool and dry at the same time? Heres what fashion experts recommend for wet weather during summer

Waterproof jacket

When its too warm for a proper coat, a thin rain jacket with a hood is essential.

Make a style statement in a bright colour or bold print, with trendy waterproofs that combine fashion and function.

A lightweight and compact rain jacket from Rains is always easy to style and perfect for carrying around for unexpected showers, says Lesley Torson, co-founder of Trilogy Stores.

They look really sleek, so wont ruin a good outfit, whilst still being really light and airy to keep you cool.

Amber Gordon, founder of fashion sourcing company Tailored Styling, recommends a see-through mac: During Fashion Week, fashion editors and stylists will have a clear and structured raincoat they can whip on to keep their look from getting wet, that still allows people to see what they are wearing.

Regatta X Orla Kiely Summer Pack-It Jacket in Fuschia Passion Flower, 34.95 (was 70)

Cotton Traders Moorland Rich Gold Waterproof Coat, 65; Wrinkle Free 3/4 Sleeve Stripe Jersey Top, 20; Womens Ecru Coloured Stretch Jeans, 36 (accessories, stylists own)

Lots of layers

Light layers are the best way to dress for summer rain, says Torson.

Wear your raincoat with a cropped jean, or cotton or linen midi dress, and trainers to maintain a summery look, whilst being prepared for unpredictable weather.

The utility trend is also handy for rainy days  loose cargo pants are cool and practical.

Whip out your hoodies and wear underneath an oversized leather blazer, says Gordon.

The different textures will make the laidback and comfortable fit feel super high-end.

Monsoon Wide Leg Cropped Jeans in Blue, 80

Sensible shoes

Nobody wants soggy socks, which is why splashproof shoes are a must  trainers with a chunky sole will help stop puddle water from seeping into the seams.

For seriously rainy days, only Wellington boots will do.

Theyre officially back as a fashion staple, thanks to this unpredictable rain, says Gordon.

To elevate the welly look to luxury, invest in a lighter colour, like a beige or cream Wellington boot. Wear with a bare leg and a floaty dress that will keep you cool and looking summery.

Dune London Truro Navy Side-Stripe Lace-Up Runner Trainers, 100

Dont forget your hat

A hat is the most important fashion accessory for keeping your hair dry and frizz-free.

Hats have become incredibly popular this summer, from denim hats, such as the Miu Miu denim cowboy hat, to summery straw hats, says Gordon.

A water-resistant bucket hat is on-trend and ideal for drizzly days.

A tanned leather bucket will go with most outfits, Gordon continues.

Use hats to dress your outfits up or down, depending on your mood and as a bonus  youll barely notice the rain!

Accessorize Nylon Bucket Hat, 14, Simply Be
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A mum who was diagnosed with Crohns disease aged 13 and had to have her colon removed eleven years later as it became pre-cancerous, giving her a second chance at life, is now an influencer bearing all to show it is possible to live a beautiful, normal, happy life with a stoma bag.

Meghan Cary Brown, 31, a stay-at-home mum and content creator, from Charlottesville, Virginia, in the US, spent most of her teenage years in so much pain and had to deal with bullying as well as being sick.

At 24, the mum of two, to Cora, three, and 23-month-old Colin, was told her colon was precancerous, causing her to collapse on the floor crying, just eight months after she had married Thomas Brown, now 31, a project manager.

Meghan was in a very dark place and was overcome with sadness at the thought of getting cancer, so with some encouragement from her doctor, had her colon removed and had a stoma bag fitted.

One year later she created an Instagram page, and more recently a TikTok, to share her story and raise awareness about life with a stoma bag with thousands of followers.

Her postings include an open discussion of her experience, sharing bikini pictures and openly explaining she has worn beautiful lacy wraps for stoma bags in intimate moments with her partner, and it has served as a healing mechanism to make her realise she needs to stop worrying so much about the opinions of others.

I started posting as I wanted people to see that you can live this beautiful, normal, happy life with an ostomy bag, and when I was researching it I couldnt see anyone my age talking about it, she told PA Real Life

But the other reason was that it almost served as a healing mechanism for me  I think it was really powerful to just put myself out there on the internet.

Like, this year at the beach for the first time I wore a bikini with my bag on show and it felt amazing  I just thought life is too short.

After Meghan was diagnosed with Crohns disease she had to be home-schooled for a year because she could not even get out of bed.

Meghan said: My parents would find me lying on the bathroom floor because I could not get up and walk to the bed, I was in so much pain, and I had so much fatigue.

But it was also hard because since I was home-schooled, we didnt have social media or anything, so no-one knew where I was, and there were lots of rumours spread about me  I had to deal with bullying as well as being sick.

Meghan was put on lots of different medications and had to deal with their side effects, such as giving her a big moon face as she retained water.

She said: I can remember having to get clothes three times my size and just breaking down crying.

Thats really difficult when youre a teenage girl.

One year later Meghan was in remission for Crohns and was able to return to school.

She continued taking maintenance medication which kept her symptoms at bay but, when she was in her first year of university, she began getting sick again.

She explained: I fell out of remission and it turned out I formed antibodies towards the drug I was taking so it was no longer working.

I had to inject myself at home while in college so it was really difficult.

Meghan also had to have regular hospital visits and aged 24, eight months after getting married, a routine colonoscopy showed that her colon was pre-cancerous.

She said: When they told me I had high-grade dysplasia deep within the tissue of my colon, and it was pre-cancerous, I was heartbroken.

I can remember standing in the kitchen when my doctor told me this over the phone, and it made me collapse on the floor crying because when you hear that word, cancerous, all you can think is that youre going to die.

It was terrifying.

At the follow-up appointment Meghan was told she could have routine checks to make sure the cancer was not progressing or have her colon removed.

She said: I was adamant that I wasnt going to have my colon removed  I thought my life would be over if I had that done.

I was in a very dark place and I was overcome with sadness.

But when I told my doctor my decision, he explained that I could have it removed now, or in a few years time I could be a mum with young children and have cancer.

That just put things into perspective for me  it made me realise its not just about me, so I decided to have it removed.

From that moment on, Meghan decided to live her life to the full.

She said: I decided I was going to look at this as my second chance at life  I had already been incredibly sick for 10 years  I told myself I was going to look at this as a positive thing.

Before, there were so many things I couldnt do, like I had so much anxiety riding in a car because I couldnt control my bowels and I was so worried that I wouldnt be able to find a bathroom.

It took Meghan a few months to get used to having a stoma bag, and she explained what it is like day-to-day: I change the whole system appliance every three to four days, and throughout the day I have no feeling.

I dont have the urge to go to the bathroom, it just happens.

Throughout the day Ill just go to the bathroom and empty my bag  I do this around six to eight times a day.

Meghan also had to adjust to having a stoma bag while being intimate with her husband.

She said: I wore beautiful lacy wraps made for people with bags, with a pocket to tuck it in, as it helped my body image because I felt pretty.

But honestly, now Ive had my ostomy bag for almost seven years, were so comfortable with one another  if anything ever happens during intimacy, we just can laugh it off and move on.

One year after having her bag fitted she decided to create an Instagram account to share her story, where she now has more than 14,100 followers, and a further 19,400 followers on TikTok.

Meghan said: It really puts life into perspective and really made me realise life is so short.

I need to stop worrying so much about the opinions of others, or what other people are going to think  making my Instagram account made me realise this too.

Im just so happy to be happy and healthy.
Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Nadine White Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter The Race Report Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

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Fred Sirieix has opened up about how other peoples unconscious bias has manifested in his relationship with a woman who is from a different ethnicity to him and his children.

The First Dates star, 51, has been engaged to his partner, a fashion influencer known as Fruitcake, since 2020. Prior to his current relationship, he was with Alessandra Spendolini, with whom he shares two children.

In a new interview, Sirieix recalled an experience he and Fruitcake had recently that garnered strange looks from staff at a restaurant he visited.

He told The Times: Last week, we went to a restaurant in London with my son Lucien. Fruitcake was standing a little behind him and when I asked for a table for three I could see the maitre d looking at us, wondering how we could possibly be together.

I do not think it was simple racism but just clumsy, he continued. Its unconscious bias and I am sure we are all guilty of it from time to time.

The term unconscious bias described biases or stereotypes that people hold about a group of people without realising it. This can affect their behaviour and decisions, as well as how they treat certain groups.

Other famous faces who have used the term previously include the Duke of Sussex, who said that unconscious bias might have been the reason that an unnamed member of the royal family was allegedly worried about how dark his son Archies skin would be before he was born.

In his and the Duchess of Sussexs explosive 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle claimed that one of Prince Harrys relatives raised concerns about the colour of Archies skin while she was still pregnant with him.

Later, in an interview with ITVs Tom Bradby in January, Harry denied accusing the royal family of racism and said: Going back to the difference between what my understanding is because of my own experience, the difference between racism and unconscious bias, the two things are different.

Elsewhere in his interview, Sirieix also gave his advice on how to eat well while travelling, without having to spend lots of money on expensive restaurants.

You dont need much money to eat beautifully, he told the publication. I have always known this. My advice when you go to a new country is: get a bus out to a village and eat with locals. Or make it yourself.

In France, find a farmer to shoot you a rabbit. Lapin a la moutarde [rabbit in mustard]. Voila! Its unbelievably beautiful.
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Michelle Yeoh has shared new photos from her wedding to Jean Todt following their 19-year engagement.

The actress, 60, took to Instagram over the weekend to share the romantic snaps, days after Felipe Massa first confirmed the marriage news by sharing photos from the wedding on social media.

Yeoh went on to celebrate the occasion herself in the caption of her post, writing: 19 years and YES!! We are married!! Thkq to our families... who love us for all these years. We love you and heres to many more to come.

In her first photo from the wedding, the Crazy Rich Asians star could be seen exchanging rings with her husband, while the second picture showed them standing at a table together, surrounded by their witnesses. The images also showed Yeoh in one of her wedding looks, a white silk button-up shirt with a tiered lace skirt, while Todt wore a navy jacket and light blue tie.

A third image then showed the couple hugging in a white bed, decorated with purple flower petals and towels in the shape of a heart. The post concluded with one last snap: a James Bond-themed movie poster, in which Todt and Yeohs faces were edited onto a couple riding a motorcycle.

Along with the 007 logo and the words Love Never Dies, the poster described the film as a Jean Todt and Michelle Yeoh production. The apparent movie release date is listed as Thursday July 27 2023, referring to the couples wedding date.

Many famous faces have taken to the comments of Yeohs post to celebrate her latest milestone.

Congratulations Michelle & Jean love you both, Naomi Campbell wrote, while Ariana DeBose commented:Congratulations!!!!! Heres to love.

Competitive figure skater Michelle Kwan added: Congratulations.

One fan also made a reference to an infamous line in Yeohs movie, Everything Everywhere All at Once, commenting: Congratulations you deserve itHope you can both endlessly do the laundry and pay the taxes together!!

On 26 July, Massa first revealed that the actor had tied the knot in Geneva, Switzerland, by posting a series of photographs from the nuptials on Instagram. The first picture showed a card from the wedding that told Yeoh and Todts love story, alongside a throwback picture of the pair.

We met in Shanghai on 4 June 2004. On 26 July 2004, JT (Jean Todt) proposed to marry MY (Michelle Yeoh) and she said yes! the card read. Today after 6,992 days, on 27 July 2023 in Geneva, surrounded by loving family and friends, we are so happy to celebrate this special moment together!

Massa shared a selfie with the happy couple, while holding Yeohs gold Oscar statuette, which she was awarded earlier this year for Best Actress for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once.

The post also showed a photo of Yeoh in another wedding looks: a champagne-coloured corset with embellishments on the front, worn over a lace long-sleeved top and skirt. In the caption, Mass simply wrote: Happy marriage Jean Todt and Michelle Yeoh, love you so much.

Yeoh and Todt own an 18th century mansion in Geneva, which is their main residence. They also have properties in Paris, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.

Nearly a decade before his wedding, Todt opened up about starting his relationship with Yeoh. During a 2014 interview with theDaily Mail, the former International Automobile Federation (FIA) president revealed that racing driver Michael Schumacher taught him how to send text messages so he could woo Yeoh.

I dont use a computer. I dont know how to. My maximum is SMS. I wanted to communicate with my wife, in fact, he said, at the time. So I spoke to Michael Schumacher. We were together. He said, send an SMS. I said I dont know how to send one. So he was the one who taught me.
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Taco Bell has been sued for false advertising over the amount of filling in its Mexican Pizzas and Crunchwraps.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiff, Frank Siragusa, accused Taco Bell of unfair and deceptive trade practices for falsely advertising the amount of beef and/or ingredients contained, after he and fellow customers bought items at a Taco Bell in Ridegewood, New York.

Some of the items purchased were a Crunchwrap Supreme, Grande Crunchwrap, Vegan Crunchwrap, Mexican Pizza, and Veggie Mexican Pizza. All the foods were described as Overstated Menu Items in the lawsuit.

According to the class action lawsuit, Siragusa and other individuals had these experiences in the Taco Bell restaurant on or after 31 July 2020.

The lawsuit included photos of how much filling people allegedly got in their meal orders, alongside what the menu items looked like online. For example, as noted on Taco Bells website, some of the ingredients in a Crunchwrap Supreme are: Seasoned beef, tomatoes, nacho cheese sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and a corn tortilla.

The lawsuit also alleged that Taco Bell materially overstates the amount of beef and/or ingredients in its advertisements for these menu items by at least double the amount. The court document added that the false advertising is financially damaging to consumers, as they are receiving a product that is materially lower in value than what is being promised.

On behalf of Siragusa and others who were in the same situation as him, the lawsuit is seeking monetary damages fully compensating all individuals who purchased an Overstated Menu Item, along with injunctive relief that would require Taco Bell to provide corrected advertising and/or stop selling the Overstate Menu Items.

The plaintiff is also seeking other relief as the Court deems necessary and appropriate.

Taco Bell advertises larger portions of food to steer consumers to their restaurants for their meals and away from competitors that more fairly advertise the size of their menu items, unfairly diverting millions of dollars in sales that would have gone to competitors, Siragusas legal team wrote in the filing.

Earlier this month, Taco Bell also made headlines when it won its quest to make Taco Tuesday free of trademark restrictions, with Taco Johns formally abandoning its decades-old claim to own the phrase amid a challenge from its bigger rival. In a filing with the US Patent and Trademark Office, Cheyenne-based Taco Johns gave up any further claim to Taco Tuesday in 49 states, ending a high-profile spat with Taco Bell.

However, the dispute has continued on the Jersey Shore, where Gregorys Restaurant & Bar in Somers Point promised to keep fighting Taco Bell over the exclusive right to hold Taco Tuesday promotions in New Jersey.

The Independent has contacted Taco Bell for comment.
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The Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice has claimed that Sofia Vergara is the rudest woman shes ever met.

Giudice, 51, shared her candid thoughts about the actor in an episode of her Namaste B$tches podcast, released on 26 July. Speaking with co-host Melissa Pfeister, the reality star recalled that Vergara was allegedly uninterested in taking a picture with her while backstage at a talk show in 2017.

Sofia Vergaras PR person and my PR person spoke together, and I guess the two of them said: Lets get a picture of Teresa and Sofia together, Guidice said. I didnt want a picture with her. Ive never asked to take a picture with anybody.

She emphasised that she didnt care to take a picture with Vergara at the time, before criticising the Modern Family stars behaviour during the incident.

When we went to go take a picture, she was like standing in front of me, Giudice claimed. Like, OK thats not how you would take a picture. And she was the most rudest woman Ive ever met.

After explaining that she noticed Vergaras whole demeanour, she went on to mock her accent and claimed: I heard [Vergara] say to her PR person, Why are you making me take a picture with that lady?

Giudice recalled how she responded to Vergaras remarks, while noting that they never ended up taking a picture together. I was like, Excuse me? I did not want to take a picture with you. I never asked to take a picture with you, she continued.

She also criticised Vergara during the interaction, adding: I was like, How rude. Youre so not a humble person. You forgot where you came from.

Giudice seemingly made a reference to Vergaras heritage, as the Americas Got Talent judge was born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia. Its not like she started out, like, being on the top, the reality star continued. She forgot where she came from. She was so not a down-to-earth person. Im so not a fan of her.

When Pfeister asked her co-host if shes seen Vergara since the 2017 interaction, Giudice claimed that she did. She recalled that when she was at a restaurant in 2022, during Guidices appearance on Dancing with the Stars, Vergara was there and walked right past her.

This isnt the first time that Guidice has spoken out about her encounter with Vergara. During Us Weeklys Getting Real With the Housewives panel event in 2017, she first described the photo incident with the actor and said she couldnt stand her. Guidice again made claims about Vergaras heritage, and alleged that she once thought that the Hot Pursuit star would be nice.

I hate to say it because you know, Im Italian, shes Colombian, she has an accent - she has more of an accent than me, she claimed during the event, per TMZ. You would think she would be nice, like shes an immigrant Im just saying, youd think she would be nice.

The Independent has contacted representatives for Guidice and Vergara for comment.

Guidices new comments about Vergara comes weeks after the actor announced her split from Joe Manganiello after seven years of marriage. In a joint statement shared with Page Six on 17 July, the former couple said: We have made the difficult decision to divorce. As two people that love and care for one another very much, we politely ask for respect of our privacy at this time as we navigate this new phase of our lives.

Two days later, Manganiello officially filed for divorce from Vergara, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split, according to divorce documents obtained by People. The True Blood star listed the date of separation as 2 July and noted the pair had a prenup.
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Many questions remained Sunday about what led a gunman in Fargo, North Dakota, to open fire on police officers as they were responding to a traffic crash. One officer was killed and two others were critically wounded before the gunman was killed by a fourth officer.

The shooting happened Friday afternoon along a busy street, and roughly nine hours passed before authorities told the public that officers were shot. On Saturday, Fargo's police chief released the names of the officers and the name of the gunman, but said the motive was unclear and that the 37-year-old man opened fire for no known reason at all.

Chief Dave Zibolski also said little about how the situation unfolded, noting the investigation was in the hands of state and federal investigators.

We are not in the position to provide many details in terms of the actual incident itself, Zibolski said. Authorities released no new information Sunday.

Here's what we know, and what we don't, about the shooting:

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE SCENE?

Police and fire officials were responding to a routine" traffic accident on a busy street Friday afternoon, when a gunman began firing multiple rounds at them  killing one and wounding two, Zibolski said. A fourth officer shot and killed the man, who authorities identified as Mohamad Barakat of Fargo.

Zibolski described the first few minutes as very chaotic," but said that firefighters on scene and a nearby ambulance were essential in preventing additional fatalities. As soon as the firing stopped, firefighters bounced out and they were applying first aid immediately to our officers, Zibolski said, which "probably had a very significant impact on their survival.

Authorities released few details about what happened in the moments before Barakat began firing and his motive was not clear.

The first thing we always want to know in a situation like this is, Why? Zibolski said. Why would somebody do this?"

WHAT DID WITNESSES SEE?

Among the drivers who witnessed what happened was Chenoa Peterson. She told The Associated Press on Saturday that a man appeared to have ambushed the officers. The gunman was at the rear of a car in a bank parking lot near the traffic crash when he fired on an officer not more than 20 feet (6 meters) away, she said.

He was holding up the trunk of the car with his arm, and then I see the gun come up, and he set it on his shoulder and just pointed it directly at an officer in front of him, Peterson said. It was like 10 shots right away.

Officers werent looking in the direction of the gunman when he began shooting, she said.

Petersons 22-year-old daughter was with her and said the suspect exchanged simultaneous gunfire with police.

I saw them firing at each other both at once, Katriel Peterson said. But soon as the shooter took a break the cop came walking towards him letting off round after round. There was already an officer down. And a family hiding just on the other side of the vehicle next to the shooter.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE FALLEN OFFICER?

Officer Jake Wallin, 23, was killed. Zibolski said Saturday that his wounds were fatal and there was nothing that could be done.

A military veteran, Wallin previously served in the Minnesota Army National Guard and was deployed to Afghanistan, Zibolski said.

He served his country, came back here and wanted nothing more but to serve in a position with purpose and meaning  his exact words  and he did that, Zibolski said. Zibolski spoke to his sense of humor and his excellence throughout training, calling him a member of the department family.

In video played at a Saturday news conference showing Wallin training with fellow recruits, he spoke of his desire to pursue a career in law enforcement.

Throughout my entire life, Ive always wanted to work in some sort of position that had purpose behind my job and police officer is always what kind of came to me, said Wallin of St. Michael, Minnesota,. I dont want to be sitting in an office wondering why Im here every day. I want to be out, I want to be doing something that I can tell myself at the end of the day I made a difference somehow.

Funeral arrangements have not been made public. The governor has ordered that flags be flown at half-staff on the day of Wallin's interment.

HOW ARE THE OTHER VICTIMS?

Two other officers, Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes, were in critical but stable condition as of Saturday, and Zibolski said they were in good spirits but had significant recovery ahead of them. No update on their condition was provided Sunday.

Wallin and Hawes were both young recruits, sworn in less than three months earlier and still in training when they responded to the scene. Dotus was a six-year veteran who was responsible for training officers.

A fourth officer, Zach Robinson, shot and killed Barakat, Zibolski said.

A 25-year-old female bystander also was injured in the shooting, though authorities haven't said who shot her. A hospital spokesman said Sunday that she was in fair condition.

WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARD?

Shortly after the shooting, authorities, including the FBI, converged on a residential area about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away and evacuated residents of an apartment building to gather what they said was related evidence. Court documents that would indicate what authorities were looking for have not been made public and authorities have said little about that search, other than to say it was happening at the time.

On Saturday, investigators were still at the apartment building, going back and forth from the third floor, where police tape hung across a hallway. Few residents were around and an FBI truck was out front.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE SUSPECT

The city also has said little about Barakat or the gun he used. Zibolski said he believed police previously had some sort of contact with Barakat but not anything significant.

Zibolski said it does not appear that Barakat was involved in the car crash that brought officers to the scene but indicated investigators are determining whether this was a planned ambush of officers.

Zibolski said he was confident authorities would eventually understand Barakat's motive and that information would be made public at the appropriate time.
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Government plans to prepare the NHS for winter have been criticised by the UKs most senior A&E doctor, who warned that inadequate provision could see thousands of people die needlessly this year.

Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), warned that plans drawn up this week are wholly insufficient, allowing for less than half of the beds needed to cope with the crisis.

He said that at least 11,000 additional staffed beds should be provided at hospitals across the country, while the prime minister has only pledged 5,000.

The NHS will also offer financial rewards to hospitals that hit waiting-time targets, which Dr Boyle said would mean they simply game the system and leave the most seriously ill patients waiting the longest.

The senior doctor said vulnerable elderly patients and the mentally ill would be affected most by the governments poor planning.

He told The Independent: If you just look at the figures, all the indicators of our target performance, 12-hour waits in hospital, are all going the wrong way. If we compare them to what was going on at the same time a year ago, it makes me anxious that we are heading towards a worse winter than we just had.

Dr Boyle warned the government that it was blithely sailing towards an iceberg, and that if it allows this winter to be as bad as the last, it will break the very people who keep this broken system creaking along.

The NHS will also offer financial rewards to hospitals that hit waiting-time targets (PA/The Independent)

Last winter, more than 500 excess deaths a week were estimated to be linked to long waiting times, with a record number of patients spending more than 12 hours in A&E, as revealed by The Independent.

When asked whether the country was at risk of seeing even higher excess deaths during the coming winter, Dr Boyle said: Yes, actually, I think we are.

The winter plans were quietly announced this week, informing hospitals that they could access some of the 150m in capital funding available from the government if they hit targets for 80 per cent of their patients to be seen within four hours.

In addition, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced that the NHS would have 5,000 extra hospital beds, 10,000 virtual beds, and traffic control centres focused on helping hospitals discharge patients into social care.

The 5,000 additional beds were originally promised last winter. However, the RCEM has pointed out that the health service now has 1,841 fewer beds compared with January this year.

Wes Streeting, Labours shadow health secretary, said: Under the Conservatives, a winter crisis in the NHS has become an annual event. 13 years of broken promises and understaffing have run the health service into the ground.

Adrian Boyle says he is concerned that services in poorer areas will suffer the most (PA Wire)

The government must learn the lessons of last winter, or patients will pay the price ... It will fall to the next Labour government to restore the health service. We will deliver the reform and modernisation to ensure the NHS is there for us when we need it once again.

Dr Boyle said he has little confidence that the governments plan will prevent queues of ambulances outside of hospitals, or the shameful sight of patients waiting for hours on trolleys in the corridors in A&Es [that are] full to bursting.

He said that financial incentives for meeting targets are distasteful, and that they offer the wrong solutions, detracting from the most pressing problems such as hospital discharges and reducing the length of stay.

People will start trying to look after and prioritise people who they think they can send home [within four hours] over patients who need admitting. Theyll just accept the patients who need admitting are going to spend longer than four hours ... It distorts clinical priorities away from those who arent the sickest, said Dr Boyle.

This would leave the most vulnerable, typically the elderly and those in a poor mental state, waiting for hours potentially on trolleys in corridors.

Writing for The Independent, the senior medic said the money was likely to flow only to affluent areas, because A&E departments in deprived areas tend to struggle more with waiting times.

This week, the DHSC announced it was providing 600m to local authorities to help them deal with the problem of hospital discharges.

Busy A&E departments meant ambulances were parked outside hospitals for hours last winter (EPA)

Dr Boyle said that while the money was welcome, it was quite a small amount [and] spread over two years, working out at around 1m per hospital.

The government is also facing strike action by doctors, who are campaigning for higher pay and better working conditions. Dr Boyle said he is very worried about walkouts continuing into the winter, adding: I think we all want the strikes to be over.

Health minister Helen Whately said: Our urgent and emergency care recovery plan, backed by record funding, is already improving A&E performance and ambulance response times. Thanks to that plan, the NHS is getting 800 new ambulances, 5,000 extra hospital beds, and 10,000 virtual ward beds.

An NHS England spokesperson said: We have already seen significant improvements in ambulance and A&E services over recent months through initiatives in our urgent and emergency care recovery plan, which includes measures to increase bed capacity. The NHS will continue to build on this with our winter plan, which, after clinical engagement, was published on Thursday.

With more than 12,000 patients every day in hospital despite being medically fit for discharge, a nationwide rollout of care transfer hubs will provide a one-stop [service] for staff to locate and coordinate the best and quickest discharge options for patients  either at home or into social or community care  which helps free up beds for other patients who need them, including those coming into emergency departments.

They pointed to other plans focused on reducing A&E admissions, such as the increased use of same-day emergency care units and virtual wards.
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People rejecting vaccinations could be one of the reasons behind why London is at reported risk of a major measles outbreak, an expert has said.

The UK Health Security Agency warned earlier in July that the capital could be on course for a wave of 40,000 and 160,0000 cases with dozens potentially dying.

After further consideration, Helen Bedford, a professor of childrens health at University College London, has said vaccine uptake needs to be higher to contain such diseases.

In this country we have very high uptake of vaccination but even so, its not high enough to really control certain diseases, she told The Naked Scientist on Monday.

And measles is in particular a problem because it is very, very, very infectious. And to keep measles away completely, you have to have really high levels of vaccine uptake, which we simply dont have in this country.

She said that really high would be an uptake of 95 per cent and that the UK was currently at around 89.5 per cent of children who have had one dose of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine at two years old.

However, in London the rate is even lower at 82 per cent - and Hackney borough has among the lowest rates in the country with a 65 per cent uptake.

Ms Bedford said there was potential for a tinder box effect with the disease spreading between unvaccinated people.

An MMR vaccine (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

What were really worried about is when you get an outbreak, you tend to get more cases amongst under vaccinated communities, she added.

We know who those communities are, people who reject vaccination, people who move around. So in London theres a lot of population mobility, people whove recently come into the country. And then therell be certain communities with particular cultural views, travelling communities, those sorts of communities at particular risk of measles outbreaks.

The MMR vaccine can be given to people of any age and Ms Bedford said it is not too late for anyone to come forward with GPs being able to easily administer the jab. She said that spreading the word to parents can be key as a reminder. In the past, the NHS has advertised the importance of the inoculation in community centres and also on buses.

Childhood diseases like measles, theyre really, really nasty when you are a baby, she said, But they can also be extremely nasty when youre an adult and you often have very high rates of people with measles going into hospital when theyre adults.

For the first six months of this year, weve seen 128 cases. Its already far more than we had in the whole of last year. Most of the cases are in young children under the age of 10 years.

Fortunately, we can stop this outbreak in its tracks if we can improve vaccine uptake and if we can encourage people that havent been vaccinated to take the vaccine up.
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Two Just Stop Oil protesters jailed after scaling a bridge on the Dartford Crossing have lost a Court of Appeal bid to have their sentences reduced.

Morgan Trowland, 40, and Marcus Decker, 34, were jailed after using ropes and other climbing gear to scale the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, causing gridlock when police closed it to traffic last October.

At a hearing in London last week, the protesters lawyers made a bid to challenge the extraordinary length of Trowlands three-year sentence and Deckers jail term of two years and seven months.

But in a ruling on Monday, their appeals were rejected by three senior judges, who said the sentences were not excessive.

Lady Justice Carr, sitting with Mrs Justice Cutts and Mrs Justice Thornton, said: This was very serious offending by repeat protest offenders who were trespassers and on bail at the time. Whilst the protest was non-violent as such, it had extreme consequences for many, many members of the public.

Mr Trowland stated in his evidence that the warning message is dependent on disruption.

The grave consequences that we have described were not only inevitable, as the protesters would have known, they were precisely what the protesters intended and set out to achieve.

The judges acknowledged the long and honourable tradition of civil disobedience on conscientious grounds and that the sentences handed to Trowland and Decker went well beyond previous sentences imposed for this type of offending.

But Lady Justice Carr said the jail terms reflected Parliaments will under new laws enacted under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act last year which introduced a new fault-based public nuisance offence for what obviously will include non-violent protest behaviour, with a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.

She said the sentences met the legitimate aim of deterring others from such offending.

The judge added: The sentences should not be seen as having a chilling effect on the right to peaceful protest or to assembly more generally  deterrence and chilling effect are not the same.

This protest was of a wholly different nature and scale to the many non-violent protests of conscientious activists up and down the country exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly on a daily basis.

Daniel Friedman KC, representing the activists, had argued their jail terms were the longest ever handed down in a case of non-violent protest in this country in modern times.

Their trial at Basildon Crown Court was told the bridge was shut from 4am on October 17 until 9pm the next day, sparking traffic jams as motorists were forced to use tunnels instead.

Structural engineer Trowland, of Islington, north London, and private tutor Decker, of no fixed address, denied causing a public nuisance, arguing it was a protest.

Their trial was told the protesters ascended to a point close to 200ft above the road and unfurled a giant Just Stop Oil banner and rigged up hammocks and stayed there.

The men came down at about 5.30pm on October 18 with the help of police and a very tall cherry picker crane, but the bridge, which links the M25 in Essex and Kent, was not reopened to traffic until later.

Essex Police said those affected by the disruption included a heavily pregnant woman who needed urgent medical help.

Another person missed the funeral of their best friend of 35 years, the force said, and a business lost more than 160,000 in earnings.

In April, a jury unanimously found Trowland and Decker guilty of causing a public nuisance.

Just Stop Oil previously said sentencing Judge Shane Collery KC was trying to set a precedent and deter people.

The environmental campaign group said Decker, a German citizen who it said has leave to remain in the UK, faces deportation after serving his sentence.

Trowland has six previous convictions relating to protests, while Decker has one, with lawyers for the pair previously saying they would not take part in further disruptive protest.
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Retired British miner David Hunter has said he shared a tearful call with his daughter after he was allowed to walk free from prison in Cyprus shortly after his sentence for the manslaughter of his seriously ill wife.

Hunter, 76, was jailed for two years on Monday for the manslaughter of Janice, 74, his spouse of 52 years, who died of asphyxiation at their home near the coastal resort town of Paphos in December 2021.

But he was released from prison almost immediately, having already served 19 months in custody, and, visibly emotional, told reporters outside court that he could not find the words to describe his feelings.

In an interview with the Mail, Hunter spoke of how he and his daughter, Lesley Cawthorne, both cried in an emotional video call made after he was released.

I feel numb, it doesnt feel real, he told the Mail.

When I spoke to Lesley the first thing I said was, I love you.

He added: We were both crying. She couldnt talk. She started crying and she couldnt say a word.

The pensioner also said a police officer embraced him and told him he would be released following his sentence, the Mail reported.

The policeman hugged me and said, Congratulations David, youre free, you got the result you deserve.

I just shook his hand and said: Thanks, mate.

Ms Cawthorne, who launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for Hunters defence, said: Speaking to my daddy was the most amazing thing. I feel like my heart has been put back together.

She continued: I thought Id lost him forever. I cannot believe it. Its amazing.

I dont know what to say. When I see him Im going to hug him and never, ever let him go.

Im going to feed him and make sure hes eating and Im going to just hug him so tightly.

I just didnt think, after the way the case has gone, that this was possible.

Ms Cawthorne previously said she believes her father will initially choose to stay in Cyprus to be near Mrs Hunters grave and say his goodbyes properly.

Judges had found Hunter not guilty of the more serious charge of premeditated murder.

Hunter, from Ashington, Northumberland, told his trial, which lasted for more than a year, that his wife cried and begged him to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer.

He broke down in tears as he said he would never in a million years have taken Mrs Hunters life unless she had asked him to.

He showed the court how he held his hands over his wifes mouth and nose and said he eventually decided to grant her wish after she became hysterical.

The court heard he then tried to kill himself by taking an overdose, but medics arrived in time to save him.

During the sentencing hearing, judge Michalis Droussiotis said: We are not facing a typical case. This is not a case acting out of animosity or differences between two people that led to someone taking anothers life.

Before us is a unique case of taking human life on the basis of feelings of love, with the aim of relieving the person of their suffering that came due to their illness.

Judge Droussiotis said there may never have been a case like this in Cyprus and that the message for any future similar cases had to be that taking away human life, even with the intention of relieving suffering, is a crime.
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A retired British miner who suffocated his terminally ill wife in Cyprus after she begged him to has been released after spending nearly two years behind bars.

David Hunter, 76, admitted killing Janice Hunter, 74, his spouse of 52 years, at their home near the coastal resort town of Paphos in December 2021.

Ms Hunter had been suffering from blood cancer and the court was told she had begged her husband to end her life.

Hunter was handed a two-year prison sentence on Monday but was released shortly after the sentencing, having already spent 19 months in a Cypriot prison.

Speaking outside Paphos District Court after walking free, a visibly emotional Hunter told reporters: I cant describe it. Im sorry. I wish I could, I wish I could find words to describe it but I cant.

When youre under pressure for two years, not knowing which way its going to go.

His daughter, Lesley Cawthorne, said she feels her heart has been put back together since his release, adding: Today is the start of us being able to rebuild our lives.

David and Janice Hunter (PA Media)

Paphos District Court earlier heard that his motive was to liberate his wife from all that she was going through due to her health conditions.

During the year-long trial, the court heard it was Ms Hunters wish to die and that her husband had only feelings of love for her.

Hunter, from Ashington, Northumberland, told the court that his wife had cried and begged him to end her life. He broke down in tears as he said he would never in a million years have taken his wifes life unless she had asked him to.

He showed the court how he held his hands over his wifes mouth and nose, and said he eventually decided to grant her wish after she became hysterical.

The court heard how he then tried to kill himself by taking an overdose, but medics arrived in time to save him.

David Hunter outside Paphos District Court in Cyprus after he was released from custody (PA Wire)

Following his release, Ms Cawthorne said the last 19 months had been a living nightmare for their family.

She said: Today is the start of us being able to rebuild our lives. Dads release also means we can finally grieve for my mum, and I hope everyone can respect our privacy whilst we take the time to come to terms with her loss.

She added: So many people have worked hard and supported our efforts to bring my dad home, too many to mention, but you know who you are and you know you have our deepest gratitude.

The kindness and love of friends and strangers has been the thing that has kept us going, and we can never thank you all enough.

David Hunter with his defence team (right) and Michael Polak, the director of Justice Abroad (PA)

After talking to her father on the phone, Ms Cawthorne added: Speaking to my daddy was the most amazing thing. I feel like my heart has been put back together.

Giving evidence during his trial, Hunter spoke of a perfect 52-year marriage to his wife and broke down in tears as he described the moment he killed her.

For five or six weeks before she died she was asking me to help her. She was asking me more every day, he said. In the last week she was crying and begging me. Every day she asked me a bit more intensely to do it.

David Hunter was released from prison on Monday (PA)

The court heard from Ms Hunters doctor, who said she had a rare blood cancer, while Hunter said she had become progressively more unwell and had no quality of life.

Asked by defence lawyer Ritsa Pekri how the last days were, Hunter said: She was crying, crying, crying, begging, begging, begging.

She wasnt taking any care of herself. For the last two or three weeks she could not move her arms and had trouble with her legs, she couldnt balance.

She was only eating soup, she couldnt hold anything down. She lost a lot of weight. She lost so much weight that there was no flesh to put her injections in.

David Hunter is led away from Paphos District Court in Cyprus after he was found guilty by Cypriot judges of the manslaughter of his terminally ill wife Janice (PA Wire)

The Hunters visited Cyprus on holidays and bought a property there in 1999 before retiring there permanently two years later.

Ms Hunter is buried a short distance away from the couples former home in Tremithousa  a quiet village about three miles from Paphos.

In a statement issued after the sentencing, the director of Justice Abroad, Michael Polak, said his client was very pleased with the outcome.

The result of todays hearing, and the courts previous decision finding Mr Hunter not guilty of murder, is what we have been fighting for in this case, and David is very pleased with the outcome today, he said.

He added: This has been a tragic case and difficult for all of those involved with it, but todays decision was the right one and allows David and his family to grieve together.

Additional reporting by agencies
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A senior police officer who wrote an anti-drugs strategy for the Metropolitan Police allegedly took LSD and magic mushrooms while off duty and smoked cannabis daily, a tribunal has heard.

Commander Julian Bennett, who has served in the force since 1976, is alleged to have smoked cannabis before breakfast and had regular parties at his flat in 2019.

He is also accused of failing to provide a urine sample for testing and lying about why he had not done so.

Mark Ley-Morgan KC, representing the Metropolitan Police, told the tribunal in Southwark, south London: In about mid-October 2019 Sheila Gomes moved into the officers flat, staying until about Christmas 2019.

Between November 27 and 10 December 2019, she sent [her friend] Mario a WhatsApp message in which she referred to Commander Bennett  smoking cannabis at the flat.

Shortly before 10am on 7 December 2019, she used her mobile phone to take photographs of a bag of cannabis, cigarette paper, tobacco and lighters lying on a glass table in the flat living room.

She moved out just before Christmas that year.

On 17 July 2020, she telephoned the Metropolitan Police to record that Commander Bennett had been smoking cannabis before work.

Ms Gomes told the hearing under questioning from Mr Ley-Morgan: It would start early in the morning, before breakfast and before he would leave and go to work.

Sometimes when he was arriving at home it was there. I never saw him eat before going to work.

She said she believed he was a lawyer rather than a senior police officer until after she stopped living with him.

Ms Gomes added that she had never seen him in uniform.

The nurse went on: I didnt like it at all. Why did I have to live in a place where it was just cannabis in the air, I was just trying to breathe oxygen.

He [the officer] was the one who was using the cannabis, I will say a few times during the day he would bring it in.

If he would go to work [he would do it] at least before going to work and arriving at home.

Mr Ley-Morgan said a drugs test was authorised on 20 July 2020, and a day later, in the presence of an assistant commissioner, Mr Bennett was asked to provide a sample.

It was made clear the order to give a sample was a lawful order but Mr Bennett refused and said he would resign, the tribunal heard.

He told officers he had been taking CBD (cannabidiol) to treat facial palsy and was worried the sample would come up positive for an innocent reason, the tribunal heard.

The hearing was told the allegations about magic mushrooms and LSD are hearsay that Ms Gomes was told by a housemate of hers and the officers.

Mr Ley-Morgan said Mr Bennetts explanation for not providing a sample was nonsensical as it would have come up with a much lower reading if it was not being used recreationally.

Mr Bennett wrote the forces drugs strategy for 2017-21 as a commander for territorial policing.

The document, called Dealing With The Impact Of Drugs On Communities, set up plans to raise awareness of the impact of drug misuse.

Freedom of information requests showed Mr Bennett presided over 74 police misconduct hearings involving 90 officers between June 2010 and February 2012.

Out of the hearings involving Mr Bennett, 56 officers were dismissed  more than three-quarters.

He chaired 69 hearings during that time and two officers were dismissed for drugs misuse, the figures showed.

Mr Bennett is accused of breaching the forces professional standards for discreditable conduct three times, honesty and integrity twice and orders and instructions once.

His actions are alleged to have amounted to gross misconduct.

He denies the allegations and has been suspended on full pay since July 2021.

The tribunal continues.
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A 12-year-old girl has been robbed of her mobile phone at knifepoint in London.

The terrifying robbery took place in Camden, close to Euston train station and Regents Park.

Two males approached the girl on Hampstead Road at around 8.30pm as she was walking home on Tuesday 11 July, the Metropolitan Police said.

One of them threatened her with a knife and told her to give him the phone and her password, according to detectives.

Once she had provided the password, the suspects let her go and she ran away.

CCTV footage from the area gathered as part of the police investigation revealed the two suspects walking down the road, looking at the device they had just stolen, Scotland Yard said.

On Friday, a 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of robbery. He has since been bailed pending further inquiries.

The force has now issued an urgent appeal, releasing a CCTV image of a man they want to speak to.

The incident took place on Hampstead Road in Camden (Datawrapper/The Independent)

The image shows a young man wearing grey tracksuit bottoms, a light blue jacket, black trainers and a backpack, walking past the number 134 bus.

We have made good progress with our investigation, said Sergeant Max Pennington, from the Mets local policing team in Camden.

This was a terrifying robbery which took place in broad daylight and we think there will be people who witnessed the incident or recognise the man pictured who can help us to find him and we would urge them to get in touch.

Knife crime in London has soared by 16 per cent in the past year, according to the latest Office for National Statistics data  with 12,786 knife offences recorded in the capital during the 12 months to April.

A surge in knifepoint robberies  which rose by nearly a third, with 7,389 incidents recorded  was mostly to blame for the overall rise.

Anyone with information should call 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting CAD7601/11Jul. You can also provide information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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Rishi Sunak believes it is unfair that prisoners who were wrongly convicted should have to pay back living costs for their time locked up, Downing Street has said.

It comes amid concerns that a man who spent 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit faces deductions from any compensation for his board and lodging.

Andrew Malkinson, 57, was wrongly found guilty of raping a woman in Greater Manchester in 2003 and the next year was jailed for life with a minimum term of seven years.

For someone who is wrongly convicted, I don't think the Prime Minister thinks it would be fair for them to have to repay costs Rishi Sunak's press secretary

He served 10 more years because he maintained his innocence, but his conviction was quashed by senior judges at the Court of Appeal last week after DNA evidence linking another man to the crime came to light.

Asked about concerns that living costs could be taken off any compensation Mr Malkinson receives, the Prime Ministers press secretary said there is an independent board that reviews and then makes the decision.

She told reporters in Westminster on Monday: In principle, for someone who is wrongly convicted, I dont think the Prime Minister thinks it would be fair for them to have to repay costs, particularly as they have wrongfully been kept in prison for something that they didnt do.

The current rules can be traced back to a 2007 ruling by the House of Lords, at a time when it was the countrys highest court.

Mr Sunak has been speaking with the Home Office and others in Government to establish the facts and to make sure the approach is right and fair, his press secretary added.
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The Metropolitan Police is trialling a new approach to stop and search in which officers are trained to use respectful language and explain their actions, amid a crisis of public confidence.

The forces first chief scientific officer is leading a pilot of the scheme in the parts of London worst affected by stabbings, after the damning Casey report said Black men were being disproportionately targeted at the cost of legitimacy and trust.

Professor Lawrence Sherman, an American criminologist who teaches at the University of Cambridge, said the precision stop and search programme aimed to transform the use of the tactic following decades of concern.

He told a press briefing that his team had ranked all 679 council wards by weapons-enabled violence, including stabbings and knife robberies.

We are making it as legitimate as possible because it's focusing on places with very high risks of people getting stabbed or killed, Prof Sherman said.

What we are trying to do is proactive stop and search, done by people with specialist training, in a location selected with precision. We want to get weapons off the streets and ultimately have less harm, and fewer knife-enabled crimes.

The academic is also leading the Mets new data-led approach to targeting the 100 men deemed to pose the highest risk to women and children.

A model ranked suspects named in police reports by the prison time they would receive for the crimes, including rape and murder, so officers can focus on tracking down the most dangerous men on the loose.

Prof Sherman said the force, which has been in special measures for over a year following a series of scandals and horrific offences committed by its officers, is looking at data-led approaches to other areas including stop and search.

The pilot areas are six wards of Lambeth, south London, and three wards of Barking and Dagenham, east London. They cover parts of Stockwell, Vauxhall, Waterloo , Brixton, Camberwell, Barking town and the Thames View estate.

As part of the pilot, more than 100 officers have so far been trained to change the way they interact with people, and young men in particular.

Prof Sherman said it follows a model tested in numerous crime hotspots in America, which aimed to ensure officers are neutral and not racially biased when selecting people to search, and treat them with respect and explain their actions through a trustworthy motive.

The most important part is to say why youre doing it, to say we are doing stop and search here to protect people like you to keep you from getting stabbed, [and] to keep your neighbours and friends from getting stabbed, he said.

Professor Lawrence Sherman is the Metropolitan Polices chief scientific officer (Met Police )

They are doing something that nobody's going to be overjoyed about, but we want to try to rebuild a relationship with the person.

Officers are also being instructed to use respectful language, for example by asking people how they want to be addressed, and not raising their voice.

The interactions will be recorded on body-worn cameras and reviewed as part of the pilot, which comes after a damning inquiry triggered by Sarah Everards murder called for a fundamental research of stop and search in London.

Baroness Caseys report, released in March, said research found that while 77 per cent of Black adults supported stop and search for weapons, most people who had experienced it felt the police had not communicated with them properly and were left traumatised and humiliated.

But Suella Braverman called for police to ramp up stop and search in June, and to arrest people for unlawful obstruction when necessary.

In a letter to all chief constables in England and Wales, the home secretary added: My first priority is to keep the public safe, and people who insist on carrying a weapon must know that there will be consequences.

The police have my full support to ramp up the use of stop and search, wherever necessary, to prevent violence and save more lives.

Official figures show that stops dropped by 8 per cent across England and Wales in 2021-22, and by more than a fifth in the Metropolitan Police, which fell from 268,384 to 210,347.

A Home Office report found that the areas with the most stop and searches in London were the most economically deprived, and that only 13 per cent resulted in an arrest.
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Frederick Douglass is amongst the people he loved, as a statue of the anti-slavery campaigner has been unveiled in Belfast.

Douglass was born into slavery, but managed to escape in 1838 and went on to become a national leader of the abolitionist movement in America, known for his eloquent speeches and writings.

He first visited Belfast in 1845 at the invitation of the Belfast Anti-Slavery Society and returned for a second visit in 1846.

A statue of the former slave, turned writer and statesman, is now on display in Lombard Street in the city centre.

Professor Christine Kinealy, the director of Irelands Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, is the author of Frederick Douglass and Ireland: In His Own Words.

At the unveiling of the statue Dr Kinealy told the PA news agency of Douglass significance to Belfast.

Frederick Douglass is increasingly a symbol of international social justice, she said.

This is something thats very dear to many people within Belfast, so I hope this place becomes a rallying point for people who want to effect real change and to have a more inclusive, equitable future for all people of Ireland.

Douglass gave around 50 speeches in his time in Ireland and could speak for up to two hours without notes.

Dr Kinealy said the statue was a homecoming for Douglass, who often expressed his love for the city.

He was just so incredibly articulate, and so thoughtful in his commentary, and even more incredible when you think it was illegal to teach people who are enslaved to read or write, so he was totally self taught, she said.

I think the most beautiful is that when he was leaving Belfast, he said: Wherever else I feel myself to be a stranger, I will always know I have a home in Belfast.

And to me thats what today represents, Frederick Douglass finally coming home to Belfast to be amongst the people he loved.

Some 12 students from the US attended the unveiling as part of their work with the Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship, a programme that studies social justice leadership in America, South Africa, and Ireland.

Fellowship student Akil Cole, from Georgetown University, said he was inspired to see the statue of Douglass in Belfast.

Were able to remember them for their work but I think more importantly, there are people that actually still care about his work, about social justice, about equity, about access to rights, not just in a historical sense, but in a very present sense, he said.

So its nice to be here for this. Its also important to remember that this moment is just a moment and after this we have to get back to work.

So Im excited to celebrate this but Im also excited to get back to work and back to business.

Zoriana Martinez, fellowship student from Wayne State University, said the statue was a sign of international camaraderie.

I think it really just reminds us that were not all so different apart from each other, she said.

I think that Frederick Douglass kind of spoke about when he was out here, how he felt like he really was treated like a human for the first time, and really just seeing that kind of sense of international camaraderie and international collective.

At the end of the day we all kind of want the same things. We all want to be taken seriously, we want to be treated like decent human beings, we all want to have access to equal opportunity, and thats something that is still true today centuries later.

The life-size statue was created by renowned Scottish figurative sculptors Alan Beattie Herriot and Hector Guest.

The first statue of Douglass in Europe, it is located beside the historic First Presbyterian Church in Rosemary Street where he delivered lectures during his time in Belfast.

Belfast Lord Mayor Councillor Ryan Murphy said: I think its absolutely fantastic, its important that we tell the history of Belfast.

He added: Frederick himself was the leader of the abolitionist movement, he was a former slave and he had to come to Britain and Ireland in fear of being captured again back in America, and during that time he noted the welcome that he received in these parts.

He was brilliant in terms of his ideas and his beliefs, and I think its important this is here and we can actually tell that story, and talk about his ideas and beliefs, and theyre still as relevant today as they were in the 19th century.

We should also make sure that today, 2023, that were as welcoming to those newcomers to the city as the same welcome that Frederick got when he arrived here back in 1845.

Tukura Makoni, policy officer from the African Caribbean Support Organisation Northern Ireland, said the statue would represent many things to many people but added that the African/Caribbean community were not engaged with the process of the statue being built.

The way we can improve things for all communities here in Belfast is by including them in processes that dictate the things that are influential or significant in our lives, the basic things, he said.

Even when looking at the erection of this statue, the African and Caribbean community was not consulted, was not engaged about how we feel about the statue.

He added: We werent consulted about where it was going or that it was even going up.

So how we can make things better is by including everybody in all the processes that govern our lives, whether it be leisure, education, politics, the workplace, there needs to be earnest inclusion and engagement to improve things.

Belfast has been confirmed as the host city for Douglass Week 2024 which commemorates the life of the anti-slavery campaigner.

The week will feature events staged in person and online in Belfast and across Northern Ireland, as well as the Republic of Ireland and the USA.
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Scientists may have identified a major reason why individuals age, which could lead to therapy to slow down the process as well as reduce the risk of blood cancer.

High levels of toxic chemicals in the body, such as formaldehyde, which is best known as an embalming agent, have recently been found to be naturally made by cells and also to cause ageing.

Leading scientists from Cornell University, the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge and Cancer Research UK are trying to understand what causes the body to overproduce formaldehyde.

It is hoped that drugs may be able to lower levels of it in the body and reverse the ageing process.

Professor Meng Wang, a haematology expert who led the study at Cambridge before moving to Cornell, told The Daily Telegraph: We believe we have pinned down one of the potential causes of natural ageing. This could potentially lead to a therapy to slow down natural age-related decline.

Scientists have also recently discovered a condition caused by a genetic mutation that prevents sufferers from removing formaldehyde from their system. It affects fewer than one in a million people, and can lead to the development of blood cancers.

According to Cancer Research UK, formaldehyde causes DNA damage to blood stem cells, which can accelerate their ageing and increase the likelihood of blood cancers.

The research, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, identified a common link between DNA damage in blood cancer and ageing.

Prof Wang added: Theres this debate in ageing. One side says that ageing is a result of slow, gradual, accumulated damage, like riding the same bicycle over the years. Slowly bits of rust and everything makes it not work as well as it used to.

And then theres the other camp that says, actually, ageing is a programmed response triggered by various stressors that turns a young cell into an older one. What we found is that actually, at least in blood stem cells, it is very much a triggered response, dependent on a protein called p53.

The team only looked for signs of ageing in blood, but it is suspected that ageing also occurs in the organs. The team are also investigating whether formaldehyde production is affected by food or other lifestyle factors.
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Should members of the public be allowed to camp on Dartmoor without first asking permission?

This is the question that has left Devon bitterly divided over the past six months. And now another twist has come after the second-highest court in the land ruled in favour of Dartmoor National Park Authoritys (DNPA ) appeal against a ban on the vast moorland.

Court of Appeal judges found that the law confers on members of the public the right to rest or sleep on theCommons, whether by day or night and whether in a tent or otherwise as long as byelaws are followed.

Mondays ruling was the latest twist in a legal battle between wealthy landowners and members of the public.

The row started back in January when Alexander Darwall, the stern-faced banker who made a fortune in France, gave 90,000 to Nigel Farages party, 5,000 to the local Tory MP, bought a large chunk of Dartmoor and promptly banned the ancient right of local folk to camp under the stars.

Mr Darwells critics would have you believe he is a modern-day version of Poldark villain George Warleggan.

His friends, meanwhile, say he is more like Ross Poldark from the popular historical drama set in Cornwall, a heritage hero who is saving a national park by stopping people who endanger its wildlife and pollute the landscape with litter  and much worse.

He and his wife Diana argued that some wild campers on their land caused problems to livestock and the environment.

Alexander Darwall got a court order banning campers from pitching up on parts of Dartmoor he owns without seeking permission (Edison)

They sought a court declaration that members of the public could only pitch tents there overnight with their consent and in January the High Court ruled in their favour.

Mr and Mrs Darwall, who keep cattle on Stall Moor, which forms part of their more than 3,450-acre estate in the southern part of Dartmoor, secured a finding from a judge that a 1985 law, which regulates access to moorland, does not provide a right to wild camp.

But to those who, like their families before them, regularly enjoy overnight stays on the land, the decision was one they could not stand for and protests soon started to build.

An under fire DNPA later announced it would appeal against the High Court ruling that declared people need Mr Darwalls  the landowners  permission to camp.

The pressure came from Britains camping and walking communities, thousands of whom travelled to protest against Januarys ruling.

Right to Roam, the environmental activist group, was one among those who travelled to the southwest, organising a march in which an estimated 2,000 people took part.

Protestors walk up to Stall Mall at Dartmoor National Park on January 21, 2023 in Cornwood, England. ( SWNS)

Walkers weaved through the picturesque village of Cornwood and past the Stall Moor, at the heart of the Darwalls court argument.

There was singing and dancing at Croken Tor  the traditional centre of Dartmoor, where tin miners would meet to adjudicate disputes in years gone by.

Hand-painted signs with cartoon depictions of Mr Darwall featured slogans such as please sir, I want some Moor and the peasants are revolting.

While protesters came from as far as Essex and the Midlands, there was a strong local contingent determined to show their opposition against what they believe should remain a space free to use for all.

Devon native Guy Singh-Watson, a farmer and creator of Riverford, an organic farm and UK-wide organic vegetable box delivery company, said he camped on Dartmoor on many occasions over the past 50 years and has never found so much as a crisp packet left behind.

There has been much protest over Darwalls court case (SWNS)

The DNPA said it would endorse an apparent compromise  the new permissive system in which landowners would grant permission to the authority to allow the public to wild camp.

The authority also said it would investigate which areas of common land, owned by DNPA, could be opened up to backpack camping.

The permissive system would have involved landowners entering into a legal agreement with DNPA, with up to 300 paid annually to landowners who opt in.

Guy Singh-Watson is furious about the court order (Riverford)

A DNPA report said this money would be taken from the Projects Fund in 2023/24 and in future years would be built into the revenue budget.

Those protesting feared it was the start of a movement and asked what other landlords could decide next.

Landowners would be able to keep the fee, but according to the report, several had already indicated that they may donate it back to the National Park.

Areas where wild camping could take place, without the public having to seek individual permission from landowners, were already being shown on an interactive map on the authoritys website.

Anyone planning to wild camp was asked to refer to the map and follow all leave no trace principles so they had no impact on the area where they have been.

This system was agreed in principle with the Dartmoor Commons Owners Association within days of the High Court judgment made on 13 January.

Dartmoor National Park  facts and figures Source: dartmoor.gov.uk Dartmoor National park is 368 square miles or 954 square kilometres. Its about 20 miles from North to South and 20 miles from East to West. That means its roughly the same size as London, or about the same size as 20,000 football pitches.

Dartmoor National Park is created from land owned by a range of people including lots of farmers and The Duchy of Cornwall (Prince Charles). Some of the land, including Haytor, belongs to Dartmoor National Park Authority.

The highest point on Dartmoor is High Willhays Tor. Its 621 metres or 2,039 feet above sea level.

The lowest point on Dartmoor is Doghole Bridge. Its 30 metres or 98 feet above sea level.

65% of Dartmoor is made of granite  rock which was created around 295 million years ago.

There are over 160 tors on Dartmoor. Tors are where the granite rock that is underneath Dartmoor shows through.

There are three visitor centres at Dartmoor, one at Princetown, one at Haytor and one at Postbridge.

34,500 people live on Dartmoor.

Today about 90% of the land on Dartmoor is used for farming. Farmers keep 50,000 cows, sheep and ponies on Dartmoor.

Campaigners initially hit out at the deal, which they said was a ransom note from landowners like the Darwalls, who would be able to revoke permission to camp at any time.

Richard Foord, the Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton and Honiton in Devon, said in a Twitter post at the time that fully supported the authoritys decision to appeal and hoped the ruling could be overturned,

The uproar in Devon spread to Westminster and The Guardian reported Labour would pass a right to roam act if it came to power, as a direct reaction to the wild camping ban.

The DNPAs challenge to the January ruling hit the Court of Appeal earlier in July and in one session lawyers for the Darwalls argued that wild camping is not recreation because sleeping is not an enjoyable activity.

But Sir Geoffrey Vos, Lord Justice Underhill and Lord Justice Newey found that it was.

Sir Geoffrey said the "critical question" was whether wild camping could be considered a form of "open-air recreation", finding it was.

Activists outside the Court of Appeal in London (Reuters)

He said: "The fact that a tent is closed rather than open cannot convert the wild camping from being an open-air recreation into not being one.

"In my judgment, that walker is still resting by sleeping and undertaking an essential part of the recreation."

Lord Justice Underhill, who agreed with Sir Geoffrey, added the byelaws "provide a workable structure whereby a proper balance can be preserved between the rights of those accessing the commons and the rights of the owners of the land and others".

The map showing where wild camping can take place under the new rules (OS/Dartmoor National Park Authority)

He added: "Many people take pleasure in the experience of sleeping in a tent in open country, typically, though not invariably, as part of a wider experience of walking across country, and perhaps engaging in other open-air recreations such as birdwatching, during the day.

"It is a perfectly natural use of language to describe that as a recreation, and also as occurring in the open air notwithstanding that while the camper is actually in the tent the outside air will be to some extent excluded."

People attend a protest against a court ruling to ban wild camping on Dartmoor ( SWNS)

People attend a protest against a court ruling to ban Wild Camping on Dartmoor, Cornwood, January 21 2023 ( SWNS)

Sir Julian had previously found that the meaning of the legislation was "clear and unambiguous" in that it conferred a "right to roam" which did not include "a right to wild camp without permission".

Mondays appeal decision was welcomed by the Open Spaces Society, which intervened in the case.

Dartmoor National Park, designated in 1951, covers a 368-square mile area that features "commons" - areas of unenclosed privately owned moorland where locals can put livestock.

The DNPA previously said backpack campers can access nearly 52,000 acres of common land across the national park and can stay overnight under a new "permissive system" as long as they follow a code of conduct.
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The Home Office is to move asylum seekers onto the Bibby Stockholm barge, despite concerns about fire safety.

The first group of around 40 people are expected to arrive over the coming days, but ministers claim more than 500 will eventually be housed on the vessel moored in Dorset.

The Independent understands authorities have issued formal warnings about inadequate fire evacuation protocols for the vessel, which contains 222 cabins lining narrow corridors over three decks.

A local councillor, who did not want to be named, said the Home Offices decision to more than double the Bibby Stockholms capacity by cramming bunk beds into every room had increased the risk.

Its the getting down off it thats the issue, said the councillor, who visited the vessel last week. Everybody panics when theres a fire and the corridors are so small.

Every scenario has been put in place for a fire but you dont add in the human element of the panic.

Youre not going to knock on each cabin saying oh theres a fire on deck 3, everyone wants to get off as quickly as possible.

Officials say the Bibby Stockholm has three fire exits, but when The Independent visited with other media on 21 July only two were in operation.

They were both on the same side of the barge, and one was closed off for safety reasons because the gangway was deemed too steep for use.

The quayside adjourning the barge is closed off at one end, with 15ft metal fences and a locked gate separating it from the rest of the port - sparking concerns about potential crushes among people fleeing any danger.

Richard Drax, the Conservative MP for South Dorset, said the Home Office and vessel operators must ensure all safety requirements are met.

There are concerns about evacuations in the extent of a fire (PA)

I understand the first, small, tranche of migrants is expected this week, but questions still remain as to whether the barge, originally designed for about 220, can take 500 people and still meet the safety measures being demanded, he added.

If it cannot, then the number of migrants must be reduced to a level advised by those assessing the fire risk.

Mr Drax said that he and West Dorset Chris Loder had received no response to a letter sent to the home secretary on 17 July, where they asked for an urgent safety assessment of the vessel.

Tim Naor Hilton, the chief executive of Refugee Action, said: All people in the UK have the right to live in housing that is not dangerous or harms their health.

Segregating, squeezing and detaining people on a prison barge will put peoples lives at risk, cause horrendous health issues and make existing problems worse, just like weve seen in hotels. 

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had advised on a fire risk assessment drawn up by the vessel operators, Landry & Kling, who have been subcontracted by an Australian travel firm as part of a larger 1.6bn Home Office contract.

The authoritys fire safety manager, Graham Kewley, said it did not have the power to approve the Bibby Stockholm for habitation but will exercise our enforcement powers, either formal or informal, to address any significant areas of non-compliance where necessary.

He added: Where any aspect falls within the scope of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, we will be undertaking appropriate audits to confirm that adequate general fire precautions are in place.

The official brochure for the Bibby Stockholm shows 222 single bedrooms, but the Home Office has used bunk beds to push its capacity to 506 (Bibby Marine)

We have provided advice and comment in relation to fire safety arrangements to both the Home Office and the vessels operators during our familiarisation and pre-occupation visits.

The Health and Safety Executive said it had issued separate advice over issues on the quayside surrounding the barge and its concerns had been addressed.

Our inspectors conducted a planned visit of Portland Port last week alongside Dorset Councils Environmental Health Team, a spokesperson added.

We provided advice on construction safety, which has since been acted upon.

The Independent understands that the issues raised by authorities mainly concern scenarios where the barge is at a higher capacity than it will be when an initial group of asylum seekers arrives this week.

The prime ministers official spokesperson said: The Bibby Stockholm is currently undergoing final preparations, including fire safety checks - that's happening this week - to ensure that it complies with all the appropriate regulations.

There's been refurbishment that's been ongoing to ensure rooms comply with marine industry safety regulations.

In normal circumstances one can leave the secure compound surrounding the vessel without waiting for a shuttle bus to take them to the port exit, which officials say is needed for safety reasons.

A view of inside one of the bedrooms onboard the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge at Portland Port in Dorset (PA)

Once at the main gates, anyone is free to leave but the Home Office is trying to incentivise asylum seekers to make use of planned activities and hourly buses into the nearby resort town of Weymouth.

Following an outbreak of diphtheria at the Manston detention centre, and scabies and tuberculosis cases at the Wethersfield military base, a nurse will be on site five days a week and able to refer patients to a GP if necessary.

The Bibby Stockholm saw at least one person die, and reports of rape and abuse on board, when it was used by the Dutch government to detain refugees in the 2000s.

It was later refurbished and used for commercial contracts to house workers, but at a maximum capacity of 222 people.

Only single adult men previously in hotels will be housed on the barge, following suitability assessments and security checks, the Home Office said.

The government insists the barge will be cheaper than hotels, where around 50,000 asylum seekers are currently housed at a cost of 6m a day but have refused to estimate the cost of each place.
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Around a quarter of UK sea swimmers are being put off their hobby because of the levels of sewage, according to a new poll.

Just over 30 per cent of UK adults said they go sea swimming during the summer, and of these, 23 per cent said they will not do so this year because of sewage dumping by water companies.

The poll, carried out by Savanta with 2,272 UK adults between July 21 and 23, found 43 per cent of regular beachgoers said they were less likely to visit the British seaside this summer because of the sewage discharges.

Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Tim Farron said: Sewage dumping by water companies is ruining the British beach holiday.

Coastal communities are at the mercy of water companies who unapologetically discharge raw sewage into popular swimming spots.

If this continues, tourists will turn away from British beach holidays, leaving small businesses and local tourism to suffer from their mess.

No one should have to go for a swim or build a sandcastle next to raw sewage. This Conservative government needs to stop letting water companies off the hook and finally ban these disgusting sewage discharges and defend our tourism sector.

An analysis by the party earlier this year showed there were 1,504 sewage discharges in 2022 on beaches with a blue flag rating  a standard that is supposed to signify that a beach is free from such pollution.

They want sewage dumps on blue flag beaches to be banned and have warned that tourists may decide not to visit beaches at all, which would deprive coastal communities of revenue.

Tim Farron said sewage dumping by water companies is ruining the British beach holiday (PA Wire)

The government has recently said it will allow the Environment Agency (EA) to impose unlimited fines on water companies that pollute unnecessarily.

Current penalties are capped at 250,000, making it cheaper to pay than to fix the pollution issue, environment secretary Therese Coffey told MPs earlier this month.

Thames Waters interim chief executive, Cathryn Ross, recently described many of her companys pipes as ageing assets that should have been replaced.

The utility firm gathered a 14bn debt pile, with many critics blaming shareholders for taking too much money out of the company over the previous 30 years without investing enough in infrastructure.

Many other water companies have faced similar condemnation. They are only supposed to release raw sewage after heavy rain to stop sewage from backing up the system and flooding homes and businesses, with the most recent data showing they had collectively dumped sewage 372,533 times in 2022.

A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) spokesperson said: Banning discharges overnight without any plan to fix storm overflows is reckless and would see sewage backing up into peoples homes and the street.

The secretary of state demanded action plans on every storm overflow in the country and our Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan requires water companies to spend 56bn to eliminate the harm from storm overflows  the largest infrastructure investment in water company history.

An online interactive map of sewage discharges, using information taken from water companies, showed on Friday afternoon dozens of live pollution alerts along the English and Welsh coasts.

A Water UK spokesperson said: Just one out of every 10 beaches achieved an excellent water standard in the 1990s.

Thanks to water company investment, that has increased to seven in 10 beaches today. The majority of remaining pollution comes from other sources.

Nevertheless, we recognise that more should have been done sooner to tackle the harm to our seas caused by sewage overflows. We have listened and have an unprecedented plan to start to put it right.

Over the next seven years, water and sewerage companies plan to spend 10bn  a tripling on current levels of investment  in the biggest transformation of our sewers since the Victorian era.

As part of this, bathing waters will be prioritised and among the first to receive funding.
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A midwife who told a mother that terrorists could contaminate formula milk to kill babies in a bid to persuade her to breastfeed her newborn, has been banned from the profession.

Anna Semenenko, 59, was struck off from the profession earlier this month after the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) found her comments made on July 2016 to be highly inappropriate.

While Ms Semenemko denied the allegation against her, the panel noted that her comments had the potential to cause emotional harm to the patient and her family.

The panel made the remarks while detailing the charges against her as a string of professional misconduct accusations from November 2015 to 10 July 2019 emerged.

The panel considered Ms Semenenkos conduct to be unprofessional and that she failed to treat her patient with dignity and respect as she sought to influence the patients choices by providing her with this false and misleading information, it said.

Another registered professional would find Ms Semenenkos conduct in this charge to be shocking and unacceptable, said the panel, as it concluded that her conduct amounted to misconduct.

In another separate instance, on 2 November 2017, Ms Semenenko was accused of attempting to remove a patients nightdress without their warning or consent. She also reportedly pressured the patients partner and mother to watch the birth against the patients wishes. Ms Semenenko was also accused of making inappropriate remarks about her pretty vagina and taking its picture without clinical reason or consent.

In another instance in 2016, Ms Semenenko allegedly told a patient while carrying out the vaginal examination that your husband must have a small penis as you are very tense.

The panel held that her comments would have caused embarrassment to the patient and is likely to have caused her emotional harm and distress whilst in a situation where the patient was likely to be vulnerable.

It added that her conduct in this charge fell far below the standards of a registered midwife and that it was wholly inappropriate to use words of this nature at any time but particularly in these circumstances.

According to the BBC, Joseph Cooray, who represented Ms Semenenko, said he would move to the High Court in the matter.
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New rules are set to come into force aimed at preventing serious criminals gaining British citizenship.

Changes to the good character requirement of citizenship applications from Monday will see tougher rules applied to anyone who has received a 12-month prison sentence.

Currently an attempt to gain British citizenship will normally be refused if an individual has received a four-year jail term.

Previously an application was also likely to be rejected from anyone who has served between 12 months and four years in prison until 15 years have passed since the end of the sentence.

Anyone who had spent less than a year in prison also faced an application being rejected until 10 years had passed.

The changes bring the system into line with immigration rules, with new rules designed to be stricter and more specific on the so-called good character requirements.

The Home Office said the reforms will remove the previous rules whereby some criminals could be granted citizenship after a certain number of years have passed.

British citizenship is a privilege, said Home Secretary Suella Braverman.

Those who commit crimes shouldnt be able to enjoy the breadth of rights citizenship brings, including holding a British passport, voting and accessing free medical care from the NHS.

I am cracking down on abuse of the UKs immigration and nationality system, by introducing a tougher threshold so that serious criminals cannot gain British citizenship.

This is the fair and right thing to do for our country.

There will be exceptions to the new rules and the Home Office said some people could show mitigating circumstances which could support a citizenship bid.
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The government has made it cheaper for firms to pollute in Britain than the EU in what some see as the latest anti-green move by the Conservative party.

Ministers quietly rolled out changes to a carbon trading scheme which lets companies compensate for their greenhouse gas emissions.

The changes include polluting companies being offered more allowances than had been expected, meaning carbon prices in the UK are steeply discounted compared with those in the EU.

Industry experts have warned the changes will increase the use of fossil fuels and undermine Britains green investments.

BNP Paribas analyst James Huckstepp warned the changes to the carbon market, which largely passed under the radar, will have the biggest impact of any policy on the UKs emissions path.

The carbon market lets companies and individuals buy and sell carbon credits to offset their emissions. Firms which pollute can buy credits from those that remove or reduce overall emissions.

The governments changes have left emissions trading prices in the UK nearly 40 per cent cheaper than in the EU, at 47 a tonne compared with 88.50 (75.86), according to the Financial Times.

The prices were almost equal until jitters around the governments climate ambitions emerged this spring.

A robust carbon price is critical to attracting investment in clean energy that can bring down prices, reduce emissions, and bolster our energy security, Energy UK deputy director of advocacy Adam Berman told the FT.

Swapping lower prices in the long run for a short period of low prices today is the definition of a penny-wise, pound-foolish approach.

The carbon market is the cornerstone of the UKs decarbonisation strategy, he added.

Mr Huckstepp said the changes would have short-term benefits to energy-intensive industries, but will make it much more challenging for the UK to meet its climate goals.

The changes will disincentivise investment in wind farms and encourage power generators to burn more gas, he added.

The change comes as Tory MPs have called on the government to pause its drive to net zero as fears mount over the cost to individuals of green policies.

Dame Priti Patel has claimed voters are being left behind in the pursuit of green policies.

But senior Conservative MP Damian Green said those who say we should drop that target are wrong.

It is not Conservative to risk frying the planet. If you fry the planet youve got nothing to conserve, he told The Westminster Hour on BBC Radio 4.

The department for energy and net zero said the government was committed to reducing emissions in a way that grows the economy and protects peoples livelihoods.

A spokesman said: We want to ensure a smooth transition to the net zero cap allowing the market and participants time to adapt, while ensuring the strength of overall ambition is not affected.

Weve taken significant steps to improve the ambition of the UK Emission Trading Scheme, and recently announced a reduction in the cap of 30 per cent - to bring the scheme in line with our net zero goals.
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Just one in 20 crimes were solved by police last year, according to figures branded abysmal by Labour.

Home Office data for England and Wales released this month showed the proportion of crimes leading to a charge or summons was just 5.7 per cent.

The data, for the year to April, showed that 2.3 million crimes were dropped before a suspect was found.

For sexual offences, the charge rate was just 3.6 per cent, while for rape specifically, it was lower at 2.1 per cent.

And only 6.5 per cent of robberies led to someone being charged.

Labour published the figures as the party looks to outflank the Tories on law and order ahead of the next general election.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the figures were a national scandal and promised to boost the number of crimes solved if the party wins power.

The Conservatives said Labour wont take the tough action necessary on crime.

Labour said it will introduce a new requirement for police forces to run a recruitment drive for detectives to reverse a national shortage, with plans to bring in individuals from fields such as business fraud investigations and child protection.

Ms Cooper said: After 13 years of Tory government, over 90 per cent of crimes are going unsolved.

That is the abysmal Conservative record on law and order  more criminals being let off and more victims being let down.

For some serious crimes, like rape and robbery, the charge rate is now so low it constitutes a national scandal.

For far too long in this country, too many crimes have been committed without any consequences. Victims increasingly feel like no one comes and nothing is done. Labour is determined this has to change.

Home office minister Sarah Dines said Labour had voted against every tougher sentence the government has brought in, and claimed Sir Keir Starmer had an appalling record of failing rape victims when he was head of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Conservative governments have increased convictions, increased sentences, reformed our justice system and quadrupled funding to better support victims  making sure that the full force of the law is brought to bear to protect women and girls, Ms Dines said.
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Plans to put an end to anti-car moves and a potential route for peace in Ukraine are among the stories leading the nations papers.

The Sun reports the Prime Minister has ordered a review of hated low-traffic neighbourhoods in a boost for motorists, while The Guardian says ministers are considering restrictions on councils ability to impose 20mph speed limits.

Rishi Sunak is set to press ahead with new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea, according to The Times.

The Telegraph reports 50,000 extra families will have to pay Inheritance Tax following the Governments tax threshold freeze.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail leads with a call to scrap the tourist tax as research reveals such a move could generate 10 billion for the economy.

The Metro reports Russias President Vladimir Putin has hinted at peace talks with Ukraine.

The i says 52% of Britons are worried about paying for everyday essentials.

The Independent leads with concerns that the NHS is inadequately prepared for the coming winter.

The Financial Times reports the Government has made it cheaper to pollute by watering down its carbon market scheme.

The Daily Mirror leads with its campaign for a change in the law regarding dangerous pets.

A call-handling probe by the Daily Express found the tax office to be the worst offender.

And the Daily Star says multiple deluges are heading for the UK over the next few weeks.
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The UK has sanctioned six people following the unjustifiable decision to reject an appeal from a British-Russian dissident facing 25 years in jail for opposing Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced in April after being convicted of treason and spreading false information about the Russian army in a process he described as a show trial.

After Mr Kara-Murzas appeal was rejected by judges in Moscow on Monday, prime minister Rishi Sunak called the decision desperate and unfounded.

He wrote on Twitter: Rejecting @vkaramurzas appeal is unjustifiable. He should be released immediately.

The United Kingdom stands with him and his family.

Kremlin critic Mr Kara-Murza, a close ally of murdered opposition figure Boris Nemtsov, has already survived two poisonings that left him in a coma in 2015 and 2017.

The UK government confirmed it has sanctioned six individuals, including two Moscow city court judges, for their involvement in the conviction of Mr Kara-Murza.

They will be subject to travel bans and asset freezes.

The individuals were named as: Vitaly Alexsandrovich Belitsky and Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dorokhina, both Moscow city court judges; Natalia Nikolaevna Dudar, a Basmanny district court judge; Boris Georgievich Loktionov, the lead prosecutor in the trial; Danila Yurievich Mikheev, described as an expert witness for the Russian government; and Anna Evgenievna Potychko, a prosecutor.

Jailed Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza gestures as he stands behind a glass wall of an enclosure for defendants during a court hearing to consider an appeal against his prison sentence, in Moscow, Russia 31 July 2023 (REUTERS)

Foreign secretary James Cleverly said: The rejection of Vladimir Kara-Murzas appeal following his sentencing on bogus charges highlights the depravity of the Russian regime, and their complete disregard for human rights and freedom of expression.

Today weve sanctioned six people connected with his case, sending a clear message that the UK will not stand for this treatment of one of its citizens.

We will continue to support Mr Kara-Murza and his family, who have worked tirelessly to try and secure his release. I call on Russia to release him immediately and unconditionally.

In April, the UK sanctioned five people  including two Russian spies  for their involvement in Mr Kara-Murzas arrest.
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It is the responsibility of ministers to ensure existing security protocols are followed, Downing Street has said amid claims Robert Jenrick left his ministerial briefcase unattended on a train.

The Sun newspaper reported that witnesses had seen the immigration minister leave his red box unattended for at least four minutes last week.

A spokesman for the minister strongly denied any suggestion that the politician had abandoned the box.

Asked whether the Cabinet Office is investigating the matter, the Prime Ministers press secretary refrained from commenting on the specifics, highlighting that they are yet to receive all the relevant details.

She told reporters in Westminster on Monday: The PM believes that all ministers should follow the guidance set out around maintaining security and Government business.

I dont believe as of yet there is any update. Its up to ministers to make sure that they follow the guidance.

Theres a bit in the ministerial code about maintaining security of Government business and its up to ministers to make sure that they ensure that that happens.

Its a long-standing position that I dont comment on security arrangements, but that guidance should be followed.

On whether Downing Street had concerns there was a breach of the ministerial code, the press secretary said: I dont have all the details of what actually happened and I havent spoken to the PM about it.

But he believes that all ministers should follow the guidance set out around maintaining the security of Government business.

According to the report, Mr Jenrick was on a train back to his Newark constituency on Friday morning.

The paper also published pictures that it said shows the red box on a seat in a first class carriage on the train.

His spokesman said: Mr Jenrick was working on the train throughout the journey, with his ministerial box close by at all times.

He sat in the seat directly to the left of this misleading photo and he left the train with his locked ministerial box.
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A six-year-old girl died in Arizona after being struck by a boat propeller.

A pair of families  12 people in total  were boating on Lake Pleasant on Friday, according to the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office. Around 11am, a member of one of the families called 911 to report that a young girl had been hit by one of the boat's propellers.

MSCO Sgt Joaquin Enriquez said during a press briefing that six adults and six children were present on the boat. He said around 11am the child's mother accelerated the boat to pull another family member who was wakeboarding. The mother did not realise her child was still in the water and ran her over with the boat, at which time the child was hit with the propeller, according to AZ Family.

"Witnesses at the scene confirmed that the childs mother was operating the boat when she began to drive and, unbeknownst to the family, the child had somehow entered the water," the sheriff's office said in a statement. "The father of the child was in the water holding onto a wakeboard when he noticed someone in the water and swam to the child."

The child's parents found her floating in the water. Her leg had been cut off by the boat's propeller, according to the sheriff's office.

Due to poor cell reception at the lake the family was not able to call emergency services immediately and sought help from other boaters to dial 911.

The child was taken to the lake's marine where she received treatment from first responders before being transported to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The sheriff's office said the situation remains under investigation, noting that "impairment does not appear to be a factor as MSCO detectives continue to investigate."

Mr Enriquez said the sheriff's department is treating the incident as a tragic accident. After a preliminary investigation deputies found that the boats were properly equipped with safety gear like life jackets and fire extinguishers, and noted that the owners of the boat were experienced operators who live near the lake.
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Police in Los Angeles are hunting for around 11 suspects after a security guard was beaten to death outside a popular Hollywood nightclub.

The shocking attack unfolded at around 2am on Sunday outside the Dragonfly Hollywood nightclub close to Santa Monica Boulevard and Wilcox Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The security guard, a 32-year-old man who has been identified as Daniel Sandifer by The Los Angeles Times, was working at the Hollywood hotspot at the time when he was confronted by the large group of people.

The altercation quickly turned violent with witnesses reporting seeing the group beating and stomping on Sandifer, according to ABC7.

Officers arrived on the scene to find Sandifer lying in the street unresponsive. They performed life-saving measures on him but he was pronounced dead from his injuries upon arrival at the hospital.

Now, a manhunt is underway to find up to 11 suspects.

It is not clear whether the group of people knew the victim prior to the violent attack.

It is also unclear if the group had frequented the club that night for Dragonflys Signature Saturday event.

The Dragonfly describes itself as the most popular Hip Hop night club scene LA has to offer with several famous faces including Tyga and Megan Thee Stallion known to have partied there in the past.

It remained closed on Sunday and its Sunday Night Fever event was cancelled in the wake of the tragedy.

Security guard beaten to death outside Hollywood nightclub (ABC7)

Dragonfly posted an Instagram story on Sunday announcing the closure and saying it was mourning the death of its bouncer.

As we begin to process and mourn the loss of our colleague, Dragonfly will be closed, the post read.

Our hearts are with his family at this time.

The Dragonfly club in Hollywood, Los Angeles, announces its temporary closure after the death of a bouncer (Dragonfly/Instagram)

The LAPD is asking anyone who witnessed or recorded the incident to come forward with information.

We know that oftentimes people will record these types of incidents on their cellphone, Detective Samuel Marullo told ABC7 from the scene.

We would encourage them to share that with us as it can help bring a sense of justice to this persons family.

He added that investigators are canvasing the neighbourhood for security cameras which may have picked up the events surrounding the attack.

One thing we know was that there was a lot of people present  a lot of people on the street  many of whom left the scene prior to police arriving.

Law enforcement officials have not publicly identified Sandifer yet but a cousin of the man, Evette Sandifer, identified him to The LA Times. Ms Sandifer said her cousin was a hardworking man who took care of his two daughters and was the primary caretaker of his grandmother who is in hospice.

Ms Sandifer said: Im sure the club provided some footage. Thats on them, but everybody has cellphones nowaday. We need to get some suspects and hold them accountable.

Anyone with information can contact LAPDs West Bureau Homicide at (213)382-9470.
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This summer, Texas hasnt escaped the climate-crisis-driven heat waves that are cooking the rest of the country, with June bringing the highest temperatures ever recorded in the cities of Laredo, Del Rio, San Angelo, and Junction, while this July may be the hottest month in world history, according to climate scientists. And its even worse inside Texas prisons.

Roughly 70 out of the states 100 prisons dont have widespread air conditioning  many lack any form of AC  according to an investigation from Texas Tribune. This leaves inmates to suffer through heat so severe its often fatal, according to incarcerated people and criminal justice advocates.

I have lived without air conditioning in this cell for the past seven summers, Kwaneta Harris, who is housed at the Lane Murray Unit prison in Gatesville, wrote in The Appeal on Friday. I wasnt even allowed to shade my window from the sun. On a hot day in July, cells regularly reached 110 degrees.

Ms Harris said shes witnessed guards fainting and seen temperatures measured at 129F inside of the facility.

During heat waves, I pour tepid tap water on the cement floor and my underclothes and lie in it very still, she added in The Dallas Morning News earlier this month, as a heat dome continued to linger over Texas. Being sauteed wasnt part of my plea bargain.

(The facility recently added temporary AC devices for some inmates.)

At least 32 people died in Texas prisons during the month of June, nine of whom died of heart attacks in cells without air conditioning, Fox 7 Austin reports.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has not reported an official heat-related death since 2012, however, according to KXAN, owing to how it classifies fatalities.

An advocate for cooling Texas prisons walks past a makeshift cell during a rally on the steps of the Texas Capitol, Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Austin, Texas. The group is calling for an emergency special session to address the deadly heat effecting inmates. (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Outside studies, however, suggest that as many as 271 prisoners may have died of heat-related causes in Texas prisons without AC in the last two decades.

Advocates have pushed Texas, a state with both a $33bn surplus and one of the largest prison budgets in the country, to invest in more air conditioning for its prisons, which will continue to bake as the climate crisis worsens.

This year, a variety of bills in the Texas state legislature were proposed that would invest more in this life-saving technology, but none succeeded in passing the House and Senate. One bill HB 1708, which advanced from the House with bipartisan support, allocated $390m for such investment, but ultimately failed.

Were not talking about luxury. Were talking about literally making sure people have air that they can breathe and not have to struggle and end up dying on a cell floor because youve cooked them  thats the type of heat were talking about, Jennifer Toon, project director for Lioness: Justice Impacted Womens Alliance, told CNHI last month.

When people are sentenced to prison, we take away their freedom as the punishment for the crime. Theyre not sent there to be tortured or to suffer; their crime is answered by taking away their freedom, she added.

Earlier this month, activists put a mock prison cell up in front of the state capitol, ahead of testimony from family members of those who died in prison of what they argue are heat-related causes.

Theyre cooking our babies alive, said Tona Southards Naranjo, whose son Jon died in prison. Im mad.

Climate scientists warn that we are entering the era of global boiling, in which what were once record-breaking high temperatures will become commonplace, putting numerous people at risk.

Heatwaves are known as silent killers and kill more people than other forms of extreme weather driven by global heating.
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Cult mom Lori Vallow will now spend the rest of her life behind bars for the murders of her two youngest children and conspiracy to kill her new husband Chad Daybells first wife, bringing some sort of conclusion to the disturbing case that shook America to its core.

The 50-year-old convicted killer  who was once seen to be a loving mother  was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in Fremont County Courthouse in Idaho on Monday after her victims devastated family members gave heartwrenching victim impact statements to the court and Vallow herself gave a bizarre statement claiming that her victims were happy in heaven.

Vallow was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft over the deaths of her daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, and son Joshua JJ Vallow, 7, back in May.

She was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the death of Mr Daybells first wife Tammy, 49.

Judge Steven Boyce handed down five sentences of life without the possibility of parole for each of the five murder charges.

She was sentenced to 10 years for one count of grand theft.

This marks the harshest possible sentence after the death penalty was taken off the table ahead of trial.

JJ and Tylee vanished without a trace back in September 2019, with their mother refusing to reveal their whereabouts to both authorities and the childrens desperate family members.

One month later, Tammy  an otherwise healthy 49-year-old  also died suddenly. Her death was initially ruled natural causes.

This bizarre spate of disappearances and death came just months after Vallows fourth husband Charles Vallow was shot dead by Vallows brother Alex Cox in Arizona in July 2019.

With Vallows children and both of their spouses then out of the way, she and Mr Daybell embarked on a new life together  flying to Hawaii to get married in a fairytale wedding on the beach.

But, with months passing since the last signs of life of Vallows children, concerns continued to grow, prompting authorities to exhume Tammys body. A subsequent autopsy revealed that she had died by asphyxiation.

In June 2020  nine months after they were last seen alive  Tylee and JJs remains were found buried on the grounds of Mr Daybells property in Rexburg, Idaho.

Tylee Ryan and Joshua JJ Vallow (Family handout)

JJ, who had autism, had been smothered with a plastic bag taped over his face, his little body still dressed in a pair of red pyjamas. Tylees cause of death meanwhile has been impossible to establish as the teenagers dismembered, charred bones and body parts were found scattered in the ground on Mr Daybells pet cemetery.

Jurors in Ada County Court in Boise, Idaho, took almost seven hours to find Vallow guilty on all charges over the three murders after a grueling six-week trial where the panel heard harrowing details about the doomsday cult moms path of deadly destruction and were shown graphic images of the murdered childrens remains.

The state called over 60 witnesses to lay out its case that Vallow was motivated by both her cult beliefs but also lust for Mr Daybell and financial greed when she conspired with him and her brother Cox to kill the three victims.

Vallow declined to present any defence and also didnt take the stand to testify in her own defence.

At Mondays sentencing, she then shocked the court by breaking her silence for the first time over the horrific murders.

In the bizarre statement, the doomsday cult mom shockingly claimed that no one was murdered, read out a Bible quote, continued to channel her doomsday cult beliefs while claiming I have had many communications with Jesus Christ.

While her victims loved ones were forced to listen in horrorr, she claimed that she had communicated with her murdered children Tylee and JJ as well as her friend Tammy from beyond the grave  and that they are very happy.

Jesus Christ knows the truth. Jesus Christ knows no one was murdered in this case. Accidental deaths happened. Suicides happened. Fatal side effects of medications happened, she said.

Lori Vallow gives bizarre statement to the court (Reuters)

She claimed that she has had many communications from people in heaven and that because of these communications I know for a fact that my children are happy and busy in heaven.

Her bizarre statement came after she was confronted by her victims sobbing family members who branded her a monster and described her 1,841-day cruel campaign of terror in heartwrenching victim impact statements.

JJs grandmother Kay Woodcock broke down in tears as she said she will never understand how Vallow  who once appeared to be a caring, loving mother  could have murdered the son she chose to adopt.

The deplorable woman that chose to be his mother, the woman who five years earlier made the conscious decision to stand in front of a judge and swore to provide for, care, love and protect him, she sobbed.

Lori always showed her deepest appreciation that we gave her the greatest gift ever, being JJ, she said.

That same mother murdered [her son]... and I will never understand it.

Ms Woodcock is JJs biological grandmother and the sister of Vallows fourth husband Charles Vallow.

Lori Vallow in mugshot (Madison County Sheriffs Office)

Ms Woodcock began her statement by describing that: Today marks 1,481 days that have been filled with terror, she said.

One was the day that my brother was murdered.

In July 2019, Charles Vallow was shot dead by Vallows brother Alex Cox at her home in Arizona. Vallow is currently awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy to murder for Charles killing in Arizona.

This was the beginning of her cruel campaign of terror, said Ms Woodcock of his death.

Following Charles Vallows murder, Ms Woodcock said that she was fearful for JJ and Tylees safety.

When JJ and Tylee then went missing, she described 319 days of pure hell where she feared the worst  only for it to be realised when their remains were found in Mr Daybells backyard.

Nothing can describe the pure hell of not knowing where the children were, she said.

319 days from the last day we were allowed to be able to Facetime with JJ and the day we knew the children had been found, in Chad Daybells backyard, buried like animals.

Tammys sister Samantha Gwilliam also took the stand to deliver an emotional victim impact statement where she dismissed Vallows doomsday cult beliefs that she and Mr Daybell are exalted beings and that their victims were zombies or dark spirits.

Everyone knows what liars you are. They now know what horrible things you have done, she said.

You are not an exalted being. There is no huge event that is going to save you. No angels are coming to rescue you.

Instead, she said that Vallow will now spend her life behind bars.

Ms Gwilliam also read out a statement from her father Ronald Douglas who spoke of the eternal ramifications of Vallows actions on their family.

As well as taking away Tammy, Vallows actions had also torn apart the family that they still have left.

Listen: Family give emotional impact statements as Lori Vallow sentenced

Following Tammys murder and the chilling revelations that came out over the past three years, Tammys mothers health deteriorated significantly and she passed away.

Beyond that, Mr Douglas said that the family had also lost their relationship with Tammy and Mr Daybells five children  who he said have believed their fathers lies.

Sitting slouched cross-legged at the defence table, Vallow kept her head down and refused to look her victims devastated family members in the eyes as they gave their emotional impact statements.

Prosecutors asked the judge to give Vallow the maximum sentence of life in prison on each of the five murder charges, after the death penalty was taken off the table ahead of trial.

Meanwhile, Vallows attorney asked the judge to give her hope that the most hated woman in America could one day be free from prison.

Judge Boyce sided with the state, ordering her to spend the rest of her life behind bars.

While Vallow will now spend the rest of her life behind bars, her legal troubles are far from over.

Chad and Tammy Daybell before her death in October 2019 (Facebook)

Following her sentencing, she is expected to be extradited to Arizona where she is awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy to murder her fourth husband Charles Vallow and the attempted murder of her nieces husband Brandon Boudreaux.

Meanwhile, Mr Daybell is still awaiting trial for the murders of JJ, Tylee and Tammy  with a scheduled trial start date set for 1 April 2024.

But, the third person accused of being a co-conspirator in the case wont ever have his day in court.

On 11 December 2019  hours after Tammys body was exhumed  Cox died suddenly at the age of 51. His death was ruled natural causes, with indications of a blood clot wedged in the arteries of his lungs. However the overdose drug Narcan was also found in his system.
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Power. Money. Sex.

These are the three things that prosecutors say drove Lori Vallow to kill.

And theyre also the three things that experts say make up the playbook of a destructive cult.

All cult leaders are driven by those three things in that particular order, Steve Hassan, a world-renowned cult expert and former member of the Moonies cult, tells The Independent.

Power is number one, then two its money which is also used for control, and three is sex. Its the playbook of a cult leader.

Vallow soon earned the nickname the cult mom not long after her two youngest children Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua JJ Vallow, 7, disappeared in September 2019.

As the childrens other family members desperately searched for them  and begged Vallow to come clean about where they were  details about her doomsday cult beliefs began to emerge.

The 50-year-old mother-of-three had grown up in the Church of the Latter-day Saints (LDS) but, since meeting her new lover Chad Daybell, her beliefs had grown ever more extreme.

She believed she and Mr Daybell had been chosen for a religious mission to lead the 144,000 followers  that he was a prophet and she a goddess.

Her murder trial - which ended in a conviction for killing the kids and conspiring to kill Mr Daybells first wife Tammy - exposed how these beliefs grew increasingly fantastical and dangerous, invoking zombies, dark spirits and death.

Cult mom

At the trial, prosecutors said that Vallow, Mr Daybell and their inner circle believed in a rating system of light and dark with certain death percentages for how they ranked the spirits of the people around them.

Over time, this then evolved into the belief that some people had become zombies. And that the only way to get rid of the zombie was to destroy the human body it was in.

Shockingly, this included her two children.

Before their disappearances, Vallow had told friends that they had been taken over by dark spirits, and that Tylee was possessed by a demon named Hillary, according to courtroom testimony.

Chilling text messages sent to Mr Daybell revealed her complaining that: We r both so tired of taking care of demons. We are weary. Please ask the Lord to take them.

One month later, the children vanished.

It would be nine months later before both of their remains were discovered in the pet cemetery of Mr Daybells yard in Idaho.

Their final moments had clearly been brutal.

Lori Vallow talks with her lawyers before the jurys verdict is read at her murder trial (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Little JJ, still in his pyjamas, had been suffocated with a plastic bag wrapped around his head with tape, the scratch marks on his neck revealing the young boy desperately fought for his life.

Tylees cause of death may never be known as her body was hacked into pieces with a pickaxe and badly burned.

At her trial, a jury found Vallow guilty of murder and conspiracy to murder Tylee and JJ, after hearing how she, Mr Daybell (who is yet to stand trial) and Vallows brother Alex Cox (who is also now dead) conspired to kill them.

But the children werent the only victims as Vallows descent into extreme cult beliefs led to a trail of death and destruction in her wake.

Mr Daybells first wife Tammy and Vallows fourth husband Charles are also dead, while others  who testified to being shot at  appear to have had a lucky escape.

Its a tragic and shocking case that has horrified America for the last three years because of, not only the brutality of the murders, but the unanswered questions that remain around the role cult beliefs played in what happened.

After all, this was a woman who, by all accounts, had long been seen as a good and loving mother to her children.

Can a mother really be driven to kill her own two children  children she has raised and cared for their whole lives  by the power of a cult? Can cult beliefs really wield that much power?

Power of cults

Many of the most infamous cults have ended in murder or mass death.

The Manson Family murdered nine victims under the direction of their leader Charles Manson.

More than 918 people died in the Jonestown massacre.

A total of 39 Heavens Gate followers took their own lives under the belief that they would be beamed up to an alien spacecraft.

Dr Hassan knows the power a cult can have on a person all too well.

Back in 1974, the then-19-year-old was recruited into the Unification Church  also known as the Moonies cult. Under the cults leader Sun Myung Moon, he quit college and his job, handed over his bank account and believed his family were Satanic.

Tylee Ryan and Joshua JJ Vallow (Family handout)

I became a different person in the image of Moon and believed that the old Steve had fallen and was Satanic and that armageddon would happen, he tells The Independent.

For about two and a half years, there was no getting away.

Then, when he fell asleep at the wheel of a van due to sleep deprivation and nearly died, it actually saved him.

While spending two weeks in a hospital bed recovering from his injuries  away from the cults direct influence  his family arranged a deprogramming intervention.

At the end of it, I realised that Moon was a liar and if he was a liar then he wasnt trustworthy and if he wasnt trustworthy he couldnt be god on earth and my whole belief system collapsed, he says.

At the point that I had that realisation, I cried and said how did they do this to me? How could I believe these crazy things and turn my back on my friends and family?

But its this thinking that only certain types of people can be drawn into a cult or cult beliefs which can be dangerous, he says.

The public has unconscious bias that says when people try to understand other peoples behaviour they tend to overestimate the persons personality and underestimate the power of the situation, explains Dr Hassan.

So people think oh Steve must have got into the Moonies because his family were not nice, or he was looking for something in his life or something.

He adds: The biggest vulnerability is thinking that it could never happen to you.

Breaking down sense of identity

Dr Hassan explains that cults work by breaking down an individuals sense of identity.

Undue influence has been exerted in a systematic way to break down a persons sense of identity and build them back up in the image of their cult leader, he says.

Steven Hassan left the Moonies aged 22, and has since become a leading expert on cults and mind control (Supplied)

Wed like to believe that were rational beings but were not. Were emotional, social beings and we adapt to our environment to the information we receive from our environment.

Dr Hassan says that there are four components to what he describes as a destructive mind control cult: behaviour, information, thought, and emotional control.

Together, this creates dependency or obedience to the cult leader or cause, he explains.

In Vallows case, her progression towards more extreme beliefs didnt happen in a vacuum, he says.

Vallow and Mr Daybell had already grown up in the Church of the LDS.

Mr Daybell was a self-published author who wrote doomsday books loosely based on the teachings of the church and also ran a podcast based on his teachings. He claimed that he was a prophet.

Vallow always really took the church seriously, says her brother Adam Cox in his new podcast Tylee and JJs Silver Linings Podcast with his uncle Rex.

Mr Cox says his sister was fun growing up and that her marriage to Charles Vallow seemed great.

But, he says that in the lead-up to all the death and destruction, she had started to see herself as more spiritual.

It just feels like she started to pull away spiritually from where Charles was  her idea of spirituality, he says.

With Lori going down that road it was like a snowball she just kept on picking up different stuff and different stuff and different stuff she wanted to convince people the end of the world was coming she was doing food storage every moment it was getting bigger and bigger.

One question he says he is still trying to work out the answer to is who was the ringleader in Vallow and Mr Daybells relationship.

Leader or follower?

People ask was Lori brainwashed by Chad or Chad by Lori? he says.

Based on what Dr Hassan has seen about the case, he is also torn about who is likely the cult leader in this scenario.

Mr Daybell appears the obvious choice as someone who referred to himself as a prophet and given that, before the murders, Vallow was said to be a good mother who loved her children  and that things started getting crazy and weird after she met Mr Daybell.

But, based on other information that came out at trial, a different picture of Vallow has also emerged  one of a woman lacking empathy and being focused on transactional things and how they can help her, says Dr Hassan.

Chad Daybell at a court hearing (Post Register)

That profile of her as a malignant narcissist is characteristic of a cult leader, he says.

They are narcissists who think theyre above the law, pathological liars, sadistic, paranoid.

So if Lori is a narcissist and lacks empathy and then she meets Chad and theyre convinced they have a sacred mission together how much was she influenced by him and how much was he influenced by her?

My guess  and its just speculation  is that if the Lori before Chad loved her kids and was a pretty good mom and wanted to do good choices for them then what would lead her to agree to kill them or think theyre possessed? We have to look at what are the sources of influence? Chad is an obvious choice.

Its an argument Vallows attorneys tried to push in their closing statement at her trial, arguing that she was a good mom whose life fell apart after meeting religious leader Mr Daybell.

One year after meeting Chad, four people are dead, her attorney told jurors.

Why cant people escape religious leaders? Why cant Lori escape and get back to her good mom life?... But is Lori a leader or a follower of Chad? She so wants to be a leader but shes not leading anyone.

Leader or follower, brainwashed or brainwasher, it doesnt change her accountability for the fact that children JJ and Tylee and mother-of-five Tammy are now dead.

If Lori truly believed she was on a mission from god and that they were all zombies and the kids werent her kids anymore but were just demons in their bodies, then she may have thought she was not killing her kids, says Dr Hassan.

[But] if she was involved in killing her children then she is guilty are there aggravating circumstances? Maybe  but shes still guilty.

Yet, there are other questions around the power that cult beliefs may have played in Vallows killer prowess.

While her bizarre cult beliefs were laid out at trial, so too was the level of planning and conspiring that went into the murders.

On the one hand, Vallow appeared to be preparing for the end of the world based on her bizarre doomsday beliefs.

On the other, she was researching life insurance policies for her children, stealing their social security and survivor benefits and preparing to embark on a new life in Hawaii with Mr Daybell.

In the month before Tylees murder, trial testimony showed that the teens social security benefits were changed to be payable into her mothers bank account instead of her own and the mother and daughter then opened a joint account.

Lori Vallow smiles as she leaves a court hearing (AP)

Less than a month later, Tylee was dead  with all the funds now going straight to her mother.

A similar pattern then unfolded in the days leading up to JJs murder.

Following their murders, the couple then eloped to Hawaii and got married on a beach  a wedding that online searches reveal they had been planning for at least six months (when Tammy was alive and well).

It all comes back to those three key components of the cult playbook.

As prosecutors said in both opening and closing statements of her murder trial: Money, power, and sex  thats what this case is about.

Whether that involves Vallow being under the spell of a cult, being a narcissistic cult leader or simply the drive of her own conscious desires is still a mystery.
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Ever since authorities began searching for Lori Vallows children in late 2019, the case of the doomsday cult mom has captivated  and horrified  the nation.

Four people close to Vallow and her husband Chad Daybell have been murdered.

Others are also now mysteriously dead.

And beliefs about zombies, dark spirits and the apocalypse have come to light.

The bizarre and tragic case came to a head in a courtroom in Boise, Idaho, where Vallow was convicted of all charges in the murders of her children Joshua JJ Vallow, seven; Tylee Ryan, 16; and Mr Daybells first wife Tammy Daybell.

On 12 May, the jury took less than seven hours to find Vallow guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft over the deaths of Tylee and JJ.

She was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the death of Mr Daybells first wife Tammy, 49.

Dressed in a black suit, with her blonde hair down in waves around her shoulders, Vallow stood between her two attorneys as the verdict was read out. She showed no reaction as she learned that the jury had returned a verdict of guilty on all charges.

Vallow was sentenced to life in prison without parole on 31 July.

JJ and Tylee vanished without a trace back in September 2019, with their mother refusing to reveal their whereabouts to authorities for many months.

One month after they were last seen alive, Tammy  an otherwise healthy 49-year-old  died suddenly. Her cause of death has since been ruled asphyxiation.

Vallow and Mr Daybell soon jetted off to Hawaii to get married on the beach.

In June 2020, the remains of JJ and Tylee were found buried on the grounds of Mr Daybells property in Rexburg, Idaho, and the doomsday cult couple were eventually charged with murder.

Prosecutors alleged that Vallow and Mr Daybell conspired with Vallows brother Alex Cox to murder Tammy, JJ and Tylee as part of their bizarre cult beliefs  but also for financial purposes so that they could collect Tammys life insurance money and the childrens social security and survivor benefits.

New harrowing and bizarre details about the cult beliefs which drove  or excused  the 49-year-old came to light during her murder trial in Ada County Courthouse.

But, beyond the trial testimony, there was also some bizarre happenings taking place inside the courtroom.

Lori Vallow falls asleep

During a harrowing day of testimony on 11 April, the woman on trial for murder raised eyebrows when she appeared to fall asleep in the middle of proceedings.

That day, the court heard harrowing testimony about the state of JJ and Tylees remains when they were found buried on Mr Daybells property.

While jurors gasped and the victims families sobbed, Vallow asked to waive her right to be present in the courtroom, citing her mental state.

The judge denied the request and Vallow had to attend the remainder of the day  where jurors were shown graphic images of the childrens remains.

She appeared to try to avoid looking at the photos, casting her head down most of the time, reporters in the courtroom said.

Then  at one point  she appeared to fall asleep.

Gigi McKelvey, a Law & Crime journalist, told NewsNation that Vallow seemed to be asleep for a solid 30 minutes.

She speculated that Ms Vallow may have been medicated after her apparent distress over the harrowing testimony.

Lori Vallows three words to her surviving son

Mother-of-three Vallow was spotted mouthing three words to her only surviving son as he took the witness stand to testify against her at her murder trial.

Colby Ryan, 27, testified about his sister Tylee and brother JJ and how his mother had lied to him about their whereabouts.

Jurors heard a phone call where Mr Ryan confronted his mother about killing his siblings and posing as Tylee on her cellphone.

When he took the stand, Vallow was seen mouthing oh my baby to her son.

Confiscated phones and noise complaints

On multiple occasions, the court bailiff aired issues with noises  from reporters typing too loudly to spectators rustling candy wrappers.

On 13 April, at least three people had their phones confiscated, including one for an alarm sounding, reported The New York Posts Stephanie Pagones.

She revealed that members of the media had also been told off for typing too loudly in the courtroom.

On 20 April, East Idaho News reporter Nate Eaton tweeted that the bailiff reminded everyone about courtroom conduct including saving any whispering for breaks and to minimize candy wrapper crinkling.

If you have a Lifesaver fetish, please open your candy now, the bailiff said.

But the bailiff seemed to win over the courtroom.

By the end of the trial, he had earned the nickname of courtroom daddy.
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Nearly four years after Lori Vallow killed her two children, the doomsday cult mom is expected to be sentenced to spend the rest of her life behind bars.

Following much delay caused by the Covid pandemic and procedural hurdles, Fremont County District Judge Steven Boyce is expected to hand down 50-year-old Vallows sentence at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, on Monday.

Vallow was found guilty in May of killing her seven-year-old son Joshua JJ Vallow and 16-year-old daughter Tylee Ryan sometime in late 2019 and taking their security benefits. She was also convicted of conspiring to kill her husband Chad Daybells first wife Tammy that year.

The childrens bodies were found in June 2020 at a pet cemetery in Mr Daybells residence. Tylees remains were discovered burned, while JJ was strangled to death and found still in his pyjamas and with a plastic bag over his head and duct tape over his mouth.

Vallows sentencing may mark the end of her legal saga in Idaho but her husband will be tried later this year on the same charges that she was convicted of  Vallow is also facing charges of conspiring to kill in the death of her fourth husband Charles Vallow in Arizona.

Evidence introduced during the six-week trial included bizarre testimony from family members that she called her son and daughter zombies and said she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.

Vallow and Mr Daybell apparently believed in an ability to use their minds to cast out demons from people and work on them.

The convicted child killer is expected to be sentenced to life in prison. However, Mr Daybell is facing the death penalty in the case.

Vallow has been held at Madison County Jail ahead of sentencing but will be transferred to the custody of the Idaho Department of Correction and then expected to be relocated to the Pocatello Womens Correctional Center, according to KTVB.

Mr Daybell and Vallow were slated to stand trial together before Judge Boyce ruled in March that the cases would be severed.

Four family members are expected to give victim impact statements at Vallows sentencing, according to previously submitted requests to the court following Idaho law. Vallows only surviving son 27-year-old Colby Ryan and her sister Summer Shiflet are expected to deliver their statements.

JJs grandmother Kay Woodcock and Tammy Daybells aunt Vicki Hoban are also expected to address the court during sentencing. Vallows defence attorneys will also have an opportunity to speak on her behalf.

Tylee Ryan and Joshua JJ Vallow were killed some time in late 2019 (Family handout)

Once Vallow is sentenced, Arizona prosecutors are expected to submit requests for extradition.

In Maricopa County, she has been charged with conspiracy to kill her fourth husband Charles Vallow, who was shot dead by Vallows brother Alex Cox, on July 11 2019.

JJ and Tylee then vanished without a trace back in September 2019, with their mother refusing to reveal their whereabouts to authorities for many months.

Vallow was found guilty of killing her children (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

One month after the children were last seen alive, Tammy  Mr Daybells wife and an otherwise healthy 49-year-old  died suddenly and Vallow and Mr Daybell soon jetted off to Hawaii to get married on the beach.

In June 2020, the remains of JJ and Tylee were found buried on the grounds of Mr Daybells property in Rexburg, Idaho, and the doomsday cult couple were eventually charged with murder.

Prosecutors argued that Vallow and Mr Daybell conspired with Cox to murder Tammy, JJ and Tylee as part of their bizarre cult beliefs  but also for financial purposes so that they could collect Tammys life insurance money and the childrens social security and survivor benefits.
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A sobbing Lori Vallow shockingly claimed that no one was murdered as she broke her silence for the first time over the horrific murders of her two children and her lovers wife in a chilling statement at sentencing.

In the bizarre remarks, the so-called cult mom read out a Bible quote, spoke of visiting heaven and continued to channel her doomsday cult beliefs while claiming I have had many communications with Jesus Christ.

While her victims loved ones were forced to listen in horror, she claimed that she had communicated with her murdered children Tylee Ryan and Joshua JJ Vallow as well as her friend Tammy Daybell from beyond the grave  and that they are very happy.

Jesus Christ knows the truth. Jesus Christ knows no one was murdered in this case. Accidental deaths happened. Suicides happened. Fatal side effects of medications happened, she said.

She claimed that she has had many communications from people in heaven and that because of these communications I know for a fact that my children are happy and busy in heaven.

The 50-year-old convicted killer appeared in Fremont County Courthouse in Idaho on Monday morning to be sentenced for the murders of her two youngest children Tylee, 16, and JJ, 7, and conspiracy to murder her new husband Chad Daybells first wife Tammy.

Sitting slouched cross-legged at the defence table, Vallow kept her head down and refused to look her victims devastated family members in the eyes as they gave heartwrenching impact statements to the court and as prosecutors asked that she spent the rest of her life behind bars with no chance of parole.

In a defence statement, Vallows attorney John Thomas asked the judge to give her hope that the most hated woman in America could one day be free from prison.

Following the statements, Vallow was asked if she had anything to say.

In a bombshell move, she chose to address the court  giving her first comments ever about the murders of the three victims.

Dressed in an orange striped prison jumpsuit, Vallow instantly began quoting from the Bible passage John 8:7: He that is without sin among you, let him first cast the stone.

This photo of Tylee Ryan and her brother Joshua JJ Vallow with their uncle Alex Cox was taken days before they were killed (Handout)

Speaking to the court, she said that Jesus knows me and Jesus understands me and claimed that I mourn with all of you who mourn my children and Tammy.

Vallow claimed that she died when she gave birth to her daughter Tylee and that her spirit left her body.

From then on, she knew heaven was her real home and she had had many visits from people in the spirit world.

As I stood in heaven, I did not want to go back because I was peaceful and happy and home. But then I was told by Jesus that I needed to go back that I had covenanted or promised to do before I was born, she said.

I knew heaven was my real home... I knew what I needed to do, she said, saying she then returned to her body.

I am homesick for heaven everyday. Heaven is more wonderful than you can ever possibly imagine.

From then on, she claimed that she has had many communications with people in heaven.

Since her childrens deaths, she said that they had both visited her.

JJ  who was smothered to death with a plastic bag tied around his head with tape  visited her and told her you didnt do anything wrong mom, she said.

The seven-year-old came to her as an adult spirit and was very, very tall, she said.

Meanwhile, Tylee  whose body was so badly burned and dismembered that it was impossible to determine cause of death  had long suffered with both ill-health and alleged sexual abuse, she said.

I am the only person on this earth who knows how much Tylee suffered in her life, she said.

She had pain every single day. She never felt good. Her body did not work right.

She went on to claim that Tammy was my wonderful friend and that the 49-year-old woman  who was murdered in her bed weeks before Vallow fled to Hawaii to marry her husband Mr Daybell  had also visited her since her killing.

Because of communication with my friend Tammy Daybell, I know she is very happy and extremely busy, she said.

Vallow said that she looks forward to when she can join them in the arms of Jesus.

Following her shocking statement, Judge Steven Boyce handed down his sentence, ordering her to spend the rest of her life behind bars.

She was handed five life sentences without parole for each murder charge and 10 years for one count of grand theft.

Vallow was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft over the deaths of her daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, and son Joshua JJ Vallow, 7, back in May.

She was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the death of Mr Daybells first wife Tammy, 49.

Chad and Tammy Daybell before her death in October 2019 (Facebook)

JJ and Tylee vanished without a trace in September 2019  sparking fears for their safety from desperate family members all the while Vallow refused to say where they were.

One month later, Tammy  an otherwise healthy 49-year-old  also died suddenly. Her death was initially ruled natural causes.

This bizarre spate of disappearances and death came just months after Vallows fourth husband Charles Vallow was shot dead by Vallows brother Alex Cox in Arizona in July 2019.

With Vallows children and both of their spouses then out of the way, she and Mr Daybell embarked on a new life together  flying to Hawaii to get married in a fairytale wedding on the beach.

But, with months passing since the last signs of life of Vallows children, concerns continued to grow, prompting authorities to exhume Tammys body. A subsequent autopsy revealed that she had died by asphyxiation.

In June 2020  nine months after they were last seen alive  Tylee and JJs remains were found buried on the grounds of Mr Daybells property in Rexburg, Idaho.

JJ, who had autism, had been smothered with a plastic bag taped over his face, his little body still dressed in a pair of red pyjamas. Tylees cause of death meanwhile has been impossible to establish as the teenagers dismembered, charred bones and body parts were found scattered in the ground on Mr Daybells pet cemetery.

Jurors in Ada County Court in Boise, Idaho, took almost seven hours to find Vallow guilty on all charges over the three murders after a grueling six-week trial where the panel heard harrowing details about the doomsday cult moms path of deadly destruction and were shown graphic images of the murdered childrens remains.

Lori Vallow slouches in her chair at her sentencing hearing (Law & Crime)

The state called over 60 witnesses to lay out its case that Vallow was motivated by both her cult beliefs but also lust for Mr Daybell and financial greed when she conspired with him and her brother Cox to kill the three victims.

In a bombshell move, Vallows attorneys declined to present any defence case or call any witnesses and the cult mom chose not to take the stand to give her side of the story.

Vallows legal troubles and the chilling case are far from over.

Following her sentencing, she is expected to be extradited to Arizona where she is awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy to murder her fourth husband Charles Vallow and the attempted murder of her nieces husband Brandon Boudreaux.

Meanwhile, Mr Daybell is still awaiting trial for the murders of JJ, Tylee and Tammy  with a scheduled trial start date set for 1 April 2024.

But, the third person accused of being a co-conspirator in the case wont ever have his day in court.

On 11 December 2019  hours after Tammys body was exhumed  Cox died suddenly at the age of 51. His death was ruled natural causes, with indications of a blood clot wedged in the arteries of his lungs. However the overdose drug Narcan was also found in his system.
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Cult mom Lori Vallow was confronted by her victims sobbing family members at her sentencing hearing where they branded her a monster and described her 1,841-day cruel campaign of terror.

The 50-year-old convicted killer appeared in Fremont County Courthouse in Idaho on Monday morning to be sentenced for the murders of her two youngest children Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua JJ Vallow, 7, and conspiracy to murder her new husband Chad Daybells first wife Tammy Daybell.

Sitting slouched cross-legged at the defence table, Vallow kept her head down and refused to look her victims devastated family members in the eyes as they gave heartwrenching impact statements to the court.

JJs grandmother Kay Woodcock broke down in tears as she said she will never understand how Vallow  who once appeared to be a caring, loving mother  could have murdered the son she chose to adopt.

The deplorable woman that chose to be his mother, the woman who five years earlier made the conscious decision to stand in front of a judge and swore to provide for, care, love and protect him, she sobbed.

Lori always showed her deepest appreciation that we gave her the greatest gift ever, being JJ, she said.

That same mother murdered [her son]... and I will never understand it.

Ms Woodcock is JJs biological grandmother and the sister of Vallows fourth husband Charles Vallow.

She told the court how when JJ was born, he spent time in the NICU and was born with drugs in his system because his parents struggled with substance abuse.

She described her joy as she and her husband Larry Woodcock took in JJ as their own son because his parents couldnt care for him.

They loved every minute of raising him, she said, describing that time as priceless.

But, around a year later, Vallow and Charles Vallow adopted the little boy.

Sobbing, Ms Woodcock said that they all believed that would be best for JJ  who had autism  so he could grow up with younger, more energetic parents who had greater access to the resources he needed.

Lori Vallow appears for her sentencing hearing (Law & Crime)

Describing Vallow as a caring mother to JJ, Ms Woodcock said it was even more mind-blowing that the woman who chose to be his mother could a few years later be the same person to murder him.

I knew it was the best thing for him. I knew she [Lori] would always be 1000 percent involved in his care... that is part of why this is so hard  how could someone [do this]... its mind-blowing and I will never understand it, she said.

Ms Woodcock went on to speak of 16-year-old Tylee and how close the teenager was to her younger brother.

It warmed our hearts seeing her and JJ together, she said.

The love they had for each other is evident in the last photo they have with each other, she added, referring to the final photo of Tylee alive  an image of her taken on a trip to Yellowstone National Park with Cox, Vallow and JJ.

Ms Woodcock began her statement by reeling off a list of numbers and said they are more than numbers.

Today marks 1,481 days that have been filled with terror, she said.

One was the day that my brother was murdered.

In July 2019, Charles Vallow was shot dead by Vallows brother Alex Cox at her home in Arizona. Vallow is currently awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy to murder for Charles killing in Arizona.

This was the beginning of her cruel campaign of terror, said Ms Woodcock of his death.

Ms Woodcock said that Vallows killing spree all began with greed as she sought to get a $1m life insurance policy following Charles Vallows death. She said she would have given her the money if she could only have just let JJ and Tylee live.

I would have given her the money. She could have let JJ and Tylee live and have $1m, she said.

She could have been free to be Chads mistress and foot the bill with money from spilled blood. JJ and Tylee could have lived with us and had wonderful lives.

Lori Vallow pictured in mugshot (Madison County Sheriffs Office)

Following Charles Vallows murder, Ms Woodcock said that she was fearful for JJs safety as Vallow cut off contact but as her grandparent she said that  legally  she had no rights to step in and take him into her care.

When JJ and Tylee then went missing, she described 319 days of pure hell where she feared the worst  only for it to be realised when their remains were found in Mr Daybells backyard.

Nothing can describe the pure hell of not knowing where the children were, she said.

319 days from the last day we were allowed to be able to Facetime with JJ and the day we knew the children had been found, in Chad Daybells backyard, buried like animals.

Vallows only surviving child Colby Ryan also gave a statement, read out by prosecutors, where he spoke of how much he and his siblings had lost as a result of his mothers actions.

Ive watched everything crumble and shredded to pieces, he said, speaking about all the things that Tylee and JJ will now never experience after their lives were cut short.

Tammys sister Samantha Gwilliam also took the stand to deliver an emotional victim impact statement where she dismissed Vallows doomsday cult beliefs that she and Mr Daybell are exalted beings and that their victims were zombies or dark spirits.

You are a liar, an adultress and a murderer, she told her.

I am not a dark person or a zombie. For me and my family to be presented that way is unacceptable, she said.

Everyone knows what liars you are. They now know what horrible things you have done.

You are not an exalted being. There is no huge event that is going to save you. No angels are coming to rescue you.

Instead, she said that Vallow will now spend her life behind bars.

Ms Gwilliam also read out a statement from her father Ronald Douglas who spoke of the eternal ramifications of Vallows actions on their family.

Tylee Ryan and Joshua JJ Vallow (Family handout)

As well as taking away Tammy, Vallows actions had also torn apart the family that they still have left.

Following Tammys murder and the chilling revelations that came out over the past three years, Tammys mothers health deteriorated significantly and she passed away.

Beyond that, Mr Douglas said that the family had also lost their relationship with Tammy and Mr Daybells five children  who he said have believed their fathers lies.

In her victim impact statement, Tammys aunt Vicki Hoban slammed Vallows shameful conduct during the murder trial, calling her out for smirking, smiling, giggling, talking  something that was extremely disrespectful to watch.

She said it was now time for Tammys story, and not Vallows.

Tammy was beloved. There will be a huge void in our life. This is Tammys story. She was a mom, a grandma, a niece, a friend, a librarian, she said.

More than a librarian, she was a teacher. Her last days went to preparing a bookfair for underserved children.

The night she was killed, she said she imagines Tammy went to bed with no idea what the plan was for that night.

Unbeknownst to her, Lori had already killed two of her children. Tammy was already on her list of obstacles, she said.

Instead of a good nights sleep, Tammy was brutally executed in her own bed. She was taken from us by murdering thieves.

While Vallow did not look at the victims families as they spoke, she shocked the court by breaking her silence for the first time about the murders.

In the bizarre statement, the doomsday cult mom shockingly claimed that no one was murdered, read out a Bible quote, continued to channel her doomsday cult beliefs while claiming I have had many communications with Jesus Christ.

While her victims loved ones were forced to listen in horrorr, she claimed that she had communicated with Tylee and JJ as well as her friend Tammy from beyond the grave  and that they are very happy.

Jesus Christ knows the truth. Jesus Christ knows no one was murdered in this case. Accidental deaths happened. Suicides happened. Fatal side effects of medications happened, she said.

She claimed that she has had many communications from people in heaven and that because of these communications I know for a fact that my children are happy and busy in heaven.

Prosecutors asked the judge to give Vallow the maximum sentence of life in prison on each of the five murder charges, after the death penalty was taken off the table ahead of trial.

Meanwhile, Vallows attorney asked the judge to give her hope that the most hated woman in America could one day be free from prison.

Judge Steven Boyce sided with the state, ordering her to spend the rest of her life behind bars.

She was handed five life sentences for each murder charge and 10 years for one count of grand theft.

Her sentencing comes after Vallow was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft over the deaths of Tylee and JJ, and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in Tammys death.

JJ and Tylee vanished without a trace in September 2019  sparking fears for their safety from desperate family members all the while Vallow refused to say where they were.

One month later, Tammy  an otherwise healthy 49-year-old  also died suddenly. Her death was initially ruled natural causes.

Chad and Tammy Daybell before her death in October 2019 (Facebook)

This bizarre spate of disappearances and death came just months after Vallows fourth husband Charles Vallow was shot dead by Vallows brother Alex Cox in Arizona in July 2019.

With Vallows children and both of their spouses then out of the way, she and Mr Daybell embarked on a new life together  flying to Hawaii to get married in a fairytale wedding on the beach.

But, with months passing since the last signs of life of Vallows children, concerns continued to grow, prompting authorities to exhume Tammys body. A subsequent autopsy revealed that she had died by asphyxiation.

In June 2020  nine months after they were last seen alive  Tylee and JJs remains were found buried on the grounds of Mr Daybells property in Rexburg, Idaho.

JJ, who had autism, had been smothered with a plastic bag taped over his face, his little body still dressed in a pair of red pyjamas. Tylees cause of death meanwhile has been impossible to establish as the teenagers dismembered, charred bones and body parts were found scattered in the ground on Mr Daybells pet cemetery.

Jurors in Ada County Court in Boise, Idaho, took almost seven hours to find Vallow guilty on all charges over the three murders after a grueling six-week trial where the panel heard harrowing details about the doomsday cult moms path of deadly destruction and were shown graphic images of the murdered childrens remains.

The state called over 60 witnesses to lay out its case that Vallow was motivated by both her cult beliefs but also lust for Mr Daybell and financial greed when she conspired with him and her brother Cox to kill the three victims.

In a bombshell move, Vallows attorneys declined to present any defence case or call any witnesses and the cult mom chose not to take the stand to give her side of the story.

Vallows legal troubles and the chilling case are far from over.

Following her sentencing, she is expected to be extradited to Arizona where she is awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy to murder her fourth husband Charles Vallow and the attempted murder of her nieces husband Brandon Boudreaux.

Meanwhile, Mr Daybell is still awaiting trial for the murders of JJ, Tylee and Tammy  with a scheduled trial start date set for 1 April 2024.

But, the third person accused of being a co-conspirator in the case wont ever have his day in court.

On 11 December 2019  hours after Tammys body was exhumed  Cox died suddenly at the age of 51. His death was ruled natural causes, with indications of a blood clot wedged in the arteries of his lungs. However the overdose drug Narcan was also found in his system.
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New details of CashApp founder Bob Lees final moments were revealed at a preliminary court hearing for murder suspect Nima Momeni in San Francisco on Monday.

The San Francisco prosecutors office began laying out its murder case against Mr Momeni, 38, who was charged with stabbing the 43-year-old tech entrepreneur to death while driving through San Franciscos Rincon Hill neighbourhood on 4 April.

Cedric Hood, a San Francisco Police Department officer, told the hearing that he responded to a 911 call to find Lee bleeding uncontrollably from stab wounds to his chest and the hip, according to KRON4.

He was unresponsive, Mr Hood said.

Mr Hood told the court he had been informed by another officer that a homeless man was sleeping near garbage cans about 40 feet away, according to the San Francisco Standard.

The homeless man appeared incoherent when questioned by police, Mr Hood told the court.

Mr Momeni hired high-profile defence attorneys Saam Zangeneh and Bradford Cohen in May after his previous lawyer Paula Canny withdrew from the case, citing a conflict of interest.

The defence sought to cast doubt on the thoroughness of the police investigation.

Mr Zangeneh told reporters outside court that police had failed to properly question the homeless man.

Crime scene investigator Rosalyn Check told the court that he examined a blood stain drip trail along the sidewalks of Harrison and Main streets where Lee had staggered after he was attacked, according to KRON4.

A four-inch silver kitchen knife with a black handle was found near the blood trail inside a locked California Department of Transportation parking lot, Ms Check said.

Nima Momeni, the man charged in the fatal stabbing of Cash App founder Bob Lee, makes his way into the courtroom for his arraignment in San Francisco on 2 May (AP)

When asked by Mr Zangeneh whether any blood was found inside of Mr Momenis BMW, Ms Check said she was not involved with that part of the investigation, according to KRON4.

Under cross-examination by Mr Zangeneh, Ms Check agreed the knife found near the murder scene appeared to be old.

Mr Zangeneh also asked about a bag of cocaine that was found in Lees hotel room.

The preliminary hearing is expected to last two days, after which Judge Harry Dorfman will rule whether there is sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial.

Mr Momeni appeared in court wearing an orange prison-issue jumpsuit. His mother Mahnaz Tayarani was in court. Lees ex-wife Krista Lee, father Rick and brother Tim Lee also attended the hearing, according to the Standard.

Prosecutors allege Mr Momeni stabbed Lee after the pair argued about Lees romantic involvement with his sister Khazar Momeni.

Cash App creator Bob Lee was found bleeding uncontrollably from stab wounds to his chest and the hip by police (MobileCoin)

Surveillance footage captured the stabbing and events leading up to the altercation. Footage from around 2am that night allegedly showed the victim and suspect getting into Mr Momenis car and driving to the secluded area where Lee was killed.

Mr Momeni was arrested at his home in Emeryville on 13 April.

He has pleaded not guilty to murder, and his former attorney previously insisted that the stabbing was accidental and in self-defence.

An autopsy showed Lee sustained knife wounds that pierced his heart and lung.

In April, it emerged that Mr Momeni was cited but not charged in a 2022 domestic battery case.

Mr Momeni also had previous run-ins with police, including a dismissed misdemeanour charge for driving under the influence in 2004 and charges of driving with a suspended license and selling a switchblade in 2011 which were later dropped.
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Nothing could have prepared Tara Pakanich for what she encountered in the early morning hours of 23 February 2022. Inside a green bucket covered with a shower towel at her home in Green Bay, Wisconsin, was the mutilated head of her 24-year-old son Shad Thyrion.

Thyrions torso, penis and carved-out organs were later found by law enforcement in her basement. The gruesome nature of the murder was on full display in court this week as Taylor Schabusiness went on trial charged with his murder.

On Wednesday, a jury took just 30 minutes to convict her on all counts of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse and third-degree sexual assault in Thyrions death. Now, she faces life in prison as the death penalty is not legal in Wisconsin.

Schabusiness, 25, and her victim knew each other since middle school and had been involved in a sexual relationship, she told law enforcement. On the fateful day of Thyrions death, they had been consuming methamphetamines and prescription drugs.

Taylor Schabusiness scowls as shes convicted of killing and dismembering lover

But despite Schabusiness attempts to enter not-guilty pleas for reason of insanity, prosecutors honed in on the atrocious evidence they said suggested premeditation.

Over the course of the three-day trial, jurors heard about Schabusiness online searches for Jeffrey Dahmer walking into court all sexy as well as how she allegedly preserved Thyrions blood and then showered with it before recounting to detectives how much she liked strangling him.

Throughout the proceedings, she also attacked her own lawyer and was seen smirking as gruesome details about the murder are mentioned.

Heres everything we know about the case:

The murder

According to a criminal complaint filed by prosecutors, Schabusiness picked up Thyrion from her mothers home around 9.30pm on 21 February 2022. A friend of the couple joined them before they headed to an apartment where the three smoked marijuana.

Schabusiness told police that she and Thyrion also smoked methamphetamine and injected Trazodone. Schabusiness and Thyrion eventually returned to his mothers home and spent the day there while Ms Pakanich was away.

The alleged murderer claimed in an interview with police that she and Thyrion used chains to choke one another as foreplay. This time, she said, she and Thyrion put metal chains on each other.

Thyrion reportedly laid face down in bed before Schabusiness went crazy and repeatedly choked him despite the fact that he was coughing blood and turned purple.

Green Bay Police Detective David Graf testified in court that Schabusiness allegedly admitted to enjoying the ordeal.

Her response was that she liked it, Detective Graf said, according to local news station WBAY.

Taylor Schabusiness (Taylor Schabusiness/GBPD)

Schabusiness allegedly went on to tell law enforcement that she continued having sex with the dead body for a period of time because she enjoyed it and then gathered kitchen knives with the intention to dismember Thyrion and keep all his body parts, but she got lazy, according to theGreen Bay Press-Gazette.

Detective Graf said that Schabusiness proceeded to use a bucket and a tote bag to collect Thyrons blood, which she then used to shower with. Dane County Medical Examiner Dr Vincent Tranchida also testified in court about the lack of blood on the scene of the murder.

We have decapitation, we have dismemberment, we have transection of the torso, subsequently internally the body has been eviscerated. In other words, we have entered inside the body through various cuts through the abdomen and between the ribs where the victims organs have been removed, largely one by one, he told jurors.

Dr Tranchida also said that one of Thyrions feet had been shoved into his chest cavity and that his back was filleted.

Decapitated head found by Thyrions mother

Ms Pakanich told the court on Monday that she was woken up by a knock on her front door around 2.30am on 23 February 2022. She went to the basement to check whether Thyrion was there and after not finding him, she went back upstairs and found the bucket with part of her sons remains inside.

Ms Pakanichs boyfriend Steve Hendricks then called 911. Bodycam video of the officers responding to the scene shows them searching the basement of the home and securing the crime scene after confirming that a human head was inside the bucket.

Shad Thyrion (Shad Thyrion/FB)

I went downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs, to the right, there was a green bucket with a shower towel on top of it. Just to verify we had an actual head in the bucket, lifted the towel off and there was in fact a human head severed head in the bucket, Green Bay police officer Alex Wanish testified during the trial.

The rest of Thyrions body parts were found placed inside plastic bags and cardboard boxes in the basement and in a minivan at the property.

Schabusinness told police they would had fun trying to find all of the organs

Schabusiness had been previously convicted of unrelated fleeing, eluding and obstructing a police officer charges. She was sentenced to three months in jail in January 2022, but it is unclear whether she was under home arrest or work release at the time of Thyrions murder.

Following testimony from Thyrions mother, authorities eventually located Schabusiness, who had removed a GPS tracker from her ankle.

Detective Graf testified that Schabusiness had initially claimed to have blacked out while choking Thyrion, but then allegedly admitted thinking that she regained consciousness and thought she was already this far so she just kept on, referring to choking the victim.

Taylor Schabusiness returns to a Brown County courtroom after attacking her attorney Quinn Jolly, during a hearing in Green Bay, Wis., Feb. 14, 2023.

The criminal complaint also read: Schabusiness stated she thought it took 3-5 minutes for the Victim to die. Detective Kempf clarified with Schabusiness that when the Victim began to cough up blood she just did keep on choking the Victim because she wanted to see what happens.

Schabusiness stated she enjoyed choking him and made comments to detectives asking if they knew what it was like to love something so much that you kill it.

Schabusiness allegedly indicated the crime scene and told officers that they would have fun trying to find all of the organs.

Schabusiness entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity entered by her former attorney.

Last year, a physician appointed by the court found that she was able to stand trial. Her attorney said at that time that Schabusiness has been diagnosed as bipolar in the past and that she had been getting mental health treatment since she was in the seventh grade.

Woman attacks lawyer in court whilst standing for trial for killing lover

However, Brown County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Walsh ruled in March that Schabusiness was competent to stand trial.

In February, Schabusiness attacked her previous attorney during a court hearing before a deputy wrestled her to the courtroom floor.

Schabusinesss current attorney filed a motion to exclude evidence of searches Schabusines made before the murder, including Jeffrey Dahmer walking into court all sexy and Jeffrey Dahmers butt. Judge Walsh ruled that the evidence can be admitted in court, but no mention should be made of her searches for satanism.

He thought of others before himself

According to his obituary, Thyrion worked with his father and grandfather in the family business.

Shad enjoyed camping, games, and spending time with his family, the obituary read. He was a very kind and compassionate person who often thought of others before himself. A talented artist, he also enjoyed wood carving.

Sixteen jurors were selected last week, following Judge Walshs ruling that Schabusiness can help in her defence.

The panel took just over half an hour to return a verdict of guilty on all charges.
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The mother of a Tennessee man who drowned after fleeing from police is suing the officers who allegedly watched him struggle in the water for 13 minutes while doing nothing to save his life.

Kimberly Williams-Clabo claimed in the lawsuit that four Knoxville Police Department officers prevented witnesses from going to the aid of Mika Wheeler Clabo, 30, as he became caught on vines in the Tennessee River last July.

Ms Williams-Clabo accused the City of Knoxville, its police chief and the officers of violating her sons civil rights in the $4m lawsuit filed exactly one year after his death in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

Mika deserved better than what he got  from people who were supposed to be first responders, her attorney Lance Baker told the Washington Post.

The first responders were essentially bystanders looking on.

In a statement, the Knoxville Police Department said its officers had acted appropriately and they would vigorously defend the suit.

The lawsuit described Clabo as a master arborist and nature lover who had become addicted to opioids as a teenager.

After moving to Knoxville to take part in a court-sponsored rehabilitation programme, he relapsed and was reported missing by his mother on 21 July last year.

On 25 July last year, Knoxville police received several 911 calls to report Clabo had been spotted acting erratically at around 10am, according to the lawsuit.

He reportedly fled from police after being confronted in a restaurant parking lot and fell down a bank and into the Tennessee River.

Mika Wheeler Clabo died after falling into the Tennessee River in Knoxville on 25 July 2022 (Knoxville Police Department)

At 10.17am, an officer called the Knoxville Fire Department to send a rescue boat and tried to coax Clabo out of the water, the suit claims.

The officer told police dispatch that Clabo was attempting to get back to shore but I cannot get to him, according to the lawsuit.

The suit alleges that the officers body camera shows that the officer did nothing to try to reach Clabo.

Clabo gasped for air and pleaded for help after becoming stuck in vines before his head went under the water, according to the suit.

More officers arrived at 10.21am, along with at least one EMT, and discussed trying to reach him. One allegedly said: Im not going down there, cause hell drown my a**.

The suit alleges that none of the four officers tried to reach him with their hands, a baton, a rope, a tow-strap, a flotation device, or anything.

Restaurant employees and diners allegedly pleaded with the officers to intervene, and were prevented from trying to reach him.

At least two would-be citizen-heroes wanted to try to save Mika themselves, the lawsuit says.

Clabo was last spotted above the water at 10.28am, and a rescue boat arrived shortly afterward.

Police divers found Clabos body and pulled him out of the river at about 12.40pm, and found that his feet and neck were entangled with vines, according to the suit.

A medical examiner ruled his death was an accidental drowning.

The Knoxville Police Department said in a statement that the lawsuits claims were not supported by the facts.

While Mika Clabos death was undoubtedly tragic, the KPD officers involved did not respond inappropriately, and the City will vigorously defend this lawsuit.

The officers immediately called for assistance from additional specialized resources, and any suggestion that they prevented reasonable or safe attempts to rescue Mr Clabo is not supported by the facts.
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Watch live from court as Lori Vallow is sentenced for the murders of her two children on Monday, 31 July.

In May 2023, the cult mom was convicted of killing her seven-year-old son Joshua JJ Vallow and 16-year-old daughter Tylee Ryan, who vanished in September 2019.

Vallow was also found guilty of conspiring to kill her husband Chad Daybells first wife, Tammy, who died in October 2019.

The 50-year-old will be sentenced today at Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, where she could face the possibility of life in prison.

Victim impact statements from several family members impacted by the deaths will be heard before the sentence is handed down.

It comes after prosecutors convinced a jury that Vallow and Mr Daybell conspired with her brother Alex Cox to murder Tammy, JJ and Tylee as part of their bizarre cult beliefs, as well as for financial purposes to collect Tammys life insurance money and the childrens social security and survivor benefits.
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Tennessee police on Monday shot and apprehended a man who fired a gun outside a Jewish school in Memphis, according to officials.

Police were called to the Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South around 12.20pm local time, on reports that an armed man had attempted to enter the school, wasnt able to, then began firing shots from outside.

No one at the school was injured.

School officials described the man as driving a maroon Dodge Ram pickup truck.

Officers caught up with a vehicle matching that description and fired upon the driver when he exited the truck holding a gun, according to police.

I am proud of the vigilant and quick response of MPD officers who mitigated a potential mass shooting today, police chief CJ Davis said on Monday. Many thanks to our neighboring jurisdictions for also providing critical information to stop the suspects actions.

A Memphis Police officer walks on the scene of a shooting at Margolin Hebrew School on Monday, July 31, 2023 in Memphis, Tenn.

The alleged gunman is in critical condition at Regional One Hospital.

Memphis assistant police chief Don Crowe said on Monday its way too early to discern a potential motive or connection between the alleged shooter and the school, CNN reports.

Steve Cohen, a congressman whose district represents large portions of Memphis, told Fox 13 Memphis on Monday the shooter himself is Jewish and a former Margolin student.

"We have recently learned that the shooter at the Margolin Hebrew Academy was himself Jewish and a former student at the school. I am pleased the academy had effective security and that the police acted quickly to protect students," the congressman said in a statement.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is now handling the case.

Oscar Gomez told The Associated Press his two teenage children witnessed police shooting the alleged gunman.

They heard the shooting, and they threw themselves on the floor trying to protect themselves, he said.

A security photo of the alleged gunman obtained by ABC 24 shows a balding man in a blue t-shirt and shirts entering the Margolin building holding what appears to be a pistol.

In May, six people, including three young children, were killed in a mass shooting at a Christian grade school in Nashville, Tennessee.

The first half of 2023 has been the deadliest six months of mass killing on record in the last two decades, according to an AP analysis.

There have been 420 mass shootings this year, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.
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The largest school district in Texas announced that it will eliminate libraries and replace them with discipline centres for misbehaving children in the new school session.

Houston independent school district announced it will convert libraries across its 28 schools for the new education system initiative led by superintendent Mike Miles.

The striking new development drew criticism from city leaders and sparked a debate on the relevance of school libraries.

Mr Miles, who was appointed in June, recently proposed plans to get rid of librarian and media-specialist positions for his initiative.

Under the plan, teachers will have the option to send misbehaving students to new discipline centres or so-called team centres where they will learn remotely.

Mr Miles said: I am overwhelmingly proud that this many HISD school leaders are ready to take bold action to improve outcomes for all students and eradicate the persistent achievement and opportunity gaps in our district.

The largest school district in Texas holds more than 189,000 students across its 274 campuses, according to its website.

It was recently taken over by the Texas Education Agency which appointed Mr Miles as the superintendent of the district.

The converted libraries will be called Team Centers which are designed for students to continue working  individually or in teams  throughout the school day, said Joseph Sam, a spokesperson from the school district.

Houston mayor Sylvester Turner criticised the district for its decision, saying revoking access to the book is not the solution.

"For many of these kids," Mr Turner said, "the library is their portal to the outside world."

You cannot have a situation where you are closing libraries for some schools in certain neighbourhoods and there are other neighbourhoods where there are libraries, fully equipped," he said during a speech at a Houston city council meeting on Wednesday, Houston Public Media reported.

With all due respect to the superintendent, I grew up in this city. I still live in the same neighborhood that exists. I am the mayor of this city, and I am the mayor of every person who lives in the city of Houston.

Lisa Robinson, a librarian who retired from the district, said her heart is just broken for these children that are in the [NES] schools that are losing their librarians, according to KPRC2.
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An ad launched by Progress Action Fund launched, showing an elderly Republican congressman interrupting a couple in the bedroom, has now been banned on X, formerly known as Twitter.

According to the Progress Action Fund, which aims to defeat Republicans in red states, the platform has censored its account as well as the ad, called Keep Republicans Out Of Your Bedroom. In addition, the platform has placed a Search Ban and a Search Suggestion Ban on the account.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the account did not show up on the social media platform, yet the ad could still be seen on X through retweets from other accounts.

The Progress Action Fund said it contacted the platforms legal department and appealed the decision, which was denied.

Joe Jacobson, Founder and Executive Director of Progress Action Fund, took a stab at Xs owner: Elon Musk loves free speech, but only when its convenient for him and his far-right political agenda.

Political speech is protected under law and Musks competitors clearly agree that our ad should not be censored, he continued. When releasing ads in the future, well be taking them to other platforms, which many others are already doing given Elon Musks frantic and poor leadership at Twitter.

The Independent has reached out to X for comment.

The ad features a scene in which a woman asks a man if he has a condom. He reaches for the condom in a bedside table drawer, and another suit-covered arm appears, reaching for it as well.

Sorry, you cant use those, says an older man, clad in a black suit and red tie, while standing beside the bed. When the woman asks who he is, he replies: Im your Republican congressman. Now that were in charge, were banning birth control.

The ad urges voters to vote no on 8 August, in reference to State Issue 1, which would require proposed amendments to Ohios constitution receive the approval of at least 60 per cent of eligible voters voting on the proposed amendment, rather than a simple majority.

Since acquiring Twitter, Mr Musk, a self declared free speech absolutist, has touted free speech as a pillar of the platform. As part of this shift during the takeover, he reinstated Donald Trumps account after a two-year ban, which was due to the risk of further incitement of violence after the January 6 Capitol riot. He also reinstated at least 11 accounts belonging to prominent far-right and anti-trans influencers.

On 23 November, the platform announced it is no longer enforcing the Covid-19 misleading information policy.

As recently as April, the platform claimed to strive to promote and protect the public conversation. We believe Twitter users have the right to express their opinions and ideas without fear of censorship.

In May, he wrote: I am adamant about defending free speech, even if it means losing money.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has revealed that her investigation into Donald Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia is ready to go  in her strongest hint yet that a criminal indictment may be imminent.

The work is accomplished, she told WXIA over the weekend.

Weve been working for two and half years. Were ready to go.

DA Willis said that some people will be unhappy with the outcome of the probe as she praised the actions of local officials who have started ramping up security around the courthouse in downtown Atlanta.

I think that the sheriff is doing something smart in making sure that the courthouse stays safe, she said.

Im not willing to put any of the employees or the constituents that come to the courthouse in harms way.

She added that sometimes when people are unhappy, they act in a way that could create harm in what appeared to be a thinly-veiled jab at the mob of Mr Trumps supporters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6 2021 after he lost the election to President Joe Biden.

DA Willis previously indicated that any charging decisions would likely come between 31 July and 18 August.

For the month of August, she has arranged remote working for courthouse staff and asked judges to limit in-person hearings, amid apparent security concerns following a potential indictment.

DA Willis is believed to be building a case under Georgias Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a provision which allows for multiple people to be charged under one wide-ranging scheme and which was originally created to tackle organised crime groups.

The DA has spent more than two years investigating efforts by Mr Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 presidential election result in the crucial swing state.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, right, and Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney speak in court in July (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The investigation came following the release of a 2 January 2021 phone call Mr Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger where he told him to find enough votes to change the outcome of the election in the state.

All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, Mr Trump is heard saying in the leaked phone call.

Because we won the state.

Mr Biden won the state by less than 12,000 votes.

The investigation has since expanded from that phone call to include a scheme whereby a group of fake Republican electors planned to falsely certify the results in Mr Trumps favour instead of Mr Bidens.

The plot failed and at least eight of the fake electors have reached immunity deals with DA Willis office.

While it remains unclear if Mr Trump will be charged in the Georgia probe, barriers were seen being erected outside Fulton County Courthouse in downtown Atlanta late last week.

The Fulton County Sheriffs office confirmed that it was proactively coordinating with local, state and federal agencies to enhance security during high profile legal proceedings at the Fulton County Courthouse.

The Georgia probe marks just one of Mr Trumps growing list of legal problems as he is also expected to be indicted in a separate federal case over his role in the January 6 Capitol riot and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Earlier in July, Mr Trump said he had received a letter from special counsel Jack Smiths office saying he was the target of a grand jury investigation  indicating that a criminal indictment was looming.

Last Thursday, the grand jury arrived at the courthouse in Washington DC and Mr Trumps attorneys met with Mr Smith where they were warned to expect a criminal indictment against their client.

Republican presidential candidate former president Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally on Saturday in Pennsylvania (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

But, no indictment came and the grand jury is now not expected to meet again until Tuesday.

The former president has already been indicted in two separate criminal cases after he was hit with New York state charges following an investigation into hush money payments made prior to the 2016 election and then federal charges over his alleged mishandling of classified documents on leaving office.

Last month, Mr Trump was indicted on 37 federal charges over his handling of classified documents, including national defence information, after leaving the White House.

The indictment, which was unsealed on Friday (9 June), alleges that Mr Trump deliberately lied to and misled authorities so that he could hold onto documents that he knew were classified.

On at least two separate occasions, Mr Trump then showed some of the classified documents to people not authorised to see them, the indictment alleges.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment in a Miami federal courthouse, becoming the first current or former US president ever charged with a federal crime.

His longtime aide Walt Nauta was also charged in the case, Last week, the judge added three further charges in a superseding indictment and also charged Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos Oliveira as a defendant. Mr Oliveira will appear in court on Monday on the charges.

The first federal indictment came after Mr Trump was arrested on 34 criminal charges for the first time in New York back on 4 April.

According to Manhattan prosecutors, Mr Trump and his former fixer Michael Cohen carried out a catch and kill scheme in the lead-up to the 2016 election.

Cohen allegedly made hush money payments on Mr Trumps behalf to suppress negative information about him by silencing individuals over alleged affairs he had with women.

Three specific alleged affairs and hush money payments were mentioned in the charging documents  a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, a $150,000 to former playboy model Karen McDougal and a $30,000 payment to a doorman at Trump Tower who claimed he had information that Mr Trump had fathered a child with a woman while married to Melania Trump.

Mr Trump then allegedly reimbursed Cohen but falsely recorded the payments as legal fees.

Each of the 34 state charges relates to an individual entry in the Trump Organizations business records. He pleaded not guilty.
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was holding talks with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Monday in a sign of improving ties after a stormy period between the EU and his predecessor over human rights.

Von der Leyen arrived in Manila Sunday night for the first such top-level visit in nearly six decades of relations with the Philippines. Her visit is aimed at strengthening diplomatic, trade, security and overall relations, European and Philippine officials said, adding that she came at Marcoss invitation.

The talks between von der Leyen and her delegation with Filipino officials were also expected to cover the Philippines chances of retaining special trade incentives depending on its adherence to international conventions on human and labor rights and good governance.

In February, a group of European parliamentarians said Manilas chances of retaining those incentives, including slashed tariffs for a wide array of products, would increase if a long-detained opposition leader is freed and the Philippines rejoins the International Criminal Court.

The European Union trade incentives under the so-called Generalized Scheme of Preferences, or GSP Plus, for the Philippines and seven other developing countries are anchored on their adherence to more than two dozen international conventions on human and labor rights, environmental protection and good governance.

The trading incentives, which the Philippines started to enjoy in 2014, would end in December and the government could reapply within a two-year period to retain them, the European lawmakers said then.

But the Philippines came under intense EU criticism during former President Rodrigo Dutertes six-year term, mainly because of the bloody anti-drugs crackdown he oversaw that left more than 6,000 mostly petty suspects dead. Marcos succeeded Duterte in June last year.

The killings sparked an International Criminal Court investigation as a possible crime against humanity. Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2018, but its prosecutor has proceeded to investigate the widespread deaths that occurred in the years when the country was still part of the court based in The Hague.

Duterte then often lashed at the EUs criticisms of his brutal anti-drugs crackdown with profanity-laced outbursts.

European parliamentarians have also repeatedly demanded the release of opposition leader and former senator Leila de Lima, Dutertes most vocal critic who was arrested and detained in 2017 on drug charges she said were fabricated by Duterte and his officials to stop her from investigating the killings.

Hannah Neumann, who led the European delegation in a visit to the Philippines in February, told a news conference then that rights conditions under the Marcos administration were better than it was under Pres. Duterte in reply to a question. There are a lot of announcements that could indeed improve things if theyre implemented."

The delegates then welcomed Marcos commitment to change the focus of the war on drugs away from a punitive approach towards prevention and rehabilitation."

But they said extrajudicial killings have reportedly persisted and underscored the need for all the killings to be investigated and the perpetrators held to account to fight impunity.

Asked if a decision to release de Lima and rejoin the ICC would boost the Philippines chances of continuing to enjoy the EU trading incentives, Neumann said that would be a strong sign in which direction the country wants to move."

The European Parliament has been quite clear that whoever wants to have preferential access to the European market needs to uphold social standards, human rights standards, environmental standards, she said. This is not going to go away.
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A Georgia judge has rejected former president Donald Trumps attempt to block Fulton County DA Fani Willis from bringing indictments against him or anyone else based on the results of a special grand jury investigation into his effort to overturn his 2020 election loss in the Peach State.

In March, Mr Trump sued to have Ms Willis barred from indicting him based on any evidence uncovered during the special grand jury probe and asked to have Ms Willis disqualified from any further investigation or prosecution of his alleged interference in the election he lost to President Joe Biden.

The next month, one of the Republican activists who signed a fake electoral certificate purporting to award Georgias electoral votes to Mr Trump joined the lawsuit, which sought the same relief from Judge Robert McBurney, the Superior Court judge who oversaw the grand jury investigation.

But in an opinion and order issued on Monday, Judge McBurney said Mr Trump and the fake elector, Cathleen Latham, both lacked any standing to challenge the investigation before indictments are returned by a grand jury that began meeting last month.

The movants asserted injuries that would open the doors of the courthouse to their claims are either insufficient or else speculative and unrealized, he said.

They are insufficient because, while being subject (or even target) of a highly publicized criminal investigation is likely an unwelcome and unpleasant experience, no court ever has held that that status alone provides a basis for the courts to interfere with or halt the investigation.

Judge McBurney also called Mr Trump and Ms Lathams professed injuries from being targets of the investigation speculative and unrealized because neither has been indicted as of yet, and the mere possibility of an indictment not enough to create a controversy, cause an injury, or confer standing.

Mr Trump and Ms Latham had also sought to have the special grand jurys report, which remains largely sealed and out of public view, completely suppressed and kept from ever becoming accessible. But the judge said such a permanent silencing of the special grand jury was not what either statutory or case law generally allows, and added that he was denying that particular request as moot because its not publicly known whether either have been named in the report.

Continuing, the judge addressed Mr Trump and Ms Lathams demand that Ms Wills be disqualified from any case against them.

He noted that under Georgia law, prosecutors can only be disqualified for conflict of interest and forensic misconduct, and said neither of those conditions had been met.

The judge pointed out that the definition of a conflict of interest is a specific one, under which a prosecutor would have once consulted with or represented a defendant in a professional capacity regarding charges against them, or has acquired a personal interest or stake in the defendants conviction.

He also recounted that Georgias definition of forensic misconduct involves a prosecutor who has improperly expressed a personal belief in the defendants guilt.

But Judge McBurney said neither of those conditions had happened because neither Ms Willis nor her assistants have represented either Mr Trump or Ms Latham, and no evidence had emerged that the DA or her office had a financial interest in the outcome of a case against them.

He added that public statements made by Ms Willis which Mr Trump claimed to require her disqualification had been neither partisan (in the political sense) nor personal, in marked and refreshing contrast to the stream of personal invective flowing from [Mr Trump].

Put differently, the District Attorneys Office has been doing a fairly routine and legally unobjectionable  job of public relations in a case that is anything but routine, he said. None of what movants cite rises to the level of justifying disqualification.

Ms Willis, who requested the empanelment of a special grand jury after a tape emerged of Mr Trump pressuring Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to reverse his loss to Mr Biden by finding non-existent votes, is currently presenting evidence to a regular grand jury which began meeting last month.

Over the weekend, she told WXIA TV that she and her team are ready to go as far as announcing charges in the long-running probe is concerned.
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Donald Trump took the stage at the Iowa Republican Dinner to a song that started out with the lyrics, One could end up going to prison, one just might be president.

The ironic moment came as the former presidents legal woes are mounting. Mr Trump has already been indicted twice. By the end of the summer, he may be the subject of as many as four criminal cases.

The latest episode in his legal peril appeared to be taking shape on Thursday 27 July, when the ex-presidents legal team met with the prosecution team led by Special Counsel Jack Smith in a last-ditch attempt to convince Mr Smith and his team from seeking another indictment against Mr Trump for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.

That same day, the special counsels team hit Mr Trump with superseding charges in federal court in Florida. Officials accused the former president and an employee at his Mar-a-Lago club of attempting to destroy security camera footage once Mr Trump learned he was under subpoena in the investigation over his handling of classified documents.

Earlier this month, Mr Trump said prosecutors notified him that he was also a target of Mr Smiths investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the January 6 attack on the Capitol. The former president is understood to be facing the possibility of charges under three federal criminal statutes: Conspiracy to defraud the United States, deprivation of rights under colour of law, and witness tampering.

Natalie Allison of Politico tweeted a video of the moment on Friday night.

As Trump took the stage in Iowa, this ironic line played: One could end up going to prison, one just might be president. He had to walk out to Brooks & Dunn (like all candidates tonight) instead of his usual Lee Greenwood, she wrote.

Twitter users were quick to join in the mockery of the former president.

MSNBC host Katie Phang simply wrote that it was poetic.

Omg. That line hits right when he gets on stage, State Attorney for Palm Beach County Dave Aronberg wrote.

GOP strategist Mike Murphy wrote: Ha! Trump is finally understanding [that Iowa Governor Kim] Reynolds didnt get her job because she just fell off a turnip truck. #SharpOperator BTW, earlier she was at a big Tim Scott event. And treated with due respect.

This is gold! Proving once again that #Republicans are so clueless they dont even listen to lyrics before greeting their standard bearer with a song. Excuse me while I ROTFLMAO, Ann Werner said.
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Former President Donald Trumps lawyer Alina Habba has called Mr Trump the most ethical American she knows, while also saying he could have deleted the evidence if he so desired because he owns Mar-a-Lago, owns the IT, and pays his employees.

Speaking to Fox News Sunday host Shannon Bream, Ms Habba said, If there was an attempt for him to not turn over documents or he wanted something deleted, do you not think that this is something he couldnt have gotten done? Lets just use common sense. I think the American public forgets to use common sense.

Ms Bream replied, I mean thats the allegation, is that he did try to talk to these employees and his employees said, Eh, we may have to talk to someone else, I dont know that I can even do that.

Shannon, I know the facts and the facts are when President Trump gets a subpoena, it goes to the organization, and the organization turns it over, Ms Habba interjected. That is what actually happened.

The host was referring to the superseding indictment handed down on Thursday, which detailed a conversation between two Trump employees: Carlos De Oliveira, a maintenance supervisor at Mar-a-Lago, and Yuscil Taveras, the director of IT.

The private discussion included Mr De Oliveira asking how long the server retained footage, adding that the boss wanted the footage deleted.

Mr Taveras, according to the indictment, told Mr De Oliveira would have to reach out to the supervisor of security.

Ms Habba also said no tapes were deleted and Mr Trump cooperated.

If President Trump didnt want something turned over, I assure you, that is something that could have been done. But he never would act like that. He is the most ethical American I know, the former presidents attorney added.

Ms Habba was echoing Mr Trumps claims. The former president wrote on Truth Social on Sunday: Mar-a-Lago security tapes were not deleted. He continued, They were voluntarily handed over to the thugs, headed up by deranged Jack Smith. We did not even go to court to stop them from getting these tapes. I never told anybody to delete them. Prosecutorial fiction & misconduct! Election interference!

Special Counsel Jack Smiths superseding indictment added several new counts against Mr Trump and Walt Nauta, his valet and co-defendant, as well as added another co-defendant: Mr De Oliveira.

Mr Trump wrote on the platform on Monday that he suspects the indictment surrounding the events of January 6 and efforts to overturn the 2020 election will be coming out any day now. He previously announced that the special counsel informed him that he was a target in that probe.
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Donald Trumps employee Carlos de Oliveira appeared at a federal courthouse in Miami on Monday, where he has been indicted and will soon be arraigned on charges stemming from the growing investigation into the former presidents retention of documents from the White House.

He is one of a small handful of employees now targeted by the Justice Department as supposed collaborators in Mr Trumps alleged scheme to harbour unauthorised mementos from his time in office at Mar-a-Lago  souvenirs which, according to the DoJ, include classified materials and presidential records that are supposed to be in the hands of the National Archives.

On Thursday of last week, a grand jury indicted Mr Oliveira on charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to investigators. He has yet to enter a formal plea. Mr Trump is separately expecting charges imminently related to his effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election as well as his actions leading up to and during the attack on the Capitol.

Mr Trump is known to be paying legal fees for a number of his employees and former aides who are either charged or potential witnesses in the Department of Justices two ongoing investigations. The Washington Post has reported that Mr Trump has offered to pay Mr Oliveiras legal expenses, though it isnt certain whether Mr Oliveira accepted.

The Department of Justice is known to be scrutinising those offers by Mr Trump to potential or current witnesses in the two investigations for any hints of a demand of loyalty to the former president. He was previously charged with witness tampering in his initial federal indictment last month.

With potential indictments looming in both the DoJs 2020 election investigation and a related but separate probe having been completed by authorities in Fulton County, Georgia, the number of criminal charges faced by the former president could theoretically enter the triple digits within weeks.

Mr Trump has loudly maintained his innocence as a growing choir of rivals in the 2024 Republican primary argue that the legal baggage is too great for any candidate to successfully carry through a general election while succeeding in stopping the reelection of Joe Biden, who beat the former president three years ago. The twice-impeached former president and his fanbase refuse to accept that reality, even as they continuously failed to produce any evidence to satisfy judges in a multitude of court battles over the issue following the election itself.

His property manager, who became famous last week when he was named in the DoJs newest indictment, was released on Monday on a $100,000 bond as he awaits trial; his formal arraignment is set for 10 August. Mr Oliveira did not appear in court with a lawyer barred in Florida on Monday, though he does have general legal representation.

The Justice Department has unfortunately decided to bring these charges, his legal counsel John Irving said, according to CNN. [N]ow its time for them to put their money where their mouth is.
 Close Trump claims Georgia DA had an affair with a gang member

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A previously unseen legal memo by Kenneth Chesebro , a lawyer from Donald Trumps failed 2020 re-election campaign, laid out how the ex-presidents efforts to interfere with certification of that years electoral college results were meant to buy time and delay the joint session at which Mr Trumps defeat to Joe Biden would be made official.

The memo, which was first reported on by The New York Times, was referenced in the four-count indictment returned against the former president by a Washington DC grand jury last month. Mr Chesebro is described  but not named  in the indictment as an un-indicted co-conspirator in the alleged conspiracy to obstruct certification of the 2020 election. The first hearing is scheduled for Friday at 10am.

Meanwhile, former New Jersey Governor and presidential candidate Chris Christie has hit back at the latest cheap barb levelled against him by the former president.

Mr Trump emphasised comments referring to Mr Christie as a fat pig at a New Hampshire rally on Tuesday.

The former governor responded on social media: If you had the guts you would show up to the debate and say it to my face.
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A broadcaster at the rightwing network Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN) interrupted the programming ahead of former President Donald Trumps rally in Erie, Pennsylvania to reject the notion that he wanted to kill liberals, globalists, and insufficiently conservative or Trump-supporting Republicans, known as RINOs (Republicans In Name Only).

Matthew Alvarez said on Saturday that There is something that is trending on Twitter right now ... I was interviewing people ... they were talking about how great the country is, how great the president is, and I heard something else that was spoken ... what Im hearing is somebody said, Well lets kill them all. That is not something that I agree with, obviously, he said, according to RawStory.

Footage from the pre-rally interviews shows a Trump supporter saying that he will guarantee that Mr Trump gets back into the White House. Hes then asked what his opinion is on the globalists and RINOs and he appears to respond Kill them all to which Mr Alvarez says I agree with you on that.

After the incident, Mr Alvarez backtracked to his viewers: So if there is something that happened, where somebody was speaking out there, I didnt hear those words spoken. Its very loud outside. All I know is Im here for God, for this country, for truth, for President Trump, that kind of thing. Definitely not a proponent of anything like that happening.

A fellow host on RSBN added: It is very natural for someone to maybe agree with them, even if you didnt understand.

They will take a clip of that and run with it. We all know thats not what you meant, he added.

I didnt say it, I didnt hear the guy say it, Mr Alvarez responded.
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Donald Trump was indicted for a third time on Tuesday 1 August after a grand jury in Washington, DC, charged the ex-president on four counts related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and incite the US Capitol riot of 6 January 2021.

On Thursday 3 August, the former commander-in-chief appeared at an arraignment in hearing in DC at which he pleaded not guilty and denounced the affair as an act of persecution by his political enemies.

This comes after he has already been indicted twice this year  first in New York over allegedly falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments and second over his alleged mishandling of classified documents.

Now, Mr Trump has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, conspiracy against rights and obstruction of, and attempt to obstruct, an official proceeding  all of which he has pleaded not guilty to.

Whats more, a fourth indictment could soon follow, as Mr Trump is also under investigation by Fani Willis, district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, over his apparent attempt to influence state officials in the immediate aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

For his part, Mr Trump has strenuously denied any wrongdoing and repeatedly insisted  as he did in DC, without any evidence  that he is the victim of a costly witch hunt by the Joe Biden administration, which he claims has weaponised the US justice system against him in order to thwart his proposed political comeback.

What is a grand jury?

In the American legal system, a grand jury is simply a group of randomly-selected American citizens called upon by the federal or state laws of the United States to conduct legal proceedings, chiefly to weigh the evidence in a criminal case to determine whether there is a sufficent basis under which charges should be brought.

Unlike a trial, a unanimous verdict is not required. Typically, just 12 of a 16 to 23-strong grand jury needs to vote to indict a person for it to take place.

All proceedings surrounding grand juries are secret in accordance Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and the burden of proof for prosecution lower than it is at a trial, with only a majority belief in probable cause needed to secure an indictment.

What is an indictment?

Should a grand jury conclude in favour of issuing formal charges, an indictment is then issued to the subject, which serves as formal notice that the state has reason to believe that person has committed a crime.

An indictment does not determine guilt or innocence but is a required procedural step in a criminal proceeding.

What is an arraignment?

After the state secures an indictment, it can take a case forward to an arraignment.

At an arraignment hearing, which takes place before a judge, defendants are read the charges facing them and the maximum penalties they carry and then are offered the opportunity to make a plea  either not guilty, no contest, or guilty.

If the defendant pleads guilty or no contest, the case most frequently moves to sentencing.

If the defendant pleads not guilty, the judge will set the terms of bail and the dates for subsequent events in the case, including any pre-trial hearings and an eventual trial, which can sometimes occur months or years after the initial charging date.

So where is Trump in all of this?

The former president has already been indicted twice  once by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg for his alleged role in the hush money scheme and by Mr Smith in Florida for his alleged mishandling of classified documents and obstruction of justice.

Mr Trump was arraigned in New York in the state case on 4 April, in Miami in the first federal case on 13 June and now once again in Washington in response to the second federal indictment on 3 August.

The former commander-in-chief pleaded not guilty in all instances.

Mr Trump was released after all three arraignments and is not expected to be held in jail while awaiting a potential trial in either case.

He is, of course, running for the presidency again and is the current runaway leader in the polls for the Republican presidential nomination, leaving the likes of Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott and Chris Christie trailing in his wake, which could make things interesting going forward.
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There is no chance of four missing crew members surviving the army helicopter crash, Australia's defence ministry said on Monday as rescue efforts changed to recovery.

Defence minster Richard Marles said there was no chance that capt Danniel Lyon, Lt Maxwell Nugent, warrant officer Joseph Laycock or Cpl Alexander Naggs had survived.

"There was a catastrophic incident and with every passing hour, it is now clear that any hope of finding (the four crew) alive has been lost," Mr Marles told reporters.

The Australian army MRH-90 helicopter crashed into waters off the Whitsunday Islands on the Great Barrier Reef shortly after 10.30pm on Friday during a nighttime exercise with the US.

Significant wreckage from the helicopter has been discovered that shows evidence of a catastrophic incident, Mr Marles, said, adding that the mission is now one of recovery".

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese told parliament: Our worst fears have been confirmed.

He previously described the recent crash as a stark reminder that there are no safe or easy days for those who serve in our countrys name.

There will be a full investigation and we will come to understand exactly what happened and learn the lessons from it, Mr Marles added.

The defence minister earlier said the helicopter ditched but on Monday he did not rule out pilot error or disorientation in the dark causing the crash into the water.

Part of the airframe was retrieved by Monday but most of the craft remained on the seabed, authorities said.

An Australian Army MRH-90 Taipan helicopter conducting flying serials (EPA)

Following the crash, the ministry grounded its fleet of more than 40 of the MRH-90 Taipan helicopters, made by French Airbus, raising doubts if any will fly again.

"There was a catastrophic impact on the helicopter when it hit the water," Mr Marles said.

"We will move through the process of putting the Black Hawks into service as quickly as we can ... and we will not be flying MRH90s until we understand what has happened," he added.

Canberra announced in January that it plans to replace the MRH-90 with US Black Hawks. The entire fleet was previously grounded in March after a helicopter ditched in waters off the state of New South Wales during a routine training exercise.

The retirement date of the fleet set for December 2024 would be 13 years earlier than Australia had initially planned.

The lost Taipan was taking part in the biennial US-Australian military exercise called the Talisman Sabre, which is largely based in Queensland state. This year's exercise involves 13 nations and more than 30,000 military personnel.

The exercise was paused after the rescue operations began but resumed on Monday with some changes near the recovery operation, Australian defence force chief Gen Angus Campbell said.

He thanked the US and Canada for their help in the search and recovery efforts, which he said was "not an easy operation". The wreckage lay in the path of strong currents and tidal movements and was too deep for standard diving operations.
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A large chunk of debris from space has been identified after it washed up on a remote West Australian beach.

Police cordoned off the object after it was found in July on a beach near Green Head, about 250km north of Perth.

The large cylinder, which was about 2.5m high and partly made of a gold-coloured woven material, raised theories that it could have been part of a downed airliner.

But police also urged people to refrain from drawing conclusions after several rumours linked it to UFOs while others linked it to the missing Malaysian MH370 flight.

After a two week investigation, the Australian Space Agency said the debris is most likely from a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation.

We have concluded the object  is most likely debris from an expended third-stage of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), said ASA on their official Twitter profile.

The PSLV is a medium-lift launch vehicle operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation.

Earlier this month, European Space Agency engineer Andrea Boyd said her colleagues believed the item that washed up from the Indian Ocean fell from an Indian rocket while launching a satellite.

Were pretty sure, based on the shape and the size, it is an upper-stage engine from an Indian rocket thats used for a lot of different missions, she told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Meanwhile, Indian Space Research Organisation chair S Somnath told the BBC the debris was indeed a part of a rocket but could not confirm if it was from their launch.

Whoever launched the object into space would be responsible for its disposal.

The mysterious giant cylinder washed up on an Australian beach (screengrab/7News)

There is a United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, and they have an outer space treaty that everyone has signed saying that whoever launches something into space is responsible for it right until the very end, Boyd said.

Authorities initially treated the device as hazardous and urged the public to stay away but Western Australia Police later said in a statement that a government chemical analysis had determined the object was safe and there is no current risk to the community.

Police said the device would be removed following formal identification of its origin.

Police will maintain security of the object until it is removed and members of the public are requested to stay away from the location, the statement said.

Western Australia Premier Roger Cook said the debris could be displayed in a local museum alongside the wreckage of Skylab that fell back to Earth in 1979 in Australia.

Skylab was the USAs first space station launched by NASA. It orbited unmanned for about five years before breaking up and scattering debris across the Esperance region.
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A sailor who was rescued after spending three months adrift with his dog in the Pacific Ocean has revealed why he will now be leaving his faithful pet to get lost in the jungle.

Tim Shaddock, 54, and his dog Bella were found alive on board his catamaran on 12 July, having survived on raw fish and rainwater under a beating sun for more than 90 days.

Mr Shaddock, a former IT manager from Sydney, said the last time he saw land was in early May as he sailed out of the Sea of Cortez with the aim of reaching French Polynesia. The boat, however, became lost after the electronics were wiped out by a storm, leaving him unable to call for help and stranded at sea with Bella.

Mr Shaddock sits with Bella after being rescued by a Mexican tuna boat (Grupomar/Atun Tuny via AP)

The pair were reunited a week after they were spotted by a helicopter and saved by a crew of tuna fishermen who took them to the Mexican city of Manzanillo. Mr Shaddock told The Times: Im so happy to have seen my dog again. Shes still as lively as ever.

But their time together will not last for long, as it was revealed the pair are to be parted for good. Mr Shaddock said he had decided to leave Bella in Mexico after a crew member from the rescue boat promised to give her a happy and loving home.

Mr Shaddock wants to continue his adventures, with Belize next on his list. Ill see if I can get lost in the jungle there, he said. But he plans to do these potentially dangerous explorations solo. He said that, while he cared less for himself, he could not put his beloved dog at risk again.

Mr Shaddock, a former IT manager from Sydney, said the last time he saw land was in early May as he sailed out of the Sea of Cortez with the aim of reaching French Polynesia (AP)

However, he added: Im sad to lose her, shes a remarkable animal. Ive had her since she was a pup, and she just hasnt stopped following me.

Bella enjoyed her time on the boat, said Mr Shaddock, keeping him calm and sane throughout the ordeal (AP)

He met Bella, who was a stray, in March 2020 in Mexico, where he was plotting a sailing route home to Australia, having been barred from the country due to pandemic restrictions. The duo drifted around Mexico for three years before finally setting off for what would have been a 5,000-mile ocean crossing. With coronavirus restrictions relaxed, the journey became more about a quest for solitude for Mr Shaddock. The dog jumped into his car when he left central Mexico for the coast last spring. I thought to myself, well thats it then, he said.

The crew of the Mexican tuna boat Maria Delia, which rescued the pair, pose for photos with Bella (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Bella enjoyed her time on the boat, said Mr Shaddock, although she did not once get off the vessel to swim with him. He said she kept him calm and sane throughout the ordeal. You wouldnt believe how well she managed out there. When we were rescued, all the crew commented on how fit she still looked, especially compared to me.

Fisherman Genaro Rosales, 48, a member of the rescue crew, will be adopting Bella (AFP via Getty Images)

Despite his sadness, Mr Shaddock is philosophical about losing his dog, happy in the knowledge she will be taken care of by her new Mexican family. Genaro Rosales, 48, along with his three children and their pug-chihuahua will be adopting Bella. Shes got a really good outcome, said Mr Shaddock. The worst outcome was that she would lose her life out there with me.
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Billionaire Elon Musk reportedly restricted his Starlink internet access multiple times in Ukraine, which has affected Kyivs battlefield strategy.

The worlds richest man denied the Ukrainian militarys request to turn on Starlink near Crimea, the Russian-controlled territory, during the ongoing war with Russia, the New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

The Tesla CEO has been providing Starlink service to Ukraine since late February 2022, just days after Russian president Vladimir Putin launched his unprovoked invasion and a cyberattack took down the countrys internet.

SpaceXs Starlink makes up the majority of satellites orbiting Earth with more than 4,000 of them in the low-Earth orbit.

Mr Musks unilateral hold over his satellite internet technology, which has been an essential part of Ukraine's communications since the war, has raised concerns among officials, according to the report.

In February this year, SpaceX announced it had taken steps to prevent Ukraine's military from using the Starlink satellite internet service for controlling drones in the region.

Following the announcement, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said SpaceX needed to pick a side in the war against Russia.

Ukrainian authorities worried about over-dependence on a single source technology held talks with other satellite internet providers. But they acknowledged none rival Starlinks reach.

Starlink is indeed the blood of our entire communication infrastructure now, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraines digital minister, told NYT.

The technology, he said, enabled artillery teams, commanders and pilots to watch drone footage simultaneously while chatting online. According to soldiers, the response times from finding a target to hitting it have been cut to about a minute from nearly 20 minutes.

The huge number of lives that Starlink has helped save can be measured in the thousands, Mr Fedorov added. This is one of the fundamental components of our success."

Mr Musk also asked the US last year to fund for their internet services to Ukraine because they could not continue the arrangement. The company estimated the cost at nearly $400m over 12 months, according to a SpaceX letter reported by CNN.

About 1,300 Starlink terminals purchased through a British supplier stopped working last year after the Ukrainian government could not pay the $2,500 monthly fee for each, according to the report.

Meanwhile, defence secretary Lloyd Austin in June approved a Pentagon deal to buy 400 to 500 new Starlink terminals and services, that would provide the Pentagon control of the setting where the internet signal worked inside Ukraine for new devices to carry out key capabilities and certain missions.

The Independent has reached out to Space X for a comment.
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Tributes poured in for 30-year-old French "daredevil" Remi Lucidi who loved to climb skyscrapers  often without a harness.

Lucidi was at the Tregunter Tower complex in Hong Kong when he fell to his death from the 68th floor after reportedly getting trapped outside a penthouse.

Lucidi began climbing skyscrapers in 2016 and travelled the world attempting to scale tall buildings.

His Instagram profile, where he went by the username Remu Enigma, is a gallery of hair-rising images of Lucidi posing at the top of high-rise scaffolding and buildings in several countries, including Ukraine, Dubai, Bulgaria, and France.

(Remi Lucidi/ Instagram)

He turned 30 this February and commemorated the milestone by posting his picture with a cake emoji in the caption.

In a photo posted on 16 July, Lucidi took a selfie while hanging off the stairs of the top of a building in Gabrovro, Bulgaria. He captioned the picture: Life is too short to chase unicorns.

In most of the images and videos posted from his account, which has over 5,200 followers, he can be seen clinging to the spires of tall buildings without any protective gear.

Last year he shared footage of him balancing on the edge of a 980-foot-high chimney in France without any harness.

Lucidis last post on Instagram is from six days before his death, where he shared a photo of Times Square in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. That post is now filled with comments of people, expressing shock at his demise.

Stakes are high searching for amazing experiences. Eternal respect rest in peace, wrote one user.

Lived his life to the fullest always seeking adventure, didnt let fear get in the way, added another person. Life is truly short, rest easy brother... .

While not much is known about Lucidi's family, his hostel owner in Tsim Sha Tsui described him as a "healthy and fit and happy-faced" person.

"He told me he was going to hike a mountain when I asked where he was going. He said he wanted to hike a lot when he was here," Gurjit Kaur told South China Morning Post.

I feel very sad, the owner added.

According to investigators, Lucidi arrived at the building in the evening and told the security guard that he was visiting a friend on the 40th floor.

He is believed to have made his way to the top floor and reportedly got trapped outside and frantically started knocking on a window, startling a maid inside.

Surveillance footage shows Lucidi taking the lift to the 49th floor before taking the stairs to the top. He was last seen knocking on the building's windows calling for help.

The stuntman then lost his footing and fell, dying instantly.

According to reports, the French consulate has been informed of Lucidis death while the Hong Kong police are investigating the incident.
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Two popular Spanish beaches were forced to close after abnormal levels of bacteria were detected in the water.

Urbanova and San Gabriel beaches in Alicante were closed on Friday over the levels of enterococci in the sea, the General Directorate of Water and the Alicante City Council said.

Authorities carried out tests in the water before the beaches were reopened on Saturday when bacteria levels in the water returned to a normal level, according to local media reports.

Experts are said to have ruled out that the bacteria levels were caused by river discharge or from the treatment plant in the San Gabriel.

It comes after the beaches of Medicalia, Puig Val, Old Fishermens Quarter and Els Plans were closed on July 22 after a thick, grainy, white substance was found on the shore.

Swimmers were also told to avoid the coast of the holiday hotspot resort of El Puig, near Valencia, as authorities struggled to determine what the substance was. Samples have been taken and experts are still working to identify the substance, but the beaches have since reopened.

Meanwhile, tourists were urged to stay vigilant on beaches in France and Spain earlier this month due to a surge of toxic algae, which experts warn could cause skin irritation, gastric disorders, nausea, vomiting, and flu-like symptoms.

Climate change has led to warmer semi-tropical seas around Europe, causing higher levels of the poisonous Ostreopsis algae, according to Spains Institute of Marine Sciences.

The rising water temperature in the Mediterranean will cause the spread of toxic algae Ostreopsis, which will linger for longer and in greater quantities, possibly posing a threat to tourism in the future, said Dr Elisa Berdalet, from the Institute of Marine Sciences.
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The official state holiday for Christmas Day in Ukraine has been changed from 7 January to 25 December, in an effort to move away from Russian tradition.

As more Ukrainians began to celebrate Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar on 25 December, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed into law a parliamentary bill that made the cultural shift official.

The bill, signed by Zelensky on Friday (28 July), is said to abandon the Russian heritage of imposing Christmas celebrations.

Western countries typically follow the Gregorian calendar where Christmas falls on 25 December, whereas Eastern churches are usually aligned with the Julian calendar celebrating Christmas on 7 January.

This move follows a number of attempts by Ukraine to distance itself from Russian values following the 2022 invasion.

Two other state holidays were also moved in the legislation - the Defenders Day, which commemorates Ukranian soldiers lost in war, from 28 July to 15 July, and the Day of Ukranian Statehood, from 14 October to 1 October.

Russia has tried to control Ukraine and its culture for centuries, including the imposition of the Russin Orthodox Church (ROC) over Ukraines churches.

In a bid to take control over its religion, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) was formed in 2018 - who until this year followed the Julian calendar.

The following year the OCU was granted independence by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians worldwide.

The Russian Orthodox Church is a proud defender of Russias invasion of Ukraine and was outraged after the OCU became independent, with millions of Ukrainians choosing to join.

Moscow has not yet responded to the recent law change.

Some Ukranians will celebrate Christmas Day on both 7 January and 25 December.
 Close Huge smoke cloud rises after massive explosion at factory in Moscow

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45 people have been injured in a blast at a night-vision goggle factory in Moscow, The Moscow Times reports.

The explosion rocked the town of Sergiev Posad, 50 km (30 miles) northeast of Moscow on Wednesday, with emergency services reporting that the blast appeared to have taken place in a warehouse containing pyrotechnic equipment.

23 people were hospitalised, with six in intensive care, the Sergiev Posad mayors office said. Unverified footage on social media showed a huge column of smoke, and high-rise buildings with windows blown out.

The Zagorsk Optical and Mechanical Plant produces optical equipment for industrial and healthcare applications as well as for the Russian security forces.

However, TASS cited emergency services as saying they did not believe the blast had been caused by a Ukrainian drone attack - many of which have taken place in Moscow and the surrounding area in recent weeks and months.

The news comes as Russia claimed it shot down two Ukrainian drones headed for Moscow, one near a major airport to the south of the city and one to the west of the capital.
With Moscow facing a flurry of drone attacks in recent weeks  the latest over the weekend  Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has said the war in his country is returning to Russia.

While Kyiv is always very cagey about claiming direct responsibility for attacks on Russian soil, the number of incidents has coincided with the Ukrainian counteroffensive to retake territory occupied by Moscows forces. All while the Kremlin is still dealing with the fallout from a mutiny last month by the battle-hardened mercenaries of the Wagner Group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The attempted uprising, which was halted after 24 hours with Prigozhins fighters about 125 miles from Moscow, opened the way for a barrage of criticism of Moscows top military leadership by some of its own most senior generals commanding Russias invasion forces in Ukraine. Kyivs aim? To take advantage of this discord, and to increase it. Anything that will help them on the front line.
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The co-founder of the company that operated the ill-fated submersible trip to the wreck of the Titanic is now leading efforts to send humans to Venus.

Guillermo Sohnlein, who is also the founder and chairman of Humans2Venus, said in an interview with Insider that he is hopeful his new company can host a colony of 1,000 humans on the hottest planet in the solar system.

The new venture comes less than two months after OceanGate co-founder and Mr Sohnleins friend Stockton Rush and four other passengers died when the companys Titan submersible imploded at depths of more than 12,000ft. Mr Sohnlein co-founded OceanGate with Mr Rush in 2009 and handed over control of the company in 2013.

Guillermo Sohnlein (60 Minutes )

Forget OceanGate. Forget Titan. Forget Stockton. Humanity could be on the verge of a big breakthrough and not take advantage of it because we, as a species, are gonna get shut down and pushed back into the status quo, Mr Sohnlein said. [Sending humans to Venus] ... it is aspirational, but I think its also very doable by 2050.

Mr Sohnlein argued that new findings by NASA suggest humans could potentially live in a silver of the Venusian atmosphere that is 30 miles from the surface.

According to NASA, Venus has a very toxic atmosphere filled with carbon dioxide and its permanently shrouded in thick, yellowish clouds of sulfuric acid that trap heat, causing a runaway greenhouse effect. It is believed by experts that it would be nearly impossible for humans to live on Venus, per Space.com.

However, Mr Sohnlein has expressed that those hurdles can be overcome with innovation.

When it came to imagining a permanent home for humanity away from Earth, one challenge always bothered me, an entry by Mr Sohnlein on the Humans2Venus website read. I am not an engineer or a scientist, but I have ultimate faith in the abilities of both. Therefore, I always figured that they would be able to overcome the myriad challenges facing us in the extreme environment of space: radiation, temperature, pressure, food, water, breathable air, etc. All of these could be overcome.

Hamish Harding (upper left), Stockton Rush (upper right), Paul-Henri Nargeolet (bottom left) and Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman (bottom right) died in the Titans implosion (Dirty Dozen Productions/OceanGate/AFP/Getty)

Mr Sohnlein has fiercely defended Rush against criticism that the late investor ignored several warnings about safety concerns with the Titan.

I dont think that should have a negative connotation because you could almost argue that its a critical element of humanity moving forward, he told Insider. If we didnt have people that like this, wed probably all still be in caves.

OceanGate, which was based in Everett, Washington, announced earlier this month that it suspended all operations.

In this handout image provided by NASA, the SDO satellite captures a ultra-high definition image of the Transit of Venus across the face of the sun on June 6, 2012 (Getty Images)

The Titans catastrophic implosion on 18 June remains under investigation by multiple maritime authorities, including the US Coast Guard as well as the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the French Marine Casualties Investigation Board.

The Coast Guard convened a Marine Board of Investigation last month and said it will hold a public hearing once it is determined what caused the submersible to malfunction.
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The April 2020 supermoon will be the biggest and brightest of 2020 as its elliptical orbit brings it closer to the Earth in more than a year.

On 7-8 April, the full moon will reach as close as 356,907km (221,772 miles), and will appear most impressive at moonrise on Tuesday and moonset on Wednesday.

Clear skies in the UK, combined with unusually low air pollution due to the coronavirus lockdown, make it one of the best opportunities in years to view the rare celestial phenomenon. Heres how to take the perfect picture of it:

Use a landmark to get perspective

Everyone will be taking pictures of the supermoon by itself, but some of the best pictures show the moon next to a land mark or trees and houses, which is what helps to give the picture a sense of place, says Nasas senior photographer, Bill Ingalls. Think of how to be creative  that means tying it into some land-based object. It can be a local landmark or anything to give your photo a sense of place.

9 best images of the 2016 supermoon Show all 9 1 / 9 9 best images of the 2016 supermoon 9 best images of the 2016 supermoon The moon rises over the O2 Arena in south-east London PA 9 best images of the 2016 supermoon A commerical jet flies in front of the moon on its approach to Heathrow airport in west London on November 13, 2016. AFP/Getty Images 9 best images of the 2016 supermoon A super moon rises over the Statue of Freedom on the Capitol dome in Washington, DC November 13, 2016. AFP 9 best images of the 2016 supermoon The "supermoon", the closest the moon comes to Earth since 1948, rises over the Power and Light building in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, U.S., November 13, 2016 Reuters 9 best images of the 2016 supermoon A woman sits on the rooftop terrace of a house during the "supermoon" in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, November 13, 2016 Reuters 9 best images of the 2016 supermoon The moon rises behind the eagle sculpture high atop LeVeque Tower in Columbus, Ohio, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016 AP 9 best images of the 2016 supermoon The moon rises beyond the Arch in St. Louis as seen from the Compton Hill Water Tower on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016 AP 9 best images of the 2016 supermoon The moon rises behind Reunion Tower in downtown Dallas, Sunday evening, Nov. 13, 2016. AP 9 best images of the 2016 supermoon The moon rises over the harbor of the costal town of Lambert's Bay, South Africa, Monday, Nov. 14, 2016 AP

Pick the best spot

Location isnt everything, but it can definitely help with getting a perfect picture of the supermoon if you have time to plan it. You can look up the best monuments or statues in your area to photograph the image of the moon against, like Mr Ingalls does in Washington D.C., where he lives. It means doing a lot of homework. I use Google Maps and other apps  even a compass  to plan where to get just the right angle at the right time, he told Nasa.

Use an app to find the moon

Unless you're an astronomer, the best way to know where the moon will rise or set is to use a app on your smartphone to locate it. There are several free or cheap options you can choose from, each using your phone's inbuilt accelerometer to know which way you're facing.

The apps can also tell you what phase the moon is in, while some even give other celestial details, like the location of planets and star constellations. Decent options for iOS and Android devices include Star Chart, Sky Safari and Skyview.

Get the right exposure

If youre using a camera where you can control the shutter speed, dont go for a long exposure even though the picture will be taken in low light, National Geographic photographer Mark Thiessen told the magazine, as it will lose any chance of capturing lunar detail and make the moon itself appear too bright.

April's supermoon will offer the biggest and brightest view of the full moon in over a year (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

If youre taking a picture on your camera, control the light balance by first tapping the screen where the moon appears to get the camera to focus on the object before dragging your finger up and down to play with the exposure. Youll usually want to drag it down for underexposure to be sure you have all the highlight detail, National Geographic photographer Michael Christopher Brown said.

Use a tripod for your camera or rest your phone on a solid surface

David Reneke, an astronomer and writer for Australian science magazine told ABC.net that if youre using an SLR or DSLR then its important to play with aperture settings on your camera to photograph the supermoon, but that using a tripod is essential.

Its worth using a tripod for taking pictures with a smartphone too, as any camera shake can compromise the quality of the pictures  but if you dont have one to hand you can simply rest your phone on a window ledge.

For older smartphones that use a digital zoom rather than an optical zoom, its generally best not to use the zoom as it could compromise the quality of the image. Instead, take the picture and then crop it.

Newer phones like the Huawei P30 and P40 series feature incredible zoom capabilities that can take detailed pictures of far away objects. Other cameras come with special features to improve pictures of the night sky, such as the Google Pixel 4s Astro mode.
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In May this year, residents of Whitstable gathered to discuss a growing crisis  the slow death of their community at the hands of tourists, with the blame laid firmly on the growth of second homes and holiday lets.

Locals listed numerous problems caused by a proliferation of short-term rentals in recent years, from poor parking and litter to all-night parties. The seaside town on Kents northern coast has also seen a steady decline in year-round inhabitants, which has left the town feeling hollowed out, they said.

Its a familiar story for anyone living in one of the UKs holiday hotspots. Around the coast, and in popular tourist destinations such as the Cotswolds, the Lake District, and parts of Wales, resentment has been brewing for some time.

Locals are increasingly being driven out by soaring house prices, and the effect has been devastating, both for those forced out and for those left behind.

Janet Pearson lives in Newlyn, a working fishing port in West Cornwall that has become increasingly popular with holidaymakers in recent years. The road she lives on, a quiet terrace of small fishermens cottages, is perfect for the Airbnb market.

One by one, the houses are being sold to investors and let out for a week or two at a time.

Its cancerous in the way its spreading, she said. When I first moved here 10 years ago, every house on my road was lived in, with several families and quite a few children. During lockdown, two houses became holiday lets, then more.

Its sad in the winter. When I pull my curtains at night and look out, the houses opposite are just dead. Theres no light in them at all. It makes me feel very isolated.

Just 10 miles away, the honeypot resort of St Ives has been grappling with the pressures of overtourism for decades. In 2016, the town became one of the first in the country to try to legislate against the tide, voting through Policy H2, which stipulates that newly built homes can only be sold as a principal residence.

Whitstable, on Kents northern coast, has seen a steady decline in year-round inhabitants (Getty/iStock)

Other places have followed suit: the Cornish towns of Fowey and Mevagissey, as well as Brighton, Whitby, Scarborough and parts of Norfolk.

Few want to drive the holidaymakers out completely; many of the UKs more remote regions are almost entirely reliant on tourism to drive their economies. But the prevailing mood is that a balance needs to be struck, and soon.

Janet Jefferson, an independent councillor representing Scarboroughs Castle ward, is one of those pushing for there to be greater consideration for local interests.

In some areas there might only be two or three people living in a road permanently. It also reduces the number of properties that are left for ordinary families, she said.

A lot of landlords are issuing Section 21 notices, so people are having to vacate properties they might have lived in for two decades so it can be let out for holidays. Its then very difficult for them to find something to rent.

Its cancerous in the way its spreading Janet Pearson on holiday lets in Newlyn, Cornwall

Im not decrying people who want to come on holiday  theres nothing wrong with that. But you lose the community. In Whitby, Robin Hoods Bay, places like that, the young people cant afford to buy anything because they get snapped up by investors.

The problem with mechanisms such as Policy H2 is that they simply dont get to the root of the issue.

Angry vandals have targeted a second home in Cornwall with graffiti (Jory Mundy / SWNS)

While its evidently a good thing that new-build developments are preserved for those who live and work in the area, most investors in holiday lets are after the more historic and atmospheric homes  the ones that usually make up the heart of any town. But for now, its pretty much the only tool local authorities possess.

The government has promised help through the Levelling Up Bill, currently making its way through parliament. This will allow local councils to double the rate of council tax payable on second homes, as has been the case in Wales since 2017. Whitby and Scarborough have already voted to adopt these measures as soon as they are passed into law.

The Telegraph report one in four councils in England have pre-emptively agreed to double the levy. More than 100,000 second-home owners are set to see bills rise.

But critics are sceptical as to how much of an effect this will have on the community crisis.

The Welsh government has now raised rates again, with a premium of 300 per cent, but the policies have little to no impact on holiday-let owners, who are subject to business rates instead (and for the most part are able to claim 100 per cent relief as small businesses).

Campaigners are more optimistic regarding the latest proposal from Michael Gove, the minister for levelling up, housing and communities, who last month announced a new policy that would require property owners to apply for planning permission in order to convert homes into holiday lets.

Recommended Best spa hotels in Cornwall 2022 for relaxing by the sea

I think its a good idea, says Cath Navin, one of the founders of Cornwall-based organisation First Not Second Homes. Local councils should be able to say No more holiday lets. It will deter people from investing in property purely as a cash cow.

But its something thats only going to be fully functional as part of a raft of measures, including returning other houses to long-term letting.
Retired British miner David Hunter was visibily overcome with emotion as he was released from prison after nearly two years for the manslaughter of his seriously ill wife.

Hunter, 76, admitted suffocating Janice, his wife of 52 years, at their home on the island, after she begged him to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer.

On Monday, judges at Paphos District Court imposed a two-year jail sentence on Hunter, who has already spent 19 months in custody. His legal team said he had been released shortly after the sentencing when Cypriot prison authorities had officially calculated his release date.
Police are searching for three suspects involved in an armed robbery at a jewellery store in Florida on 28 July.

Footage released by the Tampa Police Department shows a female suspect entering the store and looking around briefly before leaving again.

She returns minutes later and holds the door open for two male suspects, who rush in.

The first male suspect, armed with a hammer, is seen smashing display cases and grabbing merchandise.

A second suspect, wearing a yellow jacket and armed with a gun, stands in the doorway pointing the gun into the store.

Police say an armed employee of the store fired a gun at the suspects, causing them to flee.

The bullet struck an unoccupied vehicle.
Lori Vallow addressed the court ahead of her sentencing, claiming her murdered children are happy in heaven.

The 50-year-old was convicted in May of killing her seven-year-old son Joshua JJ Vallow and 16-year-old daughter Tylee Ryan, who vanished without a trace in September 2019.

She was also found guilty of conspiring to kill her husband Chad Daybells first wife, Tammy, who died in October 2019.

Jesus Christ knows the truth of what happens here, Vallow told the court.

I have had many communications from people now living in heaven, including my children... because of these communications, I know that my children are happy and busy in the spirit world.
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Nearly four years after her children were brutally killed and buried, Lori Vallow has been sentenced to life in prison for their murders.

What began as a small-town search for two missing children in the fall of 2019 quickly exploded into an unimaginable saga with too many twists and turns to count, including the exposure of at least five mystery deaths, a doomsday cult preparing for the end of times and a joyful beach wedding between that cults two recently-widowed leaders. The world watched as Loris portrait transformed from devoted mother-of-three to accused child abandoner to murder suspect  and finally, convicted killer.

A jury in Boise, Idaho, took just seven hours of deliberation to find the so-called cult mom guilty of the murders of her 16-year-old daughter Tylee Ryan and seven-year-old son Joshua JJ Vallow on 12 May. She was also convicted of conspiracy to murder her fifth husband Chad Daybells first wife, Tammy. For all of the twists and turns that preceded it in Loris spectacular story, the guilty verdict came as little surprise given that her attorneys had declined to call any witnesses in her defense.

But two months later, Lori stunned the court when she made an unprecedented move to defend herself publicly for the first time. At her sentencing on 31 July, Lori sobbed in a bizarre statement where she denied that any murders took place and insisted that her victims are very happy.

Having followed this tragic case in near-obsessive detail, I could spend endless hours analysing each line of her sentencing statement. But perhaps the most important aspect is that it came far, far too late; her fate was already sealed by the years of silence that preceded it.

When Loris children vanished in September 2019, she alerted no one to their disappearance as she continued collecting their Social Security and life insurance benefits. Just weeks later, Lori glowed on a Hawaiian beach at her wedding to Chad, whose own wife had died  in an apparent murder conspiracy  17 days prior.

When police in Rexburg, Idaho, came knocking for a welfare check at the request of JJs grandparents two months after the children were last seen, Lori dismissed their concern before going on the run the following day.

When Lori and Chad were tracked down to Hawaii in January 2020, the sunkissed couple kept silent, their eyes trained on their flip-flops, as a news crew confronted them in a parking lot asking where JJ and Tylee were.

When Lori was extradited back to Idaho on charges for failing to meet a court order to present the children before a judge, she chose jail over revealing what she knew about the childens whereabouts while vaguely saying they were safe and happy.

After her two childrens bodies were recovered from Chads property, she still gave no public explanation or pronouncement of innocence, aside from not guilty pleas entered before the court. Even when Loris loved ones, including her eldest son, sister and longtime best friend, made one-on-one pleas for the truth, she brushed them off.

Across the three years and eight months from when the children were killed and buried in the Daybell familys pet cemetery to when her trial began, Lori never made an obvious effort to convince anyone she wasnt involved. When her final chance to do so came at trial, she again chose not to. Instead, the defense gambled on the possibility jurors wouldnt accept the case presented by prosecutors through five weeks of testimony from 60 witnesses.

In a powerful closing statement, the prosecution seized upon a string of crucial questions unfurled over the course of the cult mom saga. Why didnt Lori report the children missing? Why did she collect thousands of dollars in benefits meant for them? Why was she on a beach in Hawaii during a multi-state search? Why did she repeatedly claim they were safe?

The answer to all of these questions, prosecutors said, is simple: because she killed her children, motivated by money, sex and power.

In the defense closing, Loris attorneys sought to shift blame onto Chad, savagely painting him as a controlling, forcefully peddling nutty religious beliefs. They urged the jury to take a close look at all of the evidence, suggesting that it lead back to him, not Lori.

While the idea that Chad bears all of the responsibility  for the murders and for Loris actions around them  was indeed compelling, it left one more crucial question: Why did we never hear this from Lori?

Two months on from the guilty verdict, Lori finally tried to tell us her side at sentencing. Her statement held very little resemblance to what the defense had suggested at trial - with no mention of Chad or the doomsday cult, and no attempt to answer any of the aforementioned questions. Instead, she denied that the murders took place at all.

Jesus knows that no one was murdered in this case, she told the court. She said she knew through many communications with people in heaven that her children and Tammy are very happy in the afterlife - and that she is excited to join them one day.

Judge Steven Boyce wasnt swayed. In handing down five life terms without parole, the judge noted both Loris months of silence and her attempts to be excused from the trial. It is the most shocking thing I can imagine, that a mother killed their own children, and you simply have no remorse for it, he said. There is no remorse for what you did.

Well never know whether the course of this trial would have been altered by Lori speaking out sooner. But she now has the rest of her life to ponder that question in a cell.
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The Republican presidential nominating contest does not officially start until January when the New Hampshire primary and Iowa caucuses begin. But in reality, the nominee is often decided long before voters officially cast their ballots.

Despite the headlines surrounding Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden consistently led national polls except for a few brief moments when Mr Sanders notched victories in New Hampshire and Nevada. For all the focus on Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz in the 2016 GOP primary, polls rightly predicted Donald Trump would become the nominee, while Mr Sanderss insurgent run only delayed the inevitable of Hillary Clintons 2016 nomination.

Similarly, few can deny that Mr Trump dominates the Republican Party far more now than when he staged his GOP takeover in 2016. Despite not currently holding office, he is essentially running as an incumbent  especially given the fact that a large chunk of the Republican electorate believes the Deep State, RINO Republicans and Democrats stole the 2020 election from him. The continued indictments and investigations have not blunted support for him, but have rather galvanised Republicans behind him.

Mondays New York Times and Siena College poll provided further evidence that the Republican presidential primary is all but decided. The survey showed that despite conservatives wanting a horse race between Mr Trump and Florida Gov Ron DeSantis, 54 per cent of likely Republican voters support the former president compared to 17 per cent who say they support Mr DeSantis.

In addition, while much has been made of Mr DeSantiss supposed strength with college-educated voters, 40 per cent of likely Republican voters who have at least a bachelors degree support Mr Trump, with only 23 per cent supporting Mr DeSantis.

Similarly, as much as Republican donors are trying to make Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) happen, he clocks in third place among voters with a college degree, but only commands a pittance of four per cent of voters with a degree and only three per cent overall. The same goes for Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Chris Christie, Francis Suarez and so many other also-ran Republican presidential candidates; at a certain point, the press, the Republican electorate and major Republican donors no longer need to view these people not as legitimate presidential candidates, but rather attention-seekers.

Mr Trump also holds a majority with nearly every age demographic. In the demographic where he does not  voters between the age of 30 and 44 years  he still leads with 41 per cent.

Furthermore, as much as Republicans like former congressman Will Hurd (who is running as an anti-Trump candidate despite not voting to impeach him when he was in office) warn that Mr Trump will lose to President Joe Biden, 40 per cent of voters say that able to beat Joe Biden describes Mr Trump much better, and 18 per cent say it describes the former president somewhat better.

These numbers are nearly insurmountable. Almost all of the other candidates lack the name recognition needed to overtake Mr DeSantis (save for former vice president Mike Pence, whom many Republicans consider to be a traitor). Mr Trumps nomination at this point is all but inevitable, with the real contest slated to become who will win the silver medal  giving them the potential to become Mr Trumps running-mate, but far but guarantees it.

Of course, nothing is a foregone conclusion. But barring Mr Trump either passing away before Iowa  hes said he would run even from prison  it is hard to envision anyone beating him at this point. If any of his challengers hit him too hard, they face accusations of committing Republican heresy, but letting him skate by would inevitably kill their chances.

At this point, it is ludicrous to admit anything other than the fact that Mr Trump will be the presumptive frontrunner and begin preparing to view the upcoming primaries through that lens.
Personal Finance

Eyewatering  number of former ministers and top civil servants on pensions over 75k is on the rise
From Sugar Daddy Ken to growing Skipper to pregnant Midge: The most controversial discontinued Barbie dolls

Greta Gerwigs Barbie movie features cameos from a host of surreal dolls quietly discontinued by Mattel  among them a pregnant plastic woman and Rob Brydons Sugar Daddy Ken. Believe it or not, all of them are ripped from reality, writes Ellie Muir

The cast of Barbie, including those playing the discontinued dolls. Photo: Getty - Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/WireImage

Ellie Muir UK Independent Mon 31 Jul 2023 at 17:51
Result-based payments link the nature quality of the habitats on a farm to the environmental payment. Each field is scored out of 10 using a scorecard that captures the environmental quality of the habitat, which reflects past and current management.

A four-week extension to the closing date for submission of completed scorecards for results-based actions under the ACRES scheme was confirmed on Friday.

Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue had previously ruled out such an extension, but said the new closing date will be Friday 29th September 2023 which will give advisors an additional four weeks to complete the submissions.

Announcing the extension, the Minister commented ACRES is the flagship environmental scheme under Irelands CAP Strategic Plan. It is addressing a range of climate, water and biodiversity objectives and the results-based approach is a key driver of the environmental ambition of the scheme. This approach also gives the farmer the opportunity to increase their payments over the lifetime of the scheme. Some 46,000 farmers are currently participating in ACRES with over 1 million hectares of lands in the Scheme.

My Department together with the ACRES co-operation teams has already trained over 600 advisers on submitting scorecards and completed scorecards are being submitted to my Department daily. Just under 40% of all scorecards have been submitted already and this is testament to the commitment of the advisors and farmers to this task which is the first time the scoring of agricultural land has been carried out to such a scale.

The Minister added, Given the importance of getting these baseline scores submitted in this first year of the scheme and acknowledging the extra workload it creates for advisors, I have decided to extend this deadline for the submission of completed ACRES scorecards by an additional four weeks. This will allow advisors to plan their work over their next eight weeks. Its essential now that all advisors continue to engage with their ACRES clients and work to have the necessary scorecards completed as soon as possible.

The Minister also announced significant funding to support the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) for investment in upskilling their members on the work of the ACRES scheme.

The Minister added As with many of my Departments schemes, advisors are a key enabler in the implementation of ACRES. This investment in the ACA will allow them to work with their members and ensure they have the necessary resources to make the scheme a success.
A French farmer harvests his field of wheat during sunset, in Blecourt, France July 19, 2023. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

Drier-than-usual conditions across western, central and northern Europe are hitting crop yields from wheat to corn and barley, according to the European Union's Monitoring Agricultural Resources unit.

Europe's sunflower crop is now seen below the five-year average due to a weaker outlook in Romania, while the spring barley crop is seen lower due to conditions in Scandinavia and the Baltic countries.

Still, some areas got surplus rainfall that delayed harvesting and potentially reduced grain quality.

Southern parts of the Iberian Peninsula and northern Italy experienced intense heatwaves, which triggered a risk of heat-induced sterility for flowering summer crops, with potentially irreversible impacts on yields.

Below are the latest MARS yield forecasts for 2023, in tons per hectare:

JRC MARS Bulletin - Crop monitoring in Europe

Bloomberg.
Recent weather conditions have made it particularly difficult for many farmers to harvest crops and clear straw to allow shallow cultivation take place.

In recognition of the recent unseasonably wet period of weather an extended period of time for farmers to complete the shallow cultivation measure required post-harvest of certain tillage crops has been allowed.

It comes following an agreement between Ministers Darragh OBrien and Charlie McConalogue, and will see the current 14-day period to complete the shallow cultivation measure has been extended to 28 days for crops that are harvested up to the 4th of August. Where shallow cultivation is required on this land, it must be done by 1st of September.

Announcing the decision Minister OBrien stated, I recognise recent weather conditions have made it particularly difficult for many farmers to harvest crops and clear straw to allow shallow cultivation take place.

Since mid-July it has been exceptionally wet in many places as evidenced by Met Eireann data which shows over the 7 days to 27th July rainfall in some cases has been in excess of 300% of the 30-year mean. Looking to the forecast, Met Eireann states the national outlook is Remaining unsettled into next week with further outbreaks of rain or showers expected.

Commenting on the flexibility, Minister McConalogue stated Some early crops of winter barley were successfully harvested with shallow cultivation completed, however for more recently harvested crops that are many instances where straw is already lying on the ground for over 14 days as it has not been dry enough to bale. When weather conditions improve this straw will have to be tedded out to dry before being raked up again to facilitate baling. In difficult weather conditions tillage farmers have to prioritise trying to save their grain to avoid further loses. I recognise harvesting grain must be the priority ahead of clearing straw; the flexibility agreed by my colleague, Minister OBrien will allow this.

There is already flexibility for farmers in the rules around shallow cultivation of land post-harvest. Thes flexibilities include an exemption for all land where a winter cereal crop, oilseed rape or beans is due to be sown by the 31st of October. In addition, to avoid unduly impacting the source of food for seed eating birds, there is a requirement not to conduct shallow cultivation post-harvest on 20% to 25% of the total cereal land area on each holding.

Minister McConalogue pointed out These flexibilities cover a very significant majority of the land already harvested/being harvested at present. However this situation will quickly change as the Spring Barley harvest commences.

Minister McConalogue concluded by saying he and Minister OBrien agreed the situation should be reviewed again in a weeks time and a further extension may be considered at that stage if necessary.

Shallow cultivation by 1st September should still allow establishment of an appropriate level of green cover to take up nutrients remaining in the soil post-harvest thereby reducing the risk to water quality.

The Good Agricultural Practice for the Protection of Waters Regulations state, In counties Carlow, Cork, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow shallow cultivation or sowing of a crop must take place within 10 days of baling of straw post harvest.

Where straw is chopped shallow cultivation or sowing a crop must take place within 10 days of harvest. In all circumstances, shallow cultivation or sowing of a crop must take place within 14 days of harvesting. In certain weather conditions, the Minister, in discussion with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, may advise when this should not apply.

The regulations also state, A minimum of 20% and a maximum of 25% of cereal land on each holding shall not be subject to shallow cultivation post-harvest. Unless a crop has subsequently been established, this land shall not be subject to the use of any herbicides until at least February 1st in the following year. If the cereal area includes land where water flowing over the land surface can enter a watercourse this area should be prioritised for inclusion within the cereal area that is not subject to shallow cultivation post-harvest.

The Regulations also state the requirements to conduct shallow cultivation of sowing of a crop as set out above shall not apply in the following cases:
Kinahan cartel members wife dreams of converting luxury Malaga villa into five-star hotel over

Images taken this week of the property in Calle Dinamarca, Mijas, show how building works at the property have been abandoned as Johnny awaits news of his fate in nearby high-security Alhaurin de la Torre Prison.

Nicola and Johnny Morrissey

Patrick O'Connell Mon 31 Jul 2023 at 09:42






Gardai are hunting for a Dublin crime figure suspected of being involved in a violent pub assault over the weekend.

A father and his son were hospitalised with serious injuries after they were attacked outside a bar in Crumlin in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The pair, aged in their 20s and 40s, were set on by a group outside Eleanoras Bar and Lounge on the Drimnagh Road.

Its understood the son was initially targeted by a group of men while in the smoking area of the pub.

His father subsequently attempted to intervene but was also attacked.

They were punched and kicked in the laneway beside the pub before emergency services were alerted as the men involved fled the scene.

The father and son were later brought to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Independent.ie has learned that a criminal from the Ballyfermot area of west Dublin has been identified as a suspect in the initial stages of the inquiry.

The man, aged in his late 30s, is well-known to gardai for his involvement in organised and serious crime.

He has also been targeted by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) previously and has also served jail terms related to violent incidents.

The suspect is also a close associate of Ballyfermot criminal Derek Dee Dee ODriscoll.

His crime gang were previously involved in an extortion racket relating to the development of social housing in the Cherry Orchard area.

Their associates are also being investigated over the murder of drug dealer Gary Carey (41), who was shot dead in the underground carpark of the Hilton Hotel in Kilmainham last year.

Detectives investigating this weekends assault in Crumlin have not yet made any arrests but have recovered good-quality CCTV from the area.

Its understood that, at this stage, the men assaulted have declined to make a statement to gardai.

A source said: This was a violent assault which was covered by CCTV cameras which captured the entire incident.

Gardai believe they know the identities of those involved, including this criminal, and are progressing the investigation with the aim of making arrests.

Investigators based at Crumlin Garda Station are continuing to appeal for any witnesses in relation to the incident to come forward.

A Garda spokesman said: Gardai responded to reports of an alleged assault which occurred on the Drimnagh Road in Dublin 12 during the early hours of Sunday morning, 30 July 2023.

A man in his 20s and a man in his 40s were later taken to St James Hospital for treatment. Their injuries are not thought to be life-threatening. Enquiries are ongoing, the spokesman added.
The Government is deeply concerned about the impact artificial intelligence (AI) could have on the spread of disinformation during election campaigns.

Housing Minister Darragh OBrien, who is also responsible for electoral reform, wrote to the newly established Electoral Commission setting out his fears over the capacity of AI to create and spread fake news online at a scale never seen before.

Mr OBrien warned that without strong guardrails regulating the rise of AI democratic debate will be undermined and skewed by data driven virtual bile.

The minister said a core theme of the functions of the Electoral Commission is to tackle disinformation and educate the public about the proliferation of fake news and conspiracy theories.

He asked the commission to draft a work plan setting out the potential dangers of unregulated AI to educate citizens about the threat of democracy by algorithm diktat.

Research and education of citizens is critical to standing up to the twisting and growing threat of AI, Mr OBrien said.

The minister said AI will enable far more precise targeting of messaging, sharper analysis of online data and rapid reaction to political developments.

Its widespread use will decentralise that capacity outside of political organisations and diffuse it across the population, he said. In the hands of bad faith political parties or nefarious activists AI could be weaponised against the pillars of our democracy.

In addition to that AI exponentially expands the capacity of malicious state or non-State actors in directly attacking our democratic processes. We must be on guard against these new challenges.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at the rededication ceremony of the National Army Monument at Glasnevin cemetery in Dublin. Photo: Arthur Carron

He referenced breathtaking innovations like ChatGPT and an AI-generated political attack ad created on behalf of the US Republican Party as examples of the fast-growing pace of the new technology. The ad imagined a future US led under president Joe Biden which showed waves of immigration into the country from Mexico and a collapse of civilisation in cities such as San Francisco. It used AI technology to create video and images by group sourcing readily available online material.

The European Commission is preparing new directives for member states to regulate AI and allow citizens take action against companies who are developing the software.

It will be some time before the directives are enacted and governments are in a race against time to ensure the technology is not used by bad actors to damage democratic votes across the EU.

The long-promised Electoral Commission was finally established in February, with former secretary general to president Michael D Higgins, Art OLeary, appointed as the chief executive.

The powers given to the commission will give the agency the statutory ability to force social media companies such as Twitter and Facebook to take down disinformation which may impact votes. It will also be able to instruct companies to inform users of their platforms if fake news is being spread in the lead up to or during elections and referendums.
US tourist Stephen Termini's sons stand where their father was attacked on Talbot Street. Photo: Mike Rizzuto/Instagram

A son of a US tourist Stephen Termini (57) who was attacked in Dublins north inner city has shared a picture online of the place where his fathers attack took place.

Stephen Termini's son Mike Rizzuto, posted a picture of himself and his brother Jesse stating: "My brother and I stood where our father was attacked. It's a very heavy spot, but it'll take more than that to keep us down."

He continued the post, with an update on his fathers medical state.

"Our father has improved on his health. He's no longer in a coma, but it will be a long healing process. Please stand by. Much Love."

Mr Termini, from Buffalo in New York, is in a serious but stable condition after suffering serious injuries to his eye and head during the incident on the corner of Store Street and Talbot Street on Wednesday, July 19.

The victim was punched and kicked multiple times in the head during the attack.

Stephen Termini with his sons Mike and Jesse Rizzuto

His two sons have since landed in Ireland, thanking those who made it possible for them to travel.

A GoFundMe page set up to help with their travel costs has raised more than $131,479 (119,267) to date.

Jesse wrote on Facebook: "We got to see our father for a bit today, I dont want to say too much more on that topic because its day-by-day but both of us remain hopeful.

"The people of Ireland have been incredibly supportive and have been trying to help us every step of the way, and we truly could not be more grateful for these people doing everything they can for us.

"It truly is making the entire process easier and again we could not be more grateful to everyone here.

He added: Thank you to everyone who made this possible and everyone still helping us out every step.

Four new laws passed by Justice Minister Helen McEntee

Mr Terminis sister, Michelle, had shared a poignant statement to the fundraiser page, saying it was her brothers dream to visit Ireland.

"My brother had been working at a galvanizing plant, saving every penny to afford the trip (after losing his wife to illness last April). He had always dreamed of visiting Ireland.

"He was trying to trace our family that emigrated to the US from Dublin. What we were told as children was that our grandfather, Charles Wilson, had been a painter, painting cathedrals in Dublin. His mother, Ann Donnelly was from county Mayo. It's been difficult to find any trace of them from here, so he thought perhaps he could learn more in Ireland.

"Our mother's last request was to be buried in Ireland (2004). He was unable to attend the ceremony at the time, but longed to visit her final resting place, she said, adding that she didn't worry about him visiting Ireland.

"We feel so very helpless as none of us can afford the trip to be with him in his time of dire need. I understand that he may lose one of his eyes and suffer lifelong disability from this unfortunate incident. Thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers.

Three teenage boys face charges for the assault on Mr Termini. Each have been remanded on bail pending directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions. They are aged 14, 15 and 16.

The incident has prompted a wider debate on whether the Irish capital's streets are safe.

On Friday, Justice Minister Helen McEntee announced an additional 10m for gardai in the Dublin region.

Meanwhile, the US embassy in Dublin has advised US tourists travelling to Ireland to be aware of their safety due to recent assaults in Dublin city.
The AGSI have called on Justice Minister Helen McEntee to "make a decision" on the Garda retirement age. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins Dublin.

The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) has called on the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee to make a decision on the extension of retirement age for gardai.

It is two years since the association first wrote to Minister McEntee on the issue, the AGSI General Secretary Antoinette Cunningham told RTE Radio Ones Morning Ireland.

She was speaking amid calls for an increase in garda numbers following a serious attack on an American tourist in Dublin city centre almost two weeks ago.

The assault of New Yorker Stephen Termini (57) has sparked a conversation on safety in the capital.

Ms Cunningham said the AGSI needs to be open to any concept that might bring an extra visible garda presence or extra gardai into the organisation.

She said the association is reiterating its position on the extension of the retirement age for gardai, adding the Minister McEntee should make a decision on the issue one way or another in the near future.

It's two years ago since AGSI wrote to the Minister for Justice to ask her around the extension of retirement age for gardai beyond 60 years and that's compulsory, she told Morning Ireland.

"As you know gardai are forced to retire at 60. Many of them are fit, well and able to stay working  and indeed want to stay working  in providing a service to communities.

"It's two years since we asked the Minister for Justice to explore this issue and I know Deputy [Jim] OCallaghan has raised this recently but it is something that AGSI have supported and it is something we asked about two years ago.

"So we would be calling on the Minister for Justice to please make the decision on this one way or the other in the near future.

Ms Cunningham said the AGSI does not have a position on whether the recruitment age should be changed, but said it needs to be open to whatever might encourage more people to enter the organisation.

This is a concept that has come before AGSI. The association doesn't have a position on it, she said, adding it is open to discussion on the subject.

"In an era where we're finding it hard to recruit people, I think we all need to be open to exploring any concept possible that might bring in an extra visible garda presence or extra gardai into the organisation.

This article was amended on Jul 31, 2023.
Politicians and senior gardai are to meet in Cork over an escalating protest about LGBTQ+ reading material that last weekend forced the closure of Cork Library.

Cork City Council ordered the closure of the Grand Parade library on Saturday amid fears a protest on the street outside could impact both staff and customers.

An ongoing protest campaign has been staged by ultra-conservative and far-right groups who object to specific reading material being available in the library.

They claimed that it was immoral and against the Constitution that highly sexualised reading material was available to underage readers.

Protestors claimed the material involved was pornographic and the demonstrations would continue until it was removed.

Library staff have been subjected to harassment, intimidation, being filmed without their permission and even having books torn up in front of them in a protest campaign stretching over several weeks.

Counter-protests have been staged by trade unions, civil rights and left wing groups.

Now, the Lord Mayor of Cork, Councillor Kieran McCarthy, will meet senior gardai this week in a bid to ease tensions over the issue.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has already hit out at the protests  warning that lessons from the past about censorship and intolerance need to be remembered.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin said that some of the protests amounted to "vigilantism". He also warned that Ireland could not allow a return to the days of censorship that blighted a significant part of the 20th century.

Mr Martin said it was clear that some far-right agitators simply wanted to provoke a reaction and achieve notoriety. He praised the "intelligence-led" handling of the matter by the gardai.

Protesters at the anti-LGBTQ+ rally on Saturday mounted a banner across the entrance to the library that read: "There are only two genders: male and female."

It was erected without permission and taken down later that day.

Councillor McCarthy said it was unacceptable that such a vital facility as the Cork library should be forced to close because of "harassment by a very small minority".

"I will be meeting with senior gardai this week calling for a stop to such horrific harassment."

Trade union Forsa warned that horrified library staff had been called "paedophiles" and "groomers".

Journalists who reported on the protest have also been targeted in social media postings.

The trade union said it was now very concerned for the health and safety of library workers who had been left deeply upset by the protests.
Tanaiste and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has launched a new podcast entitled 'In Conversation.

The podcast will see the foreign affairs minister adopting the role of interviewer instead of interviewee, according to Fianna Fail.

In the first hour-long episode, Mr Martin interviews author Dr Mark Henry to discuss how Ireland has developed since the foundation of the State.

Another episode is set to be published later in the year according to the partys press office.

Minister Martin said former ministers Noel Dempsey and Michael Smith were very unpopular within the Fianna Fail parliamentary party when laws on drink driving when brought in.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin launches his own podcast in series trailer

In my own party, Michael Smith, Noel Dempsey, were very unpopular within the parliamentary party, Noel at times when he brought in the drink driving laws, he said.

By any metric, Ireland is a fantastic place to live, now of course we have problems, Dr Henry tells the Tanaiste.

But by any objective, weve done really, really well.

He also said people are living longer and cancer mortality rates are one of the signs of how Ireland has moved forward in recent decades.

Even for those in the 1990s, if you had a cancer diagnosis, for 60pc of people that was a death sentence within five years. Unfortunately, they passed away.

Today that's reversed. More than six in ten will survive longer than five years. So, we've made very good progress.

The Former health minister said prevention is one of the key measures when it comes to healthcare.

He said health ministers are usually drawn into emergency departments and away from basic things such as healthy eating and exercise

Very often, any minister for health will be drawn away from that strategic perspective and youre back into emergency departments, he said.

Sometimes, it can skew policy focus.

Minister Martin said the Government should do more to tackle the housing crisis.

Amidst all of this optimism and sort of positivity, there are stories underneath this. Notwithstanding wage growth and employment for young people today, to buy a house is still very difficult.
Tanaiste Micheal Martin condemned an arson attack on a former Cork gaelscoil last week. Photo: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

Tanaiste Micheal Martin has vowed that the full rigours of the law will be applied to those attacking refugee centres as he paid tribute to the careful intelligence-led approach being adopted by gardai to the sinister work of the far right in Ireland.

Mr Martin strongly condemned an arson attack on a former Cork Gaelscoil last week which had been earmarked for use as a refugee centre.

A number of people wearing balaclavas were seen using petrol bombs to set fire to the Ballincollig property which was being refurbished to house up to 150 refugees.

It followed angry protests led by the far right in other communities to oppose refugee housing.

Gardai attended protests in Ballybrack in Dublin last week after a building linked to refugee accommodation was attacked.

Mr Martin praised the garda handling of the incidents and said many of those involved want notoriety.

Operational matters in terms of policing are for the gardai. I am always loath to wade in and tell the gardai how to do their job, he said.

But actually I understand where the gardai are coming from here. Very often, the people involved here want notoriety. They want profile.

Government officials said the concern was that any tough crackdown by gardai on such groups could prove counterproductive  with many of those involved in the far-right protests working hard to provoke confrontation and arrests.

I think very often policing is about an intelligent approach, a subtle approach and an intelligence-led approach, and I have confidence in the gardai and in their capacity to deal with these issues, Mr Martin said.

The Tanaiste said it was clear that such far-right protests had the support of only a tiny minority of Irish people, many of whom were misled by lies and propaganda.

He vowed that the full rigours of the law would be applied to those responsible for such property attacks.

But he said vastly greater numbers of Irish people were involved in helping and supporting refugees who were fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Martin strongly condemned an arson attack on a former Cork gaelscoil last week which had been earmarked for use as a refugee centre.

A number of people wearing balaclavas were seen using petrol bombs to set fire to the Ballincollig property which was being refurbished to house up to 150 refugees.

It followed angry protests led by the far-right in other communities to oppose refugee housing.

Gardai attended protests in Ballybrack in Dublin last week after a building linked to refugee accommodation was attacked.

Mr Martin praised the garda handling of the incidents and said many of those involved want notoriety.

Operational matters in terms of policing are for the gardai. I am always loath to wade in and tell the gardai how to do their job, he said.

But actually I understand where the gardai are coming from here. Very often, the people involved here want notoriety. They want profile.

Government officials said the concern was that any tough crackdown by gardai on such groups could prove counterproductive  with many of those involved in the far-right protests working hard to provoke confrontation and arrests.

I think very often policing is about an intelligent approach, a subtle approach and an intelligence-led approach, and I have confidence in the gardai and in their capacity to deal with these issues, Mr Martin said.

The Tanaiste said it was clear that such far-right protests had the support of only a tiny minority of Irish people, many of whom were misled by lies and propaganda.

He vowed that the full rigours of the law would be applied to those responsible for such property attacks.

But he said vastly greater numbers of Irish people were involved in helping and supporting refugees who were fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

There is an element on the far-right who are stoking up unacceptable, racist rhetoric and making very, very false accusations against people, not just in terms of the context of Ukrainians, but also in the context of those seeking asylum in this country  young males in particular.

Accusations get disseminated on social media which are vile, which are untrue, which have no substance.

Mr Martin said it was very challenging.

So I think we should always play to our better spirits in Ireland and be true to our values in our country. There is pressure on accommodation  that is all over the world.

If you look at what is happening in Africa in particular  lots more conflict, the Wagner group [Russian mercenaries] moving into Mali and other places  all of that combined with climate change is driving human migration.

Ultimately, Europe and the European Union and others have to try and stabilise the neighbourhood.

They have to stabilise conflict situations in Africa and work to provide resources and support that would prevent a necessity for such significant migration trails to happen.

Meanwhile, Cork City Library had to temporarily close on Saturday as protests were again mounted by groups including the far-right over the availability of LGBTQ+ material.

Cork City Council took the decision to temporarily close the library from 12.30pm on Saturday because demonstrations were being planned outside the premises.

In a statement, City Hall said it took the decision in the interests of the safety and well-being of the public and library staff.

During a long-running campaign, protesters have targeted library staff with verbal abuse and intimidation and have ripped up books inside the library and filmed staff without their permission.

There is an element on the far-right who are stoking up unacceptable, racist rhetoric and making very, very false accusations against people, not just in terms of the context of Ukrainians, but also in the context of those seeking asylum in this country  young males in particular.

Accusations get disseminated on social media which are vile, which are untrue, which have no substance.

Mr Martin said it was very challenging.

So I think we should always play to our better spirits in Ireland and be true to our values in our country. There is pressure on accommodation  that is all over the world.

If you look at what is happening in Africa in particular  lots more conflict, the Wagner group [Russian mercenaries] moving into Mali and other places  all of that combined with climate change is driving human migration.

Ultimately, Europe and the European Union and others have to try and stabilise the neighbourhood.

They have to stabilise conflict situations in Africa and work to provide resources and support that would prevent a necessity for such significant migration trails to happen.
'Our hands are tied when it comes to properly policing crime and thuggery in the city' - gardai on what it will take to clean up Dublin's inner city

After the attack on American tourist Stephen Termini, there have been renewed calls for increased patrols, but disillusioned gardai claim their hands are tied on tackling thugs with little fear or respect. John Meagher reports

Gardai out on patrol on Talbot Street in Dublin's north inner city. Photo by Stephen Collins

John Meagher Mon 31 Jul 2023 at 06:30
Sylvia Omorodion: I worry about my safety in Dublin as aggression now seems normalised

Ive fallen in love with the city since moving here but recent encounters have left me shaken

Sylvia Omorodion moved to Ireland from France two years ago

Sylvia Omorodion Mon 31 Jul 2023 at 03:30
Sir  Ireland has lost one of her daughters, and so begins the predictable posthumous outpouring of love and adoration  the classic Irish wake, better late than never, right?

Recounting the life lost through rose-tinted glasses and self-placating anecdotes, pretending we did our best while they were here. Im feeling a little triggered. Im angry at us. I want us to do better.

Sinead OConnor was a soul in pain. I wish we could say we rallied around her when she showed us the source of that pain.

I wish we could say we heeded her pleas and brought the subject of unresolved childhood trauma and abuse to the public arena, opened conversations about how we could collectively help the people affected.

Conversations about how it damages lives for ever, leaving gaping wounds that continue to afflict future generations, how it destroys mental health, how it destroys life, how the perpetrators, especially if they are protected by state and clerical establishments, seldom face punishment. How the cries, on the whole, are ignored.

But we didnt rally around her.

We loved her emotionally charged music, we loved the edgy buzzcut that framed her huge, soulful eyes. We all connected with her. We admired her rage against the patriarchal institutions like the Catholic Church, whose own hands are covered in the blood of their crimes against children in Ireland.

We loved her bravery in voicing her distaste for all that was wrong with the world, long before we had consciously acknowledged it. She did what we were too scared to do.

She was asking us to look within, to face what was happening right under our very noses.

Sinead had suffered under broken Ireland. She was demonstrating, for us all to see, the repercussions of society ignoring the cries of its innocents. She was one of the many daughters and sons of Ireland who carry these wounds.

Ireland has, as the record can attest, failed her children many times over.

We have chosen to disregard domestic, clerical and state abuse over and over and over. Its still happening now, in 2023.

Sinead tried to bring her pain to the surface to heal, to show us what was driving her powerful creative genius. She told us why she was suffering. She asked for recognition, for help, but it seems the wounds were just too big, and as she started to slip away, we turned our backs.

No longer Irelands poster child for modern rebellion, she was just another crazy the tabloids could pick apart.

I admit to thinking she was obviously unstable. I didnt know much about her past as I hadnt read about it, I hadnt seen it. I only saw the tabloid fodder.

I can make no excuse for my judgment  it was obvious as the nose on my face what pain Sinead was dealing with. Why didnt we look deeper? Why didnt we listen to her cries?

Im not sure how we proceed with this. I think we, as a society, have a big task. We are a wounded country with dark skeletons. We are notorious for looking the other away.

We carry deep ancestral wounds of being beaten down by authority and bear a history of turning on each other, at those who step out of line.

How do we move forward?

We need to be present in the pain when pain presents itself. If we choose to bask in the light another soul brings, we are honour-bound to walk with them in the shadows too.

Thats love. Thats life.

Fiona OFarrell, Greystones, Co Wicklow

A mindless barbarity stalks our city streets

Sir  It is truly shocking that a 14-year-old boy may be partly responsible for the recent vicious attack on American tourist Stephen Termini in Dublin. All the more harrowing is that Stephen, a musician and artist with a deep affinity for Ireland, had been saving up hard for this visit, only to end up in intensive care.

This appalling incident clearly calls for a greater police presence on our streets, a move requiring more investment, resources and support for our gardai. The problem runs much deeper, however, as no police force can make people do the right thing.

How to explain such a ruthless gang attack?

Some will point to the waning of spiritual influences in Irish life, but surely, even without external moral guidance, all of us have an ingrained sense of ethics that distinguishes right from wrong.

Others will say more education is needed, but as a former teacher I know teachers already encourage and facilitate respect, care and compassion in their classrooms and beyond.

A large part of the explanation, of course, is societal, and we are all responsible for that. Factors such as poverty, low self-esteem, insufficient recreational facilities and inadequate support for struggling families all interplay against the grim backdrop of a ruthless urban drug culture.

None of this, however, exonerates those who attacked a visitor to our country, leaving him in a coma. Ultimately, the incident boils down to mindless barbarism and a total absence of empathy for the life and rights of another human being.

Sinead Boland, Co Wicklow

Treatment of gardai causing them to quit

Sir  Congratulations to Eilis OHanlon for another excellent column (No political clout to tackle thuggery, July 23). The sad fact is that Dublin city has become a place where violent crime is rampant  and expected.

The Department of Justice and the Garda Commissioner have been fully aware of the deteriorating situation for a long time and have failed the city centre business people and those who have a right to frequent the area as they wish.

The extent of drug use and abuse in Dublin is totally out of control, yet the most important garda station in Ireland, Store Street, is down 60 gardai.

The treatment and isolation by the Government and garda management of the force has resulted in a high degree of resignations and retirements. In addition, over 100 members are suspended, in some cases for more than three years, which in itself exacerbates the current situation.

Tom Butler, Stillorgan, Co Dublin

More officers will not solve utter thuggery

Sir  The vicious attack on an American visitor fills us with shame. We are now crying out for more policing of our streets  its what we do after every atrocity.

The best police force in the world could not prevent hideous crimes like the brutal rape and murder in 2007 of Manuela Riedo, a 17-year-old Swiss student, on her third day in Galway.

Perhaps manpower more strategically employed might help.

Sean McCormack, Beaubec, Drogheda, Co Louth

GAA takes shine off winning the Under-21

Sir  Its almost two years since I vented my frustration at the changes made by the GAA to hurling. Donal Og Cusack was singing off the same hymn sheet on The Sunday Game last week, citing the All-Ireland final being played in July when theres absolutely no need.

No minor match was played before it or any deserving match  like the Christy Ring final or the Joe McDonagh Cup. There was no proper presentation to the 25-year jubilee winning Offaly team. More thought is given to how many alcoholic drinks can be served on the day.

The GAA has totally succeeded in taking away the prestige from winning the minor and Under-21 All-Irelands.

All for what, Id like to know?

Johnny Prendergast, Co Kilkenny

Conor Skehan gets it all wrong on railways

Sir  Conor Skehan obviously does not like railways (Idealism is fine, but sentimental decisions carry a high cost, July 23). He is worried about reports suggesting investment in railways in the west of Ireland.

I believe he was referring to rumours circulating about the contents of the soon-to-be-published All-Ireland Strategic Rail Review.

The last time I looked at a map of Ireland, Sligo, Letterkenny and Derry were located in the northern half of the island, with Foynes, Rosslare, Limerick and Waterford in the southern half.

It is a fact that the west of Ireland lies somewhere in between. The expected proposal to reopen the existing but disused western rail corridor Sligo-Claremorris-Rosslare is a most welcome development and is not part of plans for new railways to be concentrated in the west of Ireland.

I seem to remember this type of commentary once upon a time in relation to Knock Airport.

By the way, last Sundays paper also contained lots of reports of global warming results and fears. Any connection?

Michael McGreal, Ballinlough, Co Roscommon

David Quinn needs to expand his thinking

Sir  David Quinns article, (Scare tactics on climate change serve only to amplify the alarmists, July 23), seems to regard the Irish weather as the only metric by which to measure the impact of climate change.

I suggest Mr Quinn expands his narrow lens to see the very real and tangible effect of increasing temperatures across the world.

For communities encountering their sixth consecutive failed rainy season in parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, the impact is being acutely felt.

Drought, water scarcity and soaring food prices are pushing millions of people into extreme levels of food insecurity. Decades of progress towards ending poverty and hunger are rapidly being reversed.

As temperatures soar and vast swathes of this region endure successive years of drought, we must accept that the greenhouse gas emissions we are responsible for creating in the west have contributed to global warming and are affecting people in Africa the worst.

For the 36 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia who are facing severe hunger every day, the apocalyptic scenario is their daily reality.

Jane-Ann McKenna, CEO, Dochas, Dublin 8

Our children will fix climate change issue

Sir  When are we going to get real about our planet and global warming?

At the moment, I am sitting in my living room, quite cold, in midsummer, looking at global warming falling from the sky in droplets on to my unused patio.

Lets stop whipping ourselves. Our children will no doubt turn out to be much wiser than us and will, with the help of Mother Nature (and methods still unknown), bring this dilemma to a sensible conclusion.

John K Kenny, Kilbarrack Road, Dublin 5

Upset about climate change? Stop flying

Sir  No doubt, many of the thousands of unfortunate holidaymakers caught up in the heatwaves, fires and floods now engulfing southern Europe would be vocal proponents of the need for climate action and environmental awareness.

Can they not see the irony in their actions, flying in fuel-guzzling aircraft, contributing to the climate change they are now experiencing in all its horrors and devastation?

Brid Ewing, Newtowncunningham, Donegal

A voice for the voiceless in every way she sang

Sir  Sinead OConnor sang bel canto, which means beautiful singing. She shaved her head. She wore her heart on her sleeve. She tore up a photo of the Pope and gave us a new image to replace the one of the bishop and the priest on stage at the Popes mass in Galway.

When she was ordained a priest herself and later converted to Islam, she showed us how different spiritual paths are connected, and that her life was a spiritual journey.

When she sang He Moved Through the Fair in the film about Michael Collins, she summed up the self-inflicted pain and tragedy of the Civil War like no one else did, or could. When she shed a tear in front of millions, it was real and it made the hair stand up on the backs of our necks.

When she sang or spoke, she didnt hold back. She stood up for other people. She gave her voice to the voiceless. She could sing sean nos, reggae, soul, gospel, pop, rock. They were all the one to her.

She put her heart and soul into her music and words. When you listen to her tell her life story on audiobook, she is an open book herself. She had a voice like no other.

Chris Fitzpatrick, Terenure Road East, Dublin 6

Allyship used as tool for social change

Sir  At one level, Colin Murphy (July 23) views allyship merely as children learning to stand up for themselves and others. However, he also quotes the review of the Junior Cert religious syllabus, which explicitly states, in relation to discrimination and social justice, that children should be co-opted as active agents for change.

This has a more overt political tone. Allyship becomes the active support of a minority or marginalised identity group.

To be clear, there is a complete difference between the transmission of knowledge, information and insight on a particular subject or topic and promoting or involving children in socio-political objectives.

Nicole Asong Nfonoyim-Hara, director of diversity programmes at a Mayo clinic, describes allyship as helping to take down the systems that challenge that groups basic rights, equal access and ability to thrive in our society.

As only gender and gender identity are given a specific definition within this part of the curriculum, I would suggest the inclusion as a glossary term is not just down to the fact, as suggested by Mr Murphy, to allow for a more nuanced understanding of sex and gender.

The actual intention, within the context of allyship as outlined above and as indicated by the draft document, is to support, advocate and collaborate with others in support of justice and equity.

De facto, children will be encouraged to become part of the social activism movement and agents of social change.

Andy Hales, Kenmare, Co Kerry

Do children belong to us or the State?

Sir  Colin Murphy puts forward some valid points in rebutting David Quinns concerns about the radicalising and politicising of our children. It is unfortunate he was somewhat disingenuous in his remarks on Christian indoctrination.

He bemoans the fact his children had to sit through religious education classes. Well, they did not; he was free to take them out of the classroom if it was so offensive.

It takes a long time to transition from the old education model to the newer one catering to the variousneeds of a multicultural and largely irreligious society; a town that had one school now needs three or more.

The big issue here is parental consent. Parents can pull their children from a school if the ethos or cultural agenda offends them. When that which offends them is added to the curriculum, there is no escape.

Whose children are they  the parents or the states?

James Doran, Via email

End free parking for public workers

Sir  Now that a political kite has flown, airing the idea of a congestion charge for motorists entering cities, its time to revisit a proposal I made to finance minister Charlie McCreevy about 20 years ago.

I sought to address the absurdity of incentivising regular workers to use their cars to travel to work, essentially at the cost of fuel alone, by providing free, taxpayer-subsidised car parking spaces at their workplace.

Dublin Corpo is a good example: thousands of staff car spaces, worth up to 7,000 a year to each beneficiary at the rate charged locally, and none for calling customers who must pay on-street parking.

The privileged staff should either be charged the market rate for parking or have it treated as benefit-in-kind, unless theres good reason, not all at once but over, say, five years. Decades ago there may have been technical problems with tracking usage, but no more.

When first mooted, my proposal was deemed impractical; however, those seeing it as such were also the beneficiaries of free parking.

John Colgan, Leixlip, Co Kildare

Punish poverty and help poorest people

Sir  If the Government is genuine in its aim to eradicate child poverty, and I believe it is, it needs to regain the trust of the poorest families. This can only happen if the language used and policies implemented reflect its wish to punish poverty rather than the poor.

John OBrien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary
The second phase of the N22 Macroom Baile Mhuirne bypass from Carrigaphooka to Tun Lan near Baile Mhic Ire in the Muscrai Gaeltacht is to open on Friday, August 11

A section of the Macroom-Baile Mhuirne N22 bypass is to close for three days next week to facilitate the removal of a roundabout which is at the centre of a campaign of a local community seeking closer access to the route.

In a statement issued by Cork County Council at the weekend, the arrangements for the partial closure were outlined as the statement also confirmed that the second part of the bypass would open to traffic on August 11.

The campaign, initiated by a Cill na Martra business owner, Lars Edman, the Managing Director of the Prince August Toy Soldier Factor, has launched a petition to seek closer access for the Gaeltacht Mhuscrai village to the bypass than the slip roads at Macroom and Tun Lan at the eastern side of Baile Mhic Ire.

Cork County Mayor, Cllr Frank OFlynn, welcomed the opening of the new section of the bypass as, he pointed out, it would remove the bad bends on the current N22 between Carrigaphooka and Baile Mhic Ire, thus improving road safety for all road users.

"To facilitate the opening of this new section, the new N22 Macroom By-Pass Road will be closed temporarily from 9.00 am on Tuesday, August 8 to Friday, August 11, said the Council statement.

This is to allow the safe removal of the temporary roundabout at Carrigaphooca, west of Macroom Town.

The alternative route for Westbound traffic during this closure will be by way of Macroom Town Centre. Eastbound traffic will be able to get on the Macroom By-Pass at the Millstreet Road Junction.

Once the N22 reopens to traffic after this closure, road users will then be able to travel on 16km of the new Dual Carriageway between Coolcower Roundabout and Tun Lan, Baile Mhic Ire.

"The existing road will be redesignated as the R618.

No time has been given for the re-opening of the bypass on Friday, August 8.

The statement also confirmed that progress was being made on the final phase of the bypass, from Tun Lan to Sliabh Riabhach on the western edge of Baile Mhuirne, and that it would be completely open by the end of the year. In earlier statements from the road builders, it was suggested that it would be open sometime in October.

The new section of the bypass due to open in August is also the focus of another campaign as local Gaeltacht co-operative, Comharchumann Forbartha Mhuscrai, is seeking directional signage to the Irish speaking community from the bypass as well as directional signage to the local village. This campaign received the unaminous support of Macroom Municipal District Council at its meeting on Friday when councillors voted to write to Transport Infrastructure Ireland in support of the Comharchumann campaign.
Tanaiste and Cork South Central TD, Micheal Martin, interviewed author Mark Henry for the first episocde of his new podcast.

Tanaiste and Cork South Central TD Micheal Martin goes behind the microphone for his new role as podcast host.

As if he didnt have enough to do, what with his roles as Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, Cork South Central TD and leader of the the oft-times fractious Fianna Fail party, Micheal Martin has launched a new podcast on Spotify while the rest of Dail Eireann are starting their Summer holidays.

The first interview in what is promised to be series of chats dropped on the online audio platform on Monday and it features a chat with Mark Henry, the author nry, author of In Fact: An Optimists Guide to Ireland at 100, to discuss how Ireland has developed since the foundation of the State.

While many commentators have speculated that the Tanaiste and Fianna Fail leader may be lining up a sojourn in Europe as an EU Commissioner in the near future, the podcast series just launched may be an indication that a role in the media is not out of the question for the Cork man.

It seems like the inaugural podcast episode was very much a meeting of minds as Dr Henrys latest book examines human progress in recent decades and tracks how Ireland has transformed over the last 100 years. In the podcast Mr Henry told Mr Martin, Ireland had achieved a lot and that it was now up there amongst the leading nations of the world.

Dr Henry said people are living longer and that cancer mortality rates are just one of the indicators of how far Ireland has progressed in recent decades.

Even for those in the 1990s, if you had a cancer diagnosis, for 60% of people that was a death sentence within five years. Unfortunately, they passed away.

Today that's reversed. More than six in ten will survive longer than five years. So, we've made very good progress.

The podcast also touches on issues which are the centre of public controversy, such as housing, and the Tanaiste does get his opportunity to put the Government side of the story while acknowledging the clouds as well as the silver linings.

"We have to do more, do more faster to deal with the housing issue, particularly for younger people, he said during the first episode.

"Because you see amidst all of this optimism and sort of positivity, there are stories underneath this.

" Notwithstanding wage growth and employment for young people today, to buy a house is still very difficult.

"And that's why a whole range of schemes have been made available to try and enable people to afford to buy and to give the option of homeownership, which I think is an important anchor in society, as well as social housing for those that are not in a position to purchase homes. But we do need to get above 30,000.

The podcast is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. It can be streamed at this link. There will be further episodes of the podcast later in the year.
Award-winning artists Dolores Lyne the grand-niece of General Liam Lynch, who used correspondence between him and his brother Tom as the inspiration for her To The Letter exhibition.

AN innovative and thought-provoking exhibition of works by award-winning artist Dolores Lyne drawing on by letters written by her grand uncle, the revered patriot General Liam Lynch, will open in Macroom Town Hall on Saturday, August 5.

Aptly entitled To The Letter the exhibition and a series of associated talks, commissioned under the umbrella of Cork County Councils Commemorations programme, has already been held at locations across Cork including Fermoy to mark the 100th anniversary of the death of General Lynch, the War of Independence hero and Chief of Staff of the Anti-Treaty IRA.

Dolores Lynes works on canvas have been inspired by a trove of personal letters written by Liam Lynch to his brother Tom, the confidant in whom he felt safe writing to during the most dramatic and tragic events of his life during both the War of Independence and the Civil War.

Focussing on incidents and stories gleaned from the correspondence between the two brothers, the artworks focus on incidents and stories drawn from their intimate correspondence, bringing to life real places and people only hinted at or concealed behind initials  at last decoding the real addresses and the people who opened their homes and their hearts to Liam Lynch.

The process of creating the pieces saw Dolores Lyne follow the trail of the letters across County Cork to the places where they were penned, in the process taking her to remote hillside farms and the safe houses that offered Liam Lynch sanctuary and protection.

For the Macroom element of the exhibition, she came closer in both miles and spirit to the Muscrai Gaeltacht, where Liam Lynch had one of his most important headquarters.

She met the descendants of those who offered him shelter, sharing their stories and retracing the steps he took to the numerous safe houses across the region.

Speaking about her experiences, Lyne said there was a public Liam, but there are private letters.

They provided me with the spark for a personal, non-political contemplation of his last years, the places where he stayed and the people who looked after him. Its my creative response, as an artist, said Lyne.

The Mayor of County Cork, Cllr Frank OFlynn, said he was looking forward to the seeing the latest iteration of To The Letter following its successful run in Fermoys atmospheric Coal Shed exhibition space during April.

The large exhibition space in Macroom Town Hall is the perfect setting for the extensive body of work that Dolores Lyne has created over the course of the project, including paintings, drawings and photography. The artists sensitive approach has created an environment for us to share and commemorate our history, said Cllr OFlynn.

To The Letter will run at Macroom Town Hall across August and will be open to the public Tuesday to Sunday from 11am to 6pm.

On Sunday, August 13 at 2pm Dolores Lyne will give a talk on the exhibition and how precious the letters that inspired have become over the past century.

Admission to the exhibition and the talk will be free.
Daire Heneghan was arrested for hurling abuse at gardai after a disagreement with a taxi driver. Stock image

A finance worker who returned from the US for a family event was arrested for hurling abuse at gardai after a disagreement with a taxi driver.

Daire Heneghan (32) had had a long day before the dispute arose because his card would not work in the taxi drivers reader.

Judge Shalom Binchy struck the case out, sparing him a criminal record after he made a 300 charity donation.

Heneghan, of Rockfield Manor, Maynooth, Co Kildare, pleaded guilty to public intoxication and threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour.

Blanchardstown District Court heard on February 12, the accused was in a taxi at Celbridge Road, Lucan when there was an issue and Heneghan became verbally abusive to the driver.

He continued to be abusive to the gardai when they were called and he was arrested and taken to Lucan garda station.

He had no previous convictions.

Heneghan worked in insurance and finance in San Francisco and came back to Ireland for a family event when the incident happened, his solicitor William Cadogan said.

He went to a rugby match and it was a long day, he said.

He got a taxi back and the issue was over his paying for the taxi. His card would not work in the reader; he asked to go to an ATM and the driver refused.

This led to a disagreement which resulted in what occurred, Mr Cadogan said.

He reacted in a way that he shouldnt have reacted, the solicitor added.

The accused had apologised in the station that night, and since the incident.

And he had paid 200 to the taxi driver as a goodwill gesture.
Its a war zone and we are losing, say workers in north inner city after US tourist was viciously assaulted on capitals Talbot Street

Business owners and staff tell of abuse, threats and intimidation from gangs of youths and how they lock themselves in for their own protection

Gardai on patrol outside Dublins Connolly Station on Amiens Street, just metres from Talbot Street, where business owners and their staff feel intimidated by crime, violence and anti-social behaviour. Photo: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

Amy Blaney Sat 29 Jul 2023 at 03:30
A plaque has been unveiled by Dublin City Council for socialist and signatory of the 1916 Proclamation, James Connolly.

Born in 1868, Connolly became a key figure in the Irish trade union movement and socialist politics, mainly after he returned to Dublin from the United States in 1910.

From December 1910 to May 1911, Connolly and his family lived at 70 South Lotts Road, Ringsend, Dublin 4, where the plaque was unveiled by the Lord Mayor. The house is one of only two surviving in which Connolly lived in the city.

The plaque was proposed by historian Dr Conor McCabe, Queens University Belfast, who said Connolly was living here around the time that his most famous work, Labour in Irish History, was first published in book form. This plaque is a tangible link to both his life and his writings.

Speaking at the unveiling, Lord Mayor of Dublin Daithi de Roiste said: When we think of the great figures of our history, like James Connolly, we often forget that they lived their lives on the same streets that we do, making their way through our City day-in and day-out.

This plaque will remind those who see it that he gave his life to improve the lives of his fellow citizens.

Joe Cunningham, General Secretary of SIPTU, added: Connollys commitment to socialism and broad experience as a trade union organiser in Britain and the United States ensured that the interests of working people were incorporated in the 1916 Proclamation.

That, in his own words, at the raising of the Irish Flag over Liberty Hall in April 1916, The cause of labour is the cause of Ireland, the cause of Ireland is the cause of labour.

Connolly was one of the signatories of the Proclamation and fought alongside Pearse in the GPO.

Following the surrender, and badly wounded and unable to stand, he was executed at Kilmainham by firing squad, while sitting on a wooden box.

The decision to erect the plaque was made by the Dublin City Council Commemorations and Naming Committee.

The Commemorative Plaques Scheme allows the City to formally commemorate people who have made a significant contribution to the life of Dublin. We welcome suggestions from the public for people and events to be commemorated, Chair and Councillor Micheal Mac Donncha said.
Pictured at the 7th Valentia Transatlantic Cable Foundation Lecture in the Cable Station on Valentia Island, Co Keery yesterday were l-r; Leonard Hobbs Chairperson Valentia Transatlantic Cable Foundation, Ms Nancy Smyth Canadian Ambassador to Ireland, Leo Clancy CEO Enterprise Ireland & Cllr. Norma Moriarty Cathaoirleach of Kenmare MD. Photo Alan Landers.

Speakers at the 7th Valentia Cable Lecture in the Cable Station in Knightstown, Valentia Island on Friday were l-r; Nicola Millard - Principal Innovation Partner, BT, Norman Crowley, Chairman CoolPlanet, Leonard Hobbs. Chairperson Valentia Transatlantic Cable Foundation, Dr Camino Kavanagh and Leo Clancy, CEO Enterprise Ireland.

Pictured at the Valentia Transatlantic Cable Foundation Gala Dinner on Friday night in the Royal Hotel, Knightstown, Valentia were l-r, John Griffin(KCC), Colin Lacey, Mary Rose Stafford, Lucian Horvat, Martina Casey, Vincent Kidd, Sheila Finucane, Cllr Jim Finucane Mayor of Kerry, Sean & Angela Ryan.

In 1858, Europe and North America were connected for the first time via the undersea transatlantic telegraph cable, which reduced communication times from weeks to minutes, in an achievement now considered the 19th-Century equivalent of putting a man on the moon.

The first message transmitted over the 3,000-kilometre cable was a note of congratulations from Queen Victoria to US President James Buchanan, sent from Valentia Island in County Kerry to Newfoundland, Canada.

This was the first step, and a permanent connection was established in July 1866 between Valentia and Hearts Content in Newfoundland. Instant communication was now a reality  and at its heart was a small island off the south west coast of Ireland, which became the point where a revolution in global communications would begin to connect humanity, developing a sense of interdependency and collaboration that continues to drive profound change in todays digitally enhanced world.

A lot has changed since then, and these changes and the digital revolution that have now taken place was the key discussion at the 7th lecture series in Valentia, titled A vision for Ireland, and its place in a Digital World"

Speakers included CEO of Enterprise Ireland, Leo Clancy; Dr Nicola Millard, Principal Innovation Partner at BT; Entrepreneur Mr Norman Crowley of Cool Planet; and cable security expert, Dr Camino Kavanagh.

Also discussed on the day was the future for Irelands economy in a connected world, the meaning of Ireland being the greenest country on Earth and the role of Ireland in in the security of sub-sea cables and trends shaping the future of work.

An update on the UNESCO project, to gain UNESCO World Heritage status for the cable, was also given and a delegation from Kerry is to visit Newfoundland next week as part of this continuing project.

Chairman of the Valentia Transatlantic Cable Foundation, Mr Leonard Hobbs, said progress is being made on the UNESCO project.

Following on from last years decision by Minister Darragh OBrien of the inclusion of the Transatlantic Cable Project on the Irish UNESCO World Heritage tentative list, we are delighted to see the progress being made by the Department in putting the necessary resources and plans in place to drive the challenging nomination process forward, he said.

The lecture was followed by a gala dinner at the Royal Hotel, Valentia, at which Her Excellency, Ms Nancy Smyth, the Canadian Ambassador to Ireland, delivered a speech.
Anger as Tralee is overlooked as homecoming venue for Kerry team.

Mayor of Tralee Cllr Johnnie Wall has said it is double the disappointment that Tralee and north Kerry people will not be able to show their appreciation for Kerrys footballers in Denny Street this evening.

The decision by Kerry County GAA Committee was made on Sunday evening to only hold a homecoming in Killarney - the home of Kerry captain David Clifford.

Players and supporters were left devastated after Dublins two-point victory in Croke Park. But Mayor Wall explained he has since received complaints from upset fans over homecoming arrangements.

Plans were initially in place for road closures in Tralee and Killarney for the homecoming. This was revised immediately after the defeat when Killarney was nominated as the sole venue.

Mayor Wall said while now is not the time to debate the issue when everyone is down, he feels Kerry County GAA Committee must discuss it.

The Fianna Fail Mayor is even supportive of a situation whereby losing All-Ireland Kerry senior teams would visit Killarney and Tralee in alternate years.

Its not a time to be arguing about this as everyone is devastated and feeling down. But after this dies down later in the week, I think the county board should have a sit down and have a proper talk about it, he said.

Kerry fans spend a lot of money and burn up a lot of miles following them. They love their team. All fans want to do is show their appreciation, they know how the players feel.

Mayor Wall continued: Ive had people giving out about the decision. Even the amount of people from where Jason Foley is from [Ballydonoghue] told me they wanted to show their appreciation for the team in Tralee. The players should be coming here [Tralee] as well. This must change, he said.

Kerry County Committee could not be contacted for a comment.
(L-R), Martin Lydon, Chief Executive, Sligo County Council, Fintin Kennedy, Geraldine Courtenay, Sligo Chamber of Commerce and Michael O'Hehir at the' Sligo: Find Your Place ' launch in the National Surf Centre in Strandhill.

Robert Fitzpatrick and Frank Feighan TD at the ' Sligo: Find Your Place launch ' in the National Surf Centre in Strandhill

(L-R), Vilma Meenan, Orla Sweeney, Greg Maher, Tom Horkan and Sandra O'Hara at the' Sligo: Find Your Place ' launch in the National Surf Centre in Strandhill.

Sligo Chamber is launching a new campaign that showcases the many opportunities to live and work in Sligo, called Sligo: Find Your Place.

A new mini-film is part of a 2023 campaign encouraging people to chose Sligo as their anchor point for a challenging career and a better quality of life.

Find Your Place focuses on the places and locations in Sligo where people work, eat, drink, exercise, live and unwind.

Since the Covid pandemic, hundreds of people have made Sligo their base for work and life, with the possibility of flexible work options and new opportunties from companies and organisations that are firmly in growth mode.

Find Your Place was commissioned by Sligo Chamber of Commerce to mark its Centenary year.

Award-winning Phoenix Films, one of Irelands leading film and TV productions companies, worked with local communications agency StoryLab to produce the film.

Phoenix brought in long-time collaborator and IFTA-nominated cinematographer Paddy Jordan to shoot the film. Amongst other awards, Paddy has been nominated for his work on the hit RTE/BBC comedy Young Offenders. Phoenix Films made Sligo Chambers previous promo called Life is Sligo in 2018.

Find Your Place was filmed in and around Sligo and includes scenes from Rosses Point, Doorly Park and Hazelwood as well as footage from inside businesses such as Kates Kitchen, Dick 84, EJs Little Sister and Lough Gill Distillery.

The films themes include flecible working, career progression and work/life balance. Ward Automation and Atlantic Technological University (ATU) also took part in the filming, depicitng industry working hand in hand with academia.

Sligo Chamber of Commerce CEO Aidan Doyle said:Find Your Place is about showing how Sligo has taken its place as a desired location of choice for people looking to build their lives and careers in all sorts of different ways.

People have been finding their place in Sligo for centuries, and in the 100 years of our Chambers existence, they have found their place in our amazingly diverse county.

Today, more than ever before, Sligo offers a range of skilled jobs and positions that were once only ever possible in fixed locations.

The way we work and live has changed completely since the pandemic which means there has never been a better time to Find Your Place in Sligo, and discover what life is really like in one of Irelands most desired locations.

Sligo Chamber of Commerce received support for the project from local agencies and employers.

The film is available for use to anyone promoting Sligo.
Retained firefighters of Sligo have resumed strike action with a further escalation likely after a rejection of the Labour Courts pay recommendations aimed at resolving the dispute.

They are on 50% strike which means two out of the four fire stations in Sligo would remain closed on alternate days.. During the last industrial action in June the firefighters were responding to the emergency or life threatening calls but this time they will not be answering any calls at all.

Two stations in Ballymote and Enniscrone remained closed on Friday, while the Sligo town and Tubbercurry stations would be closed on Saturday and the coming alternate days.

The Labour Court had recommended that the annual retainer be increased by between 24% to 32.7%. With this proposal in effect a firefighter with an annual pay of around 8000 per annum will get up to 11000 per annum.

Alan Keane, a retained firefighter said: The main reason of our industrial action last time and this time as well is the retention recruitment and pay. The recommended raise by the Labour Court would seem big to many people but it actually provides no relief to us. So we are forced to be here again.

Earlier we had decided to mobilise three pumps at one location but management have decided not to cooperate with SIPTUs agreement, so we are now escalating our strike. From Friday we are at 50% closure, which means we would not be responding to any calls at all. It might go up to 75% closure from next week.

We do not really want to be here, standing in the rain and not turning out to the calls, but unfortunately we are left in this position. We need to stand up for ourselves and we will be here until we get what we deserve.

The firefighters get a fixed pay of around 8,000 a year, and get paid hourly for the time they are answering a call.

Alan said: Many people are saying that we should have accepted the Labour courts recommendation, because 30% is good raise, but what they dont understand is 30% of 8,000 is another 2,000, which doesnt makes a big difference.

Its not even just about the money, its about making the job appealing for more people to join in. The young people now would be looking for a good career. But when they look at this job they see that they are going to get 11,000 a year which means almost 800-900 a month and they have to live off that amount, while having a family.

The Labour court says they are going to up the numbers to 12 for the outer stations but the question is how can they fill 12 positions when they are unable to fill the 9. There are a lot of older people who are going to retire soon, and new people dont want to join. So when they leave how are we going to fill those spots?

Speaking about the payments for the hours that they get while answering calls, Alan said:

Who wants to wake up on a Monday morning hoping for a misfortune to happen so that they could make money? But that is how the system works here. Its like you are relying on peoples misfortunes to make money. We dont really want to do that but then we dont get money.

Retained firefighters are struggling more because while the government treats them as part time workers, nobody wants to hire them for fulltime job given their availability issues. This means that they are unable to get basic needs fulfilled.

Tommy Sheridan another retained firefighter has been working in the job for 16 years and he said the dispute has come to a head now.

He said: A lot of people do not want to hire a part time fire fighter because of the availability issues. We might have to leave in the middle of a project or a shift to answer the calls. Previously, people used to hire us but now it has changed.

The way things have gotten so expensive and the cost of living going up so high its difficult for anyone to manage at such low incomes. You dont qualify for mortgages, we dont qualify for a lot of stuffs. Also, our calls have gone down over the years with all the technology coming in and that is a good thing but that means our incomes have gone down.

Even after that we are still on call 24/7 seven when there are no calls. So we are now fed up with this and we are here standing and we will see it to the end. We are a little disappointed with the management, as we have family and we are struggling to pay our bills.

The firefighters staged a protest at the GPO in Sligo on Saturday to further highlight their cause. A protest march from the fire station at St Annes to the city centre is also being planned. The firefighters have also thanked all the people supporting the action and providing them basic necessities like food and drinks on the picket line.

Further escalation of the dispute will be dis
A victim of sexual assault has described how she would sit on bridges and dangle her legs, begging for the courage to jump in the aftermath of the assault.

The Central Criminal Court heard that Robert Dunne (27) of Ballinlow, Gorey, Co Wexford, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault at Island Bridge, Dublin 8, on May 7, 2018. He has no previous convictions. The injured party has waived her right to anonymity to allow Dunne to be named.

The court heard that Dunne sent the woman a Facebook message on the evening in question and arranged to meet up with her after she had finished work. They had alcohol and cocaine together before they went back to his rented home and had consensual sex. At one point, she was afraid she was going to vomit, so she said she wanted to stop and fell asleep in the bed with the man beside her.

The investigating sergeant told Maurice Coffey SC, prosecuting, that the woman woke up to find Dunne digitally penetrating her vagina and anus. She pretended to be asleep and then pretended to wake up, and Dunne moved away from her. He later sexually assaulted her in the same way again, stopping when she moved away.

The woman fell asleep again but woke to find Dunne having sex with her. She moved, and he stopped. She pretended to be asleep and waited until she was certain he was asleep before she gathered up her clothes and left the house. She dressed herself as she ran away and made her way to a nearby hotel where staff assisted her and gardai were called.

Dunne had initially faced a charge of rape, but pleas to two counts of sexual assault were acceptable to the Director of Public Prosecutions on a full facts basis.

The now 24-year-old woman read her victim impact statement to the court. She said the incident turned my world upside down, and part of me died in that room. She said she can still see herself running from the house. For the first 48 hours, it didnt feel real. It doesnt feel like it was me who walked into that hotel (referring to the hotel she went to in the immediate aftermath). I wish it werent, but it was me.

She said she had considered Dunne as a friend and used to look forward to seeing him, but in the days after, she struggled to go to college, as the thoughts of seeing him filled me with dread.

She said there had not been a day since she had not thought about the assault. She wondered, How many more days can this ruin, my wedding day, the birth of my first child?

The woman said she found herself turning to drugs and alcohol and didnt want to be alone anymore. She described sitting on bridges, dangling my legs. I begged for the courage to jump.

She said a shame, which shouldnt be mine, feels and still feels heavy around my neck, and I havent been able to shake it off.

I am more than what happened to me, the woman continued before she said; that some people have the impression that I have come out the other end, but the truth is that I am overwhelmed.

What he did to me was not, nor will it ever be, fine. What he did to me was disgusting. He used me like an object for pleasure, the woman said before she added that in the aftermath, sex became transactional for her as she was determined to make sex meaningless.

The sergeant outlined to the court a number of text messages and social media messages exchanged between the man and the woman in the days after the assault, during which Dunne said he had been in a bad place and said he was sorry. He told her he wanted her to know it was not her fault, adding, I should have dealt with my own shit.

The witness told Mr Coffey that Dunne messaged the woman six months later telling her that he knew it was his fault and apologised again.

Dunne was interviewed by gardai in July 2019, during which he claimed that the sex between them had been consensual. He was questioned again the following May when various messages were put to him by gardai, but he replied no comment to any questions he was asked.

Dunne wrote a letter to the woman, which Coleman Cody SC, defending, read into the record. He said in the letter that he hoped the letter would bring the woman some peace. He said he was so so sorry and accepted he had disregarded her needs.

Mr Cody said his client acknowledged that the woman told him that night that they could resume sex in the morning and that he had not respected that.

Counsel said the offence was a fundamental breach of trust and said that the womans emotional statement outlined the impact the assault had and continues to have on her.

He submitted that his client has an understanding and acceptance not only of the act itself but also the effect that act had on her and that his client also demonstrates an insight into the consequences his offending had on her.

Mr Cody said there was a positive probation report before the court, which outlines that his client has begun counselling and the feedback from the therapist has been very positive.

His client has since returned home to his hometown in County Wexford, is in a healthy and stable relationship, has strong family support and has structured employment, the court heard.

Mr Cody said it has been a watershed moment in his clients life and suggested that as he has done everything to put his best foot forward, it was an appropriate case for a non-custodial sentence.

Passing sentence on Friday Mr Justice Paul McDermott said: I have considered the victim impact statement where the injured party has outlined the consequences and the effects it has had on her life and how she had had to adapt from when she ran from that house to date.

He said: It has affected her in social terms, and she had thoughts of ending her life at one stage and still has nightmares.

The judge said they were serious sexual assaults of a degrading kind and had caused her considerable harm, adding that they were committed when the injured party was in a vulnerable state.

Mr Justice McDermott set a headline sentence of four years. He acknowledged the probation report, which highlights Dunne is at low risk of sexual reoffending, has the support of his family and partner, and is willing to cooperate with the Probation Service in the future.

The judge said he would consider as mitigating factors Dunne's guilty plea ensuring that no trial was required, his apologies, his attendance for a voluntary interview with the gardai and his lack of previous conditions.

Mr Justice McDermott sentenced Dunne to three years in prison on each of the two counts to run concurrently. He suspended the final 18 months for two years under strict conditions.
In its mission to keep rural Ireland connected to urban centres, Local Link Wexford has announced it is enhancing its bus service from Wexford to Duncormick from Monday, August 7. This enhancement is part of the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan, a major national public transport initiative developed and funded by the National Transport Authority (NTA) as part of the Transport for Ireland (TFI) Network.

Route 388 will now operate ten return services a day, seven days a week and will feature an early morning and evening service at peak-times for commuters. The enhanced service will provide improved connectivity to regional bus and rail services and facilitate onward travel to Waterford and Dublin. The route will also offer enhanced connectivity to villages and areas such as Carrig-on-Bannow, Wellingtonbridge, Clongeen, Foulksmills, Taghmon, Barntown and Redmond Square in Wexford Town.

Route 388 was first launched in 2017 offering two return services per day but due to the high volume of passengers using it, additional evening services were added in 2018. The service has continued to grow even further which has again resulted in the addition of extra bus services on the route.

Speaking ahead of the launch, TFI Local Link Wexford, General Manager Mary B OLeary said: Working in partnership with the NTA we have listened to our passengers. They wanted additional mid-morning, mid-afternoon and more night time bus services. This new timetable will now allow more people to travel frequently between Wexford and Duncormick.

"The enhanced service is now suitable for those working or attending training, getting to and from appointments and also access to all the social activities in Wexford and the villages along the route.
The Aughrim community were out in force last weekend to celebrate the 99th birthday of beloved local character Maureen Newsome at a packed-to-capacity party in the Granite City Cafe.

An ever so popular and respected lady, Maureen was escorted by lone piper Therese O'Brien from her home on Rednagh Road to the venue, where the party in her honour went on late into the evening, with Maureen meeting so many relatives and friends from all down the years.

Praising Maureen and her community after the joyous celebrations, a family member said: This is the last year of the double digits in her birthday records, and she is looking forward to the triple digits of 100 next year!

In the evening, after the beautiful food was served and finished, Maureen met everyone individually for chats and photographs.

After all the events had taken place, and before going home, she went to look at the picture dedicated to Aughrims Man Of The Match, referee in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final, John Keenan.

This huge picture board was erected by the local GAA, wishing the local star referee all the best with his very capable task of making it a very fair result on the day. Needless to say, Maureen was impressed by his display and is a huge fan of his!

Tributes to Maureens warm and welcoming character came pouring in online after the party, with Catherine Byrne commenting: Happy Birthday Mrs Newsome, enjoy being surrounded by your lovely family and friends, and Judy Pitman adding: "Hope you have many more wonderful years filled with happiness!
Thousands take to streets of the capital in support days after military leaders seize power

The French embassy was set on fire as thousands of people backing the coup in Niger marched through the streets of the capital denouncing the countrys former colonial power.
Kerry family speaks out as killer set to be released: I can't believe he is out after just five years
Most of Donald Trumps ex-cabinet members refuse to back his re-election bid

Just four Republican colleagues out of 44 row in behind the former US president

Donald Trump takes to the stage during a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, at the weekend. Photo: Reuters

Gustaf Kilander UK Independent Mon 31 Jul 2023 at 03:30






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On July 13, 2023, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids at multiple locations in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) as part of the ongoing investigations into the terrorist conspiracy case.

The raids targeted hybrid terrorists and Overground Workers (OGWs) associated with newly-floated outfits such as The Resistance Front (TRF), the United Liberation Front-Jammu and Kashmir (ULF-J&K), Mujahideen Gazwat-ul-Hind (MGH), and others.

On July 11, 2023, NIA conducted raids at five locations in Anantnag, Shopian and Pulwama Districts of J&K, against the newly-floated offshoots of proscribed Pakistan-backed terrorist outfits operating in J&K.

The NIA suspects the involvement of these cadres in the collection and distribution of sticky bombs, magnetic bombs, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), funds, narcotic substances and arms and ammunitions.

On June 26, 2023, NIA conducted raids at 12 locations in the Kulgam, Bandipora, Shopian and Pulwama Districts of J&K as part of an ongoing investigation into the conspiracy by newly-formed offshoots of banned terrorist outfits, to destabilize J&K.

The NIA conducted a total of 13 raids on newly-floated terrorist groups in the region between August 5, 2019, and July 13, 2023, (data till July 30, 2023).

These raids were distributed across seven operations in 2023, four in 2022, and two in 2021. The first search operation took place on October 10, 2021, leading to the arrest of two operatives associated with TRF, in the LeT-TRF conspiracy case.

Following the legislative changes on August 5, 2019, which revoked Kashmir's autonomy and altered property rights of locals, widespread suspicion arose among the people, who feared that these new laws would lead to demographic changes in India's only Muslim-majority region. In the wake of these developments, a series of new terrorist fronts emerged.

The groups that have come under scrutiny for their potential connections to major banned terrorist organizations, including Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Al-Badr, Al-Qaeda, and others, include TRF, ULF-J&K, MGH, Jammu and Kashmir Freedom Fighters (JKFF), Kashmir Tigers, Peoples Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), and Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force (JKGF).

A notable departure from their predecessors is observed in the names, slogans and strategies adopted by these new groups, which now emphasize Kashmiri resistance over Islamic ideology, positioning themselves as indigenous movements. The aim has been to fundamentally reshape the region's dynamics and create fresh challenges for the established status quo.

By using these new identities, the parent terrorist organizations aim to complicate investigations, maintain "plausible deniability" and evade detection. Moreover, adopting names that sound more secular and political, is intended to reshape the narrative around the attacks, portraying them as part of a broader political cause, to gain support and legitimacy among the local people, making them more susceptible to manipulation and recruitment.

The establishment and sustenance of these new groups was also significantly influenced by Pakistan's covert support and backing, as Islamabad sought to address the financial pressures resulting from its continued inclusion in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)s grey list, till November 2022, when it was removed.

Among all these groupings, the TRF, a proxy outfit of LeT, which emerged in 2019, and was declared a "terrorist organization" by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on January 5, 2023, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), is the most active. The group selectively targets individuals, especially minorities, non-locals, Police and security personnel, and domiciled individuals who migrate to Kashmir. It uses platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Telegram, to issue threats and claim responsibility for its attacks, using a distinctive Public Relations (PR) strategy to justify each operation with a secularized ideology focused on resistance against invasion, occupation, fascism, and Hindutva.

The PAFF comes next in the prominence list. Established in 2019, it was banned on January 7, 2023, by the UMHA, under UAPA.

The JKGF, which surfaced in 2020, has been involved in infiltration bids, narcotics and weapons smuggling and carrying out terrorist attacks in the Union territory of J&K. On February 17, 2023, the UMHA declared it a terrorist organisation under UAPA.

MGH is an Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group with a significant presence in Kashmir. It was claimed by various sources that MGH is a front for Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH), a terrorist outfit formed by Zakir Musa, a former HM operative. MGH was floated after Musas death in May 2019.

According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), since August 5, 2019, the date of the legislative withdrawal of the states special status and its transformation into a Union Territory, J&K has accounted for 958 killings, including 127 civilians, 148 Security Force (SF) personnel and 683 terrorists (data till July 30, 2023). Of this total, 275 persons (127 civilians and 148 SF personnel) killed by the terrorists, 28 fatalities are linked to or claimed by these newly formed groups. These include 12 civilians and 16 SF personnel. During this period, J&K has recorded 18 major attacks (each involving three or more deaths) targeting civilians and SFs, of which seven have been claimed by one or the other of these newly formed groups. Some of the recent incidents involving these groups include:

May 5, 2023: Five SF personnel were killed and one officer injured when militants triggered an IED blast by remote control in the Kesari Hills forests in the Kandi area of Rajouri District. The SF personnel were trapped in an ambush during their operation against the perpetrators of the April 20, 2023, Poonch attack, which had resulted in the death of five SF personnel. The PAFF claimed the attack.

April 20, 2023: Terrorists laid an ambush and attacked an Army vehicle carrying troops at Bhimber Gali in Poonch District. Taking advantage of low visibility owing to heavy rains, terrorists hurled grenades and fired indiscriminately at the vehicle, due to which it caught fire. Five Army personnel were killed and one was injured in the incident. The PAFF claimed the attack.

August 11, 2022: Five Indian Army personnel were killed by PAFF terrorists in a suicide attack at the military base camp at Pargal, Rajouri District. Two of the attackers were also killed.

Targeted killings of non-locals also surged after the formation of these new groupings. Since August 5, 2019, terrorists have targeted non-local labourers (from outside J&K) on at least 27 occasions, killing 19 and injuring another 42 (till July 30, 2023).

The threat letters issued by these groups have also centred on condemning "Hindutva," the "Modi government," and claimed to work for the betterment of the Kashmiri people. This renewed rhetoric also reflects the groups attempts to garner support and legitimacy for their actions by framing their struggle in sub-nationalist and anti-occupation terms, rather than relying solely on religious discourse.

For example, in a Statement released by TRF, taking responsibility for the killing of school teachers in Srinagar in October 2021, the group declared,

We target only occupier mercenary forces and occupier stooges, collaborators and traitors. Our fight is to safeguard our Freedom that the occupier has illegally occupied, snatched from us and in this fight, everyone, the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir, are welcome to fight against the occupier India.

Conspicuously omitted are any explicit religious references, as a more politically charged and localized language is adopted to appeal to specific audiences, though the reality has been otherwise demonstrated. Furthermore, the targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits (KP) and non-locals, reveal a more communal agenda. These groups openly declared hostility towards India, attributing it largely to what they perceived as the "fascism" of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-endorsed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. Among these groups, PAFF has even used a logo featuring an arrow poised over a saffron flag with a swastika, to symbolize the groups ideological stance.

Apart from claiming responsibility for terrorist attacks and engaging in targeted killings, these groups have engaged in strategic propaganda activities. On February 14, 2023, PAFF issued a warning in the wake of lithium reserves being discovered in J&K, declaring, we will attack companies stealing our resources. Sources message was uploaded from Muzaffarabad city of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Jammu and Kashmir has long been grappling with a conflict fuelled by various Pakistan-backed terrorist organizations. In recent years, the emergence of new terrorist outfits  mostly the offshoots of the prominent groups already in existence  has added complexity to an already sensitive situation. However, by striking at the very heart of their parent organizations, the state forces can sever the lifeline feeding the growth of these new groups, putting an end to their potential menace. Targeting the source of the problem will engender substantial advancements in counter-terrorism endeavours, creating an environment conducive to sustaining peace and stability within the region.
Photo courtesy: Facebook/Narendra Modi

New Delhi/IBNS: The central government is "ready to discuss" the violent ethnic clashes that occurred in the northeastern state of Manipur in Parliament's Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Amid sloganeering by the opposition leaders, Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said the government is "ready" for a discussion at 2 pm.

Congress president and Rajya Sabha floor leader, Mallikarjun Kharge, has however demanded a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue in Parliament.

A delegation of 21 MPs, belonging to constituents of the INDIA alliance, met Governor of Manipur Anusuiya Uikey at Raj Bhavan on Sunday and discussed the prevailing situation in the troubled North Eastern state.

The team, led by Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Chowdhury, was on a two-day visit to Manipur since Saturday and went to various relief camps in Churachandpur, Bishnupur and Imphal districts where they met the violence-hit people.

In a peak of the ethnic clashes that have been occurring in the state for months, a horror video from Manipur showed two women being paraded naked by a mob.

According to reports, the government also wants to run the trial outside the northeastern state, which has been witnessing violence for the last three months. An affidavit will be filed on this.

The video from Manipur, which became viral ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament, continues to create massive ruckus in both houses with the opposition demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over it.

When it was made clear that PM Modi would not give a statement on the same, the opposition moved a no-confidence motion against the government in Lok Sabha that had been accepted by Speaker Om Birla.

The violence in Manipur has even drawn global attention with the European Parliament adopting a resolution on the human rights situation in India, with particular reference to the recent clashes in Manipur.

The Indian foreign ministry has, however, called the Manipur issue as an "internal matter" stating that the European Parliament's move reflects a "colonial mindset" and is "unacceptable".
Image: Unsplash

Confirming assessments of media freedom and human rights bodies, Pakistan has emerged as the medias graveyard with its restive Balochistan province emerging as its epicentre.

While successive governments are liable for a weak law that is absent in many cases, The Express Tribune newspaper quoted official documents on January 20 this year that show that at least 42 journalists were killed in Pakistan during the last four years (2019-2022).

Topping the list is Balochistan which shows an eerily similar figure of 41 journalists being killed in the southern province alone in the last 16 years.

Highlighting the sordid saga is the fact that the accused were arrested in only one of the cases and one was killed in an encounter by the law-keepers, leaving no clear record of the investigation and judicial process.

The methods of elimination of journalists vary from abduction and killing in detention, targeting while travelling and in the bomb blast, again leaving the course of justice opaque.

Each regime has its own set of denials while they use the same law-keeping agencies to silence the media.

They brazenly deny that there is any attack on media freedom.

The case of Imran Khan became glaring some years ago because he was confronted at a media interaction in London.

The Express Tribune cited documents submitted by the information ministry in the Pakistan Senate that of the 42, 15 journalists were killed in Punjab, 11 in Sindh, 13 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), and three in Balochistan.

These figures are disputed by the rights bodies that say the actual incidence is much higher.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Murtaza Javed Abbasi said that it was only in one of the 42 cases that the accused was arrested for the murder of a journalist.

The Senate directed the Ministry of Interior to submit a comprehensive report on the killing of journalists in Pakistan. No such report has been made so far.

Senator Danesh Kumar disagreed with the official numbers and charged that the Ministry of Information was unaware that not three, but more than 10 journalists have been killed in Balochistan.

Senator Mushtaq Ahmed noted that no arrests have been made in the attacks on journalists Hamid Mir, Absar Alam, Asad Toor, and Matiullah Jan.

There were protests, debate and the government of the day promised action. But there was no action.

Senator Kamran Murtaza said journalists lose their lives in search of the truth. Questioning the lack of basic information, he said: "If it comes out who the murdered journalists were active against, the murderers will also be caught."

Across Pakistan, but especially in Balochistan, many journalists are either co-opted by the government and its agencies or by militant bodies.

They have no escape. Their political affiliation and partisan journalism endanger their security.

According to the Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ), of the 41 persons killed in the province in the last 16 years, 30 scribes and their relatives became victims of target killings, while 11 journalists were killed in bomb blasts.

Khuzdar and Turbat are considered turbulent and disturbed areas of Balochistan where families of scribes are also targeted.

In the past few years, seven journalists and two young sons of a senior journalist have been killed in Khuzdar, while 6 journalists lost their lives in the line of duty in Turbat.

There was a time in Khuzdar when many journalists had been forced to leave the area following continuous bomb blasts.

The press club had to be locked down.

According to Manzoor Baloch, the accused of journalist Irshad Mastunis murder was killed in a police encounter, while the murderer of Abdul Wahid Raisani was acquitted by the court.

No credible facts could come to the fore in connection with the killing of other journalists. Baloch journalists operate in very difficult conditions.

District representatives of newspapers and TV channels arent even paid salaries and are asked to work by merely providing press cards and mics.

BUJ General Secretary Manzoor Baloch informed that the union provides all kinds of legal assistance to the family members of murdered journalists and tries to provide employment to their widows and children.

The Quetta Press Club formed a Shuhada Welfare Trust six years ago. Through this trust, the families of martyrs are given some financial aid on the occasion of Eidul Fitr and Eidul Azha. However, this aid is confined to Quetta victims.
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Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles on Monday declared four army aircrew members, who were aboard a helicopter that crashed into the sea on Friday, as dead.

Efforts to rescue Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs have now turned to an effort to recover their bodies, reports CNN.

Richard Marles was quoted as saying by CNN: "The loss of these four men is as significant and meaningful as the loss of anyone who has worn our nations uniform. If it is, as we imagine it to be, they died on Friday night making a difference."

Significant wreckage of the MRH-90 helicopter has now been located, Marles said, indicating the men likely died in the catastrophic incident late Friday.

Marles said the determined recovery effort involving hundreds of defense force personnel is underway, saying there will be a full investigation to understand exactly what happened.

Prime Minister reacts:

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese mourned the death of the crew members and said: "We offer our sympathies and condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs."
A glimpse of the blast which rocked a political convention in Pakistan that left 46 people dead. Photo Courtesy: Twitter video grab

Pakistani police on Monday said an initial investigation revealed that the terrorist group Islamic State might be behind the suicide attack on a political gathering in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which left 46 people dead.

According to local media reports, the blast left over 100 people hurt.

The blast occurred when a suicide bomber set off explosives at the rally on Sunday in the former tribal area which is located close to the Afghanistan border.

Emergency was declared in the hospitals of Bajaur and adjoining areas where most of the injured were taken, District Police Officer (DPO) Nazir Khan told Geo News.

The critically injured people were transported from Bajaur to hospitals in Peshawar by military helicopters.

"We are still investigating and gathering information on the Bajaur blast. The Initial probe shows that banned outfit Daesh was involved," the law enforcers told Geo News.

DPO Khan said three suspected people had been taken into custody.

Pakistan witnessed a surge in terror activities since last year when a ceasefire between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamabad broke down.
Two years after Kangana Ranaut said that we need to discourage Hollywood movies to make Atmanirbhar Bharat, the bollywood actress herself went to the theatres to watch Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer and is now raving about the film on social media.

Kangana Ranaut praises Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer day  what a wonderful film  fine blend of Physics, Politics and History everything that I love !!

If there is something called cinematic orgasm then for me this is it #Oppenheimer pic.twitter.com/8h5VutcCy1  Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) July 31, 2023

In a video uploaded on Instagram, Kangana says, "My favourite part is the reference to Shrimad Bhagavad Gita and Lord Vishnu  when he channelises his inner Vishnu".

When the final explosion happens, the deafening silence and blinding fire, we cut to Oppenheimer face and there is a voice over  And now I am the destroyer of the world   it reminded me of Kurukshetra battle when lord Vishnu took Virat roop before Arjuna who was blinded by  Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) July 31, 2023

In the caption, she wrote, "Christopher Nolans best work so far... Most important film of our time... I am so excited I just didnt want it to end... it has everything I deeply love, I am passionate about Physics and politics... For me this was like a cinematic orgasm... beyond wonderful!! P.s also just realised in the above video I meant to say nationalism* rises instead of nationality..."

Fans are trolling her for her old statement when she said that Indians should stop watching Hollywood movies.

"We need to discourage American and English movies as they are taking over our screens. We need to behave like one nation. We need to stop dividing ourselves like North India or South India. We need to enjoy our own films first, be it Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu or Punjabi," she had said.

On the other hand I just loved it, quantum physics, particles are waves and indulging in the forces that keep those waves together, harnessing those universal forces and unleashing Virat roop of Shri Hari Vishnu!! My Jam!! Art is subjective its beyond me how one cant like  Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) July 31, 2023

"She's clearly an opportunist who rides on whatever is the wave. Quit taking her seriously if you haven't", a fan commented.

"Confused aatma," said another one.

"Hypocrisy ki bhi koi seema hoti hai," a third user commented.

"Kaise din aa Gaye h, tatti to tatti hi hoti h, apne ghar ki kyun na ho, abhi apne ghar ki h ye bolke thodi use saja ke rakhenge. At this point they are just taking audience for granted, they should take acting and directing lessons from Hollywood and the make better movies else should just shut up," another user commented.



For more news and updates from the world of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.


In an increasingly interconnected global landscape, the demand for cutting-edge educational technology has reached new heights. Within this context, India's EdTech sector has emerged as a frontrunner, blending innovation, accessibility, and unwavering determination. This thriving ecosystem not only positions India as a leader in educational transformation but also empowers its youth and propels the nation's economic trajectory.

With the Indian education market projected to reach a valuation of $225 billion by 2025, and an estimated 37 million individuals expected to become paid EdTech users, the future holds immense promise1. We will delve into the factors driving this remarkable growth and explore the forthcoming opportunities and challenges.

Transformative Digital Trends Shaping India's Education Landscape

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Revolutionizing Education Through Remote Learning

The online education market in India is set to grow by $2.28 billion during 2022-2026 at a CAGR of 19.50%2. Remote learning has emerged as a game-changer, expanding access to education while equipping students with essential digital literacy skills. Geographical barriers are no longer an obstacle as online platforms offer adaptive learning pathways, personalized instruction, and access to a wealth of educational resources. This transformative trend not only empowers students to learn at their own pace but also exposes them to a world of diverse perspectives and knowledge, shaping a comprehensive educational experience.







Empowering Learners Through Niche Education Platforms

The rapid emergence of niche education platforms has revolutionized learning for professionals, offering them the opportunity to delve into highly specialized subjects beyond the scope of traditional schooling systems. These platforms cater to specific industries, skill sets, or learning styles, presenting a tailored approach to education. Whether through coding boot camps or language learning apps, learners gain industry-specific expertise, taking control of their educational journeys. Students can learn coding, master new languages, and even explore virtual bartending, cooking academies, and artistic pursuits through niche education platforms.

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Blended learning, a powerful hybrid approach, seamlessly integrates traditional face-to-face teaching with digital learning tools and resources. This innovative method empowers educators to deliver a more personalized and flexible learning experience, tailored to individual learning styles and requirements. By incorporating technology into the classroom, blended learning captivates and sustains students' attention. Multimedia content, gamification, and interactive activities are seamlessly integrated, enriching the learning process and fostering engagement. With blended learning, organizations can optimize their training programs by leveraging the benefits of both traditional and digital education, creating dynamic and effective learning experiences for their workforce.

Enhancing Training with Gamification

Gamification, integrating game mechanics into non-game contexts, is a powerful tool in education. With a projected market value of $6 billion by 2028, it holds immense potential3. By leveraging the appeal of games, educators create immersive learning experiences that motivate participants and deepen their understanding. Through elements like points, badges, and leaderboards, gamification enhances engagement, retention, and achievement in online courses.

What's next for Ed Industry: Strategies for Digital TransformationWith the rising penetration of the internet, education providers need to embrace the digital shift and adopt the following strategies:

 Omnichannel Student Communication

Education providers can leverage cloud-based platforms for seamless student communication. Utilizing cloud communication enables institutions to simplify admission process to create a transparent and stress-free onboarding experience for students. The process of submitting applications, document uploads, and receiving updates on application status can be made easy. Integrating chat option ensures students receive instant responses to common queries.

 Optimizing Student Engagement

Streamlining communication on exam schedules, homework, assignments, and progress updates. , enable students to stay on top of essential academic tasks and deadlines. A comprehensive approach to student engagement fosters a more interactive educational experience and supports students in achieving their academic goals.

 Safeguarding Student Data and Cyber Security Imperatives

Prioritising e-cybersecurity is a must to protect vital student data and maintain stakeholder trust from cyberattacks like phishing, ransomware which have become more prominent. Establish robust security measures, such as encryption and multi-factor authentication.. Regular audits, staff training, and clear data management policies further mitigate cyber threats and ensure data privacy. Creating a secure and connected campus requires leveraging collaboration and communication tools backed by secure network and cyber security policies.

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Challenges and Opportunities in Navigating the Education Landscape

Navigating the education landscape doesnt come without its challenges. Inadequate infrastructure, including limited internet connectivity and access to necessary hardware can hamper education delivery. . Cybersecurity concerns loom large as the integration of digital tools exposes institutions and users to cybercrime and data breaches. The absence of a clear digital roadmap hampers institutions in keeping up with evolving trends and implementing effective strategies. Additionally, limited budgets hinder investments in technology.. Overcoming these hurdles requires proactive measures and innovative bespoke solutions to deliver quality education.

How Tata Tele Business Services (TTBS) Empowers Educational Institutions for The Digital Age?

Tata Tele Business Services (TTBS) can be the strategic partner in embracing the digital revolution sweeping through the education sector. With their comprehensive portfolio of Smart Business Solutions of Smartflo CCaaS suite, an advanced cloud communication suite integrated with omni-channel capabilities, SmartOffice- a one-box start-up kit with voice, data, apps, storage & much more, Smart Internet Leased Line with built in cloud security, SD-WAN iFLX an intelligently flexible solution for network optimization, robust cybersecurity systems, and unified communication tools, they empower education service providers to create immersive and interactive learning experiences for their students. TTBS offers these enterprise grade solutions in a simple, easy-to-use, pay-as-you-grow model that helps the institutes achieve their business goals while facilitating growth.

These cutting-edge technologies enable seamless collaboration, ensuring students and teachers can connect and engage effectively regardless of their location.

Additionally, TTBSs robust cybersecurity systems safeguard sensitive data, protecting institutions and students from potential threats. With TTBS as your partner, you can stay ahead in the digital age, providing students with a transformative and future-ready educational experience. Together, they can revolutionize the future of education in India and pave the way for a knowledge-driven society.

To conclude by embracing innovative technologies, addressing challenges, and partnering with trusted solution providers like Tata Tele Business Services, education providers can navigate this digital wave effectively and create a new era of accessible, interactive, and impactful learning experiences for students across the nation.

Success Stories

Over the years, TTBS has helped many educational institutions in India embrace digital and drive growth.

Heres what Siddharth Dharmadhikari, Trustee, Chanakya Mandal Pariwar has to say, Smartflo cloud communication is a wonderful product. It certainly lives up to the reliability associated with the TATA name. Moreover, the staff and sales team are very supportive. This has really streamlined our incoming enquiry handling. It offered us seamless workflow, automated our processes, and improved our productivity.

Akbar Khan, Sr. Manager IT, SplashLearn says, Zoom solution from TTBS helped us build an immersive in-office environment for the company and its ease of use across all operating systems  Windows, iOS, Android and Linux  helped enhance team productivity.
In a real-life scene reminiscent of a gripping crime novel, a Japanese court gave a striking verdict on Monday, sentencing a man to 23 years behind bars.

His chilling tale involved attempted murder and sparking a fire on a train in Tokyo while donning the sinister guise of the infamous comic book villain, the Joker.

Twitter

The dramatic climax of the 2021 Halloween attack was revealed as the Tokyo District Court's Tachikawa branch spoke through a spokeswoman to relay the outcome.



According to reports from Jiji Press and other local media, Kyota Hattori, aged 26, was found guilty of stabbing a male passenger in his 70s and attempting to kill 12 others by igniting a fire on the train.

Agencies

Reportedly, Mr. Hattori informed investigators of his desire to take lives and receive the death penalty. He also admitted to spreading lighter fluid inside the train.



As the sun sets on this chapter, Japan's reputation for safety is once again questioned by the sporadic outbursts of violence that disrupt its tranquility.

Man, 24, dressed as the Joker injures 17 in Tokyo train knife rampage, 'sprays acid on passengers' and sets the carriage on fire - then calmly smokes a cigarette before being arrested by police



Many passengers escaped through train windows pic.twitter.com/SvN0ZISCtb  Lilian Chan (@bestgug) November 1, 2021





Although violent crime remains an anomaly in the Land of the Rising Sun, the haunting incidents are stark reminders that no place is immune to acts of hostility.



In August 2021, the heart of Tokyo was rattled as a commuter train turned into a scene of chaos, with nine innocent souls wounded and one left fighting for their lives in a stabbing frenzy.

The perpetrator, consumed by madness, managed to flee the aftermath, only to grapple with the weight of his actions and eventually surrender to the authorities.

For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram.


Military says suspects posed no threat to residents of nearby town of Metula. The incident is the latest in series of terror group provocations
Interior Minister Niki Kerameus sent a letter to the Greeks of the diaspora announcing the lifting of all restrictions on registration in the special electoral lists of voters abroad.

 
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has warned Nigerian youths about the dangers of illegal migration as well as human trafficking.

According to the agency over the weekend, the economic downturn is not peculiar to Nigeria alone, but a global phenomenon.

The Agency insisted that illegal migration had become rampant following the national socio-economic downturn, but maintained that the Japa Syndrome embraced by the youths in recent times was not the solution.

Information Nigeria had reported that Adepoju Wuraola, Acting Comptroller General, NIS, alerted that Nigeria was losing too many youths travelling through illegal routes.

Moreso, Kemi Nandap, the Deputy Comptroller General of Immigration in Charge of the Directorate of Migration, during a sensitization visit to the District Head of Gwagwalada, said many Nigerian youths have had their organs harvested and perished in the process of leaving the country for sweet promises.

READ ALSO: Were United More Than Ever, No Disagreement Over Committee Chairs  Rep. Ugochinyere

She said the sensitisation which was in commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of NIS was designed to educate the youths, parents, community leaders and other stakeholders about the danger of illegal migration and human trafficking especially through the Mediterranean and North African deserts.

Nandap said many of those who reached some countries had their organs harvested by people they trusted.

Dont be deceived, economic downturn is now a global phenomenon. If you have been watching events across the world, you would have noticed protests in some countries. So, it is not about Nigeria alone. It is a global issue. Stay here with us and let us pull our country out of this challenges together.

Dont follow sweet promises that are not real. People who are telling you to follow them, ask them why they couldnt carry their own children. Why didnt they Japa with their cousins and other close relatives. It is dangerous.

They deceived our youths, made them to pass through the deserts and the Mediterranean Sea, some died in the process and their bodies washed off the Sea. Some had their organs harvested by people who took them out the country, she said.
Troops of the Nigerian Army, personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, and private security outfit, Tantita have uncovered and destroyed an illegal oil refining site in Ughelli south in Delta.

The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, in a statement on Sunday, said the security operatives carried out a sting operation on the site after an intelligence report.

Onyema added that the operatives discovered 35 Modular Ovens used for illegal refining of crude oil, 3 fabricated reservoirs, 30 dug-out reservoirs, and 75 galvanized pipes.

Onyema said, In a sustained effort to deny oil thieves freedom of action in South-South Nigeria and protect the Oil sector from economic sabotage, troops of 181 Amphibious Battalion of the Nigerian Army operating in 6 Division Area of Responsibility, in conjunction with operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, as well as operatives of Tantita Security, have uncovered a major illegal oil refining site at Owahwa community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State.

READ MORE: Nigerian Air Force Destroys Illegal Refinery In Rivers

The combined team of anti-oil theft troops discovered on Saturday, July 29, 2023, in a sting operation following a surveillance report on the illicit activities of illegal oil refiners in the area.

The vigilant troops on storming the illegal refining site, discovered 35 Modular Ovens used for illegal refining of crude oil, 3 fabricated Reservoirs, 30 Dug out Reservoirs, and 75 Galvanized pipes.

Onyema, however, urged citizens to continue to support the ongoing anti-oil theft operations by reporting all suspected illicit oil refining and bunkering activities in their areas to the security agencies.
Upper Darbys top parking enforcement official stole more than $4,000 in parking coins and used the money for personal benefit, authorities said, while at the same time allowing more than 18,000 tickets to go unaccounted for in what Delaware County officials called complete and utter incompetency.

Sekela Tamika Coles, 45, of Upper Darby, was charged Monday with three counts of felony theft, receiving stolen property, and related crimes.

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said during a news conference that Coles admitted to investigators that she used her official position to benefit herself and her family by stealing coins from newly installed parking kiosks throughout the township, and spending the money on dinners, parties, and personal gifts.

Those kiosks, which Stollsteimer said offer easier access to coins during collection than the older meters, allowed Coles to enlist her assistant to deposit the funds at her personal bank instead of Upper Darbys.

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In addition to the thefts, Coles is accused of allowing the parking enforcement system in the township to languish for more than two years by failing to send 18,000 parking tickets through to Pennsylvanias court system  mismanagement that officials said cost the township about $1 million in revenue.

She also admitted to deleting multiple tickets issued to her children and ex-husband from Upper Darbys computer systems, Stollsteimer said.

Coles, who became parking enforcement director in January 2020 after serving on Upper Darbys council for six years, has been placed on administrative leave and was expected to turn herself in to Delaware County authorities later on Monday.

Coles is described on Upper Darbys website as someone who transformed the parking enforcement office within a year of taking the position. With thousands of parking meters and eight public parking lots, Coles modernized the system by moving the department toward app-based parking and online ticket payments, the website said.

But around a year into her tenure was also the point when tickets first began to go unprocessed, authorities said. From April of 2021 to February 2023, not a single ticket was sent to the townships district courts, where offenders can either pay or protest their fines.

And it was those parking kiosks that allowed Coles to steal coins, Stollsteimer said. To remove coins from older meters, he said, a vacuum-like system ejected them straight into a case that was brought to the township tax office and taken to the bank by a Brinks truck.

But the kiosks installed under Coles have no such system. The director, Stollsteimer said, exploited this by enlisting her personal assistant to take the coins to Coles bank and convert the coins to cash.

It was only when more kiosks came online that Coles became nervous that the thefts would be detected, Stollsteimer said. She then instructed her assistant to send around $2,000 back to the township tax office in incremental payments to cover the losses.

She was afraid this scheme was going to be discovered, the DA said of Coles.

No charges will be filed against Coles assistant, who is cooperating in the investigation he said.

Complaints from Upper Darby council members and residents who sought to protest their parking tickets led council to launch an audit, which was completed in February and prompted the District Attorneys Office to launch a criminal investigation.

While some of the unprocessed tickets were paid immediately by offenders, others who waited to contest their tickets got away scot free and never received mail notice, Stollsteimer said. The courts have just 30 days to prosecute a ticket, he added.

There is going to be a revenue loss for Upper Darby, he said.

Upper Darby Council President Brian Burke called the revelations disturbing and an affront to the taxpayers of Upper Darby. In addition to the revenue loss from unprocessed tickets, he said, the township had been paying for a ticketing processing service even though no tickets were being filed.

During her time as an Upper Darby council member, Coles served on committees including public safety and environmental affairs. She is from West Philadelphia and holds degrees from Lincoln University, Pennsylvania State University, and Walden University, according to Upper Darbys website.
House Majority Leader Matthew Bradford speaks after touring South Philadelphia High School Monday, the first stop on a statewide Save Our Schools" tour amid a battle with Republicans over school vouchers. Read more

As Pennsylvanias budget impasse drags on, House Democratic leaders visited South Philadelphia High School Monday, calling for more investment in deteriorating public school buildings  and less focus on private school vouchers.

After a tour from Philadelphia school district officials pointing out boilers at the end of their lifespans, asbestos-containing floor tiles, and a temperature-control system that requires overheating some classrooms to compensate for inadequate heating in others, House Majority Leader Matthew Bradford (D., Montgomery) said the high school reflected the impact of literally decades of disinvestment in public education.

Theres so much attention being brought by those who want to support private schools, who want to say thats the solution, Bradford said Monday, addressing reporters outside the school in the first stop of a Save Our Schools tour.

Flanked by supporters holding Say No To Vouchers signs, Bradford said: When they take the 1% of kids out of schools like this, what are they going to do for the 99% of kids that are going to be left behind in these buildings?

Pennsylvanias $45.5 billion spending plan for the year that began July 1 hasnt taken effect amid a battle over efforts by Republicans to institute a voucher program. The proposal, initially supported by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, would spend $100 million to give money to families in the attendance boundaries of low-performing schools to send their children to private school.

The money was part of the spending plan passed by the Republican-controlled Senate, but the Democratic-controlled House wouldnt agree to pass it until Shapiro pledged to veto the voucher spending.

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Even though both chambers have passed the budget bill, it still needs to be signed. Senate Republicans, angered by Shapiros about-face on vouchers, havent returned to Harrisburg to do so; Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland) said last week that the Senate would return in August, though she didnt specify when.

And Republicans are still pushing for vouchers.

Instead of focusing on saving our schools, House Democrats should join with Republicans in both chambers in saving our students, said House Republican spokesperson Jason Gottesman, who accused Democrats of doubling down on an unconstitutionally broken public school system to the exclusion of transformational change and a child-first, family-focused education experience.

Bradford, who also cited this years landmark Commonwealth Court decision finding Pennsylvanias school funding unconstitutional, said Democrats welcomed the conversation about helping students in poorer communities.

House Democrats called for a surge in education spending following the court decision; the spending plan awaiting final signature includes more than $700 million in additional funding, but is less than what they sought.

Recently its become the cool thing to say, every child of God, Bradford said, in an apparent reference to a phrase used by Shapiro and Republicans in favor of vouchers. Every child of God means every child, whether theyre in public school, private school, charter school  every child.

He and Democrats are seeking to push that message this week  with other stops planned in Reading, State College, and Pittsburgh, so that it is very clear Pennsylvania House Democrats No. 1 priority is funding public education, said House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D., Philadelphia).

Inside South Philadelphia High School, lawmakers listened as the districts facilities director, Jeff Scott, described the buildings deficiencies.

We are basically running on borrowed time with these boilers, Scott told the group that descended into the high schools warm basement to see its aging equipment. (The boilers in question were installed in 1989 and have a 30-year expected lifespan, Scott said.)

The districts school buildings require more than $40 million in heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning work, and $21 million in electrical work, Scott said. (We cant even plug an air-conditioner in, or a computer, without a plug going out, William Sax, an African American history teacher at South Philadelphia High, told lawmakers. All of the kids here are watching you.)

Overall, the district  where asbestos contamination closed six school buildings last year  has capital needs estimated at $5 billion.

This years education budget doesnt include dedicated facilities funding, though Senate Republicans have said theyre planning to appropriate $125 million for school safety and remediation.

On Monday, Bradford said he was hopeful that conversation can be had.

Of the budget battle, Bradford said, I think one of the positives thats come out of this is theres a new conversation about the quality of education our children are being provided.
A still from "The Difference Between Us," a short film written by Philly resident Imran Siddiquee. It explores themes of race, immigration, and gender and debuts Aug. 5 at the BlackStar Film Festival. Read more

One of the first challenging things Imran Siddiquee shared with their parents was that they werent going to be an engineer.

Another was that they are queer.

Siddiquee grew up in Springfield, Ill. in a family of Bangladeshi immigrants. Throughout their life, they always found themselves at the intersection of marginalized experiences in America: immigration, race and ethnicity, and queerness. The Philadelphia resident has published numerous essays on race and gender in publications like the Atlantic, but growing up, Siddiquee never saw anyone like them  and never saw their lived reality depicted in film or literature. So they set out to create one themselves.

The Difference Between Us, a short film written and directed by Siddiquee and produced by Tshay Williams, will be debuting Aug. 5 at this years BlackStar Film Festival, taking place Aug. 2 through Aug. 6. The film follows an undocumented immigrant from Bangladesh who immigrates to Philadelphia to escape something from her past. After she discovers a room in an apartment to sublet, she finds herself dreaming about her roommate  and the life she could have.

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I dont think anyone had read me stories about the experiences of queer Muslims who are also immigrants and also undocumented, said Siddiquee. So I hope that it reaches those folks.

Much of the inspiration for the film came from Siddiquees personal experiences, including when they first moved to Philadelphia from Oakland eight years ago, in the midst of a tense presidential campaign. From Trump signs around their South Philly neighborhood to protests at the airport over the Muslim ban, Siddiquee witnessed the impact the politics at the time had on people of color and immigrants, especially those who were undocumented. It was that context that informed the film they wrote.

But The Difference Between Us is ultimately a queer romance, written for people of color.

The move to Philadelphia introduced Siddiquee to the Philly South Asian Collective, a group dedicated to creating space for the South Asian diaspora and which organizes around intersectional feminist issues. It was in that group that Siddiquee, not fully out yet, met other South Asians who were also queer.

I just remember this kind of joy, and for me, a new feeling of being seen, Siddiquee recalled.

At the time, Siddiquee was still struggling with their parents acceptance of their identity  and there were, and are to this day, other folks they knew who dont feel safe enough to come out.

A big part of the story was affirming that sometimes it isnt safe, Siddiquee said. Sometimes you dont have support from the people you want it from the most, but you can find it in other places and other communities.

I just remember this kind of joy, and for me, a new feeling of being seen. Imran Siddiquee

Another personal experience Siddiquee drew upon as they wrote the film was the history of their family, Bangladeshi people of all genders, and queer folks of color. As they learned more, for example, about what their grandmother had to do during the civil war between East and West Pakistan  which led to the creation of Bangladesh  I started to find that the stories I was told about what one gender can do and another gender cant do were not rooted in reality, even within my own family.

Philadelphians may recognize some shots in the film. Siddiquee and the films cinematographer, Nausheen Dadabhoy, shot scenes in Upper Darby, where there is a significant Bangladeshi population. And the apartment that the film revolves around was built inside a West Philly home.

One of the things Im very aware of is theres a huge filmmaking community here, but theres still room for a lot more resources to come to filmmakers of colors in Philly, Siddiquee said. I wanted to set it here and make it here for that reason.
Phone triage nurses at Fox Chase Cancer Center filed paperwork to join the newly created nurses union. Read more

The nurses who answer the phone calls of concerned patients at Fox Chase Cancer Center filed paperwork to join a union last week. They would be the third group of workers at the Northeast Philadelphia hospital to unionize since June.

The 21 nurses were excluded from the much-larger group of 350 registered nurses at Fox Chase who voted to unionize in June.

The phone triage nurses planned to unionize with the rest of the centers nursing staff, but hospital management argued that they should be a separate bargaining unit because they do not physically care for patients, said Rossana Caputo, one of the phone nurses at Fox Chase.

Caputo and her peers worried that fighting the decision would delay and jeopardize the vote for the rest of the nurses.

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We had a really good momentum, Caputo said. We didnt want to lose that.

 READ MORE: Fox Chase nurses vote to unionize, inspired by Temples contract. We can have those things, too!

The phone triage nurses submitted a petition to join the collective bargaining unit with the National Labor Review Board last week. She hopes that management will agree to a quick election, in which she believes a yes vote for the union will be close to unanimous.

Fox Chase is one of two National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in Philadelphia and has been part of the Temple University Health System since 2012. The hospital did not respond to request for comment.

Two weeks before the nurses election in June, 125 techs and licensed practical nurses at Fox Chase voted to unionize. In January, a union of 35 certified registered nurse anesthetists working both at Fox Chase and at the nearby Temple University Hospital-Jeanes Campus ratified their first contract.

Techs and nurses cited staffing levels, retention of employees, and benefits as their motivation to organize. The phone triage nurses share these concerns.

We definitely want to be included, Caputo said. We want more of a voice.
DEAR ABBY: I am 49 and have been divorced for 20 years. When we first separated, my ex moved in with my parents while I struggled to raise my four kids. He stayed there for seven years. He moved out until a year and a half ago. Again, my parents have allowed him back in!

While I understand that they shouldnt have had to cease contact because of the divorce, I dont feel its right for him to be living there. This has caused an ongoing rift between my family and me because I have let them know that it hurts me.

My parents pretty much told me my feelings dont matter. I was homeless living in my car for a few weeks while it was bitter cold and snowing. But Im not supposed to be upset that hes nice and warm, eating prepared meals, showering and using their vehicles for next to nothing? He has had a full-time job for 10 years.

I feel my parents are disrespectful, hurtful and rude toward me. What are your thoughts about what I should do or how to handle this?  PERTURBED IN PENNSYLVANIA

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DEAR PERTURBED: My thought is that when you and your ex-husband divorced, your parents sided with him, and you have every right to your feelings. Being told that your feelings do not matter had to have been devastating.

The way to handle this would be to stay as far from your parents as possible and figure out how to have a rewarding life on your own. Take that path  and spend as little time as possible looking backward because you really have no other choice. Success would be the best revenge.

** ** **

DEAR ABBY: Im 26, and I have never been in a long-term relationship. I have used dating apps and have dated several times, but nothing seems to stick after the third one. This year, I have put myself out there more by going to Meetup groups and to religious services.

When I browse Instagram or Facebook, I see content that makes me feel guilty and disappointed. Its depressing to see people I know getting engaged or married. When I was in high school, most of my classmates went to prom, while I stayed at home.

Im beginning to wonder if Ill never find a good quality life partner or if Im meant to be single forever. Im afraid there may be something wrong with me. What can I do to move forward?

 UNCOUPLED IN MINNESOTA

DEAR UNCOUPLED: You may be focusing too much on your goal and not enough on enjoying the experience. Dating is a sifting process. It can be tedious and depressing, and it doesnt always result in meeting Prince Charming. Because you havent yet met The One doesnt mean the alternative is winding up in a convent. Move forward by teaching yourself to enjoy the present, and you may find you have better luck.
Fox 29 traffic anchor and feature reporter Bob Kelly was injured after being assaulted during an event at Oar House Pub in Sea Isle City, according to sources. Read more

Update: Fox 29s Bob Kelly thanks supporters after frightening, disturbing event

Fox 29 traffic anchor Bob Kelly is recovering after being assaulted during an event at the Jersey Shore on Sunday, sources with knowledge of the incident told The Inquirer.

The longtime Philadelphia TV fixture was emceeing a party at Oar House Pub in Sea Isle City when a young man filmed himself pouring beer on Kellys shoulder and head, according to sources with knowledge of the incident. When Kelly reacted and attempted to swat away the beer, sources said the man filming punched him in the face.

Kelly was taken to Cape Regional Medical Center but did not suffer any serious injuries, sources said. Hes usually off on Mondays during the summer, but sources said Kelly is expected to be back on Good Day Philadelphia on Tuesday.

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Sea Isle City police have not released any information about the incident. Sources say the man was apprehended by the pubs bouncers and later arrested, but Sea Isle City police did not confirm an arrest. No information about the suspect has been released.

 READ MORE: The future of a new Sixers arena shifts to City Hall after a year of contention

A Philly native known to viewers as The Dean of Traffic, Kelly has been the traffic anchor at Fox 29 on Good Day Philadelphia since 2014. He also hosts Kelly Drives, in which he showcases unique spots across the Philadelphia region. Hes a regular fixture up and down the Shore, where he regularly films segments and takes parts in events.

Kelly began his Philly TV career at CBS3, where he spent 13 years as a traffic reporter. Before that, he reported on the traffic on the radio at KYW Newsradio and other outlets after a career as a DJ didnt appear in the cards.

I got started at 102.9 MGK and worked up and down the dial at all the hot stations, Kelly told SJ Magazine in 2018. But the music industry was starting to change. Fewer DJs were actually live on the radio; everything was prerecorded. My agent said to me, Traffic is going to be huge. What if you DJ that? Traffic is live; itll always be live, you cant prerecord it. So instead of talking up the Rolling Stones, I decided to DJ the traffic.
Storm clouds hang of the Delaware River in Chester on Friday. July was quite a month for thunderstorms. Read more

The weather around here for at least the next few days will continue to be uncharacteristically magnificent and uneventful, given that we are in the so-called Dog Days of August.

Perhaps the atmosphere is just exhausted.

Were in store for highs in the low 80s  along with low humidities  which are more characteristic of the first week in September.

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This comes after the Philadelphia region just endured what was one of the stormier  and louder and flashier  Julys in the period of record, according to the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly.

Through July 30, the office said Monday, it issued 123 severe-thunderstorm warnings throughout its turf, which includes Delaware and much of New Jersey.

Thats the second-most for a July, behind the 132 of July 2021, in records that date to 1986  the beginning of the current warning system. The average number of thunderstorm warnings for July is 47.

Thunderstorms were observed officially at Philadelphia International Airport on 15 different days in July  five more than in 2021, according to weather service data. The long-term average for the month is 5.8.

Some parts of the region likely heard more thunder and saw more lightning than what occurred at the airport, where no one actually lives. Summer thunderstorms are notorious for their caprice.

 READ MORE: Summer heat and humidity have been far worse around here

For example, on July 5, when several inches of rain fell upon the Washington Crossing area in a compressed period and seven people tragically were swept away in floodwaters, including a 2-year-old and 9-month-old, a mere 0.11 inches were measured at the airport.

For the month, the airport did receive more than its share of rain  5.24 inches, about an inch above normal, but amounts were considerably higher in the neighboring Pennsylvania counties.

So much rain has fallen in parts of the region that some back roads may seem noticeably narrower with the encroaching of the lush foliage.

Why all the fireworks?

For the first 30 days of the month, the atmosphere was akin to a damp rag just waiting for something to dare to wring it dry.

 READ MORE: Philly has been having more heat waves, but they've been shorter

The amount of absolute moisture in the atmosphere, as measured by the dew points, was more than impressive, said Matt Brudy, a meteorologist at the Mount Holly office. The dew point is the temperature at which water vapor condenses and comes out of hiding.

The higher it is, the wetter the atmosphere, and the more likely that the vapor will condense into droplets. About half the time in July, they were at levels considered quite high in Philly, based on available hourly data from the Pennsylvania State Climatologist office.

An Inquirer analysis found that the numbers of hours with high dew points this century have been about 9% higher on average than they were from 1951 through 2000. Meteorologists say that is tied to the warming of the planet. Warmer air can hold more moisture.

All that moisture contributes to volatility, or a mouthful called the convective available potential energy, better known as CAPE.

The higher dew points lead to higher CAPE values, said Brudy. A front or even a stealth disturbance is enough to light the storm fuses.

On the positive side

All that moisture may have been a factor in why the heat wave that ended Saturday  with thunderstorms, naturally  wasnt as intense as predicted. Moisture diverts some of the suns energy from heating.

For the month, Philly skated by with only two short-lived heat waves, in part due to an upper-air pattern that favored record heat in the parched Southwest and a sequence of storms directed toward the Northeast, meteorologists said.

 READ MORE: This might be the muggiest Philly summer since 1995. No wonder youre sweating.

The city did report one heat-related death, on July 28, said Health Department spokesperson Jim Garrow. The victim was not identified, nor were any details available.

For the first two months of the meteorological summer, which began June 1, temperatures in Philly have averaged about 1.5 degrees below normal.

By contrast, July temperatures in Las Vegas, where its always toasty in summer, have averaged a full 4.5 above normal, peaking at 116, just a degree below the all-time monthly record.

You call these Dog Days?

Nothing remotely like that is heading this way.

In fact, if the weather service had such thing as an open your windows advisory, this would be time to issue it. Daytime highs will be in the 80s this week, with sleep-able nights in the 60s. Showers are possible Thursday and Friday, but not a 90-plus day is in sight.

The governments Climate Prediction Center back on July 20 said the odds favored above-normal temperatures around here in August, with only about a 10% chance they would be below normal. But in its updated outlook on Monday, it said temperatures could go other way.

It doesnt get much better around here during the so-called Dog Days, which extend from July 3 to Aug. 11, centered on the rising and falling of Canis Major, Sirius, the Dog Star.

The ancient Romans allegedly had the whacky idea that Sirius somehow contributed to the summer heat.

In fairness, they also came up with some pretty good ideas.
When George Floyd was murdered by police in 2020, Mike Dank did what he does best: He dug for information.

During the George Floyd protests within Philadelphia and throughout the country, there were many questions about what the police [were] recording and how they handled and treated that resulting data, Dank, an advocate for greater government transparency based in Delaware County, told me.

Of all the 22 public-records requests hes made since 2018, under Pennsylvanias Right-to-Know Law, he hasnt gotten data for any of them  even though hes sometimes found the records afterward on public agency websites. He said hes most disappointed that my request to the Philadelphia Police Department regarding body-worn cameras was not filled.

Philly transparency activists are often miserable. Because Philadelphia does a terrible job with transparency.

Philadelphia does a terrible job with transparency.

Back in 2020, I gathered data from a transparency tool called MuckRock, comparing the nations 50 largest metro areas to see how they ranked on responsiveness to public records requests. Specifically, I measured average response times and rates of success.

MuckRock does not come anywhere close to hosting all public records requests  no platform does. But it is unquestionably one of the largest platforms for hosting and managing such requests, with users around the country having filed more than 124,000 requests using the platform since its founding in 2010.

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At the time of my 2020 analysis, Portland, Ore., snagged the dubious honor of least responsive metro. As a software developer, I wrote some code to automatically run the same analysis every month.

I mostly forgot about the whole project. Until now.

During the intervening years, it turns out, a few things have changed. Portland has been getting steadily better at successfully providing data. And Philadelphia has gotten worse.

 READ MORE: A fight over public records could threaten novel approach to broadband in rural Pennsylvania

Philly municipal and regional agencies now have the lowest success rate for public records requests out of any metro area in the ranking, with less than 14% of MuckRock-hosted requests being successful.

Why is this? And how can it be changed?

To answer that, its worth visiting 1957, when the first version of Pennsylvanias Right-to-Know Law was passed. The law predated the federal Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) by a decade, and it showed: The attitude at the time was that government documents were private unless explicitly made public.

While later revisions to the law  most recently in 2008  changed that policy, an overcautious culture remained, according to a 2019 study conducted by researchers at Penn. The report found that obfuscatory and reticent habits remain deeply embedded in the way that city, regional, and state government staffers approached communicating with the public.

That sense of official apprehension, the report says, can make the state seem backward to new residents. Researchers cite journalists hired from other states into Pennsylvania jobs, talking about how public-records requests that would have resulted in documents within days at other places became an ordeal in Philadelphia. With skeptics now demanding transparency on a planned 76ers arena, the issue of public records is likely to stay relevant.

It doesnt have to be this way.

According to the Penn report, one approach to more openness is the creation of a two-tier fee system for right-to-know requests, with commercial requesters paying more. As someone who has paid steep public record retrieval fees in other states, Im a bit worried about leaving that decision up to governments. (And dont get me started on how governments have made a dogs breakfast of the debate over who is and isnt a journalist.)

What else, then?

Other fixes could include tightening clauses that allow agencies to make exceptions to the assumption that records are public. Several experts I talked with for this piece also called for a revision of the rules triggering a 30-day extension in responses to requests, which are over-applied and can lead to a piece of information becoming outdated or even completely useless. There should be a specific, articulated reason for delay, Paula Knudsen Burke of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press told me. Her organization sent a June letter to the citys law department, suggesting ways to improve the current system.

Dank, the transparency advocate, told me that for metro Philly to improve on its dismal transparency ranking, exceptions and extensions need to be better documented. Most importantly, the region needs to adjust its entire approach to government information, changing from the default of private to public.

Right now the whole system is a black box, he told me. He and other transparency activists dont really understand how it works.

Patrick Maynards writing from six countries  some of which is based on public records requests  has been featured in more than a dozen publications, including VICE, the Independent, and the Baltimore Sun. He spends much of his time developing software. Follow him on Twitter and Mastodon.
Democratic nominee for Philadelphia mayor Cherelle Parker pointing while thanking supporters during her official victory party at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on June 2. Read more

Since winning the Democratic primary for mayor two months ago, Cherelle Parker has largely stayed out of the public spotlight.

Instead, she has taken care of the dental issues that caused her to miss her victory party on the night of the primary, thanked key supporters of her campaign, gone on vacation, and spent time with her 10-year-old son, Langston.

Parker, a former City Council majority leader, is all but guaranteed to defeat Republican David Oh in Novembers general election thanks to Philadelphias overwhelmingly Democratic electorate, and in January will likely become Philadelphias 100th mayor, and the first woman to lead the city.

 READ MORE: A guide to Cherelle Parker: What to know about the person Philly Democrats picked for mayor

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In contrast to the months leading up to the Democratic primary, Parker has made few public appearances this summer and has avoided discussing public policy issues in detail.

But she has insisted she isnt taking the general election for granted and plans to ramp up campaign activities after Labor Day. In the meantime, Mayor Jim Kenneys administration has begun preparing transition materials to help the next mayor that will be shared with both Parker and Oh.

Heres what to know about what Parker is doing this summer and whats next in the mayoral transition process:

What has Cherelle Parker been up to?

Parker said resolving the dental issues that kept her from attending her own victory party became her top priority after the May 16 primary. She still has additional dental work that needs to be done, but said the issue is no longer affecting her ability to work.

The first thing I did was take care of the dental issues that prevented me from celebrating with my family, friends, and supporters on election night, she said in written responses to questions from The Inquirer. Then, I took some time to do what a working mom needs to do. I got my own house in order  yes, my own house  cooking, cleaning, and catching up on a lot of laundry while enjoying some much-needed family time.

Parker said she has since taken a series of meetings with stakeholders across the city who share our vision.

 READ MORE: Cherelle Parker spent 10 years in Harrisburg. That could pay off for Philly.

Her first public appearance after the primary followed a meeting with Gov. Josh Shapiro in Center City. She also met with lawmakers in Harrisburg, where she served as a state representative for a decade before running for Council.

Parker has declined to comment on current issues facing the city, such as the budget negotiations that concluded in June and the mass shooting in Kingsessing earlier this month.

The city has one mayor at a time, she said, referring to Kenney, whose term ends in January.

Will Parker campaign in the general election?

Parker has insisted she is taking the November election seriously and plans to campaign this fall.

I remind people daily, I am not the mayor-elect. I am the Democratic nominee for the mayor of Philadelphia and still have to win a general election in November, Parker said. That is why we are continuing to run a campaign to earn the support of Philadelphians in every neighborhood and ZIP code.

That doesnt mean, however, that she will be taking her opponent terribly seriously. Philadelphias last competitive general election for mayor was Republican Sam Katzs unsuccessful 2003 campaign to unseat Democratic Mayor John F. Street.

Oh, a fellow former Council member, has raised very little money and isnt showing signs of building the kind of campaign that would be necessary to compete with Parker. But he has made appearances at community events and called for a series of debates.

Asked if she will agree to a debate with Oh, Parker said, Our focus will be on earning the support of the voters of the city.

What will the transition process be like for the next mayor?

Transitions between mayors tend to go smoother when the outgoing and incoming bosses get along, and it looks like there will be a harmonious changing of the guard leading up to January because Parker and Kenney have a good relationship.

Shortly before the primary, Kenney signed an executive order laying out the administrations transition plans and revealed in a news conference that he had voted for Parker.

Kenney tapped deputy chief of staff Lyana Cuadrado to serve as transition director. City agencies will write transition memos this summer, and those will be shared with Parker and Oh, she said. The nominees will also receive in-person briefings about city operations.

The winner of the general election will then gain access to more sensitive information and will also receive assistance with onboarding tasks such as ethics trainings.

Cuadrado said the city in the past has not formalized or recorded a transition process that can be used by future administrations, and she plans to change that this time around.

We decided that as we formulate our process, we would document everything that we did, she said, so that the next person who has this job will have a starting point.

Is Parker working on hiring people for her administration?

Throughout the campaign, Parker has declined to comment on who may serve in key roles, such as police commissioner and managing director, in her administration.

We will have a process for selecting the best and the brightest locally and nationally to help us make the transformational change that the voters in our city elected me to enact, she said.

Nonetheless, its widely assumed that Parkers two top aides during the campaign, senior adviser Aren Platt and campaign manager Sincere Harris, would hold leading roles in the next administration.

One former Parker staffer has already transitioned into the executive branch. Rachel Meadows, who was Parkers director of policy and legislation on Council, recently became Kenneys director of legislative affairs.

Kenneys chief of staff, Christina M. Hernandez, said Meadows was brought on primarily to fill a vacancy in the current administration, rather than to begin the transition process. But she is expected to fill a similar role come January.

During the primary, Parker, like several other candidates, declined to say whether she would retain Danielle Outlaw as police commissioner, but it would be an unusual decision if she did. New mayors typically select new people for that role, which is perhaps the most visible unelected position in city government.

But Parker said she has other priorities before deciding who would serve in her administration.

Im hoping to get just a little quality mommy-Langston time before the summer is out and hes back at school and the demands of the campaign really kick into high gear, she said.
City Council candidate Nicolas ORourke, a member of the Working Families Party, speaks during news conference at City Hall on Monday. Working Families Party candidates submitted more than 20,000 signatures to get their names on the ballot this fall. Read more

A slate of progressive third-party candidates filed nomination papers Monday to run for office in Philadelphia, pledging during a news conference to oust Republicans they say do not deserve governing power in City Hall.

This party is actively sabotaging civil rights, Nicolas ORourke, a City Council candidate running as a member of the Working Families Party, said Monday. Its actively busting unions, actively chipping away at the foundation of our democracy, and actively standing in the way of progress in Philadelphia.

The GOP candidates theyre running against say attempts to connect them to national Republicans will fall flat with voters.

Its not a surprise to me that they are going to try to tie us to what theyre going to term as the party of Trump, said Drew Murray, a Republican running for Council who describes himself as a moderate. And that is not who we are.

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It sets up a contentious fall, as Republicans try to defend the few officeholders they have remaining in City Hall from the third party thats gained traction among the citys progressives. Those races will be the most closely watched in the November general election. Because Democrats outnumber Republicans 7-1 citywide, the mayoral race between Democrat Cherelle Parker and Republican David Oh is seen as far less competitive.

ORourke, a pastor, is running for Council for the second time alongside Kendra Brooks, an incumbent City Council member. They hope to take two at-large seats on the 17-member legislative body that are effectively reserved for non-Democrats  both seats were held by Republicans for 70 years until Brooks won one in 2019 in historic fashion.

 READ MORE: The Working Families Party is gearing up to try to oust the few Republicans left in Philadelphia government

Theyve formed a slate alongside Jarrett Smith, a former labor lobbyist running to be one of three city commissioners, officials who administer elections.

Hes trying to top Seth Bluestein, the Republican nominee and former deputy to ex-City Commissioner Al Schmidt, who is now Pennsylvanias secretary of state. Mayor Jim Kenney appointed Bluestein to replace Schmidt. (Bluestein stepped down from the Board of Elections when he launched his campaign earlier this year because, under city law, candidates cant administer elections theyre running in.)

The trio of Working Families Party candidates on Monday submitted more than 21,000 petition signatures to get their names on the ballot in the November general election  well over the 7,700 required. The labor-aligned party said the haul indicates grassroots support for their bid to pick off members of the GOP.

We organized, Smith said. We spent our summer in the streets talking to voters to build such a large movement for our campaigns.

The citys Home Rule Charter requires that two Council seats be held by members who are not in the majority party. Voters select five candidates, so the Democratic City Committee expects its five nominees to coast to victory in November.

For a third-party candidate to beat a Republican, they generally need to siphon away some voters who usually pick five Democrats and have them instead select fewer Democrats and vote for one or two third-party candidates. Democratic Party chair Bob Brady has warned city committee members against supporting or electioneering for third-party candidates, which a party rule prohibits.

 READ MORE: Philly Democrats to party officials: Dont back Working Families Party candidates

The GOP, for its part, nominated five candidates but is encouraging Republican voters to strategically select just two: Murray, a longtime civic leader in Center City, and Jim Hasher, a real estate agent and bar owner.

Only one Republican currently sits on Council. Longtime Councilmember Brian ONeill, who represents Northeast Philadelphias 10th District, is in a competitive fight for reelection against Democrat Gary Masino, business manager of the Sheet Metal Workers Local 19. Former Councilmember David Oh resigned earlier this year and is the GOP nominee for mayor.

Murray said he thinks city voters want balance and common sense and pointed out that multiple high-profile candidates backed by the Working Families Party in the spring lost their races.

For mayor, the party endorsed former City Councilmember Helen Gym, who lost in a crowded primary field to Parker, a more moderate candidate who consolidated support in majority-Black and brown neighborhoods. The party also backed six candidates for City Council. Three won  the ones who were also endorsed by the city Democratic Party.

ORourke said the losses served as a reminder that in organizing, we do not stop.

It wasnt just this last election where there have been times when we havent quite gotten there, he said. We continued to build over the last four years, and were going to continue to build from now all the way through November as well.
Sen. John Fetterman speaks during a press conference about the collapsed I-95 bridge in Philadelphia on June 17, 2023. Read more

As he settles into life in Washington, D.C., U.S. Sen. John Fetterman continues to open up about his health and how hes adjusting to his new job.

Fetterman, who suffered a stroke days before Pennsylvanias primary last year, returned to the Senate a little over three months ago after being hospitalized for clinical depression.

Recently, Pennsylvanias junior senator sat down with sat down with the New York Times. Here are six takeaways from his Q&A.

Fetterman is talking with reporters

Fetterman is taking questions from reporters in the U.S. Capitol hallways, using an iPads voice-to-text feature as an aid for the auditory processing disorder from his stroke.

When he returned to Capitol Hill in April, his chief of staff told The Inquirer that Fetterman wanted to engage more with his colleagues and reporters, and theyd figure out a system to make sure he could do that.

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 READ MORE: Inside John Fettermans hopeful first week back in the Senate after his treatment for depression

Fetterman had been closely guarded from the press for over a year as he continued to recover from his May 2022 stroke that kept him off the campaign trail for three months in last years election and then quietly battled severe depression.

Now, Fetterman will talk with reporters and has started inviting them to his office for off-the-record conversations, the New York Times reported.

Fetterman really misses his family, but wont have them move

Fetterman said being apart from his wife and three kids, who still live in Braddock in western Pennsylvania, is the worst part of the job of being a U.S. senator. But they wont move to join him in Washington for the remainder of his six-year term, he added.

That would be disrupting their lives, Fetterman told the New York Times. I cant do that to them.

Being away from his family was one of the catalysts to his worsening clinical depression and hospitalization that kept him out of the U.S. Senate for six weeks.

Fetterman doesnt understand the fascination

For Fetterman, the national interest in him  inspiring hundreds of articles  doesnt make sense.

I dont get it. Ill never understand it, Fetterman said. In the movie Groundhog Day, Bill Murrays character says something like, You think Im arrogant? No, I dont even like me. Thats me. I dont even like me. Thats the truth.

 READ MORE: A look at John Fetterman's health journey, from his stroke to his hospitalization for depression

Despite the media obsession with the burly senator, Fetterman remains the less popular of Pennsylvanias two senators. According to a Quinnipiac University poll from June, Fetterman has only a 39% approval rating and a 50% disapproval rating, with 10% of participants who didnt have an opinion. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) had a 44% positive job approval rating, with 32% of respondents who disapprove of him and 24% who had no opinion.

Casey is up for reelection in 2024.

How Fetterman votes in his signature sweatshirt and shorts

Fetterman told the New York Times that he recently realized he didnt need to be in a suit to vote from the threshold of the U.S. Senate chamber.

Ive been able to reduce my suit time by about 75%, Fetterman said.

Male senators are required to wear a suit and tie when theyre on the Senate floor. But Fettermans newfound loophole lets him stay in his comfy clothes while casting his voice votes from the threshold of the chamber.

Fettermans signature Carhartt hoodie and gym shorts are part of his political brand  and part of the reason why some Pennsylvanians have said they relate to him.

Fetterman backs Joe Biden, but still sees Trumps strength in Pa.

Fetterman said hes confident that President Joe Biden can serve another term, despite concerns about his age. If elected to a second term, Biden would be 86 by the end of 2028.

Ive spent enough time around him, Fetterman said, who appeared with Biden in Philadelphia in June after the I-95 bridge collapse. Hes sharp, hes aware, he is absolutely up to the task.

But he still sees former President Donald Trumps strength in Pennsylvania. Trump hosted a rally in Erie on Saturday, and maintains a dominating lead in Republican primary polls.

Youre still seeing Trump signs everywhere in Pennsylvania, Fetterman said. You have to respect his strength in all of that. Trump would be very competitive in Pennsylvania.

However, Fetterman thinks Trump would need to over perform to win in the state.

I think theres a hard ceiling in Pennsylvania he cant get past, he added.

Fetterman still mixes up words

In addition to his spot in mainstream media as a left-wing darling, hes a consistent target of right-wing media outlets criticizing him as unable to do his job post-stroke.

He still occasionally mixes up words, which he did in his latest sitdown interview with the New York Times.

We can fight for things that are meaningful. That we should have no hungry. Hanger. Hangry. Hanger. Hangry, Fetterman said, before laughing.

Fox News will go crazy if that makes your story, he added.
This North Philadelphia home had a tangled title after a family's matriarch died and the home remained in her name. Her children were able to straighten out ownership of the home with the help of a city program that provides free legal help and waives and defers fees. Read more

Leslie Davis thought of her nanas house as her own.

Davis, 56, had grown up there. More than two decades ago, she moved from an apartment back to the North Philadelphia house to take care of her grandmother in her last years.

Davis continued living in the home after her grandmother died, paying the bills and saving up to repair the roof.

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But the house wasnt legally hers. The deed was still in Davis nanas name, and the family matriarch didnt have a will.

Because Davis didnt own the house, she couldnt apply for programs to help make repairs or pay bills. She couldnt get homeowners insurance.

She had a tangled title  a term that describes unclear legal ownership of a property. Now, thanks to the free services of the legal-aid organization Philadelphia VIP and one of its volunteer attorneys, she owns the home and has a will, which will make inheriting the property easier for her niece.

She wont have to go through all this, Davis said.

 READ MORE: Tangled titles in Philly threaten more than $1.1 billion in generational wealth

Organizations such as Philadelphia VIP across the city have been focusing more attention  and funds  to prevent tangled titles from happening as well as helping residents fix the ones that exist.

More than 10,400 homes in Philadelphia have unclear legal ownership, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Residents in these properties  and more, since that is a conservative estimate  are vulnerable to scammers who steal deeds, and they cant use their homes equity, sell their homes, or take advantage of a host of homeowner assistance programs.

Philadelphians risk losing more than $1.1 billion in generational wealth because of tangled titles. And the loss of homes threatens the stability of both families and neighborhoods.

Most tangled titles occur when a homeowner dies and the deed for a property does not transfer to a new owner. If the person died without a will that says who should inherit the property, fixing the problem is more complicated.

Kenneth Bigos, executive director of the Philadelphia-based housing-counseling agency Affordable Housing Centers of Pennsylvania, said if perceptions that estate planning is a taboo subject dont change, were not gonna be able to put a dent in that record amount of tangled titles.

More help with tangled titles is available

Kelly J. Gastley, managing attorney at Philadelphia VIP, which administers the city-financed Tangled Title Fund, said that five years ago, estate planning didnt seem to be on the radar of many housing counselors.

But now she hears them talking to clients about it, which gives me a lot of encouragement that were really moving in the right direction on this issue.

The work that nonprofits and the city are doing, she said, will empower a lot of our families in this city to hold onto their homes and pass them on.

 READ MORE: Philly is giving $7.6M to legal aid agencies to clear residents tangled titles

The Affordable Housing Centers of Pennsylvania received a $150,000, two-year grant from Wells Fargo last August to launch an estate-planning program in partnership with the legal-aid nonprofit Community Legal Services of Philadelphia.

Since last September, they have held about two dozen free wills clinics, virtually and in person, and offer free follow up appointments with legal advocates so residents who meet certain income requirements can create wills.

A virtual wills workshop happens every third Wednesday of the month.

A comprehensive home preservation resource event is scheduled for Oct. 14 at East Mount Airys Dare to Imagine Church at 6610 Anderson St.

Homeowners can talk to experts and get connected to resources about tangled titles, estate planning, real estate taxes, and more.

Many residents dont know they dont have legal ownership of the home they live in until a problem pops up.

Register of Wills Tracey Gordon has made spreading the word about tangled titles a priority for her office. And City Council passed legislation in late 2021 requiring funeral service providers to share information with clients about how to prevent getting trapped by a tangled title.

An announcement last summer that the city would give $7.6 million to legal-aid agencies to fix tangled titles built on existing momentum. Agencies have been able to hire more people and help more residents fix or prevent tangled titles.

Clients are coming in in droves

The outreach is working, said Rachel Gallegos, staff attorney in the home ownership and consumer rights unit at Community Legal Services.

We have clients coming in in droves, Gallegos said.

Gastley said Philadelphia VIP has seen more people saying, Hey, I have this tangled title and I heard its a problem I should be addressing now and not waiting.

 READ MORE: Unclear ownership impedes upkeep and sale of houses in Philly. The city is working on a solution.

The longer that properties sit with muddled ownership without going through required legal processes, the more complicated cases become. Heirs multiply and scatter and can claim more pieces of properties.

And tangled titles take time to resolve. Davis took almost a year, and more complicated cases can take much longer.

Last fiscal year, the Tangled Title Fund, which helps pay costs associated with clearing titles, received 202 new applications, Gastley said. Thats double the volume of applications received the previous year.

The money spent fixing tangled titles more than doubled to $359,000. And its not that costs have gone up, she said, its that so many more folks are actually being assisted now.

 READ MORE: Philadelphia funeral homes will begin educating survivors about tangled property titles

We are chipping away at what Ill call a backlog of all those tangled title issues that have been sitting out there unresolved for years, Gastley said. We are meaningfully putting a dent in the problem.

Tangled titles are one of the biggest issues older Philadelphians face, said Leah Finlayson, legal director at Philadelphia-based SeniorLAW Center, which was able to hire another attorney to help with that work because of increased city funding.

The organization is grateful for the money, she said, but, if I had a lot more staff, we could certainly handle more cases. Preventing foreclosures is another priority for SeniorLAW Center, and the same team works on tangled titles.

 READ MORE: Stealing from the dead: Thieves and forgers are taking houses from the deceased in 'hot' neighborhoods

Both are about protecting many families largest asset.

Bigos said that when Affordable Housing Centers of Pennsylvania holds home buyer classes, he asks about peoples primary motivation for purchasing.

Overwhelmingly, he said, they say, I want to leave something behind for my children. 
A report from Japan News alleged that Aioi Nissay met with and asked Sompo, which led the bidding process, about other bidders insurance premium levels for the contract before the bidding with Keisei began. This was done so that Aioi Nissay could avoid presenting more expensive premiums than its peers and is considered an infringement of the antimonopoly law. Both Tokio Marine and Mitsui Sumitomo were also present at the bidding.
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) acknowledges the latest data from the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) today, said an ICA spokesperson. The ICA is aware of some delays in claims processing both from catastrophes and general insurance claims, however, it must be noted the significant pressure last years floods put on insurers systems and processes, which are used to respond to all insurance claims, as well as a shortage of experts required to assess and manage claims and building and labour supply constraints.
Many Insurtech Australia members and partners are deploying AI in various forms across insurance functions, including in relation to pricing, policy generation and claims management, to better serve insurance customers, said Insurtech Australia CEO Simone Dossetor. We support the development of guidance and initiatives to generate trust and confidence in AI and ensure the responsible development and deployment of AI in Australia,
In addition to challenges to households, we must also better understand the implications of changes in property insurance for real estate markets and financial institutions that rely on insurers to help manage risks, she said.
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Local officials said Friday there`s no immediate sign of health or safety risks from a northern New York solar farm battery fire that burned overnight and may persist for some time.

The blaze near the tiny village of Chaumont prompted local authorities to tell people within a mile (1.6 km) of the solar installation to shelter in place for about four hours Thursday. Gov. Kathy Hochul also urged residents Thursday to heed public health officials and avoid exposure to the smoke or or any other toxins.

The village government said on its website Friday that air monitoring showed no toxic byproducts and there was no indication of contaminated runoff or groundwater. Firefighters and representatives from various state agencies remained at the solar farm to monitor the blaze. It`s in a rural area about 78 miles (125 km) north of Syracuse and near Lake Ontario and the Canadian border.

The batteries themself will burn out. It will probably burn for the next five, seven days, Chaumont Fire Chief William Lipczynski told WWNY-TV. It will be at a safe level where we dont have to worry about a big fire again.

A mechanical equipment malfunction sparked the fire Thursday afternoon, the Chaumont government said.

Hochul, a Democrat, said Friday she assigned several state agencies to look into fires and safety standards at energy storage facilities, noting the Chaumont- area blaze and a couple of others elsewhere in the state this summer.

While saying that such fires are uncommon, Hochul said the state group would identify best practices, address potential risks to public safety, and ensure energy storage sites across New York are safe and effective.

Other battery fires __ involving e-bikes, scooters and other micromobility devices __ spurred a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission forum Thursday in Bethesda, Maryland. The discussion followed a series of such blazes, particularly in New York City.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics New York Agribusiness Medical Professional Liability
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As authorities continue to investigate a crane collapse that rained thousands of pounds of steel debris onto a busy Manhattan thoroughfare Wednesday, the owner and operator of the failed crane are facing scrutiny over past safety failures.

The tower crane, owned by New York Crane and Equipment Corp., was hoisting concrete to the 36th story of a luxury high-rise when a fire broke out in the machines cab, officials said. The flames burned through a cable holding the crane`s arm in place, sending the 180-foot-long boom crashing to the ground.

Though no one was seriously hurt, the near catastrophe stirred memories of past crane collapses, including a series of incidents involving people connected to last Wednesday`s accident.

Two of the city`s most disastrous crane collapses came over the span of two months in 2008, both involving cranes owned by New York Crane and Equipment Corp. Nine people died, pushing the city to overhaul its process of inspecting and regulating tower cranes.

Later that year, a construction worker fell to his death while helping dismantle a crane owned by a different company. One of the two crane operators, whose license was suspended for eight months, was Chris Van Duyne. The same man was operating the crane that caught fire Wednesday, officials said.

Phone messages left with Van Duyne and New York Crane were not immediately returned Thursday.

The fire`s cause is still under investigation. In the meantime, neither the crane company nor its operator have been publicly accused of wrongdoing.

As officials await answers, City Council Member Pierina Sanchez, the head of the council`s committee on housing and building, said it was troubling that a crane company cited for past safety failures was once again linked to a major incident.

It raises concern that a company that has a history of injuries and fatalities on site is continuing to do business in the city of New York, she said. Why do they still have a license?

Following the consecutive collapses 15 years ago, New York adopted a series of stringent crane requirements that go beyond those of other states, according to industry experts.

Stephen Smith, the executive director of the Center for Building in North America, said the regulations  which require multiple city-specific licenses and high insurance liability have the unintended consequence of keeping new companies from entering New Yorks market, effectively allowing a small number of players to dominate the industry.

Crane collapses are not that frequent, so if multiple high-profile accidents happen with the same company, it doesnt reflect well on them, Smith added. You have to wonder if were not keeping out more competent operators and firms. 

Founded by James Lomma  known locally as the King of Cranes  New York Crane and Equipment Corp. has long been one of the citys top crane providers, helping to build the Hudson Yards development and the new World Trade Center.

But the Queens-based company has also faced a series of criminal and civil actions.

In March of 2008, one of the company`s cranes toppled on Manhattan`s east side, pulverizing buildings on the way down and fatally injuring seven people. Prosecutors blamed that accident on shoddy work by a crane rigger, but a jury acquitted him of manslaughter charges after his lawyer argued that bad welding and other factors were to blame.

Two months later, another Lomma-owned tower crane collapsed in the city, killing the operator Donald Leo and a construction worker, Ramadan Kurtaj. Investigators blamed that collapse on a busted bearing, manufactured by a Chinese company that had warned Lomma it did not have confidence in the product.

Lomma was acquitted of manslaughter charges, but he was sued by the workers` families and ordered by an appeals court to pay $35 million for a series of wonton and egregious decisions that led to the collapse. He filed for bankruptcy soon after, and he died in 2019. The company is currently managed by Sal Isola, who did not return a request for comment.

In 2004, New York Crane and Construction Corp. faced allegations of poor maintenance after another worker, Glenn Gonnert, fell to his death from the mast of a crane.

In court papers, the victims son said the accidents were due in part to defects that caused oil to leak from the crane`s motor, creating a slippery surface that allowed his father to fall to his death. The company denied wrongdoing.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics New York
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A judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that a Delaware hospital system performed an autopsy on a 16-week-old fetus despite the parents refusing to give their consent.

Superior Court Judge Patricia Winston denied a motion this week by Christiana Care Health Services and Christiana Care Health System to dismiss a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress filed by Maryland residents Meredith and Brandon Boas.

The couple had adequately stated a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress, Winston said. The offense is defined as extreme and outrageous conduct that intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress to another.

Attorneys for the hospital system argued that performing a fetal autopsy without consent and against the express wishes of the parents does not rise to the level of being beyond all possible bounds of decency.

Plaintiffs do not allege that the autopsy was performed in an indecent manner or that CCHS intentionally abused the fetus by dissecting and examining the fetus internal organs, hospital lawyers wrote.

Meredith Boas began to experience fluid leakage in May 2021 when she was 16 weeks pregnant, according to the complaint. After being admitted to Christiana Care and diagnosed with preterm premature rupture of the membranes, she chose to have labor induced.

She explicitly stated that she wanted her baby to remain whole and intact; that was why she chose to vaginally deliver him, the lawsuit states. She delivered her baby boy, Ronan, approximately three hours later. Meredith and Brandon held Ronan and took pictures with him and said hello and goodbye for many hours.

Meredith specifically declined an autopsy when a nurse handed her autopsy consent paperwork, and the couple wanted private cremation and funeral services, the lawsuit states. The couple wanted placental pathology but no fetal autopsy unless there are visual abnormalities, a doctors note states. Discharge notes also indicated that the mother specifically declined an autopsy, according to the lawsuit.

Meredith and Brandon left the hospital on May 6, 2021 believing their baby would be taken to the morgue and then the funeral home, the lawsuit states. Instead __ behind her back he was taken to pathology and was disemboweled.

The couple didnt learn what happened until more than a month later, when Meredith found the pathology report in her medical records.

She, a grieving mother, read the words the fetus is eviscerated and read how they took him apart after she had seen her son for the last time as whole and intact, according to the lawsuit.

The couple was later told that the hospital had a policy of performing autopsies on any babies who died under 20 weeks, regardless of explicit parental directives to the contrary, the complaint states.

It is unclear whether such a policy is still in effect and whether Christiana Care officials acted contrary to staff rule documents that are publicly available online. According to those documents, which date back several years, an autopsy may be performed only with proper consent in accordance with state law and hospital policy. The documents also state that consent for an autopsy is effective only if it is noted on a hospital form signed by the appropriate legal representative of the patient.

An informational page on Christianas website for parents who have experienced a miscarriage or pregnancy loss indicates that parents can choose to have an autopsy and that they have up to 24 hours to make that decision.

Hiran Ratnayake, a Christiana Care spokesperson, refused to say whether the policies were in effect in May 2021. He also declined to address the court ruling, saying Christiana Care does not comment on pending legal matters.

While allowing the lawsuit to proceed, the judge did dismiss a claim of negligent infliction of emotional distress. She said that claim could not remain because the parents themselves were not in a zone of danger in which negligent conduct causes a person to fear for his or her own safety.

Plaintiffs claim defendants autopsy performance on their fetus, against their express consent, caused them emotional distress, and their fright arose when they read Mrs. Boass medical records, Winston wrote. Hence, plaintiffs fright arose from the peril of another, their fetus.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Legislation
Soaring global temperatures may make large parts of the world uninsurable, according to Spains largest insurance firm.

Climate change has the potential of changing the insurance business profoundly and making part of the world uninsurable, Gonzalo Gortazar, CaixaBank SAs chief executive officer, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV Friday. Its not happening yet, but if we keep moving in that direction this is something we will have to face in due course.

Gortazars comments come as the world heads for what is likely the hottest year ever, with July set to become the hottest month on record. Temperatures in the Spanish region of Catalonia, where CaixaBank is headquartered, hit a historic high earlier in the month as a heat wave engulfed large parts of the Mediterranean.

Rising temperatures are disrupting economic activity and daily life across the globe, sapping crops, drying rivers and raising sea levels. Scientists suspect the last several years have been warmer than any point in over 125,000 years.

Aside from being Spains largest bank, CaixaBank is also the biggest insurer, offering a front-row view into the economic impact of climate change. Spain is among a group of southern and southeastern European nations  including Portugal, Greece, Italy, Bulgaria and Romania  vulnerable to desertification as temperatures rise and rainfall dwindles, fueling wildfires  as happened in recent days outside Athens.

Photograph: Pedestrians keep to the shade during high temperatures in La Bisbal dEmpord, Girona, Spain, on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Local records were smashed in Rome and Spains Catalonia the day before after the latest blast of Saharan heat. Photo credit: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg

Related:

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.
This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Lockton and MS Amlin.

A summary of these new hires follows here.

Lockton Taps Swiss Res Wright to Lead UK Commercial Wholesale, Succeeding Lee

Insurance broker Lockton announced the appointment of Shelley Wright as head of UK Commercial Wholesale.

She will work with David Lee, the current head of UK Commercial Wholesale, to ensure a smooth transition of roles, ahead of his retirement. After 49 years of working in the insurance industry and the last 11 years at Lockton, Lee will begin to transfer his areas of responsibilities to Wright who will be focused on maintaining and building the capability and execution of strategies for clients.

Wright has 36 years of industry experience and joins from Swiss Re Corporate Solutions where she served as director of Standard Propositions EMEA and previously as head of UK Regional Business. Prior to this, she worked at Lorega Ltd. as director of Innovation and New Products and held various roles at Groupama, most recently as customer proposition manager. Wright also worked for GAN Minster, Fortis Insurance Ltd. and Catterall Insurance Services.

Under Lees tenure, Lockton UKs Commercial Wholesale has grown rapidly, and, over the last three years alone, the business unit has grown its revenue by an average of 35% year on year, Lockton said.

The Commercial Wholesale team has been growing rapidly over the last few years. We have built a business that produces just short of 3 million brokerage income per annum and one that places around 34 million of premium per annum into the market. As the business unit grows and embraces a period of transition, our aim of providing clients with top quality service remains at the core. Shelleys extensive experience makes her the ideal candidate to build on this momentum, commented Tony Hardy, head of Lockton P&C.

As the worlds largest independent insurance brokerage firm, Lockton employs more than 9,500 associates who provide 65,000 clients globally with in risk management, insurance and employee benefits consulting solutions.

***

MS Amlin Names Ross From Sedgwick as Product Recall Senior U/W

MS Amlin, the Lloyds global re/insurer, announced the appointment of Julie Ross as product recall senior underwriter. She will join the business in September and report to Neil Walker, co-deputy CUO and head of Specialty Insurance.

Ross will be responsible for overseeing the team and supporting our clients in navigating the evolving reputational, regulatory, and operational risks associated with product recall and contamination incidents.

With more than two decades of experience on both the underwriting and broking side, Ross brings vast industry knowledge and leadership to the role. Having specialised in product recall and crisis management for much of her career, Julie possesses robust expertise in the sector. She has a proven track record for building out services and managing international teams to effectively handle highly complex accounts.

Ross joins MS Amlin from Sedgwick International, where she was the international business development director for Brand Protection Services. In this role, she was in charge of sourcing new business opportunities, maintaining client relationships, as well as providing subject matter expertise for brand protection across Sedgwicks 65 international offices. Ross started her career as an underwriter at American Insurance Group (AIG), quickly progressing to senior roles at Marsh, and Liberty Insurance.

In a world where managing the impact of crises is increasingly topical and important, and providing support to our clients is central to our purpose, Julies arrival comes at a timely juncture. With recognised and respected expertise in crisis management and product recall on an international scale, Julies deep insight will prove invaluable as we continue to scale and enhance the capabilities we can provide for our clients, commented Neil Walker, co-deputy CUO and head of Specialty Insurance MS Amlin.

MS Amlin Underwriting Ltd., a global re/insurer, is part of the global top-10 insurance group MS&AD, with operations in the Lloyds, UK, Middle East and Asia markets.

Topics Commercial Lines Mississippi Swiss Re
The focus of Europes heat is switching to Spain, with a high risk of wildfires in southern parts of the Iberian peninsula.

Southern Spain is expected to exceed 40C (104F) on Monday, with regions around Cordoba under alert for hot weather and the warnings spreading to the south coast on Tuesday. The wildfire risk in those areas is also at the maximum level, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.

Our #EFFIS Fire Danger Forecast for 31 July

Very Extreme Danger is present in:

Limited areas of #Portugal#Spain, in the #CastillaLaMancha, #Canarias & #Andalucia regions

#France, around #Marseille

Part of #Sardegna & #Sicilia, #Italyhttps://t.co/2PjdHyXOpI pic.twitter.com/I77i0wUNlY

 Copernicus EMS (@CopernicusEMS) July 31, 2023

Wildfires have largely been brought under control across the Mediterranean, but only after an area almost the size of Greater London was burnt since July 15, directly affecting over 120,000 people. While Greek firefighters contained a blaze on the island of Chios, another fire has broken out on heavily wooded Thasos in the northern Aegean Sea.

The world is on track for its hottest ever month in July, with fires, flooding and extreme temperatures across the Northern Hemisphere from the US to China. Scientists say that would have been virtually impossible without climate change, but efforts to curb the use of fossil fuels fall well short of whats required to address a rapidly warming planet.

There were more than 100 wildfires in Greece over the weekend, but all of those have been brought under control. Fire risk will drop one level to high on Tuesday, with seven regions impacted, including Athens and the surrounding Attica area.

Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Vasilis Kikilias told newspaper To Vima tis Kyriakis on Sunday that Greece would be strengthening its firefighting capacity.

The climate crisis has dramatically changed the models for the development of a fire under difficult or extreme conditions, the minister said. Our first priority is the recruitment of more than 500 new firefighters.

Temperatures in Italy and Greece are expected to climb back above 40C by Wednesday.

Thats a sharp contrast with the cooler weather thats dominating northern Europe. Temperatures in the UK, France and Nordic countries will remain below seasonal averages for the coming 10 days.

Stockholm will peak at 18C today, more than 4C below the norm, according to forecaster Maxar Technologies Inc.

Photograph: Cooling off during Spains heat wave in July 17, 2023. Photo credit: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Wildfire
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A U.S. judge on Friday shot down Johnson & Johnsons second attempt to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits over its talc products in bankruptcy, imperiling a proposed $8.9 billion settlement that would stop new lawsuits from being filed.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan in Trenton, New Jersey, ruled that a J&J companys second bankruptcy, like its first, must be dismissed because the talc lawsuits did not put it in immediate financial distress.

In sum, this Court smells smoke, but does not see the fire, Kaplan wrote, referring to the J&J unit LTL. Therefore, the emphasis on certainty and immediacy of financial distress closes the door of chapter 11 to LTL at this juncture.

J&J said on Friday that it would appeal Kaplans decision, and said it would vigorously defend itself against lawsuits that are specious and lack scientific merit.

J&Js first bankruptcy gambit began in 2021, when it offloaded its talc liabilities into a new company, LTL Management, and immediately placed that company into bankruptcy. LTLs first bankruptcy was dismissed in April after a U.S. appeals court ruled that it was not in sufficient financial distress to be eligible for bankruptcy protection.

LTL quickly filed for bankruptcy again, arguing that its second effort has won more support from plaintiffs for a comprehensive settlement of current and future lawsuits alleging that J&Js baby powder and other talc products sometimes contained asbestos and caused mesothelioma, ovarian cancer and other cancers. J&J has said its talc products are safe and do not contain asbestos.

Attorneys representing cancer victims, along with the U.S. Justice Departments bankruptcy watchdog, had called for LTLs second bankruptcy to be dismissed as an abuse of U.S. bankruptcy law.

Andy Birchfield, an attorney who represents cancer victims, said the second bankruptcy was meant to keep the talc lawsuits from being heard by juries.

J&J has spent two years trying to convince us that somehow a company worth a half-trillion dollars is bankrupt, Birchfield said. Its time for the nonsense to stop and for J&J to accept responsibility.

J&J argued that the proposed bankruptcy settlement offers a fairer and faster resolution for cancer claimants than litigation in other courts. J&J compared recent trials to a lottery in which some litigants receive large awards and others get nothing. It said the costs of its talc-related verdicts, settlements and legal fees have reached about $4.5 billion.

Plaintiffs lawyers who opposed the $8.9 billion offer said J&J had created the illusion of support by signing deals with plaintiffs lawyers who quickly signed up large numbers of clients without ever filing any lawsuits against J&J.

By settling the lawsuits in bankruptcy, J&J could cram down the settlement terms on cancer victims opposed to the deal, and prevent new lawsuits from being filed by people who develop cancer in the future as a result of their talc use, according to lawyers opposed to the deal.

LTLs bankruptcy proceedings have largely paused the 38,000 lawsuits that were filed before October 2021. Kaplan allowed one case to proceed to trial during LTLs second bankruptcy, resulting in an $18.8 million verdict in favor of a California man who said he developed cancer from exposure to J&J baby powder.

Topics Lawsuits
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The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stop Purdue Pharma from proceeding with a bankruptcy settlement that protects its Sackler family owners from lawsuits.

An appeals court rejected a proposed delay earlier this week, ruling that Purdue may proceed with a bankruptcy plan that was approved in May. Purdues bankruptcy plan would shield its owners from opioid lawsuits in exchange for a $6 billion contribution to the companys broader bankruptcy settlement.

The DOJs bankruptcy watchdog, the Office of the U.S. Trustee, argued on Friday that Purdue should not be allowed to move forward with its restructuring before the Supreme Court had a chance to weigh in on legal protections for non-bankrupt entities, an issue that has divided bankruptcy courts across the U.S.

The U.S. Trustee argued that Purdues settlement is an abuse of bankruptcy protections meant for debtors in financial distress, not people like the Sacklers, who withdrew $11 billion from Purdue before agreeing to contribute $6 billion to its opioid settlement.

Approving Purdues bankruptcy plan would leave in place a roadmap for wealthy corporations and individuals to misuse the bankruptcy system, the U.S Trustee argued.

Members of the Sackler family have denied wrongdoing but expressed regret that the painkiller OxyContin unexpectedly became part of an opioid crisis. They said in May that the bankruptcy settlement would provide substantial resources for people and communities in need.

The Supreme Court set an Aug. 4 deadline for Purdue to respond.

Purdue has sought to use bankruptcy to resolve thousands of lawsuits, many filed by state and local governments, alleging that OxyContin helped kickstart an opioid epidemic that caused more than 500,000 U.S. overdose deaths over two decades.

Purdue could not immediately be reached for comment. The Connecticut-based company previously argued that the DOJs proposed delay would prevent Purdue from sending billions of dollars to U.S. states and individual victims of the opioid crisis.

The lawsuits against Purdue and the Sacklers allege that the drugmaker misled doctors about how addictive OxyContin was, causing many patients to become hooked on opioids.

Similar lawsuits related to the U.S. opioid crisis have resulted in more than $50 billion in settlements with manufacturers, drug distributors and pharmacy chains.

Photo: Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut
HOUSTON (AP)  Just moments before rap superstar Travis Scott took the stage at the deadly 2021 Astroworld festival, a contract worker had been so worried about what might happen after seeing people getting crushed that he texted an event organizer saying, Someones going to end up dead, according to a police report released Friday.

The texts by security contract worker Reece Wheeler were some of many examples in the nearly 1,300-page report in which festival workers highlighted problems and warned of possible deadly consequences. The report includes transcripts of concertgoers` 911 calls and summaries of police interviews, including one with Scott conducted just days after the event.

The crowd surge at the Nov. 5, 2021, outdoor festival in Houston killed 10 attendees who ranged in age from 9 to 27. The official cause of death was compression asphyxia, which an expert likened to being crushed by a car. About 50,000 people attended the festival.

Pull tons over the rail unconscious. Theres panic in people eyes. This could get worse quickly, Reece Wheeler texted Shawna Boardman, one of the private security directors, at 9 p.m. Wheeler then texted, I know theyll try to fight through it but I would want it on the record that I didnt advise this to continue. Someones going to end up dead.

Scotts concert began at 9:02 p.m. In their review of video from the concert`s livestream, police investigators said that at 9:13 p.m., they heard the faint sound of someone saying, Stop the show. The same request could also be heard at 9:16 p.m. and 9:22 p.m.

In an Aug. 19, 2022, police interview, Boardmans attorneys told investigators that Boardman saw things were not as bad as Reece Wheeler stated and decided not to pass along Wheelers concerns to anyone else.

During a police interview conducted two days after the concert, Scott told investigators that although he did see one person near the stage getting medical attention, overall the crowd seemed to be enjoying the show and he did not see any signs of serious problems.

We asked if he at any point heard the crowd telling him to stop the show. He stated that if he had heard something like that he would have done something, police said in their summary of Scott`s interview.

Hip-hop artist Drake, who performed with Scott at the concert, told police that it was difficult to see from the stage what was going on in the crowd and that he didnt hear concertgoers pleas to stop the show.

Drake found out about the tragedy later that night from his manager, while learning more on social media, police said in their summary.

Marty Wallgren, who worked for a security consulting firm hired by the festival, told police that when he went backstage and tried to tell representatives for Scott and Drake that the concert needed to end because people had been hurt and might have died, he was told Drake still has three more songs, according to an interview summary.

Daniel Johary, a college student who got trapped in the crush of concertgoers and later used his skills working as an EMT in Israel to help an injured woman, told investigators hundreds of people had chanted for Scott to stop the music and that the chants could be heard from everywhere.

He stated staff members in the area gave thumbs-up and did not care, according to the police report.

Richard Rickeada, a retired Houston police officer who was working for a private security company at the festival, told investigators that from 8 a.m. the day of the concert, things were pretty much in chaos, according to a police summary of his interview. His concerns and questions about whether the concert should be held were met with a lot of shrugged shoulders, he said.

About 23 minutes into the concert, cameraman Gregory Hoffman radioed into the shows production trailer to warn that people were dying. Hoffman was operating a large crane that held a television camera before it was overrun with concertgoers who needed medical help, police said.

The production team radioed Hoffman to ask when they could get the crane back in operation.

Salvatore Livia, who was hired to direct the live show, told police that following Hoffmans dire warning, people in the production trailer understood that something was not right, but they were disconnected to the reality of (what) was happening out there, according to a police summary of Livias interview.

Concertgoer Christopher Gates, then 22, told police that by the second or third song in Scott`s performance, he came across about five people on the ground who he believed were already dead.

Their bodies were lifeless, pale, and their lips were blue/purple, according to the police report. Random people in the crowd _ not medics _ provided CPR.

The police report was released about a month after the grand jury in Houston declined to indict Scott on any criminal charges in connection with the deadly concert. Police Chief Troy Finner had said the report was being made public so that people could read the entire investigation and come to their own conclusions about the case. During a news conference after the grand jurys decision, Finner declined to say what the overall conclusion of his agencys investigation was or whether police should have stopped the concert sooner.

The reports release also came the same day that Scott released his new album, Utopia.

More than 500 lawsuits were filed over the deaths and injuries at the concert, including many against concert promoter Live Nation and Scott. Some have since been settled.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Rolling Fork, Mississippi (AP)  Many were not just killed at home. They were killed by their homes.

Angela Eason had visited Brenda Odoms tidy mobile home before. It was a place where Odoms, who had many tragedies in her life, felt safe.

In March, a tornado ripped through this small Mississippi town and people in mobile or manufactured homes were hit the hardest. Inside a mobile morgue, Eason, the county coroner, examined Odoms gaping fatal head wound. Odoms was found just outside of her collapsed mobile home that was tossed around by a tornado. Blunt force trauma killed her.

The one place she felt safe she was not, Eason said. Fourteen people died in that Rolling Fork tornado, nine of them, including Brenda Odoms, were in uprooted manufactured or mobile homes.

Tornadoes in the United States are disproportionately killing more people in mobile or manufactured homes, especially in the South, often victimizing some of the most socially and economically vulnerable residents. Since 1996, tornadoes have killed 815 people in mobile or manufactured homes, representing 53% of all the people killed at home during a tornado, according to an Associated Press data analysis of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tornado deaths. Meanwhile, less than 6% of Americas housing units are manufactured homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

While the dangers of tornadoes to mobile homes have long been known, and there are ways to mitigate the risk, the percentage of total tornado deaths that happen in mobile homes has been increasing. Part of the problem is that federal housing rules that call for tougher manufactured home standards, including anchoring, only apply in hurricane zones, which is most of Florida and then several counties along the coast. Those are not the areas where tornadoes usually hit.

Auburn University engineering professor David Roueche called manufactured homes in non-coastal places death traps compared to most permanent homes when it comes to tornadoes.

So far this year, at least 45 of the 74 people killed in the U.S. by tornadoes were in some form of manufactured housing when they died, according to NOAA data.

The manufactured housing industry  which disputes that theres any disproportionate danger  insists on calling the structures manufactured homes if they are built after hurricane-based federal standards in 1976 and mobile homes if they are built before, saying age of the home matters.

Tornado experts say most tornadoes should be survivable.

You just have to be in some structure thats attached to the ground. And then no matter what the tornado throws at you, you have really good odds, said NOAA social scientist Kim Klockow-McClain.

But in manufactured homes even the weakest tornadoes are killing people in mobile homes in large numbers, more than a dozen experts in meteorology, disasters and engineering told The Associated Press.

More than 240 people in mobile homes in the past 28 years have died in tornadoes with winds of 135 mph or less, the three weakest of the six categories of twisters, the AP analysis found. Thats 79% of the deaths at home in the weaker tornadoes.

The whole structure is rolling or flying through air. Youve got dressers falling on top of you. Youve got the entire structure thats trying to crush you, said Roueche.

The South has mobile homes scattered about the countryside in ones and twos, making centralized tornado shelters less effective and likely to be built, said Villanova University tornado expert Stephen Strader and Northern Illinois meteorology professor Walker Ashley.

Anchoring mobile homes to the ground is key and the strongest anchoring is more expensive, said former Alabama emergency official Jonathan Gaddy, now a professor at Idaho State University.

Why does that matter? Well, it explains why we havent fixed the problem with anchoring because nobody can fix the problem and still make money. Thats the bottom line, Gaddy said.

Manufactured Home Institute Chief Executive Officer Lesli Gooch said the industry is very clear about the importance of anchoring.

Were very focused on making sure that there are minimum installation standards in the states, Gooch said.

Northern Illinois Ashley said lack of state regulations and inspections, especially in much of the South, is a big problem.

Improvements in federal codes that went into effect in 1976, 1994 and 2008 make a big difference, Gooch said, arguing the NOAA data the AP analyzed and that scientists use lump different ages of manufactured homes together and tar them with the problems of the oldest ones.

Villanova`s Strader said Goochs argument that newer mobile homes are safer is proven wrong by a study that he and Roueche did of the fatalities of a March 2019 tornado in Alabama and published in the journal Natural Hazards Review. In that tornado 19 of the 23 deaths were in manufactured homes, all built after 1994 and all due to lack of anchoring, he said.

If Gooch were right, the percentage of tornado deaths at home in mobile homes would be going down with time and they are not, NOAA National Severe Storms Lab tornado scientist Harold Brooks said.

One of the big problems, Strader, Ashley and Roueche said, is that the federal rules that call for tougher manufactured home standards, including anchoring, only apply in hurricane zones. Most tornado-prone areas, including almost all of Alabama, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas and Mississippi are in the zone with the most lax standards.

A lack of shelters is another big issue. A relatively new law in Alabama could be a model for states to address this. The law gives liability protection to buildings like churches and stores that open up in an emergency as a shelter if specifically-built shelters arent available.

When this years first deadly tornado struck just outside Montgomery, Alabama, Autauga County had about 30 minutes warning but no safer places to send people, said Ernie Baggett, the county`s former emergency management chief. Seven people in mobile homes died.

The tornado continued into neighboring Elmore County, which had already set off its 30 warning sirens, used a mass notification system to make 16,772 calls to phones in the danger area and opened up 16 churches and other safer places.

People went into the temporary shelters. Homes were destroyed, but no one died.

Other factors could also mean more people will choose to live in vulnerable mobile homes. Housing prices and rental costs have risen across the country. And in an effort to find affordable homes, more and more Americans are moving to climate-vulnerable areas.

Photo: Debris left after the March tornado in Rolling Fork. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Mississippi Alabama
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A South Carolina judge A judge has signed off on a $15.5 million settlement for the family of Mallory Beach, the 19-year-old girl who died in a 2019 boat crash that is believed to have set in motion the downfall of convicted attorney Alex Murdaugh.

Circuit Judge Daniel Hall on Thursday approved the deal between the victim`s family and Parker`s Kitchen, according to local media reports. An investigation had revealed that a clerk for the Southern chain did not stop Paul Murdaugh from using his older brothers ID to buy beer on the same February 2019 night that authorities said the youth steered a boat into a bridge in Beaufort County, South Carolina.

The wreck killed Beach and injured three others.

Parkers Kitchen did not accept liability for Beachs death through the settlement. The insurance carriers for Parkers, which will be liable for the settlement payments, were not named in court documents available online. But the Beach family members have said they hope the high total will compel stores to seriously follow alcohol laws.

Paul Murdaugh faced charges of boating under the influence at the time of his death.

The attorney for Parkers owner said the settlement was necessitated by South Carolinas joint and several liability law. The application of the joint and several liability laws in South Carolina meant that, if Parkers was found even 1% at fault, it would have paid for the entirety of any verdict rendered against the Murdaugh family, attorney PK Shere said in July. The unfairness of that caused Parkers insurance carriers to resolve these suits to avoid paying the likely award intended to punish Alex Murdaugh. This marks the conclusion of all the boat crash cases. We sincerely hope that all involved parties will find some measure of closure.

South Carolinas Senate majority leader Shane Massey, an insurance defense lawyer, has said the case could add momentum to a move change the way defendants are penalized for their involvement in personal injury and death cases.

Alex Murdaugh is serving a life sentence without parole for the June 2021 killings of his wife, Maggie, and Paul, his youngest son. Prosecutors in this year`s double murder trial argued that Alex Murdaugh feared a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from the boat crash would uncover the millions of dollars he had stolen from his clients and law firm.

Photo: Paul Murdaugh, who purchased the beer and piloted the boat, second from left. The photo of the Murdaugh family was shown in court at Alex Murdaughs murder trial in March. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool)

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Legislation South Carolina
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Florida insurance agents will soon be able to access a new online clearinghouse platform designed to make it easier to steer policyholders away from the still-growing, state-created Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

The $35.7 million investment, approved by the Citizens Board of Governors at a special meeting Friday, could ultimately result in as much as $130 billion in new-business risk avoidance, officials said. The 10-year contract with Applied Systems Inc. was seen as a boost for Citizens depopulation plan as the carrier soars toward an expected 1.7 million policies in force this year.

Through the proposed contract, Citizens is positioned to implement a new platform with broad private market carrier reach that enables agents, consumers, and policyholders to find adequate coverage more easily in the private market, reads a summary of the plan, provided ahead of the board meeting.

The new system is known as Citizens Eligibility Reimagined.

This solicitation was heavily negotiated by a team of Citizens professionals Citizens chief operating officer, Kelly Booten, said at the virtual meeting. We had input from agents and carriers and also from Governor (Nelson) Telemaco.

Telemaco, appointed in 2021, has been an executive at a number of insurers, including Sompo International, Allianz Risk Transfer and AIG.

The board approved the contract with no dissenting votes. The agreement with Applied is for five years, with renewal options for each of the five years after that. Illinois-based Applied Systems, in which Google owns a minority stake, calls itself a technology company that specializes in software systems for insurance agencies. The new platform will build upon Applieds existing rating product that is used in independent insurance agencies and by some carriers, according to Citizens information.

The current web-based platform, through Bolt Services, cost the state-created property insurer about $25 million, significantly less than initially expected when the platform was launced in 2013, officials said. That Bolt contract expires in August. Until the Applied system is up and running, Citizens will provide an interim platform for agents to use, Booten said.

The Bolt interface was not bad but did have occasional hiccups, one user said.

Certain things could be better. But once you worked through the initial glitches, it worked pretty well, I thought, said Brian Chapman, owner of one of the largest insurance agency groups in southwest Florida.

Bolt, a rival to Applied and a major provider of digital services to the p/c industry, submitted a bid to provide a new platform, but lost out to Applied. Bolt then objected to Citizens intention to negotiate the contract with Applied, but lost its appeal this year before a judge at the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings.

Details about the new clearinghouse system were not explained at the board meeting Friday. But in general, it will work something like a comparison tool, allowing agents to quickly see other carriers that are available and if a quote is in the ballpark of Citizens premium and coverage for new and renewal business, a Citizens spokesman said.

Florida law bars policyholders from remaining with Citizens if a market carrier offers similar coverage that is equal in price or no more than 20% higher than Citizens premiums. A statute approved in 2013 also requires Citizens to maintain the policyholder eligibility clearinghouse system to help facilitate market coverage.

In order to confirm eligibility with the corporation and to enhance access of new applicants for coverage and existing policyholders of the corporation to offers of coverage from authorized insurers, the corporation shall establish a program for personal residential risks in order to facilitate the diversion of ineligible applicants and existing policyholders from the corporation into the voluntary insurance market, Statute 627.3518 reads.

Chapman noted that most independent agents already have access to the information without using a computer interface  through contacts and contracts with carriers. Some national carriers require their agents to go through the Citizens clearinghouse when providing quotes, and its possible that those agents will see more benefit from the new platform.

Citizens has ballooned in recent years as other carriers have dropped out of the turbulent Florida market, through insolvencies or business decisions, or have raised premiums sharply. Citizens rate increases, unlike those of private carriers, have been limited by law to no more than about 12% per year, making it the most affordable coverage in many parts of the state.

Chapman argued that the best way to depopulate Citizens is to give recent legislative reforms time to have an impact on litigation costs. That will allow market carriers a chance to reduce losses, limit further rate increases and offer rates that are competitive with Citizens.

You can spend $40 million or $80 million for a new clearinghouse platform, but it doesnt matter until you fix the real root of the illness, he said. And the only solution for that is time, with the reforms that were passed.

As the 2022 and 2023 legislation, which ended one-way attorney fees assignment-of-benefit agreements, has an effect, Citizens will naturally shrink in size as the primary market recovers, as it has in previous years, Chapman and others in the industry have said.

Also at the Friday meeting, the Citizens Board approved a $66 million, 10-year contract with Guidewire Software Inc. to provide and implement Citizens operating system thats used for underwriting, claims and billing. The carrier first contracted with Guidewire in 2011, and has spent $115 million on the business software since then, according to information provided at the meeting.

The contract price is based in part on Citizens written premium. Board Chairman Carlos Beruff raised questions Friday about the need for such a large contract if Citizens is expected to see its policies and written premium reduced in coming years.

This is a big contract for a lot of money, and we have a lot of these, Beruff said. If Citizens is supposed to be the smallest company in the state of Florida, then we have to make sure we address these correctly.

Booten said the Citizens staff will examine benchmarks on the new system and keep the board informed with ample lead time if changes need to be made.

Photo: The board meeting Friday, courtesy of The Florida Channel.

Topics Florida
Casino mogul Steve Wynn has ended a yearslong legal fight with Nevada gambling regulators that started with claims of workplace sexual misconduct, agreeing to pay a $10 million fine and cut ties to the industry he helped shape in Las Vegas.

The Nevada Gaming Commission accepted a settlement last week to end the states look at allegations that led to Wynns resignation from his corporate empire in February 2018. Wynn admitted no wrongdoing. The decision was 4-0. Commission Chairwoman Jennifer Togliatti abstained from voting, citing a conflict arising from her previous work as a state court mediator.

Wynn is now 81 and lives in Florida. He did not attend the hearing held in Carson City and livestreamed on the internet. His attorney, Colby Williams, called the case the final regulatory matter that Wynn faced stemming from the allegations five years ago.

Wynn looks forward to moving on to other phases of his life, Williams told The Associated Press.

The fine is the largest ever imposed by the commission, second only to $20 million paid in February 2019 by Wynns former company, Wynn Resorts Ltd., for failing to investigate the sexual misconduct claims made against Wynn.

Craig Newby, first assistant Nevada attorney general, reminded the commission that a seven-month investigation by the Nevada Gaming Control Board found evidence of sexual conduct by Mr. Wynn involving some subordinate female employees.

This stipulation, Newby said, would bring this sordid affair to conclusion.

It`s a huge blemish on the (casino) industry, Commissioner Rosa Solis-Rainey said. While Mr. Wynn made some incredible contributions, the nature of the allegations that were made and the history behind that  warrant at least the amount of fine that was negotiated.

I think it`s in everybody`s best interest to move forward, she said.

Wynn signed a seven-page document on July 17 acknowledging he had been accused of failure to exercise discretion and sound judgment to prevent actions that reflected negatively on the reputation of Nevada and its gambling industry.

Violating the agreement could lead to a finding of unsuitability for association with Nevada casinos and an additional fine.

Unsuitability would be extraordinary for a man widely credited with starting a boom that grew Las Vegas Strip properties from gambling halls with all-you-can- eat buffets and showrooms into huge destination resorts featuring celebrity-chef restaurants, massive gambling floors, nightclubs and huge stage productions.

Wynn developed luxury properties including the Golden Nugget, Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio, Wynn and Encore in Las Vegas; Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, New Jersey; Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi; Wynn Macau in the Chinese gambling enclave; and Encore Boston Harbor in Massachusetts.

He resigned after the Wall Street Journal published allegations by several women that he sexually harassed or assaulted them at his hotels. He divested company shares, quit the corporate board and resigned as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Wynn has consistently denied sexual misconduct allegations in multiple courts.

In the Gaming Commission case, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled against him in March 2022, finding that a state judge in Las Vegas acted prematurely in late 2020 when she sided with Wynns lawyers and decided the state lacked authority to punish him.

Wynn`s attorneys, also including Donald Campbell, argued that the Gaming Control Board and Gaming Commission no longer had legal jurisdiction over Wynn.

State regulators launched their investigation after the allegations against Wynn emerged. The board said Wynns license had been placed on administrative hold and the commission moved in October 2019 to discipline or fine Wynn.

At a December 2019 hearing, which Wynn did not attend, commissioners began considering a fine of up to $500,000 and a declaration that Wynn was unsuitable to renew ties to gambling in Nevada.

Months earlier, the commission fined his former company the record $20 million.

Massachusetts gambling regulators fined Wynn Resorts Ltd. another $35 million and new company chief executive Matthew Maddox $500,000 for failing to disclose while applying for a license for the Boston-area resort that there had been sexual misconduct allegations against Wynn.

Wynn Resorts agreed in November 2019 to accept $20 million in damages from Wynn and $21 million more from insurance carriers on behalf of current and former employees of Wynn Resorts to settle shareholder lawsuits accusing company directors of failing to disclose misconduct allegations.

The agreements included no admission of wrongdoing.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Claims Commercial Lines Business Insurance Nevada
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit alleging the Department of Homeland Security was negligent in a drug bust that resulted in the first New Mexico State Police officer killed in the line of duty in over three decades.

U.S. District Judge Kea Riggs ruled that the government had sovereign immunity and its employees were using discretionary function in the Feb. 4, 2021, death of Darian Jarrott, 28, The Albuquerque Journal reported.

There were multiple lawsuits filed at the state and federal level regarding Jarrott`s death.

Jarrott, a father of four, was helping with a homeland security investigation when a suspect shot and killed him, according to the Journal.

The suspect shot Jarrott at a traffic stop during a car chase with authorities. That ended in a gunfight that injured another officer.

Homeland Security officials had made a plan to arrest the suspect for selling fentanyl and methamphetamine to an undercover agent, per the Journal.

An attorney representing Jarrotts family said they had not yet decided their next steps, the newspaper reported.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Legislation Mexico New Mexico
A massive wildfire burning out of control in Californias Mojave National Preserve was spreading rapidly amid erratic winds, while firefighters reported progress against another major blaze to the southwest that prompted evacuations.

The York Fire that erupted Friday near the remote Caruthers Canyon area of the vast wildland preserve crossed the state line into Nevada on Sunday and sent smoke further east into the Las Vegas Valley.

Wind-driven flames 20 feet high in some spots charred more than 110 square miles of desert scrub, juniper and Joshua tree woodland, according to an incident update. There was zero containment.

The dry fuel acts as a ready ignition source, and when paired with those weather conditions it resulted in long-distance fire run and high flames, leading to extreme fire behavior, the update said. No structures were threatened.

To the southwest, the Bonny Fire was holding steady at about 3.4 square miles in rugged hills of Riverside County. More than 1,300 people were ordered to evacuate their homes Saturday near the community of Aguanga that is home to horse ranches and wineries.

One firefighter was injured in the blaze, which was 5% contained.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics California
A federal jury found a former nurse at Oregons womens prison guilty of sexually abusing nine women while they were in custody.

The jury reached its verdict in the case against 38-year-old Tony Klein last week after nearly two days of deliberations, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.

Klein was convicted of 21 of the 23 federal charges he faced including 17 counts pertaining to sexual assault and four of making false statements under oath in a deposition.

Jurors found he deprived the women of their constitutional right to not face cruel and unusual punishment while they served time at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, which lies to the south of Portland.

Seventeen women who testified during the two-week trial said Klein touched them inappropriately during medical appointments or as they worked cleaning the prison infirmary. Some said he forced them to have sex, while others said they believed they could face discipline if they refused his advances.

Klein worked at the facility from 2010 until resigning in 2018 amid sexual abuse allegations and a criminal investigation by Oregon State Police. The U.S. Department of Justice indicted him in 2022 following an FBI investigation.

Klein, who denied sexually assaulting anyone, did not testify during the trial. He faces the possibility of life in prison when sentenced in October.

His attorneys, Amanda Alvarez Thibeault and Matthew McHenry, suggested he was the victim of a plot by women in custody to get financial settlements from the state. After the verdict, they, reiterated that they believe he is innocent.

The jury reached a unanimous verdict after careful consideration, foreman Patrick OHalloranm told OPB.

Oregons U.S. Attorney Natalie Wight said in a statement that the verdict wouldnt have happened without the courage of the women who testified.

Tony Klein used his position of authority to prey on women in custody who were in a uniquely vulnerable position, Wight said.

Numerous women filed civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse against the Department of Corrections and Klein starting in 2019. The state has settled 11 of them and paid out a total of $1.87 million while admitting no wrongdoing.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Oregon
What Are 3 ETFs That Replicate Buffett's Investment Strategy?

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and "Buffettology" provide investors with the opportunity to pair one of the most popular investment vehicles with the investing approach of one of the most successful investors.

One popular investing strategy is to emulate a successful investor, such as Warren Buffett, the famed "Oracle of Omaha" and founder of Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett is probably most accurately described as a long-term value investor. He does not look so much for stocks selling at a bargain-basement price as he does for reasonably priced stocks of companies he believes will continue to be financially solid with long-term growth potential.

Also, while Buffett has invested in a variety of sectors over the years, companies within the financial sector, such as Wells Fargo & Company and American Express, remain prominent among Berkshire Hathaway investments.

Key Takeaways A basic part of Warren Buffett's investment strategy is to invest in companies that have a competitive advantage in their industry, which can offer investors a protective "moat."

Most investors who want to follow Buffett's strategies invest in his company, Berkshire Hathaway.

While there aren't ETFs that track Buffett's investment picks directly, some do follow his general strategy.

Some investors have sought to follow Buffett by purchasing Berkshire Hathaway stock or by purchasing the stocks of individual companies Berkshire Hathaway owns or invests in. However, as ETFs have become a favored investment vehicle, some investors are looking to use them as a way to follow Buffett's investing principles. There is no specific Warren Buffett ETF, but some aim to make Buffett-like investments.

The term "moat" as it relates to investing was coined by Buffett to describe any company with a competitive advantage within an industry that offers it moat-like protection.

Understanding 3 ETFs That Replicate Buffett's Investment Strategy

Market Vectors Wide Moat ETF

The Market Vectors Wide Moat ETF (NYSEARCA: MOAT), launched by Van Eck Global in 2012, aims to identify and invest in such companies. The fund seeks to employ its $10.8 billion in assets in tracking the performance of the Morningstar Wide Moat Focus Index.

The underlying index offers investors exposure to the most attractively priced companies that Morningstar's equity research team identified as having sustainable competitive advantages within their respective industries. This fund has an expense ratio of 0.46% and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Its three-year annualized return as of July 2023 is 16.58%.

SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF

The SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF (NYSEARCA: XLF) offers broad exposure to companies in the financial sector, and it also invests directly in Berkshire Hathaway stock, which accounts for over 13% of the fund's portfolio holdings. This fund was launched by State Street Global Advisors in 1998.

The fund tracks the performance of the S&P Financial Select Sector Index, which includes companies from the broad financial services sector including banks, insurance companies, thrifts, and REITs. The fund's expense ratio is a low 0.10%, and it offers a dividend yield of 1.58%. The fund's five-year annualized return as of July 2023 is 7.07%.

iShares Edge MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF

The iShares Edge MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (NYSEARCA: QUAL), launched in 2013 by BlackRock, has over $31.6 billion in assets as of mid 2023. The fund aims to invest in high-quality stocks by tracking the MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index, which invests in large- and mid-cap stocks selected on the basis of three fundamental metrics: debt to equity (D/E), return on equity (ROE) and earnings variability.

The fund's total return since its inception is 12.31%. It has an expense ratio of 0.15% and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This fund is heavily invested in the technology, financial, and health care sectors.
Source: Streetwise Reports

July 31, 2023 (Investorideas.com Newswire) DroneShield has had an incredible string of successes, including an AU$33 million contract and being issued NATO stock numbers. Read on to see where this company's upward trajectory will take it next.

DroneShield Ltd. (DRO:ASX; DRSHF:OTC) has announced that several of its products have received a NATO Stock Number (NSN), which allows member countries to purchase supplies from a military catalog. This development is expected to bump up the value of DroneShield significantly, especially since its previous contract with the Department of Defense increased its stock by 18%.

DroneShield has announced that several of its products have received a NATO Stock Number, a numeric code that identifies all of the supply items as they are recognized by all NATO countries, including the Department of Defense in the U.S.

The items can now be purchased by the militaries of NATO countries from a catalog. An NSN is also relevant to non-NATO customers as it signals that the item meets a certain quality threshold. DroneShield expects that the receipt of the NSNs will boost sales across the board.

There were five items that were issued NSNs:

RfPatrol Mk2 handheld drone sensor

DroneGun Mk3 ultra-light handheld drone defeat

DroneGun Mk4 handheld drone defeat

DroneSentry-X vehicle/ship-based detection and defeat

DroneSentry-X vehicle/ship-based detection

DroneShield was also awarded a US$33 million contract with the U.S. Government, which included DroneShield equipment and services for several years.

According to DroneShield CEO Matt McCrann, "We're honored to receive this award and support this customer. This award is a result of their trust in DroneShield and our solutions and reflects our commitment to their mission." The company expects to receive full payment for the order before the end of 2023 and is anticipating another record-breaking year for the company.

Rising Tensions Driving Up Demand

U.S. military spending has increased in the past few years. On March 9, 2023, Congress received a proposed budget of US$842 billion for the Department of Defense in 2024, which represents an increase of US$26 billion over 2023 and US$100 billion more than 2022.

Among several factors driving increased spending is rising tensions with The Peoples Republic of China.

According to Deputy U.S. Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, "Our greatest measure of success, and the one we use around here most often, is to make sure the PRC (Peoples Republic of China) leadership wakes up every day, considers the risks of aggression, and concludes, 'today is not the day." This budget represents a first for the DoD, as it is being used to buy multi-year contracts for munitions and equipment, as is the case with DroneShield.

A Record of Success

Previous successes with the Department of Defense appear to have paved the way for the company's deal with NATO. DroneShield recently closed an AU$9.9 million "Five Eyes" Department of Defense contract. The term "Five Eyes" refers to a collaboration between the U.S., UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. This collaborative deal drove the company's value up by 18%, from AU$0.22 to AU$0.26. In July of 2023, the company completed an AU$3.8 million contract, which started in June of 2021.

Analysts predicted at the beginning of the year that DroneShield would be worth keeping an eye on. Technical Analyst Clive Maund has bought shares DroneShield and has maintained that investors should hold on, as he expects the company's value to increase.

According to Maund, "Price / volume action in DroneShield is very bullish indeed, and the fundamental outlook for the company could scarcely be better. It is therefore believed to be just beginning a major bull market that should take it to much higher levels."

Darren Odell of Peloton Capital predicted in March that DroneShield would be cashflow positive in 2023. There were several qualities that he noted as attractive, including the fact that Epirus, a shareholder in the company, is an unmanned aerial vehicle firm. Another was that the U.S. government recommends DroneShield.

Ownership and Share Structure

11% of the company is held by management and insiders.

Carla Balanco owns 1.44% of the company with 8.45 million shares. Angus Bean owns 1.26% with 7.39 million shares. Paul Jonathan Shaw owns 0.95% with 5.58 million shares. Oleg Vornik owns 0.86% with 5.03 million shares, and Peter James owns 0.65% with 3.82 million shares.

13.99 % is with strategic investors.

Epirus Inc. owns 3.15% with 18.50 million shares. Beta Gamma Pty. Ltd. owns 2.30% with 13.50 million shares. Ravenscourt Pty. Ltd. owns 1.36% with 8.00 million shares. SR Bennet Pty. Ltd. owns 0.91% with 5.35 million shares, and P&B Shaw FT CB Pty. Ltd. owns 0.59% with 3.43 million shares.

The rest is with retail investors.

There are 586.9 million shares outstanding and 496.03 million free-float traded shares. There is a market cap of AU$107.73 million. It trades between AU$0.16 and AU$0.42 in the 52-week period.

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Source: Stephane Foucaud

July 31, 2023 (Investorideas.com Newswire) The consistent production rate from this well, in Colombia's Carrizales Norte field, is estimated to be 1,400 barrels per day, noted an Auctus Advisors report.

Arrow Exploration Corp. (AXL:TSX.V; AXL:LSE) put its second well in the Carrizales Norte field, CN-2, on production after it encountered 60 feet of net pay on testing, reported Auctus Advisors analyst Stephane Foucaud in a July 27 research note.

163% Projected Return

Arrow's current share price is 0.20 per share, and Auctus has a 0.50 per share price target on the Canadian oil company, noted Foucaud.

The difference between these prices implies a significant 163% return for investors in the company.

Well Performance

The Carrizales North field is located on the Tapir Block in Colombia's Llanos Basin, where Arrow holds a 50% interest. Arrow's CN-2 well, in the Ubaque formation, initially flowed 1,012 barrels per day (1,102 bbl/d) of fluid and is now producing 680 bbl/d gross, Foucaud reported. Oil gravity is 13.6 degrees API.

To maximize recovery, Arrow set the electric submersible pump at the minimum optimal rate.

"The build-up analysis indicates the well can produce at 1,400 bbl/d gross at a consistent producible rate," wrote Foucaud.

As for how CN-2 compares to CN-1, the net pay, oil quality, and achieved flow rate were similar, Foucaud added. A key difference, more favorable to CN-2, was the percent at which the water cut stabilized; 3% with CN-2 versus 28% with CN-1.

Water Breakthrough at C-7 Sands

In other news, reported Foucaud, testing of the C-7 sands was unsuccessful due to an immediate water breakthrough, possibly resulting from a cementing issue.

Despite the perforations being 15 feet higher than at CN-1, the water cut reached 50%.

Plan Moving Forward

Arrow continues its exploration program in Colombia, Foucaud wrote. Now that the CN-3 well has been spud, the rig is being moved back to the RCE field. There, Arrow will drill two Gacheta wells in addition to the RCS-2 well in the C7 formation.

Once the RCS-2 well is completed, the rig will be returned to Carrizales Norte, where Arrow's initial focus is the Ubaque. There, the company will drill additional wells.

"Before taking into consideration natural decline and the future Ubaque wells, the four new upcoming wells could add 1,600 bbl/d net to Arrow, assuming 400 bbl/d per well (net to Arrow)," Foucaud wrote.

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Source: Clive Maund

July 31, 2023 (Investorideas.com Newswire) With the technical condition of Defense Metals Corp. strengthening, Technical Analyst Clive Maund reviews its 3-month and 8-month charts.

Although there has been no net change in its price since we last looked at it on the 11th of this month, Defense Metals Corp.'s (DEFN:TSX.V; DFMTF:OTCQB; 35D:FSE) technical condition has strengthened greatly with it having broken out above nearby resistance, broken out above its downtrend and broken above its falling 50-day moving average as we can see on its latest 8-month chart below and most importantly this happened on persistent heavy volume.

This is believed to be due to the market starting to wake up to the positive implications for the company of the news that China is to ban the export of certain critical Rare Earths since Defense Metals' Rare Earth assets are in North America.

So, although the price hasn't moved much - yet - the heavy volume driving this advance and the soaring Accumulation line resulting from this is very bullish.

We can see what has been going on in the recent past much more clearly on the 3-month chart. At first glance, the recent base pattern that the price just broke out from could be classified as either a Cup & Handle base, a Double Bottom, or a Head-and-Shoulders, but the deciding factor is the persistent heavy volume driving the advance out of the right side of the pattern, which is a characteristic of a genuine Cup & Handle base so that's what we'll classify it as.

This is very helpful because it explains why the price is now running off sideways /down - it wants to make a Handle to complement the Cup and complete the Cup & Handle base pattern.

However, volume has dipped dramatically as the price has eased back a bit today. This is very bullish and suggests that we won't see much of a Handle before the price takes off higher again on another upleg, and it could even be done consolidating now.

With its technical condition having strengthened considerably since we last looked at it and downside looking very limited while upside is big, we stay long, and Defence Metals is rated an Immediate Buy here.

Defense Metals' website.

Defense Metals Corp. closed trading at CA$0.235, $0.177 at 12.03 pm EDT on July 19, 2023.

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Vancouver, British Columbia - July 31, 2023 (Newsfile Corp.) (Investorideas.com Newswire) Bell Copper Corporation (TSXV: BCU) (OTCQB: BCUFF) ("Bell Copper" or the "Company") wishes to provide a drilling update, and an update to its news release of June 15, 2023, wherein it had announced plans to conduct a non-brokered private placement ("Financing") for up to 10,416,666 units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.12 per Unit to raise gross proceeds of up to $1,250,000. Conditional acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange to the Financing has been received and the Company is still in the process of collecting subscriptions from various investors. It plans to submit final documentation and announce a closing of the Financing ("Closing") within the next 30 days. Each unit (a "Unit") will consist of one common share and one transferable share purchase warrant ("Warrant"). Each Warrant shall be exercisable into one additional common share at a price of CAD $0.24 per share for a period of two years from the date of Closing.

Crescat Capital LLC ("Crescat"), a >10% insider and significant shareholder of the Company, has committed to participate in the Financing pursuant to its equity participation right to maintain its pro-rata ownership in Bell Copper.

Crescat's participation in the Financing shall constitute a "related party transaction" for the purposes of Multilateral Instrument 61-101, Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company is relying upon exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 in completing the Financing with Crescat, on the basis that the fair market value of Crescat's pro rate participation shall be less than 25% of Bell's current market capitalization.

The private placement shall be subject to final acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange and all securities issued pursuant to the Financing will be subject to a hold period under applicable securities laws, which hold period will expire four months plus one day from the date of Closing. The Company may pay finder's fees incidental to the Financing, as permitted by the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Funds raised from the Financing will be used for the ongoing drilling and exploration program at the Company's 100% owned Big Sandy Porphyry Copper Project and for general working capital. Closing shall be subject to receipt of all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals, including approval of the TSX-V.

Additionally, further to the Company's news release of April 4, 2023 wherein it announced an agreement to settle $60,000 of debt owing to a certain creditor by the issuance of 272,727 common shares in the capital of the Company, it was decided laterally to withdraw the application for regulatory approval and alternate arrangements with the creditor have been made for settlement of the debt.

Drilling Update

Drilling of hole BS-4 on the Big Sandy porphyry copper project in northwest Arizona has encountered visible native, metallic silver in drill core at a depth of 829 meters, hosted by conglomerate. BS-4 is testing the concept of a decapitated top of a large porphyry copper system buried beneath the conglomerate at a depth of around 1200 meters. The native silver in BS-4 was not anticipated as part of the porphyry copper target model.

On June 7, 2022, the Company announced that it had cut in drillhole BS-3 an interval of 200 meters grading 0.42 percent copper (8.4 lbsCu/st) and 2.4 grams of silver per tonne from 1302 meters to 1502 meters, including 54 meters grading 0.67 percent copper (13.4 lbsCu/st) and 3.7 grams of silver per tonne from 1445 meters to 1499 meters. Drillhole BS-3 is located 900 meters south of the ongoing drillhole, BS-4. Native, metallic copper has been observed in the overlying conglomerate in each of holes BS-1 through BS-4, but this is the first time that native silver has been seen in the Big Sandy drill core.

The native silver in drillhole BS-4 is believed to represent exotic silver, that is, silver that originated in underlying bedrock and that was leached out of the bedrock by upwelling groundwater and redeposited in the overlying conglomerate. A centimeter-wide halo of gray, bleached sandy matrix in otherwise light brown matrix surrounds the native silver.

The native silver is not believed to represent a commercially significant quantity of silver. Rather, it is seen as a geochemical indicator of proximity to bedrock formations that are silver-bearing.

Figure 1. BS-4 drill core from 829.3 meters depth showing native silver (metallic white) in a bleached, light gray envelope cutting otherwise light brown, sandy conglomerate matrix. Field of view is two centimeters.

Drilling progress at BS-4 was stalled for two months when the drill string became blocked by a stuck sample tube. Uninterrupted efforts to remove or bypass the stuck tube finally succeeded when a wedge was used to deflect a smaller diameter drill string through the side of the blocked drill string. The native silver was encountered by subsequent diamond drilling beneath the blockage.

Tim Marsh, Bell's President and CEO, and a Qualified Person as defined by NI43-101, said, "The native silver that we have just drilled at Big Sandy complements the exotic, native copper that we have reported in previous drillholes as an indicator of nearby, copper-silver mineralized bedrock. Our BS-3 intersection nearly one kilometer away demonstrated the existence of an underlying, supergene enriched porphyry copper deposit as a potential source for the exotic, native metals in the conglomerate. This is just the sort of welcome mat that should greet every successful explorer."

Qualified Person

The technical content of this release has been reviewed and approved by Timothy Marsh, PhD, PEng., the Company's CEO and President. No mineral resource has yet been identified on the Big Sandy Project. There is no certainty that the present exploration effort will result in the identification of a mineral resource or that any mineral resource that might be discovered will prove to be economically recoverable.

About Bell Copper

Bell Copper is a mineral exploration company focused on the identification, exploration and discovery of large copper deposits located in Arizona. Bell Copper is exploring its 100% owned Big Sandy Porphyry Copper Project and the Perseverance Porphyry Copper Project which is under a Joint Venture - Earn In.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of

Bell Copper Corporation

"Timothy Marsh"

Timothy Marsh, President, CEO & Director

For further information please contact the Company

Tel: 1 800 418 8250

Email: info@bellcopper.net

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release includes "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "potential", "target", "budget" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the expectations of management regarding the proposed Financing, the expectations of management regarding the use of proceeds of the Financing, closing conditions for the Financing, the expiry of hold periods for securities distributed pursuant to the Financing, use of proceeds of the Financing and TSX-V approval of the proposed Financing. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management based on the business and markets in which Bell Copper operates, are inherently subject to significant operational, economic, and competitive uncertainties, risks and contingencies. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results, and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include: that the Company may not complete the Financing on terms favourable to the Company or at all; that the TSX-V may not approve the Financing; that the proceeds of the Financing may not be used as stated in this news release; actual exploration results, interpretation of metallurgical characteristics of the mineralization, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, delays or inability to receive required approvals, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators, including those described in the Company's most recently filed MD&A. The Company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable law.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

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Sheep farmers cannot survive on prices that have been "consistently worse than last year", the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA) has said.

Sheep farmers were "hammered" in 2022, ICSA sheep chairman Sean McNamara said, "when lamb prices tumbled while our costs were rising sharply".

"The situation is even worse again now with prices down on this time last year, and remaining a very long way from where they need to be," Mr McNamara said.

He said that throughput has remained similar to last year and that this is at odds with how much prices have been falling.

"In the last month alone, prices have come back more than 1 per kg, the equivalent of around 22 per head," Mr McNamara continued.

Factories are telling us the markets are not there, yet there has not been any reduction in the levels of live imports or imports of lamb in carcase form.

"Sheep farmers are under severe financial pressure with no let-up in input costs and no real justification for why prices are being slashed.

"This has been going on for far too long and many sheep farmers are in despair at this point."

Emergency package

The ICSA put the case forward for a sheep payment worth 35 per ewe in talks with Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue this week, however, Mr McNamara said this is the "very least that needs to be done".

"Yes, we need a sheep payment that can deliver 35 per ewe on an annual basis, but we also need an emergency package to support a short-term payment of 20/ewe in 2023," he said.

"ICSA argues that the Brexit Adjustment Reserve should be used, and we do not accept that the case cannot be made to access this fund to support sheep farmers given that it has been used for genotyping the dairy herd and for the organic sector."
Lorcan Strain (who identifies as non-binary and uses the pronouns they/them), was begged by their mother not to take their Barbie doll into school at the age of four. But Strain, who stars in The Glass Menagerie at the Everyman, did just that. And that was the beginning of the bullying they encountered which included being beaten up and thrown into bins at secondary school. But it was mainly verbal abuse and slurs.

Now aged 32 and excited about their career, Strain says their family always supported them even though they are practising Catholics. Coming from what Strain describes as a conservative place - Milford in Co Donegal  school was tolerable because being mixed, they had female friends who stuck up for them.

But Strain reckons the stigma with never stopped them from being an outgoing person. But it stopped me from freely expressing who I was. Now, I feel like Im 21. Im only living my true self now because I have the vocabulary to understand who I am. I knew I was gay from the day I was born. I was naturally bright at school but never really put in a lot of effort. I was so distracted at the time.

At 15, Strain started drinking and taking drugs. I came out when I was 21. But before that, when I was 17 and going to college, my mum asked me if I was gay. My family were completely okay about it.

The booze and drugs were about escapism, and Strain was fortunate to come out the other side without doing major damage. I did it to fit in with the cool kids because if youre hanging out with them, theyre not going to bully you.

It was when Strain started attending Sligo IT to study performing arts that they found their tribe.

"It was an open environment. The freaks and the geeks all stuck together. It was very liberating, not having to pretend to be someone else. But I still suppressed a lot of things. At drama classes, they kind of break you down to build you up. For me, my sexuality always came into play. When I was playing straight characters, Id always think I was too gay. I could never truly let go. I didnt feel confident as an actor even though I got lots of assurance.

Lorcan Strain (back right) with the other cast members of The Glass Menagerie, at the Everyman.

After college, Strain moved to Dublin and was told by a few important people in the industry to hide their sexuality or they wouldnt get to play romantic leads. "So that completely sent me crazy. I stopped getting cast in things because you cant play someone else when youre already playing a character that is not yourself. I was blocked, constantly wearing one of my masks.

In between working in restaurants and bars, Strain got the occasion decent acting gig. They pushed through, overcoming their inhibition. I learned that it didnt matter what my sexuality was... I think Im being my authentic self now, confident at auditions and in the rehearsal room.

In Cork, Strain is playing a heterosexual man called Jim in the Tennessee Williams classic play. Their character has been set up with Laura, a mentally fragile young woman, by her brother who wants his sister to have a boyfriend.

In 2019, Strain fell into a drag act by accident, prompted by a drag artist friend to perform one of the characters they play when drunk. The character is Marian Mary The 6th, a Donegal woman full of Catholic guilt and nasty and blasphemous at the same time. It went down very well in Dublin, and in Cork.

Initially, Strain had judgements about drag artistes thinking they couldnt also be actors. But now, Strain, who is based in London, has no problem switching from straight acting to drag.

They starred in Candy Warhols show drag show, The Wind That Shakes The Wig at this years Cork Midsummer Festival. Strain says the drag scene in Cork is lively with a drag collective called Mockie-ah performing in venues such as Chambers on Washington Street and other bars.

London is where Strain feels particularly comfortable. I love living there. Its a hard city but when youre part of a queer community, youre automatically accepted into this family. Everyone thinks the drag scene is bitchy and catty but its the complete opposite. Its love and joy and its very supportive.

Strain has their own show coming up at the Dublin Fringe in September, entitled Songs of Theys. Its a queer Mass for the masses with a choir at its core.
Never before have we had such immediate access to health-related information.

We increasingly use social media and the internet to seek out what we hope is appropriate evidence and information, to ease our pain and worries.

While social media was never intended to be a healthcare tool, it has become a first port of call for many with TikTok becoming the most used and most accessible platform for health-related content according to a report on HealthTok from Superdrug Online Doctor.

Rachel, a copywriter and social media strategist, says that the health information she has found online has helped her in managing and understanding her health issues.

After years of suppressing and ignoring my symptoms, seeing many sharing their genuine and authentic journeys is beautiful, she says.

Hearing their stories makes me finally feel understood and safe. I also feel empowered to share my personal story in the hope that I would impact one life and they would know they were no longer alone. Sharing valuable and relatable journeys will always signify strength and wisdom.

Elizabeth, a mother, agrees and says that she has learnt more about her health from social media than from healthcare practitioners.

Social media can positively affect peoples lives when it encourages them to speak with a GP or seek professional advice.

However, the covid-19 pandemic assured us that vast misinformation can be easily spread through social media and viral posts.

Excessively researching symptoms online can lead to cyberchondria which has the potential to escalate health anxieties to debilitating levels. We may then implement advice from invalid sources that is potentially harmful.

David, a primary school teacher, says: Social media has left me in the pits of anxiety and stress believing I was dying. Everything I looked at pointed to a much more serious issue than it was.

I never learn though, he admits. I still check symptoms on Twitter.

Brendan Clarke, senior cognitive behavioural therapist at Evidence-Based Therapy Centre in Galway

A professor of mine once said that health anxiety is like a weed, and that attention is like water, says Brendan Clarke, senior cognitive behavioural therapist at Evidence-Based Therapy Centre in Galway, the more attention we pay to whatever our health issue is, the worse that issue becomes.

Clarke uses the example of experiencing pain in your knee. No matter the reason for the pain, if a person spends hours focusing on that pain, it is likely to become more intense as time ticks on. Youll also probably feel more anxious, he says, which can heighten the way that we perceive pain.

In terms of the role social media platforms have in how we perceive health issues, Clarke refers to social media as attention-hogging machines. He says that sites like Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram have been engineered by very intelligent people to make you give them your attention, whether you would like to or not. We can find ourselves scrolling mindlessly even if we wish we werent doing so, he says.

More attention equals more anxiety, and often more discomfort or pain, which can then drive more attention. It is a vicious cycle.

While health anxiety is not explicitly new, it has grown as social media plays a bigger part in how we navigate health information outside of valid sources.

Health concerns become problematic when they are excessive, out of proportion to the actual likelihood of having a serious medical problem, or persistent despite negative test results or reassurance from your doctor, says Helen Birch, clinical hypnotherapist.

This can lead to unhelpful behaviours such as excessive checking or avoidance and causing significant distress or impairing your ability to go about your daily life. Clarke believes that overall, it is time for us to power down and disconnect.

The internet is an amazing resource, he says, so we dont want to just leave it behind. But mindless scrolling, or doomscrolling is not good for us.

Social media algorithms rarely play in our favour as we are targeted with information garnered by how we use social media. The algorithm is designed to show a person similar content to what they have already engaged with or shown an interest in. Birch highlights that in the case of health anxiety, a person can easily become more sensitive to potential signs or symptoms of a particular illness they have become preoccupied with. They will search for more information about specific signs and illnesses and just as this behaviour becomes repetitive, so do the results the search engines throw back at us.

What someone believes, and how they feel, is manipulated by algorithms.

Helen Birch, clinical hypnotherapist

It is within this echo chamber effect of social media that we are exposed to content, information, and opinions that reinforce our anxieties, creating a tunnel vision effect potentially reinforcing inaccurate information.

Social media platforms, news agencies, and anyone delivering health-related content have a duty of care when partaking in the possibility of highlighting unhelpful or inaccurate information.

But there is no single quick fix to preventing health anxiety. Birch recommends that platforms limit the amount of related videos suggested to a person to avoid a constant stream of anxiety-inducing content. Additionally, creators can take responsibility by adding content or trigger warnings to their videos. It is, however, necessary for a person to take responsibility for how they consume content.

If social media is hurting you, says Birch, then its time to step away from it.

Clarke suggests that to end the cycle of negative self-talk and rumination that occurs with the damaging impacts of social media, we must first consider the problem as an addiction.

Some people are uncomfortable with this idea, he says, but addictions to behaviours like sex and gambling can play out in a way thats similar to addictions to substances like alcohol. They each activate our bodys reward system in the form of elevating dopamine. This feels really good. But dopamine works like a pendulum swinging between pleasure and pain. So, if there is a big swing towards pleasure, when we do a certain behaviour, there will at some point be a swing back towards pain when we finish.

When attempting to slow down and stop that pendulum swing, Clarke tells us that we will feel uncomfortable, anxious, and find it difficult to focus when we take a step back from social media.

Thats the bad news, he says. But the good news is that if we wait for a little bit, that wave of discomfort will crash, and well feel OK again. If you want to limit your use of certain websites, it will feel uncomfortable to begin with. But a good rule of thumb is to give yourself 30 days without. The chances are that after 30 days, or possibly before then, youll no longer feel bothered by cravings for scrolling in the way you were before.

Finally, Clarke suggests that a person connects with their inner self and notice how they feel when they are spending lots of time scrolling or caught in an anxious search for information.

If your health symptoms remain constant regardless of how much you are focusing on them or scrolling, it suggests that there may be a genuine issue to explore with a health professional, he says. But, if you notice that reduced attention to your symptoms means that the symptoms themselves reduce, then its likely they are being driven by your attention, and that theres nothing to worry about.
Leading English language educators from overseas are pinning their hopes on the Belt and Road Initiative, which has not only boosted English education across the region it serves, but is also fostering closer and broader public sphere exchanges to tackle some of the bigger issues facing humanity.

They spoke to China Daily on the sidelines of the 2023 Global English Education China Assembly in Macao held on Friday. The three-day, high-level event has convened some 1,600 experts, educators, and scholars from 20 countries and regions, both offline and online, to weigh in on English language teaching.

This year's conference features a Belt and Road forum, attended by leading specialists and scholars from BRI partner countries such as Italy, Russia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Nepal.

It has also seen the establishment of the Belt and Road English Education Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Exchange Base, to support the development of the BRI through English learning and teaching.

Svetlana V. Sannikova, coordination council chairperson of Russia's National Association of Teachers of English (NATE), an organization that has united English professionals across Russia for about 30 years, said that the conference is an excellent opportunity to expand her skills and engage with the latest English education practices.

Sannikova said the significance of the BRI extends beyond official cooperation to growing civil society ties.

Apart from personal efforts to promote the BRI, Sannikova vowed that NATE will continue to cooperate with China under the BRI framework in a variety of ways, including by inviting Chinese English-speaking experts to Russia and co-organizing cultural exchanges.

Singhanat Nomnian, the president of Thailand TESOL (2021-23), said that as an emerging power and a rising star in many areas like education, economy and culture, China plays a major role in Asia.

The ambitious initiative, which aims to physically connect countries, can also catalyze development not just in nations along the route, but across Asia as a whole, Nomnian said.

Daniela Cuccurullo, the TESOL Italy president and Letizia Cinganotto, a former senior researcher at INDIRE, a well-established educational research institute in Italy, said that through its participation in the BRI, Italy is embracing linguistic diversity and promoting openness and inclusiveness, while using English as a central means of communication to contribute to the advancement of global English education.

Motikala Subba Dewan, president of the Nepal English Language Teachers' Association (NELTA), Nepal's largest nonprofit organization for English educators and professionals, said that her country still lags behind in digital education and the conference was an opportunity to learn from other countries in this sphere.

She called on China to spearhead the adaptation of English-language education content into Asian contexts, as many of Nepal's English texts and learning materials originate in Western sources, which are not well adapted to Nepalese culture.

Ninj-Erdene Khurel, vice-president of the English Language Teachers' Association of Mongolia, said that with the world now facing challenges, like the recent COVID pandemic, initiatives like the BRI are even more important in helping countries come together to find better solutions to problems, including trade, economy and education.
The Defence Forces has for decades been excluded from the European Working Time Directive (WTD) and while it seems it will eventually come under the scope of the legislation, there are significant concerns the Government will water it down.

As the so-called Swiss Army Knife of the State, the military has become a multi-functional organisation, from joining peacekeeping missions abroad to responding to extreme weather events at home and offering logistical support to the HSE during the covid pandemic.

Although advised decades ago that the Defence Forces was entitled to come under the auspices of the WTD, successive governments chose to ignore it.

The EU passed the WTD in 2003, stating that no employee should work longer than 48 hours a week and that employees are entitled to an 11-hour break every 24 hours.

It is believed that millions of euros have been saved by the State because soldiers, sailors, and aircrews worked excessive hours and were never properly compensated for it.

These excessive hours, and no official logging of them, were first highlighted as a problem by the Gleeson Commission in 1990.

"Such records would, for example, enable the military authorities to gauge the impact of additional tasks, the need for extra staff and to ensure equity between personnel in the distribution of duties," said the commission in its report.

"The absence of direct evidence for a reasonably long timespan does not, however, detract from the many examples the commission was made aware of where real hardship was attributed to the length of the hours worked."

No proper overtime payments were ever given to Defence Forces members and getting time in lieu has often proved problematic.

The latter issue has, in recent years, led to several successful court cases and settlements, mainly initiated by PDForra, the association which represents enlisted personnel across the Defence Forces.

Introduction of WTD

Tanaiste and Defence Minister Micheal Martin has started to initiate what appears to be the first real attempt to introduce the WTD for our military personnel.

He has previously told the Irish Examiner that it will be introduced even in the face of a significant personnel crisis in the ranks.

The Defence Forces should have a minimum of 11,500 personnel, but its effective strength is now little more than 7,600.

Mr Martin said that when he was health minister, he was advised by senior department officials that shortages of healthcare personnel meant that WTD protection could not be provided, but, at the time, he insisted the directive was implemented.

Yet, many in the health professions argue that they are still so short-staffed they work far longer than they should to uphold their principles of caring properly for patients.

However, medical staff are entitled to take industrial action to further their cause while military personnel are prohibited because they swore an oath of allegiance to the State.

The Defence Forces should have a minimum of 11,500 personnel, but its effective strength is now little more than 7,600.

The Government can claim that it has increased wages for the lower ranks but it does not add up per hour if you are working morning, noon, and night.

Garda members were covered by the WTD just over 10 years ago, with a few derogations for exceptional events.

Now, PDForra general secretary Gerard Guinan has pointed to a worrying recent ruling in Slovenia, known as the Obrambo Judgment, which he claims could allow the State to water down the benefits of the WTD.

Made by the Slovenia courts and later backed by the EU, the judgment gives broad scope for EU states to determine matters inherent to their own state security and deem them outside of the WTD legislation.

Mr Guinan said this judgment "appears to be a more beneficial position for a state when compared to previous jurisprudence and, in his opinion, it looks likely to have let loose a potential for a race to the bottom when it comes to properly regulating work/life balance for the Irish military.

Court cases

PDForra has already taken several cases for breaches of the WTD on behalf of its members, against the last two governments and the Department of Defence, all of which were either settled on the steps of the court or successfully concluded through mediation by barristers and solicitors on instruction of both sides.

The first case launched by the representative association was on behalf of soldier Susan O'Donnell, who was unable to avail of her full leave entitlement in 2015.

Her case took an astonishing three years to conclude, and she finally got back her lost days and an ex-gratia sum in compensation.

PDForra also took a successful WTD breach in relation to a number of soldiers guarding prisoners in the maximum security Portlaoise Jail.

Mr Guinan said the compensation process could have been settled speedily by direct engagement in the first place by the Department of Defence. The taxpayer is paying for this and should ask why such cases take so long and become more costly.

Mr Guinan said the navy, in particular, is at risk for serious breaches of the WTD, especially as its personnel numbers are depleted.

The navy should have an absolute minimum of 1,094 personnel. Currently, the effective strength is little more than 700 and ships have not been able to go on patrol for several days this year as a result of them not having specialists onboard.

Lets look at what it [the Obrambo Judgment] potentially allows the State to do to members of the naval service, said Mr Guinan.

Members serving afloat are required on normal sailing plans to sail for 160 days. If we concede that they work 16-hour days [it could strictly be deemed 24] this would result in a working time of 2,560 hours over the 160 days. But remember there are 365 days in the year.

"The remaining time could then be divided into the following: You take 43 days leave from the remaining time and that leaves 162 days.

"Divide that period by seven to get the number of weeks, which equals 23. The Department of Defence has conceded that personnel on a normal week work 40 hours. Multiply 23 weeks by 40 hours and this gives a grand total of 3,480 hours worked in a year.

Mr Guinan said that the maximum permissible working time under the WTD is 48 hours by 48 weeks, which equates to 2,304 hours in a year.

Our members at sea work more than 1,100 hours above that number and 1,920 hours more than most public servants.

He has repeatedly said it is not morally right for successive governments to use their dominant position to take advantage of his members, primarily because Defence Forces personnel are bound by the oath not to take any form of industrial action.

Mr Guinan fears the Government will continue to use this leverage to exempt the Defence Forces from any reasonable implementation of the WTD to provide military personnel with the work/life balance afforded to the rest of the countrys public servants.

This same fear is held by Raco, the association which represents around 1,100 of the countrys military officers.

Commandant Martin Ryan, who is president of the officers association, said the one way to stem the ongoing exodus of highly trained personnel is to introduce the WTD properly in the Defence Forces, because if implemented properly, it will provide personnel with a better work/life balance.

He, too, is worried about derogations being imposed to exclude certain duties from the legislation applied to military personnel.

Having a personnel shortage is not a reason not to introduce the WTD," said Comdt Ryan. "Gardai have been compliant with it for the last 10 years. We are the only State employees not compliant with it. The Defence Forces have the lowest employment rights in the State, which if anything means we should be looked after even better.

Irish naval service vessels berthed at Kennedy Quay, Cork City. The navy should have a minimum of 1,094 personnel. Currently, the effective strength is little more than 700 and ships have not been able to go on patrol for several days this year as a result of them not having specialists onboard. Picture: Larry Cummins

Mr Martin has said he wants to get the WTD introduced soon, but this has been talked about by his predecessor, Simon Coveney, and if the Government continues to delay, it will only make the personnel retention crisis worse, said Comdt Ryan.

Several other nations in the EU have already introduced the WTD for their military, with a positive benefit, especially in terms of keeping experienced personnel in the job.

Comdt Ryan said a number of meetings have taken place between the two representative associations, senior military management, and Department of Defence officials on the implementation of the WTD in recent weeks, acknowledging that Mr Martin wants a resolution to it.

But we are still operating outside the WTD and continue to be the only State entity to do so.

The officer said there are some minimum requirements to get this over the line, which include compensatory time off for additional hours worked above and beyond the call of duty, and the introduction of additional welfare-enhancing measures in all of the countrys military installations and for those serving on overseas missions.

He said that the Defence Forces still does not record the number of hours its personnel work and this must be rectified because not having a defined working week automatically puts people at a disadvantage.

Its a basic employee right to know what your working hours are and be able to show it.

Comdt Ryan said that while there have been welcome improvements to the pay of lower ranks, it is still inadequate for the number of hours they have to work.

There's no doubting that over the years there has been a lot of free labour given by Defence Forces personnel. People have been willing to do this but they should be adequately paid for it.

"The Government has played with Defence Forces members hours for a long time and this had been aided and abetted by military management and the Department of Defence.

They have been expected to do all this extra time and havent even been properly appreciated or compensated.

The officer acknowledges that the relevant parties are now coming to the table to discuss the implementation of the WTD, but maintains this should have happened at least 10 years ago  around the time the gardai got it.

If it had been introduced 10 years ago we would now be in a much better place than we are now [in terms of personnel numbers].

"But I am much more hopeful that it will hopefully be introduced in the near future and done in a way that it will make us an employer of choice again, said Comdt Ryan.
A child in Kerry with severe mental health problems was offered treatment via Zoom to a psychiatrist in Dubai because of huge gaps in the local services.

The boy's father, Maurice OConnell, said Ireland's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (Camhs) must be completely dismantled and rebuilt to prevent children from falling through the cracks.

Mr OConnell said his sons only option for regular appointments with a consultant psychiatrist is a doctor based in Dubai who provides Zoom consultations and flies into Ireland once a month.

In Kerry, we have to rely on a doctor in Dubai, said Mr OConnell.

Most patients just get a Zoom call, and he flies in once a month at a weekend to see the patients who cant or wont use Zoom. How can a doctor properly treat a patient over Zoom?

We refused to see the doctor over Zoom. We dont believe he can help my son that way. We see him when he comes in person.

A lot of other parents are doing it over Zoom, but theyre not happy.

Its insane what is happening in Camhs in Kerry. Camhs has to be torn up by the root and reconstructed.

Children are being left to fall through the cracks.

The Zoom clinics came about because of the chronic understaffing of Camhs in Kerry.

A report by the Inspector of Mental Health Services, published last week, identified that some Camhs teams are less than 50% staffed. Many teams are missing staff in key positions, including a consultant psychiatrist to run the team itself, with some areas reliant on telemedicine delivered from the Middle East.

The report concluded that families in all areas of Ireland could not be guaranteed that their children would receive safe and appropriate care within the Camhs system.

Mr OConnell, a member of the Kerry Camhs Family Support Group, which advocates for family members impacted by the scandal over the incorrect prescribing of medications, says children need appropriate support from a fully-staffed service.

The incorrect prescribing of anti-psychotic drugs to children was a practice exposed by a whistleblower in South Kerry Camhs.

The Maskey Report, published in the wake of that scandal, found that there was clear evidence that 46 children who attended the Camhs centre in South Kerry suffered significant harm and 240 others had been exposed to the risk of significant harm.

These children have literally gone through hell and back," said Mr O'Connell.

"Were getting calls from all over Ireland from parents saying that their children were put on the same anti-psychotic drugs our children were put on in South Kerry."

Mr OConnell believes Government has not responded with the urgency such immense problems in childrens mental healthcare deserve and require.

Last week's report found that all parents could not be assured that their children were getting safe treatment when accessing Camhs, and called for urgent steps to be taken to address it.

I hope they follow up on this report," said Mr OConnell. "My son is 15 in August. I hope he can do his Junior Cert this year.
Organisers of Belfast Pride are to meet senior police officers later this week.

It comes as officers investigate an alleged incident of hate crime at the annual event in the Northern Ireland capital on Saturday.

Reports were made to police about a man with a microphone making comments on members of the LGBT+ community ahead of the Pride parade.

It was captured on video, and police said footage has since emerged on social media.

Officers confirmed the matter is being investigated as hate crime.

Co-chairs of Belfast Pride Festival John ODoherty and Cara McCann in 2022 (David Young/PA)

Belfast Pride co-chairman John ODoherty said the language used was entirely unacceptable.

Belfast Pride and the Pride movement more generally are born out of a protest movement, and Belfast Pride itself is a protest so we fully recognise the right of people to protest across our city, its a right that we use annually ourselves, he told the BBC.

That includes those people who choose to protest us and protest what we believe in, and there has been a long history of protest at the Belfast Pride Parade, in advance and during, and broadly without incident.

He said the comments made were indicative of a wider growing problem in the city centre.

Mr ODoherty said the Pride committee will be meeting senior police officers later this week about the wider event, and intend to raise the matter with them.

PSNI Superintendent Christian Bradley said officers attended the scene in Royal Avenue and gathered evidence using their body-worn video.

He said: Police are aware of a video circulating on social media showing a male using a public address system in the Royal Avenue area of the city on Saturday July 29 prior to the Belfast Pride Parade.

Officers were present at the scene and gathered evidence on body-worn video.

This footage is being reviewed by investigators. The incident is being treated as a hate crime.

People taking part in the 2023 Belfast Pride Parade (Oliver McVeigh/PA)

Thousands of people took to the streets of Belfast as the citys largest ever Pride parade took place on Saturday.

More than 250 different groups signed up to take part, an increase of 25% on last year.

The theme for Belfast Pride 2023 was Stand By Your Trans, and the parade was led by trans, non-binary and gender diverse people.
The State has saved millions of euro by not paying overtime to members of the Defence Forces for decades, according to a claim submitted to the European Social Rights Committee (ESRC).

EUROMIL, the umbrella body for European military associations, has sent a document to the ESRC, written by a senior Irish civil servant in the early 1990s, which shows the government was advised that the military should be legally covered by the Working Time Directive (WTD). As a consequence, Defence Forces personnel should be entitled to the same overtime payments and restrictions on working hours as other public servants.

EUROMIL submitted the complaint on behalf of Raco, which represents officers, and PDForra for enlisted personnel, stating successive governments had therefore breached the social rights of Defence Forces members under Articles 2.1, 2.2 and 4.2 by denying them overtime.

The government had also been advised in 1990 by the Gleeson Commission that the Defence Forces did not have a system of recording the working time of military personnel, which also forms part of the complaint to the ESRC.

The commission said it was surprised at the omission, as such records would normally be expected to be maintained by a large organisation.

Annual leave shortfall

Meanwhile, recently obtained figures by the representative associations appear to show a shortfall of annual leave to their members  which are also valued at millions of euro. They have also been supplied to the ESRC.

The current Government has started discussions about the implementation of the WTD for the Defence Forces. However, both representative associations fear military personnel will be exempted from large swathes of the legislation.

PDForra general secretary Gerard Guinan said he was concerned there may be several exemptions imposed, otherwise the State would have to properly resource the Defence Forces with personnel as it is currently seriously deficient in numbers.

He has called on Defence Minister Micheal Martin to ensure the implementation of the WTD takes account of the need for just, fair and humane working conditions for all Defence Force members.

Raco president Commandant Martin Ryan said he was also worried derogations on the WTD legislation would be imposed to exclude certain duties carried out by the military.

Retention crisis

He said one way to address the retention crisis was with the introduction of the WTD because, if implemented properly, it would provide personnel with a better work-life balance.

When you dont record time worked you cant tell, but theres no doubt there was an awful lot of free labour. We dont know how long our normal working day or week is, Comdt Ryan said.

He said the Government had repeatedly said the "numbers issue" needs to be countered with increased recruitment and retention but is very slow addressing this.

The Department of Defence said Mr Martin hopes to have talks concluded on the WTD with military management and the representative association as soon as possible, which will then "enable engagement with the Department of Enterprise Trade & Employment to progress the appropriate legislative framework".
The new President of the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) has said the teacher shortage crisis must be addressed as a matter of urgency saying it is now at its worst.

Geraldine OBrien, a second-level teacher at St Josephs Community College in Kilkee, Co. Clare said the crisis is undermining students education and that the Government must get real about addressing factors which make teaching in Ireland unattractive.

While the teacher shortage problem goes back several years, research indicates it is now at its worst. Housing difficulties, teachers workload, and the fact that schools are starved of essential resources are key reasons behind this, she said.

An ASTI survey carried out earlier this year found that three-quarters of school leaders had received no applications for an advertised teaching post in the 2022/23 school year.

The Government must tackle housing issues affecting young workers. Teachers working conditions must be also tackled through proper investment in schools and in the teaching profession, Ms OBrien said.

She noted that the OECD report Education at a Glance 2022 ranked Ireland 36th out of 36 countries in terms of investment in second-level education as a percentage of GDP.

What this means is under-staffed and under-funded schools, leading to burn-out and demoralisation amongst teachers, she said.

New ASTI President, Geraldine OBrien, said: While the teacher shortage problem goes back several years, research indicates it is now at its worst." Picture: ASTI

John ODonovan, Principal at St. Josephs Secondary School in Kerry, said he is concerned about the years ahead as the number of teachers applying for positions has gone way down with minimal interest.

Mr ODonovan believes the cost-of-living crisis has sent teachers abroad in search of more favourable tax systems with positions in teaching maths or physics in particular receiving one or two applications.

Some of them might work for two or three years, get a CID, and head off to Dubai for five or six years. I suppose it's hard to blame them, its tax-free out there and they can make a bit of money to pay a deposit on a house, he said before adding: Its very difficult to keep them at home.

He said the acceptance of job offers often fall through due to more favourable locations or circumstances for applicants which leaves schools in the lurch at the last minute. I am aware of some of my colleagues in Dublin who could advertise six or 10 positions and could be re-interviewing the whole lot of them again, he said.

He said his school has been quite lucky when compared with colleagues in Dublin, where the current crisis is horrific. A couple of principals in Dublin told me they had to drop subjects from their curriculum because they couldn't get teachers which is quite alarming, he said.
The mother of a woman who died after giving birth to a healthy baby girl says she hopes an inquest will provide her family with answers as to why she died.

Zimbabwean native Tatenda Mukwata died at University Hospital Kerry on April 21 last year and was laid to rest in Kenmare.

She was a resident at the Atlantic Lodge direct provision centre in Kenmare but had been granted permission to stay in Ireland shortly before she died.

Her year-old daughter Eva attended her first anniversary Mass in Kenmare, with her other children Rutendo, Sherley, and Munashe and Tatendas parents Catherine and Oscar.

Catherine and other members of Tatendas family are now looking ahead to the inquest into her death, to be held in Tralee on August 30.

Although we had a meeting with the hospital and they told us some events of her death, we are still left with unanswered questions," said Catherine. "We are hoping the inquest will give us some of the answers we are looking for.

Catherine is now looking after her daughters four children, having moved from the UK where she had been living before her daughter died.

It was not difficult because this is my family and they are my priority. I used to visit Tatenda and the children in Ireland when Tatenda was alive.

She says that little Eva is doing well.

She recalls how she had been looking forward to visiting Tatenda after the birth of Eva.

I was scheduled to visit on April 15, 2022. We then postponed for me to visit after she had given birth. Unfortunately, it didnt happen as she passed on April 21, 2022.

Ms Mukwata had been working in Kerry in a nursing home and had planned further studies here.

She stopped working there when she got pregnant," said her mother. "She was due to start learning disability nursing at University of Cork in September 2022. She would have been a good nurse.

A crowdfunding campaign was set up to help her young family following her death.

A spokesman for the South/Southwest Hospital Group said: In keeping with HSE protocols, all maternal deaths are independently reviewed. This process is ongoing.

The HSE has previously said it is aware of the disproportionate over-representation of ethnic minority women in adverse maternity events in Ireland; however, it noted that Irelands data is similar to that of the US and the UK.

Of 13 maternal death inquests held between 2007 and 2021, six involved women of colour.

The HSE plans to hold engagements with representative groups to determine how to reduce the number of maternal deaths among ethnic minority women.

National Women and Infants Health Programme general manager Mary-Jo Biggs acknowledged in a response to a parliamentary question put down by Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns that previous research showed significant challenges in communication, language and literacy skills, digital skills and access, timely access to care, and healthcare staffs unconscious bias and lack of cultural sensitivity.

The HSE said that it has written to the six maternity networks in the country on two occasions, requesting that ethnicity be captured and considered as part of adverse event reviews.
A Sligo criminal who was a "scourge" on his community for years with his drugs operation has been jailed for 11 years by a judge at the Special Criminal Court.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt said Barry Young, 38, could have faced 16 years or more had he not pleaded guilty to the charge of directing a criminal organisation.

The judge noted Young has said he wanted to turn his life around but Mr Justice Hunt said he had to punish Young to act as a deterrent to others and to mark the gravity of the social consequences of organised criminal activity.

Mr Justice Hunt said Young's gang was "smaller in scope, size and geography" than others that have come before the courts in recent years and, he said, "the violence used did not reach the same level as those other organisations".

There are more serious gangs, the judge said, and Young's gang was itself answerable to more serious gangs. But Mr Justice Hunt said he did not want to "understate the destructiveness" of Young's activities on the people of Sligo.

He described Young as a "scourge on the people of Sligo for a number of years" and he noted evidence that a relatively small community in the west of Ireland was "burdened by four such gangs".

Mr Justice Hunt set the headline sentence at 16 years but due to mitigating factors, including Young's early guilty plea, he reduced that to 12 years. He suspended the final 12 months for four years after his release on the condition that Young keep the peace and be of good behaviour for that period.

The judge said the purpose of the suspension was to acknowledge he is young enough to emerge back into the community and he wants to incentivise Young's promises that he would "turn his life in a different direction".

Guilty plea

Father-of-two Young, with a previous address at Geldof Drive, Cranmore, Co Sligo, pleaded guilty at the non-jury court that he, between October 4, 2019, and January 15, 2022, both dates inclusive, directed the activities of a criminal organisation both within and outside the State, contrary to Section 71 A of the Criminal Justice Act, 2006, as inserted by Section 5 of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act, 2009.

Following the sentence, Chief Supt Aidan Glacken told the media outside court that "Barry Young has been involved in the sale and distribution of controlled drugs for the last 20 years.

"He directed and controlled a very large organised crime gang involved in an illegal business in the North-West of the country and this gang had substantial international links.

In the pursuit of greed and in the pursuit of money, this organised crime gang has caused much harm, much stress, much destruction to society and families through their reckless nature.

"Many of those families have suffered from violence, threats and intimidation which is unacceptable in today's society."

Previous hearings

At a previous hearing, the court heard drug seizures linked to the gang totalled over 628,000, while Young himself had 40,000 in ready cash despite his only stated income being social welfare payments.

Young also dispatched enforcers he described as "head-the-balls" and "Dirty Harrys" to collect on drug debts, a sentencing hearing was told.

At a previous hearing Detective Garda Inspector Ray Mulderrig told Fiona Murphy SC, for the State, that Young was arrested by detectives from Sligo at Dublin Airport on January 11, 2022, on his way to Spain in a bid to escape his life of crime and drug-debts.

The court heard the investigation revealed a high level of communication regarding drug-debt enforcement and the names and addresses of debtors. Det Insp Mulderrig said while violence and threats were used, violence was the option "least preferred by Barry Young".

The detective said investigations of five phones associated with Young led to the arrest of 16 people, six of whom are before the courts, with three of those facing charges of organised crime involvement and money laundering directly attributed to the gang.

After Young's January 2022 arrest in Dublin Airport, searches in the Sligo area found 36,360 in cash, 145,250 worth of cannabis, 11K worth of cocaine and 4,500 worth of valium and diazepam linked to the gang.

Phone data also revealed drug-debt enforcement involved Young sending individuals to private homes to commit criminal damage and demand money in Sligo and Galway.

Young described the debt collectors in messages as "head-the-balls", "Dirty Harrys", "Russian fellas", "mental" and "crazy" dispatched to "fix" debts owed.
The family of a young woman who bled to death shortly after giving birth in the maternity unit at St Lukes General Hospital in Kilkenny seven years ago has expressed dismay at the lenient sanction imposed on the consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist responsible for her care who was found guilty of professional misconduct earlier this year.

The High Court confirmed on Monday the decision of the Medical Council to censure the consultant, David McMurray, in writing with several conditions to be attached to his continued practice.

They include that Dr McMurray undergo a 12-month professional development plan overseen by a nominated professional to improve communications with other medical staff particularly when called to deal with emergencies and also in the management of haemorrhages.

At a fitness-to-practise inquiry last February, Dr McMurray admitted to a charge of professional misconduct over his delay in returning to St Lukes while on-call to attend Tracey Campbell Fitzpatrick (36) who suffered a fatal haemorrhage within three hours of giving birth to her second child, a boy named Max, on March 28, 2016.

The inquiry heard it had taken over 40 minutes for Dr McMurray to arrive at St Lukes after he was first alerted of the need to bring the patient to theatre to deal with extensive postpartum bleeding, despite living just a short distance away from the hospital when he knew her clinical condition required his attendance at the hospital.

The consultant also admitted a separate charge of poor professional performance at the same inquiry held by the Medical Council over his failure to attend to Ms Campbell Fitzpatrick in a timely manner. The inquiry heard Dr McMurray only arrived at St Lukes at 2.20am, despite having first been notified by a midwife at 1.38am about the patients deteriorating health after delivering her baby.

Counsel for the Medical Council, Neasa Bird BL, said the consultant had originally maintained that he was only alerted to the urgent nature of the case during a later call from the hospital.

A photo of Tracey Campbell Fitzpatrick, whose inquest was held in Kilkenny. Picture: Pat Moore

Mrs Campbell Fitzpatricks father, James Campbell, said the sanction of a written censure was deeply disappointing given the consultant had not initially provided the true facts in an attempt to justify his failure to attend the hospital in a timely manner.

It is a slap on the wrist for his professional misconduct and his poor professional performance on the night Tracey died, said Mr Campbell. This is a licence to other unsafe doctors or medical practitioners to act as they wish without fear of any serious consequences. This is not true accountability, he added.

He observed the truth only emerged for the first time just before the medical inquiry began last February when Dr McMurray decided to plead guilty to the allegations against him.

Mr Campbell said:

We, Traceys family, have to live with a life sentence of pain and loss for a death that could and should have been prevented.

He also expressed regret that the Medical Council had not adopted the recommendation of its fitness-to-practise committee to carry out an audit of Dr McMurrays work. That would have been a very valuable and helpful exercise, he remarked.

Ms Bird also informed the High Court that the inquiry had considered that Dr McMurray had an otherwise blemish-free career but that the Medical Council subsequently found out that there had been previous findings against him by its counterpart in the UK. She also noted that there had been no allegations to suggest any act or omission by the consultant was responsible for Ms Campbell Fitzpatricks death.

Confirming the sanction and conditions, the president of the High Court, Mr Justice David Barniville, said they were proportionate and would protect public safety.

Dr McMurray, who qualified as a doctor from Queens University in Belfast in 1992 and previously worked in the UK before moving to Ireland in 2013, no longer works at St Lukes.

The consultant became the subject of the fitness-to-practise inquiry following a complaint by the deceaseds husband, Bernard Fitzpatrick. The inquiry heard Ms Campbell Fitzpatrick, from Nurney, Co. Carlow, but originally from Knock, Co. Mayo, was a healthy, active woman looking forward to the birth of her second child.

The Medical Council did not proceed at last Februarys inquiry with two other allegations against Dr McMurray over his treatment of the patient on the day before she died.

Read More Apology to family of mother who died shortly after giving birth

In 2021, the High Court approved a settlement for Ms Campbell Fitzpatricks family, which included a payment of 700,000 for the care of Max, after the HSE and St Lukes General Hospital admitted liability for her death. The two parties also issued an unreserved apology for the failings in the care of the young mother in the hospital.

Relatives of Ms Campbell Fitzpatrick have also called for a re-opening of the inquest into her death following the finding of professional misconduct against Dr McMurray. Her family claim the original verdict that she had died as a result of natural causes at an inquest at Kilkenny Coroners Court in 2017 needs to be revisited as a result of the inquiry into her care by the Medical Council.

Ms Campbell has also called for a public inquiry into the operation of St Lukes due to a number of adverse findings against senior consultants who worked in the hospitals maternity unit, including Dr McMurray.
Come September, principal Shane Loftus will have spent the bones of three decades working at Our Lady Immaculate Senior School in Darndale, Dublin 17.

Originally from Mayo, he joined the school in 1995 shortly after he finished college.

Ive gone from being the youngest member of staff to the oldest teacher on staff at this stage, said Mr Loftus.

Children who are in the school now are the children of parents I taught.

Darndale is among the most disadvantaged areas in the country, ranked as the most deprived electoral area in the capital by state agency Pobal in its most recent deprivation index.

Factoring in stats on unemployment, educational attainment, and lone-parent ratio from 2016 Census data, Pobals deprivation index mapped the geographical areas across Irelands towns and cities where poverty remains entrenched.

The area itself, I suppose, is a tough place to live but there are marvellous, marvellous people in it.

It was originally set up to rehouse people from flats in the inner city when they were torn down in the 1970s. As a local authority, Dublin City Council estate, there were always deficiencies in the plan.

It was low-rise, high-density but there were absolutely no facilities put in at the time and the area has been playing catch-up ever since.

That part of Dublin would still have the lowest attendance rates for third level for any part of the country.

It has its problems, and there are many, but the vast amount of people living there are the nicest you would meet anywhere.

Our Lady Immaculate Senior School is categorised by the Department of Education as a Deis Band 1 school, meaning it is allocated resources, supports, and staffing intended to acknowledge the disadvantaged circumstances of the schools students and to go some way towards bridging inequality.

Read More Principals of schools in most disadvantaged areas warn of 'dilution' of Deis scheme

Deis programme

Launched in 2005, the Deis programme is now at its largest ever following a major expansion launched last year.

More than 240,000 students at 1,200 schools are now supported through the scheme, which sees eligible schools gaining access to home school community liaison officers, lower pupil-teacher ratios, grant funding, and the School Completion Programme.

However, Deis Band 1 primary school principals in some of the countrys most disadvantaged areas have spoken to the Irish Examiner about the flaws they see in the current policy.

On top of the challenges each school day brings, these schools work in areas of concentrated disadvantage where children and their families can also be deeply affected by social issues such as drug use and addiction, alcohol abuse, drug dealing and high crime rates, feuds, high unemployment, and mental health issues.

If you had asked Mr Loftus a few years ago what the particular challenges of teaching in his school are, he would have given a completely different answer.

Now, in 2023, a lot of the schools work is focused on trauma and the effect this has on children and their education.

I now view the issues quite differently.

A lot of the work that has been done, especially in the States and in the UK, is identifying that poverty can have similar effects on people as be it going to war, witnessing a crime, or being a victim of a crime. Its wrapped into your mental self and it's very difficult to break away from that.

Its embedded, the damage that can be done to people when they are young.

"Most of all of the kids were dealing with have come from some sort of trauma. For some it might just be poverty, for others it might be poverty and neglect, for others it might be poverty and being witness to a crime.

It might be living in a home where there might be alcohol or drug abuse. When you build up those multiple traumas for kids then, it just changes the way that we have to engage with them.

Were spending more time considering each child as they come in in the morning, keeping a close eye. You dont know what may have happened in that house in the morning, you dont know what may have happened when they left the house, before they got to school.

There is no way you can do a literacy or numeracy programme with a child who has suffered a trauma in the morning, theyre not ready for it.

"There are children who go out onto the yard, and something might happen that for me and you might be entirely innocuous, but something triggers for them and we have to try to get to the bottom of that and sit with that child.

To re-centre a child to get them to a place where they can engage in the school day, the school finds them a safe space for them to sit down and chat to a teacher, maybe alongside a slice of toast and a cup of tea.

It might just be to sit on a beanbag in absolute quiet for five minutes, it might be to play with Play-Doh, things like that.

They are not being bold, they are not acting out, but if you dont recognise the trauma thats there, thats what it looks like. You try to be preemptive, you try to be proactive.

While fight or flight is more widely recognised as a common trauma response, schools are now starting to pick up on another  freezing.

Where the child freezes, where the child just goes totally into themselves and just blocks out the rest of the world.

Mr Loftus, in his experience, believes the current Deis model does not go far enough to factor in sustained, long-term intergenerational poverty.

The experience of his school does not match the experience of every Deis Band 1 school.

For a long time, I wasnt able to put my finger on it, I wasnt able to verbalise it. I would have known through my work as a home school liaison teacher others who were in Deis Band 1 schools, and their stories had nothing to do with mine.

There were other teachers from other schools who were very close to us in Dublin 17  we had very little in common. Our day-to-day was so different and so far removed from theirs.

The Deis model that is there is absolutely right for a large number of schools that are in it, but for schools on the fringe, like we would be, its not that it doesnt work for us, God knows, we need every support that we can get, but the thinking behind it is flawed.

The interventions were putting in place, were doing as teachers. What a lot of those children need in order to deal with a trauma is a therapist, someone who is trained. All were doing literally is putting our finger in the dam before it explodes.

Same concerns

Having worked in Deis schools for the past 11 years, Tallaght Community National School principal Conor McCarthy shares the same concerns about the Deis programme as Mr Loftus.

He should be an administrative principal but due to the extreme teacher shortage in Dublin, and particularly in Tallaght, he taught a class last year and will probably teach again this year.

Overall, the Deis programme has contributed towards the improvement of attainment levels and retention levels for a lot of its targets, he believes.

Deis schools now are happier, calmer, safer places because of the reduced pupil-teacher ratio, and what the continuous professional development teachers have done over the last 10 to 15 years. Thats all been very successful, said Mr McCarthy.

However, there is a cohort of Deis Band 1 schools that are facing other challenges when compared to others.

From speaking to other principals who work in the most disadvantaged areas in the country, who are working with children and families who are doing their level best, there is a level of need there that we cannot meet with the resources that are currently in our school.

The need isnt educational, it's more to do with the additional needs better understood now in schools over the last 10 years; social, emotional, behavioural needs.

Teachers, parents, and the system is now far better at recognising and assessing and diagnosing those needs now but the resources havent been put in place to keep up with what is needed.

As he sees it, the most important and effective resource for schools in the most disadvantaged areas is in-school multi-disciplinary teams, made up of speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, and counsellors.

These teams could provide access on the ground to children badly affected by waiting lists in the primary care system.

Its the primary care system which isnt working for the children in our very disadvantaged areas at the moment.

In Tallaght where we are, you've got waiting lists of over 3,000 children. Youre talking three, four years in some cases before children get seen or get an intervention programme, which isnt good enough. Its making them fall behind, it's not letting them catch up. They are not getting what they are entitled to, or what they deserve.

The parents he works with are also completely untrusting of the primary care system as they have reached a point where they are waiting years for initial assessments for their child.

"When I am talking to them in meetings, really the only tool we have from a practical, intervention standpoint is the primary care system because these parents cant afford to get private speech and language therapy or occupational therapy or counselling.

I can see it in parents eyes when I mention these things, almost a piece of them resigns themselves to the fact, okay, so no help is coming.

He points to the success of Dublins north-east inner city regeneration programme, set up in 2016.

There were clusters of therapists that would work with three or four schools, week in, week out, and would target children one-to-one. They would work with parents, and they also supported staff.

The number of schools in very disadvantaged areas is small nationally, he believes, estimating up to 100 schools across the country could benefit from a new Deis+ designation.

Principal of Cnoc Mhuire Senior School in Killinardan, Dublin, Orla Hanahoe began her career teaching as part of the Breaking the Cycle initiative in Dublin, a pilot project aimed at offsetting the effects of educational disadvantage.

Im teaching some of the children of those students now. That connection that youd feel because youve taught the child, and you know the child and you know their parents, it really helps," said Ms Hanahoe.

Its very rewarding work but what separates us is that the school is in an area where there is a concentrated disadvantage.

There is an exceptional level of additional needs, like educational, social, and emotional.

The only support parents really have is the school. If they are worried about their child or they are finding it hard to manage their behaviour at home, Id refer them to the HSE clinical psychology drop-in service but theres a two-year wait.

I really feel that theres no support for them. Were trying to help them. Youd tell them to go to the GP and get referred but the waiting lists are so long.

We would have children who are autistic and who are in our autism class and they have never seen an occupational therapist or a speech and language therapist or had a review assessment. There are some children with severe needs who have never had any therapies.

Performance gap

The most recent National Assessment of Mathematics and English Reading report found that there still is a substantial gap between the performance of children in Deis Band 1 and non-Deis schools.

Given the upheaval caused by covid, it was taken as a win that this gap did not widen significantly over the course of the pandemic.

However, there are still significant gaps. The study found that two out of every five children in second class in Deis Band 1 schools were classed as "low reading achievers".

Almost half of all sixth-class pupils in those schools were categorised as "low achievers" in maths.

A lot of invisible work goes into setting children up for the day when they are affected by severe disadvantage, said Ms Hanahoe.

We put a lot of work into connection and relationships and building up trust. The education comes after that because you have to check in with the children before we do anything.

In my own thinking, Ive come full circle. When I started off as principal, I was pushing to raise the scores in numeracy and literacy and put a lot of work into that. Weve nearly pulled back in recent years since covid, and were putting more time into wellbeing.

A child cant learn, and they arent going to make any progress or be interested in reading unless they feel happy and connected to school.

We want the children to be able to listen and engage. If the children who are finding it very difficult to engage in school, if they are getting time out in a very nurturing environment in a small group, thats benefiting them and the rest of the class.

"But we cant do enough. Were really trying to do our best, but you sort out one problem and another problem pops up.

We actually cant meet all their needs, we are firefighting and we are doing our best. We have a care team meeting every Monday and we could have four or five children that were worried about. It could be anything  worried about their learning, their behaviour. They may have gone very quiet, they may have gone very loud. There are always children who we are worried about.

St Joseph's Senior National School principal Philip Fitzgerald. Picture: Moya Nolan

Philip Fitzgerald is principal of St Joseph's Senior National School in Ballymun.

In 2021, a report by former lord mayor of Dublin Andrew Montague identified that Ballymun had suffered from serious criminality in recent years associated with a surge in crack cocaine usage and open drug dealing, and warned that many young people are getting drawn into this criminal activity.

It noted that while remarkable work is carried out every day in Ballymun to improve childrens wellbeing, there are significant challenges in providing adequate supports for children growing up in difficult environments.

There are social issues around the school, and thats the type of stuff these schools are dealing with on a regular basis, said Mr Fitzgerald.

"You are talking about schools that are in areas that are very, very disadvantaged. More so than other areas and they have been so for generations.

The reality is we need something extra than whats currently available in the Deis programme.

As a senior school, he will have children join the school in September as third-class students who are still awaiting diagnosis.

Look, this is a problem across the board, its a problem for every school, but when you put it on top of everything else these children go through, its a huge issue.

Many children are coming to school and they are not ready to learn or able to learn because theyve been through so much already on any given morning. We have to find a way to address that.

The school has introduced a nurture classroom to much success.

It's phenomenal. Its the most obvious thing you can see progress in. You are talking about some of the most traumatised children who have been affected by issues like domestic violence or suicide and this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Youre going to have a generation here whos also gone through homelessness as well as the other social issues that goes on in these communities.

What wed really want is an extra teacher for this classroom that will address the trauma that some of these children have gone through.

We have the data there. Its a minimal cost really, it's an extra teacher and training around adverse childhood experiences."

Earlier this month, Education Minister Norma Foley initiated an OECD review of the current resource allocation model for the Deis programme.

We know all this stuff already, said Mr Fitzgerald. We dont need to look back.

"The Deis programme was successful in a lot of ways. There are flaws in it but there are flaws in everything. This does work, this can work.

Its not a huge amount of schools, it's very easy to set it up as a pilot initially and work from there.

Education Minister Norma Foley has initiated an OECD review of the resource allocation model for the Deis programme. Picture: Moya Nolan

A spokesman for the Department of Education said it is continuing to work towards achieving its vision for an inclusive education system which supports all learners to achieve their potential".

It also recognises that we need to target resources to those schools who need them most.

That is why the department has undertaken a programme of work to explore the allocation of resources to schools to address educational disadvantage.

The OECD review will provide an independent expert opinion on the current resource allocation model for the Deis programme and, drawing on international examples, inform a policy approach for an equitable distribution of supplementary resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage attending all schools, both Deis and non-Deis, he added.

The OECD review will be complemented by a programme of work by the department which will look at reviewing individual resources and allocation approaches.

This work will consider the allocation of resources within the Deis programme. It will also seek to ensure that schools are supported to ensure every child has an equal opportunity to achieve their potential.
He stood outside the court, looking relieved, and delivered a neatly prepared statement without reading from a script. Kevin Spacey even looked behind him at one point to make sure that named members of his legal team got credit for the work they had done. In addition, he specifically thanked the security and other staff inside the court for the care they had taken of him during the course of his trial. He was clear and decisive. When he said he wasnt going to say anything more, it didnt matter how many questions were shouted at him by the bank of journalists he was leaving behind him. Not one of them was going to be answered. It was elegant and effective. With one exception.

That exception was the point where he announced that he was humbled. Heres a man who for more than a decade was in charge of the Old Vic Theatre, which stages the works of the great English dramatists. Heres a man who himself has played many of the great roles in that corpus, including Richard III.

But heres a man who joins generations of speakers in misusing the verb to humble. If you say you are humbled by something, it means you are denigrated, damaged, reduced from a higher state to a lower state. People say it all the time when theyre having honorary degrees conferred on them, when what they actually should say is I humbly accept this honour which simultaneously establishes their gratitude and their sense that the world may hold a few other folk who might be even more deserving of awards than they are. But you dont announce that youre humbled, since it sends a loud message that you were pretty arrogant before this happened. Humble and humbled arent the same thing, as Uriah Heep could testify if he wasnt so occupied wringing his hands.

Power of language

Inside the court, Spaceys language was odd. Take the rebarbative attribution of motive to at least one of his accusers, when he suggested that they wanted money, money, and more money. But nothing inside the court equaled the miscommunication achieved by him being humbled. By the use of that one word, he managed to add to the list of statements celebs should never make. Theyre statements the rest of us should never make, either, but lets start with the one frequently utilised by the reasonably famous.

Im not the kind of person who... This one crept up on us over the last few years, as people started to circuitously self-define by stating Im not the kind of person who beats their wife, Im not the kind of person who eats curry, and Im not the kind of person who drives an SUV.

Instead of saving themselves and their listeners time and going I dont drive an SUV or eat curry and have never beaten my wife, they go the scenic route.

The most egregious current example of this is an RSA radio ad, where a pompous male voice announces that hes not the kind of person who likes sitting in a metal box. Ah ha, I hear you say, he doesnt like being stuck in a car in a traffic jam. Then he goes on to tell us that he does like riding a motorbike. More power to him. Then, in a dramatic circularity, he works up to telling us that hes not the kind of person who likes lying in a wooden box. Geddit? The wooden box is a coffin, and avoidance of same (as well as avoidance of direct speech) is why the voiceover artist maintains he doesnt ride his bike at speed.

By the time hes done, youd hate him so much youd want to speed, using whatever vehicle a person like you uses.

The chances are good that the kind of person who is so irritating about being that kind of person is also the kind of person who says they cant do small talk. This claim is always presented with a kind of virtuous regretfulness akin to saying Im not the kind of person who enjoys torturing small animals. Theyd really like to be obliging and kick a squirrel if you had one handy, and theyd genuinely want to be the kind of person who does small talk, but theyre too serious and their brain is too full of important stuff to engage in it.

The small talk one isnt usually associated with celebs, because celebs have contexts and heavies which preclude the need to do small talk. It tends to occur more often in those who are confecting a brand for future use when the speaker is famous. They never realise what a dead giveaway it is or what it actually means. What it actually means is I am such a self-absorbed bore, I cant be bothered asking other people about themselves and finding them interesting.

Nobodys looking for opinions. Just attention. All you have to do, in any social setting, is ask the person in front of you questions. Simple questions. Like How does that work? And Your name is Barbara? Barbara, like, not Barbie? Asking people about their names is exceptionally productive.

Just last week, I met an executive with a name like Maria. It wasnt Maria, but Maria will serve. But she was spelled Mariagh, which Id never seen before, so I asked about it. All of her sisters, she explained, had names ending in A, and her mother, to ensure they looked Irish, added GH to each of them.

If refusal to do small talk is indicative of self-absorption, an even more potent indicator is when someone claims not to be a people-pleaser. Recently meeting a woman I first encountered in college, I was surprised when she announced that she had given up being a people-pleaser. Since, even 50 years ago, this one was a vespine personification of nastiness  a tradition she fearlessly maintains to this day on social media  hearing the claim that shed given up people-pleasing was a surprise. A surprise that gave rise to any number of revelations.

When asked why people-pleasing was such a vile habit, she said she wouldnt be judgemental, which is up there with Im not a racist, but as a lie and a confession, rolled up together, unbeknownst to the roller-upper.

She then went for the hat trick by telling me she knew how I felt. This is what complete morons say when sympathising with someone who has been bereaved, fired, evicted, or diagnosed with a cancer thats going to painfully kill them within three weeks.

Claiming to know how someone else feels is a bit like when a politician says I get it. I really get it, thus proving they dont. If they get it, it will show in their actions.

You dont have to tell us youre humbled by being the kind of person who knows how we feel. Nor should you.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Monday that Europe would not tolerate aggression in Ukraine or the Indo-Pacific, as she renewed in a speech the EUs recognition of a 2016 arbitration decision that invalidated Chinas claims in the disputed South China Sea.

Ms Von der Leyen spoke in a joint news conference with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr after holding talks in Manila that aimed to bolster trade, economic and security relations.

The leaders announced the 27-nation bloc would resume negotiations with the Philippines for a free-trade agreement that stalled in 2017 under Mr Marcoss predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.

She underscored the need for security co-operation citing Russias invasion of Ukraine, which showed how authoritarian leaders are willing to act on their threats.

Russias war of aggression against Ukraine shakes the foundation of the international order. It is in violation of the UN charter and the fundamental principles of international law, such as territorial integrity and sovereignty, she said.

This is why Europe supports Ukraines brave fight against the aggressor because the illegal use of force cannot be tolerated, not in Ukraine, not in the Indo-Pacific, Ms von der Leyen said.

Security in Europe and security in the Indo-Pacific is indivisible. Challenges to the rules-based order in our interconnected world affect all of us.

This is why we are concerned about the rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific, she said, adding that the EU backs a free and open Indo-Pacific because an Indo-Pacific free of the threats of coercion is key to all our stability to our peace, and to the prosperity of our people.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr shakes hands with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after signing ceremonies at the Malacanang Presidential Palace in Manila, Philippines (Aaron Favila, Pool/AP/PA)

Her veiled rhetoric echoed that of US leaders, who have raised alarms over Chinas increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea.

Without naming China, Ms von der Leyen renewed the EUs recognition of a decision by a UN-backed tribunal that invalidated Chinas territorial claims in virtually the entire waterway on historical grounds.

China has rejected the arbitration decision as a sham and continues to defy it.

The award is legally binding and provides the basis for a peaceful resolution of the disputes, Ms von der Leyen said.

The EU is ready to boost cooperation with the Philippines to foster regional maritime security by sharing information, carrying out threat assessments and bolstering the Philippine coast guard, she said.

China has warned the US and its allies against meddling in what it says is a purely Asian dispute.

It has turned seven disputed reefs into missile-protected island bases in the last decade, further alarming Western governments and rival claimants, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Ms Von der Leyens visit to the Philippines is a sign of improving ties after a stormy period between the EU and Mr Duterte over human rights. It is the first such top-level visit in nearly six decades of relations with the Philippines.

The visit came at a time when the EU is assessing whether to extend special trade incentives, including slashed tariffs for a wide variety of products, to the Philippines.

The European Union trade incentives under the so-called Generalised Scheme of Preferences for the Philippines and seven other developing countries are anchored on their adherence to more than two dozen international conventions on human and labour rights, environmental protection and good governance.

But the Philippines came under intense EU criticism during Mr Dutertes six-year term, mainly because of the bloody anti-drugs crackdown he oversaw that left more than 6,000 mostly petty suspects dead.

Mr Marcos succeeded Mr Duterte in June last year.

The killings sparked an International Criminal Court investigation as a possible crime against humanity.

Mr Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2018, but its prosecutor has proceeded to investigate the widespread deaths that occurred in the years when the country was still part of the court based in The Hague.

Mr Duterte then often lashed at the EUs criticisms of his brutal anti-drugs crackdown with profanity-laced outbursts.
Clashes continued for a third day in a Palestinian camp in Lebanon on Monday between members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah group and Islamist factions.

A Lebanese army spokesperson said the death toll from the fighting in Ein el-Hilweh camp had reached nine, although some reports have given higher figures.

Two soldiers stationed outside the camp were lightly wounded, Colonel Fadi Abou Eid said.

Despite attempts by Lebanese parties and some of the Palestinian factions to broker a ceasefire, the shooting and shelling have not stopped in the camp until this moment, said Adnan Rifai, a member of the committee that serves as a governing body in the camp.

A Lebanese soldier takes position during clashes that erupted between members of the Palestinian Fateh group and Islamist militants in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh in Lebanon (Mohammad Zaatari/AP/PA)

The Lebanese army mans a checkpoint outside and typically does not enter the camp, which is under the control of the Palestinian factions.

The clashes erupted on Sunday after Islamic militants shot and killed a Palestinian military general from the Fatah group, Abu Ashraf al Armoushi, and three escorts as they were walking through a carpark, according to another Palestinian.

On Saturday an unknown gunman had tried to kill militant Mahmoud Khalil but instead fatally shot his companion.

Later on Sunday, Palestinian factions said in a joint statement that they had agreed to a ceasefire during a mediation meeting hosted by the Lebanese Shiite Amal movement and militant Hezbollah group in the city Sidon. But the ceasefire did not hold.

Some residents in Sidon neighbourhoods near the camp fled their homes as stray bullets hit buildings and shattered windows and storefronts.

The public Sidon General Hospital evacuated its staff and patients.

A Fatah statement condemned the killing of its security official, saying the attack was part of a bloody scheme that targets the security and stability of our camps. It vowed to hold the perpetrators accountable.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Mr Abbas both issued statements on Sunday decrying the violence.

Lebanese politician Osama Saad, who represents the Sidon area where the camp is located, told The Associated Press that officials are making extraordinary efforts to find serious, effective, lasting and stable solutions to the situation inside the camp.

Mr Saad said he and other Lebanese officials and security forces would meet the Palestinian factions on Monday to push for a ceasefire.
X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has threatened to sue a group of independent researchers whose research documented an increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased last year by Elon Musk.

A lawyer representing the social media site wrote to the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) on July 20 threatening legal action over the non-profits research into hate speech and content moderation.

The letter alleged that CCDHs research publications seem intended to harm Twitters business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims.

Musk has now rebranded the company as X (AP)

Mr Musk is a self-professed free speech absolutist who has welcomed back white supremacists and election deniers to the platform, which he renamed X earlier this month. But the billionaire has at times proven sensitive about critical speech directed at him or his companies.

The centre is a non-profit with offices in the US and UK. It regularly publishes reports on hate speech, extremism or harmful behaviour on social media platforms like X, TikTok or Facebook.

The organisation has published several reports critical of Mr Musks leadership, detailing an increase in anti-LGBTQ hate speech as well as climate misinformation since his purchase.

The letter from Xs lawyer cited one specific report from June that found the platform failed to remove neo-Nazi and anti-LGBTQ content from verified users that violated the platforms rules.

In the letter, lawyer Alex Spiro questioned the expertise of the researchers and accused the centre of trying to harm Xs reputation.

The letter also suggested, without evidence, that the centre received funds from some of Xs competitors, even though the centre has also published critical reports about TikTok, Facebook and other large platforms.

Mr Musk has championed free speech (AP)

CCDH intends to harm Twitters business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims, the lawyer wrote, using the platforms former name.

Imran Ahmed, the centres founder and CEO, told the AP on Monday that his group has never received a similar response from any tech company, despite a history of studying the relationship between social media, hate speech and extremism.

He said that typically, the targets of the centres criticism have responded by defending their work or promising to address any problems that have been identified.

Mr Ahmed said he worried Xs response to the centres work could have a chilling effect if it frightens other researchers away from studying the platform. He said he also worried that other industries could take note of the strategy.

This is an unprecedented escalation by a social media company against independent researchers. Musk has just declared open war, Mr Ahmed told the Associated Press.

If Musk succeeds in silencing us other researchers will be next in line.

It is not the first time that Mr Musk has fired back at critics. Last year, he suspended the accounts of several journalists who covered his takeover of Twitter.

Our HQ in San Francisco tonight pic.twitter.com/VQO2NoX9Tz  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2023

Another user was permanently banned for using publicly available flight data to track Mr Musks private plane; Mr Musk had initially pledged to keep the user on the platform but later changed his mind, citing his personal safety. He also threatened to sue the user.

He initially had promised that he would allow any speech on his platform that was not illegal. I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means, Mr Musk wrote in a tweet last year.

Xs recent threat of a lawsuit prompted concern from US representative Adam Schiff, who said the billionaire was trying to use the threat of legal action to punish a non-profit group trying to hold a powerful social media platform accountable.

Instead of attacking them, he should be attacking the increasingly disturbing content on Twitter, Mr Schiff said in a statement.
The military regime unconstitutionally extended the state of emergency on Monday, prolonging harsh military rule for another six months in a country already devastated amid two and a half years of junta rule.

The extension was issued at the regimes National Defense and Security Council (NDSC) meeting on Monday, according to the juntas Myawady TV channel. It added that the meeting was joined by all NDSC members, including Vice President Henry Van Thio, who has served continuously as second vice-president under the National League for Democracy government and now the junta.

The state of emergency was initially declared in February 2021, when the military ousted the democratically elected government of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Myanmar has been in chaos since then.

The countrys constitution states that an emergency can be declared for an initial period of one year and can normally be extended for a maximum of two half-year terms at the discretion of the military-dominated NDSC.

However, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing in January this year extended the emergency for a third time, breaching the constitution and citing an extraordinary situation  resistance against the regime.

Mondays extension is thus the second time that the regime boss has violated the charter regarding the state of emergency.

The constitution also states that an election must be held within six months of a state of emergency being lifted.

The latest extension came as no surprise after he hinted two weeks ago at a cabinet meeting that much remains to be done to restore stability and rule of law across the union, referring to nationwide armed resistance against his military rule.

Myanmar has been ravaged by armed conflicts between the junta and widespread armed resistance since the 2021 takeover.

The regime is struggling for control in vast swaths of the country, with Min Aung Hlaing telling his Cabinet that there were a total of 489 explosions from January 1 to July 11 this year, resulting in 782 fatalities.

The junta chief also called for increased military operations in Sagaing Region as well as Chin and Kayah states, saying terrorist attacks are the worst there. Sagaing, Chin and Kayah are major resistance strongholds.

Min Aung Hlaing has admitted that the regime has no control over 130 townships, with martial law imposed in nearly 50 townships in Yangon, Mandalay, Sagaing, and Magwe regions, as well as Chin and Kayah states.

The regime has responded to the growing resistance movement with indiscriminate air strikes, raids and arbitrary killings across the country.

As of Friday, the junta had killed more than 3,850 people, including those engaged in anti-regime activities and civilians killed in indiscriminate attacks, according to independent watchdogs.
A female villager has been killed and another two injured by indiscriminate Myanmar regime shelling in Kutkai Township, northern Shan State.

Shelling hit three houses in Loi Kon village on Saturday night, according to a volunteer group.

A 60-year-old woman died on the spot. Her daughter and 16-year-old granddaughter sustained injuries, a group representative said.

The injured were taken to Kutkai Hospital by a township volunteer group.

A villager said there was no reported fighting in the area at the time of the bombardment but junta troops have been frequently shelling villages in the area.

Two villagers were killed by shelling in Hseng Hkwang village, Muse Township, on July 25.

On July 18, a 15-year-old died on the spot and three villagers, including a nine-year-old boy, were wounded in Zee Da Ban village during clashes between junta forces and the TNLA, according to Kutkai volunteers.

Clashes have continued between junta troops and the TNLA since Saturday near Nam Kat village tract in Muse Township.

Meanwhile, thousands of villagers were displaced amid fighting between the junta and Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) in nearby Muse Township.

A Nam Kat villager said around 1,800 residents from three villages had fled their homes amid bombardments since Saturday.

Most of the residents are taking refuge at monasteries in their villages and they are trapped amid the fighting, a villager said.

A monk from Nam Kat village said at least 200 villagers have been taking refuge in the monastery since fighting broke out in the area.

Nam Kat village tract consists of Nam Kat, Mant Kan Loi and Pan Hoke villages with around 400 households.

Meanwhile, tension is high as over 100 junta troops are reportedly stationed at Mant Kan Loi village.

Fighting will continue as long as junta troops remain in our village. We have nowhere to go, a Nam Kat villager said.

Fighting has been escalated near Hseng Hkwang village in Muse since July 23, leaving at least three junta soldiers dead, according to the TNLA.
A convoy of regime vessels has been under attack by resistance groups on both sides of the Ayeyarwady River after it departed Mandalay City for Kachin State on July 26.

It has been under sustained attacks from anti-regime Peoples Defense Forces (PDFs) in Mandalay Regions Thabekkyin Township and by PDFs near Kyauk Myaung Township in Sagaing Region.

The Ayeywardady River forms a natural boundary between the two regions in upper Myanmar, and is a major transport route.

The junta convoy comprises two battleships, one barge and six vessels carrying more than 300 troops. Besides troops, it is reportedly transporting food, weapons and ammunition to Kachin State.

Thirty-seven junta troops were killed and many more were injured in the first attack last Thursday when fighters from combined PDFs shelled the convoy near Sagaing Regions Kyauk Myaung Town.

Two vessels were destroyed in the attack, according to the Captain Eagle PDF.

The Irrawaddy could not independently verify the claim.

The injured soldiers were sent to the Thabekkyin and Kyauk Kyi hospitals.

The National Unity Governments Ministry of Defense said in a statement that battalions it controls and resistance forces shelled the convoy and that a vessel in its middle was hit twice.

The convoy was attacked again on Friday by combined forces of the Kachin Independence Army and Thabekkyin Township PDF. A spokesperson for the PDF confirmed the attack but declined to provide details.

On Saturday, the junta military unit providing security to the convoy marched into land-mine trap near Shar Taw Village in Thabekkyin Township, according to the Kyar Nyut PDF. Although causalities were reported, the exact number was unknown.

The convoy is still passing through Thabekkyin Township and is expected to arrive in Kachin State in a few days, according to the Myo Hla PDF in the northeastern state. It issued an emergency alert for the people residing on the banks of the river.

People who live in the villages along the banks of the Ayeyarwady River should listen to the news and remain cautious, the PDF said.

Battleships in the convoy shelled riverside sites, killing two civilians in Mandalays Mattayar Township on July 26.

In late October last year, a 12-year-old girl from was killed and another girl was injured when military vessels traveling by the river to Kachin State shelled a village in Sagaing Regions Katha District.
Dictator Min Aung Hlaing has increased the pensions for retired officials from previous juntas, which had been as low as 2,000 kyats per month, to as much as 1.5 million kyats (US$ 715) a month effective immediately.

The move was announced in the juntas gazette on July 21, less than one month after the World Bank issued a dire warning about malnutrition in Myanmar.

The pension increases will only flow to those who held important offices under juntas before April 1, 2006, and their widows or widowers. Among the beneficiaries are the successive junta leaders who ruled the country under cognitively dissonant titlesthe Burma Socialist Program Party, the State Law and Order Restoration Council, and the State Peace and Development Council.

Officials in these military governments who held one of more than 20 ranks will also benefit from the higher pensions. They include presidents, prime ministers, ministers, chief justices, attorney generals, auditor generals, chairs of civil-service commissions, mayors of Yangon and Mandalay, and council members of the successive juntas.

The move serves the military, critics says, pointing out that almost all the beneficiariesfrom coup leaders Ne Win and Than Shwe to Yangon Mayor Ko Layare former soldiers.

The Political Pension Law enacted by Myanmars first military dictator Ne Win in 1980 set the political pension at 2,000 kyats for presidents, 1,800 kyats for prime ministers and 1,500 kyats for ministers.

With the increase, former presidents will receive 1.5 million kyats, former prime ministers 1 million kyats, and former ministers 400,000 kyats. Other ranks will also receive a significant increase.

If a pensioner has died, family members are entitled to 75 percent of their tax-free pension payments.

Members of the government led by Myanmars independence hero General Aung San, and the subsequent Anti-Fascist Peoples Freedom League government and its parliament, were entitled to political pensions under the law enacted by Ne Win.

But Min Aung Hlaings notice did not mention either government. The higher pensions will only benefit those with ties to the military starting from the countrys first coup in 1962.

While the junta boss has been using his propaganda machine to urge people to spend less money on food, electricity, fuel and other necessities, he has been squandering public funds on vanity projects. These include lavishing honorary titles on dictators and generals of previous regimes, from Ne Win and Saw Maung to Than Shwe, as well as himself.

Min Aung Hlaing conferred the countrys two highest honors on himself last year. The titles were originally intended for those who made immense and selfless contributions to Myanmar and the welfare of its people.
At least 89 Myanmar junta forces were reportedly killed in the past week as Peoples Defense Force groups (PDFs) and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) stepped up attacks on regime targets across the country.

Incidents were reported in Sagaing, Mandalay and Tanintharyi regions and Shan, Karen and Chin states.

The Irrawaddy has collected the following reports of significant attacks from PDFs and the EAOs.

Some reports of military casualty figures could not be independently verified.

Military flotilla faces fierce ambush in Mandalay



Combined resistance forces ambush a military flotilla in Thabeikkyin Township on Thursday. / Bo Linn Yone

At least 37 regime forces were reportedly killed and many others injured in Thabeikkyin Township, Mandalay Region on Thursday when four resistance groups from Mandalay and Sagaing regions jointly ambushed a military flotilla of nine vessels in the Irrawaddy River, said Bo Linn Yone, a resistance group that coordinated the attack.

The flotilla was transporting rations, ammunition and reinforcements to Upper Myanmar.

The resistance groups attacked the vessels from eight locations, damaging two ships. Two military gunboats counterattacked the resistance forces, said the resistance group.

Regime forces attacked in Chin

At least eight regime forces were killed in Mindat town, Chin State on Sunday in attacks by Chin Defense Force (Mindat), said the resistance group.

In the morning, the group ambushed regime forces in the township, killing one soldier and injuring two resistance fighters.

Later, at around 4 p.m., the group ambushed regime forces patrolling in a vehicle in a residential ward of the town, killing seven junta troops and injuring some others.

Junta forces ambushed in Sagaing



Resistance forces engage in a clash with regime forces in Myaung Township on Saturday. / MBT

Many regime forces are believed to have been killed or injured in Myaung Township, Sagaing Region on Saturday when seven resistance groups jointly ambushed a military unit from the police station at Kyauk Yit Village, said Myingyan Black Tiger, which joined the attack.

The junta troops were attacked while en route to join a military flotilla in the Chindwin River, for which they were to provide an escort.

North West Military Command bombed in Sagaing



Resistance forces fire a 107-mm rocket bomb at the headquarters of the North West Military Command in Monywa Township last Friday. / Aung San Force

PDF group Aung San Force said it and another resistance group used a 107-mm rocket bomb to attack the base of the North West Military Command in Monywa town, Sagaing Region last Friday.

Military casualties were unknown.

The group said it also attacked a military flotilla of seven vessels on the Chindwin River in Monywa Township as it was transporting reinforcements and rations to the North West Military Command.

Some regime forces are believed to have been killed or injured.

Military vessels attacked in Sagaing



A resistance fighter takes part in an ambush on a military flotilla in Salingyi Township on Saturday. / Dar Ma Sai Army

Resistance group Dar Ma Sai Army said it killed five regime forces and injured many others in Salingyi Township, Sagaing Region on Saturday when it and two other resistance groups attacked a military flotilla including a gunboat and six barges in the Chindwin River.

Two resistance fighters were also injured.

The flotilla was reportedly transporting rations and ammunition to the base of the North West Military Command in Monywa town from Yangon.

Regime forces ambushed with land mines in Sagaing

Two regime forces were killed and many others injured in Shwebo Township, Sagaing Region on Saturday when local resistance groups triggered land mines to ambush two vehicles in which regime forces were patrolling outside Shwebo town, said resistance group Shwebo Fighters Without Borders, which coordinated the attack.

Clash erupts in Karen States Kawkareik

Well-known resistance group Lion Battalion Commando Special Forces claimed that 11 regime forces were confirmed killed and three others injured as it coordinated with the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), to raid regime forces from Light Infantry Battalion 547 and the juntas Border Guard Forces on the Asia Highway last Thursday.

The regime forces were attacked while they were stationed at a swimming pool site on the highway.

10 junta troops killed in land mine ambushes in Tanintharyi

Thayat Chaung PDF claimed to have killed 10 regime forces and injured many others in Thayat Chaung Township, Tanintharyi Region last Thursday when it used six land mines to ambush a military vehicle between two villages.

A shootout continued for 10 minutes after the mine attack.

Junta suffers losses in eight days of clashes in southern Shan State

At least 13 regime forces were killed and many others injured in Pekon Township, southern Shan State in the past week when local resistance groups including the Karenni Revolution Union (KRU) attacked a military unit of 50 troops for eight days from July 21 to 28, according to the resistance groups.

The regime forces retreated from the area early Friday. Some resistance members also suffered injuries in the clashes, said the KRU.

Clashes continue in northern Shan

Heavy clashes continued in Muse Township, northern Shan State on Saturday as regime forces and pro-junta militia forces attempted to raid a hillside base of the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA), said the Taang resistance group.

Casualties were unknown for both sides.

On that night, a military unit shelled nearby villages, killing a 65-year-old villager and injuring his daughter and a grandson.

On July 23, a clash between two groups was reported in Muse Township in which three soldiers were killed, the TNLA said.
Monday, Jul 31st, 2023 (7:27 am) - Score 2,616

Broadband, phone and mobile giant BT Group (inc. Openreach, Plusnet and EE) has this morning announced that it has chosen Allison Kirkby, the current President & CEO of telecommunications multinational operator Telia Company in Sweden since early 2020, to replace Philip Jansen in the role of CEO.

The announcement follows only a few weeks after BT confirmed that Jansen would be departing (here). Jansen oversaw a particularly difficult period for the telecoms giant, which was reflected by a mix of cost-cutting (e.g. job losses), pay disputes (including several national strikes), rising competition from alternative networks, a reduced focus on Pay TV, the somewhat divisive brand simplification drive, rising speculation of a takeover by Patrick Drahis Altice UK (here) or Deutsche Telekom (here), an accelerated rollout of full fibre (FTTP) broadband technology and a share price that has fallen from 230p to 124p while he was in office.

BT will no doubt be hoping for better times ahead with the appointment of Allison Kirkby into the role. Allison is currently the president & CEO of Telia Company since early 2020, although she has been a Non-Executive Director at BT Group since 2019 and is also a Non-Executive Director and member of the Audit Committee of Brookfield Asset Management Limited.

Prior to that she has held senior roles and top jobs at Virgin Media, TDC and Tele2 AB. Earlier in her career, she held a number of financial and operational roles at Procter & Gamble (1990-2010) and qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant in 1990 whilst at Guinness plc.

Under the plan, Philip Jansen will continue to serve as CEO until the end of January 2024 at the latest. When Philip steps down, he will hand over to Allison. He will be available to support the handover until the end of March 2024, at which point he intends to retire from executive life. The exact start date and handover date for Allison is thus yet to be fully confirmed.

Allison Kirkby said: Im incredibly honoured to have been appointed as the next Chief Executive of BT Group. BT is such an important company for the UK, and our many customers both in the UK and internationally and is uniquely placed to help everyone benefit from the rapid advances in digitalisation Our products and services have never been more important to how our customers live and work, and thanks to the significant investment BT is putting into digital infrastructure and in the modernisation of its services, I see us playing an even more important role going forward. Having been a member of the BT Group Board for the past four years, Im fully supportive of our strategy and am excited about leading it into its next phase of development, as we grow to support customers, shareholders and the UK economy.

Adam Crozier, BT Group Chairman, said: The Board is delighted to have appointed Allison as our new Chief Executive. She is a proven leader, with deep sector experience and a history of having transformed businesses. I look forward to supporting her as we drive our long-term strategy to transform BT Group, ensuring it delivers for all our stakeholders.

New leaders tend to bring with them changes in strategic direction, although for now it appears as if the new CEO will continue to follow BTs current strategy. But Allison will no doubt also need to be mindful of the challenges to come, such as the need to complete their FTTP rollout in order to stay competitive in a much more challenging broadband market. Not to mention the retirement of their old copper line network, as well as the closure of thousands of old telephone exchanges and Ofcoms next set of market reviews  requiring good relations with the regulator (something Jansen didnt always get right).

Now for anybody who wants to know about how much the new CEO is to be paid..
This Week in Review

A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more.
An N.C. House Select Committee is recommending that the General Assembly change a state law forcing districts to start school the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and end no later than the Friday clo
Today

Cloudy skies with periods of rain late. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.

Tonight

Cloudy skies with periods of rain late. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.

Tomorrow

Showers likely along with a possible rumble of thunder in the morning, then partly cloudy late. High 83F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
The Third Pole )  A smile on her face, Celeste Saulo lapped up a rapturous ovation from the audience, packed in with barely space left to stand. Waving back to the crowd, she received even more applause.

Saulo already held the distinction of being the first woman to serve as director of Argentinas National Meteorological Service (SMN), a role she has held since 2014. In 2018, she became the first woman to hold the post of second vice-president at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and rose to become its first vice-president only a year later  once more being the first woman in the position.

On 1 June, Saulo received this ovation as she made yet more history, becoming the first woman to be elected Secretary-General of the WMO, a role she will take up in January 2024, overseeing a United Nations agency that has in recent years become an ever more necessary and authoritative voice on the state of the atmosphere and climate change.

Born in Argentina and trained in meteorology and atmospheric sciences, during a long career Saulo has conducted important research into the South American monsoon system, as well as meteorological issues in energy production, agriculture and early warning systems. In conversation with Dialogo Chino, she discussed her goals for the WMO, the changes needed to make a greater contribution to climate action and the importance of having more women in leadership roles in the context of climate crisis.

Dialogo Chino: How do you feel after your appointment to lead the WMO?

Celeste Saulo: Extremely honoured, flattered, grateful and, obviously, an enormous responsibility. It was a huge shock  I had worked for it, but it was still something that surprised me. Part one was being chosen, then comes the most important part: working and implementing what you set out to do. The challenge is enormous, but I am very happy and proud.

Why do you think it took so long for a woman to become a leader of the WMO?

The reality is that there are far fewer opportunities for women, because to be known at the WMO, you have to be a director of a [national] meteorological service. So it depends on countries having the will to elect women for there to be more women on the WMO stage. During this campaign, I came across women being elected as directors of meteorological services for the first time in their history. I came across very different parts of the world where they said to me I am the first woman  and that was fabulous.

What will be your main objectives at the helm of the organisation?





Argentine meteorologist Celeste Saulo hopes to boost collaboration on climate action between UN agencies when she takes office as the World Meteorological Organizations new Secretary-General in 2024 (Image: Argentina National Meteorological Service)

Firstly, to implement the agenda voted for by members at the recent WMO congress. Priorities include the implementation of the Early Warnings For All Initiative: although launched a year ago, it still has a long way to go. In addition, the strengthening of meteorological information-gathering networks in countries, for which extra-budgetary resources must be sought. The other objective is to broaden the scope of observation networks to include the monitoring of greenhouse gases and the cryosphere.

Saulo is the first woman to be elected Secretary-General of the WMO, but believes that there are still many barriers for women to achieve leading roles in meteorological organisations (Image: World Meteorological Organization)

What will you contribute to this existing agenda that has already been voted on?

If I were to add a personal touch, it would be to work closely with the members. An early warning system is not just a technical thing that you put in place as if it were nothing. Cultural values, risk perception and vulnerabilities are so varied across the planet that it would be naive and unprofessional of me not to acknowledge that this requires work in each territory. It requires work with each member. An early warning system for a population in Jujuy [northern Argentina] is not the same as for a population in Patagonia [in the countrys south]. It is not the same for an urban population as for a rural one.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has set a target for all the worlds inhabitants to be protected by early warning systems by the end of 2027. What opportunities and challenges do you see in this?

The huge opportunity comes from a call from someone with a high level of impact, telling the world that early warning is important as a climate change adaptation tool. Countries need to understand that this translates into strengthening their meteorological and hydrological services  this link is not always made, and that is the part that falls to WMO. Here, I see an opportunity to work to strengthen meteorological and hydrological services, not because they need to be strengthened per se, but because they play a key role in the adaptation to climate change of countries, their populations and productive systems.

This is a huge opportunity for a positive feedback loop but, at the same time, a huge challenge, because we know that the level of development of meteorological services is completely uneven. The WMO has the challenge of trying to narrow the gaps between the most and least developed services.

How do you see the Latin American region responding to the increasingly intense impacts of climate change?

On average, as a region, I see it doing well, of course with enormous room for improvement. I would separate the island states that have a different set of problems. We have an advantage that few regions have: we speak the same language or almost the same language. That is a strength, in my opinion, that is underexploited.

World Meteorological Organization, CC BY-NC-ND) Hurricane Matthew hits the Cuban coast in 2016. According to Saulo, island states have a different set of problems compared to other countries in Latin America (Image: Danier Ernesto Gonzalez

Its now 73 years since the WMO was created, and the first UN climate change conference was held in 1995. How do you see climate action today? Have we made enough progress, and if not, why?

Science and technology have come a long way. When there are decisions that are sensitive to economies and economic interests, that is where the issue becomes very complex. I regret that, as scientists, we have not been able to convince decision-makers how urgent it is that they take the relevant action. I am talking about states, but it is also necessary to talk about global companies that are larger in size than some states. What responsibility are we demanding from these players? It is not entirely clear to me. What is clear is that it is insufficient. That is where we are failing, and it worries me.

On the one hand, we have science and technology with its advancement and intention to improve, to do what needs to be done. On the other hand, there are the decision-makers who, driven by economic interests, do not manage to bring about the strong actions to make changes happen.

How could the WMO contribute better or differently to climate action?

I hope to be able to work better in coordinating with other UN agencies, in order to make my voice as strong as possible. In Argentina, I tried to move the meteorological service out of the limited space it had, to get it to talk to ministries and agencies, and I think the same should be done with WMO, as its space can be a bit narrow given the importance of the subject it deals with. There is complementarity here  its not that we have to take over the agenda of other agencies, but that we have to be able to work better collaboratively. I also hope to involve more actors, such as companies and non-governmental organisations. We must join forces, not in a disorganised way but with a purpose, to drive climate action.

Why is it necessary to have more women in leadership positions in the context of the climate crisis?

Because we bring a different perspective. Any crisis must be addressed with the understanding that there are diversities. If it is dealt with in a patriarchal way, only part of these needs will be met. If we broaden the perspective to include a gender perspective, concern for children and older people, and people with disabilities, we will have a much more comprehensive reaction to the climate crisis that can incorporate all those who exist, not just men. If we cant think like that, its not going to work. Women have  or at least, I think I have myself  a broader view that is able to capture this diversity.

What message would you give to young women who may be inspired by your success?

Listen to your instinct, passion and taste, and follow it. Never do it alone. Networks of any kind are important: family, friends, institutions. If you choose to start a family, dont panic. In my case, for several years my family was far above my career, but I didnt abandon my professional development, I continued. I went into a kind of plateau where I kept going. Then I picked it up again with more energy.
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( Tomdispatch.com)  Unless youve been hiding under a rock for the past few months, youre undoubtedly aware that award-winning director Christopher Nolan has released a new film about Robert Oppenheimer, known as the father of the atomic bomb for leading the group of scientists who created that deadly weapon as part of Americas World War II-era Manhattan Project. The film has earned widespread attention, with large numbers of people participating in whats already become known as Barbieheimer by seeing Greta Gerwigs hit film Barbie and Nolans three-hour-long Oppenheimer on the same day.

Nolans film is a distinctive pop cultural phenomenon because it deals with the American use of nuclear weapons, a genuine rarity since ABCs 1983 airing of The Day After about the consequences of nuclear war. (An earlier exception was Stanley Kubricks Dr. Strangelove, his satirical portrayal of the insanity of the Cold War nuclear arms race.)

The film is based on American Prometheus, the Pulitzer Prize-winning 2005 biography of Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin. Nolan made it in part to break through the shield of antiseptic rhetoric, bloodless philosophizing, and public complacency that has allowed such world-ending weaponry to persist so long after Trinity, the first nuclear bomb test, was conducted in the New Mexico desert 78 years ago this month.

Nolans impetus was rooted in his early exposure to the nuclear disarmament movement in Europe. As he said recently:

Its something thats been on my radar for a number of years. I was a teenager in the 80s, the early 80s in England. It was the peak of CND, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the Greenham Common [protest]; the threat of nuclear war was when I was 12, 13, 14  it was the biggest fear we all had. I think I first encountered Oppenheimer in Stings song about the Russians that came out then and talks about Oppenheimers deadly toys.

A feature film on the genesis of nuclear weapons may not strike you as an obvious candidate for box-office blockbuster status. As Nolans teenage son said when his father told him he was thinking about making such a film, Well, nobody really worries about nuclear weapons anymore. Are people going to be interested in that? Nolan responded that, given whats at stake, he worries about complacency and even denial when it comes to the global risks posed by the nuclear arsenals on this planet. Youre normalizing killing tens of thousands of people. Youre creating moral equivalences, false equivalences with other types of conflict [and so] accepting, normalizing the danger.

These days, unfortunately, youre talking about anything but just tens of thousands of people dying in a nuclear face-off. A 2022 report by Ira Helfand and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War estimated that a limited nuclear war between India and Pakistan that used roughly 3% of the worlds 12,000-plus nuclear warheads would kill hundreds of millions, perhaps even billions of us. A full-scale nuclear war between the United States and Russia, the study suggests, could kill up to five (yes, five!) billion people within two years, essentially ending life as we know it on this planet in a nuclear winter.

Obviously, all too many of us dont grasp the stakes involved in a nuclear conflict, thanks in part to psychic numbing, a concept regularly invoked by Robert Jay Lifton, author of Hiroshima in America: A History of Denial (co-authored with Greg Mitchell), among many other books. Lifton describes psychic numbing as a diminished capacity or inclination to feel prompted by the completely unprecedented dimension of this revolution in technological destructiveness.

Given the Nolan films focus on Oppenheimers story, some crucial issues related to the worlds nuclear dilemma are either dealt with only briefly or omitted altogether.

The staggering devastation caused by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is suggested only indirectly without any striking visual evidence of the devastating human consequences of the use of those two weapons. Also largely ignored are the critical voices who then argued that there was no need to drop a bomb, no less two of them, on a Japan most of whose cities had already been devastated by U.S. fire-bombing to end the war. General (and later President) Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote that when he was told by Secretary of War Henry Stimson of the plan to drop atomic bombs on populated areas in Japan, I voiced to him my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary.

The film also fails to address the health impacts of the research, testing, and production of such weaponry, which to this day is still causing disease and death, even without another nuclear weapon ever being used in war. Victims of nuclear weapons development include people who were impacted by the fallout from U.S. nuclear testing in the Western United States and the Marshall Islands in the Western Pacific, uranium miners on Navajo lands, and many others. Speaking of the first nuclear test in Los Alamos, New Mexico, Tina Cordova of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, which represents that states residents who suffered widespread cancers and high rates of infant mortality caused by radiation from that explosion, said Its an inconvenient truth People just dont want to reflect on the fact that American citizens were bombed at Trinity.

Another crucially important issue has received almost no attention. Neither the film nor the discussion sparked by it has explored one of the most important reasons for the continued existence of nuclear weapons  the profits it yields the participants in Americas massive nuclear-industrial complex.

Once Oppenheimer and other concerned scientists and policymakers failed to convince the Truman administration to simply close Los Alamos and place nuclear weapons and the materials needed to develop them under international control  the only way, as they saw it, to head off a nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union  the drive to expand the nuclear weapons complex was on. Research and production of nuclear warheads and nuclear-armed bombers, missiles, and submarines quickly became a big business, whose beneficiaries have worked doggedly to limit any efforts at the reduction or elimination of nuclear arms.

The Manhattan Project and the Birth of the Nuclear-Industrial Complex

The Manhattan Project Oppenheimer directed was one of the largest public works efforts ever undertaken in American history. Though the Oppenheimer film focuses on Los Alamos, it quickly came to include far-flung facilities across the United States. At its peak, the project would employ 130,000 workers  as many as in the entire U.S. auto industry at the time.

According to nuclear expert Stephen Schwartz, author of Atomic Audit, the seminal work on the financing of U.S. nuclear weapons programs, through the end of 1945 the Manhattan Project cost nearly $38 billion in todays dollars, while helping spawn an enterprise that has since cost taxpayers an almost unimaginable $12 trillion for nuclear weapons and related programs. And the costs never end. The Nobel prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) reports that the U.S. spent $43.7 billion on nuclear weapons last year alone, and a new Congressional Budget Office report suggests that another $756 billion will go into those deadly armaments in the next decade.

Private contractors now run the nuclear warhead complex and build nuclear delivery vehicles. They range from Raytheon, General Dynamics, and Lockheed Martin to lesser-known firms like BWX Technologies and Jacobs Engineering, all of which split billions of dollars in contracts from the Pentagon (for the production of nuclear delivery vehicles) and the Department of Energy (for nuclear warheads). To keep the gravy train running  ideally, in perpetuity  those contractors also spend millions lobbying decision-makers. Even universities have gotten into the act. Both the University of California and Texas A&M are part of the consortium that runs the Los Alamos nuclear weapons laboratory.

The American warhead complex is a vast enterprise with major facilities in California, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. And nuclear-armed submarines, bombers, and missiles are produced or based in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana, North Dakota, Montana, Virginia, Washington state, and Wyoming. Add in nuclear subcontractors and most states host at least some nuclear-weapons-related activities.

And such beneficiaries of the nuclear weapons industry are far from silent when it comes to debating the future of nuclear spending and policy-making.

Profiteers of Armageddon: The Nuclear Weapons Lobby

The institutions and companies that build nuclear bombs, missiles, aircraft, and submarines, along with their allies in Congress, have played a disproportionate role in shaping U.S. nuclear policy and spending. They have typically opposed the U.S. ratification of a Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban treaty; put strict limits on the ability of Congress to reduce either funding for or the deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs); and pushed for weaponry like a proposed nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missile that even the Pentagon hasnt requested, while funding think tanks that promote an ever more robust nuclear weapons force.

A case in point is the Senate ICBM Coalition (dubbed part of the Dr. Strangelove Caucus by Arms Control Association Director Daryl Kimball and other critics of nuclear arms). The ICBM Coalition consists of senators from states with major ICBM bases or ICBM research, maintenance, and production sites: Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. The sole Democrat in the group, Jon Tester (D-MT), is the chair of the powerful appropriations subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, where he can keep an eye on ICBM spending and advocate for it as needed.

The Senate ICBM Coalition is responsible for numerous measures aimed at protecting both the funding and deployment of such deadly missiles. According to former Secretary of Defense William Perry, they are among the most dangerous weapons we have because a president, if warned of a possible nuclear attack on this country, would have just minutes to decide to launch them, risking a nuclear conflict based on a false alarm. That Coalitions efforts are supplemented by persistent lobbying from a series of local coalitions of business and political leaders in those ICBM states. Most of them work closely with Northrop Grumman, the prime contractor for the new ICBM, dubbed the Sentinel and expected to cost at least $264 billion to develop, build, and maintain over its life span that is expected to exceed 60 years.

Of course, Northrop Grumman and its 12 major ICBM subcontractors have been busy pushing the Sentinel as well. They spend tens of millions of dollars on campaign contributions and lobbying annually, while employing former members of the governments nuclear establishment to make their case to Congress and the executive branch. And those are hardly the only organizations or networks devoted to sustaining the nuclear arms race. You would have to include the Air Force Association and the obscurely named Submarine Industrial Base Council, among others.

The biggest point of leverage the nuclear weapons industry and the arms sector more broadly have over Congress is jobs. How strange then that the arms industry has generated diminishing job returns since the end of the Cold War. According to the National Defense Industrial Association, direct employment in the weapons industry has dropped from 3.2 million in the mid-1980s to about 1.1 million today.

Even a relatively small slice of the Pentagon and Department of Energy nuclear budgets could create many more jobs if invested in green energy, sustainable infrastructure, education, or public health  anywhere from 9% to 250% more jobs, depending on the amount spent. Given that the climate crisis is already well underway, such a shift would not only make this country more prosperous but the world safer by slowing the pace of climate-driven catastrophes and offering at least some protection against its worst manifestations.

A New Nuclear Reckoning?

Count on one thing: by itself, a movie focused on the origin of nuclear weapons, no matter how powerful, wont force a new reckoning with the costs and consequences of Americas continued addiction to them. But a wide variety of peace, arms-control, health, and public-policy-focused groups are already building on the attention garnered by the film to engage in a public education campaign aimed at reviving a movement to control and eventually eliminate the nuclear danger.

Past experience  from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament that helped persuade Christopher Nolan to make Oppenheimer to the Ban the Bomb and Nuclear Freeze campaigns that stopped above-ground nuclear testing and helped turn President Ronald Reagan around on the nuclear issue  suggests that, given concerted public pressure, progress can be made on reining in the nuclear threat. The public education effort surrounding the Oppenheimer film is being taken up by groups like The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Federation of American Scientists, and the Council for a Livable World that were founded, at least in part, by Manhattan Project scientists who devoted their lives to trying to roll back the nuclear arms race; professional groups like the Union of Concerned Scientists and Physicians for Social Responsibility; anti-war groups like Peace Action and Win Without War; the Nobel Peace prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons; nuclear policy groups like Global Zero and the Arms Control Association; advocates for Marshall Islanders, downwinders, and other victims of the nuclear complex; and faith-based groups like the Friends Committee on National Legislation. The Native Americanled organization Tewa Women United has even created a website, Oppenheimer  and the Other Side of the Story, that focuses on the Indigenous and land-based peoples who were displaced from our homelands, the poisoning and contamination of sacred lands and waters that continues to this day, and the ongoing devastating impact of nuclear colonization on our lives and livelihoods.

On the global level, the 2021 entry into force of a nuclear ban treaty  officially known as the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons  is a sign of hope, even if the nuclear weapons states have yet to join. The very existence of such a treaty does at least help delegitimize nuclear weaponry. It has even prompted dozens of major financial institutions to stop investing in the nuclear weapons industry, under pressure from campaigns like Dont Bank on the Bomb.

In truth, the situation couldnt be simpler: we need to abolish nuclear weapons before they abolish us. Hopefully, Oppenheimer will help prepare the ground for progress in that all too essential undertaking, beginning with a frank discussion of whats now at stake.

Copyright 2023 William D. Hartung

Via Tomdispatch.com
Human Rights Watch is a nonprofit, nongovernmental human rights organization made up of roughly 400 staff members around the globe. Its staff consists of human rights professionals including country experts, lawyers, journalists, and academics of diverse backgrounds and nationalities. Established in 1978, Human Rights Watch is known for its accurate fact-finding, impartial reporting, effective use of media, and targeted advocacy, often in partnership with local human rights groups.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - Bravada Gold Corporation (TSXV: BVA) (FSE: BRTN) (OTCQB: BGAVF) ("Bravada" or the "Company") announced today that it has received approval, subject to posting the required bond, for a Notice-level drilling permit from the Bureau of Land Management for sixteen drill sites on Bravada's Highland Project. The project is within the prolific Walker Lane Gold belt, where large gold/silver deposits continue to be discovered, increasingly beneath "barren" surface alteration. The Company also reports on encouraging geochemical results from soil samples recently collected over the gravel-covered portion of the Gabel Project, a Carlin-type gold property within the Battle Mountain/Eureka Gold belt. Both projects are in Nevada.

Highland Project

The Company plans to drill approximately 2,600 metres in 15 holes at the Highland low-sulfidation-type project during the fall of 2023, subject to rig availability. The property consists of 192 Federal lode claims (~1,500 hectares). Previous drilling by Bravada intersected vein zones with high-grade intercepts, confirming the potentially productive nature of a hydrothermal gold system. The Company's best hole, H02013, intersected 1.5m of 66.9g/t gold and 397.7g/t silver within a 12.2m intercept of 9.5g/t gold and 109.4g/t silver (previously announced, true thicknesses estimated at 65% of the intervals). Highland is a large property with multiple "hot spots" of high-grade gold at surface, although variable thicknesses of gravel cover much of the property and several targets have been identified that have not been previously tested with drilling. The permitted drill sites are for two of those targets, Big Hammer and Geyser.

Widespread samples of float, outcrop, and soils collected at the Big Hammer target contain anomalous gold and pathfinder geochemistry, with values of 0.1g/t to 1.0/g/t Au and with a maximum of 15g/t Au in a float sample. These values are interpreted to be leakage very close to the paleo-surface based on geologic features; thus, with minimal erosion, undiscovered high-grade vein deposits should be preserved in their entirety.

The Geyser target is an extensive area of sinter outcroppings and float. A float sample of a chalcedony veinlet cutting sinter assayed 0.39 ppm Au, indicating a gold-bearing hydrothermal system. CSAMT geophysics indicates the target is an extension of the same fault system that is being tested at the Big Hammer target. Only a few widely scattered shallow historic reverse-circulate holes have been drilled at this target, and drilling has not tested the boiling zone where most of the gold should have been deposited.

Gabel Project

The current Gabel claim group was originally part of a larger claim group extending to the west where excellent Devonian-age host rocks are exposed in outcrop. Although Bravada identified a large area of alteration with attractive pathfinder geochemistry, the Company dropped much of the exposed ground after reviewing drill results that were provided to Bravada by a previous explorer. The Company retained the current claim position to cover an anticlinal fold structure affecting the favorable host rocks, which is a structure frequently hosting the strongest gold mineralization, and to control the strongest surface geochemistry and jasperoid development where those features are covered by alluvium.

Encouraging drill results have been reported from mineralized faults southeast and south-southwest of Bravada's claims, and those structures project to intersect under the alluvium-covered portion of Bravada's claims. Soil samples were collected, and gold values are shown on the figure below. Favorable host rock should lie beneath relatively shallow alluvial cover. Additional field work is planned to refine the target, prior to drill planning and permitting.

Other Projects

Additional geologic mapping, soil sampling, and geophysics are also planned to refine drill targets in preparation of drill permitting for the SF/HC project, a Carlin-type gold property in the Battle Mountain/Eureka Gold belt approximately 6km east of the Goldrush/Red Hill development project.

Successful reclamation has been approved by the Bureau of Land Management for previous drill sites at the Wind Mountain project, and planning is underway to modify the permit to allow for additional drilling in areas not yet sufficiently drilled to extend shallow low-sulfidation gold mineralization that is uphill from a second possible leach-pad site.

About Bravada

Bravada is an exploration company with a portfolio of high-quality properties in Nevada, one of the best mining jurisdictions in the World. Bravada has successfully identified and advanced properties with the potential to host high-margin deposits while successfully attracting partners to fund later stages of project development. Bravada's value is underpinned by a substantial gold and silver resource with a positive PEA at Wind Mountain, and the Company has significant upside potential from possible new discoveries at its exploration properties.

Since 2005, the Company entered into 33 earn-in joint-venture agreements for its properties with 20 publicly traded companies, as well as a similar number of property-acquisition agreements with private individuals. Bravada currently has 10 projects in its portfolio, consisting of 810 claims for approximately 6,500 ha in the Battle Mountain/Eureka and Walker Lane Trends, two of Nevada's most prolific gold trends. Most of the projects host encouraging drill intercepts of gold and already have drill targets developed. Several videos are available on the Company's website that describe Bravada's major properties, responding to investor's commonly asked questions. Simply click on this link https://bravadagold.com/projects/project-videos/.

Joseph Anthony Kizis, Jr. (AIPG CPG-11513) is the qualified person for the Company and is responsible for reviewing and preparing the technical data presented in this release and has approved its disclosure.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Bravada Gold Corporation

"Joseph A. Kizis, Jr."

Joseph A. Kizis, Jr., Director, President, Bravada Gold Corporation

For further information, please visit Bravada Gold Corporation's website at bravadagold.com or contact the Company at 604.684.9384 or 775.746.3780.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding: the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. These statements are based on a number of assumptions, including, but not limited to, assumptions regarding, general economic conditions, interest rates, commodity markets, regulatory and governmental approvals for the company's projects, and the availability of financing for the company's development projects on reasonable terms. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, the timing and receipt of government and regulatory approvals, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. Bravada Gold Corporation does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / CMC Metals Ltd. (TSX-V:CMB) (Frankfurt:ZM5P) (OTCQB:CMCXF) ("CMC" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has intersected mineralization in the second hole drilled within the Silverknife prospect, north-central British Columbia. Mineralization has been observed in several intersections of limestones in the Kechika Formation and is characteristic of silver-lead-zinc "CRD style" mineralization. It comprises of manganese alteration, sphalerite, galena, and zincite. Examination of the core with XRF has also indicated the possible presence of manganese, other iron sulfides, zinc, lead, and possibly gold. Core is being prepared for assaying which will include testing for critical minerals such as germanium and gallium. The first hole intersected the contact between the sediments and the granite-granodiorite intrusive which is important as it indicates the possibility that the mineralization is resultant from the intrusion which provides the heat source for the movement of mineralized fluids into the overlying sediments. Approximately 700 meters of the proposed 3,000 meter drill program for the 2023 exploration season has been completed to date.

The Silverknife property is located immediately west of the Silvertip Mine property owned by Coeur Mining ("Coeur"). The Silvertip Mine is one of the highest-grade underground silver-lead-zinc deposits in the world. Mineralization in the area is known to be characteristic of carbonate replacement style deposits and recent modelling of the Silvertip deposit has postulated the possibility of mineralization occurring throughout the significant sedimentary package with thickness of up to 2,500 meters. Of interesting note is that Coeur also postulated on the prospectivity of other sediments deeper in the sedimentary package such as the Kechika Group as possible targets for "CRD" and critical minerals mineralization.

CMC completed a gravity survey over the Silverknife Prospect which identified a significant gravity anomaly coincident with previous geophysical (conductivity/EM) and geochemical anomalies. The Company is awaiting the geophysical report from Intelligent Exploration before providing any further comment. Plans are underway to continue drilling in the area to further define the extent of mineralization in the area of the prospect. The historic Silverknife Prospect which was subjected to drilling in the mid 1980's that identified significant CRD mineralization that was reported to remain open in several directions. 3-D modelling has shown that previous drilling on the Silverknife Prospect was conducted on the edge of the conductors and was in close proximity to the recently identified gravity anomaly.

CMC has also completed two drill holes in close proximity to the gravity/conductivity anomaly just south of the Tootsee River and intersected granite-granodiorite intrusive rocks. No outcrops are observed in this area but immediately north of the intrusive and the Tootsee River, limestone sequences of the McDame Formation have been identified and are coincident with the gravity/conductivity anomaly. The presence of McDame limestones in close proximity to a heat source presents an ideal setting for CRD mineralization. Drilling north of the Tootsee River requires widening of existing trails in the area to permit accessibility by drilling equipment and work has begin on determining the most viable route to reach the exploration target area. This area will likely be targeted in the 2024 season as it is expected to take a couple of months to prepare the access road.

Mr. John Bossio, Chairman noted, "Intersecting CRD style mineralization in the area of the Silverknife Prospect in the early stages of our drilling program for this season is a very exciting development. We are using a combination of data including geophysical, geochemical and geological data to identify additional areas to target with our diamond drilling efforts."

Mr. Kevin Brewer P. Geo, President and CEO noted, "Confirming the presence of mineralization in Kechika limestones in close proximity to the intrusive (heat source") contact is helping our geological team to understand the mineralizing system at Silverknife. Close to the intrusive-sediment contact the units were altered with hornfels and skarn development as one would expect in a CRD system and the presence of mineralization in several different intersections shows the potential to discover chimney and manto style systems within the Kechika Group and possibly overlying sediments that occur in the central and southern part of the Silverknife Property. Our work will continue to focus on understanding the mineralizing system in this area to effectively identify drill targets for the remainder of this season and into 2024."

Qualified Person

Qualified Person Kevin Brewer, a registered professional geoscientist, is the Company's President and CEO, and Qualified Person (as defined by National Instrument 43-101). He has given his approval of the technical information pertaining reported herein. The Company is committed to meeting the highest standards of integrity, transparency and consistency in reporting technical content, including geological reporting, geophysical investigations, environmental and baseline studies, engineering studies, metallurgical testing, assaying and all other technical data.

About CMC Metals Ltd.

CMC Metals Ltd. is a growth stage exploration company focused on opportunities for high grade polymetallic deposits in Yukon, British Columbia and Newfoundland. Our polymetallic silver-lead-zinc CRD prospects in the Rancheria Silver District include the Silverknife project (British Columbia), located in very close proximity to one of the world's highest grade underground silver-lead-zinc mines in the world (owned by Coeur Mining Inc.), the Silver Hart Deposit and Blue Heaven claims (Yukon), Amy claims located 7km west of the Silverknife claims (British Columbia). Our polymetallic projects with potential for copper-silver-gold and other metals include Bridal Veil, Terra Nova (optioned to Highbank Mining Inc.), and Rodney Pond (central Newfoundland) and Logjam (Yukon).

On behalf of the Board:

"John Bossio"

John Bossio, Chairman

CMC Metals Ltd.

For Further Information and Investor Inquiries:

Kevin Brewer, P. Geo., MBA, B.Sc.(Hons), Dip. Mine Eng.

President, CEO and Director

Tel: (709) 327 8013

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Suite 1000-409 Granville St.

Vancouver, BC., V6C 1T2

To be added to CMC's news distribution list, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or contact Mr. Kevin Brewer directly.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

"This news release may contain certain statements that constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law, including without limitation, statements that address the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles and exploitation activities and developments. In this release disclosure regarding the potential to undertake future exploration work comprise forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions. While such estimates and assumptions are considered reasonable by the management of the Company, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive and regulatory uncertainties and risks, including the ability of the Company to raise the funds necessary to fund its projects, to carry out the work and, accordingly, may not occur as described herein or at all. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, the timing and receipt of government and regulatory approvals, the impact of the constantly evolving COVID-19 pandemic crisis and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. Readers are referred to the Company's filings with the Canadian securities regulators for information on these and other risk factors, available at www.sedar.com. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and, accordingly are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty of such statements. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities legislation."
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / Metallic Minerals Corp. (TSX.V:MMG)(OTCQB:MMNGF) ("Metallic Minerals" or the "Company") is pleased to announce an updated National Instrument 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate representing a 25% increase in contained metal based on an additional 1,730 meters of diamond drilling completed at its La Plata project in 2022. Inferred mineral resources at the Allard deposit now total 1,211 million pounds of copper ("Mlbs") and 17.6 million ounces ("Moz") of silver in a constrained model with 147.3 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.41% Copper Equivalent ("CuEq") (0.37% Cu and 3.72 g/t Ag) using a 0.25% CuEq cut-off grade (See Table 1 notes).

The expansion from the inaugural resource to the current 1,317 Mlbs CuEq is largely driven by the major discovery in drill hole LAP22-04 (drilled in 2022), which intersected 816 meters of 0.41% CuEq recovered (0.30% Cu, 2.47 g/t Ag, 0.038 g/t Au, 0.055 g/t Pd and 0.093 g/t Pd) bottoming in 5.39% CuEq recovered over 5.2 m (2.44% Cu, 18.7 g/t Ag, 5.0 g/t Au+PGE). Follow-up drilling is currently underway to test the extent of this newly discovered high-grade mineralization, and at the time of this news release, the first offset drill hole was drilling in porphyry mineralization and had reached approximately 500 m depth.

The Allard deposit resource remains completely open to expansion laterally and to depth. Future mineral resource estimates will add gold, platinum and palladium to the copper and silver resource with additional drilling. These metals were not previously assayed for in historic drilling but add significant value to the recent drill intercepts. Furthermore, the greater La Plata copper-silver-gold-PGE project remains underexplored and open to new discoveries of both additional copper porphyry centers, as well as high-grade epithermal silver, gold and telluride mineralization that were the focus of historic mining in the district.

Highlights

Inferred mineral resources at the Allard deposit now total 1,211 million pounds of copper and 17.6 million ounces of silver in a constrained model with 147.3 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.41% CuEq (0.37% Cu and 3.72 g/t Ag) using a 0.25% CuEq cut-off grade.

Contained copper equivalent metal has increased by 25% to 1,317 million pounds and the overall grade of the deposit also increased 5% to 0.41% CuEq.

Significant upside exists for both increases in equivalent grade and precious metal ounces due to limited historic assaying for gold, platinum and palladium. These metals, which are found in high concentrations in the 2022 drilling but are not included in the current resource estimate, are anticipated to be added with additional drilling. The precious metals component of LAP22-04 (silver, gold, platinum, and palladium) can add 50% or more in equivalent value above the copper only values in that hole.

The Allard resource remains open to expansion at depth and along strike with the discovery drill hole LAP22-04 being the easternmost hole drilled in the deposit.

Sixteen (16) untested potential porphyry centers have been identified on the greater La Plata project area, as well as target areas with potential for significant high-grade epithermal silver, gold and telluride mineralization.

Resource expansion drilling in 2022 totaled 1,780 m bringing the project total to 16,930 m in 59 drill holes.

An NI 43-101-compliant technical report on the 2023 La Plata Resource will be filed on Sedar.com within 45 days.

Scott Petsel, Metallic Minerals' President, states, "The current expansion of the La Plata resource is an early first step in realizing the true potential of the project and the fact that we were able to achieve a 25% increase over the inaugural resource with a modest amount of drilling in 2022 speaks to the well mineralized yet underexplored nature of the project. Hole LAP22-04 resulted in the discovery of new, extremely rich mineralization that is unconstrained to the east, north and at depth and clearly requires follow-up drilling to understand the true size and nature of the Allard resource. Metallic Minerals in collaboration with our strategic investor Newcrest Mining is excited to pursue expansion on this discovery in 2023 and have secured a drill capable of penetrating well beyond the current resource extent. The continuity of mineralization starting from surface, coupled with the very high grades at depth, represent significant upside to both scale and grade in future resource updates. We expect considerable expansion of the contained precious metals and copper with subsequent drilling and envision the potential scale for a Tier 1 asset. In addition, numerous high-priority untested targets have been identified outside of the resource area that we hope to begin testing in 2023."

Table 1 - 2023 Updated La Plata Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate at a Base Case Cut-off Grade of 0.25% CuEq with Grade and Contained Metal Sensitivity Analysis at Various CuEq Cut-off Grades.

Class CuEq (%) Tonnes Cu Ag CuEq (%) Cut-off Grade (%) Mlbs Grade (g/t) Ounces Grade (%) Mlbs Inferred 0.15 212,243,000 0.32 1,480 3.24 22,131,000 0.34 1,613 Inferred 0.20 187,173,000 0.34 1,391 3.42 20,597,000 0.37 1,515 Inferred 0.25 147,344,000 0.37 1,211 3.72 17,604,000 0.41 1,317 Inferred 0.30 116,438,000 0.41 1,041 3.95 14,783,000 0.44 1,130 Inferred 0.35 87,871,000 0.44 854 4.20 11,861,000 0.48 925

The Allard deposit mineral resource estimate (the "2023 Resource Estimate") generally respects industry standard practices as recently established by the CIM in the Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines (2019). The classification of the 2023 Resource Estimate is consistent with current CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (2014). Completion of the 2023 Resource Estimate involved the assessment of a validated database, which included all data for surface and underground sampling completed through the fall of 2022, as well as a three-dimensional ("3D") mineral resource model, a topographic surface model, models of the underground workings and underground channel samples, and available written reports. SGS used 59 drillholes and 2 channels, and 17,215 m of data from 1959 to 2022 to delineate the Allard deposit. Inverse Distance squared ("ID2") restricted to a mineralized domain is used to Interpolate grades for the main elements of interest including Cu (ppm) and Ag (g/t) into a block model. Based on a review of the project location and size, geometry, and continuity of mineralization of the Allard deposit, and its spatial distribution, it is envisioned that the Allard deposit may be mined using a large-scale underground bulk mining method. The 2023 Resource Estimate is reported at a base case cut-off grade of 0.25% CuEq, based on metal prices of $3.75/lb Cu and $22.50/oz Ag, assumed metal recoveries of 90% for Cu and 65% for Ag, a mining cost of US$5.30/t rock and processing and G&A cost of US$11.50/t mineralized material. CuEq % = Cu % + (Ag g/t x Ag price/gram). The values in the 2023 Resource Estimate table reported above and below the base-case cut-off 0.25% CuEq should not be misconstrued with a Mineral Resource Statement. The values are only presented to show the sensitivity of the block model estimates to the selection of the base case cut-off grade. All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate. Totals may not add or calculate exactly due to rounding. The 2023 Resource Estimate is presented undiluted and in situ, constrained by a continuous 3D wireframe model (the constraining volume) and below topography, and is considered to have reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. The 2023 Resource Estimate is not a Mineral Reserve as it does not have demonstrated economic viability. The Inferred Mineral Resource in the 2023 Resource Estimate has a lower level of confidence than that applied to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of the Inferred Mineral Resource could be upgraded to an Indicated Mineral Resource with continued exploration. A fixed specific gravity value of 2.60 g/cm3 is used to estimate the Mineral Resource tonnage from a block model volume. Composites of 3.05 m in length, constrained to the Allard domain, are used for the resource estimation procedure. Grades for Cu and Ag were interpolated into blocks by the ID2 calculation method. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that most of the Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues.

La Plata Property Overview

Metallic Minerals' La Plata project covers 44 square kilometers 20 km north of Mancos, Colorado, within the historic La Plata mining district, that is in the southwest portion of the prolific Colorado Mineral Belt. The La Plata project is easily accessible by highways and improved gravel roads and is near significant power transmission lines.

The La Plata district has a long and rich history of mining with the first silver deposits discovered in the 1700s by Spanish explorers. High-grade silver and gold production has been documented from the 1870s through the early 1940s from mineralized deposits at over 90 individual mines and prospects1. From the 1950s to 1970s, major miners, including Rio Tinto (Bear Creek) and Freeport-McMoRan (Phelps Dodge), explored the district focusing on the significant potential for bulk-tonnage disseminated and stockwork hosted mineralization2. Freeport-McMoRan retained ownership of claims in the district until 2002 when they sold their holdings to the current underlying vendors during the lows of the last metal price cycle.

A total of 17,215 meters in 59 drill holes has been drilled on the property from the 1950s to present, this drilling has demonstrated the presence of a large multi-phase porphyry system with copper, silver, gold with more recent discoveries highlighting the potential for significant PGEs, rare earth minerals and tellurium. This large-scale mineralized system is associated with a 10 km2 strongly magnetic signature with intense hydrothermal alteration. Surrounding the central porphyry system is an associated high-grade silver and gold-rich epithermal system measuring at least 8 km by 2 km that hosts 56 identified mineralized veins, replacement, and breccia structures. Historical production from some of these high-grade structures included bonanza grades for silver and gold.

Copper mineralization with associated silver, gold, platinum, and palladium is hosted by a large-scale, Late Mesozoic age, alkalic porphyry system with related silver, gold, telluride epithermal vein, breccia and replacement deposits hosted in adjacent sedimentary rocks. Porphyry copper systems are some of the largest sources of copper and precious metals production worldwide and are frequently cornerstone Tier 1 assets for the major mining companies. The sub-type of porphyry systems, known as alkalic porphyry deposits, commonly contain higher-grade precious metal content like at La Plata and can demonstrate significant scale.

Figure 1 - La Plata Cross Section with Significant Drill Intervals and Mineralized Grade Shells

Critical Minerals

The Allard deposit at La Plata is a significant potential source of copper and silver, both important industrial metals used for modern technologies broadly and particularly in renewable and clean energy applications. Recent and historical work has also demonstrated that the broader La Plata district is also a potential source of other critical minerals identified by the U.S. Government as requirements for economic and national security3. Drilling by Metallic Minerals in 2022 returned multi-gram intervals of platinum group elements with individual grades up to 5 g/t platinum and palladium, as well as critical minerals such as vanadium, and rare earth elements. Tellurium, another element on the critical mineral list, was a by-product of historic high-grade gold and silver production in the district. The potential for these critical minerals to add additional economic value to the La Plata project will be evaluated as part of ongoing exploration efforts.

U.S. Geological Survey Earth Mapping Resources Initiative

The U.S. Geological Survey ("USGS") is funding the Colorado Geological Survey for geological studies in the La Plata Mountains as part of the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative. The work to be carried out by the Colorado Geological Survey includes geologic mapping as well as geochemical and mineralogical studies in the La Plata Mining District to generate a greater understanding of the area's potential to host critical minerals. See USGS news release dated January 25, 2023.

About SGS Geological Services

SGS Geological Services has an experienced and respected mining team focused on the domestic and international mining industry. The team has considerable experience in estimation and modeling of deposits of all types and practical and theoretical experience having realized hundreds of assessments for clients. The SGS team consists of a multi-disciplinary group of qualified persons with a strong understanding of the disclosure requirements for Mineral Resources set out in the NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (2016), CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (2014) and a strong understanding of the CIM Estimation of Mineral Resources & Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines 2019.

About Metallic Minerals

Metallic Minerals Corp. is a leading exploration and development stage company focused on copper, silver, gold, and other critical minerals in the La Plata mining district in Colorado, and silver and gold in the high-grade Keno Hill and Klondike districts of the Yukon. Our objective is to create shareholder value through a systematic, entrepreneurial approach to making exploration discoveries, growing resources, and advancing projects toward development.

At the Company's La Plata project in southwestern Colorado, the new 2023 NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate identifies a significant porphyry copper-silver resource containing 1,211 Mlbs copper and 17.6 Moz of silver. Results from 2022 expansion drilling providing the basis for the updated resource, included the longest and highest-grade interval ever encountered at La Plata and one of the top intersections for any North American copper project in the past several years. In May 2023, the Company announced a 9.5% strategic investment by Newcrest Mining Limited to accelerate the advancement of the Company's La Plata project. In the 2023 Fraser Institute's Annual Survey of Mining Companies, Colorado ranked 5th globally for investment attractiveness and 2nd in the USA.

In Canada's Yukon Territory, Metallic Minerals has consolidated the second-largest land position in the historic high-grade Keno Hill silver district, directly adjacent to Hecla Mining Company's ("Hecla") operations, with more than 300 Moz of high-grade silver in past production and current M&I resources. Hecla, the largest primary silver producer in the USA and third largest in the world, completed the acquisition of Alexco Resource Corp and its Keno Hill operations in September 2022. Hecla is targeting to start production at the Keno Hill operations by Q3 2023. Metallic Minerals is anticipating the announcement of inaugural mineral resource estimate at Keno Silver in the second half of 2023.

The Company is also one of the largest holders of alluvial gold claims in the Yukon and is building a production royalty business by partnering with experienced mining operators, including Parker Schnabel of Little Flake Mining from the hit television show, Gold Rush, on the Discovery Channel.

All of the districts in which Metallic Minerals operates have seen significant mineral production and have existing infrastructure, including power and road access. Metallic Minerals is led by a team with a track record of discovery and exploration success on several major precious and base metal deposits in the region, as well as having large-scale development, permitting and project financing expertise. The Metallic Minerals team has been recognized for its environmental stewardship practices and is committed to responsible and sustainable resource development.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Website: www.mmgsilver.com Phone: 604-629-7800

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Toll Free: 1-888-570-4420

Footnotes:

1) Eckel, USGS Prof Paper 219, Geology and Ore Deposits of the La Plata Mining District, 1949. 2) Bear Creek Mining (now Rio Tinto), Humble Oil (now Exxon) and Phelps Dodge (now Freeport-McMoRan) company reports. 4) The US Geological Survey has released a list of 50 critical minerals that the US economy requires for economic and national security. Earth Mapping Resources Initiative.

Qualified Persons

The La Plata copper-silver project 2023 mineral resource estimate was prepared by Allan Armitage, P. Geo., of SGS Geological Services, an independent Qualified Person, in accordance with the guidelines of the Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") with an effective date of July 10, 2023. Armitage conducted a site visit to the property on August 13, 2021, and again on April 18 and 19, 2023. Jeff Cary, CPG, a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure not pertaining to the resource estimate contained in this news release. Mr. Cary is a Senior Geologist and La Plata Project Manager for Metallic Minerals.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization, historic production, estimation of mineral resources, the realization of mineral resource estimates, interpretation of prior exploration and potential exploration results, the timing and success of exploration activities generally, the timing and results of future resource estimates, permitting time lines, metal prices and currency exchange rates, availability of capital, government regulation of exploration operations, environmental risks, reclamation, title, statements about expected results of operations, royalties, cash flows, financial position and future dividends as well as financial position, prospects, and future plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. Although Metallic Minerals believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include failure to obtain necessary approvals, unsuccessful exploration results, unsuccessful operations, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, results of future resource estimates, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, risks associated with regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, uninsured risks, delays in receiving government approvals, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. Readers are cautioned that mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Mineral exploration, development of mines and mining operations is an inherently risky business. Accordingly, the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on Metallic Minerals and the risks and challenges of their businesses, investors should review their annual filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Burlington, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - CBLT Inc. (TSXV: CBLT) ("CBLT") is pleased to announce excerpts from the assay results from samples taken at Shatford Lake in May, 2023.

Assay Results

A total of ten grab samples were collected during the most recent site visit from pegmatite outcrops along the southern shore of Shatford Lake. Rubidium is enriched in most of the recent samples, which could indicate a high degree of fractionation in the pegmatites and be used as a vector towards lithium or other rare element mineralization.

A continuation of east-west striking pegmatites was observed south of Shatford Lake as determined by prospecting, mapping and sampling. Continuation of the larger evolved pegmatite (detailed in CBLT's February 13, 2023 press release) occurs up to 500 meters west of the shoreline occurrence in at least two 1 to 5 meter wide vein sets (map below). These vein extensions are megacrystic microcline quartz pegmatites and are petrographically similar to evolved haloes in the high grade LCT pegmatites seen at the Tanco mine and other LCT deposits in the region. These vein extensions also contain local spectacular mica series mineralization from black biotite to phlogopite, chrome mica to spectacular muscovite series.

Pegmatite occurrences thus far sampled in CBLT's claims contain anomalous tin, tantalum, and rubidium with local anomalous lithium. CBLT is highly encouraged by these multi-element anomalies.

Shatford Lake and the general pegmatite area are located in the Bird River Pegmatite Field in Manitoba, three kilometers south-southwest of the Tanco Mine. CBLT recognizes the significance and importance of Sagkeeng First Nation's Traditional Land Rights in the area, and openly welcomes continued engagement with the Sagkeeng Chief and Council. CBLT has collaborated with the Province of Manitoba's Agriculture and Resource Development and the University of Manitoba to coordinate other geoscientific assistance, with assistance procured from a Ph.D. level program graduate.

Location of Shatford Lake and proximity to Tanco Mine

The 2023 Program

The pegmatite sampled at the southeast of Shatford Lake is sub-vertical in dip and subparallel in strike to the evolved LCT pegmatites located at the Tanco Mine. Shatford pegmatite field assemblages are generally steep in dip, possibly due to insertion along favorable tensile locations that are along axial limbs in relation to the Tanco area. The steeper dip equivalent to Shatford Lake may be represented by the LCT pegmatite field located 20 kilometers to the north near Cat Lake.

The main larger pegmatite should see additional work in upcoming site visits to properly delineate the fullest possible strike length in surface exposure. Numerous affiliated pegmatites near this occurrence should also be sampled in future visits. The vein sets are open to the east and west of the sampled locations on the claims.

Sample locations May 2023, southeast Shatford Lake

The proximity to the Tanco Mine is important to CBLT. The Tanco Mine hosts an LCT-type pegmatite, producing cesium and tantalum. Lithium, beryllium and rubidium have previously been produced. The Tanco pegmatite has dimensions of 820m by 1,600m and up to 100m thick, and over 100 minerals have been identified in it. It was reported by The Northern Miner in April, 2022 that lithium production had resumed at the Tanco. The Northern Miner is a credible source of mining-related news; however, as the Tanco owner is a Chinese company, there is limited reliable public information available.

The Shatford Lake claims contain a number of pegmatite granite fields within mafic volcanic assemblages which are often exposed as higher topographic lineaments in the Shatford area and also throughout the Bird River/Winnipeg River region. The regional geology indicates the presence of a similar structural emplacement and extensional structural environment for emplacement of LCT-bearing pegmatites in many locations including Shatford Lake.

The potential for more prolific LCT style pegmatites is commonly found near favourable structural environments along these mafic-granitic contacts. The Tanco pegmatite itself is hosted by a large massive amphibolite and possible mafic intrusive protolith that likely offered favorable tensile conditions during LCT evolution and insertion into the region's country rock masses. Further investigations of CBLT's claims are warranted to explore for additional evolved pegmatite fields given the proximity to the Tanco Mine.

It was estimated in 1991 that Tanco had lithium reserves of 7.3 million tonnes at 2.76% Li2O (GSWA Mining Bulletin No. 22, page 66). This is a historical third-party estimate and CBLT has no information as to the methodology used to calculate this estimate or whether it was carried out under the supervision of a Qualified Person, as that term is defined in NI43-101. Readers are cautioned not to rely upon this estimate.

Samples were analyzed by AGAT Labs in Mississauga, Ontario, an independent accredited lab, by sodium peroxide fusion with an ICP-OES or ICP-MS finish. Samples were analysed for 57 elements. Readers are cautioned that surface samples are random by nature and may not accurately reflect the entirety of the mineralization at Shatford Lake.

Jessica Daniel, P.Geo., a CBLT independent director, is overseeing the Shatford Lake programs and is the Qualified Person under NI43-101 for this press release.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Peter M. Clausi

CEO and Director

1 416 890 1232

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

@ClausiPeter

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking statements as they relate to CBLT and its management. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but represent management's current expectation of future events, and can be identified by words such as "believe", "expects", "will", "intends", "plans", "projects", "anticipates", "estimates", "should", "continues" and similar expressions. Although management believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be correct or will come to pass.

By their nature, forward-looking statements include assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future results, conditions, actions or events to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. If and when forward-looking statements are set out in this new release, CBLT will also set out the material risk factors or assumptions used to develop the forward-looking statements. Except as expressly required by applicable securities laws, CBLT assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. The future outcomes that relate to forward-looking statements may be influenced by many factors, including but not limited to; SARS-CoV-2; reliance on key personnel; the performance of the Ciscom Corp. leadership team; shareholder and regulatory approvals; the ability of Powerstone's team to receive a receipt for its prospectus and to achieve a listing of its common shares on a Canadian stock exchange; First Nations and other local communities; jurisdictional risk; risks of future legal proceedings; income tax matters; availability and terms of financing; distribution of securities; commodities pricing; environmental issues; forest fires and other natural phenomena; rising costs related to inflation; effect of market interest on price of securities; failing to identify an economically viable mineral deposit; and, potential dilution.

CBLT's operations could be significantly adversely affected by the effects of a widespread global outbreak of a contagious disease, including the recent outbreak of illness caused by COVID-19. It is not possible to accurately predict the impact COVID-19 will have on operations and the ability of others to meet their obligations, including uncertainties relating to the ultimate geographic spread of the virus, the severity of the disease, the duration of the outbreak, and the length of travel and quarantine restrictions imposed by governments of affected countries. In addition, a significant outbreak of contagious diseases in the human population could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets of many countries, resulting in an economic downturn that could further affect operations and the ability to finance its operations.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Pacific Mining Corp (CSE: USGD / OTCQX: USGDF / FWB: 1QC) (American Pacific or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has appointed Director, Joness Lang as President of the Company, with Eric Saderholm transitioning to the role of Managing Director of Exploration. This transition will free up time and allow Mr. Saderholm to focus on project development and advancement as well as generating and evaluating new projects for the Company.

We are delighted to have Mr. Lang take on a leadership role as President of American Pacific as we continue to grow our portfolio of western US precious and base metals exploration and development projects, commented CEO, Warwick Smith. Joness has been an integral member of our Board of Directors for several years, and with his robust experience in the mineral resources sector, we will benefit immensely from his expertise as he takes on a more active leadership role on our team. Current President, Eric Saderholm, who has done a phenomenal job of identifying and advancing the high-quality projects in our portfolio, continues to be a key member of the team.

Joness appointment comes at an exciting time for the Company as partner funded project expenditures are expected to total approximately CAD $30 million for 2023, which includes a 9,000 metre drill program at the Companys Palmer Project, which commenced last month (see June 19, 2023 news release).

About Joness Lang

Mr. Lang is an experienced executive leader with nearly 15 years of corporate growth strategy and capital markets experience within the natural resource sector. Mr. Lang has an established track record of securing and managing joint-venture and strategic partnerships with major mining companies. Most recently, Mr. Lang served as the Executive Vice President of Maple Gold Mines Ltd., where he played an important role in bringing Agnico Eagle in as a strategic partner, increasing institutional ownership and research coverage and leading or co-leading property acquisitions and equity financing transactions for the company. He was previously Vice President, Corporate Development with Riverside Resources Inc. where he served as a key member of the leadership group when the company generated income as a prospect generator exploration company through all of the joint-venture and strategic alliance partnerships that Mr. Lang helped secure. In addition to his Leadership: Inventing the Future (George Mason University) and Canadian Securities Course certificates, Mr. Lang received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Royal Roads University, graduating with distinction. Mr. Lang also graduated with honours from the British Columbia Institute of Technology where he received his Marketing Management Entrepreneurship diploma.

About Eric Saderholm

Mr. Saderholm is a professional Senior Geologist and former Newmont Exploration Manager for the Western US. He has worked on numerous large mines and projects, including Bingham Canyon, Carlin, Midas, Gold Quarry, Twin Creeks, Lonetree, Mule Canyon, Black Pine, Genesis and Yanacocha. He has over four decades of experience in the minerals industry.

About American Pacific Mining Corp.

American Pacific Mining Corp. is a precious and base metals explorer and developer focused on opportunities in the Western United States. The Company has two flagship assets: the Palmer Project, a Volcanic Massive Sulfide (VMS) project in Alaska, under joint-venture partnership with Dowa Metals & Mining, owner of Japans largest zinc smelter; and the Madison Project, a past-producing copper-gold project in Montana partnered with Kennecott Exploration, a division of the Rio Tinto Group. For the Madison transaction, American Pacific was selected as a finalist in both 2021 and 2022 for Deal of the Year at the S&P Global Platts Global Metals Awards, an annual program that recognizes exemplary accomplishments in 16 performance categories. Also, in American Pacifics asset portfolio are three high-grade, precious metals projects located in key mining districts of Nevada, USA: the Ziggerat Gold project, partnered with Centerra Gold; the Gooseberry Silver-Gold project; and the Tuscarora Gold-Silver project. The Companys mission is to grow by the drill bit and by acquisition.

On behalf of the American Pacific Mining Corp Board of Directors:

Warwick Smith, CEO & Director

Corporate Office: Suite 910  510 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC, V6C 3A8 Canada

Investor relations contact:

Kristina Pillon, High Tide Consulting Corp.

604.908.1695 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Media relations contact:

Adam Bello, Primoris Group Inc.

416.489.0092 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amended NI 43-101 Technical Report Palmer Project Alaska, USA, JDS Energy and Mining Inc. 2019

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Confirms near term production potential in Nevada

Post-Tax IRR 81%, NPV $121M, 1.3yr pay-back, 9-yr mine life at 38,000 oz gold pa

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gold Bull Resources Corp. (TSX-V: GBRC) (Gold Bull or the Company) is pleased to report minor modifications to its Sandman Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA or Scoping) which was previously announced on April 25th, 2023, and filed on June 9, 2023, titled Phase 2 Study at its 100% owned Sandman Project (Sandman or the Project) located in Humboldt County, Nevada, USA.

The modifications provided include the addition of post-tax financial analysis (previously only pre-tax was reported) and the addition of an independent metallurgical qualified person review, which resulted in the previously assumed recoveries increasing from 70% to 75% with multi-phase crushing.

The Sandman Scoping Phase 2 Study has identified a stand-alone, low pre-production capital USD31.5M, conventional heap leach gold project producing circa 35,000 to 40,000 ounces (average 38,000) of gold per year for 9 years. The project boasts an excellent pre-tax Internal Rate of Return (IRR) at 102% and a pre-tax payback period of 1.1 years, using a gold price of US$1800. The results from the Phase 2 study have Identified a post-tax IRR of 81% with payback period of 1.3 years.

The Scoping Phase 2 Study focused on mining gold mineralized material within optimized pit shells in two phases: Phase 1 mines all mineralized material within the pit shell above the water table and is dry (refer Phase 1 Study1), followed by Phase 2 which is focused on mineralized material below the water table and within the pit shell, and is wet, after completion of additional monitoring, permitting and dewatering efforts paid for by mine cashflow from Phase 1.

The Phase 1 and Phase 2 approach is designed to preserve initial pre-production capital during the Phase 1 mining process. The benefit of this two-phase approach is to enable further definition of the existing Mineral Resources, discover additional Mineral Resources, and enable sufficient time to conduct the below water table mine studies and permitting, all paid from the Phase 1 revenues. The proposed model has the potential to deliver strong organic growth with minimal initial dilution to existing shareholders.

Pre-Tax Results Post-Tax Results (2) IRR 102% 81% Cash Flow (Undiscounted) $229,585,644 $174,743,379 Cash Flow 6% Discount Rate $161,092,882 $121,009,339 Payback (Years) 1.1 1.3

The Study highlights :

Production rate average of 2.2 Mtpa for a 9-year operation

for a operation 35,000-40,000 ounces of gold per annum produced from conventional heap leach, average 38,000 ounces per year

of gold per annum produced from conventional average 38,000 ounces per year At US$1,800/oz gold price: IRR of 81% (post-tax) NPV 6% US$121M (post-tax) Payback period of 1.3 years (post-tax)

Average grade 0.73g/t gold

LOM low strip ratio of 2.2:1

Phase 1 Initial pre-production Capital $31.5M and Phase 2 Capital, US$19.7M paid by Phase 1 mining revenues. Total LOM capital US$51.3M, including pre-production working capital US$4.5M

and Phase 2 Capital, US$19.7M paid by Phase 1 mining revenues. Total LOM capital US$51.3M, including pre-production working capital US$4.5M LOM Operating cost of US$20.85 per tonne (post tax)

All in Sustaining Cost (AISC) of $1,337 (post-tax) per ounce

This Scoping Phase 2 Study focused on the efficient extraction of all mineralized material within an optimized pit shell in a sequence that facilitates effective use of initial pre-production capital and a more rapid mine commissioning. This Scoping Phase 2 Study is a Preliminary Economic Assessment PEA (PEA), under NI 43-101 requirements.

Gold Bull CEO, Cherie Leeden, commented: Sandman provides Gold Bull with a low-cost and moderate mine life start-up with the opportunity to grow the asset via additional exploration using mine revenues. This is a practical approach to epithermal gold mining and has historically produced longer life assets.

In our Phase 1 PEA we only examined the oxide material located above the water table (5yrs), to enable a rapid timeline for mine commissioning and limited the initial pre-production capital. This Phase 2 scoping study focussed on extending the mine life from 5 years to 9 years while utilizing mine cashflow for Phase 2 development. The intent is to be mining, developing, and discovering additional ounces at the project utilizing mining cashflow and avoid shareholder dilution. Excellent exploration potential exists at Sandman and not all deposits are closed off.

Three gold resources at Sandman remain open, therefore this PEA is the most conservative base case done using only our pit constrained ounces at a gold price of US$1800. If we were to use today's gold price of circa <$2000, it dramatically increases the projected economics because Sandman is most sensitive to the gold price.

Economic analysis is provided in Table 1 and compares Pre-Tax and Post-Tax analysis.

Metric Pre-Tax Post-Tax Economic Analysis Internal Rate of Return (IRR) 102% 81% NPV @ 6% $161,092,882 USD $121,009,339 USD Average Annual Cashflow $29,017,072 USD $22,923,487 USD Undiscounted Cumulative Cashflow $229,585,644 USD $174,743,379 USD Pay-Back Period 1.1 years 1.3 years Gold Price Assumption $1,800 per ounce $1,800 per ounce All-in Sustaining Cost $1,176 per ounce $1,337 per ounce Capital Costs Initial Capital $31,568,000 USD $31,568,000 USD Working Capital (included in above) $4,500,000 USD $4,500,000 USD LOM Sustaining Capital $19,739,240 USD $19,739,240 USD Total LOM Capital $51,307,240 USD $51,307,240 USD Contingency (Included in Total) $9,980,000 USD $9,980,000 USD Operating Costs (Average LOM) Mining $7.80 per ore tonne $7.80 per ore tonne Processing & Support $5.65 per ore tonne $5.65 per ore tonne General & Administration (G&A) $2.99 per ore tonne $2.99 per ore tonne Other Costs $1.57 per ore tonne $4.40 per ore tonne Total Operating Cost $18.03 per ore tonne $20.85 per ore tonne Production Data Life of Mine 9 years 9 years Annual Processing Rate 2,157,667 tonnes per annum 2,157,667 tonnes per annum Total Tonnes Processed 19,419,000 tonnes 19,419,000 tonnes Grade Au (Average) 0.73 g/t Au 0.73 g/t Au Contained Gold 455,000 ounces 455,000 ounces Metallurgical Recovery Au (Overall) 75% 75% Average Annual Gold Production 37,917 ounces per annum 37,917 ounces per annum Total Gold Produced 341,250 ounces 341,250 ounces LOM Strip Ratio 2.2 : 1 2.2 : 1

Table 1. Scoping Study economic analysis summary of Sandman Project for both Pre-Tax and Post-Tax results.

STUDY HIGHLIGHTS

The Study has demonstrated potential for positive financial metrics for the Sandman Project based on a proposed stand-alone low-cost start-up heap leach gold mine project located approximately 25 km from the mining town of Winnemucca (Figure 1 and 2) in central Northern Nevada, USA.

This PEA Phase 2 Study investigated an expansion to the previously announced Phase 1 five-year mine plan of above water table mineralized material processed onsite via conventional Heap Leach processing AND includes the Phase 2 plan to mine the mineralized material below the water table after Phase 1 is finalized and after the necessary permitting and dewatering efforts have been completed. Gold Bull considers Sandman to be technically low risk, given the low strip ratio due to gold at surface and the majority of Mineral Resource classified as Indicated. Both Scoping Studies were completed to an overall +/- 30% accuracy using the key parameters and assumptions set out in Tables 1 and 2.

The calculations in this Phase 2 Study focus on the full project (prior Phase 1 plus this Phase 2) mining scenario. The Phase 1 mine scenario targeted low initial pre-production capital and near-term cash flow to then later fund Phase 2 below water table oxide mine dewatering studies and development. The strategy is to preserve initial pre-production cashflow and pay for future studies when producing revenue from the asset. The deferred work includes below water table permitting & dewatering, additional metallurgical optimization studies for product processing and infill resource to reserve drilling.

The Sandman Project Phase 2 Scoping Study includes Life of Mine (LOM) plan and reports a post-tax IRR of 81%, post-tax NPV 6 % of US$121M (post-tax), annual post-tax cashflow of estimated US$23Mpa, and a payback period of 1.3 years when applying presumed tax and a gold price of US$1,800/oz of gold. The initial pre-production capital cost is US$31.5M, which includes working capital of US$4.5M, and a further US$19.7M will be required as sustaining capital for additional mine studies, dewatering, and leach pad expansions. Total operating cost is $20.85 per tonne post tax (and all in sustaining cost of $1,337/oz gold (post-tax)). Royalty is low at 1.2% of product.

The Project is based on 455,000 gold ounces contained within the pit shells, with a head grade of 0.73 g/t gold spread across four known gold deposits. The four gold resources (see Figure 3: North Hill, Silica Ridge, South East Pediment, Abel Knoll) shall be mined via conventional open pit mining methods, with an average life of mine waste to ore ratio of 2.2:1, annual production is 35-40K oz gold (38,000 average), with 2.2Mt feed production rate. Refer Table 1 and Table 2 for further details and estimated financial metrics.

Metric Pre-Tax Post-Tax Economic Analysis Internal Rate of Return (IRR) 102% 81% NPV @ 6% $161,092,882 USD $121,009,339 USD Average Annual Cashflow $29,017,072 USD $22,923,487 USD Undiscounted Cumulative Cashflow $229,585,644 USD $174,743,379 USD Pay-Back Period 1.1 years 1.3 years Gold Price Assumption $1,800 per ounce $1,800 per ounce All-in Sustaining Cost $1,176 per ounce $1,337 per ounce Capital Costs Initial Capital $31,568,000 USD $31,568,000 USD Working Capital (included in above) $4,500,000 USD $4,500,000 USD LOM Sustaining Capital $19,739,240 USD $19,739,240 USD Total LOM Capital $51,307,240 USD $51,307,240 USD Contingency (Included in Total) $9,980,000 USD $9,980,000 USD Operating Costs (Average LOM) Mining $7.80 per ore tonne $7.80 per ore tonne Processing & Support $5.65 per ore tonne $5.65 per ore tonne General & Administration (G&A) $2.99 per ore tonne $2.99 per ore tonne Other Costs $1.57 per ore tonne $4.40 per ore tonne Total Operating Cost $18.03 per ore tonne $20.85 per ore tonne Production Data Life of Mine 9 years 9 years Annual Processing Rate 2,157,667 tonnes per annum 2,157,667 tonnes per annum Total Tonnes Processed 19,419,000 tonnes 19,419,000 tonnes Grade Au (Average) 0.73 g/t Au 0.73 g/t Au Contained Gold 455,000 ounces 455,000 ounces Metallurgical Recovery Au (Overall) 75% 75% Average Annual Gold Production 37,917 ounces per annum 37,917 ounces per annum Total Gold Produced 341,250 ounces 341,250 ounces LOM Strip Ratio 2.2 : 1 2.2 : 1

Table 2. Scoping Study economic analysis summary of Sandman Project with Pre-Tax and Post-Tax figures reported

Figure 1. Sandman Project location map of Northern Nevada relative to the surrounding operating gold mines and mineral resources. Reference to the nearby projects is for information purposes only and there are no assurances the Company will achieve the same results.

Figure 2. Sandman Project location relative to infrastructure and nearby regional mine servicing town of Winnemucca, Nevada. The project is located on Jungo Road 20-30 kms from Winnemucca.

Figure 3. Sandman Scoping Study proposed mine design. This has not changed from the prior Phase 1 study.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Sandman Project presents strong financial results and a compelling mine opportunity for a stand-alone open pit gold mine, with Phase 1 mining above water table (for five years) commencing at the North Hill deposit, followed by Silica Ridge, Southeast Pediment and Abel Knoll deposits. Upon completion of Phase 1, and the required below water table permitting and dewatering efforts, Phase 2 mining (over four years) is expected to commence immediately in the same order as Phase 1 commencing at North Hill and heading southwards to the Abel Knoll deposit. The two-phase approach is designed to conserve initial pre-production capital while enabling rapid mine commissioning to achieve cashflow and to fund the below water table permit for Phase 2 mining, and also fund further exploration to increase the mine resources.

The mine proposal includes an onsite multi-stage crushing plant, which is mobile and will move progressively from each pit location, with separate dumps and two localized leach pads. The first leach pad will be constructed for North Hill and Silica Ridge, and the second leach pad will be constructed in year 3 and will receive mineralized material feed from Southeast Pediment and Abel Knoll. Leach Pad expansions will be required in years 5 and 6 to accommodate the additional tonnage from Phase 2 mining.

Economics are based upon contract mining, crushing and heap leach as the main processing method. It is planned to load the gold onto activated carbon and then transport the loaded carbon to off-site stripping and refining plants for final gold dore recovery. A simplified mining schedule is anticipated to produce 35,000-40,000 ounces of gold per annum.

Given the North Hill and Silica Ridge deposits outcrop on hill tops at surface, these deposits present the best strip ratio starter pit mine scenarios3. Phase 1 is targeting these low-strip ratio resources to enable rapid permitting (above water table) for mine start-up and initial cash flow. Initial mine production revenue will be used to fund further mine studies, permitting and dewatering efforts to allow the Phase 2 mining below the water table and this is expected be included in future studies.

Table 3. Sandman Project Scoping Study mine factors applied to the economic evaluation

Comments

This scenario includes all material within an optimized pit shell

Recoveries assumed at 75% for heap leaching. Opportunity exists to optimize recoveries after further metallurgical test work is completed

Optimized pit shells were applied, not a refined pit design

Future opportunity exists to increase mine production, as this schedule assumes dayshift-only mining to meet the planned material movement requirements

Cashflow model includes a 1.2% Royalty

Capital Categories

Contingency added to capital to cover unknown/unrecognized categories

Working capital is sufficient to cover 2 months of operating costs

Capital estimates are based on current quotes and/or information from previous projects (within the past two years) and inflated to 2023 levels

Engineering Procurement Construction Management (EPCM)

Earthworks  roads, stockpiles, and yard construction

Crushing/stacking equipment, multi-stage crushing for 6-8Kt per day, cost estimate includes installation and commissioning, entire system to be mobile and follow mining from pit to pit

Leach pad and ponds, 5-8Kt per day, cost estimate includes installation and commissioning. Initial pad built near North Hill and Silica Ridge with a second pad built near Southeast Pediment and Abel Knoll in year 3.

Carbon columns, cost estimate includes installation and commissioning. One set of columns for the initial leach pad and second set to be constructed for the second leach pad

Sustaining capital includes temporary construction facilities, construction services, supplies, quality control, survey support, construction equipment and safety

Sample preparation conducted on site with off site gold analysis

Infrastructure includes portable office, warehouse/parts storage, and a workshop

Initial purchase or lease of water rights necessary to operate the mine

Option to purchase additional surface rights included

Operational Categories

Mining contractor mobilisation for 12-15 equipment units, office space and other resources.

Contract mining comprises: Drilling Blasting In-pit loading Waste haulage to near-pit waste rock stockpile Product feed haulage to near-pit stockpile location (for feed to crusher) Loader feed into a portable (movable) crusher Loading of crushed material into trucks Truck haulage to heap leach pad Roads/dumps/stockpile maintenance

Company shall maintain small workforce for project management, administration, SHE permitting-training-compliance, general labor, crushing/heap leach operations, supply chain etc.

Contractor demobilization at the end of the project life

Centralised location for diesel, gasoline, lubes, and oils

Power Generation and Distribution with mobile generators for crushing, pumping and other infrastructure requirements, includes a back-up generator, power poles, transformers for on-site distribution

Further studies for alternative power solutions are needed as this scenario uses diesel generators

Water supply and distribution, water well construction and extraction, pumping and piping to supply water for the project. Water usage 3,900 gallons per minute with make-up water consumption rate of 285 gallons per minute

Additional environmental and hydrogeological baseline studies are required

Initial purchase or lease of water rights necessary to operate the mine

Indirect owners costs include temporary construction facilities, construction services, supplies, quality control, survey support, construction equipment, safety etc.

Operating Costs

An operating cost estimate has been calculated at US$20.85 per tonne of mineralized material mined and processed for the Project. The estimate relates to all costs to allow production of gold dore, capturing the processing plant facilities, contractor mining, product refining and general and administration (G&A) costs.

Functional Area Post-tax Cost per Tonne

Processed (US$) Mining $7.80 Processing $5.66 G&A $2.99 Other Costs (Royalty, Taxes, etc.) $4.40 Total Site Operating Cost1 $20.85

Table 4. Sandman Project operating cost summary.

Basis for Economic calculations (tonnage/grades)

The Company announced its Mineral Resource Estimate on February 2, 2021 with combined Indicated and Inferred ounces totaling 494K ounces of gold and summarized below. Refer to Table 8 for the prior published summary of the Sandman Mineral Resource Estimate in which the majority of the Mineral Resource is Indicated a small amount is Inferred.

Indicated Mineral Resource of 18,550kt @ 0.73g/t gold for 433kozs of gold

Inferred Mineral Resource of 3,246kt @ 0.58g/t gold for 61kozs of gold

The Scoping Studies are preliminary in nature, include a small amount of inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the Scoping Studies will be realized.

A further grade model was created for the Phase 2 Scoping Study to include the 2021 and 2022 drill results and estimate an above water table tonnage and grade model. This was applied to the Scoping Phase 2 Study pit optimization work and the resulting tonnes and grade used In the Phase 2 Study are summarised in Table 5. The water table surface was conservatively defined by first intercept of water in the exploration drill holes. Detailed hydrogeological studies accurately defining the water table are yet to be conducted and will be included in future Studies.

Table 5. Scoping Study tonnes and grade depicting 455K oz contained gold within the pit optimisation

Mining Methods

The Sandman Project is planned to be mined using conventional open pit mining methods on the four (4) separate deposits in the order listed in Table 6. The mining operation schedule is dayshift only with a roster of two production crews on a 4-days on and 4-days off, 12 hours per day.

Pre-production stripping is expected to be minimal as mineralized material is located at or near surface on hill tops where mining is anticipated to begin at the North Hill and Silica Ridge deposits. The pit areas have small shrubs and grasses that can be cleared with planned mining equipment.

Open pit mining is currently envisaged to be by diesel-powered equipment, utilizing a combination of one rotary blasthole rig drilling blastholes, one 8m3 front-end loader (or similar size excavator), and five to six, 70-tonne capacity trucks to handle mineralized material and waste. The mining fleet has sufficient capacity to move up to approximately 6.0Mtpa of total material on a dayshift-only schedule. Support equipment comprising a grader, track dozer(s) and water truck will aid in the mining. Mineralized material will be hauled to the crushing area for stockpiling before being rehandled later for primary crushing. Initially, waste rock will be stored in the waste rock dumps close to the pit to reduce haulage costs. As space and design allows, waste will be backfilled into the pit to reduce haulage costs and surface disturbance.

Haul roads are contemplated to be 9-10m widths for one-way traffic and 18-20m widths for two-way traffic. The final location of the ramps is expected to be optimized to reduce the overall pit slopes and to aid in efficient haulage to various stockpile locations. The pit is considered dry in Phase 1 and wet in Phase 2.

The mine plan was designed to deliver ~2.2Mt of mineralized material per year to the processing facility. The mine plan was based on efficient extraction of mineralized material above the water table in Phase 1 and started at the North Hill deposit (predicted higher-grade and low strip ratio) and then working the deposits in a southerly direction without regard to majority Indicated, and minority Inferred, Mineral Resource categories. Phase 2 mining will continue below the water table also starting at North Hill and working in a southerly direction towards Abel Knoll.

The total estimated mining workforce is 55-60 people, comprising a team of 22 Gold Bull personnel and 30-35 mining contractors (20 production operators, 8 maintenance techs, 5 supervisory staff).

Period Mineralized

Material Gold

Grade Contained

Gold Total

Waste Total

Material Strip

Ratio tonnes g/t ounces tonnes tonnes w:o Year 1 1,633,000 0.82 42,857 3,120,000 4,753,000 1.9 Year 2 2,306,000 0.77 57,143 3,833,000 6,139,000 1.7 Year 3 2,685,000 0.66 57,143 2,799,000 5,484,000 1.0 Year 4 2,247,000 0.79 57,143 3,077,000 5,324,000 1.4 Year 5 2,844,000 0.57 51,714 5,371,000 8,215,000 1.9 Year 6 3,195,000 0.56 57,143 7,564,000 10,759,000 2.4 Year 7 2,042,000 0.87 57,143 7,678,000 9,720,000 3.8 Year 8 1,887,000 0.94 57,143 6,608,000 8,495,000 3.5 Year 9 580,000 0.94 17,571 2,031,000 2,611,000 3.5 Totals 19,419,000 0.73 455,000 42,081,000 61,500,000 2.2

Table 6. Sandman Project annual mining production schedule for 9 years for the four Sandman deposits.

Recovery Methods

Precious metal recovery from this Scoping Phase 2 Study is through conventional heap leaching and adsorption, desorption, regeneration (ADR) technology for metal extraction from crushed product using industry standard equipment. Processing will involve mineralized material passing through multiple stages of crushing, which will allow for haulage transport and end-dump stacking of the mineralized material onto a heap leach pad. The processing facilities accommodate a leachable tonnage of approximately 19.4Mt of product at a gold grade of 0.73g/t and a process rate of 5,900tpd or 2.2Mtpa. The heap leach pad facilities have been located and designed with expandability for a LOM production increase.

Mineralized material will be delivered to the crushing plant from the open pit and placed in the stockpile adjacent to the crushing plant. The mineralized material will be fed to the crushing plant using a front-end loader and will be crushed and then transported to the heap leach pad via haul trucks. The mineralized material will be stacked onto the heap using industry standard end-dumping and dozer pushing and then leached with a weak cyanide solution to extract the precious metal values. The gold will then be recovered from the pregnant solution in the carbon columns by adsorbing the dissolved gold onto activated carbon, which will be bagged and transported off-site to an external facility to extract gold from the loaded carbon. The stripped carbon will be returned from the external treatment facility to site for continuous reuse in the process plant. The dore will be sent to a contract refiner for final refining.

Mineral Processing

Historical metallurgical test work has been completed over several stages, predominantly from the Silica Ridge, North Hill and Southeast Pediment deposits, mostly by Newmont and Kappes, Cassiday and Associates (KCA) in Reno, Nevada. Recent test work on samples from Abel Knoll were completed by KCA for Gold Bull in 2021.

Historically, relatively extensive bottle roll leach programs were conducted while only limited column leach tests were completed for three of the four deposits. Further test work is required to adequately determine the optimal processing circuit and resulting gold recoveries for the gold mineralization at Sandman. At this stage it is considered likely that a conventional three-stage crush followed by heap leach processing could achieve gold recoveries of 75%. Additional work is required to confirm the crush size and gold recoveries from heap leaching.

Sensitivity Analysis

High level sensitivity analysis of the Sandman Project economics was conducted, indicating the project is most sensitive towards gold price and less sensitive towards operating cost and least sensitive to capital cost. Figure 4 and 5 and Table 7 demonstrate the range of NPV in million dollars over a range of gold prices and include Pre and Post Tax analysis.

Figure 4. Sandman sensitivity analysis evaluating gold price, capital costs and operating costs both Pre-Tax and Post-Tax analysis.

Figure 5. Sandman sensitivity analysis is most sensitive to the gold price

Table 7. Gold price impact on Post-Tax NPV 6% and IRR.

Table 8. January 2021 NI 43-101 Sandman Gold Resource Estimate. Full report available: Sandman-NI-43-101_2021-01-20.pdf (goldbull.ca) Please note that the Sandman 2021 NI 43-101 Resource Estimate does not include drilling conducted by Gold Bull in 2021 and 2022.

NEXT STEPS

Further drilling and metallurgical, geotechnical and hydrogeological studies are required for inclusion in a Preliminary Feasibility Study and for use in mine permitting.

Baseline hydrogeological, cultural, and biological surveys have previously been conducted at Sandman, however, may need to be updated for mine permitting. Additional technical and design optimization studies will also be required for inclusion in a Preliminary Feasibility Study. Infill resource and reserve drilling is required ahead of the mine schedule.

Optional additional exploration is warranted and recommended to expand the current mineral resource base.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

This Scoping Study is a preliminary technical and economic study investigating the potential viability of commissioning and running a gold mine at the Sandman Project. The Scoping Study includes a smaller amount of inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the Scoping Study will be realized.

The Scoping Study in this announcement is based on technical and economic assumptions and assessments which could be further refined and evaluated in a preliminary feasibility study. If the Company were to attempt to bring the Sandman Project into production without established mineral reserves on the project supported by a full feasibility study, the Company cautions that this could result in a higher risk of economic or technical failure of the operation than if a full feasibility study had been prepared demonstrating economic and technical viability.

The Scoping Study is based on material assumptions outlined in this announcement. These include assumptions about the availability of funding and other parameters. While the Company considers all the material assumptions are based on reasonable grounds, there is no certainty they will prove to be correct or that the range of outcomes indicated in this Scoping Study announcement can be achieved or realised. There are no assurances that the Sandman Project will be found to be economic.

To achieve the potential mine development outcomes indicated in the Phase 1 and Phase 2 Scoping Study, significant funding is required as well as further drilling and metallurgical, hydrogeological, and environmental assessments and permits received prior to confirming mining can take place. The Study has focussed only on Phase 1 initial oxide mining of mineralized material above the water table, then Phase 2 mining of material below the water table, using conventional heap leach processing. Investors should note there is no certainty that the Company will be able to raise the required funding when needed, however the Company has concluded that it has a reasonable basis for providing the forward-looking statements included in this announcement and believes that it has a reasonable basis to expect it will be able to fund the gold development project upon receiving satisfactory and favourable results for further metallurgical, hydrogeological and environmental studies and permits enabling economic ore extraction. Further studies are required to confirm the proposed mine scenario and confirm assumptions made in this Scoping Study.

It is also possible that such funding may only be available on terms that may be dilutive, or otherwise affect the value of the Companys existing shares. It is also possible that the Company could pursue other strategies to provide alternative funding options including project finance.

Given the uncertainties involved for the metallurgical, hydrogeological and environmental assessments and permits, investors should not make any investment decision based solely on the results of the Scoping Studies and assume a mine will be developed, however every effort will be made by the Company to progress towards mine development.

ABOUT SANDMAN

In December 2020, Gold Bull purchased the Sandman Project from Newmont. Gold mineralization was first discovered at Sandman in 1987 by Kennecott and the project has been intermittently explored since then. There are four known pit constrained gold resources located within the Sandman Project, consisting of 21.8Mt at 0.7g/t gold for 494,000 ounces of gold; comprising of an Indicated Resource of 18,550kt at 0.73g/t gold for 433kozs of gold plus an Inferred Resource of 3,246kt at 0.58g/t gold for 61kozs of gold. Several of the resources remain open in multiple directions and the bulk of the historical drilling has been conducted to a depth of less than 100m. Sandman is conveniently located circa 25-30 km northwest of the mining town of Winnemucca, Nevada.

QUALIFIED PERSON

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Jerod Eastman, Mr. Steven Olsen, and Mr. Carl E. Defilippi for only the sections which they are responsible.

Mr. Eastman is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Eastman is a Registered Member (#00885850) of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc. and is completely independent of Gold Bull Resources Corp. The information in this news release that relates to mining and cost estimation is based on, and fairly reflects, information compiled and approved by Mr. Eastman.

Mr. Steven Olsen is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Olsen Is a Registered member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (#7014) and is completely independent of Gold Bull Resources Corp. The Information in this public announcement that relates to Mineral Resource estimation was produced and approved by Mr. Steven Olsen.

Mr. Carl E. Defilippi is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Defilippi is a Registered Member (#775870) of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc. and is completely independent of Gold Bull Resources Corp. The Information in this new release that only relates to Metallurgy was approved by Mr. Defilippi.

ABOUT GOLD BULL RESOURCES CORP.

Gold Bulls mission is to grow into a US focused mid-tier gold development Company via rapidly discovering, developing and acquiring additional ounces. The Companys exploration hub is based in Nevada, USA, a top-tier mineral district that contains significant historical production, existing mining infrastructure and an established mining culture. Gold Bull is led by a Board and Management team with a track record of exploration and acquisition success.

Gold Bulls core asset is the Sandman Project, located in Nevada which has a 494,000 oz gold resource as per 2021 NI 43-101 Resource Estimate. Sandman is located 23 km south of the Sleeper Mine and boasts excellent large-scale exploration potential.

Gold Bull is driven by its core values and purpose which includes a commitment to safety, communication & transparency, environmental responsibility, community, and integrity.

Cherie Leeden

President and CEO, Gold Bull Resources Corp.

For further information regarding Gold Bull Resources Corp., please visit our website at www.goldbull.ca or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone 778.401.8545.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed forward-looking statements with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words expects, plans, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, projects, potential, indicates, opportunity, possible and similar expressions, or that events or conditions will, would, may, could or should occur. Although Gold Bull believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results or realities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such material risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the Companys ability to raise sufficient capital to fund its planned activities at the Sandman Project; the timing and costs of future activities on the Companys properties; maintaining its mineral tenures and concessions in good standing, to explore and develop its projects, to repay its debt and for general working capital purposes; changes in economic conditions or financial markets; the inherent hazards associates with mineral exploration and mining operations, future prices of gold and other metals, changes in general economic conditions, accuracy of mineral resource and reserve estimates, the potential for new discoveries, the ability of the Company to obtain the necessary permits and consents required to explore, drill and develop the projects and if obtained, to obtain such permits and consents in a timely fashion relative to the Companys plans and business objectives for the projects; the general ability of the Company to monetize its mineral resources; and changes in environmental and other laws or regulations that could have an impact on the Companys operations, compliance with environmental laws and regulations, dependence on key management personnel and general competition in the mining industry. Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Companys management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that managements beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

_________________

1 announced September 12 2022 titled Gold Bulls Sandman Project Scoping Study points to near-term production potential with report filed on October 27, 2022

2 applied Federal Income Tax, NV Excise Tax, Net Proceeds Tax

3 Note both Southeast Pediment and Silica Ridge also have mineralisation at surface but a not on hill tops, these two deposits are at planar level so the strip ratio is slightly higher.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - York Harbour Metals Inc. (TSXV: YORK) (OTC Pink: YORKF) (FSE: 5DE0) (the "Company" or "York") announces a significant discovery of high-grade rare earth elements ("REE") mineralization at its 100%-owned Bottom Brook Project in Western Newfoundland & Labrador. The Company's initial fieldwork has discovered a new zone of high-grade REE mineralization 750 metres to the south-southwest of the historic U3 REE zone. The program also confirmed high grade surface samples near the U3 occurrence.

"The high-grade values we've seen in our initial sampling at the U3 and the newly discovered Bottom Bank showings ("BB showings"), which are situated over 750 metres to the south-southwest, provide a unique opportunity for the discovery of a compelling area of critical element mineralization at our Bottom Brook Project," commented Bruce Durham, President and CEO. He further emphasized, "This summer's exploration program is a game-changer for us, giving us the chance to evaluate numerous mineral occurrences across the property. Our focus is clear and straightforward: to explore, discover, and develop our projects efficiently and effectively. We're zeroing in on our goal to make a new discovery that has a chance at being a new deposit. We're just getting started - the exploration program is continuing to generate data that will be used to determine the focus for our drilling program slated to start later in the summer. As we've always done, we'll let the results guide our drilling decisions. We're determined to discover mineralization at the various targets we've meticulously identified through our exploration efforts."

Highlights:

Grab samples collected from Bottom Brook and U3 REE showings returned TREO values ranging from 0.07 to 22.31%. The high-grade sample 116575 from the U3 showing included very high concentrations of magnetic rare earth elements neodymium, praseodymium, terbium, and dysprosium ("Nd, Pr, Tb, and Dy") also known as ("magnet REE's" or "MRE's). Sample 116575 contained total MREs of 5.00% (50kg/t MRE)

On the Bottom Brook project, MRE's typically comprise 20% or more of the TREO. The U3 REE showing returned TREO values from 0.07 to 22.31% samples collected from the nearby Bottom Brook REE showing returned TREO values from 1.17 to 7.63%. The highest-grade sample 116569 from the BB showing included magnetic rare earth elements (Nd, Pr, Tb, and Dy) grading 1.89% (18.9kg per tonne MRE).

Figure 1: York Harbour Metals' Bottom Brook Project: U3 and Bottom Brook Rare Earth Elements Showings

York Harbour's team is actively re-interpreting local and regional geology to determine the potential for REE and other mineralization of potential economic value at various locations within the Bottom Brook Project.

The infrastructure of the Bottom Brook project is excellent with power roads and access to labour at the project or nearby.

Current exploration efforts include ongoing geological mapping and prospecting across the 20km by 10km project area, with 146 grab and channel samples currently being assayed and more expected to be submitted for analysis over the coming weeks.

The exploration strategy also includes the implementation of control grids and geophysical surveys over areas showing favourable geology and mineralization. Regions proximal to mineralization with shallow overburden are being stripped, trenched with channel sampling to better understand TREO mineralization before the drill equipment mobilization later this summer.

This early discovery of high-grade total rare earth oxide ("TREO") mineralization underlines the Company's commitment to quickly expanding the technical databases on the Bottom Brook property. The data being gathered will help in develop a geological model and enhance the understanding of the geological controls on REE mineralization in and around the U3 area. This information will guide the selection of new drill targets for initial drill testing later this summer.

Figure 2: York Harbour Metals' Bottom Brook Project: Rare Earth Minerals Showings and General Geological Trends, Western Newfoundland

Sample Pr Pr6O11 Nd Nd2O3 Tb Tb4O7 Dy Dy2O3 TREO% No. ppm % ppm % ppm % ppm % 116559 448 0.05 1700 0.20 16.7 0.00 74.6 0.01 1.17 116560 1030 0.12 3870 0.45 40.4 0.00 169 0.02 2.51 116561 595 0.07 2160 0.25 19.4 0.00 80.3 0.01 1.35 116562 859 0.10 3410 0.40 27.8 0.00 110 0.01 2.07 116563 2050 0.25 7210 0.84 108 0.01 407 0.05 4.88 116564 2940 0.36 10900 1.27 151 0.02 688 0.08 7.31 116565 1910 0.23 6970 0.81 78.9 0.01 357 0.04 4.41 116566 1290 0.16 4750 0.55 49.5 0.01 223 0.03 2.91 116567 2570 0.31 10000 1.17 118 0.01 486 0.06 6.4 116568 2800 0.34 9530 1.11 143 0.02 660 0.08 6.39 116569 3060 0.37 12200 1.42 155 0.02 686 0.08 7.63 116570 1260 0.15 4330 0.51 56.6 0.01 280 0.03 2.93 116572 6660 0.80 24200 2.82 342 0.04 1610 0.18 16.07 116573 8260 1.00 28800 3.35 460 0.05 2200 0.25 19.95 116574 3870 0.47 14100 1.65 209 0.02 1050 0.12 9.6 116575 9030 1.09 31000 3.62 444 0.05 2090 0.24 22.31 116576 1500 0.18 5320 0.62 60.4 0.01 286 0.03 3.69 116577 1650 0.20 6350 0.74 87.2 0.01 393 0.05 4.29 116578 3140 0.38 11600 1.35 154 0.02 731 0.08 8.09 116579 2650 0.32 9970 1.16 141 0.02 662 0.08 6.73 116580 25.3 0.00 95.8 0.01 1.8 0.00 9.9 0.00 0.07 116581 8680 1.05 29900 3.49 416 0.05 1960 0.22 20.96

Table 1: Detailed Summary of Surface Sample Assay Data from Bottom Brook Project, Western Newfoundland

Neodymium (Nd) Praseodymium (Pr) Dysprosium (Dy) Terbium (Tb) US$/kg 126.70 127.20 506.70 2,111.10

Table 2: Current Prices for Permanent Magnet Rare Earth Elements as of July 24, 2023 (Source: Strategicmetalsinvest.com) Note: 1% =10kg per tonne)

Qualified Person

Doug Blanchflower, P. Geo., a Director of York Harbour, and a Qualified Person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and accepted the technical material contained in this news release.

About York Harbour Metals

York Harbour Metals Inc. (TSXV: YORK) (OTC Pink: YORKF) (FSE: 5DE0) is an exploration and development company focused on two high-grade projects in Newfoundland. The York Harbour Copper-Zinc-Silver Project is located approximately 27km from Corner Brook in Newfoundland. The Company intends to continue drilling the 11 known mineralized zones and explore new massive sulphide targets.

The Bottom Brook Rare Earth Project, covering 15,150 hectares, is located next to the Trans Canada Highway and is just 27 km from the deep-water port at Turf Point. York Harbour intends to actively identify diamond drill targets through property-wide prospecting, focused soil sampling, and geological mapping. A substantial drill program is scheduled for this year.

For further details on York Harbour Metals, please reach out via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call +1-778-302-2257. You may also visit the Company's website at www.yorkharbourmetals.com for past news releases, media interviews and opinion-editorial pieces by management.

On Behalf of The Board of Directors,

"Signed"

Bruce Durham

CEO, President, and Director

Telephone: 778-302-2257 | Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Website: www.yorkharbourmetals.com

1518 - 800 Pender Street W, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 2V6

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information



This news release may contain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements herein include but are not limited to statements relating to the prospects for development of the Company's mineral properties, and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market and economic risks, uncertainties and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
CALGARY, Alberta, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pan American Energy Corp. (the Company or Pan American) (CSE: PNRG) (OTC PINK: PAANF) (FRA: SS60) is pleased to announce the completion of its Phase 2 exploratory subsurface drill program at its Horizon Lithium Project (Horizon) in Big Smoky Valley, Nevada. The program involved targeted drilling in strategic locations based on geological research conducted by the Companys strategic contractor partner, RESPEC (RESPEC). Following the success of the Phase 1 exploratory drilling program, where a lithium mineralization discovery was made, the Phase 2 exploratory drilling program consisted of nine targeted diamond core drill holes at Horizon, aggregating a total of 6,856 feet of drilling.

The successful completion of the drill program represents another milestone for Pan American as it works towards delineating the size, quality, and economic viability of the newly discovered lithium mineralization at Horizon. The Company is awaiting assay results from the Phase 2 drilling program and will use the combined Phase 1 and Phase 2 results to move towards declaring a mineral resource estimate at Horizon in the coming months. RESPEC will continue to support the Company as it works towards declaring a mineral resource in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) standards of disclosure and National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Preliminary Highlights from the Phase 2 drilling program include:

A total of nine boreholes were drilled and cored over 65 days of rig time.

Drill pads were strategically placed to explore the eastern flank of Horizons subsurface for lithium mineralization.

The average total depth ( TD ) for holes drilled in the Phase 2 drill program was 761 ft, with a maximum depth of 1,000 ft (HL024, and HL026).

) for holes drilled in the Phase 2 drill program was 761 ft, with a maximum depth of 1,000 ft (HL024, and HL026). A total of 6,856 ft was drilled in the Phase 2 drill program, with 5,716 ft, or 84%, of intervals cored in the Siebert Formation.

Compared to the Phase 1 program, less time was spent to reach the target zones due to improved proximity to the Siebert Formation top (ie., shallow overburden) in the areas drilled in the Phase 2 program

Proximity to Surface, Total Depth, and Siebert Elevation:

Phase 2 boreholes did not intersect major subsurface structures with significant vertical displacement of strata due to faulting as was observed in boreholes (HL019 and HL005) located in the west central portion of Phase 1

HL030, located in the northeast quadrant of Horizon, intersected the Siebert Formation top 15.5 feet below the ground surface. This aligns with the interpretation of the Siebert Formation as it outcrops to the east/northeast of Horizon.

There is geological continuity of claystone stratigraphy in the majority of the drill holes. Boreholes HL023, HL024, and HL026 were drilled to a depth of up to 1000 ft based on their proximity to the Phase 1 boreholes (HL005, HL006, HL007, and HL008) where the best lithium mineralization was observed.

Every borehole in Phase 2 except HL027 reached at least 600 ft depth.

Jason Latkowcer, Chief Executive Officer, commented, The drill program was executed on time and on budget. It reflects the quality of work by the Company and our contractors. The completion of the Phase 2 drill program positions the Company to advance toward the next step of delineating a mineral resource estimate and releasing a NI 43-101 technical report on Horizon in the coming months. Horizon is still vastly unexplored, creating an excellent opportunity for follow-on work programs to take place. With so much activity in the region, we are continually monitoring our industry peers for learnings and gaining valuable insights that will benefit our future exploration activities.

Figure 1  Phase 2 Siebert Depth, Cored Siebert, Total Depth, Surface Elevation and Siebert Elevation

Table 1: Summary of Phase 2 Exploration

PHASE II SURFACE ELV SIEBERT DEPTH SIEBERT ELV TD CORED SIEBERT HL030 5475 15.5 5459.5 680.0 664.5 HL031 5471 24.0 5447.0 700.0 676.0 HL029 5469 38.0 5431.0 703.0 665.0 HL023 5375 128.5 5246.5 998.0 869.5 HL032 5431 129.0 5302.0 600.0 471.0 HL024 5350 148.0 5202.0 1000.0 852.0 HL025 5388 165.0 5223.0 700.0 535.0 HL026 5330 220.0 5110.0 1000.0 780.0 HL027 5389 272.0 5117 475.0 203.0

Figure 2 - Drill Hole Locations

Figure 3  HL026 from 388 ft to 398 ft

Figure 4  HL029 from 427 ft to 435.5 ft

HANDLING AND SAMPLING PROCEDURE

Cored samples were transported twice daily from the drill pad to the RESPEC/Pan American core logging headquarters in Tonopah, NV by RESPEC geologists.

Detailed core examination of samples was completed following industry standards for core descriptions. Logging criteria included geotechnical and structural parameters (RQD, structure types and infill, planarity, roughness, hardness and angle to core axis), lithologic qualifiers (lithofacies, mineralogical composition, and cementation) and acid reactivity for calcium carbonate.

On-site core-slab sampling program was performed by RESPEC geologists with a 5% quality control insertion rate using Certified Reference Materials: 2 pulp types of known Lithium content and 2 (pulp and coarse) blanks. Sample selection was completed on every 5-foot depth increment and accounts for notable stratigraphic variations. The program also includes random core-slab sample duplicates from every drill hole in the study area. Once coarse and pulp rejects are returned from ALS Geochemistry, located in Reno, NV, a small percentage will be sent to a check lab.

Core photography and database management of all sampled intervals and core boxes were performed by RESPECs field personnel.

Samples were transported to ALS Geochemistry located in Reno, NV by RESPEC field personnel. ALS Geochemistry is independent of the Company.

Chain of custody and sample assaying tracking/controls were kept throughout the entire program.

ALS Geochemistry performed ME-MS61 multi-element analyses by four acid digestion and ICP-MS on all lithium-bearing claystone samples.

Bulk Density testing using the wax immersion method was performed by RESPEC personnel on representative lithological samples encountered in the subsurface.

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Tabetha Stirrett, P.Geo, who is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.

About Pan American Energy Corp.

Pan American Energy Corp. (CSE: PNRG) (OTC PINK: PAANF) (FSE: SS60) is an exploration stage company engaged principally in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties containing battery metals in North America.

The Company executed an option agreement in Canada with Magabra Resources providing for the right to acquire up to a 90% interest in the drill-ready Big Mack Lithium Project, 80 km north of Kenora, Ontario. The Company has also entered a property option agreement with Horizon Lithium LLC providing for the right to acquire a 100% interest in the Horizon Lithium Project, located within Esmeralda County  Tonopah Lithium Belt, Nevada, USA.

To register for investor updates please visit https://panam-energy.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Jason Latkowcer

CEO & Director

Contact

Phone : (587) 885-5970

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words could, intend, expect, believe, will, projected, estimated and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Companys current beliefs or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking information relating to, among other things, the Companys intention to declare a mineral resource at Horizon and release a NI 43-101 compliant technical report in respect of Horizon in the coming months; the Companys intention to delineate the size, quality and economic viability of the lithium mineralization at Horizon; the Companys intention to send certain pulp rejects to a check lab; and the exploration potential of Horizon.

Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information, including, in respect of the forward-looking information included in this press release, the assumption that: the Company will be in a position, following the receipt of the assays from the Phase 2 drilling program, to declare a mineral resource at, and file a NI 43-101 Technical Report for, Horizon on the timeline anticipated; that the Company will continue to explore Horizon to delineate the size, quality and economic viability of the lithium mineralization at Horizon; and that the unexplored areas of Horizon contain lithium mineralization which can be explored for by the Company.

Although forward-looking information is based on the reasonable assumptions of the Companys management, there can be no assurance that any forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include the risk that the Company is unsuccessful in declaring a mineral resource estimate at, and filing a NI 43-101 technical report for, Horizon, on the timeline currently anticipated, or at all; risks inherent in the exploration and development of mineral deposits, including risks relating to receiving requisite permits and approvals, changes in project parameters or delays as plans continue to be redefined, that mineral exploration is inherently uncertain and that the results of mineral exploration may not be indicative of the actual geology or mineralization of a project; that the geology or mineralization of one part of Horizon may not be indicative of the geology or mineralization at another part of Horizon; that mineral exploration may be unsuccessful or fail to achieve the results anticipated by the Company; and the other risks and factors identified by the Company in its continuous disclosure filings, filed on the Companys SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof, and the Company not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein.
Divestment of non-core assets advances the Company's portfolio optimization strategy

Total cash proceeds of US$593 million strengthen the balance sheet

Reduces 2023 and future care and maintenance costs

VANCOUVER, British Columbia / Jul 31, 2023 / Business Wire / Pan American Silver Corp. (NYSE: PAAS) (TSX: PAAS) ("Pan American" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the status of our divestment of certain non-core assets, including the sale of our interest in the MARA project in Argentina, the Morococha mine in Peru, and the Agua de la Falda project in Chile.

"The sale of these non-core assets is aligned with our stated aim of optimizing our portfolio following the Yamana acquisition. These transactions not only reaffirm our commitment to our core business but also yield substantial and immediate value to our shareholders, while maintaining future upside through the retention of copper and gold royalties with strong counterparties," said Michael Steinmann, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pan American. "The consideration for the sale of MARA, coupled with the other sales, will yield total cash proceeds of US$593 million. The cash proceeds will allow us to both fully repay the amount drawn on our credit facility and increase our cash position, further enhancing the resilience of our balance sheet. These transactions will also allow Pan American to reduce its annual project development, reclamation and care and maintenance costs, which for MARA and Morococha amounted to US$15.7 million in Q2 2023. This improved balance sheet strength creates enhanced opportunities for the Company, providing increased capital to advance key strategic projects, including the La Colorada Skarn Project."

MARA

Pan American has entered into a binding agreement to sell its 56.25% interest in the MARA Project ("MARA" or the "Project"), located in the Catamarca province of Argentina, to Glencore International AG ("Glencore"). Pan American acquired its 56.25% interest in MARA through its acquisition of Yamana Gold Inc. ("Yamana"), which closed on March 31, 2023. At present, Glencore holds a 43.75% interest in MARA, and upon the completion of the transaction, Glencore will assume 100% ownership of the Project.

MARA was initially established as a joint venture in December 2020 amongst Yamana, Glencore and Newmont Corporation ("Newmont"), following the integration of the Minera Alumbrera plant and mining infrastructure and the Agua Rica project. On September 23, 2022, Glencore announced that it had acquired Newmonts 18.75% interest in MARA, thereby increasing its ownership in the Project to 43.75%, at that time.

Under the terms of the agreement, at closing Glencore will pay US$475 million, in cash, and will grant Pan American a life-of-mine copper net smelter return ("NSR") royalty of 0.75%, with the right for Pan American to freely transfer the royalty.

MARA feasibility studies, reclamation and care and maintenance ("C&M") costs for the Project for the three-month period ending June 30, 2023, amounted to US$11.5 million for Pan American's portion. Future C&M costs will be eliminated upon closing of the transaction. Pan American estimated MARA feasibility studies, reclamation and C&M costs for the Project of US$60 million to US$65 million on a 100% ownership basis for 2023, as per the Companys guidance provided on May 10, 2023.

The closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions and regulatory filings. Pan American expects the transaction to be completed in the third quarter of 2023.

Morococha

Pan American placed the Morococha mine on C&M in early 2022, while it evaluated alternative strategic opportunities for the asset following the closure of the Amistad processing plant, pursuant to an agreement with Aluminum Corporation of China ("Chinalco"). As previously disclosed, in June 2010, the Company finalized a framework agreement with Chinalco that entailed the relocation of core Morococha facilities, including the Amistad processing plant, in stages, to facilitate the incremental expansion of Chinalcos Toromocho open pit copper mine.

On June 19, 2023, Pan American entered into a binding agreement to sell its 92.3% interest in Compania Minera Argentum S.A. (CMA), its Peruvian subsidiary that owns the Morococha mine, to Alpayana S.A. ("Alpayana"), also a Peruvian mining company. Alpayana owns a number of operating mines in the region.

Under the terms of the agreement, Alpayana will acquire the shares of CMA in exchange for a cash consideration of US$25 million, payable upon closing of the transaction. The completion of the transaction is subject to customary conditions and regulatory approval from the Peruvian National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Protection of Intellectual Property. Pan American expects the transaction to be completed in the third quarter of 2023.

C&M costs for the Morococha mine for the six-month period ending June 30, 2023 amounted to US$13.2 million. Future C&M costs will be eliminated upon closing of the transaction.

As a result of this executed agreement, the net assets of CMA, including the Morococha mine, will be classified as "held for sale", and accordingly will be presented separately under current assets and liabilities in the Companys second quarter 2023 unaudited interim consolidated financial statements. Further, a net of tax impairment charge of US$33.3 million (US$42.4 million pre tax) will be taken to the CMA net assets.

Agua de la Falda

Pan American has entered into a binding agreement with Rio Tinto Mining & Exploration Ltd. Agencia en Chile SPA ("Rio Tinto"), a subsidiary of Rio Tinto Limited, to sell its 57.75% interest in Agua de la Falda S.A. ("ADLF"), a Chilean company that holds the historical Jeronimo project, located in the Atacama region of northern Chile, as well as several adjoining concessions, that are indirectly wholly owned by Pan American. Pan American acquired its interest in ADLF through its acquisition of Yamana. The remaining 42.25% interest is held by Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile ("CODELCO").

Under the terms of the agreement, Rio Tinto will pay US$45.55 million, in cash, upon closing and will grant Pan American a NSR royalty of 1.25% on all precious metals and a NSR royalty of 0.2% on all base metals, on a pro rata basis in accordance with the interest acquired by Rio Tinto, on production from certain mineral concessions.

The closing of the transaction is subject to the execution of definitive documentation and customary conditions. No regulatory approvals or filings are required. Pan American expects the transaction to be completed in the third quarter of 2023.

Equity Interests

During the second quarter of 2023, Pan American divested of a number of non-controlling equity investments for a total consideration of US$47.1 million.

About Pan American Silver

Pan American Silver is a leading producer of precious metals in the Americas, operating silver and gold mines in Canada, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile and Brazil. We also own the Escobal mine in Guatemala that is currently not operating, and we hold interests in exploration and development projects. We have been operating in the Americas for nearly three decades, earning an industry-leading reputation for sustainability performance, operational excellence and prudent financial management. We are headquartered in Vancouver, B.C. and our shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "PAAS".

Learn more at panamericansilver.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Information

Certain of the statements and information in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian provincial securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements or information in this news release relate to, among other things: the receipt of any necessary regulatory approvals and successful completion of the proposed transactions in respect of MARA, Morococha and Agua de la Falda (the "non-core assets"), as well as the anticipated terms and timing for the completion thereof; the anticipated use of proceeds, including to fully repay the amount drawn on our credit facility; the anticipated benefits from the completion of the sale of the non-core assets; and the impact of such transactions on Pan Americans future financial or operational performance.

These forward-looking statements and information reflect Pan Americans current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Pan American, are inherently subject to significant operational, business, economic and regulatory uncertainties and contingencies. These assumptions include: the ability to satisfy the closing conditions and, where necessary, receive regulatory approval, to complete the sale of the non-core assets; the impact of inflation and disruptions to the global, regional and local supply chains; tonnage of ore to be mined and processed; future anticipated prices for gold, silver and other metals and assumed foreign exchange rates; the timing and impact of planned capital expenditure projects, including anticipated sustaining, project, and exploration expenditures; the ongoing impact and timing of the court-mandated ILO 169 consultation process in Guatemala; ore grades and recoveries; capital, decommissioning and reclamation estimates; our mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates and the assumptions upon which they are based; prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); no labour-related disruptions at any of our operations; no unplanned delays or interruptions in scheduled production; all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals for our operations are received in a timely manner; our ability to secure and maintain title and ownership to mineral properties and the surface rights necessary for our operations; whether Pan American is able to maintain a strong financial condition and have sufficient capital, or have access to capital through our corporate sustainability-linked credit facility or otherwise, to sustain our business and operations; and our ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive.

Pan American cautions the reader that forward-looking statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release and Pan American has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: the duration and effect of local and world-wide inflationary pressures and the potential for economic recessions; fluctuations in silver, gold and base metal prices; fluctuations in prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); fluctuations in currency markets (such as the PEN, MXN, ARS, BOB, GTQ, CAD, CLP and BRL versus the USD); the duration and effects of COVID-19, and any other pandemics on our operations and workforce, and the effects on global economies and society; operational risks and hazards inherent with the business of mining (including environmental accidents and hazards, industrial accidents, equipment breakdown, unusual or unexpected geological or structural formations, cave-ins, flooding and severe weather); risks relating to the credit worthiness or financial condition of suppliers, refiners and other parties with whom Pan American does business; inadequate insurance, or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks and hazards; employee relations; relationships with, and claims by, local communities and indigenous populations; our ability to obtain all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in a timely manner; changes in laws, regulations and government practices in the jurisdictions where we operate, including environmental, export and import laws and regulations; changes in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls or regulations and political, legal or economic developments in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Guatemala, Chile, Brazil or other countries where Pan American may carry on business, including legal restrictions relating to mining, including in Chubut, Argentina, risks relating to expropriation and risks relating to the constitutional court-mandated ILO 169 consultation process in Guatemala; diminishing quantities or grades of mineral reserves as properties are mined; increased competition in the mining industry for equipment and qualified personnel; those factors identified under the caption "Risks Related to Pan American's Business" in Pan American's most recent form 40-F and Annual Information Form filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities, respectively; and those factors identified under the caption "Risks of the Business" in Yamana's most recent form 40-F and Annual Information Form filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities, respectively. Although Pan American has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, described or intended. Investors are cautioned against undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements and information are designed to help readers understand management's current views of our near- and longer term prospects and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Pan American does not intend, nor does it assume any obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, changes in assumptions, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.
VANCOUVER, BC , April 14, 2023 /CNW/ - Superior Mining International Corp. (" Superior Mining " or the "Company" ) (TSXV: SUI) (OTC: SUIFF) announces that, further to its news release of January 26, 2023 , it has obtained final approval from the TSX Venture Exchange (the " TSXV ") to proceed with... Read More
"Justice administered in the silence of their offices with only them as witnesses to what theyre doing, this is not justice!" This outburst from an official of the victims' association Ibuka sums up the frustration in Rwanda at not being able to follow the trial of Felicien Kabuga. The "old man", suspected of having been []
Albania on Monday arrested a former Kosovo rebel wanted by a Hague war crimes court for alleged intimidation and obstructing justice, the tribunal said.

Dritan Goxhaj was detained in Tirana where authorities will now decide whether to extradite him to the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) in the Netherlands, it said.

The EU-funded court is probing alleged crimes by ethnic Albanian rebels from the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the 1998-99 independence war with Serbia.

A KSC judge issued a warrant for Goxhaj for "offences against the administration of justice involving intimidation" and "obstructing official persons", the court said in a statement.

The prosecutor's office in Tirana confirmed the arrest and said Goxhaj was a citizen of Albania. Police also searched his home in Tirana at the request of the court, it said.

His lawyer said Goxhaj joined the KLA after the war broke out. Kosovo media said that before joining the rebels Goxhaj was an officer at an aviation school in Albania.

The high-security war crimes court operates under Kosovan law but is based in the Netherlands to shield witnesses from intimidation in Kosovo.

The court jailed two former KLA rebels, Hysni Gucati and Nasim Haradinaj, in 2022 for intimidating witnesses by revealing their names and branding them "traitors, spies and collaborators".

Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci went on trial in April accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the conflict. Thaci has pleaded not guilty.

burs-dk/gw
Among other stars, Jeon Yeo Bin possesses a sophisticated and almost callous aura. With her well-defined facial features, she became one of the most sought-after actresses in Hallyu.

However, she isn't only equipped with big talents and unrivaled beauty. Jeon Yeo Bin also has a great taste in fashion, which is evident in her red carpet and photo call looks.

Here are three of her best looks in the past years which earned her applause and the nickname "style icon."



Jeon Yeo Bin's Girl Boss Aura

After dominating the television with "Vincenzo," Hallyu superstar Jeon Yeo Bin strutted the red carpet at the Asia Artist Awards in 2021 with her girl boss sophistication.

She was garbed in an all-black suit jacket ensemble with a single-breasted blazer and a pair of wool pants from Dolce & Gabbana.

Jeon Yeo Bin's jet black pixie hair added a flair to the whole look, which made every K-drama fan swoon. Here's how you can cop the actress' iconic look for a cheaper price.

Jeon Yeo Bin's Black Swan-Inspired Gown

It's not a surprise that the "Vincenzo" star looks so beautiful in black. During the 26th Busan International Film Festival, Jeon Yeo Bin made the red carpet her own runway.

She appeared at the event donning a black slip pleats dress from the South Korean fashion brand Jay Baek Couture's ready-to-wear gowns.

The actress completed the look with open toe stiletto heels from the same brand, which elevated Jeon Yeo bin's style. Shop the look for cheap by clicking here.

Jeon Yeo Bin's Iconic Cannes Debut Look

Earlier this year, Jeon Yeo Bin made her long awaited Cannes debut with the black comedy film "Cobweb."

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE THIS: Kim Go Eun Update 2023: 'Little Women' Star Returns With Slew of Big Scale Projects

At the prestigious event, the actress graced the red carpet with her Greek goddess look as she was garbed in a silk ivory-colored dress from the luxury house Ines Di Santo's Spring/Summer 2021 Bridal Collection.

The beautiful artist looked sleek as she wrapped her hair in a long low ponytail which was adorned by crystals from the jewelry brand Chopard. Cop the look by clicking here.

Which was your favorite Jeon Yeo Bin red carpet look? Share it with us in the comments below!

Follow KDramaStars now for more K-Drama, K-Movie and celebrity updates!

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
CHENGDU, Sichuan/HANZHONG, Shaanxi, July 29 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping has called for breaking new ground in China's high-quality development during an inspection tour in southwest China's Sichuan Province. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, urged the province to write a new chapter in advancing Chinese modernization. He said that it is imperative to apply the new development philosophy, forge a new pattern of development and promote common prosperity across the board and throughout economic and social development. He urged more efforts to advance the transformation of the model, driving force, areas and quality of development to break new ground in the country's high-quality development. During the Sichuan tour, Xi visited places including Guangyuan and Deyang cities from July 25 to 27. On Tuesday afternoon, he went to Guangyuan and visited the site of a section of an ancient road system known as "Shudao." Xi walked along the ancient road and took a close look at the ancient cypress forest that has been well preserved. Xi stressed the importance of building institutional frameworks and their implementation as well as inspiring the people's motivation, initiative and creativity to consolidate and expand the achievements in ecological conservation. On Wednesday afternoon, Xi visited the new building of the Sanxingdui Museum in Deyang. Sanxingdui Ruins are the remnants of an ancient capital and represent the ancient Shu civilization. After touring the exhibition halls, Xi went to the venue for relic preservation and repair, where he carefully observed the procedures, details, and latest techniques. Xi also talked with the staff on site. He stressed more state support for the preservation and repair of cultural relics, describing the work as a long-term task. Xi also called for promoting craftsmanship and perseverance to yield more achievements in this regard. On Thursday morning, Xi was briefed by the Sichuan provincial Party committee and government about their work, and recognized their efforts in various respects. He urged Sichuan to make more progress in sci-tech innovation, the building of a modern industrial system, rural revitalization and the consolidation of ecological shields along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. Opening up new areas of development with sci-tech innovation is an urgent requirement for high-quality development, Xi said, calling on Sichuan to give full play to its strengths and make efforts on both sci-tech innovation and the application of scientific and technological achievements. He asked the province to resolve problems concerning a number of core technologies in key fields and to become an innovation hub in western China. Relying on its unique advantages in manufacturing, Sichuan should actively contribute to the safety of the country's industrial and supply chains, and dock itself with the new industrial layout in China's eastern coastal areas in a high-quality manner, Xi said. Stressing the deep integration of the digital economy and the real economy, Xi called on the province to build a modernized industrial system with Sichuan characteristics and strengths. He urged Sichuan to put rural revitalization in a prominent position and further take on the responsibilities of stabilizing the production and ensuring the supply of major agricultural products such as grain, hogs and oilseed crops. Xi stressed that Sichuan should enhance ecological conservation, move faster to build a national park-based nature reserve system, and actively advocate eco-friendly and low-carbon ways of work and life. Xi urged Sichuan to keep skies blue, waters clear, and lands pollution-free by higher standards, improve the compensation system for ecological conservation, and elevate the modernization of ecological environment governance. Xi pointed out that as Sichuan is a place with frequent natural disasters, it is necessary to strengthen the building of emergency response forces. July and August mark the time the Yangtze River basin enters its main flood season, Xi said, calling for efforts to make preparations for flood control and disaster relief and minimize casualties and property losses to the greatest extent. Xi also urged Sichuan to comprehensively check the hidden dangers of workplace safety, and resolutely prevent and contain the occurrence of major workplace safety accidents. On the education campaign launched by the CPC, Xi urged Party organizations at all levels to fully carry out the CPC Central Committee's plans and make practical progress as the first round of the campaign will conclude in less than two months. On Saturday, Xi visited Hanzhong in northwest China's Shaanxi Province on his way back to Beijing. During his visit to the municipal museum, Xi emphasized making good use of museums. He also called for efforts to expand the influence of Chinese culture. "I was in Hanzhong in 2008 after the devastating Wenchuan earthquake to oversee the relief work. Hanzhong has always been in my heart over the years," Xi told local residents who gathered around him when he was leaving the museum. Xi said he was delighted to see huge changes of the city since then. In Hanzhong, Xi also visited a wetland park, where he stressed the important responsibility and great significance of protecting the wetland resources in the area along the Hanjiang River and its tributaries. He urged efforts to improve the overall protection and systematic restoration of the wetland ecosystem. 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 tour.
Jung Hae In recalls his past movies and dramas as he celebrates his 10th year in the industry.

After his debut in 2014 for the series "Bride of the Century," the 35-year-old actor has proven his star power through notable works like "Something in the Rain," "Snowdrop," and more.

During his appearance on JTBC's "News Room," he reflected on his career and his journey as an actor.

Jung Hae In on Being Nicknamed 'National Younger Man'

One of Jung Hae In's big breaks in K-drama was the romance series "Something in the Rain," in which he starred alongside top actress Son Ye Jin.

For the actor, he couldn't believe that it had been five years since the K-drama was released. However, he said he doesn't focus on the years he has spent as an actor but on the lessons he learns through his experiences.

"Something in the Rain" was special to him because it was his first lead K-drama. In addition, it's the work where he got the spotlight and was called "National Younger Man."

Describing the feeling as a "dream," Jung Hae In said, "Looking back and thinking about it, it was like a cloud in a way." He added that to overcome it, he "put a lot of effort into seeing the essence of it."

In the melodrama, Son Ye Jin played as Yoon Jin Ah, a single 35-year-old woman who has had a ton of bad experiences with men. However, she crosses paths with her younger brother's best friend, Seo Joon Hee, played by Jung Hae In.

Jung Hae In Says He 'Felt Going to the Army Three Times' After Filming 'D.P.' Season 2

As the interview continued, Jung Hae In talked about his K-drama, "D.P." season 2, where he reprised his role as Private soldier Ahn Joon Ho.

According to him, it was a work where he received so much attention, but was at some point challenging due to the huge popularity of the previous season.

"If I say it didn't feel like pressure, that would be a lie," he said, adding, "I hope those who watched it didn't feel like their time was wasted. I want to deliver acting that satisfies not only myself but also the viewers."

When asked about his experience filming the sequel, Jung Hae In got honest and shared that it felt as if he had gone to the military three times and could feel the pressure from the environment.

Moreover, while filming season 2, Jung Hae In said that it felt like he re-enlisted again.

"While shooting Season 2, I felt that kind of sensation again. I want to be discharged. I hope they discharge me," he said.

Officially released on July 28 exclusively on Netflix, "D.P." season 2 showcases more drama and unexpected twists as the story depicts the brutal reality in the military.

Joining him in the second season are Goo Kyo Hwan, Son Seok Koo, Kim Sung Kyun, Ji Jin Hee, Kim Ji Hyun, and more.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 'DP 2' Teaser Indicates Huge Changes Between Jung Hae In & Goo Kyo Hwan

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramaStars.

KDramaStars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
The Counters meet the newest addition to their family in "The Uncanny Counter 2" episode 2. Unfortunately, the team is forced to face the most dangerous forces led by a powerful spirit. Will they take them down?

'The Uncanny Counter 2' Episode 2: Prospect For The Newest Counter

"The Uncanny Counter 2" Episode 2 begins with So Mun (Jo Byung Gyu) and Chu Mae Ok (Yeom Hye Ran) making arrangements for the mother and son duo that were saved by their fellow Counters.

A young man named Na Jeok Beong (Yoo In Soo) caters to his cows before he leaves for a blind date. Unfortunately, everything goes downhill when they don't get along.

When the woman runs away from him, a truck rushes towards her director. Na Jeok Beong then runs to save her life.

Ga Mo Tak (Yoo Jun Sang), who witnessed what happened, tells Wi Gen (Moon Sook) that he wants Na Jeok Beong as their new Counter.

Ma Joo Seok's Painful Loss

Ma Joo Seok (Jin Seon Kyu) and his wife lose the trial against the fraudulent scammers who stole their savings.

Devastated, she waits outside in vain.

She suddenly feels pain in her abdomen and decides to leave but she is unfortunately captured by evil spirits Hwang Pil Kwang (Kang Ki Young), Gelli Berherd (Kim Hieora), and Wang Li Qiang (Kim Hyun Wook).

Unable to run away, she is soon harmed by them.

Meanwhile, Ma Joo Seok witnesses her final moments.

So Mun and the other Counters are saddened by the news.

Elsewhere, the three evil spirits rejoice after having gotten the money from the couple.

Counters' Gleam of Hope

Na Jeok Beong finally agrees to become a Counter, which lightens the mood a bit. He is welcomed to the team while Do Ha Na (Kim Sejeong) becomes his mentor.

The evil spirits continue to torture people in exchange for money. Do Ha Na, who detects this, arrives at the site along the Counters.

They engage in a bloodbath and while Wang Li Qiang surges forward, Do Ha Na breaks into his mind as she is able to see his memories.

Who Is Hwang Pil Kwang?

Once they defeated the evil spirits, Do Ha Na reveals that Wang Li Qiang is the one who killed the victim they saw in China.

They also discover that Ma Joo Seok's wife was brutally murdered by Hwang Pil Kwang. Because of this, the Counters feel the rage inside them.

As they prepare to take down the three evil spirits, Hwang Pil Kwang enters their restaurant with a smug look on his face.

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
Canada is speaking out against a coup d'etat in Niger, as analysts fear political instability across West Africa will embolden terrorist groups and the Russian mercenary group Wagner. Nigeriens participate in a march called by supporters of coup leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani in Niamey, Niger, Sunday, July 30, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Sam Mednick
Buganda Kingdom is today joining Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II in celebrating his 30th coronation anniversary at his Palace in Lubiri-Mengo.

This is the first open ceremony to the public as all royal ceremonies had been narrowed down due to the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020.

The minister for the Kingdoms special duties, also the chairman organizing committee of this years anniversary, Owek. David Mpanga, said the Kabaka is pleased to celebrate the coronation with all his subjects, just like before Covid-19, urging the general public to turn up in big numbers.

The Archbishop of Kampala His Grace, Paul Ssemogerere will lead the prayers in thanking God for the life an wisdom he has given the Kabaka to lead the Kingdom.

According to Owek; Mpanga, all invited guests are expected to take their seats by 10 am.

This years anniversary is running under the theme; the importance of clans to the Kingdom.
The Kabaka of Buganda Ronald Muwenda Mutebe II, has cautioned his subjects not to lose their guard, warning that there are many people against the Kingdom. He made the remarks during his 30th coronation anniversary held in Lubiri-Mengo, Kampala on Monday.

During the same event, he warned the youth who are seeking greener pastures abroad to be careful as many labour export companies dont care about what will happen to them. He thus urged the youth not to sell the land of their forefathers to look for jobs both in the city and abroad

The Kabaka also boasted of the social and economic development registered in the kingdom, explaining that ever since Buganda was restored, a lot of developments have been happening that have enabled his subjects to live in peace.

He cited the improvements in health, education, agriculture, and economic sectors, noting that this has been possible due to the spirit of togetherness among the subjects and embracing the idea of federalism.
By Mike Sebalu

News editors under their umbrella body, the Uganda Editors Guild have joined other media stakeholders to temporarily suspend the ban earlier imposed on coverage of government activities.

According to a press release issued by the guilds secretary Sylvia Nankya, the suspension is in light of the invitation extended to the media industry players by State House and the Office of the Prime Minister to discuss the problematic directive to ring-fence government advertising for its own media outlets.

Nankya says the Guild welcomes the invitation as a first step toward finding a more feasible solution to the problem and is ready to take part in the discussions during the meeting slated for August 10.

The Guild welcomes the invitation to find a more feasible solution to the problem and has accepted the invitation to attend these discussions. As a mark of commitment to press freedom and reconciliation, the Guild, therefore, announces the temporary lifting of the boycott on government press briefings and coverage with immediate effect, the press release reads in part.

Other media advocates that have temporarily suspended the boycott include the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and the Uganda Parliamentary Press Association (UPPA).

The Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has since directed parliaments ICT committee to consider the matter ahead of the planned meeting with the president.
Police in Nansana, Kampala district have rescued 131 people from suspected human traffickers after they raided a home whose owners were allegedly posing as trainers for employees seeking to work in the Middles East.

Police spokesperson, Mr. Fred Enanga says the home was not registered or licensed to operate, adding that a one Musa Suna, without registering his World Gate training centre, was training 131 persons recruited in catering by different agents and gathered them in a home in Nansana and later transferred to Akright cell where they were recovered.

The home was not registered or licensed to operate, and two suspects who include; Namubiru Rashida, a trainer, and Ramathan Hakim were arrested for the alleged trafficking in persons, Enanga said in a statement.

Police say the victims had spent several months on training, without contact with their immediate families as all their mobile phones were confiscated.

The 8 companies that handed over the recruited victims include; Cornel Recruitment Co, Janulani  Kalerwe, Swift in Wakaliga, Masaba located in Kawempe (Kutano), Trinity Travel Agency, located in Nkrumah (Makayi Plaza), Herbrah International located in Bukoto, Wamba Recruitment Agency and Labaf Solution located in Ministers Village, Ntinda, Enangas statement reads further.
By Joseph Omollo

Religious leaders in Tororo district-Bukedi sub-region have expressed concern over the growing number of couples opting out of marriages to live single parenthood life.

The Bishop of Bukedi diocese, Rev Samuel George Bogere Egesa says the trend is an indication that the family has been attacked by the devil.

He thus calls for concerted efforts to save the family and ensure children are raised in a favorable environment. Bishop Egesa warns that if unchecked, the trend will destroy the Ugandan society.

He made the remarks during the belated International Day of the Family organised by Tororo district in partnership with Hope for family, at international Boma grounds over the weekend.

Speaking at the same event, the minister of state for Disability Affairs Hellen Grace Asmao, disclosed that government is in the final stages of formulating a family policy to support constructive parenting and reduce cases of single parenthood.
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Community-focused individuals and groups interested in building better, more inclusive communities are being invited to register for an information and training workshop on Thursday, August 10, which focuses on the future of towns across the county and the services they provide.

Kilkenny Leader Partnership will host the free Our Town event at Thomastown Community Centre, beginning at 2.30pm. It will focus on the future of rural towns in Kilkenny, scoping out areas such as mobility, connectivity, inclusion and the circular economy.

Pre-registration is essential as places are limited and registration is now open via the Leader website or on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/ smart-villages- mobilityconnectivityinclusionc ircular-economy-tickets- 686458966247

The event in Thomastown is the final in a series of Smart Villages workshops and information and suggestions gleaned will feed through to the work of KLP and community groups and social enterprises across the county. Among those addressing the workshop will be former Mountjoy Prison Governor, John Lonergan; mobility expert, Brendan Finn and geographer, Caroline Crowley.

While Smart Villages focused on broadband and transport connectivity in the main up to now, the imminent workshop also give a voice to people who live in the county and who may feel socially disengaged and affords them with a platform from which to shape their towns from an economic, social and environmental viewpoint, Martin Rafter, KLP Assistant CEO and Social Inclusion Programmes Manager, said.

It is more important than ever that people have an opportunity to shape the place they live in and for people to feel that they are connected and included. Mobility, Connectivity, Inclusion and the Circular Economy can no longer be considered in isolation," said Mr Rafter.

"They all need to be factored into our drive to build more inclusive towns and villages where people are more connected, where they are contributing to and are part of the sustainable economy. It all trickles out.

This workshop will really appeal to those who wants to be part of building better quality, more inclusive communities in Kilkenny. The information and the ideas we will generate on August 10 will shape how we work into the future, it will inform our thinking. It will also feed into how we work with our partners in Ireland and internationally into the future."
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(Kitco News) - The AurMac property has the potential to become an 8 to 10-million ounce resource, said Banyan Gold's (TSX-V: BYN) President and CEO Tara Christie.

Christie spoke to Kitco mid-July in Dawson City at Invest Yukon's Yukon Mining Property Tours & Investment Conference 2023.

After a major discovery at Powerline and 75,000 meters of drilling, last year and so far in 2023, AurMac has an updated resource of 6.2 million ounces, vaulting Banyan into the big leagues of gold explorers.

"Because this deposit is so consistent, it's near surface, you can add ounces very quickly with drill holes," said Christie, speaking to Kitco mid-July in Dawson City at Invest Yukon's Yukon Mining Property Tours & Investment Conference 2023.

Paul Harris asked Christie how the competitive landscape has changed, with Victoria Gold opening the nearby Eagle mine, and Hecla Mining buying Alexco with its Keno Hill advanced project.

"It's a really exciting position to be in and that's why we're really trying to make sure we're checking all the boxes to de-risk this, said Christie. She noted that unlike Victoria Gold and Snowline Gold, Banyan has yet to find the intrusive thought to be the source of the mineralization.

"The excitement of exploration is that potential for discovery and we've explored less than 5% of our property because we've been so focused on adding ounces with a very systematic grid."

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Travel and accommodation expenses were paid for by Invest Yukon.]
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(Kitco News) - Binance, the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchange, has achieved another landmark in its journey towards full regulation in Dubai, becoming the first crypto firm to secure an operational license in the Middle Eastern financial hub.

We are pleased to announce that our Dubai subsidiary, Binance FZE, has become the first exchange to receive the Operational Minimum Viable Product (MVP) license from Dubai's Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), the company announced on July 31.

The Operational MVP license means Binance can now offer regulated services in Dubai, including exchange and broker-dealer services, albeit limited to institutional and qualified retail investors, which are individuals aged 21 or more who can prove UAE residence and net assets of at least $136,000.

It follows VARAs issuance of a provisional MVP license in March 2022, and a preparatory MVP license in September of the same year.

This landmark development underscores our dedication to building a compliant exchange in partnership with local regulators and within Dubai's unique regulatory framework for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), Binance wrote. The Operational MVP License means eligible users in Dubai will now be able to access authorized services, including the ability to safely convert virtual assets to fiat under VARA-designated standards compliant with the intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force.

Qualified institutions and individuals can use these services knowing theyre under investor protection and market assurance standards tailored specifically for the virtual asset sector, the company said.

Operating within this regulated ecosystem, we are committed to ensuring secure and seamless customer migration, with robust Know-Your-Customer and Customer-Due-Diligence as part of the rigorous onboarding remediation as stipulated by VARA, said Richard Teng, Head of Regional Markets at Binance. Our priority is to be able to operate this first fully regulated exchange in, and from Dubai, in a FATF-compliant ecosystem, setting the stage for global scalability with uncompromised user assurance.

On March 31, Teng told Reuters that they were recruiting over 100 positions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and were helping to shape Dubai's new virtual assets regulations

It is a very progressive framework and we are very happy to be part of that process, working very closely with the Dubai government, Teng said at the time. I wish more regulators globally adopt this approach that Dubai has - a public-private sector partnership.

Binances relationships with other regulators remain fraught, however. On July 26, the companys attorneys requested a dismissal of the lawsuit filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), saying the regulator exceeded its authority and engaged in regulatory overreach when it filed the lawsuit in March alleging the exchange broke U.S. trading and derivatives rules.

The CFTC lawsuit included allegations that the company offered unregistered derivatives products in the U.S., including cryptocurrency trading services, futures and options products, lacked a reliable Know Your Customer (KYC) or Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program, and failed to register as a futures commissions merchant, designated contract market or swap execution facility.

And on July 4, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) conducted searches at multiple Binance Australia locations. The searches were related to Australias ongoing probe of Binances local derivatives business, which was shut down in April after the ASIC canceled the exchanges derivatives license.
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(Kitco News) - Today, Glencore (LSE: GLEN) and Pan American Silver (NYSE: PAAS) (TSX: PAAS) announced they have reached an agreement for Glencore to acquire the 56.25% stake in the MARA copper-gold project in Argentina from Pan American.

According to a press release, under the terms of the agreement, Glencore will pay $475 million in cash upon closing and grant Pan American a copper net smelter return (NSR) royalty of 0.75%.

The project was first formed through the integration of the Minera Alumbrera plant and mining infrastructure and Agua Rica project in a joint venture between Yamana Gold, Glencore and Newmont in December 2020.

Glencore said it acquired Newmonts 18.75% stake in October 2022, bringing its shareholding to 43.75%. Pan American acquired Yamana Golds 56.25% stake as part of its acquisition of Yamana Gold in March 2023.

MARA, located in the Catamarca province of Argentina, has proven and probable mineral reserves of 5.4 million tonnes of copper and 7.4 million ounces of gold contained in 1.105 billion tonnes of ore. It has a 27-year mine life based on mineral reserves supported by more than 86 kms of drilling.

Glencore noted that the brownfield MARA project ranks as one of the lowest capital-intensive copper projects in the world today, owing to the existing well maintained Alumbrera processing plant and associated infrastructure.

MARA is expected to be in the top 25 global copper producers when operational, with an expected average copper production over the first 10 full years exceeding 200kt per annum (with further material by-product credits), it added.

Glencore expects the transaction to be completed in Q3 2023. Upon completion of the transaction, Glencore will become the sole owner and operator of MARA.

Glencore is one of the worlds largest global diversified natural resource companies and a major producer and marketer of more than 60 commodities.

Pan American is a leading producer of precious metals in the Americas, operating silver and gold mines in Canada, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile and Brazil. The company also owns the Escobal mine in Guatemala that is currently not operating.
BEIRUT, July 31 (Reuters) - Lebanon's incoming interim central bank governor Wassim Mansouri on Monday urged the government to undertake long-delayed reforms to address a deep financial crisis and said he would seek to restrict central bank lending to the heavily indebted state.

First Vice Governor Mansouri is due to take over as interim chief after ruling factions failed to appoint a successor to Riad Salameh despite the meltdown that has fuelled poverty and frozen depositors out of their savings.

Salameh, 73, leaves office after a 30-year tenure, tarnished by the meltdown that has paralysed a once sprawling banking system, as well as corruption charges against him at home and abroad - which he denies.

The failure to appoint a new governor reflects wider dysfunction that has left Lebanon with neither a fully empowered government nor a president, further hollowing out a state paralysed by the four-year-old financial collapse.

While Salameh's departure marks the end of an era, analysts questioned how much Mansouri could change course with the same factions in power.

Mansouri was nominated a vice governor in 2020 by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a pillar of the sectarian system.

Criticising previous policies as unsustainable, Mansouri told a news conference future lending to the government should be restricted to specific uses and conditioned on the state demonstrating it could pay the bank back. He vowed to reject any government financing requests he was not convinced by and which were "outside the legal framework".

"We are looking at a short transition period that allows the state to be financed through a law from parliament," he added.

The crisis has given rise to an array of exchange rates for the Lebanese pound, which has sunk by some 98% since 2019. Mansouri said exchange rate unification would "happen without central bank intervention and without spending more money".

He also said the authorities should phase out a controversial exchange platform known as Sayrafa and lift the peg on the local currency.

'LAST CHANCE'

The International Monetary Fund said in June the crisis had been aggravated by vested interests resisting reforms.

Mansouri, 51, called on the government to implement a capital control law, a financial restructuring law and a 2023 state budget within six months, saying this was Lebanon's "last chance" to enact the changes.

The only way to halt the state's reliance on central bank financing was to improve public finances, he said.

Financial analyst Mike Azar cast doubt on whether Mansouri could follow through with correcting the course of monetary policy in the absence of reforms by government and parliament.

"Will the vice governors do the right thing, even in the face of what will surely be fierce political pressure, or will they fall back on Salameh's policies of enabling the political parties to avoid any reforms at the cost of the long-term welfare of Lebanon's economy and society?" he said.

The central bank leadership is selected via the same sectarian power-sharing system that governs Lebanon's other top posts, leaving its policies subject to political pressure.

Mansouri, a Shi'ite Muslim, is a distant cousin of Berri, who heads the Shi'ite Amal Movement. He is the first Shi'ite to exercise the powers of governor, a post reserved for a Maronite Catholic.
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(Kitco News) - Rare earth producer Lynas (ASX: LYC) (OTC: LYSDY) today announced "strong" operational performance in the June quarter 2023 with record NdPr production.

The company said its June quarter 2023 NdPr production of 1,864 tonnes was the highest ever quarterly production achieved at the Lynas Malaysia plant. The companys total rare earth oxide production volume was 4,475 tonnes (June quarter 2022: 3,650 tonnes).

Lynas added this excellent performance is the result of effective operational equipment performance, continuous improvements managing upstream and downstream dependencies between Mt Weld and the Lynas Malaysia plant, and no significant downtime from external events.

The company also noted that Mt Weld achieved record quarterly production in the period, with sufficient concentrate produced to feed the Lynas Malaysia plant and build inventory for the Kalgoorlie facility.

Importantly, the company said that external market dynamics, including softer demand for NdFeB magnets in Japan and Chinas recent oversupply of La-Ce, resulted in lower market prices for rare earth materials during the period.

Sales revenue was A$157.5 million (June quarter 2022: A$294.5 million) and sales receipts were A$188.9 million (June quarter 2022: A$351 million), reflecting the lower market prices for rare earth products during the quarter, it added.

According to Lynas, future rare earth products pricing trends will depend on the economic recovery in China and the Chinese production quota for the second half of 2023.

Lynas Rare Earths is the world's only significant producer of separated rare earth materials outside of China. The company's Mt Weld mine in Western Australia is acknowledged as one of the world's premier rare earths deposits.

Lynas also operates the world's largest single rare earths processing plant in Malaysia where it produces high-quality separated rare earth materials for export to manufacturing markets in Asia, Europe and the United States.
Pan American Silver (NYSE: PAAS) said today it is selling its interest in the MARA project in Argentina, the Morococha mine in Peru, and the Agua de la Falda project in Chile for total consideration of $593 million.

The biggest transaction out of the three was the Mara sale for $475 million. Pan American sold its 56% interest to Glencore.

The company said that the sale will help shore up Pan American's balance sheet after the Yamana deal.

The sale of these non-core assets is aligned with our stated aim of optimizing our portfolio following the Yamana acquisition. These transactions not only reaffirm our commitment to our core business but also yield substantial and immediate value to our shareholders, while maintaining future upside through the retention of copper and gold royalties with strong counterparties, said Michael Steinmann, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pan American. The consideration for the sale of MARA, coupled with the other sales, will yield total cash proceeds of US$593 million. The cash proceeds will allow us to both fully repay the amount drawn on our credit facility and increase our cash position, further enhancing the resilience of our balance sheet.

Pan American traded up 7% to $22.45 a share.
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(Kitco News) - Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked the exchange to halt trading all cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin prior to filing a lawsuit against the exchange on June 6.

According to a report from the Financial Times (FT), Armstrong said the SEC made the request before it launched the legal action against Coinbase for allegedly operating its crypto asset trading platform as an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency, and failing to register the offer and sale of its crypto asset staking-as-a-service program.

They came back to us, and they said . . . we believe every asset other than Bitcoin is a security, Armstrong said. And, we said, well how are you coming to that conclusion, because thats not our interpretation of the law. And they said, were not going to explain it to you, you need to delist every asset other than Bitcoin.

The SECs lawsuit also claimed that 13 tokens traded on Coinbase  Solana, Cardano, Polygon, Filecoin, The Sandbox, Axie Infinity, Chiliz, Flow, Internet Computer, Near, Voyager Token, Dash and Nexo  qualify as securities. The regulator argued that by offering these products to customers, the exchange fell under the regulators jurisdiction.

Coinbase currently offers access to nearly 200 tokens, and this request from the SEC indicates that the agency is starting to push for wider authority over the crypto industry, despite the current legal confusion around the asset class, which was only exacerbated by the recent ruling that XRP is not a security.

Armstrong said that if Coinbase agreed to the SECs recommendation, it would have set a precedent that could result in the majority of American crypto businesses operating outside the law unless they registered with the regulator.

We really didnt have a choice at that point, he said. Delisting every asset other than Bitcoin, which by the way is not what the law says, would have essentially meant the end of the crypto industry in the US. It kind of made it an easy choice lets go to court and find out what the court says.

The regulatory status of digital assets in the U.S. remains murky as both the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are vying for oversight of the crypto industry.

Prior to the SECs lawsuit against Binance in June, the CFTC sued the worlds largest crypto exchange in March, highlighting the uncertainty around which regulator oversees the digital asset market.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler has repeatedly stated that he believes most cryptocurrencies, with the exception of Bitcoin, are securities, and the request to Coinbase aligns with this perspective.

Curiously, Ether (ETH) was not mentioned in the request sent to Coinbase or in the lawsuits filed against the exchange or its competitor Binance, indicating the agency has yet to make a definitive decision on how it classifies the second-ranked crypto by market cap.

In response to the comments from Armstrong, the SEC told the FT its enforcement division did not make formal requests for companies to delist crypto assets.

In the course of an investigation, the staff may share its own view as to what conduct may raise questions for the commission under the securities laws, the regulator added.

One of the main concerns the SEC has with cryptocurrency exchanges is that they have no system of checks and balances. As opposed to traditional brokerage firms, most crypto exchanges offer trading services, provide custody, and also borrow and lend to customers, which is a combination of practices that are not permitted for SEC-regulated companies.

There are a bunch of American companies who have built business models on the assumption that these crypto tokens arent securities, said Charley Cooper, former CFTC chief of staff. If theyre told otherwise, many of them will have to stop operations immediately.

For companies like Coinbase, being forced to only offer access to Bitcoin would effectively destroy their business models and could potentially result in them going out of business, which means these companies are not likely to yield to the SEC without a fight.

This case is absolutely important for the crypto industry in the United States, said Chris Martin, Head of Research at Amberdata. While a majority of token trading on Coinbase does consist of Bitcoin, it would likely be difficult for the exchange to stay in business in its current capacity  current revenues are mainly based on trading volumes. In fact, the market seems to agree with the move and we've seen the stock double in price since the [spot Bitcoin ETF] SEC filings, and almost all other crypto-related public companies have been up since June.
BANGKOK, July 31 (Reuters) - Thailand's economic recovery remained on track in June as the tourism sector expanded on higher foreign tourist arrivals while exports declined, the central bank said on Monday.

Economic activity was seen gradually improving, driven by tourism, as exports were not expected to improve until late in the year, said Chayawadee Chai-Anant, an assistant governor at the Bank of Thailand (BOT).

"In the period ahead, tourism should continue to recover and remain a key driver force, while exports are likely to be stable," she told a briefing.

The BOT has forecast economic growth at 3.6% this year and 3.8% next year, driven by tourism. Last year's growth was 2.6%.

It has predicted 29 million tourist arrivals this year and 35.5 million in 2024. That compared with nearly 40 million visitors in pre-pandemic 2019.

Chayawadee said the central bank was monitoring risks from a global economic slowdown and a delay in the formation of a new government after May national elections.

"The government formation, if delayed for a long time, would dent confidence," she added.

Thailand's parliament is scheduled to meet on Aug. 4 to try again to pick a prime minister as a political stalemate drags for more than two months after the election.

In June, exports, a key driver of growth, dropped 5.9% from a year earlier as global demand slowed.

Thailand recorded a current account surplus of $1.4 billion, after a deficit of $2.8 billion in May.

In the second quarter of 2023, Southeast Asia's second-largest economy improved slightly from the previous period, the BOT said. Official second-quarter GDP data is due to be released on Aug. 21.

The economy expanded 2.7% on-year in the first quarter.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 79F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Partly cloudy. Low 62F. Winds light and variable.
Alix Dorsainvil, wife of El Roi Haiti Director Sandro Dorsainvil, and their child were reportedly abducted Thursday morning, according to a statement on El Roi Haitis website.
Nokia Oyj (NYSE:NOK  Get Free Report) has received an average rating of Moderate Buy from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $5.83.

NOK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Northland Securities lowered their target price on shares of Nokia Oyj from $7.00 to $6.00 in a research note on Monday, July 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Nokia Oyj from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Nokia Oyj from $7.00 to $6.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Nokia Oyj from $6.60 to $5.90 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Nokia Oyj from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Monday, June 12th.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nokia Oyj

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RFP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Nokia Oyj during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nokia Oyj during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its position in Nokia Oyj by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 6,120 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 3,060 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nokia Oyj in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Romano Brothers AND Company purchased a new stake in shares of Nokia Oyj in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 6.51% of the companys stock.

Nokia Oyj Stock Performance

Shares of NOK stock opened at $3.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firms 50 day moving average is $4.07 and its 200 day moving average is $4.40. Nokia Oyj has a 12 month low of $3.83 and a 12 month high of $5.28.

Nokia Oyj (NYSE:NOK  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The technology company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.22 billion. Nokia Oyj had a net margin of 16.16% and a return on equity of 10.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nokia Oyj will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Nokia Oyj Company Profile

(Get Free Report

Nokia Oyj provides mobile, fixed, and cloud network solutions worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Network Infrastructure, Mobile Networks, Cloud and Network Services, and Nokia Technologies. It offers products and services for radio access networks and microwave radio links for transport networks, and solutions for network management, as well as network planning, optimization, network deployment, and technical support services.

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Peddock Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:LNG  Free Report) by 12.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,923 shares of the energy companys stock after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLCs holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Accel Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 100.0% during the first quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the energy companys stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, AllSquare Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 63.9% during the 1st quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 241 shares of the energy companys stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.36% of the companys stock.

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Cheniere Energy Price Performance

LNG stock traded up $2.35 during trading on Monday, hitting $161.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,227,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,709,733. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $150.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.68. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.00 and a fifty-two week high of $182.35. The company has a market cap of $39.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.40.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

Cheniere Energy ( NYSEAMERICAN:LNG Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $6.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $5.96 by $0.93. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 23.24% and a negative return on equity of 13,004.16%. The firm had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.58 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 15.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 9th will be issued a $0.395 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 8th. This represents a $1.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Cheniere Energys dividend payout ratio is presently 5.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LNG. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 3rd. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $200.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 22nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a strong-buy rating for the company. TheStreet upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $205.00 to $200.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $201.00.

About Cheniere Energy

(Free Report)

Cheniere Energy, Inc, an energy infrastructure company, primarily engages in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) related businesses in the United States. It owns and operates the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana; and the Corpus Christi LNG terminal near Corpus Christi, Texas. The company also owns Creole Trail pipeline, a 94-mile pipeline interconnecting the Sabine Pass LNG terminal with various interstate pipelines; and operates Corpus Christi pipeline, a 21.5-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Corpus Christi LNG terminal with various interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines.

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Whitecap Resources (TSE:WCP  Free Report) had its target price lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from C$13.00 to C$14.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$16.00 to C$15.00 in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$14.00 to C$13.00 in a research report on Friday, June 30th. ATB Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$16.00 to C$15.00 in a research report on Monday, April 17th. Desjardins lowered their price objective on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$14.50 to C$12.75 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, National Bankshares increased their price objective on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$15.50 to C$16.50 in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of C$14.35.

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Whitecap Resources Price Performance

Shares of TSE:WCP opened at C$10.58 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.28, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of C$9.62 and a 200 day moving average price of C$10.21. Whitecap Resources has a fifty-two week low of C$8.00 and a fifty-two week high of C$11.52. The firm has a market cap of C$6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.01, a P/E/G ratio of -0.33 and a beta of 2.89.

Whitecap Resources Increases Dividend

Insider Buying and Selling

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 31st will be paid a $0.0483 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 28th. This is a boost from Whitecap Resourcess previous monthly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.48%. Whitecap Resourcess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.49%.

In related news, Director Vineeta Maguire bought 10,683 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$9.36 per share, for a total transaction of C$99,992.88. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Whitecap Resources Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Whitecap Resources Inc, an oil and gas company, focuses on the acquisition, development, and production of oil and gas assets in Western Canada. The company's primary areas of focus of its development programs are in Northern Alberta and British Columbia, Central Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Whitecap Resources Inc is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

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SSE plc (LON:SSE  Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of Moderate Buy by the nine ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 1,962.38 ($25.16).

Several research firms have issued reports on SSE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an overweight rating and set a GBX 2,100 ($26.93) price objective on shares of SSE in a research note on Monday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a buy rating and set a GBX 2,050 ($26.29) price objective on shares of SSE in a research note on Thursday, May 25th. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on SSE from GBX 2,200 ($28.21) to GBX 2,300 ($29.49) and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th.

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Insider Activity at SSE

In related news, insider Alistair Phillips-Davies sold 2,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 1,796 ($23.03), for a total value of 35,920 ($46,057.19). In related news, insider John Bason bought 2,117 shares of SSE stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 1,889 ($24.22) per share, for a total transaction of 39,990.13 ($51,275.97). Also, insider Alistair Phillips-Davies sold 2,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 1,796 ($23.03), for a total value of 35,920 ($46,057.19). 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

SSE Stock Performance

SSE Increases Dividend

Shares of LON SSE opened at GBX 1,679 ($21.53) on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of GBX 1,821.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of GBX 1,791.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 82.34. The firm has a market capitalization of 18.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11,153.33, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.56. SSE has a one year low of GBX 1,405 ($18.02) and a one year high of GBX 1,919 ($24.61).

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 27th will be paid a GBX 67.70 ($0.87) dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 27th. This is a positive change from SSEs previous dividend of $29.00. This represents a dividend yield of 3.62%. SSEs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -64,666.67%.

SSE Company Profile

(Get Free Report

SSE plc engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, and supply of electricity. It generates electricity from water, gas, coal, oil, and multi fuel. The company distributes electricity to approximately 3.8 million homes and businesses across the north of the central belt of Scotland and central southern England; and owns, operates, and develops high voltage electricity transmission system in the north of Scotland and remote islands.

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State Secretary Ingrid Brockova of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic delivers a speech during a Slovak-Korean business forum at a hotel in Bratislava, Slovakia, May 30. Courtesy of Embassy of Slovakia in Korea



By Kwon Mee-yoo



In an era when strategic international alliances are crucial, the Embassy of Slovakia in Korea is setting the stage for enhanced cooperation and shared growth between Korea and Slovakia, especially in the field of technological innovation.



The embassy invited a Korean delegation, including representatives from Korean companies Doosan Robotics, Hanwha Aerospace, Neuromeka, Daliworks, Curexo, Brils, RIFA Asset Management, Vrillar and Yonsei University, to Slovakia from May 29 to June 2 to explore bilateral collaboration and investment opportunities.



The mission began with presentations at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (STU) and continued with visits to governmental offices, the GLOBSEC Forum and business briefings on the Danube Tech Valley Initiative. The Korean delegation also paid visits to Slovak companies such as MATADOR to learn about Slovakia's technological advancements, while networking sessions fostered direct interaction with business representatives and officials.



They also made a trip to the city of Zilina, where Korean car manufacturer Kia operates a production plant, to explore investment opportunities and potential partnerships.



During the visit, Yonsei University and STU signed a memorandum of understanding with the aim of streamlining admissions procedures for students interested in pursuing master's or doctoral programs in the field of robotics.



Michal Bordean, head of Economic & Commercial Affairs at the Embassy of Slovakia in Korea who organized the mission, said the embassy sees great potential in cooperation, especially in collaborative and service robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), green technologies including batteries as well as in cooperation between universities.



"The Slovak Embassy in Seoul, in cooperation with the honorary consulate of Korea in Zilina, created the concept of robotic cooperation between the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Korea with the aim of achieving the systematic development of Industry 4.0 in Slovakia," Bordean said.



"Slovakia has its own development and production of robotic drive units, which belong to the absolute top and are supplied by the most important robot manufacturers."



Bordean noted that though the Slovakian domestic market may be small, the country can be a gateway to the EU, as the Kia factory in Slovakia shows.



"The robotic technology of Korean production is currently mainly in Korean manufacturing plants (industrial robotics). However, the market will grow significantly with collaborative robots in all areas of services, packaging, gastronomy and transport. And it is precisely in these sectors that the potential for growth is enormous. In addition, Korea is at the top of the world ranking in collaborative robotics," the diplomat said.





A delegation from Korea engages in a meeting with city officials from Zilina, where Korean car manufacturer Kia operates a production plant, during its mission to explore investment and cooperation opportunities in Slovakia, May 31. Courtesy of Embassy of Slovakia in Korea
Demonstrators hold a Russian flag and banners during the gathering in support of the putschist soldiers in the capital Niamey, Niger, July 30, 2023. The signs read "Down with France and its allies," "Down with imperialism." Reuters-Yonhap



Thousands of supporters of the junta that took over Niger in a coup earlier this week marched through the streets of the capital, Niamey, on Sunday waving Russian flags, chanting the name of the Russian president and forcefully denouncing former colonial power France.



The protestors marched through the city to the French Embassy and a door was lit on fire, according to someone who was at the embassy when it happened and videos seen by The AP. Black smoke could be seen rising from across the city. The Nigerien army broke up crowd of the protesters.



Russian mercenary group Wagner is already operating in neighboring Mali, and Russian President Vladimir Putin would like to expand his country's influence in the region. However, it is unclear yet whether the new junta leaders are going to move toward Moscow or stick with Niger's Western partners.



Days after mutinous soldiers ousted Niger's democratically elected president, uncertainty is mounting about the country's future and some are calling out the junta's reasons for seizing control.



The mutineers said they overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, who was elected two years ago in Niger's first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since independence from France, because he wasn't able to secure the nation against growing jihadi violence. But some analysts and Nigeriens say that's just a pretext for a takeover that is more about internal power struggles than securing the nation.



"Everybody is wondering why this coup? That's because no one was expecting it. We couldn't expect a coup in Niger because there's no social, political or security situation that would justify that the military take the power," Prof. Amad Hassane Boubacar, who teaches at the University of Niamey, told The Associated Press.



He said Bazoum wanted to replace the head of the presidential guard, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, who also goes by Omar and is now in charge of the country. Tchiani was loyal to Bazoum's predecessor and that sparked the problems, Boubacar said. The AP cannot independently verify his assessment.





Nigeriens holding a Russian flag and placards participate in a march called by supporters of coup leader Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani in Niamey, Niger, Sunday, July 30, 2023. Days after mutinous soldiers ousted Niger's democratically elected president, uncertainty is mounting about the country's future and some are calling out the junta's reasons for seizing control. The signs read: "France kills Niger," and "For a new Niger long live CNSP." AP-Yonhap
The home of Tom Dickson is taped off by Angola Fire Department caution tape after it was destroyed by fire started by a lightning strike on Saturday morning. Every fire department in Steuben County was on the scene, along with four from DeKalb County.
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is very special for me to be in Manila and once again to experience first-hand the famous Filipino hospitality. Each time I visit, I am struck by the warmth, intelligence, and honesty of the people I meet. You make everyone feel at home, even 10,000 kilometres from home. While visiting your beautiful country, I have also learnt a proverb of yours. It says: Be like a rice stalk: the more grain it bears, the lower it bows'. I believe a country's proverbs can tell a lot about its people. And this proverb certainly describes the people of the Philippines: always humble, especially in success.

Right now, the Philippines is booming. Thanks to your resilience, dynamism, and work ethic, your economy grew by close to 8% last year. You are among the fastest growing emerging markets. Your Development Plan, as outlined by President Marcos, is prioritising good governance, cutting red tape, and speeding up permitting for strategic investments, for example in renewables and semiconductors. Not only does this make the Philippines an even more attractive trade and investment destination for European firms, but Filipino companies are also beginning to thrive in the European market.

IMI, for example, has expanded its micro-electronics business to become the 14th largest manufacturing solutions provider in Europe. Or consider the Philippine port-handling giant, ICTSI. It operates a container terminal in the Adriatic Sea, and recently signed another 30-year lease to operate a port in the Baltic. It is worth mentioning, as well, that there are around 50,000 Filipino sailors manning ships with European flags. You make trade happen. And you never boast about any of this. So allow me to begin by thanking all the Filipinos who are contributing every day to the friendship and economic partnership between Europe and the Philippines.

These examples show that the ties between our countries are already strong. But the time has come to lift our partnership to the next level. Because we have much more in common than our geographic distance would suggest. I see three main fields where we share interests and values, and we are just made to work together.

First of all, international security. Both the Philippines and Europe believe in a global order that is based on the principles of the UN Charter, such as the respect for every nation's sovereignty and territorial integrity. And this order is now threatened, in both our regions.

Second, economic transformation. We are both modernising our economies, with a focus on the green and digital transitions. And in parallel, we are de-risking our trade and investment. Europe and the Philippines are natural economic partners more than ever before.

And third, on democratic values. Because economic progress can only be coupled with social progress, for all people in our societies.

Let me begin with security. The Philippines have helped build the rules-based global order, as a founding member of the United Nations, ASEAN, and the World Trade Organisation. And last year, you stood up to uphold the global order, when Russia sent its tanks into Ukraine. Both the European Union and the Philippines  along with over 140 countries  have clearly condemned Russia's war of aggression against a sovereign, independent member of the United Nations. And we Europeans will continue to support Ukraine and to uphold the UN Charter for as long as it takes.

But another permanent member of the UN Security Council  China  has yet to assume fully its responsibility under the UN Charter to uphold the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. This is happening against the backdrop of China's more assertive stance in your region. Europe has constantly called on China to respect the sovereign rights of states within their exclusive economic zones. China's show of military force in the South and East China Seas and in the Taiwan Strait directly affects the Philippines and our other partners in the region.

But it could also have global repercussions. And any weakening of regional stability in Asia, the fastest-growing region in the world, affects global security, the free flow of trade, and our own interests in the region. So whether we talk about Ukraine or about the South China Sea, our security is connected. That is why the EU has been enhancing its engagement in the Indo-Pacific. We aim to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, to reinforce respect of international law and address global challenges. With the Philippines, we are deepening our security partnership, particularly on maritime security and on cyber cooperation. And we want to do more.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We cannot choose our neighbours, but we can choose who we do business with, and on what terms. This leads me to my second point. We, Europeans, are clear-eyed when it comes to diversifying and de-risking our trade and investment. We made the mistake with Russia, thinking that we could manage our geopolitical differences through business. Before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Europe relied heavily on energy imports from Russia. When the Kremlin started the war, Russia tried to blackmail us with cutting its gas supplies. 80% in eight months. This triggered a severe energy crisis, but we withstood. We saved energy, we diversified to like-minded partners, and we invested massively in home-grown renewable energy. Today, we are stronger than before and more independent. And we have learnt our lesson. We will not make the same mistake again.

When it comes to the key inputs needed for our competitiveness, such as critical raw materials, we should never rely on one single supplier. This is the core of our de-risking strategy. And I know that this is not only Europe's strategy. The Philippines, for instance, exports 90% of its nickel ore to China, instead of processing it inside the country to create more jobs and added value. But this can change. That is also why I am here in Manila today. The Philippines and the EU have a major opportunity to step up our partnership on both trade and investments.

Let me focus on investments, first. Europe has just launched a plan for boosting infrastructure investments in strategic sectors in partner countries. It is called Global Gateway, and for ASEAN, we have put forward an investment package worth EUR 10 billion in public funds until 2027. But it is not only about the money. It is also about the method. European investments come with the highest environmental and labour standards, as well as with a strong focus on creating local value chains.

Take the raw materials examples. Unlike other foreign investors, we do not want to invest only in the extraction of raw materials. We can also support you in building local capacity for processing, powered by new clean energy infrastructure. Global Gateway seeks to create good jobs right here because this also strengthens our supply lines. Global Gateway seeks to promote investments that move Filipino sectors up the value-chain. And we look forward to working with the Asia Development Bank, based right here in Manila. You are experts in the region, and we share similar priorities. So it is only natural that we work hand-in-hand.

Moreover, the Philippines are a natural leader in digital innovation. The Philippine Venture Capital Report of 2023 observed an explosion of new activity in the country's start-up ecosystem. Your e-commerce market value increased by 33% in the last three years alone. The people of the Philippines are five years younger than the global average. So it is no surprise that your economy is so dynamic. The Philippines can become a new digital hub in the region. But as entrepreneurs everywhere, Filipino entrepreneurs need infrastructure investment. This is where Global Gateway can truly make a difference. And we are already working on the ground, or rather, in space. Together with the Philippines Space Agency, we are building the first earth observation system in Southeast Asia. In parallel, Nokia is investing in 5G infrastructure.

Why does this matter to Filipino innovators? Because the European Copernicus satellites will be made available for space-based services here in the Philippines, like disaster risk management against typhoons, or satellite navigation, which is fundamental for aviation, drones, and autonomous driving. This is part of a larger digital economy package that we are finalising with the government. We are even exploring a possible extension of the new fibre submarine cable that will connect Europe to Japan via the Arctic. We would create a direct data connection between our regions to de-risk and open up new opportunities for both our economies.

New investments could also lead the way for more trade between Europe and the Philippines. The EU is your fourth largest trading partner, accounting for nearly 8% of your trade. This is thanks to our current trade preferences scheme. But there is much untapped potential in our trade relationship. Let me give you an example: A few months ago, I was in South Korea. There I saw the impressive positive impact of the trade deal we have concluded. In a little over a decade, EU trade with Korea has more than doubled. This is what happens when you give people and business the opportunity to work across borders. New doors open for innovation. And the most important: People benefit. So let us make progress.

Our trade agreements with Singapore and Vietnam are already delivering. And Europe wants to conclude free trade agreements with other ASEAN countries. I believe, like President Marcos, that the timing and conditions are right for us to solidify our bilateral trade relations. That is why we have taken the decision to relaunch our negotiations for a free trade agreement between the Philippines and the EU. Our teams will begin right away a scoping process to identify what we need to do to overcome any remaining gaps before we can get back to negotiating. This should take no more than a few months. Let us seize this window of opportunity, and make it work.

Trade agreements today are about much more than eliminating tariffs and quotas. They are about shared commitments, values, and principles, including on human and labour rights. And this leads me to my last point. Our democracies  all of them  are work in progress. None of them is perfect. But they are all perfectible. Your new government has taken some important steps for human rights here in the Philippines. Each one of our democracies is different. But we all share the same universal values, and the same direction of travel. The path towards better democracies is one that we can and should walk together.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Philippines and the European Union may stand at the opposite sides of the world, but our destinies are linked more than ever before. We see it with geopolitics and climate change. We see it in the connection of our value chains. We have a similar outlook on the Indo-Pacific. And we have strong economic ties. Europe wants to be a trusted partner to the Philippines as it grows into its economic potential. We want to be partners who stand eye to eye. Partners who put people and their values first. Having met so many wonderful people here in the Philippines, who are proud of their country, hardworking, and humble, I am excited for what we can achieve together. I know you are proud of your Baya-nihan spirit. And I really hope that we can build the same spirit of community between us, in Europe and the Philippines.

Salamat, thank you very much and have a wonderful evening.

Zarazeno po 31.07.2023 10:07:00 Zdroj Evropska komise en Original ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/documents?reference=SPEECH/23/4030&language=en lang en
BusinessWire India

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 31: Aavas Financiers, a leading affordable housing finance company, has once again reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to environmental sustainability by planting over 22,000 trees on World Nature Conservation Day. This momentous tree plantation drive took place across all 348 branches in 13 states as part of their SEVA program under the Aavas Foundation. The company's green initiatives have consistently promoted sustainable practices, and with this initiative, Aavas aims to make a resounding statement about the urgent need for environmental conservation.Recognizing the critical role trees play in combating climate change, improving air quality, and preserving biodiversity, Aavas Financiers launched a transformative company-wide initiative empowering its employees to become environmental stewards. The innovative program provided every employee with the opportunity to plant and nurture trees while distributing saplings to communities, customers, and other stakeholders. The initiative not only aims to make a positive impact on the environment but also fostered team building, instilled a sense of pride, and strengthened the company's dedication towards sustainable practices.

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Sachinder Bhinder, MD & CEO of Aavas Financiers Ltd., expressed his delight and gratitude towards the employees for their remarkable dedication to this cause. He stated, "We firmly believe that businesses have a vital role to play in protecting our planet, as conserving the planet is an investment for our collective future. By encouraging our employees to actively engage in our Each One, Plant One tree plantation drive, we aim to create a culture of environmental consciousness that goes beyond our organization. The collaborative effort of our team and surrounding communities in planting 22,000+ trees is a testament to our commitment to sustainable practices and cements our responsibility to leave a positive legacy for future generations."Aavas Financiers' employees, hailing from diverse regions, wholeheartedly embraced this initiative. By participating in tree-planting activities in various cities, they effectively extended their green thumb across borders, embodying the company's global reach and environmental responsibility.The Aavas Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the betterment of socio-economic conditions of underprivileged groups, along with promoting an environment-friendly way of life for the growing urban populations, stands at the forefront of this green revolution. The 22,000+ trees planted collectively will have a substantial and lasting impact. It will contribute to the restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity, promote wildlife habitats, mitigate the effects of climate change, and enhance the overall health and well-being of surrounding communities.Aavas Financiers' initiative strongly aligns with the seventeen United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 15, Life on Land, which focuses on protecting, restoring, and promoting the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems. The company remains steadfast in integrating environmental considerations into its business operations, ensuring a greener and more sustainable future for all.

(Disclaimer: The above press release has been provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)

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(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
NewsVoir

Delhi-NCR [India], July 31: As the demand for industries, commercial projects, and urban development surges due to the burgeoning population, Noida, a bustling city in Uttar Pradesh, faces limited land availability for further expansion. Therefore, Noida Authority has identified 21,000 hectares of agricultural land in 86 villages of Gautam Budh Nagar and Bulandshahr districts and commenced development after the approval of the master plan, which is expected in August.

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The vision for New Noida encompasses dedicated zones for industries, offices, universities, and residential areas, aiming to accommodate the growing demands of the ever-expanding population. According to the draft masterplan, approximately 8,100 hectares will be allocated for industries, 1,600 hectares for educational institutions like medical and engineering colleges and universities, and another 2,000 hectares will be designated for residential projects.

"The ambitious objective is to increase the current number of industries in Noida by manifold, transforming it into a flourishing industrial and commercial hub. The development will promote long-term infrastructure and Socio-economic growth in the region. With such encouraging possibilities, New Noida is positioned to become a highly appealing destination," says Sanchit Bhutani, Managing Director, Group 108.

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Notably, the Noida Authority has allocated Rs. 1,000 crore for land acquisition and internal development in New Noida this year. This financial commitment underscores the authorities' determination to bring the vision of New Noida to fruition and propel it towards success.

"The implications of New Noida's development are significant and extend beyond its immediate borders. With the region being carefully planned and structured, it has the potential to transform the entire landscape and bring Noida back to its former glory. This ambitious project aims to outshine emerging areas like Yamuna Expressway and cement Noida's position as a dynamic economic hub," says Amit Modi, Director, County group.

"New Noida holds immense promise with its potential for comprehensive development encompassing industrial, commercial, and residential sectors, making it a compelling opportunity for investors, businesses, and residents alike. The enthusiastic response from the industrial and real estate communities further validates the importance and ambition behind this endeavour," says Sanjay Sharma, Director, Ska Group.

One crucial aspect of the master plan is the implementation of a satellite-based Geographical Information System (GIS), which will play a pivotal role in its development. This modern technology will allow potential investors to access essential information about all the zone and sector plots of New Noida from the convenience of their homes. Prospective investors will be able to explore details such as plot location, size, proximity to roads, water and sewer line connectivity, greenbelt areas, park locations, and the current status of each plot. This user-friendly approach will highly boost national and international investments in New Noida.

"The development of New Noida is poised to be a game-changer for the entire region. With carefully designated zones for industries, offices, educational institutions, and residential areas, this ambitious project promises to fulfil the ever-growing demands of Noida's population," says Yash miglani, MD, Migsun Homes.

Leveraging modern technologies like GIS and with substantial financial backing, the future of New Noida seems promising and exciting. As the region eagerly awaits the approval and acceptance of the master plan, the dawn of New Noida heralds a new era of prosperity, innovation, and urban development.

(Disclaimer: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)

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NewsVoir

New Delhi [India], July 31: Each year, on the occasion of JRD Tata's birth anniversary, Tata Group companies come together to celebrate the legacy of the visionary leader. This year, Tata 1mg Labs is launching a crucial campaign to raise Anemia awareness in India and offer vital health support to those in need. As a tribute to JRD Tata's unwavering commitment to a healthier nation, they will conduct 10,000 free Anemia tests for women and children, ensuring a better and healthier future for them.

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Anemia, a condition characterized by low hemoglobin levels, primarily caused by iron deficiency, poses a significant health challenge, leading to chronic weakness and fatigue. In India, a staggering 57% of women aged 15-49 years are anemic, forming a substantial proportion of the global Anemia-affected population. An alarming contributing factor to this issue is the lack of visibility of Anemia, especially among females.

The Tata 1mg Labs Anemia Screening Campaign aims to build awareness about timely testing by conducting 10,000 free tests for women and children residing in underprivileged areas. The initiative will focus on early detection and timely medical intervention to combat Anemia's detrimental effects on affected patients.

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To ensure the success and reach of this life-transforming campaign, Tata 1mg Labs will be joining hands with multiple NGOs. Through these partnerships, the Anemia screening tests will be conducted via a series of camps held over the next two quarters across multiple cities, bringing essential healthcare services closer to those in need.

Gaurav Agarwal, Co-founder, Tata 1mg, expressed his thoughts about the campaign, stating, "Anemia has emerged as a critical health concern for our nation. The Anemia rate among women and children in India surpasses the global average. By conducting these screening tests for the more vulnerable population and providing them with holistic treatment and prevention, we hope to make a tangible impact on the lives of 10,000 people.

The Tata 1mg Labs Anemia Awareness Campaign is a heartfelt tribute to the values cherished by JRD Tata, and it epitomizes the group's commitment to giving back to society. Through this initiative, Tata 1mg Labs aims to contribute to a healthier nation, fulfilling its brand promise of making healthcare accessible, affordable and understandable, with utmost dedication and care.

Source: NFHS-5 (2019-2021)

Tata 1mg is India's largest Digital Health Platform. The company has scaled up rapidly since 2015 to become Indias #1 Digital Health Company, commanding the leading share of the time spent in the Digital Healthcare category with over 40 million monthly unique users and 500 million monthly page views. 1mg started with a simple vision of making healthcare Affordable, Accessible & Understandable. Tata 1mg operates India's largest platform comprising e-pharmacy, e-diagnostics, and e-consult services. Tata 1mg is the only company in India operating with a Legit Script & ISO certification for its e-pharmacy lines as well NABL accreditation for its Diagnostics business. In 2021, Tata Digital acquired a majority stake in 1mg, and the company was rebranded as Tata 1mg.

Tata 1mg Labs are currently present in Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, and Dehradun. These state-of-the-art diagnostic labs operated by expert pathologists and microbiologists ensure accurate and fast delivery of reports. The company has a dedicated fleet of trained and fully vaccinated phlebotomists and offers safe home sample collection in more than 50 cities in India.

(Disclaimer: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)

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New Delhi [India], July 31 (ANI): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha on Monday gave suspension of business notice in Parliament to discuss the breakdown of law and order situation in Manipur.

In his notice, Chadha wrote, That this House do suspend Zero Hour and relevant rules relating to Question Hour and other business of the day to discuss the violence in Manipur which has resulted in loss of precious lives in Manipur due to failure and incompetence of Central and state governments.

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A delegation of 21 MPs from 16 parties of the Opposition bloc - the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)  amid their demand for a detailed discussion in Parliament on the situation in the state on Sunday returned after a two-day visit to the state..

The Opposition leaders have criticised the Central and state governments on their failure to stop the violence and restore peace in the state.

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Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha, who was part of the delegation has urged the two ethnic communities to cooperate in restoring peace and harmony in the state saying that there is "no alternative to peace anywhere".

"We want peace to be restored in Manipur. Peace with justice. Our only demand is that both communities should live in harmony. The situation in Manipur is dangerous. Be it Madhya Pradesh or Manipur, there is no alternative to peace anywhere, Jha said while talking to mediapersons.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said that the union ministers including Prime Minister Narendra Modi should also visit the state.

We are disheartened by what happened to the people there. In the meeting with the Governor, we suggested that under the leadership of the Prime Minister, an all-India all-party delegation come here. This is what we have been suggesting since the first day. But the PM is missing. His ministers are giving statements while sitting in Delhi. They should visit Manipur to see the ground reality there..." Gogoi said.

Janata Dal (United) MP Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh said that the people of the Kuki and Meitei communities in Manipur are facing a sense of insecurity and have a lack of confidence in the state government. "There is a sense of insecurity and lack of confidence in the two communities. They expressed their lack of confidence in the State Government.

Incidents happened since 3rd May but the State Government took no steps to control it, Lalan Singh said while talking to ANI. He further said that Governor Anusuiya Uikey whom the delegation of Opposition I.N.D.I.A alliance met at Raj Bhawan and said that she is doing everything in her power to restore normalcy.Governor said that she is doing everything in her power to restore normalcy. But we know that the Governor has limited powers and the power to run the state lies in the hands of the State Government," the JD(U) MP added. (ANI)

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Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], July 31 (ANI): Following the historic abrogation of Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir has undergone a remarkable transformation across diverse sectors, paving the way for new opportunities and growth.

The region's educational institutions have remained operational without any disruptions, and the availability of seamless internet services has acted as a catalyst for the expansion of digital businesses.

Also Read | Violence Against Women in Manipur Unprecedented, Refuses to Hear Cases of Other States, Says Supreme Court.

Tourist footfall has surged in various areas, with border tourism gaining immense popularity, drawing visitors from across the country. As we explore the multifaceted impact of these changes, we sit down with local residents and business owners, who share their experiences and insights into the region's post-Article 370 era.

The seamless functioning of educational institutes has been one of the most significant positive outcomes of the post-Article 370 transformation. Despite the challenges during the transition, schools and colleges have remained open, providing students with a stable and uninterrupted learning environment.

Also Read | PM Narendra Modis Pune Visit Tomorrow: Maharashtra Opposition Parties To Hold 'Black-Flags' Protest Against Prime Minister Over Manipur Violence.

Ajaz Ahmad government school teacher in Srinagar, expressed his enthusiasm for the opportunities it brought. "Our commitment to education remained unwavering during the transition period," he said.

"The resilience shown by our students and staff was commendable. We are witnessing a renewed passion for learning and academic growth among the youth," he said.

Mohammad Ismail another teacher said that the continuity of education has not only instilled hope among the students but has also provided them with a platform to thrive and pursue their aspirations.

The seamless operation of internet services has served as a catalyst for the growth of digital businesses in the region. Startups and entrepreneurs have capitalized on the newfound opportunities, bolstering the region's economy.

Aisha Khan, a young entrepreneur from Jammu, launched her online fashion boutique during this period. "The availability of seamless internet services has been a game-changer," she explained. "It has empowered us to reach customers across the country and has opened up markets that were previously out of reach."

The flourishing of digital businesses is a testament to the region's potential and its readiness to embrace the digital age.

Tourism in Jammu and Kashmir has transcended its traditional boundaries, with border tourism gaining immense popularity. Visitors from different parts of the country are now drawn to the enchanting hooting and waving exchanges between tourists on both sides of the Line of Control (LOC).

Rahul Verma, a tourist from Delhi, shared his experience. "The camaraderie and warmth exchanged between visitors from different countries is truly unique," he said. "It's heartwarming to see the borders dissolve, even if just for a moment, and witness the sense of unity that transcends boundaries."

The emergence of border tourism has opened doors for cultural exchange and understanding, fostering a more inclusive and connected world.

To gain a deeper understanding of the transformation, we spoke with local residents and business owners, who have witnessed the changes firsthand.

Suhail Ahmad, a home stay owner in Keran, expressed his gratitude for the positive impact on the region. "Tourism has not only improved our livelihoods but also brought cultural exchange and understanding," he said. "We are dedicated to continuously improving our blessed region, ensuring the safety and security of tourists while sharing the rich history of our land."

Firdous Ahmad, a shopkeeper in Srinagar, highlighted the economic growth spurred by the increased tourist footfall. "The influx of tourists has breathed new life into our businesses," he said. "We have witnessed a surge in demand for locally-made handicrafts and souvenirs, showcasing our culture and heritage to the world."

As the region embraces the opportunities and challenges of the post-Article 370 era, it is evident that a new dawn has emerged in Jammu and Kashmir. The resilience shown by its people, the flourishing businesses, and the rise of border tourism all paint a picture of a region ready to flourish on its own terms.

The transformation has laid the groundwork for a brighter future, fostering unity, prosperity, and inclusivity. As the sun rises on this new day, Jammu and Kashmir is ready to embrace the limitless potential that lies ahead.

The number of organised stone pelting incidents, associated with terrorism-separatist motives, which were at 1,767 in 2018, has reached zero in 2023. Similarly, there were 52 cases of organized bandh/hartal in 2018, but it has also dropped to zero in 2023. The home ministry's affidavit highlights that decisive anti-terror measures have led to the dismantling of the terror eco-system, resulting in a significant decline in terrorist recruitment from 199 in 2018 to 12 in 2023.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha recently said that the union is witnessing a new era of peace and development.

He also said the efforts to revive J-Ks bond with the film industry. Significant steps like film policy and opening of cinema halls in the districts have created a vibrant film ecosystem in J-K," the LG had said.

J-K has become the most preferred destination for filmmakers and more than 300 movies and web series were filmed last year. This is also providing huge opportunities to the local youth, he added.

Earlier this year Sinha invited business leaders from the United Arab Emirates to become partners in development and move together towards creating a more prosperous, equitable and vibrant Union Territory

He had addressed the India-UAE Investment Summit and interacted with the business delegates from the UAE and across the country at the SKICC.

The successful holding of the recent meeting of the G20, the worlds largest economies, in Srinagar earlier this year has also brought Kashmir on the global tourism map as there has been a significant increase in inquiries and bookings from foreign tourists. (ANI)

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Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], July 31 (ANI): Amid rising dengue cases in the state, BJP workers staged a unique protest against the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government.

Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said that the dengue epidemic has emerged as a "pandemic" for the state. Adhikari also accused the government of its poor handling of the outbreak.

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Speaking to ANI, Adhikari said, "This is a pandemic for West Bengal...No hospitalisation, no kits, no treatment, nothing else. There are no estimates. CM Mamata Banerjee is demanding cooperation. We will cooperate but estimates need to be given. Where are the test kits?"

The BJP leaders carried a giant mosquito replica and held placards protesting against the mismanagement of the dengue epidemic by the state government.

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Earlier on Sunday, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj announced the launch of a comprehensive dengue awareness campaign following a spurt in vector-borne disease amid floods in the nation's capital region.

Speaking to ANI, the minister revealed that he has issued crucial directives to the Health Department and the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) to spearhead the educational initiative.

Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said, "We have given instructions to the Health Department and DIPR to run a campaign regarding Dengue in schools and among common people. Hospitals will be made ready for dengue cases. I also had a discussion with MCD Commissioner regarding the same today." (ANI)

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New Delhi, Jul 31 (PTI) Jalan-Kalrock Consortium, the winning bidder for bankrupt Jet Airways, on Monday said aviation regulator DGCA has renewed the airline's air operator certificate.

Cash-strapped Jet Airways stopped flying from April 17, 2019. The Air Operator Certificate (AOC) was re-issued on May 20, 2022. However, since the airline did not start operations, AOC expired on May 19, 2023.

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In a statement, the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium (JKC) said it has "successfully obtained renewal for AOC of Jet Airways from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on July 28, 2023".

The renewal of AOC revalidates the confidence of the Indian aviation regulator in the revival of Jet Airways, it added.

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JKC emerged as the winning bidder for the grounded Jet Airways after an insolvency resolution process. However, the ownership transfer to JKC is yet to happen amid persisting differences between JKC and the lenders of the airline.

According to the statement, JKC remains fully dedicated to the revival of Jet Airways and is committed to implementing a comprehensive strategy to ensure the airline's success.

"JKC will continue to work closely with all relevant authorities, industry partners, and stakeholders in reviving Jet Airways in coming weeks," it added.

In early morning trade, shares of Jet Airways jumped nearly 5 per cent to Rs 50.80 on BSE.

Last week, JKC announced the appointment of Jatinderpal Singh Dhillon the airline's accountable manager.

Earlier this month, two whole time directors and a non-executive director were appointed at Jet Airways.

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New Delhi [India], July 31 (ANI): 'Yes, Sir', the government has a plan to increase the number of women in the Indian Army, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday while responding to a query of a member.

Informing about the major initiatives, the Minister said 20 vacancies for Women Army cadets per year have been allotted in National Defence Academy, Pune with effect from July 2022.

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He said that Short Service Commission has 90 vacancies for women including 10 additional vacancies increased with effect from June 2023.

However, Bhatt said, approval has been given, since March 2023 for the induction of women officers into Artillery units as well as Remount and Veterinary Corps.

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He said the entry of women officers as pilots in Army Aviation commenced with effect from June 2021, and the enrolment of women in other ranks in the Corps of Military Police in the Indian Army commenced in 2019. As per the Minister, the total number of women in Indian Army medical cadres, as on July 1, 2023, is 1,212 in Army Medical Corps (AMC); 168 in Army Dental Corps (ADC); 3,841 in Military Nursing Service (MNS).

He also added that the total number of women officers in the Indian Army (excluding AMC, ADC and MNS) as on January 1, 2023 is 1,733.

Bhatt was responding to the query of CPI MP Sandosh Kumar P when he asked about the number of women in Indian Army medical and non-medical cadres; and the government's plan to increase the number of women in the Indian Army. (ANI)

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New Delhi [India], July 31 (ANI): All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday lashed out at remarks by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on the Gyanvapi issue terming it as a judicial overreach".

In an interview with ANI aired today, Adityanth said that terming Gyanvapi as a mosque complex will lead to controversy and the Muslim side should accept its historical mistake and come up with a solution.

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Responding to this, the AIMIM chief, a staunch critic of Yogi said that despite knowing that the matter is sub-judice the latter was making such a controversial statement which is directly a judicial overreach.

Chief Minister Yogi knows that the Muslim side has opposed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey in Allahabad High Court and the judgement will be given by the HC in a few days, still, he gave such a controversial statement, this is judicial overreach," said Owaisi.

Also Read | Delhi: Four Injured in Scuffle Between Two Groups, Stone-Pelting in Gautampuri.

He should read about what Swami Vivekananda had said about a major temple if Odisha, he is a CM, he should follow law, he is not willing to follow law and want to pressurise Muslims. In Mathura, the Muslim community has an agreement with Hindus around 50-60 years ago and it was submitted in court but still, a litigation was initiated in it, Owaisi said.

Further, the Hyderabad MP said, This is just a part of their (BJP) communal politics and a judicial overreach.

The Allahabad High Court is expected to give a verdict on a petition against a lower court order for a survey by the Archaeological Survey of India inside the mosque complex, except the wuzukhana (fountain).

A ruling on the petition is likely on August 3.

The matter took centrestage when on May 16, last year, during the court-mandated survey, a structure  claimed to be a Shivling by the Hindu side and a fountain by the Muslim side  was found in the mosque premises. (ANI)

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New Delhi, Jul 31 (PTI) A 31-year-old librarian died on Monday after he allegedly jumped in front of a moving train at Delhi Metro's Najafgarh station, police said.

The police received information at 9.26 am on Monday that a person had jumped in front of a train at Najafgarh, a senior officer said.

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The victim was identified as Manish Kumar, a resident of Prem Nagar in Najafgarh. He died on the spot, the officer said.

CCTV footage has been checked and his family members also reached the spot. Kumar was a librarian in Uttrakhand's Devprayag. He was married and had one daughter, he said.

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Inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC are being done and further inquiry is underway, the police added.

According to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, services normalised in 15 to 20 minutes.

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New Delhi [India], July 31 (ANI): Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday moved Sessions Court of Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court challenging summons issued against him by the Magistrate Court in a defamation complaint filed by the Union Minister Gajendra Singh Sekhawat.

Gehlot's petition is likely to come for a hearing before Sessions Court on Tuesday.

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Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has recently filed a criminal defamation case against Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for allegedly defaming him with remarks on the Sanjivani scam.

On July 6, 2023, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Harpreet Singh Jaspal said, having considered the facts and circumstances, the testimonies of the complainant witnesses, and the evidence placed on record, it prima facie appears that the accused (Ashok Gehlot) has made specific defamatory statements, against the complainant.

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Further, it prima facie appears that the defamatory statements of the accused have been sufficiently published in the newspaper/electronic media/social media, which may make the right-thinking members of the society shun the complainant, said the Court.

It appears that the accused by his spoken words and by words which were intended to be read, have made defamatory imputations against the complainant, knowing and intending to harm the reputation of the complainant. At the cost of brevity, it is again specified here that the discussion here cannot be said to be a comment on the final merits of the case, as the same is a matter of trial, the court observed.

Ergo, in view of the aforesaid discussion there exists sufficient grounds to summon the accused Ashok Gehlot, under section 500 of the Indian Penal Code. Accordingly, the said accused be summoned, upon the filing of PF and RC, as per rules, said ACMM Harjeet Singh Jaspal.

Appearing for Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa earlier, submitted that Ashok Gehlot is a Rajasthan Chief Minister and he is talking about a pending investigation. The question is who is in control of this investigation. CrPC does not recognise the Chief Minister, he can't access the Chargesheet even, if it goes to the court.

Under the Rajasthan Police rules, there is no role of anyone except the police force not even the CM or someone from the Home Department. Making false statements without having any access to the investigation officially. The statements are defamatory to me and he can't claim protection under 197 by going out in public and disclosing a close-door investigation, Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa argued.

The act is involved in this case, he had no business in making these false statements against his colleague and giving false information public at large it is an act of defamation, Pahwa while concluding his submissions noted.

Union Minister Gajendra Singh Sekhawat has recently moved Delhi Court and filed a defamation case against Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot alleging that Gehlot has made speeches against him saying that the allegations regarding the Sanjeevani Scam are proven against him.

Earlier, the Court had directed Delhi Police to investigate whether the complainant Gajendra Singh Shekhawat was addressed as 'an accused' in the Sanjeevani Scam by the accused herein Ashok Gehlot or Whether the accused Ashok Gehlot stated that the allegations against the complainant Gajendra Singh Shekhawat stand proved in the Sanjeevani Scam and whether the complainant Gajendra Singh Shekhawat or his family members have been arrayed as 'an accused' in the investigation of the Sanjeevani Scam?

The court stated that the legislative mandate is provided under sections 202 CrPC (considering the fact that the accused is residing outside the local jurisdiction of this court), this court directs an investigation into the matter, through Delhi Police. Keeping in mind the sensitivity of the matter, it is directed that the Joint Commissioner concerned shall monitor the investigation.

Earlier, Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa appeared for Shekhawat who sought prosecution against Gehlot for allegedly making defamatory speeches against him and submitted that it is a fresh complaint moved by the Union Minister against the Chief Minister of Rajasthan and said that "There is an irreparable damage caused to his reputation."

This matter pertains to a case in which FIR was registered in 2019. Three chargesheets have been filed. The Shekhawat name has not appeared anywhere. He was not called by the Investigation officer. Despite this Gehlot said the allegations against Shekhawat have been proven, Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa said. (ANI)

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Silchar, Jul 31 (PTI) Three private security guards of NIT-Silchar were suspended after a group of students beat up the cooks of the college suspecting that they have stole a mobile phone, officials said on Monday.

A video of the students thrashing the three cooks, alleging that they stole a mobile phone, went viral on social media.

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Police said they have started an investigation into the incident, and NIT has ordered an inquiry as well.

The incident happened on the campus last week, and the video got viral over the weekend, an NIT official said.

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The three security guards were suspended as they failed to stop the assault, he said.

A 15-member committee has been set up by the NIT, and it has been asked to submit a report by August 4, he added.

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Ahmedabad, Jul 31 (PTI) Social activist Teesta Setalvad on Monday moved Gujarat High Court to quash an FIR filed against her by the city crime branch for allegedly fabricating evidence in the 2002 riots cases.

A sessions court had recently rejected her discharge plea in the case, even as the Supreme Court granted her bail after the Gujarat High Court denied her relief.

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She moved a plea for quashing the FIR in the Gujarat High Court and the matter is likely to come up for hearing in a few days.

Setalvad and two others  former state Director General of Police R B Sreekumar and former Indian Police Service officer Sanjiv Bhatt  were arrested by the city crime branch in June 2022 on charges of forgery and fabricating evidence with the intent to implicate Gujarat government functionaries in the 2002 riots cases.

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An FIR was registered against them after the Supreme Court last month dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, whose husband and former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was killed during the riots.

Setalvad has been booked under sections 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offence) of the Indian Penal Code, among others.

Zakia Jafri's plea alleged a "larger conspiracy" behind the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat involving the then chief minister Narendra Modi. The court upheld the SIT's clean chit to Modi and 63 others.

In its judgment, the Supreme Court observed that, "At the end of the day, it appears to us that a coalesced effort of the disgruntled officials of the State of Gujarat along with others was to create sensation by making revelations which were false to their own knowledge.

"The falsity of their claims had been fully exposed by the SIT after a thorough investigation ... As a matter of fact, all those involved in such abuse of process need to be in the dock and proceed in accordance with law."

Ehsan Jafri was among the 68 people killed at Ahmedabad's Gulberg Society during violence on February 28, 2002, a day after the Godhra train burning that claimed 59 lives.

The riots that it triggered killed 1,044 people, mostly Muslims. Giving details, the Central government informed the Rajya Sabha in May 2005 that 254 Hindus and 790 Muslims were killed in the post-Godhra riots.

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Noida, Jul 31 (PTI) A 50-year-old vegetable vendor died on Monday at a hospital where he was admitted after an unidentified person opened fire on him after waylaying him on a road in Greater Noida, police officials said.

The gunshot was fired on Komil late last night in the Kasna police station area while he was returning on his 'jugad' three-wheeler after the day's work. The person and the motive behind the incident are yet to be known, according to police.

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"While coming back home, an unknown motorcycle rider fired at Komil, leaving him injured. It was told by the victim that there was no incident like robbery and attempted robbery with him and he was admitted to the hospital for treatment," a police spokesperson said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Greater Noida) Saad Miya Khan on Monday said Komil, who hailed from Badaun district, succumbed to the injuries during treatment at the hospital after which IPC section 302 (murder) has been included in the FIR.

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"Multiple police teams have been formed to investigate the matter and trace the people behind it," Khan said.

The Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) said in a statement that Komil was admitted in the hospital around 12.50 am on Monday and underwent a three-hour long surgery.

The patient came to the hospital with a suspected gunshot wound in the abdomen.

The entry point of the gunshot was on the right side of the patient's flank (the area between the ribs and the hip). The patient was in a state of shock (which means their body was not getting enough blood flow and oxygen to function properly, the GIMS said.

To help the patient, the doctors decided to perform an emergency surgery. During the surgery, the doctors discovered that the gunshot had caused several holes in the colon (part of the large intestine) and there was a collection of blood outside the peritoneum (the membrane that lines the abdominal cavity) known as a retroperitoneal hematoma, the hospital said.

"Post-operation, the patient was put on ventilator and remained critical. The patient succumbed to his injuries at around 6.30 pm on Monday," the hospital added.

(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, July 31: World's highest rail bridge and Asias longest state-of-the-art road tunnel located in Udhampur constituency are amongst some of the national-level landmark projects, which have come up in this constituency during the last 9 years after Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister. This was stated by Union Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh during a two-hour luncheon meeting hosted by him for PRI representatives, Panches, Sarpanches, BJP office bears and other activists from his constituency on Sunday.

The meeting was part of a cycle of such regular feedback sessions that Singh has been holding with the representatives from different parts of his constituency on a regular basis. The areas, which were represented in the meeting, included Doda, Basholi, Billawar, Kathua and Ramban. Chenab Bridge: Bharat Mata Ki Jai at Worlds Highest Rail Bridge As Rail Ministry Confirms Completion of Golden Joint Work; Watch Video.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, "Unprecedented developmental works have taken place in Udhampur-Doda-Kathua Lok Sabha Constituency in the last 9 years but the need is to spread greater awareness about the same in each corner of the constituency."

He said, "It is a matter of pride for all of us that even two days back while inaugurating Bharat Mandapam, worlds largest Convention Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned the highest railway bridge in Reasi, while the longest road tunnel Chenani to Nashri named after Syama Prasad Mukherjee was also inaugurated by him. At the same time Prime Minister Modi also described the successful Aroma Mission and Lavender Cultivation at Bhaderwah in his Man Ki Baat broadcast."

The delegation submitted a peoples survey report to the Union Minister, which said that the Udhampur-Doda-Kathua Parliamentary Constituency was possibly among the most developed constituencies in India of all the Parliamentary Constituencies. Dr Jitendra Singh said that credit for this went to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who after taking charge in May 2014 gave special focus on Jammu and Kashmir and in the North-Eastern region.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, "Udhampur-Doda-Kathua Parliamentary Constituency is the only Constituency in India to get three centrally funded medical Colleges in the last five years." He further said, "This constituency has earned its name in India and in the world as the birthplace of Purple Revolution which has given birth to Agri-tech Start-Ups not only in J-K but across the country. This Parliamentary Constituency has all the potential to contribute in the Start-Up movement promoted by PM Narendra Modi."

"North India's first Industrial Biotech Park near Kathua, the first National Institute of High Altitude Medicine at Bhaderwah, first Seed Processing Plant in Kathua, a Radio Station at Udhampur and two Passport offices also came up in this constituency during the last 9 years," he added.

Dr Jitendra Singh told the delegation to make people aware about many first infrastructural developments that have taken place in the last nine years like the highest railway bridge in the world, highest than the Eiffel Tower, Dr Shyama Prasad Mookherjee tunnel, the longest road tunnel in the world, which is described as an infrastructural marvel in the country.

In terms of road and highway development in this constituency, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, "The Vande- Bharat Express from Katra to Delhi, North Indias first-ever Cable-Stayed Bridge Atal Setu, J&Ks first interState bridge at Keerian-Gandyal, North Indias first Express Road Corridor from Delhi to Katra via Kathua, the new National Highway from Lakhanpur-Bani-Basohli-Doda via Chattargala Tunnel has made this constituency best ever connected leading to its tremendous development compared to the other Constituencies in the country."

Udhampur district located in this constituency has stood number one in the country in terms of construction of roads under PMGSY, Dr Jitendra Singh added. The Union Minister said, "With the establishment of an InterModal Station (IMS) at Katra, a world-class state-of-the-art project in this constituency will not only improve the travelling experience of the pilgrims visiting Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine but will open numerous opportunities in terms of employment, trade etc. for the people of this constituency." Arch of Chenab, World's Highest Railway Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir, Completed (Video).

Rajat Sapolia, Darshan Singh, Bittu Choudhary, Gian Batadia, Sohan Lal Gupta, Madan Lal, Sher Singh, Rajinder Singh, Sarla Devi, Chain Singh, Joginder Sharma, Kuldip Kumar, Bhusan Kumar from Basohli, Vijay Thakur, Sandeep Singh, Deshraj Parihar, Chander Sharma, Vaishan Parihar, Ramesh Katoch from Doda, Chota Khajuria, Rattan Chand, Tirth Ram, Tikka Sharma, Vinod, Danesh, Charan Das, Raju from Billawar. Shiv Dev Singh from Kathua and Rajeshwar Kumar from Ramban were part of the delegation.

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New Delhi, Jul 31 (PTI) The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday issued notices to the Committee of Creditors of Go First and insolvency regulator IBBI over a plea to refund Rs 597.54 crore to around 15.5 lakh passengers who booked tickets for travel on and after May 3.

The resolution professional (RP) of crisis-ridden Go First, which suspended operations on May 3, has approached the NCLT to seek permission for refunding money to passengers, some of whom booked flights till July 10.

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Senior advocate Ramji Srinivasan representing RP said that this has been done as per the business plan to revive the grounded airline.

The NCLT bench comprising Mahendra Khandelwal and Rahul P Bhatnagar said that the feasibility and implementation of such a business plan should be "subject to suggestions of members of Committee of Creditors (CoC)".

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The bench asked the Resolution Professional to take specific approval from the lenders over the refund of the amount.

Srinivasan said the CoC is aware of this, it has already envisaged the business plan and approved it. However, he sought time from the tribunal to check whether this particular refund plan has been approved by the CoC or not.

The tribunal said as plans keep on changing, it would be better if a specific resolution over payment for refund is taken. It also wanted to know whether anyone has filed an objection to this refund plan.

On this, Srinivasan said it is done in the public interest and suggested bringing the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), which is a regulator into this issue.

Agreed by this the bench has issued notices to the CoC of Go First and IBBI directing them to file their replies and posted the matter for the next hearing on August 7.

"We issue notice to the CoC, IBBI and direct them to file their replies. We will hear the case further on August 07," said NCLT.

Go First stopped flying on May 3, 2023, and approached voluntarily for initiation of CIRP against it, as it was unable to fly due to technical difficulties faced by the non-availability of engines from Pratt & Whitney.

On May 10, the NCLT admitted the plea of Go First to initiate voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings.

If permitted by the insolvency tribunal, this would be a significant relief for those air passengers, whose money is stuck with the Go First after the initiation of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP).

Earlier, several air passengers had approached NCLT directly by writing e-mail requests/phone calls for refunds of booked cancelled tickets.

On this, the NCLT issued an advisory on July 3, asking them to approach the RP to claim a refund as per the procedure of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Last week, NCLT rejected the pleas of the lessors of aircraft and engines of Go First requesting to restrain the airline from commercial flying and held that aircraft are available for resumption of operations since aviation regulator DGCA has not deregistered them.

NCLT held that physical possession of the aircraft/engines would be "indisputably" with Go First and lessors cannot claim possession during the CIRP of the carrier.

The tribunal also declined the lessors' pleas for inspection of their leased aeroplanes and engines and strongly reiterated that it was the responsibility of the Resolution Professional to maintain them at the highest levels of efficiency/safety.

"The physical possession of the aircraft/engines is indisputable with the corporate debtor (Go First). Therefore, in terms of Section 14(1)(d), the applicants would not be within their rights to claim possession of these aircraft/engines," the NCLT bench said in its 29-page long order passed on the petitions filed by several lessors of Go First.

"The moratorium prohibits the recovery of the aircraft/engines by the lessors (applicants) from the corporate debtor," it added.

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Beijing [China], July 31 (ANI): Tens of thousands of people fled their homes in Beijing after Typhoon Doksuri  one of the strongest storms in years  led to torrential rain across China amid a warning of another hurricane-level storm, CNN reported.

Notably, China is reeling from extreme weather events this summer, much like much of the world. Earlier, heat waves scorched Beijing, before than usual this year while records have been set worldwide for global temperatures, ocean heat and the loss of sea ice.

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Doksuri hurtled into the southeastern coastal province of Fujian late last week, weakening as it carved its way north but bringing huge amounts of rain to at least five northern Chinese provinces since Saturday.

As of Sunday night, more than 31,000 people were evacuated from the Chinese capital, CNN reported citing state broadcaster CCTV.

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Another half million people in the southern province of Fujian were forced to evacuate from flooding, CNN reported citing state news agency Xinhua.

The storm killed two and another two went missing while mushroom picking in northeastern Liaoning province, CCTV further reported.

Meanwhile, the precipitation in Beijing could break records as nearly 40 inches of rain is projected to pour over the southwestern parts of the capital and neighbouring Hebei province, CNN reported citing the China Meteorological Administration on Monday.

Heavy downpours are expected to continue through Tuesday, increasing concerns about dangerous flooding and landslides.

The intense downpours in the capital has prompted the temporary closure of several railroads and highways, while schools also remained closed and people were told to stay indoors.

Earlier on Monday, nine districts of Beijing were under a red rainstorm alert, the highest in the countrys warning mechanism, while the weather signal was downgraded to the second-highest level in other parts. At least 95 other weather warnings were issued across the country.

Doksuri is the most powerful typhoon to make landfall in China and the strongest storm to hit Fujian since Typhoon Saomi in 2006, according to CNN Weather based on preliminary information.

Before hitting Fujian it had killed at least 39 people in the Philippines and lashed parts of southern Taiwan.

The closest and most powerful storm to pass near Beijing was Rita back in 1972. (ANI)

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Islamabad [Pakistan], July 31 (ANI): Vice Premier of China, He Lifeng, arrived in Pakistan on Sunday for a three-day visit, where he will take part in a ceremony to commemorate the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project's tenth anniversary, Dawn reported.

The celebration will take place for the disputed CPEC project despite the looming economic crisis that has gripped Pakistan due to increasing Chinese loans in the country.

Also Read | Pakistan Suicide Blast: 44 People Killed, 100 Injured in Suicide Bombing at Islamic Party's Meeting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (Watch Video).

During his Pakistan visit, Lifeng would also hold meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Dr Arif Alvi during the visit.

Notably, CPEC is a flagship project of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

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Beijing's international infrastructure investment programme, known as the BRI, a term established by China's Xi Jinping in 2013, was created to rebuild China's Silk Road, which linked Asia with Africa and Europe in order to boost trade and economic development, as per CNN.

Each year, the effort has seen billions of dollars poured into infrastructure projects, including the construction of ports from Sri Lanka to West Africa, the paving of motorways from Papua New Guinea to Kenya, and the provision of power and telecoms infrastructure for people in Latin America and Southeast Asia.

In 2019, Italy became the only major Western country and the only country from the G7 group of advanced economies to join the BRI.

Quoting the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan, Dawn reported that Lifeng has played a prominent role in Chinas international economic relations and implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative.

He was "instrumental in the planning and execution of multiple CPEC projects in Pakistan" while serving as chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission from 2017 to 2023, the Foreign Office had stated.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multi-billion dollar project was introduced in 2013 and quickly dubbed the flagship extension of the Belt and Road Initiative. Pakistanis hoped that this new development program will bring change and turn the country into a regional hub.

However, the investment has only had debilitating impact on the South-Asian country.

Balochistan, an impoverished province with significant mineral potential, continued to bear the brunt of the CPEC projects being built on its territory with no expectation of financial gain. This sense of exclusion has fuelled a mass rebellion in Balochistan against the CPEC.

Pakistan's economic troubles have deepened in recent years, with some critics blaming CPEC investments as a main contributing factor. (ANI)

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Denver (US), Aug 1 (AP) A Colorado teenager pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of attempting to support a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State group.

Davin Meyer, 18, sat handcuffed at his arraignment in a federal courtroom in Denver and didn't say anything about the allegations. Earlier this month, Meyer was arrested when he tried to board a plane to Turkey, where prosecutors say he planned to become a fighter for IS.

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David Kaplan, Meyer's attorney, declined to comment on the case. The trial is not yet scheduled.

In November, after he turned 18, Meyer began communicating over the internet with someone he believed was an IS facilitator, and another who presented themselves as an ISIS travel facilitator, according to the arrest affidavit, but both were actually undercover informants.

Also Read | Indian National Simranjit Singh Admits to Smuggling People From His Country Into the US via Canada, To Face Prison Time.

In a previous court hearing, Meyer's mother, Deanna Meyer, testified that her son wouldn't have tried traveling to the Middle East if not for the support of people he met who shared his views, including the FBI informants.

This was in response to a judge's question about whether her son  who was diagnosed with autism  understood the gravity of the situation, given his condition.

The prosecutor, assistant U.S. attorney Melissa Hindman, argued that the young man was already committed to radical Islam before the informants spoke with him.

During Monday's hearing, prosecutors didn't speak about the allegations and the U.S. Attorney's office did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment after the hearing.

Deanna Meyer had reached out to law enforcement when Davin was 17 over concerns about his escalating radical Islamic beliefs and openly expressing violent intentions, according to court documents. The FBI was later notified, it said. (AP)

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New York, Jul 31 (PTI) A 40-year-old Indian-origin man, extradited from Canada to the United States, has pleaded guilty to smuggling Indians to the US between March 2020 to March 2021, officials here said.

Simranjit Singh was taken into custody on June 28, 2022, in Ontario, and was extradited from Canada to the US on March 30, 2023, United States Attorney's Office Northern District of New York said in a press release.

Also Read | Indian National Simranjit Singh Admits to Smuggling People From His Country Into the US via Canada, To Face Prison Time.

"In pleading guilty, Singh admitted that from at least March of 2020 through March of 2021, he facilitated the smuggling of numerous Indian nationals from Canada into the United States, via Cornwall Island and the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation in the St Lawrence River region, for profit," the release said on Saturday.

Singh's sentencing is scheduled for December 28.

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Singh faces a mandatory term of five years in prison and up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to USD 250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years, the release said.

Singh will be subject to deportation following the conclusion of his sentence, it said.

According to documents released in April, some migrants who say their entry into the US was facilitated by Singh told American law enforcement that he charged them between USD 5,000 and USD 35,000, online portal ctvnews.ca reported.

He was a resident of Brampton in Canada, the report said.

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Peshawar, Jul 31: Police in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said on Monday that an initial probe has suggested that the banned terrorist group ISIS is behind the suicide attack on a political convention of a hardline Islamist party that killed at least 44 people and injured over 100. The attack took place on Sunday when more than 400 members of the conservative Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party, known for its links to hardline political Islam, had gathered for a meeting under a canopy in the town of Khar, which borders Afghanistan.

"We are still investigating and gathering information on the Bajaur blast. The Initial probe shows that banned outfit Daesh (ISIS) was involved," Geo News quoted police officials as saying. The police said they were gathering details of the suicide bomber, while the bomb disposal squad team was collecting evidence from the site. District Police Officer Nazir Khan said three suspects have been taken into custody. Provincial police chief Akhtar Hayat Khan said 10 kilogrammes of explosives set off by a suicide bomber were used in the blast. He said the bomber was among the attendees seated in the front rows of the convention. Pakistan Suicide Bombing Video: Clip Shows Moments Before Explosion That Killed At Least 50 at JUIF Workers Convention in Bajaur.

Local police said the attacker detonated explosives near the convention's stage. According to police and witnesses, the blast occurred as soon as JUI-F District Amir Maulana Abdul Rasheed reached the stage. The deceased included JUI-F Tehsil Khar Maulana Ziaullah Jan, Navagai Tehsil General Secretary Maulana Hameedullah, District Information Secretary Mujahid Khan and dozens of party workers. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) caretaker health minister Riaz Anwar said on Sunday night that 44 people lost their lives while more than 100 were injured in the attack. Pakistan Blast: Suicide Bomb Attack at Mosque in Peshawar; 28 Killed, 150 Injured.

An emergency has been declared in the hospitals of Bajaur and adjoining areas where most of the injured were taken. The critically injured have been transported from Bajaur to hospitals in the provincial capital Peshawar by military helicopters. Bajaur District Health Officer Dr Faisal Kamal said more than 150 injured people had been brought to the Bajaur District Headquarters Hospital. Over 35 people have been referred to the Timargarh hospital while 15 critically injured persons have been sent to Peshawar via a Pakistan Army helicopter, he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

Rescuers have warned the death toll may rise further, as 15 people are in critical condition. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemned the blast and vowed that those responsible will be identified and punished. "The Pakistani nation, law enforcement agencies and our protectors will never allow such cowardly tactics of the enemy to succeed," he tweeted. Sharif spoke to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to express his condolences. We are equal participants in your grief. The criminals will be truly punished and bringing an end to terrorism is the commitment of the entire nation, he said.

He ordered an investigation into the incident and instructed that the critically injured persons be transferred to other hospitals on a helicopter. Pakistan President Arif Alvi prayed for eternal peace for the departed souls and commiserated with the bereaved families. He also wished speedy recovery for the injured and emphasised timely medical assistance to them. In a statement issued on Sunday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan sought a detailed report on the blast from police. He also visited the Combined Military Hospital in Peshawar, where he met and inquired about the health of injured persons.

Rahim Shah, a witness, told Dawn.com that more than 500 people were attending the convention when the blast occurred. We were listening to a bayan [sermon] when a powerful explosion knocked me unconscious, he said. Shah narrated that when he regained consciousness, there was blood everywhere. People were screaming and even shots were fired, he added. Sabeehullah, a 24-year-old JUI-F supporter who had his arm fractured by the blast, said the scale of injuries was horrifying.There was utter confusion, with human flesh, limbs, and body parts scattered throughout the area, alongside lifeless bodies. I found myself lying next to someone who had lost their limbs.

The air was filled with the smell of human flesh, he was quoted as saying in the report. The JUI-F chief, in a statement issued by the party's media cell, expressed grief over the incident. He sought an inquiry into the attack from Prime Minister Sharif and the KP government. May Allah raise the ranks of martyrs, Fazl said and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured. He also appealed to JUI-F workers to immediately reach hospitals and provide blood donations.

In a tweet, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah vowed to bring the perpetrators of today's attack to justice. The cowardly acts of terrorists cannot dampen our spirits," he said. Former prime minister Imran Khan said he was saddened to learn about the blast and extended condolences to the victims' families. The rise in terror incidents across Pakistan particularly in KP, calls for an urgent need to reconsider our priorities, he said, adding that the authorities should focus on eliminating terrorism. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban government in Afghanistan, has condemned the attack. TTP spokesman Khalid Khurrasani also condemned the blast.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terrorist attacks following the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. On January 30, a Pakistan Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up during the afternoon prayers in a mosque in Peshawar, killing 101 people and injuring more than 200 others. In February, heavily-armed TTP militants stormed the Karachi Police chief's office in Pakistan's most populous city, sparking gunfire that killed three rebels and four others, including two police constables.
Naypyidaw [Myanmar], July 31 (ANI): Members of Myanmars National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) on Monday decided to extend the state of emergency in the country and the term of the junta led by Min Aung Hlaing for another six months, Myanmar Now reported citing an announcement broadcast by state-run media. The decision was taken during Myanmars National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) meeting in Naypyidaw on Monday.

As the term of the Myanmar junta led by Min Aung Hlaing expired on Monday, the junta chief presented a report to council members sharing details regarding two-and-half years of military rule as is needed by the army-drafted 2008 Constitution. He stressed that there was still unrest in Myanmar.

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Notably, the Myanmar military declared a year-long state of emergency when it seized power. Since then, the state of emergency has been extended three times, each for six months, with Monday's extension marking the fourth, Myanmar Now reported.

The military-drafted constitution permits only two six-month extensions and it requires authorities to hold elections within six months of a state of emergency being lifted. On July 14, during his meeting with senior officials, Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing indicated that he might further extend a state of emergency and delay promised elections, Myanmar Now reported.

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According to the military-drafted Constitution, the NDSC body is prescribed to include the president, two vice presidents, two house speakers, the commander-in-chief and his deputy, and the ministers of foreign affairs, defence, home affairs and border affairs. Following the coup, Vice President Myint Swe was appointed Myanmar's acting President and leads the NDSC.

On Monday, Myint Swe announced the continuation of the state of emergency in Myanmar for a further six months and transferred the power to military chief Min Aung Hlaing. He said that the detailed statement by the NDSC will be issued later, according to Myanmar Now report.

Another Vice President Henry Van Thio has not been in the public eye since the armys seizure of power. Citing "health issues," he did not attend three previous NDSC meetings, Myanmar Now reported. Henry Van Thio reportedly attended the meeting on Monday and was seen sitting next to Lower House speaker T Khun Myat in video footage of the event.

In November 2020, the National League for Democracy (NLD) secured victory in Myanmar's parliamentary elections. However, less than three months later, the Myanmar military carried out a coup and imprisoned Aung San Suu Kyi. Currently, she is serving a prison sentence which totals 33 years. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Islamabad, July 31: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reiterated that the National Assembly will be dissolved before August 12 with the consultation of the allied parties, ARY News reported on Monday. In an interview at a Geo News programme, he said the tenure of the National Assembly will end on August 12 and before that, the assembly will be dissolved.

While the Election Commission will announce a date for the next elections, he added. Sharif further said the decision about the caretaker PM will be taken in consultation with the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and before that he would consult all the allied parties and Pakistan Muslim League(N) Quaid Nawaz Sharif, ARY News reported. Setback for Imran Khan, Pakistan Supreme Court Rejects Former PM's Plea To Stay Criminal Proceedings Against Him in Toshakhana Case.

Earlier in the day, Shehbaz Sharif had lashed out at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan calling him the mastermind behind the events that took place on May 9 which aimed to topple military leadership, reported The News International. Shehbaz Sharif also said that along with PTI workers, a group of politicians, some military men and their families were also involved in May 9 violence. Moreover, the military labelled it as a 'Black Day' in the history of Pakistan. Shehbaz Sharif during an interview on Geo News's programme said, "Those involved in the May 9 incidents wanted to overthrow the military leadership." Imran Khan Security Breach: Water Bottle Thrown at Former Pakistan PM During Court Appearance in Islamabad (Watch Video).

He further mentioned that the planners wanted "anarchy" and "war" in the country, according to The News International. As many as 2138 suspects have been arrested in five major cities of Pakistan's Punjab province in connection with the May 9 case, ARY News reported. Whereas the PTI opposes that its members were not involved in the attacks, however, the government and military reject their claims and say they have 'irrefutable evidence' of their involvement, reported The News International.

On May 9, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan was arrested at the Islamabad High Court in the Al Qadir Trust case. After his arrest, protests erupted in Pakistan and military installations including the Lahore corps commander's residence and state properties were attacked in Pakistan.
Islamabad [Pakistan], July 31 (ANI): Two persons have been killed in a car firing incident in Lahore's Mughalpura area, ARY News reported.

Police said that the car firing incident took place in Lahores Mughalpura area in which two people were killed. The victims have been identified as Imran and Guddu. According to police, the slain people were having a property dispute with their brother-in-law, ARY News reported.

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Police said that the slain person's brother-in-law along with his accomplice opened fire at the vehicle and fled from the spot, ARY News reported. Police have initiated a thorough probe into the firing incident.

Earlier on July 13, two people, including a woman, were shot and killed in a shooting incident in Pakistan's Lahore. The incident took place at Lahore Sessions Court, ARY News reported. According to details, the two people who arrived at the Lahore Sessions Court for the hearing were shot by a rival party.

Also Read | Indian National Simranjit Singh Admits to Smuggling People From His Country Into the US via Canada, To Face Prison Time.

According to ARY News, the attackers were apprehended by the police and taken to the police station. For security purposes, the police have locked the court's doors.

Earlier, two people facing murder charges were shot dead outside a sessions court in Lahore. Under-trial prisoners (UTPs) Riyasat and Bilal were brought to the court from Kot Lakhpat jail to face trial in a case related to the murder of a woman within the jurisdiction of Nishtar Colony police station. (ANI)

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El-Arish (Egypt), Jul 31 (AP) A shooting Sunday at a heavily fortified security facility in the restive part of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula killed at least four police, including a senior officer, two security and health officials said.

At least 21 other forces were wounded in the shooting at the National Security headquarters in el-Arish, the capital city of North Sinai province, they said.

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A list of casualties obtained by The Associated Press showed that some forces suffered from gunshots and others faced breathing difficulties from tear gas that was fired inside the facility. There were eight officers among the wounded, the list showed.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

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The circumstances surrounding the shooting were not immediately clear, and there was no immediate comment from the Interior Ministry, which oversees police forces.

North Sinai is the scene of a yearslong battle against an insurgency led by Islamist militants who have carried out scores of attacks, mainly targeting security forces and Christians.

The pace of militant attacks in Sinai's main theatre of operations and elsewhere has slowed to a trickle since February 2018, when the military launched a massive operation in Sinai and parts of the Nile Delta as well as desert areas along the country's western border with Libya. (AP)

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Washington DC [US], July 31 (ANI): The United States on Monday extended support to the leadership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to defend constitutional order in Niger.

This comes as the Niger military has been holding Mohamed Bazoum, the elected president since Wednesday in the third attempt to depose a Sahelian leader in as many years.

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The United States welcomes and commends the strong leadership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Heads of State and Government to defend constitutional order in Niger, actions that respect the will of the Nigerien people and align with enshrined ECOWAS and African Union principles of zero tolerance for unconstitutional change, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a US State Department statement.

The US further called for the immediate release of President Mohamed Bazoum and his family and the restoration of all state functions to the legitimate, democratically-elected government.

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The United States further welcomes the dispatch of the special representative of the ECOWAS Chair to Niger and urges all parties to work with ECOWAS for a peaceful and expeditious resolution of the current situation, the state department stated.

The statement added that the US will remain actively engaged with ECOWAS and West African leaders on the next steps to preserve Nigers hard-earned democracy.

Earlier on Sunday, ECOWAS, sought Bazoum's release and reinstatement within a week on Sunday, according to CNN.

The group declared it would "take all necessary measures to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger," including the use of force if the junta remained in power.

A slew of punitive measures, including the closure of the land and air borders with Niger, were also announced by ECOWAS.

The group declared that it will reject any sort of supposed resignation from Bazoum, whom they view as a hostage.

Earlier, it was stated that France and the European Union will support ECOWAS organisations in their decision to impose sanctions on the junta. The two had previously stopped providing money to Niger.

Since gaining independence from France in 1960, military coups have occurred frequently in Niger, however, political instability has decreased recently. In 2021, Bazoum was elected president in the nation's first democratic transfer of power.

Before gaining its independence in 1860, Niger spent more than 50 years as a French colony. Strong diplomatic relations existed between the two nations prior to Thursday's coup, but many Nigeriens believe France has continued to treat Niger like an imperial state, depriving it of its natural riches and imposing its leaders' economic policies. One of the poorest nations in the world, Niger receives aid worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Leaders of a coup in Niger declared General Abdourahamane Tiani as the new head of state. (Photo: Reuters)

Niamey [Niger], July 31 (ANI): Imposing economic and travel sanctions on the Niger military coup leaders on Sunday, the West African nations have threatened to use force if country's President Mohamed Bazoum is not reinstated within a week, reported Al Jazeera.

The military has been holding Niger's elected president, Bazoum, since Wednesday in the third attempt to depose a Sahelian leader in as many years.

Also Read | Pakistan Suicide Blast: 44 People Killed, 100 Injured in Suicide Bombing at Islamic Party's Meeting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (Watch Video).

The formidable presidential guard's commander, General Abdourahmane Tiani, has declared himself the leader.

The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc asked on Sunday that Bazoum be reinstated within a week at an emergency conference held in Nigeria.

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If not, the bloc threatened to use "all measures" to reestablish the rule of law.

In a statement, it warned that "Such measures may include the use of force for this effect," and that the ECOWAS defence chiefs would convene later on Sunday

Along with imposing financial penalties, the bloc also banned "all commercial and financial transactions" between its members and Niger, one of the world's poorest countries that frequently comes in last on the UN's Human Development Index, according to Al Jazeera.

Bazoum is one of the few remaining elected presidents and pro-Western figures in the Sahel, where armed uprisings that began in 2020 have since led to coups in Mali and Burkina Faso.

Following the coup, former colonial powers France and the European Union withdrew their financial and security assistance to Niger, while the United States issued a warning that its own assistance would be at risk.

Thousands of people who supported a military coup voiced anger over Frances influence in its former colony, Niger, resulting in tense and violent scenes in front of the French Embassy, CNN reported on Sunday.

The pro-coup protestors were seen chanting the names of Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite requests from the Kremlin to release the nation's democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.

A plaque designating the Embassy was destroyed by some protesters, who later replaced it with Russian and Nigerian flags. In the masses, there were slogans of "down with France," "long live Putin," and "long live Russia."

In an effort to disperse the demonstrators, police officers in Niger used tear gas shells. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kolkata, Jul 31: Eight people have died of dengue in West Bengal while 4,401 people have been infected till July 26, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday, expressing concern over the situation. Speaking in the assembly, Banerjee said dengue cases are on the rise this year as panchayats are unable to control the situation because they are yet to form the boards after the elections. Stressing that strict measures are being taken to tackle dengue, she warned private hospitals of strict actions in case patients are denied treatment. Dengue Cases Surge in Delhi: CM Arvind Kejriwal Calls Meeting With Health Minister, MCD Mayor To Plan Strategy.

The fight against dengue is being disrupted, she said, asking private hospitals to treat patients without caring about money. If a hospital refuses to accept the health card, its license will be revoked, she said. Banerjee said most of the cases were being reported from North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts. Dengue Virus Evolved Dramatically in India, Is More Severe, Says IISc Study.

Meanwhile, the BJP asked Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay to provide time for discussing the dengue issue in the House, and when it was rejected, they staged a walkout. BJP MLAs demonstrated outside the House, claiming that the chief minister provided incorrect information on dengue and that at least 10 lakh people were infected in the state.
Lucknow, July 31: Veer Singh, district convenor of the BJP Kisan Morcha in Moradabad, made headlines following his recent beating by locals in a temple and subsequent booking on rape accusations by a woman. During a Facebook Live on Saturday night, the latter said that he 'couldn't face his 15-year-old daughter after the accusation' while reportedly consuming poison.

After this humiliation, it is impossible for me to look my daughter in the eye, who is 15-years-old. The charges of rape are false, and I am quite disappointed that my party colleagues didn't support me, the 40-year-old stated in the seven-minute video. Suicide on Facebook Live: Uttar Pradesh Man Jumps Into Gomti River After Going Live on Social Networking Site (Watch Video).

Veer Singh, who owns a cosmetics store and lives in the Kaanth neighbourhood, said that this charge was a part of a wider plot by envious party members over a land issue.

Superintendent of police (rural) Sandeep Kumar Meena told TOI that Veer Singh allegedly got into a fight with the head of a temple committee on Thursday in the Kaanth region, which resulted in both men filing police complaints. Singh said he had been physically beaten, and the other man charged him with having sexually molested a woman within the temple premises. Hyderabad Woman Commits Suicide During Facebook Live, Hanged on a Ceiling Fan, Police Registers Case Against Husband.

We filed an FIR against both. We learned on Saturday night that Singh had ingested poison and was unconscious in the same temple. He was taken to the hospital by us for medical care. We'll shortly record his statement because his condition has improved. We have guaranteed his family that a fair inquiry will be conducted, the SP stated.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 31, 2023 10:35 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Pune, July 31: The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and INDIA parties will organise a 'black-flags' protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the government's handling of the Manipur violence -- during his visit to Pune on August 1.

Led by 93-year-old veteran reformer and unionist Babasaheb Pandurang Adhav, leaders and workers of the INDIA alliance groups shall converge for the demonstrations at the Lokmanya Tilak Chowk near Alka Talkies, even as the Pune Police have beefed up security and enforced traffic management in the city. PM Modi Pune Visit Details: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Launch Development Projects in Maharashtra City, Receive Lokmanya Tilak National Award on August 1.

PM Modi is arriving in Pune on Tuesday and is likely to visit the famed Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganesh Temple, inaugurate the new corridors of the Pune Metro line and also receive the prestigious 'Lokmanya Tilak National Award-2023' at a special function here.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar will be the Chief Guest at the award ceremony, but his party will join the INDIA protests along with Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), Communist Party of India, CPI-M, Janata Dal-S, Samajwadi Party, Peasants & Workers Party, Aam Aadmi Party and other groups. PM Narendra Modi in Pune on August 1, to Be Conferred Lokmanya Tilak National Award.

"We will protest against the government's mishandling of the Manipur violence and other burning issues," said Pune Congress President Mohan Joshi. NCP Pune President Prashant Jagtap said their protest would be for Modi not visiting Manipur despite the grim situation there for nearly three months.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 31, 2023 08:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
The cat attacked the child while he was camping with his mother at Lake Angeles, in the Heart O the Hills area south of Port Angeles, according to a news release from the National Park Service.
Solar energy in Kenya is being hailed by experts as a game-changer. Generating power from the East African nation's sunshine can potentially revolutionize its energy sector in terms of cost-effectiveness and scalability.Solar power is experiencing a significant surge in Kenya. In a parallel narrative to recent developments in Croatia, it appears that for numerous individuals, the surge in activity is not solely motivated by environmental concerns.

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Solar energy has emerged as the more cost-effective option  and this is the primary reason behind its growing popularity.

Also Read | Typhoon Khanun Update: Tropical Storm Heads Toward Japan's Okinawa and Amami.

In a remarkable display of sustainable living, Hezel's house in Nairobi boasts a state-of-the-art solar plant adorning its rooftop. She harnesses the power it generates for a wide range of purposes.

"Heating, lighting. I only use electricity for the cooker," Hezel told DW.

In a recent statement, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz bestowed high praise upon Kenya, referring to the country in East Africa as a "climate champion and model."

Kenya has managed to meet a staggering 80% of its power demand through the utilization of green energy sources.

Kenya has set its sights on achieving a remarkable feat by the year 2030  a goal of reaching a 100% mark.

The focus on geothermal energy has been prominent thus far. However, the significance of solar energy is steadily growing.

Positive move

The surge in the use of solar energy is a welcome development for many Kenyans given that the country suffers from a persistent issue of frequent power outages.

A number of residents have turned to utilizing sizable diesel generators as a contingency plan. However, the exorbitant costs associated with these generators have rendered them unattainable for a significant portion of the population.

Also, some remote regions in Kenya remain disconnected from the national power grid. The advent of solar energy has ushered in a new era of independence for individuals, said Annissa Osman, CP Solar's CEO.

"Maybe 15 years ago the only solar item people used was a calculator. Now more and more people are looking to adopt more solar in their everyday life," Osman said.

Five years ago, Osman created CP Solar which boasts a diverse clientele including trade, industry, and private customers.

Cost effective

Hezel, like many Kenyans, did not opt for solar energy solely out of a desire to safeguard the environment and combat climate change. She said it is a cost-effective alternative to relying on Kenya's primary energy provider.

"It is a lot cheaper than what Kenya Power charges," Hezel said.

Since making this eco-conscious decision, she said her electricity bill has experienced a significant decline.

Today, Hezel finds herself paying a mere one-third of her previous expenses, a substantial reduction that has undoubtedly left her both delighted and financially relieved.

Huge Potential

A recent study conducted by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania reveals that Kenya has emerged as a global leader in solar energy generation  creating favorable conditions for harnessing solar power.

According to the report, for Kenya's ambitious goals to be achieved, the country must take more proactive measures and enhance its geothermal energy resources alongside wind and solar power.

There are already a number of solar power stations in operation in the country, contributing to the country's national grid with a steady supply of electricity.

In Garissa, for example, lies the largest one. With a staggering power output of 55 megawatts, the facility has the ability to generate electricity that can meet the needs of over 600,000 households. Constructed by a prominent Chinese corporation, this entity has been in full operation for a span of three years.

Previously, it was primarily Western companies that held the reins in this sector. Charles Ngare, the CEO of Chloride Exide, a prominent solar panel manufacturer, said there has been a significant shift in the situation.

"We found that solar panels from the Far East were actually much cheaper than we would produce them," Ngare told DW.

Ngare added that, "no other country produces solar plants in Kenya anymore. The competition from China is simply too strong."

Energy source of the future

Kenya's market bears witness to China's undeniable dominance, as evidenced by the exclusive reliance of Chloride Exide, on Chinese suppliers for all their large-scale solar panels adorning the roofs of their factory halls.

In the sprawling factory halls, the company diligently manufactures a wide range of products, including car and solar batteries.

The production process is known for its high energy consumption. But thanks to the implementation of solar panels, the company has managed to reduce a portion of its energy expenses. Charles Ngare said this means that the future of energy in Kenya is solar.

"Solar energy is actually booming in Kenya. Demand for solar products actually doubled in the last about two years," he said.

There is currently no indication that demand will decrease in the near future.

A recent UNESCO report shows that solar energy is making waves in the remote regions of Kenya, which have long been deprived of conventional sources of power.

For urban residents such as Hezel residing in Nairobi, the solar plant installed on her rooftop has become an enduring fixture in her plans for the foreseeable future.

"The sun is always there. We never get to a point where there is no sun," Hezel told DW.

In rural communities, the potential for real change is being unlocked by solar-powered water pumps and lamps.

This article was adapted from a World in Progress report.

While you're here: Every weekday, we host AfricaLink, a podcast packed with news, politics, culture and more. You can listen and follow AfricaLink wherever you get your podcasts.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 31, 2023 04:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
TIMES STAFF WRITER

Naked to the waist, his huge head shaved bald, Atchedo Nassessode reached out from the unlighted shack that is his place of business and proffered his card.

Chief Fetishist, Traditional Healer, it read. Explicator of African Voodoo Forces. Finally it gave his address: the huge fetish market in this suburb of the capital of Togo, down a long red-clay road, hard by the city dump.

Outside in the bleached afternoon sun the market stalls were open. Animal skulls of every description--monkeys, crocodiles, even the occasional lions head--were set out in neat ranks, fringed by rows of owl and hawk carcasses from which an appalling stench permeated the steamy heat.

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Hanging on lines strung along the edges of the stalls were white and brown horse- and goat-hair whisks. Dolls and effigies and rusty cowbells were on sale everywhere.

This is the largest fetish market in Africa, a place so busy that just a few years ago it had to move from a nearby suburb because the traditional quarters there had become too cramped.

Today the market draws customers pedaling bicycles and cruising in Mercedes-Benzes alike. They come from local neighborhoods or from neighboring countries to consult with fetishists like Nassessode who assess, for a fee, physical ailments or troubles with school or love and prescribe an anodyne from the stalls outside.

The markets prominence is not surprising, for Togo is the vibrant center of the traditional religion known loosely as animism.

In its myriad forms, animism is so widespread that scarcely a single African country is without a large contingent of traditional believers. In Guinea and Liberia, there are secret societies replete with initiation rites and credos of immortality; in Madagascar, there is a form of ancestor worship manifested by parading exhumed and elaborately wrapped corpses around the metropolis in grand processions.

The essence of this belief is a faith in the efficacy of inanimate objects in summoning the aid of intermediaries for appeals to the spirit world. The Togolese believe that their ancestors are their intermediaries. But the talismans they use to indicate their needs and desires are many and varied, each ones use specified with that compound of ambiguity and seeming arbitrariness that is common to any non-empirical belief.

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The head of a crocodile--if a son is dishonest, you put it in water and the son bathes in it, proclaims Cofi Amouzou, hoisting the object aloft.

The monkey skull is powdered, for malaria, continues Amouzou, an all-around factotum and guide at the market.

He selects a pair of wooden dolls from one stall. If a woman gets twins and one dies, he says, the woman carries the live baby on her back and the wooden one on her front. You have to care for it like a living child, so the living twin will not be alone.

It will not do to treat all this without gravity. Almost every Togolese family--including the 30% or so who formally profess Catholicism or Islam--has an animist shrine in the house, generally consisting of a mound of earth used to represent an ancestor, sometimes adorned with seashells or beads. At birth, each child gets a mound of its own.

Minor sacrifices are made before the altars at various times--before a school exam or a marriage, perhaps--but a major sacrifice is made at a designated period once a year, when a goat or cow might be slaughtered.

Even competing religions learn to accommodate themselves to the strength of animist practice in this part of the world.

You have to respect it, because its a matter of faith, says Father Ernest Klur, a French missionary who has lived in the northern part of Togo since 1968. And you have to respect anothers faith.

Not too long ago, Klur recalls, during the visit of a prominent Roman Catholic cardinal to Togo, a young missionary unceremoniously clambered atop a household shrine to take a snapshot of the cardinal and some local bishops.

When one Togolese bishop flinched at the affront, the missionary asked: But father, you dont really believe in this, do you?

Not in my head, I dont, the prelate replied. But I do in my guts.

Like many other Catholic clergymen in pagan or animist parts of Africa, Father Klur plays a delicate game in appropriating elements of traditional belief for his liturgy while trying not to go too far. This is a sensitive issue for the Vatican, where it is termed inculturation.

So far the Vatican has approved such steps as incorporating Zairian dancing and songs in the Mass in Zaire. The further limits are indistinct.

You have to be prudent, Klur says, adding that he strives to emphasize elements of Togolese animist theology that resemble those of Catholicism.

The question of treating ones ancestors as intermediaries between oneself and the spirit world, for instance: For us, Christ is the intermediary--but hes our ancestor, after all, he says.

Klur also doesnt shrink from playing the same role as a traditional sorcerer might in the villages within his scope. If someone comes to me and says, I have a spell against me--do you have a counter spell, I say yes, and I go and pray at his house.

Of all the countries of Africa, Togo may be one where modern religions have penetrated the least. Sixty percent of its people profess animism, compared to 21.5% who claim to be Christians and 12% who say they are Muslim. Thats much higher than such nearby countries as Nigeria, where animists account for about 20% of the population and Islam and Christianity split the balance.

The Togo figures may even understate the true reach of animism, say some people in the country, because animist habits and ritual have penetrated the workaday practice of Christianity and Islam.

Togos heavy concentration of unalloyed believers may be an important element in the peculiarly overt and colorful quality of its animist rituals.

It is not unusual for guests at the most august gatherings to try downing dinner amid a procession of fire-eaters, fire-walkers, glass-chewers, and sword swallowers, all forming part of a pageant in which the dance of a fetishist is the clamorous backdrop. No circus sideshow could be more bizarre.

During one recent ceremony in honor of Togos sole political party, pride of place before the reviewing stand went to a man drawing a sharpened blade across his naked chest, leaving nary a scratch.

They have faith in their feticheurs,  remarked a top government minister during one of these displays.

Yet for all the theatricality, fetishism is squarely in the mainstream of Togolese life. Consider the standard French reading primer in the countrys primary schools, an utterly conventional collection of stories about mother and father, the house we live in, and so on. Where an American text might have a chapter on seeing the dentist, this text features one entitled Going to the Charlatans.

Here, the term does not carry the pejorative connotation that it does in English, but the book is still a little arch about this experience common to almost all Togolese children.

Come in, the fetishist in the tale invites the little girl of the story and her grandfather. The ancestors have already explained to me the reason for your visit, but I want to hear you tell it to me first.

In real life the role of fetishist is a serious one, passed down within families. Atchedo Nassessode inherited the job of Chief Fetishist at the Lome market from his father and will pass it on to his son, Alphonse, a serious-looking boy of 14. Alphonse explains one day that his two younger brothers are now attending school but that his training keeps him out of the formal educational system.

Instead, he undergoes a three-year ordeal at the so-called Sacrifice Forest of neighboring Benin, where he will be schooled in diagnostic technique and in the talismanic properties of various objects.

A certain amount of marketing savvy is also likely to be in the curriculum--if not in the forest, then certainly at his fathers feet. To begin with, there is a candid appeal to tourism in some of the displays in the reddish dust of Akodessewa.

A market visit is promoted as a must-do for the few who come here on organized tours, and not long ago the market extended its hours to attract afternoon curiosity-seekers.

Nassessode himself has a well-worn routine of offering tourists a series of sorry trinkets--this one for safe travel, that one for fertility, another for love, and so on. It all culminates in a frank appeal for a fee and an invitation to dicker over the price.

But that is just for tourists. Outside Nassessodes shack, Cofi Amouzou scarcely pauses in his explanation of the specific purposes of each fetishists noisome stock. Dead snakes, frogs, and scorpions are a remedy for rheumatism and arthritis: the fetishist powders the carcasses, makes a solution, and rubs it into a skin-prick as a vaccination. Standing nearby is a client willing to make a testimonial as convincing as any that a Westerner might hear on his TV.

Oh, it works, he says, showing a tiny scar where his hand was vaccinated. I had rheumatism here, and today Im in good health.
From Times Wire Reports

A federal judge in San Juan sentenced environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to 30 days in jail for trespassing while attempting to thwart Navy bombing exercises on Vieques island.

Several other protesters were convicted along with Kennedy, including New York labor leader Dennis Rivera and Norma Burgos, a senator in Puerto Ricos legislature.

You should be a lawmaker, not a lawbreaker, Chief U.S. District Judge Hector Lafitte told Burgos, sentencing her to 40 days.

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Kennedy and the others were among about 180 people arrested during Navy exercises in late April and early May.
Times Staff Writer

John E. Mack, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, died Monday in an automobile accident in London, according to Will Bueche of the John E. Mack Institute in Cambridge, Mass. Mack, who was 74, was in England to lecture at a conference sponsored by the T. E. Lawrence Society and was hit by a car while walking across the street. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Macks A Prince of Our Disorder: The Life of T. E. Lawrence, a psychological study of the man better known as Lawrence of Arabia, won a Pulitzer in 1977.

Earlier in his career, Mack explored the meaning of dreams and nightmares. He also worked with suicidal teenagers and wrote Vivienne: The Life and Suicide of an Adolescent Girl with Holly Hickler (1981).

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He was primarily interested in how an individuals worldview affects relationships. The question was a starting point for his biography of Lawrence, the British Army intelligence officer stationed in Egypt who became devoted to the Arab cause.

The value of psychology in a biography is that it deepens our appreciation of the inner life of public figures, Mack later said. Ive used psychology to relate the motivations of historical figures to the larger picture.

After being widely praised for his work on Lawrence, Mack stirred controversy with his clinical studies about people who claimed to have been abducted by aliens. He interviewed several hundred who claimed to have encountered extraterrestrials. He wrote two books on his findings, Abduction: Human Encounters With Aliens (1994) and Passport to the Cosmos (1999).

Mack concluded that the experiences of those who said they had been abducted could have been more spiritual than physical, but they were real nonetheless.

Harvard Medical School launched a formal academic probe into Macks controversial work. Fourteen months later, the dean of the school concluded that Mack was free to study what he wanted and to state his opinions. Though his critics at the university claimed he was no longer taken seriously, others saw him as a pioneer in the field of mental health.

John Mack was regarded as a brilliant thinker who stretched the boundaries of traditional psychiatry, said Dr. Judith Orloff, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA who was scheduled to lead a workshop with Mack later this month. John believed that spirituality and faith need to be brought into the practice of psychiatry.

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Born in New York City in 1929, Mack graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1955 and studied at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society. He joined the Harvard faculty in 1964 and became a professor of psychiatry in 1972.

In 1983, he founded the Center for Psychology and Social Change, which was later renamed the John. E. Mack Institute. He wrote 11 books. A documentary about his life and work, Touched, was released in 2003.

Mack is survived by three sons and two grandchildren.
Times Staff Writer

Lou Carrol was a traveling salesman living in a small town in Texas in July 1952 when he stopped in a late-night diner and read a newspaper article in which Richard Nixons wife, Pat, expressed a desire to have a puppy for their two young daughters.

Carrol, a Republican, was an admirer of Nixon, then a senator from California who had been named Dwight D. Eisenhowers presidential running mate. More significant, however, Carrol was the owner of a cocker spaniel named Boots, who had recently given birth to a large litter.

After reading the newspaper article, Carrol impulsively headed over to a nearby Western Union office and sent a telegram to Nixons office in Washington.

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On behalf of the great state of Texas, I wish to offer the Nixons a cocker spaniel puppy, purebred and registered, Carrol recalled beginning his telegram.

The black-and-white-spotted puppy that he sent to the Nixons would be named Checkers.

I had no idea shed be such a big deal, Carrol later told the Chicago Tribune.

Carrol, who earned a minor footnote in history as the man who gave Nixon the dog that the vice presidential candidate named in the historic speech that saved his political career in 1952, died of natural causes April 3 in Hoffman Estates, Ill., his family said. He was 83.

About a week after sending his telegram to Nixons office, Carrol and his first wife, Beatrice, received a letter from Nixons personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods.

Sen. Nixon was leaving Washington today and asked me to acknowledge and thank you for your ... offering to send down a cocker spaniel puppy, Woods wrote in the letter that Carrol kept framed in his den. The senator had been planning to buy a puppy for the little girls and they were particularly fond of cocker spaniels. I know therefore they will be delighted to receive this puppy.

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Carrols gift would have gone unnoticed if Nixon had not been accused that September of making personal use of an $18,000 fund contributed by his supporters in California -- a fund that Nixon said had been established for political expenses such as mailing and travel.

Many of Eisenhowers advisors urged him to drop Nixon from the ticket, a view echoed in a number of newspaper editorials.

The beleaguered Nixon defended himself against the charges in a nationwide radio and television address broadcast from the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. In his speech he detailed his modest personal assets and debts.

One other thing I probably should tell you, because if I dont theyll probably be saying this about me too, Nixon told his millions of listeners. We did get something, a gift, after the election from a man down in Texas.... You know what it was?

It was a little cocker spaniel dog, in a crate that he had sent all the way from Texas, black and white, spotted, and our little girl Tricia, the 6-year-old, named it Checkers.

And you know, the kids, like all kids, love the dog, and I just want to say this, right now, that regardless of what they say about it, were gonna keep it.

In response to what became known as Nixons Checkers speech, the Republican National Committee was swamped with telegrams and letters in support of Nixon.

And the day after the speech, a grinning Eisenhower met Nixon at the airport in Wheeling, W.Va., and told him, Youre my boy!

If it hadnt been for that broadcast, I never would have been around to run for the presidency, Nixon wrote in his 1962 book Six Crises.

Tricia Nixon Cox said Wednesday that she was learning to play checkers when her family received the puppy and that when her father asked what the dog reminded her of, she responded, Checkers.

Although Lou Carrol turned up on the 1950s quiz shows Ive Got a Secret and Whats My Line, he never received much publicity for his role in providing the sentimental element to Nixons career-saving speech.

Nor was I seeking it, he told the Baltimore Sun in 2002, the 50th anniversary of Nixons Checkers speech.

It was just one of those things you do spontaneously, Carrol said. Theres a joy in doing that kind of thing.

Every time Id see those children -- those pictures of them and the dog and how happy they looked -- it put a smile on my face.

Checkers died in 1964.

Carrol, who was born in Lynn, Mass., and earned a bachelors degree in business from Indiana University, retired 10 years ago as senior executive vice president of sales for Lawson Products in Des Plaines, Ill.

He is survived by his wife Alice; two sons, Robert and Clark; a daughter, Lisa; a stepdaughter, Linda Ray; a brother, Arthur; and five grandchildren.
On 29 July Guatemalas opposition presidential candidatesaid that a campaign of fear is being unleashed against his Movimiento Semilla political party, during a press conference, as tensions remain high ahead of the second-round presidential ballot due to be held on 20 August.

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On 28 July Mexicos Presidentrejected comments made by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) about Mexican drug trafficking organisations (DTOs).

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On 29 July, the son of Colombias President, was arrested and charged with money laundering and illicit enrichment.

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On 28 July representatives from 54 indigenous peoples concluded a four-day meeting in the village of Piaracu, Mato Grosso state, hosted by the prominent Kayapo chief and indigenous rights activist, after which the leaders presented a manifesto with demands for Brazils federal government.

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Trinidad and Tobago tourist spots do not end with pristine beaches, crystal-clear waters, and tropical bliss.

While the islands boast breathtaking shorelines that draw visitors from around the globe, there is much more to this Caribbean gem than meets the eye.

Beyond the sun, sand, and surf, Trinidad and Tobago offer various attractions that cater to every traveler's interests.

Experience a Glimpse of History at Fort King George

Perched majestically atop a hill overlooking Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago's capital, lies the impressive remnants of Fort King George.

This historical fortress, dating back to the 18th century, is a testament to the archipelago's turbulent past and serves as a window into the region's rich colonial heritage.

Originally constructed by the British as a defensive stronghold to safeguard Trinidad and Tobago against French incursions, Fort King George played a crucial role in securing the islands' strategic position.

Despite its formidable defenses, the fort eventually fell under French control during the late 1700s, marking a significant power shift.

Today, this is one of the Trinidad and Tobago tourist spots where visitors can explore the well-preserved structures that have withstood the test of time and walk through the historic mess room, where officers once dined and strategized, and admire the sturdy cisterns that collected precious water in times of need, The Crazy Tourist noted.

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Step into History at the Tobago Museum

Nestled within the captivating surroundings of the former officer's mess room at Fort King George, just a short and scenic 15-minute hike from the bustling streets of Scarborough, lies the fascinating Tobago Museum.

This hidden gem proudly houses a diverse and captivating collection of artifacts that offer a vivid glimpse into the rich past of Tobago Island.

Marvel at the ancient pottery fragments, a testament to the island's early civilizations and remarkable craftsmanship, and discover the artistry of Amerindian crafts, providing a window into the indigenous cultures that once thrived on the island.

Discover the Breathtaking Biodiversity at Asa Wright Nature Centre

Nestled in the scenic northern region of Trinidad, the Asa Wright Nature Centre beckons nature enthusiasts with its extraordinary wealth of flora and fauna.

This verdant sanctuary is not only a paradise for birdwatchers but also a haven for wildlife aficionados and lovers of natural beauty, according to US News.

With over 400 species of native birds, including colorful toucans and vibrant hummingbirds, the center is a birdwatcher's dream come true.

As you explore the lush surroundings, you'll also encounter a mesmerizing array of reptiles, boasting 55 different species and 25 amphibian species that add a touch of enchantment to the landscape.

Keep your eyes peeled for the graceful dance of more than 600 butterfly species, showcasing their vibrant hues.

Beyond the captivating fauna, the Asa Wright Nature Centre also boasts a botanical wonderland with over 2,000 types of flowering plants.

Experience the Enchanting Scarlet Ibis at Caroni Bird Sanctuary

Nestled just 9 miles southeast of Port of Spain, the Caroni Bird Sanctuary offers a captivating alternative to the northern rainforest, bringing you closer to the wonders of Trinidad and Tobago's vibrant avian life.

While the sanctuary shares similarities with the renowned Asa Wright Nature Centre, it provides a convenient escape without the need for an extensive journey.

Caroni's main draw is the magnificent scarlet ibis, the national bird of Trinidad and Tobago, whose striking resemblance to a brilliant blood-orange flamingo leaves visitors in awe.

Plan your visit for the late afternoon to witness these stunning creatures in their natural habitat.

Arriving a little early grants you the opportunity to embark on a captivating glass-bottom boat tour of the swampland, adding another layer of excitement to your experience while you await the ibis's appearance.

Caroni Bird Sanctuary is home to buzzing mosquitoes and slithering reptiles, as with any swamp.

If you revel in the great outdoors to experience these Trinidad and Tobago tourist spots, take necessary precautions by applying insect repellent and donning long sleeves and pants for added protection.

READ MORE: Bolivia: Top 5 Tourist Spots

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: The Asa Wright Nature Centre - From MyGuide.Travel
Donald Trump lost in court again, this time against CNN. The Ex-POTUS claimed that CNN calling his claims that the election was stolen the "Big Lie" is defamation. However, a federal judge thinks otherwise and threw out his defamation lawsuit.

In that now-rejected lawsuit, Trump claimed that CNN referencing his efforts to overturn the 2020 election as "the Big Lie" was equal to comparing him to Adolf Hitler. Because of this, he sought $475 million in punitive damages against the news network, claiming that CNN's reporting and use of the phrase hurt his reputation and political career, according to NPR.

However, as Politico reported, US District Judge Raag Singhal, a Trump appointee himself, ruled against the former president, saying that the ex-POTUS's defamation claims failed because the references were opinions and not factual statements.

The judge also added that the phrase would not connect "Trump's efforts challenging the 2020 election results to Nazi propaganda or Hitler's genocidal and authoritarian regime."

"CNN's use of the phrase 'the Big Lie' in connection with Trump's election challenges does not give rise to a plausible inference that Trump advocates the persecution and genocide of Jews or any other group of people," wrote the Trump-appointed judge in his decision. "Being 'Hitler-like' is not a verifiable statement of fact that would support a defamation claim."

Donald Trump Filed Several Lawsuits Against Media Outlets, Many Already Dismissed

In his lawsuit, Donald Trump accused CNN of perpetrating a "campaign of dissuasion in the form of libel and slander" and of creating a "false and incendiary association" between him and Hitler. However, this was not the only time Trump filed a lawsuit against news outlets and lost.

According to CNN, Donald Trump also filed defamation lawsuits against the Washington Post and the New York Times over their reporting. He objected to their coverage of the 2020 elections and also their reporting of its aftermath.

READ MORE: Ex Donald Trump Lawyer Admits To Making 'False' Statement on 2020 Election

He previously lost a defamation suit against CNN and also lost to the New York Times last May after a judge tossed out his lawsuit against the newspaper.

CNN itself declined to comment on the decision, though Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung took a shot at the outlet despite losing the case, saying, "We agree with the highly respected judge's findings that CNN's statements about President Trump are repugnant."

Donald Trump's Legal Woes Continue

With a judge tossing out his lawsuit against CNN, the former president still faces plenty of legal challenges as he tries to make it back to the White House in 2024.

While he already lost his civil rape case against E. Jean Carroll, the former Elle Magazine columnist updated her lawsuit after Trump lashed out against the decision. However, that's just a civil case. He has plenty of criminal cases going on.

Reuters pointed out that Special Counsel Jack Smith is investigating him over January 6 and the classified documents scandal. He has already been charged with the latter, with charges expected to happen in the former soon.

Over in Georgia, Fulton County DA Fani Willis is looking into his alleged attempts at manipulating the results of the state's elections, with indictments expected to be announced in August. Meanwhile, in New York, he is facing criminal charges over the hush money payments he made to porn star Stormy Daniels as he was running for president in 2016.

READ MORE: Court Finds Donald Trump Liable For Sexual Abuse

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Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit against CNN over 'the Big Lie' dismissed in Florida - 10 Tampa Bay
A small airplane crashed into a hangar in Southern California on Sunday, causing a fire and the deaths of all three people aboard the aircraft.

According to CBS News, the aircraft crashed during departure as it was about to leave the Cable Airport in Upland, California, which is approximately 35 miles from Los Angeles. Only the pilot and the two passengers aboard the plane were killed as the incident happened around 6:30 am Pacific Time.

Soon after the crash, firefighters from the San Bernardino County Fire Department quickly responded and found the crashed plane engulfed in flames. They were able to get the blaze under control in under 20 minutes, avoiding a larger catastrophe as the hangar and a fuel truck were nearby and would have been exposed to the flames has the fire not been controlled quickly.

The hangar where the plane crashed into is often used to support Ontario Police Department's Aviation Unit, as the local police housed several of its helicopters at that location. The damage to the hangar was only moderate, with nobody else, including the firefighters who fought the blaze, reportedly hurt.

FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board Investigating California Plane Crash

The aircraft that crashed into the southern California hangar was identified as a Beechcraft P35. It only had three people aboard, though authorities still have not publicly released the names of the three victims.

READ NEXT: Donald Trump Defamation Lawsuit Vs. CNN Dismissed

The Federal Aviation Authority is now on the case and is investigating the southern California plane crash already. It is conducting the investigation alongside the National Transportation Safety Board, according to the Associated Press. So far, neither has released any details on the crash yet.

Meanwhile, images from the crash site have surfaced and it showed firefighters working to control the fire from the downed plane. The images also showed that the crash caused a hole in the side of the hangar. Debris can also be seen littering the ground of the Cable Airport.

Another Plane Crashed in Southern California Earlier This Month

This is not the only plane crash in Southern California during the month of July 2023, as a Cessna C550 crashed near Murrieta, California, which is between Los Angeles and San Diego, last July 8. The plane crashed in a field near French Valley Airport after departing from the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas at about 3:15 a.m.

Six people have been confirmed dead in that California plane crash as the plane was making its second landing attempt at that nearby airport. Deputies from the Riverside County Sherriff's Department and firefighters from the Riverside County Fire Department responded to the crash, with the latter containing a blaze that burned about one acre of vegetation.

Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are also investigating that crash. The names of those who died were not released to the public either.

READ NEXT: "X" Logo Installation in San Francisco Twitter Violated Safety Standards

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Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: 3 dead after small plane crashes into airport hangar in Upland - ABC7
A tragic incident in northern New Mexico led to the arrest of a father and his 14-year-old son after the teen allegedly shot and killed a 13-year-old girl, per CBS News.

The identities of the teens involved have not been publicly disclosed.

According to officials, the incident occurred on Friday afternoon when the teens and two other juveniles were at the 14-year-old boy's home in Questa, listening to music.

At some point during their time together, the 14-year-old boy reportedly retrieved a pistol and shot the teenage girl. Subsequently, he allegedly dragged her body outside.

The New Mexico father, William Brown, returned home shortly after the shooting. When the police arrived, Brown and his son refused to leave the house for approximately 30 minutes.

The New Mexico teen was arrested on multiple charges, including an open count of first-degree murder. Additionally, he was charged with two counts of tampering with evidence and two counts of assault on a police officer.

The reasons for the New Mexico teen's charges of assaulting police have not been specified by officials.

READ NEXT: New Mexico Teen Killed 3 Elderly Women

New Mexico Father Arrested

The New Mexico father, William Brown, was also charged with negligent making a firearm accessible to a minor resulting in death, New York Post reports.

This charge is related to his alleged ownership of guns inside the home, which may have played a role in the tragic incident.

Both William Brown and his New Mexico teen son were booked at separate detention centers, with the teenager sent to a juvenile facility.

The community of Questa is deeply affected by the tragedy, and the village mayor, John Anthony Ortega, expressed his sadness in a Facebook post.

He extended his thoughts and prayers to the families, community members, and first responders impacted by this heartbreaking event.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing, and authorities are expected to gather further information before turning it over to the district attorney's office for review and potential legal proceedings.

Rep. Pamelya Herndon's 'Bennie's Law' Is Used to Charge New Mexico Father

The shooting death of a 13-year-old girl in Questa has prompted significant legislative action, with state lawmakers passing Bennie's Law, according to KOB 4.

This law aims to increase penalties for gun owners when a minor gains access to their firearm and uses it to shoot someone.

Notably, this is the first instance where Bennie's Law is being used to press charges.

State Representative Pamelya Herndon expressed her initial disappointment and sadness upon learning about the tragedy in Questa.

She introduced Bennie's Bill more than two years ago, and it officially became effective in June.

The law was named after Bennie Hargrove, who died in a shooting at Washington Middle School when a teenager brought his father's gun from home.

The main goal of Bennie's Law is to serve as a deterrent and remind gun owners of their responsibility to safely store firearms, especially when they are not in their immediate possession.

The New Mexico law includes provisions for misdemeanor charges if a firearm is not stored properly, and it can result in a fourth-degree felony charge if someone is injured or killed by a child who gains access to an adult's gun.

READ MORE: Motorbike Gang Fight in New Mexico Leaves 3 Dead

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Bennie's Bill: New Mexico gun safety law, takes effect - From KOB 4
Many migrant workers leave their home countries to escape violence. However, it seems that even in the US, violence is with them after an SUV ran over a group of migrants near a North Carolina Walmart.

According to the Daily Mail, local police noted that the vehicular assault was intentional and targeted the migrant workers. Six of the migrants have been injured and were transported to a nearby medical facility with various injuries. However, police have confirmed that none of these injuries are life-threatening,

Footage from nearby cameras showed the driver cutting over a median and into a grassy area between parking spaces. He then plowed through the area where the migrant workers were standing around, injuring some of them.

North Carolina Police Still Looking for SUV Driver Who Ran Over Migrant Workers Intentionally

The Lincolnton Police Department posted images of the vehicle responsible for the hit-and-run assault on its Facebook page. The post confirmed that the attack happened at a Walmart located at 306 North Generals Blvd, Lincolnton, North Carolina.

Police are now looking for the vehicle and its driver and are asking for assistance. The vehicle is described as an older model mid-size black Sport Utility Vehicle with a luggage rack, while the driver was described as an older white male.

READ NEXT: Texas Mall Shooting Suspect Revealed; Greg Abbott, Joe Biden React

Police are also looking into the possible motive for the driver running into the migrant workers, though many have pointed out that this was a possible hate crime as anti-immigrant sentiment is strong in the South, especially in deep-red states like North Carolina.

Police also noted that the injured migrant workers were transported to Atrium Health - Lincoln where their injuries are being treated.

The Facebook post solicited outrage from many of Lincolnton's residents, especially among the Hispanic community. One person who shared the post called it an "intentional act of violence" while another Latino Facebook user called the driver a "Fu**ing clown" and says that he hopes the police will find him and charge him with attempted murder.

North Carolina Police Already Talked to Injured Migrant Workers

Major Brian R. Greene of the Lincolnton Police Department confirmed the New York Times that none of those that the SUV hit are in critical condition. He added that the migrants were only standing around outside the Walmart when the SUV intentionally ran over them.

The police major also stated that he had already spoken with the migrants and found that none of them have any apparent connection to the driver of the vehicle.

"We're trying to locate the individual that did this," he added. "Right now, we don't have a lot."

This is the latest attack on migrants, which includes an incident last May where a Range Rover intentionally ran over a group of migrants waiting at a bus stop in Brownsville,Texas. The driver was soon arrested and charged with manslaughter and other charges after he killed eight of the migrants.

READ MORE: Texas Walmart Shooter Who Targeted and Killed Latinos to Plead Guilty

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Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Police searching for driver who intentionally hit six people at Walmart in Lincolnton - WCNC
Laurel, MS (39440)

Today

Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 98F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Partly cloudy. Low 78F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
An inmate escaped out of custody Sunday evening as he was being transported to Lehigh County Jail in Allentown, authorities said.

Jayshawn Flake-Turner, 19, is now facing an escape charge and is being held without bail in county jail because he is a flight risk, court records show.

Flake-Turner was being extradited from Missouri to Lehigh County, where he faces charges, District Attorney Jim Martin said. The extradition was arranged by Bethlehem police and was with a private transport company.

Lehigh County officials declined to identify the agency transporting Flake-Turner, but court records say he was in the custody of Prisoner Transportation Services, a private prison transportation company.

Messages left for Prisoner Transportation Services Monday morning were not immediately returned.

County Director of Corrections Janine Donate said Flake-Turner was not incarcerated in the county jail at the time and was not a federal detainee.

Flake-Turner was handcuffed and the cuffs were in front of him and attached to a transport belt, records say. He was inside the Prisoner Transportation Services transport vehicle in the sallyport area outside of the jail off Fourth Street when he escaped at about 5:49 p.m., Donate said.

He was able to make it down Hamilton Street, when Allentown police spotted him running under the Hamilton Street bridge and over the train tracks in the back of the old Banana Joes club at the corner of Hamilton and South Third streets, court paperwork says.

Flake-Turner got into the fenced-in property and was hiding in the high grass and debris when officers found him lying on the ground, records say.

The escape lasted a few minutes and the man was brought to the jail for admission, Donate said. The jail was not locked down during the incident.

Authorities say Flake-Turner has two arrest warrants out of Bethlehem.

He was arraigned Sunday in a 2022 theft and receiving stolen property case out of Bethlehem, and his bail was initially set at $15,000, records show.

Flake-Turner is also awaiting arraignment in a 2022 alleged retail card scam in Bethlehem Township and an unrelated case in Tilden Township in Berks County.

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Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
New warehouse proposals on the border between Freemansburg and Bethlehem Township and in Allen Township generated concerns about traffic during reviews this past week by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.

The commission approved comment letters to municipal officials to advise them on how the plans match up with comprehensive planning efforts spanning Lehigh and Northampton counties. Final approval on construction is up to the local officials.

One warehouse is proposed at 866,350 square feet at 1600 Freemansburg Ave., at the site of a former quarry. The other is proposed at 358,000 square feet on Savage Road, southeast of Atlas Road, in Allen Township.

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission has reviewed 5.1 million square feet of warehouse space proposed in 2023 for construction in Lehigh and Northampton counties, a mid-year report presented Thursday night says.

Tractor-trailer impacts to surrounding communities, including Bethlehem, are a significant concern with the Freemansburg Avenue proposal, according to the commissions advisory letter. A traffic projection suggests the facility would add 961 daily passenger vehicle trips and 520 daily truck trips for a total of 1,481 overall trips per day, the review states.

Commission member Steve Melnick said the proposal would create a traffic nightmare.

I have to reiterate that I think from a safety standpoint this is a terrible project, he said.

Commissioner member John Gallagher agreed, saying the stretch of Freemansburg Avenue from the site east to Route 33 is already a nightmare.

I cant imagine that any end user, any tenant whose business is reliant on trucking would think that this is a viable site because there is just no way for larger trucks to get to the major highways easily without causing nuisance to the three communities involved, he said.

The property owner, who has been using the site for clean fill disposal, deferred comment to the developer, who did not immediately return a message seeking comment Friday.

The commission voted to strengthen its comment to say the proposal is substantially inconsistent with FutureLV: The Regional Plan that members use to guide their review of development proposals.

The warehouse was introduced as new business on the Monday, July 24, agenda of the Bethlehem Township Planning Commission. No action was taken on either plan, as both were tabled into administrative review, said township Planning Director Amanda Raudenbush. The Freemansburg Planning Commission could next meet as early as Thursday, Aug. 3, though an agenda was not immediately available.

In Allen Township, the Savage Road warehouse is proposed on land previously used as a quarry and for agriculture; a home is on the property, as well. Its calculated to generate 612 total vehicle trips, of which 215 would be tractor-trailers, according to the Lehigh Valley Planning Commissions review. The land is located within a High Conservation Priority Natural Resource area, the commission said: These areas take precedence over other land use recommendations.

Commission member Chris Amato raised what he called serious concerns about Savage Roads ability to handle the truck traffic, in addition to impacts on a nearby proposed new Northampton Area School District school.

Now the children will be completely surrounded by truck traffic from all angles, he said. This project is deleterious to the health, welfare and safety of not only the residents of Allen Township but also the children ... that will be going to this new school.

The plan is under review by township officials but not yet scheduled for a meeting, township Manager Ilene Eckhart said Friday.

Read the Lehigh Valley Planning Commissions full review letters of these warehouse projects starting on page 12 of 52 in Thursdays agenda packet for the Freemansburg Avenue proposal and page 22 of 52 for the Savage Road plan, at lvpc.org.

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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
The American Red Cross of Greater Pennsylvania is providing emergency assistance following a fire that officials say displaced more than a dozen people on Sunday afternoon.

The fire happened at about 12:30 p.m. inside a two-story apartment building at the 200 block of North Courtland Street in East Stroudsburg Borough, in Monroe County, official reports said.

Multiple fire crews worked for two hours to extinguish the blaze, police said. Northampton Upper Mount Bethel also responded to the fire, reports say.

Police confirmed at least one person was trapped at the scene, but so far no injuries have been announced.

The Red Cross says it provided emergency assistance, including temporary lodging, food, clothing and other immediate needs to the survivors on Sunday. At least 10 adults and four children were impacted by the fire, according to a post by the Red Cross.

Fire companies at East Stroudsburg and Marshalls Creek did not immediately respond to calls by lehighvalleylive.com on Monday to identify the cause of the fire.

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Glenn Epps can be reached at gepps@lehighvalleylive.com or glenn_epps_on Twitter.
Plans are moving forward on several fronts for a proposed 6.2 million-square-foot industrial park.

The Upper Mount Bethel Township Board of Supervisors has granted conditional preliminary land development approval for three lots in the proposed River Pointe Commerce Park.

Developer Lou Pektors River Pointe has proposed building up to 13 buildings on the site on River Road. The property is also bordered by Potomac Street and Route 611.

The June approvals included several conditions the developer must adhere to. However, at the request of River Pointe lawyer Marc Kaplan, supervisors voted against including several recommendations of the townships planning commission and the township engineer, Justin Coyle.

Kaplan argued that some of Coyles recommendations for conditional land development went beyond the townships purview. Some of Coyles recommendations would be addressed by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and should not be township conditions.

Kaplan said Coyles recommendation for a township review of a hydro-geologic study and individual soil logs at the site; a review of a facilities agreement; and limitations on a proposed drip irrigation wastewater system were not only inappropriate but were an attempt by Coyle to delay the process.

This is one step after another by Mr. Coyle to try and delay this development, Kaplan said.

Coyle said he took the wording regarding a township review directly from a planning commission presentation provided by River Pointe engineer Frederick Ebert.

This is part of your plan, Coyle said.

Eberts presentation stated that issues that fall under the DEPs planning module should be reviewed by the township engineer, Coyle said. Kaplan fired back stating Coyle may not be the township engineer in the future.

That may not be you by the time we get around to it, Kaplan said to Coyle.

Supervisors Chairman Martin Pinter, who voted not to accept the planning commission and Coyles recommendations with supervisors David Due and Robert Teel, said plans for a wastewater treatment plant and a public sewer authority may change.

It makes sense to hold off on implanting conditions in the preliminary approval for issues that have not been solidified yet, Pinter said.

Supervisor David Friedman voted against removing the conditions. Supervisor John Bermingham was absent for the vote.

Access to the site will be from River Road, which runs north through the township until it turns into Delaware Avenue at the Portland Borough border.

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission in May said a relatively narrow and low Norfolk Southern train overpass on Delaware Avenue poses a severe safety and mobility concern.

There are several manufacturing businesses, including Ultra-Poly, Air Liquide and Lamtec Corp., which are south of the overpass and frequently have trucks going under the railway. However, LVPC members said the increased traffic from 13 more industrial buildings could present a problem.

The posted height of the overpass is 13 feet 8 inches. State standards indicate the maximum commercial vehicle height is 13 feet 6 inches.

However, representatives for River Pointe said the actual measurement of the overpass is 14 feet 2 inches.

Pektor, the River Pointe president, said the company has been working with Norfolk Southern to address any potential issues.

We are fully aware of the need to address the structure and throughput of the trestle and have been and will continue to actively work with our consultants, rail provider, and regulators to improve access to prevent bottlenecks and backups, Pektor said. Solutions could include expanding or lowering the roadway, a necessary step in providing efficient and safe access to I-80 via River Road.

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John Best is a freelance contributor to lehighvalleylive.com. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A man who began verbally abusing neighbours when his dog escaped while he was drunk may be entitled to a caution.

Milan Sorokac, 32, with an address at 8 Balladine, Abbeyleix appeared in court accused of intoxication and threatening and abusive behaviour at his address on June 20 last.

Garda Matthew McGrath said gardai had attended an incident at the address on the date in question. He said the mans dog exited the property and a couple of neighbours complained about the barking.

He began engaging in abusive behaviour with the neighbours, said Garda McGrath.

He was highly intoxicated and he wasnt taking any advice, he explained.

He told one of the neighbours to shut the f**k up and called another neighbour a bitch, he said.

Garda McGrath said the man had two previous convictions and both were road traffic matters.

Solicitor Josephine Fitzpatrick said her client was a Slovakian national who was going through a difficult time.

He says he is no longer drinking, he has completely stopped, she said.

She expressed her belief that the man may be entitled to an adult caution instead of a conviction.

I would ask you to adjourn to explore whether that option is open, she said.

He was trying to get his dog under control, she added.

Judge Andrew Cody agreed to adjourn the matter to Portlaoise District Court on September 28.
Retained firefighters in Laois and nationwide who resumed industrial action last Friday are expected to remain on strike for some time.

The firefighters had taken to the picket lines across the county earlier this year due to concerns over staffing, pay and conditions.

However, they halted the action which was due to escalate to all-out strike action and agreed to talks in the Labour Court. Those talks concluded with recommendations which included pay increases of at least 24%, the hiring of additional staff.

However, the SIPTU members of the retained fire service rejected the deal and returned to the picket lines last Friday.

SIPTUs Laois County Shop Steward, Alan Doran said his members were picketing at stations throughout Laois. He assured the community that firefighters would respond to life threatening incidents in the county.

We are three pumps to all calls while in other counties around us are on a 50/50 basis at the moment, which could escalate, he said. Mr Doran said this was in line with SIPTUs guidance and meant all life threatening situations would get a response.

He is due to join County Shop Stewards from across Ireland for a meeting in Dublin with the SIPTUs negotiating committee on Tuesday, August 1. Its possible further action may arise from the meeting.

Mr Doran pointed out that his members didnt want to be engaged in industrial action. However, he fears that with the government on a summer recess the action could be drawn out.

Local Authority Management issued a national statement saying they are extremely concerned by SIPTUs decision to escalate its industrial action, closing 50% of retained fire service stations on a rotational basis from 8am Friday, July 28.

However, Laois is one of just five counties nationwide not yet engaged in the 50/50 action, something which could change in the future.

This unprecedented action represents a significant increase in risk to the safety of the public and to the safety of firefighters and is totally disproportionate, according to Local Authority Management.

While there are acknowledged challenges in relation to retained firefighter recruitment and retention, and the sustainability of service, a clear pathway and plan have been developed to address these issues, they maintained.

Ahead of the action last Friday, SIPTU Sector Organiser, Brendan OBrien, said: "SIPTU strike committees are organised in every county across the country and have spent hours meeting with management to get emergency measures agreed. Management, however, is demonstrating a high degree of intransigence on this issue and are refusing to agree any plan for tomorrow or for any day after that. Our members are steadfast that this dispute will continue until retained firefighters get a satisfactory resolution."
The new Kolbe Special School has gone to tender as a contractor is sought for the long awaited project.

Minister of State in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Sean Fleming confirmed that the closing date for the receipt of tenders to build the new Kolbe Special School in Portlaoise is August 31.

This is a major step in getting the new Kolbe Special School built, he said.

As I announced in April, the project was approved to go to tender. Since then the tender documents have been finalised by the school and sent to the Department of Education. The Department then cleared these documents thereby allowing the project to go to tender a number of weeks ago, Minster Fleming explained.

Previously, a shortlist of suitable contractors was approved for consideration for this building project and the tender documents were sent to these pre-cleared contractors, he said.

Like everybody with an interest in Kolbe Special School I welcome this great news. We all share the same aim of getting the new school built as soon as possible, he said.

Kolbe Special School has operated in Portlaoise in unsuitable conditions for a number of years. The school has only one permanent building and little space for the specialist equipment needed for some of the most vulnerable children in Laois.

During the last General Election, I, as a candidate, stated that getting a new school for Kolbe was my number one priority. Since then the plans for the school have been finalised, planning permission has been obtained, the project is now at final tender stage and enabling works have already commenced at the site to facilitate Irish Water pipelaying and site road boundary issues, said Minsiter Fleming.

Please be assured that I will do everything possible so that a contractor will be appointed as soon as possible, he said.

I want to acknowledge and thank the entire school community and the people of Laois for their support for Kolbe Special School, continued Minister Fleming.

Finally, the students, staff, parents and families of those who attend Kolbe Special School must be fully supported. I look forward to us all working together between now and when the new school is ultimately built and opened to replace the existing school building and provide the facilities that these children are entitled to, he said.
The UK government said on Monday, July 31, it would issue "hundreds" of new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea to secure energy reserves while still aiming for net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

"Investment in the North Sea will continue to unlock new projects, protect jobs, reduce emissions and boost UK energy independence," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office said in a statement. It added that "a more flexible application process" would be applied for the license requests, which would still be subject to a "climate compatibility" test for carbon reduction goals.

"The government is taking steps to slow the rapid decline in domestic production of oil and gas, which will secure our domestic energy supply and reduce reliance on hostile states," it said.

Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, saw a global surge in energy prices as Western nations imposed sanctions against Moscow, targeting in particular its massive oil and gas exports.

"We have all witnessed how Putin has manipulated and weaponized energy  disrupting supply and stalling growth in countries around the world," Sunak said in the statement, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Now more than ever, it's vital that we bolster our energy security and capitalize on that independence to deliver more affordable, clean energy."

A study released Monday by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) said the carbon footprint from domestic UK gas production was one-fourth the footprint from imported liquified natural gas. It also confirmed plans to build two more carbon-capture facilities along the North Sea coast, at Acorn in northeast Scotland and Viking near Humber, England, alongside two already under construction. It said the four clusters could support up to 50,000 jobs by 2030.

Sunak is due to visit an energy infrastructure site later Monday in Aberdeenshire to "highlight the central role the region will play in strengthening the UK's energy independence and meet the next generation of skilled apprentices key to driving this work forward."

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Sunak's government accused of neglecting climate emergency
Emergency services members work at the site of a shelling in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, July 31, 2023. ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO / REUTERS

Russian missiles slammed into the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing at least one person and likely trapping others beneath rubble, an official said on Monday, July 31. One of the two missiles destroyed a section of the apartment building between the fourth and ninth floors, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. Video showed black smoke billowing from corner units and burned-out or damaged cars on a tree-lined street.

A 10-year-old child was among those killed, Klymenko said. Serhii Kruk, head of Ukraine's State Emergency Service, said 44 people were wounded in the morning attack, which also destroyed part of the four-story university building.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian artillery strike on partially occupied Donetsk province killed two people and wounded six in the regional capital, according to Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the illegally annexed province. A bus was also hit as Ukrainian forces shelled the city of Donetsk multiple times Monday, Pushilin said.

Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky, is in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region and has seldom been targeted by the Kremlin's forces since the war began in February 2022.

But bombardment with missiles, artillery and drones has been a hallmark of Moscow's tactics since the full-scale invasion, with some aerial attacks hitting civilian areas. Russian officials insist they only take aim at legitimate military targets. That approach has continued during Kyiv's recently launched counteroffensive that is trying to drive Russian forces out of occupied areas.

Commenting on the attack, Ukraine's president said that "in recent days, the enemy has been stubbornly attacking cities, city centers, shelling civilian objects and housing."

"But this terror will not frighten us or break us," Zelensky said in a social media statement.

Russia says Ukrainian drone struck police station

Moscow said it had intensified strikes on Ukrainian military infrastructure in response to attacks on Russian-controlled territory, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday. "Against the background of the failure of the so-called 'counteroffensive', Kyiv... has focused on carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure," Shoigu said. "The intensity of our strikes against Ukrainian military facilities.. has been considerably increased," he added.

Ukraine has sought to take the war deep into Russia, reportedly using drones to hit targets as far away as Moscow.

A regional governor said on Monday that a Ukrainian drone hit a police station overnight in the frontier Russian region of Bryansk but there were no victims. "Ukrainian forces attacked the district of Trubchevsky at night," Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram. "A drone hit the police station in this district. No victims" but the windows and roof were damaged, he added.

Russia on Sunday said it had downed Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and the Crimea peninsula in attacks that damaged two office towers in the capital and briefly shut an international airport. One drone targeting Moscow was shot down on the city's outskirts and two others were "suppressed by electronic warfare" and smashed into an office complex, the Russian defense ministry said, adding that there were no injuries.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Moscow's everyday life under drone attacks

The supposed drone attack came hours after Ukraine Russian authorities said Ukrainian drone attacks damaged two office buildings a few miles from the Kremlin and a pig breeding complex on the countries' border.

The attacks, which Ukraine didn't acknowledge in keeping with its security policy, reflected a pattern of more frequent and deeper cross-border strikes the Kyiv government has launched since starting a counteroffensive against Russian forces in June. A precursor and the most dramatic of the strikes happened in May on the Kremlin itself, the seat of power in the capital, Moscow.

Ukrainian officials didn't acknowledge the attacks but President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address: "Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia  to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process."
Demonstration in support of General Abdourahamane Tiani, in front of the National Assembly building in Niamey, Niger, on July 30, 2023. ISSIFOU DJIBO / EPA/MAXPPP

In Niamey, the relative calm of the first days after the coup d'etat gave way to a strong mobilization in support of the putschists and fears of further unrest. On Sunday, July 30, several thousand demonstrators took to the streets of the Nigerien capital as well as Tahoua, some 400 kilometers to the east, in support of the new strongman, General Abdourahamane Tiani. Tiani is still detaining the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, who has been held captive since July 26.

"Long live the army! Long live Tiani!" and "Down with France! Vive la Russie!" chanted demonstrators in Niamey in the morning, waving Russian flags. "For our honor, we'll fight to the end, we're ready to die," said one of them, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with "CNSP," the initials of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, the junta's governing body. A gathering of this many demonstrators is unheard of in Niamey. "People were desperate to express their anger," said a Nigerien journalist. As with the last coups in Mali in 2020 and Burkina Faso in 2022, the Niger demonstration in support of the junta turned into an anti-French and pro-Russian protest.

At around 11 am, tensions escalated when the marchers, responding to a call from M62 (a civil society movement that previously protested against the French military presence in 2022), headed for the French embassy, where some claimed government ministers had taken refuge. An attempt was made to break into the diplomatic enclave, and the embassy sign was torn down, trampled on and replaced by Russian and Nigerien flags. According to the junta, the embassy's security services then "fired tear gas grenades and weapons," leaving "six people injured."

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes After Niger coup, Orano activates crisis unit to watch over its uranium mines

The European Union holds the coup plotters "responsible" for any attacks on embassies, said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. The junta justified the incidents on the grounds of "resentment following the destabilizing behavior of a Western embassy." They went so far as to claim, without providing proof, that a meeting had been held at the headquarters of the Niger National Guard during which Hassoumi Massoudou, the former foreign minister who has proclaimed himself interim head of government, and Colonel-Major Guire, commander of the National Guard, "signed a document" authorizing "the French partner to carry out strikes on the presidential palace in order to free the president of the Republic of Niger." This is a highly charged accusation, to which no one has yet responded.

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Sub-Saharan migrants abandoned in the desert on the border between Tunisia and Libya, July 16, 2023. MAHMUD TURKIA / AFP

Four days had passed since Samuel emerged from the depths of the desert, but the 25-year-old Sierra Leonean still didn't understand why the Tunisian authorities had done this to him: Why did they abandon him, his wife and several hundred other people in this military zone bordering the Libyan border and the Mediterranean Sea on July 5, without food or water? "Why?" he tirelessly implored. "Why did they put us in the desert? Why did they deport us? Why did the national guards beat us? Why did they destroy my passport? Why can't they use planes to deport us? They want to kill us."

Sitting on a cafe terrace in Medenine, in southeastern Tunisia, where he found refuge, the young exile who used a pseudonym  like the other migrants we met  recounted the hell he had been through. Emotion overwhelmed him, but when he came to his senses, he insisted on showing the after-effects on his body. His leg was covered with bruises, which he said were left by the blows of a truncheon from a member of the Tunisian security forces. His arms and torso were slashed by the barbed wire he had to cross to fetch drinking water from Libyan territory, as he had not received any on this side of the border. The rest of his body was marked with scratches from several nights of sleeping on the ground.

Opposite him, his wife, Mariama, 18, hid a different kind of wound. "We suffered a lot over there. I was pregnant and lost my baby because of the lack of food and water. The national guards beat me, my sisters and the children," said the young woman. Despite their trauma, the couple were among those who miraculously held on. Others did not survive this hell. On July 19, the lifeless bodies of a migrant woman and her daughter were found by Libyan border guards, as shown in a photograph shared by journalist Ahmad Khalifa on Twitter. The two were said to be named Fati Dosso, 30, and Marie, 6, and from Cote d'Ivoire.

Dark discoveries

The image of these two victims of Tunis's migration policy, supported by the European Union (EU), and the extreme heat, testifies to the scale of the humanitarian crisis unfolding on Tunisia's borders. In recent days, dark discoveries have continued. At least five more bodies were reportedly found, while temperatures soar above 40 C. The desert is gradually turning into a mass grave.

Since July 4, Tunis has been conducting massive campaigns to arrest and expel migrants from the city of Sfax to neighboring countries. They are abandoned in desert areas, without food or water. In this cafe in Medenine, the survivors who came and went fed themselves and passed the time as best they could. They were still struggling to bear witness to the horror they endured.

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LIMERICK looks set to get its first branch of international chicken restaurant chain Nandos.

It comes after council planners afforded conditional planning permission to representatives of the firm to fit out a unit in the Crescent Shopping Centre in Dooradoyle for a branch of Nandos.

Signage had already been erected at the entrance to the unit, 24VB in the shopping centre.

It will be located near to Kentucky Fried Chicken at the entrance to the facility which faces Omniplex cinema.

Founded in South Africa, the popular chain specialises in Portuguese flame-grilled peri-peri style chicken.

According to documents lodged with local planners, dining in the restaurant will be over two floors. An entrance for deliveries to be made to the restaurant is also sought.

Nando's first opened in Ireland in 2008, and by September 2011 employed over 200 people across six restaurants in Dublin, Cork and Belfast.

It now has 21 outlets across the island, with Newbridge in Co Kildare the only branch currently outside Dublin and Cork. Globally, it has a presence in five continents.

Earlier this summer, the firm revealed it was recruiting for an assistant manager and assistant general manager for its new Limerick store.

The Limerick Leader first revealed plans for the new Nando's restaurant in 2019. At the time, it was anticipated it would open in the summer of 2020.

But the onset of Covid-19 and the near two-year disruption to the economy put paid to these plans.

Limerick Council planners gave the development the go-ahead subject to four conditions.

These include stipulations around the hours that work can take place at the site in Crescent Shopping Centre.

Conditions were also included around linking in with Irish Water, and waste management.

A decision was due from council on Monday evening, but the verdict was made available ahead of this time.
SERIOUS safety concerns have been identified during council inspections of private homes in the city, the Limerick Leader can reveal.

Exposed wires, mould and damp, cracked windows plus heaters and ovens not working are among the issues council inspectors have raised with landlords.

Private homes which council lets out to tenants on its housing waiting list are legally required to meet safety standards.

Information given to councillors showed that only 4% of homes inspected were compliant on first inspection.

Now, in response to a Freedom of Information request from this newspaper, the council has revealed a range of problems in houses in Limerick.

In a number of housing inspections, its shown that at least one window has an opening section through which a person might fall.

The council has warned there is a risk a person may fall out of one of these openings, and has asked the landlord to fit safety restrictors.

Heaters in bathrooms and bedrooms were reported as not working, while leaks were reported in kitchens and living rooms.

In one case, a freezer was not being provided to tenants.

In another, exposed wires were in place where light fittings had been removed.

A fire blanket was not provided in one kitchen that council staff inspected, while in a top-floor flat, the landlord was ordered to replace cracked, leaking windows.

Council released a selection of the 615 inspections it did on houses across Limerick.

The addresses of the houses were not revealed for data protection purposes.

One second inspection at a property identified a large number of issues.

These included missing kitchen drawers, no access to a clothes dryer, mould on walls and an oven not working.

While there were safety issues, council also ordered a landlord to remove two sofas -as the leather cover was flaking off, paint a front door, which it deems to be in poor decorative condition.

The landlord at the same address was ordered to replace the wallpaper in the lounge for the same reason as well as provide a dishwasher.

Labour councillor Conor Sheehan, who asked the initial question which led to the disclosure that only4% of homes had passed inspection said: Its shocking but not surprising, but consistent with the picture around the country.

Now is the time, he said, for government to stop relying on private landlords to tackle the housing crisis.
WEEKS after All-Ireland victory, the Galway Races Summer Festival kicked off with a bang as JP McManus and John Kiely bask in the glory of not one, but two additional Limerick wins.

The Ballybrit Racecourse was abuzz as thousands of racegoers gathered this Monday to witness an exhilarating day of horse racing, and JP's horses lived up to every expectation.

The opening race of the festival, the 2mf novice hurdle, was a spectacle to behold as Mystical Power, part-owned by JP McManus, stole the show. The four-year-old sensation outpaced 11 other competitors to secure a resounding win.

Dressed impeccably for the occasion, JP, accompanied by Limerick senior hurling manager, John Kiely, celebrated the win at the course.

However, the winning streak continued when another one of JP's horses, Neveradullmoment, secured a thrilling victory in the second race of the day.

Speaking at the event with RTE Racing, John Kiely said he goes to the races from time to time. "I enjoy a sporting occasion where I am not under the cosh," he said wryly.

Describing the atmosphere, John remarked, "JP has had a great winner here in the first, so the week is off to a good start."

While chatting about the All-Ireland, the Galbally man added that the team had a "very solid second half." "When it was really needed, they had it, and we are just delighted," he smiled.

JP said the Limerick win "no doubt" meant a lot to him. "Great team, great management, what more can I say. They are a joy to be around".

When asked what makes John Kiely so talented, JP laughed, "we can't be telling you that," before remarking on his great leadership. "We are very very lucky to have John".
OVER 1.2m has been allocated to dozens of not-for-profit organisations including a number in Limerick, it has been announced.

Now in its second year, the International Protection Integration Fund helps enable community-based organisations in Limerick and across Ireland to play a greater role in supporting the integration of International Protection applicants at local and national levels.

A total of 70 organisations, including three in Limerick, are to receive funding this year, Minister of State Joe OBrien for Community Development, Integration and Charities has announced.

The three Limerick-based organisations to receive funding are: Garryowen Community Development Project CLG Parent Child Plus (19,949), Limerick Youth Service Lava Javas Diversity and Youth Group (20,000) and Northside Family Resource Centre CLG for their Knockalisheen Direct Provision Centre Children's Integration Project (20,000).

A number of other organisations which have been allocated funding have a presence in Limerick as well as elsewhere.

These include: ADAPT Domestic Abuse Services, Africa Solidarity Centre CLG, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Ireland and Midwest Migrant Community Network.

Under the scheme, successful applicants were asked to demonstrate how their proposed project will build links between International Protection applicants and their host communities, encouraging meaningful integration that benefits the community as a whole.

The importance of this work with people who are at a particularly vulnerable time in their lives is crucial and every day we see the positive impact that civil society organisations make in helping to foster diverse and vibrant communities whilst supporting individuals, commented Mr O'Brien at the funding announcement.
New You Spas, led by Oxana Nourse, is on a mission to revolutionize the non-invasive, anti-aging industry. With more than 20 years in the beauty industry, Oxana and her team are committed to providing personalized, top-notch care using the latest technologies to hit the market. Every client that walks through the doors at New You will receive an individualized combination of treatments based on their medical history, current skin condition, and desired outcome.

Oxanas mission as the leader of New You Spas was to address the biggest problem she identified in the industry, clients paying for a service rather than actual results. Her response was to provide her clients with a medical aesthetic clinic that pushed the boundaries of whats possible. New You put out all the stops to ensure their clients complete satisfaction. Oxana Nourse and her talented team are known as pioneers and innovators, redefining the world of non-surgical aesthetic procedures.

Not Your Standard MedSpa

New You is not your typical spa environment, because it cannot be compared to a conventional spa. Its a results-driven aesthetic treatment center that will help you get the results youre looking for without surgery, saving you both money and the precious downtime that comes after other procedures.

With multiple locations conveniently located throughout the greater Toronto area, New You Spas is bringing the newest and best technologies to Canada, setting the trends for others to follow. By combining the newest technology and a philosophy of thrive and surpass", their success is driven by their clients satisfaction.

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The team at New You Spas is comprised of medical experts, clinicians, physicians, and customer care executives. Every one of their expert nurses has had extensive training around the world which allows them to provide high-quality, innovative techniques and services. As a result, Oxana Nourse and her staff are able to deliver results-driven aesthetic treatments that are safe, effective, and backed by science. They are a true leader in results and satisfaction compared to their competition.

Individualized Care

The personable staff at New You Spas makes sure each client feels at home while offering guidance and support in regard to their treatment options. They take an innovative approach to non-surgical aesthetics by creating a relaxing environment where each client feels special and cared for by their aestheticians. Its obvious to anyone who enters the doors of New You that the team loves what they do, and their passion is shown in their work.

Some of the treatment options offered by New You Spas include:

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Hair Loss: natural hair restoration, hair fillers

Enriching Aesthetics: hair removal, teeth whitening, skin treatments, pigmentation, skin tags, scars, and stretch marks

Skin rejuvenation: microdermabrasion and facials

Acne: Theraclear, Medical grade peel

Treatments for men: hair removal, hair restoration, facials, body sculpting

New You Spas has performed thousands of procedures to date and counting. From body sculpting to laser hair removal, New You offers more than 30 quality services that are customized to suit everyones individual needs and concerns while aligning seamlessly with each clients schedule. New You Spas has truly created a one-of-a-kind experience results that speak for themselves.

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.
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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.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) renewed the air operator certificate (AOC) of Jet Airways on July 28 this year, said Jalan-Kalrock Consortium in an official statement. With this, the civil aviation regulator has reinforced its commitment to revive India's most admired airline.

JKC expresses its heartfelt gratitude to the aviation regulator, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and all other stakeholders, in showcasing their faith in JKC and in the revival of Jet Airways," the consortium said.

The Jalan and Kalrock Consortium remains fully dedicated to the revival of Jet Airways and is committed to implementing a comprehensive strategy to ensure the airline's success. JKC will continue to work closely with all relevant authorities, industry partners, and stakeholders in reviving Jet Airways in the coming weeks," the statement read.

Currently, Jet Airways is being revived under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code as per the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved resolution plan of Jalan Kalrock Consortium, the company said.

In January, NCLT allowed the transfer of ownership of Jet Airways to the Jalan Kalrock consortium.

Notably, Jet Airways is the first airline in Indian aviation history that is being revived under its name after being grounded for an extended period.

In 2021, the NCLT had approved the resolution plan submitted by the Jalan-Kalrock consortium. The consortium comprises UAE-based non-resident Indian Murari Lal Jalan, who will hold shares in Jet Airways in his personal capacity, and Florian Fritsch who will hold shares through his investment holding company Kalrock Capital Partners Ltd, Cayman.

Jet Airways stopped flying in April 2019 after running into financial difficulties. However, ownership transfer has been hanging fire amid continuing differences between the lenders and the consortium.
New Delhi: Ultra rich, high networth individuals (HNIs) and family offices are rushing to invest in Indias booming property market through alternative investment funds (AIFs) that are promising higher returns and free from red tape.

With lower entry barriers, easing structural and tax reforms in favour of AIFs and real estate investment trusts (REITs), these investors are shifting focus from direct investments in the sector. This has led to growing preference for private credit opportunities for HNIs, family offices and for those investing at least 1 crore. According to experts, the benefits of choosing indirect real estate investment platforms are higher risk-reward returns and investors dont have to manage a property directly.

Rising disposable income among the ultra rich and upper middle class, the regulated and well-structured nature of AIF platforms, and volatile stock markets are key factors for the growing interest. The asset-backed tangibility and consistent cash flows seen in the sector also provide a psychological fillip to invest.

Karthik Athreya, director and head of strategy - alternative credit, at Sundaram Alternates said the general appetite for private credit, whether it is venture debt, real estate or corporate credit, is high due to demand for credit and emergence of several fund managers, showing depth and choice for investor money. This also reduces registration, paperwork and other administrative processes involved in directly owning a property, added Raj Inamdar, managing partner at TriVeda Capital.

AIFs have invested about 21% of their total investment of 2.84 trillion in the real estate sector as of 31 March 2022, according to the latest available data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Though the share of their total investment fell by about 3.3% during the year, these platforms expect this to rebound going forward.

In the recent past, institutional firms such as Kotak Alternate Assets, Motilal Oswal Alternates, Sundaram Asset Management, Nisus Finance Group, ASK Property fund and DMI Alternatives, have set up realty-focused funds.

Sandeep Gupta, co-founder and chief business officer at co-working space BHIVE Alternatives said, Today, direct residential real estates annual rental yields are a paltry 1-4%. While the last one year was good in terms of capital appreciation, the past decade was a lost cause for capital appreciation in residential real estate. AIFs investing in leased commercial real estate provide stable rental yield of around 8-10% to retail investors in addition to the capital appreciation."

The growth of real estate AIFs has been substantial with capital raised by category-II AIFs at 6.94 trillion as of March 2023.

Shobhit Agarwal, managing director and chief executive officer at Anarock Capital, a real estate-focused investment banking advisory firm, terms REITs as an ideal product for moderate risk profiled investors seeking to generate regular income coupled with capital appreciation.

Also, from April, the government removed indexation benefit for debt MFs and began taxing dividend or long-term capital gains (LTCG) at 20%. With this, the flow of HNIs is moving to the high yield space, said Amit Goenka, MD and CEO of Mumbai-based Nisus Finance Group.
Indias largest airline IndiGo is scouting for more global partners, and is in discussions with international airlines to achieve scale in global operations to pursue its next leg of growth.

IndiGo has strategic partnerships with seven international airlines and continues its discussions with more global airlines," the company said in its annual report for 2022-23. The airline currently has codeshare partnerships with Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, Qantas, KLM, American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Air France.

The international expansion plans are being implemented at a time that Air India under the Tata group is planning aggressive expansion on international routes to become the airline of choice for Indians flying abroad.

IndiGo has received an approval from the civil aviation regulator for extended diversion time operations (EDTO) to fly on direct overseas routes for 120 minutes on A320 family aircraft. This will help in achieving shorter routes and result in fuel savings," the airline said. EDTO allows a multi-engine aircraft to approach a nearby airport in case of a diversion, which is generally applicable on international flights.

Founded in 2006 by Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal, IndiGo has over 300 aircraft, including 162 Airbus A320neo (new engine option), 79 Airbus A321neo, 21 Airbus 320ceo (current engine option), 39 ATR aircraft, two A321 freighters and one Boeing B B777 on damp lease. The airline serves 104 destinations, including 26 international destinations, with over 500 direct city pairs.

The company reiterated its increased focus on the international markets and is seeking to leverage its product and network to make international expansion its next leg of growth.

Last week, the airline was fined Rs30 lakh by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for certain systemic deficiencies" in its documentation pertaining to operations, training and engineering procedures. The action came after four incidents of tail strike involving A321neo aircraft, which is longer than 75% of its other planes, in the last six months. An audit found that the airline was deploying landing methods that were not in line with Airbus flight crew operating manual procedures which tend to result in certain fuel savings for the airline.

Fuel expenses have been a concern for IndiGo and the broader Indian aviation sector, as in India, approximately 40% of an airlines expenses are on account of aviation turbine fuel. For IndiGo, fuel costs in FY23 jumped 144% from the previous year to 23,646 crore, while the expenses other than fuel rose just over 40% on year.

In addition to a young fleet and fuel-efficient aircraft, the airline said that it is in the process of attaining DGCA approval for the use of the AvioBook Electronic Flight Folder, which will reduce the weight on board, thus improving fuel efficiency. The airline has already replaced physical logbooks of pilots with an electronic logbook.

Our operations team continuously monitors our fuel-related standard operating procedures and practices like single-engine taxi, optimum flap settings, and optimum climb and descent profiles," the airline said, adding that it also undertakes measures such as fuel monitoring and management software, straightening of routes, onboard weight reduction and pilot awareness.

The airline continues to face supply chain issues related to the availability of spare engines for its neo aircraft, which it said has impacted its operations.

In order to meet interim operational challenges, the airline has adopted measures such as lease extension of aircraft due to be redelivered, deferring phasing out of older aircraft A320ceos, and getting aircraft on wet lease among others.

During 2022-23, the airline operated 1,815 peak daily flights compared to 1,574 peak daily flights in the previous financial year.

In line with the companys goal to allocate 30% available seat capacity to international markets over the next two years, the airline reiterated that it is working on increasing the stickiness to the airlines brand in overseas markets via a customer loyalty programme, typically associated with a full-service carrier.

Recently, the airline announced six new international destinations, namely Nairobi, Jakarta, Baku, Tashkent, Tbilisi and Almaty.

We are taking steps to prepare our sales and distribution for further international presence. With a large order book of aircraft, including XLRs, and investments in people, processes and technology, IndiGo aspires to double in scale and size by the end of this decade," the airline added.

Under the most extensive codeshare agreement of the airline, the airline offers flights to 33 European and four US destinations in partnership with Turkish Airlines. The Istanbul-based carrier currently has damp-leased two Boeing 777 aircraft to IndiGo for flights between India and Istanbul.
New Delhi: In a fresh bid to revive Jet Airways (India) Ltd, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has extended the air operator certificate of the beleaguered airline until 3 September, even as it undergoes the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP).

DGCA has extended AOC in respect of Jet Airways for a period up to 03.09.2023 only for limited purpose of completing the ongoing CIRP," the regulator said in a statement.

However, the airline will be required to undergo a re-certification process as per the established rules and show its adherence to the applicable regulatory requirements once again before it can resume flight services. Jet Airways will also have to pay the fees fixed for issuance of an air permit.

The regulator has also asked the airline to submit an action plan detailing steps for the revival of operations under its new owners, the Jalan-Kalrock consortium, following an approval of the airlines resolution plan by the National Company Law Tribunal.

More than two years after the consortiums bid was approved for reviving the erstwhile full-service carrier, the Jet Airways revival plan has not yet been implemented.

The consortium said DGCA renewed the air operator certificate on 28 July. The regulator had granted the permit on 20 May 2022, and the airline had plans to resume operations by October 2022. However, it failed to live up to its commitment, and the permit expired on 19 May.

Until April, the airline was led by chief executive designate Sanjiv Kapoor, who has since moved to Saudia airlines on an advisory role.

While Jet Airways is yet to find a replacement for Kapoor, it appointed Capt. Jatinderpal Singh Dhillon as the accountable manager, effective July.

According to the latest legal update, the National Company Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has postponed a hearing on a plea by Jet Airways lenders, led by State Bank of India, against the Jalan Kalrock consortium to 7 August.

While lenders contend the consortium didnt infuse any funds to repay creditors, the consortium has accused lenders of obstructing transfer of ownership, and thwarting its attempts to restart flights.

Before the suspension of its operations in April 2019, Jet Airways flew to more than 65 domestic as well as international destinations ,with a fleet of 124 narrow and wide-body aircraft. The Jalan and Kalrock consortium remains fully dedicated to the revival of Jet Airways and is committed to implementing a comprehensive strategy to ensure success. JKC will continue to work with all stakeholders in reviving Jet Airways in coming weeks," the consortium said.
New Delhi: The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts has launched its second hotel in Kerala. The company said it will be under the brand The Leela Ashtamudi, A Raviz Hotel. Raviz Hotel & Resorts has two other properties in Kerala and is under the umbrella business of RP Group. The hotel is two hours from Thiruvananthapuram near the Ashtamudi Lake and is the second managed property in Leelas portfolio.

The Leela was founded in 1986 by CP Krishnan Nair and was acquired by Brookfield Asset Management in 2019.

Anuraag Bhatnagar, its chief executive officer said, Kerala has historically been one of our key markets and strategically significant to our growth in the region. The resort marks another milestone in our journey as we continue to grow in alluring leisure destinations across the country."

Ravi Pillai, chairman of the RP Group added,"The coming together of the two companies provides the unique opportunity to place Kerala at the heart of global leisure and wellness travel and further reimagine and elevate the high standards of hospitality that exist in the region with unparalleled levels of luxury and warm and gracious service  both of which The Leela brand is known for." The hotel has a 93-room inventory and four dining venues.

Hotel Leelaventure, the company owned by the Nair family, had a high debt burden of about 3,950 crore as of March 2019. This debt was incurred to finance the companys expansion, which included the construction of new hotels and the acquisition of other properties. That year, Hotel Leelaventure was forced to sell its assets to Brookfield Asset Management in order to repay the debt.

The sale included the companys flagship property in Mumbai, as well as four other hotels in Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Udaipur. The sale also included the Leela brand and other intellectual property assets.
New Delhi: The New Delhi bench of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has dismissed a plea by Independent Sugar Corp. Ltd (INSCO) challenging the Competition Commission of India (CCI)s approval to AGI Greenpacs acquisition of Hindustan National Glass, Indias oldest glass manufacturer.

On 15 March, the competition regulator had approved the acquisition of HNG by AGI Greenpac. The commission in its order has considered all relevant aspects and materials on record and has not committed any error in approving the combination in exercise of its power," a bench led by Justices Ashok Bhushan and Barun Mitra said.

The NCLAT clarified that no grounds had been made out to interfere with CCIs order.

On 11 April, INSCO, a potential resolution applicant for HNG, filed an appeal before the NCLAT, alleging that the CCI was in a hurry to issue its order in favour of AGI.

In March, a two-member CCI bench had approved AGIs bid with a caveat that it maybe modified later. In fact, INSCO told the appellate tribunal that CCI should not have granted its approval without carefully determining how the combination would affect the market, stakeholders, and the parties expressing concerns over the CCIs decisions.

In September, AGI placed the winning bid for acquiring HNG under the process run by its resolution professional and the committee of creditors led by State Bank of India.

AGI Greenpacs resolution plan was approved by 98% of the CoC in October.

AGI Greenpac expects that with the NCLAT order today, the approval of its resolution plan at NCLT Kolkata should now accelerate," the company said in a statement on Monday.

Post-acquisition, AGI plans to invest significantly in HNG for refurbishing furnaces and to maintain the livelihood of all direct and indirect workers involved with the business. It also seeks to ensure that there was no disruption in supplies to the pharmaceutical, liquor and food sectors which require regular supplies of container glass bottles. The glass manufacturing furnaces of the firm requires maintenance after leaks were detected recently.

Similar pleas were filed by various other glass manufacturers which were rejected by the appeals court in its order.
With a deluge of new routes this year, India now has 25 pairs of Vande Bharat services, 18 of which have been launched in 2023. On most routes, the Vande Bharat has become the go-to option for its amenities and shorter travel time. But right since its inaugural run, the model has also faced its share of ordeals, most notoriously hitting cattle on the tracks.

Some routes have also faced low occupancy, for which the Centre recently allowed railway zones to cut fares by up to 25%. Vande Bharat fares are significantly higher than those of alternative trains. Mint explores.

Expanding network

In his 2021 Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised 75 Vande Bharat trains by 15 August 2023. Fifty services are running now, so expect more launches in the coming months. Thirty of these services (15 pairs) have been launched in the four months of 2023-24, making up for lost time during the pandemic-led hiatus. All routes are short-distance daytime ones, and a sleeper class version is in the works for longer distances.

View Full Image Vande Bharat routes active currently

Missing the aim

Vande Bharat trains are designed to hit 180 km per hour at most. But given unsuitable track conditions, speeds are mostly capped at 130 kmphthat too only in select sections of each route. So average speeds fall way short despite minimal halts and the quick acceleration and deceleration these trains take pride in. Yet, in all routes, the Vande Bharat trains are the quickest option. The inaugural New Delhi-Varanasi route remains the fastest despite being the longest by distance, clocking an average 95 kmph.

Premium play

Vande Bharat trains save 65 minutes on average as compared to the next best train on each route, a Mint analysis showed. The average time saved is about 14% (range of 1-36%), but it comes at a high premium: Vande Bharat fares are higher by an average 52% than the best alternative. On one route (Gandhinagar-Mumbai), you may need to pay 112% more and save just 22% of the travel time. But some routes are giving domestic airlines a run for their money for being swift enough at less cost.

Full-house journey

Vande Bharat trains had 96.6% utilization in 2022-23 and 99.6% in April-June 2023, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Parliament. In terms of occupancy rates, the Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram route is the best performing one, with an average of 183% occupancy, PTI reported. (Occupancy exceeds 100% when passengers travel only a part of the full journeya seat can be occupied by multiple persons in a single run.) But some routes also have average occupancy as low as 50%. Note that occupancy rates vary by season.

Speed breakers

Despite Vande Bharats success, jammed wheels, fire, stone-pelting and most commonly animal hits have not gone unnoticed during its four-year journey. Between June and December 2022, as many as 68 instances of animal hits were reported, according to official data. That said, this sets the tone for more innovation in Indian Railways in the years to come.
New Delhi: Adani Energy Solutions, earlier known as Adani Transmission, on Monday posted an 8% rise in its consolidated net profit at 181.98 crore in the June quarter, mainly on the back of higher revenues.

The consolidated net profit of the company was 168.46 crore in the quarter ended on June 30, 2022, the company said in a press release.

The total income of the company rose to 3,772.25 crore during the quarter from 3,249.74 crore a year ago.

AESL is constantly evolving and is already a significant player in the T&D sector. AESLs growth trajectory remains firm despite the challenging macroeconomic environment. Our pipeline of projects and recently operationalised assets will further strengthen our pan-India presence and consolidate our position as the largest private sector transmission and distribution company in India," said Anil Sardana, MD, Adani Energy Solutions Ltd.

In terms of distribution business, it maintained supply reliability at 99.9%. Energy demand (units sold) was up 7.6% YoY. Distribution losses were 4.85 per cent. The loss was lower than usual due to seasonality, the company said.

E-payment as a percentage of total collection was 78.5% in Q1 FY24 against 74.7% last year, driven by the digital adoption push.

For smart metering business, Adani Green Solutions received LoA (Letter of Award) for three projects in Andhra Pradesh with a contract value of 3,700 crore during the quarter. The total smart metering under-construction pipeline consists five projects with a contract value of 5,800 crore.

Adani Transmission Ltd has been renamed Adani Energy Solutions Limited (AESL) effective 27 July.

Shares of the company settled 0.85% higher today at 821.80 on the BSE.
ONDC , in line with the Centre's direction, will extend its initiative of selling tomatoes at 70 per kilogram for at least one more week, with zero delivery fees. Within six days of offering this discounted price, ONDC has facilitated the purchase of 10,000 kilograms of tomatoes in Delhi , according to a Moneycontrol report . Furthermore, the network has achieved significant milestones, with over 1.1 million retail orders and 5.4 million mobility transactions since its inception last year.

The plan is to continue running the initiative on ONDC, with the restriction of one order per user each week. This move aims to encourage maximum participation and trial of ONDC. As more sellers join the network, the average daily orders have been steadily increasing, and ONDC is witnessing retail orders from 320 cities, including Tier 2 and 3 locations, showing a wider dispersal of orders.

ONDC chief T Koshy told Moneycontrol, Last week, we had an allocation of 2,000 kg of tomato every day (1,000 orders) in Delhi from the National Cooperative Consumer Federation (NCCF), which was getting sold out by afternoon."

ONDC has reached a daily retail order peak of 35,000, with Delhi-NCR surpassing Bengaluru in terms of order volume. Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Pune are among the top cities contributing to order volumes. The network is gearing up to handle 200,000 transactions per day by the end of the year, and the government is working to introduce financial products on ONDC in the coming months," he was quoted as saying in the report.

The ONDC chief also said that the average number of daily orders on the network has been rising steadily as more sellers join the network. For example, a farmer producer organisation selling honey on ONDC has already seen 1 lakh worth of orders being placed.

We can see now that retail orders are being placed from as many as 320 cities, a lot of which are Tier 2, 3 and beyond. As such, we are seeing a greater dispersal of orders than before," he said.

The government supports ONDC to prevent the dominance of a few large e-commerce platforms in the industry. After implementing a revised incentive scheme, buyers can now avail discounts for a maximum of five transactions per month, leading to increased growth aided by discounting schemes from network participants. The government aims to increase e-commerce penetration in the country to 25 percent in the next two years, with ONDC projected to generate a gross merchandise value of $48 billion. ONDC is focusing on dynamic pricing, inventory management, and delivery cost optimization to reduce the cost of doing business for all, including retailers.
The opposition in Bangladesh, led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is currently engaged in large-scale protests demand the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government. The BNP insists that Prime Minister Hasina step down and the next election, scheduled for January 2024, be held under a neutral caretaker government. They argue that holding free and fair elections is not possible under the current administration, reported Aljazeera.

During a recent rally, BNP Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said having any fair election under this government is not possible".

Alamgir told supporters, "Price hikes of every essential have made peoples lives miserable."

The BNP accused the ruling Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina, of vote rigging in the 2014 and 2018 elections, which has led to heightened distrust and discontent among the opposition.

Challenges and Accusations against Prime Minister Hasina

The political crisis in Bangladesh deepened due to a series of challenges and accusations against Prime Minister Hasina and her Awami League party. Critics have accused her government of authoritarianism, human rights abuses, and curbing free speech and dissent. The security forces, particularly the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), have been accused of detaining thousands of opposition activists, resorting to extrajudicial killings, and causing the disappearance of numerous opposition leaders and supporters.

The alleged human rights abuses have led to sanctions against the RAB and its senior officers by the United States in 2021. The situation garnered international concern, with Amnesty International expressed "alarm" over the escalating tensions and calling for freedom of protest and dissent.

Also read: Pro-Khalistani protests outside Indian High Commission target Indian diplomats in UK

After the clashes in Bangladesh's capital on July 29, police filed 11 cases against Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders and activists at different police stations over the violence. At least 469 BNP members were named as accused, with 149 arrests made so far. The cases include allegations of unlawful assembly, attacking police, hurling crude bombs, and vandalising public and police vehicles, reported ANI.

Government's rejection of demands

Despite the mounting pressure and demands from the opposition and international community, the government of Prime Minister Hasina rejected the call for a neutral caretaker government, citing its unconstitutionality.

In 2011, Bangladesh's Supreme Court struck down a 15-year-old constitutional provision that allowed an incumbent government to transfer power to an unelected non-partisan caretaker administration for overseeing new parliamentary elections.

Also read: Parliament Monsoon Session: BJP, INDIA plan protests on Monday over crimes against women

International community's response

The international community, particularly the United States, urged the Bangladeshi government to conduct free and participatory elections, expressing concerns about the allegations of vote rigging in the past national elections. 14 US congress people earlier this week wrote to the US ambassador to the UN, urging a fair election in Bangladesh under the mediation of the UN and neutral parties, reported Aljazeera.

However, Bangladeshi government accused the US and its Western allies of interfering in the country's internal affairs.
The Anti-Malaria Ekta Karmachari Union, a union of municipal workers responsible for fighting vector-borne diseases in Delhi, has announced an indefinite strike starting from July 31, if their demands are not met.

"We have recently served the notice on the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) via its mayor and commissioner, saying that our members will go on an indefinite strike from July 31, if our long-pending demands are not met before that," the union's president Devanand Sharma said on July 22.

The strike is in response to their long-pending demands not being met by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The union is comprised of about 2,800 Dengue Breeding Checking (DBC) workers and around 2000 field workers.

Their demands include the regularisation of their jobs, better working conditions, increased health benefits such as health cards, and support for the family members if a worker dies.

"We also want that a job be given to next of kin if a DBC worker dies, and also we need health cards. We understand our role in combating dengue and malaria, but no one cares, how much we are suffering," said Sharma.

Sharma claimed that only one CL (casual leave) a month is given to a DBC worker and workload is too much, but no health cover. They claim that despite their critical role in combating diseases like dengue and malaria, their suffering is being ignored, and their grievances are not being addressed by the authorities.

"Our demand has been regularisation of our jobs, and MCD authorities are not doing it," Sharma said. He added that copies of the strike notice has also been sent to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lt Governor V K Saxena.

Also read: Delhi reports highest dengue case count in 5 years. Symptoms, helpline number, what not to do here

The strike comes at a concerning time for Delhi, as monsoon rains and water logging in parts of the city have increased the threat of vector-borne diseases, including dengue.

Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi assured that the demands of the striking workers will be looked into. She also urged the public to cooperate with the DBC staff when they visit households and warned of penal action if breeding of larvae is found during inspections.

Amid the threat of a "significant increase" in the number of cases of vector-borne diseases Delhi Mayor Oberoi on July 21 said the civic body was prepared to combat any such situation.

Delhi has experienced severe dengue outbreaks in the past, with 2015 being the worst outbreak since 1996. Dengue is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which breeds in containers with clear and stagnant water.

Dengue control workers were hired in 1996 when Delhi had faced a massive dengue outbreak with over 10,200 cases and more than 420 deaths which was the worst outbreak on record for Delhi.

In 2006, Dengue control workers were given the tag of DBC workers.

Also read: Amid rise in dengue cases, Delhi govt asks chemists not to sell painkillers like Aspirin, Ibuprofen without prescription

More than 160 dengue cases were reported in the national capital till mid-July this year, the highest for this period since 2018, according to an MCD report. The report stated that 54 cases of malaria have been recorded in the same period.

(With inputs from PTI)
Mumbai: In a recent incident, a man jumped into the sea from Mumbai's Bandra Worli Sea Link on Monday. Search operation has begun to rescue the person. The search operation is being jointly conducted by Mumbai Police, Indian Navy and Coast Guard helicopters deployed for search operation say police.

The 55-year-old man, was disturbed after meeting with an accident recently. Tired of his health condition, the old man jumped from the Bandra-Worli Sea Link on Monday. The man plunged into the Arabian Sea from the cable-stayed structure in the morning. As of now, a Navy helicopter has been pressed into service to find the man.

Few days ago, the man survived a road accident. However, he met with serious brain injuries. Fed up of his health condition, the main told his family members that he would end his life, police officials told ANI.

(With inputs from ANI)
New Delhi: Admiral R Hari Kumar, chief of the naval staff, Indian Navy, is on a three-day official visit to Oman from 31 July to 2 August, the ministry of defence said. The visit aims to consolidate existing bilateral defence relations and high-level discussions with military leadership of the Sultanate of Oman.

During the visit, Adm R Hari Kumar would call on Minister of the Royal Office of the Sultanate of Oman, Lieutenant-General Sultan bin Mohammed Al Nuamani, and hold bilateral discussions with his counterpart Rear Admiral Saif bin Nasser bin Mohsen Al-Rahbi, Commander of Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) and with Maj Gen Matar bin Salim bin Rashid Al Balushi, Commander of Royal Army of Oman," the ministry said.

The CNS would also be visiting key defence and training installations in Oman, it added.

Coinciding with the visit, Indian Navys indigenously designed and constructed guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam arrived at Port Sultan Qaboos, Muscat on 30 July for a three-day port call, during which various naval cooperation events are scheduled with the Royal Navy of Oman, which will culminate with a Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) on 03 August.

Indian Navy and Royal Navy of Oman engage with each other under numerous foreign cooperation avenues, which include operations, training and exchange of subject matter experts in various fields.

The 13th edition of the bilateral naval exercise Naseem Al Bahr, an important biennial activity initiated in 1993, was conducted off Oman in 2022, and the next edition is scheduled in 2024.

Both navies also engage extensively under the aegis of various multilateral constructs such as Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS). The relationship between Indian Navy and Royal Navy of Oman is in consonance with the Indian governments vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR).
Parliament is set to become more turbulent this week as the Central government is likely to introduce the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 to replace the Delhi services ordinance that gives the Centre control of the national capital's bureaucratic things.

The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill has become a rallying point for a united opposition against the BJP-led NDA.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is a part of the opposition coalition INDIA, has reacted strongly against the ordinance. The Congress and other opposition parties have also come out against the ordinance.

The government has also listed 13 draft legislations for consideration and passing in the Lok Sabha even as a notice for moving a no-confidence motion is pending before the House.

The draft bill to replace the ordinance which mandated the creation of an authority for transfers and postings of senior officers in the Delhi government is ready and has been circulated among the MPs before its introduction in Parliament this week.

A review of the bill was seen by Hindustan Times, which suggested that it has at least three crucial changes including dropping a contentious provision apparently meant to undo the effect of a May 11 Supreme Court ruling on ordinance rule. The bill also proposes a change to the manner in which tribunal heads are appointed in Delhi.

It is pertinent to note that the legislative agenda for Monday, July 31, doesn't mention the Delhi Services Bill, however, the Central government can bring it at any time without any prior information in the Parliament.

The Delhi ordinance was promulgated by the central government a week after the Supreme Court handed over the control of services in Delhi excluding police, public order, and land to the elected government, headed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

(With inputs from agencies)
A total of four persons were shot dead on board a train from Jaipur to Mumbai by Railway Protection Force (RPF) jawan, said an official on Monday, adding that the deceased families have been contacted and they will be given ex-gratia.

The accused has been identified as Constable Chetan Kumar Choudhary, who fired from his automatic weapon. He killed RPF Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) and three other passengers of the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express shortly after 5 am, an official was quoted by PTI.

A senior police official said that the accused RPF constable was mentally unstable. He (accused) opened fire on his escort duty in-charge ASI Tika Ram Meena in the running train," he said.

The official informed that after killing his senior, the constable went to another bogie and shot dead three passengers.

The accused then tried to escape from the train between Mira Road and Dahisar but was later nabbed by the Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel, and his weapon was also seized," the official said.

Speaking to media persons, DRM Neeraj Kumar said, At around 6 am we got to know that an RPF constable, who was on escorting duty opened fire...Four people have been shot dead."

Our railway officer reached the spot. The families have been contacted. Ex-gratia will be given," he said as quoted by ANI.

Incident unfortunate: CPRO Western Railway on Jaipur-Mumbai train firing

CPRO Western Railway called the incident unfortunate and informed that the accused had been arrested. He said that the reason for the firing is not clear yet, the officials are investigating the incident.

An unfortunate incident has been reported today in Mumbai-Jaipur Superfast Express. An RPF constable, Chetan Kumar opened fire on his colleague ASI Tikaram Meena and during the incident, three other passengers were also shot," the official told ANI.

As per the preliminary investigation, he opened fire using his official weapon. The accused has been arrested. The reason for the firing is not clear yet, we are investigating it," he added.

DRM Neeraj Verma told ANI, This is an unfortunate incident. Four people have been shot during the incident. We are also examining the witnesses. We are trying to investigate from all angles."

Currently, the accused is in the custody of the Mira Road railway police, and the bodies were taken off the train at Borivali railway station.

(With inputs from agencies)
On July 30, a senior Ukrainian authority delivered a report, highlighting the presence of fierce fighting in the northeastern region of the nation. Notwithstanding the difficulties, the forces from Kyiv effectively maintained their positions and achieved advancements in specific areas.

In response, Russia's military stated that it had effectively halted Ukrainian forces in the northeast. They claimed to have intercepted and neutralised three Ukrainian drones attempting to target Moscow. Moreover, a high-rise building that reportedly housed government offices was damaged during this encounter.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed optimism about the developments on the frontlines, particularly near Bakhmut. He described Jluy 30 as a "good day, a powerful day" as Ukrainian forces reported reclaiming territory lost during the Russian forces' occupation of the city in May.

Though Ukraine did not explicitly take responsibility for the drone attacks, President Zelenskiy asserted that the war was gradually affecting Russia's territory, particularly its symbolic centers.

In the midst of ongoing hostilities, Russian forces conducted yet another night-time air attack, targeting a "non-residential building" in the northeastern city of Kharkiv. The attack resulted in a fire outbreak, though there have been no reports of casualties.

President Zelenskiy also disclosed an increase in the death toll from a Russian strike on a school in the northern town of Sumy on the previous day. As rescue teams cleared the rubble, the death toll rose to two.

The situation remains tense and unpredictable, with both sides engaging in military actions and experiencing casualties and damages.

Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Russian forces were "trying to drive us out" of elevated positions in the northeast occupied by Moscow after its February 2022 invasion but retaken later by Ukrainian troops.

The Russians' key task, she told national television, was to "divert our forces from the Bakhmut area, where we have a successful offensive".

"They have attacked endlessly this week. But our troops resist the attacks and sometimes push them back with heavy losses," Reuters quoted her as saying.

Maliar said the Russians had suffered "no fewer losses than during the heated battles in Bakhmut", which fell to Russian forces after more than 10 months of fighting.

Ukraine last month launched a counter offensive focusing on a southward campaign to drive a wedge between Russian forces holding territory in the east and the annexed Crimean Peninsula, and on winning back ground around Bakhmut.

The battlefield accounts could not be independently verified.

(With Reuters inputs)s
Most economists remember Margaret Thatcher as a leader who ushered a new era of business-friendly economic policies in the 1980s. Statisticians remember her as the politician who wreaked havoc on a world-class statistical system. Soon after becoming the UKs prime minister, Thatcher appointed a Marks & Spencer executive to review the countrys statistical system. In his 1981 report, Derek Rayner argued that statistical information should primarily address the needs of government officials rather than citizens.

The Rayner review led to deep cuts in the survey wing of the governments statistical service, limiting the range of government data available to the public. The growing opacity around official statistics created the grounds for statistical manipulation. Between 1979 and 1996, the UK government adjusted the definition of unemployment no less than 31 times, invariably to show a lower rate of unemployment, historian Eric J. Evans wrote in Thatcher and Thatcherism.

As public trust in official statistics declined, the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) began demanding reforms. Through the 1990s and 2000s, the RSS lobbied hard to insulate statistical activities from political pressures, and institute independent reviews of statistical products. The government responded by providing greater powers to the UKs central statistical office in the early 1990s. A code of practice for official statisticians was published in 1995.

A 1998 green paper of the UK government finally announced the death of the Rayner doctrine, noting that official statistics must serve the needs of ordinary citizens. Public confidence in official statistics has for too long been clouded by concerns about their integrity," it acknowledged. The review advocated an overhaul of statistical governance. It took nearly a decade of experimentation to finally come up with a suitable governance structure.

Set up in 2008, the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) today reports to the British parliament rather than to the UK government. Its regulatory wing audits all statistical products on a regular basis. When government officials provide misleading interpretations of public data, it steps in to correct them. As a result, the national statistics office enjoys greater trust than the Bank of England or the courts, surveys suggest. The UK statistical system has redeemed its reputation, emerging as a global role model once again.

It took several decades of civic activism led by the RSS to rebuild the UKs statistical edifice. Such efforts are required in other democracies too. Statistics are the building blocks of almost all debates in the information age. If we lack statistics that we can all trust, we lose the basis for democratic engagement. With reliable statistics, we can find some agreement over our socioeconomic problems even if we disagree on the cures.

Politicians and policymakers have a vested interest in presenting cheerful statistical narratives. So they are often tempted to subvert statistical institutions even though it may hurt their own interests in the long run. Hence, a modern republic requires a collective of engaged data users to ensure that the pulls and pressures of competitive politics do not impair statistical governance. It is worth noting that a need for a data collective was felt in this country even before India became a free republic. In 1862, a Statistics Committee was set up to standardize the collection of official statistics in British India. Among other things, it recommended that a voluntary Statistical Society, aided and encouraged by the government," should be set up to help improve official statistics.

It is not too late to make such an attempt today. Over the past decade, a number of non-state actors have launched platforms to make public data-sets accessible and intelligible to citizens. IndiaSpend and Factly have been started by journalists. The Trivedi Centre for Political Data and the Centre for Economic Data and Analysis (both at Ashoka University), and the India Data Portal (hosted by the Indian School of Business) are among the initiatives launched by academics. The next step would be for such organizations to form a collective body that helps create a more open and accountable data ecosystem in India.

This data collective can deliberate on the best practices to be followed while collecting, processing, and disseminating statistical information. It can also steer research on database issues facing the Indian economy. Most importantly, it can act as a non-partisan non-official voice to demand accountability from official producers and disseminators of statistics. It can engage constructively with data producers to bring about citizen-friendly statistical reforms.

Such a data collective can take inspiration from DataMeet, an engineer-led group that has played a key role in Indias open data movement. Persistent lobbying by DataMeet has led several government departments to open up non-personal datasets that were previously hidden from public view. This has helped drive up the quantity of public datasets in the country.

We now need similar civic activism to raise the quality of public datasets in the country. This effort must be led by statisticians and social scientists who have engaged with Indias diverse datasets over a long period of time. Such an initiative can have a transformative impact on Indias statistical governance, and deepen our democracy.

This is the concluding part of a two-part series on Indias statistical crisis.

Pramit Bhattacharya is a Chennai-based journalist. His Twitter handle is pramit_b
More than two years after the Jalan-Kalrock consortiums bid to revive Indias erstwhile full-service carrier Jet Airways was approved by the National Company Law Tribunal, the implementation of the revival plan remains a distant dream. Mint explains the issue.

Air permit

The Jalan-Kalrock consortium said on 31 July that the civil-aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, renewed the air operator certificate of Jet Airways on 28 July. The regulator had granted the airline an air-operator permit on 20 May, 2022 and the airline planned to launch flights by October 2022. However, the launch is still awaited, and the air operator certificate expired on 19 May, 2023.

Team

Until April, the airline was led by chief-executive-designate Sanjiv Kapoor, who has now moved on to Saudia airlines in an advisory role. While Jet is yet to find a replacement for Kapoor, it recently announced the appointment of Capt Jatinderpal Singh Dhillon as the accountable manager for Jet Airways effective July 2023. Captain Dhillon has experience across diverse organisations such as the Government Aviation Training Institute (GATI), SpiceJet, Royal Airways, Jet Airways, Oman Air and Nepals Himalaya Airlines.

Headwinds

In the latest legal development, the National Company Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday deferred until 7 August its hearing of a plea filed by Jet Airways's lenders, led by State Bank of India, seeking to recover pending dues from the Jalan-Kalrock consortium.

The lenders claim the consortium has not infused any money to repay creditors, while the consortium alleges the lenders have thwarted the transfer of ownership and challenged efforts to commence operations at the airline.

The lenders have also said that while NCLT has granted the consortium permission to take ownership of Jet Airways in January upon meeting specific conditions, it has failed to meet these conditions. On 5 July, the committee of creditors told the Supreme Court that it may be more prudent to wind up the airline, given that they have not been repaid and no funds have infused into it. On the other hand, the consortium said the committee of creditors has been preventing them from commencing operations even after obtaining all necessary permissions.

Revival hopes

Before suspending operations in April 2019, Jet Airways flew to over 65 destinations in India and worldwide with 124 narrow and wide-body aircraft, and the winning bidder remains optimistic about its revival. The consortium continues to maintain that it envisions a well-capitalised" Jet Airways led by seasoned industry professionals. In its new avatar", it says, the airline will be a smart" full-service carrier with a two-class cabin configuration, including a business-class cabin and a new-generation economy class.

The Jalan and Kalrock Consortium remains fully dedicated to the revival of Jet Airways and is committed to implementing a comprehensive strategy to ensure the airline's success. JKC will continue to work closely with all relevant authorities, industry partners, and stakeholders in reviving Jet Airways in coming weeks," the consortium said after the airlines air permit was renewed. Despite this optimism, the aviation industry is not too hopeful of a revival due to issues around pending approvals in several courts and tribunals.
New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will move a resolution in parliament on Monday to approve notifications seeking to increase import duty on liquified petroleum gas (LPG), propane and butane by amending the First Schedule of Customs Tariff Act. Mint explains the significance of the move.

Why is the government keen on hiking the import duty on LPG, propane and butane?

The government wants to increase import duties on certain products to reduce import bills, protect domestic industries, and generate employment. These measures, it hopes, will also give the domestic industry a competitive edge over imports. The government hopes the move will incentivise investments in domestic supply chains and manufacturing, which would increase employment and save foreign currency.

What were the earlier notifications about?

Through notifications dated 30 June and 1 July, the central government had raised the basic customs duty on domestic LPG to 15% from 5%. It had also imposed an agriculture infrastructure and development cess (AIDC) of 15% on the import of LPG cylinders. The government also raised the import tariff on propane for commercial use to 19.25% from 2.75% on 1 July.

Are there any exceptions to this?

The customs-duty hike will not apply to imports of liquefied propane, liquefied butane and a mixture of liquefied propane and liquefied butane by state-owned oil companies such as Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation., which use these imports to supply to domestic consumers.

How does India meet its domestic LPG demand?

India depends on LPG imports to meet its domestic needs. Countries such as the US, Saudi Arabia and others in the Middle East export LPG to India. Interestingly, the average Saudi CP, an international standard for LPG pricing, rose from $415 per million tonnes to $712 per million tonnes between FY21 and FY23, but the price hike was not passed down to consumers entirely. As a result, Indian oil companies suffered huge losses.
Data may or may not be the new oil, but advanced microchips for digital devices are in geopolitical focus as the Indo-Pacific witnesses a contest of glares between China and the West over Taiwan, whose grip on the manufacture of these prized inputs has pushed both sides into a race for supply security. Globally, cutting-edge semiconductors are seen to underlie the current path of tech evolution. Indias effort to break into this field has faced setbacks like a proposed Foxconn-Vedanta venture coming apart, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has signalled the governments determination. At the Semicon India 2023 conclave held in Gandhinagar last week, he indicated that firms could get 50% financial backing to set up the desired facilities in the country. Apart from policy enablers and our tech talent, Modi referred to the covid pandemic and Ukraine war in his pitch to global investors. The world needs a trusted, reliable chip supplier," he said, What can be better than the largest democracy in the world?" This, he added, is the right time for India and for the world." US-based companies have been lured; AMD said it plans to invest $400 million in an R&D centre here, while Micron has a $825-million plan for local chip assembly, testing and packaging. This conforms with New Delhis strategy of offering India as a reliable partner for the West to cover its supply risks. Yet, it remains unclear if India has any chance of becoming a chip player of global significance.

Chips are of various kinds. A flashpoint on global risk radars could arise from a segment of sophisticated chips almost ruled by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. While a few other companies around the world can make these tiny things, the task is tough and chip facilities elsewhere must play catch upa tough askagainst a clock ticking on Beijings designs for Taiwan, a US-shielded island that it considers a rebel province. Alarm over a potential chip snap-off has driven the US to abandon talk of free trade, adopt an inward industrial policy under its Chips Act, and enforce a regime of technology denial to China, all to stay ahead on digital technology. On its part, Beijing has local chip fabrication projects too. That todays Cold War II could pivot on microchips is no longer hyperbole. So, while an ecosystem for modest chip-making could set a stage for India to ascend the sectors value curve, the big league would still be a steep challenge. Beyond a point, geo-strategic interests would lead tech transfers and the Western anxieties that favour us could also let us down. A world thats moving apart and erecting barriers as it loses trust in open trade could mean very little of significance is shared even with friend-shoring partners.

Diplomacy might have a role. At the same event, Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar urged global chip investors to optimize globalization" by investing in chip fabrication units here. This way, they could combine the advantages of offshore production with their goals of risk reduction. Left unsaid was the geopolitics of it. As Jaishankar was optimistic on prospects of a more collaborative world, perhaps Indias red carpet for chip-makers should be seen in the light of closer ties with the US. Even so, our most reliable shot at joining the global chip race someday would be through our very own R&D endeavours. Large outlays for fab incentives can lure investment, sure, but success at a level that could eventually justify the public expense will have to be achieved the studious old way.
The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, aimed at replacing the contentious ordinance on the control of services and officers' posting in Delhi, has undergone significant changes. The bill is set to be tabled in Parliament on July 31 by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and it has already been circulated among MPs reported Hindustan Times.

The Supreme Court had previously ruled in favour of the Delhi government on May 11, granting it control over services in the national capital, except for matters related to public order, land and police.

The May 19 ordinance was rolled in soon after the SC verdict, by the Centre to override a Supreme Court order that granted control over the transfer and appointments of bureaucrats to the elected government in Delhi.

The bill has sparked a massive face-off between the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government and the Centre. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has accused the BJP of attempting to subvert the rule of law and take over control of officers in the capital.

Also read: Delhi ordinance replacement bill passed by cabinet amid Opposition protests

Provisions removed

Three provisions have been removed from the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, reported HT. These include:

Removal of Section 3A

The provision that restricted the Delhi Assembly from enacting laws related to 'State Public Services and State Public Service Commission' has been omitted in the bill.

Section 3A, which was inserted through the ordinance, allowed the Legislative Assembly to make laws, has been removed from the bill. The bill focusses on Article 239AA, which empowers the Centre to establish the National Capital Civil Service Authority (NCCSA).

The Section 3A of the ordinance stated, Notwithstanding anything contained in any judgement, order or decree of any Court, the Legislative Assembly shall have the power to make laws as per Article 239AA except with respect to any matter enumerated in Entry 41 of List II of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India or any matter connected therewith or incidental thereto."

Article 239-AA(7)

The bill does not mention Article 239-AA(7), which was previously resorted to by the Centre to remove "services" from the elected government's purview. The court had raised questions about this provision and framed two issues for a constitution bench's judgment.

Also read: Delhi ordinance bill: Why YSR's support is critical for govt to pass bill at Rajya Sabha?

Mandating annual report

Under the previous ordinance, the NCCSA was required to furnish an annual report of the National Capital Civil Service Authority in Parliament and Delhi Assembly. The bill, however, removes this requirement, eliminating the need for the report to be laid before Parliament and the Delhi assembly.

Placing orders/directions

The bill introduces changes to Section 45D, which deals with the appointment of chairpersons and members of various authorities, boards, commissions, and statutory bodies in Delhi. The provision mandating the placement of 'orders/directions of ministers' pertaining to proposals or matters were required to be referred to the central government before the Lieutenant Governor and the Chief Minister of Delhi has also been omitted.

New provision added

The newly added provision in the bill states that the Lieutenant Governor will make appointments to Boards and Commissions constituted by the Delhi government based on a panel of names recommended by the National Capital Civil Service Authority, which includes the Chief Minister of Delhi. Boards or Commissions are made by the law enacted by Delhi assembly.

On July 20, the Supreme Court raised questions about Section 3A of the 2023 Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Ordinance, which granted the Centre control over the state's bureaucracy. The court referred the matter to a Constitution bench consisting of five judges to examine the Delhi government's challenge to the ordinance.
It is exactly five years since Donald Trump pulled America out of the deal with Iran to constrain its nuclear programme in exchange for economic-sanctions relief. Since then, Iran has not stood still . Satellite pictures appear to confirm that Iran is building a nuclear facility in the Zagros mountains, near the existing Natanz enrichment site (shown above). It seems to be so deep under the ground that it will be invulnerable even to Americas most powerful bunker-busting bomb.

If analysis of these pictures by the James Martin Centre for Non-proliferation Studies, an American NGO, is correct, four entrances have been dug into the mountainside, each six metres wide by eight metres high. The facility is 80-100 metres deep down inside. The Americans had developed a bomb, known as the gbu-57, specifically to be able to destroy an earlier underground facility, at Fordow. Also known as the Massive Ordinance Penetrator (MOP), the 14,000kg precision-guided bomb can burrow through 60 metres of earth and rock before detonating. But that may no longer be enough to destroy Irans hideout.

View Full Image (Graphic: The Economist)

The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a think-tank in Washington founded by David Albright, a former weapons inspector, reckons that the deepest part of the chamber could be used as a hall for a small number of advanced centrifuges that could rapidly produce enough weapons-grade uranium (WGU) to make Iran capable of an unstoppable nuclear breakout.

Whatever the criticisms of the nuclear bargain of 2015 known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which Barack Obamas administration had concocted in partnership with the four other permanent members of the UN Security Council and the European Union (the P5+1), it did ensure that it would take Iran about a year to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear device. Now it could probably achieve it almost immediately.

Since Mr Trumps reckless decision to trash the worst deal ever" and renew sanctions that were designed to exert maximum pressure" on the Iranian regime, Iran has brought online new, faster centrifuges that have hugely expanded its enrichment capacity. Based on the quarterly inspection report in February of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UNs nuclear watchdog, Mr Albrights team estimates that Iran could produce enough WGU for a nuclear weapon in just 12 days. It would need to use only three advanced-centrifuge cascades and half of its current stock of 60%-enriched uranium.

More worrying still, if Iran used all its stock of highly enriched uranium, it could produce WGU for four more nuclear weapons in a month. In another two months, using its stock of low-enriched uranium (ie, less than 5%-enriched), it could get enough material for two more weapons. It would take about six months to test and deploy a bomb for a crude delivery system, such as a plane or a ship. A missile-delivered warhead might be feasible in a year or two. Testifying to Congress in March, General Mark Milley, chair of the joint chiefs of staff, drew a similar timeline.

None of which means that Iran is about to break out and become a fully fledged nuclear-weapons state. But it does mean, as Mr Albright puts it, that it can produce nuclear weapons pretty much on demand". Given Americas oft-repeated commitment never to allow Iran to have the bomb and its fear of escalation in a volatile part of the world, it might be thought that intense diplomatic efforts to revive the JCPOA, or at least to find some alternative means to constrain Irans nuclear threat, would be urgently under way.

Far from it. Despite intensive indirect talks between America and Iran, chaired by the EUs top diplomat, Josep Borrell, which continued for many months in Vienna last year, the attempt to breathe some new life into the JCPOA got nowhere. By September the sides were even farther apart. The Iranians refused to accept a new probe by the IAEA into their past nuclear activities and insisted that they be given guarantees that they would continue to benefit from sanctions relief, including financial compensation, in case a future American administration again walked away from a deal.

Russias invasion stymied a new deal

Ali Ansari, the director of the Institute of Iranian Studies at St Andrews University in Scotland, reckons the Iranians were never genuine about a return to the JCPOA and nor was there much real enthusiasm within the State Department: it was negotiations for the sake of negotiations." Emile Hokayem, a Middle East security specialist at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, agrees: The Iranians had already decided they were beyond the JCPOA by the time the Biden administration came in. They were playing a complicated game with the IAEA."

Both believe that the death knell for a nuclear deal was Russias invasion of Ukraine last year. By bringing Russia and Iran into a much closer defence relationship, it killed off any lingering hopes of restoring the P5+1 process. As energy prices soared, it also removed some of the immediate economic pressures on Iran. Besides, reckons Mr Ansari, Iran presumed that Russia would prevail in Ukraine, which would boost Irans narrative of Western decline and get it better terms on sanctions by exploiting divisions between Americas European allies. Although that expectation has for the moment been dashed, Iran thinks it can strengthen its own hand in its relationship with a weaker Russia.

Mr Hokayem thinks that the assessment in most of the six countries of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, is that an isolated Russia, keen to buy drones and missiles from Iran, will become a far more valuable transactional partner. In particular, it is now assumed, Russia will be readier to transfer high-tech weapons systems that could plug big gaps in Irans inventory, such as advanced S-400 surface-to-air missiles and Russias highly capable Su-35 fighter aircraft.

In any case, some in Washington want the Gulf countries to do more for their own security, especially at a time when the American administration is embroiled in handling the war in Ukraine, not to mention its constant rivalry with China. Many Gulf-watchers think America has already begun to pack its bags in the region.

Moreover, the Gulf Arabs have become much less interested in the Iran nuclear file than either America or Israel. They already regard Iran as a de facto nuclear power. Nor do they have the technical expertise to negotiate with the Iranians on nuclear constraints, even if they wanted to. What they worry about, says Mr Hokayem, is Irans missiles, drones and militias. By contrast, Israel feels it can cope pretty well with those. But time and again it has said it cannot live with a nuclear-capable Iran.

The result is a kind of weary but nonetheless dangerous equilibrium whereby the regional powers are trying to gain some leverage over Iran by investing in its economy, making goodwill gestures such as readmitting Irans Syrian protege back into the Arab League, and deferring to Chinathe one real influence on Iranwhenever possible. The smaller Gulf states plainly accepted the Chinese-brokered restoration of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March. At the same time they hope Iran will choose to meddle less in the region. On the nuclear front they would prefer Iran to hold back from breakout and let the IAEA have the figleaf of routine inspections.

From the Gulf Arabs perspective the biggest wild cards are the outcome of the next American election and the behaviour of Israel. Despite the Abraham accords of 2020, which normalised Israels relations with four more Arab countries, governments in the Gulf know they have little influence on what Israel might decide to do over Iran. While Iran pushes to get those game-changing S-400 missiles and modern jets from Russia and buries its enrichment cascades ever deeper in the mountainside, Israel may see its window for action closing. Iran has made more progress in uranium enrichment than ever before," said General Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of Israels army, on May 23rd. But Israel has a constraint of its own. It probably needs a type of aerial tanker, the KC-46 Pegasus, to carry out an attack on Iran, which would anyway be difficult and risky. Boeing is not expected to deliver them until 2025.

In any case, Israels intelligence services are not yet convinced that Iran has decided to break out into weapons-grade enrichment or that it has taken the key steps towards weaponisation by enabling fissile material to be put into an operational nuclear warhead. Meanwhile, it is concentrating on pegging back Irans regional proxies, such as the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and the Lebanese group Hizbullah. It is also keen to cement friendlier relations with the Saudis.

Henry Rome, an Iran specialist at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, says that the situation is like trying to thread a ball down a bowling alley where one gutter represents a new nuclear agreement and the other stands for conflict escalation with potentially catastrophic consequences. Keeping the ball down the middle will require concentration, prudence and luck. None of which is guaranteed.

 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
The Nationalist Congress Party, Congress, and the Shiv Sena (UBT) together are capable of bringing a change in Maharashtra, said NCP president Sharad Pawar on Sunday. The Congress, NCP, and Shiv Sena (UBT) are constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the state.

Speaking at a book launch function where he shared the stage with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat, Pawar claimed that it was difficult to engage with the present government in Maharashtra.

The NCP chief recalled how previous governments in Maharashtra helped in the preservation of ancient art and culture, literature, and history, according to a report published by the news agency PTI.

"But it is difficult for us to engage with the present state government. But some solution will come out. If we three (MVA constituents) decide, there can be a change," he asserted.

During the event, Pawar also said the Yeshwantrao Chavan Pratishthan, which he heads, will give 50 lakh to Rajawade Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal, the group which published the books, PTI reported.

On July 2, Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde-BJP government in Maharashtra. Ajit Pawar took an oath as Deputy Chief Minister in the Maharashtra government. Since then, the three MVA allies shared the stage for the first time on Sunday.

Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan also claimed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar would be appointed as the state's chief minister replacing Eknath Shinde on 10 August.

However, Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis dismissed the Congress leader's claim and said that Eknath Shinde will continue to be the CM of Maha Yuti.

Last year, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) joined hands with Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena to form the Maharashtra government and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

(With PTI inputs)
Chhagan Bhujbal, minister in the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government, on Monday condemned right-wing activist Sambhaji Bhides objectionable remarks on Mahatma Gandhi and demanded his arrest.

Bhide, the founder of Shri Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan, allegedly made the comments at a public event in Amravati on Thursday and was booked by Rajapeth police there on Saturday, according to PTI.

Bhujbal said, Bhide's comments against Mahatma Gandhi are condemnable. He has also made objectionable statements against Mahatma Phule. The government should arrest him."

The opposition parties including the Congress, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena (UBT) have accused the BJP of backing Bhide and going soft on him.

The minister said it remains to be seen if Bhide is making these statements due to loss of intellect" or on behalf of someone.

He also said some sections of society are supporting Bhide, which was an unfortunate development for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's Maharashtra.

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday condemned Sambhaji Bhide for his alleged derogatory statement against Mahatma Gandhi, saying that 'Gandhi is seen as the leader of the history of India's freedom struggle'.

Fadnavis said that they will not tolerate his (Gandhi's) insult.

I condemn the statement of Sambhaji Bhide. Mahatma Gandhi is the father of the nation. He is viewed as the leader of the history of India's freedom struggle," Fadnavis said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Maharashtra government of protecting and promoting Bhide.

The inaction and encouragement of the BJP has led to Bhide attacking revered personalities like Mahatma Gandhi. The state government is actively promoting Bhide and endorsing his statements," Danve, the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, told reporters.

Danve also questioned the decision to bestow the Lokmanya Tilak National Award, constituted by Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust in 1983 to honour the legacy of legendary freedom fighter, on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Danve said the PM was silent on the violence in Manipur despite the country seeking a response on the matter.

Lokmanya Tilak fought fearlessly against the British and challenged their actions, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said.

(With inputs from PTI)
Parliament Monsoon Session: Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said that the central government wants discussions on Manipur violence at 2 pm in the House today. He reaffirms that the Centre is ready to discuss the situation of the violence-hit northeast state.

We want discussions on Manipur to take place in Parliament today at 2 pm. They (Opposition) are trying to misuse the liberty given to the members. The govt is ready to discuss Manipur, but they (Opposition) have already spoilt 9 important days of the House," said Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, Piyush Goyal as quoted by ANI.

He accused the Opposition of being scared to have a discussion. We have clearly said to the Rajya Sabha Chairman Speaker that whenever he wants, we are ready to have discussions on Manipur. We are requesting the Opposition to have discussions for 10 days. The Opposition is scared of something, they are running away from discussions," Goyal added.

Sources further informed that INDIA parties' floor leaders will meet Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to demand that MPs delegation who visited Manipur should be allowed to speak in their respective House to tell the ground reality of Manipur.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur also urged the opposition parties to come inside the Parliament and participate in discussions. He reminded that the government is ready for discussion on Manipur violence from day 1.

We want discussions from day 1. What is stopping them (Opposition) from holding talks?... They only run away from discussions rather than taking part in them...This clearly shows that they are doing politics," Anurag Thakur told media persons.

The Lok Sabha witnessed disruptions and protests by the opposition, leading to an adjournment until 2 pm. The opposition has persistently sought a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament regarding the Manipur issue.

INDIA alliance's 21 opposition MPs signed the document demanding urgent rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected people to bring peace and harmony to Manipur on Sunday.

In a memorandum submitted to Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey, the opposition leaders wrote, "We earnestly request you to restore peace and harmony by taking all effective measures, where justice should be the cornerstone. In order to bring peace and harmony, rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected persons is most urgent".

Since May 3, ethnic clashes erupted in Manipur after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was held in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's request for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Tragically, more than 160 people have lost their lives, and several hundred have been injured as a result of the violent confrontations.

The population of Manipur consists of Meiteis, who make up approximately 53% of the total population and primarily reside in the Imphal Valley, and Tribals, specifically Nagas and Kukis, who constitute slightly over 40% of the population and reside in the hill districts.

(With ANI inputs)
When U.S. ambassador to Sudan John Godfrey was huddled in Khartoum while dodging bullets and airstrikes, there was one question that he hadnt expected: How much did the embassy staffs cats and dogs weigh?

Navy SEALs, who were dispatched to save diplomatic personnel from the clashes that had erupted between feuding Sudanese generals, had agreed to evacuate pets as part of their diplomatic rescue mission. The only stipulations were that the four-legged passengers fit in carry-on bags and that their weight was counted down to the pound.

The rule of thumb was basically that it had to fit on your lap. We were very fortunate that we didnt have any outsized pets at the time," a senior U.S. official said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

The Sudan escape marked a lucky break for the cats and dogs of the U.S. mission in east Africaand another chapter in the growing history of military and diplomatic pet evacuations.

In Vietnam, the U.S. military used working dogs to sniff out explosives and detect enemy forces hiding in rivers and forests. But when America withdrew in 1975, the dogs were classed as equipment and left behind. The unfitting fate led to the creation of Robbys Law in 2000, which allows retired dogs to be brought home and adopted if possible.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, the U.S. and its allies launched wars targeting al Qaeda and other extremist groups across the world. As new fronts opened in the war on terror, so did efforts to rescue the animals that U.S. military and diplomatic personnel befriended in countries where they were deployed.

If you go to anyone that has served in a war, theyre not open about the horribleness of war but theyll talk about the dog or cat that they were feeding," said Michelle Smith of Puppy Rescue Mission, a nonprofit that brings home about 300 animals a year from U.S. military bases around the world.

The military has generally cooperated with nonprofits to help soldiers and other personnel bring home their pets. In June, the Defense Department also announced new rules that allowed relocating military personnel to be reimbursed for pet travel expenses. The U.S. government now covers shipping and quarantine fees, saying it recognizes the role pets play in military families.

Louise Hastie, a British veteran of the Iraq war, began rescuing cats and dogs after completing her military service. Through the nonprofit War Paws, she is often the first port of call for British and American soldiers in Syria, where the locations of personnel are supposed to stay highly classified.

Hastie says she has smuggled so many cats and dogs out of Syria that she now knows exactly the bases and military installations where everyone is located, often alarming military leaders stationed there.

The soldiers will contact me and they will say, Ive got this dog, or Ive got this cat, but I cant tell you where it is," Hastie says of soldiers in Syria. The minute they say that, Im like, yeah, I know where you are. Just let me deal with it."

Animal-rescue groups in war zones often come under fire for saving pets when human lives are at stake. But their advocates argue that cats, dogs and other animals can provide life-changing comfort to the human survivors of war.

In a sign of public support, nonprofits that work to rescue these animals have gained sizable social-media followings. Appeals on social media for logistical or financial support to bring home a particular cat or dog regularly attract hundreds of comments and shares, not to mention money.

One internet star is a tabby cat named Screech, who lived at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and was evacuated by the nonprofit Kabul Small Animal Rescue, a clinic and shelter.

The clinic initially tried to evacuate its cats and dogs, including Screech, during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, but was unsuccessful. The U.S. military made matters worse by releasing the dogs inside the airport before leaving, and it took the clinic days to gather them up again.

Screech, who remained at the clinic, returned to the Kabul airport six months later with the Talibans blessings and flew to Canada with more than 250 cats and dogs cleared for evacuation.

Bonnie Davidson, Screechs new owner, says the cats antics, which include disappearing into a chimney, have earned her an Instagram following of more than 2,000 fans.

We couldnt find her and totally panicked. You know, oh my God, how are we going to tell all her Instagram followers weve lost Screech?" Davidson said.

The tabby eventually popped her head out of the chimney upside down to look around. Davidson said the tabbys escapades will soon be chronicled in a book for children.

Despite widespread public support and enthusiasm for diplomatic and military rescues, nonprofits say that donations have fallen as the focus has shifted away from places such as Afghanistan and Syria.

People do not care about Afghanistan anymore," said Charlotte Maxwell-Jones, the director of Kabul Small Animal Rescue.

In Sudan this year, the rescue was carried out by the U.S. government rather than a nonprofit, though the State Department has kept the operation low profile.

The State Department said it couldnt release the names of the pets or the people involved. But, said the U.S. official, I knew the names, breeds and weight for all of our furry friends."
Last November something strange happened in Mountain View. A thick fog enveloped the headquarters of Alphabet, the parent company of Google. Not the meteorological sortthis stretch of Silicon Valley is reliably sunny. It was a fog of confusion. Its cause was ChatGPT , an artificially intelligent conversationalist created by OpenAI , a startup backed by Microsoft. The effect was, by all accounts, panic. ChatGPT was giving uncannily humanlike answers to questions put to it by users. And answering questions is the bread and butter of Googles lucrative search business. Were OpenAI and Microsoft, which in February launched an enhanced version of its Bing search engine, about to eat Googles lunch?

Eight months on the mist has mostly cleared. On July 25th the company reported another set of solid quarterly results. Revenues rose by 7% year on year, to $75bn. It continues to create piles of cash: in the 12 months to June it raked in $75bn of operating profit. Bing has taken no discernible bite out of Googles share of global monthly search queries, which remains above 90%.

Most important, Google has put to rest any notion that it has fallen behind technologically. In May Sundar Pichai, chief executive of both Google and its corporate parent, unveiled more than a dozen AI-powered products at I/O, an annual event for software developers. These included AI tools for Gmail, Google Maps and Google Cloud. Investors found it reassuringnot least after a rushed launch in February of Bard, Googles chatbot, during which the AI helper made a factual error.

Since then the firm has launched AI products and features left and right. On July 12th it brought out NotebookLM, an AI-assisted note-taking tool trained on a users documents. On the same day Nature, a scientific journal, published a paper by Google researchers describing an AI model that matched human doctors responses to questions about the right treatment for patients. A day later it expanded a now less error-prone Bard, proficient in more than 40 human languages and over 20 computer ones, to the EU. Work on an AI model to eclipse ChatGPT, codenamed Gemini, is proceeding apace. Having nearly fallen below $1trn in November, Alphabets market value is back up to $1.7trn. Crisis over?

In the short run, probably. Like all heart-in-mouth moments, though, the chatbot panic invites broader questions: about the current state of one of the worlds biggest firms, its future andas Google turns 25 in Septemberabout the demands of different stages of corporate life.

The view from the top

Alphabet is, without a doubt, one of the greatest business successes of all time. Six of its productsGoogle search, the Android mobile operating system, the Chrome browser, Google Play Store for apps, Workspace productivity tools and YouTubeboast more than 2bn monthly users each. Add those with hundreds of millions of users, such as Google Maps or Google Translate, and, by one reckoning, humans collectively spend 22bn hours a day on Alphabets platforms.

The ability to command so much attention is worth a lot of money to the people who want a slice of it, namely advertisers. Since going public in 2004 Googles revenue, 80% of which comes from online ads, has grown at an average annual rate of 28%. In that period it has generated a total of $460bn in cash after operating expenses, virtually all of it from advertising. Its share price has risen 50-fold, making it the worlds fourth-most-valuable company.

Given these eye-popping numbers, it may seem churlish to ask why Alphabet isnt doing better. In fact, the question is warranted, and is being asked by Mr Pichai, his underlings and investors alike. The company finds itself at a delicate juncturenot only, or even primarily, because of AI. The core digital-ads business is maturing, with sales growth no longer consistently in double digits and increasingly tied to economic cycles. At the same time, finding new sources of material growth is difficult for a company that brings in $300bn in annual revenues. This quest is further complicated by investors calling for greater cost efficiency and capital discipline, which in turn requires a shake-up of its free-wheeling corporate culture.

Consider the cash cow. Throughout the 2010s digital advertising seemed invulnerable to the business cycle. In good times advertisers spent like there was no tomorrow. In worse ones they diverted some of their non-digital marketing budgets online, where Google and other giants like Facebook (now Meta) offered to target adverts more precisely than a TV commercial or a page in a glossy magazine could.

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Now, as the online share of total ad spending touches two-thirds, businesses have smaller non-digital ad budgets to eat into. Insider Intelligence, a data firm, expects global sales of digital ads to increase by 10% or less annually in the next few years, down from a rate of 20% or so in the past decade (see chart 1). A slowdown last year offered a glimpse of the future, spooking investors.

Nor can Google easily capture a bigger slice of the slower-growing pie. Trustbusters already believe its share is too high and have sued Google in America for abusing its search monopoly. Googles arrangement with Apple, whereby it pays a reported $15bn a year to be the default search engine on the 2bn or so iDevices, has also come under scrutiny.

Although search remains immensely lucrative, with operating margins of nearly 50%, according to Bernstein, a broker, how people look for things on the internet is changing. Most product searches these days start not on Google but on Amazon, the e-commerce giant. According to Googles own executives, 40% of teenagers and young adults seek recommendations for things like restaurants or hotels on TikTok, a short-video app, or Instagram, a similar app from Meta.

Google may entice some of these search-nevers", as Mark Shmulik of Bernstein calls them, to its platform, as YouTube is doing already with a TikTok lookalike called Shorts. Yet videos are unlikely to monetise as nicely as the search box.

Then there are the chatbots and other generative" AIs that, having been trained on a webs worth of texts, images and sounds, can serve up simulacra of human-generated content. Mr Pichais insistence that Alphabet is an AI-native" company rings true. Most observers believe that deep pockets and ample talent will allow Google to solve the technologys teething problems, such as the bots tendency to hallucinate" (make stuff up) or the high cost of serving up responses (which egg-headed Googlers are busy tackling).

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That still leaves open the question of how much money bot-assisted products, for all their expected ingenuity, will actually make. Set aside search, and Googles knack for creating extraordinary products is matched by its inability to monetise them. There is no reason to think that its AIs will be any different. Despite a rebound, Alphabets share price continues to lag behind that of Microsoft, which is already beginning to monetise generative AI in its office software (see chart 2).

As for search, generative AI does not necessarily herald a financial bonanza. Today Google gets paid when users click on the links to merchants websites that appear next to the responses to search queries. Once the technological niggles with generative ai are solvedin two or three years, experts reckonGoogle will have a choice to make, reminiscent of the innovators dilemma", a theory put forward by Clayton Christiansen that argues that incumbents are reluctant to innovate if it jeopardises their existing markets. If a chat with an AI is to feel natural, it cannot be peppered with ads and links. Google could show fewer ads and charge clients more for each. But advertisers may balkor, worse, defect.

New bets

Googles founders and, thanks to Alphabets dual-class ownership structure, its overlords, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, have long been aware that its primary revenue engine was going to slow at some point. They have sought to supplement it and, one day, perhaps replace it altogether. That was the main reason for the creation in 2015 of Alphabet. The holding company would house Google alongside various other ventures, including out-there moonshots", from self-driving cars to life-extending medicine.

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Most of the moonshots look as commercially questionable as the Apollo programme. Other Bets, the bit of Alphabet where most of them sit, haemorrhages money. Between 2018 and 2022 it notched up a cumulative operating loss of $24bn, more than six times bigger than its total revenues in that period (see chart 3). Other Bets consumes at least some of its parents capital spending, which ate up $31bn last year, and a material slug of its $40bn annual research-and-development budget.

A deeper problem is that it is hard for any new venture to move the needle. Only a handful of industriesthink finance, government, health careare large and undisrupted enough to make a material mark on Alphabets top line. Conquering these markets requires huge investments for an uncertain return, and none offers the sort of capital-light quasi-monopoly that Google has enjoyed with search advertising.

Alphabet has two health subsidiaries (Calico for life extension and Verily for less ambitious medical goals) and has invested around $15bn in the past six years in health-related Startups. So far it has little to show for it. And although in December Google became one of four cloud providers to be awarded a $9bn multi-year contract with Americas Department of Defence, past attempts to enter procurement have run into opposition from the companys mostly progressive-leaning workers.

In finance, Google offers a digital wallet, has invested in Lending Club, a peer-to-peer lender, and owned price-comparison sites for insurance and mortgages, which it shut down in 2016. These efforts are unambitious compared with those of Apple, which offers a credit card and has launched a buy-now-pay-later scheme. A bank boss with knowledge of Googles efforts says they are ultimately in the service of its ads business, the better to track users purchases, rather than a real attempt to become a financial player.

Alphabets biggest wager is in a way less ambitious. It wants to become a force in cloud-based, AI-boosted business software. Perhaps three-quarters of Alphabets capital spending goes on building and equipping new data centres. To catch up with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, the two industry leaders, Google Cloud has in the past few years offered customers cut-price deals. Sales have been growing at an annual rate of 40%. The unit made its first profits in the past two quarters (albeit partly thanks to accounting changes). In a few years Google could become the worlds second- or third-biggest provider of business software, says Thomas Kurian, who runs Google Cloud. Enterprises want to solve many of the same problems that consumers want to solve," he explains, so things that Google has been working on for years in its consumer business, from voice recognition to AI-assisted search, offer it a leg up.

Possibly. And the enterprise business is certainly large. Firms are projected to spend more than $3trn this year on information technology. But it is a cyclical business, and intensely competitive. Microsoft does not break out its Azure results but operating margins at AWS, which are disclosed, have been steadily falling, from 30% or more a few years ago to 24% today.

Moreover, Amazon and, especially, Microsoft are formidable rivals. They have longstanding relationships with corporate clients. Google, by contrast, does not have a business-to-business bone in its body. Ten years ago Google Sheets may have been the best in the world, says a former executive. But it failed to wine and dine" enough chief information officers to promote the spreadsheet software.

Froogle living

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With revenue growth tougher to come by, some investors think Alphabet should focus on boosting returns by improving its overall margins. Many grumble that Alphabet shares trade at a lower price relative to earnings than Apple or Microsoft, and not much higher than the S&P 500 index of big American firms as a wholea letdown for a tech pioneer (see chart 4).

In November TCI, a hedge fund with a stake in the company worth $6bn at the time, wrote a letter to Mr Pichai demanding more discipline. It also noted that Alphabet had too many employeesnearly 190,000, more than twice as many as in 2017 (see chart 5)who were paid too much. The typical Googler takes home nearly $300,000 a year, two-thirds more than a counterpart at Microsoft and more than twice as much as employees of Americas 20 biggest tech firms. Its scattershot approach to capital allocation, TCI seemed to imply, was tolerable only so long as it was concealed by strong returns from the core business.

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Since then two other big hedge funds with an activist streak, Pershing Square and Third Point, have disclosed large investments in Alphabet. As the company has grown, it has added layers of management. You are negotiating with VPs and SVPs all day," recalls one prominent ex-Googler. Many teams turn into mini-fiefdoms; some managers tell employees not to take their goals too seriously. Entry-level engineers report that it is easy to rest and vest"coast while waiting to cash in your stock options. And you get fed chocolate-covered strawberries.

Some of this looseness is by design. Messrs Brin and Page wanted to nurture a startup culture that allowed brilliant ideas to bubble up. And they do: one of those presented at the developers conference came directly from a five-person team. But clever products often get tied up in compliance reviews. Insiders joke that the best way not to have your product launch is to present it at I/O.

The upshot is that many enterprising types leave, skewing the workforce ever more towards engineers working for internal customers, their managers, rather than seeking commercial success. Notably, all eight of the researchers behind Googles seminal paper on transformers", the computer science that gives chatbots their wits (and the T in GPT), have since left the company. Startups need a tinge of desperation" to succeed, says Aswath Damodaran of NYU Stern School of Business. By contrast, Alphabet is a startup business with a sugar daddy", in the form of the deep-pocketed search operation.

One way to tackle these problems would be to reinvent Alphabet from top to bottom. Hiving off the disparate businessessearch, YouTube, Google Cloud and so onwould, for instance, permit each to focus resources on what it does best. Another approach would be to settle on a new direction, rather as Apple transformed itself from a purveyor of pricey desktops to a mobile-phone behemoth and Microsoft went from peddling software on CD-ROMs to cloud-computing might.

Yet a move as radical as breakup would require the blessing of Messrs Brin and Page, which is unlikely to be forthcoming. And reinvention comes with big risks. Investors and analysts remain deeply sceptical of Mark Zuckerbergs bet on the metaverse. Apple and Microsoft spent years in the wilderness before finding a second life.

And radicalism is not Mr Pichais style. He is clever, in an understated way, and, as befits a former McKinsey consultant, shrewd. He has played a significant role in building the core business, which he ran even before taking over as Alphabets CEO in 2019. But he is no visionary.

Mr Pichai and his lieutenants are therefore opting for incrementalism instead. He has talked about trying to do more with constraints". This seems to involve gradually introducing AI features to existing products and taking a more serious look at Alphabets expenses. The management astutely used the cloud cover of the chatbot crisis to force through some needed changes. It has pulled the plug on some Other Bets. Earlier this year Alphabet laid off 12,000 workers and merged its AI labs, DeepMind and Google Brain, which should enable more efficient use of its AI computing power and, if their distinct cultures dont get in the way, its human brainpower, too. On July 25th it promoted Ruth Porat, its veteran finance chief, to president, as well as a new role of chief investment officer, to steer the groups capital allocation.

As the firm nears its quarter-century, then, it is, like a middle-aged person told to watch what they eat more carefully, determined to get rid of the flab, eschew risky behaviour and stay disciplined. If those efforts succeed, thinks one shareholder, Alphabet can keep increasing its bottom line even if overall sales slow, ensuring it stays enviably profitable.

The incrementalist approach will, however, be put to the test, particularly as ai, generative and otherwise, progresses. Engineering chops, which Alphabet clearly still possesses in spades, will not be enough to harness the technologys potential. That is going to require commercial ingenuity, too. Google displayed this early on, when it developed the search-ad business model. Since then Alphabet has, in business terms at least, mostly been able to coast on that innovations spectacular success, allowing some of its commercial sinews to atrophy. If it doesnt flex them as the age of AI dawns, there are plenty of hungry rivals eager to muscle in.

 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
X Corp., the parent company of Twitter, has threatened a nonprofit originationwhich tracks hate speech and misinformation on social media --of legal action saying it tried to hurt the social platform with its research, the New York Times reported.

The New York Times reported that X Corp. has sent a notice the Center for Countering Digital Hate accusing it of making a series of troubling and baseless claims that appear calculated to harm Twitter generally, and its digital advertising business specifically" and threatening to sue.

The NYT report says the X Corp has cited research published by the nonprofit in June examining hate speech on Twitter. The research papers, including one that accuses Twitter of not taking any action against 99% of the 100 Twitter Blue accounts, the Center reported for tweeting hate."

Twitter has called the research false, misleading or both". The X Corp said the nonprofit organization had used improper methodology. The X Corp said the nonprofit was funded by Twitters competitors or foreign governments in support of an ulterior agenda."

Elon Musks actions represent a brazen attempt to silence honest criticism and independent research" the NYT reported quoting Imran Ahmed, CEO of Center for Countering Digital Hate. Ahmed further said Musk wants to stem the tide of negative stories and rebuild his relationship with advertisers."

The Center for Countering Digital Hate also said it did not accept any funding from tech companies, governments, or their affiliates."

It was third legal notice sent by X Corp. in recent past. In May, the X Corp. sent a letter Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella accusing the tech giant of improper use its data. In July, the X Corp sent a letter to Meta parent of social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, accusing that the origination has copied Twitters trade secrets when creating Threads, a new social app owned by Meta
A federal judge in Montana has temporarily blocked a new law that puts restrictions on drag performances just days before thousands of people are expected to attend Montana Pride's 30th anniversary celebration in Helena
A plaque has been unveiled in Dublin in honour of socialist and trade unionist James Connolly, who was executed in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising.

The plaque was unveiled on Monday at 70 South Lotts Road in Ringsend, Connollys home from December 1910 to May 1911, by the Lord Mayor of Dublin Daithi de Roiste.

The house is one of two in the capital city in which Connolly lived.

At the unveiling, Mr de Roiste said the plaque would serve as a reminder to people that Connolly gave his life to improve the lives of Irish citizens.

Connollys great-grandson James Connolly Heron was present for the unveiling.

Born in Edinburgh in 1868 to Irish parents, Connolly became a key figure in the Irish trade union movement and socialist politics.

Connolly also moved to Belfast to become an organiser for the Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU), a precursor to the trade union Siptu, and witnessed sectarianism in Belfast and the North East.

In 1912, along with Jim Larkin and others on the Dublin Trades Council, Connolly was instrumental in getting the Irish Trades Union Congress to establish a political wing, which became the Labour Party.

Against the background of the First World War, Connolly became increasingly militant and as leader of the Irish Citizens Army, agreed to act together with the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), who were planning an insurrection.

During the 1916 Rising, Connolly was in charge of the Dublin Brigade and fought in the GPO alongside Irish activist and poet Padraig Pearse, who read out the Proclamation and announced their surrender after six days.

When Connolly was executed at Kilmainham on May 12, aged 47, he was unable to stand due to being badly injured and was fired at while seated.

His execution, along with those of other Rising leaders, provoked sharp anger among the Irish public.

Mr de Roiste said: When we think of the great figures of our history, like James Connolly, we often forget that they lived their lives on the same streets that we do, making their way through our city day in and day out.

This plaque will remind those who see it that he gave his life to improve the lives of his fellow citizens.

The plaque was proposed by historian Dr Conor McCabe, of Queens University Belfast, who said Connolly was living here around the time that his most famous work, Labour In Irish History, was first published in book form.

This plaque is a tangible link to both his life and his writings.

Joe Cunningham, general secretary of Siptu, said at the unveiling: Connollys commitment to socialism and broad experience as a trade union organiser in Britain and the United States ensured that the interests of working people were incorporated in the 1916 Proclamation.

That, in his own words, at the raising of the Irish flag over Liberty Hall in April 1916, The cause of labour is the cause of Ireland, the cause of Ireland is the cause of labour.

The decision to erect the plaque was made by the Dublin City Council Commemorations & Naming Committee.

Its chairman Councillor Micheal Mac Donncha said: The Commemorative Plaques Scheme allows the city to formally commemorate people who have made a significant contribution to the life of Dublin.

We welcome suggestions from the public for people and events to be commemorated, and full details are on the council website.
Gardai are to review on a daily basis whether a higher police presence is a deterrent in key areas in Dublin prone to anti-social behaviour.

It comes after a focus on the capital citys safety following an assault on a US tourist, Stephen Termini, that left him seriously injured.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and Deputy Garda Commissioner Shawna Coxon met on Monday and discussed greater Garda visibility in Dublin.

They also discussed increasing recruitment levels, the opening of community safety partnerships, the deployment of bodycams and Budget 2024, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.

Mr Harris outlined his operational plans to increase the visibility of An Garda Siochana in Dublin.

The Department of Justice stated that proactive policing responses will involve further targeted intelligence-led operations (including surveillance), searches of people and locations, and an increased focus on the congregation of large groups of people who can be perceived as engaging in anti-social behaviour.

The Garda Air Support Unit, Garda Mounted Unit and Garda Dog Unit are to be used to boost Garda visibility in the city centre.

Ms McEntee said that community partnerships will develop their own action plan to focus on the needs of their area, such as whether CCTV, public lighting, solutions to deal with drug abuse or youth services are needed.

The next round of the Community Safety Innovation Fund  a ring-fenced fund to reinvest seized proceeds of crime  is to be announced in the coming weeks.

Ms McEntee also said that of the Gardai who graduated last week, 46 will be stationed in Dublin city centre and emphasised that each new intake into the Garda College is increasing since the Covid-19 pandemic ended.

So, those numbers are increasing and its about getting them out on the ground, frontline policing, visibility in our communities, and that is my priority, she told RTE Radio.

The Departments statement noted that the retirement age and the age of entry into An Garda Siochana were among the issues being discussed to boost recruitment numbers as part of the budgetary package.

This marks the third meeting Mr Varadkar has held with Mr Harris to discuss the Stronger, Safer Communities plan since December, when Mr Varadkar took over the role as Taoiseach.
Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that $200 million in funding is available through the State's two signature downtown revitalization and economic development programs  $100 million each for Round 7 of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and Round 2 of the NY Forward program, which focuses on revitalizing smaller and rural downtowns. This year's funding brings the total amount of State investment across all rounds of the programs to $1 billion since 2016. Together, the two programs have awarded $800 million in funding to 93 communities across every region of the state. Applications are available on the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward websites. The deadline to apply is September 29 at 4 p.m.

"These two programs have created a wave of revitalization that is sweeping across the state with no signs of slowing," Governor Hochul said. "The programs are not only reinvigorating downtowns, but they are also making our regions and the state as a whole a world-class destination for businesses, families and tourists. The programs are fulfilling the original vision for the DRI of creating a critical mass of vibrant downtowns of all shapes, sizes and characters in each region to entice businesses to invest and locate in New York State."

Governor Hochul also hosted the state's first-ever forum in Syracuse on the past, present and future of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) and NY Forward programs. The forum, entitled "A Retrospective for the Future of the State's DRI and NY Forward Communities," featured mayors from communities selected in the first five rounds of the DRI, as well as private stakeholders engaged and invested in the DRIs, who will provide advice, insights, lessons-learned and recommendations to inform the future of the two programs and educate prospective applicants on the benefits of participating.

New York Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez said, "An investment in a downtown is an investment in economic development, quality of life, sustainability and housing that will multiply and generate dividends for years to come. Every dollar we commit through our successful DRI and New York Forward programs leverages multi-fold additional investments, in addition to supporting local governments and existing area businesses by attracting more people, families and businesses that provide a variety of amenities and jobs to the area. The formula for the DRI and NY Forward is working, representing a public/private partnership that serves as a model for the rest of the nation."

DRI was launched in 2016 to accelerate and bolster the revitalization of downtowns and neighborhoods in all ten regions of the state to serve as centers of activity and catalysts for increased local investments. Led by the Department of State (DOS), DRI communities benefit from partnerships with and coordinated technical assistance provided by New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), Empire State Development (ESD) and the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA). The DRI represents an unprecedented and innovative "plan-then-act" strategy that couples strategic planning with immediate implementation. In addition to the traditional applications, this year there is a new option for two or three communities to jointly apply for one DRI award by working together on a shared revitalization at the micro-regional level.

To date, DRI has awarded a total of $700 million to 69 communities in its first six rounds and supported the creation of over 3,000 new housing units. It is estimated that every dollar invested in the DRI generates $3 in additional investments as the revitalization accelerates and projects are completed. This catalytic effect will continue well after DRI and NY Forward communities complete all their projects.

As part of last year's budget, Governor Hochul announced the $100 million NY Forward program to build on the success of the DRI and expand its benefits to more communities across the state. The innovative new program, which received an additional $100 million in funding in this year's Enacted State Budget, supports a more equitable downtown recovery for New York's smaller and rural communities with a focus on hamlet and villages. NY Forward is meant serve smaller communities and support local economies that often have a feel and charm that is distinct from larger, metropolitan urban centers funded through DRI. To date, NY Forward has awarded a total of $100 million to 24 communities in its first round.

Like with DRI, DOS and an assigned consultant will work with NY Forward communities through a planning and technical assistance process to develop a slate of readily implementable projects. NY Forward differs, however, by providing additional one-to-one technical assistance to support communities in developing their full applications and throughout the implementation process. NY Forward also offers two funding options for each regiontwo $4.5 million awards or one $4.5 million award and two $2.25 million awards.

The similarities and differences between the DRI and NY Forward programs are further described in an educational brochure, which is available on the DRI and NY Forward websites.

Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, "The Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward program are breathing new life into our downtown areas by adopting locally-focused strategies shaped by residents, businesses and stakeholders. These programs continue to create successful projects in communities across the state, and have been the catalyst needed to generate new investments and spur economic growth."

New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, "The Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward program have directed nearly a billion dollars to the revitalization of 93 communities across the state, and today's announcement ensures that even more communities will soon experience the holistic benefits these innovative programs create. Thank you to Governor Hochul for her continued commitment to economic revitalization through smart, targeted and strategic investments in every region of New York."

NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, "Governor Hochul's Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward programs are a critical part of a comprehensive statewide economic development strategy that continues to bring public and private investment to New York's communities. NYSERDA is pleased to provide technical assistance support for projects to achieve improved energy performance, resiliency, and healthier buildings as part of overall plans to revive downtown neighborhoods and make communities more attractive places to live, work and visit."

Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow said, "Oswego is enormously proud to be the first in New York State to complete our Downtown Revitalization Imitative with all twelve projects constructed and successfully operating. The DRI has truly transformed our community, infusing millions of dollars in private investment in new buildings, attractions, and improvements to our downtown and positions Oswego for long term success and continued growth for years to come. I strongly encourage other municipalities state-wide to apply for these programs in the future to assist with reimagining and revitalizing communities with so much unlocked potential. I appreciate the support from Governor Hochul, the Department of State, and all the community partners who came together to make the DRI so successful for Oswego."

Robert Simpson, President and CEO of CenterState said, "The state's investment in our communities through the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and the NY Forward programs are what helped our region create a strong, more vibrant sense of place. As we prepare for the impact and growth that is rapidly approaching these renewed investments will enable us to continue to advance projects that support our high quality of life and attract talent. We are grateful to Governor Hochul for her leadership and to the local partners who are leading the projects that maximize these investments for all."

SUNY Oswego's Officer in Charge, Dr. Mary C. Toale, said, "New York State's investment in its communities, large and small, through the innovative DRI and NY Forward programs is both visionary and effective. Oswego, a round one award recipient, is the first city to complete all of its DRI projects. This accomplishment is a reflection of the City's leadership, steadfast commitment to working together with all community stakeholders, including SUNY Oswego, and its strategic planning and project management. Thank you, Governor Hochul, for your leadership!"

Ryan Silva, Executive Director of the New York State Economic Development Council said, "Since its inception, the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) has leverage billions in private sector investment, reimagined neighborhoods, transformed communities, and improved quality of life across NYS. The DRI and the NY Forward program have facilitated public private partnerships and empowered local cities, towns, and villages to develop plans and identify projects that will shape the future of their communities. The NYSEDC and our membership applaud Governor Hochul' s leadership and continued support of investing and supporting economic development through these programs."
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: July 31 2023

During the Robbery, Wilfredo Figueroa Shot the Victim in the Face, Causing Him to be Placed in a Medically Induced Coma.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Wilfredo Figueroa, 29, of Ridge, pleaded guilty to Robbery in the First Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, after shooting a 27-year-old male in the face during a robbery.

This defendant was so driven by greed that he brazenly shot the victim during this robbery striking him in the face, with the bullet lodging in his neck and requiring a medically induced coma. Thankfully, the victim survived this senseless and vicious attack, said District Attorney Tierney. Make no mistake, we will use every resource possible to find perpetrators of violence and hold them accountable for their crimes.

According to the investigation and the defendants admissions during his guilty plea allocution, during the early morning hours of June 22, 2022, Figueroa shot a 27-year-old male in the face while robbing him of his personal belongings. After the robbery, Figueroa immediately fled the scene and went back to his residence. The victim was transported to a local hospital, but due to the severity of his injuries, he was placed in a medically induced coma.

Later that day, police pulled over Figueroa for a traffic violation, and found him in possession of two illegal loaded handguns and two high-capacity magazines. Additionally, law enforcement recovered items belonging to the 27-year-old victim inside Figueroas vehicle, including the victims identification, car keys, cellphone, and several credit cards. The defendant was then placed under arrest.

After the victim awoke from his coma, a bullet fragment that was lodged in his neck was removed and given to the Suffolk County Police Department. The Suffolk County Medical Examiners Office conducted a ballistics report, which concluded that the bullet fragment recovered from the victims neck was fired from one of the loaded handguns recovered from Figueroas vehicle.

On July 25, 2023, Figueroa pleaded guilty before Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable John B. Collins, to Robbery in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a Class C violent felony. He is due back in court on September 5, 2023, where he is expected to be sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision. Figueroa is being represented by Steve Politi, Esq.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Patrick E. Fedun of the Major Crime Bureau, with investigative assistance from Suffolk County Police Detectives Brian Whitehead and Gregory Marino of the Sixth Precinct.
Community, Charity & Cause

By Chris Boyle Published: July 31 2023

The town of Brookhaven will gift their 3,000th donor a Summer Fun themed basket.

New York Blood Center (NYBC) will be hosting a blood drive with the town of Brookhaven on Wednesday, August 2nd from 9:00 a.m.  3:00 p.m. at Brookhaven Town Hall (1 Independence Hill, Farmingville, NY).

The town of Brookhaven has been a long-time partner of NYBC, sponsoring blood drives for many years. Their goal for this blood drive is to collect over 3,000 blood donations and the blood drive will have cupcakes and decorations in celebration of the donors. The 3,000th donor will receive a summer themed basket and each presenting donor will receive a McDonalds voucher and a chance to win 6 New York Mets tickets.

Blood donors can give every 56 days, and platelet donors can give twice per month. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently lifted eligibility restrictions for individuals who lived in Europe during certain periods of time. To view current eligibility guidelines, visit nybc.org or call 800.688.0900.

It only takes one hour to donate, and a single donation can save multiple lives. Roughly one in seven hospital admissions require a blood transfusion. Those in need include: cancer patients, accident, burn, or trauma victims, newborn babies and their mothers, transplant recipients, surgery patients, chronically transfused patients suffering from sickle cell disease or thalassemia, and many more.

To make an appointment at this blood drive, donors can call 1-800-933-2566 or visit this link. Cant donate blood? You can still support NYBCs mission by texting NYBC to 20222 to give $25.

About New York Blood Center: Founded in 1964, New York Blood Center (NYBC) is a nonprofit organization that is one of the largest independent, community-based blood centers in the world. NYBC, along with its operating divisions Community Blood Center of Kansas City, Missouri (CBC), Innovative Blood Resources (IBR), Blood Bank of Delmarva (BBD), and Rhode Island Blood Center (RIBC), collect approximately 4,000 units of blood products each day and serve local communities of more than 75 million people in the Tri-State area (NY, NJ, CT), Mid Atlantic area (PA, DE, MD, VA), Missouri and Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Rhode Island, and Southern New England. NYBC and its operating divisions also provide a wide array of transfusion-related medical services to over 500 hospitals nationally, including Comprehensive Cell Solutions, the National Center for Blood Group Genomics, the National Cord Blood Program, and the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, which  among other milestones  developed a practical screening method for hepatitis B as well as a safe, effective and affordable vaccine, and a patented solvent detergent plasma process innovating blood-purification technology worldwide.
Quogue Village Police announced that they placed a local teenager under arrest after he allegedly robbed a gas station early Saturday morning.

Cameron Depetris, 18, was arrested after police say they received a call at 3:45 a.m. claiming that he had forcibly stolen cash from a 22-year-old customer at the Speedway gas station on Montauk Highway in Quogue.
Country's universities were locked out of exchange scheme in January, with students set to miss out again this year

EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn said "nothing" had changed despite the bloc's requests to Hungary  Photo credit: Shutterstock

Thousands of Hungarian students will probably lose access to the European Unions Erasmus+ scholarship programme after the government failed to address concerns about the countrys universities, a top EU official has said.

The EU suspended 21 universities from the programme, which funds scholarships for EU students to study in other countries, in January.

The bloc cited risks of corruption and conflict of interest after the schools were put under the management of public foundations set up by Prime Minister Viktor Orbans administration and run by ministers from his ruling Fidesz party.

The government missed a May deadline to address the EUs concerns, EU Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn said in an interview. Now its probably too late to resolve the issue for the school year starting in September, meaning Hungary wont get new funds.

I am rather doubtful that we can save the scholarships for the winter semester because honestly, if we agree on something, then it has to be implemented, Hahn told Bloomberg last week on the margins of a meeting in Salzburg, Austria.

The Erasmus decision represents one of the most visible consequences for Hungary in its dispute with the EU, which has repeatedly warned Orbans government that it can lose funding because it isnt meeting the blocs standards on tackling corruption and upholding the rule of law.

Its part of a wider dispute with the EUs executive body, the European Commission, which has frozen as much as 32 billion in assistance earmarked for the country of 9.7 million.

As many as 13,000 Hungarian students take part in Erasmus+ each year. More than two-thirds study at the universities now managed by the public trusts, meaning more than 8,000 may not be able to study abroad if the issue isnt resolved, according to Marcell Budai, a spokesperson for HOOK, Hungarys largest student organization.

The usual procedure would have been to have an agreement and everything sealed by the end of May, the beginning of June, because the assessment and confirmation period is the end of June, the beginning of July, Hahn said.

Hahns comments contrast with statements made by Hungarian officials. Most recently, Gergely Gulyas, the minister for the prime ministers office, said there was a chance that a deal could be reached by the end of October. He has called the blocking of Erasmus funds unacceptable.

Previously, the Hungarian government said that it could change its laws so that cabinet ministers arent allowed to serve on the boards of the public trusts that manage the universities, but such changes havent taken place.

It is not a miracle to solve this issue, Hahn said. We have informed them several times what our expectations are. Nothing has changed.

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In 1975, Bob Zimmerman traveled to the Dominican Republic to participate in a medical mission. Forty-eight years later, his daughter, Lynn Estomin, professor emerita of art at Lycoming College, traveled to the Dominican Republic with Lycoming faculty Caroline Payne, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, and Rachel Hickoff-Cresko, Ed.D., associate professor of education, to document the work Lycoming College students and faculty are doing in the Dominican Republic. The Lycoming College Art Gallery will feature photographs and video by Estomin and her father Aug. 18-Sept. 16.

Payne founded the Warrior Coffee project with the coffee farming community of El Naranjito in the Dominican Republic in 2013, helping the people in the El Naranjito region improve their farming practices by working together to combat the effects of the Roya fungus that devastates coffee trees, to diversify the shade canopy over the trees, and to employ other growing, harvesting, and processing methods needed to produce specialty grade coffee. The beans are imported and roasted locally at Alabaster Coffee Roaster and Tea company. The program has evolved to integrate other Lycoming College departments: Chemistry students travel to El Naranjito with chemistry professor Jeremy Ramsey, Ph.D., to help improve the communities access to clean water and to analyze the chemical composition of green coffee. Education students pursuing teacher certification visit schools in the Dominican Republic to collaborate on teaching methods. Political Science students work on expanding access to global coffee markets and with a Lycoming-supported local entrepreneur to provide access to affordable solar technology, which brings power to the remote coffee growers' homes.

The trip this year was a faculty trip, working with the coffee growers to apply for major grant to upgrade their production equipment, meeting with principals and teachers to discuss a project to provide schools with mini libraries, and an exciting new project to provide micro-grants to a newly formed group of women entrepreneurs in the mountain coffee growing region.

A reception will be held Friday, Sept. 15, from 4-9 p.m., with a gallery talk by Estomin and Payne at 5:30 p.m., featuring ways that the community can be involved, and a coffee tasting by Alabaster. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 4-8 p.m.

The Lycoming College Art Gallery, located in downtown Williamsport at 25 W. Fourth St., contributes to the citys arts culture and allows the College to become more involved with the surrounding community. Lycoming art students have the opportunity to interact with visiting artists and learn first-hand the inner workings of an art gallery. More information is available at https://www.lycoming.edu/art/gallery/22-23.aspx.
At a Glance Expert's Rating Pros Free for non-commercial users

Unity mode runs Windows apps on Mac desktop

3D acceleration for Intel-based Macs Cons Limited support for Apple Silicon Macs

Little help for installing Windows 11 On Arm

Uses a lot of techno-jargon Our Verdict Support for Apple Silicon is still a work in progress, but Fusion 13 remains a good option for Mac users who need to run Windows 11 or Linux apps on their Macs. And, with a free version available for non-commercial use, its also the most affordable option for home users and students.

For many years Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion fought a long battle to produce the best virtualization software for Mac users who needed to run Windows software on their Macs. Every time Apple released a new version of the macOS we would see Parallels and VMware release their own updates, and this competition was great for Mac users as it meant that both programs continued to offer new features and performance improvements every year. In recent years, though, VMware has seemed to focus more on its high-end corporate products and, since the introduction of Apple Silicon in 2020, Fusion no longer really competes with the annual updates to Parallels Desktop anymore.

Both programs work in basically the same way, allowing you to create a virtual machine (VM) that runs on your Mac just like any other Mac application. This virtual machine emulates the workings of a Windows PC, allowing you to install a full copy of Windows on the virtual machine and then run any Windows software or games that you need to use. And, crucially, you can run your Windows apps right alongside your existing Mac apps  rather than having to switch back and forth between Mac and Windows as you have to do when using Boot Camp on Intel Macs (and, of course, Boot Camp is no longer available on Macs with Apple Silicon at all). Both programs also allow you to create virtual machines that run various versions of Linux too, which is a useful feature for many developers and students.

Updated July 31, 2023 with details of VMwares tech preview of a forthcoming update to Fusion that should lead to performance improvements for Macs with Apple Silicon.

Fusion 13 meets Windows 11

The last major update to Fusion was version 12 in 2021, but Fusion 12 didnt support Apples new M1 or M2 processors, so it would only run on older Macs that still had Intel processors. And, in fact, it didnt officially support Windows 11 as a guest operating system for your Windows virtual machines either. But, to try and tempt people away from Parallels Desktop, VMware did announce a free version of the program  called Fusion Player  which is available for non-commercial use, such as home users or students who just need to use Windows apps on their Macs every now and then.

You need a MyVMware account to benefit from the free version and you shouldnt be using it for commercial reasons. Register for your free personal use license here.

Thats still the case today with the new Fusion 13, which is available as a free download for non-commercial use, although business users who want to use Fusion more regularly at work are required to pay for a commercial license for Fusion Player, which costs $149/127.49. Theres also a version called Fusion Pro, which provides more advanced features for larger organizations and IT managers, priced at $199/169.16.

Foundry

New updates may have been coming more slowly in the last couple of years, but theres a small group  called teamfusion  at VMware who are led by Michael Roy (blogs.vmware.com/teamfusion/) and are continuing to work on improving Fusion. A preview version of Fusion was released about a year ago that introduced support for both Apple Silicon and Windows 11, but it wasnt until the end of 2022 that the final version of Fusion 13 was released.

When you download Fusion 13, it provides a single universal file that can run natively on both Intel Macs and Macs with Apple Silicon processors. The only limitation is that Fusion now requires a Mac running macOS 12 (Monterey) or later (whereas Parallels Desktop will run on macOS going back to Catalina 10.15).

When running on Macs with Intel processors, Fusion continues to work just as it has always done. You can assign up to 32 processor cores to your virtual machines, and up to 128GB of memory, in order to fine-tune the performance of your virtual machines as required.

Fusion also has a viewing mode called Unity  which is similar to the Coherence mode of Parallels Desktop  that hides the Windows desktop on your virtual machines and allows individual Windows apps to sit on the Mac desktop right alongside all your other Mac apps.

Windows on Apple Silicon

VMware

Theres a more limited range of features available when running Fusion 13 on Macs that have Apple Silicon processors such as the M1 or M2. These Macs need a special version of Windows 11 called Windows 11 On Arm, and VMwares Michael Roy says that Fusion 13 is just our first round of features for Windows 11 On Arm.

This means that the process of installing and running Windows 11 on Macs with Apple Silicon has some rather rough edges. Parallels Desktop includes an option to automatically download and purchase Windows 11 On Arm when creating a new virtual machine, but VMware simply told us that its up to the user to buy a license from Microsoft. Unfortunately, thats not an easy task, as Windows 11 On Arm is primarily intended for sale to PC manufacturers, rather than individual users, so VMWare needs to make Fusion a bit more user-friendly for people who dont understand the intricacies of Microsofts licensing policies. Fusion also has a tendency to throw a lot of complicated jargon at you too  such as side channel mitigations  which is the sort of thing that only corporate IT managers are likely to understand.

There are some technical limitations too. When running on Macs with Intel processors, Fusion provides hardware acceleration for 3D graphics in Windows games and design software that use DirectX and OpenGL 4.3. But, when running on Apple Silicon, Fusion only supports OpenGL for virtual machines that use Linux  with Windows support still in development. To be fair, the high performance of Apples M1 and M2 processors means that your Windows virtual machines should be able to handle routine tasks such as web browsing or running the Windows version of Microsoft Office without too much trouble  and even at 4K resolution too.

However, gamers who are hoping to play Elden Ring or Diablo IV may be disappointed  at least with the current version of Fusion 13. But theres hope on the horizon, as in July 2023 VMware announced a tech preview of a forthcoming update to Fusion that provides new features and performance improvements for Macs with Apple Silicon.

As mentioned, the current release version of Fusion 13 doesnt support 3D graphics acceleration when running Windows 11 On Arm on Macs with Apple Silicon (M1 or M2 processors). However, the Fusion Tech Preview 2023 brings full 3D hardware accelerated graphics to virtual machines running Windows On Arm on Macs with Apple Silicon, including support for Microsofts DirectX 11 graphics system. VMware also states that this improvement in graphics performance will boost performance for the Windows user-interface as well so that tasks such as changing the resolution of the Windows virtual machine become quicker and smoother.

There are other features that are currently only available when running Fusion on older Macs with Intel processors, which will also be updated so that they run on Macs with Apple Silicon too. Collectively known as VMware Tools (just like Parallels Tools on the rival Parallels Desktop) these features are designed to allow the macOS and Windows operating systems to work together more efficiently. Key features here include the ability to copy/paste and drag-and-drop between Mac apps and Windows apps. The Autofit feature will also now allow you to quickly change the resolution of the Windows On Arm virtual machine simply by dragging the Fusion window to the size you require.

The Fusion Tech Preview also introduces a new security feature, using an encryption system called XTS. This wont be backward-compatible with older versions of Fusion, so you should take care to back up your Fusion virtual machines before trying this particular new feature. Theres no release date for the next version of VMware Fusion, but you can download the Fusion Tech Preview, and read all about the new features from the VMware Blog

Just remember, of course, that the Fusion Tech Preview is not finished software, so take care when using it to work with any important files or data that you dont want to lose.
Malaria Consortium announces appointment of new Chair for Board of Trustees

31 July 2023



Malaria Consortium is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Wilfred Mbacham as Chair of the Board of Trustees. His appointment comes following a transition from the previous Chair, Professor Marcel Tanner, who steps down after seven years tenure in the role.

With three decades of experience working in science and research, including serving as Coordinator of the Antimalaria Drug Resistance Network, at TDR-WHO, Chair of the Program Management Committee of the AFRA-IAEA in Vienna and Founding Executive Secretary of the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Society (MIM Society), Wilfred brings a unique blend of expertise and leadership to Malaria Consortium. As Chair, he will play a pivotal role in guiding the organisation's strategic direction and ensuring its mission is carried out effectively.

This is the pinnacle of my career in science diplomacy and I am elated to join the Malaria Consortium team to continue championing the prevention, control and treatment of malaria, communicable diseases and combat malnutrition through technovation transfer for ongoing and future projects. Together, we will continue to demonstrate how investments in low-cost strategies by those who live and experience these illnesses will ensure a high-impact promotion for better health and the saving of lives in Asia and Africa.

Commenting on the appointment, James Tibenderana, Malaria Consortium's Chief Executive said, "We are delighted to welcome Wilfred as our new Chair of the Board. His wealth of experience and dedication to our cause will be invaluable as we strive to expand our reach and make a lasting impact. We are confident that under Wilfred's leadership, we will achieve new heights particularly as we look to build upon our 20 year old milestone this year."

The outgoing Chair, Marcel Tanner, who has served with distinction on the Board of Trustees for seven years, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to contribute to the organisations success. Marcel stated, "It has been a privilege to serve as the Chair of Malaria Consortium's Board of Trustees. Together, we have achieved significant milestones, navigated a global pandemic and positively impacted the lives of countless individuals. I am confident that Wilfreds appointment will bring fresh perspectives and his strong leadership will help to propel Malaria Consortium yet further towards its mission."

As Chair, Wilfred will work closely with the Board of Trustees and Chief Executive, providing strategic stewardship and fostering collaboration and assurance. Their expertise is instrumental in supporting the organisation's growth and ensuring it remains aligned to its core values and vision.
In a significant display of diplomatic solidarity, Portugals Foreign Minister Joao Gomes Cravinho made an historic official visit to the Philippines on July 28, 2023. This visit, the highest-ranking by a Portuguese official to the Philippines since 1946, marks a crucial turning point between the two nations, underscoring the renewed interest and commitment to furthering bilateral cooperation.

It is clear to me that the relations between Portugal and the Philippines have considerable potential, despite the fact that we have known each other for 500 years, that our first contacts came in the context of the dawn of the era of globalization, said Minister Joao Gomes Cravinho. We have not in the last few years in most recent years taken full advantage of all the possibilities that do exist, he added.

Together with Ambassador of Portugal Maria Joao Lopes Cardoso, the Foreign Minister acknowledged the significance of the Philippines and the outstanding contributions of the Filipino people on a global scale. This recognition sets the stage for enhanced cooperation and opens doors for more Filipino workers to come to Portugal while encouraging Portuguese companies to invest in the Philippines.

Hosting the visit were the Portuguese Consuls of Manila and Cebu, Ramon Garcia Jr. and Samuel Chiongson. The dinner they hosted was a significant platform for meaningful discussions and showcased the willingness of both nations to strengthen their diplomatic bonds.

I am excited at having the highest Diplomat from Portugal since 1946 arrive in the Philippines. It is a showcase that the Philippines as a country and its citizens have an important role to play on a Global Stage and that our Economy continues to be of interest to the Portuguese. expressed Ramon Garcia Jr., Portuguese Honorary Consul of Manila, highlighting the significance of the visit. We will see more cooperation from Portugal, he added.

Garcia also mentioned that Portuguese companies hold great interest in the progress happening in the Philippines, particularly in the energy sector. The potential for future investments in Defense, Transportation, Energy, and IT sectors was highlighted, affirming Portugals commitment to engaging in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiatives with the Philippines.

The official visit was met with warm hospitality and enthusiasm from the Philippine side including Philippine Ambassador to Portugal Celia Feria and Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo. Prominent attendees included Secretary of Transportation Jaime Bautista, Secretary of Information & Communications Technology Ivan Uy, and Secretary and CEZA Administrator Katrina Ponce Enrile. Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, the EU Ambassador Luc Veron, and the Head of the European Chamber Paolo Duarte were also among the distinguished guests who engaged in crucial discussions with the Portuguese delegation.

The historic visit of Portugals Foreign Minister Joao Gomes Cravinho to the Philippines paves the way for a stronger and more fruitful partnership between the two nations. As both countries look to the future, the visit serves as a testament to their shared commitment to building bridges, fostering cooperation, and shaping a brighter, more interconnected world.

The Portugal Philippines Partnership holds the promise of a future characterized by economic growth, technological advancements, and unwavering diplomatic ties. As both nations embark on this journey together, the potential for mutual success and progress becomes boundless.

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ABUJA, NigeriaAfrican leaders have given the junta in Niger one week to cede power or face the possible use of force, and slapped financial sanctions on the putschists, after the latest coup in the jihadist-plagued Sahel region raised alarm on the continent and in the West.

In the third coup in as many years to fell a leader in the Sahel, Nigers elected president and Western ally, Mohamed Bazoum, has been held by the military since Wednesday.

General Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of the powerful presidential guard, has declared himself leader and said the putsch was a response to the degradation of the security situation linked to jihadist bloodshed, as well as corruption and economic woes.

Meanwhile, Nigers new junta accused former colonial ruler France of wanting to intervene militarily to reinstate deposed President Bazoum.

In its search for ways and means to intervene militarily in Niger, France with the complicity of some Nigeriens, held a meeting with the chief of staff of the Nigerien national guard to obtain the necessary political and military authorization needed, said a statement read out on national television.

In another statement, the putschists accused the security services of an unnamed Western embassy of firing teargas Sunday on pro-coup demonstrators in the capital Niamey.

It said six people had been hospitalized after the incident.

French President Emmanuel Macron had Sunday vowed immediate action if French citizens or interests were attacked in Niger, after thousands of Nigeriens rallied outside the French embassy.

Anti-French sentiment runs high in some former African colonies as the continent becomes a renewed diplomatic battleground, with Russian and Chinese influence growing.

France has some 1,500 troops in the West African nation, which is one of its last allies in the Sahel region, after French forces had to withdraw from neighboring Mali earlier this year.

Bazoum is one of a dwindling group of elected presidents and pro-Western leaders in the Sahel, where since 2020 a jihadist insurgency has also triggered coups in Mali and Burkina Faso.

Former colonial ruler France and the European Union have suspended security cooperation and financial aid to Niger following the coup, while the United States warned that its aid could also be at stake.

At an emergency summit in Nigeria, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc demanded Bazoum be reinstated within a week.

Otherwise, the bloc said it would take all measures to restore constitutional order.

Such measures may include the use of force for this effect, it said in a statement.

No more time for us to send a warning signal Its time for action, said Bola Tinubu, president of Nigeria and ECOWAS chairman.

Washington welcomed the strong leadership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Heads of State and Government to defend constitutional order in Niger, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement joining calls for the immediate release of Bazoum and the restoration of the democratically-elected government.

The United States will remain actively engaged with ECOWAS and West African leaders on next steps to preserve Nigers hard-earned democracy, Blinken added.

It was not immediately clear how the 15-member ECOWAS could use force. Last year, the bloc agreed to create a regional security force to intervene against jihadists and prevent military coups, but details on the force and its funding have not been outlined.

The bloc also slapped financial sanctions on the junta leaders and the country, freezing all commercial and financial transactions between member states and Niger  one of the worlds poorest nations, often ranking last on the UNs Human Development Index.

Nigers Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou told broadcaster France24 Sunday that sanctions were going to be a disaster both economically and socially.

Bazoums PNDS party called for demonstrations to be held to demand the release of the president.

Down with France

On Saturday, the junta condemned the ECOWAS summit, saying its aim was to approve a plan of aggression against Niger, in the form of an imminent military intervention in Niamey.

The intervention would be in cooperation with African countries who are not members of the regional body and certain Western nations, junta member Amadou Abdramane said on national television.

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The Philippines and Singapore expressed mutual commitment to further revitalize the two nations defense and security ties.

Department of National Defense (DND) spokesperson Arsenio Andolong, in a statement Monday, said the commitment was made during the 6th Philippines-Singapore Defense Policy Dialogue (DPD) last July 19 to 20 in Manila.

Co-chaired by (DND) Assistant Secretary for Strategic Assessments and International Affairs Pablo M. Lorenzo and Singapores Deputy Secretary (Policy) BGen. (Brig. Gen) Kelvin Fan, both sides acknowledged the positive momentum of bilateral defense relations, marked by the signing of two defense arrangements over the past year, he added.

The officials also exchanged views and insights on recent security developments in the region as well as future initiatives which the two defense ministries could further discuss through bilateral and multilateral platforms.

The Singaporean side commended the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on its counter-terrorism operations, which contributed to a conducive environment for the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and expressed interest to learn the best practices and experience of the Philippines on counter-terrorism, Andolong said.

In response, the Philippines looked forward to chairing in 2024 the Counter-Terrorism Information Facility (CTIF), initiated by Singapore in strengthening regional intelligence capabilities to monitor and deter terrorist activities through research and analysis, and information-sharing, he added.

Lorenzo also expressed the countrys interest to learn more about the recently established Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) of Singapore.

He also hoped that the Philippines and Singapore could work toward enhancing their respective cybersecurity initiatives through subject matter expertise exchange and information sharing.

In addition, both sides saw a positive trajectory on enhanced bilateral cooperation through the establishment of working groups of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) and the Philippine Navy (PN) with their respective counterparts at the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

Opportunities for education and training exchanges were also explored in support of the thrust of the Secretary of National Defense (SND) in improving the professionalization of the DND, he said.

Before the meeting, DND Undersecretary Angelito de Leon received Fan during a courtesy call, where they briefly discussed future defense frameworks that could be pursued between the two countries.

As part of his visit to the Philippines, the Air Force City Council of Commanders also welcomed Deputy Secretary Fan during his visit to the Clark Airbase on July 19, 2023. The visit provided an opportunity for both countries to discuss potential joint activities and initiatives to enhance cooperation between the air forces of the two countries, Andolong said.

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Peshawar, Pakistan  At least 44 people were killed and dozens more wounded Sunday by a suicide bombing at a political gathering of a leading Islamic party in northwest Pakistan, officials said.

The blast targeted the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) party  a government coalition partner led by an influential firebrand cleric  as hundreds of supporters congregated under a canopy in the town of Khar, near the Afghan border.

The tent had collapsed on one side, trapping people who were desperately attempting to escape, said Abdullah Khan, who tried to help the victims.

There was utter confusion, with human flesh, limbs, and body parts scattered throughout the area, alongside lifeless bodies.

Sabeeh Ullah, a 24-year-old party supporter who had his arm fractured by the blast, said the scale of injuries was horrifying.

I found myself lying next to someone who had lost their limbs. The air was filled with the smell of human flesh, he told AFP by phone.

As the toll kept rising, Riaz Anwar  the health minister for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province  told AFP late Sunday 44 people had been confirmed killed and over 100 wounded.

It was a suicide attack, with the bomber detonating himself in close proximity to the stage, he told AFP.

Images from the blast site circulating on social media showed bodies strewn around the scene, and volunteers helping blood-soaked victims to ambulances.

Pakistans national assembly is due to dissolve in the next few weeks ahead of elections expected in October or November, and political parties are already preparing to campaign.

The blast coincides with a visit to the country by a senior delegation of Chinese officials, including Vice Premier He Lifeng, who arrived in the capital Sunday evening.

 Local Islamic State active 

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the local chapter of the Islamic State (IS) group has recently carried out attacks against JUI-F.

Last year, IS said it was behind violent attacks against religious scholars affiliated with the party, which has a huge network of mosques and madrassas in the north and west of the country.

The jihadist group accuses JUI-F of hypocrisy for being an Islamic group while supporting hostile governments and the military.

The partys leader, cleric Fazlur Rehman, started political life as a firebrand Islamist hardliner but has softened his public image over the years in a bid to forge alliances with secular parties on the left and right of the spectrum.

With the ability to mobilise tens of thousands of madrassa students, his party never musters enough support for power on its own, but is usually a key player in any coalition.

Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in militant attacks since the Afghan Taliban surged back to power in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021.

Pakistans home-grown Taliban group, Tehreeke-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has largely directed its campaign against security officials, including police officers.

In January, a suicide bomber linked to Pakistans Taliban blew himself up in a mosque inside a police compound in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing more than 80 officers.

The militant assaults have been focused in regions abutting Afghanistan, and Islamabad alleges some are being planned on Afghan soil  a charge Kabul denies.

Pakistan was once plagued by almost daily bombings, but a major military clearance operation in the former tribal areas starting in 2014 largely restored order.

The seven remote districts that border Afghanistan, of which Bajaur is one, were later brought under the control of Pakistani authorities after the passage of legislation in 2018.

Analysts say militants in the former tribal areas have become emboldened since the return of the Afghan Taliban.

One security analyst suggested Sundays attack was more likely linked to the election rather than having a sectarian motive.

This is part of terrorism violence that seems to be ramping up in Pakistan ahead of elections to create a sense of instability that could eventually lead to a delay in the elections, said Imtiaz Gul, executive director of the Center for Research and Security Studies.

Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the attack in a statement, adding Kabul shares its deepest condolences with the affected families.

la-zz/ecl/fox/mca/mlm

 Agence France-Presse

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The City of Boston was a victim of violent crime Sunday night, July 30, as three people were either killed or injured in three separate shootings and three more were injured in a stabbing, according to authorities.

First, a man was shot at Blue Hill Avenue and Washington Street in Roxbury around 7:47 p.m., Boston police reported. He was taken to the hospital where he later died.

Officers found another man who was shot at Weldon and Quincy streets, also in Roxbury, just after 11 p.m. He was taken to the hospital where he also died, police said.

Anyone with information about either of the fatal shootings is asked to call Boston Police Homicide Detectives at (617) 343-4470.

Read More: Man arrested in connection with fatal shooting of Dante Webb in Jamaica Plain

A third shooting was reported at 99 Draper St. in Dorchester where a man was shot inside a home around 11:30 p.m., Boston police confirm to MassLive. The man was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Police then found two people who were hurt after responding for a stabbing on Charles Street in Dorchester only six minutes later, police said. A third person brought himself to the hospital to be treated for a stab wound. All three had life-threatening injuries, according to police.

We should all be outraged by the calamitous violence that rocked our neighborhoods last night. My heart cries out for our city and for everyone impacted by these tragedies, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said. Well work tirelessly to bring the perpetrators to justice and we ask anyone in the community with information to please help us. It is high time, the necessary time indeed, for a tidal attitude shift around illegal gun possession and the havoc it wreaks.

Anyone with information about any of the other incidents can make an anonymous tip by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS or by texting the word TIP to CRIME (27463).
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the NAACP convention on Saturday about the full-on attempt to attack the civil liberties of African Americans.

There is so much that we have achieved, and so, so much to celebrate, she said, according to the Boston Globe. And we are in a moment where there is a full-on attempt to attack hard-fought and hard-won rights and freedoms and liberty.

Vice President Harris comments came during the backdrop of several civil rights rollbacks. In June, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled to end the use of affirmative action in higher education. In July, Florida introduced updated teaching standards regarding slavery, which notably included the false idea that enslaved Africans acquired specific skills through their enslavement. Moreover, a federal appeals court upheld a Flordia law that critics argued would made it more difficult for African Americans to vote.

However, Vice President Harris applauded the efforts of NAACP leaders who fought to get Black people registered to vote for the 2020 election, according to the Boston Herald.

It is by no coincidence that immediately thereafter you started seeing the extremist so-called leaders passing laws restricting voting days and making it more difficult to vote, banning drop boxes, shortening the amount of time people could vote ahead of the election, Harris said, according to the Boston Herald.

Harris also said that she is working with the Biden Administration to focus on criminal justice reform, the Globe reported.

We need to address it with ... some level of concern and empathy, Harris said, according to the Globe. The true sign of a leader is when they lift people up, instead of these so-called extremist leaders who believe that strength means beating people down.

In addition, she urged legislators to advocate for stricter gun regulations.

There is so much at stake in our country, Harris told the crowd, according to the Globe. And the future of America has always relied on the folks who are in this room and others like this around our country who are the conscience of our country.
A new mom and baby boy are doing well after the infant was successfully delivered on the side of the highway in Westborough on Sunday evening, according to the towns fire department.

On July 30, a woman in labor and her husband were driving to the hospital on Insterstate 495 when they called for help after they realized the baby was coming faster than they could get there, Fire Chief Patrick Purcell said.

The dad pulled over the car near exit 107 at mile marker 106.7 on the highway, Purcell said, and called 911 at 6:01 p.m. and quickly explained the situation to dispatchers.

With an ambulance, paramedics and firefighters on the way, the dispatchers then walked the couple through almost the entire delivery process as they were parked on the side of the highway, the fire chief said.

The first responders arrived to help the mom finish her delivery just in time: the baby boy was born at 6:06 p.m., five minutes after the dad had made the emergency call.

Both the mom and baby were doing well after the birth, Purcell said, and the new family was brought into the ambulance and taken to Saint Vincents Hospital in Worcester.

Read more: New Chicopee Superintendent Marcus Ware is studying schools before making changes

All firefighters in Massachusetts are EMT-trained, Purcell said, and the chief added that the majority of people who responded to the birth in-person were EMTs and paramedics from Westborough.
Boston police have arrested a man accused of stealing a truck with a toddler inside of it and later leaving the child on a Dorchester sidewalk.

Cristofanes Christopher Mendes, 33, was arrested in connection with the kidnapping that happened at Geneva Avenue and Leroy Street in Dorchester just before 3 p.m. on Friday, July 14, Boston police reported.

Police said Mendes stole the truck while the couple was parked at 430 Geneva Ave. around 3 p.m. on Friday, July 14. Mendes turned around minutes later and placed the child, who was in a car seat, on the sidewalk. The 33-year-old drove away again toward Bowdoin Street, police said.

The baby was evaluated by Boston EMS but police did not report any injuries. Officers found the stolen truck at 156 Columbia Road about an hour later, police said.

Mendes was arrested in Roxbury on Monday, July 31, police said. He is expected to be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on charges of assault by means of a dangerous weapon and larceny of a motor vehicle.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Boston Police Detectives at (617) 343-4335. Anonymous tips can be made by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word TIP to CRIME (27463).
Following up on an incident last year in which nearly 50 migrants were sent to Marthas Vineyard from Texas, Cape Cods top prosecutor wants an investigation into the person who claims to have sent them  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

District Attorney Robert J. Galibois, whose district includes the Cape and Islands of Massachusetts, reached out to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday to request federal investigators open a criminal and civil probe into the incident.
A Delta Airlines flight returned to Boston after an anonymous caller told police a passenger had made threats related to the safety of the flight Sunday, Massachusetts State Police said.

The caller had told the information to a New Jersey police agency, which is where the plane was headed, according to police. Massport Fire Rescue and Massachusetts State Police were waiting when the plane landed. Troopers escorted the passenger off the airplane, police said.

The passengers name was not released and only identified by police as a male.

His two carry-on bags were searched by the Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad and explosive ordinance detection dogs. They did not find any hazards, police said. And he didnt have any checked luggage.

After the passenger was removed and his bags cleared, the airplane departed again for Newark, police said.

There havent been any charges. Police said the investigation is ongoing.
A 31-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the shooting death of a 45-year-old man in Boston earlier this month, according to authorities.

Dequann Whyte-Cohen, of Dorchester, was arrested in connection with the homicide of Dante Webb on Sunday, July 30, Boston police reported. At the time of his arrest, Whyte-Cohen was wanted on a murder warrant from West Roxbury District Court.

Webb was found shot in the area of 159 Forest Hills St. in Jamaica Plain around 1:39 a.m. on Tuesday, July 18, Boston police reported.

The 45-year-old was taken to the hospital, where he later died, police said. Following his death, many loved ones took to social media to honor Webbs life and legacy.

Everybody loved you (including me, bro). You became a brother to me, and you never changed up on me when we got out, Tory Williams said on Facebook, recalling how he and Webb met while incarcerated. I regret that I didnt get to see you, even though we attempted to, on several occasions. Thats why this is painful to write.

We dont get to meet many genuine people in our lifetimes but, I met you, and you were always real to me. Fly high, my brother from another, Williams continued. Boston lost one of the realest brothers I ever met.

Whyte-Cohen will be arraigned in West Roxbury District Court on Monday, police said.
Massachusetts is likely to join dozens of other states in allowing pharmacists to prescribe contraceptives such as birth control patches and pills.

A bill to allow this, also known as H.2133, was rolled into the state House version of the budget, expected to be passed on Monday as a part of a budget compromise, according to state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, who sponsored the original bill with state Rep. Christine Barber.

The bill, supported by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, had was included in the Senate-passed version of the budget in mid-May.
A tractor-trailer truck hauling sand in Sandwich rolled over on a ramp heading to Route 6 on Monday morning, spilling the sand and hydraulic fuel onto the highway and delaying traffic, according to Massachusetts State Police.

As of 9:20 a.m., the ramp was completely closed, according to MassDOT. The lanes reopened by 10:55 a.m., police said.

Just after 7 a.m. on July 31, a tractor-trailer truck with sand as its cargo rolled over on the ramp from Route 130 to Route 6 on the westbound side of the highway, police said.

The truck spilled sand onto the Cape Cod highway, along with hydraulic fluid, police said. One lane of traffic had been getting by just before 9 a.m. as the cleanup was underway, police said, but has since been closed.

The truck was towed from the scene by a heavy duty tow truck, police said.

The driver of the truck, a 49-year-old Brockton man named Jeremy Tonucci, was not injured in the crash, police said.

Tonucci was arrested after the crash for after police found he was violating the state law governing sex offender registration, police said. He was booked at state police barracks and brought to Barnstable District Court for arraignment, police said.

Tonucci is a registered Level 3 sex offender and is required to notify the states Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB) of any changes in employment, and police said he had not notified SORB of his employment with P.A. Landers., a construction company based in Hanover.

According to the SORB public website, Tonuccis Level 3 sex offender registration stems from a 1995 conviction for rape and abuse of a child, and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.
After a Delta Airlines plane stopped mid-flight to land in Boston on Sunday when an anonymous call came in to New Jersey police stating a passenger on board had made threats related to the safety of the flight, Massachusetts State Police have declared the call was a hoax.

The passenger, who police had believed to be the subject of the call, had been escorted off the New Jersey-bound plane after it landed in Boston, police said in a statement on Monday, July 31.

Massport Fire Rescue and Massachusetts State Police were waiting when the plane landed in Boston, and troopers removed the unidentified passenger from the plane, police said. The plane was able to continue its flight to Newark, police said.

Following an investigation into the situation, which involved a search of the removed passengers only two bags  both carry-on  by the Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad and explosive ordinance detection dogs, police released the man from barracks, the department said.

The man was cooperative with the police investigation, the department said, and there were no hazards found in his bags, the department said.

State police said the man posed no threat to the safety of the flight or the public.

The investigation into the source of the hoax call will not be conducted by Massachusetts State Police since it was made to authorities in another state, the department said.
State officials have so far kept any information about a costly legal battle with the UMass Memorial Health System tightly sealed. But an agreement reached as part of a lawsuit MassLive filed against the University of Massachusetts could finally provide some insight.

On Thursday, the University of Massachusetts agreed to produce to MassLive copies of payments made to one of its law firms that could shed light on how much money the university has spent in a bitter legal battle with its healthcare partner, UMass Memorial. Officials also agreed to provide an accurate count of email records requested by MassLive potentially connected to the issue.
Vice President Kamala Harris is trying to improve lines of communication with voters, even as she faces record-low favorability among them.

Nearly half of Americans hold a negative view Harris, compared to nearly a third who hold a positive view, according to a poll conducted by NBC News in June. This leaves Harris with the lowest net-negative rating for a vice president in the history of the poll.

That tells me that we have more work to do which we are doing, which is to inform people about what we have achieved and to also thank them by reminding them that it was because they voted in historic numbers, Harris said during an interview with GBH at the NAACP convention.

The 2020 election had the highest voter turnout of any election in the past century with 66.8% of adults casting a ballot, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Harris said that the flurry of votes, changed the terrain on several political issues such as medical debt, introducing legislation on gun control, and one of her passion projects  maternal mortality.

These are some of the many examples and the challenges but it is it is absolutely a challenge we will meet to let folks know that when they voted, it made a difference, Harris said. There is a nexus between them standing in line and us achieving these goals.

The Biden-Harris administrations achievements over the past three years also coincide with a national decline in patriotism among younger voters. Only around one-fifth of voters aged 18 to 34 are extremely proud to be an American, according to a Gallup Poll of nearly 1,000 Americans. In comparison, 85% of adults ages 18 to 29, said they were extremely or very proud to be an American, in 2013.

When asked about her strategy for motivating younger voters to cast a ballot for the Biden-Harris Administration, Harris stated that she has been actively connecting with a larger number of young people across the U.S. and asking about their concerns.

Folks got a lot going on, Harris said. They are trying to get their kids to school, they are trying to get to work they are trying to just get through the day. So I fully and our administration fully recognizes that we have to be able to talk to them where they are.

Harris presence at the NAACP convention in Boston on Saturday was just one of several stops shes made in a country-wide tour. Friday, she was in Iowa and next week shell be in Florida, she said.

Read More: NAACP Convention session to address healthy masculinity in the age of GenZ

While talking to young voters across the country about issues that pertain to them, Harris said that she was introduced to a new term she had never heard before: climate anxiety or the looming fear of climate change.

Theyre concerned about their future in an almost a doomsday fear about what might be within a couple of decades of now, Harris said. They are concerned about whether they should have children, whether they should even try to buy a home because what does the future hold for that prospect?

In response, to the growing fear around global warming, Harris said that her administration has invested in nearly half a trillion dollars in clean energy over the next decade.

That is about resilience, adaptation and what we need to do to get in front of this issue, and for America to be a global leader on this issue, Harris said. That is one example of an issue that is impacting young people who will be young voters when they see the connection between their vote and outcomes.

As the 2024 election is underway, former U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are making headlines as they compete for their partys nomination. But, as their campaigns begin, they are becoming enveloped in a series of controversies.

Currently, former President Trump is under several investigations  some federal and others state-related  for his interference in the 2020 election. Meanwhile, Gov. DeSantis war on woke ideologies has garnered him a heavy amount of criticism. Recently, revised guidelines on how Black history is taught in Flordia require that the states educators instruct students that enslaved African Americans, developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.

Read More: Kamala Harris touts programs to lower home energy bills at Boston event

Despite the flurry of issues, Trump and DeSantis have amassed a strong amount of Republican support.

Isnt that dangerous, horribly dangerous for this country, when maybe 70  80 million people support people who believe those kinds of things? Jim Braude, co-host of Boston Public Radio asked Harris.

Although the Vice President said she didnt understand the reasoning behind Trump and DeSantis support, she did emphasize her dedication to hearing the concerns of ordinary citizens, such as rising medical costs and student loan debts.

When youre sitting down in a one-on-one conversation with, for example, seniors, whoever they voted for or will vote for, capping insulin at $35 a month, thats a big deal to them, Harris said. Student loan debt? Thats not about a red state, blue state thing were fighting to relieve student loan debt. I do believe that the American people as a whole recognize that true leadership is about lifting people up not beating them down and Im not giving up.
Our health care system is made up of many vital components and some may be more obvious than others. Community health centers (CHCs) are one such essential part, and with National Health Center Week coming up Aug. 6-12, this is the perfect time to learn about their many contributions.

CHCs broaden the reach of our health care system by providing comprehensive primary health care to communities that face geographic, economic or other barriers in accessing care. They also provide preventive health care, dental care, and mental health and substance use disorder services. CHCs cover the lifespan from pediatric services to maternity care and through senior health care.

CHCs serve any patient who walks through their doors, regardless of insurance or ability to pay, and this makes CHCs different from private medical practices and most other providers. Its also worth noting that CHCs are governed by patient-majority boards who are members of the communities they serve.

Massachusetts, which is considered a leader in health care, is home to the nations first CHC: the health center now known as Geiger-Gibson Community Health Center in honor of its founders, which opened in Boston in 1965. In the nearly six decades since, more than 1,400 federally qualified health centers have opened nationally operating more than 14,000 sites.

Here in Massachusetts, we have 52 federally qualified CHCs that provide health care to more than 1 million  or more than 1 in 6 residents  through 285 sites, according to the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers. The centers employed more than 22,000 people and accounted for about $3.5 billion in economic activity in 2021, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers.

Our CHCs fill gaps in access to care. For instance, the East Boston Community Health Center runs a 24/7 emergency care facility. As hospital emergency rooms are currently overwhelmed with demand, the East Boston facility can stabilize patients locally, avoiding a trip through a crowded harbor tunnel to the hospital.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, health centers stepped up to provide essential public health services across the commonwealth. CHCs were on the frontlines of the emergency in our most vulnerable communities, and to date they have provided more than 1 million COVID-19 tests, distributed 737,000 test kits, and administered 1.27 million vaccine doses  67% of which were to people of color.

CHCs are the health home for over 30 million patients in over 14,000 communities across the U.S. In Massachusetts, residents who use a CHC for their health care include people living in the states largest cities, rural towns and nearly everywhere in between.

Medicaid, the federal/state program that provides health coverage to low-income individuals and families, known as MassHealth here in the Commonwealth, is the biggest source of revenue for CHCs. The federal government further supports CHCs by providing grant funding for operations, including care for the uninsured, and new medical technology.

The quality of care at CHCs is the same as  and sometimes better than  the care provided in other healthcare settings, according to studies. Another advantage of CHCs is that they offer many types of care under one roof and provide services such as transportation and translation to remove barriers to care. Some CHCs have pharmacies onsite so that patients can fill prescription medications right after their appointment.

CHCs are known for focusing on the needs of their communities. For instance, they often have staff who can speak with patients whose first language is not English. CHCs were among the first medical sites to recognize and address the social determinants of health  the things that can directly affect ones health, such as access to stable housing and healthy foods. For example, the community health center CHP Berkshires hosts visits from the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts to distribute nutritious food free of charge to people who otherwise would face barriers to accessing healthy and affordable food.

CHCs also help educate people about their health insurance options. As Medicaid has expanded over the years, CHCs have played a major role in getting eligible people to sign up for coverage. Following the pandemic, they have become instrumental in keeping people enrolled.

CHCs are places where you can go if you have an urgent health issue, need routine care including getting your teeth or vision checked, or want to talk to someone about how to navigate the health care system. They provide these services in communities where other providers may be hard to find or nonexistent. If you think a CHC is the right option for you or your family, this website has a tool to find locations and more information.

Community health centers are unsung heroes of our healthcare system. Lets celebrate them the second week in August.

Audrey Shelto is president and CEO of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to ensure equitable access to health care for all those in the Commonwealth who are economically, racially, culturally or socially marginalized.
A man who was stabbed to death in his Springfield apartment was identified on Monday by Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gullunis office.

Daniel Medina, 40, of Springfield, was found by Springfield police officers after they responded to a medical assist call at the 100 block of Euclid Avenue on Thursday, July 27, at around 5:20 a.m., Gullunis office said in a statement.

Medina had one stab wound and later died when officers arrived, Gullunis office said. Police arrested Robert Woods, 63, Medinas roommate. Woods was charged with murder in the stabbing death of his roommate.

Woods was arraigned and is currently being held without bail, and is expected to appear again in court on Aug. 24.

The Springfield Police Departments Homicide Unit and Gullunis offices murder unit continue to investigate the circumstances around Medinas death.
At about summers halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say.

Killer heat. Deadly floods. Smoke from wildfires that chokes.

And theres no relief in sight.

Expect a hotter-than-normal August and September, American and European forecast centers predict.

We are seeing unprecedented changes all over the world, said NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt. The heat waves that were seeing in the U.S. and in Europe, in China are demolishing records left, right and center. This is not a surprise.

Imperial College of London climate scientist Friederike Otto said examining whats causing heat waves is boring in a way since it keeps happening. Yet she added that it matters because it shows again just how much climate change plays a role in what we are currently experiencing.

This story, these impacts, are going to continue, Schmidt said. Were going to be seeing this pretty much this year and into next year with a natural El Nino warming of the Pacific adding to the overwhelming influence of human-caused climate change largely from the burning of coal, oil and gas.

Heres a rundown of the summer of Earths discontent.

Record-shattering heat

Globally, June this year was the hottest June on record  and scientists say July has been so hot that even before the month was over they could say it was the hottest month on record. But its individual places where people live that the heat has stuck around and killed.

Phoenix, where the last day of June and each day of July has been at least 110 degrees (43 degrees Celsius), set records for the longest mega-heat streak and longest stretch when the temperatures didnt go below 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius) at night.

El Paso, Texas, had 44 days of 100 degree (37 degree) heat. Schools closed in Nuevo Leon state in northern Mexico a month earlier than usual as temperatures reached 113 degrees (45 Celsius).

Farther east, Miami added humidity to high heat for 46 straight days of feels-like temperatures of 100 or more.

Beijing had its own record streak with at least 27 days of 95 degrees (35 Celsius) in July, after a three-day streak of at least 104 (40 Celsius) in June. And the country set its all-time highest temperature on July 16 in remote Sanbao township with 126 degrees (52.2 Celsius).

Heat records fell all over southern Europe. Sardinia, Italy, hit 117 (47 Celsius). Palermo in Sicily broke a record that goes back to 1791 by a whopping 3.6 degrees (2 degrees Celsius). Temperatures hit 115 (46 Celsius) in Gytheio, Greece.

Spain reported nearly 1,000 excess deaths from the heat, mostly among the elderly, by mid July.

In Argentina, where its mid-winter, temperatures were above 89.6 (32 Celsius) four straight days in June in the northern part of the county. One July night in Buenos Aires didnt get below the 70s (low 20s Celsius).

Too much rain

More than 10,000 people had to be evacuated in central Hunan province in China where heavy rainfall caused at least 70 houses to collapse. In Yichang, rain triggered a landslide that buried a construction site and killed at least one person.

Australias Queensland outback got 13 times its normal monthly July rain in just one day.

Thousands of people were evacuated from Delhi in India as rains caused flash floods and landslides. Elsewhere in the country at least 100 people were killed by the downpours.

In the United States, sudden heavy rain killed people in Vermont, Connecticut and Pennsylvania with tragic stories of children washed away in flooding.

Wildfires and smoke

Too little rain in Greece and Spain fed wildfires that proved difficult to fight. In the Canary Islands, a fire caused 4,000 people to evacuate, others to wear face masks and had 400 firefighters battling it.

Hot and dry conditions caused about 160 wildfires to break out in Israel in early June.

But what really brought fires home happened in parts of Canada where few people live. Rare far northern Quebec wildfires triggered nasty smoke that inflicted the worlds dirtiest air on cities like New York and Washington, then switched to the Midwest.

As of late July more than 600 wildfires were out of control in Canada. A record 47,490 square miles (123,000 square kilometers) burned, and fire season isnt near done. Thats an area larger than the state of Pennsylvania or North Korea.

Water temperatures

Water temperatures in the Florida Keys and off the Everglades hit the high 90s (high 30s Celsius) with Manatee Bay breaking 100 degrees twice in what could be an unofficial world record for surface water temperature, although thats in dispute.

The North Atlantic had hot spots that alarmed scientists. The worlds oceans as a whole were their hottest ever in June and got even hotter in July. In Antarctica, sea ice smashed record-low levels.

Ocean temperatures take a long time to warm up and cool down, said University of Northern Illinois meteorology professor Victor Gensini. So it doesnt look good for the rest of the summer, he said.

A hot forecast

We are favoring above-normal temperatures for the next three months, said NOAA Climate Prediction Center meteorologist Matt Rosencrans.

The only potential relief he sees, especially in the hot Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, is if a hurricane or tropical storm moves through.

Read more: What you need to know about a controversial Eversource gas pipeline proposal

The peak of hurricane season in September hasnt even started.

When going through the litany of this summers weather extremes so far, University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann had one question: How on Gods Earth are we still burning fossil fuels after witnessing all this?
Massachusetts has been pelted with some intense weather lately, and the cherry on top of this extreme stretch came as a tornado touched down in the state over the weekend, cutting power to dozens of residents and damaging homes.

In the midst of a severe thunderstorm watch, the National Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado touched down in Foxborough, close to the Easton and Mansfield town line, around 8:17 p.m. on Saturday, July 29.

Confirmed EF-1 tornado in Foxborough near Mansfield and Easton. See official Public Information Statement here --> https://t.co/KaHKORn3Zx pic.twitter.com/ofMGNeKqK1  NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) July 30, 2023

The tornado reached an estimated peak wind of 105 mph, the weather service said, making it an EF-1 tornado, on the lower end of the scale, which goes up to EF-5.

The tornado, which only touched down for a minute or two, was about 100 yards wide and traveled about 400 yards, forecasters said.

The strong winds knocked down power lines and trees in several across town, authorities in Easton said.

Trees of up to two feet in diameter were snapped at the trunk, forecasters said, while two homes sustained severe structural damage, local officials reported.

About 200 Easton residents lost power during the storm, officials added. Residents were advised to call Easton Police to get in contact with the electrical inspector if their power was still not restored.

The tornado came only a few days after another one touched down in southwestern New Hampshire last Thursday. That tornado was located over Roxbury in New Hampshire, near Keene, and was moving east at 30 mph dropping quarter-sized hail, forecasters said.

Saturdays storm also happened nearly 96 years to the date of another tornado that touched down in southeastern Massachusetts, according to the National Weather Service.

The tornado occurred on July 31, 1927, in Rehoboth while many people were on their way to church that evening, the weather service said on Twitter.

#OTD in Weather History: July 31, 1927.



A tornado in Rehoboth, MA occurred on a Sunday evening while many people were on their way to church service. pic.twitter.com/BQUYDFTBUE  NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) July 31, 2023

The tornado caused significant damage in the town and even resulted in one death. The same storm produced another tornado in North Duxbury that caused even more damage, the weather service added.

These repeat storms make sense as peak tornado season in Massachusetts falls between June and August, according to the National Weather Service.

However, there are no predictions for stormy weather in the near future as sunny and dry skies coupled with low humidity are expected across the Bay State on Monday and most of the week, the weather service said.
WESTFIELD  Westfield Veterans Services and Pine Hill Cemetery will present a free gravestone preservation workshop 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 2. Participants will meet at the chapel inside the cemeterys main gate at 117 Court St., Westfield.

The workshop will be led by conservator Jonathan Appell of Atlas Preservation in Southington, Connecticut. Appell has started a 48-state tour to restore cemeteries. He will give a presentation at the start of the workshop, then participants will learn how to clean, repair and preserve gravestones.
With the prevalent dependency of African economies on external supply of fertilizers and grains and up to 30% of cereals imported from Russia, ensuring that critical trade flows continue uninhibited, remains the priority of Afreximbankand its African member states.

The lingering global food security challenges and the critical role trade with Russia plays in guaranteeing Africas food security was at the core of discussions for Afreximbank at the second Russia African Economic and Humanitarian forum which held at St. Petersburg from the 27th to the 29th of July, 2023.

Addressing the summit, Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank, said in his remarks that Afreximbank is working with the African Union Commission, the United Nations System and Russian partners to use the Africa Trade Exchange (ATEX) e-commerce platform to facilitate seamless flow of goods and payments in any currencies chosen by sellers and buyers in a transparent manner. The platform pools Africas demand for grains and fertilizers, and the Bank has placed an aggregate credit limit of US$3 billion to support these transactions.

Beyond the food security priorities and in line with the Banks mandate, Afreximbank and the Russian Export Centre are collaborating to promote trade and investments in other critical sectors, with focus placed on activities that will help integrate the African economy and advance the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), continued the President.

Afreximbank offers a portfolio of solutions to support investments in agriculture, industrial parks and critical infrastructure, in partnership with the Russian Export Centre, and supports African investors seeking to explore opportunities in Russia.

Trade flows between Africa and Russia reached almost US$20 billion in the four years to 2021, as against about US$10 billion in 2015, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and other significant global crises, bringing it closer to the target of US$40 billion by 2026. It is expected that the trade flows could double over the next four years.

The first Russia-Africa Economic Forum held in Sochi in 2019 had committed to systematically pursue stronger trade and investment ties between Russia and Africa and to reset socio-economic relations, in addition to moving the two-way trade to US$40 billion by 2026.

The two-day Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Summit was attended by top political and business leaders from Russia and Africa.
YESAFILI, an ophthalmology product, is intended for the treatment of neovascular (wet AMD) age-related macular degeneration, visual impairment due to macular oedema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (branch RVO or central RVO), visual impairment due to diabetic macular oedema (DME) and visual impairment due to myopic choroidal neovascularisation (myopic CNV).

It is highly similar to the reference product Eylea (aflibercept). Data shows that YESAFILI has comparable quality, safety, and efficacy to Eylea.

The CHMP positive opinion will be considered by the European Commission. The European Commission decision on the approval is expected by the end of September 2023.

Shreehas Tambe, CEO & Managing Director, Biocon Biologics Ltd, said:
Executive Summary:

The Pituitary Cancer Market is projected to experience significant growth in 2023, driven by advancements in diagnostic techniques, improved understanding of the disease, and the introduction of novel treatment options. The market is anticipated to witness robust expansion as awareness about pituitary cancer increases, leading to early detection and better patient outcomes. Key players in the pharmaceutical industry are investing heavily in research and development to introduce targeted therapies, resulting in a highly competitive landscape.

Introduction:

Pituitary cancer, also known as pituitary adenoma or pituitary tumors, is a rare type of cancer that arises from the pituitary gland in the brain. This gland plays a crucial role in regulating various hormones that control essential bodily functions. Pituitary cancer can be classified into benign adenomas and malignant tumors. While benign adenomas are more common, they can still cause significant health issues due to their size and effect on hormone production.

Market Valuation and Growth Estimation:

The global pituitary cancer market size was estimated to be US$ 380.7 million in 2023 and is projected to reach US$ 723.3 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 9.6% during the forecast period (2023-2030).

The Pituitary Cancer Market Research report provides growth estimations, size, and forecasts for each section of the market, with trends and forecasts based on revenue (in USD million).

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Market Trends and Drivers:

Several key factors are contributing to the growth of the Pituitary Cancer Market in 2023:

a) Technological Advancements:

The development of advanced diagnostic techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), has improved the early detection of pituitary tumors. This early diagnosis allows for timely intervention and better treatment outcomes.

b) Rising Awareness:

Increased awareness about pituitary cancer among healthcare professionals and the general population is leading to more frequent screenings and prompt referrals. Early diagnosis is vital for improving survival rates and enhancing the quality of life for affected patients.

c) Innovative Therapies:

Pharmaceutical companies are investing in research and development to introduce targeted therapies for pituitary cancer treatment. These therapies are designed to specifically target tumor cells, minimizing damage to healthy tissue and reducing side effects.

d) Favorable Reimbursement Policies:

Governments and insurance providers are implementing favorable reimbursement policies for pituitary cancer treatment, making it more accessible to patients.

Market Segmentation:

The Pituitary Cancer Market can be segmented based on:

Global Pituitary Cancer Market, By Cancer Type:

Pituitary Adenoma (Benign Tumor)

Pituitary Carcinoma (Malignant Tumor)

Global Pituitary Cancer Market, By Hormone Type:

Prolactinoma

Growth Hormone-Secreting Tumor (Acromegaly)

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone-Secreting Tumor (Cushings Disease)

Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone-Secreting Tumor (TSHoma)

Gonadotropin-Secreting Tumor

Global Pituitary Cancer Market, By Treatment Type:

Surgery

Radiation Therapy

Medications (e.g., dopamine agonists, somatostatin analogs, hormone replacement therapy)

Targeted Therapy

Chemotherapy

Global Pituitary Cancer Market, By Age Group:

Pediatric

Adult

Global Pituitary Cancer Market, By End User:

Hospitals

Specialty Clinics

Cancer Treatment Centers

Research Institutes

Regional Analysis:

The markets growth varies across different regions, with North America and Europe holding a significant market share due to well-established healthcare infrastructure, increased awareness, and substantial investments in research and development. Emerging economies in the Asia-Pacific region are also witnessing growth due to rising healthcare expenditure and a growing focus on cancer management.

Competitive Landscape:

The Pituitary Cancer Market is highly competitive, with several key players competing for market share. Some of the prominent pharmaceutical companies in this market include:

Novartis International AG

Pfizer Inc.

Merck & Co.Inc.

Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals Inc.

Bayer AG

Novo Nordisk A/S

Eli Lilly and Company

Bristol Myers Squibb Company

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited

These companies are investing in innovative therapies and strategic collaborations to gain a competitive edge in the market.

Challenges:

Despite the promising growth prospects, the Pituitary Cancer Market faces some challenges:

Limited Awareness in Low-Income Regions: Lack of awareness about pituitary cancer, especially in low-income regions, can hinder early detection and timely treatment.

High Cost of Treatment: The cost of advanced therapies can be a barrier for patients with limited financial resources, limiting access to optimal treatment options.

Complexity in Diagnosis: Diagnosing pituitary tumors can be challenging, and delayed diagnosis may lead to more advanced disease stages.

Future Outlook:

The Pituitary Cancer Market is expected to continue its upward trajectory in 2023 and beyond, driven by advancements in diagnostic tools, increasing research in targeted therapies, and growing awareness. Government initiatives and collaborations between pharmaceutical companies and research institutions will further fuel market growth.

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Table of Contents: A Few Topics Discussed in the Report

For a comprehensive table of contents, readers are encouraged to speak with the analyst and fill out an inquiry form to access the detailed report.

Chapter 1: Setting the Research Framework (Research Objectives and Market Segmentation)

In this initial chapter, we establish the research framework, outlining the research objectives and market segmentation to guide our investigation.

Chapter 2: Research Methodology

This chapter delves into the comprehensive research methodology employed for the study. It encompasses both qualitative and quantitative research, highlighting primary and secondary data sources. The chapter also explores the process of market size estimation and data triangulation, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of our findings.

Chapter 3: Executive Summary

An overview of the entire research report is presented in this chapter. The executive summary provides a concise yet comprehensive summary of the key insights and findings, allowing readers to grasp the essence of the study at a glance.

Chapter 4: Understanding Market Dynamics

In this chapter, we delve into the global industry outlook and assess the markets dynamics using Porters Five Forces Model. Additionally, the chapter addresses the impact of COVID-19 on the market and investigates the major strategies adopted by key players in the industry. Furthermore, we analyze the market positioning of key players to gain a deeper understanding of their roles in the market landscape.

Chapter 5: Global Market Analysis by Market Segmentation

Here, we present key insights and forecasts related to the market segmentation. Through an in-depth analysis, we explore the market size and trends for each segment, providing valuable insights to stakeholders and decision-makers.

Chapter 6: Global Analysis by Geography

This chapter focuses on key insights and market size forecasts for different geographical regions, including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. The diverse market dynamics in each region are thoroughly examined to identify potential opportunities and challenges.

Chapter 7: Analysis of the North American Market

In this chapter, we provide a detailed analysis of the North American market, including key insights and market size forecasts, while also exploring the market segmentation within this region.

Chapter 8: Analysis of the European Market

Similarly, this chapter offers an in-depth analysis of the European market, encompassing key insights and market size forecasts for the identified market segments within the region.

Chapter 9: Analysis of the Asia Pacific Market

The Asia Pacific market is thoroughly analyzed in this chapter, presenting key insights and market size forecasts for the various market segments within the region.

Chapter 10: Analysis of the Latin American Market

This chapter focuses on providing a comprehensive analysis of the Latin American market, presenting key insights and market size forecasts for the identified market segments within this region.

Chapter 11: Analysis of the Middle East & Africa Market

In this chapter, we conduct a detailed analysis of the Middle East & Africa market, offering key insights and market size forecasts for the various market segments within this region.

Chapter 12: Company Profiles

The final chapter comprises profiles of the companies involved in the industry. Each profile includes essential information such as company basic information, manufacturing base, sales area, company sales, net income highlights, and a comprehensive business overview. Furthermore, notable company news is also included to provide readers with a holistic understanding of each companys operations and achievements.

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by Fern Siegel , July 31, 2023

Kentucky Bourbon is taking a road trip.

Makers Mark is launching a new global brand campaign, Make Your Mark to enhance its North American market standing.

Created by Leo Burnett, the They Say spot, in 6-, 15- and 30-second iterations, it also runs in OTT media (Hulu, Roku), online video, digital and social. The campaign, promoting the 170-year-old family recipe, will roll out in Canada in August and globally in 2024.

They Say was directed by award-winning music video and commercial director Henry Scholfield.

With Makers Mark, we are pursuing our ambition for the brand to become a global icon in the American whiskey category, said KK Hall, global vice president, Makers Mark brand, told Agency Daily.

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To meet that goal, we need bold creative and content that stands out and resonates with consumers around the world. They Say evokes an emotional connection with those who share our curious and purpose driven mindset, while still showcasing the qualities of Makers Mark that make us who we are, such as our hand-dipped bottles, added Hall.

In addition to the debut creative, the global campaign includes the relaunch of the brands global site and consumer ambassador program. Limited-edition product releases, media and talent partnerships, retail programming and experiential marketing will augment additional markets next year.

Maker's Mark is a small-batch bourbon whisky produced in Loretto, Kentucky, by Beam Suntory.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, July 31, 2023

Mobile data broker Kochava must face a privacy lawsuit over the alleged sale of people's location data, a federal judge has ruled.

In a decision issued last week, U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia Bashant in San Diego ruled that if the allegations in the class-action complaint against Kochava were proven true, they could support a claim that its data practices amount to an egregious breach of social norms.

While Bashant dismissed some of the counts in the complaint, she said Kochava must face others -- including a claim that the company violated the the right to privacy as enshrined in California's constitution.

The ruling comes in a class-action complaint filed by David Greenley last year, shortly after the Federal Trade Commission claimed the company engaged in an unfair business practice by allegedly selling location data -- including information that could reveal visits to sensitive locales like abortion clinics. Kochava allegedly obtained the data from app developers.

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Kochava has said it collects latitude and longitude, IP addresses and mobile advertising identifiers (pseudonymous alphanumeric strings), but doesn't identify the consumer associated with the identifier.

But Greenley, as well as the FTC, alleged that geolocation data, when combined with mobile advertising identifiers, can be enough to identify individuals.

The FTC said in its complaint against Kochava that data brokers sometimes advertise the ability to match mobile identifiers with names and physical addresses. Even without that type of service, location data alone can be used to identify people, according to the FTC. For example, a mobile device is typically located at the owner's home address overnight, the FTC alleged.

A federal judge in Idaho dismissed the FTC's complaint earlier this year, but allowed the agency to reformulate its allegations and bring them again. The FTC did so last month, but the amended complaint isn't yet available to the public.

Kochava urged Bashant to dismiss the California lawsuit at an early stage as well. Among other arguments, Kochava said the allegations, if true, show that consumers both consented to the data collection by app developers, and could have opted out of having their data collected.

Bashant rejected that argument, at least for now.

Even if the court accepts that plaintiff consented to a third-party app developer collecting his data and that he could have contacted defendant to request the deletion of his data, defendants argument is still deficient, Bashant wrote.

Even if plaintiff gave full consent to third-party app developers to collect his data, consent to that specific conduct does not extend to defendants collection of plaintiffs data through backdoors built into apps or to defendants dissemination of that information for profit, Bashant added. Likewise, the failure to opt-out does not demonstrate consent, particularly when users are unaware of the data collection practices.

She also rejected -- for now -- Kochava's argument that the allegations, if proven true, wouldn't show the kind of serious privacy violation that would violate the state's constitution.

Instead, she ruled, questions about the seriousness of the alleged privacy violation should be resolved based on evidence that would come out at trial, or through depositions or other evidence.

Intrusions on privacy exist on a spectrum, she wrote.  For this reason, courts hesitate to decide the issue at the pleadings stage.

Greenley isn't the only one suing Kochava. The company also has been hit with class-action complaints in Idaho and Massachusetts. Those matters are still pending.
by Tanya Gazdik , July 31, 2023

Events continue to figure prominently in automakers' efforts to reach new customers and instill loyalty in current owners.

Stellantis will return to the Motor City with the eighth year of MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge. The yearly celebration of muscle car culture features street-legal drag racing on Woodward Avenue in new location in downtown Pontiac.

New this year, the Aug. 12 event will end with a special concert performance. Attendees can participate in Dodge Driving Experiences and watch drag racing. Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis calls it the cornerstone event of the entire year.

"This is more important for us than any other type of advertising we could do, Kuniskis told The Detroit News last year during a preview of the event.  One of the most important things for Dodge is not the number of people that follow us, but the engagement of those people. And the only way to really build and foster that engagement is to be interesting and give them things that they're interested in following you for.

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On the other side of the country a week later, well-heeled consumers will gather for the 72nd Pebble Beach Concours dElegance. The main event on Aug. 20 and several other related events including The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, attract hundreds of automotive enthusiasts.

While vintage cars are the main draw, several automakers have found it the perfect venue to display current model year vehicles.

Its really become an auto show for luxury vehicles, Vinay Shahani, Lexus vice president of marketing, tells Marketing Daily. The Toyota Motor North America luxury brand will display several new models, including the recently introduced all-new Lexus GX and first-ever Lexus TX. Lexus is also the preferred vehicle of Pebble Beach Resorts.

Other auto brands which have signed on to sponsor the event include Bentley, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin, Ford, BMW, Porsche, McClaren, Infiniti, Audi, Volkswagen, Acura, Cadillac, Lamborghini, Lucid, Lotus and Rolls Royce.

Traditional auto shows are still attracting automaker spending and consumer interest. The North American International Auto Show in Detroit is slated for Sept. 13-24, its second year in the fall time slot.

Although it's no longer the massive show it once was, six auto reveals are planned from Stellantis, General Motors and Ford Motor Co. including a new Ford F-150 pickup truck. Every vehicle brand from the Detroit three will be represented at the show, according to organizers.

Jeep and Ram are bringing back their popular test tracks. The show will also feature a new Powering Michigan EV Experience indoor track that will feature a wide range of electric vehicles.

This years show represents the next step in its evolution and in the evolution of the industry itself, said Detroit Auto Show Chairman Thad Szott in a release. Automotive technology is changing so rapidly; how do we make people comfortable with it? Were planning for a show that not only embraces and educates about this new technology, but offers an immersion into it.
Chennai welcomes a revolutionary surgical solution for Gastroenterology with the introduction of the GERD X equipment at MedIndia Hospital. Dr. Narayanasamy highlights the transformative changes in gastroenterology and hepatology, with a decline in conditions like peptic ulcers and communicable diseases while witnessing increased focus on treating Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C .

GERD and GERDx



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The GERDx system (G-SURG GmbH, Seeon-Seebruck, Germany) was used to accomplish an endoscopic full-thickness plication. The GERDx device, which was developed by a company that acquired the Plicator technology, uses hydraulic components for control.



Dr. Narayanasamy remembered that while previously these disorders were not treated in government hospitals, today treatment is available even at primary health facilities.



The prevalence of lifestyle disorders like Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and inflammatory bowel syndrome is rising, according to gastroenterologists. Globalization and several environmental factors may be to blame for this. Fortunately, we can treat them with current medical technologies.



Dr. Narayanasamy praised T.S. Chandrasekar, a gastroenterologist and the creator of MedIndia, for his work in support of medical education initiatives throughout the State. A less invasive option to laparoscopic therapy was proposed at the CME on treating gastro esophageal reflux disorder (GERD) on Sunday. The brand-new GERD-X therapy is a simple procedure that may be repeated as necessary. In comparison to surgery, it is less expensive, according to Dr. Chandrasekar.



Reference :

Endoscopic Full Thickness Plication (GERD-X) for the Treatment of PPI Dependent GERD: - (https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03322553)



Source: Medindia By being less invasive, having fewer adverse effects, and allowing future treatment options, the GERDX-System bridges the treatment gap between medications and more invasive surgical solutions.The GERDx system (G-SURG GmbH, Seeon-Seebruck, Germany) was used to accomplish an endoscopic full-thickness plication. The GERDx device, which was developed by a company that acquired the Plicator technology, uses hydraulic components for control.Dr. Narayanasamy remembered that while previously these disorders were not treated in government hospitals, today treatment is available even at primary health facilities.The prevalence of lifestyle disorders like Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and inflammatory bowel syndrome is rising, according to gastroenterologists. Globalization and several environmental factors may be to blame for this. Fortunately, we can treat them with current medical technologies.Dr. Narayanasamy praised T.S. Chandrasekar, a gastroenterologist and the creator of MedIndia, for his work in support of medical education initiatives throughout the State. A less invasive option to laparoscopic therapy was proposed at the CME on treating gastro esophageal reflux disorder (GERD) on Sunday. The brand-new GERD-X therapy is a simple procedure that may be repeated as necessary. In comparison to surgery, it is less expensive, according to Dr. Chandrasekar.Source: Medindia
An eight-person military jury took two hours Friday to find Staff Sgt. Steven Smiley not guilty of negligent homicide and four other counts in the death of Marine recruit Dalton Beals in 2021.

The jury found Smiley guilty of one of the charges: Violation of a general order that forbids drill instructors from calling recruits names. Smiley called recruits "pig" and "war pigs" and "sweet bacon" during training.

Besides the negligent homicide charge, Smiley was found not guilty of dereliction of duty resulting in death; obstruction of justice; cruelty, oppression or maltreatment of subordinates; and dereliction in the performances of his duties.

As the verdict was read by the foreman, Smiley leaned forward with his head down and hands on the table. His wife, seated behind him in the front row, wept. Smiley became emotional and paused as he read a statement to the court. An attorney placed an arm around his back as he spoke.

Pfc. Dalton Beals, 19, from Pennsville Township, New Jersey. (U.S. Marine Corps)

Smiley's comments included a message to the Beals family, "I'm sorry what happened to your son." If something similar happened to his family, Smiley added, "I wouldn't know what to do."

Smiley told the court that being in the Marines came naturally to him because its values lined up with how he was raised. He joined in 2009. But now he plans to move to Wisconsin and be a firefighter and EMS. Smiley's enlistment had ended but he was on "legal hold" pending the conclusion of his case. The jury was still deliberating his sentence as of 6 p.m.

Immediately after the verdict, Stacie Beveridge Beals, the recruit's mother, said she was not ready to comment.

Beals died during the Crucible on June 4, 2021, the final challenge recruits must meet before earning the title of U.S. Marine. It's a 54-hour event that tests physical stamina, mental toughness and the ability to think critically while under stress including hunger, sleep deprivation and exhaustion.

The prosecution's medical experts argued that heat stroke played a role in his death and that Smiley pushed the recruits too hard, but the defense called medical witnesses that said Beals had an existing heart condition that contributed to his death.

During closing arguments, Colby Vokey, one of Smiley's attorneys, asked the jurors to imagine what it felt like for Smiley, a drill instructor, to be charged with a crime. "How scary is that?"

Vokey said the prosecution cherry-picked the evidence. And he told the jury to send a message "we expect drill instructors to train Marines to do the right things but we won't make one a scapegoat because of a tragic event."

"If the conditions of the Crucible are hot or difficult, that doesn't fall on Staff Sgt. Smiley," Vokey said.

Lt. Col. Ian Germain, of the prosecution, argued that Smiley didn't do his job in keeping account of the recruits under his watch and was out to "break" them in "my Crucible," pushing them too far in hot conditions by ordering extra exercises.

Smiley, he said, failed to recognize clear signs of heat exhaustion in Beals and ignored a warning from a recruit who tried to inform him Beals was missing, with his negligence leading to his death, Germain said.

"Dalton Beals was entrusted to Steven Smiley who treated him like he was going to break him not make him and that's why we are here," said Germain, his voice rising.

___

(c)2023 The Island Packet (Hilton Head, S.C.)

Visit The Island Packet (Hilton Head, S.C.) at www.islandpacket.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
MOSCOW  The Russian navy is to receive 30 new warships this year, President Vladimir Putin announced in St Petersburg on Sunday during the annual Navy Day parade.

"Russia is today implementing the tasks of its national naval policy and is resolutely expanding the power of its fleet," Putin told the parade, a show of naval might traditionally held in St Petersburg and nearby Kronstadt on the last Sunday of July.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and guests from the Africa summit held in St Petersburg on Thursday and Friday were in attendance.

State television broadcast the Navy Day parade, showing 33 warships, including four submarines, under strict security conditions. Around 3,000 troops took part.

There had been fears that the event could come under attack, and Putin was kept informed about the latest drone attack on Moscow, according to the Kremlin. The parades in St Petersburg and elsewhere passed off without disruption.

In his speech, Putin mentioned Russia's Baltic Sea and Black Sea fleets, along with other navy units who were "bravely" carrying out their duties.

The Russian president made no mention of the war in Ukraine, where the Black Sea fleet is heavily engaged in firing missiles. The fleet has also taken substantial losses.

Russian media reported that the presidents of Mali, Burkina Faso, Eritrea and Republic of the Congo were in attendance, and representatives of other African countries were also in St Petersburg. African countries form a major market for Russian weapons.

2023 dpa GmbH. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
SEATTLE  Billy Frank Jr. was arrested over 50 times trying to preserve his and his tribe's treaty right to fish in their ancestral waters.

Now, the legendary Nisqually elder who was a central figure in the fight for tribal fishing rights and environmental protections in the Pacific Northwest will have a U.S. Navy ship named after him.

A future U.S. Navy Navajo-class towing, salvage and rescue ship  TATS-11  will be named the USNS Billy Frank Jr., officials announced this month.

"This is truly an honor for the Frank family, Wa-he-lut School and the Nisqually Nation," said Willie Frank III, son of Billy Frank Jr. and chair of the Nisqually Indian Tribe, in a statement.

Starting in 2019, the Navy began naming a new class of ships after prominent Native Americans or Native American tribes in honor of their contributions to the armed forces  American Indians and Alaska Natives serve in the U.S. military at a higher rate than any other ethnic group in the country. Frank served in the Marine Corps for two years.

The USNS Billy Frank Jr., the sixth ship in the class, is the first to be named after an individual.

"We have a chance to tell our story and educate a whole new audience about the Nisqually Tribe, Billy Frank Jr., and the 29 tribes in the state of Washington," said Willie Frank III.

William "Billy" Frank Jr. was born in 1931 as a member of the Nisqually tribe in Washington, and he grew up fishing on his tribal land.

He began his long career as an activist in 1945 as a boy, when he was arrested for catching steelhead and chum with his net in the Nisqually River. Over the years, he would become the face of a defining civil rights movement in the Pacific Northwest.

After serving as a military policeman in the Marine Corps during the Korean War, Frank returned to Washington, where he continued to fight for the right to fish Chinook and other salmon in his tribe's historical waters.

Despite 19th-century treaties guaranteeing Northwest tribes access to historical waters, commercial and sport fishing had led to a drop in stocks at local salmon fisheries. In response, state game agents began harassing and targeting tribal fishermen, including Frank and his father.

Over the years, Frank and others staged "fish-ins" at the Washington state Capitol, protesting the arrests and raids against Indigenous fishermen blamed for the decline.

That organizing culminated in a landmark decision in 1974, when U.S. District Judge George Boldt affirmed the tribes' right to half of the fish harvest  as well as the country's obligation to honor treaties. That ruling was extended to the harvest of shellfish in 1993.

"He'll stand with all the great Indian names of the past two centuries in the Pacific Northwest and across the nation," his longtime friend Hank Adams told The Seattle Times in 2014. "His is a name that will stand out in the future for all he's given to Indians and the world."

Frank would go on to serve as chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission for over three decades and receive numerous accolades. In the later half of his life, Frank turned his activism toward protecting forests and salmon streams from excessive timber harvest and development. He died in 2014 at age 83. A statue of Frank is set to be placed in the Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol, a revered civic space where each state is represented by two figures deserving of national commemoration.

Navajo-class ships provide "ocean-going tug, salvage and rescue capabilities to support Fleet operations," according to U.S. Navy officials. They can tow other Navy vessels and have 6,000 square feet of deck space.

Other ships in the class have been named in honor of the Cherokee Nation, the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan, the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

"My father served this beautiful country as a United States Marine. He was proud to serve his country," said Willie Frank III in a statement. "As Chairman of the Nisqually Tribe, we want to thank the United States Navy for recognizing and honoring our Nisqually veteran, father and uncle."

___

(c)2023 The Seattle Times

Visit The Seattle Times at www.seattletimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Five military veterans in Congress have written Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Attorney General Merrick Garland asking they review options for retrying former Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl after his verdict was vacated last week by a civilian court.

Reps. Mike Waltz, R-Fla.; Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas; Jake Ellzey, R-Texas; Ryan Zinke, R-Mont.; and Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., demanded an immediate review of the case, saying the nullification of the sentence "dishonors those who served and died alongside Bergdahl."

"Bergdahl's actions endangered and potentially got his comrades killed," they wrote. "By omission, condoning such behavior puts the lives of future American soldiers in peril."

Read Next: 'The Few, the Proud' Aren't So Few: Marines Recruiting Surges While Other Services Struggle

The former prisoner of war pleaded guilty in 2017 to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, having left his post in Afghanistan in 2009, subsequently being captured by the Taliban and held for nearly five years.

Bergdahl received a dishonorable discharge, loss of rank to private, and forfeiture of $10,000 in pay.

His case was appealed through the military court system, which upheld the original verdict. After exhausting his options in that system, however, Bergdahl sued the United States in federal court.

Last week, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Reggie Walton vacated the sentence, dismissing the orders by the judge who presided over Bergdahl's court-martial, Col. Jeffery Nance, after Nance failed to disclose that he had applied for a position as a federal immigration judge in the Trump administration -- a job prospect that gave the appearance of a potential conflict of interest.

Following Walton's order, neither Bergdahl's attorneys nor the Justice Department would comment on the decision, but the dismissal sets up a number of legal possibilities, including an appeal or the possibility of a new court-martial in which Bergdahl could plead not guilty.

The lawmakers want Austin to work with Garland to determine the Defense Departments options for a new trial.

Crenshaw, Ellzey and Waltz all deployed to Afghanistan. Waltz, who is chairman of the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee, is a former Special Forces officer who led teams in the search for Bergdahl and says in his professional bio that he has "continued to lead the call for justice on behalf of all the service-members Berghdal's [sic] desertion put in harm's way."

In their letter, the lawmakers allege that as many as eight Americans died attempting to find Bergdahl, although a subsequent investigation by the Army found that no troop deaths could be directly attributed to the effort, with the exception of one soldier who died several years later from injuries he sustained during the search.

The lawmakers also noted that the search came at the height of the Afghanistan War, with "combat incidents rising rapidly and additional troops being deployed."

In his decision, Judge Walton ruled in favor of the government in another of Bergdahl's arguments for dismissal of his case -- that then-President Donald Trump and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., exerted unlawful command influence by saying negative things about Bergdahl.

Given the split decision, both Bergdahl and the Justice Department have a right to appeal, which would take the case to the District of Columbia U.S. Court of Appeals.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com.

Related: Bowe Bergdahl Petitions Federal Court to Have His Case Expunged
WARSAW, Poland  Over 100 mercenaries belonging to the Russian-linked Wagner group in Belarus have moved close to the border with Poland, the Polish prime minister said Saturday.

Mateusz Morawiecki said at a news conference that the mercenaries had moved close to the Suwalki Gap, a strategic stretch of Polish territory situated between Belarus and Kaliningrad, a Russian territory separated from the mainland.

Poland is a member of both the European Union and NATO, and it has worried about its security with Russian ally Belarus and Ukraine on its eastern border.

Those fears have grown since Wagner group mercenaries arrived in Belarus since the groups short-lived rebellion earlier this summer.

The Poland-Belarus border has already been a tense place for a couple of years, ever since large numbers of immigrants from the Middle East and Africa began arriving, seeking to enter the EU by crossing into Poland, as well as Lithuania.

Poland's government accuses Russia and Belarus of using the migrants to destabilize Poland and other EU countries. It calls the migration a form of hybrid warfare, and has responded by building a high wall along part of its border with Belarus.

Now the situation becomes even more dangerous," Morawiecki told reporters.

He added that this is certainly a step towards a further hybrid attack on Polish territory.

Morawiecki spoke during a visit to an arms factory in Gliwice, in southern Poland, where Leopard tanks used by the Ukrainian army are being repaired.
Paul Reubens, more popularly known to the world as Pee-wee Herman, died on July 30, 2023, after a long battle with cancer. The 70-year-old comedian had hidden his cancer diagnosis from audiences for the past six years, his family finally revealed to the world in a post via Instagram.

The star of "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was a living embodiment of Founding Father John Adams' famous quote, "I have to study politics and war so that my sons can study mathematics, commerce and agriculture, so their sons can study poetry, painting and music."

Reubens' father, Milton Rubenfeld, was the owner of a lamp store in Sarasota, Florida, when baby Paul was born in 1952. Before World War II, Rubenfeld taught aerial acrobatics to would-be pilots. When Britain declared war on Nazi Germany, he went overseas and joined the Royal Air Force, as the U.S. had not yet entered the war. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Rubenfeld joined the U.S. Army Air Forces.

While in an American uniform, Rubenfeld wasn't flying aerial combat missions, as he'd done during the Battle of Britain. He instead flew with the USAAF Air Transport Command, ferrying planes and transporting people and materiel to and from the United States.

Milton Rubenfeld. (American Veterans of Israel)

When the war ended, Rubenfeld might have gone home to his native New York. Instead, he was approached in February 1948 by representatives of Haganah, a paramilitary group fighting for a Jewish state in Palestine. The British Mandate of Palestine was coming to an end, and neither the Arab nor Jewish populations of the country were happy with the way the British were leaving the partition of Palestine. Knowing an armed conflict was on the horizon, Haganah wanted to create an air force for its forces. It was looking for Jewish WWII pilots with combat experience, and Rubenfeld fit the bill.

Rubenfeld began ferrying planes to Israel in 1948. That same year, he started training in Czechoslovakia on the Avia S-199, a fighter designed from the Messerschmitt Bf 109. Only five of the eight volunteer aviators recruited by the Haganah would be able to fly Israel's four Avias in combat, and together, they would be the entirety of Israel's first Air Force.

While the volunteers were still in training, Egyptian bombers hit Tel Aviv's central bus terminal, prompting the pilots to forgo the rest of their instruction, which included air-to-ground combat. Instead, they decided "they'd practice gunnery on real targets."

Rubenfeld was forced to sit out their first mission on May 29, 1948, as Israel simply didn't have another plane for him to fly. His wingmen flew a strafing mission against an Egyptian force headed for Tel Aviv. Since the Arabs had no idea the Haganah had an Air Force, they were completely surprised by the appearance of four enemy aircraft. The surprise stopped what might have been a decisive blow against the Jewish forces, but the Israelis lost two aircraft in the fighting.

Rubenfeld took off on his first mission from Israel's Ekron Air Base on May 30, bombing and strafing an Iraqi armored column, with he and Ezer Weizman flying the only two functioning aircraft left. He was hit by Iraqi anti-aircraft fire and was forced to bail out over the Mediterranean Sea. His chute didn't open before he hit the water, so he sustained painful injuries as a result. He finally came home to the U.S. a short while later.

Milton Rubenfeld died in Sarasota, Florida, in 2004 at age 84. Like his son, he also died of cancer.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, or on LinkedIn.

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"Many military institutions engage in thinking about, wargaming and planning for the next war. They often get it wrong," retired Australian Maj. Gen. Mick Ryan writes on his blog. "Often this is because the wrong lessons are taken from previous conflicts. This is because the context or political objectives of future warfare diverge from those of the conflict from which lessons were taken."

Ryan knows what he's talking about. On top of his 35 years of military experience, he is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and the U.S. Marine Corps University Command and Staff College and School of Advanced Warfighting. He was a scholar at the Modern War Institute and is currently an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

In his 2022 nonfiction book "War Transformed," Ryan previewed the ways emerging technologies will impact conflicts of the future. His latest fiction book, "White Sun War: The Campaign for Taiwan," gives us a glimpse of a future in which robots and artificial intelligence enter the equation.

(Center for Strategic and International Studies)

At the end of the Cold War, the United States became the world's lone superpower, but rising countries and alliances are creating an increasingly multipolar state of affairs. China, the European Union, Russia and nonaligned economies have become increasingly complex -- which, some international relations theories hold, makes for an unstable global system.

Great powers are prone to great errors in judgment, which can lead to great power conflicts. This is especially true when one power underestimates an emerging force, like in the case of World War I. In "White Sun War," it leads to the United States and China going to war over Taiwan in 2028.

Also like WWI, new industrial and technological developments can lead to killing on an unprecedented and unpredictable scale. Ryan believes a real war fought in the same way wouldn't be too far from what he describes in "War Transformed," but he chose to play out the scenario in speculative fiction instead of writing another nonfiction book.

"I wanted to make the material as accessible as possible," Ryan writes. "Despite my best efforts, even the best written nonfiction books on war and competition contain a certain level of jargon that some find difficult to understand. I find that fiction allows the use of more accessible language to examine some of the complexities of humans and technology in war."

Ryan says he structured "White Sun War" akin to Michael Shaara's 1974 Civil War classic "The Killer Angels," which followed the Battle of Gettysburg using a few key figures from both sides of the war. Indeed, Ryan's book is told through the eyes of a U.S. Army cavalry captain, who commands both human and robot forces; a Taiwanese soldier working in the headquarters of a mechanized brigade; a U.S. Space Force noncommissioned officer who specializes in orbital combat; a Chinese colonel in command of a Marine brigade; and a U.S. Marine colonel commanding a new Marine Littoral Regiment in Taiwan.

Fiction, Ryan says, allows him to use operational scenarios and organizations without disclosing classified information or war plans. It also allows him to use his imagination when considering the Chinese military buildup and the aftermath of the Ukraine-Russia War.

"One of the worst things that an institution can be accused of is to have a failure of imagination. Such a concept has been the foundation of strategic failure in the past," writes Ryan.

To see how a war between the United States and China might be complicated by autonomous technology and artificial intelligence, check out "White Sun War: The Campaign for Taiwan," available now in paperback and on Kindle or audiobook.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, or on LinkedIn.

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KEY BISCAYNE, Fla.  In the sweltering summer heat, nobody tries to cool off by jumping into a hot tub. In parts of Florida, however, thats what the ocean has felt like.

Earlier this week, sea surface temperatures reached as high as 101.2 degrees Fahrenheit (38.4 degrees Celsius) around the states southern tip in Manatee Bay, according to the National Weather Service  although scientists said the context for Mondays reading is complicated.

It was like there was no difference between humidity of the air and going into the water, said Chelsea Ward of Fort Myers, Florida.

Triple-digit ocean temperatures are stunning even in Florida, where residents are used to the heat and where many retirees find refuge from cold, northern winters. Several other nearby spots reached the mid-90s (about 35 Celsius). A storm finally came through on Wednesday, helping water temperatures drop back down in to the more temperate 80s (about 29 Celsius).

Humans naturally look to water for a chance to refresh. Every summer, millions grab their swimsuits for a day on the beach and a chance to cool off in the water  a break from everyday work and worry. Pools offer the same relief and a place for friends to gather. But when water temperatures get too high, some of the appeal is lost.

Ward, 47, doesnt keep her beach bag in her car anymore even though she lives minutes away from the beach in Fort Myers. Lately, the water is just too hot. On Sunday, when her friend asked if she wanted to go to the beach, the two decided against it after discovering the water temperature was around 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius).

When its hot, the body cools down by sweating, which evaporates and releases heat. Dipping into the ocean is typically so refreshing because heat efficiently transfers from your body into the water. But as water temperatures climb, that effect diminishes and you lose less heat less quickly, according to Michael Mullins, a Washington University toxicologist and emergency medicine physician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.

A hot tub  or a stretch of ocean water hotter than body temperature  reverses the transfer of heat into your body. Thats not a pleasant experience on a sizzling, humid, Florida day.

It would feel, Mullins said, like you are swimming in soup.

ICE BLOCKS FOR YOUR POOL? WHY NOT

People already tend not to swim that much in the Florida waters that were so extremely hot earlier this week. The water can get muddy and there are alligators and crocodiles in the area, too.

But high temperatures anywhere can make swimming less pleasant. Through Friday, Phoenix endured highs above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) every day this month. Pools are warm. About 150 miles (240 kilometers) to the northwest in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, Stefanee Lynn Thompson, 50, wanted to keep guests cool for a pool party she hosted Sunday. The heat had raised the pools temperature to 96 degrees (36 Celsius).

Galo Felipe Espinoza Sanchez, 5, left, swims with his dad and cousin at Crandon Park beach, during the family's visit to Florida from Ecuador and France, Friday, July 28, 2023, in Key Biscayne, Fla. Humans naturally look to water for a chance to refresh, but when water temperatures get too high, some of the appeal is lost. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)AP

Her friend recommended she go buy ice blocks. She ran to the grocery store, picked up 40 of them and dumped them in the pool. She set up fans, too. All that hard work dropped the pools temperature a grand total of 4 degrees Fahrenheit (2.2 degrees Celsius).

When its 120 out, anything helps, Thompson said.

Recently, ocean temperatures off the western coast of Florida have been a few degrees above normal, sitting around 88 to 90 degrees (31-32 degrees Celsius). Its not just humans that suffer when the oceans warm. Sea corals are bleaching. They can be hurt when water temperatures rise above the upper 80s (low 30 degrees Celsius).

July has been so hot that scientists announced a global heat record even before the month ended. Climate change is creating a hotter world, warming oceans and making some storms more destructive. Sea surface temperatures are somewhat above average around Florida, but they are far higher in parts of the North Atlantic near Newfoundland where they are as much as 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius) hotter than usual.

The extremely high sea surface temperatures recorded earlier this week off Floridas southern tip were caused by lots of sun, little wind and no storms.

Ive never seen temperatures 100 degrees in Florida Bay in the 21 years Ive been in the Keys, said Andy Devanas, science officer at the National Weather Service in Key West, Florida.

IS THE WATER THAT WARM EVERYWHERE?

And there are some questions about how representative Mondays 101.2-degree reading in Manatee Bay were. Water there is shallow and thus heats up quickly. If theres lots of sediment, that can raise temperatures, too, according to David Roth, a forecaster with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Climate Prediction Center.

By contrast, stop by the YMCA pools on the North Shore of Massachusetts near Boston and youll descend into water thats around 78 to 80 degrees (26 to 27 degrees Celsius). The ocean nearby is cooler, too. Sea surface temperatures off Cape Cod, for example, barely touched the mid-70s (about 24 degrees Celsius) this week.

When Maria Argueta, 38, has time off from her job at an open-air decorative plant nursery in Homestead, Florida, shell go with her family to swim.

This year, the heat is stronger, she said.

The hot ocean water doesnt bother her, but sometimes she takes her 2-year-old son and other members of the family to the Venetian Pool, a public facility in Coral Gables fed by water from an aquifer thats always in the 70s. The very cool water, she said, is refreshing.

FILE - Maria Argueta, 38, cools off with her son Matthew Pastrana, 2, and niece Aurora Reyes, 10, during a cloudy day respite in the high 80s from an ongoing heat wave, at the aquifer-fed Venetian Pool in Coral Gables, Fla., July 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)AP

Floridas humid weather makes it harder for sweat to evaporate and cool the body down. People in south Florida know the ocean doesnt tend to offer real relief from that suffocating heat.

You arent getting much cooling at all, Roth said. Nobody goes into the water in South Florida in the summer really except to swim, because it is comfortable to swim, but it is not refreshing.

Michael Phillis,Beatrice Dupuy and Rebecca Blackwell of The Associated Press wrote this story.

AP journalist Seth Borenstein contributed reporting from Washington, Dupuy reported from New York and Phillis reported from St. Louis. The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of APs environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
NORFOLK, Va.  Alonzo and Hazel Bristol were walking back to their room with a family friend after dinner on a May night aboard the Carnival Magic cruise ship when Alonzo, who had complained of dizziness, fainted in the hallway.

He was having a heart attack, and died a short time later as the vessel made its way back to Norfolk from the Bahamas.

In the months since, his family has harbored anger at Carnival Cruise Line for what it perceives as as a slow emergency response from the ships staff, and has grappled with the legal implications of a century-old U.S. law regulating death on the high seas.

Alonzo, an 88-year-old retired Air Force veteran who lived in Hampton, loved going on cruises, Hazel Bristol said. She wasnt sure how many theyd been on, but said they were platinum members of Carnivals Very Important Fun Person Club, which is the second-highest category of membership out of five.

Hazel, 79, said that when her husband fainted on May 19, staff on the scene seemed unprepared. Some custodial workers recognized the medical situation unfolding in the hallway before higher-level crew members, including a guest relations manager, arrived. While Alonzo was on the floor face-down, Hazel said, none of the staffers could get their communication devices to work correctly as they tried to call for medical personnel. Hazel alleges that in the meantime, no one performed life-saving measures on Alonzo  and that ultimately it was another guest who reached the ships medical personnel using the phone in their room.

It seemed like it took them forever to get there, nobody seemed to be in no hurry, Hazel said, claiming that the extent of help Alonzo received from staff was one of them calling his name trying wake him up, to no avail. Im sure they followed procedure but they were slow about doing it.

The ship was about 12 hours away from Norfolk, according to the Bristols.

Carnival cruises returned to Norfolk in May 2022 for the first time since 2019 after pandemic put the industry on hold. The company inked a deal in December to offer its first-ever year-round sailings from Norfolk in 2025.

A spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Line declined to comment on the specifics of the incident, but said their shipboard staff followed the companys emergency procedures, including performing CPR and using as AED (automated external defibrillator) on him.

Our CareTeam assisted Mr. Bristols family through the unfortunate loss they experienced, a spokesperson said in an email. Our condolences have been shared directly with the family and our thoughts remain with them in this difficult time.

Carnival Cruise Lines website says all its officers and crew complete comprehensive regular safety and emergency training that meets or exceeds all regulatory requirements and undergo specific training to handle emergency situations and help our guests. The companys Passenger Bill of Rights also includes the right to have available on board full-time, professional emergency medical attention, as needed until shore side medical care becomes available and the right to a ship crew that is properly trained in emergency and evacuation procedures.

Hazel estimates that her husband was on the floor, suffering from what the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later determined to be acute coronary insufficiency (a heart attack), for at least 15 minutes before receiving treatment despite several staff members being on scene.

His eventual death that night was deemed to be due to natural causes. He was a diabetic, according to Hazel. Carnival has since offered their condolences and refunded the family for their trip.

Im not saying my father wouldve survived if he got prompt medical attention but he wasnt even given the chance because their equipment wasnt working, said Alonzo Bristol III, who also lives in Hampton.

Carnival sent Hazel a voucher for a free cruise, according to Alonzo III, but he called it a slap in the face.

The family has considered legal action, but hasnt been able to get a lawyer to take the case. Many attorneys, if not all of them, cited the federal Death on the High Seas Act, according to Alonzo III.

The act is a century-old admiralty law that allows the recovery of only certain damages in deaths that occur beyond 3 nautical miles of the United States shores.

I have run into a solid brick wall with every attorney, Alonzo III said in a text. They all say (the act) is a horrible law and it needs to be changed.

Tom Scolaro is an attorney with the Miami-based law firm Leesfield Scolaro, which has handled many medical lawsuits against cruise lines. He explained that the Death on the High Seas Act bars recovery of damages for pain and suffering for wrongful death aboard a cruise, only allowing recovery of lost wages and loss of financial support provided by the deceased.

But federal law isnt the only barrier to passengers ability to sue. The ticket contract passengers must agree to states that they are admitting an awareness that the availability of medical care may be limited or delayed, that all or part of their voyage may be in areas where medical care and evacuation may not be available, and states that their own health insurance will not cover or be applicable to any medical services received on board and that such charges may not be eligible for reimbursement from Guests own insurance.

The ticket contract strongly encourages passengers to purchase travel insurance to offset potential medical costs, which the Bristols did prior to embarking. Scolaro said the medical care on cruises in general is not ideal.

Just judging by the sheer number of cases I am involved in and those that I currently have under review I would say that the state of medical care on cruise ships is second rate, Scolaro said in an email. The physicians on board are usually not educated and trained in the US. They are not usually board certified in their field. There are limited resources aboard cruise ships and you are left to their decision as to whether or not to medically evacuate you and disrupt the cruise schedule.

Scolaro added that cruise staff are obligated to perform the life-saving measures they are equipped to conduct on board, but thats the problem.

What are they equipped to perform on the vessel versus what emergencies warrant an immediate ship evacuation for treatment at a shore side hospital? he said. That is usually where the fight in these cases lie.

Gavin Stone of The Virginian-Pilot wrote this story.

2023 The Virginian-Pilot. Visit at pilotonline.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The body of an 18-year-old man was pulled from Lake Michigan over the weekend.

According to conservation officers with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the teenager went missing while swimming in Lake Michigan at Miller Beach near Gary around 2:55 p.m. on Sunday.

Multiple agencies with dive teams responded to the scene in Lake County to assist in the search.

Search efforts were hampered due to a north wind, with three to six-foot waves creating dangerous rip currents in the area, according to a news release.

A beachgoer observed a body in the water approximately three quarters of a mile from where the man was last seen around 6 p.m., according to the DNR.

A recovery was made, and the victim, who has not been identified by name, was pronounced dead on scene.

The incident is under investigation. The identity of the victim is being withheld pending family notification.

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MACKINAW CITY, MICH. -- One of Michigans premier stargazing spots is asking for some help with a mission this month.

Headlands International Dark Sky Park in Mackinaw City is inviting residents and businesses in communities around Northern Michigan, and anyone else whod like to join in for solidarity, to participate in its annual Lights Out outreach initiative by turning out their lights for one hour on August 16, from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Park officials say this annual event raises awareness about the effects of light pollution, but theres also a special objective this year: to obtain the darkest sky-quality reading ever recorded at The Headlands.

During the Lights Out hour, the park will be using a special meter to record the darkness of its night skies. This measurement must be taken monthly to maintain the Headlands certification as an international dark sky park, and organizers are attempting to set a new record.

Its pretty dark out here, but we want to see if we can get it darker, said Park Manager Jamie Westfall.

Residents of Emmet, Cheboygan, and Mackinac Counties, and anyone else in Michigan who would like to join in, can participate by shielding, dimming, or simply turning out all non-essential indoor and outdoor lighting from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. on August 16 in a show of solidarity and support for the dark-sky preservation movement, said Austin LaVigne, the parks programming coordinator.

Efforts to protect the night sky and to push for more thoughtful outdoor lighting have been gaining momentum in recent years; advocates say theres a growing body of research showing that too much artificial light at night can have deterimental health effects on humans, wildlife and even plants.

RELATED: Skies dark enough for stargazing are disappearing. A new Michigan group wants to change that

At the same time, night-sky tourism is also on the rise, as artificial light has made stargazing increasingly difficult across the globe. A 2016 study found that 80 percent of Americans can no longer see the Milky Way at night due to light pollution.

Dark skies make Northern Michigan a premier astro-tourism destination, Westfall said. People visit here from around the world to experience this resource we protect, and its something to cherish; another awesome feature of this special place we call home.

The park at the tip of Michigans mitten became Michigans first international dark sky park in 2011, and is open for free 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for stargazing and hiking its nature trails.

The Headlands Lights Out event is timed to coincide with the August new moon, when the sky will be at its darkest for that month. Businesses, organizations, and individuals are encouraged to tag Headlands International Dark Sky Park on social media and use the hashtag #LIGHTSOUT2023 with a photo of you or your team, and the light (or lights) you turned out. All photos tagged will be shared with a thank you on the parks Facebook page, officials said.

Participants can join the Facebook event page here. To view details of this event and other events happening at Headlands International Dark Sky Park, please visit midarkskypark.org/programs-events/headlands-events-schedule/ or visit the park on Facebook.

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YPSILANTI, MI-- A well-known historic Ypsilanti building will soon be a spot to buy marijuana.

Quality Roots is set to open its marijuana dispensary in the 101-year-old former Farm Bureau building at 2 W. Forest Ave. on Monday, July 31. This is companys seventh dispensary in Michigan, with other locations in Westland and Madison Heights also planning to open soon, according to the companys website.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Fridays are typically quiet days in the Washtenaw County Courthouse, as staff and clerks work to get ready for the weekend.

But on the afternoon of July 28, the second floor was filled with the mirth and love of families, including the small army of the Kennedy family.

Cynthia Kennedy of Ypsilanti had about a dozen family members in attendance to witness and celebrate the official addition of two more boys to their ranks. Lakota, 10, and Xavier, 8, dressed sharply in suits and ties for the big day.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, adoption hearings in Washtenaw County have been virtual. The two brothers wanted to make their special day even more special by doing it in-person, Cynthia Kennedy said.

Being the first after COVID makes them feel excited, she said, adding Lakota and Xavier have been unofficially part of her family for about eight years.

I just want them to feel special, she said. Adoption is a final door closing.

Kennedy, 61, first housed the boys when Lakota was two and Xavier was just nine months old. They were wards of the state at the time, or under government protection, she said.

The July 28 adoption hearing made Kennedy their mother, she said, though the boys have always been considered family.

Ive had them since they were so little and Ive done everything for them, she said.

Life is not going to change much, Xavier said. He and Lakota are fully integrated in the Kennedy family, raising pigs, goats, rabbits and chickens for animal fairs.

They give us so much love, Lakota said.

After the boys asked for the adoption to take place in-person, Kennedy reached out to the courthouses adoption coordinator Monica Hicks. This led to Hicks visiting the Kennedy family, which includes older sisters Tori and Aeon and older brother Tyler, for three weeks to make sure Lakota and Xavier were loved.

They are very well-adjusted young men, Hicks said at the July 28 hearing. You boys have a ton of love and support in this family.

In order to make the adoption official, Kennedy received services with the help of Hicks. One of those was the child advocacy section of the University of Michigan Law Clinic, who helped her file the necessary paperwork for free.

It took some work to allow adoptions to take place in-person again, Hicks said, but it is worth it to make the hearings special for families that want it. There is still capacity for virtual adoption hearings, Hicks said.

The July 28 hearing was refereed by Chief Deputy Court Administrator Robert Carbeck, who credited Kennedys drive to parenting Lakota and Xavier.

She never wavered in her commitment to the boys, he said. Its been a long road, but now its a permanent road.

Kennedy fought tears as the adoption was made official, while Lakota and Xavier gave bright, wide smiles.

Now I know they wont be taken away and theyre mine always, Kennedy said, because I couldnt imagine life now without them.

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WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI - In an off-year between midterm and presidential elections, Washtenaw County residents might not be showing up in droves to the polls.

But clerks offices are still buzzing with activity, with major shifts to the way Michiganders can vote on the horizon in 2024. Thats thanks to the implementation of Proposal 2, the measure voters passed in 2022 expanding voting rights and bringing in-person early voting to the state for the first time.

This most recent constitutional amendment certainly is the biggest change that Michigan has seen in many, many years, said Washtenaw County Chief Deputy Clerk and Elections Director Ed Golembiewski.

Read more: Here are 6 ways voting in Michigan will be different in 2024

Hes been working with city and township clerks to prepare for 2024, where the presidential primary will serve as a trial run for the option for voters to walk into a precinct, fill out a ballot and physically cast it through a tabulator during an at least nine-day period before election day.

For the vast majority of Washtenaw Countys more than two dozen municipalities  Ann Arbor and Milan excluded  that will mean partnering with the county, which plans to run a network of regional early voting centers, Golembiewski said.

While details are still being finalized, he anticipates five regions within the county, with the early vote sites located in public buildings in centralized locations for each respective region. Officials are striving to keep communities together, like pairing Ypsilanti and Augusta townships, as well as a Saline-area region involving Pittsfield Township, the elections director said.

Residents looking to vote early in-person could come to their regional site during the nine-day period between the second Saturday prior to each election and the Sunday before election day to cast a ballot.

The county will also run a centralized early voting location, slated for the Washtenaw County Learning Resource Center off Washtenaw Avenue between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. It will be available to all voters outside Milan and Ann Arbor, jurisdictions running their own early voting programs, according to Golembiewski.

The idea is to give voters an option where they live, as well as another in the Ann Arbor area where they might go for work or business, he said.

We want to make this as convenient as possible to voters who overwhelmingly adopted Proposal 2, including this provision and right to early voting. We dont want to just set up one early vote site in the center of the county and say heres the option, were checking the box, the elections director said.

Still, administering the voting sites is a significant task, especially for smaller townships of just 1,000 voters with a part-time clerk. By banding together here, were going to be able to make this more cost effective, Golembiewski said.

Two municipalities, Ann Arbor and Milan, wont be part of the partnership.

For Milan, that has to do with differences in the kind of voting equipment used in each Washtenaw and Monroe counties, with the city split between the two, said city Clerk Lavonna Wenzel. She plans to host early voting at city hall, in city council chambers, she said.

Ann Arbor will also have no shortage of early voting options.

Ann Arbor City Clerk Jackie Beaudry said the citys tentative plan is to have is to have full-service offices for voter registration, take-home absentee ballots and on-the-spot early voting at city hall and the University of Michigans Museum of Art and Duderstadt Center  the three locations where the city already has done early absentee voting in previous elections.

In addition to these sites, the Ann Arbor District Library is partnering with us to offer early voting at the branches within the city, she said, referring to the Westgate, Malletts Creek and Traverwood branch libraries.

There wont be early voting at the AADLs downtown branch due to its proximity to city hall, and the Pittsfield branch also wont be used since its outside of city limits and used by Pittsfield Township as a polling place, the clerk said.

We do not yet have firm plans on hours of operation, but we expect the libraries to be open for the full nine days of early voting, and city hall and campus may offer expanded days and times, Beaudry said, adding additional drop-box locations are also planned for absentee ballots.

Golembiewski expects the voting changes will speed up the counting process.

The delays in reporting results that have stretched into the early morning hours in recent election cycles are because of the explosion in absentee voting. While he still expects many voters will continue to cast absentee ballots, officials will be able to pre-process ballots ahead of time, up to eight days prior to election day in larger municipalities, Golembiewski said.

Still, even with the early voting and ballot pre-processing, there will never be results published ahead of the close of the polls, by law, he said.

Other election-related changes are already going into effect, like the possibility for voters to sign up to permanently receive absentee ballots in future elections, an option added to absentee ballot applications in the communities that have had local elections this year, Golembiewski said.

Thanks to a change in state law, military and oversees voters also gained more time to return absentee ballots. They now have to be tabulated if they are postmarked by 8 p.m. on election night and received by the sixth day after election day, the elections director said.

The county is planning a communications push around the voting changes, and will be posting updates on its elections site, he said. Voters will also be notified by mail of their early voting sites.

Plans must be in place by the end of October, with everything finalized for the presidential primary, set to be moved up from March to Feb. 27 beginning in 2024 if legislation advanced by Michigan Democrats this year goes into effect. The countywide early voting partnership would then be in place for all elections, not just state and federal ones, Golembiewski said.

Read more: A February Michigan presidential primary may rest on legislature ending early

In Ann Arbor, the city clerks office also plans to build out a new city election center  a project the city has put $1 million in federal stimulus funds toward, though officials are still working on identifying a location, Beaudry said.

For many officials running elections, Golembiewski among them, Proposal 2 may bring some of the biggest election shifts of their careers.

This is really a huge, structural change in how elections are administered in Michigan, he said.

Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Ann Arbor daily newsletter.

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UPDATE: As of Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 1, the beach at Independence Lake has reopened for swimming after new water test results, health officials said.

WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI - For the second time in less than a weeks time, the beach at Independence Lake in Washtenaw County is closed for swimming after water test results showed high levels of E. coli bacteria, health officials said.

The closure of the beach at Independence Lake County Park in Webster Township, a popular summertime destination north of Ann Arbor, will be in effect until further notice, officials with the Washtenaw County Health Department said in a news release on Monday afternoon, July 31.

The beach, at 3200 Jennings Road near Whitmore Lake, recently closed on Wednesday, July 26, and reopened when test results showed bacteria levels below actionable limits on Friday, July 28, health department spokesperson Susan Ringer-Cerniglia said.

That shutdown was the first of the summer 2023 season.

Other forms of recreation that dont involve body contact with water, like fishing, are still permitted at Independence Lake during the beach closure, officials said.

E. coli bacteria can cause gastrointestinal illness and are a special concern for people with weakened immune systems, according to the health department. People with questions, or those who believe they may have become ill after swimming in the lake, can call the Washtenaw County Environmental Health Division at 734-222-3800 during normal business hours or visit washtenaw.org/envhealth.

Over the summer, public bathing beaches are regularly monitored for the bacteria, and closures are listed in a a Michigan database of beach closures and advisories, with updates on Independence Lake also posted on the health departments website.

Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Ann Arbor daily newsletter.

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Big elections changes will bring network of early voting sites to Washtenaw County

We do not have to live like this. Ann Arborites air frustrations over DTE outages

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ANN ARBOR, MI  After enduring another days-long power outage, at least the second of the year for many, Ann Arbor residents aired frustrations at an emergency town hall Sunday.

One thing Ive discovered in talking to people here is that people from Ann Arbor dont realize that how often these outages happen is unusual, said Ann Arbor resident Kieran Hawthorne, who said she grew up in New England and never experienced outages like this until she came to southeast Michigan.

This does not happen anywhere else, she said, adding she can count on one hand the number of outages she experienced in 20 years living in New England and cant recall a time when the power was out there for more than 24 hours.

We had a hurricane, the power did not go out, she said. I think the first step to making a change is recognizing that whats happening is not OK and its not normal.

Ann Arbor for Public Power town hall at Burns Park on July 30, 2023. (Ryan Stanton | MLive.com)Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

About 40 community members gathered in Burns Park for the July 30 event organized by Ann Arbor for Public Power, a grassroots group trying to convince Ann Arbor officials to form a city-owned power utility to replace DTE Energy locally.

No city officials were in attendance and group president Greg Woodring expressed disappointment no City Council members have taken a strong stance in support of the initiative yet. City officials are waiting on results from a feasibility study and Woodring said his group plans to keep lobbying to give them the bravery to take on an enemy like DTE.

Ann Arbor for Public Power town hall at Burns Park on July 30, 2023. (Ryan Stanton | MLive.com)Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

A handful of people whove come to Ann Arbor from other parts of the country and other parts of the world spoke during Sundays town hall and shared the sentiment that whats happening in DTEs service territory is unusual.

Pierre Saby, who is from France, said hes visiting Ann Arbor for the summer and experienced his first-ever major power outage after the storm on Wednesday, July 26, left about 167,000 DTE customers without power. He has experienced storms in France, but in more than 20 years there has never had an outage that lasted more than 10 minutes, he said.

And when I think about it, I found it kind of sad that I have to be here in the U.S., the most powerful country, to live a 48-hours outage, he said.

Other residents shared personal stories about older family members whove faced dangerous and deadly conditions as a result of prolonged outages during extreme weather, including some with medical conditions and some who need to keep medication like insulin refrigerated.

Washtenaw County Commissioner Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, speaks at the Ann Arbor for Public Power town hall at Burns Park on July 30, 2023. (Ryan Stanton | MLive.com)Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

Washtenaw County Commissioner Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, said hes among the many who lost power for days this past week and he agrees public power is the solution.

We do not have to live like this, he said, encouraging residents to look at maps tracking outages from storms nationally.

You can see that oftentimes when theres these big storms, its just Michigan that loses power, he said. And when you zoom in on Michigan, its just southeast Michigan that loses power. This aint normal.

Nearly 30,000 DTE customers in Washtenaw County lost power after Wednesdays storm, along with streetlights and traffic signals at busy intersections in neighborhoods left dark. As of Sunday afternoon, DTEs outage map still showed 1,165 customers without power in the county, and nearly 6,300 across DTEs service territory. It was down to about 3,000 by Monday morning, July 31.

A resident speaks about power outages during the Ann Arbor for Public Power town hall at Burns Park on July 30, 2023. (Ryan Stanton | MLive.com)Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

DTE said two severe weather events, including wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour and heavy rain, caused significant tree damage that led to downed lines and crews have worked to assess damage and restore power as quickly as possible.

We know how difficult it is to be without power, the company said in a statement. Thats why we deployed 3,000 DTE workers, contractors and out-of-state support to restore the more than 160,000 customers who were without power across the region. We restored 95% of customers with 48 hours, after which we focused our crews on the remaining 5% of affected customers with more complex repair issues.

Areas including Ann Arbor, Livonia and Grosse Pointe were particularly hard hit by weather that, in many cases, caused catastrophic damage requiring more time to repair, DTE said, apologizing to all customers impacted.

Ann Arbor for Public Power town hall at Burns Park on July 30, 2023. (Ryan Stanton | MLive.com)Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

Ann Arbor for Public Power believes a municipal utility overseen by a combination of elected and appointed representatives would be more responsive to residents concerns than a for-profit company and would make the grid more reliable with less-frequent and shorter outages. The group wants to see better tree trimming around lines and burying lines in some cases, as well as more investments in renewable energy.

Ann Arbor for Public Power successfully lobbied City Council last September to move forward with a roughly $500,000 study to evaluate the citys future energy options, including the feasibility of starting a city-owned utility to take over DTE in the city.

City Administrator Milton Dohoney reported to City Council on July 17 the study being led by the citys sustainability office and 5 Lakes Energy LLC is in the final phases of data analysis and first drafts are expected in late summer.

Missy Stults, the citys sustainability director, said she hasnt seen any estimates yet as far as how much it might cost the city to buy out DTE and take over its infrastructure in the city.

President Greg Woodring speaks at the Ann Arbor for Public Power town hall at Burns Park on July 30, 2023. (Ryan Stanton | MLive.com)Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

While it could cost hundreds of millions of dollars and some may argue its not feasible, Woodring argues it is and hes expecting a messaging battle with DTE to convince city leaders its a good move. If the city gets behind it, Woodring said he expects DTE to challenge it and there could be a three-year court process to settle on a final amount to acquire DTEs assets.

After that, the issuance of municipal bonds to pay off the debt over decades would go to a vote of the people in Ann Arbor and it would require 60% support, Woodring said.

Ann Arbor for Public Power argues the outages happening are only sometimes because of storms and other times because of equipment problems related to poor maintenance, with DTE neglecting infrastructure in favor of corporate profits.

DTE maintains its making big investments to improve the power grid, including ongoing reliability and capacity upgrades in the Ann Arbor area, while pledging to partner with Ann Arbor to meet the citys 100% renewable energy goal by 2030.

Executive Director Don Lee speaks at the Ann Arbor for Public Power town hall at Burns Park on July 30, 2023. (Ryan Stanton | MLive.com)Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

Don Lee, Ann Arbor for Public Powers new executive director, joined Woodring in kicking off Sundays town hall. The group is entering its third year of organizing.

When we began this journey, we never believed that it would only become more and more relevant as time goes on, as we are seeing the complete failure of this for-profit utility system through DTE, Woodring said.

We are on, I think, the third or fourth major outage of this year alone, he added. Over 30,000 people across Washtenaw County lost power just this last week for up to five days despite the wind only really blowing hard for about 30 minutes.

Not long before that, downtown Ann Arbor lost power for up to two days, shutting down several businesses, and before that there was a power surge that fried thousands of dollars of electronics in Ann Arbor residents homes, he said. Hundreds of thousands of DTE customers also lost power for days  some over a week  when there was an ice storm in February.

Ann Arbor for Public Power town hall at Burns Park on July 30, 2023. (Ryan Stanton | MLive.com)Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

Its absolutely unacceptable for us to be paying some of the highest electrical rates in the country and to be receiving the quality of service that we are receiving, Woodring said, comparing it to other communities with municipal power.

When you look at our neighbors in Chelsea, Wyandotte and Lansing, they are experiencing the same sort of weather that we are experiencing. However, when their power goes down, it does infrequently and it is restored quickly, he said.

Woodring, who lives in Ypsilanti, said if Ann Arbor officials act as quickly as they can, public power can become a reality in the city by 2026. After Ann Arbor proves its possible to make the transition, he hopes to see it happen in more communities, including Ypsilanti, he said.

Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Ann Arbor daily newsletter.

MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS:

Urgency of climate issue tops priority for 1st University of Michigan sustainability head

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11 people have been killed in Washtenaw County since June 1. Whats behind the rise in homicides?
HOLLAND TOWNSHIP, MI  Two teens were arrested Sunday, July 30, after their vehicle crashed into a fire hydrant during a short police chase.

Ottawa County sheriffs deputies responded at 9:14 p.m. to the 3000 block of 112th Avenue, south of Riley Street, on a report of a domestic assault. Before police reached the scene, the suspect was picked up by a friend and left.

Sheriffs deputies spotted theIR vehicle and tried to stop it. The driver sped up and fled but soon crashed while failing to negotiate a turn at 104th Avenue and Alice Street in Zeeland. The vehicle hit a fire hydrant and became immobile.

The two in the vehicle fled on foot but were soon captured. The suspect in the domestic assault was carrying a gun, police said.

Both were taken to the Ottawa County Juvenile Detention Center.

Read more:

Swimmer drowns in Gull Lake at Kalamazoo County park

Sharing meals, gardens and lawn mowers: Cohousing growing in Michigan

This free water taxi will take you to your dining destination near Lake Michigan

Artists sought for street murals in Muskegons Lakeside Business District
VAN BUREN COUNTY, MI -- A jury has found Juan Solis-Reyna guilty of second-degree murder in the 1995 shooting death of Jose Cruz Armijo-Arreguin.

A jury trial happened from July 25 to July 28 in Van Buren Countys 36th Circuit Court in the decades-old shooting death, the Van Buren County Sheriffs Office said in a news release.

On Friday, July 28, after about two hours of deliberation, the jury found Solis-Reyna guilty of second-degree murder and felony firearm.

Solis-Reyna will be sentenced at 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 18, the sheriffs office said.

The murder happened on April 24, 1995, in Decatur Township, police said.

With help from the FBI, the Van Buren County Sheriffs Office located Solis-Reyna in Mexico. He was on the run from law enforcement since 1995, the sheriffs office said.

He was arrested and extradited back to Michigan to face charges in October 2022, police said.

Police did not provide additional information about the incident.

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Barefoot man who fired gun around official in cemetery remains at large

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VAN BUREN COUNTY, MI  A man was sentenced to life in prison after a jury convicted him of murder.

Colby Delea Martin, 31, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for one count of premediated first-degree murder on Monday, July 31, by Van Buren County Circuit Judge Kathleen Brickley.
BRADENTON, FL  In the fall of 2019, two Bay City men drove a rental car south across the Michigan border. Their multistate trek came to a violent end as they robbed and fatally shot a man in his Florida apartment.

Nearly four years on, the triggerman has been convicted of murder and sentenced to decades in a Sunshine State prison.
At least two high-profile conservatives known for pushing unproven conspiracy theories about U.S. elections will speak at a Michigan Republican Party statewide conference.

Filmmaker Dinesh DSouza and former Arizona GOP governor candidate Kari Lake were announced in recent days as speakers for the Michigan GOPs annual Leadership Conference scheduled for Sept. 22-24 at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.

Their attendance is the MIGOPs latest embrace of voting conspiracies since election denier Kristina Karamo, who never conceded last Novembers secretary of state race, was elected party chair in February. Karamo, DSouza and Lake have all falsely claimed that Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election because of widespread voter fraud.

The MIGOPs announcement of Lake on Monday came with a tease of more speakers to be released in the future.

They will challenge the status quo, the partys conference website says of the speakers. As we prepare to win in 2024 these conversations will push our party to a new level of excellence and cultural understanding.

Advancing election denialism, however, may be a losing strategy. Nationwide last fall, election deniers won fewer than 1 in 6 races for governor, attorney general and secretary of state, according to nonpartisan watchdog States United Action.

Spreading the Big Lie, as Trumps false claims have come to be known, cost election-denying Republican candidates an average of more than 2 percentage points in the midterms, according to a Stanford University working paper.

Go deeper: Election deniers fail in battleground states, but Act III awaits in 2024

DSouza is best known as director, writer, producer and star of 2000 Mules, a film released last spring that claims a vague network of absentee ballot mules in swing states like Michigan used drop boxes to steal the election from Trump.

The movie has been widely debunked, including by cybersecurity and elections experts MLive spoke to last year in a deep fact-check of the films central claims.

Its not a credible belief that is subject to evidence anymore, said Josh Pasek, an associate professor of communication and media and political science at the University of Michigan. People just want to be able to wave something that helps validate their feelings.

Read more: 2000 Mules fact check: Michigan experts debunk election fraud claims

Prior to the film, DSouza spread conspiracy theories that included President Barack Obama was born outside the U.S. and President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton had people assassinated. DSouza was pardoned by Trump in 2018 after being convicted of a campaign finance felony.

Lake was a former news anchor in Arizona who ran for governor there in 2022 as a Republican and lost by 17,000 votes to Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. Even after losing in court multiple times trying to challenge her defeat, Lake continues to falsely claim her election was stolen.

Read more from MLive:

Michigan Capitol eyes implementing total gun ban around Labor Day

Michigan crash survivors injured before 2019 no-fault law retain full care, Supreme Court rules

Meet the Michigan legislatures first Black woman overseeing state spending

Your Michigan drivers license could move from your wallet to your smartphone
Happy Monday MLive readers!

Where did July go? As we enter a new month, we are also entering a new era of Wallet Watch. MLive reporter Alyssa Burr is stepping in as an interim economy reporter, joining Rose White. That means I, Lindsay Moore, am signing off from the economy team for the foreseeable future while I delve into some other reporting.
July was a very wet month for almost all locations over southern Michigan. The high-resolution rainfall map for July shows the big soaker, for most of us.

Total rainfall from the radar estimates for July 1 to July 30. (Mark Torregrossa | MLive)

On the July rainfall map above there are a few very wet spots which show up in purple. (pinch zoom on mobile phone). The purple spots around Stanton, Alma, south of Mount Pleasant, Marlette, Brown City and Richmond had between 10 inches and 15 inches of rain in just the past 30 days. Much of southern Lower Michigan had over five inches of rain in July. Parts of Lapeer County, St. Clair County, north of Lansing and south of Grand Rapids had over eight inches of rain.

But if you live in Oakland County you might be wondering what the heavy rain talk is all about. Around Rochester Hills and Troy there have only been two to three inches of rain in the past month.

The next map below shows you how abnormal the rainfall was this July. (Pinch zoom to see greater detail)

Departure from normal amount of rain for July for southern Michigan. (Mark Torregrossa | MLive)

Eastern Montcalm County had rainfall totals over eight inches above normal. Much of southern Lower was at least three to five inches wetter than normal.

But again we can find a few small spots that actually had right around normal rainfall for July. The gray squares around Auburn Hills signify normal July rainfall.

Here are some exact rainfall amounts for July:

Grand Rapids - 5.77 inches

Lansing - 6.24 inches

Muskegon - 4.07 inches

Kalamazoo - 6.56 inches

Jackson - 5.80 inches

Detroit - 5.20 inches

Flint - 5.03 inches

Saginaw/Bay City - 6.90 inches (which looks to be a new July rainfall record)

The weather pattern can flip-flop quickly and did so from a very dry May and June at most southern Lower Michigan locations.
School of Social Work

Citizen action team members in the Citizenship for Health program discuss their mission and vision for community issues they want to take action on.

Stephanie Johnson-Cobb.

A Citizenship for Health event participant shows off exercise equipment she won.
31.07.2023 LISTEN

GhanaFEST South Africa is back for a 9th edition, and this years event will undoubtedly be the biggest and most explosive one yet!

The festival is FREE for all to attend and will take place at Fountains Valley in Pretoria on Saturday 16th September 2023 at [time], under the theme Heritage Changes.

Headline Artist for this year's edition is Obrafour (aka Ghana Rap Sofo) who will electrify the stage with his performance. There will be many more international and local artists performing to keep the crowds dancing late into the night.

You can expect to see an abundance of beautiful clothing and textiles, live music, dancing, delicious food, and cultural artefacts. The event aims to further strengthen the relationship between Ghana, South Africa and the broader West African community through an experience that offers a unique perspective of diverse cultures.

GhanaFEST is a flagship event in South Africa that attracts over 5000 people from various countries to celebrate the incredible diversity and deep heritage of not only Ghanaians but all nationalities in South Africa.

The night will be topped off with an exhilarating performance by traditional South African dancers to celebrate the unity and diversity of the festival.

GhanaFEST SA is supported by Mama Money as the headline sponsor and the Ghana High Commission. Youll be able to mingle with leading diplomats who will be in attendance for the celebrations and tours of the cultural and Chieftancy exhibitions.
Mr. Benjamin Kofi Quashie, South African Council of Elders Chairman of the National Democratic Congress has slammed the embattled former minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah for stashing huge cash at home.

He described her actions as morally reprehensible.

In a telephone conversation with DC Kwame Kwakye on GBC Radio Central, Saturday, 29th July, 2023, he argued that keeping such quantum of monies at home defeats the government's policy of encouraging all Ghanaians to keep their monies at the bank.

"If she keeps one million dollars at home, I keep one million dollars, how do we expect the banking sector to flourish? How can money go round for others to benefit from to spur economic growth?" he quizzes.

"No wonder our currency is under-performing. It means a lot more people in government have stashed cash in their homes. This is a failure on the part of the NPP government," he stated.

The SA Council Chair indicated that keeping such huge monies at home as a public officer cannot be right and tells the kind of mentality those in power behave.

"Are these the people who touted themselves as having the men? Her resignation is good. I hope the OSP does a thorough and an unbiased job but, l have some misgivings about the president's response in accepting the minister's resignation. Some portions of the president's letter are very unfortunate especially when the president is a legal luminary," he stated.

He added that no matter the source of money, keeping huge cash at home very wrong since she is a public officers. He action shows she herself lacks confidence in her government's handling of the economy.

"They've run the economy aground and their officers are keeping unaccounted for cash at their homes. A private man can keep 10 million dollars at home and no one cares, but because she's a public servant, it raises a lot of eyebrows and questions their own performance", he intimated.

Mr. Benjamin Quashie stressed that, during President Mahama's administration, Victoria Hammer's expression of desire to make one million dollars in government got her a sack. "Ursula Owusu then, said all manner of things when this matter came up, impugning the government's integrity. Now what is she going to say about this?" he quizzed angrily.

"The attitude of missing monies from homes of public officers is becoming one too many in this government, and portrays them as people who are in to loot state funds... very disturbing for our governance and something ought to be done about it. President Mahama offers a better progressive alternative", Mr. Quashie emphasized.
A Portrait for the late Sherry Ayitey

30.07.2023 LISTEN

In a poignant display of respect and gratitude, the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) paid a solemn visit to the family of their late 1st National Vice Chairperson, Madam Sherry Ayitey.

The visit was led by their esteemed National Chairman, Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, who, along with other party executives, expressed their heartfelt condolences and promised to collaborate closely with the family to ensure a dignified and befitting burial for the beloved leader.

During the visit, emotions ran high, with tears streaming down the faces of the party executives, particularly Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah. The deep sense of loss was evident as they reflected on the remarkable legacy and selfless service Madam Sherry Ayitey had rendered to the NDC and the nation at large.

Madam Sherry Ayitey was an exemplary figure within the NDC, and her contributions to the party were immeasurable. Throughout her tenure as 1st National Vice Chairperson, she exemplified unwavering dedication, strategic vision, and an undying commitment to the principles and values of the party. Her leadership style and passion for social justice earned her the respect and admiration of both colleagues and adversaries.

Beyond her political accomplishments, Madam Sherry Ayitey was also known for her empathy and compassion. She cared deeply for the welfare of the party members and the citizens she served, always seeking ways to uplift and empower those in need. Her ability to bridge gaps and build bridges of understanding made her a unifying force within the NDC.

As the news of her passing spread, an outpouring of grief and tributes from party members, political figures, and citizens from all walks of life flooded the nation. The profound impact of her loss resonated deeply, emphasizing the indelible mark she left on Ghanaian politics and society.

During their visit to Madam Sherry Ayitey's family, the NDC leadership reiterated their commitment to preserving her memory and upholding the values she stood for. They pledged to work closely with the family to organize a befitting burial ceremony, acknowledging that she deserved nothing less than a solemn and respectful farewell.

The NDC, now faced with the void left by her passing, will undoubtedly draw inspiration from her legacy as they navigate future challenges. Madam Sherry Ayitey's dedication to public service, her unwavering commitment to the party's principles, and her ability to connect with people from all backgrounds will serve as a guiding light for the NDC's future endeavors.

As the nation bids farewell to this illustrious leader, it is essential to celebrate the life and accomplishments of Madam Sherry Ayitey. Her memory will forever be etched in the annals of the NDC's history, inspiring generations of leaders to come and reminding all of the transformative power of selfless service and compassionate leadership. May her soul rest in eternal peace.
African leaders are leaving two days of meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin with little to show for their requests to resume a deal that kept grain flowing from Ukraine and to find a way of ending the war there.

In a press conference late Saturday following the Russia-Africa summit, Putin said Russia's termination of the grain deal earlier this month caused a rise in grain prices that benefits Russian companies.

He added that Moscow would share some of those revenues with the poorest nations".

That commitment, with no details, follows Putin's promise to start shipping 25,000 to 50,000 tons of grain for free to each of six African nations in the next three to four months  an amount dwarfed by the 725,000 tons shipped by the UN World Food Programme to several hungry countries, African and otherwise, under the grain deal.

Russia plans to send the free grain to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Eritrea and Central African Republic.

Fewer than 20 of Africa's 54 heads of state or government attended the Russia summit, while 43 attended the previous gathering in 2019, reflecting concerns over Russia's invasion of Ukraine even as Moscow seeks more allies on the African continent of 1.3 billion people.

Calls to resume grain deal

Putin praised Africa as a rising centre of power in the world, while the Kremlin blamed outrageous Western pressure for discouraging some African countries from showing up.

The presidents of Egypt and South Africa were among the most outspoken on the need to resume the grain deal.

We would like the Black Sea initiative to be implemented and that the Black Sea should be open, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said. We are not here to plead for donations for the African continent.

In Saturday's press conference, Putin said that Russia did not reject talks on Ukraine and that an African peace initiative, as well as a Chinese one, could be a basis for peace.

He also said that it was hard to implement a ceasefire when the Ukrainian army was on the offensive.

The next significant step in peace efforts appears to be a Ukrainian-organised peace summit hosted by Saudi Arabia in August, to which Russia is not invited.

Africa's nations make up the largest voting bloc at the UN and have been more divided than any other region on General Assembly resolutions criticising Russia's actions in Ukraine.

Delegations at the summit in St. Petersburg roamed exhibits of weapons, a reminder of Russia's role as the African continent's top arms supplier.

Putin in his remarks on Saturday also downplayed his absence from the BRICS economic summit in South Africa next month amid a controversy over an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court.

Putin said his presence there was no more important than his presence "here, in Russia".

(with AP)
31.07.2023 LISTEN

A Professor of Health Economics at the University of Ghana, Justice Nonvignon, has called for an urgent overhaul of the current global donor financing scheme to ensure equitable and sustainable development in Africa.

Prof Nonvignon said while development assistance played a vital role in supporting health delivery, improving health outcomes, and overall development, its current structure jeopardised African economies, including Ghana.

The current architecture of development assistance for health perpetuates inequities and deviates from its supposed role as a global saviour. This is not optimal, he said.

The first professor of Health Economics at the University of Ghana said this at his inaugural lecture in Accra on the topic: The Pursuit of Health Amidst Scarcity: Economics, Health, and the Romance In-Between.

Referencing the COVID-19 pandemic, he said the early stage of the vaccines, saw high-income countries pre-ordered doses, only to doll them out to lower and middle-income countries in tots, and unfortunately, many of them came close to expiry.

He, therefore, called for a review of the current global donor support system, adding that: The multilateral financing system too needs an overhaul. It motivates countries to prioritise payments over critical social services like health.

Prof Nonvignon attributed the reliance of African governments on donor support in health to low prioritisation of health expenditure, high debt and the burden of interest payments.

He said an average of 22 per cent of health expenditure in many African countries were donor-funded, compared with seven per cent in South East Asia and two per cent in the Americas.

Between 2019 and 2021, developing countries spent some 40.8 per cent of their public expenditure on health, 41.1 per cent on investment, and 60.4 per cent on interest payment, UN Global Crisis Response Group 2023 data showed.

Again, some 3.3 billion people live in nations where interest payments surpass investments in education and health.

For instance, in Sudan, 64 per cent of all health spending is from donors, and in Zimbabwe, it's 56 per cent. This heavy reliance on development assistance often results in health priorities that are shaped, rather than our national governments, the Health Economist said.

This mounting debt burden jeopardises prosperity for both humanity and the planet, he said and urged African policymakers and governments to prioritise health investments.

Despite signing the 2001 Abuja Declaration to commit about 15 per cent of its annual budget to health, the observation is that not more than three countries in Africa have achieved that target.

The average domestic government spending in Sub-Saharan Africa is $74, and in some countries, it is as low as $16. This compares sharply with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, who are spending $594 on health, Prof Nonvignon said.

He said that the active working population in the productive sector was key to economic growth, and asked, How can the population work when they are not healthy?

Global financing institutions are critical in supporting health delivery in Africa, but they will not solve all of Africa's health problems. Africa must take more responsibility in driving and financing solutions to its problems, he stated.

GNA
Founder of Fawohodze Incorporated, Nana Efua Essiaba has disclosed that her organization intends to launch an Adult Literacy Campaign as part of the Optimum Health Project to help Ghanaian members.

The project would be called the Fawohodze Financial Literacy Campaign which seeks to educate and empower everybodys understanding of wealth creation.

"It will also help Ghanaians citizens gain valuable financial insights to make smart choices and secure their future with relevant financial literacy and investment options.

"It also seeks to improve members physical well-being with expert guidance and health tips and also to excel in academics with support and resources to boost their learning journey," she stated.

Nana Essiaba emphasized that members would learn a lot about environmental awareness and how to protect the planet earth especially in this era of global warming where erratic weather has become the other of the day.

"Fawohodze Adult Literacy Campaign would also help nurture members emotional health to help them find balance in their life. In this era where emotional intelligence is being touted as a prerequisite to survival and success, this from Fawohodze literacy comes in handy," she stressed.

The last but not the least according the Fawohodze founder, is to strengthen members social connections and build lasting relationships.

It will also help them connect with their inner Self/Spiritual dimensions in order to find inner peace.

Touching on the meaning of the name and speaking on NyansaTV, 29th July, 2023, Cynthia Obleton, who prefers to be known as Nana Efua Essiaba expatiate that, 'Fawohodze' is an Akan word which stands for Freedom and Independence.

"It is a USA & Ghana based organization which aims to promote Diaspora and Africa Culture Exchange. It intends to achieve this through connecting our African brothers and sisters in Diaspora to their Africa Heritage through Tur Wo Ba and African Heritage Education.

"For Ghana we offer After School Program and Homework Support to support healing of the mind, body and spirit of the children in our communities as well as Adult Literacy Programme to heal our communities.

This is an Exciting News and and amazing time to be a Fawohodze Member. "Get ready for our incredible "Optimum Health Project joining Fawohodze now and unlock access to this all-encompassing project. Together, let's achieve optimum health and well-being!" Nana Essiaba emphasised.
This week on The Sound Kitchen, a special treat: RFI English listeners' musical requests. Just click on the Play" button above and enjoy!

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday. This week, you'll hear requests from your fellow RFI English listeners Princess Honour Serena Dokubo, Pradip Basak, and Heimer Sia.

Be sure you send in your music requests! Write to me at [email protected]

Here's the music you heard on this week's program: Anybody by Burna Boy;  Into the Groove by Madonna and Stephen Bray, sung by Madonna, and Trying to be cool by Chris Mazzalai, Laurent Brancowitz, Thomas Croquet and Frederic Moulin, played by Phoenix .

Be sure and tune in next Saturday, for another special Music in the Kitchen, featuring listeners musical requests.

To find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize, click here.

To find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club, click here.
Effutu MP Alexander Afenyo Markin

31.07.2023 LISTEN

Member of Parliament for Effutu and Deputy Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo Markin has called for enrollment of Hepatitis B treatment onto the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

According to the lawmaker, the test and treatment of the disease is expensive hence the need to ensure people have the opportunity to check their status and undergo treatment no matter their financial status.

He spoke via zoom at this year's World Hepatitis B Day held on Friday, 28 July, 2023 in the Effutu municipality.

The program organised by Mumbies Foundation, an NGO in collaboration with the MP's office and support from the Health Directorate sensitised and educated people on the need for early check up.

Hon. Afenyo Markin used the opportunity to advice Ghanaians to seek early testing and medical attention to prevent the late stage of the disease.

He, however, assured the people he will soon procure the viral loading machine for easy access to testing and treatment.

The MP who is also a known advocate for hepatitis B cautioned the public against resorting to unapproved herbal medicines as it can worsen the situation.

The Municipal Health Director, Dr. Kwame Bota and other speakers at the event supported the MP's call for early testing to ensure the municipality contain the spread of the disease and also called for collaborative effort to help address the canker.

Judy Micah, the Effutu Municipal Education Director called for future collaborations to ensure holistic approach to dealing with the spread of the disease.
On September 22, 1966, David Adjaye, an architect and the child of a Ghanaian diplomat, was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He graduated from the Royal College of Art in London with a degree in architecture, and he went on to become one of the most well-known designers in both Europe and the US. He is widely recognized for creating residences for famous people like Ewan McGregor and Alexander McQueen but he didn't stop there; he also turned his attention to the architecture of cultural institutions like libraries, museums, art centers, and art galleries.

To have the contentious cathedral built by the man who was commonly referred to in the media as "Obama's favorite architect," the president made a vow to the god he worships. However, he then changed it to become a national project so he could further his corrupt power. The cathedral is currently inactive despite reports that Akufo Addo and his vice president, Mahamamu Bawumia, paid the architect more than GH32 million for consulting on the project.



David Adjaye used his power and fortune to sexually assault three of the women who had worked for him.

However, the significance of this article is to learn how Sir David Adjaye, a renowned individual, is alleged to have sexually harassed and assaulted three former coworkers, according to investigative news that appeared in the Financial Times on July 4, 2023. Two of the women worked in the Adjaye Associates office in Accra, and the other one was based in London. The three victims are black women who knew Adjaye before starting their jobs.



According to the Financial Times article, since the allegations were made public, the architect behind renowned buildings like the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, has resigned from several positions and stated that he is seeking professional assistance for engaging in relationships that, despite being completely consensual, blurred the lines between his professional and personal lives.

David Adjaye has reportedly denied any criminal activity and called the sexual allegations upsetting and inaccurate. This is what I know about the case.after the two employees of Adjaye's Accra office went out to dinner with the architect to talk about the company's cash flow issues and payroll delays, and then followed him to his corporate apartment.

The Financial Times reported that Adjaye approached the two ladies, made unwanted physical contact with them, and instructed one of them, "You have to do this," before sexually assaulting her. He allegedly gave her 4,000 Ghanaian cedi (around $880 at the time) the following day. Both the occurrence of the sexual assault and the fact that it was the reason for the cash withdrawalrather than to cover the cost of a police escort to help them navigate the traffic on their way to the siteare denied by Adjaye and his attorney.

The newspaper also detailed how Adjaye allegedly sexually attacked the same lady in 2019 after they had met for a project launch in a restroom at a Johannesburg airport. Eight months after reporting the assault to the company and making an attempt to file a police report in Ghana, she was abruptly sacked from Adjaye Associates. According to reports, the other woman and Adjaye had a previous sexual connection that terminated before she started working for the company.

Despite the abuse they endured at the hands of Adjaye both of the ladies remained at the business after the attacks because they needed the money to maintain their families and had traveled to Accra to work for the company, according to the allegations. However, Adjayi's attorney says that the women were fired because other employees had expressed concerns about their behavior and competence.

A third woman claims that Adjaye sexually assaulted her after an industry gathering in London in 2019 and then promised her a job in communications at his London office. He allegedly kept up a sexually abusive relationship with her while she was working for him, humiliating her in the workplace, and making derogatory remarks about her skin tone, she claims. She reportedly left in 2020 and filed a formal sexual misconduct complaint against him in 2022. Other employees who were spoken with by the Financial Times provided other accounts of mismanagement at the company outside of these two.

David Adjaye lost architectural commissions and resigned from official positions on July 5, when the allegations became known, and could no longer be involved in the architectural assignment for the London Holocaust Memorial and Learning Center, according to The Adjayi's Associates. The Studio Museum in Harlem also made the major decision to split ways with Adjaye Associates after an official announcement on July 6, 2023.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, he has also pulled out of a rehabilitation project with Fern Hill in Chicago, and his company was let go from its commission for the East County Library in Oregon. The Sharjah's Africa Institute announced on July 10 that it was abandoning plans for a sizable campus with an Adjaye design in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Additionally, the Shelburne Museum in Vermont also severed connections with the architect on July 13, 2023.

Considering the serious accusations of misbehavior made against him, Shelburne Museum has severed connections with the architect and would no longer be working with him or his company, Adjaye Associates. Adjaye has severed ties with all the significant businesses he had previously worked with. He has also resigned from his roles as a trustee of the Serpentine Galleries, a design advisor to the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and affiliation with the African Futures Institute, the curator of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023.



The world is aware that Akufo Addo neither knows what shame is about nor the protection of integrity because he has none to protect. Since he is worse than Adjayi, the majority of Ghanaians believe he will still retain the architect for the corruption to continue unabated, while all the major companies that have spent years working to establish a good reputation have severed ties with the architect.
The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) Volta regional organizer has petitioned the partys leadership to suspend the regional secretary, Pope Yevu, for allegedly diverting items meant to be shared among voters during the recently held Assin North by-election.

The Volta regional organizer of the NPP, Korsi Bodja, in a petition to the national executives of the party dated July 3, alleged that Pope Yevu diverted campaign materials such as hair dryers, cutlasses, Wellington boots, head pans, fertilizers, and sewing machines meant to be distributed in the Ewe communities during the campaign.

I write to invoke Article 3(7) of the party's constitution for the suspension of the New Patriotic Party's Volta Regional Secretary, Mr. Pope Yevu for gross misconduct against the party as an elected officer, contravening Article 3 Clauses 1,3,4,5 and 6 of the party's constitution, in the recent by-election campaign activities held at Assin North Constituency where the Volta Regional Secretary was caught diverting campaign material meant for the said by-election.

He stressed, In the said by-election, the New Patriotic Party Volta Regional Executives and other constituency executives were expected to enhance the party's electoral fortunes by intensifying campaign in the Ewe communities within the Assin North Constituency. As a result, campaign materials including hairdryers, cutlasses, Wellington boots, head pans, fertilizers and sewing machines were handed over to the region to help meet the demand of the electorate in the Ewe communities during the campaign. However, it turned out that, while there was indeed, high demand for the said campaign materials within communities where we campaigned, the Volta Regional Secretary decided to keep such items in his hotel facility and diverted same for his parochial interest.

He further claimed that the Volta regional secretary was captured on video secretly packing out the hoarded items for the campaign into his car for his personal gain.

From the video footage available for your view, the Volta Regional Secretary is visibly seen at the dawn of 28th June 2023, at about 3: 58am, a day after the by-election in Assin North, secretly packing out the hoarded items for the campaign into his car with the support of the Deputy Volta Regional Organizer who had also brought a pickup vehicle for the conveyance of same items to their region, the Korsi Bodja alleged.

Citi News reached out to Pope Yevu for comment, but he failed to respond to the allegations.

Read below the petition by the NPP Volta regional organiser to the General Secretary:

REGIONAL ORGANIZER, NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY, VOLTA REGIONAL OFFICE, HO  V/R. 3RD JULY, 2023. THE GENERAL SECRETARY NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS ACCRA Dear Sir, PETITION TO SUSPEND THE NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY VOLTA REGIONAL SECRETARY FOR DIVERSION OF CAMPAIGN MATERIALS FOR PRIVATE USE.

I write to invoke Article 3(7) of the party's constitution for the suspension of the New Patriotic Party's Volta Regional Secretary, Mr. Pope Yevu for gross misconduct against the party as an elected officer, contravening Article 3 Clauses 1,3,4,5 and 6 of the party's constitution, in the recent by-election campaign activities held at Assin North Constituency where the Volta Regional Secretary was caught diverting campaign material meant for the said by-election.

In the said by-election, the New Patriotic Party Volta Regional Executives and other constituency executives were expected to enhance the party's electoral fortunes by intensifying the campaign in the Ewe communities within the Assin North Constituency. As a result, campaign materials including hairdryers, cutlasses, Wellington boots, head pans, Fertilizers and sewing machines were handed over to the region to help meet the demand of the electorate in the Ewe communities during the campaign. However, it turned out that, while there was indeed, high demand for the said campaign materials within communities where we campaigned, the Volta Regional Secretary decided to keep such items in his hotel facility and diverted the same for his parochial interest.

From the video footage available for your view, the Volta Regional Secretary is visibly seen at the dawn of 28th June 2023, at about 3: 58am, a day after the by-election in Assin North, secretly packing out the hoarded items for the campaign into his car with the support of the Deputy Volta Regional Organizer who had also brought a pickup vehicle for the conveyance of same items to their region.

It must be stated that this act of irresponsible conduct and disloyalty to the party's collective cause for which we went to Assin North to canvass for vote for the party's victory in the by-election was a major factor in the apathy that reared its ugly head in the Ewe communities in Assin North Constituency. In fact, the conduct of the Volta Regional Secretary also contravenes Article 3 Clause 6 of the party's constitution, which calls for members to participate fully in the activities of the party and ensure that the local organs of the party work effectively and accountably.

It indeed beggars belief that the Volta Regional Secretary of our party could be that mean and act in ways that do not promote the good name of the party, as the act was orchestrated before the right-thinking members of the hotel community, subjecting the New Patriotic Party to open mockery and negative branding.

If the Volta Regional Secretary is able to oversee the stealing of campaign materials far away Assin North to his home region, what will he not do if he gets hold of the same materials in his home region?

It is sad to note that even on the day of voting, persons who were promised such campaign materials called our team for the same to be brought to them, but to no avail. This indeed lowered the integrity of my team, which went around canvassing for vote in the Ewe communities. The Regional Secretary should be explaining what benefit there is to get from hoarding campaign materials meant for the electorate and losing by-elections in communities that were in one way or the other avoidable.

As a regional secretary, he owes it a duty to effectively and selflessly rally members of the party around a collective cause and sole objective of winning elections in any given contest and not engage in activities that would negatively affect the party's chances in any election, whether in his home region or elsewhere. This conduct of his, therefore, makes him not fit for the position and I foresee disaster in the greater task of the election 2024 where the party has an agenda of breaking the eight-year cycle of governance in our country.

I therefore wish to crave your indulgence to as a matter of urgency treat this petition with the seriousness it deserves to save our party from any looming danger in the not-distant future.

I count on your usual cooperation. Thank you. Korsi Bodja Volta Regional Organizer.

Citi Newsroom
Low turnout has been reported as the Central African Republic voted in a referendum on a new constitution that would allow President Faustin-Archange Touadera to seek a third term.

Some 1.9 million people were called on to cast their ballots at polls on Sunday, which closed at 5.00 pm local time  an hour later than initially planned after some delays in opening stations.

Provisional results are not expected for eight days, while the constitutional court is scheduled to publish the definitive outcome on 27 August, according to the national electoral authority.

In 2020 Touadera won a second five-year term, after a vote interrupted by several incursions by armed rebel groups.

He also had to overcome allegations of fraud.

His rivals now claim that he wants to remain "president for life"  under the increasingly visible protection of private Russian mercenary group Wagner, which first deployed to the CAR in 2018.

The country of 5.5 million people is one of the world's poorest.

Boycott

Attendance was reportedly low at polling stations in the capital Bangui, where Touadera cast his ballot in the morning.

The proposed new constitution would extend the presidential mandate from five to seven years and abolish the two-term limit.

Opinion polls suggest the "yes" vote is likely to triumph.

National assembly vice-president and presidential majority spokesman Evariste Ngamana has said, "We know that the 'yes' camp is going to win  but we shall put the emphasis on participation."

Meanwhile, the main opposition parties, civil groups and armed rebels all called on voters to boycott the exercise amid allegations that the results will be rigged.

Participants had to choose between a white ballot for "yes" and a red for "no", with several voters saying they were encouraged by election officials to choose "yes".

According to Richard Nganakwa, a resident of Bangui, "As soon as we registered to vote, they would say to take the white ballot instead of giving both ballots, I don't think that's normal."

Such incidents were reported at several stations.

The opposition had already complained about the lack of an up-to-date electoral register and said institutions tasked with guaranteeing a free and fair vote are not independent.

Russian influence

However, voting took place without security incidents, across a vast territory where armed groups are engaged in guerrilla warfare.

Meanwhile, Touadera has announced that Russia and Rwanda  two states whose influence has been very much on the rise in the CAR in recent years  would be "supporting" security forces during the vote.

Police and soldiers reportedly deployed in the streets, as L-39 Albatros fighter jets  recently delivered by Russia  flew low over the capital for part of the day, along with army helicopters.

Since December 2020, hundreds of Wagner fighters and Rwandan troops have been deployed to face an offensive led by an alliance of the country's most powerful rebel groups, which have found themselves pushed into rural areas.
In an effort to bolster the population of their town's school and provide a better learning environment for their children, residents of Fodome Kordzeto, in the Hohoe municipality of the Volta Region, have expressed their determination to have more children to increase their population.

This decision comes as a response to the initiation of a new 3-unit classroom block construction project for Fodome Kordzeto M. A. Primary and Junior High School.

The project's sod-cutting ceremony took place on Thursday, July 27, 2023, and was attended by community members, educators, and representatives from the funding organisations; Pencils of Promise (PoP), a renowned Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), and Fidelity Bank.

With the current school infrastructure consisting mainly of makeshift structures and a 2-unit classroom block, the pressing need for expansion was evident.

According to the Headmistress of Fodome Kordzeto M. A. Primary and Junior High School, Madam Leticia Doe, the institution, which has been in operation since the early 1970s, currently has a meager total population of 110 pupils spanning from Kindergarten 1 to Junior High School 3.

The shortage of students is adversely affecting the quality of education and learning experiences within the school.

Madam Leticia Doe further lamented that Class 3, in particular, has only four pupils, highlighting the severity of the situation.

She attributed this decline in enrollment to parents opting to send their children to schools in Hohoe and nearby areas, leaving the local school with fewer attendees.

Addressing the concern raised by the Headmistress, enthusiastic residents gathered at the ceremony pledged to contribute to the growth of the school population. Both male and female adults echoed the sentiment, stating their commitment to producing more children now that new infrastructure development is underway. This collective determination aims to support the growth of Fodome Kordzeto M. A. Primary and Junior High School and ensure that every child in the community receives quality education.

Teachers from the school also expressed their approval of the residents' plan, welcoming the idea and expressing hope that the increased population would significantly improve the teaching and learning experiences.

The construction of the new 3-unit classroom block and the renovation of one of the shade structures into a proper classroom block, along with the installation of a borehole to enhance water, sanitation, and hygiene, are part of the ambitious project. The funding of over Eight Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS800,000.00) was made possible through the collaboration between Pencils of Promise (PoP) and Fidelity Bank.

The organisers have set an estimated completion timeline of five months for the project. Once finished, the new facilities will be commissioned and officially handed over to Fodome Kordzeto M. A. Primary and Junior High School, uplifting the hopes and aspirations of the community for a brighter future in education.

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The president of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) Ghana, Ing. Kwadwo Boateng has charged Ghanaians to engage the service of professional engineers for their construction works.

This, he said will prevent any future accuracies and should in case something happen, the engineers can be held reliable.

The engineering system in Ghana has come of age hence the issue of shoddy work by some engineers has become a national concern since many projects have destroyed and buildings collapsing.

Ing Kwadwo Boateng said this in an interview on Friday, 28th July 2023, during the induction ceremony in Accra.

Ing. Kwadwo Boateng urged the newly inducted members to demonstrate professionalism in their field of work to project the image of the institution high.

Notwithstanding, he charged the 165 newly inducted members to be innovative in addressing challenges in line with work.

Ing. Dr. Kwame Boakye, the Board Chairman of the Engineering Council urged the government to consider employing professional engineers at every level of governance.

He was of the view that indigenous engineering and planning are among others that can move the country forward.

"I strongly believe that this country is going nowhere with engineering because no country has been to develop without indigenous engineering. We have a lot of professional engineers in this country and they need to be motivated and recognize that they have a special role to play in the development of not just by designing structures but to run the country. What I'm trying to push up for is, we must have a professional engineer at every level of governance which government must consider, he said.

Ing. Dr. Kwame Boakye further said his outfit is considering educating the public to see the importance of consulting a professional engineer before constructing a project to prevent any collapse.
A total of 1,147 students, including 7 PhDs, 103 master's degrees, and 1037 undergraduate degrees and diplomas graduated from Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU) and received their degrees in various disciplines on Saturday, 29th July 2023, during the 31st congregation Ceremony.

The ceremony marked the school's 31st congregation as a university but the 3rd since becoming a public university in 2020.

An address delivered by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa at the ceremony indicated that GCTU has played a significant role in shaping the landscape of education in Ghana.

"Our journey as GCTU is only three years old but our history and impact goes further than that. In the year 2020, through an Act of parliament, GCTU was granted the status of a public university with a specific mandate to specialize in the training of students in the field of technology and engineering. This development marked a significant turning point in the university journey, opening new doors of opportunity for both faculty and students alike," Prof. Afoakwa said.

He said, despite the limitation of land space on the campus, they are determined to be the Technology Hub University in Ghana.

"As part of our mandate given by the parliament to ensure that we become the ICT university in Ghana, we are concentrating our strength to ensure that we widen our program based on ICT. So we have programs in ICT, Information Technology, Computer Engineering Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Cyber Security (diploma and BSc levels) among others," Prof. Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa.

He stressed that the school is not interested in veering into other areas of programs.

"We are an ICT university and virtually we want to ensure that we are over 90% ICT and all our programs are STEM-based so that we will be able to produce graduates that will go out there and become job producers, entrepreneurs, innovators, creators that will be solution bearers for ghana when it comes to the area of ICT," he noted.

He commended and encouraged the graduates to make the university proud.

Prof. Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa seized the opportunity to appeal to the government to support the school with infrastructure so the school can build the silicon valley they want to build in the interest of the growth and development of Ghana.

Mr Samuel Dubik Mahama, Managing Director, Electricity Company of Ghana Limited as the Guest of Honour in his address mentioned that the event was to ensure that the graduates go out to the world of work and apply the knowledge they have acquired.

He advised them to follow excellent work ethics and moral principles, and have perseverance as they advance to the next chapter of life.

He further urged them to be driven by their visions, learn continuously, be patient and humble, value networking, and continuously serve others.

Miss Sussana Frimpong, BSc Accounting in her valedictory speech lauded the school and everybody that supported and guided them throughout their journey in the school.

The ceremony had in attendance parents, guardians, and families of the graduates as well as council members among others.
Her Excellency Samira Bawumia, wife of Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is spearheading impactful initiatives to improve the lives of women and children in Ghana, according to renowned actor and media personality George Quaye.

In a recent Facebook post, Mr Quaye highlighted the Second Lady's development efforts through her non-profit organisation, Samira Empowerment and Humanitarian Projects (SEHP).

"I am amazed! Maybe I didnt pay enough attention to previous Second Ladies or perhaps my media colleagues didnt shine enough light on them and their great works but, chale, Samira has been quietly and diligently making a profound difference in the lives of many Ghanaians," Quaye stated.

The Safe Delivery Project under SEHP has been instrumental in saving many lives and giving hope to families across Ghana.

Mr Quaye described Mrs Bawumia's dedication to maternal healthcare as "particularly inspiring."

The Second Lady, according to the entertainer, has also been an untiring advocate for girl child education, understanding the pivot to women empowerment and national development.

"Investing in girls' education not only empowers them individually but also contributes to breaking the cycle of poverty, improving public health, and fostering economic growth. I honestly didnt know Her Excellency has also been a tireless advocate for girl-child education, understanding that education is the key to empowering the younger generation and building a brighter future for Ghana," Mr Quaye noted.

Mrs Bawumia is also the driving force behind the upcoming inaugural African Women and Children Conference on August 2-3 in Accra. The event will convene global leaders to deliberate on pressing issues like climate change.

"Having observed her for a while, I think her unique, mature and responsible sense of style, warmth, relatability and keen interest in the arts have enabled her to connect pleasantly with many people," Mr Quaye noted.

Without endorsing any political party, Mr Quaye said Ghanaians should find hope in the possibility of a woman like Mrs Bawumia potentially occupying high office.

"The possibility of her occupying a position of power should fill any well-meaning and patriotic Ghanaian with delight, as it represents a chance for much-needed change and a fresh perspective in our body politic," he stated.

He further lauded Mrs Bawumia's commitment to national service, saying she is an inspiration.

"Her dedication to service and love for her nation should inspire us all," he remarked.
31.07.2023 LISTEN

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has suspended one of its members in the Abuakwa North Constitutency of the Eastern Region, Edgar Asamoah Boateng.

A letter signed by the General Secretary of the party, Fifi Fiave Kwetey addressed to the suspended member revealed Mr Asamoah Boateng was suspended due to his conduct of seeking a court injunction to prevent the holding of the partys elections across the various constituencies of the country.

According to the letter, the Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the party at a meeting reviewed the challenges that prevented the party from holding the parliamentary primaries in 17 constituencies across the country.

In the case of Abuakwa North FEC took a serious view of your conduct in seeking a court injunction to prevent the Party from holding both the Presidential and Parliamentary primaries, not only in Abuakwa North but in all the 275 constituencies in Ghana, the letter noted.

It further noted that Mr Asamoah Boatengs conduct is in breach of Article 49(1) of the partys constitution.

Upon deliberation, therefore, it decided that: With immediate effect your membership of the NDC be suspended, the letter stated.

It also revealed that the matter be referred to the partys National Disciplinary Committee or further action.

He has, therefore, been suspended pending the hearing and the final determination of the matter.

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Banking Consultant, Richard Atuahene has admonished government to support the Bank of Ghana so it can perform as the Central Bank it is.

Speaking to Starr FM on Monday, July 31, ahead of the presentation of the Mid-Year Budget Review to Parliament, the Banking Consultant urged government to cut expenditure to its barest minimum and use the fiscal gains to support the Bank of Ghana.

The government may have to cut its expenditure, cut the expenditure to the barest minimum. So that it can use some of the fiscal gains to support the Central Bank. That is what is required. Now we have to look at the fiscal policy side. Because you need to recapitalize it, Richard Atuahene said.

He continued, You can only do that when your settlers on the other side are able to, because now the IMF is saying that you cannot refinance the government. If it was earlier they possibly could have refinanced it and that will have been. Now they are saying that zero financing and refinancing means that we will have to do our fiscal mathematics very well. So that we can get taxes or something to help the Bank of Ghana come to its position and function like a real Central Bank.

This follows a report that Ghanas government has written off half of the 77.6 billion cedis which is equivalent to $7 billion it owed to the Central Bank and replaced the remainder with a lower yielding, 15-year bond.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is visiting Parliament this morning to present the Mid-Year Budget Review.

The presentation will see the Minister updating Ghanaians on the state of the economy and the programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Former President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern about the current state of the Ghanaian economy.

According to him, Ghanas democracy under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is at risk with confidence and trust in leadership at its lowest.

Delivering a keynote address at the 2nd Graduation Ceremony of Academic City University College, John Dramani Mahama urged the graduating students not to despair despite the worrying state the country finds itself in.

Our democracy is at risk with confidence and trust in leadership at its lowest ebb. But it is not all doom and gloom for you, the 2024 Presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) said.

John Mahama continued, You have laptops and tablets with more extensive storage and are faster than any computer in our time. You have numerous search engines that put the world of knowledge at your fingertips. But best of all, you are not stepping out of an Ivory Tower.

In his address, the former President also bemoaned the fact that employment in Ghana remains a problem in the country.

He admonished the graduating students to buckle up as there are no ready jobs out there.

There are no ready jobs to absorb you. It may take years for you to find decent employment. There are cases of students who remain unemployed five years after completing university. Unemployment in Ghana is at its highest in history today, estimated at 13%. Our economy is in crisis, John Mahama lamented.

In his view, the closure of indigenous banks and the banking sector clean up have led to the loss of several jobs.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has unveiled a groundbreaking proposal to collaborate with the private sector in investing a staggering US$3 billion in an integrated Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure.

The ambitious project aims to establish a comprehensive onshore and offshore fibre super-highway, along with innovative electronic applications.

The party's Flagbearer, Mr. John Dramani Mahama, announced this visionary plan, emphasising its potential to revolutionize communication, commerce, civil liberties, and individual expressions within the nation.

Beyond transforming the ICT landscape, the investment is set to play a crucial role in supporting various national priorities, including advancements in health, education, agriculture, petroleum, and the power sectors.

According to Mr. Mahama, this substantial investment will leverage cutting-edge 5G technology, ensuring that the country] remains at the forefront of the global ICT landscape. The introduction of 5G technology is expected to drive significant advancements in digital communication, internet connectivity, and data processing capabilities, thereby empowering citizens, businesses, and the government alike.

The NDC's proposal represents an ambitious stride towards a technologically advanced and inclusive society.

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The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako has strongly criticised veteran Ghanaian media personality, Kwasi Kyei Darkwah (KKD) for being critical of the Akufo-Addo and his government's performance.

In an interview on Neat FM on Friday, July 28, 2023, Chairman Wontumi accused KKD of being overly emotional in his criticism of the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government.

He advised KKD to exercise caution in his remarks to avoid being perceived as someone who has been paid by former President John Dramani Mahama to make the current government unpopular.

"KKD, I plead with you, when you are talking, don't let your emotions be bigger than your quietness.

Anytime you want to speak, let your voice be stronger than your quietness. But if you come to speak and all you do is insult, it makes it seem like you are one of the people John Mahama has paid, like Kelvin Taylor, to criticise the government," Chairman Wontumi expressed.

The NPP's Ashanti Regional Chairman further asserted that the party has achieved alot to deserve an unprecedented eight more years, which he refers to as "breaking the eight."

This comes after KKD said persons who came up with the "Break the Eight" slogan lacks common sense.

During an interview with TV XYZ on July 26, 2023, KKD criticised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo for failing to fulfil his promise to tackle illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.

Things that you were supposed to do to break the eight, if you would have done it there wouldnt be any need for a campaign.

"Because of galamsey you bet with your presidencywhom are you deceiving here? he said.

"The person who coined 'Breaking the Eight' doesn't have sensewe have book sense and common sense," KKD expressed passionately.

He continued with the scenario, "Imagine you married a wife and during the marriage, you couldn't buy anything for your wife - she has become dirty and all her clothes are torn, your children you didnt take care of them.

You couldn't take those who were sick to the hospital, and all of a sudden, you want to leave."

Then a different person comes to marry her then you realise that is the time you want to do good to her fool, why didnt you do those things initially? he expressed.
Renowned Orator and Pan Africanist, Professor Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, has called for a critical reevaluation of the prevailing democratic systems in African countries in this post-colonial era.

Professor Lumumba expressed concerns about the widespread adoption of what he termed a "Coca-Cola-kind, one-size fits-all" type of democracy, which includes periodic elections, fixed terms of office, the use of ballot boxes, and election observers.

The Pan Africanist's remarks come in the wake of an alarming surge in coup d'etats within the Sub-Saharan region over the past three years, with the most recent one occurring in Niger.

The removal of President Mohamed Bazoum by the commander of Niger's presidential guard, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, led to international outrage and the imposition of sanctions by the European Union and France, with other countries threatening similar measures.

In an interview with Class FM's Maxwell Nyagamago, Professor Lumumba cautioned against the rising coups on the continent.

He highlighted that history has shown that coup makers are not the solution to economic crises, emphasising the need for a comprehensive examination of the kind of governance and democracy practiced in Africa.

The Pan Africanist called for open conversations at all levels of society, involving politicians, citizens, and the private sector, to address the existing crisis of governance in Africa.

He urged African countries to reassess their priorities and seek a form of democracy that aligns with the ideals of Pan-Africanists like Ghana's First President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

Professor Lumumba suggested that post-colonial African countries must reflect on whether different systems of government might be more suitable and sustainable for the unique circumstances of each nation. By doing so, Africa can progress towards unity in diversity, as envisioned by influential leaders such as Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

The recent spate of coups, starting with Mali in August 2020 and followed by Sudan in 2021, Burkina Faso twice in 2022, and now Niger in 2023, has raised concerns within the international community and regional organizations like ECOWAS.

The Chairman of ECOWAS, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, recently warned against tolerating further military regimes in the West African sub-region.

ECOWAS, in response to the coup in Niger, has condemned the action and threatened sanctions against the country, with the EU and France already carrying out their threats.

Some security analysts have criticised ECOWAS for its past decisions, expressing doubt about the effectiveness of the measures against the military regime in Niger.

One such analyst, Adib Saani, has criticised ECOWAS for losing its grip on nations in the Sub-Region through its past decisions.

He believes the military junta in Niger led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani will call the bluff of ECOWAS.

Source: Classfmonline.com
The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, has called for stricter measures to curb the rising incidence of coups in West Africa.

Describing the issue as one that should be of deep concern to everyone, the media advocate stated that military rule has never been an option, despite excuses like incompetence and poor economic management used to justify coups.

In a tweet on Monday, July 31, Mr. Braimah said: We should all be deeply concerned about coups in West Africa. Imposing stricter sanctions that worsen the plight of the already suffering masses cannot and has never proven to be a solution. The solution lies in proving to all that democracy is better for all.

His remarks come after Niger experienced its fifth coup since independence on July 26.

Soldiers from the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum and announced his overthrow on state television.

A junta led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani has now taken power.

Niger, which endured its last coup in 2010, had been one of the more stable countries in the region until these recent events.

The coup makes this the first military takeover in the country in over a decade.

The incident follows similar coups in neighboring countries like Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso in recent years, leading to the region being termed a coup belt.

Regional bodies like the African Union and ECOWAS have strongly opposed the coup and called for constitutional rule to be restored in Niger.
Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, who was removed as prime minister of Niger when military officers seized power last week, told RFI and France24 that external forces are seeking to stir up opposition to France, after protesters outside the French embassy were seen waving Russian flags.

"These protests are organised by groups of activists. They want to cause trouble  they're troublemakers whose motives do not necessarily have the support of the people of Niger. Their motives are steered by outside interests," Mahamadou said on Sunday night in interviews with RFI and its sister TV station France24.

Hours earlier, protesters set fire to a door of the French embassy in Niger's capital, Niamey, before being dispersed by the army.

Thousands of people took to the streets in support of the coup leaders, many also denouncing France  Niger's former coloniser  and some hailing Russia instead.

Mahamadou, who along with President Mohamed Bazoum has been replaced by a military council, said he was sorry to see protesters carrying foreign flags, without naming Russia.

"If their aim is to get other foreign countries to come [to Niger], they may attack France's interests based on their own agenda, not based on the agenda of the Nigerien people," he said.

"On France and every other country that intervenes on security matters in Niger, the public has spoken through their parliament."

Opening for Wagner?

Under Bazoum, Niger agreed to host some 1,500 French troops to continue fighting jihadists in the Sahel after other countries in the region ended their cooperation with France.

In both Mali and Burkina Faso, military takeovers in 2021 and 2022 respectively were followed by a rejection of the West in general, and former colonial power France in particular.

Since then, Mali's military government has hired Wagner mercenaries to back up its forces, making it one of several African countries to turn to the Russian paramilitary group.

Wagner, which has close ties to the Russian government, has been accused of running a propaganda campaign in Africa aimed at stoking opposition to France.

Following the coup in Niger, the head of Wagner reportedly welcomed the overthrow as a blow against the country's "colonisers".

"What happened in Niger is nothing other than the struggle of the people of Niger with their colonisers. With colonisers who are trying to foist their rules of life on them and their conditions and keep them in the state that Africa was in hundreds of years ago," Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin purportedly said in a voice message released last week on social media channels associated with the group.

"Today this is effectively gaining their independence. The rest will without doubt depend on the citizens of Niger and how effective governance will be, but the main thing is this: they have got rid of the colonisers."

Officially, Russia's government has expressed concern over the coup in Niger and called for constitutional order to be restored as soon as possible.

Coup leaders accuse France

President Emmanuel Macron's office has said that attacks on France and its interests will not be tolerated and attacks on French nationals will draw a swift response.

Meanwhile the coup leaders have accused France of seeking to launch a military intervention in Niger.

In a statement read on state television on Monday, a military officer claimed that France was conspiring with the toppled government to launch an operation to free Bazoum, who is being detained at the presidential palace by his former guards.

Separately, the junta also accused the security services of an unnamed Western embassy of firing teargas on the demonstrators in Niamey on Sunday, French news agency AFP reports.

Fragile economy

Commenting on the protest, Mahamadou told RFI that "Niamey is not Niger".

He insisted that other Nigeriens want to see the situation resolved and especially to avoid international sanctions, which risk hitting the economy hard.

The West African bloc Ecowas has declared a no-fly zone over Niger, the closure of all land borders, a halt to financial transactions and the freezing of national assets.

"Niger is a landlocked country. So when there's an embargo, with the closure of ground and air borders, it's extremely hard on the population. And when that's accompanied by financial sanctions, in a country where the financial situation is already fragile, you can imagine the disaster that could result from this situation," said Mahamadou.

France has also suspended all development aid and budgetary support to Niger, following similar measures by both the EU and the US.

"Niger depends a lot on the international community," Mahamadou said, warning that without funds from its partners Niger would struggle to deliver its policies.

The prime minister, who was not in Niger when the president was seized, also said that Bazoum was "doing well".

"He's a fighter... He really hopes things will go in the right direction," Mahamadou said.
Niger's new junta on Monday accused France of seeking to "intervene militarily" to reinstate deposed President Mohamed Bazoum as tension mounted with the former colonial power and neighbours.

Bazoum, a western ally whose election just over two years ago was a watershed in Niger's troubled history, was toppled on July 26 by the elite Presidential Guard.

Guards chief General Abdourahamane Tiani declared himself leader -- but his claim has been shunned internationally and the West African bloc ECOWAS has given him a week to hand back power.

Bazoum's PNDS party on Monday warned Niger risked becoming a "dictatorial and totalitarian regime" after a series of arrests.

On Monday morning, Oil Minister Mahamane Sani Mahamadou -- the son of influential former president Mahamadou Issoufou -- and Mining Minister Ousseini Hadizatou were arrested, the party charged.

The head of the PNDS's national executive committee, Fourmakoye Gado, was also arrested, it said.

Tough line: ECOWAS chairman Bola Tinubu, who is also president of Nigeria. By Kola SULAIMON (AFP)

The junta had previously arrested the interior minister, the transport minister and a former defence minister, the party said.

On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron vowed "immediate and uncompromising" action if French citizens or interests were attacked after thousands rallied outside the French embassy.

Some tried to enter the compound but were dispersed by tear gas.

'Plotting intervention'

The junta on Monday accused France of plotting an intervention.

"In its search for ways and means to intervene militarily in Niger, France with the complicity of some Nigeriens, held a meeting with the chief of staff of the Nigerien National Guard to obtain the necessary political and military authorisation," the putschists said on national TV.

Coup supporters on Sunday held up Russian flags and a placard reading 'Down with France, Macron get out'. By - (AFP)

They also said six people needed hospitalisation after the embassy security services fired tear gas against the rally.

A demonstration in support of the junta was also held in Zinder, eastern Niger, on Monday.

Tough ECOWAS warning

On Sunday, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sounded a tough warning.

The bloc demanded that Bazoum be reinstated within a week, failing which it would take "all measures" to restore constitutional order, which "may include the use of force".

"No more time for us to send a warning signal... It's time for action," said ECOWAS chairman Bola Tinubu, president of Nigeria -- Niger's neighbour to the southeast and the regional superpower.

Russia called for the swift return of "the rule of law" and "restraint from all parties so that this doesn't result in human casualties".

Niger became the third Sahel country in less than three years, following neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, to be shaken by a military coup.

Niger: French and US military assets. By Jonathan WALTER, Anibal MAIZ CACERES, Sylvie HUSSON (AFP)

In all three nations, a jihadist insurgency strained fragile governments, stoked anger in the military and rained economic blows on some of the world's poorest countries.

The overthrow of elected presidents has been accompanied by anti-French, pro-Russian demonstrations.

Crucial ally

Protesters say France, the country's traditional ally, has failed to shield them against the jihadists, whereas Russia would be a stronger ally.

In Mali, a 2020 putsch led to a bust-up with France which last year withdrew its troops as the junta brought in Russian paramilitaries.

France also quit Burkina Faso after two coups last year brought in a junta that adopted a nationalist line.

The withdrawals prompted France to reconfigure its decade-long anti-jihadist strategy in the Sahel, concentrating on Niger, where it fields 1,500 troops with a major air base near Niamey.

Mediation: This image obtained from the Facebook page of the president of Chad, General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, shows him meeting with Bazoum (right) in Niamey on Sunday. By - (FACEBOOK/AFP)

The latest coup, according to the putschists, was a response to "the degradation of the security situation" linked to the jihadist conflict, as well as corruption and economic woes.

International critics have ratcheted up pressure, targeting trade and development aid.

ECOWAS has suspended all commercial and financial transactions, while France, the European Union and the United States, which has 1,100 troops in Niger, have either cut off support or threatened to do so.

Germany suspended financial aid and development cooperation on Monday, and UN humanitarian operations have also been put on hold.

Niger has seen four coups since independence from France in 1960 and numerous other attempts, including two previously against Bazoum.

The 63-year-old is a former interior minister whose elections marked Niger's first peaceful transition of power since independence.

The arid landlocked state , which frequently ranks at the bottom of the UN's Human Development Index, is struggling with two jihadist campaigns.
"To control a people you must first control what they think about themselves and how they regard their history and culture. When your conqueror makes you ashamed of your culture and your history, he needs no prison walls and no chains to hold you" - Dr. John Henrik Clark

"An ignorant people is the blind tool of its own demise". - Hugo Chavez

"Some dey follow-follow, dem close dem eye (dem close eye, pin-pin-pin)

Some dey follow-follow, dem close dem mouth (dem close mouth, pam-pam-pam)

Some dey follow-follow, dem close dem ear (dem close ear, g'boing-boing-boing)

Some dey follow-follow, dem close dem sense (dem close sense, biri-biri)

"I say dem close sense

Say dem close sense

If you dey follow-follow

Make you open eye, open mouth, open sense

If you dey follow-follow

Make you open sense, open ear, open mouth

Na that time, na that time you no go fall



If you dey follow-follow dem book (na inside cupboard you go quench)

If you dey follow-follow dem book (na inside cupboard you go quench)

Cockroach dey, ee-rat dey, Ikan dey, darkness dey- ee

(Na inside cupboard you go quench)." - Fela, Mr. Follow Follow

I made myself a vow not to get involved with cyberwarfare and, so far, I have done my best to keep my vow. That was until three days ago when a friend asked me to comment on his post about African intellectuals.

My initial reply was brief but, as to be expected, sharp. I decided to expand on it because of the hullabaloo that it generated.

Here we are.

As a connoisseur of global news - geopolitical, scientific, cultural, philosophical, engineering, etc, distress does not even begin to define what I feel as I observe the situation in our African continent.

Questions like "Are we part of the human race, at all", "Why are we not chalking up progress in any sphere of human activities, like the rest of humanity", and "Will Africa get her Renaissance in my lifetime, if at all?", keep my mind ablaze most of the time.

I think that it is time for us to denounce our so-called intellectuals as cowardly and lazy sellouts. After sixty years of our ostensible independence, it is right to ask what exactly has been the contribution of our well-degreed scholars to our national development, despite all the money and other resources that have been expended on them?

Thomas Sankara told us to look into our plates to see how neocolonial we are. Unfortunately, we remain as colonial as we ever were despite the appurtenances of ostensible independence.

Chinweizu begged us not to lose ourselves in abstract universalism. Sadly, that's exactly what we have done!

We remain the only part of the human race which refuse to think that creating and living in one's civilizational space is what sovereignty entails. We remain the only species of humanities that not only waste its resources in miseducating itself, but we are also the only one that consciously promotes OTHERS above SELF to the point where the more alienated from Africa an educated African is, the more glory and encomium is poured onto her!

Just watch the shameless spectacles of our universities' Graduations where batches of self-hating and African-loathing Graduands are degreed and passed out to go and inflict more neocolonial miseries upon our people!

Is there a reason why, after sixty years of independence African scholars do not find it both bizarre and shameful that our people still live under the institutions the colonialists imposed to make us obedient neocolonial subjects? Or which part of our governance system is indigenous to us, or even borrow from our traditions and culture? Or do African scholars forget that we self-governed ourselves for the thousands of years preceding the colonial interregnum?

Why do African scholars fail to learn from the examples of the Iranians and the Chinese who reached back and collect vital strength from their five-thousand years of Persian and Chinese history, to nurture and sustain themselves?

A rhetorical question: How many African scholars are conversant with Cheikh Anta Diop and his admonition: The history of Africa shall remain suspended until it is connected with Egypt?

Let's take what we call the judiciary as an example, why do we in Ghana or Nigeria not consider it odd, even bizarre, to be judged by English laws?

Not only do our legal people pompously attire themselves like the Witches of Endor, they see nothing ironic in speaking foreign languages to our citizens in our courts.

Pray, what justice can be rendered in an intimidating environment like our courts where our poor folks are dragooned to be confronted by alien forms and symbols that could have been Martian?

The medical profession is not different. Those that we trained, at great expense, not only forget what their Chinese counterparts are doing to bring Chinese medicines to global attention but rather than work to improve upon them, they disdainfully dismiss African medicines as voodoo concoctions. Traditional medicines they sneeringly call it, as though all medicines are not traditional to their country of origin.

From infancy, we pay teachers to teach us how primitive our ways are; how our ancestors were stupid savages; how stupid our names are; how lousy our food; how unfit for purpose our languages are. Concomitantly, we promote and glorify our enslavers and colonizers - Arabic and European values became our yardsticks for civilization!

Of course, the result is the abysmal condition in which we find ourselves today - the scorn of the world.

I am engaged in small-scale farming, my heart bleeds whenever I see that even the simplest tool that I need is made in either India or China! Almost all the necessary inputs (seeds, fertilizer, etc) are foreign! What am I supposed to think or feel when I see a professor of Agric from one of the local universities parroting theoretical nonsense from obscure foreign literature?

Those engaged in teaching humanities are a shameless lot; they lack originality, and their absence of shame as they mimic their foreign counterparts is truly pathetic!

The question is beggared: How do these African intellectuals answer their foreign counterparts who want to know why their continent has so signally failed to raise the bar to, at least, provide food, shelter, water, and electricity for their people without foreign assistance?

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology was granted full university status in 1961. Here is the mission statement: KNUST exists to advance knowledge in science and technology by creating an environment for undertaking relevant research, quality teaching, entrepreneurship training, and community engagement to improve the quality of life. It says that its vision is to be among the top ten universities in Africa without telling us what that is supposed to mean.

Since its inception, KNUST has graduated thousands of engineers and technologists in various fields. But the question is never asked what exactly have these Engineers contributed to the nation's technological development. What tools or implements have they forged or fashioned that are in use by the people of Ghana? No, I am not talking about esoteric or exotic stuff, just the basic tools that can take the toil from labor.

Our ancestors made the hoes and the cutlasses that we used today without attending any school, and without obtaining any diploma or degree.

No, I am not being unduly hard on our engineers or our universities, I am merely stating the fact that they have FAILED US WOEFULLY!

Since universities were set up to address and solve society's problems, therefore the question needs to be asked: What is the purpose of spending a good chunk of our meager resources in running universities and other tertiary institutions that are not fit for purpose?

Universities were set up so that people can go there to get SPECIALISED training in solving the problems of societies - be it philosophical or technical. Many countries continue this tradition. An example is the Netherlands with its world-famous Technical University in Delft, and the University of Agriculture in Wageningen. These two world-class universities not only strive to be pioneers of innovations, but they have set up consultancy firms and agencies to generate for themselves and also for the tiny Royal NL Kingdom. BTW, Wageningen University has made it possible for the postage-stamp country to become the world's NO 2 exporter of food and agric products.

What do we have in Africa except for pomp and ceremonies at Matriculations and more pomp and pageantries at Graduations? In the end, the only things we get are term papers and theses which no one bothers to read, which will get dusty and end up as wrapping materials for roasted corn or plantain or yam on our streets.

We waste our money, time, and energy to generate this waste, meanwhile, we do not ask for what purpose we train our children. Instead of creating unnecessary waste, why are our children not been be graded in Environmental Studies on how they beautify their schools and their communities instead of wasting their time writing useless papers? Another idea: Is there a reason why the universities at Legon, Winneba, and Cape Coast cannot come up with ideas on how to transform the Accra to Cape Coast road? These universities have both the Engineering (Technical and Civil) and also the Business Administration departments, can they not think of ways to work with the Ghana Army Corps of Engineers and work out how the road can be made more motorable, especially during the rainy season, and, in the process, earn themselves some income? The Professional Engineers Association can also chip in.

Maybe in our discussion on this subject, we should emphasize the need to change OUR MINDSETS.

We have lost our tradition of striving to earn honest pay from honest toil. We have abandoned all the traditional ethos and values and substituted in their places sanctimonious religious pretensions and supreme hypocrisy. We have run away from our roots as fast as our legs can carry us. In the process, we have become quite schizophrenic - neither authentically African nor passable Arab or Asian or European.

Of course, we will not own up to our failings - personal, national, or continental. We feel giddy with satisfaction as long as we can generate enough rhetoric to blame external forces.

Whom do we think that we fool by our crass hypocrisy and butter-will-not-melt-in-my-mouth useless rantings?

Without the boldness to say things as they are, nothing will work. We should own up to our failings and begin to address them.

Concluding, we can only say that the education system in Africa is a FRAUD. To those whose first instinct is to froth at the mouth and engage their mouth before their brains, here is a definition of what a scam is:

https://marketbusinessnews.com  financial-glossary  scam

What is a scam? Definition and examples - Market Business News

A scam is a dishonest or fraudulent scheme that attempts to take money or something of value from people. It is a confidence trick that dishonest groups, individuals, or companies perform. The person who carries out a scam is a scammer, trickster, or swindler.

There you have it. Go and argue with the dictionary if you cannot engage your brain sufficiently to know that when universities collect money, etc, from students and produce graduates that are not fit for purpose, they are engaged in fraudulent activities.

No, I don't discount the fact that some brilliants scholars have produced outstanding students, my argument here is: If after sixty years of collecting money from the state and students, our universities have produced graduates who cannot help us to produce the food that we eat, the clothes and the shoes that we wear, and how to construct affordable houses for our people without foreign assistance, I say it is the time to scrap the whole scam and begin afresh.

To the minds that are inclined to say that It is the responsibility of national leaders to set the pace, I consider this a chicken-and-egg argument. I think that instead of saying that people deserve the type of leaders that they get, I think we can say that people get the type of leaders their educational (socialization) system can give them. We cannot expect to have purposeful leadership whilst our scholars continue to give certificates and diplomas to mediocre and imbeciles.

Let me end with these important quotations:

"O! had I the ability, and could I reach the nation's ear, I would, today, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake." - Frederick Douglass

The national bourgeoisie discovers its historical mission as intermediary. As we have seen, its vocation is not to transform the nation but prosaically serve as a conveyor belt for capitalism, forced to camouflage itself behind the mask of neocolonialism. The national bourgeoisie, with no misgivings and with great pride, revels in the role of agent in its dealings with the Western bourgeoisie. This lucrative role, this function as small-time racketeer, this narrow-mindedness and lack of ambition are symptomatic of the incapacity of the national bourgeoisie to fulfill its historic role as bourgeoisie. The dynamic, pioneering aspect, the inventive, discoverer-of-new-worlds aspect common to every national bourgeoisie is here lamentably absent. At the core of the national bourgeoisie of the colonial countries, a hedonistic mentality prevailsbecause on a psychological level, it identifies with the Western bourgeoisie from which it has slurped every lesson. It mimics the Western bourgeoisie in its negative and decadent aspects without having accomplished the initial phases of exploration and invention that are the assets of this Western bourgeoisie whatever the circumstances. In its early days, the national bourgeoisie of the colonial countries identifies with the last stages of the Western bourgeoisie. Don't believe it is taking shortcuts. In fact it starts at the end. It is already senile, having experienced neither the exuberance nor the brazen determination of youth and adolescence."  Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth.

"What the African elites lack most is the courage to use their "own reason." This, despite how modern they like to think of themselves, has actually kept them in an age of pre-modernity. The African governing class is in its great majority constituted by marionettes; and string-puppets, we know, cannot think for themselves. They dance to the rhythm of whoever pulls the strings. So do most African elites, dancing to perfection at the pull of the strings. Perfection is the operative word, for indeed, the marionette African elites are pathological perfectionists.

For Africa to develop, the black elites will have to learn to think by themselves. To the African elites, I say: Have the courage to use your own judgments." - M. Frindethie, Black Leader, White Master.

Femi Akomolafe

June 23, 2023

Femi Akomolafe is a farmer, writer, and published author.

His latest book, "Africa: a Continent on Bended Knees" is available on:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Africa-Continent-Bended-Femi-Akomolafe-ebook/dp/B08FGZNJ5T

On Booknook.store: https://booknook.store/product/africa-a-continent-on-bended-knees/
In the unbearable midday heat, a Libyan patrol near the border with Tunisia comes across a black African man collapsed on the reddish-brown desert sand.

He is barely breathing, and officers try to revive him, gently, with a few drops of water on his lips.

The man is just one among hundreds of migrants arriving daily in Libya after being abandoned in the desert borderland by Tunisian security forces, according to Libyan border guards and the migrants themselves.

By the time they reach Libya, the migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are ready to drop from exhaustion, in temperatures that have exceeded 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

AFP on Sunday witnessed the border guards rescue around 100 men and women from an uninhabited zone near Sebkhat al-Magta, a salt lake along the Libya-Tunisia border.

In the distant shimmering heat haze, six figures emerge, the latest to reach the area. They speak Arabic and say they have come from Tunisia.

By the time they reach Libya the migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are ready to drop from exhaustion. By Mahmud Turkia (AFP)

Libyan border guards told AFP that, over the past two weeks, they have rescued hundreds of migrants who said they were left by Tunisian authorities in the border region near Al-Assah, about 150 kilometres (90 miles) west of Tripoli.

In early July, hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan African countries were driven out of the Tunisian port city of Sfax as racial tensions flared following the death of a Tunisian man in a clash between locals and migrants.

Tunisians 'brought me here'

Haitham Yahiya, from Sudan, said he worked for a year in Tunisia's construction sector after reaching the country clandestinely through Niger and Algeria.

"I was at work when they caught me and brought me here, first in a police car then in a (security forces) truck. Then they left me and told me to go to Libya," he said in Al-Assah.

In twos and threes or by the dozens, they come. By Mahmud Turkia (AFP)

At its closest point, near Sfax, Tunisia is only about 130 kilometres from the Italian island of Lampedusa.

The North African country is a major gateway for migrants and asylum-seekers attempting perilous sea voyages in hopes of a better life in Europe, whose leaders have offered financial aid to help Tunisia manage the flow.

Human Rights Watch said up to 1,200 black Africans were "expelled, or forcibly transferred by Tunisian security forces" in July to the country's desert border regions with Libya and Algeria.

In mid-July, the Tunisian Red Crescent said it had provided shelter to at least 630 migrants who had been taken after July 3 to Ras Jedir, about 40 kilometres north of Al-Assah.

A few days later, though, AFP gathered testimony from hundreds of migrants still stuck in the Ras Jedir buffer zone. They said they had been forced there by Tunisian security forces.

In Ras Jedir, 350 people remained in a makeshift camp, including 65 children and 12 pregnant women.

"Their living conditions are very problematic," a humanitarian official told AFP, adding that "it is not sustainable in the long term, there are no toilets, no water tanks, no real shelters".

At Al-Assah, dazed migrants continue to stagger in, some with only sandals on their feet.

In twos and threes or by the dozens, they come. Some collapse. The guards hold bottles of water over their parched mouths.

Libyan border guards told AFP that, over two weeks, they have rescued hundreds of migrants. By Mahmud Turkia (AFP)

Faced with the influx, Libyans from the border guards Battalion 19 of the army, and a unit against Saharan immigration, have been patrolling daily.

"We are on the demarcation line between Libya and Tunisia and we see more and more migrants arriving every day," said Ali Wali, Battalion 19 spokesman.

He said AFP received permission to accompany the units "to silence those (in Tunisia) who claim that we fabricated it all and brought the migrants here".

Their patrol area covers 15 kilometres around Al-Assah. Wali said that depending on the day, they might find "150, 200, 350, sometimes as many as 400 or 500 irregular migrants".

On this day there are 110, two of them women. There are supposed to be two others. A soldier searches for them through his binoculars.

At least 17 dead

Map of Tunisia. By Sylvie HUSSON (AFP)

On Thursday, a joint statement from United Nations agencies referred to the "unfolding tragedy" of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Tunisia's border regions.

"They are stuck in the desert, facing extreme heat, and without access to shelter, food or water. There is an urgent need to provide critical, life-saving humanitarian assistance while urgent, humane solutions are found," they said.

The UN has also singled out Libya in several reports in the past, denouncing violence against the 600,000 migrants it detains, most of them in camps.

The government of Tripoli has made it known in recent days that it rejects "resettlement" on its territory of migrants arriving from Tunisia.

The migrants, meanwhile, have crossed the border unknowingly. They walk, they said, in the direction that the Tunisian security forces told them to go -- towards Libya.

As a heatwave has suffocated the Mediterranean, some like Alexander Unche Okole said they had walked for two days, without food or water.

'How do you expect them to survive?' asks Ali Wali, spokesman of Libya's Battalion 19. By Mahmud Turkia (AFP)

Okole, 41, from Nigeria, said he entered Tunisia via Debdeb in Algeria, and "spent some time in Tunis but then the Tunisian police got me. They arrested me in the street and then took me down to the Sahara desert."

He showed a mobile phone whose screen was smashed, he said, by the Tunisians.

"With the Grace of God, the Libyans rescued me" and provided food and water, Okole said.

He survived but others have not.

Wali said officers found two bodies on Saturday, a couple of days after recovering five more including a woman and her baby. They had also discovered five corpses a week earlier, he said.

"How do you expect them to survive? The heat, no water, and a march of two, three days?" Wali asked.

Humanitarian groups in Libya reached by AFP gave a death toll of at least 17 over the past three weeks.
Fellow Citizens, the report of the theft at the residence of Hon Cecilia Dapaah, reportedly involving the loss of an amount of US$1million, Euro 3,000, GHC350,000.00, Jewelries and other items, her consequential resignation as the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources and the tone of the letter from the President, which accepted her resignation have brought several relevant issues to the front burner.

Folks, Hon Cecilia Dapaahs Saga has presented different perspectives on the case of the theft at her residence which she personally lodged with the Police, the subsequent generation of perception of corruption etc which is under investigation by Special Prosecutor. Since, fixing the Ghana Agenda Articles through the vehicle of Modern Ghana are for shaping public opinion on national issues, hence, once again, I write to you currently on the associated lessons from the Saga for better public discourses. The most important areas of assessments are (1). Is it illegal to keep large sums of local currency money at home? (2). Is it illegal to keep large sums of Foreign Currency at home? (3). Why will one keep large sums of money at home?, (4). How much should one keep at home? (5). How to keep sums of money very safe? (6).is it proper for Political Exposed person or Public Policy Office holder to keep large sums of money at home (7). Considerations or Lessons from the Cecilia Saga?

Is it illegal to keep large sums of money at home?

First of all, there is no law in most Countries including Ghana banning the keeping of large sums of money whether local or in foreign currency at home. M oney or cash is simply an asset precisely liquid assets which is either cash on hand or cash on bank deposits, Treasurer Bills, Shares and Bonds. consequently, laws of Countries only require the payment of tax on the revenue (earnings) made by each person/ citizens on legitimate acquired Assets or wealth including cash after that it is left with one or the owner to decide on how to store his or her assets to maintain the value or how and where to keep the money either cash on hand or by investment or to keep his or her money with the bank of his or her own choice.

So, Banks or Fund Managers have to come out with attractive packages to entice people to bring their money to them for safe investment, so as to store the principal whilst gaining payment of interest otherwise safe keeping. He or she, if so wish can opt to store the money at home if deemed safe or for reason best known to the individual. Hon Cecilia did not commit any crime if and only if the assets in the form of cash etc were acquired legitimately and tax paid on the money or revenue. However, for effective national economy growth, it is advisable to keep the money in circulation by banking it or investing it.

Why will one keep large sums of money at home and how to keep it very safe?

Folks, there are various genuine reasons which may make one to keep large sums of money at home. Firstly, depending on ones expenses to meet ones immediate expenditures, example politician on campaign trail, example the story of the female candidate who sprayed cash during the recent NDCs Parliamentary Primaries tells it all. So, by rule of thumb, it is recommended that you should keep at home enough cash for at most three months, as stated the amount will be based on your normal monthly expenditure and depending on the prevailing situation, and your location, your status etc.

Secondly, from historical angle in Africa, it is advisable that if you should ensure to keep cash at home against period of emergencies, including escape from political persecution, likely freezing of observable assets especially Bank account etc. What happened during military take overs or even when there is change of regime between the NDC and NPP tells the security or political risk of politicians and associates of ruling Administration. Recently, one Mr Raymond Archer made a childish warning to the CEO of McDan Group to pray that the NPP remains in power forever as published in the Ghanaweb dated 23 July 2023 speaks volume of the wicked attitude of Ghanaians. We heard of how some businessmen like the late Henry Djaba etc or politicians have to abscond from the Country at an odd time or people escaping from conflict areas like what happened during the Liberia crisis. Hence, readily available cash or cash on hand is the answer to keep you alive or safe.

Thirdly, money handed over to you for a specific purpose in due course or with instructions or as exhibit, may certainly not be paid into your bank account or to the persons account because it will lose its total value in the form of bank charges or you may encounter difficulty to retrieve or gain access to it. In 2016, we sure a video of a frustrated young lady, who was a mother of a baby, who was dragged out of the Bank by the Policeman on duty on the instruction of a member of the bank, simply for demanding access to her assets or cash.

Fellow Citizens, the Financial crisis in 2018 and the planned haircut of peoples investment in 2022 are enough to erode public confidence in the financial institutions, Hence, beside a man being greedy, any sensible person with cash will surely convert some of the cash into hard currency like the US Dollars or European Euro, British Pound etc and keeping safe money at home may be a sensible option from experiences. Some of us not on pension who decided to invest our cash or put some of our Cash in banks, currently, cannot buy common koko because and some people may tell us we the affected persons made bad choices or wrong Fund Managers.

Fourthly, cash obtained by illegal or dubious means; hence one has no other choice than to keep it at home and adopt other means like using it to buy a property like a house or expensive unregistered vehicles or indulge in gambling to win money and then bank it. These methods can then be used to define as the source of the money because sending it to the bank may cause the Bank to submit Huge Cash Transaction in Circulation Report thus trigger investigations by the Bank and or Financial Intelligence Unit.

Is it proper for Political Exposed or Public Policy Office holder to keep large sums of money at home?

Yes, first to meet emergencies as explained above including the facilitating of rapid absconding from political danger, to reduce suffering in case of freeing of assets etc and for campaign effort or the ability to influence a situation.

Furthermore, contributions from business persons for future support if one wins power or in lobbying efforts or thank you donations or kickbacks for a recent support or anonymous donations or donations from a foreigner or foreign Company , Illegal Miners in support of ones activities be it NGOs, funeral or Campaign efforts, may not go through banking process, since you may not be able to explain or in order to hide the identity of the persons, for example in 2016 or so we saw a video of a woman not even noted as very rich like Madame Patricia Poku Theresa, Ms Oppong Beeko, Ms Kate Quartey Papafio , Mrs Gifty Lamptey, or Mr Ibrahim Mahama, the CEO of Engineer and Planners or the CEO of McDan Group or the CEO of Jospong Group or CEO of Sikkens making some donation to then Presidential Candidate Nana Addo for his campaign effort. So you can imagine the size of the donation which any of the mentioned persons may donate if they wish or are to donate, such donations may not be paid at all into a bank account or may rather be used for investment cars, rent campaign offices etc

The issues of kickbacks or arrangers fees, financial or business engineering, or soli or what some say corrupts have come to stay, globally; a payment of 5 percent is accepted. We are told by the NDC that part of our economy woes was the excessive borrowing for a Company to gain arranger or book vendors fees. If we assembly all the Members of Parliament, our Church Leaders and Imams, traditional Chiefs, Political Party Leaders, current and past Presidents of Ghana and Minister, current and past IGPs before the deity Antoa Nyamah to confess they have never accepted or solicited for bribe, you may be shocked to see that none of them may throw a stone even a pebble or dust against Hon Cecilia if really she is found wanting. For fear of contempt let us leave the Justices of our Courts out on the trip to Antoa Nyamah.

Fellow Citizens, Kickbacks or alleged corrupt acts have stimulated some lucrative CSOs industries. The Gold for Oil Deal, which thankfully was/is well appreciated by His Excellency Ex-President Mahama but called for transparency was initially kicked against by some persons promoting the interest of Gold Exporting Companies who do not repatriate 100 percent of the exported gold revenue back to Ghana after exporting gold from Small Scale Miners.

Some of the Ghanaian businessmen who were in the exporting of gold as was initiated in 2016 after denying Precious Minerals Marketing Company her original business jurisdiction were fronting for foreigners who are banned in operation in the Small Scale Mining Sector. It is Biblical message that it is God who selects a Leader. So, if President Nana Addo with his Gold for Oil Deal etc is a devil  then by the Biblical message, logically it implies that then Presidential Candidate Nana Addo in 2016 and 2020 was the best of the devils who took part in the elections. In 2024 God will give us the wisdom to select the better devils between the Presidential Candidates of the NPP and NDC. Currently His Excellency President John Mahama looks just a good devil at hand.

How to keep sums of money very safe?

Money and other Attractive items must be kept out view and under strong lock and key. Due to fire or water risk through flood, the use of a very strong fire proof and water proof Safe with key lock and number lock to safe and secure cash or bullion etc is recommended. Based on the Ghanaian experience, It may be wiser to convert local currency into hard currency in order to store the value of the money.

Considerations or Lessons from the Cecilia Saga

Folks, Hon Cecelia Dapaah saga has afforded various Considerations or notifications or Lessons. It is very unfortunate that people who should know better or should be seeing to be providing an honest and professional education to the public especially people from the academia or legal brain are disappointing the Country. This once again revealed the lack of critical thinking or the need for Common sense approach continues to elude some of our educated persons otherwise they have joined the propaganda machinery. So one may wonder what some f the tutors are lecturing to their students since what they proclaimed to listeners with the whole world as their students was/is not the best.

From the narration from Hon Cecelia Dapaah to the Police and the side of Police or for the purpose of prosecuting in Court Hon Cecelia Dapaah is the Risk owner and may not necessary be the owner of the money or the items unless disclosed as such by her.

The rear owner is immaterial to the criminal investigation of theft by the maidservants or house helps with Hon Cecilia as the Complainant, since, she can provide sufficient evidence of the amount and other stolen items which are the basis for interrogating the suspects for at least the retrieval of same.

The lynching of her character without her disclosure of or the questioning her for the Source of the money was wrong, since she is just the risk owner at the material time of Police investigation hence Complainant who is the owner of the house or custodian of the items at the time of reporting to the Police, thus the immediate victim of the theft and not a suspect for the Police Investigation. The Source of the money must be treated as a separate investigation if the Police suspect wrong doing or by a separate appropriate Agency like the Special Prosecutor to ascertain any wrong doing or to clear for a job otherwise a different one.

Let me give a simple example. Abena owes a shop and she employed a guard or watchman to guard her shop after closing or when not available. The guard found that two identifiable shop attendants broke into the shop and absconded with only two TVs when he attempted to arrest him. By the nature of security job, the guard is the risk owner at the time of the theft, hence he must report the incident to the Police on what happened and it is he the guard who will appear as the Prosecuting Witness in Court and not Abena the exact owner of the Shop. Abena may appear in the Court room as an Audience if she so wishes.

Those who tried to be Cecelias spokespersons did not help her with their premature disclosures. Mr Paul Adom Otchere, the Chairman of the Airport Company, contribution of telling or suggesting the source of the money without it coming direct from Cecelia or her authorized spokesperson who is a family member with the credible facts, did not help her former Boss, Ex-Minister of Aviation.

It is possible that the President received substantial evidences from the Minister which may help exonerate her from the perceived wrong doing, but considering the state of affairs which may lead to investigation by Constitutional or Legislative or Statutory Bodies, the letter from the President should have just thanked her for her service and wish her the best in all her endeavours.
The Islamic religion, like all other illustrious religious institutions worldwide, practiced eulogies for the spirits of the dead. The expectation is that one will remain silent in the absence of any positive values. Why should we remain silent when we also believed that "every soul shall taste death"? Well, as our great prophet Muhammad (SAW) has stated, dying is unpleasant. Even though, we shall all return to the Creator of the universe one day. However, some good deeds we may have committed while on earth will serve as the foundation for our fond memories.

The return of the former Inspector General of Polices mortal remains to his Lord brought tears to the eyes of the Muslim community, the People of Jirapa, and Ghanaians as a whole. The Muslim fraternity, in particular, in the "Service with Integrity" will always glorify your name and write it in white ink on a black background so that every Tom, Dick, and Harry would know what you did for muslims in Ghana. This article aims to recognize the contributions made by the late Peter Tenganabang Nanfuri, the former Inspector General of Police (IGP), to Muslims working for the Ghana Police Service and Muslims in Ghana in general.

During his tenure as IGP, the former IGP is known to have pioneered and fostered religious diversity and activities related to it within the Ghana Police Service. As an ardent Catholic and Christian, he offered recognition to the growth of the Muslims in support of the premise underlying the Ghana Constitution of 1992 on freedom of worship. The late Peter Nanfuri was moved to listen to the voices of the Muslims who asked for a proper space to worship Allah. According to information, IGP Nanfuri used his adept listening skills to engage with the Muslims in the service and used all of his resources to discuss a wide range of important service stakeholders before coming to a satisfactory decision regarding the allocation of the plot of land for the construction of the mosque.

As a result of the nature and activities related to how the mosque management committee manages its operations, the Ghana Police Mosque today is one of the most valued locations for worshippers in Ghana's capital, Accra. This is because each time one attends prayers there, ones faith is renewed. The mosque's distinctive architecture places police officers in a position of honor among the other security services. The development of the mosque was met with opposition by a section of other religious organizations, but the late IGP remained steadfast in his commitment to the growth of equity, truthfulness, and fairness. It is important to note that when the current structure was just beginning, invisible powers were striving to frustrate the efforts of the visionary individuals working to make the religion fail.

The development of the designated plot of land was occasionally halted by unseen powers on the grounds that the site has been set aside for another, equally significant enterprise. The former IGP upon hearing the unpleasant news, was said to have consulted the various service directors at the headquarters. Fortunately, all the directors denied ever knowing anything about the project's suspension. The men in black who had confidence in Allah were able to accelerate the mosque project thanks to this freedom. The late Peter Nanfuri, who was a devoted Catholic, never allowed his religious affiliation to bring him into disrepute or disdain, Instead, he led the service with honesty and integrity.

Further, Peter Nanfuri also made a great contribution to the growth of human resources and spirituality with his idea to recruit Imams while they were wearing police uniforms. In the Police Headquarters arena, prayers for police officers and other Muslims have been led by civilians from the pre-colonial era. Peter Nanfuri therefore, showed foresight in starting the recruitment procedures for Muslims who had the necessary understanding of Islamic faith and obligations of the Ghana Police Service towards ensuring peace and order. This action established a landmark, and the Chaplaincy Directorate now takes into account the Imam's activities for Muslims in any recruitment procedure. The Imams in the police uniform leading prayers at the Ghana Police Mosque do inspire Muslim youth and help advance the respect the service require from the Zongo communities.

Arguably, future generations will be able to see, touch, and feel the contributions of late Inspector General of Ghana, Peter Nanfuri. The Imams in uniform and their civilian counterparts play a significant role in educating the people in Muslim communities. Their contributions have help to enhance the relationship between the Ghana Police Service and the residents of the Zongos. The Imams also assist in resolving disputes before they become chaotic among the majority of Zongo residents.

Interestingly, the Ghana Police Mosque has unique features that distinguished itself from other mosques in the country. A part from the scintillating prayer space, the mosque also has a conference hall. The edifice has washrooms that received the needed attention every now and then. The nature of the leading prayers is spice with visiting Imams. These visiting Imams includes both local and international personalities. The likes of Professor Kamil Naail Mohammed Dangigala of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Sheikh Nurudeen Lemu of Nigeria among others have had the privilege to mount podium.

The late Inspector General of the Ghana Police, Peter Tenganabang Nanfuri's contributions to the advancement of religious activities and fairness have evolved into a criterion to assess how other succeeding IGPs interact to and promote religious equity in the Ghana Police Service. We Muslims in Ghana will always remember the hardworking son of our country, the late Peter Nanfuri, who served as the IGP from 1996 to 2001, to the family, the people of Jirapa, and all Ghanaians.

Mohammed Rabiu Adam

(Educational Leadership Strategist)
31.07.2023 LISTEN

I find it difficult to comprehend the fuss surrounding a ministerial appointment for an individual who has previously held positions as both a Minister and a Governor. Is it considered a promotion to become a Minister after having a strong desire to be President or Vice President?

To me, it appears to be nothing more than a comfortable landing or a form of compensation in the form of a pension.

I had expected Governor Wike to take a cue from Dr. Peter Odili, who understood his own value, mission, and passion and quietly transitioned into an advisory role when he failed to become President or Vice President. No ministerial appointment could possibly compensate Odili for the substantial funds he invested during his unsuccessful journey to Aso Rock, especially not under the incorruptible leadership of the late Umaru Yaradua.

There comes a time when one should speak up and a time when one should gracefully retire from the political stage.

Attempting a desperate bid to become a Minister under the politically astute Tinubu and his associates would likely only leadto disaster. The individuals associated with Tinubu in Lagos spare no one who tries to undermine their authority.

It would indeed be a futile pursuit to spend a considerable amount of money supporting an opposition party, only to end up as an aide accountable to those whom you once financially supported while they revered you as a political godfather.

Apart from his substantial wealth, Wike's primary desire seems to be power and control. However, can the Tinubu-led government afford to grant Wike such blatant authority and control beyond his home state? If power and control are the only benefits to be gained, then it may be a waste of both space and time.

Instead, Wike should focus on rebuilding his party, the PDP, and prepare to face the likely presidential candidate of the APC in 2027, if that is the path the divine providence leads him on. The APC will never serve as a platform for the Rumuepirikom strongman to establish a solid foundation for his future ambitions, beyond are curring ministerial appointment.

Perhaps, had Wike abandoned his plan to challenge Atiku in the presidential primaries of the PDP, he might have found himself in the position currently occupied by Akpabio, as the Senate President.

Wike's significant financial resources and strong alliance with the Tinubu group could have potentially changed the dynamics of electing the leadership of the National Assembly. By humbling himself and setting aside his ego and thirst for power, running for the Senate could have placed the former governor in the prestigious position of the nation's number three leader.

However, by allowing his bruised ego to guide him, he will only receive a portion of the benefits without the full rewards.

Those who cheer and celebrate Wike's nomination into President Tinubu's cabinet might have overlooked the fact that Wike should not settle for anything less. If he must serve in a government whose party he has been at odds with since 2014, then he undoubtedly deserves a more prominent role. The position of Secretary of Government would have been a suitable option.

It appears that Wike's celebrated appointment is no different from Amaechi, who also should have been given a role like Chief of Staff or Secretary of the Government. However, credit must be givento Amaechi for his exceptional performance as the Transportation Minister. In the end, someone will inevitably be sacrificed for the sake of political maneuvering and power dynamics.

Despite the significant energy and resources invested in preventing Atiku from winning the election, it seems that there are no substantial new developments or achievements for the GS group to celebrate. Despite their efforts, the desired outcomes may not have been achieved, leading to a sense of disappointment or frustration.

Obiaruko Ndukwe, Publisher Media consultant, and public analyst writes from Abuja. Email: [email protected]
31.07.2023 LISTEN

Former Deputy Minister of Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has called for the sacking of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison.

This is in reaction to the report that the Bank of Ghana recorded a loss of GHS60.8 Billion in 2022.

The record loss is contained in the Annual Report and Financial Statements released by the Central Bank.

In a post on social media today, Felix Kwakye Ofosu argued that if Ghana is a serious country, Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Ernest Addison should not still be at post.

According to him, the Central Bank boss is complicit in the collapse of the Ghanaian economy.

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana is complicit in the collapse of our economy. No serious country will tolerate him at post after superintending a GHS 60 billion loss for the Central Bank, the Deputy Minister of Communications said.

The record GHS60.8 Billion in 2022 was a result of governments domestic debt restructuring activities, and the depreciation of the local currency, among others.
Former President John Dramani Mahama, a flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has expressed his concerns over the state of Ghana's democracy under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Bawumia.

In a Facebook post on Monday, July 31 2023, Mahama called on Ghanaians to vote out the current administration in the upcoming 2024 election to safeguard the nation's future.

Mr Mahama highlighted that the nearly seven years of governance under the Akufo-Addo and Bawumia administrations have undermined the constitutional democracy of Ghana, necessitating an urgent need for a change in leadership.

He firmly believes that replacing the current inept NPP government with an NDC administration is crucial to ensuring the sustainability of democracy and restoring hope to the people.

The former President expressed his firm belief in transparent and accountable governance, wherein opportunities are accessible to all citizens and not just a privileged few.

According to him, this principle serves as the greatest guarantee for Ghana's democracy.

Mahama stated, "Transparent and accountable governance in which opportunities are open to all and not just a few is the greatest guarantor of our democracy.

The almost seven years of Akufo Addo and Bawumias maladministration is the biggest threat to the survival of our constitutional democracy. Only a change of this inept NPP government can ensure the sustainability of our democracy."

The next NDC administration will work to restore hope to Ghanaians and quickly.

The business-as-usual approach to governance, lies and propaganda will not work.

"We cannot and must avoid repeating the mistakes of the NPP, he added.

Addressing graduands at the Academic City University College on Saturday, July 29, 2023, the former President criticized President Akufo-Addo's appointees' conduct.

He noted that President Akufo-Addo had previously advised his appointees to explore opportunities in the private sector if their goal was personal enrichment.

Mahama expressed concern that the current behavior of President Akufo-Addo's appointees significantly deviates from the admonishment given by the President.

"Some of you who will find yourself in politics, I wish to sound a note of caution, as President Akufo-Addo said if your goal into office is to enrich yourself, then don't come, go to the private sector.

Very profound words were spoken by the President, more than 6 and a half years ago.

With what is happening today, I'm sure the President himself does not remember he spoke these very wise words," Mahama remarked.
Niger's military junta has accused France of seeking to "intervene militarily" to return deposed President Mohamed Bazoum to power as tensions mount with the country's former colonial ruler France and regional neighbours.

Bazoum, a western ally whose election just over two years ago was a watershed in Niger's troubled history, was toppled on 26 July by the elite Presidential Guard.

Guards chief General Abdourahamane Tchiani has declared himself leader  but his claim has been shunned internationally and the West African bloc Ecowas has given him a week to hand back power.

On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron vowed "immediate and uncompromising" action if French citizens or interests were attacked after thousands rallied outside the French embassy.

Some of them tried to enter the compound but were dispersed by tear gas.

Earlier this Monday, the junta accused France of plotting a military intervention to reinstate the ousted leader.

"In its search for ways and means to intervene militarily in Niger, France with the complicity of some Nigeriens, held a meeting with the chief of staff of the Nigerien National Guard to obtain the necessary political and military authorisation," it said on national television.

The putschists also said six people needed hospitalisation after the embassy security services fired tear gas against the rally.

France has not given any reaction to the accusations.

Ministers and MPs arrested

Meanwhile, four ministers, a former minister and the head of ousted president Bazoum's party have reportedly been arrested.

According to the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism or PNDS, "After the president was detained last week, the putschists went on the attack again and carried out more arrests."

On Monday morning, Oil Minister Mahamane Sani Mahamadou  the son of influential former president Mahamadou Issoufou  and Mining Minister Ousseini Hadizatou were allegedly arrested.

The head of the PNDS's national executive committee, Fourmakoye Gado, was also arrested.

The junta had also previously arrested several other ministers and a member of parliament.

Bazoum's party has called for the immediate release of those detained, saying Niger risked becoming a "dictatorial and totalitarian regime."

The arrests came as the junta called on "all former ministers and heads of institutions" to hand back their office cars by noon this Monday.

Third Sahel country to fall to military control

This comes as the Economic Community of West African States sounded a tough warning to the junta on Sunday, demanding that Bazoum be reinstated within a week, failing which it would take "all measures" to restore constitutional order, which "may include the use of force."

Niger has become the third Sahel country in less than three years  following neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso  to be shaken by a military coup.

In all three nations, a jihadist insurgency has strained fragile governments, stoked anger in the military and rained economic blows on some of the world's poorest countries.

The overthrow of elected presidents has been accompanied by anti-French, pro-Russian demonstrations.

Protestors say France  the country's traditional ally  has failed to shield them against the jihadists, whereas Russia would be a stronger ally.

The withdrawal of French troops from Mali and Burkina Faso has prompted France to reconfigure its decade-long anti-jihadist strategy in the Sahel, concentrating its efforts in Niger, where it has 1,500 troops and a major air base near Niamey.

The latest coup, according to the putschists, is in response to "the degradation of the security situation" linked to the jihadist conflict, as well as corruption and economic woes.

International condemnation

International critics have ratcheted up pressure, targeting trade and development aid.

Ecowas has suspended all commercial and financial transactions, while France, the European Union and the United States, which has about a thousand troops in Niger, have either cut off support or threatened to do so.

Germany suspended financial aid and development cooperation on Monday, and UN humanitarian operations have also been put on hold.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said on Monday that the situation in Niger was a "cause for serious concern," but President Bazoum's overthrow has been welcomed by Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has extensive interests in Africa.

Responding to reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia called for all sides in Niger to show restraint, and for the fastest possible return to legal order.
Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta

31.07.2023 LISTEN

The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta has conceded that weak State Owned Enterprises (SOE) have contributed to the economic crisis the country is facing.

Presenting the 2023 Mid-Year Budget Review to Parliament on Monday, July 31, the Minister said whilst most countries are still going through difficulties due to the global crisis, Ghanas economic crisis can also be blamed on fundamental and systemic weaknesses that need to be confronted boldly.

In his presentation, the Minister said the countrys low revenue-to-GDP ratio, the high demand and dependence on imports including food products that can easily be produced locally, and the lack of robust expenditure and commitment control systems to secure efficient public service delivery are some of the fundamental and systemic weaknesses letting the country down.

According to Mr. Ofori-Atta, there is a strong effort being made by the government to address these issues to help the economy to recover.

Mr. Speaker, what I have outlined today begins a strong effort on the part of Government to address these issues. Most of the structural reforms we proposed in the PC-PEG, with which we secured an IMF programme, are geared towards addressing these fundamental issues," the Finance Minister said.

He said in the next 15 months, there will be renewed efforts to undertake the necessary reforms and implement very critical measures.

Among other things, Ken Ofori-Atta said government will implement the necessary structural reforms to strengthen expenditure commitment control, avoid arrears accumulation and protect the public purse.

He said government will also strengthen SOE governance, Review Statutory Funds and ensure improved alignment with key priorities.

In addition, government plans to address the energy sector challenges while implementing the Accelerated Community Roads Improvement Phase II to expand motorability and improve roads nationwide.
31.07.2023 LISTEN

Director General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Sammi Awuku has issued a warning to all illegal lottery operators and individuals in Ghana, urging them to cease their unauthorized activities and obtain the necessary licenses from the nearest NLA offices.

During a one-on-one interview with Kwame Sefa Kayi on Peace Fms Kokrokoo morning show on Monday, July 31 2023, Mr. Awuku disclosed that an estimated 380 lottery operators and companies in Ghana are currently operating illegally.

He stated, "It is estimated that over 380 lottery operators and companies in Ghana are illegal.

The lottery industry in Ghana is estimated at 1 billion cedis annually. As we speak, the illegal operators, on their own, operate about 400 million cedis annually."

"They pay no tax; they hide in their rooms and make profits. They don't engage in good causes.

They don't pay anything to the consolidated fund. They don't pay anything to the government and tax authorities. They don't pay anything to GRA," he revealed.

According to the Director General, to address this issue and bring the illegal operators to book, the NLA, in collaboration with the Ghana Revenue Authority, will conduct a thorough exercise from Tuesday, August 1, 2023, to clamp down on these unauthorized operators.

He stressed that appropriate punitive actions will be taken against those found in violation of the law.

Mr. Awuku urged them to consider this as a "day of redemption and salvation" and promptly seek legitimate licensing by visiting the nearest NLA office in their district or region.

He made it clear that any NLA regional manager found shielding an illegal operator would face serious consequences.

He warned, "I have instructed my regional managers that any of them who tries to shield someone, I will make no distinction between the person doing the illegal thing and you at the regional or district office.

The Director General stressed that the unauthorized operators were not the sole focus of the NLA's efforts.

He highlighted that some NLA staff members were exploiting loopholes to the detriment of the authority, leading to potential revenue losses of up to 5million cedis annually.

"We are working on it. You can have staff that deliberately through their actions the NLA can lose almost 5 million cedis a year. Some of them exploit our loopholes but day in, day out, we keep building upon these systems and closing the gap," he said.
Leading Senegalese opposition figure Ousmane Sonko on Monday was charged with fomenting insurrection and his party dissolved, prompting clashes between protesters and police.

Sonko, a presidential candidate and President Macky Sall's fiercest critic, has faced a string of legal woes, which he claims have been designed to keep him out of politics.

His sentencing in absentia to two years in prison last month in a moral corruption case sparked clashes that left 16 dead according to the government, 24 according to Amnesty International, and 30 according to Sonko's PASTEF party.

But he had not been jailed despite that sentencing.

On Friday he was arrested on new allegations tied to comments he has made, rallies he has held, and other episodes since 2021.

The new charges include undermining state security, criminal association with a terrorist body, disseminating false news and theft.

"I have just been unjustly placed in custody", 49-year-old Sonko wrote on Facebook on Monday afternoon.

"If the Senegalese people, for whom I have always fought, abdicate and decide to leave me in the hands of Macky Sall's regime, I will submit, as always, to divine will", he said.

Less than two hours after Sonko's indictment, the interior minister announced that PASTEF would be dissolved for having "frequently" called for insurrection, leading to destruction and the loss of life.

The party slammed the move, saying in a statement sent to AFP that the country's stability was "now compromised", attacking the "anti-democratic" move to dissolve the party.

Sporadic clashes broke out on Monday evening in the suburbs of Dakar, AFP journalists saw.

The demonstrators burned tyres and set up roadblocks while chanting "Free Sonko", before being dispersed by police with tear gas.

'Farce'

Senegal's public prosecutor said Saturday that this new legal affair had "nothing to do" with the high-profile moral corruption case for which Sonko was sentenced on June 1.

That verdict makes him ineligible to contest next year's presidential election.

But his lawyers have argued that his arrest on Friday cancelled out his conviction in the moral corruption case, because he had been tried in absentia.

"It's a farce," Cire Cledor Ly, another of Sonko's lawyers, told reporters outside the courthouse on Monday.

"It's a plot that was formed, thought out, planned and executed."

Map of Senagal locating the capital Dakar and Ziguinchor. By Vincent LEFAI, Laurence SAUBADU (AFP)

Sonko on Monday continued a hunger strike he began a day earlier, his lawyers said.

They said there was no limit to his detention time as the new charges are criminal.

"The judge can retain him until the case is heard", Babacar Ndiaye, one of the lawyers, said.

Sonko was arrested on Friday after claiming on social media that security forces had been filming him outside his house and that he had snatched one of the phones to ask them to delete it.

Earlier on Monday, authorities announced they were restricting mobile internet access due to "hateful and subversive" messages on social media.

The company operating the fast train link between Dakar and its suburbs also said it would halt the line due to "malicious acts" committed by protesters.

"This time I think it's over for Sonko," Sidiya Tall, 34, told AFP. "The young people will certainly go out, but they can't do anything about it."

'Resist oppression'

Sonko had called, a day earlier, on Senegalese people to "stand up" and "resist... oppression".

The internet was restricted for six days during the unrest in early June.

Senegalese opposition figure Ousmane Sonko was being held on new charges and has launched a hunger strike. By SEYLLOU (AFP)

Amnesty International condemned the internet restrictions, calling them an "attack on freedom of information".

In Ziguinchor, the major southern city of which Sonko is mayor, clashes broke out Monday between his supporters and the police, an AFP journalist reported.

Groups of young people threw stones at police, who tried to disperse them with tear gas canisters, the journalist said.

A former civil servant, Sonko rose to prominence in the 2019 presidential election, coming third.

He has portrayed Sall as a would-be dictator, while the president's supporters say Sonko has sown instability.

Sall in early July eased tensions in the normally stable West African nation by announcing he would not seek a controversial third mandate, following months of ambiguity and speculation about his intentions.
The Minority in Parliament has countered the presentation of the 2023 Mid-Year Budget Review by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.

This follows the announcement by the Minister that the country has turned a corner after going through a difficult economic crisis in the past year.

Mr. Speaker, it is no exaggeration to say we cannot find another period in our history where so many different headwinds hit our economy at the same time with unrelenting speed and scale. Thankfully, as the numbers are beginning to show and as many Hon. Members of the House have indicated to me in our engagements, we have, together as a nation, turned the corner, the Finance Minister said.

Addressing the media after the Mid-Year Budget Review, Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson argued that the claim by the Finance Minister is false.

According to him, the woes of Ghanaians have rather worsened.

He said that the performance so far shows that, we have turned the corner. Unfortunately, the evidence and the numbers before us, show us that he has rather deepened our woes, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson said.

The Minority Leader continued, I say this because he has said to us today that hes revising economic growth from 2.8% of GDP to 1.5% of GDP. Again, he said to us here and now that he has borrowed 5.5 billion Ghana cedis from January to June, from the T-Bill market. Mr. Speaker, not long ago, this same Minister had informed us that he will not borrow at all in the year 2023. And that going into the remaining parts of the year, he is going to borrow another 41 billion Ghana cedis.

Aside from that, the Cedi depreciation we are seeing so far, its largely because we have defaulted in the payment of external interest and principal. That is why the cedi has depreciated.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has assured the Ghanaian people that government is committed to taking steps that will ensure the economy makes a significant recovery.

In his presentation, the Minister admonished Ghanaians to trust President Akufo-Addo to handle affairs and steer the country to the promised land.
Hershey (NYSE:HSY  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $9.46-$9.54 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $9.51. The company issued revenue guidance of $11.25 billion-$11.25 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $11.26 billion.

Hershey Trading Up 0.9 %

HSY traded up $2.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $235.64. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,622,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,243,844. Hershey has a twelve month low of $211.49 and a twelve month high of $276.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $251.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.29.

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Hershey (NYSE:HSY  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 55.74% and a net margin of 16.49%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.80 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Hershey will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.192 per share. This is an increase from Hersheys previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $4.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Hersheys payout ratio is currently 47.64%.

Several research firms have recently commented on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Hershey from $260.00 to $240.00 in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Hershey from $252.00 to $249.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Hershey from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Hershey from $270.00 to $245.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Hershey from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, April 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $263.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 150 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.49, for a total transaction of $41,023.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,725 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,300,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.49, for a total transaction of $41,023.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,725 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,300,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 14,251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.73, for a total value of $3,402,141.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,678,316.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 292,911 shares of company stock valued at $76,238,787 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 121.3% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the companys stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Hershey by 130.3% in the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 281 shares of the companys stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter worth about $84,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.96% of the companys stock.

Hershey Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.

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Holistic Financial Partners acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,032 shares of the healthcare product makers stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABT. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 673 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Alesco Advisors LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Alesco Advisors LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,743 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 22,785 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $2,307,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. now owns 3,236 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.08% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 8,226 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.56, for a total value of $909,466.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 70,427 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,786,409.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 8,226 shares of the businesss 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 70,427 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,786,409.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the businesss 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 in the company, valued at $757,746,582.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 108,226 shares of company stock valued at $12,148,467 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.1 %

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an equal weight rating and issued a $112.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Friday, July 21st. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $120.82.

NYSE:ABT traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $112.73. 3,409,325 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,720,931. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.68. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $106.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.34. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $93.25 and a 1 year high of $115.83. 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  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.60% and a net margin of 12.83%. The business had revenue of $9.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 13th. Abbott Laboratoriess payout ratio is currently 69.62%.

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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CIC Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:IVV  Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,825 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 25 shares during the quarter. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF makes up approximately 1.1% of CIC Wealth LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. CIC Wealth LLCs holdings in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF were worth $2,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Arcus Capital Partners LLC raised its position in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,678 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 773 shares of the companys stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV increased its stake in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV now owns 1,012 shares of the companys stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Joule Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the companys stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Sara Bay Financial increased its stake in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 1,233 shares of the companys stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period.

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iShares Core S&P 500 ETF Price Performance

Shares of NYSEARCA IVV traded up $4.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $459.22. The stock had a trading volume of 4,258,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,142,852. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $439.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $417.98. The firm has a market cap of $342.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43 and a beta of 1.00. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has a fifty-two week low of $349.53 and a fifty-two week high of $461.88.

About iShares Core S&P 500 ETF

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Standard & Poors 500 Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization sector of the United States equity market.

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ZRC Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX  Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,178 shares of the oil and gas companys stock, valued at approximately $192,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CVX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 24,467,521 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Chevron during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,058,235,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Chevron by 79.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,896,009 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $2,494,194,000 after buying an additional 6,133,227 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 3,711,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edmp Inc. lifted its holdings in Chevron by 17,439.1% during the 4th quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 2,949,893 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $16,435,000 after buying an additional 2,933,074 shares in the last quarter. 69.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Chevron Stock Performance

Shares of CVX stock traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $158.87. The stock had a trading volume of 6,546,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,204,942. Chevron Co. has a fifty-two week low of $140.46 and a fifty-two week high of $189.68. The firm has a market cap of $301.00 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 0.85 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. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $156.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.57.

Chevron Dividend Announcement

Chevron ( NYSE:CVX Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The oil and gas company reported $3.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.13. Chevron had a net margin of 14.74% and a return on equity of 23.15%. The company had revenue of $48.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.82 EPS. The businesss revenue was down 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Chevron Co. will post 13.06 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 18th will be paid a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 17th. Chevrons dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on CVX. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Chevron in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. They set a buy rating and a $212.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Chevron in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Chevron from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 4th. Scotiabank raised shares of Chevron from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating and increased their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Chevron from $196.00 to $188.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $190.16.

Chevron 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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AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB  Get Free Report) updated its third quarter earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $2.55-2.65 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63. AvalonBay Communities also updated its FY23 guidance to $10.46-10.66 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AVB. TheStreet upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $190.00 in a report on Friday, May 19th. StockNews.com began coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $200.00 to $215.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, 888 restated a maintains rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Friday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $203.17.

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AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB stock traded up $2.57 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $188.70. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,542,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 803,277. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $187.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. AvalonBay Communities has a 1 year low of $153.07 and a 1 year high of $220.42. The stock has a market cap of $26.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.93.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

Insiders Place Their Bets

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 30th were paid a $1.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 29th. This represents a $6.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. AvalonBay Communitiess dividend payout ratio is currently 90.54%.

In other AvalonBay Communities news, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 4,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.10, for a total value of $704,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 62,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,016,639.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $69,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 489 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $122,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 102.9% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 913 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $207,000. 87.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AvalonBay Communities

(Get Free Report)

As of March 31, 2023, the Company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 295 apartment communities containing 88,826 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 19 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 regions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina, Southeast Florida, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado.

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Intellectus Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 10.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,248 shares of the financial services providers stock after purchasing an additional 3,823 shares during the period. Intellectus Partners LLCs holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 15.2% in the first quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 51,740 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,480,000 after acquiring an additional 6,828 shares during the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 0.9% in the first quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 44,133 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,262,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Skylands Capital LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 184.1% in the first quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 138,650 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $3,965,000 after acquiring an additional 89,850 shares during the last quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Bank of America by 3.7% in the first quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 66,633 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,906,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its position in Bank of America by 4.7% in the first quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 337,619 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $9,656,000 after acquiring an additional 15,113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.34% of the companys stock.

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Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of BAC stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $31.90. The companys stock had a trading volume of 33,296,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,855,008. The business has a fifty day moving average of $29.30 and a 200-day moving average of $30.59. The stock has a market cap of $254.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.35. Bank of America Co. has a twelve month low of $26.32 and a twelve month high of $38.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

Bank of America ( NYSE:BAC Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $25.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.98 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 19.97% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. This is a positive change from Bank of Americas previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Bank of Americas dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Bank of America from $41.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $33.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $36.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America news, insider Dean C. Athanasia sold 77,806 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.48, for a total transaction of $2,449,332.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 353,971 shares of the companys stock, valued at $11,143,007.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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Boston Standard Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of iShares Global REIT ETF (NYSEARCA:REET  Free Report) by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 482,699 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 40,385 shares during the quarter. iShares Global REIT ETF comprises approximately 2.8% of Boston Standard Wealth Management LLCs holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Boston Standard Wealth Management LLC owned about 0.37% of iShares Global REIT ETF worth $11,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MAS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of iShares Global REIT ETF by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 39,980 shares of the companys stock worth $1,183,000 after buying an additional 10,444 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of iShares Global REIT ETF by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,705 shares of the companys stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 5,359 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of iShares Global REIT ETF by 57.2% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 43,908 shares of the companys stock worth $1,283,000 after buying an additional 15,985 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of iShares Global REIT ETF by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,204,339 shares of the companys stock worth $152,019,000 after buying an additional 987,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in shares of iShares Global REIT ETF in the 1st quarter worth approximately $237,000.

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iShares Global REIT ETF Price Performance

Shares of REET traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $23.74. The company had a trading volume of 331,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 639,148. The companys 50-day moving average is $23.04 and its 200-day moving average is $23.26. iShares Global REIT ETF has a twelve month low of $20.04 and a twelve month high of $26.86. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.16 and a beta of 0.93.

About iShares Global REIT ETF

The iShares Global REIT ETF (REET) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the FTSE EPRA Nareit Global REITs index, a global, market-cap-weighted index of firms involved in the ownership and operation of real estate. REET was launched on Jul 8, 2014 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK  Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 335,000 shares, a growth of 46.2% from the June 30th total of 229,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank raised Braskem from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $16.75 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 8th. UBS Group lowered Braskem from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. HSBC raised Braskem from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Braskem from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price target for the company from $11.50 to $11.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 5th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Braskem from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, June 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Braskem presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $13.88.

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Braskem Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of BAK stock traded up $0.07 on Friday, reaching $10.34. 474,714 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 996,809. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of -5.22 and a beta of 1.77. Braskem has a one year low of $6.26 and a one year high of $14.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.97, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.09.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Braskem

Braskem ( NYSE:BAK Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 9th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.52. The company 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Braskem will post -0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Braskem by 14,811.9% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 58,902 shares of the companys stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 58,507 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in Braskem by 131.9% in the first quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 105,391 shares of the companys stock valued at $812,000 after buying an additional 59,942 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Braskem in the first quarter valued at about $108,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new position in Braskem in the first quarter valued at about $372,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in Braskem in the first quarter valued at about $3,180,000. Institutional investors own 0.03% of the companys stock.

About Braskem

(Get 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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Cedar Fair, L.P. (NYSE:FUN  Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,090,000 shares, a growth of 9.2% from the June 30th total of 2,830,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 241,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 12.8 days. Currently, 6.8% of the companys stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FUN. B. Riley reissued a buy rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Cedar Fair in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Cedar Fair from $50.00 to $42.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Cedar Fair from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Citigroup lowered shares of Cedar Fair from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Cedar Fair in a research report on Thursday, May 25th. They issued an overweight rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $49.50.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cedar Fair

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in Cedar Fair in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,541,000. Castleview Partners LLC purchased a new position in Cedar Fair in the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Cedar Fair by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,307 shares of the companys stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cedar Fair in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Natixis boosted its stake in shares of Cedar Fair by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 3,071,600 shares of the companys stock valued at $126,980,000 after purchasing an additional 1,535,800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.75% of the companys stock.

Cedar Fair Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE FUN traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $38.95. The companys stock had a trading volume of 295,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 215,311. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.66. Cedar Fair has a one year low of $35.55 and a one year high of $47.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 1.39.

Cedar Fair (NYSE:FUN  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The company reported ($2.61) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.91) by ($0.70). The firm had revenue of $84.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $101.23 million. Cedar Fair had a net margin of 14.51% and a negative return on equity of 22.47%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cedar Fair will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cedar Fair Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 6th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. Cedar Fairs dividend payout ratio is currently 27.21%.

Cedar Fair Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Cedar Fair, L.P. owns and operates amusement and water parks, and complementary resort facilities in the United States and Canada. Its amusement parks include Cedar Point located on Lake Erie between Cleveland and Toledo in Sandusky, Ohio; Knott's Berry Farm near Los Angeles, California; Canada's Wonderland near Toronto, Ontario; Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio; Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina; Kings Dominion situated near Richmond, Virginia; California's Great America located in Santa Clara, California; Dorney Park in Pennsylvania; Worlds of Fun located in Kansas City, Missouri; Valleyfair situated near Minneapolis/St.

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Bank of Queensland (OTCMKTS:BKQNY  Get Free Report) is one of 270 publicly-traded companies in the BanksRegional industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare Bank of Queensland to similar businesses based on the strength of its risk, dividends, profitability, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Bank of Queensland and its peers net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Bank of Queensland N/A N/A N/A Bank of Queensland Competitors 37.50% 9.68% 0.88%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Bank of Queensland and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Bank of Queensland N/A N/A 5.30 Bank of Queensland Competitors $3.11 billion $838.25 million 257.77

Insider and Institutional Ownership

Bank of Queenslands peers have higher revenue and earnings than Bank of Queensland. Bank of Queensland 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.

31.3% of shares of all BanksRegional companies are held by institutional investors. 15.3% of shares of all BanksRegional companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Bank of Queensland pays an annual dividend of $1.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 14.2%. Bank of Queensland pays out 75.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group, BanksRegional companies pay a dividend yield of 13.0% and pay out 18.7% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Bank of Queensland and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Bank of Queensland 0 3 0 0 2.00 Bank of Queensland Competitors 1077 3081 3129 11 2.28

As a group, BanksRegional companies have a potential upside of 309.77%. Given Bank of Queenslands peers stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Bank of Queensland has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Summary

Bank of Queensland peers beat Bank of Queensland on 12 of the 13 factors compared.

About Bank of Queensland

(Get Free Report)

Bank of Queensland Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services in Australia. The company operates in Retail Banking, BOQ Business, and Other segments. It offers personal banking services comprises savings and term deposits, and transactional accounts; debit and credit cards; home, personal, and car loans; and travel, home and content, landlord, and car insurance, as well as investment services comprising online share trading services, and self-managed superannuation funds. The company's business banking services include transaction accounts, and savings and investment accounts; loans and finance products, such as business loans, equipment and vehicle finance, and dealer finance; merchant and payment products; and financial market and international services. It also offers Internet and mobile banking services. It operates corporate branches, owner managed branches, and transaction centers. Bank of Queensland Limited was founded in 1874 and is based in Newstead, Australia.

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Dearborn Partners LLC trimmed its stake in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG  Free Report) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 275,583 shares of the energy exploration companys stock after selling 998 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLCs holdings in EOG Resources were worth $31,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 16.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,031 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $1,911,000 after purchasing an additional 2,213 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new position in shares of EOG Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $404,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of EOG Resources in the first quarter valued at approximately $278,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 237.7% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,155 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 23.7% in the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 662 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 89.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at EOG Resources

In other EOG Resources news, COO Lloyd W. Helms, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.87, for a total transaction of $579,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 149,689 shares in the company, valued at $17,344,464.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 2,031 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.26, for a total value of $238,155.06. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 37,607 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,409,796.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Lloyd W. Helms, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.87, for a total transaction of $579,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 149,689 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $17,344,464.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

EOG Resources Price Performance

Shares of EOG traded up $2.18 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $132.88. The company had a trading volume of 1,272,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,555,988. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $77.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.17, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.53. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $97.39 and a 12-month high of $150.88.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 5th. The energy exploration company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.27. EOG Resources had a net margin of 33.83% and a return on equity of 30.34%. The business had revenue of $6.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.00 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 51.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

EOG Resources Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. EOG Resourcess dividend payout ratio is presently 20.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EOG has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $152.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 24th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $150.00 to $145.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of EOG Resources from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $146.00 in a report on Friday, May 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $145.32.

About EOG Resources

(Free Report)

EOG Resources, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, and natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its principal producing areas are in New Mexico and Texas in the United States; and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The company was formerly known as Enron Oil & Gas Company.

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Decibel Cannabis Company Inc. (OTCMKTS:DBCCF  Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 23,500 shares, a decline of 19.2% from the June 30th total of 29,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 10,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Decibel Cannabis Trading Up 6.1 %

DBCCF stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $0.10. The stock had a trading volume of 91,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,186. Decibel Cannabis has a twelve month low of $0.05 and a twelve month high of $0.14. The companys 50-day moving average price is $0.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $0.11.

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About Decibel Cannabis

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Decibel Cannabis Company Inc, an integrated cannabis company, engages in the cannabis cultivation, processing, and sale of cannabis flower products in Canada. It is also involved in the extraction, processing, and manufacturing vape cartridges and glass tube packaging for pre-rolls. In addition, the company engages in the cannabis retail business through operating operational retail locations in Saskatchewan, as well as an e-commerce cannabis platform throughout the Province of Saskatchewan; and operational retail locations in Alberta.

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DNB Bank ASA (OTCMKTS:DNBBY  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 55,900 shares, a decrease of 16.6% from the June 30th total of 67,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.3 days.

DNB Bank ASA Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of OTCMKTS:DNBBY traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $20.53. 33,152 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 80,825. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.83 billion, a PE ratio of 9.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.28. The businesss 50 day moving average is $18.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46. DNB Bank ASA has a one year low of $15.58 and a one year high of $21.10.

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DNB Bank ASA (OTCMKTS:DNBBY  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 11th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. DNB Bank ASA had a net margin of 25.61% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The company had revenue of $4.06 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that DNB Bank ASA will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

About DNB Bank ASA

DNB Bank ASA provides financial services for retail and corporate customers in Norway and internationally. The company offers personal banking products and services, including savings and investment products; loans, such as home mortgages, and car and consumer loans; pet, home and property, travel, and personal insurance products, as well as insurance products for vehicles; retirement savings products; foreign exchange and treasury activities; and Internet and mobile banking services, as well as cards.

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Douglas Emmett (NYSE:DEI  Get Free Report) will be releasing its earnings data after the market closes on Tuesday, August 1st. Analysts expect Douglas Emmett to post earnings of $0.48 per share for the quarter. Persons that wish to listen to the companys earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Douglas Emmett Stock Performance

Shares of DEI opened at $14.39 on Monday. The firms 50 day moving average is $12.74 and its 200-day moving average is $13.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.22 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 2.54. Douglas Emmett has a 12-month low of $10.09 and a 12-month high of $23.85.

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Douglas Emmett Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 30th were given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 29th. Douglas Emmetts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 149.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Insider Activity at Douglas Emmett

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised shares of Douglas Emmett from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. TheStreet lowered shares of Douglas Emmett from a c rating to a d+ rating in a report on Tuesday, May 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Douglas Emmett from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Douglas Emmett from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Douglas Emmett has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $15.78.

In other news, Director William E. Simon, Jr. bought 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.42 per share, with a total value of $124,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 91,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,130,220. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 14.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Douglas Emmett

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DEI. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its stake in Douglas Emmett by 0.7% during the first quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 88,337 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $2,952,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Douglas Emmett by 0.3% during the first quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 218,255 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $7,294,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Douglas Emmett by 0.8% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 97,549 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $2,183,000 after acquiring an additional 761 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Douglas Emmett by 16.9% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,420 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Douglas Emmett by 9.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,533 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.37% of the companys stock.

About Douglas Emmett

(Get Free Report)

Douglas Emmett, Inc (DEI) is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT), and one of the largest owners and operators of high-quality office and multifamily properties located in the premier coastal submarkets of Los Angeles and Honolulu. Douglas Emmett focuses on owning and acquiring a substantial share of top-tier office properties and premier multifamily communities in neighborhoods that possess significant supply constraints, high-end executive housing and key lifestyle amenities.

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Harrell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Edwards Lifesciences Co. (NYSE:EW  Free Report) by 10.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,055 shares of the medical research companys stock after purchasing an additional 2,524 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLCs holdings in Edwards Lifesciences were worth $2,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EW. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,181 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $1,081,000 after buying an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,738 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,223 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 53.5% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,182 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 2,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Edwards Lifesciences by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 655,567 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $77,173,000 after purchasing an additional 19,798 shares in the last quarter. 79.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Edwards Lifesciences news, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 80,700 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.54, for a total value of $7,145,178.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,294 shares in the company, valued at $1,619,750.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Jean-Luc M. Lemercier sold 6,640 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.68, for a total value of $588,835.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 172,090 shares of the companys stock, valued at $15,260,941.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Scott B. Ullem sold 80,700 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.54, for a total value of $7,145,178.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,619,750.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 216,046 shares of company stock valued at $19,145,434. 1.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Edwards Lifesciences Stock Down 2.0 %

A number of research firms have weighed in on EW. 58.com reissued a reiterates rating on shares of Edwards Lifesciences in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $94.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $75.00 to $87.00 in a research report on Monday, April 24th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $95.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Edwards Lifesciences from $101.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Edwards Lifesciences presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $93.16.

Shares of NYSE:EW traded down $1.67 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $82.07. The stock had a trading volume of 4,291,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,129,144. Edwards Lifesciences Co. has a 1 year low of $67.13 and a 1 year high of $107.18. The firms 50 day moving average is $88.86 and its 200-day moving average is $84.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.05, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 2.30 and a current ratio of 3.15.

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The medical research company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Edwards Lifesciences had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 24.56%. Edwards Lifesciencess revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. Research analysts predict that Edwards Lifesciences Co. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG  Free Report) by 34.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,318 shares of the financial services providers stock after acquiring an additional 4,198 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.s holdings in Employers were worth $680,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EIG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Employers by 8.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 217,843 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $8,936,000 after acquiring an additional 17,271 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Employers by 56.2% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 15,932 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 5,732 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in shares of Employers by 14.1% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 24,108 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $989,000 after acquiring an additional 2,973 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. bought a new position in shares of Employers in the first quarter worth about $487,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Employers by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,184,038 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $89,590,000 after buying an additional 6,685 shares during the last quarter. 79.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Employers from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Employers Price Performance

In other news, CEO Katherine H. Antonello purchased 6,880 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $36.46 per share, for a total transaction of $250,844.80. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 77,177 shares in the company, valued at $2,813,873.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link . Company insiders own 1.40% of the companys stock.

NYSE EIG traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $38.63. The companys stock had a trading volume of 108,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 135,689. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 0.25. Employers Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.58 and a 52 week high of $46.73.

Employers (NYSE:EIG  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.27. Employers had a net margin of 14.72% and a return on equity of 10.32%. The business had revenue of $215.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 59.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Employers Holdings, Inc. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Employers Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 8th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. Employerss payout ratio is 24.45%.

Employers Profile

(Free Report)

Employers Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates in the commercial property and casualty insurance industry primarily in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Employers and Cerity. It offers workers' compensation insurance to small businesses in low to medium hazard industries under the Employers and Cerity brands.

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Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU  Get Free Report) and Petrogress (OTCMKTS:PGAS  Get Free Report) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Suncor Energy and Petrogress gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Suncor Energy $44.97 billion 0.89 $6.98 billion $4.52 6.81 Petrogress N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Suncor Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Petrogress.

Analyst Recommendations

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Suncor Energy 0 4 3 0 2.43 Petrogress 0 0 0 0 N/A

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Suncor Energy and Petrogress, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Suncor Energy currently has a consensus price target of $56.67, suggesting a potential upside of 83.98%. Given Suncor Energys higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Suncor Energy is more favorable than Petrogress.

Profitability

This table compares Suncor Energy and Petrogress net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Suncor Energy 14.25% 26.90% 12.41% Petrogress N/A N/A N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

56.8% of Suncor Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Suncor Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Suncor Energy beats Petrogress on 8 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Suncor Energy

(Get Free Report)

Suncor Energy Inc. operates as an integrated energy company in Canada and internationally. It operates through Oil Sands; Exploration and Production; and Refining and Marketing segments. The Oil Sands segment explores, develops, and produces bitumen, synthetic crude oil, and related products. This segment also engages in syncrude oil sands mining and upgrading operations; and marketing, supply, transportation, and risk management of crude oil, natural gas, power, and byproducts. The Exploration and Production segment is involved in offshore operations in the East Coast of Canada. The Refining and Marketing segment refines crude oil and petrochemical products; and markets, transports, and manages refined and petrochemical products, and other purchased products through the retail and wholesale networks. This segment also involved in trading of crude oil, natural gas, and power. The company was formerly known as Suncor Inc. and changed its name to Suncor Energy Inc. in April 1997. Suncor Energy Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

About Petrogress

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Petrogress, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated energy company. It operates through Upstream, Downstream, and Midstream segments. The company engages in the refining of crude oil into petroleum products, and marketing of crude oil and the refined products; and marine transportation, marketing, and retailing of gas oil, naphtha, fuels, and lubricants. It also provides sea-transportation services through its fleet of tankers for its own oil products or third parties. In addition, the company engages in the purchase and sale of crude oil in Cyprus, Middle East, and West Africa, as well as operates gas filling stations in Greece. Petrogress, Inc. was founded in 2009 is based in Piraeus, Greece.

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Harrell Investment Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Vanguard Value ETF (NYSEARCA:VTV  Free Report) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,166 shares of the companys stock after selling 77 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLCs holdings in Vanguard Value ETF were worth $304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vanguard Value ETF by 94.4% in the 4th quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 175 shares of the companys stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vanguard Value ETF in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Kerntke Otto McGlone Wealth Management Group acquired a new stake in shares of Vanguard Value ETF in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in shares of Vanguard Value ETF in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vanguard Value ETF in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000.

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Vanguard Value ETF Stock Performance

NYSEARCA:VTV traded up $0.30 on Monday, hitting $147.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,836,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,263,300. The stock has a market cap of $107.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.30 and a beta of 0.89. Vanguard Value ETF has a 1 year low of $122.54 and a 1 year high of $147.73. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $140.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.15.

Vanguard Value ETF Profile

Vanguard Value ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded share class of Vanguard Value Index Fund, which employs a passive management or indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the MSCI US Prime Market Value Index (the Index). The Index is a diversified index of value stocks of predominantly large United States companies.

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Heritage Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS  Free Report) by 7.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,307 shares of the investment management companys stock after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower View Investment Management & Research LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 224.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 81 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Elequin Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 3,433.3% in the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 106 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.90% of the companys stock.

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The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GS traded up $2.64 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $355.87. 1,375,664 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,622,972. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The companys 50 day moving average is $330.52 and its 200 day moving average is $337.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.38. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a one year low of $287.75 and a one year high of $389.58.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The Goldman Sachs Group ( NYSE:GS Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 19th. The investment management company reported $3.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.25 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $10.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.61 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 8.08% and a net margin of 9.74%. The Goldman Sachs Groups quarterly revenue was down 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.73 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 25.92 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.75 per share. This is a boost from The Goldman Sachs Groups previous quarterly dividend of $2.50. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Groups dividend payout ratio is presently 42.66%.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.71, for a total value of $3,457,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 128,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,590,367.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 10,000 shares of The Goldman Sachs Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.71, for a total transaction of $3,457,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 128,982 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $44,590,367.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total transaction of $105,570,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,676,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $606,164,629.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,977,959 shares of company stock worth $659,825,442 in the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on GS. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $407.00 to $411.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. Citigroup lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a buy rating to a neutral rating and boosted their target price for the company from $370.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. JMP Securities reissued a market outperform rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $433.00 to $483.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, Societe Generale lowered shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $393.34.

About The Goldman Sachs Group

(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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Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. (NYSE:KYN  Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 589,300 shares, a growth of 45.9% from the June 30th total of 404,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 427,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Institutional Trading of Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund during the second quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund by 1.7% during the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 111,599 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $908,000 after buying an additional 1,817 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund by 5.6% during the second quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 202,893 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,652,000 after buying an additional 10,763 shares in the last quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund by 4.1% during the second quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC now owns 906,216 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $7,377,000 after buying an additional 35,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund by 41.6% during the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 65,793 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $536,000 after buying an additional 19,317 shares in the last quarter.

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Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KYN traded up $0.02 on Friday, hitting $8.56. The company had a trading volume of 384,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 468,704. Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund has a 12-month low of $7.84 and a 12-month high of $9.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $8.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.50.

Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund Dividend Announcement

About Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure Fund

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 26th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 23rd.

(Get Free Report)

Kayne Anderson MLP Investment Company is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by KA Fund Advisors, LLC. It is co-managed by Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P. The fund invests in the public equity markets of the United States. It invests in stocks of companies operating in the energy sector.

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KBR (NYSE:KBR  Get Free Report) updated its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $2.76-$2.96 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91. The company issued revenue guidance of $6.90 billion-$7.10 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $7.07 billion.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on KBR shares. StockNews.com cut shares of KBR from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of KBR from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. TheStreet cut shares of KBR from a b+ rating to a c rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of KBR from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $68.71.

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KBR Stock Performance

KBR traded up $0.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $62.11. The companys stock had a trading volume of 915,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,073,266. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. KBR has a one year low of $41.96 and a one year high of $65.87. The firm has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a PE ratio of -66.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.13. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $63.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.38.

KBR Announces Dividend

KBR ( NYSE:KBR Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The construction company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. KBR had a negative net margin of 1.46% and a positive return on equity of 24.94%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KBR will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.135 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. KBRs payout ratio is -58.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jennifer Myles sold 480 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.32, for a total transaction of $31,353.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $948,446.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other KBR news, EVP Jennifer Myles sold 480 shares of KBR stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.32, for a total value of $31,353.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $948,446.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stuart Bradie sold 2,387 shares of KBR stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.51, for a total transaction of $142,050.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 669,639 shares in the company, valued at $39,850,216.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 123,656 shares of company stock worth $7,565,090 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.03% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KBR

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KBR during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of KBR by 35.5% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 871 shares of the construction companys stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of KBR during the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of KBR during the 1st quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of KBR by 103.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,920 shares of the construction companys stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the period.

About KBR

(Get Free Report)

KBR, Inc provides scientific, technology, and engineering solutions to governments and commercial customers worldwide. The company operates through Government Solutions and Sustainable Technology Solutions segments. The Government Solutions segment offers life-cycle support solutions to defense, intelligence, space, aviation, and other programs and missions for military and other government agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

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Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $13.00-$14.00 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $14.02. The company issued revenue guidance of $12.08 billion-$12.26 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $12.63 billion. Laboratory Co. of America also updated its FY23 guidance to $13.00 to $14.00 EPS.

Laboratory Co. of America Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Laboratory Co. of America stock traded down $1.41 on Friday, reaching $214.64. 711,812 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 723,460. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $220.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $229.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.15 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Laboratory Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $166.93 and a fifty-two week high of $222.33.

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Laboratory Co. of America (NYSE:LH  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The medical research company reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $3.47 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 5.89%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Laboratory Co. of America will post 13.7 EPS for the current year.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 8th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 7th. Laboratory Co. of Americas dividend payout ratio is currently 31.07%.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LH shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $260.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $275.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Laboratory Co. of America from $265.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Laboratory Co. of America from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Laboratory Co. of America from $277.00 to $257.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $272.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Laboratory Co. of America

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 212 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $50,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,605 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,825,200. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, CEO Paul R. Kirchgraber sold 4,300 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.91, for a total value of $932,713.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 12,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,808,116.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 212 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $50,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,605 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,825,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,012 shares of company stock valued at $1,308,748 in the last 90 days. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Laboratory Co. of America

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LH. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 1,130 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth approximately $232,000. Prelude Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $229,000. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new position in shares of Laboratory Co. of America during the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the companys stock.

About Laboratory Co. of America

(Get Free Report)

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics and Labcorp Drug Development.

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Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:MITEY  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 130,500 shares, an increase of 12.6% from the June 30th total of 115,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 223,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Mitsubishi Estate Price Performance

Shares of MITEY traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.34. 62,573 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 81,473. Mitsubishi Estate has a 1-year low of $11.20 and a 1-year high of $15.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $12.06 and a 200-day moving average of $12.16. The stock has a market cap of $16.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 0.44.

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Mitsubishi Estate (OTCMKTS:MITEY  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 11th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter. Mitsubishi Estate had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 7.89%. Analysts expect that Mitsubishi Estate will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mitsubishi Estate Company Profile

Mitsubishi Estate Co, Ltd. engages in the real estate activities in Japan and internationally. The company is involved in the development, leasing, property management, and sale of office buildings; planning, development, and tenant leasing of retail facilities; investment, development, operational management, and asset management of logistics facilities; operation of 18 hotels under the Royal Park Hotels brand in Japan and the Marunouchi Hotel in the Marunouchi area; and operation of Takamatsu Airport, Miyako Shimojishima Airport Terminal, Mt.

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Narus Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT  Free Report) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 514,510 shares of the retailers stock, valued at approximately $75,865,000. Walmart accounts for about 41.1% of Narus Financial Partners LLCs holdings, making the stock its largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Triton Wealth Management PLLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 14.9% during the first quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 5,600 shares of the retailers stock worth $861,000 after acquiring an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its stake in Walmart by 334.7% during the first quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 1,352 shares of the retailers stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 2.1% during the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 3,322 shares of the retailers stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Bradley Mark J. grew its stake in Walmart by 14.5% during the first quarter. Bradley Mark J. now owns 25,851 shares of the retailers stock worth $3,812,000 after purchasing an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new stake in Walmart during the first quarter worth approximately $1,303,000. 31.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $159.91. The stock had a trading volume of 3,673,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,453,533. The companys 50-day moving average is $153.89 and its 200 day moving average is $148.42. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.12 and a 12-month high of $160.94. 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 capitalization of $430.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 0.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Walmart ( NYSE:WMT Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 18th. The retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.15. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.30% and a net margin of 1.82%. The firm had revenue of $152.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $147.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 6.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Walmart from $169.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Friday, May 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Walmart from $160.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Friday, May 19th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Walmart from $170.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Walmart from $155.00 to $157.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Walmart from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $169.18.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 455,060 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.98, for a total transaction of $68,249,898.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 245,256,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,783,563,270.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $36,783,563,270.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.04, for a total value of $1,505,128.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,490,621 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $231,105,879.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,218,373 shares of company stock worth $1,422,763,096 in the last ninety days. 46.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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Peddock Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF (BATS:VLUE  Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,845 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $541,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VLUE. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF by 23.2% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 8,583 shares of the companys stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 1,615 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF by 66.1% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 62,809 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,568,000 after buying an additional 25,004 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF by 477.4% in the first quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 353,791 shares of the companys stock valued at $36,996,000 after buying an additional 292,516 shares in the last quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF in the first quarter valued at $608,000. Finally, KC Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF by 11.6% in the first quarter. KC Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,932 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,457,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF Stock Performance

Shares of BATS VLUE traded up $0.37 during trading on Monday, hitting $97.01. The company had a trading volume of 126,018 shares. The company has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.51 and a beta of 1.04. iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF has a 52 week low of $71.21 and a 52 week high of $89.40. The businesss 50-day moving average is $92.91 and its 200 day moving average is $92.96.

iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF Company Profile

The iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF (VLUE) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Enhanced Value index. The fund tracks an index of large- and mid-cap US equities. Stocks are selected and weighted using fundamental metrics (earnings, revenue, book value and cash earnings), aiming for exposure to undervalued stocks in each sector.

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Pensionfund DSM Netherlands lifted its stake in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE  Free Report) by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,700 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the quarter. Alexandria Real Estate Equities accounts for 1.6% of Pensionfund DSM Netherlands portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Pensionfund DSM Netherlands holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities were worth $2,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,512 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,841 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,083 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Seaport Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Seaport Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.60% of the companys stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Joel S. Marcus sold 7,500 shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.20, for a total transaction of $916,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 351,354 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $42,935,458.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Price Performance

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ARE. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a report on Thursday, July 20th. They set a buy rating and a $142.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $198.00 to $166.00 in a report on Thursday, May 4th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $180.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, April 24th. JMP Securities dropped their target price on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $180.00 to $160.00 and set a market outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Wednesday, June 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alexandria Real Estate Equities currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $160.88.

Shares of ARE stock traded down $0.88 on Monday, hitting $125.63. 1,863,788 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,042,031. The firm has a market cap of $21.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.54, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.92. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $108.81 and a 52 week high of $172.65. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.20 by ($1.69). The company had revenue of $713.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.22 million. Alexandria Real Estate Equities had a net margin of 20.65% and a return on equity of 2.54%. The businesss revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. will post 8.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 30th were paid a $1.24 dividend. This is a boost from Alexandria Real Estate Equitiess previous quarterly dividend of $1.21. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 29th. Alexandria Real Estate Equitiess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 147.18%.

About Alexandria Real Estate Equities

(Free Report)

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc (NYSE: ARE), an S&P 500 company, is a best-in-class, mission-driven life science REIT making a positive and lasting impact on the world. As the pioneer of the life science real estate niche since its founding in 1994, Alexandria is the preeminent and longest-tenured owner, operator, and developer of collaborative life science, agtech, and advanced technology campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, including Greater Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle.

Further Reading

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Pentair (NYSE:PNR  Get Free Report) updated its third quarter 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $0.84-$0.89 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.89. The company issued revenue guidance of $981.00 million-$981.00 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.01 billion. Pentair also updated its FY 2023 guidance to $3.65-$3.75 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Pentair from $63.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday. UBS Group raised Pentair from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $53.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, May 8th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Pentair in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Pentair from $78.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Pentair from $65.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $68.79.

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Pentair Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:PNR traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.69. The company had a trading volume of 2,021,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,400,321. Pentair has a fifty-two week low of $38.55 and a fifty-two week high of $70.44. The businesss fifty day moving average is $62.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $11.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.16.

Pentair Dividend Announcement

Pentair ( NYSE:PNR Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. Pentair had a return on equity of 22.39% and a net margin of 11.82%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Pentair will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 20th. Pentairs dividend payout ratio is currently 29.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pentair

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PNR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pentair by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,246,330 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $781,978,000 after buying an additional 186,726 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pentair by 10.6% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,999,717 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $884,304,000 after buying an additional 1,526,893 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Pentair by 4.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,611,971 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $431,164,000 after buying an additional 443,034 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Pentair by 8.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,346,517 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $344,045,000 after buying an additional 479,701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pentair by 2.4% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,522,665 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $194,269,000 after buying an additional 83,740 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.95% of the companys stock.

Pentair Company Profile

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Pentair plc provides various water solutions worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Pool, Water Solutions, Industrial & Flow Technologies. It designs, manufactures, and sells residential and commercial pool equipment and accessories, including pumps, filters, heaters, lights, automatic controls, automatic cleaners, maintenance equipment, and pool accessories for residential and commercial pool maintenance, repair, renovation, service, and construction applications; and water treatment products and systems comprising pressure tanks, control valves, activated carbon products, conventional filtration products, and point-of-entry and point-of-use systems for use in residential whole home water filtration, drinking water filtration, water softening solutions, commercial total water management and filtration, and foodservice operations.

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StockNews.com downgraded shares of Rayonier (NYSE:RYN  Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on RYN. Citigroup lowered their price target on Rayonier from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 6th. 51job reaffirmed a reiterates rating on shares of Rayonier in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Truist Financial began coverage on Rayonier in a research note on Monday, May 15th. They set a hold rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Rayonier from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Thursday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Rayonier has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $34.50.

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Rayonier Stock Performance

Rayonier stock opened at $32.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.34 and a beta of 0.97. Rayonier has a 1-year low of $27.81 and a 1-year high of $38.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.25.

Rayonier Dividend Announcement

Rayonier ( NYSE:RYN Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 3rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.07). Rayonier had a return on equity of 3.44% and a net margin of 9.94%. The business had revenue of $179.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $210.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.20 earnings per share. Rayoniers quarterly revenue was down 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Rayonier will post 0.36 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. Rayoniers dividend payout ratio is currently 196.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rayonier

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Republic Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Rayonier by 139.1% during the 2nd quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 137,738 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $4,325,000 after buying an additional 80,140 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Rayonier by 86.9% in the 2nd quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 17,319 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 8,054 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Rayonier by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,859,689 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $121,194,000 after purchasing an additional 219,111 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Rayonier during the second quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Rayonier by 24.4% in the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,932 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.93% of the companys stock.

About Rayonier

(Get Free Report)

Rayonier is a leading timberland real estate investment trust with assets located in some of the most productive softwood timber growing regions in the United States and New Zealand. As of March 31, 2023, Rayonier owned or leased under long-term agreements approximately 2.8 million acres of timberlands located in the U.S.

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Rogers Communications (TSE:RCI  Free Report) had its price objective increased by Royal Bank of Canada from C$71.00 to C$72.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, FlyOnTheWall reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Rogers Communications from C$74.00 to C$90.00 in a research report on Monday, April 10th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on Rogers Communications from C$80.00 to C$83.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. CIBC lifted their price objective on Rogers Communications from C$75.00 to C$76.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Desjardins lifted their price objective on Rogers Communications from C$68.00 to C$69.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, National Bank Financial lifted their price objective on Rogers Communications from C$79.00 to C$80.00 in a research report on Thursday.

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Rogers Communications Stock Performance

Rogers Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of .

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Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $6.00-$6.20 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $4.77. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Royal Caribbean Cruises also updated its FY23 guidance to $6.00-6.20 EPS.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 1.0 %

RCL traded down $1.11 on Friday, hitting $108.57. The company had a trading volume of 4,046,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,270,007. The company has a market cap of $27.77 billion, a PE ratio of -339.27 and a beta of 2.47. Royal Caribbean Cruises has a 12-month low of $34.51 and a 12-month high of $112.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.28. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $95.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.30.

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Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $3.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.41 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a positive return on equity of 6.76% and a negative net margin of 0.47%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 61.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($2.08) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday. VNET Group reissued a maintains rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Monday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $100.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Monday, June 12th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $85.00 to $127.00 in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $104.00.

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 375,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.74, for a total transaction of $30,277,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,689,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,670,480,887.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 375,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.74, for a total transaction of $30,277,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,689,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,670,480,887.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 36,536 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $2,922,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 147,078 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $11,766,240. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 729,861 shares of company stock valued at $58,020,180 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.70% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 928 shares of the companys stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 63.1% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 742 shares of the companys stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 527.8% in the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 1,651 shares of the companys stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 1,388 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,350 shares of the companys stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,471 shares of the companys stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.08% of the companys stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 13, 2023, it operated 64 ships. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

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RB Global, Inc. (NYSE:RBA  Get Free Report) (TSE:RBA) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,240,000 shares, a decline of 22.4% from the June 30th total of 8,040,000 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the companys shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other RB Global news, Director Adam Dewitt bought 2,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $52.40 per share, for a total transaction of $104,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $104,800. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other RB Global news, Director Adam Dewitt bought 2,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $52.40 per share, for a total transaction of $104,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $104,800. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ann Fandozzi bought 18,522 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $54.06 per share, with a total value of $1,001,299.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 116,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,303,774.42. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 21,993 shares of company stock worth $1,185,754 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.32% of the companys stock.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On RB Global

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its holdings in RB Global by 203.8% in the 1st quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 14,851,085 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $835,968,000 after acquiring an additional 9,962,297 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP bought a new position in RB Global in the 1st quarter valued at about $197,481,000. Luxor Capital Group LP raised its holdings in RB Global by 95.9% in the 4th quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP now owns 4,209,222 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $243,419,000 after acquiring an additional 2,060,511 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in RB Global by 114.8% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,492,206 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $196,586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866,099 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in RB Global by 1,638.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,674,933 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $94,282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578,560 shares during the period. 89.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

RB Global Stock Performance

Shares of RBA stock traded up $0.50 on Friday, reaching $64.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,487,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 801,030. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firms 50-day moving average is $58.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.68, a P/E/G ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 0.92. RB Global has a 12 month low of $48.72 and a 12 month high of $72.73.

RB Global (NYSE:RBA  Get Free Report) (TSE:RBA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 10th. The business services provider reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $512.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $427.18 million. RB Global had a net margin of 6.13% and a return on equity of 5.25%. On average, research analysts expect that RB Global will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RB Global Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 30th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 26th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. RB Globals payout ratio is 110.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RBA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. OTR Global raised shares of RB Global to a positive rating in a report on Thursday, May 4th. National Bankshares raised shares of RB Global from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $61.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. Raymond James raised shares of RB Global from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of RB Global from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, June 9th. Finally, National Bank Financial upped their target price on shares of RB Global from $61.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, RB Global currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $65.00.

About RB Global

(Get Free Report)

RB Global, Inc, an omnichannel marketplace, provides insights, services, and transaction solutions for buyers and sellers of commercial assets and vehicles worldwide. Its marketplace brands include Ritchie Bros., an auctioneer of commercial assets and vehicles offering online bidding; IAA, a digital marketplace connecting vehicle buyers and sellers; Rouse Services, which provides asset management, data-driven intelligence, and performance benchmarking system; SmartEquip, a technology platform that supports customers' management of the equipment lifecycle; Xcira that provides live simulcast auction technologies; and Veritread, an online marketplace for heavy haul transport solution.

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Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE:VPG  Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 58,500 shares, a decline of 23.9% from the June 30th total of 76,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 58,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Vishay Precision Group

In related news, Director Wes Cummins purchased 12,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $34.41 per share, for a total transaction of $412,920.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 477,292 shares in the company, valued at $16,423,617.72. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 7.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Institutional Trading of Vishay Precision Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Vishay Precision Group by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 73,608 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock valued at $2,735,000 after purchasing an additional 11,851 shares during the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Vishay Precision Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $439,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Vishay Precision Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $346,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Vishay Precision Group by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,048 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Vishay Precision Group by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 65,595 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock valued at $2,437,000 after purchasing an additional 18,659 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.95% of the companys stock.

Vishay Precision Group Price Performance

Shares of Vishay Precision Group stock traded down $0.05 on Friday, reaching $37.00. 35,873 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 39,970. The firms 50 day moving average is $36.55 and its 200-day moving average is $39.35. Vishay Precision Group has a one year low of $29.52 and a one year high of $45.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.82 and a current ratio of 4.26. The firm has a market cap of $503.20 million, a PE ratio of 13.75 and a beta of 1.30.

Vishay Precision Group (NYSE:VPG  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 9th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.01). Vishay Precision Group had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 10.08%. The firm had revenue of $88.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.79 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vishay Precision Group will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on VPG shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Vishay Precision Group in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a strong-buy rating for the company. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Vishay Precision Group in a report on Friday, April 14th. They issued a buy rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company.

Vishay Precision Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Vishay Precision Group, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets specialized sensors, weighing solutions, and measurement systems in the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Asia, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Sensors, Weighing Solutions, and Measurement Systems.

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Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG  Free Report) by 19.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,070 shares of the companys stock after selling 1,732 shares during the period. Strategies Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF were worth $704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AGG. Key Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 1,370 shares of the companys stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 1,355 shares of the companys stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC boosted its holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 10,703 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,066,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Mosaic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Mosaic Advisors LLC now owns 12,230 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Tempus Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 5,087 shares of the companys stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. 80.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Price Performance

NYSEARCA AGG traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.56. The stock had a trading volume of 9,233,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,043,905. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $97.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.68. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF has a 1 year low of $93.20 and a 1 year high of $104.39.

iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Company Profile

IShares are index funds that are bought and sold like common stocks on national securities exchanges as well as certain foreign exchanges. iShares are attractive because of their relatively low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account.

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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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Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO  Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,441 shares of the medical research companys stock after buying an additional 64 shares during the quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLCs holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $46,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,730,063 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $6,459,629,000 after buying an additional 1,764,312 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,123,657 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $5,024,306,000 after acquiring an additional 161,344 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 104,536.8% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,355,245 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $4,601,150,000 after acquiring an additional 8,347,260 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,879,351 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $3,780,655,000 after acquiring an additional 123,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,105,677,000. 96.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TMO. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $710.00 to $640.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 25th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $615.00 to $610.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $670.00 in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James lifted their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $595.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $662.00 to $698.00 in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $633.50.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.22, for a total value of $5,452,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 141,330 shares in the company, valued at $77,055,942.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink . In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.22, for a total transaction of $5,452,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 141,330 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $77,055,942.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website . Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 1,600 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.82, for a total transaction of $855,712.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 141,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,586,110.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the companys stock.

Shares of NYSE:TMO traded up $1.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $561.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,642,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,634,332. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 1 year low of $475.77 and a 1 year high of $611.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $527.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $549.59. The company has a market cap of $216.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.78.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The medical research company reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $5.43 by ($0.28). Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 18.59%. The company had revenue of $10.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $10.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.51 earnings per share. The companys revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 22.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientifics dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.57%.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company Profile

(Free Report)

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc provides life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services in the United States and internationally. The company's Life Sciences Solutions segment offers reagents, instruments, and consumables for biological and medical research, discovery, and production of drugs and vaccines, as well as diagnosis of infections and diseases; and solutions include biosciences, genetic sciences, clinical next-generation sequencing, bio production to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agricultural, clinical, healthcare, academic, and government markets.

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Summit Global Investments boosted its position in DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE  Free Report) by 71.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,027 shares of the utilities providers stock after acquiring an additional 22,591 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments holdings in DTE Energy were worth $5,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in DTE Energy in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of DTE Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. BerganKDV Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of DTE Energy by 462.0% during the 1st quarter. BerganKDV Wealth Management LLC now owns 281 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora bought a new stake in shares of DTE Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of DTE Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 74.33% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DTE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of DTE Energy from $120.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of DTE Energy from $121.00 to $122.00 in a report on Thursday, July 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of DTE Energy in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. 888 reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of DTE Energy in a report on Thursday, June 29th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of DTE Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $129.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned 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 price target of $81.76.

Insider Activity

DTE Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

In other news, VP Lisa A. Muschong sold 700 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.41, for a total value of $77,287.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,286.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link . In other DTE Energy news, VP Lisa A. Muschong sold 700 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.41, for a total transaction of $77,287.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,455 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $602,286.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link . Also, SVP Joann Chavez sold 4,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.09, for a total transaction of $452,360.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,607 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,651,905.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Company insiders own 0.61% of the companys stock.

Shares of DTE traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $114.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,191,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,227,318. DTE Energy has a 1 year low of $100.64 and a 1 year high of $136.77. The firm has a market cap of $23.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The stocks 50 day moving average is $107.66 and its 200 day moving average is $81.23.

DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.10. DTE Energy had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that DTE Energy will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

DTE Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 18th will be issued a $0.952 dividend. This represents a $3.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 15th. DTE Energys dividend payout ratio is currently 59.25%.

About DTE Energy

(Free Report)

DTE Energy Company engages in the utility operations. The company's Electric segment generates, purchases, distributes, and sells electricity to approximately 2.3 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers in southeastern Michigan. It generates electricity through fossil-fuel, hydroelectric pumped storage, and nuclear plants, as well as wind and solar assets.

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Shares of Tavistock Investments Plc (LON:TAVI  Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as GBX 5.50 ($0.07) and last traded at GBX 5.67 ($0.07), with a volume of 314637 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 6 ($0.08).

Tavistock Investments Trading Down 5.6 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 6.67 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 7.44. The stock has a market capitalization of 31.75 million, a PE ratio of -600.00 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

About Tavistock Investments

(Get Free Report)

Tavistock Investments Plc provides investment management and advisory support services to a network of financial advisers in the United Kingdom. The company offers compliance, regulatory, administration, and accounting services to independent financial advisers; independent financial advice for wealth management, financial planning, and tax saving services to higher net worth clients; and corporate advisory services for businesses.

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The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM  Get Free Report) insider John C. Geist sold 3,524 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,243,972.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,573 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,967,269. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Boston Beer Price Performance

NYSE SAM traded up $5.17 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $371.27. The companys stock had a trading volume of 269,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 141,736. The Boston Beer Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $296.27 and a 52 week high of $422.75. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $319.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $329.59. The stock has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.48 and a beta of 1.03.

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Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.45 by $1.27. The business had revenue of $603.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $590.03 million. Boston Beer had a net margin of 3.06% and a return on equity of 7.94%. Boston Beers revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.31 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Boston Beer Company, Inc. will post 7.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Boston Beer

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. OLD Mission Capital LLC bought a new stake in Boston Beer in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Boston Beer by 172.2% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 98 shares of the companys stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Boston Beer during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Concord Wealth Partners purchased a new stake in Boston Beer during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Boston Beer by 75.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 158 shares of the companys stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.46% of the companys stock.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Boston Beer from $270.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Boston Beer from $340.00 to $330.00 in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Roth Capital raised shares of Boston Beer from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Boston Beer from $297.00 to $276.00 in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised shares of Boston Beer from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $274.00 to $386.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $318.21.

About Boston Beer

(Get 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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Unum Group (NYSE:UNM  Get Free Report) will post its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Tuesday, August 1st. Analysts expect Unum Group to post earnings of $1.86 per share for the quarter. Persons that wish to listen to the companys earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.22. Unum Group had a return on equity of 14.67% and a net margin of 11.78%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. Unum Groups revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Unum Group to post $8 EPS for the current fiscal year and $8 EPS for the next fiscal year.

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Unum Group Stock Performance

Shares of Unum Group stock opened at $48.84 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $9.62 billion, a PE ratio of 6.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.09. Unum Group has a one year low of $31.31 and a one year high of $49.49.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.365 per share. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 27th. This is a boost from Unum Groups previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Unum Groups dividend payout ratio is 20.68%.

In other news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 5,579 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.82, for a total value of $250,050.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,084 shares in the company, valued at $2,244,764.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Unum Group news, CAO Walter Lynn Rice, Jr. sold 2,800 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.71, for a total transaction of $125,188.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,119 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $318,290.49. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 5,579 shares of Unum Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.82, for a total transaction of $250,050.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,084 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,244,764.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,988 shares of company stock worth $2,513,529. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unum Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNM. Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at $100,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 103.4% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,006 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 1,528 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group in the 4th quarter worth about $150,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its position in shares of Unum Group by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new position in Unum Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $221,000. 78.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UNM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Unum Group from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Unum Group in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on Unum Group from $46.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Unum Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 25th. They issued an overweight rating and a $57.00 price objective on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $48.60.

Unum Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block and Corporate segments. The company offers group long-term and short-term disability, group life, and accidental death and dismemberment products; supplemental and voluntary products, such as individual disability, voluntary benefits, and dental and vision products; and accident, sickness, disability, life, and cancer and critical illness products.

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Walker River Resources Corp. (CVE:WRR  Get Free Report)s share price hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as C$0.14 and last traded at C$0.15, with a volume of 46000 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$0.15.

Walker River Resources Stock Up 3.3 %

The businesss 50-day simple moving average is C$0.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$0.21. The firm has a market cap of C$6.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.10 and a beta of 1.59.

Walker River Resources Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Walker River Resources Corp., an exploration stage company, engages in the identification, exploration, acquisition, and evaluation of mineral properties in Canada. It holds 100% interests in the Lapon Canyon gold project with 147 claims, which covers an area of approximately 2940 acres located in Nevada.

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Wealth Effects LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) by 27.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,310 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the quarter. Wealth Effects LLCs holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LLY. Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 151.0% during the first quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 1,865 shares of the companys stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Wafra Inc. bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 1st quarter valued at $25,908,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2,635.4% during the first quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the companys stock worth $7,312,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 25.7% during the first quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 3,104 shares of the companys stock worth $1,066,000 after buying an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Journey Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 5.1% in the first quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 30,326 shares of the companys stock valued at $10,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. 87.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock traded down $6.76 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $451.72. 635,103 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,994,007. The company has a market capitalization of $428.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.38. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $448.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $390.23. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $296.32 and a 1 year high of $469.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

Eli Lilly and Company ( NYSE:LLY Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.62 EPS. Eli Lilly and Companys quarterly revenue was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 8.78 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 14th. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.86%.

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 the 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 directly owns 101,028,810 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $47,241,071,556. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.46, for a total transaction of $2,576,760.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,864,681.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 164,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.60, for a total transaction of $76,744,850.00. Following the transaction, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 746,556 shares of company stock valued at $334,342,879. Company insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LLY. Barclays boosted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $420.00 to $500.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $440.00 to $500.00 in a report on Friday, May 26th. HSBC started coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, July 14th. They issued a buy rating and a $560.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 24th. Finally, 3M reissued a maintains rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $467.45.

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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West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST  Get Free Report) updated its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of $7.65-$7.80 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $7.71. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.97 billion-$3.00 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.98 billion. West Pharmaceutical Services also updated its FY23 guidance to $7.65-7.80 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WST shares. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $420.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Bank of America upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the company from $390.00 to $405.00 in a report on Friday, June 16th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $350.00.

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West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE WST traded up $10.56 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $365.46. 499,702 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 321,806. The company has a quick ratio of 2.79, a current ratio of 3.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $27.13 billion, a PE ratio of 53.27 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $363.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $335.64. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12 month low of $206.19 and a 12 month high of $389.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

West Pharmaceutical Services ( NYSE:WST Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $753.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $755.71 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 18.10% and a return on equity of 22.58%. West Pharmaceutical Servicess revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.05, for a total transaction of $343,050.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,829 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $627,438.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 44,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.10, for a total value of $15,976,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 134,574 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $48,863,819.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.05, for a total transaction of $343,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,829 shares in the company, valued at $627,438.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 67,244 shares of company stock valued at $24,454,553. Insiders own 1.13% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,716,312 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $3,579,876,000 after acquiring an additional 82,459 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,719,972 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $404,796,000 after purchasing an additional 12,228 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,542,451 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $533,210,000 after purchasing an additional 35,627 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter valued at $237,367,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 73.2% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 849,266 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $294,246,000 after purchasing an additional 359,021 shares during the period. 92.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

(Get Free Report)

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products.

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Taiwan-based Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with the Tamil Nadu government to set up a new mobile components manufacturing facility at a cost of Rs 1,600 crore in Kancheepuram district. The project has the potential to generate 6,000 jobs. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin met Young Liu, chairman and CEO of Foxconn, in the presence of state industries minister T R B Rajaa, chief secretary Shiv Das Meena, additional chief secretary (industries) S Krishnan, MD and CEO of Guidance Tamil Nadu Vishnu Venugopalan, SY Chiang, chief strategy officer (semiconductor) of Foxconn, and top company officials. They signed a letter of intent (LoI) for a new facility that will be set up near Foxconn's existing unit at Sriperumbudur in Kancheepuram district, which currently assembles Apple's iPhones. Foxconns repeated investments and expansion plans in Tamil Nadu are a testament to the state being the top choice for manufacturing in India for major companies across the world. This is a major achievement for the state," Rajaa said. "Manufacturers who have seen immense success in Tamil Nadu over the past many years know that by investing more in the state they will only gain more. With this proposed investment, and many more to come, Tamil Nadu is poised to not only remain the top electronics exporter in the country, but also significantly increase its electronics exports in the coming years. This will play a critical role in attaining MK Stalins ambition of a $1 trillion economy in Tamil Nadu," he added. Prior to this agreement, on July 19, Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII), a subsidiary of Taiwan-based Hon Hai Technology Group, discussed potential investment opportunities in the state with Stalin. On July 17, FII also had a meeting with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Industries Minister MB Patil to explore the possibility of establishing a supplementary plant in Tumakuru alongside their proposed unit in the Devanahalli ITIR region. FII has expressed keen interest in investing Rs 8,800 crore in Karnataka, a move that is expected to create around 14,000 job opportunities.

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Indias top-tier private banks are continuously under pressure of higher attrition, which is at 34-46 percent. The countrys largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank, saw a 34.15 percent attrition in FY23 while Kotak registered 46 percent, up from 29 percent in FY21.



Experts cite talent poaching among the banking bellwethers, increased competition from other sectors, especially fintech, and a reluctance to hire in bulk for the ever-increasing employee turnover.



For instance, in Axis Banks case, 60-70 percent of the talent moved within the banking ecosystem, another 20 percent towards other industries, and just 5 percent for personal reasons.



Some organisations are taking to campus plus strategies to build their pool of bankers, rather than hiring from each other, Rajkamal Vempati, President & Head of Human Resources at Axis Bank told Moneycontrol. She added that hiring remains at an all-time high.



Axis Banks attrition increased to 34.8 percent in FY23 from 31.6 percent in FY22.



Banking bellwethers like HDFC Bank, Axis, Kotak, ICICI, among others, who account for over 30 percent of the sectors workforce, tackled 26 percent attrition and raised their collective headcount by 16 percent, data from staffing firm Xpheno showed. However, the Indian banking sectors headcount as a whole rose just under 2 percent, with 20 percent attrition.



A case in point is HDFC Bank, whose headcount increased 22.35 percent in FY23 but with 53,760 employees also leaving the bank.







Over the last few years, HDFC Bank has experienced a marked shift in the mindsets, stickiness and commitment levels of younger talent. Their willingness to invest in building a career versus taking on the next higher paying job seems to be on the decline, said Vinay Razdan, CHRO of HDFC Bank.



ALSO READ | Ghost jobs haunt candidates amid a spooky job market



Significant headcount movement among bellwethers not resulting in significant sectoral growth typically denotes lateral movement. This lateral movement is what we call a zero sum game within the sector and between bellwethers. It doesnt necessarily result in job creation, said Kamal Karanth, Co-founder of Xpheno.



However, Xpheno noticed that the Indian banking sector had lost 37,000 professionals to other sectors while it absorbed 65,000 back over the last 12 months. This rules out attrition being driven by a talent exodus.



Queries sent to Kotak Mahindra Bank had not elicited a response till the time of publishing this article.



Hiring numbers



As far as hiring trends are concerned, job vacancies in the banking sector were up by almost 40-45 percent year on year (Y-o-Y) as compared to the first quarter of 2022. Hiring activity is up by around 10-12 percent Y-o-Y, according to staffing firm Randstad.







While this is a positive trend, Yeshab Giri, Chief Commercial Officer, Staffing & Randstad Technologies, pointed out it could also explain the reason for the higher attrition, given that there opportunities aplenty for the talent pool to pick and choose employers they feel aligned with in terms of work-life balance, flexibility, compensation and benefits, along with career growth opportunities.



When will attrition cool?



Experts suggest it is highly unlikely banks will see a major drop in attrition soon. According to Karanth, the current pattern of major banks engaging in both attrition refills and expansions will feed attrition for a few more quarters, and it will take at least two quarters for the numbers to cool down.



Nevertheless, HDFC Bank said efforts are underway on several fronts to rein in attrition, such as improving the onboarding experience for new recruits and introducing policies to support women employees returning from maternity.



ALSO READ | Semiconductor industry has 8,000 active jobs, mainly in entry-level positions



Axis Bank has chalked out strategies to see how it can reduce the attrition rate. The banks top leadership does quarterly webcasts, and town hall meetings with employees, besides travelling nationwide regularly to meet with staffers.



Our ability to attract people from diverse industries remains high. If you look at our advocacy on sites like Glassdoor, it is the highest among large Indian private banks, Vempati said.



Millennials and Gen Z employees  a major part of the employee churn at HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank  often seek more growth opportunities, learning and skilling opportunities at their workplace.



They are more likely to stay with an organisation where learning is celebrated, an environment that embraces change, encourages adaptability and where the employees see clear career paths, said Nishchae Suri, MD, India, at Cornerstone OnDemand, a talent management software firm.
Apple Inc.s main supplier, Foxconn Technology Group, is planning to invest close to $500 million to build two component factories in India as part of a steady diversification from China.



At least one of the factories that the Taiwanese company plans to construct in the southern Karnataka state will produce Apple parts, including for iPhones, people familiar with the matter said. A formal announcement is expected as early as this week, the people said, declining to be named as the matter is not public.



Also Read: Foxconn signs LoI with Tamil Nadu to set up Rs 1,600 cr mobile components plant, generate 6,000 jobs



The exact location of these new plants is yet to be decided.



Apple didnt immediately reply to a request for comment. Foxconn didnt respond to an email for comment. The Karnataka state government didnt respond to a request for comment outside of business hours.



Separately, Foxconn has also signed an initial agreement with the southern Tamil Nadu government to set up a component plant with an investment of 16 billion rupees ($195 million), the states industries ministry said Monday. The project planned at Kancheepuram district is likely to generate about 6,000 jobs.



Apple suppliers such as Foxconn have ramped up business in India over the past few years thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modis incentives to boost local manufacturing. States such as Karnataka have also wooed companies with quick decision making, cutting down on red tape and throwing in subsidies.



Foxconns moves in India highlight how the South Asian nation has fast become a popular destination for manufacturers scouting for an alternative to China amid growing tensions between Washington and Beijing. Its also the result of a shift in the global supply chain that accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, and could reshape the way electronics are made.



The new component factory plans are in addition to $700 million that Foxconn is investing to build a plant on a 300-acre site close to the airport in Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, Bloomberg previously reported. The plant is likely to assemble iPhones and expected to create about 100,000 jobs.



Foxconns sprawling iPhone assembly complex in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou  currently the worlds biggest source of Apples marquee gadget  employs some 200,000, though that number surges during peak production season.



Also Read: SemiconIndia 2023 | Optimistic about India semiconductor path; let's do this together: Foxconn Chairman



Output at the Zhengzhou plant plunged ahead of the year-end 2022 holidays due to Covid-related disruptions, one of several factors spurring Apple to re-examine its China-reliant supply chain.



Foxconns decision suggests suppliers may move capacity out of China far faster than expected and is a coup for Modis government, which sees an opportunity to close Indias tech gap with China as Western investors and corporations sour on Beijings volatile regulations, slowing economy and US trading restrictions.
Maruti Suzuki India informed stock exchanges on July 31 that its board has approved the termination of the contract manufacturing agreement with Suzuki Motor Gujarat Private Limited (SMG).



Additionally, Maruti said its board has decided to exercise the option to acquire the shares of SMG from Japan's Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), subject to all legal and regulatory compliances including minority shareholders approval.



Suzuki Motor Gujarat Private Limited (SMG) with its its registered office in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), which is a body corporate incorporated in Japan.



The transaction shall be completed after taking all the Government approvals, as required, under Foreign Exchange Management Act, before March 31, 2024, Maruti Suzuki India said. The mode of acquisition including consideration to be paid to SMC shall be decided in a subsequent Board Meeting, it said.



Presently, SMC holds 100 percent equity capital of SMG. Maruti Suzuki India in its statement said the turnover of the SMG in the last financial year ended on March 31, 2023 was Rs 318,525 million.



RC Bhargava, Chairman of Maruti Suzuki India, said that Maruti Suzuki will take over EV production at the Gujarat site, replacing Suzuki Motor Corporation. He further stated that the acquisition of the facility is expected to be completed by the end of FY24.



"EV production at Gujarat facility will now be done by Maruti Suzuki instead of Suzuki Motor Corporation. Acquisition of Gujarat Plant will be completed by FY24 end," said RC Bhargava.



The valuation of Suzuki's stake has not been determined yet, as it depends on the book value, RC Bhargava said, while adding that the battery plant will remain separate from this transaction, and also said though they are open to purchasing the battery plant from Suzuki, a final decision has not been made yet.



"We have not arrived at any valuation of Suzuki's stake, it depends on the book value. Suzuki's Battery plant will be independent of this transaction. Open to buy the battery plant from Suzuki but we have not taken a final call. Once we take over the plant, employees of the the Gujarat facility will be now part of MSIL's workforce, added Bhargava.



Maruti Suzuki aims for 4 million cars production per annum by 2030-31



Maruti Suzuki India stated that due to the growth in the Indian car market and potential for exports, they plan to increase their annual production capacity to about 4 million cars by 2030-31, nearly double the current levels.



The expansion will happen in multiple locations, with some already identified and others still being studied.



In response to the carbon neutrality requirements, Maruti Suzuki acknowledges that a mix of powertrain technologies, including EVs, Hybrids, CNG, Ethanol, etc., will coexist for a reasonably long period of time. However, managing the intricacies of production at such a large scale with multiple powertrains, under different managements, will present several challenges, according to Maruti.



In terms of actual production, logistics, sales and the cost thereof, there will be no change as the cars earlier supplied by SMG as a contract manufacturer, will now continue to be supplied as before, it said.



Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) on July 31 reported a 145.5 percent jump in its net profit at Rs. 2,485.1 crore during the first quarter of FY 2024. The countrys largest passenger vehicle makers revenue for the quarter rose 22 percent YoY to Rs 32,326.94 crore.



Maruti Suzukis scrip on July 31, closed 1.42 percent higher at Rs 9,806.25 apiece on the BSE.
Persistent Systems on July 31 said that it has strengthened its partnership with Google Cloud by launching a suite of Google Cloud-powered Generative AI solutions. "These offerings support clients throughout their AI journeys, enabling the successful implementation of advanced technologies at scale," the company said in a regulatory filing. The partnership will equip clients with AI solutions to understand how to successfully identify and implement advanced technologies to their businesses at scale, the company added. Persistent System also claimed that its IP-driven application and database modernisation accelerator will streamline data modernisation, reducing time to market and costs by using Google Cloud's Generative AI solutions. Moreover, it added that the art market website Artnet has benefited from a conversational AI-powered interface, aiding art buyers with natural language interactions and purchasing decisions based on criteria. Commenting on the partnership extension, Rajesh Abhyankar, Senior VP of Google Business Unit at Persistent, emphasised Generative AI's value across industries, facilitating faster time-to-market and improved business outcomes. Jim Anderson, VP of NA Partners Ecosystem & Channels at Google Cloud, commends Persistent's adoption of Google Cloud Vertex AI, anticipating the impact on clients seeking innovative programs. At 13.44 PM, the shares of Persistent Systems are quoting at Rs 4,730, up nearly 1 percent on July 31, against the previous close of Rs 4,690.

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GAIL (India) on July 31 reported a decline of 45 percent in consolidated net profit in the first quarter of financial year 2023-24.



The consolidated net profit of the countrys largest gas distributor stood at Rs 1,793 crore in the reporting quarter, compared to Rs 3,251 crore in the same period last year.



Sequentially, net profit increased 179 percent from Rs 643 crore in the quarter ended March 2023 mainly on account of increased gas marketing and transmission volumes and increased transmission tariff realisation.



Improvement in the companys performance following two weak quarters comes amid softening in liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices and a resumption in gas supplies.



Last year, GAIL had to cut down supplies to its customers after supply disruptions from Russias Gazprom and was forced to buy expensive LNG from the short-term market.



GAIL has said earlier that supply from Germanys SEFE (renamed by the German government after Russia relinquished ownership of Gazprom) was resumed in March 2023.



Revenue from operations was flat at Rs 32,849 crore in the quarter ended June 30, compared to Rs 37,942 crore from the year-ago period.



During the quarter, natural gas transmission volume registered a growth of 7 percent to 116.33 MMSCMD (million metric standard cubic meter per day) as against 108.23 MMSCMD in Q4FY23. Meanwhile, gas marketing volume increased by 2 percent to 98.84 MMSCMD as against 96.46 MMSCMD in the previous quarter.



Shares of GAIL were trading at Rs 118.90 a piece at 3 pm on BSE.



In the quarter under review, EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) from the natural gas transmission segment increased to Rs 1,025 crore. Natural gas marketing EBIT declined around 50 percent in the quarter from last year at Rs 1,046 crore.



Meanwhile, the companys petchem segment reported a loss of Rs 302 crore in the quarter, compared to a profit of Rs 35 crore last year.



Sandeep Kumar Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director of GAIL said the company has incurred a capex of about Rs 2,391 crore during the first quarter mainly on pipelines, petrochemicals, equity to JVs (joint ventures), which is about 31 percent of annual target of Rs 7,750 crore.



Gupta also said that GAIL has been authorised to build the Gurdaspur-Jammu Natural Gas pipeline having a length of 160 km with a capex of Rs 522 crore.



During the quarter, the company acquired a 100 percent stake in erstwhile JBF Petrochemicals Limited, now GAIL Mangalore Petrochemicals Limited, by infusing Rs 2,101 crore through Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process, he added.



On July 31, GAIL shares settled at Rs 119 apiece on the BSE, which was up Rs 1.45 or 1.23 percent higher than the previous day's close.
Petronet LNG on July 31 reported consolidated net profit of Rs 819 crore in the first quarter of financial year 2023-24, an increase of 13 percent from the year-ago period.



Petronet LNG CMD A.K. Singh said that capacity utilisation during Q1FY2024 rose to 96 percent which contributed to the company's rise in bottomline.



"The Company was able to achieve higher throughput and robust financial results due to better capacity utilization of its terminals and efficiency in its operations," Petronet LNG said in a press release.



The state-run gas importer had posted net profit of Rs 725 crore in the April-June quarter of FY23.



On a sequential basis, the companys net profit gained 31 percent, as against Rs 619 crore in the preceding quarter (Q4FY23).



The quarter-on-quarter increase in profit comes in amid softening in LNG (liquefied natural gas) prices.



Petronet LNGs revenue from operations stood at Rs 11,656.38 crore, lower by 18 percent in the same period last year.



Moreover, on a standalone basis, Petronet's net profit stood at Rs 790 crore. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) increased 26 percent to Rs 1,181.9 crore while margin grew 330 basis to 10.1 percent.



Singh added that use and pay charges for FY2023 stood at Rs 843 crore, outstanding while use and pay charges for 2022 stood at Rs 446 crore.



Petronet LNG's use and pay charges nearly doubled in 2022-23 when compared to 2021-22 when it had booked Rs 415.91 crore as use and pay charges.



The rise in use and pay charges was mainly due to the impact of COVID and the Ukraine-Russia war on the balance sheet of Petronet LNG's customers, Singh said.



Take-or-Pay Gas Contract are contracts used in the oil & gas industry that obligates the buyer to take an agreed minimum quantity of gas at a set contract price over a given period of time or to pay an agreed-on amount if the minimum gas quantity is not taken.



These usually are long-term contracts but can be on a year-to-year basis or shorter periods.



He added that Petronet LNG is working with customers on an amicable solution for its use and pay charges where payment can be received over a period of time. Singh said that no haircut is being considered.



Singh also said, "Renegotiation of long term contact with Qatar Gas is on-going, current contract ends in April 2028," adding, "We are eagerly looking to extend the contract with Qatar Gas for the long term LNG supply contract."



LNG spot prices after a gap of almost three are showing a positive trend, company said. Going forward LNG spot prices are expected to move in a range bound manner, Singh added.



Moreover, the company's CMD said that spot LNG prices are not likely to fall as China is not buying the expected level of LNG. The storage utilization of European countries is around 85 percent.



"If upcoming winter in Europe is harsher than last year, LNG prices may see some volatility," Singh further said, adding, "We are actively engaged with various LNG suppliers for long term LNG contracts."



He also mentioned that the company was not looking to invest in LNG liquification at the moment. "We are negotiating default payments by customers and expect to come up with an amicable solution soon," he added.



"India still has a large potential for LNG consumption," Singh added.



Shares of the company closed 2 percent higher at Rs 233.80 apiece on BSE against previous closing.



Petronet had recently said that rising as global prices have eased. "We get indication from utilisation rate (of gas import terminals)," Petronet Singh had earlier stated.



Petronet LNG operates the country's biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at Dahej in western India. The terminal has a capacity to import 17.5 million metric tonne per year (tpy) of LNG.



The overall LNG volume processed by the company in the current quarter was 230 TBTU, as against the LNG volume processed in the previous and corresponding quarters, which stood at 185 TBTU and 208 TBTU, reporting growth of 24 percent and 11 percent respectively.
Agrochemical player UPL is expected to post a weak set of earnings for the first quarter of FY24 on July 31, dragged by a late onset of monsoon, and lukewarm global demand due to destocking of high-cost inventory.



Along with that, volumes are also likely to remain weak, primarily on account of increased supply pressure from China.



A poll of brokerages collated by Moneycontrol pegged its sales at Rs 9,790 crore, down 9.5 percent from Rs 10,821 crore clocked in the base quarter. Brokerages also attributed the steep price corrections in UPLs generic portfolio as the cause behind the expected fall in revenue.



Analysts predict that in the quarter under review, specific markets such as North America, Europe, Brazil, and India will likely experience weakness. However, Asia, excluding India, Latin America, excluding Brazil, and the rest of the world (RoW) region are expected to perform relatively better during the same period.



Net profit for the quarter is also likely to slump sharply by 72 percent on-year to Rs 262 crore from Rs 955 crore. Prabhudas Lilladher anticipates higher forex losses and taxes to weigh on UPL's bottomline too.



The company is also likely to report a steep decline in its operating profit margins for the quarter under review. "Generic prices have dropped by 1025 percent across products, leading to a fall in realisation. Increased supply of many chemicals from China and muted demand are impacting the generic prices," Nuvama Institutional Equities said in a report.



Apart from that, pricing pressure and carry-over of high-cost inventory will also drag UPL's EBITDA margin down, Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities said in its report. UPL's EBITDA margin stood at 21.6 percent in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. It is worth noting the EBITDA for UPL will be calculated after forex adjustment.



During the previous quarter, UPL's performance remained under pressure due to lower product prices and delays in the planting season. Additionally, the company's margins were negatively affected by challenges in the post-patent sector.



Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
The Central government has approved Rs 84,884 crore worth of long-term, interest free loans to states for far in 2023-24, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary has informed the Parliament.



In a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha on July 31, Chaudhary said the approval from the finance ministry includes capital projects proposed by 21 states.



The approved amount of Rs 84,884 crore is 65 percent of the Centre's Budget estimate of Rs 1.3 lakh-crore Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment. These 50-year, interest-free loans are part of the Centre's record capex target of Rs 10 lakh crore for 2023-24.



While Rs 84,884 crore worth of these loans have already been approved, the amount released is much lower at just Rs 29,518 crore, Chaudhary said in his answer in the Lok Sabha. A total of 12 states have received the capex loans  Assam, Bihar, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and West Bengal. According to Chaudhary, the released amount constitutes the first installment under the untied portion of the capex scheme.



The Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment has eight parts, with seven of them either linked to reforms or for sector-specific projects. The untied part has the largest allocation of Rs 1 lakh crore.



The amounts approved and released so far in 2023-24 represents a huge improvement from 2022-23. In the last financial year, in which the Centre had budgeted Rs 1 lakh crore for these capex loans to states, Rs 95,147 crore had been approved, but only Rs 81,195 crore was released.



Also Read: Centre confident of meeting Rs 10 lakh-crore capex target, says Finance Secretary Somanathan



With the Centre raising the state capex loan amount by 30 percent to Rs 1.3 lakh crore, the finance ministry had been looking to push ahead with the project approvals at a faster pace in 2023-24.



"This year we have been talking with the chief secretaries of the state governments, to say that this moves fast and moves early. So my strong belief is that in the month of April itself, there should be a substantial number of proposals coming from many states so the release (of funds) can happen straight away," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said on February 2 at a post-Budget industry interaction.



While Rs 29,518 crore has been released to states as capex loans so far in 2023-24, the Centre's overall capital expenditure in the first three months of the financial year has been Rs 2.78 lakh crore - just under 28 percent of the full-year target. As per data released by the Controller General of Accounts on July 31, the Centre's capex in June jumped 62.8 percent to Rs 1.11 lakh crore.
The Indian government's fiscal deficit increased to Rs 4.51 lakh crore in April-June from Rs 2.10 lakh crore in April-May, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts on July 31.



At Rs 4.51 lakh crore, the fiscal deficit for the first three months of the current financial year accounts for 25.3 percent of the full-year target of Rs 17.87 lakh crore.



The fiscal deficit in the first three months of 2022-23 was 21.2 percent of the target.



The sharp expansion in the fiscal deficit - up 28.3 percent year-on-year in April-June and 62.9 percent in June - comes after an unexpectedly-large dividend from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) boosted non-tax revenue in May and helped limit the April-May fiscal deficit to just 11.8 percent of the full-year target.



However, in June, receipts fell and expenditure continued to mount. The Centre's total receipts in June were down 14.3 percent year-on-year, with net tax revenue down 21.5 percent at Rs 1.56 lakh crore. The Centre's tax revenue in June was hit by the transfer of a double instalment of tax devolution to states, amounting to Rs 1.18 lakh crore.



Gross tax collections, meanwhile, were up 11.3 percent in June compared to the same month last year at Rs 2.75 lakh crore. Within gross tax revenue, corporate tax collections continued to flounder, coming in at Rs 81,972 crore - down 0.4 percent from June 2022.



On the whole, in April-June, the central government's total receipts were up only 0.5 percent from the first quarter of 2022-23, with net tax revenue down 14.3 percent.



Capex climb continues



The Centre has focussed on boosting economic growth by pushing hard on capital expenditure, and the latest government finances data shows efforts continued in June.



As per the data, the Centre's capex in June jumped 62.8 percent to Rs 1.11 lakh crore, taking the total for April-June to Rs 2.78 lakh crore - just under 28 percent of the record full-year target of Rs 10 lakh crore.



The surge in capex in June led to the Centre's total expenditure last month rising by 17.3 percent to Rs 4.25 lakh crore. For April-June, the total spending has been Rs 10.51 lakh crore, which is 10.8 percent more than what was spent in April-June 2022.



Despite the sharp rise in the fiscal deficit in June, the Centre is seemingly on track to meet its fiscal deficit target for 2023-24, with Aditi Nayar, ICRA's chief economist, commenting that fiscal concerns "appear limited".



The Centre has set itself a target of reducing its fiscal deficit to 5.9 percent of GDP in 2023-24 on its way to meeting the medium-term milestone of 4.5 percent by 2025-26.
Pakistan and China on July 31, signed six important documents to expand and expedite cooperation under the ambitious multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, further cementing the all-weather strategic relations between the countries.



Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng witnessed the signing ceremony held to mark 10 years of the CPEC, a collection of infrastructure and other projects under construction throughout Pakistan since 2013.



The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistans Balochistan with Chinas Xinjiang province, is opposed by India as it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal and Vice Chairman of China's National Development and Reforms Commission Zhao Chenxin signed the document on the joint cooperation committee of CPEC as well as another agreement on the establishment of an expert exchange mechanism within the framework of the CPEC.



The third document was signed by the Secretary Ministry of National Food Security Zafar Hassan and the Chinese Charge D'Affaires Pang Chunxue to export dried chillies from Pakistan to China. Member Planning of National Highway Authority Asim Amin and Pang signed the fourth document on the realignment of the Karakoram Highway Phase II project feasibility study.



The two sides also signed the MOU on the Industrial Workers Exchange Programme through diplomatic channels and agreed to promote the strategic ML-1 rail upgradation project. Prime Minister Sharif in his comments on the occasion said the documents signed aimed at further enhancing economic relations between Pakistan and China, adding that so far over USD 25 billion worth of investment has taken place under the CPEC in Pakistans power and hydel sector, road infrastructure, and public transport.



"We are now entering the second phase of the CPEC which will envisage investments in sectors such as agriculture and information technology," he said. He assured that Pakistan was ready to contribute towards Chinese President Xi Jinpings vision of the shared destiny of progress and prosperity as he showed confidence that Pakistan would stand on its own feet.



"We will emulate the Chinese model of development to achieve peace and prosperity in the country," he said, adding that Pakistan and China enjoy a unique relationship. "We are all-weather friends, iron brothers and this friendship will continue and will not tolerate any obstacles in its way," he said.



Earlier, the Chinese vice premier, who is a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the ruling Communist Party, arrived in Pakistan on Sunday on a three-day trip to attend the celebration held after a decade of the CPEC. "Vice Premier will attend the 10th-anniversary celebrations of CPEC and call on the President and the Prime Minister," the Foreign Office earlier said.



The visit by the vice premier comes as Pakistan narrowly escaped defaulting on foreign obligations. China played a significant role in helping the country by rolling over more than USD 5 billion in loans. CPEC, which was initially a USD 46 billion project, later on, expanded to USD 62 billion. The key agreement for the CPEC projects was agreed in 2013 but it was formally launched when President Xi Jinping visited Pakistan in 2015. The BRI was launched by Chinese President Xi in 2013.



It aims to link Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes. The BRI is seen as an attempt by China to further its influence abroad with infrastructure projects funded by Chinese investments all over the world. The initiative also led to allegations of smaller countries reeling under mounting Chinese debt after Sri Lanka gave its Hambantota port in a debt swap to China in 2017 on a 99-year lease.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the focus of the government is on four Is  infrastructure, investment, innovation and inclusiveness  to make India a developed nation by 2047.



She said India has necessary wherewithal to meet the goal set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.



Besides several investor-friendly reforms undertaken by the government, she said, India has a very vibrant young population and the emphasis on skilling them to suit the requirement of the economy would yield dividend.



With the aim to build India a developed country by 2047, she said "the emphasis has been on four different issues (Is). We are looking at infrastructure (first I) in a very big way. In the last 3 to 5 years, consistently, the public expenditure for infrastructure building has been ramped up significantly and it will reach Rs 10 lakh crore in 2023-24." With infrastructure comes investment (second I), she said, adding that emphasis on investment will promote greater participation of both the public and private sector.



So, she said, infrastructure is not just going to be physical such as bridges, roads, ports or airports, but also creation of digital infrastructure is given importance.



"We are looking for both public investment and private investment and creating necessary environment, the ecosystem as we often refer to for attracting private investment. And the global discussions which are going on blended finance is also something which we're looking at," she said at an event organised by CII.



Pointing out that innovation is the third I, she said, "the government has opened up several areas inclusive of the space, nuclear energy, looking at getting out of fossil fuels. We have enough reason to believe the youth today are giving us solutions, which are very good for the frontier technologies that we're talking about, as much as for the legacy issues which persist in India for which we need solutions." On the fourth I, inclusiveness, she said, "as we aim to reach for the developed nation in 25 years by focussing on inclusiveness, making sure that every section of India, the common man, benefits by everything that we do (whether) investment or reforms are trying to take schemes to the people."
GAIL (India) is planning to source long-term natural gas supplies to the tune of approximately 7-8 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) by 2030, the company said.



In a conference call, Rakesh Jain, Director (Finance) at GAIL said the company intends to not depend on one country for more than 1-2 MTPA of volumes to protect itself from supply disruptions and sudden increase in spot prices.



Last year in May, Russias Gazprom had declared force majeure citing the war in Ukraine and suspended supplies to GAIL. GAIL had to cut down supplies to its customers and was forced to buy expensive LNG from the short-term market.



In 2012, Gazprom Marketing and Trading Singapore (GMTS), a unit of the German arm of Gazprom, entered into a 20-year deal with GAIL for the supply of 2.5 million tonnes of LNG. Subsequent to the Western sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine, the parent Gazprom relinquished the ownership of Gazprom Germania. In April 2022, the German government placed Gazprom Germania in the trusteeship of the Federal Network Agency (Bnetza), renaming it SEFE.



GAIL said it is looking to increase its natural gas transmission volumes to 123 mmscmd ((million metric standard cubic meter per day) by the end of FY24. In the first quarter of FY23, the companys natural gas transmission volume came in at 116.33 mmscmd, registering a growth of 7 percent yoy.



The company reported a decline of 45 percent in consolidated net profit in the quarter ending June 30. The consolidated net profit of the countrys largest gas distributor stood at Rs 1,793 crore in the reporting quarter, compared to Rs 3,251 crore in the same period last year.



Sequentially, net profit increased 179 percent from Rs 643 crore in the quarter ended March 2023 mainly on account of increased gas marketing and transmission volumes and increased transmission tariff realisation.



However, the companys petchem segment reported a loss of Rs 302 crore in the quarter, compared to a profit of Rs 35 crore last year and a loss of Rs 400 crore in the previous quarter.



Jain said the loss in the petchem segment was on account of falling prices in the international market.



Unfortunately, petrochemical prices in the international market has come down significantly. If you compare with last quarter, prices have come down by Rs 8,000. That is hurting us. We have been able to reduce loss; we were not only able to recover variable cost but also fixed cost, Jain added.



With the significant drop in LNG prices, the company has been capable of sourcing gas at better prices, and therefore GAIL will see significant improvement in the segment by the end of the year, he said.
IndiGo, Indias largest airline by fleet size and domestic market share, will declare its earnings for the first quarter of FY 23-24 on Aug 02, 2023. This comes within days of the airline announcing its highest-ever domestic market share of 63.2 percent and a month after the airline placed a historic order with Airbus.



Years ago, Aditya Ghosh, the then president of IndiGo, said the airline was similar to Roger Federer, boringly consistent, as with each passing quarter, IndiGo beats its previous record for the number of passengers carried. And Q1 FY24 has been no different.



What do the numbers say?



At 2.34 crore domestic passengers, the quarter saw a 12 percent growth in traffic over Q4 FY22-23, and IndiGo closed June with a 63.2 percent market share, its highest ever, and the first time it crossed 60 percent market share.



IndiGo had reported a profit of Rs 919 crore on sales of Rs 14,160 crore in Q4 FY22-23. Come August, will its sales cross the Rs 15,000 mark the first time?



The airlines international traffic has also seen steady growth, with the quarter recording 26.85 lakh passengers, nearly 10 percent more than the preceding quarter on the back of the traditional high season for travel.



Things that have gone in its favour



The surprise suspension of flights by Go FIRST has gone in favour of IndiGo. Being the largest player, it has the ability to add flights at short notice, reducing frequency on certain routes and adding it on routes severely impacted by the fall of Go FIRST, thus maximising revenues.



The launch of high-density (by number of seats) B777s on its two routes to Istanbul would further bolster the airlines revenues, though it is not known what the airline is spending for the damp-leased aircraft.



On the domestic front, Air Indias inability to add capacity in spite of taking deliveries of four A321s, the waning of SpiceJet, and no fleet additions by Akasa have all been positives for IndiGo this quarter.



What to watch out for



While the pilot situation is likely to ease in the short term due to the grounding of Go FIRST, in the longer term, manpower challenges are likely to persist.



Also read: DGCA imposes penalty on IndiGo for tail strike incidents



Besides sales, people will also have their eyes on other income as the airline has not shared the compensation it has received from Pratt & Whitney for the delay in delivering engines. Also, it is unclear if the airline is getting compensated in cash or kind or both.



Duopoly?



Theres conjecture about Indian aviation heading towards a duopoly, but with IndiGo with a market share of over 60 percent, IndiGo is competing with itself rather than anybody else.



Given its growing domestic and international business, a profit in Q1 seems likely, though how much is anybodys guess. Indigos maximum profit ever was Rs 1,423 crore. But that was with 18 percent fewer passengers and one lesser competitor.
Amid the rush for booking profits, the Nifty50 index corrected a mere half a percent, settling the week around the 19,650 zone on July 28. The phenomenon has been very much in line with the market expectation after the recent stellar rally to an uncharted territory.



Technically speaking, amid the ongoing breather in the market, the chart structure construes optimism, and it is likely to continue the cheerful run in the comparable period.



As far as levels are concerned, till the index firmly withholds the pivotal support of 19,500, there is no sign of caution in the market. While on the higher end, 19,800-20,000 holds stiff resistance and a decisive move beyond which could trigger the next leg of rally.



We remain sanguine in the market but would advise to avoid undue risk as the market lacks buying conviction in the current scenario.



Here are two buy calls for short term:



Bharat Electronics: Buy | LTP: Rs 130.15 | Stop-Loss: Rs 124 | Target: Rs 137 | Return: 5 percent



Bharat Electronics (BEL) has seen strong buying traction in the last trading session on July 28, which led to a consolidation breakout on the broader time frame, signifying positive development in the counter.



On a technical aspect, the 14-day RSI (relative strength index) has witnessed a positive crossover, adding to the bullish undertone. The stock looks well verse to continue its upwards journey in the comparable period.



Hence, we recommend buying BEL in the range of Rs 128-130, with a stop-loss of Rs 124 and target of Rs 137.







Torrent Power: Buy | LTP: Rs 671.80 | Stop-Loss: Rs 620 | Targets: Rs 715-730 | Return: 9 percent



Torrent Power witnessed a strong consolidation breakout in the last trading session (July 28) on the back of robust volumes. Also, with the recent move the stock has retraced over 50 percent of the fall on the broader term perspective, indicating a strong rebound.



The primary technical indicators align with the trend suggesting a continuation of the movement in a comparable period. Hence, we recommend buying the stock in the range of Rs 660-665, with a stop-loss: Rs 620 and target of Rs 715-730.



Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
The markets today, just like the past cycles, are driven by three things: fundamentals, flows and sentiments, said Nilesh Shah of Kotak AMC in an interview with Moneycontrol on July 31.



Shah believes that the limited number of investment options for foreign investors in the Chinese, Russian, South African or Turkish markets is what is directing flows towards India. This increased inflow of funds is further fuelled by the China Plus One sentiment that has been prevalent in the markets recently.



These flows and sentiments are backed by strong fundamentals which have improved over the years. The Indian economy has displayed robust growth over the past 6 months with the Nifty delivering an 11.54 percent return owing to Shahs 'Triveni Sangam' principle.



Citing the historic movements, Shah stated that like in the past, if we don't deliver, this momentum can't continue. But there is hope this time that we will deliver. He believes that government intervention accompanying the private sector is making corporate India global and displaying visible growth.



Shah noted that the prices of stocks are rising because there are more aggressive buyers than sellers in the market, be it from the foreign or domestic investments front. These investors are buying as they are bullish on India.



The market expert sees volatility in the markets in the short term, especially with the elections and fed rate hikes brining potential surprises which the markets have merely discounted for, as positive. While there is uncertainty and a possibility for a correction in the short term, Shah is optimistic in the long term perspective. Between these two extremes, short-term uncertain, long-term fairly certain, medium-term will probably swing between fear as well as hope. My bet will be short-term, keep some dry powder for correction, medium to long-term stay invested for a participation in India growth story said Shah.
The market has seen a rebound from the 19,600-19,500 area, which is expected to continue as a crucial support zone in coming sessions as crossing that level can bring more selling pressure. However, the resistance it faced at 19,800 is likely to remain critical for the northward journey towards the much-awaited psychological 20,000 mark. Till then, the rangebound action may continue in the market, experts said.



The July sales numbers to be announced by auto companies on August 1 may also decide the next course of market action.



"The bulls once again showed resilience to portray a buoyant undertone on July 31. As far as levels are concerned, 19,600 is likely to act as a cushion, while the pivotal zone of 19,500, coinciding with 20 DEMA (exponential moving average), is expected to act as sacrosanct support," Osho Krishan, senior analyst, technical & derivative research at Angel One said.



On the higher end, he feels a cluster of resistances can be seen around 19,800-20,000 in the comparable period.



The market has reversed most of the losses seen in the previous two sessions and closed with over half a percent gains on July 31. The Nifty50 climbed 108 points to 19,754, backed by buying in most sectors, barring FMCG, and formed a bullish candlestick with a minor lower shadow on the daily charts, making higher high and higher low.



The BSE Sensex jumped 367 points to 66,528, while the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices performed better than benchmarks, rising 1 percent and 0.9 percent respectively on positive breadth. Positive Asian peers also lifted sentiment in the domestic market.







We have collated 15 data points to help you spot profitable trades:



Note: The open interest (OI) and volume data of stocks are the aggregates of three-month data and not just the current month.



Key support and resistance levels on Nifty



The pivot point calculator suggests that the Nifty may get support at 19,641, followed by 19,600 and 19,533. In case of an upside, 19,775 can be the key resistance followed by 19,816 and 19,883.



Nifty Bank



On July 31, we have also seen a reversal of losses in the Bank Nifty, which climbed 183 points to 45,651, and formed a small-bodied bullish candlestick pattern on the daily timeframe, but largely traded within the previous day's range.



"The Bank Nifty managed to hold on to the 20-day moving average (45,392) and witnessed a bounce from that support. The Bollinger bands are contracting which indicates contraction of range and also rangebound price action over the next few trading sessions," Jatin Gedia, technical research analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas said.



He further said the divergent signals from the daily and hourly momentum indicators further supported the sideways outlook for the Bank Nifty. Overall, he expects the index to consolidate between 46,500 and 45,000.



The pivot point calculator indicates that the Bank Nifty is likely to take support at 45,441, followed by 45,362 and 45,234. In the case of an upside, the initial resistance is at 45,697, followed by 45,776 and 45,904.







Call options data



The options data indicated that the maximum weekly Call open interest (OI) remained at 19,800 strike, with 86.63 lakh contracts, which can act as a key resistance for the Nifty. It was followed by 20,500 strike, which had 84.04 lakh contacts, while 20,000 strike had 70.02 lakh contracts.



We have seen meaningful Call writing at 20,000 strike, which added 15.68 lakh contracts, followed by 19,900 and 20,100 strikes, which added 4.15 lakh and 1.71 lakh contracts, respectively.



The maximum Call unwinding was seen at 19,600 strike, which shed 21.12 lakh contracts, followed by 20,200 and 19,700 strikes, which shed 14.5 lakh contracts, and 14.33 lakh contracts, respectively.







Put option data



On the Put side, the maximum open interest remained at 19,600 strike, with 95.43 lakh contracts. This can be an important support level for the Nifty50 in the coming sessions.



It was followed by 19,700 strike, comprising 79.81 lakh contracts, and 19,000 strike, with 65.33 lakh contracts.



We have seen the maximum Put writing at 19,700 strike, which added 50.31 lakh contracts, followed by 19,600 strike and 19,000 strikes, which added 26.02 lakh contracts and 16.82 lakh contracts, respectively.



The meaningful Put unwinding was at 20,100 strike, which shed 16,950 contracts, followed by 20,200 strike, which shed 6,650 contracts.







Stocks with high delivery percentage



A high delivery percentage suggests that investors are showing interest in the stock. Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, Godrej Consumer Products, UltraTech Cement, and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the stocks that saw the highest delivery.







85 stocks see a long build-up



Page Industries, Delta Corp, Hindustan Copper, Astral, and Siemens were among 85 stocks to see a long build-up. An increase in open interest (OI) and price indicate a build-up of long positions.







17 stocks see long unwinding



Based on the OI percentage, 17 stocks, including Syngene International, Colgate Palmolive, Exide Industries, Dr Lal PathLabs, and Zydus Life Sciences saw long unwinding. A decline in OI and price indicate long unwinding.







32 stocks see short build-up



A short build-up was seen in 32 stocks, including M&M Financial Services, Piramal Enterprises, Divis Laboratories, National Aluminium Company, and UPL. An increase in OI along with a fall in price points to a build-up of short positions.







52 stocks see short-covering



Based on the OI percentage, 52 stocks were on the short-covering list. These included Laurus Labs, Indiabulls Housing Finance, NTPC, Atul and Navin Fluorine International. A decrease in OI along with a price increase is an indication of short-covering.







Bulk deals







(For more bulk deals, click here)



Results on August 1



Stocks in the news



Maruti Suzuki India: The country's largest passenger vehicles maker has recorded a 145.4 percent year-on-year growth in standalone profit at Rs 2,485.1 crore for the quarter ended June FY24, largely driven by larger sales volume, improved realisation, cost reduction efforts and higher non-operating income. Revenue grew by 22 percent to Rs 32,327 crore compared to the year-ago period.



Power Grid Corporation of India: The state-owned electric services company registered a nearly 6 percent year-on-year decline in standalone profit at Rs 3,542.65 crore for the quarter ended June FY24, though the operating margin was dented by a lower topline. Revenue from operations during the quarter fell 0.1 percent to Rs 10,436.1 crore compared to the year-ago period.



South Indian Bank: The private sector lender has received board approval for raising funds up to Rs 1,000 crore via issuance of equity shares through public issue, private placement, preferential issue, qualified institutional placement, further public offer, or rights issue. The board also approved fund raising up to Rs 500 crore via debt instruments.



Rail Vikas Nigam: The state-owned railway company has received Letter of Award (LOA) for two projects from Madhya Pradesh Poorv Kshetra Vidyut Vitran Company, in Jabalpur Company Area. The project cost is Rs 331.6 crore.



Mahindra & Mahindra: The utility vehicle maker is setting up an electric vehicle battery testing facility at Mahindra Research Valley (MRV) in Chengalpattu and a crash test facility at Mahindra SUV Proving Track (MSPT) SIPCOT, in Cheyyar, in Tamil Nadu. The investment in the battery testing facility will be Rs 210 crore and Rs 290 crore in crash test lab construction.



Easy Trip Planners: The travel agency has received board approval for the acquisition of 51 percent of the aggregate paid-up share capital in Guideline Travels Holidays India, Dook Travels, and Tripshope Travel Technologies. The board also approved the raising of funds, by way of issuance of equity shares in one or more tranches through preferential allotment.



Blue Star: The manufacturer of air conditioners, air purifiers and water coolers said the board of directors will meet on August 3 to consider the proposal for raising of funds. The fundraising will be via the issuance of equity shares, debts, warrants, or preference shares by way of a private placement.



Fund Flow







FII and DII data



Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 701.17 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) bought Rs 2,488.07 crore worth of stocks on July 31, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) shows.



Stocks under F&O ban on NSE



The NSE has added Piramal Enterprises to its F&O ban list for August 1, while retaining Indiabulls Housing Finance in the said list. Securities banned under the F&O segment include companies where derivative contracts have crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.



Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
#1. Equity valuations in India surge despite moderation on corporate earnings



Equity valuations are rising again after they cooled in the second half of 2021 and the first half of 2022. The trailing price-to-earnings multiple on Sensex companies has risen to a 17-month high of nearly 25x from 23.7x at the end of December and 21.6x at the end of June last year. Similarly, the trailing price-to-book value ratio is 3.6x, up from 3.4x at the end of December and highest since December 2021. The steady rise has been largely due to higher stock prices and not because of faster growth in corporate earnings.



Why its important: The rising gap between rich valuations and subdued earnings is bound to weigh on stock prices sooner or later. The recent bull run may not sustain at these levels.



#2. Corporate India mostly delivers on street expectations in fiscal first quarter



Corporate earnings in the June quarter of 2023-24 have met and in some cases exceeded market expectations, according to an analysis of 456 companies that have declared results so far. The aggregate net profit and revenue of these firms grew 32 percent and 7.88 percent from a year earlier. Profits have grown at the fastest pace in eight quarters.



Why its important: The good performance is almost entirely driven by the financial sector firms. Expectations were muted to start with on weak guidance by IT companies.



#3. National Stock Exchange may extend trading hours, smaller brokers may suffer



The National Stock Exchange may gradually extend trade timings that are presently set at six hours and 15 minutes of regular market. The proposal will have to be approved by the markets regulator and could be extended to derivatives contracts, according to chief executive Ashish Kumar Chauhan. Currently, regular trading on NSE and BSE is from 9:15am to 3:30pm for stocks after a pre-open session from 9am to 9:15am.



Why its important: Although expanded trading hours may benefit some investors, there are concerns that it would mean an additional cost burden on small brokers, placing them at a disadvantage.



#4. Capital expenditure increasing gradually on healthy balance sheets and cash flows



Indian companies are gradually stepping up capital spending, lifted by improving balance sheets and rising cash flows, an analysis by the ET Intelligence Group showed. Three out of four firms from a sample of 373 constituents of BSE 500 index reported year-on-year improvement in gross fixed assets. Companies from capital-intensive sectors form a major chunk of incremental increase.



Why its important: Although the government has been stepping on the gas on capital expenditure, the private sector has been dragging its feet on demand concerns. A change in that trend would be welcome.



#5. Tiger Global completes exit from Flipkart, posting $3.5 billion in phased selloff



Investment firm Tiger Global has completed its exit from Flipkart, recording a staggering $3.5 billion in total gains over the past few years of a phased selloff. It told limited partners last week that it has sold the remaining 4 percent stake it held in Flipkart to US parent Walmart.



Why its important: The huge gains is the most Tiger Global has earned from a single company and the highest cash return from an Indian internet firm.



#6. Nirma Group emerges as frontrunner to acquire Glenmark Life Sciences



The Nirma Group is the likely bidder to acquire Glenmark Life Sciences, an 82.84 percent unit of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals. The Ahmedabad-based conglomerate emerged as the sole bidder late last week. Nirma is using healthcare unit Aculife Healthcare as the likely vehicle for the acquisition. Nirma is likely to have offered a slight premium to the current market price.



Why its important: A successful deal will trigger an open offer for the remaining stake. The transaction will help promoter Glenn Saldanha deleverage the balance sheet of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.



#7. India-Canada trade deal may not include labour, intellectual property issues



The proposed early harvest agreement between India and Canada is unlikely to see the inclusion of non-trade issues such as environment, digital trade, and labour at this stage. The focus of negotiations for the deal is on goods, trade remedies, dispute settlement, rules of origin, services investment, and customs and trade facilitation. The deal is likely to be signed by the end of this year.



Why its important: India is reluctant to commit on these sensitive issues since the nations are working out an early harvest deal and not a comprehensive one.



#8. Third phase of electric vehicle incentives may jump to Rs 30,000 crore



The central government may triple the subsidy allocation for electric vehicle purchases in the third edition of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) program. Allocation for the FAME III scheme may jump to around Rs 30,000 crore from Rs 10,000 crore earmarked for the current FAME II scheme. Consultations have started and final allocations have not been decided.



Why its important: The purchase incentives would hasten the rising popularity of electric vehicles in India. The sale of electric two-wheelers may have already crossed an inflection point, and better charging infrastructure would add to the momentum.



#9. Go First aims to secure higher interim financing, operate fewer flights



Bankrupt Go First airline aims to secure higher interim financing of Rs 600-700 crore from banks and start with fewer flights than earlier planned in its revised strategy to resume operations. The insolvent carrier earlier saw restarting flight operations with 26 aircraft through an interim financing of Rs 400-500 crore.



Why its important: It remains to be seen if the distressed carrier is able to raise more interim funding as it already owes at more than Rs 6,500 crore to creditors. Its first priority is to restart operations.



#10. Recruitment in IT firms could be 40 percent lower, hurting campus placements



Although software services firms are coming to campuses, no one is making a hiring commitment, many technical schools have said. Several institutes said Infosys and Wipro have not yet approached them for placements, making it the second year that both companies will miss the placement season. Only Tata Consultancy Services has announced a hiring target of 40,000 for the year to March.



Why its important: Macroeconomic uncertainty and muted business outlook in key Western markets are likely to impact campus hiring. Freshers could find it more difficult to land a software job.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to announce the new 10-year benchmark bond on the first Monday of August, money market experts said.



We expect the RBI to announce the new 10-year benchmark on August 7, with the auction on August 11, said Shantanu Godambe, vice president, investments, DSP Mutual Fund.



The announcement of the new benchmark bond is expected as the current 10-year benchmark bond 7.26 percent 2033 has reached an outstanding amount of Rs 1.5 lakh crore, as per RBI data.



The current 10-year benchmark bond was issued on February 3.



Traditionally, the central bank issues a new benchmark bond whenever the current bond reaches an outstanding amount to Rs 1.5 lakh crore.



Sanjay Pawar, fund manager, fixed income, LIC Mutual Fund Asset Management, explained this saying that the outstanding limit is set so that repayment of the maturity proceeds is distributed in a staggered manner.



He added that the limit amount changes with time according to market appetite to absorb sudden liquidity and the governments ability to sustain its outflow on a single day. Earlier this limit was Rs 1 lakh crore.



Also read: Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corp raises Rs 200 cr via 5-year maiden municipal bonds



What could be the coupon on the new bond?



According to money market dealers, the coupon on the new benchmark bond is expected to set between 7.10 percent and 7.20 percent and the maturity will be 2033.



Pawar of LIC Mutual said the bond may fetch a discount of 3-5 basis points (bps) over the yield on the current benchmark bond at the time of issuance.



Similarly, Arun Bansal, head, treasury, IDBI Bank, said yield level at the time of issue of the new benchmark will decide the coupon and as given earlier it may be 2-3 bps lower than the 10 year yield level at that time.



One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. Currently, the yield on the 10-year benchmark bond 7.26 percent 2033 is trading at 7.1753 percent.



Dealers further said the auction of the new benchmark bond is expected to take place on August 11 and bidding will take place in multiple price method. Under the multiple price method, successful bidders have to pay for the allotted government securities at the respective rate they have bid.



Umesh Kumar Tulsyan, managing director of Sovereign Global Markets, a New Delhi-based fund house, said there are various factors players will consider before bidding for the bonds. These include Consumer Price Index expectations, monetary policy rate, the outcome of the policy statement, market sentiment and global policy rates (US).



Also read: Power Grid board approves raising up to Rs 5,700 crore through bonds this fiscal



Previous benchmark bonds



Earlier this year, the central bank issued a new 10-year benchmark bond where the coupon was set at 7.26 percent, and raised Rs 12,000 crore. The coupon set was identical to the previous benchmark bond of 7.26 percent 2032. Dealers said that the similar coupon set on the bonds at that time can be attributed to the lower yields in the market after the budget.



At that time, the yield on the 10-year benchmark bond was trading at 7.2887 percent.



The central bank issued Rs 12,000 crore worth of 10-year benchmark bonds 7.26 percent 2033 in the initial two auctions, but later the amount was increased to Rs 14,000 crore.



The increase in amount was witnessed after the government increased the market borrowing for FY24. So since the start of the current financial year, the amount on the benchmark bond increased to Rs 14,000 crore.



In Budget 2023, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Centre would borrow a record Rs 15.43 lakh crore from the markets in 2023-24 to finance its fiscal deficit of 5.9 percent of gross domestic product.



On a net basis, the Centre's borrowing for the current fiscal has been pegged at Rs 11.8 lakh crore, up from Rs 11.19 lakh crore in 2022-23.
South Mumbai was once home to India's priciest residential micro-markets, such as Malabar Hill, Walkeshwar, and Cuffe Parade, among others.



When it comes to commercial real estate, over the last few years, classy commercial districts have sprung up in Central Mumbai and the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). With that, there's been a shift in residential real estate towards that location.







South Mumbai is home to small buildings of two or three floors or even bungalows in areas like Malabar Hill and Walkeshwar, among others.



Over the last two years, several micro-markets in South Mumbai, along with Malabar Hill, have been witnessing major redevelopment work.



Several big, listed real estate players, including Lodha and Godrej Properties, followed by Runwal, Kalpataru, and K Raheja, among others, have undertaken these projects. These real estate players have launched projects consisting of 2, 3, and 4 BHK apartments in these localities.



Due to the ongoing redevelopment work, the rentals in these localities are expected to rise, posing problems for prospective tenants.



"Grade A developers are scouting for redevelopment opportunities in the micro-markets of South Mumbai and Central Mumbai. We anticipate this trend to push rental values northward in these locations in the long term," said Savills India, a real estate consultant, in its recently published report on the outlook for the second half of 2023.



About the area



South Mumbai is famous for being home to traditional central business districts (CBDs), such as Nariman Point, Cuffe Parade, Ballard Estate, Fort, Churchgate, etc.



Currently, in this micro-market, there are vast numbers of mid-size private companies, offices of professionals (lawyers, chartered accountants, consultants), and government-related businesses that serve ultra-high net worth individual (UHNI) clients residing here. Mantralaya, BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange), and a number of five-star hotels are also located in South Mumbai.



Also read: Once Mumbais poor cousins, Powai and Thane are now preferred locations



In terms of residential atmosphere, South Mumbai is home to several old and dilapidated buildings, as well as heritage buildings. In all, there are more than 10,000 dilapidated buildings in the city, predominantly in South Mumbai.



According to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), there are 15 extremely dangerous buildings in South Mumbai areas, including Girgaum, Kalbadevi, Khetwadi, Kamathipura, etc., that are more than 80 years old.



According to Savills India, the micro-market of Malabar Hill, including Walkeshwar and Nepean Sea Road in South Mumbai are witnessing a surge in redevelopment projects by reputed developers. At least 10 redevelopment projects in these localities are either ready or under construction, says the report by Savills.



According to Savills, in terms of trends, projects in South Mumbai are offering apartments upwards of 2,000 square feet (sq ft) as homebuyers prefer larger homes. They are also looking to upgrade from existing smaller apartments to larger ones in the vicinity.



The homebuyer segment mainly consists of chief executive officers (CEOs) and industrialist families purchasing large homes in this area.



A report by India Sothebys International Realty and CRE Matrix, released on July 24, said that sales of luxury houses costing Rs 10 crore and above in Mumbai increased over 60 percent to Rs 11,400 crore in the first half of 2023 compared to the preceding half-year.



Several micro-markets in South Mumbai and Central Mumbai contributed to this surge, according to the report. It is also the result of the desire for larger spaces, in the post COVID-19 times.



Connectivity



South Mumbai is well-connected to railway stations such as Churchgate, Mumbai Central, CSTM, Marine Lines, Lower Parel, Prabhadevi, and Dadar. Besides, there is good road connectivity in the form of Eastern and Western Express Highways, the Eastern Motorway, the Sion-Panvel Highway, and the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, among others.



Going forward, the area will be positively impacted by the upcoming Colaba-Seepz Metro-3 and CST-Thane Metro-4 corridors that will allow travel between the south, central, western, and central suburbs of Mumbai.



This will be followed by the upcoming Coastal Road between Nariman Point and Worli. Along with the Coastal Road, the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link connecting Sewri with Nhava Sheva is also expected to improve accessibility, especially to South Mumbai.



Prominent projects



South Mumbai is metamorphosing into a major real estate redevelopment hub, with Lodha, Godrej Properties, Prestige Group, Runwal, Kalpataru, K Raheja, Oberoi Realty, and others engaging in development projects.



Lodha, under the name Macrotech Developers, has focused on several micro-markets in South and Central Mumbai with projects like Lodha Malabar, Lodha Seamont, Lodha Park, and Lodha World Towers.



Also read: How residential buildings of Matunga are being redeveloped with parking space becoming a differentiating factor



"With the scarcity of land in a populous city like Mumbai, South Mumbai is the preferred destination for development due to its premium location. The area witnesses consistent demand for luxury homes owing to the panoramic view it offers of the city and the sea, coupled with strong connectivity to key areas of the city," said Prashant Bindal, Chief Sales Officer, Lodha.



"The increasing disposable income of consumers is making them seek a lifestyle upgrade and, therefore, for larger homes in premium locations with scenic views. Areas such as Walkeshwar, Lower Parel, and Worli are popular choices in South Mumbai among homebuyers," he added.



Price in South Mumbai



The developers in South Mumbai are offering 2, 3, 4, and 5 BHK apartments, along with penthouses, duplexes, and triplexes. The residential properties are priced between Rs 35,000 per sq ft and Rs 1.50 lakh per sq ft.



Also read: Why more techies are slowly shifting towards north Bengaluru



As for rental values, a 2 BHK apartment in South Mumbai could cost between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 6 lakh, depending on the age and location of the property.
Korean electronics major Samsung expects its new foldable devices Galaxy Fold 5 and Galaxy Flip 5 will enable it to capture half of the super premium smartphone segment in India, currently dominated by iPhone maker Apple.



Super premium smartphone segment comprises handsets priced above USD 1,000 (about Rs 82,000).



Samsung Electronics president and head of Mobile eXperience Business T M Roh said that the company aims to increase its market share to 50 per cent with the launch of Galaxy Fold 5 and Galaxy Flip 5 in the super premium segment from 35 per cent at present.



"In the super premium segment, the Samsung foldable has about 35 per cent market share in the entire Indian market. And then now with the launch of Fold 5 and Flip 5, we are now targeting over 50 per cent in the USD-1,000 or higher super premium segment in India," Roh said.



According to Counterpoint Research, Samsung led the overall India market with 20 per cent market share in the first quarter of 2023 and its share in the ultra premium category, which is devices above Rs 45,000 apiece, increased by 247 per cent on a year-over-year basis.



However, Apple led the ultra premium segment with 62 per cent market share.



Roh said that India was earlier very sensitive to innovation but it has also become very open and receptive to innovation leading to a rapid increase in demand for high-end smartphones.



"Now the India market is sensitive to innovation. It's also very open and receptive to innovation. And also, the usage of the mobile device is also quite long. Also, another trend that we are seeing coming out of the Indian market is a very rapidly rising demand for high-end premium products," Roh said.



The Galaxy Fold 5 is priced between Rs 1.54 lakh and Rs 1.85 lakh apiece, depending on the internal storage capacity which ranges from 256 GB to 1 TB. Samsung Galaxy Flip 5 will be available in the price range of Rs 99,999 and Rs 1,09,999 apiece.



Samsung plans to launch the most expensive and high-end devices from its stable in India on August 18.



The company will make available its Galaxy Tab S9 series in the price range of Rs 72,999 to Rs 1,33,999 apiece and Galaxy Watch 6 series at a starting price of Rs 29,999 on the same dates as its new foldable devices.



Roh said apart from the India market, Samsung is seeing growth in demand for high-end premium products in Southeast Asian markets as well as some European markets.



Samsung has launched high-end premium foldable devices at a time when there has been a decline in overall smartphone shipment globally.



Roh said that he expects the market to recover in the second half of the year.



"There are predictions that in the second half things are going to recover year-over-year. But then the pace of the recovery, perhaps, is not going to be as fast as we would hope for. But having said that, in the premium and the high-end segment, I would say that relatively speaking, the demand has been sound and in particular going into the second half of the year, we believe that there is going to be growth YoY," he said.



Samsung has announced the manufacturing of Fold 5 and Flip 5 in India.



Roh said that even Samung's tablets and smartwatches are manufactured in India.



"India also has a very important manufacturing centre for Samsung Electronics, including mobiles. We have a production subsidiary in Noida. It is from there that we produce the ultra-premier products like Fold 5 and Flip 5. Not only that, but also watches and tablets. In other words, the full global lineup is produced there to be supplied not only to the Indian market, but to the rest of the world," Roh said.



He said that the foldable category is expected to top 30 million units of cumulative sales all over the world in 2023.



"It means that it's going to be an important tipping point this year where the foldable category is going to become a mainstream category. I do believe that the foldable category is going to expand to other categories like the tablet and PC and continue to develop," Roh said.



Counterpoint Research projects that global foldable smartphone shipments are projected to reach 101.5 million in 2027 from 78.6 million in 2026 and the segment will be dominated by Samsung and Apple. The firm anticipates Apple's foldable iPhone to debut in 2025.



According to market research and analysis firm Techarc estimates, foldable (including flip) smartphones will contribute over 1.8 per cent of the total smartphone revenues in 2023.



The estimate implies over 6.35 lakh foldable smartphones will be sold in India during the year, which will be less than 0.5 per cent of the total sales by volume estimated for the period.
E-commerce platform DealShare's CEO Vineet Rao will be stepping down from his role effective immediately, the company said in a statement on July 31. Rao, who is also the co-founder of the company, has made this decision to pave the way for a professional CEO to run the business going forward.



His decision to move away from operations also comes at a time when DealShare is moving its base to Delhi from Bengaluru and also ramping up its offline presence as it looks to increase its revenue streams, two people aware of the developments told Moneycontrol.



...DealShare aspires to pivot to a hybrid online and offline model to enhance its services, and increase its customer retention and share of wallet. As the company embarks on this next phase of growth, Vineet Rao, the current CEO has decided to step down from his role. Vineet (Rao) will work with the board to help identify the right CEO to lead this mission. He will also continue to work with and advise the board in respect to the new leadership, a company spokesperson told Moneycontrol.



The Bengaluru office was the largest for DealShare in terms of employee strength. Company insiders estimated that there were around 350 to 450 DealShare employees in Bengaluru, representing over a third of the company's current headcount of more than 1,100.



All staffers from non-tech divisions are being asked to relocate to Delhi within three months because the region is becoming more important for DealShare. But at the same time, the decision could result in multiple employees quitting the company and looking for similar jobs in Bengaluru, industry experts said.



If an employee cannot move to Delhi for whatever reason, the company will ask them to leave. Employees will be given an option to move departments if they wish to stay put in Bengaluru and not move to the Delhi-NCR belt but very few of them will make the cut, a person in the know told Moneycontrol.



The benefits and assistance that these employees will get from DealShare was not known. The company spokesperson did not immediately comment on questions around the shift in base.



Sourjyendu Medda, founder and co-CEO had told Moneycontrol that the company will be investing Rs 1,000 crore over the next five years to grow its private labels business because of healthier margins.



When we sell products from Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), Procter and Gamble (P&G) and other large companies, we are left with a margin of just around 10 percent. But the same products, if sold under our own brands, will give us a margin of 20 percent  at least double of what the bigger companies can give, Medda had said then as he explained the importance of private labels.



Medda co-founded DealShare with Rajat Shikhar, Rao and Sankar Bora in 2018. The company was last valued at $1.7 billion after having raised over $390 million from ADIA, WestBridge Capital, Tiger Global and others.
Six days into offering tomatoes at Rs 70 per kg, ONDC claims to have enabled purchases of 10,000 kilos of the vegetable in the national capital. Additionally, the network has also crossed the milestone of 1.1 million retail orders cumulatively since its inception last year, as well as 5.4 million mobility transactions.



Last week, we had an allocation of 2,000 kg of tomato every day (1,000 orders) in Delhi from the National Cooperative Consumer Federation (NCCF), which was getting sold out by afternoon, ONDC chief T Koshy told Moneycontrol.



On the Centres direction earlier this month, NCCF and NAFED started selling tomatoes at Rs 70 per kg after the prices of the vegetable skyrocketed in various parts of the country. Since then, the two organisations have been continuously procuring tomatoes from mandis in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra and making the same available at affordable prices in major consuming centres such as Delhi-NCR, Bihar, Rajasthan, etc.



The plan is to run the initiative on ONDC for at least one more week. The tomato orders will continue to be delivered with zero delivery fees. However, we have restricted the number of orders per user to one each week. We want the maximum number of people to try out ONDC through this initiative, Koshy said.



ALSO READ | Understanding ONDC, the open network billed to be the UPI of e-commerce



The ONDC chief also said that the average number of daily orders on the network has been rising steadily as more sellers join the network. For example, a farmer producer organisation selling honey on ONDC has already seen Rs 1 lakh worth of orders being placed.



We can see now that retail orders are being placed from as many as 320 cities, a lot of which are Tier 2, 3 and beyond. As such, we are seeing a greater dispersal of orders than before, he said.



Steady increase



ONDC crossed a fresh daily retail order peak of 35,000 on July 9, even as Delhi-NCR beat Bengaluru in terms of order volume, according to people in the know. While Delhi-NCR accounted for around 11,000 orders on July 30, Bengaluru contributed more than 7,000 orders to the number.



The next three cities in terms of order numbers were Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune, logging order volumes in the range of 2,500-3,000 each. Retail orders include food and grocery, with the former accounting for the lions share of orders on the government-backed interoperable network.



The network is gearing up to hit 200,000 transactions a day by the end of the year and the government is also working to bring financial products to ONDC in the next couple of months.



In the first week of May, when ONDC had crossed the daily order threshold of 10,000 for the first time, distribution was more skewed with Bengaluru accounting for around 40 percent of the orders, and top metros Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata contributing the same share cumulatively.



After a couple of months of fast-paced growth that saw daily order volumes rise from 200 in March to 25,000 in the second week of May, the network saw a surge temper as it reduced discounts to consumers and incentives to network participants substantially.



Widening ecommerce



Backed by the government, ONDC seeks to prevent the dominance of a few large platforms, such as Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, and Zomato, in the e-commerce and food delivery sectors.



At the time, ONDC had received some flak from industry watchers and analysts as they thought that the discounting regime was unsustainable in the long run, especially for a government-backed endeavour that sought to create a level playing field for buyers and sellers.



Since the revised incentive scheme came into effect on June 1, a buyer is now eligible for discounts for a maximum of five transactions per month. Earlier buyers could avail discounts on three orders per day, but this was subsequently capped at 30 in total.



After the change in the discounting regime, growth in the last one-and-a-half months has been significantly aided by discounting schemes floated by network participants such as Paytm, PhonePe, Magicpin, and even some sellers, according to people in the know.



The government hopes to increase e-commerce penetration in the country to 25 percent in the next two years, reaching 900 million buyers and 1.2 million sellers through the network. It is projected to generate a gross merchandise value of $48 billion.



ONDC is banking on three key pillars to reduce the cost of doing business for everyone, including retailers: dynamic pricing, inventory management, and delivery cost optimisation.
Payment gateways  companies that provide the technology infrastructure to handle online monetary transactions  are realising that getting a payment aggregator licence is a lot tougher than they imagined when the process started more than two years ago.



While the Reserve Bank of India has given in-principle approval to many applicants, final approval has been pending for more than a year. The RBI has even stopped some big companies that got in-principle authorisation for payment aggregator (PA) licences from onboarding new customers.



PAs are entities that enable e-commerce sites and merchants to accept various instruments from customers to complete their payment obligations without the need for the merchants to create their own systems. PAs get the payments from customers, pool and transfer them on to the merchants.



The RBI has said that the grant of in-principle authorisation should not be construed as authorisation unless the entity is granted authorisation under Section 7 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. According to experts and company officials, the delay in issuing PA licences is due to the stringent approval process that is aimed at ensuring transparency, standardisation and trust in Indias fintech ecosystem.



Service issues



PA firms are finding that a lot of things that they do will be regulated, like how a bank used to be in the past while doing the payments business. From reporting dubious transactions to fraudulent merchants, PG firms will have to produce KYCs on request at any time to any government agency, said a senior payment gateway company executive who did not wish to be identified.



While increased scrutiny was expected, it appears that the fees and charges to merchants will also be regulated. Some payment gateway companies used to find ways to charge for UPI transactions, which banks avoid, and this could be a problem in the future, the executive said. UPI  Unified Payments Interface  is a platform that facilitates money transfers between bank accounts.



According to an official at a PG company, service issues have to be resolved within a stipulated time and missing any of this could result in hefty fines.



In case they don't close issues on time, it will go as missed targets to the RBI. It will increase liability and might lead to penalties as well. By this, the regulator is emphasising that the customer is paramount when it comes to handling customer money, the official said.







Establishing processes to ensure these stipulations are followed is taking time. Also, the RBI needs its own time due to the lack of resources to ensure that such systems are in place at all PG firms, the senior executive said.



We have the same regulator for banking and fintech. The industry will take time to catch up. Some new startups are not familiar with the regulations. They need to understand that either it is regulated or it will get regulated. It is a discovery and journey process. What fintechs get wrong is not the intent, but a lack of awareness," MN Srinivasu, co-founder of payment gateway firm BillDesk said at the Moneycontrol Startup Conclave recently.



Chequered history



According to bank and PG officials, the RBI is also scrutinising cases filed by the Directorate of Enforcement against payment firms to see how serious past offences were and whether PGs facilitated illegal businesses. The cases pertain to issues such as facilitation of Chinese money lenders, enabling gambling and betting companies to bring in and take out money from the country and supporting crypto trading.



In many instances, KYC details were false. In some cases, merchants were registered as travel companies but were engaged in transfer of cryptocurrencies and betting. There were also instances of many businesses operating under a single KYC merchant.



These are serious issues and the regulator and ED suspect that these happened with the knowledge of several executives at these firms. The RBI's thinking is that some of these firms clearly knew the merchants were doing illegal businesses and the PG did nothing to prevent it. Their intent and attitude is still an issue for the central bank," said a former banker who occasionally consults with the RBI on technology, banking and payment issues.



So far, every PG had its own definition of data and used to report its transaction data or gross merchandise value from an investor and valuation perspective, and oftentimes inflated them to increase their valuations. That wont happen anymore. The number of merchants on a platform also will have to be reported to the regulator.



Regulation and innovation need to go hand in hand because things can get out of hand quickly in tech innovation. For the regulator, it is a question of when to intervene because while you want innovation to flourish, you also want to get the right rules in place, Harshil Mathur said at the Moneycontrol Startup Conclave earlier in July.



Things like summons by the enforcement directorate that used to go to some PGs sometimes didnt go out in public. This will also change and all government notices will have to be reported to the regulator, said the senior executive of the PG firm. The executive added that reporting and monitoring of suspicious domestic and international transactions is also a key area for the RBI.



In the case of some PGs, the RBI wanted a set of changes to be carried out in terms of shareholding, primarily to ensure that overseas investors based in places such as Mauritius and Singapore are known. The RBI wanted the KYC of a few investors in these firms.



The regulator is also concerned about some firms being domiciled overseas.



It is a task for the regulator to assess and regulate them all. You are dealing with the end-customers money and in case anything goes wrong, the people, government and media will turn around and ask what the regulator was doing. There is a clear onus on them. It has been a light-touch regulation from 2008 to 2017. With huge growth comes tighter controls, Srinivasu said.
Geojit's report on Agri Picks

NCDEX Jeera futures pared gains to end Fridays session marginally down, while coriander and turmeric futures gained. Turmeric futures jumped six per cent to hit its highest level in 13-years. Firm demand coupled with prospects of lower acreage this season bolstered the yellow spice. Coriander futures resumed rising on improved demand and supply disruptions. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has revised upward its estimate for exports of dry beans from Canada to 370,000 tn in 2022- 23 (Aug-Jul) from 323,000 tn in 2021-22. It has also raised its estimates for export of chickpeas to 235,000 tn from 176,000 tn last year. In its July report, the farm agency said that a rise in import demand from the European Union, the US and, Turkey has been partly offset by decreased exports to Pakistan. "Carry-out stocks are expected to fall sharply. The average price (of chickpeas) has risen to record levels due to smaller supplies in Mexico, Australia and Turkey," the agency said. The estimate for overall supply of chickpeas in Canada has been projected at 323,000 tn in 2022-23, compared with 395,000 tn in last year.The estimates for overall supply of mustard seed has also been increased to 179,000 tn from 130,000 tn in 2021-22. The agency reduced its price estimates for lentils, dry beans, and dry peas to $815 per tn, $1,165 per tn, and $450 per tn, respectively. Canada is one of the biggest exporters of lentils to India. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is responsible for policies governing production, processing and marketing of farm, food and agri-based products in Canada. The water level in 146 key reservoirs across the country was at 85.936 bcm as of Thursday, 48% of the total live storage capacity, according to data from the Central Water Commission. The water level in these reservoirs was 15% lower from the yearago period and 11% higher than the 10-year average. In the northern region, the water level was at 76% of the total capacity, compared with 40% a year ago. In the west, it was at 56% of the total capacity, against 67% a year ago. In the eastern region, the level was at 26% of the total capacity, compared with 25% a year ago. In the central region, the water level was 53% of the total capacity as against 52% a year ago. In south, it was 37% compared with 73% a year ago. Of the 146 key reservoirs, only two operated at full capacity. Four others were operating at 91-99% and the rest below 90% capacity. Rainfall during JunSep replenishes reservoirs and the water is used for the rest of the year, mostly for irrigation and hydropower. India received 15.6 mm rainfall today, 61% above the weighted average of 9.7 mm for the period, India Meteorological Department data showed. Since Jun 1, the country has received 437.2 mm rainfall, 7% above the normal weighted average of 408.9 mm for the period.

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31072023 - comm
Bharat Forge shares rose nearly 3 percent and reached a 52-week high of Rs 931.43 in afternoon trading on July 31. This surge comes as the company's subsidiary is set to acquire a 26 percent stake in Ratnakar Energy Private Limited (REPL). As of 13:51 hrs, Bharat Forge was quoting at Rs 931.43, or 3.12 percent gain on the BSE. J S Auto Cast Foundry India Private Limited, a step-down subsidiary of Bharat Forge, is planning to acquire 26 percent of equity shares in Ratnakar Energy Private Limited. REPL is involved in the power generation and transmission business, and the acquisition aims to purchase solar power from REPL under the group captive scheme. Catch all the market action on our live blog The acquisition is subject to the fulfillment of condition precedents according to the definitive documents and does not require governmental or regulatory approvals. REPL will transfer 13,00,000 equity shares of its current paid-up capital, currently held by existing shareholders, to JS Auto for a cash consideration of Rs 1,30,00,000. The board of directors of Bharat Forge is scheduled to convene on August 09, 2023, to consider and approve the unaudited standalone & consolidated financial results of the company for the quarter ending on June 30, 2023.

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Indias banking regulator is nudging Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. to select someone outside the lenders ranks to succeed billionaire founder Uday Kotak as the next Chief Executive Officer, according to people familiar with the matter.



The Reserve Bank of India has conveyed its view to board members of Kotak Mahindra Bank and Asias richest financier, they said, asking not to be named, as the communication is private. The regulator is also reviewing whether stakes the banking group holds in two wholly-owned insurance units pose any risks to the firms stability, the people said.



India has tightened rules limiting bank CEOs tenure to a maximum of 15 years and has been reviewing the stakes that banks hold in insurers in order to strengthen the nations financial system. RBI had said in 2021 that the outgoing head should take a three-year cooling period and shall not be appointed or associated with the bank or its group entities in any capacity, either directly or indirectly, to ensure there is a clean break for the outgoing head from the bank.



Kotaks tenure as CEO of Indias fourth-largest private lender ends this year. He has received shareholder approval to subsequently remain on the board. Choosing one of his lieutenants from within the banks ranks, while he is on the board, will defy the spirit of the regulations, leaving Kotak in a position to potentially influence decisions, according to the people.



An outsider coming in as CEO might be a slight negative and adds uncertainty around management changes, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. analysts Vinayak Agarwal and Prakhar Sharma said in a note to clients on Monday. By the end of August, the bank is expected to suggest at least three names in the order of preference, of which the RBI will approve one for appointment, according to the note.



Shares of the Mumbai-based bank fell 1.2%, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex Index rose 0.3% as of 12 pm in Mumbai trading. Year-to-date the stock has risen 1.5%, compared with a 9% jump in the 30-stock index.



A spokesperson for Kotak Mahindra said current holdings of Kotak in its insurance companies are as per the extant regulatory prescriptions and processes, and declined to comment on the CEO selection. An RBI spokesperson didnt respond to emails seeking comments.



The financier had engaged consulting firm Egon Zehnder to lead a global search for a CEO and its top executives Shanti Ekambaram and K.V.S. Manian were the internal candidates for the job, Bloomberg News reported earlier this year. The RBI has a final say on appointing heads of the nations lenders though the banks boards decide on the shortlist of candidates.



Insurance Units

Kotak Mahindras holdings in units  Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Co. and Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Co.  are also under review as the central bank assesses the banks stakes in insurance companies, the people said. It is the only major bank in the country with fully-owned insurance subsidiaries.



While Kotak Mahindra had been working with advisers, including Morgan Stanley, to pare its stakes in the insurers for several months, no transactions have been finalized as of now, people familiar with the information said. A spokesperson for Morgan Stanley declined to comment.

In the past, Kotak had challenged the RBI in court to retain his stake in the lender at a level above the regulators threshold. The bank had then argued that the central bank wasnt empowered to dictate founders shareholdings as RBI sought to separate management and ownership functions at lenders to improve corporate governance.



Kotak has a net worth of about $14.5 billion, most of which comes from his 26% stake in the bank, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He has led the bank since it was converted into a lender in 2003 from a non-banking finance company.
India exported USD 2.43 billion worth of smartphones in April-May this fiscal, driven by a multifold jump in shipments to the US which emerged as the biggest destination for India-made devices, according to government data. The smartphone exports to the US jumped multiple times to USD 812.49 million during the first two months of this fiscal as against USD 92.2 million in April-May 2022-23, the commerce ministry data showed.



The US accounted for one-third of the shipments in value terms. The smartphone exports to the US jumped multiple times to USD 812.49 million during the first two months of this fiscal as against USD 92.2 million in April-May 2022-23, the commerce ministry data showed.



The US was followed by the UAE (USD 484.52 million), the Netherlands (USD 205 million), the UK (USD 151.33 million), Italy (USD 136.57 million), and the Czech Republic (USD 115.5 million). Overall Indias export of smartphones in 2022-23 was worth USD 10.95 billion. During April-May 2023-24, smartphone exports soared by 157.82 per cent over April-May 2022-23.



Prior to 2022-23, the smartphone exports were non-existent so the data was not captured. After the announcement of the Product Linked Incentives (PLI) scheme and the entry of US-based iPhone maker Apple into domestic manufacturing, India is emerging as a major production hub for smartphones.



After the announcement of the Product Linked Incentives (PLI) scheme and the entry of US-based iPhone maker Apple into domestic manufacturing, India is emerging as a major production hub for smartphones. For diamonds also, the US is the most dominant market for India with USD 1.3 billion during the two months, though the growth declined by about 23 per cent.



For manufacturing electronic goods for exports and meeting domestic demand, India imported USD 1.85 billion worth of monolithic integrated circuits of which USD 597.89 million came from China. Other sources of these circuits were Ireland (USD 258 million), Hong Kong (USD 255.45 million), Taiwan (USD 204.38 million) and Singapore (USD 162.35 million). In 2022-23, the total imports of integrated circuits were USD 10.23 billion.
Pharma major Venus Remedies on Monday said it has received market authorisations for its key cancer drugs from Philippines, Paraguay, Georgia and Moldova.



With this, the company has secured 506 marketing approvals for its oncology products across 76 countries.



While Venus Remedies has secured marketing approval for topotecan from Philippines, it has also reinforced its position as a leading exporter of oncology drugs with product registration for irinotecan in Paraguay, docetaxel in Georgia and topotecan and irinotecan in Moldova, said the company in a statement.



"This accomplishment is a decisive move towards achieving our goal of emerging as the top oncology medicine supplier from India in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region and further expanding the reach of our cancer drugs in South America and Eastern Europe.



With these marketing authorisations, the company will be able to further extend its operations to new markets offering "advanced cancer treatment options with improved outcomes for patients", said Saransh Chaudhary, president, Global Critical Care, Venus Remedies.



The USD 5-billion pharmaceutical market of Philippines is a growing market for cancer drugs and Venus Remedies has so far secured marketing approvals for 15 oncology products and 27 total products across various segments in the country.



"While oncology drugs account for 10 of our 152 marketing authorisations in the ASEAN region, we are banking on the product registration for topotecan from Philippines to pave the way for faster approval of this drug in other ASEAN countries," said Chaudhary.



Venus Remedies has already submitted dossiers to the health ministry of the Philippines government for another 50-odd marketing authorisations, and most of these pending approvals are for oncology products.



The company said it also expects the marketing approval for irinotecan from the USD 431.9-million pharmaceutical market in Paraguay to facilitate the registration process for its oncology drugs in other South American countries as well.



Besides, the marketing authorisation for docetaxel from Georgia and topotecan and irinotecan from Moldova will enable the company to further consolidate its position in Eastern Europe and the Balkan region, it said.
Walmart has paid $1.4 billion to buy out hedge fund Tiger Global's investment in e-commerce firm Flipkart, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing a letter by the hedge-fund to its investors. The transaction brings the value of the e-commerce firm to $35 billion from nearly $38 billion after it sold its shares to Japan's SoftBank , U.S. retailer Walmart and other investors in 2021, the report said. Walmart, Flipkart and Tiger Global did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Earlier this year the Economics Times reported that private equity firms Accel and Tiger Global, two early backers of Flipkart, were in talks to sell their remaining stake in the company to Walmart. Tiger Global held about 4% of the company, according to the ET report. Walmart acquired a majority stake of 77% in Flipkart for about $16 billion in 2018, and later that year said it could take the company public in four years.

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When it comes to measuring the progress of Mark Zuckerbergs metaverse, big numbers have been in short supply. Only 20 million of his Quest virtual reality headsets have sold since 2019. Only 200,000 users are reportedly active in Meta Platform Incs flagship virtual reality experience, Horizon Worlds. Oh, actually, there is one big number: $21 billion lost on creating the Metaverse since the start of 2022.



All this prompts an obvious question: Just how much money is Zuckerberg prepared to spend to make his Metaverse successful?



Luckily for him, he doesnt have to answer that just yet. Metas legacy business  selling online advertising  is roaring, with double digit revenue growth for the first time since the end of 2021. Thats providing sufficient distraction to keep investors from coming down on him too hard. Sure theyre concerned that Meta has spent so much money on the metaverse with so little to show for it  but theyre not angry.



Revenue from the Metaverse  selling headsets, plus apps and services  fell between 2021 and 2022, and analysts expect it to sink even further this year. Reality Labs expenses were $4 billion in the most recent quarter alone  a 23 percent increase from the same period a year earlier and not a good omen during what is supposedly Metas year of efficiency. Reality Labs expenses will increase in 2024. A lot of investors might want to see us spending less here in the near term, Zuckerberg said last week. My view is that we are leading in these areas. I believe that they're going to be big over time.



When bad times come around again, and advertising sees a slump, Zuckerbergs metaverse vision needs to be in much stronger shape than it is today. Otherwise, hell find investors might be far less forgiving.



But if he can manage to turn things around, he may have Apple Inc to thank. The launch of that companys Vision Pro headset in June drew attention back to the possibilities of virtual and augmented reality, with a cool factor Meta lacks. Apples network of stores will be used to introduce millions of consumers to the mixed reality experience. It has created a buzz, notes analyst Carolina Milanesi from Creative Strategies. Even so, the cost of Vision Pro will lead some people to look elsewhere, she added.



Metas Quest 3, due out later this year, will beat the Vision Pro to market and will be one-seventh the price. Meta can cling to Apples hype like a skateboarder being pulled along by a bus. Apples entry has bought Zuckerberg some additional time with investors  and helped give some validation to his overall thesis that mixed reality has a place in millions of homes in the future. If Apple thinks its worth it, then maybe it is.



But then again, maybe its not. What cant be shaken is the underlying sense that this is technology that has so far failed to gain the publics attention or desire. Zuckerberg seems to think this is an issue that can be solved via R&D, making the devices lighter and smaller, with sharper graphics and less risk of motion sickness. I think it takes more. VR has proven itself to be a novelty gaming platform, especially when fitness applications are thrown in. But I still cant see it as a serious platform for work, networking and productivity. There is a significant chance that Zuckerberg  and Apple CEO Tim Cook, for that matter  have drastically misread the public mood. Ask most people today about the role of technology in their lives and most will tell you theyre seeking less connection.



Meta has shown in the past that it knows when to stop throwing good money after bad. It canned its critically-acclaimed Portal video chat device earlier this year, with the main takeaway being that simply building an excellent device  which the Portal certainly was  isnt enough to make it a success. You must convince the consumer their lives are incomplete without it.



Its clear Meta wont give up on the Metaverse so easily. For one thing, it would make the change in the companys name from Facebook to Meta rather awkward. The bigger issue is that it would again damage

Zuckerbergs credibility as a CEO  something which has been on the mend of late with the success of Twitter-clone Threads.



With a small team, no advertising and only a few months of development, it took Threads less than an hour to attract more users than Horizon Worlds has managed in two-and-a-half years. On that evidence, it might be wiser for Zuckerberg to divert more of his resources toward building out that platform instead of chasing the metaverse.



Dave Lee is Bloomberg Opinion's US technology columnist. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.



Credit: Bloomberg
Rarely has a movie timed the zeitgeist as perfectly as Oppenheimer, the story of a man, and all humanity, becoming death, the destroyer of worlds. Real life seems hell-bent on imitating art these days.



The blame for the global spike in nuclear anxiety belongs mainly, but not exclusively, to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Surely the situation brought about by his invasion of Ukraine and his recurring rattles of the atomic saber must also change how the US thinks about its own atomic strategy. But how exactly?



Putin has, over the past 500 days or so, destroyed each of the norms that developed during the Cold War to prevent an atomic arms race and Armageddon. First, hes broken the nuclear taboo, by casually threatening the use of such diabolical weapons. Second, hes undermined the consensus against nuclear proliferation, by demonstrating that foregoing nukes  as Ukraine did in the 1990s  leaves a nation vulnerable to people like him. Third, hes chipped at the barrier between bad and good uses of fission, by turning the Ukrainian nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia, occupied by his troops since last March, into a potential weapon of war.



Russian television, propaganda, intelligentsia and society have taken their leaders cue and normalised atomic intimidation, sometimes with apocalyptic hysterics. Sergei Karaganov, once an esteemed Russian defense-policy pundit, launched a particularly disturbing debate by asserting that the way to restore the Wests diminished fear of Russias power was for the Kremlin to drop tactical atomic bombs  not on Ukraine, but on eastern European countries that belong to NATO. The US-led West, Karaganov is sure, wont dare to retaliate.



No matter that Karaganov doesnt speak for the Kremlin, or that other Russian voices tried to temper his Dr. Strangelove logic. What matters is that in the space of a year the tone of nuclear geopolitics has deteriorated in ways not even the pessimists, like me, considered possible. This year, Putin also suspended New START, the last remaining arms control treaty between the US and Russia. And he placed tactical warheads in his neighboring quasi-vassal state of Belarus.



The growing importance of such tactical warheads, designed to win battles rather than incinerate nations, is what worries me most. Russia has more than 1,900 tactical nukes, roughly ten times more than the US. (The limitations of the START treaties applied only to longer-range strategic nukes.) And those are the weapons Putin has been menacing with. He appears to think that such limited nuclear warfare can compensate for his armys revealed shortcomings in conventional warfare. And he seems to assume that tactical warheads, because theyre smaller, would blur the line at which the US would retaliate with its own nuclear strikes.



This assumption is unfathomably dangerous. Its true that the US and its allies, in order to try to control escalation spirals, have decided to punish Putin for first use of a tactical nuke only with a debilitating conventional strike against Russian forces, probably those in Ukraine. But Putin or his successors, faced with catastrophic defeat and demise, would then have even more incentive to use additional tactical nukes. How would the West respond to those subsequent strikes, especially if they irradiate, or even hit, NATO territory?



The reality  and the factor that Karaganov willfully ignored  is that game theory cannot reliably forecast or quantify the risks of escalation once even the first warhead detonates. One scientific simulation modeled how a single Russian tactical strike, in the space of less than an hour, escalates into a full nuclear exchange that leaves 44 million dead and 57 million injured, not counting the radiation fatalities that come later. As US President Joe Biden put it, I dont think theres any such thing as an ability to easily use a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.



At first glance, the logic of deterrence might suggest that the US should try to close this gap in tactical nukes vis-a-vis Russia as part of the ongoing modernisation of its atomic arsenal. Only $6 billion of the $756 billion that the Congressional Budget Office projects America will spend over the next decade on upgrading its nuclear forces is slated to go to tactical weapons, and only $3 billion to their modernisation. Thats after the Biden administration canceled a program to build tactical nukes launched on cruise missiles from ships. Given what Putin is up to, isnt that unwise?



Not really. That, at least, is the near-consensus among many in the nuclear know. Its a mistake to think that enemy powers could trade tactical strikes indefinitely, says Daryl Kimball, head of the Arms Control Association in Washington, DC. The damage would be so devastating so quickly that the conflict would either end or escalate to strategic nukes and Armageddon. So theres no military rationale for having more than a few dozen tactical weapons.



The distinction between strategic and tactical nukes isnt helpful, adds Jeffrey Lewis, a nonproliferation expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. The categories were created when the Soviets and Americans started negotiating about arms control during the Cold War, and wanted to include or exclude specific weapons they had. The logic of deterrence instead remains the same no matter the weapon: You need to persuade your adversary that any resort to nuclear warfare will never succeed and will be answered with unacceptable destruction.



This suggests that the US already has the appropriate strategy for situations such as Putins war of aggression and nuclear bluster. It is, first, to maintain conventional military prowess so overwhelming that Putin could never gain anything from dropping a tactical nuke  the US would obliterate his forces with non-nuclear firepower. Second, it is to remind Putin that any apocalyptic turn, including nuclear launches at the West, would be answered in kind. The Cold War logic of mutual assured destruction still holds.



What complicates the longer-term picture is that a new arms race is also underway. China, a relatively small nuclear power with about 410 warheads, plans to rapidly increase its stockpile to 1,000 this decade, with an ultimate goal of reaching parity with the US and Russia. That doesnt mean China is a destabilising factor yet. Its president, Xi Jinping, has done more than anybody else so far to restrain Putin, by telling his nominal friend face-to-face not to use a nuke, lest he lose Beijings support.



But Chinas ambitions make arms control, never easy, fiendishly difficult. Even in the previous situation of two nuclear superpowers and seven middling or minor powers, the game theory of disarmament and nonproliferation negotiations has stretched human cognition to its limits. China joining the US and Russia as an atomic superpower will turn that constellation into a three-body problem  the kind thats been driving scientists crazy ever since Isaac Newton tried and failed to go from modeling the earth and moon to considering those two and the sun as well.



For starters, should the US view Russia and China as separate threats, or potentially as one combined adversary? In that case, America would need to scale up its arsenal dramatically. That would be economically ruinous. It would also make the Chinese even more paranoid about US intentions, prompting them to accelerate their production.



Then theres the prospect of proliferation. As North Korea adds to its nuclear stockpile, South Koreans become more likely to build their own nukes. If Iran crosses the atomic threshold and makes its own warheads, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and others in the region will eventually follow.



The surprising conclusion for the US, nonetheless, is that America already has the right strategy and should stick to it. That, too, is leadership  not to let wannabe tsars and tin-pot dictators provoke a superpower into runaway arms races. With the so-called Global South watching, it behooves Washington to demonstrate that it  not Beijing or Moscow  is the responsible actor in world affairs.



For purposes of deterring Russia, China and all other adversaries, the US doesnt actually need all the nukes it already has, Jon Wolfsthal, the nuclear specialist on the National Security Council during the administration of Barack Obama, told me. So modernisation is mainly about updating existing systems, from the warheads to the triad of delivery mechanisms on land, at sea and in the air. And thats about right.



Beyond that, the US must signal that itll always stay open to negotiations, with Russia, China or any combination of countries. In time, and under different leaders in Moscow and other capitals, these talks could progress to encompass a global nuclear freeze, and eventually even the worldwide prohibition of nuclear weapons.



Until then, the US is right to deter, with conventional military superiority and the nuclear arsenal it has. Admittedly, even that thought doesnt provide much comfort. The dirty secret of deterrence is that it works until it fails, and when it fails, it fails spectacularly.



Hence the anxiety ever present since 1945, when Robert Oppenheimer tested the first atomic bomb. While building it, the scientists worried that the blast might set off a chain reaction that would destroy the whole world, Oppenheimer tells Albert Einstein at the end of the new movie in cinemas now. What of it?, asks Einstein. I believe we did, replies Oppenheimer. And then the atoms start splitting.

Andreas Kluth is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering US diplomacy, national security and geopolitics. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.

Credit: Bloomberg
How did the fossil-fuel era begin? With Europeans heating their houses in winter.



The Industrial Revolution would likely never have started if medieval Britain hadnt turned to coal swept from the beaches of Northumbria to replace firewood from its dwindling forests. One of the worlds first air pollution laws was a 1306 proclamation prohibiting the burning of sea-coal in London. Weve been heating our homes for so long that we take the practice, and its carbon footprint, for granted.



Thats a mistake. With temperatures across the globe breaking record after record in recent weeks, theres no shortage of alarm about the rising climate impact from the energy well use to cool our homes. People in sweltering developing economies will buy a billion air conditioners by the end of this decade.



Even so, under almost every plausible scenario, the climate in 2050 will be suffering more from heating homes than cooling them. If we want to see an energy transition that addresses human welfare and global inequality, we should be more relaxed about the rise of air conditioning in developing countries, and much more worried about the persistence of conventional heating in rich ones.



The numbers are stark. Globally, heating caused about four times more emissions than cooling last year, according to the International Energy Agency. Electric heaters alone account for about two-thirds more emissions than every air conditioner on the planet  and thats the tip of the iceberg, since the majority of domestic heating is done with boilers powered by gas, fuel oil or coal.



The benefits of this arent evenly spread, either. Europe, the former Soviet Union and the Americas, with about a quarter of the worlds population, will account for about 59 percent of emissions from space heating and cooling in 2025, according to one 2021 study, led by Alessio Mastrucci of Austrias International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. Add in China, which has largely hit developed-world standards on this front, and the share rises to 84 percent



Why, then, is there so much more concern about the relatively small carbon footprint from cooling?



One factor is that the direction of travel is different. A warmer planet where incomes are climbing fastest in countries close to the equator is one where cooling demand will rise rapidly in the Global South. Meanwhile, milder winters, stagnating population growth, and the spread of insulation and heat pumps should reduce the footprint from heating in the Global North.



Even so, emissions in 2050 from warming homes in Europe, the former Soviet Union and North America will be greater than the entire worlds cooling footprint, according to Mastruccis 2021 study.



Theres good reason for optimism that technology, efficiency and a warming climate will, indeed, make heating less carbon-intensive over the coming decades  but thats not happening yet. Over the decade through 2022, it rose by 158 million metric tons of CO2, little less than the 180 million-ton increase in cooling.



Its true, too, that the rise of air conditioners will pose fresh challenges to the worlds energy systems, quite aside from their climate impact. All those gas and fuel oil boilers mean that home heating doesnt stress electrical grids the way that AC does.



In Delhi, peak power demand jumped 64 percent over the decade through 2018, compared to a 42 percent increase in total electricity consumption, thanks largely to the uptake of air conditioners that often account for half of the citys energy usage. That peak-and-trough pattern is fiendishly difficult for grid planners to manage, especially as households are more likely to use air-con in the evening and at night, rather than in the middle of the day when solar panels are humming.



The solution to this, however, is not to scold the billions in developing countries who will buy their first cooling units over the coming decade. In many cases, those appliances could literally be life-savers when the temperature rises to levels that strain the limits of survivability. Instead, we should look for ways to give everyone a better standard of living with a lower carbon footprint.



Providing incentives for people to buy the most efficient air conditioners (and fans for periods of less intense heat) would help reduce strains on the grid, emissions, and electricity bills. That could provide a minor boost for fossil fuels, since propane from natural gas might be a more climate-friendly refrigerant than the fluorine compounds that currently predominate.



Building codes should also be introduced, enforced and tightened. Air conditioners are often just making up for the deficiencies of bad design. Generous shading and floor plans that allow cross-ventilation are the best way to reduce cooling demand in the billions of homes that rapidly urbanising developing countries will build over the coming decades.



Above all, though, the world should accept that a just energy transition is inevitably going to see poorer countries use more air-con to reach levels of domestic comfort that richer locales take for granted.



Developed nations still struggling to give up their fossil-fired boilers for more efficient heat pumps  let alone turn their thermostats down a degree or two, insulate their roofs and walls, or keep windows closed in the depths of winter  must get their own house in order before they start preaching to the rest of the world.



David Fickling is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy and commodities. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.



Credit: Bloomberg
The Congress on Monday accused the government of insulting Parliament by not holding a discussion on the no-confidence motion moved by the opposition and instead bringing bills in the House.



Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the government should first hold a discussion on the no-trust motion. He also urged the ruling party MPs to visit violence-hit Manipur and understand for themselves the situation there.



Amid the impasse in Parliament over the violence in Manipur and the opposition's demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a statement in the House, Home Minister Amit Shah has asserted that he was ready to respond to a discussion in Parliament on the matter.



The opposition turned down the offer following which they moved the no-confidence motion as a last bid to make the prime minister speak on the Manipur violence issue in Parliament.



"We have brought a no-confidence motion against the government and a discussion on it should be started in Lok Sabha. We have no objection to discussing any other government business in the House, but discussion on the no-confidence motion should start first," Chowdhury told reporters.



"The no-confidence motion has its own importance and if the government is bringing all kinds of bills and policies, I feel it is insulting Parliament. There has never been a situation where the no-confidence motion has been set aside and all kinds of other discussions are happening," he said.



The Congress MP accused the government of undermining the no-confidence motion and trying to divert people's attention by raking up other issues.



"We want the government brings all the bills, but at least start the discussion on the no-confidence motion. Will the heavens fall or will an earthquake occur," he said.



Asked if any meeting of the business advisory committee has been called, he replied in the negative.



Chowdhury, who was part of the delegation of the MPs of the opposition alliance INDIA who had gone to Manipur to assess the situation in the strife-torn state, described the situation as "grave".



"If the ruling party MPs go there and see the situation for themselves, they will not make casual statements," he said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday alleged that the Narendra Modi government was "indifferent" to the pain and anguish of the people of violence-hit Manipur. The Congress chief said MPs of opposition alliance INDIA who visited Manipur to assess the situation in the strife-torn state, heard heart-wrenching stories of pain from the people there. "While Manipur faced turmoil, the Modi government appeared indifferent," he said on Twitter while asserting that the divide between communities was "deeply concerning". "Despite time for poll rallies, self-PR train inaugurations, and attending BJP meetings, PM Modi seems to have no time to address the anguish and suffering of Manipur's people or work towards resolving inter-community issues," Kharde tweeted. He also said, "The Modi government appears clueless and rudderless in handling the Manipur situation, evident in the absence of a comprehensive statement in Parliament." Over 50,000 people, including 10,000 children, are in relief camps. The facilities there are inadequate, especially for women, and there are shortages of medicines and food, Kharge said. "Economic activities have come to a halt, with children unable to attend school, farmers ceasing their farming, and people grappling with both financial losses and psychological hardships," Kharge said on Twitter. A delegation of 21 MPs of the INDIA alliance visited Manipur over the weekend and met many people in relief camps set up for those affected by violence in the state.

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In the 17 months since Moscow ordered soldiers into Ukrainian territory, countries across Europe have moved with surprising speed to reduce their long-standing dependence on cheap Russian gas.



Germany, which got 55% of its supply from Russia before the war, now imports zero. Poland, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic have halted or are close to halting flows. And Italy has been steadily trimming imports, and pledges to be free of Russian natural gas by the end of this year.



By contrast, Austria, which received nearly 80% of its gas from Russia before the invasion, still got more than half its total from Russia in May. And in March, when demand was higher, the figure reached 74%. As long as Russia is selling gas, Austria will buy it, the CEO of the Austrian energy company OMV Group said this month.



The governments difficulties in weaning itself off Russian gas, which it has pledged to do, have drawn complaints from critics who say Austrias gas payments are helping to finance Moscows war machine.



I dont think they are doing enough, said Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia Universitys School of International and Public Affairs. The government is among the friendliest toward Russia.



Austria, the first Western European country to sign a gas contract with the Soviet Union in 1968, has for decades been heavily reliant on gas piped in from Russia.



A major reason the European Union has not initiated any formal sanctions against Russian gas imports, like those that apply to Russian oil and coal, is that Austria and other huge buyers have argued they need it. And some European countries remain buyers of Russian liquefied natural gas, which arrives by ship, although the overall amount sold is a small fraction of the volumes that used to arrive to the continent by pipeline.



An immediate cutoff would lead to economic ruin and mass unemployment, Chancellor Karl Nehammer of Austria warned last year.



Leonore Gewessler, the energy minister and a member of the progressive Green Party in Austrias coalition government, said the government remained committed to ending imports of Russian natural gas by 2027.



But its not easy to undo years and decades of wrong policies in just a few months or in a year, Gewessler added. And as a landlocked country, Austria, unlike Germany, Italy or Greece, cannot simply build terminals for ships to carry in liquefied natural gas.



The question of whether the government in Vienna is working fast enough is as much a political problem as it is a logistical and economic one.



Austria remains officially neutral  a principle written into its Constitution since 1955, when the end to its postwar occupation was ultimately negotiated with the Soviet Union. As a result, it is not a member of the American and European military alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.



The country has strongly condemned the invasion of Ukraine, taken in refugees and permitted weapons shipments to Ukraine to cross its borders. But while the Russian energy giant Gazprom abruptly stopped supplying many European countries, Austria has continued to receive its full allotment and secured approval from Russia to pay with euros instead of rubles.



Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary is clearly Russias closest ally in the European Union. But Viennas reluctance to switch more quickly to other energy sources has prompted concerns that Austria remains too closely tied to Russian interests.



The political elite in Austria is, in my opinion, among the most sympathetic to Russia, said Grzegorz Kuczynski, director of the Eurasia program at the Warsaw Institute. Therefore, I think Vienna will try to influence a less confrontational EU policy toward Moscow.



Kuczynski referred to figures like Karin Kneissl, a former foreign minister who, at her wedding in 2018, caused a sensation by dancing with Russian President Vladimir Putin and accepted his gift of sapphire earrings worth 50,000 euros. In 2021, she joined the board of Rosneft, Russias state-owned oil company, though she left under pressure after sanctions were proposed in May 2022.



Other Austrian political figures also had ties to Russia before the invasion last year. Several former top national leaders served on the boards of Russian businesses and organizations. Wolfgang Schussel, a former chancellor, was on the board of Lukoil, the largest private corporation in Russia. He resigned a month after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.



The far-right Freedom Party, which has had close links to Putins United Russia party and has been gaining ground in public opinion polls, walked out of Parliament in March during a speech from Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.



There are political players which are not fully on board when it comes to denouncing Russian policy or hastening the transition to renewable energy, Gewessler, the energy minister, said.







The current deal with Gazprom, whose signing in 2018 was attended by Sebastian Kurz, the Austrian chancellor at the time, and Putin, calls for Austria to buy 6 billion cubic meters of gas per year, and remains in effect for an unusually long period  until 2040. The company was also a financial backer of the now-defunct Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany.



Since the invasion began, OMV, the Austrian energy company, has spent 7 billion euros, about $7.7 billion, on Russian gas.



Alfred Stern, the CEO of OMV, said in a recent interview with The Financial Times that we will continue to take these quantities from Gazprom as long as they are available.



OMV did not respond to repeated requests for comment. But on Friday the company announced a 10-year agreement to buy gas from the energy giant BP beginning in 2026, to drive forward our ongoing diversification of supply source, Stern said in a statement.



The Austrian government owns roughly 30% of OMV. The United Arab Emirates owns 25%.



Georg Zachmann, a climate and energy expert at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, said strategic decisions about the nations energy supply should be made in government offices, not boardrooms.



OMV is a private company, and theyre trying to make as much money as possible for their shareholders, Zachmann said. It would be in the interest of the Austrian government and European policymakers to constrain their ability to do business.



He acknowledged that reducing supplies from Gazprom would inevitably mean higher prices.







Official decisions may be overtaken by events in any case. The current five-year contract, which has allowed Gazprom to continue shipping natural gas from Russia to Europe in pipelines that run through Ukraine despite the war, expires at the end of next year, and the government in Kyiv has indicated it will not renew that deal.



The Ukrainian pipelines carry about 5% of the European Unions gas imports, according to Corbeau, from the Center on Global Energy Policy. Ending their use would leave TurkStream, the direct link between Russia and Turkey, as the only entry point for piped gas into Europe.



The clock is ticking, Corbeau said about the Ukrainian transit arrangement. When it comes to gas supplies from Russia, Austria has been living on borrowed time.



This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Guillermo Sohnlein, co-founder of OceanGate, the US company that operated the ill-fated Titanic submersible that imploded during a dive to the Titanic wreck in June, is aiming to send humans to Venus by the year 2050.



"It is aspirational, but I think it's also very doable by 2050," he told Business Insider.



Apart from heading OceanGate, Sohnlein is the founder of Humans2Venus, a private venture which, according to its LinkedIn profile, is establishing a permanent human presence in the Venusian atmosphere.



The company claims to have the long-term vision of 1,000 people living and working in the Venusian atmosphere by 2050.



"I think it is less aspirational than putting a million people on the Martian surface by 2050," Sohnlein told Insider.



"You're absolutely right that when you talk about going to Venus, it would raise eyebrows outside the space industry. And it even raises eyebrows inside the space industry," he said.



Sohnleins partner at OceanGate, Stockton Rush, was among the five people who died after the submersible imploded in the North Atlantic.



OceanGate's Titanic Expedition was a commercial initiative to explore the 110-year-old shipwreck the submersible that took five people 12,500 feet below sea level.



Others on the submersible were British entrepreneur and explorer Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood, a businessman from Pakistan and his son Suleman and Paul-Henry Nargeolet, a French explorer and Titanic authority who participated in the trip as a "content expert".



They presumably died instantly when the Titan sub, about the size of an SUV car, imploded under the crushing pressure of the North Atlantic at a depth of more than two miles.



Mangled debris recovered from the small submersible was offloaded in eastern Canada, ending a difficult search-and-recovery operation.
Ola Electric, the popular electric vehicle manufacturer, has welcomed a new official team member. Meet "Bijlee," a dog whose name translates to "electricity" - a nod to the company as well. The photos of her official Ola Electric ID card, shared by Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal, have gone viral on Twitter. Bijlee's employee code on the ID card is humorously listed as "440 V," a playful nod to the standard voltage used in electrical systems. Moreover, her ID card jokingly displays her blood group as "PAW +ve,". The address mentioned on the ID card is Ola Electric's Bengaluru office, signifying that she is a presence at the Koramangala branch. The ID card also says that she prefers Slack as a mode of communication with her human colleagues. In case of any emergencies, Bijlee's contact is specified as "BA's office," referring to Ola Electric's CEO, Bhavish Aggarwal, who is mentioned by his initials. New colleague now officially! pic.twitter.com/dFtGMsOFVX  Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) July 30, 2023 Twitter users have been showering Bijlee with affection, with the post receiving over 1,400 likes in no time. Many Twitter users have taken to the comments section to gush over the new addition to Ola Electric's workforce. One user, drawing a clever comparison, commented, "Like the name. Like Bolt from the movie," alluding to the iconic animated movie character who shares a name with the Hindi word for lightning. Another user playfully remarked, "This is Bijlee's world, we are all just living in it. Also read: Olas response to viral video showing 350 cabs submerged in unauthorised Noida yard This gesture shows that at Ola Electric, pets are welcome. Bijlee, from her picture, looks like a stray and has a collar on.

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A British Airways flight from Nigeria to London was faced with an unexpected problem on Sunday morning when an overweight passenger found himself stuck in his first-class seat upon landing. As hundreds of people were disembarking after a six-and-a-half-hour journey, the "mortified" man was left stuck in his seat.



Throughout the flight, the man had indulged in the opulence of the 7,000 (Rs 7.40 lakh) suite, relishing the food, wine, and overall comfort. However, when the plane touched down at Heathrow at 5 am, he faced an uncomfortable realization - he was unable to get up from his seat. Members of the flight crew sprang into action to assist him while ensuring he remained calm.



According to reports from The Sun, a note was sent out in the matter. "A volumetric passenger is stuck in seat 1A. The plan is to remove the suite door and use a hoist to eject [him] from the seat."



He was rescued from his seat and ordeal, three hours later.



One insider at British Airways described the situation as "astonishing" given that the first-class seats are known for their spaciousness. While the incident may have initially sounded amusing, passengers empathized with the man's "abject humiliation" during the ordeal, according to reports.



In May, a TikTok video went viral, showing a woman being weighed before being allowed to board, sparking heated discussions about whether airlines were being "cruel" or merely adhering to weight limits for safety reasons.



Similarly, a political commentator, Sydney Watson, took to Twitter last year, expressing her discomfort when seated between two overweight individuals during a three-hour flight.



American Airlines had a curt reply. "Our passengers come in all different shapes and sizes. We're sorry you were uncomfortable on your flight."
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on July 3 1sued notice to grounded airline Go Firsts committee of creditors (CoC) and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board (IBBI) seeking their response. It also asked the resolution professional to get a resolution from the CoC on refunds.



The matter is now listed for hearing on August 7.



During the hearing, Go First said it has to refund Rs 597 crore to 15.5 lakh passengers since its grounding on May 3. Appearing for the airline's resolution professional, senior advocate Ramji Srinivasan argued that the company receives about 97 percent of its bookings through booking aggregators and the other three percent directly from its website. He argued that aggregators maintain an escrow account with the airline where the aggregators deposit some money against which they make bookings for customers.



According to the RP, as on the date of cancellation, the escrow account was Rs. 820 crore with Rs. 380 crore for current booking and Rs. 440 crore for future booking. With the cancellations since May 3, the airline has shifted payments to the aggregators, as a result of which the current balance is Rs. 550 crore. Srinivasan told the court that if the amount is not made available to the aggregators, the airline's resumption plans will be affected. Thus he sought for the tribunal's orders on the same.



The tribunal however noted that since any order passed to this effect will have a direct bearing on the CoC, the RP must get a resolution from them on refunds before the next date of hearing.



Thus the matter has now been adjourned to August 7.



The move is being seen as another step towards the resumption of operations after the NCLT refused to stop the debt-laden airline from using leased aircraft. The airline has a 56-aircraft fleet.



The NCLT in an advisory on July 3 asked the ticket holders to make their claims with the resolution professional for refunds of cancelled tickets.



The Wadia group-owned airlines refund move comes after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on July 21 accepted its plan to resume service but with conditions attached. The airline will have to prove it has the required funds and the regulators nod for the flight schedule.



On July 26, NCLT turned down a plea by seven of the lessors to restrain the airline from using the leased aircraft, a decision seen as a boost for the low-fare carrier.



The tribunal held that aircraft and engines were essential to keep the company running as a going concern.



Go First filed for bankruptcy protection in May, blaming engine maker Pratt & Whitney for the grounding of half of its fleet and economic woes, a claim denied by the company.



The airline owes Rs 8000 crore to a consortium of banks, which includes State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank , IDBI, Canara Bank and ICICI Bank.



On May 10, NCLT accepted its plea to initiate the insolvency resolution process. The tribunal appointed an insolvency resolution professional, suspended the board and imposed a moratorium on the airline's financial obligations.




Delhi High Court on July 31, refused to set aside the arbitral award in favour of Kalanithi Maran and against low-cost airline SpiceJet, making way for Maran to press for enforcement of award.



Spicejet and the CMD of the airline, Ajay Singh had sought for setting aside the portion of the award which directed them to refund Rs 270 crore to Kal Airways and Kalanithi Maran. Additionally, they sought to waive the 12 percent interest on warrants and set aside the 18 percent interest granted in the award.



Kal Airways and Kalanithi Maran also requested to invalidate the portion of the award that included the interest on the amount of Rs 270 crore for the non-issuance of compulsory redeemable preference shares.



Both challenges have been rejected by the Delhi High Court.



The execution proceeding against the award is pending before another bench of the Delhi High Court. It is likely to come up for a hearing on September 5.



The developments in the case come after Supreme Court on July 7 held that the arbitral award is executable as SpiceJet did not adhere to the timeline it had laid down in February to make certain payments to Maran.



In February 2023, the top court disposed of the case directing that SpiceJets Rs 270-crore bank guarantee be encashed and asking the airline to pay Rs 75 crore towards interest within three months.



Maran was represented by senior advocate Maninder Singh, who was briefed by Nandini Gore, senior partner at law firm Karanjawala and Co.



Arbitral award:



In February 2015, Maran and KAL Airways, his investment vehicle, transferred their 58.46 percent in SpiceJet to Ajay Singh, the current Chairman and Managing Director (CMD). Singh, a co-founder of SpiceJet, took on the airlines liabilities of around Rs 1,500 crore.



As part of the agreement, Maran and Kal Airways said they paid SpiceJet Rs 679 crore for issuing warrants and preference shares. However, Maran alleged that the warrants and preference shares were not allotted and initiated arbitration proceedings against SpiceJet and Ajay Singh.



In July 2018, an arbitration panel rejected Marans claim of damages of Rs 1,323 crore for not issuing warrants to him and Kal Airways but awarded him a refund of Rs 579 crore plus interest. SpiceJet was permitted to furnish a bank guarantee for Rs 329 crore and make a cash deposit of the remaining sum of Rs 250 crore.



According to the award, SpiceJet had to pay Rs 308 crore in cash together with 12 percent interest for 30 months, as well as Rs 270 crore either in the form of compulsory redeemable preference shares or by the return of money in terms of a Share Purchase Agreement. If the company fails to adhere to this timeline, Maran is entitled to an interest of 18 percent.
Remi Lucidi, a French man who used to climb skyscrapers around the world, died after falling from the 68th floor of a building in Hong Kong last week, South China Morning Post reported. He was 30. Lucidi was last seen knocking on the window of a penthouse on the 68th floor of Tregunter Tower in Hong Kong's upscale Mid-Levels area on Thursday at around 7:30 pm, the newspaper reported, quoting a source. A domestic worker inside the house had called the police upon seeing the stranger at the window. It is likely that Remi Lucidi was trapped on the 68th floor and was perhaps knocking on the window for help, the source reportedly said. View this post on Instagram A post shared by   (@remnigma) After he fall to his death, the police found his camera which had videos of his dangerous stunts. His last post on Instagram, where he has over 3,000 followers, was from the top of a building in Hong Kongs Times Square a week ago. In another post earlier this month, he posted a drone video of him lying on the terrace of a high-rise in Bangkok. Other photos on his Instagram account show him posting atop skyscrapers in Dubai, Hong Kong, France, Poland and Colombia. A drone video from last October shows Lucidi on top of the tallest chimney in France.

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An engineer with Google, who taught coding to his juniours while in college in West Bengal, on Monday proudly shared that the first benchers in his classes are now all software engineers working with Amazon.



What makes the feat more impressive is that the tier-3 institution, Jalpaiguri Government Engineering College in West Bengal, would rarely be approached by companies for placements.



Raj Vikramaditya, who goes by 'Striver' on Twitter, shared a picture clicked in 2017 when he was taking a class and wrote, "I never thought that the first benchers would be in Amazon. Picture from a class I took when I was in my second year. The power went off in the middle of a coding class, everyone got their flashlights on. Some moments stay in your heart forever, this was one of them."



He also shared a screenshot of a comment section on LinkedIn in which the then "first benchers" had commented with details of their current organisations visible next to their names.



I never thought that the first benchers would be in Amazon

Picture from a class I took when I was in second year. The power went off in the middle of a coding class, everyone got their flashlights on.



Some moments stay in your heart forever, this was one of them pic.twitter.com/p6hcyIJxl5



 Striver (@striver_79) July 30, 2023





Speaking to Moneycontrol, a former employee of Amazon himself who currently works with Google in Poland, Vikramaditya said, "Jalpaiguri government engineering college is a tier-3 college where no company would come for placements. There wasn't much support from the college faculty either, so the students took matters into their own hands, formed a coding club where seniors would take classes for the juniors after the official college hours. One day, while I was teaching 'prefix sum', the lights went off but since everybody was so interested in the class, they used multiple flashlights and we finished the lecture."



He added that powercuts were a regular feature at the college. But, elaborating more on the students' performance, Vikramaditya said that for a college with low rankings, these batches fared so well that the college now has some of the best placement records in the state.



Speaking about how students benefitted from the coding club, Vikramaditya told this publication, "A lot of people from 2021-2023 are working in Google, Amazon, Swiggy, JP Morgan, Microsoft, and other top tech companies. Most of these students were in the coding club, so the club was sort of a paddle shifter, people who joined the club went on to do great things."
Tomatoes worth Rs 20 lakh went missing from a Jaipur-bound truck traveling from Kolar district in Karnataka. The vehicle was to reach the Rajasthan capital on Saturday night, but did not do so and the driver's phone had been switched off, a Times of India report said.



Later, a complaint was filed with police in Kolar, which said that two traders had booked the vehicle to send the tomatoes to Jaipur on July 27.



Police sources said according to the global positioning system (GPS) tracker, the truck had travelled close to 1,600km from Kolar, after which it became untraceable. The truck cleaner, too, did not have a mobile phone thereby making it nearly impossible to know where the vehicle had gone.



The report stated that traders were concerned about the untraceable vehicle and said that had the truck met with an accident, they would have received information, by now. They also felt the truck may have been stolen by the driver.



In another recent incident, a vehicle that was carrying 2.5 tonnes of tomatoes worth Rs 2 lakh was stolen in Bengaluru by a Tamil Nadu-based couple who had faked an incident to exhort money from the farmer. The farmer was transporting the tomatoes in a jeep to Kolar.



The price of tomatoes have become a major talking in the past few weeks and reports stated that the cost of the vegetable was likely to return to normalcy, only by September.



Also read: Husband uses 2 extra tomatoes in curry, wife gets angry and leaves home
San Francisco residents living opposite Twitter's headquarters have been left fuming after tech billionaire Elon Musk installed his new 'X' logo on top of the building, resulting in a bright white light that has ignited outrage among locals.



Last week, Musk announced Twitter's rebranding, changing its name and logo to a minimalist 'X,' showcasing his long-standing fascination with the letter.



The once-iconic blue bird logo, synonymous with Twitter, has been stripped off the headquarters and replaced with a giant 'X' logo on the roof. The decision has been met with widespread mockery, with many branding it "horrible" and "cheap-looking."



Videos have surfaced showing just how intense the light from the logo is, with one resident expressing his frustration, saying, "This is my life now." The resident recounted how the logo's blinding light disturbed their peaceful evening, forcing them to move to another room in their apartment just to watch a movie.



Musk's reaction to the backlash was seemingly mocking, stating that the landlord of Twitter's building keeps calling the police about their sign modifications. Additionally, when faced with suggestions that Twitter should move out of San Francisco due to the city's downward spiral, he defiantly stated, "We will always be your friend."



Heres another angle I forgot I had that shows the X strobing.

Also, my apartment building needs a bath. pic.twitter.com/t66erPuDlL



 Christopher J. Beale (@realchrisjbeale) July 29, 2023

However, the legality of Musk's sign installation is under scrutiny, as authorities have confirmed that the company did not obtain the necessary permits. The Department of Building Inspection launched an investigation after the sign appeared on the building, which is situated near City Hall and holds historical significance, having been built in 1937.



Patrick Hannan, a spokesperson for the department, emphasized that any new signage on a building must have a permit to ensure adherence to design and safety standards. The unauthorized sign also poses a risk to public safety and the preservation of the historic building's character.



This is not the first obstacle Musk has faced with his Twitter rebranding project. San Francisco police intervened on Monday to stop workers from removing the platform's bird logo from the facade, citing concerns about pedestrian safety as the sidewalk had not been adequately secured.



The new logo X on Twitter's San Francisco headquarters building. pic.twitter.com/jog4nBT4dp

 Akin (@ics923) July 29, 2023

The 'X' sign has also stirred controversy on social media, with users posting videos and photos online, expressing their discomfort with the brightness, particularly for residents of a building opposite Twitter's headquarters.



Linda Yaccarino, the current CEO of X, revealed that the platform's vision is to become a "global town square" offering unlimited interactivity through audio, video, messaging, payments, and banking, all enabled by AI-driven connections between people.



Watch: Elon Musk shares video of 'X' logo atop Twitter's HQ in San Francisco



Elon Musk's fascination with the letter 'X' dates back to the 1990s when he founded X.com, which later evolved into PayPal. Even his own son bears the name 'X.'
China's factory activity contracted for the fourth straight month in July, data showed Monday, as authorities released new measures aimed at boosting the world's second-largest economy. The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) -- a key measure of factory output -- came in at 49.3, below the 50-point mark that separates expansion and contraction, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). July's reading was slightly higher than June's 49.0 figure and was better than forecasts in a Bloomberg survey. "The overall level of manufacturing prosperity continued to improve," NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe said in a statement. China is struggling to improve growth as its post-Covid recovery runs out of steam, due in large part to sluggish consumer spending. The non-manufacturing PMI, which measures business sentiment in the services and construction sectors, fell to 51.5 in July from 53.2 in June, as activity in capital market services and real estate shrank. A run of dismal economic data over recent months has ramped up calls for officials to unveil support measures. On Monday the government released a 20-point plan to increase consumption, including more support for housing demand, the culture and tourism sector, and green consumption such as electric vehicles. China this month said its economy grew 6.3 percent in the second quarter, much weaker than the 7.1 percent predicted in an AFP survey of analysts. The country's top leaders have warned that the economy faces "new difficulties and challenges" as well as "hidden dangers in key areas". Zhao on Monday also pointed to a low volume of overseas orders, describing a "complicated and severe external environment" and lacklustre demand as major challenges for Chinese manufacturers.

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A new reactor at a US nuclear power plant entered into operation Monday, a first in seven years in the country where conventional reactors may give way to smaller-scale nuclear facilities.



The Vogtle Unit 3 near Waynesboro, in the southeastern state of Georgia, has begun serving some 500,000 homes and businesses, operator Georgia Power said in a statement.



"The new unit represents a long-term investment in the state's clean energy future and will provide reliable, emissions-free energy to customers for decades to come," the company said.



The project comes online seven years after it was supposed to start producing power.



The costs for Unit 3, and a fourth reactor anticipated to enter operation in late 2023 or early 2024, have topped $30 billion, according to an estimate by the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAP).



That is more than double the budget of $14 billion announced at the start of the project.



Cost overruns pushed original investor Westinghouse, a subsidiary of Japan's Toshiba, to file for bankruptcy in 2017, and it withdrew from the project.



Once all four units are in operation, Vogtle will become the largest generator of clean energy in the nation, according to Georgia Power.



Vogtle Units 3 and 4 were the first new reactor projects approved by US authorities since 1979 and an incident at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island, the most serious nuclear accident in US history.



The most recent prior commission of a nuclear reactor was Unit 2 at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in Tennessee, in 2016.



Construction for that reactor had begun in 1973. Work was suspended for more than two decades before the project was revived.



Low-carbon nuclear power has been hailed as a climate-friendly energy source as the world struggles to combat global warming.



Environmentalists, however, worry about safety and warn that disposing radioactive waste carries huge risks.



Since 1990 only three reactors have entered into operation in the United States: the two units at Watts Bar, in 1996 and 2016, and Vogtle Unit 3 on Monday.



No other conventional reactor project is underway.



Construction of two reactors at the Virgil Summer Nuclear Station in South Carolina was abandoned in 2017, despite $9 billion already invested in the projects.



Manufacturers have now reoriented themselves towards smaller, new-generation facilities known as small modular reactors, or SMRs.



The newer designs -- none of which have yet to come into operation in the United States -- are expected to be less expensive, take less time to build and are considered safer than conventional power plants.
Italy made an "improvised and atrocious" decision when it joined China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) four years ago as it did little to boost exports, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said in an interview published on Sunday.



Italy signed up to the BRI under a previous government, becoming the only major Western country to have taken such a step. Crosetto is part of an administration that is considering how to break free of the agreement.



The BRI scheme envisions rebuilding the old Silk Road to connect China with Asia, Europe and beyond with large infrastructure spending. Critics see it as a tool for China to spread its geopolitical and economic influence.



"The decision to join the (new) Silk Road was an improvised and atrocious act" that multiplied China's exports to Italy but did not have the same effect on Italian exports to China, Crosetto told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.



"The issue today is: how to walk back (from the BRI) without damaging relations (with Beijing). Because it is true that China is a competitor, but it is also a partner," the defence minister added.



After a White House meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her government was still deliberating on the BRI and announced a trip to Beijing in the near future.



"We'll take a decision before December," Meloni told U.S. broadcaster Fox News in an interview aired on Sunday, adding that the issue required discussions with the Chinese government and within the Italian parliament.



Meloni reiterated her view that it is a "paradox" that while Italy is part of the BRI, it is not the G7 country with the biggest trade with China, and said that shows it is possible to have good relations with Beijing without the Belt and Road.
Niger, a landlocked country in West Africa, is facing a significant political crisis after members of the Presidential Guard are claiming to have overthrown the democratically elected government, taking President Mohamed Bazoum captive.



According to news reports, the aftermath of the coup has seen unrest, with supporters of the military action setting fire to the headquarters of the ousted President's party in the country's capital, Niamey.



According to AP, members of the military announced on July 28 that they have named General Abdourahmane Tchiani as the countrys new leader, adding Niger to a growing list of military regimes in West Africas Sahel region.



What is the crisis?



A group of rebel soldiers in Niger have claimed to have successfully overthrown the elected government by taking the President captive. As per news reports, the soldiers cited the country's deteriorating security as the reason for their actions.



Supporters of the coup in Niger resorted to violent actions by attacking and setting fire to the ruling party's headquarters in the capital city of Niamey.



Also Read | Soldiers attempt coup in Niger, its Presidents office says



The Russia-Wagner group connection



According to a BBC news report, before the coup, President Bazoum had complained of "disinformation campaigns" by Wagner against his government - and there is little doubt that Wagner, which has exploited mineral resources in other African countries to fund its operations, would like to do the same in Niger.



As per reports, Niger's new leadership could move closer to Russia and if it does, it would follow in the footsteps of Burkina Faso and Mali, which have both pivoted towards Moscow since their own military coups.



Global reaction to the crisis



United States said it condemned efforts to detain or subvert the functioning of Nigers democratically elected government, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said, and urged the release of Bazoum.



U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said cooperation with Niger's government was contingent on its "continued commitment to democratic standards".



EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in a social media post said, "The EU condemns any attempt to destabilize democracy and threaten the stability of Niger."



France, the country's former colonial power, and the West African regional bloc ECOWAS called for Bazoum's immediate release and a return to constitutional order.



Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said that constitutional order should be restored.



The United Nations Security Council strongly condemned "the efforts to unconstitutionally change the legitimate government" of Niger and called for the immediate and unconditional release Niger's President Mohammed Bazoum.



"The members of the Security Council expressed concern over the negative impact of unconstitutional changes of government in the region, increase in terrorist activities and the dire socio-economic situation," the statement read.



The latest



Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has suspended ties with Niger and has authorized use of force if president is not reinstated within a week.



With agency inputs
UBS Group AG has seen a round of exits within its wealth division in Hong Kong less than two months after it completed the merger with Credit Suisse Group AG, according to people familiar with the matter.



In Hong Kong, at least six bankers on the Credit Suisse side have left, including Martin Loh, a market group head for China and Joe Lau, said the people who asked not to be named as the matter is confidential. Lau, a 16-year Credit Suisse veteran, was a team leader on the Greater China private banking team, according to his LinkedIn profile.



The Swiss firm last week announced the structure for the third most senior level of leaders below the executive board, naming market team heads across the region, the people said. After the structure was unveiled some roles are no longer needed, and others will take on smaller roles.



Spokeswomen for UBS and Credit Suisse declined to comment.



Earlier this month, Credit Suisse wealth staff were told to dust off their resumes ahead of the selection of new managers. They were told that leadership changes were expected by mid-July, and that would kick off a slew of appointments to lower ranking roles in global wealth management.



UBS has planned to retain a few hundred relationship managers from the smaller rival and keep the total headcount at more than 1,200 in Asia, one of the fastest-growing wealth market. Global wealth boss Iqbal Khan was earlier touring both Hong Kong and Singapore to boost morale and retain talent.



Loh in November took on an expanded role to oversee the Shanghai Branch as part of a consolidation of the Greater China Bank Branch and representative offices under one leadership. He has been with Credit Suisse since 2008 after seven years at UBS, according to his LinkedIn profile. He did not respond to a LinkedIn message and neither did Lau.
In todays Money Morningthis week could be a huge week for science. An exciting new discovery is set to be proven  or not. If it turns out to be true, it will change everything.

I was scrolling through my Twitter (sorry, X as its now called) feed late Wednesday evening.

The good thing about Twierr I mean X, is that you can follow all sorts of experts from many different fields.

And over the past 12 years on the platform, Ive built up a well-curated list of very knowledgeable people I follow.

In fact, these days, I reckon I get 99% of my news and information this way.

[Editors note: I frequently retweet any stories  mostly about new tech, Bitcoin, economics, and other investing ideas  I find interesting. You can follow me on Twitter (X.com) at @konfidinse to follow these ideas too.]

When I occasionally check in to see what the mainstream news is reporting, its almost like a different world!

And I know which one I trust more

Anyway, on that Wednesday evening, one particular tweet made me sit up straight in bed.

You see, an amazing scientific story was playing out in real time.

If its proven true  and well very much know this week if it is  then the implications are profound.

Let me explain

This changes everything

The tweet in question was this one from Princeton physics graduate Alex Kaplan:

So what did Alex see that made him so excited?

Well, last week, a new paper was published by several well-known Korean scientists claiming theyd discovered one of the holy grails of physics.

Namely, the discovery of the first ever room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductor (SC).

A superconductor is a material that transmits electricity without resistance.

In the past, weve only been able to create such materials at very, very low temperatures and at high pressure.

This has made them unfeasible for most real-life situations.

But a room-temperature superconductor opens up amazing possibilities.

Energy is probably the biggest one.

Imagine transmission lines that dont leak electricity.

100kWh (kilowatt hours) is lost each year in the US alone thanks to this energy loss. Thats the equivalent of three large nuclear reactors running 24/7 365 days a year.

At the generation point huge savings could be made too.

Check out the table:

These are big figures. And when you extrapolate them out into the world, it changes the economics for the entire energy market.

What else?

Well, how about a phone that doesnt turn into a mini oven when youre looking at TikTok videos all day!

Remember, no resistance means no heat so your phone wont get hot. It also means no noisy, cooling fans whirling away in your computer either.

Whats more, because superconductors are the perfect batteries, you probably wont have to recharge your phone very often either.

Or anything really!

You simply inject a current into an SC coil until you need it.

Theres more

How about quantum computers in everyones home? Or even levitating trains that could do New York to Los Angeles in less than an hour?

These both become possible with the advent of a viable room-temperature superconductor.

This was the future we were promised!

Ive barely touched the surface of what this technology makes possible. As Alex Kaplan tweeted, its a big deal and probably even bigger than AI in terms of its impact.

Happy days then?

Not so fast

As Ill show you now, theres a lot of scepticism about this paper and if the claims will hold up to closer scrutiny

The drama of LK-99

Since Alexs tweet went viral (over 29 million views since), its been a drama-filled week.

A number of leading scientists and researchers have expressed scepticism of the papers findings, pointing out basic flaws, mislabelled graphs, and seemingly conflicting data.

Whats more, the six authors themselves seem to be fighting each other. One rumour I read said that the paper was rushed out because one of the authors thought he was about to be dealt out of any credit.

Even a video from the papers team showing a piece of levitating metal  one of the consequences of superconductivity  has attracted detractors who say that this looks more like a form of plain old magnetism (not SC).

And the original tweeter, Alex Kaplan, has flip-flopped from optimism to pessimism as the scientific rumour mill went into overdrive, eventually conceding:

The joke here refers to the famous Schrodingers cat thought experiment in quantum physics, where a cat in a box can be thought to be both dead and alive at the same time.

A bit like this discovery!

The good news?

It seems that the process of creating the superconducting material in question, LK-99, is actually pretty straightforward.

And already, labs around the world are racing to try and reproduce the papers findings, including one engineer I follow who is live streaming his attempts on Twitter.

Overall, Ive found this a very refreshing approach to science.

No matter what anyone thinks, says, or what their qualifications are, well likely know if LK-99 is the real deal or not by sometime this week.

The proof, as they say, will be in the pudding.

And that, my friend, is how science is supposed to work.

Replicable, testable results that either confirm or deny a hypothesis. Not by consensus, appeals to authority, or any other pseudo-scientific signalling mechanisms.

As this tweet puts it:

Good science is either true or not.

And if it cant be proven either way, then its not science. Its faith or some other belief system.

Today, too many people trust the experts unquestioningly over the proper scientific method.

This is dangerous but isnt anything new.

Dont forget that even the great Albert Einsteins discovery of relativity was mocked by the intelligentsia of the day.

A book was even published, signed by 100 leading scientists, saying why Einstein was wrong.

Einstein quipped back in reply:

If I were wrong, they wouldnt need 100 scientists, just one would do.

His point being was that weight of scientific numbers meant diddly-squat. One valid critique was all that was needed.

The famous 20th century philosopher Karl Popper took this one stage further and argued the goals of science was essentially to disprove current theories, as only then could you arrive at better versions of reality.

Anyway, I thought this a point worth making, especially given the days we live in.

There are attempts to radically change how we live with appeals to scientific consensus as the justification.

And yet, a lot of this science isnt allowed to be debated and, in most cases, dont provide testable predictions  at least not accurate ones.

Its why Ive found this LK-99 debate on Twitter so refreshing.

Youre watching real-time science where the ideas are debated furiously, but itll ultimately come down to whether the paper stacks up or not to reality.

Therell be a lot of egg on faces if it does (from the expert sceptics) and potential career death for the papers authors if it doesnt.

A big week ahead for a lot of people!

And if its true, itll be an immense moment for all of us.

Good investing,

Ryan Dinse,

Editor, Money Morning

PS: Follow me at @konfidinse on Twitter (X.com) for live updates on this and other investing topics.

PPS: For a sceptical take on LK-99 and the hype behind it, this piece here is worth reading. As I said at the start, reading a wide range of views and not just confirming your bias is one of the benefits of getting your information away from the mainstream.
July 31, 2023 Ukrainian Soldiers Tell Of High Losses For Little Gains Yesterday I linked to a fresh NY Times piece about the horrors of the war in Ukraine. It has a somewhat uplifting headline and the first few paragraphs describe an Ukrainian 'success'. Amid the Counterattacks Deadly Slog, a Glimmer of Success for Ukraine

Recapturing the village of Staromaiorske was such welcome news for the country that President Volodymyr Zelensky announced it himself. But formidable Russian defenses have stymied progress elsewhere. The piece is accompanied by this staged photo which shows some trashed uniform on a dirt road with two boots put next to it.

bigger The line below the picture, which I strongly believe is false, says: The body of a Russian soldier outside a village in the Zaporizhzhia region of southern Ukraine this month.

Credit... Tyler Hicks/The New York Times I wonder what the editors thought when they came up with it. Now onto the first paragraphs of the report: For 10 days, Ukrainian marines fought street by street and house by house to recapture the southeastern village of Staromaiorske, navigating artillery fire, airstrikes and hundreds of Russian troops. The Russians put up a ferocious defense but that ended on Thursday when they folded and the Ukrainians claimed victory. Some ran away, some were left behind, said an assault commander from Ukraines 35th Marine Brigade, who uses the call sign Dikyi, which means Wild. We were taking captives, he added. The recapture of Staromaiorske, a small village that is nonetheless critical to Ukraines southern strategy, was such a welcome development for Ukraine that President Volodymyr Zelensky announced it himself. I have bad news for the NY Times readers. The village Staromaiorske (Staromayorskoye in Russian writing) is no longer in Ukrainian hands but in the gray-zone: Tony @Cyberspec1 - 22:00 UTC  Jul 30, 2023 Despite the fact that [Donetsk leader] Pushilin announced the recapture of Staromayorsk, our troops are absent from the village itself. The enemy is knocked out, but there is nowhere to gain a safe foothold. Russian troops periodically enter the village to organize ambushes. Yesterday, several AFU soldiers were taken prisoner in this way. There is also video of Russian artillery bombarding the village. Staromajorske (at the bottom of the map) on June 04 2023



via LiveUAmap - bigger Staromajorske on July 31 2023



via LiveUAmap - bigger Satellite picture of Staromajorske



bigger After two months of 'counter offensive' the frontline south of Velyka Novosilka has moved only some six kilometers south of the original frontline. Starmajorske consist of about 200 houses. Like the other four small villages along the way it has largely been destroyed. This was not a 'counter offensive' but a bloody slog with mediocre results. The NY Times piece is by Charlotta Gall who at times writes realistic reports from the ground in Ukraine. After the uplifting start of her piece the reporting becomes grim: As officials celebrated Ukraines progress in Staromaiorske, troops elsewhere on the ground said that Russian defenses and firepower remained formidable and in places impassable. A soldier at a medical post, awaiting evacuation for a concussion, recently described how his battalion had been decimated when it came under Russian artillery and tank fire. His brigade, the 23rd, was one of nine newly formed, Western-trained units prepared and equipped for the counteroffensive. But the brigade, he said, had been thrown into the fight without sufficient artillery support and had been unable to defend themselves against Russian firepower. In one battle in which his unit took part, Ukrainian soldiers attacked in 10 American-made MaxxPro armored vehicles, but only one came back, he said. He showed photographs of the damaged vehicles, ripped open and burned out, which he said had been hauled back to a repair base. The soldier declined to give his name for fear of getting into trouble with his superiors.

...

The soldier lost a 22-year-old friend, Stas, in the shelling the day before, he said, adding that in just over a month, his battalion had suffered so many dead and wounded that only 10 men remained at the front line. Previously that battalion has had some 400 to 500 men. Next Gall speaks to a soldier from a different unit: Another soldier, who joined up last year and asked to be identified only by his first name, Oleksiy, said that his unit had taken heavy losses as Russian troops directed artillery fire and aerial bombs onto their positions. We were shot like on a shooting range, he said. A drone was flying above us and correcting the artillery fire. Their positions were in former Russian positions, hemmed in by minefields, he said, and the Russian forces were able to keep them pinned down and under constant drone surveillance. Soldiers were running out of ammunition and water but could only sneak in and out of their positions in ones or twos, on foot, when the light was poor just before dawn and at dusk, he said. And a third case: Interviews with Ukrainian soldiers and a review of military surveillance footage from a recent attack indicate that many Ukrainian units are sustaining heavy losses. A group with special operations training, deployed last month to storm Russian positions in a village on the western part of the front, took such heavy casualties in four days of assaults that they had to pull out without success. After their armored vehicles were largely destroyed by artillery strikes on the first day, they revised their plan to approach the village on foot through a tree line that had been mined. The Ukrainians cleared a narrow path with demining explosives and the first soldiers reached the Russian positions and dropped down into a trench. Drone footage of the event showed what happened next. Explosions suddenly detonated inside the trenches and other strikes hit soldiers on the edge of the tree line. The video footage has been verified by The New York Times. The trenches were mined, said the assault commander, who uses the call sign Voskres, short for Resurrection. Our guys started jumping in the trenches and blowing up, he added. The Russian forces were watching, and they remotely detonated the mines, he said. Those who managed to avoid the mines came under attack from multiple Russian kamikaze drones. It seemed like they had a drone for each person, he said. The amount of equipment the Russians have, had we known, it was like mission impossible. Several weeks later, the village remains in Russian hands. Since the Ukrainian 'counter-offensive' was launched the Russian Defense Ministry has reported on average 710 Ukrainian casualties per day. The U.S., and its Ukrainian proxy, have sent these soldiers into battle knowing well that the 'counter offensive' would have no chance to win anything. As the Wall Street Journal wrote a week ago: When Ukraine launched its big counteroffensive this spring, Western military officials knew Kyiv didnt have all the training or weaponsfrom shells to warplanesthat it needed to dislodge Russian forces. But they hoped Ukrainian courage and resourcefulness would carry the day. They havent. ... Largely untrained draftees with mediocre equipment and without sufficient artillery and air-support were willfully pushed into a fight they had no chance to win or even survive. It was a cruel policy. Those who pushed them, and in fact anyone with military training and knowledge of military history, had known that all along. Posted by b on July 31, 2023 at 15:15 UTC | Permalink Comments next page  next page 
Why Sex Is Good for You 10 Benefits of a Healthy Sex Life

Written by Daniel Gwartney, MD

31 July 2023

Why Sex Is Good for You

10 Benefits of a Healthy Sex Life

By Daniel Gwartney, MD

You must have your own personal list of the 10 benefits of sex  after all, humans have survived because they are wired to enjoy and benefit from sex. It turns out the collective efforts of health care professionals and researchers have come up with their own list that is more scientific and beneficial to ones health. This list demonstrates some of the benefits of a healthy sex life and supports a desired action and may influence ones partner if placed prominently on the nightstand.1 It is important to note that this list assumes the sex is occurring between consenting adults, preferably in an emotionally invested relationship. So, here are some healthy reasons to rekindle the romance and turn up the flames of passion.

1. Sex Is a Great Stress Reliever

Perhaps it is a primitive pressure ingrained in our genes, as our species has climbed up the food chain, struggling for eons to evade faster and fiercer carnivores. For Homo sapiens to survive, it was necessary to breed early and often. Typically, the fittest members of a tribe or clan claimed mating rights. Later, as civilizations emerged, individuals facing mortality could find solace in knowing that their bloodline continued through offspring. It is easy to intuit how frequent and satisfying sex might signal to the primitive brain that not only will mankind survive, but one is a mighty hunter whose legacy will be carried out by his many scions as the bards sing his praise. Well, maybe that is stretching it a bit, but in the moment, it seems that glorious.

Of course, modern man worries more about whats for dinner than becoming dinner. Nonetheless, the signs of stress are the same, including high blood pressure. Research from Scotland published in the journal Biological Psychology reported on the relationship between blood pressure response to stress (e.g., speaking in public, answering verbal math questions).2 No shock to the intimately initiated, the subjects who enjoyed intercourse, as opposed to abstinence or other sexual behaviors kept their cool better, with lower blood pressure during periods of calm. This study confirmed earlier research that showed that people who lived with his/her sex partner had lower diastolic blood pressure and a more dominant parasympathetic tone, suggesting a calmer physiology.3

2. Sex Improves Ones Immune System

In Pennsylvania, researchers measured the salivary IgA (an antibody found in ones saliva and other secretions) in college students and compared the levels to reported sexual frequency.4 They discovered that subjects having frequent sex (once to twice a week) had higher levels of IgA than those with less vigorous sex lives. Surprisingly, having sex more frequently resulted in lower IgA levels. IgA protects against colds, flus, etc. However, before getting too excited (no pun intended) about this romantic alternative to Kleenex (another unintended pun), realize that the increase in IgA, which occurs in other secretions as well, isnt designed for improving health; it is actually protecting against certain things that are passed between intimate partners. IgA levels in the cervical mucus (the cervix is the opening to the uterus in women) increase to peak levels just prior to ovulation as estrogen levels rise.5 In lower species, this is the period when a female is most receptive sexually and therefore most likely to be exposed to sexually transmissible diseases. While higher IgA may be a healthy benefit, it is likely your body fighting off the invasion of your partners foreign germs and secretions.

3. Sex Burns Calories

While sex on a treadmill may burn even more calories, the average person can burn 85 calories during a 30-minute lovemaking session. Given the untraditional designations given for certain forms of sexual activity, it is difficult to assign much validity to the figures. This figure is likely generous, as more recognized sources suggest sex is the metabolic equivalent to walking briskly for 10 minutes, then climbing two flights of stairs.6,7 Further, the average duration for sexual activity is roughly half the 30-minute period used in our estimate.8

4. Sex Is Good for the Heart

No, not in a Valentines Day way, though emotions may play a role in the effect. As people age, concerns about heart attacks and strokes during sex become more prevalent. Considering the elevation in blood pressure and heart rate that occur during intercourse, this is a reasonable concern.6,7 However, in a report published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, researchers in the United Kingdom learned after following a large group of men for 20 years that frequency of intercourse was not associated with stroke incidence.9 Further, those having sex at least twice a week had half the risk of suffering a fatal heart attack as those who coupled less than once per month.

5. Sex Allows One to Feel Better About Himself

Maybe  this is an area that is just entirely too complicated to say that a hop in the sack will cure low self-esteem, the blues, depression, etc. Antidepressant prescriptions sit near the top of all drug classes dispensed from pharmacies. Certainly, many people get an ego boost after satisfying ones self and partner, but low self-esteem can also deter from sexual interest, confidence and performance, turning what should be an emotionally enriching experience into another and more personal failure.10,11 Interestingly, many people point to a survey performed at the University of Texas and pick out one or another reason for having sex.12 However, the range of answers (237 different reasons) really prevents one from reaching any conclusion than it is a very individual experience. Not to dampen anyones enthusiasm about or for sex, but regardless of whether it be casual conquest or intimate intercourse, the effect of sex on a persons psyche goes deeper than the physical achievement, reflecting ones emotional, psychological and environmental state at the time.13,14

6. A Happy Sex Life Supports a Healthy Relationship

As inferred above, self-esteem and relationships are very complex issues. Yet, the prototypical relationship in the human experience  that of a mother and child  includes hormonal responses that strengthen the emotional bonding of an experience. The natural birth of a baby is associated with a number of hormonal bursts that prime the uterus to contract and dull the pain response. Among these is the secretion of a hormone from the pituitary (a gland in the brain) and placenta of a rarely mentioned hormone called oxytocin. Oxytocin affects most tissues in the body, but its relevant role in relationships and intercourse is its ability to initiate, promote and enhance emotional bonding.15 Oxytocin is released in high concentration at the time of childbirth and during nursing, priming the emotional bond between a mother and her newborn. It is also released during orgasm and if supported by physical and social cues, may enhance the emotional bond between sex partners.15,16 Of course, if the immediate post-coital action is pulling ones pants on while rushing out the door, the bonding is less intense than if the couple continues sharing intimate conversation and contact.

7. Sex Can Provide (Brief) Pain Relief

As mentioned earlier, during childbirth, the mothers system is flooded with a cocktail of hormones and neurotransmitters. Oxytocin and prolactin both surge during childbirth and while breast-feeding. The effects of these and other hormones goes beyond giving birth and feeding an infant, and obviously have other functions in men. Oxytocin and prolactin levels are elevated during and following orgasm, presumably serving to support the emotional bonding of lovers.17-19 However, as many have noted anecdotally, sex seemingly reduces pain, whether it be a headache or an injury.20,21 This effect is usually written off as being all in ones head (meaning mind) due to the sex act(s) distracting one from pain rather than providing pain relief. However, it has been shown from animal studies to pregnant women to healthy volunteers that an oxytocin surge (inhaled, due to childbirth or orgasm) makes one more tolerant of pain. Something to keep in mind for the next time a partner says, I have a headache.20

8. Healthy Sex, Healthier Prostate

The relationship between orgasm frequency and prostate health has been debated for centuries. Texts written about Eastern religions, such as Buddhism, assert that semen represents ones vitality or life fluid. The goal in some sects is to transcend the desire for ejaculation, preserving the life fluid and reducing suffering.22 However, other ideologies believe that suppression of sexual desire increases ones stress, harms the psyche and promotes violence.23 Personal beliefs aside, research suggests that frequent ejaculation (five or more times per week) during the peak childbearing years (20 to 30 years old) protects against the later development of prostate cancer; later sexual activity had no association with prostate cancer.24 A study published in the Journal of the American MedicalAssociation confirmed the protective effect of ejaculation against prostate cancer, extending the benefits through midlife (40-49 years old).25 Though the mechanism is not explained, it appears to be similar to the protective effect provided by breast-feeding against certain forms of breast cancer in women.26

9. Sex Exercises the Pelvic Floor Muscles

Exercising pelvic floor muscles may sound like something done during the lambada (a Brazilian dance). However, the pelvic organs are supported by a mesh of muscles that play a much greater role in women. During Lamaze classes, women are instructed to perform exercises called Kegels to strengthen these muscles; this prevents later prolapse (the bulging of female sex organs through the pelvic floor). Even minor prolapse can lead to urinary incontinence (leaking, dribbling) and sexual dysfunction. For men, Kegels are suggested to combat urinary incontinence, improve erections and control over orgasms.27 Instructions for performing Kegels can be found online.

10. A Great Night of Sex Can Lead to a Great Nights Sleep

The importance of sleep for optimal health is greatly underestimated. Poor sleep can lead to obesity, pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and a variety of other disorders that negatively affect health and may lead to a premature death.28-30 Fortunately, as many disgruntled spouses attest to each other in coffee shops or via group texts, the release of sex can put a person to sleep quickly and deeply. The hormonal flush of an orgasm, combined with the psychological benefits of consensual passion, induces a state of relaxation. Much of the credit has been assigned to oxytocin (once again).31 However, the state of sexual arousal induces elevations in excitatory neurotransmitters. Following orgasm, these excitors plummet, leaving the individual in a relative state of stupor. It is a physiologic analogy to being at the Super Bowl one weekend, jumping amongst a cheering crowd, compared to standing in an empty stadium the next day. The physical letdown makes a person want to curl up and go to sleep.

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References:

1. Doheny K. 10 surprising health benefits of sex. WebMD. Available at http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/features/10-surprising-health-benefits-of-sex, accessed June 18, 2008.

2. Brody S. Blood pressure reactivity to stress is better for people who recently had penile-vaginal intercourse than for people who had other or no sexual activity. Biol Psychol, 2006 Feb;71(2):214-22.

3. Brody S, Veit R, et al. A preliminary report relating frequency of vaginal intercourse to heart rate variability, Valsalva ratio, blood pressure and cohabitation status. Biol Psychol, 2000 Apr;52(3):251-7.

4. Charnetski CJ, Brennan FX. Sexual frequency and salivary immunoglobulin A (IgA). Psychol Rep, 2004 Jun;94(3 Pt 1):839-44.

5. Franklin RD, Kutteh WH. Characterization of immunoglobulins and cytokines in human cervical mucus: influence of exogenous and endogenous hormones. J Reprod Immunol, 1999 Mar;42(2):93-106.

6. Rerkpattanapipat P, Stanek MS, et al. Sex and the heart: what is the role of the cardiologist? Eur Heart Journal, 2001;22:201-8.

7. Larson JL, McNaughton MW, Kennedy JW, Mansfield LW. Heart rate and blood pressure responses to sexual activity and a stair-climbing test. Heart Lung, 1980;9:1025-30.

8. Miller SA, Byers ES. Actual and desired duration of foreplay and intercourse: discordance and misperceptions within heterosexual couples. J Sex Res, 2004 Aug;41(3):301-9.

9. Ebrahim S, May M, et al. Sexual intercourse and risk of ischaemic stroke and coronary heart disease: the Caerphilly study. J Epidemiol Community Health, 2002 Feb;56(2):99-102.

10. Althof SE, OLeary MP, et al. Self-esteem, confidence, and relationships in men treated with sildenafil citrate for erectile dysfunction: results of two double-blind, placebo-controlled trials. J Gen Intern Med, 2006 Oct;21(10):1069-74.

11. Montorsi F, Padma-Nathan H, et al. Erectile function and assessments of erection hardness correlate positively with measures of emotional well-being, sexual satisfaction, and treatment satisfaction in men with erectile dysfunction treated with sildenafil citrate (Viagra). Urology, 2006 Sep;68(3 Suppl):26-37.

12. Meston CM, Buss DM. Why humans have sex. Arch Sex Behav, 2007 Aug;36(4):477-507.

13. Brody S, Costa RM. Vaginal orgasm is associated with less use of immature psychological defense mechanisms. J Sex Med, 2008 May;5(5):1167-76.

14. Haning RV, OKeefe SL, et al. Intimacy, orgasm likelihood, and conflict predict sexual satisfaction in heterosexual male and female respondents. J Sex Marital Ther, 2007 Mar-Apr;33(2):93-113.

15. Gimpl G, Fahrenholz F. The oxytocin receptor system: structure, function, and regulation. Physiol Rev, 2001 Apr;81(2):629-83.

16. Donatucci CF. Etiology of ejaculation and pathophysiology of premature ejaculation. J Sex Med, 2006 Sep;3 Suppl 4:303-8.

17. Kruger TH, Haake P, et al. Specificity of the neuroendocrine response to orgasm during sexual arousal in men. J Endocrinol, 2003 Apr;177(1):57-64.

18. de Wied D, Diamant M, et al. Central nervous system effects of the neurohypophyseal hormones and related peptides. Front Neuroendocrinol, 1993 Oct;14(4):251-302.

19. Carter CS, Altemus M. Integrative functions of lactational hormones in social behavior and stress management. Ann N Y Acad Sci, 1997 Jan 15;807:164-74.

20. Phillips WJ, Ostrovsky O, et al. Relief of acute migraine headache with intravenous oxytocin: report of two cases. J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother, 2006;20(3):25-8.

21. Uryvaev YV, Petrov GA. Extremely low doses of oxytocin reduce pain sensitivity in men. Bulletin Exp Biol Med, 1996;122(5):1071-3.

22. Faure B. (1998) The Red Thread: Buddhist Approaches to Sexuality. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, ISBN-13: 978-0691059976.

23. Prescott JW. Body pleasure and the origins of violence. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 1975 Nov;10-20. Available at http://www.eurowrc.org/01.eurowrc/04.eurowrc_en/20.en_ewrc.htm, accessed June 18, 2008.

24. Giles GG, Severi G, et al. Sexual factors and prostate cancer. BJU Int, 2003;92:211-216.

25. Leitzmann MF, Platz EA, et al. Ejaculation frequency and subsequent risk of prostate cancer. JAMA, 2004;291:1578-1586.

26. Hietala M, Olsson H, et al. Prolactin levels, breast-feeding and milk production in a cohort of young healthy women from high-risk breast cancer families: implications for breast cancer risk. Fam Cancer, 2007 Dec 15. [Epub ahead of print].

27. Moul JW. Pelvic muscle rehabilitation in males following prostatectomy. Urol Nurs, 1998 Dec;18(4):296-301.

28. Gottlieb DJ, Redline S, et al. Association of usual sleep duration with hypertension: the Sleep Heart Health Study. Sleep, 2006 Aug 1;29(8):1009-14.

29. Hall MH, Muldoon MF, et al. Self-reported sleep duration is associated with the metabolic syndrome in midlife adults. Sleep, 2008 May 1;31(5):635-43.

30. Chaput JP, Despres JP, et al. The association between sleep duration and weight gain in adults: a 6-year prospective study from the Quebec Family Study. Sleep, 2008 Apr 1;31(4):517-23.

31. Ellison, Carol Rinkleib. (2000) Womens Sexualities. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
The Compacts of Free Association with the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau give the United States security and defense control of an area larger than the continental U.S. The U.S. Coast Guard, its Cutter Rush pictured in port in Majuro in this file photo, conducts regular surveillance patrols with the island governments in their vast exclusive economic zones.
Abortion rights activists rally in Miami on June 24, 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the right to abortion.
Sen. Chris Duenas gestures during session of the Guam Legislature, July 24, 2023, at the Guam Congress Building in Hagatna. Sen. Frank Blas Jr. and Duenas introduced Bill 154-37, which would extend and roll over the current Government of Guam Group Health Plan until Sept. 30, 2024.
Niger will face sanctions as democracy falls apart, adding to woes for more than 25 million people

Niger will face sanctions as democracy falls apart, adding to woes for more than 25 million people View Photo

NIAMEY, Niger (AP)  Neighboring nations are levying economic sanctions over a coup last week that toppled one of the Wests last democratic partners against West African extremists, and families in one of the worlds poorest nations could pay the price.

In the capital of Niger, many people live in makeshift shelters tied together with slats of wood, sheets and plastic tarps because they cant pay rent. They scramble daily to make enough money to feed their children.

Salou Hassan and his family live in a two-room hut on the side of the road, along with some 140 people. The family sleeps on wooden slats close to the floor, with no electricity or running water, and they bathe in public showers.

The most difficult part is finding food for my children, Hassan, whose sons are 5 and 6 years old, said Monday.

Hassan, 30, sells water door to door, earning about $6 a day when things go well. His wheelbarrow is broken and he doesnt have the nearly $70 he needs to fix it. His wife sweeps stalls at the central market, making less than half what Hassan does.

Hassan has hardly been aware that the countrys president was overthrown.

Im looking for money for food for my family, he said.

Meanwhile, Nigers neighbors are threatening armed intervention against the junta run by the head of the presidential guard, although analysts say there is only a slim chance of the regional body successfully sending troops.

Both the United States and France have sent troops and hundreds of millions of dollars of military and humanitarian aid in recent years to Niger, which was a French colony until 1960. The country was seen as the last working with the West against extremism in a Francophone region where anti-French sentiment had opened the way for the Russian private military group Wagner.

After neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso ousted the French military, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Niger in March to strengthen ties and announce $150 million in direct assistance, calling the country a model of democracy.

Since the coup that ousted Nigers President Mohamed Bazoum, however, people have been toting Russian flags and praising that country in pro-junta demonstrations.

The West African regional body known as ECOWAS announced travel and economic sanctions against Niger on Sunday over the coup, and said it would use force if the coup leaders dont reinstate Bazoum within one week.

Since the 1990s, the 15-nation bloc has tried to protect democracies against the threat of coups, with mixed success.

Niger relies heavily on foreign aid and sanctions could further impoverish its more than 25 million people. ECOWAS suspended all commercial and financial transactions between its member states and Niger, as well as freezing Nigerien assets held in regional central banks.

The sanctions could be disastrous and Niger needs to find a solution to avoid them, Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou told French media outlet Radio France Internationale on Sunday.

When people say theres an embargo, land borders are closed, air borders are closed, its extremely difficult for people  Niger is a country that relies heavily on the international community, he said.

The U.S. will also consider cutting aid if the coup is successful, the State Department said Monday. Aid is very much in the balance depending on the outcome of the actions in the country, said department spokesman Matt Miller. US assistance hinges on continued democratic governance in Niger.

Four nations are run by military governments in West and Central Africa, where there have been nine successful or attempted coups since 2020.

In the 1990s, ECOWAS intervened in Liberia during its civil war, one of the bloodiest conflicts in Africa and one that left many wary of intervening in internal conflicts. In 2017, ECOWAS intervened in Gambia to prevent the new presidents predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, from disrupting the handover of power. Around 7,000 troops from Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal entered the country, according to the Global Observatory, which provides analysis on peace and security issues. The intervention was largely seen as accomplishing its mission.

If the regional bloc uses force, it could trigger violence not only between Niger and ECOWAS forces but also between civilians supporting the coup and those against it, Niger analysts say.

While unlikely, the consequences on civilians of such an approach if putschists chose confrontation would be catastrophic, said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank.

Lyammouri does not see a military intervention happening because of the violence that could trigger, he said.

Blinken on Sunday commended the resolve of the ECOWAS leadership to defend constitutional order in Niger after the sanctions announcement, and joined the bloc in calling for the immediate release of Bazoum and his family.

The military junta, which seized power on Wednesday when members of the presidential guard surrounded Bazoums house and detained him, is already cracking down on the government and civil liberties.

On Sunday evening it arrested four government officials, including the minister of petroleum and son of a former president; the minister of education; the minister of mines; and the president of the ruling party. The arrests were recounted to The Associated Press by a person close to the president, who was not authorized to speak about the situation, and a Nigerien analyst who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal.

Also Sunday, junta spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane banned the use of social media to put out messages he describe as harmful to state security. He also claimed without evidence that Bazoums government had authorized the French to carry out strikes to free Bazoum.

Observers believe Bazoum is being held at his house in the capital, Niamey. The first photos of him since the coup appeared Sunday evening, sitting on a couch smiling beside Chads President Mahamat Deby, who had flown in to mediate between the government and the junta.

In anticipation of the ECOWAS decision Sunday, thousands of pro-junta supporters took to the streets in Niamey, denouncing France, waving Russian flags along with signs reading Down with France and supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin and telling the international community to stay away.

There has been no clear explanation of the Russian symbols, but the country seems to have become a symbol of anti-Western feelings for demonstrators. Protesters also burned down a door and smashed windows of the French Embassy, before the Nigerien army dispersed them.

France said Monday that President Emmanuel Macron is closely monitoring the situation in Niger and has discussed the crisis with regional leaders and European and international partners.

By SAM MEDNICK

Associated Press
Senegal dissolves opposition party, restricts internet ahead of next years presidential election View Photo

DAKAR, Senegal (AP)  Senegals government Monday dissolved a major opposition party hours after the partys popular president and opposition leader said a judge ordered his arrest.

Ousmane Sonko, a towering opposition figure widely supported by Senegals youth, was in prison Monday as he awaited trial for new criminal charges, said his partys communications director, El Malick Ndiaye. It is unclear when the trial will take place. He is accused of calling for insurrection, conspiring against the state, threatening national security and other charges.

Ive just been unjustly placed under a committal order, Sonko wrote on his Facebook page Monday, which communications director Ndiaye confirmed.

Earlier on Monday, Senegals interior minister issued a statement claiming Sonkos opposition party had been dissolved. The Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF) party has frequently called on its supporters to take part in insurrectionary movements, Antoine Felix Diome, Senegals interior minister, alleged in a statement.

Diome blamed the opposition partys leaders for causing loss of life and the looting of properties during protests in June against the prosecution of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who is seen as a key challenger in the election.

The opposition partys dissolution was criticized by former Prime Minister Aminata Toure as an unprecedented setback in the West African nations democratic history. It further raised concerns about next years presidential election in Senegal, long considered a bastion of democracy and a regional leader in diplomacy.

In his despotic determination to hold on to power in Senegal, albeit by proxy, Macky Sall has just opened the floodgates to chaos by imprisoning, on spurious grounds, his main opponent Ousmane Sonko, said a PASTEF communique Monday, after Diomes claimed to have disbanded the party.

Even if they dissolve PASTEF, they cant dissolve its spirit, Ndiaye said.

The Senegalese government, meanwhile, restricted mobile internet services on Monday, a measure taken due to the dissemination of hateful and subversive messages on social networks, according to Moussa Bocar Thiam, the communications minister.

Residents throughout the country reported they were not able to access the internet.

Sonko said a local judge in the capital Dakar ordered him held temporarily following fresh charges against him Saturday, including conspiracy against the state and calls for insurrection. The charges are different from an earlier one of corrupting youth. That led to Sonkos conviction in June, which ignited deadly protests across the nation with 23 people killed.

Sonko is popular among Senegals youth and has been seen as a threat to the ruling party ahead of the 2024 election. His supporters have said the charges are to prevent him from running again for president after he placed third in the 2019 race.

From his cell in Sebikotane prison, just outside the capital Dakar, Sonko can run for president in the 2024 election, communications director Ndiaye said, a claim the AP could not immediately verify.

If the Senegalese people, for whom I have always fought, abdicate and decide to leave me in the hands of (President) Macky Salls regime, I will, as always, submit to Gods will, Sonko wrote on his Facebook page.

By ZANE IRWIN and BABACAR DIONE

Associated Press
EU leader cites Russias invasion of Ukraine to warn against Chinas aggression in Asia View Photo

MANILA, Philippines (AP)  The leader of the European Unions executive commission cited Russias invasion of Ukraine to warn against Chinas increasingly assertive actions in disputed Indo-Pacific waters and against Taiwan and said Monday that the EU would not tolerate aggression in either region.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke at a joint news conference with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. after holding talks in Manila that aimed to bolster trade, economic and security relations.

The leaders announced the 27-nation bloc would resume negotiations with the Philippines on a free trade agreement that stalled in 2017 under Marcoss predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.

Von der Leyen also stressed the need for security cooperation, saying Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine showed how authoritarian leaders are willing to act on their threats.

Russias war of aggression against Ukraine shakes the foundation of the international order. It is in violation of the U.N. charter and the fundamental principles of international law, such as territorial integrity and sovereignty, she said.

This is why Europe supports Ukraines brave fight against the aggressor, because the illegal use of force cannot be tolerated, not in Ukraine, not in the Indo-Pacific, von der Leyen said. Security in Europe and security in the Indo-Pacific is indivisible. Challenges to the rules-based order in our interconnected world affect all of us.

This is why we are concerned about the rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific, she said, adding that the EU backs a free and open Indo-Pacific because an Indo-Pacific free of the threats of coercion is key to all our stability to our peace, and to the prosperity of our people.

Without naming China, von der Leyen reaffirmed the EUs recognition of a decision by a U.N.-backed tribunal that invalidated Chinas territorial claims in virtually the entire South China Sea on historical grounds. China has rejected the arbitration decision as a sham and continues to defy it.

Von der Leyens visit to the Philippines is a sign of improving ties after a stormy period between the EU and Duterte over human rights. Its the first such top-level visit in nearly six decades of Europe-Philippines relations.

The EU leader later spoke more bluntly against China at a business forum in Manila, where she warned that Beijings increasingly aggressive actions in Asia could also have global repercussions.

She criticized Chinas stance on the war in Ukraine, its increasingly aggressive actions in disputed Asian waters and its provocative moves against Taiwan.

Chinas show of military force in the South and East China seas and in the Taiwan Strait directly affects Philippines and other partners in the region, the EU leader said. But it could also have global repercussions because any weakening of regional stability in Asiaaffects global security, the free flow of trade and our own interests in the region.

Beijing has turned seven disputed reefs into missile-protected island bases in the last decade, further alarming Western governments and rival claimants, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Chinas fleet of coast guard ships and swarms of militia boats have warned vessels from rival claimant states and the U.S. military and its allies not to stray into its claimed territories in the disputed waters, which straddle one of the worlds busiest sea lanes and are believed to be sitting atop undersea deposits of oil and gas.

Von der Leyen urged Asian nations never to rely on a single supplier for energy and raw materials, citing how Russia tried to blackmail us by considerably cutting its natural gas supply to European countries after the EU imposed sanctions against Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.

We could not choose our neighbors, but we can choose who to do business with and on what terms, she said. We made a mistake with Russia.

The Philippines, she said, exports 90% of its nickel ore to China instead of processing it inside the country to create more jobs and added value, she said. But this can change.

There was no immediate reaction from China to von der Leyens remarks. China has warned the United States and its allies from meddling in what it says is a purely Asian dispute.

The Philippines came under intense EU criticism during Dutertes six-year term, mainly because of the bloody anti-drugs crackdown he oversaw that left more than 6,000 mostly petty suspects dead. Marcos succeeded Duterte in June 2022.

The killings sparked an International Criminal Court investigation as a possible crime against humanity. Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2018, but its prosecutor has proceeded to investigate the widespread deaths that occurred in the years when the country was still part of The Hague-based court.

Duterte often lashed at EU criticism of the brutal anti-drugs crackdown with profanity-laced outbursts.

Marcos and von der Leyen said relations between the EU and the Philippines were entering a new era.

We are like-minded partners through our shared values of democracy, sustainable and inclusive prosperity, the rule of law, peace and stability, and human rights, Marcos said, comments that reflected a stark departure from Dutertes hostile rhetoric against the EU.

By JIM GOMEZ

Associated Press
Cyprus authorities free British man despite a 2-year prison sentence for killing his ailing wife View Photo

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP)  A Cyprus court sentenced a British man to two years in prison for killing his wife in their retirement home to spare her the pain from her illness, but prison authorities freed him Monday because of time he already had spent behind bars.

Defense lawyer Nicoletta Charalambidou told The Associated Press that Cyprus Prisons Department authorities tabulated the time 76-year-old David Hunter had spent in custody since the December, 2021, killing and decided to release him immediately.

The court had earlier this month convicted Hunter of manslaughter after accepting testimony that his decision to suffocate his wife Janice was a made on the spur of the moment because he could no longer stand seeing her weeping in pain from a type of blood cancer she feared would develop into full-blown leukemia.

State prosecutor Andreas Hadjikyrou told the AP that the court took into account that Hunter, 76, acted out of love to save his wife. She was suffering from a blood ailment when he closed her mouth and nose with his hands as she sat in a recliner in their Paphos home.

It also took into consideration Hunters advanced age and that he had no previous criminal record.

Justice Abroad, a group that defends Britons facing legal troubles in foreign countries, welcomed word of Hunters early release.

This has been a tragic case and difficult for all of those involved with it, but todays decision was the right one and allows David and his family to grieve together, said Michael Polak from Justice Abroad.

Hunter had faced a charge of premeditated murder, but the court found in its July 21 ruling that the prosecution didnt prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was premeditation in his actions.

The court had accepted witness testimony that Janice feared her blood ailment would develop into full-blown leukemia and had repeatedly pleaded with her husband to take her life because she didnt want to share the fate of her sister, who died of the disease.

Hunter attempted to take his own life by consuming a large amount of pills after suffocating his wife, but medical staff saved his life.

The court cited expert testimony that Janice Hunter suffered from myelodysplastic syndrome, a type of blood cancer which to a large degree  as much as 45%  could turn into leukemia, although there was no proof that she had indeed developed the disease because no definitive tests were conducted.

But the court said both husband and wife believed that Janice would develop it because of her sisters fate.

David Hunters earlier assurances to Janice that he would help her fulfill her wish to end her life and not suffer anymore didnt indicate any premeditation, the court said.

Hadjikyrou said defense lawyers had rejected a plea deal in December 2022 for the defendant to plead guilty to manslaughter because they insisted the facts of the case include an agreement Hunter and his wife allegedly made for him to take her life. He said the court didnt accept that such an agreement had indeed been made.

Charalambidou said it was the Cypriot attorney-general who scrapped the plea deal because he wouldnt accept as fact that Janice had repeatedly asked her husband to take her life.

Hadjikyrou said the Cyprus attorney-general has 10 days to decide whether to appeal the sentence.

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS

Associated Press
BEIRUT (AP)  The Organization for Islamic Cooperation urged its member nations Monday to take action against countries that permit public burning or desecration of the Quran, including the recalling of ambassadors.

The Saudi Arabia-based group made the call in a statement following an emergency online meeting of its foreign ministers to discuss recent incidents in which the Islamic holy book was burned or otherwise defaced at officially permitted protests in Sweden and Denmark.

The organizations 57 member countries should consider taking any necessary decisions and actions that they deem appropriate in their relations with Sweden, Denmark, and other countries that allow such incidents, including recalling their ambassadors, the statement said.

It encouraged civil society organizations in the member states to work with counterparts in countries where the Quran has been burned or desecrated to file local lawsuits before taking their cases to international judicial bodies, where applicable.

It also called for more efforts at outreach to combat Islamophobia, praising Kuwait for commissioning the printing of 100,000 copies of the Quran translated into Swedish for distribution in Sweden.

Many of the points in the final statement echoed recommendations made by Iraqs Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein, who also called on the United Nations to take measures to prevent these incidents.

Ahead of the meeting, two men who had previously burned a copy of the Quran in Sweden did so once again, in front of a crowd of a few dozen onlookers and about 20 counter-protesters.

In both Sweden and Denmark, t here is no law against blasphemy, and freedom of expression is generally held in high regard.

But as the recent Quran burnings have sparked angry demonstrations and diplomatic backlash in Muslim countries, officials in the Scandinavian countries have begun to consider whether there should be curbs on public defacement of holy books or other religious symbols.

Denmarks foreign minister, Lars Lkke Rasmussen, said Sunday in an interview with Danish public broadcaster DR that the government is seeking a legal tool to prohibit such inflammatory acts without compromising freedom of expression.

In Sweden, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Sunday on Instagram that his government is analyzing the legal situation regarding desecration of the Quran and other holy books, given the animosity such acts are stirring up against Sweden.

Before Mondays meeting, the OIC had already suspended the status of Swedens special envoy over the Quran burnings.

Swedens Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said in a statement that he spoke in recent days with counterparts in OIC countries to explain how Swedens freedom of expression works and that police make independent decisions on protest applications. He added that the government is very clear in its distance from the Islamophobic acts carried out by individuals at demonstrations in Sweden.

The Danish foreign minister said his government condemned and denounced the insult to the Quran and that it is studying this issue with great interest.

___

Keyton reported from Stockholm. Associated Press staff writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.

By ABBY SEWELL and DAVID KEYTON

Associated Press
Jackson, CA Senator Alvarado-Gil (D-Jackson) is advocating for enhanced community safety and transparency in the release of sexually violent predators, citing concerns about potential risks to the public. As a co-author of the Sexually Violent Predator Accountability, Fairness, and Enforcement Act (SAFE Act), she emphasizes the importance of prioritizing public safety while respecting individuals rights.

The recent case of William Stephenson, who was previously proposed for placement in Amador County, has resurfaced with a new proposal for release as a transient in Placer County. This development has sparked concerns among local residents and officials, who are closely examining the potential implications for community safety. A story covering that initial controversy can be found here.

The SAFE Act, which she co-authored, aims to strike a balance between holding sexually violent predators accountable and ensuring a fair and transparent process for community safety. The safety and well-being of our rural communities must be the top priority, said Senator Alvarado-Gil. I strongly urge the California Department of State Hospitals (DSH) to conduct thorough due diligence in finding a safe and suitable placement for sexually violent predators.
Thousands mourn a Palestinian general, among 9 killed in sectarian clashes at a Lebanon refugee camp View Photo

SIDON, Lebanon (AP)  Thousands of mourners gathered in south Lebanon on Monday for the funeral of a Palestinian military general with the Fatah group, whose killing in a refugee camp in Lebanon fueled fierce sectarian street battles that have killed at least nine people.

Three days of clashes between Palestinian factions at the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp have pitted members of President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah party against Islamist groups accused of gunning down the general, Abu Ashraf al Armoushi, on Sunday.

A Lebanese lawmaker announced a cease-fire agreement late Monday, which appeared to calm the situation, but sporadic gunfire continued afterward. Earlier efforts to broker a cease-fire had failed to stop the shooting and shelling through the narrow streets of the Ein el-Hilweh camp in southern Lebanon.

Armoushis funeral was held in another refugee community, the al-Rashidieh camp where he had lived.

This heinous crime doesnt benefit anyone but the enemy, and that is the Zionists, because they are the primary and only beneficiary of the carnage in Ein el-Hilweh said Jalal Abuchehab, a Fatah official at al-Rashidieh camp, during Armoushis funeral.

The violence began Saturday when an unknown gunman tried to kill Palestinian militant Mahmoud Khalil but instead fatally shot his companion. Full-blown clashes erupted Sunday when Islamic militants shot and killed Armoushi and three escorts as they were walking through a parking lot, according to a Palestinian official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

On Monday afternoon, after a meeting between Lebanese officials and security forces and Palestinian factions, Lebanese lawmaker Osama Saad, who represents the Sidon area where the camp is located, announced a new ceasefire agreement.

Saad earlier told The Associated Press that officials are making extraordinary efforts to find serious, effective, lasting and stable solutions to the situation inside the camp.

On the ground, the intensity of the fighting decreased following the announcement, but sporadic shooting continued.

A Lebanese army spokesperson confirmed Monday that at least nine people were killed at Ein el-Hilweh camp, while some reports gave higher figures. Two soldiers stationed outside the camp were lightly wounded, Col. Fadi Abou Eid said.

The Lebanese army mans a checkpoint outside and typically does not enter the camp, which is under the control of the Palestinian factions. Some Lebanese officials have called for the army to take control of the camps in the wake of the clashes.

Lawmaker Samy Gemayel, head of the Kataeb party, which during the Lebanese civil war allied with Israel against the Palestinian Liberation Organization, met with US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea on Monday and called for the disarmament of the camps and placing them in the custody of the Lebanese army, the state-run National News Agency reported.

On Sunday, Palestinian factions said in a joint statement that they had agreed to a cease-fire during a mediation meeting hosted by the Lebanese Shiite Amal movement and the militant Hezbollah group in the city Sidon. But the cease-fire did not hold.

Some residents in Sidon neighborhoods near the camp have fled their homes after stray bullets hit buildings and shattered windows and storefronts. The public Sidon General Hospital evacuated its staff and patients.

A Fatah statement condemned the killing of its security official, saying the attack was part of a bloody scheme that targets the security and stability of our camps. It vowed to hold the perpetrators accountable.

Rival faction Hamas issued its own statement Monday condemning the fighting and calling for dialogue to spare the blood of our people and to preserve civil peace. It called for formation of an investigative committee to look into who was responsible for the clashes.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Abbas both issued statements Sunday decrying the violence.

There are nearly 500,000 Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, although the actual number in the country is believed to be around 200,000, as many have emigrated but remain on UNRWAs roster.

Palestinians in Lebanon are restricted in their rights to work and own property, and the vast majority of them live in poverty.

___

Sewell reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Mohammad Zaatari in al-Rashidieh camp contributed to this report.

By ABBY SEWELL and FADI TAWIL

Associated Press
Federal officials are investigating a close call between an airliner and a private jet over Florida

Federal officials are investigating a close call between an airliner and a private jet over Florida View Photo

WASHINGTON (AP)  Federal officials said Monday they are investigating a recent close call between an Allegiant Air plane and a private jet in which pilots of both aircraft received collision-threat warnings and took evasive action.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the incident happened July 23 near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida. Its the latest in a series of close calls that led the FAA to convene a special safety summit earlier this year.

The FAA said an air traffic controller in Miami told the crew of Allegiant flight 485 that had taken off from Fort Lauderdale to turn east at 23,000 feet, and it crossed in front of a Gulfstream business jet that was heading north.

Pilots of the Allegiant Airbus A320 took evasive action after getting an automated alert about another aircraft at the same altitude. The pilot of the Gulfstream jet got a similar warning and also took evasive action.

The Allegiant plane returned to the Fort Lauderdale airport, and a flight attendant was treated for injuries, the FAA said.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that it was gathering information about the incident before deciding whether to open an investigation.

The FAA and NTSB are investigating about a half-dozen incidents this year in which planes came closer together than they should. In many cases, one or both planes were still on the ground.

The closest occurred in February, when a FedEx cargo plane coming in to land passed over the top of a Southwest Airlines that had been cleared to take off from the same runway. The head of the NTSB said the planes came within about 100 feet of each other.

The number of close calls in rapid succession led the then-acting administrator of the FAA to convene a safety summit in March. The official, who has since left the FAA, defended the nations safety record, but he called for more data about the incidents and cautioned everyone in aviation to pay more attention to safety procedures.

The last fatal crash involving a U.S. airline was in 2009.
Pipeline operators to pay $12.5M after crude oil spills in Montana, North Dakota View Photo

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP)  Two pipeline operators have agreed to pay a $12.5 million civil penalty related to crude oil spills in Montana and North Dakota.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced the settlement in a 2022 federal court lawsuit. Belle Fourche Pipeline Company and Bridger Pipeline LLC will pay the $12.5 million to resolve the claims made under the Clean Water Act and Pipeline Safety Laws, the EPA said. The affiliated companies own and operate oil pipelines in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming.

In 2015, Bridgers Poplar Pipeline broke and spilled more than 50,000 gallons (about 190,000 liters) of crude into the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana. Bridger has completed cleanup of the site, and in 2021 settled a lawsuit with federal and Montana authorities for $2 million. Montanas Department of Environmental Quality previously fined Bridger $1 million in the case.

In 2016, Belle Fourches Bicentennial Pipeline in Billings County, North Dakota, broke due to a landslide and spilled over 600,000 gallons (about 2.3 million liters) of oil, impacting an unnamed tributary, Ash Coulee Creek and the Little Missouri River. Belle Fourches cleanup is ongoing with oversight from North Dakotas Department of Environmental Quality, according to the EPA.

The agreement announced Monday does not resolve all issues with the Ash Coulee spill and reserves the governments right to bring future legal claims.

The $12.5 million civil penalty includes a nearly $4.6 million portion for North Dakotas Department of Environmental Quality. Belle Fourche also will pay the states past response costs, totaling over $98,000, according to court documents filed Monday.

Oil pipeline spills can cause enormous and long-lasting damage to the environment, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield of the EPAs Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said in a statement. This settlement holds Belle Fourche and Bridger Pipeline accountable for their significant oil spills and requires them to take meaningful measures to prevent future spills from their oil pipelines.

The operators also are required to implement specified compliance measures, in addition to the civil penalty.

Belle Fourche and Bridger are owned by Wyoming-based True Companies.

Bridger spokesman Bill Salvin said the operators have completed all remediation actions to date required by North Dakotas Department of Environmental Quality and will work closely with the department if further action is required. Future soil testing remains, Salvin said.

He said the operators have made upgrades to their pipeline network to enhance safety, including a new control center at their Casper, Wyoming, headquarters and a new leak detection system powered by artificial intelligence.

By JACK DURA

Associated Press
Trump attempt to derail Georgia election investigation rejected by judge View Photo

ATLANTA (AP)  A judge on Monday rejected an attempt by former President Donald Trump to keep a Georgia district attorney from prosecuting him and from using certain evidence gathered in her investigation into potential illegal meddling in the 2020 election in the state.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney didnt mince words in his nine-page ruling, which said Trump lacked the legal grounds to bring the challenge before any indictment has been filed in the case. Any harm alleged by Trump and by Cathy Latham, a Republican fake elector from Georgia who had joined his motion, is either insufficient or else speculative and unrealized, the judge wrote.

The alleged harms are insufficient because, while being the subject (or even target) of a highly publicized criminal investigation is likely an unwelcome and unpleasant experience, no court ever has held that that status alone provides a basis for the courts to interfere with or halt the investigation, McBurney wrote.

In a caustic footnote, seemingly nodding to Trumps status as the dominant frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination for president despite having been indicted twice already, the judge added, And for some, being the subject of a criminal investigation can, a la Rumpelstiltskin, be turned into golden political capital, making it seem more providential than problematic.

Separately Monday, an Atlanta-based journalist said he received two grand jury subpoenas to testify later this month.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, an elected Democrat, has strongly suggested that she is likely to seek charges in the case in the coming weeks. While she has not directly said she plans to seek charges against the Republican former president, she has repeatedly said no one is above the law.

Mondays ruling came in response to a motion filed in March by Trumps Georgia-based legal team that said a special grand jury seated to help Willis investigate involved a constant lack of clarity as to the law, inconsistent applications of basic constitutional protections for individuals being brought before it, and a prosecutors office that was found to have an actual conflict, yet continued to pursue the investigation.

The special grand jury did not have the power to indict, but it did issue subpoenas and heard from some 75 witnesses while meeting from May to December last year and issued a final report with recommendations for Willis.

Trump attorney Drew Findling did not immediately respond Monday to text and voicemail messages seeking comment.

Latham was one of 16 Georgia Republicans who met at the state Capitol in December 2020 and signed a certificate declaring falsely that Trump had won the presidential election and declaring themselves the states duly elected and qualified electors. Willis last year informed them that they were targets of her investigation, though some have since reached immunity deals with her team.

McBurney said there are no grounds to disqualify Willis from pursuing her investigation and likely prosecution, saying she had not acted improperly.

The drumbeat from the District Attorney has been neither partisan (in the political sense) nor personal, in marked and refreshing contrast to the stream of personal invective flowing from one of the movants, he wrote, no doubt referring to Trump.

Trumps attorneys several weeks ago took another stab at barring Willis from prosecuting him and getting the special grand jurys report tossed out with twin filings against Willis and McBurney in Fulton County Superior Court and the Georgia Supreme Court. Explaining this extraordinary action, they cited the fact that McBurney had yet to rule on their earlier motion and Willis indication that she would soon seek charges in the case.

The state Supreme Court unanimously declined to intervene, dismissing the petition.

A judge from neighboring Cobb County was assigned to consider the other petition after the chief judge of the Fulton County Superior Court recused himself and the other judges on that bench from hearing the matter involving McBurney. He has set a hearing for Aug. 10.

Independent journalist George Chidi on Monday posted a photo on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, of two subpoenas instructing him to appear before a grand jury between Aug. 7 and Aug. 31 and telling him hed be given 48 hours notice to appear. He wrote in a first-person story for The Intercept that its the second time hes been asked to testify.

Chidi testified before the special grand jury last year about barging into a semi-clandestine meeting of Republicans pretending to be Georgias official electors in December 2020, he wrote. He described being thrown out of the room just after entering, told that it was an education meeting.

Chidi wrote that he is reviewing his options with an attorney but that he expects to testify again after receiving assurances that I will not be compelled to offer information outside of the narrow issue of election interference and my observations on December 14, 2020.

By KATE BRUMBACK

Associated Press
Hunter Biden sold illusion of access to his father, former business partner tells Congress View Photo

WASHINGTON (AP)  Hunter Bidens former business partner insisted in testimony to Congress Monday that President Joe Biden was never directly involved in their financial dealings, though Hunter would often put his famous father on speakerphone to impress clients and business associates.

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee conducted a more than-five hour interview with Devon Archer as part of its expanding congressional inquiry into the Biden family businesses as the GOP explores a potential impeachment inquiry into the president.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers inside the closed-door interview said Archer testified that over the span of 10 years, Hunter Biden put his father on the phone around 20 times while in the company of associates but never once spoke about any business dealings.

New York Rep. Dan Goldman, who was representing Democrats inside the room, told reporters after the interview that Archer testified that Hunter sold the illusion of access to his father by taking credit for things his father did as vice president that he had no part in.

But Rep. Andy Biggs, a Republican member of the Oversight Committee, came out of the interview saying that testimony implicated the president directly. I think we should do an impeachment inquiry, the Arizona lawmaker told reporters.

Biggs, reading from his notes, said Archer testified that the Ukrainian gas company Burisma would have gone out of business sooner if the Biden brand had not been invoked. People would be intimidated to legally mess with Burisma because of the Biden family brand.

Focusing on that idea, Rep. James Comer, the GOP chairman of the Oversight Committee, said in a statement late Monday that Joe Biden was the brand that his son sold around the world to enrich the Biden family.

We are aware that all sides are claiming victory following Mr. Archers voluntary interview today, Archers attorney, Matthew Schwartz, said in a statement. But all Devon Archer did was exactly what we said he would: Show up and answer the questions put to him honestly and completely.

He added, Mr. Archer shared the truth with the committee, and we will leave to them and others to decide what to do with it.

The White House saw the testimony as a falling short of House Republicans promise to deliver bombshell evidence.

It appears that the House Republicans own much-hyped witness today testified that he never heard of President Biden discussing business with his son or his sons associates, or doing anything wrong, Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement.

Archer, who served with Hunter Biden on the board of Burisma, has long been seen by Republicans as a key witness in their search to directly connect the president to his sons various international business transactions.

Comer had issued a subpoena to Archer in June, saying he played a significant role in the Biden familys business deals abroad, including but not limited to China, Russia, and Ukraine. He said Archers testimony would be critical to the committees investigation.

Republicans have focused much attention on an unverified tip to the FBI that alleged a bribery scheme involving Joe Biden when he was vice president. The claim, which first emerged in 2019, was that Biden pressured Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor in order to stop an investigation into Burisma, the oil-and-gas company where Hunter Biden was on the board.

Democrats on the committee, including Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking minority member, have reiterated that the Justice Department investigated the Burisma claim when Donald Trump was president and closed the matter after eight months, finding insufficient evidence that it was true. Democrats have also highlighted the transcript of an interview with Mykola Zlochevsky, Burismas co-founder, in which he denied having any contact with Joe Biden while Hunter Biden worked for the company.

Mr. Zlochevskys statements are just one of the many that have debunked the corruption allegations, Raskin said.

On top of his relationship with Hunter Biden, who is currently facing federal tax charges, Archer has his own legal troubles stemming from a 2018 felony conviction for his role in a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe. That conviction was overturned later that year, but the court of appeals in New York reinstated it in 2020. His sentencing in the case has been repeatedly delayed by appeals.

Archers appearance before lawmakers had been scheduled and canceled several times since June. Republicans suggested it was about to be delayed again after the Justice Department over the weekend asked a judge to schedule a date for Archer to surrender to prison and begin serving out his one-year sentence in the unrelated fraud case.

Republicans  led by Comer  criticized that delay, calling it an effort by the Justice Department to intimidate a witness. But the Justice Department in a follow-up memo to the court noted Archers surrender was not imminent and asked a judge to ensure that he testified to Congress before reporting to prison.

By FARNOUSH AMIRI

Associated Press
A 12-year-old girl was rpd twice by her neighbour in Zengeza, Chitungwiza.

Tadiwanashe Blessing, 18, was arrested after the minor disclosed the rp to her teacher.

Harare provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Luckmore Chakanza, confirmed the arrest and said the victim was taken to Chitungwiza Central Hospital for medical examination.

Police arrested a Zengeza man for rping a minor twice without protection, said Insp Chakanza.

Sometime in July 2023, the accused was reported to have proposed l0ve to the minor but was turned down.

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On an unknown date, but during the same month, the complainant visited the accuseds barber shop, situated along Gumbakumba Street in Zengeza 1, for a haircut.

After the service, the accused refused payment.

He then prop0sed l0ve again and was accepted.

The accused later took the complainant to his residence where he rpd her once without protection.

Thereafter, the complainant went home but did not disclose the matter to anyone.

He added:

On July 22, at around 1300 hours, the accused took the complainant to his place of residence where he rpd her once again without protection.

The complainant revealed the matter to her classmates who then informed their class teacher.

The teacher interviewed the complainant who indicated that the accused person had, indeed, rpd her leading to the arrest.

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The son of Zanu PF MP and businessman Kenneth Musanhi has appeared in court charged with the attempted murder of his estranged wife.

Tariro Musanhi, 35, turned his Toyota D4D into a weapon and rammed into Margret Samanyangas Honda Fit several times on the side and front as she sat inside, the Harare Magistrates Court heard on Friday.

Musanhi, of Wilson Drive in Greendale, also brandished a pistol which he pointed at 29-year-old Samanyanga while threatening to kill her in the July 26 incident.

Musanhi was not asked to plead to charges of attempted murder and pointing a firearm when he appeared before Harare regional magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka who remanded him to August 28 on US$500 bail.

As part of his bail conditions, he was ordered to report to police every Monday and Friday.

Article continues below these jobs... Work In Zimbabwe Latest Jobs Class 1 Auto Electrician on 9 August 2023 Our client in the auto []

Bus Driver on 9 August 2023 Proton Bakers is currently []

Driver/Salesman on 9 August 2023 Proton Bakers is currently []

Electrician on 9 August 2023 Proton Bakers is currently []

Prosecuting, Ephraim Zinyandu told the court that at around 7PM on July 26, Samanyanga parked her vehicle near a Total service station at the corner of Mutare Road and Wilson Drive.

Musanhi, the court heard, parked next to Samanyangas Honda Fit in his Toyota D4D before confronting her over their marital problems.

An enraged Musanhi then drove his vehicle and rammed into the Honda Fit several times into the side and front.

He disembarked and produced an unidentified pistol which he pointed at Samanyanga threatening to shoot her. Samanyanga noticing the firearm sped off from the scene and reported the matter at ZRP Rhodesville, Zinyandu charged.

Musanhi was arrested at his workplace  AVM Africa  in Msasa on July 28.

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Banished to a Remote Idaho Valley, Beavers Created a Lush Wetland YaleEnvironment360. For ecological engineers, see here, here, here, and here.

Trucking Giant Yellow Shuts Down Operations WSJ

NTSB: Poor Track Conditions Led to 2021 Empire Builder Derailment Railway Age

Climate

#COVID19

The gray swan: model-based assessment of the risk of sudden failure of hybrid immunity to SARS-CoV-2 (preprint) medRxiv. From the Abstract: The recent emergence of variants with strongly immune evasive potential against both the vaccinal and natural immune responses raises the question of whether the wall of population-level immunity can be maintained in the face of large jumps in nAb binding potency. Here we use an agent-based simulation to address this question. Our findings suggest large jumps in viral evolution may cause failure of population immunity resulting in sudden increases in mortality. As a rise in mortality will only become apparent in the weeks following a wave of disease, reactive public health strategies will not be able to provide meaningful risk mitigation. Learning to live with the virus could thus lead to large death tolls with very little warning. Gray Swan. Potent pan huACE2-dependent sarbecovirus neutralizing monoclonal antibodies isolated from a BNT162b2-vaccinated SARS survivor Nature. From the Discussion: In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that cross-clade infection of SARS-CoV followed by vaccination with SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines was able to induce potent, pan huACE2dependent sarbecovirus NAbs both at the polyclonal serum level and at the single B cell/mAb level. This studys findings will be extremely useful in guiding the development of future pan-sarbecovirus therapeutic antibodies and vaccines. This is critical not only for mitigating the current COVID-19 pandemic but also for preventing and responding to future coronavirus outbreaks. If I am understand this correct, this validates the CoviTRAP approach (if not the precise antibodies): a nasal spray solution containing broadly potent neutralizing antibodies. Admission: The First Step to a Sustainable Solution The John Snow Project. We admitted we were powerless over _____  that our lives had become unmanageable.

Illegal medical lab containing bioengineered mice and infectious agents including HIV and herpes discovered in California Insider. A good round-up. Lots of speculation on the company, Prestige Biotech, and its owner Wang Zhaolin.

China?

Myanmar

The Koreas

Lessons from the Korean War Indian Punchline

Investment flows poised for historic shift after giant leap by Bank of Japan FT

Africa

Syraqistan

Dear Old Blighty

New Not-So-Cold War

2024

DOJ tries to jail key Hunter Biden witness Devon Archer on eve of congressional testimony NY Post (Furzy Mouse).

Spook Country

A Company Family: The Untold History of Obama and the CIA Covert Action. From 2021, still germane.

Digital Watch

The 420

The dark side of the psychedelic renaissance The Face

The Bezzle

Superconductor Replication Quest

Zeitgeist Watch

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee Laphams Quarterly

Guillotine Watch

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
Demand grows for retraction of influential paper on COVID-19 origins after emails reveal authors doubted their own conclusions

petition with over 1,700 signatures is urging for the retraction of the scientific correspondence paper titled "The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2."

The paper, published in the Nature Medicine journal on March 17, 2020, asserted that COVID-19 was not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus" and is widely known as the "Proximal Origins" or "Nature Medicine paper," according to The Defender.

Biosafety Now  a nongovernmental organization that advocates for reducing numbers of high-level biocontainment laboratories and for strengthening biosafety, biosecurity, and biorisk management for research on pathogens  launched the petition July 19, stating, It is imperative that this clearly fraudulent and clearly damaging paper be removed from the scientific literature.

Biosafetys leadership team features 27 experts in biomedicine, mathematics, public health, public policy, public advocacy, law, and social science, according to The Defender.

The group's co-founder, Bryce Nickels, Ph.D., a professor of genetics at Rutgers University, said the petition seeks to expose a clear case of scientific fraud and misconduct that has had a major impact on public opinion and policy.

He told The Defender: The removal of Proximal Origins from the scientific literature is the first step in a long process needed to repair the damage this paper has caused to public trust in science."

The petition states: This paper played an influential role  indeed, the central role  in communicating the false narrative that science established that SARS-CoV-2 entered humans through natural spillover, and not through research-related spillover.

The recently-released internal emails show the paper was, and is, the product of scientific fraud and scientific misconduct, the petition notes further.

Investigative journalist Paul Thacker told the outlet, The thing thats really the most troubling, which is why it should be retracted  [is] the ghostwriting and the undue influence [of federal public health officials on the drafting of the paper], which we know from the emails by Francis Collins, by Anthony Fauci, and from Jeremy Farrar."

Fauci retired from government service in December after heading up the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since early in Ronald Reagan's first term. He was the highest-paid federal employee earning more than $400,000 annually, and still has a taxpayer-supplied security team.

Almost everything he recommended Americans do during the pandemic turned out to be wrong or harmful, especially holding a generation of children out of school for nearly two years.

These guys basically ordered up a piece of science  or some sort of publication  that they could then point to, which they all did afterwards, as definitive proof that this thing could not have come from the lab," Thacker added. The whole thing was orchestrated for political purposes. It has nothing to do with science."

Thacker is a distinguished investigative writer and a former fellow at the Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. His work has been published in prestigious publications such as The New York Times, The BMJ, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and The Washington Post.

According to Thacker, weeks before the "Proximal Origins" paper was published, one of its co-authors, Kristian Andersen, Ph.D., sent an email to Anthony Fauci and Francis Collins, thanking them for their "advice and leadership" on the manuscript.

Despite being invited by Andersen to provide comments and suggestions on the paper, Anthony Fauci and Francis Collins are not mentioned in the acknowledgments section of the final version published by Nature Medicine.

Both Collins and Fauci then promoted the Nature Medicine paper as evidence of independent science pointing against a possible lab accident  Collins in a post for the NIH Directors blog that alleged the study left little room for argument in favor of a lab accident, and Anthony Fauci in a White House press briefing," Thacker added.

In both cases, neither Collins nor Fauci disclosed their involvement in orchestrating Andersens study. This last March, Congress released further emails showing that Fauci helped to orchestrate the Nature Medicine paper," he said.

Sources include:

TheDefender.org

NYPost.com
Force majeure becoming the norm in commodities and derivatives markets, which means higher prices and more social unrest

Newmont, one of the world's largest gold companies and a leading producer of copper, zinc, lead, and silver, declared a "force majeure" this week indicating that it will not be able to deliver on contractual agreements for at least some of its products.

Reuters picked up the story and reported that a union strike at Newmont's Penasquito mine in Mexico is limiting delivery on some of the mine's products  except that report failed to mention silver as one of the metals that Newmont is failing to deliver to customers.

The report mentioned zinc, lead, and gold, but conveniently left out the silver portion, presumably to avoid spooking the silver or silver derivatives market. Now why would they do that if not to deceive the markets and avoid panic  or worse yet, to avoid silver customers demanding physical delivery of their assets?

As of July 23, Newmont's Elsinore mine is also under a force majeure, which seems to be part of the new normal for the markets post-Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19). If companies are failing to deliver their contractually obligated product deliveries, then what has become of today's markets?

"The mammoth derivatives market of the financial industry has just reprogrammed the law its' members live by," writes Stan Szymanski for Encouraging Angels. "This way, they can tell the party on the other side of the trade in a faster and more pragmatic manner of their inability to deliver their part of the bargain."

(Related: Last summer, a manufacturing company declared force majeure on all grades of caustic plastic and chlorine across the United States.)

If the markets weren't rigged, precious metals would have a much higher market value

Everything from oil to chemicals to precious metals are seeing force majeures as true supply meets demand  or rather, as lack of supply catches up with demand for things that have already been purchased but not yet delivered.

Force majeure is supposed to be a last resort kind of thing, and something that you only declare once in a blue moon. When it becomes the norm like it is in today's markets, you know something is very wrong with the markets, which by all appearances are about to go bust.

"Force majeure is becoming 'a thing,'" Szymanski says. "The problem with this is that contracts struck after the exploitation of FM [force majeure] will contain a financial and even social risk premium. In entering into a contract with someone who has done you wrong once will cost the other party more to do business with you next time."

"This will lead to higher prices for the goods and commodities at the heart of these contracts. That is why I believe that Reuters did not mention that Newmont is a substantial producer of silver. A silver market that breaks hard to the upside will unhinge prices for the rest of the precious metals and urge them all substantially higher."

A major market correction is where all of this is headed, not to mention war. Otto Mallory famously stated that "when goods don't cross borders, armies will," and this is what we are now seeing culminate as the precious metals and commodities markets are approaching a breaking point.

"Contractual participants can back out of a contract-once," Szymanski says. "After that, they become radioactive (with WWIII starting it might be literal as well as figurative) and business partners back away (if not walk away) from doing business for a long, long time."

"For the individual: when you start to see FM in a marketplace, you can expect to see higher prices and unavailability of the commodity in question. While this is not particular financial advice to anyone-having physical precious metals (PM's) to preserve your wealth is an idea whose time has come. At a time when bank failures (in 2023, Silicon Valley Bank and others) [are] just another word for Force Majeure, one must seriously consider physical PM's so that you hold something that is no one else's liability."

The system as we currently know it is getting ready to implode. Learn more at Collapse.news.

Sources for this article include:

EncouragingAngels.org

Newstarget.com
Mutilated de-transitioner from Texas SUES doctors for $1 million over coerced trans surgeries

Another transgender with major regret is suing the doctors who operated on her for destroying her body and life.

Soren Aldaco, now 21, opted for a "gender transition" at the ripe age of 17. Despite her mental health conditions and the negative direction in which she was clearly headed, Aldaco was advised by her doctors, whom she describes more as "ideologues," to go ahead and cut off her body parts in order to become her "true" self.

Aldaco, who filed her suit last July 21 in the Tarrant County District Court of Texas, says these ideologue medical workers failed to take into account her autism, depression, anxiety and other co-morbidities at the time when she as an underage person went in for a gender transition evaluation.

The complaint names Del Scott Perry, Sreenath Nekkalapu, Barbara Rose Wood, Richard Santucci, Ashley DeLeon, Crane Clinic LLC, Texas Health Physicians Group, Three Oaks Counseling Group LLC and Mesa Springs LLC as being among the defendants who pursued "experimental 'gender affirming' medical therapies" on Aldaco, who at the time was just "a vulnerable teenager struggling with a slew of mental health issues."

"The repercussions of these interventions have led to Soren's permanent disfigurement and profound psychological scarring," the suit states. "She is seeking monetary relief over $1 million  and also seeks judgment for all other relief to which she is entitled at equity or law."

"The defendants' breaches of their fiduciary duties are only underscored by the fact that each defendant met Soren and facilitated these 'therapies' at a pivotal juncture in Soren's life  when she was grappling not only with the universal challenges of adolescence and body image but also with a complex amalgamation of diagnosed mental health comorbidities and other psychological and social disorders."

The suit goes on to emphasize that despite all the "telltale signs" that Aldaco was not right in the head and needed help, not encouragement to continue down the LGBT path, the defendants essentially groomed her into destroying her life.

Aldaco's physicians, the suit colorfully states, "deliberately and recklessly propelled" her "down a path of permanent physical disfigurement and worsening psychological distress."

(Related: The New York Times is attacking detransitioners for trying to save other people and children from falling for the transgender mutilation deception.)

Will detransitioners bankrupt the trans industry with endless lawsuits?

Aldaco's case is one of many that are now emerging as transgenders with regret, whom they are now calling detransitioners, attempt to recoup damages for the poor decisions they made, often as underage children, to turn into trannies.

"A detransitioner is someone who sought to change his or her gender through hormonal or surgical interventions and ultimately regretted this attempt and returned to living as his or her biological sex," explains The Daily Signal.

Another detransitioner by the name of Prisha Mosley filed a similar lawsuit accusing her doctors and therapists of likewise propelling her down a dangerous and life-threatening path. Mosley is represented by Campbell Miller Payne PLLC, the same law firm representing Aldaco.

Then there are the case of Chloe Cole and Layla Jane, two other detransitioners who are being represented by the Center for American Liberty in their cases. The Cole and Jane cases have become high profile because they name Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Permanente Medical Group as defendants.

The details of these cases tend to be highly graphic so we will spare you the gory details. Suffice it to say that these people's bodies are forever wrecked by highly invasive surgeries involving body part removal, and they will never be the same again.

"Ultimately, what Soren realized is that over the rocky course of her adolescence, what she needed was an unbiased doctor, not an ideologue," Aldaco's case states, cutting to the heart of the matter behind these cases.

The latest news about the growing backlash against the trans industry can be found at Transhumanism.news.

Sources for this article include:

DailySignal.com

NewsTarget.com
Ahead of UFO meeting, former defense official says U.S. government has recovered technology that did not originate on this earth

Congress is convening this week to talk about unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and former intelligence chief Christopher Mellon has said ahead of it that he believes the United States government has recovered technology that "did not originate on this earth."

According to Mellon, the U.S. government "may have in our possession off-world technology recovered from someone else's space program."

After serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence in both the Clinton and Bush regimes, Mellon now works as a private equity investor.

Back in 2020 during the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19), Mellon confessed that he was the secret source who provided The New York Times with the three UFO videos that the media outlet reported on back in 2017 after Donald Trump was elected president.

In April 2020, the Department of Defense (DoD) released three declassified videos of "unexplained aerial phenomena," including the infamous "tictac" UFO video that the Times published.

(Related: Will ETs help run the new human-less, AI-driven system of "medicine" the globalists are trying to unleash?)

What do you think: Are UFOs and alien life real or not?

At the House Oversight Committee meeting this week, Mellon says "new information" will be presented before Congress on these UFOs. Air Force and intelligence agency veteran David Grusch will also be in attendance.

"I expect Dave will provide some new information that we have not heard before," Mellon told NewsNation's Chris "Fredo" Cuomo.

"The objective here, I think, and the opportunity, is for the American people to come to better understand why it is that so many in Congress actually takes seriously the idea that there are UFOs, UAP (unexplained aerial phenomenon) that are violating U.S. airspace and the associated rumor, allegation, that we may have in our possession off-world technology recovered from someone else's space program."

Mellon claims that both the DoD and other former intelligence officials have confirmed that the recovered technology is other-worldly, meaning it is not earth-based.

Contradicting all this are statements made by Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick from the DoD's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), who told the Senate Armed Services Committee that there is "no credible evidence thus far of extraterrestrial activity" or "off-world technology."

Mellon is insistent, though, that there is evidence, and that there are "credible witnesses" who are in "direct conflict between what Dr. Kirkpatrick is saying."

"Congress is in the middle and they've got to sort it out," Mellon told Cuomo.

Grusch, one of the "dynamite three witnesses" to appear before Congress this week, made a jaw-dropping claim back in June about an illegal UFO crash retrieval program operating within the classified world. What Grusch and the others have to share should supersede whatever Kirkpatrick and the AARO are saying because of a conflict of interest.

"This is like asking the Reagan administration to investigate the Iran-Contra affair," Mellon said about how AARO is not a suitable entity for investigating recovered technology.

"I think (AARO) can serve a very important purpose in terms of investigating, getting the agencies to share information, collating it, developing collection strategies  but when you're talking about investigating this allegation of recovered materials, that's a different matter. I think Congress has to drive that investigation itself."

According to Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), the three dynamite witnesses to appear before Congress this week are "professionals" and from the "military," which in his mind makes them credible.

"They're people that were there and saw what they say," Burchett said.

The other two dynamite witnesses include Ret. U.S. Navy veteran fighter pilot Commander David Fravor, who witnessed the 2004 Nimitz "tictac" UFO, and Lt. Ryan Graves, whose Naval squadron captured the GIMBAL and GOFAST UFOs on infrared video in 2015.

More related news can be found at Unexplained.news.

Sources for this article include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Newstarget.com
Why cant the U.S. stop helping Kyiv? Zelenskys official who was present during BIDEN BRIBERY meetings holds BLACKMAIL info

One of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's top officials was sitting in the room when energy exploration and production company Burisma authorities were discussing deciding to proceed with bribing the Bidens

Government Accountability Institute President Peter Schweizer suggested during his Monday appearance on Fox News' "Jesse Watters Primetime" that this huge "blackmail information" is Zelensky's leverage over the Biden regime for military weapons and billions of dollars worth of "humanitarian aid."

As per the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) FD-1023 form, Burisma founder and Ukrainian oligarch Mykola Zlochevsky was "coerced" into sending money to then-Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who served on Burisma's board from April 2014 until he left the position in 2019. The evidence provided that Zlochevsky and a confidential human source (CHS) reportedly went into a phone call after the 2016 presidential election, in which the former claimed he was "pushed to pay" but did not want to send the money. (Related: BRIBERY BIDEN: FBI form reveals Burisma founder Mykola Zlochevsky was forced to send Bidens money.)

During the show, Schweizer told Watters: "If you look at that 1023 form that the FBI released, if that document is true, that document reveals that one of the people that was at those meetings that heard the conversations about bribing the Bidens worked for President Zelensky. Who really wants to believe, if that meeting took place and that document is accurate, that individual did not go and report to President Zelensky what he heard?" The document included that the Ukrainian oligarch said he had a total of "17 recordings" involving the Bidens, two of which featured Joe Biden and the other 15 recordings allegedly only feature Hunter.

Another point he made was that, if that FBI form's information were true, who would believe that Zelensky and his administration have not used this as leverage over Biden when it comes to negotiations with Ukraine policy? "We may all have to start learning the Ukrainian word for compromise because this is a very clear indication of how this has shaped this administrations policy toward Ukraine and also towards China. It is also convenient for Zelensky that there is not a team of U.S. auditors in his country tracking where all of this money went," he stressed.

Schweizer also pointed out that this is yet another bombshell evidence that the older Biden is fully aware of Hunter's business deals, considering how the narrative has been changing through the years just to continue covering up his involvement in the Biden crime family's illegal business dealings.

"They initially said there were no foreign deals. Then they shifted and said there were. Then, they said there might have been foreign deals, but the Bidens made no money. Next, it became 'Joe Biden didn't know about any of the deals.' Then it became 'Joe Biden didn't participate in any of the deals,'" the author of the best-selling book "Secret Empires," which is about the Biden Family crimes, said. "And now it's that he was not in business with his son."

The changing White House statements are just actually making it more obvious that the Bidens are guilty and should be held accountable for their crimes.

Burisma hired Hunter Biden because "his dad will protect them from all kinds of problems"

During a meeting with Burisma executives in Vienna, Austria between 2015 and 2016, Ukrainian official Oleksandr Ostapenko introduced the source to Zlochevsky to advise about the company on potentially buying a U.S.-based oil firm and launching an initial public offering (IPO) in America.

As per the FBI form further, the CHS was made aware of the younger Biden's position on the board of directors during the initial meeting. It was when the source was told that Hunter was hired because he will "protect us, through his dad, from all kinds of problems." This was a big unique selling point for Burisma because allegedly, they did not "trust Hunter was that smart."

During the same time, then-Ukrainian Prosecutor General (PGO) Viktor Shokin was investigating irregularities in the energy firm. Thus, the CHS said it would be difficult for the IPO to take place, but Zlochevsky assured him/her that "Hunter will take care of all of those issues through his dad."

Not long after that, the older Biden publicly advocated Shokin's dismissal and even bragged to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in March 2016 about using a $1 billion loan guarantee as leverage to get Shokin fired. Biden made similar comments about Shokin being fired at a CFR event in January 2018, when he was out of office. Biden told the audience, "I looked at them and said, Im leaving in six hours. Youre not getting the money if the prosecutor is not fired. Well, son of a bitch. He got fired.'"

Discover more about Biden family's illegal international business dealings on BidenCrimeFamily.news.

Sources include:

TheGatewayPundit.com

FoxNews.com

DailyCaller.com
Mulvaney campaign blowback: Bud Light maker AB InBev AXES hundreds of workers

AB InBev, the company that produces Bud Light, has laid off hundreds of workers at its U.S. offices after months of slumping sales for the beer brand. Bud Light's collapse followed a boycott against its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the layoffs affected corporate and marketing roles at major U.S. offices, including New York City, Los Angeles and St. Louis  the latter being the home city of AB InBev's subsidiary Anheuser-Busch.

The Belgium-based AB InBev clarified on July 26 that the job cuts would affect less than two percent of its roughly 18,000-strong U.S. workforce. Frontline workers such as brewery and warehouse staff won't be impacted.

"While we never take these decisions lightly, we want to ensure that our organization continues to be set for future long-term success," Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth said in a written statement. "These corporate structure changes will enable our teams to focus on what we do best  brewing great beer for everyone."

Since April of this year, sales of Bud Light have tanked as a result of a conservative-led boycott against its partnership with Mulvaney. This drop in sales enabled Mexican beer brand Modelo Especial to overtake Bud Light as the best-selling beer in the United States.

Earlier, Anheuser-Busch confirmed that it no longer employed Alissa Heinerscheid and Daniel Blake. The two marketing executives were responsible for the disastrous partnership with Mulvaney that spectacularly backfired.

According to an anonymous source from inside Anheuser-Busch, the company reportedly used the term "leave of absence" instead of "firing" to avoid potential legal consequences. Had it used the latter term, Anheuser-Busch could have been liable to possible lawsuits Heinerscheid and Blake may file. (Related: Anheuser-Busch confirms: 2 Marketing execs behind disastrous Mulvaney campaign now FIRED.)

"Wholesalers were told they are both gone for good by leadership during in-person conversations," said the tipster. They already shifted all their direct reports to new people and the head of marketing."

Mulvaney campaign repercussions also affect other firms linked to Bud Light

The fallout of Bud Light's disastrous trans campaign has also affected other companies, such as the Ardagh Group. The contractor that bottles Bud Light and other beer brands under Anheuser-Busch announced plans to close down its two plants in North Carolina and Louisiana.

According to Fox News, Ardagh's closures would affect 645 employees. While the company did not disclose the reason for the closures, subsequent reports revealed that boycotts against the beer brand were the main reason. Ardagh joined retailers, distributors, bars and other contractors bearing the brunt of these boycotts over Bud Light's partnership with Mulvaney  originally meant to celebrate his supposed "365 Days of Girlhood."

An internal company memo obtained by local North Carolina channel WRAL 5 noted that executives have been planning to shut down the two plants due to "slow sales" with Bud Light's parent company AB InBev. Longtime employees said they were not surprised with the move, considering that a large part of Ardagh's business at those plants was producing bottles for Bud Light and Budweiser.

Machine repair mechanic David Williams elaborated that the drop in demand caused by "the Bud Light situation" forced Ardagh to put some machines in the Louisiana and North Carolina plants offline. He told WRAL 5: "Because of Budweiser no longer selling the bottle, they no longer needed our product."

Other employees at the North Carolina plant reportedly said the facility's closure was indeed due to the Bud Light boycott, citing their respective managers.

Head over to Wokies.news for more stories about Bud Light's disastrous campaign with Dylan Mulvaney.

Watch this Fox Business report about AB InBev's recent mass layoffs following dismal Bud Light sales.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Ad agency responsible for Bud Light's disastrous Dylan Mulvaney campaign in "serious panic mode" as it is likely to LOSE future big clients.

Bud Light sales are horrific after marketing ploy with trans-activist backfires that the company is buying beer back from wholesalers.

WOKE BROKE: Company that bottles Bud Light shuts down two plants following botched Mulvaney fiasco.

Bud Light sales plunge further, about to lose status as world's number-one beer to Mexican competitor.

PR expert blasts Anheuser-Busch for bewildering response to Mulvaney endorsement backlash.

Sources include:

WSJ.com

DailyCaller.com

WND.com

FoxNews.com

Brighteon.com
Dr. Carrie Madej: COVID-19 vaccines are about introducing TECHNOLOGY into human bodies  Brighteon.TV

Dr. Carrie Madej remarked that the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine wasn't about people's health and well-being, but the introduction of technology into their bodies.

She told Dr. Steven Hotze on the July 24 episode of "The Dr. Hotze Report" on Brighteon.TV: "I knew immediately that this [vaccine] was not about the health and wellbeing of people, but simply to introduce a technology into the human body."

"In essence, they could start to use WiFi, it's almost being able to monitor the body wirelessly. So, this is called Internet of Things, or internet of bodies," Madej continued. Hotze agreed with her sentiment, adding that they wanted to people to get the COVID-19 injections so people's bodies get contaminated with graphene oxide, hydrogels and other nanotech.

According to the Brighteon.TV host, graphene oxide can go through the blood-brain barrier into the brain and interface with the neurons. It can also cause clotting in the blood, alongside other health issues. Hotze said having graphene oxide in the blood isn't normal, and that this will eventually form into filaments that would allow authorities to control people.

Graphene oxide is no conspiracy theory, Hotze added, citing a company called Inbrain Neuroelectronics taking graphene oxide and putting it into a patient's body. The company then utilized a computer and an electromagnetic field to control the patient's thoughts and behavior.

Hotze ultimately warned that this procedure means a vaccinated person will no longer be doing the thinking for them, thanks to the graphene oxide and hydrogel. Electromagnetic waves from a mobile phone or cell tower can then be used to control how a person thinks or acts, he added.

COVID-19 vaccines are all about CONTROL

Madej, an osteopathic and internal medicine physician, said she was baffled by the rush of people to have the so-called "vaccine"  in reality, genetic modification shots. She learned about the various ingredients in the COVID-19 vaccine vials after previously attending meetings about transhumanism, genetic modification and the use of biosensors in the human body. (Related: Dr. Carrie Madej tells Dr. Steve Hotze: COVID vaccines make humans part synthetic, part organic  Brighteon.TV.)

She also disclosed that during the meetings she attended, she never heard anyone talking about technology being used for the betterment of humans. Instead, the talks always centered on controlling and modifying the thoughts and behavior of human.

According to Madej, technology can be used for good or bad. Humans being connected wirelessly to any smart device for their protection and health monitoring is one example of benevolent technology use. But in this case, the powers that be are utilizing technology in a malevolent way  in this case, to spy on and control people.

Hotze ultimately remarked that the so-called COVID-19 vaccine with graphene oxide and hydrogel wasn't "safe and effective" as presented  since it didn't stop people from catching the disease and passing it to other people.

"This was a new technology, the mRNA, where they inject into somebody's body ribonucleic acid, which goes to the ribosome and tells the ribosome to make spike protein," he said.

"Well, that's what we don't want in our bodies. I don't want spike protein in my body. That's what the virus gives us. If it comes into my body, my body wants to get rid of it. When it gets rid of it, it's gone. The virus is gone."

Follow Vaccines.news for more news about the COVID vaccines.

Watch the July 24 episode of "The Dr. Hotze Report" below. "The Dr. Hotze Report" airs every Monday and Saturday at 5-6 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

More related stories:

COVID-19 vaccine sheds graphene-like substance that causes cellular damage and blood clots in the unvaccinated, warns doctor.

Clay Clark digs into vaccines and transhumanism with Dr. Carrie Madej  Brighteon.TV.

Study claims COVID-19 vaccines contain graphene nanobots - and they can be transmitted to the unvaccinated.

People injected with COVID-19 vaccines are shedding and transmitting GRAPHENE to the unvaccinated, warns doctor.

Dr. Carrie Madej reveals to Health Ranger that Covid vaccines contain exotic nanotech for tracking and bio-control.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

CarrieMadej.com
Florida CFO to trigger divestment laws if censorship firm NewsGuard continues promoting its dishonest rating system as if some kind of arbiter of truth

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis has issued a warning to the censorship company NewsGuard Technologies, Inc. about promoting a rating system for the quality of information, as though they are some kind of "arbiter of truth." The Sunshine State CFO further said that this practice may trigger the state's divestment laws and that he is ready to use the full force of his office to expose the organization's activities.

As per Patronis' statement issued on Wednesday, the activities of the 'journalism tool,' which rates the credibility of news, are linked to the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) complex. Despite bias, NewsGuard's actions could pave the way to a larger plan to create "social credit scores" for debanking and deplatforming private entities, the state official pointed out.

In Partonis' sharply worded letter to the company's co-CEOs Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz, he straightforwardly expressed how NewsGuard is creating an image as though it is some kind of a "judge of truth." "This activity is similar to other organizations who ranked and categorized businesses as part of corrupt ESG practices," he emphasized, adding that the activities may have far-reaching consequences for the company's clients, as they may trigger Florida's divestment laws.

"The company may be subject to legislative scrutiny in the upcoming legislative session. Moreover, if your actions target any Florida business, as someone who's charged with protecting Florida's economy and economic vitality, I will not hesitate to use the full force of my office to shed light on the organization you're running," Patronis further warned.

NewsGuard provides ratings of news outlets according to nine "apolitical" criteria that "assess credibility and transparency." All criteria are pass or fail, meaning that a site either receives all of the points associated with the criterion or receives no points for that criterion. The ratings are then passed on to tech corporations and social media sites to "inform" their users which media outlets to trust or not. "NewsGuard data helps individuals, governments, companies, and organizations fight misinformation and teach media literacy through data integrations and other partnerships," the company claims on its website.

Critics could not help but doubt the credibility of the censorship company as well, especially since recent evidence has been coming out to prove how big government and even the FBI have been colluding with tech giants in "killing the freedom of speech." The House Judiciary Committee recently released a report on how the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which is under the Department of Homeland Security, connived with Big Tech and "disinformation" partners to censor Americans. Also, during a recent hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray faced a barrage of allegations from Republicans, who argued that the FBI censored conservative opinions on social media and for running "illegal scrutiny of U.S. citizens under a foreign surveillance law." (Related: Rogue agency CISA connives with Big Tech to censor speech and manipulate the lives of Americans.)

NewsGuard has close ties with the national security complex

Florida Standard's Jonas Vesterberg disclosed in an article dated March 3, that NewsGuard maintains close ties with the U.S. national security complex.

"On its board of advisors are several household names from that sector, such as former National Security Agency (NSA) Director General Michael Hayden, former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, and former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen," the article read.

Reports have been circulating that news outlets that decline to obey and take directions from the government or big corporations have been allegedly harassed by NewsGuard.

Newsguard is a tool of mass suppression aimed directly at alternative media. Ex-DHS Director Tom Ridge - creator of the post-9/11 fearmongering color code terror alerts - is on its board. No surprise Newsguard plans to assign dissenting outlets with red color codes & de-rank them. https://t.co/RhyDnwqtDW  Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) January 15, 2019

"Do you seriously expect us to grovel for approval from the same tentacle of the national security state and financial oligarchy that has rated CNN as a highly credible news source, and whose board of advisors is a grotesque gallery of corporate propagandists, spooks, documented liars, and war criminals who have never faced a scintilla of accountability for their actions?"' Investigative journalist Max Blumenthal of the Greyzone wrote as a reaction to NewsGuard's emailed questions about the site's editorial practices.

He cited how the board of advisors and listed partners used the platform's influence to carry on various acts of political "malpractices" and propaganda. "NewsGuard is funded by and deeply connected to the U.S. government, neo-conservatives, and powerful monied interests, all of whom have been working overtime since the 2016 election to silence dissent to American forever-wars and corporate-led oligarchy," Blumenthal said citing journalist Whitney Webb's report in Mint Press News.

He ended the email with stern feedback, emphasizing that his news outlet is accountable to the grassroots audience and not to the censorship company. He ended it with: "Publish this reply in full, or not at all."

Meanwhile, the Editor-in-Chief of the Florida Standard, Will Witt, did not respond to the company's request for information. "We refuse to participate in any censorship schemes or to legitimize NewsGuard and its authoritarian business model in any way, shape, or form. We are accountable to our readers and to the pursuit of truth," Witt stressed.

Head to Censorship.news to read more stories on the government and politically manipulated companies' collusion with Big Tech.

Sources for this article include:

TheFLStandard.com

NewsGuardTech.com 1

NewsGuardTech.com 2
Green energy isnt: New analysis tears down lies about renewables, reveals solar panels to be carbon-intensive

There really isn't any such thing as "green energy," and a new analysis from "Twitter Files" researcher Michael Shellenberger exposes the lies about renewable energy sources in epic fashion.

"People say solar panels don't produce carbon emissions, but they do. And now, a major new investigation by Environmental Progress, drawing on the research of @enricomariutti , finds that solar panels made in China produce at least 3x more carbon emissions than IPCC claims," his Twitter thread begins.

People say solar panels don't produce carbon emissions, but they do. And now, a major new investigation by Environmental Progress, drawing on the research of @enricomariutti , finds that solar panels made in China produce at least 3x more carbon emissions than IPCC claims. pic.twitter.com/y4a2dvgyZj  Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) July 24, 2023

Shellenberger goes on to provide several sources that prove how energy intensive the mining and manufacturing processes are for solar panels and, for that matter, electric vehicles, whose tires produce 20 percent more pollutants than gas-powered vehicles because they are so much heavier.

A report cited by Shellenberger noted:

But the majority of experts consulted by Environmental Progress agree that Chinas competitive advantage did not lie in an innovative new technological process, but rather in the very same factors the country has always used to outcompete the West: cheap coal-fired energy, mass government subsidies for strategic industries, and human labor operating in poor working conditions.

Basic reasoning suggests the manufacturing shift must have added to solars carbon intensity. But as Environmental Progress has learned, nobody in the carbon counting world has seen fit to research by how much. The modelers are estimating the carbon emissions of solar production as if the panels are still made mostly in the West, grossly underestimating their carbon intensity, even as governments rush to draft and implement net zero policy based around the very same flawed data.

Solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and electric cars are technological devices composed of various materials, including concrete, plastic, steel, titanium, copper, silver, cobalt, lithium, and many other minerals, the report added.

A few years ago, a commentary published in Nature Geoscience estimated that to convert only a seventh of the world's primary energy production (25,000 TWh) to renewable energy, significant increases in the production of concrete (from just over 10 billion tons a year to almost 35), steel (from just under two billion tons to just over 10), glass, aluminum, and copper would be required. This estimation is based on converting less than 15 percent of the world's energy needs to renewable sources, the report said.

"Not only that, a technical aspect must also be considered: the 'golden vein' exists only in comics. To give an example, on average copper is present in a copper deposit with a concentration of about 0.6%. This means that to extract a ton of metal, more than 150 tons of rock must be crushed. South Africas large gold mines grind 5-6,000 tons of rock a day to extract less than 20 tons of precious metal a year," it went on.

However, that alone is insufficient. The report said to consider how aluminum is produced; it involves a highly energy-intensive process. To produce one ton of aluminum, approximately 30,000 kWh (a combination of thermal and electrical energy) is consumed. Similarly, the production of iron and steel is also energy-intensive, with one ton of steel requiring between 800 and 5,000 kWh equivalent.

"So, just to produce the steel needed to build enough panels and wind turbines to generate 25,000 TWh a year of renewable energy, we may need 7,000-40,000 TWh a year more of fossil energy," said the report.

'Green energy' is a religion to tens of millions of otherwise rational people. They really believe cattle flatulence and SUVs are destroying our planet. They have no idea how much real damage is being done to it by 'going green.'

Sources include:

MotorIllustrated.com

ThreadReaderApp.com

EnvironmentalProgress.org
10,000 Israeli reservists announce their refusal to show up for service in PROTEST of judicial reforms

Approximately 10,000 reservists from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declared in a July 22 press conference that they will no longer show up for service in protest against the "reasonableness standard" bill passed in the package of judicial reform legislation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition government recently passed the so-called "reasonableness" bill that removes the Israeli Supreme Court's ability to cancel government decisions it deems unreasonable.

The move of the 10,000 IDF reservists came after 1,000 IDF Air Force reservists expressed the same sentiment a few days prior, with the nonprofit organization Brothers in Arms facilitating the event that saw thousands of other reservists come and sign a letter expressing their own refusal to answer the call to serve. (Related: Doctors strike in Israel as judiciary overhaul protests continue.)

They accused the government of disregarding the values of Israel's Declaration of Independence and conflicting with the spirit of the IDF.

"We represent some 10,000 reservists who are telling the government, the defense minister and the prime minister the responsibility is on you," said Eyal Neve, leader of Brothers in Arms while supported by multiple infantry, special forces and air force units of the IDF reserve. "If you want us on your side as we've served under right- and left-wing governments, we're calling on you to stop the legislation."

"The deep commitment to Judaism and democracy is the inner fuel of our engine. Our statement is clear: If the government violates the basic values and becomes a dictatorship, we won't serve," said a retired fighter pilot who served in the Air Force for 35 years.

Ron Sheref, another leading member of Brothers in Arms, echoed these sentiments, stating that the government is eroding the nation's values and the spirit of the IDF. Their protest is fueled by a deep desire to live in a democratic country where basic values are safeguarded without fear of constant threats. "We are fighting for the dearest thing to us so that our kids can continue to live here," he said.

Netanyahu, IDF leadership in denial of adverse effect of protests and reservist withdrawals

In response to the tense situation, Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi are set to meet to discuss the readiness of the armed forces. But initial statements from the IDF top brass claim that it remains ready for war despite the ongoing protests and reservist withdrawals. Halevi and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also recently presented the military's readiness statistics to Netanyahu.

While there have been no incidents of infighting over the judicial reform debate within the military so far, the situation remains tense.

The IDF chief of staff also recently made a public visit to the Tel Nof Air Force Base near Tel Aviv. The timing of this visit raised eyebrows among observers who wondered if it was a direct response to the reservists' refusal. The IDF initially remained silent, declining to comment on the reservists' letter.

After two hours of silence, Air Force Chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar came up with a public letter addressing the situation. In his response, Bar acknowledged the complex circumstances surrounding the protest and mentioned that there would likely be intense media coverage in the coming week.

Bar emphasized the critical role the Air Force has played in safeguarding Israel for 75 years and stressed that the current security challenges are as dangerous as ever. He asserted that maintaining the highest level of vigilance is essential to protect the nation.

"We will clarify the exact details surrounding the letter and its implications. However, the responsibility which remains with us has not changed  to continue the dialogue with our reservists and mandatory service officers," Bar asserted.

Visit Resist.news for more stories like this.

Watch this video to learn more about the Israeli Defense Forces.

This video is from the Migratory Animal channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Israeli top official warns Iran's uranium enough to build up to 5 NUCLEAR WEAPONS.

Turkish president calls for Muslim world to UNITE against Israel.

Knesset members introduce legislation to outlaw preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Israel  violators would face PRISON time.

Sources include:

TheJerusalemPost.com 1

BBC.com

TheJerusalemPost.com 2

Brighteon.com
Intelligence officer-turned-whistleblower reveals U.S. government found non-human biologics at crash sites but Pentagon covered it up

A former military intelligence officer-turned-whistleblower testified under oath in front of House lawmakers exposing that the United States defense department has been covering up an "unidentified anomalous phenomena" (UAP)  the official term the U.S. government uses instead of UFOs  for years and he is sure that "non-human biologics" were recovered by the U.S. government from crash sites.

Retired Maj. David Grusch, who served for 14 years as an intelligence officer in the Air Force and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, appeared Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee's national security subcommittee alongside two former fighter pilots who had firsthand experience with UAP.

During the committee hearing, South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace inquired: "If you believe we have crashed craft as stated earlier, do we have the bodies of the pilots who piloted this craft?"

"As I have stated publicly already in my NewsNation interview, biologics came with some of these recoveries," Grusch answered. Mace quickly clarified asking: "Were they human or non-human biologics?"

"Non-human," the retired officer quipped, adding that he prefers to use this term rather than alien or extraterrestrial. "That was the assessment of the people with direct knowledge of the program I talked to. They are still currently on the program." (Related: Sen. Marco Rubio: Senior government officials have first-hand knowledge of secret UFO programs.)

Grusch said he was asked in 2019 by the head of a government task force on UAPs to identify all highly classified programs relating to the task force's mission. At the time, Grusch was detailed to the National Reconnaissance Office, the agency that operates U.S. spy satellites.

"I was informed in the course of my official duties of a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program to which I was denied access," he said. Asked whether the U.S. government had information about extraterrestrial life, he claimed it was likely the U.S. had been aware of "non-human" activity since the 1930s.

In 2004, the Navy captured footage of an object that remains unidentified. The photo credit goes to the Pentagon.

The Pentagon has denied his cover-up claims. DoD spokeswoman Sue Gough said investigators have not discovered "any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently," failing to address UFOs that are not suspected of being extraterrestrial objects.

He also divulged that he has been facing retaliation from the government since he started coming forward. Grusch refused to detail the retaliatory tactics, though, as there is still an ongoing probe, he said, AP reported. "It was very brutal and very unfortunate, some of the tactics they used to hurt me both professionally and personally," he said.

UAP gained wide bipartisan interests

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) chaired the panel's hearing and joked to a packed audience, "Welcome to the most exciting subcommittee in Congress this week." Reporters observed how this particular issue has gained widespread bipartisan attention, saying that it provided a more sober tone than other recent hearings featuring whistleblowers that make Republicans and Democrats engage in heated debates.

"We're going to uncover the cover-up, and I hope this is just the beginning of many more hearings and many more people coming forward about this," Republican Rep. Tim Burchett from Tennessee said.

But some of the lawmakers are focused on resolving the concern as soon as possible. "We should have disclosure today. We should have the disclosure tomorrow. The time has come," said Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida.

"Several of us are going to look forward to getting some answers in a more confidential setting. I assume some legislation will come out of this," said GOP Rep. Glenn Grothman, the subcommittee's chairman.

The Pentagon's All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, which Congress established to investigate the incidents, has investigated roughly 800 reports of UAP as of May. While military officials have said most cases have innocuous origins, many others remain unexplained. As per the lawmakers, the military knows more about the objects than it has disclosed to Congress and it is a shame that the Pentagon is not providing more details in a classified briefing or releasing images that could be shown to the public.

In previous hearings, Pentagon officials showed a video taken from an F-18 military plane that showed an image of one balloon-like shape. Back in December, DoD officials said they had received "several hundreds" of new reports since launching a renewed effort to investigate reports of UFOs.

However, "we have not seen anything, and we're still very early on, that would lead us to believe that any of the objects that we have seen are of alien origin," the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Ronald Moultrie said. "Any unauthorized system in our airspace we deem as a threat to safety."

Watch the full video of the July 26 Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Hearing below.

Head to UFO.news for more stories related to space life and aliens and UFO sightings.

Sources for this article include:

News.Sky.com

APNews.com

CBSNews.com
CCP DATA LEAK: Project Veritas exposes 8GB of documents revealing Chinas 5-year plan for business, bio-engineering, military technology, AI and more

Project Veritas on July 25 disclosed that it was able to acquire nearly eight gigabytes (GB) of data from the Chinese government's "five-year plan," to become the sole global superpower. The non-profit investigative news organization got an alert that an exposed web server belonging to one of China's state-sponsored enterprises can be accessed by the public. The team was able to download about 400 files without a password.

Project Veritas CEO Hannah Giles told the Gateway Pundit: "These are the business plans the Chinese government is utilizing to grow its technological and military infrastructure. Project Veritas released these internal Chinese Communist Party [CCP] plans to the public because transparency is the greatest weapon in pursuit of the truth."

As per the organization, the documents detail CCP's projects that were approved in October 2020. Some of these projects focus on advanced technology, including biotechnology, nuclear technology, artificial intelligence and so much more  some with potential military applications. These also detail high-end manufacturing, including agricultural and medical equipment, as well as the development of materials and chemicals.

Now, the leaked data further revealed that several individuals involved in the research and development of these projects work with public universities and private companies in the United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Canada, Australia, Japan, France, and Germany. They were involved through various CCP programs, including the Chinese "Thousand Talents," a program that recruits expatriate scientists and foreign researchers to relocate to China to empower the country's science and technology industry.

"This program, along with affiliated Confucius Institutes, was subject to oversight and disclosure of CCP members during the Trump administration. The Biden administration revoked this oversight in 2021  the same year China's current five-year plan was initiated," the Project Veritas website reported.

Intelligence agencies across the globe believe that the Chinese government utilizes state-owned enterprises to undermine the Free World in an attempt to become the world's only superpower, the 501(c)(3) organization site further reported.

"The greatest long-term threat to our nation's ideas, innovation, economic and national security is that from China and they have stolen more of America's personal and business data than any other nation combined," Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray said at Hudson Institute in Washington D.C. back in July 2020, where he talked about the threat posed by the CCP to U.S. security.

The team published this bombshell report for awareness of potential threats from the CCP as well as its global agenda. The non-profit urged collaboration with journalists across the world and subject matter experts "to thoroughly reveal the implications of these business plans, and the individuals involved."

The acquired CCP data can be found online.

Chinese media infiltrates U.S. news sites, cybersecurity company confirms

The leaked data just confirmed the recent report from the cybersecurity firm Mandiant. According to the company, Shanghai-based media outlet Haixun Press, which also goes by the name Shanghai Yihuan Cultural Communication Co., Ltd, is placing articles on over 30 American news websites to promote the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Propaganda articles by the said media firm have been posted in subsections of 32 or more legitimate U.S. news outlets such as the Arizona Republic and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, according to Mandiant. Haixun is a private company with extensive links to the CCP, as per its own publicity and Chinese state-government media coverage of the firm. (Related: INFILTRATION ALERT: CCP-linked media company running influence campaigns across US news websites.)

Our team @Mandiant just dropped a blog detailing additional insights into the pro-PRC IO campaign "HaiEnergy," and the role played by Chinese PR firm Shanghai Haixun Technology Co. Kudos to the Twitter-less Ryan Serabian for these discoveries. A short ? https://t.co/SeSpRclIy2  David Mainor (@DavidMainor13) July 24, 2023

"When we released our initial report, we were unable to determine the extent to which Haixun was involved in, or even aware of this campaign, as our visibility was limited to the campaign's use of infrastructure linked to the company. In recent months, however, we have identified additional evidence suggesting Haixun is not only aware of the campaign but is actively supporting it through the solicitation of for-hire freelancers via Fiverr to promote campaign content," Mandiant said in its blog.

The threat intelligence company was also able to identify new tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) being employed by "HaiEnergy," which includes the use of newswire services to distribute pro-PRC content to subdomains of legitimate U.S.-based news outlets. They also saw the possibility of the campaign leveraging less conventional TTPs, such as a pro-PRC ad on a billboard in New York City's Times Square.

The digital security firm also asserted that Haiixun may have funded two Washington, D.C., protests in 2022. It took advantage of the uprising and exploited them to advance narratives regarding divisive U.S. issues. "For example, it allegedly used a protest to advance criticism of a June 2022 U.S. government decision to prohibit the importation of all goods manufactured in Xinjiang, China, due to the Chinese government's forced labor of the Uyghur ethnic minority there." According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Xinjiang is where almost half of the world's solar panels are manufactured.

Moreover, when former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went to Taiwan, Times News Wire posted an article criticizing her visit as it triggered Chinese military exercises around the island nation. The Arizona Republic also posted the exact same one, Mandiant reported. The articles contain the same picture of Pelosi, the same headline, the same text.

CommunistChina.news contains stories related to CCP's efforts to be the next global superpower.

Sources for this article include:

TheGatewayPundit.com

ProjectVeritas.com

FBI.gov

Mandiant.com
Of BANKS and POLITICS: U.K. Energy Secretary Grant Shapps calls out banks for delving into politics, urges new legislation to prevent this

The Brexit Party leader and former leader of the U.K. Independence Party Nigel Farage recently revealed that he has seen a Stasi-style surveillance report justifying why Coutts's "debanked " him once his mortgage expired, was not due to reasons relating to his financial status.

In fact, he divulged that his account was closed because of his friendship with former President Donald J. Trump. His appearing on Alex Jones's InfoWars and expressing critical comments about Black Lives Matter also contributed to the bank's decision. The 59-year-old also disclosed that the 40-page dossier also bemoaned his stance on issues of equality, social and corporate governance, saying his views "do not align with Coutts values." (Related: DEBANKING: Brexit leader warns CBCDs will bring tyranny after his longtime bank closed his account.)

I now have evidence Coutts LIED to me.. In an explosive 40 page memo, Brexit is mentioned 86 times, Russia 144 & PEP 10. Support for Trump + views on immigration, net zero & the vaccine are listed as reasons to exit me. They say my account is commercially viable! pic.twitter.com/QjPCuUetu3  Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) July 18, 2023

This did not sit well with top-tier British government officials, including Grant Shapps MP, the U.K. Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, who has clashed bitterly with Farage before. He suggested on Wednesday that new legislation may need to be introduced to combat banks acting above their station and delving into politics. "I think it is absolutely disgraceful. I don't have to agree with everything Nigel Farage says to recognize that free speech is a very important part of our domestic life," he said. "What has happened with some of these banks through this regime, which is known as politically exposed people (PEP), is really actually scandalous."

Banks should also not be refusing to open accounts on that basis as Farage also had difficulties opening bank accounts after what happened with Coutts. Members of his family have also been refused accounts by other banks, and one family member was told their account was being closed.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith expressed concern that financial services are being denied to anyone exercising their right to lawful free speech. "Businesses have the right to protect against reputational risks  e.g. criminal activity  but the privilege of a banking license in a democracy should imply a duty not to 'de-bank' because you disagree with someone's views," he said.

Meanwhile, the conservative broadcaster appealed: "Contrary to the damaging briefings made to the BBC and the Financial Times this month about my holdings falling below the bank's threshold, the report states several times that my economic contribution is sound, and my funds are sufficient to retain on a commercial basis." He added that the report even acknowledged that he was a positive net financial contributor to the bank. "BBC needs to correct this immediately and Coutts need to explain themselves even sooner," Anthony Mangnall, Tory MO for Totnes and South Devon, agreed.

Farage was surveilled for months

Writing for the Telegraph, Farage also disclosed that monthly press checks were made on him as per the report he acquired via a subject access request. "My social media accounts were monitored. Anything considered 'problematic' was recorded. I was being watched, he wrote. "This report is proof that any Coutts customer who holds even vaguely conservative views should be treated with disdain."

He also detailed that the piece included his friendship with Djokovic, who was publicly shunned after refusing to take the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, and his retweeting of a Ricky Gervais joke about leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), a position it should be noted that has been advocated by Home Secretary Suella Braverman on multiple occasions, albeit not as official government policy.

"The most extraordinary comments of all are the areas of the report talking about me 'not aligning with their views' and suggesting I must be barred because I do not support the diversity, policies and 'purpose' of Coutts, as though Britain is a political regime and I am a dissident," he added.

He further warned all Coutts customers: You could be next. Refinitiv, which monitors creditworthiness, can examine social media posts made by any of us on Facebook or elsewhere. If this situation is left unchecked, we will sleepwalk towards a China-style social credit system in which only those with the correct views are allowed to fully participate in society.

Good thing, he said, that in the 21st century, via fintech companies, there are other ways to receive and make payments. "It's still not a bank account, but I will survive," Farage expressed, looking at the brighter side.

Meanwhile, reports said that NatWest Group boss Dame Alison Rose has already apologized via a letter to Farage for the "deeply inappropriate" comments made about him in a document on his suitability as a Coutts customer. She also allegedly offered alternative banking arrangements and said she wanted to ensure they provide "a better, more transparent experience for all our customers in the future."

"I think what needs to happen is the Treasury select committee needs to reconvene, come out of recess, and let's give her the opportunity to tell us the truth," Farage told reporters when asked about the apology. He'd like to know her answers if "she breached his client confidentiality or broke GDPR rules."

Risk.news has more stories on collapsing banking systems and policies.

Sources for this article include:

RMX.news

Telegraph.co.uk

BBC.com
DISCRIMINATION at WORK: Toronto mom loses job after arguing against posting pride stickers at school board meeting

In an exclusive interview with alternative news outlet LifeSiteNews, a mom revealed how he was a victim of discrimination, cancel culture and unjust treatment at work just because she addressed a Catholic school board to defend children from the LGBT ideology as per her religious beliefs.

Sheree Di Vittorio was left baffled when she was dismissed from AutoTrader the day after the media portal Canadian Broadcasting Cooperation (CBC) published an article criticizing her when she only aired her sentiment and argued against posting "pride stickers" in schools. The said March 5 article even slammed her for being "angry" and for "disrupting" the February York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) meeting.

"There is absolutely no need to have such an aggressive campaign all around schools exposing younger children like my nine-year-old to sexual ideologies and indoctrination that she is far too young to understand," the Coptic Orthodox Christian mother expressed in the virtual gathering.

"To engage in homosexuality is to engage in an immoral practice that is contrary to the doctrines of our faith," she added with emphasis that the school is a Catholic elementary education institution and unlike public schools that receive subsidies from the government. "It is most certainly not appropriate to engage kids to be open to these ideologies. There are biblical reasons why homosexuality is considered a sin," she said,

The mom of a nine-year-old student from the said Catholic school told LifeSiteNews that she was terminated from her job despite "the fact that my manager had met with me on two separate occasions and told me that I was thriving within the position." She felt like being pushed into a corner as there was not even a chance to explain her side of things. "I wasn't given a voice whatsoever," Di Vittorio lamented. "They left me in a really tough position. I'm struggling financially because of this. I didn't qualify for employment insurance.

She was not even able to seek legal assistance as she can't afford to hire a lawyer to represent her in any of these cases where she was "basically been mistreated and unjustly treated just for expressing my religious views."

Meanwhile, LifeSiteNews videographer and journalist Myles Vosylius documented in a short video the actual conversation he had with Auto Trader Chief People and Culture Officer Beth Worthington . She was the one who signed Di Vittorio's dismissal letter.

In the video, Worthington ended the call abruptly after insisting that it was not her job, though she was the one who fired Di Vittorio, to talk to the press regarding employees (active or not) maintaining that this information is confidential. She kept saying for Vosylius to just contact their media relations office representative Ian MacDonald and assured him he will have answers to all his questions. MacDonald, who is the chief marketing officer, however, likewise refused to answer his questions.

"Thank you for reaching out to us. However, we cannot comment publicly on matters relating to employees, past and present. King [sic] Regards, Media Inquiries team, AutoTrader.ca," the reply to Vosylius' inquiry indicated.

"Groomer" YCDSB supports teachers who display "safe space" pride stickers

According to the school board, they were no aware that there are stickers, but still, they are commending teachers in choosing to display or not these stickers in their classrooms, based on their personal beliefs.

Paulo de Buono, whose child was in a YCDSB school until last year, is also a teacher with the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB). He said the "safe space" signage is an important tool for teachers to help students feel safe. "For a group of students who have been marginalized too long, and so, so much in the Ontario Catholic system, they need to know that we're making an effort to have safe spaces for them," the LGBT ideology supporter said.

He also claimed that TCDSB is a public school board despite bearing the word 'Catholic' in it. "It includes certain privileges, but it does not include the right to treat students so wrongly," he claimed. (Related: GROOMERS: Public school teachers caught trading tips on "subversively and quietly" transitioning students to LGBT.)

Visit Groomers.news for stories related to government education systems consenting to proliferating woke LGBT ideologies.

Sources include:

LifeSiteNews.com

CBC.ca
CBDC takeover: U.K. banks becoming obsolete as high street financial institutions shift to ONLINE transactions

In line with the massive campaign to ditch physical banking services to pave the way to central bank digital currency (CBDC), nearly 100 bank branches are to close down in the United Kingdom in the coming weeks. Leaving customers with limited options, a number of major high street banks are moving more of their banking services online.

According to Britain's largest cash machine network LINK, dozens of banks are closing their brick and mortar doors, including HSBC, Barclays, NatWest and Halifax. British tabloid newspaper TheSun reported that Barclays is closing 29 branches between now and the end of August, while NatWest is stopping operations on the 19th. Also, Halifax is shutting two branches while HSBC will discontinue serving customers by the 27th.

Evening Standard also reported that 5,162 bank and building society branches have closed since January 2015 and 206 branches more are set to close by the end of this year, although figures vary, it disclaimed. These include fresh dates released this week from Virgin Money and Lloyds Banking Group.

Photo credits: Daily Mail

This move is expected to majorly impact the older population in the European island nation, especially since they still rely on in-person services. According to the news portal, affected customers can still access basic banking services without having to go to the next town. "If the latest raft of closures will leave you with no bank in your town, you should be able to do most basic tasks at your local Post Office. You can use one of the Post Offices nearly 12,000 branches to perform basic banking tasks  but not open new bank accounts or take personal loans and mortgages," contributor Ellie Smitherman said in the article.

Furthermore, mobile banking service was cited, where the bank brings a bus to the local area that has the services that are usually available at the local branch. Other banks use buildings such as village halls or libraries to offer mobile banking services. Banking hubs, which offer traditional shared services, have also been set up in several locations around the UK to help plug the gap  including Brixham, Cambuslang, Cottingham and Rochford.

According to the Fintech Times, commercial banks are phasing out at an alarming rate as their customers turn to online competitors  not the other way around, where the banking system is actually making way for CBDCs, and people are left with no control over their money.

In fact, back in April, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England Sir Jon Cunliffe warned that cash is becoming "less usable" as consumers and retailers alike increasingly reject bank notes and embrace online shopping and digital payment options. He noted how online shopping and contactless payment options are becoming more popular, leading to physical money becoming harder to use.

Also, a new study by American personal finance company NerdWallet found that business owners and leaders trust online banks more than traditional, conventional banks. This shift in opinion appears to be displayed as many of them have already moved to online-only banks. As per the survey, 53 percent of the respondents trust online-only banks the same as high street ones. Meanwhile, 28 percent said that they currently trust online-only banks more than their traditional counterparts. Only 10 percent of the 500 business owners surveyed said they found conventional banks more trustworthy. The remaining nine percent were unsure.

Forty-four percent had already switched to an online-only system last year. The most popular reasons were as follows:

Found that online banks offered a better product  65 percent

Online banks had a more suitable pricing structure for business  63 percent

Online-only banking made more sense for their type of business  61 percent

Speaking to an advisor took too much time or was too complex  59 percent

Already used a digital bank for personal banking and wanted consistency  47 percent

Found it overall easier to do all banking online  37 percent

Their business was completely online  13 percent

Britons may have been "brainwashed" on the benefits of completely transitioning to online-only banking transactions because it is "more convenient" and less time-consuming. They are embracing these technological advancements without digging deeper into the possible repercussions  like surrendering all their personal information into a database that is fully controlled by the global elites that are now taking over the worldwide banking system. (Related: Brexit leader Farage "debanked" for being friends with Trump and going against "WOKE" ideologies.)

Follow Collapse.news for more stories related to the "failing" physical banking system worldwide.

More related stories:

DEBANKING: Brexit leader warns CBCDs will bring tyranny after his longtime bank closed his account.

Top Bank of England official warns cash is becoming "less usable" as more people opt for digital payments.

European Parliament to criminalize physical cash use by imposing limit on cash transactions.

IMF unleashes Unicoin, a new global CBDC intended to enslave the entire planet under a one world digital currency.

Sources include:

EndTimeHeadlines.org

TheSun.co.uk

TheFinTechTimes.com
Future eruptions of the Yellowstone Steamboat geyser will be curtailed by climate change and dryness, according to carbon dating of nearby skeleton trees.

Yellowstone Steamboat Geyser

According to scientists, climate change might cause Yellowstone's Steamboat Geyser, the tallest active geyser on Earth, to stop erupting as drought spreads over the area.

According to a recent study, the groundwater reserves beneath the national park may not be enough to maintain the famous geyser as temperatures rise and rainfall decreases throughout the American West.

According to research geophysicist Michael Poland, the scientist-in-charge at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory who was not involved in the current research, groundwater is the source of energy for geysers.

He explained that without water, there would be nothing for the geysers to shoot out.

Unlike the Old Faithful geyser, which now erupts 20 times a day, Steamboat does not have a regular eruption schedule and occasionally goes dry for periods of three to 50 years.

Analyzing Dry Spells

Researchers looked for hints in the trees that grew around the geyser vent to understand what triggers these dry periods.

Silica, a material found in the volcanic rocks that make geysers, is sprayed into the nearby vegetation when Steamboat erupts often.

The research provides solid evidence of Steamboat's past activity by showing that trees within a 100-foot distance from the vent are choked by silica rain.

According to Shaul Hurwitz, a US Geological Survey research hydrologist, the silica-rich water gushing from the geyser restricts the routes necessary for the trees to breathe, photosynthesize, and grow.

As noted by Hurwitz, the spray kills neighboring trees and forms a barrier against germs and fungi that would otherwise prompt the wood to deteriorate.

He said that trees at Yellowstone typically don't live past 300 years, but the blasts from the geyser can keep their wooden structures intact for generations, according to AGU.

The study by lead author Hurwitz and his team was recently published in the journal Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.

Carbon Dating Tree Skeletons

Therefore, the wooden, dead structures that grew close to the vent represent periods when there were no eruptions by the Steamboat geyser.

The silica-rich mist that was released when eruptions restarted covered and destroyed the trees.

The late 15th century, the middle of the 17th century, and the late 18th century were shown to have three stages of growth when scientists investigated via radiocarbon-dating tree skeletons standing within 46 feet radius of the vent.

After comparing these periods to local climate records, they discovered that drought-like conditions were present during Steamboat's dry episodes.

According to Hurwitz, even slight variations in precipitation can have an impact on the time between eruptions.

Less water results in less frequent eruptions, whereas more water results in more frequent eruptions.

Also Read: Prismatic Spring Features in Latest Yellowstone Violation Video as Tourist Crosses Hydrothermal Feature

Climate Change and Drought

Nevertheless, the theory that a drought might lead to water shortages and starving geysers is not new.

According to a 2020 research that was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, a severe drought in the 13th century may have caused Old Faithful in Yellowstone to go dormant for an extended period of time.

These consequences might be made worse by changing weather patterns along with temperature extremes associated with climate change, as per the lead author.

The geysers are anticipated to exhibit completely different behavior in regard to the time between eruptions, erupting less frequently and possibly even going extinct in some cases.

But according to Poland, geysers that stop working during difficult times might restart, just like Old Faithful.

He explained that as the hydrothermal plumbing system beneath the shallow subsurface develops, there is always a potential that a geyser may die out or a new geyser will erupt because geysers are very dynamic systems that change all the time, Live Science reported.

Related Article: Yellowstone: No August Eruption for World's Tallest Active Geyser 'Steamboat'
The latest weather report showed that severe weather conditions are likely in portions of Central US as many Americans deal with the scorching heat.

Everyone with travel plans should monitor the weather outlook this week, as thunderstorms and flood risks are possible this week.

Nature World News (NWN) recently reported that gusty thunderstorms are forecast in the Northeast, bringing rounds of thunderstorms and rain.

Severe weather conditions in Central US

July recorded a severe weather outlook that caused flooding, thunderstorms, isolated tornadoes and extreme heat conditions.

However, as July ends, people should anticipate for possible severe outlook in the Central US.

According to AccuWeather's forecast, damaging winds and flash flooding could emerge this week.

The threat of severe thunderstorms is accompanied by intense heat in portions of the country, especially in the Southern Plains and Four Corners.

In the latest advisory, the National Weather Service (NWS) reported severe storm conditions could become likely in portions of Central and North Plains.

In the Southeast, heavy rain is possible.

Last week, AccuWeather's outlook showed that isolated tornadoes and localized damaging winds were forecast in Billings, Rapid City and North Platte.

Due to the damaging winds, trees and powerlines could likely be damaged.

Meanwhile, motorists and homeowners should check the weather before going outside, as slower commutes and travel disruptions could happen.

As many struggle with the challenging heat in the country, the latest forecast said that severe thunderstorms risk and flooding downpours could emerge in Sioux Falls, Helena and Kansas City.

In South Florida, NWS Miami reported that potential showers and thunderstorms could erupt in the region.

Meanwhile, NWS added that comfortable high temperatures are forecast in the Northeast, Northwest and Upper Midwest.

Furthermore, AccuWeather's forecast added that isolated tornadoes and hail conditions could occur in Miles City, Rapid City, St. Louis, Omaha, Memphis, Casper, Denver and Cheyenne.

On Tuesday, the latest forecast said that severe thunderstorms would continue in Rapid City, Des Moines, Casper and Scottsbluff.

Also Read: Largest Cactuses in US Die from Extreme, Record-breaking Heatwaves

Extreme heat conditions

The NWS Weather Prediction Center advisory revealed that dangerous heat could unfold in Lower Mississippi Valley, Southern Plains, Central US and Gulf Coast.

The advisory said that more than 100 million people in the US could feel the dangerous heat index this week.

In addition, the forecast said that hotter conditions could be likely in the following areas:

Eastern Texas, ArkLaTex

Louisiana, Southern Mississippi

Oklahoma, Odessa, and Austin

Due to the scorching heat outlook, Americans could suffer heat-related health risks as the oppressive heat index unfolds.

Homeowners should monitor their family members' body temperatures, especially those with no cooling systems. Staying hydrated is also helpful in preventing any possible risks.

Also Read: US Weather Forecast: Northeast to Expect Rounds of Gusty Thunderstorms This Weekend

Did you know?

According to The Guardian's report, the temperatures in Death Valley in California are one of the hottest temperatures. In July 2023, the temperature in the region reached 128F.

Related Article: US Weather Forecast: Isolated Tornadoes, Flash Flood Likely in Midwest, Plains

For more similar stories, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
Ecosystems and wildlife are affected in Greece due to raging wildfires that caused massive evacuations and property damage, according to the latest reports.

As forests burned, wildlife and animals have been impacted in the region.

Recently, Nature World News (NWN) reported that extreme heat and wildfires emerged in Greece that forced evacuations from affected areas.

International communities have already extended their assistance by bringing firefighters to control the fire in the country.

In the previous The Guardian report, about 19,000 people, with tourists, were evacuated from the fire on Aegean Island.

Wildfires impact ecosystems and wildlife

Wildlife suffered from raging wildfires and extreme heat conditions, making survival more difficult.

In a Euronews report, animal welfare groups urged people not to leave their animals.

Furthermore, AFP and Phys.org reports emphasized the impact of wildlife on animals and ecosystems as widespread damage of 50,000 hectares was burned.

The ELGA, or Association of farmers in the Country, revealed that about 50,000 olive trees were damaged in Rhodes. Animals were also affected in the area.

Firefighters continue to fight the fire in the affected areas, dealing with at least 660 fires in July.

According to the report, the Special Secretariat for the Protection of Companion Animals in Greece explained that every life has value, adding that people should not leave their animals chained or trapped.

Volunteers also helped to save the stranded animals, including them. Some animals have suffered from breathing problems and injuries.

In the Phys.org report, Nikos Bokaris explained that the fire could endanger the ecosystem in Greece.

Bokaris serves as the head of Union Foresters in Greece.

Bokaris noted that the fire could become more concerning in the country's capital, urging the importance of preventive measures to address the issues of wildfires.

Also Read: July As Hottest Month: Intense Global Heatwaves To Bring Health Risks

Wildfires study

Extreme heat and wildfires can become deadly. Recent reports showed the health impacts on human health due to poor air quality.

Based on Utah's Department of Environmental Air Quality, the report highlighted that forest fires could unleash poor air quality, as smoke has harmful microscopic particles.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) said smoke has air pollutants that bcan put at risk sensitive groups, including older adults, children and people with medical conditions.

Recently, parts of the United States experienced unhealthy air quality levels due to widespread wildfires in California.

Furthermore, the report added that forest fires could impact the water quality, especially in lakes, reservoirs or rivers.

While most wildfires could be due to climate change, human-caused fires are also possible. People going to forests should avoid burning fires to prevent the risks of potential fires.

Also Read: Human-Caused Climate Change Blamed for Deadly Global Heatwaves

Did you know? The role of beavers in California

Recently, NWN and Associated Press (AP) explained the role of beavers in California that can help with water problems and wildfires.

Related Article: Largest Cactuses in US Die from Extreme, Record-breaking Heatwaves

For more similar stories, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
The first giant panda born in France has landed in China to take part in panda breeding and conservation efforts.

The Associated Press reported that a 6-year-old male panda named Yuan Meng arrived at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Southwest China's Sichuan Province on Wednesday morning.

Yuan Meng was born in 2017 in Beauval to a parent on a 10-year loan from China. The mother also gave birth to a twin panda.

All of the offspring are expected to be sent to China.

Thousand bid farewells to Yuan Meng

Inside his special cage filled with bamboo, a crowd of well-wishers and zoo employees cheered Yuan Meng as he was driven from Beauval Zoo in Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher to the airport.

According to the China Daily, the zoo organized an event called "Last Breakfast" for the visitors to see the panda one last time ahead of his 12-hour flight to China.

Celine Gracia, her husband, and their two children traveled 400 kilometers from Dijon to attend the event.

Gracia was elated with the event saying that it was the panda's last day there.

A nine-year-old girl, Lilou, was less cheerful, saying that she was sad that the panda was leaving.

"But I am trying to tell myself that he will be better off there. It's for his own good," she told AFP, as quoted by Phys.Org.

French First Lady Brigitte Macron personally bid her farewell to the black and white bear at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.

According to the international giant panda cooperation agreement, pandas born outside of China must be sent back to the country between the ages of two and four, before reaching sexual maturity, which is between the ages of four and six.

It is thought that relocating them to China, where the species is native, will provide them with ideal conditions for giving birth to a new generation of cubs.

Yuan Meng's travel back to China was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read Also: Giant Pandas Mate in French Zoo; Keepers Anticipating Succesful Pregnancy

France's love for panda

Beauval Zoo director Rodolphe Delord described the day as "heartbreaking", adding that French people adore the bear.

Delord shared how the public has been passionate on giant pandas in France, saying that it could actually be considered as a global passion. He said a high regard is being accorded to the conservation of the species.

Yuan Meng's departure left Beauval Zoo home to four giant pandas, and the zoo director hopes that more cubs will be born in the zoo.

The Chinese ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, said the giant pandas in France symbolized friendship between the two nations.

He first visited Yuan Meng in 2019 after assuming the post.

"Yuan Meng is leaving France, and I can understand the French people's unwillingness to say goodbye," he said. "I hope Yuan Meng will continue to be an envoy of friendship between the two countries and carry on spreading goodwill."

China has traditionally used panda diplomacy to advance its foreign policy objectives, gifting the animals to various countries, including the United States and Taiwan.

Beijing loans pandas to international zoos, but they need to return the offspring to participate in the country's breeding program.

According to the environmental organization WWF, there are an estimated 1,860 giant pandas left in the wild, mostly found in bamboo forests in China.

Related Article: Giant Panda From China Dies of Mysterious Illness in Thailand Zoo
Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from high-risk areas of Beijing and another northern city as much of China was lashed by torrential rain on Sunday.

The heavy downpour was caused by Typhoon Doksuri, which has been sweeping northwards over China since Friday, when it hit the southern Fujian province after battering the Philippines.

The rainstorm triggered a red alert for heavy precipitation in northern China, including Beijing, Tianjin, and parts of Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, and Henan provinces.

This is the first time since 2011 that such a high-level warning has been issued, according to local media.

The impact of the rainstorm on people and infrastructure

The rainstorm caused widespread flooding, landslides, and traffic disruptions in northern China.

More than 27,000 people in high-risk areas of Beijing have been evacuated, and another 20,000 were relocated from parts of Hebei's capital Shijiazhuang, state media said, as per Phys.org.

Hundreds of millions of people in northern China remain under a red alert for heavy rain through at least Monday afternoon.

The rainstorm also damaged roads, bridges, buildings, and power lines in many places.

In Beijing, several subway stations were flooded and closed, and some flights were cancelled or delayed at the airport.

Meanwhile, in Hebei, a section of a highway collapsed due to a landslide, and several villages were cut off by floodwaters.

In Shanxi, a coal mine was flooded and 13 miners were trapped underground.

The rainstorm also posed a threat to public health and safety. The authorities warned of the risk of waterborne diseases and urged people to boil drinking water and avoid contact with floodwaters.

The authorities advised people to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel, and have also deployed rescue teams and relief supplies to the affected areas.

Also Read: Rainstorms Can Lead to Harmful Plant Pathogens?

The causes and consequences of the rainstorm for the environment

The rainstorm was caused by Typhoon Doksuri, which was initially categorized as a super typhoon as it tore across the Pacific Ocean last week, as per Channel News Asia.

It lost some intensity as it neared the Philippines, where it killed more than a dozen people, and still brought colossal waves and howling winds of up to 175 km/h to China's southeast on Friday, causing significant damage.

More than 880,000 people in Fujian province were affected by the storm, state media said on Sunday.

The rainstorm was also influenced by climate change, which has increased the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in China and around the world.

Climate change has caused rising temperatures, melting glaciers, sea level rise, and changes in precipitation patterns. These factors have increased the risk of droughts, floods, heat waves, storms, and wildfires.

The rainstorm had both positive and negative effects on the environment. On the positive side, the rainstorm replenished water resources and alleviated drought conditions in some areas.

It also reduced air pollution and dust levels in Beijing and other cities.

On the negative side, the rainstorm caused soil erosion and nutrient loss in agricultural lands. It also washed away garbage and pollutants into rivers and lakes and disrupted the habitats and migration patterns of some wildlife species.

Related article: Incoming Tropical Rainstorm May Bring Relief to Drought Stricken Southest
Authorities are now investigating the poor conditions of the dogs in an animal rescue in Ohio since they have discovered 30 dead dogs in horrible conditions.

Dead animals and poor health conditions

According to USA Today and NBC News, authorities discovered the inhumane conditions of dogs in an animal rescue shelter in Ohio.

The Butler County Sheriff's Office looked into the situation of the dogs inside the animal rescue.

The report noted about 30 dead dogs in five freezers and refrigerators, which some were not working.

Authorities also discovered at least 25 dogs in an area without proper ventilation, while some animals were in poor conditions with feces and urine.

Authorities are now investigating for possible animal neglect or cruelty.

Meanwhile, the press release from the sheriff's office showed that they saved 90 living dogs from the animal rescue.

Overcrowded animal shelters

Recently, NBC News Bay Area reported that the animal shelters in parts of Bay Area experienced overcrowding due to a shortage of animal housing and highlighted the importance of animal adoption to help the animals and rescue facilities.

Adopting animals can have a helpful contribution to shelters to accommodate more stranded and abandoned animals.

To encourage people to adopt, animal shelters have already waived the fees, plus aimals in shelters are generally well-taken care and microchipped.

They can also help the adopter to get along with the animals.

In Kansas City, Fox 4 Kansas reported that animal shelters reported overcrowding. The recent report noted the maximum capacity in four shelters in the city.

Recently, Nature World News (NWN) and Fox 29 News also reported that over 170 animals were rescued in a Pennsylvania house after the owner passed away.

In the report, authorities rescued birds, cats, dogs and chickens from the house.

The animals are expected to check for their health conditions and possible adoption.

Meanwhile, in Florida, ABC7 reported that people who adopted an older dog in Boward County would receive free dog food for life, encouraging people to have in their family an old dog.

Also Read: Saving And Adopting Animals in US: 4 Things Americans Can Help Homeless Dogs, Cats

Why adopting animals can become helpful

As some animal shelters in the U.S. experience overcrowding due to the influx of animals, adopting them can become a lifesaver.

Inside the shelters, animals are fully vaccinated and monitored before adoption. They give a new life to animals that were neglected or abandoned.

Homeowners could ask for advice from their animal shelters for the ideal dog inside their homes.

Before adopting, it is best that homeowners should communicate with their family members for the long-term arrangement. They should also check if their family members could become allergic to specific animals.

Also Read: Do Animals Commit Suicide? The Dark Side of Animal Suicidal Behavior

Did you know?

According to Associated Press (AP) recent report, the world's oldest dog was recorded in Portugal. Bobi celebrated his 31st birthday, attended by at least 100 people.

Related Article: Two Teenagers in Australia Attack Blakes Lake Reserve's Ducks With Pole

For more similar stories, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
??? Premier Otarola: el capital de los inversionistas esta seguro en el pais



?? Titular de la PCM explico que proyecto de ley que crea la categoria de la policia de orden y seguridad busca reducir el deficit de efectivos. https://t.co/7Z93Z10zv4
By PTI

CHENNAI: Taiwan's Foxconn signed a letter of intent (LoI) with the Tamil Nadu government on Monday to establish a new mobile component manufacturing facility for Rs 1,600 crore in Kancheepuram with potential to generate 6,000 jobs.

On his Twitter handle, Chief Minister M K Stalin said the LoI was signed, in his presence, between the state government and Foxconn Group represented by its chairman Young Liu.

State Industries Minister T R B Rajaa, Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena and senior officials participated.

"Was delighted to meet the Foxconn Group Chairman Mr. Young Liu and his team. Various investment opportunities in Tamil Nadu were discussed. Investment commitment to establish a mobile component manufacturing facility in Kancheepuram district for Rs 1600 crore with a potential employment for 6000 persons was signed in my presence," the Chief Minister said in the tweet.

"We also discussed further investments in EV and electronic components. Another milestone in our ambition to make TN the new emerging electronics manufacturing hub of Asia!" the Chief Minister further said.

Terming it "big news and a proud moment for Tamil Nadu," the Industries Minister said, "Foxconn's repeated investments and expansion plans in Tamil Nadu are a testament to the state being the top choice for manufacturing in India for major companies across the world. This is a major achievement for the state."

ALSO READ | Foxconn setback: India still big as regional chipmaking hub

Taking to Twitter, the Minister said, "Manufacturers who have seen immense success in Tamil Nadu over the past many years know that by investing more in the state they will only gain more. This also illustrates the trust global investors have in the leadership of Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Thiru @MKStalin avargal."

He added, "With this proposed investment and many more to come, Tamil Nadu is poised to not only remain the top electronics exporter in the country but also significantly increase its electronics exports in the coming years. This will play a critical role in attaining our Honourable Chief Minister Thiru @MKStalin avargal's ambition of #OneTrillionUSD economy in Tamil Nadu."

In another tweet, Rajaa said, "With 38,837 factories, as of FY 20 (15.7 percent of India), we are the Industrial capital of India! While we lead in many sectors to sustain this growth and excel in others we MUST focus on #RnD!"

"On this note we under the leadership of Honourable @CMOTamilnadu @mkstalin have opened up a series of talks with research institutions from across the globe. It is KEY to leverage the strengths of our own knowledge hubs like Anna University and the phenomenal asset in #IITResearchPark #IITMadras! Had the privilege of meeting the astute and effervescent Prof #AshokJhunjhunwala from whom I personally intend to learn and add value to the growth of Research in TN," he added.

CHENNAI: Taiwan's Foxconn signed a letter of intent (LoI) with the Tamil Nadu government on Monday to establish a new mobile component manufacturing facility for Rs 1,600 crore in Kancheepuram with potential to generate 6,000 jobs. On his Twitter handle, Chief Minister M K Stalin said the LoI was signed, in his presence, between the state government and Foxconn Group represented by its chairman Young Liu. State Industries Minister T R B Rajaa, Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena and senior officials participated.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "Was delighted to meet the Foxconn Group Chairman Mr. Young Liu and his team. Various investment opportunities in Tamil Nadu were discussed. Investment commitment to establish a mobile component manufacturing facility in Kancheepuram district for Rs 1600 crore with a potential employment for 6000 persons was signed in my presence," the Chief Minister said in the tweet. "We also discussed further investments in EV and electronic components. Another milestone in our ambition to make TN the new emerging electronics manufacturing hub of Asia!" the Chief Minister further said. Terming it "big news and a proud moment for Tamil Nadu," the Industries Minister said, "Foxconn's repeated investments and expansion plans in Tamil Nadu are a testament to the state being the top choice for manufacturing in India for major companies across the world. This is a major achievement for the state." ALSO READ | Foxconn setback: India still big as regional chipmaking hub Taking to Twitter, the Minister said, "Manufacturers who have seen immense success in Tamil Nadu over the past many years know that by investing more in the state they will only gain more. This also illustrates the trust global investors have in the leadership of Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Thiru @MKStalin avargal." He added, "With this proposed investment and many more to come, Tamil Nadu is poised to not only remain the top electronics exporter in the country but also significantly increase its electronics exports in the coming years. This will play a critical role in attaining our Honourable Chief Minister Thiru @MKStalin avargal's ambition of #OneTrillionUSD economy in Tamil Nadu." In another tweet, Rajaa said, "With 38,837 factories, as of FY 20 (15.7 percent of India), we are the Industrial capital of India! While we lead in many sectors to sustain this growth and excel in others we MUST focus on #RnD!" "On this note we under the leadership of Honourable @CMOTamilnadu @mkstalin have opened up a series of talks with research institutions from across the globe. It is KEY to leverage the strengths of our own knowledge hubs like Anna University and the phenomenal asset in #IITResearchPark #IITMadras! Had the privilege of meeting the astute and effervescent Prof #AshokJhunjhunwala from whom I personally intend to learn and add value to the growth of Research in TN," he added.
By Online Desk

NEW DELHI: The Bill to replace the Centre's Ordinance on control of services in Delhi is expected to be taken up by Parliament this week.

The bill is on the government's agenda this week in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal had informed Lok Sabha of the government's business on Friday and mentioned that the bill is on the official agenda next week.

Rajya Sabha was informed of the government's business for the coming week by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan on Friday.

The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to replace the ordinance brought by the Centre in May which excluded services from the legislative competence of the Delhi legislative assembly. The ordinance was brought days after the Supreme Court judgement on the control of services in Delhi.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been seeking opposition parties' support against the Ordinance.

Prior to the start of the monsoon session, the AAP had said it will oppose the bill along with other like-minded Opposition parties. The Congress and other members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) will also oppose the Bill.

KCR-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which is not part of the Opposition alliance, has also stated that it will oppose the Bill when it comes up for voting. Its position will come as a boost to the Opposition bloc, which is looking to garner support from all parties to defeat the BJP in Rajya Sabha in the numbers game.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said his party will oppose the bill that would be brought in to replace the Delhi ordinance, which he alleged "curtails constitutional rights and responsibilities of the elected government."

Meanwhile, the government has expressed confidence in getting the bill passed.

The ordinance has become a prestige issue for both sides. The Bill will sail smoothly through the Lok Sabha where the NDA has a clear majority.

However, in the Rajya Sabha, the BJP will be walking a tightrope if YSR Congress, TDP and Biju Janata Dal decide to either abstain or go with the Opposition bloc. Reports on the BSP mulling to abstain from voting ought to worry the BJP.

(With inputs from PTI, ANI and ENS)

NEW DELHI: The Bill to replace the Centre's Ordinance on control of services in Delhi is expected to be taken up by Parliament this week. The bill is on the government's agenda this week in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal had informed Lok Sabha of the government's business on Friday and mentioned that the bill is on the official agenda next week.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Rajya Sabha was informed of the government's business for the coming week by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan on Friday. The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to replace the ordinance brought by the Centre in May which excluded services from the legislative competence of the Delhi legislative assembly. The ordinance was brought days after the Supreme Court judgement on the control of services in Delhi. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been seeking opposition parties' support against the Ordinance. Prior to the start of the monsoon session, the AAP had said it will oppose the bill along with other like-minded Opposition parties. The Congress and other members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) will also oppose the Bill. KCR-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which is not part of the Opposition alliance, has also stated that it will oppose the Bill when it comes up for voting. Its position will come as a boost to the Opposition bloc, which is looking to garner support from all parties to defeat the BJP in Rajya Sabha in the numbers game. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said his party will oppose the bill that would be brought in to replace the Delhi ordinance, which he alleged "curtails constitutional rights and responsibilities of the elected government." Meanwhile, the government has expressed confidence in getting the bill passed. The ordinance has become a prestige issue for both sides. The Bill will sail smoothly through the Lok Sabha where the NDA has a clear majority. However, in the Rajya Sabha, the BJP will be walking a tightrope if YSR Congress, TDP and Biju Janata Dal decide to either abstain or go with the Opposition bloc. Reports on the BSP mulling to abstain from voting ought to worry the BJP. (With inputs from PTI, ANI and ENS)
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Veteran Congress leader and former Governor Vakkom Purushothaman passed away. He was 96.

Purushothaman passed away at his residence in Kumarapuram in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. A three-time minister and former Assembly Speaker, Vakkom was one of the tallest Congress leaders in the state.

He was the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman Nicobar Islands from 1993 to 1996 and later served as the governor of Maharashtra, Mizoram and Tripura. He represented Attingal in the state assembly five times and was elected to the Lok Sabha twice from Alappuzha.

Vakkom, who served as speaker in 1982 and 2001, has set the record as the long-term serving speaker of the house. He was also elected as a pro-time speaker in the Loksabha.

A no-nonsense leader, he was minister thrice and he dabbled in agriculture, labour, health, finance, tourism and excise portfolios. He was minister of Agriculture and labour in the 1971-77 C Achutha Menon cabinet and was part of the 1980 January - 1981 October EK Nayanar cabinet, as minister holding portfolios of Health and Tourism. In the 2004 AK Antony Ministry, he was the finance minister.

When Oommen Chandy became the chief minister after AK Antony resigned, he continued to remain as finance minister. When Oommen Chandy was away for treatment following a fractured leg, Vakkom held the charge of the chief minister.

Born to Bhanu Panicker and Bhavani on April 12, 1928, at Vakkom in Thiruvananthapuram, he entered politics through the Students Congress in 1946. In 1953, he became a member of the Vakkom Grama panchayat. In Congress, Vakkom held the charge of KPCC vice president, and KPCC general secretary. He was a member of the All India Congress Committee for 25 years.

He is survived by his wife Lilly Purushothaman, son Binu Purushothaman and daughter Dr Bindu Purushothaman. His elder son, Biju Purushothaman predeceased him in 2012.

In the early years of active politics, he was a staunch member of the I group under the leadership of K Karunakaran. However, later his allegiance changed to the A group. In his second innings into state politics, after he returned from the charge of lieutenant governor, Vakkom took a position against group politics.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Veteran Congress leader and former Governor Vakkom Purushothaman passed away. He was 96. Purushothaman passed away at his residence in Kumarapuram in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. A three-time minister and former Assembly Speaker, Vakkom was one of the tallest Congress leaders in the state. He was the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman Nicobar Islands from 1993 to 1996 and later served as the governor of Maharashtra, Mizoram and Tripura. He represented Attingal in the state assembly five times and was elected to the Lok Sabha twice from Alappuzha. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Vakkom, who served as speaker in 1982 and 2001, has set the record as the long-term serving speaker of the house. He was also elected as a pro-time speaker in the Loksabha. A no-nonsense leader, he was minister thrice and he dabbled in agriculture, labour, health, finance, tourism and excise portfolios. He was minister of Agriculture and labour in the 1971-77 C Achutha Menon cabinet and was part of the 1980 January - 1981 October EK Nayanar cabinet, as minister holding portfolios of Health and Tourism. In the 2004 AK Antony Ministry, he was the finance minister. When Oommen Chandy became the chief minister after AK Antony resigned, he continued to remain as finance minister. When Oommen Chandy was away for treatment following a fractured leg, Vakkom held the charge of the chief minister. Born to Bhanu Panicker and Bhavani on April 12, 1928, at Vakkom in Thiruvananthapuram, he entered politics through the Students Congress in 1946. In 1953, he became a member of the Vakkom Grama panchayat. In Congress, Vakkom held the charge of KPCC vice president, and KPCC general secretary. He was a member of the All India Congress Committee for 25 years. He is survived by his wife Lilly Purushothaman, son Binu Purushothaman and daughter Dr Bindu Purushothaman. His elder son, Biju Purushothaman predeceased him in 2012. In the early years of active politics, he was a staunch member of the I group under the leadership of K Karunakaran. However, later his allegiance changed to the A group. In his second innings into state politics, after he returned from the charge of lieutenant governor, Vakkom took a position against group politics.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two Air India Express flights experienced technical failure triggering panic among the passengers at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport here on Monday.

An Air India Express flight ( AX B613) from Tiruchirapalli Airport to Sharjah with 161 passengers on board made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport due to a suspected gear malfunction.

The second Air India Express Thiruvananthapuram- Bahrain flight (IX573) with 180 passengers on board, which was about to take off at 11.06 am, abandoned its take off due to technical reasons from the runway itself and returned back to bay 43.

A full emergency was declared at the Thiruvananthapuram airport after the pilots of the flights alerted the emergency control room in Thiruvananthapuram. According to airport officials, it was a safe landing at 12.01 p.m. of AXB613., and no casualties were reported.

In the IX573 flight, the passengers said that they had heard a sound while the flight was moving on the runway just before taking off.

The AX B613 Aircraft experienced a technical failure while flying after it took off from the Tiruchirapalli airport around 11.15 am. The flight was about to land at Sharjah Airport around 3 p.m. It is suspected that the hydraulic gear of the aircraft was damaged. The flight crew decided to land in Thiruvananthapuram, as this airport is the safest airport for emergency landings in the state. The airport authorities cleared the runway prior to the safe landing of the aircraft.

After landing, the passengers were shifted to the transit lounge of the airport. The flights have been shifted to the Air India Express hangar unit for repair work.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two Air India Express flights experienced technical failure triggering panic among the passengers at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport here on Monday. An Air India Express flight ( AX B613) from Tiruchirapalli Airport to Sharjah with 161 passengers on board made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport due to a suspected gear malfunction. The second Air India Express Thiruvananthapuram- Bahrain flight (IX573) with 180 passengers on board, which was about to take off at 11.06 am, abandoned its take off due to technical reasons from the runway itself and returned back to bay 43.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); A full emergency was declared at the Thiruvananthapuram airport after the pilots of the flights alerted the emergency control room in Thiruvananthapuram. According to airport officials, it was a safe landing at 12.01 p.m. of AXB613., and no casualties were reported. In the IX573 flight, the passengers said that they had heard a sound while the flight was moving on the runway just before taking off. The AX B613 Aircraft experienced a technical failure while flying after it took off from the Tiruchirapalli airport around 11.15 am. The flight was about to land at Sharjah Airport around 3 p.m. It is suspected that the hydraulic gear of the aircraft was damaged. The flight crew decided to land in Thiruvananthapuram, as this airport is the safest airport for emergency landings in the state. The airport authorities cleared the runway prior to the safe landing of the aircraft. After landing, the passengers were shifted to the transit lounge of the airport. The flights have been shifted to the Air India Express hangar unit for repair work.
By PTI

GURUGRAM/CHANDIGARH: Two home guards were killed and at least 15 others, including several policemen, were injured Monday as a mob in Haryana's Nuh district tried to stop a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession, pelting stones and setting cars on fire, officials said.

#WATCH | Aftermath of clash that broke out between two groups in Haryana's Nuh today. pic.twitter.com/yyVp10Hwzr  ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023

The Union Home Ministry said it is dispatching 15 additional companies of central forces to Haryana, as violence also erupted in Sohna in the neighbouring Gurugram district, adjacent to Delhi.

As news of the violence in Muslim-dominated Nuh spread, mobs in Sohna set ablaze four vehicles and a shop, apparently belonging to people from that community.

Protesters there blocked a road for hours. About 2,500 men, women and children who had taken shelter at a Shiv temple in Nuh were evacuated by police, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said.

Prohibitory orders banning the assembly of people were clamped in Nuh and Gurugram districts. Mobile internet services were suspended in Nuh and Faridabad up to Wednesday.

Educational institutes were ordered closed Tuesday in Faridabad and Palwal districts as a precautionary measure.

Gurugram Police Commissioner Kala Ramachandran said two home guards, attached with the district, were killed in the violence in adjoining Nuh.

About 10 police personnel were injured in Nuh violence, the official said.

Another police officer confirmed that one of the home guards, identified as Neeraj, died due to a gunshot wound. Eight of the injured police personnel were taken to Gurugram's Medanta Hospital, he said.

Among the injured Hodal Deputy Superintendent of Police Sajjan Singh was shot in the head and an inspector in the stomach.

Police said the vehicles set ablaze were part of the procession or belonged to them.

A video clip showed at least four cars on fire. Another purported video showed two damaged police cars. The clip contained the sound of gunfire. Police lobbed teargas shells in an attempt to disperse the mobs.

Suspending mobile internet services in Nuh, the Haryana government said there was "intense communal tension" in the area.

According to police, VHP's 'Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra' was stopped by a group of young men near Nuh's Khedla Mod and stones were pelted at the procession.

Cars were then set ablaze. People in the procession also hurled stones back at the youths who had stopped them, reports said.

Later, many took refuge in a temple as police tried to evacuate them to safety. The yatra was flagged off from Gurugram's Civil Lines by BJP district president Gargi Kakkar.

A police contingent was deployed with the procession.

According to some claims, the trigger for the clash was an objectionable video posted on social media by a Bajrang Dal activist in Ballabhgarh.

There were also reports that Monu Manesar, a cow vigilante booked earlier for the murder of two Muslim men whose charred bodies were found in the Bhiwani district in February, was supposed to join the procession.

The vigilante, however, saidI that he did not participate on the advice of the VHP, which feared that his presence would create tension. There were also threats on Twitter daring him to come to Nuh.

ALSO READ | Internet services suspended till Aug 2 in Haryanas Nuh after clashes break out between two groups

State home minister Anil Vij said in the evening that three companies of central forces have already reached.

According to the Union Home Ministry, the Centre is making available 15 additional companies were being made available to the state.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar appealed for calm in Nuh, invoking the slogan "Haryana Ek Haryanvi Ek (Haryanvis are one)".

Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala called it a Black Day for Haryana, blaming the Khattar government for the failure of law and order.

Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda asked people to maintain peace and brotherhood. Nuh MLA Aftab Ahmed and former legislator MLA Zakir Hussain also issued similar appeals.

"Our first priority is to bring the situation under control. We are appealing to all to maintain peace," Vij said.

He told reporters it will be determined later who was responsible for the violence.

GURUGRAM/CHANDIGARH: Two home guards were killed and at least 15 others, including several policemen, were injured Monday as a mob in Haryana's Nuh district tried to stop a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession, pelting stones and setting cars on fire, officials said. #WATCH | Aftermath of clash that broke out between two groups in Haryana's Nuh today. pic.twitter.com/yyVp10Hwzr  ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023 The Union Home Ministry said it is dispatching 15 additional companies of central forces to Haryana, as violence also erupted in Sohna in the neighbouring Gurugram district, adjacent to Delhi.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); As news of the violence in Muslim-dominated Nuh spread, mobs in Sohna set ablaze four vehicles and a shop, apparently belonging to people from that community. Protesters there blocked a road for hours. About 2,500 men, women and children who had taken shelter at a Shiv temple in Nuh were evacuated by police, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said. Prohibitory orders banning the assembly of people were clamped in Nuh and Gurugram districts. Mobile internet services were suspended in Nuh and Faridabad up to Wednesday. Educational institutes were ordered closed Tuesday in Faridabad and Palwal districts as a precautionary measure. Gurugram Police Commissioner Kala Ramachandran said two home guards, attached with the district, were killed in the violence in adjoining Nuh. About 10 police personnel were injured in Nuh violence, the official said. Another police officer confirmed that one of the home guards, identified as Neeraj, died due to a gunshot wound. Eight of the injured police personnel were taken to Gurugram's Medanta Hospital, he said. Among the injured Hodal Deputy Superintendent of Police Sajjan Singh was shot in the head and an inspector in the stomach. Police said the vehicles set ablaze were part of the procession or belonged to them. A video clip showed at least four cars on fire. Another purported video showed two damaged police cars. The clip contained the sound of gunfire. Police lobbed teargas shells in an attempt to disperse the mobs. Suspending mobile internet services in Nuh, the Haryana government said there was "intense communal tension" in the area. According to police, VHP's 'Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra' was stopped by a group of young men near Nuh's Khedla Mod and stones were pelted at the procession. Cars were then set ablaze. People in the procession also hurled stones back at the youths who had stopped them, reports said. Later, many took refuge in a temple as police tried to evacuate them to safety. The yatra was flagged off from Gurugram's Civil Lines by BJP district president Gargi Kakkar. A police contingent was deployed with the procession. According to some claims, the trigger for the clash was an objectionable video posted on social media by a Bajrang Dal activist in Ballabhgarh. There were also reports that Monu Manesar, a cow vigilante booked earlier for the murder of two Muslim men whose charred bodies were found in the Bhiwani district in February, was supposed to join the procession. The vigilante, however, saidI that he did not participate on the advice of the VHP, which feared that his presence would create tension. There were also threats on Twitter daring him to come to Nuh. ALSO READ | Internet services suspended till Aug 2 in Haryanas Nuh after clashes break out between two groups State home minister Anil Vij said in the evening that three companies of central forces have already reached. According to the Union Home Ministry, the Centre is making available 15 additional companies were being made available to the state. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar appealed for calm in Nuh, invoking the slogan "Haryana Ek Haryanvi Ek (Haryanvis are one)". Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala called it a Black Day for Haryana, blaming the Khattar government for the failure of law and order. Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda asked people to maintain peace and brotherhood. Nuh MLA Aftab Ahmed and former legislator MLA Zakir Hussain also issued similar appeals. "Our first priority is to bring the situation under control. We are appealing to all to maintain peace," Vij said. He told reporters it will be determined later who was responsible for the violence.
Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: Seventeen Indian youths from Punjab and Haryana who were stranded in Libya for the last six months were released from the jail in Tripoli yesterday.

Member of Parliament of Rajya Sabha from Punjab Vikramjit Singh Sahney said that they were cheated (the amount varies from person to person) by some unscrupulous travel agents on the pretext of sending them to Italy for lucrative jobs.

All of them left India for Italy in February 2023 via Dubai then Egypt and after a few days, they were landed in Libya and kept in Zuwara City, where they were being deprived of basic amenities like food and water and causing physical assault.

Sahney said that when he got to know about it in May this year, he got in touch with the Indian Embassy in Tunisia and initiated the legal process for rescuing all these boys.

"My office was in constant touch with these boys and their families. Initially, our major concern was to take them out from the captivity of the local mafia, he said.

Sahney further said that they were detained in an under-construction building by an armed group from where the police took their custody. "On June 13 with the help of Libyan police, we made these boys run and accommodated them in a hotel at Zwara City, Libya. My office was in touch with these youths throughout the night till this rescue operation got over in the early morning. Later, they were kept at a detention centre on June 15 and then we initiated the legal process to get their consular access, he said.

Sahney said on Saturday the process of getting their consular access got over and Libyan authorities released them from jail and kept them in Tripoli till arrangements for their travel documents viz Emergency Certificate to ensure their smooth, safe repatriation to India were arranged by them.

Sahney said he will be sponsoring all legal expenses and flight tickets for the youth coming back to their home. On reaching India, Sahneys office will offer them free of cost skilling and provide them with job opportunities so that they dont have to go abroad in search of Jobs.

CHANDIGARH: Seventeen Indian youths from Punjab and Haryana who were stranded in Libya for the last six months were released from the jail in Tripoli yesterday. Member of Parliament of Rajya Sabha from Punjab Vikramjit Singh Sahney said that they were cheated (the amount varies from person to person) by some unscrupulous travel agents on the pretext of sending them to Italy for lucrative jobs. All of them left India for Italy in February 2023 via Dubai then Egypt and after a few days, they were landed in Libya and kept in Zuwara City, where they were being deprived of basic amenities like food and water and causing physical assault.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Sahney said that when he got to know about it in May this year, he got in touch with the Indian Embassy in Tunisia and initiated the legal process for rescuing all these boys. "My office was in constant touch with these boys and their families. Initially, our major concern was to take them out from the captivity of the local mafia, he said. Sahney further said that they were detained in an under-construction building by an armed group from where the police took their custody. "On June 13 with the help of Libyan police, we made these boys run and accommodated them in a hotel at Zwara City, Libya. My office was in touch with these youths throughout the night till this rescue operation got over in the early morning. Later, they were kept at a detention centre on June 15 and then we initiated the legal process to get their consular access, he said. Sahney said on Saturday the process of getting their consular access got over and Libyan authorities released them from jail and kept them in Tripoli till arrangements for their travel documents viz Emergency Certificate to ensure their smooth, safe repatriation to India were arranged by them. Sahney said he will be sponsoring all legal expenses and flight tickets for the youth coming back to their home. On reaching India, Sahneys office will offer them free of cost skilling and provide them with job opportunities so that they dont have to go abroad in search of Jobs.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Thirty-one antiquities have been stolen from centrally-protected monuments and temples under the Archaeological Survey of India in the last 10 years, the government informed Parliament on Monday, but added four of them have been recovered.

Union Minister for Culture G Kishan Reddy said this in a written response to a query in Lok Sabha.

A total of 31 antiquities have been stolen from centrally-protected monuments, sites, temple etc under the ASI during 2013-2023 of which 27 are still to be recovered, he said.

"However, no information is available about their illegal shipping abroad," he said.

The government is committed to bring back the antiquities of Indian-origin which were taken away from India.

Whenever any such antiquity surfaces abroad, the ASI takes up the matter with the Indian embassies or missions through the MEA for their retrieval, the minister said in his response.

"The Archaeological Survey of India has retrieved 251 antiquities from foreign countries from the year 1976 to 2023, of which 238 have been retrieved from 2014 to 2023," he added.

In a separate response to another query, the Union minister shared country-wise and year-wise data on the return on 238 antiquities to India since 2014.

In 2021, as many as 157 antiquities were returned from the US, and in 2022, as many as 29 items from Australia, according to data shared in his response. The ASI is committed towards the protection of monuments, sites and antiquities under its jurisdiction, the government said.

"Besides regular watch and ward staff of the ASI, private security guards, state police armed guards, and Central Industrial Security Force have been deployed as per requirement. Whenever any theft of antiquity is reported, FIR is lodged in concerned police station and 'Look Out Notice' is issued to law enforcement agencies including Custom Exit Channels to keep a vigil to trace stolen antiquity and prevent its illegal export," the minister said.

Of the 31 antiquities that have been stolen from centrally-protected monuments and temples, the highest number of 14 were from sites in Karnataka out of which one has been recovered, according to data shared by the minister.

Four objects each were stolen from sites in Bihar and Odisha, and are yet to be recovered, he said.

NEW DELHI: Thirty-one antiquities have been stolen from centrally-protected monuments and temples under the Archaeological Survey of India in the last 10 years, the government informed Parliament on Monday, but added four of them have been recovered. Union Minister for Culture G Kishan Reddy said this in a written response to a query in Lok Sabha. A total of 31 antiquities have been stolen from centrally-protected monuments, sites, temple etc under the ASI during 2013-2023 of which 27 are still to be recovered, he said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "However, no information is available about their illegal shipping abroad," he said. The government is committed to bring back the antiquities of Indian-origin which were taken away from India. Whenever any such antiquity surfaces abroad, the ASI takes up the matter with the Indian embassies or missions through the MEA for their retrieval, the minister said in his response. "The Archaeological Survey of India has retrieved 251 antiquities from foreign countries from the year 1976 to 2023, of which 238 have been retrieved from 2014 to 2023," he added. In a separate response to another query, the Union minister shared country-wise and year-wise data on the return on 238 antiquities to India since 2014. In 2021, as many as 157 antiquities were returned from the US, and in 2022, as many as 29 items from Australia, according to data shared in his response. The ASI is committed towards the protection of monuments, sites and antiquities under its jurisdiction, the government said. "Besides regular watch and ward staff of the ASI, private security guards, state police armed guards, and Central Industrial Security Force have been deployed as per requirement. Whenever any theft of antiquity is reported, FIR is lodged in concerned police station and 'Look Out Notice' is issued to law enforcement agencies including Custom Exit Channels to keep a vigil to trace stolen antiquity and prevent its illegal export," the minister said. Of the 31 antiquities that have been stolen from centrally-protected monuments and temples, the highest number of 14 were from sites in Karnataka out of which one has been recovered, according to data shared by the minister. Four objects each were stolen from sites in Bihar and Odisha, and are yet to be recovered, he said.
By Online Desk

The Centre has confirmed that no child should be denied admission to school for not having an Aadhaar card, reiterating previous announcements to this effect in 2018 and 2021. This comes amid reports of some schools still insisting on Aadhaar for admissions.

Replying to a query in the Lok Sabha, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, "Education is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution and majority of the schools come under the purview of the respective State and UT Governments. As per the circular dated 05.09.2018 issued by Unique Identification Authority of India, children may not be deprived/denied of their due benefits or rights for want of Aadhaar. No child should be denied admission and other facilities for lack of Aadhaar."

He added, "The Department of School Education and Literacy has also issued a notification dated 29.11.2021 stating that no eligible child shall be denied benefit under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha in case of failure to establish his identity by undergoing authentication or furnishing proof of possession of Aadhaar number or in the case of a child to whom no Aadhaar number has been assigned, producing an application for enrolment, the benefit shall be given to him by verifying his identity on the basis of other documents."

Several reports have highlighted how children, especially those from marginalised communities, were deprived of their basic right to education as states had made Aadhaar mandatory for admission in government schools. Enrolling for Aadhaar requires birth certificates and address proof which many children belonging to vulnerable sections of society do not have.

In September 2018, the Supreme Court had said that no child could be denied benefits of any scheme for not having an Aadhaar number. "CBSE, NEET, UGC cannot make Aadhaar mandatory, also it is not compulsory for school admissions," it said.

Free education is to be provided to children between six and fourteen years of age under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009.

The Aadhaar norm has prevented the implementation of the RTE Act as well as violated the top court's mandate.

In 2022, media reports said that food provision under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme (school meal programme) was going to be linked with Aadhaar enrolment in Maharashtra. Reports quoted government data that close to 1.9 million students in the state did not have Aadhaar cards and that 5.9 million children were facing issues with their Aadhaar cards such as details not matching those on the school records.

The provision of free lunches on working days at schools is an important factor in the enrollment of children, especially in remote, tribal-dominated areas.

Activists have said that Aadhaar registration in rural areas had several hurdles as people are not technologically advanced to use Aadhaar-based processes.

Several states including Karnataka and the Telugu states have made their direct benefit transfer schemes Aadhaar-enabled including the RTE entitlements to students. Money is now directly transferred to the account number which is linked with the Aadhaar number.

Last year, the Uttar Pradesh government had declared that Rs 1,100 will be transferred to the bank accounts of students' parents to purchase school uniforms including sweaters, shoes, socks, and school bags. But by linking the scheme with compulsory Aadhaar enrolment, lakhs of UP schoolchildren did not receive funds (on account of Aadhaar cards not being made or being processed) and hence did not have adequate warm clothing to protect them in winter, a report in Newsclick said.

Inability to produce the Aadhaar ID card has even led to deaths due to hospitals denying treatment.

About 135.2 crore Aadhaar numbers have been generated as of November 2022 while 71.1 crore Aadhaar numbers have been updated, according to the Economic Survey 2022-23.

In an August 11, 2022 circular, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) had made it mandatory to have an Aadhaar number or its enrolment slip for availing government subsidies and benefits.

The Centre has confirmed that no child should be denied admission to school for not having an Aadhaar card, reiterating previous announcements to this effect in 2018 and 2021. This comes amid reports of some schools still insisting on Aadhaar for admissions. Replying to a query in the Lok Sabha, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, "Education is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution and majority of the schools come under the purview of the respective State and UT Governments. As per the circular dated 05.09.2018 issued by Unique Identification Authority of India, children may not be deprived/denied of their due benefits or rights for want of Aadhaar. No child should be denied admission and other facilities for lack of Aadhaar." He added, "The Department of School Education and Literacy has also issued a notification dated 29.11.2021 stating that no eligible child shall be denied benefit under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha in case of failure to establish his identity by undergoing authentication or furnishing proof of possession of Aadhaar number or in the case of a child to whom no Aadhaar number has been assigned, producing an application for enrolment, the benefit shall be given to him by verifying his identity on the basis of other documents."googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Several reports have highlighted how children, especially those from marginalised communities, were deprived of their basic right to education as states had made Aadhaar mandatory for admission in government schools. Enrolling for Aadhaar requires birth certificates and address proof which many children belonging to vulnerable sections of society do not have. In September 2018, the Supreme Court had said that no child could be denied benefits of any scheme for not having an Aadhaar number. "CBSE, NEET, UGC cannot make Aadhaar mandatory, also it is not compulsory for school admissions," it said. Free education is to be provided to children between six and fourteen years of age under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009. The Aadhaar norm has prevented the implementation of the RTE Act as well as violated the top court's mandate. In 2022, media reports said that food provision under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme (school meal programme) was going to be linked with Aadhaar enrolment in Maharashtra. Reports quoted government data that close to 1.9 million students in the state did not have Aadhaar cards and that 5.9 million children were facing issues with their Aadhaar cards such as details not matching those on the school records. The provision of free lunches on working days at schools is an important factor in the enrollment of children, especially in remote, tribal-dominated areas. Activists have said that Aadhaar registration in rural areas had several hurdles as people are not technologically advanced to use Aadhaar-based processes. Several states including Karnataka and the Telugu states have made their direct benefit transfer schemes Aadhaar-enabled including the RTE entitlements to students. Money is now directly transferred to the account number which is linked with the Aadhaar number. Last year, the Uttar Pradesh government had declared that Rs 1,100 will be transferred to the bank accounts of students' parents to purchase school uniforms including sweaters, shoes, socks, and school bags. But by linking the scheme with compulsory Aadhaar enrolment, lakhs of UP schoolchildren did not receive funds (on account of Aadhaar cards not being made or being processed) and hence did not have adequate warm clothing to protect them in winter, a report in Newsclick said. Inability to produce the Aadhaar ID card has even led to deaths due to hospitals denying treatment. About 135.2 crore Aadhaar numbers have been generated as of November 2022 while 71.1 crore Aadhaar numbers have been updated, according to the Economic Survey 2022-23. In an August 11, 2022 circular, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) had made it mandatory to have an Aadhaar number or its enrolment slip for availing government subsidies and benefits.
Narendra Sethi By

Express News Service

DEHRADUN: For the first time in Uttarakhand, four species of vultures will be studied closely by attaching satellite tags to them. This predator-category bird is on the verge of extinction. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified them as endangered birds. The forest department has sought permission from the government to tag the birds for the study to be held under Rajaji and Corbett Tiger Reserves.

Sameer Sinha, chief wildlife warden of the forest department, told this newspaper, These four predatory birds belong to scheduled forest species. The Wildlife Act provides grant of special purpose licences in such cases, after which permission of the state government is required for education and research. In this sequence, permission has been sought from the government to put satellite tags on birds, Sinha said.

Dr Saket Badola, director of Rajaji Tiger Reserve and nodal officer for the project, told this daily, The study will be conducted under Rajaji Tiger Reserve in Garhwal and Corbett Tiger Reserve in Kumaon. In this study, information about the habitat, location, migration, their route, living conditions related information will be gathered. In this regard, a letter has been written to the Principal Secretary of Forest and Environment on behalf of the Chief Wildlife Warden seeking permission for the study. The four species of vulture that will be studied in Uttarakhand are the red-headed vulture, the white-tailed vulture (white-rumped vulture), the white vulture (Egyptian vulture) and the Plas fish vulture species.

Director Dr Badola said, These four predatory species of birds belong to a very rare category, but the good thing is that from time to time their presence has been found in different areas of Garhwal and Kumaon of Uttarakhand. The forest department is serious about their conservation, under which extensive studies will be done on them and this project will run for the next three years.

According to sources in the forest department, no one has an exact figure for the number of vultures that play an important role in maintaining the environmental balance in Uttarakhand. The statistics manual of the state forest department shows their numbers for the year 2005, according to which the number of vultures in protected areas is 1,272 and 3,794 outside protected areas, taking the total to 5,066. This data has not been updated since 2005 and now the forest department has once again made up its mind to peek into the world of vultures.

DEHRADUN: For the first time in Uttarakhand, four species of vultures will be studied closely by attaching satellite tags to them. This predator-category bird is on the verge of extinction. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified them as endangered birds. The forest department has sought permission from the government to tag the birds for the study to be held under Rajaji and Corbett Tiger Reserves. Sameer Sinha, chief wildlife warden of the forest department, told this newspaper, These four predatory birds belong to scheduled forest species. The Wildlife Act provides grant of special purpose licences in such cases, after which permission of the state government is required for education and research. In this sequence, permission has been sought from the government to put satellite tags on birds, Sinha said. Dr Saket Badola, director of Rajaji Tiger Reserve and nodal officer for the project, told this daily, The study will be conducted under Rajaji Tiger Reserve in Garhwal and Corbett Tiger Reserve in Kumaon. In this study, information about the habitat, location, migration, their route, living conditions related information will be gathered. In this regard, a letter has been written to the Principal Secretary of Forest and Environment on behalf of the Chief Wildlife Warden seeking permission for the study. The four species of vulture that will be studied in Uttarakhand are the red-headed vulture, the white-tailed vulture (white-rumped vulture), the white vulture (Egyptian vulture) and the Plas fish vulture species. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Director Dr Badola said, These four predatory species of birds belong to a very rare category, but the good thing is that from time to time their presence has been found in different areas of Garhwal and Kumaon of Uttarakhand. The forest department is serious about their conservation, under which extensive studies will be done on them and this project will run for the next three years. According to sources in the forest department, no one has an exact figure for the number of vultures that play an important role in maintaining the environmental balance in Uttarakhand. The statistics manual of the state forest department shows their numbers for the year 2005, according to which the number of vultures in protected areas is 1,272 and 3,794 outside protected areas, taking the total to 5,066. This data has not been updated since 2005 and now the forest department has once again made up its mind to peek into the world of vultures.
By Express News Service

BHOPAL: The countrys cleanest city and Madhya Pradeshs financial capital Indore became the central point of competing politics between the ruling BJP and opposition Congress in the assembly poll-bound state on Sunday.

The ruling BJP organized a mega gathering of its booth-level workers in its impregnable fortress Indore-II assembly constituency. It was addressed by Union home minister Amit Shah. A few kilometres away, senior Congress leaders, including two former CMs, Digvijaya Singh and Kamal Nath, besides ex-JNUSU president-turned-NSUIs national in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar addressed an Adivasi Yuva Mahapanchayat.

The gathering of BJPs booth-level workers came from around 40 of the 66 seats of the Malwa-Nimar region. Shah (who has visited MP for the third time in 19 days) appealed to BJP workers to achieve an unprecedented victory for the party in the 2023 Assembly polls. He also told them to work to win all 29 LS seats from the state in the next years general election to ensure a third stint for Narendra Modi as PM.

Its not the leaders sitting on this stage, who win the elections for the BJP. Its our booth-level workers who win us the polls, Shah said.

While terming PM Modi as the messiah of the poor for starting many pro-poor schemes, Shah said Congress, while being in power for years, didnt do anything for the poor. He also took a dig at the previous Congress governments headed by Digvijaya Singh (whom Shah called Mr Bantadhar) and Kamal Nath (whom he dubbed as Corruption Nath), comparing their works with achievements of the BJP governments over 18 years in MP, particularly during the double-engine BJP governments at the Centre and in the state.

No new industry was started in the 15-month regime of Corruption Nath, as only the transfer industry (18,000 Class I officers were transferred in Naths 15-month regime) flourished. Whatever new industry has been established is the result of the Modi government at the Centre and Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in the state, Shah said. He also raised the issues of surgical and air strikes on Pak soil, Ram temple construction in Ayodhya and the abrogation of Article 370.

Meanwhile, addressing an Adivasi Yuva Mahapanchayat (not directly organized by the Congress), both the ex-CMs Digvijaya Singh and Kamal Nath promised to include in the partys poll manifesto all those demands which were raised by the tribal youths through a Maang-Patra at the Mahapanchayat on Sunday.

Lashing out at the BJP, the Union home minister, the CM and the MP home minister, ex-JNUSU president and current NSUI national in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar accused the BJP of pitting tribals against non-tribals in Manipur. He questioned the countrys first tribal President Droupadi Murmus silence over tribal women paraded naked in Manipur.

While he dubbed MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan Kans Mama and reminded that Kans Mama was eliminated by Kanhaiya, he mocked MP home minister Narottam Mishra, saying his deeds make him Nikrishtham (worst).

Significance of Indore

Indore is the nucleus of the 66 seats of western and south-western or the Malwa-Nimar region of the poll-bound state. Over the years, the party, which has won the 66 seats-strong Malwa-Nimar, has gone on to form the government in the state. In 2013, BJP swept the region, winning 57 out of the 66 seats, while the Congress was far behind with just nine seats. Five years later, the Congress, however, turned the tables on BJP, by winning 36 seats.

BHOPAL: The countrys cleanest city and Madhya Pradeshs financial capital Indore became the central point of competing politics between the ruling BJP and opposition Congress in the assembly poll-bound state on Sunday. The ruling BJP organized a mega gathering of its booth-level workers in its impregnable fortress Indore-II assembly constituency. It was addressed by Union home minister Amit Shah. A few kilometres away, senior Congress leaders, including two former CMs, Digvijaya Singh and Kamal Nath, besides ex-JNUSU president-turned-NSUIs national in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar addressed an Adivasi Yuva Mahapanchayat. The gathering of BJPs booth-level workers came from around 40 of the 66 seats of the Malwa-Nimar region. Shah (who has visited MP for the third time in 19 days) appealed to BJP workers to achieve an unprecedented victory for the party in the 2023 Assembly polls. He also told them to work to win all 29 LS seats from the state in the next years general election to ensure a third stint for Narendra Modi as PM. Its not the leaders sitting on this stage, who win the elections for the BJP. Its our booth-level workers who win us the polls, Shah said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); While terming PM Modi as the messiah of the poor for starting many pro-poor schemes, Shah said Congress, while being in power for years, didnt do anything for the poor. He also took a dig at the previous Congress governments headed by Digvijaya Singh (whom Shah called Mr Bantadhar) and Kamal Nath (whom he dubbed as Corruption Nath), comparing their works with achievements of the BJP governments over 18 years in MP, particularly during the double-engine BJP governments at the Centre and in the state. No new industry was started in the 15-month regime of Corruption Nath, as only the transfer industry (18,000 Class I officers were transferred in Naths 15-month regime) flourished. Whatever new industry has been established is the result of the Modi government at the Centre and Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in the state, Shah said. He also raised the issues of surgical and air strikes on Pak soil, Ram temple construction in Ayodhya and the abrogation of Article 370. Meanwhile, addressing an Adivasi Yuva Mahapanchayat (not directly organized by the Congress), both the ex-CMs Digvijaya Singh and Kamal Nath promised to include in the partys poll manifesto all those demands which were raised by the tribal youths through a Maang-Patra at the Mahapanchayat on Sunday. Lashing out at the BJP, the Union home minister, the CM and the MP home minister, ex-JNUSU president and current NSUI national in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar accused the BJP of pitting tribals against non-tribals in Manipur. He questioned the countrys first tribal President Droupadi Murmus silence over tribal women paraded naked in Manipur. While he dubbed MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan Kans Mama and reminded that Kans Mama was eliminated by Kanhaiya, he mocked MP home minister Narottam Mishra, saying his deeds make him Nikrishtham (worst). Significance of Indore Indore is the nucleus of the 66 seats of western and south-western or the Malwa-Nimar region of the poll-bound state. Over the years, the party, which has won the 66 seats-strong Malwa-Nimar, has gone on to form the government in the state. In 2013, BJP swept the region, winning 57 out of the 66 seats, while the Congress was far behind with just nine seats. Five years later, the Congress, however, turned the tables on BJP, by winning 36 seats.
By Online Desk

The Centre has asked the Manipur government to 'revisit' a proposal to install the world's tallest flag pole at Imphal.

Union Minister for Culture G Kishan Reddy said this in a written response to a query in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

He was asked whether any proposal is pending with the government for the installation of the world's tallest national flag pole, to which he replied in the affirmative.

"A proposal for installation of the tallest flag pole at Imphal for hoisting the national flag has been received from the state government of Manipur," he said.

"State government of Manipur has been asked to revisit their proposal and submit the details for consideration of Ministry of Culture," Reddy added.

Currently, the tallest flag pole for flying India's national flag is in Belagavi, Karnataka, which stands at 110 metres in height (361 ft). The flag pole at Belagavi Fort Lake is 1 foot taller than the one in Attari-Wagah border in Punjab, which stands at 360 feet.

The tallest flag pole in the world is located in Cairo, which stands at 201.952 metres in height (662.57 ft).

(With inputs from PTI)

The Centre has asked the Manipur government to 'revisit' a proposal to install the world's tallest flag pole at Imphal. Union Minister for Culture G Kishan Reddy said this in a written response to a query in the Lok Sabha on Monday. He was asked whether any proposal is pending with the government for the installation of the world's tallest national flag pole, to which he replied in the affirmative.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "A proposal for installation of the tallest flag pole at Imphal for hoisting the national flag has been received from the state government of Manipur," he said. "State government of Manipur has been asked to revisit their proposal and submit the details for consideration of Ministry of Culture," Reddy added. Currently, the tallest flag pole for flying India's national flag is in Belagavi, Karnataka, which stands at 110 metres in height (361 ft). The flag pole at Belagavi Fort Lake is 1 foot taller than the one in Attari-Wagah border in Punjab, which stands at 360 feet. The tallest flag pole in the world is located in Cairo, which stands at 201.952 metres in height (662.57 ft). (With inputs from PTI)
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: A Class 10 student allegedly stabbed to death his classmate at a school in Kanpur on Monday after a scuffle broke out between the duo, police said.

A tragic tale of vengeance culminated in the loss of a young life after a class 10th student stabbed his classmate multiple times over his alleged friendship with a girl student.

ACP Ghatampur Dinesh Shukla said that the accused Rajveer was taken into custody and his interrogation was on.

The incident took place at a private school at Gopalpuri in the Bidhnu area here during the lunch break.

The school sources claimed that victim Nilendra Tiwari, 15, and accused Rajveer,13, both of class 10th, were friends and had failed last years board exam. Additional CP, South, Ankit Sharma claimed that both the students had also clashed four days back over some issue. They came face-to-face again during the school interval at around 10:45 am on Monday.

However, as per the students of the same class, the cause of acrimony between Nilendra and Rajveer was believed to be Nilendras proximity to a girl student. Rajveer had come prepared by hiding a knife in his bag to avenge the verbal dual with Nilendra and teach him a lesson.

They started fighting again and indulged in heated arguments during the interval. Suddenly, Rajveer took out a knife and stabbed Nilendra several times in his stomach and neck. Consequently, Nilendra Tiwari fell to the ground while bleeding profusely.

Hearing Nilendra's screams, other students rushed to the spot and informed the teachers and management of the school about the incident. The teachers and staff rushed to the class finding the victim on the ground in a pool of blood. They took him to a Hallet hospital in a critical condition.

The doctors declared him dead during the treatment.

The victim was the only son of Satendra Tiwari, a resident of the Gangapur Colony here, employed in a private firm. On the other hand, the accused Rajveer belongs to Maharajpur and has been staying with his uncle for studies in Bidhun for the last two years.

LUCKNOW: A Class 10 student allegedly stabbed to death his classmate at a school in Kanpur on Monday after a scuffle broke out between the duo, police said. A tragic tale of vengeance culminated in the loss of a young life after a class 10th student stabbed his classmate multiple times over his alleged friendship with a girl student. ACP Ghatampur Dinesh Shukla said that the accused Rajveer was taken into custody and his interrogation was on.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The incident took place at a private school at Gopalpuri in the Bidhnu area here during the lunch break. The school sources claimed that victim Nilendra Tiwari, 15, and accused Rajveer,13, both of class 10th, were friends and had failed last years board exam. Additional CP, South, Ankit Sharma claimed that both the students had also clashed four days back over some issue. They came face-to-face again during the school interval at around 10:45 am on Monday. However, as per the students of the same class, the cause of acrimony between Nilendra and Rajveer was believed to be Nilendras proximity to a girl student. Rajveer had come prepared by hiding a knife in his bag to avenge the verbal dual with Nilendra and teach him a lesson. They started fighting again and indulged in heated arguments during the interval. Suddenly, Rajveer took out a knife and stabbed Nilendra several times in his stomach and neck. Consequently, Nilendra Tiwari fell to the ground while bleeding profusely. Hearing Nilendra's screams, other students rushed to the spot and informed the teachers and management of the school about the incident. The teachers and staff rushed to the class finding the victim on the ground in a pool of blood. They took him to a Hallet hospital in a critical condition. The doctors declared him dead during the treatment. The victim was the only son of Satendra Tiwari, a resident of the Gangapur Colony here, employed in a private firm. On the other hand, the accused Rajveer belongs to Maharajpur and has been staying with his uncle for studies in Bidhun for the last two years.
By PTI

KOLKATA: Former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya remained critical on Monday as he continued to be on mechanical ventilation, doctors treating him said.

Bhattacharya, 79, underwent a CT scan of his thorax in the morning, they said.

"Mr Bhattacharya's health condition is critical but stable. He is still on invasive ventilation. We have conducted a CT scan of his thorax this morning. He is responding to treatment," a senior doctor, who is a part of the multidisciplinary team that is treating him, said.

The veteran CPI(M) leader is likely to undergo a few tests later in the day, which will help in ascertaining the severity of the infection in his lungs that landed him in the hospital on Saturday afternoon.

The medical team would evaluate their next course of action depending on the test results, the doctor said.

"His blood pressure and oxygen saturation in the blood are at satisfactory levels, but he is still not out of danger. His lungs were badly affected after he was infected by coronavirus. We are trying to evaluate that as well. We have to wait for another 24 hours," he said.

Bhattacharya was rushed to the Woodlands Hospital in Alipore with breathing troubles, and he was diagnosed with lower respiratory tract infection and 'Type 2' respiratory failure. He has been suffering from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and other age-related ailments.

Bhattacharya took over as the chief minister of West Bengal in 2000 from party senior Jyoti Basu. He remained in the post till 2011, handling a tenure marked by agitations over the acquisition of land for industries led by now Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

As Bhattacharya lost the 2011 assembly elections to Banerjee's TMC, the CPI(M)-led Left Front's 34 years of rule in the state came to an end -- a loss from which it is yet to recover.

Over the last few years, Bhattacharya stayed away from the public glare due to his deteriorating health and remained confined to his Palm Avenue apartment.

He was last seen in public when he surprised party workers by arriving unannounced at the Left's rally at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata, ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, with oxygen support.

Bhattacharya had stepped down from the CPI(M)'s Politburo and Central Committee in 2015 and gave up membership of the party's state secretariat in 2018.

KOLKATA: Former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya remained critical on Monday as he continued to be on mechanical ventilation, doctors treating him said. Bhattacharya, 79, underwent a CT scan of his thorax in the morning, they said. "Mr Bhattacharya's health condition is critical but stable. He is still on invasive ventilation. We have conducted a CT scan of his thorax this morning. He is responding to treatment," a senior doctor, who is a part of the multidisciplinary team that is treating him, said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The veteran CPI(M) leader is likely to undergo a few tests later in the day, which will help in ascertaining the severity of the infection in his lungs that landed him in the hospital on Saturday afternoon. The medical team would evaluate their next course of action depending on the test results, the doctor said. "His blood pressure and oxygen saturation in the blood are at satisfactory levels, but he is still not out of danger. His lungs were badly affected after he was infected by coronavirus. We are trying to evaluate that as well. We have to wait for another 24 hours," he said. Bhattacharya was rushed to the Woodlands Hospital in Alipore with breathing troubles, and he was diagnosed with lower respiratory tract infection and 'Type 2' respiratory failure. He has been suffering from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and other age-related ailments. Bhattacharya took over as the chief minister of West Bengal in 2000 from party senior Jyoti Basu. He remained in the post till 2011, handling a tenure marked by agitations over the acquisition of land for industries led by now Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. As Bhattacharya lost the 2011 assembly elections to Banerjee's TMC, the CPI(M)-led Left Front's 34 years of rule in the state came to an end -- a loss from which it is yet to recover. Over the last few years, Bhattacharya stayed away from the public glare due to his deteriorating health and remained confined to his Palm Avenue apartment. He was last seen in public when he surprised party workers by arriving unannounced at the Left's rally at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata, ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, with oxygen support. Bhattacharya had stepped down from the CPI(M)'s Politburo and Central Committee in 2015 and gave up membership of the party's state secretariat in 2018.
Yeshi Seli By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Don't leave lighters in your hand baggage or power banks in your checked-in baggage at Indian airports -- unless you want them to be confiscated. Despite warnings, nearly 25,000 prohibited items are seized across 131 airports in India, of which lighters and power banks top the list.

"Lighters are the top confiscated item in hand baggage while power banks are seized most often in checked-in baggage. The other confiscated items include batteries and laptop in checked-in baggage and scissors, knives and liquids in hand baggage," said Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) Zulfiquar Hasan, adding that foolproof security is essential for growth of the civil aviation sector.

Every day, across airports in India, nearly eight lakh pieces of hand baggage and five lakh pieces of checked-in baggage are screened. The latest data released by BCAS reveals that the seizure of these 25,000 prohibited items creates a diversion for security personnel, leading to additional screening time which causes inordinate delays.

ALSO READ | Karnataka Raj Bhavan files police complaint against airline after Governor not allowed to board flight

"Time and again we make passengers aware of prohibited items. The government is committed to phase-wise introduction of body scanners at all major airports in the next 18 months. Security is everyones responsibility from screeners to cleaners, from industry leaders to frontline workers and from taxi drivers to those working in airport retail outlets," added Hasan.

The BCAS is going to make passengers aware of the prohibited items during the course of the coming week which they have named Aviation Security Culture Week.

The average number of passengers travelling daily through the 131 airports across India is around 10 lakh. At the security check points, nearly 11,000 screeners are deployed who screen nearly five lakh departing passengers with around 9 lakh handbags, according to the BCAS.

"To help the screeners, around 600 baggage X ray machines and 1000 door frame metal detectors (DFMDs) are deployed at security checkpoints of airports across India," added Hasan.

Meanwhile, security staff at airports sometimes comes across people carrying weapons too.

"In many cases, weapons are carried by officials who have licences (including members of the military, paramilitary and police) and bring them along inadvertently. However, they are admonished and also penalised," said a source.

NEW DELHI: Don't leave lighters in your hand baggage or power banks in your checked-in baggage at Indian airports -- unless you want them to be confiscated. Despite warnings, nearly 25,000 prohibited items are seized across 131 airports in India, of which lighters and power banks top the list. "Lighters are the top confiscated item in hand baggage while power banks are seized most often in checked-in baggage. The other confiscated items include batteries and laptop in checked-in baggage and scissors, knives and liquids in hand baggage," said Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) Zulfiquar Hasan, adding that foolproof security is essential for growth of the civil aviation sector. Every day, across airports in India, nearly eight lakh pieces of hand baggage and five lakh pieces of checked-in baggage are screened. The latest data released by BCAS reveals that the seizure of these 25,000 prohibited items creates a diversion for security personnel, leading to additional screening time which causes inordinate delays.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); ALSO READ | Karnataka Raj Bhavan files police complaint against airline after Governor not allowed to board flight "Time and again we make passengers aware of prohibited items. The government is committed to phase-wise introduction of body scanners at all major airports in the next 18 months. Security is everyones responsibility from screeners to cleaners, from industry leaders to frontline workers and from taxi drivers to those working in airport retail outlets," added Hasan. The BCAS is going to make passengers aware of the prohibited items during the course of the coming week which they have named Aviation Security Culture Week. The average number of passengers travelling daily through the 131 airports across India is around 10 lakh. At the security check points, nearly 11,000 screeners are deployed who screen nearly five lakh departing passengers with around 9 lakh handbags, according to the BCAS. "To help the screeners, around 600 baggage X ray machines and 1000 door frame metal detectors (DFMDs) are deployed at security checkpoints of airports across India," added Hasan. Meanwhile, security staff at airports sometimes comes across people carrying weapons too. "In many cases, weapons are carried by officials who have licences (including members of the military, paramilitary and police) and bring them along inadvertently. However, they are admonished and also penalised," said a source.
Dilip Singh Kshatriya By

Express News Service

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat has registered 2,633 cases of rape and 31 cases of gang rape and murder of women from the year 2017 to 2021.

However, only five people have been prosecuted for gang rape and murder of women according to the Government of India's reply in the Lok Sabha.

Under the category of assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty, 4,820 cases have been reported in five years.

On July 25, 2023, various MPs inquired in the Lok Sabha whether incidences of harassment of women, including rape and murder, had escalated in the country.

In response, the Ministry of Home Affairs gave statistics on violence against women in India from 2017 to 2021.

According to Gujarat statistics, four cases of gangrape and murder of women were reported in 2017 but no one was convicted, in 2018, six cases of gangrape and murder were reported but no one was convicted, seven cases of gangrape and murder were reported but no one convicted in 2019, and 7 cases of gangrape and murder were reported but no one was punished in 2020. In 2021, seven gang rape and murder instances were reported, but only five people were prosecuted.

According to Meenakshi Joshi, convenor of All India Women Sanskrutik Organization (All India MSS), the state machinery is to blame for non-convictions in heinous crimes such as gang-rape since there are loopholes in the registration of FIRs. Importantly, under Section 164 of the Act, the survivor's statement should be taken as quickly as possible, yet the state apparatus is frequently viewed as uninterested or slow. Another key factor I've noticed in most rape cases is that the accused is politically powerful; such people damage the case.

Government statistics presented in the Lok Sabha states, 477 cases of rape were registered in Gujarat in 2017, with 37 people Convicted and 283 people acquitted; in 2018, 553 cases of rape were registered, with 20 people Convicted and 179 people acquitted; and in 2019, 528 cases of rape were registered. 31 persons were convicted and 165 were acquitted. In 2020, 486 rape cases were registered, with 8 individuals convicted and 77 people acquitted. In 2021, 589 rape cases were registered, with 14 individuals convicted and 134 people acquitted.

Following the Nirbhaya rape case in Delhi, one-stop centers for rape cases were established at every police station, but the attitude of the people working there is not humanitarian; they lack the sensitivity required for their jobs, and the conviction rate reflects this, said Meenakshi Joshi.

In Gujarat in 2017, 1058 incidents of assault on women with intent to outrage her Modesty were registered, with 43 convicted and 750 acquitted. In 2018, 1208 cases were filed, with 30 being convicted and 553 being acquitted. In 2019, 1048 cases were registered, with 37 being convicted and 641 being acquitted. 846 instances were recorded in 2020, with 8 convicted and 234 acquitted. In 2021, 660 instances were registered, with 24 being convicted and 370 being acquitted.

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat has registered 2,633 cases of rape and 31 cases of gang rape and murder of women from the year 2017 to 2021. However, only five people have been prosecuted for gang rape and murder of women according to the Government of India's reply in the Lok Sabha. Under the category of assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty, 4,820 cases have been reported in five years.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); On July 25, 2023, various MPs inquired in the Lok Sabha whether incidences of harassment of women, including rape and murder, had escalated in the country. In response, the Ministry of Home Affairs gave statistics on violence against women in India from 2017 to 2021. According to Gujarat statistics, four cases of gangrape and murder of women were reported in 2017 but no one was convicted, in 2018, six cases of gangrape and murder were reported but no one was convicted, seven cases of gangrape and murder were reported but no one convicted in 2019, and 7 cases of gangrape and murder were reported but no one was punished in 2020. In 2021, seven gang rape and murder instances were reported, but only five people were prosecuted. According to Meenakshi Joshi, convenor of All India Women Sanskrutik Organization (All India MSS), the state machinery is to blame for non-convictions in heinous crimes such as gang-rape since there are loopholes in the registration of FIRs. Importantly, under Section 164 of the Act, the survivor's statement should be taken as quickly as possible, yet the state apparatus is frequently viewed as uninterested or slow. Another key factor I've noticed in most rape cases is that the accused is politically powerful; such people damage the case. Government statistics presented in the Lok Sabha states, 477 cases of rape were registered in Gujarat in 2017, with 37 people Convicted and 283 people acquitted; in 2018, 553 cases of rape were registered, with 20 people Convicted and 179 people acquitted; and in 2019, 528 cases of rape were registered. 31 persons were convicted and 165 were acquitted. In 2020, 486 rape cases were registered, with 8 individuals convicted and 77 people acquitted. In 2021, 589 rape cases were registered, with 14 individuals convicted and 134 people acquitted. Following the Nirbhaya rape case in Delhi, one-stop centers for rape cases were established at every police station, but the attitude of the people working there is not humanitarian; they lack the sensitivity required for their jobs, and the conviction rate reflects this, said Meenakshi Joshi. In Gujarat in 2017, 1058 incidents of assault on women with intent to outrage her Modesty were registered, with 43 convicted and 750 acquitted. In 2018, 1208 cases were filed, with 30 being convicted and 553 being acquitted. In 2019, 1048 cases were registered, with 37 being convicted and 641 being acquitted. 846 instances were recorded in 2020, with 8 convicted and 234 acquitted. In 2021, 660 instances were registered, with 24 being convicted and 370 being acquitted.
#AgendaPresidencial | Actividades oficiales por la conmemoracion de los 202 anos de independencia del pais. ??



???? #28dejulio #ConPunchePeru ???? ? pic.twitter.com/ty6xB1toN6
By Express News Service

This was in the third week of January 1986. A worried Rajiv Gandhi had called his cousin over to get his advice. On 18 January, R&AW and IB chiefs had both reported to Rajiv Gandhi that unhappiness was growing amongst the Hindus over the governments decision to undo Shah Bano judgment.

Nehru suggested that the locks be opened at the enclosure in the Babri Masjid. A Ram idol had been clandestinely placed in the sanctum sanctorum by militant Hindus in December 1949. The mosque had been locked up, and neither Muslims nor Hindus were allowed entry. Hindus were allowed to offer prayers from outside the locked grille.

If Rajiv got the locks opened and a temple built there, the Hindus will be happy, Nehru told Rajiv. Many Hindus, he told his cousin, were feeling aggrieved with Rajivs appeasement of Muslims. Arun Nehru did not pull his punches. He told the PM that he was losing ground. It was not just conservative Hindus who were upset with him, even liberal opinion was now against him.

Rajiv Gandhi asked Arun Shourie over to the PMs office. I found Rajiv completely innocent of Muslim Personal Law, of case law in India and even the bill (he was planning to pass), Shourie recalled. I told the PM the bill would stoke a reaction. Already people were beginning to feel that the state was bending before extremists. This had happened in Punjab (and claimed the life of Indira Gandhi).

Can the locks be opened? Rajiv asked Arun Nehru, according to Arif Mohammed Khan who told me this story. I will find out what can be done, Nehru said. He then spoke to Vir Bahadur Singh, the Congress chief minister of UP, where the disputed Babri Masjid was located. Unknown to Rajiv, Singh had already been on the job. A month earlier, the UP CM had visited Ayodhya to attend the Ramayan mela in the temple town.

While there, Singh asked officials to show him the entire file on the Ayodhya dispute. He discovered that the locks had been put there by an administrative, and not a judicial, order in 1949. Since Singh was a protege of Arun Nehru, it is not inconceivable that Nehru had put him on the job even before he called on Rajiv and suggested opening the locks. Singh felt indebted to Nehru for having installed him as UP CM.

Nehru reported back to Rajiv. Tell Vir Bahadur to get it opened, PM directed Nehru.

Nehru was to tell Arif Khan later, I did not want it said later that Arun Nehru had given instructions to Singh (of his own accord).

(Edited excerpts from Neerja Chowdhurys How Prime Ministers Decide published by Aleph Book Company)

This was in the third week of January 1986. A worried Rajiv Gandhi had called his cousin over to get his advice. On 18 January, R&AW and IB chiefs had both reported to Rajiv Gandhi that unhappiness was growing amongst the Hindus over the governments decision to undo Shah Bano judgment. Nehru suggested that the locks be opened at the enclosure in the Babri Masjid. A Ram idol had been clandestinely placed in the sanctum sanctorum by militant Hindus in December 1949. The mosque had been locked up, and neither Muslims nor Hindus were allowed entry. Hindus were allowed to offer prayers from outside the locked grille. If Rajiv got the locks opened and a temple built there, the Hindus will be happy, Nehru told Rajiv. Many Hindus, he told his cousin, were feeling aggrieved with Rajivs appeasement of Muslims. Arun Nehru did not pull his punches. He told the PM that he was losing ground. It was not just conservative Hindus who were upset with him, even liberal opinion was now against him.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Rajiv Gandhi asked Arun Shourie over to the PMs office. I found Rajiv completely innocent of Muslim Personal Law, of case law in India and even the bill (he was planning to pass), Shourie recalled. I told the PM the bill would stoke a reaction. Already people were beginning to feel that the state was bending before extremists. This had happened in Punjab (and claimed the life of Indira Gandhi). Can the locks be opened? Rajiv asked Arun Nehru, according to Arif Mohammed Khan who told me this story. I will find out what can be done, Nehru said. He then spoke to Vir Bahadur Singh, the Congress chief minister of UP, where the disputed Babri Masjid was located. Unknown to Rajiv, Singh had already been on the job. A month earlier, the UP CM had visited Ayodhya to attend the Ramayan mela in the temple town. While there, Singh asked officials to show him the entire file on the Ayodhya dispute. He discovered that the locks had been put there by an administrative, and not a judicial, order in 1949. Since Singh was a protege of Arun Nehru, it is not inconceivable that Nehru had put him on the job even before he called on Rajiv and suggested opening the locks. Singh felt indebted to Nehru for having installed him as UP CM. Nehru reported back to Rajiv. Tell Vir Bahadur to get it opened, PM directed Nehru. Nehru was to tell Arif Khan later, I did not want it said later that Arun Nehru had given instructions to Singh (of his own accord). (Edited excerpts from Neerja Chowdhurys How Prime Ministers Decide published by Aleph Book Company)
By PTI

LUCKNOW: In an apparent reference to disputes in Varanasi and Mathura, Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya said if the BJP looks for a temple in every mosque then people would start searching for a Buddhist monastery in every temple.

"The Badrinath and Kedarnath temples in Uttarakhand, the Jagannath Temple in Puri, the Ayyappa Temple in Kerala and the Vithoba temple in Pandharpur (Maharashtra) were Buddhist monasteries. These Buddhist monasteries were demolished and then Hindu religious shrines came up there. They were Buddhist monasteries till the eighth century," he said on Sunday.

The SP national general secretary claimed there is ample historical evidence that all these temples were Buddhist monasteries.

He said his intention is not to turn these temples into Buddhist monasteries "but, if you search for a temple in every mosque, then why should a Buddhist monastery not be searched for in every temple?" "BJP people under a conspiracy are raising the mosque-temple issue. They are looking for a temple in every mosque. This will cost them dearly. Because if they look for a temple in every mosque then people will start searching for a Buddhist monastery in every temple," Maurya told reporters here.

Reacting to the statement, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary said "insulting the Sanatan Dharma again and again" has become the habit of the Samajwadi Party and its leaders. He said Maurya's remarks about "Baba Kedarnath, Baba Badrinath and Shri Jagannath Puri, the main centres of faith of Hindus, are not only controversial but also show his trivial mindset and petty politics".

He said the statement has hurt the feelings of crores of Hindus of the country and Uttar Pradesh and created hatred in the society. He said Maurya apologise for the statement.

"And, Akhilesh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party chief, should give his opinion on this subject and clarify if the Samajwadi Party agrees with it," Chaudhary tweeted.

Maurya made similar remarks on Friday, inviting a strong reaction from BJP leader and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami who had termed them "unfortunate" and said they reflect the "anti-national and anti-religious" thinking of the Congress and its allies.

Maurya responded to the criticism on Sunday.

"I had spoken about Badrinath and Kedarnath Dhaam and had said that from the end of the seventh century to the beginning of the eighth century, Badrinath was a Buddhist monastery, after which Shankaracharya had changed it and established it as a religious place for Hindus," he said.

"I would like to tell the chief minister of Uttarakhand that everyone's faith (aasthaa) is important. If you are worried about your 'aasthaa', then you should be worried about others' 'aasthaa' as well," he said.

BSP President Mayawati accused Maurya of trying to drive a wedge between communities ahead of the election.

"The latest statement of Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya that many temples including Badrinath were built by demolishing Buddhist monasteries and why a modern survey should be done not only of Gyanvapi Masjid but also of other major temples, is a purely political statement giving rise to new controversies," she said in a tweet in Hindi.

Mayawati also asked Maurya why he never raised such a demand when was a minister in the BJP government.

"Maurya was a minister in the BJP government for a long time, why did he not put such pressure on his party and the government in this regard? And now creating such a religious controversy at the time of elections. Buddhist and Muslim communities are not going to be misled by them," she said.

The disputes related to Varanasi's Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi Masjid complex and Mathura's Krishna Janmasthan Temple-Shahi Eidgah Majisd are being heard by courts.

LUCKNOW: In an apparent reference to disputes in Varanasi and Mathura, Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya said if the BJP looks for a temple in every mosque then people would start searching for a Buddhist monastery in every temple. "The Badrinath and Kedarnath temples in Uttarakhand, the Jagannath Temple in Puri, the Ayyappa Temple in Kerala and the Vithoba temple in Pandharpur (Maharashtra) were Buddhist monasteries. These Buddhist monasteries were demolished and then Hindu religious shrines came up there. They were Buddhist monasteries till the eighth century," he said on Sunday. The SP national general secretary claimed there is ample historical evidence that all these temples were Buddhist monasteries.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); He said his intention is not to turn these temples into Buddhist monasteries "but, if you search for a temple in every mosque, then why should a Buddhist monastery not be searched for in every temple?" "BJP people under a conspiracy are raising the mosque-temple issue. They are looking for a temple in every mosque. This will cost them dearly. Because if they look for a temple in every mosque then people will start searching for a Buddhist monastery in every temple," Maurya told reporters here. Reacting to the statement, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary said "insulting the Sanatan Dharma again and again" has become the habit of the Samajwadi Party and its leaders. He said Maurya's remarks about "Baba Kedarnath, Baba Badrinath and Shri Jagannath Puri, the main centres of faith of Hindus, are not only controversial but also show his trivial mindset and petty politics". He said the statement has hurt the feelings of crores of Hindus of the country and Uttar Pradesh and created hatred in the society. He said Maurya apologise for the statement. "And, Akhilesh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party chief, should give his opinion on this subject and clarify if the Samajwadi Party agrees with it," Chaudhary tweeted. Maurya made similar remarks on Friday, inviting a strong reaction from BJP leader and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami who had termed them "unfortunate" and said they reflect the "anti-national and anti-religious" thinking of the Congress and its allies. Maurya responded to the criticism on Sunday. "I had spoken about Badrinath and Kedarnath Dhaam and had said that from the end of the seventh century to the beginning of the eighth century, Badrinath was a Buddhist monastery, after which Shankaracharya had changed it and established it as a religious place for Hindus," he said. "I would like to tell the chief minister of Uttarakhand that everyone's faith (aasthaa) is important. If you are worried about your 'aasthaa', then you should be worried about others' 'aasthaa' as well," he said. BSP President Mayawati accused Maurya of trying to drive a wedge between communities ahead of the election. "The latest statement of Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya that many temples including Badrinath were built by demolishing Buddhist monasteries and why a modern survey should be done not only of Gyanvapi Masjid but also of other major temples, is a purely political statement giving rise to new controversies," she said in a tweet in Hindi. Mayawati also asked Maurya why he never raised such a demand when was a minister in the BJP government. "Maurya was a minister in the BJP government for a long time, why did he not put such pressure on his party and the government in this regard? And now creating such a religious controversy at the time of elections. Buddhist and Muslim communities are not going to be misled by them," she said. The disputes related to Varanasi's Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi Masjid complex and Mathura's Krishna Janmasthan Temple-Shahi Eidgah Majisd are being heard by courts.
Rajesh Kumar Thakur By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday asserted that Indias semiconductor mission is not just about meeting domestic requirements, but also contributing to a global demand for trusted manufacturing.

Addressing the Semicon India Conference 2023 held in Gujarats Gandhinagar virtually, Jaishankar told top executives of leading global semiconductor firms that an India-Japan pact on cooperation on the semiconductor supply chain was finalised this month. He said a similar agreement was signed with the US in March.

The minister noted that the depiction of a chip war may be somewhat overstated, but it has more than a fundamental kernel of truth. Our semiconductor mission is not just about meeting domestic requirements. It is also about contributing to the global demand for trusted manufacturing. It is truly a powerful case for Make in India and Make for the World, the minister said.

He also highlighted Indias growing cooperation in the critical technology domain with the US and mentioned the MoU on the semiconductor supply chain and innovation partnership that was firmed up during US Commerce Secretary Gina M Raimondos visit to New Delhi in March.

It sought to establish a collaborative mechanism that would represent a productive intersection of Americas CHIPS and Science Act and Indias semiconductor mission, he said, adding that cooperation in semiconductors was in focus during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the US last month.

Three US firms  Micron Technology, Lam Research and Applied Materials  made specific commitments that have been the subject of your deliberations as well, he said, adding that Indias entry as the latest member of the Minerals Security Partnership is noteworthy, given the importance of diversifying and securing supply chains in that area now.

India is signing the Artemis Accords and promoting stronger ISRO-NASA collaboration. It is visible also in the creation of a joint Indo-US Quantum Coordination Mechanism, Jaishankar said, emphasising that the Innovation Handshake between Indian entities and the National Science Foundation holds much promise.

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday asserted that Indias semiconductor mission is not just about meeting domestic requirements, but also contributing to a global demand for trusted manufacturing. Addressing the Semicon India Conference 2023 held in Gujarats Gandhinagar virtually, Jaishankar told top executives of leading global semiconductor firms that an India-Japan pact on cooperation on the semiconductor supply chain was finalised this month. He said a similar agreement was signed with the US in March. The minister noted that the depiction of a chip war may be somewhat overstated, but it has more than a fundamental kernel of truth. Our semiconductor mission is not just about meeting domestic requirements. It is also about contributing to the global demand for trusted manufacturing. It is truly a powerful case for Make in India and Make for the World, the minister said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); He also highlighted Indias growing cooperation in the critical technology domain with the US and mentioned the MoU on the semiconductor supply chain and innovation partnership that was firmed up during US Commerce Secretary Gina M Raimondos visit to New Delhi in March. It sought to establish a collaborative mechanism that would represent a productive intersection of Americas CHIPS and Science Act and Indias semiconductor mission, he said, adding that cooperation in semiconductors was in focus during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the US last month. Three US firms  Micron Technology, Lam Research and Applied Materials  made specific commitments that have been the subject of your deliberations as well, he said, adding that Indias entry as the latest member of the Minerals Security Partnership is noteworthy, given the importance of diversifying and securing supply chains in that area now. India is signing the Artemis Accords and promoting stronger ISRO-NASA collaboration. It is visible also in the creation of a joint Indo-US Quantum Coordination Mechanism, Jaishankar said, emphasising that the Innovation Handshake between Indian entities and the National Science Foundation holds much promise.
Amit Mukherjee By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached 6 immovable assets worth more than Rs 6 crore belonging to family members and associates of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav in connection with the land for railways jobs case during the tenure when Yadav was the railway minister in the UPA government between 2004-2005.

The properties attached include that of Rabri Devi, his daughter Misha Bharti, Vineet Yadav (husband of Hema Yadav D/o Lalu Yadav), Shiv Kumar Yadav (father-in-law of Hema Yadav), A B Exports Pvt Ltd and A K Infosystem Pvt Ltd., both companies owned & controlled by family members of Lalu Prasad Yadav.

The investigation was initiated by ED under PMLA, 2002 based on FIR registered by the CBI against the Ex-Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi & others. In this case, seven land parcels were acquired by Lalu Yadav's family members from the candidates irregularly appointed (as Substitutes) and their family members, as a quid pro quo for Group D jobs in Indian Railways.

The family members of candidates gifted/sold land (at cheap rates/lesser than the circle rate) to family members of Lalu Yadav and associated companies in lieu of a job that was given in a malafide manner with undue haste and in violation of extant law and procedure. This criminal conspiracy to abuse his official position for the sake of seeking bribes led to the accretion of the land parcels by his family members at Mahuabagh (Danapur) and Bihta, Patna, in such a manner so as to consolidate the land holdings already in their possession.

Earlier in this case, searches were also conducted at 24 locations by ED at various places in Delhi NCR, Patna, Mumbai and Ranchi including residences of Hema Yadav, Ragini Lalu, Chanda Yadav and residential and commercial premises of Amit Katyal, Navdeep Sardana, Abu Dojana and Suman Nayak, closely associated with the Yadav family.

Searches resulted in the recovery of unaccounted cash of Rs 1 Crore, foreign currency including USD 1900, 540 gms gold bullion and more than 1.5 kg of gold jewellery (worth Rs 1.25 Crore approximately) and several other incriminating documents indicating illegal accretion of huge land bank.

Sources further added that an investigation under PMLA revealed that Smt. Rabri Devi and Smt. Hema Yadav sold four land parcels illegally acquired from appointees in Railway to M/s Meridian Construction India Ltd., a company related to Syed Abu Dojana, Ex-MLA of RJD and the proceeds of crime so obtained by Smt. Rabri Devi and Smt. Hema Yadav was further transferred through a maze of transactions to M/s A B Exports Pvt Ltd and M/s Bhagirathi Tubes respectively. Smt. Rabri Devi and Smt. Hema Yadav sold these land parcels for Rs 3.5 Crore against the acquisition cost of Rs 7.5 lakhs, thus deriving huge gains.

EDs investigation has revealed that AB Exports Pvt Ltd is a shell company owned by Tejashwi Yadav and Smt. Chanda Yadav D/o Lalu Yadav and has its registered address at D-1088, New Friends Colony, Delhi. M/s Bhagirathi Tubes is a partnership firm under the control of the father-in-law and husband of Smt Hema Yadav, with its principal place of business at Ghaziabad (UP).

A total of 6 immovable properties situated at New Delhi, Ghaziabad and Patna being proceeds of crime, have been provisionally attached under PMLA, 2002. The properties attached include the residential premise situated at D-1088, New Friends Colony, New Delhi owned by M/s A B Exports Pvt Ltd. Two land parcels situated at Mahuabagh (Danapur), Patna of which one each is owned by Smt Rabri Devi and M/s AK Infosystems Pvt Ltd have also been attached. Further, one land parcel owned by Smt Misa Bharti has been attached at Bihta, Patna. Apart from this, a portion of two industrial plots, one plot each registered in the names of Vineet Yadav, husband of Smt. Hema Yadav and Shiv Kumar Yadav, father-in-law of Smt. Hema Yadav, situated at the Industrial area, of Sahibabad, Ghaziabad have also been provisionally attached.

The property situated at D-1088, New Friends Colony, New Delhi is an independent 4 storied bungalow, registered in the name of AB Exports Private Limited, which was shown to have been acquired in 2011 at a value of mere Rs 4 Lakhs. Despite being declared as the registered corporate office of various companies under the control of the members of the Yadav family, the same is being used solely for residential purposes, which was also revealed during the search operation conducted at the said premises on March 10, 2023.

Further investigation under the provisions of PMLA, 2002 is under progress, said a source associated with the development.

NEW DELHI: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached 6 immovable assets worth more than Rs 6 crore belonging to family members and associates of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav in connection with the land for railways jobs case during the tenure when Yadav was the railway minister in the UPA government between 2004-2005. The properties attached include that of Rabri Devi, his daughter Misha Bharti, Vineet Yadav (husband of Hema Yadav D/o Lalu Yadav), Shiv Kumar Yadav (father-in-law of Hema Yadav), A B Exports Pvt Ltd and A K Infosystem Pvt Ltd., both companies owned & controlled by family members of Lalu Prasad Yadav. The investigation was initiated by ED under PMLA, 2002 based on FIR registered by the CBI against the Ex-Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi & others. In this case, seven land parcels were acquired by Lalu Yadav's family members from the candidates irregularly appointed (as Substitutes) and their family members, as a quid pro quo for Group D jobs in Indian Railways. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The family members of candidates gifted/sold land (at cheap rates/lesser than the circle rate) to family members of Lalu Yadav and associated companies in lieu of a job that was given in a malafide manner with undue haste and in violation of extant law and procedure. This criminal conspiracy to abuse his official position for the sake of seeking bribes led to the accretion of the land parcels by his family members at Mahuabagh (Danapur) and Bihta, Patna, in such a manner so as to consolidate the land holdings already in their possession. Earlier in this case, searches were also conducted at 24 locations by ED at various places in Delhi NCR, Patna, Mumbai and Ranchi including residences of Hema Yadav, Ragini Lalu, Chanda Yadav and residential and commercial premises of Amit Katyal, Navdeep Sardana, Abu Dojana and Suman Nayak, closely associated with the Yadav family. Searches resulted in the recovery of unaccounted cash of Rs 1 Crore, foreign currency including USD 1900, 540 gms gold bullion and more than 1.5 kg of gold jewellery (worth Rs 1.25 Crore approximately) and several other incriminating documents indicating illegal accretion of huge land bank. Sources further added that an investigation under PMLA revealed that Smt. Rabri Devi and Smt. Hema Yadav sold four land parcels illegally acquired from appointees in Railway to M/s Meridian Construction India Ltd., a company related to Syed Abu Dojana, Ex-MLA of RJD and the proceeds of crime so obtained by Smt. Rabri Devi and Smt. Hema Yadav was further transferred through a maze of transactions to M/s A B Exports Pvt Ltd and M/s Bhagirathi Tubes respectively. Smt. Rabri Devi and Smt. Hema Yadav sold these land parcels for Rs 3.5 Crore against the acquisition cost of Rs 7.5 lakhs, thus deriving huge gains. EDs investigation has revealed that AB Exports Pvt Ltd is a shell company owned by Tejashwi Yadav and Smt. Chanda Yadav D/o Lalu Yadav and has its registered address at D-1088, New Friends Colony, Delhi. M/s Bhagirathi Tubes is a partnership firm under the control of the father-in-law and husband of Smt Hema Yadav, with its principal place of business at Ghaziabad (UP). A total of 6 immovable properties situated at New Delhi, Ghaziabad and Patna being proceeds of crime, have been provisionally attached under PMLA, 2002. The properties attached include the residential premise situated at D-1088, New Friends Colony, New Delhi owned by M/s A B Exports Pvt Ltd. Two land parcels situated at Mahuabagh (Danapur), Patna of which one each is owned by Smt Rabri Devi and M/s AK Infosystems Pvt Ltd have also been attached. Further, one land parcel owned by Smt Misa Bharti has been attached at Bihta, Patna. Apart from this, a portion of two industrial plots, one plot each registered in the names of Vineet Yadav, husband of Smt. Hema Yadav and Shiv Kumar Yadav, father-in-law of Smt. Hema Yadav, situated at the Industrial area, of Sahibabad, Ghaziabad have also been provisionally attached. The property situated at D-1088, New Friends Colony, New Delhi is an independent 4 storied bungalow, registered in the name of AB Exports Private Limited, which was shown to have been acquired in 2011 at a value of mere Rs 4 Lakhs. Despite being declared as the registered corporate office of various companies under the control of the members of the Yadav family, the same is being used solely for residential purposes, which was also revealed during the search operation conducted at the said premises on March 10, 2023. Further investigation under the provisions of PMLA, 2002 is under progress, said a source associated with the development.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Monday following protests by the opposition which has been demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament on the Manipur issue.

When the House met at 2 pm, it passed the Cinematograph Amendment Bill, 2023, to curb film piracy.

The bill has already been passed by the Rajya Sabha. The bill has provisions for up to three-year jail term and a fine of up to five per cent of the production cost of a film for persons making its pirated copies.

The bill also has provisions to introduce three age-based certifications under the 'UA' category, namely 'UA 7+', 'UA 13+' and 'UA 16+', and to empower the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to sanction a film with a separate certificate for its exhibition on television or other media.

"The film industry is facing a loss of Rs 20,000 crore annually due to piracy. The bill has been brought to stop the loss which occurs due to piracy. The legislation also takes care of the long-standing demand of the film industry," Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said.

"Film piracy is like cancer and this bill will try to root it out," Thakur said.

He said the certificates issued by the CBFC which are now valid for only 10 years will be valid perpetually after the bill becomes the law.

The bill also has provisions to allow for a change of category of a film which has received either 'A' or 'S' certificate to be converted to 'UA' certification after making suitable alterations to allow it to be broadcasted on television.

In a bid to curb film piracy, the bill seeks to introduce new sections in the Cinematograph Act with provisions to prohibit unauthorised recording of films (section 6AA) and their exhibition (section 6AB).

The stringent new provision 6AA in the bill also prohibits recording of a film or any part thereof with the sole purpose of using the recording in the same device.

Thakur said the film industry has a soft power and the government will take steps to promote it further by providing all the required facilities. Now Indian content is watched across the globe, from Russia, the US and China to the Middle East countries, he said.

Earlier, when the House met at 11 am, Speaker Om Birla announced that a parliamentary delegation from Malawi is visiting India and they are watching the proceedings of the House.

He welcomed the foreign delegation and wished them a pleasant stay in the country.

As he completed his speech, the opposition members were on their feet demanding a statement from the prime minister on Manipur violence. Soon they came to the well of the House showing placards and raising slogans against the government.

The speaker initially ignored their protests and continued the Question Hour, which was the scheduled business. Two questions related to the education and finance ministries were taken up for discussion amid sloganeering and protests.

As the protests continued, the speaker appealed to the opposition members to go back to their seats and take part in the proceedings. With the opposition MPs ignoring his pleas, the speaker adjourned the House till 2 pm after about 15 minutes of business.

The Manipur violence rocked proceedings in both Houses of Parliament ever since the Monsoon session began on July 20, with the opposition demanding a statement from Prime Minister Modi and a discussion on the situation in the northeastern state.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that the government was ready for a debate on the Manipur issue.

The speaker also said the opposition can't decide who would reply to the debate on behalf of the government.

The opposition subsequently moved a no-confidence motion against the Modi government, apparently aiming to force the prime minister to speak on the Manipur violence in Parliament.

The Monsson session started a day after a video of two women being paraded naked by a mob on May 4 in a Manipur village went viral, triggering a nationwide outrage. The Manipur Police has arrested several accused who were seen in the video, officials said.

On July 27, the government decided to hand over the probe into the case of the naked parade of two women to the CBI and filed a petition in the Supreme Court saying the trial of the cases should be conducted outside the state.

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Monday following protests by the opposition which has been demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament on the Manipur issue. When the House met at 2 pm, it passed the Cinematograph Amendment Bill, 2023, to curb film piracy. The bill has already been passed by the Rajya Sabha. The bill has provisions for up to three-year jail term and a fine of up to five per cent of the production cost of a film for persons making its pirated copies.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The bill also has provisions to introduce three age-based certifications under the 'UA' category, namely 'UA 7+', 'UA 13+' and 'UA 16+', and to empower the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to sanction a film with a separate certificate for its exhibition on television or other media. "The film industry is facing a loss of Rs 20,000 crore annually due to piracy. The bill has been brought to stop the loss which occurs due to piracy. The legislation also takes care of the long-standing demand of the film industry," Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said. "Film piracy is like cancer and this bill will try to root it out," Thakur said. He said the certificates issued by the CBFC which are now valid for only 10 years will be valid perpetually after the bill becomes the law. The bill also has provisions to allow for a change of category of a film which has received either 'A' or 'S' certificate to be converted to 'UA' certification after making suitable alterations to allow it to be broadcasted on television. In a bid to curb film piracy, the bill seeks to introduce new sections in the Cinematograph Act with provisions to prohibit unauthorised recording of films (section 6AA) and their exhibition (section 6AB). The stringent new provision 6AA in the bill also prohibits recording of a film or any part thereof with the sole purpose of using the recording in the same device. Thakur said the film industry has a soft power and the government will take steps to promote it further by providing all the required facilities. Now Indian content is watched across the globe, from Russia, the US and China to the Middle East countries, he said. Earlier, when the House met at 11 am, Speaker Om Birla announced that a parliamentary delegation from Malawi is visiting India and they are watching the proceedings of the House. He welcomed the foreign delegation and wished them a pleasant stay in the country. As he completed his speech, the opposition members were on their feet demanding a statement from the prime minister on Manipur violence. Soon they came to the well of the House showing placards and raising slogans against the government. The speaker initially ignored their protests and continued the Question Hour, which was the scheduled business. Two questions related to the education and finance ministries were taken up for discussion amid sloganeering and protests. As the protests continued, the speaker appealed to the opposition members to go back to their seats and take part in the proceedings. With the opposition MPs ignoring his pleas, the speaker adjourned the House till 2 pm after about 15 minutes of business. The Manipur violence rocked proceedings in both Houses of Parliament ever since the Monsoon session began on July 20, with the opposition demanding a statement from Prime Minister Modi and a discussion on the situation in the northeastern state. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that the government was ready for a debate on the Manipur issue. The speaker also said the opposition can't decide who would reply to the debate on behalf of the government. The opposition subsequently moved a no-confidence motion against the Modi government, apparently aiming to force the prime minister to speak on the Manipur violence in Parliament. The Monsson session started a day after a video of two women being paraded naked by a mob on May 4 in a Manipur village went viral, triggering a nationwide outrage. The Manipur Police has arrested several accused who were seen in the video, officials said. On July 27, the government decided to hand over the probe into the case of the naked parade of two women to the CBI and filed a petition in the Supreme Court saying the trial of the cases should be conducted outside the state.
Preetha Nair and Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI/GUWAHATI: The government has failed to provide relief to the people of Manipur, alleged members of the multi-party delegation of MPs of the Opposition alliance INDIA after concluding their two-day visit to the violence-hit state. On Sunday, the 21-member delegation submitted a memorandum to Governor Anusuiya Uikey, requesting her to do the needful to restore peace and inform the Centre of the complete breakdown of law and order.

The MPs, who were in the state to conduct an on-the-spot assessment of the situation, visited relief camps where people from the two communities in conflict were lodged. They said they were shocked and sad to hear the stories of the inmates. They said there was anger and a sense of alienation among all communities and this should be addressed without delay.

They also alleged that it was established beyond doubt that the state machinery failed to control the situation. The MPs said the condition in the relief camps was pathetic and stressed that special care must be taken for the children on a priority basis.

Tall remarks are made in Delhi and outside the country Nobody is bothered. There is a lack of food and medicines. Students are suffering. No effort is being made to stop the fighting between the two sides, said Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

Alleging that the Centre is blind to the crisis, he warned that the situation will go out of hand if not resolved soon. There is no trust between the two communities. There are two countries now  Kukiland and Meiteiland. They have no connection whatsoever with each other. We met the governor. She herself admitted the situation is bad, he said.

Speaking to this newspaper, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi said that they witnessed heart-wrenching scenes during their visit to the relief camps. We visited three relief camps packed with hundreds of people, mostly women and small children. They get meagre food. When it rains, the water comes inside and children fall sick, she said, adding that people wanted them to speak in Parliament and tell the world about their ordeal.

TMC MP Sushmita Dev, who met two victims of sexual violence, said the women are convinced that the government is complicit. They repeatedly said that when the police are part of a crime, they are not hopeful of justice from the administration and the CM. Even after their submission that the police were present at the crime scene, the CM did not order an inquiry, said Dev, who was part of the delegation.

Trifurcate the state, says BJP lawmaker

Paolienlal Haokip, a Kuki leader and BJP MLA, said on Sunday that the only way forward in solving the situation in Manipur is by dividing the state into three Union Territories for Kukis, Meiteis and Nagas. The way forward, as I see it, is for the Union government to give political and administrative recognition to the ethnic separation, where the state of Manipur is reorganised as three Union territories, Haokip said in an interview with PTI.

NEW DELHI/GUWAHATI: The government has failed to provide relief to the people of Manipur, alleged members of the multi-party delegation of MPs of the Opposition alliance INDIA after concluding their two-day visit to the violence-hit state. On Sunday, the 21-member delegation submitted a memorandum to Governor Anusuiya Uikey, requesting her to do the needful to restore peace and inform the Centre of the complete breakdown of law and order. The MPs, who were in the state to conduct an on-the-spot assessment of the situation, visited relief camps where people from the two communities in conflict were lodged. They said they were shocked and sad to hear the stories of the inmates. They said there was anger and a sense of alienation among all communities and this should be addressed without delay. They also alleged that it was established beyond doubt that the state machinery failed to control the situation. The MPs said the condition in the relief camps was pathetic and stressed that special care must be taken for the children on a priority basis.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Tall remarks are made in Delhi and outside the country Nobody is bothered. There is a lack of food and medicines. Students are suffering. No effort is being made to stop the fighting between the two sides, said Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Alleging that the Centre is blind to the crisis, he warned that the situation will go out of hand if not resolved soon. There is no trust between the two communities. There are two countries now  Kukiland and Meiteiland. They have no connection whatsoever with each other. We met the governor. She herself admitted the situation is bad, he said. Speaking to this newspaper, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi said that they witnessed heart-wrenching scenes during their visit to the relief camps. We visited three relief camps packed with hundreds of people, mostly women and small children. They get meagre food. When it rains, the water comes inside and children fall sick, she said, adding that people wanted them to speak in Parliament and tell the world about their ordeal. TMC MP Sushmita Dev, who met two victims of sexual violence, said the women are convinced that the government is complicit. They repeatedly said that when the police are part of a crime, they are not hopeful of justice from the administration and the CM. Even after their submission that the police were present at the crime scene, the CM did not order an inquiry, said Dev, who was part of the delegation. Trifurcate the state, says BJP lawmaker Paolienlal Haokip, a Kuki leader and BJP MLA, said on Sunday that the only way forward in solving the situation in Manipur is by dividing the state into three Union Territories for Kukis, Meiteis and Nagas. The way forward, as I see it, is for the Union government to give political and administrative recognition to the ethnic separation, where the state of Manipur is reorganised as three Union territories, Haokip said in an interview with PTI.
Fayaz Wani By

Express News Service

SRINAGAR: In a bid to promote tourism and other developmental activities in Srinagar around 139.04 acres of defence land at Tatoo ground, Batamaloo has been transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard was signed by the Ministry of Defence with the Ministry of Home Affairs through the Jammu and Kashmir government today. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha presided over the MoU signing ceremony at Raj Bhawan, in Srinagar.

The MoD was represented through the Local Military Authority of Tattoo Ground Garrison and Defence Estate Officer Kashmir Circle Srinagar.

The 139.04 acres of defence land will be handed over by the Ministry of Defence to MHA within a period of four months.

Lt Governor Sinha termed the MoU as a momentous occasion in developing major tourism space in J&K UT.

In 2015, the then J&K government headed by the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had taken over 136 kanals of land from the army at Tattoo Ground, Batamaloo for establishing a citizen Park.

The then Mufti government had been asking the army to vacate about 1,000 kanals of the prime land at Tattoo Ground. In 2015, after a civil-military liaison conference chaired by the late Mufti Sayeed, the army had agreed to vacate 136 kanals of land to the then J&K government.

Meanwhile, the Lt Governor administration has approved sanction for the transfer of State land measuring 757 Kanal 6 Marla at village Rakh Buran, Singhpora in north Kashmirs Baramulla district in favour of the Ministry of Defence in exchange for Equal Value Land (EVL) in Tattoo Ground Srinagar on no profit no loss basis in terms of Rule-310 of GFR 2017.

The land shall be the part of the EVL of the land for which sanction was conveyed by MoD vide No.A/51120/Q3L (North)/181/31/S/ D(Lands) dated 22nd February 1990 and the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir in consultation with defence authorities shall work out the actual value of the land on EVL basis at all locations, reads an official order.

SRINAGAR: In a bid to promote tourism and other developmental activities in Srinagar around 139.04 acres of defence land at Tatoo ground, Batamaloo has been transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard was signed by the Ministry of Defence with the Ministry of Home Affairs through the Jammu and Kashmir government today. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha presided over the MoU signing ceremony at Raj Bhawan, in Srinagar. The MoD was represented through the Local Military Authority of Tattoo Ground Garrison and Defence Estate Officer Kashmir Circle Srinagar.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The 139.04 acres of defence land will be handed over by the Ministry of Defence to MHA within a period of four months. Lt Governor Sinha termed the MoU as a momentous occasion in developing major tourism space in J&K UT. In 2015, the then J&K government headed by the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had taken over 136 kanals of land from the army at Tattoo Ground, Batamaloo for establishing a citizen Park. The then Mufti government had been asking the army to vacate about 1,000 kanals of the prime land at Tattoo Ground. In 2015, after a civil-military liaison conference chaired by the late Mufti Sayeed, the army had agreed to vacate 136 kanals of land to the then J&K government. Meanwhile, the Lt Governor administration has approved sanction for the transfer of State land measuring 757 Kanal 6 Marla at village Rakh Buran, Singhpora in north Kashmirs Baramulla district in favour of the Ministry of Defence in exchange for Equal Value Land (EVL) in Tattoo Ground Srinagar on no profit no loss basis in terms of Rule-310 of GFR 2017. The land shall be the part of the EVL of the land for which sanction was conveyed by MoD vide No.A/51120/Q3L (North)/181/31/S/ D(Lands) dated 22nd February 1990 and the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir in consultation with defence authorities shall work out the actual value of the land on EVL basis at all locations, reads an official order.
Express News Service

NEW DELHI: To cater to the increasing global demand for qualified nurses, dental assistants, dialysis technicians, respiratory therapists, physiotherapists and other specialised healthcare professionals, the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has undertaken an ambitious plan to train and equip around 1 lakh nurses and 10 million caregivers, so that they can be deployed overseas.

While thousands of healthcare workers have already been posted abroad in hospitals and institutes, the next batch is being given specialised skill training, apart from being given language proficiency training in English, Japanese, and German so that they fit in well and can communicate effectively in overseas placements.

NSDC, a public-private partnership firm with the primary mandate of catalysing the skills landscape in India, has undertaken the task of training a qualified healthcare workforce and placing them abroad.

Apart from that, the NSDC International Limited (NSDCI), a subsidy of NSDC, which is a leading global talent development organisation of India, is actively collaborating and partnering with Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, Singapore, Japan and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to meet their demand aggregation.

To ensure a steady supply of skilled healthcare workers, NSDCI has already set up international centres in India to train nurses and the allied healthcare workforce. It is also planning to start Objective Structured Clinical Examination and the National Council Licensure Examination, a tool that can be utilised to assess healthcare professionals in a clinical setting, and language proficiency tests.

Also, collaborations have already been made with prestigious organisations like the University of Cambridge, Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment Trust, Goethe (German language course), and leading Japanese companies.

Similarly, in the UK, NSDCI is partnering with National Health Service Trust to meet the demand for 1,000 nurses and 1,500 care workers. The USA, Australia, Germany, Singapore, Japan, and GCC countries are also part of the strategic plan for demand aggregation. NSDC is at the forefront of strengthening the skilling ecosystem in India and understands the need for skilled health professionals in India and globally, said Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO of NSDC and MD of NSDC International.

NSDCI is working with various prestigious institutions, leading private companies to create global opportunities for healthcare workers and is playing a critical role in addressing the challenges around the availability of skilled talent in the healthcare sector. NSDCI is also working to create channels for skill harmonisation, and training with the partner nations to help bridge the skills gap and also to promote knowledge-sharing and collaboration between academia and industry, he told this paper.

NSDCI has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Nursing Council, a national regulatory body for nurses and nurse education in India, to create overseas opportunities for healthcare workers.

NEW DELHI: To cater to the increasing global demand for qualified nurses, dental assistants, dialysis technicians, respiratory therapists, physiotherapists and other specialised healthcare professionals, the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has undertaken an ambitious plan to train and equip around 1 lakh nurses and 10 million caregivers, so that they can be deployed overseas. While thousands of healthcare workers have already been posted abroad in hospitals and institutes, the next batch is being given specialised skill training, apart from being given language proficiency training in English, Japanese, and German so that they fit in well and can communicate effectively in overseas placements. NSDC, a public-private partnership firm with the primary mandate of catalysing the skills landscape in India, has undertaken the task of training a qualified healthcare workforce and placing them abroad. Apart from that, the NSDC International Limited (NSDCI), a subsidy of NSDC, which is a leading global talent development organisation of India, is actively collaborating and partnering with Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, Singapore, Japan and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to meet their demand aggregation.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); To ensure a steady supply of skilled healthcare workers, NSDCI has already set up international centres in India to train nurses and the allied healthcare workforce. It is also planning to start Objective Structured Clinical Examination and the National Council Licensure Examination, a tool that can be utilised to assess healthcare professionals in a clinical setting, and language proficiency tests. Also, collaborations have already been made with prestigious organisations like the University of Cambridge, Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment Trust, Goethe (German language course), and leading Japanese companies. Similarly, in the UK, NSDCI is partnering with National Health Service Trust to meet the demand for 1,000 nurses and 1,500 care workers. The USA, Australia, Germany, Singapore, Japan, and GCC countries are also part of the strategic plan for demand aggregation. NSDC is at the forefront of strengthening the skilling ecosystem in India and understands the need for skilled health professionals in India and globally, said Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO of NSDC and MD of NSDC International. NSDCI is working with various prestigious institutions, leading private companies to create global opportunities for healthcare workers and is playing a critical role in addressing the challenges around the availability of skilled talent in the healthcare sector. NSDCI is also working to create channels for skill harmonisation, and training with the partner nations to help bridge the skills gap and also to promote knowledge-sharing and collaboration between academia and industry, he told this paper. NSDCI has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Nursing Council, a national regulatory body for nurses and nurse education in India, to create overseas opportunities for healthcare workers.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Lawmakers from the opposition alliance 'INDIA' who had gone to Manipur to assess the situation in the strife-torn state on Monday briefed leaders of the grouping here.

They met at the Parliament House and highlighted the ground realities before the alliance members.

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was part of the delegation, described the situation in Manipur as "grave."

"If any of the ruling party MPs go there and see the situation for themselves, they will not make casual statements," he said.

A delegation of 21 opposition MPs went to Manipur over the weekend, visiting the relief camps and meeting the people affected by the violence.

The opposition has been demanding a discussion on the Manipur violence in both Houses and a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament.

They are set to raise the heat on the government over the issue and will press for a statement from the prime minister as well as an elaborate discussion.

Sonia Gandhi, the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party, and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge were present during the meeting, along with the leaders of various INDIA bloc parties.

NEW DELHI: Lawmakers from the opposition alliance 'INDIA' who had gone to Manipur to assess the situation in the strife-torn state on Monday briefed leaders of the grouping here. They met at the Parliament House and highlighted the ground realities before the alliance members. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was part of the delegation, described the situation in Manipur as "grave."googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "If any of the ruling party MPs go there and see the situation for themselves, they will not make casual statements," he said. A delegation of 21 opposition MPs went to Manipur over the weekend, visiting the relief camps and meeting the people affected by the violence. The opposition has been demanding a discussion on the Manipur violence in both Houses and a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament. They are set to raise the heat on the government over the issue and will press for a statement from the prime minister as well as an elaborate discussion. Sonia Gandhi, the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party, and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge were present during the meeting, along with the leaders of various INDIA bloc parties.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: There has been a 61.3 per cent increase in the number of women in permanent positions in Indias higher educational institutions between 2016-17 and 2020-21, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told Lok Sabha during the ongoing monsoon session Monday.

The minister also said that the ratio of females to males in permanent academic positions has also increased to 60 in 2020-21 from 53 in 2016-17.

As per the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-21, 84,226 females and 1,40,221 males, are reported in permanent academic positions (including Professor and Equivalent, Reader and Associate, Lecturer/Assistant Professor, Demonstrator/Tutor) in the Universities and Institutions in the country.

Of these, 3008 females and 7173 males are reported in permanent academic positions in the Institutes of Eminence.

..there is a 61.3% increase (from 52,216 in 2016-17 to 84,226 in 2020-21), in the number of females reported in permanent academic positions in Universities/, Institutions like Universities since 2016-17, the minister said.

A number of initiatives have been taken by the government to increase gender diversity in academic positions.

More female participation in higher levels of education has been envisaged through various schemes/scholarships/fellowships and proactive measures aimed at female students/scholars.

This in turn translates into more candidates available for academic positions in Higher Education, the minister said.

Also, the initiatives of the government have facilitated a tremendous increase of 60% in female PhDs enrolment, from 59,242 in 2016-17 to 95,088 in 2020-21. This would provide more opportunities for women for academic positions in Higher Education, he added.

NEW DELHI: There has been a 61.3 per cent increase in the number of women in permanent positions in Indias higher educational institutions between 2016-17 and 2020-21, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told Lok Sabha during the ongoing monsoon session Monday. The minister also said that the ratio of females to males in permanent academic positions has also increased to 60 in 2020-21 from 53 in 2016-17. As per the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-21, 84,226 females and 1,40,221 males, are reported in permanent academic positions (including Professor and Equivalent, Reader and Associate, Lecturer/Assistant Professor, Demonstrator/Tutor) in the Universities and Institutions in the country.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Of these, 3008 females and 7173 males are reported in permanent academic positions in the Institutes of Eminence. ..there is a 61.3% increase (from 52,216 in 2016-17 to 84,226 in 2020-21), in the number of females reported in permanent academic positions in Universities/, Institutions like Universities since 2016-17, the minister said. A number of initiatives have been taken by the government to increase gender diversity in academic positions. More female participation in higher levels of education has been envisaged through various schemes/scholarships/fellowships and proactive measures aimed at female students/scholars. This in turn translates into more candidates available for academic positions in Higher Education, the minister said. Also, the initiatives of the government have facilitated a tremendous increase of 60% in female PhDs enrolment, from 59,242 in 2016-17 to 95,088 in 2020-21. This would provide more opportunities for women for academic positions in Higher Education, he added.
YEREVAN, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS. The Light Aviation Foundation of Armenia and Georgias Aviation Club have signed a memorandum of cooperation to support each other on the path of developing the sector which is relatively new in both countries.

There are various directions for cooperation, for example we could help each other in the issue of fuel. As you know, it is rather difficult to acquire, therefore we could expect mutual assistance in case of a problem. In addition, we could support each other in terms of specialists and maintenance of the aircraft. This area requires qualified professionals. We can review the legislative achievements and apply each others successful experience, Light Aviation Foundation of Armenia co-founder Armen Sargsyan told ARMENPRESS.

Armenia is ready to receive light aircraft from Georgia and the latter is ready to provide its airfields. Georgian specialists will travel to Armenia to attend the upcoming Air Fest in Stepanavan on August 26, where the next steps will be specified.

We have a small school where we train pilots, we have more or less developed infrastructures, an airport, 2-4 seat aircraft, pilots, trainers. So we can also be useful for our Georgian partners, Sargsyan added.

Sargsyans association has a fleet of 8 aircraft. However, he admitted that developing the sector is difficult.

Theres no legislation in our country that would facilitate the development process, the process of investments of aviators, so that the sector develops and people come here to learn and carry out flights. Changes are underway today, new regulations are being written, we cooperate with the Civil Aviation Committee to accelerate the process, Sargsyan said.

Pilots are currently trained at the Sky Master Aviation Training Center.

Would-be pilots are required to pass a training, which includes a total of 45-hour training flights to acquire a license.

Light aviation operators expect government support to improve the legislative framework because the sectors development and the new infrastructures would open big prospects for the country.

Reporting by Anna Gziryan

Cameraman  Hovhannes Mkrtchyan

Photo courtesy of Armen Sargsyan
Rajesh Kumar Thakur By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: SEEKING to fan patriotic fervour across the country ahead of next years general elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced a mega campaign to honour martyrs. Called Meri Mati Mera Desh (my soil, my country), the campaign seeks to honour the countrys martyred bravehearts of the country in the run-up to Independence Day.

Through the mega campaign, Modi is putting soldiers, who are upset not only about the revised pension scheme but also about Agnipath, on a pedestal. It is seen as an attempt to bring back a wave of nationalism that gave him a second mandate after the 2019 Pulwama attack.

Announcing the launch of the campaign in the 103rd episode of his monthly radio bulletin Mann Ki Baat, PM Modi said an Amrit Kalash Yatra will be organised under the campaign and 7,500 pots carrying soil from different corners of the country will be brought to the national capital along with saplings.

The PM said special inscriptions will be installed in lakhs of villages and panchayats of the country in memory of the braveheart men and women. Besides, a slew of programmes will be organised across the country in memory of martyrs, he added.

Amrit Kalash Yatra carrying soil from every corner of the country will reach Delhi. The yatra will also carry saplings from different parts of the country and a big Amrit Vatika will be built near the National War Memorial by fusing the soil and saplings that would arrive in 7,500 urns, Modi said.

Recalling how the whole country came together for the Har Ghar Tiranga Yatra campaign last year, the PM called upon people to continue with the tradition of hoisting the tricolour at their houses this time as well.

With these efforts, we will realise our duties.... we will realise the innumerable sacrifices made for the freedom of the country, we will realise the value of freedom. Hence, every person in the country must join in these efforts, he said.

NEW DELHI: SEEKING to fan patriotic fervour across the country ahead of next years general elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced a mega campaign to honour martyrs. Called Meri Mati Mera Desh (my soil, my country), the campaign seeks to honour the countrys martyred bravehearts of the country in the run-up to Independence Day. Through the mega campaign, Modi is putting soldiers, who are upset not only about the revised pension scheme but also about Agnipath, on a pedestal. It is seen as an attempt to bring back a wave of nationalism that gave him a second mandate after the 2019 Pulwama attack. Announcing the launch of the campaign in the 103rd episode of his monthly radio bulletin Mann Ki Baat, PM Modi said an Amrit Kalash Yatra will be organised under the campaign and 7,500 pots carrying soil from different corners of the country will be brought to the national capital along with saplings. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The PM said special inscriptions will be installed in lakhs of villages and panchayats of the country in memory of the braveheart men and women. Besides, a slew of programmes will be organised across the country in memory of martyrs, he added. Amrit Kalash Yatra carrying soil from every corner of the country will reach Delhi. The yatra will also carry saplings from different parts of the country and a big Amrit Vatika will be built near the National War Memorial by fusing the soil and saplings that would arrive in 7,500 urns, Modi said. Recalling how the whole country came together for the Har Ghar Tiranga Yatra campaign last year, the PM called upon people to continue with the tradition of hoisting the tricolour at their houses this time as well. With these efforts, we will realise our duties.... we will realise the innumerable sacrifices made for the freedom of the country, we will realise the value of freedom. Hence, every person in the country must join in these efforts, he said.
Rajesh Asnani By

Express News Service

JAIPUR: In an effort to secure farmer votes in the upcoming elections in Rajasthan, the Ashok Gehlot government has proposed the establishment of a commission to streamline the process of waiving farm loans. The government aims to introduce a special bill during the final Assembly session on August 2. If the Bill becomes law, it will greatly benefit farmers as banks and other financial institutions will no longer be able to seize and auction farmlands from those unable to repay their loans on time.

The Congress is facing flak for not being able to waive farmers loans in full as it had promised in the 2018 elections. The Gehlot government rolled out a waiver of Rs 14,000 crore for over 20.56 lakh farmers who had received loans from cooperative banks. Though the Congress has repeatedly asked the BJP government at the Centre to take urgent action for waiving the loans from nationalised, commercial and land development banks, the Centre has not allowed it.

While the nationalised banks come under the Centres jurisdiction, cooperative banks function under the state government. Once the commission under the new Bill is formed, it will prevent banks and financial institutions from pressuring farmers to recover loans in cases of crop failure due to any reason. Farmers will have the option to apply to this commission for loan waivers in such circumstances.

The State Farmers Debt Relief Commission will comprise five members, including a chairman who will be a retired High Court judge. Once an area is declared distressed by the Farmers Debt Waiver Commission, banks will be prohibited from taking any action to recover loans by selling, confiscating, or auctioning farmers properties.

JAIPUR: In an effort to secure farmer votes in the upcoming elections in Rajasthan, the Ashok Gehlot government has proposed the establishment of a commission to streamline the process of waiving farm loans. The government aims to introduce a special bill during the final Assembly session on August 2. If the Bill becomes law, it will greatly benefit farmers as banks and other financial institutions will no longer be able to seize and auction farmlands from those unable to repay their loans on time. The Congress is facing flak for not being able to waive farmers loans in full as it had promised in the 2018 elections. The Gehlot government rolled out a waiver of Rs 14,000 crore for over 20.56 lakh farmers who had received loans from cooperative banks. Though the Congress has repeatedly asked the BJP government at the Centre to take urgent action for waiving the loans from nationalised, commercial and land development banks, the Centre has not allowed it. While the nationalised banks come under the Centres jurisdiction, cooperative banks function under the state government. Once the commission under the new Bill is formed, it will prevent banks and financial institutions from pressuring farmers to recover loans in cases of crop failure due to any reason. Farmers will have the option to apply to this commission for loan waivers in such circumstances.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The State Farmers Debt Relief Commission will comprise five members, including a chairman who will be a retired High Court judge. Once an area is declared distressed by the Farmers Debt Waiver Commission, banks will be prohibited from taking any action to recover loans by selling, confiscating, or auctioning farmers properties.
By Express News Service

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra asked the state police to probe Anju Thomas's travel to Pakistan, an Indian woman who crossed borders to marry a Facebook friend suspecting conspiracy.

The way she (Anju) is being welcomed in Pakistan and big gifts being handed to her, raises the suspicion of some kind of international conspiracy behind the entire matter. The MP polices special branch has been asked to probe the entire matter on six points, which will cover all possible aspects of her travel to Pakistan, Mishra said in Bhopal on Monday.

Anju reportedly changed her name to Fatima after her marriage to her Facebook friend Nasrullah and her religious conversion to Islam.

Importantly, a Pakistani businessman, Mohsin Khan Abbasi (CEO of Pak Star Group of Companies) has reportedly gifted a massive swathe of land and PKR 50,000 to Anju for embracing Islam and for starting a new married life.

Anju married Arvind Kumar in 2007 and has two kids (a 14-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son). She recently travelled to Pakistan on a month-long Visa and reportedly married her Facebook friend Nasrullah after converting to Islam.

Meanwhile, Anjus father Gaya Prasad said, Leaving a loving husband and two kids back in India to marry a friend in Pakistan is inexcusable. She is dead for me now, Ill never ever appeal to our countrys government to bring her back, let her die there (in Pakistan) only. She has long been mentally disturbed, owing to which I hardly had any relations with her. But after what she has done now, she is dead for me, Anjus father Gaya Prasad told journalists in Gwalior.

According to reports from the Gwalior district, Anjus uncle is employed with a central paramilitary force in the Gwalior district only.

Anju originally hails from Bauna village in the Tekanpur area of MPs Gwalior district and was married in Alwar (Rajasthan) in 2007. Her father Gaya Prasad has been living in Bauna village of Gwalior district for the last four decades.

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra asked the state police to probe Anju Thomas's travel to Pakistan, an Indian woman who crossed borders to marry a Facebook friend suspecting conspiracy. The way she (Anju) is being welcomed in Pakistan and big gifts being handed to her, raises the suspicion of some kind of international conspiracy behind the entire matter. The MP polices special branch has been asked to probe the entire matter on six points, which will cover all possible aspects of her travel to Pakistan, Mishra said in Bhopal on Monday. Anju reportedly changed her name to Fatima after her marriage to her Facebook friend Nasrullah and her religious conversion to Islam.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Importantly, a Pakistani businessman, Mohsin Khan Abbasi (CEO of Pak Star Group of Companies) has reportedly gifted a massive swathe of land and PKR 50,000 to Anju for embracing Islam and for starting a new married life. Anju married Arvind Kumar in 2007 and has two kids (a 14-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son). She recently travelled to Pakistan on a month-long Visa and reportedly married her Facebook friend Nasrullah after converting to Islam. Meanwhile, Anjus father Gaya Prasad said, Leaving a loving husband and two kids back in India to marry a friend in Pakistan is inexcusable. She is dead for me now, Ill never ever appeal to our countrys government to bring her back, let her die there (in Pakistan) only. She has long been mentally disturbed, owing to which I hardly had any relations with her. But after what she has done now, she is dead for me, Anjus father Gaya Prasad told journalists in Gwalior. According to reports from the Gwalior district, Anjus uncle is employed with a central paramilitary force in the Gwalior district only. Anju originally hails from Bauna village in the Tekanpur area of MPs Gwalior district and was married in Alwar (Rajasthan) in 2007. Her father Gaya Prasad has been living in Bauna village of Gwalior district for the last four decades.
By Express News Service

KOLKATA: West Bengal passed a motion condemning the Manipur ethnic violence in the Assembly amid strong opposition by the opposition BJP on Monday.

The West Bengal Assembly witnessed a ruckus as the ruling TMC tabled a Manipur violence resolution seeking discussion over the violence in the Northeastern state.

The opposition staged a walkout of the House, for the second time on the same day, protesting against the TMC's move.

During the first half of the session, BJP MLAs walked out of the floor after their demand for an adjournment motion and discussion on the dengue outbreak in the state was not entertained by the Speaker.

Mamata Banerjee condemned the Union government's inactions and hit out at the PM saying, If you cannot restore peace in Manipur, give us the responsibility to do it. If you seek our opinion, we can also help you."

It is a matter of shame that the Prime Minister can go on foreign trips but cant go to Manipur, said Mamata in her speech.

Referring to the jibe that Modi recently took at the oppositions alliance National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) comparing the oppositions front with the East India Company and Indian Mujahideen, Mamata said, India is a country and INDIA will exist. The BJP will turn into a company soon.

Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said the discussion was illegal as the matter is sub-judice. We will move court against this illegal decision in Manipur. This is against the ethos of federal structure, he alleged.

The BJP MLAs raised a hue and cry on the floor over the issue of alleged atrocities against women in West Bengal and during the recently concluded panchayat polls. But the speaker did not grant their motion to discuss the issue.

On Monday a team of the National Commission for Women (NCW), led by chairperson Rekha Sharma, reached Kolkata and visited Panchla in Howrah where a woman was allegedly assaulted and stripped during the rural polls.

It is the job of the police to conduct a probe into the serious allegation. The woman should have been placed before a magistrate for recording her statement under the provision of 164 under CrPC which is yet to be done. We will mention our findings in our report to the concerned authorities, she said.

KOLKATA: West Bengal passed a motion condemning the Manipur ethnic violence in the Assembly amid strong opposition by the opposition BJP on Monday. The West Bengal Assembly witnessed a ruckus as the ruling TMC tabled a Manipur violence resolution seeking discussion over the violence in the Northeastern state. The opposition staged a walkout of the House, for the second time on the same day, protesting against the TMC's move. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); During the first half of the session, BJP MLAs walked out of the floor after their demand for an adjournment motion and discussion on the dengue outbreak in the state was not entertained by the Speaker. Mamata Banerjee condemned the Union government's inactions and hit out at the PM saying, If you cannot restore peace in Manipur, give us the responsibility to do it. If you seek our opinion, we can also help you." It is a matter of shame that the Prime Minister can go on foreign trips but cant go to Manipur, said Mamata in her speech. Referring to the jibe that Modi recently took at the oppositions alliance National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) comparing the oppositions front with the East India Company and Indian Mujahideen, Mamata said, India is a country and INDIA will exist. The BJP will turn into a company soon. Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said the discussion was illegal as the matter is sub-judice. We will move court against this illegal decision in Manipur. This is against the ethos of federal structure, he alleged. The BJP MLAs raised a hue and cry on the floor over the issue of alleged atrocities against women in West Bengal and during the recently concluded panchayat polls. But the speaker did not grant their motion to discuss the issue. On Monday a team of the National Commission for Women (NCW), led by chairperson Rekha Sharma, reached Kolkata and visited Panchla in Howrah where a woman was allegedly assaulted and stripped during the rural polls. It is the job of the police to conduct a probe into the serious allegation. The woman should have been placed before a magistrate for recording her statement under the provision of 164 under CrPC which is yet to be done. We will mention our findings in our report to the concerned authorities, she said.
Sudhir Suryawanshi By

Express News Service

MUMBAI: Amid reports that both factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will join the BJP-led governments in Maharashtra and the Centre, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar is set to be the chief guest at an event in Pune where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be conferred with Lokmanya Tilak National Award.

Earlier, Rohit Tilak, great grand-son of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and the vice president of the Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust, which organises the award, said Pawar has confirmed that he will preside over the event. In fact, Pawar later said it was he who helped Tilak to get the prime ministers date for the event.

Modi is being conferred the award in recognition of his supreme leadership and for awakening the feeling of patriotism among citizens. Meanwhile, Opposition parties hit out at Pawar saying while he is helping the Opposition alliance, INDIA, take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he himself is attending as chief guest in a function where Modi will be praised.

We really failed in understanding the Pawars politics. Actually. He should drop his decision to attend as chief guest in the event in which Modi will be conferred with Lokmanya Tilak National Award, a senior Congress leader said, adding it is not a good optics by Pawar at this juncture.

Interestingly, the NCP faction led by Pawar will join the Congress and social activists in showing the black flag to Modi during his Pune visit over his silence on the violence in Manipur.

MUMBAI: Amid reports that both factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will join the BJP-led governments in Maharashtra and the Centre, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar is set to be the chief guest at an event in Pune where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be conferred with Lokmanya Tilak National Award. Earlier, Rohit Tilak, great grand-son of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and the vice president of the Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust, which organises the award, said Pawar has confirmed that he will preside over the event. In fact, Pawar later said it was he who helped Tilak to get the prime ministers date for the event. Modi is being conferred the award in recognition of his supreme leadership and for awakening the feeling of patriotism among citizens. Meanwhile, Opposition parties hit out at Pawar saying while he is helping the Opposition alliance, INDIA, take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he himself is attending as chief guest in a function where Modi will be praised.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); We really failed in understanding the Pawars politics. Actually. He should drop his decision to attend as chief guest in the event in which Modi will be conferred with Lokmanya Tilak National Award, a senior Congress leader said, adding it is not a good optics by Pawar at this juncture. Interestingly, the NCP faction led by Pawar will join the Congress and social activists in showing the black flag to Modi during his Pune visit over his silence on the violence in Manipur.
Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: Two youths were swept away to Pakistan by the floodwaters of the Sutlej river. This is the second such incident within a week as a middle-aged deaf person was also swept away to the neighbouring country earlier. The Pakistani Rangers have told the Border Security Force (BSF) the two youths are in the custody of Pakistan.

According to sources, two youths were yesterday swept away to Pakistan in the Sutlej river from near Ginniwala village in the Ferozepur district of Punjab. After inquiries by the security agencies, it was found that they belonged to a village in the Jagroan area of the Ludhiana district. They have been identified as Rattan Pal and Harvinder Singh.

The 182 battalions of the BSF guard this area on the Indo-Pak International border. A flag meeting of the BSF and Pakistani Rangers took place in which this information was shared and further investigations are on, said a senior officer, adding that the officials are talking to the families of these youth.

The officers are tightlipped about this issue. Security agencies are investigating how two youths from a place near Ludhiana were swept away to a neighbouring country from the international border in Ferozepur. As per IMD, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana are expected to receive a fresh spell of heavy rain next week. A yellow alert for August 2 and 3 has been issued.

Earlier, a middle age deaf person, who has a tattoo on one of his arms, was swept away in the Sutlej river and was later found in the Kasur district of the Punjab province by Pakistan Rangers. The ranger shared the photo and video of the person with BSF at the Ganda Singh Wala post adjacent to the Husseniwala border.

CHANDIGARH: Two youths were swept away to Pakistan by the floodwaters of the Sutlej river. This is the second such incident within a week as a middle-aged deaf person was also swept away to the neighbouring country earlier. The Pakistani Rangers have told the Border Security Force (BSF) the two youths are in the custody of Pakistan. According to sources, two youths were yesterday swept away to Pakistan in the Sutlej river from near Ginniwala village in the Ferozepur district of Punjab. After inquiries by the security agencies, it was found that they belonged to a village in the Jagroan area of the Ludhiana district. They have been identified as Rattan Pal and Harvinder Singh. The 182 battalions of the BSF guard this area on the Indo-Pak International border. A flag meeting of the BSF and Pakistani Rangers took place in which this information was shared and further investigations are on, said a senior officer, adding that the officials are talking to the families of these youth. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The officers are tightlipped about this issue. Security agencies are investigating how two youths from a place near Ludhiana were swept away to a neighbouring country from the international border in Ferozepur. As per IMD, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana are expected to receive a fresh spell of heavy rain next week. A yellow alert for August 2 and 3 has been issued. Earlier, a middle age deaf person, who has a tattoo on one of his arms, was swept away in the Sutlej river and was later found in the Kasur district of the Punjab province by Pakistan Rangers. The ranger shared the photo and video of the person with BSF at the Ganda Singh Wala post adjacent to the Husseniwala border.
By PTI

KOLKATA: The West Bengal assembly on Monday passed a motion condemning the violence in Manipur, amid opposition by the BJP.

State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay read out the motion in the House in the second half of the assembly session.

Speaking on the motion, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned the role of the BJP and the Union government in tackling the situation in the strife-torn state.

"The Prime Minister should make a statement on Manipur. It is a matter of shame that the PM can go on foreign trips, but can't go to Manipur," she said.

Banerjee said, "If the Prime Minister is unable to restore peace in Manipur, then let us (INDIA) be allowed to restore peace."

Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, said, "The discussion is illegal as the matter is sub-judice."

"We will move court against this illegal decision to allow discussion on Manipur. This is against the ethos of federal structure," he said.

The BJP, which participated in the discussion, staged a walkout after the chief minister's speech.

KOLKATA: The West Bengal assembly on Monday passed a motion condemning the violence in Manipur, amid opposition by the BJP. State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay read out the motion in the House in the second half of the assembly session. Speaking on the motion, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned the role of the BJP and the Union government in tackling the situation in the strife-torn state.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "The Prime Minister should make a statement on Manipur. It is a matter of shame that the PM can go on foreign trips, but can't go to Manipur," she said. Banerjee said, "If the Prime Minister is unable to restore peace in Manipur, then let us (INDIA) be allowed to restore peace." Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, said, "The discussion is illegal as the matter is sub-judice." "We will move court against this illegal decision to allow discussion on Manipur. This is against the ethos of federal structure," he said. The BJP, which participated in the discussion, staged a walkout after the chief minister's speech.
By Express News Service

GUWAHATI: In strife-torn Manipur, a tribal organisation is mounting pressure on the government demanding the withdrawal of the state police force from the India-Myanmar border town of Moreh in the Kuki-majority Tengnoupal district.

The womens wing of the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) staged a sit-in in Moreh in support of the demand. The ITLF warned of staging the protest in all hill districts of the state if the demand was not met by 6 pm on Monday.

In the Tengnoupal district, Kuki-Zo women enforced a blockade on the Imphal-Moreh road to prevent state police forces from heading towards Moreh. Earlier, the ITLF expressed its concern over the Manipur governments alleged attempt to station state security forces in the border town.

ALSO READ | 'Shame that PM goes on foreign trips but not to Manipur': Mamata in West Bengal assembly

It is common knowledge that Meitei security forces are openly supporting the majority community in the present ethnic conflict. This is why, tribal women in Moreh are blocking the national highway in an effort to stop state forces from entering the border town, the tribal organisation had said.

It said there were fears that members of two Meitei radical groups were embedded with police commandos and could wreak havoc if they entered Moreh.

the majority of civil and police officers in Tengnoupal district are from the majority Meitei community, including the additional district superintendent of police, sub-divisional police officer and officer-in-charge, the ITLF said.

WATCH VIDEO: Manipur: End the violence, please

Stating that Union home minister Amit Shah had promised during his last visit to Manipur that no state security forces would be stationed in Moreh, the organisation requested the state government to withdraw all Meitei security personnel from the town to maintain fairness and neutrality.

Meanwhile, despite multiple requests, the Centre reportedly has not provided any financial assistance to Mizoram for taking care of around 12,600 tribals who are taking shelter in the state after being displaced by the violence in Manipur. Mizoram government sources said the state had sought Rs 10 crore from the Centre.

GUWAHATI: In strife-torn Manipur, a tribal organisation is mounting pressure on the government demanding the withdrawal of the state police force from the India-Myanmar border town of Moreh in the Kuki-majority Tengnoupal district. The womens wing of the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) staged a sit-in in Moreh in support of the demand. The ITLF warned of staging the protest in all hill districts of the state if the demand was not met by 6 pm on Monday. In the Tengnoupal district, Kuki-Zo women enforced a blockade on the Imphal-Moreh road to prevent state police forces from heading towards Moreh. Earlier, the ITLF expressed its concern over the Manipur governments alleged attempt to station state security forces in the border town. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); ALSO READ | 'Shame that PM goes on foreign trips but not to Manipur': Mamata in West Bengal assembly It is common knowledge that Meitei security forces are openly supporting the majority community in the present ethnic conflict. This is why, tribal women in Moreh are blocking the national highway in an effort to stop state forces from entering the border town, the tribal organisation had said. It said there were fears that members of two Meitei radical groups were embedded with police commandos and could wreak havoc if they entered Moreh. the majority of civil and police officers in Tengnoupal district are from the majority Meitei community, including the additional district superintendent of police, sub-divisional police officer and officer-in-charge, the ITLF said. WATCH VIDEO: Manipur: End the violence, please Stating that Union home minister Amit Shah had promised during his last visit to Manipur that no state security forces would be stationed in Moreh, the organisation requested the state government to withdraw all Meitei security personnel from the town to maintain fairness and neutrality. Meanwhile, despite multiple requests, the Centre reportedly has not provided any financial assistance to Mizoram for taking care of around 12,600 tribals who are taking shelter in the state after being displaced by the violence in Manipur. Mizoram government sources said the state had sought Rs 10 crore from the Centre.
By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR/BERHAMPUR: Five people, including four children, were killed when a portion of an under-construction culvert caved in at Uparasaja village in Rayagada district's Kalyanasingpur block.

The tragedy happened when the victims were bathing under the culvert, said police sources.

The deceased were identified as Laxmidhar Miniaka (50), his son Prince (4), siblings Charan Miniaka (8) and Suman (5), and Manoj Kulesika (5). Another six-year-old boy named Anesh Miniaka sustained injuries in the incident and was rushed to a hospital.

Rayagada SP Vivekanand Sharma confirmed the incident and said a thorough investigation has been launched into the matter.

Visual from the mishap site at Uparadaja village in Kalyansinghpur. Four among those killed were kids | #Odisha@NewIndianXpress @santwana99@Siba_TNIE pic.twitter.com/oOoJ6zNtGA  TNIE Odisha (@XpressOdisha) July 31, 2023

Police sources said a man identified as Iswar Chetty has taken the contract to construct a road on the 4.5 km long stretch under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) at a cost of Rs 2 crore.

A culvert to accommodate the flow of a waterbed intersecting the stretch is also being constructed at a cost of Rs 17 lakh.

The construction started about two months back. However, the construction of the culvert stopped after the completion of its shuttering work (support beams) due to the rains in the district. The villagers are dependent on the waterbed for bathing and washing their kitchen utensils.

BHUBANESWAR/BERHAMPUR: Five people, including four children, were killed when a portion of an under-construction culvert caved in at Uparasaja village in Rayagada district's Kalyanasingpur block. The tragedy happened when the victims were bathing under the culvert, said police sources. The deceased were identified as Laxmidhar Miniaka (50), his son Prince (4), siblings Charan Miniaka (8) and Suman (5), and Manoj Kulesika (5). Another six-year-old boy named Anesh Miniaka sustained injuries in the incident and was rushed to a hospital.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Rayagada SP Vivekanand Sharma confirmed the incident and said a thorough investigation has been launched into the matter. Visual from the mishap site at Uparadaja village in Kalyansinghpur. Four among those killed were kids | #Odisha@NewIndianXpress @santwana99@Siba_TNIE pic.twitter.com/oOoJ6zNtGA  TNIE Odisha (@XpressOdisha) July 31, 2023 Police sources said a man identified as Iswar Chetty has taken the contract to construct a road on the 4.5 km long stretch under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) at a cost of Rs 2 crore. A culvert to accommodate the flow of a waterbed intersecting the stretch is also being constructed at a cost of Rs 17 lakh. The construction started about two months back. However, the construction of the culvert stopped after the completion of its shuttering work (support beams) due to the rains in the district. The villagers are dependent on the waterbed for bathing and washing their kitchen utensils.
By PTI

PESHAWAR: Police in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said on Monday that an initial probe has suggested that the banned terrorist group ISIS is behind the suicide attack on a political convention of a hardline Islamist party that killed at least 54 people and injured over 100.

The attack took place on Sunday when more than 400 members of the conservative Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party, known for its links to hardline political Islam, had gathered for a meeting under a canopy in the town of Khar, which borders Afghanistan.

"We are still investigating and gathering information on the Bajaur blast. The Initial probe shows that banned outfit Daesh (ISIS) was involved," Geo News quoted police officials as saying.

The police said they were gathering details of the suicide bomber, while the bomb disposal squad team was collecting evidence from the site. District Police Officer Nazir Khan said three suspects have been taken into custody.

10 kilogrammes of explosives set off by a suicide bomber were used in the blast. He said the bomber was among the attendees seated in the front rows of the convention.

Provincial police chief Akhtar Hayat Khan said 10 kilogrammes of explosives set off by a suicide bomber were used in the blast. He said the bomber was among the attendees seated in the front rows of the convention.

Local police said the attacker detonated explosives near the convention's stage. According to police and witnesses, the blast occurred as soon as JUI-F District Amir Maulana Abdul Rasheed reached the stage.

The deceased included JUI-F Tehsil Khar Maulana Ziaullah Jan, Navagai Tehsil General Secretary Maulana Hameedullah, District Information Secretary Mujahid Khan and dozens of party workers.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) caretaker health minister Riaz Anwar said on Sunday night that 44 people lost their lives while more than 100 were injured in the attack.

An emergency has been declared in the hospitals of Bajaur and adjoining areas where most of the injured were taken. The critically injured have been transported from Bajaur to hospitals in the provincial capital Peshawar by military helicopters.

Bajaur District Health Officer Dr Faisal Kamal said more than 150 injured people had been brought to the Bajaur District Headquarters Hospital. "Over 35 people have been referred to the Timargarh hospital while 15 critically injured persons have been sent to Peshawar via a Pakistan Army helicopter," he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

Rescuers have warned the death toll may rise further, as 15 people are in critical condition.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemned the blast and vowed that those responsible will be identified and punished. "The Pakistani nation, law enforcement agencies and our protectors will never allow such cowardly tactics of the enemy to succeed," he tweeted.

Sharif spoke to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to express his condolences. "We are equal participants in your grief. The criminals will be truly punished and bringing an end to terrorism is the commitment of the entire nation," he said.

He ordered an investigation into the incident and instructed that the critically injured persons be transferred to other hospitals on a helicopter.

Pakistan President Arif Alvi prayed for eternal peace for the departed souls and commiserated with the bereaved families. He also wished speedy recovery for the injured and emphasised timely medical assistance to them.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan sought a detailed report on the blast from police. He also visited the Combined Military Hospital in Peshawar, where he met and inquired about the health of injured persons.

Rahim Shah, a witness, told Dawn.com that more than 500 people were attending the convention when the blast occurred. "We were listening to a bayan [sermon] when a powerful explosion knocked me unconscious," he said.

Shah narrated that when he regained consciousness, there was blood everywhere. "People were screaming and even shots were fired," he added.

Sabeehullah, a 24-year-old JUI-F supporter who had his arm fractured by the blast, said the scale of injuries was horrifying.

"There was utter confusion, with human flesh, limbs, and body parts scattered throughout the area, alongside lifeless bodies. I found myself lying next to someone who had lost their limbs. The air was filled with the smell of human flesh," he was quoted as saying in the report.

The JUI-F chief, in a statement issued by the party's media cell, expressed grief over the incident. He sought an inquiry into the attack from Prime Minister Sharif and the KP government. "May Allah raise the ranks of martyrs," Fazl said and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.

He also appealed to JUI-F workers to immediately reach hospitals and provide blood donations.

In a tweet, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah vowed to bring the perpetrators of today's attack to justice. "The cowardly acts of terrorists cannot dampen our spirits," he said.

Former prime minister Imran Khan said he was saddened to learn about the blast and extended condolences to the victims' families.

"The rise in terror incidents across Pakistan particularly in KP, calls for an urgent need to reconsider our priorities," he said, adding that the authorities should focus on eliminating terrorism.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban government in Afghanistan, has condemned the attack. TTP spokesman Khalid Khurrasani also condemned the blast.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terrorist attacks following the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

On January 30, a Pakistan Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up during the afternoon prayers in a mosque in Peshawar, killing 101 people and injuring more than 200 others.

In February, heavily-armed TTP militants stormed the Karachi Police chief's office in Pakistan's most populous city, sparking gunfire that killed three rebels and four others, including two police constables.

PESHAWAR: Police in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said on Monday that an initial probe has suggested that the banned terrorist group ISIS is behind the suicide attack on a political convention of a hardline Islamist party that killed at least 54 people and injured over 100. The attack took place on Sunday when more than 400 members of the conservative Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party, known for its links to hardline political Islam, had gathered for a meeting under a canopy in the town of Khar, which borders Afghanistan. "We are still investigating and gathering information on the Bajaur blast. The Initial probe shows that banned outfit Daesh (ISIS) was involved," Geo News quoted police officials as saying.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The police said they were gathering details of the suicide bomber, while the bomb disposal squad team was collecting evidence from the site. District Police Officer Nazir Khan said three suspects have been taken into custody. 10 kilogrammes of explosives set off by a suicide bomber were used in the blast. He said the bomber was among the attendees seated in the front rows of the convention. Provincial police chief Akhtar Hayat Khan said 10 kilogrammes of explosives set off by a suicide bomber were used in the blast. He said the bomber was among the attendees seated in the front rows of the convention. Local police said the attacker detonated explosives near the convention's stage. According to police and witnesses, the blast occurred as soon as JUI-F District Amir Maulana Abdul Rasheed reached the stage. The deceased included JUI-F Tehsil Khar Maulana Ziaullah Jan, Navagai Tehsil General Secretary Maulana Hameedullah, District Information Secretary Mujahid Khan and dozens of party workers. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) caretaker health minister Riaz Anwar said on Sunday night that 44 people lost their lives while more than 100 were injured in the attack. An emergency has been declared in the hospitals of Bajaur and adjoining areas where most of the injured were taken. The critically injured have been transported from Bajaur to hospitals in the provincial capital Peshawar by military helicopters. Bajaur District Health Officer Dr Faisal Kamal said more than 150 injured people had been brought to the Bajaur District Headquarters Hospital. "Over 35 people have been referred to the Timargarh hospital while 15 critically injured persons have been sent to Peshawar via a Pakistan Army helicopter," he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper. Rescuers have warned the death toll may rise further, as 15 people are in critical condition. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemned the blast and vowed that those responsible will be identified and punished. "The Pakistani nation, law enforcement agencies and our protectors will never allow such cowardly tactics of the enemy to succeed," he tweeted. Sharif spoke to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to express his condolences. "We are equal participants in your grief. The criminals will be truly punished and bringing an end to terrorism is the commitment of the entire nation," he said. He ordered an investigation into the incident and instructed that the critically injured persons be transferred to other hospitals on a helicopter. Pakistan President Arif Alvi prayed for eternal peace for the departed souls and commiserated with the bereaved families. He also wished speedy recovery for the injured and emphasised timely medical assistance to them. In a statement issued on Sunday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan sought a detailed report on the blast from police. He also visited the Combined Military Hospital in Peshawar, where he met and inquired about the health of injured persons. Rahim Shah, a witness, told Dawn.com that more than 500 people were attending the convention when the blast occurred. "We were listening to a bayan [sermon] when a powerful explosion knocked me unconscious," he said. Shah narrated that when he regained consciousness, there was blood everywhere. "People were screaming and even shots were fired," he added. Sabeehullah, a 24-year-old JUI-F supporter who had his arm fractured by the blast, said the scale of injuries was horrifying. "There was utter confusion, with human flesh, limbs, and body parts scattered throughout the area, alongside lifeless bodies. I found myself lying next to someone who had lost their limbs. The air was filled with the smell of human flesh," he was quoted as saying in the report. The JUI-F chief, in a statement issued by the party's media cell, expressed grief over the incident. He sought an inquiry into the attack from Prime Minister Sharif and the KP government. "May Allah raise the ranks of martyrs," Fazl said and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured. He also appealed to JUI-F workers to immediately reach hospitals and provide blood donations. In a tweet, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah vowed to bring the perpetrators of today's attack to justice. "The cowardly acts of terrorists cannot dampen our spirits," he said. Former prime minister Imran Khan said he was saddened to learn about the blast and extended condolences to the victims' families. "The rise in terror incidents across Pakistan particularly in KP, calls for an urgent need to reconsider our priorities," he said, adding that the authorities should focus on eliminating terrorism. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban government in Afghanistan, has condemned the attack. TTP spokesman Khalid Khurrasani also condemned the blast. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terrorist attacks following the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. On January 30, a Pakistan Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up during the afternoon prayers in a mosque in Peshawar, killing 101 people and injuring more than 200 others. In February, heavily-armed TTP militants stormed the Karachi Police chief's office in Pakistan's most populous city, sparking gunfire that killed three rebels and four others, including two police constables.
YEREVAN, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS. A group of demonstrators have blocked the entrance to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Armenia office in Yerevan in protest of the Azerbaijani kidnapping of a Nagorno-Karabakh patient who was being evacuated by the ICRC.

The demonstrators want to have a meeting with the head of the ICRC Armenia office.

A 68-year-old medical evacuee from Nagorno-Karabakh, Vagif Khachatryan, was kidnapped by Azerbaijani border guards while being transported by the ICRC to Armenia for treatment . The Armenian foreign ministry said the Azerbaijani actions amount to war crime.

The demonstrators said that the ICRC ought to regulate its functions because at this moment the organization is unable to ensure the safety of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The International Committee of the Red Cross can ask any organization to ensure its free movement, even by using measures of force, however they allow the kidnapping to take place. If the Red Cross knew that it could be obstructed it should have applied to any security organization to ensure its free movement, one of the demonstrators, who has been a long-time ICRC volunteer, told reporters.
Is 40% stake in ITC Hotels Ltd a downer or a boost for ITC scrip?

Chennai, July 30: For a long time, the hiving off the ITC Ltd hotels division into a separate entity has been touted about.

Is 40% stake in ITC Hotels Ltd a downer or a boost for ITC scrip?

Analysts were also in favour of this as it would give ITC the capital that could be invested in business giving faster returns than the hotels which is capex intensive and payback happens later.However, when the hiving off was announced, the markets reacted negatively and the ITC's scrip went down.From July 19, onwards, the ITC scrip was up from Rs 478.85 (closing price) to close at Rs 492.15 on July 20, and Rs 489.85 on July 21.On July 24 -- the day of the demerger announcement, the ITC scrip opened at Rs 490.55 and closed at Rs 470.90.The next day saw the scrip opening at Rs 469.95 and closing at Rs 462.20. The subsequent days saw the scrip changing hands in the Rs 462-472 band."It was expected the share issue ratio would be 11. But ITC announced that it would hold a 40 per cent stake in the hotel company which nobody expected," Shobit Singhal, Research Analyst, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers told IANS."The demerger has been in talks for a long time. They were sounding positive for the last couple of years. But the hotel business consumes lots of capital and returns come later unlike the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) business," Naveen Trivedi, Deputy Vice President, HDFC Securities, told IANS.ITC is a multi-product company ranging from cigarettes, paper, hotel, food products and others.Analysts like Trivedi pointed out that nearly 20 per cent of the total capital employed by ITC was in the hotels division whereas the EBITA is only about two per cent.So with 40 per cent stake in ITC Hotels Ltd a the hotel company, ITC is expected to fund a sizable amount of the capex needed for the hotel business, analysts said."Investors prefer asset light business," Trivedi added.Referring to the cyclicality of the hospitality business, Trivedi said that the hotel business is buoyant now post Covid-19. But it needs capital.Announcing the rejig, ITC said, the demerger will help the new entity in attracting appropriate investors and strategic partners/ collaborations whose investment strategies and risk profiles are aligned more sharply with the hospitality industry.However, it is not known the kind of strategic partners/collaborations that the new hotel company would attract with ITC's 40 per cent stake position.According to ITC, the rejig in the announced format would ensure its continued interest in the hospitality business, provide long-term stability and strategic support to the new entity in its pursuit of accelerating growth and sustained value creation as also enable leveraging of cross synergies between itself and the new entity.It should also be noted that a lot of inter-division sales happen in the company.Queried about the impact of sales of ITC's FMCG products to ITC Hotels - the company housing the hotel business - analysts told IANS that it has to be seen later.According to ITC, the demerger will be majorly tax neutral and there will be no change in the strategy for the hotel business. It will continue to follow the 'asset-right' strategy and the new properties will be under management contract unless there is a compelling rationale for the contrary.But analysts are not comfortable with ITC's 40 per cent stake in ITC Hotels and said there needs clarity on how the future pans for the hotel business.(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at v.jagannathan@ians.in)IANS30 July 2023

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Kochi: Indian Coast Guard officials rescue fishermen from sinking vessel

Kochi, July 30: Indian Coast Guard ship Arnvesh and a helicopter rescued eight fishermen, who were on board a sinking vessel 21 nautical miles west of Kochi, officials said on Saturday.

Kochi: Indian Coast Guard officials rescue fishermen from sinking vessel

Taking to Twitter, DefencePROkochi said, "@IndiaCoastGuard Ship #Arnvesh & CG ALH conducted a rescue op for #IFBMariyam, 21Nm west of #Kochi."On receiving the distress message about the sinking fishing vessel IFB Mariyam, Indian Coast Guard Ship Arnvesh reached the scene swiftly, recovered all 8 crew members, controlled flooding and made the boat operational again, they added.Public Relations Officer Kochi said the crew was safely transferred back to the boat and IFB Mariyam was escorted to Munambam fishing harbour.ANI30 July 2023

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Division between tribals, non-tribals led to violence in Manipur, says Kamal Nath

Bhopal, July 30: Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath on Sunday said that the division between tribal and non-tribal population in Manipur led to the present violence and seeds of the division were sown deliberately for a long time.

Division between tribals, non-tribals led to violence in Manipur, says Kamal Nath

"Division between tribal and non-tribal population led to violence in Manipur. The division was done deliberately for a long time," Kamal Nath said in response to a question during a seminar organised by the Women Wing of Madhya Pradesh Congress on atrocities against the women.The seminar was organised at Radisson Hotel in Indore where the Congress Women Wing raised questions on social structure and sought to know why women are always 'abused' and why governments make policies presenting women as 'suppressed'."I never believed that government policies can empower women alone. It can't happen untill the policies are farmed with women consultation. They can only say what is right or wrong for them," Kamal Nath said.Former chief minister Digvijaya Singh along with NSUI president Kanhaiya Kumar, Sobha Oza and Vibha Patel also attended the seminar.The women present at the seminar put various questions to the Congress leadership pertaining to the women security, social structure and inhumane acts in Manipur.Kamal Nath said that what has happened in Manipur has brought shame for the entire country.He also expressed concern saying what will happen if the Manipur like situation occurs in Madhya Pradesh where tribal population is the highest."I am surprised that Chief Minister Chouhan came up with the Ladli Behna Yojna policy when elections are only four months away. Why didn't he think of women centric policies for the last 18 years? He is insulting tribals and women by offering them shoes, slippers or umbrellas. He only wants their votes. Such things show he has not done anything to empower them," Kamal Nath said.Former TV journalist and Digvijaya Singh's wife Amrita Rai, who also attended the seminar said that the women are competing with men at every stage and many of them have achieved highest posts with their efforts.She asked Kamal Nath what kind of policies would Congress introduce to empower women if they form government in Madhya Pradesh?IANS30 July 2023

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YEREVAN, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS. A group of demonstrators in Yerevan has collected humanitarian aid for Nagorno-Karabakh and rallied outside the UN Armenia office Monday asking the organization to deliver it.

The demonstrators have launched a movement called Opening Initiative, aimed at lifting the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The initiative has three goals.

First is the opening of Lachin Corridor, second to ensure the security, the unimpeded and indefinite use of the corridor, through which cargo shipments between Armenia and Artsakh will take place. Third, we are struggling for the rights of our countrymen of Artsakh, who are on the verge of a humanitarian disaster. By gathering here every day, we are showing that we stand with Artsakh 24/7, said Narek Ayvazyan, a member of the Opening Initiative.

He said theyve collected humanitarian goods which they are asking the UN to deliver through Lachin Corridor to Nagorno-Karabakh. The goods were collected since July 19th, and ten tons of goods have been collected so far. Ayvazyan said that the UN office is inquiring about the humanitarian cargo every day and the information is being relayed to the UN headquarters.

On July 31, the demonstrators blocked the entrance of the UN Armenia office for one hour in protest. In this dreadful situation, we have hope that the more influential organizations such as the UN can impact the situation, Ayvazyan added.

The entire purpose of our civic pressure is that aside from being aware they should act, said another member of the organization, pointing out the numerous conventions and declarations of the UN that ought to protect human rights everywhere around the world.

The demonstrators said their initiative is a movement aimed at generating an agenda of launching international mechanisms. If a single UN vehicle carrying aid were to enter Artsakh via Lachin Corridor it would become a precedent for the corridor to function properly, the demonstrators said.

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations highest court  the International Court of Justice (ICJ) - ordered Azerbaijan to take all steps at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations.
Sikh Guru Ram Das wrote 638 Shabads, established Amritsar

Amritsar, July 30: Guru Ram Das, who became the Guru of Sikhism in 1574 and served as the 4th guru until he passed away in 1581, was a well-known poet who wrote approximately 638 'Shabads,' accounting for roughly 10 per cent of the hymns in the Guru Granth Sahib, reported Khalsa Vox.

Sikh Guru Ram Das wrote 638 Shabads, established Amritsar

While Guru Amar Das established the Manji system, Ram Das expanded on it by introducing the 'Masand' institution. Masands were Sikh community leaders who lived far from the Guru yet raised funds for Sikh activities and facilitated mutual interactions. These contributed considerably to the spread of Sikhism in succeeding decades.Bhai Jetha Mal Sodhi was Guru Ram Das's birth name. He was orphaned at the age of seven and went to live with his grandmother, where he met Guru Amar Das. He served the Guru and the sangat with joy and devotion, as per Khalsa Vox.Khalsa Vox is a new-age online digest that brings to you the latest in Punjab politics, history, culture, heritage and more.When the Mughals brought charges against Guru Amar Das, Jetha represented him in court and eloquently defended his Guru and his beliefs, impressing the emperor so much that all charges were dropped. The third Guru was immensely impressed with Jetha's service and greatly admired him. When his youngest daughter, Bibi Bhani, decided to marry Jetha, he was thrilled. Guru Amar Das designated him as the fourth Guru and dubbed him Ram Das, which means "servant of God." Thus, in 1574, at the age of 40, he became Guru. He is credited with constructing Amritsar, the holiest shrine for Sikhs.According to legend, his predecessor chose the location, and Ram Dasji named the town Ramdaspur or 'Guru ka Chakk'. He persuaded traders and artists to settle here, and the town expanded to become known as "Amritsar," which means "the pool of nectar." There is a 'Sakhi' associated with its discovery; it is stated that Duni Chand Khatri was a wealthy landlord from Patti with five beautiful daughters, as per Khalsa Vox.According to another popular anecdote, Akbar once visited Ramdaspur after hearing about 'Guru Ram Das's honours and presented Guruji with a dish full of cold coins as a gesture of respect. The Guru instantly instructed Arjan Dev, his youngest son sitting nearby, to take the monies coins and distribute them to the poor and needy.Amazed at this humility, Akbar decided to gift him a 'jagir' of 12 villages for maintenance of Langar but again Ram Dasji refused saying, "Langar does not depend upon jagirs. Men fight with each other due to these jagirs. These are sources of evil passions, pride, and ego. We only believe in one God and by the name of God all creatures, continents, all worlds, and sphere are sustained. God is lord of this world and next."Pleased, Emperor Akbar declared that he saw the embodiment of the living God in the Guru.Amritsar flourished under the guidance and divine blessings of the fourth Guru, who read Shabads and ate langar with his Sikhs.After appointing Arjan Devji as his successor in August 1581, Guru Ram Das returned to his former headquarters in Goindwal and assumed the name 'Jyoti Jot' on September 1, 1581, Khalsa Vox reported.ANI30 July 2023

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17 Indians released from Libya jail: MP Vikramjit Sahney

Chandigarh, July 30: Seventeen Indian men, who were stranded in Libya for the past six months, were released from the jail in Tripoli, Member of Parliament Vikramjit Singh Sahney said on Sunday.

17 Indians released from Libya jail: MP Vikramjit Sahney

They were cheated by unscrupulous travel agents from Punjab and Delhi on the pretext of sending them to Italy for lucrative jobs.All of them left India for Italy in February via Dubai then Egypt, and after few days, landed in Libya. They were kept in Zuwara City, where they were being deprived of basic amenities like food and water and subjected to physical assault, said Sahney in a statement here.He said when he got to know about them in May contacted the Indian Embassy in Tunisia and initiated the legal process for rescuing them. "My office was in constant touch with these boys and their families. Initially our major concern was to take them out from the captivity of local mafia," said Sahney.He said they were detained in an under-construction building by an armed group from where the police took their custody. "They were kept at a detention centre in Zwara on June 15 and then we initiated the legal process to get their consular access."Sahney said on Saturday the process of getting their consular access got over and Libyan authorities released them from jail and kept them in Tripoli till arrangements for their travel documents were arranged by them.Sahney said he will be sponsoring all legal expenses and flight tickets of the youth coming back to their home. On reaching India, Sahney's office will offer them free of cost skilling and provide them job opportunities.vg/svnIANS30 July 2023

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Time-travelling pathogens in melting permafrost may pose risk to humans

London, July 30: Ancient pathogens that escape from melting permafrost have real potential to damage microbial communities and might potentially threaten human health, according to a new study.

Time-travelling pathogens in melting permafrost may pose risk to humans

The idea that "time-travelling" pathogens trapped in ice or hidden in remote laboratory facilities could break free to cause catastrophic outbreaks has inspired generations of novelists and screenwriters.While melting glaciers and permafrost are giving many types of dormant microbes the opportunity to re-emerge, the potential threats to human health and the environment posed by these microbes have been difficult to estimate.In a new study, a team led by Giovanni Strona of the European Commission Joint Research Centre in Brussels, Belgium, quantified the ecological risks posed by these microbes using computer simulations.The researchers performed artificial evolution experiments where digital virus-like pathogens from the past invade communities of bacteria-like hosts. They compared the effects of invading pathogens on the diversity of host bacteria to diversity in control communities where no invasion occurred.The team found that in their simulations, the ancient invading pathogens could often survive and evolve in the modern community, and about 3 per cent became dominant.While most of the dominant invaders had little effect on the composition of the larger community, about 1 per cent of the invaders yielded unpredictable results.Some caused up to one third of the host species to die out, while others increased diversity by up to 12 per cent compared to the control simulations.The risks posed by this 1 per cent of released pathogens may seem small, but given the sheer number of ancient microbes regularly released into modern communities, outbreak events still represent a substantial hazard.The new findings, published in the open-access journal PLOS Computational Biology, suggest that the risks posed by time-travelling pathogens -- so far confined to science fiction stories -- could in fact be powerful drivers of ecological change and threats to human health.IANS30 July 2023

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Inflammation discovery may slow ageing: Study

Washington DC, July 30: The University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers have pinpointed a significant factor contributing to the chronic inflammation that hastens ageing.

Inflammation discovery may slow ageing: Study

With the help of this discovery, we may be able to turn back the hands of time and live longer, healthier lives as well as ward off age-related diseases like fatal heart disease and severe mental illnesses that rob us of our faculties.What causes this damaging inflammation, then? Inappropriate calcium signalling in the mitochondria of some immune cells provides the solution. All cells' mitochondria produce energy, and they heavily rely on calcium signalling.Age-related declines in the capacity of the mitochondria in immune cells known as macrophages to take up and use calcium were discovered by UVA Health researchers under the direction of Bimal N Desai, PhD.This, the researchers show, leads to chronic inflammation responsible for many of the ailments that afflict our later years.The researchers believe that increasing calcium uptake by the mitochondrial macrophages could prevent harmful inflammation and its terrible effects.Because macrophages reside in all organs of our bodies, including the brain, targeting such "tissue-resident macrophages" with appropriate drugs may allow us to slow age-associated neurodegenerative diseases."I think we have made a key conceptual breakthrough in understanding the molecular underpinnings of age-associated inflammation," said Desai, of UVA's Department of Pharmacology and UVA's Carter Immunology Center. "This discovery illuminates new therapeutic strategies to interdict the inflammatory cascades that lie at the heart of many cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative diseases."The Inflammation of Aging - 'Inflammaging'Macrophages are white blood cells that play critical roles in our immune systems and, in turn, our good health.They swallow up dead or dying cells, allowing our bodies to remove cellular debris, and patrol for pathogens and other foreign invaders. In this latter role, they act as important sentries for our immune systems, calling for help from other immune cells as needed.Scientists have known that macrophages become less effective with age, but it has been unclear why.Desai and his team say their research has identified a "keystone" mechanism responsible for age-related changes in the macrophages.These changes, the scientists believe, make the macrophages prone to chronic, low-grade inflammation at the best of times. And when the immune cells are confronted by an invader or tissue damage, they can become hyperactive. This drives what is known as "inflammaging" - chronic inflammation that drives ageing.Further, the UVA Health scientists suspect that the mechanism they have discovered will hold true not just for macrophages but for many other related immune cells generated in the bone marrow. That means we may be able to stimulate the proper functioning of those cells as well, potentially giving our immune systems a big boost in old age, when we become more susceptible to disease.Fixing "inflammaging" won't be as simple as taking a calcium supplement. The problem isn't a shortage of calcium so much as the macrophages' inability to use it properly. But Desai's new discovery has pinpointed the precise molecular machinery involved in this process, so we should be able to discover ways to stimulate this machinery in ageing cells."This highly interdisciplinary research effort, at the interface of computational biology, immunology, cell biology and biophysics, wouldn't have been possible without the determination of Phil Seegren, the graduate student who spearheaded this ambitious project," Desai said."Now, moving forward, we need an equally ambitious effort to figure out the wiring that controls this mitochondrial process in different types of macrophages and then manipulate that wiring in creative ways for biomedical impact."ANI30 July 2023

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Study reveals link between human breast milk micronutrient and brain development in newborns

Massachusetts, July 30 : Researchers at Tufts University's Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Centre on Ageing suggested that micronutrients in human breast milk have considerable positive effects on newborns' growing brains.

Study reveals link between human breast milk micronutrient and brain development in newborns

This finding provides new information on the connection between nutrition and brain health and could advance infant formulas used in instances where breastfeeding is not an option.The findings of the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also pave the way to study what role this micronutrient might play in the brain as we age.The micronutrient, a sugar molecule known as myo-inositol, was shown to be most prevalent in human breast milk during the early months of lactation, when synapses, or connections between neurons, are rapidly forming in the developing brain. The researchers profiled and analyzed human milk samples gathered across sites in Mexico City, Shanghai, and Cincinnati by the Global Exploration of Human Milk study, which comprised healthy mothers of term singleton infants. This was true regardless of the mother's ethnicity or origin.Further testing using rodent models as well as human neurons showed that myo-inositol increased both the size and the number of synaptic connections between neurons in the developing brain, indicating stronger connectivity."Forming and refining brain connectivity from birth is guided by genetic and environmental forces as well as by human experiences," said Thomas Biederer, senior scientist on the Neuroscience and Aging Team at the HNRCA, senior author on the study, and faculty member at the Yale School of Medicine, where he leads a research group in the Department of Neurology.Diet is one of the environmental forces that offers many opportunities for study. In early infancy, the brain may be particularly sensitive to dietary factors because the blood-brain barrier is more permeable, and small molecules are taken in as food can more easily pass from the blood to the brain."As a neuroscientist, it's intriguing to me how profound the effects of micronutrients are on the brain," said Biederer. "It's also amazing how complex and rich human breast milk is, and I now think it is conceivable that its composition is dynamically changing to support different stages of infant brain development."Similar levels of myo-inositol across women in very different geographic locations point to its generally important role in human brain development, he observed.Research by others has shown that brain inositol levels decline over time as infants develop. In adults, lower than normal brain inositol levels have been found in patients with major depressive disorders and bipolar disease. Genetic alterations in myo-inositol transporters have been linked to schizophrenia. In contrast, in people with Down's syndrome and patients with Alzheimer's disease and Down's syndrome, higher than normal accumulations of myo-inositol have been identified."The current research does indicate that for circumstances where breastfeeding is not possible, it may be beneficial to increase the levels of myo-inositol in infant formula," Biederer added.However, Biederer says it is too soon to recommend that adults consume more myo-inositol, which can be found in significant quantities in certain grains, beans, bran, citrus fruits, and cantaloupe ."We don't know why inositol levels are lower in adults with certain psychiatric conditions, or higher in those with certain other diseases," he said.A host of research questions remain: Are lower inositol levels in people with depression or bipolar disease a cause of those diseases, or a side effect of drugs used to treat them? Do higher than normal levels in people with Down's syndrome and Alzheimer's disease suggest that too much myo-inositol is problematic? What is the "right" level of myo-inositol to have in one's brain for optimal brain health at various stages of life?"My colleagues at the HNRCA and I are now pursuing research to test how micronutrients like myo-inositol may impact cells and connectivity in the ageing brain," said Biederer. "We hope this work leads to a better understanding of how dietary factors interplay with age-related brain aberrations."ANI31 July 2023

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Palaniswami urges DMK govt to organise medical camps across TN

Chennai, July 31: Former Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK general secretary, Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Sunday urged the DMK-led government to conduct special medical camps in the state.

Palaniswami urges DMK govt to organise medical camps across TN

In a statement, Palaniswami said that over 4,000 people were affected by dengue in the state, adding diseases like chikungunya and malaria were also on the rise.He said that the fever is affecting those who are dependent on government hospitals. He said that there was an acute shortage of medicines in the government hospitals.The former Chief Minister called upon the M.K. Stalin-led state government to hold fever camps across the state against the disease.He said that the Tamil Nadu Medical Corporation used to maintain a stock of all medicines required for public when the AIADMK government was in power.He also said that fever is rampant in Chennai as well as in cities like Madurai, Tiruvallur, and Kancheepuram.IANS31 July 2023

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Omans airport traffic reaches 70% of pre-pandemic level

Muscat, July 31: Airport operations across Oman were reaching 70 per cent of the sultanate's pre-pandemic capacity, media reported, citing a statement from the Omani Civil Aviation Authority .

Oman's airport traffic reaches 70% of pre-pandemic level

CAA President Naif Ali Al-Abri said on Sunday in a statement that air traffic in Oman was growing rapidly in the past several months and is expected to go beyond the level in 2019 soon, Xinhua news agency reported.Oman reported a 30.3-per cent surge in passenger traffic year-on-year in the first half of 2023, with 1.98 million travellers using its airports, a Saudi newspaper reported, citing CAA statistics.Meanwhile, the number of flights saw a 28.4-per cent increase to 9,784 by June from 7,622 in the same period last year, representing a robust recovery, according to Al-Abri.He said that Oman is keen to enhance cooperation in air transport with countries across the world, adding that 122 bilateral agreements have been made in air transport services, of which 66 are open skies agreements.int/khzIANS31 July 2023

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Portugal records less rural fires in 2023

Lisbon, July 31: This year, till three days ago, registers 27 per cent less rural fires and 70 per cent less burned area in Portugal, compared to the average annual level of the past decade, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Action said.

Portugal records less rural fires in 2023

So far, this year has recorded the third smallest number of fires and the fourth fewest burned area compared with the same period since 2013, the MAAC said on Sunday in a statement.The Ministry attributes the improvement to the launch of the Integrated Management System for Rural Fires, Xinhua news agency reported.According to data released by the Ministry, the government had invested greater in combatting rural fires before 2017 but now 50 per cent of the budget available is invested in fire prevention."The total investment more than doubled compared to the 2017 level," now reaching 500 million euros ($551.8 million), the MAAC added.IANS31 July 2023

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Intl flight passengers from S.Korea recover to 64.8% of pre-Covid level

Seoul, July 31: The number of international flight passengers from South Korea recovered to 64.8 per cent of the pre-Covid level in the first half of this year, government data showed on Monday.

Int'l flight passengers from S.Korea recover to 64.8% of pre-Covid level

A total of 29.5 million people boarded international flights between January and June, accounting for 64.8 per cent of the 45.6 million tallied over the same period in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.By destination, the number of travelers to the Middle East and Africa recovered at the fastest pace, with 527,000 boarding flights to the regions, up 11.3 per cent from 474,000 tallied in the same period in 2019, reports Yonhap News Agency.Some 2.63 million people traveled to North America and South America, accounting for 98.8 per cent of the corresponding tally of 2.66 million logged in 2019.The recovery rate of passengers heading to Japan was 75.5 per cent, followed by the Asian region, except for Japan and China, with 73 per cent and Oceania with 72.8 per cent.The number of passengers to Europe fell below the average recovery, accounting for 61.7 per cent of the pre-pandemic level, partly due to the suspension of flights to Russia amid the ongoing war with Ukraine.Additionally, 1.83 million passengers flew to China in the first half, only 21 per cent of the pre-pandemic level.IANS31 July 2023

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UAE Girl Guides Association participates in 38th WAGGGS World Conference in Cyprus

Dubai, July 31: The UAE Girl Guides Association has participated in the 38th the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts World Conference, being held in Nicosia, Cyprus. Huda Al Matrooshi represented the UAE Girl Guides Association.

UAE Girl Guides Association participates in 38th WAGGGS World Conference in Cyprus

The conference discussed the future of scouting worldwide and ways to develop it and encourage girls to join it.The conference sessions discussed the best practices from the various participating member organisations to discover the tools and resources needed to expand the Girl Guide and Girl Scout movement.Maryam Muhammad Al Rumaithi, Vice President of the UAEGGA, said that the association's participation in this important international event stems from its keenness to take part in international forums that are concerned with girl scouts and guides and to learn about the experiences and expertise of the participating countries, which help develop scouting in the country.ANI31 July 2023

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YEREVAN, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS. An Armenian humanitarian convoy carrying emergency food and medical aid to Nagorno-Karabakh remains blocked by Azerbaijan at the entrance of Lachin Corridor for the sixth day.

Armenias request to Azerbaijan to let the goods through and to Russian peacekeepers to help deliver it have gone unanswered, said Vardan Sargsyan, an Armenian government official and member of the Deputy Prime Ministerial task force for responding to the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The convoy of trucks is stuck in the same area, in Kornidzor village.

The Azerbaijani government continues its illegal blockade of Lachin Corridor and doesnt let the humanitarian aid through despite multiple calls from different countries and organizations.

Reporters from the United States, Russia, China and Argentina have covered the situation, Sargsyan said.

The official said that reporters from all media outlets and agencies are free to visit the area for coverage.

We can see a growing interest from international news agencies. A France Press [AFP] reporter was here yesterday and witnessed the situation on the ground. The article was then published by France Press, Sargsyan said.

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations highest court  the International Court of Justice (ICJ) - ordered Azerbaijan to take all steps at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno-Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations.

On July 26, Armenia sent a humanitarian convoy carrying emergency food and medication for Nagorno-Karabakh, but Azerbaijan blocked the trucks at the entrance of Lachin Corridor.
Israel: New suspension bridge makes Jerusalem holy sites accessible

Tel Aviv, July 31: Jerusalem is due to unveil Israel's longest suspension bridge on Sunday night, connecting Mount Zion with the Hinnom Valley to the south. The bridge will make Mount Zion's holy sites and Jerusalem's Old City more accessible to pedestrians.

Israel: New suspension bridge makes Jerusalem holy sites accessible

"For the benefit of Israeli citizens and visitors from abroad, we built the bridge with the spectacular view in order to upgrade the tourist experience in the area," said Tourism Minister Haim Katz. "The summer holiday is a great opportunity for Israeli families to come and experience the uniqueness of the place. We will continue to invest in promoting Jerusalem as a leading tourist destination."Tourist attractions on the Mount Zion side of the bridge include King David's Tomb, the Room of the Last Supper, the Chamber of the Holocaust and Dormition Abbey. Pedestrians can continue into the Old City by walking through Zion Gate.The southern end of the bridge is located near the agricultural farm in Gai Ben Hinnom, known for its ancient agricultural activities, including olive picking, wine-making, and honey production. Nearby tourist attractions include the City of David National Park, the Sultan's Pool, and the First Station shopping and restaurant complex.A separate initiative to build a 1.4 km cable car connecting the First Station to the Old City has raised objections over cost-effectiveness, and environmental and political issues. Cable cars would reach the Dung Gate, from which tourists would enter the Old City directly to the Western Wall plaza.According to legend, Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent intended for Mount Zion to be included within the walls of Jerusalem's Old City, but his engineers mistakenly left it outside. The walls were completed in 1541.The Hinnom Valley below the bridge was a no man's land between 1949-1967 when Jordan occupied Jerusalem's eastern neighbourhoods. The valley now features hiking trails.The bridge will be open every day between 600 am - 1100 pm for pedestrians only. Children up to the age of 14 are required to be accompanied by an adult.The 20 million shekels project was funded by the Ministry of Jerusalem and Israel Tradition, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Jerusalem Municipality in collaboration with the Jerusalem Development Authority and the Moriah Company."The suspension bridge is an addition to tourism in the city," said Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon. "Jerusalem as the leading city in Israel is regularly upgrading its tourist sites and investing millions in the development of internal and external tourism in the city. I invite everyone to come and visit Jerusalem."ANI31 July 2023

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University of Technology Sydney hosts Decarbonising Australia Summit

PRNewswire, Sydney, July 31: As a recognised leader in sustainability research, teaching and operations, and a university committed to becoming carbon neutral and climate positive by 2029, the University of Technology Sydney is proud to be hosting the inaugural Decarbonising Australia Business Summit: Partnering with Japan on the Transition to Net Zero this week.

University of Technology Sydney hosts Decarbonising Australia Summit

Attendees to the Summit, organised by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, include 90 Japanese business leaders and hundreds of Australian industry, government and research representatives.Among the keynote speakers are Minister for Climate Change and Energy, the Hon. Chris Bowen and Assistant Minister for Trade and Assistant Minister for Manufacturing, Senator the Hon. Tim Ayres.Summit sessions featuring UTS experts include- Panel session on UTS - Science + Industry Partnership in Action; hosted by Melissa Edwards, Research Director of the Centre for Business and Sustainable Development, UTS, and with panellists Distinguished Professor Peter Ralph, Director Deep Green Biotech Hub, UTS and Richard Adamson, Founder, Owner, Chief Brewer, Young Henrys Brewery- Networking session - UTS engineering expert in collaboration with industry partner addressing climate change; with Julie Jupp, UTS Professor of Digital Engineering in dialogue with Digital Tech Company- Case study UTS and NTT on how to establish impactful industry/universityRelationships; Moderator Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, Institute for Public Policy Governance, UTS, panellists Herve Harvard, Director, RAPIDO, Engineering, UTS, and Akifumi Nagatani, General Manager, Australian Global Business, NTT.UTS Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andrew Parfitt, said that as an institution with a proven track record in partnering with government and industry, both in Australia and overseas, in areas such as green energy and carbon emissions reduction, UTS was pleased to be selected as host of the inaugural summit."We signed an Australian-first Power Purchase Agreement with a solar farm in 2015, signed an Australian-first precinct cooling agreement in 2016, and opened an Australian-first plastic-free food court in 2019," he said."Now, in hosting this important international conversation between Japan and Australia on decarbonisation, we are once again able to contribute toward a more sustainable planet."The University of Technology Sydney is among the top 100 universities in the world. As Australia's leading technology university, UTS drives positive impact through a range of global research and industry partnerships. Learn more at uts.edu.au.Photo - https//mma.prnewswire.com/media/2163779/UTS_Toby_Burrows_2020_2025.jpgANI31 July 2023

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Zoya Akhtars Made in Heaven Season 2 official trailer to be out on this date

Mumbai, July 31: Makers of the upcoming drama series 'Made in Heaven Season 2' on Monday announced the trailer release date of the series.

Zoya Akhtar's 'Made in Heaven Season 2' official trailer to be out on this date

Taking to Instagram, director Zoya Akhtar shared a string of posters of actors Sobhita Dhulipala, Kalki Koechlin, Jim Sarbh, Mona Singh and others.She captioned the post, "The wedding planners are back in biz! #MadeInHeavenOnPrime S2, on Aug 10."https//www.instagram.com/p/CvWgtYLIHpy/?img_index=6The posters read that the official trailer of the series will be out tomorrow i.e August 1.The first season, premiered in 2019, featuring Shobita Dhulipala, Arjun Mathur, Jim Sarbh and Kalki Koechlin.'Made in Heaven S2' will stream exclusively on the OTT platform Amazon Prime Video from August 10.The show returns with the second season, starring, Sobhita Dhulipala, Arjun Mathur, Jim Sarbh, Kalki Koechlin, Shashank Arora, Shivani Raghuvanshi and Vijay Raaz reprising their roles.'Made In Heaven' is a story of two wedding planners in Delhi, which brings out the clash of traditional and modern aspirations, set against the backdrop of a big fat Indian wedding. There are many secrets which are revealed in the series.The makers of the show recently announced the release date of the show, Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, Show Creators, said, "Made in Heaven holds a special place in our hearts as it's a true strength of collaboration with many creative energies aligning and we are very proud of that. The second season of Made In Heaven, delves deeper into the extravagant world of Indian weddings and unearths more stories from the community. Made in Heaven reflects the lives of upscale modern India, and is narrated through the eyes of two wedding planners, set against the backdrop of quintessential Indian weddings and recurring social prejudices. Our hope is that the latest one is received with as much love as the last."Directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, Neeraj Ghaywan, Nitya Mehra, Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar, and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar's Excel Media & Entertainment and Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti's Tiger Baby Films, the 7-episode series will be stream on Prime Video India on August 10.ANI31 July 2023

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SGS gains IOAS Accreditation to extend Textile Exchange product certification services to India

PRNewswire, Mumbai, July 31: SGS, the world's leading testing, inspection and certification company, has been accredited by the International Organic Accreditation Service to extend its Textile Exchange product certification services to India - .

SGS gains IOAS Accreditation to extend Textile Exchange product certification services to India

The scope of the certification scheme, which SGS has delivered across Spain since 2021, includes Content Claim Standard and Recycled Claim Standard for textile, leather, plastic, paper and metal product categories.The scope also includes the Organic Content Standard ; Responsible Down Standard and RAF to the textile industry for any stage of the supply chain after the farm.SGS will provide the full spectrum of Textile Exchange certification services to manufacturers, traders, recyclers and brands from its strategically located offices in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Mumbai and Tirupur.Shailesh Sharma, Director- Connectivity & Products, Softlines at SGS said "We are delighted to have gained IOAS accreditation to expand our global textile and footwear certification services to give us maximum local presence across India. We are now even better placed to provide organizations across the region with the tools and expertise to achieve their sustainable sourcing goals and demonstrate the precise recycled and organic content of their products."Textile Exchange is a global non-profit organization that works closely with all sectors of the textile supply chain. It identifies and shares best practices regarding farming, materials, processing, traceability, and product end-of-life to create positive impacts on water, soil, air, animals and the human population created around the world by the textile industry.IOAS is a non-profit organization dedicated to the integrity of ecolabel claims in the field of organic and sustainable agriculture, environmental management, social justice and fair trade. IOAS works internationally to assess the competence of organizations providing certification to 'sustainability' standards.To find out more about SGS services for textiles and clothing, footwear, bags and accessories, jewelry, and linens and towels, visit www.sgs.com/softlines.For more information, please contact CRS.India@sgs.comNitin SonawaneEmail nitin.sonawane@sgs.comPonnusamy. C Email C.ponnusamy@sgs.comJanossy OrsolyaEmail orsolya.janossy@sgs.comAbout SGSWe are SGS - the world's leading testing, inspection and certification company. We are recognized as the global benchmark for sustainability, quality and integrity. Our 98,000 employees operate a network of 2,650 offices and laboratories, working together to enable a better, safer and more interconnected world.Logo https//mma.prnewswire.com/media/724727/3750542/SGS_Logo.jpgANI31 July 2023

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Will Stuart Broad script fairy tale victory for England before he bids farewell

London, July 31: English pacer Stuart Broad who is just a day away from hanging his boots, will be looking to end his fairy tale career memorable note by denying Australia their first overseas Ashes victory on Day 5 of the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval on Monday.

Will Stuart Broad script fairy tale victory for England before he bids farewell

England will be hoping for another magical effort from the retiring pacer Stuart Broad on his final day of Test cricket. Former English cricketer Marcus Trescothick is eyeing a perfect ending for the retiring pacer."If there was one more fairytale left, it would be ideal if it was Stuart's last five-for. One to win or two to win and he runs in and gets his last five-fer... something like that would be brilliant wouldn't it? We don't quite see the fairytales that we want to see at times, but it would be lovely to dream of it," Trescothick said.After the announcement of Broad's retirement came into light, Australian legend Ricky Ponting believes that English pacer Stuart Broad, who announced his retirement after the ongoing fifth Ashes Test, is the "ultimate Ashes warrior."Broad called an end to his 17-year-old career at the end of Day 3 of the final Ashes Test at The Oval on Saturday.Australian openers Usman Khawaja and David Warner reached their respective half-centuries as Australia looked absolutely solid at the end of a rain-interrupted second session during day four of the match, inching towards a 150-run opening partnership.After the match, Ponting told Sky Sports, "I am a believer in judging players on longevity and maintaining such high standards at the absolute highest level. He has played 25 consecutive Ashes Tests at home, which is unbelievable in itself.""We talk about Ben Stokes being the ultimate warrior but Broad is the ultimate Ashes warrior. All of his best cricket has been played in Ashes series," he added."People's names and reputations are forged in what they are able to achieve in Ashes series and he can be mightily proud of what he has achieved. He will be remembered for how good he was in his last series. It is about the perfect time to go," The former Australian captain said.Broad has taken 602 wickets in 167 Test matches he has played. He has also scored 3656 runs at an average of 18 with 1 century and 13 fifties in Test cricket. In ODIs, Broad has featured in 121 games taking 178 scalps.His best bowling effort in the 50-over format to date is 5/23 while in T20Is, he has 65 wickets in 56 matches, with his best being 4/24.Meanwhile, in the T20I format, he has played 56 matches and taken 65 wickets with an average of 22.93.ANI31 July 2023

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Google faces criticism over proposed Web Environment Integrity API

San Francisco, July 31: Google has received criticism from Internet software developers over the Web Environment Integrity API on Chrome, arguing that the proposed standard restricts user freedom and undermines the core principles of the open web.

Google faces criticism over proposed Web Environment Integrity API

Employees from web browsers Vivaldi, Brave, and Firefox have taken a stance against Google's WEI proposal, with some comparing it to digital rights management (DRM) for websites, reports BleepingComputer.WEI is a new API proposal that introduces a trust mechanism for websites that will allow them to verify the authenticity of clients (browsers) and block insecure or fake interactions. This mechanism, for instance, can be used to determine whether a website is being visited by a human or a bot, or whether a particular browser on a specific type of device is trustworthy.The WEI proposal's stated goal is to assist websites in determining the authenticity of the device and software stack from which they are receiving traffic and to protect users from fraud by discouraging malicious online activities, the report said.Last week, J. Picalausa, the developer of the Vivaldi browser, called WEI "dangerous"."If an entity has the power of deciding which browsers are trusted and which are not, there is no guarantee that they will trust any given browser," Picalausa was quoted as saying."Any new browser would by default not be trusted until they have somehow demonstrated that they are trustworthy, to the discretion of the attesters," he added.The Brave browser team, on the other hand, is unconcerned about this scenario, as its co-founder and CEO, Brendan Eich, confirmed that they do not intend to ship WEI.Moreover, Firefox engineer Brian Grinstead commented last week that Mozilla opposes the proposal as it contradicts its principles and vision for the web.Currently, Google's WEI API proposal is in its early development stage and could undergo significant changes if all stakeholders agree to implement it.IANS31 July 2023

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Power banks top list of seized items at airports in India

New Delhi, July 31 : Every day, around 25,000 prohibited items are seized by security agencies from air passengers at various airports across the country, said the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security on Monday.

Power banks top list of seized items at airports in India

Zulfiquar Hasan, Director General of BCAS, inaugurated Aviation Security Culture Week-2023 at BCAS Headquarters in Delhi."Every day, we screen around eight lakhs handbags and five lakhs check-in baggage at all airports in the country. And while checking, we find around 25,000 prohibited items that create a diversion for security personnel and time of security personnel, and passengers gets wasted in clearance," said Hasan.BCAS said that the seized prohibited items that were often found in check-in baggage are power banks, lighter, loose batteries, and laptops . In hand-baggage, lighter, scissors, knife, and liquids are found.Hasan added that foolproof security is essential for the growth of the aviation sector."We cannot afford to have a single mistake, and for this reason, we have organised a week-long program to educate people as India has the world's highest number of first-time flyers," he said.Elaborating on emerging threats to aviation as 4.8 lakhs passengers travel every day on 3,300 flights, Hasan said that cyber threats that also include drones are new kinds of threats to the sector."We are working on all fronts for the safety of passengers. Along with the safety of onboard passengers, we are equally taking care of the safety of people at the landside area of the airport," he added.ANI31 July 2023

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We need dedicated force for security of airports, says pilot of plane hijacked in 1999A

New Delhi, July 31: After the 1999 Kandahar hijack, a dedicated force for airports--Airport Security Force was conceptualized but it never happened, said Devi Sharan, the former Air India pilot whose IC-814 was hijacked to Kandahar in December 1999.

We need dedicated force for security of airports, says pilot of plane hijacked in 1999A

Devi Saran, while addressing an event after the inauguration of Aviation Security Culture Week-2023 at BCAS Headquarters in Delhi, explained how the Amritsar Police and the security of the airport were 'helpless' when the hijacked plane landed in Punjab."In 1999, when the hijacked plane landed in Amritsar, the security at Amritsar airport was with local police and they were helpless. By the time a team of commandos took off from Delhi to control the situation, hijackers took the flight to Pakistan," Saran said.He further said that the situation of the time could have been averted if there was a dedicated security force for the airports."If there was a dedicated security force for airports in 1999, the situation could have been averted. After the incident, a suggestion was made for a dedicated security force for airports but never formalized. It is a good move, and we should have one to deal with any untoward situation in the future," the former pilot said.Notably, the terrorists had hijacked the airbus that was enroute from Kathmandu to Delhi carrying 176 passengers in 1999.From Amritsar to Lahore to Dubai and then finally to Kandahar -- the captain, Devi Saran was asked to take the plane to Taliban heartland.The hostage crisis lasted for seven days after India agreed to release three terrorists -- Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and Masood Azhar.However, Zulfiquar Hassan, Director General of the Bureau of Civil Aviation said they already have Central Industrial Security Force, a dedicated force for security at airports."CISF are well equipped and trained to secure airports and deal with any situation," Hassan said.On July 24, the parliamentary committee on the Department Related Standing Committee for Transport, Tourism and Culture recommended a specialized security agency for airports.The panel recommended that the Ministry of Civil Aviation may examine the feasibility of setting up a specialized security agency for airports only, in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs.ANI31 July 2023

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Profit By PPC outshines as the Best Digital Marketing Company

SRV Media, New Delhi, July 31: The government of India has been constantly focusing on encouraging entrepreneurship among the youth.

Profit By PPC outshines as the Best Digital Marketing Company

To promote innovation, the government has even launched many schemes and programmes like Mudra Yojna, Skill India, and Startup India. And the youth are also not behind. The young generation is coming forward with all sorts of ideas and entrepreneurial skills and helping the country realize the dream of a New India.In this direction, Our Mitti Foundation, an NGO working for the welfare of the people, organized an event called the Entrepreneurs Excellence Awards 2023 in the national capital last week. The guests who shared their views and ideas on different kinds of business and innovation at the event include Sonal Goel, IAS, Resident Commissioner, Tripura Bhawan; DK Bakshi, Chief Mentor and CEO, Global Talent Company; Shrikant Namdeo, Director, Department of Financial Services, Govt. of India; Monish Bhalla, Tax Guru and GST Expert; Virendra Kumar, Managing Director of Pragati Electrocom; Prem Chowdhary, Director, Fintech Bulls and HimValley Foods; and Dr Kailash Bihari Singh, Management Expert, among others.At the Awards ceremony, entrepreneurs were invited to meet and discuss the challenges they face with the government officials and industry experts mentioned above. 30 entrepreneurs who have been able to mark their presence in the market in their respective areas of expertise were later awarded for their work. NARENDRA KUMAR, Founder and CEO of PROFIT BY PPC; Prashant Bharti and Manish Kumar, founders of Skills Tech; Dr. Naveen Kumar, Founder and CEO of Alobha Technologies; Amit Kumar, founder of Onwid; and Dilkhush Kumar, Founder of Rodbez; Dr Rajan Jaiswal, Founder & CEO of Codon Pharma; Capt. Navrang Singh, Founder, of Airborne Aviation Academy, Dr. Niraj Jha, Founder & CEO of Hanumaan; Vivek Pathak, Founder of Tinkerly, among others, were awarded for their entrepreneurial skills.Today, when we talk about innovation and entrepreneurship, it always has some links to technology, digital education, or digital platforms in one way or another. In this modern age, most businesses survive and succeed because of their immense and active digital presence. One of the awardees at the event, Narendra Kumar has succeeded in running a Digital Marketing Company, Profit By PPC. The agency has been in business for over three years now and has completed over 250 projects successfully. They claim to be using modern digital marketing practices to attain the business goals set by their clients. Profit By PPC has many big clients under its kitty including Max Life Insurance, Info Edge, Binocs, Spectra, Stanza Living, Royal Matrimonial, Bid Assist, Investment Simplified, Upsurge, Elevate HQ, Rupeek, and Whiz Consulting among others.Profit By PPC claims to be delivering beyond clients' expectations. Their expertise lies in providing Branding, Performance Marketing, and lead generation services that include SEO, Google Ads, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing and more. Their team is persistently working to help companies achieve their digital marketing goals with Paid Advertising on Google, Facebook & Instagram, following SEO best practices, and Guest Posting Services.Numbers never lie! Profit By PPC is the best digital marketing company for a reason; over 250 thousand keywords ranked so far, completed over 250 projects successfully, generated over 3.5 million organic traffic, and we definitely can't miss their 225 plus happy customers. The founder and CEO, Narendra Kumar, believes "A digital presence is important for all businesses and brands, but mere presence won't help them survive in a competitive environment. Businesses need to use digital media effectively to create an impact on people, and Profit By PPC helps their clients do that."Before starting his own marketing agency, Narendra worked as a Digital Marketing Head at different organizations for several years. After realizing the need for such a business to grow, he started his own company, Profit By PPC, to help other organizations mark their presence digitally and sustain it as well. This 34-year-old young entrepreneur also understands the scope of digital marketing as a career. Alongside the agency, he also runs a training institute called The Digital Education for people who seek a successful career in this booming industry. Narendra Kumar truly believes that Digital education is a skill that would mitigate the rising issue of unemployment and also help India achieve its UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2047, when the country celebrates its 100 years of independence.ANI31 July 2023

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GIBS Business School excels in BBA program, ranked top in Times of India B-School Survey 2023, leading in business education

PNN, Bangalore , July 31: GIBS Business School has emerged as a shining star in the realm of business education, basking in the glory of its top rankings in the esteemed Times of India B-School Survey 2023.

GIBS Business School excels in BBA program, ranked top in Times of India B-School Survey 2023, leading in business education

With a trailblazing reputation, GIBS has clinched the title of the 4th Best Emerging BBA Institute for Placements across India and proudly holds the position of the No. 1 Emerging B School in the bustling city of Bangalore. Furthermore, it has made its mark by securing the 10th position in the ranking of the Best Emerging BBA Institutes in the India.This achievement stands as a witness to the institution's commitment to providing world-class education and holistic development, paving the way for GIBS students to forge successful careers in the corporate and entrepreneurial world. GIBS Business School is not only about imparting knowledge but also nurturing talent, with dedicated faculty, accomplished alumni, and supportive industry partners playing pivotal roles in these milestones.The prestigious Times of India B-School Survey 2023 has lauded GIBS Business School for its exceptional placement record for BBA graduates. The institute's industry-oriented training and robust partnerships with leading organizations have resulted in outstanding career opportunities for its students, making it the go-to choose for young aspirants seeking thriving careers in the corporate realm.We are absolutely proud and honoured to be recognized as one of India's top emerging BBA institutes for placements by the esteemed Times of India B-School Survey 2023 for BBA program, said an elated Ritesh Goyal, the Managing Director. This outstanding accomplishment is a witness to the hard work, dedication and relentless pursuit of excellence exhibited by our students, faculty, alumni and industry partners. It inspires us to aim even higher and create a transformative learning experience for our students.Beyond academic brilliance, GIBS Business School prides itself on nurturing well-rounded individuals, fostering leadership skills, critical thinking, and a strong sense of social responsibility. With a mission to prepare students for the dynamic and competitive global business landscape, GIBS equips them with the necessary tools to thrive.The success of GIBS Business School can be attributed to its student-centric approach and innovative teaching methodologies. The institute's faculty comprises distinguished academicians and industry experts who bridge the gap between theory and practice, imparting practical knowledge and insights that resonate with the real world.The robust alumni network at GIBS plays a vital role in mentoring and guiding current students, sharing invaluable industry experiences, and opening doors to lucrative career opportunities. Strong relationships with industry leaders have led to internships, live projects, and campus placements with reputed companies.The management at GIBS extends heartfelt gratitude to all stakeholders, including students, faculty, alumni, industry partners, and the larger community for their unwavering support and trust. This outstanding recognition in the Times of India B-School Survey 2023 serves as a motivating force for the institute to elevate its standards and achieve greater heights of excellence in the years to come.For more information about GIBS Business School and its programs, please visit their official website: www.gibs.edu.inNestled in the vibrant city of Bangalore, GIBS Business School is renowned for its commitment to quality education, innovative teaching and industry-relevant programs. As a prominent player in the field of business education in India, GIBS is devoted to producing well-rounded professionals and GIBS is considered one of the best business schools in India.At the core of GIBS's offerings lies its esteemed Bachelor of Business Administration program. Carefully crafted to equip students with a comprehensive understanding of various aspects of business and management, this program blends theoretical knowledge with practical exposure to prepare students for success in the dynamic corporate landscape.The BBA curriculum at GIBS encompasses a wide array of subjects, ranging from fundamental principles of management to specialized areas such as marketing, finance, human resources, and entrepreneurship. This diverse and industry-oriented approach ensures that students gain a holistic perspective on business functions, enabling them to make informed decisions and contribute effectively to future organizations.Distinguished faculty, comprising seasoned academicians and industry experts, enrich the learning experience by bridging the gap between theory and practice. GIBS fosters a vibrant learning environment that encourages active participation, critical thinking, and collaborative learning.Moreover, GIBS emphasizes the development of essential soft skills, leadership qualities, and ethical values, molding students into well-groomed individuals ready to take on leadership roles. The institute maintains strong ties with the corporate world, facilitating internships, live projects, and industry interactions that provide practical exposure and networking opportunities.ANI31 July 2023

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YEREVAN, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS. Over 60 French senators and deputies have called on President Emmanuel Macron to impose sanctions against Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his regime for attempted ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The call to action, calling for French support to Nagorno-Karabakh, was authored by Gilbert-Luc Devinaz and Pierre Ouzoulias and co-signed by 59 other legislators.

The Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh is on the verge of disappearing, the legislators warned in a call published in Le Monde.

Nagorno-Karabakh, which represents in South Caucasus what we claim we embody, deserves more than a careless look. It simply deserves to exercise its citizens right to self-determination. It justifies Frances role and activities in the region, confirms our country's lawfulness to act, and a forceful occupation cannot in any way question its existence. In a letter sent to his wife Melinee, Missak Manouchian had written, At the time of my death I declare that I dont have hatred for the German people or anyone else. Everyone will get what they deserve, be it in the form of either punishment or reward. The German people and all other peoples will live in lasting peace and brotherhood after the war.

"We ask Emmanuel Macron to impose sanctions against Ilham Aliyev and his regime, without any hate for his people, so that the Armenians and Azerbaijanis will finally be able to coexist in peace and brotherhood in South Caucasus, where they live side by side, reads a part of the letter of the French political factions.

It added that the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh is trying to not only survive in South Caucasus but also embody the democratic values which France considers to be its own values.

Whereas we havent initiated any step or support in this relation in withstanding the attempts of ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan, the French legislators stated.

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations highest court  the International Court of Justice (ICJ) - ordered Azerbaijan to take all steps at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno-Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations.
Suresh Prabhu launches 1967 Parmeshwari Movement of Kashmir

New Delhi, July 31: Former Union Minister Suresh Prabhu launched author Ashish Kaul's latest book '1967 Parmeshwari Movement of Kashmir' in the national capital on Monday.

Suresh Prabhu launches '1967 Parmeshwari Movement of Kashmir'

The book is deep down into an important agitation of independent India led by Kashmiri Pandits in 1967.Triggered by the disappearance of a 16-year-old girl who left home one morning never to return, this agitation brought Kashmir to a halt.Over 5,000 Kashmiri Pandits were arrested, dozens were killed and numerous were injured. Parmeshwari agitation brought to the fore a never before seen bravado of the Valley's Pandit community."This is not just a story but the turning point in time that saw the former Home Minister of India come to Kashmir to sabotage the agitation."False promises were made to return the girl and also to end the persecution of minorities in Kashmir. However, none of them were kept. Parmeshwari was not sent home," says author Ashish Kaul.IANS31 July 2023

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Richard J. Leskosky taught media and cinema studies at the University of Illinois and has reviewed films for more than 30 years. He can be contacted at filmcritic@comcast.net. Follow him on Twitter (@RichardLeskosky).
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STEPANAKERT, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS. Nagorno-Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan has said that he hopes a strong international intervention will bring an end to Azerbaijans genocidal policy.

In a statement released Monday evening, Harutyunyan warned that the security and humanitarian situation is deteriorating day by day, while the dangers and restrictions posed by Azerbaijan are becoming stronger, with the kidnapping of the Red Cross-protected medical evacuee at the illegal checkpoint being the latest manifestation. Harutyunyan said that an intensification in the international efforts for the resolution of the situation can be noticed.

The Nagorno Karabakh President said hell speak about the situation, the risks and prospects in an interview to the local public television in a few days, and then will launch consultations with all active political circles to discuss our tasks and to make the appropriate decisions.

We hope that the genocidal policy carried out by Azerbaijan will be halted immediately as a result of effective and strong international intervention. At the same time, we are always ready for peaceful negotiations to discuss all problems and find solutions, however this also requires proper international involvement and guarantees, Harutyunyan added.

A 68-year-old medical evacuee from Nagorno-Karabakh, Vagif Khachatryan, was kidnapped on Saturday by Azerbaijani border guards while being transported to Armenia for treatment by the ICRC. The Armenian foreign ministry said the Azerbaijani actions amount to a war crime.

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations highest court  the International Court of Justice (ICJ) - ordered Azerbaijan to take all steps at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno-Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations.

On July 26, Armenia sent a humanitarian convoy carrying emergency food and medication for Nagorno-Karabakh, but Azerbaijan blocked the trucks at the entrance of Lachin Corridor.
IS claims responsibility for the bombing that killed 54 at a pro-Taliban election rally in Pakistan

An Afghan branch of the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Pakistan that killed at least 54 people at a pro-Taliban partys election rally, in one of the regions worst attacks in recent years
A man who was a Princeton University student when the FBI arrested him on charges related to the U.S. Capitol riot has pleaded guilty to joining a mobs attack on police officers
Both of the buildings placed on the influential Landmarks Illinois list have sat vacant for more than 10 years: the art deco Will Rogers Theatre, built in 1937 and 1938, and the nearly 150-year-old Lawes Hotel building. Both structures are deteriorating and are in need of costly repairs.
Pulmonary embolism (PE), a life-threatening condition caused by blood clots in the lung, has long posed a significant risk to patients worldwide. However, a recent study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) suggests that catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) may offer a safer alternative for high-risk PE patients. The research indicates a lower risk of death and bleeding complications associated with CDT compared to other treatments.

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is currently the third leading cause of death from heart disease after myocardial infarction (heart attacks) and stroke. Early diagnosis is essential as a staggering one in three deaths occur within the first few hours compared with only 7% of deaths in properly diagnosed and treated cases.

Catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) is a procedure that involves delivering low doses of medication directly into the pulmonary arteries using a catheter. However, due to the lack of comprehensive research on its safety and efficacy, treatment guidelines for CDT vary because of this uncertainty.

In a comparative analysis of different treatments for pulmonary embolisms, Israeli researchers have made a significant breakthrough. The study found that CDT was associated with a 55% decreased risk of death as well as lower risks of major bleeding and brain bleeds among 65%, when compared to other treatment options.

Dr. Bruria Hirsh Raccah, Clinical pharmacist in the cardiology department at the Hadassah Medical Center and researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a co-author of the study, cautions that "further research is necessary before drawing definitive conclusions. However, the findings indicate that CDT should be considered the preferred treatment among eligible patients, given its safety and effectiveness, especially when compared to the higher toxicity of systemic thrombolysis."

"Although this study should be interpreted as hypothesis generating, our findings suggest that, among patients eligible for CDT and where facilities exist, CDT should be the preferred treatment, given its safety and effectiveness, and given the higher toxicity of systemic thrombolysis" writes Dr. Bruria Hirsh Raccah, a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel, with coauthors.

The study was part of Stav Yanko's dissertation at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The study was co-authored by Bruria Hirsch Raccah, Stav Yanko and other researchers from Hadassah Medical Center.
United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev over the weekend to express deep concern for the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and underscored the urgent need for free movement along the Lachin Corridor, according to the United States State Department.

July 31, 2023, 10:25 Blinken holds call with Aliyev, underscores urgent need for free transit along Lachin Corridor

STEPANAKERT, JULY 31, ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev yesterday to express deep concern for the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Secretary Blinken underscored the urgent need for free transit of commercial, humanitarian, and private vehicles through the Lachin corridor, and emphasized the need for compromise on alternative routes so humanitarian supplies can reach the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. The Secretary stressed the need for all parties to keep up positive momentum on peace negotiations, the State Department said in a readout of the call.

Blinken then posted a tweet about the call, saying I spoke to Azerbaijani President Aliyev yesterday to express our deep concern for the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Nagorno-Karabakh. The United States urges all sides to continue dialogue to reach a durable peace agreement.
In a recent article published in JAMA Network Open, researchers performed a cross-sectional study among 1,231 transgender, nonbinary (TGNB), and cisgender youths in the United States (U.S.) to determine how gender identity moderated the association between social media use (SMU) and indicators of mental health.

This included internalizing and externalizing problems, such as depression, body image, and conduct issues.

Background

Many TGNB individuals experience gender dysphoria, a distressed state arising from the disconnect between ones birth-assigned sex and self-perceived gender identity. They also experience minority stress amid a majority social environment fostered through societal processes that harass and discriminate against TGNB individuals.

Social media activities can give TGNB individuals an outlet for portraying themselves how they see fit, build positive connections, and create support systems to protect their mental health. However, how TGNB youths use social media outside gender identity exploration is understudied.

There are concerns that SMU can adversely impact mental health, with some researchers suggesting that there is an association between time spent on social media and struggles with mental health. In this study, researchers considered the minority stress theory and hypothesized that whilst this trend may be true for cisgender youths, for TGNB youths SMU might be more protective and may not raise the risk for mental health.

About the study

In the present study, researchers used a Qualtrics panel to recruit transgender adolescent participants aged 10 to 17 who resided in the U.S. and readily filled out an online survey between May and August 2021.

They chose this age group as representing U.S. youth because substantial gender identity development occurs during adolescence. The study participants self-reported their race and ethnicity, which included American Indian, Asian, Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic, White, and mixed.

The team used a patient health questionnaire (PHQ-8) to measure depression, with responses ranging from 1 (not at all) to 4 (nearly every day). They used the five-item Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to measure emotional and conduct problems. Furthermore, they used a five-point Likert scale to evaluate body image, with 1 and 5 indicating never shamed to always shamed.

The study variables covered: social media use duration; age at the time of using the smartphone for the first time; whether the use was active or passive; how they compared social media sites; did they take intentional breaks from their smartphones; did they find SMU problematic; the digital well-being of schools attended; whether they cleaned or curated their social media feed or followers; and their mindfulness around SMU.

Finally, the team recruited seven adolescents as an advisory board from two focus groups to co-interpret the study findings allowing insider perspectives. The first and second focus groups comprised four cisgender adolescents aged 14 to 17 and three TGNB adolescents aged 14 to 16, respectively.

Results

The study had many important findings. First, compared to cisgender youth, TGNB youth had higher depression, emotional and conduct issues, and negative body image. However, their use of social media was associated with fewer mental health problems as they might be cautiously creating digital spaces free from the negative interactions that plagued them elsewhere, e.g., at school.

Accordingly, cleaning and curating feeds lowered depression levels among TGNB youths but not for cisgender youths. Researchers hypothesize that this could be due to TGNB youths curating a safe space due to bullying and harassment. One participant talked about having more control over online space as they surrounded themselves with people having similar beliefs.

Further investigation is required into why the pattern was the opposite for cisgender youths. The researchers hypothesise that perhaps there was fear of offending peers by unfollowing them on social media, meaning that they benefited from a social media break rather than curating feeds.

Another observation that reinstated the delicate balance of gender identity-related risks and benefits of SMU in youth was that taking intentional technology breaks was markedly associated with increased depression and emotional issues for TGNB but not cisgender youths.

Indeed, for TGNB youths, social media was a key avenue for social acceptance; thus, breaks were potentially detrimental to their mental health. For TGNB youths, attending a school with a strong media literacy program was associated with positive outcomes. It facilitated greater intentionality around SMU.

Conclusions

TGNB youths face everyday minority stress, but social media might actually confer protective effects for TGNB youths, and their parents and guardians could focus more on how social media can be a resource for their children rather than focusing on how screen time may be resulting in mental health struggles.



Likewise, policymakers and school personnel should design policies considering the differential associations of SMUs based on gender identity. Policies severely limiting SMU among youths may not be the best outcome for TGNB youths. Instead, schools should encourage school media literacy programs.

Most importantly, pediatricians or doctors treating adolescents should consider asking them about the details of SMU. Their questions should go beyond screen time during consultations, and their approach should be more nuanced based on the patient's gender identity.

The study results suggested that while TGNB youths are at a higher risk for adverse mental health outcomes than cisgender youths, this higher risk is not associated with time spent on social media.

On the contrary, SMU seemed to lower their mental health issues. Social media might even be protective for some TGNB youths, particularly when used appropriately. It highlights and emphasizes that while examining the associations between SMU and health, researchers should look specifically at gender identity.
A recent study published in Nutrients reports that lower blood levels of certain trace elements are associated with critical coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes.

Study: Association of Trace Element Levels with Outcomes in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients. Image Credit: Fida Olga / Shutterstock.com

Background

COVID-19, which is caused by infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a multifactorial disease associated with a wide range of symptoms from mild respiratory symptoms like cough and congestion to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and death. Real-world evidence accumulated throughout the pandemic has shown that age, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease are the major risk factors associated with severe COVID-19.

Hyper-inflammation and the 'cytokine storm are major hallmarks of severe COVID-19, both of which increase the risk of intensive care unit (ICU) admission and mortality. In critically ill COVID-19 patients, only a select few immunomodulatory treatments have been associated with beneficial outcomes, including mortality reduction.

Trace elements, including zinc, copper, and selenium, are essential micronutrients required for protein synthesis and cell signaling. Trace elements with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties have essential roles in maintaining immune homeostasis, suppressing inflammatory response, and preventing viral replication.

In critically ill and hospitalized COVID-19 patients, low blood levels of zinc and selenium have been identified as prognostic biomarkers.

In the current study, scientists assess blood levels of zinc, copper, and selenium in COVID-19 patients with varying severity. The associations between blood levels of these trace elements and duration of mechanical ventilation, risk of septic shock, and mortality were also determined.

Study design

The study population included critically ill COVID-19 patients who were admitted to the ICU of the Geneva University Hospitals between March 2020 and May 2020. Patients requiring ICU admission for mechanical ventilation or high-flow nasal oxygenation were referred to as critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Blood levels of trace elements were assessed in three categories of patients, including critically ill COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU, severely ill patients admitted to the hospital COVID-19 ward, and non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients. These cohorts comprised 118, 98, and 129 patients, respectively.

All ICU patients were monitored until hospital discharge or death, with survival status assessed at day 28. The levels of trace elements were measured on the first day of ICU admission, hospital admission, and ambulatory visit for the three categories of patients, respectively.

Important observations

A significant variation in the levels of zinc, selenium, and copper was observed between each patient cohort. More specifically, the median levels of zinc, selenium, and copper were 19.2, 1.5, and 15.6 mol/L for non-hospitalized patients, 13, 1.1, and 17.5 mol/L for COVID ward-admitted patients, and 8.2, 0.8, and 18.3 mol/L for ICU-admitted patients, respectively.

Among ICU patients, lower levels of zinc and selenium were significantly associated with older age and higher levels of C-reactive protein at admission. Similarly, a significant association was observed between lower copper levels and male gender.

A higher risk of septic shock and mortality was observed among patients with low zinc levels; however, this association was not statistically significant. In contrast, a significantly longer duration of mechanical ventilation was observed in patients with low selenium and copper levels. A non-significant association was also observed between lower selenium levels and higher mortality risk.

Study takeaways

The study findings indicate that the blood levels of trace elements may vary in COVID-19 patients depending on disease severity. In fact, critically ill ICU COVID-19 patients were found to exhibit lower levels of selenium and zinc, as well as higher levels of copper, as compared to non-hospitalized and ward-admitted patients. In critically ill patients, significant associations were observed between lower selenium and copper levels and longer duration under mechanical ventilation.

Unlike selenium and zinc, higher blood levels of copper have been observed in critically ill patients. Notably, increased levels of the copper-binding protein ceruloplasmin during acute inflammation in critically ill COVID-19 patients could be responsible for a higher accumulation of copper in the blood.

Overall, the study establishes a link between low trace element levels and higher COVID-19 severity. Based on these findings, future interventional trials are needed to evaluate whether supplementation of these trace elements could reduce the severity of COVID-19.
Following the widespread administration of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, an increased number of type 1 diabetes cases has been recorded. However, no population-based research has identified an association between COVID-19 vaccination and developing diabetes.

Several national cohorts have reported an increased risk of onset diabetes after recovering from COVID-19. Notably, the risk of diabetes following COVID-19 may vary according to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant causing the infection. It also remains unclear how immunization status affects risk.

Study: Incidence of diabetes following COVID-19 vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 infection in Hong Kong: A population-based cohort study. Image Credit: Proxima Studio / Shutterstock.com

About the study

In the present population-based study, researchers evaluate the risk of new-onset diabetes linked with SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and after COVID-19, with further stratifications based on vaccination status and SARS-CoV-2 VOCs.

Individuals without diabetes were identified using a Hong Kong electronic database. The first group consisted of participants who had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as those who had not received any COVID-19 vaccine prior to September of 2021. The other group included SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals who had first SARS-CoV-2-positive reports on the rapid antigen tests (RAT) or reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) between January 1, 2020, and March 31, 2022 and individuals who had never been infected before March 31, 2022.

The study groups were monitored until August 15, 2022. The study consisted of 145,199 SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals and 325,715 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine recipients, of whom 167,337 and 158,378 were CoronaVac and BNT162b2 recipients, respectively. All study participants were propensity score-matched with their corresponding controls.

When predicting the conditional risk of being vaccinated, all results were controlled for past COVID-19 history and vaccination status to estimate the conditional risk of developing SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Cox regression models were used to calculate the hazard ratios (HRs) for incident diabetes. The Department of Health of Hong Kong provided anonymized COVID-19 immunization records, while the Hong Kong Hospital Authority (HA) contributed electronic medical records. Exclusion criteria included individuals below the age of 18, individuals who were deceased on or prior to the index date, individuals diagnosed with diabetes prior to the index date, and those who did not have glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) records prior to the index date.

The outcomes of the study were both types 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetes was diagnosed using ICD-9-CM and the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC) diagnostic codes, HbA1c levels equal to or greater than 6.5%, or diabetes medication consumption for thirty days or more. Cox regression modelling was performed separately for each cohort to examine diabetes risk by age, gender, and prediabetes subgroups.

Individuals affected before and during Omicron predominance from January 1, 2022 onwards were divided into subgroups based on their COVID-19 history and vaccination status. Two sensitivity analyses were performed by comparing diabetes incidence after two BNT162b2 or CoronaVac vaccinations with their matched unvaccinated controls and censoring individuals at the vaccination date to eliminate probable effects of modification by COVID-19 vaccination in evaluating diabetes risks after COVID-19.

Study findings

Following COVID-19 vaccination, 4,411 and 5,760 diabetes cases were reported in BNT162b2 and Coronavac recipients, respectively. Vaccination recipients were younger and less likely to have comorbidities than controls.

Prediabetes was observed in 52% and 46% of CoronaVac and BNT162b2 recipients, respectively. No indication of an increased risk of new-onset diabetes following BNT162b2 or CoronaVac vaccination was observed, independent of diabetes type.

A total of 2,109 instances of diabetes were reported following recovery from COVID-19. COVID-19 survivors were older and had more comorbidities than controls.

Moreover, 42% of COVID-19 survivors were completely immunized, whereas 18% did not get vaccinated against COVID-19. COVID-19 was associated with a significantly increased risk of new-onset diabetes, primarily diabetes mellitus type 2, irrespective of the predominant circulating VOC; however, the risk was reduced with Omicron subvariants.

There was no evidence of an increased risk of new-onset diabetes in fully vaccinated COVID-19 survivors. After censoring the date of vaccination, the results were similar to the main study in sensitivity analyses.

Post-hoc analyses using Bonferroni correction, restricted mean survival time (RMST) analysis, Poisson regression, and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW)-weighted Cox regression produced comparable results.

Conclusions

The study findings did not identify an increased risk of new-onset diabetes after COVID-19 vaccination. Comparatively, following recovery from COVID-19, the risk increased, with Omicron variants exhibiting a smaller but considerable additional risk.

Fully vaccinated individuals may be protected against incidental diabetes hazards following COVID-19. Taken together, these findings emphasize the importance of complete vaccination against COVID-19 to protect against severe symptoms and the sequelae of extended COVID, such as new-onset diabetes risk.
The leading carrier in India Go first flights will note operate any of its scheduled flights till 31 July. The decision has been taken due to operational reasons.

While confirming the news, the company has released an official statement saying all the scheduled flights have been canceled till till above-mentioned date. The airline also apologized to all the flyers for the inconvenience caused by the flight cancellations.

Go First Flight Cancelled

Amid this, the airline also requested the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), asking permission to refund all the amount of passengers, who booked the flight tickets in advance and are supposed to in July.

Heres What Go First Says About it

This is not the first time the company stopped or canceled the scheduled flights. Earlier, on May 2, the airline also suspended some of the flights, submitted a voluntary bankruptcy petition to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), and blamed the US-based Aerospace company for not fulfilling their desired requirements on time, which forced them to Go First to put a section of their fleets on grounds.

DGCA to Go First

Meanwhile, last Friday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) showed some mercy to the airline, granting them permission to operate the grounded scheduled flights if they have temporary finance. They also mentioned that this will only work after getting the regulatorys approval. The authorities even asked the Go first to take proper approval from the approval flight time table by the regulator.

Later, the regulator granted the Go First to operate its scheduled 15 flights and daily 114 regular aircraft. However. the authority asked the airline to take permission from the regulator before starting selling the ticketing.
Jet Airways on Monday got a renewal for the Airport Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the company said in a press release.

The Air Operator Certificate (AOC) was re-issued on May 20, 2022. However, since the airline did not start operations, AOC expired on May 19, 2023.

The applicant Jalan-Kalrock Consortium was confident that this renewal will pave the way for the grounded passenger carrier to revive its services in India

The renewal of AOC revalidates the confidence of the aviation regulator in the revival of Jet Airways, the release further said.

JKC expresses its heartfelt gratitude to the aviation regulator, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and all other stakeholders, in showcasing their faith in JKC and in the revival of Jet Airways, the Jalan-Kalrock consortium said in its release.

In early morning trade, shares of Jet Airways jumped nearly 5 per cent to Rs 50.80 on BSE.

This comes after Jalan-Kalrock Consortium, the winning bidder for bankrupt Jet Airways, last week announced the appointment of Jatinderpal Singh Dhillon as the airlines accountable manager.

The appointment of Dhillon, a seasoned pilot who has also served in the Indian Navy, is effective from July, JKC said in a statement.

Jet Airways, which was going through a financial crunch, has been grounded since April 2019. It went through lengthy insolvency proceedings and the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium (JKC)emerged as the winning bidder.

Earlier this month, two whole-time directors and a non-executive director were appointed at Jet Airways
Growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to 8.2 per cent in June 2023 compared to the year-ago month due to a decline in the production of crude oil, natural gas, and electricity, according to the official data released on Monday.

The core sector growth was 13.1 per cent in June 2022, the Commerce Ministry data showed. Its growth stood at 4.3 per cent in May 2023.

The production growth in June, however, was at a five-month high. In January, the key sectors expanded at 9.7 per cent while in May 2023 the growth rate was 5 per cent.

The output growth of the eight sectors slowed down to 5.8 per cent in April-June 2023-24, against 13.9 per cent in the year-ago period.

Aditi Nayar, chief economist and head (research & outreach) at ICRA, said, The core sector growth recorded a resounding rise to a 5-month high of 8.2 per cent in June 2023, from 5 per cent in May 2023, led by six of the eight constituents except for cement and fertilisers. The tardy onset of the monsoon contributed to improved performance of electricity, coal etc.

She added that with the boost seen in mining and electricity from a dryer-than-normal June, ICRA expects the YoY IIP growth to print at 4-6 per cent in June 2023, in spite of the moderation in the YoY performance of several available high-frequency indicators."

(With Inputs From PTI)
From dedicated listeners to hear students out and changes in evaluation system to third-party counselling and a record of students who havent met faculty, premier Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), hit by student suicides on campus post pandemic, are taking several preventive measures. Among the other steps are increased open house interactions, setting up of panels to check caste bias and roping in family members to help engage with students facing any mental health issues.

ALSO READ | Darshan Solanki, Stephen Sunny & Many More: Why Suicides by Indias Brightest Are Puncturing IIT Dream

This year, by July, 20 student suicides have been reported across top-ranking higher education institutes, of which seven are from different IITs. Of these, five took place at IIT-Madras, while one each has been reported at IIT-Bombay and IIT-Delhi.

With 39 such deaths being reported at various IITs between 2018 and 2023 (till date), the premier technical institutes have seen the highest number of student suicides on campus, among other institutions, according to data shared by the Ministry of Education (MoE) in Parliament in the ongoing monsoon session. Last year, when most campuses opened up fully post-pandemic, 24 such deaths were reported, the highest number of student suicides during this five-year period, data shows.

These institutes have been working on understanding the reasons and the efforts that can be taken to curb such incidents.

The University Grants Commission released the Redressal of Grievances of Students Regulations, 2023, in April, which mandates that all higher education institutions will include one member from a marginalised caste or tribe, and one woman, in their student grievance redressal committees (SGRC). This panel is to be formed by every such institute to deal with student complaints.

IIT-MADRAS: 10-PRONGED STRATEGY

IIT-Madras, which has been the most affected campus this year so far, has initiated a 10-pronged strategy which includes measures such as quick grievance redressal, keeping record of students who havent met faculty since joining, appointing faculty, alumni as dedicated listeners to listen to students vent out personal problems (also available on Whatsapp), gatekeeper training of faculty, counsellors to help first-year students ahead of new academic session, making third-party counselling available for students, as they have stigma sharing problems with faculty on campus; a comprehensive mental health survey of students, parents; panel to check caste bias; facial recognition for class attendance for data analysis; and making parents talk to students at least twice a week for emotional support.

ALSO READ | IIT Madras BTech Student Found Dead, Fourth Suspected Suicide Case This Year; Probe Underway

Prof V Kamakoti, director, IIT-Madras, said the pandemic disrupting the student-faculty interaction for two long years was the major reason behind a high number of students taking such extreme steps. The effects of this massive gap were felt as soon as campuses opened in 2022-23, when students returned to physical classes and had difficulty adjusting to the IIT environment. It took me a year to understand how the students have been affected owing to not having any connect with peers or teachers during the pandemic and the toll it took on them. We have started work on this new strategy, which is yielding a good response and I feel will help in tackling the situation to a large extent, he said.

IIT-BOMBAY: NO TO CASTE BIAS

IIT-Bombay, which saw allegations of caste-based discrimination on campus following the death of a first-year Dalit student Darshan Solanki by suicide and a long police investigation into the matter, has strengthened its counselling services on campus and also issued a notification to students a few days ago not to ask their fellow students about their JEE Advanced rank or Gate scores or any such information that may reveal caste or any related aspects.

ALSO READ | IITB Students Suicide: Family Says Police Must Probe Caste-based Discrimination Angle

The notification, which has been pasted outside hostel rooms and other student corners, said it is inappropriate to ask fellow students any such question that may come out as an attempt to reveal their caste and instead bond through activities and interests such as sports, music, movies, books, etc.

Each year, in the orientation session for new UG and PG entrants, various institute bodies/cells have always emphasized the zero tolerance policy that IIT Bombay follows towards any form of discrimination. Each hostel and department/centre, too, have had posters from various cells. This year, the content from various cells posters/orientations, in the context of anti-discrimination, has been compiled into one poster. This is also being circulated by the institute towards both new and existing students, said an IIT-Bombay spokesperson.

IIT-DELHI: OPEN HOUSE, NEW EVALUATION SYSTEM

IIT-Delhi, on the other hand, has increased frequency of its open house interactions with students, besides approving a new evaluation system ahead of the new academic session, which will start from August.

We used to have a two-minor plus one-major examination evaluation system. Based on feedback from all students and faculty, the Senate has approved a one-minor plus one-major examination evaluation system, along with several continuous evaluation mechanisms from the upcoming semester onward. A maximum cap of 80% weightage has been kept for the two examinations, said an IIT-Delhi spokesperson.

ALSO READ | IIT-Delhi Student Dies By Suicide In Hostel: Police

For better student-faculty bonding, the institute has started facilitating interactions via academic-domain-independent and academic-domain-dependent faculty mentorships. Also, in another important step, the institute has been encouraging interactions through increased frequency of periodic informal dinners/meals between students and faculty in small groups through the existing Student Teacher Interaction Council.

It is important to note that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the challenges associated with stress management and ensuring individual mental well-being. However, having increasingly adaptable support systems, a humane approach, early identification and intervention mechanisms, collective efforts from all stakeholders in the system, and open and constant communication are some efforts that can help minimise the chances of the occurrence of unfortunate events, said a senior IIT-Delhi faculty member.
Step 1: Go to digilocker.gov.in or download the mobile app on your phone

Step 2: Sign up using your Aadhaar number or registered mobile number

Step 3: After logging in, select CBSE link

Step 4: Select compartment result

Step 5: Enter the roll number,

Step 6: The result will appear on the screen.
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) has published anti-discrimination guidelines in response to suspected caste-based prejudice on campus. IIT-Bombay has ordered its students to abstain from asking for information about each others caste or other relevant factors, such as their GATE or JEE (Advanced) rankings and scores. In a set of anti-discrimination guidelines released by the institute as the incoming class of 202324 arrives on campus, it was said that asking about rank might appear to be an effort to determine caste and may create a stage for discrimination.

The guidelines were released months after a first-year student Darshan Solankis death brought caste-based prejudice on campuses to light. The directives encourage the new batch of students to build their relationships with one another regardless of caste, religion, or socioeconomic background. Additionally, it forbids students from sending jokes or comments that are bigoted, sexist, casteist, or abusive.

It is equally inappropriate for students to ask other students about their JEE (Advanced) ranks/GATE scores or any other information that may reveal the caste or other related aspects. While the student asking the question may feel it is innocent, and it may be driven purely by curiosity, asking the question can often have an adverse impact on the other student. Asking could appear like an attempt to find the caste, and may set the stage for discrimination," emphasised the guidelines issued by IIT Bombay administration.

The institute took it a step further and encouraged students to connect through shared interests like their department, sports, music and movies, hobbies or even based on their schools, colleges, hometowns and villages. Additionally, the institute forbids students from exchanging or forwarding any jokes or other matter that is harassing or bullying, abusive, prejudiced, casteist, sexist, or displays intolerance. Such information shouldnt be shared in person or on social networking sites like Facebook, WhatsApp, or email.

The administration cautioned students of harsh penalties for breaching the rules and underlined that everyone should be courteous and considerate of others sentiments.

Meanwhile, several students have spoken out about suspected discrimination in the mess at hostels 12, 13, and 14. They said that vegetarian students had an informal segregated seating area where non-vegetarians are not permitted to sit. In order to draw attention to this matter, posters reading Vegetarians only are allowed to sit here" were put up. The information was, however, rejected as not true" by the IIT Bombay administration, who also insisted that no such discrimination was taking place.
Indian origin professor Dr Soma Chakrabarti will be felicitated at Women of Color (WOC) STEM Conference -Digital Twin Experience (DTX). The professor will be honored for her contribution in the field of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Chakrabarti will be awarded under technology all-star category" for her almost 2 decades of experience in administration, teaching and research both in academia and in industry.

Adetola Wahab, Karynna Tuan, and Soma Chakrabarti would also receive awards during the Women of Color (WOC) STEM Conference. Sharing his thoughts, Tyrone D Taborn, co-founder of the Conference said The three ladies are a part of an exceptional group of forward-thinking STEM experts which represents strong, diverse executive professionals."

The purpose of the conference is to advance gender equity and multiculturalism in STEM professions, according to Career Communications Group, Inc. The Women of Color (WOC) STEM Conference-Digital Twin Experience (DTX) will be held in Detroit, Michigan from October 12 to 14.

About Dr Soma Chakrabarti

Dr Soma Chakrabarti has held various positions including, as the director of continuing studies at the University of Delawares Division of Professional and Continuing Studies, the assistant dean for the summer term at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and the director of the Center for Engineering and Interdisciplinary Professional Education at the University of Kansas Division of Continuing Education.

The IIT Delhi graduate has taught chemical engineering and served as president of the International Association for Continuing Engineering Education (IACEE) since 2016. She worked as an associate research engineer in the University of Kansas Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering.

About Women of Color (WOC) STEM Conference

WOC STEM is highlighting the outstanding accomplishments of women of color in STEM fields for more than 20 years in order to motivate the subsequent generation of qualified workers seeking high-paying positions. Given the predicted increase in STEM career prospects in the United States, the recognition conference is significant in the States.
Luis Moreno Ocampo, a leading specialist in international law, former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and lecturer at Harvard and Yale universities, has responded to the letter of the President of the Republic of Artsakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, in which the President requested an expert opinion whether the deepening blockade in Artsakh corresponds to the crime of genocide.

July 31, 2023, 12:50 Luis Moreno Ocampo responded to President Harutyunyan. A report to be published in 7 days

STEPANAKERT, JULY 31, ARTSAKHPRESS: In an interview with "Artsakhpress", Lusine Avanesyan, the press secretary of the Artsakh Republic said, noting that Mr. Ocampo has sent a reply letter to the President, in which he specifically wrote:

''Dear President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan

Thank you very much for your request to provide my opinion regarding the current situation of Nagorno-Karabakh. It would be my honor to analyze the problem and provide you with my conclusion.

I will prepare a comprehensive report analyzing the facts and the law. My assessment will be impartial and produced on a pro bono basis.

To reach a conclusion regarding the commission of a genocide, I must analyze the Azerbaijan leaders intentions. Intention could be deduced from the facts, but to safeguard my accuracy and impartiality, I will write to the Azerbaijan President offering him the opportunity to clarify his position directly.

Given the situations urgency and the risk of starvation for 120.000 Armenians, I plan to issue my report in 7 days.

Please dont hesitate to communicate any new circumstance that could affect the situation in analysis.

Yours, Luis Moreno Ocampo,'' reads the letter.
Studying abroad can be financially challenging for many meritorious students who often opt out due to the expensive course fee, visa charges, accommodation and food expenses. Therefore, scholarships help many to pursue their dreams. News18 Scholarship Guide brings the best and most prestigious grants for Indian students to study in Europe, with most of them covering flight tickets, accommodation and course fee; and some also providing stipend.

From Switzerland to Spain, Ireland and France, European nations have emerged as the new study hub due to their exquisite infrastructure, diverse cultural experiences, and a decent economy. Indian students are moving towards Europe to find their higher educational degrees.

There has been an increase in students preferring Europe as study destinations after pandemic as they not only offer good education but also a high quality of living, said Lakshmi Iyer, Managing Director, India at SI-UK  a foreign education consultancy organisation.

According to recent data published by Campus France, the number of international students enrolled in French business schools grew by 104% and a significant number has come from India. Touted as one of the fastest growing economies in Europe, Ireland is home to many leading global MNCs in technology and medicine such as Google, Apple, Microsoft and Pfizer. Ranked highly on the world education index, Ireland is attracting more and more Indians owing to its great quality of life and excellent support for international students. Switzerland is well known for its excellent educational infrastructure, hospitality schools and its universities have excellent reputations worldwide. Switzerland is a picturesque country with high living standards and is extremely safe for international students. Switzerland is also home to many world-renowned academic institutions, and a number of universities offer excellent research opportunities for students interested in studying certain areas of science, she added.

If you want to apply for a scholarship to study in Europe, here are some of the best options for you.

Erasmus Mundus

The Erasmus+ funding scheme is an umbrella scheme funded by the European Commission. It has a series of highly competitive scholarships, which are available to foreign students to study in Europe. The list of masters and joint masters degrees sponsored under the list are updated yearly.

Who can apply: Candidates having bachelors degree or those in final year can apply for the scholarship. Applicant needs to have 180 credits or 180 ECTS or equivalent in their first degree.

Selection Procedure: Candidates will be shortlisted based on their academic score, English proficient, motivation letter, CV, and recommendation among others.

Where to apply: https://www.emhrpp.com/how-to-apply

ALSO READ: Scholarship Guide | Shah Rukh Khan, JN Tatas Among Top 8 Grants to Study in Australia

DAAD Scholarships

One of the largest funding organisation for international exchange of students and researchers, DAAD, offers scholarships for grants to students to study in Germany; as well as German students to study abroad. The scholarships are available across study levels including postgraduate, PhD, and research programmes. Most of the DAAD scholarships offer a monthly payment, a travel allowance. They may also include insurance.

Who can apply: Applicants need to have a bachelors degree or a masters degree if applying for PhD

Selection Procedure: A selection committee decides on funding based on the application documents.

Where to apply: Candidates can find the right scholarship that suits them at www.daad.de/en/ or directly submit online application directly to www.funding-guide.de.

ALSO READ: Scholarship Guide | Based on Your Needs & Merit, Top 10 Grants in Canada with Lowest Spending

Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships

The Swiss government offers several scholarships for research to postgraduate students, fellowship for doctoral and post-doctoral research, PhD and art scholarships.

Who can apply: Candidates need to hold the preceding degree from a recognised university. Students also need to be willing to study in Switzerland full-time.

Application Procedure: Candidates will first be shortlisted by the diplomatic representative or other authorities in their own country and the shortlisted applications will be assessed by Federal commission for scholarships. Candidates are shortlisted based on their profile, quality of the research or artistic work, and potential for future research cooperation.

Where to apply: Interested candidates can apply at sbfi.admin.ch

Charpak Scholarship

France Excellence Charpak Masters Scholarship is offered to students to study postgraduate courses at French institute. As part of their scholarship, students get monthly living allowance of 860 euros, fee waiver for student visa, social security, and assistance to find accommodation.

Who can apply: Indian citizens who are of 30 years of age or below at time of application can apply for the scholarship. Candidates should have applied for admission to a French institute before applying for scholarship.

Selection Procedure: Applications will be selected on the basis of academic excellence, consistency, quality of application and statement of purpose.

Where to apply: Candidates can apply at www.inde.campusfrance.org/charpak-master-s-scholarship

ALSO READ: Scholarship Guide | Top 8 Govt & University Grants That Will Help Fulfil Your Dream to Study in US

Eiffel Excellence Scholarship

The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs grants Eiffel Excellence Scholarship to foreign students who wish to study masters and PhD programmes in France. Masters students get a monthly allowance of 1,181 while PhD students get a monthly stipend of 1,700.

Who can apply: Applicants from developing countries with age up to 25 years can apply for masters and those up to 30 years can apply for PhD scholarships.

Selection Procedure: Candidates will be shortlisted based on their applications. Candidates also need to apply for the institute of their choice separately. Details of selection process can be obtained by contacting Embassy or the official website.

Where to apply: Interested can apply at https://www.campusfrance.org/en/the-eiffel-scholarship-program

ALSO READ: Scholarship Guide | Studying in UK Can Be Affordable, Less Daunting; News18 Brings You Top 10 Grants

Orange Tulip Scholarship

The Netherlands Education Support Offices offers an Orange Tulip Scholarship (OTS) for international students to study in The Netherlands. The application requirements and the total amount of the scholarship vary per country and institution.

Who can apply: Students who have secured an admission or have applied to get admission at a Dutch higher education institution participating in OTS can apply for the scholarship.

Selection Process: Candidates have to fill a form which asks for work experience, academic qualifications, and English language test, students also need to mention their GRE and GMAT score, if applicable depending upon the course they are opting for.

Where to apply: https://www.studyinnl.org/finances/orange-tulip-scholarship-programme

Other prominent grants that a student can avail include USAC, Global Excellence Scholarships in Ireland, Boren Scholarship, API Abroad Scholarships, CEA CAPA Scholarships. Most of the institutes also have their own scholarships which are granted based on academic merit, talent and sports. Students might be asked to submit essays, SOPs, and English proficiency test scores.
Studying abroad can be financially challenging for many meritorious students who often opt out due to the expensive course fee, visa charges, accommodation and food expenses. Therefore, scholarships help many to pursue their dreams. News18 Scholarship Guide brings the best and most prestigious grants for Indian students to study in Europe, with most of them covering flight tickets, accommodation and course fee; and some also providing stipend.

Europe is not just a destination for travellers but the diverse culture has also become a spot for Indian academicians, researchers, and students who wish to explore more frontiers in education. The technology is on par with other Western counterparts but Europe is still comparatively cheaper and offers a range of scholarships to cut down the study costs.

Thanks to its no tuition fee policy, Germany is a hit choice among international students, including Indians. According to the data released by the Indian government, a total of 34,864 Indian students were studying in Germany in 2022.

Ireland, Switzerland and Poland too are emerging as top spots for arts, engineering, and medical students alike, courtesy, the cultural richness, good infrastructure, and work opportunities while studying.

Due to increasing interest of students, there are more applications and hence higher competition for the European countries. If you are also looking to study in Europe, a strong application is all you need. To make an application strong, remember to submit all your documentations, add achievements, passions, and work experience details.

Advising students on ways to secure heavy scholarships to study in Europe, Lakshmi Iyer, MD-India, SI-UK,  a study abroad consultancy  suggests, Many students submit generic applications without tailoring them to the specific scholarship or destination. It is important to personalise your application by highlighting your achievements, goals, and how the scholarship aligns with your aspirations. Demonstrating a genuine interest in the scholarship and the emerging destination can increase your chances of success.

Ashwini Jain, CEO & Founder, ForeignAdmits,  an international mobility marketplace, says, Before applying, students need to introspect and understand their career goals, the field of study they are interested in, and the countries they would like to study in.

Each European country and university has different scholarship schemes and requirements. For instance, some scholarships might prioritise students from certain backgrounds, others might be degree-specific, and consider only students from certain countries. Make sure you understand the specific criteria for the scholarships you are interested in, Jain added.

Complete Documentation

Students need to be up to the mark with the documentation process. For instance, students need to submit both certificates, and transcripts for academic qualifications. They also need to check if a separate residency permit is required.

Europe has strict visa and immigration rules. Some scholarships might require students to return to their home country after their studies. Make sure you are aware of these rules and that they align with your future plans, said Jain.

Some scholarships in Europe might require proficiency in the native language of the country, apart from English. Not having the required language skills can be a barrier. Make sure to check the language requirements for the scholarships and courses youre applying to, he adds.

Meanwhile, Iyer cautioned students about overlooking or underestimating the importance of documentation. Scholarship applications usually require various documents such as transcripts, letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, and financial statements. Failing to provide complete and well-organised documentation can significantly impact the chances of securing a scholarship.
The future belongs to Gen Z and theirs are the voices that need to be heard. Through the Teen Talk platform, News18 is proud to amplify the views of young authors on topics at the intersection of culture, politics, society and tech.

We often consider the world wars to be pinnacles of destruction. Lives were discretely ripped apart, whether they were part of the conflict or not. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr illuminates to us the morality that man still holds within, that might flicker occasionally, but is still very much there, ingrained in our cores, our truest selves. The novel is a work of fiction rooted in Nazi Germanys invasion of Paris.

It concentrates on two teenage characters leading parallel existences in juxtaposing environments. The protagonists are Marie-Laure, a blind French girl who seeks sanctuary at her uncles home in Saint-Malo after Paris is razed by the Nazis and her father is arrested, and Werner Pfenning, a brilliant German boy who is condemned to an unfruitful life in a coal mine when he joins a Nazi school.

Werner is initially intrigued by the grandeur of the Hitler Youth, sacrificing all he has to become a scientist, including leaving behind his younger sister, but is instead herded into military service. He is remarkably multifaceted  torn apart between his loyalty to country and the atrocities it has committed, as well as his own brilliance.

Marie-Laure is a character of complexity and resourcefulness, an adept heroine.

The story revolves around Werner and Marie-Laures many barriers in making something of themselves in a war where everybody is forgotten. Above all, its about how they, despite their dissimilarities, try to be good to one another.

The book recognises our own starvation for space. As Werner and Marie-Laures stories intersect, Doerr makes us realise how distressing the realities of war were, and through his laconic and ephemeral sentences, shows us how fleeting life can be.

The story keeps you on the edged, perpetually leaving you in a state of curiosity, and wonder, as you traverse the past century along with the protagonists.

The story is told through the perspectives of Werner and Marie-Laure, and switches regularly, giving you an opportunity to be fused with both characters.

The novels structure, with short, interwoven chapters, creates a compelling rhythm, but might seem slow-paced to some. Doerr manipulates a plethora of cacophonic sounds to annex the actuality of weaponry and genocide, which naturally contrasts with the delicacy of the internal strives of each character. His prose, however, is clean and lean despite the grime and tragedy of war that shadows it, but is nothing short of mesmerising, painting this world with remarkable precision.

I was constantly waiting for the story to turn a corner, to reveal slightly to us what might be the denouement, but Doerr weaves suspense so masterfully even in such a transparent environment that the reader is forever waiting. And eventually, the tumultuous ending after going through the brightest and darkest corners of humanity, leaves readers emotionally shattered with a glimmer of hope, the symphony of linguistic artistry and the profound truth of spirit.

This novel is a self-portrait of humanity, and while readers of ages above 10 might like this book, it is my recommendation that one should be a young adult or above in order to truly understand the magnetism it offers. The history might be of select fascination, and perhaps those with an interest will completely relish this story, but it is one we should all take in and learn from.

Aanya Thakur is a 14-year-old, Class 9 student of Dhirubhai Ambani International School. She is a voracious reader of varied genres and has a penchant for writing.
In the wake of heavy rains across Telangana, schools, colleges, and all educational institutions are likely to remain closed today, July 31. However, an official confirmation is awaited. The state education minister, Sabita Indra Reddy had earlier announced holidays for schools and colleges on July 20, 21, 26, and 27. Although schools were open on the 24, almost 80 per cent of the students were absent. While July 29 was a holiday due to Muharram, schools were closed on July 30, Sunday. In total, in the last 10 days, including Sundays, there have been eight to nine days of holidays across the state schools.

According to the Meteorological Department, more than 64 cm of rainfall has been recorded in Mulugu districts. Due to heavy rains, ponds are already bursting in many districts. In some districts, rivers overflowed and water entered the villages. Even if the rains subside, there is no possibility of schools reopening immediately. Due to torrential rains, flood water has entered houses and about 5,000 schools across the state.

Around 3,000 schools have accumulated mud. In more than 6,000 schools, due to water on the campus, the walls got wet and water got into the electrical boards. It seems that 78 per cent of the schools are unable to organise mid-day meals even after the rains subside. The state government had earlier issued orders to change the school timings in Telangana, as per which, schools will start at 9.30 am.

Apart from that, students staying in government hostels have also gone home. Even if the schools are opened, many places from rural areas will not be able to return immediately as the transport system has been damaged.

Furthermore, the IMD has also said that rain is likely to occur in many districts on July 31. Due to this, they are demanding to give leave to the students today as well. The Medical and Health Department is warning that there is a possibility of dengue, malaria, and epidemics due to rains.
Andhra Pradesh police officials rescued a group of B-Tech students who were stranded in knee-deep floodwater in Nandigram, NTR district. The students reached out to the Nandigram police for assistance, fearing that they wouldnt be able to reach their college for the exam centre on time.

The road to Nandigram was entirely submerged as a result of the overflowing floodwater, and the surrounding villages were also impacted. The cops in response to the students request set up a crane to lift them across the flooded highway and drop them safely to the examination centre. The cops made sure the students were safely escorted home after the exam. The Andhra Police released a video of this outstanding act of kindness on their official Twitter page.

AP Police helps students to attend the exam on a crane in knee-deep flood water: The highway near #Nandigama, NTR(D) is marooned by overflowing flood water. Surrounding villages are completely drowned & road communication was cut off as knee-deep water overflowed on highway, the police department wrote in the tweet accompanying the video.

#APPolice helps students to attend exam on a crane in knee deep flood water: The highway near #Nandigama,NTR(D) is marooned by overflowing flood water.Surrounding villages are completely drowned & road communication was cut off as knee deep water over flowed on high way.(1/2) pic.twitter.com/s16tKYDbjx Andhra Pradesh Police (@APPOLICE100) July 29, 2023

Students requested Nandigama cops to assist them to attend semester exams. Cops risked & arranged a crane on overflowing highway to drop the students to exam center and also pick them after exam. DGP Shri K.V Rajendranath Reddy IPS, commends @VjaCityPolice for the good work done," AP police wrote in a follow-up tweet.

The officers on duty were lauded by Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police, K.V Rajendranath Reddy for acting quickly to assist the students in showing up for the exam. Many people were moved by the courage and kindness shown by these police officers. All the appreciation to AP Police," one person wrote while another added, Nice Gesture from the Police. Really appreciate."

In another endearing story, two puppies were stranded in floodwater in the Ithavaram village by police personnel in the NTR district. The national highway (NH 65) and the surrounding areas were badly impacted because the Munneru River, a tributary of the Krishna River, overflowed due to heavy rainfall.
Saturdays rejig of Team Nadda had many interesting revelations  Dilip Ghosh being dropped giving rise to speculation that he may be inducted in the cabinet when changes are made next, the removal of CT Ravi amid buzz of him being appointed the next Karnataka BJP chief in line with the saffron camps Tamil Nadu experiment where it tried a much younger and energetic leader, and a big Pasmanda Muslim push among others.

There were, however, two underlying political messages, which have set political circles abuzz in Uttar Pradesh and reignited possibilities that were once thought of, but eventually faded away.

Will Nitish Kumar contest from Kurmi-dominated seat in UP?

There has been much speculation over whether Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar will be fighting the Lok Sabha polls from a Kurmi-dominated seat in Uttar Pradesh, and this has been going around since last year. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav welcomed it back then, but much water has flown under the bridge since the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA, came into being.

But, on Saturday, BJP national president JP Nadda retained Rekha Verma, who is already an MP, as the partys vice-president while leaders with a larger mass base like Radha Mohan Singh or Dilip Ghosh were dropped. This move was possibly made with an eye to send out a message to the Kurmi community  a key part of UPs other backward classes (OBC).

It is widely being seen as a counter to any possible move by Nitish Kumar fighting from any Kurmi-dominated seat. Talks of him fighting from Phulpur are already gaining traction, thanks to the BJP reigniting this thought.

Kurmis, a largely agrarian community in UP, account for almost 9 percent of the states population. This is marginally smaller than the next big caste grouping of Yadavs and Ahirs.

Politically speaking, they have significant sway, and if their biggest face and a serving CM at that fights from UP, caste allegiance could trump other sentiments and the BJP is mindful of that.

The BJPs decision to retain Verma also seems to be driven by electoral arithmetic. In the last assembly election in Uttar Pradesh, 22 Kurmi MLAs from the BJP won, down from 26 in 2017. In contrast, 13 Kurmi legislators were elected on an SP ticket, up from two in 2017.

The Samajwadi Party is a constituent of the INDIA of which Nitish Kumars JD(U) is also a part. No wonder, if he decides to contest, the Bihar CM will enjoy his caste backing along with the SPs political backing.

Jats ignored for now; could RLD be key later?

The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), a key party in western UP, has rubbished any possibility of an alliance with the ruling party. And the fact that the BJP did not induct a single Jat leader from the state in Team Nadda seems to have reignited this other speculation all over again.

More or less, all communities  Vaishya, backward, Thakur, Brahmin, Muslim  have found representation in BJPs team that will go to the general elections. But one key community is missing, the Jats.

Though they comprise 2 percent of the states 20-crore population, they form 30 to 35 percent of the population in 25 constituencies in western UP, which makes them indispensable. So, why would the BJP ignore them in such a carefully caste-balanced team?

Many within the political circles in the state have started to believe with renewed vigour that a BJP-RLD alliance is still on the cards. The RLD is primarily a Jat-based party, which during Chaudhary Charan Singhs time had woven a Jat-Muslim social engineering left in tatters after the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots during his son Ajit Singhs time.

Now, the party primarily has one base  Jats who are agrarian OBCs in UP like Kurmis and one leader, Ajit Singhs son Jayant Singh. The wider belief after Saturday is that other communities were given space in Team Nadda at the cost of politically relevant Jats is probably because the BJP is confident that Jayant  carrying the legacy of his grandfather and with a command over the community  is going to side with the BJP in the all-important political arena.
Hitting out at the alliance of 26 opposition parties I.N.D.I.A, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said changing name does not change ones character.

The PMs remarks came during his meetings with NDA MPs in New Delhi.

The first meeting was attended by NDA MPs from Uttar Pradesh  Western, Braj, Kanpur, and Bundelkhand. BJP national president JP Nadda and union minister Nitin Gadkari were also present at the meeting held at the new Maharashtra Sadan.

The second meeting with alliance leaders from Jharkhand, Bengal and Odisha was held in the Parliament complex in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah.

The UPA will remain UPA. It had nothing to offer in the 10 years of rule. Just by changing the Chola (name) the basic character of an alliance or their Charitra (character) doesnt change, the PM is said to have highlighted in the meeting.

Sources present in the meeting say that the Prime Minister at the Maharashtra Sadan spoke about the solid partnership of the NDA which has withstood the test of time over the last 25 years.

This is not an alliance of compulsion or convenience but a trusted one. When an alliance, the BJP allowed the Badals to take the chief minister place in Punjab, and similarly Nitish Kumar in Bihar, as part of the commitment of the alliance, the PM is said to have told MPs in the meeting.

With a few months to go for the Lok Sabha elections, the prime minister, as per sources, told his party MPs from Uttar Pradesh that even though there is no NDA MP right now, wherever the MPs go, they must talk about the strength of NDA and highlight NDA-related achievements.

Apart from building a Ram temple and abrogation of 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, there are several programmes that the Modi government has undertaken for the welfare of the citizens. Those programs must be taken to the ground, more aggressively and effectively," the PM said, according to sources.

After the meeting, West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar said, The PM gave us a mantra for the 2024 polls. He lauded the work done by us fighting Mamata Banerjees misrule. A video was shown to all the MPs about the atrocities in Bengal. An account was given of what work was done by the Modi government over the last nine years in Bengal. I.N.D.I.A is famous for the scams like coal scam, 2G and jijaji (Robert Vadra). UPAs name was a burden because of the scams, thus they changed the name."

The NDA MPs will be holding meetings in various batches effective from July 31 till August 10. In each of those meetings divided into various states, the Prime Minister will be giving them the formula to win the 2024 elections with a thumping majority. Two groupings of senior leaders will be attending the meetings. This could be a combination of Amit Shah with Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari or JP Nadda.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Pune on Tuesday where he will lay the foundation stone of various development projects and will also be conferred with the Lokmanya Tilak National Award.

During his visit, PM Modi will also visit the renowned Dagdusheth Mandir in Pune, which has a rich cultural history. The temple holds immense reverence as not only a place of worship but also an institution actively involved in social welfare and cultural development carried out by the temple trust.

PM Modis Pune visit

Modi will arrive in the city around 11 am on Tuesday and will perform puja at Dagdusheth Mandir. PM Modi will also lay the foundation stone of various development projects.

The prime minister will also be conferred with the Lokmanya Tilak National Award, constituted by Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust in 1983, to honour the legacy of Lokmanya Tilak. The award is given to people who have worked for the progress and development of the nation and has remarkable and extraordinary contribution.

The Prime Minister will also flag off metro trains marking the inauguration of services on completed sections of the two corridors of Pune Metro Phase I.

The inauguration is an important step towards realising the vision of the Prime Minister to provide the citizens with modern and environment-friendly mass rapid urban transport systems across the country," a statement from the Prime Ministers Office said.

PM Modi will also inaugurate the Waste to Energy Plant under Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. Developed at a cost of about Rs 300 crores, it will use up about 2.5 lakh MT of waste annually to produce electricity.

Significance of Dagdusheth Ganpati Temple

The Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Temple holds great significance as a place of worship for thousands of devotees paying visit to the temple every day. The Dagadusheth Halwai Ganpati Temple in Pune was named after a devotee- Dagdusheth Halwai.

The temple website states that the deity of Lord Ganesha was placed in the temple by Dagdusheth Halwai and his wife Lakshmibai when the couple lost their only son to plague.

Every year, during the Ganpati festival the temple receives lakhs of visitors as it is considered an epitome of pride by the people in Pune. The temple trust also works for social welfare and cultural development apart from carrying out the religious works.

The temple was granted the status of a C category tourist destination in May this year. The category will opens up new opportunities for the temples growth and development.

Who was Dagadusheth Halwai?

Dagadusheth Halwai, was a mud wrestler, born to a prominent sweet seller Kisansheth Gadve. Dagadu became a popular wrestler of his time as he fought against Punjiram Kachi and Jangali Maharaj, according to a report in The Indian Express.

He also took his fathers business and by 1890s he was a prominent name among traders in Pune. When Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a famous freedom fighter, urged people in 1893 to make Ganesh Chaturthi a public celebration, Dagadusheth was among the first respondents who participated in the public installation of the Ganesh idol, the report said.

Dagadusheth and his family used to live in a building in Budhwar Peth which is now the Dutta Mandir. Even the British honoured him with the title of Nagarsheth, an award given to someone symbolically heading the trading and money lending.

After his death, the annual celebrations of the Ganpati, known as Bahulichya Haudacha Ganpati until the 1960s, continued in the temple and the annual festival expanded as years passed by.

In 1968, a new idol was made by a famous sculptor from Karnataka, Shree Shankar Appa Shilpi, to mark the 75th anniversary of the Ganpati. Ever since, the idol attracts lakhs of devotees during the festival.
One of the routes leading to the Ramjanmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya has been opened to the public, replacing the age-old route which, so far, was the most preferred among devotees. The office-bearers and members of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust officially inaugurated the most spacious and ultramodern new route on Sunday.

Although the new route came as a relief for devotees, for 73-year-old Anjani Sinha and other old-timers of Ayodhya, it marked the end of an era. The old route  the one that used to start from Hanumangarhi temple and ended at Ramjanmabhoomi temple via Dashratmahal, Ram Kachaehri temple and Rangmahal Barrier  was associated with the history of Ayodhya, said Sinha, a local who resides near Birla Dharamshala situated on the old route.

Sinha said the old route was witness to all developments related to Ram temple. Since 1949, as per the Governments order, Muslims were not permitted to approach the disputed site and its main gate remained locked. Hindu pilgrims were allowed to enter through a separate entrance. In 1986, on the order of Allahabad High Court, the main gates were opened to public, recollected Sinha, who has witnessed the Ram temple movement at close quarters.

Another old-timer Ram Naresh Tiwari, who hails from Ayodhya, too, echoed the sentiment. Despite being a crammed route, it was the main path leading to the Ram Janmabhoomi temple since the beginning. It also served as a main route during the entire Ram temple movement  be it the temple movement in 1990, the movement of Kar Sewaks and the demolition of the mosque.

        -       pic.twitter.com/uSz7ItxAJx Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra (@ShriRamTeerth) May 15, 2023

WHATs NEW?

Unlike the old route that starts from Hanumangarhi temple and ends at Ramjanmabhoomi Temple via Dashratmahal, Ram Kachaehri temple and Rangmahal Barrier, the new route leading to the Ramjanmabhoomi temple starts from Birla Dharamshala and ends at Janmabhoomi Path. The 560-m-long route has been developed at a cost of Rs 39 crore and has attractive design and facilities.

Devotees can now use the new route, in front of Birla Dharamshala. The old traditional route would be used in the development of the temple and hence would be removed. Devotees can now have a hassle-free darshan experience, said Champat Rai, International Vice-President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and General Secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra.

Rai said the new route would be one of the most ultramodern routes that would be equipped with facilities, including free drinking water, illumination, locker facilities, toilets, rest rooms, medical stations and changing rooms.
Cyber fraud, scam calls, identity theft, impersonation  variations of cybercrime, which originated from Jharkhands nondescript village Jamtara, slowly spread over the rural hinterland of northern and western India, from Haryanas Nuh to Rajasthans Bharatpur over the past five years, with the pandemic giving it a boost. And it has not taken long for the gangs to reach urban locations in a fancier, bigger and bolder way.

They are now organized, with sophisticated technology, overseas connections, often with hawala and crypto networks. From the USA to UK and Australia, their network has crossed borders, duping hundreds of foreign nationals.

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West Bengals posh IT hub  Salt Lake (Bidhannagar) and Newtown  is one such location that has seen a rise in organised rackets crawling their way into the web of cybercrime.

Bidhannagar Clean-Up

In a massive clean-up operation over the past 10 months, the Bidhannagar Police has busted 64 fake international call centres and illegal placement agencies. Over 700 persons involved in the illegal cyber operations have been arrested. Investigation into a few cases have led to instances of money laundering, offshore connections, hawala networks and crypto currency rackets.

Over the past 10 months, we have busted almost 64 cyber fraud rackets, including fake international call centres and fake placement agencies. At least 721 persons were arrested in connection with the cases of cyber fraud and related crimes. Unlike other places, these people function with sophisticated instruments and operate from swanky offices. They create a fake, but believable facade to convince people. They illegally buy the lists of customers, with all personal details, from various organisations, including service providers, banks and e-commerce platforms. These fraudsters operate through multiple layers of technologies to mask their existence, said Gaurav Sharma, commissioner of police (CP), Bidhannagar.

TWO SITs, INTELLIGENCE UNITS

With rising complaints and inputs, the commissioner has constituted two special investigation teams (SIT) under senior officers to streamline and accelerate the investigation process for the illegal international call centres and fake placement agencies. In cases where the US and Canadian nationals have been duped, the Bidhannagar Police has teamed up with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Canadian police to get statements from the victims living abroad and to initiate other legal proceedings.

Earlier this month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while addressing the two-day G20 conference over cybercrimes, had said that cyber frauds pose a major threat to the security of citizens across the globe. The issues related to cyber attacks, which include ransomware attack at several significant installations, and other cyber threats and frauds, were also discussed at the DGP conference held in Delhi in April. To ramp up the investigation and strengthen intelligence gathering, the central government has formed multiple agencies, groups of cyber volunteers and designated nodal agencies across states to tackle the evolving ways of cybercrime and cyber fraud.

We have our own intelligence units. Apart from that, we keep getting inputs from state and central agencies. In case of victims who are foreign nationals, we contact the police units concerned or the consulate offices of that particular country. Often, it becomes very difficult for us to get a statement from the victims who were robbed. However, international agencies such as the FBI, Canadian and European police organisations and the US consulate are cooperating and helping us get victims statements/ complaints, which are needed for the legal procedures. We have initiated multiple online and offline programmes to make people aware of various types of cyber frauds, added Sharma.

URBAN THUGS WAYS TO FAKE

Unlike the cyber gangs of Jamtara, which are primarily into domestic phishing calls, the urban thugs, flourishing in Bengals IT hub, come to their chic offices in corporate attires, access the bank accounts of the victims by offering them medical aid insurances, loans, lucrative jobs, negotiating deliveries from e-commerce platforms, fix deals for installation of mobile towers and warning consumers of possible disconnection of electricity due to unpaid bills.

Since September 2022, the Bidhannagar Police has seized around 936 electronic devices, including 154 computers, 698 mobile phones, 55 hard discs, 36 routers and multiple incriminating documents such as digital files, consumer lists of banks, mobile service providers and other utility platforms.

ALSO READ | This Fake Call Center Duped People Promising To Install Mobile Towers

The rackets illegally get hold of the details of consumers. We were surprised to see that they get access to loan details, usage of electricity units, personals details, Aadhaar numbers, medical cases and so on. Banks and other service providers should run regular checks inside their organisations, as they deal with classified details of their consumers, said a senior police officer, who is part of the investigation team. Over the past 10 months, around Rs 1.5 crore was blocked after receiving complaints, while around Rs 35 lakh was returned to the victims, added the officer.

In a letter dated February 21, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)  the MHAs nodal agency to tackle matters related to cybercrime  wrote to states and UTs that cybercriminals are cloning the biometric data of Aadhaar users uploaded on states registry websites that host sale deeds and agreements. The state governments were also advised to direct the revenue and other departments concerned to mask the fingerprints and biometric data of Aadhaar users uploaded on the registry websites that host sale deeds and agreements.

CALL CENTRES TO CRYPTO

In the course of investigation, some international call centre rackets led to organised hawala and crypto rackets. In a specific case in December 2022, the Bidhannagar Police cracked an international cyber fraud racket which was connected to crypto currency rackets. An amount of Rs 55 lakh in cryptocurrency was blocked in the channel. We submitted our report to the nodal agencies. During investigation into such cases, we often stumble upon hawala networks that launder money to overseas locations," said a source.

However, there is complication due to the legal status of crypto currencies. It is not banned. We seek reports from the crypto operators, but they are not legally bound to oblige us. At times, the investigation sees a dead end. In case of money laundering or hawala operators, we can only submit our reports to the agencies concerned, added the source.

Some of the international call centre rackets are operated by some foreign mule accounts. A money mule or a mule account is created by impersonating someone or by using a stolen identity. These money mules  individuals or groups  are then used to transfer illicit funds to other accounts. They become part of a logistical network that moves money into the pockets of criminals. The mule accounts can willingly or unwillingly or unknowingly become part of the racket.

CHALLENGES FOR COPS

Even though cybercrime has come to the fore in case of criminal law-related discussions in all government fora, investigators face steep challenges while probing such cases. The raids take place based on a tip-off come from the source network, intelligence inputs from different agencies, disgruntled employees and a few complaints from the victims.

In most cases, victims do not come forward to lodge complaints. They have trust issues. We often pursue them to register a complaint. The victims should contact police immediately after they are robbed of their money. However, in most cases, victims stay silent. The trails get cold, said the officer.

In case of foreign nationals, we write to the agencies concerned in the respective countries. Of late, we are receiving help and cooperation from the consulate offices of the USA and UK, he added.

The cases are lodged under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections of forgery, criminal conspiracy, cheating, stealing and relevant sections of Information Technology (IT) Act.

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In relation to the challenges in dealing with cryptocurrency cases and other cyber frauds, some proposals were put forward during the DG conference in Delhi in April. Procedural amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and Indian Evidence Act (IEA) were proposed to allow insertion of new provisions related to investigation, freezing and forfeiture proceedings in investigations related to virtual assets, and for evidentiary standards of recovered materials and for international cooperation, said a senior police officer who was part of the conference.

Legal amendments to classify certain cyber offences as organised crimes by the MHA were also proposed. Suggestions included bringing regulations related to loan apps and payment aggregators by the Ministry of Finance, he added.
About two dozen young people who have started a sit-in near the ICRC Yerevan office for two days now, are dissatisfied with the results of the meeting with the head of the ICRC delegation in Armenia over the arrest of a patient from Artsakh by Azerbaijan at the Lachin corridor, news.am informs.

July 31, 2023, 14:49 Protesters discontent with the meeting with ICRC head and vow to continue the sit-in

STEPANAKERT, JULY 31, ARTSAKHPRESS: The protesters who have not been able to return to the Republic of Artsakh after the Lachin corridor was closed demand that the ICRC immediately make all efforts to return Vagif Khachatryan arrested by Azerbaijans State Border Service while transported by an ICRC car to Yerevan for surgery via the Lachin corridor.

"We are dissatisfied with the results of the meeting. We are told that if they make public announcements, it will further complicate the situation. They told us that their employee also went with Vagif, but they kicked him out," said Amalya Zakaryan, a resident of Nagorno Karabakh, participating in the sit-in.

"We will continue our pressure, because if we stop it, we will not bring any benefit to the situation. Today they kidnap Vagif, tomorrow they can kidnap us, our relatives," she added.

Vagif Khachatryan, 68, was arrested by Azerbaijani State Border Service on Saturday as he was being transported by an ICRC car to Yerevan where he was expected to undergo a heart surgery. Later the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan announced that he was arrested and is accused of creating a criminal group in 1991 and participating in the crimes against the residents of Meshali village of Khojaly region.
Internet services have been shut down and Section 144 has been imposed in Haryanas Nuh and Gurugram following violent clashes that broke out between two communities during a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) rally on Monday. Two home guards were killed and over 15 people, including police personnel, were injured in the clashes in Nuh, during which vehicles were torched, according to News18 reports.

Tensions reached a boiling point over the alleged presence of Monu Manesar, a prominent cow vigilante and member of Bajrang Dal, who is wanted for the murder of two men in Rajasthan, during the VHPs Shobha Yatra rally.

The atmosphere in the Gurugram-Alwar National Highway near Nuh city become tense following stone pelting during the rally.

Police resorted to lobbing teargas shells to disperse crowds as tension gripped the area.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the incident was unfortunate and appealed for peace. I appeal to all the people to maintain peace in the state. The guilty will not be spared at any cost. The strictest action will be taken against them," he said in a tweet.

    ,                      ,          Manohar Lal (@mlkhattar) July 31, 2023

Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said additional forces have been dispatched from neighboring districts. We are also trying to send forces by helicopter," he told PTI. Our first priority is to bring situation under control. We are appealing to all to maintain peace," Vij said.

Additionally, the Haryana government has spoken to the Centre regarding the issue, he said. We are trying to restore peace there. All those who are stranded in different areas of the Mewat region are being rescued," he added.

#WATCH | Clashes erupt between two groups in Haryanas NuhFurther details awaited pic.twitter.com/huZVBzjK4d  ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023

2 Dead, Cops Among Over 15 Injured

Two Home Guards died due to the violence that broke out earlier in the day, according to latest reports. Three people admitted to a hospital are said to be in critical condition, a local hospital in the area told News18.

Additionally, 15 people have been admitted to another local district hospital, out of which five are police officials.

Vehicles Set Ablaze, Section 144 Imposed in Nuh, Gurugram

Several vehicles, including government and private, were set on fire and stones were also pelted at the police. The police also fired to quell the incident.

According to latest reports, the overall situation in Nuh remained tense, with sporadic incidents being reported at various places.

The deteriorating situation in Nuh impacted other districts as well, according to a News18 Hindi report. In Bahadurgarh, Bajrang Dal workers attempted to block Sector 9 turn. There are also reports of a ruckus on Sohna bypass, it said.

Prohibitory orders banning the assembly of people were clamped in the entire district. Mobile internet services were suspended till Wednesday to contain the intense communal tension," the Haryana government said.

This order is issued to prevent any disturbance of peace and public order in the jurisdiction of district Nuh and shall be in force with effect from 4 pm, July 31 to 23:59 hours of August 2," Additional Chief Secretary (Home) TVSN Prasad said.

Nuh Deputy Commissioner Prashant Panwar later in an update said the situation has become normal and internet services will remain suspended for the next three days. Police are investigating the matter. Internet services have been suspended for three days. Section 144 has been imposed in the district. Curfew orders have been given We appeal to all to maintain peace. All stranded people have been rescued The situation is normal now and curfew has been imposed in the district" he said.

Gurugram Schools Shut Amid Unrest

Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav imposed Section 144 of CrPC in Gurugram district at night, and the authorities were on high alert in the district. Unlawful activities, road blockades and assembly of over five persons with weapons are prohibited to maintain peace and tranquility. The order is in force until further notice," the order said.

The District Administration, Gurugram is fully prepared and on high alert in #Sohna. With all senior officers present until late evening, they are earnestly appealing to the people to maintain peace and order. @nishantyadavIAS @cmohry @diprogurugram1 @DiprHaryana @gurgaonpolice pic.twitter.com/wzNgqiH6qQ DC Gurugram (@DC_Gurugram) July 31, 2023

In a late-night update, Gurugram Police said, Due to administrative diligence, the situation in Sohna has become normal."

DCP Gurugram Nitish Agarwal said, There were attempts by a few people to do stone pelting in Sohna after the reports of Mewat clashes but the situation is under control now. Social media is being monitored and police have been deployed."

Schools were also ordered shut in Gurugram following the rise in tensions in the district. All educational institutions including schools, colleges, and coaching centers in Gurugram district will remain closed on Tuesday. We urge all educational institutions to strictly adhere to these orders," an official order read.

#Information | All educational institutions including schools, colleges, and coaching centers in Gurugram district will remain closed on Tuesday. We urge all educational institutions to strictly adhere to these orders. pic.twitter.com/3mSqnGPgot DC Gurugram (@DC_Gurugram) July 31, 2023

MHA Deploys 20 Companies of Central Forces in Nuh

To address the situation in the city, over one thousand police personnel have been deployed. Additionally, officials using loudspeakers have instructed residents to stay in their homes.

Additional police forces were also summoned from neighboring districts Palwal, Faridabad and Rewari.

Police also conducted a flag march following the unrest.

#WATCH | Haryana: Police conduct a flag march in Nuh after a clash erupted between two groups in the area. pic.twitter.com/7I4cqRw9V4 ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023

Shops around Tiranga Park shuttered their doors in response to the unrest, according to reports. As the intensity grew, the shops across Nuh City closed their businesses, including the bustling main market, Naya Bazar, Gali Bazar and Hodal Bypass.

Streets were seen enveloped in black smoke.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) sent 20 companies of CAPF, including 12 companies of Rapid Action Force, to Haryana to maintain the law and order situation in the Nuh area.

The VHP had in a statement earlier said the Brajmandal (Mewat) Jalabhishek Yatra, under the auspices of Vishva Hindu Parishads Yuva Shakti Bajrang Dal, commenced from Nalhad Mahadev Temple at 10:00 am and would conclude at Shringar Temple, Punhana.

Monu Manesars Video

Murder accused Monu Manesar, who has been absconding for the last five months, landed in the police scanner after he released a video earlier in the day, suggesting his presence in the yatra. The police team from Rajasthans Bharatpur was sent to Nuh to arrest him.

The stone-pelting incident occurred at a chowk located approximately 2 km from a temple, a India TV report said. VHP workers also retaliated against the attackers with stones, it said.

#WATCH | Aftermath of clash that broke out between two groups in Haryanas Nuh today. pic.twitter.com/yyVp10Hwzr ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023

Monu Manesar, a self-proclaimed cow vigilante, is wanted for the abduction and murder of Nasir (25) and Junaid alias Juna (35) in February, both residents of Ghatmeeka village in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan. A case was registered against him on February 7 at Pataudi police station. Earlier this year, the Gurugram police in Haryana conducted raids to apprehend him in the murder attempt case.

Manesar later told PTI that he did not participate on the advice of the VHP, which feared that his presence would create tension. There were threats on Twitter daring him to come to Nuh, he added.

Political Reactions

Congress leaders condemned the incident and slammed the state administration over its failure to curb the violence. We are appealing to people to maintain peace and not pay heed to rumors. The situation is unfortunate. I have never seen such a failure of administration and police," MLA from Nuh, Ch Aftab Ahmed said.

Congress MP Deepender Hooda said, The incident from Mewat is very unfortunate Im appealing to people with folding handsplease maintain brotherhood, harmony and peace"

Haryana Assembly Leader of Opposition and Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said, This is very unfortunate incident. I appeal to people to maintain peace and law and order."
The intelligence note accessed by News18 indicates that China and Pakistan are exploiting the situation in Manipur to their advantage by infiltrating terrorists and funding radicals through Nepal, supplying arms and weapons to fighters and manoeuvring the drug trafficking operations in the region bordering Myanmar.

It is learnt that China has employed its Secret Service (MSS) in hiring Nepali traders as spies to fund radical groups in Manipur.

Both China and Pakistan are using Nepal as a silent territory to infiltrate the region with terrorists and weapons.

Most weapons recovered from the fighters in Manipur were Chinese and sent via Myanmar in a systematic manner over a period, the intelligence note indicates.

Recently, heavily armed groups from Myanmar started setting buildings on fire in Moreh area on July 26, making way for another clash between Kukis and Meiteis. Later, it was found that they were all equipped with Chinese weapons and arms.

It is also being learnt that the Manipur crisis is being seen as chance for both China and Pakistan to start a new border row, and create another Kashmir".

Another reason for China and Pakistan to take advantage of the Manipur crisis is its connectivity to other South Asian countries and to tell the world that no development has been made in the northeast by the Indian government.

On the contrary, the Centre has initiated large-scale development in the northeast in terms of road connectivity in Imphal-Moreh, Sikkim-Kalimpong-Darjeeling region, Dima-Kohima road and Nagaon bypass in Arunachal Pradesh; increase in the number of airports; withdrawing Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from most regions.

A UN report in January had indicated about the large-scale poppy cultivation in Myanmar, near Manipur border, since the countrys junta seized power from the government in a coup in February 2021.

In Indias context, the government of Manipur, which shares border with Myanmar, had launched a campaign war on drugs in 2017 and had destroyed thousands of acres of poppy farms in the state.

Thus, there was a protest by Kukis in the hills some months later against the Meiteis, who live in the valley, over the latters demand to be included in the Scheduled Tribes category.
Five persons were killed when their car collided head-on with a truck on the Lucknow-Fatehpur highway in the Hussainganj Police Station area on Monday, police said and added that the deceased persons were going to attend the last rites of their relative. The collision happened when the car was trying to overtake another vehicle on the highway, they said.

Additional Superintendent of Police Vijay Shankar Mishra said Dayashankar Yadav, his wife and other relatives were going to a village in the Hussainganj Police Station area to attend the last rites of his son-in-law.

On the Lucknow-Fatehpur highway at Beragarhiva village, their car collided head-on with a truck when they were trying to overtake another car, the officer said. He added that the intensity of the collision was so strong that all five persons, including the driver, died on the spot.

The deceased have been identified as Dayashankar Yadav (70), his wife Vijayraniya (55), his brother Gorelal (60), Sudamiya (50) and Pramod Yadav (40). The bodies of the deceased have been sent for post-mortem examination, police said.
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Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, which has become another rallying point for a united opposition against the BJP-led NDA, has not been listed in the List of Bunisses of the House till now. The BJP-led government is likely to take a call on the Bill on Monday in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Bill was circulated on Saturday morning so technically today morning it completes 48 hours (as per norms) a must for any legislation to be introduced.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals AAP, which is a part of the opposition coalition INDIA, has reacted strongly against the ordinance. The Congress and other opposition parties have also come out against the ordinance.

The opposition is incensed at the governments approach of going ahead with its legislative agenda at a time when the Lok Sabha speaker has admitted the no-confidence motion. Congress MP Manish Tewari has claimed that all bills passed after the no-confidence motion was admitted in the Lok Sabha are constitutionally suspect and asserted that any substantive legislative business must succeed the outcome of the motion, not precede it.

Meanwhile, discussion on the no-confidence motion moved against the Narendra Modi government by the main opposition Congress, is likely to be initiated in Lok Sabha on August 2, sources aware of developments said.

They informed that the business advisory committee (BAC) of Lok Sabha under the chairmanship of Speaker Om Birla is expected to meet on Monday when the business for the week is to be finalised.

Logjam in Parliament Over Manipur Issue

Amid the impasse in Parliament over the violence in Manipur and the oppositions demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a statement in the House, Home Minister Amit Shah has asserted that he was ready to respond to a discussion in Parliament on the matter.

The opposition turned down the offer following which they moved a no-confidence motion against the government as a last bid to make the prime minister speak on the issue of Manipur violence in Parliament.

Official Business Till Now

The Lok Sabha has passed five bills after brief discussions as opposition members raised slogans demanding the prime ministers statement on Manipur. The Rajya Sabha passed three bills, including the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, last week.

The government has also listed 13 draft legislations for consideration and passing in the Lok Sabha even as a notice for moving a no-confidence motion is pending before the House.

In the Lok Sabha, the government has listed The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2023; The Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023; The Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Castes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023; The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023; The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023; The Inter-services Organisation (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023; The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023; The Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023 and the Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023 for consideration and passing.

It has also listed the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which was passed by the Rajya Sabha, for approval in the Lok Sabha.

Besides, the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and The Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023 will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha first before being brought to the Lok Sabha. The Mediation Bill, 2021 is also awaiting the nod of the Upper House.

The Rajya Sabha is scheduled to take up the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Bill, the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, the Repealing and Amending Bill, The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, the National Dental Commission Bill and the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, which were passed by the Lok Sabha last week.

No Confidence Motion

RSP member N K Premachandran, quoting from M N Kaul and SL Shakdhers Practice and Procedure of Parliament, said: When leave of the House to the moving of a motion has been granted, no substantive motion on policy matters needs to be brought before the House by the government till the motion of no-confidence has been disposed of.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi dared the opposition to defeat the government bills on the floor of the House if they believe they have the numbers in the Lok Sabha.

They have suddenly brought the no-confidence motion. Does that mean no government business should take place? If they have the numbers, they should defeat the bills on the floor of the House, the minister said on Friday.
Massive protests sparked in Rajasthans Luharia village in Bhilwara after a schoolboy allegedly mixed urine in the water bottle of a girl from another community. The female student of Government Senior Higher Secondary School allegedly mistakenly drank urine.

The girl also allegedly found a love letter inside her bag. The incident reportedly took place on Friday.

After drinking from the bottle, she detected the foul odour upon which she complained. To her surprise, she also found a letter with love you" written on it in her bag, the police official told India Today.

The school principal allegedly did not take any action on the complaint of the girl student which agitated locals and thus, angered people from the girls community and protested against the incident.

Here are visuals from the protest site.

When the school opened on Monday, the angry people complained to the Luharia police station in charge and the school principal locked the school.

The protest then turned violent and police had to resort to lathi-charge to calm the protesters down in Luharia village in Bhilwara. Visuals from the spot surfaced and went viral on social media.

The locals also entered the locality of the accused and pelted stones at the boys house. Meanwhile, the police said that the accused had yet not filed any complaint in the incident.

The student has not yet filed a formal complaint with the police. However, if a complaint is lodged against the people who entered the locality of the accused and engaged in stone-pelting, the police will take appropriate action," ASP Ghanashyam Sharma told India Today.
Kavach, the indigenously developed automatic train protection (ATP) system, is being applied on over 900 route kilometres in Uttar Pradesh including 800 rkm between Sahibabad and Chandauli, the government informed the Rajya Sabha last week. In a statement, the Ministry of Railways said that Kavach is a highly technology-intensive system, which requires safety certification of the highest order.

Darshana Singh, Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Uttar Pradesh, had asked the ministry about the implementation of the Kavach system in the state.

Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the application of Kavach has commenced in UP, between Lucknow and Kanpur (about 70 km).

It is also underway on the around 800-km route between Sahibabad and Saidraja section, covering Ghaziabad, Kanpur, and Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction.

Work is also progressing on a 75-km route between Hodal, Mathura, and the Rani Kund Rarah section.

The first field trials on the passenger trains were started in February 2016. Based on the experience gained, and independent safety assessment of the system by a third party  Independent Safety Assessor (ISA)  three firms were approved in 2018-19, for the supply of Kavach.

Subsequently, Kavach was adopted as a national ATP system in July 2020.

Kavach has so far been deployed on 1,465 route kilometres and 121 locomotives (including electric multiple unit rakes) on South Central Railway," the ministry said.

Also, Kavach tenders have been awarded for Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah corridors, around 3,000 rkm, and work is in progress on these routes of Eastern, East Central, North Central, Northern, West Central, and Western Railway zones.

Indian Railways is preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) and detailed estimate for another 6,000 rkm. The amount spent so far on Kavach implementation is Rs 351.91 crore. The cost for provision of track side including station equipment of Kavach is approximately Rs 50 lakhs per km and cost for provision of Kavach equipment on loco is approximately Rs 70 lakh per loco," the ministry added.

Presently, there are three Indian OEMs who are approved for Kavach.

Efforts are being made to develop more vendors to enhance the capacity and scale up the implementation of Kavach," they added.
The Jammu and Kashmir has questioned dozens of persons since the Indian army soldier Javed Ahmad Wani went missing from Kashmirs Kulgam two days ago. The police also examined the soldiers call records.

Wani  posted in the Ladakh region  went missing when he was back home on leave and his car was found at Paranhall. The jawan was supposed to rejoin duty on Sunday.

An official said that as the search for the missing soldier continues, several people have been questioned and call records are being looked into to locate the soldier.

Wanis father, Mohammad Ayoub Wani, requested the possible kidnappers to release his son alive as he is the sole breadwinner of their family. I appeal to all the brothers to let him go alive. If he has troubled anyone, I apologise for that. If they want I will get him to quit his job as well," he said.

His father also said that Wani went out to purchase meat on Saturday as he was supposed to go back to his posting in Ladakh on Sunday.

The father said that his son, Wani had told his brother to drop him at the airport on Sunday. Sometime later, we got a call that his car was found abandoned with its doors ajar," he added.

It was said that blood stains were found in the 25-year-old soldiers alto car, however, officials have neither confirmed nor denied it.

Wani had gone out to purchase groceries in Chowalgam when he went missing. Later, when his car taken to a local police station, the groceries he bought were found in the car along with one of his slippers.

(With inputs from PTI)
Sara Ali Khan brought traditional grace with modern day elegance in Shantnu & Nikhils ethereal ensemble on Day 7 of India Couture Week. Looking like the perfect modern Indian bride, Sara looked like poetry in motion as she gracefully explored and walked through the enchanting set.

Known for adorning modern silhouettes and power dressing, Sara looked at ease in this bridal look. This modern day bridal look complemented Saras regal personality and set the tone for the upcoming wedding season.

A soft pastel palette enhanced with shimmery embellishments and embroidery, was complemented with Saras charming personality. A perfect amalgamation of grace and glamour, Sara did 100 per cent justice as a showstopper and channelled her inner diva as she swayed to the soul-stirring music played during the showcase.

Celebrating the couturiers collection Etheria, inspired by the Italian town of Sicily, Sara looked pretty in blush. Looking like royalty, Sara Ali Khans showstopper look featured an intricately embroidered lehenga, a blouse and a sheer long cape with sparkling details.

Sara, who has walked for India Couture Week in the past, glided in the opulent pastel lehenga set looking and feeling like a true princess. Joining her in the show was actor Aditya Roy Kapur who looked like a modern day groom in a stylish sherwani with

Shantnu & Nikhil showcased their collection Etheria- inspired by the Italian town of Sicily at Indian Couture Week 2023. With a special focus on couture wear and contemporary silhouettes, the collection drew attention towards the signature Maison Shantnu & Nikhil cocktail gowns, revisited with a lens of splendour.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Showsha (@showsha_)

A testament to the artistry and heritage of Indian craftsmanship, Shantnu & Nikhils ensemble showcased intricate motifs from the baroque palaces, meticulously crafted using techniques reminiscent of a bygone era.

Magical, whimsical and extravagant, the collection displayed an old-world charm weaved together with contemporary styling. A tribute to the modern day cocktail bride, the bridal silhouettes from the collection explored exaggerated ornate veils paired with bejewelled capes and gloves, just like in the Gatsby Era.

India Couture Week is on till August 2, 2023 and will feature showcases by renowned couturiers Rajesh Pratap Singh, Rose Room by Isha J and Rahul Mishra.
Dulquer Salmaan has already established himself as one of the leading pan-Indian stars, impressing audiences with his exceptional performances and consecutive blockbusters. On his 37th birthday, the Malayalam actor delighted his fans by revealing his first onscreen collaboration with Rana Daggubati. The upcoming project titled Kaantha, is set to be a multi-lingual venture, with Dulquer Salmaan and Rana Daggubati joining hands not just as actors but also as producers.

According to recent reports by Variety, the film will be helmed by director Selvamani Selvaraj, whose debut feature Nila received the audience award at the Cinequest San Jose Film Festival in 2016. The filmmakers documentary series The Hunt for Veerappan is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on August 4. He has also worked as an assistant to Ang Lee on Life of Pi. Details of the plot for Kaantha are being kept under wraps.

Take a look at the post here:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Spirit Media (@thespiritmedia)

Rana Dadggubatis Spirit Media and Dulquer Salmaan jointly shared the films poster on Instagram. Ever so rarely, we find a story that consumes us and reminds us of the power of good cinema. Kaantha is the project that brought us together, and we are ecstatic to begin this journey with the immensely talented Dulquer Salmaan and Wayfarer films. On the occasion of his birthday, heres a little taste of whats to come. Happy birthday DQ and welcome to the world of Kaantha," the caption read.

Rana Daggubati also shared the same news on Twitter.

Ever so rarely, we find a story that consumes us and reminds us of the power of good cinema. #Kaantha is the project that brought us together, and we are ecstatic to begin this journey with the immensely talented Dulquer Salmaan and Wayfarer films. On the occasion of his pic.twitter.com/UHjDHLVVRE Rana Daggubati (@RanaDaggubati) July 28, 2023

In an interview with Variety, Dulquer Salmaan expressed his excitement for taking on the most challenging role of his career in the film. Kaantha is extremely close to my heart and Ive been eager to bring this to life from the day I heard the story as its unlike anything weve seen in Indian cinema, he said.

Calling it one of the most challenging roles of his career, the actor added that he is looking forward to the exciting journey.

Meanwhile, Dulquer Salmaan is currently occupied with several promising projects. The actors upcoming projects include the action thriller King Of Kotha, set to release during Onam 2023, and his debut web series Guns and Gulaabs, which will soon premiere on Netflix. Furthermore, Dulquer Salmaan has exciting plans to team up with director Venky Atluri for a venture titled Lucky Bhaskar. There are also reports of him sharing the screen with famous Tamil star Suriya in an untitled film directed by Sudha Kongara.
Fans of actor Ranbir Kapoor cannot stop gushing over the actors fresh look after he was spotted in Mumbai on Monday morning. The actor was wearing a simple, grey button-down shirt with jeans and white sneakers. Ranbir was flaunting a seemingly new hairstyle and stopped to pose for the paparazzi. The actor created a buzz that he is going to collaborate with Nushrratt Bharuccha after the duo were spotted together in New Delhi.

Ranbir Kapoors fans took to the comments section of the video to appreciate his look. One fan commented, This haircut is suiting him, looking so hot." Another added, this look man hes so hot." Another fan agreed and wrote, Best Look in recent times."

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Viral Bhayani (@viralbhayani)

Fans of the actor have also lauded his acting prowess and commented, Okay but His Performances In Rockstar, Barfi, Tamasha, YJHD, Barfi, Rocket singh, Wake up Sid, Sanju > > > > "

Ranbir Kapoor will soon be seen in the Sandeep Reddy Vanga directorial, Animal. The film will also feature Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Rashmika Mandanna and Tripti Dimri in key roles. Produced by T Series, Bhadrakali Pictures and Cine1 Studios, the thriller is set to release on December 1 this year.

He will also reportedly be seen in Karan Johars Mr and Mrs Tapori opposite Parineeti Chopra; and Luv Ranjans untitled next, also starring Ajay Devgn. The release dates of both films have not been revealed yet. An official statement about the cast of both films is awaited.

Ranbir Kapoor was last seen in Ayan Mukerjis directorial, Bhahamastra: Part One - Shiva opposite Alia Bhatt. The real-life couple will reprise their roles as the on-screen pair Shiva and Isha for the second and third instalments of the trilogy. While the second instalment is scheduled for a December 2026 release, the third part is slated to release in December 2027.
The Ukrainian military lost over 20,800 troops and more than 2,200 items of military hardware, including 10 Leopard tanks over the past month, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu told a conference call with military commanders on Monday, Tass informs.

July 31, 2023, 17:36 Ukraines military loses over 20,800 troops, 2,200 armaments over past month  Shoigu

STEPANAKERT, JULY 31, ARTSAKHPRESS: "Over the past month, the enemys losses amounted to over 20,800 troops, to be exact, 20,824 personnel, and 2,227 items of various armament, including 10 Leopard tanks, 11 American Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, 40 US-made M777 artillery systems and 50 self-propelled artillery guns from Great Britain, the United States, Germany, France and Poland," the defense chief said.
Fardeen Khan and Natasha Madhvani are reportedly parting ways and heading for a divorce after 18 years of their wedding. While two are doting parents to kids Diani and Azarius, a recent report allegedly suggests that the two have been living separately for a year now and they might be splitting on an amicable note.

Now Fardeens family friend has opened up on why they are parting ways. According to a report in Zoom Digital, the two are yet to file the divorce as its still not clear whether both parties are ready for it to be filed by mutual consent or whether one of the two families in question will resist.

While the reports suggested that they have been living separately for over a year, Fardeens friend revealed that they have been living separately for more than a year. The family revealed that the couple started feeling about things falling apart back in 2009, after Feroz Khan passed away in April 2009.

Feroz and Natasha shared a close relationship, and the former even took care of him during his battle with cancer. In fact, she was even around him in America and they had flown together for treatment. Reportedly, it was also Feroz who called Natashas father Mayur Madhwani to ask if he would like his daughter to marry his son Fardeen. At that time, Natasha and Fardeen were also attracted to each other.

The report also revealed that things went further downhill, when Natasha and Fardeen had a rift concerning their kids education. While the former wanted her kids to pursue their education in Dubai and Fardeen wanted them to study in Mumbai. Distance widened their rift and they found themselves in a loveless marriage. He added, If they are suffering, isnt it better to settle for a separation and start life afresh?

When asked if they talk to each other, he shared, Yes, they do. Their talk revolves largely around their kids," the friend replied.

Back in 2005, Fardeen and Natashas wedding was a lavish affair. In 2013, the couple welcomed their first child, a daughter, and in 2017 they welcomed their second child, a son. Fardeen was away from Bollywood for quite a while but now rumours of his comeback often make headlines. He reportedly has a film with Riteish Deshmukh Visfot which is helmed by Kookie Gulati. The film would also star Priya Bapat and Krystle DSouza. He is also reported to star in the sequel to his 2005 hit, No Entry.

Fardeen was last seen in the 2010 film Dulha Mil Gaye, post which he took a sabbatical from work and in order to focus on his family. Speaking of Natasha Madhvani, she is the daughter of veteran actress Mumtaz. Fardeen is the cousin of Suzanne Khan and actor Zayed Khan.
Fatima Sana Shaikh has earned a lot of love and praise for her amazing performance in Amazon Prime Videos anthology series, Modern Love Mumbai as Lali in Raat Rani. Not only that, her role in Nitesh Tiwaris Dangal was a major breakthrough that alleviated her to the position of unparalleled stardom.

But quite opposed to the popular notion that actors lead a lavish lifestyle and reside in big houses, the actress debunked this by getting candid about her own struggles.

During an interview with Human Of Cinema, Fatima Sana Shaikh recalled her humble beginnings. She shared,"I come from very low middle class family. I come from a place where we used to live in a 1RK on the ground floor which was a parking basement turned into a house. So, its been a process. I am proud of myself. It is not like I have purchased a house. I live in a rented house. At least I have crossed the milestones which I wanted to while I was struggling and I am still struggling. This process never stops and the struggle never ends.

She further added, You are constantly looking for good work and you are constantly fighting your own instinct  Should I work for money or wait. So you also change according to your needs and wants. If I want to pay my bills and loans, I have to do the things I dont want to do. One has to work for survival. When you have luxury, enough financial safety, only then you can choose to do things that make you happy as an actor. But sometimes you dont have that choice.

On the work front, Fatima Sana Shaikh is gearing up for the release of her next film, titled Sam Bahadur. This Meghna Gulzar directorial has made fans quite excited, especially because it stars Vicky Kaushal in the lead. He will portray the role of the late, legendary Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. The plot and characters of this biographical drama are based on the life of Sam Manekshaw.
Huma Qureshi is currently basking in the success of her terrific performance in Tarla, a biopic on late chef Tarla Dalal which premiered on Zee5 last month. In the recent past, the actor has been part of several impressive projects including the Hollywood film Army Of The Dead, Tamil action thriller Valimai, Maharani-2, and Monica O My Darling, and all of them have earned her critical acclaim.

Talking about the current phase, Qureshi in an interview with News18 Showsha says, As an actor, I am in a state of flow where my choices are surely working for me. I am just trying to do my job with as much honesty as possible. All the filmmakers who are showing confidence in me are all because they see me playing a certain character. Often at times, as an actor, it happens that we are caught up in our heads due to various reasons including personal insecurities, the way we look, or our age. But I have decided to look over these things. To avoid being bored with their job, variety is something that every actor aspires to these days. That is what Im attempting to achieve."

She adds, The idea is not to get stereotyped. Ive worked on a wide range of projects, including independent, big-budget, multinational, pan-Indian, series, and short films. I doubt that I have restrained myself in any way. Maybe thats where my tendency to rebel comes from."

The actor says that she always tried to pick up films and characters that are completely distinct from one another. For example, Tarla is not the same girl from Double XL, Rani Bharti wont sound or look like Tarla and Pooja Meri Jaans (her upcoming film) character has nothing in connection with that of Double XL. I want to surprise myself as well as the audience each time. Im just enjoying myself and not giving anything else any thought."

Qureshi, who recently celebrated her 37th birthday, has often voiced her opinion on body positivity. The actor says that subconsciously she tries to push that envelope through her characters also, Maharani or Tarla were completely de-glamourised roles or Double XL spoke about women who face body shaming. The credit also goes to the kind of storytelling that is happening today. People are coming together to tell such incredible stories. It allows us to reimagine what women are capable of. For example, women who looked like Tarla Dalal werent supposed to be in front of the camera. She is just another neighbourhood aunty or woman but why cant they be our heroes? I want to shatter these stereotypes."

The Gangs Of Wasseypur actor completed a decade in the industry last year but she feels that she has just begun, I feel like Im just getting started. If somebody had told me 10 years ago that Id have done the things that I have and would be doing all that I am doing right now in my tenth year, I wouldnt have believed it. I am just enjoying this phase and hope the audiences keep showing their faith in me."
Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, along with their kids Taimur and Jeh have returned from their London vacation. The paparazzi captured the family arriving at Mumbai airport. While Jeh accompanied his mom, Taimur was seen holding his Dads hand, as they walked across the terminal. Several photos and videos of their arrival have gone viral now.

Kareena kept it comfy and casual in a striped blue shirt which she paired with baggy denims. She also teamed her attire with a grey overcoat. Little Jeh on the other hand looked cute in a white co-ord set. Meanwhile, Saif looked dapper in a dark grey T-shirt teamed with a green jacket and denim jeans. Taimur on the other hand kept it comfy in a blue T-shirt and black pants.

Have a look the photos :

Kareena Kapoor Khan along with hubby Saif and kids Taimur and Jeh surely made the most of their European vacation. The actress made sure to update her fans and well-wishers about their whereabouts, family outings, lunches and all things in between.

Earlier in a conversation with Variety, Kareena was asked about how she maintains her work-life balance, to which she shared, Its literally like standing on one leg, but Im pretty good at yoga. Im also very lucky to have a husband who works in the same profession. We take turns as to when we have to travel. She added that their staff also help them a lot.

The actress also shared that her kids only expect quality time with them and not quantity. Its not the quantity of time that you spend with your children, thats what Ive learned, in the five-six years that Ive been a parent, its the quality of time that you give them without distraction because children want focus from their parents, from their teachers from their friends, thats what they need.

Saif and Kareena married in October 16, 2012 after dating for almost four years. They welcomed their first child-son Taimur Ali Khan in 2016 and their second child Jehangir Ali Khan in February 2021.

On the work front, Kareena Kapoor Khan recently shot for The Crew, along with Tabu and Kriti Sanon. The film, back by Rhea Kapoor and directed by Rajesh Krishnan, revolves around the lives of three women and their struggles in the aviation industry. Besides this, Kareena also has Sujoy Ghoshs The Devotion of Suspect X with Jaideep Ahlawat and Vijay Varma in her pipeline.

On the other hand, Saif was last seen in Adipurush which also stars Prabhas and Kriti Sanon.
Actress Celina Jaitly on Sunday took to Twitter to inform that the National Commission of Women has taken cognizance of her complaint against Pakistani journalist Umair Sandu, who alleged on his Twitter account that Celina was the only actress in Bollywood who slept with both Father (Feroz Khan) and son (Fardeen Khan) many times."

Celina further revealed said that the Ministry for External Affairs has raised the issue with the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi and sought an immediate investigation and action" after the NCW wrote a letter addressed to the Joint Secretary (PAI Division), Ministry of External Affairs.

Sharing a picture of a letter that the MEA sent to the NCW in its response after receiving the complaint, Celina wrote, A few months ago, a self-proclaimed Hindi film critic and journalist from Pakistan named @UmairSandu took to Twitter to make viral untrue horrific claims about me which included bizarre allegations like my relations with both my mentor Feroz Khan and his son Fardeen, in addition he made claims targeting me and my familys safety and security even in Austria. My response to his harassment and fake claims from Pakistan went viral and garnered support from millions of Twitterati including Pakistani nationals who were appalled at his behaviour. The perpetrator changes his location on social media consistently but was hiding in Pakistan, as a result there of legal recourse was not possible for me and he continued to assault my character and modesty from across the border. I thereby took the matter to the National Commission Of Women in India. @NCWIndia took cognizance of my complaint and wrote a letter addressed to the respected Joint Secretary (PAI Division), Ministry of External Affairs

@MEAIndia for initiating necessary action in the matter. The Commission has received a positive response from the MEA communicated via letter. The Ministry views the incident with utmost seriousness and has raised the matter with Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi seeking an immediate investigation and action of the incident."

A few months ago, a self-proclaimed Hindi film critic and journalist from Pakistan named @UmairSandu took to Twitter to make viral untrue horrific claims about me which included bizarre allegations like my relations with both my mentor Feroz Khan and his son Fardeen , in addition pic.twitter.com/xAtxdE8Jzb Celina Jaitly (@CelinaJaitly) July 30, 2023

Celina Jaitly, who comes from an Army family, is an Odisha college graduate. She was crowned Miss India in 2001. The actress came fourth in the Miss Universe pageant the same year.

She made her debut on screen with the music video Oh Kehri. She debuted in Bollywood with Feroz Khans 2003 film Janasheen. She also appeared alongside Fardeen Khan in Boney Kapoors production No Entry.
Actress Pragya Jaiswal has embarked on a vacation. Following her annual tradition, she has once again taken a well-deserved break from her busy schedule and opted for an overseas vacation. Pragya Jaiswal has been setting the fashion bar high with her stunning holiday outfits. You can take inspiration from her look and incorporate it into your wardrobe right away. Pragya looked absolutely stunning in a grey co-ord set with yellow floral prints. In the photos, she can be seen basking in the sun and posing with swag. Her black sunglasses complement her look perfectly. Pragyas infectious smile adds an extra charm to the whole ensemble. She turned up the fashion quotient with a brown handbag. Pragya captioned her post: Whats athen-ing?. She referred to her vacay destination, which is Athens (Greece).

Pragya Jaiswal had set the internet ablaze last month with a video. She shared a clip of herself enjoying an ice bath in Finland, while donning a bikini. Her video went viral, capturing the attention and admiration of her fans and followers across the internet. Her adventurous spirit and stunning presence certainly made a splash online.

Pragya Jaiswals journey in the film industry is quite inspiring. Born and raised in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, she later moved to Pune with her family. During her time at a reputable university pursuing a degree in corporate law, Pragya decided to explore her passion by participating in inter-campus dance competitions and modelling to find some balance amidst the rigidity of her academic life. Pragyas decision paid off as she gained recognition and success in competitions like Miss Pune. She even secured a wild card entry in Miss India, receiving praises from various quarters for her accomplishments. Pragyas dedication and talent have undoubtedly taken her far in her career.

Pragya Jaiswal was last seen in the Telugu action film Son Of India, which hit the screens about a year ago. The movie was directed by Diamond Ratnababu. Vishnu Manchu produced the film under the banners of Sree Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures and 24 Frames Factory. Son Of India also featured prominent actors such as Mohan Babu, Meena, and Srikanth in significant roles, making it an awaited release for fans of Telugu cinema.
Priya Prakash Varrier is one of the most promising young actresses in the South Indian film industry. She made her acting debut in 2019 with the Malayalam film Oru Adaar Love, a romantic drama. When the teaser of the film was launched, Priyas winking scene from the film went viral, and she gained immense popularity after that. She also made her Telugu film debut in 2021 with Check, opposite Nithin and Rakul Preet Singh. Since then, Priya has worked in a lot of films, including 4 Years, Kolla, and Live. Priya Prakash Varrier was last seen in Pawan Kalyan and Sai Dharam Tej-starrer Bro: The Avatar. The film was released on July 28 and has been receiving a positive response from the audience. The makers of the film organised a press event for the film on July 26. Priya Prakash was spotted donning a beautiful white saree. She looked ravishing, exuding elegance and beauty. Her pictures from the event have been going viral on social media, and people are loving her look. Priya was seen wearing a netted transparent white saree, with a front cutout detailing blouse. She amped up her look with a top bun, subtle makeup and white-coloured stone earrings.

During the event, Priya was seen touching the feet of Pawan Kalyan on stage. Netizens have been hailing her for her gesture.

Priya has been quite active on social media as well and is often spotted sharing pictures of herself with her fans. Recently, she shared a series of posts from her trip to Phuket, Thailand. In one of the pictures, she was seen enjoying the beach in a yellow bikini. Priya Prakash Varrier looked absolutely stunning in it. She captioned it, Phuket dump". The post showed glimpses of her trip with her friends.

Priya Prakash Varrier has an interesting line up of films. She will be seen in some Hindi films as well including 3 Monkeys, Love Hackers and Yaariyan 2. She is also shooting for a Kannada film named Vishnu Priya.
Richa Chadha has been a busy bee juggling between multiple shoots and projects. The actress his currently in London shooting for her highly anticipated Aaina. Having said that, she was recently spotted shooting for the film with her co-star William Moseley.

In the photo, Richa Chadha can be seen standing alongside William, known for his remarkable portrayal in the Narnia franchise.

Aaina marks an exciting Indo-British collaboration, bringing together talent from both nations to create a cinematic experience like no other. The production of Aaina is in the capable hands of Big Cat Films Limited (U.K.), helmed by producers Geeta Bhalla and P.J. Singh. Currently, the film is in full swing of production in the bustling streets of London, where the leading duo were captured with their director, Markus Meedt,

The film Aaina marks the directorial debut of Markus Meedt who has directed acclaimed short films, including Shelter and Anonymous and episodes of mini-series Lets Get Macho.

Aaina delves into the realms of drama, exploring the profound consequences of the cycle of violence, not only within cultures but also on individuals, portraying the gripping effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. The film will be shot in the UK largely and also in India.

Besides Aaina, Richa is awaiting the release of Fukrey 3 where she will be seen reprising her popular character Bholi Punjaban.

Other than Fukrey 3, she will be seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansalis magnum opus project Heeramandi where she will be seen sharing screenspace with Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Sharmin Sehgal and Fardeen Khan.

Earlier speaking about Heeramandi, Richa shared with News18, I have done things that I havent done otherwise, whether its like a very typical Bollywood kind of period dance number. Or like the love-lorn, tragic heroine kind of space. It was something that I was also excited to explore because it comes with a whole world of culture of Ghazal, of one-sided love with society and with patriarchy. So I loved working like that with a director like Sanjay Leela Bhansali who understands classic things very well. And he really didnt leave any stones unturned to put his best vision out there. We really got along and I loved working with him and he is incredible.
The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), the biggest celebration of Indian cinema outside of India, is all set to kick off its highly anticipated annual event from 11th to 20th August this year. As part of its grand celebrations, the festival has announced that the esteemed Indian actress, Shabana Azmi, will do the distinguished honor of hoisting the Indian national flag on the morning of 12th August, in commemoration of the Independence Day weekend in India.

Shabana Azmi, an iconic and legendary figure in Indian cinema, holds a prominent position in the hearts of movie enthusiasts worldwide. With her exceptional talent and profound performances, she has etched an indelible mark in the Indian film diaspora, making her one of the most celebrated actresses of her time. A recipient of five National Film Awards, her versatile roles in acclaimed films such as Sparsh, Arth, Masoom, City of Joy, Tehzeeb, and Midnights Children have not only won her numerous accolades but have also inspired a generation of actors and storytellers.

Speaking about the opportunity to hoist the tricolor at IFFM 2023, Shabana Azmi expressed her delight, stating, I am happy to be a part of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne and deeply honoured to have been chosen to hoist the Indian national flag on this momentous occasion. IFFM has consistently showcased the incredible diversity and creativity of Indian cinema, and it is heartwarming to be part of such a prestigious event that brings our cinema to global audiences. This platform is even more special given our film R Balkis , Ghoomer, , is making its world premiere at the festival. To be given an opportunity to hoist our national tricolour in presence of the amazing Indian community who live in Australia, is truly an experience I am excited to be part of.

Director of the festival, Mitu Bhowmick Lange, said, We are thrilled to have the privilege of welcoming the legendary actor Shabana Azmi to hoist the Indian national flag at our Independence Day Celebrations. Shabana Azmis remarkable contributions to Indian cinema and her unwavering commitment to storytelling have left an indelible mark on the film fraternity. Her presence at IFFM 2023 embodies the essence of our festival, which aims to showcase the rich tapestry of Indian cinema to global audiences. We are honored to have her join us in this celebration of cultural unity and artistic brilliance."
In March this year, Sushmita Sen took to social media to share that she had suffered a heart attack. It happened while the actor was in Jaipur shooting for the third season of her hit Disney+ Hotstar series, Aarya. Sharing a video, she said that she had undergone an angioplasty and had a stent placed in her heart. But Sushmita resumed work soon after the treatment and wrapped up the shoot of her web show.

And now in an exclusive chat with News18, the former Miss Universe winner reveals that the health condition brought about a change in her and that she has chosen to take it to stride and look at life with a whole new perspective. It was a phase and it passed. I am very lucky to be on the other side, she states. While it has made her more responsible, she has now learnt to value her life a lot more. It doesnt make me fearful now, instead I now have a feeling of promise, of something to look forward to. When you get a new lease on life, you respect it and are more careful, adds Sushmita.

Not only did she wrap up Aarya season three but also completed another project titled Taali, whose teaser was recently unveiled. Taali sees Sushmita in a never seen before avatar as she plays transgender activist Shreegauri Sawant in it. Speaking about it, Sushmita tells us that the series is her way of paying an ode to the struggles and triumphs of Shreegauri. It was very empowering. And I am hoping that the honesty with which I have tried to portray the story of Gauri Sawants life, that honesty comes through, because its a tribute more than a performance, not just to her but to the whole community, she remarks.

While her other upcoming line-up of films and shows remains unannounced, Sushmita is busy making the most of her this time. Last week, she launched a new collection of watches by luxury atelier, Nebula by Titan, inspired by the architecture and style of the Art Deco Era. Talking about the association, the 48-year-old shares that she has a rather special connection with watches. I have a very special story to share, actually. My father, before he named me Sushmita, gave me a pet name, something Bengalis often do - Tee-tan, which is spelled exactly as Titan and means exactly what Titan means - something important and powerful and courageous. And so my father wanted that for me and named me that. So, one of the earlier gifts I got was a Titan watch from my father, she elaborates.

Sushmita, who is also known for her classic and minimalist style sensibilities, emphasises that sartorial fashion remains incomplete without the right accessories. Quiz her about her favourite piece of accessory, and she says, I love watches with big dials. For me, that is also very empowering as a woman. And I am somebody who doesnt like to dress up with a lot of different accessories in my personal life unless Im doing a film. I like it simple. So, when you have a watch that gives you all that and makes sure youre always on time, I think thats it.
Zelensky with Ukrainian service personnel on Saturday (UKRAINIAFN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SER)

Volodymyr Zelensky hailed a powerful day in Ukraines counter-offensive highlighting fierce fighting near the eastern town of Bakhmut.

Ukraines president also said Putins war was gradually returning to Russias territory - to its symbolic centres - after a drone attack on Moscow.

A senior Ukrainian official stressed that there had been heavy fighting in the northeast of the country on Sunday, with Kyivs forces holding their lines and making gains in some areas.

Russias military said it had halted Ukrainian forces in the north-east.

The military also said it brought down down three Ukrainian drones which had tried to strike Moscow and damaged a high-rise building reported to house government offices.

But in his daily address on Sunday, Mr Zelensky said: Thank you all for this day at the front - a good day, a powerful day. Bakhmut direction, other very hot and painful areas in Donbas: Avdiivka, Maryinka, and, of course, the southern directions...

The 5th assault brigade, the 80th separate airborne assault brigade, the 92nd separate and 110th separate mechanized brigades are very, very strong... The marines of the 35th and 36th brigades, the paratroopers of the famous Seventy-ninth, the 47th separate mechanized brigade, the artillerymen of the 55th separate brigade. Well done, warriors!

Ukraine has not directly claimed responsibility for the drone attacks on Moscow.

But Mr Zelensky added: Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia - to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process.

Russian forces launched the latest in a series of night-time air attacks, striking what officials said was a non-residential building in the northeastern city of Kharkiv. The hit started a fire but there were no reports of casualties.

Mr Zelensky reported that the death toll in a Russian strike on a school in the northern town of Sumy on Saturday had risen to two after rescue teams cleared rubble from the site.

Story continues

Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Russian forces were trying to drive us out of elevated positions in the northeast occupied by Putins army after its February 2022 invasion, but retaken later by Ukrainian troops.

The Russians key task, she told national television, was to divert our forces from the Bakhmut area, where we have a successful offensive.

They have attacked endlessly this week. But our troops resist the attacks and sometimes push them back with heavy losses, she said.

Ms Maliar said the Russians had suffered no fewer losses than during the heated battles in Bakhmut, which fell to Russian forces after more than ten months of fighting.

This claim could not be independently verified.

Ukraine last month launched a counter-offensive focusing on a southward campaign to drive a wedge between Russian forces holding territory in the east and the annexed Crimean peninsula, and on winning back ground around Bakhmut.

But fierce fighting has also flared around the Ukrainian -held northeastern towns of Kupiansk and Lyman.

Ms Maliar said Russian forces were also tenaciously trying to seize back areas on the southern front taken by Ukraine.

Ukraine, she said, had recaptured 200 sq. km. (77 sq. miles) in the south, but advances were limited by entrenched Russian positions and mines.

Russias Defence Ministry, in its daily account of military activity, said its forces had spotted and deployed rockets to destroy an rmoured brigade of Ukrainian troops near Svatove, a key Russian-held town in the northeast.

Russian forces, it said, had also repelled four Ukrainian attacks near the town of Lyman, further south.
Ram Charan, known for his exceptional acting prowess and charismatic presence on the big screen, recently opened up about his minimalistic approach to fashion and his disinterest in the sneaker craze that has taken the world by storm. In a recent chat with Tanmay Bhat on Meeshos YouTube channel Style Mein Rehne Ka, the actor shared some insights into his wardrobe choices, shedding light on both the least and most expensive items he holds.

When asked about the cheapest item in his wardrobe, Ram Charan humbly admitted, Its my Charki banyan. No, No, I do have a jockey banyan!" Later, when Tanmay inquired about the most expensive possession in his wardrobe, the actor revealed, It is my watch. I dont spend much on clothes."

However, what truly caught the attention of fans was the question of whether Ram Charan is a sneaker enthusiast, given the widespread fascination around it, especially among the younger generation. Ram Charan said Its just a topic that you want to see and hear when you are sitting with your nephews and niece. They will say, Charan mama you saw that, thats the new sneakers! How much is it? 50 thousand, five thousand! I said forget yaar, 500 dollars and I will think about it, not (spending) more than 250 dollars! He added, Youre wearing them on your feet. I cant spend so much."

In response to a question about his approach to sorting online filters by price, Ram Charan candidly revealed his preference for starting from the low-price range and gradually moving to higher prices. He explained that he diligently begins from the lowest price and, if needed, proceeds to the subsequent pages until he finds what he is looking for. However, he never sets the filter to display items from high to low prices.

Earlier this year, Ram Charan, along with Jr NTR and SS Rajamouli, celebrated the success of RRR winning an Oscar for Best Original Song. After the joyous occasion, the actor has now resumed work and is currently busy shooting for Shankars directorial venture, Game Changer, where he will be sharing the screen with Kiara Advani.
The future of Article 370 hangs by a thread. Three years after its repealing  or, to put it more accurately, dilution  its constitutional validity has been challenged by a slew of petitions in the Supreme Court. Hearings to seal its future will commence daily from August 2.

But first things first. How many of us are even aware that July 27 was the last date to file petitions in the Supreme Court pertaining to the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act of 2019. Better known as the presidential order of August 5, 2019, abrogating Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, it was this Act that bifurcated the erstwhile state into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. A Constitution Bench comprising the Chief Justice of India (CJI), DY Chandrachud, and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant will decide its fate.

What is more, how many of even our well-informed commentariat and even more vocal media warriors know that there are at least 23 petitions challenging the governments order to annul Article 370. Those filing include former senior civil servants, members of our armed forces, lawyers, NGO actors, Kashmiri politicos, and activists. The right wing dismissal of some of them as the usual suspects, the well-organised Left-Liberal cabal, or even more pejoratively, as the Khan Market gang would be a grave tactical error.

Why do I say so? Because while some two-dozen petitions have been filed challenging the governments action on 370, how many, one might ask, have been filed in support of the government? Only three. Of these, one was filed by the government as late as on July 24. In that affidavit, the Central government claimed that its decision to revoke the special status of J&K ushered in an unprecedented era development, progress, security and stability to the region.

The Centre also asserted that since the last three years, the earlier practice of daily hartals, strikes, stone pelting and bandhs are a thing of the past now. Life in J&K has returned to normalcy after over three decades of turmoil. For instance, a duly elected 3-tier Panchayati Raj System in Jammu and Kashmir has been set up. Furthermore, law and order events have come down by 97.2% and terrorist initiated instances by 45.2% from 2019 to 2022. Other benefits have been listed in the Centres affidavit.

However, the Centres plea will not be considered. Why? The Bench ruled, We will hear only on Constitutional issues. The Centres new affidavit will have no effect on the matter.

Therefore, the writing on the wall is clear. The supporters of 2019 J&K reorganisation act have been legally laggard in shoring it up in the Supreme Court, where the real battle for its validity will be waged. Over-active, one might even say over-effective in both mainstream and social media, the team from the right side has been found to be wanting when it comes to making their presence felt in the legal fight to confirm the 370 modification.

Who filed the only two other petitions in support of the governments intervention? Both petitioners represent the Kashmiri Pandit (KP) community  Youth 4 Panun Kashmir and social activist Virinder Kaul, supported by Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora (GKPD). Both applications have been filed through advocate Siddharth Praveen Acharya. I have read the latter of these affidavits, the 51-page plea filed by Kaul. I will return to its contents later, but what needs to be emphasised at the outset is that the victims of Muslim militancy in the Valley are, once again, in the forefront to fight for the Indian state.

This despite the fact that it is the KPs who have been picked, one by one, for slaughter in Kashmir  those few of them who still remain. Notwithstanding all the good that direct central rule has done to Kashmir in the last five years, one of its great failings has been its inability to protect the most vulnerable of the minority Hindu population in the Union Territory  the KPs and migrant workers.

GKPD, for those who dont know, was also instrumental in providing the material and logistical support to the brave makers of The Kashmir Files, the talented husband-wife duo of Vivek Agnihotri and Pallavi Joshi. It is they who succeeded in bringing the tragedy and genocide of the KPs, decades after, to the attention not only of Indians, but also of an influential international community, spread across five continents.

The battle on the ground for Kashmir continues, with terrorists still striking at innocents. But perhaps a bigger battle is to be fought in a completely different domain. This is not a military, strategic, or political clash but a legal and constitutional one. Here, the narrative war, which the government and the ruling party seem to have won, will have little or no bearing. Instead, it will be the intricacies of constitutional law.

The gravity of the situation is such that the government simply cannot afford to lose this fight. Not only for its own sake or its political future, but for the sake of India itself. One must hope that abrogating 370 and 35A, the Centre would have thought through all possible challenges to it and is fairly confident that it is a fait accompli that cannot be reversed.

(To be continued)

The writer is an author, columnist, and professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
S. Phangnon Konyak is the first Naga woman to become a Rajya Sabha MP. She is also the first vice-chairperson from Northeast to the Rajya Sabha and last week, she also became the first woman from the Northeast to preside over Rajya Sabhas proceedings. That it took 76 years in post-independent India for a Naga woman to become a member of the distinguished House of Elders, is a tad surprising. However, that it happened under the aegis of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is hardly surprising. When it comes to women-led development and his Northeast outreach, the tremendous work done by PM Modi has no parallels.

NE, particularly Manipur, has been a matter of heated debate for the last few weeks. As is typical of the Opposition, it has embarked on a diabolical game of politicising the events in this beautiful state for narrow political gains. The Modi government has always stood for accountability and good governance. Let it be known that what has transpired in Manipur, as per keen political observers, in the last few weeks, is a dangerous mix of various things  rampant poppy cultivation and drug abuse in many areas by notorious narco traders, the hills versus plains controversy, ethno-religious conflict, border tensions arising from influx of illegal migrants from Myanmar and all these spiralling into violent lawlessness, after the Manipur High Court judgement in April 2023, that said the state government should consider inclusion of Meiteis under the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category.

The Manipur police had registered a case against unidentified armed persons under sections of abduction, gangrape and murder at Nongpol Sekmai police station in Thoubal district on May 18, 2023. The CBI, last week, took over the FIR registered by the Manipur Police as its own, as per the agencys procedure. CBI has already deployed a special investigation team (SIT) in Manipur under a DIG-rank officer. At least seven arrests have been made with respect to the horrific incident of the gangrape of two Kuki women, with every BJP leader demanding nothing less than capital punishment for the culprits. The federal agency is already handling six other cases of violence in the Northeastern state and a few more women officers and forensic experts are expected to be sent soon. Buffer zones have been created to prevent the escalation of conflicts and a huge amount of illicit grenades, rifles, live cartridges and ammunition have reportedly been seized from militant groups. Over 50,000 people from Manipur have been rehabilitated and evacuated to safety by the Modi government. The Central government has also asked the Supreme Court to transfer the trial of the Manipur violence case outside of Manipur, for a free and fair trial. The Centre has also requested the apex court for completion of the trial of the entire case, regarding violence in Manipur, including the gangrape case, in six months.

On instructions of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the campaign for capturing the biometric footprint of illegal Myanmar immigrants in Manipur by September 2023 has resumed with greater vigour. A team of officials of the national crime records bureau (NCRB) started assisting the state government officials in capturing biometric data of illegal immigrants in Sajiwa, in Imphal East District, last week. Look at the stark contrast  while the BJP and the Modi government handed over the Manipur case to the CBI voluntarily  on the other hand, you have a thoroughly insensitive Trinamool Congress (TMC) government under an equally insensitive and rudderless Mamata Banerjee, who spent taxpayer funds to petition the Kolkata High Court repeatedly, against a CBI probe in the gory Hansakhali gangrape case of 2022, involving a senior TMC leaders son. The Kolkata HC, however, ordered a CBI probe, with the Mamata government having to cut a sorry figure.

Now the moot question is  has the BJP done enough for Manipur? Yes, the BJP government has been working tirelessly round the clock, with over six rounds of talks between the warring Kuki and Meitei factions. Union home minister, Amit Shah, held several all-party meetings on the Manipur issue in the last few months and has been in constant touch with various stakeholders for a peaceful resolution. He has stationed himself in Manipur very often in the last few weeks at regular intervals. In sharp contrast, under the erstwhile Congress regime, when similar violence took place in Manipur, the Congress did not even deem it fit to send their Union home minister but simply sent their Minister of State for Home Affairs Rajesh Pilot, to diffuse the situation. Pilot, at that time, was there in Manipur for just three hours and returned back to Delhi in a jiffy, in a brazen example of insensitivity and callousness.

That Prime Minister Modi has visited the Northeast more than 50 times and his Cabinet ministers have visited the region over 400 times in the last nine years is a testimony to the fact that PM Modi never allowed the tyranny of distance to prevent his government from working for the welfare of the Northeast. Dont forget that former PM, Manmohan Singh of the Congress, was a Rajya Sabha MP from 1991 to 2019, from Assam for 28 long years, but he did not visit Assam even six times during this period.

Congress MP, Gaurav Gogoi, moved the No Confidence motion against the Modi government last week. But let it be known that Gauravs late father, Tarun Gogoi, was the chief minister of Assam for the longest time from 2001 till 2016. Despite being CM for 15 long years, he did precious little for the people of Assam. In fact, it was thanks to the Modi government that Assam and Tripura got onto the broad gauge of the Indian rail network for the first time in 2016 and Sikkim got its first full-fledged airport only in 2018. Again, work on the Bogibeel Bridge started in 2002 but the Congress abandoned work on this bridge when it came to power at the Centre in 2004. This combined road and rail bridge over the Brahmaputra river in Assam, between Dhemaji district and Dibrugarh district, is the longest rail cum road bridge in India and can withstand earthquakes of magnitudes up to 7 on the Richter scale and is also Asias second longest rail-cum-road bridge, with a serviceable period of around 120 years.

Likewise is the case with the Dhola Sadiya Bridge where construction began in 2011 but mid-way through, the Congress abandoned it and the construction was completed yet again in 2017 by the Modi government. This is a beam bridge connecting Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and is the first permanent road connection between northern Assam and eastern Arunachal Pradesh. Clearly, mainstreaming the Northeast via infrastructural connectivity has been PM Modis big achievement.

The limited point is this  successive Congress governments at the Centre did absolutely nothing to mainstream the Northeast with the rest of India. That arduous task has been deftly consummated by PM Modi and his team. Not surprising therefore that the BJP romped home to victory for the second time in a row in the 2022 Assam assembly elections. In the 2023 Tripura assembly elections, while the Congress was reduced to just three seats, the BJP won consecutively for the second time in a row, with a solid 32 seats. Since Manipur became a state on January 21, 1972, clearly, the last six years under the double-engine BJP government have been the most peaceful in Manipurs 51-year-old history, barring of course the last three months. But to focus only on the last three months and not give credit to the BJPs double-engine government for the excellent work done in Manipur in the last six years reflects the Oppositions rabid hypocrisy.

More than anything else and beyond electoral politics, the events of the last few weeks in Manipur are largely a simmering legacy issue and the result of the Congress partys abject lethargy, when it ruled NE for the longest time. For instance, the Assam accord of 1985 was signed when Rahul Gandhis father, Rajiv Gandhi, was the PM but nothing was done to empower indigenous Assamese people. That work was done by the Modi government. Again, the Mizo accord was signed in 1986 when Rajiv was the PM but not a single promise of that accord was fulfilled by successive Congress governments. Those promises were fulfilled by none other than the responsive Modi government. The Tripura accord was also signed in 1988 when Rajiv was the PM and yet again, nothing was done for decades together for the native Tripuris. The Karbi-Anglong and Bodo accords were signed when PV Narasimha Rao of the Congress was the PM but it was only in 2020-21 that the elections to the Bodo Territorial Council and Karbi-Anglong Autonomous Council were held, under the aegis of the committed Modi government.

How many times did Rahul Gandhi visit Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland or Tripura since 2004, when he became a MP, before he was disqualified recently? Barely. Dont forget, Rahuls Bharat Jodo Yatra ended on January 30, 2023. Assembly elections in Tripura were held on February 16, 2023, but Rahul did not visit Tripura even once. Again, assembly elections were held in Meghalaya and Nagaland on February 27, 2023 and yet again, he did not visit Nagaland even once. As for Meghalaya, he had a whistle-stop tour for a few hours at Shillong. That shows the lack of commitment on the part of the Congress party which has now suddenly woken up from deep slumber and has been whipping up passions, just when things are returning to normalcy in Manipur. Again, dont forget, in 2010-11, under the Congress rule both at the Centre and in the state of Manipur, there were times when crippling curfews lasted for anywhere between 124 to 139 days at a stretch. How many times did Rahul Gandhi visit Manipur in 2010-11? Not even once!

Today, under the aegis of the Modi government, AFSPA has either been, or is being removed from 15 police station areas in seven districts of Nagaland; 15 police station areas in six districts of Manipur; and 23 districts entirely and one district partially in Assam. Specifically speaking about Manipur, the BJP won 32 seats in the Manipur assembly elections in 2022 while the Congress was reduced to a measly five seats and that defeat must have deeply hurt the party, which is now using Manipur violence to settle political scores. Even in the 2023 assembly elections in Nagaland, which has over 93 percent Christian and tribal population, the BJP and its ally, the NDPP, won 37 seats overall, while the Congress got zero. The electoral annihilation of the Congress in the Northeast is complete and that is precisely why it is using the Manipur issue to regain lost political capital, by stoking the embers of discord.

As for PM Modi, thanks to his dynamic leadership, seven lakh farmer families in Manipur are getting hundreds of crores of rupees under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, six lakh families are getting benefits under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), 80,000 houses have been built under PM Awas Yojana (PMAY), free medical treatment has been given to 4.25 lakh patients under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana (PM-JAY) in Manipur, over 1.5 lakh free gas connections and over 1.3 lakh free electricity connections have been provided in Manipur, and 30,000 toilets have been built. Oxygen plants which were built during Covid, in virtually every district of Manipur, are a testament to how relevant the state has been to the Modi government, in the larger scheme of things.

The violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023, when a tribal solidarity march was organised in the hill districts by the Kukis, to protest against the majority Meitei communitys demand for ST status. While hearing a petition filed by members of the Meetei (Meitei) Tribe Union, noting that successive regimes had been dragging their feet on the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list for over 10 years now, the Manipur High Court directed the state government to consider the request of the communitys inclusion within four weeks, and send a recommendation to the Union government for its consideration. That is the tipping point that started the violence, as per experts. Thousands of people turned up at the tribal solidarity march called by a students body in all the ten hill districts of Manipur, to oppose the demand for inclusion of Meitei community in the ST category, say observers. The All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM), which had called for the march, said it had been organised to express dissent to the persistent demands of the Meitei community for its inclusion in the ST category, gaining momentum. While the lawmakers of the valley areas are openly endorsing the Meitei demand, those in the hills are opposed to the same.

It is pertinent to note here that the Meiteis inhabit the Manipur valley, which constitutes barely 10 percent of the geographical area of the state. Meiteis claim that they are facing difficulty in view of the large-scale illegal immigration by Myanmarese and Bangladeshis. Compounding the problem additionally for the Meiteis is the fact that they are not allowed to settle in the hill areas as per the existing law. Tribal villagers (Kukis) from interior hill areas came in buses and open trucks to the nearest hill district headquarters to attend the rallies on May 3, 2023, as per eye-witnesses. In Naga dominated Senapati town, the district headquarters with the same name and located about 58 km from the capital town of Imphal, the local bodies forced total shutdown of markets and suspension of public transport from 10 am to 1 pm to ensure that maximum number of demonstrators participated in the rally on May 3, 2023. Thousands joined the processions, waved placards and raised slogans opposing ST status for the Meitei community, which has already been marginalised for decades together. Kukis on the other hand, say experts, have benefitted due to colonial era laws dating back to 1907. At Churachandpur, the second-largest town in the state and a Kuki stronghold, as per observers, Kukis defied prohibitory orders and gathered at the public ground and took a rally till Tuibong peace ground, to show their support to ATSUM, the police claimed. Additional security forces were rushed to the town from other parts of Manipur to control the situation after the vandalisation of a venue where chief minister N Biren Singh was scheduled to address a programme. Similar rallies were also held by Kukis at Tengnoupal, Chandel, Kangpokpi, Noney and Ukhrul where even school students participated, the police said. Meanwhile, counter blockades were put up in the valley districts, including at Sugnu in Kakching district, in support of granting ST status to Meiteis. Protesters shouted slogans demanding ST status for the community and protection of reserved and protected forests.

The Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee Manipur (STDCM), which is spearheading the movement for the inclusion of the Meiteis in the ST category for more than a decade, said the demand is being made not merely for reservation in jobs, educational institutions and tax relief. It is more about protecting the ancestral lands, culture and identity of the Meitei people, who are threatened constantly by illegal immigrants from Myanmar, Bangladesh and by the Kukis, as per STDCM functionaries. The Meitei community, largely Hindus, account for 60 percent of the total population in Manipur but occupy only 10 percent of the land. On the other hand, Kukis and other tribes who are largely Christians by faith, account for only 40 percent of the population in Manipur, but occupy and inhabit 90 percent of the state territory. Clearly, as per political observers, it is the systematic marginalisation of the Meitei Hindus over decades together, which finally led to the events as they unfolded post May 3, 2023. While violence against women has to be condemned and there can be no excuses whatsoever for condoning it, equally, the question that begets a response is  why did the Congress, which ruled India for the longest time at the Centre, never bother to give the Meiteis their rightful dues or accord them their rightful place in Manipur?

Kukis in Manipur have always wanted a semi-autonomous region, while Meiteis have only wanted ST status. Many Nagas of Manipur want to be part of larger Nagaland or Nagalim, as they call it, according to political experts. The Modi government is working tirelessly to reconcile the diverse interests of these warring groups. The Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement was signed in 2008 under which the then Congress government at the Centre was to rehabilitate key Kuki insurgent groups, but as always Manmohan Singh and his cabinet led by Sonia Gandhi, snoozed on this subject, widening the fissures between Kukis and Meiteis, as time flew by.

Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, Union MoS for External Affairs, RK Ranjan Singh recently said, It is the maladministration, corruption and disparity in development between the Kuki dominated hill districts and Meitei dominated valley areas that led to the unrest in Manipur, with hilly areas being the economically developed ones and the valley being the neglected one. Congress ruled the State for the longest time till 2017. PM Modi, in just the last nine years and the state BJP that has been in power in Manipur in just the last six years, have done more for the welfare of Manipur, than what was ever done by the incompetent Manmohan Singh-Okram Ibobi Singh duo of the Congress.

In the hill districts inhabited by Christians, an attempt is being made to fulfill the constitutional commitment of the right to education, RK Ranjan Singh, who is also the MoS for Education, said recently. Under the new education policy, we are trying to expand and provide and make the constitutional fulfillment of the right to education, he added. Even as over 4600 schools have reopened in Manipur and normalcy is returning, the Opposition led by the likes of the Congress and the TMC, have been attempting to weaponise the narrative around Manipur, with irresponsible politics via a futile visit on July 29, 2023. TMC leaders can travel from Kolkata to Manipur which is 1490 kms away, but why cant this incompetent bunch travel from Kolkata to Howrah, which is just 19 kms away? Why cant this bunch travel from Kolkata to Malda, which is just 329 kms away? The reason is simple  In Howrah and Malda, it was the BJPs women karyakartas who were paraded naked. So, the TMC or the Congress or any of the 26 Opposition parties, who have come together, driven by no common agenda but only by their visceral hatred for PM Modi, simply do not care. The Opposition is scavenging on the wounds of the people in Manipur, when the Modi government is doing all it can and all it should, to heal them. The fact that all eight Northeast states have been voting in large numbers in the last nine years for PM Modis inclusive model of governance speaks volumes about how the Modi model has truly ensured last mile delivery in NE, to those who were barred from even the basic amenities of life, under successively repressive regimes of both the Congress and the Left, for decades together.

Sanju Verma is an Economist, National Spokesperson for BJP and Bestselling Author of The Modi Gambit". Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
The Opposition has given a no-confidence motion in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament. And along with that it is trying its best to not allow both houses of Parliament to function. The house has been witnessing slogan shouting, walk-outs, and members wearing black dresses. Is this the Indian parliamentary tradition? Is there a benchmark for parliamentary debates on the No-Confidence motion? And if so, what is that benchmark?

This benchmark was set up as early as 1963 during the four-day debate on the first no-confidence motion moved in Parliament. There is an interesting similarity despite these two motions being moved with a time gap of almost six decades.

The Lok Sabha used to have 494 seats at that time. Indian National Congress had an overwhelming majority with 361 seats that it had won in 1962 polls. The Communist Party of India had 29 seats, followed by Swatantra Party (18), Bharatiya Jana Sangh (14), Independent (20) and others (52). So the Opposition knew that it was going to be defeated and yet it moved the No-Confidence motion. A similar situation exists right now.

But this is the only similarity that we can draw between these two motions. The Opposition moved the n-confidence motion in 1963 to highlight its concerns about defeat in the war against China, corruption, rising prices, Indias fledgling foreign policy, illegal migration of Muslims from across the border in Assam and Hindu genocide in Pakistan. There was no slogan shouting, no one from the Opposition jumped into the well, there were no black clothes. The Opposition debated intensely for four days with members of treasury benches as well as Opposition trading charges and counter-charges. There were interjections also but no-one disrupted the proceedings of the parliament. The Opposition members came out with some of the finest speeches led by Acharya JB Kriplani and followed by MR Masani, Prakashveer Shastri, UM Trivedi among many others. The Opposition never demanded that the Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru should come out with a statement before any debate even starts. From the treasury benches, a number of Lok Sabha MPs put up a spirited defence of the Nehru government. They included A.P. Jain, Subhadra Joshi, Seth Govind Das, Thirumala Rao, Bakar Ali Mirza and Ravindra Varma among others. Prime Minister Nehru replied to the debate on 22 August, 1963.

The motion was filed on 13 August, 1963. Seven Opposition members had moved individual no-confidence motions. Five of them withdrew their individual motions in favour of the no-confidence motion moved by Acharya Kriplani. One of the motions could not get 50 votes when put to voting and hence was not taken up for discussion. Finally, it was Acharya Kriplanis motion, which got more than 70 votes, that was accepted for the debate. The motion read,  This House expresses its want of confidence in the council of ministers.

The debate started with Acharya Kriplani making a fiery speech. Interestingly, as soon as he started the speech, some Communist Party members led by Indrajit Gupta tried to interrupt. In fact, Gupta, raised a point of order that Acharya Kriplanis motion should be rejected on technical grounds. But the Speaker overruled these objections and allowed Acharya Kriplani to kick-off a debate with a scathing attack on the Nehru government.

Some members of the Congress Party tried to interject while the Opposition members put forward their viewpoints over the next few days but there was no slogan shouting from the Opposition and the debate was of high quality.

One of the most significant aspects of this debate was that several Opposition members not only attacked the Nehru government but they also gave a number of constructive suggestions to improve the functioning of the government. They highlighted gaps in the five-year plans that were the hallmark of the Nehru government and also questioned the principle of non-alignment which formed the fulcrum of Nehrus foreign policy. While the Opposition was relentless in taking on the government, there were no personal attacks. This despite the fact that some Congress members mounted personal attacks on Acharya Kriplani accusing him of moving from one camp to another with the sole aim of targeting Nehru.

But overall the debate was of the highest quality despite being a no-holds barred offensive from both sides. Unfortunately, that spirit seems to be missing in the way Opposition is using the tool of no-confidence motion now.

One should also remember that the first no-confidence motion was moved by the Opposition within a year of the 1962 general elections. It was clear that the intent was to highlight the fallacies of the government not to score brownie points for electoral victory but to compel the Nehru government to do the course correction. However, the Opposition has moved the current no-confidence motion, around 10 months before the general elections are due in 2024. In 2018 also, the Opposition had moved the no-confidence motion in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections of 2019.

It appears that the present day Oppositions tactics in Parliament are focused more on gaining electoral ground in the forthcoming elections rather than improving the governance so that common people can get a better deal from the present-day government. Perhaps, the Opposition needs to go back and look at our parliamentary traditions and do the course correction for itself. Parliamentary debates are not a tool for grabbing power but they are meant to be an effective tool to improve governance as a continuous process. And the Opposition is supposed to play an important and constructive role in this regard.

It is time for the Opposition to learn from the iconic statement of late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that he made in his May 1996 speech, Satta ka to khel chalega, sarkaren ayyengi, jayengi; partiyan banegi, bigedgi; magar ye desh rahna chahiye, is desh ka loktantra amar rahna chahiye (The power game will go on, governments will come and go, parties will come into existence and vanish, but this nation should remain, this countrys democracy should live eternally).

The writer, an author and columnist has written several books. He tweets @ArunAnandLive. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
Rs 1,103  This is the price of a non-subsidised LPG cylinder in Delhi currently. A reply by the government in Parliament on Monday showed why this is a worry  the price has nearly doubled from three years ago when a non-subsidised LPG cylinder sold for Rs 581.5 on May 1, 2020.

Travelling across Madhya Pradesh earlier this month, we came across many women complaining about the fact that the LPG cylinder at nearly Rs 1,100 was unaffordable. Some said the monthly payout of Rs 1,000 started by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in the state was mostly going into getting an LPG refill. Women are strong voters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in many states and in Madhya Pradesh many felt the cylinder prices should be reduced. The government cites how India imports more than 60% of its domestic LPG consumption and the price of LPG in the country is linked to its price in the international market. But political realities are different.

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The Congress has already seized it as an electoral issue. In Rajasthan, the Ashok Gehlot government is already providing the LPG cylinder capped at Rs 500 for poor families in the state. Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath has promised to give the LPG cylinder to the poor at Rs 500 if the Congress comes to power in the state. During the Karnataka elections earlier this year, which the Congress won handsomely, the partys state president and now deputy CM D.K. Shivkumar had put an LPG cylinder prominently in the media hall of the Congress office and used to pray to it to highlight the high LPG prices. In short, the Congress feels the LPG cylinder is its road to power.

BJPS EFFORTS

The BJP government at the Centre has been trying to ease the burden on common man and modulate the effective price to consumer for domestic LPG. The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) beneficiaries are getting a subsidy of Rs 200 per cylinder for up to 12 refills a year for 2022-23 and 2023-24, effectively bringing the price for them down to around Rs 900. During the Covid pandemic in 2020, the government also provided around 14.17 crore free LPG refills to PMUY households under the Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Package.

The price hike burden has mainly come during the 2020-21 to 2022-23 period because the average Saudi CP, the international benchmark for LPG pricing, went up from $415 per MT to $712 per MT. The government says the increase in international prices was not fully passed on to Indian citizens, due to which the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) suffered under recoveries of approximately Rs 28,000 crore on sale of domestic LPG. To compensate this, the Government has also paid a one-time compensation of Rs 22,000 crore to the OMCs in FY 2022-23.

LPG CONSUMPTION GROWING

The increasing price of LPG has also not impacted consumption, which has, in fact, been growing in India. The consumption of LPG in the country has gone up from 19.62 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) in 2015-16 to 28.50 MMT in FY 2022-23. Also, the number of domestic LPG consumers has increased from 16.67 crore in 2016 to 31.5 crore in 2023, which includes nearly 10 crore new PMUY beneficiaries. The per capita consumption of LPG by the PMUY households has also gone up from 3.01 refills in 2019-20 to 3.71 refills in 2022-23, figures show.

ALSO READ | Ashok Gehlot Slashes LPG Cylinder Price to Rs 500 for BPL Families Months Before Rajasthan Polls

However, the LPG cylinder is now a major electoral issue, especially in state elections.

The BJP has a challenge here to change the narrative.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday lashed out at the INDIA Opposition bloc on Monday and tore into the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government in West Bengal over the violent clashes during its state Panchayat elections. He stated that since he took over the chief ministerial post, no riots have taken place.

Hitting out at the 26-member Opposition bloc, which was formed earlier this month with sights on the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign, Adityanath told ANI that the alliance should not be referred to as INDIA."

This act of renaming wont erase the past deeds of these leaders," he said. Whether you look at the actions of UPA or Congress, AAP or TMC, all of their conditions are the same."

Our Captain is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is leading the team, which is BJP-NDA, and is also leading India. All our allies are united under one leader. NDAs manifesto and common minimum program, have largely been fulfilled in the last nine years," he said.

In a veiled dig at the Congress, the chief minister said, Does merely saying social justice ensure that social justice will happen? Nepotism, casteism, is this social justice?"

Listing the achievements under the BJP government, he said, the poor are getting toilets at their houses, houses, ration, health services, employment opportunities for the youth, and farmers are finding happiness in their lives."

Questioning the previous governments, he said, Women have the right to lead their lives with safety and respect. What stopped the UPA? What stopped Samajwadi Party in UP? What stopped the TMC-led West Bengal government? Why are mothers crying there? Why do daughters feel unprotected there?"

Praising PM Modis leadership, he said, Under PM Modis rule, India has witnessed historic development. The entire world is looking at India. The worlds perspective towards India has changed."

Adityanath further targeted Opposition parties critical of the BJP government, saying they had been quiet" over violence in West Bengal.

The Chief Minister, who did not directly name the Trinamool Congress, said there are people who, after coming to power, want to control the entire system." Opposition party workers were killed in West Bengal. What we saw in West Bengal, how could the opposition have functioned? Workers of opposition parties were beaten. These things are an eye-opener. No one speaks on this or comments on it. Everyone is quiet."

He also compared with the TMC-ruled West Bengal, questioning why these same people dont raise questions when incidents of violence happen in other places. People who talk big must observe how local body polls and assembly elections were held in UP and states like West Bengal. Do these people want India to become like West Bengal, where we witnessed widespread violence against opposition workers? We are not hypocrites; everybody has the right to contest elections. Its their democratic right. However, some people want to take control of all institutions to attain power. We witnessed this in Bengal, where opposition workers were killed," he said.

He further said the BJP does not resort to pretense or hypocrisy." Asserting that everybody has the right to fight elections, he said, They can contest the election and if they are capable, they will win. If we are capable, we will win, and if we are not, we will lose and it should be like that. If the person is an opponent and capable of winning, he should win. This is a democratic right. We cannot deprive someone of this."

Gyanvapi Dispute

In his first statements on the Gyanvapi mosque dispute, the chief minister said there should be a proposal from the Muslim side acknowledging a historic mistake and that it requires a solution.

We havent placed it there the jyotirling is there. Idols are there. I believe there should be a proposal from the Muslim side accepting a historic mistake, and we should seek a solution to to this mistake."

If we call it a mosque, then there will be controversy. People must think what is a trishul doing there, he added.

Uniform Civil Code

The chief minister strongly advocated for the Uniform Civil Code in India, dismissing the propaganda surrounding the proposal.

From marriage to inheritance, a common law should be applicable across the country. The principle of one nation, one law must be implemented in India," he asserted.

He expressed disappointment that while minority groups globally aim to integrate into society without seeking special rights, some in India are seeking preferential treatment due to their minority status.

His statements come amid speculations that the Centre may push for a uniform civil code in India, following PM Modis recent endorsement of the UCC bill.

No Riots in UP

Responding to a query about his opponents attempts to portray him as the Chief Minister of a certain section of the population, Adityanath asserted that there have been no riots in the state since he assumed the role of Chief Minister. He said that riots inflict harm upon people of all communities and anti-social elements pose a threat to women from all backgrounds. He also acknowledged that the states image was previously impacted by its law and order situation.

I have been the Chief Minister of the state for over six years and my party entrusted me with this responsibility in March 2017. Not a single riot has taken place during my tenure. So, tell me, when riots occur, do only Hindus die? Does only Hindu property get burned? The truth is that people from both communities suffer, and properties of both communities get burnt. Daughters from both communities are at risk from rogue elements in society. When curfew is imposed, entire markets are affected," Adityanath said.
Authorities in Nigerias northeastern Adamawa state on Sunday imposed a statewide round-the-clock curfew to stop widespread looting of food stores in the state capital Yola.

The looting saw hundreds of residents break into public and private warehouses storing grains and other commodities and cart them away.

The Governor of Adamawa State Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri has declared a 24-hour curfew on the state, effective immediately Sunday 30th July, 2023," Humwashi Wonosikou, the governors spokesman, said in a statement.

Yahaya Nguroje, Adamawa state police spokesman, said security personnel had been deployed to enforce the curfew.

Last month Nigeria  the most populous country in Africa and the continents largest economy  ended a fuel subsidy regime, leading to petrol prices quadrupling and food prices soaring.

Nigerias economy has been weakened by recession and the fallout from Covid-19, making life hard for its 215 million citizens  nearly half of whom live on less than $2 a day.

Online video footage shows residents of Yola looting sacks of grain, cartons of pasta and other household items from a warehouse of Nigerias emergency management agency (NEMA).

The plunder prompted NEMA to put its warehouses across Nigeria on alert to forestall possible looting, according to agency sources.

Earlier this year the United Nations predicted that more than 25 million Nigerians would be a high risk" of food insecurity in 2023.
Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday clarified his partys stance on the appointment of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar as the caretaker prime minister, stating that a neutral person would be selected to lead the interim set-up to make upcoming general polls in the crisis-marred country transparent.

His remarks came amid widespread reports about growing fissures between Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) over the nomination of Dar as interim PM. The opposition is voicing reservations over a candidate linked to the Sharif family."

A neutral person should be appointed to this position so that no one could question the elections results, Shehbaz told Pakistans GEO News in an interview.

Contrary to media reports, the Pak Prime Minister appeared to be on the same page with his coalition partners who favoured a non-partisan politician to lead the country. I assure you there will be a very efficient interim government at the Centre, he added.

As the current governments tenure is approaching its conclusion next month on August 14, the Pakistan Election Commission is expected to announce the date for the next general election. There is a possibility that the government may dissolve the National Assembly before the end of the tenure.

According to a report by Pakistan media reports, the coalition is presently in discussions with various stakeholders, including the military, to address the mounting concerns prevailing in Pakistan.

Earlier, it was reported that former Pakistani PM and PML-N party supremo Nawaz Sharif was considering nominating Ishaq Dar as the interim PM. In response, the PML-N had engaged with other stakeholders, including the influential military, to address PPPs reservations.

Both parties advocate for a politician to lead the caretaker government to prevent any delays in the upcoming elections. According to reports, Nawaz Sharif, who is currently in Dubai, is in talks with PPPs Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

Amidst this uncertainty, Shehbaz stated that he had no intentions of delaying the elections, even regarding the issue of the new census. He emphasised that if the notification for the new census is issued, it would be the responsibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan to handle it.

Regarding the upcoming polls, the Pak PM assured that his party, PML-N, is open to making adjustments with other political parties, including PPP and JUI-F. However, he clarified that PML-N will field its own candidates where seat adjustment is unnecessary.

Looking ahead to the forthcoming elections, he declared that Nawaz Sharif would become the next Premier if PML-N secured power. He also disclosed that Nawaz Sharif would soon return to the country.
A missile strike on a residential building in Ukraine killed six and wounded dozens on Monday, as Russia said it stepped up strikes against Ukrainian military facilities in response to attacks on its territory, including Moscow.

Two missiles landed close to the centre of the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rig just after 9:00 am (0600 GMT), Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko wrote on Telegram.

Among the dead were a 10-year-old girl and her 45-year-old mother, while 75 people were injured, according to local authorities.

One of the strikes hit a large nine-storey residential apartment block, punching a huge hole in the facade that destroyed flats on several floors and sparked a fire.

Firefighters used a cherry-picker crane to direct jets of water at the fire, while the emergency ministry said part of the building had collapsed while the rubble was being cleared.

As the toll of the strike rose, Russia said it had intensified attacks on military infrastructure in Ukraine after increasingly frequent drone assaults blamed on Kyiv.

Russia on Sunday said it had downed Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and annexed Crimea in the latest wave of drone attacks.

- Act of desperation -

Against the background of the failure of the so-called counteroffensive, Kyiv has focused on carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure," Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday.

In response, the intensity of our strikes against Ukrainian military facilities has been considerably increased," Shoigu said.

Sundays drone attack damaged two office towers in a Moscow business district, shattering several windows and leaving documents strewn on the ground.

The capital and its environs, lying about 500 kilometres (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border, had rarely been targeted during the conflict until several drone attacks this year.

Following the strikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Sunday that war was coming to Russia.

Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia  to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process," Zelensky said.

The Kremlin responded Monday, describing the strikes on the capital as an act of desperation" by Ukraine following setbacks on the battlefield.

It is obvious that the counteroffensive is not a success," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that the situation was very difficult" for Ukrainian forces on the front.

All possible measures have been taken to defend civil infrastructure" against Ukrainian strikes, Peskov added.

Ukraine began its long-awaited counteroffensive in June but has made modest advances in the face of stiff resistance from Russian forces on the frontline.

- Zelenskys hometown -

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was born and grew up in Kryvyi Rig, said Russians were continuing to terrorise peaceful cities and people".

The strikes in the city also damaged an academic building, according to the head of the citys military administration Oleksandr Vilkul.

In the southern city of Kherson, Russian shelling killed four and injured another 17, said the head of Ukraines presidential office, Andriy Yermak.

The enemy is hitting residential neighbourhoods," Yermak said.

Meanwhile, shelling by Kyivs armed forces killed two people and wounded six in Ukraines eastern city of Donetsk, which is controlled by Russian forces, Moscow-installed authorities said.

A bus was destroyed by the shelling Two people died and six were wounded," the Russian-installed head of the Donetsk region Denis Pushilin said on Telegram.

Russian forces had repelled Ukrainian attacks in the east and south of the country, while it continued its own offensive around Kupiansk, the defence ministry said in its daily briefing.
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng arrived in the Pakistan capital Sunday to mark the 10th anniversary of an enormous economic plan that is the cornerstone of Beijings Belt and Road Initiative.

Since its initiation in 2013, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has seen tens of billions of dollars funnelled into massive transport, energy and infrastructure projects.

But the undertaking has also been hit by Pakistan struggling to keep up its financial obligations, as well as attacks on Chinese targets by militants.

After a decade since its inception, CPEC has shown mixed results," said Azeem Khalid, assistant professor of international relations at COMSATS University Islamabad.

The primary goal of connecting China with the Arabian Sea is still relatively low in achievement for China. On the other hand, Pakistan has made notable progress in achieving short-term objectives."

In recent years Beijing has been one of Islamabads most reliable foreign partners, readily providing financial assistance to bail out its often struggling neighbour.

Earlier this week, Beijing granted Pakistan a two-year rollover on a $2.4 billion loan, giving the debt-saddled nation much-needed breathing space as it tackles a balance-of-payments crisis.

An IMF report last year said China and its commercial banks held about 30 percent of Pakistans total external debt.

Stronger than the Himalayas

The two countries share a 596-kilometre (370-mile) frontier near the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram Mountains, one of the worlds tallest ranges.

Pakistan politicians frequently trot out the phrase stronger than the Himalayas, deeper than the ocean, and sweeter than honey" to portray the depth and closeness of the relationship with China.

But ties have been strained by numerous hurdles in recent years, including stalled or scaled-back CPEC projects.

The economic corridor presents an attractive gateway for China to access the Indian Ocean, but the safety and security of its workers has been a longstanding concern.

On Sunday at least 44 people were killed and dozens more wounded by a suicide bombing at a political gathering of a leading Islamic party in northwest Pakistan.

The CPEC corridor linking Chinas far-western Xinjiang region with Pakistans strategic port of Gwadar in Balochistan has sparked claims that the vast influx of investment does not benefit locals.

Baloch separatists have claimed several attacks on CPEC projects, and thousands of Pakistani security personnel are deployed to counter threats against Chinese interests.

In April 2021, five people were killed in an attack claimed by Pakistans Taliban at a luxury hotel hosting the Chinese ambassador in Quetta.

Months later, 12 people  including nine Chinese workers  were killed by a blast aboard a bus carrying staff to the Dasu dam site.

Islamabad blamed the explosion on a gas leak" but Beijing insisted it was a bomb attack.

Security stands out as the core problem that hinders the realisation of Chinese goals," Khalid told AFP.

This factor is the primary reason why CPEC has not reached its full functional potential yet."

Ahead of the visit, banners celebrating the anniversary and flags of both countries have been put on display across Pakistans capital.

Security is on high alert, and a two-day public holiday has been ordered for Islamabad to keep people off the streets.

Pakistan deftly manages relations with China and the United States, seeking a balance between its strategic interests and regional dynamics.

Arch-rival India has more fractious relations with China, with the two sides coming to blows along their frontier on occasion.
The parents of a toddler who drowned after falling off a boat in Fiji desperately tried to save their child's life by rushing her to shore where locals attempted to revive her  but it was too late.

Thirteen-month-old Mahina Toki was strapped into a harness on a boat that was reportedly docked in Musket Cove in western Fiji, but she somehow escaped and was found floating in the water shortly after.

Mahina Toki, pictured with her parents, drowned after falling off a boat in Fiji. Source: Givealittle

Her parents, Mark and Kiri, who were preparing to return home to Great Barrier Island in New Zealand, were cooking dinner in the galley on the catamaran at around 5pm on Friday local time, a Fiji Police spokeswoman said, according to New Zealand Herald. When they returned to check on her, they noticed she was missing and began frantically searching.

"By the time we could find her, it was too late, a friend of the grieving family wrote on a Givealittle page set up to cover the cost of flights back home and funeral expenses. Attempts to revive the toddler were unsuccessful.

Locals attempt to save toddler

Musket Cove Resort manager Joe Mar told the Herald there is a huge sense of shock across the island, located about 17 kilometres from Nadi airport. "The family rushed into shore to seek help and a lot of people rushed to their aid, but unfortunately couldn't revive her," he said.

According to the Island Cruising New Zealand Facebook group, the parents brought her to the dock in Musket Cove where "the most incredible team of medical professionals" tried to save her.

The family was docked at the Musket Cove marina in the Malolo Lailai Islands, located approximately 17 kilometres from Nadi Airport. Source: Google Images

"A paramedic, doctor, two nurses and a midwife as well as all the equipment, medication and oxygen that you would have in hospital," the post read. "Some of the rally participants who were in the area stepped up to help too.

"Sadly despite all of their best efforts, she did not make it."

Story continues

Parents return to New Zealand without their daughter

According to the fundraiser page, the toddler was tethered to the boat, but somehow "worked free". Her parents are now in the process of "picking up their lives" and heading back to New Zealand.

Mahina has been described as a "beautiful, happy, smiling child who loved the water and life on the boat".

"Her mother, Kiri said she had eyes that looked into your soul from the day she was born," the fundraising page states. " To the beloved Mahina, may you forever live in peace, splashing with joy somewhere in the sea."

On Monday, almost $27,000 had been raised for the family. Fijian Police are still investigating the incident, according to reports.

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Its been just over three weeks since China increased checks on Japanese food imports over radiation concerns, but Kazuyuki Tanioka is already fearful for the future of his upscale Beijing sushi restaurant.

Like most restaurants in China, Taniokas eight-year-old Toya has struggled with years of COVID restrictions which only began to ease late last year. Now it is facing a shortage of both customers and seafood ahead of Japans plans to empty into the sea treated radioactive water from its disaster-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant.

The hardest thing for us now is that we cant purchase any Japanese seafood at all because its taking so long to clear Chinese customs, said the 49-year-old chef-restauranteur from Kumamoto, southern Japan.

A spokesman for a large seafood trader said now the wait times at Chinese ports is around three weeks.

There has been extensive criticism of the Fukushima water release plan from Chinas foreign ministry and in Chinese state media in recent months, and this coverage surged again around the time when and after the UN nuclear watchdog said it approved of the plan.

China is still Japans biggest seafood export market but posts and hashstags saying Japanese food is radioactive and should be boycotted are rife on Chinese social media. Japanese restaurants are taking a hit and Tanioka says customer numbers have plummeted by 90 percent in his case as a result.

Customers at Japanese restaurants and supermarkets in Beijing said they approved of the tighter scrutiny by the Chinese government, which maintains the water release poses a threat to the environment and human health and that if Japan goes ahead with its plan it must bear the consequences.

Customers which Reuters spoke to at Japanese restaurants and supermarkets in Beijing said they approved of the tighter scrutiny by the Chinese government.

I think the measures we are currently taking on Japanese seafood products show a responsible attitude of the country towards its people," said Duan, a Beijing resident who only provided his surname. Because of the governments policies, we can say that we feel relatively at ease."
The European air safety agency has warned of a continued possible threat to aircraft flying at low altitudes in the Pakistani cities of Karachi and Lahore. In an advisory issued last week, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) cited the presence of violent non-state actor groups, that pose a threat to civil aviation in the country.

Due to the current security situation in Pakistan with the presence of violent non-state actor groups with confirmed anti-aviation weaponry, possibly MANPADS (man-portable air-defence systems), there is a continued possible threat to civil aviation resulting in a HIGH risk to operation at altitudes below FL 260," the advisory issued on Friday read.

The EU advisory, valid until Jan 31, 2024, added that certain region remains the site of territorial dispute with sporadic military operations posing a potential inadvertent risk to civil aviation due to a potential risk for misidentification in case of military escalation, particularly in the FIR Lahore (OPLR)."

Rejecting the advisory issued by the European body, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) said on Sunday that its airspace is safe for all kinds of flight operations.

Insisting that countrys airspace is safe and protected against intrusions, the Aircraft Owners and Operators Association of Pakistan (AOOA) also refuted the EASAs safety circular to operators and urged its withdrawal. The AOOA said the advisory had created an excuse to exclude Pakistan from economic activity by creating scares.

Pakistan airspace is 100 percent safe and protected against any intrusions, Imran Aslam Khan, the associations CEO, was quoted as saying by Dawn newspaper. Aslam Khan emphasised that Pakistans airports were also safe for flight operations and several commercial and private flights were operating daily.

This latest advisory comes as Pakistans national airline faces flight faces ban amid discussions with EASA and European Commission over larger safety concerns. This came as a result of the May 2020 air crash in Karachi attributed to licensing issues.

EASA spokesperson says constructive discussions" are ongoing with Pakistani authorities regarding the same.
Haiti has welcomed with great interest" a Kenyan offer to lead a 1,000-strong multinational force to bolster security in the violence-torn Caribbean country.

Haiti appreciates this expression of African solidarity," a statement from Foreign Minister Jean Victor Geneus said Sunday, and looks forward to welcoming Kenyas proposed evaluation mission."

Kenya announced Saturday that it was prepared to deploy 1,000 police agents to help train and support their Haitian counterparts in combating the violent gangs that have taken control of much of capital Port-au-Prince.

Kenya has accepted to positively consider leading a Multi-National Force to Haiti," said the Kenyan statement, posted by Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua.

A Kenyan-led deployment would still require a mandate from the United Nations Security Council, as well as formal agreement by local authorities.

The council has asked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to present by mid-August a report on possible options for Haiti, including a UN-led mission.

US diplomats have been actively seeking a country to head a multinational force.

Mutua said Kenya would send an evaluation mission" to Haiti in coming weeks.

Kenya, seen as a democratic anchor in East Africa, has participated in peacekeeping operations in its own region, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.

Gangs in Haiti control roughly 80 percent of Port-au-Prince, and violent crimes including kidnappings for ransom, carjackings, rapes and armed thefts are common.

With a weak government and its security forces overwhelmed, the country  the poorest Western Hemisphere nation  has seen compounding humanitarian, political and security crises.

Both Prime Minister Ariel Henry and the UNs Guterres have for nearly a year called for an international intervention. Up to now, no country had stepped forward.

A UN peacekeeping mission was in operation in Haiti from 2004 to 2017 but fell out of favor after a cholera outbreak traced to infected UN personnel from Nepal claimed 9,500 lives.

This week, the United States ordered nonessential embassy personnel and their families to leave Haiti as soon as possible.

On Thursday, a young American nurse and her infant child were kidnapped in Haiti, according to the Christian aid group for which she works.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Monday for a suicide bomb blast in Pakistan that killed at least 54 people, including 23 children, at a political party gathering ahead of elections due later this year.

The blast has raised fears Pakistan could be in for a bloody election period following months of political chaos prompted by the ousting of Imran Khan as prime minister in April last year.

Around 400 members of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) party  a key government coalition partner led by a firebrand cleric  were waiting Sunday for speeches to begin when a bomber detonated a vest packed with explosives and ball bearings near the front stage.

I was confronted with a devastating sight  lifeless bodies scattered on the ground while people cried out for help," Fazal Aman, who was near the tent when the bomb went off, told AFP.

Shaukat Abbas, a senior official with the counter-terrorism department (CTD) told AFP that 54 people had been killed, including 23 under the age of 18.

On Monday the Islamic state group claimed responsibility.

A suicide attacker from the Islamic State detonated his explosive jacket in the middle of a crowd" in Khar, the jihadist groups news arm Amaq said in a statement Monday.

The attack occurred in the town of Khar in the northwestern Bajaur district, just 45 kilometres from the Afghan border, in an area where militancy has been rising since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021.

Parliament is likely to be dissolved after it completes its term in the next two weeks, with national elections to be held by mid-November or earlier.

The local chapter of the jihadist Islamic State group has in the past targeted JUI-F rallies and leaders.

Shattered family

On Monday, blood-stained shoes and prayer caps littered the site, along with ball bearings and steel bolts from the suicide vest.

Pieces of human flesh could still be seen, blasted 30 metres (100 feet) from the stage where the bomber detonated his device.

Thousands of mourners attended the first funeral ceremonies, including for two young cousins aged 16 and 17.

It was not easy for us to lift two coffins. This tragedy has shattered our family," said Najib Ullah, the brother of one of the boys.

Our women are profoundly shocked and devastated. When I see the mothers of the victims, I find myself losing my own courage."

JUI-Fs leader, cleric Fazl-ur-Rehman, started political life as a firebrand Islamist hardliner, and while his party continues to advocate for socially conservative policies, he has more recently forged alliances with secular rivals.

He has operated in the past as a facilitator for talks between the government and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a rival of the jihadist Islamic State group.

Last year, IS said it was behind attacks against religious scholars affiliated with JUI-F, which has a huge network of mosques and schools in the north and west of the country.

The jihadist group accuses the JUI-F of hypocrisy for being a religious party while supporting secular governments and the military.

JUI-F officials hit out at the government for failing to provide security in areas where militants operate.

The state has not fulfilled its responsibilities. I think the state has failed regardless of who is in power," said Shams uz Zaman, deputy general secretary of its Bajaur branch.

For Gods sake take notice of the situation."

While Rehmans party never musters more than a dozen or so seats in parliament, they can be crucial in any coalition and his ability to mobilise tens of thousands of religious school students allows him to punch above his weight.

It is important to consider why workers of a religious inclined political party could have been subjected to such bestial violence," Dawn newspaper said in an editorial Monday.

However ultra-conservative the JUI-Fs worldview, the party has chosen to contest power and operate within the parameters set by the Constitution of Pakistan."

A spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell said the blast was an attempt to weaken democracy".

Rise in attacks

Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in militant attacks since the Afghan Taliban surged back to power in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021.

In January, a suicide bomber linked to Pakistans Taliban blew himself up in a mosque inside a police compound in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing more than 80 officers.

The militant assaults have been focused in regions abutting Afghanistan, and Islamabad alleges some are being planned on Afghan soil  a charge Kabul denies.

Analysts say militants in the former tribal areas have become emboldened since the return of the Afghan Taliban.

The blast coincides with a visit to the country by a senior delegation of Chinese officials, including Vice Premier He Lifeng, who arrived in the capital Sunday evening.
Pakistan police after conducting an initial probe on Monday suggested that the Islamic State, also known as Daesh, is behind the suicide bomb blast on Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazls (JUI-F) workers convention in Bajaur.

At least 43 people have been killed and over 130 have been injured when a suicide bomber set off explosive during Sundays rally. Bajaur is a tribal area bordering Afghanistan and comes under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region has seen continuous bloodshed as Pakistan tackles a fresh wave of terror led by the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) and the Islamic State.

Military helicopters airlifted the critically injured from Bajaur to hospitals in Peshawar. Emergency has been declared in all of the hospitals in Bajaur. We are still investigating and gathering information on the Bajaur blast. The Initial probe shows that banned outfit Daesh was involved, security officials were quoted as saying by Pakistan-based media outlet GeoTV.

Officials are collecting evidence from the site and the police are gathering details about the suicide bomber. Three people have been taken into custody.

The end of the ceasefire between the Pakistan Army and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in 2022 threw Pakistan in the grips of a new wave of terror. The wave of terror continues to prey on the lives of civilians and security officials. A mosque bombing in Peshawar killed over 100 people earlier in 2023.

Pakistans worries have compounded following the publishing of a UN Security Council report (UNSC) which says that the TTP might be seeking a merger with Al Qaeda to form an umbrella group of all terror groups operating in South Asia.

The report outlined certain provinces in Afghanistan where as many as 20 terrorist groups are conducting training sessions.

Pakistan has blamed Afghanistan for not living up to the commitment it made on not letting its soil to be used for terrorism but Afghanistan has not only dismissed these claims, they have also snubbed Pakistan when officials have raised their concerns with their Afghan counterparts.

The JUI-F is a major outfit which is an ally of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) and is also one of the main members of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

The JUI-F emir demanded that PM Sharif investigate the incident. The Pakistan Army claims that TTP has been given freedom to do as they wish by the Taliban despite requests made to the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan to restrain the group. The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) says terrorist activities in Pakistan soared by 79% during the first half of 2023.
A Japanese court has handed down a 23-year jail sentence to Kyota Hattori, a 26-year-old man convicted of attempted murder and arson on a train in Tokyo. The crime dates back to Halloween in 2021, when Hattori, donning the guise of the comic book villain, the Joker, unleashed terror on the passengers aboard the train.

Hattori committed the gruesome act by stabbing a male passenger in his 70s and then attempting to take the lives of 12 others by igniting a fire inside the train, according to local media.

The setting of the crime, a train, and the accuseds donning of a Joker" costume at the age of 24, drew significant global attention. Comparisons to a scene from a New York subway car in the movie Joker" have been made, suggesting a potential copycat crime.

Earlier, multiple reports had emerged that the accused had allegedly revealed to interrogators his admiration for the Joker character and expressed a desire to cause harm to as many people as possible.

When Hattori was caught, he admitted to using lighter fluid in the attack and even expressed his desire to be given the death penalty for his heinous actions. The verdict was handed down by the Tokyo District Courts Tachikawa branch, as confirmed by a court spokesperson to AFP.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan, known for its low crime rate, but the incident shed light on occasional incidents of stabbings and shootings. Last year, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated, an incident that rattled the country.

In August 2021, a stabbing attack on a Tokyo commuter train left nine people injured, one severely. During the same month, two individuals suffered burns in an acid attack at a Tokyo subway station.

(Witha agency inputs)
A mysterious object found on an Australian beach on July 17 has been identified as debris from an Indian rocket, according to the countrys space agency. The barnacle-encrusted cylinder was discovered near Jurien Bay in mid-July. Speculations about its origin ranged from military connections to the missing MH370 flight.

Less than two weeks after examining the object, the Australian Space Agency (ASA) on Monday confirmed that the object was most likely" debris from an expended third-stage of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle" operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). However, the Indian agency is yet to publicly confirm the report.

We have concluded the object located on a beach near Jurien Bay in Western Australia is most likely debris from an expended third-stage of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The PSLV is a medium-lift launch vehicle operated by ISRO," the agency tweeted.

We have concluded the object located on a beach near Jurien Bay in Western Australia is most likely debris from an expended third-stage of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).The PSLV is a medium-lift launch vehicle operated by @isro. [More in comments] pic.twitter.com/ivF9Je1Qqy  Australian Space Agency (@AusSpaceAgency) July 31, 2023

The two-meter-high object with dangling cables is currently in storage. Both countries are cooperating to confirm its identity and discuss their obligations under UN space treaties.

The debris remains in storage and the Australian Space Agency is working with ISRO, who will provide further confirmation to determine next steps, including considering obligations under the United Nations space treaties," ASA said.

If the community spots any further suspected debris they should report it to local authorities and notify the Australian Space Agency, it added.

Australia had previously encountered space debris when a sheep farmer found a charred chunk from a SpaceX mission in New South Wales last August.

(With agency inputs)
Yevgeny Prigozhin said that his Wagner mercenary group will continue with its activities in Africa and Belarus but it is not recruiting new fighters. Prigozhin, the architect of a failed coup detat against Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Wagner is deciding its next objectives.

Wagner fighters have played a key role in ongoing 2022 Russo-Ukrainian War but in parts of central Africa it has been key to increasing the Russian sphere of influence. They have also handed Moscow the role of a major regional player in Syria by playing a prominent role in the Syrian conflict.

But Prigozhin, once Putins caterer, also tried to topple the Russian government in June in a short-lived mutiny against Russias military leadership.

(Most Wagner fighters are currently on leave because) before that there was a long period of very hard work. (We are deciding on future tasks which will) be carried out for the greatness of Russia. (Wagner will be) active in Africa and at training centres in Belarus, an audio message, believed to be that of Prigozhin, said. The message was posted on the Grey Zone account which is believed to be linked to the mercenary group.

News18 could not independently verify the authenticity of the audio messages.

While we are not experiencing any deficit in personnel, we do not plan to conduct new recruitment. However, we will be extremely grateful if you keep in touch with us, and as soon as the Motherland requires a new group that will be able to protect the interests of our country, we will certainly start recruiting, Prigozhin said, according to the BBC.

Prigozhin said that Wagner fighters can transfer to other power structures of Russia but said it was unfortunate that some chose to do that.

Wagner is currently training Belarus territorial defence forces and has been involved in training personnel in many parts of Africa as well. Some African leaders like the President of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadera, prefer to have Wagner mercenaries as his own bodyguards.

Prigozhin also offered his services to Niger after the central African nation declared General Abdourahamane Tiani as the new head of state on Friday days after putschists ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

What happened in Niger is nothing other than the struggle of the people of Niger with their colonisers. With colonists who are trying to foist their rules of life on them and their conditions and keep them in the state that Africa was in hundreds of years ago, Prigozhin was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters.
Two men set the Quran alight outside parliament in Stockholm on Monday, an AFP reporter saw, at a protest similar to previous ones that have sparked tensions between Sweden and Middle Eastern countries.

Salwan Momika and Salwan Najem kicked and stomped on the Muslim holy book, then set its pages on fire before slamming it shut, as they had done at a protest outside Stockholms main mosque in late June  sparking outrage and condemnation across the Middle East.

The duo also staged a similar protest outside Iraqs embassy in Stockholm on July 20, where they stomped on the religious text but did not burn it.

Swedish police granted a permit for the protest by campaigners hoping to see the Quran banned in the country, according to local media.

I will burn it many times, until you ban it," organiser Salwan Najem told Expressen newspaper.

AFP requested a copy of the application in addition to the permit from police, but did not immediately get a response.

Sweden has already seen its diplomatic relations with several Middle Eastern nations strained over previous protests involving Quran desecrations.

Swedish police have previously stressed they only grant permits for people to hold public gatherings and not for the activities conducted during the events.

Both previous protests have led to widespread outrage and condemnations.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose support is crucial for Swedens candidacy to join the NATO defence alliance, has expressed deep anger at the Quran burnings.

- Tensions flare -

Last week, Sweden ordered 15 government bodies including the armed forces, several law enforcement agencies and the tax office to strengthen anti-terrorism efforts.

On Sunday, neighbouring Denmark said it would explore legal means of stopping protests involving the burning of holy texts, citing security concerns following a backlash over incidents that saw the Quran desecrated in the country.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said a similar process was already under way, while noting his country was in the most serious security situation since World War II."

Here at home we know that states, state-like actors and individuals can take advantage of the situation," Kristersson said in a post to Instagram.

Swedish and Danish envoys have been summoned in a slew of Middle Eastern nations.

Saudi Arabia and Iraq have called for a meeting, expected to be held on Monday, of the Jeddah-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to address Quran desecrations in both Sweden and Denmark.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said Monday that he had been in contact with several of his counterparts among the 57 member states of the organisation ahead of the meeting and sent a letter to all members.

In a statement, Billstrom said that he had informed them about the process for granting permits for public gatherings in Sweden and that police made such decisions independently.

Billstrom added that he had also reiterated that the Swedish Government has been very clear in its rejection of the Islamophobic acts carried out by individuals at demonstrations in Sweden."
The UAE announced plans on Sunday to establish judicial bodies to prosecute money laundering and financial crime following increased monitoring by a global watchdog dedicated to battling illicit cash flows.

The official WAM news agency reported that the United Arab Emirates has approved a proposal to establish federal prosecution entities specialised in economic crimes and money laundering".

It said the move represents a first step towards investigating and cracking down on" shady financial transactions.

The proposal calls for the creation of prosecution offices specialised in" illicit finance.

It comes more than a year after the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) added the UAE to a grey list" of nations subject to greater oversight because of concerns over illicit finance.

The FATF listing in March 2022 came as a blow to the UAEs reputation as a major financial and business hub.

The watchdog has since upheld its decision, but a June report noted improved efforts in the UAE to tackle shortcomings.

The step announced on Sunday aims to enhance the confidence of international investors in the UAEs business environment" and encourage them to bring their businesses to the UAE", WAM said.

The projects significance lies in its role in protecting the national economy and reducing the impact of economic and financial crimes," it added.

The resources-rich UAE has become a nexus connecting the Middle East, Europe, Central Asia and Asia. Dubai has the worlds busiest airport in terms of international passenger traffic, and also one of the busiest sea ports.

While the desert country has successfully diversified its economy rather than relying on oil, experts and international organisations have long criticised a failure to crack down on suspicious financial transactions.

Senior US officials visited earlier this year for talks with UAE authorities, including the central bank, on the evasion of sanctions imposed on Russia and Iran, as well as money laundering.
Eileen O'Connor is receiving many accolades ahead of her retirement from the Cayuga County Health Department.

O'Connor, who has served as director of the department's environmental health services division since 1993, will retire in August.

At the Cayuga County Board of Health's monthly meeting last week, the board presented O'Connor with a proclamation recognizing her years of service to the county.

"It's been a pleasure working with you," said Dr. John Cosachov, the board's president. "It's been refreshing and honestly whoever we get to replace you is going to have huge shoes to fill."

O'Connor's retirement is one of several personnel changes at the health department this year. Kathleen Cuddy, the county's public health director, previously told The Citizen that O'Connor would retire this summer.

Cuddy noted at the time that O'Connor is known statewide for being an "exceptional environmental health director." O'Connor's work included Owasco Lake water quality issues. She was involved in drafting proposed changes to the watershed's rules and regulations and hoped to have those finalized before her departure, but the state's delays have affected that process.

The board of health wasn't the only entity to recognize O'Connor as she retires from county service. The Cayuga County Water Quality Management Agency and the Owasco Lake Watershed Management Council honored O'Connor, along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who sent a proclamation.

Cayuga County Legislator Aileen McNabb-Coleman, who works as state Sen. Rachel May's local liaison, presented O'Connor with a proclamation from the senator. McNabb-Coleman also recalled that when she was first elected to the county Legislature, she was asked by then-Cayuga County Legislature Chairman Keith Batman to oversee water quality issues. Her first meeting was with O'Connor.

May's proclamation called O'Connor an "unyielding advocate and crusader for the protection of drinking water."

"If it wasn't for Eileen and her impact on the work that's been done on Owasco Lake, we would not be where we are today," McNabb-Coleman said.
British banks are closing more than 1,000 accounts each working day, sparking a heated debate in the country over the practice known as de-banking," UKs Guardian and other leading newspapers have reported. Nigel Farage, former UK Independence Party leader, has called for a royal commission to investigate what he deems a scandal.

New data obtained via a freedom of information request made to the Financial Conduct Authority reveals a significant rise in account closures, the report said. In 2016-17, just over 45,000 accounts were shut, but the number has steadily increased each year, reaching over 343,000 in 2021-22 - well over 1,000 accounts daily.

As per UK media reports, customers affected by de-banking often receive little or no explanation for the closure, with banks citing concerns over financial crimes like money laundering and fraud as reasons.

Nigel Farage, leading the campaign for people impacted by account closures, has faced personal challenges due to de-banking. He claimed that his political views played a role in the closure of his account.

Im launching a new campaign to fight back against the big banks that have let us down.We need to understand the scale of this national scandal. Together, we can form a powerful group to lobby government. You can visit the campaign website here: https://t.co/zm0d8IZyyU pic.twitter.com/QQXWO9FNEW  Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) July 29, 2023

The controversy led to the departure of Dame Alison Rose, chief executive of NatWest Group, and Peter Flavel, chief executive of Coutts. Farage has urged NatWest Groups chair, Sir Howard Davies, to step down.

Several UK media reports said the current situation has raised concerns about transparency and accountability within British banks. Farage also called for a royal commission to probe the matter.

Small businesses and individuals nationwide have been affected, with many facing financial ruin. The plight extends beyond politicians, with around 90,000 individuals classified as politically exposed persons," potentially leading to bank rejections for politicians and their families.
Three days of fighting in south Lebanons Ain al-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp have left at least 11 dead and dozens wounded, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Monday.

Clashes broke out over the weekend between members of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbass secular Fatah movement and Islamist militants based in the camp, Lebanons largest located in the coastal city of Sidon.

Renewed gunfire and shelling on Monday shook the camp, said an AFP correspondent in Sidon, sending frightened residents fleeing.

According to reports, 11 were killed and another 40 were injured, including one staff member" of UNRWA, said Dorothee Klaus, the UN agencys director in Lebanon.

She added in a statement that UNRWA has temporarily suspended" operations in the camp due to the fighting.

Palestinian factions said they had agreed on a truce on Sunday but it did not hold, with fighting continuing with automatic weapons and rocket fire.

Officials said five Fatah members and one Islamist militant had been killed in the initial violence over the weekend.

There was no immediate word on the identities of the other fatalities.

UNRWA urgently calls on all parties to immediately return to calm and take all measures necessary to protect civilians, including children," Klaus said.

The statement noted that two UNRWA schools have sustained damaged" and more than 2,000 Ain al-Helweh residents had been forced to flee.

An AFP correspondent on Monday morning saw dozens of people, mostly women and children, leaving the camp carrying light luggage, while others took refuge in a nearby mosque.

Shells also fell outside the camp, AFP journalists said, with a nearby hospital evacuating patients and shops in Sidon closing fearing further escalation.

- Raining shells -

By long-standing convention, the Lebanese army does not enter Palestinian refugee camps in the country  now bustling but impoverished urban districts  leaving the factions themselves to handle security.

We fled from the scene of the fighting, shells are raining in the streets," a 75-year-old woman told AFP, requesting anonymity for security concerns.

She said armed factions were carrying weapons to fight Israel, not to fight each other and become displaced".

Ain al-Helweh, now home to more than 54,000 registered refugees, was created for Palestinians who were driven out or fled during the 1948 war that coincided with Israels creation.

In recent years, they have been joined by thousands of Palestinians who had been living in Syria and fled the war there.

Palestinian armed groups in Lebanon rarely confront Israel nowadays, but fighting between rival factions is common in Ain al-Helweh.

The latest violence began late Saturday, killing an Islamist and injuring six others, a Palestinian source inside the camp had told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

The next day, a Fatah military leader and four of his colleagues were killed during a heinous operation", the group said.

Tiny Lebanon hosts an estimated 250,000 Palestinian refugees, according to UNRWA.

Most Palestinians, including more than 30,000 who fled the war in neighbouring Syria after 2011, live in one of Lebanons 12 official camps, and face a variety of legal restrictions, including on employment.
Vivek Ramaswamy, the 37-year-old biotech entrepreneur, is earning praise and being considered as something of a breakout star in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, the Hill said in its report.

There is scepticism involving his immediate political future and questions whether he will be a challenger at the primaries to former US president Donald Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis but Ramaswamy is being lauded as an effective communicator which makes him a valuable asset to the Democratic Party.

GOP strategist and former Michigan GOP Chairman Saul Anuzis told the Hill that Ramaswamy is being lauded within the Republican activist crowd and is being an alternative without being an anti-Trump guy.

I think that resonates with many of the Trump supporters and lets say soft Trump supporters who would like to move on, Anuzis was quoted as saying.

Ramaswamy, the author of Woke, Inc., gained popularity in the initial stages when he entered the presidential race opposing environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) policies. But as campaigning gained steam, Ramaswamy grabbed the attention of the nation and Republicans with some of his stances.

The report points to Ramaswamy pushing every Republican candidate to commit to pardoning Trump if elected, engaging his detractors (as he did in Iowa with a woman who disagreed with him), and then emerging as the third in polls where there are heavyweights like Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Mike Pence and Chris Christie.

Vivek has a unique skill that hes able to really lead people and rally people around what this country was founded upon, which is free speech, which is an open debate, Tricia McLaughlin told the Hill.

McLaughlin said that not just Republicans but independents and even disaffected Democrats are looking towards what Vivek has to offer.

A RealClearPolitics polling average shows Ramaswamy taking the third spot with 5.4% behind Ron DeSantis at 18.4% and Donald Trump with 52.4%, which suggests voters are giving him a serious consideration.

New Hampshire-based strategist Matthew Bartlett says no one is expecting Ramaswamy to win and he looked like he would cosy up to Trump but pointed out that his campaign could be to promote himself and to some degree, his ideas.

Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of the influential Family Leader in Iowa is among those who predict a very bright future for Ramaswamy. Boy, what a young, positive, inspirational guy. He has a bright future, Plaats was quoted as saying by the Hill.

Plaats further explained that Ramaswamy could be a vice president, be someones running mate or even run for Senate. Ramaswamy said that he would return to the private sector instead if he didnt win the GOP presidential primary but his supporters say that polling third is in itself a meteoric achievement.

GOP strategist Alice Stewart, who has been part of several major presidential campaigns, told the Hill that she wouldnt count anyone out thats coming in the top three in Iowa.
A small plane towing a banner landed in the ocean off a crowded New Hampshire beach on Saturday, and lifeguards rescued the pilot, who was unhurt, authorities said.

The single-engine Piper PA-18 plane landed about noon off Hampton Beach, witnesses said. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the pilot was the only person on board.

Hampton Police Chief Alex Reno told WMUR-TV that the pilot was rescued by lifeguards, and wasnt hurt.

Pilot is safe after his 1961 Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub (N4890P) crashed into the water off Hampton Beach New Hampshire Saturday.Witnesses say they heard the planes engine sputtering out before it hit the water. The pilot was the only occupant and was rescued by lifeguards. pic.twitter.com/O7SCBwn7Po  FL360aero (@fl360aero) July 29, 2023

The plane has since been pulled to shore and was sitting on the beach.

The FAA said it would investigate the cause of the incident, along with the National Transportation Safety Board.

The Hampton Police Department and the New Hampshire Beach Patrol did not immediately respond to messages for comment.
Guido Crosetto, the Italian defence minister, decried Italys decision to join Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on Sunday. Italy signed up for the BRI in 2019 during the tenure of former prime minister Giuseppe Conte.

Guido Crosetto, speaking to Italian news media outlet Corriere della Sera, said the decision to join the BRI was wicked and it has failed to help the countrys exports.

The global infrastructure programme kicked-off by Xi Jinping in 2013 is an infrastructure investment program established to rebuild Chinas Silk Road and reconnect Asia with Africa and Europe while increasing trade and economic growth.

However, even as China has spent millions of dollars into infrastructure projects in Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Sri Lanka, along West Africa and provide telecom infrastructure for Latin Americans and southeast Asians, experts see the BRI as a tool for spreading Chinese influence across the world.

Italy is the only major Western nation and the only nation from the G7 group of advanced economies to join the BRI. The choice to join the Silk Road was an improvised and wicked act, made by the government of Giuseppe Conte, which led to a double negative result, Crosetto was quoted as saying by the Corriere della Sera.

We have exported a load of oranges to China, they have tripled their exports to Italy in three years. The most ridiculous thing then was that Paris, without signing any treaties, in those days sold planes to Beijing for tens of billions, he further added.

Crosetto said the question Italy faces now is how to withdraw from the BRI without damaging relations with Beijing. (Beijing) is a competitor, but also a partner, Crosetto was quoted as saying by the news outlet.

Italy will cease to be a member of the BRI once its membership expires in 2024. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Rome and Beijing could have good relations with each outside the BRI scheme.

(with inputs from CNN)
New York state has shut down I'm Stuck, a chain of cannabis businesses with locations in Auburn and Aurelius, according to a news release from the office of Attorney General Letitia James on Monday.

The eight I'm Stuck locations, which also span Wayne, Monroe and Oswego counties, were selling cannabis without a license from the state Office of Cannabis Management and selling to minors, James said. She, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the office touted the shutdown as the first to utilize stronger enforcement powers against unlicensed cannabis businesses created as part of the new state budget.

Along with posing a "significant health risk" to consumers by processing and packaging cannabis without a license, I'm Stuck and its owner, David Tulley, also ignored repeat notices from the Office of Cannabis Management to stop selling cannabis, James said. She and the office seek penalties from Tulley, his companies and the owners of the buildings where his businesses are located.

Tulley, who claimed his businesses were "consulting and marketing firms," could be fined millions of dollars in penalties, James added. The state's new enforcement powers include a $10,000 penalty for each day of selling cannabis without a license, and a $20,000 penalty for each day of selling cannabis without a license after receiving a notice to stop selling by the Office of Cannabis Management.

Legalizing cannabis in New York was a historic milestone to correct the harms of the past, but there are laws that must be followed to ensure cannabis products are safe and kept out of the hands of minors, James said. David Tulley brazenly violated our laws, cheated taxpayers, and endangered our kids by selling unregulated cannabis to underage customers. Todays enforcement action should send a clear message that businesses that are selling cannabis without a license will be stopped. I thank Gov. Hochul and her administration for their partnership on this effort to protect New Yorkers.

Tulley's stores, including the ones in Auburn and Aurelius, were shut down with the assistance and support of New York state police, James said. I'm Stuck at 9 E. Genesee St. and the Weed Warehouse on Crane Brook Drive in Aurelius were previously raided by law enforcement in late June and early July. The raids resulted in the seizure of more than 47 pounds of cannabis flower, 244 pounds of edibles and 89 pounds of concentrate. Tulley told The Citizen after the raid he would remain open, prompting the Office of Cannabis Management to request help from James to permanently close his businesses.

Along with selling cannabis without a license, I'm Stuck sold cannabis to underage undercover customers at the Auburn and Ontario locations this spring, James said. Undercover investigators with the Office of Cannabis Management also asked I'm Stuck employees at several locations if taxes were included in the price of products, and were told that they weren't.

Untaxed cannabis sales deprive the state of revenues meant for community investment and significantly undercut licensed facilities, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Acting Commissioner Amanda Hiller said in the news release. Working with OCM and our partners in law enforcement, we will continue to aggressively enforce the law.

Tulley will have the opportunity to respond to the court order closing I'm Stuck on Wednesday at the Wayne County Courthouse in Lyons.

'Ready for war': Auburn-area cannabis businesses remain open after raid The two unlicensed cannabis dispensaries in the Auburn area that were raided by authorities on Tuesday remain open, and their owner declared t
Cayuga County and other landowners in the region are being asked to keep an eye out for box tree moths after the state said it has additional findings of the invasive pest.

The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets in a press release Monday announced several sightings of which many were reported by area residents.

The Box tree moth is a major threat to boxwood plants, which are a valuable portion of the nursery and horticultural industry.

They have prompted the department to increase its survey and trapping along Lake Ontario. The department is now urging residents to report any additional sightings, which will help inspectors to assess impacted areas and reduce the spread of the moths in New York.

Previously, the department had announced that the moth was found in Niagara County, near the Canadian border.

The additional findings of the Box Tree Moth outside the current quarantine area are concerning to the Department," said state Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball in the release. "We want to make sure we minimize the spread of this invasive pest, which can cause extensive damage to boxwood plants, and part of our proactive effort is seeking help from the public. We urge residents to help us combat this pest by looking for Box Tree Moth damage on their plants and reporting it to us right away.

As part of the states response efforts, inspectors from the department plan to visit residential properties along Lake Ontario in Cayuga, Oswego, and Jefferson counties, with the landowners permission, to place traps for box tree moth.

The department is also urging homeowners to look for signs of Box Tree Moth infestation on their property, listed below. If Box tree moth is suspected, the department is asking that residents report it at https://agriculture.ny.gov/reportBTM.

The department also has a quarantine in place to manage the spread, which includes Niagara, Erie, and Orleans counties. The quarantine prohibits the sale and movement of boxwood to areas outside of the quarantine area and requires companies selling boxwood to maintain sales records for inspection by the departments Horticultural Inspectors. The Department will revise the quarantine as necessary, depending on the outcome of its continued survey work.

In addition, the Department has been working closely with the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on management, with USDA staff trapping for box tree moth at the leading edge of the quarantine.

Residents can help prevent the box tree moth from spreading," said U.S. Department of Agriculture National Policy Manager Allen Proxmire. "Please allow state or federal agricultural officials to inspect your boxwoods and place an insect trap if they visit your property. If you have boxwoods, please inspect them for signs of box tree moth and once you report it, treat or trim the plant to save it because a box tree moth infestation is lethal to the plant.

Property owners and managers looking for information on managing box tree moth infestations can contact their local Cornell Cooperative Extension office or visit the NYS Integrated Pest Management website at https://cals.cornell.edu/new-york-state-integrated-pest-management/outreach-education/fact-sheets/box-tree-moth.

The moth easily recognizable; they are green and yellow with white, yellow, and black stripes and black spots. Signs of damage may not appear at the beginning of an infestation because young larvae hide among twigs and leaves. Signs of a Box Tree Moth feeding on a plant include chewed, cut, or missing leaves, yellowing or brown leaves, white webbing, and green-black excrement on or around the plant. Larvae skeletonize the leaves and feed on the bark, causing defoliation and dryness, eventually leading to the plants death.

Adults generally have white bodies with a brown head and abdomen. Their wings are white and slightly iridescent, with an irregular thick brown border. Some adults have completely brown wings with a small white streak on each forewing. Males and females can show both colorations.

More information is available on the Departments website: https://agriculture.ny.gov/plant-industry/box-tree-moth.
A day out on the lake turned unimaginably horrific in Arizona on Friday when a little girl's mother accidentally hit the child with a boat propeller, killing her. Police say two families, making up a group of 12 people total, went out around 7am on a boat on Lake Pleasant in Maricopa County. About four hours later, a 911 call came in from the group, NBC News reports. Sheriff's deputies and fire department personnel responded, meeting the group at the marina, where they had brought an injured 6-year-old whose leg had been amputated by the boat's propeller. She was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead, CNN reports. Her mother had been driving the boat, about to pull the girl's father onto a wakeboard, when the tragedy took place.
UPDATE

Aug 1, 2023 12:01 AM CDT

The North Carolina man accused of plowing into a group of migrant workers with his SUV turned himself into police Monday, the day after the incident in front of a Walmart left six men injured. Police originally said the crash was believed to have been intentional, but family members told police that suspect David Gonzalez, 68, was trying to park his vehicle when he accidentally hit the gas pedal and then panicked and fled, the AP reports. Police now say the incident remains under investigation. Gonzalez has been charged with felony hit-and-run. All of the injured men have been released from the hospital.

Jul 31, 2023 6:44 AM CDT

A driver who slammed his SUV into a group of migrant workers outside of a North Carolina Walmart over the weekend did so on purpose, local police now say. Per a Lincolnton Police Department statement cited by NPR, the incident took place around 1:20pm on Sunday in Lincolnton, "in what appears to be an intentional assault with a vehicle." The officials note that six of the workers suffered "various injuries" and were taken to a nearby hospital, though none of the injuries seem to be life-threatening.
West African nations have given Niger's coup leaders one week to reinstate President Mohammed Bazoum. Should that not come to pass, "the use of force" could follow, warned the 15-nation regional bloc known as ECOWAS on Sunday. The development came two days after the soldiers who staged the coupthe country's seventh "in recent years" by Reuters' countappeared on TV to declare presidential guard commander Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani the nation's new leader. Bazoum is under house arrest and has not resigned, reports the AP . He was seen for the first time Monday when he met with Chad's leader, Mahamat Idriss Deby, who also met the coup leaders and "is spearheading mediation efforts," per the BBC . Deby came to power in 2021 following a coup.

ECOWAS' Sunday announcement included more than a warning. It and the eight-member West African Economic and Monetary Union issued a slew of sanctions, including closed borders and a stop to commercial flights to the country. Niger is the world's third poorest country, per UN data, and on the financial front, aid will cease and national assets held in regional central banks have been frozen. Niger's prime minister, who was out of the country when the coup took place and is currently in Paris, said, "I know the fragility of Niger, I know the economic and financial context of Niger having been the finance minister and now prime minister. This is a country that will not be able to resist these kinds of sanctions. It will be catastrophic."

Some context from Reuters on what this could mean from a US perspective: "Niger has been a key ally in Western campaigns against insurgents linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State in the Sahel, and there are concerns that the coup could open the door to greater Russian influence there." The AP reports that ahead of the ECOWAS announcement, thousands of pro-junta supporters gathered in the capital, Niamey, to burn the flags of its former colonial ruler, France; some held Russian flags aloft. (Read more Niger stories.)
The mystery of a giant metal object that washed up on an Australian beach may finally be solved. Phys.org reports that when the "bulky, barnacle-encrusted cylinder" turned up in mid-July on the shores of Green Head, located north of Perth in Western Australia, whispers circulated that it could be something military-related, or even a part of the long-missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 . After an investigation, however, the Australian Space Agency has come to a different conclusion.

The mysterious 6-foot-high object, which Al Jazeera notes is "about the size of a small car," "is most likely debris from an expended third-stage of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)," the agency tweeted Monday. In other words, the ASA thinks it's a piece of rocketin this case, one operated by the Indian Space Research Organization. The agency says it's working with its Indian counterpart to confirm its findings and then "to determine next steps." ISRO, for its part, concedes that the object seems to be rocket debris, but it's still not sure of ownership. "We can't confirm it's ours unless we analyze it," that group's chair, S. Somanath, told the BBC earlier this month.

The BBC notes that some had initially speculated the cylinder was part of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft that India launched to the moon on July 14, but the barnacles clinging to the object's exterior suggest it had been in the water for some timeexperts think maybe as long as a few months. Aussie authorities initially said they were treating the object as if it were "hazardous," as experts feared it could contain toxic materials. However, officials say a chemical analysis proved that not to be the case, per the AP. For now, the object remains in storage. (Read more India stories.)
Apparently, recalcitrant teenagers sneaking out after dark aren't the only pool-hoppers. In something of an answer to "how hot is it?," it was unbearable enough for a California black bear to break into a Burbank home and have himself a dip in the pool, reports CNN. With the mercury hitting 92 on Friday, and the area under a heat advisory through Sunday, the furry guy apparently ran out of patience and decided to take matters into his own paws. That resulted in a call to the Burbank Police Department, which, while encouraging people to observe normal precautions with wild animals, nonetheless tweeted a lighthearted video of the encounter.
Adidas is still sitting on a pile of Yeezys, and it's looking to clear them out in the wake of the potentially financially disastrous breakup in October with Kanye West, now Ye, over his antisemitic statements. As CNN reports, the second wave of post-Ye stock is set to go on sale online Wednesday, with a "significant amount" of the proceeds going "to selected organizations working to combat discrimination and hate, including racism and antisemitism." This drop is different from the first in May, notes Quartz: Yeezys will be available on various retailers' websites, as opposed to just Adidas' website. Purchasers' money is heading to the Anti-Defamation League, the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change (run by the brother of George Floyd), and Robert Kraft's Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, among others. Donations from the May round totaled $9.3 million.
Jason Aldean defended his song "Try That in a Small Town" to fans in the suburbs of a big city Saturday night. At a concert in Mansfield, around 40 miles from Boston, the country singer compared the controversial song, with lyrics like, "Around here we take care of our own," to how Bostonians came together after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, NBC News reports. "A whole, not a small town, a big-ass town came together, no matter your color, no matter anything," he said, adding that "the whole country, especially Boston" came together to find the bombers. "Any of you guys that would've found those guys before the cops did, I know you guys from Boston, and you guys would've beat the s--- out of them," he said.

"I've been trying to say, this is not about race, it's about people getting their s--- together and acting right, acting like you've got some common sense," Aldean said. He described "Try That in a Small Town" as a "really cool song" with a message that had "completely gotten overshadowed by all the bulls---," the Boston Globe reports. The song's video, which featured footage from protests, was pulled from Country Music Television soon after its release earlier this month amid accusations that it encouraged vigilantism and violence.

Six seconds of footage, including scenes from Black Lives Matter protests, were cut from the video last week. "Everybody can look at it from a different angle," Aldean said at a concert in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on Friday, per the Washington Post. "But just because six seconds were taken out, doesn't change what I was trying to say in the video." (Read more Jason Aldean stories.)
Russian ballistic missiles slammed into an apartment complex and a university building in President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown Monday, killing at least six people and wounding 75 others as the blasts trapped residents beneath rubble, Ukrainian officials said. One of the two missiles that hit the central city of Kryvyi Rih destroyed part of an apartment building between the fourth and ninth floors, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. Video showed black smoke billowing from corner units and burned out or damaged cars on a tree-lined street, the AP reports. More than 350 people were involved in the rescue operation, Zelensky said in a Telegram post.

The morning attack also destroyed part of a four-story university building. The strike on Zelensky's hometown, which has been hit in the past, happened a day after the Ukrainian president seemed to warn of more attacks inside Russia. "Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russiato its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process," Zelensky said Sunday in his nightly video address. It was not clear whether the missile strikes were in retaliation for his comments.

Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia and Moscow-annexed territory, especially Crimea, have become more frequent. The latest strike, on Sunday, damaged two office buildings a few miles from the Kremlin. Ukrainian officials did not acknowledge the attack. Russia tightened security in the aftermath of that attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, describing the assault as an "act of desperation." Another Ukrainian drone targeted a district police department early Monday in Russia's Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, but there were no casualties, the local governor said. (Read more Russia-Ukraine war stories.)
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- As the electric vehicle market in China continues to expand, Toyota Motor Corporation ("Toyota") has taken a significant step towards providing Chinese customers with satisfactory and competitive electric products by strengthening its local R&D efforts in intelligent and electric technologies.

IEM by TOYOTA; photo credit: Toyota China

Thus, the Japanese automaker has decided to take these initiatives:

(1) On August 1st, Toyota's largest R&D base in China, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (China) Co., Ltd. ("TMEC"), will be officially renamed as Intelligent ElectroMobility R&D Center by TOYOTA (China) CO., Ltd. ("IEM by TOYOTA").

(2) Engineers from Toyota's three joint venture companies in China, namely FAW Toyota Motor Co., Ltd., GAC Toyota Motor Co., Ltd., and BYD Toyota EV Technology Co., Ltd., will join the research projects led by IEM by TOYOTA, breaking down organizational barriers.

(3) In the electrification field, multiple pathways will be explored to achieve carbon neutrality, boosting the local R&D of various electric vehicles (BEV, PHEV, HEV, FCEV). Companies such as Denso and Aisin will also participate in IEM by TOYOTA's R&D activities, accelerating the development of electric powertrains.

(4) In the realm of intelligence, the focus will be on utilizing spatial design and AI technology to accelerate the design and development of intelligent cabins that provide better user experiences, as well as advanced safety technologies and autonomous driving technology tailored to China's unique road conditions.

(5) To enhance competitiveness in electrification and intelligentization fields, Toyota aims to significantly reduce manufacturing costs through measures in three areas: "expanding local suppliers," "improving component design," and "reforming production technology and manufacturing processes."Tatsuro Ueda, CEO of Toyota China Region, expressed that the Chinese automotive market is developing at an unprecedented pace. As Toyota, the company is fully committed to the Chinese market, uniting as a group and embracing changes in work processes and mindset. By prioritizing local R&D through IEM by TOYOTA, Toyota aims to rapidly develop and provide products that satisfy Chinese customers and remain competitive. Furthermore, the research achievements and experience gained in China will not only benefit the Chinese market but also contribute to global markets.
A parent killing their own children "is the most shocking thing really that I can imagine," Judge Steven W. Boyce said Monday, sentencing Lori Vallow Daybell to life in prison with no hope of parole for the murders of her two youngest children. Vallow Daybell, who was found guilty in May , received three life sentences, to be served consecutivelyone each for the murders of 7-year-old Joshua "JJ" Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, and one for conspiring to murder Tammy Daybell, ex-wife of her husband, Chad Daybell. He'll be tried separately for the killings.

Vallow Daybell, dubbed the "doomsday mom" because of her apocalyptic beliefs, justified the murders by "going down a bizarre religious rabbit hole, and clearly you are still down there," the Idaho judge told her, per the AP. In remarks during the sentencing hearing, Vallow Daybell quoted Bible verses about not judging people. She claimed she had "access to heaven and the spirit world" and was visited regularly by the spirits of her dead children and her "eternal friend" Tammy Daybell. Vallow Daybell was also convicted of grand theft for continuing to collect Social Security benefits on behalf of her children after their deaths in 2019.

A victim impact statement from Colby Ryan, Vallow Daybell's only surviving son, was read by prosecutors Monday, CNN reports. "Tylee and JJ brought so much light into this world," he said. "Tylee will never have an opportunity to become a mother, wife, or have the career she was destined to have. She'll never be able to have the life she deserved. JJ will never be able to grow and spread his light with this world the way he did. He will never have a chance to grow up." Vallow Daybell faces two more criminal cases in Arizona, on charges of conspiring to kill her fourth husband and her niece's ex-husband. (Read more Lori Vallow stories.)
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Jesus Elias Cruz-Lopez is awaiting extradition to Coconino County after he was arrested by US Marshals on July 27. Investigators believe he sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl in the Cinder Hills OHV Recreation Area earlier this summer.

Over the past several months, Coconino County Sheriffs Deputies have been searching for the 26-year-old Cruz-Lopez.

Their search began after the victim told her family she had been assaulted by a man who took her on a UTV ride. Her family confronted the suspect at the time, and he fled on foot.

CCSO launched a ground search of the OHV area and worked with the Arizona Department of Public Safety to search the skies via helicopter to no avail.

The US Marshals Service eventually got a lead on Cruz-Lopezs location, in East Phoenix and took him into custody there.

Thanks to the unceasing dedication of the men and women of the Arizona WANTED Violent Offender Task Force, Jesus Cruz-Lopez is behind bars today, said Acting United States Marshal Van Bayless. The United States Marshals Service works daily with our partnering law enforcement agencies to ensure that no fugitive can escape justice, no matter where they run.

Cruz-Lopez was booked at the Maricopa County Sheriffs Detention Facility. Hell be extradited to Coconino County.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Arab Parliament Speaker Adel Abdulrahman Al Asoomi has commended the efforts made by Bahrain in confronting trafficking in persons. He thanked the sound vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to consolidate human rights, protect fundamental freedoms, ensure equality before the law without distinction or discrimination, as well as provide means of redress and justice.

The Speaker emphasised HM the Kings keenness to establish the rules of equality and promote human rights for the citizens and residents. Al Asoomi made the statements the occasion of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, which is observed worldwide every July 30.

He said that Bahrain is a regional and international leader in combating trafficking in persons in all its forms, as it enjoys a unique and distinguished experience in this field. This reflects the keenness of HM King Hamad to preserve human dignity and optimise Bahrains achievements in this regard, citing the Kingdoms success in maintaining Tier 1 status for the sixth consecutive year in the United States Department of States 2023 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, which is the highest annual international classification in this field, in addition to the laws and agreements that the Kingdom has joined to protect human rights and combat human trafficking, he added.

The Speaker expressed gratitude to the government, led by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for its unwavering efforts to institutionalise anti-human trafficking by putting in place a comprehensive development strategy based on respecting human rights, and promoting the culture of combating trafficking in persons within the work of all concerned government agencies.

Al Asoomi stressed the importance of the serious steps taken by Bahrain to hold those involved in crimes of trafficking in persons accountable and refer them to the judicial authority to achieve justice for the victims, as well as support them and help them overcome the psychological repercussions.
AFP | Abuja

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

African leaders on Sunday gave the junta in Niger one week to cede power or face the possible use of force, and slapped financial sanctions on the putschists, after the latest coup in the jihadist-plagued Sahel region raised alarm on the continent and in the West.

In the third coup in as many years to overthrow a leader in the Sahel, Niger's elected president and Western ally, Mohamed Bazoum, has been held by the military since Wednesday.

General Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of the powerful presidential guard, has declared himself leader.

Bazoum is one of a dwindling group of elected presidents and pro-Western leaders in the Sahel, where since 2020 a jihadist insurgency has triggered coups in Mali and Burkina Faso.

Former colonial ruler France and the European Union have suspended security cooperation and financial aid to Niger following the coup, while the United States warned that its aid could also be at stake.

At an emergency summit in Nigeria, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc demanded Bazoum be reinstated, within a week.

Otherwise, the bloc said it would take "all measures" to restore constitutional order.

"Such measures may include the use of force for this effect," it said in a statement, adding that ECOWAS defence chiefs were to meet on Sunday.

"No more time for us to send a warning signal... It's time for action," said Bola Tinubu, president of Nigeria and ECOWAS chairman.

It was not immediately clear how the 15-member ECOWAS could use force. Last year, the bloc agreed to create a regional security force to intervene against jihadists and prevent military coups, but details on the force and its funding have not been outlined.

The bloc also slapped financial sanctions on the junta leaders and on the country, freezing "all commercial and financial transactions" between member states and Niger -- one of the world's poorest nations, often ranking last on the UN's Human Development Index.

Niger's Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou told broadcaster France24 Sunday that sanctions "is going to be a disaster" both economically and socially.

- 'Down with France' -

On Saturday, the junta condemned the ECOWAS summit, saying its aim was to "approve a plan of aggression against Niger, in the form of an imminent military intervention in Niamey".

The intervention would be "in cooperation with African countries who are not members of the regional body and certain Western nations", junta member Amadou Abdramane said on national television.

Former Niger president Mahamadou Issoufou, whom Bazoum succeeded as head of state, on Sunday said that he intended to negotiate with the junta to restore Bazoum to the presidency.

"I have undertaken, by various ways, to find a negotiated solution that will allow to free President Mohamed Bazoum and to reinstate him," Issoufou wrote on Twitter, which is being rebranded as X.

In the capital Niamey, thousands of people waving Russian and Niger flags rallied outside the national parliament in a show of support for the junta.

They then moved on to the French embassy, shouting "long live Putin" and "down with France"

Some tried to storm the embassy, but were dispersed with tear gas, an AFP journalist saw.

France condemned the assault on its embassy, warning it would retaliate if its citizens or interests were attacked and said it had strengthened security at the embassy.

"Should anyone attack French nationals, the army, diplomats and French interests, they will see France respond in an immediate and intractable manner," the French presidency said.

There are 500 to 600 French nationals currently in Niger, but France's Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told RTL radio while they have been contacted and "precautionary measures have been taken", no evacuation order was in place.

Niger's neighbours and fellow former French colonies Mali and Burkina Faso have both been beset by military coups since 2020, fuelled by anger at the civilian authorities' failure to quash long-running insurgencies by jihadists linked to the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda.

Tiani said the putsch in Niger was a response to "the degradation of the security situation" linked to jihadist bloodshed, as well as corruption and economic woes.

- Turbulent political history -

After a wave of condemnation for the coup, punitive measures have already begun in the West.

France -- which has 1,500 soldiers in Niger -- said on Saturday it was suspending development aid and budgetary support to the West African nation.

European Union diplomatic chief Josep Borrell meanwhile said the EU would not recognise the putschists, and announced the indefinite suspension of security cooperation with Niger with immediate effect, as well as budgetary aid.

The United States -- which has about 1,000 troops in Niger -- has offered Bazoum Washington's steadfast support and warned those detaining him that they were "threatening years of successful cooperation and hundreds of millions of dollars of assistance".

The African Union condemned the coup and expressed deep concern over the "alarming resurgence" of military overthrows in Africa.

It has had a turbulent political history since gaining independence in 1960, with four coups as well as numerous other attempts -- including two previously against Bazoum.
Canadian fintech continues its national expansion, following successful launch of operations in Ontario and British Columbia.

TORONTO, July 31, 2023 /CNW/ - Bloom Finance Company Ltd. ("Bloom") has announced the launch of its home equity release platform for 55+ homeowners across Alberta. The expansion into Alberta builds on Bloom's successful launch in Ontario in 2021 and British Columbia in 2022. The company has been growing rapidly as it helps older homeowners access equity from their increasingly valuable homes, to improve quality of life in retirement.

Home equity release, also known as a reverse mortgage, is a unique financial product available to 55+ Canadian homeowners, enabling them to access up to 55% of their home value in tax-free funds. No regular principal or interest payments are required, with interest simply accruing over time, and the balance only payable when a borrower moves out, sells their home, or passes away.

"We're thrilled to begin offering our Bloom reverse mortgage solutions to homeowners and mortgage brokers in Alberta. We see tremendous potential for equity release in Alberta, which should see home values continue to climb as more and more Canadians choose the province to call home", said Ben McCabe, CEO of Bloom. McCabe also noted that Alberta saw the highest net interprovincial migration of all Canadian provinces in 2022.

Bloom is the first fintech entrant to the Canadian reverse mortgage market, built with a goal to make home equity access simple and frictionless. The company's inaugural product, the Bloom Reverse MortgageTM, removes long application forms and heavy paperwork from the process, enabling customers to unlock their equity from the comfort of their homes.

The popularity of reverse mortgages has been growing rapidly in Canada as homeowners begin to realise how much wealth they have built up in their homes, and financial advisors across the country begin to recognize home equity as part of their clients' retirement portfolios. These trends have been accelerated in recent years by the increasing costs of living.

"Bloom's solutions help our customers transform some of their housing wealth into real purchasing power, making their lives a little easier in retirement." added McCabe.

About Bloom

Bloom is a Canadian fintech focused on revolutionizing the market for home equity release in Canada. The company was founded with the belief that Canadians could increasingly flourish in retirement if they looked to the wealth in their homes as part of their overall retirement strategy. Bloom's mission is to help 55+ homeowners find financial flexibility to live well in retirement. Learn more at www.bloomfin.ca

SOURCE Bloom Finance Company Ltd.

For further information: Media Inquiries: [email protected] 416-486-4803
MONTREAL, July 31, 2023 /CNW/ - The VIA HFR  VIA TGF Inc. Board of Directors announced today, following a national and international search, the appointment of Martin Imbleau as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective September 8, 2023.

Mr. Imbleau has over 25 years of experience in developing and operating energy transportation systems and major infrastructure projectsincluding large freight transportation infrastructure, given his current role as the President and CEO of Montreal Port Authority.

MARTIN IMBLEAU APPOINTED CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER& OF VIA HFR  VIA TGF INC. (CNW Group/VIA HFR)

He brings exceptional leadership skills, considerable expertise in delivering large, complex greenfield infrastructure projects and strong operational knowledge of the transportation industry. He also has robust experience working with domestic and international partners, businesspeople, local, regional, and federal governments, local and Indigenous communities, and a wide spectrum of experts.

Mr. Imbleau's appointment comes as the Government of Canada prepares to issue a request for proposals (RFP) to three bidding teams selected through a competitive process. The government expects to publish the RFP this fall.

Quotes

"Martin Imbleau is exactly the right person to lead the development of Canada's largest transportation project in more than 60 years. Given his knowledge of the partners within the corridor and more specifically in Montreal and its surrounding area, Martin brings valuable experience and perspective to the project. We are very fortunate to bring him on board."

Robert Prichard

Chair of the Board of Directors, VIA HFR  VIA TGF Inc.

"I am both thrilled and humbled to have been offered the opportunity to guide this strategic transportation project, which will offer Canadians better and faster passenger rail service between Canada's two largest cities and to Quebec City and Ottawa. I look forward to working with all stakeholders to move this project forward."

Martin Imbleau

CEO, VIA HFR  VIA TGF Inc

Quick Facts

The High Frequency Rail project would transform passenger rail service in Canada through the creation of a faster, more frequent, accessible, and sustainable railway between Toronto , Peterborough , Ottawa , Montreal , Trois-Rivieres, and Quebec City .

through the creation of a faster, more frequent, accessible, and sustainable railway between , , , , Trois-Rivieres, and . The Government of Canada is preparing to issue a request for proposals later this fall to three bidding teams selected through a competitive request for qualifications. The selected bidder will work with VIA HFR, a new Crown corporation, to design and develop a detailed proposal for the HFR project.

is preparing to issue a request for proposals later this fall to three bidding teams selected through a competitive request for qualifications. The selected bidder will work with VIA HFR, a new Crown corporation, to design and develop a detailed proposal for the HFR project. The Government of Canada expects bidders to detail how they will contribute positively to the advancement of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Bidders will have to demonstrate how they will support the government to build meaningful dialogue with Indigenous peoples and create opportunities for mutual benefit.

Related Products

Martin Imbleau's biography (https://hfr-tgf.ca/posts/executive-team/)

SOURCE VIA HFR

For further information: Contacts : Jacques Fauteux, Director, Strategic Engagement, VIA HFR - VIA TGF Inc., [email protected], +1-343-961-3897 ; General media inquiries, [email protected], +1-833-681-2493
The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has fixed Tuesday, August 1, 2023, for the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Labour Party (LP), respectively Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, to adopt their final addresses in their petitions against the 2023 election.

Both Atiku and Obi are challenging the declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the February 25 presidential election on various allegations.

A hearing notice issued by the Tribunal and served on Atiku and Obi indicated that the adoption would be held by 9 am.

The hearing notice obtained also indicated that the same documents have been served on President Tinubu through his lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, while those of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were served on the party through its lead counsel, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN.

It was learnt that Atiku was served through his lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, while Obi was served through Livy Uzuoku, SAN.

INEC got its own notice through its counsel, Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud, SAN.

APCs lead counsel, Fagbemi, confirmed receipt of the hearing notice.

By the practice direction of the court, a date for final judgement would be fixed immediately after the adoption of final addresses.
In a bid to cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal, the Lagos State Government has slashed the costs of transportation of all state-owned transport systems by 50 per cent.

The government also pledged to distribute foodstuff to the vulnerable in the state.

Speaking at a press briefing on Monday at the Lagos House, Ikeja, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu stressed that the state government is working towards rolling out these palliatives to lessen the pain that the removal of subsidy has brought on the citizens.

According to the governor, the 50 per cent slash in transportation costs by the government will take effect from Wednesday, August 2, 2023.

He added that modalities have also been put in place by the informal transportation sector, especially the yellow buses, to slash their charges by 25 per cent.

Weve had extensive conversations with all of the stakeholders in our transport system, both formal and informal modes of transportation, and we have come to a conclusion, which the state government will be supporting.

Immediately from Wednesday, all public transportations that are being controlled by LAMATA, all of the high capacity buses, will be plying all the routes of Lagos at 50 per cent discount, and all commuters that will be plying these routes will start enjoying a 50 per cent rebate on the transport fares that are currently being charged on all of these routes, the governor said.

He added, For the informal buses, they are also going to make a pronouncement today, and I can say to you that we have agreed with them that they will be doing about 25 per cent reduction on their buses  all of the yellow buses that we have on the streets.

Sanwo-Olu also said more staff buses had been procured for workers of the state civil service to make commuting to and from work easier for them.
The Department of State Services (DSS) has released Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to undergo an independent medical examination.

Kanus lead counsel, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, said the IPOB leader underwent a medical examination in an unnamed hospital in Abuja on Friday.

According to a statement by Ejiofor: We are pleased to inform you that Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu met with his choice personal physician yesterday (Friday) in a hospital in Abuja, outside the facility of the State Security Service (SSS).

As part of the protocol, I witnessed the consultation. The medical examination was seamless and productive, and he (Kanu) will be progressing to the next stage soon.

Kanu has been incarcerated by the DSS since June 2021, when he was arrested and repatriated from Kenya.

While in custody, Kanu repeatedly asked for an independent medical examination of his health condition.




The secessionist group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has alleged that the factional leader, Mr Simon Ekpa was working for the Department of State Services (DSS), to bring down the group.





Publicity Secretary of the group, Emma Powerful made the allegations in a press release, claiming that Ekpa was in 2016, trained by DSS and sent into IPOB as a mole.





Ekpa, a Finland-based separatist leader, since the arrest of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu in 2021, claimed leadership of the group and later styled himself as the Prime Minister of the Biafra Government in Exile.





He is alleged to be responsible for the civil disobedience orders in the southeast region and is reported to be responsible for the violence unleashed on innocent people during the sit-at-home days.





Although IPOB has constantly dissociated itself from the activities of Ekpa, the self-appointed disciple of Nnamdi Kanu, he insists his actions are to demand the speedy release of Kanu.





Powerful in a press release made available to DAILY POST on Monday said: Ekpa was prior to this period groomed by the Nigerian DSS to usurp the leadership of IPOB in 2016 but that evil plans failed woefully.





Simon Ekpa was the same person as the faceless Okwudili that DSS created in 2016 as the new leader of IPOB when our leader was in detention in 2016. Prior to this time, Simon was a hater of Ndigbo and particularly, IPOB in Finland. IPOB members in Finland will attest to this.





Simon Ekpa is the exclusive project of the Nigerian DSS, to create a situation of unrest and hostilities in the South East which the end product was to destroy the image of IPOB.





The group said if it was not so, the federal government would have taken certain steps to arrest his activities in the zone.





Why is the Nigerian government not making any effort to diplomatically engage the Finnish Government about the visible hostilities of Ekpa? Why did Nigeria suppress the Legal Investigation of Ekpa in Finland, also his court cases in Nigeria?





The group said if the federal government was serious about ending Ekpas rascality in the zone, it would have ordered the DSS to allow Kanu to address his followers through his social media channels.





The group also called on its members to discountenance Ekpa while also challenging him to attempt to dish orders to IPOB members without using Kanus name and see that no one would listen to him.
The Presidential steering committee on palliatives, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and government representatives, is currently meeting at the chief of staff conference hall in Aso Rock, Abuja.

The meeting comes amid threats of a nationwide strike by the NLC over the gruelling economic hardship that followed the petrol subsidy removal.

The organised labour had stormed out of a similar meeting last Friday, claiming that there were no top government officials to negotiate with them, thereby accusing the government of not being serious.

The botched meeting was to take briefings from three subcommittees of mass transit, compressed natural gas (CNG), and cash transfer, which the government had proposed to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal.

Present at the ongoing meeting are Joe Ajaero, president of the NLC; Festus Osifo, his TUC counterpart, Emma Ugbaja, the general secretary of the NLC; Nuhu Toro, the TUC secretary, and other members of the organised labour delegation including Sam Amadi, former chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

Representatives of the government include Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to the president; Kachollom Daju, permanent secretary, ministry of labour and employment; Mele Kyari, the group chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, (NNPCL); Olu Verheijen, the special adviser to the president on energy, among others.
Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku has provided an update on transfer talks with Juventus, insisting that the deal will not be completed.

Lukaku is looking to leave Chelsea on a permanent basis this summer transfer window.

The Belgian spent last season on loan at Inter Milan.

Lukakus initial preference was to remain at Inter Milan, but the Serie A giants were reluctant to meet Chelseas 40 million asking price for the player.

As a result, Juventus entered talks to sign Lukaku this summer.

But Juventus supporters staged a protest over the clubs push to sign Lukaku, and the former Manchester United star has now appeared to suggest that a move to the Old Lady is now off.

I dont think the deal will go through, Lukaku was captured saying in a video when asked about a possible move to Juventus by an Inter Milan fan.

The video has gone viral on social media.

Lukakus current contract with Chelsea will expire in 2026.

The 30-year-old was left out of Chelseas pre-season tour a few days ago.




Sadio Mane has admitted he is hurt to be leaving Bayern Munich for Al Nassr, where he will line up in attack alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.





The Senegal forward is close to signing for the Saudi Pro League side and underwent his medicals on Monday.





Mane leaves Bayern after only one season in Germany.





He will cost around 34million (40m) and also receive a net salary of the same amount.





Leaving Bayern hurts me. I would have wished for a different ending.





I know that I could have helped the team this season.





Nevertheless, I only wish the club and the fans the best for the future, Mane said.




A former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka has described late Justice Chima Centus Nweze as a most respected and cerebral jurist.





Chidoka said he held Nweze in high esteem although they never met in person.





However, the former Minister added that he would remember Nweze for his judgment that saw the removal of former Governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha, among his many cerebral judgments and his brilliant academic contributions to law.





Chidoka in a statement via his verified Twitter handle on Monday, said it was sad that many will remember Nweze for what he described as the bizarre Senator Ahmed Lawan judgment.





He wrote, Justice Chima Centus Nweze was reported dead this morning. Tragic. He was my most respected and cerebral jurist. I never met him in person but held him in high esteem.





Sadly, many will remember him for the bizarre Sen. Lawans judgment. I will remember him for Ihediohas judgment and his many cerebral judgments on the bench and his brilliant academic contributions to law.





His death at this time is quite inauspicious and disturbing. May God forgive his sins and grant him mercy.





It was learned that Justice Nweze died on Sunday at the age of 64.
We could barely see the top diplomat and the top defense official of the U.S. visit different Pacific Island countries at the same time, but it indeed happened when Anthony Blinken and Lloyd Austin paid a visit to Tonga and Papua New Guinea respectively on July 26. Austin has also become the first U.S. Secretary of Defense to visit the island country.

Also unusual was Washington's behavior in the region over the past two years given that Pacific Island countries were invited to join the mechanism "the Partners in the Blue Pacific," launched by the U.S. and four of its allies, namely the UK, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand in June 2022. Only three months later, President Joe Biden hosted the first-ever U.S.Pacific Island Country Summit, joined by up to 12 leaders from the Pacific, with an $810 million investment plan announced by the U.S. president in his first-ever Pacific Partnership Strategy unveiled at the end of the summit on September 29.

This year has witnessed further moves by the U.S., which opened embassies in the Solomon Islands and Tonga in February and May. Subsequently, a massive increase in diplomatic personnel and spending for facilities at new U.S. embassies in the Pacific Islands was announced in mid-July.

Beijing is a main target of "Washington's diplomatic activism" in the Pacific, which has become "a focal point of geopolitical competition," said CGTN special commentator Imran Khalid. Because China and the Pacific Islands deepened their cooperation in recent years, which indicated the "expansion of China's influence," this has worried the U.S. so much that they are also trying to woo the Pacific nations, especially after China and the Solomon Islands signed a security agreement in 2022.

"Even the tiniest countries" has become an arena where "fearful Beijing is outcompeting the U.S.," The Washington Post commented bluntly. Hence, there is a "growing sense of urgency in the U.S. that closer alliances need to be forged quickly," said The Wall Street Journal in an article on Blinken's Tonga trip.

It remains to be seen whether Washington will succeed although they have made "unprecedented" efforts to win over the Pacific Islands. Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni told Blinken on July 26 that he wasn't concerned about the large amount of money that his country borrowed from China, with their bilateral relations developing around infrastructure construction and other development projects. Sovaleni's response embarrassed the visiting U.S. Secretary of State, who had just criticized China for their "increasingly problematic behavior" such as "predatory" aid and investment with strings attached.

In early 2022, when people in Tonga suffered from tsunamis triggered by a volcanic eruption, China extended a helping hand, providing the fastest and largest batches of assistance. "China sincerely helps the Pacific Islands improve their independent development capabilities, and promote the economic growth and people's livelihood, which demonstrates the responsibility of a big country with the world in mind," said a former Tongan Ambassador to China and Tonga-China Friendship Association Secretary-General Ciamelier Ratu.

With an average annual growth rate of 13 percent, the total trade volume between China and the Pacific Island nations with diplomatic relations increased from $153 million to $5.3 billion between 1992 and 2021, with China's direct investment there reaching $2.72 billion at the end of 2021.

The U.S. might be inspired more by "utilitarian concerns" than a "genuine desire to help" South Pacific nations when they showed a "renewed interest" in forging ties with the region, Imran Khalid claimed. The Pacific could become a tool to counter China, which won't necessarily lead to stability and prosperity of the region itself.

Historically, the Pacific Islands were colonized by Europeans. To this day, the U.S. still grapples with unresolved issues in the region, such as the nuclear legacy in the northwest of the Marshall Islands, where the U.S. conducted more than 60 nuclear tests from 1946 to 1958, which left huge trauma to locals with thousands suffering from radiation and cancer, and some still coping with various sequelae today. The environment has also been irreversibly damaged.

However, neither has the U.S. issued a formal apology to the victims, nor has it fulfilled its promise of compensation. The U.S. always promises the moon, but if the increasing promises aren't fulfilled as expected, they may no longer be attractive.

Sincerity is a key to success when a nation wants to keep good relations with others. As the U.S. came back to the Pacific Islands, they are expected to bring stability and growth there, rather than treating the region as their "backyard," or a pawn in pursuit of geopolitical interests. (Source: CGTN)
The Lagos state government says six animals in the state have been confirmed to have anthrax disease.

Anthrax is an infection caused by the spore-forming bacteria, Bacillus anthracis. It typically affects ruminants such as cows, sheep, and goats.

It is a zoonotic disease  transmissible from contaminated animals to humans.

Humans can get infected if they handle or are involved in the slaughter of a sick animal, or are in contact with contaminated animal products.

Making the announcement in a statement on Sunday, Olatokunbo Emokpae, the permanent secretary, ministry of agriculture, said the cases were discovered during surveillance of animals on Lagos Island and Agege.

According to NAN, Emokpae said the animals have been confiscated, burnt and buried, to prevent the spread of the disease.

She said no case of human infection has either been identified or reported since the discovery of anthrax disease in Lagos.

She added that human and animal surveillance have been stepped up and free vaccination has been intensified.

Animal owners should take advantage of the exercise by coming forward with their herd for inoculation, the statement reads.

Please report cases of symptoms in animals to the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Director of Veterinary Services via telephone on 08023427594, 08180703010 or contact the Veterinary Epidemiologist on 08023328244.
The Senate has described as misplaced, a comment credited to a chieftain of the Labour Party, Professor Pat Utomi, over the decision of the Senate to stop the planned increase of electricity tariffs which would further increase the suffering of the masses.

A statement issued by the Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, on Sunday in Abuja said, The Senate is alarmed at the insidious misinterpretation enunciated by some political surrealists, who always leave the causes of their troubles to look for unnecessary scapegoats.

The Red Chamber had on Tuesday, July 25, passed a motion by Senator Akintunde Abiodun to halt the planned electricity tariff hike.

After the prayers were passed, Senator Cyril Fasuyi (APC, Ekiti North) moved an additional prayer saying, Let The People Breathe

However, a few seconds clip of Akpabio laughing while passing the prayers Let the poor breathe had gone viral which a number of Tweeps had interpreted as the Senate President mocking the poor.

One of those who passed comment about the Senate was Utomi who noted that he was traumatised that the lawmakers were mocking the poor.

Utomi said, I am traumatised by this mocking of the poor by our Senate. In a decent society, we should have had resignations by now.

To mock the poor is to mock God. I know where Godswill Akpabio was before Obong Victor Attah gave a hand. Better an honest poor than a rich thief politician.

Responding to the social media comment, Adaramodu noted that Insinuating that the President of the Senate, His Excellency, Godswill Akpabio, was mocking the Nigerian masses with the phrase LET THE POOR BREATHE, is dressing falsehood and mischief in an undesirable garment.

The personal tirades and character assaults hauled at the Senate President by Professor Pat Utomi, are misdirected and uncalled for.

The Senate is an assembly of Distinguished men and women, who are sent by the Nigerian public to the Hallowed Chamber to represent their interests. The public-interest motion to halt an increase in the electricity tariff for Nigerians is one of such instances that tests the Senatorial responsiveness of Distinguished members of the 10th Senate.

He added, With the fire of the fuel subsidy removal still smouldering, the Senate opined that any increase in electricity tariff would be suffocating and that whoever is desirous of doing so should allow the poor; all Nigerians to breathe.

The Senate President compassionately hit the gavel with a stoic warning that any such attempts would be obnoxious, ludicrous and could only seize oxygen from the reach of the masses.

The Senate spokesperson added, Despite this open display of patriotism and sensitivity, some political irredentists and turncoats feel they could turn the omnipotent actuality on its head to gain their lost momentum.

The Senate didnt and would not mock the masses, without who, there would be no Nigerian Senate. Digging into extreme partisanship to impugn on the image of the Senate and particularly the personality of the Senate President, is quite unfortunate and an exhibition of political superficialism, irreverent and opprobrious outburst.

Adaramodu further added, We believe that whoever is in the court to pursue a self-awarded electoral victory should not labour to assume that running expletives on the Senate and its leadership is the needed elixir to infuse legal blood into the dry veins of their case.

The 10th Senate, under the leadership of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has passed many life support resolutions in its short span, including the misinterpreted Senates No to Increase in Electricity Tariff.

We thus advise political rolling stones and pretenders not to play politics with the lives of Nigerians and allow the National Assembly to join hands with other arms of government to pull out Nigeria from economic morass and make life more abundant for us all.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Monday, described Bola Tinubu as a no-nonsense president.

Akpabio made the remark while urging the minister-designates and political appointees to be on their toes in discharging their duties.

He spoke during the screening of the first female ministerial nominee, Uju-Ken Ohaneye, on the floor of the Senate.

Akpabio spoke against the backdrop of questions directed at the nominee regarding her humanitarian job and tax payment.

Speaking, Akpabio said: We have a no-nonsense president, so I believe that all ministers and appointees will be on their toes to give their best.

Anybody who has had the opportunity to be a governor and a president knows he is looking for strength; people that can help you actualize your vision.
Nyesom Wike, former governor of Rivers states, says President Bola Tinubu will not regret nominating him for a ministerial position.

Wike spoke during the screening of ministerial nominees at the national assembly on Monday.

Last week, the president sent a list of 28 nominees to the senate for confirmation.

Sixteen nominees on the list were scheduled for screening today.

The former governor said under his leadership, he changed the face of Rivers state, adding that he left office as a hero.

He added that his feats as governor can be achieved if an individual has passion and is committed to the welfare of the people.

As governor, its on record in this country, everybody would have testified that I changed the landscape of Port Harcourt. Its on record. In four years, I constructed 12 flyovers, Wike said.

I can say as a governor, in my four years in my second tenure, Ive never left my state and slept outside my state. I make sure I am in my state to take the challenges, solve problems of my people.

These things can be achieved if you are committed and if you have passion for the job.

There are so many people who want to be minister, governor for the sake that I was a governor. But there are those who say look, what do I want to offer? Am I committed to this job?

And I promise Mr president, for nominating me, I believe knowing how hungry Mr President is to solve the problems of Nigerians, we have no choice but to give him the required support and I can assure you if Im confirmed in whatever capacity Mr President will not regret nominating me.

HES OUR ROLE MODEL

Commenting during the screening of the former governor, Barry Mpigi, senator representing Rivers south-east, described Wike as our role model.

He is our best from Rivers state. I want to say he is our role model. The three senators from Rivers state and over five million Rivers people back at home are in total conformity with our leaders, Mpigi said.

I want all my distinguished colleagues to just ask our leader to take a bow, if possible, and go.

While responding, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, said: Distinguish senator Mpigi, while you were speaking, I had goose pimples. You mentioned that over five million people are with this nominee and you confirmed that his resume, content is insufficient to enumerate the achievement of the nominee.

I dont think theres anybody who is opposed to this nominee.

Akpabio, thereafter, asked Wike to take a bow.




The Senate has cleared the immediate past governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, for a ministerial role on Monday.





Wike after reeling out his Curriculum Vitae and achievements, noted that his passion for Nigeria propelled him to accept the ministerial offer.





He said, I accepted the offer to serve as a ministerial nomination because of my passion to serve Nigeria.





Meanwhile, the lawmakers representing River State represented by Senator Barinada Mpigi ( PDP, Rivers Southeast) during the screening told Nigerians that Wike was the best in the state.





He said, His Excellency former Governor Nyesom Wike is our best in Rivers State. He is our leader and role model.





Distinguished senators, we employ that you should let him just take a bow and go.





His resume is insufficient to enumerate the works that he has done.





The Senate President, GodsWill Akpabio, thereafter, told him to take a bow and leave.





Earlier, the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, had extolled the former governor stating that he was thrilled by the work he did in Rivers State.





Barau said, The first time, I got to River State; I was shocked because of the impact of the work that you did in the state.





In fact, I thought I was abroad and not in Nigeria. Will you be able to replicate the same work if you were confirmed as a Minister?





The PDP chieftain who was seen in a video shared by a tweep, Imran Muhammad arrived at the National Assembly complex with his wife on Monday.





The former Rivers governor was part of the first set of ministerial nominees Tinubu forwarded to the Senate.





It was earlier reported that the Senate will commence the screening of the ministerial nominees submitted to it by President Bola Tinubu.
The Obi-Datti Media office has dismissed a recent report by the Think Tank, Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) predicting the eventual outcome of the ongoing legal challenge to the disputed 25 February, 2023, presidential election, as a jaundiced poorly done job designed to advance the cause of the All Progressives Congress.

In a statement signed by the Head of the Media Office, Diran Onifade, the office said, We are taken aback that after a long silence, it is most appalling that a highly reputed analytical entity will engage in such a counter-intuitive prediction.

Every foreign and domestic observers report classified the election as egregiously flawed. Such contentions are sufficient grounds for the upturning of the election results by the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) as sufficient evidence was provided to prove that the election was substantially flawed and did not meet the acceptable standard for a credible election.

For the EIU to predict otherwise seems utterly self-serving, and scripted to meet the political needs and aspirations of APC, the possible facilitator of the report.

This EIU prediction is beyond partisan; indeed it is most disturbing and unacceptable.

Onifade further said, By this jaundiced report, the EIU via subterfuge is trying to pre-script a judicial outcome by front-loading its proffered narrative.

It is clearly obvious that this EIU prediction is a paid-for-advert that canvasses the position of one party among many that vied for the presidential elections.

Even though the EIU also referred to the APC reform agenda losing momentum, Nigerians are not deceived that such analysis is by any means altruistic, when clearly it is the other way round.

It is very doubtful that the EIU would endorse the incredulous and shambolic conduct of INEC, had it happened within the United Kingdom or the European Union territory.

The Obi-Datti Media team further accused the think tank of seeking to secure cheap points in an attempt to appear altruistic.

It said, Attempting to score cheap points with the passive mention of Mr. Tinubus low popularity at 37% of 27% voter turnout does not sufficiently capture the widely held view of proven election irregularities like never experienced in Nigerias history.

Moreover, to opine that the Judiciary would do the unthinkable in the face of proven irregularities while it expects Mr. Tinubus reforms agenda to lose momentum, given his fast eroding low-level political capital, goes to show how much value the EIU places on Nigeria as a whole, along with its Judiciary. We reject such a damnable doctrine full of inconsistencies.

While the EIU presumably might not mind ending up on the wrong side of events, we ask that it should henceforth endeavour to be impartial in its commentaries on Nigeria, or simply put up and shut up.

Obi-Datti Media office sees this report as not in the interest of Nigeria and inconsequential to the outcome of cases before their Lordship because they are learned and wise enough to discern Jacobs hand in Esaus clothing.

We, therefore wish to ask EIU to stop staking their reputations by trying to drink from a broken jar which the APc represents in Nigerias democracy and endeavour to be impartial in their commentaries and always strive to be on the right side of history and avoid aligning itself with illegal, corrupt and criminal tendencies that harm and destroy our humanity. We urge that it should henceforth endeavour to be impartial in its commentaries on Nigeria. 




Al Hilal have made an offer worth 140m to Napoli for striker Victor Osimhen, according to Sky Sports.





The wages on offer for Osimhen are believed to be in the region of 1m per week.





This comes with the Super Eagles frontman in talks to extend his contract with the Serie A champions.





Osimhen is expected to sign a new two-year deal until 2027 with Napoli.





A release clause around 150m will also be inserted into the new contract.





Napoli president, Aurelio de Laurentiis, reportedly wanted to insert a 200m release clause, but Osimhens representatives negotiated a lower figure.




The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State has kicked against what it described as attempts by some highly placed Nigerians acting under the sponsorship of the PDP to denigrate the former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, over his nomination as a minister-designate.





The state PDP, in a statement by former spokesman of Rivers PDP Campaign Organization, Ogbonna Nwuke, said people led by the presidential candidate of PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, have been holding meetings on how to deal with a patriot and prominent nationalist whose interest it is to protect the unity and stability of our dear country.





The party said the decision by President Bola Tinubu to nominate men and women with proven track records, including Wike, to serve the nation, is being hailed by progressive-minded Nigerians as a masterstroke in ongoing efforts to reclaim their country.





The statement noted that only people who do not wish the country well are the ones not in support of the move by the President.





It said the Tinubu administration is employing a bi-partisan approach to rebrand and rebuild the country and to provide solutions to Nigerias teething socio-economic and socio-political problems.





The state PDP questioned, The gang of confusionists in the PDP who for selfish reasons want a war with Wike, the Nigerian people, and the Tinubu government.





According to the Rivers PDP: No amount of blackmail, intimidation, acts of reactionary provocations and threats will therefore deter the former Governor of Rivers State, Barrister Nyesom Wike from responding to a call to service at a time of national emergency.





Vowing to stand by Wike, the Rivers PDP warned: We wish to remind the PDP of the danger in taking precipitate steps that may indeed mark the beginning of the end of a party that we have all labored to build.
Posters and billboards promoting Abdullahi Ganduje, former Kano governor, for the chairmanship of the All Progressives Congress (APC), have been spotted at the partys headquarters in Abuja.

The billboards bearing Gandujes images beside those of President Bola Tinubu, were seen at the APC secretariat located at Blantyre Crescent, Wuse 2.

Some of them had the inscription: Ganduje is a capable hand who can unite members of the ruling party for future challenges.

There have been speculations suggesting that Ganduje is being favoured to become APC national chairman.

Abdullahi Adamu and Iyiola Omisore, former chairman and secretary of the party, relinquished their positions following corruption allegations against them.

Although some party stakeholders have expressed support for Ganduje, others have publicly voiced their opposition to his emergence.

See the photos below.








A former lawmaker, Daniel Bwala has urged President Bola Tinubu to exercise caution and discretion on how he approaches the coup in Niger Republic.





Bwala, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, insisted that Nigeria does not want military intervention anywhere in Africa.





In a statement via his verified Twitter handle on Monday, Bwala advised Tinubu to resist by all means the temptation to send soldiers to Niger but instead, engage in diplomacy.





He wrote, Mr President should exercise caution and discretion on the Niger coup and how to approach it. One fact is clear, we dont want military intervention anywhere in Africa. No matter how imperfect democracy is, we shall force its growth through citizenship engagement.





PBAT should avoid being drawn into what appears to be a proxy war. The temptation to send soldiers to Niger should be resisted by all means. Peace in Niger is strategic to our national security. Engage through diplomacy; use the power of economic, trade, travel sanctions etc; but avoid militarization of diplomacy.





We do not have even soldiers and arms for our own internal and territorial security; proceeds from the removal of subsidy must NEVER BE USED TO RUN, OPERATE OR MANAGE ECOWAS. I come in peace.
An attorney with more than a decade of experience in advocacy at the local, state and federal levels was named the chief lobbyist of the University of Nebraska system on Friday.

Kristen Hassebrook, an associate at Mueller Robak, will replace Heath Mello as NU's lead advocate at the Capitol. She was also named associate vice president for government relations.

NU President Ted Carter said Hassebrook "will be a fantastic addition to our team."

"As a native Nebraskan and Husker alum, she knows our state and university well, and she has spent her career building strong and trusted relationships with leaders in government, agriculture, business and education," Carter said.

"Kristen is exactly the right person to share stories of the universitys work and impact with elected leaders and other officials, both in Nebraska and Washington, whose partnership is so vital to our success," he added.

With Hassebrook's hiring comes a shuffle in Carter's administrative cabinet.

Mello, in addition to being NU's chief lobbyist, was also a vice president of the university system. That position has been eliminated, and Hassebrook will report directly to Carter.

Her salary will be $240,000, according to an NU spokeswoman.

A native of Laurel, Hassebrook graduated with bachelor's and law degrees from UNL and was admitted to the Nebraska bar in 2011.

She was previously the executive vice president for legislation and policy at the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and has served as vice president for legal and regulatory affairs for the Nebraska Cattlemen and as executive director of the Alliance for the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska.

Hassebrook is also a former development director for the University of Nebraska Foundation, where her fundraising efforts focused on the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

In addition to advocacy, Hassebrook has lectured at UNL in agriculture and natural resources ethics.

"The University of Nebraska is a symbol of leadership in education, research and economic advancement for the entire state," Hassebrook said in a statement. "The chance to help chart the path forward for my alma mater, which has done so much for me and my family, is the opportunity of a lifetime."

Hassebrook lives in Raymond and raises livestock with her husband and two daughters.
President Bola Tinubu on Monday decorated the new service chiefs with their new ranks.

The ceremony held at the council chamber, presidential villa, Abuja.

Those decorated were Christopher Musa, chief of defence staff (CDS); Taoreed Lagbaja, chief of army staff (COAS); Emmanuel Ogalla, chief of naval staff and Hassan Abubakar, chief of air staff.

On June 19, Tinubu appointed new service chiefs after he retired those that served in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

On July 13, the senate confirmed the appointments of the service chiefs after screening them in a closed session that lasted for more than an hour.

On July 19, the house of representatives confirmed the service chiefs during plenary.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu finally moved to Aso Rock on Sunday night two months after his inauguration.

But he moved to the Glass House, usually a transit accommodation, pending the completion of the renovation of the presidents official residence.

He had been operating from a private residence in Asokoro since his inauguration but the security measures led to public complaints of heavy traffic as a result of road closures and restrictions.

He finally moved on Sunday night because of public complaints over the traffic congestion around his movements, a presidency official disclosed.

He too was unhappy with the discomfort to the public but the official residence is still not ready, so he decided to move to the Glass House.

TheCable reports that the residence would be ready in August.

In 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari moved to the residence three weeks after his inauguration.
An 18-year-old driver was killed and his three passengers injured in a two-vehicle crash on Route 40 in Atlantic County on Sunday, authorities said.

Jamyre Dewey Jr. was driving east in Hamilton Township at about 7:55 p.m. when he crossed over the center line and slammed into a westbound SUV, police said Monday.

Dewey Jr., of Egg Harbor City, was not wearing a seat belt and was pronounced dead at the scene near milepost 46.1, Hamilton police said. Two 18-year-old passengers were flown to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City with serious injuries while a 17-year-old was taken by ambulance.

The 66-year-old Wallingford, Pennsylvania, man driving the SUV was hospitalized with injuries not considered life threatening, according to police.

Hamilton police closed Route 40 for four hours while they investigated.

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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.
The New Jersey Devils re-signed defenseman Kevin Bahl to a two-year contract, the team announced Monday.

Bahl, 23, was a restricted free agent. His deal is worth $2.1 million.

MORE: For comprehensive Devils coverage, download our mobile app.

The 6-6, 216-pound left-handed blueliner established himself as a rugged presence on the bottom pair in his third season. He recorded eight points and 35 penalty minutes in 42 games while averaging 14:01 of ice time per game. Bahl also made his playoff debut last season, putting up one assist and 31 penalty minutes in 11 games.

Bahl was part of the December 2019 trade that saw the Devils trade Taylor Hall to the Arizona Coyotes. The first-round pick New Jersey acquired in that deal landed Dawson Mercer (No. 18) in 2020.

The Devils own roster business is complete for the summer with all of their own free agents signed.

It comes back down to finding the right pieces to help build out this team, GM Tom Fitzgerald said in May, according to NJ Advance Medias Ryan Novozinsky. The one thing that is for sure is that theres a strong core in New Jersey that allows me to build around.

MORE DEVILS OFFSEASON:

-Andrew Brunette opens up about Devils tenure, explains why hes absolutely nervous about coaching against them with Predators

-Chico Resch hopes Devils stick with Vitek Vanecek, Akira Schmid in net, reacts to offseason moves | Q&A

-Ranking every Devils move (so far) this offseason | Timo Meier, Jesper Bratt inked long-term, Tyler Toffoli trade, more

-Devils historic season may be over, but their contention window is just opening: The future is bright

- Well be back: Devils must use pain from playoff failure as a springboard | Politi

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Jimmy Hascup may be reached at jhascup@njadvancemedia.com.
A New Jersey man who graduated from Princeton University two months ago pleaded guilty to civil disorder Monday for urging rioters to rush the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, court records show.

Larry Giberson, 22, had been indicted in April on six charges, including civil disorder. The FBI arrested him in March while he was a senior at Princeton.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in November in federal court in Washington, D.C.

Giberson graduated from the Ivy League university on May 30, according to the Daily Princetonian, the campus newspaper. The publication said the university awarded him a bachelors degree in politics, as well as certificates in values and public life, and French.

Giberson confirmed receiving his degree to the Daily Princetonian and said the university had not reached out to him about his case.

He lived in Manahawkin in Stafford Township in high school and graduated from Southern Regional High School in Ocean County in 2019. When charged, he was living in Tinton Falls in Monmouth County, court papers show.

Federal authorities say Giberson was recorded on several cameras during the Jan. 6 attack, specifically at about 3 p.m. as rioters coordinated a series of heave ho pushes against police lines. He was nearby when a police officer was crushed in a door and another officer was dragged out of a tunnel and assaulted by others.

Giberson started a chant  Drag them out!  but it did not catch on, the charges against him said. He then cheered as rioters used weapons and pepper spray against officers.

Investigators identified Giberson using Instagram and Princeton University websites along with images of him posted on the website and social media pages of the organization Sedition Hunters, which works to identify Jan. 6 suspects.

In an interview with the FBI in Princeton, Giberson admitted he was the person in the photos from the Capitol. His lawyer, who was not named in the document, was present at the interview, an FBI agent wrote.

He is now represented by attorney Charles Burnham, who did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

In early June, the Daily Princetonian reported Giberson said Princeton University officials had not contacted him about the case in any capacity.

At the time, Giberson told the publication, in a statement: At the moment, Im just pursuing some personal passion projects and taking some time for myself, looking for a definitive conclusion to this chapter of my life before moving onto the next, he wrote.

Images of Larry Giberson at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (FBI images)

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Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com
Paul Reubens, the legendary comedic actor who portrayed Pee-Wee Herman on television, died after battling cancer Sunday at age 70.

The announcement was made to Reubens Instagram account with a quote from the actor apologizing for keeping his illness a secret from fans.
Three firefighters were injured in a crash Sunday night in Newark involving a fire truck and a car outside the Prudential Center, authorities said.

The crash took place around 9 p.m. at the intersection of Lafayette and Mulberry streets as the firefighters were en route to a call, the Essex County Prosecutors Office said Monday morning.

The occupants of the car also suffered injuries considered non life-threatening. The firefighters and the people in the car were brought to an an area hospital, officials said.

Video from WABC-7 shows the firetruck on its side.

There was no event at the arena on Sunday night.

The Newark Department of Public Safety, which includes the police and fire department, referred questions to the prosecutors office. The prosecutors office didnt immediately provide additional information.

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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.
A woman who was found unconscious Saturday afternoon at Rutgers University in Newark and later died in a hospital had been previously diagnosed with numerous medical issues, authorities said Monday.

Jaleila Wilson, 42, of Newark, died at about 4:30 p.m. after suffering cardiac arrest at University Hospital in Newark.

Rutgers-Newark police officers found Wilson at about 12:40 p.m. after responding to a call about an unresponsive woman in the 100 block of Bleeker Street outside a university building, according to the Essex County Prosecutors Office.

The street is close to several Rutgers-Newark buildings, including the campus library, student center and residence halls.

Wilson was taken to the nearby hospital, where she died, according to the prosecutors office.

On Monday, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told NJ Advance Media the woman was dehydrated on a day when temperatures in Newark reached in the 90s. She also had a high fever and had been diagnosed with chronic health issues.

However, foul play has not been ruled out, said the source, who asked not to be identified while the case remains under investigation.

Wilson worked for the New Jersey State Board of Accountancy, which is part of the states Division of Consumer Affairs.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
The retired cop had come to North Carolina to say goodbye.

Charles Upshaws brother was dying. And the same cruel condition was slowly killing him too.

Charles diseased heart was failing, winding down in September 2022 like a tired clock straining to keep ticking.

A walk across the room would soon send him gasping for air. Just speaking would leave him panting and exhausted. And dizzy spells were growing more frequent, sometimes resulting in fainting.

Charles, 67, needed a new heart. But the West Orange man had already spent three years waiting on the transplant list. Three years in which he watched his older brother Mark painfully deteriorate.

Death didnt scare him, Charles told his wife, Lisa. He just didnt want to suffer like Mark.

He was my hero, the former Newark police officer told NJ Advance Media. I did a lot of crying.

Mark Brewer died without a second chance at life. Would Charles?

Seventeen Americans die each day waiting for an organ transplant, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Charles wondered if he would be one of them.

The first heart transplant was conducted in 1967. Despite advances in technology and leaps in knowledge over the decades, 3,378 Americans and 109 New Jersey residents are currently on the waiting list for a donor, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.

All the innovation and progress cannot make up for a priceless and scarce resource: the human heart. Many patients will wait more than six months for a transplant  if they get one at all.

Why is it difficult? Its difficult because less than 1% of people who pass away can actually be organ donors, said Carolyn M. Welsh, president and CEO of NJ Sharing Network, a nonprofit organ and tissue donation organization based in New Providence.

A record 3,817 heart transplants were performed across the country in 2021, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing. More than 31,000 lifesaving heart transplants were performed from 2012-2021 at U.S. hospitals.

You have to fight, because you cant leave me here. Lisa Upshaw, to her husband Charles

Why werent there more when the waiting list extends into the thousands? There simply werent enough hearts to meet demand.

So people like Charles wait and wait. And loved ones like Lisa and their son Chase, 28, watch them slowly decline, powerless to stop it.

By late last fall, Charles worst fears were coming to pass. His heart was functioning at just 12% when he returned from North Carolina and that final visit with Mark. It couldnt pump enough blood to keep his body functioning due to decompensated heart failure.

He was slowly fading as the most basic actions depleted him of breath and energy.

You have to fight, Lisa told him one day with tears welling in her eyes, because you cant leave me here.



You cant leave me

Three years.

Charles Upshaw Jr. had been waiting three long years.

A heart transplant is considered a treatment of last resort. But his doctors were in agreement: Time was running out.

Charles was in what doctors called end-stage decompensated heart failure and growing progressively weaker.

He knew it might come to this.

Heart issues ran deep in his family. His mother and father both suffered from heart-related ailments. Then Mark died in March of heart failure and diabetes.

The 76-year-old Army veteran was fading when Charles visited him. Charles was horrified, barely recognizing the once strong man he idolized.

Mark was frail and could barely speak or walk. He was blind in one eye and on dialysis.

Charles feared he was staring at his own future.

Thats what he saw his brother doing  suffering, said Lisa, 54.

My symptoms got worse. I couldnt even talk on the phone for more than a minute before I became short of breath. Charles Upshaw

By December 2022, Charles  a tall, bald man with a gentle smile and a soothing, baritone voice  was rapidly declining himself. One day, he panted on his living room sofa in the white split-level home he has lived in for 15 years, startled and scared.

He and Lisa had planned to go to the grocery store. But his body wouldnt allow it.

I just cant believe Im this fatigued, he told her. I just cant believe this.

She saw the look on his face.

It was almost as if tears were in his eyes, recalled Lisa, his wife of 28 years and an administrator for the Essex County Division of Family Assistance and Benefits.

A battery of heart procedures  aortic valve replacement, inserting an intra-aortic balloon pump, inserting a pacemaker and inserting a defibrillator  had only delayed the inevitable for Charles.

Mark had been too sick and too old to be considered for a heart transplant. But Charles met the rigorous health standards after undergoing a battery of blood and imaging tests.

We look at them from head to toe  every organ, said Dr. Margarita Camacho, surgical director of cardiac transplantation at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.

Dr. Matthew Montgomery, Charles cardiologist, had wanted to admit him to the hospital in early fall and begin the supervised wait for a donor. But Charles delayed it as long as he could.

This wasnt just about him, he knew. It was about Lisa. And it was about Chase, who was planning a March wedding.

I just cant believe Im this fatigued. I just cant believe this. Charles Upshaw

Charles could be in the hospital for months before a donor was found. He wanted to spend as much quality time with Lisa as he could.

I requested some time to get some things in order with my family, said Charles, who also has two children from his first marriage.

By mid-January, he couldnt put it off any longer. He was admitted to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, fighting for his life.

My symptoms got worse, Charles said. Getting lightheaded, dizzy, short of breath. I couldnt even talk on the phone for more than a minute before I became short of breath.

Lisa tried to conceal her fear, wanting to be strong for him. She waited and she prayed, gripping her hands tightly, begging God to see Charles through.

Ive never been alone without him since weve been married, she said.



Hard lessons

Charles Upshaw was used to blocking out dark thoughts.

He had been a Newark cop from the early 1980s through the 90s, a time when Brick City ranked among the most dangerous communities in the nation and was dubbed the stolen car capital of the U.S.

The Newark native served on the citys tactical force, a specialized unit tasked with resolving high-risk street crime. Its work included drug arrests and the pursuit of some of the citys most menacing figures.

But Charles found nearly as much drama within the corridors of City Hall as he did on the streets before retiring in 1999.

While talking about his time as a police officer, he mentioned something in passing, something that had clearly stayed with him. In 1986, he was chosen to work on then-Mayor Sharpe James security detail and was eventually appointed to the citys Alcoholic Beverage Control board.

Less than 1% of people who pass away can actually be organ donors. Carolyn M. Welsh, NJ Sharing Network CEO

James ended up at the center of a corruption probe involving cash withdrawals from a charity made by members of that security detail, according to reports. Charles says he was asked to cash some checks for the mayor. He didnt know what they were for, he said, but was just doing what his boss asked.

(The mayor) would write out a check to cash, and we would take it across the street to the bank, cash it, come back and give him the money, Charles explained.

Those checks eventually came under scrutiny in the mid-90s, and Charles suddenly found himself written about in The New York Times as the investigation progressed.

During the probe, few would talk to investigators. But Charles saw it as a test of his integrity.

One day, a member of James staff called, asking how Charles would respond if an investigator questioned him about the money, he said.

That was the beginning of the  how can I put it?  the demise of that relationship, he said.

Charles did cooperate with investigators when they called. Soon after, he was reassigned to an undesirable post with the citys prison detention bureau working the midnight shift, he says.

He filed a federal lawsuit against James, Assemblyman Jackie R. Mattison  the mayors chief of staff  and other administration figures accusing them of retaliation. They settled out of court.

In the world of politics, when you wind up on the wrong side of the powers that be, they look for ways to try to punish, Charles said.

In 2008, James  by then out of office  was convicted of multiple counts of fraud. Mattison was convicted in 1997 of accepting bribes and was sentenced to 41 months in prison.

The entire affair was a life lesson for Charles, one that came in handy as he grew weaker and weaker.

I used to always tell my son: Its not what happens to you that matters. Its how you manage what happens to you that matters, he said.



A ticking clock

Charles Upshaws life was defined by a ticking clock.

Eight years living with a failing heart. Three years waiting on the transplant list.

Now, his life could be measured in months  the months he had left.

Everything seemed to be working against him. He was deteriorating. He was tall  nearly 6-foot-2  meaning he would need a donor heart that could support his size. And his blood type was O-positive.

Type O heart patients wait more than three times as long as those with A or B blood and exponentially longer than those with type AB, according to statistics from the United Network for Organ Sharing, which runs the nations transplant system. Type O organs can be transplanted into patients of all blood types, experts say, often extending the wait for O patients, who can only receive O organs.

I think most people think that everyone can be an organ donor when they pass away. And thats not the case, said Welsh, the NJ Sharing Network CEO.

But Charles wasnt overcome by fear or depression. Friends and family visited him at Beth Israel and kept his spirits up, he says. They prayed together. Charles had a sense that everything would work out.

I felt encouraged, he said.

Doctors prepared Charles for a very long wait as his condition deteriorated.

And he still believed he would make Chases wedding in March.

But doctors prepared him for what could be a very long wait. And they upgraded his donor status: His condition had deteriorated even further.

For each transplant patient, a team of doctors  cardiologists, surgeons, cardiac anesthesiologists, infectious disease specialists, metabolic specialists and nurses  gather weekly to discuss the case and everything that could arise.

They started meeting about Charles before he was even admitted to the hospital.

A lot of people are there  and each presentation takes a while because we go through that entire head-to-toe workup, Camacho said.

Then on the evening of Feb. 8, a nurse burst into Charles hospital room clutching a cordless phone. Tears streamed down her face as she handed it to him.

They had found a donor heart.

It fits your profile exactly, Dr. Saurabh Kapoor told him. And its a young heart.

Charles had been in the hospital just three weeks.

The blessing wasnt lost on him. Someone died to give him this precious gift.

The donor remains anonymous, but Charles did write a letter to their family expressing his appreciation, his gratitude and his condolences.

Im overwhelmed with emotion knowing that you suffered the loss of a beloved family member in this organ exchange, so I pray for God to provide comfort, care, and peace for your family, he wrote in a note the organ network gave to the donors family.

I pray for the family of the donor all the time, Charles said.

Now after all the waiting, things moved rapidly. Hearts last only a few hours once theyre removed from a donor. Surgeons had to move fast.

The heart arrived in a medical cooler on ice. Charles had the surgery the next morning.

You took this gift, and you put it in someone who truly was going to die soon. Dr. Margarita Camacho

Despite all the rigorous procedures and tests and meetings leading up to the delicate surgery, the transplant itself was fairly routine, said Camacho, who performed it.

The surgeon held the fragile organ in her hands. She implanted the heart. Valves were connected. Clamps were removed. Blood began to flow.

The donors heart was beating in Charles chest.

One life had saved another.

It took less than an hour to implant the heart, and about three and a half hours to complete the surgery.

The enormity of it wasnt lost on Camacho, who has performed nearly 700 transplants.

You took this gift, and you put it in someone who truly was going to die soon, she said.

After surgeries, shell sometimes reflect on the profoundness of it.

When Im in surgery, Im extremely focused  but then afterwards, it can become a little overwhelming to realize that you took this beautiful heart from a donor, she said.

Charles woke up to the smiling faces of his wife and son.



A unpayable debt

The anxiety set in after the transplant.

Charles was given a priceless gift. Now he had to take care of it.

Maintaining a donor heart is quite demanding. There are a host of medications. A litany of follow-up appointments. A battery of tests.

Patients must take immunosuppressant medication the rest of their lives to prevent organ rejection. The regimen can be rigorous.

Every single day, Charles takes 17 pills in the morning and 10 at night.

If they dont take it every day, theyre going to die, Camacho said.

Im coming to the wedding. I got to figure out a tuxedo thing. Charles Upshaw, to his son, Chase

But the medication presents its own risks.

Besides the increased risk of infection, immunosuppressants also increase the risk of cancer. Charles will have to be closely monitored the rest of his life.

And of course, there was Chases wedding, which the proud dad was adamant he would make.

I did have some angst about whether or not I was going to make it to my sons wedding because that was very important, Charles said.

He was released from the hospital 10 days after the transplant. He had less than two weeks to make his goal: attend the nuptials.

Im coming to the wedding, he told Chase about a week after the surgery. I got to figure out a tuxedo thing.

Twenty-three days after the transplant, Charles was there in Spring Lake Heights. And yes, he was wearing a tux.

He felt weak after a bout with anemia. He had to wear a mask and could not hug or kiss anyone. But he beamed with pride as tears streamed down his face during the ceremony.

I felt so emotional, Charles said.

Hes getting stronger every day. Theres a 70% chance Charles will live at least another decade, Camacho said.

He undergoes weekly blood tests. He sees his cardiac team monthly. And a nurse practitioner regularly monitors him.

I feel great, he said.

I can do anything now. Charles Upshaw

For many, the euphoria of being saved is followed by a unique brand of remorse.

Guilt sets in a lot for people who are waiting and people who receive organs because they feel someone died for them to live, Welsh said.

Charles understands, feeling the full weight of the gift he has been given. He has reached out to the NJ Sharing Network hoping to advocate for organ donations.

Hes been given a second shot at life, something Mark didnt have.

I can do anything now, Charles said.

You can register as an organ donor. Visit https://www.njsharingnetwork.org or https://www.registerme.org.

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Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com.
A U.S. bankruptcy court judge in Trenton has dismissed Johnson & Johnsons second attempt at using Chapter 11 protection to resolve tens of thousands of claims that its talc-based baby powder product caused cancer.

The New Brunswick-based company had offered to pay nearly $9 billion to settle with the claimants, which would have prevented them from going before juries and risk even larger payouts.
Feeding western Wyomings elk herds began in the winter of 1909-10 with a simple premise: to try and keep the animals from starving to death.

Although it started with noble conservation intentions, the program eventually expanded to reduce private property damage, such as elk raiding ranchers haystacks.

Now more than 100 years later, congregating elk on winter feedgrounds is seen as a threat to the very animals that conservationists were originally set on saving. Thats because it is now known that concentrating wildlife enables the spread of a variety of deadly contagious diseases that can affect not only elk, but also other ungulates such as deer, bison and even cattle.

Draft plan

In an attempt to address concerns over disease spread, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) has released a Draft Wyoming Elk Feedgrounds Management Plan for public review and comment. The process began three years ago.

This plan is intended to chart a long-range path for feedground management, said Brian Nesvik, WGFD director, in the draft plan. It is not a feedground closure plan. It is a road map to identify a responsible set of actions that will guide the manner in which all involved make decisions to deal with current and emerging challenges and conflicts.

Acknowledging the 22 feedgrounds in western Wyomings Teton, Lincoln and Sublette counties are a source of disease transmission, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has laid out its ideas to try and stem the problems that arise when roughly 15,000 elk congregate in winter. The proposals range from graveling feedgrounds to halt the animals contact with possibly infected soil, to spreading feed lines out, acquiring more winter habitat and improving existing public habitat. Some of these techniques have already been implemented, such as spreading feeding areas out.

Now the public has an opportunity to weigh in. Comments will be taken through Sept. 10. Once those ideas have been considered and a public steering committee has weighed in, the agency will present the plan to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission at its Nov. 14-15 meeting in Cody.

FMAPs

Central to WGFDs proposal is the development of feedground management plans, which would require additional personnel and equipment. No dollar figure was attached to the draft plan, but it would likely be more than the $2.7 million spent feeding elk in 2022.

At stake in this entire process is a significant source of state income. Elk hunting license sales generated $11.47 million in 2021. Wildlife-related outfitter and tourism industries account for close to $800 million in expenditures and thousands of Wyoming jobs.

The overall goal of this plan is to encourage managers to continue to explore opportunities for elk to winter away from feedgrounds by increasing tolerance for elk on private, state, and federal lands while reducing reliance on supplemental feeding, the draft plan stated.

The hard part will be figuring out how to get the elk to spread out and become less reliant on supplemental feeding while not affecting adjoining private landowners.

Disease

Should the department fail to wean elk off the feedgrounds, scientists have predicted dire consequences. Brucellosis is spread by contact with birthing material and can cause pregnant ungulates to abort. Keeping elk away from cattle is seen as the primary way to prevent transmission to livestock.

Necrobacillosis is a bacteria that has infected elk on the feedgrounds since the 1920s, causing tissue damage that can lead to death. The infection can also cause lameness and difficulty eating, as it often infects animals through their feet and mouth.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an always fatal infection that has spread across most of Wyoming and into Montana. Not just a regional problem, CWD has been identified in 31 states, four Canadian provinces, Finland, Norway, South Korea and Sweden. It is spread through an animals contact with an infected animals bodily fluids and is believed to survive in the soil and possibly be taken in by plants. Misfolded proteins called prions are the infectious agents, unlike a virus or bacteria, and are extremely resistant to being deactivated.

A 2020 study utilizing the Pinedale elk herd predicted that, continuation of feeding, with the current elk population management, could see (CWD) prevalence exceed 75% and would cost the Pinedale area $19 million over 20 years once CWD is detected in the study area.

In response to a possible CWD infection at a feedground, the department has outlined plans, including possibly reducing elk herds and evaluating closure of the feedground.

If CWD prevalence in the respective herd unit reaches 7%, the Department shall evaluate options and strive to reduce feedground densities by 10% through population reductions, feeding modifications, or winter distributional shifts within one year, the draft plan stated. If the CWD prevalence in the respective herd unit reaches or exceeds 10% for three consecutive years, the Department shall consider and evaluate the need to begin the process of closing the feedground as soon as possible.

Although the consumption of wildlife infected with CWD is not known to affect humans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises against eating infected animals. Wyoming and Montana have enacted programs for hunters to have their game animals tested for the disease. Infected animals may not appear sick when killed.

Perspective

Its widely recognized that feeding wildlife can be detrimental to their survival. Montana outlaws the practice. Some wildlife officials in the past have blamed the Wyoming feedgrounds for helping spread disease to animals that migrate from Wyoming, through Yellowstone National Park and into Idaho and Montana.

Public meetings have already been held across western Wyoming where the plan has met opposition from livestock groups for its proposal to seek more private lands for elk to winter on, as well as criticism from conservationists because feedgrounds would continue to exist. Conservation groups are compiling more detailed responses to the draft plan but have not yet released any information.

To read the plan, or to comment, log on to: https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Regional-Offices/Jackson-Region/Jackson-Region-News/G-F-Releases-Draft-Elk-Feedgrounds-Plan-for-Public.
The Jersey City LGBTQ+ community doesnt scare easily.

Joe Cameron, co-chairman of Jersey City Pride, a month-long celebration that begins Tuesday, says so. But you dont have to take his word for it.

The day after a bomb threat was made and protesters showed up at a drag queen story hour in Jersey City, more than 2,000 people attended Pride on the Pier Sunday in Hoboken.

Even with all that happened ... no one even mentioned the incident at Canco Park Saturday, Cameron said. I feel people feel more secure because more people are speaking up and saying this has no place in our community. I think a lot of people received comfort from that.

Jersey City police responded to Canco Park Saturday morning and evacuated the park, and an investigation determined the threat to false. The show went on to prove to a point, said Cameron, who noted that an ongoing propaganda campaign against the LGBTQ+ community is regrettably bearing fruit.

The only way to really combat that is to really let people see what the truth is, Cameron said. Thats why we didnt cancel the drag queen story hour. We recorded the entire thing and we are going to put it out there online so people can see exactly what it is and parents can make the decision for themselves whether they want to bring their children there or not.

Jersey City spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said the police department takes these swatting incidents seriously and public safety officials have been working closely with event organizers to assess the situation before the next event to determine whether an increased police presence is warranted to ease any attendees concerns.

The official start of Jersey City Pride Month kicks off Tuesday with a flag-raising at City Hall and includes more than a dozen events like a bar crawl, family friendly drag show, board game day and culminates with the Equality March and 22nd anniversary LGBTQ+ Pride Festival Aug. 26.

Over the past few years, anti-LGBTQ+ violence and intimidation have increased across the United States, said Elizabeth Schedl, executive director of Hudson Pride Center. However, hate-based threats designed to intimidate us will not be tolerated. Thankfully, Jersey City Pride events are going ahead as planned all month long, even in the face of anti-LGBTQ+ threats.

Our focus remains on the LGBTQ+ community and standing together as we celebrate Jersey City Pride Month. This month is about raising awareness, education, and celebration of our diverse community and we intend to continue to do just that.

The incident Saturday, which featured Harmonica Sunbeam, is the latest protest of a drag queen story hour event. Last month a Hoboken Library event to protest the banning of books in schools and libraries, which also included Sunbeam, drew hateful reactions across social media over the content of some of the books at the Read Out Loud and Proud!

Cameron praised the Jersey City police who responded to the event Saturday.

I want to say thank you to the Jersey City Police Department for acting quickly, he said. They handled everything wonderfully. ... They did exactly what they should do to make everyone feel comfortable, safe.

While evacuating people and looking for a bomb, police also had to deal with a group of protesters, albeit peaceful ones.

Them just showing up and having a sign that says Stop indoctrinating children, I think that that is threatening in itself, Cameron said. You dont have to be attacking people to feel threatened.

Journal Staff Writer David Menzies contributed to this report.
A Newark-bound Delta Airline flight returned to Boston shortly after takeoff Sunday after an anonymous caller tipped off police in New Jersey about an alleged threat made by a passenger, authorities said.

Massachusetts State Police troopers removed the man from the plane after it touched down at Logan International Airport before his two carry-on bags were searched by a K9 dogs from the State Polices bomb squad, the agency said in a statement.

Nothing out of the ordinary was found in his bags, officials said. He had no checked luggage, Massachusetts State Police added. No one has been charged as of Monday morning and the investigation is ongoing.

The caller reported the threat to an unspecified New Jersey police agency, Massachusetts State Police said.

Originally scheduled to take off from Boston Logan International Airport at 5:29 p.m., Delta flight 5770 departed at 6:15 p.m. on Sunday, according to FlightAware.com.

After learning of the alleged threat, the plane was back on the ground in Boston at 6:40 p.m.

The flight  operated by Republic Airlines  took off a second time at 9:43 p.m. and finally touched down in New Jersey at 10:30 p.m.

Delta Airlines didnt immediately respond to a request for additional information on Monday.

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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.
Authorities have released the identities of the victim and perpetrator of an incident on Saturday morning that has been ruled a murder-suicide.

The woman found dead in her Little Egg Harbor apartment has been identified as Kimberly Hoffman, 49, and her attacker was her ex-husband, Carl Schulz Jr., 52, also of Little Egg Harbor, officials said.

Police were called to the unit on Whitemarsh Court about 5:10 a.m. by a woman who believed someone was breaking into her apartment. Upon arrival, officers located the body of Hoffman, who made the 911 call, and died of an apparent gunshot wound to the face, prosecutors said.

Police also found the carcass of a dog, who also appeared to have been killed by gunfire, before locating Schulz, who had sustained a gunshot wound to the head, but was still conscious, authorities said.

Schulz was later pronounced dead at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center.

Investigators later determined that he broke into his ex-wifes apartment and shot her and the dog before turning the gun on himself, officials said.

Editors Note: Reach the New Jersey Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-572-SAFE (7233). Reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), chat with their advocates here or text LOVEIS to 22522.

NJ Advance Media typically limits reporting on suicides to those that occur in crowded public places, involve public figures or, in special circumstances, where there is a larger public impact. Suicidal thoughts and behaviors can be reduced with the proper mental health support and treatment. If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

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Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at nfernandes@njadvancemedia.com.
A fire under a New Jersey Transit rail car caused delays and forced hundreds of riders off the train Sunday afternoon, officials said.

New Jersey Transit Police received a notification of a fire under a rail car at the Red Bank station at about 4:20 p.m. Sunday, according to officials.

The North Jersey Coast Line train 7248 had departed Long Branch just after 4 p.m. and was scheduled to arrive at Penn Station in New York at 5:43 p.m., according to NJ Transit.

The officers took the 400 riders off the train as a precaution, officials said. None of the riders were injured from the fire, according to NJ Transit.

Transit police local fire officials stopped train traffic while they investigated the incident, officials said. Traffic has since resumed, NJ Transit said in a statement.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, officials said.

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Camille Furst may be reached at cfurst@njadvancemedia.com.
With a little help from his friends, San Diego Padres catcher Gary Sanchez has unlocked steady production that has eluded him in recent seasons.

A two-time All-Star with the New York Yankees, Sanchezs future in the major leagues grew dicey as he couldnt hit and was a liability on defense.

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But the Padres, who signed Sanchez after a stint with the New York Mets, have found a solution and it features a tandem with Luis Campusano that has afforded Sanchez more time off from catching.

He got off to such a hot start offensively and he was catching every single game, day games after night games, Padres manager Bob Melvin said, per The San Diego Union-Tribune. It has helped him some that hes been able to DH and not catch every day.

While Sanchez is only batting .214/.295/.487 with 12 home runs and 31 RBI with the Padres, it has been worth a 115 OPS+, making it his most productive stint since his 2019 All-Star season with the Yankees. But after six home runs in his first 13 games with San Diego, Sanchez slumped. The All-Star break and more time off have fueled a .263/.356/.711 line with five home runs in 12 second-half games.

I think its natural for your legs to maybe feel a little stronger when youre not catching every day, Sanchez said through interpreter Danny Sanchez. But at the end of the day, Im a catcher, so if the manager has me in the lineup catching every single day, Im going to be ready.

Since starting his career as a 22-year-old with the Yankees in 2015 and spending seven seasons in New York, Sanchez has tried to resurrect his career amid a downfall. He ended his Yankees tenure with a .230/.318/.487 slash line -- and two consecutive down seasons -- then was traded in March 2022 with Gio Urshela to the Minnesota Twins for Josh Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt.

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San Francisco grabbed him as a free agent in April 2023, but he was released a month later after not getting into a major league game. The Mets then signed him and used him in Triple-A before a three-game stint with the big league club and subsequent release.

Now, Sanchez hopes hes found a home in San Diego.

MORE SPORTS:

- Mets buzz growing around another blockbuster trade

- Mets push back on rebuild talk after deadline trades

- Its slim pickings for Yankees, who watch a big bat go elsewhere with trade deadline looming

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Jimmy Hascup may be reached at jhascup@njadvancemedia.com.
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'I can see myself in aviation': High schoolers discover the economic opportunity of airports
The North Dakota Geological Survey employs three full-time paleontologists, but they are not the states only excavators.

For over 20 years state paleontologists have received the support of an army of volunteers who dig and brush alongside them in search of fossils. Geological Survey staff are spending time with volunteers at four dig sites across the state this summer.

Its like a giant hide-and-seek for adults, said Amy Robinson, a volunteer at a public dig on July 20.

Much of the work state paleontologists do would move at a slower pace if it were not for the support volunteers bring with their shovels and brushes.

We have a fair bit of citizen science going on right now, Fossil Preparator Mindy Householder said while examining parts of a turtle shell that one volunteer had just uncovered.

Householder, who works for the State Historical Society of North Dakota preparing Dakota the Dinomummy -- a 67 million-year-old Edmontosaurus discovered near Marmarth in 1999 -- as well as other projects for study and display at the state Heritage Center, joined the July 20 dig.

Its good to get the orientation of something in the field before you go into the lab, she said.

The dig site in the Hell Creek Formation south of Mandan in rural Morton County had already yielded 15 field jackets after just over a week, according to Geological Survey Paleontologist Jeff Person. A field jacket is a covering that paleontologists place over fossils to keep them safe for transport from the field.

Essential volunteers

At the July 20 dig volunteers spent an entire day between the buttes of southwest North Dakota methodically chipping away at the dirt covering the fossils, while the summer sun shined down on them.

Not all digs last the whole day. The Geological Survey also makes available half-day digs for families with children as young as 10. Full-day digs are available to everyone 15 and older.

There are around 500 volunteer spots open every summer. This summer, the cost of a dig is between $30 and $60 depending on the length of the dig and the location. All the spots have filled up, but there is a wait-list available on the web page for the digs, at bit.ly/3KkwQZn.

What volunteers find goes to state collections to help the Geological Survey better understand the history and prehistory of the state.

Theres no way we could do what we do without the volunteers, Person said.

Thrill of the hunt

The chance to discover the remains of creatures that lived millions of years ago is what draws so many to the digs, according to Person.

Robinson reflected that sentiment as she dug and brushed dirt near what Householder speculated was a dinosaurs head.

Its just pretty amazing so many years later we can find their bones, Robinson said.

She traveled from Michigan for the dig. Person said the digs regularly get visitors from even farther. He remembers one family that joined from Italy.

The digs also are frequented by many in the state. Kim Lee, of Bismarck, said she has been attending public fossil digs for several years.

The thrill of finding something brings you back, she said.

Living a dream

Dinosaur bones are not the only kinds of fossils state paleontologists seek out. Some of the most useful discoveries are of smaller ancient mammals, according to Person.

(They are) the biggest scientifically, but smallest physically, he said.

The remains of these smaller mammals have helped state paleontologists narrow down the age of rocks at a site southwest of Dickinson from a time gap that was once between 25 million and 35 million years old to a more precise 32 million years, according to Person.

The location south of Mandan is the most popular dig site. It accounts for almost half of the volunteer spots.

The area is full of fossils but there were also a number of creatures around that still had a pulse. As the group arrived and started unloading the van that held digging equipment, a deer and fawn could be seen running nearby. Many steps one takes here are also accompanied by the hops of a dozen or so grasshoppers.

What is living out there today may one day also become fossils for a future generation of paleontologists to better understand the state's natural history.

The Geological Survey has been digging at the site since 2015. The hill there has lost about 7 feet in height and many more feet in length since that time, as excavators have slowly removed the dirt to uncover fossils, according to Person.

Ginger and Kraig Crawford, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, first attended a dig two years ago near Medora after their daughter Savannah Olson, of Bismarck, bought the three of them spots on a dig as a Christmas gift. They returned for the July 20 dig. Their goal is to eventually go to every site in North Dakota.

Doesnt everybody want to be a paleontologist? Ginger Crawford asked.
From left, state Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, La. Dept. of Health Secretary Dr. Courtney N. Phillips, Gov. John Bel Edwards and La. State Health Officer Dr. Joseph Kanter stand near microphoes at Our Lady of the Lake North Clinic on Airline Highway, during a press conference on the importance of both the lastest COVID-19 boosters and the flu shot, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022.
The group responsible for facilitating the growth of electrical transmission infrastructure in North Dakota has a new executive director.

Claire Vigesaa has been serving as deputy director for the North Dakota Transmission Authority, assisting now-former Executive Director John Weeda.

Weeda had held the position since 2018. He requested that the commission consider Vigesaas appointment and his decision to step back.

Hes got a variety of experience; hes very well connected in the industry, Weeda said.

The state Industrial Commission appointed Vigesaa on Friday. The commission -- the governor, attorney general and agriculture commissioner -- comprise the rest of the authority.

Weeda told the Tribune he will continue to support Vigesaa in a new role that is yet to be formalized.

"I'm at the point in life where I wanted to slow down a little bit," he said.

The Transmission Authority facilitates the growth of transmission infrastructure in the state by funding projects and conducting studies. It received $7.5 million in funding from the federal Energy Department's Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants program, along with a $1.1 million match by the state Legislature for the 2023-25 biennium.

Vigesaa began serving with the authority after 40 years in the electric transmission industry. He served as general manager at the Upper Missouri Power Cooperative in Sydney, Montana, prior to taking on the role of authority deputy director.

In his co-op role he worked with both the Midwest Independent System Operator and the Southwest Power Pool, the two regional transmission organizations that oversee the grid in North Dakota, which familiarized him with their operations.

Electricity transmission in North Dakota is facing increased demand in conjunction with the states growth.

North Dakota generates a lot of power, whether its wind, coal, gas, so we want to have transmission stellar to serve our own load but also to market it to developers outside the state, Vigesaa said.

Another area that will be of focus to the authority in the coming years will be the issue of grid congestion from the wind power produced in the state, according to Weeda. Grid congestion is a phenomenon that occurs when there is not enough transmission infrastructure to deliver energy without going over capacity.

"There are times where the people that control the transmission system actually have to curtail wind generation in order to balance the system," he said.

The authority is pushing for the construction of additional infrastructure to allow for a greater amount of transmission, Weeda said.

I think the quickest we can get any of those built is in the five to six year range; we need them now but were glad theyre coming relatively soon, he said.

Vigesaa said he also plans to increase a focus on cybersecurity and reliability. He intends to get the Transmission Authority more involved in the Midwest Reliability Organization, which operates under the umbrella of the North American Electric Reliability Corp. That group was given the authority to act as the national Electric Reliability Organization in the 2000s following widespread blackouts.

All the utilities in North Dakota are a part of it, Vigesaa said. Thats a very critical topic these days because the economy and the safety of North Dakotans is directly tied to having the lights on.
Two pipeline operators have agreed to pay a $12.5 million civil penalty related to crude oil spills in Montana and North Dakota.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced the settlement in a 2022 federal court lawsuit. Belle Fourche Pipeline Company and Bridger Pipeline LLC will pay the $12.5 million to resolve the claims made under the Clean Water Act and Pipeline Safety Laws, the EPA said. The affiliated companies own and operate oil pipelines in North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

In 2015, Bridger's Poplar Pipeline broke and spilled more than 50,000 gallons of crude into the Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana. Bridger has completed cleanup of the site, and in 2021 settled a lawsuit with federal and Montana authorities for $2 million. Montana's Department of Environmental Quality previously fined Bridger $1 million in the case.

The spill prompted officials to issue a Do Not Drink advisory and distribute bottled water to Glendive residents, as a spike in the carcinogen benzene was detected at the citys water treatment plant. The advisory lasted six days. There also were water quality concerns downstream as far as the Williston region, but no drinking water advisories were issued there.

In 2016, Belle Fourche's Bicentennial Pipeline in southwestern North Dakota's Billings County broke due to a landslide and spilled over 600,000 gallons, impacting an unnamed tributary, Ash Coulee Creek and the Little Missouri River. Belle Fourche's cleanup is ongoing with oversight from North Dakota's Department of Environmental Quality, according to the EPA.

The agreement announced Monday does not resolve all issues with the Ash Coulee spill and reserves the governments right to bring future legal claims.

The $12.5 million civil penalty includes a nearly $4.6 million portion for North Dakota's DEQ. Belle Fourche also will pay the state's past response costs, totaling over $98,000, according to court documents filed Monday. The $4.6 million will go into a state fund used to help clean up contaminated sites in North Dakota, according to DEQ Director Dave Glatt.

Oil pipeline spills can cause enormous and long-lasting damage to the environment, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield of the EPAs Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said in a statement. This settlement holds Belle Fourche and Bridger Pipeline accountable for their significant oil spills and requires them to take meaningful measures to prevent future spills from their oil pipelines.

The operators also are required to implement specified compliance measures, in addition to the civil penalty.

Through this settlement, we are furthering North Dakotas twin objectives of safe energy development and protection of our environment, Attorney General Drew Wrigley said in a statement.

Belle Fourche and Bridger are owned by Wyoming-based True Companies, whose spokesman, when reached by email, did not have an immediate comment on the agreement.

(The Billings Gazette and The Bismarck Tribune contributed to this story.)
Miss D was miserable all her life. She developed epilepsy when she was five, then she had an accident around 12, which significantly impacted her left side. As a result, she lumped and her left arm was slightly twisted, and she cannot completely extend her left arm. Although her epilepsy only caused mild episodes, it was never fully controlled, and she usually had an episode every two weeks. As a disabled child, she only finished elementary school in China.

She has one older brother, who was healthy. He got married and moved out a long time ago. Around 2010, her parents got a chance to immigrate to the USA because of a sibling on her fathers side, and a few years later, she was brought to the USA by her parents.

Although at that time, already in her 30s, she was single, never worked and did not speak English at all, she was elated. Her life was full of hope now, and she had so many plans. She wanted to start learning English online first, and then take a free English class for adults speaking other languages. After she improved her English skills, she would get training, and begin to work, which was something she was unable to do in China.

Her parents only had limited English skills, knew nothing about computers, and worked in grocery stores stacking shelves. Although their income was low, they had an apartment and a fair life. As long as the three of them are together, their life will get better and better.

However, fate struck again in her miserable life. She was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer about one and a half years after she arrived in the USA. When it was first found, the tumor was already the size of an orange and had spread to her rectum, ovaries, uterus and retroperitoneum and caused ascites. Since there was no point to do surgery, her oncologist tried chemotherapy. After 8 rounds of chemo, it was found that her tumor did not respond well to the chemotherapy. Nevertheless, her oncologist did not give up and prescribed radiotherapy. This time, her tumor shrunk after 26 times of radiation treatment. Her response to the radiotherapy was so great, she was qualified for a surgery one year after the beginning of her treatment.

It was a formidable surgery, which took her surgeon 4-5 hours. At the end, the surgeon cut off a large piece of her colon, rectum, both ovaries and uterus, thus more than 95% of the tumor was removed. In addition, the pathology results showed that the majority (over 90%) of the removed tumor was dead. Although the surgery was considered to be an enormous success, her life after the surgery was still challenging.

First, the surgery left a huge incision in her abdomen, which was infected after the surgery. So a wound vacuum was used to help with the healing, and the dressing needed to be changed every week by a nurse. It took 8 weeks before the wound vacuum could be removed, and still two unhealed holes were left in her abdomen, but now she could change the dressing herself. Second, since a large piece of colon as well as the rectum were removed from her body, Miss D was required to use an ostomy bag to collect her feces, and this bag will be with her in all her remaining life. Third, her reproductive organs were cut off in the surgery, which of course meant that it was impossible for her to become a mother. Although it was a small sacrifice compared to her life, her mother who did not completely understand the procedure before the surgery was very upset, and cried for it a couple of times.

After removal of the wound vacuum, it was time for more rounds of chemotherapy. Although the surgery had already removed more than 95% of the cancer, it could not be completely removed once it spread to retroperitoneum. Consequently, it was impossible for Miss D to be cancer free, but she needed to live with her cancer. To achieve that, she was in need of continuous treatment for the rest of her life.

This time, her oncologist prescribed two drugs. One was a chemo drug and another an EGFR antibody, and the expected side effect was skin rash from the EGFR antibody. Miss D will have one infusion with these drugs every three weeks for a year. The doctor also wanted to cooperate with a biotech company to develop an antibody which could specifically recognize her cancer cells, and a reagent generated from this antibody could be utilized to detect circulating cancer cells from her blood samples, therefore she only need to do a blood test to determine her cancer load instead of a CAT scan every three months. The doctor mentioned if everything was good after this course of treatment, she can be off chemo for a while, such as three to six months. Afterward, they can discuss what to do next again. Her oncologist also referred a neurologist for her epilepsy.

Miss Ds parents could not fully understand what living with cancer meant. They eagerly wanted to know when Miss D could begin to work. Fortunately, her oncologist thought Miss Ds condition should qualify for disability benefit, and arranged to have a social worker talking to them. In addition, Miss D has Medicaid which covers all her treatment costs.

At this time, Miss D has gone through multiple treatments for her cancer for more than two years. She suffered so much. However, she never complained and just endured her agony quietly. She still looked forward to learning more. I really admired her. Life treated her cruelly and she can still have a smile on her face. Her oncologist was also wonderful. He never gave up and did his best to save this miserable, young woman from a poor Chinese immigrant family.




Indiana residents have spoken  naming Indiana University Northwest the top institution in its region.

The survey, conducted by the Times of Northwest Indiana as a part of its 2023 Best of the Region ballot, names IU Northwest as the 2023 Best College/University and Best Adult Educational Institution in northwest Indiana. More than 18,100 voters at nwi.com cast 481,124 votes in more than 200 categories.

Thanks to the focus and vision of our faculty, staff and students, IU Northwest is driving progress in student success, pursuing a vast array of research initiatives, and engaging partners to serve the region in new ways, IU President Pamela Whitten said. Residents across the region are seeing the extent of IU's impact and this recognition reflects the many ways this campus is strengthening the vitality of northwest Indiana.

In the Best College/University category, Times of Northwest Indiana cited IU Northwests affordable education, small class sizes with award-winning professors and diverse student population. The adult education category recognizes the fact that more than half of the graduates at IU Northwest's last commencement ceremony were 25 years or older.

Its an honor to have IU Northwest named the Best College/University and Best Adult Education in northwest Indiana, said IU Northwest Chancellor Ken Iwama. What makes this even more special is that the community voted the campus for these awards. We strive to be an institution which engages, collaborates and strengthens the community around us, and Im thankful, as is evident through these awards, the voters see us as a university which does just that.

Student Success

Central to the recognition is IU Northwests commitment to the success of its students, who come from communities throughout the region and bring vibrant and diverse perspectives and backgrounds to campus. As of 2022, IU Northwest reported a 49 percent minority student population, including 26 percent Hispanic and 19 percent African American. Nearly 40 percent of the campuses student population are also first-generation students.

Among the ways IU Northwest supports these students is through its official designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution, awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to institutions who report a Hispanic student population of 25 percent or greater for two consecutive semesters. These institutions are eligible for funding to expand educational attainment and opportunities for students, including Hispanic students.

The Hispanic Serving Institution designation at IU Northwest led to a five-year, $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to increase the number of IU students graduating with bachelors degrees in STEM fields, including expanded undergraduate research opportunities on campus.

Academic Excellence

The campus academic programs have also been consistently recognized for their excellence. IU Northwest is home to the countys top ranked health information management degree program according to Healthcare Management Degree Guide. The program was also recently distinguished with a perfect evaluation for its associate degree program from the Council for the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management.

The School of Education at IU Northwest is the recipient of a perfect evaluation by its accrediting organization for its bachelors and masters degree programs.

In addition to the success rates for these programs, the campus nursing program has one of highest passage rates for nursing students in Indiana with 91 percent.

Through its more than 70 undergraduate degree programs, 40 graduate degree or certificate programs and 16 masters degree programs, IU Northwest equips students for in-demand jobs with hands-on research opportunities and community collaborations.

Each semester provides an opportunity for IU Northwest to build on its impact in the region as it expands its offerings and welcomes new students to campus. Fall semester classes begin Aug. 21.
Henry Holcomb, the first dog of Indiana, announced last week through his @FirstDogHenry social media accounts that he's learned how to wink. The 12-year-old miniature schnauzer owned by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and Janet Holcomb, the state's first lady, said he's now trying to learn how to use his four paws to rub his belly and pat his head at the same time.
But then we started talking about coming out, and the mood in the room shifted, fast. Last year, Connor came out on Twitter as bisexual, saying he felt forced to do so after some fans accused him of queer-baiting.

Telling someone youre gay or bi or part of the queer community, theres a thing where you feel like they might see you differently or think that it would change who you are, he said. For me, its just who I am. Coming out didnt change me.

Hes cool with being called queer, he said, explaining that it is more freeing in a way, less about labels.

Locke, who also identifies as queer, jumped in: I think coming out is stupid, that its still a thing that people have to do. He said he briefly came out at 12 on Instagram before reconsidering.

I had just told my mum, and I was on top of the world, he said. I quickly realized I was ready to tell my mum but I was not ready to tell the world. So I quickly deleted it and said my Instagram had been hacked. I went back in the closet for three years. I retold all my friends and theyre like, Yeah, you told us two years ago.

And now that hes out-out and playing gay on Heartstopper? Locke glanced down and fingered his rings.
Two days after former President Donald J. Trump used a demeaning nickname to describe Ron DeSantis to a packed hall of Iowa Republican activists, Mr. DeSantis pointedly invoked the federal indictment against his chief rival, saying that if Mr. Trump had drained the swamp like he promised, then he probably wouldnt be in the mess that hes in right now.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday after a campaign event in New Hampshire, Mr. DeSantis, the governor of Florida, added that Mr. Trumps use of juvenile insults served as a reminder of why there are so many millions of voters who will never vote for him going forward.

Mr. DeSantis has generally not used Mr. Trumps legal troubles against him, and has instead focused on criticizing the Biden administration for what he terms the weaponization of federal law enforcement.

But as Mr. DeSantis seeks to reset his ailing campaign by cutting staff and organizing more informal events in the face of a fund-raising shortfall, his comments suggest he may be taking a less timid approach against the man who leads him in national polls by a wide margin. Even allies have said that his campaign has lacked a coherent message about why voters should choose him over Mr. Trump.
German shepherds that were being transported from Chicago to a training center for police dogs in Michigan City, Ind., died in the heat on Thursday after an air-conditioning unit that was being used to keep the animals cool failed, the local authorities said.

The Lake Station Police Department, which responded to a chaotic scene at a gas station off the interstate in Lake Station, Ind., did not specify in a statement issued on Friday how many dogs had been en route to the training center or how many had died. A local animal rescue organization in Hobart, about three miles south, estimated that 18 dogs had been in the vehicle and that at least eight of them had died during or after the episode.

The driver had been stuck in a traffic delay for two hours and had not been aware of the air-conditioners failure because the dogs were in a separate cargo area, the statement said. The driver was alerted to their distress when he heard some of the dogs barking.

The area near Hobart reached highs of at least 91 degrees on Thursday, according to the Chicago forecast office of the National Weather Service.
Decades before true crime crept in from the margins and inundated pop culture, I found a humble paperback buried in the stacks of my parents bookshelf about Americas most notorious serial killers. Perhaps inadvisable for a 10 year old, I read and reread about the horrors inflicted by, among others, Ed Gein, John Wayne Gacy and Ted Bundy. Though I was already aware that terrible things happened in general, this was different: specific, personal and intimately chilling.

Lately, and fortunately, the tired approach of centering these monsters by rehashing their personal struggles and the details of their deeds has been falling out of favor. Interest has shifted instead to elevating the stories of those impacted and to understanding the mood of the eras and the societal circumstances in which these crimes took place. This shift was reflected to some degree in July when a man was arrested in the Gilgo Beach serial killings. Profiles of the suspect abounded, but from the start, there was demand for information about the victims as well as scrutiny of the investigation.

This is the first in a series of streaming lists about true crime films, shows and podcasts. And while I wont dwell on these types of murderers in this in the future, the topic does feel like the appropriate place to start. Here are four picks that offer more than the usual glorification of madness.
Drones hit buildings in Moscow

The Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukrainian forces had fired at least three drones at Moscow, the latest in a wave of attacks in Russia; one of them was destroyed in Odintsovo, outside Moscow. Two others struck commercial buildings in the capital after being intercepted by Russian air defenses, officials said.

Ukraine does not typically claim responsibility for attacks in Russia, but senior Ukrainian officials said last week that recent drone attacks on Moscow were orchestrated by Kyiv. Video from Russian state media showed blown-out windows and twisted beams in one of Moscows premier skyscrapers. There were no injuries.

In his evening address, Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelensky, did not explicitly mention the strikes in Moscow but noted that gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia, including military and symbolic centers. He had previously promised retaliation after two weeks of nonstop Russian bombardment on Odesa, a city on the Black Sea.

Ukrainian victories: The recapture of the strategically significant village of Staromaiorske has been among the few breakthroughs in a halting counteroffensive, where in two months Kyivs troops have advanced less than 10 miles at any point along a 100-mile front.
Chinese drivers who trade in older cars for newer models will be eligible for subsidies, as will rural households that buy insulation and other home renovation materials to improve energy efficiency. Entrance fees at scenic sites will be cut to promote tourism.

Those were a few of a long list of measures detailed on Monday by the Chinese government in an effort to stimulate consumer spending. Attempts by officials in Beijing to juice the economy have taken on greater urgency as it has become clear that the recovery is flagging.

Li Chunlin, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, acknowledged at a news conference that consumers were wary. Some consumers lack confidence and have many concerns, he said.

Real estate prices have tumbled, leaving many Chinese feeling poorer and less willing to spend. Youth unemployment reached 21.3 percent in June, leaving them and their nervous parents more cautious about spending. After two decades of brisk increases, wages have stagnated.
In the 17 months since Moscow ordered soldiers into Ukrainian territory, countries across Europe have moved with surprising speed to reduce their longstanding dependence on cheap Russian gas.

Germany, which got 55 percent of its supply from Russia before the war, now imports zero. Poland, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic have halted or are close to halting flows. And Italy has been steadily trimming imports, and pledges to be free of Russian natural gas by the end of this year.

By contrast, Austria, which received nearly 80 percent of its gas from Russia before the invasion, still got more than half its total from Russia in May. And in March, when demand was higher, the figure reached 74 percent. As long as Russia is selling gas, Austria will buy it, the chief executive of the Austrian energy company OMV Group said this month.

The governments difficulties in weaning itself off Russian gas, which it has pledged to do, have drawn complaints from critics who say Austrias gas payments are helping to finance Moscows war machine.
As much of the United States swelters under record heat, Amazon drivers and warehouse workers have gone on strike in part to protest working conditions that can exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

On triple-digit days in Orlando, utility crews are postponing checks for gas leaks, since digging outdoors dressed in heavy safety gear could endanger their lives. Even in Michigan, on the nations northern border, construction crews are working shortened days because of heat.

Now that climate change has raised the Earths temperatures to the highest levels in recorded history, with projections showing that they will only climb further, new research shows the impact of heat on workers is spreading across the economy and lowering productivity.

Extreme heat is regularly affecting workers beyond expected industries like agriculture and construction. Sizzling temperatures are causing problems for those who work in factories, warehouses and restaurants and also for employees of airlines and telecommunications firms, delivery services and energy companies. Even home health aides are running into trouble.
 

LLP

Web20




LeGrand Crewse, co-founder and chief executive of Super73, recently showed off the companys latest product, a diminutive motorized bike called the K1D. Aimed at riders 4 years old and up, the vehicle lacks pedals, in the spirit of a training bicycle, and has a throttle. The company calls the K1D an electric balance bike.

But you can also call it a motorcycle, Mr. Crewse said during a tour of the companys 60,000-square-foot headquarters. In normal mode the K1D can go 13 miles per hour. Then we have a race mode, Mr. Crewse said  at 15 miles per hour.

The e-bike industry is already pushing the boundaries of youth transportation, and Super73 is an early darling among customers. The company aims to sell more than 25,000 units this year, a significant portion of them for teens, Mr. Crewse said. Unlike the K1D, most Super73 e-bikes come with pedals as well as a throttle-powered electric motor. What the company is selling, Mr. Crewse said, is a lifestyle, featuring cool products that are not subject to heavy regulation.

Ride without restrictions, the Super73 website declares, in bold letters. No license, registration, or insurance required.
The proliferation of documentaries on streaming services makes it difficult to choose what to watch. Each month, well choose three nonfiction films  classics, overlooked recent docs and more  that will reward your time.

Hearts and Minds (1975)

Stream it on the Criterion Channel and Max. Rent it on Amazon and Apple TV.

We must be ready to fight in Vietnam, President Lyndon Johnson said in 1965, but the ultimate victory will depend upon the hearts and the minds of the people who actually live out there. Putting that notion to the test, Peter Daviss landmark documentary on the war, first shown in 1974, methodically makes the case that the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people were impossibly far apart from those of the government and military officials in the United States.

Davis advances his argument through pointed, polemical juxtapositions. For instance, he shows the American lieutenant George T. Coker, who had been a prisoner of war from 1966 to 1973, enthusiastically discussing the technological prowess of air operations in Vietnam (A World War II aviator would not even dream of doing the things we did. Its definitely the ultimate in aviation) before immediately cutting to a shot of a Vietnamese man driving a horse-drawn carriage. He jumps from Diem Chau, a Vietnamese magazine editor, describing the war as a fight for independence to a tame American Revolutionary War re-enactment in Westchester County.
Mr. Adams said that he wanted to localize this madness so that people sleeping outdoors were contained to certain parts of the city, without identifying the potential locations or making it clear if people would be sleeping on sidewalks or in tents.

Our next phase of the strategy now that we have run out of room, we have to figure out how were going to localize the inevitable that theres no more room indoors, he said at an unrelated news conference on public safety.

But Mr. Adams warned that migrants would not be allowed to sleep wherever they want: I can assure you that this city is not going to look like other cities where there are tents up and down every street.

The mayors comments came a day after The New York Times revealed that the city gave a medical services firm a no-bid $432 million contract to assist with its migrant crisis. The firm, DocGo, has bused hundreds of asylum seekers upstate to cities including Albany, but many of the migrants there said that they felt misled and abandoned, and that local security guards hired by DocGo had repeatedly threatened them.

DocGo, which provided Covid testing and vaccination services during the pandemic, is also involved in running the citys arrival center for migrants at the Roosevelt Hotel. Over the weekend, people were seen sleeping outside the hotel with blankets, and vans were provided so that people could cool off on a hot summer day.
How did you get the idea to swim the Hudson?

Why the Hudson? Id been looking for many, many years to do a swim down a river that could tell a story about all rivers, and again and again it comes back to the Hudson. Shes an incredibly beautiful river. Shes unlike any other river in the whole world, where at the source there are bears and beavers and vultures and at the end is one of the greatest cities on this earth. Shes unique. Its a river that was misused, was cared for and has been turned around. Yes, still a lot more work needs to be done, but its a river which gives hope.

If I had tried this swim 50 years ago, it would not have been possible. Id have gotten incredibly sick. I doubt any swimmer would have been able to make it.

Even so, you have a medical guide for this that says youll be exposed to everything from human sewage and rat infestation to chemicals like mercury that are remnants of the Hudsons industrial past. Isnt all that enough to make you think more than twice?

Any river is always a work in progress, and huge strides have been made in cleaning up this one. This is a good news story. Rivers are essential for life on earth, right?

In a career of 36 years, Ive only ever done four river swims. In three of those, I got seriously sick. What is clear to me is we cannot have clean oceans, which are my passion and my drive, without clean rivers, because everything that goes down a river eventually ends up in our oceans. So not only does pollution destroy the health of a river, it goes on to do the same in oceans. Its so much more manageable to clean up a river than to clean up an ocean, which is so much more vast. This is a swim to highlight that.
At an earlier point in his career, from 2008 to 2010, Mr. Smith worked as the investigation coordinator in the prosecutors office at the International Criminal Court, the permanent international war crimes tribunal based in The Hague. Although 123 countries from Afghanistan to Zambia have joined the I.C.C., the tribunal was a bugbear for the Trump administration; Mr. Trumps national security adviser, John Bolton, vowed to let it die on its own, while his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, reviled it as a renegade, unlawful, so-called court.

Anyone working at the I.C.C. must understand how constrained and weak the court actually is. In 2009 and 2010, the I.C.C. issued arrest warrants for Sudans president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, charging him with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in the Darfur region; he is still at large, even after being overthrown. When a prominent Kenyan politician, Uhuru Kenyatta, was charged with crimes against humanity after ethnic violence in the wake of his countrys 2007 presidential election, he decried the I.C.C. as a neocolonial violation of Kenyas sovereignty. In 2013 he was narrowly elected president of Kenya. In 2014, the I.C.C. prosecutor dropped the charges against Mr. Kenyatta, fuming that Kenyas government had obstructed evidence and intimidated witnesses.

From Kenya to Kosovo, Mr. Smith presumably knows all too well how an indicted politician can mobilize his loyalists to defy and obstruct a prosecution. When Mr. Thacis trial started in The Hague in April, some Kosovars rallied in support of a leader seen by them as a heroic guerrilla fighter against Serbian oppression. Mr. Smiths office has complained that Mr. Thaci and other suspects were trying to obstruct and undercut the work of prosecutors, as well as convicting two backers of the Kosovo Liberation Army for disseminating files stolen from the office.

Mr. Trump is already instinctively following a similar playbook of bluster and intimidation, even though he is facing not an international tribunal but the laws of the United States. He has compared the F.B.I. agents investigating him to the Gestapo, smeared Mr. Smith as deranged and crudely warned on an Iowa radio show that it would be very dangerous to imprison him, since he has a tremendously passionate group of voters.

Yet Mr. Trump will find that Mr. Smith has dealt with the likes of him  and worse  before. The American prosecutor is well equipped to pursue the vision of a predecessor, Robert H. Jackson, the eloquent Supreme Court justice who served as the U.S. chief prosecutor at Nuremberg, who declared in his opening address there, Civilization asks whether law is so laggard as to be utterly helpless to deal with crimes of this magnitude by criminals of this order of importance.
To the Editor:

As Politicians Cry Crisis, Migrants Get a Toehold (news article, July 15) points up the irrationality of the U.S. immigration system. As this article shows, migrants are eager to work, and they are filling significant gaps in fields such as construction and food delivery, but there are still great unmet needs for home health aides and nursing assistants.

The main reason for this disjunction lies in federal immigration law, which offers no dedicated visa slots for these occupations (as it does for professionals and even for seasonal agricultural and resort workers) because they are considered unskilled.

Instead, the law stipulates, applicants must demonstrate that they are performing work for which qualified workers are not available in the United States  clearly a daunting task for individual migrants.

As a result, many do end up working in fields like home health care but without documentation and are thus vulnerable to exploitation if not deportation. With appropriate reforms, our system would be capable of meeting both the countrys needs for essential workers and migrants needs for safe havens.
Elon Musk has over the last year threatened legal action against tech competitors, employees and people who use Twitter, which he owns. Now he is also taking aim at an organization that studies hate speech and misinformation on social media.

X Corp., the parent company of the social media company, sent a letter on July 20 to the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit that conducts research on social media, accusing the organization of making a series of troubling and baseless claims that appear calculated to harm Twitter generally, and its digital advertising business specifically, and threatening to sue.

The letter cited research published by the Center for Countering Digital Hate in June examining hate speech on Twitter, which Mr. Musk has renamed X.com. The research consisted of eight papers, including one that found that Twitter had taken no action against 99 percent of the 100 Twitter Blue accounts the center reported for tweeting hate. The letter called the research false, misleading or both and said the organization had used improper methodology.

The letter added that the center was funded by Twitters competitors or foreign governments in support of an ulterior agenda.
Gratitude and growing pains

Development in the Dhermi area has accelerated at a breakneck pace: Half of the adjacent village of Drymades seems to be a construction site. The influx of foreign visitors to a place that only a few decades ago was sealed off to the world has brought both prosperity and challenges.

Its been a 100 percent transformation, said Erjon Shehaj, 46, whose family opened a 10-table restaurant in Dhermi in 2016. When we started, there was nothing. Today, they own and operate the Empire Beach Resort, a luxury hotel on the same land where the small restaurant once stood. The resort hosted the biggest stage of the festival and was booked solid all seven days.

Ive never encountered so many tourists in Albania, said Anisa Koteci, 33, a lawyer, who was born in the country then emigrated with her family to London when she was 8. Returning to Albania for Kala for the first time in four years, she said, has been a bit of a shock to the system. The abundance of foreign visitors made her excited and happy, she said, but she also worried that Albania might become known as just a party destination. She called the wave of tourism a stress test for her homeland.

In Dhermi, the electricity or water was sometimes turned off at hotels without warning, and bathrooms in restaurants and bars were left uncleaned for long stretches. On the second day of the festival, one local shopkeeper wiped her brow and grumbled as she surveyed an endless line of impatient bathing-suit-clad tourists waiting to buy chips, water, beer and sunblock. She was running the grocery store and the adjacent currency exchange alone, she explained, because her brother had stayed up all night registering local SIM cards for tourists.

The flood of visitors is also raising fears about possible harm to the regions flora and fauna. In the city of Vlore, about an hours drive from Dhermi, an airport construction project the government promotes as a way to bring more tourists to the Albanian Riviera has faced protests from environmental groups that say it could endanger sanctuaries for birds like flamingos and pelicans.
Zero percent  not a single one of the 319 respondents in this MAGA category  said he had committed serious federal crimes. A mere 2 percent said he did something wrong in his handling of classified documents. More than 90 percent said Republicans needed to stand behind him in the face of the investigations.

Perhaps Mr. DeSantis or another Republican will peel away a few of these voters, but realistically this group isnt going anywhere, maybe not even if Mr. Trump winds up being imprisoned. This group is probably about the same as the voters  37 percent  who supported Mr. Trump in the polls on Super Tuesday in 2016. Its probably about the same as the group of Republicans  41 percent  who supported him at his low point in January, in the wake of last Novembers midterm elections.

This is an impressive base of support, but it still is not quite a majority of the Republican primary electorate. Most of the Republican electorate either doesnt strongly support Mr. Trump in the primary or doesnt support him at all. Most dont have a very favorable view of the former president, either. In theory, it means theres an opening for another candidate.

But with so much of the G.O.P. electorate seemingly devoted to Mr. Trump, the path to defeating him is exceptionally narrow. It requires a candidate to consolidate the preponderance of the rest of the Republican electorate, and the rest of the Republican electorate is not easy to unify.
The line to be seated at Mandalay, a decades-old Burmese restaurant in San Francisco, spilled onto the sidewalk on a recent Saturday evening. Inside the festive dining room, customers huddled around rainbow-colored tea leaf salads, spicy noodle soups and flaky parathas served with coconut dip.

A five-minute walk away, more would-be diners waited in the evening chill for a table at Burma Superstar, another popular restaurant serving a long menu of dishes from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

More than 10 eateries in the city specialize in Burmese food, at least by my count. In the larger Bay Area, there are dozens.

I was surprised to discover this. I recently moved to San Francisco from Los Angeles, where I almost never encountered Burmese food. The cuisine is a standby of the Bay Areas culinary scene, with dishes like samusa soup and mohinga, a catfish stew, integrated into the regions gastronomic vernacular.
Jean-Michel Berenger is France's leading bed bug expert who not only studies the tiny red blood-suckers, he also breeds them. And when the little critters refuse to chow down the human-blood-filled capsules Berenger offers them, he kindly lets them feast on his own arm.

From Le Monde:

Human blood heated to 37C and contained in capsules sealed with paraffine sheeting to imitate skin: This is the feast served up every week by entomologist Jean-Michel Berenger, an entomologist with Marseille's IHU hospital, to his breeding farm of bedbugs, living in flasks 4 centimeters in diameter.  Confined within accordion-folded pieces of cardboard, hundreds of them swarm: Males, females, and their offspring, in all five stages of development.

But bed bugs aren't stupid  they know where the good stuff is. "We buy these bags, which cannot be used for humans, from the Etablissement Francais du Sang (Fance's blood service agency). But when a precious strain doesn't take and eat on these artificial membranes, I feed it by inverting the box onto my arm," the Marseilles-based scientist said.

And Berenger isn't the first passionate entomologist to offer up his own skin and blood for the sake of a hungry bed bug. In 2009, The New York Times interviewed Manhattan's bed bug specialist Lous Sorkin, a "mild-mannered man" in the United States who also thought nothing of presenting his own arm to the hungry red coats. "The colonies live in jars. I feed them about once a month. I invert the jars on my arm and the bugs feed through the screening," he told the Times. "It doesn't hurt. The swelling goes down in an hour or two."
An Idaho judge sentenced Lori Vallow Daybell on Monday to three consecutive terms of life in prison without parole for the murders of two of her children and for conspiring to murder her husbands former wife in a case that drew national attention for what prosecutors described as her doomsday beliefs.

Judge Steven Boyce of the Seventh Judicial District said at the sentencing, which was streamed online from a packed Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho, that Ms. Vallow Daybell chose the most evil and destructive path possible.

The most unimaginable type of murder is to have a mother murdering her own children, and thats exactly what you did, Judge Boyce said, adding that allowing Ms. Vallow Daybell to serve her terms concurrently would not serve the interest of justice.

In May 2021, a grand jury indicted Ms. Vallow Daybell, 50, and her husband, Chad Daybell, 54, in connection with the deaths of two of Ms. Vallow Daybells children, Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua Vallow, 7, known as J.J.
A military jury has found that a Marine Corps drill instructor was not guilty of negligent homicide and other charges in the death of a 19-year-old recruit during a grueling training exercise on Parris Island, S.C., in 2021.

The drill instructor, Staff Sgt. Steven Smiley, was referred last year to a general court-martial after the death of the recruit, Pfc. Dalton Beals of Pennsville, N.J., on June 4, 2021, at the Marines recruiting depot on Parris Island.

After several hours of deliberations on Friday, a jury of eight Marines found that Sergeant Smiley was not guilty of charges of negligent homicide; cruelty, oppression or maltreatment of subordinates; obstruction of justice; and other offenses, according to his lawyer, Colby C. Vokey.

But jurors found that Sergeant Smiley was guilty of one charge  violation of a general order that forbids drill instructors from calling recruits names, Mr. Vokey said. Sergeant Smiley had referred to recruits as pigs, war pigs and sweet bacon during training, Mr. Vokey said.
Former President Donald J. Trump is dominating his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, leading his nearest challenger, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, by a landslide 37 percentage points nationally among the likely Republican primary electorate, according to the first New York Times/Siena College poll of the 2024 campaign.

Mr. Trump held decisive advantages across almost every demographic group and region and in every ideological wing of the party, the survey found, as Republican voters waved away concerns about his escalating legal jeopardy. He led by wide margins among men and women, younger and older voters, moderates and conservatives, those who went to college and those who didnt, and in cities, suburbs and rural areas.

The poll shows that some of Mr. DeSantiss central campaign arguments  that he is more electable than Mr. Trump, and that he would govern more effectively  have so far failed to break through. Even Republicans motivated by the type of issues that have fueled Mr. DeSantiss rise, such as fighting radical woke ideology, favored the former president.

Overall, Mr. Trump led Mr. DeSantis 54 percent to 17 percent. No other candidate topped 3 percent support in the poll.
The White House was studying the recommendation, a senior administration official said in a background briefing on Monday. In a statement, the F.B.I. did not directly address the proposed new limit but said, We agree that Section 702 should be reauthorized in a manner that does not diminish its effectiveness, as well as reassures the public of its importance and our ability to adhere rigorously to all relevant rules.

Under Section 702, the government can collect  from American companies like Google and AT&T and without a warrant  the communications of targeted foreigners abroad, even when they are talking to or about Americans. The program traces back to a once secret warrantless surveillance program that the George W. Bush administration started after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. After the program was exposed, Congress legalized a version of it.

The advisory board also made several other recommendations.

They included seeking court approval to use Section 702 for counternarcotics purposes. The U.S. government can currently use the program to gather information about other governments, counterterrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The panel also recommended that agencies like the F.B.I. that have access to raw Section 702 information emulate an existing National Security Agency rule that two officials sign off that standards have been met before conducting any query using Americans identifiers, like their names, phone numbers or email addresses.

How the government can use its database of intercepts that have been already collected when scrutinizing Americans has been a subject of heated debate.
When The New York Times reported in April that a contractor had purchased and deployed a spying tool made by NSO, the contentious Israeli hacking firm, for use by the U.S. government, White House officials said they were unaware of the contract and put the F.B.I. in charge of figuring out who might have been using the technology.

After an investigation, the F.B.I. uncovered at least part of the answer: It was the F.B.I.

The deal for the surveillance tool between the contractor, Riva Networks, and NSO was completed in November 2021. Only days before, the Biden administration had put NSO on a Commerce Department blacklist, which effectively banned U.S. firms from doing business with the company. For years, NSOs spyware had been abused by governments around the world.

This particular tool, known as Landmark, allowed government officials to track people in Mexico without their knowledge or consent.

The F.B.I. now says that it used the tool unwittingly and that Riva Networks misled the bureau. Once the agency discovered in late April that Riva had used the spying tool on its behalf, Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, terminated the contract, according to U.S. officials.
A Georgia judge forcefully rejected on Monday an effort by former President Donald J. Trump to derail an investigation into attempts by Mr. Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state  an investigation that is expected to yield indictments in mid-August.

Mr. Trump tried to get Judge Robert C.I. McBurney of the Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta to throw out evidence collected by a special grand jury and disqualify the prosecutor overseeing the investigation, Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney.

But in a nine-page order, Judge McBurney wrote that Mr. Trump did not have the legal standing to make such challenges before indictments were handed up. The judge said the injuries that Mr. Trump claimed to have suffered from the two-and-a-half-year investigation are either insufficient or else speculative and unrealized.

The office of Ms. Willis, a Democrat, is expected to present potential indictments in the matter to a regular grand jury in the next few weeks.
The capsized boat of Donald Lawson, a sailor from Baltimore who disappeared in the Pacific Ocean over two weeks ago, has been found off the coast of Mexico, his wife said.

A Mexican Navy search and rescue team discovered a vessel, later identified as Mr. Lawsons trimaran, the Defiant, about 410 miles south of Acapulco, Mexico, on Thursday.

Mr. Lawson, 41, was training for an attempt to set a world record while circumnavigating the globe solo in a sailboat. His wife, Jacqueline Lawson, said in a statement on Sunday that she lost contact with him on July 12 after his boat lost engine power in a storm off the Mexican coast. Mr. Lawson was still missing as of Monday.

Heres what to know about the search for Mr. Lawson.

Who is Donald Lawson?

Mr. Lawson, 41, is a professional sailor from Baltimore who hoped to become the fastest person to sail solo and nonstop around the world in a boat no longer than 60 feet. He also hoped to become one of the few African Americans to set world records in the sport of sailing. Mr. Lawson and his wife started the Dark Seas Project, an effort to promote more diversity in the sport of sailing. He is also the chairman of the diversity, equity and inclusion committee for U.S. Sailing, the national governing body for the sport.
Tensions soared last week when dozens of Haitians sought refuge in front of the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, attempting to flee the violence caused by the Kraze Barye gang, a group that has been responsible for several high-profile kidnappings since June, including that of a famous radio host and her husband, the former head of Haitis electoral council.

Soon after, agents of the national police used tear gas to disperse the group of residents.

The authorities are abandoning the population, said Pierre Esperance, executive director of the National Human Rights Defense Network, which last week called VitelHomme Innocent, the leader of Kraze Barye, the protege" of high-ranking officers at the Haitian police, including its acting director general. The gangs are protected by the state authorities and many members of the police force.

On July 20, CARDH predicted a rise in violence if better security measures were not adopted. The group cited, among other reasons, the weakening of the bwa kale movement and the gangs need to make up income lost after the earlier drop in kidnappings. (According to rights groups, relatives of victims are often asked to pay up to $1 million in ransom.)

On Thursday, the State Department ordered nonemergency embassy personnel and their families to evacuate; it also advised all U.S. citizens in Haiti to leave as soon as possible.

To help address Haitis security challenge, the government of Kenya confirmed on Saturday the possibility of leading a multinational force to the Caribbean country.
Fierce rain and flooding that have pummeled Beijing since the weekend have killed at least 11 people, triggering landslides and sweeping away cars on the citys outskirts after the authorities issued a red alert for what they warned was the heaviest deluge in years.

The intense rain prompted Beijing to close tourist attractions like the ancient Forbidden City. But the worst effects have been felt in the citys outer districts, where downpours overwhelmed riverbeds that usually stay dry for much of the year.

On Tuesday, the Beijing government announced that, in addition to the 11 killed in the flooding  including two rescue workers  another 27 were missing, implying that the death toll could rise significantly.

Most of the fatalities were in the outer parts of Beijing, including Mentougou District, where video shared by local news outlets on Monday showed cars being swept down a swollen river. Chinese television later showed footage of residents in the district walking through muddy streets strewn with cars that had been washed away. The Beijing government said 13 of the missing were in Mentougou, and another 10 were in Changping, another semi-rural district.
The Islamic State affiliate in South Asia claimed responsibility on Monday for a suicide bombing in northwest Pakistan that killed dozens of people and injured about 200 more, in the latest bloody sign of the deteriorating security situation in the country.

The death toll from the explosion on Sunday, which targeted a political rally in the Bajaur district near Pakistans border with Afghanistan, rose to at least 54 people, Shaukat Abbas, a senior officer at the provincial polices counterterrorism department, said on Monday.

The Islamic State affiliate, known as the Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, claimed on Monday that a suicide bomber had carried out the attack, characterizing it as part of the groups war against democracy as a system of government, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

The blast was among the deadliest terrorist attacks in months in Pakistan, where some militant groups operating along the border with Afghanistan have become more active over the past year. The rise in violence represents a grim shift: Since 2014, when security forces carried out a major military operation to flush militants out of Pakistan, the country has experienced relative calm.
Acclaimed bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon spent his Covid quarantine lovingly and meticulously creating a digital tribute to / replica of the Science Fiction and Fantasy section in the bookstore of his youth. And it is glorious.

On Sunday, he posted the image on Threads and wrote:

This started (and was mostly finished) as a COVID project. One endless quarantine afternoon, I was in my Berkeley studio, staring at my old #DAW_SF and #BallantineAdultFantasy paperbacks, and contemplating, in my imagination, the "Science Fiction and Fantasy" section at the loooong-defunct Page One bookstore, back in #ColumbiaMD, where I grew up. People, I tell you, I fuckin HAUNTED that section! For YEARS! And now as I sat around communing with my tattered old friends, I discovered that I retained a sharp recollection  title, author, cover design  of what felt like every single book that had ever appeared on those tall shelves along the left wall of Page One, toward the back, between 1972 and 1980. This  which I finally finished, last night  was the result. Think of it  I did  as a kind of time telescope, a look back at the visuals that embodied and accompanied my early aspirations as a writer, and at the mass-market splendor of paperback sf and fantasy in those days.

I'm the same age as Chabon, and I was also a bookstore rat, staring at these exact same covers and agonizing over which one I'd lay down my $1.25 for.

I know these covers so well. But that The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume I, still sits on the bookcase beside me, ragged and smelling vaguely of cough syrup (long story).

Just look at those beautiful John Carter of Mars covers. I collected and cherished these, and the Tarzan series. Gino D'Achille did the illustrations for these John Carter covers, and that Tarzan of the Apes cover is by Neal Adams.

For some reason, these Ray Bradbury covers are not the ones I remember, even though Chabon and I were no doubt staring at the current Bradbury paperbacks at the exact same time.

I've met only one other person who read the Star Wars novelization before seeing the movie; in fact, before the movie opened. (That person is fellow cartoonist Tom Tomorrow.) So instead of experiencing the movie as it should have been  as campy movie fun  I experienced it as an adaptation of a literary work. (Still loved it.)

And the James Blish Star Trek series, just as I remember it. They only settled into a consistent cover style over the second through fourth volumes. And David Gerrold had only written the script for one Star Trek episode, but I read two books by him about it. Because they were there.

Chabon has generously posted links to download the photo, at various resolutions, here.

Images posted with the permission of Michael Chabon.
Saudi Arabia will host talks on Ukraines peace plan with several other countries this weekend in the coastal city of Jeddah, three foreign diplomats in the kingdom have said.

The diplomats, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the talks, said that several countries, including the United States and European nations, along with Brazil, China and India, had been invited, though it was not immediately clear who would attend.

Russia did not appear to be among those invited. The Kremlins spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said that Russia will keep an eye on this meeting but would need to fully understand what goals are being set, Russias state-run Tass news agency reported on Monday.

Many of the invited countries, and Saudi Arabia, have resisted American and European pressure to isolate Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.
Extensive minefields laid by Russian forces are proving among the toughest obstacles facing Ukraines counteroffensive, and the tools that Kyivs military has for removing them are inadequate, according to experts.

Russia has deployed minefields in innovative ways as part of multiple lines of defense, according to Rob Lee, a senior fellow with the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia. In the initial phase of Kyivs counteroffensive, which began in early June, Ukrainian forces took significant casualties and were slowed in part because of those minefields.

Several weeks followed in which Ukrainian infantry troops sometimes advanced on foot in what Mr. Lee described as very, very intense combat. He said that in recent days Ukraine had brought the bulk of its reserve troops into the counteroffensive in southern Ukraine, as well as tanks and mine clearing vehicles, echoing the assessment of two Pentagon officials.

Still, the pace of Ukraines advance has so far continued to be grindingly slow. In the last week, Ukraine has claimed incremental gains of around five square miles in the south. But since declaring on July 27 that it had recaptured the village of Staromaiorske, the ninth small settlement in the region since it launched the offensive, the Ukrainian military has offered few details about the state of the fighting.
At least three different Ukrainian-made drones have been used in attacks inside Russia, including Moscow, according to an analysis by The New York Times, indicating a Ukrainian role in strikes that the government in Kyiv has long shrouded in mystery.

Ukrainian officials have declined to claim or deny responsibility for drone strikes on Russian territory. But the three drone models, which appear capable of flying hundreds of miles from Ukraine to Moscow, were used in strikes in Russia.

The Times analysis, based on flight footage, images of prototypes and wreckage on the ground, as well as interviews with experts and officials, also found that Ukraine is racing to scale up its homegrown drone fleet, and to attack more frequently in Russia.

Public glimpses of Ukraines long-range drone industry are rare: One of the few appeared months ago, in the profile of a popular 23-year-old Ukrainian influencer who had been raising money for the war effort.
How did this man go from Putins servant to his biggest threat ever? Yevgeny Prigozhin is a man from St. Petersburg, Vladimir Putins hometown, and he spent most of the 80s in jail. When he was released in the sort of freewheeling 90s, he started his career in business. And it was actually at one of his restaurants that he met Vladimir Putin and started working for him and eventually becoming very, very rich. Prigozhin became so close to Putin that he started calling Putin Papa. Thats when Prigozhin earned the nickname Putins chef. The first images we see of Prigozhin are actually him just as a silent servant at state dinners hosted by Vladimir Putin. We see his unmistakable ears poking out when Putin hosted George W. Bush in St. Petersburg. Putin is famously paranoid, but you know, this is the man whos literally preparing and serving the food. This is a very specific kind of vulnerability and trust that he placed in Mr. Prigozhin. A real business opportunity came as Russia, and Russias military, started becoming increasingly involved in conflicts around the world. There was Prigozhin, ready to assist. You know, he and another man called Dmitry Utkin became the founders of the Wagner Group. And both of those men realized that they could also use this opportunity to enrich themselves. Thats happened in Central African Republic, in Syria and in many of the other places where Wagner has operations. Prigozhin was also really out of the limelight during this time. But all of that changed once the war in Ukraine started. Relying on hired guns and freed convicts, Prigozhin created one of the most combat-ready units fighting for Russia in Ukraine. As he became increasingly more public, his image changed. He often appears in army fatigues. Hes often also on the front line and talking about fatalities. Hes really been the only one to speak about the carnage and the horror of this war. On June 23, Prigozhin and his Wagner fighters seized the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and staged a march that stopped within 125 miles of Moscow. The 36-hour rebellion became the biggest threat to Putins regime since he came to power. Prigozhins fate has been shrouded in mystery since the aborted mutiny. As part of a deal with Putin to end the rebellion, Belaruss authoritarian leader offered exile to Prigozhin and his Wagner fighters. Then, a video of a man whose silhouette and voice bear a striking resemblance to Prigozhin appeared on Telegram, welcoming hundreds of Wagner fighters at a camp in Belarus. The man, whose face is obscured throughout the video, has a clear message: You may not have seen the end of Putins chef yet. Prigozhin is the embodiment, in a lot of ways, of Russias trajectory from the difficult and chaotic collapse of the Soviet Union through the flourishing of capitalism  and now, through whats becoming a society where hatred and celebration of war are really front and center. The level of real violence and vulgarity in public political life is something that Prigozhin has given to Russia.
Rival factions clashed in a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon for a third straight day on Monday in an eruption of violence that has left at least 11 people dead since it began.

The fighting in Ein al-Hilweh, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, was set off by the killing on Saturday of a leader of the Fatah faction and four of his bodyguards by another Palestinian group, according to Lebanese state media and a Fatah commander. Fatah is the political party that controls the Palestinian Authority  the administration over parts of the occupied West Bank.

The Fatah commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said his faction was trying to surround the group behind the attack on Saturday, which he identified as Jund al-Sham. Fatah has previously clashed with Jund al-Sham, an Islamist group, in Ein al-Hilweh.

The clashes are expanding, said Dr. Riad Abo Elaynein, an administrator at a private hospital near the camp. The sounds of shelling are still being heard from inside the camp.
When Israeli lawmakers passed a deeply contentious law last Monday to weaken the Supreme Court, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not linger in the voting chamber to celebrate.

Instead, the justice minister, Yariv Levin, an architect of the legislation, stayed to pose for selfies with fellow lawmakers as Mr. Netanyahu walked somberly from the room. Mr. Levin, not the prime minister, made a celebratory speech from the podium.

We have made the first step in the important historic process of repairing the justice system, Mr. Levin said. The prime minister was no longer there to hear him.

To the world, Mr. Netanyahu  Israels longest-serving leader  is the face of his governments judicial overhaul, a multipart effort that has already limited the Supreme Courts influence over lawmakers and could yet give the government more control over who sits on the court.
At least two public desecrations of the Quran in Sweden in recent weeks have provoked riots, caused a diplomatic crisis and placed the country, long regarded as peaceful and tolerant, under an awkward international spotlight.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden has voiced concerns about the implications for Swedes domestically and abroad, and on Sunday, he said the security situation in the country was at its most serious level since World War II.

The governments of many predominantly Islamic countries have issued withering denunciations of the Swedish authorities for allowing such desecrations of the Muslim holy book. The Swedish government has condemned the recent anti-Muslim acts, but the authorities say that the countrys laws on freedom of speech mean there is little they can do to prevent them.
Your browser does not support the video tag. Your browser does not support the video tag. Your browser does not support the video tag. Your browser does not support the video tag. Your browser does not support the video tag. Your browser does not support the video tag. Your browser does not support the video tag. Your browser does not support the video tag. Displaced residents in Myanmar had just returned to their village to get more rice when a military jet flew overhead, a survivor said. Video captures the airstrike, which killed four people. No target appears to be off limits for the military, which has made attacking civilian structures central to its war against opposition groups. The New York Times verified videos and photographs, analyzed data and satellite imagery and interviewed residents. The evidence shows that brutality against civilians is escalating.

Internet shutdowns and digital surveillance prevent much information from trickling beyond Myanmars borders. But behind the veil of secrecy, the military is carrying out a devastating and indiscriminate campaign of violence.

Even for a country long notorious for military abuses, the violence and humanitarian crisis now are unprecedented, many experts say.

Myanmar has experienced nearly continuous conflict since its independence in 1948. The countrys military holds unusual power, ruling for decades and often using force to squelch opposition. Its ethnic-cleansing campaign against Rohingya Muslims in 2017 set off one of the largest refugee crises in history, prompting an international outcry.

Then in 2021, the military staged a coup after an election, and protesters soon filled the streets. When demonstrators were met with a violent crackdown, the oppositions National Unity Government, led by ousted politicians and activists, established an armed resistance force.

The opposition and its allied forces now effectively control large swaths of the country. As they have gained ground, the military has resorted to increasing air attacks  many of which hit civilians.

Data shows that there were nearly twice as many military airstrikes reported in April, May and June as in the first three months of the year. Visuals analyzed by The Times and witness accounts reveal what that escalation looks like on the ground  and how attacks against civilians play an essential role in the militarys strategy.

The militarys strategy is to punish the civilian population for any perceived support of the opposition, said Anthony Davis, an analyst for the Janes group of military publications and an expert on the Myanmar military.

Its about burning villages, bombing villages and forcing the civilian population out of villages, Mr. Davis said.

Some of those tactics were once used against the Rohingya population in Rakhine State. Back then, the junta displaced around one million people. Since the February 2021 coup, 1.5 million people have been displaced, according to a report released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on June 28. Local organizations have estimated the number to be significantly higher.

The United Nations High Commissioner also reported that at least 3,452 people had been killed by the military and its allies since the coup.

Until the military dictatorship is overthrown, we remain haunted by the uncertainty of which day our lives may be extinguished, said U Maung Maung, 25, who was injured while fleeing an airstrike in February.

Almost every day, our village endured bombings

Opposition forces are now effectively in control of half Myanmars land. With the fighting no longer limited to pockets of the country, the military is woefully undermanned on the ground, said Mr. Davis, the Janes analyst. Its not just, Were fighting in Rakhine or were fighting in Kachin. What youve got now is the military on the back foot increasingly having to fight almost everywhere.

The military is using jets supplied by China and Russia and relies on a fuel supply chain that experts say should be hit with stronger sanctions to rein in the attacks. As long as the Myanmar military continues to be allowed to get access to aviation fuel, we are only going to see more and more civilian suffering, said Nang Sein, the Myanmar researcher at Amnesty International.

While opposition groups have expanded their arsenal of light weaponry, their only airpower is small drones rigged to drop homemade munitions. These drones have been increasingly used to target military posts and troops.

Resistance forces, too, have been accused of abuses during the conflict. But the indiscriminate nature of the air campaign, and its widespread impact on civilians, is unique to the military.

In some of its most brazen attacks, the military has launched airstrikes on public events seen as affiliated with the opposition  including the opening of an administrative center in the Sagaing region and a concert for the anniversary of an independence group in Kachin State.

Reported air or drone strikes conducted by the military Reported drone strikes conducted by the opposition On Oct. 23, 2022, an airstrike hit an outdoor concert. On April 11, the military bombed a large gathering in Pazigyi Village, killing more than 150 people. A drone attack on a military barrack in June 2022 reportedly killed 15 soldiers. Naypyidaw Naypyidaw Yangon Yangon Reported casualties Unknown or none 5 10 50 Reported air or drone strikes conducted by the military On Oct. 23, 2022, an airstrike hit an outdoor concert. On April 11, the military bombed a large gathering in Pazigyi Village, killing more than 150 people. Naypyidaw Yangon Reported casualties Unknown or none 5 10 50 Reported drone strikes conducted by the opposition A drone attack on a military barrack in June 2022 reportedly killed 15 soldiers. Naypyidaw Yangon Reported air or drone strikes conducted by the military Reported drone strikes conducted by the opposition On Oct. 23, 2022, an airstrike hit an outdoor concert. A drone attack on a military barrack in June 2022 reportedly killed 15 soldiers. On April 11, the military bombed a large gathering in Pazigyi Village, killing more than 150 people. Naypyidaw Naypyidaw Yangon Yangon Reported casualties Unknown or none 5 10 50 Source: The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) Note: Data as of June 30.

Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, which collects information on conflicts around the world, shows that airstrikes have become more frequent throughout the conflict. Over 40 military strikes were reported in June alone  more than any other month this year. Altogether, 2023 has had a monthly average of 30 airstrikes, the highest for any year of the conflict so far.

Most of the airstrikes take place in opposition-held areas.

In some cases, these strikes are called in by ground forces to counter specific opposition attacks on army posts. But much more often, they are indiscriminate, which means that civilians bear the brunt of the violence. Mr. Davis estimated that at least 85 percent of deaths from the strikes were civilian.

Right now, air power is very largely about punishment, he said. Its direct military impact is pretty minimal.

The strikes come at all hours of the day, some as early as 4 a.m.

The military wants to send a message that you either stay on our side or you are our enemy, said Ms. Nang, the Amnesty International researcher.

The military has been carrying out airstrikes more frequently Days with reported airstrikes Days with no reported airstrikes 2021 Average 8 strikes per month Feb. March April May June The military was mainly striking resistance fighters and base camps early on. July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. From November 2021, more and more airstrikes were causing civilian harm. Average 26 strikes per month 2022 Jan. Feb. March April June May July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Average 30 strikes per month 2023 Jan. Feb. March April May June Days with reported airstrikes Days with no reported airstrikes 2022 2021 2023 Avg. 8 strikes per month Avg. 26 strikes per month Avg. 30 strikes per month Jan. Feb. March April May June July The military was mainly striking resistance fighters and base camps early on. From November 2021, more and more airstrikes were causing civilian harm. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Source: The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) Note: Data as of June 30.

Visual evidence verified by The Times shows that strikes have hit schools, hospitals and places of worship. In several cases, local residents said that there had been no resistance fighters present in their village, though there was no way to confirm this.

On June 27, a military jet struck a monastery in the village of Nyaung Kone. One resident, U Zaw Htwe, said that a monk and nine other civilians had been killed. Images from the scene show the monastery destroyed.

Other photographs show damage to a high school and to a hospital in the Sagaing region after an airstrike on Feb. 23. The primary focus of the assault that day was the hospital, said Mr. Maung Maung, the resident who was injured.

Hospital cross Sign reading Basic Education High School Source: Ayadaw Post via Facebook

And nine people, including four children, were killed in what witnesses said was a military airstrike on March 30 in the village of Khuafo, in Thantlang Township. Video shows extensive destruction in the village.

Ngun Hoi, 40, was seriously injured in the airstrike. She remains bedridden in a hospital after having a steel rod inserted in her leg. Mrs. Ngun Hoi has fled attacks by the military multiple times since the coup, a common experience in Myanmar.

I served as an employee at a hospital in Thantlang, she said. Unfortunately, the Myanmar military burned our home there, compelling me to seek refuge in Khuafo village  where fate had an airstrike in store for me.

Nine people, including children, were killed in what witnesses described as an airstrike in Thantlang Township. Salai Tial Hram Ling

They perished in the flames

The burning of villages, like Mrs. Ngun Hois former home, is another tactic long used by the military to break the will of the opposition. As with the air campaign, the military has recently escalated its scorched-earth campaign.

Your browser does not support the video tag. Your browser does not support the video tag. Your browser does not support the video tag. Your browser does not support the video tag. Your browser does not support the video tag. Your browser does not support the video tag. Drone footage captures the military in the act of burning down Let Htoke Taw village in the southern Sagaing region. An armed man walks out of one of the homes. Moments later, it goes up in flames. A satellite image captured on May 6 confirms the date of the attack. Fires raging in several parts of the village are visible.

When fighter jets or helicopters are involved, attacks can be easily attributed to government forces. But responsibility for fires is often much more difficult to prove. The video of the soldier leaving the house, first analyzed and shared with The Times by the nongovernmental organization Myanmar Witness, is rare evidence of troops in the act.

Mr. Davis, who reviewed the footage, said there was no doubt that this was state security forces at work. The helmets, the distinctive way many of them shoulder their rifles and the military discipline and organization at some moments make that entirely clear, he said.

Daw Thein Htay, whose home was burned in the attack, said that soldiers had threatened to incinerate the village unless residents disclosed the location of an opposition leader. When we said we did not know, they set our village on fire, she said.

Fires like this are most concentrated in the opposition stronghold of Sagaing; some villages have been burned repeatedly. Mrs. Thein Htay said that the villagers in Let Htoke Taw were warned of a repeat attack if they dared to reconstruct their homes.

A recent analysis by Myanmar Witness found an alarming increase in fires, with nearly six times as many identified in December 2022 as in December 2021. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said in July that around 60,000 civilian structures had been burned since the start of the coup.

Satellite imagery reveals the extent of the destruction wrought by fires in Myanmar. Between May 25 and June 1 alone, The Times identified at least seven clearly burned villages spread across three states.

Four were captured in satellite imagery while burning.

Ma Gyi Sauk on May 25 Thea Inn on May 26 Kyet Tu Yway on May 26 Mon Taing Pin on May 29 Source: Planet Labs

The destruction of food storage facilities and livestock has also been a common tactic in the militarys offensive. Photographs shared by Myanmar Witness show the burning of grain piles and of a rice storage facility in mid-November in Paung Hle Kone in the Sagaing region.

Burned livestock Burned rice storage facility Burned rice Source: Khin-U Township News via Facebook

One resident, U Maung Tun Sein, said that Paung Hle Kone was just one of several villages in the area where the military had destroyed rice storage facilities that week.

Civilians across the country have died in the raids and widespread burning.

Even as we sought refuge in the jungle while our homes were torched, we remained in hiding because the soldiers of the army pursued us, Mr. Maung Tun Sein said. Their objective was not solely to destroy houses but to inflict harm upon the inhabitants as well.

Some vulnerable groups, like the elderly, are not able to flee at all. On March 25 in Sagaings Son Kone village, over 150 homes were burned to the ground. Six of the seven people killed in the fire were 70 or older, a resident said.

When the soldiers arrived at the village, seven elderly individuals who were unable to flee sought refuge in their homes, recounted U Sein Myint, a survivor of the attack. Tragically, the military set their houses ablaze, leaving them with no means of escape. The elderly residents met a horrifying fate as they perished in the flames.

Nearly everyone who spoke to The Times said they lived in constant fear. Even outside the most active conflict zones, the military carries out extensive monitoring to suppress support for the opposition. Any hint of resistance can lead to arrest.

In Myanmar, people die every day because the army kills them, but we don't even dare to change our profile picture on Facebook to a black screen as a sign of mourning, said U Thet Swe, a businessman in Yangon. We are living in such a situation that we do not dare to mourn the death of our own citizens.
The Colorado cop who left a detainee in their car on a railway line to be struck by a train was convicted of reckless endangerment, reports the Associated Press. Jordan Steinke, however, was acquitted on a charge of attempted manslaughter. The woman, Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, was seriously injured in the collision.

There's no reasonable doubt that placing a handcuffed person in the back of a patrol car, parked on railroad tracks, creates a substantial and unjustifiable risk of harm by the train," said Judge Timothy Kerns. But the evidence didn't convince Kerns that Steinke "knowingly intended to harm Ms. Rios-Gonzalez," and he added that Stienke had shown "shock and remorse."

Three things. 1) The misdemeanor conviction and felony acquittal means Steinke can still be a cop in Colorado. 2) If you find Officer Steinke's "those were railroad tracks?" defense hard to believe, you wouldn't be the only one. 3) Cops choose bench trials, where the judge determines guilt instead of a jury, because judges tend to be lenient and gullible when cops are on trial.
A Chinese man turned up at the emergency room of a Zhejiang hospital with the screw base of a light bulb sticking out of his mouth, after trying one of the dumbest online challenges imaginable.

On July 25th, firefighters at the Yuyao City Fire and Rescue Brigade, in Zhejiang, China, were confronted with one of the most bizarre rescue cases yet. A local man, referred to only as Mr. Chen, burst into their station and tried to explain something to them. However, the mans mouth was covered with a t-shirt, and instead of words, he only seemed able to utter muffled sounds. After removing the makeshift mask, the reason for his unusual speech became obvious  he had an LED light bulb sticking out of his mouth and was trying to get help removing it. Unfortunately, that proved too difficult a task for the firemen.

After inspecting the mans mouth and assessing the situation, the firemen decided that trying to yank out the glass light bulb was too difficult, as it could cause serious damage to the mans mouth if the glass burst. So they took Mr. Chen to the nearby Yuyao Peoples Hospital, where a team of doctors realized that the man could not open his mouth wide enough to safely remove the light bulb. So instead, they used a special mouth opener to dislocate his jaw on one side and remove the glass bulb.

After blowing a sigh of relief, Chen told doctors that he had gotten the light bulb stuck in his mouth about two hours earlier. He had attempted to remove it himself, but couldnt open his mouth enough for the glass bulb to safely bypass his teeth. He had trouble swallowing and speaking, so he decided to seek professional help.



As for the reason why he got the light bulb in his mouth in the first place, the middle-aged man casually said that he watched someone do it in an online video and wanted to see if he could do it too. I guess he got his answer
5W Public Relations lands Turismo de Lisboa, the official tourism board for Lisbon, Portugal. The agency is tasked with spearheading a strategic communications program including media relations, thought leadership, social media ideation, and more. The programs strategy includes promoting Lisbons evergreen tourist attractions and seasonal events. With 5Ws expertise and integrated strategic approach, we look forward to captivating the American audience and establishing Lisbon as a must-visit city, said Turismo de Lisboa executive director Paula Oliveira.

LDPR has been named agency of record for The Somerset on Grace Bay, an oceanfront resort on Grace Bay in the Turks and Caicos islands. The agency will oversee the propertys overall strategic media relations and media visit program for North America. The Somerset on Grace Bay features 53 residence-style accommodations including beachfront estates, pool and ocean view villas, and townhomes. Activities include private excursions, kiteboarding, deep-sea fishing, snorkeling and culinary experiences.

Current Global partners with creative agency 72ndandSunny and digital agency Thrive to work with Pvolve, a functional fitness company. Current Global will guide corporate and consume public relations strategy, 72ndandSunny will steer creative and content production, and Thrive will spearhead performance marketing for the company. Pvolve, with offerings that pair functional movement with resistance-based equipment, offers live and on-demand classes on Pvolve.com, on the Pvolve App, and via physical studio locations. The teams at 72andSunny, Current Global and Thrive are working alongside our in-house teams to unlock new opportunities to tell our story and continue to position us as category leader, ultimately changing the conversation around what great fitness looks and feels like at all stages of life, said Pvolve chief marketing and commercial officer Karina Kogan.
BGR Government Affairs has signed a $600K contract to provide strategic guidance, PR, and government affairs services to Serbia.

The firm may contact US government officials, NGOs and the media on behalf of Serbia.

Serbia maintains friendly relations with Russia, its fellow Slavic nation, and has not joined in pressing sanctions against it.

More than 200K Russians have fled to Serbia in the aftermath of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Jeff Birnbaum, president of BGRs PR unit, and international & trade practice co-heads Lester Munson and Maya Seiden, handle the Serbia business.

Serbias US ambassador Marko Djuric oversees the BGR relationship, which began on July 20.

The Balkan nation signed Karv Communications to a $720K one-year pact, effective July 15.
Courtney Crowder,

Licy M. Do Canto

APCO Worldwide promotes Courtney Crowder to North America managing director and chair of advocacy and Licy M. Do Canto to North America head of market engagement. Before joining APCO in 2019, Crowder founded and operated his own consultancy, Crowder Consulting. He was previously legislative director and senior advisor to North Carolina governor Bev Perdue. In his new post, Crowder will set the vision for APCOs advocacy offer and manage the agencys Washington, D.C., and Raleigh offices. Do Canto has been with APCO since 2021, leading the D.C. office. Before that, he was executive VP and managing director in BCWs public affairs and crisis practice, Do Canto will now spearhead APCOs efforts across the region to generate wider awareness, foster deeper engagement and drive business growth for the firm through collaborations with corporations, governments, multilateral institutions, think tanks and public policy stakeholders.

Naomi Ballah, Dave Finn

Taylor ups Naomi Ballah and Dave Finn to SVP. Ballah spent the last two years at Taylor working to manage the Crown Royal brand. Prior to joining Taylor, she was director of public relations, social & influencer for the Matrix Professional haircare brand at L'Oreal. She previously was a group manager at Weber Shandwick. In his eight years at Taylor, Finn has led the account management of such brands as Guinness, IBM, Capital One, DraftKings and AIG. In addition to maintaining his client-facing account leadership position, he will be now be responsible for enterprise-wide client finance management, integration of client teams across all Taylor specialties, and agency talent allocation. Naomi and Dave's promotions are a testament to their exceptional skills, profound industry knowledge, and unwavering commitment to our clients and Taylor's success, said Taylor managing partner Maeve Hagen.

Peter Alexander

Fastly, which develops edge cloud platforms, brings on Peter Alexander as CMO, effective Aug. 1. Alexander joins Fastly from cyber security company Check Point Software Technologies, where he has been CMO for the past six years, driving the companys go-to-market strategy, scaling demand generation, and elevating brand and reputation. He has also served as CMO at Harmonic, which provides video delivery infrastructure, and held a range of marketing and product management functions at Cisco. Peter is an incredible strategic marketer with a proven track record of leading and building technology brands, and Im excited to have him join our leadership team, said Fastly CEO Todd Nightingale.
Leigh Gallagher

Leigh Gallager, director of external affairs at Google, has joined Teneo as senior managing director in its US strategy and communications unit.

She will counsel Teneos clients on executive positioning, media engagement and strategic communications.

Gallagher joined Google in 2019 to deepen its relationships with editors, columnists and reporters, and help the communications team to become a source for technology news.

Earlier, she did a 12-year stint at Fortune. She exited the magazine as editor-at-large and executive director of Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit.

Andrea Calise, president of Teneos US strategy and communications group, called Gallagher "an important thought leader, convener and respected journalist" who will advance client objectives and contribute to the global CEO advisory firms growth.
A TWIN track rail line between Tullamore and Portarlington which would speed up the journey to Dublin is a key recommendation in the Government's Strategic Rail Review.

Currently the line between Portarlington and Tullamore, and on to Athlone, is single track only which restricts the service.

In its long-term blueprint for the entire island of Ireland, the review also proposes a link between Tullamore and Derry and Letterkenny, via the towns of Athlone, Mullingar, Cavan, Monaghan and Portadown.

This would require building a new line between Athlone and Mullingar. The existing line has been converted to a greenway.

The line between Galway and Dublin would be electrified under the plan with trains running more frequently and at speeds of up to 200kph, compared to the current top speed of 160kph.

Offaly-based Minister of State Pippa Hackett welcomed the recommendations and said she sees a shift in policy taking place.

Right now, most rail lines run to and from Dublin. The Rail Review recommendations shift the emphasis towards the Midlands. If implemented, there will be a diamond of new and upgraded rail connections in the heart of Ireland, said the Green Party representative.

This diamond is formed by the welcome reinstatement of the Athlone to Mullingar route, dual track improvements from Mullingar to Maynooth, upgraded connections to Hazelhatch and on to Portarlington and finally, Portarlington to Athlone, via Tullamore.

It is now a very real possibility that within the next two decades we will have fast, decarbonised rail connecting Derry to Cork without the need to travel further east than Portarlington.

It makes sense that extending the dual-track between Portarlington  Athlone and Maynooth  Mullingar will allow more commuter services to serve intermediate stations while intercity services can deliver faster city-to-city journey times with proposed speeds of 200kph. These journeys will become more comfortable and frequent as new rolling stock is procured.

These are all recommended improvements which will directly impact on commuters and leisure travellers. The planned electrification of the services improves the environment and air quality for everybody.

I particularly welcome the recommendation for an investment in the skills to deliver this electrification and decarbonisation and I see huge potential for enterprise development in this area. Rail infrastructure is expensive to deliver and needs a short, medium and long term strategy and I am delighted, thanks to Green Party participation in Government, that we have one now.

The review says overcrowding on trains  often a problem on the Tullamore to Dublin route  will be reduced by longer trains and more frequent services.

The Portarlington to Galway dual track and electrification through Tullamore would cost between 800m and 1.3bn and could be completed by 2040 if planning starts now.

Annual costs for operating and maintaining a larger rail network on the island are estimated to be 600m, which would be partly offset by increased revenue, the review says.

The total capital cost has been estimated at 31.8bn. The review authors said: While significant, these costs would represent a similar annual spend as was committed in the middle of the 2000s when Ireland expanded its motorway network, and they would be shared across both jurisdictions. Some costs would be offset by future revenue, while others could be met by government funding. In addition, there would be other impacts arising from the delivery of some interventions, particularly during their construction. This includes potential disruption to communities, townscapes, severance, biodiversity, landscapes, noise, and carbon emissions driven by the construction of new railways.

Minister Hackett also said that the proposed cycleway from Edenderry to Enfield was on hold pending the rail review and called for an active travel proposal joining the two towns along the disused railway.

The approximate 20km cycle would expand options for commuter and recreational cyclists and be a huge boost for Edenderry, said Minister Hackett, who noted that she had been working with Cllr Mark Hackett on the project.
A LOCAL group says that large areas of farmland in Offaly are now unusable following a very wet July.

Save Our Shannon Organisation (SOSO) told the Midland Tribune that after one of the wettest Julys ever a lot of farmers are unable to cut their land for hay and silage. SOSO believes that this situation could have been averted if the Shannon was being properly managed by the government.

Once again there's severe flooding during the summer, commented Liam Broderick PRO of SOSO. Once again flood waters are spread over the Shannon Callows from Athlone down to Meelick. It seems they are at a higher level above Banagher Bridge towards Shannonbridge (particularly in the Clonfert area) and above the bridge in Shannonbridge (particularly in the Clonmacnoise and Clonown Callows).

Liam pointed out that it has been raining incessantly for four weeks with the result that no meadow has been cut in any part of the Shannon Callows. He said farmers now consider that this crop of hay is lost and it's unlikely that any of it can be salvaged.

The Save Our Shannon Organisation, he continued, have been calling for years now, ever since the major flooding periods of November 2009, January 2015, and February 2020 for three actions by those in charge of the Shannon.

The first of these actions includes the establishment of a single governing authority over the Shannon. Nothing has happened. There are several governing authorities with responsibility for the river including the ESB, the NPWS, the OPW, Waterways Ireland, Inland Fisheries, and the County Councils. The most important of these are the ESB, the OPW and Waterways Ireland. The ESB operates Ardnacrusha Generating Station, and Waterways Ireland is responsible for maintaining the river levels at a certain depth to enable vessel navigation.

The second action includes the removal of a number of pinchpoints in order to improve the conveyancing of water in the Callows region. A few years ago the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Kevin Boxer Moran, announced that his plan was to remove ten of the pinchpoints along the river. One substantial pinchpoint was removed in the Lusmagh area and a small bit of another pinchpoint was also removed, but the other eight pinchpoints were never tackled.

SOSO has also been advocating for years for the lowering of the three major lakes on the Shannon during the summer so that there would be some storage area for flood waters as they rise. They have also been calling for the opening of the gates/sluices in Athlone and Meelick in time, prior to a serious fall of rain. Once again, they say, this hasn't happened.

On Friday July 14th, continued Liam, we visited Meelick and saw that five of the 12 sluice gates were still shut, in spite of the heavy rainfall. The next day our secretary Emily Young contacted all the TDs in the region and told them about the problem. Some didn't reply. One of them however did contact Waterways Ireland and got all 12 sluice gates in Meelick open. This was happening at a time when Met Eireann had been issuing warnings, almost every day the previous week, concerning constant rain and the dangers of spot flooding.

On the 15th of July, as the flood waters in the Shannon had been rising for over a week, the water levels in Lough Allen were 0.60metres above the summer level and below Athlone weir heading towards Shannonbridge the water level was 0.72metres above the summer level. We believe that Loughs Derg, Ree and Allen should be lowered by a metre during the months of April and May so that there is sufficient storage during wet summers. This would also benefit the biodiversity of the region. The corncrake no longer exists in the Callows because its nests were destroyed by summer flooding; and the curlew is also struggling due to the higher than usual water levels.

The PRO pointed out that while flood walls have been constructed in Athlone and a Bund in Banagher, since November 2009 nothing has been done to help the rural areas of the Shannon Callows. He wondered if the government considers the flooding of good farmland and farm buildings to be an integral part of rewetting our bogs?

In August 2021 Minister Patrick O'Donovan visited the region and said 7 million would be made available to implement a programme of strategic maintenance upstream of Ardnacrusha to assist with mitigating flooding and the removal of a number of pinch points through the Shannon Callows that can help to delay flooding in the area. SOSO says that since then nothing has happened.

SOSO's PRO said that if farmers can't harvest their hay and silage then there will be a fodder crisis. "The last time we had a fodder crisis was in February 2020," he said, "and it's a bad state of affairs."
Bord na Mona is getting cricitism for its decision to put the recently closed briquette factory in Offaly up for sale or rent.

The briquette factory in Derrinlough closed on June 1, 2023 and the massive facility is now on the market.

According to a listing on daft.ie, the overall floor area is almost 2 million sq/ft on a 44.5 acre site.

It says the facility would suit a wide variety of industrial and warehousing processes and adds that an 'established and skilled workforce' is available in the area.

The listing says that price is available on application or rent is negotiable.

The SIPTU union has reacted by trying to stop the sale and have accused Bord na Mona of breaking the terms of the agreement entered into in relation the closure of Derrinlough Briquette factory and engaging in an act of industrial vandalism.

SIPTU TEAC Divisional Organiser is Adrian Kane.

The decision by Bord na Mona to put the site up for sale without consultation with the unions is in contravention of the Joint Industrial relations Council (JIRC) decision which both sides had agreed to be bound by.

The Group of Unions is calling for an immediate halt of the sale of the site and that a feasibility study should be conducted with a view to converting the site into an Industrial Heritage Centre. Relevant bodies should be consulted, including the Midlands Regional Transition Team, Offaly Co. Council and local community groups. The unilateral decision to put the site up for sale is a poor reflection on the current management team in Bord na Mona who are showing little regard for the legacy of the thousands of workers who made the company. The sale of the site is akin to an act of industrial vandalism.

Architectural Conservationist Emma Gilleece, who has written about the architectural history of the factory said that although it is not on Offaly County Councils list of Protected Structures, the factory is listed on the Offaly Survey for the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage recognising its social significance.

As the last surviving briquette factory in Ireland, efforts must be made to investigate the potential of repurposing the site as an educational centre on Irelands societal transition to a low-carbon economy. The selling-off and predictable demolition of the factory would not just erase the site, but also the social history of the workers and the communities that formed around Derrinlough. Bord na Mona have a duty of care, not just to their employees, but also to our shared industrial heritage.

Dr Patrick Bresnihan is a Geography Professor in Maynooth University is shocked at the sale decision.

The international experience shows that a meaningful just transition for the energy sector must not only account for loss of employment, but for the social and cultural value of industrial heritage and the built environment. Given that former workers are clearly attached to the briquette factory, and the opportunities that exist to transform the site into a community resource, it is a shock to hear that Bord na Mona wish to sell it.

Dr Jamie Rohu from the Department of Geography in Trinity College Dublin also criticised the decision.

The selling off the Derrinlough briquette factory will mean that the industrial heritage of workers in the Irish midlands will be further eroded. The opportunity to repurpose the plant in such a way as to respect the work done by multiple generations of workers will be lost. The selling off the factory is not aligned with international just transition best practice.
Even the National Park System is getting in on the Barbie craze. The Minute Man National Historical Park in Lexington, Lincoln, and Concord, Massachusettssite of the first armed conflict of the American Revolution that began on April 19, 1775recently posted its own spin on Barbie, the "Creepy Catherine" doll:

We ken-not let the National Park Service have all the fun



Have you met Minute Man's favorite doll, Creepy Catherine??



Catherine is a 1-inch tall Frozen Charlotte doll from the park's archeology collections. These dolls were popular toys in the 19th century. Why is she so creepy? Well for starters, just look at those hollow eye holes and second, the backstory of these common dolls is bone-chilling. Legend has it that Catherine was like "let's go party!" and headed off to a winter ball. She didn't heed her mother's advice to wear a blanket (she didn't want to cover her 'fit) and thus froze to death on the ride to the party. Yikes.



For more information on these creepy dolls, check out this article by our friends over at Fort Stanwix National Monument: https://www.nps.gov/articles/-frozen-charlotte.htm



Photo 1: A simple white ceramic doll on a multi-colored-pink background.

The Fort Stanwix National Monument, in New York, provides more information about "Frozen Charlotte" dolls:

"Frozen Charlotte" dolls are one piece dolls with bent arms and range in size from just 1 inch to over 18 inches. They were manufactured first in Germany and then later in Britain, and likely elsewhere, between 1850 and 1920. The name "Frozen Charlotte" was associated with the dolls once they were gaining in popularity. It is inspired by a folk ballad about "Young Charlotte" or "Frozen Charlotte" who froze to death while on a carriage ride to a winter's ball.



Excerpt from "Young Charlotte": "The mother to her daughter said,

"These blankets round you fold;

For it is a dreadful night, you know,

You'll catch your death of cold.""Oh, no! Oh, no!" the darling cried,

She laughed like a gypsy queen,

"For to ride in blankets muffled up,

I never could be seen."



"Such a night as this I never knew,

My lines I scarce can hold."

With a trembling voice young Charlotte cried,

"I am exceeding cold."



"When they reached the inn,

young Charles jumped out,

And gave his hand to her,

"Why sit you there like a monument,

And have no power to stir?"

He called her once, he called her twice,

She answered not a word;

He called all for her hand again,

But still she never stirred."

The University of Maine's Maine Folklore Center explains that this folk ballad and the Frozen Charlotte dolls operated as cautionary tales for young women, who were "warned to listen to their parents' instructions and not to concern themselves with fashion over their health."

Read more about Frozen Charlotte dolls here. And read the full lyrics of the Young Charlotte ballad and hear Ernest Lord singing a rendition of the song here.
2-Kg Fetus Removed from 7-Month-Old Infant's Stomach In UP

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Doctors at Sarojini Naidu Children's Hospital in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, successfully removed a 2-kilogram fetus from the stomach of a 7-month-old infant in a four-hour surgery.

The infant had been suffering from an extremely rare condition known as "foetus in fetu." Dr. D Kumar, leading the team of doctors performing the surgery, confirmed that the child is now in good health post-operation.

The child's father, a farmer from Kunda area in Pratapgarh district, rushed him to the OPD at Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital on July 24. The infant had been experiencing acute pain and had a swollen abdomen. After a thorough examination, a CT scan revealed the presence of a foetus inside the child's abdomen. Tragically, the child's mother had passed away after giving birth to the baby, as per the doctor's statement.

"Foetus in fetu" is an extremely rare medical phenomenon where a malformed and parasitic foetus is found within the body of its twin. It occurs when one of the twins develops inside the mother's womb while the other mistakenly develops within the body of the sibling. The successful removal of the foetus has brought relief and hope for the infant's healthy future.

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Story first published: Monday, July 31, 2023, 18:59 [IST]
Bombay HC Refuses Nod To 17-Year-Old Girl To Abort Pregnancy

India

oi-PTI

The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has refused permission to a 17-year-old girl to abort her 24-week pregnancy, saying it was the result of a consensual relationship and the baby would be born alive at this stage.

A division bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Y G Khobragade, in its order on July 26, noted the girl would turn 18 this month and that she was in a consensual relationship with the boy since December 2022.

The bench in its order said the victim girl and the accused boy had developed physical relations several times. The girl herself brought a pregnancy kit and confirmed the pregnancy in February this year, it noted.

"Therefore, it appears that the petitioner victim is not innocent and she was having full maturity of understanding. If the petitioner was not interested to carry the pregnancy she could have sought permission for termination soon after confirmation of the pregnancy," the HC said.

With teenage pregnancy at 16.8%, why the child marriage crackdown in Assam is necessary

The girl had filed the petition in the HC through her mother, seeking to terminate the pregnancy claiming she was a "child" within the meaning of provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, a court's permission is required to terminate pregnancy beyond 20 weeks, if it is found the pregnancy poses a threat to the life or health of the mother or the child.

The plea claimed the pregnancy would cause grave injury to the mental health of the petitioner who wishes to study to become a doctor in future. The high court took note of a report submitted by the medical board after examining the victim girl, which said there was no anomaly in the foetus and the growth was normal. The medical board opined that a child born if pregnancy is aborted at this stage would show signs of life, but would not be capable of independent survival.

"If a baby is born alive even after forcible delivery considering the request of the mother to terminate the pregnancy then it would lead to an under-developed child with chances of deformities," the HC said. The bench said it was not inclined to permit termination of the pregnancy as in any case, the child is going to be born alive and the natural delivery is just 15 weeks away. If the girl later wishes to put up the child for adoption she is at liberty to do so, the high court said, adding if the baby is delivered at full term, then there would be no deformity and the chances of adoption would brighten. The bench also said the girl could be lodged at some social organisation which takes care of such pregnant women till she delivers the baby.

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Story first published: Monday, July 31, 2023, 14:04 [IST]
Chandrayaan-3 One Step Closer To Moon Landing, Key Trans Lunar Injection Tonight

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

After more than two weeks of orbit-raising manoeuvres around Earth, Chandrayaan-3 is set for a crucial trans lunar injection (TLI) tonight, between 12 midnight to 1 am IST.

During this critical move, the spacecraft's thrusters will be activated to propel it beyond Earth's gravity and into the moon's orbit.

Previously, LVM3 positioned the spacecraft and its propulsion module in an elongated Earth orbit, followed by subsequent orbit-raising manoeuvres, resulting in a trajectory of 1,27,603 km x 236 km. Now, the thrusters will once again come to life, transferring the spacecraft to a lunar orbit. The powerful burn will enable Chandrayaan-3 to enter the moon's sphere of influence, performing a hyperbolic lunar swingby, thus setting it on course to intercept the Moon.

Upon reaching the Moon, the propulsion module will gently lower Chandrayaan-3 to a circular, 100-kilometre orbit. There, the two components will separate, allowing the lander to deorbit and execute a soft landing in the Moon's south polar region on August 23, as per the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) schedule.

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Launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Station in Sriharikota on July 14, India's third moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, has completed five orbit-raising manoeuvres around Earth and attained an elliptical path with the farthest and closest points at 127,603 km x 236 km.

With tonight's firing, Chandrayaan-3 will break free from Earth's gravity and commence its journey towards the Moon. Once it reaches the Moon, it will enter lunar orbit and move closer to the innermost circle over the first week of August. Over the next ten days, it will determine the precise landing location in the Moon's south pole region, as announced by Union Space Minister Jitendra Singh.

Chandrayaan-3 aims to achieve objectives similar to its predecessor, Chandrayaan-2:

Demonstrate a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface.

Showcase the mobility of the Rover on the Moon's terrain.

Conduct in-situ scientific experiments on the lunar surface.

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Story first published: Monday, July 31, 2023, 20:27 [IST]
Delhi: VHP, Bajrang Dal Submit Memorandum To Police Over Violence During Muharram Processions

India

oi-PTI

The Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal submitted a memorandum to the police over Saturday's clashes during Muharram processions in west Delhi, officials said. Slogans of 'Desh ke gaddaro ko goli maro... (shoot the traitors)' and 'Jai Shri Ram' were raised outside the Nangloi police station by the members of the two organisations after they submitted the memorandum, a senior officer said on Sunday.

The sloganeering went on for around half an hour with the crowd subsequently dispersing, he added. Police on Sunday registered three cases after an "unruly crowd" taking part in Muharram processions clashed with police personnel and pelted them with stones in Nangloi, officials said.

Twelve people, including six police personnel, were injured while public property was damaged in the clashes. Police lathicharged the crowd to disperse it, they said. Police on Saturday said, "Several 'tazia' processions were being carried out in the Nangloi area and around eight to 10 thousand people participated in those. One or two organisers on the main Rohtak Road became unruly and tried to deviate from the route that was mutually decided in the coordination meeting with the 'taziadaran'."

Clash Breaks Out During Muharram Procession In Delhi, 10 cops Injured

The police made efforts to convince them to stick to the pre-decided route and proceed to the designated burials. While most of them cooperated, a few of the participants became unruly and started instigating the public and pelted the police with stones, they said.

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Story first published: Monday, July 31, 2023, 10:09 [IST]
Girl Drinks Urine After Boy Mixes It in Her Water Bottle, Protests Break Out in Rajasthan

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Massive protests have been sparked in Luharia village, Bhilwara, Rajasthan, following a distressing incident where a schoolboy allegedly mixed urine in the water bottle of a girl from a different community. Tragically, the female student, who attends Government Senior Higher Secondary School, mistakenly drank the contaminated water.

Adding to the shocking incident, the girl discovered a love letter inside her bag. According to reports, the incident occurred on Friday.

"When she drank from the bottle, she noticed a foul odor and immediately raised a complaint. To her surprise, she also found a letter with 'love you' written on it inside her bag," said a police official to India Today.

Allegedly, the school principal did not take any action upon receiving the girl's complaint, which outraged the locals. As a result, people from the girl's community expressed their anger through protests against the incident.

When the school reopened on Monday, the infuriated crowd approached the Luharia police station in charge, and the school principal decided to lock the school premises.

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The protests eventually escalated and turned violent, leading the police to resort to a lathi-charge to disperse the agitated protesters in Luharia village, Bhilwara. Visuals from the scene surfaced and became viral on social media platforms.

Furthermore, the locals also entered the locality of the accused schoolboy and threw stones at his house. As of now, the police have not received any formal complaint from the accused regarding the incident.

"The student has not yet filed a formal complaint with the police. However, if a complaint is lodged against those who engaged in stone-pelting and entered the accused's locality, the police will take appropriate action," stated ASP Ghanashyam Sharma to India Today.

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Story first published: Monday, July 31, 2023, 17:46 [IST]
It Raises Doubts: MP Minister On Indian Woman Anju Getting Gifts In Pakistan For Embracing Islam

India

oi-Prakash KL

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Monday said Indian woman Anju, who went to Pakistan to meet her Facebook friend before she allegedly converted to Islam and married him, getting gifts from Pakistanis raise doubts about the "international conspiracy angle."

Speaking to the media, he said, "The fact that Anju is being welcomed in Pakistan and getting gifts is raising several doubts. That's why I have directed the special branch of police to examine the case minutely, whether it is an international conspiracy or not?"

It comes after reports claimed that she received some money and a piece of land as gifts for embracing Islam.

Recently, Anju went to meet the man with whom she has been in touch since 2019. The mother of two allegedly went without informing her husband and father.

India's Anju Receives Money, Land As Gift After Marrying Pakistani Guy, Embracing Islam

As she went to Pakistan, it was reported that she converted to Islam, changed her name to Fatima and then married in a court. On Saturday, Mohsin Khan Abbasi, the chief executive officer of a real estate company based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, visited Anju and Nasrullah at their residence in the Upper Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He presented Anju a cheque, the amount of which was not known, and a land document in the presence of her husband to make her feel at home in Pakistan, according to a report in PTI.

Responding to the reports of her visit to Pakistan, Anju's father Thomas last week said, "The way she ran away leaving her two children and husband behind...she did not even think of her children. If she wanted to do this, she should have divorced her husband first. She is no more (alive) for us."

However, her Indian husband said that they are not divorced yet and hence she cannot marry the man from across the border.

Let Anju Die There: Father Of Indian Woman After She Went To Pakistan To Meet Her FB Friend

"Anju has said she submitted divorce papers in Delhi three years ago but I have not received any summons or notice from the court yet. On papers, she is still my wife. She cannot marry anyone else. The government should get the matter investigated," Anju's husband Arvind Kumar told reporters in Alwar.

Anju has reportedly got a 30-day visa and she will be back in the country on August 30.

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Story first published: Monday, July 31, 2023, 13:31 [IST]
Uttar Pradesh CM Adityanath Announces His State To Be First One To Have 18 'Safe Cities' In Country

Muslim Side Should Offer Solution To Gyanvapi Mosque Dispute On Historical Mistake: UP CM

India

oi-Prakash KL

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said that the Muslim society should offer solution to the "historical mistake" on the Gyanvapi mosque dispute.

"If we call it masjid, then there will be a dispute. One should be able to see. What is a trishul doing inside the masjid? We have not kept it there, right? There is a Jyotirlinga. There are symbols of deities inside the premises. The walls are shouting and saying (sic)... And I believe that this proposal must come from the Muslim community admitting that there has been a historic blunder, and we believe that the blunder should be corrected," Times Now quoted the UP CM as saying in an interview with ANI.

His comments come at a time when Allahabad High Court is hearing a petition by the mosque committee, challenging a lower court's order for a survey by the Archaeological Survey of India inside the mosque complex.

The High Court on Thursday said that the interim stay on the ASI Survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque Premises will continue until Thursday, August 3.

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Gyanvapi Mosque: Interim Stay To Continue, Verdict On Aug 3

The survey was sought by the original litigants, five Hindu women, who earlier sought permission to pray at the "Shringar Gauri Sthal" inside the shrine complex. The mosque is located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi and Hindu litigants in the district court had sought the survey to determine whether a temple existed at the same spot earlier.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad MP and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi slammed the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister over the comments and said, "Chief Minister Yogi (Adityanath) knows that the Muslim side has opposed the ASI survey in Allahabad High Court and the judgment will be delivered in a few days, still he gave such a controversial statement, this is judicial overreach."
Plant 50 Trees In One Month: Court Tells Man Accused Of Sexual Harassment To Drop Criminal Proceedings

India

oi-Prakash KL

A man in Uttarakhand accused of sexually harassing a woman was asked to plant 50 trees as a condition to dismiss the ongoing criminal proceedings against him, Live Law reported.

Passing the order, the Uttarakhand High Court said, "But, composition in itself should carry a lesson for the applicant that in future he would not engage himself in such types of offences and he should reckon how to acknowledge the sanctity of a friendly relationship."

The report claims that the accused had befriended a woman on Facebook. As the days passed by, he allegedly sent indecent and objectionable videos and photographs to the complainant.

Woman Accuses Manchester Police of Sexual Assault Inside The Jail

The victim then filed a complaint and the fiR was lodged under Section 354A of the IPC and Section 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act.

The applicant, feeling aggrieved by the commencement of criminal proceedings, approached the High Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, with the aim of halting the entire criminal process.

After filing the petition for quashing, an interim application was submitted, indicating that both parties desired to compound the offenses. In this regard, the parties filed an affidavit. During the proceedings, the Court had an interaction with the complainant, who expressed her willingness to drop the case as the applicant had apologized to her, and she had duly accepted the apology.

"...looking to the nature and gravity of offences and also coupled with the fact, that the parties have close affinity with one another, owing to their relationship which they have developed on Facebook, coupled with the fact, that the applicant was known to the family members of the complainant, in order to maintain peace and harmony amongst themselves, the Compounding Application is required to be considered by this Court in the exercise of its powers under Section 482 of CrPC," The Single Bench of Justice Sharad Kumar Sharma said.

Bengaluru Woman Alleges Sexual Assault By Rapido Driver During Mid-Ride

However, the court, before passing the latest order, directed the accused to plant 50 trees with the help of the Horticulture Department in a span of one month.

"It is only upon the submission of the certificate of the planting of the fifty trees to be issued by the competent authority of the Horticulture Department, which has to be submitted before the competent court ceased with the criminal proceedings, its then only the proceedings would be dropped," the Court ordered.

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Story first published: Monday, July 31, 2023, 13:00 [IST]
Sitharaman Says Opposition's Mindset As Dark As Night On Manipur Issue

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Monsoon session in the Rajya Sabha witnessed chaotic scenes as the standoff regarding the rule under which the Manipur violence should be discussed continued for the eighth consecutive day. Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed her dismay over the opposition's lack of concern for the Manipur issue.

Sitharaman accused the opposition of constantly shifting the goalposts to avoid a discussion in parliament on the Manipur matter. She went on to criticize their actions, stating, "The opposition's mindset is as dark as the clothes they wore," addressing reporters today. She asserted that the opposition's behavior revealed their hypocrisy and their attempts to disrupt the functioning of parliament by incessantly chanting "Manipur, Manipur."

The opposition persisted in demanding a discussion under Rule 267, which allows for the suspension of all other business in the House. However, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar stated that the government was prepared for a short duration discussion under Rule 176.

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Despite the government's readiness to address the issue, the opposition MPs remained unyielding, leading to repeated adjournments of the House. Since the Monsoon Session began on July 20, multiple opposition MPs have been submitting notices for a discussion under Rule 267.

The opposition also demanded a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the situation in the Northeastern state. They criticized the Prime Minister for addressing the media outside the House but not Parliament, regarding the sensitive matter.

The central government refuted the opposition's accusations, stating that it is fully prepared for a discussion and accused the opposition of evading a debate. Home Minister Amit Shah expressed his willingness to address the House on the issue.

"We want discussions on Manipur to take place in parliament today at 2 pm. They (opposition) are trying to misuse the liberty given to the members. The government is ready to discuss Manipur, but they (opposition) have already wasted nine important days of the House," said Union Minister and Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, Piyush Goyal.

The opposition, determined to have the Prime Minister speak on the issue, has also brought a no-confidence motion against the government in a last-ditch effort. More drama is expected in Parliament this week as the government plans to introduce a bill to control Delhi bureaucrats.

Why Get Elected To Parliament If You Want To Raise Issues On Streets: Thakur Slams Opposition Over Manipur

This Bill, aimed at replacing the ordinance to govern officers in the national capital, has become a rallying point for the Opposition. Opposition parties united under the INDIA bloc are supporting the Arvind Kejriwal government in its fight against the Bill.

Describing it as an assault on the two crore people of Delhi, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha today called the proposed legislation "the most undemocratic, illegal legislative exercise by the BJP in the history of India's parliamentary democracy."

Despite the Opposition protests, the government is determined to push through its agenda for the session. It has listed 13 draft legislations for consideration and passing in the Lok Sabha, even as the notice for the no-confidence motion remains pending.
Tirupati Rules: Tirumala Laddus To Be Made With Different Ghee After Nandini Pulls Out

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

The Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), which supplies ghee to Andhra Pradesh's Tirumala Venkateswara temple under the brand name Nandini, has decided to discontinue its supply due to a price dispute.

The KMF chose not to participate in the tender process for ghee supply as it was unwilling to offer ghee at a competitive rate.

Jagadish, MD of KMF, explained, "In the tender process, participants quote their prices, and the lowest bidder wins. We have quoted a rate of almost Rs 400 per kg. If someone quotes Rs 1 or 2 less, the tender will be awarded to them. We are not aware of the price at which they are procuring, but our cost is above 400 rupees as per our procurement."

He further stated that KMF is an organization working for the welfare of farmers, and offering ghee at lower prices would lead to losses.

Karnataka Govt Decides To Hike Nandini Milk Price By Rs 3 Per Litre

"Our price is fixed. We stated that we would supply ghee at our rate, but they (TTD) were not willing to accept it. Hence, we are not supplying," Jagadish added.

However, TTD executive officer Dharma Reddy refuted KMF's claim, calling it "incorrect," and clarified that the trust procures items only through e-tenders.

"He (KMF president) is making allegations that TTD has not allowed them to supply ghee. The statement of KMF's president is not correct. I would like to clarify that TTD procures required items only through e-tenders. Since it is an e-tender, we do not know the participants until we open it," said Reddy.

He explained that as a government organisation, TTD awards contracts to the lowest bidder according to the tender conditions and procedures.

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Story first published: Monday, July 31, 2023, 23:57 [IST]
Former president Donald Trump, anticipating charges in Georgia over his attempts to interfere in the 2020 election, filed a motion to quash evidence in the case. A judge there tossed Trump's effort today, not least because there isn't even an indictment yet.

"No court ever has held that that status alone provides a basis for the courts to interfere with or halt the investigation," wrote Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney. And later in his nine-page ruling: "The professed injuries are also speculative and unrealized because there is, as of yet, no indictment that creates the genuine controversy required to confer standing."

It looks very much like the indictment is coming soon, though, with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis saying she is "ready to go."

"The work is accomplished," she told CNN affiliate WXIA. "We've been working for two and a half years. We're ready to go." Willis has previously said she will announce the outcome of her investigation sometime between July 31 and the end of August. Her comments over the weekend come as security around the Fulton County courthouse was ramped up last week.

Trump already has a stack of criminal charges to deal with, relating to his hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels in New York, and his refusal to return classified material taken from the White House.
UP BJP Leader Attempts Suicide During Facebook Live: Here's Why

India

oi-Moumi Majumdar

A BJP Morcha leader Veer Singh tried to end his life during an ongoing Facebook Live in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh.

The incident occurred after some residents accused him of raping a woman before thrashing him brutally. The BJP claimed that he felt heartbroken after none from his party extended their support during the difficult times.

Veer Singh streamed a Facebook Live session and attempted suicide on Saturday night. According to the TOI report, the BJP leader claimed in the video clip that some party members were jealous of him and threw a false allegation towards him. He also said he won't be able to face his 15-year-old daughter and then consumed poison to take his own life.

"I have a 15-year-old daughter, and it is difficult to show my face to her after this humiliation. The rape allegations are false, and I am deeply upset that my party colleagues didn't back me," The Times of India quoted the BJP leader as saying.

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According to the Moradabad police, the politician was facing a property dispute issue when the controversy around the sexual assault broke out.

The President of Kaanth Temple filed an FIR against him while the BJP Morcha leader was in a property dispute. The other party in the property dispute was also involved in filing FIR, police said.

However, Veer Singh is hospitalized, and his health is better now. Police also confirmed that his statement will be recorded soon, the report said.
Will Gujarat Make Parental Consent Mandatory In Love Marriages? Government To Study Possibility

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

The Gujarat government has announced that it will study the possibility of making parental consent mandatory in love marriages. The announcement was made by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Sunday, who said that the government would study the constitutional feasibility of such a move.

Patel's announcement came in response to a demand by the state health minister, Rushikesh Patel, who had said that there was a need to study the incidents of girls eloping for marriage in order to see if there was a way to make parental consent mandatory in such cases.

The opposition Congress has welcomed the government's decision to study the issue, with MLA Imran Khedawala saying that it was a "positive step". However, he also cautioned that the government should ensure that any such law is "constitutionally feasible".

The Gujarat government's announcement comes at a time when there is a growing debate in India about the issue of love marriages. Some people argue that parental consent should be mandatory in all cases of love marriage, while others believe that young people should have the right to marry the person they choose, regardless of their parents' wishes.

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The Gujarat government's study is likely to take several months to complete. Once the study is completed, the government will decide whether or not to introduce legislation to make parental consent mandatory in love marriages.

In addition to the study, the government is also considering other measures to address the issue of love marriages, such as providing counseling to couples who are considering eloping.

The government's announcement has been met with mixed reactions. Some people have welcomed the move, saying that it will help to protect young people from being forced into marriages that they do not want. Others have criticised the move, saying that it is an infringement on the freedom of young people to choose their own partners.

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Story first published: Monday, July 31, 2023, 22:42 [IST]
Marcel Sabitzer has returned to the Bundesliga, joining Borussia Dortmund on a four-year deal. The Austrian midfielder is looking to restart his career after two stop-start years as BVB face life without Jude Bellingham.
Niger's military junta, which has overthrown the country's elected leader, has claimed the ousted government authorised France to carry out strikes to free the president.
(RFE/RL) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has warned that it was "inevitable" that "war" would come to Russia after authorities there were forced to temporarily close a busy Moscow airport following an overnight drone attack on the capital.



"Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia -- to its...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to France in order to deepen ties with the country's closest partners in Europe turned out favourable for Indian students. Speaking to the Indian community at La Seine Musicale in Paris, Modi announced France's decision to permit a five-year long-term post-study visa to Indian students pursuing a Master's in their country.

Like any non-English-speaking country, learning French is important to migrate to France. However, it is being preferred by Indian students for its renowned educational institutions, rich cultural background, and diverse choices of opportunities in the arts and sciences. Here are the five sectors that have a huge scope for higher education and job opportunities in France.

1. Business

France is known for its first-class business schools that offer courses with triple accreditation (accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the Association of MBAs (AMBA), and the EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS)). Very few campuses across the world provide such accreditation, giving students a chance to bag jobs easily and quickly after the completion of their course.

Colleges

Burgundy School of Business, Dijon

IPAG Business School, Paris

KEDGE Business School (campuses in Bordeaux, Paris, and Toulon)

HEC Paris, Paris

2. Fashion

Paris, being the fashion capital of the world and the birthplace of a number of top-notch brands such as Chanel, Dior, and Louis Vuitton, offers ample opportunities for fashion enthusiasts. Students can opt for short-term, post-graduate courses as well as research on the textile industry.

Colleges

Paris College of Art, Paris

Institut Francais de la Mode, Paris (IFM)

Ecole superieure des arts et techniques de la mode, or ESMOD, Paris

International Fashion Academy, Paris (IFA)

3. Culinary Industry

The country is also known internationally for its rich gastronomy and delectable pastry selections. Tourists arrive in France to experience the fine French cuisine that is recognized by UNESCO. The country, especially Lyon (the gastronomic capital of France), is a paradise for students who want to hone their cooking style and skills as well as work in a few world-class restaurants.

Colleges

Le Cordon Bleu, Paris

L'atelier des Chefs (campuses in Lyon, Paris, and Lille)

Les Coulisses du Chef, Paris

School Kitchen Gourmets By Institut Lyfe, Lyon

4. Hospitality & Tourism

A large number of tourists visit France to experience its high-quality food and culture, scenic landscapes, vibrant coastlines and cities, and the Eiffel Tower. This leads to numerous job opportunities for students pursuing a degree or post-graduation in tourism or hospitality.

Colleges

University of Bordeaux (campuses in Talence and Pessac)

AIM Hotel & Tourism Management Academy, Paris

IESA, School of Arts and Culture, Paris

Paris School of Business, Paris

5. Engineering

Engineers, specialised in aerospace science, renewable resources, metallurgy, and automobiles, have a huge demand in France's job sector due to the country's dominance in the manufacturing industry.

Colleges

IMT Atlantique, Nantes

National Institute of Applied Sciences of Toulouse, Toulouse

Ecole des Mines de Douai, Douai

Ecole centrale de Lyon, Lyon

(Information Courtesy: Arya Mukesh, General Manager, Insight International Study Abroad Pvt Ltd, Kottayam https://www.insightinternational.in/)
In the early 1950s, Singapore, then under British rule, had a vibrant community of well-educated Malayalis. Many of these were graduates of prestigious institutions in India such as the University of Madras. One mother of an infant decided that she was not going to waste her education and stay at home when there was a possibility of entering public life.

The 30-year-old Vilasini Menon shocked the residents of the island when she announced in the beginning of 1951 that she was going to stand for the Legislative Council elections as an independent candidate from the constituency of Seletar.

As soon as she announced her candidature, Vilasini managed to attract the attention of the Straits Times. One thousand and five hundred Singapore men have been asked to trust a woman to get things done for them in the Legislative Council, the paper said in its February 23, 1951, edition. In her first campaign meeting, Vilasini actually told potential voters that she would make no promises but asked for their trust to get things done.

As the campaigning continued, Vilasini continued to talk to the press about the difficulty of running as an independent candidate. A party candidate, by merely belonging to a party can sometimes win, even though he may be third-rate, she said. He gets in because of party prestige and slogans: The independent candidate, if he wins, gets in on his own merit, without any party backing.

Historic victory

Vilasini ended up winning the election that was held in April 1951, with 43 per cent of the votes and became the first woman to be voted into national office in Singapore. This was a victory that was celebrated by the Malayali community on the island.

Singapores first elected woman Legislative Councillor, Mrs Vilasini Menon, spent yesterday playing with her 16-month old son Vikram, at the house of a friend, the Straits Times said in its April 12, 1951, edition. She had spent the previous 10 days campaigning and hardly saw her son, according to the report.

Along with her husband and son, Vilasini celebrated the win at a friends house. Members of the Malayali community who went to Vilasini's house to congratulate her found it locked. She told the Singapore press that she wanted to be in public service and continue her household responsibilities. Although my aim is to become a good Councillor, I do not want to be a bad housewife, she said.

Weeks after her victory, Vilasini continued to be the toast of the Indian community, which held receptions to celebrate her success. One such celebration at the Kamala Club made the local press.

Short-lived public career

The archives do not contain much information about her time as Councillor, but there is a report from March 1952, which says she supported the Singapore governments move to increase the beer tax. An anonymous resident of Seletar wrote to the Straits Times criticising the move to support the tax and called on her to not be a puppet of the government.

A few months later, Vilasini left for Madras with her husband. Govinda Menon, who was a lawyer. After missing a council meeting, there were calls for a by-election for her seat if she didnt return in time for the next meeting. In August 1952, she successfully applied for leave from the council, but this was the beginning of the end of her career in public service.

The Singapore Police requested their counterparts in Madras to arrest Govinda Menon for a criminal breach of trust. Vilasini was also charged with abetting the alleged crime. The couple were arrested in Madras and their counsel was given a few weeks to prove that this was a civil dispute.

She sent her resignation letter from Madras to then Singapore Governor J F Nicoll. It would take several months for Vilasini to be acquitted, but she decided not to re-enter politics.

Her vacant seat in the Legislative Council was taken by another Malayali - one P D Nair, who was the only person to file a nomination.

Although Vilasini became a pathbreaker in a male-dominated society, the scandal involving her husband came in the way of what could have been a promising political career. Nevertheless, she left an imprint on the history of the island nation.

(Ajay Kamalakaran is a multilingual writer, primarily based in Mumbai)
By Robert Weiner and Dante Masucci

In one of Monty Python's famous comedy sketches, a man tries to return a recently purchased parrot to the pet store, complaining that the bird died shortly after he bought it. The store owner refuses to accept that the parrot is dead, no matter how clearly devoid of life it is, even when the man shakes it, yells in its ear, and bangs it against the table. The sketch was intended to be lighthearted comedy, but it appears that some of today's GOP leaders took it as a how-to manual for coping with a defeat on immigration. When their narrative is contradicted by facts, they simply double down on the narrative.

The Biden administration has made a point of cooperating with Mexico to stem illegal immigration as an alternative to restrictive anti-immigration policies, and, as the New York Times put it : "Number of Migrants at the Border Plunges as Mexico Helps U.S. to Stem Flow". Despite this obvious success, Republican politicians still attempted to attack the administration on immigration. When President Biden announced the rollback of the Trump administration's activation of Title 42, Republican leaders responded with anger and concern about how this would exacerbate already existing issues at the southern border. Title 42, part of the Public Health Service Act of 1944, allowed for tightening border controls if there is a risk of a communicable disease spreading from another country to the United States. It was invoked by the Trump administration when the Covid-19 pandemic began. Republicans praised this invocation of the act and even began discussing a permanent codification of Title 42 controls after the end of the pandemic.

Unsurprisingly, those same Republicans were infuriated by Biden's decision to end Title 42 and revert back to normal immigration restrictions. In a letter to Biden, Republican senators argued that the end of Title 42 would exacerbate the "national security and humanitarian disaster on our southern border." Republicans in the House passed an anti-immigration bill as a way to counter the lifting of the Title 42 restrictions. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has been a vocal critic of Biden, took a leading role in the attacks on him over the legal rollback, saying that he "deliberately compromised our national security" by discontinuing the restrictive policy. GOP representatives have introduced articles of impeachment for both Biden and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, accusing them of a dereliction of duty and "endangering the security of the United States." The House voted 219 to 208 on June 22nd to keep the Biden impeachment resolution active by referring it to the Homeland and Judiciary committees.

This would be biting criticism, if their outrage and predictions of disaster had matched up with the post-Title 42 reality. Despite the Senate Republicans' fearmongering in their letter to Biden that the DHS would probably encounter 13,000 illegal immigrants per day, that did not happen. Since May 12th, when the policy was deactivated, the DHS has reported only around 3,700 unscheduled encounters per day. This is a massive drop from April, when about 7,050 unscheduled encounters occurred per day. In addition, the DHS reported that illegal entries have dropped by around 70% since Title 42 was ended. And according to a recent CNN report where migrants were interviewed, migrants feel that "After TItle 42 expired, it's much more difficult to try to cross." This is all in spite of the fact that the amount of migrants moving through Central and South America has almost quadrupled since last year, according to the Panamanian government as reported by the New York Times.

Before the end of Title 42, Biden, Vice President Harris and Secretary Mayorkas went into overdrive in enacting new immigration policy to avoid the dreaded surge of migrants. Their success came mainly from cooperating with other countries and organizations in the Western Hemisphere who have mutual interests with Washington when it comes to stabilizing immigration in North and Central America. In accordance with the Los Angeles Declaration, an agreement that the Biden administration reached with Western Hemisphere countries for multilateral cooperation on migration, several countries, including Colombia, Ecuador, Belize, and Costa Rica, have all begun creating better legal pathways for migrants to temporarily settle in those countries to reduce surges of migration that would otherwise overwhelm government services and agencies. Biden also prepared for the end of Title 42 by giving roughly $23 million in assistance to various Central American countries and Mexico to help them give temporary shelter and accommodations for migrants to stabilize migration patterns. He also expanded support to various NGOs and nonprofits, who play a vital role in aiding and sheltering migrants when governments fall short.

Biden's collaboration with Mexico on immigration is part of a larger pattern of successful cooperation with America's southern neighbor during his administration. Reminiscent of FDR's Good Neighbor policy, Biden has avoided using the threats and insults that were commonplace under the previous administration, instead opting for a strategy based on joint action on common issues, coupled with respect for Mexico as a neighbor and partner instead of a problem to be dealt with. This strategy has yielded results, with Biden recently convincing Mexico to invest over $1.5 billion in increasing border security over the next two years. The Biden administration's support for electric vehicles has also helped renew the relationship between Mexico and America, with Mexico welcoming the opportunity to open new car manufacturing plants to continue their rapid economic growth. Not only is engagement with Mexico having short-term benefits, but it's likely to pay even greater dividends in the future. Goldman Sachs has predicted that Mexico will be the fifth biggest economy in the world by 2050, something that would enrich the United States as well, given that we are their biggest trade partner by far and they are our second biggest trade partner (only slightly behind Canada).

Given how successful Biden's policies on Mexico and immigration have been, it's clear that the GOP efforts to impeach him and Mayorkas over the state of the southern border is pure political showmanship, meant to act as red meat for hardcore conservative voters. Biden's success with migration also shows America that it's possible to have a successful immigration system without the harsh anti-immigration policies that Republicans campaign on. Biden outmaneuvered them and proved that their methods of building walls and separating families are unnecessary, so the only response they have left is to throw a fit. But the stubborn thing about facts is that the parrot is still dead, no matter how hard the GOP tries to insist that it is somehow alive.
This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.

Yes, the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, would kill staggering numbers of people and be an eerily (if all too grimly) appropriate ending to the war that started with the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and, by August 1945, had resulted in the saturation bombing of 64 Japanese cities.

The scientist who led the team responsible for creating the bombs that destroyed those two cities (and for the initial nuclear test in New Mexico that, as we only recently learned, spread fallout over 46 states, Canada, and Mexico), the 41-year-old J. Robert Oppenheimer, would later borrow a line from the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu scriptures, to describe his mood at the time: "Now, I am become death, the destroyer of worlds." And eerily enough, the use of the weapon that would prove to be the second way humanity found to destroy our planet the first, climate change, was already in effect but not yet known would find all too few in the U.S. government hesitant to use it at that time. As historian John Dower would put it in his memorable book Cultures of War,

"The policy makers, scientists, and military officers who had committed themselves to becoming death" never seriously considered not using their devastating new weapon. They did not talk about turning mothers into cinders or irradiating even the unborn. They brushed aside discussion of alternative targets, despite the urging of many lower-echelon scientists that they consider this. They gave little if any serious consideration to whether there should be ample pause after using the first nuclear weapon to give Japan's frazzled leaders time to respond before a second bomb was dropped."

They just did it, twice, and the world changed radically. Almost 80 years later, at a moment when a global leader is once again evidently considering the possible use of what are now called "tactical nuclear weapons" (but can be several times more powerful than the bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki), Oppenheimer is having his moment in the sun (or is it a blaze of atomic light?) in a film that, to the surprise of many, has hit the big time in an almost nuclear fashion. And as TomDispatch regular and Pentagon expert William Hartung reminds us while considering that three-hour odyssey of a film, what "Oppie" began then has by now become a full-scale nuclear-industrial complex on a planet where ultimate destruction, it often seems, always lurks just around the corner. Tom

The Profiteers of Armageddon

Oppenheimer and the Birth of the Nuclear-Industrial Complex

By William D. Hartung

Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past few months, you're undoubtedly aware that award-winning director Christopher Nolan has released a new film about Robert Oppenheimer, known as the "father of the atomic bomb" for leading the group of scientists who created that deadly weapon as part of America's World War II-era Manhattan Project. The film has earned widespread attention, with large numbers of people participating in what's already become known as "Barbieheimer" by seeing Greta Gerwig's hit film Barbie and Nolan's three-hour-long Oppenheimer on the same day.

Nolan's film is a distinctive pop cultural phenomenon because it deals with the American use of nuclear weapons, a genuine rarity since ABC's 1983 airing of The Day After about the consequences of nuclear war. (An earlier exception was Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, his satirical portrayal of the insanity of the Cold War nuclear arms race.)

The film is based on American Prometheus, the Pulitzer Prize-winning 2005 biography of Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin. Nolan made it in part to break through the shield of antiseptic rhetoric, bloodless philosophizing, and public complacency that has allowed such world-ending weaponry to persist so long after Trinity, the first nuclear bomb test, was conducted in the New Mexico desert 78 years ago this month.

Nolan's impetus was rooted in his early exposure to the nuclear disarmament movement in Europe. As he said recently:

"It's something that's been on my radar for a number of years. I was a teenager in the '80s, the early '80s in England. It was the peak of CND, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the Greenham Common [protest]; the threat of nuclear war was when I was 12, 13, 14 it was the biggest fear we all had. I think I first encountered Oppenheimer in" Sting's song about the Russians that came out then and talks about Oppenheimer's 'deadly toys.'"

A feature film on the genesis of nuclear weapons may not strike you as an obvious candidate for box-office blockbuster status. As Nolan's teenage son said when his father told him he was thinking about making such a film, "Well, nobody really worries about nuclear weapons anymore. Are people going to be interested in that?" Nolan responded that, given what's at stake, he worries about complacency and even denial when it comes to the global risks posed by the nuclear arsenals on this planet. "You're normalizing killing tens of thousands of people. You're creating moral equivalences, false equivalences with other types of conflict" [and so] accepting, normalizing" the danger."

These days, unfortunately, you're talking about anything but just tens of thousands of people dying in a nuclear face-off. A 2022 report by Ira Helfand and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War estimated that a "limited" nuclear war between India and Pakistan that used roughly 3% of the world's 12,000-plus nuclear warheads would kill "hundreds of millions, perhaps even billions" of us. A full-scale nuclear war between the United States and Russia, the study suggests, could kill up to five (yes, five!) billion people within two years, essentially ending life as we know it on this planet in a "nuclear winter."

Obviously, all too many of us don't grasp the stakes involved in a nuclear conflict, thanks in part to "psychic numbing," a concept regularly invoked by Robert Jay Lifton, author of Hiroshima in America: A History of Denial (co-authored with Greg Mitchell), among many other books. Lifton describes psychic numbing as "a diminished capacity or inclination to feel" prompted by "the completely unprecedented dimension of this revolution in technological destructiveness."

Given the Nolan film's focus on Oppenheimer's story, some crucial issues related to the world's nuclear dilemma are either dealt with only briefly or omitted altogether.

Next Page 1 | 2 | 3

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New York's "Skip the Stuff" law comes into effect today. You'll have to buy your own knives and forks, now, or just sit there shoveling it into your mouth with your fingers as God intended.

According to the release from the Sanitation Department, the bill aims to reduce single-use plastics that often end up in landfills. Fines will not begin being issued Monday, according to the Department of Sanitation. Any violations before June 30 of next year will receive a warning instead of a monetary penalty. After that date, any businesses that violate the rules are subject to civil penalties ranging from $50 for a first offense to $250 for a third offense within a 12-month period.

The U.S. is making progress in general on limiting single-use plastics.

Currently, the U.S. has not placed a single-use plastic ban on a federal level, but this responsibility has been taken up by states and cities. Connecticut, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Oregon, and Vermont have all placed bans on plastic bags. San Francisco was the first city to completely ban plastic bags in 2007. The rest of California implemented their plastic bag ban in 2014, and since then there has been a 70% reduction in plastic bag usage within the state. However, you can still find plastic bags in grocery stores, as rules have not been properly enforced over the past few years. New York faces a similar situation, as plastic bags were banned in the state in 2020 but some businesses still continue to distribute them; again mostly due to lax enforcement of pollution rules. Some of this can be attributed to COVID-19, which complicated efforts towards reducing plastic usage. The surge in gloves, masks, and other PPE have been detrimental to the health of our oceans. Since the beginning of the pandemic, oceans have seen more than 57 million pounds of COVID-related waste. On a brighter note, as the world is starting to recover from the effects of the pandemic, attention is returning to the effects of plastic on the environment, with stricter enforcement. The pandemic has brought to attention once again how serious the plastic pollution problem is, and the many pollution reduction policies that have been suspended or postponed are being put into effect again.

So much for this guy:
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As Charles Doze neared retirement age 11 years ago, he instead switched careers, becoming a civil deputy with the Washington County Sheriffs Office.

Now 69, Doze loves the job and serving his community, family members said Sunday, but it nearly cost him his life.

Doze was shot seven times  in the head, face, arms and torso  while serving an eviction notice at a Tualatin apartment complex Wednesday.

Doze's wife and two children, along with other family members and dozens of law enforcement officers from across Oregon, have been by his side as he recovers at the hospital.

Hes healing really well, said nephew Adam Khosroabadi, who serves on the Milwaukie City Council. Its incredible. Hes already trying to figure out what hes going to do next, and if theres anything he can do to be back on the force. But he knows its going to be a long road.

Despite his injuries, Doze is in good spirits, his nephew said. He described his uncle as a selfless person with a strong moral compass and a passion for helping others. Doze helped raise Khosroabadi and his younger brother, and has a strong connection with his family, Khosroabadi said.

The former salesman is one of five civil deputies in the Washington County Sheriffs Office. Doze serves and enforces court orders, prepares reports, tows abandoned vehicles and manages seized property, the sheriffs office said. Civil deputies are sworn members of the sheriffs office who wear uniforms and carry weapons.

Even while confined to a hospital bed, Doze was still checking on his family and offering emotional support, his nephew said. Khosroabadi has been struggling with a death in the family, and he said his uncle has been helping him cope with the loss.

He called me over to his bedside, and reached his hand out, Khosroabadi said. This is a man who just took seven gunshots. He tells me, Just know that Im here for you guys. Im not 600 miles away, Im right here. If you ever need anything, Im not going anywhere.

Family and law enforcement have been visiting Doze around the clock, and he has been overwhelmed by the support, Khosroabadi said. A GoFundMe for Doze and his family has raised over $54,000.

Doze was shot while serving an eviction notice to 34-year-old Kristafer James Graves. He was accompanied by two other deputies.

The deputies went to Graves apartment in The Timbers apartment complex shortly after 10 a.m. Wednesday to serve a court-ordered eviction notice. Graves fired at the deputies from inside his apartment 20 minutes later, striking Doze, police said.

At least one deputy returned fire, the sheriffs office said. Graves was found dead in the bathroom of his second-floor apartment just before 1 p.m. Investigators do not know whether Graves was shot by deputies or if the injury was self-inflicted, police said.

Doze was transported to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center by helicopter in critical condition.

It wasnt a traffic stop, or a robbery, Khosroabadi said. It was an eviction. I was speaking with another deputy, and he said that you usually post the sign on the door and two hours later theyre gone. It doesnt usually happen like this.

Doze's daughter, Kaela Doze, was in a meeting when the calls started flooding in. She had three missed calls from a number with no voicemail and then a call from her brother.

I leave the meeting and I call him and he says, Dad got shot, she said.

She then called back the other number and got more disturbing news.

The situation changed immediately when they said he was shot in the head, she said.

She booked a flight to Oregon immediately, battling with the fear and uncertainty during her six-and-a-half hour flight from her home in Florida.

Her fathers recovery now is nothing short of amazing, Kaela Doze said.

You get shot in the head, youre lucky if youre not paralyzed or braindead, she said. Its an absolute miracle.

The two have a strong relationship, she said: They enjoy fishing together, cooking and adventuring outdoors. But lately, even before the shooting, shes been conscious that the time they have together is growing short.

Ive been feeling like Im running out of time, she said. The last time I saw him, I was like, Dad, dont die, because I get a little worried about him sometimes. He said, Dont worry baby, I wont. And, you know, he didnt. He told me he knew he had to get back to me.

Her father has been an inspiration to her, and Kaela Doze said hes cemented a family legacy of helping others.

Her father is going into surgery again Wednesday, and she said that he continues to improve. Despite his steady progress, the shooting clearly will affect his future, she said.

I know hes resourceful and hell figure it out, but also his life has completely changed, she said. Its going to be difficult to navigate, but we have a lot of support behind us.

 Austin De Dios; adedios@oregonian.com; @austindedios; 503-319-9744

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March 17 marked the 3-year anniversary of the day former then-governor Kate Brown ordered Oregon restaurants and bars to close their dining rooms indefinitely.

The shutdown was lifted three months later  June 19, 2020, to be precise  but dozens of beloved local businesses never reopened, as an estimated 3% of the citys population left. In many ways, life in Portland has been lurching back to normalcy ever since.

Lets pin another date to the mental calendar, then: July 31, 2023, the day Holmans Bar & Grill officially reopened after lying dormant for three years. Like the moment last year when many of Portlands best pizzerias dusted off their dining rooms all at once, Holmans rebirth feels like an inflection point, the surprise return of a beloved establishment many assumed had a meeting scheduled with the wrecking ball.

Holmans was purchased earlier this year by dive bar preservationists Warren Boothby and Marcus Archambeault, the duo whose signature light, loving touch has refreshed and revived classic Portland watering holes The Alibi, Sandy Hut and The Vern. The plan was to scrub the floors, polish the bar and restock the whiskey selection while retaining Holmans old-school charm.

Its early days, but Im going to go ahead and say they were successful.

A big-rig truck cab front previously stationed outside North Portland dive bar Sloan's now graces the back patio at Holman's Bar & Grill.Michael Russell | The Oregonian

Technically, Holmans has been open since last weekend, when I first noticed the neon Hello Inn in the window  a nod to a former name, when the old lunch counter here was first turned into a bar at the end of prohibition in 1933. On Saturday, I had thrown on a bubblegum pink shirt that didnt fit as well as I hoped and rode my bike down to see Barbie at the Laurelhurst Theater. When I got to 28th Avenue, I tried the door at Holmans. It opened.

Once my eyes adjusted to the dark, Holmans looked much as it did before the pandemic, from the layout  south to north: game room, bar, dining room  to the bric-a-brac on the walls. But look more closely and youll notice a few changes. Boothby and Archambeault have turned Holmans into something of a Portland dive museum, from the old Club 21 sign hanging above the pool table to the old big-rig truck cab front from Sloans now protruding into the serene back patio. And dont miss the animatronic band box perched just above the door.

Drinks are as strong as ever, but now have a bit more polish than I remember, while the food menu (see gallery above) retains the midcentury theme with burgers, BLTs and the bars famed chicken-fried steaks. On Facebook, Boothby and Archambeault have promised the return of Holmans whiskey club, Bloody Mary bar and the famous meal wheel, which patrons could spin each night to win a free dinner.

It looks just like it used to, I said to one employee.

Only with a little more glitter, they replied.

Holmans Bar & Grill plans to officially reopen at 2 p.m. Monday, July 31 at 15 S.E. 28th Ave.

Read more

50 pandemic-time restaurants that changed Portland forever

Oregon may be on the verge of experiencing real summer for the first time this decade

Holmans, Portlands beloved nonagenerian dive bar, is reopening at last

 Michael Russell; mrussell@oregonian.com

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The Oregonian/OregonLive will be previewing each of 10 position groups leading up to the start of Oregons fall camp on Aug. 2. The fifth installment in the series reviews the offensive line.

Much is being made of Oregon losing four starters on the offensive line. But unlike when the Ducks had to do the same in 2020, theyve added significant experience to mitigate the difficulty in filling holes.

Replacing all that Alex Forsyth did wont be easy. T.J. Bass and Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu were also very good and made it to the NFL.

But the Ducks have three players back with starting experience, including sixth-year senior Steven Jones, and added three transfers this offseason.

Returning starters: Steven Jones, sixth-year redshirt-senior; Marcus Harper II, fourth-year junior

Other returning players: Junior Angilau, sixth-year redshirt-senior; Ajani Cornelius, fourth-year junior; Faaope Laloulu, fourth-year junior; George Silva, fourth-year junior; Jackson Powers-Johnson, junior; Josh Conerly Jr., sophomore; Dave Iuli, sophomore; Kawika Rogers, redshirt-freshman; Michael Wooten, redshirt-freshman; Iapani Laloulu, freshman; Gernorris Wilson, freshman

Departed: Malaesala Aumvae-Laulu; T.J. Bass; Alex Forsyth; Ryan Walk; Dawson Jaramillo (transferred to NC State); Bram Walden (transferred to Arizona State)

Summer arrivals: Nishad Strother; Bryce Boulton; Lipe Moala,

Outlook: Casual observers will make far more of the challenge of replacing four starters than they will assessing all that Oregon added on the line.

The Ducks have seven players for five spots and entering fall camp it appears more likely than not that Josh Conerly Jr. and Ajani Cornelius are set at the tackle spots and Jackson Powers-Johnson has the edge at center. That leaves Jones, Marcus Harper II, Junior Angilau and Nishad Strother battling for two guard spots, with Harper also contending at center and Jones capable of playing tackle.

There isnt a team in the Pac-12 who wouldnt sign up for that level of depth on the offensive line.

Oregons second team should include mostly juniors and one sophomore. The four freshmen should all redshirt.

Battle to Watch: The competition at the three interior spots, but especially at guard, should be intense.

Keep an Eye on: Conerly. The former five-star recruit is in line to start as a sophomore at one of the most important positions on the field.

Projected two deep:

Left tackle

Josh Conerly Jr.: 6-foot-4, 294 pounds

Faaope Laloulu: 6-foot-7, 330 pounds

Left guard

Marcus Harper II: 6-foot-3, 313 pounds OR

Junior Angilau: 6-foot-6, 311 pounds

Center

Jackson Powers-Johnson: 6-foot-2, 290 pounds

Marcus Harper II: 6-foot-3, 313 pounds

Right guard

Steven Jones: 6-foot-5, 340 pounds OR

Nishad Strother: 6-foot-3, 326 pounds

Right tackle

Ajani Cornelius: 6-foot-5, 310 pounds

George Silva: 6-foot-7, 295 pounds
The Portland Police Bureau on Monday publicly identified the man shot to death in the Old Town neighborhood last Tuesday.

Portland resident Jason M. Calamusa, 46, died from gunshot wounds, according to the Multnomah County medical examiner, who ruled Calamusas death a homicide.
The recent fire at the Kmart in Northeast Portland might have had a disturbing side effect  the potential spread of asbestos, (Asbestos risk low, but residents near massive Kmart fire still have work to do, officials say, July 23). Were grateful for the quick action of local authorities to warn the public of possible exposure and to conduct testing that has thankfully detected no trace of asbestos in the air.

Families, first responders, and workers shouldnt have to worry about exposure to this deadly substance. For years, we have been working in the U.S. House and Senate to finally ban the importation, manufacture and distribution in commerce of commercial asbestos.

Many people are surprised when they learn that asbestos is not already banned. In fact, the United States is one of only a few countries that continues to allow its use despite there being no safe level of exposure to this known carcinogen. This has tragic consequences  its estimated that as many as 40,000 people each year die from preventable diseases related to asbestos in the U.S. Our legislation, the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act, is named in remembrance of a worker who was lost too soon to this dangerous substance.

Lives will continue to be put at risk without a comprehensive asbestos ban. We will continue to do all we can to get our legislation across the finish line and signed into law to protect Oregonians and Americans from future exposure to asbestos.

Suzanne Bonamici and Jeff Merkley

Bonamici, a Democrat, represents Oregons 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Merkley, a Democrat, represents Oregon in the U.S. Senate.

To read more letters to the editor, go to oregonlive.com/opinion.
Billy Frank Jr. was arrested over 50 times trying to preserve his and his tribes treaty right to fish in their ancestral waters.

Now, the legendary Nisqually elder who was a central figure in the fight for tribal fishing rights and environmental protections in the Pacific Northwest will have a U.S. Navy ship named after him.

A future U.S. Navy Navajo-class towing, salvage and rescue ship  TATS-11  will be named the USNS Billy Frank Jr., officials announced this month.

This is truly an honor for the Frank family, Wa-he-lut School and the Nisqually Nation, said Willie Frank III, son of Billy Frank Jr. and chair of the Nisqually Indian Tribe, in a statement.

Starting in 2019, the Navy began naming a new class of ships after prominent Native Americans or Native American tribes in honor of their contributions to the armed forces  American Indians and Alaska Natives serve in the U.S. military at a higher rate than any other ethnic group in the country. Frank served in the Marine Corps for two years.

The USNS Billy Frank Jr., the sixth ship in the class, is the first to be named after an individual.

We have a chance to tell our story and educate a whole new audience about the Nisqually Tribe, Billy Frank Jr., and the 29 tribes in the state of Washington, said Willie Frank III.

William Billy Frank Jr. was born in 1931 as a member of the Nisqually tribe in Washington, and he grew up fishing on his tribal land.

He began his long career as an activist in 1945 as a boy, when he was arrested for catching steelhead and chum with his net in the Nisqually River. Over the years, he would become the face of a defining civil rights movement in the Pacific Northwest.

After serving as a military policeman in the Marine Corps during the Korean War, Frank returned to Washington, where he continued to fight for the right to fish Chinook and other salmon in his tribes historical waters.

Despite 19th-century treaties guaranteeing Northwest tribes access to historical waters, commercial and sport fishing had led to a drop in stocks at local salmon fisheries. In response, state game agents began harassing and targeting tribal fishermen, including Frank and his father.

Over the years, Frank and others staged fish-ins at the Washington state Capitol, protesting the arrests and raids against Indigenous fishermen blamed for the decline.

That organizing culminated in a landmark decision in 1974, when U.S. District Judge George Boldt affirmed the tribes right to half of the fish harvest  as well as the countrys obligation to honor treaties. That ruling was extended to the harvest of shellfish in 1993.

Hell stand with all the great Indian names of the past two centuries in the Pacific Northwest and across the nation, his longtime friend Hank Adams told The Seattle Times in 2014. His is a name that will stand out in the future for all hes given to Indians and the world.

Frank would go on to serve as chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission for over three decades and receive numerous accolades. In the later half of his life, Frank turned his activism toward protecting forests and salmon streams from excessive timber harvest and development. He died in 2014 at age 83. A statue of Frank is set to be placed in the Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol, a revered civic space where each state is represented by two figures deserving of national commemoration.

Navajo-class ships provide ocean-going tug, salvage and rescue capabilities to support Fleet operations, according to U.S. Navy officials. They can tow other Navy vessels and have 6,000 square feet of deck space.

Other ships in the class have been named in honor of the Cherokee Nation, the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan, the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

My father served this beautiful country as a United States Marine. He was proud to serve his country, said Willie Frank III in a statement. As Chairman of the Nisqually Tribe, we want to thank the United States Navy for recognizing and honoring our Nisqually veteran, father and uncle.

___

(c)2023 The Seattle Times

Visit The Seattle Times at www.seattletimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The tarps, bottles and bike wheels floating along the banks of the Willamette River were a familiar sight to Travis Williams. It was May and the swollen river had consumed countless homeless encampments set up on its edge.

Walking the banks between the Ross Island Bridge and Oaks Amusement Park on Portlands east side, Williams, the executive director of Willamette Riverkeeper, inspected the detritus with the expertise of a trained detective.

His Oregon City-based nonprofit, which aims to protect and restore the river, had spent the past two decades cleaning up trash up and down the watershed. But since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the organization had watched massive and unprecedented amounts of garbage accumulate in and along the river as a rising number of people experiencing homelessness set up tents, shacks and makeshift cabins along the shore.

Volunteers on canoes, kayaks, drift boats and in waders have fished out broken tents, bike parts, camping fuel canisters, clothing, food wrappers and containers and myriad pieces of plastic trash  anything you can imagine somebody might try to acquire to help themselves survive, Williams said. The garbage affects water quality, human health and the well-being of the fish and wildlife that live in and along the Willamette, he said.

Other than volunteer efforts, the group has seen few attempts from local and state governments to protect and clean up the river, he said.

Last June, Willamette Riverkeeper submitted a petition to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, requesting the agency regulate trash and debris on the Willamette. The petition asked regulators to set a garbage and debris standard for the river under the Clean Water Act that would compel property owners to keep the river banks clean.

Separately, Willamette Riverkeeper submitted data it gathered on the amount of trash its volunteers collected during cleanups in recent years. The nonprofit hopes the state will consider adding a garbage impairment category to the rivers already impaired status under a Clean Water Act process that the Department of Environmental Quality opens every other year.

The department rejected the petition because it wasnt correctly formatted, spokesman Harry Esteve said. The Clean Water Act is not the best tool for addressing trash along waterways, said Esteve, because it would be challenging to require a patchwork of public and private property owners to reduce trash.

State regulators are still reviewing Willamette Riverkeepers trash data, said Esteve, and plan to submit it as part of their comments on a federal strategy to prevent plastic pollution in waterways.

We share Willamette Riverkeepers concern that trash is becoming a major problem in the Willamette and other waterways around the state in part because of this influx of encampments that are along rivers, Esteve said. Its an incredibly complex social and health issue as much as it is an environmental one.

The city of Portland is also playing catch-up. City officials acknowledge they have paid little attention to people camping in natural areas, including on river banks, since the onset of the pandemic and have provided few viable ways for those living outdoors to dispose of their trash and human waste  despite knowing that the damage from camping is significant.

In recent months, the city has ramped up camp removal and cleanup efforts, including on the Willamette and in other natural areas in the city, said Skyler Brocker-Knapp, a senior policy adviser in the mayors office.

Weve had a lot of issues with trash and folks who are going to the bathroom and dumping the waste in the river. So weve increased our capacity for cleanups and were finally able to clean up spots that havent seen a lot of love in the last few years, Brocker-Knapp said.

Read more about the topic:
RFK Jr's tall tale about Bill Gates' plans to control the populace with implanted chips sounds like something a middle-school student would write in 1985 after reading Neuromancer. Here's what he had to say in a recent interview (video below posted by PatriotTakes):

Microsoft has patented a chip system that is a biometric sub-dermal sensor system. So it will actually be able to sense brainwaves and, and body signals like heart rate, etc. And it will, it will assign you tasks.

In other words, you will get a message on your phone to do certain tasks. And your task will be "look at a certain ad when it appears on TV in 30 seconds." "Listen to this music." "Walk down this aisle at the grocery store." Then it will monitor your brainwaves, your heart rate, your adrenaline, all of this kind of stuff. And it feeds that information to marketing companies, and you then get paid for doing that task with cryptocurrency that goes directly into your account.

Oh, you know, these companies like Elon Musk also controls all the satellites and Gates, you know, are going to be putting us all out of business. Half of the people in this country make some of their living driving a car. Well, now they're going to give us you know, these driverless cars and you're gonna have a lot of Americans who are permanently unemployed, and they're going to you want these chips, because you could make money like doing these tasks by playing a video game or whatever. And it's going to it's basically a process of turning us all into production units, all into enslaved consumers. And, you know, with total surveillance all the time.
Cape Town, South Africa (PANA)  A delegation of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) representatives has arrived in South Africa to inspect the construction of a lunar exploration ground site
Lome, Togo (PANA) - Amnesty International on Monday urged the Togolese authorities to urgently strengthen access to maternal healthcare and reduce infant and neonatal mortality as the continent marks African Womens Day
Photo: (Photo : Geranimo on Unsplash)

An 8-year-old child had a miraculous escape with minor injuries after encountering a cougar in Washington's Olympic National Park on Saturday evening. The incident unfolded as the child, who was playing hide-and-seek, was camping with their mother at the picturesque Lake Angeles, nestled in the Heart of the Hills area, south of Port Angeles. According to a news release from the National Park Service, the ferocious feline predator abandoned its attack when confronted by the child's brave and loud mother.

According to CNN, The National Park Service was notified of the attack at 6:30 p.m. and swiftly responded to the distress call. The injured child was provided with immediate medical attention and subsequently taken to a nearby hospital for further evaluation. The family was safely led back to the trailhead by park staff.

Swift Response by Park Personnel: Child with Minor Injuries Rushed to Hospital After Cougar Encounter

In the wake of the rare incident, park authorities took precautionary measures to safeguard visitors and wildlife alike. All campers in the Lake Angeles vicinity were evacuated, and access to the Lake Angeles and Heather Park areas was temporarily suspended until further notice.

Olympic National Park wildlife biologist Tom Kay expressed the severity of the incident, stating, "Due to the extreme nature of this incident, we are closing the Lake Angeles area and several trails in the vicinity." As a result, the Lake Angeles Trail, Heather Park Trail, Switchback Trail, and the entire Klahhane Ridge Trail remain closed until further assessments ensure visitor safety.

In the early hours of Saturday at 5:00 a.m., park law enforcement, accompanied by wildlife personnel specializing in cougar tracking, initiated a search for the animal's last known location. If the cougar is successfully located, authorities plan to euthanize it and perform a necropsy to gather insights into the motives behind the attack. Cougars, also known as panthers, pumas, and mountain lions, are rarely seen, and incidents of attacks on humans are exceptionally rare.

Washington state is home to an estimated 1,900 to 2,100 adult cougars, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Despite their sizeable presence, encounters between cougars and humans are infrequent, with the department noting that a person is a thousand times more likely to be struck by lightning than to be attacked by a cougar. Nevertheless, as the human population continues to grow and outdoor recreation becomes increasingly popular, the chances of observing or encountering cougars may rise.

Read Also: 7-Year-Old Girl Dies From Brutal Dog Attack in Louisiana; Dog Owner Faces Homicide Charges =

Olympic National Park: A Pristine Wilderness That Requires Awareness Amidst Rare Wildlife Encounters

Olympic National Park has been identified as 'cougar territory,' and park officials urge visitors to adopt precautionary measures while exploring the breathtaking wilderness. Hikers and joggers are advised against venturing alone and are encouraged to remain vigilant of their surroundings. Additionally, making noise while hiking can serve as a deterrent if a cougar is nearby.

The Lake Angeles campground, where the incident occurred, is located approximately 100 miles west of Seattle, making it a popular destination for nature enthusiasts and families seeking a serene wilderness experience.

The National Park Service is actively monitoring the situation and will provide updates to the public once the area's safety can be confidently assured. Until then, visitors are urged to exercise caution and abide by the park's guidelines to ensure a safe and enjoyable exploration of the magnificent Olympic National Park.

Related Article: Neighbor Bravely Saved 8-Year-Old Girl from "Extremely Rare" Fox Attack
Photo: (Photo : Beth Macdonald on Unsplash)

The US has witnessed a distressing surge in child labor violations in recent years, with some prominent companies employing children for strenuous work under hazardous conditions.

According to CNN, the competitive job market has compelled employers to seek the cheapest available workforce, leading to a rise in underage workers. State legislators are even attempting to pass bills that could curtail legal protections for young employees.

This year, the Department of Labor took significant action through a new interagency task force on child labor to address the issue.

"Child labor is an issue that goes to the core of who we are as a nation and who we aspire to be," said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su in a press release. "We believe, like the President, that any child working in a dangerous or hazardous environment is one child too many."

Government Action: Department of Labor's Interagency Task Force on Child Labour

One worrying instance that the Labor Department made public involved Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI), a significant US provider of food safety sanitation, hiring 31 children between the ages of 13 and 17 to work in Minnesota and Nebraska for well-known meat industry companies like Cargill and JBS USA. Investigations uncovered systemic child labor practices across eight states, resulting in PSSI facing civil penalties of $1.5 million.

Child labor violations have escalated by 44%, with 4,474 children found to be illegally employed in hazardous conditions between October 2022 and July 2023. Penalties against employers amounted to over $6.6 million during this period, marking an 87% increase compared to the previous year.

Child labor exploitation has even extended to well-known fast-food chains like McDonald's, where children as young as 10 were found to be working in dangerous conditions at a franchise in Louisville, Kentucky. In response to such findings, the Department of Labor has intensified its enforcement efforts.

With unemployment remaining at a record low of 3.6%, employers are under pressure to find cost-effective labor solutions. Consequently, vulnerable children, often the offspring of recent migrants, have been subjected to extended working hours and hazardous conditions.

Read Also: Child Labor Violations: Meatpacking, Produce Companies in 11 States Under Scrutiny in Federal Investigation

Protecting Young Workers: Experts Urge Prioritizing Education over Work Experience

While the Department of Labor is actively combating child labor, some states have introduced bills aiming to weaken child labor laws, sparking concerns about the protection of young workers.

Experts caution against prioritizing work experience over education, as it can have detrimental effects on the long-term development of young individuals. The impact on children from struggling households is particularly worrisome, as they may be forced to work more hours to support their families.

The fight against child labor continues, with the Department of Labor collaborating with other agencies to identify and report potential instances of exploitation. The agency is also forging partnerships with countries such as Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico to address the exploitation of migrant children.

While the government is taking steps to combat child labor, some state legislators have introduced bills aimed at weakening child labor laws, raising concerns about the protection of young workers.

The impact of child labor on young individuals cannot be underestimated. In many cases, children are exposed to dangerous working conditions, such as working long and late hours and operating hazardous equipment. Such experiences can have long-term consequences for their physical and mental well-being as well as their educational development.

Experts argue that prioritizing work experience over education is shortsighted and harmful. Completing education is crucial for young individuals to have better opportunities and brighter futures. They stress the need to address the root causes of child labor, including the demand for cheap labor in a competitive job market.

As the fight against child labor continues, it is essential for society to come together and uphold the rights and well-being of young workers. Efforts must be made to create safe and supportive work environments for all employees, regardless of their age. Only through collective action and the protection of labor laws can we truly combat the exploitation of children in the workforce and ensure a better future for the next generation.

Related Article: Child Labor in US Meat Plants: US Labor Department Urges Companies to Take Action
In June 2021, Patently Apple posted a report titled "TSMC's 3DFabric Technology is the next big wave in Chip Design that Apple will take advantage of in the not-too-distant Future." The news was rolled into an Apple patent titled "High Density Interconnection using Fanout Interposer Chiplet."

TSMC's comprehensive 3D Fabric technology covering 3D Silicon Stacking and Advanced Packaging Technologies will deliver next-gen chips for high performance computing for Apple's higher-end Mac desktop and MacBooks for superior performance for high-end video and graphics apps, streaming of live sporting events, rendering mind-blowing special effects, AI, Machine Learning

Cloud computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), neural network training, AI inferencing, mobile computing on advanced smartphones and even self-driving cars are all pushing the computing envelope.

Modern workloads have brought packaging technologies to the forefront for innovation and they are critical to a product's performance, function and cost. These modern workloads have pushed the product design to embrace a more holistic approach for optimization at the system level. 3DFabric offers our customers the freedom and advantage to design their products more holistically as a system of mini-chips that offers key advantages versus designing a larger monolithic die.

Today, a Taiwanese Financial Site called "MoneyDJ" that also covers technology news extensively for its 1.5 million members, reports that TSMC's 3D Fabric technology that includes CoWoS and SoIC technologies, has won the favor of Apple and AMD.

While it's unknown when Apple will begin to integrate 3D Fabric Technology for desktop and mobile devices, the report noted that "Advanced technology, providing advanced SoIC (system on chip package), WoW (wafer on wafer), CoW (chip on wafer) technology will be mass produced in TSMC's sixth advanced packaging plant located in Zhuke Tongluo Park. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2026 and mass production will begin in the third quarter of 2027.

The technology site IT Home adds that sources believe that Apple will first introduce it in a MacBook Pro in the 2025-2027 time line at the earliest. AMD will reportedly be the first customer to use this new technology, and in fact their MI300 already uses SoIC with CoWoS. More importantly, IT Home claims that Apple is already "trial producing 3D stacking technology SoIC in small quantities."

The pressure is on TSMC to ramp up their 3D Fabric and AI chip capacity. Last Friday, Microsoft's CEO warned of service disruptions if it cant get enough A.I. chips for its data centers. You could learn more about TSMC's 3D Fabric here.
Earlier this year, in preparation for sitting down to interview Professor Alexander in connection with the Interpreter Foundations Six Days in August film project, I re-read Thomas G. Alexander, Brigham Young and the Expansion of the Mormon Faith (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2019). That interview with him  hes been a friend of ours for many years now  will eventually figure in the docudrama portion of the Foundations film effort.

Here are some passages from his very good book that I marked during that re-reading:

In several previously published articles I have argued that objectivityas scholars generally use the termis impossible. Every person carries some cultural baggage that no amount of scholarly detachment or persistence can overcome. Historian Charles Beard called the idea of objectivity a Noble Dream. I believe that those who profess to be objective are self-deluded. I have argued and still believe that honesty is the most important virtue historians can seek to achieve. Any written history consists of a text written by weaving together evidence found in clearly fragmentary and often messy documents with prose that links the evidence together in a story or narrative. All too often, historians allow rhetoric and supposition to substitute for evidence. (Preface) I have tried, as diligently as possible, to write an honest biography. In the text that follows, I have recognized Brigham Youngs failings, especially in his Indian policy, the Mormon Reformation, and the United Orders. Some of his doctrinal views are clearly unorthodox. At the same time, I have also tried to treat his successes as a missionary, family man, businessman, church leader, and colonizer. I would like to have known him personally. Unfortunately, the only paths available to explore his life are documents and narratives. The following text is the result of my exploration. (Preface)

I marked several passages that illustrated Brother Brighams sense of humor. Here are three of them:

In 1851 a woman named Elizabeth Green wrote Young asking him to remove her name from church records because she had decided to become a spiritualist. With a touch of humor, Young replied, I have this day examined the records of baptisms for the remission of sins in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and not being able to find the name of Elizabeth Green recorded therein I was saved the necessity of erasing your name therefrom. You may therefor consider that your sins have not been remitted you and you may consequently enjoy the benefits therefrom. (Chapter 11)

Goodwins Weekly on April 4, 1914, reported that during his conversation with Tom Thumb, the little man remarked, I cannot understand polygamy. We see Youngs ready wit in his reply, Neither could I when I was your size. (Chapter 13) Brigham lamented that the architects of Zion [must] . . . work with such material as the Lord has provided, stupidity, wooden shoes, and cork brains thrown into the bargain (Chapter 11). And now for a couple of passages about Brigham Young and women, a topic that infuriates some folks at its mere mention but that should, I think, be approached more thoughtfully and with greater balance than that:

Young appreciated the support of friendly non-Mormons like Kane, but he also believed that women could assist in the churchs work, and in addition, they had an important role to play in the economic and political life of Utah Territory and the church. With Youngs encouragement, and the active lobbying by Latter-day Saint women, women in Utah achieved a degree of political power shared only by women in Wyoming at the time. At the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, women who owned property in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island could vote, but the state legislatures soon took that right from them. In 1870 Utahs gender composition was quite different from Wyomings. In Utah women made up 48 percent of the population, whereas in Wyoming they made up only 20 percent. Several eastern and midwestern congressmen led by George W. Julian of Indiana had argued that if women could vote in Utah, they would overthrow Utahs polygamous leadership. Young knew they were wrong, and he urged the legislature to grant suffrage to Utahs women. His counselor, George Q. Cannon, published editorials in the Deseret News championing the cause of women as a progressive measure. With women to aid in the great cause of reform, Cannon wrote, what wonderful changes can be effected! Utah womenled by Charlotte Ives Godbe, Youngs stepdaughter, and Mormon women Emmeline B. Wells and Sarah Kimballlobbied aggressively for the reform by holding rallies and urging acting governor Samuel A. Mann to sign the bill that granted women the vote after the legislature passed it. He did so on February 12, 1870, and among the first women to vote was Seraph A. Young, an attorney and Brigham Youngs grandniece. The U.S. Congress would abolish womens suffrage in Utah seventeen years later with the Edmunds-Tucker Act of 1887, but, responding to the will of the people, the Utah Constitutional Convention restored woman suffrage at statehood in 1896. (Chapter 12)

Youngs attitudes and actions about women proved important in promoting their activity in the church and the larger community. Although his ideas seem antiquated today, in the nineteenth century, they were progressive. Giving women the responsibility for their own Relief Society, supporting womens political activity, and encouraging women to study medicine, law, telegraphy, sales, and other professions was extremely important for their progress and for the health of the community. (Chapter 13)

And I like this final appraisal from Professor Alexander, who has devoted a long and productive career and post-career to studying and thinking and writing about the history of Utah and of the Latter-day Saints:

Some churches that were organized or flourished during the Second Great Awakening have survived just as the LDS church did, while others have died out or have left only vestiges of themselves. Significantly, none of these churches experienced the persistent persecution the Mormons endured during the nineteenth century. Absent the strong, gifted, and indeed, inspired leadership that Brigham Young gave the Saints, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints might well have died out as well. Faithful members loved Brigham Young, and they willingly followed him into the Indians land, the Mormons considered wilderness, to build towns. Most remained faithful despite continued persecution because they believed in his message and his leadership. (Chapter 13)

It is my hope that our Six Days in August film project will help Latter-day Saints and others to more adequately appreciate the contributions of President Brigham Young.

Posted from Park City, Utah
London-based YouTuber Max Fosh is nothing if not daring, whether he's sneaking into security conventions or entering a bodybuilding competition with nothing but his pasty British self.

Far riskier than either of these, however, is his newest stunt: traveling to Iceland to cook a frozen curry in an actively erupting volcano.

Regardless of your feelings on why he's undertaking this monumental task (for 'bland food lovers everywhere', in typical British fashion), it's probably the most danger anyone has ever been in preparing a boxed curry  unless you're lactose intolerant, in which case you face an entirely different kind of eruption.
So, what is spirituality, anyway?

Philip Sheldrake is generally considered among the foremost academics studying the subject. He specializes in Christian spirituality. But out of his years of study has offered some insights into what spirituality seems to be as a current within religions writ large.

It is a current, a strand, an aspect. As the spiritual but not religious intuit, the major project of religion is social cohesion. Religion in human cultures is largely about defining who is in and who is out. Along with preserving the stories and rituals of a culture. Spirituality is connected to that project of shaping and sustaining culture, but it is also distinguishable. Spirituality is about the deepest currents of our human lives. It is where we find meaning. Spirituality is where we meet the gods, God, or ultimacy. Pick your term. Actually for me, because that sense of ultimacy is elusive and can be named so many ways, all of which feel to fall short of something that is met across cultures, I prefer to call it the mystery.

Spirituality is that part of a culture where individuals can meet the mystery of our existence both within that culture and beyond it.

Professor Sheldrake identifies four broad categories, or types, or styles of spirituality. His terms for these are ascetical, mystical, active-practical, and prophetic-critical. He doesnt see any of them as completely separate from the others.

I look at his categories and I see a natural ordering. The root element is what he calls mystical.

This is the desire to know the gods, God, ultimacy. The mystery. Its a deeply personal project. As the old Zen line goes, its like wanting to take a drink of water and to know for oneself whether it is cool or warm. Jewish Kabbalists, those fourth century Christian desert fathers and mothers, Sufis, and medieval Chinese Zen masters immediately come to mind.

The ascetical type or style has been historically the most common way people approach the mystery. Its what you might imagine life would be about in a monastery, or among people with strong spiritual disciplines. Rule. Rhythm. Prayer or meditation. Intentional simplicity. Trappist or Zen monks each fit this bill. Perhaps silent meeting Quakers, as well.

Then theres kind of a turn from inward focused spirituality, outward. Here we find the third in the good professors list, the active-practical. It focuses on life in the here and now as the spiritual project. Its where we find lives of service. That call to feed the hungry, to cloth the naked, to visit the imprisoned. Catholic Worker houses of hospitality come to mind. Probably any religiously based soup kitchen or food bank would be another example.

The fourth is prophetic-critical. I think of those ancient Hebrew prophets railing against those whove abandoned the poor and sought only their own personal benefit. Of these my favorite is Jonah. Hes no ones idea of a nice guy, who only after trying to avoid the job, you may recall in the story hes running away from the job, when God has him swallowed by a great fish and then spit up on the beach heading back to the city where hes supposed to prophecy, calling people back from iniquity. In those time iniquity is more commonly mistreating the poor. But the sin is not actually named in the story.

Whatever. Hes my favorite of the prophets because hes a self-centered jerk. As you no doubt recall, he prophecies, and the people hear the word and mend their ways. Then he goes into a rage because they dont get the fire and brimstone part. The major point here, it that mystery, which seems to be most of all about love and a calling back is extended to everyone. And the person chosen to be the pivot in the turn is himself unworthy.

All these forms of spirituality are about how you and I are, and what you and I may actually be within all our messiness. It is the call of the mystery, and our individual response to it. As we are, just as we are.

In one of his fourteen books, Oxford University Presss Spirituality: A Very Short Introduction, Professor Sheldrake suggests this prophetic-critical spirituality is a relatively modern thing. Me, I think of Jonah. And for that matter Elijah, Elisha, Hosea, and Amos, as well. Clearly its ancient. What I think the professor means is that this prophetic spirituality has been emerging in modernity in some very interesting and distinctive ways.

I suggest this prophetic spirituality turns on the idea of justice as some deep sense that arises naturally within our human hearts. Maybe from the same place one might find that sense of the gods, or God, or ultimacy. Justice and a sense of justice for all seems to arise from that deep place which is the mystery.

But it isnt just private. Among the oldest definitions of justice might be found in the preface to Platos Republic. For Plato justice is rendering to everyone their due. Its easy to see justice as the Golden Rule applied with the authority of the state. Of course, with that power, its not a hard slide to an eye for an eye. So, justice is a dangerous thing. And needs cautions.

Its within the spiritual sense of justice, within that prophetic spirituality, that the call for justice is more likely to be healthful and healing rather than about retribution or vengeance. It is a calling of our hearts and hands to something deep.

Looking for modern examples isnt hard. Bishop William Barbers Poor Peoples Campaign certainly is prophetic spirituality. I notice this past week was the Reverend Troy Perrys birthday. I think the Metropolitan Community Church he founded as an evangelical expression of prophetic spirituality is another. I also think of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, which has been very important to me. However we understand our boundless nature, it calls us to serve the lost and left behind. Prophetic spirituality is about leaving no one behind.

And. I think of the Unitarian Universalist Association. And something more. There is a religious radicalism that is arising, of which the UUA is simply the largest organized expression. As my colleague in UU ministry, the Reverend Victoria Weinstein notes of UUs specifically, but it is applicable to a rising interfaith movement, we are about something new, we sail the seas of a pluralism that the mainline church dabs its toe in on the shore. This pluralism project, if you will, this way of radical religion is something new. And with that broadness, it can be hard to see where we find the depths.

Here I have a suggestion. Perhaps ours is the first of the spiritual traditions to find that prophetic spirituality as the north star of our way. Absolutely, it exists and is flourishing among the Axiel age religions and their successors in Islam and the Sikh tradition. But for many of the rising pluralistic traditions, and especially among Unitarian Universalists, I suggest this prophetic spirituality is the guiding principle. It is what pulls our hearts and guides our actions.

What is true in Professor Sheldrakes assertion, I believe, is that this prophetic approach to the spiritual life started to arise most clearly in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. And for us not incidentally as Transcendentalism shifted the rising Unitarian and not long after Universalist communities into spiritual pluralism.

Probably the most significant application of a prophetic spirituality as a quest for justice arises in India in the first half of the twentieth century, which most of us know through Mohandas Gandhi. In the same time frame, currents of Engaged Buddhism also arises within the anti-colonialist movement. And it quickly expands from South and East Asia to the West. Dr King, after all, was a disciple of Gandhi. Who, by the bye, was partially influenced by Henry Thoreau.

What Ive noticed is that starting somewhere in the early mid nineteenth century, some grand feedback loops between east and west, broadly speaking we can say between Abrahamic and Dharmic traditions (although its bigger than that) began. And with that weve begun to see prophetic spiritualities grounded in a clear seeing into our radical interconnections as for many of us the best description of the mystery.

Im particularly interested in how this prophetic spirituality has grown and matured among us as Unitarian Universalists. One great example is Theodore Parker.

Ive mentioned him before. He was the Transcendentalist Unitarian minister who in the years before the Civil War hid runaway slaves in his home and who wrote his sermons with a loaded pistol resting on his desk. He was a member of the Secret Six, who underwrote John Browns abortive attempt to arm a slave rebellion.

Parkers Transcendentalism was rooted in a direct encounter with the divine, which he described as great primal intuitions of nature that depend on no logical process of demonstration, that called him into a life of action. Here I believe that root of spirituality, the mystical, was deep in Parkers life. And it demanded manifestation. He gave, he served. And he railed the voice of God against all forms of oppression.

Ive also shared this before. And I expect I will again. Its really important. In 1853 Theodore Parker preached a sermon, Justice and the Conscience. There he proclaimed, I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; (but) I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.

Part of whats important for me is how he saw the whole of our existence bound up intimately. He used the language of western spiritualities which feature beginnings and endings. But just assuredly as within the great cycles of eastern spiritualities he saw everything is connected.

A century and almost a decade later, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, who deeply admired Parker, and who often cited the old Transcendentalist in his sermons, called out to us, I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because truth crushed to earth will rise again. How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever. How long? Not long, because you shall reap what you sow. How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.

Parkers influence continues, modified, corrected, expanded. Four decades and three years after Dr Kings words, then president Barack Obama, speaking on the anniversary of Kings assassination, proclaimed, Dr. King once said that the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice. It bends towards justice, but here is the thing: it does not bend on its own. It bends because each of us in our own ways put our hand on that arc and we bend it in the direction of justice.

Here I think we find what a Prophetic spirituality calls us to: To see the connections, to reflect on those connections, and then to act in the world inspired by those connections, each of us, in our own way. This is the heart of our prophetic spirituality.

I also love that the child nurtured by his Unitarian Universalist grandparents was able to close the loop, to explain the fullness of our prophetic spirituality. He knew to add in those hands in part because his grandmother, with all her shortcomings, showed him how.

We are living in very complicated times. In some ways for many people things have never been better. More people enjoy a fair share of the fruits of their labors than at any other time in history. Around the world women and LGBTQ people are standing up for long denied rights.

At the same time climate change is upon us. This is the hottest summer they can count back one hundred and twenty thousand years. And those LGBTQ rights? Well, we know theyre under assault. And womens rights, well. And, if youve driven here, how many homeless people did you have to drive by?

And when was the last time an American presidential campaign centered on naked and unalloyed revenge?

These are complex and dangerous times.

So, what does it mean to be a Unitarian Universalist in this time, and in this place? What does it mean to participate within a prophetic spirituality?

Well, you know, if you look through the dust flying around, its pretty straight-forward. We commit to looking at ourselves and the world, as deeply as possible. We commit to seeing the connections. You know, what by its many names, is the mystery. And with that we commit to putting our hand on that arc.

For UUs I have some suggestions. Deepen the other senses of the spiritual. The grand intuition is expressed in the seventh principle. Whether that exact language continues or not, the intuition of a deep interconnectedness is not philosophical. When we speak of love, thats what were talking about.

I would also encourage us to embrace some practices. The most obvious I feel are those Buddhist disciplines of presence. Either in a traditional form or in one of the secular adaptions like Jon Kabat-Zins mindfulness based stress reduction. Heres a secret. Its actually about something a lot deeper than stress reduction.

Of course, we will make mistakes. We will lose sight of the connections, our hearts will turn sour, we will despair. But if we recall the prophetic voice is rooted itself in something deeper, then we can prevail. We need to recall our intuition of service and action comes from the deepest truths of our hearts: we are one. We are one family. We are intimately connected.

That is the mystery.

Look around and we see your relatives.

This is the very same seeing that informed Theodore Parker, and which informs our Unitarian Universalist spiritual way today. If you see our essential connection with each other is nothing less than the divine itself, the gods, God, ultimacy, the great mystery; then with false steps and mistakes along the way, of course with false steps and mistakes, like Jonah, as people, with all that means, we will nonetheless go in the right direction.

We will put our hands to work, and we will bend that arc.

Our prophetic spirituality.

Amen.
I need another USB-C charger like I need a hole in my head. And as it turns out, I apparently needed another seven holes in my head.

Yes, no lie, in the last two weeks I spent my own cash on seven new GaN USB-C chargers. This is from a nerd who literally has an overflowing box of USB-C chargers.

What kicked off my decision to buy chargers I didnt think I needed, but wanted, was the desire to trim as much weight off as possible. This happened during a 15-day vacation in Japan where my family and I walked multiple 12+ mile days and the weight of a 65-watt dual-port charger and a 10,000mAh battery pack began feeling felt like a lead weight. Like a competitive cyclist, I wanted to shave as much weight from my load as possibleeven if it was a few grams.

Luckily Japan never abandoned retail electronics. Visiting no less than 10 different stores, I was able to physically touch dozens of USB-C GaN chargers and read the specs on the chargers themselves.

I came away from Japan with what seemed like the best fit for my needs: Elecoms 45-watt, CW102 GaN II-based charger (heres a cuter and pricier version of it on Amazon). It was a little chunkier than I had aimed for but with its 45-watts of power, I could run a small laptop and more importantly, the Elecom charger supports the optional USB-PD Programmable Power Supply or PPS standard. Despite having a large array of USB-C chargers, none of them supported PPS. While I have ignored that in the past, my GaN charger adventure taught me what I was missing.

The Anker 511 Nano 3 is the lightest and most powerful of my USB-C GaN chargers. Gordon Mah Ung

Why you want a charger with PPS

All USB-C chargers support USB-PD (power delivery) charging voltages in large steps of say, 3 volts, 5 volts, 9 volts, 15 volts, and 20 volts. PPS, however, allows for a much finer grain control of voltage and offers a continuous range, such as 3 volts to 16 volts in very small 20mV steps. While a standard USB-C charge rate can look like large steps, PPS can look like a curve and is constantly renegotiated every few seconds based on what the phones battery tells the charger it needs.

Besides offering a much smoother charging curve, a PPS charger can result in cooler charging inside the phone as the conversion inside is offloaded to the charger and better matched to its needs. This, in turn, can lead to faster charging as well as less stress on the battery during charging, which can result in a longer service life for a phones battery.

PPS sounds great, but it also requires the phone to support it too. Today, many Android-based phones and tablets support PPS, but its not universal as Apple hasnt embraced the technology. My Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra does support PPS, though, and the only way to trigger the phones Super Fast Charge mode is with a 45-watt USB-C charger that supports PPS. Googles newer Pixel lineup as well phones from Asus and others also support PPS charging.

Not small enough, not light enough

With three Elecom chargers in my basket (I anticipated losing them as gifts, loss, and to permanent borrowers) I thought I had all the GaN chargers Id need for the next few years. It was a pleasure to ditch the power bank and larger charger I had brought on the trip for the Elecom.

When I arrived back in the United States however, Amazons Prime Day was in full swing and one of the chargers I had eyed, but decided wasnt a great deal in Japan popped up on my radar: Ankers popular 511 Nano 3 charger for $16.99. Not to be confused with the original Anker 511 Nano Pro charger, the newer 511 Nano 3 charger increases the charge rate from 20 watts of the original Nano to 30 watts. More importantly, while the original Nano supported pretty basic USB-PD at 5 volts and 9 volts and no PPS, the 511 Nano 3 supports 5 volts, 9 volts, 15 volts, and 20 volts as well as two PPS profiles. The newer Nano 3 also features folding prongs which I prefer to prevent bent prongs when stowed.

Proof: I did indeed buy four of these Anker 511 Nano 3 GaN chargers. Gordon Mah Ung

Its most important feature though is its weight. The 511 Nano 3 is extremely light, coming in at 39 grams on my scale, for a 38 percent reduction in weight versus the Elecom charger. Yes, its also a 33 percent reduction in wattage too, but I know in reality most phones dont run at the maximum charge rate very long and the reduction wont matter too much.

So as insane as it sounds, a week and a half after buying three GaN chargers on vacation, I came back and bought an additional four GaN chargers this Tuesday. Insane? Sure, I get that, but realizing just how tiny and powerful and far more advanced these newer GaN chargers are, I actually think it makes sense to upgrade my chargers as Ive upgraded my phone.
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, is expected to use Mondays Mid-Year Budget Review to pave the way for the government to pursue a transformative economic agenda for the second part of the year.



Sources close to the Ministry of Finance told the Daily Graphic that the government, through the mid-year policy and programme review, would adopt an aggressive approach to pushing for economic growth, with a focus on implementing various strategies to promote and support growth across various sectors.



Mr Ofori-Atta last week told a forum with stakeholders that the review would not request additional funding for government expenditure.



However, he insisted that the intentions were to prioritize investment in key sectors of the economy, such as industry and agriculture, to stimulate growth.



In that vein, the government would energise the manufacturing sector through targeted industrialisation efforts, attract both domestic and foreign investments to drive economic diversification and boost production capacity.



A source at the ministry said the prioritisation meant optimizing the use of allocated resources.



Some analysts had said it could take various forms such as ensuring that ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) exhaust their existing allocation instead of seeking additional funding, as well as finding additional efficiencies across sectors to help direct more investments into the priority sectors of agriculture and industry.



The Daily Graphic has also learnt that the government would also rely on the Mid-Year Budget Review to re-direct significant investments into agriculture.



This will include the continuation of successful programmes such as the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) initiative into its second phase, as well as programmes to enhance agricultural productivity and ensure food security for the nation, another source at the Finance Ministry told the Daily Graphic.



The Finance minister at the same forum last Monday pledged food security for Ghanaians, stating, Affordable food is a must. The government will do all it can to ensure food security for Ghanaians.



Prosperity dialogue



During the stakeholder engagement, Mr Ofori-Atta said the Ghana Mutual Prosperity Dialogue Framework, a public-private partnership for growth, was expected to serve as the cornerstone of the reforms, which had been touted as designed to promote shared growth anchored on job creation, exports and import substitution.



During the budget review presentation, the finance minister is expected to stress the critical importance of such strategic interventions in achieving sustainable economic growth and development.



Sources at the Ministry of Finance argued that by addressing systemic weaknesses and building resilience in key areas, the government was seeking to create a solid foundation for the economy to flourish, amid uncertainties posed by global events of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine.

Source: graphic.com.gh









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Information gathered that there's an uneasy tension in the Consolidated Bank of Ghana (CBD) over the appointment of a Kenyan, Thairu Ndungu as Deputy Managing Director-Operations CBG.



CBG is an Indigenous Ghanaian Universal Bank wholly owned by the Government of Ghana and licensed by the Bank of Ghana under the Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2013 (Act 930). With a corporate head office located in Accra, Ghanas capital and largest city, CBG has about 114 branches spanning 13 regions across the country.



It would be recalled that a few days ago, the NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolgatanga Central in Upper East Region who doubles as the Deputy Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Finance, HonIsaac Adongo in an interview with Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) said CBD is now a national disgrace - "CBD today is a symbol of National embarrassment".



Mr Adongo is demanding the immediate removal of the Kenyan who he alleged is been paid an expatriate salary which according to him is an unnecessary cost to the nation.



The NDC MP's concerns over the appointment of the Deputy Managing Director of Operations have attracted the overwhelming support of many bankers as well as key leading members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).



The leading members of NPP and some bankers who spoke to This Paper under the condition of anonymity to avoid politicization of the issue have all called on the President, Nana Akufo-Addo to urgently intervene to remove the Kenyan from his post and appoint one out of many Ghanaians who equally qualified for the same position.



According to them, it is an insult and indictment on the part of the Government to look unconcerned without immediately addressing the issue to allow it to escalate.



"It's our own interest to address this matter as soon as possible before it gets out of hand. This is not NPP and NDC usual politics", a furious Leading member of NPP stated.



Adding that some of these mistakes of our government led by Nana Addo are avoidable and I wish it's resolved as soon as possible



THAIRU NDUNGU is Deputy Managing Director  Operations of Consolidated Bank Ghana.



Thairu has a BSC in Mathematics and a Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Science, both from the University of Nairobi, Kenya.



However, despite the above experience many concerned bankers, and leading politicians including NDC and NPP believed the country has many more than qualified Ghanaians who could be given the source.





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PricewaterhouseCoopers, PwC, the largest provider of professional services in Africa has called on companies in Ghana to deepen their commitment to social responsibility and sustainability issues. Speaking on Tuesday 25 July, 2023, at the 10th edition of the Centre for CSR West Africas National CSR and Sustainability Conference at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra, Mr. Richard Ansong, a Partner at PwC admonished companies in Ghana to continue to seek ways to improve their commitments to sustainable practices.



Mr. Ansong said: Companies can no longer operate without strong commitments to values that promote, support and protect people and the planet. It is no longer fashionable or acceptable to stand aside and watch. Some companies are doing well to integrate sustainability practices in their businesses, others have a long way to go. The more companies in Ghana imbibe sustainability, the better the business ecosystem would become.



Talking about PwC, he said: As the largest provider of professional services in Africa, we are a forward-thinking, forward-looking, sustainability-conscious organization. We specialize in providing industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to enhance value for our clients globally and in Ghana. We ensure that sustainability is engrained in our service delivery. We take pride in the fact that our services add value by helping to improve transparency, trust and consistency of business processes in Ghana and across the world.



The Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), West Africa, a leading CSR and Sustainability advocacy organization, in collaboration with the Association of Ghana Industries, organized the Conference and brought together, many leading socially responsible companies and organisations who rendered accounts of their impressive and excellent social stewardship at the Conference.



Other companies and organizations such as RYTHM Foundation, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Vodafone Ghana, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), World Vision, Volta River Authority and VIVO Energy delivered speeches and presentations on their contributions to CSR and sustainability.



Talking from the perspectives of academia, Prof. Martin Gyambrah, a Senior Educational Manager, Strategy Consultant and Corporate Advisor with extensive experience in Institutional Development, Leadership and Administration in International Contexts and Director of the University of Applied Management Ghana, asked companies to establish actions and systems to ensure or guarantee the sustainability and continuity of critical resources for the achievement of their sustainability objectives. He implored businesses to re-align and commit to sustainable business practices and create Merchants of Foresight. He advised that a company that cannot imagine or plan for the future, would not be around to enjoy it.



Also in attendance was GOIL, Ghanas leading marketer and distributor of oil and petroleum products represented by its Public Relations Manager, Mr. Robert Kyere and Madam Jamilatu Mohammed, RYTHM Foundation represented by the Head of the Foundation, Santhi Periasamy, World Vision represented by Mrs. Agnes Obeng and Mr. Joseph Appiah. The Conference was a platform that enabled businesses give account of their societal stewardship, network, partner and collaborate for business sustainability.



Promasidor, Republic Bank, CBL West Africa, SIC Ghana, Ghanaian German Economic Association, Societe Generale, Consolidated Bank, Blay and Associates, Fruveg, Toyota Ghana, Rivella Enterprise, Bosomtwi Industries, Imperial General Assurance, J. A. Abrahams & Sons, Amla Foundation, Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, etc and more than 30 media organisations attended the Conference.



Speaking at the Conference, Mr, John Kojo Williams, Co-Founder of the Centre for CSR, West Africa said: Since 2013, we have been at the forefront of creating awareness on CSR and sustainability issues and matchmaking companies to create sustainable impact. We are happy that this Conference is a huge success and that companies were provided the much-needed platform to render their CSR account, network and partner for more sustainable projects that will keep their businesses alive and make society better. This Conference brought together, companies, business associations, regulatory agencies, international aid organisations, academia and the media.



According to the Centre for CSR West Africa, a magazine to compile CSR activities of companies in Ghana would soon be published. Entries for the 10th Edition of the Ghana CSR Excellence Awards 2024 are now officially open. Enquiries can be sent to: [email protected].

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The EU has suspended all security cooperation with Niger after the country's army took power in a coup.



It comes shortly after the US declared its "unflagging support" for ousted president Mohamed Bazoum - seen as a key Western ally in the fight against Islamist militants.



On Friday the head of the presidential guards unit Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani declared himself Niger's new leader.

He said insecurity, economic woes and corruption led him to seize power.



But there are now concerns in the West about which countries the new leader will align with.

Niger's neighbours, Burkina Faso and Mali, have both pivoted towards Russia since their own coups.



EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell joined the US and France in refusing to recognise the coup leaders and said security cooperation and budgetary aid was being suspended indefinitely.



Also on Saturday the African Union called on the Niger army to return to base within 15 days.



Mohamed Bazoum - Niger's first elected leader to succeed another since independence in 1960 - is currently thought to be in good health, and still held captive by his own guards.



On Friday evening US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned those detaining him that "hundreds of millions of dollars of assistance" was at risk.



However, the leader of Russia's Wagner mercenary group has reportedly described the coup as a triumph.



"What happened in Niger is nothing other than the struggle of the people of Niger with their colonisers," Yevgeny Prigozhin was quoted as saying on a Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel.



"With colonisers who are trying to foist their rules of life on them and their conditions and keep them in the state that Africa was in hundreds of years ago."



He added: "Today this is effectively gaining their independence."

The BBC has not been able to verify the authenticity of his reported comments.



Wagner is believed to have thousands of fighters in countries including the Central African Republic (CAR) and Mali, where it has lucrative business interests but also bolsters Russia's diplomatic and economic relations.



Wagner fighters have been accused of widespread human rights abuses in several African countries.

Source: BBC









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Niger's coup leaders have warned regional and Western powers against military intervention to reinstate the ousted president.



A statement claimed that regional body Ecowas was preparing to approve a "plan of aggression against Niger".



The bloc of West African nations has not commented. It is meeting to discuss the coup, which it has condemned.



Meanwhile, hundreds of coup supporters protested outside the French embassy in Niamey, after France stopped aid.



Some of them chanted "Long live Russia", "Long live Putin" and "Down with France", AFP news agency reports.



France would not tolerate any attack on its interests in Niger, and would respond in an "immediate and intractable manner", President Emmanuel Macron's office said in a statement.



The coup has prompted concern that Niger could pivot towards Russia. Neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali both moved closer to Russia since their own coups.



Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani - the head of the presidential guards unit who has declared himself Niger's new leader - warned Ecowas and unnamed Western nations against stepping in.



"We once again reiterate to Ecowas or any other adventurer our firm determination to defend our fatherland," the statement, which was read out on TV, said.



About two weeks ago the Ecowas chairman, Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu, warned that terrorism and the emerging pattern of coups in West Africa had reached alarming levels and demanded urgent action.



The African Union and Western nations have also condemned the military takeover, but the leader of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has reportedly described it as a triumph.



"What happened in Niger is nothing other than the struggle of the people of Niger with their colonisers," he was quoted as saying on a Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel, although his comments have not been independently verified.



Armies have also seized power in recent years in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea.



The junta in Mali has brought in Russia's Wagner mercenary group to help it fight militant Islamists.



France, the former colonial power, announced the withdrawal of its troops last year amid growing hostility from the junta.



It subsequently moved its regional military headquarters to Niger.



In June, Mali's junta said the UN's 12,000 peacekeepers also had to leave following a decade of countering Islamist militants.



The UN agreed, saying the withdrawal would be completed by the end of the year.



On Saturday, France said it had suspended all development aid and budgetary support to Niger.



The European Union and the US have made a similar decision, while the AU has called on the army to return to base within 15 days.

Source: BBC









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Hope rises for the rebound of the Nigerian tourism industry as the Federal Republic of Nigeria has been elected to the executive council of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) at its 66th Commission for Africa Meeting held in Mauritius.



With the development,Nigeria returns to the highest structure of UNWTO after nearly a decade.



To further consolidate on its new position, Nigeria was also awarded the vice president slot for the Commission for Africa (CAF).



As well, the West African giant has now become part of the eleven other African countries representing Africa on UNWTOs highest making decision-making body.



The Executive Council is UNWTOs governing board responsible for ensuring that the organization carries out its work and adheres to its budget.



Speaking to VoyagesAfriq after the nomination and subsequent affirmation, Folorunsho Coker, Director General, Nigeria Tourism Development Authority, said that he was grateful to colleague members and the Commission for Africa (CAF) for accepting the countrys bid.



"With Nigeria's recognition in the Commission for Africa/UNWTO as vice president and member of the Executive Council, we can deepen the impact of our domestic tourism assets and new mediums of cultural expression on our Nigerian GDP. We hope to support UNWTO Tourism Academy, tourism grants, tourism technical support and tourism events," Coker said.



According to him, the new development will offer Nigeria a great opportunity to present to the rest of the world all its culture and diversity and to welcome the global tourism community.



Nigeria's emergence as CAF vice president and being elected to UNWTO's Executive Council are coming on the heel of the country being elected as the president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).



Also, considering that Coker has a good relationship with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, expectations are high that Coker, who is serving a second term as the director general of Nigeria Tourism Development Authority, will leverage his contacts at the UNWTO and with the new government to push tourism development to the frontburner and also put the global tourism spotlight on Nigeria.



The Commission of Africa Meeting is held every year as part of UNWTOs statutory events.

The July meeting will be the second time Mauritius, an archipelago island country, which has been a member of the UNWTO since 1975, will be hosting the CAF Meeting.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Smile ID (formerly Smile Identity), Africas leading provider of identity verification solutions, released its H1 2023 State of KYC in Africa report today.



The report, which proposes insights into the efficacy of biometric verification, the growing adoption of digital identity, and the impact of fraud rates across the continent, has highlighted the strides of Ghanas National Identification Authority as a leading example on the continent.



Identification is regarded as a fundamental human right. Where unavailable, it can restrict access to amenities like financial services, healthcare, government services, etc. The NIA, which is the issuing body of Ghanas foundational ID document, the Smart Card, has made significant progress in its bid to provide identification to citizens and residents.



In April 2023, the NIA announced in an ID4Africa meeting in Nairobi that it had enrolled over 17.4 million Ghanaians above the age of 15. This puts the ID coverage north around 87percent of the countrys adult population. The NIA has also recently announced that it will be dropping age requirements for the Ghana Card, enabling it to enrol newborns.



The State of KYC in Africa report, which cuts across several African countries, also talks in-depth about the trends in ID-related fraud behaviours within the H1 2023 period. Across Africa, onboarding fraud attempts dropped from a record high of 28percent in 2022 to 23percent in the first half of 2023. The decline in fraud attempts has been largely attributed to a decline in marketing promotions which have been observed to trigger most fraud attempts.



The report, which is available to read on Smile IDs website, also touches on the importance of biometric authentication, liveliness checks, and anti-spoof technologies, among others, for fraud prevention, especially as fraudsters evolve their methods.



43percent of the fraud caught by the organisation were cases where the face of the user did not match the face on the ID they submitted, indicating that a stolen ID was used. In 41percent of the cases, the users attempted to spoof the ID owners face using a picture or a video. Relying on textual verification alone would have resulted in these fraudulent attempts going undetected.



Other pertinent issues covered within the African KYC compliance ecosystem include:



 The increase in gender inclusion across Africa,

 KYC compliance tips across 13 countries

 Fraud trends across various industries, e.g. Payment, Crypto, BNPL, Remittance, etc.

 How biometric verification reduces fraudulent users by up to 50percent, with facial recognition emerging as the preferred and most accessible option.

 How several African countries are making notable strides in adopting digital identification.



The full State of KYC report is now available for download on Smile IDs website. For questions and comments, please send an email to: [email protected]





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For 12 years, Sweetness 7 served Grant Street with coffee and a breakfast-lunch menu that leaned vegetarian. The business also served as a community hub, encouraging groups to take shelter under its roof.

Last month, word went out that the community center with coffee was back.

The Healing Grounds Co-op, 218-220 Grant St., aims to offer food, drink and a gathering place for its community. The cafe serves from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, but the gatherings go all week.

We have the cafe, and then we have our sanctuary space, a community space where we have events that centered around artistic expression, healing and just connection between people, said Dan White.

A career restaurant worker, last at Bacchus, White took over the Grant Street space with Asman Ndayisabwa this year. Prish Moran, the Sweetness 7 proprietress who took a chance on Grant Street in 2008, remains the landlord.

The co-op part in its name signals that its not an ordinary business. Its a worker collective, with a pathway to ownership for employees, said White.

Trailblazer who 'took a chance on Grant Street when no one else would' moves on "People won't even know I'll be gone," said Prish Moran, an urban trailblazer who opened Sweet_ness 7 Cafe on the West Side 12 years ago.

Breakfast sandwiches ($8) come with egg and cheese, plus kale and tempeh bacon. Ayurvedic pancakes with dates, cinnamon, bananas and blueberries ($6.50) are made with oat batter. The tempeh BLT ($7.50) comes on BreadHive sourdough.

An extensive array of coffees and teas are joined by cacao ($5.55) served hot or cold.

We have like open mic nights every other Friday, and we have intuitive paint nights, a meditative, intuitive guided paint session. Then we have like support circles like people circles in men's and women's circles.

The community space is also available for rent, to host workshops, or as an office, said White. To check out the workshops, follow Healing Grounds Co-ops Instagram at @thehealinggroundscoop.
play videoDr Edward Omane Boamah, Koku Anyidoho and Samuel Koku Anyidoho (from left to right)



The former General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Koku Anyidoho, has rejected assertions that he hurt former President John Dramani Mahama.



According to him, it was the former president who told him that they could not work together when he took over the presidency after the death of the Late Former President, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills.



When people say that Im anti-JM, how am I anti-JM? Like I've told you, President Mills never allowed me to disrespect him (Mahama) as vice president. We never had any altercation, nothing. I was doing my work, he said in an interview on the Kafui Dey show.



Anyidoho, who was the director of communication under Mill, went on to narrate how former President Mahama sent people to tell him that his services were no longer needed after Mills death.



When the president (Mills) died, there were attempts to get rid of me immediately after the death of the President... President Mills passed on the 24th of July; on the 26th of July, I got a call from Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.



 he calls saying he's checking on me. He wants to see how I'm doing blah, blah, blah. I said I'm fine. Okay, he goes off the line. I felt something quite queasy about the call. A few minutes later, Omane Boamah called, he narrated.



Anyidoho added that it was Dr Edward Omane Boamah, the then Minister for Communications, who told him that Mahama had taken the decision that he could not work with him (Anyidoho) at a meeting held on July 25, 2023.























































Source: ghanaweb.com









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The former President and flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani, has decided to replace Professor Nana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as running mate.



This is according to a newspaper report by the Daily Guide dated July 28, 2023.



According to the report, the party, is currently engaged in an extensive consultative process to determine the most suitable replacement.



The former Minister for Education partnered the John Mahama in the 2020 general elections.



The newspaper report stated that sources close to the former president revealed that a listening survey is being conducted among NDC delegates to gauge their preferences for Mahama's new running mate.



The decision to drop Professor Opoku-Agyemang has sparked divisions within Mahama's inner circles, as some still support her candidature due to her previous role as the former Education Minister in Mahama's administration.



Critics who advocate for the removal of Prof. Opoku-Agyemang argue that she has contributed minimally to the NDC's performance in the 2020 election, especially in her home region, Central.



Whereas others are urging the party to consider candidates from regions other than Central to broaden their voter appeal.



During the recent wreath-laying ceremony for the late President John Evans Atta Mills on July 24, 2023, at the Asomdwe Park, Professor Opoku-Agyemang was notably absent as she was reportedly out of the country for a medical check-up.



However, she was seen at Mills' memorial lecture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) on July 27, 2023.



As the consultative is ongoing, prominent figures within the NDC have been mentioned as potential running mates for Mahama.



These include former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah; former Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority, Sylvester Mensah; former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra, Joshua Alabi.



Some also mention the former BOST Managing Director, Kingsley Kwame Awuah Darko; former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Alex Kofi Mould; and former Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Eric Opoku, who has the support of Lordina Mahama.



The listening survey by the NDC aims to collect opinions and preferences from NDC delegates across the country to ensure a transparent and democratic selection process for the vice-presidential candidate.



While Mahama's inner circles mostly supported Professor Opoku-Agyemang, it remains unclear if the former president fully endorses the survey.



Political analysts say that the decision to drop Prof. Opoku-Agyemang could indicate his willingness to explore alternative options for his running mate. The final selection will be crucial in shaping the NDC's campaign strategy and appeal to voters as they gear up for the highly anticipated 2024 general elections.



Party officials assure the public that the listening survey will be conducted fairly and in line with the NDC's democratic principles. The announcement of the vice-presidential candidate is expected in the coming weeks, after thorough consideration of the survey results.



With the absence of Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang from the running mate options, the NDC and its supporters eagerly await the outcome of the listening survey, which will shape the party's leadership and electoral prospects for the 2024 general elections.





















Source: ghanaweb.com









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Parliament has given its approval to the Whistleblower (Amendment) Bill, 2023.



This is captured in a newspaper report by the Daily Graphic dated July 28, 2023.



The primary objective of this bill, according to the report, is to amend the existing Whistleblower Act, 2006 (Act 720) to enhance the funding sources for the Whistleblower Reward Fund.



The Attorney-General (A-G) and Minister of Justice, Godfred Dame, laid the bill before parliament on March 7, 2023, and it was subsequently referred to the Committee on Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs for a thorough evaluation.



The Whistleblower Act, 2006 (Act 720), was enacted to incentivize and establish robust structures to strengthen Ghana's ability to combat corruption and other illicit practices that hinder sustainable development efforts.



One of the key sections of Act 720, Section 20, is what captures the Whistleblower Reward Fund.



It relied on voluntary contributions and budgetary allocations from Parliament as its primary funding sources.



However, the Committee on Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs, led by Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, in its report submitted to the House prior to the bill's passage, noted certain shortcomings that needed to be addressed.



One major concern was the possibility of delays in releasing approved budgetary funds into the Whistleblower Reward Fund, which could affect the prompt payment of rewards to whistleblowers.



Additionally, Act 720 lacked clarity on the timeframe within which whistleblowers should receive their rewards for their efforts leading to the successful recovery of money or proceeds obtained from the sale of confiscated assets.



The amendments proposed are, therefore, meant to cure the shortcomings in Act 720 by reducing over-reliance on budgetary allocations as the main sources of revenue into the Whistleblower Reward Fund and to also provide for timeliness for payment of the rewards to successful whistleblowers, it said.



To rectify these issues, the proposed amendments aim to reduce reliance on budgetary allocations as the primary revenue source for the Whistleblower Reward Fund. This shift intends to ensure the timely payment of rewards to successful whistleblowers, thereby preventing demotivation due to delays.



The committee underscored the vital need to protect the identities of whistleblowers to shield them from potential hunts by powerful individuals in society.



Robust whistleblower protection mechanisms are crucial to encourage citizens to report misconduct, promote public accountability, and uphold integrity.



As part of the approved amendment, individuals and institutions receiving disclosures of impropriety, as per Section 3 of Act 720, are urged to maintain the utmost confidentiality and implement stringent protective measures to safeguard the whistleblowers' identities.



The report further emphasized that motivating individuals to expose wrongdoing in both private and public sectors play a pivotal role in combating fraud, corruption, and unethical behavior.



Hence, continuous review and improvement of policies and legal frameworks that incentivize and protect patriotic individuals providing information on misconduct are essential.



The proposed amendment is seen as a crucial step in strengthening national efforts to combat corruption and reinforces the country's commitment to promoting a culture of transparency and accountability.



















Source: ghanaweb.com









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Former Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Hon. Catherine Afeku has debunked recent publications that indicated that she had abandoned Alan Kyeremanten, the National Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential Aspirant after allegedly advocating for a "shirt and blouse" strategy for the upcoming NPP Primaries.



She described such reports as untrue and misleading as she said that the reports were false and mischievous attempts to divert public and party attention from the upcoming selection of the NPP's Presidential leader set for August 26.



Speaking to Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, she clarified that her support for Kyeremanten remained unchanged and that she had not abandoned him in any way.



The news about me leaving Alans camp is misleading and when you look at what is going on currently in the country youd realize this is a mischievous divergent, she said.



Addressing the specific incident that sparked the rumors, Catherine Afeku explained that she had merely emphasized the need for the party's Secretary, JFK, to address the party ahead of the upcoming event, in accordance with the party's laws.



We all know that were going to select our Presidential candidate on August 26 and we needed our Secretary, JFK to address the party for the upcoming event as according to the laws of the party. This is what I said as a veteran in the political terrain and which I said earlier this month on 14 while today is 27. That means two weeks ago and its now that someone wants to divert the public and partys attention to me.



Using a biblical analogy, she compared the situation to the biblical story of Joseph, whose brothers betrayed him, drawing a parallel to the misleading headlines.



She however expressed gratitude and support for Alan Kyeremanten as she believes that he is the chosen NPP Flagbearer and the incoming President of Ghana.





Source: ghanaweb.com









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Former President John Dramani Mahama has criticized President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the behaviour exhibited by his appointees.



Mr. Mahama said that President Akufo-Addo seems to have disregarded his previous advice to his appointees about seeking opportunities in the private sector for personal enrichment.



Addressing the graduating class of 2023 at the Academic City University College, Mr. Mahama expressed concern about what he said was a significant deviation of President Akufo-Addo's appointees from the admonishment given by the president six years ago.



During his speech, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer also cautioned graduates aspiring to enter politics for richness.



He urged them not to use their leadership positions to pursue selfish ambitions but to prioritize serving the nation and its people.



Mr. Mahama recalled the President's words from over six years ago when he emphasized that individuals seeking office should not do so for personal gain, but instead venture into the private sector if enrichment is their goal.



He emphasized that the wisdom of these words seems to be forgotten in light of the current situation.



In his advice to the graduands, Mr. Mahama stressed the importance of accountability and cautioned against using leadership positions for personal or partisan interests.



Instead, he encouraged the graduates to unite and work toward the development of the country.



Highlighting the challenges of leadership, Mr. Mahama emphasized the need for competent-based staff engagement wherever they find themselves in leadership roles.



He concluded by reminding the audience that accountability is inevitable, especially with the increased awareness and demands of Ghanaian citizens to be active participants in the country's governance rather than mere spectators.



The former President encouraged the graduates to adopt a selfless model of leadership that promotes the advancement of the nation and its people.

Source: graphic.com.gh









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Dan Botwe, Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, has written a letter to President Nana Akufo-Addo in which he strongly fingered Irene Naa Torshie Addo-Lartey, Administrator of the Districts Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), over what he described as her refusal to cooperate with his Ministry in the equitable disbursement of Common Funds to the various MMDAs in a style which would be in the best interest of Government.



It is instructive for His Excellency to note that this Ministry has not had the expected level of cooperation from the Office of the Administrator of the District Assemblies Common Fund.



In the past two (2) years and three (3) months since I have been in the Ministry, efforts to get the Office of the Administrator of District Assemblies Common Fund to align with the Ministry in the strategic determination of the beneficiary Districts of such allocations has not been successful, an unhappy Minister Botwe, noted in his letter to the President, dated Monday, July 10, 2023.



He continued: Even more worrying is the fact that, as the Ministry responsible for the MMDAs we are not involved, engaged or consulted in any form by the Administrator of the District Assemblies Common Fund in the development of the formula proposed to Parliament. We are of the view that Government would be more efficient in the utilization of such resources if we align the decision-making process with all relevant stakeholders.



Dan Botwe argued that his Ministry, by law, has the mandate to provide a coordinating and supervisory role over the activities of the MMDAs and to guide their development activities, therefore the mandate to determine which Districts receive such support and special attention lies with the Ministry.



We are of the firm belief that the trigger for distribution should be initiated by the Ministry, on behalf of the Government, to ensure it sits well within the broad government strategy, he added.



Dan Botwe argues further:



Annually, the Administrator of the District Assemblies Common Fund proposes the formula for distribution of the District Assemblies Common Fund to the Parliament of Ghana.



Once the approval is done, the Administrator of the District Assemblies Common Fund has the function under section 129 of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) to administer and distribute money paid into the Common Fund among the District Assemblies in accordance with the formula approved by Parliament.



Section 126 (3) of the same Act states; The Minister shall in consultation with the Minister responsible for Finance, determine the category of expenditure of the approved development budget of District Assemblies that must in each year be met out of amounts received by the District Assemblies from the District Assemblies Common Fund.



Part of the approved formula/allocation are activities like;



1 National Projects

2 Special Projects

3 Distressed District Support

4 Reserve funds



The Ministry holds the view that, when it comes to the above activities in the approved formula, the Administrator of the District Assemblies Common Fund does not have the authority to determine the distribution unilaterally, as it must sit within a broad strategic framework of Government.



As the supervisory Ministry of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) and the Ministry responsible for coordinating the MMDAs, we are of the view that the mandate to determine which Districts receive such support and special attention, lies with the Ministry. We are of the firm belief that the trigger for distribution should be initiated by the Ministry, on behalf of the Government, to ensure it sits well within the broad government strategy.



Even more worrying is the fact that, as the Ministry responsible for the MMDAs we are not involved, engaged or consulted in any form by the Administrator of the District Assemblies Common Fund in the development of the formula proposed to Parliament.



We are of the view that Government would be more efficient in the utilization of such resources if we align the decision-making process with all relevant stakeholders.



It is instructive for His Excellency to note that this Ministry has not had the expected level of cooperation from the Office of the Administrator of the District Assemblies Common Fund. In the past two (2) years and three (3) months, since I have been in the Ministry, efforts to get the Office of the Administrator of District Assemblies Common Fund to align with the Ministry in the strategic determination of the beneficiary Districts of such allocations have not been successful.



In the meantime, the Ministry has requested from the Office of the District Assemblies Common Fund Administrator, details of the disbursement done so far from the approved allocations to enable the Ministry to align and strategize to aid equity and strategic development of the MMDAs.



However, the Office of the District Assemblies Common Fund Administrator has since refused to respond to my letter. (Copy of letter attached).



In Conclusion, this Ministry is of the view that the trigger for the utilization of the activities and allocations stated above can and should only be done by the Minister for Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development, on behalf of the Government to ensure consistency with Governments aspiration for development of the MMDAs.



I count on your continued support.



SIGNED,



DANIEL BOTWE (MP)



MINISTER





Source: Mynewsgh.com









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Ghanaian Amapiano sensation, Mark Kwesi Arthur, popularly known as "DJ Azonto," has released another groundbreaking single featuring his wife, Anita Gucci.



After his "One Prayer" song went viral and dominated charts over the past few weeks, DJ Azonto is about to make headlines with this new banger titled "Anita."



Produced by Abochi, this controversial song has sent social media buzzing after Azonto rocked Ghanaians and Africa with his "Fa No Fom" single, which won him numerous awards.



On this project, DJ Azonto introduces his beloved wife, Mrs. Anita Arthur, a banker by profession and known in Showbiz as Anita Gucci, onto the music scene as they create a memorable duet.



Snippets of the song have already sent social media buzzing, with netizens praising the vocal prowess of DJ Azonto's wife, Anita Gucci.



DJ Azonto has had a number of ground-breaking hits this year, including "Kaba Ne Skirt," "Wagaashi," "Add Wale," "VGMA," Ampe, and "Enfa Bi Da," among many others.





Source: Peacefmonline.com









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You dont have to drive far in central Pennsylvania to find a smoke shop.

An influx of retailers selling cigarettes, vaping supplies, pipes and other smoking paraphernalia are multiplying at strip centers, stand-alone buildings and former convenience stores.
Authorities in Butler County, Ohio have reported dozens of malnourished animals have been removed from inhumane conditions at an animal rescue, where at least 30 dogs and puppies were found dead.

NBC News reports that the police raided two locations operated by Helping Hands for Furry Paws rescue in Madison Township. There they found 90 dogs, most of which were malnourished, living in conditions that police described as horrendous in a press release.

Police also found at least 30 dead animals in various states of decomposition, kept in freezers and refrigerators, some of which were not working.

According to CNN, the conditions of the home on the property where 11 of the animals were kept were also described as unlivable in a press release, requiring deputy dog wardens to leave the structure numerous times to catch their breath.

Many animals were kept in crowded cages with fecal matter and urine, and no food or water. A garage on the property had a cage which kept 25 animals caged together, with an indoor temperature of 89 degrees.

Police identified Rhonda Murphy as the owner and operator of the rescue. She now faces dozens of charges of neglect and animal cruelty, both felony and misdemeanor, according to the press release.

The rescued animals were taken in by the The Animal Friends Humane Society, which doubled the amount of animals in their care, according to WLWT.
The Buffalo Diocese faces more pressure to make a deal with child sex abuse survivors after Catholic dioceses in Rochester and Syracuse recently took major steps toward exiting their Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, according to legal experts.

The Syracuse Diocese announced Thursday it will pay abuse victims at least $100 million, and possibly more, through insurance funds, while Rochester last week negotiated a new deal with victims that now includes some insurance money, and would pay at least $126 million toward a settlement.

The proposed deals in Rochester and Syracuse still must be approved by a vote of victim creditors and confirmed by a federal bankruptcy judge, but they provide the Buffalo Diocese with a potential path forward in resolving what has been a lengthy and arduous reorganization effort now in its 40th month.

Mediated talks between the Buffalo Diocese and abuse survivors are ongoing, although the status of the negotiations is unclear because the parties are bound by a gag order.

The dioceses main lawyer, Stephen A. Donato, in June told Chief Judge Carl L. Bucki of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Western District of New York that he was certainly optimistic that were going to make significant headway in two more sessions, July and August.

Bankruptcy judge questions Buffalo Diocese spending as legal fees soar to $12.5 million Legal and professional fees paid by the Buffalo Diocese have ballooned to $12.5 million, prompting the federal judge overseeing the dioceses Chapter 11 bankruptcy case to remark that he was puzzled over how the diocese was able to afford such costs.

A spokesman for the diocese had no comment this week on what impact, if any, the deals in neighboring dioceses might have on settlement talks in Buffalo, which has more than 900 abuse claims, roughly double the number in Rochester and in Syracuse. The lead attorney for the committee of unsecured creditors in Buffalo, which represents child sex abuse survivors, did not respond to an email and a voicemail seeking comment.

The Syracuse Diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2020, about three months after the Buffalo Dioceses filing, and nine months after the Rochester Diocese.

The announcement this week in Syracuse made it clear that bankrupt dioceses continue to struggle to get insurance companies to the negotiating table, legal experts said.

The $100 million to victims includes $50 million from the Syracuse Diocese, a $45 million contribution from parishes within the Syracuse Diocese, and $5 million from other Catholic entities  but nothing from insurance companies, at least not yet.

The mediators priority was to reach a settlement with the Diocese and its entities first and then pursue insurers. The agreement does specify that both parties, the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, and the Catholic Family, will explore a resolution in claims involving insurance, the diocese said in a question-and-answer explanation of the deal that accompanied its news release. Spending additional time in mediation would only add to the mounting legal expenses and possibly expose the Diocese and its entities to further legal action. To date, the Diocese has paid nearly $11 million in legal expenses.

Buffalo Diocese seeks updated value of 37 properties as it looks to settle abuse claims More than three dozen Buffalo Diocese properties could soon be appraised for current values that ultimately may factor heavily into a settlement with sexual abuse claimants in the dioceses Chapter 11 bankruptcy court.

The Buffalo Diocese has spent more than $12.5 million on legal and professional fees in its bankruptcy.

Insurance coverage has played a major role in settling abuse claims in many previous Catholic diocese Chapter 11 cases dating back to 2004. Of the nearly $800 million in bankruptcy settlements reached by 15 Catholic dioceses, archdioceses and religious orders from 2004 to 2020, more than half of the funds came from insurers, according to research by Pennsylvania State University law professor Marie T. Reilly.

The Buffalo Diocese bought insurance from at least eight companies between 1974 and 2019, and its lawyers have said insurance would be the dioceses largest and most important asset.

A bankruptcy filing typically had helped bring insurers to the negotiating table on abuse claims, but legal experts said that has changed in recent years.

What we are seeing is an entire paradigm shift in how these bankruptcies resolve and move forward, compared to how they have been traditionally handled. You are now seeing more and more bankruptcy settlement announcements between a Diocese and the Committee of Survivors when the insurance carriers refuse to fairly negotiate or simply delay, said Anelga Doumanian, a partner with the Seattle-based law firm Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala, which represents about 65 clients with claims against the dioceses of Buffalo or Rochester.

Bishop says Buffalo Diocese not stalling on compensation for abuse victims Bishop Michael W. Fisher said the diocese was actively engaged in good faith negotiations with sex abuse survivors and insurance carriers to settle the case.

In 2022, a federal bankruptcy judge approved a proposal by Camden, N.J., diocese to pay $87.5 million into a trust for survivors, with a provision that would allow victims to sue insurers for additional damages.

In the fall, the Rochester Diocese reached a similar settlement with abuse victims, agreeing to convey its coverage rights to a settlement trust on behalf of 475 sex abuse claimants, along with $55 million in diocese and parish funds. In exchange, the diocese and its parishes and schools will no longer have to defend against Child Victims Act lawsuits claiming sex abuse involving priests and other employees.

Since then, the diocese and creditors committee negotiated deals with four insurers to contribute an additional $71 million, bringing the trust total to $126 million, the diocese said in court papers filed July 21.

A holdout is Continental Insurance Co., which is believed to have the highest exposure of any of the Rochester Diocese insurers.

Continental in 2022 had offered $63.5 million toward a settlement, and the diocese accepted it. But the creditors committee rejected it as far too low, and the deal was scrapped.

Blowing the whistle cost them their careers, but Bishop Malone's top aides have no regrets To mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the sexual abuse scandal in the Buffalo Diocese, The Buffalo News spoke with the two whistleblowers, as well as a former bishop and others who played a central role in the abuse scandal that led to state and federal investigations and the bankruptcy of the diocese.

The company said in court papers earlier this week that it had made additional offers, with higher sums that the creditors committee also rejected.

Based on these interactions, Continental has concluded that there is no reasonable amount it could offer that the committee would presently be willing to accept, attorney Jeffrey A. Dove said in court papers.

Dove said the company will file its own plan or reorganization for the diocese that provides guaranteed additional funding from Continental that will exceed the $63.5 million to which Continental and the Diocese previously agreed.

Continentals plan will allow survivors to choose between a guaranteed, fixed sum paid by Continental to the trust, and litigating against the company, according to court papers.

The Syracuse reorganization plan is the latest by a diocese to work around the insurance companies.

Legal experts said it is difficult to predict whether a Chapter 11 settlement plan in one diocese will impact another, because what those dioceses own in terms of property and other assets and their insurance profiles can be dramatically different.

Attorney Stephen Boyd said he couldnt comment on what impact the movements in the Rochester and Syracuse dioceses will have on the Buffalo negotiations.

But I think its fair to say that anytime these cases settle, theyre always brought up in discussions and will be throughout New York and throughout other states where theres been a bankruptcy, said Boyd, who, along with Jeff Anderson, represents 540 clients with claims in the dioceses of Buffalo or Rochester.
Now positioned at $74 million, the Powerball jackpot is there for the taking. Get in on the action before the next drawing on Saturday, July 29.

The most recent Powerball drawing on Wednesday night saw numbers 10, 25, 27, 34, and 38get pulled along with 2 in the red Powerball slot.

How to play Powerball

Playing the Powerball is very easy. Begin by purchasing one or multiple tickets either online at the PA Lottery website or at a local lottery retailer like a nearby convenience store. Notably, each Powerball ticket costs $2, and it will cost an extra $1 if you play the Power Play option.

Choosing to play the Power Play option for an additional $1 will give you the opportunity to increase your winnings for every prize level aside from the jackpot. A separate number of 2, 3, 4, 5, or 10 will be drawn just prior to the actual Powerball drawing.

Your non-jackpot prize will then be multiplied by the Power Play number that was drawn.

When it comes to punching a traditional Powerball ticket, you must choose five numbers from 1 to 69 as well as one number from 1 to 26, which will serve as your Powerball selection. You also have the option to allow the terminal to randomly pick your numbers for you.

Once your Powerball ticket is ready to go, make sure to watch the drawing on your local TV news station. See below:

Erie: WJET Ch. 24 Lottery Results at 11:20 p.m.

Harrisburg/Lancaster/York: WGAL Ch. 8 Lottery Results at 11:20 p.m.

Johnstown/Altoona/State College: WTAJ Ch. 10 Lottery Results at 11:20 p.m.

Philadelphia: WTXF Ch. 29 Lottery Results at 11:00 p.m.

Pittsburgh: WPXI Ch. 11 Lottery Results at 11:11 p.m.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton: WNEP Ch. 16 Lottery Results at 11:00 p.m.

Or, visit the PA Lottery website to view the results of past drawings. Drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET. You must purchase your ticket(s) prior to the deadline one hour before drawings.

Chances of winning the Powerball jackpot

Ever wonder what your chances are at winning the Powerball jackpot? Well, that information is actually public. Take a look below:

Match Prize Chances of winning 5 white balls + Powerball Jackpot 1 in 292,201,338 5 white balls $1 million 1 in 11,688,054 4 white balls + Powerball $50,000 1 in 913,129 4 white balls $100 1 in 36,525 3 white balls + Powerball $100 1 in 14,494 3 white balls $7 1 in 579.76 2 white balls + Powerball $7 1 in 701.33 1 white ball + Powerball $4 1 in 91.98 Powerball $4 1 in 38.32 Overall 1 in 24.87

Summary

Again, the current Powerball jackpot is $60 million, and the next drawing is scheduled for Saturday, July 29 at 10:59 p.m. ET. Remember to get your ticket(s) before the cut-off.

You are required to be at least 18 years of age and physically located in Pennsylvania to play games online and win prizes.

Sidelines Group provides PennLive with original sports betting, lottery and casino content including odds, analysis, predictions and reviews to educate bettors. Please bet responsibly.

If you have a gambling problem and are located in Pennsylvania, call 1-800-GAMBLER or contact the 24-hour helpline chat at https://www.pacouncil.com/chatline.
A University of Notre Dame professor has filed a defamation lawsuit against a student-run publication over news coverage of her abortion-rights work. The case is raising questions about press freedom and academic freedom at one of the nations preeminent Catholic universities.

Tamara Kays suit, filed in May, alleges falsehoods in two articles published by The Irish Rover in the past academic year. The Rover defended its reporting as true in a motion filed earlier this month to dismiss the case, under a law meant to protect people from frivolous lawsuits over matters of public concern.

Kay, a professor of global affairs and sociology, asks for unspecified punitive damages after she has been harassed, threatened, and experienced damage to her residential property and continues to experience mental anguish because of the two articles.

Published in October and March after public events in which Kay participated, the articles cover her remarks about her support for abortion rights. The lawsuit alleges that the articles contained false and defamatory information, arguing that they misinterpreted a sign on her door about helping students access healthcare and denying two quotes about academic freedom and her work at a Catholic institution.

The note on my door referenced sexual assault, and the inadequate resources and support for student survivors at Notre Dame, Kay told The Associated Press via email.

She added that she had asked the Rovers faculty advisors to retract or correct the story, and that Notre Dame officials refused to intervene on her behalf.

All of this is utterly devastating, Kay said. She said her public writing and public speech are all fair game for reporting and critique, as long as that reporting is accurate. It has not been.

Notre Dames Office of Media Relations didnt answer repeated requests for comment from the AP. Neither did Kays attorney in the lawsuit.

In the motion filed under Indianas anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) law, the Irish Rover argued that  as an independent, non-profit, student publication devoted to preserving the Catholic identity of Notre Dame  its coverage of a Notre Dame professors public statements and actions about abortion qualify under the laws public interest and free speech criteria.

The motion added that the stories were at least substantially true and did not contain defamatory imputation. Exhibits include a transcript of the March event and since-deleted tweets by Kay last fall referring Notre Dame colleagues to websites with information on where to find abortion providers and how to procure abortion pills.

That targeted advocacy  just as Indianas abortion ban first went briefly into effect  motivated Notre Dame student W. Joseph DeReuil, 21, to seek comments from Kay and write a news story, he told the AP.

DeReuil, the Rovers editor-in-chief during the last academic year, said he is a practicing Catholic and believes the Churchs teaching that life starts at conception and thus abortion is intentional killing.

I do wish at times that, I guess, Notre Dame would take, as an institution, a stronger stance in favor of the Catholic position on some of these issues, he said.

He added that he condemned harassment of abortion rights advocates and specifically the threats mentioned in the lawsuit by Kay.

DeReuil said he was confident his reporting was factually correct and hoped the suit would be dismissed, instead of consuming his senior year.

Youll face pushback, but you can still be a normal, cheerful, happy student, he said. Its not going to affect you negatively in the long term if youre standing up for what you believe is true.

The Rovers attorney, James Bopp, Jr., said lawsuits like this can create a chilling effect.

If we fail, it will send the message that if you speak out about the abortion issue, then you risk punishment through the legal system, and particularly if you speak out on the pro-life side, said Bopp, who has worked on major national cases on behalf of anti-abortion and free speech causes.

While the Churchs position on abortion is unwavering, not all Catholics agree with it. Some oppose it based on their sense of Catholic teachings about individual conscience or social justice, said professor Samira Mehta, an expert on gender and religion at the University of Colorado.

Its rare to have faculty sue students for libel over an issue broaching diametrically opposed worldviews, said Jonathan Gaston-Falk, an attorney with the Student Press Law Center. The organization defends press freedom rights for high school and college journalists and their advisors; it is not involved in this litigation.

Libel can be boiled down to a false statement of fact that harms somebodys reputation  and is published with knowledge of that falsity and malice if the person is a public figure, Gaston-Falk added.

According to Indiana law, courts have six months to rule on an anti-SLAPP motion.

Indiana was the first state to enact sweeping abortion restrictions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.

Giovanna DellOrto of The Associated Press wrote this story.

AP religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

More:

Lawmakers push for bills to protect abortion providers and patients in Pa.

Why one senator is blocking U.S. military promotions and its effects on the Pentagon | AP explainer
WILLIAMSPORT  It has been nearly three years since then President Trump handily won Lycoming County in his unsuccessful bid for reelection.

But two voters are continuing their pursuit for a forensic audit of the countys November 2020 general election results for president.

Richard Houser and Catherine Burns, members of the conservative Patriots organization, last week filed notice they were appealing to Commonwealth Court the dismissal of their complaint in county court.

Judge Eric R. Linhardt on July 5 ruled there is no provision in the state Election Code compelling the board of elections through an independent third party to conduct the audit that was requested.

The judge further found Houser and Burns did not strictly adhere to the statutory requirements for contesting an election after the results are certified.

Lacking, according to Linhardt, was a petition of at least 100 electors who voted in the election and a verification affidavit signed by at least five of them.

A bond must be posted within five days of the petition being filed which did not occur either, he said.

As such, the court lacks jurisdiction to issue an order affecting the 2020 election, he concluded.

The appeal notice did not specify how the judge erred in his decision to dismiss the case.

The case defendants are county, its election board, voter services director Forrest K. Lehman and Commissioners Scott L. Metzger, Tony R. Mussare and Richard Mirabito.

Houser and Burns in their complaint alleged county election officials failed as required to refer to the district attorney all allegations of fraud or irregularity, he said.

Their attorney Gregory A. Stapp claims the legal action is not a challenge of the 2020 election results but the complaint sought a court order decertifying them because the audit uncovered proof of fraud.

Houser and Burns claim the commissioners were presented evidence of specific vote irregularities but they failed to investigate them.

Look Ahead America, a website operated by Matt Braynard, a former Trump official, provided 11 potential fraudulent registrations to Lehman who is alleged to have admitted six were, they said.

Houser and Burns had sought an audit similar to the recount that took place in Arizona.

President Trump defeated Joe Biden, 41,462 to 16,971, in Lycoming County in 2020.

Two other Lycoming County election-related appeals are pending before Commonwealth Court that both are challenge decisions made by Linhardt.

Lycoming County elections director Forrest K. Lehman reviews tally sheets generated from a hand recount of the 2020 results of the races for president and state auditor general.

The state Department of State as intervenor on behalf of the county is appealing the ruling cast vote records from the 2020 election are public.

The records are a collection of spreadsheets containing raw data for each ballot but no voter identification.

A voter is appealing the ruling that affirmed the Office of Open Records decision that images of votes cast in person are not public record.

A 2019 amendment to the Election Code made public images of mail-in and absentee ballots. The issue in whether images of voted in-person ballots constitute contents of ballot boxes and thus excepted from public access.

More:

TV host at Trump rally retracts statements after agreeing with kill them all comment about the left, RINOs on air

Woman responsible for CMT rejecting Jason Aldean video says she is receiving death threats
Kayakers on a western Pennsylvania river got a surprise over the weekend when they ran into an alligator.

According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, a group of six kayakers were on the Kiski River between Avonmore and Apollo on Saturday when they spied the estimated 4-foot-long gator on the riverbank before it entered the water near the Salina Bridge, which connects Westmoreland and Armstrong counties.
Paul Reubens, the legendary comedic actor who portrayed Pee-wee Herman on television died after battling cancer Sunday at age 70.

The announcement was made to Reubens Instagram account with a quote from the actor apologizing for keeping his illness a secret from fans.

Please accept my apology for not going public with what Ive been facing the last six years, Reubens said in the statement.

Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit. A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit, the statement said.

Reubens, who started his career in a Los Angeles comedy troupe in the 1970s, created and starred in Pee-Wees Playhouse, which ran from 1986 through 1991 and earned 15 Emmy Awards.

Reubens reprised the whimsical character several times, including Broadways The Pee-wee Herman Show in 2010 and in the 2016 Nextflix film Pee-Wees Big Holiday, according to a New York Post report.

A 2010 version of the Pee-Wee Herman Show, taped on Broadway and aired on HBO earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special.

Reubens did have a couple of notable scrapes with law enforcement, including a 1991 indecent exposure charge in Sarasota, Fla., according to the Post report.

Reubens was charged in 2002 with possession of what was thought to be child pornography. He later pled guilty to a lesser charge, according to the Post report.

Reubens spoke with NBC News about both incidents in a 2004 interview.

Reubens requested that any donations made in support and sympathy be made to Stand Up to Cancer or other organizations supporting dementia and Alzheimers.

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If youre outside Tuesday night, keep your eye on the sky. You might catch a glimpse of a rocket blasting off from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia.

NASA officials say if skies are clear, people as far away as New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York may be able to see the 139-foot-tall Antares rocket during the first few minutes it lifts up into the atmosphere

The rocket is scheduled to lift off at 8:31 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 1.

This will be Northrop Grummans 19th commercial resupply services mission for NASA, delivering science investigations, supplies and equipment to the International Space Station, NASA said in a news release announcing the launch.

A rocket that is scheduled to be launched in early August from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility might be visible from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and other eastern states.NASA

Viewing locations on Chincoteague Island include Robert Reed Park on Main Street or Beach Road spanning the area between Chincoteague and Assateague Islands, NASA said. The Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Atlantic beaches also provide good viewing locations.

The NASA Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center will be open from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. for people who want an up-close view of the launch. Visitors interested in viewing the launch from the Visitor Center are encouraged to carpool as parking is limited, NASA said.

More launch viewing information is available on the visitor center website.

For people too far away from the East Coast, NASA said the launch will be live-streamed on NASA Television and the space agencys website, as well as YouTube, Twitter and the NASAs App, with live launch coverage and countdown commentary scheduled to start at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Members of the public outside of the viewing area can register to attend the launch virtually, NASA said.

NASA says these are among the best locations to view the August launch of a rocket that will be blasting off from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia.NASA | Jamie Adkins

Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com.
Pennsylvania would gain a second urban search and rescue team in the western part of the state under bipartisan legislation proposed by lawmakers from Allegheny County.

Senate Bill 792 and House Bill 843 would create another Pennsylvania Task Force urban search and rescue team based in western Pennsylvania to augment the original one now based in Philadelphia.
By Hal B. Klein, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On July 3, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board launched a new version of its licensee online order portal, a digital system that bars and restaurants use to place orders for wine and spirits.

The rollout of the system known as LOOP  already over budget and delivered about six months late  was riddled with bugs and confusing prompts, creating a three-week nightmare for Pennsylvanias hospitality industry and businesses trying to sell or buy alcohol.

Im guessing, but well probably do a third of the business we normally do this month. Every dime matters and every bottle we sell matters, but they dont seem to care much about that, says John DAndrea, co-owner of DAndrea Wines, founded by his father, Joseph, in Penn Hills in 1982.

Those in the industry also are unhappy about new fees built into the system that they say they didnt see coming and might be passed on to consumers.

While state officials defend improvements they say the new system will deliver, the disruption has many in the commercial wine and spirits world once again asking: Why does state government continue to be directly involved in wholesale alcohol sales at all?

Questions and fees

The PLCB shut down ordering for a week at the end of June to swap in the new system, forcing bar and restaurant owners to stock up early for the extended July 4 weekend.

Then, just when businesses thought they could resume buying cases of wine and spirits, the systems limited functionality made it almost impossible to place orders, particularly for items in the special liquor order category.

Some vendors and importers had waited months to list their special order products with the state as a result of a moratorium on new additions leading up to the launch. When they tried to get back to adding special order products, they ran into trouble, too.

Heres how stupid it is. When you apply to add a new bottle, one of the questions is, Were any salmon harmed in the making of this product? Thats not a joke. Im dead serious, says Deb Mortillaro, manager of Dreadnought Wines and co-owner of Palate Partners in Lawrenceville.

Dreadnought, opened by Bob Gonze and Shawn Beck in 1980 and owned by Mike Gonze since 1986, has a history of trying to expand the products available to Pennsylvania customers. It was among the trailblazers in prompting the PLCB to allow the distribution of wine not listed in the standard catalog.

There are maybe 20 similar questions that you later find out you dont have to answer. But you dont know that at first because theres an asterisk next to them. In most places, an asterisk means you do have to answer it, Mortillaro says.

And even if restaurateurs and vendors could pick up a special liquor order, there was a surprise with the bill  an 80% hike in a fee called logistics, transportation and merchandising factor.

The botched system launch and the unexpected fee hike are seen by many as the latest slight to merchants and licensees operating in a state where a bottle of wine can, in some cases, cost up to 55% more than in neighboring states.

The general consumer isnt as aware of the issues a licensee deals with, says Joe Mastro, president of the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association. However, theyre impacted by their purchase choices and purchase prices when things like this happen.

A selection of liquor is seen Feb. 17, 2020, at the Fine Wine & Good Spirits Premium Collection store in the West Shore Plaza in Lemoyne.Dan Gleiter file photo | For pennlive.com

A necessary fix

The update to the licensee online order portal is part of phase two of a four-phase, estimated $120 million effort by the PLCB to modernize its systems. Called Project New Horizon, it will, according to an explanatory YouTube video, enable a business transformation from a traditional retail model to a wholesale/distribution, e-commerce and retail-focused business.

The legacy system was an out-of-date system we kept customizing to make work for our wholesale functions, says Elizabeth Brassell, PLCB deputy assistant director.

This moves the entire system to the cloud. It comes with out-of-the-box functionality that allows us to operate in different lines of business without shoving it all into a retail system held together with paper clips and duct tape, and there are seamless upgrades and enhancements available as we need them.

Brassell says most of the phase two digital components  such as new modules for supply chain management that interact with distribution centers, a new front and back end to the Fine Wine & Good Spirits website and new order management tools  came online seamlessly.

LOOP didnt.

Theyre never going to go without hiccups and challenges. But big picture, it was as successful as an implementation can be when replacing everything soup to nuts, she says.

Three weeks later, things are starting to fall into place, but people who use the system have been less kind in assessing the procedure.

To shut us down for three weeks during a summer holiday is wild. On top of that, there were whole systems that werent functioning when it finally did launch and that continued for several weeks, says Alyssa McGrath, Western Pennsylvania sales representative for specialty importer and distributor Skurnik Wines & Spirits.

I wasnt surprised this rollout was bad. This is a state-run system thats been wholly unresponsive to anything. Its at best inept, at worst corrupt, says Tomasz Skowronski, co-owner of Apteka in Bloomfield.

Skowronski and his partner, Kate Lasky, were 2023 James Beard Award co-finalists for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic, and their restaurant has an ambitious wine program and retail bottle shop.

They stocked their establishments with extra bottles in anticipation of the system launch. But few businesses have the space or the liquid capital to keep a months worth of wine and spirits in stock.

[The PLCB is] in so much control of the very way we are able to receive the lifeline in which we sell to our customers. And you dont even invest the money to make sure its a seamless, user-friendly new system? Its an insult to injury, says Sarah Shaffer, owner of tinas in Bloomfield.

System upgrade?

We spent more than a year testing various aspects of it, counters Ms. Brassell.

She notes the PLCB pushed the launch date of phase two from January until July because testers felt the system wasnt ready. The board added four rounds of system integration testing and 18 weeks of user acceptance testing.

Despite all that, vendors say they are finding the product unwieldy.

This new system added numerous steps and hours of work to anyone who is trying to sell wine in Pennsylvania, says Jason Malumed, a partner of MFW Wine Co.

His Philadelphia-based business imports and distributes wine to establishments in New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania.

Among their complaints is that users now have to log into three platforms: The central system (where they can see accounting and other information), and two sales systems (one for special liquor retail orders placed, one for licensees).

There are more steps for creating shipping labels, and more steps for invoices  they used to be able to use an online form that would tell you the price automatically. Now users have to manually add every cost point and calculate it before they sell it to customers.

The overwhelming question is what is the point of this? What were they trying to improve? says Mortillaro.

The tutorial provided by the PLCB on how to enter a new product is 45 pages long.

On the subject of the salmon question and other such prompts, Brassell says, We have customers that want to know that information. But its an optional field.

The PLCB says much of the user-end slowdown is because people are learning a new system. Once the kinks are worked out, itll be better than the old one, Brassel says.

These are completely new platforms and processes, so theres going to be a learning curve at the outset, she says.

The PLCB says it is taking feedback and making real-time adjustments.

Brassel announced at a July 20 PLCB meeting that there will be an extension of the hypercare period with its project contractor, Oracle. Set to expire 30 days from the July 3 launch, that extra attention now is expected to last through the end of December, at an additional cost of $4.1 million.

Many licensees and vendors seek accountability. Some politicians in Harrisburg are, too.

Anyone in the private sector would have been fired for this disaster, says Gene Mangrum, co-owner of Shilo Gastro on Mount Washington. But with this system, I bet nobody will suffer any consequences except for us.

State Sen. Mike Regan, R-Cumberland and York counties and the majority leader of the Senate Law and Justice Committee that oversees the PLCB, says hes open to holding hearings.

Theres been an overspend in the modernization of the system, he says. One of the major problems is the lack of communication between the PLCB and the licensee. Theres a lack of transparency.

Nearly every vendor of wine interviewed for this story, including several who spoke on background, echoed a similar sentiment: the PLCB isnt working in the best interest of the hospitality industry and its customers.

Theyll never say, We want to get rid of all the small distributors who bring in special products. But clearly this process of making the listing and ordering process so hard and having restaurants do cumbersome things on their end is aimed at doing just that, says Mortillaro.

Systems of control

Seventeen states exercise some degree of control over the sale of alcohol, but only two maintain complete control over wholesale and retail sales and distribution of wine.

A lot of states have weird alcohol laws. But its only us and Utah that have the state control wine for wholesale purposes, says Skowronski. Its a relic created by Prohibition-principled people and its stayed that way for nearly 100 years now.

The PLCB was founded Nov. 29, 1933, and took authority a few days after the ratification of the 21st Amendment, which repealed Prohibition. It regulates the manufacturing, importation, sales and distribution of all alcohol in the commonwealth, with beer and other malt beverages less controlled than wine and spirits.

The PLCB is a boon to Pennsylvanias coffers. In the past fiscal year, total sales, including taxes, topped $3 billion for the first time.

Of that, $786 million was returned to the states general fund: $421 million from an 18% liquor tax formerly known as the Johnstown Flood Tax, $167.7 million in state sales tax, and $185.1 million in mark-up fees. The PLCB contributed an additional $42.6 million to other agencies and grantees, including $30.7 million to State Police Liquor Control Enforcement and $63 million sent to the PLCBs administration and the Office of Administrative Law Judge.

Its also a monopoly.

Every bottle of wine or spirits sold in the state has, at some point, passed through the hands of the PLCB, regardless of whether it goes through state warehouses or stores.

Pennsylvania is one of the largest buyers of wine and spirits in the United States. In fiscal year 2021-22 it spent $1,653.5 billion, including federal tax, on alcohol. Allegheny County is the top purchasing county in the state, representing 14.26% of overall sales.

There are some advantages to a system this massive. In some circumstances, particularly with mass-market wine and spirits sold at more than 600 Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores, Pennsylvania consumers can get a good deal.

There are some bottles in Pennsylvania that are priced really well because the PLCB is such a big buyer they can negotiate a good price, says Mortillaro of Dreadnought.

The Fine Wine & Good Spirits store reopened June 5, 2020 at 2154 W. Union Blvd. in Bethlehem.Sarah Cassi | For lehighvalleylive.com

Pricey wine

Even so, many wines are significantly more expensive here. That higher cost is passed on to consumers in higher menu prices and fewer choices.

Its not expensive for any reason other than they are squeezing so much money out of the product. And that means we have to pay for it and the customer has to pay for it in the end, Skowronski says.

Heres how it breaks down: If suppliers want to sell a bottle of wine for $6.32, they have to add a 10% mark-up fee for the state, bringing the total to $6.95. The 18% liquor tax adds another $1.25.

Theres also a $3 per bottle freight charge. Vendors used to be able to offer freight discounts to customers who purchased in bulk, but the new system doesnt easily allow for entering quantity markdowns.

The higher logistics, transportation and merchandising factor fee, which is subject to tax, adds another $2.91. With sales tax, the bottle that started at $6.32 now costs $14.88.

Malumed says a customer in New York or New Jersey would pay $9.32 for the same bottle from his company.

And thats all before the final mark-up from the proprietor to the retail customer, from which the state also takes a 6% sales tax plus an additional 1% in Allegheny County.

If we were able to deal directly with customers, it would cost everyone a lot less money. We bring you something to sell, you buy it and thats it. But this system adds so much complexity and they just keep making it worse, says Ms. McGrath.

Special order solution

Although special orders are a small percentage of the PLCBs overall sales, theyre essential to the hospitality industry as well as to boutique wine stores that are run as offshoots of liquor license holders.

This is the wine the top restaurants enjoy buying because theyre not in the stores. Theyre not widely available, says Malumed.

In fiscal year 2018-19, special liquor order sales totaled $112.8 million. After dropping during the pandemic, that jumped to $116.2 million when the hospitality industry began to rebound in 2021-22.

Apteka specializes in hard-to-find products from small producers in Eastern Europe. Adding a new wine, even from the same grower, can take months to get coded.

Youre talking half a year for a wine thats already in other states to be sold at a much higher price than anyone else, and now theyre adding another cost, says Skowronski.

Mangrum noticed the new mark-up when he got his first bill from a vendor earlier this month. The first order that comes in, everything is a lot more than I thought I was paying for it.

Restaurants and bars are low-margin businesses and any hike can be a hit.

You based your prices on what you thought they were going to cost, Mr. Mangrum says.

Surprise fee increase

Its an oversight the PLBC acknowledges.

I will give you this. It fell off the radar about communicating the specific change to licensees and suppliers. Its an opportunity that we missed and we apologize for that. We did not do what we could have and should have done to communicate at go-live, Brassel says.

An extra $1.29 per bottle might not sound like much, but when a business is dealing with thousands of bottles per year, that lost revenue adds up.

The PLCB says the hike in the logistics, transportation and merchandising factor fee reflects the actual cost of receiving special order products in its warehouses, storing and transporting them to stores.

Brassel says it was the first increase since 2015.

The 2015 rise was approved by the PLCB board of directors and only on new items registered after a specific date. It was well defined. They sent out notice ahead of time, says Malumed.

This time the fee increase is across the board and came without public comment.

The PLCB says its executive director, Michael G. Demko, has such authority following a 2016 directive that allows the executive director or his assignees, subject to certain conditions, to approve any decisions regarding the cost at which to acquire such products from suppliers and the prices at which and the manner in which such products will be sold by the PLCB.

Given that pricing authority was delegated by the board to the executive director in a public meeting, the change to the LTMF did not require board approval, although the board is aware and supportive of the change, PLCB press secretary Shawn M. Kelly wrote in an email to the Post-Gazette. The board agreed in October 2022 that the new rate would be effective at the start of the next phase of the ... project.

It appears the fee now can be raised at any time without notice. In the new special liquor order language, a clause reads: The PLCB will review the LTMF rate regularly and update when necessary, so that the fee fairly reflects the PLCBs costs of handling SOs.

Direct attack

One way restaurant and bar owners can circumvent the additional logistics, transportation and merchandising factor hike is to use direct delivery of purchases from vendors.

As soon as we were allowed to deliver, I bought more trucks and hired more people. The majority of our orders go direct delivery to restaurants or grocery stores, says Mr. DAndrea.

Direct delivery was part of Act 39, the most significant reform of PLCB oversight ever. The 2016 bipartisan legislation had a lot packed in.

Its why wine is now sold in grocery and convenience stores. Restaurant owners were authorized to sell bottles of wine for takeaway without having to open them first. It allowed for expanded Sunday sales at Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores.

It reduced the mark-up on special liquor orders to 10% from 30% (but also disallowed the 10% discount licensees received on listed products, meaning wholesale customers pay the same prices as retail customers).

Kelly says that in working through the Act 39 changes, the PLCB decided it could wait until it next upgraded its systems to open the doors to direct delivery, relying on language in the law that said it may allow for direct delivery rather than shall allow for it.

Wed heard there wasnt a lot of appetite for direct delivery. So when we implemented the changes, it was lower on the priority scale, he says.

That wasnt how the hospitality industry saw it, a concern heightened during the greatest challenge to the industry in modern history. It was so disheartening when they didnt implement direct delivery during COVID, says McGrath.

Since the states stores were closed, vendors looked to Act 39 to get products to their customers. The PLCB fought them. Some, including MFW Wine Co., sued.

We had orders. We wanted to deliver them directly to restaurants, says Malumed. We sued them and we won.

An emergency order said the PLCB couldnt add handling fees for directly delivered products. The PLCB appealed, and the lawsuit went to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Direct delivery was finally allowed in June 2022.

On top of that, the businesses were awarded damages and attorney fees, although the PLCB fought that by claiming sovereign immunity. This lawsuit is on appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Call for change

A year or two ago I could defend this system. I really could. But I cant say that today. Its a big shift for me, says Mortillaro.

In the case of direct delivery, hospitality professionals want to know why the state continues to take a cut of a sale that its not facilitating. Why stifle the creativity of importers, sommeliers and bartenders who might find an exciting product and dont want to pay extra fees and wait months for permission?

Im not talking to the PLCB. Im not getting my wine delivered to a state store. All Im doing is using their awful online ordering system, which is buggy, when theres a waiting period, when youre not even sure they will carry what you want, Skowronski said.

The solution, some say, is to liberalize control over wholesale sales and allow for direct relationships between vendors and licensees.

Let us invoice the customers directly. Cut out the 10% mark-up, cut out the LTMF fee. Im not even advocating for getting rid of the 18% liquor tax because it goes directly to the general fund, says Mr. Malumed.

Change might not be coming any time soon.

Im a privatize it guy. I believe thats the best way. Why are we only one of two states that do it this way? Theyre driving prices up every step of the way, says Sen. Regan. However, theyre an entity on their own. We dont have the votes to make sweeping changes. If anything, its going to be incremental.

For now, Shaffer of tinas in Bloomfield says, It continues to make it more and more difficult for the people of Pennsylvania to have access to global spirits and wine. What a bummer.
A congressional subcommittee met on June 26, 2023, to hear testimony from several military officers who allege the government is concealing evidence of UFOs. By holding a hearing on UFOs  now called unidentified anomalous phenomena by government agencies  the subcommittee sought to understand whether these UAPs pose a threat to national security.

Im an astronomer who studies and has written about cosmology, black holes, exoplanets and life in the universe. Im also on the advisory council for an international group that strategizes how to communicate with an extraterrestrial civilization should the need ever arise.

While the hearings brought attention to UAPs and could lead to more reporting from people who work in the military and aviation, the testimonies did not produce evidence to fundamentally change the understanding of UAPs.

AP Photo/Nathan Howard

UFO oversight so far

The House subcommittee hearing follows a flurry of activity over the past few years. Public interest in UAPs surged in 2017 after three Navy videos were leaked and The New York Times reported on a shadowy UAP program run by the Pentagon. In June 2021, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report on the phenomena. In November 2021, the Pentagon formed a new group to coordinate efforts to detect and identify objects in restricted airspace.

Then in May 2022, a House Intelligence subcommittee held the first congressional hearing in over half a century on military reports of UAPs. Little new light was shed on the true nature of the sightings, but the officials tried to clarify the situation by ruling things out.

While officials noted 18 occasions in which aerial objects had moved at considerable speed without visible means of propulsion, nobody had found unexplained wreckage or records of the military having either received communications from or having fired shots at UAPs. As such, the subcommittee decided that there was not yet enough evidence to claim UAPs are extraterrestrial.

Most recently, NASA convened a panel in June 2022, which held its first public hearing in May this year. The panel will help NASA advise intelligence agencies and the Department of Defense on how to evaluate mysterious sightings. The panel is considering 800 sightings accumulated over 27 years, with 50 to 100 new reports coming in each month. Sean Kirkpatrick from the Department of Defense said that only 2% to 5% of these are anomalous, and the meeting drew no firm conclusions.

Which brings us to this weeks hearing. Congress is getting frustrated with the lack of transparency over UAP sightings. So the subcommittee is using its overall charge of oversight and accountability to get some answers.

Eyebrow-raising testimony

Three witnesses, all ex-military officers, gave sworn testimony to the subcommittee.

David Fravor was a commander in the U.S. Navy in 2004, stationed on the USS Nimitz, when he and another pilot saw an object behaving inexplicably. Video of the encounter was released by the Department of Defense in 2017 and publicized by The New York Times.

Fravor testified that the technology he witnessed was far superior to anything human beings have. He described objects with no visible means of propulsion carrying out sudden maneuvers that no known technology could achieve.

What concerns me is that there is no oversight from our elected officials on anything associated with our government possessing or working on craft that we believe are not of this world, Fravor said.

The second witness, Ryan Graves, was an F-18 pilot for over a decade. While stationed at Virginia Beach in 2014, he says, UAP sightings were so frequent among his crew that they became part of daily briefs. He recounted a situation in which two jets had to take evasive action as they encountered a UAP. The description was striking  a dark gray cube inside a clear sphere  quite different from the classic flying saucer.

Graves founded Americans for Safe Aerospace to create a center of support and education for aircrew affected by UAP encounters. He testified that the group has 5,000 members and has taken information from 30 witnesses. Most are commercial pilots at major airlines. He alleged that all UAP videos since 2021 are classified by the Pentagon as secret or higher. Graves also said that only 5% of UAP sightings by military and commercial pilots are reported by the pilots that spot them.

If everyone could see the sensor and video data that I have, there is no doubt that UAP would be a top priority for our defense, intelligence and scientific communities, Graves said.

The real bombshell came from David Grusch, an Air Force intelligence officer who retired with the rank of major. His high level of security clearance meant he saw reports that were unknown to the public. He sought whistleblower protection after claiming that the U.S. government was operating with secrecy and above congressional oversight with regards to UAP  even claiming that crashed UAPs had yielded biological material of nonhuman origin. The Pentagon has denied this claim. He also said hed suffered retaliation after reporting this information to his superiors and to multiple inspectors general.

I was informed, in the course of my official duties, of a multidecade UAP crash-retrieval and reverse-engineering program to which I was denied access, Grusch said in his opening statement to the subcommittee. The Pentagon has denied the existence of such a program now or in the past.

Calls for transparency

While none of this testimony brought forward viable evidence of a broad government conspiracy, most UAP data is not made public and is held by intelligence agencies or the Pentagon. Lawmakers from both parties called for more government transparency. When questioned, all three witnesses said that UAPs represented a clear threat to national security.

If these testimonies are truthful, UAPs of advanced technology  whether they originate from a foreign adversary or not  that make routine incursions into U.S. airspace are a cause for concern.

For now, the subcommittee will continue its work. A tangible outcome will probably be an anonymous reporting mechanism to overcome the stigma commercial and military pilots feel when they witness a UAP. The push for government transparency will likely intensify, and subcommittee members hope to have a classified briefing to evaluate the claims made by Grusch.

As a scientist, Im trained to be skeptical, and I know that most UFO sightings have mundane explanations. Visual evidence is also notoriously difficult to interpret, and even the dramatic Navy videos have been debunked. More and better data will help resolve the issue, but the gold standard is physical evidence. If Gruschs claims of crashed UAPs are ever verified, that will be the first UAP hearing with a truly dramatic outcome.

Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
QUARKERTOWN  It was a sweltering Sunday in July with one storm having just passed and plenty of dark clouds looming on the horizon.

Still, more than 70 people shelled out $10 and hauled beach chairs to a wet concrete slab in front of a covered stage in a public park for the events big draw: State Sen. Doug Mastriano.

The crowd  predominantly white and older than 50  looked as if it had been recruited from the 2022 campaign trail, when Mastriano, a Franklin County Republican, waged his losing battle for governor.

And Mastrianos 25-minute speech, delivered as usual in tandem with his wife, Rebbie, echoed the themes of that race.

Unsubstantiated suggestions of voter fraud. Complaints about precautions taken during the pandemic. Indoctrination in public schools. And, as always, most fervently, his disappointment in fellow Republicans for not supporting his campaign.

It rang as both a retrospective grievance tour and a future call to action.

Mastriano decried the Republican establishment while his wife told the crowd they had helped lay a foundation for a movement.

It was not the result we wanted, Mastriano told the crowd of the 2022 election. But its the beginning of a movement here that has the power to change the course and trajectory of Pennsylvania. Is Pennsylvania worth saving?

Mastriano is clearly stoking his base. But to what end?

The Inquirer spoke to a dozen Republicans  elected officials, consultants, and activists  for this article. None of them could say for sure what Mastriano is trying to accomplish.

Earlier this year, he had teased the possibility of another statewide bid, this time for the U.S. Senate in 2024, right up until the day in May when he declared he would not run.

That answered one question but prompted many more.

Typical for Mastriano, he is not keen to share his plans and did not respond to requests for comment.

Why another run for governor looks likely

The most likely scenario: Mastriano is in the very early days of another run for governor in 2026, which raises the prospect of a rematch with Gov. Josh Shapiro, who soundly defeated him last year.

Sam Faddis, a retired CIA officer and president of the Pennsylvania Patriot Coalition, said he has not spoken to Mastriano about the future but suspects he is laying the foundation for a 2026 rematch.

He said Mastrianos supporters are drawn to him in part due to his personality but also because of their affinity for his issues and antipathy for government and politicians.

There are a lot people who are really angry and feel disenfranchised, and thats not going away, Faddis said. I think there are a lot of people across the political spectrum who wish that was not true, including the GOP establishment.

Another option  a primary challenge to U.S. Rep. John Joyce, a Blair County Republican and staunch conservative  seems doubtful. They endorsed each other last year, and Mastriano told Politico in March that he considers Joyce a friend and would not challenge him.

A spokesperson for Joyces campaign said the congressman intends to run for a fourth term in 2024. The campaign would not comment on Mastrianos political future.

Many Pennsylvania Republicans dread the notion of another bid for governor. Mastrianos presence at the top of the ticket was widely blamed for a disappointing showing in 2022, including Mehmet Ozs loss to Sen. John Fetterman and the surprising flip of the state House to Democrats.

The only person in Pennsylvania who wants Doug Mastriano to run for governor in 2026 is Josh Shapiro, said Chris Pack, a Republican national strategist who has worked in Pennsylvania and on congressional efforts.

GOP in the dark

Pennsylvanias Republican establishment is unclear on what comes next for Mastriano.

If youre looking for deep insight, quite frankly I dont have it, said David Feidt, chairman of the Dauphin County Republican Party and co-chair of the partys 24-county Central Caucus, which includes Mastrianos district.

And the state party is mum. Lawrence Tabas, a Philadelphia lawyer who chairs the states Republican Party, did not respond to requests for comment.

Mastriano and his wife announced in Quakertown that they will hold a freedom conference in Harrisburg on Oct. 21 aimed at educating people new to politics.

Matt Beynon, who worked for another competitor in last years primary, said some candidates have trouble seeing their limitations.

I think its pretty clear he doesnt see the state Senate as his end point, though I think voters have provided him with his glass ceiling, Beynon said.

Other strategists surmise that Mastriano may just be replenishing his campaign bank account.

Josh Novotney, a GOP lobbyist from Philadelphia who has worked on statewide campaigns, noted that Mastriano was criticized last year for not being a prolific fundraiser.

Hes got to do these events with the base all around the state, Novotney said. He has the time now to meet with donors and build up relationships. If hes in Quakertown meeting with grassroots people three years out, thats how you win.

When Mastriano spoke July 16 at the Pennsylvania Patriot Coalition event in Quakertown, his volunteers ran one of the dozen tents for vendors. They offered a variety of merch  T-shirts and hats for $20, bags and glasses for $30, a signed photograph for $50. It was all emblazoned with the Walk as free people motto from his gubernatorial campaign.

Discontent in Mastrianos district

Mastriano, a retired U.S. Army colonel, handily won a 2019 special election for the Senates 33rd District, which covers all of Franklin and Adams Counties, and then won a full four-year term in 2020.

His next election, if he seeks a second full term, would be next year.

It should be an easy lift if he doesnt face a primary challenger. Republicans make up 71% of the registered voters in Franklin County and 66% in Adams County.

But not everyone is satisfied with his work as a legislator.

Charlotte Shaffer, chair of the Adams County Republican Party, said Mastriano has been virtually missing in action since last year, not showing up for party gatherings for candidates or elected officials.

Mastriano held an event at a public park in May in Adams County  he called it Connecting with the 33rd District on Facebook  but did not share the invitation with anyone from the local party.

I believe five people showed up, Shaffer said.

She said she doesnt know what Mastrianos political aspirations are.

Theres a communication gap, Shaffer said. Actually, there is no communication coming from him as a senator and his campaign.

Shaffer calls that really disappointing because her local party knocked on thousands of doors last year, pushing him for governor.

We did a whole lot, Shaffer said. We put everything we had behind the Republican candidates.

Mastriano remains active on Facebook

Mastriano may not show up in Adams County much, but he is still posting every day on social media.

He still makes regular appearances on radio shows and podcasts where deferential hosts offer support for his long list of grievances. He unspooled that list again on July 24 on the John Frederick Radio Network, posting video of that to his Facebook page.

Mastriano mischaracterized unverified claims by Republicans in Washington about corruption when President Joe Biden was vice president as smoking gun evidence.

When are folks going to be held accountable? Mastriano asked. When is Joe Biden going to be impeached? We need action in D.C.

He lamented hearing complaints about government and politicians from people who did not vote for him. Two out of five registered voters in Pennsylvania did not cast a ballot last November.

We had the majority across the state, the support because we personified the values of the people of Pennsylvania, Mastriano said. But the people of Pennsylvania, not enough of us get out and do the least we can do for our country and vote.

And, again, he complained that the Republican Party did not rally around him with donations, endorsements, and other support after last years bruising primary.

Thats our party, Mastriano said. Republicans in Pennsylvania, Ive found, are fantastic at tearing each other down. We are the best at beating up each other.

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The Buffalo AKG Art Museum has commissioned a massive mural that will cover the east wall of the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authoritys 10-story Lyndon B. Johnson Apartments.

Canadian muralist Aaron Li-Hill, known for his large-scale murals, will handle the work at the residential building at 167 W. Humboldt Parkway.

It will reflect the diverse population who live at the public housing development.

The mural marks the first time the Buffalo AKG has partnered with a public housing authority to create a public artwork, which will be clearly visible to drivers on the Scajaquada Expressway.

It also will be the tallest to date for the museum.

The mural project is the product of a two-year-long process of engagement with the residents of LBJ Apartments.

Representatives from Canisius College and Sisters Hospital, as well as neighborhood residents, also contributed to the development of the mural, which included several workshops with museum staff members who attended five Tenant Council meetings. Residents also interacted with Li-Hill, who spent several days at the public housing development.

Museum Director Janne Siren said it is his sincere hope the project marks the beginning of a long-term partnership between the Buffalo AKG, BMHA and residents of public housing throughout Buffalo.

Since the projects inception nearly two years ago, the residents of LBJ Apartments have welcomed us into their home and worked with us every step of the way, Siren said. It has been an honor to facilitate the creation of Aaron Li-Hills stunning artwork, which depicts the people in LBJs remarkable and close-knit community.

The east wall underwent repairs earlier this year to prepare for the mural. Power-washing and buffing a basecoat of paint will set the stage for Li-Hill to start work on the mural this week. The project is expected to start Wednesday and be completed by Aug. 15. The design will be kept under wraps until its completion.

BMHA commissioners received a presentation on the mural July 20, at their monthly meeting.

We are so grateful to the AKG for initiating this first-of-its-kind partnership with the housing authority, BMHA Executive Director Gillian D. Brown said. The public art staff took the time to have multiple meetings with our residents and took care to allow the process to be resident-driven. We are honored to work with an artist like Mr. Li-Hill, and we look forward to continued collaboration with the AKG on projects to increase access and exposure to their resources by our residents.

In other action, commissioners approved a nearly $998,000 contract with Peterson Heating and Cooling, of Buffalo, to replace furnace boilers at the Commodore Perry Towers, at 279 and 305 Perry St.

Commissioners also approved a contract to replace roofs on 11 residential buildings at Holling Homes in North Buffalo. Five Star Roofing Consultants and Services Inc. of Buffalo submitted the winning bid of $568,000.

The board also gave a boost to BMHAs enhanced pest management efforts by increasing its contract with Ehrlich Pest Control by $248,831, to $500,000. The near doubling of the contract reflects the authoritys effort to eliminate and prevent bug and rodent issues in every residential unit and workspace.
By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer

At about summers halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say.

Killer heat. Deadly floods. Smoke from wildfires that chokes.

And theres no relief in sight.

Expect a hotter-than-normal August and September, American and European forecast centers predict.

We are seeing unprecedented changes all over the world, said NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt. The heat waves that were seeing in the U.S. and in Europe, in China are demolishing records left, right and center. This is not a surprise.

Imperial College of London climate scientist Friederike Otto said examining whats causing heat waves is boring in a way since it keeps happening. Yet she added that it matters because it shows again just how much climate change plays a role in what we are currently experiencing.

This story, these impacts, are going to continue, Schmidt said. Were going to be seeing this pretty much this year and into next year with a natural El Nino warming of the Pacific adding to the overwhelming influence of human-caused climate change largely from the burning of coal, oil and gas.

Heres a rundown of the summer of Earths discontent.

FILE - A sign displays an unofficial temperature as jets taxi at Sky Harbor International Airport at dusk, July 12, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)AP

RECORD-SHATTERING HEAT

Globally, June this year was the hottest June on record  and scientists say July has been so hot that even before the month was over they could say it was the hottest month on record. But its individual places where people live that the heat has stuck around and killed.

Phoenix, where the last day of June and each day of July has been at least 110 degrees, set records for the longest mega-heat streak and longest stretch when the temperatures didnt go below 90 degrees at night.

El Paso, Texas, had 44 days of 100-degree heat. Schools closed in Nuevo Leon state in northern Mexico a month earlier than usual as temperatures reached 113 degrees.

Farther east, Miami added humidity to high heat for 46 straight days of feels-like temperatures of 100 or more.

Beijing had its own record streak with at least 27 days of 95 degrees in July, after a three-day streak of at least 104 in June. And the country set its all-time highest temperature on July 16 in remote Sanbao township at 126 degrees.

Heat records fell all over southern Europe. Sardinia, Italy, hit 117. Palermo in Sicily broke a record that goes back to 1791 by a whopping 3.6 degrees. Temperatures hit 115 in Gytheio, Greece.

Spain reported nearly 1,000 excess deaths from the heat, mostly among the elderly, by mid-July.

In Argentina, where its mid-winter, temperatures were above 89.6 four straight days in June in the northern part of the county. One July night in Buenos Aires didnt get below the 70s.

A driver stops on a mud-covered bridge while deciding whether to drive through flood waters of the Winooski River, Wednesday, July 12, 2023, in Montpelier, Vt. The driver decided to back up, following a storm that dumped nearly two months of rain in two days. Vermonters are cleaning up from the deluge of water. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)AP

TOO MUCH RAIN

More than 10,000 people had to be evacuated in central Hunan province in China where heavy rainfall caused at least 70 houses to collapse. In Yichang, rain triggered a landslide that buried a construction site and killed at least one person.

Australias Queensland outback got 13 times its normal monthly July rain in just one day.

Thousands of people were evacuated from Delhi in India as rains caused flash floods and landslides. Elsewhere in the country, at least 100 people were killed by the downpours.

In the United States, sudden heavy rain killed people in Vermont, Connecticut and Pennsylvania with tragic stories of children washed away in flooding.

A volunteer cools himself during a wildfire in Vati village, on the Aegean Sea island of Rhodes, southeastern Greece, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. A third successive heat wave in Greece pushed temperatures back above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) across parts of the country Tuesday following more nighttime evacuations from fires that have raged out of control for days. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)AP

WILDFIRES AND SMOKE

Too little rain in Greece and Spain fed wildfires that proved difficult to fight. In the Canary Islands, a fire caused 4,000 people to evacuate, others to wear face masks and 400 firefighters battling it.

Hot and dry conditions caused about 160 wildfires to break out in Israel in early June.

But what really brought fires home happened in parts of Canada where few people live. Rare far northern Quebec wildfires triggered nasty smoke that inflicted the worlds dirtiest air on cities like New York and Washington, then switched to the Midwest.

As of late July, more than 600 wildfires were out of control in Canada. A record 47,490 square miles burned, and fire season isnt near done. Thats an area larger than the state of Pennsylvania or North Korea.

WATER TEMPERATURES

Water temperatures in the Florida Keys and off the Everglades hit the high 90s with Manatee Bay breaking 100 degrees twice in what could be an unofficial world record for surface water temperature, although thats in dispute.

The North Atlantic had hot spots that alarmed scientists. The worlds oceans as a whole were the hottest ever in June and got even hotter in July. In Antarctica, sea ice smashed record-low levels.

Ocean temperatures take a long time to warm up and cool down, said University of Northern Illinois meteorology professor Victor Gensini. So it doesnt look good for the rest of the summer, he said.

A HOT FORECAST

We are favoring above-normal temperatures for the next three months, said NOAA Climate Prediction Center meteorologist Matt Rosencrans.

The only potential relief he sees, especially in the hot Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, is if a hurricane or tropical storm moves through.

The peak of hurricane season in September hasnt even started.

When going through the litany of this summers weather extremes so far, University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann had one question: How on Gods Earth are we still burning fossil fuels after witnessing all this?

___

Researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report from New York.
Buffalo native and State Supreme Court Justice Henry J. Nowak has been appointed to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, Gov. Kathy Hochuls office announced Friday.

Nowak served as a judge for 20 years, first in Buffalo City Court, then in the State Supreme Court, prior to his appointment to the states second-highest court.

Henry Nowak has that rare combination of intelligence, practical knowledge and common sense, Terrence Connors, who employed Nowak as a trial lawyer before he became a judge, said. Those are three very important attributes for a lawyer, but even more important attributes for a judge. He possesses all three.

Nowak oversaw Buffalos Housing Court from 2003 to 2010. He quickly distinguished himself by transforming what was seen as a training ground for new City Court judges into a tightly run ship, partly by working 60-hour weeks.

Two years into his tenure, Nowak had imposed millions of dollars in fines, more than his predecessors had in the prior four years. In one 2006 case, he sentenced a property owner to nearly five months in jail for buying and failing to fix more than 50 dilapidated properties.

Buffalos newest Housing Court judge also made a reputation for himself by ingratiating himself with the community. Nowak frequently attended block club meetings and recruited 24 volunteer neighborhood liaisons to bring housing issues to his attention. He also blocked landlords with outstanding code violations from evicting tenants and looked for other solutions before resorting to demolition.

After eight years in Housing Court, Nowak ran for State Supreme Court and won a 14-year term.

Henry really performed admirably in the role of Housing Court judge, and I think it caused him to conclude that there was more that he could do if he expanded his effect as a judge, Connors said. And thats a natural move to Supreme Court and, ultimately, to the Appellate Division.

He served in the Commercial Division from 2016 through 2020 and in the Medical Malpractice Division starting in 2022.

One of the most notable cases of Nowaks time in State Supreme Court came in 2021, when he overruled New York States ban on indoor dining for much of Erie County, a measure intended to stop the spread of Covid-19. He ruled that the order was not sufficiently effective and caused loss of revenue, unemployment, potential foreclosure and hardship for Erie County restaurants and residents.

Nowak graduated from the University at Buffalo School of Law in 1993. He spent the first decade of his career as a trial attorney at the law firms Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria, and Connors & Vilardo. He served as the president of the Buffalo History Museum while on the State Supreme Court bench.

He is the son of former Democratic Congressman Henry James Nowak, who represented the Buffalo area in Washington, D.C., from 1975 until his retirement in 1993.

Nowak must be confirmed by the State Senate before he can join the Appellate Division.
Join the PokerNews Team For the Thriller at APPT Manila

July 31, 2023 Matthew Pitt Editor

Asia has always been a hotbed of poker action, with the PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) long being the premier tour. The APPT is currently in the Philippines, Manila to be exact, for an action-packed festival running from July 27 through August 6.

PokerStars Live at Okada Manila is the venue for APPT Manila, an iconic integrated resort situated on a picturesque seafront. Hopefully, you will not get to see much of the stunning views because you will be too busy bulldozing your way through vast fields and helping yourself to more than your fair share of Philippines Pesos!

2023 PokerStars APPT Manila Key Events

APPT Kickoff  July 27-29  PHP 20,000 buy-in  PHP 3,000,000 guarantee

 July 27-29  PHP 20,000 buy-in  PHP 3,000,000 guarantee APPT National  July 29-August 1  PHP 35,000 buy-in  PHP 5,000,000 guarantee

 July 29-August 1  PHP 35,000 buy-in  PHP 5,000,000 guarantee APPT Manila Super High Roller  August 1-2  PHP 500,000 buy-in

 August 1-2  PHP 500,000 buy-in APPT Manila Main Event  August 3-6  PHP 65,000 buy-in  PHP 20,000,000 guarantee

 August 3-6  PHP 65,000 buy-in  PHP 20,000,000 guarantee APPT Superstack  August 5-6  PHP 40,000 buy-in  PHP 2,000,000 guarantee

 August 5-6  PHP 40,000 buy-in  PHP 2,000,000 guarantee APPT High Roller  August 5-6  PHP 250,000 buy-in

The 2023 APPT Manila schedule has something for everyone, with buy-ins ranging from 10,000 ($180) right up to 500,000 ($9,090). Players heading to PokerStars Live at Okada Manila can battle in freezeout and re-entries, knockout and mystery bounty, No-Limit Hold'em, Pot-Limit Omaha, and Short Deck events, and across turbos and hyper turbos.

Follow the APPT Manila Main Event Updates All the APPT Manila Main Event updates you can handle! Find the updates here!

2023 PokerStars APPT Manila Schedule

Date Time Event Buy-in Thu 27 Jul 3:00 p.m. APPT Kickoff Day 1a 20,000 6:00 p.m. Hyper Turbo Re-Entry 10,000 Fri 28 Jul 1:00 p.m. APPT Kickoff Day 1b 20,000 3:00 p.m. 40,000 NLHE Freezeout 40,000 7:00 p.m. APPT Kickoff Day 1c 20,000 11:00 p.m. Super Hyper Turbo Re-Entry 12,000 Sat 29 Jul 1:00 p.m. APPT National Day 1a 35,000 1:00 p.m. APPT Kickoff Final Day 3:00 p.m. 15,000 NLHE Re-Entry 15,000 8:00 p.m. Knockout Turbo 20,000 Sun 30 Jul 1:00 p.m. APPT National Day 1b 35,000 3:00 p.m. PLO Knockout 15,000 8:00 p.m. APPT National Day 1c 35,000 Mon 31 Jul 12:00 p.m. 10,000 NLHE Re-Entry 10,000 1:00 p.m. Megastack Freezeout 35,000 1:00 p.m. APPT National Day 2 3:00 p.m. Mini High Roller Re-Entry Day 1 100,000 7:00 p.m. Turbo Re-Entry 15,000 Tue 1 Aug 12:00 p.m. Deepstack Freezeout 12,000 1:00 p.m. APPT National Final Day 3:00 p.m. APPT Super High Roller Day 1 500,000 3:00 p.m. Super Deep Re-Entry 35,000 3:00 p.m. Mini High Roller Final Day 7:00 p.m. Short Deck Re-Entry 15,000 Wed 2 Aug 12:00 p.m. Deepstack Re-Entry 15,000 1:00 p.m. Super Deep Final Day 3:00 p.m. Single Day High Roller Single Re-Entry 200,000 3:00 p.m. APPT Super High Roller Final Day 8:00 p.m. Hyper Turbo Freezeout 20,000 Thu 3 Aug 12:00 p.m. 15,000 NLHE Freezeout 15,000 1:00 p.m. APPT Main Event Day 1a 65,000 3:00 p.m. High Roller Knockout Re-Entry 150,000 8:00 p.m. Knockout Hyper Turbo Re-Entry 20,000 Fri 4 Aug 1:00 p.m. APPT Main Event Day 1b 65,000 3:00 p.m. Knockout Turbo Freezeout 25,000 8:00 p.m. APPT Main Event Day 1c 65,000 Sat 5 Aug 12:00 p.m. Mystery Bounty Re-Entry 15,000 1:00 p.m. APPT Main Event Day 2 4:00 p.m. Super Stack Freezeout Day 1 40,000 6:00 p.m. APPT High Roller NLHE Day 1 250,000 9:00 p.m. Super Knockout Hyper Turbo Re-Entry 25,000 Sun 6 Aug 12:00 p.m. Mini Main Event Single Re-Entry 15,000 1:00 p.m. APPT High Roller NLHE Final Day 1:00 p.m. Super Stack Freezeout Final Day 1:00 p.m. APPT Main Event Final Day 3:00 p.m. Miced PLO/NLHE Re-Entry 50,000 5:00 p.m. 6-Handed High Roller Turbo Re-Entry 100,000 6:00 p.m. Last Chance Super Hyper Turbo Re-Entry 10,000

Approx. exchange rate is 55 Philippine Pesos to $1

It is the APPT Manila Main Event that every player heading to the Philippines wants to take down. Costing 65,000 ($1,180) to enter and guaranteeing 20,000,000 ($363,000), the Main Event is the juiciest tournament on the schedule. This will be the ninth APPT Manila Main Event on record, and PokerNews' Live Reporting team is on hand, bringing you all of the action from start to finish.

Singapore's Xin Hua Lai is the APPT Manila Main Event's reigning champion. Lai outlasted 800 opponents in August 2022, turning their 65,000 into 5,973,000 ($107,281) plus a seat at the 2023 PokerStars Players Showdown (PSPC). Hua struck a three-handed deal with Netherlands' Thijs Hilberts (6,071,000 - $109,041) and fellow Singaporean Dhanesh Chainani (5,409,000 - $97,151)

Last year's APPT Manila Main Event also had a 20,000,000 guarantee on its prize pool, but the event paid out 45,452,745, more than double what was advertised. PokerNews expects a similar scenario this time around, especially when you see how live poker is booming right now.

Past PokerStars APPT Manila Main Event Champions

Date Buy-in Entrants Prize Pool (PHP) Prize Pool (USD) Champion Prize (PHP) Prize (USD) Aug 2022 65,000 801 45,452,745 $816,378 Xin Hua Lai 5,973,000 $107,281 Aug 2019 65,000 1,135 64,405,575 $1,266,724 Florencio Campomanes 11,092,500 $218,166 Aug 2018 55,000 1,364 65,492,460 $1,236,204 Wilson Lim 12,970,000 $244,815 Aug 2016 55,000 577 25,186,050 $534,475 Linh Tran 6,135,000 $130,191 Aug 2015 55,000 585 25,535,250 $559,326 Aaron Lim 60,16,250 $131,780 Mar 2010 $2,700 430 $1,042,750 Binh Nguyen $260,700 Nov 2008 100,000 285 26,789,818 $547,929 Van Marcus 8,037,000 $164,379 Aug 2007 $2,500 255 $599,250 Brett Parise $179,775

Keep your browser locked to PokerNews throughout the 2023 APPT Manila Main Event (August 3-6) to discover the latest champion of this prestigious tournament.
Kai Lehto Crowned Kings Of Tallinn Summer Showdown Main Event Champion

July 31, 2023 Matthew Pitt Editor

The 2023 Kings of Tallinn Summer Showdown has crowned its Main Event champion, and Finland's Kai Lehto is the man who will forever be remembered as being the king of Tallinn.

The 1,100 buy-in Main Event attracted 564 players from across Europe and further afield, proving the lure of this incredible series is as strong as ever. Those entrants created a 530,160 prize pool that the top 71 finishers shared. A min-cashed weighed in at 2,000, progressing to the final table increased that payout to 7,700, with a cool 108,260 reserved for the eventual champion.

Kings of Tallinn Summer Showdown Main Event Final Table Results

Rank Player Country Prize 1 Kai Lehto Finland 108,260 2 Phil Gross Germany 72,700 3 Urmo Velvelt Estonia 49,300 4 Ville Keranen Finland 34,900 5 Tarmo Tammel Estonia 25,600 6 Mikael Haapaniemi Finland 19,300 7 Tomi Arponen Finland 13,400 8 Magnus Pukk Estonia 10,100 9 Jakob Linden Sweden 7,700

A double elimination late into Day 2 resulted in the money bubble bursting and the curtain coming down on proceedings. The surviving 71 in-the-money players bagged up for the night, knowing they had locked in at least a min-cash for their efforts.

Day 3 saw 71 players reduced to only ten over the course of 13 hours of intense poker action. Lehto bagged up the chip lead, but he had the chasing pack breathing down his neck.

Main Event Final Day Action

It did not take long for the official final table to be set because Tapio Altonen made a move for his last five big blinds with king-deuce and found himself up against Tarmo Tammel's suited ace-six. Tammel flopped an ace and faded a gutshot Broadway straight draw, sending Altonen home in tenth.

Ninth place went to Sweden's Jakob Linden, who was down to a shade over 11 big blinds at the start of his final hand. Linden moved all-in with jack-ten of clubs from middle position, and Magnus Pukk called with ace-king in the small blind. Both players missed the flop, with the ace of club on the turn improving Pull to top pair, but it also gave Linden outs to a flush. Another ace on the river was no help to Linden, and his tournament ended.

A cooler of a hand sent Pukk to the showers in eighth. Pukk min-raised to 120,000 with king-queen, and Ville Keranen called with pocket sixes. The flop fell king-queen-six, and the writing was on the wall for one of the players. Pukk checked, Keranen jammed for 1,400,000, and Pukk called. The turn and river were bricks, and Pukk was gone.

Arponen Runs Into Aces

Pukk's seat had not yet gone cold when Tomi Arponen found himself with fresh air where his chips once stood. Arponen open-shoved for 12 big blinds from under the gun with ace-four of diamonds. Unfortunately for him, Tammel was lying in wait with pocket aces. Tammel flopped top set on an all-heart board before improving to an unnecessary full house on the river.

The final six became five with the untimely demise of Mikael Haapaniemi. Urmo Velvelt opened to 175,000 during the 40,000/80,000/80,000a level, Germany's Phil Gross called before Haapaniemi shoved for 1,400,000 shove. Velvelt ducked out of the way, but Gross found a call. It was king-jack for Gross against pocket fives, a typical coinflip scenario. A jack on the flop was more than enough to halt Haapaniemi in his tracks. Although disappointed not to win, Haapaniami did captured a Summer Showdown title, taking down the 250 NLH/PLO/PLO5 event earlier in the series.

The popular Tammel was the next player heading to the cashier's desk, something he has done almost 70 times in events held at the Olympic Park Casino. Lehto min-raised to 200,000 from the cutoff, Gross responded with a three-bet to 500,000 on the button, only for Tammel to rip it in for 1,200,000 in the small blind. Lehto had seen enough and mucked, but Gross tossed in calling chips. Gross flipped over ace-six, and was way behind the dominating ace-king of serial casher, Tammel. That was until the board ran out to give Gross the most unlikely of ten-high straights, eliminating the dangerous Tammel in fifth place.

Keranen had managed to win a few flips to keep his head above water, but Lehto ended any hopes of a miraculous comeback. Blinds were now 50,000/125,000/125,000a, and Lehto min-raised to 250,000 with king-ten of diamonds. Keranen three-bet all-in for 2,300,000 with king-jack, and Lehto called. Lehto was rewarded with a ten on the flop, and Keranen crashed out when neither the turn nor river was a jack.

Heads-up was set when Velvelt had his snowmen melted by Gross. Gross moved all-in on the button with ace-jack, and Velvelt called off his last 15 big blinds with pocket eights. Velvelt's hand remained the best on the flop and turn, but a cruel ace on the river ended his participation in this massive event.

That hand gifted Gross a substantial lead going into the one-on-one battle with Lehto. Gross' stack was 12,600,000 chips deep compared to Lehto's 4,325,000 arsenal. Lehto clawed his way almost level before winning a huge pot when his pair of kings held against a diamond flush draw.

However, Gross refused to throw in the towel. The final hand saw Gross min-raise to 400,000 with jack-nine, and Lehto defended his blinds with six-four offsuit. A nine-six-three flop saw Lehto check-call a 300,000 continuation bet. An eight on the turn saw Lehto check-call again, this time a chunkier 500,000 bet, which led them to another six on the turn. Lehto expertly checked his trip sixes, and Gross took the bait, firing a 1,300,000 bet. Lehto tanked before check-raising all-in. Gross did not believe Lehto's story, but he should have, and he called, only to see his two pair was an expensive second-best hand.

Gross crashed out in second place for 72,700, leaving Lehto to capture the 108,260 top prize. Lehto loves Kings of Tallinn festivals, having reached the final table of a 1,100 Main Event in 2016 and having won a 3,000 High Roller in 2021. Lehto is now a Kings of Tallinn Summer Showdown champion, a superb result that bagged the Finn his first six-figure haul.

WSOP Circuit Tallinn Runs September 14-24

Do not worry if you missed out on experiencing the Kings of Tallin Summer Showdown because the next major festival is right around the corner. The World Series of Poker Circuit Tallinn takes place between September 14-24 at the Olympic Park Casino in Tallinn, and it will be spectacular.

Players from far and wide will descend on the Estonian capital as they attempt to capture on of the 12 gold circuit rings on offer. One of those ring-awarding events in a 1,500 WSOPC Main Event, which comes with a 1 million guarantee on its prize pool! Watch this space for more details about the inaugural WSOPC Tallinn festival.

Lead image courtesy of Kings of Tallinn and Elena Task
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Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) laid it out. There is no connection between Joe Biden and his son Hunters business dealings.

Video of Goldman:

Dan Goldman, "There's no connection in any bank records and any recollection in any testimony between President Biden and his son Hunter's business dealings." pic.twitter.com/wtnIS37pes  Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) July 31, 2023

Goldman told reporters, Theres no connection in any bank records and any recollection in any testimony between President Biden and his son Hunters business dealings, like many people. Hunter spoke with his father every day and would often put his father occasionally would put his father on to say hello to whomever he happened to be caught at dinner with, and Mr. Archer clarified. That was sometimes people that they were having you know, they were trying to do business with and it was sometimes friends or other social engagements.

Rep. Goldman was asked about the House Republican claim of Biden shell companies, There is no evidence Than anyone other than Hunter Biden received any money in connection with the business transactions with Devon Archer.

The New York congressman also said that Archer confirmed that President Biden never spoke to anyone about his sons business dealings.

If Devon Archer told the truth, there was no Biden bribery. As vice president, Biden did not try to use his influence to help his sons business dealings, and that means that Republicans have no scandal.

James Comer keeps digging through bank records like they are the glue that holds his conspiracy theory together, but Archer was supposed to be the GOPs smoking gun witness, but all he seems to have done was blow apart the scandal.

House Republicans will still press forward because they want to impeach President Biden, but impeaching the President is looking like a potential disaster for the GOP.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is back to full health and determined to finalize the business agreement with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf. Monahan has spoken publicly for the first time since he returned to work from a health scare. He stepped away a week after the Saudi deal was announced and said anxiety had built up over time. He believes the deal is the right path for the PGA Tour and that will be shown over time. The agreement has a Dec. 31 deadline to get it done. Monahan says that's the target and it's realistic. Read moreJay Monahan says PGA Tour, Saudi deal is on the right path in 1st remarks since taking medical leave
The second half of a highly touted deal with a pair of Saudi Arabian airlines adding North Charleston-built 787 jets to their fleets was booked in July as Boeing Co. also moved closer to its annual delivery goal for the widebody. Read moreCruising toward goal: Saudi deal for SC-made Dreamliner jets now fully on the books
A casual restaurant chain that was hatched on Hilton Head Island and based in Mount Pleasant before being sold to an investment group that planned to expand the concept has filed for bankruptcy protection.

The owner and operator of Wild Wing Cafe blamed the move on "significant headwinds" brought on by the pandemic and its inability to repay and renegotiate an eight-figure loan.

Charlotte-based Aetius Cos. LLC said its assets include six corporate-owned restaurants in North Charleston, Greenville, Bluffton and other markets in the Carolinas. Its remaining 18 dining and live-music venues in seven states are classified as franchises.

The company listed more than 500 creditors.

"During the pandemic, any chance of dealing with operational issues in the normal course of business was extremely challenging and disruptive to ... guests and employees," Aetius and Wild Wing CEO Mark Cote said in a recent court document. "Operational control and management effectiveness were disrupted and exposed the company to weaknesses that were not previously identifiable, and the consequences impacted its financial stability."

Wild Wing, which once had more than 40 locations, said the global health crisis placed "severe pressure" on its finances. The challenges included "material" lease-related expenses for restaurants that were shut down permanently, high management turnover, supply chain constraints, difficult hiring conditions and the government-ordered business closures at the start of the pandemic.

Cote said the chain has taken steps to stabilize itself and had been making progress, but it's running out of time. HomeTrust Bank has declared a $12.5 million loan to be in default and has sought to accelerate the repayment schedule.

Wild Wing determined a bankruptcy reorganization "was necessary to avoid further actions" by the North Carolina lender and other creditors "that would threaten" day-to-day operations. It also would give the company an "opportunity to address the claims ... through a uniform process," Cote said.

The chain was started in 1990 on Hilton Head and had been based in Mount Pleasant for years. It's marketed as a destination for hot wings, cold beer and good times.

The founders sold what was described as $100 million-a-year business for undisclosed terms in early 2012 to Axum Capital Partners, a private equity firm founded by former Carolina Panthers wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad.

At the time of the sale, the buyer said it hoped to grow the chain to as many as 100 Wild Wing locations by 2018, a goal later extended to 2028, and possibly develop it into a national brand.

The corporate office was relocated to Charlotte in 2016.

In the Charleston region, Wild Wing has closed three of its four restaurants since 2016. Earlier this year, the chain announced it was shutting down a Rock Hill location after an 18-month run as well as another in Aiken and its original site on the south end of Hilton Head.
Lisa Smith was working on a college project at the Cleveland zoo in 1992, when she was given a close-up, behind-the-scenes look at a white rhinoceros.

"That connection, that defining moment changed my life," she said. "I wanted to be a zoo keeper."

Smith shared that story Monday, after being introduced as the new president and CEO of the Buffalo Zoo, shedding the "interim" title she held since last September following the resignation of Norah Fletchall.

"It is a pinnacle moment for my career," Smith told The Buffalo News after being named the third leader of the zoo in the last 23 years, following Fletchall, who served five years at the helm, and Donna Fernandes, who served from 2000 to 2017.

"I love the Buffalo Zoo, and am thrilled to be able to lead us on to expand our conservation and sustainability efforts, and to build new and enriching immersive animal habitats that not only take into consideration the well-being of the animals, but also make sure that visitors feel connected to the animals and the spaces at the zoo."

The 27-year zoo professional came to the Buffalo Zoo in May 2018 and was named chief zoological officer in 2021. She is in charge of implementing the zoo's strategic and master plans, overseeing animal care and raising money for future projects, which include a new outdoor gorilla exhibit.

Smith, 52, began her career in 1995 in Crescent City, Calif., at what is now Ocean World, before moving to the Santa Barbara Zoo, also in California, for a year as an animal-care specialist.

She went to Cleveland Metroparks, where she saw the white rhino, as a zoo keeper from 1998 to 2002, and to the Atlanta Zoo as a curator of large mammals until 2009.

Her next eight years were spent as senior director of animal programs at Great Plains Zoo and Delbridge Museum in Sioux Falls, S.D., prior to coming to Buffalo.

During Fernandes' tenure, the Buffalo Zoo updated or built 12 enclosures at a cost of $56 million, ranging from Rainforest Falls to Arctic Edge and Sea Otter Cove. The ambitious projects were needed at the aging zoo, which has several depression-era WPA buildings built by President Franklin Roosevelt's administration in the 1930s.

Under Fletchall, there was greater attention paid to upgrading deferred infrastructure needs. A building assessment on the 23.5-acre zoo grounds commissioned in 2020 found significant problems, including decades-old roofs, heating and air-circulation systems in poor condition and ignored plumbing needs.

Being in charge as interim president for nearly a year will allow Smith start work on other meaningful changes, she said.

Among immediate needs, she said, are structural improvements with the use of government funds for some of the city-owned zoo's historic buildings. Fixes are planned for life support structures for sea lions, polar bears and other animals. A pervious, brick-like pavement is coming to the zoo entrance.

The next big project will be an improved gorilla habitat built in a different location, Smith said. A timeline for the project will be decided over the next couple of months, with a capital campaign to follow.

"Our zoo is one of the few that doesn't have an outdoor habitat for gorillas," Smith said. "I think we can always improve animal habitat and space. We will be looking in the future to maybe expand the giraffe exhibit, the bison exhibit and probably a few others along the way."

Smith is aware of concerns raised by critics who say zoos in general fail to adequately meet the physical and emotional needs of animals large and small.

She said the Buffalo Zoo did the right thing when it surrendered its last elephants in fall 2018, after critics complained for years that the space was too small for them.

"I do feel that was the right decision," Smith said. "Our facilities were inadequate for elephants at the time. I think it's incumbent for every zoo to always do better for the animals in our care. We have to be good stewards for them. We are constantly evaluating our habitats to try to figure out how to make them better."

The zoo's board on Monday in announcing Smith's selection said she was chosen after a national search that drew interest from 105 candidates, including three that were brought to Buffalo for interviews.

"The board had the rare ability to witness our new president and CEO in action for almost a year, and given Lisa's high level of achievement, her staff's respect for her leadership and the innovations she brought to the operation during her time as interim, we had an easy choice," said David Flynn, board chairman.

Rep. Brian Higgins, State Sen. Sean Ryan and Deputy Mayor Rashied McDuffy offered their support and encouragement for the new head of Buffalo's most visited cultural attraction.

While working at zoos, Smith has never forsaken her love of rhinos.

An expert on the eastern black rhinoceros, she is coordinator of the Black Rhino Species Survival Plan run by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the industry's oversight organization. The AZA gave the Buffalo Zoo its "gold standard" accreditation following a detailed inspection in June 2022.

The World Wildlife Fund lists the black rhino as "critically endangered," with an estimated 96% of the population wiped out between 1970 and 1990 due to poaching of their horns for the illegal international market, mainly in Asia.

"You can think about the species survival plan as a dating service for zoo animals," Smith said of the breeding program.

The Buffalo Zoo is a holding facility for younger rhinos before they are shipped out to a zoo where breeding can occur. The zoo's Lulu, almost 6 years old, will be going to another zoo in the near future, Smith said, to be replaced by another young rhino.

Smith is also in the association's year-long Executive Leadership Development Program for future industry leaders who aspire to become zoo directors, another reason why the zoo's board felt it was making the right decision.

"We are pleased that Lisa came through a very rigorous search, and interviews with four finalists," said Jonathan Dandes, who headed the board's search committee. "What the search demonstrated clearly is that there are many highly qualified candidates, and we have the best among them."
A record-breaking heat wave has scorched much of the Southwest and parts of the Southeast this summer. South Carolina hasn't yet felt sustained temperatures over 100 degrees, which has given the region time to plan for the worst. But what is the plan?

Compared to other Southern cities, the Charleston region has little to no strategic approach to address extreme heat. The area's two largest cities, Charleston and North Charleston, do not have official heat resilience plans. Unlike Miami and Phoenix, both jurisdictions lack designated cooling centers available to the general public where people can access cold water, air conditioning and rest. They do have sites that serve homeless individuals.

Were definitely far behind other cities like Phoenix and Miami, said Scott Curtis, an applied climate scientist at The Citadel who is helping Charleston study and understand its heat risk.

Last month was the planet's hottest June on record. On July 31, Phoenix marked its 31st consecutive day of temperatures hitting 110 degrees or more. According to European Union climate monitor, this will likely be the planet's hottest July on record, too.

The Charleston area so far has not hit record levels. But two heat advisories have been issued here.

The city of Charleston began issuing these types of advisories this year, as it did on its Facebook page July 20 when the heat index was forecast to reach 110 degrees. Berkeley County, which encompasses large swaths of the city of Charleston and its northern suburbs, issues no heat advisories when temperatures rise.

Heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in America, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a statistic that motivated Miami-Dade County to hire a chief heat officer  the nation's first  in 2021.

The Charleston area has no dedicated heat officer. Dale Morris serves as the city's chief resilience officer, a position that encompasses heat but also flooding, storms and emergency management.

Morris assumed the role in 2021 after two decades helping cities around the world with flood-risk management. When it comes to heat, he's trying to learn from others.

Morris helped the city join a four-city pilot study, facilitated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, that brings officials together from Charleston, Miami, Phoenix and Las Vegas for regular phone calls. The cities swap information about addressing extreme heat with a focus on helping underserved communities.

Ellen Mecray, one of NOAA's regional climate service directors, called it a "community of practice." She said Charleston is usually in the position of listening: "They're not as far along as these other cities."

Mecray called Miami-Dade County and the city of Phoenix the "big dogs" because they've been the most aggressive in addressing extreme heat. Both cities have dedicated heat resilience officers. But she applauded Charleston for trying to learn from these cities and play catch-up.

She referenced the city's Heat Safety Week proclamation in May as well as the city's participation in an 18-month pilot program  done in collaboration with MUSC, The Citadel and USC  which is a spinoff of the four-city program and is looking to find equitable strategies for heat resilience in Charleston. The group meets monthly.

"We're trying to understand, what do we do about heat? We're learning a bit from Miami's heat officer, which is great, but we're also analyzing things here in our backyard," Morris said about the Charleston's participation in both NOAA-facilitated pilot programs. Morris referenced a study the city did on tree canopy cover which uncovered inequities in poorer neighborhoods that have far less tree cover than wealthier ones.

The results from the tree canopy study were made available on the city's website as an interactive map. One of the neighborhoods with the least canopy cover was Gadsden Green, a public housing development that has 14 percent canopy cover compared to the 30 percent cover found on the lower end of the peninsula, a wealthy, historic enclave known as South of Broad. Morris said the study led to a secondary analysis of Gadsden Green specifically, which he called a "tree desert."

The city is now working with Curtis' research group at The Citadel to understand how a forthcoming redevelopment of Gadsden Green by the city's housing authority can be done in a way that lowers temperatures and provides shade.

Brittany Muckelvaney is a resident of Gadsden Green and walks 42 minutes to work every day. "You can feel the difference at a certain point when you walk out of here, across town, to a place where they have trees," she said.

At 12:30 p.m. on July 31, her five daughters were all playing inside for lack of shade. Muckelvaney said she doesn't understand why the city doesn't plant trees in the area instead of intensely studying the problem: "Why don't we get any tree donations? This place is full of kids."

Dedicated cooling centers are another way to provide vulnerable people with the relief they need. In the Phoenix region, for example, a network of cooling sites that are a mix of public centers and church-run centers has operated for years.

Will Rochester, director of Berkeley County's emergency management, said the county does not operate any cooling centers from its public buildings but noted that cooling sites can be operated through churches and nonprofit buildings. Rochester said his office does donate water to at least one church-run cooling site and, if requested, other supplies.

"Our job really is to provide logistic support  but this is a newer concept," he said.

The church-run cooling center in Berkeley County is located on Red Bank Road and operates from 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday through Friday. The nonprofit that runs the center is called Project Love RDBNK. Niccole Franklin, the lead pastor of Oaks Wesleyan Church, runs the facility. She said the center opened this year but she was told by Rochesters office that she wasnt allowed to comment on the cooling center and its operations.

In North Charleston, the Community Resource Center has a cooling center that serves people without homes. Homeless Coordinator Brandon Lilienthal said he "hadn't heard any specifics" about what the center does. Morris said the city of Charleston lacks a formal cooling center program but that the county's public libraries are open to anyone who needs a respite from the heat.

In Miami-Dade County, county libraries and park and recreation facilities were similarly identified as informal cooling sites, but with little support beyond being a public space with air conditioning. When the county hired Jane Gilbert to serve at the countys first chief heat officer, things started to change.

Gilbert instituted a policy that these centers stay open until 8 p.m. in the event of a heat warning, which she defined as "projected heat indices of 110 degrees or more." Bottles of water, ice packs and cooling towels are provided to visitors at any time, during a warning or not.

Starting this year, Miami-Dades cooling site staff  which includes many librarians  receive training to recognize the most common heat-related illnesses and provide immediate care until a medical professional can arrive on site as needed. No cooling site in the Charleston area, whether public or private, has staff widely trained in heat illnesses.

"As temperatures are rising globally, it is ideal for cities, especially those in typically warmer climates, to have cooling sites that are accessible especially to the most vulnerable, Gilbert told The Post and Courier.

People without homes are especially vulnerable to extreme heat. At its location on Meeting Street, the city-run Hope Center is the only place that is designated as a place where this population can find relief in Charleston. The center, which opened in 2022, serves many uses, from child welfare to social services for homeless individuals. According to the center's director Latosha Jenkins-Fludd, a cooling room was put in after she noticed it was a gap in service in the peninsula.

The Hope Center's cooling center is a multipurpose room where meals are served in an oasis of air conditioning. On July 26, two people were napping in the air-conditioned room, a lifeline for them as well as two others working on their computers. A child played with toys on one of the tables.

Im not working outside  because of this (center). I come in with my son. Here, Im able to work inside at least, said Surrey DeJohn. DeJohn and his 5-year-old son, Eli, have been without a home for the past year. They are frequent visitors to the Hope Center.

Sites like these have been slow to come, but city officials have been busy gathering information about extreme heat across the region.

In 2020, the city released an All-Hazards Vulnerability Assessment that first identified heat as a "major concern" for the city. The following year, local researchers conducted a citywide rapid assessment of urban heat in Charleston, creating a map that demonstrates how environments dense with concrete and asphalt worsen heat, making some areas with little shade and heavy development up to 11 degrees hotter.

Morris said the city is using this information to develop the city's first heat resilience plan, which should be released sometime in August.

He predicts one of the core recommendations from that heat plan could be the development of a cooling center program, like other cities have. But that would take time and further budgetary support.

"It's suboptimal," said Morris with a sigh. "This should have been out in June."

Almost all the officials and heat experts interviewed for this story acknowledged that the Charleston area is behind the curve when addressing extreme heat. The acceleration of multiple climate threats, happening all at once, might explain why.

"Flooding has been the main focus (of Charleston) in terms of hazards mitigation, said Curtis of The Citadel, referencing the city's progress on the Dutch Dialogues and stormwater management. "I think were a little bit behind those other cities  because of that."

He noted that flooding and extreme heat events can happen at the same time; scientists even have a name for it: compound hazards. City officials, Curtis said, really need to attack both problems at the same time.

American voters have grown more worried that extreme heat might harm their local area. Ongoing polling by Yale University and George Mason University shows that the percentage of people "very" and "moderately" concerned with heat rose to 44 percent, up 9 percentage points from five years ago. Americans are more concerned about extreme heat than any other weather-related risk, including floods.

And worry may be increasing.

The Yale and George Mason researchers polled American voters in May, prior to the summer's extreme heat waves, which new models have said were four times more likely because of human-driven climate change. Even the scientists are growing more concerned.

"This month convinced me that things are getting worse, Curtis, of The Citadel, said in late July.
Local food lovers work to save struggling cafe

Chris Shipley and his wife, Emily, rode past The Strudel Shop on their way to get coffee on Main Street. Something prompted them to return.

"Let's turn around and go back," Chris said to his wife.

As the pair had passed the Washington Street business on Sunday afternoon, they had seen owner Kevin Kelly sitting outside his restaurant awaiting customers. When they approached his strudel shop, he began offering them free food.

"He was like 'Well, today's probably the last day we're going to be open so you can have whatever you want,'" Chris said, of Kelly. "He was just super down."

Kelly, who started The Strudel Shop in Charlotte in the fall of 2021, moved his restaurant from the Queen City to 1237 Washington St. in January 2022. Over a year later, his bakery and cafe was struggling for customers.

After the business' initial influx of customers when the restaurant opened, Kelly said "we were still getting people, but it wasn't quite what we needed in order to survive. I literally had nothing and I was just sad."

Enter Chris and Emily on their bikes that Sunday morning. Chris, who works as a cook at O'Hara's Public House, runs a Facebook group centered around all things Columbia food and restaurants dubbed Columbia Foodies.

After talking to Kelly about his restaurant's struggles, Chris put out a call in his Facebook group: 'Foodies I really wish there was a way to help this place out, can we spread the word and share? ... I hate to see another fantastic eatery go under.'

Within a week, Kelly said his cafe has seen droves of new customers and he's been able to hire new employees.

"It just sparked an amazing (sequence) of events," Kelly said.

Kelly said he went from not being able to afford rent for his location just off Main Street to looking forward to the future for his cafe in one week.

"If you don't have support... small businesses can't survive like these big corporations where they can put it down and if (people) don't come, it doesn't matter because they're funded for years," Kelly said.

He discovered his love for strudel-making when he decided to bake strudels and other pastries for his grandmothers church group, he told Free Times when he opened in Columbia last year.

This idea started over 20 years ago. My grandmother, her grandmother is from Austria and she was a magnificent chef, and my aunt is a chef and my other grandparents had a restaurant and my uncle did too. Its been going for generations and generations, Kelly said, in a previous interview.

The Strudel Shop is open from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. for brunch on Saturday and Sunday.

Other Food News You Might've Missed

New restaurant coming: Five Points will soon get a new restaurant  Aroma of India  according to a sign outside of the location at 707 Harden St., which sits right next to the space that once held Cover 3, a well-known Five Points bar that closed in August 2019.

'A Sandstorm builds within me:' If you're someone who can't wait to hear the chilling monologue boom over the speakers at Williams Brice Stadium this fall, there's something brewing for you. Steel Hands Brewing, the Cayce-based brewery and taproom, will release "Sandstorm, a Game Day Lager" Aug. 19, according to the brewery's social media.

The plot chickens: Chicken Salad Chick, a chain restaurant that offers  you guessed it  chicken salad sandwiches, has plans to open a location in Forest Acres. The restaurant will sit in the former home of BLD Diner, which closed last year. This makes the third Chicken Salad Chick location in the Columbia area.

Travel the world: If you're like us and didn't get a chance to take a well-earned trip to Europe this summer you can travel there while staying in Columbia, with Bar Gran Sasso's Night in Campania on August 2. The Venetian style wine bar in Five Points will offer a five course tasting menu with wine pairings; tickets are $130 per person. Visit the restaurant on Instagram @gran__sasso for more information.
BEAUFORT  The investigation into possible misconduct by Beaufort County Administrator Eric Greenway is widening after a former county employee came forward last week bringing new allegations to light.

Lisa Lynch, who was hired in April as the county's director of wellness, released a statement through her lawyer alleging that Greenway threatened her, her family and her professional associates after she rejected his romantic overtures.

Greenway's employment was terminated by a unanimous vote of County Council following a special council meeting July 28.

It was the second special meeting Council held last week to grapple with issues related to Greenway's continued employment in the wake of allegations of misconduct made against the now-former county administrator. He was placed on paid administrative leave after Council met July 24.

County Council Chair Joseph Passiment did not elaborate on the decision to fire Greenway.

"This still is a personnel matter and we are advised by our legal counsel that we cannot talk about it yet," Passiment said at the conclusion of Friday's meeting.

Greenway has made no public comments on his termination, and he could not be reached by The Post and Courier.

New allegations

In her statement dated July 26, Lynch describes meeting Greenway in 2022 and said the pair dated briefly. Greenway later approached her with a job offer, which Lynch says she rejected "many times." Greenway allegedly persisted, and Lynch eventually accepted a role with the county.

Shortly after starting her job Lynch and her boyfriend encountered Greenway at a social event.

"After he left the party, Greenway sent a string of emails and text messages directly threatening me and my livelihood," Lynch wrote.

According to Lynch, a contract that her sister-in-law's company, Elementzal, had with the county was canceled in June following a threat by Greenway to do so. She further alleges that she filed a complaint against Greenway with the county, but he was found to not have committed any wrongdoings.

Lynch said she was then approached by law enforcement and asked to be a witness against Greenway related to suspected criminal activity. She agreed.

The day after Greenway was placed on administrative leave Lynch was fired.

"I have no doubt that I was terminated for my reports of harassment, my complaints of the same and my participation as a witness in the criminal investigation," wrote Lynch.

Lynch's allegations were not discussed in public during the July 28 special meeting.

A copy of the contract between Elementzal and the county was requested from the county through the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act as were other documents related to Lynch's allegations. The county has not responded to that request to date. They are still within the allowable 30-day timeframe to do so.

The connection between Lynch's allegations and the county's decision to terminate Greenway is unclear, if it exists at all.

A turn of fortune

Greenway was put on paid administrative leave during the July 24 special meeting. At the same time, the Council authorized the Finance and Economic Development Committee to hire outside professional services to audit county purchases, contracts and spending policies. Council did not directly tie these actions to the decision to place Greenway on leave.

In the course of the July 28 special meeting, Council also passed a motion authorizing the law firm hired to investigate the financial matters identified on July 24 to investigate the the personnel matter discussed leading to Greenway's termination.

Greenway's fortune started to turn in early July when a criminal misconduct complaint filed in May became public. The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office report on the complaint included only a vague allegation of misconduct occurring between Jan. 9 and May 11, 2023. The report did not identify the complainant.

Greenway told The Post and Courier at the time that he was unaware of any misconduct on his part.

A preliminary investigation by the Sheriff's Office warranted a conversation between Sheriff P.J. Tanner and 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone. The matter was referred to the Public Integrity Unit, a team of prosecutors and senior investigations run jointly the by the solicitors of the First and 14th circuits.

That investigation is ongoing, said Jeff Kidd, administrative chief of staff for the 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office.

Interim county administrator named

Greenway's termination was effective immediately and made for cause, which means he is not eligible for any severance payment. There was no public discussion or debate on the matter by Council prior to the vote.

Greenway's annual salary was $220,500 at the time of his termination.

John Robinson, who was named as the acting county administrator on July 24, was made the interim county administrator just four days later. He will remain in that role while the county searches for a new administrator. Robinson was hired as the assistant county administrator of public safety in February 2023. Prior to that, he was a deputy fire chief with the city of Beaufort, and he served for 23 years with the Beaufort/Port Royal Fire Department.

Greenway was named the countys administrator in May 2021. He had served as interim administrator for approximately seven months following the resignation of Ashley Jacobs, the former county administrator, in October 2020. His appointment to the role was unanimously approved by County Council at that time.

The county administrator serves as the administrative head of Beaufort County, directing and coordinating the operation of agencies and administrative activities established by Beaufort County Council.

At the conclusion of the July 28 special meeting Passiment assured the public that the investigations authorized in the two special will proceed as planned.

"The findings of these investigations will presented to Council and the public at a future date," said Passiment.
BID Group has collaborated with the Department of Labor and Apprenticeship Carolina to launch an apprenticeship program in its fabrication shop in St. George. The program provides valuable opportunities for aspiring professionals in the manufacturing sector. Read moreApprenticeship program established at BID Group fabrication shop
It is time to leave for the 2015 Reno Air Races. I had a different idea about how the races would go. Like a fool, I thought that I could fly out to Louisiana and ride in the T-6 to the air races. Chad would have some of his friends to drive the truck with the tools and equipment for the rac Read moreAir Races 2015
Ashton Raffety announced his intentions to run for an open seat on the Mount Pleasant Waterworks Commission. The Mount Pleasant resident of roughly one and a half years isnt looking to shake things up, but has identified his priorities in expanding the utilitys Service Line Care Program  Read moreNew face seeks seat on MPW Commission
Mount Pleasant, SC (29464)

Today

Partly cloudy. Low near 80F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. Low near 80F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
As a medical educator, Im always thinking about how to mitigate the physician shortage crisis in South Carolina. A recent commentary in The Post and Courier has prompted me to offer some clarification and context around this crisis and how we can better address it. Read moreCommentary: SC needs more doctors. Here's what MUSC is doing about it.
A statement released Wednesday, Aug. 9, by Goose Creek Police Department Chief LJ Roscoe highlights a four-day effort to zero in on sexual predators. The sobering results warranted a cautious reminder to parents and guardians to be on point with watching their children's internet use. Read moreGoose Creek Police: Internet predators are prolific
A federal judge Monday sentenced Frank Parlato Jr. to five months of home detention on a single tax conviction, concluding a case that started nearly eight years ago with a 19-count indictment that could have put him in prison for 20 years.

Parlato pleaded guilty in 2022 to a felony count of failing to file a tax form, admitting he accepted cash payments totaling $19,970 from a food vendor at the One Niagara tourist center in Niagara Falls, but failed to notify the IRS, which must be alerted to receipts of cash in amounts greater than $10,000.

With Frank Parlato facing prison for tax conviction, 78 letters to judge seek leniency for 'hero' The U.S Attorney's Office has asked U.S. District Judge Richard Arcara to sentence Parlato to two years in prison. But many of Parlato's supporters feel differently.

Prosecutors asked for a two-year prison sentence. Sentencing guidelines called for 24 to 30 months imprisonment.

U.S. District Judge Richard Arcara said he spent an enormous amount of time reviewing character letters and voluminous sentencing submissions. Arcara cited 78 letters of support for Parlato as one of the factors in his decision not to incarcerate him.

They are powerful letters, no doubt about it, Arcara said.

The letters of support filed in U.S. District Court came from people across the country who extolled Parlatos past investigative work that helped expose Nxivm, a purported self-help organization near Albany whose leader was eventually sentenced to life in prison for sex trafficking and forced labor, among other charges.

The judge also sentenced Parlato to one year of supervised release and fined him $10,000.

The ordered restitution of $184,939 has already been paid, Parlato said.

In August 2022, Parlato consented to the government seizing more than $815,000 of contested funds from him.

Herbert Greenman, one of Parlatos defense lawyers, told the judge the prosecution took a toll on Parlato, calling him a little bit of a broken person right now.

This has been a long time coming, Greenman said of Mondays hearing, noting that Parlato has lost income while living under the cloud of an indictment.

In remarks to the judge during the sentencing hearing, Parlato said he regretted his tax crime.

Parlato, 68, also said he regretted not showing more gentle mercy at other times in his life, and he pledged to do so going forward.

May I be merciful as I ask for mercy, Parlato told the judge.

After the sentencing, Parlato said, Part of justice is mercy, not to be squandered.

Frank Parlato faces prison term after plea to IRS charge, agrees to forfeit about $1 million The former real estate developer and weekly newspaper publisher was slated to go to trial next month on multiple fraud and money laundering charges.

The former real estate developer publishes the Niagara Falls Reporter, an opinion website about Niagara County affairs, and the Frank Report, a website that follows up on Nxivm and other cases around the nation.

Parlato said he will continue writing, and also has a documentary in the works.

The judge allowed him to travel outside Western New York for work during his year of supervised release once he finishes his five months of home detention.

The prosecution of Parlato stemmed from an FBI investigation into his business dealings in Niagara Falls and his ownership of One Niagara, a mostly vacant downtown office building that Parlato converted to a tourist center. He held an ownership interest or managed the One Niagara building between 2004 and 2017.

In a 2015 affidavit, an FBI special agent said an investigation revealed Parlato created 17 business entities and opened 49 bank accounts from 2006 to 2014, deliberately commingling funds and clouding and obfuscating any attempt at civil recovery. Prosecutors as recently as June said Parlato failed to report nearly $400,000 in income in an effort to cheat the Internal Revenue Service, which Parlato has insisted is false.

Thats a lot of money, Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kruly told Arcara.

The defendant has every right to not like the IRS, Kruly said, adding that Parlato also can not like paying taxes. But he has no right in breaking the law.

In recent weeks, Parlato bristled over what he called the governments unsubstantiated portrayal of me as someone who evaded taxes.

His defense team contended a litigious minority partner  not the IRS  was the sole reason Parlato formed multiple corporations and opened the bank accounts. For each bank account and corporate entity, Parlato provided every bank his name as the owner and his taxpayer identification number, his lawyers have said.

I never filed false tax returns, Parlato told the judge Monday.

Parlato pleaded guilty to failing to file a tax form  not to tax evasion.

He acknowledged not paying his taxes on time.

I will faithfully file my tax forms on time as long as I live, he told the judge.

Paul Cambria Jr., his other defense attorney, urged the judge not to base his sentence on the accusations in the indictment and the prosecutions court papers.

The focus should be exactly on what the offense of conviction is, Cambria said.
Local authorities in Reedley, California uncovered a warehouse lab that they suspect was home to an illegal, unlicensed laboratory full of lab mice, medical waste and hazardous materials. NBC News covers the story here. The CDC tested substances on hand and detected at least 20 potentially infectious agents, including coronavirus, HIV, hepatitis and herpes. The NBC News story buries this nugget and leaves it hanging:

Officials were unable to get any California-based address for either company [that owned the materials] except for the previous Fresno location from which UMI had been evicted. The other addresses provided for identified authorized agents were either empty offices or addresses in China that could not be verified, court documents said.

A site called California Globe has more here, here, and here.

Authorities found nearly 1,000 lab mice in the lab, some 200 of which were already dead. CBS 47 Eyewitness News in Fresno reports that they were bioengineered to incubate the Covid-19 virus. I have embedded video of the Eyewitness News story below. The text of the report by Juanita Adame is posted online here.

Adame provides this somewhat mangled statement by Fresno County health official Joe Prado about the mice: Through their statements [i.e., those of the unforthcoming company president] that they were doing some testing on laboratory mice that would help them support, developing the COVID test kits that they had on-site.
Why did one of Britains leading advocates for Brexit leave the U.K. to head up a policy organization in Mississippi? Douglas Carswell explains in the Telegraph:

You might be surprised to learn that Mississippi, the poorest state in the US, is now wealthier than Britain. Mississippis GDP per capita last year was $47,190, slightly above the UKs approximately $45,000, though still well below the overall American average of $70,000. While the UKs per capita GDP has stagnated for the past 15 years, Mississippis has been rising rapidly to the point that it has just overtaken us.

Until quite recently, Carswell points out, Mississippi was the poster child for US deprivation. But times have changed, due to conservative state-level policies:

Over the past 40 years, those southern US states that have embraced free-market reforms, such as Texas, Tennessee and Florida, have done remarkably well. Helping Mississippi adopt similar reforms would almost guarantee something similar. Frustrated by the inability of those who run Britain to change much for the better, I was attracted to America. In the US there is an appetite for improvement, and those you vote for  especially at the state level  have the power to deliver it. That is why Mississippi is now overtaking Britain. In recent years the state has used its freedom to make bold free-market reforms. Last year it introduced the largest tax cut in its history, slashing income tax to a flat 4 per cent from 2026. Only a dozen or so US states have a lower personal tax burden.

Lower taxes lead to economic growth. Why does anyone still try to deny this?

More:

In 2021, Mississippi deregulated the local labour market, passing a universal occupational licensing law.   Now, in Mississippi, politicians compete to reduce the size of the public payroll. Ten years ago there were 649 public employees for every 10,000 people in the state. Today its down to 606 per 10,000. Thanks to these and other reforms, Mississippi is starting to prosper, with per capita income up 25 per cent over the past five years. In Britain, real wages and living standards have not grown since 2007.

Schools have gotten much better in Mississippi, too. My own state, Minnesota, once had good public schools, but that is no longer true. Now, Mississippis black and Hispanic students outperform their Minnesota peers in both reading and math. And Mississippis scores are going up, while Minnesotas are going down.

Americas states have long been labeled laboratories of democracy, and that concept may be more relevant now than ever. Left and right are in a pitched battle for Americas soul, and the rights strongest argument, perhaps, is the obvious success of states that have pursued conservative policies, compared with the abject failure of the states whose policies have been liberal.
NRO has posted an expanded version  expanded from the current issue of NR  of Jay Nordlingers I met a book, on readers encounters with books that shaped their worldview or changed their life. As a famous Senator put it, I have here in my hand a list

Last year Nigel Jones reviewed Stalins Library: A Dictator and His Books, by Geoffrey Roberts. Jones wrote in the Spectator:

Roberts takes us through Stalins life and shows how his reading molded his actions. Books transformed the bright seminary student into a ferocious revolutionary, prepared to sacrifice family, friends and a vast array of enemies  capitalists, kulaks, fellow Bolsheviks, imperialists, Trotskyist deviationists and millions of ordinary Soviet citizens  on the altar of his rigid dogmas. * * * * * Stalins Library tilts our image of a paranoid killer interested only in power towards a more nuanced  but even scarier  one: of a deep thinker prepared to turn his ideas into bullets to mow down those who thought differently. As the world anxiously waits to see whether another ruthless Russian ruler with a similar fixity of purpose will go to war in his effort to reconstruct Stalins state, this brief but penetrating book offers an object lesson: a little learning may be a dangerous thing, but so is a lot.

Bad books can do a lot of damage.

In his In Depth interview on C-SPAN last year, Steve Hayward cited Leo Strausss Natural Right and History as one of the books he most wanted to recommend to viewers. Watch the interview here to pick up the rest of his recommendations.

I second Steves recommendation of Natural Right and History. Reading it in college rescued me from the suffocating relativism that is borne in the air we breathe. If you know a bright young student who might benefit from an exposition of the paradoxes of relativism, I recommend the first two chapters of Strausss Natural Right and History. They strike with something like surgical precision.

And if you know a bright young student who has an open mind and/or who needs to be disabused of the doctrinaire racism and other orthodoxies that permeate the left, the academy, the mainstream media, and just about every other significant institution in American life, I have a few books to recommend (plus one from my teacher). The first such book that opened my mind and put me on the path was Edmund Burkes Reflections On the Revolution in France, a classic of political analysis, yet it doesnt quite fit in here.

These books have a Lincolnian emphasis because Lincoln provides such a powerful antidote to the new racism and old hatred of our country that is at the heart of the current orthodoxy. They are extremely unlikely to harm young men and women trying to think things through for themselves. On the contrary

1. Harry Jaffa, Crisis of the House Divided: An Interpretation of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates.

2. (a) Robert Johannsen, editor, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858.

2. (b) Paul Angle, editor, The Complete Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858.

2. (c) Harold Holzer, editor, The Complete Lincoln-Douglas Debates: The First Complete, Unexpurgated Text.

2. (d) A trusted friend recommends the Audiobook edition of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, with David Strathairn delivering Lincolns remarks and Richard Dreyfuss delivering the remarks of Senator Douglas.

3. Roy Basler, editor, Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings.

4. As set forth above, Leo Strauss, Natural Right and History. For further study: Leo Strauss, On Tyranny.

5. Thomas Sowell, A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles.

Plus one: I meet weekly with a friend to study political philosophy under the tutelage of an outstanding college teacher who is younger than I am. When I asked him what book turned him toward political philosophy, he cited:

* Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Todays Students.
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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / Eight women crowd around their classmate, a pilot in training, eyes fixed to the screen. Miles away, the drone soars across their remote community in the northeast corner of British Columbia, creating a thermal map of the region.A herd of wild horses comes into view, and the women watch, delighted, as the animals graze on screen.Deeper into the territory, a large patch of heat emerges in the thermal imaging. The pilot flips the drone's view to the camera and reveals an enormous moose. The group erupts in excitement, awed at the technology and its potential.The women, all Indigenous members of the Blueberry River First Nation, are participants in the Construction Foundation of BC's Sky Keepers program. They are becoming drone pilots, earning an advanced drone certification through Transport Canada.Some women plan to use their drone pilot's license to work in the oil and gas industry; others to monitor the environment-water levels, animal activity, soil erosion. Others still wonder if drone technology could help keep Indigenous women safe, to improve response times and prevent more Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.Keri Taylor, Sky Keeper's operations manager, is proud to hear the women contemplate applications of drone technology."Drones are an up-and-coming market," she explains. "It really excites a lot of the women. It leads to job opportunities where you can work from home on your own time." CFBC launched Sky Keepers in 2023, offering the program to 28 Indigenous women across three B.C.-based cohorts in Blueberry River, Kamloops and Surrey. In addition to drone certification, participants receive training in word processing and technology, as well as other certifications like First Aid and WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System).Classroom time also includes Indigenous programming, such as Elder talks.Taylor says the CFBC's programs like Sky Keepers help fill niche markets, to make opportunities available to people who are interested in the construction industry but face barriers to accessing education.Sky Keepers is the first of CFBC's offerings focused specifically on supporting Indigenous women participants who are either underemployed, unemployed or precariously employed.The program is funded entirely by grants and donations from the community. Enbridge contributed a $20,000 Fueling Futures grant to support Indigenous women, an underrepresented population, as they develop their potential in the construction industry and gain valuable experience to contribute to their communities."One of the participants shared with me that she was happy to be involved in the program, because it helped her create a regular routine in her day," Taylor says. "She told me: I feel a sense of purpose.' "The first Sky Keepers cohort graduated in March 2023, and already alumni are working in the field.For those who need additional support finding work, participants are invited to transition into CFBC's All Roads program, focused on helping Indigenous learners find their way to meaningful careers."For those who transition to our All Roads program, we keep walking with them on their employment journey," says Taylor, "and make sure they still have the supports in place they need on their pathway to successful and meaningful employment." The first cohort of graduates from the Construction Foundation of BC's Sky Keepers program gather for a group picture in March 2023. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Enbridge on 3 blmedia.com Contact Info:Spokesperson: EnbridgeWebsite: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/enbridge Email: info@3 blmedia.com SOURCE: Enbridge
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / Bernstein Liebhard LLP:Do you, or did you, own securities of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)?Did you purchase your securities between March 1, 2020 and July 26, 2023, inclusive?Did you lose money in your investment in AT&T Inc.?Do you want to discuss your rights?Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, reminds investors of the deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in a securities class action lawsuit that has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the securities of AT&T Inc. ("AT&T" or the "Company") (NYSE: T) between March 1, 2020 and July 26, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against the Company and certain of its officers (the "Complaint").If you purchased or acquired AT&T securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit AT&T Inc. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@ bernlieb.com If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than September 26, 2023. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member.The Complaint alleges that Defendants made materially false and misleading statements throughout the Class Period. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose that: (1) AT&T owns cables around the country that are highly toxic due to their being wrapped in lead, and which harm Company employees and non-employees alike; (2) AT&T faces potentially significant litigation risk, regulatory risk, and reputational harm as a result of its ownership of these lead-covered cables and the health risks stemming from their presence around the United States; and (3) AT&T was warned about the damage and risks presented by these cables but did not disclose them as a potential threat to employee safety or to everyday people and communities.On July 26, 2023, after the market closed, The Wall Street Journal released an article entitled "Justice Department and EPA Probe Telecom Companies Over Lead Cables". The article stated, in pertinent part: "The Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency are investigating the potential health and environmental risks stemming from a sprawling network of toxic lead-sheathed telecom cables across the U.S. The Justice Department's civil inquiry, by the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, is in preliminary stages and focuses partly on whether telecom companies had knowledge of the potential risks to their workers and future environmental impact when they left behind the lead cables, according to a person familiar with the inquiry." On this news, AT&T's stock price fell $0.38 per share to close at $14.51 per share on July 27, 2023.If you purchased or acquired AT&T securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit AT&T Inc. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@ bernlieb.com Since 1993, Bernstein Liebhard LLP has recovered over $3.5 billion for its clients. In addition to representing individual investors, the Firm has been retained by some of the largest public and private pension funds in the country to monitor their assets and pursue litigation on their behalf. As a result of its success litigating hundreds of lawsuits and class actions, the Firm has been named to The National Law Journal's "Plaintiffs' Hot List" thirteen times and listed in The Legal 500 for sixteen consecutive years.ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.  2023 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, (212) 779-1414. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.Contact Information:Peter AlloccoBernstein Liebhard LLP(212) 951-2030pallocco@ bernlieb.com SOURCE: Bernstein Liebhard LLP
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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / Banyan Gold Corp. (the "Company" or "Banyan") (TSX-V:BYN)OTCQB:BYAGF) is providing an update on operations at the Company's AurMac Property (the "Property"), Yukon Territory amid wildfire alerts and evacuations.Due to the proximity of wildfires, the Yukon Government recommended evacuation of Victoria Gold's Eagle Gold Mine and nearby placer operations. Banyan's camps are not in the alert zone and were not evacuated. The access roads to our Nitra property are included in the alert zone.Out of caution, and for the health and safety of our personnel, we have suspended prospecting and soil sampling activities on our Nitra property and have decided to wrap up our Phase I program drilling program at AurMac with 24,556 metres drilled. Core logging and cutting, regional exploration in areas currently not proximal to wildfires and the onsite prep lab continue to be operational.Banyan has opened its excess space in camp to evacuated workers from the Victoria Gold Eagle Mine. The Company continues to monitor the situation with several fires in the Mayo area, all of which are currently located over 25 kilometres from the AurMac operational area.The Company is well financed with over $9.5 million in cash on hand and is in the planning stages for a Phase II program."The safety of our employees, contractors, our neighbours and the community is our top priority. All our employees and infrastructure are currently safe. With the infrastructure at Banyan, we have the ability to execute drill programs through December so we can constructively use this time to continue to plan our Phase II drill and exploration programs with the benefit of additional results from our Phase I program," said Tara Christie, President and CEO. "We will continue to actively monitor the situation and adapt our plans." Upcoming EventsPrecious Metals Summit Beaver Creek - Sept 12 to 15, 2023About BanyanBanyan's primary asset, the AurMac Property is comprised of the Aurex and McQuesten properties, as well as claims staked and owned 100% by Banyan, and adjacent to Victoria Gold's Eagle Gold Mine, in Canada's Yukon Territory. The updated resource for the AurMac Property of 6.2 million ounces has an effective date of May 18, 2023.The 173 square kilometres ("sq km") AurMac Property lies 30 kilometres ("km") from Victoria Gold's Eagle Project and adjacent to Hecla Mining's high grade Keno Hill Silver mine. The property is transected by the main Yukon highway and access road to the Victoria Gold open-pit, heap leach Eagle Gold mine. The AurMac Property benefits from a 3-phase powerline, existing power station and cell phone coverage. Banyan has a right to earn up to a 100% interest, in both the Aurex and McQuesten Properties, subject to certain royalties.The Updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the AurMac Property was prepared on May 18, 2023 and consisted of 6,181,000 ounces of gold (see Table 3) hosted within near surface, road accessible pit constrained Mineral Resources contained in three near/on-surface deposits: the Airstrip, Aurex Hill and Powerline Deposits.Table 3: Pit-Constrained Inferred Mineral Resources - AurMac PropertyDepositGold Cut-Off (g/t)Tonnage(Mt)Average Gold Grade (g/t)Contained Gold (koz)41.20.68897 Powerline0.25 197.40.613,840Aurex Hill0.30 74.30.601,444Total Combined0.25 to 0.3312.90.616,181Notes: The effective date for the Mineral Resource is May 18, 2023. The updated Resource Estimate for the AurMac Property was prepared by Marc Jutras, P.Eng., M.A.Sc., Principal, Ginto Consulting Inc., an independent Qualified Person in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101. The technical report supporting the Resource Estimate (the "Technical Report") has been filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com effective July 7, 2023.Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing, changes in global gold markets or other relevant issues.The CIM Definition Standards were followed for classification of Mineral Resources. The quantity and grade of reported Inferred Mineral Resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these Inferred Mineral Resources as an Indicated Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to an Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource category.Mineral Resources are reported at a cut-off grade of 0.25 g/t Au for the Airstrip and Powerline and 0.3 g/t Au for the Aurex Hill deposits, using a US$/CAN$ exchange rate of 0.75 and constrained within an open pit shell optimized with the Lerchs-Grossman algorithm to constrain the Mineral Resources with the following estimated parameters: gold price of US$1,800/ounce, US$2.50/t mining cost, US$5.50/t processing cost, UD$2.00/t G+A, 80% heap leach recoveries, and 45 pit slope.The number of tonnes was rounded to the nearest hundred thousand. The number of ounces was rounded to the nearest thousand. Any discrepancies in the totals are due to rounding effects; rounding followed the recommendations as per NI 43-101.In addition to the AurMac Property, the Company holds the Hyland Gold Project, located 70 km Northeast of Watson Lake, Yukon, along the Southeast end of the Tintina Gold Belt (the "Hyland Project"). The Hyland Project represents a sediment hosted, structurally controlled, intrusion related gold deposit, within a large land package (over 125 sq km), accessible by a network of existing gravel access roads.Banyan trades on the TSX-Venture Exchange under the symbol "BYN" and is quoted on the OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol "BYAGF". For more information, please visit the corporate website at www.banyangold.com or contact the Company.Qualified PersonsPaul D. Gray, P.Geo., is a "qualified person" as defined under National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), and has reviewed and approved the content of this news release. Mr. Gray has verified the data disclosed in this press release, including the sampling, analytical and test data underlying the information.ON BEHALF OF BANYAN GOLD CORPORATION(signed) "Tara Christie"Tara ChristiePresident & CEOFor more infor
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GEORGE TOWN, GRAND CAYMAN / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / New times demand new decisions and measures. Nowadays when traditional economics isn't the only way to think about gaining extra income and profit, new and decentralized solutions appear in the market. At this point, it's crucial to keep your finger on the pulse of the crypto economy.What to try: staking, yield farming or become a liquidity provider? How not to lose new opportunities and stay informed to grow your wealth and use new technologies for maximizing your profit? The Notum platform found solutions!Key Notum's Highlights:Notum makes your crypto gain profit. The platform increases your income no matter the price dynamic.The platform is comprehensive. No need for back-breaking strategies to get income, everything is easy as ABC.It's a truly DeFi platform. Non-custodial = save and 3rd parties free.One platform - many strategies. Notum reshaped form the crypto landscape by aggregating all crucial metrics in one space for you to save money and time.Notum makes it possible for you to save money on gas fees and enter the market in any position.It's way easier to start investing with a friendly and intuitive UI/UX platform design eliminating the confusion you usually get on the apps alike.How Does Notum Help You to Invest Effectively?It Helps You to Find New Investment OpportunitiesThe crypto market is rapidly growing and creating new niches to invest in. These new coming protocols have particular mechanics making investors not only curious but also puzzled and confused.Notum batches various investment offers and helps investors compare them by many crucial parameters, such as TVL, APY, Market Cap, etc. This goes along with a top-notched grouping of investment proposals into categories. Making the whole picture as clear as possible, reducing confusion you might get on other platforms.All Investment Opportunities in One SpaceThat's as simple as that - before investing in any strategy or vault, it's essential to understand what they exactly are and how they function. That's why Notum provides a detailed and comprehensive description of each investment opportunity including the following:what assets are located in a definite pool;how a particular strategy brings profitability;risks that might be involved.You don't just get lots of information, but all this information is brought as strategy and/or vault cards that are easy to understand because the provided information is well-structured and straightforward.Notum Makes Your Market Entry SmoothAnother challenge that investors struggle with is that to enter a strategy and/or pool, it is necessary to provide assets that are involved there. For example, to provide liquidity on Uniswap, you need to allocate 2 tokens in a ratio of 50 to 50. If these tokens are not in the wallet, you need to purchase them on the exchange. So, this always goes along with a boring and rather tiring search of commission costs and ends up as a waste of time.Notum aimed to cover up this pain point by offering you the easiest way to enter any position - be it a strategy or vault with any cryptocurrency in your wallet. You are just one click away from getting passive income and becoming wealthier!The Platform Assists in Managing InvestmentsNotum gathers all your investment positions in one space and keeps track of the current wallet activity. On top, you'll get key charts and analytics broken down by networks, assets, and strategies. Track your portfolio balance as a result of your active positions on a single platform without leaping to others.Buy, Stake & Swap Within the PlatformNo need to control multiple platforms trying to manage different services. Notum wants to help you out with this by providing instant swaps, an easy buying and staking process from the comfort of one platform. Choose from a wide range of tokens and coins and forget about switching between platforms.Follow Notum on Twitter, Discord, Telegram, and Mirror to get the latest updates!Media Contact:Contact Name: Max Smek, Notum.Email Address - info@ notum.ai Address - George Town, 31493, 122 Mary Street, Cayman Islands.SOURCE: Notum
John Walczak was working from his home office on a March afternoon when he looked out the window and saw a West Seneca police officer approaching his house.

I wonder what the heck this is about, Walczak recalled thinking at the time.

The officer told Walczak that Buffalo police had found his wifes 2017 Kia Sportage, which his son had driven to Canisius College earlier that day. The SUV had been taken from the parking lot and dumped by the thieves before Walczaks son even knew it was missing.

At the time, the family owned two other Kia Sportage vehicles. But Walczak was not going to sit around and wait for those two to be taken, as well.

Once one got stolen, I wasnt getting much sleep at night, he said.

So, he decided to trade them in.

Kia and Hyundai owners across Western New York say they feel like sitting ducks, anxiously waiting to become the next victims of the Kia Challenge.

Police using new strategy to catch Kia thieves  helicopters Faced with an explosion of car thefts over the last year, Buffalo police are using helicopters with the hope that they will help them catch more car thieves  and discourage future attempts.

Using a method popularized on social media, thieves are able to use just a screwdriver and USB cord to steal Kia and Hyundai vehicles, many of which were manufactured without engine immobilizers.

While the manufacturers have recommended some stopgap measures  such as steering wheel locks, anti-theft kits and a free security software update that would act like an immobilizer on vehicles without them  there isnt much owners can do to prevent their vehicles from being stolen.

The only way to make sure you car isnt stolen is to get rid of the Kia/Hyundai, since their solutions are worse than buying a club for the steering wheel, Walczak said. They are not interested in fixing the problem, only selling cars.

In May, Kia and Hyundai agreed to settle a class action lawsuit for $200 million to reimburse customers who had their vehicles stolen or damaged for their out-of-pocket losses.

More than 1,500 vehicles have been reported stolen in the City of Buffalo since the beginning of the year, and surrounding municipalities have reported dozens more thefts than normal in the last year. The majority of the vehicles are Kias and Hyundais.

To alleviate the worry and stress, some Kia and Hyundai owners are trading in their vehicles for different car brands, as Walczak did. But many cant afford to do so, and have had to get creative to keep their vehicles safe.

Buffalo resident Alexis Rinkers Kia Forte is more than 10 years old and fully paid off, so trading it in isnt an option, she said in an email to The Buffalo News.

To deter thieves, she blocks her car in the driveway with her roommates vehicle. She sometimes leaves the back seats down to draw thieves away since putting the seats back up would take some time, she said. Rinker has also started leaving an AirTag tracking device in her car so she can more easily find her car if it gets stolen.

Ive been lucky enough to not have my car stolen yet, but I look out the window as soon as I wake up every morning to make sure its still there, Rinker said.

Kristen Cassidy said someone tried to break into her 2016 Kia Sorento one night when it was parked in the driveway of her Cheektowaga home.

Was your Kia stolen? These Facebook sleuths want to help you A recent victim started a public Facebook group called WNY Stolen Vehicles that connects people whose cars have been stolen.

Luckily, the SUV was locked and the thief did not break the window or damage the vehicle, Cassidy said, but the experience made her anxious.

I just couldnt deal with the anxiety of waking up and having it not be in my driveway anymore, she said. I really felt like my only recourse was just to get rid of it.

In early July, Cassidy went to Jim Murphy Buick GMC in Depew and traded her Kia in for a GMC Terrain.

Her vehicle was in great condition with no major damage, but what the dealership gave her for the Kia Sorento was barely enough to pay off the remaining loan, Cassidy said.

Which was kind of frustrating because I knew it was worth a lot more, Cassidy said. But Im sure because of whats going on, theyre not going to be putting all this money into Kias.

Walczak decided to sell two of his familys Kia Sportages, and bought Subarus instead.

While the Kia that had been stolen was still being fixed, the dealership offered Walczak a good deal on a newer Sportage model, one with a push-to-start button that cant be stolen with the screwdriver and USB method.

He took the trade-in deal, but Walczak said that is the last Kia he will ever own. He no longer trusts the brand.

I sold two cars and I took baths on both of them when I traded them in, because theyre just not worth anything anymore, he said.
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BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, WA / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / Cindy Anderson continues to bring an innovative and unique approach to real estate investing. . After graduating from the University of San Diego, she worked for several major technology companies, where she further enhanced her knowledge and skill sets. With experience as a sales manager, marketing representative, and marketing manager, she uses her expertise to take on the real estate market. Given her success in the residential space, she recently sat down to discuss her motivations for her career path."The idea that sparked my interest in real estate came from my father. He was in the Air Force and then an engineer working for various companies. He did not recognize that home ownership was a real investment until he purchased a second home, and it increased in value. He realized that real estate could be extremely lucrative. I remember him saying, This is where you make money and build wealth. I purchased my first rental home when I was in my late twenties. With real estate investments, if you manage the properties yourself and provide much of the labor yourself, it is hard work, especially on top of a day job. Once I'd built up enough of a revenue stream to quit my day job, things become a lot easier." Cindy claims that she enjoys the independence and freedom that her current position allows her. She says that networking played an essential role in her success and recommends that those new to the industry attend as many events as possible. Although semi-retired, she is always looking to give back to her local community."I remain productive with people and organizations working toward police reform, civil rights and world peace. I enjoy spending my day with people like me who have the time, and the financial resources to make a difference. I do it because I can make the time without suffering. I feel compassion and a commitment to give back to the community that I love so much." Lastly, Cindy discusses the difference between mistakes and problems. For her, "A problem is an opportunity to be successful." She suggests using every experience as an opportunity to improve and keep moving forward.Interested readers can access the full interview here.About Cindy AndersonCindy Anderson is a highly successful real estate investor, property manager, and developer. Operating out of Bainbridge Island, Washington, she has held numerous leadership positions for technology companies and continues to use her skills to dominate the real estate landscape. Despite her growing wealth and portfolio, the success and well-being of her clients are always her number one priority.Contact informationEmail: cindy4253@ aol.com SOURCE: Cindy Anderson
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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / Cisco Systems Inc.This blog was contributed to by Mizpah Brown-Rich, the co-founder of Joshua's Gift.Of all the concerns that parents of autistic children face, a scary encounter with police shouldn't be one of them. But that's exactly what Joshua's parents dealt with, following a walk around the block with their son Joshua to help calm his anxiety.At the time, Joshua was 17 years old, 6-feet tall, African American, and non-verbal. Joshua interacted with the world around him a little differently than others.When a neighborhood resident called the police for what they mistook as "suspicious behavior", the resulting response could have easily escalated into a dangerous situation.The experience inspired Joshua's parents to take bold action to help ensure that police, security personnel, and first responders could learn how to identify autistic individuals and respond with skill and compassion.Joshua's mother Mizpah Brown-Rich and father Kerry Rich developed CODE JOSHUA - a unique call for emergency assistance that alerts police officers, firefighters, health care workers, and other personnel to respectfully approach and respond to autistic individuals in crisis with sensitivity and caution. The initiative is one of many innovations and services within their non-profit organization Joshua's Gift, which works to develop a society that invitingly accepts, respects, and includes the autistic community.According to Autismspectrumnews.org , caregivers report 13% of their autistic children used at least one emergency service in a two-month period, and 20% of autistic children have had encounters with law enforcement officers by the age of 2. By creating an alliance with first responders, CODE JOSHUA drives equal rights, protects and defends our most vulnerable citizens, and preserves individual freedoms.Cisco's Connected Black Professionals (CBP) Inclusive Community recognized the power and potential of CODE JOSHUA and the alignment with our social justice action committed to supporting key organizations in shaping social justice policy and driving equal rights. CBP nominated the innovative program for Cisco's Black Equity Grant program, which awards a total of US $500,000 in cash grants each fiscal year to Black-serving and/or Black-led nonprofit organizations who support social justice and racial equity.As Curshanda Cusseaux Woods, Black Equity Grant program administrator, puts it, "Joshua's Gift is a wonderful example of the types of organizations we love to support. They align with our social justice values and have the vision and the know how to institute change. They just needed support from Cisco to further their impact in more communities." With Cisco's funding, support, and community partnership, CODE JOSHUA was established into a robust registry database. Profiles created by the families of autistic individuals detail key information and crisis behaviors to help guide 911 dispatchers in appropriate crisis response. The initiative includes a training program and video resources to train first responders on how to approach with empathy and patience, how to de-escalate the situation by meeting the individuals' sensory and communication needs, and how to respond without force.To date, CODE JOSHUA has been launched in police departments in multiple Northern California counties.Joshua's mother Mizpah is seeing real impact. "Our CODE JOSHUA training courses are having an impressive impact on the first responders we are training. The program is effectively helping minimize anxiety and eliminate potential harm to our loved ones living with autism and IDD (Intellectual Developmental Disabilities). "By partnering with Cisco, we can leverage their technology and expertise to reach more communities and raise awareness about our autistic citizens. Together, we are making a difference in saving lives and creating a more inclusive and respectful society." Learn more about CODE JOSHUA and the Joshua's Gift organization.View original content hereView additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Cisco Systems Inc. on 3 blmedia.com Contact Info:Spokesperson: Cisco Systems Inc.Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cisco-systems-inc Email: info@3 blmedia.com SOURCE: Cisco Systems Inc.
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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / CMC Metals Ltd. (TSX-V:CMB)(Frankfurt:ZM5P)(:OTCQB:CMCXF) ("CMC" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has intersected mineralization in the second hole drilled within the Silverknife prospect, north-central British Columbia. Mineralization has been observed in several intersections of limestones in the Kechika Formation and is characteristic of silver-lead-zinc "CRD style" mineralization. It comprises of manganese alteration, sphalerite, galena, and zincite. Examination of the core with XRF has also indicated the possible presence of manganese, other iron sulfides, zinc, lead, and possibly gold. Core is being prepared for assaying which will include testing for critical minerals such as germanium and gallium. The first hole intersected the contact between the sediments and the granite-granodiorite intrusive which is important as it indicates the possibility that the mineralization is resultant from the intrusion which provides the heat source for the movement of mineralized fluids into the overlying sediments. Approximately 700 meters of the proposed 3,000 meter drill program for the 2023 exploration season has been completed to date.The Silverknife property is located immediately west of the Silvertip Mine property owned by Coeur Mining ("Coeur"). The Silvertip Mine is one of the highest-grade underground silver-lead-zinc deposits in the world. Mineralization in the area is known to be characteristic of carbonate replacement style deposits and recent modelling of the Silvertip deposit has postulated the possibility of mineralization occurring throughout the significant sedimentary package with thickness of up to 2,500 meters. Of interesting note is that Coeur also postulated on the prospectivity of other sediments deeper in the sedimentary package such as the Kechika Group as possible targets for "CRD" and critical minerals mineralization.CMC completed a gravity survey over the Silverknife Prospect which identified a significant gravity anomaly coincident with previous geophysical (conductivity/EM) and geochemical anomalies. The Company is awaiting the geophysical report from Intelligent Exploration before providing any further comment. Plans are underway to continue drilling in the area to further define the extent of mineralization in the area of the prospect. The historic Silverknife Prospect which was subjected to drilling in the mid 1980's that identified significant CRD mineralization that was reported to remain open in several directions. 3-D modelling has shown that previous drilling on the Silverknife Prospect was conducted on the edge of the conductors and was in close proximity to the recently identified gravity anomaly.CMC has also completed two drill holes in close proximity to the gravity/conductivity anomaly just south of the Tootsee River and intersected granite-granodiorite intrusive rocks. No outcrops are observed in this area but immediately north of the intrusive and the Tootsee River, limestone sequences of the McDame Formation have been identified and are coincident with the gravity/conductivity anomaly. The presence of McDame limestones in close proximity to a heat source presents an ideal setting for CRD mineralization. Drilling north of the Tootsee River requires widening of existing trails in the area to permit accessibility by drilling equipment and work has begin on determining the most viable route to reach the exploration target area. This area will likely be targeted in the 2024 season as it is expected to take a couple of months to prepare the access road.Mr. John Bossio, Chairman noted, "Intersecting CRD style mineralization in the area of the Silverknife Prospect in the early stages of our drilling program for this season is a very exciting development. We are using a combination of data including geophysical, geochemical and geological data to identify additional areas to target with our diamond drilling efforts." Mr. Kevin Brewer P. Geo, President and CEO noted, "Confirming the presence of mineralization in Kechika limestones in close proximity to the intrusive (heat source") contact is helping our geological team to understand the mineralizing system at Silverknife. Close to the intrusive-sediment contact the units were altered with hornfels and skarn development as one would expect in a CRD system and the presence of mineralization in several different intersections shows the potential to discover chimney and manto style systems within the Kechika Group and possibly overlying sediments that occur in the central and southern part of the Silverknife Property. Our work will continue to focus on understanding the mineralizing system in this area to effectively identify drill targets for the remainder of this season and into 2024."Qualified PersonQualified Person Kevin Brewer, a registered professional geoscientist, is the Company's President and CEO, and Qualified Person (as defined by National Instrument 43-101). He has given his approval of the technical information pertaining reported herein. The Company is committed to meeting the highest standards of integrity, transparency and consistency in reporting technical content, including geological reporting, geophysical investigations, environmental and baseline studies, engineering studies, metallurgical testing, assaying and all other technical data.About CMC Metals Ltd.CMC Metals Ltd. is a growth stage exploration company focused on opportunities for high grade polymetallic deposits in Yukon, British Columbia and Newfoundland. Our polymetallic silver-lead-zinc CRD prospects in the Rancheria Silver District include the Silverknife project (British Columbia), located in very close proximity to one of the world's highest grade underground silver-lead-zinc mines in the world (owned by Coeur Mining Inc.), the Silver Hart Deposit and Blue Heaven claims (Yukon), Amy claims located 7km west of the Silverknife claims (British Columbia). Our polymetallic projects with potential for copper-silver-gold and other metals include Bridal Veil, Terra Nova (optioned to Highbank Mining Inc.), and Rodney Pond (central Newfoundland) and Logjam (Yukon).On behalf of the Board:"John Bossio"John Bossio, ChairmanCMC Metals Ltd.For Further Information and Investor Inquiries:Kevin Brewer, P. Geo., MBA, B. Sc.(Hons) , Dip. Mine Eng.President, CEO and DirectorTel: (709) 327 8013kbrewer80@ hotmail.com Suite 1000-409 Granville St.Vancouver, BC., V6C 1T2To be added to CMC's news distribution list, please send an email to info@ cmcmetals.ca or contact Mr. Kevin Brewer directly.Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as
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OMAHA, NE / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / Complete Wedding + Events, the leading one-stop-shop wedding and event planning franchise, was named to Franchise Business Review's fourth annual "Culture100" list. The list recognizes the top 100 franchise brands in a 2023 report on the Best Franchise Cultures. Complete Weddings + Events creates awesome experiences for once-in-a-lifetime events. We have 70+ locally owned and operated event planning businesses across the U.S. Our franchises provide photography, videography, DJ, lighting, photo booths, and event coordination services to enable customers to make memories."This honor recognizes the team spirit of our Complete Nation'," said Eric Maas. "Our family environment and fun atmosphere bolster employee retention and enable us to provide high-quality services to our customers." Shawn Labadie, a Complete Weddings + Events franchisee who spearheads the company's Complete Nation initiative, strives to foster a positive and engaging environment for employees at his location in Lincoln, Nebraska. In addition to hosting an annual awards ceremony, Labadie treats his staff to regular social gatherings, fun-filled retreats, and post-event cookouts."We're lucky to be granted the ability to provide a service to people on some of the most positive days of their lives. Our staff gets to have fun every time they come to work, and we encourage them to have a good time," Labadie said. "I've worked for large corporations where you feel like a number. Event planning can be stressful, but it's fun to be part of the Complete Weddings + Events team." Franchise Business Review (FBR), a franchise market research firm that performs independent surveys of franchisee satisfaction, provides the only rankings of franchises based solely on actual franchisee satisfaction and performance. FBR publishes its rankings of top franchises in its annualGuide to Today's Top Franchises, as well as in special interest reports throughout the year that identify the top franchises in specific sectors.Complete Wedding + Events was among more than 360 franchise brands, representing more than 36,000 franchise owners, participating in FBR's research on the best franchise cultures. Franchisees were surveyed on 33 benchmark questions about their experience and satisfaction regarding critical areas of their franchise systems. The brands that were selected received the highest overall ratings based on 17 unique areas that contribute to a strong company culture, including leadership, core values, franchisee community, and engagement. "Every franchise organization has a different culture and vibe," said Michelle Rowan, president and COO of Franchise Business Review. "A franchise company's culture - and your potential fit into that culture - should guide your franchise investment decision. The companies on our Culture100 list outrank other brands by 10% to 50% across the key areas that contribute to a positive culture." ###About Complete Weddings + Events:Complete Weddings + Events has been starting parties, telling unique wedding stories, and bringing people together since 1974. They are the leading provider of event and wedding photography, videography, lighting, coordination, DJ services, and photo booth rental in North America. By providing expert photos, high-definition video, and a gorgeous soundtrack with professionals who are passionate about creating things that last, Complete Weddings and Events offers customers quality work at an affordable price.For franchising information, visit https://completewedo.com/franchising/ Media Contact:Rob Wilson804-228-4452rwilson@919 marketing.com SOURCE: Complete Weddings + Events
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Second quarter bookings increase 47% over prior yearAnnounces acquisition of Great North to expand the Company's Well Construction portfolioHOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / Dril-Quip, Inc. (NYSE:DRQ), (the "Company" or "Dril-Quip"), a developer, manufacturer and provider of highly engineered equipment, service, and innovative technologies for use in the energy industry, today reported operational and financial results for the second quarter of 2023.Second Quarter HighlightsRevenue of $89.6 million decreased 1% sequentially and 5% year-over-yearNet Bookings of $72.7 million increased 36% sequentially and 47% year-over-year, representing a book-to-bill ratio of 1.2xNet Income of $3.5 million increased $1.2 million sequentially and increased $9.1 million year-over-yearAdjusted EBITDA of $8.8 million is sequentially flat and decreased $0.6 million year-over-yearGross Margin of 26.7% decreased 125 basis points sequentially and increased 79 basis points year-over-yearInstalled BigBore lle Wellhead System for Petrobras Exploratory project in the Santos BasinSuccessfully installed HorizontalBore Subsea Trees at Woodside Shenzi NorthRemain on track to complete footprint optimization initiatives by year end 2023Subsequent to quarter end, received approximately $16.8 million from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service related to prior year audit adjustmentsSubsequent to quarter end, announced acquisition of Great North to expand the Company's Well Construction portfolio (the "Acquisition")"We delivered another quarter of strong operational performance as we continue to benefit from the improving offshore drilling market, while we control costs and drive sustained margin improvement," said Jeff Bird, Dril-Quip's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our bookings for the quarter came in above our expectations, and we continue to anticipate that the acceleration of master service agreement activity within the industry will help drive bookings and revenue growth through the remainder of the year." "As we look toward the second half of the year, the integration of Great North will be a priority to capture the potential high value this transaction creates. The continuation of our organic operational efficiency initiatives and the closing on the sale of a third property in Houston sets us up for a strong finish to 2023. With our clean balance sheet and financial flexibility, we are in an excellent position to drive long-term growth, and advance market share and overall profitability." Great North Wellhead AcquisitionThe Company also announced today, in a separate press release, that it has acquired Great North Wellhead and its subsidiaries (collectively "Great North") for approximately $80 million in an all-cash transaction, subject to customary purchase price adjustments. Great North is a leading provider of mission-critical wellhead products and completion solutions. Great North was purchased from Industrial Growth Partners, which acquired the majority stake in the business in 2018. Please visit the Dril-Quip website for more details about the acquisition.Updated Financial OutlookDril-Quip is raising its full year 2023 revenue target to 20% growth over 2022 to account for the 2023 impact of the acquisition of Great North, indicating second half 2023 revenue in the range of $240 million to $250 millionBookings year-over-year growth of 10% to 20%Second half 2023 adjusted EBITDA margins of 14% - 16%Capital expenditures of $30 million for the full year 2023In conjunction with today's release, the Company posted a new investor presentation entitled "Q2 2023 Investor Presentation" to its website, www.dril-quip.com , on the "Events & Presentations" page under the Investors tab. Investors should note that Dril-Quip announces material financial information in Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filings, press releases and public conference calls. Dril-Quip may use the Investors section of its website ( www.dril-quip.com ) to communicate with investors. It is possible that the financial and other information posted there could be deemed to be material information. Information on Dril-Quip's website is not part of this release.Operational and Financial ResultsRevenue, Cost of Sales and Gross Operating MarginConsolidated revenue for the second quarter of 2023 was $89.6 million, down $1.3 million from the first quarter of 2023 and down $4.4 million compared to the second quarter of 2022. The decrease in revenue was primarily driven by lower Subsea Product and Subsea Services revenues due to the timing of certain customer milestones. Well Construction revenues increased $0.5 million sequentially and 11% year-over-year to $21.4 million, driven by market share advances and activity increases in certain international markets. Subsea Services segment revenue decreased 7% year-over-year to $23.6 million, and Subsea Products segment revenue decreased 10% compared to the prior year to $44.6 million.Cost of sales for the second quarter of 2023 was $65.7 million, an increase of $0.2 million sequentially from the first quarter of 2023 and a decrease of $4.0 million year-over year. Gross operating margin for the second quarter of 2023 was 26.7%, down from 27.9% for the first quarter of 2023 and up from 25.9% year-over-year. Gross margins decreased sequentially, driven by the lost leverage on lower revenue.Selling, General, Administrative, and Engineering ExpensesSelling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses for the second quarter of 2023 were $23.2 million, an increase of $0.7 million compared to the first quarter of 2023 and an increase of $0.8 million year-over-year. SG&A increased sequentially primarily due to some non-recurring taxes. Engineering and product development expenses were $3.2 million for the second quarter of 2023, a decrease of $0.2 million from the first quarter of 2023 and an increase of $0.5 million year-over-year. The year-over-year increase is attributed to increased testing and qualification activities related to specific international customer requirements.Net Income, Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash FlowFor the second quarter of 2023, the Company reported net income of $3.5 million, or $0.10 per share. This compares to net income of $2.3 million, or $0.07 per share, for the first quarter of 2023 and a net loss of $5.6 million, or ($0.16) per share, year-over-year.Adjusted EBITDA totaled $8.8 million for the second quarter of 2023 compared to $8.8 million for the first quarter 2023 and $9.3 million one year ago. The decrease in adjusted EBITDA from the year a
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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / Lotus Ventures Inc. (CSE:J)(OTC PINK:LTTSF) ("Lotus" or the "Company") a B.C. based award-winning licensed cannabis producer and owner of the Lotus Cannabis Co. brand, announced the financial and operating results for the nine-month period ended May 31, 2023.Over the last six months, Lotus has continued its Keylime Kush campaign, resulting in the launch of three Keylime Kush SKUs in British Columbia and one in Ontario. The success of these launches has allowed the Keylime Kush to make an impactful entry into over 300 retail stores between the two provinces. With the product now thriving in the market for half a year, the Company has achieved several milestones:SALES AND MARKETING MILESTONESOn January 23, 2023, the Company announced the launch of its first official Lotus branded Keylime Kush 3.5 gram flower, which is now available in British Columbia and Ontario.On February 10, 2023, Lotus launched the Keylime Kush in a 3 x 0.5 gram pre-roll format in British Columbia. As at the date of this news release, the pre-rolls have sold out several times in B.C. and continue to have strong sell through when in stock.On March 10, 2023, Lotus announced the approval of the 14 gram Keylime Kush flower SKU in British Columbia. The 14 gram offering was subsequently launched on April 20, 2023 and has continued to experience strong sell through.On March 15, 2023, Lotus announced a private company in Canada sold a portion of its Tranquil Elephantizer flower in an export shipment made to a company in Jamaica.On April 11, 2023, the Company announced the launch of its 3.5 gram Lotus branded flower offering in the province of Ontario. The Keylime Kush has received a strong response from retailers and consumers in the province.On April 20, 2023, Lotus placed in third in the ARCannabis Cup out of 128 participating licensed producers and brands in Canada.Q3 OPERATING OVERVIEWProduction continued steady with the Company producing approximately 500,000 grams during the quarter. Production has consisted of primarily the Keylime Kush as the Company continued the ramp-up of selling in B.C. and Ontario.During Q3, the cost of sales recognized was representative of approximately 333,000 grams of cannabis. Over the nine-month period ended May 31, 2023, cost of sales recognized was representative of approximately 1,354,000 grams.Lotus completed its 125th production harvest since commencing operations. As part of the Company's ongoing efforts to innovate and introduce new, high-quality cultivars, Lotus recently completed a phenohunt strain selection process in search of its next cultivars.The Company has continued the IQC certification process which would enable the Company to sell its flower into the Israeli market.SUMMARY OF QUARTERLY RESULTSDuring the three months ended May 31, 2023, the Company had a net loss of $340,735 (2022 - $103,573 net loss). The financial results of the Company for the eight most recent quarters are summarized below:Description Three months ended May 31, 2023 Three months ended Feb 28, 2023 Three months ended Nov 30, 2022 Three months ended Aug 31, 2022 Revenues $512,726 $589,172 $144,603 $449,574 Net income (loss) $(340,735) $(131,035) $(765,102) $(4,930,606)Income (loss) per share, basic and diluted $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $(0.05)EBITDA $(82,635) $129,041 $(570,107) $(4,633,554)Total assets $13,828,742 $13,959,942 $13,564,565 $13,471,193 Total long-term liabilities $Nil $Nil $Nil Cash dividends / share $Nil $Nil $Nil Description Three months ended May 31, 2022 Three months ended Feb 28, 2022 Three months ended Nov 30, 2021 Three months ended Aug 31, 2021 Revenues $459,090 $370,551 $410,568 $1,235,937 Net income (loss) $(103,573) $176,127 $65,293 $42,625 Income (loss) per share, basic and diluted $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 EBITDA $122,671 $399,757 $279,830 $264,876 Total assets $17,640,121 $17,678,148 $17,172,703 $16,907,742 Total long-term liabilities $Nil $Nil $Nil Cash dividends / share $Nil $Nil $Nil For further information regarding the financial statements for the nine months ended May 31, 2023, please refer to sedarplus.ca ON BEHALF OF LOTUS VENTURES INC:Lotus Ventures Inc."Dale McClanaghan"Dale McClanaghan, President and CEOAbout Lotus Ventures Inc.Lotus Ventures Inc. is a B.C. based, award-winning licensed cannabis producer and owner of the Lotus Cannabis Co. brand. Lotus is a highly experienced cultivator with its flagship product, the Keylime Kush reaching over 300 retail stores in its first six months in the market. Lotus' talented team has grown several unique and exclusive cultivars, including the Keylime Kush, Black Blossom, Tranquil Elephantizer, and Kalifornia. Lotus' cannabis flower is currently available in British Columbia and Ontario.Lotus Ventures Inc. is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE:J), on the OTC Markets (OTC PINK:LTTSF) and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FRA:LV9).For More Information:President & CEODale McClanaghan(604) - 644 - 9844Investor RelationsDaniel McRobertinvestors@ lotuscannabis.ca (604) - 842 - 4625General Informationinfo@ lotuscannabis.ca (604) - 842 - 4625To learn more, visit lotuscannabis.ca and follow the Lotus Cannabis Co. brand on social media.Instagram: @lotuscannabiscoTwitter: @lotuscannabiscoLinkedIn: @lotuscannabiscoFacebook: @lotuscannaForward-Looking Information:This document includes certain statements that are not descriptions of historical facts but are forward-looking statements. Such statements include, among others, those concerning our expected financial performance and strategic and operational plans, our future operating results, our expectations regarding the market for medical and recreational cannabis products, our expectations regarding the continued growth of the medical and recreational cannabis market, as well as all assumptions, expectations, predictions, intentions, or beliefs about future events. Users are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that a number of risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties have not been documented or mentioned in this document nor other communications made by the company. The words "believe," %2
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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / Power Nickel Inc. ("Power Nickel" or the "Company") (TSX-V:PNPN)(OTCQB:PNPNF)(Frankfurt:IVVI) is pleased to announce it has exercised its option to acquire 50% of the Nisk project (the "Option"). Nisk is a High-Grade Nickel PGM Project near Nemaska, Quebec. In addition, the Company has notified our partner Critical Elements Lithium Corp. ("Critical Elements") that it intends to exercise its second option to acquire an additional 30% interest to bring ownership in the project to 80%. The last remaining obligation in respect of the second option is the delivery of a NI 43-101 Technical Report, which includes a resource estimate, under NI 43-101, which is expected to be delivered late Q3 or early Q4.As set out in the Company's February 25, 2021, news release, listed below are the terms of the Option that Power Nickel has now fulfilled:Make cash payments totaling $500,000 to Critical Elements (all of which were completed within six months of the original option agreement)The issue to Critical Elements 12,051,770 shares of the Company (all of which were issued in 2021)Incur an aggregate of $2.8-million of work expenditures on the Nisk property on or before the dates set out below:$500,000 in work expenditures within the first year of the agreement;$800,000 in work expenditures within the second year of the agreement; and$1.5-million in work expenditures within the third year of the agreement, which have now been completed"Nisk has been an amazing success story for Power Nickel and Critical Elements. The exploration success is building, and we are confident the best is yet to come. We look forward to getting our technical resources out there and completing a Feasibility study on the project. That will be the last condition prior to entering a true 80:20 JV with our partner Critical Elements. The CRE Team has been excellent to work with and has really helped us to achieve the exploration success we are building on for both Companies".In addition, Power Nickel would like to announce it has hired two key individuals to help move the Company toward the goal of building Canada's first Carbon Neutral Nickel Mine. Kenneth Williamson has been hired as Vice-President - Exploration, and Duncan Roy as Vice President - Investor Relations.Kenneth Williamson (M.Sc., P.Geo), is a professional geologist with over 15 years of experience in the mining industry. Ken graduated from the University of Laval with a Master's in Structural Geology in 2002. 2004-2010, he worked as a Special Projects Geologist at the Goldcorp Red Lake Gold Mines. Kenneth has been, amongst other tasks, in charge of elaborating the unified Campbell-Red Lake deposit-scale and Red Lake district-scale 3D litho-structural models.In 2010, Ken accepted a job for the "Bureau de l'Exploration Geologique du Quebec" (BEGQ), where he had the opportunity to work on a regional mapping campaign in the Matagami area, which culminated with the elaboration of the Matagami district scale 3D model. From 2011 to 2013, he was a Project Geologist with InnovExplo, a Val-d'Or-based consulting firm, where he developed his Mineral Resource Estimate skills. Late in 2013, he joined Premier Gold Mines, first as a Senior Geologist and later as the Technical Services Manager, where he was responsible for providing geological, modeling, and resource estimate expertise to various project teams. In 2017, Ken returned to the consulting business and created 3DGeo Solution Inc. (3DGS) shortly after. Since then, through 3DGS, he has provided structural geology expertise, 3D litho-structural modeling, and integrated Mineral Resource Estimate solutions to various clients, including Power Nickel."As we move deeply into the continued exploration and development at Nisk we need to build our team. While we are very pleased to have the accomplished GeoVector team https://www.geovector.ca/ , we need our internal team to help oversee and direct the exploration and help compile our data for the coming permitting and feasibility plans we are expediting. Ken did the original modeling on Nisk, which led to our first real drilling success, and has been with the project since we took over. We are confident Ken can hit the ground running and add a ton of value right away". Commented Power Nickel CEO, Terry LynchDuncan Roy is a University of Western Ontario graduate with a BA in Political Science. He brings a sophisticated, highly experienced, and diverse knowledge base to his current role with Power Nickel. Since 2019 he has run a highly successful Capital Markets Advisory company. Prior to that, he spent over three decades plus in the brokerage industry, based in Toronto, as a retail broker with a PDO designation and various management roles."You cannot have a successful junior mining company if you cannot raise capital. To do that, you need experienced executives who can credibly present investments to individuals, brokers, and institutions. Duncan is a very successful ex-broker who is held in high esteem across the investment landscape. I would feel quite comfortable having Duncan present the Power Nickel investment and know that he will do a great job of hitting that correct level of expertise and optimism while delivering our features and benefits honestly and respectfully." Commented Power Nickel CEO, Terry LynchPrivate PlacementThe Company also wishes to announce a small hard-dollar private placement of $200,000. Up to 800,000 units issued at $0.25 per unit will consist of one common share and one share purchase warrant. Each warrant will consist of one common share exercisable for five years at $0.25, subject to an accelerated expiry provision. The warrants are subject to an acceleration clause that entitles the Company to notify holders that the warrants will expire 30 days from the date the Company provides the acceleration notice. The Company can only provide the acceleration notice if the closing price of the Company's common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange is equal to or greater than $0.50 for ten consecutive trading days. The acceleration notice can be provided at any time after the statutory hold period. Before the expiry date of the warrants, The private placement is subject to TSXV approval and is expected to close shortly.About Power Nickel Inc.Power Nickel is a Canadian junior exploration company focusing on developing the High-Grade Nisk project into Canada's first Carbon Neutral Nickel mine.On February 1, 2021, Power Nickel (then called Chilean Metals) completed the acquisition of its option to acquire up to 80% of the Nisk project from Critical Elements Lithium Corp. (CRE:TSXV)The
Naija To The World, a star-studded iconic concert exhibition, will debut on 16 September at the famous Apollo Theatre in New York.

It will celebrate the music and culture of the people of Nigerias oil-rich cities; the culture of Ken Saro-Wiwa; the culture of Burna Boy, Don Jazzy, Timaya, Rema, and so many more.

The organisers, Buckwyld Media Network and BHM, on Monday announced the initiative as well as a landmark partnership to develop and execute a range of international showcases exploring the culture and creativity of Nigeria, the home of Nollywood, Afrobeat, Jollof Rice and more.

Efe Omorogbe, Chief Executive Officer of Buckwyld Media Network and Ayeni Adekunle, founder of BHM, say the project is aimed to provide an alternative narrative to the stories out there about Nigeria and Nigerians.

They say it will also provide a platform for other aspects of Nigerian lore, culture, and experiences to travel and thrive as Nigerian music and film continue to go mainstream.

Before New York City, the exhibit will traverse several Nigerian cities from Lagos to Port Harcourt, Benin, Abuja, Jos.

Why the Niger Delta?

An initial event will focus on telling cultural stories and providing music and related experiences from the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, where at least 10 out of 20 talents in the creative industry have emerged over the past 25 years.

The area was selected because of its rich cultural history and struggled to achieve innovative and economic success and stability despite providing over 80 % of Nigerias GDP.

Mr Ayeni said the plan is to tell original African stories through live concerts, exhibitions, films, documentaries, etc.

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And the first instalment will focus on the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, where most of Nigerias crude oil comes from but continues to be troubled, abandoned, and impoverished.

He said, The world already knows this, and many have had cause to use the oil directly or indirectly. But what many do not know is that most of the African pop music dominating the world right now also comes from there (Burna Boy, For example). So we want to showcase the music, the food, the fashion, and the literature from a place many only previously associated with oil and violence.

Documentary, pop-up events

The organisers say a documentary is in the works, as well as pop-up events around Nigeria and parts of New York City.

Mr Omorogbe adds,  Apollo Theatre Concert will provide an opportunity to hear previously untold stories from the south-south region of Nigeria; and to put names, faces, and links to some of the most significant art to emerge from Nigeria over the past 100 years  from poetry to music, film, dance, and comedy.

It is expected that at least 10 million fans will participate through pop-up events and talent shows, and a series of community events around historic African communities in America.

It will culminate in the live concert exhibition at the Apollo Theatre featuring a carefully selected entourage of emerging and leading actors, comedians, designers, chefs, musicians and performers from Nigerias Niger Delta.

N2TW is the first instalment of the original African exhibition concert series, which will happen annually and feature the brightest and biggest stars from Nigeria and other parts of Africa headlining at the most iconic music venues worldwide.

Apart from live-curated concerts, the series will also produce themed biographies, biopics, and documentaries in partnership with select platforms.

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Abiola Ayeni, the wife of a Nigerian businessman and former chairperson of defunct Skye Bank, Tunde Ayeni, has revealed what God told her about her husbands alleged mistress.

Recently, Mr Ayeni has been enmeshed in a messy paternity tussle with an Abuja-based lawyer, Adaobi Alagwu.

He was alleged to have fathered a child, a daughter, with Ms Alagwu, a claim he has denied in a press statement released in March 2023.

Mr Ayeni, in the same statement, however, confirmed that he was in a relationship with Ms Alagwu that ended in 2019.

Addressing the scandal that almost wrecked her marriage in an interview with THISDAY newspaper, his wife, a mother-of-three, said God gave her a revelation.

She said that amidst the scandal and allegations threatening her 31-year-old marriage, she sought the face of God, and God gave her an answer.

Truth be told, the first thing I did when I heard the news was to check with God if indeed He would fold His arms and let anyone destroy a home He used His hands to build and guard jealously for 31 years, and He told me that her claim is untrue and I should disregard it. In the end, the truth will prevail.

The young lady knows the father of her child. And when I checked with my husband, he told me the child was not his! God has spoken, and my husband has also spoken; nothing else matters. So, I am not moved by naysayers or rumours about her claims, she said.

Warnings

Mrs Abiola, the founder of Divine Endowments, a leading fashion outlet in the United Kingdom and the U.S., said her husband had been a target for traducers because of his popularity.

She said because of his prominence, he is always in the news, adding that when a man is successful, he will have a lot of enemies, and they will write many things about him.

It may appear as if my husbands name is always associated with messy affairs with one lady or the other. Still, it doesnt change my opinion of my husband, and you cannot convince me that my husband is a flirt because I didnt marry him as a flirt, even if you show me all the evidence of how many women he has been with. Why? Because money makes a man misbehave. Friends make a man misbehave, and strange women seduce men with all manner of Jazz (juju) to make a man misbehave! she said.

Cease-and-desist

Mrs Ayeni also described Ms Alagwu as an imposter and a gold digger, insisting that her child is not a guarantee for marriage and warning her to desist from using her husbands surname.

I am not surprised the so-called girl is parading herself to be who she is not; by doing so, it becomes clear that she is a desperate gold digger and a slut who thinks she can become Mrs Ayeni by merely pinning a child on her highest paying victim. And it is quite surprising that despite her degree in Law, she needs somebody to tell her that a child is not a marriage certificate, neither does a child offer her security to maintain a fake lifestyle that she has become accustomed to. And to now think that the child does not belong to my husband makes her claim even more embarrassing.

Anyway, she has been warned through our lawyers to desist from parading herself as Mrs Ayeni because she is not and she will never be as the Lord lives. My husband and I are legally married.

As for her calling her child by my husbands surname, Ayeni is many. The child is not Tunde Ayenis child. Period! When she is tired of calling the child the borrowed name, she will change it to her fathers.

Mrs Ayeni met her husband in Law school and was called to the Nigerian bar in 1991.

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For Lawan Bukar, 50, life is truly a rollercoaster. Each time he sees a ray of hope, something rears its head and extinguishes it.

In 2014, months went by without an attack on his village in Kayamla, Konduga Local Government Area (LGA). Then suddenly, Boko Haram terrorists stormed the village one night, massacred more than 40 residents and razed houses. Those who survived the attack fled. Mr Bukar was the Bulama (village head) of the village, where he might never return.

We never thought we were going to escape the gruesome attack when it happened, he said. The attack forced his family into an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp where  although unknown to them at the time  the family members would spend the next seven years.

As an IDP at a facility of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), he abandoned farming and took to selling water in a cart because he could not keep up with the rising cost of fertiliser and lease payments for farmland.

When the government closed the IDP camp, Mr Bukar and members of his family began a strange new life. They were among the thousands evicted from the NYSC IDP camp in May 2021 and resettled in Auno, a town on the outskirts of Maiduguri, where the government had constructed 500 homes for the IDPs.

Though he was informed of the resettlement exercise this time, Mr Bukar said he never thought it would take him into destitution.

He was initially grateful to the government for providing him with a proper home for the first time since 2014. But feeding immediately became a problem for his family. Were suffering and its because theres no food. Thats why.

Reconstruction, Rehabilitation And Resettlement

IDP camps used to dot the landscape of Borno State, most of them in Maiduguri. For close to a decade, they were homes to about a million people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in the Nigerian northeast. The occupants had arrived from different communities but their stories were similar: their villages had been pillaged and plundered by heartless insurgents.

At the camp, they found some sort of solace. No Boko Haram fighter was lurking and they were fed and provided basic health care by state authorities, humanitarian organisations and philanthropists.

But when Governor Babagana Zulum was first elected in 2019, he was keen on resettling the IDPs back to their homes, or at least, out of the camps.

It is no longer sustainable for IDPs to depend on handouts coming from neither NGOs nor from NEDC or NEMA, Mr Zulum told visiting members of the House of Representatives committee on the North East Development Commission (NEDC) in September 2020.

The governor said government and its partners could no longer sustain feeding the over a million IDPs at the camps. The permanent solution was to ensure reconstruction of communities, rehabilitation and resettlement of the IDPs back to their ancestral homes in a dignified manner, he said.

You can visit any of the IDP camps, the only slogan you hear is we want to go back home, he said.

In January 2021, the government began shutting down the IDP camps, offering the occupants three options of resettlement: settle in government-established resettlement sites, return to their ancestral communities (even without a home from the government) or receive support to rent houses in the Maiduguri metropolis.

Naturally, most of the IDPs who already lost all they owned to the insurgency, opted for the government homes. But, for many, that choice did not offer what they thought it promised.

Settling into Penury

More than a dozen former IDPs interviewed across resettlement areas in the state said they felt dejected and hopeless.

Former IDPs in the Auno resettlement area in Konduga LGA, Shuwari in Jere LGA and some living outside formal resettlement areas in Maiduguri and Konduga, share similar stories of neglect and hardship.

And this is so for many reasons; at the camps, they had access to aid such as food items, monetary allowances and donations from the government, humanitarian organisations and charitable individuals.

But as soon as they were resettled, the government banned the delivery of any kind of aid to resettled communities, leaving the former IDPs in economic woes since many of them are without sustainable sources of income to cater for themselves and their families.

This has left most of them hungry and vulnerable more than a year after the resettlement exercise began, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report found.

The shutting of camps, according to the HRW, has left the former IDPs without sustainable alternatives to ensure their safety and livelihoods.

In another report, the International Crisis Group urged the government to halt the resettlement process and take steps to protect those who have been relocated from harm and access to aid and support.

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The hasty process is endangering displaced peoples lives  putting them closer to the fighting and cutting them off from support, the group said. By exposing civilians to hardship, the government risks giving jihadist groups an opportunity to forge ties with relocated communities and draw benefits from their economic activities.

These days, with no farmland of his own, Mr Bukar spends most of his time scouring the forest  sometimes accompanied by his children  for firewood, which he sells to commuters on the Maiduguri-Damaturu road just outside Auno.

A trip (to the forest) lasts up to three hours, Modu Abadam, Mr Bukars neighbour who also sells firewood, said.

We sell 30 pieces of the small ones for N100. One full cart costs between N1,000 and N1,500, said Mr Abadam, who had previously lived in Mogcolis IDP camp.

Distraught

When Sale Ali, 39, was resettled in Shuwari in Jere LGA, he hoped it would be for a few months before he was taken back to his ancestral Marte LGA. But at the time the government shut down Bakassi camp where he lived for four years, there were only 136 houses left in Marte for grabs by former IDPs, according to Mr Ali. But Marte indigenes at the camp were over 1,000 households.

The remaining of us pleaded with the lawmaker in our constituency who reached out to the governor and helped us secure a place in Shuwari, Jere, he said. We were promised that more houses and villages would be reopened in Marte and they will take us there. Thats what we are waiting for.

The father of seven spent the first 12 months idle and waiting to be relocated to Marte, where he planned to engage in farming.

As that was not forthcoming, I started going to Muna garage just to help people with their work and I get N200, N500. That was how I started getting small money. Later on, I started hawking meat in the garage, he said.

I am happy to be self-reliant but imagine a N1,000 or N1,500 daily income to feed two wives and seven children.

Although the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) occasionally supplies food items to the settlement, people like Mr Ali were not given the items. Only those registered from Farm Centre are beneficiaries.

Jugudum Salisu who receives the NEMA aid said it usually contained 10 kilogrammes of rice and beans and 20 litres of oil shared among 10 households. According to him, the supplies arrived once a month, sometimes once in two months.

An Irregular grant

For each household leaving the IDP camp, the government said it gave the man N100,000 and the woman N50,000. But some IDPs interviewed across different resettlement areas claim they received far less than that.

For instance, IDPs interviewed at the Auno resettled communities, including Messrs Bukar and Abadam, said they only received N17,000 monthly for three months. Others along the Konduga-Bama road said they received only N20,000 once. Those interviewed in Shuwari, Jere said they received between N12,000 and N20,000, suggesting either that the payments were irregular or the former IDPs were shortchanged.

The governors spokesperson, Isa Gusau, however, explained to our reporter that the grants given to the IDPs are not uniform across all resettlement areas.

According to him, the amount was determined by the peculiarities of the LGA or communities where they were being resettled.

It depends on the peculiarity of the local government area, he told our reporter in a telephone interview.

But substantially (N100,000 for men and N50,000 for women) are the commonest amounts that the governor gives. At the same time, he (the governor) looks at those who appear to be more stable, because some communities are more stable than others. So you will find out that there are communities that are more settled like IDPs who are close to Maiduguri are more settled than IDPs who are far away from Maiduguri.

Leaving a livelihood behind

Khadija Musa, 28, was not sure which was better for her between owning a home where she struggles to feed and living in an IDP camp with enough to feed her children. Eventually, she settled for the latter.

I was more comfortable at the camp, she said. I have a job there, I sew and earn. My children have more freedom and access to Islamiyya education, which I pay for every month.

At the IDP camp, Ms Musa said she was employed by an organisation she referred simply to as Rescue. The organisation had sewing machines with which she sewed clothes and got paid.

There, three of her four children, Umaima, 15, Zarau, 13, and Muhammad, 10, attended a no-fee-paying school in the camp and an Islamiyya (Islamic School) outside the camp. She said she paid a monthly tuition of N500 per child at the Islamiyya because she had a job.

I am very proficient with the sewing machine. They pay me based on how much work I do for them. Sometimes I get up to N15,000 or N20,000 depending on how many clothes I sew. But I stopped when we left the camp because the sewing equipment was not mine. It was for the organisation, she said.

Now in Auno, all she does to feed her children is trek long distances to the forest to fetch firewood for sale.

About a year ago, she fell ill and doctors at the Umaru Shehu General Hospital in Maiduguri told her to avoid carrying heavy items.

Although she did not stop going to fetch firewood, which she believed contributed to her ill health, she has reduced her trips. Now she works as a farmhand at a neighbouring village, earning N500 a day, which she said barely sustains her and her children.

Experts speak on sustainability

A lot of the resettlement areas are not sustainable, a senior analyst at the Crisis Group, Vincent Foucher, said.

He said PREMIUM TIMES findings echoed what his organisation found in an earlier report.

There are next to no employment opportunities, mobility is constrained, markets are supplied poorly or expensively, there is not enough secure access to land, he said.

Even though the government constructed schools and health centres in the resettled communities, Mr Foucher said access to the facilities remains weak. Even when buildings have been rebuilt, they are not always manned, he said.

A senior fellow at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Bulama Bukarti, said a lack of sustainable livelihoods for IDPs to meet their basic needs could result in a cycle of dependency that would hinder their ability to integrate into society effectively.

He called for the provision of quality access to social welfare services as well as monitoring and evaluating the measures already taken to see how well they work.

Regular monitoring and evaluation of the resettlement schemes progress and impact are crucial. This helps in identifying gaps, assessing the effectiveness of interventions, and making informed adjustments to improve outcomes, he said.

Government wants to see livelihoods back in the LGAs

But Governor Zulums spokesperson, Mr Gusau, insisted that the resettlement exercise prioritises means of livelihood and basic amenities for the resettled communities.

He said the governments vision for the exercise was to see that livelihoods are back in the local government areas because unless you have livelihoods you continue to have a dependency on food aid.

According to him, there are standing committees in each of the resettled areas that monitor and give reports on the progress of livelihood returning to the resettled communities.

He said: The governor has a way of injecting money into these communities to support people who are willing to do different kinds of businesses. Normally, anytime they settle, theres always a provision for people, for livelihood and then theres a monitoring mechanism of ensuring that this is.

Recently, the government released 312 tractors that will be given to communities who will form cooperatives among the farmers. The majority of the farmers are IDPs who have been resettled, and the majority of those that will benefit are IDPs who have been relocated and are going back into agriculture, he said.

*This is the first of a two-part report. The report was funded by grants from the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development

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Courtney Kilger has been to Woodlawn Beach exactly three times. The third time was earlier this month when she visited with her 15-year-old twins and her friend.

The first time was in 2007. Try as she might, she will never forget it. On that summer day, she watched as a child who had been swimming in Lake Erie with her friends was pulled from the water and rescuers began trying to resuscitate her. Two days later, 10-year-old Bethany Morgan died.

Teen drowns at Woodlawn Beach State police said troopers responded to a call at 5:30 p.m. Monday after two teenage boys entered the water at the beach and one of them, Aiden R. Walden, 16, of Lackawanna, was unable to keep his head above water. He was later pronounced dead at Mercy Hospital.

It will stick with me forever, Kilger said.

She was forced to relive that moment last week when a friend sent her an article about another drowning, this one taking the life of Aidan R. Walden, 16, of Lackawanna, who similarly was swimming at Woodlawn with friends and had to be pulled from the water. He was pronounced dead the same day at Mercy Hospital.

Authorities have not determined what caused Aidan to be unable to keep his head above water. They said that he was in an area not designated for swimming, although his family does not believe that was the case. But his death at one of Western New Yorks most popular beaches became a tragic reminder that enjoying Lake Erie, even with others and under the eye of lifeguards, can be perilous.

Questions raised about lifeguards in drowning Family members doubt whether the response was quick enough Bethany Rose Morgan went for a swim at Woodlawn Beach last week and drowned beneath Lake Eries waves. Some people say it was just a tragic accident. Others, however, say the three lifeguards on the beach didnt act quickly  that only one lifeguard went into the water and that wasnt until the victims sister had already found her

In 2019, a Pennsylvania man drowned near Ripley Beach in Chautauqua County after he and three other people had gone to the area to go cliff jumping.

In 2018, a man who apparently ran into trouble while kiteboarding died in the lake in Hamburg.

In 2015, a Buffalo woman drowned while attempting to rescue her 11-year-old daughter at Wendt Beach Park. The child was saved when a police officer pulled her from the water.

People underestimate how quickly Lake Erie actually ticks up, said Ron Klimowicz, chief of operations for the Hamburg Water Rescue Unit.

The water rescue unit was not involved in the drowning at Woodlawn Beach last week, and Klimowicz said he does not know the circumstances surrounding the incident. But he has been rescuing people on the lake for 31 years with the water rescue unit.

For Erie and the Great Lakes as a whole, 2018 ties a deadly record In all, 99 people have died so far this year on the Great Lakes, tying 2012 and 2016 for the highest number of deaths on record, data from the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project

The waters of Lake Erie are deceptive. The National Weather Service issued a beach hazard statement for Lake Erie in Erie and Chautauqua counties Thursday because of strong currents and dangerous swimming conditions.

It is a very shallow lake, shallowest of the great lakes. It kicks up very quickly, sometimes in a matter of minutes, he said.

Bethany Morgans death in 2007 also happened at Woodlawn, when she apparently was hit by a wave and did not resurface. At the time, her family had recently moved to New York from San Francisco, where she swam in San Francisco Bay. Bethanys mother, Suzanne Morgan, described her as a swimmer and said that she had been swimming since she was a little girl, according to a Buffalo News article on her death.

You wouldnt think that a 10-year-old girl, who came from the San Francisco Bay Area and was a strong swimmer, would drown in such shallow waters, Kilger said.

Another hazard in the lake is a rip current, which is caused by high winds and is difficult to see under the surface of the water.

Deaths of 2 teens underscore perils of swimming in waters posted as unsafe The Union Ship Canal in South Buffalo is a tempting swimming hole, especially on a hot summer evening. But there is one problem. Theres no easy way to get out of the water if you are jumping from the pedestrian-bike bridge that spans the

Stronger winds create higher waves crashing into the shore, according to David Thomas, a meteorologist in the weather services Buffalo office. The water has to go back away from the shore, and sometimes can carry a swimmer away from the shoreline.

Its the water going back out that causes these dangerous rip currents, Thomas said. The primary driver is the strong winds, creating the higher waves and more frequent waves.

On Monday, Aidan Walden was unable to keep his head above water, according to state police. He was pulled out of the water by beachgoers and friends.

We dont have the autopsy report yet to know if it was drowning or if maybe it was a medical reason which caused him to go under, State Trooper James OCallaghan said Wednesday.

OCallaghan said State Parks Police arrived at the scene, as well as the Woodlawn Fire Department, which took over life-saving measures. He confirmed that a lifeguard was present on duty at the time. Aidan was transported to Mercy Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. According to an onlooker, the incident occurred on an unguarded part of the beach.

OCallaghan said that it is still unknown if Walden went out into waters that were too deep.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday said plans are underway to deliver 1,800 vials of Diphtheria Antitoxin (DAT) to Nigeria early August.

The WHO country representative, Walter Mulombo, made this known at a joint press conference on diphtheria outbreak response organised by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).

Mr Mulombo said WHO was requested by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), to procure DAT and Erythromycin IV for diphtheria case management.

Erythromycin IV refers to intravenous administration of the antibiotic medication erythromycin. Erythromycin is a macrolide antibiotic that is used to treat various bacterial infections, he said.

It works by inhibiting the growth of bacteria, thereby helping the bodys immune system to fight off the infection.

He said that the 1800 vials of DAT are expected to arrive Nigeria on 2 August, and erythromycin in one to two weeks time, pending government authorisation.

These health commodities are essential for saving lives and reducing the sequelae in the affected patients, thus the need to be prepositioned in Nigeria and ready to be deployed to the states in need, he said.

WHO support

Mr Mulombo disclosed that recently the NCDC requested support from WHO for the deployment of 18 rapid response teams to support response in Bauchi, Kaduna and Katsina states.

He said the deployment process is underway following the requested profile and a mix of the workforce from the Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme (NFELTP), and WHO staff will be used.

He noted that the WHO team is on the ground in Yobe and Kano states to improve the surveillance at the health facility and community level, supporting the active case search and supporting the decentralised isolation centres and referral to the state reference treatment centres.

He said WHO is also supporting the procurement of laboratory commodities to increase the result turnaround time to support the case definition and management at an early stage.

Zero dose children

The UNICEF Chief of Health in Nigeria, Eduardo Celades, said the country is home to the second-largest number of zero-dose children in the world.

Mr Celades said, so far the country has been able to reach about 150,000 children while stressing that more needed to be done.

He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has fuelled a recurrence of diphtheria in the country.

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Zero-dose children remain vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases, along with under-immunised or missed dose children, which refers to those who do not complete their immunisation as stated in the National Immunisation schedule, he said.

He urged k her the government, traditional, religious, and community leaders, to create partnerships to ensure that every child in the country is immunised.

I also implore mothers and caregivers to ensure that children receive all relevant childhood vaccines as contained in the countrys routine immunisation schedule.

About Diphtheria

Diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection caused by the Corynebacterium species that affects the nose, throat, and sometimes, the skin of an individual.

The NCDC noted that people most at risk of contracting diphtheria are children and adults who have not received any or a single dose of the pentavalent vaccine, people who live in a crowded environment, in areas with poor sanitation and healthcare workers who are exposed to suspected or confirmed cases of diphtheria.

The agency noted that the disease spreads easily between people through direct contact with infected people, droplets from coughing or sneezing, and contact with contaminated clothing and objects.

The symptoms of diphtheria include fever, runny nose, sore throat, cough, red eyes (conjunctivitis) and neck swelling. In severe cases, NCDC said, a thick grey or white patch appears on the tonsils and/or at the back of the throat, causing difficulty in breathing.

From May 2022 to July 2023, an estimated 2,455 suspected cases have been reported in 26 states in Nigeria.

As of July 27, 2023, 836 of these cases have been confirmed in 33 LGAs across eight states: Cross River, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Lagos, Osun, Yobe, and FCT.

Tragically, 83 deaths have been reported from these confirmed cases, making vaccination against this deadly disease critically important, especially for children.

About DAT

Diphtheria Antitoxin is a medication used to treat diphtheria, a bacterial infection that can cause severe respiratory distress and other complications.

The antitoxin is administered to patients who have been diagnosed with diphtheria to neutralise the toxins produced by the bacteria and prevent further damage to the body.

The number of vials required for treatment can vary depending on the severity of the infection and the patients condition.

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The Senate will on Monday commence the screening of the 28 ministerial nominees of President Bola Tinubu.

After 59 days in office, Mr Tinubu transmitted the list of the nominees to the upper legislative chamber on Thursday, a day before the expiration of the 60-day constitutional deadline of 28 July,

Like past Nigerian leaders, the president did not attach their portfolios.

The nominees, drawn from 25 states of the federation, comprise four former governors, six former federal lawmakers, two former lawmakers, three serving presidential advisers, and seven women, among others.

Femi Gbajabiamila, Mr Tinubus chief of staff, said the president would submit the list of nominees from the remaining 11 states soon.

Ahead of the screening, the federal government had asked the nominees to complete their documentation at the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President at the National Assembly complex between Friday and Monday (today) to enable them to undergo the exercise.

The Senate has promised a thorough exercise. Its spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, told journalists Thursday that Nigerians would not be disappointed with how it would conduct the screening.

This time, screening will be very thorough. It is not going to be a situation where the screening will be anyhow. We are going to know the background of the nominees, and we are not going to disappoint Nigerians. It is not going to be a shallow screening. You must have character; you must have the face, you must have the behaviour to be among the cabin crew to fly Nigeria. This time around, Nigeria is going to be better, Mr Adaramodu said.

It is speculated that the screening for which the Senate shifted its annual recess may take a minimum of three days.

The 109-member Senate is expected to grill the nominees on the value they will add to governance if confirmed.

As the tradition of the upper chamber is, the three senators from each of the states where nominees hail from may set the tone for the screening by either speaking in support or against each nominee before questions are put to them by senators.

However, some, notably former and serving lawmakers, may just be asked to take a bow and go. Although it is a privilege the lawmakers enjoy, some Nigerians and democrats have in the past criticised the method, saying it does not show seriousness on the part of the lawmakers in ensuring thorough scrutiny of nominees.

Yet some of the nominees may not get accelerated clearance like the former lawmakers, especially if there are petitions written against them or if there is a need to extract more information from them on the suspicion that they will be posted to certain ministries.

At the end of the exercise, the Senate will reject or confirm the nominees at the committee of the Whole, after which the senate president will announce the decision of the lawmakers.

PREMIUM TIMES will bring you live updates of the screening from the Senate chamber. Also, follow us on our Facebook, YouTube and Twitter channels.

The ministerial nominees

South-south

Nyesom Wike  Rivers

Abubakar Momoh  Edo

Betta Edu  Cross River

Ekperikpe Ekpo  Akwa Ibom

Stella Okotette  Delta

John Enoh  Cross River

South-west

Olubunmi Tunji Ojo  Ondo

Dele Alake  Ekiti

Olawale Edun  Ogun

Waheed Adebayo Adelabu  Oyo

South-east

Uche Nnaji  Enugu

Doris Aniche Uzoka  Imo

David Umahi  Ebonyi

Nkeiruka Onyejocha  Abia

Uju Kennedy Ohaneye  Anambra

North-east

Yusuf Maitama Tuggar  Bauchi

Ali Pate Bauchi

Abubakar Kyari  Borno

Sani Abubakar Danladi  Taraba

North-west

Badaru Abubakar  Jigawa

Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufai  Kaduna

Ahmed Dangiwa  Katsina

Hannatu Musawa  Katsina

Bello Muhammad Goronyo  Sokoto

North central

Lateef Fagbemi  Kwara

Muhammad Idris  Niger

Iman Suleiman Ibrahim  Nasarawa

Joseph Utsev  Benue

The first ministerial screening under the current democratic dispensation, which began in 1999, was conducted in June of that year. President Olusegun Obasanjo had transmitted the list of ministerial nominees to the Senate on 4 June, 1999, about six days after he was inaugurated on 29 May, 1999. The list contained some members of the opposition All Peoples Party (APP) now defunct, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and some military friends of the former president. Prominent among them were late Bola Ige, former Chief of Army Staff, Theophilus Danjuma, Tony Anenih, David Jemibewon, Kanu Agabi, Adamu Ciroma, Tunde Adeniran and Olusegun Agagu. The Senate under the leadership of a former Imo governor, Evan Enwerem, cleared them and they were inaugurated on 30 June, 1999 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

On 23 June, 2003, about 25 days after he was sworn in for a second term, President Obasanjo forwarded a list of 42 ministerial nominees to the Senate then under the leadership of Adolphus Wabara for confirmation.

Some of the nominees included Rabiu Kwankwaso, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nasir El-Rufai, Isa Yuguda, Eyitayo Lambo, Cormelius Adebayo, Edmund Daukoru, Iyorchia Ayu, and Oluyemi Adeniji. The Senate cleared those screened but dropped the Ekiti nominee, Babalola Borishade.

About four ministers that served in the 1999-2003 cabinet returned. They are Muktar Shagari (Sokoto), Adamu Bello (Adamawa), Odion Ugbesia (Edo) and Turner Isoun (Bayelsa). Mr Obasanjo inaugurated 33 of them on 18 July, 2003. Among them was Mr El-Rufai who is one of the nominees of President Bola Tinubu 20 years after.

That year there were also allegations that some of the nominees bribed the senators to clear them.

The Senate is getting set to commence the screening of President Bola Tinubus nominees. The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has just arrived at the National Assembly complex. He arrived at exactly 12.33 p.m. in company with his deputy, Barau Jibrin, Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele and other principal officers.

The Senate President is leading the prayer for commencement of the session at 12:41 pm.

At 12:43 pm, the Senate President is observing the vote and proceedings of the last session

The voting and proceedings of Thursday 27 July, 2023 has just been adopted at 12:45p.m.

Deputy Leader of the Senate, Dave Umahi, is representing the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele.

Mr Umahi called for presentation of motion at 12:50 p.m.

Kawu Sumaila (Kano NNPP) presenting his motion on the need to avert the impending NLC strike slated for 2 August.

He is requesting that the Senate should urge leadership of the NLC to shelve the planned strike and continue negotiations with the federal government.

The motion has been seconded by Abass Iya (PDP Adamawa Central)

The motion is being debated..

The Senate adopts the motion on NLC

The motion to admit ministerial nominees into the Senate chamber for screening. moved by Senator David Umahi, the deputy leader of the Senate has been adopted. The motion was seconded by the Minority Leader, Darlington Nwokocha.

The deputy senate leader, David Umahi, reads out the name of the nominees with a view to admitting them as well as SSA to the President on National Assembly Matters into the chambers. He cited Section 12 (1) and I (a) and (b) of the Senate rules.

The Senate approved that the nominees will come into the chamber for screening one after the other.

The Senate President ruled that the Senate dissolves into Committee of the Whole to commence the screening.

The Committee of the Whole is when the entire Senate becomes a committee, and the Senate President moves from his seat to the lower seat and therefore, becomes Chairman.

The first nominee, Abubakar Momoh, from Edo State is admitted into the chamber for screening.

Mr Momoh, a civil engineer by profession, was a two-time member of the House of Representatives.

Mr Momoh answers questions from the senators. He says he is sufficiently equipped to face any challenges to the best of his ability in any ministry he would be deployed to. He has been asked to take a bow.

Mr Akpabio tells Mr Momoh not to go there and close his doors. He advised him to work collaboratively with the lawmakers when he becomes a minister.

Mr Momoh is a former member of the Edo State House of Assembly and House of Representatives. He was the senatorial candidate of the PDP in 2019. A graduate of the University of Benin and did his postgraduate at the University of Lagos. He said he will bring his wealth of experience to bear if confirmed. He said several people, about 20 or 30 senators, that can bear witness to his character. Mr Akpabio declared that the Senate will continue the take a bow process unless there is a petition or issues around the character of the person.

He asked the nominee to speak briefly on ideas he hopes to bring.

Mr Momoh said he will work in-line with the ideas and programmes of his party, the APC.

He was subsequently asked to take a bow.

The Senate has extended its sitting period to be able to continue with the screening.

Mr Umahi moved the motion under Order 8(3). The motion allowed the senate to extend the sitting beyond 2 p.m.

At 1:50 pm , Nyesom Wike, former Governor of Rivers State and the nominee from the state has been allowed into the chamber. Mr Wike is currently addressing the Senate.

Mr Wike, a member of the PDP, is not new to ministerial screening. He was nominated by former President Goodluck Jonathan to serve as ministers of state for education.

His nomination is generating reactions within the PDP and there are elements within the party that are calling for his expulsion.

The Senate president says before the senator, is a man that needs no introduction. He said Mr Wike has the passion and he (Akpabio) had gone to commission a project in Rivers State. He asked Wike not to close the doors against the poor as well as lawmakers after hes posting to a ministry.

The Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, asked him if he would repeat his achievements in Rivers at the federal level. The Senate President did not allow him to answer the question. Mr Akpabio instead asked the Rivers State senators if they have any objection to Mr Wikes nomination. Senator Barigha who spoke on behalf of the other Rivers senators, said they are in support and that Mr Wikes is their best and their role model. He also said Rivers people back home are also in support of the former governors nomination.

Mr Wike has been asked by the senate president to take a bow and go.

At 2:04pm, Mr Wike to took a bow and stepped out of the senate chamber. Mr Wike did not respond to questions from the senators before taking a bow.

Mr Akpabio explained why Mr Wike was not allowed to answer questions. He said Mr Wike was once a ministerial nominee and had appeared before the Senate at the time and they have his record.

Mr Wike had told the Senate I constructed 12 flyovers, not just by any contractor but Julius Berger.. In my four years in second term, I never slept outside the state. I stayed all through in Rivers. He stated that he is driven by passion. He noted that even Mr Akpabio once came to Rivers State to commission projects.

Professor Joseph Utsev, from Benue State, introduces himself. He speaks about his educational qualifications.

Prof. Utsev was asked a question on water harvesting and his academic records.

He went to primary school in 1984 and got his first school leaving certificate in 1989 (Primary. He started secondary school in 1990 and got his SSCE in 1985. He graduated from the university in 2014 though he was supposed to graduate in 1983 but because of the prolonged strike.

According to his CV, Mr Utsev was born in 1980 and graduated with first leaving certificate in 1989. This means that the nominee started primary education at the age of three and finished six years later in 1989.

Senator Abba Moro, who was his classmate, said the discrepancies may have come from typographical error. He said records dont lie and if you look at what he has as qualification and what he has achieved he should be given the benefit of the doubt.

Senator Moro says he comes from the part of Benue State that is a minority, He appealed that in bringing more names as ministerial nominees, President Tinubu should appoint somebody from his constituency, Benue South.

Mr Akpabio asked Prof. Utsev should go and look at his CV again if there are typographical errors.

Mr Utsev disclosed that he spent most of his working career in academia.

Questions have been raised on inconsistency in his CV. Tokunbo Abiru (APC, Lagos) raised the issue of inconsistency in the Mr Utsevs CV.

Mr Abiru also raised question on the nominees primary education and his date of birth.

In address the question around his university education, Mr Utsev said university strike prolonged his stay in University, that he spent 6years for a 5years program.

Sen Titus Zam, Benue Northwest, raised point of order on personal explanation.

He said there is no discrepancy in the academic qualification of the nominee.

Mr Akpabio explained to senators that screening and confirmation are not the same thing. He said lawmakers are allowed to raise questions during screening, however, the Senate will take their decision on confirmation later.

He added that no questions will be tolerated on the discrepancy.

The Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, now presides as Mr Akpabio stepped out.

Utsev answers questions put to him on preserving water. The nominee said if posted to the water resources ministry, he will work with other relevant ministries on the matter and provide irrigation.

Prof. Utsev takes his exit from the chamber.

Senator Abubakar Kyari ushered into the chambers for screening. Mr Kyari is currently the acting national chairman of the ruling APC. He is from Borno and was a member of the 8th and 9th Senate.The deputy senate president introduces him.

Mr Kayri has been asked to leave being a former senator.

Former Senator John Enoh from Cross River State is about to be screened.

The deputy senate introduced him and asked him to speak to the senators.

Mr Enoh said he was a senator in the 8th senator and a three-time member of the House of Representatives where he chaired various committees including finance and appropriate. He said he graduated in Sociology as the best student at the University of Calabar.

Mr Enoh was asked to take a bow and go, being a former senator.

Barrister Bello Mohammed introduces himself. He was born in Goronyo LGA in Sokoto State. He said he had his education in Sokoto State and later attended Nigeria Law School, Bwari, Abuja. He said he was elected into Sokoto Assembly in 2007 where he served as deputy minority leader and later as a commissioner. He said he is a happy man. He said he was a director of the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Committee. He said he is widely travelled and has four kids. He expressed sincere gratitude to President Tinubu for nominating him as minister.

Senator Aminu Tambuwal said he had worked closely with the nominee and asked the Senate to confirm him.

The Senate President returns to his seat.

Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi) asked the nominee questions on what he would do to address the challenges Nigerian pilgrims faced in Saudi Arabia during Hajj. Mr Ningi asked the question based on the nominees CV, who served as a member of the Transport Committee to the 2015 hajj.

Jimoh Ibrahim (APC, Ondo) asked the nominee questions around the defence sector. He specifically asked what the minister would do to end insurgency in the North-east if confirmed and give the Ministry of Defence Portfolio.

The education qualification of Mr Goronyo was challenged because he had only two credits in his SSCE.

He had only two credits in the SSCE certificate he submitted. He was aksed how he used that to get admission to the university. Mr Mohammed responded that he only submitted the two-credit certificate because the Constitution only require SSCE for anyone to be a minister.

Mr Akpabio wondered why he selected the certificates he would share with the Senate. He said Nigerian would like to know more about their ministers including number of wives and children.

The senate president asked the nominee to return with his remaining certificates, not necessarily to the senate in session.

But he was interjected by Mr Akpabio, who stated that the nominees cannot pick and choose what they feel like. He asked Mr Muhammed to bring other certificates to the Senate.

He was subsequently asked to take a bow and go.

The Senate ordered the nominee from Sokoto, Bello Muhammed to go home and bring other certificates of his secondary school which he uses to secure admission into the university and represent it to the Senate.

The Senate President said we will give the nominee time to bring other certificate.

Next is the immediate past governor of Jigawa State, Mohammed Abubakar Badaru.

The former governor of Jigawa State (2015-2023), stated that he already sent his CV to the Senate.

He dwelt more on his entrepreneurial endeavours. According to him, he started as a trader and built his business into a multi-billion Naira conglomerate.

Mr Badaru said he brought his background as a trader to bear in governance. He said his commitment to value for money earned him the name Mr Calculator.

The nominee was later asked to take a bow and go without being asked any question.

The next nominee that is about to be screened is Yusuf Maitama Tuggar from Bauchi State. He is currently Nigerias ambassador to Germany. He is currently introducing himself.

Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi) speaks about the nominee. He said he has now known him for about 30 years. He said Mr Tuggars nomination gives him an impression that President Tinubu knows what he wants. He said the nominee has the capacity and education to handle any ministry he is given. He said Mr Tuggar will deliver the democratic dividends when the time comes. Mr Ningi, who is also the chairman of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF), added that he is committed.

Mr Akpabio sought to know why he didnt attach his birth certificate. Mr Tuggar gave some explanation. The senate president said as a former member of the House of Representatives, he should take a bow and go but should provide his birth certificate and other documents later to the Senate. He congratulated him on his nomination, not confirmation.

Senator Abubakar Sani Danladi from Taraba State is undergoing screening. He was once the deputy governor and acting governor of the state. He is introducing himself.

Senator Abdul Ningi brought a point of order and complained about how senators are moving around, stating that it does not show seriousness in the assignment at hand. Mr Akpabio said the point of order is sustained and asked those moving about to go back to their seats.

Continuing with Senator Danladis screening, Mr Akpabio asked any Taraba senator to speak about the nominee.

The Taraba central senator said that Tarabans back home are happy with Mr Danladis nomination given his track record. He urged the Senate to allow him to take a bow and go.

Mr Danladi said as a former councillor, former chairman and former senator and that with this experience, I want to assure you that Ill do everything within my capacity to serve Nigeria.

The senate president said though he has the privilege to bow and go but he should address the allegation that he was barred by the Supreme Court from holding public office. Mr Danladi said it was the handiwork of his enemy, stating that the supreme court never gave any judgement barring him for 10 years.

The senate president has asked Mr Danladi to take a bow.

The next nominee is Uju Kennedy Ohaneye from Anambra State. She was the only female APC presidential aspirant in 2022 but withdrew for Mr Tinubu.

Mrs Ohaneye while introducing herslf spoke about her desire for to help the poor and the less privileged and what she has done in that direction.

In the process of going to the hospital, I saw a lot of challenges that poor people are going through. I joined to the presidential race just to free sufferings of the poor people.

She further explained that her credentials got burnt but she has gotten replacements. Speaking on poverty, Ms Ohanenye identified the use of town-criers as means of sensitisation of the people.

I will introduce town criers for sensitisation of Nigerians, she said. She also lamented the plight of civil servants.

Senator Victor Umeh, the senator representing Anambra central where Ms Ohaneye hails from, asked the Senate to allow her to go considering her achievements and the efforts she made to help the poor and less privileged.

She said all three senators support her nomination.. He said the nominee is our own Mother Theresa.

Sunday Karimi (APC, Kogi) flagged the tax certificate submitted by the nominee. He said despite the claim of philanthropy by the nominee, she only declared N1million as her income in 2018.

Looking at your Tax clearance, would you say that you have been paying enough? In 2018, you declared N1 million, in 2021, you declared N450,000, he said.

In an attempt to defend the nominee, Ifeanyi Ubah, a senator from Anambra State, claimed that she spent her money on charity, hence, the low taxes.

In response to the issues raised concerning her taxes, she claimed that with what she is doing, she is not supposed to be paying taxes.

In normal circumstances, I am not supposed to pay taxes. I have not mentioned one-tenth of the things I am doing. I will continue to do my best, he said.

She also opposed the idea of conditional cash transfer.

I will not give N5,000 but I will create urban centres, bring machinery to train people, he said.

The senate president then asked her to bow and go.

Mr Olubunmi Ojo, the nominee from Ondo State. In the 9th Assembly, he served as the Chairman of the House Committee on NDDC.

He, alongside, Mr Akpabio, then as Niger Delta minister,was involved in the 2021 NDDC probe. He had to recuse himself during the NDDC probe as he was accused by the management of the NDDC of corruption.

Questions were also raised by one of the senators on his academic qualifications, particularly his NYSC certificate.

According to the credentials provided by the nominee, he was born in 1982, but he served in 2020.

Explaining the discrepancy, Mr Ojo said he graduated from a University in the UK in 2005, but served in 2020 because the law allows foreign students under 30 years old to serve at any time upon return to Nigeria.

The next nominee is Nkiruka Onyejeocha from Abia State. She is introducing herself.

Darlingtom Nwokocha, a senator from Abia State and Minority Leader, said he and the other senators from the state, Enyinnaya Abaribe and Orji Kalu, presented a document supporting Mrs Onyejeocha. He said she is a ranking lawmaker who has a lot of experience. and will do well as a senator.

She has been asked to bow and go being a former member of the House of Representatives.

The next nominee is Betty Edu, the National women leader of the APC. The senate president asked her if she had anything to say about herself.

Mrs Edu, a medical doctor, is introducing herself. She talks about her educational qualification, political career and her achievements as a public servant.

The senate president recognizes Senator Gbenga Daniel (APC, Ogun East) to speak. Mr Daniel said though he is not from Cross River State he is prepared to recommend Mrs Edu to the Senate. He said the nominee was his coordinator in her state when he was running for the chairmanship of that other party (PDP).

Mr Akpabio however asked Mr Daniel not to personalise his comments of the nominee. Continuing, Mr Daniel recommended Mrs Edu for confirmation.

Senator Sani Musa is the next to speak. He spoke about Mrs Edus tenure as health commissioner in Cross River during the Covid-19 in 2020 and asked her what she is bringing to the table, if confirmed.

Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central) asked her what she will do so that doctors dont leave Nigeria in droves for other countries to practice.

Senator Adebule from Lagos asked her what she will do to put women appropriately where they belong and ensure that many women assume the position of responsibility in the country.

Senator Osita of Enugu West Senatorial District asked Mrs Edu about the National Health Insurance Scheme to make it more available to Nigerians and make it more more effective.

Senator Abdulaziz Yari asked if given the Health portfolio what she will do to receive teaching hospital, state hospital, Federal Medical Centres as well as arresting strikes.

Mrs Edu, in response to one of the questions, said 60 per cent of Nigerians pay out of pocket and look forward for a better health sector

The begining of the problem we have is governance. We must get the governance right to the health sector. Who are those managing the governance and health sector?

What Nigeria can do on doctors strike, you can change the payment structure for health workers, they are leaving because countries like Saudi Arabia promises better welfare

I also want to suggest that as a matter of urgency, the facilities in our hospital should be improved.

She also lamented the lack of coordination among health institutions in Nigeria.

She further said Nigeria failed to take advantage of the pandemic to fund healthcare in Nigeria.

Mrs Edu also noted that governance is essential. To stem the outflow of doctors, she suggested better pay, a good working environment for doctors and the creation of employment for doctors outside the hospitals.

On NHIS, she advocated mandatory health insurance.

On women, she urged the Senate to give support to women legislations that will address inequality and gender gaps.

Mrs Edu was later asked to take a bow and leave after answering the questions.

The next nominee just ushered into the chamber is Iman Suleiman Ibrahim from Nasarawa State.

The senate president said the senators have her resume but if there is anything she wants to add she should do so. The nominee introduces herself. She spoke about her education which she had in Nigeria. She said she is a graduate of the University of Abuja where she studied Sociology. The nominee, who was DG of NAPTIP, said she will be dedicated to her duty as minister if confirmed.

The Nasarawa South senator said the nominee is a seasoned public servant. He said the three senators from Nasarawa State are unanimous in endorsing her for the ministerial position. He asked that she be allowed to take a bow and go.

However, Senator Babangida Hussaini of Jigawa State asks her what she will do if she is appointed women affairs minister and also stops young Nigerian girls from being taken out of the country.

Abia senator, Darlingtom Nwokocha, asked how many IDP camps Nigeria have and how necessary education can be given to them.

Also, Senator Mohammed Monguno of Borno North asked if posted to Humanitarian Affairs what step she would take to ameliorate the lives of those displaced by terrorist activities.

Responding to the questions, Ms Sulaiman-Ibrahim, who was also Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, said the total number of IDPs in Nigeria is more than five million from about three million it was. She explained that the number almost doubled due to last years flooding. She emphasised the need for data in the management of IDPs.

The Senate President asked her about her performance as the Chairperson of NAPTIP.

She explained that before she joined NAPTIP, the agency had lost most of its partners and donors. She said NAPTIP was able to get the partners back in the six months she spent there as DG.

When I arrived at NAPTIP, we lost most of our partners, no country can fight human trafficking in isolation. The major achievement of my tenure in NAPTIP is repositioning of the agency, he said.

When asked by Mr Akpabio if NAPTIP was able to successfully prosecute any notorious traffickers during her tenure, she said, We were able to prosecute over 300 cases. The most celebrated one was a Madam in the UK. She was based in the UK but arrested in Edo State by the International Police.

After screening 14 out of the 28 nominees, the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, moved a motion for the Senate to revert to plenary to report progress. The motion was seconded by the Minority Leader, Simon Mwadkwon, and it was carried.

At about 6:15pm, the Senate majority leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, moved a motion to adjourn the plenary till the next legislative day, Tuesday 1 August.

The Minority Leader, Simon Mwadkwon (PDP, Plateau North) seconded the motion.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, therefore ruled to adjourn the plenary till Tuesday.

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Dozens of coup apologists and protesters in Niger on Sunday attacked the French embassy while denouncing France and waving Russias flag.

According to AFP, the protesters set a door at the embassy ablaze before they were dispersed by the army.

Many in Francophone Africa have in recent years expressed resentment for the former colonial power (France) with some of the countries cutting ties with France and expelling French diplomats from their soil.

The coup in Niger has seen the same reaction from Nigeriens who hit the streets chanting Down with France as they wave Russias flag. It remains unclear if Russia is involved in Niger as the waving of the former Soviet Unions flag at the dawn of coups, which are now increasing in West Africa especially, has now become a pattern.

However, Russias private military contractor, Wagner, is operating in Mali and suspected to have foot prints in Burkina Faso.

French President Emmanuel Macron said attacks on France and its interests would not be tolerated and anyone who attacks French citizens will see an immediate response.

France had also suspended, with immediate effect, all its development aid and budget support to Niger while calling for an immediate return to constitutional order under President Bazoum, elected by the people of Niger.

Niger was a French colony until 1960. Until last Wednesdays coup, Niger had been seen as the Wests reliable partner battling jihadists in Africas Sahel region.

France has 1,500 soldiers in the country who conduct joint operations with the Nigeriens. The United States and other European countries have helped train the nations troops.

ECOWAS and the African Union have issued a seven days and 15 days ultimatum respectively to coup plotters to return to democracy and reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

While ECOWAS said it could deploy force after the seven days period should coup plotters not comply, the AU did not state what it would do.

President of Chad in Niger

President of Chad, General Mahamat Deby was in Niger on Sunday after a brief consultation visit to Abuja at the invitation of the Nigerian President.

In a post he shared on X, he said in Niamey, I had in-depth discussions with the leaders of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland (CNSP), in particular General Abdourahamane Tchiani, with President Mohamed Bazoum as well as former President Mahamadou Issoufou in a fraternal approach which aims to explore all avenues in order to find a peaceful solution to the crisis which is shaking this neighboring country.

Mr Deby shared pictures of himself standing with the three men including President Bazoum of Niger who has not spoken since Thursday. It is also the first picture of him since the coup on Wednesday.

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President Bola Tinubu on Monday said the federal government is working with the Labour unions on a new national minimum wage for Nigerian workers.

Mr Tinubu spoke in a presidential broadcast to Nigerians Monday evening.

The president promised that the upward review would be reflected in the next budget once the agreement is reached with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

The president added that the federal government has saved over one trillion naira in the past two months following the removal of the subsidy on petrol.

Some of the savings will be used as low-interest loans for businesses, including small, medium and micro enterprises, the president said.

Once we agree on the new minimum wage and general upward review, we will make budget provision for it for immediate implementation, he noted.

Nigerias minimum wage of N30,000 was approved in 2019 following the passage of the Minimum Wage Bill by the National Assembly.

In May, before Mr Tinubu was sworn in, he promised that his administration would provide a living wage for Nigerian workers because the existing national minimum wage was not enough.

In Nigeria, I shall have the honour and privilege to lead from May 29. Workers will have more than a minimum wage. You will have a living wage to have a decent life and provide for your families, he said.

Since he assumed power, Mr Tinubu has introduced some economic policies that render the minimum wage inadequate for the average salary earner.

The government announced the removal of fuel subsidy in May and consolidated efforts to unify the nations multiple exchange rates, with immense pressure on the peoples earning power.

During his broadcast on Monday, the president applauded private employers in the organised private sector who have already implemented general salary reviews for employees following the subsidy removal.

Fellow Nigerians, this period may be hard on us, and there is no doubt about it that it is tough on us. But I urge you all to look beyond the present temporary pains and aim at the larger picture, Mr Tinubu said.

All of our good and helpful plans are in the works. More importantly, I know that they will work.

We will get out of this turbulence. And, due to the measures we have taken, Nigeria will be better equipped and able to take advantage of the future that awaits her, the president said.

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The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), on Monday, said a significant number of children are yet to be vaccinated against diphtheria, a bacterial infection.

The Executive Director of NPHCDA, Faisal Shuaib, during a joint news conference on diphtheria outbreak response in Abuja, Nigerias Federal Capital Territory, said this is despite efforts made by the Nigerian government to provide safe and cost-effective vaccines against the disease.

Mr Shuaib said while some children are partially vaccinated, others are not; hence compromising the countrys goal of achieving population immunity.

He said the suboptimal vaccination coverage has been the main factor contributing to the diphtheria outbreaks, with the most affected age group being between 2-14 years.

He said the immunisation agency in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), state governments, and donor partners, is mobilising all necessary resources to respond effectively to this outbreak.

He said to facilitate the immediate response plan, the agency is leveraging surveillance data from NCDC and direct information from the states to ensure effective planning and resource deployment.

A comprehensive response plan has been activated to detect cases early, contain the spread, and prevent further transmission through a multi-phased strategy, he said.

The Agency is working closely with partners to ensure adequate supplies of Tetanus Td (tetanus and diphtheria) for children four to 14 years and Pentavalent vaccines for children under four years.

Mass Vaccination

Mr Shuaib said the agency is currently collaborating with the affected states team and other stakeholders to conduct intensified mass vaccinations for identified at-risk populations in the affected states.

He said the team is administering pentavalent, tetanus and diphtheria vaccines.

Additionally, we are conducting awareness campaigns to educate the public about the disease, its symptoms, and preventive measures.

He said the vaccination campaign would utilise both fixed and mobile teams.

Parents and caregivers are therefore urged to take their children, from birth to 14 years, to nearby health facilities for vaccination with the pentavalent or Td vaccines and another age-appropriate vaccine, he said.

Response to outbreak

Mr Shuaib said the response to the ongoing diphtheria outbreak would be carried out in two phases.

He said phase one, which is the immediate response, will encompass 25 LGAs across four states: Bauchi, Katsina, Yobe, and Kaduna and is scheduled to begin on 7 August to 11 August.

He said the second phase will cover outbreak response in 171 LGAs while six states; Kano, Katsina, FCT, Yobe, Kaduna, and Bauchi will have a state-wide outbreak response.

While there will be targeted outbreak responses in LGAs across eight states: Jigawa (eight LGAs), Borno (four LGAs), Osun (four LGAs), Lagos (three LGAs), Zamfara (three LGAs), Gombe (three LGAs), Plateau (one LGA), and Nasarawa (one LGA), he said.

This phase is planned to be conducted in three rounds. The first round will commence on 21 August, followed by the second and third rounds tentatively set for 18 September and 16 October, respectively. Each of these three rounds will span five days.

About Diphtheria

Diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection caused by the Corynebacterium species that affects the nose, throat, and sometimes, an individuals skin.

The NCDC noted that people most at risk of contracting diphtheria are children and adults who have not received any or a single dose of the pentavalent vaccine, people who live in a crowded environment, in areas with poor sanitation and healthcare workers who are exposed to suspected or confirmed cases of diphtheria.

The agency noted that the disease spreads easily between people through direct contact with infected people, droplets from coughing or sneezing, and contact with contaminated clothing and objects.

The symptoms of diphtheria include fever, runny nose, sore throat, cough, red eyes (conjunctivitis) and neck swelling. In severe cases, NCDC said, a thick grey or white patch appears on the tonsils and/or at the back of the throat, causing difficulty in breathing.

From May 2022 to July 2023, an estimated 2,455 suspected cases have been reported in 26 states in Nigeria.

As of July 27, 2023, 836 of these cases have been confirmed in 33 LGAs across eight states: Cross River, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Lagos, Osun, Yobe, and FCT.

Tragically, 83 deaths have been reported from these confirmed cases, making vaccination against this deadly disease critically important, especially for children.

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Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has offered amnesty to gunmen terrorising residents of the state, with a promise to grant them pardon if they repent and surrender their weapons to traditional rulers.

Mr Uzodinma disclosed this when he met with traditional rulers and other community leaders at a palace in Owerri on Saturday.

The governor posted a video clip of the meeting on his verified Twitter handle on Saturday.

I have given an opportunity for bad boys (in the state) who are repentant and willing to surrender their guns, to go to their traditional rulers, surrender their guns. We will grant them pardon. We will even rehabilitate them and make them earn a living for themselves, he said.

The governor first made the amnesty offer in June, when he asked gunmen operating in forests within the state to surrender their weapons within ten days and receive unconditional pardon.

He had threatened that the gunmen would face bombardment if they failed to take advantage of the opportunity.

Appeal to community leaders

Mr Uzodinma, during the Saturday meeting, asked the traditional rulers and community leaders to contribute to restoring security in their communities.

The governor assured that he would support them when called upon, stressing that traditional rulers are part of every government.

I want you to go and restore a sense of security to your communities. Go home. Meet with the town union and youth wings. Plan how to secure your communities, he told the traditional rulers.

Background

Like other states in Nigerias south-east, security has deteriorated in Imo State with frequent attacks by armed persons.

The attacks often target security agencies, government officials and facilities.

Hundreds of people, including traditional rulers and government officials, have been killed in some attacks.

The Nigerian government has accused IPOB of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region. But the group has repeatedly denied their involvement in the attacks.

IPOB is a group leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants to be carved out from the South-east and some parts of South-south Nigeria.

Sit-at-home, an indirect way of wiping Igbo race

Mr Uzodinma criticised the infamous sit-at-home order usually enforced by a faction of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) across South-east Nigeria.

The governor said the civil order was an indirect way of wiping the entire Igbo race and asked residents of the region not to allow the enforcers of the sit-at-home order to deceive them.

If there is anyone who is fighting for Ndigbo, you cant fight for Ndigbo by killing Ndigbo. If you are fighting for Ndigbo, you cannot tell Igbo people not to go to the market.

You cannot tell Igbo people not to eat. You cannot tell their children not to go to school. It is an indirect way of wiping a race, he said.

Although Mr Uzodinma did not mention names, he was apparently referring to Simon Ekpa, a controversial pro-Biafran agitator who has continued to declare sit-at-home in the region.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported how Nnamdi Kanu, the IPOB leader, through Aloy Ejimakor, his special counsel, ordered Mr Ekpa to stop issuing sit-at-home orders in the region.

Mr Ejimakor, on his verified Twitter handle on Friday, posted copies of Mr Kanus handwritten letter to Mr Ekpa, whom he also instructed to stop antagonising governors and other political leaders in the region.

But the pro-Biafran agitator described the letter as fake, claiming authorities of the State Security Service wrote it and not the IPOB leader.

He said attributing the letter to Mr Kanu was a joke and an insult, just as he maintained that the civil action would go on until Mr Kanu speaks to him directly in Finland, a North European country, where he (Ekpa) resides.

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In furtherance of his desire to ease the burden of the fuel subsidy removal on students of higher institutions of learning, President Bola Tinubu has approved provision of buses to the students bodies of all universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the country.

The desire of the president is to see that students can access their campuses without much difficulty as a result of higher transportation costs.

The provision of the buses will also remove the burden of additional cost of daily commuting on parents and guardians.

In line with his promise to ensure no Nigerian student abandons his or her educational pursuits as a result of lack of money and economic circumstances of their parents, President Tinubu has also approved the removal of all restrictions on the students loan to make it available to any student or household that may desire it.

Similarly, President Tinubu has directed the authorities in all Federal Institutions of higher learning to avoid arbitrary increase in sundry fees payable and where possible defer further increase so that parents and students dont face too many difficulties.

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While it is important to reiterate that President Tinubu has directed release of over 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains to families in 36 states and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the government is working to ensure that vulnerable students can also benefit from conditional cash transfers and food distribution.

The Federal Government salutes the courage, wisdom and partnership of Nigerian students as our country navigates this challenging time.

President Tinubu will continue to prioritise education and the needs of the students, improve welfare of teaching and non-academic staff and invest in infrastructure to make our institutions of higher learning become more globally competitive.

Dele Alake

Special Adviser to the President

Special Duties, Communications & Strategy

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The police in Delta State, South-south Nigeria, have alerted the public on a new trick used by kidnappers to abduct unsuspecting Nigerians.

The police spokesperson in Delta State, Bright Edafe, who posted the alert on his Twitter page on Monday, said kidnappers could possibly use a tricycle to deliberately hit a car just to lure out the occupants of the car.

Lets be careful out there, especially when driving. On 29/7/2023 the kidnapped victim noticed that a tricycle hit (his) car from behind, he came down to check only for the occupants of the keke to kidnap him with a gun and took him in his own car, Mr Edafe, a deputy superintendent of the police, said in his post on the microblogging platform.

He said the suspected kidnappers forced their victim to transfer N700,000 ransom to them.

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A police patrol team on a stop-and-search operation intercepted the suspects while they were inside the car at a road junction, waiting for more money from their victim, Mr Edafe said.

They jumped down from the vehicle in a bid to escape, one of them bearing the firearm was neutralised and the victim who was blindfolded was rescued, the police spokesperson said without disclosing the victims details.

Mr Edafe uploaded on Twitter, photos of the slain suspect, the recovered car and rifle.

Another trick

A video clip trending on several WhatsApp group shows an unidentified man narrating how some unknown person pelted a fresh egg on his car windscreen while he was driving.

The man said the fluid from the egg would have spread to every part of the windscreen, blurred the windscreen and prevented him from driving further if he had switched on his windscreen wiper.

He said he had driven on until he got to a location he felt was safe and secure.

Nobody know whether dem be kidnappers or thieves, the man said in Pidgin English in the two minutes, 28 seconds video.

Dem say na two ways dem dey take kidnap people for inside GRA or dem rob person. If you dey drive de go, you just see say motor come hit you for back, then you go come park, want come dey observe wetin dey happen, from there dem go come. If you dey drive for inside GRA, motor come hit you, just dey drive dey go.

Then the other one na him be dis one wey dem do me this evening, he said.

Abduction for ransom is now one of the dominant crimes across various Nigerian cities.

Politicians, entrepreneurs, just anyone with good financial worth, including school children are easy targets.

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The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, on Thursday, hinted that the world has moved from the era of global warming to that of global boiling after new data from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) revealed July as the hottest month in the history of humanity.

Mr Guterres who made this known while speaking at the UN Headquarters in New York last week, said Humanity is in the hot seat.

Today, the World Meteorological Organisation and the European Commissions Copernicus Climate Change Service are releasing official data that confirms that July 2023 is set to be the hottest month ever recorded in human history, he said.

According to the official, the World does not have to wait for the end of the month to know this, and that short of a mini-Ice Age over the next few days, July 2023 will shatter records across the board.

According to the data released, Mr Guterres stressed that July has already seen the hottest three-week period ever recorded; the three hottest days on record; and the highest-ever ocean temperatures for this time of year.

He said the consequences are clear and that they are tragic: children swept away by monsoon rains; families running from the flames; workers collapsing in scorching heat.

For vast parts of North America, Asia, Africa and Europe  it is a cruel summer. For the entire planet, it is a disaster, he noted, adding that for scientists, it is unequivocal  humans are to blame.

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All these, the UN boss said, are entirely consistent with predictions and repeated warnings, but the only surprise is the speed of the change.

Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning, he said.

He said: The air is unbreathable. The heat is unbearable. And the level of fossil fuel profits and climate inaction is unacceptable.

Call for action

Mr Guterres said there is no more hesitancy, no more excuses and no more waiting for others to move first, but that leaders must lead.

It is still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoid the very worst of climate change, he said. But only with dramatic, immediate climate action, he added.

Mr Guterres said they have seen some progress A robust rollout of renewables, some positive steps from sectors such as shipping, but that none of this is going far enough or fast enough.

Accelerating temperatures demand accelerated action, he added.

He said world leaders have several critical opportunities aheadThe Africa Climate Summit, the G20 Summit, the UN Climate Ambition Summit and COP28 to reverse the trend.

But leaders  and particularly G20 countries responsible for 80% of global emissions  must step up for climate action and climate justice, the UN leader said.

Way forward: reducing emissions

Mr Guterres said they need ambitious new national emissions reduction targets from G20 members, and that there is a need for all countries to take action in line with my Climate Solidarity Pact and Acceleration Agenda.

Hitting fast forward so that developed countries commit to reach net zero emissions as close as possible to 2040, and emerging economies as close as possible to 2050, with support from developed countries to do so, he said.

He emphasised that all actors must come together to accelerate a just and equitable transition from fossil fuels to renewables  as we stop oil and gas expansion, and funding and licensing for new coal, oil and gas.

He noted that credible plans must also be presented to exit coal by 2030 for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and 2040 for the rest of the world.

Ambitious renewable energy goals must be in line with the 1.5 degree limit, he said.

The UN official said developed countries must reach net zero electricity by 2035 and 2040 elsewhere, as they work to bring affordable electricity to everyone on earth.

Financial institutions must end their fossil fuel lending, underwriting and investments and shift to renewables instead. And fossil fuel companies must chart their move towards clean energy, with detailed transition plans across the entire value chain, he said.

Mr Guterres said: No more greenwashing. No more deception. And no more abusive distortion of antitrust laws to sabotage net zero alliances.

Adaptation

While it has been observed that extreme weather is becoming the new normal, the UN said all countries must respond and protect their people from the searing heat, fatal floods, storms, droughts, and raging fires that result.

He said those countries on the frontlines who have done the least to cause the crisis and have the least resources to deal with it  must have the support they need to do so.

It is time for a global surge in adaptation investment to save millions of lives from climate [carnage, the UN official noted.

To achieve this, he said it would require unprecedented coordination around the priorities and plans of vulnerable developing countries.

He said: Developed countries must present a clear and credible roadmap to double adaptation finance by 2025 as a first step towards devoting at least half of all climate finance to adaptation.

According to the UN chief, every person on earth must be covered by an early warning system by 2027  by implementing the Action Plan launched last year.

Likewise, he said countries should consider a set of global goals to mobilise international action and support on adaptation.

Finance

Regarding financing climate actions, Mr Guterres said promises made on international climate finance must be promises kept.

He asked developed countries to honour their commitments to provide $100 billion a year to developing countries for climate support and fully replenish the Green Climate Fund.

I am concerned that only two G7 countries  Canada and Germany  have made until now replenishment pledges, he said.

He emphasised that countries must also operationalise the loss and damage fund at COP28 later this year.

No more delays; no more excuses, he added.

More broadly, Mr Guterres lamented that many banks, investors and other financial actors continue to reward polluters and incentivise wrecking the planet.

Based on this, he said We need a course correction in the global financial system so that it supports accelerated climate action.

That, he said, includes putting a price on carbon and pushing the multilateral development banks to overhaul their business models and approaches to risk.

We need the multilateral development banks leveraging their funds to mobilise much more private finance at reasonable cost to developing countries  and scaling up their funding to renewables, adaptation and loss and damage, he said.

In all these areas, the UN official said they need governments, civil society, business and others working in partnership to deliver.

I look forward to welcoming first-movers and doers on the Acceleration Agenda to New York for the Climate Ambition Summit in September. And to hear how leaders will respond to the facts before us. This is the price of entry, he noted.

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The Erie County Clerk may be onto something, but hes premature. Before taxpayers devote significantly more money to improve security at the office, they first need to know what went wrong. That investigation is underway.

Still, there is at least some preliminary reason to believe that the office run by Michael P. Mickey Kearns needs the kind of improvements he recently proposed to county legislators. One way or another, a criminal investigation sparked by a detailed audit demonstrates that something needs to change.

That audit, by Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick, started this ball rolling. His review found that tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars were missing, based, in part, on poor oversight. Kearns, who at first hindered the audit, ultimately backed it and, following its release, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli pledged his offices help with a more searching forensic audit. More ominously for someone, a criminal investigation was begun by the offices of the county sheriff and district attorney.

Those efforts need to be completed before the Legislature begins contemplating improvements needed in the Clerks Office. Until the gaps in the system are documented, legislators could do no more than make their best guess. It might be an educated guess, based in part on Kearns input, but it is unwise to act before all the information is in hand, especially before committing to spend what could amount to millions of taxpayer dollars.

That may, ultimately, be necessary, given that millions more public dollars are in play. Last year, alone, the Erie County Clerks Office processed $156 million in financial transactions.

Beyond taking his own internal actions, which he declined to specify while the investigations proceed, Kearns has asked for a new software accounting system. On first blush, it seems a reasonable request, despite what Kearns says will be a costly and complex project. The current system, he said, is used by no other county clerks office in New York, and it cannot communicate with countywide accounting software.

Also, Kearns may ask for a new accountant position, again a plausible request, given that his office has no staff accountant. Hardwick said he will support any push by Kearns to hire an accountant.

All of this is hopeful and likely appropriate. But first things first.
Former Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State said in Abuja on Monday that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would not regret nominating him as minister.

In whatever capacity, the president will not regret nominating me as a minister, he told the Senates ministerial screening committee.

Mr Wike told the committee that as governor in Rivers, he executed and inaugurated a series of capital projects.

It is on record that I changed the landscape of Port Harcourt. In four years, I constructed 12 flyovers; it is not magic. What is important is the commitment you have.

I left as a hero; till 27 May, I was inaugurating projects. This can be achieved if you are dedicated.

I thank the president for the nomination and I believe and I know that Mr President is hungry to solve the problems of Nigeria.

We have no choice than to give him that support, Mr Wike said.

Speaking at the screening, a Peoples Democratic Party senator from Rivers, Mpigi Barinada said more than five million people from the state supported Mr Wikes ministerial nomination and urged his colleagues to approve of him.

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, asked the former governor to take a bow and go, following a voice vote.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that out of the 16 ministerial nominees listed for Mondays screening, two were not screened before the close of business for the day.

(NAN)

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will broadcast to the nation on Monday, 31 July, at 7 p.m.

This was contained in a statement by the presidents spokesperson, Dele Alake, on Monday.

He enjoined television, radio stations and other electronic media outlets to hook up to the network services of the Nigerian Television Authority and Radio Nigeria for the broadcast.

Mr Alake did not, however, disclose the subject of the broadcast.

It will be President Tinubus second broadcast since he assumed office on 29 May. The president addressed the nation on 12 June to mark the 2023 Democracy Day.

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President Bola Tinubu on Monday in Abuja decorated the newly-appointed service chiefs with their new ranks at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, charging them to maintain teamwork to ensure peace and stability in the country.

The Senate had previously confirmed their appointments before the ceremony.

The newly-inaugurated service chiefs are: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Christopher Musa, a major general; Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Taoreed Lagbaja, a lieutenant general; Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Hassan Abubakar, an air marshal; and Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, vice admiral.

They were appointed on 19 June.

Speaking at the occasion, President Tinubu emphasised the importance of maintaining teamwork, which he credited for the gains recorded thus far in the security sector.

He commended the dedication, commitment and steadfastness displayed by the armed forces, acknowledging their significant contributions to the nations peace and stability.

We have seen that we are recording positive results in our security challenges because of your dedication, commitment and steadfastness, President Tinubu stated.

He assured the new service chiefs that the government is committed to supporting them in their responsibilities.

The president underscored the value of virtues such as positive team thinking, unity, and selfless service to the nation, declaring that despite current economic challenges, a better future awaits Nigeria.

He urged all members of the armed forces to view themselves as one single family, regardless of their diversity.

He also offered prayers for Gods blessings upon the Nigerian Armed Forces, wishing them peace, progress, and success in their endeavours to protect the countrys territorial integrity.

President Tinubu emphasised the importance of honest service to the nation, which he said everyone in government including the service chiefs must embrace, adding that he is working very hard to solve the current economic challenges being faced by Nigerians.

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We are committed to serving you and not to rule over you, the president said.

Speaking on behalf of the service chiefs, Mr Musa expressed their unalloyed commitment to ensure the security and defence of the nation in their respective positions.

He also pledged to uphold with utmost dedication the safety and well-being of the nation and its citizens.

Our appointment is a clear manifestation of the confidence reposed in us and recognition of our humble abilities to deliver for our dear nation. We pledge to carry out our duties with utmost dedication and full loyalty.

I assure Mr. President that the Armed Forces of Nigeria is 100 per cent loyal to the government. We will go wherever we are ordered, whether by air, sea or land.

We will ensure that Nigeria is projected in good light. May God bless Nigeria and guide the Armed Forces in our efforts to guard our nations territorial integrity, and ensure peace and security reigns supreme, he said.

The event was attended by Vice President Kashim Shettima, Secretary to the Government of Federation, George Akume; Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribabu;# senior government officials, members of the immediate families of the service chiefs, and other heads of security and intelligence agencies in the country.

Dele Alake

Special Adviser to the President

(Special Duties, Communications and Strategy)

July 31, 2023

ABRIDGED CVs

Christopher Musa (CDS)

Born on December 25, 1967, General Musa joined the military in 1991 and belongs to the Infantry Corps.

He obtained a B.Sc Hons in Chemistry from the Nigerian Defence Academy and holds an Advanced Diploma in Security Management from the University of Lagos and an MSc (Military Science) from the International College of Defence Studies in China.

General Musa had attended various military courses and held several important positions, including Platoon Commander, Operations Officer for the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone, and Command Sector 3 of the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Region. He has received several awards and decorations for his meritorious service.

He is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Management and Nigerian Institute of Industrial Security. He married to Mrs. Lillian Oghogho Musa, and the marriage is blessed with children.

Taoreed Lagbaja (COAS)

Lt-General Lagbaja was born on February 28, 1968. He was granted a Regular Combatant Commission as part of the 39 Regular Course on September 19, 1992, in the rank of Second Lieutenant. In the course of his career spanning over three decades, he has attended several courses and held instructional, staff, and command appointments creditably.

He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geography from the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, and a Masters in Strategic Studies awarded by the United States Army War College, Pennsylvania. Major General Lagbaja is an alumnus of the United States Army War College Class of 2014 and is qualified as an Airborne Jumpmaster.

He has served in various capacities, including as a Military Observer at the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chief of Staff at Headquarters 8 Task Force Division in Monguno, and Commander of the 72 Special Forces Battalion in Makurdi. He has also commanded infantry brigades, namely the 9 and 2 Brigades in Lagos and Uyo, and served as General Officer Commanding for the 82 Division in Enugu and the 1 Division in Kaduna.

Prior to his appointment as the 23rd Chief of Army Staff, he was the Chief of Operations (Army), where he coordinated all local and foreign operational activities of the Nigerian Army.

Lt-General Lagbaja is married to Mrs. Maria Lagbaja, and they have children together.

Emmanuel Ogalla (CNS)

Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla was born on December 20, 1968. He enlisted in the Nigerian Defence Academy as part of the 39 Regular Combatant Course on September 16, 1987, and was commissioned into the Nigerian Navy as Sub-Lieutenant on September 19, 1992.

Vice Admiral Ogalla graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and received the Sword of Honour as the Best Graduating Naval Cadet, recognized for his academic excellence, military training, leadership qualities, and character.

He has attended various courses within and outside the country, including the Basic Hydrographic Course at the National Hydrographic School in Goa, India, and the Junior and Senior Staff Courses at Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji. He also completed the Higher Strategic Course at the National Defence College, Abuja, and holds a Master of Science in Strategic Studies from the University of Ibadan.

Vice Admiral Ogalla has held several significant appointments, such as Watch Keeping Duties on board NNS AGU, Instructor, Chief Instructor, and Commandant at the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic School. He also served as the Base Operations Officer at NNS PATHFINDER, where he played a vital role in combating oil theft and other economic crimes.

He is married to Mrs. Ijeoma Ogalla, and the union is blessed with children.

Hassan Abubakar (CAS)

Born on September 11, 1970, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar is the 22nd Chief of the Air Staff.

He joined the Nigerian Air Force as part of the 39 Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy and became a commissioned Pilot Officer in September 1992. Throughout his flying career, he accumulated over 4,500 flying hours on various aircraft, including the Air Beetle, Dornier-228, C-130 Hercules, and Boeing 737.

Air Marshal Abubakar is a member of the elite Special Forces, having completed training in Basic and Advanced Airborne Courses, as well as the Amphibious Operations Course at the Nigerian Army Infantry Centre and Schools.

He holds a Masters Degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and received strategic military training at the Nasser Higher Military Academy in Cairo, Egypt.

Air Marshal Abubakar has held various important positions, including Operations Officer at the Operational Conversion Unit, 88 Military Airlift Group in Ikeja, Commanding Officer of 21 Wing, Group Safety Officer, and Team leader at the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC).

He also served as the Commander of the 011 Presidential Air Fleet and as the Chief of Staff of Mobility Command in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

He is happily married to Mrs. Rakiya Abubakar, and they have children together.

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has decried its huge pile of lingering investigations, a setback it blamed on internal problems.

EFCC Secretary, George Ekpungu, spoke on Monday at a capacity building workshop organised for officials of the anti-graft agency in Abuja.

The four-day workshop being facilitated by the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies is aimed at enhancing the capacity of EFCC personnel on recovery and management of proceeds of crime.

Mr Ekpungu while declaring the event open on behalf of the acting EFCC chairperson, Abdulkarim Chukkol, asked investigators and prosecutors to conclude all pending matters.

He said the government was at the receiving end of protracted cases.

EFCC has arguably the most inconclusive matters in the world. You finish (an investigation) but there is no report telling you the end of it.

I tell our operatives that when a matter continues to linger especially at the level of investigation, the government doesnt benefit, somebody else does. Investigation should be started and finished.

He reminded the operatives of EFCCs cardinal role in Nigerias battle against corruption.

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Mr Ekpungu urged his colleagues to disgorge these criminals of their proceeds of crime, adding that depriving criminals of their loot was the surest way of discouraging financial crimes.

Mr Ekpungus lamentation comes on the heels of stalled investigations and cases involving several politically exposed persons.

In Mr Chukkols address to the participants, the EFCC boss said the fight against sleaze had yielded significant benefits to Nigeria.

He noted that the next phase of anti-graft campaign should focus on prevention, scrupulous investigation, assets tracing, recovery and management.

Some investigations and court cases involving former governors like Abdullahi Adamu of Nasarawa (and former APC national chairman), Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara, Gabriel Suswam of Benue and Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom states, respectively, have lingered endlessly.

Another instance is the seven-year delay in the trial of a former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, accused by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration of diverting billions of dollars meant for procurement of arms under the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

These cases have lingered in courts in perpetuity.

Proceeds of Crime law necessary

In a goodwill message, the Permanent Secretary and Solicitor-General of the Federation, Beatrice Jeddy-Agba, said the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act 2022, provides the legal framework for seizure of unlawful activities.

Represented by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Mohammed Abubakar, Ms Jeddy-Agba called on stakeholders to commit to the effective implementation of the provisions of the law.

In his welcome remarks, Yemi Akinseye-George, founder of CSLS and lead facilitator of the workshop, said the proceeds of crime legislation removes profit from crime.

Mr Akinseye-George, a law professor and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said greed drives criminal behaviors such as trafficking in drugs, human beings or organs, extortion, corruption, abuse of office, economic and financial and other crimes.

He noted that it was necessary for anti-graft operatives to acquaint themselves with provisions of the law.

POCA is aimed at taking away the reward or profit of criminal activity.

Criminal proceeds are also what sustain criminal organizations and enable corrupt officials to continue to dominate and influence the socio-economic and political system of the country.

This workshop will therefore closely examine the POCA which is an indispensable tool in your hands, he explained.

Top officials of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) attended the opening session of the workshop.

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The Senate on Monday called on the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to suspend its planned nationwide strike scheduled to commence on 2 August over the removal of fuel subsidy.

The call for suspension of the strike was a sequel to a motion moved by Kawu Sumaila (NNPP, Kano South) at the plenary presided over by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

The leadership of the NLC had recently directed all its affiliates and state councils to mobilise workers across the country for a mass protest to show their displeasure at the removal of petroleum subsidy.

Mr Sumaila, while presenting his motion on the floor of the Senate, said the strike action, if embarked upon, would cripple business activities in the country as hospitals, schools, and markets would be forced to shut down.

The Kano senator stressed that if the strike was not averted, it may plunge the country into deeper economic woes, dislocate businesses and promote hunger.

Mr Sumaila urged the Senate to interface between the NLC and the federal government to avert the planned nationwide strike.

When the matter was thrown open for debate, many of the senators contributed to the motion. They mandated the Senate to interface between the NLC and FG to stop the intended nationwide strike.

Contributions

Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa West), Olamilekan Adeola (APC, Ogun West) and Aminu Tambuwal (PDP, Sokoto South) were among the senators that contributed to the motion.

Mr Dickson, who contributed to the motion, urged the Senate to intervene to stop the impending strike of the leadership of the NLC.

He requested that the palliative measures of N8,000 be reviewed by the president, adding that the amount was not enough to cushion the effect of the removal of petroleum subsidy on Nigerians.

The Bayelsa senator also urged the Senate to engage the leadership of the NLC before upper chamber members commence vacation.

In his contribution, Mr Adeola submitted that removing the petroleum subsidy was imperative.

As representatives of the people, we feel their hardships. The removal of subsidy is very imperative. Even the president said he understands the pain of Nigerians.

I know that the government is not sleeping. They are working around the clock. In my state, N10,000 has been added to their take-home, aside from their salary. Whatever the challenges are, the Senate should engage the presidency and leadership of NLC. We are appealing to the NLC leadership to give us time to address the issue. They should give the government time. From today or tomorrow, there should be a meeting with the leadership of the NLC, he said.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who contributed to the debate, noted that the Senate identifies with Nigerians on the current hardship.

What they are saying is a true reflection of what people are facing. We come from communities that have a high rate of poverty. Even our earnings here cannot take care of what we are seeing, he said.

Mr Akpabio subsequently approved that the Senate interface between the NLC and the Nigerian government to stop the planned nationwide strike.

The senate president also called on state governors and local government administrators to look into the palliative measures.

I also want to urge the state and local governments to look into the allowances. It is not only the federal government that should take it. The state government and local government are also getting something. They should look into doing something to cushion the effect of the removal of petroleum subsidy, Mr Akpabio said.

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If Africa and African countries are to not just enjoy the fruit of economic growth, but if we are to gain from the benefit of civilisation, we must consciously uproot from our society, the paganistic world view to nature. We must intentionally deliver our people from the grips and the claws of paganism, polytheism and animism.

That practice in Africa, when people submit to nature, when they honor nature when they revere the forces of nature, this reverence which often takes the form of worship, idolatry, polytheism and paganism, will always lead to backwardness and under development. This is the sole reason why all African progressives must declare war against these kinds of practices and belief systems.

The Judeo-Christian Worldview

So what do we replace it with? We have to replace this paganistic world view with biblical world view. What is the difference? In the Judeo-Christian world view of life, we are told that man is not secondary to nature, nor is he inferior to it. As a matter of fact, the Bible categorically declares that man is in fact the crown of creation. The Bible goes on to declare to us that man therefore has the responsibility and the commandment of God to conquer, dominate and subdue all nature to the glory of God.

That is to say in cases when flood, waters or oceans overflows our community, villages or towns, we dont begin to appease or worship it. We should rather affirm our dominance over that segment of nature by going for more insight and education on how to subdue and conquer the flow of that river. We should put our effort not in the fears of its devastations or consequences. We should rather develop our passion in the direction of curtailing the over flow. If we dont know how to do it, that should rather become a factor of stimulation to get more education in the areas of irrigation and water dam.

On the other hand, when nature like rivers and floods are viewed as deities, people dont touch them. They cannot go into deep research of reason behind the flood. But when we know that we are the master of nature, we could go to study the root cause of the flood, river or ocean. That study will give us insight into how to build a defensive wall to protect the flow of the water to our communities, villages and cities.

When we have a world view that says we are the lords of nature, we already in our minds see ourselves as superior to any form of forces of nature. We see them as under us. It therefore becomes easy for us to explore them, study them, research them and control them.

For Africa to move forward towards development and civilization, we must stop worshiping nature. But rather we have to begin to control and subdue nature. We subdue nature by studying it. We subdue nature by researching more about it. We subdue nature by exploring it. We subdue nature by exploiting it. We subdue nature by surveying it.

Development therefore is directly related to world views. To bring about development of a nation or continent, it is not enough to only have economic programs. We must first of all bring about development to the minds and belief systems of our people. I believe that we have to critically examine belief systems that dont facilitate growth in our cultures and reject them. I believe we should not allow ignorance to hide behind phrases like our tradition, our culture etc. lets uncover the ignorance. Let the light come. Lets set lose the man to his true place of dominance and supremacy over nature.

How We Are Made to Function

When a people have the right world view, they believe what the Bible says. Gen. 1:26

Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

For our world to function, we must observe Gods order of creation. According to Gods order of creation, man is created in the image and likeness of God. What that does to man is that it elevates man over every other thing that He created. Man therefore has no right to ever be afraid of anything created. Man does not have the right to be afraid of natural disasters. We are created to subdue them.

Natural disasters no matter how fierce they are, must be conquered by the man who was created to rule over them. This is a question of responsibility. We must take responsibility for our duty and see it as our obligation to subdue the earth for God. It is indeed our responsibility to take charge of anything in nature that is going out of order. We bring back to order any natural catastrophe. We must work to defeat and dominate them.

Man is to overpower and overcome all manifestations of the forces of nature either in the sea, in the air, on the earth or under the earth. In the same vein according to this verse above, the sea world is under the authority of man, so man should not be running away or worshiping sharks, whales, hippopotamus, crocodiles, alligators, etc. we should manage them. It is not just our right but our duty from God Almighty.

Anything that happens in the sea world from the flow of water to the sizes of the sea are all to be under the direct monitoring of man. The fish world is supposed to be subject to man. The water world should be subject to man. We should be using water to meet the needs of man. We are supposed to use water to facilitate the needs of man, use water and the force of rivers to bring about human progress and development. We should not be shying away from exploiting rivers and the sea world in general.

Thank God for the nations who had experienced a true understanding of the Christian doctrine. The early European Christians, understood the message of the cross and the injunctions of the Bible. Thanks to them and their Christian world view, we now have to our use the services of boats, ships, submarines, oil tankers, off shore drilling machines and equipments, etc.

Sunday Adelaja is a Nigeria born leader, transformation strategist, pastor and innovator. He was based in Kiev Ukraine

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In other words, without correcting the impediments to doing business in the country, a ban on imports might simply allocate scarce domestic resources to less optimal uses. No less important, the resulting reduction of consumer purchasing power hurts the economys signalling function. Aggregate consumer spending sends signals to the market on what to produce, when and at what price.

Last week, I watched footage on social media suggesting that the domestic market for tie-and-dye/adire fabrics is being gutted by cheap imports of similar looking fabrics from China. The pitch went beyond the now familiar need to protect the livelihoods of domestic producers. It was more wistful pointing out how adire clothing is included in the cultural definition of certain domestic communities  and how the Chinese imports are an identitarian challenge. It was, in this restricted sense, as much an economic argument as it was concerned about the production and consumption of cultural values.

The gut reaction from most who saw the video was conservative. A ban on imports from China was proposed largely in defence of our traditional way of life. Strange construct, this, given that much of the industry today would be familiar to denizens of the Oyo Empire in the days of Bashorun Gaa. In this space, even attempts to boost the industrys productivity  modern technology, work practices, or even processes  will fall foul of the defence of our traditions argument. In the end, this is but a part of the problem with most policy responses that seek to circle the wagons in defence of domestic industry.

A simple thought experiment, then? Suppose I earn N100 a month. And because of my love for the adire fabric, now and again, I spend N20 on the Chinese make. What would a ban on Chinese imports mean to me? Caught in a technological and process time-warp, the domestic substitute, obviously more expensive, would surely see my spend rise, say to N30 each time I indulge my taste for this fabric. This is obviously a diminution in my living standards. Thus, as a consumer, a ban leaves me worse off. But it is also a tax on consumption. A transfer of resources from consumers to domestic producers. Admittedly, not all the previous demand supported by Chinese imports will now feed through into demand for the local variety  simply because the domestic good is that much more expensive.

A far bigger question in the design of policy in this case is, why the local variety of adire is that much more expensive than the Chinese variety? True, the Chinese manufacture on scale, and so are able to force prices down in markets where their products compete. This, however, was not always the case. Even when Made in Taiwan was a moniker for cheap knockoffs, the Chinese were not a manufacturing presence.

The first question arising from all this is: How does the economy benefit from when money remains in the consumers pockets (and what are the costs) as against when, through non-market arrangements (fixed prices, or bans on competition), the same money is transferred to producers of goods/services (and at what cost)? Rarely is this question properly answered from the couches that are the favourite resting places of our talking heads. Ever more so, especially in the planning, implementation and audit of policies designed to drive positive economic outcomes, we need to go down the data-dependent route.

A far bigger question in the design of policy in this case is, why the local variety of adire is that much more expensive than the Chinese variety? True, the Chinese manufacture on scale, and so are able to force prices down in markets where their products compete. This, however, was not always the case. Even when Made in Taiwan was a moniker for cheap knockoffs, the Chinese were not a manufacturing presence. Whatever they have done to improve their economys competitiveness occurred in the last four decades.

To mess up with this signalling process is to further foul up the economys resource conversion efficiency. Our policy challenge, then, is not to layer more restrictions on domestic businesses in our bid to protect them from imported competition. It is instead to find ways to make the economy more competitive by freeing its animal spirits.

What have we done, or failed to do? Not only do we have a welter of small artisanal producers in sectors where the economy is increasingly expected to compete globally. These producers have opted to remain at operational levels just beneath where they would have to transition to the formal sector. Why? Because the cost of doing business in the country rises exponentially as businesses grow. These latter costs are not just regulatory and financial. Of course, the financial burden, all of it below-the-line, of moving goods across the country is well documented. So, there is no need to dwell on them here. Domestic business costs also include those imposed by decrepit infrastructure.

In other words, without correcting the impediments to doing business in the country, a ban on imports might simply allocate scarce domestic resources to less optimal uses. No less important, the resulting reduction of consumer purchasing power hurts the economys signalling function. Aggregate consumer spending sends signals to the market on what to produce, when and at what price. To mess up with this signalling process is to further foul up the economys resource conversion efficiency. Our policy challenge, then, is not to layer more restrictions on domestic businesses in our bid to protect them from imported competition. It is instead to find ways to make the economy more competitive by freeing its animal spirits.

Uddin Ifeanyi, journalist manque and retired civil servant, can be reached @IfeanyiUddin.

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In the circumstances, it is in order for Nigeria to continue giving leadership to ECOWAS on the strong position it holds on Niger, including sustenance of the sanction regime already imposed, to wit all measures necessary to restore constitutional order. It should, however, tread with caution on the subject of the use of force directed at sacking the coup plotters. Ultimately, it would be safer for Nigeria to encourage French intervention in the incipient Niger conundrum, to flush out the junta and restore constitutional order

The current leadership of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) deserves commendation for being alive to its responsibilities in catalysing discussions on issues of global relevance to Nigeria. Precisely on 13 July 13, it hosted a seminar, most appropriately themed, Nigerias Foreign Policy under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu: Which way forward? It was my privilege to speak, albeit virtually, on President Bola Tinubu, Nigerian Foreign Policy and the Expansion of Democracy in Africa, at the well-attended event. As expected, the directions in which the panelists felt Nigeria should be headed under the Tinubu presidency were fully explored. My interrogation of its outlook on the expansion of democracy, of necessity, touched on some of the factors and forces that combine to challenge the democracy project in Africa. I do not intend to delay us here on this. It thus suffices to reaffirm my thesis that it is basically the failure of (democratic) governance, and the overall dysfunctionality of our governance structures and processes, across the continent, that reproduce democratic backsliding, the most dramatic manifestation of which is the phenomenon of coup detat. The coups have now occurred in such regularity  since 2020  to make the West African subregion the coup belt of the continent. My focus in this piece is on how Nigeria should approach the evolving fluid but very dangerous situation in Niger Republic.

The situation is made particularly important for Nigeria, not just because Niger Republic is one of our contiguous northern neighbours, but one that is also in the vortex of terrorism and insurgency, administered by sundry armed non-state actors, including Boko Haram and ISWAP. As well, Nigeria has just been appointed as Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of our regional integration body, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)  the overall budget of which Nigeria is responsible for, to the tune of some 63%. All of these naturally make Nigeria the natural candidate to superintend ECOWAS regional action on Niger. This now includes, since the regional bodys 30 July meeting in Abuja, the possibility of armed intervention to flush out the junta, and reinstate deposed President Mohamed Barzoum. The passion with which President Tinubu spoke at his 9 July investiture as ECOWAS leader could not be ignored. His determination to defend and expand the frontiers of democracy on the continent is almost palpable, and probably understandable; after all, this is one politician whose political trajectory was forged, as it were, in the anvil of struggles for democracy. Yet, it is important that Nigeria treads very carefully on the Niger situation, for a number of reasons.

When cast against the backdrop of the very noble interventions of Nigeria to bring back order to Liberia via the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG); in Sierra Leone, to put an end to a military coup, and reinstate the Tejan Kabbar government; or in President Olusegun Obasanjos bold engagement of the coup plotters that overthrew the government of Sao Tome and Principe, while the countrys leader, Fradique de Menezes, was visiting Nigeria, one would not but be tempted to see Nigeria replicating some or all of these efforts in Niger Republic. Trust him, Obasanjo even added a dramatic twist to the whole matter in 2003, by personally leading Menezes back to his country, to resume duties as president! Even so, the question remains, is Nigeria in a position to undertake any of these types of foreign policy expeditions today? My answer is in the negative; and the reasons are not farfetched.

My first concern is with the state of the Nigerian military. I monitored a discussion on one of Nigerias more notable television networks on Sunday night, in which an analyst repeatedly cited Nigerias military as the most powerful on the African continent! Such a line obviously sounds good to the ears, if you were a Nigerian; but is this really true? Many credible sources indicate that South Africa, Egypt, and probably Morocco and Algeria too, could indeed be ahead of the Nigerian military in overall capability. Considered here are not just the number of men and women under arms; but also the capacity at local production of weapons of war, of all categories. There is also the factor of access to such munitions produced abroad that a countrys military may need in the event of war. This is defined in multiple and delicate diplomatic contours, such as may make access difficult for a country, even when it has the foreign exchange to pay for the weapons its military needs. This is not to talk of the volume of foreign exchange a country is in a position to deploy for these purchases, even where producers are not citing one reason or the other (including human rights orientations) to deny one access. We should recall that Nigeria had to purchase 13 A-29 Super Tucano fighter jets, for a whopping US$593 million sometime ago, under President Muhammadu Buhari. The first set of the planes  six of them  was delivered only in 2021, four years after all commitments were made. Is Nigeria in any position to readily come up with such funds today, for just 13 units of a fighting device? Your guess is as good as mine!

Of additional importance is the fact that the Nigeria military today seems bogged down, if not overwhelmed, by the extensive nature of its internal security engagements. This is not in any way to underestimate the very heroic efforts of our men and women in uniform, in guarding the commonwealth, in all directions. Rather, it is to underscore the point that the overall (in)security situation in Nigeria is so dire, as to make the military to be involved in one form of operation or the other, against determined and morbidly effective armed non-state actors, in virtually all the states of the federation. What comes to mind from this is, how feasible is it for Nigeria to make a clinical, effective and efficient military intervention in Niger Republic, directed at reinstating President Bazoum to power? I ask this against the backdrop of the critical economic crisis in which the country reels today, and argue that it was possible in the 1980s/1990s to be so deeply involved in Liberia, and make the type of swift military intervention in Sierra Leone, which ECOWAS seems to be suggesting for Niger Republic today, because Nigerias economic outlook then was several notches better than what is abroad today. This calls for caution vis-a-vis the ECOWAS ultimatum to the Niger junta, which, if push comes to shove, would be completely left, by the other member-states, in the hands of Nigeria, to execute.

I note also that everything that we have seen thus far suggests that the coup in Niger is very popular with the citizens of the country. Granted that the Nigeriens could be making the mistake of their lives, in assuming that the military junta is going to govern their country better than the fledgling civilian government it sacked, the coup is nevertheless popular. This accords with what we have seen in other francophone countries in the region

It is doubtful if the state of internal cohesion in Nigeria is good enough for the country to embark upon a foreign expedition, the type envisaged by ECOWAS. The Muhammadu Buhari government unquestionably left a rather abysmal record in the way it managed Nigerias diversity. He practically left the country in a cesspool of intense and mutual ethno-religious distrust. The Tinubu government has a duty to carefully negotiate the cleavages that define Nigeria, if the existential challenge posed by his predecessors arrant lack of capacity, and negative attitude on same, is to be rested. Associated with this is the very acrimonious 2023 election, the outcome of which is still in hot contestation at the courts.

There is a place for the Diversionary Theory of foreign policy in the scholarship on International Relations. This essentially speaks to a situation in which a government, going through the type of stress underway in the Nigeria of today, latches onto risky foreign policy acts, with a view to diverting attention away. Such foreign policy engagement is also made the basis for mobilisation of support for the government. It is, however, not in all cases that such high-stake gambles come out in the desirable or desired manner. In the situation in which Nigeria has found itself today, defined by gargantuan economic challenges, tough nation-building hurdles to cross, deeply conflicting perspectives on the direction of social policies, etc., it may be too risky to embark upon a foreign military adventure, the outcome of which is not easily predictable. Nobody needs to be reminded of how seriously the American political process convulsed by reason of the Vietnam quagmire. None should be tasked to recall how the Afghanistan debacle was a precipitating factor in the collapse of the former Soviet Union. US President Joe Bidens withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan soon after he got into office could be regarded as precipitate, but it arguably remains his smartest foreign policy decision thus far, given the volume of blood, number of limbs, and quantum of dollars his country had lost in the treacherous terrain of Afghanistan!

I note also that everything that we have seen thus far suggests that the coup in Niger is very popular with the citizens of the country. Granted that the Nigeriens could be making the mistake of their lives, in assuming that the military junta is going to govern their country better than the fledgling civilian government it sacked, the coup is nevertheless popular. This accords with what we have seen in other francophone countries in the region, where a chain of wrong public policies, especially the vacation of fixed presidential tenures in their constitution, had left the populace exasperated, thereby making military coups feel like refreshing experiences. To send in a military expedition to flush out such a government as the one digging in, in Niger today, may not be a piece of cake, especially when such is going to be led by a country, which is itself practically bogged down by a bouquet of nation-building challenges.

Our Borno State is contiguous with Niger Republic. What would be the implication of an armed expedition to the country, which could be long drawn out, on the security situation in the state, where Governor Babagana Umara Zulums creative, non-kinetic and patriotic interventions, which are bringing peace back to the state, may be completely dismantled? It is hardly defensible, from the point of view of the long-suffering populations that border Niger Republic, for Nigeria to go into such a dangerous intervention in our northern neighbour.

Deriving from the foregoing is the need for Nigeria to be properly advised on the situation in Niger. No doubt, it is distasteful to have yet another coup in the West African sub-region, especially only a few days after President Tinubu declared the phenomenon unacceptable on the continent. The lesson here is that government, especially in foreign policy matters, should be very circumspect in issuing whatever looks like ultimatums

Many commentaries would seem to have carefully avoided weighing in on the geopolitics of the evolving situation in Niger. One wonders in this regard whether the ECOWAS leaders factored into their projections the possibility that the Wagner group of mercenaries could be in Niger, even before the expiration of their one-week deadline. It is obvious that this unusual non-state actor remains an effective foreign policy tool in the hands of Moscow, and remains so in spite of the embarrassment its armed protestation meant for the highly strategic President Vladimir Putin a few weeks ago. That Wagner is already deeply involved in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea  all in the Sahel with Niger Republic  makes this projection quite plausible. Meanwhile, in the light of the challenges faced by France in the region, deriving from extant hostility to it from the juntas running these countries, the ousted Bazoum government in Niger was, to all intents and purposes, the last outpost of the West in the Sahel. What this implies is the possibility of projection of the growing tension between Russia and the West onto Niger, with grave consequences for whichever countries in the region allow themselves to be used as canon fodders, to fight an inevitable proxy war in the African country. This doesnt look like a pleasant place for Nigeria to be.

Deriving from the foregoing is the need for Nigeria to be properly advised on the situation in Niger. No doubt, it is distasteful to have yet another coup in the West African sub-region, especially only a few days after President Tinubu declared the phenomenon unacceptable on the continent. The lesson here is that government, especially in foreign policy matters, should be very circumspect in issuing whatever looks like ultimatums, or taking positions which have not been carefully thought through, and subjected to critical, nay, brutal examination vis-a-vis what capability the country possesses to deliver upon such. Secondly, it is my view that Nigerias focus now should be on encouraging African countries that are yet to fall under the threatening cloud of miliary coups to begin to prioritise the interests of their masses; desist from sabotaging their own constitutions; and strive at building inclusive systems, where no one is left behind from the entire political economy. This is the most important antidote to what Antonio Guterres, the UN chief, has now most aptly characterised as the coup epidemic sweeping through (West) Africa.

France obviously has the capacity to make an impactful intervention in Niger, including an armed one. In 2012 to 2013, it made such a clinical intervention in Mali, via Operation Barkhane, and saved Bamako from an impending jihadist onslaught. That Paris already has a standing force in Niger works to its advantage. Additionally, France has considerable strategic interests in Niger that are often marginalised in analysis. Niger is the fourth largest producer of uranium in the world. The industry is largely controlled by the French company, Areva (now Orano), and no less than 50% of the uranium produced in Niger ends up in France, providing some one-third of what powers the latters nuclear reactors. As one pundit puts it, graphically, every three out of four bulbs lighted in France, is through the grace of uranium imported from Niger. The Americans also maintain a drone base in the Sahelian country that could be in jeopardy as things unfold.

In the circumstances, it is in order for Nigeria to continue giving leadership to ECOWAS on the strong position it holds on Niger, including sustenance of the sanction regime already imposed, to wit all measures necessary to restore constitutional order. It should, however, tread with caution on the subject of the use of force directed at sacking the coup plotters. Ultimately, it would be safer for Nigeria to encourage French intervention in the incipient Niger conundrum, to flush out the junta and restore constitutional order, with Abuja offering only strong diplomatic backing to such an effort. By so doing, Nigeria would be able to achieve its specific objectives in Niger without having to risk further damage to its own internal processes, and global standing. Sending Nigerian troops into Niger Republic at these times, is, in my considered opinion, fraught with much danger. It should be avoided.

Femi Mimiko is a professor of Political Science at Obafemi Awolowo University, and member National Institute, Kuru. He served as the fourth Vice-Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, between 2010 and 2015.

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a line has to be drawn between wanton character assassinations that especially discourage womens participation in politics and indispensable civic watchfulness. Amongst the ministerial nominees are characters who have shown an abject lack of moral scruples and have standing indictments by the EFCC. That is disheartening care must be taken not to allow misogyny to pass for objective scrutiny.

A young man was appointed the head of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) at 36. At that age, and without many years of executive experience, his appointment could have been deemed unmerited. He assumed the position and started a digital modernisation of the agency, becoming proof that for public institutions, drive and vision were critical. Its been about ten years since that watershed era in that institution. Were he a woman, tongues would have wagged till they marred her nomination or authority. Had he been a single mother, traducers would have thrown the cultural kitchen sink and besmirched her reputation beyond the merit of probation. Her past would have been ransacked indiscriminately and splashed on the screens, and her meteoric rise attributed to contemptuous factors other than social capital, intelligence and serendipity.

But assuming some petitioners, as a number did in that case, lamented aloud that the appointment procedure flouted a direction of the Federal Civil Service Commission until they got the attention of the Senate. Then supposing the Senate reviewed the process and resolved that the appointment should be rescinded because the young appointee hadnt gathered enough staleness in a dingy room in the civil service. Would such an interpretation expressed in a Senate resolution against a presidential prerogative elicit widespread insinuations of criminal wrongdoing by the young beneficiary? My guess is no. A man found precociously worthy of a high office by an adamant president wouldnt attract derision, even if some legislators thought the president circumvented a regulation.

Misogyny no longer parades naked as hatred or contempt for women. The days when women could neither vote nor hold property belong to the distant past. Now, misogyny has acquired sophistication and subtlety. It often masquerades as objectivity. Wherever it sets foot to dance on the political field, it pats the men on the back, and they take a bow in acknowledgement of the patriarchal hierarchical obeisance. But at the sight of ambitious women, it finds the unction to display its ferocious dance. To raise dust, to splatter mud, to demean.

The single woman is the most vulnerable. If she is smart and upwardly mobile, she is deemed carnivorous, manipulative, and dissolute. A temptress who must be denied access to the centre stage to save humanity from immorality. Because she ought to be a depressed outcast of an order where leadership positions must be for men supported by their wives.

often, with women, the standards of scrutiny are different, and connotations are mischievous. With women, its often difficult to know where objective scrutiny stops and where misogyny begins. A woman experiences a quick career rise; her rivals in the male-dominated environment console themselves, churning out narratives that help their injured ego. A self-inflicted patriarchal wound that must be nursed by bruising reputations with sexist backstabs.

Despite the foregoing, ministerial nominees and other seekers of political offices must always be thoroughly scrutinised. For too long, mediocrity has held sway and impoverished the country. Because mediocrity often comes with gluttony, the public must be vigilant. When a ruling party has an overwhelming majority in the Senate, confirmation hearings lose sobriety and become picnics. Hollow rituals are organised to fulfil the demands of the law and seduce the public into a false appreciation of legislative oversight. So the public, in such circumstances, must be doubly vigilant. And women, though hugely underrepresented, shouldnt be exempted from intense examination. After all, some of the inept and corrupt public officers that have happened to this country are women.

But often, with women, the standards of scrutiny are different, and connotations are mischievous. With women, its often difficult to know where objective scrutiny stops and where misogyny begins. A woman experiences a quick career rise; her rivals in the male-dominated environment console themselves, churning out narratives that help their injured ego. A self-inflicted patriarchal wound that must be nursed by bruising reputations with sexist backstabs. That is what it is.

Since the ministerial nomination of Stella Okotete, executive director at NEXIM Bank, the rumour mills have been running wild. At 39, single and without a powerful godfather, Stella Okotete would attract scathing scrutiny. Some have said she didnt attend a secondary school. But evidence shows she is an alumna of the Federal Government Girls College, Benin. Scrutiny that is devoid of good faith is as diabolical as witchcraft. Others have alleged that she possesses no university degree. But the certificates of a diploma in law from the Rivers State College of Arts and Science and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Diplomacy from the Benson Idahosa University, Benin, which she published, have not been refuted. Tendered certificates are naturally deemed genuine until proven otherwise. The onus rests on the complainants to approach the issuing authorities to refute them.

Sometime in 2017, a public petition informed the Senate that Stella Okotete didnt take part in the National Youth Service. While reviewing other complaints levied against her, the Senate investigated her NYSC certificate and found it to be authentic. It then asked the petitioner to apologise. If Okotete or any other politician is suspected of having procured a certificate, then the NYSC can be notified, as it has been done in Enugu State against the governor, where the NYSC has disowned a certificate. Citizens must remain eternally sceptical of politicians. But wild and baseless allegations and such acts of calumny are objectionable because they create a cloud of cynicism that benefit corrupt politicians.

During her previous and subsisting tenures as Business Development Director, the bank grew its balance sheet geometrically and reduced non-performing loans drastically. The controversy around the initial appointment cannot subtract from the immense exposure and experience she has acquired on the job and the plaudits she has earned for a job well done.

Professor Antony Kila, in a recent television interview, described the ministerial list as the birth of a rat by an elephant. That could be a fitting description of the disappointment that the ministerial list has generated. Many commentators have argued that considering President Tinubus knack for picking talents, the list appears shockingly underwhelming. So an objective critic might wonder why Stella Okotete was chosen to represent Delta State. A fastidious analyst might overlook her possession of a postgraduate degree and leadership certificates from ivy league schools. But such a meticulous analysis cannot ignore the role she played as national womens representative of the ruling party. Perhaps, were our national political parties a little better organised, nobody would have wondered why the immediate past women leader of a ruling party has been nominated to become a minister.

Yet, a rational analysis shouldnt trivialise the experience that can be gathered as an executive director of NEXIM Bank. Having been found worthy of the position and retained by the president for six years, despite the reservations expressed in a resolution by the Senate, her performance on the job must then be evaluated to reach a balanced judgment. The Senate had said that although her appointment satisfied the provisions of the NEXIM Bank Act, it didnt meet the provisions of a CBN circular that prescribed an 18-year prerequisite experience to be a director of any financial institution. That was the Senates point of disagreement with the president. But the president rejected the idea and retained her.

During her previous and subsisting tenures as Business Development Director, the bank grew its balance sheet geometrically and reduced non-performing loans drastically. The controversy around the initial appointment cannot subtract from the immense exposure and experience she has acquired on the job and the plaudits she has earned for a job well done. Having earned the trust of two consecutive presidents, she, perhaps, deserves her elevation.

For democracy to thrive, citizens must remain perpetually sceptical of politicians and their motives. Their actions must be microscopically examined and misgivings amplified. Yet, a line has to be drawn between wanton character assassinations that especially discourage womens participation in politics and indispensable civic watchfulness. Amongst the ministerial nominees are characters who have shown an abject lack of moral scruples and have standing indictments by the EFCC. That is disheartening. But while that disappointment is still eliciting a hysteria of finger-pointing, care must be taken not to allow misogyny to pass for objective scrutiny.

Ugoji Egbujo writes from Lagos.

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News / National

by Staff reporter

A security breach is being investigated at the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) headquarters in Harare after three laptops were stolen during a break-in early Sunday.Two of the laptops belonged to chief elections officer Utloile Silaigwana and a third was assigned to his secretary, Isabel Mariwowo.It was not clear if the laptops held any sensitive data, the theft coming less than a month before general elections.The break-in and theft was discovered just before 9AM on Sunday when Mariwowo turned up for work and initially observed that her electrical appliances were off."While trying to investigate she discovered that the adaptor was missing form her office," an internal police memo of the incident seen by ZimLive said.Mariwowo soon discovered that her Dell laptop was missing, and in Silaigwana's office an HP Pro Book and Mac Book Pro had also been stolen."The south facing window for Silaigwana's office was broken with a stone which was on the floor," according to the memo.We have reached out to ZEC and this story will be updated when their response is received.
The recent development in Niger will certainly impose an additional burden on Nigeria. To be more exact, instability in Niger Republic will affect Nigeria in four significant ways. First, any security vacuum created by this instability will be utilised by extremist groups, criminal networks and other destabilising elements to upturn all the gains Niger and other Sahelian countries in the sub-region have made, over a decade, in containing these groups.

Niger Republic is Nigerias next-door neighbour. The country is not the best neighbour Nigeria would have desired but, as a sovereign nation, we have no control over it. Nigers economic statistics, population demographics, poverty and security threats  terrorism, insurgency, and inter-communal conflicts  are too much baggage for any neighbouring country to want. However, like all responsible neighbours, a threat to a neighbour is a threat to you. A fire outbreak in your neighbours house is a valid threat to your own safety and it is in your enlightened self-interest to ensure peace in the neighbourhood. Only then can you have a measure of peace. Relating this to countries sharing borders, Nigeria needs peace at this crucial time to address its socio-economic and security challenges.

Of recent, the peace of Niger Republic has been threatened and breached. Last week, members of the elite military Presidential Guard successfully overthrew the elected government of President Mohammed Bazoum and named General Abdourahomene Tchiani as President of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland. This development has effectively created instability in that country and the West African sub-region. The Nigerien experience makes it the fifth military coup in the sub-region since 2020, following earlier coups detat in Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, and Mali. As expected, the United Nations (UN), United States of America (USA), European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Nigeria, and other world leaders have condemned these constitutional breaches. However, the world is looking to Nigeria to lead the sub-region in fighting against the contagion of coups that are destroying the democratic foundations of the past decades and turning the region into the worlds epicentre of coups. The expectation is not misplaced. As the dominant power, Nigeria has a moral and diplomatic responsibility for ensuring stability in the region.

There is no denying that this coup has destabilised Niger. Or that the aftermath of this destabilisation will have grave consequences on the region and Nigeria, in particular. The evolving chaos and complete sense of unease that are palpable in Niger, is compounding the situation of a country which is already battling extremism and the terrorist attacks of Boko Haram and Islamic States West African Province fighters, in addition to exponential economic hardship. The ousted President is known for his unrelenting fight against terrorist groups within his country and the sub-region. His overthrow and the resultant instability may create the space for terrorist groups in Niger to restrategise and reinforce their actions against states within the sub-region.

Terrorism thrives in failed states with little or no legitimate governments. It creates leeway for non-state actors to have field days and act with impunity. The recent development in Niger will certainly impose an additional burden on Nigeria. To be more exact, instability in Niger Republic will affect Nigeria in four significant ways. First, any security vacuum created by this instability will be utilised by extremist groups, criminal networks and other destabilising elements to upturn all the gains Niger and other Sahelian countries in the sub-region have made, over a decade, in containing these groups. When these groups thrive in Niger, they will attack neighbouring countries with common boundaries with Niger. Nigeria will be the main target, mainly because it shares borders with Niger across Bornu, Yobe, Jigawa, Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto and Kebbi states. That is the longest border Nigeria shares with any country. This poses a significant risk to Nigerias fragile internal security. A destabilised Niger Republic will be a free breeding ground for terrorists and provide unrestricted passage to Nigeria by Boko Haram and other terrorist groups, through the Diffa region.

the coup in Niger Republic is an affront to Nigerias leadership in West Africa. Aside from affecting us directly as a country, it will affect our standing as a regional and continental leader. How Nigeria, as a regional power, engages and interacts with its neighbour will determine how we keep our status as a continental power. Our reputation is at stake. The world is watching how Nigeria will successfully deal with the crisis in Niger.

Second, Nigeria will most likely bear the brunt of Nigers refugee crisis. Niger Republic, which already serves as a transit point for migrants and refugees, has a high youth population and the worlds highest birth rate. Any destabilisation of the country will lead to massive refugee movements into Nigeria through our porous borders. Most Nigeriens can trek into Nigeria. Besides, Niger is an agrarian economy. With climate change and conflict, it is only natural for their farmers and herders to migrate to Nigeria. This will compound and exacerbate our now very challenging farmer-pastoral clashes.

Third, the crisis in Niger will provide a valid threat to the growth and deepening of democracy in the West African sub-region. The ousted Presidents election was the first democratic transition of power in a State that has witnessed four military coups since independence from France in 1960. This would be a reversal of all gains made therefore. Already, three countries in the West African sub-region are under military rule. Two others, The Gambia and Guinea Bissaus democracy are being sustained by Nigeria. A fragile Niger signals susceptibility to unconstitutional rule in other West African democracies.

Militarism and juntas leading many states in the West African sub-region do not inspire confidence and may be seen as retrogressive by other stakeholders. Each successful coup provides some cues or encouragement for subsequent ones. Like insurgencies, coups are rooted in the failings of governance, population conflicts, and the nature of civilian and military relations within states. The Nigerian state must ensure that such fertile grounds for coups are not in place in countries in the sub-region. Nigeria is working hard for more regional economic and political integration through the instrumentality of the ECOWAS and must work to forestall unsavoury political developments such as we have in Niger, since crisis in any member-State sabotages the effort it is leading and jeopardises regional integration.

Fourth, the coup in Niger Republic is an affront to Nigerias leadership in West Africa. Aside from affecting us directly as a country, it will affect our standing as a regional and continental leader. How Nigeria, as a regional power, engages and interacts with its neighbour will determine how we keep our status as a continental power. Our reputation is at stake. The world is watching how Nigeria will successfully deal with the crisis in Niger. Therefore, the world expects the Nigerian state to work unilaterally or within regional and continental institutions such as ECOWAS and AU to solve this crisis. On our part, Africa remains the centrepiece of Nigerias foreign policy. Our nation constitutes the conscience of the world. All these attributes entrusts Nigeria with the responsibility of championing democratic tenets in and for the continent. Failure to accomplish this sacred duty would negatively impact the global perception of Nigeria as a net contributor to global power dynamics. In the execution of its sacred role, Nigeria must send a clear message that not again on its watch will a state on the continent  particularly on the West Coast  fall into the cold hands of military juntas. The world must never perceive Nigeria as a fallen power or a toothless bulldog that barks but cannot bite.

Every international or multilateral intervention must dispassionately examine the root causes of the leadership crises and the unmet needs or unresolved conflicts that are driving coups in Africa. There is the need, and no effort should be spared, to strengthen Nigers institutions and broader civil society, alongside the provision of more economic investments in the country, in addition to intense diplomacy.

This crisis is a significant challenge for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria, who doubles as the leader of ECOWAS. Both roles put him at the fore of dealing with this crisis. Thankfully, he has vowed to show no tolerance for coups in the region. By that proclamation alone, he has started the hard work of re-establishing Nigerias regional leadership and ending the crisis in Niger. He started well by following a clear strategy for dealing with the situation, by first condemning the coup in totality and then commencing diplomatic engagements to stem the tide.

President Bola Tinubu sent a planeload of his senior officers to press the Niger military to abort the takeover. Although the mission may be unsuccessful at the moment, this kind of leadership from within the region is commendable. The new Nigerian and ECOWAS leader has continued to engage with world leaders, such as the US Vice President, the Secretary-General of the UN, heads of state of countries within the sub-region and other vital stakeholders, to fashion out the best multilateral approach towards a lasting solution to the problem. He is galvanising the ECOWAS and AU for a collaborative institutional approach. Yesterday 30th July in Abuja, ECOWAS leaders made a cocktail of significant decisions aimed at dislodging the junta. This includes the imposition of a no-flight zone, air and land border closures, and financial sanctions, without ruling out the use of force. The international community will be watching out how far ECOWAS can go in its resolve to restore constitutional order in Niger.

In searching for the results to this political crisis, we must come to terms with its anatomy by conducting a near infallible diagnosis of the symptoms it presents. There is a nexus of local, regional and global factors at play in this crisis. We must highlight this connection, especially while articulating a comprehensive solution to the crisis and laying the foundation for the prevention of a coup detat from being staged in any other country in the sub-region, going forward. This is especially important given the role that France, as the former colonial master with more cultural, political, economic and military ties, plays in the emerging milieu. The ousted President has a robust link with France and that window can come in handy. However, recent global events have seen the possible push by the Russian/Chinese hegemonies to take control of some African countries and push out the US and its Western allies. Some African militaries are counting on this emerging global divide and taking their chances, knowing that there are opportunities of having the backing of either of the powers after a coup.

Every international or multilateral intervention must dispassionately examine the root causes of the leadership crises and the unmet needs or unresolved conflicts that are driving coups in Africa. There is the need, and no effort should be spared, to strengthen Nigers institutions and broader civil society, alongside the provision of more economic investments in the country, in addition to intense diplomacy. The latter may include the use of military force to produce regime change. The enduring solution to the Nigerien debacle is this. Nigeria, other principal voices in the subregion and global actors, must work in collaboration to pull Niger back from this or any future military dictatorship.

Dakuku Peterside is a policy and leadership expert.

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The O.B. Lulu-Briggs Foundation has awarded 63 Rivers State students in the Nigerian Law School a grant of N120,000 and a brand-new laptop each at its 14th Law School Students Scholarship award ceremony held on Tuesday, 25 July, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The 63 recipients were the 2023 beneficiaries of the Foundations Law School Students Scholarships, from which 868 have benefited since its inception in 2009.

In her welcome address, Chairman of the Foundation, Dr (Mrs) Seinye O.B. Lulu-Briggs, affirmed its belief in the transformational capacity of quality education.

She said, The O.B. Lulu-Briggs Foundation firmly believes in the power of education and its ability to transform lives. Our Education and Scholarships Programme improves access and attainment through initiatives supporting students who would otherwise be shut out due to financial constraints.

We understand that pursuing a career in law is a challenging task. It demands an indomitable spirit, tireless effort and an unwavering commitment to upholding justice and to defending the rights of others. We recognise the tremendous trials that law students face, both academically and financially. That is why we established this scholarships program to provide a helping hand and support brilliant young minds on their journey towards becoming future leaders in the legal field.

She added that the awardees, have demonstrated unwavering dedication, immense talent and a passion for the pursuit of justice throughout their studies. Therefore, assisting such extraordinary young minds with a scholarship that includes N120,000 and a brand-new laptop is an honour.

Dr Lulu-Briggs charged the awardees to use the resources wisely and always remember the values that led them to pursue a career in law.

As future legal professionals, you have a unique opportunity to uphold the universal and timeless principles of justice and fairness. After completing Law School, I implore you also to use your legal knowledge and skills to champion the cause of justice, advocate for those who cannot speak for themselves and defend the marginalised, she said.

In her lecture titled Technology and the Legal Profession: Transforming the Legal Landscape, retired Chief Judge of Bayelsa State and the guest speaker, Justice Kate Abiri,said integrating technology in the legal landscape has enhanced efficiency, accuracy and accessibility.

Justice Abiri highlighted how Artificial Intelligence, blockchain technology, Online Dispute Resolution and E-discovery have transformed the legal profession.

She said Artificial Intelligence has emerged as a game changer in the legal field, transforming how lawyers perform research, analyse data and provide legal advice.

Traditionally, lawyers had to review and analyse mountains of electronic data during litigation manually. AI algorithms, equipped with machine learning capabilities, can quickly identify and flag relevant documents, saving time and reducing costs. These advancements streamline the legal workflow and minimise human error, ensuring accuracy and consistency, she said.

Justice Abiri further stressed that lawyers needed to adapt to the technological advancements, noting that failure to do so can result in reduced efficiency, decreased competitiveness and a diminished ability to serve clients effectively. As technology evolves, lawyers must develop technological literacy and embrace digital tools to enhance their practice.

She, however, warned that lawyers must pay attention to data security and privacy when adopting technology.

The increased reliance on technology exposes law firms and their clients to potential cyber threats and data breaches. Implementing robust cybersecurity measures, training staff on best practices, and staying informed about evolving threats are essential for safeguarding sensitive client information and maintaining trust.

Deputy Director General and Head of Campus, Nigerian Law School, Port Harcourt and the Chairman of the event, Mr Chinonso Mmuozoba, spoke in the same vein, adding that the students will benefit from adopting technology.

Senior Advocate of Nigeria, O.C.J. Okocha and other speakers, including the representative of the Rivers State Attorney General, all commended the O.B. Lulu-Briggs Foundations uncommon philanthropy for boosting legal education in the country through its Law School Students Scholarship to grow young legal minds.

Okocha said, I congratulate the O.B. Lulu-Briggs Foundation for sustaining this scholarship scheme over the years. I also congratulate the recipients and advise you not to take this for granted. You are a select few from the many that applied. I know that financial resources are not so readily available to your parents and those supporting your education, so use what you have been given well. Also, remember that honesty and dedication are hallmarks of this profession.

Beneficiaries of the scholarship also applaudedand thanked the O.B. Lulu-Briggs Foundation, promising to use the resources well.

Eminent jurists, lawyers and monarchs including the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Hon. Justice Simeon Amadi, former Rivers State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Honourable Worgu Boms, King (Dr.) Dandeson Douglas Jaja, JP, Jeki V, Amanyanabo and Natural Ruler of Opobo Kingdom of Rivers State, His Majesty, Eze Amb. Kelvin Ngozi Anugom DSSRS JP, Eze Ekpeye Logbo III, and Sir Hon Allwell Ihunda, the Port Harcourt Mayor who was represented by Barr. Chile Owuru, Secretary of the Port Harcourt City Local Government,attended the ceremony.

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The Adamawa State government has relaxed a 24-hour curfew imposed across the state following Sundays looting of food storage and other warehouses in the state capital, Yola.

On Monday, the police said over 100 suspects were arrested during the upheaval on Sunday and they will be charged to a court to serve as a deterrent to other miscreants.

The arrest is ongoing, we have over 100 suspects at hand, and other security agencies are yet to bring their own arrest. All the suspects will be charged in court immediately, said the police spokesperson, Suleiman Ngoroje.

The relaxation of the curfew followed a meeting in the early hours of Monday morning between security chiefs and government officials led by the states deputy governor, Kaletapwa Farauta.

Addressing the press shortly after the meeting, Mrs Farauta announced that the curfew has been reviewed from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and will be reviewed hourly while authorities will maintain an increased security presence to ensure compliance with governments directive and that criminals do not disrupt the the peace of the state.

While urging parents to send their children and wards to school as well as business people to reopen their businesses, she warned hoodlums and the public to abide by the curfew and remain courteous and cooperative if approached and questioned by security personnel.

Mrs Farauta noted that the government would not fold its arms and allow miscreants to disrupt the peace of the state.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported how the government of Adamawa State declared a 24-hour curfew across the state after some residents broke into government-owned and private food stores and looted food and non-food items.

Witnesses said that the looters complained of hardship following the removal of the subsidy on petrol and the high cost of foodstuff.

The police in the state later said it arrested over 100 suspects during Sundays fracas.

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The police in Bayelsa State on Sunday said two children abandoned by child traffickers had been reunited with their family.

The police spokesperson, Asinim Butswat, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bayelsa that the abandoned children of the same parents were brought to the police by a Good Samaritan.

Mr Butswat, a superintendent of police, said that investigations were underway to trace and apprehend the suspected traffickers who allegedly brought the children from Rivers to Bayelsa and abandoned them.

On the 27th of July 2023, two children, Divine Lucky (F) 12 and Angel Lucky (F) 5, were sighted roaming the Tombia-Etegwe roundabout aimlessly.

A community Chief took them to Akenfa Police Division.

Upon interrogation, it was discovered that the children were stolen by a suspected child trafficker from Port Harcourt and brought to Yenagoa, Bayelsa, Mr Butswat said.

The police spokesperson explained that the police in Rivers State were contacted to trace the origin and parents of the children.

He said that on Saturday, the Chairperson of Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, Thomas Bariere, came to Yenagoa in the company of the parents of the children and took custody of them.

The Commissioner of Police Bayelsa State, Tolani Alausa, has directed police operatives to intensify surveillance on the perpetrators of child trafficking in the state, Mr Butswat said.

(NAN)

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Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State, on Saturday, visited the scene of a flooded road in Uyo.

The road, Atiku Abubakar Avenue, which is in the heart of Uyo city, is one of the areas that are worst affected by flood in the state capital.

Whenever it rains, the flooded road becomes impassable to motorists and other road users. The floods usually get into peoples homes and shops, where properties are destroyed and businesses ruined.

Mr Eno, who published on his Twitter page photos of his visit to the flooded road, said he wanted to have a firsthand assessment of the situation.

He was accompanied by the Chairperson of Uyo Local Government Council, Uwemedimo Udo.

The waterlogged area requires immediate intervention, Mr Eno said on the microblogging platform.

I have instructed the Chairman of the Akwa Ibom State Environmental Protection and Waste Management Agency, Prince Akpan Ikim, to start the de-silting of drainages on the Avenue and adjacent streets to ensure a smoother flow of rainwater.

We are dedicated to promptly resolving this issue, as it directly impacts the well-being of our citizens, the governor added.

Punch newspaper reported how the residents in Atiku Abubakar affected by this years floods recently appealed for intervention from Governor Eno.

The newspaper quoted an automobile technician who lamented that his workshop had been submerged.

I am one of the victims of the flood; it affected me very seriously. Because of the relationship we have with the authorities of the Beulah Nursery/Primary School, we were able to relocate customers cars and park them at the front of the school. The flood has posed a lot of challenges, when it rains, it affects us financially, the technician, Ndianabasi Isong, said.

We are managing to survive because we have sincere customers that look for us wherever we are despite the flood. As you can see in my shop, the rain has destroyed everything including our tools. One of my boys fell into the flood and sustained injuries, he has been in the hospital, he said, while blaming the situation on the dumping of waste in the drainages.

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A coalition of organised labour and civil society organisations on Monday protested in the Osun State capital city of Osogbo over the economic hardship in Nigeria arising from the removal of fuel subsidy by the Nigerian government.

The protest, which started at 8 a.m. on Monday, was tagged Let the poor breathe by the organisers. The coalition was led by Waheed Lawal and took off from the popular Ayetoro Junction in Osogbo.

According to the protesters, the government must find solutions urgently to the economic hardship, commercialisation of education, non-provision of palliatives, fuel subsidy removal, hike in electricity tariff and growing insecurity.

The protesters waved placards with different messages as they marched to important locations in the state capital.

One of the banners read: Mr President, youre suffocating the poor while another had the inscription: Let the poor breathe.

On July 20, the coalition had issued a seven-day ultimatum to the government to roll out palliative measures to cushion the consequences of the removal of fuel subsidy.

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At a press conference in Osogbo, Mr Lawal denounced the endless promises by the state government without action to match them.

We wish to state that while we demand a speedy response from the federal government on the roll-out of palliative to cushion the effect of the removal of subsidy and biting economic reality, we also demand that the Osun State government go beyond empathy and promises to rolling out measures to make life liveable for the people as several other states of the federation have done.

Without intention to threaten, we want to state categorically that failure for the issues raised above to be looked into between now and the next one week, and the needful done, we shall be leading the mass of the people out on the street for a protest and nothing shall deter us till we achieve victory since that seems to be one language that the government understands, he added.

Meanwhile, the president of the Osun Coalition of Youth Voice Movement, Oluwaseun Adebisi, cautioned youth in the state to avoid participating in politically influenced protests.

In a statement released to the media on Sunday, Mr Adebisi said his group would not participate in any protest.

This is to inform the general public, especially the Osun youths under the umbrella of CYVM that we are not in support of any group sponsoring protest that can cause any unrest in the society.

However, he called on the federal government to take appropriate action in resolving the current hardship in the country.

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News / National

by Staff reporter

The son of Zanu-PF MP and businessman Kenneth Musanhi has appeared in court charged with the attempted murder of his estranged wife.Tariro Musanhi, 35, turned his Toyota D4D into a weapon and rammed into Margret Samanyanga's Honda Fit several times on the side and front as she sat inside, the Harare Magistrates Court heard on Friday.Musanhi, of Wilson Drive in Greendale, also brandished a pistol which he pointed at 29-year-old Samanyanga while threatening to kill her in the July 26 incident.Musanhi was not asked to plead to charges of attempted murder and pointing a firearm when he appeared before Harare regional magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka who remanded him to August 28 on US$500 bail.As part of his bail conditions, he was ordered to report to police every Monday and Friday.Prosecuting, Ephraim Zinyandu told the court that at around 7PM on July 26, Samanyanga parked her vehicle near a Total service station at the corner of Mutare Road and Wilson Drive.Musanhi, the court heard, parked next to Samanyanga's Honda Fit in his Toyota D4D before confronting her over their marital problems.An enraged Musanhi then drove his vehicle and rammed into the Honda Fit several times into the side and front."He disembarked and produced an unidentified pistol which he pointed at Samanyanga threatening to shoot her. Samanyanga noticing the firearm sped off from the scene and reported the matter at ZRP Rhodesville," Zinyandu charged.Musanhi was arrested at his workplace - AVM Africa - in Msasa on July 28.
SHENZHEN, China, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2023 ASEAN-China Greater Bay Area Economic Cooperation (Qianhai) Forum was held in Qianhai, Shenzhen from July 29 to 30. More than 500 political and business representatives from ASEAN countries and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area attended the opening ceremony and related events. Six enterprises under the chambers of commerce from the Greater Bay Area reached investment and cooperation agreements with ASEAN, with the intended investment signed amounting to 3.5 billion yuan, bringing about a bilateral trade volume of 7 billion yuan.

China and ASEAN are already each other's largest trading partners. On November 22, 2021, the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between China and ASEAN was officially announced to build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.

At the opening ceremony of the Forum, the Greater Bay Area-ASEAN Association of Chambers of Commerce and the ASEAN-China Think Tank Cooperation Partnership were established, and the ASEAN-Greater Bay Area Economic Cooperation Initiative was announced. The Initiative proposed to establish a dialogue platform for economic cooperation, strengthen industrial and investment cooperation, promote cooperation in scientific and technological innovation and transformation of technological achievements, strengthen exchange and cooperation between the business associations in the region, and encourage talent and cultural exchanges between the Greater Bay Area and ASEAN.

Shi Zhongjun, Secretary-General of ASEAN-China Centre, said in his welcome remark that government officials, business associations, think tanks, and enterprise representatives from China and ASEAN member states had gathered in Qianhai and would have in-depth exchanges and discussions in a number of forums and industry matching activities in two days so as to offer advice and suggestions on promoting the cooperation and development between the Greater Bay Area and ASEAN countries in the fields of finance, e-commerce, digital economy, science and technological innovation, etc.

Wang Shourui, Vice Mayor of Shenzhen Municipal People's Government, said that this Forum would help build a broader and more efficient platform for economic cooperation and exchanges between ASEAN and the Greater Bay Area and further strengthen dialogues and cooperation in fields such as scientific and technological innovation, economic and trade investment, etc. Shenzhen would fully play its role as the important link between China and ASEAN, seize the opportunity brought by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), deepen the comprehensive cooperation with ASEAN countries in business, trade, finance, smart city, new energy vehicles, and other areas, and promote economic and trade cooperation and people-to-people connectivity between the Greater Bay Area and ASEAN so as to jointly build and share a prosperous home.

Ambassadors and government representatives from Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Indonesia, Myanmar, and the Philippines delivered keynote speeches. Speeches by the representatives from the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia, Philippine Association for Chinese Studies, and GRC Indonesia Construction Materials Group affirmed that Qianhai, where the Forum was held, would provide a broad market and unlimited opportunities for enterprises. They all looked forward to coming to the Greater Bay Area and Qianhai to invest, develop, and win a better future together.

Qianhai will make full use of the opportunities brought by organizing this Forum, spare no efforts to build a gateway hub for opening up to the world, actively build platforms for economic cooperation and dialogues, deepen industrial and investment cooperation, promote the transformation of technological achievements, and contribute to the economic and trade cooperation and people-to-people connectivity between the Greater Bay Area and ASEAN.

SOURCE The 2023 ASEAN-China Greater Bay Area Economic Cooperation (Qianhai) Forum
IRVINE, Calif., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Alpha Motor Corporation (Alpha), a leading innovator in the electric vehicle (EV) industry, proudly presents the world premiere of its groundbreaking Wolf electric truck driving prototype. This innovative vehicle represents a significant milestone in Alpha's commitment to providing sustainable and accessible electric mobility solutions to consumers worldwide.

Accelerating Towards Mass Production:

WORLD PREMIERE: Wolf Electric Truck Driving Prototype - Copyright  2023 Alpha Motor Corporation. All rights reserved. Edward Lee - Founder, CEO of Alpha Motor Corporation pictured at the company's headquarters, 9551 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine, CA 92618. Copyright  2023 Alpha Motor Corporation. All rights reserved.

Alpha's highly anticipated test drive event for the Wolf electric truck proved to be an overwhelming success, leaving attendees in awe of the vehicle's exceptional performance, and driving experience. Held at a picturesque location in California, the event highlighted the prowess of the Wolf electric truck, solidifying its position as a game-changer in the electric vehicle industry.

The success of the Wolf electric truck test drive event is a resounding confirmation that Alpha has confidence in its strides toward production development. The test drive reaffirmed that Alpha is aligned to deliver an exceptional electric vehicle. Building upon this momentum, Alpha is expediting its efforts to produce more test vehicles, accelerating the pursuit of mass production.

In every step, Alpha is committed to efficiently navigating the production process, ensuring that the Wolf electric truck becomes available for customers worldwide, and propelling the world towards a sustainable and electrifying future.

Exceptional Driving Experience:

During the test drive, participants witnessed firsthand the unmatched driving capabilities of the Wolf electric truck. From the moment they took the wheel, it became evident that this electric truck was designed to deliver more than just efficient transportationit provided an exhilarating and seamless ride.

The precision-engineered electric powertrain of the Wolf truck exhibited remarkable acceleration, delivering instant torque and swift response to driver inputs.

Cruising through cities or venturing off-road, the Wolf impressed the drivers with its versatility and agility alongside smooth handling and stability.

Intuitive Design and Comfort:

Beyond its performance, the Wolf electric truck's interior captivated test drivers with its cabin comfort features and thoughtful details. The spacious cabin, designed to accommodate up to two passengers, ensured ample legroom and headspace for an enjoyable ride. Ergonomic controls and an intuitive infotainment system also provided a seamless and user-friendly experience inside the Wolf.

Safety is paramount at Alpha, and the Wolf electric truck is projected to satisfy expectations in this category. The Wolf truck is planned to be equipped with advanced safety features and innovative driver-assistance technologies to instill confidence in drivers. Created to inspire trust equally through busy traffic and challenging terrains, the Wolf provides a sense of security and joy in every ride.

Sleek and Powerful Operation:

The Wolf electric truck's powerfully sleek operation was one of its most notable qualities. The absence of typical engine noise astounded the participants and added to the peacefulness and tranquility of the drive. The electric powertrain's steady propulsion makes the Wolf perfect for both long distance and urban commutes, with the strikingly peaceful driving experience.

Engineering Excellence:

The Wolf electric truck is a result of Alpha's relentless dedication to engineering excellence and innovation. The prototype boasts a robust and utilitarian design, combining a sturdy body-on-frame construction with lightweight materials for enhanced efficiency and durability. Alpha's team of skilled engineers are in continuous development of the Wolf truck to equip the vehicle with optimal performance and safety standards.

Vehicle Specifications:

The Wolf electric truck exudes a commanding presence within a compact package: 4828mm (190in) long, 1900mm (75in) wide, and 1768mm (69in) tall. Catering to the diverse needs of modern drivers, the Wolf truck features a spacious and comfortable interior, accommodating two passengers in the base model and up to five passengers in the Superwolf truck. The Wolf truck was created for both personal and commercial use. Equipped with a cutting-edge electric powertrain performing remarkable acceleration and towing capabilities, the Wolf truck is a fun-to-drive electric vehicle that comes ready to take on everyday adventures.

Performance Specifications:

Alpha's engineering shines in the Wolf electric truck, incorporating a multitude of benefits to ensure that the vehicle's exhilarating performance results in an incredibly enjoyable ride. The Wolf truck's state-of-the-art electric drivetrain provides exceptional performance figures. Estimated top speed of 125 mph and a range target of up to 300+ miles on a single charge, it ensures a seamless and long-lasting driving experience. Additionally, the electric truck incorporates fast-charging technology, allowing users to recharge the battery quickly and efficiently.

Beyond the independent suspension system and integration of shock absorbers, the Wolf's low center of gravity, achieved through skillful battery placement, enhances its handling and responsiveness, making every turn a thrilling experience. The instant torque delivery of the electric powertrain ensures swift acceleration, allowing the Wolf to effortlessly surge forward, delivering a sense of power and excitement to the drivers. Moreover, the regenerative braking system not only maximizes energy efficiency but also delivers a smooth and controlled deceleration.

Additionally, the thoughtful cabin insulation minimizes external noise, creating a serene and whisper-quiet atmosphere inside the vehicle for the comfort of all passengers. From the engineering drawing board to real-world performance, the Wolf electric truck fuses innovative technology and passionate engineering, delivering an electric vehicle experience that is as fun as it is thrilling. Whether it's an urban drive or a rugged off-road adventure, the Wolf electric truck brings excitement to sustainability through its effortless driving experience, , setting a new standard for the future of electric mobility.

Efficient Production Plan:

Alpha is committed to manufacturing in the US and expediting the production process of the Wolf electric truck to meet the ever-growing demand for sustainable transportation. The company's highly streamlined production plan and strategic partnerships with leading suppliers ensure a swift and efficient assembly process, reducing waiting times for customers eager to own the Wolf truck.

Alpha's commitment to efficient car manufacturing is founded on several key pillars that streamline the production process. Firstly, the company employs state-of-the-art automation and robotics at various stages of assembly, optimizing precision and reducing production time.

Secondly, Alpha has established strategic partnerships with leading suppliers for a seamless and timely supply chain, minimizing delays and disruptions.

Thirdly, a modular approach to vehicle design enables easy integration of standardized components, simplifying production and reducing complexities. Additionally, Alpha emphasizes continuous process optimization, leveraging data-driven insights to identify bottlenecks and implement refinements for enhanced efficiency.

Lastly, a highly skilled and experienced workforce collaborates seamlessly to maintain the highest quality standards and ensure that each vehicle undergoes rigorous testing. By combining these elements, Alpha will be poised to efficiently manufacture cars, enabling the company to deliver innovative electric vehicles to the market with speed and precision, meeting the growing demand for sustainable mobility.

Market Accessibility:

Alpha believes in the democratization of electric vehicles, and the Wolf electric truck is no exception. With an affordable price point and various financing options, Alpha aims to make EV ownership accessible to a broader audience. The company's dedication to accessibility is driven by its vision of creating a sustainable future for all, one electric vehicle at a time.

Alpha's commitment to efficiently managing its capital expenditure (capex) is rooted in its differentiated operations, which go beyond the traditional automotive value chain. By leveraging innovative manufacturing techniques, strategic partnerships, and modular vehicle design, Alpha optimizes production costs while maintaining high-quality standards. The company's emphasis on automation and streamlined processes ensures cost-effective assembly, minimizing unnecessary expenses.

Furthermore, Alpha's direct-to-consumer sales model eliminates the need for intermediaries, allowing the company to offer competitive pricing and enhance market accessibility. This customer-centric approach gathers valuable insights directly from buyers, allowing Alpha to swiftly improve production and market demand alignment.

Embracing a dynamic and adaptable business model that emphasizes efficiency and accessibility, Alphas will continue to expand its market reach, making electric vehicles more attainable and appealing to a broader audience.

Sales Strategy and Timeline:

Alpha plans to continue accepting pre-orders for the Wolf electric truck following its world premiere. Customers can join the waitlist for their Wolf truck through Alpha's official website. The company plans to roll out a comprehensive online platform which will simplify the ordering process and revolutionize the car buying experience.

Alphas will adopt a direct-to-consumer sales model to offer its electric vehicles in North America. Through its user-friendly website, customers can easily browse Alpha's electric vehicle lineup, access transparent pricing and financing options, and configure their vehicles according to their preferences. The website will facilitate a seamless and hassle-free online ordering process, allowing customers to place pre-orders for their desired electric vehicle models.

Additionally, Alphas plans to establish its own branded showrooms in key locations across North America, inviting potential buyers to experience the Wolf electric truck and other models firsthand. This direct sales approach empowers Alpha to build stronger relationships with its customers, understand their needs better, and offer personalized support, ensuring a delightful and engaging purchasing journey from start to finish.

Target Market:

Over the years of its operation, Alphas has meticulously conducted consumer research to understand the evolving landscape of the electric vehicle market. This investment to connect with customer needs has subsequently validated a strong demand for the Wolf electric truck, which has surged to over 11,000 preorder indications to date.

The Wolf's design, blending modern aesthetics with practicality, resonates deeply with electric vehicle buyers, making it a standout choice in the market. Alphas' target market encompasses a diverse range of eco-conscious consumers, adventure enthusiasts, and businesses seeking sustainable transportation solutions.

The company's market advantage lies in its unique ability to combine customer-centric product development with engineering excellence, allowing it to create electric vehicles that not only meet the demands of the market but also exceed expectations.

By staying ahead of industry trends and continuously improving its offerings based on customer feedback, Alphas has solidified its position as a trailblazer in the electric vehicle industry, reshaping the future of sustainable mobility.

Delivering the Future:

Alpha is dedicated to delivering an unparalleled customer experience from pre-order to delivery. The company is seeking to establish a robust logistics network to ensure efficient and timely deliveries to customers worldwide. Alpha's commitment to environmental responsibility extends to its delivery process, with a focus on minimizing carbon emissions and employing sustainable transport methods whenever possible.

"Alpha is excited to unveil the Wolf electric truck driving prototype, a testament to our relentless pursuit of innovation and sustainability. By combining engineering excellence with a customer-centric approach, we aim to accelerate the transition to electric mobility and make sustainable transportation accessible to all," said Alpha Motor Corporation.

Motion Driven by Heart:

At the core of Alpha's philosophy lies the belief that every aspect of mobility should be driven by the heart. This vision embodies the company's commitment to create not just innovative electric vehicles, but to infuse them with passion, compassion, and a deep understanding of human needs and aspirations.

"Motion Driven by Heart" encapsulates Alpha's dedication to more than just engineering and performance. It reflects the company's ethos of putting people and the planet first, fostering a strong emotional connection between drivers and their electric vehicles. The Wolf electric truck is not merely a means of transportation; it is an extension of one's values, lifestyle, and desire to make a positive impact on the environment.

Alpha envisions a future where electric vehicles empower individuals and communities to embrace sustainable living without compromising on performance or style. By providing access to affordable, dependable, and stylish electric vehicles, the company aims to create a global movement towards a cleaner, greener, and more interconnected world.

"We believe that electric vehicles should not only be technologically advanced but should also resonate with the hearts of our customers. Our 'Motion Driven by Heart' philosophy guides every decision we make, from design and engineering to production and customer experience," said Alpha Motor Corporation.

Alpha's unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship and social responsibility is evident in its actives collaborations with various environmental initiatives, aiming to reduce its carbon footprint and contribute positively to its communities.

As Alpha moves forward with speed and efficiency to bring the Wolf electric truck to the market, the company's vision of "Motion Driven by Heart" remains firmly embedded in its DNA. Through this vision, Alpha strives to inspire the world to embrace electric mobility with enthusiasm, compassion, and a shared commitment to a brighter, sustainable future.

About Alpha Motor Corporation

Alpha Motor Corporation (Alpha) is an award-winning American automobile company focused on manufacturing mobility solutions that Move Humanity. We innovate sustainable transportation for the wellness of people and our environment by implementing advanced automotive technologies and disruptive industrial practices. Based in Irvine, California, Alpha is committed to creating the kinds of electric vehicles we believe the world has always wanted to see but that have not existed  until now.

Please contact [email protected] for more information.

Related Links

https://youtu.be/rWfTmDaRGow

https://www.alphamotorinc.com

SOURCE Alpha Motor Corporation
LOS ANGELES, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorneys for Arias Sanguinetti filed a data breach class action on behalf of CalPERS members who had their data downloaded by an unauthorized third party after CalPERS provided that information to Pension Benefit Information, LLC and The Berwyn Group, Inc. ("PBI").

CalPERS, headquartered in Sacramento, is the nation's largest public pension fund with assets of approximately $240 billion. CalPERS provided PBI with the personal information of retired members, which included their full names, dates of birth and social security numbers.

PBI's own website claimed the company was focused on "protecting and securing your information" as their "highest priority." They also claimed "PBI strives to protect the personally identifiable information that we collect, maintain or disseminate, including by using appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards."

However, in May of 2023, an unauthorized third party downloaded the information of 769,000 retired CalPERS members through PBI's poorly protected servers. PBI waited until June 4 of 2023 to notify CalPERS, which then sent notices to retired members on June 22. To date, PBI has still not sent any notice to the plaintiff class.

"PBI's false promises compromised the data of hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom live on a restricted income, and if their credit or financial accounts are accessed, it would be catastrophic," said attorney Anthony Jenkins of Arias Sanguinetti.

The lawsuit alleges that PBI was negligent in protecting CalPERS members' personal information, PBI violated the Customer Records Act (Cal. Civ. Code  1798.82, et seq.), which governs how PBI should have protected the personal information of CalPERS' members, and that their right to privacy under the California Constitution have been violated.

The case is Terry Cheng et al. v. Pension Benefit Information, LLC, The Berwyn Group, Inc., U.S.D.C. California Western Division, Case No. 2:23-cv-05481. To read the complaint, click here.

About Arias Sanguinetti

As the premier law firm handling sex abuse cases in Los Angeles, Arias Sanguinetti's trial lawyers are continually honored and recognized for their work on behalf of clients the firm has obtained over $1 billion for clients. The firm's personal injury and medical malpractice attorneys are regularly ranked as some of the best in the nation. The firm also made history obtaining the $852 million settlement against USC on behalf of more than 700 former students, the largest known settlement in a sexual abuse case in U.S. history, as well as the largest known personal injury settlement against a university.

SOURCE Arias Sanguinetti
50% Off Glasses Sitewide from July 31 to August 14 for All

DTC Vision Products Startup Helps You See Easy with a New Pair of High-Quality, Impact-Resistant, and Anti-Scratch Handcrafted Glasses

New York, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As the 2023 school year approaches, Hubble Contacts , the leading directtoconsumer brand providing high-value and affordable daily contact lenses , eyeglasses , sunglasses , and other eye care accessories , is excited to announce the launch of its Back-to-School See Easy, See More campaign, celebrating the kickoff of the new school year.

Recognizing the immense dedication and effort put forth by teachers, Hubble Contacts wants to show appreciation and support for their essential role in shaping the future of our world.

Hubble Contacts kicks off See Easy, See More campaign celebrating the new school year.

Starting July 31, the first 100 teachers to submit a photo of their current teacher ID badge or LinkedIn profile URL to [email protected] will receive a promo code that can be redeemed for a free pair of high-quality, impact-resistant and anti-scratch handcrafted prescription glasses.

Teachers will receive a complimentary pair of Hubble's stylish, durable frames to help them see their students through the entire school year. This exclusive giveaway, valued between $78-$138, depending on the add-on features, will run for two weeks only or until supplies last.

Don't fret if you didn't get a pair of glasses in time, as Hubble Contacts has got everyone covered with a 50% off discount on all eyeglasses.

Hubble's handcrafted prescription eyeglasses start at just $78, making them an affordable and stylish choice for everyone. With features such as anti-reflective, anti-glare, anti-scratch, hydrophobic, and oleophobic coatings, along with optional add-ons like reader magnification and blue light filtering, Hubble's eyeglasses offer exceptional functionality and versatility.

Students, parents, or anyone looking for a new pair of glasses can use the promo code "BACKTOSCHOOL50" at checkout from July 31 through August 14 to take advantage of this offer.

"Back to school is the perfect time to invest in a new pair of eyeglasses. And at Hubble, we aim to make this buying experience as hassle-free and as affordable as possible for you," said Steve Druckman, CEO of Hubble Contacts. "This campaign is our way of showing our support in helping you cross a new pair of eyeglasses off your new school year checklist."

Hubble's frames are proudly designed in the U.S., meticulously crafted with premium materials, and come with a tri-fold Hubble frames case and microfiber lens cloth. The glasses feature impact-resistant lenses, durable barrel hinges, and padded temple tips, ensuring durability and comfort.

The See Easy, See More Back-to-School campaign will be promoted on Hubble Contacts website, Instagram, through email marketing and PR.

For more information, please visit Hubble Contacts' website at www.hubblecontacts.com or follow us on Instagram.

SEE EASY, SEE MORE BACK-TO-SCHOOL GIVEAWAY TERMS + CONDITIONS:

Entries must be received by midnight Pacific Time on August 14, 2023 to be eligible.

on to be eligible. No purchase is necessary.

Entrants must be teachers in the U.S.A. and at least 18 years old.

and at least 18 years old. One entry per person.

Hubble employees and their family members are not eligible.

Winners will be notified by email beginning July 31 through August 14, 2023 , or until supplies last.

MEDIA CONTACT:

[email protected]

ABOUT HUBBLE CONTACTS:

Founded in 2016, Hubble Contacts is on a mission to create the easiest, most accessible, and most affordable contact lens and glasses buying experience in the world. Leveraging its vision care expertise and passion for customer service, Hubble offers high-quality, made-to-order daily wear contact lenses , eyeglasses , sunglasses , and other eye care accessories direct-to-consumers nationwide. To date, Hubble has sold over 400 million lenses.

SOURCE Hubble Contacts
CHICAGO, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Automated Guided Vehicle Market is expected to reach USD 3.3 billion by 2028 from USD 2.4 billion in 2023, at a CAGR of 6.9% during 20232028 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. The significant growth factor associated with the Automated Guided Vehicle Market growth is the increased focus on enhancing workplace safety, which has created a substantial demand for AGVs. Companies seek to optimize their operations by improving productivity and reducing labor costs by deploying automated guided vehicle for material handling, logistics, and other tasks.

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Browse in-depth TOC on "Automated Guided Vehicle Market"

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Automated Guided Vehicle Market Report Scope:

Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2023 $2.4 billion Estimated Value by 2028 $3.3 billion Growth Rate Poised to grow at a CAGR of 6.9% Market Size Available for 20192028 Forecast Period 20232028 Forecast Units Value (USD Million/Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered By Type, Navigation Technology, Industry and Region Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of World Key Market Challenge Low labor costs restricting adoption of AGVs in emerging economies Key Market Opportunities Rising deployment of Industry 4.0 in warehouses Key Market Drivers Rising demand for automation solution in a variety of industries



Assembly line vehicle segment to grow with higher CAGR during the forecast period.

Assembly line vehicles facilitate the transportation of major subassemblies to the serial assembly process areas for the addition of various parts. These vehicles offer flexibility in manufacturing processes by allowing parallel operations. They allow tracking of an individual item and measuring work rates. Generally, these systems are integrated into overall production lines to decrease production time and ensure high productivity. Assembly line vehicles are used to carry the initial product through the production line (as it is modified by operators) and the final product with all value additions. The advantages of assembly line vehicles are flexibility, scalability, and integration with the logistics flow.

Vision Guidance segment to grow at the highest CAGR from 2023 to 2028.

A vision guidance system comprises a camera and a microprocessor/computer, along with related software. An AGV is fitted with one or more cameras that help with navigation in a warehouse. They don't need any infrastructure installations such as magnets or reflectors. They can learn routes and way points and navigate themselves through a 3D map. Advancements in object recognition, flexibility, and adaptability have made it a popular choice. Vision guidance allows AGVs to navigate using visual cues, making them versatile in various environments.

Automotive industry to hold largest market share in 2023.

AGVs are essential in the automotive industry, enabling efficient material handling and logistics operations. They are extensively utilized for tasks such as material transport, just-in-time manufacturing, assembly line support, towing, inventory management, line-side supply, and waste collection. AGVs optimize production processes, streamline material flow, and enhance inventory control, leading to improved efficiency, productivity, and safety in automotive manufacturing plants.

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Europe to contribute the largest market share in 2023.

Europe accounted for the largest share of automated guided vehicle industry in 2023. The growth of the European AGV market is mainly driven by the significant investments made by automotive players in robotic systems and AGVs. Europe is also home to AGV suppliers such as KION, KUKA, SSI Schaefer, and E&K Automation. These factors are expected to support the growth of AGV in this region. Europe is an attractive market for AGV manufacturing companies worldwide. Several companies that are based out of North America, APAC, and Japan have established their operations in Europe to tap and capture European customers.

The report profiles key players in automated guided vehicle companies such as Daifuku (Japan), JBT (US), KION (Germany), Toyota Industries (Japan), KUKA (Germany) and others.

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The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing.

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
WAYNE, Pa., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Balanced Bridge Funding was named one of 2023's Best Places to Work by The Philadelphia Business Journal. It is a prestigious award given to those companies that treat their employees well and create a hospitable work environment. Joseph Genovesi, CEO of Balanced Bridge Funding and its subsidiary Accel Real Estate Commission Advance, says, "it is an honor for Balanced Bridge Funding to be recognized by The Philadelphia Business Journal as one of 2023's Best Places to Work."

According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, the companies that are named to the list are based exclusively on the responses from the employees. The companies on the list can use the award as a recruiting tool for future employees and for promotional marketing uses. As workplaces evolve, job satisfaction continues to rank higher on the list of importance for current and prospective employees. The popularity of websites like Glassdoor, where current and ex-employees can leave their opinion, means an award like Best Places to Work can be a tipping point for people evaluating their employment choices. Genovesi says, "One of my goals when I started my company was for the environment at the workplace to be open, inclusive, and flexible to the needs of my employees. I think we have achieved that and this award speaks to that accomplishment."

Balanced Bridge Funding is a specialty finance company that provides funding to different kinds of sectors; contract advances to professional athletes, legal funding to plaintiffs and plaintiffs' attorneys, advances to first year big law attorneys, account receivable funding to Big Law firms, factoring to truck drivers and trucking companies, fee advances to class action recovery companies, contract advances to local, state, and federal government contractors, loans to fix and flip operators, loans on luxury assets, account receivable funding to small businesses, and commission advances to insurance brokers and insurance agents on their expected fees.

Accel Real Estate Commission Advance is a subsidiary of Balanced Bridge Funding. It is a finance company specifically designed to provide advances to real estate professionals on their expected commissions. Real estate brokers and agents can sometimes face delayed commissions due to a number of factors. Accel was created to provide funding on those commissions so brokers and agents can access a portion of their fee and avoid the waiting period for their money.

CONTACT:

[email protected]

SOURCE Balanced Bridge Funding
CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kids are gearing up for a new school year, and Belk wants to help everyone look their best so they can ace their first days back in the classroom! Belk is once again hosting the retailer's largest event focused on kids, KidFest, which will take place on Saturday, August 5 from 12-3 p.m. at all Belk stores (Belk Outlets are excluded). KidFest is a fun afternoon for the whole family and will include back-to-school shopping, treats, crafts, music and more!

KidFest activities will vary by location and each store has been working with local kid-focused community groups who are invited to add even more excitement to the afternoon's event.

Boys & Girls Club is one of Belk's national charitable partners, and August 5 will also mark the final day of a point-of-sale campaign benefitting the organization. Customers have had the opportunity to make donations to the nonprofit organization since July 2, and the campaign will culminate with Belk matching all donations, both in-store and online, on the Saturday of KidFest. Not only can customers knock out shopping for those first-day-of-school outfits, but all shoppers can support a charity that helps local children get the futures they deserve.

From jeans, sneakers, leggings, tees, or school uniforms, Belk's kids' apparel has all the styles students are looking for this upcoming school year.

Every child should look and feel their best as they return to the classroom, and KidFest invites families to have fun while checking off back-to-school shopping off their lists. Let's give a big cheer for the new school year!

About Belk

Charlotte-based Belk, Inc., a privately-owned department store, opened its first store in 1888, beginning a legacy of selling great products at great prices, treating customers like family, and giving back to the community. Today, Belk serves customers at nearly 300 Belk stores in 16 Southeastern states, at belk.com and through the mobile app. For 135 years, Belk has proudly put customers and community at the center of what they do, supporting local charities, organizations, and families when they need it most.

For more information visit https://newsroom.belk.com/ .

To shop, find your local store at https://www.belk.com/stores/ , visit belk.com or download the Belk app in Google Play or Apple Store.

SOURCE Belk, Inc.
Alliance supports Black Tech Street's ambition to digitally transform Black Wall Street to

Black Tech Street through cyber-centered talent and innovation initiatives

TULSA, Okla., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Black Tech Street announced an unprecedented alliance with Microsoft for Historic Greenwood, the neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, given the moniker, "Black Wall Street," by Booker T. Washington for its abundance of affluent Black entrepreneurs.

Dubbed by Black Tech Street, "The Digital Transformation of Black Wall Street", the alliance aims to restore Greenwood's position as a national hub for Black talent and innovation. Founded in 2021, Black Tech Street's mission is to rebirth Black Wall Street as a Black innovation economy by securing Black tech-focused economic and industry development opportunities for the Greenwood community.

Black Tech Street and Microsoft Announce long term Alliance Tweet this

"Since its inception, Black Tech Street's focus has been on securing transformative partnerships capable of addressing deeply-rooted economic inequities stemming from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre at scale. Our partnership with Microsoft is a perfect example of such an opportunity and reflects the very essence of both our organizations," said Tyrance Billingsley II, Black Tech Street Founder and Executive Director.

"We are grateful for Microsoft's support and engagement that is game changing for Greenwood, and sends a clear message that Black Wall Street will continue to be a national leader of Black innovation in the 21st century."

One cornerstone of the alliance is that Black Tech Street has been named as the Microsoft TechSpark Fellow for the State of Oklahoma. The TechSpark Community Engagement Fellowship program empowers community organizations with a combination of funding, programming, hands-on mentorship, and training, and focuses on digital access, computer science education, digital skills, and digital transformation.

"Microsoft believes digital inclusion is core to ensuring everyone on the planet benefits from advances in technology, and that programming and opportunities must be created for those with the potential to be left behind," said Ann Johnson, corporate vice president for security business development at Microsoft. "We are pleased to work with Black Tech Street, local government leaders, and community organizations to help build and further reinforce Greenwood and Tulsa as centers for technology vision, leadership, and entrepreneurship."

Black Tech Streets Ambition: Creating 1000+ Black Cyber Professionals in Tulsa

The first phase of this collaboration will include a series of community and Microsoft-supported investments aimed at raising the capacity of the Tulsa ecosystem to produce, attract, and support Black cyber talent. Black Tech Street's goal is to leverage Microsoft's programmatic support/resources alongside other national partners to create and employ 1000 Black Tulsans in Cyber and adjacent fields. Black Tech Street's aim is to accomplish this by 2030. Investing in the cybersecurity workforce has been a priority for Microsoft, as they aim to support the estimated gap of 1.6 million cyber professionals in North America alone. Black Tech Street will leverage its alliance with Microsoft in the following areas to contribute towards reaching its goal:

Workforce and Skilling

Microsoft Cybersecurity Scholarship Program: Tulsa Community College (TCC) was accepted into Microsoft's Cybersecurity Scholarship Program, providing cash scholarships to the highly diverse students receiving training at TCC's Cyber Skills Center.

(TCC) was accepted into Microsoft's Cybersecurity Scholarship Program, providing cash scholarships to the highly diverse students receiving training at TCC's Cyber Skills Center. Employment Partner and Sponsor Consortium: Black Tech Street, with Microsoft support, will lead a nationwide consortium for connecting employers looking to hire Black Cyber talent in Tulsa for local and remote roles. The program will also fund scholarships for Black students interested in cyber. A critical strategy for BTS is to ensure skilled tech talent stays in Tulsa , contributing to the local economy. Microsoft embraces flexible work, including schedule and work location flexibility, that supports individual work styles while balancing business needs.

Education and Digital Access

Microsoft TechSpark-Digital Education Access: Black Tech Street's participation in the Microsoft TechSpark program will include, among many other components, a comprehensive suite of services and technology platforms for educators, students, and school systems on multiple levels.

Black Tech Street's participation in the Microsoft TechSpark program will include, among many other components, a comprehensive suite of services and technology platforms for educators, students, and school systems on multiple levels. High School Tech Education: Black Tech Street, the University of Tulsa , and Microsoft, will collaborate on a plan to accelerate Computer Science and related tech education to north Tulsa secondary school students.

Innovation Research and Thought Leadership

The University of Tulsa and Microsoft: Black Tech Street plans to pilot studies in cyber research and experiential learning that leverage cutting-edge technology from Microsoft's investments in generative AI cybersecurity alongside the University of Tulsa as part of the alliance to better position the ecosystem in cyber-AI innovation. The University of Tulsa's nationally recognized cyber university, with its NSA affiliated Cyber Corps program, as well as a suite of successful cyber partnerships with high schools and community colleges, made cyber an obvious choice for partnership.

Black Tech Street plans to pilot studies in cyber research and experiential learning that leverage cutting-edge technology from Microsoft's investments in generative AI cybersecurity alongside the as part of the alliance to better position the ecosystem in cyber-AI innovation. The nationally recognized cyber university, with its NSA affiliated Cyber Corps program, as well as a suite of successful cyber partnerships with high schools and community colleges, made cyber an obvious choice for partnership. Black Tech Street Cyber Summit: In 2024, Black Tech Street and Tulsa Innovation Labs will host the first Black Tech Street Cyber Summit. This summit will be a gathering of the foremost cyber experts from corporations, academia, and government. This summit is meant to serve as a meeting of the minds as it relates to charting a more effective national narrative and plan as it relates to mobilizing Black Americans into cyber en masse. Microsoft will host its "Into the Breach" gamified learning experience to test cybersecurity skills for Black Tulsans.

Microsoft's initial support via this alliance will anchor the first portion of a larger strategy by Black Tech Street to establish Greenwood as a national leader in the three critical technology areas of Cyber Security, Business Intelligence/Data Analytics, and Equitable Artificial Intelligence (See ED Tyrance Billingsley's op-ed What's Next? Black Wall Street's Innovation Ambitions ).

Black Tech Street will also be supported in the execution of these Microsoft supported initiatives by local anchor partner Tulsa Innovation Labs, a philanthropic organization dedicated to building industrial clusters around sectors where Tulsa has distinct advantages.

The alliance has also garnered the support of City officials.

"I am excited about this new alliance between Black Tech Street and Microsoft in Tulsa," Mayor G.T. Bynum said. "This partnership will help increase cyber talent in our city, as well as promote tech education and workforce readiness for the incredible talent we have in our community."

This is the start of a long-term relationship between Black Tech Street, Greenwood, and Microsoft, and will redefine what is possible for communities and cities willing to simultaneously invest in people and in technology.

The announcement of this alliance was also included in the Biden-Harris Administration's announcement of its National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy to Unleash America's Cyber Talent:

( https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/07/31/fact-sheet-biden-%E2%81%A0harris-administration-announces-national-cyber-workforce-and-education-strategy-unleashing-americas-cyber-talent/ )

Black Tech Street is an organization founded to rebirth Black Wall Street as a Black Innovation Economy and catalyze a movement that sees Black people embrace technology as a means to build wealth and impact the world. Black Tech Street architects and secures Black tech focused economic and industry development opportunities for the Greenwood community and serves as a chief storyteller for Black Wall Street's 21st century rebirth.

Contact:

Tyrance Billingsley II

[email protected]

SOURCE Black Tech Street
CALEDONIA, Wis., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Central Storage & Warehouse, a top Midwest cold storage and customized warehouse services provider, is pleased to announce the recent expansion of its Caledonia,Wisconsin facility.

The expansion was completed July 1, 2023, and added approximately 5,500 pallet positions to their existing Caledonia facility. Located roughly 20 miles south of Milwaukee and less than one mile from Interstate 94, this 40% increase in overall pallet capacity is positioned well given the high concentration of frozen food producers in southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

This enhancement will allow CSW to accommodate a greater volume of temperature-controlled products, coming at a crucial time given the continued short supply within the cold storage industry. This recent growth further strengthens CSW's large Wisconsin and Midwest presence relative to its competition.

In addition to the recently completed expansion, CSW is also breaking ground on another project at the Caledonia facility which commenced on July 1, 2023. This expansion will add another 5,000 pallet positions, with targeted occupancy planned for January 2024.

"We are extremely excited about the recent growth and developments at our Caledonia facility," said Sam Krieg, Co-CEO of Central Storage & Warehouse. "These expansions speak to the long term partnerships with our core and strategic customers, and their continued need for additional cold storage capacity and high quality customer service in this market. This is a momentous time for CSW and all of our associates."

Looking forward, CSW has plans to add approximately 25,000 more pallet positions to their overall network in the future. These strategic expansions will support the growing needs of nearby food producers, offering them a reliable partner for their warehousing and logistics requirements.

About Central Storage & Warehouse:

Tracing its roots back to 1947, Central Storage & Warehouse is a leading cold storage and warehouse services company providing comprehensive solutions to the food manufacturing industry. With its four facilities strategically located throughout Wisconsin and a dedicated team of professionals, the company assures efficient and secure storage, handling, and distribution of temperature-sensitive products. CSW is committed to living by their values of People First, Team Based, and Service Oriented each and every day, resulting in long term partnerships with its clients.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Name: Sam Krieg

Title: Co-CEO

Central Storage & Warehouse LLC

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Central Storage & Warehouse
News / National

by Staff reporter

The action is necessary to stop the spread of "hateful messages" on social media following an opposition figure's arrest, the Communications Ministry has saidThe government of Senegal has temporarily shut down internet access from Monday, citing threats to public order, following a similar steps last month due to deadly opposition protests in the country.The decision comes after the arrest on Friday of leading opposition figure Ousmane Sonko, who is facing seven charges, including plotting an insurrection and criminal conspiracy. He is scheduled to appear before a judge on Monday, according to local media.Supporters of the PASTEF party, which Sonko will represent as a candidate in the February 2024 presidential elections, are outraged that his conviction could prevent him from running.Violence erupted in Senegal's capital, Dakar, and elsewhere in the country last month after Sonko, 49, was sentenced to two years in prison on a separate charge of "corrupting the youth." Despite the sentence, however, Sonko had not yet been transferred to jail.Nine people were killed in the ensuing unrest, prompting authorities to impose a blanket ban on the use of several social media platforms.Interior Minister Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome announced at the time that sites such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter had been suspended because demonstrators were using them to incite violence.France planning strikes to free ousted president, Niger junta saysFull access to mobile internet across the country was restored after a two-day blackout.In a statement on Monday, Senegal's Communications Ministry explained that the move is in response to the "dissemination of hateful and subversive messages relayed on social networks."Communications Minister Moussa Bocar Thiam directed mobile network operators on Monday to comply with the orders.
CLEVELAND, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Celloram Inc., a dynamic biotech startup based in Cleveland, Ohio and developing novel medicines for cancer and immune disorders, announced today a groundbreaking licensing agreement with French biotech GENFIT SA to advance Celloram's first-in-class inflammasome inhibitor, CLM-022. The agreement grants GENFIT exclusive global rights to develop CLM-022 in liver disease indications.

"This exclusive licensing agreement with GENFIT aims to expand our inflammasome inhibitor platform into liver disease indications for the first time," said Tej Pareek, Ph.D., Celloram CEO. "We believe that GENFIT has the potential to rapidly advance the development of this class of inhibitors, ultimately bringing therapies and hope to a large population of patients who desperately need life-saving treatments. We are thrilled to work alongside GENFIT, a leading biopharmaceutical company, to bring this potential life-saving treatment to patients worldwide."

Cleveland biotech Celloram strikes deal with French biopharmaceutical company GENFIT to advance drug for liver disease. Tweet this

As part of this agreement, GENFIT will not only add to its arsenal of drug candidates for liver disease, but also gain access to Celloram's scientists and medicinal chemistry expertise to help synthesize and validate CLM-022 as GENFIT advances on its goal to secure an IND for future clinical trials.

In recognition of this transformative collaboration, Celloram Inc. is eligible to receive up to 160 million in clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, which will further fuel its mission to deliver cutting-edge solutions for critical medical challenges. Celloram co-founders, Dr. John Letterio and Dr. Seong-Jin Kim, jointly stated, "Our vision at Celloram Inc. has always been driven by a passion for revolutionizing patient care by creating safer, more effective therapies. With this licensing agreement, we are one step closer to realizing Celloram's vision and we are grateful for the opportunity to partner with GENFIT."

About Liver Disease

Liver disease is a progressive deterioration of liver functions lasting more than six months, involving synthesis of clotting factors, detoxification, and bile excretion. The process entails inflammation, destruction, and regeneration of liver parenchyma, often leading to fibrosis and cirrhosis. Etiologies are diverse, encompassing toxins, prolonged alcohol abuse, infections, autoimmune diseases, and genetic/metabolic disorders. The global liver disease treatment market size is predicted to be worth 25.8.3 billion USD by 2028 from 14.1 billion USD in 2023 to grow at a CAGR of 11.72% in forecasted period. Increasing cases of acute and chronic liver diseases, including liver cancer, are driving the demand for advanced liver disease diagnostics and treatments.

About Celloram Inc.

Celloram Inc. is a forward-thinking biotech startup based in Cleveland, Ohio, driven by the vision to harness innovative science and revolutionize patient care. Their experienced leadership team, including co-founders Dr. John Letterio and Dr. Seong-Jin Kim, CEO Dr. Tej Kumar Pareek, VP and chief scientific Program Directors Dr. Seunghwan Lim and Dr. Liraz Levi are committed to delivering cutting-edge solutions to unmet medical needs.

Celloram Inc. is also gearing up to open its Series A funding round in the coming months, offering an opportunity for visionary investors to join forces in the pursuit of transformative innovations. This funding will further catapult Celloram Inc.'s pioneering research and development efforts, taking their pipelines to new heights.

About GENFIT.

GENFIT is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the lives of patients with rare and severe liver diseases characterized by high unmet medical needs. GENFIT is a pioneer in liver disease research and development with a rich history and strong scientific heritage spanning more than two decades. Thanks to its expertise in bringing early-stage assets with high potential to late development and pre-commercialization stages, today GENFIT boasts a growing and diversified pipeline of innovative therapeutic and diagnostic solutions. Its R&D pipeline covers acute on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), hepatic encephalopathy (HE), cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), urea cycle disorders (UCD), organic acidemias (OA) and primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). Beyond therapeutics, GENFIT's pipeline also includes a diagnostic franchise focused on NASH and ACLF. GENFIT has facilities in Lille and Paris (France), Zurich (Switzerland) and Cambridge, MA (USA).

Disclaimer: This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Celloram Inc. and GENFIT's potential collaboration and the development of CLM-022. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements.

Note to Editors: This press release is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell securities or engage in any other transaction. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

SOURCE Celloram Inc.
DALLAS, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Comerica Bank has promoted Brandon Jones, Vice President of External Affairs, to Senior Vice President, External Affairs, reporting to Executive Vice President of Corporate Responsibility Wendy Bridges.

In his new role, Jones oversees Comerica's Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) community engagement function, including External Affairs, Community Affairs and CRA Investments.

Brandon Jones, Comerica Bank Senior Vice President, External Affairs

"Brandon possesses an authentic passion for serving the community and forges meaningful relationships with community partners," said Bridges. "His leadership and experience will allow us to continue identifying new and impactful programs that will strengthen and benefit our local communities for years to come."

Jones joined Comerica more than a decade ago, serving as a Retail Bank Manager from 2012 through 2017. He would later move to Texas Capital to serve as Assistant Vice President, helping establish banking presence in West Dallas and cultivating community partnerships. Jones returned to Comerica in November 2020 as Regional External Affairs Manager for Texas, Arizona and Florida. In that role, Jones led several important community initiatives that included the launch of Comerica's gomerica mobile community banking center in Florida and the opening of BusinessHQ, Comerica's latest venture in supporting small businesses by offering collaborative space for community partners and small businesses in the Southern sector of Dallas.

He holds a bachelor's degree from Texas Southern University and is set to complete his master's degree in Community Development from the University of New Hampshire in May 2024. Jones is active in the North Texas community, holding board positions with Resource Center Dallas and Texas Health Community Impact Foundation. He is a graduate of the 10th class of Leadership North Texas, featured in the fifth edition of Who's Who in Black Dallas and named to this year's Dallas Business Journal "40 Under 40" list.

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Commercial Bank, The Retail Bank and Wealth Management. Comerica, one of the 25 largest U.S. financial holding companies, focuses on building relationships and helping people and businesses be successful. Comerica provides more than 400 banking centers across the country with locations in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Texas. Founded 174 years ago in Detroit, Michigan, Comerica continues to expand into new regions, including its Southeast Market, based in North Carolina, and Mountain West Market in Colorado. Comerica has offices in 17 states and services 14 of the 15 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, as well as Canada and Mexico. Comerica reported total assets of $90.8 billion on June 30, 2023. Learn more about how Comerica is raising expectations of what a bank can be by visiting www.comerica.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Comerica Bank
MARLTON, N.J., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Approximately 1.4 million consumers are being notified that their Social Security numbers were compromised following a recent cyberattack. The data breach lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. are investigating claims on behalf of anyone affected by the Flagstar Bank breach, hoping to fully inform them of the risks they face in the wake of the breach as well as their legal rights.

The sensitive personal data of 1.4 million Flagstaff Bank customers has been compromised. Now, members' full names and Social Security numbers may be in the hands of criminals, putting victims at a greater risk of identity theft and other frauds.

On July 30, 2023, Flagstar Bank filed a notice of data breach with the Attorney General of Maine describing a data breach affecting consumers nationwide. According to the notice, the data breach affected an estimated 1.4 million people.

The list of sensitive information that was exposed includes consumers':

Full names, and

Social Security numbers.

If you receive a data breach notice from Flagstar Bank, you could now be at risk of identity theftand the devastating financial and legal consequences that go along with it.

Flagstar's filing with the Maine AG indicates a previous data breach letter was sent on March 15, 2015, which may be an error.

What Should You Do if You Receive a Flagstar Bank Data Breach Letter?

Individuals who receive a data breach letter from Flagstar Bank should take steps to protect themselves. (See our Guide for Victims of Data Breach for more details at https://www.myinjuryattorney.com/consumer-privacy-data-breach-lawyers/if-your-information-has-been-compromised-in-a-data-breach/ ).

Additionally, victims should consider contacting a data breach attorney immediately, as anyone who receives a data breach letter from Flagstar Bank may be entitled to financial compensation.

If you wish to discuss this data security incident, or if you have any questions regarding your rights following the Flagstar Bank data breach, please contact Console & Associates, P.C. at (866) 778-5500. Interested parties and potential plaintiffs can also learn more about this data breach and potential lawsuit at https://www.myinjuryattorney.com/flagstar-bank-data-breach-investigation/ .

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

Console & Associates, P.C.

866-778-5500

[email protected]

SOURCE Console & Associates, P.C.
CHICAGO, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Omnichannel experiences, cloud-based solutions, and AI integration will be the driving forces behind the future of the contact centre software market. While security and privacy precautions will continue to be of the utmost importance, data analytics, automation, and customer-centric technology will improve customer experiences.

The Contact Center Software Market is expected to grow from USD 41.9 billion in 2023 to USD 109.7 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 21.2% during the forecast period, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. The rising demand for analyzing audio and video conversations and the need to deliver an enhanced customer experience has driven market growth.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Contact Center Software Market"

278  Tables

56 - Figures

300  Pages

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Scope of the Report

Report Metrics Details Market size available for years 20172028 Base year considered 2022 Forecast period 20232028 Forecast units Million/Billion (USD) Segments Covered Component (Solutions, Services), Organization Size, Deployment Mode, and Vertical Geographies Covered North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Asia Pacific Companies Covered Some of the key vendors offering contact center software across the globe include NICE (Israel), Genesys (US), AWS (US), IBM (US), Five9 (US), Twilio (US), Cisco (US), Mitel (Canada), BT (UK), Verizon (US), Vonage (US), Avaya (US), and more.

Solutions segment to capture a significant market share during the forecast period

The Contact Center Software Market, by component, includes solutions and services. The solutions segment leads the Contact Center Software Market in terms of share. The contact center solutions transform industries by significantly streamlining contact center processes. The solutions also enable integrations with other supplementary business applications, such as CRM, out-of-the-box applications, and open APIs. Contact center services considered in the study are consulting services, implementation & integration services, and training, support, & maintenance.

Workforce Engagement Management solution segment to capture the second-largest market share

Workforce engagement management is an approach for increasing customer service agent engagement. These empower agents to deliver excellent customer experiences with instant access to innovative tools and insights. Engaged agents are committed to their employer, which includes helping the organization meet business objectives. Contact centers require continuous monitoring and control of agents' ongoing work and interactions to ensure streamlined interactions and performance.

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North America segment to capture a significant market share during the forecast period

The Contact Center Software Market includes regional segmentation into Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. As per region, North America accounts for the largest market share in the global Contact Center Software Market in 2023, and this trend will persist during the forecast period. North America is the region with the most established contact center software adoption due to several factors, including the existence of large enterprises with sophisticated IT infrastructure and the availability of technical expertise. The US and Canada are North America's two most significant Contact Center Software Market contributors. It is a region with strict regulations for several economic sectors and advanced technology. North America is known for its technological advancements and early adoption of innovative solutions. The large enterprises in this region are rapidly adopting contact center solutions and services to improve employee experience and tackle any business continuity challenges amid COVID-19. In North America, large enterprises and SMEs focus on developing innovative contact center software integrated with technological advancements, such as video analytics, AI, and ML; this would boost growth in the future.

Top Key Companies in Contact Center Software Market:

The key technology vendors in the market include NICE (Israel), IBM (US), Genesys (US), AWS (US), Five9 (US), Twilio (US), Mitel (Canada), Cisco (US), BT (UK), Verizon (US), Avaya (US), Vonage (US), 8x8 (US), Talkdesk (US), Alcatel Lucent Enterprise (France), Sinch (Sweden), Oracle (US), RingCentral (US), Lifesize (US), Content Guru (UK), Alvaria (US), Enghouse Interactive (US), 3CLogic (US), Ameyo (India), West (US), NEC (Japan), ZTE (China), Vocalcom (France), Evolve IP (US), UJET (US), Amtelco (US), AVOXI (US), VCC Live (Hungary), Glia (US), Bright Pattern (US), ComputerTalk (Canada), and C-Zentrix (India).

Recent Developments:

In June 2023 , Genesys unveiled its new ai-powered employee experience solution, Genesys Cloud Ex. This solution helps businesses improve the employee experience in their contact centers by giving them the tools they need to be more productive, engaged, and satisfied.

, Genesys unveiled its new ai-powered employee experience solution, Genesys Cloud Ex. This solution helps businesses improve the employee experience in their contact centers by giving them the tools they need to be more productive, engaged, and satisfied. In June 2023 , NICE announced that its CXone platform is now available as an EU sovereign cloud platform. CXone is an industry-leading cloud platform for customer experience (CX) that offers unmatched scalability, reliability, and a complete set of CX applications. With this announcement, organizations from any vertical across the EU can now choose CXone as their platform while meeting regulatory and compliance requirements.

, NICE announced that its CXone platform is now available as an EU sovereign cloud platform. CXone is an industry-leading cloud platform for customer experience (CX) that offers unmatched scalability, reliability, and a complete set of CX applications. With this announcement, organizations from any vertical across the EU can now choose CXone as their platform while meeting regulatory and compliance requirements. In June 2023 , Amazon Connect Chat came with a new feature that offers more ways to customize the chat widget that comes with the service. It enables the user to add a logo and change the text in fields like "system message," "bot," "text input placeholder," and "end chat."

, Amazon Connect Chat came with a new feature that offers more ways to customize the chat widget that comes with the service. It enables the user to add a logo and change the text in fields like "system message," "bot," "text input placeholder," and "end chat." In May 2023 , BT and Five9 announced they are expanding their partnership to offer organizations global contact center services and solutions. As part of the expanded partnership, BT will now provide the Five9 Intelligent CX Platform as a managed service to new and existing customers. BT will install, configure, and maintain the Five9 platform, freeing customers to focus on their core business activities.

, BT and Five9 announced they are expanding their partnership to offer organizations global contact center services and solutions. As part of the expanded partnership, BT will now provide the Five9 Intelligent CX Platform as a managed service to new and existing customers. BT will install, configure, and maintain the Five9 platform, freeing customers to focus on their core business activities. In March 2023 , Genesys and Acqueon partnered to help B2C organizations optimize proactive customer outreach. The partnership will combine Genesys' ai-powered experience orchestration capabilities with Acqueon's omnichannel workflows, predictive analytics, and ai to help organizations deliver personalized, compliant, and effective outbound customer interactions. Through the partnership, joint contact center customers can seamlessly leverage the Genesys Cloud CX platform's artificial intelligence (AI)-based experience orchestration capabilities with the Acqueon omnichannel workflows, predictive analytics, AI, and built-in compliance suite.

, Genesys and Acqueon partnered to help B2C organizations optimize proactive customer outreach. The partnership will combine Genesys' ai-powered experience orchestration capabilities with Acqueon's omnichannel workflows, predictive analytics, and ai to help organizations deliver personalized, compliant, and effective outbound customer interactions. Through the partnership, joint contact center customers can seamlessly leverage the Genesys Cloud CX platform's artificial intelligence (AI)-based experience orchestration capabilities with the Acqueon omnichannel workflows, predictive analytics, AI, and built-in compliance suite. In March 2023 , Five9 announced the general availability of Five9 Agent Assist 2.0 with AI Summary, powered by OpenAI. This new solution uses generative AI technology to summarize customer call transcripts in seconds, which can help businesses to reduce manual, after-call work and improve the efficiency of their contact centers.

, Five9 announced the general availability of Five9 Agent Assist 2.0 with AI Summary, powered by OpenAI. This new solution uses generative AI technology to summarize customer call transcripts in seconds, which can help businesses to reduce manual, after-call work and improve the efficiency of their contact centers. In January 2023 , Mitel entered exclusive negotiations with Atos to acquire Unify. Unify provides Communication and Collaboration Services businesses (CCS) and Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC). Mitel and Unify would serve a customer base of over 75 million users in nearly 100 countries and a channel community of more than 5,500 global partners. The proposed transaction would also notably expand Mitel's reach and increase global revenues and profitability.

, Mitel entered exclusive negotiations with Atos to acquire Unify. Unify provides Communication and Collaboration Services businesses (CCS) and Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC). Mitel and Unify would serve a customer base of over 75 million users in nearly 100 countries and a channel community of more than 5,500 global partners. The proposed transaction would also notably expand Mitel's reach and increase global revenues and profitability. In January 2023 , Verizon Business introduced digital engagement capabilities to enhance the end-to-end digital customer journey for the Verizon Virtual Contact Center (VCC). The latest VCC digital solutions would help improve customer experiences.

, Verizon Business introduced digital engagement capabilities to enhance the end-to-end digital customer journey for the Verizon Virtual Contact Center (VCC). The latest VCC digital solutions would help improve customer experiences. In July 2022 , Amazon Connect launched Contact Lens integration with Contact Control Panel and Salesforce CTI Adapter.

, Amazon Connect launched Contact Lens integration with Contact Control Panel and Salesforce CTI Adapter. In June 2022 , Avaya announced that it is reimagining digital campus learning with its Avaya OneCloud Experience Platform. The platform offers significant advantages for higher education institutions facing increased competition and slowing admission growth.

, Avaya announced that it is reimagining digital campus learning with its Avaya OneCloud Experience Platform. The platform offers significant advantages for higher education institutions facing increased competition and slowing admission growth. In May 2022 , Avaya and Microsoft expanded their strategic partnership by integrating Avaya's OneCloud portfolio with Microsoft Azure to provide businesses with more options to enhance productivity, scalability, and customer engagement.

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Contact Center Software Market Advantages:

The effective management of client contacts is made possible by contact centre software, which results in speedier response times, individualised service, and higher levels of customer satisfaction.

Businesses can connect with clients on their preferred platforms thanks to the support provided by contemporary contact centre solutions for channels like voice, email, chat, social media, and SMS.

By streamlining workflows and ensuring that client enquiries are routed to the most qualified agents, automation and intelligent routing capabilities boost productivity and decrease wait times.

Real-time analytics and reporting offered by contact centre software give organisations the ability to track performance indicators, spot patterns, and make informed decisions.

Contact centre software enables companies to cut operational expenditures like infrastructure upkeep and agent training by streamlining operations and minimising manual tasks.

Cloud-based contact centre solutions are flexible and scalable, enabling organisations to simply scale up or down their operations in response to changing business needs or seasonal demand.

CRM systems and other business applications can be integrated with contact centre software to give agents a comprehensive picture of client information and enable more informed interactions.

Contact centre software delivers personalised customer experiences and assists organisations in anticipating customer demands by capturing client data and interaction history.

Contact centre software offers round-the-clock customer care, boosting customer happiness and loyalty, with features like chatbots and self-service choices.

Businesses acquire a competitive edge in their respective industries by offering greater customer service and developing stronger client relationships.

Report Objectives

To define, describe, and forecast the Contact Center Software Market by component (solution and service), organization size, deployment model, vertical, and region

To provide detailed information about the factors (drivers, opportunities, restraints, and challenges) that impact the growth of the Contact Center Software Market

To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high-growth segments of the Contact Center Software Market

To forecast the size of the market segments for five regions, including North America , Europe , Asia Pacific , Middle East and Africa , and Latin America .

, , , and , and . To analyze subsegments of the market concerning individual growth trends, prospects, and contributions to the overall market.

To profile the key players of the Contact Center Software Market and comprehensively analyze their market size and core competencies.

To track and analyze the competitive developments, such as new product launches; product enhancements; partnerships & collaborations; and acquisitions; in the Contact Center Software Market globally.

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SAN FRANCISCO, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Late Friday a federal court in San Francisco allowed a case brought by HIV-positive "John Doe" plaintiffs against CVS to proceed, denying CVS's third motion to dismiss the case. The John Doe plaintiffs are represented by attorneys from the non-profit Consumer Watchdog and Whatley Kallas, LLP.

CVS's program limits people living with HIV to obtaining their life-saving medications only by mail-ordercutting off access to pharmacists and other critical benefits and services essential for people living with HIVwhile continuing to make the same benefits and services available to other enrollees.

The lawsuit seeks a nation-wide injunction to bar CVS from continuing to implement the mail-order plan in its current form for HIV medications, along with damages for the named plaintiffs and all similarly situated enrolled in prescription drug plans administered by CVS. A full copy of the operative complaint can be found here.

This ruling comes less than a year after CVS had sought to dismiss the case contending that the plaintiffs had not adequately alleged CVS receives "federal financial assistance," a requirement to sue for disability discrimination under health programs subject to the Affordable Care Act.

"We're thrilled for our clients and the family members of our clients that have passed away that the Court will allow the case to continue so that we can continue the fight to vindicate the rights of people living with HIV to be free from disability-based discrimination in healthcare," said Consumer Watchdog staff attorney Daniel L. Sternberg.

Download the Order denying CVS's Motion to Dismiss.

CVS's latest motion had sought to dismiss the case as moot, contending that Plaintiffs no longer had standing to seek an order from the court preventing CVS from continuing to implement the mail-order plan in its current form. Tragically, three of the "John Doe" plaintiffs in the case died while the case was pending. CVS also argued that the remaining plaintiffs were barred from amending their complaint to clarify allegations of intentional discrimination, in order for Plaintiffs to seek monetary damages.

But as the Court noted in Friday's Order:

"The viability of Plaintiffs' deliberate indifference claim at this juncture turns on whether Defendants were on notice of the need for [a reasonable] accommodation in order to afford meaningful access" to the prescription drug benefit administered by CVS. "Plaintiffs have demonstrated that amendment would not be futile" and "the Court [grants] Plaintiffs' motion to amend the complaint in order to clarify their allegations of deliberate indifference discrimination in support of monetary damages."

In November 2021 CVS abruptly dismissed its appeal to the Supreme Court of a unanimous decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of the plaintiffs.

Read more about the Supreme Court case here.

CVS, one of the largest healthcare companies in the world, owns pharmacies throughout the U.S., but also operates as a pharmacy benefit manager, which coordinates pharmacy benefits for people like the John Does who are enrolled in employer-provided health plans.

If you are prescribed medications to treat or prevent HIV and are enrolled in a healthcare plan where your pharmacy benefits are coordinated CVS specialty, or are interested in more information about this lawsuit, please contact Consumer Watchdog here and let us know about your experience.

Most other major health insurance companies in the U.S. now allow members to opt out of mail-order-only delivery of HIV medications because of numerous settlements achieved by attorneys for Consumer Watchdog and Whatley Kallas, LLP.

The CVS case is John Doe One, et al. v. CVS, et al., No.: 3:18-cv-01031 and is pending in federal district court in San Francisco before United States District Judge Edward M. Chen.

Consumer Watchdog is a non-profit and non-partisan public interest watchdog organization. Visit Consumer Watchdog on the web here: www.ConsumerWatchdog.org

Whatley Kallas, LLP attorneys have earned a national reputationbased on trust, respect, demonstrated commitment and tangible resultsin connection with their representation of healthcare providers and members of the organized medicine community. Visit Whatley Kallas, LLP on the web here: https://whatleykallas.com/

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog
NEW YORK, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Debevoise & Plimpton LLP announced today the release of its 2023 Private Equity Midyear Outlook, a helpful summary of the various forces shaping the industry and the strategies market participants are using during this dynamic time.

At the beginning of the year, we noted in our Private Equity Report: 2023 Outlook the considerable macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges facing private equity. As we pass the year's midpoint, those challenges continue to hang over the private equity industry like a stalled weather system, refusing to dissipate, as existing obstacles have solidified and new hurdles have emerged. While the crisis around the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic Bank and Signature Bank was not protracted, it nonetheless compounded an already difficult liquidity environment. Fundraising remains highly competitive. The polarization around ESG in the United States has intensified, resulting in a patchwork of wildly different state legislation. The SEC continues to take aim at private fund practices, while in the EU, new regulations stand to complicate both fundraising and the M&A landscape. In this environment, caution rules the day for both sponsors and investors.

And yet, with creativity and persistence, deals are getting done. Lenders are adjusting their balance sheet exposures. Direct lending and co-investments, as well as innovative deal structures, help to fill the financing gaps caused by the pull-back in syndicated debt financings. Brand-name funds are weathering fundraising headwinds by offering incentives and flexibility with terms, while first-time managers are building track records by raising capital deal-by-deal. And through it all, bright spots have begun to appear. The U.S. IPO market is showing early signs of thawing. In Latin America, proactive monetary policy, the move toward nearshoring and a spate of welcomed governmental reforms give reason for optimism. And while investors continue their caution regarding China, other Asian markets such as Japan, Australia and India are showing healthy levels of activity.

The full report is available here.

About the Debevoise Private Equity Group

Debevoise is a trusted partner and legal advisor to a majority of the world's largest private equity firms, and has been a market leader in the Private Equity industry for over 40 years. The firm's Private Equity Group brings together the diverse skills and capabilities of more than 400 lawyers around the world from a multitude of practice areas, working together to advise our clients across the entire private equity life cycle. The Group's strong track record, leading-edge insights, deep bench and commitment to unified, agile teams are why, year after year, clients quoted in Chambers Global, Chambers USA, The Legal 500 and PEI cite Debevoise for our close-knit partnership, breadth of resources and relentless focus on results.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a premier law firm with market-leading practices, a global perspective and strong New York roots. We deliver effective solutions to our clients' most important legal challenges, applying clear commercial judgment and a distinctively collaborative approach.

SOURCE Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
NEW YORK, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Attention Discover Financial Services ("Discover") (NYSE: DFS) shareholders:

The Law Offices of Vincent Wong announce that an investigation has commenced into Discover and certain of its officers and directors regarding potential securities fraud. The investigation concerns, in part, the below:

On July 20, 2023, pre-market, Discover revealed it was in discussions with regulators about how it misclassified certain credit card products for about 15 years. The company incorrectly classified certain credit card accounts into its highest merchant and merchant acquirer pricing tier, beginning around mid-2007. Following this news, Discover stock was trading down over 13% in pre-market trading on July 20, 2023. Discover stock price fell sharply from $121.85 per share on July 19, 2023 to $102.44 on July 20, 2023.

If you suffered a loss on your investment in Discover, contact us about potential recovery by using the link below. There is no cost or obligation to you.

?prid=42734&wire=4

Vincent Wong, Esq. is an experienced attorney who has represented investors in securities litigations involving financial fraud and violations of shareholder rights. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

Vincent Wong, Esq.

39 East Broadway

Suite 304

New York, NY 10002

Tel. 212.425.1140

E-Mail: [email protected]

SOURCE The Law Offices of Vincent Wong
MELBOURNE, Fla., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Eve Air Mobility ("Eve") (NYSE: EVEX, EVEXW), leader in the development of next-generation Urban Air Mobility ("UAM"), announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Johann Bordais, current President and CEO of Embraer Services & Support, as Chief Executive Officer to be effective on September 1, 2023. Eve's co-CEOs, Andre Stein and Jerry DeMuro, will remain at Eve with new roles.

"Eve has made incredible progress and accomplished important milestones in the development of an eVTOL aircraft and the urban air ecosystem under the leadership of Jerry and Stein," said Luis Carlos Affonso, Chairman of Eve's Board. "Now, with the acceleration of our vehicle development and increased focus on operations and entry-into-service of our eVTOL, Johann Bordais' leadership and experience successfully leading a global business will be an outstanding addition to Eve's team, helping our mission to create Urban Air Mobility."

Johann Bordais has led Embraer's Services & Support business since its foundation in 2016. He was pivotal in transforming the area into Embraer's fast-growing and most profitable business of the company, with reported revenues of $1.27 billion in 2022, accounting for 28% of Embraer's total revenue. During his tenure at Embraer Services & Support, Bordais has transformed Embraer's aftersales business model, globalizing its solutions and guaranteeing customer satisfaction through innovation and integrated products, and providing a broad portfolio of solutions to customers in Commercial Aviation, Executive Jets and Defense, with over 2,300 people dedicated to supporting customers and their 5,700 aircraft worldwide.

"Urban Air Mobility has the potential to revolutionize how people commute and travel with a direct impact on millions of lives. Supporting customers in a high-demand services environment with the right product is our mission. Eve has built a skilled team in recent years to deliver an effective and sustainable new mode of transportation, and I'm so proud and very excited to join this group," said Johann Bordais.

Jerry DeMuro will remain at Eve as Executive Vice President of Corporate Development through the end of October 2023 to assist Johann in the transition. Mr. DeMuro joined the company in September 2021 as co-CEO and was instrumental in Eve's SPAC transaction, taking the company to a very successful NYSE listing that raised approximately $400 million from multiple strategic financial investors.

"I believe Eve is uniquely positioned to become a leading player in a potential $760 billion Urban Air Mobility market. Our pipeline of orders, full support from Embraer and a large group of strategic partners are key differentiators. I look forward to continuing to help Eve accomplish its vision of sustainable urban aviation," said Mr. DeMuro.

Andre Stein will assume the role of Chief Strategy Officer at Eve, based in the United States. He will be responsible for defining Eve's strategy, including commercialization, growth and the development and execution of launch strategies with Eve's international partners and operators. Stein has over 25 years of experience in the aerospace industry with a focus on sales, product development and market strategy and has nurtured the Urban Air Mobility initiative since its inception, helping to define the industry's potential use-cases, markets and product characteristics, while contributing to Eve's spin-off process, NYSE listing and capital raise.

"We believe that the Urban Air Mobility market has enormous potential in the coming years based on an efficient, zero-emissions transport proposition. I will continue to support Eve to reach vehicle type certification, entry-in-service, scale its manufacturing and support operations globally," said Andre Stein.

Due to the successful completion of Eve's launch phase and new demands of his schedule, Kenn Ricci has announced his intention to resign from the Eve Board of Directors by the end of October 2023. At that time, the expectation is Jerry DeMuro will be appointed to replace Kenn Ricci on Eve's Board of Directors. "Kenn's entrepreneurship and aviation vision were invaluable to the completion of the merger of Zanite and Eve in a $2.7 billion transaction," said Luis Carlos Affonso.

"Eve is another success case of our long-term partnership with Embraer as we share similar values and an extraordinary passion for innovation, sustainable aviation and emerging technologies," said Mr. Ricci.

About Eve Air Mobility

Eve is dedicated to accelerating the Urban Air Mobility ecosystem. Benefitting from a start-up mindset, backed by Embraer S.A.'s more than 50-year history of aerospace expertise, and with a singular focus, Eve is taking a holistic approach to progressing the UAM ecosystem, with an advanced eVTOL project, a comprehensive global services and support network and a unique air traffic management solution. Since May 10, 2022, Eve has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange, where its shares of common stock and public warrants trade under the tickers "EVEX" and "EVEXW". For more information, please visit www.eveairmobility.com.

Eve Air Mobility Forward-Looking Statements Disclosure

Certain statements in this press release include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "estimate," "plan," "project," "forecast," "intend," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "seek," "target", "may", "intend", "predict", "should", "would", "predict", "potential", "seem", "future", "outlook" or other similar expressions (or negative versions of such words or expressions) that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Eve's expectations with respect to the announced agreement and future performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as and must not be relied on by any investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and may differ from assumptions, and such differences may be material. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Eve.

These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, among others: (i) changes in domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political and legal conditions; (ii) failure to realise the anticipated benefits of the announced agreement between Eve; (iii) risks relating to the uncertainty of the projected financial information with respect to Eve; (iv) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Eve; (v) future global, regional or local economic and market conditions, including the growth and development of the urban air mobility market; (vi) the development, effects and enforcement of laws and regulations; (vii) Eve's ability to grow and manage future growth, maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain its key employees; (viii) Eve's ability to develop new products and solutions, bring them to market in a timely manner, and make enhancements to its platform; (ix) Eve's ability to successfully develop, obtain certification for and commercialise its eVTOL; (x) the effects of competition on Eve's future business; (xi) the outcome of any potential litigation, government and regulatory proceedings, investigations and inquiries; (xii) the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic and (xiii) those factors discussed in Eve's Registration Statement on Form 10-K/A filed on May 4th, 2023 under the heading "Risk Factors," and other documents of Eve filed, or to be filed, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

If any of these risks materialise or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that Eve does not presently know or that Eve currently believes are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Eve's expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. Eve anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause Eve's assessments to change. However, while Eve may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Eve specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Eve's assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.

Media Contacts:

[email protected]

Investor Information:

https://ir.eveairmobility.com

[email protected]

SOURCE Eve Holding, Inc.
FREIT Board Committed to Protecting Value for All Stockholders

Highlights Kushner's Transaction Record with FREIT and Ongoing Litigation with Kushner

HACKENSACK, N.J., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- First Real Estate Investment Trust of New Jersey, Inc. ("FREIT" or the "Company") (OTCM: FREVS) today announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously adopted a stockholder rights plan (the "Rights Plan") following evaluation and consultation with the Company's legal and financial advisors.

The Rights Plan is similar to plans adopted by other publicly traded companies incorporated in Maryland and is intended to protect the long-term interests of FREIT stockholders and to enable them to realize the full potential value of their investment. The Rights Plan has a three-year duration and the rights will be exercisable only if any person (or any persons acting as a group) acquires 10% or more of FREIT common stock. This ownership limitation better aligns FREIT with the ownership limitation of other REITs.

The Rights Plan does not preclude the Board from considering an offer that recognizes the full value of the Company. Rather, the Rights Plan will reduce the likelihood that any entity, person or group gains control of FREIT without paying an appropriate control premium. Importantly, the Rights Plan provides the Board with adequate time to fully assess its options following its receipt of an unsolicited, non-binding expression of interest from K Corp Acquisitions LLC, a Kushner company, to acquire FREIT.

While the Board will always evaluate credible proposals to maximize stockholder value, it is mindful that Charles Kushner has proven not to be a bona fide counterparty in a prior potential transaction with FREIT. As such, the Board believes any definitive agreement with Charles Kushner would carry significant, atypical closing and additional litigation risk.

The Rights Plan will benefit FREIT stockholders by providing the Company with enough time to pursue a final outcome in the previously announced ongoing litigation with Sinatra LLC, a Kushner company, related to Kushner's abandonment of a January 2020 definitive agreement to acquire certain of FREIT's assets. Following the outcome of the litigation, the Board will have greater flexibility to consider a value-maximizing transaction.

Additional Details of the Rights Plan

In connection with the adoption of the Rights Plan, the Board of Directors declared a dividend distribution of one preferred stock purchase right for each outstanding share of FREIT common stock to stockholders of record as of the close of business on August 11, 2023. Initially, these rights will not be exercisable and will trade with the shares of FREIT common stock.

The Rights Plan provides several recognized stockholder protections, such as the following:

Under the Rights Plan, the rights generally will become exercisable if a person or group becomes an "acquiring person" by acquiring 10% or more of the common stock of FREIT (which includes stock subject to a derivative transaction or an acquired derivative security) or if a person commences a tender offer that could result in that person becoming an "acquiring person".





If a person becomes an "acquiring person," each holder of a right (other than the acquiring person) would be entitled to purchase, at the then-current exercise price, such number of shares of common stock (or, subject to the terms of the Rights Plan, shares of preferred stock that are equivalent to shares of FREIT common stock) at a 50% discount. If FREIT is acquired in a merger or other business combination transaction after any such event, each holder of a right would then be entitled to purchase, at the then-current exercise price, shares of the acquiring company's common stock at a 50% discount. The Board, at its option, may exchange on a cashless basis, each right (other than rights owned by the acquiring person that have become null and void) in whole or in part, at an exchange ratio of one share of FREIT common stock per outstanding right, subject to adjustment.





The Rights will expire in three years on July 31, 2026 , unless the rights have been previously redeemed or exchanged by the Board of Directors in accordance with the terms of the Rights Plan.

Under the Rights Plan, any person, entity or group that currently owns more than the triggering percentage may continue to own its shares of FREIT common stock but may not acquire any additional shares of common stock, or form a group with another owner of FREIT common stock, without triggering the Rights Plan.

Additional details about the Rights Plan will be contained in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by FREIT with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Advisors

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as financial advisor to FREIT and Goodwin Procter LLP and Miles & Stockbridge P.C. are acting as legal counsel.

About FREIT

First Real Estate Investment Trust of New Jersey, Inc. is a publicly traded (over-the-counter  symbol FREVS) REIT organized in 1961. Its portfolio of residential and commercial properties are located in New Jersey and New York, with the largest concentration in northern New Jersey. For more information, visit: www.freitnj.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Company release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expect," "plan," "will," "estimate," "project," "intend," "believe," "guidance," "approximately," "anticipate," "may," "should," "seek" or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases that are predictions of or indicate future events or trends and that do not relate to historical matters. You can also identify forward-looking statements by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions of management. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that you should not rely on as predictions of future events. Forward-looking statements depend on assumptions, data and/or methods which may be incorrect or imprecise and we may not be able to realize them. The following risks and uncertainties, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors, which include, but are not limited to: industry and economic conditions; the Company's ability to satisfy the conditions to closing and complete the proposed transaction; the Company's dependence upon its external manager to conduct its business and achieve its investment objectives; unknown liabilities acquired in connection with acquired properties or interests in real estate-related entities; general risks affecting the real estate industry and local real estate markets (including, without limitation, the market value of the Company's properties, potential illiquidity of the Company's remaining real estate investments, condemnations, and potential damage from natural disasters); the financial performance of the Company's tenants; the impact of any financial, accounting, legal or regulatory issues or litigation that may affect the Trust and its major tenants; volatility and uncertainty in the financial markets, including potential fluctuations in the consumer price index; risks associated with the Company's failure to maintain status as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; and other additional risks discussed in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022. The Company expressly disclaims any responsibility to update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Media & Investor Contact

Scott Bisang / Nick Lamplough / Jack Kelleher

Collected Strategies

[email protected]

SOURCE First Real Estate Investment Trust of New Jersey
Graphic showing silhouetted figures on two mobile phones, one next to a Chinese flag and one next to a UK flag, separated by loops of razor wire

China is pressuring Uyghurs living abroad to spy on human rights campaigners by threatening families back home, researchers say. Refugees and activists tell the BBC intimidating tactics are tearing communities apart.

"My dearest son," said Alim's mother as she flickered into view. "I didn't think I'd see you before I died."

Alim - not his real name - says he was overcome by the moment. The reunion over a video call was their first contact in six years, since he fled as a refugee to the UK.

But it was bittersweet: someone else was in control of the call. Like all Uyghurs - a mostly Muslim minority from north-western China - Alim's mother lives under intense surveillance and control. They could never call each other directly.

Instead, a middleman phoned Alim and his mother from two separate mobiles. He held the phone screens to face each other, so the pair could see wobbly images of each other - and hear muffled sound from the speakers.

Alim says they barely spoke, and spent most of the call in tears.

He doesn't know if the plain white wall he could see behind his mother was in her house in Xinjiang or an internment camp, where the Chinese government is alleged to have detained more than a million Uyghurs. China has long denied those charges.

But Alim says he knew this contact with his mother would come at a cost - because the man brokering the call was a Chinese police officer.

Uyghurs in China live under intense surveillance and more than a million have allegedly been detained in internment camps (file photo from 2019)

When the officer called again, he asked Alim to attend meetings of Uyghur human rights activists, gather intelligence and pass it back to the Chinese state.

"Whenever there was an anti-China protest in London, they would call me and ask who would be attending," says Alim, who shared with the BBC recordings of the phone calls requesting he work as a spy.

Alim was offered money, too, so he could try to befriend the leaders of campaign groups - many of them UK citizens - by taking them to restaurants and picking up the bill.

Story continues

The officer suggested setting up a company as a front, in case suspicions were raised about his newfound wealth. Plenty of businesses had already been set up on behalf of others for that exact purpose, Alim was told.

The implied threat, that his family may come to harm if he refused, has left him in a vicious bind.

"They are using my family as hostages," Alim says. "I am living in a dark moment."

Watch more on BBC Newsnight on BBC Two at 22:30 on Monday 31 July, or catch up afterwards on BBC iPlayer

The tactics employed by governments to police their diasporas abroad are known as transnational repression.

Research suggests this particular kind - controlling access to family members in the home country through video calls, in exchange for compliance overseas - is commonly used by Chinese police.

Dr David Tobin at the University of Sheffield has conducted some of the most comprehensive research on the topic to date, with his colleague Nyrola Elima. They have interviewed and surveyed more than 200 members of the Uyghur diaspora in several countries. He says all Uyghurs living outside China are victims of transnational repression.

"Family separation is the central tactic," he says. Even where phone calls are technically possible, relatives still living in China won't pick up, according to Dr Tobin. He says there is an assumption that calls will be monitored, and a fear that communicating freely will put them at risk.

Dr David Tobin says all Uyghurs living abroad are victims of transnational repression

This severing of family ties allows Chinese police to step in and offer tightly managed access - over video calls - as an incentive to comply, with the threat of repercussions for the family if they do not.

In the UK, Dr Tobin surveyed or interviewed 48 Uyghurs, from a population of about 400 people. Of those, two-thirds reported having been contacted directly by Chinese police - and pressured to spy, refrain from advocacy work, or stop speaking to the media.

And Uyghurs in the UK are far from the worst affected.

In Turkey, traditionally a safe haven for Uyghurs where 50,000 live in one of the largest communities outside China, 80% of the 148 of respondents reported similar threats from Chinese authorities.

Short presentational grey line

Abdurehim Parac arrived in Istanbul in 2014, having fled China a year earlier.

"Turkey was completely different to anything we'd experienced. We could travel wherever we wanted. The police didn't bother us," he says. "I couldn't believe such a life was possible."

But in the past few years, the picture has changed for Uyghurs in Turkey. Reports that police based in China have pressured people to spy on each other have filtered through the community, splintering their sense of camaraderie.

Abdurehim Parac says Turkey was a safe haven for Uyghurs, but China's tactics are driving the community apart

In a video posted on Facebook, a young Uyghur man who appears to have been captured and beaten by his peers, offers a troubled confession - admitting to spying on behalf of Beijing. While the circumstances surrounding the scene are unclear, the footage has been circulated among the Uyghur community, and the man has been widely condemned online.

The accumulation of stories like these is having an effect, Abdurehim says.

"Young people are distancing themselves from Uyghur protests and meetings. They are worried that people there might be spies," he says. "China's plan is working."

Dr Tobin thinks Turkish authorities are aware of what's happening and have been slow to respond. "The more dependent a country is on investment from China, the more likely it is to cooperate or to turn a blind eye," he says.

Turkey is seen as having grown closer to China in recent years, and questions have been raised about its commitment to protecting its Uyghur community.

The Turkish government did not respond to a request for comment.

Short presentational grey line

But China is not only targeting people in countries where it has economic supremacy.

Julie Millsap, a US-born activist who works with the Uyghur Human Rights Project in Washington DC, says China has tried to pressure her through her in-laws.

Julie Millsap, a US-born activist, says her husband's family in China faced police harassment for her work with Uyghurs

Her husband is Han Chinese, part of the country's largest ethnic group, and the two met in China before moving to the US capital in 2020.

After Julie began campaigning on behalf of Uyghurs, local police began dropping in on her extended family in China, saying they "wanted to be friends".

She and her husband received threatening messages from her sister-in-law's phone, suggesting Julie's children may end up "as orphans". "They weren't written in a language style that she used," says Julie, who suspects the police were instructing her to send them.

During a recent video call between her husband, in Washington DC, and his sister, in China, the police happened to stop by, allowing Julie to record the moment, and confront one of the officers directly.

"He stammered and asked us not to misinterpret his intentions," she says. The officer told her police were arranging visits to all local families with US relatives, in light of the "delicate" relationship between the US and China.

Julie Millsap confronted a police officer who dropped in on her sister-in-law in China

Julie recognises that a white American and a Han Chinese family are afforded a degree of safety that Uyghurs are not. "But we're still talking about police harassment, about threats, about a daily reality that is anything but good," she says.

She thinks it is alarming that Chinese authorities feel comfortable targeting foreign citizens and attempting to dictate their work.

Short presentational grey line

The US government is beginning to address the problem formally.

In March, senators introduced the Transnational Repression Policy Act, listing a range of abuses including "coercion by proxy", which covers threats to family members overseas. If passed, the law would see the creation of a dedicated phone line to report threats, and prompt Congress to bring sanctions against perpetrators wherever possible.

Abduweli Ayup, a Uyghur rights campaigner based in Norway, thinks the US legislation would be a step in the right direction, but that Western governments should go further. Each time a case is reported to the authorities, questions should be lodged directly with the Chinese government, requesting assurance that family members are safe, he says.

"We are your citizens, your neighbours and your taxpayers. Our governments should take some responsibility," says Mr Ayup.

Dr Tobin recognises the complications inherent in tackling the issue. "Saying 'would you like to speak to your family?' isn't a crime. We know it's a threat. We know it breaks communities, and causes mental health problems and trauma, but it is not a crime on British soil," he says.

The UK Home Office says attempts to intimidate overseas critics are "unacceptable", that an internal review into transnational repression is underway, and all such incidents should be reported to law enforcement.

In a statement, the Chinese Embassy in London called the allegations of transnational repression "totally groundless". The Chinese government "protects Uyghurs and their communication with overseas relatives in accordance with the law", it said.

Alim chose not to report his case to the police, but confessed his predicament to a group of Uyghur rights activists in London.

One of the group's leaders told us the requests were very common, and posed challenges to the integrity of the community - but insisted their advocacy work would continue. In their experience, almost all advances from Chinese police are rejected.

Alim wrestled with the issue before reaching a decision. "I realised that betraying others for the sake of my family would mean selling out my nation, and I couldn't do that.

"If that was the price I had to pay, so be it." He too refused China's offer.
BOSTON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 25, 2023, Fosun Health Capital established by Fosun Pharma (stock code:600196.SH), reached a strategic partnership with Medicilon (stock code: 688202.SH). Meanwhile StarMab Biology (Suzhou) (jointly invested by the innovation drug research fund of Fosun Group and Yaopharma) and Medicilon entered into a strategic cooperation for innovative drug IND research and application services. This strategic partnership indicates a significant step forward in the cooperation between Fosun Health Capital and Medicilon, with milestone for both parties' development.

The signing ceremony

Cui Zhiping, Co-CEO and General Manager of Fosun Health Capital, Chen Chunlin, Founder and CEO of Medicilon, along with members from both sides attended the signing ceremony together and witnessed the contract.

According to the strategic cooperation agreement, Medicilon will leverage its international perspective and rich experience in R&D to provide innovative drug enterprises invested by Fosun Health Capital with servicessuch as drug discovery, pharmaceutical research, preclinical research, IND registration declaration, etc., aiming to facilitate cooperation in 10 innovative drug IND projects. Medicilon will also provide professional opinions on the rationality of product development clinical programs, product success probability analysis, product market potential, etc.

Furthermore, Medicilon will facilitate investment cooperation and create an ecosystem linking innovative drug investment and business cooperation. As for StarMab Biology, Medicilon will provide comprehensive and high-quality preclinical research services. Through this strategic cooperation, all parties will integrate respective technology, market and talent advantages, embrace the trends and technological changes in bioengineering and pharmaceutical industry, promote deeper and broader exploration in various fields, and explore the possibilities of new drug development.

About Fosun Health Capital:

As the first VC fund in the field of new drugs initiated by Fosun Pharma, Fosun Health Capital primarily invests biopharmaceutical sector projects in early-stage and expansion-stage, which have technological innovation and rapid growth potential. It is committed to incubating high-quality projects from universities and research institutes and introducing leading overseas biotechnology technologies and products to China through introduction and cooperation models.

About Medicilon:

Medicilon as an integrated CRO provides comprehensive one-stop R&D services for pharmaceutical enterprises and scientific research institutions around the world. Medicilon has built an integrated platform covering key technologies in drug discovery, pharmaceutical research, and preclinical research, to provide comprehensive preclinical R&D services for the global biomedical industry.

CONTACT: marketing@medicilon.com

More information: http://www.medicilon.com

SOURCE Medicilon Inc.
GENEVA, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Fractal, a shipping company developed to enhance global energy security, reiterates its unwavering commitment to strict adherence to international law and rigorous safety standards. The company diligently monitors the global price of crude and faithfully abides by the rules established by the price cap mechanism. This dedication to ethical business practices and full compliance, including adhering to the price cap regulations set by the EU, US, and other international regulatory bodies, reinforces Fractal's responsible approach in the energy sector.

"Our mission at Fractal is not just to ensure the smooth transportation of goods globally, but also to uphold the highest standards of safety, compliance, and respect for international law," stated Mathieu Philippe, Chief Executive Officer and Ultimate Beneficial Owner of Fractal. "We are proud to contribute to the world's energy security while adhering to the legal boundaries and fostering sustainable practices in the shipping industry."

Fractal's expertise lies in efficiently transporting crude oil and petroleum products worldwide, serving a diverse and global clientele with a primary focus on customers seeking reliable access to energy products. Each client relationship is built on the foundation of mutual respect for international law, further emphasizing Fractal's commitment to responsible and transparent business conduct.

To ensure the utmost level of compliance, Fractal has implemented a robust "Know Your Customer" process, enhancing its ability to meet regulatory requirements and maintain the highest ethical standards. Additionally, the company strictly adheres to international sanctions and compliance regimes, including in operations involving trade with Russia crude, in pursuit of conducting business responsibly and ethically.

Fractal's fleet consistently meets the industry's most stringent safety standards. Every vessel in the fleet undergoes regular inspections under the Ship Inspection Report Programme (SIRE), guaranteeing compliance and top-notch maintenance.

Every vessel in our fleet is certified by world-renowned certification bodies, members of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), such as DNV, BV, Lloyd's Register, ABS, NKK. Additionally, our ships are insured by prominent international groups of P&I clubs, including the West of England and American Club. This is a testament to our commitment to maintaining not only regulatory compliance but also the highest safety standards.

"At Fractal, safety, compliance, and respect for international law are at the core of everything we do. Our strategic and efficient shipping operations differentiate us in the global shipping industry, and we are steadfast in our commitment to contributing to the world's economy responsibly," said Mathieu Philippe.

About Fractal:

Fractal is an international shipper with a focus on the global transportation of crude oil and petroleum products. The company is dedicated to upholding the principles of international law, safety, and compliance while contributing to the world's energy security. Fractal's commitment to ethical business practices and safety sets it apart in the global shipping industry.

SOURCE Fractal
DUBLIN, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Asset Management Industry Report" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The report offers a comprehensive analysis of the asset management market, covering top players and financial trends. With detailed information on the top 370 companies, including Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Investment Company Limited, Aegon Asset Management UK Plc, and Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc., this report provides valuable insights into the asset management and finance industry.

Key Highlights:

Market Overview: The report provides an overview of the global asset management market, focusing on areas such as assets, management, finance. It includes a wealth of information on the financial trends over the past four years, offering a comprehensive view of the industry.

Company Analysis: Using the publisher's exclusive methodology, the report assesses the financial performance of the top 370 companies. It highlights 113 companies with a declining financial rating and 46 companies that have shown good sales growth.

Market Analysis: The report offers a thorough 100-page market analysis, highlighting the latest changes and trends in the global asset management market. It covers best trading partners, sales growth analysis, profit analysis, market size, and rankings.

Tools for Busy Managers: The report equips busy managers with tools to monitor the financial welfare of their companies, rivals, or potential acquisitions. The reports help assess the attractiveness of acquisitions, gain a better understanding of the market, and identify sound companies for trading partnerships.

The report is divided into two sections: an overall market analysis and a detailed company analysis. The market analysis includes best trading partners, sales growth analysis, profit analysis, market size, and rankings. The company analysis provides an in-depth assessment of the largest companies in the asset management industry, using the publisher's unique model and The Publisher's Chart to analyze financial performance.

With the most up-to-date financial data, this report offers accurate insights into the asset management market. It serves as a valuable resource for industry professionals seeking to understand market trends, identify potential acquisitions, and benchmark their own financial performance.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/cwhe2h

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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SOURCE Research and Markets
DUBLIN, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "350 Emerging Cellular IoT Projects Worldwide - 3rd Edition" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Highlights from the database:

Detailed data in Excel format on 350 emerging cellular IoT deployments identified globally.

Practical information including the involved companies, HQ location and website for every deployment.

Categorisation of each project by the main IoT vertical.

Geographical breakdown detailing the number of active cellular IoT connections by region per project.

Forecasts on the future developments for each deployment until 2027.

Analyst commentary on the methodology and summary of key findings as well as select case studies.

This database includes a list of 350 emerging cellular IoT projects worldwide. The information included about each of these is mainly the company name and location, project name and type, website address, IoT vertical and the number of connections by region (including 5-year forecasts). These 350 projects consist of a mix of both start-ups and more incumbent projects and represented together 5.9 million subscriptions at the end of 2022. The list is delivered in Excel format.

This database answers the following questions

Which are notable emerging cellular IoT projects deployed on the global market?

What is the geographical breakdown of key IoT deployments by region?

Which projects are expected to experience the highest growth rates in the next five years?

Which of the IoT verticals have the greatest number of emerging deployments?

How will the list develop in the future as the constituent deployments progress?

Who should read this report?

350 Emerging Cellular IoT Projects Worldwide is a unique source of information about emerging IoT projects identified by the analyst as part of the company's world-class market research in the space. Whether you are a telecom operator, platform provider, hardware manufacturer, investor, consultant, or government agency, you will gain valuable insights from this in-depth research.

Key Topics Covered:

Executive Summary

1 350 Emerging Cellular IoT Projects Worldwide

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Methodology

1.3 Overview of the database entries

1.4 Entrepreneurship and the Internet of Things

1.5 Case studies

1.6 Concluding remarks and future outlook

List of Figures

Figure 1.1: Overview of the deployments by IoT vertical (2022)

Figure 1.2: Active IoT units by vertical (2022-2027)

Figure 1.3: Active IoT units by vertical and geographical market (2022)

Figure 1.4: Kiwisat cloud fleet management software interface

Figure 1.5: Limmex emergency watches

Figure 1.6: Miles carsharing vehicle

Figure 1.7: Fastned charging station

Figure 1.8: Sony Visilion tracker and online application

Figure 1.9: Sensoneo smart ultrasonic fill-level sensor

A selection of Companies Mentioned in this report includes

Fastned

Kiwisat

Limmex

Miles

Sensoneo

Sony

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/se2eu4

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

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SOURCE Research and Markets
BEIJING, July 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- President Xi Jinping visited the site of a section of an ancient road system known as "Shudao" in Guangyuan on July 25, which winds its way through rugged mountains and ancient trees. There, Xi learned about efforts surrounding ecological conservation.

This visit marks Xi's attention to China's ecological development, which has achieved remarkable progress over the past 10 years, said experts.

Witnessing the government's recent remarks on ecology, they believed that the country's road of building a Beautiful China has demonstrated the nation's wisdom in balancing the needs of economic development and improving the environment.

Before heading to Sichuan, Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered a speech at a national conference on ecological and environmental protection held from July 17 to 18.

Xi said that the country's ecological conservation has undergone a historic, transformative and comprehensive changes both in theory and practice, with significant strides made in building a Beautiful China.

Noting that China's economy and society have entered a stage of high-quality development marked by accelerated progress in promoting green and low-carbon growth, Xi called for higher standards, a broader perspective and stronger efforts in planning and advancing ecological and environmental protection on the new journey, as well as writing a new chapter of ecological conservation in the new era.

Xi stressed the need to properly handle the relationships between high-quality development and high-level protection, between tackling major challenges and coordinating governance, between natural recovery and human-assisted restoration, between external constraints and internal driving forces, as well as between "dual carbon" commitments and self-determined actions.

Xi said that the country's ecological conservation has undergone historical, transformative and comprehensive changes both in theory and practice, with significant strides made in building a Beautiful China.

This conference again showed us how importance the central government attaches to ecological protection, an official from environment protection bureau in Wuhai, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times on Friday. He said during the past 10 years, ecological protection has become an increasingly important indictor in evaluating government's performance in his city, which was famous for coal production.

"Although planting trees costs more in Inner Mongolia than in other parts of China due to lack of water and dry weather, we learned in the past 10 years that making our city greener brings more benefits than leaving the mountains bare. The city becomes more beautiful, residents are happy, and more tourists visit; also we saw less sandstorms," the official said.

During a press conference on Thursday, Huang Runqiu, China's minister of ecology and environment, highlighted China's achievement on ecological protection over recent years.

From 2013 to 2022, China's average PM2.5 concentration decreased by 57 percent and the number of heavily polluted days decreased by 93 percent, while the nation's GDP doubled during the same period, Huang said. This made China the country with the fastest improvement in air quality worldwide. Specifically, in Beijing, the average PM2.5 concentration decreased from 89.5 micrograms per cubic meter in 2013 to 30 micrograms per cubic meter in 2022, and the number of heavily polluted days decreased from 58 to only 3, said Huang. The United Nations Environment Agency praised this achievement as the "Beijing Miracle."

Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times that "China has engaged in a sustained top-down efforts for many years to enhance ecological protection. The central and local governments march together toward the same goal, with continuous environmental policies. Moreover, the country has demonstrated its wisdom in how to balance ecological development and maintain fast economic growth at the same time."

Perfect balance

We should protect nature and preserve the environment like we protect our eyes, and endeavor to foster a new relationship where man and nature can both prosper and live in harmony, President Xi once said.

Xi has given important instructions on the rational utilization and friendly protection of the ecological environment during his numerous visits to the frontlines of ecological protection, such as to the Maanshan forest farm in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Qilian Mountains, the Shandan Horse Ranch in Gansu, an ecological wetland of the Dianchi Lake in Kunming, and many other places.

In June 2022, Xi visited Yibin, Sichuan Province, where the Jinsha and Minjiang rivers converge into the Yangtze River. He noted that sound ecological conservation along the Yangtze River basin is the precondition for advancing high-quality development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

The Yellow River and the Yangtze River are the mother rivers of the Chinese nation. The protection of the mother rivers is a crucial project concerning the great rejuvenation and sustainable development of the Chinese nation, Xi said at the time.

From June 5 to 6 this year, accompanied by officials from Inner Mongolia, Xi was on a fact-finding mission at a nature reserve, a modern agricultural demonstration park, a forest farm and a water resources department in the city of Bayannur.

On June 6, Xi presided over a symposium in Bayannur on strengthening the comprehensive prevention and control of desertification and promoting the construction of crucial ecological projects, including the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program.

Xi, who was then the Party Chief of Zhejiang, put forward the famous "two mountains" concept - clear waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets comparable to the gold and silver of legend - in August 2005 during his visit to Anji county.

Nowadays, residents in the county has sought out ways to make a living that they enjoy, with many becoming businessmen, running their own hostels, shops and tourism companies, thanks to the improved natural environment.

Pan Chunlin, a former miner, who now runs a hostel after local mines were shut down, explained the transformation to the Global Times "My annual income is now hundreds of times higher than before. Today, I can earn in a day what I used to make in one year".

Following the development approach referred to as the "two mountains" concept, in the past decade, Anji has modeled itself into a place known for its beautiful ecology and prosperous green industries, which have completely changed the villagers' lives, Jin Peihua, head of the "Two Mountains" Concept Research Institute affiliated with Huzhou University, said.

Global bellwether

Apart from domestic efforts, China is also making efforts in unifying a global effort on ecological preservation.

The 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, known as COP15, was convened in Kunming, Yunnan Province in 2021.

As the first global conference convened by the United Nations on the topic of ecological civilization, a philosophy proposed by China, it offered a platform for countries to find common ground on "Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth."

During an official trip to Zimbabwe in 2015, Xi visited a local wildlife sanctuary, where he fed an orphaned elephant. He reiterated China's commitment to wildlife protection and pledged to help Zimbabwe do so by donating equipment and exchanging experience with China.

Recalling Xi's explanation of China's initiatives to breed giant pandas and expand protected areas, Roxy Danckwerts, the founder of the sanctuary, said, "I thought that was very significant that he is making such big strides in his own country."

Bradley Blankenship, a Prague-based American journalist, columnist and political commentator, recently spent a week in Beijing. Speaking with the Global Times, he said that "I must admit that based on the antiquated view of China that many Americans have and discuss publicly, I expected the city to be smoggy and congested. To the contrary, it has beautiful blue skies.

"China has been successful in beautifying Beijing, as well as other cities and towns, by transitioning from coal power to gas, establishing emission standards for coal-fired stations, implementing tougher standards for other industries such as steel and cement and seeking high-quality development with a high-quality ecological environment. These achievements have been so successful that Beijing now stands as an example for mega-cities around the globe, particularly those in the Global South," Blankenship said.

During a visit to Guizhou in June, Manasa R. Tagicakibau, Fiji's Ambassador to China, said China is "so advanced" when it comes to ecological civilization. "You look at the development that's been achieved by Guizhou authorities together with the local people, ethnic minorities and the population at large, in terms of developing the area to make this mountainous area a very safe and harmonious and happy place to live in. I'm impressed."

The ambassador said Guizhou shares a lot of similarities to some of the mountainous regions in Fiji, but there is a lot to be done in Fiji in terms of accessibility and this is an area that Fiji can learn from China.

However, some Western countries, so-called pioneering initiatives on environment protection, take a laissez-afire attitude in face of environment disasters. Recently, Chinese scientists used scientific methods to assess it and concluded that, as of Wednesday, the carbon dioxide emissions from Canadian wildfires have reached approximately 1 billion tons, which has already developed into a global environmental event.

It is worth mentioning that the forest area in China is approximately 2.31 million square kilometers, which is roughly two-thirds of that in Canada. However, the average annual emission of carbon dioxide caused by forest fires in China from 2000-21 was approximately 15 million tons, only 0.2 percent of the global forest fire emissions, demonstrating China's responsible role as a major country, experts noted.

SOURCE Global Times
ST. LOUIS, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Graybar, a leading distributor of electrical, communications and data networking products and provider of related supply chain management and logistics services, today reported that it set a new quarterly record for net sales in the second quarter of 2023.

Graybar's net sales for the second quarter of this year totaled $2.8 billion, an increase of 4.5% compared to the same period last year. Net income attributable to Graybar for the quarter finished at $124.2 million, a 2.7% decrease from the second quarter of 2022.

For the first half of 2023, the company reported net sales of $5.5 billion, an 8.1% increase compared to the same period last year. Net income attributable to Graybar for the first six months of 2023 increased 8.4% to $249.0 million.

"Thanks to the hard work of our employees, we continue to achieve positive results," said Kathleen M. Mazzarella, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Graybar. "We remain focused on providing exceptional service to our customers every day, while we make strategic investments to transform our business and strengthen our long-term position as an industry leader."

Graybar, a Fortune 500 corporation and one of the largest employee-owned companies in North America, is a leader in the distribution of high quality electrical, communications and data networking products, and specializes in related supply chain management and logistics services. Through its network of more than 325 North American distribution facilities, it stocks and sells products from thousands of manufacturers, helping its customers power, network, automate and secure their facilities with speed, intelligence and efficiency. For more information, visit www.graybar.com or call 1-800-GRAYBAR.

Media Contact:

Tim Sommer

(314) 578-7672

[email protected]

SOURCE Graybar
Learners can enroll for these Microsoft Certifications with any of the existing programs offered by Great Learning in Cloud Computing, Data Science and Data Engineering.

The Microsoft Certification aligned learning paths will be delivered by Great Learning faculty and Microsoft Certified Trainers.

Great Learning programs are designed to help learners advance their skills in Microsoft technologies and Azure focused careers and complete the corresponding Microsoft Certification exams.

SEATTLE, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Great Learning, a leading global edtech company for higher education and professional training is collaborating with Microsoft to offer their learners various Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Power BI learning paths aligned to Microsoft Certifications. These 6-week online programs are designed and developed by Microsoft and delivered by Great Learning faculty and Microsoft Certified Trainers. The programs are relevant for young graduates and working professionals aspiring to build careers in high-demand domains such as Cloud Computing, Data Science and Data Engineering.

The relevance of Azure in today's technology landscape cannot be overstated. As businesses increasingly migrate to the cloud, Azure has emerged as a leading cloud infrastructure platform, providing a wide range of services and solutions to meet diverse business needs. Organizations that use Azure gain scalability, agility, and cost-efficiency, enabling them to accelerate innovation and drive digital transformation. The rapid adoption of Azure has created a significant demand for professionals skilled in Azure technologies. These skilling programs aligned to Azure certifications are designed for professionals aspiring to build a career in Cloud Computing and wanting to gain technical skills in Azure-based solutions.

As part of this relationship, Great Learning will initially deliver three Microsoft Certification aligned skilling programs, with plans to expand the offering to include seven more programs throughout the year. Launching immediately are the Azure Fundamentals , Azure Administrator , (as a bolt on with the Great Learning Cloud Computing program) and Power BI Data Analyst programs. The Microsoft Azure Administrator certification is relevant for mid-level professionals in the IT and cloud domain and will provide them with a comprehensive understanding of Azure infrastructure and management tools. Power BI Data Analyst, is designed for young graduates who want to kick-start their career in Data Analytics.

Sharing his views about the collaboration, Mohan Lakhamraju , Founder & CEO, Great Learning said, "We are thrilled to join forces with Microsoft to provide our learners with access to world-class training aligned to Microsoft Certifications. Microsoft Azure is a prominent cloud infrastructure platform, revolutionizing the way businesses operate. However, there is a noticeable dearth of professionals equipped with the necessary skills to effectively leverage the capabilities of Azure. This collaboration will enable professionals at various stages of their careers to get these highly relevant skills and stay ahead in today's competitive job market."

Geoffrey Hirsch, Microsoft Senior Director, Worldwide Learning said, "Great Learning's expertise in professional training aligns to our goal to enable individuals to enhance their skill sets and pursue rewarding careers in the technology industry. We are pleased about this collaboration and the opportunity to offer specialized technical skilling through Great Learning that helps individuals prepare for Microsoft Certifications."

These certification-aligned programs will be delivered in a unique way under this collaboration. Learners will learn the Microsoft certified content over six weeks with weekly mentorship sessions with Great Learning's expert mentors. They will also have a dedicated program manager to assist and address any challenges faced during the course of the programs. Through this journey, they will also receive exam focused simulations and mock tests to prepare them for the certification exam. Upon completion of the program, learners will also obtain certification vouchers to cover the cost of the corresponding certification exam fee.

About Great Learning:

Great Learning is a leading global ed-tech company for professional training and higher education. It offers comprehensive, industry-relevant, hands-on learning programs across various business, technology and interdisciplinary domains driving the digital economy. These programs are developed and offered in collaboration with the world's foremost academic institutions like Stanford Graduate School of Business, MIT Professional Education, The University of Texas at Austin, National University of Singapore, Wharton Online, The University of Arizona, Deakin University, IIT-Roorkee, IIIT-Hyderabad & Delhi, and Great Lakes Institute of Management. Great Learning is able to leverage the highly qualified, world-class faculty at these universities together with its vast network of 6200+ industry expert mentors to deliver an unmatched learning experience for over 8.2 million learners from over 170+ countries around the world.

Media Contact

Navami Ajayan

Corporate Communications

[email protected]

[email protected]

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SOURCE Great Learning
All sales help support Certified B Corp Best for the World company's effort to plant 4,000 avocado trees in El Salvador.

LOS ANGELES, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of National Avocado Day, Avocado Green  makers of certified organic and eco-luxury products  launched an epic sale , with up to $400 off mattresses, as well as savings on reclaimed wood bed frames, adjustable bed frames, organic certified linen sheets and pillows, certified organic towels, luxurious loungewear, and clean skin + body products.

Celebrate National Avocado Day with huge savings on Avocado mattresses.

As part of Avocado's Giving initiative, through which they donate 1% of all revenue to nonprofits through 1% For the Planet, all sales during the Avocado Day sale will support the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation's effort to plant 4,000 fruit trees in the central region of El Salvador.

For today only, customers can save up to $400 on Avocado's top-rated GOTS-certified organic Green and Vegan Mattress. Shoppers will also save 20% on all bedding, including Avocado's exceptionally soft, naturally breathable, GOTS-certified organic sheets, duvet covers, pillowcases, and protectors. Avocado's Supercharged Reishi Body Melt and Alpaca Sweater Collection are 30% off and their Fleece Lounge Collection and GOTS-certified (CU863637) Organic Cotton Collection  sustainable, cozy layering pieces  are 50% off.

Over the five years Avocado has supported the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation for National Avocado Day, they've planted more than 14,000 fruit trees together, primarily in Latin America, where demand for sustainable livelihoods for farmers and low-income households is greater than ever.

"Working with Avocado has been a joy, allowing our shared visions of a greener and fairer future to come to fruition," said Lizzy Rainey, Development Manager for FTPF. "Food-producing trees, including avocados, are a simple yet very effective way to address environmental, economic, and nutritional injustices all at once."

As a Climate Neutral Certified brand  and one of B Corp's "Best for the World" brands  Avocado reduces its footprint, invests in climate change solutions to compensate for its cradle-to-consumer emissions, and advocates for legislation that will help mitigate the climate crisis.

From the beginning, Avocado just wanted a new kind of mattress. One that was greener  better for people and the planet  affordable, and comfortable. It was a simple idea rooted in a much bigger vision. Five years later, Avocado continues to expand  from bedding, to furniture, to their skin + bath collection, and their line of responsible loungewear. As the company grows, Avocado continues to redefine what it means to be a sustainable, ethical brand. The company is a Certified B Corporation, a Climate Neutral Certified business, and a member of 1% For the Planet, remaining true to its original purpose: to be one of the most sustainable companies on Earth. Learn more at AvocadoGreen.com.

If you would like more information, please contact Jessica Hann at [email protected].

SOURCE Avocado Green Mattress
Winners exemplify impact of social health on the healthcare industry, will be celebrated in-person at Fierce Pharma Marketing Awards

PHILADELPHIA, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Union , the leader in social health, has announced the 2023 class of Social Health Awards honorees. By empowering and celebrating the health leaders who are essential to the ongoing conversations and connections within the healthcare industry, the Social Health Awards continue to elevate the importance of social health  the dynamic, real-time action people take to find meaningful connections and share information that impacts the health journey.

Health leaders were nominated across 10 categories designed to showcase the vast diversity of the patient and caregiver community and the various forms of advocacy across all condition areas and platforms. The winners, whose profiles and accomplishments can be viewed here , in each category are:

Advocacy Trailblazer: Gerry Langan , idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension patient leader

, idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension patient leader Best Team: PodcastDX, rare disease patient leaders

PodcastDX, rare disease patient leaders Caregiving Champion: Parvathy Krishnan , rare disease patient leader

, rare disease patient leader Community Cultivator: Sharron Rouse , kidney disease patient leader

, kidney disease patient leader Creative Contributor: RARE, rare disease patient leader

RARE, rare disease patient leader Healthcare Collaborator: Shoshana Lipson , migraine patient leader

, migraine patient leader Lifetime Achievement: David Lyons , MFSC, multiple sclerosis patient leader

, MFSC, multiple sclerosis patient leader Revolutionary Researcher: Tina Aswani Omprakash , inflammatory bowel disease patient leader

, inflammatory bowel disease patient leader Rookie of the Year: James Hollens , ankylosing spondylitis patient leader

, ankylosing spondylitis patient leader Social Media Master: Cynthia Covert /The Disabled Diva, psoriatic arthritis and fibromyalgia patient leader

"The Social Health Awards provide the unique opportunity to celebrate, recognize and amplify the passion and dedication of health leaders who are truly models of social health," said Amrita Bhowmick, Health Union's chief community officer. "In addition to their hard work and advocacy within their individual condition communities, the 2023 honorees are showing - and will continue to show - the overwhelming impact they have on the healthcare industry."

Nominations for the Social Health Awards were open to patient and caregiver leaders worldwide who are making a difference in healthcare as active members of an online community and are at least 18 years old. Nominees were first judged by their peers to determine the six finalists for each category. The 60 finalists were then evaluated by healthcare industry thought leaders to determine the winners. The honorees were announced on July 26 during Connexion, a Health Union virtual event that connects and empowers patient leaders.

The winners are invited to join Health Union on stage at the Social Health Awards celebration at the 2023 Fierce Pharma Marketing Awards ceremony, which will occur Sept. 13 at the annual Digital Pharma East conference in Philadelphia. More information about the Social Health Awards can be found at SocialHealthNetwork.com/Awards .

About Health Union

Health Union is the proven industry leader driving and amplifying social health. As the premier social health company, only Health Union encourages the dynamic, real-time action people take to find meaningful connections and share information that impact their health journey. The company reaches millions of people through the largest portfolio of condition-specific online health communities (e.g., Migraine.com, MultipleSclerosis.net, LungCancer.net) and health leaders - addressing virtually every condition and providing the information, connection and support they need.

SOURCE Health Union
Fund Helps Underinsured Americans in Need of Medication Copayment Assistance

GERMANTOWN, Md., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The HealthWell Foundation, an independent non-profit that provides a financial lifeline for inadequately insured Americans, is proud to announce that it has opened a new fund to provide financial assistance to individuals living with type 2 diabetes. Through the new fund, HealthWell will provide up to $1,000 in medication copayment assistance to eligible patients with annual household incomes up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level for the management of their disease.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes and develops when the cells in the body do not respond well to, or make enough insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas. If not treated, people with type 2 diabetes will have high blood glucose (blood sugar) levels which, over time, can lead to serious health problems including heart disease, stroke, blindness, and kidney failure. Over 37 million people in the U.S. have diabetes and type 2 diabetes accounts for approximately 90-95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes in the U.S.

"Managing type 2 diabetes is life-long and can be expensive. Some people living with diabetes are required to take one or more medications, and the expense associated with proper medications is insurmountable for many people, even those with health insurance," said Charles "Chuck" Henderson, Chief Executive Officer of the American Diabetes Association. "Sadly, an estimated 16.5% of people in the U.S. who have been prescribed insulin to manage their disease have rationed their use of the medication in the last year due to cost. We applaud the HealthWell Foundation for recognizing this critical unmet need for people living with type 2 diabetes and for providing much needed copayment assistance so these patients can start or stay on their prescribed lifesaving treatment plans."

Krista Zodet, HealthWell's President and Chief Executive Officer, said opening the fund has been part of the Foundation's strategy to support the diabetes community for many years.

"We are pleased to offer copayment assistance to underinsured individuals living with type 2 diabetes, but we know that the funding we have available will only be enough to assist approximately 2,000 patients. We will not begin to address the greater need, but we are eager to help as many patients as possible before funding is exhausted," Zodet said. "We are thankful to our dedicated donors for recognizing this paramount need and for providing HealthWell with the financial resources to offer copayment assistance to people with type 2 diabetes. No one should go without lifesaving medications simply because they can't afford them."

Zodet urged others to help sustain the fund through donations to the HealthWell Foundation so more people with type 2 diabetes can receive copayment assistance. Those interested can visit HealthWell's donation page to learn more: https://bit.ly/3D0r62X.

To determine eligibility, visit HealthWell's Type 2 Diabetes Fund page. To apply for a grant through the Type 2 Diabetes Fund, call 800-675-8416 Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Online applications are not available for this fund. Note that all new fund openings and fund re-openings occur at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (8:00 a.m. Pacific) Monday through Friday. To learn how you can support this or other HealthWell programs, visit HealthWellFoundation.org.

About the HealthWell Foundation

A nationally recognized, independent non-profit organization founded in 2003, the HealthWell Foundation has served as a safety net across over 85 disease areas for more than 822,000 underinsured patients. Since its inception, HealthWell has provided over $3.3 billion in financial support through more than 1.3 million grants to access life-changing medical treatments patients otherwise would not be able to afford. HealthWell provides financial assistance to adults and children facing medical hardship resulting from gaps in their insurance that cause out-of-pocket medical expenses to escalate rapidly; HealthWell assists with the treatment-related cost-sharing obligations of these patients. HealthWell ranked 34th on the 2022 Forbes list of The 100 Largest U.S. Charities and was recognized for its 100 percent fundraising efficiency. For more information, visit HealthWellFoundation.org .

About the American Diabetes Association

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is the nation's leading voluntary health organization fighting to bend the curve on the diabetes epidemic and help people living with diabetes thrive. For 82 years, the ADA has driven discovery and research to treat, manage, and prevent diabetes while working relentlessly for a cure. Through advocacy, program development, and education we aim to improve the quality of life for the over 133 million Americans living with diabetes or prediabetes. Diabetes has brought us together. What we do next will make us Connected for Life. To learn more or to get involved, visit us at diabetes.org or call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383). Join the fight with us on Facebook (American Diabetes Association), Spanish Facebook (Asociacion Americana de la Diabetes), LinkedIn (American Diabetes Association), Twitter (@AmDiabetesAssn), and Instagram (@AmDiabetesAssn).

CONTACT:

Ginny Dunn

240-632-5309

[email protected]

SOURCE HealthWell Foundation
I paid $18 to sit at the front of the plane on a one-hour flight. Now, the front-row seat is a luxury that I'll always pay for.

The author traveled on Scoot, the world's second-best budget airline. Marielle Descalsota/Insider

I recently flew on Scoot, the second-best low-cost airline in the world.

I paid a small $18 fee for a seat at the front of the plane, and it came with other perks.

Flying on budget airlines doesn't always have to be an uncomfortable experience.

Scoot is the world's second-best low-cost airline, according to the aviation-ranking site Skytrax.

A Scoot plane at Singapore Changi Airport. Marielle Descalsota/Insider

Scoot is a budget airline that's a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, which was voted the best airline in the world this year according to the aviation-ranking company Skytrax. Scoot, too, has a reputation for providing a reliable experience for budget travelers. It's one of the airlines I fly with the most, having lived in Singapore for over 20 years.

Scoot flies from Changi Airport, Singapore, to 67 destinations such as Germany and Greece. I fly the airline's shorter routes regularly, including the hourlong flight from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. When I took this flight in late June, I decided to pay for a seat at the front of the plane  and it turned out to be one of the most comfortable flights of my life.

I paid 175 Singapore dollars, or about $130, for a one-way ticket to Kuala Lumpur. This included an $18 fee for a seat at the front of the plane.

Boarding the Scoot flight was a fuss-free experience. Marielle Descalsota/Insider

Prices vary for this one-way route and can go as low as $56, but when I booked my ticket, it was one of the most expensive flights available. That day, a one-way ticket from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur was about $55 on other budget airlines such as the Malaysian carrier AirAsia and Jetstar, a subsidiary of Qantas Airways.

When I traveled on Scoot from Vietnam in April, I was assigned a seat in the last row of the plane. The experience was terrible, and I was determined never to be that uncomfortable on a flight again. For this flight, I decided to pay a bit more to sit in the front row of the plane, on what Scoot names "stretch seats."

One of the biggest pros of choosing a front-row seat is that I got to board first, which meant I didn't have to fight for space to stow my bag in the overhead compartment or rush to get through the bridge to board the plane.

Story continues

The flight to Kuala Lumpur was delayed by 20 minutes, but boarding was still a seamless experience.

The seats weren't the most spacious but were comfortable enough. Marielle Descalsota/Insider

Scoot has a generous carry-on allowance of 10 kilograms, or about 22 pounds, but I decided to check in my suitcase. I paid about $25 to check in my suitcase, so I only had a backpack on board with me. I felt so light and carefree, and that made the boarding experience even better.

Changi Airport was named the best airport in the world this year by Skytrax, and it certainly lived up to the hype. Getting through security at the airport in Singapore was fast and easy, and the boarding gate was spacious, comfortable, and quiet, so the 20-minute delay didn't bother me.

As the flight was full, I was grateful to have booked a seat with ample legroom.

Legroom on this short-haul Scoot flight was pretty huge. Marielle Descalsota/Insider

As Scoot was flying an Airbus A320 plane that day, the seats were small and cramped with only 28 inches of legroom. But my front-row seat measured 34 inches in legroom, which meant I had a lot of space to stretch my legs.

In these front-row seats, passengers are required to stow bags up top, but I kept my laptop in the sleeve in front of me to prevent it from getting banged up. Service on my previous Scoot flights has been almost impeccable  and this flight was no different. A flight attendant helped me place my backpack in the compartment without me even asking, despite not being required to do so.

There was no meal service on board, as it was only a one-hour flight, but the food I've tried on other Scoot flights was tasty enough.

The food options on board a Scoot flight. Marielle Descalsota/Insider

As it was a very short flight, there was no time for the cabin crew to pull out the carts and serve hot meals. Those who reserved meals were served water and some snacks.

As I've flown on Scoot on longer-haul flights to places such as South Korea and Australia, I've sampled quite a few of the meal options on board, including black-pepper beef with rice and "oriental treasure rice," which comprises baked chicken and sausage with braised rice. While these meals paled in comparison to AirAsia's scrumptious offerings, they were still better than most food I've had on other budget airlines.

I have found the meals to be a bit overpriced at SG$12 each, or about $9, so I suggest packing food in your carry-on rather than ordering the in-flight food on board.

Just 30 minutes into the flight, the pilot announced that we were landing soon. The best part of booking a seat was being able to choose a window seat with great views.

The view from above en route to Kuala Lumpur. Marielle Descalsota/Insider

While the plane was cruising above Peninsular Malaysia, I had sights of meandering rivers, lush jungles, and an aerial view of clusters of traditional houses.

The only con of my seat was that I had to excuse myself whenever I used the lavatory, but thanks to the spacious legroom, it was no bother to the other passengers seated next to me.

While the flight was turbulent, we landed in Kuala Lumpur without any problems. I was one of the first people to deplane and, as there was a bridge to connect the plane to the terminal, we didn't have to take a bus, unlike some other flights that I've been on with budget airlines.

Overall, paying the $18 fee for a "stretch seat" was well worth it  and something that I plan to do when booking with budget airlines in the future.

The author in her seat in the first row of the plane. Marielle Descalsota/Insider

While Scoot is already a great airline when it comes to low-cost flights across the region, a seat in the front row made flying an even more comfortable experience. At the very least, I don't want to end up seated at the back of the plane, so now I'll always pay a bit more to choose my seat  even if it's not in the front row.

While seat selection fees can add up for people traveling on multiple flights or with big families, I think it's a must-have when it comes to budget airlines, especially for longer-haul flights. Flying budget airlines can be uncomfortable, but it doesn't always have to be  and little things like where you sit on a plane make a big difference.

Read the original article on Insider
Six-year impact report celebrates progress made between 2017 to 2022 following adoption of new strategic framework aimed at improving the quality of life of Detroiters

DETROIT, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Trustees of the Hudson-Webber Foundation today announced the release of "Six Years in Review: Impact Report 2017-2022." The report, a first of its kind for the Foundation, highlights milestone achievements in grantmaking and funding strategies and was initiated by the Trustees to have a better understanding of the impact of the Foundation's strategy in Detroit. The report also documents and reflects on lessons learned from grantees and key external stakeholders and to inform the ongoing development of Hudson-Webber Foundation strategies and objectives moving forward.

In 2017, the Hudson-Webber Foundation launched a new strategic framework to ensure that it would continue to meaningfully contribute to its mission of improving the quality of life of Detroiters. This strategy reset encompassed objectives for each of Hudson-Webber's four key mission areas: Safe and Just Communities, Community & Economic Development, Built Environment and Arts & Culture. "Six Years in Review: Impact Report 2017-2022" outlines the progress that the Foundation made toward this new strategy, along with its policy work.

"We express our heartfelt appreciation to all who participated in the review and whose insights and feedback will continue to be invaluable in helping to shape the direction of the Foundation's work," said Melanca Clark, outgoing president and CEO of the Hudson-Webber Foundation. "This report presents us an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable contributions of our non-profit grantee partners who have been instrumental in driving positive change in Detroit."

Between 2017 and 2022, the Hudson-Webber Foundation awarded 241 grants to partner organizations totaling more than $36.5 million. The Foundation moved significant resources to advance equitable neighborhood reinvestment and worked with partners to address critical social and economic, and community issues facing Detroiters, including housing stability and affordability, small business development and job access, the tax foreclosure crisis and mass incarceration.

Key metrics revealed in Hudson-Webber's "Six Years in Review: Impact Report 2017-2022" report include:

Spearheading the Michigan Justice Fund (MJF) , a funders collaborative housed at the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan that makes investments to stem the flow of individuals into the criminal justice system, support the investment of public dollars to community-driven alternatives to incarceration and ensure that those who are returning home after incarceration receive the support they need to flourish. The MJF, comprised of 15 Michigan -based and national funders, has contributed more than $20 million to advance criminal legal reform and the economic mobility of individuals with criminal convictions in Michigan .





, a funders collaborative housed at the Community Foundation for that makes investments to stem the flow of individuals into the criminal justice system, support the investment of public dollars to community-driven alternatives to incarceration and ensure that those who are returning home after incarceration receive the support they need to flourish. The MJF, comprised of 15 -based and national funders, has contributed more than to advance criminal legal reform and the economic mobility of individuals with criminal convictions in . Launching the Community Policing Innovations Initiative with the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan to work with communities to address issues in police practices, systems and services. The goal of the initiative is to provide the guidance and support necessary for local communities in partnership with local law enforcement, to develop community-driven, substantive, and pragmatic changes in the way that policing and public safety services are provided. The Community Policing Innovations Initiative is chaired by Hudson-Webber Foundation Trustee Barbara McQuade , a professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School and former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan .





to work with communities to address issues in police practices, systems and services. The goal of the initiative is to provide the guidance and support necessary for local communities in partnership with local law enforcement, to develop community-driven, substantive, and pragmatic changes in the way that policing and public safety services are provided. The Community Policing Innovations Initiative is chaired by Hudson-Webber Foundation Trustee , a professor of law at the Law School and former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of . Investing more than $10.3 million in neighborhood economic growth strategies and projects, specifically for initiatives where neighborhood residents hold seats at the table. Two of those projects include the Building the Engine of Community Development in Detroit , a citywide initiative designed to strengthen Detroit neighborhoods by building a coordinated, equitable system for community development work throughout the city and the Strategic Neighborhood Fund , a public- private partnership between Invest Detroit and the City of Detroit aimed at spurring community-driven planning in 10 neighborhoods starting in Islandview/Villages, Livernois/McNichols and Southwest/Vernor neighborhoods.





in neighborhood economic growth strategies and projects, specifically for initiatives where neighborhood residents hold seats at the table. Two of those projects include the a citywide initiative designed to strengthen neighborhoods by building a coordinated, equitable system for community development work throughout the city and the , a public- private partnership between Invest Detroit and the aimed at spurring community-driven planning in 10 neighborhoods starting in Islandview/Villages, Livernois/McNichols and Southwest/Vernor neighborhoods. Awarding a $2 million grant to the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy to advance the Conservancy's vision for developing a world-class park and to support community engagement in park planning, design and programming. The strategic investment allowed for continued redevelopment and improvements to public access to 5.5 miles of the Detroit International River with recreational paths, park amenities and spaces for inclusive recreational and cultural events.





to advance the Conservancy's vision for developing a world-class park and to support community engagement in park planning, design and programming. The strategic investment allowed for continued redevelopment and improvements to public access to 5.5 miles of the Detroit International River with recreational paths, park amenities and spaces for inclusive recreational and cultural events. Committing more than $3 million in operating support grants to 31 arts and culture organizations in metro Detroit through the Detroit Arts Support (DAS) program to deliver and sustain high-quality, accessible cultural experiences to the community. Aside from the DIA millage, DAS is the largest public or philanthropic investment in southeast Michigan's arts and culture sector and has played a significant role in the stabilization of the sector through both challenging and promising times.

"As the Hudson-Webber Foundation looks forward to its next chapter, it will remain committed to its mission and the growth of a vibrant city that provides opportunities for all Detroiters to prosper," said Jennifer Hudson Parke, Board Chair. "The Trustees and staff embrace the challenges that lie ahead and look forward to continued collaboration with our partners and stakeholders."

Hudson-Webber's "Six Years in Review: Impact Report 2017-2022" by the numbers:

$36,510,550 in grants and investments awarded to partner organizations

in grants and investments awarded to partner organizations 241 number of partner organizations awarded grants

number of partner organizations awarded grants $75,000 median grant size to partner organizations

To read the "Six Years in Review: Impact Report 2017-2022" visit H-W-Impact-Report_072823_web-3.pdf (hudson-webber.org).

ABOUT Hudson Webber Foundation

The Hudson-Webber Foundation's origins date back to 1939 with major contributions from Mr. and Mrs. Richard H. Webber, other members of the Webber family and The J.L. Hudson Company. The foundation is governed by a 13-member board of trustees, with assets of approximately $190 million, and has contributed over $200 million to improve the quality of life in Detroit. The mission areas of the foundation include support of community and economic development, built environment, safe and just communities, and arts and culture. To learn more about the Hudson-Webber Foundation, visit www.hudson-webber.org.

SOURCE Hudson-Webber Foundation
ANAHEIM, Calif., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hybribio (300639.SZ) exhibited live at the 75th ADLM (former AACC) Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo, July 25-27, at Anaheim Convention Center, California, USA. This event attracted 958 exhibitors and over 70,000 attendees worldwide from different areas of clinical chemistry, molecular diagnostics, mass spectrometry, translational medicine, lab management, and other areas of progressing laboratory science.

Hybribio at 2023 ADLM Clinical Lab Expo

At the booth No.1482, Hybribio (300639.SZ) featured cervical cancer HPV diagnostic solutions, which include Hybribio 14 High-risk HPV with 16/18 Genotyping Real-time PCR Kit, 21 HPV GenoArray Diagnostic Kit, 37 HPV GenoArray Diagnostic Kit, 13 High-risk HPV Real-time PCR Kit, 23 HPV Genotyping Real-time PCR Kit, 14 High-Risk HPV E6/E7 mRNA Real-time PCR Kit (PCR with Fluorescent Probe), and SOX1 and PAX1 Methylation Real-time PCR Kit. Hybribio presented its successful experience in cervical cancer prevention and control in China to global attendees, aiming to unite experts in different aspects (clinical laboratories, hospitals, research institutes, enterprises, etc.) to promote the global elimination of cervical cancer. Moreover, all HPV detection kits manufactured by Hybribio are CE-certified and have been exported to more than 20 countries around the world.

Being the top HPV DNA test manufacturer in China, Hybribio (300639.SZ) not only has the biggest Chinese market share (over 40%) of HPV testing kits but also contributes greatly to the movement of eliminating cervical cancer. In the past two decades, Hybribio has taken up 40 % of national breast-cervical cancer screening projects and provided more than 50 million HPV DNA tests for females in China (2003-2023). Furthermore, Hybribio established the China HPV database with the Ministry of Health P. R. China in 2009, monitoring the long-term evolution of Human Papillomavirus infection and cervical cancer in China.

The booth highlighted 14 High-risk HPV with 16/18 Genotyping Real-time PCR Kit, which successfully obtained the first clinical screening license approved in China, with a high sensitivity and specificity of 93.6% and 88.46%, respectively. The negative predictive value using this kit with a 3-year follow-up is 99.84% which means that this kit is explicitly suitable for cervical cancer primary screening, co-screening with pap smear and ASC-US triage. Moreover, Hybribio HPV testing reagents have achieved a 100% coincident rate in the WHO HPV external quality assessment for seven consecutive times from 2011 to 2022.

For laboratory automated instrument, the fully Automated Sample Preparation Liquid System (HB-IEX96A) integrates functions including de-capping and re-capping, barcode scanning, tube loading, pipetting, nucleic acid extraction and PCR plate liquid transferring, which is able to achieve a one-step workflow and enhance laboratory efficiency by reducing human errors. The in-booth demonstration of this instrument drew many visitors' attention, attributed to its wide applicability, powerful functions and excellent design. With this fully Automated Sample Preparation Liquid System (HB-IEX96A), it could alleviate laboratory labor burden and improve testing efficiency significantly for a large-scale screening project.

The year 2023 is the 20th anniversary of Hybribio Biotech. Hybribio has been adhering to its original aspiration of taking care of maternity and child health in the past two decades. In Molecular diagnostics, Hybribio has developed a series of nucleic acid diagnostics kits for reproductive health infections, neonatal and prenatal genetic diseases, respiratory tract infections and cancer markers. By 2023, one billion people have benefited from using Hybribio's products and services. Meanwhile, Hybribio is constantly expanding its product line in different areas. Apart from molecular diagnostic assays and automated instruments, Hybribio also develops a variety of laboratory consumables, including pipette tips, PCR consumables, deep-well place, tip comb and sample tubes.

Upcoming Event

Hybribio (300639.SZ) is going to attend MEDICA 2023 at Dusseldorf, Germany, 13-16 November 2023. Hybribio is looking forward to meeting you in person at MEDICA 2023, where Hybribio will feature more cutting-edge diagnostics solutions and high-throughput automated instruments.

About Hybribio

Founded in 2003, Hybribio (300639.SZ) is a leading nucleic acid test supplier and manufacturer who specializes in in-vitro diagnostic products with a fully integrated one-step operation chain from R&D, manufacturing, and sales & marketing to after-sales technical support services. Hybribio provides products including, but not limited to, HPV testing, reproductive health, genetic diseases, methylation, respiratory tract infection, pharmacogenetics and instrumentation.

For more information, please visit: www.hybribio.com

CONTACT: Qiyu Lin, [email protected]

SOURCE Guangdong Hybribio Biotech Co.,Ltd.
CLEVELAND, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ivan Gracic has joined McDonald Hopkins LLC as an Associate, adding his patent expertise to the firm's Intellectual Property Department.

Gracic's practice focuses on preparing and prosecuting patent applications in the mechanical and software arts and preparing infringement, freedom-to-operate, invalidity, state-of-the-art search, and patentability opinions. In addition to his patent expertise, Gracic brings forth experience in trademark and copyright law, and IP litigation. He possesses an engineering and business background with the ability to collaborate with businesses to assess inventive attributes that may advance a business's strategy and competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Prior to the start of his legal career, Gracic served as a Product Manager for a large international welding and technology company, working with R&D to develop new welding technology. He also spent 10 years working with a global industrial gas and technology producer, where he worked as an Applications Engineer and as an Account Manager.

Gracic earned his J.D. from the University of Akron School of Law and his B.S. in industrial and systems engineering from The Ohio State University. Gracic also earned an M.B.A at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.

He can be reached at 216.348.5747 and [email protected]

About McDonald Hopkins

Founded in 1930, McDonald Hopkins is a business advisory and advocacy law firm with locations in Baltimore/Annapolis, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, and West Palm Beach. With more than 50 service and industry teams, the firm has the expertise and knowledge to meet the growing number of legal and business challenges our clients face. For more information about McDonald Hopkins, visit mcdonaldhopkins.com .

CONTACT:

Cynthia Stewart

McDonald Hopkins LLC

600 Superior Avenue, East, Suite 2100

Cleveland, Ohio 44114

Phone: 216.348.5733

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE McDonald Hopkins
SYRACUSE, N.Y., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mohawk Global, a leading supply chain services provider, is excited to announce their collaboration with worldwide leaders in the freight forwarding industry to start a new sister company, MGL Europe. The first MGL Europe office opened in Stuttgart, Germany in April 2023. This month, the European team expanded by welcoming Master International Logistics to the joint venturewith their rebrand to MGL Europe Italy.

Gar Grannell, Mohawk Global CEO says, "This partnership is the result of trusting relationships built over the last 30 years with people of like values and growth strategy. We are excited about the business we will develop together, while focusing on enriching the lives of our people."

Mohawk Global looks to elevate its client's experience through the expansive network MGL Europe provides. Tweet this

MGL Europe has officially begun operations and has become Mohawk Global's exclusive partner for client's cargo in and out of Europe. MGL Europe currently has three German offices located in Stuttgart, Bremen, and Munich, in addition to three Italian offices located in Milan, Genova, and Vincenza.

"Having our own offices in Germany and now Italy, gives us a presence at key port locations for both North Europe and Mediterranean trade," says Chris Lindstrand, Mohawk Global Director of International Transportation. "Through these key gateways, we're strategically positioned to enhance our offerings not just in these countries or throughout continental Europe, but in all regions that utilize these important trade centers."

Mohawk Global is excited to elevate its client's experience through the expansive network this growing partnership provides. "Our strategic partnerships in Asia align well with our move into Germany and Italy, allowing Mohawk Global to seamlessly bridge North America, Asia, and Europe with diverse transportation solutions in a rapidly expanding global supply chain," says Anthony Pagnotto, Mohawk Global Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing.

Mohawk Global is a team of experts in supply chain solutions and trade compliance. Since its foundation in 1993, Mohawk Global has grown beyond its headquarters in Syracuse, New York to nine offices in six states, with a worldwide reach. We strive to create an environment of growth, and as a family-owned and operated business, everything we do is guided by our core values  Enrich. Care. Deliver. Please contact us for further information.

SOURCE Mohawk Global
TORONTO, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Sharon Hodgson, Dean, Ivey Business School, along with students from the Women in Asset Management Program at Ivey Business School, joined Karin Adams, Vice President, Talent and Total Rewards, TMX Group, to celebrate the Women in Asset Management Program and to open the market.

Ivey Business School Opens the Market Monday, July 31, 2023

The Ivey Business School (www.ivey.ca) at Western University is Canada's leading provider of relevant, innovative and comprehensive business education. Drawing on extensive research and business experience, Ivey faculty provides the best classroom experience, equipping graduates with the skills and capabilities they need to tackle the leadership challenges in today's complex business world. Ivey offers world-renowned undergraduate and graduate degree programs, as well as Executive Education at campuses in London (Ontario), Toronto and Hong Kong.

The Women in Asset Management Program is run through Ivey in collaboration with eight other Canadian asset managers to empower women to join the field of asset management.

SOURCE Toronto Stock Exchange
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (NAPIA) is proud to announce that Jeffrey B. Gould has been honored with the highly regarded NAPIA Person of the Year Award. This distinguished accolade recognizes Mr. Gould's outstanding contributions and exceptional leadership within the public insurance adjusting industry.

Jeffrey B. Gould, Jeffrey O'Connor, Brian Goodman, NAPIA General Counsel Jeffrey B. Gould and Family

The NAPIA Person of the Year Award is presented to/when an individual has demonstrated exemplary and invaluable service, inspirational leadership and continuous support of the public insurance adjusting profession and the goals and ideals set forth by the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters.

At the annual banquet in Nashville, Mr. Gould's family and colleagues spoke to the membership with high praise about Mr. Gould's personal and professional accomplishments.

"Jeff embodies the spirit of NAPIA. He is the first person to volunteer to help with any struggle or issue, welcomes and mentors new members and has the highest conduct and ethics," mentioned Jeffrey O'Connor, a NAPIA Past President. Brian Goodman, NAPIA General Counsel noted, "Jeff Gould has done excellent work in many states monitoring legislation and protecting the public adjusting profession throughout the country."

Jeff Gould is a Past President of the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (2018 presidency) and has served many years on the Board of Directors. He resides in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife, Ruth, and children Aiden and Ayanna. He is a public insurance adjuster and certified public accountant (CPA) with Alex N. Sill Company, serving as Regional Vice President.

Anita Taff, a NAPIA Past President and current member of the NAPIA Board of Directors stated, "Jeff Gould epitomizes the gold standard of public service. He gives unselfishly of himself to NAPIA and his clients. He is an incredibly dedicated and loyal individual, always willing to assist NAPIA leadership when called upon. His knowledge of current and historical legislation is unsurpassed. NAPIA is a better organization because of Jeff Gould. Congratulations Jeff, recognition as person of the year is well deserved!"

The NAPIA Person of the Year Award serves as a testament to Jeff Gould's exceptional leadership, expertise, and unwavering commitment to the field of public insurance adjusting. His dedication and impact on the industry make him a deserving recipient of this prestigious honor.

About NAPIA:

The National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (NAPIA) is a professional organization, founded in 1951, dedicated to promoting the interests of public insurance adjusters and policyholders. NAPIA strives to enhance the professionalism and ethical standards of the public adjusting industry and advocates for the rights of policyholders during the claims process.

For further information and media inquiries, please contact:

Justin R. Skipton of Skiptoninc.com

3rd Vice President, OIC PR and Marketing

602.421.7647

[email protected]

SOURCE National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (NAPIA)
NOTICE TO SHAREHOLDERS  SOURCES OF DISTRIBUTION UNDER SECTION 19(a)

BOSTON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund (NYSE: HTD) (the "Fund"), a closed-end fund managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC and subadvised by Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC, announced today sources of its monthly distribution of $0.1380 per share paid to all shareholders of record as of July 13, 2023, pursuant to the Fund's managed distribution plan. This press release is issued as required by an exemptive order granted to the Fund by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Notification of Sources of Distribution

This notice provides shareholders of the John Hancock Tax-Advantaged Dividend Income Fund (NYSE: HTD) with important information concerning the distribution declared on July 3, 2023, and payable on July 31, 2023. No action is required on your part.

Distribution Period: July 2023



Distribution Amount Per Common Share: $0.1380

The following table sets forth the estimated sources of the current distribution, payable July 31, 2023, and the cumulative distributions paid this fiscal year to date from the following sources: net investment income; net realized short term capital gains; net realized long term capital gains; and return of capital or other capital source. All amounts are expressed on a per common share basis and as a percentage of the distribution amount.





For the period 07/1/2023-07/31/2023

For the fiscal year-to-date period

11/1/2022-07/31/2023 1 Source

Current

Distribution ($)

% Breakdown

of the Current

Distribution

Total Cumulative

Distributions ($)

% Breakdown

of the Total

Cumulative

Distributions Net Investment Income

0.0171

12 %

0.6735

54 % Net Realized Short-

Term Capital Gains

0.0000

0 %

0.0000

0 % Net Realized Long-

Term Capital Gains

0.0000

0 %

0.0000

0 % Return of Capital or

Other Capital Source

0.1209

88 %

0.5684

46 % Total per common share

0.1380

100 %

1.2419

100 %

















Average annual total return (in relation to NAV) for the 5 years ended on June 30, 2023

4.45 %





Annualized current distribution rate expressed as a percentage of NAV as of June 30, 2023

7.80 %





Cumulative total return (in relation to NAV) for the fiscal year through June 30, 2023

-1.58 %





Cumulative fiscal year-to-date distribution rate expressed as a percentage of NAV as of June 30, 2023

5.85 %

______________________________ 1 The Fund's current fiscal year began on November 1, 2022 and will end on October 31, 2023.

You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of this distribution or from the terms of the Fund's managed distribution plan.

The Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and net realized capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income."

The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this Notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.

The Fund has declared the July 2023 distribution pursuant to the Fund's managed distribution plan (the "Plan"). Under the Plan, the Fund makes fixed monthly distributions in the amount of $0.1380 per share, which will continue to be paid monthly until further notice.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact your financial professional or call the John Hancock Investment Management Closed-End Fund Information Line at 1-800-843-0090, Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time.

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined by the United States securities laws. You should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on forward-looking statements because they are subject to uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Fund's control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

An investor should consider a Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing.

About John Hancock Investment Management

A company of Manulife Investment Management, we serve investors through a unique multimanager approach, complementing our extensive in-house capabilities with an unrivaled network of specialized asset managers, backed by some of the most rigorous investment oversight in the industry. The result is a diverse lineup of time-tested investments from a premier asset manager with a heritage of financial stewardship.

About Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management is the global brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto, our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 18 geographies. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We're committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com.

SOURCE John Hancock Investment Management
The Lactocore Group has joined BioLabs Heidelberg, marking a significant expansion in the European Union of innovative research and development in the field of peptide therapy for the treatment of depression, anxiety and metabolic disorders.

NEWTON, Mass., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lactocore Group, a rising biotech company, announced the acceptance of its subsidiary, Lactabico into BioLabs Heidelberg, the German hub of an international network of shared lab and office facilities for life science start-ups. This international community is known for its cooperative initiatives with major pharmaceutical companies, positioning Lactabico at the forefront of key industry collaborations. This marks Lactocore's expansion into the European Union, paving the way for innovative research in the field of peptide-based therapeutics.

Lactocore Group Joins Biolabs Heidelberg Accelerator, Establishes EU Presence

The membership aligns with Lactabico's immediate goal to establish a dedicated laboratory in the EU, promising the creation of new jobs and continued advanced research in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and metabolic disorders using milk-derived peptides.

'Being part of Biolabs Heidelberg offers us a tremendous opportunity,' says Dr. Anton Malyshev, CEO and Co-founder of Lactocore Group. 'This is a significant step towards our global mission to improve mental and metabolic health, and it opens up new avenues for research, collaboration, and job creation in the EU.'

Ann-Kristin Mueller, Site Director of BioLabs Heidelberg, adds 'We are delighted to welcome Lactabico to BioLabs Heidelberg. Lactabico will join our international collaborative community and benefit from our state-of-the-art facilities and life-science ecosystem to support their growth and development in Europe.'

Concurrent with these developments, Lactocore Group is actively seeking investors in its latest round of funding. The forthcoming investments will support the startup's ambitious growth plans, fuel its ongoing R&D initiatives, and hasten the progression of its preclinical and clinical trials.

About BioLabs Heidelberg

BioLabs are the premier co-working spaces for life science startups  unique places where you can test, develop and grow your game-changing ideas. As entrepreneurs and investors ourselves, we have firsthand experience with the pain points biotech startups face. Our goal is to change how scientific entrepreneurs do business by building an ecosystem that empowers bioinnovators to grow quickly, while maximizing capital efficiency.

About Lactocore Group

Lactabico, a biotech startup that's part of the international Lactocore Group based in the U.S., is at the forefront of pioneering research on milk peptides. The team believes that a new generation of safer and more effective treatments for depression, anxiety, and diabetes will be derived from milk  a rich natural source of soothing and balancing bioactive components that have shown potential therapeutic properties. Utilizing proprietary computational tools, Lactabico has discovered a range of promising milk-derived peptides, two of which have already demonstrated proof-of-concept in late-stage preclinical studies. As of today, the Lactocore Group has filed three patent applications related to peptide therapeutic agents, with the most recent one submitted in 2022.

Press Contact:

Victoria

+393515557867

https://lactocore.com/

SOURCE Lactocore Group
Suit filed by The Button Law Firm claims Pinnacle Montessori of Melissa violated multiple childcare laws by isolating unsupervised toddler

MELISSA, Texas, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In March 2022, North Texas parents Rick and Jessica Henderson were shocked to discover the school they trusted to protect their toddler had let them down. When Rick went to pick up their 2-year-old son from Pinnacle Montessori of Melissa, he found the child crying alone in the corner of a dark classroom. The family is now suing the school claiming that the facility and its workers violated multiple childcare laws and endangered their young son by leaving him unsupervised and isolated from his classmates for an inappropriately long period of time for a child.

A family is suing Pinnacle Montessori of Melissa claiming that the facility and its workers violated multiple childcare laws and endangered their young son by leaving him unsupervised and isolated from his classmates for an inappropriately long period of time for a child. Surveillance cameras captured the traumatizing incident, according to the complaint.

The complaint states that Pinnacle Montessori of Melissa positions itself as a safe and nurturing school for children. However, the school failed to deliver on its safety promises when surveillance cameras captured a caregiver letting other children out of a classroom but pulling the Hendersons' toddler aside by the arm and placing him in a corner behind a door, as alleged in the suit. The complaint continues that the Pinnacle Montessori worker then purposely turned off the lights, traumatizing the boy by leaving him in the dark classroom alone without a caregiver or teacher watching him.

The State of Texas Department of Family and Protective Services conducted an independent investigation that substantiated the Hendersons' allegations. The state agency found the facility violated childcare licensing rules regarding the proper supervision of a child and appropriate discipline tactics when they separated the toddler from his classmates and teachers for longer than the required two minutes based on his age.

"Pinnacle Montessori of Melissa's decision to leave a toddler alone in a dark room is simply reckless behaviortoddlers are notorious for getting into things even when closely supervised," says the Hendersons' attorney, Russell Button of The Button Law Firm. "I don't want to think about what could have happened if Rick had arrived just a few minutes later to pick up their son."

The case is Rick Henderson and Jessica Henderson, Individually and as Next Friends of W.H., a minor child, vs. Enlightened Beginnings, LLC, d/b/a Pinnacle Montessori of Melissa, Cause No. 429-003995-2023 in the District Court of Collin County, Texas. A copy of the complaint can be accessed here.

About the Button Law Firm

The Button Law Firm (buttonlawfirm.com) is a Texas-based personal injury law firm that advocates for children and their families in meaningful litigation to make local communities safer. The firm focuses on daycare and child-related injuries such as abuse and neglect cases, finger injuries, toy-related injuries, and catastrophic injuries. With attorneys in Dallas, Houston, and Midland, The Button Law Firm helps families across the Lone Star State.

SOURCE The Button Law Firm
MARBELLA, Spain, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 28th, Les Roches Global Hospitality Education proudly honoured 200 talented individuals from Saudi Arabia who successfully completed the prestigious Executive Master's International Hotel Management Program. Recognized as a leading institution in hospitality management education, Les Roches partnered with distinguished representatives from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to offer this ground-breaking educational initiative.

Les Roches Commen Ceremony Master's SKA 28th July 2023 group photo (PRNewsfoto/Les Roches)

The International Hotel Management Program, initiated in October 2022, holds a prominent position in the Ministry of Tourism's new human capital development strategy. Designed to support the Kingdom's rapidly growing tourism industry, the program aims to attract more Saudi nationals to the sector, aligning with the National Tourism Strategy and Saudi Vision 2030's ambitious goals, including the creation of one million new jobs in tourism by 2030. This strategic alignment underscores the program's commitment to driving sustainable economic growth and building a highly skilled workforce capable of leading the future of the tourism industry.

Over a period of 9 months, the participants, as part of the customized executive education Ahluha program completed 6 modules covering essential skills for today's hospitality leaders in business management. These modules included advanced finance and budgeting, marketing strategies, data analytics, hospitality real estate investments, and international business strategies. The program provided a seminal opportunity for hotel management professionals to strengthen their understanding of fundamentals across hospitality management and contribute further to the development of tourism in the Kingdom.

The commencement ceremony, held at the Palacio de Congresos, was a momentous occasion, bringing together a distinguished audience guests, including students and their families. The event was held under the prestigious patronage of HH. Princess Haifa bint Mohammed Al Saud, Vice Minister of Tourism, and Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of Tourism, HE. Mohammed Bushnag.

HH. Princess Haifa bint Muhammad Al Saud, Vice Minister of Tourism, expressed her admiration for the graduates and the impact of the program, stating, " This educational initiative marks a pivotal step towards nurturing the talents of our youth and developing a robust hospitality sector that aligns with our Vision 2030 objectives. I am deeply inspired by the dedication and passion exhibited by these young Saudi talents. With their skills and knowledge, they are poised to become true ambassadors of Saudi Arabia's hospitality and tourism excellence, contributing significantly to our nation's growth and prosperity."

HE. Mohammed Bushnag, Deputy Minister of Tourism, highlighted the significance of the Executive Master's International Hotel Management Program, stating, "These graduates are the future leaders of our tourism industry, and their success today is a testament to the Ministry of Tourism's commitment to human capital development. We are proud to be able to provide them with the skills that will help them thrive."

Mr. Carlos Diez de la Lastra, CEO of Les Roches, commended the students' accomplishments, stating, "Les Roches takes immense pride in being a partner in this transformative journey. We firmly believe in empowering the next generation of hospitality leaders, and this program exemplifies our commitment to fostering talent and driving innovation in the global hospitality industry."

With the successful completion of the Executive Master's International Hotel Management Program, these graduates are now poised to leave an indelible mark in the hospitality and tourism sector, embodying the values of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030. Their achievements are a testament to the dedication of the Ministry of Tourism in nurturing a skilled workforce to lead the future of the Kingdom's tourism industry.

For more information, visit Les Roches.

MEDIA CONTACT: Anouck Weiss; [email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2165966/Les_Roches_Commen_Ceremony.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1474135/4100603/LesRoches_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Les Roches
Survey: Nearly one third would talk to robots if feeling lonely and almost half would share their medical history with AI

COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Less than a year since the launch of the popular Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT, Americans are embracing AI-based care as they age. One third of Americans and over half (58%) of millennials believe AI and robotics will provide their future in-home long-term care.

According to the annual Nationwide Retirement Institute Long-Term Care survey, conducted in partnership with LIMRA in May 2023, this survey of 1,439 U.S. adults aged 24 or over found that younger generations were particularly apt to embrace the technology.

Among the key findings:

Daily functions: More than one in three (35%) Americans would accept help from a robot for activities such as toileting, dressing and transferring. This rises to 52% among millennials and declines with older generations (23% for boomers and 36% for Gen Xers).

More than one in three (35%) Americans would accept help from a robot for activities such as toileting, dressing and transferring. This rises to 52% among millennials and declines with older generations (23% for boomers and 36% for Gen Xers). Companionship: Nearly the same amount (32%) say they would talk to robots/AI if they are feeling lonely. This increases to about half (52%) of millennials.

Nearly the same amount (32%) say they would talk to robots/AI if they are feeling lonely. This increases to about half (52%) of millennials. Physical safety: Almost seven out of ten (68%) Americans would use AI to alert family/friends if they were to experience a fall or physical danger (63% boomers, 70% Gen X, 72% millennials).

Almost seven out of ten (68%) Americans would use AI to alert family/friends if they were to experience a fall or physical danger (63% boomers, 70% Gen X, 72% millennials). Medical history: Nearly half (48%) of Americans say they would share their medical history with AI to help support their care needs. This figure increases to 65% for millennials.

In response to the increasing acceptance and adoption of AI-based care, Nationwide is testing eldercare robots in homes of select policyholders with mobility issues. The goal of this trial is to assess if the robots increase the potential for policyholders to age in their home and remain independent.

"It is difficult for many families to find quality care for their loved ones. We are considering AI and robotics as potential solutions for this and are identifying if eldercare robots could become credible, compelling examples of extraordinary care for our members," said Holly Snyder, president of Nationwide's Life Insurance business. "As we continue to see advancements in AI and an uptick in consumer adoption, AI and robotics could permanently change how people receive their long-term care and provide them with more opportunity to safely remain independent for longer."

Many adults mistakenly believe they have long-term care coverage

The survey reveals that 18% of adults report that they currently own long-term care insurance, including 27% of millennials. However, industry data shows only 3.1% of Americans have purchased long-term care insurance and most of those are older consumers.*

More than half (51%) who mistakenly thought they owned long-term care insurance confused it with long-term disability insurance. Almost a third (30%) confused it with health insurance.

In conjunction with the survey, Nationwide conducted focus groups made up of four different demographics: baby boomers, Gen Xers, millennials and those who believe they had long-term care coverage. Unsurprisingly, these sessions revealed that like survey respondents, focus group participants also often mistakenly confused long-term care insurance with their long-term disability insurance or health insurance. Neither of these cover long-term care expenses.

"Many Americans  mostly millennials  mistakenly believe they have long-term care coverage, usually in their company's benefit package, when in fact they do not," said Snyder. "Though this misconception is understandable, it puts them at danger of discovering that they don't have coverage much later on when they really need it."

Americans have concerns about how to manage aging

Though many Americans don't own long-term care policies, they do have very real concerns about how to manage the aging process and its associated costs.

For example:

Nearly half of respondents (49%) are worried they'll become a burden to their family as they age

Almost a third (28%) say they would rather die than live in a nursing home

More than a quarter (26%) believe paying for long-term care will diminish their children's inheritance

"Too many Americans are missing crucial planning steps to make sure they're set up for success as they age," said Snyder. "The first step is to understand what's important to you and your family. From there, we recommend talking to a financial professional to help build a plan."

Financial professionals need to bring up long-term care planning

While more than half (51%) say it is important that a financial professional discuss long-term care costs with them, fewer than one in five adults (18%) say they have actually discussed long-term planning with their financial professional. In fact, more than one in four adults (27%) across all age groups have not discussed long-term care costs with anyone. The good news is 30% say they would discuss long-term care costs with a financial professional in the future.

"Financial professionals need to be proactive in helping families plan for important long-term care issues, including how to pay for it," Snyder added. "Even if a client believes they are covered, we suggest probing them with some follow-up questions to be sure they are, in fact, protected. If not, financial professionals have an important role in helping them put together a plan of action."

To encourage discussions around long-term care costs in retirement, Nationwide's Health Care/LTC Cost Assessment tool uses proprietary health risk analysis and updated actuarial cost data to provide a meaningful, personalized cost estimate to help financial professionals and clients plan for future medical and long-term care expenses.

To learn more about the importance of long-term care planning, visit www.nationwide.com/LTCbasics. Financial professionals can learn more in this blog and at www.nationwidefinancial.com/LTC.

Methodology

The 2023 Nationwide Retirement Institute/NCOA Long-term Care survey was conducted online within the United States between adults aged 25 and over by LIMRA on behalf of The Nationwide Retirement Institute. Survey participants were drawn from a nationwide consumer panel and data collection occurred between 4/25/2023 and 5/12/2023. The sample was weighted by race/ethnicity and income and included quotas for age and gender to approximate U.S. general population representation.

About Nationwide

Nationwide, a Fortune 100 company based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest and strongest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the United States. Nationwide is rated A+ by both A.M. Best and Standard & Poor's. An industry leader in driving customer-focused innovation, Nationwide provides a full range of insurance and financial services products including auto, business, homeowners, farm and life insurance; public and private sector retirement plans, annuities, mutual funds and ETFs; excess & surplus, specialty and surety; and pet, motorcycle and boat insurance. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com. Follow the firm on Facebook and Twitter.

*"Do Consumer Really Understand Long-Term Care Insurance". LIMRA.com. 11/15/2022.

This material is not a recommendation to buy or sell a financial product or to adopt an investment strategy. Investors should discuss their specific situation with their financial professional.

This information is general in nature and is not intended to be tax, legal, accounting or other professional advice. The information provided is based on current laws, which are subject to change at any time, and has not been endorsed by any government agency.

Nationwide and LIMRA are separate and non-affiliated companies.

Nationwide Investment Services Corporation (NISC), member FINRA, Columbus, OH. Nationwide Retirement Institute is a division of NISC.

Nationwide, the Nationwide N and Eagle and Nationwide Retirement Institute are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company  Nationwide 2023

LAM-5157AO

Contact:

Charley Gillespie

(614) 249-6349

[email protected]

SOURCE Nationwide
PORTLAND, Maine, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Martin's Point Health Care announced that it has agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve an investigation related to Martin's Point's Risk Adjustment practices for the payment years 2016-2019. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. The settlement is not related to member care or the payment of member claims.

Martin's Point worked collaboratively with the DOJ during the course of the investigation. Despite denying liability for the litigation claims at issue, Martin's Point ultimately determined that settlement of this matter was appropriate rather than engaging in the cost and uncertainty of protracted litigation.

A spokesperson for the organization commented: "This settlement is not an admission of liability, it instead allows us to avoid the disruption, expense, and uncertainty of litigation. It is important to note that this investigation is unrelated to member care or payment of member claims. This resolution allows us to put the past behind us, and we remain committed to our patients and members across our service regions and to the regulatory agencies that oversee our work."

Martin's Point Health Care is committed to the integrity of our work, mission, and service to our patients and members. Since 2019, Martin's Point has taken steps to strengthen and develop new Risk Adjustment processes. Additionally, under the direction of new executive and senior leadership, the organization has established a team of experienced personnel specifically tasked with oversight of all Risk Adjustment practices. Martin's Point will continue to devote additional resources to ensuring compliance with all regulatory requirements.

About Martin's Point Health Care

Martin's Point Health Care is a not-for-profit organization based in Portland, Maine. Martin's Point provides primary and specialty care at their Health Care Centers in Southern Maine and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. They also offer Medicare Advantage plans in Maine and New Hampshire and TRICARE Prime health plans serving military retirees and the families of active-duty military in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, and Pennsylvania. Visit www.MartinsPoint.org for more.

SOURCE Martin's Point Health Care
NEW YORK , July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Forbes Global Properties, a curated consumer marketplace of luxury homes and an invitation-only membership network of independently owned real estate firms, has named respected industry veteran Matt Beall chair of the organization's Board of Directors.

Matt Beall, CEO and Principal Broker of Hawaii Life and newly named Board Chair of Forbes Global Properties.

Chief Executive Officer and Principal Broker of Hawaii Life, Mr. Beall draws from 25 years of residential real estate experience. Recognizing the increasing need for innovative and engaging property marketing, Mr. Beall co-founded Hawaii Life in 2008 and the company quickly became the market leader in luxury real estate sales across the island chain.

Under Mr. Beall's leadership, Hawaii Life has enjoyed consistent growth and success and today is regarded as the top-producing real estate brokerage in the State of Hawaii. Operating from 17 offices across the Hawaiian Islands, the firm's team of 350 skilled agents represent buyers, sellers, and property owners with a well-earned reputation for the delivery of highly personalized service and expert guidance with unwavering professionalism, integrity, and discretion.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Beall has served Hawaii's real estate industry, holding a variety of board and leadership positions, including President of the Kauai Board of Realtors and as a member of Hawaii Association of Realtors' executive committee. Currently, he is on the board of the Hawaii Land Trust, a land conservation organization with over 22,000 acres in perpetual conservation. He is also a member of the Kauai Leadership Council for the Hawaii Community Foundation, where Hawaii Life has a donor-advised fund managed entirely by its brokers, agents, and employees.

"It's an honor to serve Forbes Global Properties as the Board Chair, and especially to continue the legacy of Jeff Hyland, who was always a mentor of mine and many others in our organization. We have extraordinary talent on both the board and in our membership across the globe, and we're all looking forward to expanding the possibilities with Forbes as our partner," said Matt Beall Chief Executive Officer and Principal Broker of Hawaii Life and Board Chair of Forbes Global Properties.

"Matt is a valued member of Forbes Global Properties who prioritizes collaboration, professionalism, and the highest level of service for both our members and the clients we represent. He has a clear vision for continued growth and the proven ability to implement those plans; I look forward to supporting him in this new role," said Michael Jalbert, Chief Executive Officer.

Forbes Global Properties was co-founded by Jeff Hyland and Bonnie Stone Sellers as a way to connect the increasingly global buyers of luxury homes with the world's foremost real estate experts. The consortium launched in December 2020 with offices in 75 locations and has since grown to a powerful global network of more than 13,000 real estate agents across 440 locations.

Mr. Beall is joined on the Board by Vice Chair Andy Nelson of Willis Allen Real Estate, Olivier de Chabot-Tramecourt of Groupe Mercure, Quentin Epiney of Comptoir Immobilier / FGP Swiss + Alps, Ken Jacobs of Private Property Global, Nikki Koval of Forbes Media LLC, Jose Ribes Bas of Inmobiliaria Rimontgo, co-founder Bonnie Stone Sellers, and Mark Smith of Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate.

The exclusive worldwide residential real estate partner of Forbes, Forbes Global Properties provides branding and marketing services to the world's premier real estate firms. Members are thoroughly vetted, and the network is comprised of top brokerages with proven records of success in luxury property sales and recognized delivery of exceptional client service.

About Forbes Global Properties

Established in 2020 and led by the world's foremost independent luxury residential brokers and industry veterans, Forbes Global Properties is a curated consumer marketplace that connects discerning buyers directly to the world's finest homes and the elite agents that represent them. The invitation-only network spans 440 locations and comprises more than 13,000 property experts across the U.S., Asia, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, the Middle East, New Zealand, and Europe. For more information, visit forbesglobalproperties.com.

SOURCE Forbes Global Properties
CAESAREA, Israel, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Max Stock Limited (TASE: MAXO) (the "Company") today announced it will host a conference call (Link) on August 15, 2023 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time / 3:00 p.m. IL to discuss its second quarter 2023 financial results and first half fiscal 2023 results.

Nir Dagan, Deputy CEO and Head of Finance, and Talia Sessler, Chief Corporate Development and IR Officer, will host the call followed by Q&A.

The conference call will also be accessible at https://ir.maxstock.co.il/en/event-en/.

There will be a slide presentation that accompanies the call. The slides will be accessible at https://ir.maxstock.co.il/en/presentation-en/.

An archived webcast of the conference call will be available at https://ir.maxstock.co.il/en/presentation-en/.

This is an English translation of segments of a Hebrew immediate report that was published on July 31, 2023 (Ref. No: 2023-01-071521) (hereinafter: the "Hebrew Version"). This English version is only for convenience purposes. This is not an official translation and has no binding force. In the event of any discrepancy between the Hebrew Version and this translation, the Hebrew Version shall prevail.

About Max Stock

Max Stock is Israel's leading extreme value retailer, currently present in 59 locations throughout Israel and 2 locations in Portugal that opened in 2023. We offer a broad assortment of quality products for customers' everyday needs at affordable prices, helping customers "Dream Big, Pay Small". For more information, please visit https://ir.maxstock.co.il

Company Contacts:

Talia Sessler,

Chief Corporate Development and IR Officer

[email protected]

SOURCE Max Stock Limited
Kia Soul EV tops the list for the second consecutive year

LOS ANGELES, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The number of electric vehicles (EVs) available on the marketplace continues to grow and the cost of insuring an EV is a burgeoning factor for consumers. According to industry reports, the number of currently available and soon-to-launch EV models is increasing from 27 as of January '21 to 53 early this year. Mercury Insurance (NYSE: MCY), a leading auto insurer in California and provider of auto insurance in 10 other states, has put together a list of the most affordable new EVs to help consumers save them money on insurance.

Mercury's research and development team examined 2023 model year electric vehicles available at car dealerships today to compile the list1.

"EVs are growing on consumers and many are considering one as their next vehicle," said Mercury Insurance Director of Product Management R&D Chong Gao. "One of the most important aspects of ownership that needs to be considered is the cost of insuring an EV. This cost can make up a significant portion of owning one and Mercury provides an EV discount in most of the states it operates in."

Mercury is proud to offer a discount on EVs in 10 of the 11 states it offers personal auto insurance.

The list of 2023 electric vehicles, beginning with the most affordable make and model to insure is:

Kia Soul EV

Nissan Leaf

Ford F-150 Lightning

Hyundai IONIQ

Volvo C40 Recharge

Volvo XC40 Recharge

Mazda MX-30

Chevrolet Bolt EV

Volkswagen ID.4

(a tie at 10th) Audi Q4 E-Tron, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Kia EV6, Mercedes EQB and Polestar 2

About Mercury Insurance

Mercury Insurance (NYSE: MCY) is a multiple-line insurance carrier predominantly offering personal auto, homeowners and renters insurance through a network of independent agents in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia, as well as auto insurance in Florida. Mercury writes other lines of insurance in various states, including commercial, business owners and business auto, landlord, home-sharing, ride-hailing and mechanical protection insurance.

Since 1962, Mercury has provided customers with tremendous value for their insurance dollar by pairing ultracompetitive rates with excellent customer service. Mercury has earned "A" ratings from A.M. Best and Fitch, as well as "Best Auto Insurance Company" designations from Forbes and Insure.com. For more information visit www.MercuryInsurance.com or follow the company on Twitter or Facebook.

1 Mercury Insurance developed the list based on full coverage premium (BI, PD, COMP, COLL, MP, UMBI and UMPD) for a hypothetical California driver with average factors for each rating element.

SOURCE Mercury General Corporation
MWR and Water Out Partner to Provide Comprehensive Emergency Response and Restoration Solutions throughout Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Midwest Remediation has recently acquired family-owned, Fort Wayne-based Water Out. MWR and Water Out will now service a larger footprint in Indiana with emergency response, water damage, restoration, mold remediation, fire restoration, sewage, and air duct cleaning.

Over the last 20 years, Water Out has serviced over 20,000 water damages around the 60-mile radius of Fort Wayne. Combining this experience with MWR's Indianapolis-based team will allow for significant growth throughout Indiana.

"I am very excited for our team at Water Out to be a part of the MWR family of companies," says Chris Laney, CEO of Water Out. "This is a great opportunity for our team members to have the ability to grow and better serve our residential and commercial clients through Northern Indiana and beyond."

There will be no change in service or offerings for customers of Water Out after the partnership, and their name will remain the same. Furthermore, management and operations will remain the same with no changes to the executive team.

Dave Sweet, founder and CEO of MWR, has been an industry leader since 1989. Sweet has worked with Laney over the last five years, and they currently own three additional business ventures together, including Dewald Academy of Drying.

"MWR is excited to add our third Indiana location with the acquisition of Water Out in Fort Wayne. Water Out is a perfect fit to grow the commitment to using technology and process to advance the MWR brand." - Dave Sweet, Founder and CEO of MWR.

About MWR

MWR is Indiana's leading remediation, restoration, and emergency response business. With 24/7 customer service and IIRC-trained specialists, we focus on restoration services in response to catastrophic events such as water damage, fire damage, mold remediation, and trauma cleanup. www.gomwr.com

About Water Out

Established in 2002, Water Out has served our clients' commercial and residential cleaning and restoration needs in Northeast Indiana, Northwest Ohio, and Southern Michigan for over 20 years.

Water Out's focus is on customer care, service, and quality. Their proven knowledge and professional structural drying skills will help ensure homeowners and commercial property owners return to their homes or business as quickly as possible with minimal disruption.

Contact Information:

Dave Sweet

Midwest Remediation

[email protected]

Karly Trojan

Cosgrove Partners

[email protected]

SOURCE Midwest Remediation
The treatment device is non-invasive and easy-to-use

CEDAR KNOLLS, N.J., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In collaboration with Hackensack University Medical Center and Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Electro Cellular Healthcare Solutions, LLC, (ECHS), an affiliate of The Herrick Company, Inc, announces a new study treating patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's Dementia. Norton Herrick, founder of ECHS says, "I have invested in this technology since I first saw its potential in the 1990s. And I see even more potential today."

Figure 1. AD Device

This non-drug therapy features a simple, safe, easy-to-use, wearable medical device shown in Figure 1. The lightweight headband uses very low power electrical fields to affect activity in the brain. The treatment is simple: 15-minutes, three times a day wearing the headband at home. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the study determined that the device is a non-significant risk (NSR) device. The electrical field produced by the device is less powerful than the field produced by a cell phone. Similar devices are being used to effectively treat other disorders and this trial is designed to see what effects will be seen in Alzheimer's Dementia. Patients who qualify are being accepted into this 4-month study now. Enrollment is limited. The study only requires in-person visits every 30 days for 120 days. Participants may be reimbursed for their time.

The electrotherapy was validated in an initial brain cell study at the University of New Mexico and was shown to significantly reduce inflammation by altering the levels of proteins that control the inflammatory process, which many scientists believe plays a critical role in Alzheimer's Dementia.

To be eligible for the clinical study, a potential participant must: be between 50-85 years of age; be diagnosed with mild to moderate Alzheimer's Dementia; and have a spouse, family member, friend, or caregiver who agrees and can oversee participation of the patient in the study. If you would like to speak with someone about our study, call 551ADSTUDY (551-237-8839) or send us an email at [email protected] and you will receive a call back within 24 hours. You can also sign up via our study website at adxstudy.com.

Electro Cellular Healthcare Solutions, LLC (ECHS,) was founded to develop technologies that can enhance natural repair mechanisms, with a focus on treating Alzheimer's Dementia and cardiovascular disease. The ECHS team of engineers, designers, biophysicists, and scientists consists of individuals from around the world, each with a minimum experience of 30 years in the field.

The study is currently underway. 24 patients will be enrolled. Reach out soon as enrollment is limited.

SOURCE Electro Cellular Healthcare Solutions, LLC
CHICAGO, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Public-sector workers, retirees, and advocates from across the state announce Secure Illinois Retirements (SIR), an independent, nonprofit organization committed to finding sustainable solutions for the pension system of Illinois. Secure Illinois Retirements aims to foster dialogue and educate public-sector workers, unions, elected officials, legislators, and citizens from across the state.

"After spending over a decade in government, I know firsthand the sacrifices and commitment public-sector workers make every day of their careers. Public-sector workers and their families deserve safe and secure retirements. We must come together to ensure that pensions remain a promise fulfilled." said Katie Dunne, Executive Director of Secure Illinois Retirements.

SIR's board is composed of public-sector workers, union members, and retirees from across Illinois who share our commitment to retirement security. Recognizing that different communities and stakeholders call for different solutions, Secure Illinois Retirements' leadership plans to convene discussions across the state to hear directly from interested residents and those most impacted.

"The pension shortfall is the most pressing issue impacting the future of our state. Most public-sector workers are not eligible for Social Security benefits, so there is no financial parachute. Secure Illinois Retirements is committed to correcting the record, fostering productive dialogue, and identifying sustainable solutions to ensure a fully funded pension system." Dunne continued.

As part of the launch, Secure Illinois Retirements offers an interactive 'Find Your Fund' tool on its website, SecureIllinoisRetirements.org . This tool provides access to resources and the ability to learn about specific pension funds, compare funding ratios to similar funds from across the state, and find valuable information about the overall pension system in Illinois. On the website, visitors can also sign-up for their newsletter, take an educational course and find resources about the public pensions in our state.

About Secure Illinois Retirements (SIR) : Secure Illinois Retirements is an independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to bring public-sector employees, elected officials, legislators, unions, and members of our communities to the table to identify sustainable solutions for the pension system in Illinois.

SOURCE Secure Illinois Retirements
Forester Wilderness Ad Showcases 'A Beautiful Silence' and Partnership with the National Park Foundation

CAMDEN, N.J., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Subaru of America, Inc. today unveiled a new creative spot focused on the automaker's efforts to expand access to the outdoors for all. Featuring the all-new 2023 Subaru Forester Wilderness, the advertisement stars Keivonn Woodard, the Emmy-nominated, 10-year-old Deaf actor and showcases the automaker's long-standing partnership with the National Park Foundation.

The all-new 2023 Subaru Forester Wilderness advertising commercial, A Beautiful Silence, features a father and his young deaf son driving their rugged Subaru Forester Wilderness deep into a national park where they experience an epic sensory experience at the base of a waterfall. The all-new 2023 Subaru Forester Wilderness advertising commercial, A Beautiful Silence, was filmed in Yosemite National Park. Subaru is proud to be the National Park Foundations largest corporate donor and help expand park access for all. The all-new 2023 Subaru Forester Wilderness advertising commercial, A Beautiful Silence, features a father and his young deaf son driving their rugged Subaru Forester Wilderness deep into a national park where they experience an epic sensory experience at the base of a waterfall. Subaru is proud to be the National Park Foundations largest corporate donor and help expand park access for all.

In the creative, titled "A Beautiful Silence," a father and his young son, who is Deaf, drive through Yosemite National Park, with the wonders of the park's beauty surrounding them. Featuring audio elements and American Sign Language (ASL), the spot shows how the pair experience the park's natural wonders in different ways, but share the special feeling that nature brings forth.

"The outdoors are for everyone, and whether it's a trip to a national park or a walk in the woods, we believe everyone should have the opportunity to experience its beauty," said Alan Bethke, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Subaru of America, Inc. "Through our partnership with the National Park Foundation and our commitment to making safe and capable vehicles like the Forester Wilderness, we're hoping that even more people will be inspired to explore the wonders of nature, just like the father and son in our new creative."

Through the National Park Foundation's Outdoor Exploration initiative and ParkVentures program, Subaru is helping more people create life-long relationships with the outdoors. The campaign seeks to make the outdoors more accessible to communities that have been historically excluded from parks, either through a community's physical presence on public lands or through the narrative of who belongs outdoors.

Last year, with support from Subaru, ParkVentures supported the efforts of more than 55 organizations to connect more people, including those with differing abilities, to meaningful experiences in United States national parks. Subaru also developed a direct relationship with ParkVentures grantee Black People Who Hike, which aims to help address the lack of representation in parks by empowering, educating and engaging Black people in the outdoors. Subaru provided the vehicles, gear, and experiences for an enhanced retreat in Acadia National Park to help create safe, welcoming spaces and cultivate lasting relationships with the outdoors.

Subaru is the largest corporate donor to the National Park Foundation and has provided over $70 million to organizations working to conserve national parks. To learn more about the automaker's partnership with National Park Foundation and over 20 years of environmentally focused initiatives, please visit Subaru.com/earth.

The new Subaru Forester Wilderness spot, created in collaboration with agency partner Carmichael Lynch, celebrates the automaker's devotion to adventure and environmental stewardship. Beginning today, "A Beautiful Silence" will run in 30-second format on national television and be featured in 15-second format in targeted digital and social media promotions throughout August, while a 60-second version will be available on YouTube.

About Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 630 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile manufacturing plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company's vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA and the SOA Foundation have donated more than $300 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged nearly 88,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do. For additional information visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Media Contacts:

Diane Anton

Corporate Communications Manager

(856) 488-5093

[email protected]

Adam Leiter

Corporate Communications Specialist

(856) 488-8668

[email protected]

SOURCE Subaru of America, Inc.
Nicklaus Children's Hospital recognized with award for exceptional and innovative performance

MIAMI, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nicklaus Children's Hospital's Emergency Department has been selected as a recipient of the Emergency Nurses Association's (ENA) 2023 Lantern Award for demonstrating exceptional innovation in leadership, practice, education, advocacy and research performance.

The Lantern Award showcases the Emergency Department's (ED) accomplishments in incorporating evidence-based practice and innovation into emergency care. As part of the application, EDs are encouraged to share stories that highlight a commitment to care of patients, as well as the well-being of nursing staff. The award serves as a visible symbol of an organization's commitment to quality, safety and a healthy work environment.

The award serves as a visible symbol of an organization's commitment to quality, safety and a healthy work environment. Tweet this

"The Lantern Award truly shines a light on the excellence of our Emergency Department," said Peter Kevin Cruz, Director of Emergency Services. "It is emblematic of the excellence and commitment of our team to ensuring we offer the best possible pediatric emergency care."

Nicklaus Children's Hospital's Lantern Award will be on display in the Emergency Department. As a recipient, the hospital will be recognized in upcoming ENA publications, on the ENA website and during Emergency Nursing 2023, the association's annual conference in San Diego Sept. 21-23.

For more information on this year's Lantern Award recipients, visit the Emergency Nurses Association website.

About Nicklaus Children's Hospital

Founded in 1950 by Variety Clubs International, Nicklaus Children's Hospital is South Florida's only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children, with approximately 850 attending physicians, including more than 500 pediatric subspecialists. The 309-bed hospital, known as Miami Children's Hospital from 1983 through 2014, is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine with many specialty programs routinely ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. The hospital is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern United States and since 2003 has been designated an American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession's most prestigious institutional honor. For more information, please visit www.nicklauschildrens.org.

About the Emergency Nurses Association

The Emergency Nurses Association is the premier professional nursing association dedicated to defining the future of emergency nursing through advocacy, education, research, innovation, and leadership. Founded in 1970, ENA has proven to be an indispensable resource to the global emergency nursing community. With 50,000 members worldwide, ENA advocates for patient safety, develops industry-leading practice standards and guidelines and guides emergency health care public policy. ENA members have expertise in triage, patient care, disaster preparedness and all aspects of emergency care. Additional information is available at www.ena.org.

For more information:

Rachel Bixby

305-898-9165

SOURCE Nicklaus Children's Health System
WASHINGTON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) President, Carole Fisher has attracted publicity for her role hosting the popular podcast series  "The Girlfriends". Produced by NOVEL for iHeartRadio, the thrilling nine-part series, led by Fisher, uncovers the horrific backstory of Gail Katz's death, the systems that failed her and all the girlfriends that brought her justice.

THE GIRLFRIENDS explores the bonds of friendship, female solidarity, empowerment, and bringing justice to all people who suffer at the hands of abuse and domestic violence. Since its release on July 10, The Girlfriends has achieved success  currently ranking at #1 in Canada, the United Kingdom and United States on Apple Podcasts.

"Together, we must do more to elevate the voices of those in danger." Tweet this

"This is more than just being another binge-worthy true crime podcast series. It's about raising awareness around the horrors of abuse, especially domestic and sexual violence," said Carole Fisher, NPHI President. "It has been a privilege and an honor to speak up on behalf of Gail Katz, and so many other women who are victims of domestic violence. Together, we must do more to elevate the voices of those in danger."

NOVEL collaborated with the leading global charity NOMORE.org dedicated to ending domestic violence and sexual assault by increasing awareness, inspiring action, and fueling culture change. NPHI maintains close links to these related issues through its engagement with Healthsperien LLC and applauds Carole Fisher for her continued commitment to social impact and raising awareness on the issues of domestic violence against women.

"I am extremely pleased to hear of the success of this podcast, and I support its greater goal in raising awareness around the pervasiveness of domestic violence," said Tom Koutsoumpas, NPHI CEO. "Carole's entire lifework has been centered around helping and speaking out for others and her participation in this podcast highlights her never-ending commitment to creating social impact and change where it is rightly needed."

Carole, who is employed directly by the renowned DC Policy Firm, Healthsperien LLC, has presided over the day-to-day operations of NPHI since January 2021. In this capacity, she brings a wealth of expertise that has helped NPHI grow exponentially and evolve with the ever-changing hospice landscape. Prior to her time at Healthsperien and NPHI, she served as a highly regarded C-suite leader, including a long-time engagement as the CEO of Nathan Adelson Hospice in her hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada.

You can find The Girlfriends on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and anywhere else you get your podcasts.

About Carole Fisher: Ms. Fisher serves as President for the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI). Utilizing her previous experiences and deep familiarity with not-for-profit community-based hospice and palliative healthcare, she is charged with leading a wide range of activities for NPHI. With an emphasis on developing strategic partnerships, meaningful collaborations and transformational innovations, Ms. Fisher provides support for NPHI members leading complex organizations.

Ms. Fisher spends her time working between her homes in Las Vegas, Nevada and Covington, Louisiana. She frequently travels to Washington D.C. for policy-related initiatives.

You can find Carole on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram under @CaroleAFisher.

The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) is a membership organization comprising 100+ not-for-profit, community-integrated hospice and palliative care providers dedicated to ensuring patients and their families have access to care that reflects their individual goals, values, and preferences. Representing providers from 37 states and the District of Columbia, NPHI and its members help design more innovative and effective models of care, advocate for comprehensive and community-integrated care customized to meet each person's unique needs, and build collaboration between national thought leaders, decision-makers, and other healthcare stakeholders to improve hospice care. Learn more at hospiceinnovations.org.

Press Contact:

Matt Wilkinson

Communications Manager, NPHI

+1 (801) 615-4207

[email protected]

SOURCE National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation
The Health and Wellness Brand's Commitment to an Earth-Friendly Business Model Has Never Been Stronger

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Greenfilled is a leading company in the Healthy Aging nutraceutical category. The Spanish-based brand has developed a range of supplements that help with energy, memory, and performance. Every Greenfilled formula includes the brand's signature ingredient TetraSOD, a concentrated form of the essential enzyme superoxide dismutase, which combats oxidative stress and which Greenfilled sources from one of the Earth's most abundant resources: phytoplankton.

Greenfilled has always taken great care to balance its commitment to human health with sustainable business practices. This is the inspiration behind the brand's motto "Greenfilled is good for you and good for the Planet." In pursuit of this, the company has recently announced that it is upgrading from its previous packaging (which came in boxes with each dose compartmentalized individually in blister packs) to a more sustainable bottled format. This leads to less plastic being used with each product and lowers the overall carbon footprint of the organization.

"We're proud to continue working toward our goal of mutually benefiting people and the planet," explains Greenfilled COO Enrique Castano. "With our new packaging, we're taking one more step toward a sustainable and healthy future."

Along with its eco-friendly new form of packaging, Greenfilled already grows its phytoplankton on a land-based sustainable farm rather than extracting it directly from the ocean. This avoids disrupting marine life, which is highly dependent on this source of food within the ocean ecosystem.

From its healthy aging and lifestyle products to its earth-friendly business model, Greenfield continues to seek out ways to blaze the trail toward long-term health without harming the environment in the process. It is a balanced business model that is difficult to find in the modern corporate landscape, where everything tends to focus on a single customer benefit, often to the exclusion of everything else. Greenfilled is demonstrating that it is possible to balance human and environmental benefits, especially if a brand remains committed to and working toward its values over time.

About Greenfilled

Greenfilled is a health and wellness brand founded by the Spain-based Marine Biotech Company Fitoplancton Marino. The parent company's mission is to research, develop, and supply microalgae-based products that improve health and quality of life. Greenfilled is a manifestation of this mission, with the brand's supplements utilizing sustainably farmed, high-quality phytoplankton that delivers robust levels of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) through its flagship ingredient TetraSOD. Greenfilled products help with many health concerns, including rest, recovery, energy levels, and cognitive clarity. Learn more at greenfilled.com .

Media Contact:

Enrique Castano

Sales & Business Development Director

Fitoplancton Marino, S.L

Phone + 34 620003888

362997@email4pr.com

www.tetrasod.com

www.easyalgae.com

SOURCE Greenfilled
First new nuclear unit in three decades is now online, providing safe, reliable,emission-free energy for electric cooperative consumers

TUCKER, Ga., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Oglethorpe Power, on behalf of the Georgia electric cooperatives it serves, commended the safe and successful achievement of commercial operation for Plant Vogtle Unit 3, which marks a historic accomplishment for the energy industry, the state of Georgia and the entire nation. Now in service, the Unit is available for safe and reliable dispatch and will provide emission-free, baseload power for Georgians for the next 60 to 80 years.

"Nuclear energy is increasingly important to the clean energy transition, and Oglethorpe Power's significant ownership in the Vogtle construction project is a testament to the important investments we're making that drive us toward a cleaner and more sustainable energy future," said Oglethorpe Power President & CEO Mike Smith. "We understand the importance of keeping the lights on in a way that preserves both affordability and reliability  and we are proud that the clean energy generated by Unit 3 will help us deliver on that mission for years to come."

Nuclear power is a reliable, baseload energy resource. Unit 3 can generate emission-free electricity at full power 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

When Unit 4 enters service, emission-free nuclear energy will account for nearly half of the energy Oglethorpe Power generates for its member cooperatives and the 4.4 million Georgians they serve. The company's investment in the new nuclear units underscores its commitment to fuel diversity and price stability.

As one of the largest clean energy projects in the nation, Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 represent the first advanced commercial nuclear project in the United States in more than thirty years. Once Unit 4 reaches commercial operation, Plant Vogtle will become the largest producer of emission-free energy in the United States.

"Oglethorpe Power commends the efforts of the dedicated men and women who make up the Plant Vogtle workforce. With Unit 3 online and operating safely, homes and businesses across Georgia will be powered by reliable, emission-free nuclear energy for decades," added Smith. "Additionally, with the recent receipt of the 103(g) finding for Unit 4, the site has achieved another critical milestone toward loading fuel, which means we are one step closer to Unit 4 joining Unit 3 in safe commercial operation."

Learn more at opc.com/nuclear.

About Oglethorpe Power

Oglethorpe Power is one of the nation's largest power supply cooperatives with more than $16 billion in assets serving 38 Electric Membership Corporations which, collectively, provide electricity to approximately 4.4 million Georgia residents. A proponent of conscientious energy development and use, Oglethorpe Power balances reliable and affordable energy with environmental responsibility and has an outstanding record of regulatory compliance. Its diverse energy portfolio includes natural gas, nuclear, hydroelectric and coal generating plants with a combined capacity of more than 7,800 megawatts. Oglethorpe Power was established in 1974 and is owned by its 38 member systems. Its headquarters are in Tucker, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb. For more information, visit www.opc.com.

SOURCE Oglethorpe Power Corporation
NEW YORK, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- One Rock Capital Partners, LLC ("One Rock") today announced one of its affiliates has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Constantia Flexibles ("Constantia" or the "Company"), a leading global packaging manufacturer, from Wendel (Euronext: MF.FP), one of Europe's leading listed investment firms.

Constantia is the partner of choice for flexible packaging to more than 4,000 pharmaceutical, food and consumer goods customers. With a team of over 7,000 employees, the Company manufactures and provides custom packaging solutions across the globe.

"Constantia has grown through acquisition and innovation to be a leader serving its food and pharma customers," said Telmo Valido, Partner at One Rock. "We look forward to partnering with Constantia's management team to continue innovating to solve for the evolving packaging needs and sustainability requirements of the Company's customers."

"We are very pleased to welcome Constantia Flexibles to the One Rock family," added Kurt Beyer, Partner at One Rock. "We believe our strategic and operational resources will complement management's efforts to pursue Constantia's growth initiatives while maintaining the standards of quality and service valued by its customers."

"In recent years under Wendel's ownership, Constantia Flexibles transformed its business performance, developed an innovative pipeline of more sustainable products and completed multiple acquisitions," said Pim Vervaat, CEO at Constantia. "With diverse geographic and end market presence, the Company is well-positioned to continue expanding its suite of packaging solutions amidst regulatory developments and a changing climate, and we look forward to partnering with One Rock during this next chapter."

J.P. Morgan served as lead financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal advisor to One Rock on the transaction. Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP served as legal advisor and Evercore served as financial advisor to Constantia.

ABOUT ONE ROCK CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC

One Rock makes controlling investments in companies with potential for growth and operational improvement using a rigorous approach that utilizes highly experienced Operating Partners to identify, acquire and enhance businesses in select industries. The involvement of these Operating Partners affords One Rock the ability to conduct due diligence and consummate acquisitions and investments in all types of situations, regardless of complexity. One Rock works collaboratively with company management and its Operating Partners to develop a comprehensive business plan focused on growing the enterprise and its profitability to enhance long-term value. For more information, visit www.onerockcapital.com.

ABOUT CONSTANTIA FLEXIBLES

Constantia is the world's third-largest producer of flexible packaging. Based on the guiding principle of 'People, Passion, Packaging', some 7,650 employees manufacture tailor-made packaging solutions at 30 sites in 16 countries. Many international companies and local market leaders from the consumer and pharma industries choose the sustainable and innovative products of Constantia Flexibles. Sustainability is a top priority in product development at Constantia Flexibles: the company was rated Level A- by Climate Change Leadership (CDP) and Gold by EcoVadis in 2022. For more information, visit www.cflex.com.

MEDIA CONTACT

Julia Kaufman

Prosek Partners

[email protected]

SOURCE One Rock Capital Partners, LLC
Partnership Will Enable OneValley to Provide Up to 1.1M Entrepreneurial Users with Algorithmic-Driven Web Content Scored for Reliability and Personalized to Help Them Grow Their Business

VIENNA, Va., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Seekr, a revolutionary artificial intelligence company specializing in transparent content evaluation, announced today it has entered into a strategic partnership with OneValley, a Silicon Valley-based global entrepreneurship platform that powers many of the world's top innovation, entrepreneurial and non-profit ecosystems. The partnership integrates Seekr's groundbreaking search capabilities into OneValley's information-sharing platform, enabling 1.1 million entrepreneurial users supported by OneValley to access algorithmic-driven news that is personalized and scored for reliability.

OneValley

"The OneValley platform is already a treasure trove of high-value information for entrepreneurs, providing guidance and insights on everything from ideation and launch to growth and scaling. Seekr's content evaluation capabilities amplify that value proposition, taking the platform to the next level," said Rob Clark, President and Chief Technology Officer at Seekr. "Our technology enables the OneValley platform to identify relevant information, regardless of whether it lives on the platform or on the broader internet, score it for reliability, curate it so that it's tailored to the unique needs and interests of each individual entrepreneur, and finally serve it up to the entrepreneur on-demand."

"As OneValley continues to expand worldwide, this unique partnership with Seekr will provide our customers with the knowledge they need to win in their markets," said Nikhil Sinha, CEO of OneValley. "We further expect that usage on the platform will continue to grow and enhance the life cycle growth from startup to big business."

Seekr's AI-powered search and evaluation technology will be fully integrated into OneValley's online consumer platform, Passport, and its enterprise platform, PassportOS. The technology will enable every OneValley user to generate a bespoke flow of news and other relevant content tailored to meet their unique individual interests and needs.

Under the terms of the agreement, the platform will also feature a stream of real-time news and relevant information powered by Seekr. Additionally, Seekr will provide OneValley with a dynamic competitive analysis tool that provides entrepreneurs and startups with insights into competitor movements and a fuller understanding of how market trends are moving over time.

For further information, visit www.seekr.com.

About Seekr Technologies Inc.

Seekr is a privately held artificial intelligence company that specializes in transparent content evaluation and objective ratings. Its AI technology is designed to rate all content, both authentic content created by humans, and synthetic, machine-generated content. Seekr empowers user choice and control by streamlining access to reliable information. The centerpiece of Seekr's technology is an independent search engine that is powered by proprietary AI and employs natural language processing (NLP) to generate a Seekr Score and Political Lean Indicator. Seekr is committed to building a web that people can trust by giving everyone access to technology that makes it easy to find reliable content in context.

Media Contact:

Ed Patru, EVP Communications

(202) 360-7063

[email protected]

SOURCE Seekr Technologies
Pep Boys further expands its footprint in the Raleigh market as it celebrates its 14th location and pledges its support to the community.

PHILADELPHIA, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pep Boys, a leading U.S. automotive service provider, will celebrate the grand opening of its newest location in Raleigh at the Triangle Town Center tomorrow, August 1, 2023. The 7320 Old Wake Forest Rd Raleigh, NC 27616 location will join 13 other locations in the Raleigh market. Customers can expect a full range of automotive maintenance and repair services at this newest location.

Pep Boys will celebrate this monumental opening with residents and special guests at 11am. As a testament to the Company's commitment to its community, Pep Boys will be presenting a donation to two local non-profit organizations, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of North Carolina and the Haven House Society.

Pep Boys further expands in the Raleigh market as it celebrates its 14th location and pledges its community support. Tweet this

"Pep Boys takes pride in extending our automotive service experience to an even larger customer base in Raleigh," said Scott Collette, Pep Boys CEO. "Our team of technicians and service advisors are looking forward to connecting with the local community and providing quality car care to its drivers."

The Raleigh location provides both individual customers and the area's fast-growing fleets with preventative maintenance, tire installations and both routine and major repairs performed by certified technicians. In addition to being equipped with the latest technology to handle today's complex vehicles, Pep Boys offers every driver a Courtesy Vehicle Inspection as well as an entirely digital customer experience from online appointment booking to service tracking and mobile pay.

Pep Boys also offers a broad range of opportunities and career paths for today's auto service technician. With a commitment to supporting technical education and training and development, a Pep Boys auto service technician can pursue several different career paths. For more information on a career with Pep Boys, visit www.careers.pepboys.com .

About Pep Boys

Founded in 1921 by military veterans, generations of drivers have counted on Pep Boys ASE-certified Pros to care for their cars. With a national network of Service and Tire Centers, millions of vehicles and fleets pass through Pep Boys bays each year. Our commitment to being the one our communities count on is demonstrated through our exceptional customer experience and technical expertise. For more information, visit www.pepboys.com/corporate .

SOURCE The Pep Boys - Manny, Moe and Jack LLC
Advancements in Passivated Emitter and Rear Contact (PERC) technology is anticipated to drive the growth of the global PERC solar panels market during the forecast period from 2023 to 2032. The Asia-Pacific region is projected to grow at a tremendous CAGR by 2032.

PORTLAND, Ore., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research has recently published a report, titled, "PERC Solar Panels Market by Type (Mono-crystalline, Polycrystalline), by Application (Residential, Commercial, Utility), by Mounting (Roof-top, Ground-mounted), by Installation (On-grid, Off-grid, Hybrid): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032". According to the report, the global PERC solar panels market generated $140.4 billion in 2022, and is anticipated to generate $304.9 billion by 2032, witnessing a CAGR of 8.2% from 2023 to 2032.

Request PDF Brochure: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/75143

Prime Determinants of Growth

In the last few years, there has been a steady increase in the pace of advancements and innovations in the Passivated Emitter and Rear Contact (PERC) technology. As a result, the demand for PERC solar panels has increased, which is predicted to be one of the important factors driving the growth of the global PERC solar panels market in the forecast timeframe. However, the higher initial prices of PERC solar panels may hamper the PERC solar panels market growth in the coming period. On the contrary, the high energy efficiency offered by PERC solar panels has increased their popularity across the globe, which is expected to offer growth opportunities for expansion of the PERC solar panels market in the 2023-2032 forecast period.

Report Coverage & Details:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 20232032 Base Year 2022 Market Size in 2022 $140.4 Billion Market Size in 2032 $304.9 Billion CAGR 8.2 % No. of Pages in Report 290 Segments Covered Mounting, Installation, Type, Application, and Region Drivers Steady increase in pace of advancements and innovations in Passivated Emitter and Rear Contact (PERC) technology Growing demand for PERC solar panels due to their higher conversion efficiencies compared to traditional solar cells Opportunities Increase in popularity due to higher energy efficiency Growing adoption of PERC solar panels owing to enhanced performance in high-temperature environments Restraints High initial cost of PERC solar panels



COVID-19 Scenario

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the growth of the global PERC solar panels market. The lockdowns led to massive disruptions in the global supply chains, which hampered the manufacturing of PERC solar panels. This brought down the growth rate of the market.

Also, the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic reduced the overall investments in renewable energy which further affected the growth rate of the market.

The PERC solar panels market is, however, projected to show steady growth in the future due to the growing adoption of PERC solar panels owing to the enhanced performance in high-temperature environments.

Mounting: Ground Mounted Sub-segment Projected to Gather a Huge Revenue During the Forecast Period

The ground mounted sub-segment accounted for the highest PERC solar panels market share of 58.4% in 2022 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.6% during the forecast period. PERC solar panels have shown improved performance under diffused light, making them suitable for ground-mounted installations in regions with less consistent sunlight. This has led to an increase in adoption of ground mounted systems which is predicted to boost the sub-segment's growth by 2032.

Procure Complete Report (290 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/checkout-final/perc-solar-panels-market

Installation: On-grid Sub-segment to be Highly Dominant During the Forecast Period

The on-grid sub-segment held the major share of 55.3% in 2022 and is expected to continue to hold major market share by 2032. Over the years, with an increase in efficiency of PERC solar panels, the cost per watt of power produced has reduced, making them more suitable for on-grid deployments. This has led to an increase in on-grid deployments which is predicted to boost the sub-segment's growth during the forecast period.

Type: Mono-crystalline Sub-segment to Grow Rapidly by 2032

The mono-crystalline sub-segment gathered a major share of 71.8% of the PERC solar panels market in 2022 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.4% during the forecast period. As compared to polycrystalline or thin-film cells, mono-crystalline solar cells have higher efficiency. This has led to an increase in popularity of mono-crystalline solar cells which is predicted to boost the sub-segment's growth by 2032.

Application: Utility Sub-segment to Gather a Substantial Market Revenue in the Forecast Period

The utility sub-segment accounted for the highest market share of 57.5% in 2022 and is expected to grow at a stunning CAGR of 8.6% during the forecast period. PERC solar panels have better energy conversion efficiency, which is why they are an appealing option for utility-scale solar projects. As a result, there has been an increase in demand for these systems which is predicted to boost the sub-segment's growth by 2032.

For Purchase Inquiry: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/perc-solar-panels-market/purchase-options

Region: Asia-Pacific Market to be One of the Fastest Growing by 2032

The Asia-Pacific region garnered the major share of 59.1% in 2022 and is expected to rise at a tremendous CAGR of 8.7% during the forecast period. The increasing number of governments in the region offering financial incentives and subsidies to promote the production of solar electricity is expected to be the main growth driver of the market in the Asia-Pacific region by 2032.

Leading Players in the PERC Solar Panels Market:

JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd.

Wuxi Suntech Power Co., Ltd.

REC Solar Holdings AS

SolarEdge

SunPower Corporation

Sunnova Energy International, Inc.

Canadian Solar

First Solar, Inc.

Trina Solar

Jinko Solar

The report provides a detailed analysis of the key players of the global PERC solar panels market. These players have adopted different strategies, such as new product launches, collaborations, expansion, joint ventures, agreements, and others to increase their market share and maintain their dominance in different regions. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario.

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About us:

Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

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SOURCE Allied Market Research
Latest decrease, due to lower projected demand costs, will be reflected beginning with customers' August 2023 bills

Multiple drops in benchmark cost of natural gas earlier this year contribute to annual residential customer savings

Video here: Understand how your natural gas bill works and what factors influence your monthly bill

CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Piedmont Natural Gas received approval from the North Carolina Utilities Commission to reduce residential customer billing rates due to updated annual demand projections, to be reflected beginning with customers' August 2023 bills.

Compared to the rates in effect in August 2022, the benefit of this decrease, in addition to reduced rates related to the benchmark cost of natural gas Piedmont made in February, March and May, is a savings of approximately 17%, which translates to an annual savings of approximately $176, or $14.64 per month, for the average residential customer.

"Hot summer temperatures are on everyone's mind at the moment, but as we start to move into the fall and winter and temperatures begin to dip, this rate reduction will be an incredible help to our customers as natural gas use for heating increases," said Sasha Weintraub, senior vice president and president of Piedmont Natural Gas. "Piedmont is pleased to be able to provide some relief for our customers by proactively lowering our rates prior to the cooler months.

"We also want to empower our customers to be proactive about taking control of their natural gas bills," Weintraub added. "We encourage customers to enroll in our Equal Payment Plan to levelize their bills throughout the year and to implement energy-saving tips in their home. Now is a great time to take these steps and get ahead of seasonal high bills."

Level out your bill with the Equal Payment Plan (EPP) program

This free service helps customers manage their budgets by eliminating high winter bills. The EPP program levels out a customer's natural gas bills, allowing them to pay a predictable, equal monthly amount to help avoid billing surprises. Piedmont determines this payment by adding up a customer's annual natural gas usage and then dividing it into the same payment amount each month. Learn more about Piedmont's Equal Payment Plan.

Energy-saving tools and programs

Piedmont Natural Gas also offers a variety of energy-saving tools to help customers and our communities identify ways to save money and energy all year long. These programs and tools help customers understand what factors are impacting their natural gas bills and emphasize specific actions they can take to reduce the impacts of high usage.

From furnaces to water heaters, Piedmont also offers rebates for qualifying new energy efficient equipment. More information is available on Piedmont's website.

Piedmont Natural Gas

Piedmont Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, distributes natural gas to more than 1.1 million residential, commercial, industrial and power generation customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Piedmont Natural Gas earned the No. 1 spot in customer satisfaction with residential natural gas service in the South among large utilities, according to the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study, and has been named by Cogent Reports as one of the most trusted utility brands in the U.S. More information: piedmontng.com. Follow Piedmont Natural Gas: Twitter, Facebook.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 28,000 people.

Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company has interim carbon emission targets of at least 50% reduction from electric generation by 2030, 50% for Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 upstream and downstream emissions by 2035, and 80% from electric generation by 2040. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2022 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "World's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Media contact: Jason Wheatley

Media line: 877.348.3612

jason.wheatley@duke-energy.com

Twitter: @PNG_JasonW

SOURCE Piedmont Natural Gas
PLANO, Texas and PERTH, Australia, July 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Repairify Australia Holdings Pty Ltd (Repairify) and Capricorn Society Limited (Capricorn) have entered into a joint venture agreement that will deliver leading-edge remote automotive repair solutions to repairers across Australia and New Zealand.

Repairify and Capricorn have equal ownership of the joint venture, which will be branded as "Repairify" and distributed across Australia and New Zealand by Capricorn through the Capricorn Preferred Supplier Network.

Repairify and Capricorn unveil joint venture to deliver advanced automotive remote diagnostic services to repairers across Australia and New Zealand

This is an integral part of Capricorn's commitment to provide the highest levels of support to over 25,000 Member businesses, helping them to be best equipped with connected technology to professionally deal with modern vehicle servicing across the vast and ever changing Australian and New Zealand car parc.

Repairify provides market-leading remote automotive repair solutions across North and South America, Europe, and greater EMEA with strong, long-term relationships with the majority of global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

The joint venture will provide world-class remote automotive repair solutions to Australian and New Zealand automotive service and repair businesses, enabling them to deliver a superior customer experience through faster turnaround times and increased productivity.

Both companies are looking forward to introducing innovative products and services that address the diagnostic and repair requirements of the Australian and New Zealand automotive aftermarket with the aim of ensuring vehicles are repaired and returned to the road safely.

While Capricorn Members will gain significant benefits from this new joint venture, it is important to note that all Repairify products and services will also be available to all automotive aftermarket shops across Australia and New Zealand, regardless of whether they are a Capricorn Member. This clearly outlines the dedication of both companies to best support the industry as a whole towards a stronger future.

"Repairify is excited to enter this strategic joint venture with Capricorn. We see a huge opportunity to support Australian and New Zealand repairers as global technology evolves. We are keen to introduce our proposition to the market," said Cris Hollingsworth, President  Repairify Global Holdings, Inc.

"Capricorn is the ideal choice for this venture due to their unparalleled position in the marketplaces in Australia and New Zealand. We're highly confident that the combination of Repairify products and services and the Capricorn network will rapidly accelerate the distribution of the right technology to ensure that the market can undertake and complete complex vehicle repairs," Mr. Hollingsworth concluded.

"Being able to efficiently and effectively diagnose and calibrate remotely connected vehicles is imperative to the long-term business success of the smallest to the largest automotive workshops across Australia and New Zealand," said Capricorn Group Chief Executive Officer, David Fraser. "We are delighted to have formed this joint venture with Repairify who have built a strong reputation across the world for their patented technology and experience, sharing the same commitment to the success of the automotive aftermarket repair and service industry. Capricorn's core purpose is to support its Members to build stronger businesses and we are confident that this exciting joint venture represents a major leap forward in actioning this commitment by providing unparalleled Member and industry support."

About Repairify

Repairify, Inc. and its family of brands empower the automotive repair industry to master today's modern, data-intensive vehicles. By providing revolutionary tools and validated OEM Compatible technology, services, and intelligence, Repairify helps automotive professionals run better businesses through improved diagnostics, calibrations, programming, and workflows. Repairify's brands are committed to vehicle and driver safety by providing repairers with excellent service, supported by the highest quality and precision tools, technology, and data.

Repairify, Inc. is a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries, LLC. The Repairify family includes asTech, adasThink, AutoMobile Technologies (AMT), Automotive Training Group (ATG), BlueDriver, FleetGenix, Mobile Tech RX, One Guard Inspections, and Repair OnDemand. For more information, please visit Repairify.com

About Capricorn

Capricorn was established in 1974 by a small group of Western Australian service station owners to increase their buying power and level the playing field. Capricorn is a Member based organisation proudly operating by cooperative principles to support the automotive industry to build stronger businesses. Capricorn now has over 25,000 Members and over 2,000 Preferred Suppliers across Australia and New Zealand. For more information, please visit Capricorn Society

SOURCE Repairify, Inc.
Build a Compassionate Community

After reading the material below or even if you want to contact us right now about your interest in creating a compassionate community, click here and we promise to get back to you.

No single community in the world is a Compassionate Community in any abstract or formal sense, just as no community is devoid of compassion. Each community will find its own path to establishing compassion as a driving and motivating force, and each will conduct its own evaluation of what is uncomfortable in that communitys unique culturethat is, those issues that cause pain and suffering to members of the community. For one community that discomfort may be youth violence or an epidemic of teen suicide. Another community may discover that a portion of their communityperhaps immigrants, the homeless, or an LGBTQ group--has been marginalized, harassed, or even physically threatened. Yet in another community, Botswana for example, the major discomforts may have to do with the needs of large numbers of street children orphaned by the tragedy of the AIDS epidemic.

What does it mean to be a compassionate community?

A compassionate city is an uncomfortable city! A city that is uncomfortable when anyone is homeless or hungry. Uncomfortable if every child is not loved and given rich opportunities to grow and thrive. Uncomfortable when as a community we dont treat our neighbors as we would wish to be treated.

~Karen Armstrong, Founder of the global movement, The Charter for Compassion

How do you go about starting a compassionate community?

It all begins with a conversation. Most frequently with a group of like-minded people who are concerned about what is happening in their local community and in the world. During the conversation, you more than likely will get to a point of asking: What can we do about this?. When you start asking questions of this nature youve reached the starting point to begin a compassionate community initiative.

What are the steps to create a compassionate community?

Review the Steps to Take that are listed on the Charter website. The outline offers a suggested process to follow. Contact the Charter for Compassion to set up a video conference call. This is an opportunity for your group to talk about your concerns, ask questions, and explore next steps. Register your initiative so that youll be on the Charters radar. Start working through the Steps to Takeremember to diversify your group to assure that different community perspectives are heard. In addition, youll want to let your communitys government structure know of your existence and see if there is someone from the local governing group who would like to join your group. Move towards identifying the issues on which your team may decide to work. Consult the Checklist; this list what other Charter communities are working on globally. The list outlines each issue and relates it to international documents. Check your issues against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Utilize the Compassionate Community Toolbox to help you with your action plan. Check-in with the Charters City Coordinator on a regular basis to review progress and explore further next steps. Start to build local partnerships. See Why is it important to build partners locally Spread the word about the Charter for Compassion and get the local community to affirm the Charter. Review the program offerings of the Charter and see how they fit within your community action plan. Consult the Education: Your Journey Starts Here and Fulfilling our Responsibilities to the Next Generation for descriptions of offerings.

Does the Charter for Compassion offer more direct help to a community initiative?

The short answer is yes. We can come to you and offer help to get your initiative off the ground. Through conversation and planning it can be decided on how best we can help. In some cases, we might contribute to a community forum, offer a compassion training retreat, provide workshops that would complement issues that are being addressed through your action plan. Unfortunately, the Charter is not able to come without reimbursement for travel expenses. There would also be a nominal honorarium.

If coming to you is not possible, then we can be creative and see how much we can do through video conferencing. It isnt the same as working in person, but where there is a will there is a way"

Why is it important to build local partnerships?

It is a proven fact that compassionate community initiatives that have established local partners are most successful in advancing their goals. Currently the Charter is working with partners in twelve different sectors (i.e., arts, business, education, environment, healthcare, peace, religion/spirituality and interfaith (RISE), restorative justice, social services, social justice, science and research, gender relations). Registering local partners automatically means that they become international partners. Partners lend their expertise to your action plan as they would at the global level as well. It also means that you are broadening the ownership of the work that you are doing.

What Makes a Compassionate Community?

The Charter for Compassion is pleased to announce a new collaboration with the What is the Meaning of Life project and Nicolae Tanase, its founder, and Dr. Lesa Walker, founder of the Compassionate Austin movement. The Project is titled, What makes a Compassionate City? Would you be willing to contribute your thoughts to the Compassionate City Project?

The process is very simple. Write down your insight on the following questions:

What makes a compassionate city/community?

How do you personally measure compassion?

What do you do to contribute to creating a more compassionate community and world? Where is compassion needed in your city? Where does it exist?

If your city was one of compassion, what would that look like?

What is your idea of a compassionate city?

Let us publish your ideas. Learn more about this project.

Graphic credits from top to bottom: @Khonkangrua8 | dreamstime.com,  Jozef Jankola | dreamstime.com,  Darknightsky | dreamstime.com.

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AUSTIN, Texas, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 6, 2023, Dr. Sheela Athreya, through her attorneys at Wiley Walsh, Wiley Wheeler, and Rob Wiley, P.C. filed suit against Texas A&M University for sex discrimination and retaliation at the Texas A&M Qatar campus or TAMUQ.

According to the complaint filed in the Southern District of Texas  Houston Division, Dr. Athreya, a highly respected scholar, was actively recruited by the Liberal Arts Program Chair at the Qatar campus. The Program Chair wanted her to teach a core curriculum course there, a required course for graduation, and wanted the campus to have more women faculty. At the time her contract began, Dr. Athreya alleges she was "the only woman serving at TAMUQ from the main campus, the only woman with tenure, only one of two women in research-engaged positions (tenured/tenure track or rolling contract/track) promoted past assistant professor and one of only four women in a research engaged position at any rank."

Eight days after Dr. Athreya arrived in Doha with her family, the complaint recounts, the Dean told the Liberal Arts Program Chair that her contract would not be renewed though he had never met Dr. Athreya. The reasons for the non-renewal, based on the pleadings, were so unsatisfactory that the Program Chair filed a complaint of sex discrimination against the Dean.

This is not the first time there have been complaints of sexism at the TAMUQ campus and against its Dean per the filing. Based on one witness statement quoted in the complaint, the Dean "makes women feel uncomfortable and unsupported. Eleven or twelve female faculty have left since his arrival and five or six specifically due to Dean Malave's treatment."

Dr. Athreya states that she is filing this lawsuit "to hold accountable the individuals who create a hostile climate for women, as well as those who shield them; because accountability is essential for change."

The case is captioned Dr. Sheela Athreya v. Texas A&M University, No. 4:23-cv-02478, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Related Links

https://www.wileywalsh.com

https://www.scribd.com/document/661737530/Dr-Sheela-Athreya-v-Texas-A-M-University-No-4-23-cv-02478

SOURCE Wiley Walsh, P.C.
AD-Detect Test for Alzheimer's Disease is the first blood-based biomarker test for assessing beta amyloid protein, a recognized marker of Alzheimer's disease, available for consumer purchase to help individuals identify their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease

Physician oversight included in offering, helping individuals interpret results and determine next steps

SECAUCUS, N.J., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the leader in diagnostic information services, today announced the availability of the AD-Detect Test for Alzheimer's Disease on questhealth.com  the first blood test available for consumer purchase that helps assess potential risk of developing Alzheimer's disease based on a brain protein that contributes to the condition.*

Quest launches the novel innovation amid a rapidly changing landscape for Alzheimer's disease care, featuring new and emerging therapies, growing recognition that non-pharmacological interventions can reduce Alzheimer's disease risk, and greater medical acceptance of blood tests to aid early Alzheimer's disease detection.

AD-Detect is a screening test that uses plasma, the liquid component of blood, from a single blood draw to evaluate levels of amyloid beta proteins to help detect early signs associated with the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Amyloid beta proteins are known to accumulate and form plaques in the brain, which are linked to the progression of Alzheimer's disease. AD-Detect evaluates the ratio of two peptides of amyloid beta, A42 and A40, in plasma.

The new consumer-initiated test utilizes the same expertise and technology as Quest's clinical AD-Detect Amyloid Beta 42/40 Ratio test, an analytically validated blood test that aids in assessing the risk of Alzheimer's diseasei,ii, which the company launched for physician ordering in early 2022. By making the innovation available through Quest's consumer-initiated testing platform, questhealth.com, people can purchase AD-Detect without the need to visit a doctor first, giving them greater agency over the decision on when and how to assess their cognitive health. The test offering also ensures individuals have access to a continuum of care, with an independent physician network providing clinical oversight of test ordering and results delivery. Individuals can discuss results with a licensed physician to help them understand what their results may mean and to determine an action plan for continued care, including whether a follow-up with their physician or a specialist may be appropriate.

"We are seeing much attention on emerging therapies for Alzheimer's disease, but with new treatment options will come the need to make screening and diagnosis more widely available. Blood tests like AD-Detect hold incredible potential to make Alzheimer's disease risk assessment both accessible and convenient," said Michael K. Racke, M.D., Medical Director of Neurology, Quest Diagnostics. "We're also seeing a push from consumers who have a desire to take more control of their health, including within more advanced areas like Alzheimer's disease risk assessment."

Consumers have expressed a desire to take a more proactive approach to Alzheimer's disease screening and a willingness to explore earlier diagnosis, particularly if it can connect them to earlier treatment options. A recent research reportiii from Quest Diagnostics based on a Harris Poll survey found that adult Americans want to be evaluated for dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, nearly 10 years earlier than current medical practiceiv  even despite fear of a diagnosis. The vast majority (86%) also believe blood tests for the early detection of Alzheimer's disease risk will increasingly become a regular part of preventative care.

Detection of Alzheimer's disease has traditionally involved screening individuals for symptoms of cognitive impairment, such as forgetfulness, followed by invasive and expensive tests, such as PET scans and cerebrospinal fluid tests, to confirm a diagnosis. Interventions to stall or potentially mitigate Alzheimer's disease, including behavioral changes (such as exercising more) or use of emerging Alzheimer's disease therapies, may be most effective when initiated in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

The new test from Quest may be appropriate for individuals who believe they are experiencing cognitive decline or if an individual's loved one recognizes potential signs of mild cognitive impairment, such as memory loss, as well as those with family history of Alzheimer's disease  even if they are not exhibiting symptoms, are 65 years of age or older, or have had brain trauma or head injury. Blood tests like AD-Detect can help provide insights on potential risk of Alzheimer's disease and help individuals facilitate necessary discussions with their doctors.

Individuals who purchase a test online and have the test ordered by the independent physician network will be prompted to schedule an appointment at one of 2,100 Quest Diagnostics patient service centers for a blood draw. Test results are made available on a secure patient portal and delivered in a clear, easy-to-read report.

Licensed physicians provide oversight for all tests based upon the information that individuals provide to Quest. This includes test ordering and evaluating results once available. With AD-Detect, individuals can also discuss their results with a licensed physician through the independent physician network that orders the test. In addition, they can share results with other doctors, such as their regular primary care physician, providing multiple ways to connect with a healthcare provider who can help determine interventions and a management plan that is most beneficial to each individual.

More than 6 million Americansv have Alzheimer's, the most prevalent dementia, a number projected to reach 14 millionvi by 2060. With blood tests comes the potential to identify people at risk for Alzheimer's disease even before symptoms manifest. A growing body of research suggests lifestyle and environmental factors, from physical activity to social interactions, can contribute to Alzheimer's disease.vii

Quest Diagnostics has long-standing history of advancing science in the field of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. Through its Advanced Neurology and Athena Diagnostics business, Quest provides an industry-leading menu of laboratory tests for evaluating dementias, including Alzheimer's disease. It pioneered the first AB 42/40 test for use in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which is the basis for its AD-Detect 42/40 blood test. It also provides a range of testing services to help evaluate ApoE status and the tau protein.

With the introduction of AD-Detect to its consumer-initiated testing business, Quest is pioneering a new path in Alzheimer's disease risk assessment through a consumer-powered channel that offers access to healthcare providers who can help guide people to understand their results and develop a care plan.

AD-Detect is now available for purchase to adults (ages 18+) in the United States** on questhealth.com.

For more information, visit questhealth.com and follow @testwithquest on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

*The AD-Detect Test for Alzheimer's Disease available through Quest's consumer-initiated testing platform is a screening test to help identify potential risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. It is not a diagnostic test. Only a physician or healthcare professional can provide an Alzheimer's disease diagnosis, and the risk of having Alzheimer's disease as the underlying cause for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia should be considered in conjunction with the findings from medical and family history, physicals, nutritional deficiency biomarkers, neurological and neuropsychological examinations, and neuroimaging. Individuals may seek to confer with a physician to understand their results and whether additional testing and assessment is right for them.

**Excludes AK, AZ, and HI

About Quest

Quest, through questhealth.com, empowers consumers by making affordable, high-quality, trusted healthcare easy. With innovative tools, we give consumers more control over their own healthcare journeys and meet them where they are, supporting both consumers and their care teams. Our consumer-initiated test service allows people access to the same quality lab tests used by doctors and hospitals, providing the information and insights they need about their health. With more than 75+ lab tests available at questhealth.com, from general health profiles to tests for conditions ranging from heart health to sexually transmitted diseases, consumers can shop, schedule test appointments, and access results securely from a phone or computer.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics empowers people to take action to improve health outcomes. Derived from the world's largest database of clinical lab results, our diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve health care management. Quest annually serves one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and our nearly 50,000 employees understand that, in the right hands and with the right context, our diagnostic insights can inspire actions that transform lives. www.QuestDiagnostics.com.

Quest is the brand name used for services offered by Quest Diagnostics Incorporated and its affiliated companies. Quest Diagnostics Incorporated and certain affiliates are CLIA-certified laboratories that provide HIPAA-covered services. Other affiliates operated under the Quest brand, such as Quest Consumer Inc., do not provide HIPAA-covered services.

SOURCE Quest Diagnostics
NEW YORK, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Attention RTX Corporation ("RTX") (NYSE: RTX) shareholders:

The Law Offices of Vincent Wong announce that an investigation has commenced into RTX and certain of its officers and directors regarding potential securities fraud. The investigation concerns, in part, the below:

On July 25, 2023, the Company reported its Q2 earnings which disclosed a "condition" in its Pratt & Whitney jet engine unit. The Company stated, "Pratt & Whitney has determined that a rare condition in powdered metal used to manufacture certain engine parts will require accelerated fleet inspection." The Company expects a significant portion of the PW1100G-JM engine fleet will require accelerated removals and inspection within the next nine to twelve months. On this news, RTX stock price fell sharply from $97.01 per share on July 24, 2023 to $86.87 on July 25, 2023.

If you suffered a loss on your investment in RTX, contact us about potential recovery by using the link below. There is no cost or obligation to you.

https://www.wongesq.com/pslra-1/rtx-class-action-submission-form/?prid=42738&wire=4

Vincent Wong, Esq. is an experienced attorney who has represented investors in securities litigations involving financial fraud and violations of shareholder rights. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

Vincent Wong, Esq.

39 East Broadway

Suite 304

New York, NY 10002

Tel. 212.425.1140

E-Mail: [email protected]

SOURCE The Law Offices of Vincent Wong
TORONTO, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Russel Metals Inc. (TSX: RUS) announces that it has entered into an agreement with Marubeni-Itochu Tubulars America Inc. ("MITI"), whereby Russel Metals will sell its 50% equity interest in TriMark Tubulars Ltd. ("TriMark") for approximately $61 million, subject to normal course closing adjustments. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023.

TriMark was created in July 2021 when Russel Metals and MITI combined their respective Canadian OCTG/line pipe businesses. At that time, Russel Metals had approximately $141 million of net assets in its Canadian OCTG/line pipe business. With the formation of Trimark, Russel converted approximately $109 million into cash and retained a $32 million equity interest in TriMark. In the past two years, Russel Metals has received $36 million in dividends from TriMark, which when combined with the sale of the retained equity interest to MITI for $61 million will equate to a return on investment of over 200%.

John Reid, President and CEO of Russel Metals commented, "This transaction represents the final step to our staged exit from the OCTG/line pipe business. Over the past three years, we have repatriated approximately $375 million of capital from the OCTG/line pipe business and have reinvested in our core segments at superior returns with lower risk. Additionally, we have retained significant financial flexibility to opportunistically grow our company and return capital to our shareholders".

About Russel Metals Inc.

Russel Metals is one of the largest metals distribution companies in North America with a growing focus on value-added processing. It carries on business in three segments: metals service centers, energy field stores and steel distributors. Its network of metals service centers carries an extensive line of metal products in a wide range of sizes, shapes and specifications, including carbon hot rolled and cold finished steel, pipe and tubular products, stainless steel, aluminum and other non-ferrous specialty metals. Its energy field stores carry a specialized product line focused on the needs of energy industry customers. Its steel distributors operations act as master distributors selling steel in large volumes to other steel service centers and large equipment manufacturers mainly on an "as is" basis.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements or information within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including the timing and anticipated receipt of necessary approvals and satisfaction of conditions to close the transaction. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or our future performance. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by us, inherently involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements.

While we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct, and our forward-looking statements included in this press release should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release and, except as required by law, we do not assume any obligation to update our forward-looking statements.

If you would like to unsubscribe from receiving Press Releases, you may do so by emailing [email protected]; or by calling our Investor Relations Line: 905-816-5178.

Website: www.russelmetals.com

SOURCE Russel Metals Inc.
BEIJING, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SANY Group ("SANY") has announced the 2023 employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). This is the fourth consecutive year that SANY has launched the ESOP, which gives employees an opportunity to own shares in the company through the setting up of incentive funds. The 2023 ESOP has set up a fund size of around 590 million yuan (USD 82 million) with a share repurchase price planned at 16.13 yuan per share (USD 2.24). The capital will be from the incentive funds accrued following relevant provisions of the group.

SANY has always focused on improving employee benefits and adhering to the principle of "growing together, pursuing common development, and sharing achievements." By establishing a comprehensive incentive and restraining mechanism, it aims to inspire employees' enthusiasm and creativity and align the interests of shareholders, the listed company, and individuals. This encourages all parties to join efforts to boost SANY's long-term development.

SANY's annual ESOP aims to share the fruits of the group's achievements with employees. The number of employees awarded with stock ownership incentives is growing annually, and the proportion of mid-level and key position employees is increasing year by year:

2020: SANY awarded 8.31 million shares to 2,264 employees, 71.52 percent were employees in mid-level management, key positions, and core business (technical) positions.

2021: SANY awarded 7.54 million shares to 4,205 employees, 91.33 percent were employees in mid-level management, key positions, and core business (technical) positions.

2022: SANY awarded 20.5 million shares to 6,996 employees, 94.26 percent were employees in mid-level management, key positions, and core business (technical) positions.

2023: SANY is awarding 36.62 million shares to 7,131 employees, 95.69 percent were employees in mid-level management, key positions, and core business (technical) positions.

The source of shares for the 2023 ESOP is the shares that have already been repurchased by SANY's special account. It does not exceed 36.62 million shares in total and is within one percent of SANY's current total capital stock.

In the meantime, SANY Renewable Energy (SH688349) released an announcement relating to exercising of the second exercise period of the 2020 stock option incentive plan, with 16.0368 million granted options to be exercised, with a three-year restricted period. The subsidiary is committed to becoming a global leader of clean energy equipment and services, and contributing to reaching the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.

SOURCE SANY Group
LINCOLN, Neb., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sophie Norman joined Assurity Life Insurance Company as its new Senior Director of Assurity Ventures Inc (AVI). Norman will focus on recruiting and developing new non-traditional distribution partners for Assurity through Assurity Ventures, the company's business arm dedicated to building relationships with insurtech and fintech startups to harness new methods of interacting with prospective customers.

"Sophie brings significant insurance experience and is strategic in her approach, with an eye on long-term growth," said Todd Reimers, Assurity's Senior Vice President and Chief Distribution Officer. "We welcome Sophie to Assurity and look forward to accomplishing great things together."

Norman comes to Assurity with a background as an independent broker, agency manager and a benefits strategist. She brings industry expertise as a Director of Operations at a well-respected actuarial firm, has launched technology platforms for her clients and is an experienced public speaker. Norman studied Business and Finance at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she earned her bachelor's degree. She enjoys spending time with her family.

About Assurity: As a mutual organization, Assurity was founded on the simple concept of people coming together to support each other in moments of need. We help people through difficult times by providing affordable insurance protection that's easy to understand and buy. We all share in the future we create, and we believe in using our business as a force for good.

SOURCE Assurity
Founded by John D. Hanify and recently joined by Justice Karen F. Green, ADR-focused firm features team of 'neutrals,' each with decades of experience

BOSTON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston-based Middlesex Mediation is a newly-established ADR (alternative dispute resolution) firm serving the regional business community. The firm has built an extraordinary team of "neutrals," attorneys with extensive trial and ADR experience. Some are recently retired from regional or national law firms. Others will continue in the active practice of business trial law. As neutrals, these lawyers are committed to facilitating the resolution of business litigation similar to that which they have successfully managed during their professional careers. John D. Hanify, former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts and retired partner at Jones Day, founded the firm. Hanify now serves as an adjunct professor, teaching Mediation at Boston College Law School.

"Middlesex Mediation was established to meet the growing complexity of business litigation, the increasing costs of bringing such cases to trial and the need for capable neutrals who have had first-hand experience and familiarity with complex commercial litigation and its resolution," said John D. Hanify, Principal, Middlesex Mediation. "Our team has observed an increase in the use of the ADR approach in business litigation cases, attributable to a number of factors including the escalating costs of trial, overcrowded dockets, and a shifting societal preference for expedition and results, which mediation can provide. Early ADR options offer the prospect of reducing substantial litigation costs and enabling the parties to return to their business interests and the prospect of assuring future growth."

Hanify noted, "The Boston region, in addition to its well-known, robust higher education sector, has experienced impressive growth in the biotech and pharma industries. The latter sectors, as well as the area's famed '495 tech corridor,' experience litigation in areas such as intellectual property and employment, while academic institutions are traditionally seen as vulnerable to being targeted by litigation. While some cases will always go to trial, mediation provides an alternative approach to the sensible management of business challenges. Our firm looks forward to serving those needs."

The most recent addition to Middlesex Mediation's panel of experts: Justice Karen F. Green, who has more than four decades of experience solving business problems. From 2016 to 2022, she was an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court, where she handled complex commercial cases in the Business Litigation Session. Before her judicial appointment, Green was a partner at WilmerHale, where her practice concentrated on complex business litigation.

"As someone who has resolved business disputes as both a litigator and a judge, I look forward to assisting parties in resolving their disputes, where possible, more efficiently and effectively through mediation and other alternatives to litigation," Green said.

In addition to John D. Hanify and Karen F. Green, Middlesex Mediation's panel of experienced neutrals includes:

William G. Meserve, retired Partner from Ropes & Gray in Boston

Alan D. Rose, founder and Managing Partner, Rose Law Partners LLP

Michelle Peirce, Partner, Hinckley Allen's Litigation group

T. Christopher Donnelly, founding Partner of Donnelly, Conroy and Gelhaar, LLP of Boston

Joseph V. Cavanagh Jr., Managing Partner, Blish & Cavanagh, Providence, RI

Biographies of each neutral can be found on the Middlesex Mediation site.

About Middlesex Mediation

Middlesex Mediation is an ADR (alternative dispute resolution) firm based in Boston, MA, and serving the greater New England region. The firm founder, John D. Hanify, is former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts and retired partner at Jones Day, where he had served as head of its Boston litigation practice. He is joined by a panel of 'neutrals;' attorneys who have had extensive careers as lawyers to business, academic or charitable corporations and on behalf of corporate employees. Each has tried varied business cases and settled multiples of those they tried, and have seen the utility of early settlements as well as the challenges of maneuvering an active matter in litigation onto a pathway toward settlement.

Connect middlesexmediation.com | LinkedIn

Media contact:

Ariane Wolff

Warner Communications

[email protected]

SOURCE Middlesex Mediation
ATLANTA, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Aaron's Company, Inc. (NYSE: AAN) today released its second quarter 2023 financial results. Complete financial results are available at investor.aarons.com. Highlights of those results are included below and in the attached supplement.

Second Quarter 2023 Consolidated Results1:

Revenues were $530.4 million , a decrease of 13.1%

, a decrease of 13.1% Net earnings were $6.5 million , an increase of 222.0%; Non-GAAP net earnings 2 were $12.2 million , a decrease of 50.6%

, an increase of 222.0%; Non-GAAP net earnings were , a decrease of 50.6% Adjusted EBITDA 2,3 was $42.4 million , a decrease of 17.0%

was , a decrease of 17.0% Diluted EPS was $0.21 ; Non-GAAP diluted EPS 2 was $0.39

; Non-GAAP diluted EPS was Write-offs were 5.4% in the Aaron's Business, an improvement of 30 basis points

Reduced debt $36.1 million in the quarter and $124.3 million since the prior year quarter-end

in the quarter and since the prior year quarter-end Updates 2023 full year outlook; lowers revenues, maintains adjusted EBITDA, and increases adjusted free cash flow

Second Quarter 2023 Key Items:

The Aaron's Company

Earnings were ahead of internal expectations largely due to ongoing expense controls, despite lower revenues in both business segments

Ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $38.4 million and debt of $186.1 million , resulting in a net debt2 reduction of $30.2 million in the quarter primarily due to strong cash provided by operating activities

Aaron's Business

Earnings before income taxes were $30.8 million ; adjusted EBITDA was $49.5 million , which exceeded internal expectations and increased 3.0% as compared to the prior year quarter primarily due to lower total operating expenses and lower write-offs

; adjusted EBITDA was , which exceeded internal expectations and increased 3.0% as compared to the prior year quarter primarily due to lower total operating expenses and lower write-offs Personnel and other operating expenses benefited from cost optimization initiatives and ongoing investments in technology platforms and marketing analytics

Ended the quarter with 230 GenNext stores, 101 hubs, and 101 showrooms

GenNext stores accounted for approximately 29% of lease revenues & fees and retail sales

E-commerce revenues increased 5.5% as compared to the prior year quarter and represented 17.9% of lease revenues

BrandsMart

Earnings before income taxes were $1.1 million ; adjusted EBITDA was $4.5 million , which exceeded internal expectations despite lower revenues due to continued pressure on customer demand

; adjusted EBITDA was , which exceeded internal expectations despite lower revenues due to continued pressure on customer demand Began construction on first new BrandsMart store planned to open in Augusta, GA in Q4 2023

The Company will host an earnings conference call tomorrow, August 1, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. ET. Chief Executive Officer Douglas A. Lindsay will host the call along with President Steve Olsen and Chief Financial Officer C. Kelly Wall. A live audio webcast of the conference call and presentation slides may be accessed at investor.aarons.com and the hosting website at https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/457512107. A transcript of the webcast will also be available at investor.aarons.com.

About The Aaron's Company, Inc.

Headquartered in Atlanta, The Aaron's Company, Inc. (NYSE: AAN) is a leading, technology-enabled, omnichannel provider of lease-to-own and retail purchase solutions of appliances, electronics, furniture, and other home goods across its brands: Aaron's, BrandsMart U.S.A., BrandsMart Leasing, and Woodhaven. Aaron's offers a direct-to-consumer lease-to-own solution through its approximately 1,260 Company-operated and franchised stores in 47 states and Canada, as well as its e-commerce platform. BrandsMart U.S.A. is one of the leading appliance retailers in the country with ten retail stores in Florida and Georgia, as well as its e-commerce platform. BrandsMart Leasing offers lease-to-own solutions to customers of BrandsMart U.S.A. Woodhaven is the Company's furniture manufacturing division. For more information, visit investor.aarons.com, aarons.com, and brandsmartusa.com.

1. Comparisons are to the prior year quarter unless otherwise noted. 2. Item is a Non-GAAP financial measure. Refer to the "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information" and supporting reconciliation tables in the attached supplement. 3. Starting in 2023, adjusted EBITDA excludes stock-based compensation expense. All prior period adjusted EBITDA metrics included herein have been adjusted to exclude stock compensation expense for comparability purposes.

SOURCE The Aarons Company, Inc.
NEW YORK, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The uranium market is estimated to increase by USD 1,600.05 million from 2022 to 2027, with a CAGR of 7.06%, according to a recent market study by Technavio. This report also offers a 5-year historical (2017-2021) data projection of market size, segmentation, and region. Discover some insights on market size before buying the full report -Request a sample report

Uranium Market 2023-2027  Vendor Scope

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Uranium Market

The uranium market report also offers information on the criticality of inputs, R&D, CAPEX, technology, and products of 15 vendors listed Below -

A Cap Energy Ltd., Altius Minerals Corp., Aurora Energy Metals, Berkeley Energia Ltd., Cameco Corp., CGN Mining Co. Ltd., China National Nuclear Corp., Deep Yellow Ltd., Denison Mines Corp., Energy Fuels Inc., Fission Uranium Corp., National Atomic Co. Kazatomprom Joint Stock Co., Orano, Paladin Energy Ltd., Peninsula Energy Ltd., Rio Tinto Ltd., State Atomic Energy Corp. Rosatom, State Enterprise Eastern Mining and Processing Plant, Sumitomo Corp., and Uranium Energy Corp. Download the Sample

Chart & Data Table on 5-Year Historic (2017-2021) Market Size, Comparative Analysis of Segments, and Y-O-Y Growth of Uranium Market

Uranium Market 2023-2027: Segmentation

The market is segmented by end-user (energy, military, and others), source (primary and secondary), and Geography (North America, APAC, South America, Middle East and Africa, and Europe)

The market share growth by the energy segment will be significant during the forecast period. Uranium serves as an important fuel source for nuclear power plants that power homes and businesses around the world. Demand for uranium has increased significantly as countries seek to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. Furthermore, the growing awareness of the environmental impact of carbon emissions is calling for cleaner alternatives to energy production, making nuclear power one of the key options to meet this need. Hence, these factors are expected to drive segment growth during the forecast period.

will be significant during the forecast period. Uranium serves as an important fuel source for nuclear power plants that power homes and businesses around the world. Demand for uranium has increased significantly as countries seek to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. Furthermore, the growing awareness of the environmental impact of carbon emissions is calling for cleaner alternatives to energy production, making nuclear power one of the key options to meet this need. Hence, these factors are expected to drive segment growth during the forecast period. Europe is estimated to contribute 36% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. Another region that is growing at a significant rate in the region is North America . The major uranium producers in North America are the US and Canada . The US is the world's largest consumer of uranium and has an established nuclear industry that depends heavily on domestic uranium production. In addition, about 20% of the country's electricity is produced by nuclear power plants, and a steady supply of uranium is required to sustain energy production. Hence, these factors are expected to drive market growth in the region during the forecast period.

To procure the data - Buy the report!

Uranium Market 2023-2027  Market Dynamics

Key Driver

The rise in the adoption of uranium in nuclear weapons is a key factor driving market growth. Governments worldwide recognize the strategic significance of nuclear weapons, and uranium plays a critical role as a key component in these weapons. Uranium, being a radioactive element, is utilized not only to generate nuclear energy but, more significantly, to create nuclear weapons. Uranium-based weapons offer advantages such as immense destructive power and effectiveness as a deterrent. Therefore, these factors are expected to drive market growth during the forecast period.

Major Trends

The increase in strategic collaboration and M&A is a major trend in the market. Many companies prioritize strategic alliances, mergers, and acquisitions (M&A) to accomplish their business objectives. This trend is gaining popularity across various industries. Companies take these actions to expand their product offerings, enhance market share, and improve their competitiveness. Collaborations prove advantageous as they combine complementary strengths, facilitate the sharing of resources and knowledge, and lead to cost reductions for all parties involved. Hence, these factors are expected to drive market growth during the forecast period.

Significant Challenges

Stringent regulations on uranium mining are a significant challenge restricting market growth. Uranium mining demands stringent regulation to safeguard the environment and public health. Precautionary steps must be implemented to minimize risks like radiation exposure, water contamination, and the dissemination of harmful chemicals. The IAEA has set up radiation protection and safety principles, along with essential requirements that apply to all activities involving radiation exposure, including uranium mining, as per the IAEA Safety Standards Series. Hence, these factors are expected to drive market growth during the forecast period.

For Insights on the market dynamics & segmentations VIEW PDF SAMPLE!

What are the key data covered in this Uranium Market report?

CAGR of the market during the forecast period

Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the uranium market between 2023 and 2027.

Precise estimation of the uranium market and its contribution to the market with a focus on the parent market

Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

Growth of the uranium market across North America , Europe , APAC, Middle East and Africa , and South America

, , APAC, and , and A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about vendors

Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of uranium market vendors.

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The titanium market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.72% between 2022 and 2027 with the market size forecast to increase by USD 8,070.68 million. Furthermore, the report extensively covers market segmentation by application (aerospace and marine, industrial, medical, and others), product type (titanium dioxide and titanium metal), and geography (APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and the Middle East and Africa). The increasing use of titanium for weight reduction in vehicles is a key factor driving the market growth during the forecast period.

The neodymium market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.44% between 2022 and 2027 with the market size forecast to increase by USD 1,472.7 million. Furthermore, the report extensively covers market segmentation by application (automotive, electrical and electronics, wind energy, and others), and geography (APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and the Middle East and Africa). The increasing focus on renewable energy sources is a key factor driving the market growth during the forecast period.

Uranium Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 7.06% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 1,600.05 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 6.58 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, and South America Performing market contribution Europe at 36% Key countries US, China, South Korea, France, and Russia Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled A Cap Energy Ltd., Altius Minerals Corp., Aurora Energy Metals, Berkeley Energia Ltd., Cameco Corp., CGN Mining Co. Ltd., China National Nuclear Corp., Deep Yellow Ltd., Denison Mines Corp., Energy Fuels Inc., Fission Uranium Corp., National Atomic Co. Kazatomprom Joint Stock Co., Orano, Paladin Energy Ltd., Peninsula Energy Ltd., Rio Tinto Ltd., State Atomic Energy Corp. Rosatom, State Enterprise Eastern Mining and Processing Plant, Sumitomo Corp., and Uranium Energy Corp. 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 End-user



Exhibit 06: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Source



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 uranium market 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 18: Historic Market Size  Data Table on global uranium market 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.2 End-user Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 19: Historic Market Size  End-user Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.3 Source Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 20: Historic Market Size  Source 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 End-user

6.1 Market segments

Exhibit 30: Chart on End-user - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 31: Data Table on End-user - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

6.2 Comparison by End-user

Exhibit 32: Chart on Comparison by End-user



Exhibit 33: Data Table on Comparison by End-user

6.3 Energy - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 34: Chart on Energy - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 35: Data Table on Energy - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 36: Chart on Energy - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 37: Data Table on Energy - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.4 Military - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 38: Chart on Military - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 39: Data Table on Military - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 40: Chart on Military - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 41: Data Table on Military - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.5 Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 42: Chart on Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 43: Data Table on Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 44: Chart on Others - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 45: Data Table on Others - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.6 Market opportunity by End-user

Exhibit 46: Market opportunity by End-user ($ million)



Exhibit 47: Data Table on Market opportunity by End-user ($ million)

7 Market Segmentation by Source

7.1 Market segments

Exhibit 48: Chart on Source - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 49: Data Table on Source - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

7.2 Comparison by Source

Exhibit 50: Chart on Comparison by Source



Exhibit 51: Data Table on Comparison by Source

7.3 Primary - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 52: Chart on Primary - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 53: Data Table on Primary - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 54: Chart on Primary - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 55: Data Table on Primary - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.4 Secondary - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 56: Chart on Secondary - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 57: Data Table on Secondary - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 58: Chart on Secondary - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 59: Data Table on Secondary - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.5 Market opportunity by Source

Exhibit 60: Market opportunity by Source ($ million)



Exhibit 61: Data Table on Market opportunity by Source ($ 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 North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 67: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 68: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 69: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 70: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 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 APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 75: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 76: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 77: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 78: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.6 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 79: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 80: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 81: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

and - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 82: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.7 South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 83: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 84: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 85: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 86: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.8 US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 87: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 88: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 89: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 90: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.9 China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 91: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 92: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 93: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 94: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.10 France - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 95: Chart on France - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 96: Data Table on France - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 97: Chart on France - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 98: Data Table on France - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.11 Russia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 99: Chart on Russia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 100: Data Table on Russia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 101: Chart on Russia - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 102: Data Table on Russia - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.12 South Korea - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 103: Chart on South Korea - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 104: Data Table on South Korea - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 105: Chart on South Korea - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 106: Data Table on South Korea - 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 A Cap Energy Ltd.

Exhibit 115: A Cap Energy Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 116: A Cap Energy Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 117: A Cap Energy Ltd. - Key offerings

12.4 Aurora Energy Metals

Exhibit 118: Aurora Energy Metals - Overview



Exhibit 119: Aurora Energy Metals - Product / Service



Exhibit 120: Aurora Energy Metals - Key offerings

12.5 Berkeley Energia Ltd.

Exhibit 121: Berkeley Energia Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 122: Berkeley Energia Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 123: Berkeley Energia Ltd. - Key offerings

12.6 Cameco Corp.

Exhibit 124: Cameco Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 125: Cameco Corp. - Business segments



Exhibit 126: Cameco Corp. - Key offerings



Exhibit 127: Cameco Corp. - Segment focus

12.7 CGN Mining Co. Ltd.

Exhibit 128: CGN Mining Co. Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 129: CGN Mining Co. Ltd. - Business segments



Exhibit 130: CGN Mining Co. Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 131: CGN Mining Co. Ltd. - Segment focus

12.8 China National Nuclear Corp.

Exhibit 132: China National Nuclear Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 133: China National Nuclear Corp. - Product / Service



Exhibit 134: China National Nuclear Corp. - Key offerings

12.9 Deep Yellow Ltd.

Exhibit 135: Deep Yellow Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 136: Deep Yellow Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 137: Deep Yellow Ltd. - Key offerings

12.10 Denison Mines Corp.

Exhibit 138: Denison Mines Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 139: Denison Mines Corp. - Product / Service



Exhibit 140: Denison Mines Corp. - Key offerings

12.11 Energy Fuels Inc.

Exhibit 141: Energy Fuels Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 142: Energy Fuels Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 143: Energy Fuels Inc. - Key offerings

12.12 National Atomic Co. Kazatomprom Joint Stock Co.

Exhibit 144: National Atomic Co. Kazatomprom Joint Stock Co. - Overview



Exhibit 145: National Atomic Co. Kazatomprom Joint Stock Co. - Business segments



Exhibit 146: National Atomic Co. Kazatomprom Joint Stock Co. - Key news



Exhibit 147: National Atomic Co. Kazatomprom Joint Stock Co. - Key offerings



Exhibit 148: National Atomic Co. Kazatomprom Joint Stock Co. - Segment focus

12.13 Orano

Exhibit 149: Orano - Overview



Exhibit 150: Orano - Business segments



Exhibit 151: Orano - Key offerings



Exhibit 152: Orano - Segment focus

12.14 Paladin Energy Ltd.

Exhibit 153: Paladin Energy Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 154: Paladin Energy Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 155: Paladin Energy Ltd. - Key offerings

12.15 Peninsula Energy Ltd.

Exhibit 156: Peninsula Energy Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 157: Peninsula Energy Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 158: Peninsula Energy Ltd. - Key offerings

12.16 State Enterprise Eastern Mining and Processing Plant

Exhibit 159: State Enterprise Eastern Mining and Processing Plant - Overview



Exhibit 160: State Enterprise Eastern Mining and Processing Plant - Product / Service



Exhibit 161: State Enterprise Eastern Mining and Processing Plant - Key offerings

12.17 Uranium Energy Corp.

Exhibit 162: Uranium Energy Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 163: Uranium Energy Corp. - Product / Service



Exhibit 164: Uranium Energy Corp. - Key offerings

13 Appendix

13.1 Scope of the report

13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 165: Inclusions checklist



Exhibit 166: Exclusions checklist

13.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 167: Currency conversion rates for US$

13.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 168: Research methodology



Exhibit 169: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 170: Information sources

13.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 171: List of abbreviations

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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SOURCE Technavio
NEW YORK, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The topical corticosteroids market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 1,089.66 million, according to Technavio. Asia is estimated to contribute 31% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. Another region that is growing in the topical corticosteroid market is North America. The region's growth is primarily propelled by factors like the high occurrence of skin disorders, a rising geriatric population, and increased awareness and diagnosis of skin conditions. The US stands as the largest market for topical corticosteroids, attributed to factors such as high healthcare expenses, a well-established healthcare infrastructure, and a growing prevalence of skin diseases. Hence, these factors are expected to drive market growth in the region during the forecast period. For Comprehensive details on the market size of the historical period(2017 to 2021) and forecast period (2023-2027) - View Sample report

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Topical Corticosteroids Market

Vendor Landscape

The topical corticosteroids market is fragmented; the vendors are competing with competitors and are trying to get a greater market share. The market is growing, and the chances of new entrants cannot be overlooked. The major vendors have well-established economies of scale and market presence and generally rely on positioning technological advances, and the price of the products -The report provides a full list of key vendors, their strategies, and the latest developments. Buy Now

Market Dynamics

Key Drivers & Challenges

Advancement in drug delivery systems is a key factor driving market growth. Several limitations associated with topical corticosteroids have effectively been addressed by recent advancements in drug delivery systems. These improvements focus on enhancing the absorption and bioavailability of the medications while reducing their systemic exposure. Several promising drug delivery systems, such as microemulsions, solid lipid nanoparticles, and dendrimers, hold the potential to augment the effectiveness of topical corticosteroids. Hence, the development of automation and robotics in slaughter equipment is expected to drive market growth in the region during the forecast period.

The availability of alternative treatments is a significant challenge restricting market growth during the forecast period. Some patients choose non-steroidal treatments to treat their skin disorders because of concerns about possible side effects or for other reasons. A key alternative treatment available on the market is the use of topical calcineurin inhibitors. These drugs are effective in treating eczema and various other inflammatory skin conditions. Hence, alternative treatments are expected to restrict market growth during the forecast period.

Major Trends

The growing adoption of generic drugs is a major trend in the market. The rising global prevalence of skin diseases and disorders is driving the increased utilization of generics in the topical corticosteroid market. Furthermore, these drugs are preferred for their cost-effectiveness, making them a popular choice among consumers. The market's competitiveness, with the entry of various companies like Galderma and AstraZeneca Plc, further contributes to the availability of generic options at competitive prices, benefiting consumers with lower drug costs. Hence, these factors are expected to drive market growth during the forecast period.

Technavio has identified key trends, drivers, and challenges in the market, which will help clients improve their strategies to stay ahead of their competitors. - View Sample Report

Company Profiles

The topical corticosteroids market report includes information on the product launches, sustainability, and prospects of leading vendors including AbbVie Inc., Astellas Pharma Inc., AstraZeneca PLC, Bausch Health Co. Inc., Bayer AG, Cipla Ltd., Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd., Eli Lilly and Co., Galderma SA, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., LEO Pharma AS, Merck and Co. Inc., Novartis AG, Perrigo Co. Plc, Pfizer Inc., Sanofi SA, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., and Viatris Inc..

Competitive Analysis

The report includes competitive analysis, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their industry position score and market performance score. The competitive scenario categorizes companies based on various performance indicators. Some of the factors considered include the financial performance of companies over the past few years, growth strategies, product innovations, new product launches, investments, and growth in market share, among others.

Market Segmentation

The market is segmented by end-user (hospitals, dermatology clinics, pharmacies, and others), type (prescription and OTC), and geography (North America, Europe, Asia, and the Rest of World (ROW))

The market share growth by the hospitals segment will be significant during the forecast period. Hospitals commonly use topical corticosteroids to treat a range of skin conditions like dermatitis, psoriasis, and eczema. Within hospitals, specialized dermatology departments or skin clinics attend to patients with these conditions. The other factors contributing to their extensive use include the availability of diverse product options, growing awareness among healthcare professionals and patients about the advantages of topical corticosteroids, and the ongoing development of new formulations. Hence, these factors are expected to drive segment growth during the forecast period.

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Topical Corticosteroids Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 4% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 1,089.66 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 3.5 Regional analysis North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW) Performing market contribution Asia at 31% Key countries US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and China Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled AbbVie Inc., Astellas Pharma Inc., AstraZeneca PLC, Bausch Health Co. Inc., Bayer AG, Cipla Ltd., Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd., Eli Lilly and Co., Galderma SA, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., LEO Pharma AS, Merck and Co. Inc., Novartis AG, Perrigo Co. Plc, Pfizer Inc., Sanofi SA, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., and Viatris 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, Market condition analysis for 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 End-user



Exhibit 06: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Type



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 topical corticosteroids market 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 18: Historic Market Size  Data Table on global topical corticosteroids market 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.2 End-user Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 19: Historic Market Size  End-user Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.3 Type Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 20: Historic Market Size  Type 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 End-user

6.1 Market segments

Exhibit 30: Chart on End-user - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 31: Data Table on End-user - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

6.2 Comparison by End-user

Exhibit 32: Chart on Comparison by End-user



Exhibit 33: Data Table on Comparison by End-user

6.3 Hospitals - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 34: Chart on Hospitals - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 35: Data Table on Hospitals - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 36: Chart on Hospitals - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 37: Data Table on Hospitals - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.4 Dermatology clinics - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 38: Chart on Dermatology clinics - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 39: Data Table on Dermatology clinics - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 40: Chart on Dermatology clinics - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 41: Data Table on Dermatology clinics - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.5 Pharmacies - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 42: Chart on Pharmacies - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 43: Data Table on Pharmacies - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 44: Chart on Pharmacies - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 45: Data Table on Pharmacies - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.6 Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 46: Chart on Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 47: Data Table on Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 48: Chart on Others - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 49: Data Table on Others - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.7 Market opportunity by End-user

Exhibit 50: Market opportunity by End-user ($ million)



Exhibit 51: Data Table on Market opportunity by End-user ($ million)

7 Market Segmentation by Type

7.1 Market segments

Exhibit 52: Chart on Type - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 53: Data Table on Type - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

7.2 Comparison by Type

Exhibit 54: Chart on Comparison by Type



Exhibit 55: Data Table on Comparison by Type

7.3 Prescription - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 56: Chart on Prescription - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 57: Data Table on Prescription - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 58: Chart on Prescription - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 59: Data Table on Prescription - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.4 OTC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 60: Chart on OTC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 61: Data Table on OTC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 62: Chart on OTC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 63: Data Table on OTC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.5 Market opportunity by Type

Exhibit 64: Market opportunity by Type ($ million)



Exhibit 65: Data Table on Market opportunity by Type ($ million)

8 Customer Landscape

8.1 Customer landscape overview

Exhibit 66: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria

9 Geographic Landscape

9.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 67: Chart on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 68: Data Table on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)

9.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 69: Chart on Geographic comparison



Exhibit 70: Data Table on Geographic comparison

9.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 71: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 72: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 73: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 74: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 75: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 76: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 77: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 78: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.5 Asia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 79: Chart on Asia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 80: Data Table on Asia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 81: Chart on Asia - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 82: Data Table on Asia - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.6 Rest of World (ROW) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 83: Chart on Rest of World (ROW) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 84: Data Table on Rest of World (ROW) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 85: Chart on Rest of World (ROW) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 86: Data Table on Rest of World (ROW) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.7 US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 87: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 88: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 89: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 90: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.8 Russia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 91: Chart on Russia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 92: Data Table on Russia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 93: Chart on Russia - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 94: Data Table on Russia - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.9 Saudi Arabia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 95: Chart on Saudi Arabia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 96: Data Table on Saudi Arabia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 97: Chart on Saudi Arabia - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 98: Data Table on Saudi Arabia - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.10 Canada - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 99: Chart on Canada - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 100: Data Table on Canada - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 101: Chart on Canada - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 102: Data Table on Canada - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.11 China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 103: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 104: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 105: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 106: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.12 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 AbbVie Inc.

Exhibit 115: AbbVie Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 116: AbbVie Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 117: AbbVie Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 118: AbbVie Inc. - Key offerings

12.4 Astellas Pharma Inc.

Exhibit 119: Astellas Pharma Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 120: Astellas Pharma Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 121: Astellas Pharma Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 122: Astellas Pharma Inc. - Key offerings

12.5 AstraZeneca PLC

Exhibit 123: AstraZeneca PLC - Overview



Exhibit 124: AstraZeneca PLC - Product / Service



Exhibit 125: AstraZeneca PLC - Key news



Exhibit 126: AstraZeneca PLC - Key offerings

12.6 Bausch Health Co. Inc.

Exhibit 127: Bausch Health Co. Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 128: Bausch Health Co. Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 129: Bausch Health Co. Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 130: Bausch Health Co. Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 131: Bausch Health Co. Inc. - Segment focus

12.7 Bayer AG

Exhibit 132: Bayer AG - Overview



Exhibit 133: Bayer AG - Business segments



Exhibit 134: Bayer AG - Key news



Exhibit 135: Bayer AG - Key offerings



Exhibit 136: Bayer AG - Segment focus

12.8 Eli Lilly and Co.

Exhibit 137: Eli Lilly and Co. - Overview



Exhibit 138: Eli Lilly and Co. - Product / Service



Exhibit 139: Eli Lilly and Co. - Key news



Exhibit 140: Eli Lilly and Co. - Key offerings

12.9 Galderma SA

Exhibit 141: Galderma SA - Overview



Exhibit 142: Galderma SA - Product / Service



Exhibit 143: Galderma SA - Key news



Exhibit 144: Galderma SA - Key offerings

12.10 GlaxoSmithKline Plc

Exhibit 145: GlaxoSmithKline Plc - Overview



Exhibit 146: GlaxoSmithKline Plc - Business segments



Exhibit 147: GlaxoSmithKline Plc - Key news



Exhibit 148: GlaxoSmithKline Plc - Key offerings



Exhibit 149: GlaxoSmithKline Plc - Segment focus

12.11 Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Exhibit 150: Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 151: Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 152: Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. - Key offerings

12.12 LEO Pharma AS

Exhibit 153: LEO Pharma AS - Overview



Exhibit 154: LEO Pharma AS - Business segments



Exhibit 155: LEO Pharma AS - Key offerings



Exhibit 156: LEO Pharma AS - Segment focus

12.13 Merck and Co. Inc.

Exhibit 157: Merck and Co. Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 158: Merck and Co. Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 159: Merck and Co. Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 160: Merck and Co. Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 161: Merck and Co. Inc. - Segment focus

12.14 Novartis AG

Exhibit 162: Novartis AG - Overview



Exhibit 163: Novartis AG - Business segments



Exhibit 164: Novartis AG - Key offerings



Exhibit 165: Novartis AG - Segment focus

12.15 Pfizer Inc.

Exhibit 166: Pfizer Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 167: Pfizer Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 168: Pfizer Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 169: Pfizer Inc. - Key offerings

12.16 Sanofi SA

Exhibit 170: Sanofi SA - Overview



Exhibit 171: Sanofi SA - Business segments



Exhibit 172: Sanofi SA - Key news



Exhibit 173: Sanofi SA - Key offerings



Exhibit 174: Sanofi SA - Segment focus

12.17 Viatris Inc.

Exhibit 175: Viatris Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 176: Viatris Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 177: Viatris Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 178: Viatris Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 179: Viatris Inc. - Segment focus

13 Appendix

13.1 Scope of the report

13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 180: Inclusions checklist



Exhibit 181: Exclusions checklist

13.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 182: Currency conversion rates for US$

13.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 183: Research methodology



Exhibit 184: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 185: Information sources

13.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 186: List of abbreviations

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Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience. Therefore, (individual citizens) have the duty to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring.

~Nuremberg War Crime Tribunal, 1950

Peace Begins in the Human Heart

The basic concept of GoldenRuleism:

Do for all others, both directly and indirectly, what you would want done for you. Dont do to any others, either directly or indirectly, what you wouldnt want done to you.

can be found in one form or another as far back as the civilizations of ancient China, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. It has been called an ethic of reciprocity, and can be found in all cultures, and in all world religions as well as in the philosophies of humanists and existentialists. It is, in short, an ethical code that most all of humanity can agree on. Why then do we find ourselves here in the 21st century inhabiting a world that is dangerously polarized, with a growing imbalance of power and wealth among the ever-increasing number of people on the Earth, with continuing wars that ravage populations and waste resources, with massive genocide and terrorist atrocities that endanger us all? How is it that we find humankind facing the terrifying possibility of environmental catastrophe? These questions confront us with a greater urgency than ever, and it is these questions that have led us to the human heart and the human brainthe great possibilities of compassion that lie within each human beingto identify a solution.

Issues directly related to peace encompass a broad range of interconnected factors. Some key issues include:

Conflict Resolution and Prevention: Addressing conflicts at various levels, from interpersonal to international, through peaceful and nonviolent means. This involves promoting dialogue, mediation, negotiation, and reconciliation to prevent and resolve conflicts.



Addressing conflicts at various levels, from interpersonal to international, through peaceful and nonviolent means. This involves promoting dialogue, mediation, negotiation, and reconciliation to prevent and resolve conflicts. Disarmament and Non-Proliferation: Reducing the presence and potential use of weapons, particularly nuclear weapons, and working towards disarmament agreements to create a safer and more peaceful world. This includes efforts to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction and limit arms races.



Reducing the presence and potential use of weapons, particularly nuclear weapons, and working towards disarmament agreements to create a safer and more peaceful world. This includes efforts to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction and limit arms races. Human Rights and Social Justice: Promoting and protecting human rights, including civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, as well as ensuring equality, justice, and dignity for all individuals and communities. Addressing social injustices, discrimination, and inequalities is crucial for sustainable peace.



Promoting and protecting human rights, including civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, as well as ensuring equality, justice, and dignity for all individuals and communities. Addressing social injustices, discrimination, and inequalities is crucial for sustainable peace. Sustainable Development: Recognizing the interdependence between peace and development, sustainable development goals address poverty, inequality, environmental degradation, access to education, healthcare, and other basic needs. Creating conditions for inclusive and sustainable development contributes to peaceful societies.



Recognizing the interdependence between peace and development, sustainable development goals address poverty, inequality, environmental degradation, access to education, healthcare, and other basic needs. Creating conditions for inclusive and sustainable development contributes to peaceful societies. Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment: Promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls is essential for peace building. Recognizing women's participation, leadership, and perspectives in decision-making processes, conflict resolution, and post-conflict reconstruction leads to more sustainable and inclusive peace.



Promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls is essential for peace building. Recognizing women's participation, leadership, and perspectives in decision-making processes, conflict resolution, and post-conflict reconstruction leads to more sustainable and inclusive peace. Climate Change and Environmental Protection: Addressing the environmental challenges and climate crisis is vital for peace and stability. Environmental degradation, competition over resources, and the impacts of climate change can exacerbate conflicts and displacement, requiring sustainable solutions for a peaceful future.



Addressing the environmental challenges and climate crisis is vital for peace and stability. Environmental degradation, competition over resources, and the impacts of climate change can exacerbate conflicts and displacement, requiring sustainable solutions for a peaceful future. Refugee and Migration Issues: Addressing the challenges faced by refugees, internally displaced persons, and migrants through humanitarian assistance, protection, and long-term solutions. Ensuring the rights, well-being, and integration of displaced populations contributes to peace and stability.



Addressing the challenges faced by refugees, internally displaced persons, and migrants through humanitarian assistance, protection, and long-term solutions. Ensuring the rights, well-being, and integration of displaced populations contributes to peace and stability. Peace Education and Cultural Understanding: Promoting peace education, intercultural dialogue, and understanding among diverse communities and nations to foster empathy, respect, and peaceful coexistence. This includes addressing prejudices, stereotypes, and promoting tolerance.



Promoting peace education, intercultural dialogue, and understanding among diverse communities and nations to foster empathy, respect, and peaceful coexistence. This includes addressing prejudices, stereotypes, and promoting tolerance. Good Governance and Rule of Law: Strengthening institutions, promoting transparency, accountability, and the rule of law, and combating corruption contribute to peaceful societies. Upholding democratic values, human rights, and promoting effective and just governance are key components of peace.



Strengthening institutions, promoting transparency, accountability, and the rule of law, and combating corruption contribute to peaceful societies. Upholding democratic values, human rights, and promoting effective and just governance are key components of peace. International Cooperation and Diplomacy: Promoting multilateralism, cooperation, and dialogue among nations to prevent conflicts, resolve disputes peacefully, and address global challenges collectively. Diplomatic efforts and peaceful negotiations are vital for maintaining peace between nations.

Addressing these issues requires the collective efforts of governments, civil society, international organizations, and individuals to build a culture of peace, foster understanding, and work towards sustainable and inclusive solutions.

Mission

Work with Charter for Compassion partners and international peace organizations to inform global citizens of avenues of peace building that are occurring to assure a more just and equitable, and peaceful world.

Vision

Imagine the impact of vast numbers of people bringing compassion to life in their own lives, in all their families, in business, in education, in healthcare, in religious and spiritual practices, in the arts, and in an awareness of the environment.

Goals

While the goals below are overarching they reflect the work of our Peace Sector Partners, and the involvement of the Charters sectors. Each goal is based in education and compassionate action.

Inform our membership on the realities of conflict prevention. The primary goal here is to prevent conflicts from arising in the first place by addressing root causes, promoting dialogue, and creating conditions for peaceful coexistence.

Explore the processes of conflict resolution. When conflicts occur, the goal is to facilitate their resolution through peaceful means, such as negotiation, mediation, and dialogue, aiming for mutually acceptable and sustainable solutions.

Participate in reconciliation and healing. To promote lasting peace, the goal is to foster reconciliation, healing, and the rebuilding of trust among individuals, communities, and societies affected by conflict.

Work with the Charters social justice sector to promote peace and equity. Peace should be built on a foundation of social justice, equality, and human rights. The goal is to address systemic inequalities, discrimination, and injustices that contribute to conflicts and to promote equitable and inclusive societies.

Promote conversations that help individuals understand the links between peace and sustainable Development. Peace and development are interconnected. The goal is to promote sustainable development that addresses economic, social, and environmental concerns, reducing poverty and inequality, and fostering conditions for peaceful and resilient societies.

Strategies

Dialogue and Mediation: Facilitating open and constructive dialogue among conflicting parties and employing skilled mediators to assist in finding common ground and resolving differences peacefully.



Facilitating open and constructive dialogue among conflicting parties and employing skilled mediators to assist in finding common ground and resolving differences peacefully. Education and Awareness: Promoting peace education, raising awareness about conflict dynamics, and fostering understanding, empathy, and tolerance among individuals and communities.



Promoting peace education, raising awareness about conflict dynamics, and fostering understanding, empathy, and tolerance among individuals and communities. Advocacy and Policy Reform: Advocating for policies and reforms that address the root causes of conflicts, promote peace, and support human rights, justice, and inclusive governance.



Advocating for policies and reforms that address the root causes of conflicts, promote peace, and support human rights, justice, and inclusive governance. Peace building Programs: Implementing programs that focus on reconciliation, community engagement, and conflict transformation, fostering healing, trust-building, and sustainable peace.



Implementing programs that focus on reconciliation, community engagement, and conflict transformation, fostering healing, trust-building, and sustainable peace. Building Networks and Partnerships: Collaborating with local communities, civil society organizations, governments, and international actors to build networks, share knowledge, and coordinate efforts in peace building and conflict resolution. Utilize the Charters Map of Co-Creators so that individuals can find like minded people with whom to work.



Collaborating with local communities, civil society organizations, governments, and international actors to build networks, share knowledge, and coordinate efforts in peace building and conflict resolution. Utilize the Charters Map of Co-Creators so that individuals can find like minded people with whom to work. Economic and Social Development: Supporting initiatives that promote economic opportunities, access to education, healthcare, and basic services, as well as addressing inequalities to create the conditions for peaceful and thriving societies.



Supporting initiatives that promote economic opportunities, access to education, healthcare, and basic services, as well as addressing inequalities to create the conditions for peaceful and thriving societies. Restorative Justice: Implementing restorative justice practices that prioritize healing, accountability, and reconciliation, allowing individuals and communities affected by conflicts to address harm and rebuild relationships.



Implementing restorative justice practices that prioritize healing, accountability, and reconciliation, allowing individuals and communities affected by conflicts to address harm and rebuild relationships. International Cooperation: Engaging in multilateral diplomacy, promoting dialogue among nations, and supporting international institutions and agreements that foster peace, disarmament, and conflict prevention. Participate in programs such as Voices for a Nuclear Free World.



Engaging in multilateral diplomacy, promoting dialogue among nations, and supporting international institutions and agreements that foster peace, disarmament, and conflict prevention. Participate in programs such as Voices for a Nuclear Free World. Empowering Marginalized Voices: ensuring the participation and representation of marginalized groups, including women, youth, and minority communities, in decision-making processes and peace building efforts,



ensuring the participation and representation of marginalized groups, including women, youth, and minority communities, in decision-making processes and peace building efforts, Sustainable Peace building: Taking a long-term perspective in peace building efforts, recognizing that sustainable peace requires ongoing commitment, monitoring, evaluation, and adaptation of strategies to changing contexts and challenges

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MENDOTA, Ill., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tri-County Financial Group, Inc. (The Company) (OTCQX: TYFG) today announced financial results for the second quarter of 2023.

Net income for the second quarter of 2023 was $2.7 million ($1.09 per share), compared to $2.5 million ($0.99 per share) during the second quarter of 2022. Net income was $4.2 million ($1.71 per share) for the six-month period ending June 30, 2023 compared to $4.3 million ($1.74 per share) during the same six-month period a year ago.

Net interest income was $11.0 million during the quarter ended June 30, 2023, compared to $11.2 million in the same period of 2022, a decrease of 2%.

Noninterest income was $4.0 million for the second quarter of 2023, an increase of $1.0 million, or 35%, compared to $2.9 million during the quarter ended June 30, 2022.

Noninterest expense was $11.4 million during the quarter ended June 30, 2023, compared to $10.3 million for the second quarter of 2022, an increase of $1.1 million, or 10%.

Total loans increased $116 million, or 11%, to $1.22 billion at June 30, 2023, from $1.11 billion at June 30, 2022. Nonperforming loans as a percent of total loans were 0.24% as of June 30, 2023, up from 0.19% at June 30, 2022.

The allowance for loan loss ended at $16.7 million at June 30, 2023 and represented 1.36% of gross loans compared to 1.57% at June 30, 2022. Asset quality continues to remain strong and charge offs remain low and below industry peers.

Deposits increased $30.0 million, or 3%, year-over-year. The investment portfolio decreased $70.0 million or 27% year over year and totaled $191.9 million at June 30, 2023.

The Company's capital levels remain solid as of June 30, 2023, with a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 9.12%, down from 9.17% last year.

On June 13, 2023, the Board of Directors declared a regular dividend of $0.20 per share, payable July 13, 2023, to shareholders of record on June 30, 2023.

In announcing the results, President and CEO Tim McConville, stated "Our second quarter numbers reflected the continued slowdown in mortgage activity; however, solid earnings performance existed as we remain attentive to our loan and deposit strategies. Asset quality as measured by nonperforming loans to total loans is stable as we continue to see strong performance with our borrowers. We remain diligent in monitoring our local competition to offer competitive rates while continuing to provide exceptional community banking services. We continue to believe that our diversified balance sheet and lines of business are well-positioned. Overall, we anticipate loan demand to remain steady, and we look forward to supporting the credit needs throughout our communities."

Tri-County Financial Group, Inc. is the parent holding company for First State Bank, with offices in Mendota, Batavia, Bloomington, Champaign, Geneva, LaMoille, McNabb, North Aurora, Ottawa, Peru, Princeton, Rochelle, Shabbona, St. Charles, Streator, Sycamore, Waterman and West Brooklyn. First State Bank is the parent company of First State Mortgage Services, LLC and First State Insurance. Tri-County Financial Group, Inc. shares are quoted under the symbol TYFG and traded on OTCQX.

Note: This press release may contain forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results and trends could differ materially from those set forth in such statements due to various factors, including operating; legal and regulatory risks; changing economic and competitive conditions; and other risks and uncertainties.

TRI-COUNTY FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. & SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME QUARTER ENDED JUNE 30TH (Unaudited, 000s omitted, except share data)

















2023

2022











Interest Income



$ 17,076

$ 12,470 Interest Expense



6,065

1,232 Net Interest Income



11,011

11,238 Provision for Loan Losses



(35)

450 Net Interest Income After Provision for Loan Losses

11,046

10,788











Other Income



3,961

2,941 FDIC Assessments



93

90 Other Expenses



11,335

10,337 Income Before Income Taxes



3,579

3,302











Applicable Income Taxes



887

837 Security Gains (Losses)



-

- Net Income (Loss)



$ 2,692

$ 2,465











Basic Net Income Per Share



$ 1.09

$ 0.99 Weighted Average Shares Outstanding

2,463,208

2,482,821









** Certain reclassifications have been made to preserve consistency between the periods presented.

TRI-COUNTY FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. & SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited, 000s omitted, except share data)









ASSETS

6/30/2023

6/30/2022 Cash and Due from Banks

$ 25,097

$ 19,175 Federal Funds Sold

2,058

1,027 Investment Securities

191,887

261,440 Loans and Leases

1,221,456

1,105,015 Less: Reserve for Loan Losses

(16,698)

(16,970) Loans, Net

1,204,758

1,088,045 Bank Premises & Equipment

26,926

26,759 Intangibles

8,735

8,788 Other Real Estate Owned

132

2,376 Accrued Interest Receivable

6,162

5,421 Other Assets

36,781

30,567









TOTAL ASSETS

$ 1,502,536

$ 1,443,598









LIABILITIES







Demand Deposits

178,274

180,075 Interest-bearing Demand Deposits

400,186

406,883 Savings Deposits

229,555

293,440 Time Deposits

410,215

307,788 Total Deposits

1,218,230

1,188,186 Repurchase Agreements

26,737

27,865 Fed Funds Purchased

0

43,038 FHLB and Other Borrowings

101,000

35,505 Interest Payable

73

73 Subordinated Debt

9,797

9,773 Total Repos & Borrowings

137,607

116,254 Other Liabilities

14,668

11,544 Dividends Payable

504

507 TOTAL LIABILITIES

$ 1,371,009

$ 1,316,491









CAPITAL







Common Stock

2,463

2,484 Surplus

24,118

25,742 Preferred Stock

0

0 Retained Earnings

116,628

109,999 FASB 115 Adjustment

(11,682)

(11,118) TOTAL CAPITAL

131,527

127,107









TOTAL LIABILITIES AND CAPITAL

$ 1,502,536

$ 1,443,598









Book Value Per Share

$ 53.41

$ 51.17 Tangible Book Value Per Share

$ 49.86

$ 47.63 Bid Price

$ 44.75

$ 46.00 Period End Outstanding Shares

2,462,688

2,484,043

SOURCE Tri-County Financial Group, Inc.
LOS ANGELES, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP announced today that Real Estate Practice Group Chairs Joan Velazquez, and Albert Valencia have been recognized by Los Angeles Times as Commercial Real Estate "Visionaries," and they are profiled in the annual Commercial Real Estate Magazine.

"In a state of constant recovery and reinvention, the Southern California commercial real estate market has been unpredictable, yet trending toward growth. These uncertainties have not deterred the talented people featured in this list of visionaries," states the publisher. "These executives, lenders, builders, professional service providers have brought savvy, adaptability and relentless optimism to the commercial real estate world."

Joan Velazquez handles a wide range of projects, including acquisitions, financing, development and leasing. She excels in structuring complex capital arrangements and has closed over a billion dollars in financing transactions. Joan's tax background further enhances her ability to optimize deals for her clients' benefit. Among Velazquez's notable transactions are a significant land acquisition in San Diego, a substantial construction loan for a mixed-use project, and the sale of diverse residential and industrial properties. She has also facilitated joint ventures and development agreements for notable projects. She has received numerous accolades, including recognition as a Commercial Real Estate Visionary and Women in Real Estate Award recipient. She has been listed in both Best Lawyers in America and Southern California Super Lawyers.

Albert Valencia typically represents operators, developers, and allocators in a broad range of real estate transactions including acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures and syndications, leasing, financing, recapitalizations and workouts. His experience spans all major asset classes including multi-family, office, retail, mixed-use, and industrial properties. In 2022, Albert led significant transactions, including a structured purchase and immediate sale of a multifamily development site in Arcadia, the sale of a portfolio of office buildings in San Bernardino, and the purchase of a mixed-use development in Park City. Albert's delivery of legal services is focused on what is effective and efficient for clients, leveraging skills from his previous career as a business consultant to Fortune 500 companies. Albert has been recognized as a Commercial Real Estate Visionary, Minority Leader of Influence, Southern California Super Lawyer, and Connect Media Top Real Estate Lawyer.

Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP is a full-service firm that provides a broad range of business-related legal services including corporate law; litigation; intellectual property & technology law; real estate transactions and finance; construction & environmental law; tax planning and controversies; employment law; health care law; bankruptcy, receivership and reorganization; and estate planning. For more information, visit http://www.ecjlaw.com/.

SOURCE Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP
NEW YORK, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UNice, the leading global supplier of wigs and extensions, has been dedicated to providing quality hair for women of all ages worldwide for the past decade. Expertly crafted and custom-colored, UNice Hair sets itself apart by sourcing directly without relying on third-party vendors, giving them unparalleled control over the entire manufacturing process. The result? Glossy, shed-proof, tangle-free, and luxuriously silky hair is delivered to your doorstep within 1-3 business days.

UNice back to school collection

As an essential part of UNice users, high school and college students are stepping into the back-to-school season. So UNice is making waves with the launch of the revolutionary Wear and Go Wigs for its "Always on the Go" campaign. The collection features a variety of trendy and natural-looking human hair glueless wigs. With the convenience of pre-styled designs, students can confidently step out with salon-like hair. UNice also invites student influencers to spark their creativity with UNice's "Wear and Go" Wigs, showing the collection is the perfect hair solution for students to achieve an unbeatable style and unmatched convenience in one package.

Kelly, the Brand Manager of UNice, expressed: "At UNice, we truly value self-expression and confidence, especially during the back-to-school season. Our 'Wear and Go' wigs allow students to explore diverse looks and discover the perfect hairstyle that reflects their unique personality and style."

She added: "We are well aware of the challenges students face managing academic responsibilities, extracurricular activities, and social commitments. With this in mind, our 'Wear and Go' Wigs are thoughtfully designed to save valuable time without compromising style."

To celebrate back-to-school season, UNice offers exclusive back-to-school promotions and discounts on the "Always on the Go" campaign, offering students 15% off online.

UNice has solidified its position as a brand that stays ahead of trends while strongly emphasizing premium-quality products and exceptional customer service. Their dedication to empowering individuals to express their unique personalities and boost their confidence through personal style and comfortable wig options is evident in all aspects of their work.

About UNice

UNice's mission is to inspire people worldwide to express their most authentic selves. You cannot be defined, and neither should your style. UNice's celebrity stylists, expert cosmetologists, and hair industry veterans provide an unparalleled salon experience at any of their on-site locations. Clients feel refreshed, uplifted, and, most importantly, like their true selves.

Cathy Jodie

Marketing

UNice

[email protected]

This release was issued through WebWire. For more information, visit http://www.webwire.com.

SOURCE UNice
Locals Representing 340K UPS Workers Nearly Unanimously Recommend Contract

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Teamsters local unions representing 340,000 full- and part-time workers at UPS voted 161-1 on Monday to endorse the tentative agreement reached with the delivery giant on July 25 and recommend its passage by the full membership.

Of the 176 local unions with UPS members, 14 affiliates failed to show up to a meeting in Washington, DC, to review the tentative agreement.

At least two representatives from all other local unions discussed more than 60 changes and improvements to the UPS Teamsters National Master Agreement, the largest private-sector collective bargaining agreement in North America. The gains achieved during negotiations, which occurred regionally and nationally since January, are larger and more lucrative than any previous Teamsters contract at UPS. The tentative agreement, valued at $30 billion, establishes record wage increases for all workers for the life of the contract, installation of air conditioning in new vehicles, the end of an unfair two-tier wage system, catch-up raises for part-timers, Martin Luther King Day as a paid holiday for the first time, new language to prevent forced overtime on days off, and other huge wins.

Now that local unions have nearly unanimously endorsed the tentative agreement, all rank-and-file UPS Teamsters will have the chance to vote on ratification from August 3-22.

"The entire UPS Teamsters National Negotiating Committee stands behind this historic contract and our UPS local unions have resoundingly voted to endorse it," said Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien. "Our tentative agreement is richer, stronger, and more far-reaching than any settlement ever negotiated in the history of American organized labor. The Teamsters are immensely proud of reaching agreement with UPS to improve the lives of our members, their families, and working people across the country."

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.2 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:

Kara Deniz, (202) 497-6610

[email protected]

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters
TORONTO, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Global IT research and advisory firm Info-Tech Research Group has been selected for participation in the US Department of Defence (DoD) Enterprise Software Initiative (ESI) program. This new partnership enables the DoD and its IT leaders to access world-class resources, gain industry-leading guidance, and receive transformative insights and invaluable consultation from experts with extensive experience. The agreement also includes McLean & Company, a division of Info-Tech known for its exceptional HR research and advisory services, and MyPolicies, the firm's provider of robust online policy management and administration software.

The DoD ESI is an official DoD initiative sponsored by the DoD Chief Information Officer (CIO). The initiative is designed to streamline procurement and optimize cost efficiency in the acquisition of commercial software, IT hardware, and services. Through its joint team of experts, ESI consolidates requirements and establishes agreements with IT providers, resulting in a unified contracting and vendor management strategy across the entire department.

"We are honored to have been selected to provide services as a member of the US Department of Defense's Enterprise Software Initiative. This partnership affirms our commitment to providing world-class IT research and advisory services to the public sector," says Ron Gumbert, senior managing partner at Info-Tech. "There is a shared vision to foster a technology-enabled, efficient future for the DoD, driving strategic change and transforming challenges into opportunities."

Info-Tech's public sector executive services and research team comprises highly experienced industry experts focused on supporting government clients to address mission-critical, technology-enabled initiatives.

"Our recent expansion into Arlington, Virginia, signifies our dedication to being an integral part of the IT ecosystem in the US, and this collaboration with the US Department of Defense's Enterprise Software Initiative further solidifies that commitment," adds Gumbert. "Our Arlington office stands ready to serve as a strategic hub for our work with the DoD and other Federal agencies, providing unparalleled research and advisory services. This pivotal development marks a new chapter in our mission to drive impactful digital transformation within the defense sector and beyond."

To learn more about Info-Tech's public sector research and its benefits, visit the firm's dedicated Public Sector Research Center.

About Info-Tech Research Group

Info-Tech Research Group is one of the world's leading information technology research and advisory firms, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals. The company produces unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. For 25 years, Info-Tech has partnered closely with IT teams to provide them with everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

Media professionals can register for unrestricted access to research across IT, HR, and software and over 200 IT and industry analysts through the firm's Media Insiders program. To gain access, contact [email protected].

For more about Info-Tech Research Group and to download the latest research across a variety of industries, visit infotech.com and connect via LinkedIn and Twitter.

About the DoD Enterprise Software Initiative

The DoD Enterprise Software Initiative (DoD ESI) is a joint initiative to maximize DoD buying power and take advantage of the significant cost savings and management efficiencies that result from acquiring and managing commercially available software on a DoD-wide basis. Additional information about the DoD ESI can be located at www.esi.mil.

DoD ESI procedures are explained in DFARS 208.74 and DoD CIO Guidance and Policy memorandum No. 12-8430 dated July 26, 2000.

SOURCE Info-Tech Research Group
Funding by California Transportation Commission and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality

LONG BEACH, Calif., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of opening the nation's largest public charging depot for electric commercial trucks at the Port of Long Beach, WattEV announced today it has secured $40.5 million in grants to further expand its growing network of electric truck stops into Northern California and Oregon.

Rendering of new WattEV Sacramento Electric Truck Stop

WattEV, the industry leader in heavy-duty freight electrification, has been awarded two separate grants: one for a solar-powered truck charging depot across Interstate 5 from the airfreight hub adjacent to Sacramento International Airport, and another for a grid-connected charging depot along Interstate 5 in Salem, Ore.

WattEV has secured a $34 million federal grant through the California Transportation Commission to build and operate what will become the nation's largest electric charging depot on more than 100 acres of land immediately south of Sacramento International Airport (SMF) on Interstate 5.

The SMF project is expected to open in mid- to late-2025 with 15.6 MW of solar power supplemented by 7.2 MW of grid power supplied by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.

The SMF depot will have 30 DC fast chargers for passenger vehicles, 90 high-power CCS-1 cords for medium- and heavy-duty commercial electric vehicles, and 18 megawatt cords for pass-through charging of HD trucks using the upcoming Megawatt Charging Standard (MCS).

"We're proud to partner with WattEV as they continue to advance transition of U.S. trucking transport to zero emissions," said Cindy Nichol, Director of Sacramento County Department of Airports. "Sacramento International Airport's proximity to one of largest goods distribution centers in the state makes this an ideal location to serve California's 'electric highway.'"

WattEV was also awarded $6.5 million from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to build a 6-acre EV charging depot. The Salem, Ore., site will be grid-connected in cooperation with Portland General Electric.

Planning for the Salem electric truck stop includes 30 CCS 240 KW chargers and six MCS 1200 KW chargers. It's expected to open in 2025 as well.

"These grant awards will allow us to meet our plans to expand our network of electric-truck charging depots from the Mexican border to Portland, Oregon, via Interstate 5, on what government planners and industry stakeholders are calling the 'electric highway,'" explained WattEV co-founder and CEO Salim Youssefzadeh.

The grant for the SMF project comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation's "Trade Corridor Enhancement Program," which distributes funding through state transportation agencies.

"We're building out the West Coast corridor while also reaching eastward along the I-10 toward Arizona and Texas and, eventually, to the East Coast," Youssefzadeh said. "To expand the WattEV network, we'll match our grants with private capital to fund this massive infrastructure buildout."

WattEV selects the locations of its charging depots based on analysis of freight routes, range of electric trucks and energy supply.

"We picked our site in Sacramento because of its strategic location next to the Metro Air Park Logistics Center, where more than 10-million square-feet of warehouse space is planned," said Youssefzadeh, "and its close proximity to downtown Sacramento  just 10 minutes away."

Sacramento County and surrounding areas contain one of the largest concentrations of California's goods distribution centers, serving many of the largest shippers in the country.

The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (Sac Metro Air District) has committed to working closely with WattEV on the project as it will have significant air quality benefits for Sacramento.

"Emissions from fossil-fuel powered cars and trucks are the largest source of air pollution in the Sacramento region," said Sac Metro Air District Transportation and Climate Change Program Manager Raef Porter. "Over the past 25 years, the Air District has invested $300 million in clean air projects. We're proud to continue that commitment by partnering with WattEV on this transformative solar-powered, electric charging depot. Building new electric vehicle infrastructure is imperative to the successful transition to clean transportation and ensuring a clean air and low carbon future for all."

The SMF depot will initially serve as a charging hub for local and regional distribution centers, and later as a depot serving the north-south freight corridor stretching from WattEV's newly opened charging depot in the Port of Long Beach, connecting to Oregon and Washington state.

"We not only have the demand for regional distribution in Sacramento County," Youssefzadeh explained, "but we also have existing shippers asking us to transport freight from their logistic centers in the Los Angeles area to distribution centers of retailers in Sacramento."

About WattEV

WattEV's mission is to accelerate the transition of U.S. trucking transport to zero emissions. It relies on a combination of business and technology innovations to create charging infrastructure and data-driven workflow that provide truckers and fleet operators the lowest total cost of ownership. WattEV's goal is to get 12,000 heavy-duty electric trucks on California roads by the end of 2030, exceeding existing forecasts. More information is available online at www.WattEV.com.

About the Sac Metro Air District

The Sac Metro Air District is the leading Sacramento region agency responsible for monitoring air quality, reducing air pollution, enforcing air quality regulations, and promoting decarbonization efforts through innovative incentive programs and projects. The Air District also works to ensure clean air and meet National Ambient Air Quality standards. For more information about the Air District, please visit www.AirQuality.org.

SOURCE WattEV
Revenue of RMB9,908 Million in the Second Quarter, Up 6.7% Year-over-Year;

Excluding COVID-19 Commercial Projects, Up 39.5%

Revenue of RMB18,871 Million in the First Half, Up 6.3% Year-over-Year;

Excluding COVID-19 Commercial Projects, Up 27.9%

Net Profit Attributable to Owners of the Company for the First Half Increased 14.6% to RMB 5,313 Million

Diluted Earnings per Share (EPS) for the First Half Increased 20.9% to RMB1.79

Adjusted Non-IFRS Net Profit Attributable to Owners of the Company for the First Half Increased 18.5% to RMB5,095 Million

Adjusted Non-IFRS Diluted EPS for the First Half Increased 18.5% to RMB1.73 [1]

Free Cash Flow Achieved RMB2,926 Million for the First Half, Turned Positive and Grew Strongly

SHANGHAI, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi AppTec (stock code: 603259.SH / 2359.HK), a global company that provides a broad portfolio of R&D and manufacturing services that enable companies in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries to advance discoveries and deliver groundbreaking treatments to patients, is pleased to announce its financial results for the first half ending June 30, 2023 ("Reporting Period").

This release provides a summary of the results and is not intended to be a comprehensive report. For additional information, please refer to the 2023 Interim Report and other relevant announcements published on the websites of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (www.sse.com.cn) and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (www.hkexnews.hk), and the designated media for dissemination of the relevant information. Investors are advised to exercise caution and be aware of the investment risks in trading Company shares.

All financial information disclosed in this press release is prepared based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), in currency of RMB.

The 2023 Interim Report of the Company has not been audited.

[1] In the first half year of 2022 and 2023, WuXi AppTec had a fully-diluted weighted average share count of 2,951,897,466 and 2,949,311,622ordinary shares, respectively.

Second Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights

Revenue grew 6.7% year-over-year to RMB9,908 million, excluding COVID-19 commercial projects, revenue grew strongly by 39.5%. This is primarily attributable to the Company's continued excellent execution of our unique Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO) business model to achieve strong synergy and continuous growth:

WuXi Chemistry revenue grew 2.6% year-over-year to RMB7,034 million , excluding COVID-19 commercial projects, revenue grew strongly by 51.6%. Adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 12.9% year-over-year to RMB3,216 million , with a gross profit margin of 45.7%.

, excluding COVID-19 commercial projects, revenue grew strongly by 51.6%. Adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 12.9% year-over-year to , with a gross profit margin of 45.7%. WuXi Testing revenue grew 23.6% year-over-year to RMB1,638 million and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 36.2% year-over-year to RMB640 million , with a gross profit margin of 39.1%.

and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 36.2% year-over-year to , with a gross profit margin of 39.1%. WuXi Biology revenue grew 17.5% year-over-year to RMB656 million and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 21.3% year-over-year to RMB 271 million , with a gross profit margin of 41.4%.

and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 21.3% year-over-year to , with a gross profit margin of 41.4%. WuXi ATU revenue grew 22.9% year-over-year to RMB389 million and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit was RMB(16) million , with a gross profit margin of (4.2)%

and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit was , with a gross profit margin of (4.2)% WuXi DDSU revenue declined 17.9% year-over-year to RMB176 million and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew year-over-year 5.2% to RMB63 million , with a gross profit margin of 35.8%. Meanwhile, we received the first royalty income from customers in the second quarter, which is a breakthrough for DDSU.

Unit: RMB million

Segment Revenue Change Adjusted non-

IFRS Gross Profit Change Adjusted non-

IFRS Gross

Profit Margin WuXi Chemistry 7,034.42 2.6 % 3,215.83 12.9 % 45.7 % WuXi Testing 1,638.12 23.6 % 640.26 36.2 % 39.1 % WuXi Biology 655.64 17.5 % 271.44 21.3 % 41.4 % WuXi ATU 389.14 22.9 % (16.34) Note1 (4.2) % WuXi DDSU 176.01 (17.9) % 63.09 5.2 % 35.8 % Others 14.21 31.8 % 2.83 (55.8) % 19.9 % Total 9,907.54 6.7 % 4,177.10 16.4 % 42.2 %

Notes: 1. Adjusted non-IFRS gross profit of WuXi ATU was RMB(16.34) million in Q2 2023, compared to RMB(20.40) million in Q2 2022, an increase of RM4.05 million. 2. Any sum of the data above that is inconsistent with the total is due to rounding.

IFRS gross profit increased 18.1% year-over-year to RMB4,030 million . Gross profit margin was 40.7% [2]

. Gross profit margin was 40.7% Adjusted non-IFRS gross profit increased 16.4% year-over-year to RM4,177 million . Adjusted non-IFRS gross margin was 42.2%.

. Adjusted non-IFRS gross margin was 42.2%. Net profit attributable to owners of the Company increased 5.1% year-over-year to RMB3,145 million .

. Adjusted non-IFRS net profit attributable to owners of the Company increased 22.4% year-over-year to RMB2,753 million .

[2] If prepared under Accounting Standard for Business Enterprises of PRC, the gross profit grew 19.6% year-over-year to RMB4,070 million. Gross profit margin was 41.1%.

First-Half 2023 Financial Highlights

Revenue grew 6.3% year-over-year to RMB18,871 million, excluding COVID-19 commercial projects, revenue grew strongly by 27.9%. This is primarily attributable to the Company's continued excellent execution of our unique Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO) business model to achieve strong synergy and continuous growth:

WuXi Chemistry revenue grew 3.8% year-over-year to RMB13,467 million , excluding COVID-19 commercial projects, revenue grew strongly by 36.1%. Adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 14.9% year-over-year to RMB6,103 million , with a gross profit margin of 45.3%.

, excluding COVID-19 commercial projects, revenue grew strongly by 36.1%. Adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 14.9% year-over-year to , with a gross profit margin of 45.3%. WuXi Testing revenue grew 18.7% year-over-year to RMB3,091 million and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 26.1% year-over-year to RMB1,168 million , with a gross profit margin of 37.8%.

and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 26.1% year-over-year to , with a gross profit margin of 37.8%. WuXi Biology revenue grew 13.0% year-over-year to RMB1,233 million and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 15.1% year-over-year to RMB511 million , with a gross profit margin of 41.5%.

and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit grew 15.1% year-over-year to , with a gross profit margin of 41.5%. WuXi ATU revenue grew 16.0% year-over-year to RMB714 million and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit was RMB(40) million , with a gross profit margin of (5.7)%.

and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit was , with a gross profit margin of (5.7)%. WuXi DDSU revenue declined 24.9% year-over-year to RMB342 million and adjusted non-IFRS gross profit declined 26.2% year-over-year to RMB103 million , with a gross profit margin of 30.1%. Meanwhile, DDSU achieved a breakthrough in receiving the first royalty income from customers.

Unit: RMB million

Segment Revenue Change Adjusted non-

IFRS Gross Profit Change Adjusted non-

IFRS Gross

Profit Margin WuXi Chemistry 13,467.20 3.8 % 6,103.40 14.9 % 45.3 % WuXi Testing 3,091.00 18.7 % 1,168.08 26.1 % 37.8 % WuXi Biology 1,232.64 13.0 % 511.10 15.1 % 41.5 % WuXi ATU 713.63 16.0 % (40.36) Note1 (5.7) % WuXi DDSU 341.99 (24.9) % 103.00 (26.2) % 30.1 % Others 24.83 55.6 % 9.40 14.6 % 37.8 % Total 18,871.29 6.3 % 7,854.63 15.7 % 41.6 %

Notes: 1. Adjusted non-IFRS gross profit of WuXi ATU was RMB(40.36) million in H1 2023, compared to RMB(42.74) million in H1 2022, an increase of RMB2.39 million. 2. Any sum of the data above that is inconsistent with the total is due to rounding.

IFRS gross profit increased 17.6% year-over-year to RMB7,556 million . Gross profit margin was 40.0% [3] .

. Gross profit margin was 40.0% . Adjusted non-IFRS gross profit increased 15.7% year-over-year to RMB7,855 million . Adjusted non-IFRS gross margin was 41.6%.

. Adjusted non-IFRS gross margin was 41.6%. Net profit attributable to owners of the Company increased 14.6% year-over-year to RMB 5,313 million .

. Adjusted non-IFRS net profit attributable to owners of the Company increased 18.5% year-over-year to RMB5,095 million .

. Diluted EPS increased 20.9% year-over-year to RMB1.79 , while adjusted diluted non-IFRS EPS increased by 18.5% year-over-year to RMB1.73 .

, while adjusted diluted non-IFRS EPS increased by 18.5% year-over-year to . Free cash flow achieved RMB2,926 million , turned positive and grew strongly year-over-year.

[3] If prepared under Accounting Standard for Business Enterprises of PRC, the gross profit grew 18.8% year-over-year to RMB7,646 million. Gross profit margin was 40.5%.

First-Half 2023 Business Operation Highlights

As an industry innovation enabler, we grow together with our customers. In the first half of 2023, we added over 600 new customers, and in total we served more than 6,000 active customers over the past 12 months. Backlog grew 25% year-over-year excluding COVID-19 commercial projects. We continued to optimize our cross-platform synergies to better serve our customers worldwide, strengthen our unique competitive advantage as a fully integrated Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization (CRDMO) and Contract Testing, Development and Manufacturing Organization (CTDMO) platform, and provide one-stop services for our customers from discovery to development and manufacturing. The diversified revenue streams from customers across regions ensure the stability and resilience of the Company's financial performance.

Revenue from US-based customers was RMB12.37 billion for the first half of 2023, excluding COVID-19 commercial projects, revenue grew 42% year-over-year; revenue from Europe -based customers grew 19% to RMB2.22 billion ; revenue from China -based customers grew 6% to RMB3.23 billion ; and revenue from other regions grew 6% to RMB1.04 billion .

for the first half of 2023, excluding COVID-19 commercial projects, revenue grew 42% year-over-year; revenue from -based customers grew 19% to ; revenue from -based customers grew 6% to ; and revenue from other regions grew 6% to .

We have built a large and growing customer base with very strong customer stickiness. In the first half of 2023, nearly 99% of total revenue was generated from existing customers, reaching RMB18.65 billion , which grew 30% year-over-year excluding COVID-19 commercial projects. At the same time, our new customers have provided us with broader opportunities to continuously follow new technologies and new modalities, in addition to their revenue contribution of RMB0.22 billion .

, which grew 30% year-over-year excluding COVID-19 commercial projects. At the same time, our new customers have provided us with broader opportunities to continuously follow new technologies and new modalities, in addition to their revenue contribution of .

We continued to execute our "long-tail" strategy and increase our support to large biopharmaceutical companies. In the first half of 2023, revenue from the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies was RMB7.14 billion , which grew strongly by 47% year-over-year excluding COVID-19 commercial projects. Revenue generated from all other customers maintained growth momentum and grew 20% year-over-year to RMB11.73 billion .

, which grew strongly by 47% year-over-year excluding COVID-19 commercial projects. Revenue generated from all other customers maintained growth momentum and grew 20% year-over-year to .

Our unique positioning across the pharmaceutical development value chain drove our "follow-the-customer" and "follow-the-molecule" strategies and enhanced synergies across our business segments. Customers using services from multiple business units contributed RMB17.33 billion in revenue, growing by 37% year-over-year excluding COVID-19 commercial projects, accounting for an increased proportion of the Company's revenue at 92%.

in revenue, growing by 37% year-over-year excluding COVID-19 commercial projects, accounting for an increased proportion of the Company's revenue at 92%. WuXi Chemistry: Integrated CRDMO Business Model Drives Steady Growth, with Continu ed Expansion in New Modalities (WuXi TIDES)

Q2 2023 revenue grew 2.6% year-over-year to RMB7.03 billion , excluding COVID-19 commercial projects, revenue grew strongly by 51.6%; H1 2023 revenue grew 3.8% year-over-year to RMB13.47 billion , excluding COVID-19 commercial projects, revenue grew strongly by 36.1%. H1 2023 adjusted non-IFRS gross profit margin was 45.3% with 4.4pts year-over-year improvement, besides FX impact, thanks to favorable mix and efficiency improvement.

, excluding COVID-19 commercial projects, revenue grew strongly by 51.6%; H1 2023 revenue grew 3.8% year-over-year to , excluding COVID-19 commercial projects, revenue grew strongly by 36.1%. H1 2023 adjusted non-IFRS gross profit margin was 45.3% with 4.4pts year-over-year improvement, besides FX impact, thanks to favorable mix and efficiency improvement.

Drug discovery services ("R") continued to generate downstream opportunities.



In the past 12 months, we successfully synthesized and delivered more than 420,000 new compounds to customers, which grew 20% year-over-year. Through our chemistry drug discovery services, we enabled our customers to accelerate their research while generating opportunities for our downstream business units. In the past 12 months, 120 molecules have transitioned from R to D&M, representing a year-on-year growth of 21%. Through our "follow-the-customer" and "follow-the-molecule" strategies, we established trusted partnerships with our global customers, supporting the sustainable growth of our CRDMO business.





We continued executing our "long-tail" strategy. Demand from "long-tail" customers in discovery services of small molecule and new modalities continued to grow, with the number of new customers growing 17% year-over-year.



Development and manufacturing (D&M) services delivered strong growth.



In the first half of 2023, D&M services revenue grew 2.1% year-over-year to RMB9.67 billion . Excluding COVID-19 commercial projects, D&M services revenue grew strongly by 54.5%.

. Excluding COVID-19 commercial projects, D&M services revenue grew strongly by 54.5%.



In the first half of 2023, we added 583 molecules to our D&M pipeline. To date, our D&M pipeline consists of 2,819 molecules, including 56 commercial projects, 59 in phase III, 301 in phase II and 2,403 in phase I and pre-clinical stages, among which, 8 commercial and phase III projects were added in the first half of 2023.



Specifically, TIDES business (mainly oligo and peptides) continued to expand.



In the first half of 2023, TIDES revenue grew 37.9% year-over-year to RMB1.33 billion . As of June 30, 2023 , backlog of TIDES grew strongly by 188% year-over-year. We expect revenue growth from TIDES business to exceed 70% in 2023.

. As of , backlog of TIDES grew strongly by 188% year-over-year. We expect revenue growth from TIDES business to exceed 70% in 2023.



The number of TIDES D&M customers increased 25% year-over-year to 121, and the number of TIDES molecules increased 46% year-over-year to 207.

WuXi Testing: Lab Testing Services Drive Steady Growth, Clinical Business Fully Recovered

Q2 2023 revenue from WuXi Testing grew 23.6% year-over-year to RMB1.64 billion ; H1 2023 revenue grew 18.7% year-over-year to RMB3.09 billion . H1 2023 adjusted non-IFRS gross profit margin was 37.8% with 2.2pts year-over-year improvement, besides FX impact, thanks to the full recovery of clinical business and efficiency improvement.

; H1 2023 revenue grew 18.7% year-over-year to . H1 2023 adjusted non-IFRS gross profit margin was 37.8% with 2.2pts year-over-year improvement, besides FX impact, thanks to the full recovery of clinical business and efficiency improvement.

Q2 2023 revenue from lab testing services grew 21.4% year-over-year to RMB1.19 billion ; H1 2023 revenue grew 18.8% year-over-year to RMB2.25 billion .

; H1 2023 revenue grew 18.8% year-over-year to .

The Company provides a full range of laboratory testing services for our customers, including drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK), toxicology, and bioanalysis for drug development testing, as well as medical device testing. We provide customers with high-quality services, realize "one report for global submission," and enable customers to save time, reduce costs and increase efficiency.





H1 2023 revenue from drug safety evaluation services grew 24% year-over-year. We maintained our industry leadership position in Asia Pacific for drug safety evaluation services that meet global regulatory requirements. In the first half of 2023, new lab testing facilities in Qidong and Suzhou began operations as scheduled, ensuring the business growth to accelerate in the second half of 2023.

for drug safety evaluation services that meet global regulatory requirements. In the first half of 2023, new lab testing facilities in Qidong and Suzhou began operations as scheduled, ensuring the business growth to accelerate in the second half of 2023.



Moreover, we continued to enhance capabilities related to new modalities, with comprehensive coverage such as target protein degradation, nucleic acids, conjugates, and cell and gene therapies (CGT), etc.



Q2 2023 revenue from clinical CRO & SMO (Site Management Organization) grew 29.6% year-over-year to RMB0.45 billion ; H1 2023 revenue grew 18.3% year-over-year to RMB0.85 billion .

; H1 2023 revenue grew 18.3% year-over-year to .

SMO revenue grew strongly by 53.9% in Q2 2023 and 34.3% in H1 2023, maintaining a leadership position in China . In the first half of 2023, SMO supported 25 new drug approvals for customers.

. In the first half of 2023, SMO supported new drug approvals for customers.



In the first half of 2023, clinical CRO enabled our customers to obtain 8 IND approvals and submit 3 NDA filings.

WuXi Biology: Strong Contribution from New Modalities; Early Discovery Screening Platform Continued to Generate Downstream Opportunities

Q2 2023 revenue from WuXi Biology grew 17.5% year-over-year to RMB0.66 billion ; H1 2023 revenue grew 13.0% year-over-year to RMB1.23 billion . H1 2023 adjusted non-IFRS gross profit margin was 41.5% with 0.7pts year-over-year improvement.

; H1 2023 revenue grew 13.0% year-over-year to . H1 2023 adjusted non-IFRS gross profit margin was 41.5% with 0.7pts year-over-year improvement.

The Company has one of the largest discovery biology enabling platforms, with approximately 3,000 experienced scientists (across 9 campuses in China , the U.S. and Germany ), to provide a full range of biological services and solutions to customers.

, the U.S. and ), to provide a full range of biological services and solutions to customers.

The Company focused on improving capabilities related to new modalities. The number of customers and projects served by our nucleic acid platform continued to increase. Cumulatively, we have provided services to over 110 customers, and have successfully delivered over 700 projects since 2021. In the first half of 2023, WuXi Biology revenue from new modalities grew strongly by 51% year-over-year, contributing 25.4% of WuXi Biology revenue.



The comprehensive early discovery screening platform integrates multi-technologies (HTS, DEL, ASMS, FBDD, CADD etc.) and analysis capabilities of multi-dimensional databases, which can provide extensive and in-depth services to clients. Meanwhile, the Company has a global leading DNA Encoded Library (DEL) serving more than 1,600 customers with over 90 billion compounds, 6,000 unique proprietary scaffolds and 35,000 building blocks, and in addition, multiple special function libraries for targeting RNA, covalent compounds, bifunctional molecules, and cyclic peptides, etc. In the first half of 2023, it continued to generate downstream opportunities and contributed more than 20% of the new customers to the Company.

WuXi ATU: CTDMO Business Model Drives Growth

Q2 2023 revenue from WuXi ATU grew 22.9% year-over-year to RMB0.39 billion ; H1 2023 revenue grew 16.0% year-over-year to RMB0.71 billion . H1 2023 adjusted non-IFRS gross profit margin was (5.7)% with 1.3pts year-over-year improvement. By the end of June 2023 , backlog grew 28.8% year-over-year.

; H1 2023 revenue grew 16.0% year-over-year to . H1 2023 adjusted non-IFRS gross profit margin was (5.7)% with 1.3pts year-over-year improvement. By the end of , backlog grew 28.8% year-over-year.

The Company focused on improving our CTDMO integrated enabling platform and strengthening capabilities and capacities. We provided development , testing and manufacturing services to 69 projects, including 7 Phase III projects (2 projects in BLA review stage, and 2 projects in BLA preparation stage), 10 Phase II projects and 52 pre-clinical and Phase I projects.

and manufacturing services to 69 projects, including 7 Phase III projects (2 projects in BLA review stage, and 2 projects in BLA preparation stage), 10 Phase II projects and 52 pre-clinical and Phase I projects.

In the first half, we supported a customer to complete the BLA filing for a Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocyte (TIL) product with the FDA, which is expected to be the world's first innovative TIL-based therapy. In addition, we supported a customer to file BLA for Lenti-viral Vector (LVV) used in a CAR-T product, and became the first CGT CDMO in China to pass Center for Food and Drug Inspection of NMPA (CFDI) LVV on-site inspection. We expect that our customers will obtain approval for their products in the second half of 2023. Moreover, we completed the technology transfer for the manufacturing of a blockbuster commercial CAR-T product, which is expected to start commercial manufacturing after FDA approval in the second half of 2024. In June 2023 , we signed an LVV manufacturing contract with a large pharmaceutical customer used in a commercial CAR-T product, which is expected to start manufacturing in the first half of 2024.

to pass Center for Food and Drug Inspection of NMPA (CFDI) LVV on-site inspection. We expect that our customers will obtain approval for their products in the second half of 2023. Moreover, we completed the technology transfer for the manufacturing of a blockbuster commercial CAR-T product, which is expected to start commercial manufacturing after FDA approval in the second half of 2024. In , we signed an LVV manufacturing contract with a large pharmaceutical customer used in a commercial CAR-T product, which is expected to start manufacturing in the first half of 2024. WuXi DDSU: the First Year to Receive New Drug Application (NDA) Approval of New Drugs Developed for Customers; Breakthrough to Receive the First Royalty Income

Q2 2023 revenue from WuXi DDSU declined 17.9% year-over-year to RMB0.18 billion ; H1 2023 revenue declined 24.9% year-over-year to RMB0.34 billion . H1 2023 adjusted non-IFRS gross profit margin was 30.1%, a 0.6pts year-over-year decline.

; H1 2023 revenue declined 24.9% year-over-year to . H1 2023 adjusted non-IFRS gross profit margin was 30.1%, a 0.6pts year-over-year decline.

In the first half of 2023, 2 new drugs developed for our customers have obtained National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) approvals, including one for COVID-19 infection treatment and the other for tumor treatment. We have received the first royalty income in the second quarter of 2023. Royalty income is estimated to grow with more than 50% CAGR over the next 10 years as more and more products are commercialized by customers.



In the first half of 2023, we supported customers to file INDs for 12 drug candidates and obtain 11 Clinical Trial Approvals (CTAs). Cumulatively, we have submitted 184 new chemical entity IND filings with NMPA and obtained 155 CTAs for customers, among which 2 projects have obtained NDA approvals, 2 projects are in the NDA review stage, 5 projects are in Phase III, 30 projects are in Phase II, and 70 projects are in Phase I, covering multiple therapeutic areas.



Currently, we support 17 projects for customers in new modalities that include Peptide/Peptide-Drug-Conjugation (PDC), protein degraders and oligo. Several of these projects have filed IND, and multiple projects are expected to file IND in 2023.

Our Commitment to ESG

As an industry innovation enabler, a trusted partner and a contributor to the global healthcare industry, the Company is committed to environmental protection and sustainability, and to being a good global corporate citizenship.

Our outstanding ESG performance has been recognized by major global ESG rating agencies, including MSCI, S&P Global, Sustainalytics, CDP and EcoVadis. In June 2023, we received the fourth "Silver" medal recognition from EcoVadis for our Couvet site in Switzerland.

By the first half of 2023, our carbon emission intensity, energy consumption intensity and water use intensity reduced by 20.1%, 18.4%, and 31.6%, respectively, as compared to the baseline year 2020.

As we continue to advance our sustainability strategy, we embrace our shared responsibility to be good stewards of the environment.

Management Comment

Dr. Ge Li, Chairman and CEO of WuXi AppTec, said, "We continued to achieve steady growth of revenue, net profit, and free cash flow in the first half of 2023. Our revenue increased 6.3% year-over-year to RMB18.87 billion, or 27.9% if excluding COVID-19 commercial projects. Our adjusted non-IFRS net profit attributable to owners of the Company increased 18.5% year-over-year, outpacing the revenue growth rate, and our free cash flow achieved RMB2.93 billion, as a result of the Company's pursuit of operational excellence and productivity."

"The Company's performance in the first half of 2023 demonstrated that WuXi AppTec's unique CRDMO and CTDMO business models can effectively meet the growing demands from customers worldwide and continue to drive solid growth for the Company. In 2023, we aim to deliver a 5-7% revenue growth, increase adjusted non-IFRS gross profit by 13-14%, and expand free cash flow by 750-850%. We remain committed to prioritizing our customers' needs and enhancing our capacity and capabilities as we support our customers' efforts to bring groundbreaking therapies to patients around the world. Together, we can realize our vision that 'every drug can be made and every disease can be treated'."

Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss[4]



RMB Million Three Months Ended

June 30, Six Months Ended

June 30,

2023 2022 2023 2022 Revenue 9,907.5 9,281.8 18,871.3 17,756.3 Cost of services (5,877.5) (5,869.9) (11,315.6) (11,329.4) Gross profit 4,030.0 3,412.0 7,555.7 6,426.8 Other income 243.8 144.8 439.8 240.5 Other gains and losses 863.4 1,270.9 1,061.2 1,389.9 Impairment losses under expected credit losses

("ECL") model, net of reversal (95.4) (22.4) (101.7) (58.8) Impairment losses recognized on non-financial assets (42.9) - (42.9) - Selling and marketing expenses (177.6) (182.4) (353.5) (355.6) Administrative expenses (657.1) (688.9) (1,326.5) (1,307.8) R&D expenses (309.7) (377.2) (667.0) (657.2) Operating Profit 3,854.5 3,556.8 6,565.1 5,677.9 Share of results of associates (30.7) 25.4 (76.5) (70.8) Share of results of joint ventures (0.6) (0.9) 7.7 1.4 Finance costs (36.9) (39.1) (101.1) (67.6) Profit before tax 3,786.3 3,542.2 6,395.2 5,540.9 Income tax expense (615.2) (522.5) (1,038.3) (865.2) Profit for the period 3,171.1 3,019.7 5,356.9 4,675.7 Profit for the period attributable to:







Owners of the Company 3,145.0 2,992.8 5,313.1 4,635.8 Non-controlling interests 26.1 26.9 43.8 39.9

3,171.1 3,019.7 5,356.9 4,675.7





Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss[5]



Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,

2023 2022 2023 2022









Weighted average number of ordinary shares for

calculating EPS(express in shares)







 Basic 2,940,013,234 2,923,689,260 2,936,843,517 2,922,374,327  Diluted 2,948,738,581 2,952,359,250 2,949,311,622 2,951,897,466 Earnings per share attributable to ordinary

shareholders of the Company (expressed in RMB per

share)







 Basic 1.07 1.02 1.81 1.59  Diluted 1.07 0.95 1.79 1.48

[4] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding [5] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position[6]



RMB Million June 30, December 31,

2023 2022





Non-current Assets



Property, plant and equipment 24,544.5 23,444.9 Right-of-use assets 2,248.3 1,857.5 Goodwill 1,882.7 1,822.1 Other intangible assets 928.5 926.3 Interests in associates 1,098.2 1,135.7 Interests in joint ventures 75.9 67.3 Deferred tax assets 567.3 492.1 Financial assets at fair value through profit or

loss ("FVTPL") 9,167.8 8,954.3 Other non-current assets 102.3 1,054.9 Biological assets 1,123.6 938.0

41,739.1 40,693.1





Current Assets



Inventories 3,891.9 3,952.6 Contract costs 778.2 678.8 Biological assets 1,045.3 1,037.3 Amounts due from related parties 59.8 123.0 Trade and other receivables 9,237.4 7,590.4 Contract assets 1,234.3 1,048.2 Income tax recoverable 5.4 16.0 Financial assets at FVTPL 81.6 2.0 Derivative financial instruments - 135.6 Other current assets 1,659.4 1,427.8 Pledged bank deposits 1.6 1.8 Bank balances and cash 9,585.0 7,983.9

27,580.1 23,997.2





Total Assets 69,319.1 64,690.3

[6] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding.

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position (continued)[7]



RMB Million June 30, December 31,

2023 2022 Current Liabilities



Trade and other payables 7,092.1 7,253.4 Amounts due to related parties 18.7 14.5 Derivative financial instruments 1,026.9 115.4 Contract liabilities 3,188.4 2,496.6 Borrowings 4,024.2 3,874.1 Lease liabilities 193.7 205.3 Income tax payables 819.1 517.8 Other current liabilities - 22.1

16,363.2 14,499.4





Non-current Liabilities



Borrowings 397.9 279.1 Deferred tax liabilities 409.3 440.5 Deferred income 885.1 910.9 Lease liabilities 1,064.9 983.8 Convertible bonds-debt component - 502.0 Convertible bonds-embedded derivative

component - 147.9 Other long-term liabilities - 0.1

2,757.2 3,264.3





Total Liabilities 19,120.4 17,763.7





Net Assets 50,198.8 46,926.7





Capital and Reserves



Share capital 2,968.1 2,960.5 Reserves 46,857.2 43,629.4 Equity attributable to owners of the Company 49,825.3 46,590.0 Non-controlling interests 373.5 336.7 Total Equity 50,198.8 46,926.7

[7] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding.

Adjusted Non-IFRS Net Profit Attributable to the Owners of the Company[8]



RMB Million Three Months Ended

June 30, Six Months Ended

June 30,

2023 2022 2023 2022









Net profit attributable to the owners of the Company 3,145.0 2,992.8 5,313.1 4,635.7 Add:







Share-based compensation expenses 158.1 179.5 324.4 360.0 Issuance expenses of convertible bonds - 0.5 0.3 0.9 Fair value gain from derivative component of

convertible bonds - (191.7) (40.2) (274.5) Foreign exchange related gains (500.7) (164.4) (336.5) (158.5) Amortization of intangible assets acquired from merge

and acquisition 14.4 14.2 28.5 28.7 Non-financial assets impairment 42.9 - 42.9 - Non-IFRS Net Profit attributable to the owners of the

Company 2,859.7 2,830.9 5,332.5 4,592.2 Add:







Realized and unrealized gains from venture capital

investments (107.8) (583.7) (230.2) (290.1) Realized and unrealized share of gains from joint

ventures 0.6 0.9 (7.7) (1.4) Adjusted non-IFRS net profit attributable to the owners of

the Company 2,752.6 2,248.1 5,094.7 4,300.7

[8] If the sum of the data below is inconsistent with the total, it is caused by rounding.

About WuXi AppTec

As a global company with operations across Asia, Europe, and North America, WuXi AppTec provides a broad portfolio of R&D and manufacturing services that enable the global pharmaceutical and healthcare industry to advance discoveries and deliver groundbreaking treatments to patients. Through its unique business models, WuXi AppTec's integrated, end-to-end services include chemistry drug CRDMO (Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing Organization), biology discovery, preclinical testing and clinical research services, cell and gene therapies CTDMO (Contract Testing, Development and Manufacturing Organization), helping customers improve the productivity of advancing healthcare products through cost-effective and efficient solutions. WuXi AppTec received an AA ESG rating from MSCI in 2022 and its open-access platform is enabling more than 6,000 customers from over 30 countries to improve the health of those in need  and to realize the vision that "every drug can be made and every disease can be treated." Please visit: http://www.wuxiapptec.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" which are not historical facts, but instead are predictions about future events based on our beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to our management. Although we believe that our predictions are reasonable, future events are inherently uncertain and our forward-looking statements may turn out to be incorrect. Our forward-looking statements are subject to risks relating to, among other things, the ability of our service offerings to compete effectively, our ability to meet timelines for the expansion of our service offerings, our ability to protect our customers' intellectual property, unforeseeable international tension, competition, the impact of emergencies and other force majeure. Our forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law or listing rules. Accordingly, you are strongly cautioned that reliance on any forward-looking statements involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements contained herein are qualified by reference to the cautionary statements set forth in this section. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release and are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of this date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

Use of Non-IFRS and Adjusted Non-IFRS Financial Measures

We provide non-IFRS gross profit and non-IFRS net profit attributable to owners of the Company, which exclude share-based compensation expenses, issuance expenses of convertible bonds, fair value gain or loss from derivative component of convertible bonds, foreign exchange-related gains or losses, amortization of intangible assets acquired in business combinations, non-financial assets impairment, etc. We also provide adjusted non-IFRS net profit attributable to owners of the Company and earnings per share, which further exclude realized and unrealized gains or losses from our venture capital investments and joint ventures. Neither is required by, or presented in accordance with IFRS.

We believe that the adjusted financial measures used in this press release are useful for understanding and assessing our core business performance and operating trends, and we believe that management and investors may benefit from referring to these adjusted financial measures in assessing our financial performance by eliminating the impact of certain unusual, non-recurring, non-cash and non-operating items that we do not consider indicative of the performance of our core business. Such adjusted non-IFRS net profit attributable to owners of the Company, the management of the Company believes, is widely accepted and adopted in the industry the Company is operating in. However, the presentation of these adjusted non-IFRS financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with IFRS. You should not view adjusted results on a stand-alone basis or as a substitute for results under IFRS, or as being comparable to results reported or forecasted by other companies.

For more information, please contact:

Ms. Ruijia Tang (for investors)

IR Director

Email: [email protected]

Mr. Davy Wu (for media)

PR Director

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE WuXi AppTec
LOS ANGELES, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Zefr's third-party brand suitability verification solution for Instagram Feed is now available. This AI-powered measurement solution provides marketers with even more transparency into their Meta campaigns, measuring GARM brand safety and suitability across both Instagram and Facebook Feed placements.

Zefr and Meta deepen campaign transparency with AI, expanding Brand Suitability Verification to Instagram globally. Tweet this Zefr + Meta Safety Suitability Measurement for Instagram Feed

Additionally, the verification solution will now be available in more global territories, supporting advertisers in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Chinese and Portuguese speaking countries. Advertisers will have full access to their Instagram Feed measurement via their Atrium dashboard, which provides full transparency across platforms including Meta, TikTok and YouTube.

Meta recently announced new inventory filters for Facebook and Instagram Feeds that are now rolling out to advertisers in these additional global markets. Both the added inventory filters and expanded third-party brand suitability verification developments underscore Zefr and Meta's ongoing commitment to critical innovation within the industry, powered by AI technology that deepens advertiser transparency and brand suitability controls.

"Earlier this year we began rolling out our third party brand suitability verification solution with Zefr for Facebook Feed as a part of the launch of our AI-powered brand suitability controls. We are excited to expand this offering to Instagram Feed, offering businesses another solution to help meet their brand safety and suitability needs. In addition to English and Spanish, our brand suitability verification solution is also being expanded to four additional languages and testing for third party brand suitability verification for Reels will begin in August. We look forward to sharing more expansion offerings for the brand suitability verification solution in the coming months." Samantha Stetson, Vice President, Client Council and Industry Trade Relations.

"We're excited to announce our AI-powered, third-party brand suitability verification for Instagram Feed. This innovation marks another important step forward in the industry, providing brands with transparency into their adjacencies across both Facebook & Instagram Feed. Our continued collaboration with Meta, expanded global coverage, and commitment to transparency mapped to the GARM standards enables more responsible media investment for advertisers worldwide," said Rich Raddon, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Zefr.

For more detail on Zefr's brand suitability verification product for Meta, please visit www.zefr.com/atrium , or reach out to [email protected] .

CONTACT: Hank Kim, [email protected]

SOURCE Zefr
Historic Moments for the Charter

April 11-15, 2008

Seeds of Compassion Gathering in Seattle, USA

Seeds of Compassion was an unprecedented gathering to engage the hearts and minds of our community by highlighting the vision, science, and programs of early social, emotional, and cognitive learning. Anchored by the deep wisdom of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, this communityfocused event celebrated and explored the relationships, programs and tools that nurture and empower children, families and communities to be compassionate members of society. Each of the five days provided parents, educators, business and community leaders with an opportunity to better understand the real benefits of compassion, and concrete steps on how to bring compassion into their lives.

September 1, 2008

Partners Sign on for Charter Initiative

The Charter began building a partnership of individuals and organizations around the world working to bring compassion to life. Over the first few years, the number of Partner organizations globally grew slowly, and then began to explode in 2013. By the summer of 2014, over 400 organizations have signed on as Partners for the Charter.

November 12, 2008

Charter Website Launched

The Charter for Compassion website launched and people of all faiths, all nations and all backgrounds were invited to submit their own words to the Charter. The Charter for Compassion is a product of its time, for its time. Using a unique web-based decision-making platform, thousands of people from more than 100 countries added their voice to the writing of the Charter. Over a six-week period, thousands of submissions were entered which were then read and commented upon by over 150,000 visitors. These contributions were then reviewed by the Council of Conscience and incorporated into the final document.

February 24, 2009

Council of Conscience Meets to Craft Charter

The Council of Conscience meet in Vevey, Switzerland, to take the words of the world and craft the Charter for Compassion. The Council, a multi-faith, multi-national group of religious thinkers and leaders, reviewed and sorted through contributions from across the globe to craft the final Charter. They continue to be vigorous supporters and advocates for the Charter and its message.

"Compassion is not hereditable. It can and therefore must be taught. The teaching of compassion, the exercise of the soul, will open the heart. And then nothing will be impossible." ~ Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp

"Compassion is a organizing principle [for] business leaders, government leaders, arts and culture, humanitarians  you need a working principle, especially when the world is colliding into each other every day" ~ Salman Ahmad

"In a world where force is too often the response to differences of opinion, culture and ideas of the divine, compassion is its one universal antidote. This Charter gives spiritual voices the opportunity to unite in this most authentic cry for peace." ~ Sister Joan Chittister

May 4th, 2009

Compassionate Action Network Founded

Compassionate Action Network (CAN) was inspired by the Seeds of Compassion and then launched in Seattle to be a "network of networks." The organization proclaimed its desire to unite "people across our communityparents, children, youth, teachers, clergy, activists, politicians, philanthropists and leaders at all levels and in every sphereto create a more compassionate world."

CAN's intention, expressed in its founding document, was to create "an association of like-minded programs, projects and organizations that collectively represent the power of thousands of relationships." CAN went on to be the home for the Charter for Compassion from the summer of 2012 through December of 2013, and provided a wealth of startup assistance to the Charter, including staff, fundraising, resource development, and strategic planning.

November 12, 2009

Charter Formally Launched

More than 75 events took place around the globe to launch the Charter for Compassion on November 12. Charter for Compassion partners  groups and individuals around the world who are deeply committed to the Charters ideals  work tirelessly in the name compassion and interfaith dialogue, bringing the Charter to life in their communities. The Charter team promotes their important work.

April 24, 2010

Cities Campaign Initiated by Compassionate Action Network

The City of Seattle became the first city to formally sign the Charter for Compassion, thus launching an international campaign for communities around the world to endorse the Charter. Cities joining the movement pledged to work consciously to bring the principles and practice of compassion to life in cities everywhere. CAN's Jon Ramer was initiator of the campaign.

2010

Charter for Compassion Recognized in Australian Parliament

The ceremony was the first time that the Charter had been recognised in a Parliament anywhere in the world and included representatives from the Government and Opposition, Indigenous community, diplomats, NGOs, religious and youth leaders. The Canberra Jewish community was represented by Bill Arnold and Rabbi Dan Avital.

The Charter for Compassion is a document and worldwide movement that supports the golden rule To treat others like you would wish to be treated. Advocates of the Charter include HH The Dalai Lama and Richard Branson. The Charter is a TED.com initiative, inspired by world renowned religious historian, Karen Armstrong and the result of contributions from people from over 100 countries.

Danielle Lauren, the host of the ceremony and Australian Ambassador for the Charter, said This event was a wonderful opportunity to spread the principle of compassion to our leaders and help make Australia a more compassionate society for all. Danielle gave a call to action for her campaign to get 100,000 handwritten signatures in Australia to support the Charter.

Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector, Senator Ursula Stephens, said For those of us who work in this place, the Charter reminds us that it is not just the legislated laws that shape a nation, but the way in which we behave to each other. Senator Stephens also read out a letter from the Prime Minister congratulating Danielle on her work with the Charter and promoting compassion in Australia.

Shadow Minister for Ageing, Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, addressed the crowd and sent support from the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott.

The ceremony also included a special video message from Karen Armstrong, a Traditional Aboriginal Welcome to Country from Ngunnawal Elder, Agnes Shea and a meditation session with the Venerable Bhante Sujato from the Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils. In picture: Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Danielle Lauren and Senator Ursula Stephens.

July 23-25, 2010

The Festival of World Cultures Hosts an Open Faith Space

Open FAITH SPACE for people and groups to communicate and share their practices and creative expressions about the value of Compassion.

2010 marked the 10th anniversary for the Festival of World Cultures. In honor of this important and celebratory event, the Festival sought to deepen its ethos of building communities through nurturing respect for diversity. The 2010 Festival theme was faith. The Festival of World Cultures values the accumulated wisdom that communities of all faiths hold. When such wisdom is shared, it may contribute to the global efforts towards respect, peace and unity, and may also support people to participate more fully in contemporary life in Ireland.

The Festival was proud to affirm the Charter for Compassion. The Festival supports activities that can deepen and share compassionate encounters through music, meditation and prayer, storytelling, discussions, dance and project displays.

November 12, 2010

Charter Celebrates First Year

In celebration of the Charter's first year actor, Rainn Wilson and the team create a video history of the movement and its accomplishments. Notable moments include: Seattle becomes the world's first compassionate city as part of an international campaign. Medical student Saalman Sana unveils the Compassion for Care Charter at TEDxMaastrict . Groups in Canada and Holland create and affirm the Children's Charter.

The Charter for Compassion: Read, Affirm, Share

November 16, 2010

Charter for Compassion Celebrated at the United Nations and Unveiled to the World

TEDPrize@UN recognized the one-year anniversary of Karen Armstrongs Charter for Compassion Thursday, Nov. 18 with a celebratory TED talk at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

This is the first time that a TED event took place at the United Nations. Armstrong, Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, Dr. Fred Luskin, Krista Tippett, Chade-Meng Tan and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf discussed the intersections between faith, society, politics and where compassion can play a role. TEDPrize@UN also featured a performance from U.N. Goodwill Ambassador Salman Ahmad.

March 22, 2012

Karen Armstrong Reports on State of the Charter in Vancouver BC

As part of the city-wide 12 Days of Compassion with Karen Armstrong program, Vancouver announces its campaign to become a compassionate city, and Karen Armstrong unveils a new Charter website and international initiative and gives an update on the state of the Charter, including news about vibrant Charter movements in Pakistan, Canada, Jordan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Louisville, KY.

February, 2013

Pope Benedict XVII Receives Plaque Engraved with the Charter for Compassion

The Charter for Compassion reached Pope Benedict XVII February 8, 2013, just days before the Pope announced to the world that he would be resigning. A plaque engraved with the Charter was presented to the Pope in Vatican City by TEDs European director, Bruno Giussani. The meeting took place on the margins of the weekly General Audience, when Giussani could inform the Catholic Pontiff of the Charters origin, development and aims.

June 21-24, 2013

The U.S. Conference of Mayors, 81st Annual Meeting

Resolution No. 35: COMPASSION AS AN EFFECTIVE PUBLIC POLICY (PDF)

January, 2014

Founding of the Charter for Compassion Organization & Formation of Global Compassion Council

Almost six years after Karen Armstrong was awarded the TED Prize, the Charter for Compassion has grown into a truly global movement. Thanks to the efforts of a broad range of people in all walks of life and on every continent, compassion has touched the lives of thousands of people in countries, cities, schools, business and other organizations, and faith communities around the world. To reflect this growing worldwide presence, a confluence of leaders in the movement -- the Global Compassion Council was formed as an advisory body of international talent to the Board of the Charter.

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Parents pressed for time and dealing with a hungry infant or toddler might be tempted to put a plastic container of baby food into a microwave for a quick warming.

But they may want to think twice before hitting the start button, based on findings from a study recently published by University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers.

In a set of experiments, the researchers found that microwaving plastic baby food containers available in grocery stores can release large numbers of tiny plastic particles, in some cases more than 2 billion nanoplastic and 4 million microplastic particles for every square centimeter of container.

Although the health effects of consuming micro- and nanoplastics remain unclear, the Nebraska team also found that three-quarters of cultured embryonic kidney cells had died after two days of being exposed to the same particles.

In a 2022 report, the World Health Organization concluded that although limited data provide little evidence that such particles have adverse effects in humans, the organization recommended limiting exposure to them. The organization also called for additional study of the particles on multiple fronts.

Kazi Albab Hussain, the studys lead author and a UNL doctoral student in civil and environmental engineering, said previous research by other scientists had found that microplastics were released from plastic baby bottles, particularly when they were heated. Another study by Canadian researchers reported that some premium plastic tea bags release microplastic particles when steeping in hot water. Both Hussains study and the Canadian research were published in the American Chemical Society journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Hussain said he and his colleagues realized that no studies had looked at other plastic containers used for baby food other than baby bottles. They began their research in 2021, the year Hussains now 21-month-old son was born.

We thought it was important to see if those plastic products were also releasing micro- and nanoplastics, Hussain said, noting that less is known about nanoplastics than microplastics. Nanoplastic particles are smaller than microplastics and difficult to detect. The researchers defined microplastics as particles at least 1/1000th of a millimeter in size; nanoplastics were anything smaller.

This is a really new thing, so even the definition is not clear yet, Hussain said. The range is not quite fixed yet, because this is a new thing in the discussion.

They also chose to look at baby food containers because infants and toddlers typically are more at risk from exposure to any type of contaminant because of their smaller relative size and the fact their organs are still developing, he said.

The researchers conducted experiments with two baby food containers made from polypropylene and a reusable pouch made of polyethylene, both plastics approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

In their tests, they sought to replicate the kind of everyday scenarios in which people might use plastic containers, including refrigeration, room temperature storage for six months, shorter term high-temperature storage and microwaving, he said.

In one experiment, they heated the liquids in the plastic containers at full power for three minutes in a 1,000-watt microwave. The researchers did not microwave the pouch because it was not suitable for microwave use.

For the tests, they filled the containers with deionized water or a liquid intended to simulate mildly acidic foods, such as dairy products, fruits and vegetables.

Afterward, they filtered the liquids and analyzed them for evidence of micro- and nanoparticles.

Hussain said they found the microwave heating released the most particles.

The actual number of each size of particle released by the microwaving depended on a number of factors, including the plastic container and the liquid inside it. Using a mathematical model to analyze various scenarios, they also calculated that infants drinking products with microwaved water and toddlers consuming microwaved dairy products would have the highest intake of particles.

Simulated refrigeration, room temperature storage and high-temperature storage also could lead to the release of micro- and nanoplastics, he said.

Under the supervision of Svetlana Romanova of the University of Nebraska Medical Centers College of Pharmacy, the team cultured and exposed embryonic kidney cells to the actual plastic particles released from the containers. Hussain said previous research has used commercially produced or lab-made particles. The researchers also exposed the cells to particle concentrations that infants and toddlers might encounter over days or from multiple sources.

After two days, 23% of kidney cells exposed to the highest particle concentrations survived, a mortality rate higher than previous studies involving other types of cells. The researchers suspect that kidney cells may be more susceptible to the particles than the cells used in those studies. Earlier studies also tended to use larger particles, some too large to enter cells.

The question of cell infiltration, Hussain said, is one of many areas where more research is needed before researchers can determine the true risk of consuming micro- and nanoplastics. He already is doing some of those studies.

The American Academy of Pediatrics advised against microwaving and dishwashing plastic containers and bottles in a 2018 policy statement. At that time, the concern was that heating plastics could increase the chances that the containers would leach chemicals.

Dr. Leonardo Trasande, the lead author of the statement, said micro- and nanoplastics are different because they are plastic particles, not the chemicals themselves. But the particles could bring chemicals used as additives in plastics along for the ride. Trasande directs the Center for the Investigation of Environmental Hazards at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine.

The study, however, could not fully distinguish any effects from the particles themselves from those of any ride-along chemicals, he said, however good a job the researchers did in filtering and cleaning the particles.

But Trasande, who was not involved in the UNL study, said it suggests that plastics pose more of a concern than researchers anticipated. He, too, said more studies are needed to resolve the ins and outs of the findings.

Hussain advised other parents to follow the steps he takes with his son. He doesnt microwave plastic containers or put hot water in them. When he buys pureed baby and toddler food, he seeks out products in glass jars.

It is hard to avoid plastic 100%, Hussain said. When you start deliberately trying to avoid it, you can see how much plastic you are using in your daily life. I wasnt even aware of how much plastic I was using every day.

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ANKARA, Oct. 10, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on Oct. 9, 2019 shows the northern Syrian city of Ras al-Ain which is under Turkish military attack, as seen from the southern Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar. Turkish airstrikes and howitzers have hit. Image Source: IANS News

Ankara, July 31 : Turkish security forces killed 12 members of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northwestern Syria, the Turkish Defence Ministry said.

The YPG members were "neutralised" after they opened "harassing fire" on the Operation Euphrates Shield zone of the Turkish military, the Ministry said on Sunday in a statement.

Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralised" in their statements to imply the "terrorists" in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

TArkiye sees the YPG group as the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Xinhua news agency reported.

The Turkish Army launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016 in northern Syria as part of the efforts to create a YPG-free zone along its border in the neighbouring country.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the EU, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than 30 years.
Rabat, July 31 : Palestinian Ambassador to Morocco Jamal Choubki has welcomed Morocco's support for the Palestinian cause and for establishing an independent Palestinian state.

Choubki made the remarks after King Mohammed VI reaffirmed Morocco's consistent position on the Palestinian cause in an address on the occasion of the Throne Day commemorating the king's accession to the throne, the official news agency MAP reported on Sunday.

"King Mohammed VI has never ceased to express, on every occasion, Morocco's constant and unwavering support for the Palestinian cause," the MAP quoted the ambassador as saying.

In his speech, the Moroccan king reiterated that his country firmly upholds the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to establish an independent state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, as well as the Palestinians' aspiration for ultimate security and stability, Xinhua news agency reported.
Cairo, July 31 : Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called for forming a committee to complete the dialogue on issues discussed during the reconciliation meeting of heads of Palestinian factions.

The meeting in Egypt's New Alamein City, which was chaired by Abbas sought to restore inter-Palestinian unity among various factions amid the increasing violence between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank.

"I consider today's meeting a first and important step to complete our dialogue, which we hope will achieve the desired goals as soon as possible," Abbas said on Sunday in the meeting's final statement.

He proposed a committee to be formed by representatives of Palestinian factions that could start working immediately on discussed issues, Xinhua news agency reported.

He thanked Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi for hosting the meeting, as well as his keenness to help end the Palestinian division, which started in 2007.

He also thanked Algeria, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, China and Russia for their efforts to achieve inter-Palestinian unity.

While the two main rival movements, ruling Fatah and Gaza-controlling Hamas, took part in the meeting, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad announced beforehand it would boycott the gathering due to political arrests of some of its members by the Palestinian Authority headed by Abbas.

The gathering brokered by Egypt came amid soaring violence in the West Bank. In early July, the Israeli raids on the Jenin refugee camp killed at least 12 Palestinians and wounded more than 150.

The Palestinian embassy noted that Abbas and Sisi are scheduled to meet on Monday.

Egypt, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, has been sponsoring meetings between Palestinian factions for years, in addition to brokering truces between armed Palestinian movements and Israel.

Egypt has repeatedly reiterated its position that supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the internationally-recognised two-state solution.
Tehran, July 31 : Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with visiting UN special envoy for Iraq in the capital Tehran to discuss Iraq developments.

During the meeting, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert commented on developments in and outside Iraq and highlighted Iran's constructive role regarding the Arab country, according to a statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Sunday.

Amir-Abdollahian, for his part, said Iran and Iraq have seen good, strong and constructive bilateral relations, which contribute to the region's sustainable development, stability and security, Xinhua news agency reported.

Such relations are based on the friendship between the two peoples and all-out bilateral cooperation between the two governments, he noted.

The Iranian top diplomat emphasised the importance of ensuring security along the Iran-Iraq border, stressing that the border security agreement signed between Tehran and Baghdad in March should be implemented "accurately".
Beirut, July 31 : Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has called on Palestinian leaders to help restore security in the Ain Al-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon after armed clashes broke out there.

"We call on Palestinian leaders to hand over those who tamper with security to the Lebanese authorities; this is the natural way to restore security and stability inside and around the camp as in other Palestinian camps in Lebanon," a statement by the Council of Ministers quoted Mikati as saying on Sunday.

The Lebanese Prime Minister also called on Palestinian leaders to respect Lebanese sovereignty, relevant laws and the principles of hospitality, Xinhua news agency reported.

Armed clashes broke out in the Ain Al-Helweh camp between members of the Fatah Movement and Islamist militants since early Sunday morning, killing at least five people, including Abou Ashraf al-Armoushi, a military officer affiliated with the Fatah Movement, and injuring six others.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Baramulla: Security personnel during search operations after a non-local militant was killed in a gunfight with the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district, on June 22, 2019. The encounter started in the morning between militants an. Image Source: IANS News

Jammu, July 31, : The BSF on Monday said that a Pakistani intruder was shot dead on the International Border (IB) in Jammu's Arnia sector.

"In the intervening night of July 30-31, vigilant BSF troops observed suspicious movement across the IB in Arnia border area and an intruder was observed approaching toward BSF fence.

"The alert troops neutralised the intruder and thwarted the infiltration attempt," the BSF added.
Mumbai, July 31 : In a horrifying incident, an angry Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable allegedly shot dead a colleague and three passengers onboard the Jaipur-Mumbai Express here on Monday.

According to the GRP Control here, the incident occurred between the Virar and Mira Road Road stations at around 5.30 a.m.

Two on-duty RPF constables allegedly had a major fight in which one took his gun and started firing at the other one.

In the firing, the other constable and three other passengers, including a woman, were killed.

Police and RPF officials are investigating the incident and further details are awaited.

--IANS

qn/ksk
Islamabad, July 31 : The death toll due to an alleged suicide blast at a Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) workers' convention in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has increased to 44, officials said.

The incident took place on Sunday when more than 400 JUI-F members and supporters had gathered under a tent in Bajaur district's Khar town, near the border with Afghanistan, reports Dawn news.

Addressing the media late Sunday night, KP Inspector General of Police Akhtar Hayat Khan said 10 kg of explosives were used in the blast.

He said ball bearings and other explosive materials had been collected from the site.

"Investigation is underway and culprits will soon be arrested," Dawn news quoted the provincial police chief as saying.

Meanwhile, KP caretaker Information Minister Feroze Shah said hospitals across Bajaur and neighbouring areas had been put on high alert.

"We are trying to move critical patients to Peshawar and other hospitals through helicopters," he told Geo News.

According toBajaur District Health Officer Faisal Kamal, more than 150 injured people had been brought to the Bajaur District Headquarters Hospital.

"Over 35 people have been referred to the Timargarh hospital while 15 critically injured persons have been sent to Peshawar via a Pakistan Army helicopter," he added.

No group or individial has claimed responsibility for the blast so far.

A regional leader of the JUI-F, Maulana Ziaullah, was also killed in the blast, local officials told the BBC.

JUI-F is a major religious political party and forms part of the government coalition in Pakistan's parliament.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the blast and said terrorists targeted those who advocated the cause of Islam, the Holy Quran and Pakistan.

"Terrorists are enemies of Pakistan and they will be eliminated," he said in a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office, adding that elements involved in the incident would be meted out strict punishment.

He also sought a report of the incident from Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
San Francisco, July 31 : X, formerly known as Twitter, has reinstated rapper Kanye West's account, about eight months after suspending it for violating rules against incitement.

West was banned in December last year for posting a Swastika after making several anti-Semitic statements on and off of Twitter, reports The Verge.

According to The Wall Street Journal, ads wonat appear next to his posts, and he wonat be able to monetise his account.

When West's account got banned, the platform owner Elon Musk had clarified that his account was being suspended for incitement to violence, "not an unflattering pic of me being hosed by Ari".

"Frankly, I found those pics to be helpful motivation to lose weight," said Musk after West posted some of Musk's private pictures on Twitter where he is seen taking a bath on a yacht.

Meanwhile, X briefly changed its Tweet button to 'Post', suggesting that soon all traces of the blue bird and its linked Twitter account will be gone.

The change was spotted by a user who also posted a screenshot of the new Post button on the platform.

Many users expressed their thoughts and observations on the user's post.

While one user said, "I just noticed it!!," another posted, "I was low key hoping it would say 'X'."

Musk on Sunday said, "Something special coming soon."

Musk had started hinting at the rebranding of Twitter as X on July 23 with a series of tweets, starting with one that said, "soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds."

Since then, he has been changing the Twitter name and blue bird logo across all platforms.

Last week, he clarified, "Twitter was acquired by X Corp both to ensure freedom of speech and as an accelerant for X, the everything app. This is not simply a company renaming itself, but doing the same thing."

"The Twitter name made sense when it was just 140 character messages going back and forth -- like birds tweeting -- but now you can post almost anything, including several hours of video."
Samantha shells fitness goals as she drops cute workout video with her cat 'Gelato'. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, July 31 : Actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu, who was on a much-needed vacation to Bali, is now back home, and on Monday dropped a glimpse of her working out in the gym.

Recently, Samantha was on an acting break as she wanted to focus on her health, and undergo the treatment for autoimmune condition myositis.

According to Webmd, Myositis refers to any condition causing inflammation in muscles. Weakness, swelling, and pain are the most common myositis symptoms.

But, the fitness freak diva has returned back to India, and gave Monday motivation goals to her fans, with her new workout video.

The workout video also has a cute addition to it.

Taking to the Instagram Stories, the actress shared the workout videos. In the clip, Samantha can be seen doing exercise with her pet cat Gelato. She is donning a black tee, grey shorts, and is seen cuddling her cat.

Samantha is working out to the backdrop music of 'Fly' by Nicki Minaj, ft. Rihanna.

In another video, Samantha is heard saying, "Gelato, you need to work on your muscles", adding that her gym instructor Junaid Shaikh "is very disappointed", while the cat plays around.

Earlier, Samantha shared some mesmerising photo dump of her vacation to the tropical paradise.

In the photos, we get a beautiful glimpse of close-up shot of Samantha, flaunting her gorgeous smile. Next, she can be seen donning a halter neck green dress, while she admires the beauty of the sea.

She also gave the glimpses of the food, beaches, music, traditional sculptures and icecream.

She captioned the post as, "Live a little they said (1/2)".

The stunning diva had earlier, kept her fans and followers updated with glimpses of her serene vacation through her social media handle. The mesmerising beauty delighted them with picturesque snapshots of Bali's scenic beauty. From sandy beaches to lush green landscapes, her feed was a visual treat for her followers.

She had also shared some beautiful glimpses from Uluwatu, and posed at the Monkey Forest in Ubud.

On the work front, her next is 'Kushi' with Vijay Deverakonda. The romantic Telugu film will release on September 1.

The actress will also be seen in the remake of 'Citadel' alongside Varun Dhawan.

-- Syndicated from IANS
New Delhi, July 31 : The Jalan-Kalrock Consortium, which is the resolution applicant for the cash-strapped Jet Airways, has successfully secured the renewal of the air operator certificate (AOC) for the airline from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

This crucial development clears the path for the grounded passenger carrier to resume its operations and revive its services in India.

In a statement issued on Monday, Jalan-Kalrock Consortium said that the successful resolution applicant of Jet Airways successfully obtained renewal for the AOC of Jet Airways from the DGCA on July 28, thereby reinforcing its commitment to revive the airline.

"The renewal of AOC revalidates the confidence of the Indian Aviation Regulator in the revival of Jet Airways," it said.

Commenting on this development, the Jalan-Kalrock consortium said: "JKC expresses its heartfelt gratitude to the aviation regulator, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and all other stakeholders, in showcasing their faith in JKC and in the revival of Jet Airways.

"The Jalan and Kalrock Consortium remains fully dedicated to the revival of Jet Airways and is committed to implementing a comprehensive strategy to ensure the airline's success. JKC will continue to work closely with all relevant authorities, industry partners, and stakeholders in reviving Jet Airways in coming weeks."
Guwahati, July 31 : Assam Police have arrested a man from Meghalaya for the illegal possession of a pistol and trying to sell it in Goalpara district, officials said on Monday.

The man has been identified as Enamul Hoque, a resident of Phulbari area in Meghalaya.

According to the police, Hoque was trying to sell the pistol to a person in Goalpara's Simolabari neighbourhood.

Goalpara SP Rakesh Reddy told IANS: "A few days ago, we had earlier information about the movement of Hoque. He was in possession of an illegal pistol and was trying to sell it here. He was apprehended by the police and taken into custody."

The officer further said that Hoque has been interrogated by the police to unearth a possible nexus of illegal weapons in the district.

--IANS

tdr/ksk
Los Angeles, July 31 : Actress Sofia Vergara has been tagged as the "rudest woman" by Teresa Giudice, a television personality.

The 'Modern Family' actress was lambasted by 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey' regular Teresa, 51, while she recalled meeting her in 2017, reports aceshowbiz.com.

On the latest episode of her 'Namaste B$tches' podcast, while chatting with co-host Melissa Pfeister about Sofia being reluctant to take a snap with her backstage at a talk show, Teresa said: "Sofia Vergara's PR person and my PR person spoke together, and I guess the two of them said, 'Let's get a picture of Teresa and Sofia together'."

"I didn't want a picture with her. I've never asked to take a picture with anybody. (She's) the rudest woman I've ever met. I saw her whole demeanour, and then I heard her say to her PR person, 'Why are you making me take a picture with that lady?' "

"I was like, 'Excuse me? I did not want to take a picture with you! I never asked to take a picture with you'. I was like, 'How rude. You're so not a humble person. You forgot where you came from'."

The reality star mocked Sofia's accent, and referenced the actress' humble beginnings in Barranquilla, Colombia, by saying, "It's not like she started out like being on the top. She forgot where she came from. She's so not a down-to-earth person. I'm so not a fan of her."

Teresa previously told TMZ about Sofia, "Ugh, I can't stand her, sorry. I hate to say that because I'm Italian, she's Colombian, she has an accent - she has more of an accent than me. You would think she would be nice, like, she's an immigrant - no, I'm just saying, she should be nice!"

Fans blasted Teresa at the time over her comments about Sofia's roots.

The actress, who is yet to publicly address Teresa's latest outburst, aced her US citizenship test in 2014.

Teresa's former husband Joe Giudice was deported to his native Italy in 2019 after serving a 41-month federal prison sentence for bankruptcy fraud and failing to file taxes.

He has been splitting his time between Italy and the Bahamas to make seeing the four daughters he shares with Teresa -- Gia, 22, Gabriella, 19, Milania, 17, and Audriana, 13, -- more cost-efficient.

Teresa has since moved on with entrepreneur Luis "Louie" Ruelas, marrying him last year.
Mumbai, July 31 : Actress Richa Chadha was spotted in London shooting for her international debut 'Aaina' with 'The Chronicles of Narnia' star William Moseley.

In the image, Richa stands side by side with her co-actor, Moseley, known for his remarkable portrayal in the Narnia franchise.

'Aaina' marks an exciting Indo-British collaboration, bringing together talent from both nations to create a cinematic experience like no other.

The production of Aaina is in the capable hands of Big Cat Films Limited (UK), helmed by producers Geeta Bhalla and P.J. Singh.

Currently, the film is in full swing of production in the bustling streets of London, where the leading duo were captured with their director, Markus Meedt.

The film 'Aaina' marks the directorial debut of Markus Meedt who has directed acclaimed short films, including 'Shelter' and 'Anonymous' and episodes of mini-series 'Let's Get Macho'.

'Aaina' delves into the realms of drama, exploring the profound consequences of the cycle of violence, not only within cultures but also on individuals, portraying the gripping effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. The film will be shot in the UK largely and also in India.

Besides 'Aaina', Richa is awaiting the release of 'Fukrey 3', where she will be seen reprising her popular character Bholi Punjaban.

The actress also has 'Heeramandi' where she will be seen sharing screenspace with Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Sharmin Sehgal and Fardeen Khan.
Chennai, July 31 : With the BJP ground report not favouring Prime Minister Narendra Modi's candidature from Ramanathapuram, the party is explorating the possibilities of fielding him from either Kanyakumari or Coimbatore.

BJP leaders Pon Radhakrishnan and CP Radhakrishnan had won from these seats respectively.

Since Coimbatore and Kanyakumari is a stronghold for the BJP at the grassroots level, there is a likelihood of Modi being considered for either of the two seats.

Sources in the BJP told IANS that the saffron party was pitching for the Prime Minister to contest from Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha seat.

In the meeting of BJP state presidents, organising secretaries and party senior leaders from South India held in Hyderabad on July 9, several leaders had put forth the idea of Prime Minister Modi contesting from Ramanathapuram constituency which has a sizeable Muslim population.

The seat is presently held by Navaskani of IUML.

However, after BJP conducted a detailed study into the seat, which revealed that the party does not have a proper ground support in the constituency as well as booth committees. The party will have to piggy ride on the support extended by the AIADMK which is presently its ally in Tamil Nadu. This has prompted the party to think in the direction of Modi to be fielded from either Kanyakumari or Coimbatore as they have a sizable grassroots support.

Sources in the BJP told IANS that the RSS is also receptive to the idea of the Prime Minister contesting from either of the two seats. It is to be noted that BJP has been organising several programmes in Tamil Nadu with party senior leaders campaigning extensively in the state.

Prime Minister Modi is also proactively speaking on the Tamil language, Tamil culture and has recently got the Sengol from Tamil Nadu installed at the new Parliament.

Political observers are of the opinion that the BJP is planning a major headway into Tamil Nadu by using the popularity of Modi. In both -- Kanyakumari and Coimbatore -- the party has around eighty per cent booth representations.

It may be recalled that Congress leaders Indira Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had contested from Chickmangalur, Bellary and in Wayanad constituencies respectively. This is also considered as a reason for the

BJP mulling the idea of Prime Minister Modi to be fielded in either Kanyakumari or Coimbatore seats.

BJP has big plans for South India and after the defeat of the party in the recent Karnataka Assembly elections, the saffron party is trying to get a major leverage through Tamil Nadu and Telangana. As per the party's detailed studies, Kerala is a hard state compared to Tamil Nadu and Telangana and with Prime Minister Modi's candidature, the effect will percolate into all the South Indian states.

C. Rajeev, Director, Centre for Policy and Development Studies, a think tank based out of Chennai while speaking to IANS said, " Prime Minister Modi contesting from either Kanyakumari or Coimbatore can be a decision which have far reaching positive consequences for the BJP and the Sanghparivar. The BJP has been active in Tamil Nadu for the past few years and party candidates have won from Coimbatore and Kanyakumari seats. This plan will help the BJP make inroads into all the other South Indian states."
Islamabad, July 31 : As Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng started his three-day visit to Pakistan on Monday to commemorate 10 years of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), authorities have ordered the complete shut down of commercial activities in Islamabad.

The government has announced official holidays on Monday and Tuesday -- an additional two days days to the three-day off for Ashura.

All commercial activities, markets, schools, private offices and banks will remain shut in the capital city.

Taking to Twitter on Monday morning, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said: "It is my pleasure to warmly welcome the Chinese Vice-Premier H.E. He Lifeng and members of his delegation to Pakistan. They are visiting Pakistan to join us in celebrating the 10th anniversary of CPEC and witnessing first-hand the transformations brought about by this game-changing initiative."

While Islamabad has been set alight with read and green colors to celebrate the occassion, many argue that the complete closure of the capital is beyond understanding.

Netizens have questioned the government's decision to shut down the capital.

"What a bizzare use of public money and government funds put to waste by the government," a social media user commented on the overflowing decorations done in and around the capital and government buildings.

"What is insane to see is the fact that Pakistan and China are celebrating 10 years of CPEC, which is an economic growth initiative. But they're doing it by shutting down all economic activities in the capital Islamabad," another user stated.

"Is Islamabad being run on vacations? By shutting down markets, banks and schools this government is inflicting losses worth billions in a matter of days. And all of this for what? To welcome a dignitary and celebrate CPEC? Doesn't make any sense," senior journalist and activist Urooj Raza Siyami said.

The Pakistan government maintains that the visit holds great importance for the country and its relationship with China.

Authorities in capital Islamabad said that the capital has been shut down to ensure full-proof security.

As Islamabad is celebrating 10 years of the CPEC, many netizens have also reminded the government of the Bajaur blast on Sunday that killed over 45 persons and injured more than 150 others.

"The government is celebrating and filled with joy for CPEC. It has even forgotten the loss or precious lives yesterday in a suicide blast in Bajaur. Today should have been declared as a day of mourning instead of celebrations," said a local journalist from Peshawar.

"Would China also announce holidays during our PM's visit, that also less than 24 hours after a terrorist suicide attack? They would never do it. Its just us, who opt to value outsiders over own people always."
Information is from police reports and may be incomplete depending on the status of an investigation. Phone numbers and nonemergency.
Jaipur, July 31 : Former Chief Minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje has said that she had to struggle a lot when she entered politics and it continues even today.

While addressing an awards function in Jaipur on Sunday, she said, "When I entered the politics of Rajasthan, I also had to struggle a lot, which has not diminished even today. At that time too there was a struggle. Even today we have to struggle. If I had sat at home in fear, I would not have reached here."

"It is not that people who reach high positions do not have to struggle. The struggle you guys have done, I also had to face the same struggle when I entered politics in Rajasthan for the first time which continues even today.

"When I became the first woman Chief Minister of Rajasthan, people had said 'what will you do? This is a male dominated state. However, at that time women themselves became my strength. It is because of them that I am standing here," she added

Raje said that India has the largest constitution in the world in which women are given equal rights with men. Despite this, women have to fight for their own rights.

"Even today, only men are taking important decisions related to their lives.

"Even if women are happy, the representation in the Parliament is lesser.

"Women are flying fighter planes, winning medals in the Olympics. By becoming the President, she is handling the reins of the country. The responsibility of Chandrayaan-3 landing has been entrusted to 'Rocket Woman' Ritu Karidhal. But in reality this number is only a fraction of the female population.

"The representation of women is 15 in Lok Sabha, 14 in Rajya Sabha and 13.5 per cent in Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, which is very low. Whereas, like both the wheels of a bicycle, the balance of the society rests on men and women, whose equal participation only develops the country."

Raje said that even today our Muslim sisters express their gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking a decision in their favour by ending the practice of triple talaq.

"Due to many changes brought in the Haj policy by the Modi government, Haj pilgrimage has become easier and this has given special benefits to Muslim women which he had also mentioned in the 'Mann Ki Baat' programme on Sunday."

She said that the pleasant change that has taken place in the lives of women in the last nine years proves that the Modi government is standing ready for the betterment of women. "On the other hand, the public welfare works done by our government in the state, the spirit of social welfare was also inspired by the ideology of the Bharatiya Janata Party," she said.
Los Angeles, July 31 : Zachery Ty Bryan, the actor best known for his role as eldest son Brad Taylor on Tim Allen's 'Home Improvement', reportedly has been arrested for domestic violence for the second time.

TMZ reported that Bryan was arrested on Friday by police in Eugene, OR, police for felony assault in violation of the Abuse Prevention Act. The action is used when someone is accused of attacking a person who'd previously been granted a restraining order in relation to domestic violence, reports deadline.com.

Bryan previously pleaded guilty in 2021 to two felony counts in a domestic violence case in Oregon. He received a sentence of three years probation and was required to participate in a batterer-intervention program.

The 2021 charges stem from an incident in Eugene in which the then-39-year-old actor assaulted his 27-year-old girlfriend.

He was arrested and booked into the Lane County Jail and initially charged with harassment, coercion, strangulation, interference with making a report and second counts of menacing and assault in the fourth degree. Those charges were dismissed in return for his two-count guilty plea.

TMZ citied an anonymous police source, who said they received a call for a reported physical dispute between a male and female at a Eugene residence.

Bryan was not at the scene when police arrived. They eventually tracked him down and escorted him to jail, where he remained in custody as of late Sunday afternoon.

Bryan was engaged to the woman involved in the 2021 domestic violence incident, but it's not clear if the same person was involved this time.

Bryan is best known for his 1991-99 'Home Improvement' role, and his other TV credits include 'Veronica Mars', 'Burn Notice', 'Smallville' and 'the Knight Rider reboot', among others. He was an exec producer on the 2018 feature 'The Kindergarten Teacher' starring Maggie Gyllenhaal.
New Delhi, July 31 : A recent UN report has identified India as one of the peripheral countries where terrorist organisations like Al Qaeda, Islamic State (IS) and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) are planning to increase their presence.

The report by the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of the UN Security Council says that Al Qaeda is regrouping in Taliban-led Afghanistan. But what is more worrying is that around 200 fighters of the Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), the South Asia-focused branch of the parent terrorist organisation, are still active, and who might be planning operations in Jammu and Kashmir, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

The report says that the AQIS is grooming an affiliate for Kashmir operations. Plus, it also raises concern on Taliban-ruled Afghanistan becoming the epicentre of global terrorism, with around 20 militants groups operating from its soil.

While developing their network at home in India, the IS supporters also provides recruits to join jihadi organisations, outside India. According to reports, as many as 200 have left India, a significant number of these are from Kerala. Although this number might look surprisingly low considering India's large Muslim population, the participation had an impact on the domestic network, forming an important conduit for advice and communication with the organisation in Syria and in Afghanistan.

As per the Washington-based US Institute of Peace (USIP) report, one of those who benefited from this link was Umar Nisar Bhat. Nisar was a central figure in the pro-IS network in India from the inception of ISJK, playing a major role in the network's propaganda dissemination until his arrest in July 2021.

But the threat here is multi-organisational, not just from Taliban or the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), but also from the ISKP, which has emerged as one of the dominant terrorist organisation in Afghanistan.

The IS's presence in South Asia is not limited to Afghanistan and Pakistan but extends to include "periphery" territory, including India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka.

Reportedly, Al Qaeda uses Afghanistan as an ideological and logistical hub to mobilise and recruit new fighters while covertly rebuilding its external operations capability.

According to the UN report, the Al Qaeda core in Afghanistan remains stable at 30 to 60 members, while all fighters in the country are estimated to be 400. The report also mentions Osama Mehmood being the AQIS chief.

One of the most alarming aspect of the UN report is that Al Qaeda is maintaining "a close and symbiotic" relationship with the Taliban government.

Under the patronage of high-ranking Taliban officials, Al Qaeda members "infiltrate law enforcement agencies and public administration bodies", ensuring the security of the group's cells across Afghanistan.

Though, Al Qaeda's capability to conduct large-scale terror attacks "remains reduced while its intent remains firm".

The report says that Al Qaeda is also working to strengthen cooperation with non-Afghan terror groups such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) and Jamaat Ansarullah.

Meanwhile, a war of words between TTP and ISKP has also been reported, with each blaming and criticising the other having ties with regional intelligence agencies.

The UN report also assessed the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant-Khorasan Province (ISIL-KP) as the "most serious terrorist threat in Afghanistan and the wider region".

The ISIL-KP has actually in recent years developed close links with AQIS and many recruits from India and Pakistan have worked for this terror network.

For the Indian government, the most alarming aspect is the aspirations of the AQIS targeting India and Kashmir, which has been on its radar since 2010 onwards. However, as per another UN report of 2017, Al Qaeda has not been able to make significant inroads into the Kashmir theatre. The new threat, as evident from the UN report, may be a renewed effort by the terror group to reinvigorate its network.

However, as per the USIP report the IS has largely failed to mobilise large numbers of supporters in India to migrate to the Levant or to engage in extremist activities at home. The group's presence in India started with the establishment of several pro-Islamic State groups operating in the Indian-administered region of Jammu and Kashmir.

In July 2017, these supporters took the name "Islamic State in Jammu and Kashmir" (ISJK), yet it was not until May 2019 that the IS officially established a separate province in India, also covering Kashmir, as per the USIP report.

The USIP report further says that the nexus of AQIS-ISIL-KP has already made its foray into India. This terror network poached some youth from Kerala who went missing and then were reported to have joined IS.

Similarly, many youth who were arrested between 2013 to 2016 from various locations like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi and Odisha were supposed to be members of the AQIS.

The UN report has also expressed concerns that the outlawed TTP could become a regional threat if it continues to have a safe operating base in Afghanistan.

Part of the reason why India, despite its large Muslim population, has seen fewer attacks than other countries in the region are due to India's counterterrorism capabilities, which have considerably improved since the devastating 2008 Mumbai attack.

A report published by The Hindustan Times in September 2021 reported that according to India's counterterrorism agency, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), 168 individuals have been accused of association with the IS across 37 cases. Though the figure might look very low compared to the Muslim population of India, yet it is a cause of concern for the community and the government too, as it raises the spectre of radicalisation in the country.

The USIP report suggests that to counter radicalisation, states can promote political pluralism and respect for minorities. Government policies that discriminate against, marginalise, and even violently repress minorities are fostering severe domestic cleavages in South Asian countries, alienating groups to the extent that some of their members look to the IS to help them fight back.

To mitigate the risks associated with such policies, India should promote political and religious pluralism respecting all minorities.

(Asad Mirza is a Delhi-based senior political and international affairs commentator. He also served as an Advisor to the UNCT panel for two years)
The only brand of cricket fans want is a winning one: Nasser Hussain.. Image Source: IANS News

London, July 31 : Former England captain Nasser Hussain has stated that the hosts are "slight favourites" to win the fifth and decisive Ashes 2023 Test against Australia as the pitch will offer a turn on Day 5 at The Oval which will aid Ben Stokes' side to level the series 2-2.

The lashing rain in London on Sunday forced the umpires to call stumps early on Day 4, with Australia closing the day four on 135 for no loss, still 249 runs away from taking the Ashes 3-1 and England needing 10 wickets to level the series.

"My feeling is that England are still slight favourites, even after Australia's start. The pitch is spinning and a day-five Oval pitch does turn," Hussain told Sky Sports.

He further added the rain has provided Moeen Ali with some additional time to recover from his groin strain, indicating that off-spinner's recovery might play a crucial role on the last day of a series.

"Hopefully the rain has given Moeen Ali a bit more time to get better from that groin strain and Joe Root is a very useful off-spinner," said Hussain.

"Australia have two left-handers in at the moment and then Alex Carey, Travis Head and Mitchell Starc. Off-spinners like left-handers. "It is set up perfectly. The last day of a magnificent series and we still don't know if it is going to be 2-1, 2-2 or 3-1," he added.

The 55-year-old also also raised concerns about the decision to hold back Mark Wood from joining the bowling attack until the 33rd over, by which time Australia were 99-0.

"I think Stokes could have gone earlier with Wood because of what was coming -- the rain was coming and when the rain comes the reverse disappears. Also, just to get the crowd up. They were up this morning with the Stuart Broad factor but with the Khawaja-Warner partnership they died and got low.

The moment Wood started warming up you could sense the crowd go, 'this is what we have been waiting for'," the former skipper said.

After bowling England out inside the first two overs of the day, Australia's openers Usman Khawaja (69) and David Warner (58) laid a solid foundation for the big chase of 384 runs with an unbeaten 135-run stand before rain halted play when players took off drinks break in the second session.
New Delhi, July 31 : India is one of the fastest growing and the largest mobile markets in the world and Samsung now aims to reach over 50 per cent market share in the country in the super-premium ($1,000 and above) segment, the company's mobile chief has said.

According to TM Roh, President and Head of Samsung Electronics' mobile business, India is also a very important strategic market that is leading the way for popularisation of the foldables, highly sensitive to technological innovation and also very much open to innovation.

"Galaxy products already account for 35 per cent market share in the super-premium ($1,000+) segment in India, and with the newly-launched Z Flip5 and Z Fold5, we are now aiming at over 50 per cent market share in the country," Roh told a select group of visiting journalists here during the launch of new foldables.

Led by Samsung, the foldable (including flip) smartphones are likely to contribute over 1.8 per cent of the total smartphone revenue in India this year, reaching over Rs 6,300 crore in the country.

This is expected to be achieved by the sale of 6.35 lakh foldable smartphones in the country during the year. The foldable form factor is also expected to cross the 1 million mark of annual sales in 2025, which will double in three years by 2028, according to market research firm techARC.

Roh said that in the second half of 2023, with the new and improved Galaxy Z Fold5 and Z Flip5, "we will be solidifying our foldable leadership in the India market".

"Thanks to the Galaxy Tab S9 series, as well as the Watch6 and Watch6 Classic, we will be able to provide an even stronger Galaxy ecosystem experience to be even more loved by the consumers in India," he mentioned.

The top Samsung executive said that if more consumers in India were to use foldable and flip phones to provide them with more needs and more demands, better ideas for innovation, "then, of course, we'll incorporate them into the direction of our innovation".

As per CyberMedia Research (CMR)'s estimates, foldable smartphone shipments in 2023 are projected to surge 65 per cent year-on-year. Foldables smartphones in the price range of Rs 60,000 to Rs 75,000 are expected to grow five times by 2026 in India.

Globally, the foldable category is expected to top 30 million units of cumulative sales all over the world this year.

Samsung has sold nearly 10 million foldable phones since it launched the previous models last summer.

"This year will mark a major turning point for Samsung's smartphone business, with a goal to push up the portion of foldable phones to more than 20 per cent of Galaxy flagship sales worldwide," Roh told the global media earlier.

In the next few years, sales of foldable phones could "hit 100 million units a year worldwide," he added, citing various reports by industry research firms.

Since Samsung first introduced the new form factor in 2019, more companies have joined the high-end segment and the manufacturing ecosystem has expanded.

(Nishant Arora can be reached at nishant.a@ians.in)

--IANS

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New Delhi, July 31 : A Delhi Police official on Monday said that four budding criminals, who copied the modus operandi of gangsters after watching YouTube videos, were arrested for trying to extort Rs 40 lakhs from a man in Dwarka area.

The accused were identified as Ajay Kumar (26) from Uttam Nagar; Ashish (24) from Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh; Lucky (23) and Vishal (22), both residents of Vijay Enclave, Dabri.

On July 18, a complaint was lodged at the Bindapur police station in which the victim said that he received a WhatsApp call on behalf of a criminal gang threatening to kill him if he didn't pay a ransom of Rs 40 lakhs.

During the investigation, with the help of technical surveillance, Vishal was arrested in Dabri.

"On interrogation, Vishal disclosed that he provided two new SIM cards to his close friend Lucky. They both went near Shakuntala hospital, Sagarpur, and met a person named Ashish, who was well known to Lucky. Lucky gave four SIM cards to Ashish," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) M. Harsha Vardhan said.

Lucky and Ashish were arrested based on Vishal's statement.

During interrogation, Ashish further revealed that he gave four SIM cards to his friend named Ajay, who met him near the Nawada Metro station.

"Ajay Kumar is the mastermind behind the above-mentioned conspiracy. Raids were conducted at different places in Uttam Nagar and other areas, but Ajay was not found anywhere. Secret informers were also engaged in the Uttam Nagar and Bindapur areas to identify the main accused,y," said the DCP.

On July 27, information was received regarding Ajay's whereabouts at Sector-03, Dwarka.

"Subsequently, the team reached the location and laid a trap at the expected place of his arrival. The team apprehended him as per the informer's tip-off," said the DCP.

During frisking, eight mobile phones and eight SIM cards were recovered from his possession.

Upon verification, it was found that the accused used the SIM cards in two Android mobile phones that were recovered from him before making the extortion call.

"Ajay disclosed that he disposed of the phone and SIM card near Sagarpur after making the second threat call on July 22. He also revealed that he was inspired by a video of extortion calls by criminal gangs on YouTube and was drawn to their modus operandi of extorting money from well-settled businessmen," the DCP added.

--IANS

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New Delhi, July 31 : Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 p.m. on Monday after Congress-led Opposition members protested against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's absence from the House, seeking his response on the Manipur situation.

Speaker Om Birla initiated Question Hour proceedings as soon as the Lower House began its proceedings.

However, after around 15 minutes, amid sustained protests by the Opposition members, who trooped into the well of the House shouting slogans and showing placards, he adjourned the House till 2 p.m.

Earlier, the Speaker had welcomed a Parliamentary delegation from Malawi, which is in India on a five-day visit.
Patna, July 31 : A gang of mobile-chain snatchers fired at a GRP patrolling team in Bihar's Nadaul railway station on the Patna-Gaya rail section, leaving a constable injured, an official said on Monday.

The victim, Dilip Kumar, has been admitted to the Masaudhi sub-divisional hospital. He sustained a gunshot injury in his hand.

An FIR in this connection has been registered in GRP police station of Taregna (Masaudhi) railway station and the matter is under investigation.

GRP SHO Mukesh Kumar Singh said that the accused are members of the Jatahu gang which is active in the Bairam Chowk of Masaudhi.

The incident took place at 10 p.m. on Sunday night.

"Our GRP team was patrolling on the Patna Gaya rail section. They were on platform number 2. After seeing the police team, the snatchers fired gunshots on the GRP team and one of the bullets hit constable Dilip Kumar on his left hand. There were three to four snatchers who fired at the police team," Singh said.

"We have identified the accused. They will be put behind the bars soon."
Pakistan is world's best performing stock market during the week. Image Source: IANS News

Karachi, July 31 : Shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) rallied past the 48,000 mark to a 24-month high on positive cues, with market experts expecting the momentum to continue.

Bulls took over the market after Pakistan's deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and later, news on the country's mineral sector strengthened the gains further, The News reported.

During the intra-day trade on July 27, the benchmark index increased by 1,010.72 points or 2.15 per cent to reach 48,062.56 points, data showed, up from the previous close of 47,076.9 points -- a 21-month high.

The market has gained more than 6,600 points (+15.9 per cent) since Pakistan's staff-level agreement with the IMF for a $3 billion Standby Agreement, The News reported.

Under the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), the government is also holding a Pakistan Mineral Summit regarding Reko Diq and other mines and mineral projects, beginning August 1, seeking foreign investment.

Pakistan-Kuwait Investment Company's Head of Research Samiullah Tariq attributed the expected investment in minerals as a "major" contributor to the market's rise.

"Major factor is optimism regarding investment in minerals; positive expectations of investment in other ventures/sectors as a spillover of investment in mining," he said.

Four leading Pakistani state-owned companies have also signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on a $10 billion Greenfield Refinery project to be jointly developed with Saudi Aramco at the strategic Gwadar port in Balochistan, The News reported.
Greater Noida, July 31 : India's youngest Institution of Eminence, Shiv Nadar IoE marked a significant milestone as it marched into its next decade with its ninth convocation ceremony on July 29.

The august gathering was attended by over 2000 students, parents, and guests.

During the event, Honorary Doctorate degrees were conferred to Padma Shri awardee and renowned physicist Professor Rohini Godbole and Padma Shri awardee Professor Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.

At the event, Shiv Nadar, Founder and Former Chancellor of Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence and Founder HCL, said, "Stay focused on your goals, stay motivated, and remain optimistic about your future. As you venture into the world beyond, remember that success often lies in breaking free from conventional thinking. Embrace the power of your unique perspectives and be open to uncharted paths. Also, remember that while you may see many successes, there will also be failures. If you have never failed, you have not tested yourself. Treat failure as a learning and continue to move on".

Professor Rohini Godbole said in a deeply inspiring acceptance speech, "I want to tell the graduating students that life is a game of chance, but choosing which part you want to trade on should be yours. Do not let anybody tell you what you can or cannot do, let your mind, brain, and heart decide".

A passionate champion of gender equity, Professor Godbole had a special message for the female students and their parents, "Please don't stop here".

Accepting his honorary doctorate, Professor Ajay Kumar Sood said, "I am happy to see that the university is committed to advancing fundamental research and excellence cultivated through pedagogical training and the churning of new ideas.

The university plays a crucial role in building on a vision of global educational standards by being a multidisciplinary, research-focused, and student-centric institution".

Shikhar Malhotra, Chancellor of Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, said, "As the university celebrates its twelfth anniversary, it is pushing the frontiers of knowledge, offering a truly multidisciplinary experience to students. The university has also embraced the mission of sustainability. We will aim high and make the university one of the most sustainable campuses in the world".

The ninth convocation ceremony conferred 442 undergraduate degrees, 106 graduate degrees, 33 doctorates, and four integrated bachelors-masters degrees.
Before Siren permanently shut its doors, unable to overcome the restaurants mountain of debt many attribute to former owner and embattled restaurateur Hunter Smith, owner Laura Fonner took the stage at her beloved eatery one last time.

This sucks. These terms suck, Fonner said to a large crowd of admirers Wednesday night.

But as hundreds of people poured into Siren for its Buy the Bar event, supporting the staff and the oft-swearing chef who has become a champion of the Charlottesville restaurant community, Fonner saw a silver lining.

The love that everyone is showing to my staff is just unbelievable. You know what it does? It gives me energy to do the next fking coolest shit, Fonner said to cheers.

Throughout the bittersweet evening Fonner was awash in hugs, kisses and condolences from loyal supporters. The outpouring of love was both beautiful and overwhelming, she said. But it may have been painful too, a reminder of what was lost and what couldve been.

Much of the city has rallied around Fonner after she announced earlier in July that Siren would be going out of business. She blamed Smith for its demise. In a Facebook photo that has since been converted into a T-shirt, Fonner stands before her restaurant with two middle fingers raised in front of a sign bearing Smiths name.

Fonner said she and Smith have not spoken since she signed the papers to take ownership of Siren. She was given full control in February.

I cant imagine he wants to speak with me, and the feelings are mutual, she told The Daily Progress on Wednesday night, a glass of white wine in hand. Theres nothing left to say.

Their relationship was deeply damaged last December, when Smiths Champion Hospitality Group gave Fonner and Siren general manager Erin McGowan access to the restaurants financials.

We started going through the books and finding all kinds of not-great stuff, McGowan told The Daily Progress.

Among that stuff, McGowan said, was a long list of unpaid bills and a bank account with negative $10,000.

Fonner said she took out a loan to get the account back to positive in December. When she was given ownership of Siren she knew of $80,000 in unpaid bills. She said she made good on them all.

McGowan said the team was scrappy. Despite the restaurants financial woes, Fonner made sure Siren had enough money to pay all of its employees, according to McGowan. A profitable December helped.

So even though [the account] was negative when I took over, it didnt stay that way long, McGowan said.

With bills and vendors paid off, a positive bank account and enough money to be sure staff wouldnt miss a paycheck, the team saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

We were going to be OK, Laura said. And then we got a lien put on our bank account from back taxes from before I signed papers.

McGowan said the lien virtually wiped out the bank account. Just as they started to recover, another unexpected bill appeared. This one for $9,000 in unpaid unemployment taxes from 2021-2022.

That was kind of the nail in the coffin, McGowan said. We were making money, but we just couldnt get out from under all the shit that he put us in.

Smith did not respond to request for comment from The Daily Progress.

Fonner briefly considered pushing on, but said she didnt want to do exactly what Im fighting against.

I had to make a responsible decision that I cant keep asking my loyal people that have stuck through everything to work when I dont l know if I can pay them, she said. Tonight is their payment.

The proceeds of the cash-only event went to staff.

Give them all your money, because I ran out, Fonner told the crowd.

Patrons enjoyed alcohol, bluegrass and heavy metal bands, a silent auction and a live mermaid.

Mermaid Mirage sat atop a table in the dining room, her ornate red scales and tail dropping to the floor.

Siren did seafood perfectly said the mermaid, who attended the event to show Fonners mermaid-themed restaurant her support.

Its sad to see a restaurant that did everything perfectly fail, she said.

Everyone at the event was working class, Fonner said, a group she feels like shes fighting for.

They dont need to come give me their money. Theyre poor like me, she said. Their attendance, she added, was proof that she is fighting the good fight.

I guess Im the new advocate in Charlottesville for the restaurant business, she said.

Fonners boyfriend, Jimmy Stelling, told The Daily Progress he is excited for her future, particularly with the strong showing on Wednesday night.

I know shes going to take off, he said.

Still, Fonner said the wound from losing her restaurant was still raw.

I cant stand that she poured her guts and soul into it and it was all stripped from her, Stelling said.

While Siren staff was the focus of the evening, no love was lost for the restaurants former owner.

Ill put it this way, one patron standing outside was overheard saying. Not one of us is here to support Hunter fking Smith.

Fonner has not been shy when speaking about Smith, claiming that shes simply vocalizing what other people are thinking.

Im not a woman scorned, Im a partner scorned. Im just the one thats willing to talk about it, she said.

Hes done this to more than one person, McGowan said. Theres going to be a line of folks looking for money, so Laura knows she may never see it again.

Asked whats next in her career, Fonner first said she will spend the next couple months working a temporary consulting job while she figures out her future.

But the real answer is big things, she continued. Really big things.
Thiruvananthapuram, July 31 : Kerala 's Nair Service Society (NSS) on Monday demanded the resignation of Kerala Assembly Speaker A.N. Shamseer over his "objectionable" remarks against Hinduism and hurting the community's sentiments.

The BJP and its feeder organisation have already hit the streets asking the CPI(M) MP to quit for the same reason.

Castigating Shamseer, NSS general secretary G.Sukumaran Nair said, "Shamseer is the one who controls the Assembly and such a denigrating statement from him is not acceptable. He should step down, if not, issue an apology for his statement that has deeply hurt the Hindu community. Those in the government should take appropriate steps."

Notably, the incident took place last week when Shamseer, who is an MLA from Thalassery in Kannur district, was addressing a public meeting on the latest developments in science.

While speaking, he mentioned about a concerted effort by the Centre to establish that almost all the inventions took place in India. He went on to talk about plastic surgery.

He said that while plastic surgery was a relatively new invention, the votaries of the Hindutva were of the opinion that Lord Ganesha got his face through plastic surgery.

The Speaker dismissed this as a myth. He also said that for him, Wright Brothers had invented aircraft but for the Hindutva people, it was Pushpaka Viman (a chariot used in Ramayana).

This statement of Shamseer stirred a controversy with BJP, RSS and VHP strongly objecting to it. BJP National Information and Technology Department in-charge, Amit Malavya in a tweet said, "AN Shamseer, Kerala Assembly

Speaker, is a religious bigot, who is exploiting his position in public life, to denigrate Hindu faith and beliefs.

Hinduphobia is deep rooted in Communists, who have now forged an alliance with the Congress, a self proclaimed Muslim party."

But the CPI(M) is in no mood to relent and have come to the defence of its leader Shamseer.

With the Assembly session slated next week, all eyes are on the Congress-led Opposition which is expected to rake up the issue to corner Shamseer and the CPI(M) led Left government.
Thiruvananthapuram, July 31 : Four decades later after Urvashi first donned the grease paint at age 10 in the late seventies, she continues to go strong and has earned herself a landmark when her latest Tamil release 'Appatha' was her 700th film.

"I never realised it and only after the media raised this point, I knew about it," was her modest reaction when asked about her achievement.

On her latest release she says when director Priyadarshan told her about her role, she was a bit apprehensive as he was saying it was about a mature character and then I had doubts, but later when the story was said, I felt I will be able to handle it and did it.

In her four decade long acting career mostly in Malayalam films and also Tamil films besides other South Indian languages and also Hindi, she has attributed her success to her directors.

"Even though I grew up seeing and hearing drama as my father was a drama actor, my success in films is largely due to the directors who molded me and am grateful to all of them," said Urvashi.

Once the most sought after actress in the eighties after starring with all the superstars legends like Mammootty, Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi, starting 2000's she has had a start stop career.

Her marriage with popular actor Manoj K.Jayan lasted a few years and later she married a businessman.

In her acting career, she has won one National Film Award, five Kerala State Film Awards, three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and two Filmfare Award (South) and it speaks volumes of the highly talented actress who continues to enthrall the audience.
New Delhi, July 31 : Actress Anjum Fakih, who has been eliminated from 'Khatron Ke Khiladi 13', said throughout her stint in the stunt reality show, she has learned to take control of her mental space.

In her last water-based stunt on the show, Anjum was bested by Aishwarya Sharma. All the contestants gave their best shot, however, fear got the better of Anjum, and she stood eliminated in the show's third week.

Bidding farewell to 'KKK 13', Anjum said: "As I reflect on the incredible journey on 'Khatron Ke Khiladi 13', I realise that every moment was charged with determination. Throughout the show, I discovered so much about myself and learned how to take control of my mental space."

She said that these valuable lessons will stay with her for a lifetime.

Anjum also expressed her heartfelt gratitude to all the viewers and other contestants for their support in this thrilling adventure.

"Their encouragement meant the world to me, and I hope I have made them proud. A special thanks to the amazing Rohit sir, whose mentorship unlocked my potential. His belief in us gave us the strength to face every challenge even with fear coursing through our minds. This show marks a turning point in my life, it has been an unforgettable experience that I will forever hold dear," she added.

Anjum's journey began with a thrilling chopper-related stunt that fuelled her resolve to earn the crown of the ultimate khiladi. She was fortunate to have her friend Ruhi Chaturvedi by her side for most of the stunts in the premiere week.

The two most nerve-wracking stunts they performed were the see-saw challenge and the car and trolley stunt. Although she couldn't give her best in the latter owing to anxiety, she voiced her take on battling it over the years.

Anjum shone in the next stunt in which she bravely faced her fear of reptiles and snakes as she unlocked herself with keys hidden in boxes filled with phobia-inducing creatures.

All the contestants and the host applauded her focus and composure with which she won this challenge. Throughout her tryst with the show, Anjum encountered various challenges that brought her commendable willpower to the spotlight.

Hosted by Rohit Shetty, the show captures the boundless human capacity and the spirit of daredevilry. From introducing new elements such as 'Red Fanda', and putting a daunting spin to terrifying stunts, the 13th edition is a raging battle of fears fought by contestants from all walks of life.

'Khatron Ke Khiladi 13' airs on Colors.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Anjum was last seen in 'Bade Achhe Lagte Hain 2'.

--IANS

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Nagpur, July 31 : Justice Pushpa Ganediwala, a former Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench), has moved the court seeking pension as applicable to a judge.

Justice Ganediwala, who came under a cloud after her askin-to-skina verdict in a rape case, was compelled to resign after she was denied elevation as Permanent Judge here last year.

She has challenged the high court (Original Side) registraras communication of November 2, 2022 that she was ineligible for the pension and other benefits as entitled to a judge.

In her plea last fortnight, Ganediwala has contended that irrespective of whether she retired voluntarily or after attaining superannuation, she was entitled to pension and other benefits.

Her plea has named as respondents: the Bombay HC through the Registrar-General, the Union Ministry of Law & Justice, Maharashtra Law & Judiciary Department Secretary and others, and it is likely to come up for hearing in due course.

After practising as a lawyer for seven years, Ganediwala was appointed as a District Judge in 2007, later served as Joint Director of Maharashtra Judicial Academy, Principal Judge in the City Civil & Sessions Court, and as a HC Registrar, before being elevated as an Additional Judge on February 13, 2019 for two years.

Three of her judgements had created a furore -- in one she set aside a rape conviction saying there was nothing to support the prosecution case, in the second she said that holding hands of a minor or the accuseda pants zip open at that time did not amount to sexual assault, and in the third held that pressing a 12-year-old girlas breast without removing her top did not constitute sexual assault -- all delivered within a week in January 2021.

The final one -- that became infamous for her suggestion that direct askin-to-skina contact was necessary to constitute an offence of sexual assault under the POCSO Act -- had resulted in a massive public furore.

The fracas led to the Supreme Court revoking its recommendation to make her a Permanent Judge in January 2020, her verdict was overruled in November 2021, and finally she resigned on February11, 2022.

In her plea seeking pension and other benefits, filed through a lawyer on July 19, Ganediwala said that she had worked as an Additional Judge for nearly three years and as a district judge for over 11 years.
New Delhi, July 31 : India is now among Apple's top 5 markets globally as the iPhone maker continued to lead the ultra-premium segment (Rs 45,000 and above) with a 59 per cent share in the second quarter of 2023, a report showed on Monday.

India's premium smartphone segment, that grew 112 per cent (year-on-year) in the April-June period, now contributes a record 17 per cent to its overall shipments, according to Counterpoint Research.

In the overall India smartphone market, Samsung remained at the top position for the third consecutive quarter with an 18 per cent share.

The South Korean brand also surpassed Apple to regain its top position in the premium smartphone segment (Rs 30,000 and above) after one year with a 34 per cent share.

"However, Apple continued to lead the ultra-premium segment with a 59 per cent share. India is now among Apple's top-five markets," said research analyst Shubham Singh.

Vivo maintained its second position and was the only brand among the top five to experience annual growth. OnePlus was the fastest-growing brand in India's smartphone market in Q2 with 68 per cent YoY growth.

"In Q2, OEMs saw improvement in the inventory and demand situation ahead of the coming festive season. Aggressive measures were implemented by

OEMs as well as channels during the quarter to clear existing inventory through multiple sales and promotions," said senior research analyst Shilpi Jain.

"We believe brands will be coming up with interesting launches and offers to lure consumers during the festive season and 5G will be a big growth driver here," she added.

In the case of Vivo, strong offline presence, growth of sub-brand iQOO in online, and multiple launches across price tiers facilitated this growth.

 : India Premium Smartphone Segment Grows 112% YoY in Q2 2023; India Now Among Apples Top 5 Markets



Senior Analyst @Shilpijain30 summarizes in a note the key highlights:



- Premium smartphone segment contributed a record 17% to overall shipments.

- pic.twitter.com/qGrzFdijyo  Counterpoint (@CounterPointTR) July 31, 2023

OPPO emerged as the top brand in the upper mid-tier range (Rs 20,000-Rs 30,000) segment with a 21 per cent market share.

In Q2, 5G smartphone shipments in India crossed the 100-million cumulative mark as 5G upgrades picked up pace driven by the expansion of 5G networks and availability of affordable devices, said the report.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Chennai, July 31 : In the wake of recent explosions at two districts of the state, the Tamil Nadu revenue department has decided to conduct regular inspections at firecracker factories and godowns.

The move follows recent explosions at Virudhunagar and Krishnagiri districts of the state. In an explosion at a firecracker factory in Sivakasi, Virudhunagar district, two women had died. A couple of days later, a major explosion in a firecracker godown led to the death of nine people in Krishnagiri district.

Ten people were injured in the explosion, following which the Chief Minister had ordered for a regular inspection of the firecracker factories and godowns. The inspection will be carried out to ensure that they are adhering to safety measures and rules.

It may be recalled that several people have lost their lives in fires at firecracker industries in the state and many maimed for life.

Tamil Nadu is one of the major producers of firecrackers in the country.

Sivakasi, the fireworks capital of South India, has an annual turnover of Rs 6000 crore and employs around 8 lakh people directly or indirectly.
RPF ASI killed in train firing was from Raj village, had 6 months to retire. Image Source: IANS News

Jaipur, July 31 : The RPF Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI), who died when a Railway Protection Force constable opened fire with his automatic rifle in the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express (12956) train, was from Rajasthan and was to retire after six months.

The firing left the ASI and three passengers dead.

The deceased ASI was identified as Tikaram Meena, a resident of Shyampura village in Rajasthan's Sawai Madhopur.

He was the only earning member in his family and was to retire after six months.

Former sarpanch of Shyampura village, Ramdhan Meena said, "Tikaram's father's name is Ramkaran Meena. Tikaram was the only son ... He was scheduled to retire in the next six months. His mother Bhuri Devi, wife Barfi Devi, a son and daughter are his family. Son's name is Dilkush Meena and he is preparing for a competitive exam. Daughter Pooja is married."

Western Railway has issued a statement announcing compensation to the family. It said, "Rs 15 lakh will be given to the family of the late ASI from Railway Safety Welfare Fund, Rs 15 lakh from retirement fund and Rs 20,000 will be given to the dependents of the deceased for the last rites and Rs 65,000 will be given under the insurance scheme."
New Delhi, July 31 : Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), India's largest and fastest growing pure-play renewable energy company, on Monday announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30.

With an operational capacity of 8,316 MW, AGEL continues to have the largest operating renewable energy portfolio in the country.

The sale of energy has increased by 70 per cent YoY to 6,023 mn units in Q1 FY24 primarily backed by strong capacity addition.

The solar portfolio CUF has improved by 40 bps YoY to 26.9 per cent in Q1 FY24 with consistent high plant availability and improved solar irradiation.

For the wind portfolio, the sale of energy has increased by 34 per cent backed by strong capacity addition, though the wind CUF has reduced primarily due to relatively lower wind speed, which was higher last year.

The solar-wind hybrid portfolio of 2,140 MW reported a strong hybrid CUF of 47.2 per cent, up by 380 bps backed by new plants with technologically advanced solar modules (including bifacial modules and horizontal single axis trackers) and wind turbines, high plant and grid availability and improved solar irradiation.

The robust growth in revenue, EBITDA and cash profit is primarily driven by capacity addition of 2,516 MW over the last one year. The consistent industry-leading EBITDA margin is driven by AGEL's best-in-class O&M practices enabling it to achieve higher electricity generation at lower O&M cost.

AGEL has received a favorable order from Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission to reinstate the PPA tariff of Rs 7.01 per unit (instead of Rs 5.1 per unit) for 47 MW operating solar project at Kamuthi, Tamil Nadu that would result in one time upside of Rs 103 crore and recurring annual upside of Rs 14 crore. The one-time revenue upside will be accounted upon receipt.

With this, the entire 648 MW operating solar portfolio at Kamuthi now operates at the PPA tariff of Rs 7.01 per unit.

The Run-rate EBITDA stands at a strong Rs 7,645 crore with Net Debt to Run-rate EBITDA at 5.3x as of June 2023. The ratio continues to be well within the stipulated covenant of 7.5x for holdco bond. The deployment of long term capital has resulted in operationalization of significant capacities last year in turn resulting in higher EBITDA and hence lower leverage levels in line with AGEL's prudent capital management approach.

"Path towards a sustainable future lies in embracing cleaner and greener sources of energy. We are committed to produce low-cost green electrons through a continued focus on operational excellence and technology innovation combined with use of Digital and Artificial Intelligence based solutions.

"Our team's unwavering dedication has been instrumental in achieving consistent strong financial and operational milestones." said Amit Singh, CEO, Adani Green Energy Ltd.

"We aim to grow our renewable power capacity to 45 GW by 2030 through Solar, Wind and Solar-Wind hybrid solutions as major contributors. To enable integration of renewables in the grid, round-the-clock solutions with long-term clean storage structures such as pumped hydro will be a critical part of our solution mix, contributing to a greener future and underscore our dedication to combating climate change challenges."
New Delhi, July 31 : The Delhi High Court has declined to direct the Centre to implement a complete ban on the slaughter of cows and their progeny.

Presided over by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula, the court ruled that the matter should be addressed by the competent legislature.

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by Brishbhan Verma, who sought a total prohibition on cow slaughter, encompassing old and useless bulls, bullocks, old buffaloes, and male counterparts.

However, the court observed that in Delhi, the prohibition on cow slaughter is already enforced through the Delhi Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act, 1994.

Citing a Supreme Court decision, the bench said that it is within the purview of the competent legislature to decide on issues related to the prohibition of cow slaughter. The judiciary cannot compel the legislature to pass a particular legislation on this matter.

The court pointed out that for other states, the petitioner has the option to take appropriate steps in line with the Supreme Court's ruling.

It was also noted that all states and Union territories, except Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Lakshadweep, have enacted legislation to restrict or ban cow slaughter.

Representing the Centre, counsel Monika Arora confirmed that the legislative competence concerning the issue lies with the state governments.
New Delhi, July 31 : Actor Puneet Issar's son, Siddhant, who will be seen portraying the role of 'Tarkasur', the demon king in the show 'Shiv Shakti - Tap Tyag Tandav', said in order to bring the character alive on screen with the utmost authenticity, he has underwent a rigorous physical training.

The show is a grand depiction of the universe's first love story between Lord Shiva and Goddess Sati. In the unfolding narrative, Daksh takes a critical stance towards Lord Shiv during the auspicious Prayag Yagya, and declares a Mahayagya, deliberately excluding both Shiv and Sati from the proceedings. This Mahayagya eventually results in aSati Dahana, which plays a catalyst for events that change the world as we know it.

As the story proceeds, Siddhant will enter the show in the role of Tarkasur, the son of Vajranga and Vajrangi. He will be seen donning a unique look curated to signify the demon king's enigmatic and evil energy.

The show will capture Tarkasur undergoing arduous penance for a long time to wield the power to defeat Indra and the Devas and conquer Swarg Lok. A legendary chapter will unfold in the saga as Tarkasur acts on claiming everything that belongs to the Asurs.

Talking about the same, Siddhant shared: "I'm thrilled about diving into the world of Tarkasur, the mighty demon king. To bring him alive on screen with the utmost authenticity, I underwent rigorous physical training and read about him extensively. Tarkasur is not a one-dimensional antagonist, he has a formidable presence and pain that drives his thirst for power."

Siddhant said it was an honour to play this complex character, especially as the show ushers in a new era in the mythological genre.

"I find Siddharth Kumar Tewary's vision for 'Shiv Shakti' quite inspiring, and I hope this show marks the beginning of a fruitful association," he added.

'Shiv Shakti - Tap Tyag Tandav' airs on Colors.

--IANS

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Charlottesville police rushed to the site of a reported shooting on Monday morning but declared it a swatting call after assessing the scene.

Upon arrival, we learned that the shooting the caller described was not true, police department spokesman Kyle Ervin told The Daily Progress.

Swatting is when an individual reports a serious crime to police in order to have heavily armed police appear at a persons address. Essentially, it is a hoax phone call.

Swatting would infer that the call we received was false. No one was shot or injured, Ervin said.

Virginia recently categorized swatting as a Class 1 misdemeanor effective July 1. Someone convicted of calling in a fake emergency can be punished with a $2,500 fine and up to 12 months in jail.

The shooting was reported on the 2000 block on Michie Drive. Speaking from the scene, Police Chief Michael Kochis told media that an unidentified person called the emergency center claiming that he had just shot a relative in the chest.

Our officers arrived, when they got here, there was an update to the call, where the person alleged that he might as well take more people with them when we got here, Kochis said. And so obviously, its a very different dangerous situation for everyone.

Ervin said an investigation is ongoing. No suspect has been identified.

Last fall, two swatting hoaxes reporting an active shooter at Buford Middle School sparked fear and confusion among students and parents.

"This false report caused extreme stress and disruption at Buford and in our community," reads a statement from the city last October.
Panaji, July 31 : The Goa assembly speaker on Monday suspended seven opposition MLAs for two days for misbehaviour after they rushed to the well of the House seeking a discussion on the Manipur issue.

The seven MLAs waving placards with the message 'Save Manipur Save India' demanded a discussion on Manipur. They rushed to the well of the House after the Private Members resolution moved by AAP MLA Cruz Silva was disallowed by the speaker. While Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MLA Jit Arolkar was speaking during zero hour, the seven MLAs shifted from the well to his seat and disturbed him. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant immediately sought action against the opposition MLA's for their acts and said that it was not right to disturb the MLA and snatch his papers and mike while he was speaking. "He was blocked from all the sides. This is very wrong. There needs to be action," Sawant said. He said that on the Manipur issue, Union Home Minister Amit Shah was taking steps.

Sawant sought the action against the opposition MLAs under Rule 289, which was taken accordingly. MLA Jit Arolkar also complained to the speaker that the MLAs misbehaved with him. "I was pushed. My papers were snatched. This is an insult to the House," he said. While the opposition MLAs were in the well, Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar had tried to convince them that they can demand discussion on the Manipur issue on Friday, which is Private Member's day. "Take the issue on Friday. I will decide whether to grant it. Home department is handling the issue (of Manipur). You can't take this issue now take it on Friday during private members day," Tawadkar said.

Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao, during a press conference, said that the resolution by Cruz Silva was listed in the business of the House and then disallowed. "We wanted discussion on the burning issue of Manipur, but the speaker disallowed it. On what grounds was it disallowed, when the resolution against the 'BBC documentary' was allowed though the matter was sub-judice," Alemao questioned. He said that the BJP government is not concerned about the people of Manipur. "Manipur wants moral support. Central government is not taking steps (to bring peace)," he said.

IANS

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Aizawl/Imphal, July 31 : Despite repeated requests, the Central government yet to provide any funds to Mizoram to provide relief to over 12,600 people, who took shelter in the state after being displaced from Manipur, where ethnic violence still rages unabated, state officials said on Monday.

Mizoram Home Department officials said that the state government has sought Rs 10 crore for people who took shelter in different districts of Mizoram after being displaced from Manipur.

Chief Minister Zoramthanga earlier wrote letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide funds to take care the 12,600 men, women and children, who are now sheltered in relief camps, church complexes, rented accomodation, and relativesa houses.

A Mizoram government team led by state Tourism Minister Robert Romawia Royte met Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla on June 16 in New Delhi seeking to expedite release of fund from the Home Ministry. While Home Secretary reportedly gave them assurance to release funds, no financial help has come from the centre yet.

The displaced 12,600 Kuki-Chin-Zomi tribals have the ethnic and cultural similarity with the Mizos.

The Home Department official said that the state government still hopefull that the Union government would provide funds for these displaced and violence affected people. The state administration has urged the legislators, government employees, bankers and others to give donations for the relief of the sheltered people.

Of the 12,610 people from Manipur, 4,440 took shelter in Kolasib district, 4,265 in Aizawl and 2,951 in Saitual and remaining eight districts -- Champhai, Mamit, Siaha, Lawngtlai, Lunglei, Serchhip, Khawzawl, and Hnahthial districts.

There are 38 relief camps, set up by the state government and local authorities in Aizawl, Kolasib, and Saitual. The state government, various NGOs, including Young Mizo Association, churches, villagers and individuals are providing food and other basic items to these hapless people.

Mizoram shares 95 km border with Manipur. The Christian dominated mountainous state also has been providing shelter to 35,000 refugees from Myanmar and 1,000 refugees from Chittagong hill tracts of southeast Bangladesh.

--IANS

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Kurukshetra : , July 31 (IANS) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday said that the country will always remember the supreme sacrifice of freedom fighter Udham Singh and his dedication and sacrifice towards the motherland.

"Freedom fighter Udham Singh remained committed to his words and took revenge by shooting down and killing Michael O'Dwyer," the Chief Minister said while participating in the state-level function to mark Udham Singh martyrdom day.

Michael O'Dwyer was the colonial official responsible for Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

The Chief Minister said that Shaheed Udham Singh was born in Sunam in Sangrur district of Punjab. His childhood name was Sher Singh.

"The Jallianwala Bagh massacre was a turning point in his life, and he resolved to take revenge. He went to England. Two decades later, he fulfilled his promise and shot Michael O' Dwyer at a meeting in London. O'Dwyer was the lieutenant governor of Punjab when the Jallianwala Bagh incident took place," said the Chief Minister.

"The British arrested him and convicted him in two days and hanged him till death. The country will always remember the supreme sacrifice of Udham Singh and his dedication and sacrifice towards the motherland."

The Chief Minister announced over Rs 47 Lakh for the construction of three Kamboj 'dharamshalas' in Karnal, Kurukshetra, and Shahabad towns.

Additionally, Member of Parliament Nayab Singh Saini announced Rs 11 Lakh for the Dharamshala in Kurukshetra.

Khattar said the government is always executing development works in the spirit of Antyodaya and with the goal of public service.

"Work is being done so that the poor and backward get the benefits of education, health and government schemes first," he said.

The Chief Minister said Haryana is ahead of many states in the country on the path of development. "We had given the slogan of 'Haryana Ek- Haryanvi Ek' to ensure uniform development of the state."

He said that the government is running the Sant Mahapurush Samman Evam Vichar Prasar Yojana under which birth anniversaries of saints and great men are officially celebrated with the aim to spread their message and teachings to the masses and to inspire the youth.

"We can pay true tribute to such valiant bravehearts only by following the path of sacrifice and patriotism as shown by them," the Chief Minister added.
New Delhi, July 31 : Vitalik Buterin, the Russia-based co-founder of the world's second-largest cryptocurrency Ethereum, has celebrated the cryptocurrency's eighth birthday in Bengaluru with some 'Masala Dosa' and 'Ghevar' cake.

He was seen celebrating the birthday with Ethereum-based Blockchain platform Polygon COO Sandeep Nailwal and founder of CryptoRelief. "Celebrating Ethereumas eighth birthday with Vitalik Buterin with Indian 'Ghever' as cake in Bengaluru. Happy Birthday, Ethereum!" Nailwal tweeted along with the pictures of Buterin relishing Ghevar and Masala Dosa.

"Also getting Vitalik do a bit of Bharat Darshanam," he added.

Ghevar is a Rajasthani disc-shaped sweet made with flour, ghee, and milk, soaked in sugar syrup, while Masala Dosa is a South-Indian dish.

Founded on July 30, 2015, Ethereum has grown quickly to become the second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin.

Several users in the comment section also wished the crypto firm a happy birthday.

"Happy 8th Birthday Ethereum! As Ethereum's founder graces India, so does the Ethereum blockchain extends its grace to the entire Web3 community!" a user commented.

"Hope this meet up fruitful n hope you guys discussed more about Public Goods and creating impact via blockchain. Happy 8th Birthday to Ethereum," another user said.

Moreover, Buterin's connection with India, however, stretches beyond the delicacies as the programmer had in 2021 made a legendary donation of 500 coins and over 50 trillion SHIB meme coin worth around $1.14 billion to the India Covid-Crypto Relief Fund.

Buterin became involved with cryptocurrency early in its inception, co-founding Bitcoin Magazine in 2011.

In 2013, he visited developers in other countries who shared his enthusiasm for code.

He returned to Toronto later and published a white paper proposing Ethereum.

He dropped out of university in 2014 when he was awarded with a grant of $1,00,000 from the Thiel Fellowship, a scholarship created by venture capitalist Peter Thiel and went to work on Ethereum full-time. One Ethereum is currently priced at around Rs 1.53 lakh.
Indian man admits smuggling people from his country into US via Canada. Image Source: IANS News

New York, July 31 : A 40-year-old Indian national living in Canada has pleaded guilty to smuggling several Indian nationals from Canada into the US for profit.

Simranjit 'Shally' Singh admitted to six counts of alien smuggling and three counts of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling during an appearance in Albany, New York on Friday.

At the request of the US government, Singh was taken into custody on June 28, 2022, in Ontario, Canada.

He was extradited from Canada to the US on March 30 this year, the US Attorneyas Office in the Northern District of New York stated in a release.

From March of 2020 through March of 2021, Singh admitted to facilitating the smuggling of several Indian nationals from Canada into the US, via Cornwall Island and the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation in the St Lawrence River region.

Back in March, bodies of four Indian and four Romanian migrants were pulled from the St Lawrence River in Akwesasne -- some 120 kilometres west of Montreal and a perilous route for smuggling, according to authorities.

Singh's plea agreement said that he arranged to move people into the US from India by flying them to Calgary, Toronto and Montreal, before transporting them to Cornwall in Ontario. He then moved the Indian nationals by boat across the St Lawrence River through Akwesasne, according to CBC News.

According to documents released in April, some migrants told American law enforcement that Singh charged anywhere between $5,000 and $35,000 for facilitating their entry into the US.

Singh's sentencing is scheduled for December 28, 2023, before US District Judge Mae A DaAgostino in Albany, New York.

He faces a mandatory term of five years in prison which may go up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. He will be subject to deportation following the conclusion of his sentence, which is determined by an immigration judge.

--IANS

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New Delhi, July 31 : Delhi Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Atishi on Monday inspected a centralised Anganwadi kitchen located in Tigri area. During the inspection, she examined the quality of grains and other ingredients used in cooking.

The Delhi Government has said that the centralised kitchens for Anganwadis provide nutritious meals to more than 8 lakh women and children daily in Delhi.

"The Kejriwal government is committed to providing nutritious meals to every needy woman and child in Delhi. The government is operating 11 centralised kitchens, delivering cooked food and Take-Home Rations to 8 lakh children and women across Delhi daily.

"Through these kitchens, they are working to provide better nutrition to children aged 6 months to 3 years, pregnant women, and lactating mothers in Anganwadis. These centralised kitchens play a vital role in this endeavor," Atishi said.

The Tigri-based centralised kitchen is equipped with modern machinery. The kitchen is divided into three parts: one for grain storage, the second with a fully automatic machine that cleans grains and packages 'Take-Home Ration' without any human touch, and the third and final part where the cooking takes place.

Large mechanised containers are used in this section to prepare and pack food according to the daily menu, which is then delivered to 775 Anganwadis in the South Delhi district.

The WCD Minister shared that through the kitchen in Tigri, provides free nutritious meals to over 42,000 children and pregnant women in 775 Anganwadis in South Delhi.

She said that the kitchen prepares 'Take-Home Ration' for more than 20,000 children and 8,000 women between the ages of six months and three years, using zero human touch and modern machinery. Packed Panjiri and Khichdi premixes are included for children and pregnant/lactating mothers, respectively.

She said that the objective of these initiatives is to provide nutritious food to every needy child and mother, ensuring their strong foundation and proper physical and mental development during crucial years.

The kitchen's food quality is checked at various levels, and there are no compromises made in terms of food quality. Strict adherence to cleanliness-related regulations is also maintained. Every worker in the kitchen is required to wear shoe covers and masks and use gloves.

Atishi said that work of Anganwadi workers is commendable. They start preparing nutritious food for thousands of needy individuals every morning at 4 a.m. Through their work, they are contributing to building a healthy society.
Sunam : , July 31 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday batted for Bharat Ratna award for the legendary martyrs Udham Singh, Bhagat Singh and Kartar Singh Sarabha, who had made unparalleled sacrifices for the country.

Interacting with the media here after paying floral tributes to Udham Singh at his memorial on his martyrdom day, the Chief Minister said bestowing the Bharat Ratna award to these iconic martyrs will enhance the prestige of the award.

He said these great martyrs really deserve this award because they had made supreme sacrifices to emancipate the country from foreign clutches.

However, Mann said the 'pseudo-nationalist' Union government is least bothered about honouring such sons of the soil.

Rather, the Chief Minister said the Union government is giving a severe blow to the legacy of these martyrs by muzzling the democracy in the country.

He said these nationalists had laid down their lives for the sake of freedom and democracy in the country but unfortunately, the Union government is jeopardising the democratic system through ordinances.

Mann said this is totally in contrast to the country envisioned by the great patriots during the struggle for freedom.

The Chief Minister said the supreme sacrifice made by legendary martyr Udham Singh will always inspire the youth for selfless service to the nation, adding the countrymen are enjoying the fruits of freedom due to the enormous sacrifices made by such legendary heroes.

He said Shaheed Udham Singh was a true son of soil, who had in a heroic act exhibited exemplary courage by killing Michael O' Dwyer, the prime perpetrator of Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Mann said the unprecedented sacrifice made by this iconic martyr at the altar of national freedom helped the country to overthrow the yoke of British Imperialism.

The Chief Minister said that Shaheed Udham Singh waited for 21 years to avenge the massacre of Jallianwala Bagh and thus laid the foundation of the freedom of the nation.

The Chief Minister said his government will make efforts to bring back the personal belongings of Shaheed Udham Singh from London.

He said the state government will raise these issues at all the relevant platforms so as to bring back these belongings at the earliest.

Mann said even the things associated with Shaheed Bhagat Singh lying in Pakistan will also be brought back.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by Cabinet minister Aman Arora and others.
New Delhi, July 31 : Four people, including two women, were injured after two separate altercations broke out between the two groups, resulting in scuffles, a Delhi Police official said on Monday.

Officials said that police received a police control room (PCR) call at approximately 10:30 a.m. on Monday, reporting incidents of stone pelting and quarrel in Gautampuri.

"Upon receiving the call, the police promptly arrived at the scene, where they were informed by the caller, Ranjit (22), that the previous day, around 7 p.m., his 14-year-old niece had gone missing. Consequently, they were conducting a search operation in the vicinity," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Rajesh Deo.

"Thereupon, two bikers passed by and made some unwanted remarks on the issue. Consequently, a quarrel broke out around 10.45 pm, which escalated into a fight involving two nephews of Ranjit, identified as Rahul (24) and Ritik (22)," said the DCP.

Both the injured were immediately taken to AIIMS Trauma Centre, and their Medico-Legal Cases (MLCs) were prepared by early morning.

Later in the morning, Ranjit, a junk dealer by profession, along with his family members and other relatives, were sitting in front of his shop in Gautampuri, discussing the missing niece. At that moment, two bike-borne men passed by at a high speed.

"The handle of their bike made contact with Ranjit's son, leading to a quarrel between them. Subsequently, the two individuals called their friends and well-wishers, who pelted stones and glass bottles at Ranjit's house, creating a ruckus at the spot. Two women sustained sharp/blunt injuries -- the complainant's sister, Shamkali, and another woman named Urmila," said the official.

"Allegations have been made against the assailants, identified as DK aka Diggi, Raja, Deepu, Harshu, Pepsu, Kalu, and their associates," said the official.

"The injured women were shifted to AIIMS Trauma Centre, and their MLCs are currently pending. Legal action is being taken in this regard, and a criminal case of rioting and assault has been registered," said the official, adding that the situation is now peaceful.
Bhopal, July 31 : A junior doctor, who was pursuing her post-graduation in gynaecology from the government-run Gandhi Medical College (GMC) under Hamidia Hospital medical college in Bhopal, allegedly ended her life by injecting an over dose of anesthesia, police said.

The deceased, identified as Saraswati, 27, was living with her husband Jaivardhan Choudhary at rented accommodation in the Koh-e-Fiza locality in Bhopal.

She was also 14 weeks pregnant.

Saraswati had done her under-graduation from Hyderabad and was pursuing her third year from the GMC.

As per the report, her husband spotted her lying unconcious in the morning and alerted the neighbours. Subsequently, she was rushed her to the Hamidia hospital, where she was declared brought dead on arrival.

Police have not recovered any suicide note, however, Saraswatias co-workers said she was highly stressed. "Preliminary investigation suggested that the deceased was in immense distress due to the extension of the course, while other of her batch-mates had already completed their PG course. We are investigating the matter from all angle," a police official told IANS.

Police also claimed that since the time Saraswati has committed suicide and was rushed to the hospital, her husband was missing. "She had taken overdose of anesthesia. But, what caused her to take stream step would be come out only after detailed investigation," police said.

This is the second woman doctor associated with GMC Bhopal who ended her life by suicide this year.

In January, a 24-year-old woman junior doctor, a student of PG in paediatrics first year, committed suicide by taking overdose of anaesthesia and pain killer drugs through injection. A native of Gwalior, she had complained hectic work schedule and immense pressure.

Her family had then accused the GMC administration of harassment claiming that the deceased was forced to discharge duties for 40 hours continuously.

--IANS

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New Delhi, July 31 : Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday challenged before the sessions court in Delhi the summons issued to him by a magistrate's court over a defamation complaint filed by Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat for "misleading statements" against him in connection with the Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society scam.

Gehlot's petition is likely to come up for hearing on Tuesday.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Harjeet Singh Jaspal had, on July 6, issued summons to Gehlot in the case, and had ordered him to appear on August 7.

Earlier, the court had directed the police to investigate Shekhawat's complaint. Judge Jaspal had said that the investigation should be such that the answers to these three questions  whether complainant Shekhawat was addressed as "an accused" in the Sanjivani scam by the accused Gehlot, whether Gehlot stated that the allegations against Shekhawat stand proved in the Sanjivani scam and whether Shekhawat or his family members have been arrayed as "an accused" in the investigation of the scam -- are answered.

Shekhawat filed the defamation case against Gehlot in March this year and had said that an investigation was initiated in the case but his name was not mentioned anywhere and demanded the prosecution of Gehlot for criminal defamation under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

He has also demanded appropriate financial compensation for the loss of his reputation.

Earlier, the war of words between Gehlot and Shekhawat had intensified over the Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society scam with the Rajasthan Chief Minister openly declaring the Union Minister "a culprit like the others".

"The Union Minister is trying to mislead the public in the case of the Sanjivani Cooperative Society Ltd scam. In the investigation of the Special Operation Group (SOG), the crime has been proved against him under the same sections as the other arrested accused."

Shekhawat had said that Gehlot terming him as an 'accused' in the Sanjivani scam is akin to his "political assassination to settle scores". "The SOG presented three charge sheets but there is neither my nor my family's name anywhere. Still, the Chief Minister called me an accused," he had said.
Earlier this week, a new research paper from scientists in Denmark was published, reminiscent of the 2004 movie The Day After Tomorrow.

Like many science fiction disaster movies, it starts with an iota of truth before spiraling beyond the physics of the real world. The story references the slowing of an important ocean circulation known as the AMOC: the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. In the movie, the circulation stops, creating a new ice age in the course of a few days.

In reality, the AMOC is a massive flow of ocean water that moves northward in the Atlantic, influencing regional and global climates. And to be sure, there is strong evidence that it is slowing down.

The circulation is based on the temperature and salinity of the water. As Atlantic Ocean water moves northward and approaches the Arctic, it cools  partially from evaporation. As the water evaporates, the salt is left behind, meaning the water is turning both colder and saltier. This means it becomes more dense, so it begins to sink and turn southward back toward the equator.

The AMOC is part of a complex ocean circulation that moves water around the entire planet. Known as the thermohaline circulation, or sometimes the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt, it impacts climates around the world.

Volumes of research have been done on the AMOC, as it helps bring warmer conditions to western Europe. In the more distant past, the circulation has shut down entirely, which is why the most recent research is troubling.

And there is serious, legitimate concern in the scientific community that the circulation will slow further or stop completely in the coming several decades, as cold fresh water empties into the North Atlantic from Greenlands melting land ice. This additional fresh water decreases ocean salinity, so it does not sink as much, further slowing the circulation.

If the circulation were to stop entirely, it would likely lead to an acceleration in sea level rise on Virginias coast and colder weather in western Europe.

But it would not usher in a sudden ice age. Simply put, the atmosphere does not work that fast.

Importantly, the AMOC is not the same as Gulf Stream current, which is the sliver of warm Atlantic Ocean water moving north from the Bahamas, hugging the Southeast coast, and peeling away into the North Atlantic at Cape Hatteras.

The Gulf Stream is an example of a smaller boundary current, meaning it exists on the boundary between a continent and an ocean. While there is a connection to the larger AMOC, the Gulf Stream is not going anywhere as long as Earth spins.

A fluid, whether it is air or water, tends to curve as it travels on a rotating sphere  in this case, Earth. This is known as the Coriolis Effect, turning fluids to the right in the northern hemisphere. The direction is reversed in the southern hemisphere.

As a result, surface water in an ocean basin, whether it is the Atlantic or the Pacific, tends to move in a circular fashion around the center of the ocean in each hemisphere. In the northern hemisphere, it turns clockwise, meaning surface water flows from south to north on the west side of an ocean basin  a warm current.

Like the Gulf Stream on the east coast of North America, similar warm ocean currents exist on the eastern coasts of Japan, South America and Australia. You may remember hearing about the East Australian Current from the 2003 movie Finding Nemo.

The study from Denmark does raise more red flags about a stoppage of the AMOC, but it is one study among volumes of work examining this circulation and its impact on regional and global climates.

It will not happen the day after tomorrow, but a stoppage of the AMOC remains a real risk as the climate warms. The study is an additional reminder that the burning of fossil fuels that has led to our warming climate brings additional risks that we may not have even imagined.
Kolkata, July 31 : National Commission for Women (NCW) team arrived in Kolkata on Monday to visit different places in the state where alleged harassment of women by TMC activists has taken place.

The team will visit Panchla in Kolkata, adjacent to Howrah, where a woman BJP candidate was allegedly dragged out of the polling booth during the recently concluded panchayat polls and her modesty was outraged.

The team will visit Malda in north Bengal to investigate the matter of harassment of two tribal women at Pakua Hat in that district allegedly by a group of people.

"NCW team shall take into account its findings after interaction with all the concerned authorities; recommend remedial measures for preventing recurrence of such incidents in future," NCW said in a Twitter.

The NCW visit is being viewed as a counter to the recent visit by leaders of the opposition alliance Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) to violence-ridden Manipur.

The NCW team's arrival to West Bengal also coincides with the war of words between the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition within the state assembly on Monday during a discussion on a motion moved by Trinamool Congress over the Manipur situation.

While TMC had been constantly saying that BJP and the Union government is sending central delegations to West Bengal to malign state's image at a time when Manipur is burning, the BJP leadership is alleging that TMC has no right to speak on Manipur issue when harassment of women in West Bengal is common.
Bengaluru: Nalin Kumar Kateel addresses a press conference after taking charge as BJP's Karnataka unit president for a period of three years till 2023, in Bengaluru on Jan 16, 2020. . Image Source: IANS News

Dakshina Kannada : , July 31 (IANS) Karnataka BJP President Nalin Kumar Kateel charged that after the Congress government came to power in the state, jihadi elements have reared their ugly heads in the state.

"There is suspicion whether the Congress government is ruling or 'jihadi government' is ruling the state," he stated.

Speaking to reporters after participating in an agitation condemning the filming of Hindu girls by Muslim female students in a restroom in Udupi college and demanding comprehensive investigation, Kateel maintained that after Siddaramaiah became the CM, anti-Hindu policy is in place in the state.

"Siddaramaiah government is releasing terrorists attached to the PFI. Hence, CM Siddaramaiah has turned into an anti-national and pro-terrorist CM. There is anarchy in the state. The government has failed in maintaining law and order in the state. It is not only the CM but the Home Minister has also failed. The Home Minister is dubbing it as a child's play. The Udupi incident is not the only one incident but it has taken place six to seven times. The police department is hushing up the case," he said.

Kateel explained that Siddaramaiah government does not have the courage to send those who took the video to jail. "It also lacks courage to send the murderers to prison. But, it is a government which can send an activist, a nationalist to prison. The people in the state are turning fearful," he stated.

"The Congress government is not able to arrest those anti-nationals who raised 'Pakistan zindabad' slogans after Congress won elections in Belagavi, Uttara Kannada districts. If Siddaramaiah has capacity, he must arrest them or give a statement agreeing that they are party workers," Kateel stated.

Former minister and BJP MLC Kota Srinivas Poojari ridiculed that CM Siddaramaiah dons the hats of all colours but refuses to wear saffron hat. "In Siddaramaiah government, all are equals but for Hindus. The Udupi files is not an isolated incident, they are occurring on a regular basis. The Chief Minister and Home Minister must get it investigated."

"The Home Minister claims it as a prank. We have suspicion on the government. The government is supporting the terrorism. There is no guarantee that the girl who sets her foot outside her residence would return home at the end of the day under Congress rule," he attacked.
Dakshina Kannada, : July 31 (IANS) Two persons have been arrested in connection with a "moral policing" case with a journalist at a restaurant in Karnataka's Dakshina Kannada district, police said on Monday.

The arrested persons are identified as 37-year-old Chetan, a resident of Kotekaru, and 43-year-old Naveen, a resident of Yeyyadi.

The incident had taken place in Kavoor police station limits.

Police said that private website reporter Abhijit had filed a police complaint in this regard.

As per the complaint, Abhijith had gone to a restaurant with his friend on July 28, and the accused came up and questioned Abhijit if is he is a Muslim, and they had also questioned him that what is he doing with a Hindu girl. They had assumed Abhijit to be a Muslim and abused him and also attempted to assault him. The victim had then later filed an FIR regarding the incident.

In another case of moral policing, a policeman who was returning from a hotel with his family was assaulted.

The incidents reported in communally sensitive coastal Karnataka even after the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister Dr. G. Parameshwaraas stern warnings have caused a concern.
New Delhi, July 31 : A notorious illegal gun manufacturer and supplier was nabbed by the Delhi Police's Special Cell along with 10 high quality semi-automatic pistols, an official said on Monday.

The accused identified as Malkhan Singh (39), a resident of Dhar in Madhya Pradesh, had a nexus which spread across Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Delhi.

The official said that he was carrying a reward of Rs 50,000 on information leading to his arrest.

Previously, the Special Cell had arrested three men in three different operations and during the investigation, it emerged that the source or supplier of illegal weapons to them was one Malkhan Singh.

"Strenuous efforts were made to trace Malkhan Singh, but he was evading arrest. Further, it was revealed that he was frequently changing his hideouts and mobile numbers, and his nexus of procurement and supply of illegal firearms and ammunition was spread across many states, including Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi," said the Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) HGS Dhaliwal.

Subsequently, a police team was deployed to track and arrest Singh. "On July 26, specific information regarding his movement was received. Accordingly, a raid was conducted near Lal Bagh in Dhar, and Singh was apprehended," said the Special CP.

Interrogation with Singh exposed the extent of his criminal enterprise.

He had been involved in manufacturing and supplying illegal pistols and ammunition since 2009-2010. "Initially, he produced the firearms himself, but later he shifted to procuring them from local manufacturers in Dhar, Barwani, and Burhanpur Districts of Madhya Pradesh. The illegal firearms were then supplied to gunrunners, who further distributed them to criminal gangs in various states," said Dhaliwal.

Remarkably, Singh utilised his time in jail to expand his network through imprisoned gunrunners and criminal associates.

The investigation after Singh arrest also shed light on the process of illegal firearm manufacturing in Madhya Pradesh.

As per police, gunsmiths are purchasing iron sheets and pipes from hardware shops in the market. They acquire necessary tools like drills, grinders, hammers, and screwdrivers for making weapons. "After assembling the raw materials and equipment, the illegal firearms were crafted either at home or in remote areas of the forest," said the special CP.

The production of bullets involved using thin brass sheets obtained from Indore, and the shells were filled with materials such as matchsticks. "These illegal firearms were sold at varying prices to local dealers - a .30 bore pistol sold for Rs 18,000 to 20,000, a .32 bore pistol for Rs 6,000 to 8,000, a .315 bore pistol for Rs 1500 to 2,000, and a 9 MM pistol for Rs 45,000 to 50,000," said Dhaliwal.

"Subsequently, the local dealers would distribute the illegal weapons to contacts in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh at much higher price," the official added.
Mumbai, July 31 : A 25-year-old resident doctor of the BMC-run KEM Hospital, Dr. Adinath Patil allegedly ended his life by injecting himself with a drug, ostensibly owing to work stress, officials said here on Monday.

The suicide took place late on Sunday but was discovered this morning by his colleagues who had gone to his room to remind him to report for his duties in the out-patient department.

When Dr. Patil, hailing from Jalgaon, did not respond, they entered from another side and came across his body there.

As per preliminary reports by the officials of the hospital run by the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation, he reportedly took the extreme measure out of work pressures. He was working at the KEM Hospital and also for the tuberculosis ward of the hospital which were recently shifted to Sewree, where he ended his life sometime late last night or early this morning.

Dr. Patilas body has been sent for an autopsy even as his family has left Jalgaon for Mumbai, and further investigations are underway to rule out any foul play.
New Delhi, July 31 : A group of eight CWSN (child with special needs) students from Delhi government schools will represent India at the 25th World Scout Jamboree which will held in South Korea.

The students will depart for South Korea on Monday.

Delhi Education Minister Atishi met the group and encouraged them for their participation, saying that participating in the event will help students build self-confidence and self-esteem.

"It will play a significant role in inclusive education, assist in students' career development, and provide them with an opportunity to interact and learn from students of other countries and know their cultures," she said.

She said that it is a matter of great pride for us that eight special needs students from Delhi government schools, are participating in the 25th World Scout Jamboree in South Korea.

"Students studying in our schools have proven that there is no dearth of talent in students of our schools, they only need opportunities. As a result, today, our school students are representing Delhi and bringing glory to the country at the national and international levels," Atishi said.

She said that the students with special needs from Delhi government schools, participating in this global competition, are not only a source of inspiration for other students with special needs but for everyone.

She said that the students were sending a strong message to the whole world that with their hard work and talent, they can achieve anything and can work to change society's perception towards them.

"There was a time when no one ever thought that students from government schools would represent Delhi or the country in an international competition. However, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal made education a priority after coming to power and, while fulfilling his vision, today, the children from the poorest sections of society in Delhi are getting world-class exposure and education," she said.

She said that the students from government schools are now representing Delhi at the national and international levels.

"In this direction, a group of 12 members, including 8 CWSN students from Delhi government schools, will participate in the 25th World Scout Jamboree in South Korea. The entire expenses of this visit are being borne by the Kejriwal government," she said.

The 25th World Scout Jamboree, scheduled from August 1 to August 12, will focus on developing leadership and life skills in participants through scouting activities and encouraging them to become active citizens.

It emphasises the core values of scouting, methods, global citizenship education, and sustainable development education related to current issues.
New Delhi, July 31 : Actor Jr NTR has started shooting the next schedule of the much-anticipated magnum opus 'Devara', which involves an intense water sequence, and will be filmed in Hyderabad itself.

Post wrapping up an action-packed schedule of the film recently in Hyderabad, the makers are now geared up to film yet another important sequence.

Announcing the same on social media, the film's official social media handle tweeted: "After a short break and some rehearsals to execute the sequence on a massive scale, we are back on sets from today. #Devara."

Hailed as a blockbuster in the making and one of the biggest films of 2024, 'Devara' has set the audience's expectations really high.

Expected to be one of the major portions of the film, the latest sequence is expected to be something audiences have never witnessed NTR Jr perform, which further makes it all the more exciting.

A high-budget spectacle, 'Devara' is directed by Koratala Siva, produced by Yuvasudha Arts and NTR Arts, and presented by Nandamuri Kalyana Ram.

The film's music is done by Anirudh Ravichander with R Rathnavelu being the cinematographer.

'Devara' also stars Janhvi Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan in pivotal roles. The film marks Janhvi Kapoor's long-awaited debut in Telugu cinema.

The film is slated to release on April 5, 2024.
New Delhi, July 31 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday said it has attached six immovable properties worth Rs 6.02 crore belonging to the family members of former Union Railway Minister and ex-Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad in connection with an investigation into a money laundering case related to the land for job scam case.

An official said that the attached properties belong to Rabri Devi -- wife of Lalu Prasad; Misa Bharti -- daughter of Lalu Prasad; Vineet Yadav -- husband of Hema Yadav (Lalu Prasad's daughter); Shiv Kumar Yadav -- father-in-law of Hema Yadav; AB Exports Pvt Ltd and AK Infosystem Pvt Ltd -- both companies owned and controlled by family members of Lalu Prasad.

The ED initiated an investigation under the PMLA based on an FIR lodged by the CBI against Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi and others.

In this case, seven land parcels were acquired by family members of Lalu Prasad (the then Minister for Railways during the period 2004-09) from the candidates appointed (as Substitutes) and their family members.

"The investigation by the ED revealed that the family members of candidates gifted land (at cheap rates/lesser than the circle rate) to family members of Lalu Prasad and associated companies in lieu of job which was given in a malafide manner with undue haste and in violation of extant law and procedure," said the official.

The ED further stated that this criminal conspiracy to abuse his official position for the sake of seeking bribes led to accretion of the land parcels by his family members at Mahuabagh (Danapur) and Bihta, Patna.

Earlier, in this case, searches were also conducted at 24 locations by the ED at various places in Delhi NCR, Patna, Mumbai and Ranchi including the residences of Hema Yadav, Ragini Lalu, Chanda Yadav and residential and commercial premises of Amit Katyal, Navdeep Sardana, Abu Dojana and Suman Nayak, CA.

The searches resulted in the recovery of unaccounted cash of Rs 1 crore; foreign currencies including $1,900; 540 gm gold and over 1.5 kg of gold jewellery (worth Rs 1.25 crore approximately) and several other incriminating documents indicating illegal accretion of a huge land bank.

The ED investigation has revealed that AB Exports Pvt Ltd is a shell company owned by Tejashwi Yadav -- Bihar Deputy Chief Minister, and Chanda Yadav, daughter of Lalu Prasad, and has its registered address at New Friends Colony in Delhi.

A total of six immovable properties situated at Delhi, Ghaziabad and Patna being proceeds of crime, have been provisionally attached under PMLA.

The properties attached include the residential premises at New Friends Colony in Delhi owned by AB Exports Pvt Ltd.

Two land parcels situated at Mahuabagh (Danapur), Patna, have also been attached.

Further, one land parcel owned by Misa Bharti has been attached at Bihta, Patna.
Imphal, July 31 : Thousands of people, mostly women, staged protests in Manipur's Kangpokpi and Churachandpur districts demanding immediate withdrawal of state police forces from Moreh areas in Tengnoupal district, along Myanmar border.

Inhabited by Kuki, Meitei, Nepali, Tamil, Bihari and other communities, Moreh under Tengnoupal district is a border town, 110 km south of Manipur capital Imphal and just four km west of Myanmar's biggest border town Tamu in Sagaing region, is the largest border trading route along India-Myanmar border.

On July 28, thousands of Kuki-Zo women in Tengnoupal district had blocked the road to Moreh to stop security forces from entering the town when a convoy of 10 vehicles of security forces including the Manipur Rifles and Manipur commandos were heading towards Moreh areas.

Committee on Tribal Unity Sadar Hill (CoTU) is leading the protest demanding immediate removal of state police forces from Moreh areas.

CoTU's General Secretary, Lamminlun Singsit, said that N. Biren Singh-led Manipur Government in an aggressive attempt deployed additional state security forces in Kuki-Zo tribal-dominated Moreh areas and it would only heighten tension and lead to more violence.

"Manipur Rifles and Manipur commandos belong to Meitei communities and it is known to everyone that the state forces are in favour of the majority Meitei community.Despite the Union Home Minister Amit Shah's directive to Chief Minister to look after the valley areas only in regards to the law and order situation as he (Home Minister) would look after the hills, N. Biren Singh still interfered in the law and order situation concerning the hill districts," Singsit told the media.

He then warned that if the state security forces including the police commandos are not withdrawn immediately, the Kuki-Zo community would be forced to launch a series of strong public agitations in all the Kuki-Zo tribal-dominated areas.

The CoTU also submitted a representation to the Union Home Minister through the Deputy Commissioner Kangpokpi.

The tribal-based organisation was alarmed at the Manipur government's attempt to deploy state security forces in Moreh areas in Tengnoupal District despite a promise made by the Home Minister during his visit to Manipur (May 29-June 1) that no state security forces would be deployed in Moreh areas.

The protestors carrying placards read as 'Withdraw Commando who killed us', 'Killer Commando Go Back', 'Remove Commando from Moreh', 'We Don't Want Communal Force', 'To Reign Peace in Moreh Town, Remove Manipur Police Commando', etc.
New Delhi, July 31 : It is perhaps for the first time that a Hollywood film, which doesn't belong to any superhero fantasy action universe, has made more money than a much-hyped Bollywood multi-starrer helmed by none other than Karan Johar, seven years after he last occupied the director's chair.

Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer', which is about the Manhattan Project and the moral dilemma of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist leading America's quest to develop the atom bomb, made more money in its first three days than the Ranveer Singh-Alia Bhatt-starrer 'Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani'.

Surprised? With neither the evocative music of 'Rocky Aur Rani', nor a parade of chiffon saris evoking the magic of Yash Chopra (and stellar performances by veterans Shabana Azmi and Dharmendra), 'Oppenheimer', despite its gritty narrative on a theme Indian audiences were not expected to warm up to, made Rs 13.5 crore (Friday), Rs 16.5 crore (Saturday) and Rs 17.25 crore (Sunday) in its debut weekend, thus making a net collection of Rs 47.25 crore, according to the trade website Bollymoviereviewz.com.

Now, these are figures from the production house, but 'Oppenheimer' being an international title, its collection figures are scrutinised by credible global agencies, so they can be considered to be fairly close to reality.

India, in fact, has turned out to be the biggest international market for 'Oppenheimer' after the UK with the Nolan epic's net earnings (that is, gross collections minus taxes) touching Rs 91.05 crore after 10 days.

'Oppenheimer', incidentally, is running on 1,200 screens pan-India, compared with 3,200 in the case of 'Rocky Aur Rani'. Yet its opening-day collection ranks seventh among all-time best Hollywood first-day earnings in India (the topper continues to be the 2019 superhero drama, 'Avengers: Endgame', which made Rs 53.1 crore).

In the case of 'Rocky Aur Rani', two sets of figures are available, those of the producer being much higher than the ones shared by the film trade.

The trade figures for 'Rocky Aur Rani' are Rs 9.5 crore (Friday), Rs 14.5 crore (Saturday) and Rs 15 crore (Sunday), which adds up to Rs 39 crore (compare this with the 47.25 crore netted by 'Oppenheimer' in its first three days).

Now, the producer's figures are: Rs 11.1 crore (Friday), Rs 16.05 crore (Saturday) and Rs 18.75 crore (Sunday), or a total collection of Rs 45.81 crore, which is also lower than the numbers for 'Oppenheimer'.

On the first three days of 'Rocky Aur Rani', which were Days 8, 9 and 10 for 'Oppenheimer', audience interest in the biopic had in no way flagged, and it made Rs 4.65 crore on its second Friday, Rs 7.25 crore (second Saturday) and Rs 7.5 crore (second Sunday).

Clearly, even as 'Oppenheimer' seems headed for the Rs 100-crore club, it is evident that the audience has spoken with its wallet.Karan Johar's song-and-dance-laden story about a rambunctious West Delhi Punjabi boy and a Bengali sophisticate has lost out to the Gita-spouting, morally conflicted atomic physicist.

--IANSsrb/
The chaos that enveloped the Roanoke County School Board on Thursday began rolling slowly in February, when a female student at Glenvar High told the board she feared sharing the girls bathrooms with a transgender student who identifies as female.

Among the solutions the complaining student proposed was to segregate restrooms by genitalia, labeling them Penis and Vagina.

At the March meeting, the transgender student from Glenvar addressed the board, telling members she was harassed at school daily. She struggles with mental health issues, and this situation has made it SO much more difficult. I genuinely fear going to school because of the threats being made, she said.

At Mays meeting, north county parent Damon Gettier took the podium and ranted for four and a half minutes about his sons elementary school, even though most speakers are limited to three minutes.

What Im here to talk about is the child abuse, grooming, conditioning and indoctrination by sexual predators disguised as teachers and staff at Glen Cove Elementary, Gettier said.

He complained the school was overrun with LGBTQ decorations, namely Pride flags and rainbows. Gettier found more than a dozen such decorations when he personally inspected the school. Some had been created by students in a music class, he said.

Gettier distributed Glen Cove Elementary yearbook photos he deemed objectionable. Three depicted staffers wearing rainbow clothing or accessories. One was a picture of an EVERYONE WELCOME sign that bore rainbow-hued letters.

The attack later prompted a rainbow-drenched demonstration outside Glen Cove by scores of LGBTQ+-supporting parents and others.

In June, speakers criticized school board members for failing to defend school staff from Gettiers accusations. Not one board member has, at least publicly. And near that meetings end, when some interrupting grumbles arose from the crowd, board Chairman Brent Hudson weirdly shouted parents rights! into his mic.

Which brings us to Thursday night  the school boards July meeting  when evident hard feelings escalated.

Following two outbursts among the crowd during a briefing by the schools superintendent  and an explicit warning from Hudson  order broke down after he directed the room be cleared. Ultimately, police arrested and charged two people.

That happened late in the meeting, after 27 people had addressed the board, warning its policies with respect to transgender students would be harmful to the children.

Among them were a child psychiatrist, a fourth-year medical student, at least two Roanoke County teachers and a licensed counselor. Yet another was Tiffany Sandifer, a Roanoke County mother who reminded board members shes begun organizing an effort to recall them.

The disorder began even later in the meeting, as Superintendent Ken Nicely outlined new, Youngkin-administration-produced guidelines regarding transgender students. (The board could vote on those as early as next month.) A couple of people in the crowd shouted bulls-!

One more outburst, and whoever, well ask the police to have you removed, Hudson warned. A few minutes later, after a shout of bull! Hudson ordered the room cleared so our superintendent can conduct business.

I ask everybody to leave at this time, Hudson said.

At that juncture, someone temporarily cut the meetings video feed. But the pandemonium that ensued was captured by attendees using smartphones.

Most began exiting the hearing room. But at least two people refused. Some began loudly chanting Protect trans kids! Protect trans kids! over and over.

As police handcuffed and dragged Shannon Danny Clawson of Roanoke toward the rear exit, Benjamin James of Roanoke County approached Hudson in the front of the room, with Jamess cell phone recording the video.

Why dont you want people here? James asked.

Back up now! Hudson warned repeatedly. Out of his pocket, he pulled a deputys badge (from his day job with the Roanoke County Sheriffs Office) and displayed it toward James.

This is who I am, Hudson said. Im telling you to back up now. I identified myself as a law-enforcement officer and you need to leave now!

Whats your name and badge number? James asked repeatedly, in the style of First Amendment auditors on YouTube.

Leave now! Hudson shot back. What is your name? Wheres your ID?

The exchange is actually kind of humorous.

Eventually, police handcuffed and ushered James out, too. (He and Clawson were charged with trespassing.) After a break, the meeting resumed  with Nicely speaking to an empty room.

Needless to say, arrests at Roanoke County School Board meetings are highly abnormal. They might even be unprecedented.

Friday, I asked Chuck Lionberger, the school systems spokesman, the last occasion someone was hauled out of a school board meeting in handcuffs.

Ive been with schools since July 2007, he replied in an email. During my time, I cant recall a time when weve had to clear the room, much less see people arrested. Before 2007, Im not personally aware but Ive never heard of any stories of such action.

Earlier in the meeting, the school board unanimously adopted a policy that bans classroom decorations related to political views, sociopolitical issues (such as LGBTQ+) or religion. Though it doesnt address rainbows specifically, it seems the policy would bar them on classroom walls, unless theyre directly related to classroom lessons or the sole purpose is decorative.

A sticker, sign, flag, or other display hung by a teacher may be intended to show support and affinity for a subset of students, but it can unintentionally imply that other teachers who do not display such messages or symbols in their classroom do not support inclusion for all their students, or that students who do not share the same identity are unwelcome, the policy says.

(Thats kind of like arguing the existence of Black History Month could, by implication, unintentionally demean white history. Would any serious person draw such a conclusion?)

At the end of the meeting, board member David Linden said: Nights like this are not good for anybody. Theyre not good for our students, theyre not good for our school system, theyre not good for this community. And Im hopeful that we can find some common ground and some civility.

Vice Chairman Tim Greenway said Thursdays meeting was the most confusion and noise hed seen during his service on the board. Tacitly, Greenway acknowledged rancor persists over the boards failure to address Damon Gettiers accusations  but he framed it vaguely.

I think all of us regret, a little bit, that we didnt say something about someone that presented at one of the meetings, that said specifics about the folks at a school, Greenway began. And we probably got caught up in the moment, maybe didnt even realize it was coming. But we do recognize that it was a mistake  whether, you know, if we come out and say it or not.

A little bit of regret for not responding to Gettiers lurid accusations is hardly the same as condemning them. But 10 weeks after Gettiers rant, thats as far as any school board member has publicly gone.

In a backhanded way, even Hudson seemed to acknowledge Gettiers rant had created problems, because Thursday, the chairman greatly expanded the admonition he typically gives to launch the public comments section.

Speakers should be aware that they may be held legally responsible if they make statements that violate the legal rights of others. For example, if statements are made that are defamatory, threatening, Hudson warned. Comments likely to disrupt the boards work or prompt a breach of the peace may be prohibited, and the speaker will be called out of order by the board chair.

That stuff and more was new, compared to Hudsons admonitions at Junes meeting, at which he merely asked speakers to be respectful and civil in their comments, and to direct comments to the chair.

The school boards next meeting is a 3:30 p.m. work session on Thursday. The next regular public meeting is Aug. 17.

At the latter, the boards expected to take up the Youngkin administrations Model Policies regarding transgender students. Among other things, those say students must use bathrooms that correspond their biological sex, rather than gender identity except to the extent otherwise required by federal law.

Will that meeting wind up even crazier? Stay tuned.

Dan Casey (540) 981-3423
San Francisco, July 31 : A novel vaccine that targets inflamed brain cells linked to Alzheimer's disease may hold the key to potentially preventing or altering the course of the disease, a new study has shown.

According to the preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association, the vaccine, which targets a protein involved in the most common cause of dementia, helped eliminate toxic cells in mice with the condition.

The researchers at Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan developed a vaccine to eliminate senescent cells expressing senescence-associated glycoprotein (SAGP) -- a senolytic vaccine that improved various age-related diseases, including atherosclerosis and Type 2 diabetes in mice.

Another study discovered that SAGPs are highly expressed in glial cells in Alzheimer's patients.

Based on the findings of these studies, the researchers tested this vaccine in mice to treat Alzheimer's disease by targeting SAGP-overexpressed cells.

"Alzheimeras disease now accounts for 50 to 70 per cent of dementia patients worldwide. Our studyas novel vaccine test in mice points to a potential way to prevent or modify the disease. The future challenge will be to achieve similar results in humans," said lead study author Chieh-Lun Hsiao, PhD, at Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine.

After vaccination, the mice had fewer amyloid plaques and less inflammation in brain tissue and showed improvement in behaviour and awareness.

A behaviour test (maze-type device) on the mice at six months old revealed that those that received the SAGP vaccine responded significantly better to their environment than those who received the placebo vaccine.

The SAGP-vaccinated mice tended to behave like normal healthy mice and exhibited more awareness of their surroundings, the study showed.

"Earlier studies using different vaccines to treat Alzheimeras disease in mouse models have been successful in reducing amyloid plaque deposits and inflammatory factors, however, what makes our study different is that our SAGP vaccine also altered the behaviour of these mice for the better," Hsiao said.

According to the researchers, previous research suggested that the SAGP protein is highly elevated in microglia, which means that microglia are very important cells to target in Alzheimeras disease.

--IANS

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Kharge hits out at Centre, says PM distributing appointment letter in installments. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, July 31 : Congress is all set to hold discussion with the party leaders from the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to discuss the Lok Sabha poll preparedness.

A senior Congress leader said that the party President Mallikarjun Kharge has called a meeting with the leaders of the party from the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka to chalk out a strategy for the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The source said that a meeting with the leaders of Karnataka with the party President, former party president Rahul Gandhi and several other secretaries is scheduled on August 2.

Similarly, the leaders of Tamil Nadu will have a meeting on August 4 in the national capital at the party headquarters, which will also be chaired by Kharge.

The party leader said that the meeting of Kerala was supposed to take place on Tuesday.

However, due to death of senior party leader V Purushotham earlier in the day, the meeting of Kerala has been postponed a new date will be announced.

Even the Congress had planned a meeting with the Haryana leaders on August 3. However, looking at the clashes in Nuh in the state, the date has been postponed.

The party leader said that new dates for Haryana and Kerala will be decided later.

Earlier, the Congress had held similar meetings with the state unit chief, state incharges and senior party leaders to discuss the assembly elections preparedness in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram.
Gurugram, July 31 : After a violent clash between two communities in Haryana's Nuh district, the Gurugram administration imposed Section 144 in the district on Monday evening.

Besides this, Gurugram's borders with Nuh have reportedly been sealed after a mob entered the Sohna area and torched a car.

A violence broke out after stones were pelted and vehicles were set on fire during a religious procession in Nuh, leading to heightened tension in the area on Monday afternoon.

Nuh district administration has also imposed Section-144 to control the situation.

The Haryana government has suspended mobile internet services in Nuh from July 31 (4 p.m.) to August 2 (11.59 p.m.). The order has been issued to stop the spread of misinformation and rumours through various social media platforms, such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter.

Deputy Commissioner, Gurugram, Nishant Kumar Yadav said: "Anyone found spreading spread of misinformation and rumours through social media platforms would be punished. So avoid spreading any misinformation."

"These orders have been implemented in the district with immediate effect, which will remain effective till further orders. Action will be taken against those who disobey the issued orders under Section-188 of the Indian Penal Code," he added.

Earlier, following the violence in Nuh, police fired rounds in air to disperse the mob.

Additional forces from Faridabad, Rewari, Gurugram and Palwal have been stationed in Nuh to maintain law and order. Besides, officials have instructed residents to stay in their homes.

Police also conducted a flag march following the unrest.
New Delhi, July 31 : Congress on Monday attacked the BJP government in Haryana saying the riot scenes in Manesar is worrying and it is the failure of law and order of the state government.

In a video statement, Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "The news of violence, arson, vandalism and riots coming from Manesar and Gurgaon is extremely worrying as well as heart-wrenching. This is straight failure of law and order."

He said that it is the result of the failure of the Khattar government.

"The BJP-JJP government first pushed the state into the fire of caste riots and now the peace of Haryana is being burnt in the flames of religious riots," he alleged.

"For the first time in 75 years of independence, a conspiracy is being hatched to make Haryana a victim of religious riots. This is a black day in the history of peace-loving Haryana," he said.

Surjewala demanded strictest action against the rioters irrespective of their religion or caste.

"Chief Minister Khattar himself should go ahead and do the work of establishing law and order and creating peace. The Chief Minister should know that this is not the time to sit idle.

"It is the need of the hour that the Chief Minister should come forward, hold talks with all the parties, create peace, take action against the culprits and understand the situation and follow Rajdharma," he added.

His remarks came after massive violence broke out in the Muslim-dominated Nuh area.

Nearly 2,500 people, comprising children, on Monday took shelter at a temple near Haryana's Gurugram as the police, who used teargas and fired shots into the air, have called in reinforcements. Nearly 20 people have been injured.

Massive violence broke out after stones were pelted and vehicles were set on fire during a religious procession.

The violence broke out over reports of cow vigilante and Bhiwani death case accused Monu Manesar visiting Mewat.
Bengaluru, July 31 : An FIR has been registered after a senior female employee in a MNC in Bengaluru complained of sexual harassment by her colleagues, police said on Monday.

The incident had taken place in Cubbon Park police station area.

The victim had lodged a complaint against senior architect Sharana Basappa Maraturu, senior vice president Vaidyanathan Shehan, vice president Praveen Mysuru, and senior manager Shravan Poligili, alleging that the accused had also targeted all women employees in the company who had refused to attend parties.

She had also claimed that the management did not respond or extended help even after she complained about sexual harassment, police sources said.

Police have begun the investigation and further details are yet to emerge.
Delhi HC disposes of Atishis plea for Centres clearance for her UK visit. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, July 31 : Delhi High Court on Monday closed the proceedings in Delhi Education Minister Atishi's petition seeking required clearances from the Central government for an official visit to the United Kingdom (UK).

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said that nothing survived in the case Centre had granted political clearance for her visit to the UK on an invitation by Cambridge University to speak at a conference on 'India at 100: Towards Becoming a Global Leader' last month.

"The petition is disposed of as infructuous," Justice Subramonium Prasad said.

On June 7, the Centre had apprised the high court that Atishi has been granted political clearance for her official visit to the UK.

This came after Atishi had moved the high court requesting the court to direct the central government to make a decision regarding the necessary clearances for her visit to the UK.

A single-judge bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh had recorded the submissions of Ministry of External Affairs.

The petition had stated that as an AAP leader, she has been invited by Cambridge University to speak at a conference on 'India at 100: Towards Becoming a Global Leader' on June 15.

The petition had sought permission to travel abroad from June 14 to 20.

Atishi's petition had emphasised the importance of the visit for showcasing Delhi's advancements in education, health, and urban development and that the delay in granting clearance for the visit would render its purpose ineffective.

The plea argued that restricting Atishi's right to travel abroad based on discretion impinges on her personal freedom and violates the dignity and independence of a constitutional office.

It further claimed that the central government has been causing delays by responding with queries and clarifications after the Lieutenant-Governor forwarded the proposal, hindering the visa application process.

The plea expressed concern over the limited time remaining for completing all necessary formalities and obtaining visa approval.

"In the present matter, the respondents' non-decision on the matter till June 6, has left only eight days for all further formalities and visa approval, serving in effect as an arbitrary non-decision of the proposed visit," the plea stated.

The petition asserted that Atishi's visit to primary schools in the UK is vital for incorporating best practices in primary school education in Delhi and exchanging ideas on urban governance and showcasing Delhi's progress in urban design.
Hyderabad, July 31 : The Telangana Cabinet on Monday decided to recognise over 43,000 employees of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) as the employees of the state government.

The Cabinet, at its meeting chaired by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, constituted a sub-committee comprising officials to frame the guidelines.

A total of 43,373 TSRTC employees will become government employees.

A Bill in this regard will be introduced in the Assembly session, beginning on August 3.

Industries Minister K. T. Rama Rao told media persons that the decision was taken to protect the TSRTC as a social obligation and to strengthen the public transport system.

The Cabinet also decided to expand Hyderabad Metro at a cost of Rs 60,000 crore in next 3-4 years. A double-decker Metro line will be laid from Jubilee Bus Station to Thumkunta and Patny to Kandlakoya at Outer Ring Road (ORR).

The minister said while one level will be for motor vehicles, the second level will be for Metro trains.

Hyderabad Metro will also be extended from Isnapur to Miyapur, Miyapur to Lakdi Ka Pul, LB Nagar to Pedamberpet, Uppal to Bibinagar, Kottur to Shadnagar and Uppal to ECIL.

A Metro Rail is also planned around the 159-km Outer Ring Road. The Hyderabad Metro Rail and the Municipal Administration Department have been asked to prepare detailed project reports.

The Minister said the state would also request the Centre to cooperate in executing the project. He remarked that even if the present government at the Centre failed to cooperate, the next government at the Centre will extend the help. He predicted that a coalition government will come to power at the Centre next year in which BRS will have a key role.

--IANS

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Patna, July 31 : Bihar's Motihari police arrested wanted criminal Aslam Ansari alias Gulten on Monday.

Ansari, a native of Birgunj in Nepal, has been involved in several illegal activities and was carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), officials said.

He was earlier arrested in 2019 and got a bail. Ansari jumped the bail and was absconding since then.

The NIA had issued a look out notice against him.

Following his arrest, Motihari police informed the NIA about it.

Ansari will be interrogated jointly by the police and the NIA, officials said.
New Delhi, July 31 : The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has granted in-principle approval to Air India and IndiGo for the import of 470 and 500 aircraft, respectively, the Parliament was told on Monday.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Gen V.K. Singh (retd), in a written reply, told the Rajya Sabha that the details of the aircraft approved for import by the DGCA are enclosed as an annexure, but information regarding the cost of acquisition of these aircraft, being of commercial nature between the airline and the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), is not available.

Meanwhile, the DGCA said that the availability of parking slots is ensured at the time of granting NOC for the actual import of aircraft.

"As per the airlines' induction plan, the aircraft are proposed to be imported during the period 2023-2035. The airline operators have been advised by DGCA to share their induction plan with airport operators to ensure availability of parking slots," said the DGCA in a statement.

Air India has unveiled its plans to procure a substantial fleet of aircraft, with a vision to import a total of 210 A320Neo aircraft, 140 B737 aircraft, 40 A350 aircraft, 10 B777-9 aircraft, 20 B787-9 aircraft, and 50 B737-8 aircraft. In addition, IndiGo airlines recently made an unprecedented announcement, ordering 500 Airbus A320 Family aircraft. The delivery of these aircraft is scheduled to take place between the years 2030 and 2035.

The purchase agreement was formally concluded at the Paris Air Show in 2023, with representatives from both IndiGo and Airbus in attendance to solidify this landmark deal.

--IANS

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New Delhi, July 31 : In his reply filed in the Supreme Court in the Rahul Gandhi defamation case, complainant BJP legislator Purnesh Modi has said that the former Congress president displayed "arrogance" and his plea "deserves to be dismissed with exemplary costs".

The reply document stated that subsequent to his conviction, the Congress leader, in a press conference, said that he would never apologise "as he was not a Savarkar but a Gandhi".

"At the time of sentencing before the trial court, the petitioner (Rahul Gandhi) far from being repentant or contrite, displayed arrogance. He said he did not seek any mercy from the Court and would not apologise for any harm to reputation of the persons he had defamed," said the counter affidavit filed before the top court opposing Rahul Gandhi's plea for stay of conviction.

It further said that Gandhi's attitude "disentitles him to any relief in the form of stay of conviction as it reveals arrogant entitlement, rank insensitivity to an offended community and contempt for the law".

"It is a settled law that stay of conviction is granted in the rarest of rare cases for exceptional reasons. The petitioner's (Rahul Gandhi's) case manifestly does not fall in that category," added the reply further.

Further, it said Rahul Gandhi made the defamatory statement out of "personal hatred" towards an elected Prime Minister of the country, and "deserves no sympathy" on the question of the sentence imposed.

The counter affidavit said that Gandhi had "disreputable antecedents".

It referred to his criminal prosecution in the National Herald case, where he is on bail and the other case relating to defamation of Veer Savarkar.

It said that the decisions of the lower court sentencing Gandhi was "totally justified" and the high court's refusal to interfere with the Sessions Court"does not disclose any error" and is based on "sound reasons".

On July 21, the Supreme Court agreed to examine the plea filed by former Congress President Rahul Gandhi against the Gujarat High Court's verdict denying to put a stay on his conviction in the 'Modi surname' defamation case.

A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra had issued a notice on the question as to whether the conviction should be suspended or not. The bench did not pass any interim relief on Gandhi's plea praying for suspension of his sentence.

The High Court's refusal to stay his conviction and two-year jail term in a criminal defamation case, has cost the Congress leader his Lok Sabha membership.

The court had sought responses of the Gujarat government and Purnesh Modi on Rahul Gandhi's plea. It had posted the matter for hearing on August 4.

On July 15, the Congress leader had approached the Supreme Court challenging the Gujarat High Court's order where a bench of Justice Hemant Prachchhak had observed that granting a stay on his conviction would be an exception, and not a rule.

Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as a Member of Parliament in March, after a Surat court convicted him and sentenced him to two years in prison for his "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname" remark made during an election rally in Karnataka in April 2019.

Rahul Gandhi's 2019 remark was interpreted as an attempt to draw an implicit connection between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and fugitive businessmen Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi.

In March, the sessions court in Surat had dismissed Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking suspension of his conviction by the magistrate court, stating that his disqualification will not result in an irreversible loss to him.

The Congress leader was disqualified under a rule that bars convicted MPs from holding Lok Sabha membership.
Living in rural Virginia often means driving as long as half a day to access quality health care, or not accessing it at all. The rise of telemedicine in the past few years provides one avenue to address that disparity, as patients can access specialized care, psychiatric services and more from local clinics and even their own homes.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing in improvements to telemedicine across the country, including Virginia. The USDA awarded multiple grants to the University of Virginia Health System and its partners last Tuesday, which will be funneled to increase the reach and impact of telemedicine in rural areas.

Just this morning I heard about a woman whose pianist in her church was having problems with his eyes, Xochitl Torres Small, deputy secretary for the Department of Agriculture, told The Daily Progress. Because of a unit that we were able to fund more of through this grant, he was able to get a picture of his eye sent to University of Virginia and get diagnosed.

It saved his eyesight, Torres Small continued. Its that kind of early intervention and care and access close to home that will help save peoples lives and also give them better quality of life all across rural America.

Torres Small visited UVa Tuesday morning for a roundtable discussion with UVa Health and its partners, Virginias recipients of the grants which total $129 million nationwide. Among those partners are rural clinics and community hospitals, where patients can receive basic care before connecting with a more specialized practitioner, often from UVa. That might mean a nurse practitioner takes their vitals and then helps to set up a virtual interaction with an expert.

The vast majority of health care should be local, and telemedicine is a venue that can be used to accomplish that, said Craig Kent, vice president of UVa Health, during the roundtable.

One key element of telemedicine is high-speed internet, one of the investments the new grants will allow. In the next three years, Firefly Fiber Broadband plans to take fiber to 50,000 homes in rural Virginia, where Wi-Fi and cell service is often scarce.

At UVa Health, the Karen S. Rheuban Center for Telehealth will develop a strategic plan to address the environmental and social barriers to telemedicine. That includes a lack of literacy for health and technology, and also a lack of trust for physicians patients might only know through a screen, according to UVa pulmonologist Drew Harris.

Harris works to treat black lung in coal miners in Southwest Virginia. To build trust with his patients, he drives to the region every month to administer care in person, Harris said Tuesday.

It is also important to meet people where they are, partners said during Tuesdays roundtable. Residents of rural areas often carry pride and a fend for yourself, stubborn mindset that can prevent them from seeking health care. Being able to access care from their own homes might reduce that particular barrier, especially for psychiatric services that already carry stigma.

Other efforts from UVas partners intend to decrease challenges to accessing special care as well as divert patients away from state hospitals. With the recent grant money, the Mount Rogers Community Services Board will improve treatment programs and add a second eight-bed unit to the Rhea B. Lawrence Recovery Center in Marion.

At the Bath County Community Hospital, a critical access hospital located in a county with 4,000 residents, the grant will be used to purchase an X-ray machine, a patient-side fluoroscopy and radiography system, and an electronic medical records system subscription.

Sometimes people wonder why USDA is in the business of emergency rural healthcare, but when it comes to agriculture, thriving rural communities are a crucial part of that, Torres Small told The Daily Progress. That pianist at church deserves to have access to quality healthcare and live in the place that he calls home.
Jaipur, July 31 : People in Bhilwara's Luhariya village in Rajasthan created ruckus at a government school after a girl student complained that urine was mixed in her water bottle by two of her classmates.

"The girl student had come to the police station on Friday with her family members. She filed a complaint against her two classmates. The student said that during lunch, a foul smell was coming from her water bottle," ASP Ghanshyam Sharma said.

Following the incident, the villagers went to the school principal and during the visit, they created ruckus and locked the school gate.

Soon the protesting people gathered at the bus stand and started raising slogans and also entered the locality of a particular community.

At around 1 pm, the situation deteriorated and police restored to lathi-charge to disperse the protesting mob.

Police said in view of the tension between, a huge police force has been deployed in the area.

The incident was reported on Friday. Family members along with some people complained to the Tehsildar and the Station House Officer, however due to Muharram, action was not taken. On Sunday, a message regarding this incident went viral on social media and it was decided that markets would not be opened in Luharia on Monday.
Kolkata: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee during her visit at Kolkata's Woodlands Hospital as she arrives to meet former CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Image Source: IANS News

Kolkata, July 31 : The medical conditions of former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee improved further from Monday afternoon onwards following which he was taken out of invasive ventilation and put to non-invasive ventilation.

The medical board constituted for his treatment took the decision of bringing him out of the invasive ventilation, sources from the hospital in south Kolkata where he was admitted said.

On Monday morning,Bhattacharjee underwent a CT scan at the hospital and sources said that no major complication has been revealed in the report.

Even in the latest medical bulletin issued by the hospital, the medical condition of the former Chief Minister has been stated as stable.

Sources said that following the reduction in the creatinine level in his blood, the antibiotic dosage could be increased which resulted in improvement of his medical conditions. Even the level of C - reactive protein (CRP) in his blood has improved significantly, sources added.

However, the medical board right now cannot say that the former Chief Minister is totally out of crisis and the board members feel that the next 24 hours would be quite critical.

On Monday afternoon, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee went to the hospital to meet her predecessor. She talked to the doctors treating him and enquired about his medical conditions. "He is in his senses. He could raise his hand. It seemed to me that he is in a better state now. He has kept out of invasive ventilation. But he has been kept under BiPap support. I cannot say anything more since I am not a physician," Banerjee said.
Patna, July 31 : Bihar has witnessed an increase in criminal activities across the state with four criminal incidents being reported in the last few days.

On Sunday, in Patna outskirt, at 10 p.m mobile snatchers fired on a Government Railway Police (GRP) team leaving one personnel injured. He was identified as Dilip Kumar.

GRP SHO Mukesh Kumar Singh said that the accused are members of Jatahu gang. The gang is active in the Bairam Chowk area.

"Our GRP team was patrolling on the Patna Gaya rail section. They were on platform number 2. After seeing the police team, the snatchers fired gunshots on the GRP team and one of the bullets hit Constable Dilip Kumar on his left hand. Three to four snatchers fired on the police team," Singh said.

On Monday, a former village-head was shot at and injured in Kurji locality. The incident happened at Ashok Rajpath near Kurji Mor. Police said that four assailants came on bike and opened fire upon the former village-head.

He is currently admitted in a hospital for treatment. The victim is identified as Nilesh Kumar Singh. His wife Suchitra Singh is present Ward Councilor.

Also on Monday, unidentified gunmen shot-at a constable of Chapra prison. The victim has been identified as Anuj Kumar. He was on way home after completing his duty. The incident happened at Bhavnagar Bazar in the city. The victim has been admitted in Chapra Sadar hospital. His condition is said to be critical.

In Siwan district, a dead body of a 60 year-old person was found in a trolley bag. The deceased was identified as Hare Krishna Tiwari.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that he was killed and put in a trolley bag and dumped at Pokhara village near Siwan state highway.
New Delhi, July 31 : The city police on Monday told the Delhi High Court that they have devised an action plan to effectively handle bomb threat calls and address hoax incidents.

On May 22, the High Court asked the police to submit an action plan to ensure proper action against such fake threats.

The court's direction had come on a petition filed by the parent of a child studying in DPS Mathura Road, which received a bomb threat that later turned out to be a prank by one of the students.

Justice Prathiba M. Singh had remarked that such incidents are scary and therefore there needs to be an action plan to deal with such incidents.

In its status report, police stated that they have dedicated Bomb Disposal Squads (BDS) and Bomb Disposal Teams (BDTs) along with a well-defined standard operating procedure in place.

According to the status report submitted on Monday, the police have already taken action against juvenile suspects involved in hoax calls to certain schools this year.

The draft action plan, dated July 27, emphasised the coordinated efforts of various stakeholders, including local police, traffic police, fire department, school authorities, disaster management teams, ambulances, and hospitals, to effectively respond to a bomb call situation.

Additionally, the plan includes provisions for mock drills to enhance preparedness, ensuring school authorities undertake precautionary measures and plan evacuations in consultation with authorities. Parents and students will be adequately briefed about the legal consequences of making hoax bomb threat calls.

The court has listed the matter for further hearing in September and allowed private schools' association to provide suggestions in this regard.

The police assured that a thorough investigation will be conducted, with appropriate legal action taken against those responsible for hoax calls, and the final report will be submitted to the respective court promptly.

The implementation of this action plan aims to enhance the safety and security of schools in Delhi, providing a comprehensive response framework to address any potential bomb threats effectively.

Earlier, during a counselling session, the student had confessed to getting the idea after a similar incident occurred at 'The Indian School' in Delhi's Sadiq Nagar in April this year. Another hoax bomb threat email was received at a private school in South Delhi's Saket area recently, however, nothing suspicious was found.

--IANS

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Bengaluru, July 31 : The Karnataka High Court has reserved its order on quash petition in connection with the investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the disproportionate assets case submitted by the Deputy Chief Minister and state unit Congress president D.K. Shivakumar.

The bench headed by Justice K. Natarajan completed the trial in this regard on Monday and reserved for orders.

The court has also directed the counsel SPP Prasanna Kumar for the CBI to submit the case diary of the investigation of the case in a sealed envelope.

The bench also observed that the counsel for Shivakumar had raised a question on the legality of the proportion of the disproportionate assets case.

The bench also stated that the petitioner suspected the order of the investigation by the CBI into the case. Once the suspicion is raised, all matters will be seen with suspicion.

The court underlined that the case diary should be produced before the court without any corrections.

Shivakumar had approached the High Court questioning the decision of handing over the disproportionate assets case to the CBI.

The court had given an interim stay on the CBI investigation till February 24 and later the court had extended the stay many times.

The CBI had raided the residences and offices of Shivakumar at 14 locations in New Delhi, Mumbai and other places on October 5, 2020.

During the raids, the sleuths had seized Rs 57 lakh in cash, key documents and hard discs.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) which began an investigation in connection with a disproportionate assets case and illegal money transfer, had inquired about Shivakumar.

He was sent to jail and later released on bail.

After the release, Shivakumar was given a heroic welcome by lakhs of people and the Congress party elevated him to the post of the party president of the Karnataka unit.

After the Congress' victory in Karnataka assembly elections, Shivakumar had stated that he had got two choices -- either to join BJP or to go to jail, and he had picked the second option.

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the petition filed by the CBI challenging the Karnataka High Courtas temporary stay order.

The apex court had declined interference in view of the fact that the matter is pending before the High Court for final adjudication.
New Delhi, July 31 : The Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday suspended, with immediate effect, 2007-batch AGMUT-cadre IAS officer Udit Prakash Rai, who has been accused of demolishing a historic monument in Delhi to construct a government accommodation.

The order issued by the MHA also said that departmental proceedings are being contemplated against Rai.

In an order, the MHA said: "Now therefore, the President of India, in exercise of the powers conferred under Rule 3 of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969 hereby places Rai, IAS (AGMUT:2007) under suspension with immediate effect.

"It is further ordered that during the period for which this order shall remain in force, the headquarters of Udit Prakash Rai, IAS (AGMUT: 2007) shall be Mizoram and the said Udit Prakash Rai, IAS (AGMUT: 2007) shall not leave the headquarters without obtaining the prior permission of the competent authority," it said.

In August last year, Delhi Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommended action against Rai for allegedly accepting a Rs 50 lakh bribe to grant "undue favours" to an Executive Engineer in two corruption cases. During his tenure as the Vice Chairman of the Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board (DAMB), Rai "virtually let off" Executive Engineer P.S. Meena in two disproportionate assets cases  one involving Meena's son and the other involving his wife.

Rai was allegedly involved in the construction of an official accommodation following the demolition of a 15th-century monument during his tenure as the Delhi Jal Board's (DJB) CEO. Earlier this year, the Delhi government's Vigilance Department served a notice to Rai for the construction of the official accommodation following the demolition of the "Pathan period" Mahal dating back to 1418 to move in as the then DJB CEO.

The order also said that Rai during the period of his suspension, would be entitled to a subsistence allowance at an amount equal to the leave salary which a member of Service would have drawn if he had been on leave on half-average pay or on half pay and in addition, dearness allowance, if admissible, on the basis of such leave salary under Rule 4 (1)(a) of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, subject to the furnishing of a certificate to the effect that he has not been employed in any business, profession, or vocation for a profit or remuneration or salary.
Bengaluru, July 31 : Karnataka Large and Medium Industries on Monday said Karnataka government had a 'fruitful' meeting with the iPhone maker Foxconn about the projects for which the company is keen to invest in the state.

Large and Medium Industries Minister M.B Patil, IT/BT Minister Priyanka Kharge and Foxconn Chairman Young Liu were present during the discussion which took place at a private hotel in Chennai.

MB Patil said that the industrial and investment policies of the state government are conducive to nurturing an ecosystem favouring the growth of industries.

The Minister said that the talks held with the company chairman were afruitfula.

Dr EV Ramana Reddy, ACS, Department of Electronics and IT/BT, and Gunjan Krishna, Commissioner, Department of Industries and Commerce were present in the meeting.
Mizoram Guv urged to resolve problems of state's students in Central Agriculture University in Imphal. Image Source: IANS News

Aizawl/Imphal, July 31 : Mizoram Students' Union (MSU) on Monday urged the state Governor, Hari Babu Kambhampati, to resolve the issues and problems of state's students studying and seeking admission in Imphal-based Central Agriculture University (CAU).

A statement, issued by the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR), said that the MSU leaders told the governor that "Imphal (Manipur) may not be safe for these (Mizoram) students".

The statement said that a MSU delegation led by its president Samuela Zothanpuia met the Governor at Raj Bhavan and conveyed to him the problems faced by Mizoram students of Central Agriculture University in Imphal.

The MSU leaders requested the governor to solve the difficulties faced by the students.

Of the 40 Mizoram students, 12 are final year students while the other 28 are required to submit their admission documents (hard copies) to CAU in Imphal before August 2.

At the same time, these 28 students would have to face the examination shortly.

Taking the current Manipur situation into consideration, the MSU leaders told the Governor that Imphal may not be safe for these students.

In this regard, they requested the Governor to intervene in this matter and make alternative arrangements with the authorities of CAU, Imphal, the DIPR statement said.
Hyderabad, July 31 : Heavy rains and floods in Telangana claimed over 40 lives, the state government said on Monday.

The state Cabinet decided to release Rs 500 crore for immediate relief operations and repair of the damaged roads.

The Cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, decided to pay ex-gratia to the families of the deceased and also paid homage to the people who died in the floods.

The meeting discussed the damages due to heavy rains. Bhupalpally, Mulugu, Hanmakonda, Nirmal, Adilabad, Khammam and Kothagudem districts were affected by heavy rains and floods. The floods damaged crops, roads and bridges while canals and lakes breached.

It decided to undertake repair of R and B and Panchayat roads and on a war footing .

The Cabinet requested the Collectors to send details of the crop damages. The Collectors will go to the field and get information to help the affected farmers. The damages will be enumerated. Damaged culverts and roads will be repaired and will be made motorable soon.

The Cabinet was told that 27,000 people were shifted to relief camps in the affected district and decided to provide rehabilitation to all.

The Cabinet discussed Munneru vagu floods in Khammam and decided to construct RCC flood wall. Officials have been asked to finalise a report. Since the monsoon is delayed, it is decided to provide seeds and fertilizers immediately to the farmers.

In a humane approach, the state government decided to take care of all orphan children by bringing an orphan state policy. "They will be called children of the state. The government will take care of them as parents," state minister K. T. Rama Rao told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

The policy will be approved in the next Cabinet meeting.

The Cabinet also approved the name of B. Satyanarayana from Erukala community (Scheduled Tribes) and D. Sravan from backward classes as MLC candidates under the Governor's quota.

--IANS

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New Delhi, July 31 : Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Monday.

During their meeting, Dhami discussed a wide range of issues pertaining to the Himalayan state.

"Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, and expressed his gratitude to him for his guidance and cooperation in the development of the state," the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) wrote in a tweet.

As per the CMO Uttarakhand, the Chief Minister also discussed with the Prime Minister about the Char Dham road project. Among others, Dhami also briefed Prime Minister Modi about the various development projects in the state.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's Office in a tweet wrote: "Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami met Prime Minister Narendra Modi."
Bengaluru, Aug 1 : Karnataka's high-level committee on Nada Habba (state festival) Mysore Dasara, chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Monday decided to celebrate the occasion in a meaningful and grand manner to make it a people's festival.

Siddaramaiah also suggested that while selecting the tableaux, along with showcasing the state's heritage, district features and five guarantees should also be depicted to give a message to the people.

The state festival will be inaugurated on October 15, between 10.15 a.m. and 10.30 a.m., and the famed Jumbu savari will be held on October 24, on the day of Vijayadashami.

It was decided to celebrate cultural events, film festivals, farmer's Dasara, and Yuva Dussehra in a systematic way. Jambu savari, lighting, and torch light parade are important events of the festival.

This time, there must be special lighting arrangements which should begin from the day of inauguration till the end of Dasara and then continue for a week, the Chief Minister suggested.

The exhibition will also be inaugurated on the opening day of Dussehra.

He suggested that the government departments should open the stalls in the exhibition.

As there are good artistes in the state in all genres, It was decided that preference should be given to them and a platform should be created in Yuva Dussehra for college students and local artists to exhibit their talent.

Necessary infrastructure should be provided to the tourists who will visit Mysuru on the occasion of Dasara.

Siddaramaiah said that action should be taken to ensure the safety of the tourists. Women are expected to come in large numbers due to the Shakti scheme, he said.

It was also decided to hold Dasara in Srirangapatna and Chamarajanagar districts.

The Chief Minister was given the power to select the name of the person to inaugurate Dasara.

The executive committee will submit a proposal on the expenditure, and it was decided to take a decision on providing grants for the festival based on it. It was decided to cut down unnecessary expenditure and unnecessary programmes should be avoided.

The CM said that it is intended to hold an air show during Dasara and this will be discussed with the Defence Minister. Deputy Chief Minister D.K.Shivakumar, Ministers Dr. H.C.Mahadevappa, H.K.Patil, Bairathi Suresh, Venkatesh, Legislators Tanveer Sait, G.T. Devegowda, Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma, Deputy Commissioner Mysuru Dr. Rajendra.K.V and others were present.
The Palghar girl SHRADDHA WALKAR, killed and hacked to 35 pieces by her boyfriend-cum-livein partner AFTAB POONAWALA, in New Delhi,. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Aug 1 : In a chilling revelation, Shraddha Walkar's father testified before a Delhi court that Aaaftab Amin Poonawala had admitted to strangulating his daughter with his own hands.

Victim's father Vikas Walkar further testified that after the murder, Poonawala gruesomely dismembered the victim's body, and disposed of the body parts in various desolate locations across Delhi to avoid detection by authorities and the public.

He recounted his visit to Mehrauli police station on November 11, 2022, where he positively identified Poonawala as the man his daughter had been living with for the past three years.

He also informed the police about the frequent altercations and physical abuse his daughter endured during the relationship. He said that during the interrogation, Poonawala was asked about a suspicious transaction from Shraddha's account two days after the killing but denied any knowledge of it.

"On my inquiry from Poonawala as to where my daughter was, he said she was no more...," he said.

"I was shocked and started feeling dizzy. When I recovered after a while, Poonawala started revealing how he killed my daughter. He told me that he had a fight with my daughter on May 18, 2022 at their Chhatarpur residence and further informed me that he had strangulated Shraddha with his own hands," he said.

Vikas said that Poonawala went on to describe the gruesome details of how he purchased tools, including a saw, two extra blades, and a hammer, to dismember Shraddha's body after her death. He then allegedly cut off her wrists and disposed of them in a polythene or trash bag.

He said that when the family had opposed to Shraddha's decision to live with Poonawala back in 2019, the victim firmly asserted her right to make her own choices, indicating that she was an adult capable of deciding her future.

--IANS

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Gurugram, Aug 1 : An Exemplee Head Constable (EHC) of the Gurugram police was arrested after he rammed several people with his vehicle while driving in an inebriated condition, police said.

Those injured included a father-son duo who were returning after a visit to a hospital, the police added.

A video of the incident has gone viral in which the accused cop can be seen going on a rampage in his government-issued Mahindra Bolero vehicle.

The victim Avdhesh Kumar and his son Hemant Kumar were returning home from a hospital in the Manesar area when they were hit by an accused policeman in his out-of-control vehicle.

According to police, the policeman -- identified as EHC Ransingh -- was coming from Rewari on the Delhi-Jaipur expressway when the incident occurred at about 8:30 p.m. on Sunday.

"We were standing divider in the middle of the road when the policeman in his government vehicle Mahindra Bolero with a red beacon rammed me and my son. We pulled in the air for some metre and fell on the ground and other people who were standing at the spot received injuries," the victim told the police.

The victim also said that the drunk policeman went on to hit another vehicle coming from the opposite direction.

The suspect policeman was later overpowered by the people and handed over to the police. The victims have been admitted to a general hospital in Gurugram.

"The suspect policeman has been arrested based on a complaint given by the victim. The accident vehicles have also been seized. In the medical examination, the smell of alcohol was reported. We have sent a blood sample of the suspect for testing. The matter is under investigation," said the Station House Officer of the Manesar police station.

A case under relevant sections of the IPC, including the Motor Vehicle Act, was registered against the suspect at the Manesar police station.
Patna, Aug 1 : With Bihar facing a drought-like situation, state Agriculture Minister Kumar Sarvjeet on Monday took a jibe at leaders of the BJP, asking them to pray to god for rain.

His statement came to media persons in Gaya after he was asked about the drought-like situation in Bihar.

"The people of the BJP always build temples... I have asked them to pray for god as well. May god listen to them and rains take place in Bihar. I have asked them several times... you also ask them."

The monsoon has created havoc in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi but very less rain has been reported in Bihar and most of the state's 38 districts are hit by drought.

"In the last few months, several Babas (self-styled god men like Bageshwar Baba) came to Bihar but no one had given sermons to farmers and prayed for good rain," Sarvjeet said.

"The state government working under the leadership of Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav are keeping an eye on every situation. Our government is giving free seeds of maize to farmers to compensate for the loss in paddy. This facility is for those farmers who are interested in substitute farming. We are also making efforts to provide subsidies in diesel and power supply for hassle-free irrigation," he said.
Guwahati, Aug 1 : At least eight persons, including two Bangladeshi nationals, were arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Assam Police on alleged charges of running a nexus to illegally transport Rohingya Muslims from Bangladesh to India, officials said.

An official statement mentioned that an all-out operation was conducted by the STF against the linkmen of Rohingyas who were helping them to illegally cross the border and enter India from the neighbouring country.

The Assam Police formed five teams to conduct special operations in the border areas adjoining Assam and Tripura.

"The arrested persons were found to be involved in illegal business for crossing Rohingya Muslims into Indian territory by using fake IDs and other travelling documents showing the illegal Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshi nationals as Indian citizens," said an official statement of the Assam Police.

A senior police officer said that the act is a threat to national security and the state government is taking the matter seriously.

He said, "The modus operandi of linkmen involved in the business of bringing such Rohingya Muslims into India from Bangladesh is for ulterior motives, having the propensity to cause an internal disturbance, thereby threatening the unity, integrity and sovereignty."

According to STF, the linkmen facilitate the illegal Rohingya immigrants to board Delhi, Kolkata and Hyderabad-bound trains from a few railway stations in Tripura and Assam.

The arrested persons have been identified as Uttam Pal, Kajal Sarkar, Sagar Sarkar, Pervez Hussain, Shib Sankar Ghosh, Kartik Nama, Md. Shahadat and Bijoy Barua.

Among them, Shahadat and Bijoy Barua are Bangladeshi nationals. Barua is a resident of the Chittagong area in the neighbouring country.

The Police said that further investigation into the matter is underway.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : With the arrest of 18 persons, the Delhi Police's Crime Branch have busted an fake call centre allegedly involved in swindling American citizens under the guise of offering customer support, an official said.

According to Special Commissioner of Police (Crime), Ravindra Singh Yadav, specific information was received about an illegal international call centre operating in the Vasant Kunj area of south-west Delhi.

The call centre targeted US citizens, deceiving them under the pretense of providing technical support on behalf of Microsoft IC.

Led by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Amit Goel, a raid was conducted at the call centre premises, where the accused individuals were found engaged in online cheating by impersonating tech support executives.

"The raid yielded the discovery of 12 functional laptops connected via two routers, which were used by 14 telecallers. The laptops contained applications like Micro SIP and X lite, as well as recordings of customer interactions and scripted conversations," said the Special CP.

All 14 telecallers were present during the raid, and three other persons involved in the operation were also arrested.

They were identified as Armaan (25), Ranveer Singh (27) and Ravinder Singh (28), all residents of Jalandhar in Punjab. Additionally, Aman Duggal, arrested in Gurugram, was linked to the operation at the instance of Ranveer Singh.

The questioning of the accused persons revealed that the premises were rented by Maninder alias Sonu, who, along with Aman Duggal and Ranveer Singh, had a partnership in running the fake call centre.

"The call center's modus operandi involved displaying pop-ups on customers' laptops/computer systems, showing the contact number of the fake call centre. Victims would then fall into the trap of the fraudulent operation through these pop-ups. Telecallers would falsely inform the victims that their laptops/systems had been hacked, prompting them to seek technical support via the toll-free number provided in the pop-ups. The telecallers followed a pre-written script on their laptops during conversations with the victims," the Special CP added.

The fraudsters would also threaten the victims by claiming that child pornography content had been downloaded onto their systems which is a a serious offence.

"To purportedly save the customers and resolve the fabricated issue, the scammers demanded money. The victims would comply by withdrawing money from their respective banks and purchasing gift cards, which they deposited through bitcoin," said the official.

After receiving the demanded money, the victims transferred the amount to the vendors through bitcoin, using QR codes provided by the accused.

"The profits were then distributed among Sonu, Aman Duggal, and Ranveer, who, in turn, provided a commission of two to four per cent to their supervisors, Ravinder and Armaan. It was also discovered that the call centre owner provided accommodation on the same premises to all telecallers and supervisors," the official added.
United Nations, Aug 1 : A UN counter-terrorism official has decried the failure of the General Assembly to agree on a global agreement to fight terrorism proposed by India.

Raffi Gregorian, the Director of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), told the Security Council on Monday, "Unfortunately, there has not yet been consensus at the General Assembly on the draft Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, including in relation to how the definition of terrorism would precisely apply in situations of armed conflict."

Neither does the Assembly give the UNOCT "the mandate to investigate or ascertain the conduct of states and other actors, nor to determine what constitutes an act of terrorism, whether by a state, a group or an individual," he added.

This despite the Assembly setting up the UNOCT "with the clear intention of helping member states implement General Assembly and Security Council resolutions related to the fight against terrorism," he said.

The main roadblock to adopting the convention proposed by India in 1996 is the dispute over the definition of terrorists, with some countries claiming that their favoured terrorists are "freedom fighters".

Speaking at a Council meeting convened at the request of Russia on threats to international peace and security, Gregorian pointed out these two barriers to the UN effectively dealing with terrorism.

"For these reasons, I regret that I have nothing else to contribute to the substance of today's discussion," he said.

However, while criticising the Assembly and praising the Council's "admirable record", Gregorian was silent on the Council's failure to act against some terrorists because of China's opposition.

In the latest case of Beijing providing cover for Pakistan-based terrorists, China blocked in June designating Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Sajid Mir as an international terrorist.

Mir was one of the leaders behind the 26/11 attack on Mumbai launched from Pakistan in 2008.

On the other hand, Gregorian claimed that the "Council has had a long and admirable record of consensus when it comes to the issue of terrorism".

To back his assertion, he referred to the Council resolutions on al-Qaeda and the Islamic State terror organisation also known as Da'esh, and the setting up of the Counter-Terrorism Committee.

In June, the Assembly urged its 193 members in a resolution "to make every effort to conclude a comprehensive convention on international terrorism".

However, there has been no fresh effort toward adopting the agreement.

The Council meeting generally focused on the Ukraine war, with only mentions of the global terrorism menace by representatives of countries like Ghana and Mozambique.

Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative Dmitry Polyanskiy said that Moscow asked for the Council meeting to discuss "the terrorist essence of the Ukraine regime".

He asserted that Ukraine bombing the bridge connecting Crimea with the Russian mainland and using the Crimean people as "hostages" for negotiations amounted to terrorism.

Only China backed Russia, while most members of the Council heavily criticised Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

US Deputy Political Counsellor, Trina Saha, said that Moscow asking for the meeting was an effort "to divert the council's attention from the core issues at hand or a transparent ploy to distract from its own aggression".

"Russia's complaints about the impacts of a war it began should remind us all of a simple truth," she said.

"This war would end today if Russia withdrew its forces from Ukraine's sovereign territory and abandoned its relentless, brutal attacks against Ukraine cities and civilian infrastructure," she added.

Britain's Political Coordinator Fergus Eckersley said that it was Russia that "is inflicting terror on the Ukrainian people, and in parallel, it is inflicting suffering on its own population, and millions across the world".

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
AI in Music Report "TuneCores main priorities lie in the interests of our artists, so the responses to this survey will help us enable them to utilize AI on our platform with consent, control, transparency, and fair monetary compensation.

Believe, one of the worlds leading digital music companies, and its open-platform subsidiary, TuneCore, the leading development partner for self-releasing artists, have released the results of a recent survey conducted to determine the use and sentiment surrounding artificial intelligence in the independent music community.

In order to gain insight into the awareness of AI in the independent music sector, TuneCore conducted a survey of nearly 1600 self-releasing artists from more than 10 countries, with 35% of respondents identifying themselves as Pop artists, 29% identifying as Hip-Hop artists, 29% as Rock artists, and 26% as Electronic artists.

Denis Ladegaillerie, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Believe commented Generative AI and AI will open a new age of Creativity and Discovery, and transform in a positive manner every aspect of our partnerships with artists and the way we partner with digital music services. This is why it is essential that our strategy as a company is aligned with that of our artists: that of a responsible approach to AI and to the exciting opportunities and future use cases that we will develop as a core part of our mission to serve all artists, at each stage of their career, with respect, fairness, expertise and transparency. These fundamental values have defined the 4 Responsibility principles that we will use to assess each AI and Generative AI opportunity: consent, control, compensation and transparency.

Andreea Gleeson, Chief Executive Officer, TuneCore added, As AI continues to be a conversation topic across creative industries, we sought to engage directly with independent artists to determine their awareness of AI and how theyre most interested in engaging with it. TuneCores main priorities lie in the interests of our artists, so the responses to this survey will help us enable them to utilize AI on our platform with consent, control, transparency, and fair monetary compensation.

Key findings from the survey are below, and the AI in Music Report, compiling data from the survey is available for download HERE.



AI is in an early and rapid adoption phase among independent artists, with 50% of respondents aware of AI vs 39% unaware. Out of all respondents, 27% have already used AI Music tools today, indicating an overall positive outlook for the future of AI in music.

Artists are most interested in using AI during the creative process or to help with marketing & developing their fanbase.

50% of respondents reported a willingness to offer their music for machine learning, while placing a strong emphasis on adopting a responsible approach to AI

TuneCore was first amongst self-releasing digital music platforms to enter the AI space through its agreement with Grimes Elf.tech platform, whereby the company allows artists to distribute music using Grimes vocals through CreateSafes proprietary AI technology, for a 50/50 revenue share, via TuneCores splits remuneration program for multiple collaborators.

About Believe:

Believe is one of the worlds leading digital music companies. Believes mission is to develop independent artists and labels in the digital world by providing them the solutions they need to grow their audience at each stage of their career and development. Believes passionate team of digital music experts around the world leverages the Groups global technology platform to advise artists and labels, distribute and promote their music. Its 1,650 employees in more than 50 countries aim to support independent artists and labels with a unique digital expertise, respect, fairness and transparency. Believe offers its various solutions through a portfolio of brands including Believe, TuneCore, Nuclear Blast, Naive, Groove Attack, AllPoints, Ishtar and Byond. Believe is listed on compartment A of the regulated market of Euronext Paris (Ticker: BLV, ISIN: FR0014003FE9). http://www.believe.com

About TuneCore:

TuneCore is the leading independent development partner for self-releasing artists to build audiences and careers  with technology and services across distribution, publishing administration, and a range of promotional services. TuneCore Music Distribution services help artists, labels, and managers sell their music through Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, TikTok, Tencent, and more than 150 download and streaming stores worldwide, while retaining 100 percent of their sales revenue and rights for a low annual flat fee. TuneCore Music Publishing Administration assists songwriters by administering their compositions through licensing, registration, worldwide royalty collections, and placement opportunities in film, TV, commercials, video games, and more. The TuneCore Artist Services portal offers a suite of tools and services that enable artists to promote their craft, connect with fans, and get their music heard. TuneCore, part of Believe, is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, with offices in Los Angeles, and Nashville, and operates globally through local teams based in the UK, Germany, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, India, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Singapore across 5 continents. http://www.tunecore.com
We encourage all FSA users to take time now to check their deadline and their balance, map out their anticipated out-of-pocket costs for healthcare services for the year, and then visit FSA Store to make plans for using their funds in ways that fit their lifestyle and their health needs.

When youre looking to save money, whether its for a family vacation, college expenses, or holiday shopping, it helps to plan ahead. Unfortunately, planning ahead for end-of-year healthcare expenses is not always top of mind for consumers and thats why over a billion dollars in tax-free flexible spending account (FSA) funds are forfeited every year. Health-E Commerce, parent brand to FSAstore.com  the first and leading online marketplace dedicated exclusively to selling FSA-eligible products  is on a mission to help more than 35 million Americans who are enrolled in FSAs avoid losing their hard-earned healthcare dollars by sharing three things FSA users should do now to avoid losing funds to a missed deadline in December.

What is an FSA? An FSA is a tax-advantaged account that consumers can enroll in through their employer-sponsored benefits program. Employees and/or employers can contribute to the account through pre-tax payroll contributions. This reduces the employees taxable income and helps them pay for a wide range of expenses. FSA-eligible expenses are determined by the Internal Revenue Service.

Three things to do now to avoid losing money in December.



Know your deadline. All FSAs have a deadline by which funds must be spent each year. The majority of employers that offer an FSA have a December 31 deadline, which means that employees who are enrolled in the FSA may need to spend all funds by December 31 with a few exceptions. Unused funds will be forfeited. This December deadline is often referred to as the use-it-or-lose-it deadline. Other deadlines to be aware of include:

- Grace period deadline. Employers may opt to give employees a grace period of two-and-a-half months (for a December 31 deadline, until March 15) to spend down remaining FSA funds from the previous calendar year.

- Carryover extension. Employers may allow employees to carryover up to $610 in FSA funds from 2023 to 2024.

Check your FSA balance. According to a report from VISA, the average amount that consumers contributed to FSAs in 2022 was $1,221, and the average amount forfeited in December of 2021 was $393. Anyone who is unsure of how much they contributed and how much is remaining in their account should check their online FSA portal or contact their FSA administrator. FSA Store allows consumers to easily track their FSA spending and deadline and to receive automated alerts about upcoming deadlines so they dont lose funds.

Map your spending for the next five months. The list of eligible FSA expenses has expanded in recent years to include doctor visits, surgical procedures, a wide variety of clinical services, and an extensive list of everyday essentials. Some of the most popular ways to spend FSA dollars include:

- Over-the-counter medications.

- Sunscreen and moisturizers with SPF.

- First-aid kits.

- Allergy medications.

- Acne treatments.

- Menstrual care products.

- Drug-free pain relief products.

- High-tech items like hearing aids, acupuncture devices, migraine relief bands, health monitors, and deep tissue pain relief devices.

FSA Store offers a free, comprehensive eligibility list that makes it easy to map spending for the remainder of the year to ensure consumers dont leave any tax-free funds on the table due to a missed deadline. This list can be used to personalize the FSA experience so FSA users can shop for everyday healthcare needs by product, category, lifestyle, or health condition.

Preparation and knowledge are the keys to managing your health and your healthcare dollars, and at FSA Store, we support consumers with the educational resources and the interactive tools to do both, said Rachel Rouleau, chief compliance officer for Health-E Commerce. We encourage all FSA users to take time now to check their deadline and their balance, map out their anticipated out-of-pocket costs for healthcare services for the year, and then visit FSA Store to make plans for using their funds in ways that fit their lifestyle and their health needs.

To learn more about FSA deadlines, visit the FSA Learning Center at FSAstore.com.

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Media contact: Barbara Tabor, barbara@taborpr.com, 651-230-9192

About Health-E Commerce

Health-E Commerce is the parent brand to FSA Store, HSA Store and WellDeservedHealth, a family of online marketplaces that serve the 70+ million consumers enrolled in pre-tax health and wellness accounts. The company also created Caring Mill, a popular private-label line of health products that benefits Childrens Health Fund and enables customers to make a donation with each purchase. Since 2010, the Health-E Commerce brands have led the direct-to-consumer e-commerce market for exclusively pre-tax health and wellness benefits. Health-E Commerce plays an essential role in expanding product eligibility for important new categories within the list of eligible medical expenses.
edgeboot With a focus on intelligent features, user-friendliness and scalability, and fortified with essential security features crucial for businesses today, edgeboot is tailored to meet our customers unique needs in todays ever-changing tech landscape.

Granite Telecommunications, a $1.85 billion provider of communications and technology solutions to businesses and government agencies, is excited to announce the launch of edgeboot, an advanced managed power distribution unit (PDU) that leverages powerful artificial intelligence and dual ethernet/LTE connectivity to revolutionize network management. With edgeboot, Granite customers can significantly reduce downtime, streamline troubleshooting efforts, and minimize dispatch costs.

edgeboot combines state-of-the-art technology with intelligent features to provide unprecedented control and monitoring capabilities. Utilizing customizable endpoints and configurations, edgeboot monitors network device connectivity, promptly detects issues, and takes necessary actions, including automatic rebooting, without requiring human intervention. Managing edgeboot devices is made simple through the user-friendly edgeboot Portal. This platform offers out-of-band access to device health statuses, performance metrics, event logs, and most importantly, the ability to reboot devices on a recurrent schedule or on-demand.

Key Features and Benefits of edgeboot:



1. Automated Troubleshooting: edgeboot reduces the burden on IT personnel and non-technical site contacts by automating the monitoring and troubleshooting of devices and services.

2. Enhanced Network Visibility and Control with the edgeboot Portal: The edgeboot Portal enables users to conveniently schedule device reboots, adjust the self-healing algorithm across their fleet or at the device level, and gain valuable insights into their network. It provides a comprehensive view of network health, device metrics, and recent device events, empowering users to analyze network performance trends and eliminate chronic issues.

3. Security First Design: edgeboot prioritizes data security with features such as data encryption at rest and in transit, a private cellular connection, and two-factor portal authentication. Ethical hacking firms have extensively tested the product, providing businesses with assurance that their network and sensitive data are well-protected.

4. Redundancy: edgeboot introduces redundancy by providing out-of-band LTE connection and console access for connected devices, ensuring uninterrupted connectivity and access to critical resources, even during network disruptions.

5. Scalability and Flexibility: With effortless installation and preconfiguration for quick deployment, edgeboot seamlessly integrates into most existing network topologies.

6. Network Monitoring, Alerting, and Support: Granites Network Operating Center (NOC) takes immediate action if a reboot does not restore service to a device. This includes contacting and dispatching the underlying Internet Service Provider, among additional customizable, device-specific directives.

At Granite, we are committed to developing innovative solutions that empower our customers to optimize their network management strategies, shared Rob Hale, President and CEO of Granite. Our journey has been shaped by the invaluable insights gained from serving a diverse array of organizations, ranging from small start-ups to many of Americas most recognizable institutions. Leveraging this wealth of knowledge, we introduce edgeboot, a managed PDU with patent-pending AI technology that simplifies device console management for network administrators, setting a new standard for efficiency and performance. With a focus on intelligent features, user-friendliness and scalability, and fortified with essential security features crucial for businesses today, edgeboot is tailored to meet our customers unique needs in todays ever-changing tech landscape.

All Granite customers who participated in the edgeboot pilot program earlier this year were highly impressed with the technology and the significant efficiencies it provided. As a result, each has elected to continue utilizing the technology.

Granite is making edgeboot available to its entire customer base starting this August. For more information, visit http://www.granitenet.com.

About Granite

Granite delivers advanced communications and technology solutions to businesses and government agencies throughout the United States and Canada. The $1.85 billion company serves more than two-thirds of Fortune 100 companies and has 1.75 million voice and data lines under management, supporting more than 650,000 locations. Founded in 2002, Granite has grown to be one of the largest competitive telecommunications carriers in the U.S. by simplifying sourcing and management of voice, data and cellular service with a single point of contact and consolidated invoicing for all locations nationwide. Today, Granite supports customers with a wide range of services, including access, UCaaS, mobile voice and data, and MSP solutions for SD-WAN, monitoring and network management. Granite employs more than 2,250 people at its headquarters in Quincy, Massachusetts, and 11 regional offices nationwide. For more information, visit http://www.granitenet.com.
Spiritual Mazes & Puzzles: Second Edition by Shelly P. Emerson

Shelly P. Emerson has enjoyed the therapeutic effects of coloring, puzzles, and mazes, and often used them to rest while recovering from her epileptic seizures. These periods of rest and recovery incentivized her to indulge her creativity, and she began creating puzzles and mazes with her own personal touch. She has recently released the newest edition of her puzzle book, Spiritual Mazes & Puzzles: Second Edition.

Designed to help readers dig deeper into Gods word, Spiritual Mazes & Puzzles shares bible verses, as well as brief messages accompanying each puzzle. Each puzzle is contained within recognizable shapes with unique topics, all hand drawn by Emerson.

When I first started creating puzzles, they didnt have any specific themes, Emerson said. After a few college art courses I learned that art has themes. After that I began to find inspiration from music, movies, and the power of prayer.

As a born again Christian, Emerson wants to encourage readers of all ages to grow a stronger relationship with Jesus Christ and the Heavenly Father.

I am not letting my epilepsy control my life, Emerson said. Jesus has been walking with me and guiding me daily since I opened the door of my heart and let him in. My book helps share his message of salvation and eternal life.

Emerson plans to continue sharing her creativity and messages with readers in future maze and puzzle books.

Spiritual Mazes & Puzzles: Second Edition

By Shelly P. Emerson

ISBN: 9781664272835 (softcover); 9781664272828 (electronic)

Available at Westbow Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the author

Shelly P. Emerson became born again Christian four years after receiving an epilepsy diagnosis. She credits her epilepsy as a source of her creativity. While recovering from a seizure she found that coloring was a therapeutic experience for her and over the years channeled her creativity into maze and puzzle books. To learn more, please visit http://www.authorsspirit.com.

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General Inquiries:

LAVIDGE  Phoenix

Ashley Fletcher

afletcher@lavidge.com


Chris's First Hunting Adventure by Harold Graehl Chriss First Hunting Adventure is an illustrated guide offering lessons for new hunters, as well as giving them a guide to help pass their license certification. It includes lessons on ethics, safe firearm handling, survival and a hunters responsibility as a steward of conservation.

Avid hunter and artist Harold Graehl noticed a gap between hunter education, safety instructions and actual certification, especially in young hunters new to the sport. Utilizing his graphic design background, Graehl created a comic book-style manual meant to both entertain and educate.

Chriss First Hunting Adventure is an illustrated guide offering lessons for new hunters, as well as giving them a guide to help pass their license certification. The book is even endorsed by the USA chapter of the International Hunter Education Association (IHEA-USA). It includes lessons on ethics, safe firearm handling, survival and a hunters responsibility as a steward of conservation.

This book demonstrates how all these lessons can be applied in the field while capturing the thrill and excitement of spending time in the wilderness with family and friends, said Alex Baer, the executive director of the IHEA-USA.

Throughout the book, Chris is faced with difficult hunting and survival decisions that are followed by short study questions. It covers everything from cleaning the gun and what to pack in an emergency kit to basic field dressing and what to do if lost.

The material in the book contains valuable lessons for new hunters and offers a wonderful review of important lessons learned in a hunter education class, said Baer. Students completing this book will have a great advantage when looking to pass certification.

Chris's First Hunting Adventure

By Harold Graehl

ISBN: 9781665569644 (softcover); 9781665569651 (electronic)

Available at Amazon, AuthorHouse and Barnes & Noble

About the author

Harold Graehl was a lifetime outdoorsman and a hunter for over 60 years. He graduated from the graphic design program at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. To learn more, please visit https://www.chrissfirsthuntingadventure.com.


Caren Villanueva, Caring Transitions of Augusta South By providing transparent and dignified services, my team and I aim to eliminate fear and anxiety associated with major life transitions.

Caring Transitions, the leader in senior relocation and transition services, continues expanding its compassionate reach nationwide with its latest location. Caring Transitions of Augusta South is owned and operated by Caren Villanueva. This new location that opened in early July is the second in Augusta.

Caring Transitions is a franchise designed to minimize stress by utilizing specially trained professionals to oversee every detail of a seniors transition with compassion, including decluttering, organizing, packing, move management, unpacking, resettling, and cleanouts. The company also manages both in-home and online estate sales. The online estate sales are hosted on CTBIDS, the brands widely popular auction platform, which can support its clients in liquidating unique and everyday treasures that many cherish.

Having discovered the brand through shopping on CTBIDS, Villanueva recognized the unique and comprehensive services offered by Caring Transitions. Before landing in eastern Georgia, her adventurous spirit led her to spend a decade working on sailboats and super yachts, traveling the South Pacific. After meeting her husband, an active military service member, in Hawaii, she began moving around the country with him.

I understand the stress and anxiety that comes with packing up your belongings and moving, says Villanueva. By providing transparent and dignified services, my team and I aim to eliminate fear and anxiety associated with major life transitions.

Villanueva understands the difficulties that come with the aging journey. Witnessing her sister face challenges in caring for their late mother, who battled Alzheimers, inspired Villanueva to make a difference in the lives of seniors and their families. In addition to seniors, she also looks forward to helping military spouses by providing them with a place of employment.

Caring Transitions of August South serves beyond southern Augusta, including Girard, Louisville, Sardis, Avera, Blythe, Boneville, Dearing, Gibson, Gracewood, Harlem, Hephzibah, Keysville, Matthews, Stapleton, Waynesboro, and Wrens. Caring Transitions currently has more than 280 franchise locations serving families across the country.

Caring Transitions is delighted to welcome Caren to our franchise family, says Ray Fabik, President of Caring Transitions. Her personal experiences, passion for helping others, and dedication to providing high-quality services make her an excellent fit. We are confident that under Carens leadership, Caring Transitions of Augusta South will become an invaluable resource for seniors and their families in the area.

To learn more about Caring Transitions, visit http://www.CaringTransitions.com.

For more about franchising opportunities with Caring Transitions, visit https://www.caringtransitionsfranchise.com/.

About Caring Transitions

Caring Transitions, founded in 2006, is the most trusted and experienced national franchise specializing in senior relocation and transition services. With more than 280 locations throughout the United States, all owned and operated by Certified Relocation and Transition Specialists, Caring Transitions provides clients with supportive moves, auctions, rightsizing, and transitions. This includes expert advice plus a well-executed transition plan beginning with the initial sorting of personal belongings through packing, unpacking, resettling, and selling of items to the final clearing and cleaning of the property. For more information, visit http://www.caringtransitions.com or visit us on Facebook.
Travelers on an O.A.T. Small Ship Adventure will find the journey aboard its privately-owned fleet of 50- to 98-passenger small ships as rewarding as their destinations. We are committed to giving travelers the best value in the industry with O.A.T. Small Ship Adventures, said Brian FitzGerald, CEO of O.A.T.

Enhancements and pricing create best value on its small ships

Traveling by small ship offers a unique perspective on a destination. Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T.), the leader in personalized small group and solo travel for Americans ages 50 and older, is encouraging travelers to explore new horizons by small ship in 2024 with new itineraries and enhancements to its Small Ship Adventures.

O.A.T has added nine new Small Ship Adventures for 2024, many in destinations that are brand new to O.A.T., including West Africa and Northern Africa. The company has also enhanced five popular adventures along the Mediterranean. In addition, O.A.T. has reduced prices on its Small Ship Adventures for 2024 to further improve value for travelers.

We are committed to giving travelers the best value in the industry with O.A.T. Small Ship Adventures, said Brian FitzGerald, CEO of O.A.T. Travelers will enjoy an enhanced experience aboard all of our small ships in 2024.

From classic Mediterranean voyages in Greece and Croatia to new horizons in northern or western Africa, travelers on an O.A.T. Small Ship Adventure will find the journey aboard its privately-owned fleet of 50- to 98-passenger small ships as rewarding as their destinations.

Travelers will discover unspoiled beaches, volcanic islands, and captivating local culture on new adventures such as West Africa Cruise: Cape Verde Islands, Senegal & the Gambia. They will experience the sun-drenched archipelagos of Portugal and Spain, as well as the northwest African coast, on Cruise Madeira to the Canary Islands & West Africa. The new Cruising Northern Europe: From Normandy's Beaches to the Shores of Scandinavia brings travelers to these historic beaches as the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landing is celebrated in 2024.

O.A.T. enhanced five popular Mediterranean adventures in response to travelers who requested more time in favorite destinations. On Hidden Gems of the Dalmatian Coast & Greece, travelers can explore more of the Greek capital in depth with an additional night in Athens. The Aegean Islands, Athens to Istanbul now features an additional night in Istanbul, including a cruise on the Bosphorus Strait.

Unmatched Discoveries with O.A.T.

From remote ports that larger ships cannot reach to iconic cities influenced by centuries of traders and invaders, O.A.T.s privately-owned 50- to 98-passenger small ships offer unparalleled access to local culture. O.A.T. small ships often dock right in the heart of the cities visited, and access off-the-beaten-path portssuch as the Aegean island of Syros and coastal city of Napflion in Greeceso travelers spend less time transferring to and from a destination, and more time immersing in local customs.

On land, travelers explore unobtrusively in groups of no more than 25, each one accompanied by a dedicated, local Trip Experience Leader. From fishing villages and farms to family-owned vineyards, O.A.T.s small group size fosters authentic cultural interactions. Onboard, the friendly, English-speaking crew fosters a convivial atmosphere.

Overall, travelers on O.A.T Small Ship Adventures in 2024 benefit from industry-leading value which includes explorations on land, all meals onboard, the services of expert, local Trip Experience Leaders, and more.

O.A.T. travelers enjoy the freedom to personalize their adventures  as 87% of travelers do  with a variety of personalization options. Travelers can arrive early to spend more time exploring, or to rest up before their trip begins. Many add a pre- or post-trip extension to maximize discoveries and the value of airfare, or Stopover in a major international city.

Value for Solos

O.A.T. offers great value for solo travelers with the lowest single supplements in the industry. For solos traveling aboard a Small Ship Adventure in 2024, O.A.T. has more than 2,900 single spaces availableall with free or low-cost single supplements.

O.A.T. is offering $500 per person in travel credits to use on any new 2024 departure with O.A.T., Grand Circle Cruise Line, or Grand Circle Travel. Travelers must reserve by 8/31/23 and mention code: 2024VALUE. Solo travelers can also take advantage of these credit opportunities.

To learn more about O.A.T. or to reserve travel, please visit http://www.oattravel.com or call 1-800-955-1925.

ABOUT OVERSEAS ADVENTURE TRAVEL

Established in 1978, Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T.) is part of Boston-based Grand Circle Corporation's family of travel companies, which also include Grand Circle Cruise Line and Grand Circle Travel. In 1992, owners Alan and Harriet Lewis established the nonprofit Grand Circle Foundation to support communities in which Grand Circle works and travels, including some 500 humanitarian, cultural, and educational endeavors worldwideamong them, 100 schools, in 50 countries. The Foundation is an entity of the Alnoba Lewis Family Foundation, which has pledged or donated more than $250 million since 1981.
Prevent Blindness declares August as Children's Eye Health and Safety Month to raise awareness and provide free educational materials on the importance of healthy vision for kids. For 115 years, weve made it our mission to ensure that children have access to the eyecare they need, said Todd. By working as a team with parents, our program partners, and allied healthcare personnel, we help children take their first steps toward a lifetime of healthy vision.

Prevent Blindness, the nations leading volunteer eye health and safety nonprofit organization, has declared August as Childrens Eye Health and Safety Month in an effort to educate parents and caregivers on ways to keep childrens eyes healthy. As many kids are headed back to school in the month of August, Prevent Blindness offers free resources including fact sheets and social media graphics in English and Spanish, toolkits, and webpages on a variety of topics, including myopia (nearsightedness), amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (crossed eyes), eye safety in relation to digital screen time, importance of vision screenings, financial assistance programs, and much more.

Additionally, Prevent Blindness is debuting a new episode in the online Focus on Eye Health Expert Series, Childrens Vision and Eye Health. Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness, interviews R.V. Paul Chan, MD, MSC, MBA, FACS, Head, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, The John H. Panton Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, and Director, Pediatric Retina and Retinopathy of Prematurity Service, Illinois Eye and Ear, UI Health. Dr. Chan is also a volunteer member of the Prevent Blindness Board of Directors.

And, as part of the Focus on Eye Health Expert series, Michael F. Chiang, MD, Director of the National Eye Institute (NEI), recently spoke with Jeff Todd about children's vision and eye health initiatives of the NEI.

On Aug. 22, 2023 at 7 p.m. ET, a new episode dedicated to the discussion of Progressive Myopia from the Seeing Eye to Eye: Celebrating Eye Health Facebook Live series from Blackdoctor.org will be held. The episode will feature Terri L. Young, MD, MBA, FARVO, the Peter A. Duehr Endowed Professor and Chairwoman of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Afua Oteng Asare, OD, PhD, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Utah. This series is a partnership with Blackdoctor.org, Prevent Blindness, the National Eye Institute, and the Children's Vision Equity Alliance.

In advance of the upcoming solar eclipses on Oct. 14, 2023, and April 8, 2024, Prevent Blindness offers the Solar Eclipse Viewing Party Family and Childrens Toolkits, available free for download. The toolkits contain fun ideas and activities for children to learn about eclipses and about the importance of eye safety while viewing them.

The recording of the 2023 Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health Summit discussion, Reimagining How We Engage Communities from Identification into Care  Children and Adults, is now available. The session was moderated by Tami Garcia, Prevent Blindness Wisconsin President and CEO.

Also available in August will be the new Association Between Vision and Learning fact sheet from the National Center for Childrens Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness (NCCVEH). The fact sheet is specifically designed for educational organizations and associations, including local and state school boards.

For 115 years, weve made it our mission to ensure that children have access to the eyecare they need, said Todd. By working as a team with parents, our program partners, and allied healthcare personnel, we help children take their first steps toward a lifetime of healthy vision.

For general information on childrens eye health and safety, go to https://preventblindness.org/your-childs-sight/. For information on the NCCVEH and its variety of programs, visit https://nationalcenter.preventblindness.org/. Vision care financial assistance resources in English and Spanish may also be found at: https://preventblindness.org/vision-care-financial-assistance-information/.

About Prevent Blindness

Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness is the nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. Focused on promoting a continuum of vision care, Prevent Blindness touches the lives of millions of people each year through public and professional education, advocacy, certified vision screening and training, community and patient service programs and research. These services are made possible through the generous support of the American public. Together with a network of affiliates, Prevent Blindness is committed to eliminating preventable blindness in America. For more information, visit us at PreventBlindness.org, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn and YouTube.

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The clock is ticking, noted TrendSource Client Success Manager Veronica Cruz. Risk averse companies need to meet this deadline, and a lot of them simply cannot do it on their own.

TrendSourcea compliance management firm based in San Diego, CAlaunched its new I-9 Reverification platform, one dedicated to quickly reverifying employees who completed their I-9 remotely during the temporary DHS flexibility around in-person verification requirements.

With that flexibility coming to an end, companies have until August 30 to reverify each and every employee who completed Section 2 of Form I-9 remotely. Any employee whose documents were not inspected in-person during their verification, or who did not use E-Verify, must be reverified by this rapidly approaching deadline.

I think the change caught some people by surprise, observed TrendSource CEO Victoria Hyzer. And thats why its important to have a strong compliance partner at your back, because TrendSource is ready for this, were ready to help.

Indeed, meeting the DHS reverification deadline represents a massive undertaking for businesses with remote employees spread across the country.

TrendSource utilizes its proprietary, nationwide database of Field Agents to help clients speed this process along, pairing employees with Authorized Representatives who can meet them in-person and reverify their I-9 as required by DHS.

TrendSource I-9 Reverifications save companies the expense and inconvenience of scheduling in-person reverifications for each of their employees, essentially outsourcing the reverification process to TrendSource. With Field Agents across the country and over a decade of industry experience, TrendSource has the infrastructure and expertise to help ensure companies remain complaint and meet the August 30 Reverification Deadline.

The clock is ticking, noted TrendSource Client Success Manager Veronica Cruz. Risk averse companies need to meet this deadline, and a lot of them simply cannot do it on their own.

TrendSource I-9 Reverifications can be ordered online, and once the original I-9 is ported into TrendSources system either via .pdf or API, the reverification process begins. The employee is assigned a Field Agent who reaches out to set up a meeting, and the reverification takes place in a public space of the employees choosing.

TrendSource Field Agents can quickly pivot to completing an entirely new Section 2 instead of a reverification if the employee does not have the same documents they originally used or the documents have expired.

As the August 30 deadline nears, companies are in a tight squeeze to get their employees reverified. TrendSources new reverification platform helps relieve some of that pressure.
Bridge launches Skills Plus, an upskilling platform powered by Lightcast data, where AI recommendations match learners with the eLearning courses they need. Skills Plus is built around the idea that plenty of skills can be applied horizontally, allowing for a culture of multidirectional internal movement and helping each employee to define their own unique career journey.

L&D technology platform Bridge has expanded its suite of learning and development tools to include an upskilling platform, Skills Plus. This latest addition to the Bridge toolkit, which includes an LMS, performance management system, and employee engagement software, combines a substantial in-built skills library with AI-powered skills and learning recommendations.

Skills Plus provides learners with the information and opportunities they need in order to upskill in line with the latest skills requirements for both current and future job roles. The platform also automates the skills tagging process by scanning large quantities of courses and assigning one or more skills drawn from the 32,000 options within the skills library from Lightcast, a leader in labor market analytics.

Akash Savdharia, Bridges Vice President of Talent Solutions, said: Once upon a time, career trajectories were fixed, inflexible, and always pointed in an upward direction. Skills Plus is built around the idea that plenty of skills can be applied horizontally, allowing for a culture of multidirectional internal movement and helping each employee to define their own unique career journey.

At the same time, skills requirements for any role are always shifting in line with new practices, technological breakthroughs, and industry changes. Thats why Skills Plus gives employees an understanding of how the existing skillsets measure up against the latest needs for their current roles. This allows organizations to proactively fill skills gaps with the help of AI-powered recommendations that keep every employee effortlessly up to date.

Lightcasts skills library is continually refreshed from more than 50,000 online job sources, said Bruce Evans, Executive Vice President at Lightcast. Our database of more than one billion current and historical job postings makes Lightcast skills both more in-depth and more up-to-date than any other source.

Skills Plus also allows learners to connect with colleagues who are interested in the same skills, either as learners or as people willing to help teach that skill to others. This feature allows employees to form collaborative skills communities and identify mentors willing to help with skills development.

The launch of Skills Plus is the latest in a recent string of innovations and updates across the Bridge suite of employee development tools. The platforms performance management system is now available as a standalone product, while its advanced content authoring solution, Gomo, has been upgraded to allow course designers to publish their work directly to Bridge.

For more information about Skills Plus, visit getbridge.com.

/ENDS

About Bridge

Bridge is a learning platform that combines learning management, performance management, career development, engagement measurement, and course authoring into one experience. Bridge helps companies develop their people with training, manager and employee 1on1s, skills development, and career development plans. Personalize your management, support your employees in their career goals, and communicate your companys visionall with Bridge.

As part of Learning Technologies Group plc (LTG), Bridge provides learning and development services to over 1,000 mid-market companies worldwide and helps organizations to achieve their strategic people development goals. To find out more, visit getbridge.com.

About Lightcast

Lightcast provides trusted global labor market data, analytics, and expert guidance that empowers communities, corporations, and learning providers to make informed decisions and navigate the increasingly complex world of work. With a database of more than one billion job postings and career profiles, our team provides best-in-class customer service with robust data, clear analysis, and expert guidance on skills, jobs, and opportunities.

Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and Moscow, Idaho, Lightcast is active in more than 30 countries and has offices in the United Kingdom, Italy, New Zealand, Canada, and India. The company is backed by global private equity leader KKR.

For more, visit lightcast.io.

Press contact: Rachael Wilson

Phone: (541) 227-9437

Email: rachael.wilson@lightcast.io


Josh Bilicki will be visiting three Zeigler dealerships ahead of the Firekeepers Casino 400 Michigan International Speedway has always been one of my favorite race weekends of the year. The energy from the fans and the sold out campground is electric! Having this race in the backyard of the Zeigler Auto Group makes this weekend even more exciting.

Zeigler Auto Group and Live Fast Motorsports will partner for the first time in Michigan with Josh Bilicki for the Firekeepers Casino 400 of the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday, August 3, 2023 at Michigan International Speedway (MIS).

Michigan International Speedway has always been one of my favorite race weekends of the year. The energy from the fans and the sold out campground is electric! Having this race in the backyard of the Zeigler Auto Group makes this weekend even more exciting. We had a solid run here last year so I am excited to come back and see if we can improve on last years result, said Bilicki.

Zeigler also announced that it will be hosting an official Meet & Greet mini tour for Bilicki from Thursday, August 3 through Friday, August 4, 2023. The first Meet & Greet stop will be at its newly acquired Zeigler Holland complex from noon to 3:00p.m. The complex spans five buildings housing Zeigler Nissan of Holland, Zeigler Kia of Holland, Zeigler Hyundai of Holland, Zeigler GMC of Holland, a collision center, and a used car store.

Its second location will be Zeigler Motorsports on Friday from noon 4:00 p.m. with the Live Fast Motorsports hauler making an appearance before heading to MIS for the night.

-Thursday, August 3, 2023

--Zeigler Holland  12:00-3:00p.m. (822 Chicago Dr. Holland, MI 49423)

--Zeigler Grandville CDJR & Maserati/Alfa  4:00-7:00p.m. (4200 Parkway Pl, Grandville, MI 49418)

-Friday, August 4, 2023

--Zeigler Motorsports  12:00-4:00p.m. (5001 Park Cir Dr, Kalamazoo, MI 49048)

During these official Meet & Greet events, Bilicki will be signing hero cards with plenty of photo-ops available for the public and media. Fans will also get an opportunity to enter to win VIP tickets to watch Bilicki in the upcoming Charlotte ROVAL race scheduled for October 8, 2023.

Last year, Zeigler made history with a green Michigan State University scheme at MIS where the dealership group hosted the races Co-Grand Marshalls Tom Izzo and Mel Tucker.

This years FireKeeper Casino 400 will be broadcast on the USA network starting at 2:30 p.m.

About Live Fast Motorsports

Live Fast Motorsports is a single-car Chevrolet Camaro team based in Mooresville, NC., competing in the NASCAR Cup Series under the No. 78. The team is co-owned by B.J. McLeod and Matt Tifft. B.J. McLeod also serves as the teams driver. Jessica McLeod, CEO of Live Fast Motorsports, gives a progressive outlook in breaking down barriers in the sport of NASCAR and inspiring opportunities for women in the sport for generations to come.

About Zeigler Auto Group

Zeigler Automotive Group is one of the largest privately-owned dealer groups in the U.S. with 82 franchises across 39 locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Vehicle brands represented include all of the domestic and the majority of the imported manufacturers.

Besides its extensive automotive portfolio, the organization owns and operates Zeigler Motorsports, an 85,000-square-foot motorsports dealership and action park, offering 19 different powersports brands, plus its own onsite restaurant: Trak Houz Bar & Grill. Additionally, Zeigler Motorsports houses the Elevate Leadership & Team Building Academy, an executive training company.

The Kalamazoo-based dealer group also owns and operates Zeigler Pre-Owned of Chicago, three Byrider franchises, three finance companies, several insurance firms, and a leasing firm.

Founded in 1975, the organization employs over 2,400 people, ranking among the top 1% of automotive dealers in the nation with estimated annual sales of $2.2 billion for 2022.

The family-owned and operated company is well known for its commitment to both customer service and employee satisfaction. Zeigler is regularly recognized as one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work for in the Nation, also earning similar accolades in Wisconsin, Chicago, and Michigan. Besides these prestigious accolades, Zeigler is also one of Glassdoor's 100 Best Places to Work in the U.S. for 2023, and among Glassdoor's top 10 U.S. companies for work-life balance.
Psychological Science in the Public Interest (Volume 24, Issue 1)

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The range of life paths available to women has expanded significantly over the past century, in part because of increased access to higher education. While women earned just 19% of American college degrees in 1900, by 2000 they received more than 50% of bachelors degrees. Today, women earn 59% of masters degrees and 53% of PhDs. Although this shift has allowed women across the globe to pursue exciting careers as researchers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), taking advantage of these opportunities has historically required women to take on significant gender bias within the world of academia.

But although the explicit forms of sexism faced by female academics in the second half of the 20th century are undeniable, its important to update our perceptions of gender bias in academia so that women are not needlessly discouraged from pursuing these career paths today, according to Stephen J. Ceci (Cornell University), Shulamit Kahn (Boston University), and Wendy M. Williams (Cornell University) in Psychological Science in the Public Interest (Volume 24, Issue 1).

Ceci, Khan, and Williamss analysis of hundreds of existing studies covering six aspects of academic life relevant to tenure-track professors suggests that the academy has indeed taken significant steps toward gender equality. Data from 2000 to 2020 suggest that women researchers are now equally likely as their male peers to be awarded grant funding, to have their journal articles accepted for publication, and to receive strong letters of recommendation. Moreover, they are more likely than comparable men to be hired for tenure-track positions.

In addition to highlighting the ways in which academia has become more welcoming for women, acknowledging these advances could help free up resources that could be used to address ongoing inequities related to salary gaps and biased student teaching evaluations, as well as larger systemic issues that may impede womens career growth, the authors wrote.

Notably, Ceci, Khan, and Williams completed this project through a nearly 5-year adversarial collaboration, an approach to research that embraces viewpoint diversity as a method of countering ideologically driven assumptions about a topic. This collaboration required the researchers to challenge each others opposing perspectives on gender bias in academia in order to provide a more objective, evidence-based analysis of the subject.

1. Women have an advantage in tenure-track hiring

Through a review of existing studies and their own analysis of comprehensive data from the National Science Foundation, the authors found that although women remain underrepresented in certain academic fields, those who earn PhDs and apply for tenure-track positions are often more likely to be hired than comparable male peers. The exact hiring rates vary by field, with early-career women PhDs generally being more likely than men to be hired as tenure-track assistant professors in math-intensive fields such as geoscience, engineering, mathematics, computer science, and the physical sciences and equally or slightly less likely to be hired in less math-intensive fields such as the life sciences, psychology, and the social sciences.

However, previous research suggests that women are less likely to apply for tenure-track positions and that much of this disparity can be attributed to women who have or are planning to have children not applying for these roles because of their need for more flexible schedules, the researchers noted.

2. Equality in grant funding varies by location

In their meta-analysis of 39 studies including data from more than 2 million applications to 27 grant agencies, the authors found that although women with PhDs tend to receive less funding than men as a group, grants were awarded at roughly equal rates to women and men who applied for them. Previous work has shown that women are less likely to submit and resubmit grant applications, but when they do submit applications their chances of funding success are the same as their male counterparts.

Funding rates varied significantly with the granting agencys location, Ceci, Kahn, and Williams noted. Whereas women applicants in the United States were slightly more likely to receive grants than men, male applicants in Europe and Canada had a significant advantage.

3. Women receive worse teaching ratings despite equal student learning

Through a review of four existing meta-analyses as well as numerous individual studies, Ceci, Kahn, and Williams found that women academics receive lower and more abusive teaching evaluations from students despite being equally effective educators as assessed by more objective measures of student learning such as test scores. Both female and male students give female teachers worse ratings than their male colleagues. Female teachers tend to receive better ratings from students in humanities classes than students in STEM classes, and female teachers who speak English as a second language receive harsher evaluations than native speakers.

Universities could help limit the influence of biased student teaching evaluations by considering more objective measures of student learning when offering professors raises, promotions, and tenure, the authors suggest.

4. Gender does not affect journal acceptance rates

Ceci, Kahn, and Williams conducted a series of meta-analyses of manuscript acceptance rates in scientific journals from 2000 to 2020, including 33 articles with a total sample size of 410,504 journal submissions. They found that articles with female first and last authors were slightly more likely to be accepted for publication than those written by men, but that this advantage was small enough to be insignificant. Additionally, the authors noted that experimental studies have found that articles authored by women receive similar quality scores in both double-blind and nonblind review processes, suggesting that reviewers knowledge of an authors gender does not generally influence an articles perceived quality.

While these findings do not rule out the possibility of gender bias in specific fields or journals, they do indicate that there is no evidence of systemic gender bias in overall journal acceptance rates, the authors wrote.

5. The salary gap is smaller than often reported, but it adds up over a lifetime

From a review of previous research and their own analysis of data from the American Association of University Professors, Ceci, Kahn, and Williams found that although there is still a salary gap between male and female tenure-track professors, that gap is 60% to 80% smaller than commonly reported in the media. When differences in faculty rank, institution type, productivity, experience, and academic field are controlled for, the gap narrows to 3.6%, which although still concerning is far smaller than the 18% gap that is usually claimed.

However, even this seemingly minor difference in pay can have a significant impact on a persons lifetime earning potential, the authors noted. This pay discrepancy may arise in part from systemic factors that encourage women and men to take different career paths and contribute to womens increased use of family leave and pursuit of jobs that offer greater work/  life flexibility but lower pay. Studies have also shown that women are less likely to negotiate for a higher salary or pursue outside offers, which could be addressed by regularly auditing faculty pay to normalize salaries across a department, the researchers suggest.

6. Women and men receive similar recommendation letters for professorial positions

Some studies with student participants have found that letters of recommendation for other occupations may use different language and be interpreted differently depending on an applicants gender. But these findings do not appear to apply to recommendation letters written for would-be professors, the authors wrote. When the researchers compared the findings of nine studies that analyzed letters of recommendation written from 1990 to 2017 in the fields of psychology, physics, biology, medicine, chemistry, and geoscience, they found no evidence that letters written for women after the year 2000 were shorter, raised more doubts about their ability to do a job, or used different words to describe applicants than the letters written for men.

A potential mediator: Research productivity

Ceci, Kahn, and Williamss review of data from self-report surveys, universities, grant agencies, journals, and bibliometric analyses found that men tend to author more publications than womenand that this gap may have increased over the past 20 years. Women publish as much as men when they are working as researchers, the authors explained, but they experience more career interruptions, are more likely to leave academia, and have shorter academic careers than men. An academics research productivity is a key metric that influences everything from hiring to salary setting and grant awards, but many studies do not control for this factor, which may incorrectly lead researchers to attribute certain career disparities to gender bias.

Researcher commentaries on the need for more flexible, balanced workplace cultures

In an accompanying commentary, Anne Preston (Haverford College) observed that Ceci and colleagues review of the literature on gender bias in academia gives women working in academic research reason to believe that many of their efforts will be rewarded similarly to those of their male peers, even while acknowledging that bias may persist in other domains.

Academic careers continue to be structured in ways that discourage women from entering or remaining in scientific fields, often leading them to escape the rat race for tenure by pursuing career paths that offer greater work/life balance at the cost of lower wages and underemployment, Preston wrote. She suggested that universities could help address some of these concerns by offering more formal mentoring programs and supporting more flexible paths to tenure-track positions and for financing research.

In a second commentary, Alexandra Garr-Schultz (University of Connecticut), Gregg A. Muragishi, Therese Anne Mortejo, and Sapna Cheryan (University of Washington) suggested paying further attention to how masculine defaults shape life in academic institutions. Academia often favors stereotypically masculine traits such as independence, competitiveness, and self-promotion while undervaluing stereotypically feminine traits like interdependence, warmth, and collaboration, Garr-Schultz and colleagues wrote. This can disadvantage not only women but people of color and those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender or nonbinary, who may face the double-edged sword of being passed over for opportunities for not embodying these masculine defaults or face professional backlash for behaving in ways that conflict with their stereotypically expected role.

What could help create more equitable workplace cultures? Removing unnecessary masculine defaultssuch as the expectation that university students should have taken programming courses in high school prior to majoring in computer science, which is more common among menaccording to Garr-Schultz and colleagues. They also suggest that academia could support cultural balancing by fostering feminine defaults, such as by considering researchers collaborative efforts and work toward diversity, equity, and inclusion in addition to individual accomplishments when hiring for leadership positions. In line with Ceci and colleagues analysis, the researchers stressed that interventions should be empirically evaluated to ensure that they are effective and dont exacerbate existing disparities.

References

Ceci, S. J., Kahn, S., & Williams, W. M. (2023). Exploring gender bias in six key domains of academic science: An adversarial collaboration. Psychological Science in the Public Interest. https://doi.org/10.1177/15291006231163179

Garr-Schultz, A., Muragishi, G. A., Mortejo, T. A., Cheryan, S. (2023). Masculine defaults in academic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Psychological Science in the Public Interest. https://doi.org/10.1177/15291006231170829

Preston, A. (2023). An academic career in science continues to be a hard sell for women: Putting Ceci et al. (2023) into a broader perspective. Psychological Science in the Public Interest. https://doi.org/10.1177/15291006231170832

Psychological Science in the Public Interest welcomes commentaries on this article.

Commentaries should be no more than 1,000 words (excluding abstract and references), and they will be reviewed by the Editor for relevance and clarity. Commentaries may be submitted via email to editorialoffice@psychologicalscience.org by December 31, 2023.
In this image provide by NOAA, a turtle swims near coral, some partially white or pink, that are signs of bleaching, at Cheeca Rocks off the coast of Islamorada, Florida, on 23 July 2023. Photo: Andrew Ibarra / NOAA / AP

By Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder

26 July 2023

(US News & World Report)  Record high ocean temperatures around the Florida Keys are driving coral reefs to lose their color weeks earlier than usual in the latest sign that climate change and El Nino are pushing the world into uncharted territory.

On Monday, a buoy in the Florida Keys logged a temperature of 101 degrees Fahrenheit. The preliminary number would break the record for the highest sea surface temperature globally if it is confirmed. While experts say there are conditions that could disqualify the number, it was the second day in a row that the temperature registered over 100 degrees, lending it some credibility.

Ocean temperatures have been steadily rising since April, and the temperatures around southern Florida are the warmest on record going back to 1981, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAA scientists recently raised their coral bleaching warning system to the highest heat stress level.

Surface ocean temperatures around the Florida Keys have been averaging about 91 degrees Fahrenheit during July, which is well above their typical average of 85 degrees Fahrenheit during this time, according to Jacqueline De La Cour, operations manager for NOAAs Coral Reef Watch program.

Some reefs in the Florida Keys have already lost all their color, Andrew Bruckner, research coordinator at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, told the Associated Press.

This photo provided by the University of Miami Coral Reef Futures Lab, shows bleaching to elkhorn coral on Thursday, 20 July 2023, in the North Dry Rocks Reef off the coast of Key Largo, Fla. Some Florida Keys corals are losing their color weeks earlier in the summer than has been documented before, meaning they are under stress and their health is potentially endangered, federal scientists said. Photo: Liv Williamson / University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science / AP

We are at least a month ahead of time, if not two months, Bruckner said. Were not yet at the point where we are seeing any mortality  from bleaching. It is still a minor number that are completely white, certain species, but it is much sooner than we expected.

When ocean waters heat up, it stresses coral reefs, causing a breakdown in the relationship between the coral and the algae that lives inside them. The coral loses its color, leading to a so-called bleaching event. Because it has lost its main source of nutrition, the coral is essentially starving to death.

Previous severe bleaching events in the Florida Keys in 2014 and 2015 didnt start until August. The early start to this event could mean the coral reefs may be looking at up to three months of stressful conditions unless hurricanes or tropical storms bring in cooler temperatures. That would be unprecedented as most bleaching events on record lasted only four to six weeks.

Some researchers are relocating corals to tanks on land in an effort to save them. [more]

Floridas Record Hot Ocean Temperatures Cause Early Coral Bleaching
Press Release

July 30, 2023 SPEECH OF SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS ON WORLD DAY AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS CELEBRATION

Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)

ARISE Foundation

Antipolo, Rizal

July 30, 2023 A blessed and empowering day to everyone! Warmest greetings to the members of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, ARISE Foundation, my colleagues in public service from the Department of Justice and the Inter-Agency Council Against Human Trafficking (IACAT), and everyone taking a stand against human trafficking today. I thank all of you for this opportunity to celebrate the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons alongside friends and allies from the religious sector, the government, non-government organizations and civil society, and everyday Filipinos who are united in the cause of putting an end to the horrific evil of trafficking in persons. Let me also express my gratitude to the CBCP Cluster Against Human Trafficking and ARISE Foundation for initiating various initiatives like the Parish Community Campaigns Against Human Trafficking, our DCAHT formations, and the MATA program started by the Diocese of Novaliches. These activities help bring the fight against human trafficking down to the grassroots level, and help expand awareness and attention against human trafficking in our communities. Your collective efforts are welcome and much-needed. The fact is, human trafficking continues to impact the lives of millions of Filipinos, as well as their loved ones. No thanks to the global economic crisis, human trafficking operations become more sophisticated, more brazen and more entrenched with each passing day. This is especially true in the Philippines, where the list of human trafficking victims - especially women and children - grows longer and longer. In the Senate, our continuing efforts to combat human trafficking has given us a good look at the real threat posed by trafficking operations to the daily lives of our kababayans. Back in 2020, the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality - which I chair - led investigations on the "pastillas scam" in the Bureau of Immigration which facilitated the illegal entry of Chinese workers to the country. During those hearings, we also discovered sexual trafficking dens in the Philippines related to the POGO industry, where Filipina and migrant women, including several minors, were victimized. Earlier this year, my committee, working with partner government agencies such as the Department of Foreign Affairs, also acted on the trafficking of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) who were deceived into entering countries like Myanmar and Cambodia and were coerced into working for cryptocurrency scams. During our Senate hearings, we found out that there were dozens of Filipinos who were trafficked into civil war-torn Myanmar and who badly needed rescue. A disturbing fact we have confirmed in our probe is the growing trend in wide-scale human trafficking and criminal schemes within our own borders. Last April, my committee unearthed a major scamming operation in Paranaque City victimizing hundreds of foreign migrant workers. According to our witness "Ridwan," who is an Indonesian national, hundreds of workers from countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and others were forced to work on crypto scams operating in condominiums within our National Capital Region. In May, I personally inspected the site of a major scamming and trafficking operation in Clark, Pampanga, where 1,000 victim-survivors of various nationalities were rescued. The scale of that trafficking operation was unbelievable, as the area was set up like a highly-professional call center, and featured fake amenities like bedrooms which are intended to facilitate the scams. Sa totoo lang, nakakalula ma po yung dami ng mga trafficking dens, at nakakaiyak po ang dami ng victim-survivors. Just this June, law enforcers rescued 2,700 human trafficking victim-survivors in several buildings in Las Pinas City. Of the rescued victim-survivors, half are Filipinos while the rest are individuals trafficked from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and even Cameroon. And if we follow the news, more and more human trafficking sites are being discovered. As I said earlier, human trafficking operations are increasingly brazen, sophisticated, and entrenched. However, I am glad to say that government efforts to combat human trafficking are also increasingly relentless, comprehensive and efficient. I wish to thank our friends from the DOJ, the IACAT, the NBI and the Philippine National Police and other law enforcement agencies who are at the spearhead of efforts to stop trafficking dens and rescue trafficking victim-survivors. Last year, we in the Senate and our colleagues from the House of Representatives worked together to pass the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2022. I am proud to have sponsored that measure in the Senate, since it is an important upgrade to our laws not only on stopping human trafficking but also on mechanisms for support and recovery of victim survivors after their rescue. That landmark law is only the beginning. We in the Senate continue to explore amendments or new legislation which will further improve government capacity to eliminate human trafficking within our country. We continue to listen and integrate inputs from various stakeholders on how these legislative reforms may be achieved. Friends, if you have any proposal, suggestion or concern, feel free to approach me or my office. We are eager to hear your ideas. At the same time, let me express my full support to the CBCP and ARISE Foundation's efforts towards a more grassroots-oriented approach to addressing human trafficking. Human trafficking after all is not some distant horror. It is being committed in our cities and airports. The victims of this heinous trade walk among us. A more community-based approach to human trafficking monitoring and reporting will surely boost government efforts to end human trafficking operations at an early stage, and save more lives. Friends, allow me to wrap up this discussion with a line from the Bible. In Psalms 82:3-4, it is written: "Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked." Human trafficking is slavery. It preys on the weak and needy, and disrespects the value and dignity of human beings as children of God. Friends, it is our duty, as people of faith, and believers of the Lord's message of salvation and hope, to do all we can to stop human trafficking operations, put human traffickers to justice, and save the lives of human trafficking victim-survivors. Let us uphold the safety and dignity of this precious thing bestowed on us called human life. Maraming salamat po sa pakikinig. God Bless us all!
Map showing how dozens of U.S. states shifted infrastructure law climate funds to other projects. Data: Federal Highway Administration/Kansas Department of Transportation. Graphic: Ian Duncan / The Washington Post

By Ian Duncan

27 July 2023

(The Washington Post)  With $14 billion in new federal funding, the infrastructure law was supposed to jolt efforts to protect the U.S. highway network from a changing climate and curb carbon emissions that are warming the planet. New records show the effort is off to an unsteady start as hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent elsewhere.

Last year, 38 states made use of a provision in the law to shiftabout $755 million to general-purpose highway construction accounts, according to Federal Highway Administration records. The sum is more than one-quarter of the total annual amount made available to states in two newclimate-related programs.

California shifted $97 million to pay for safety projects. New York moved $36 million to fund what officials called the states core capital program. Arizona said it used $20 million for its five-year highway construction program, largely for pavement preservation, and Louisiana used $8.2 million to fund roundabouts near an outlet mall.

Five states couldnt account for how the money was used after it was transferred.

The nibbling away of climate funding highlights a fundamental tension in the 2021 law, which was crafted to secure bipartisan support. Protections to long-standing flexibility in how states use federal highway funding are hampering efforts by Democrats and the Biden administration to make progress on environmental goals. Amid clashes over federal guidance, the financial transfers from two climate programs  coming as weather events batter the nations infrastructure with increased intensity  illustrate how states have wide latitude to discount the wishes of leaders in Washington.

The records, released under a Freedom of Information Act request, show that several states said they were still putting together plans for how to use the money, typically an injection of tens of millions of dollars annually for each state. Some blamed slow guidance on how to spend the money.

A road and bridge over the Black River is washed out in Cavendish, Vermont, on 13 July 2023. Photo: CJ Gunther / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock

Transportation projects can take years to develop, and many states have only begun grappling with what a changing climate means for their infrastructure and have argued that their power to cut emissions is limited. The overall picture is one of states slowly coming to grips with how to best use a windfall of money intended to shield thousands of miles of roads and bridges and curb carbon emissions.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) credited President Bidens focus on the environment for securing the first-of-its-kind money in the infrastructure law. The agency said it would implement the law as Congress intended, aiming to reduce the role the transportation sector plays in contributing to climate change.

The Biden Administration recognizes climate change as a crisis facing our nation and has adopted a whole of government response, which has already meant critical new investments in carbon emissions reduction and resiliency in all elements of our nations infrastructure, FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt said in a statement. These investments are making a difference as states put them to use. []

A legal provision predating the infrastructure law allows states to shift up to half of their federal transportation funds among several programs a provision that also applies to transportation money from the new law. Kevin DeGood, director of the infrastructure program at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, said Congress clearly intended for money to be allocated to projects that would reduce emissions or protect against extreme weather.

Its an absolute failure that this is allowed to happen, he said. [more]

States siphoned away $750 million in infrastructure law climate funds
In a highly anticipated ruling on July 29, a federal judge temporarily blocked two key provisions of a recently passed Arkansas law that would have exposed librarians and booksellers to criminal liability for making allegedly inappropriate or harmful books accessible to minors in the state.

Known as Act 372, the law was signed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders on March 30one of several controversial book banning laws pushed in conservative-controlled legislatures in 2023 under the guise of parental control. The architects of Act 372 claim that the law is needed to keep pornographic material from children. But critics of the law insist that such claims are a fig leaf to justify going after constitutionally-protected diverse materials, such as books involving the LGBTQ+ community.

In a lengthy opinion and order, judge Timothy L. Brooks concluded that portions of the law are "too vague to be understood and implemented effectively" and that, if enacted, would "permit, if not encourage, library committees and local governmental bodies to make censorship decisions based on content or viewpoint, which would violate the First Amendment."

The decision comes after a library-led coalition of 18 plaintiffs filed suit on June 2, arguing that parts of the law violate the First and 14th Amendments. Plaintiffs include the Central Arkansas Library System and a powerful alliance of library, publishing, author, bookseller, and advocacy groups, including the Freedom to Read Foundation (the ALA's First Amendment Defense arm), the Association of American Publishers, the American Booksellers Association, the Authors Guild, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and Democracy Forward.

Specifically, the suit challenges two of the laws central provisions: an "availability" clause that seeks to regulate the accessibility of materials alleged to be to harmful to minors; and a sweeping new "challenge procedure" which would empower "any person" to challenge the appropriateness of materials in a librarys collection. Crucially, the law also removes an existing "exemption from prosecution" provision. Critics say that provision's removal, in concert with the laws challenged provisions, would lead to rampant self-censorship by exposing librarians and booksellers to potential felony chargespunishable by up to a year in jailfor making books deemed inappropriate accessible to anyone under 18.

Brooks' ruling comes after a nearly five-hour hearing on July 25, during which the judge peppered Arkansas state attorneys with tough questions about the law, including concerns that the law did not attempt to distinguish between younger and older minors. State attorneys argued that the plaintiffs' case is based on "hypotheticals" and, in a motion to dismiss, argued that the case should be tossed for lack of standing. In a separate July 29 order, however, Brooks denied the states motion to dismiss, allowing the suit to proceed.

Notably, Brooks prefaced his 49-page decision to issue a preliminary injunction with a quote from Fahrenheit 451 author Ray Bradbury: There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches."

From there, citing an array of settled case lawincluding a 2003 Arkansas 'harmful to minors' measure with strikingly similar language, which was struck down by the courts in 2004the judge dismantled the new Arkansas law's shaky legal foundation, questioned the law's aim, and eloquently explained and defended the work of librarians.

For more than a century, librarians have curated the collections of public libraries to serve diverse viewpoints, helped high school students with their term papers, made recommendations to book clubs, tracked down obscure books for those devoted to obscure pastimes, and mesmerized roomfuls of children with animated storytelling, Brooks wrote. So, the passage of Act 372 prompts a few simple, yet unanswered questions. For example: What has happened in Arkansas to cause its communities to lose faith and confidence in their local librarians? What is it that prompted the General Assemblys newfound suspicion? And why has the State found it necessary to target librarians for criminal prosecution?

 By virtue of its mission to provide the citizenry with access to a wide array of information, viewpoints, and content, the public library is decidedly not the states creature; it is the peoples.



In another key passage, Brooks declared the laws challenge provision very poorly drafted, and suggested the laws "fatally vague" provisions may have been intentional. Perhaps any vagueness may be chalked up to the general assemblys haste to enact Act 372, but the lack of clarity seems to have been by design, he observed. After all, by keeping the pivotal terms vague, local governing bodies have greater flexibility to assess a given challenge however they please rather than how the constitution dictates.

The judge also rejected the states suggestion that public libraries and librarians essentially function as state actors. The vocation of a librarian requires a commitment to freedom of speech and the celebration of diverse viewpoints unlike that found in any other profession, Brooks wrote. "The librarians only enemy is the censor who judges contrary opinions to be dangerous, immoral, or wrong.

And though the institution may be funded by taxpayers and overseen by local and state officials the public library is not to be mistaken for simply an arm of the state, Brooks observed. By virtue of its mission to provide the citizenry with access to a wide array of information, viewpoints, and content, the public library is decidedly not the states creature; it is the peoples.

The injunction means that the two most contentious provisions of the new Arkansas law will not go into effect with the rest of the law on August 1 as scheduled. The rest of the law will take effect, including the repeal of the "exemption of prosecution" for public librarians and educators. Without the two challenged provisions, however, the standard for prosecution is the state's existing obscenity lawa significantly higher legal bar.

In a statement, Arkansas attorneys said they were still digesting the decision, but vowed to vigorously defend the law in court.

In a joint statement, the plaintiffs celebrated the decision. "The court has moved decisively to protect the First Amendment rights of Arkansas book community, consistent with the rigorous analysis that freedom of speech has always required," the statement reads. "In barring the implementation of the challenged provisions of Arkansas Act 372, the court has preserved the constitutional right of the states readers to receive information, including viewpoints that state legislators may find disagreeable. Just as profoundly, the court has shielded the states booksellers and librarians from extreme punishments for performing their essential function of making books available to the public.

For freedom to read advocates, the decision in Arkansas bolsters their efforts, as legal challenges to book bans mount in a number of states. Among those states is Texas, where a group of plaintiffsincluding the same publishing industry associations that sued in Arkansasfiled suit last week to block HB 900, a new "harmful to minors" law that would require book vendors in the state to rate books based on "sexual" content. A hearing on the Texas suit is now set for August 18, ahead of the law's looming September 1 effective date.

High profile suits are also pending in Missouri, challenging Senate Bill 775, a school library obscenity law that opponents say forces librarians to censor their collections under the "threat of arbitrary enforcement of imprisonment or fines." And in May, PEN America and Penguin Random House joined forces with a group of authors and parents to sue school administrators in Escambia County, Florida, over the removal of allegedly inappropriate books from school libraries.
A federal judge in Montana has issued a temporary restraining order blocking HB 359, Montanas recently passed ban on drag performances, from taking effect until a lawsuit challenging the laws constitutionality can be fully briefed.

In a July 28 ruling, federal judge Brian Morris acknowledged that the state has yet to fully answer the legal challenge to the law, but found sufficient evidence to grant the TRO blocking the law so that Montana Pride, which began on July 30 and will run through August 6, can proceed without legal risk.

Plaintiffs, along with the approximately 15,000 Montanans who wish to attend the events, cannot avoid chilled speech or exposure to potential civil or criminal liability under H.B. 359 in the absence of the extraordinary remedy of a TRO, Morris wrote in his his 20-page decision. The time sensitivity of plaintiffs TRO request, the likelihood that significant constitutional violations to plaintiffs have occurred and will continue without judicial intervention, and the absence of countervailing evidence currently before the court together require the court to issue a TRO.

The decision comes after a group of 10 plaintiffs, including local bookseller the Montana Book Company and local author Adria Jawort, filed a federal lawsuit on July 7 alleging that HB 359 is a breathtakingly ambiguous and overbroad" law that imposes an unconstitutional content and viewpoint-based restriction on free speech and should be struck down.

Montana governor Greg Gianforte signed HB 359 into law on May 22.

In June, Jawort, a plaintiff in the suit, had a scheduled talk at the Butte-Silver Bow Public Library canceled, with library officials citing the new law. Jawort is also seeking damages.

The Montana law is one of a number of such anti-LGBTQ+ laws that emerged in state legislatures in 2023, which are now being challenged in court, something Morris acknowledged in his decision. Last month, a Trump-appointed judge blocked Tennessee's drag ban from taking effect, holding that the law is "overly broad and violated the First Amendment."
Eight Purdue University faculty have been named 2023-24 Fulbright U.S. Scholars, tying the universitys record for the largest number of awardees in a single year, bolstering its national reputation as a Fulbright top-producing institution and illustrating its unparalleled commitment to excellence at scale.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the United States and other countries. This marks the third time eight Purdue faculty have received Fulbright Awards in a single year, a milestone achieved in 2019-20 and matched again in 2021-22. A top R1 research institution and a proud member of the Association of American Universities, Purdue has been recognized nationally as a Fulbright top-producing institution for three of the past four years.

Exploring how middle school students form STEM identities, using data science to expand sustainable building retrofitting, and developing systems to strengthen the management of coastal and marine areas are some of the projects being pursued by Purdues awardees, who will complete their research in educational institutes and facilities around the world.

Awardees, projects and destinations

Paul Asunda, associate professor in the Department of Technology Leadership and Innovation in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute. Hosted by Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Asunda will live in Kenya while focusing on Building Identities and Persistence in STEM Learning Through Engineering Design Practices.

Douglass F. Jacobs, van Eck Chair of Forest Biology and professor in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, College of Agriculture. Jacobs will live in Sweden and work with faculty from his host institution, Swedish Agricultural University, to research Forest Regeneration and Restoration to Support Ecosystem Function for the Future.

Nina Mahmoudian, associate professor of mechanical engineering, College of Engineering. While living in Portugal, Mahmoudian will research Enabling Real-Time Networked Marine Ecosystem Monitoring. She will be hosted by the Atlantic International Research Center and aims to develop a network of autonomous maritime monitoring systems.

Bethany McGowan, associate professor in Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies. Based in Finland, McGowan will work with librarians and information studies scholars at Tampere University to focus on Understanding How Regulatory and Ethical Principles Mitigate the Spread of Health Dis/Misinformation.

Ming Qu, professor of civil engineering, College of Engineering. Qu will live in Japan and collaborate with research faculty at the University of Tokyo to examine Advanced Data Science and Sustainable Buildings. Her goal is to create a state-of-the-art curriculum in the field of sustainable buildings and produce data-driven approaches to building retrofitting.

Sarah Renkert, assistant professor of practice in the Department of Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts. Renkerts project, titled Food Aid and Kitchen Controversies: Cooking Together in the City of Hope, will explore the social and economic importance of state-subsidized communal kitchens and the challenges they face in Lima, Peru.

Dharmendra Saraswat, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering, College of Engineering. While examining Spatial Data Science and Artificial Intelligence for Indian Agriculture, Saraswat will design knowledge-building activities and develop a framework for an early-warning rice-disease forecasting system. He will be hosted by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi, India.

Denny Yu, associate professor of industrial engineering, College of Engineering. Yu will examine sensor features effects on cognitive load while researching Real-Time Human-Aware Systems for Enhancing User Performance and Decision-Making. He will be hosted by Management Center Innsbruck in Austria.

Following the launch of several landmark partnerships with governments, universities and educational institutions around the globe, Purdue received international acclaim for its research excellence in June when the QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) World University rankings listed it as the No. 27-ranked university in the U.S. and No. 10 among public institutions.

Since its establishment in 1946, the Fulbright Program has awarded more than 400,000 students, scholars, teachers and scientists the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

The Fulbright Program offers more than 400 teaching, research or combination teaching and research awards in over 135 countries each year. The deadline to apply for the 2024-25 Fulbright Program is Sept. 15. For more information about the program, visit the website or email Christopher Lukasik, provost fellow for Fulbright faculty awards, at clukasik@purdue.edu.
Northrop Grummans Aug. 1 Cygnus spacecraft launch carried a Purdue University experiment to the International Space Station among other cargo for NASA. (Photo provided by NASA/Danielle Johnson)

Experiment on International Space Station aims to investigate how reduced gravity affects condensation

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  To live on the moon or Mars, humans will need heat and air conditioning that can operate long term in reduced gravity and temperatures hundreds of degrees above or below what we experience on Earth.

Building these systems requires knowing how reduced gravity affects boiling and condensation, which all heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems use to operate in Earths gravity.

A Purdue University experiment that arrived Aug. 4 to the International Space Station aims to collect data scientists need to answer decades-old questions about how boiling and condensation work in reduced gravity.

We have developed over a hundred years worth of understanding of how heat and cooling systems work in Earths gravity, but we havent known how they work in weightlessness, said Issam Mudawar, Purdues Betty Ruth and Milton B. Hollander Family Professor of Mechanical Engineering.

The experiment was transported via Northrop Grummans 19th commercial resupply services mission (NG-19) to the International Space Station for NASA. The NG-19 spacecraft launched Aug. 1 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASAs Wallops flight Facility in Virginia.

The mission carried a module for conducting the second experiment of a Purdue-designed facility called the Flow Boiling and Condensation Experiment (FBCE), which has been collecting data on the space station since August 2021.

Last July, Mudawar and his students finished their first experiment gathering data from a module of FBCE on the space station that measures the effects of reduced gravity on boiling. Using the facilitys additional components that arrived with the NG-19 spacecraft, the researchers will be able to conduct the second experiment, which will investigate how condensation works in a reduced-gravity environment.

Both experiments modules for FBCE will remain in orbit through 2025, allowing the fluid physics community at large to take advantage of this hardware.

We are ready to literally close the book on the whole science of flow and boiling in reduced gravity, Mudawar said.

To develop FBCE, Mudawars lab worked with NASAs Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, which engineered and built the flight hardware funded by the agencys Biological and Physical Sciences Division at NASA Headquarters. The team spent 11 years developing FBCE hardware to fit into the Fluids Integrated Rack on the orbiting laboratory.

FBCEs answers on boiling and condensation will not only support exploration on the moon or Mars but also help spacecraft to travel longer distances. The farther missions are from Earth, the more likely that the spacecraft for those missions will need innovative power and propulsion systems, such as ones that are nuclear thermal or electric. Compared to other types of processes that enable heating and cooling in space, boiling and condensation would be much more effective at transferring heat for spacecraft with these systems.

In addition, FBCE data could help enable spacecraft to refuel in orbit by providing scientific understanding of how reduced gravity affects the flow boiling behavior of the cryogenic liquids spacecraft use as propellant.

FBCE is among NASAs largest and most complex experiments for fluid physics research. Mudawars team is preparing a series of research papers unpacking data the FBCE has collected on the space station, adding to more than 60 papers they have published on reduced gravity and fluid flow since the projects inception.

The papers we have published over the duration of this project are really almost like a textbook for how to use boiling and condensation in space, Mudawar said.

With more than 30,000 citations, Mudawar is one of the most highly cited researchers in the field of heat transfer. Google Scholar ranks him No. 1 in flow boiling, spray cooling, microchannels, and microgravity boiling. He also is the most cited author in the International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer.

For more than a decade, Mudawar and his students have been developing three sets of predictive tools to be validated using FBCE data. One set of tools puts the data into the form of equations that engineers can use to design space systems. Another set identifies fundamental information about fluid physics from the data, and the third set is computational models of the fluid dynamics.

All together, these models would make it possible to predict which equipment designs could operate in lunar and Martian gravity.

The amount of data coming out of the FBCE is just absolutely enormous, and thats exactly what we want, Mudawar said.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top 4 in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, with 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdues main campus has frozen tuition 12 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap, including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, and Purdue Computes, at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.

Writer/Media contact: Kayla Albert, 765-494-2432, wiles5@purdue.edu

Source: Issam Mudawar, mudawar@ecn.purdue.edu
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We reported last month that the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) appeared intent on acquiring Telecom Egypts entire 45% stake in Vodafone Egypt, and reports now indicate that the deal could be finalised by September this year.

Daily News Egypt quoted anonymous sources as claiming that a deal was almost finalised last month, as the parties involved had already on a valuation for Vodafone Egypt. It has emerged that the delay came about as the Egyptian government  Telecom Egypts majority shareholder  is reluctant for the operator to divest more than a 25% shareholding.

Despite this appearing irreconcilable with QIAs continued push to acquire the full 45%, talks are ongoing and a deal is expected, with the news outlet naming end-September 2023 as the likely implementation date.
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Price: $ 1 Seller State of Residence: Missouri Property Address: 12007 Cypress Run Road, Orlando, FL Number of Bedrooms: 1 Number of Bathrooms: 1 Zip/Postal Code: 32830 City: Orlando State/Province: Florida Location: 658**, Springfield, Missouri

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The University of Georgia Alumni Association Board of Directors has elected C. Lee Zell as its 78th president and approved eight new board members, according to a UGA Media Relations press release.
L&T will give Rs 6 per share special dividend to shareholders for the six decades that company patriarch A M Naik served with the engineering and construction major, S N Subrahmanyan, the CEO & MD of the infrastructure major said.

Photograph: Shailesh Andrade/Reuters

In a letter to the employees of Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Subrahmanyan said group chairman A M Naik is serving the sixth decade of his association with L&T.

His name will be remembered forever in the annals of India Inc and L&T as someone who made the impossible possible.

"The board (of the company has) decided to honour, with a special dividend - One for Each Magnificent Decade - in which Mr Naik transformed L&T," the CEO said.

The Rs 6 dividend to shareholders is only a token of affection, esteem and, most importantly, gratitude.

On August 9, the CEO said Naik will be attending his Silver Jubilee AGM.

"He (Naik) ceremonially handed over to me the L&T flag symbolising the privilege of taking your Company forward into the future," Subrahmanyan said.

The company's performance last year and in the first quarter this fiscal year has been befitting the occasion record-breaking!

Last week on July 25, the company approved a special dividend of Rs 6 per equity share for the Financial Year 2023-24.

The record date for the purpose of payment of dividend is Wednesday, August 2, 2023.

This will be paid on or before August 14, 2023.

Larsen and Toubro (L&T) last week posted a 36 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 3,116.12 crore in the June quarter over Rs 2,293.01 crore net profit in the corresponding period of 2022-23.

The company's board has approved buy back of shares worth up to Rs 10,000 crore.
Four back-to-back hits and a dreamy wedding with beau Sidharth Malhotra this year, birthday girl Kiara Advani is definitely living her best life professionally and personally too!

As the talented actress celebrates her 32nd birthday on July 31, we take a closer look at her FABULOUS life from her Instagram feed!

A candid click of Kiara and Sid from their mehendi ceremony. The lovebirds had a fairytale wedding in February.

Giving us winter fashion goals while in Kashmir shooting for Satyaprem Ki Katha.

Sun-kissed and happy holidaying in the Maldives.

Absolute couple goals! That's all we can say about this Sid-Kiara's mushy picture.

When our birthday girl had her fan girl moment with Amitabh Bachchan!

'My fangirl moment of 2022! From watching KBC at home to being on the hot seat with the one and only legend Amitabh Bachchan sir! Thank you... Truly a dream come true to be on your show sir.'

Kiara and Ram Charan relish burgers before shooting a song for their film Game Changer in New Zealand.

Suiting it up in style! Ranveer Singh, Kiara and Ram Charan for an event.

Diwali ready in a gorgeous a blue velvet lehenga-choli designed by Sureena Chowdhry.

Celebrating Rakhi with siblings Mishaal Advani, Nirvaan Aggarwal, Ishaan Advani and Ishita Advani.

Kiara looks stunning in a sequinned shimmery blue jumpsuit as she accepts the Grazia 'Millennial of the Year' award.
'Is this how you plan to run India? Is this how you plan to save India?'

'If this is your plan, then what happened in Manipur will start happening all over the country.'

Photograph: Press Information Bureau IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra D Modi broke his long silence on the Manipur crisis before Parliament convened for the Monsoon session on Thursday, July 20, 2023.

Vinod Kumar Sharma resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday, July 28.

Sharma, who quit the Congress in 2019 over the party's questioning of the strikes against terrorist camps in Balakot, Pakistan, affirms he has always criticised mistakes made by political parties and his resignation from the BJP is his way of expressing his angst against the way Prime Minister Narendra D Modi is handling the volatile situation in Manipur.

Sharma tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com why he quit the party and what, in his opinion, will help restore peace in strife-torn Manipur.

Why did you quit the BJP? You quit the Congress four years ago and joined the BJP and now you have quit the BJP as well. What happened?

I quit the BJP because there's still humanity left in me.

When I saw the video of my mothers and sisters from Manipur being paraded naked, when they were touching body parts of my mothers and sisters the nation was ashamed; I was equally ashamed.

To rub salt into such wounds, I saw Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh saying, there are many more such videos where our mothers and sisters are being paraded naked, but I cannot take any action against anybody. This statement numbed my conscience. That made me realise that I am also a father to a daughter, a brother to a sister and son to a mother. Such atrocity can happen against anybody.

Our government was woken up to act by the statement made by none other than the Chief Justice of India (Dr Dhananjay Yeshwant Chandrachud) for which I congratulate him. It was his statement that the Supreme Court would have to swing into action if the Union government or state government doesn't take any action on it.

I also felt that as a human being I should also act. The party (BJP leadership in Bihar) put lot of pressure on me to defend the state government (in Manipur) and Union government on TV debates, but I flatly refused to do their bidding.

I spoke to some senior leaders in Delhi before resigning and also informed my leaders in Bihar that I was resigning from the party.

If Modiji cannot protect the honour of women, then he should stop giving slogans like beti bachao (save our daughters), nari sashaktikaran (women empowerment), and sanatan dharam.

Kya sanatan sanskriti is baat ki ijazat deti hai ki hum apni maa, behno ko nanga karme, nivastra karke, road per ghumaye aur unke angon se khilwad karen? (Does sanatan dharam allow us to disrobe our womenfolk, touch their bodies and parade them naked in the streets?)

The world must not have witnessed such a scene of a mob parading naked women in streets and playing with their bodies.

How do you explain quitting from the Congress and joining the BJP and now quitting the BJP?

Mistakes are mistakes. I have never kept quiet to expose the mistakes political parties made.

In 2019, the Congress questioned the surgical strikes (in Balakot) and I told them that you cannot question the Indian Army.

Today, Modiji is also making a mistake by toying around with the situation in Manipur and I have spoken against it by resigning from the party. I cannot keep quiet in such situations.

People criticise me saying that I find fault with everybody. Do you expect me to silence myself when such mistakes are made? Humanity calls for exposing such inactions and mistakes.

I am making my own tiny effort to expose these mistakes and speak on behalf of the oppressed.

Who are the senior leaders who you met in Delhi?

I met J Arun Singh and Sanjay Mayukh, who is the media in-charge and national spokesperson of the BJP. I sought a meeting with Naddaji, Amit Shahji, butI didn't get their appointments. But I had already expressed my sentiments and sent a message to them (J P Nadda, the BJP national president, and Amit A Shah, the Union home minister) that I would be resigning.

IMAGE: 'If Modiji cannot protect the honour of women, then he should stop giving slogans like beti bachao, nari sashaktikaran and sanatan dharam,' says Vinod Kumar Sharma. Photograph: ANI Photo

Prime Minister Narendra D Modi has categorically stated that the culprits will not be spared. Do you believe that after he spoke stern action will be taken against those involved in the naked parading of women?

Are you (Narendra Modi) kidding the nation by making such statements? Is this how a prime minister addresses a serious issue?

Are you feeling ashamed to sack the chief minister? You speak only after the Chief Justice of India, who is regarded as a symbol of justice for the people of India, talks about taking action.

And what do you mean when you talk of taking action or saying that the guilty will not be spared? Were there just two or ten people involved in that heinous crime?

Your government in Manipur is responsible for the crime. The person who says that there are many more such videos but we cannot take any action, your chief minister is the chief culprit. What remains to be said when a chief minister makes such statements.

If you too are human, then you will definitely think about it (taking action against N Biren Singh).

Don't tell me that the PM spoke about taking action. Modiji is just fooling the nation.

What action can you take? You will just arrest a couple of people and call it action? Will your stature reduce if you sack your chief minister?

What actions do you think will help improve the situation in Manipur?

At the very least the prime minister must immediately sack the chief minister (of Manipur). The nation demands it. Our mothers, sisters, daughters demand it. Our Chief Justice is asking for action.

Why are you thinking so much? Why are you scared to sack him?

How will sacking a chief minister help cool down the situation in Manipur?

Immediately impose President's rule in Manipur. Send an army general to control and crush the violence in the state and you will see that within two days the state will limp back to normalcy.

You talk about fighting China and Pakistan and cannot handle a state with just 25 lakh people (2.5 million), which is the size of population of Patna.

Your home minister (Amit A Shah) visits the state for some formalities and enjoys hospitality in Manipur and comes back from a picnic.

Is this how you plan to run India? Is this how you plan to save India? If this is your plan, then what happened in Manipur a few months ago will become normal and start happening all over the country.

BJP spokesperson from Bihar Arvind Kumar Singh claims you are just a member of the BJP and don't hold any significant position in the party. What do you have to say about this?

Is the party crazy to send me to all the TV channels to defend the BJP's positions since 2019?

Just a week ago I was on NDTV (defending the party). Just a day before my resignation I was on ZEE Bihar.

Why doesn't he (Arvind Singh) ask senior party leaders why they would send me to defend the party as a spokesperson if I was not the BJP spokesperson?

Or, is it that they (senior BJP leaders) considered me their son-in-law and send me to all the TV channels?

What would you like to tell Prime Minister Modi?

Modiji, please immediately and unconditionally sack the Manipur chief minister. Dismiss the Manipur government and impose President's rule in the state. Deal with the situation with a firm, iron hand.

You should not have slept over for almost four months now.

All the mistakes of the state government are before you to see.

Why are you running away from your duties and responsibilities? Why are you not making a statement in Parliament?
'Government supplied public services are less likely to be found in neighbourhoods with high numbers of Scheduled Castes and Muslims.'

Kindly note that the image has only been posted for representational purposes. Photograph: ANI Photo

Discrimination on the basis of caste and religion in housing societies is something that many Indians may have experienced.

Now a new working paper on residential segregation in India has been published, which amplifies this fact with the exact figures.

The paper written by Paul Novosad, a professor at Dartmouth university in the US, and founder of devdatalab.org (external link); Sam Asher (associate professor, Imperial College London), Kritarth Jha, Anjali Adukia, faculty, the University of Chicago, Harris Policy and director, MiiE Lab, and Brandon Joel Tan highlights these facts.

In his tweet on June 15, 2023, Paul Novosad stated, 'Urban places are about as segregated as rural places, for Scheduled Castes. For Muslims, segregation is worse in cities. Scheduled Castes and Muslims are about as segregated as Black people in US cities.'

In an e-mail interview with Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf, researchers Paul Novosad and Sam Asher speak about the segregation of Scheduled Castes and Muslims in Indian society.

Can you please tell us about the data collection exercise behind this study, and the various sources for the data?

We go into great detail on the data collection in our paper, which I attached. See Section 3 in particular.

What are your conclusions -- not academically alone -- from your research?

Our media fact sheet makes clear the main takeaways.

A. India's cities have a high level of segregation on the basis of both caste and religion -- about as much as current levels of Black/White segregation in the United States of America.

B. Government supplied public services are less likely to be found in neighbourhoods with high numbers of Scheduled Castes and Muslims.

C. Children growing up in SC and Muslim neighbourhoods fare worse than children in non-marginalised neighbourhoods in the same cities.

What we call segregation or keeping away, etc, is it also a harking back to one's past community life where humans lived together but also separately, among their community? Thus, a collective was made up of individual groups.

Are our modern cities a reflection of this past?

It's very difficult for us to say exactly what forces are driving the strong segregation patterns that we observe.

The main purpose of the paper is to establish the basic facts around segregation, disparities in government service delivery, and economic outcomes (in this case, education).

Possible candidates driving segregation, as we discuss in the paper, are self-sorting due to preferring to live with similar people, discrimination in housing markets that close off certain neighbourhoods to certain types of people, different preferences in different groups for certain types of amenities etc.

It is our hope that the research and policy communities can take these findings and make further progress in both understanding and addressing the underlying causes of the extreme segregation that we have documented.

Over how many years did you collect the data and in which cities of India did you conduct this research?

Our research covers the entirety of India.

It has taken us approximately a decade to put together and analyse the data for this research.

In one of your tweets you mention that 'for Muslims, segregation is worse in cities'.

Was it always the case for Muslims post 1947 due to Partition or did the segregation begin post the Ram Janambhoomi movement?

Our data are from 2011-2013, so we cannot say whether segregation is getting more or less severe in India.

We do find that younger cities are less segregated, which may be consistent with a trend towards less segregation, but without historical data we cannot speak with confidence to historical trends.

Which are the most Muslim and SC friendly states of India in terms of buying property and not getting discriminated?

Our paper does not speak to this.

The Congress government in Gujarat introduced the Disturbed Area Act in 1986 which was amended in 2019 by the Bharatiya Janata Party. Now, it is the collector of the area who decides who can buy the flat and who cannot.

The State's power thus is absolute in buying and selling properties.

Moreover, with a likelihood of polarisation the state also has right to form a Special Investigation Team to inquire in buying of properties.

Does it mean whether it is the Congress or the BJP, both political parties encourage the segregation of Hindu-Muslim population in the state?

Our research has nothing to say on this matter.

Did you speak to anyone on the ground as to find out why they do not want or prefer Muslims or for that matter Scheduled Castes as their neighbours?

We have spoken to many people on the ground who give many different answers to questions like this.

The best systematic data I have seen on these matters comes from Pew (external link).

In state like Maharashtra and Gujarat we had a law like the Maharashtra and Gujarat Co-operative Societies Acts of 1962 which spoke of the housing movement's principle as that of inclusion, so how did we reach a state where discrimination in housing became the norm?

Our research cannot answer these questions.

What role has the judiciary played in this? If I am not mistaken, some judgments have upheld that communities have the right to decide on the composition of housing societies.

Indian courts have upheld the right to some forms of housing discrimination, but we cannot say how much this has contributed to the patterns we document.

One of your tweets stated that 26% of urban Muslims live in neighbourhoods that are greater than 80% Muslim whereas 17% of urban SCs live in neighbourhoods that are greater than 80% SC. Is this by choice or these communities are forced to live in ghettos?

Again, we are not in a position to say the exact forces that have produced the situation we document.

Is there a co-relation that by keeping Muslims and SCs away from cosmopolitan societies these communities remain permanently poor and deprived of basic resources like water, roads, good schooling and sanitation?

Our research and others have shown how much more economic opportunity there is in urban areas as compared to rural.

So any forces that make cities difficult places for certain types of people to live will likely contribute to further entrenching their poverty.
MTN has formed a public-private partnership with the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) to address the issue of load shedding on South Africa's roads.

A Service Level Agreement between the two parties will see MTN SA providing backup power to all traffic lights in Soweto that are located near MTN base stations. During load shedding, the base stations will draw from their backup power systems to provide energy to the traffic lights, significantly alleviating delays and frustrations experienced by Soweto residents and commuters.

This will be particularly helpful at key traffic corridors that lead towards highways. By providing reliable AC power backup to traffic lights at intersections near its network stations, MTN is taking a proactive step towards enhancing traffic management in the region.

The JRA must be commended for their commitment in ensuring swift progress in implementing this project. This is an excellent example of what can be achieved when the private and public sectors work together to positively impact the lives of citizens, says MTN South Africas Chief Executive Officer, Charles Molapisi.

"By partnering with business, we are taking proactive steps to alleviate the impact load shedding has on commuters, due to its impact on our traffic lights. To ensure efficient traffic flow at peak times, we need smooth-flowing traffic corridors that lead traffic onto highways, keeping people moving to their destinations with ease and efficiency. By ensuring a stable power supply to traffic lights, we aim to enhance road safety, minimise congestion, and create a more seamless driving and transportation experience for all road users, said Zweli Nyati, Acting CEO for the JRA.

Were excited about the future of this project and aim to expand further afield to partner with municipalities across the country to create corridors of free-flowing traffic in loadshedding, by using existing base stations to power traffic lights where we can, added Molapisi.
The Assam police arrested eight persons, including two Bangladeshi nationals for arranging fake citizenship documents for Rohingyas and Bangladeshis illegally entering India from the neighbouring country, a senior officer said in Guwahati on Monday.

IMAGE: BSF personnel of 192 Battalion under Guwahati frontier nabbed 10 Bangladeshis who were trying to enter India-Bangladesh International Border illegally, in Guwahati, August 7, 2021. Photograph: ANI Photo

The arrests were made from different districts of Tripura by teams of Assam police's special task force, he said.

"As per the direction of the chief minister to launch operation against linkmen/ touts who help Rohingyas to enter India illegally, our five teams were dispatched to various bordering districts of Tripura," STF deputy inspector general Partha Sarathi Mahanta said.

The teams were headed by additional or deputy superintendents of police level officers, he added.

Eight persons were arrested in the operations, of whom two are from Bangladesh and rest from Tripura, the DIG said.

Mahanta said the touts used to procure fake identity and travel documents for Rohingyas and Bangladeshis to prove them as Indian citizens and then, help them board trains to different parts of the country.

"They facilitate the illegal immigrants to board Kolkata/Delhi/Hyderabad/ Bengaluru bound trains from Dharmanagar and Kumarghat in Tripura and from Badarpur in Assam.

"This is a major threat to national security and has the propensity to cause internal disturbance, thereby threatening unity, integrity and sovereignty of the country," the police officer said.

He said fake identity documents, like Aadhaar and PAN cards, and foreign currencies have been recovered from the arrested persons.

Mahanta said further investigation is on to crack down the entire illegal network and next round of operations would be carried out in other parts of the country where the touts are helping the Rohingyas to re-locate.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said last week that the state is being used as a corridor by the Rohingyas to either go to Delhi or Kashmir with the help of some brokers from Tripura.

"Assam is now being used as a corridor by the Rohingyas to go to Delhi or Kashmir. Our investigations have revealed that some brokers from Tripura facilitate this infiltration," Sarma had said addressing a SP's meet on Friday.

The CM said the Assam police teams had been deputed to bust the network of brokers and arrest them.

He had later also said that the state government had "adopted the strategy to push them back and not arrest them as they will then take bail and try to become citizens of the country".
Amidst the controversy over the Gyanvapi Mosque complex in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that labelling Gyanvapi as a mosque complex will only lead to controversy and that the Muslim side should accept its 'historical mistake' and offer a solution.

IMAGE: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Photograph: ANI Photo

"If we call it a mosque, there will be a dispute. We should just call it Gyanvapi. I feel whoever has been blessed with sight by God, that person should see. What is a trishul (trident) doing inside a mosque? We did not put it there. There is security inside, there are Central forces are There is a jyotirlinga, dev pratimas (idols)," Adityanath said in a podcast interview with ANI Editor Smita Prakash aired on Monday.

Adityanath, who is also the head priest of Gorakhnath Mutt in Gorakhpur, said that physical, scriptural and other archaeological evidence inside the mosque should not be overlooked.

"You can twist history but not the historic evidence that the walls (of Gyanvapi) are screaming and saying," the chief minister said.

"I feel that a proposal should also come from the Muslim side accepting that there has been a historical mistake and that they should come up with a solution," Yogi Adityanath said.

The Allahabad high court is expected to give a verdict on a petition against a lower court order for a survey by the Archaeological Survey of India inside the mosque complex, except the 'wuzukhana' (fountain).

A ruling on the petition is likely on August 3.

The matter took centrestage when on May 16, last year, during the court-mandated survey, a structure -- claimed to be a 'Shivling' by the Hindu side and a 'fountain' by the Muslim side -- was found in the mosque premises.

Meanwhile in the interview with ANI, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said that he will appeal to the Muslims community that 'today we should be talking about development'.

"We can all see the plight of Pakistan. Those who sow thorns for others will themselves suffer the pain. Whatever is happening in Pakistan today is the result of what they sowed. Today Pakistan is riddled with hunger and is battling its misdeeds. That is why we should not repeat our previous mistakes," Adityanath said.

Meanwhile, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi has lashed out at Adityanath's remarks on the Gyanvapi issue stating that it's a 'judicial overreach' (sic).

The AIMIM chief, a staunch critic of Yogi said that despite knowing that the matter is sub judice he is making such a controversial statement.

"Chief minister Yogi knows that the Muslim side has opposed the ASI survey in Allahabad high court and the judgement will be delivered in a few days, still, he gave such a controversial statement, this is judicial overreach," said Owaisi.
Budget airline AIX Connect has removed its manager from duty at Bengaluru airport following the incident of a flight taking off without Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot last week, a source said on Monday.

IMAGE: Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot. Photograph: ANI Photo

Besides, senior officials of the airline met the governor in Bengaluru on Monday and apprised him about the situation and the steps taken and also apologised for the incident, the source said on the condition of anonymity.

On July 27, an AIX Connect from Bengaluru to Hyderabad took off without the governor over an alleged delay in reporting and later, his office lodged a complaint at the Bengaluru airport police station.

AIX Connect, formerly known as AirAsia India, is part of the Air India Group.

The source on Monday said the airline's airport manager concerned at the time of the incident was immediately removed from duty and an investigation is going on.

On July 28, the airline expressed regret over the incident and said that an investigation was being conducted.

Following the incident, the governor's protocol officer M Venugopal had lodged the complaint over a "breach of protocol".

As per the complaint, Gehlot was supposed to fly to Hyderabad on the AIX Connect flight at 2.05 pm on July 27.

"Accordingly, the governor left Raj Bhavan at 1.10 pm and reached the VIP Lounge of Terminal-1 at 1.35 pm. By that time, the luggage belonging to the governor was loaded onto the plane," it said.

The governor reached the ladder of the plane at 2.06 pm.

"However, AirAsia (AIX Connect) employee Arif denied entry to the governor saying that there was a delay in arrival, though the door of the plane was still open," the complaint alleged.

"Besides this, the governor's luggage was unloaded in which 10 minutes were lost. The governor was still standing near the ladder and the door of the plane was still open. Yet, the governor was ignored and insulted by not allowing him inside the flight," Venugopal had said.

Gehlot returned to the VIP Lounge and took another flight after 90 minutes to reach Hyderabad.

"This incident has deeply hurt the governor, who is the first citizen of Karnataka. By obstructing him from discharging his official duty, his protocol has been breached. We request you to initiate legal action against (AIX Connect Station Manager) Zico Soares, Arif and AirAsia (AIX Connect)," as per the complaint.

Regretting the incident, AIX Connect, on July 28, also said, "An investigation is being conducted and appropriate action will be taken".
The release of activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, could get delayed as a special NIA court in Mumbai on Monday rejected their pleas for temporary cash bail.

The court imposed additional conditions for their bail, directing the accused to furnish a PR (personal recognisance) bond of Rs 50,000 each and desist from speaking to the media about the case.

Cash bail refers to the money that the accused pays to get released from jail, whereas a bond is a written agreement between the accused and the court. Bond is a slightly time-consuming process compared with cash bail.

The Supreme Court on July 28 granted bail to the two, noting that they have been in custody for five years.

The apex court has asked them not to leave Maharashtra and surrender their passports to the police. It also directed the two activists to use one mobile each and let the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the case, know their addresses.

On Monday, special NIA Judge Rajesh Katariya denied the duo's pleas for release on cash bail. He directed both to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of like amount, a process that could take longer.

A lawyer related to the case said that they will try to complete the formalities by Friday, facilitating the duo's release.

As per the other conditions imposed by the special court, the activists cannot make any statement about the case in any form of media, be it print, electronic or social media.

They have been directed to attend the court proceedings unless exempted from personal appearance.

The two have been told not to indulge in any activity regarding which the present case is registered against them.

The accused shall not try to contact or communicate with the co-accused or any other person involved in similar activities and make any call either domestic or international to any person indulging in similar activities through any mode of communication, the court said.

The special court has asked the duo not to tamper with the prosecution witnesses, either personally or through any other person.

The activists shall not "abscond or try to flee away" from justice, the court said, adding there shall not be any gathering of visitors where the duo shall reside.

The activists had moved the top court against a Bombay high court order rejecting their bail pleas.

Gonsalves and Ferreira were arrested in August 2018 for their alleged role in the case and have been in judicial custody since then.

As many as 16 activists have been arrested in the case of which three are currently out on bail.

Scholar-activist Anand Teltumbde and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj are out on regular bail, while poet Varavara Rao is currently out on bail on health grounds.

Another accused, activist Gautam Navlakha, is currently under house arrest as per the direction of the Supreme Court.

The case pertains to the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which according to the Pune police was funded by Maoists.

The inflammatory speeches made there led to violence at the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial in Pune the next day, the police had alleged.
The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) has issued guidelines urging students to desist from asking fellow students for details that might reveal their caste and instead encouraged them to bond over commonalities like sports, music and movies.

IMAGE: Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Students' Federation of India (SFI) supporters stage a protest alleging discrimination in the aftermath of Darshan Solankis suicide at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. Photograph: ANI Photo

The anti-discrimination guidelines come months after allegations of caste discrimination at the premiere institute surfaced following the death of Darshan Solanki, a first-year BTech (chemical) student.

Apart from circulating the guidelines among students, authorities have also pasted them at different locations on the institute's Powai campus.

According to the guidelines, it is inappropriate to ask fellow students about their birth, admission, and the category they belong to as it could lead to conscious or subconscious bias.

It is also inappropriate to ask other students about their JEE Advanced rank or GATE score or any other information that may reveal caste or other related aspects, the guidelines say.

Asking the rank could appear like an attempt to find the caste and may set the stage for discrimination, state the guidelines made public by the institute on July 29.

The guidelines encourage students to bond over commonalities like departments, sports, music, movies, schools, college, and hobbies.

They also prohibit students from sharing messages, including jokes that are abusive, hateful, casteist, sexist or exhibit bigotry based on religion or sexual orientation, which can be construed as harassment or bullying.

IIT-B also talks of severe punishment in case of violation of the guidelines.

The institute said the guidelines are just a compilation of content in the context of anti-discrimination.

Each year, in the orientation session for new Under Graduate (UG) and Post Graduate (PG) entrants, various institute bodies/cells have always emphasised the zero-tolerance policy that IIT-Bombay follows towards any form of discrimination.

Each hostel and department/centre too have had posters from various cells. This year, the content from various cells, posters/orientations, in the context of anti-discrimination, has been compiled into one poster. This is also being circulated by the institute towards both new and existing students, said IIT-B.

Solanki, who hailed from Ahmedabad, allegedly jumped to death from the seventh floor of a hostel building on the IIT-B campus on February 12.

According to the chargesheet filed by the Mumbai police in the case, he had told his mother that caste-based discrimination existed on the institute's campus. He also told his mother during phone calls that the behaviour of fellow students changed when they learned about his caste, claimed the chargesheet.
The Supreme Court Monday termed as 'horrendous' the video of two women being paraded naked in Manipur and sought information about steps taken so far in the first information reports (FIRs) lodged, saying now it will not want the state police to probe the matter as they virtually handed over the women to the rioting mob.

IMAGE: Women's Commission, Archdiocese of Bangalore and CCBI Commission for Women members protest against the atrocities on women and violence in Manipur, in Bengaluru. Photograph: ANI Photo

The top court said it may constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) or a committee comprising former judges to monitor the situation in the strife-torn state subject to hearing the law officers representing the Centre and Manipur on Tuesday.

The bench, which listed a clutch of pleas on Manipur violence for hearing on Tuesday, said though the incident of stripping and parading these women came to light on May 4 why the Manipur police took 14 days to register an FIR on May 18.

"What was police doing? Why was an FIR in video case transferred to magisterial court on June 24, that is after one month and three days," asked the bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

"This is horrendous. There are media reports that these women were handed over to mob by the police. We also do not want the police to handle it," the bench said.

When Attorney General R Venkataramani sought time for responding to the queries, the bench said it was running out of time and there was 'a great need' for giving a healing touch to the state, for those who lost everything including their loved ones and their homes.

The bench asked the state government to provide the details about the number of 'zero FIRs' registered in the state torn by ethnic violence and the arrests made so far.

A zero FIR can be filed in any police station regardless of whether the offence was committed within its jurisdiction.

'We would also want to know the package for rehabilitation being provided to the state for affected people,' it said.

Earlier in the day, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the state government, told the bench the Union of India has no objection if the apex court decides to monitor the investigation in the cases of violence.

The top court called for evolving a broad mechanism to deal with violence against women and asked how many FIRs have been registered in such incidents in the state since May.

At the outset, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the two women who were seen in the May 4 video being paraded naked, said they have filed a petition in the apex court.

The supreme court had on July 20 said it was 'deeply disturbed' by the video and that using women as instruments for perpetrating violence is 'simply unacceptable in a constitutional democracy'.

Taking cognisance of the video, a bench headed by the chief justice had directed the Centre and the Manipur government to initiate immediate remedial, rehabilitative and preventive steps and apprise it of the action taken.

On July 27, the Centre informed the top court it has transferred the probe into the case involving the two women to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and asserted the government has 'zero tolerance towards crimes against women'.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), in an affidavit filed through its Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, also urged the top court to transfer the trial of the case outside Manipur for its conclusion in a time-bound manner.

Seven people have been arrested in the case so far.

Scores of people have been killed and several hundred 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 majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
Police in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said on Monday that an initial probe has suggested that the banned terrorist group Islamic State is behind the suicide attack on a political convention of a hardline Islamist party that killed at least 46 people and injured over 100.

IMAGE: A man, who was injured after a blast in Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, being taken to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, on July 30, 2023. Photograph: Fayaz Aziz/Reuters

The attack took place on Sunday when more than 400 members of the conservative Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party, known for its links to hardline political Islam, had gathered for a meeting under a canopy in the town of Khar, which borders Afghanistan.

"We are still investigating and gathering information on the Bajaur blast. The Initial probe shows that banned outfit Daesh (ISIS) was involved," Geo News quoted police officials as saying.

At least 46 people were killed and over 100 injured when a suicide bomber set off explosives at the rally in the former tribal area, the report said.

A total of 38 dead bodies have been handed over to relatives while eight unidentified bodies are still lying in the hospital, police said.

The police said they were gathering details of the suicide bomber, while the bomb disposal squad team was collecting evidence from the site.

District Police Officer Nazir Khan said three suspects have been taken into custody.

Provincial police chief Akhtar Hayat Khan said 10 kilogrammes of explosives set off by a suicide bomber were used in the blast. He said the bomber was among the attendees seated in the front rows of the convention.

Local police said the attacker detonated explosives near the convention's stage.

According to police and witnesses, the blast occurred as soon as JUI-F District Amir Maulana Abdul Rasheed reached the stage.

The deceased included JUI-F Tehsil Khar Maulana Ziaullah Jan, Navagai Tehsil General Secretary Maulana Hameedullah, District Information Secretary Mujahid Khan and dozens of party workers.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) caretaker health minister Riaz Anwar said on Sunday night that 44 people lost their lives while more than 100 were injured in the attack.

An emergency has been declared in the hospitals of Bajaur and adjoining areas where most of the injured were taken.

The critically injured have been transported from Bajaur to hospitals in the provincial capital Peshawar by military helicopters.

Bajaur District Health Officer Dr Faisal Kamal said more than 150 injured people had been brought to the Bajaur District Headquarters Hospital.

"Over 35 people have been referred to the Timargarh hospital while 15 critically injured persons have been sent to Peshawar via a Pakistan Army helicopter," he was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

Rescuers have warned the death toll may rise further, as 15 people are in critical condition.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemned the blast and vowed that those responsible will be identified and punished.

'The Pakistani nation, law enforcement agencies and our protectors will never allow such cowardly tactics of the enemy to succeed,' he tweeted.

Sharif spoke to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to express his condolences.

'We are equal participants in your grief. The criminals will be truly punished and bringing an end to terrorism is the commitment of the entire nation,' he said.

He ordered an investigation into the incident and instructed that the critically injured persons be transferred to other hospitals on a helicopter.

Pakistan President Arif Alvi prayed for eternal peace for the departed souls and commiserated with the bereaved families.

He also wished speedy recovery for the injured and emphasised timely medical assistance to them.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan sought a detailed report on the blast from police.

He also visited the Combined Military Hospital in Peshawar, where he met and inquired about the health of injured persons.

Rahim Shah, a witness, told Dawn.com that more than 500 people were attending the convention when the blast occurred.

"We were listening to a bayan [sermon] when a powerful explosion knocked me unconscious," he said.

Shah narrated that when he regained consciousness, there was blood everywhere.

"People were screaming and even shots were fired," he added.

Sabeehullah, a 24-year-old JUI-F supporter who had his arm fractured by the blast, said the scale of injuries was horrifying.

'There was utter confusion, with human flesh, limbs, and body parts scattered throughout the area, alongside lifeless bodies. I found myself lying next to someone who had lost their limbs. The air was filled with the smell of human flesh,' he was quoted as saying in the report.

The JUI-F chief, in a statement issued by the party's media cell, expressed grief over the incident.

He sought an inquiry into the attack from Prime Minister Sharif and the KP government.

'May Allah raise the ranks of martyrs,' Fazl said and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.

He also appealed to JUI-F workers to immediately reach hospitals and provide blood donations.

In a tweet, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah vowed to bring the perpetrators of today's attack to justice.

'The cowardly acts of terrorists cannot dampen our spirits,' he said.

Former prime minister Imran Khan said he was saddened to learn about the blast and extended condolences to the victims' families.

'The rise in terror incidents across Pakistan particularly in KP, calls for an urgent need to reconsider our priorities,' he said, adding that the authorities should focus on eliminating terrorism.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban government in Afghanistan, has condemned the attack.

TTP spokesman Khalid Khurrasani also condemned the blast.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terrorist attacks following the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

On January 30, a Pakistan Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up during the afternoon prayers in a mosque in Peshawar, killing 101 people and injuring more than 200 others.

In February, heavily-armed TTP militants stormed the Karachi Police chief's office in Pakistan's most populous city, sparking gunfire that killed three rebels and four others, including two police constables.
The opposition on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should stop 'insulting' the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha and come to Parliament for a 'comprehensive' discussion without any time limits on the Manipur violence.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets during the inauguration of the 'Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam' at Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan on July 29, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Congress deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari said the first priority should be to hold a comprehensive and detailed discussion on the Manipur situation in Parliament, going by the fact that people have been killed and the chief minister himself has admitted that several such incidents have happened in the state.

No one knows how many incidents of rape have happened, he added.

"The prime minister, who under Article 75 of the Constitution, is answerable to Parliament -- Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha -- should come inside Parliament and speak," Tiwari said.

"Can he cite a reason for not coming to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha even when he is within the country. ...Till when will he stop insulting the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. This insult is not of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha but of India's 130 crore people. What is it that he wants to hide," the Congress leader asked, noting that the prime minister has not spoken a word on Manipur in Parliament.

What facts can be brought out in a two-hour discussion as opposition bloc INDIA's MPs have themselves seen the situation in Manipur and want to put across what they have witnessed, he said, demanding a detailed discussion in Parliament on the ethnic violence in the northeastern state.

"Remember, Mahabharat was held for one Droupadi, but here the modesty of several Droupadis is being outraged," he said, adding that in the Manipur case, the 'modesty of a Kargil soldier's wife is being outraged'.

"We want a discussion under rule 267 and all other business should be set aside and the prime minister, who knows everything, should come to the House and a discussion without any time limit be held," the Congress leader said.

Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien said the prime minister has not come to Parliament for even 20 seconds in the eight days of the Monsoon session so far.

"Where is the prime minister of India on day eight of Parliament," he asked.

Manipur situation is a serious issue with all parties asking for a discussion under the emergency rule by suspending all other business, but no discussion is being held, he said.

"Why can't the prime minister come? We are all ready to discuss Manipur," O'Brien said.

He said the INDIA delegation went to Manipur after a Congress delegation under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi went there, besides some other parties that saw the ground situation in the state.

"We want to discuss Manipur under an emergency rule, not a 'toast and butter' rule of 176. A 1.5 hour or two-hour discussion is not done. That is 'toast and butter' rule, we want a full meal discussion on Manipur.

"Mister Prime Minister, who the hell do you think you are. Pandit Nehru had come and spoke in Rajya Sabha on a serious subject and participated in the debate," the TMC leader said.

Former prime ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh had come to the Rajya Sabha to discuss issues, even Rajiv Gandhi had to came and discussed Bofors when he was falsely accused. He had the guts to come and discuss Bofors in the Rajya Sabha, O'Brien said.

"Mr Prime Minister, you are so arrogant. You have a heart of stone. The women and children of Manipur, the people of Manipur are suffering. They don't want a Maggie noodles of two-minute, two-hour discussion. We want a full-fledged discussion under emergency rule 267. Bring that and start the discussion at 2 pm. Do not mislead the young people of India, do not mislead them," he said.

Both houses of Parliament on Monday were adjourned amid uproar after opposition members insisted on a detailed discussion on the Manipur violence.

The opposition MPs have been demanding a discussion under rules after setting aside all business and the prime minister come to Parliament and make a statement on Manipur in both Houses.
The death toll from the powerful suicide bombing at a political convention of a hardline Islamist party in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province sharply rose to 54 on Monday, the police said as they intensified efforts to hunt down those behind the massive attack.

IMAGE: A man, who was injured after a blast in Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, being taken to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, on July 30, 2023. Photograph: Fayaz Aziz/Reuters

The police also said that an initial probe has suggested that the banned terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is behind the suicide attack that injured over 100 people in Khar, the capital of Bajaur tribal district.

The local branch of ISIS has previously targeted JUI-F party leaders as they consider them apostates.

The attack took place on Sunday when more than 400 members of the conservative Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl party, known for its links to hardline political Islam, had gathered for a meeting under a large tent in the town of Khar, which borders Afghanistan.

The JUI-F is a party that is part of the coalition government led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

The major terror attack occurred as Pakistani political parties are beginning campaign preparations ahead of elections in the coming months.

Pakistan President Arif Alvi prayed for eternal peace for the departed souls. He also wished speedy recovery for the injured and emphasised timely medical assistance to them.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan sought a detailed report on the blast from police.

He also visited the Combined Military Hospital in Peshawar, where he met and inquired about the health of injured persons.

Rahim Shah, a witness, told Dawn.com that more than 500 people were attending the convention when the blast occurred.

"We were listening to a bayan [sermon] when a powerful explosion knocked me unconscious, he said. Shah narrated that when he regained consciousness, there was blood everywhere. People were screaming and even shots were fired," he added.

Sabeehullah, a 24-year-old JUI-F supporter who had his arm fractured by the blast, said the scale of injuries was horrifying.

"There was utter confusion, with human flesh, limbs, and body parts scattered throughout the area, alongside lifeless bodies. I found myself lying next to someone who had lost their limbs. The air was filled with the smell of human flesh," he was quoted as saying in the report.

The JUI-F chief, in a statement issued by the party's media cell, expressed grief over the incident. He sought an inquiry into the attack from Prime Minister Sharif and the KP government.

May Allah raise the ranks of martyrs, Fazl said and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.

He also appealed to JUI-F workers to immediately reach hospitals and provide blood donations.

In a tweet, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah vowed to bring the perpetrators of today's attack to justice.

The cowardly acts of terrorists cannot dampen our spirits," he said.

Former prime minister Imran Khan said he was saddened to learn about the blast and extended condolences to the victims' families.

The rise in terror incidents across Pakistan particularly in KP, calls for an urgent need to reconsider our priorities, he said, adding that the authorities should focus on eliminating terrorism.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban government in Afghanistan, has condemned the attack. TTP spokesman Khalid Khurrasani also condemned the blast.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terrorist attacks following the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

On January 30, a Pakistan Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up during the afternoon prayers in a mosque in Peshawar, killing 101 people and injuring more than 200 others.

In February, heavily armed TTP militants stormed the Karachi Police chief's office in Pakistan's most populous city, sparking gunfire that killed three rebels and four others, including two police constables.
A Railway Protection Force constable on Monday shot dead his senior colleague and three passengers in two bogies and a pantry car on board the moving Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express near Palghar railway station in Maharashtra, officials said.

IMAGE: After killing his senior, the RPF constable went to other bogies and shot dead three passengers. Photograph: Sahil Salvi

He was nabbed later while trying to flee after pulling the chain of the train which stopped between Mira Road and Dahisar stations (on Mumbai suburban network).

Constable Chetan Singh (34) shot dead RPF assistant sub-inspector Tika Ram Meena and another passenger in B5 coach with his automatic weapon. He shot dead another passenger in B6 coach, and one more in the pantry car located between B5 and B6 coaches, a railway official said.

The deceased passengers were identified as Abdul Qadirbhai Mohammed Hussain Bhanpurwala (48), Akhtar Abbas Ali (48), and Sadar Mohammed Hussain.

Earlier in the day, the GRP control room and a senior official had identified the accused as Chetan Kumar Choudhary.

In the afternoon, GRP commissioner Ravindra Shisve told reporters the constable has been identified as Chetan Singh.

According to an official, Singh was later nabbed by Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel and his weapon was seized while he was trying to flee when the train stopped between Mira Road and Dahisar stations after passengers pulled the chain.

Palghar is around 100 km from Mumbai.

"The incident occurred after 5 am after the Mumbai-bound Jaipur Superfast Express crossed Vapi station (in Gujarat). RPF constable Chetan Singh, who was on escort duty, opened fire at his senior Tika Ram Meena and went on shooting dead three more passengers in different bogies of the train," Government Railway Police (GRP) commissioner Ravindra Shisve told media-persons.

He said the exact reason behind the incident is not known yet as an investigation is underway.

"Police are enquiring with passengers and RPF personnel, who were part of the escort party, and staffers of the pantry car," he said.

A senior railway official said Singh pulled the alarm chain between Mira Road and Dahisar stations at 5.59 am, jumped out of the train, and tried to flee but was nabbed.

Queried on a video purportedly showing the accused constable present near dead bodies and apparently justifying the killings, Shisve said the video clip is being examined along with other materials.

"It is too early to jump to any conclusion, and at this stage, it will be premature to comment anything and share any details about the probe," Shisve said, adding that police will investigate and examine whatever material they get.

"This is the first-of-its-kind of the incident on a running train. Passengers are scared. We want to assure them that the police will investigate the incident in detail," he added.

The GRP has formed an SIT to probe the incident.

Another senior police official said the accused RPF constable was very short-tempered.

According to GRP, Singh fired 12 rounds from his automatic weapon. The GRP recovered eight bullets from his automatic weapon after the incident.

Singh, who hails from Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, is in the custody of the Mira Road railway police, the official said.

The four bodies were taken out of the train at Borivali railway station, he said.

According to railway officials, four RPF personnel, including the constable Singh, were escorting the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express from Surat station in Gujarat on Monday.

The four-member team earlier escorted Dadar-Porbandar Saurashtra Express up to Surat station the previous day. On the return journey, the escorting party was guarding the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express, a senior railway official said.

Western Railway's (WR) chief public relations officer Sumit Thakur told PTI the accused constable was attached to the Lower Parel RPF post in Mumbai, while ASI Tika Ram Meena was attached to the Dadar RPF post.

The Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express departed from Jaipur station at 2.01 pm on Sunday and reached Surat, where the escort party boarded the train at 2.47 am on Monday.

Later, the train stopped at its official halt at Vapi in Gujarat, from where it departed one minute late at 4.08 am, as per the official running status of the train.

Thakur said an alarm chain pulling happened in the train near Dahisar station (in Mumbai), where the accused constable jumped and ran away, but was nabbed at Mira Road.

(After the incident) The train was held up at Borivali station for about an hour from 6.21 am to 7.15 am. It reached its final destination Mumbai Central station at 8.07 am, about 72 minutes late, as per the train's running status

Most of the passengers from the B5 and B6 coaches alighted at Borivali station.

A senior RPF official said ASI Meena hailed from Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan. He was supposed to retire in 2025.

According to railway officials, the accused constable was transferred to Mumbai from the Bhavnagar division last March and had recently visited his native place Hathras. He joined duty on July 17.

He was arrested under section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act.

An ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh has been announced for the kin of the deceased ASI Meena, a senior Western Railway official said.

Meena's kin will be given Rs 15 lakh from the Railway Suraksha Kalyan Nidhi (fund), apart from funeral expenses of Rs 20,000. His kin will also get a sum from the death-cum-retirement gratuity and group insurance scheme, Thakur said.

Asked about compensation for the families of the other three victims of the train firing incident, Thakur said, "Ex-gratia will be given."

Meena is survived by his wife, a 25-year-old son and two daughters aged 18 and 20 years. His daughter and son-in-law have reached the Kandivali-based hospital in Mumbais northern suburbs to claim the body.

Singh was staying in the barracks. His family includes his wife, two children aged 6 and 8, and his parents.
Heralding what the company calls the start of a new era of connectivity, Hughes Network Systems JUPITER 3 ultra-high-density satellite has successfully launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

Described as the largest commercial communications satellite ever built, it will more than double the capacity of the Hughes JUPITER fleet and is engineered to deliver gigabytes of connectivity to customers across North and South America.

Hamid Akhavan, CEO of parent company EchoStar, says: JUPITER 3 is the highest-capacity, highest-performing satellite weve ever launched, adding: This purpose-built satellite is engineered uniquely to meet our customers needs and target capacity where its needed most, such as the most rural regions of the Americas.

Over the coming weeks, JUPITER 3 will travel into a geosynchronous orbit 35,786 kilometres above the Earth to its destination at the 95 degrees west orbital slot. It will then undergo extensive bus and payload testing before entering service and augmenting the Hughes JUPITER fleet with more than 500 Gbps of additional capacity.

With this satellite, Hughes says it will enhance its HughesNet satellite internet offerings for customers in Latin America and the US with more broadband capacity overall and higher speed plans in many marketssome with download speeds up to 100 Mbps.

The company says it will also offer higher speed HughesNet Fusion plans, a reference to the low-latency home internet that leverages multipath technology to blend satellite and wireless technologies seamlessly into a low-latency satellite internet experience.

The new satellite will also support applications such as in-flight Wi-Fi, enterprise networking and cellular backhaul for mobile network operators.

The Via Satellite news service points out that the new satellite will give Hughes much-needed capacity as the satellite operator is maxed out on its current fleet and losing subscribers amid competition from Starlink. It adds that the new satellite was originally supposed to launch in 2021 but was held back by a number of delays.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a fresh public interest litigation (PIL) on the Manipur violence seeking among other things a special investigation team (SIT) probe into alleged poppy cultivation and narco-terrorism.

IMAGE: Manipuri people arrive in Imphal from Mizoram in response to safety concerns raised by the Peace Accord MNF Returnees' Association (PAMRA), in Imphal on Sunday. Photograph: ANI Photo

It asked for a 'more specific' petition and said this one was 'very difficult' to entertain because it blamed only one community.

Senior advocate Madhavi Diwan, appearing for the petitioner Mayanglambam Bobby Meetei, sought to withdraw the plea and was allowed to do so.

"This petition is very difficult to entertain because it places blame on one community," said the bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandcrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

"You can come with a more specific petition. This petition has everything from the violence to narcotics to deforestation," the bench said.

Diwan referred to cross-border terrorism and poppy cultivation in the state as responsible for the recent violence.

The plea made the Narcotics Control Bureau, the National Investigation Agency and the NHRC as well as the state government among others as parties.

The bench has before it a clutch of other petitions pertaining to several aspects of Manipur violence.

At least 150 people have been killed and several hundred 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 majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
'You don't have any options within the BJP. You only have to follow the orders of the top leadership.'

IMAGE: Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, right, welcomes Union Home Minister Amit A Shah at Bhopal airport, July 11, 2023, as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, centre, looks on. Photograph: ANI Photo

The Bharatiya Janata Party's decision to appoint Narendra Singh Tomar as convener of the election management committee for the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections is being seen as a setback for Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who was looking for a bigger role in the state before the elections.

The BJP is already battling factionalism in the Gwalior-Chambal region.

The battle for supremacy and factionalism in the region has been at its peak since early 2020, when Scindia and his loyalists quit the Congress to align with the BJP.

"There is no doubt that local BJP leaders in Chambal have not been able to process Scindia's entry into the party. If the leaders at the local level are not able to accept him, on what basis should he be given the responsibility of the entire state?" asks senior journalist and political analyst Girija Shankar.

"The demand that Scindia be given a bigger role was started by his supporters. Fact is, Scindia got what he bargained for when he defected to the BJP. His adherents were made ministers, given assembly tickets, and losers accommodated on corporation boards. You cannot bargain twice for the same thing," adds Girija Shankar.

"Now he has the same status in the party as the other leaders. When the party did not give any role to Narottam Mishra, Kailash Vijayvargiya, Faggan Singh Kulaste, or Virendra Kumar Khatik in the MP elections, it was too much for Scindia to expect this," he observes.

IMAGE: Jyotiraditya Scindia, left, meets Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the Madhya Pradesh chief minister's residence in Bhopal, July 4, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

A BJP leader from the Gwalior-Chambal region says, "While Tomar's organisational skills make him the right fit for the role, another task he has to accomplish is to create a level playing field between the BJP veterans and Scindia's votaries."

Another political analyst, Rakesh Dixit, says, "There should be no confrontation between Scindia and Tomar. Both are from the Gwalior-Chambal region, but Tomar's influence is in the Bhind-Morena region north of Gwalior, while Scindia's in the Guna-Shivpuri region south of Gwalior."

"Tomar is also close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has good relations with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. He has successfully led election campaigns in the past."

"Tomar or no Tomar, Scindia's influence is going to be reduced. Not having an important role in the election process, he will also find it difficult to get tickets for his comrades," says Dixit.

"We all know that these things were not mentioned in the deal that took place during his defection with the Members of Legislative Assembly. That means the BJP leadership is now free to distribute tickets in accordance with its wishes. Scindia is also not in a position to rebel against the party."

IMAGE: BJP National President J P Nadda, third from right, with Union Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, right, and Narendra Singh Tomar, left, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, second fropm left, and state BJP President V D Sharma, second from right, at the party's Booth President Sammelan at the Motilal Nehru Stadium in Bhopal, March 26, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

A BJP leader considered close to Scindia said on condition of anonymity, "There is no one matching Tomar's experience and electoral expertise. Scindia is also happy with the latest developments because, after all, the aim is to win the election."

"Anyway, you don't have any options within the BJP. You only have to follow the orders of the top leadership," adds the BJP leader.

"Home Minister Amit Shah said in his recent visit to Bhopal that we have to give our all to win the election. As far as ticket distribution is concerned in these elections, the only criterion is winnability. It doesn't matter whether he is a Congress convert to the BJP or a BJP veteran."

There are 34 assembly seats in the eight districts of Gwalior and Chambal. In 2018, the Congress won 26 of these, the BJP got seven, and the Bahujan Samaj Party got one. But then, Scindia was with the Congress.

Circumstances have since changed. In this area, 20 per cent of the population belongs to the Dalit community, which the Congress wants to bring into its fold.

After the fall of the Kamal Nath government, by-elections were held for 28 seats, of which the BJP got 19 and the Congress nine.

According to analysts, the absence of pressure from the Scindia camp in ticket distribution will be to its advantage.

Priyanka Gandhi's visit to Rani Laxmibai's memorial for the first time during her recent visit to Gwalior is also an indication that the party will make Scindia's betrayal a talking point (if need be).

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Tuesday visit Maharashtra's Pune city where he will lay the foundation stone of various development projects and also receive the Lokmanya Tilak National Award.

IMAGE: NCP chief Sharad Pawar with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photograph: ANI Photo

After his arrival, Modi will perform 'darshan and pooja' at Dagdusheth Mandir.

At 11.45 am, he will be conferred the Lokmanya Tilak National Award, constituted by Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust in 1983, to honour the legacy of Lokmanya Tilak, as per a statement issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has been invited as chief guest for the event, organisers earlier said.

Rohit Tilak, vice president of the trust, confirmed on Monday that Pawar will attend the award ceremony.

"There is no change in the programme. Pawar Saheb, who is the chief guest, will be attending the event. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais, and Sushil Kumar Shinde, who is also a trustee, will also be attending the event," he said.

Rohit Tilak said theirs is an apolitical organisation and the award has been conferred on people from all walks of life.

The award is given to people who have worked for the progress and development of the nation and whose contribution can only be looked upon as remarkable and extraordinary, the PIB statement said.

It is presented every year on August 1, the death anniversary of Lokmanya Tilak, the statement said.

Prime Minister Modi will become the 41st recipient of the award. It has previously been presented to luminaries such as Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, Pranab Mukherjee, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Indira Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, N R Narayana Murthy, E Sreedharan, among others.

At 12.45 pm, the prime minister will flag off Metro trains and inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for various development projects, the statement said.

Modi will flag off Metro trains marking the inauguration of services on completed sections of the two corridors of Pune Metro Phase I. These sections are from Phugewadi station to Civil Court station and Garware College station to Ruby Hall Clinic station, it said.

The foundation stone for the project was also laid by PM Modi in 2016.

The new sections will connect important places of Pune city like Shivaji Nagar, Civil Court, Pune Municipal Corporation office, Pune RTO and Pune Railway Station.

The inauguration is an important step towards realising the vision of the prime minister to provide the citizens with modern and environment-friendly mass rapid urban transport systems across the country, the statement said.

Prime Minister Modi will also inaugurate the Waste to Energy Plant under Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).

Developed at a cost of about Rs 300 crore, it will use up about 2.5 lakh MT of waste annually to produce electricity, the statement said.

Moving ahead towards the mission of achieving housing for all, Prime Minister Modi will hand over more than 1,280 houses constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana by PCMC.

He will also hand over more than 2,650 PMAY houses constructed by the Pune Municipal Corporation. Further, Modi will also lay the foundation stone for around 1,190 PMAY houses to be constructed by the PCMC, and of more than 6,400 houses constructed by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority, the statement said.

Meanwhile, the opposition Congress's youth wing has put up posters with the message "Go Back Modi" in some parts of Pune city as a mark of protest against the unrest in Manipur.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I) Sandeep Singh Gill said they are in touch with the Pune Municipal Corporation to remove these unauthorised posters.

Members of the opposition bloc INDIA are also planning a protest against PM Modi's visit on Tuesday.

The opposition alliance members in a release said the prime minister has time to go to foreign countries, but not to Manipur, which has been witnessing ethnic classes since early May.
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

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Tonight

Mainly clear. Low 59F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.
Rep. Tristan Roberts with the staff of Almond Blossoms Schoolhouse in St. Albans, Vermont, at an event this session. Roberts supported and helped pass a major childcare bill this year that will provide a sustainable source of long-term funding for affordable childcare that pays a living wage.
BRATTLEBORO  A new program is set to prepare new members of all types of boards to lead their communities and know what roles are right for them.
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John Aberth of Roxbury is a volunteer licensed wildlife rehabilitator who rehabs beavers, raptors, and other animals at his facility, Flint Brook Wildlife Rescue. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of Vermont News & Media.
COFFEE SPRINGS  A 6-year-old boy died Sunday afternoon after drowning at a birthday party in Geneva County.

According to the Geneva County Sheriffs Office, the boy, later identified as Brantley Griffin, was attending a birthday party with around 70 people at J&Js Place At The Springs, when at around 3:18 p.m., he was reported missing.

Officials said Griffins family last saw him in a playground by a wooden area, and several family members and J&Js staff had searched the woods before sheriffs deputies arrived.

Shortly after 6 p.m., divers located Griffins body in a spring fed pool. His body will be transported to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy.

Multiple units responded to the scene as the Coffee County Sheriffs Office provided drones, the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation, Coffee Springs Fire and Rescue, Bellwood Fire and Rescue, Geneva Fire and Rescue aided in the ground search, and the Houston County Sheriffs Office and Opp Fire and Rescue provided divers and personnel for the water search.
A new study shows that 91 per cent of individuals find Generative AI and 85 per cent find automation to be helpful or miraculous.

However, theres a significant gap between leaders (51 per cent) and workers (25 per cent) adopting AI. While 66 per cent of knowledge workers believe their companies should use Generative AI, only 22 per cent have embraced it. Additionally, poor technology tools are costing companies up to 6 months of working hours each year, impacting productivity for 87 per cent of respondents, and 13 per cent are even considering quitting due to these issues.

Adobe has recently conducted research on Australian knowledge workers attitudes towards digital technologies and their impact on productivity. The report, titled The Future of Digital Work: Australia, sheds light on the factors that contribute to and hinder productivity, as well as the digital tools and processes crucial for a successful and content workforce.

The findings indicate that while 82 per cent of knowledge workers recognize the essential role of digital technologies in their day-to-day work, digital proficiency is lacking. Only a small fraction (10 per cent) considers themselves top experts, and just over one-third admit to merely getting by. The majority (72 per cent) of knowledge workers agree that digital documents are indispensable, followed by technology-supporting collaboration (65 per cent) and video conferencing (58 per cent).

As hybrid work arrangements become more common, leaders tend to rely more on collaboration and video conferencing tools, while employees prefer instant messaging platforms and digital approval tools for communication and workflow needs. Despite the increasing adoption of digital technologies, paper-based work remains prevalent in many workplaces, with more than one-third of knowledge workers stating that at least half of their work still involves paper.

Generative AI emerges as a game-changer for knowledge workers, with respondents highlighting its benefits, such as accelerated work processes (86 per cent), elimination of redundant tasks (84 per cent), more time for engaging and meaningful work (83 per cent), and production of high-quality output (83 per cent). However, despite its advantages, only 22 per cent of respondents reported that their companies currently utilize generative AI. Nevertheless, 58 per cent of workers anticipate regular usage of this technology in the coming years, showcasing their confidence in its value.

Both leaders and employees acknowledge the positive impact of AI on their work, with 68 per cent recognizing its influence. 23 per cent even consider it miraculous, and 24 per cent claim it has revolutionized their work for the better. Interestingly, more businesses have adopted AI solutions than the workforce is aware of, with 52 per cent of leaders acknowledging their organizations use of AI compared to 25 per cent of employees.

The study also reveals a shift in traditional notions of productivity, with Australians redefining success in the workplace by prioritizing impact alongside volume and speed. Knowledge workers are almost twice as likely to equate productivity with doing impactful work rather than simply focusing on efficiency. Employees themselves are leading this paradigm shift, with 52 per cent emphasizing the importance of impactful work, even surpassing their leaders (43 per cent).

Despite the growing reliance on digital tools, poor technology hampers productivity, according to 87 per cent of knowledge workers. Of these, 12 per cent say its killing productivity. Leaders echo this sentiment, with 88 per cent agreeing that substandard technology negatively affects productivity, resulting in significant time lossup to 2-4 hours per day, translating to up to 25 weeks (6 months) per working year.

Poor technology also impacts talent retention, with 13 per cent of employees considering quitting their job in the next six months due to work technology hindering productivity. This figure rises to 39 per cent for full-time remote workers.

Chandra Sinnathamby, Director, Digital Media B2B Strategy & GTM, Asia-Pacific, highlights the importance of overcoming technological barriers and embracing digital tools to unlock productivity and satisfaction in the future workforce. Automation and AI hold the potential to revolutionize work, while generative AI offers promise in enhancing document workflows and delivering higher-quality work. By embracing technology, organizations can empower their workforce and unleash its full potential.

Adobes The Future of Digital Work: Australia

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Vikneshwariy Sivakumara, a 25-year-old Sri Lankan woman, found her "soulmate" on Facebook. She met Laxman, a 28-year-old Indian man from Andhra Pradesh's Venkatagirikota town, through the social media platform in 2017. Over the years, their virtual connection blossomed into love, leading them to tie the knot at a temple in Andhra Pradesh on July 20, as per sources.

However, Vikneshwariy's tourist visa is set to expire on August 6, creating a potential legal hurdle for the newlyweds. In response to the news of marriage going viral on social media, the Chittoor district police issued a notice to Vikneshwariy, urging her to address the visa situation promptly.

Despite the challenges, Vikneshwariy expressed her desire to obtain Indian citizenship, and there are indications that her visa may be extended. To ensure a smooth transition, the police advised the couple to formally register their marriage in accordance with immigration rules. The district Superintendent of Police, Y Rishanth Reddy, also provided Vikneshwariy with essential information about the process and criteria for acquiring Indian citizenship.

The origin of cross-border love tales

The tales of cross-border love started emerging after the story of Seema Haider from Uttar Pradesh, India. As per Seema, a 30-year-old Pakistani woman, she found "love" in Sachin Meena, a 25-year-old Indian resident of Greater Noida.

Seema's journey began when she illegally entered India through Nepal over two months ago, seeking asylum with her four children. Fearful of deportation to Pakistan, where she believed her life would be in danger, Seema expressed her desperation to stay in India by saying, "Don't send me back to Pakistan, as in Pakistan awaits my death."

Upon further investigation, it was revealed that Seema had entered India to marry Sachin, whom she had met while playing the online game PUBG. The duo was granted bail by a court in Greater Noida on July 7, after spending time in police custody.

The Uttar Pradesh Police's Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) continued to question Seema and Sachin, leaving no stones unturned in their efforts to uncover any potential security implications. However, the police have refrained from speculating on Seema's connections, emphasising the importance of concrete evidence before making any assertions.
A team of 20 Indian doctors at BLK Max, New Delhi performed a rare two-way swap liver transplant, granting a new life to two Uzbekistan nationals. Overcoming the challenges of ABO incompatibility, the medical team, devised an innovative solution where willing donors exchanged organs to match the blood groups of the recipients.

ABO-incompatible transplants, where the blood type of the donor and recipient are not compatible have a high rate of rejection by the recipient's body, and this apparent mismatch of blood groups posed a significant obstacle to the success of liver transplants. The immune system recognizes the transplanted organ as foreign and launches an immune response which leads to a potential rejection of the liver and endangers the life of the recipient.

The medical team conducted four simultaneous surgeries, exhibiting exceptional perseverance and achieving a ground-breaking milestone in medical history by saving the lives of both 41-year-old Gulyam and 51-year-old Matlubakhon who hail from Uzbekistan.

The intricacy of the situation stemmed from the challenging ABO incompatibility between the patients and their designated donors. While Gulyams blood group was B, his son, who volunteered to donate, had blood group A. Similarly, Matlubakhon, who also required an urgent transplant, had blood group A, while her sisters blood group was B.



Family swap liver transplants for foreign nationals are extremely rare as it demands the patient and donor to be of the same nationality and the donors being close relatives. The procedure also necessitates that both surgeries take place simultaneously. Undeterred by the complexity of the situation, the Indian medical team led by Dr. Abhideep Chaudhary, vice chairman and HOD, HPB Surgery, and Liver Transplantation, BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital devised an innovative solution to address this life-threatening predicament.

Dr Abhideep Chaudhary speaking to Republic said, "This remarkable swap liver transplant offered an extraordinary chance for a cure to both recipients who were in dire need of compatible livers. After gaining approval from both families and securing necessary clearances from the authorization committee, our medical team conducted all four surgeries simultaneously. The swap transplant is indeed a challenging and complex procedure both medically as well as logistically, the dedication and skill demonstrated by our medical team comprising of 20 doctors have played a pivotal role in achieving the remarkable result,"

The two foreign nationals have now recovered completely and are discharged from the hospital. This surgery is one of the rarest surgeries performed by the Hospital till now. The recipients stayed with us for around 3 weeks each after the procedure while the donors got discharged after 1 week each. It took around a month to find compatible swap matches for the recipients. The recipient knew about the hospital via previous patients (via word of mouth) who had already undergone liver transplant at BLK Max and were doing well post-liver transplant, he added.
In a bid to prevent the influx of illegal immigrants, Assam Rifles on Monday, July 31 enhanced the vigilance along the India-Myanmar border. This comes amid the escalating ethnic tensions between Meiteis and Kukis in Manipur owing to illegal migration of tribal kuki-chin people into India from Myanmar.

Notably, several Myanmar nationals entered Manipur through the India-Myanmar border after the ethnic clashes erupted in Manipur between the two communities. According to the reports from the government, the illegal immigrants from Myanmar were largely involved in the violent activities in the state.

To do a ground reality check on the vigilance along the Indo-Myanmar border, Republic Media Network travelled to the border where apart from illegal immigrants, smugglers also carry out their illegal trade.

According to reports, the India-Myanmar border is manned by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). However, after the ethnic clashes broke out in the state, the central government deployed battalions of Indian Army and Border Security Force (BSF) to control the violence and restore peace in the state.

Fencing along India-Myanmar border

Amid the reports of violent incidents from the North-eastern state of Manipur, the central government sped up fencing along the India-Myanmar border.

The fencing, according to the government, is being erected on the Indo-Myanmar border along with the fencing along the Indo-Pakistan border and the Indo-Bangladesh border.
The leader of the European Union's executive commission cited Russia's invasion of Ukraine to warn against Chinas increasingly assertive actions in disputed Indo-Pacific waters and against Taiwan and said Monday that the EU would not tolerate aggression in either region.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke at a joint news conference with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. after holding talks in Manila that aimed to bolster trade, economic and security relations.

The leaders announced the 27-nation bloc would resume negotiations with the Philippines on a free trade agreement that stalled in 2017 under Marcoss predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.

Von der Leyen also stressed the need for security cooperation, saying Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine showed how authoritarian leaders are willing to act on their threats."

"Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine shakes the foundation of the international order. It is in violation of the U.N. charter and the fundamental principles of international law, such as territorial integrity and sovereignty, she said.

This is why Europe supports Ukraines brave fight against the aggressor, because the illegal use of force cannot be tolerated, not in Ukraine, not in the Indo-Pacific, von der Leyen said. Security in Europe and security in the Indo-Pacific is indivisible. Challenges to the rules-based order in our interconnected world affect all of us.

This is why we are concerned about the rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific, she said, adding that the EU backs a free and open Indo-Pacific because an Indo-Pacific free of the threats of coercion is key to all our stability to our peace, and to the prosperity of our people."

Without naming China, von der Leyen reaffirmed the EUs recognition of a decision by a U.N.-backed tribunal that invalidated Chinas territorial claims in virtually the entire South China Sea on historical grounds. China has rejected the arbitration decision as a sham and continues to defy it.

Von der Leyens visit to the Philippines is a sign of improving ties after a stormy period between the EU and Duterte over human rights. Its the first such top-level visit in nearly six decades of Europe-Philippines relations.

The EU leader later spoke more bluntly against China at a business forum in Manila, where she warned that Beijings increasingly aggressive actions in Asia could also have global repercussions.

She criticized China's stance on the war in Ukraine, its increasingly aggressive actions in disputed Asian waters and its provocative moves against Taiwan.

Chinas show of military force in the South and East China seas and in the Taiwan Strait directly affects Philippines and other partners in the region," the EU leader said. But it could also have global repercussions because any weakening of regional stability in Asia...affects global security, the free flow of trade and our own interests in the region."

Beijing has turned seven disputed reefs into missile-protected island bases in the last decade, further alarming Western governments and rival claimants, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

China's fleet of coast guard ships and swarms of militia boats have warned vessels from rival claimant states and the U.S. military and its allies not to stray into its claimed territories in the disputed waters, which straddle one of the world's busiest sea lanes and are believed to be sitting atop undersea deposits of oil and gas.

Von der Leyen urged Asian nations never to rely on a single supplier for energy and raw materials, citing how Russia tried to blackmail us by considerably cutting its natural gas supply to European countries after the EU imposed sanctions against Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.

"We could not choose our neighbors, but we can choose who to do business with and on what terms, she said. We made a mistake with Russia.

The Philippines, she said, exports 90% of its nickel ore to China instead of processing it inside the country to create more jobs and added value, she said. But this can change.

There was no immediate reaction from China to von der Leyen's remarks. China has warned the United States and its allies from meddling in what it says is a purely Asian dispute.

The Philippines came under intense EU criticism during Dutertes six-year term, mainly because of the bloody anti-drugs crackdown he oversaw that left more than 6,000 mostly petty suspects dead. Marcos succeeded Duterte in June 2022.

The killings sparked an International Criminal Court investigation as a possible crime against humanity. Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2018, but its prosecutor has proceeded to investigate the widespread deaths that occurred in the years when the country was still part of The Hague-based court.

Duterte often lashed at EU criticism of the brutal anti-drugs crackdown with profanity-laced outbursts.

Marcos and von der Leyen said relations between the EU and the Philippines were entering a new era.

We are like-minded partners through our shared values of democracy, sustainable and inclusive prosperity, the rule of law, peace and stability, and human rights, Marcos said, comments that reflected a stark departure from Duterte's hostile rhetoric against the EU.
Greeces prime minister said Monday that his government wants to take full advantage of a developing positive political climate with neighboring Turkey in order to improve bilateral relations despite a string of decades-old disputes.

But Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that doesnt mean Turkey has substantially changed its stance on key differences between the two countries and needs to decisively abandon its aggressive and unlawful conduct against Greeces sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Turkey and Greece remain at odds over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, a dispute that affects irregular migration into the European Union, mineral rights and the projection of military power. Mitsotakis said that he agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12 to initiate new lines of communication and to maintain a period of calm.

High-level talks between the the two countries are expected to take place in the Greek city of Thessaloniki later this year. However, the Greek prime minister said that Erdogans outreach to the EU cant come at the expense of efforts to heal Cyprus nearly half-century ethnic division. Speaking after talks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Mitsotakis said that he told Erdogan that improved European-Turkish ties cant exclude a Cyprus peace accord and that the issue cant be left by the wayside. Turkey and the breakaway Turkish Cypriots have insisted on a two-state solution since July 2017 when the most recent round of U.N.-facilitated peace talks collapsed.

That position overturned a long-standing agreement sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in numerous resolutions that any peace deal would aim for a reunified Cyprus as a federation made up of Greek and Turkish speaking zones. Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the islands northern third, where more than 35,000 Turkish troops are stationed.

On Friday, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar repeated that peace talks could resume only if Greek Cypriots recognize the Turkish Cypriots sovereign equality. Christodoulides said Monday that any improvement in European-Turkish relations should be based on reciprocal action by Turkey, adding that the EU prioritizes a Cyprus peace deal in line with U.N. resolutions.
In a significant move to strengthen its airpower and counter potential threats from Iran and Russia, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has received a boost with the deployment of a dozen F-35 stealth fighters to the Middle East. This deployment comes in the wake of increasing harassment of U.S. aircraft by Russian jets over Syria. The F-35 deployment, coupled with the recent arrival of stealth F-22s to Jordan, showcases the U.S.'s commitment to safeguarding its interests and ensuring the freedom of navigation in the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

As tensions continue to escalate in the region, the U.S. Defense Department's decision to reinforce its presence underscores the importance of maintaining stability and security in this strategic part of the world. The U.S. Central Command has received a significant reinforcement with the arrival of a dozen F-35 stealth fighters in the Middle East. The move is aimed at bolstering airpower in the region and deterring potential adversaries, especially Iran and Russia.

Strategic Significance of Deploying Stealth Fighters

The deployment comes amidst escalating harassment of U.S. aircraft by Russian jets over Syria, adding to the already heightened hostilities in the area. The deployment of F-35 stealth fighters signifies the U.S.'s commitment to strengthening its capabilities in the region. With the presence of the F-35s, the U.S. aims to showcase its advanced airpower, surpassing competing fighter jets like the Russian-Chinese JF-17, and reinforcing its role as a dominant force in the region. The stealth technology of the F-35 enhances its ability to operate undetected, providing a tactical advantage in surveillance and defense operations.

U.S. Air Force F-35s deploy to the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility to help defend U.S. interests, promote regional security and safeguard freedom of navigation.https://t.co/V2pTvlqIKJ@CENTCOM @DeptofDefense @usairforce pic.twitter.com/cKbAncsj8S  US AFCENT (@USAFCENT) July 26, 2023

Notably, the deployment of F-35s is in response to recent alarming events in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial narrow passage that connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. As approximately 20 percent of the global oil supply flows through this strategic waterway, ensuring the freedom of navigation is vital for international trade and economic stability. The presence of advanced fighter aircraft like the F-35 serves as a deterrent against potential threats and acts as a safeguard for U.S. interests in the region.

Heightened Hostilities and American contingency

In recent times, tensions in the Middle East have led to repeated threats from Iran and Russia, compelling the U.S. to reinforce its forces in the region. Incidents of harassment of U.S. MQ-9 drones by Russian aircraft in western Syria have raised concerns about safety and stability. The U.S. Air Force's deployment of additional F-22 Raptors last month had a noticeable impact on Russian behavior over the al-Tanf garrison. Furthermore, Iran's actions in capturing tankers and attempts to seize commercial vessels in the Gulf of Oman have necessitated the deployment of additional assets to protect maritime interests.

As hostilities continue to escalate, the presence of advanced fighter aircraft further underscores the U.S.'s role as a key player in maintaining peace and security in the Middle East. The addition of F-35 stealth fighters to the region has bolstered the fighter capacity and counterair capability of the U.S. Air Force in the Gulf and over Syria. Alongside A-10 Warthog tank-busters and F-16s, the F-35s provide a comprehensive aerial defense system to protect commercial shipping and counter potential threats. The U.S. remains committed to maintaining peace and stability in the region and continues to adjust its posture based on evolving operational needs.
A massive bomb blast ripped through a checkpoint on the Than Lwin Bridge in Myanmar killing one person and injuring 12. As per the reports, the blast injured 7 police personnel and 2 civilians. The incident took place at 7:30 am while the authorities were checking a white Honda car at Than Lwin Bridge checkpoint, according to the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). The explosion killed the male driver of a white Honda.

"The driver was killed. All the policemen were injured. Some were seriously injured. Two tourists were injured, a source close to the authorities told the news outlet. The army has reached the location to investigate the matter and the bridge is now closed. "While the security teams were checking the cars, a bomb exploded on top of a car. A man inside the car was killed by a bomb. The rest is the travelling public and security. Now sent to the hospital. Later, the patient's condition is unknown," a member of the social assistance group told DVB.

It is to mention that Myanmar is witnessing a rise in violent clashes since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government in February 2021. The junta has been fighting anti-coup "People's Defence Force" (PDF) militias, as well as long-established ethnic rebel armies that control large areas of territory close to the country's borders.

So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Than Lwin Bridge: A hard checkpoint to go through

According to the DVB, the Than Lwin Bridge is a multi-team checkpoint located at the exit of the Karen State of Baan Township. The police personnel deployed there to check the vehicle in a stringent manner for security reasons. A resident of Myaing Kalay Village said that the security personnel usually target and arrest the young people travelling in the area.

After the news of the incident broke out, military council forces arrived at the scene of the blast and blocked the roads. The forces closed the passageway and are conducting investigations. The situation across the nation has remained turbulent ever since the countrys military junta staged a coup in 2021 and ousted civilian leader and Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Victorian Government has announced measures to reduce the states reliance on fossil methane gas.

This decision aligns with the No More Gas campaigns Community Gas Retirement Roadmap, which strongly recommends prohibiting any further residential or commercial gas connections throughout the state. The key elements of the Victorian Governments plan, as unveiled by Environment Minister Lily DAmbrosio, are as follows:

All new planning permits will be required to refuse gas in favour of all-electric buildings, starting from 1 January.

Any future State Government buildings will be gas-free.

The government will offer a package of grants to support residential fuel switching.

A $10 million reskilling package will assist workers in transitioning to a post-gas energy economy.

These measures have been warmly embraced by Rewiring Australia, an organisation advocating for the transition to cleaner energy sources. The ban on new gas connections for houses and apartments is expected to not only reduce energy bills for households but also significantly cut down the states greenhouse gas emissions.

Research by Rewiring Australia has highlighted the financial benefits of replacing gas-powered appliances with modern, efficient, electric alternatives, especially when combined with rooftop solar systems.

For instance, the cost of a hot shower using gas is approximately 49 cents, but with a commercially-available, solar-powered heat pump, it plummets to just six cents. Similarly, heating a Victorian home with gas costs an average of $2.47 per day, but with a solar and battery-backed heat pump, the cost more than halves to $1.13.

Dr Saul Griffith, co-founder and chief scientist of Rewiring Australia, praised the decision for electrification as a means to lower household bills and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Electrification, according to Dr Griffith, is the fastest and most cost-effective way to significantly cut energy costs and emissions, especially considering that household decisions account for 42 per cent of emissions in the domestic consumption economy.

The policy extends to all new Victorian Government buildings, which will also be required to go fully electric. Additionally, an incentive package will help new homebuyers save $4,600 on solar technology while permanently lowering their energy bills.

The Climate Council also commended the Victorian governments decision, emphasizing that all-electric housing contributes to a cleaner environment and improved health for Victorians. The harmful impacts of burning gas at home, such as increasing the risk of childhood asthma, have long been known, and this shift away from gas is seen as a major stride toward clean, safe, and affordable homes.

The Energy Efficiency Council joined in welcoming the decision, stating that all-electric homes are not only cheaper to run but also healthier to live in, and they play a crucial role in lowering emissions.

Consumer group Renews analysis indicates that building an all-electric home could reduce household energy bills by 35 per cent, with potential savings doubling when paired with rooftop solar and energy efficiency upgrades. By redirecting the funds saved from energy bills to pay off home loans, families could shave off up to two years from an average 25-year mortgage in Melbourne. Induction cooktops are also gaining popularity, offering lightning-fast cooking experiences and being a healthier option compared to gas cooktops, which have been linked to respiratory conditions like asthma.

The Victorian Governments decision to phase out new gas connections for homes is a significant step toward a cleaner and more sustainable future. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), this move presents opportunities to adopt energy-efficient practices and technologies, potentially leading to lower operating costs and improved environmental credentials.

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Strongman Hun Sen has announced he will transfer power to his eldest son Hun Manet, after nearly four decades ruling Cambodia. Hun Manet, a former military chief and four-star general, is at the forefront of a major generational succession in the ruling party that will also see Interior Minister Sar Kheng and Defence Minister Tea Banh hand over their posts to their sons.
Tea Seiha is expected to take over from Tea Banh once the countrys one-sided election results are finalized.

In this photo posted on Sunday, Defense Minister Tea Banh (center) was seen visiting Ream Naval Base with his son Tea Seiha (far left).

Cambodias defense minister Tea Banh and his son Tea Seiha, who is soon widely believed to succeed him in the new cabinet, have visited a Chinese-funded naval base.

This is the first military project that the father-and-son duo visited since the one-sided general election, in which the ruling Cambodia Peoples Party won a landslide victory.

In a set of photos published on his Facebook page, defense minister Tea Banh was seen surrounded by Cambodian army officers during Sundays Ream Naval Base visit.

The project is proceeding according to plan, the Facebook post said without detailing the time schedule.

It will increase the Navy's capacity to a higher level in the future, it said.

Tea Seiha, 38, the second son of Tea Banh, was in the entourage, as well as Tea Vinh, Tea Banhs younger brother and Tea Vinhs son Tea Sokha.

Currently the governor of Siem Reap province, Tea Seiha is also a three-star general in the Royal Cambodian Army.

Leaked official documents seen by a RFA commentator billed him as the successor of Tea Banh as defense minister.

The Ream Naval Bases construction is near completion, according to media reports. Credit: Facebook: Tea Banh

A number of other leaders children are also expected to take over their parents positions, including Prime Minister Hun Sens son Hun Manet.

Tea Vinh is the current commander of the Royal Cambodian Navy. In November 2021, the U.S. Treasury Department announced it was sanctioning him for corruption related to the Ream Naval Base. His son Tea Sokha also serves in the Navy at the rank of major general.

According to plan

The construction of the base, located in Sihanoukville province on the Gulf of Thailand, is near completion, according to a recent report by the U.S. satellite imagery company BlackSky.

Earlier this month, Radio Free Asia also reported that satellite images obtained by RFA revealed significant developments at the base, which is now equipped with a deep draft pier that can accommodate aircraft carriers.

Compared to February this year, the pier has been measurably extended, with the usable pier length estimated to be roughly 300 meters (984 feet). That means it could provide access to full-size warships of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, including its new Type 003 aircraft carrier, Tom Shugart, Adjunct Senior Fellow with the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security, told RFA in an interview.

An area of reclaimed land in the southern part of the base has tripled in size to more than three hectares.

This combination photo shows the extent of work thats been done at Ream Naval Base in Cambodia between Aug. 18, 2021 [top] and July 13, 2023. The United States believes the base is intended for Chinese military use. Credit: AFP/BlackSky Technology Inc.





Craig Singleton, China Program deputy director and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, was quoted in the BlackSky report as saying that there is a near-exact similarity between the pier at the Ream base and another military pier at the PLA Support Base in Djibouti.

The speed of development at the Ream base makes it difficult to deny the intentional velocity behind Chinas overseas basing initiatives, Singleton was quoted as saying.

Thanks to its strategic location, the base would help Beijing boost its power projection not only in Southeast Asia but also the Taiwan Strait. This would be Chinas first naval staging facility in Southeast Asia and the second in the world after the base in Djibouti.

The Ream base construction began just two years ago in June 2021 with Beijings funding.

Cambodias Prime Minister Hun Sen reportedly assigned land to the Ministry of National Defense to develop an air defense command and general headquarters, as well as a naval radar system in Ream National Park, adjacent to the naval base.

Phnom Penh has repeatedly denied that China is being given exclusive military access to the base, saying that would contradict Cambodias constitution.

The U.S. Department of Defense's China Military Power Report in November 2022 said China has likely considered Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, among other places, as locations for PLA military logistics facilities.

Edited by Mike Firn.
Video clips show cars being engulfed and swept away as water gushes through city streets.

Cars are partially submerged as water gushes on a flooded street after Typhoon Doksuri made landfall and brought heavy rainfall, at the Mentougou district, in Beijing, China July 31, 2023, in this still image obtained from a social media video.

Authorities in Beijing have evacuated tens of thousands of local residents following heavy flooding in suburban areas to the west of the capital, amid warnings of further flooding and rainfall to come as Typhoon Doksuri dumped huge amounts of rainfall on mountainous areas nearby.

At least two people died as flash floods swept through Mentougou district on the outskirts of Beijing, with social media footage showing cars and other vehicles being swept away by turbulent floodwaters amid screams and shouts from onlookers in nearby buildings.

News photos showed people picking their way along damaged roads, after some 580 mm of rainfall hit the area over the weekend, the People's Daily newspaper reported.

Cheng Ming-tian, who heads the meteorological bureau in democratic Taiwan, said China typically has an average national daily rainfall of around 60 mm, which is already considered "torrential."

However, Mentougou had seen rainfall of 320 mm daily over several days, he said.

"The rains were too heavy for the flood discharge capacity, so it overflowed from the rivers to the nearby streets, which is why we see all that water rushing through the streets and the cars being swept away," Cheng told Radio Free Asia on Monday.

"The river isn't wide or deep enough [to carry all of the rainwater] and it can't accommodate all of the water from the overflowing drainage ditches," he said. "It's similar to the way things used to be in Taiwan -- it's a matter of urban development."

He said some atmospheric fluctuations over the weekend had strengthened Typhoon Duksuri, bringing the heavy rain to Beijing.

Upgraded flood warnings

More than 30,000 people have been relocated, as the Beijing municipal meteorological bureau issued a red warning signal for rainstorms and upgraded flood warnings to red on Monday, the Global Times newspaper reported.

"On Monday morning, about 80 employees from a distribution station of a logistics company in Zhoukoudian town in Fangshan [district] were stranded by the floods caused by the storm. The emergency rescue of these people is underway," it said.

People walk along a damaged road and vehicles swept by flood water in the Mentougou District as continuous rainfall triggers alerts in Beijing, Monday, July 31, 2023. Credit: AP

Videos posted to social media showed a number of people trapped by the floods, awaiting help, as well as footage of a man being dragged from the waters as first aiders tried to revive him, as others shouted: "It's too late! Too late!"

A Beijing resident who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals said they expect the losses from the floods to be heavy.

"There were casualties in those videos -- they were doing first aid, but there was no hope he would survive having been under for so long," the resident said.

A resident who gave only the surname Tang said she had personally seen hundreds of cars submerged in flood water, and had posted video footage that was later deleted.

Cars swept away

A resident surnamed Wang said the mountainous area around Fangshan was hardest hit by the flooding, and that state media were warning people to stay home for their own safety.

"Many people are awaiting rescue on higher ground, and many cars have been swept away by floodwaters," the Global Times reported, citing video clips sent by residents.

"Several other videos taken in Mentougou showed that water had flooded a bridge and also poured into some restaurants and large supermarkets," it said, adding that some areas had lost their piped water supply.

But it said most of the city was "functioning normally."

The municipal flood control headquarters has issued 28 emergency notices since Saturday night, including four "geological disasters" and a flash flood in Fangshan's Beixiasi village.

In total, 30,652 at-risk residents have been relocated, while 4,069 construction projects have been suspended, while around 150,000 flood control personnel remain on stand-by, the paper said.

A passenger train from Hami in the northwestern region of Xinjiang was stranded near Mentougou's Anjiazhuang station with a large number of children on board, the Beijing News reported.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie.
Military and civilian power grids, water supplies and communications may be threatened: New York Times

An analyst looks at code in the malware lab of a cyber security defense lab at the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, Idaho September 29, 2011.

The Biden administration is on the hunt for malware that may compromise military and civilian power grids, communications systems and water supplies, according to a report in the New York Times.

The malware, which is believed to have been inserted by Chinese hackers associated with the Peoples Liberation Army, could seek to disrupt and slow down any reaction by the U.S. military should China move against Taiwan, U.S. officials told the Times.

One congressional official said the malware was a ticking time bomb that could make it possible for China to cut off power, water and communications to military bases.

The malware could equally impact the homes and businesses of ordinary Americans, the same official said.

In response to questions from the Times ahead of publication of the report, the White House released a statement Friday that refrained from directly mentioning China or the military bases.

The Biden administration is working relentlessly to defend the United States from any disruptions to our critical infrastructure, including by coordinating interagency efforts to protect water systems, pipelines, rail and aviation systems, among others, said Adam Hodge, acting spokesperson for the National Security Council.

The report comes just two months after Microsoft announced that the presumed Chinese hacking group Storm-0558 had not only infiltrated official email accounts of government agencies in Western Europe but had gained access to email accounts affecting approximately 25 organizations including government agencies in the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attend a meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia July 9, 2022. Credit: Reuters

Meeting on the margins of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Jakarta, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised the Chinese cyberespionage attack targeting U.S. government emails with Wang Yi, Chinas leading diplomat.

Blinken told Wang that any action that targets the U.S. government, U.S. companies or American citizens is of deep concern to us, and that we will take appropriate action to hold those responsible accountable, according to a senior State Department official.

Chinese hackers are believed to have targeted email accounts at the State Department and other agencies  including that of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo  from May and were discovered just before Blinken visited Beijing in June.

Disruption not surveillance

According to the Times, more than a dozen U.S. officials and industry experts said that it was increasingly becoming apparent that Chinese infiltration of U.S. systems went well beyond telecommunications, and that U.S. efforts to track it down and eliminate it had been underway for some time.

Most spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential and in some cases classified assessments, the Times wrote.

Officials said it was still unknown how pervasive the malware code was worldwide because it was particularly well hidden.

China is steadfast and determined to penetrate our governments, our companies, our critical infrastructure, Deputy Director of the National Security Agency George Barnes said at the Intelligence and National Security Summit earlier this month.

Relations between the U.S. and China are at an all-time nadir since the normalization of relations half a century ago, with the two superpowers clashing over Taiwan and restrictions on Chinas access to high-tech semiconductor chips and both parties accusing the other of malicious activities in cyberspace.

The U.S. regularly accuses Beijing of hacker attacks against its agencies and infrastructure, and earlier this year, in a high-profile drama, it shot down a bus-size balloon off the South Carolina coast.

China routinely calls the U.S. the biggest hacking empire and global cyber thief.

Earlier this year a U.S. embassy spokesperson told RFA in an emailed comment: Since last year, cyber security institutions from China and elsewhere in the world have issued reports to reveal [the] U.S. governments cyber attacks against China over the years, but the U.S. has yet to make a response.

A man takes a closer look at the surveillance cameras by China's telecoms equipment giant Huawei on display at the China Public Security Expo in Shenzhen, China's Guangdong province, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019. Credit: AP

Among other things, China has accused the U.S. of hacking into its telecommunications giant Huawei, which according to documents leaked by Edward Snowden it probably did.

However, the latest malware revelations suggest that China is upping its game beyond surveillance.

The discovery of the malicious code in American infrastructure, one of Mr. Bidens most senior advisers said, raises the question of what, exactly, they are preparing for, the Times reported.

Microsoft first warned of the infiltration two months ago, singling out Guam  a key U.S. strategic asset in the Pacific  as a target, but later conceding that the malware is likely widely distributed and might be used to either disrupt a response by the U.S. to any regional conflict or distract the U.S. public by destabilizing local infrastructure.

In Washington, the Chinese embassy denied the veracity of the Times report.

We have always firmly opposed and cracked down on all forms of cyberattacking in accordance with the law, said Haoming Ouyang, an embassy spokesman.

The Chinese government agencies face numerous cyberattacks every day, most of which come from sources in the U.S., he wrote, adding: We hope relevant parties will stop smearing China with groundless accusations.

Edited by Mike Firn.
The move comes as investigators target the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force for investigation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping hands a military flag to Wei Fenghe, front center, former commander of the Rocket Force of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Credit: Xinhua via AP

Ruling Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping on Monday replaced the commander of the country's rocket corps -- which controls the country's nuclear missiles -- amid media reports of an investigation into his predecessor and his deputies.

At a ceremony held by the ruling party's Central Military Commission in Beijing on Monday, Xi named Wang Houbin as the new commander of the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force, promoting him and political commissar Xu Xisheng to the rank of general, state news agency Xinhua reported.

"The two officers promoted to the rank of general came to the rostrum full of energy," the report said.

"Xi Jinping issued orders to them and congratulated them. Wearing the epaulets of the rank of general, the two officers saluted Xi Jinping and all the comrades who participated in the ceremony, and the audience burst into enthusiastic applause," it said.

This X post by Hu Ping reads: This indirectly proves that something major happened to the original leadership team of the Rocket Army. These two newcomers have nothing to do with the Rocket Army, which shows that Xi Jinping is not at ease with the entire Rocket Army's original team. Twitter Screenshot

Wang's appointment, while not explained by state media reports, is widely seen as confirmation of reports that his predecessor Li Yuchao is under investigation behind the scenes.

"This is indirect proof that there was a [political] problem with the former leadership of the Rocket Force," U.S-based political commentator Hu Ping said via his X account on Monday.

"The fact that these two new appointments have no connection to the Rocket Force shows that Xi Jinping is uncomfortable with the entirety of the former Rocket Force team," Hu wrote.

Li was reportedly taken away for investigation in June, according to U.S.-based former PLA Navy Lt. Col. Yao Cheng, who posted the news on June 28 to X, formerly known as Twitter.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper then cited two sources on July 28 as saying Li Yuchao and his former deputies Zhang Zhenzhong and Liu Guangbin are currently under investigation by the commission's disciplinary arm, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Corruption or loyalty?

The investigation began some time after March, when Wei Fenghe retired as defense minister, the paper cited one source as saying.

"Almost all the senior generals [in the rocket force] had good reputations before their promotion. They became immoral after moving to Beijing headquarters, allowing them to have more chances to engage with defense-related enterprises," the paper quoted one source as saying.

The rocket force is "an important element in Beijings efforts to ramp up the military pressure on Taiwan," the paper said, citing Middlebury Institute of International Studies researcher Decker Eveleth.

Yao Cheng told Radio Free Asia on July 28 that the investigation has little to do with corruption, however, and that Xi is investigating the Rocket Force to ensure it continues to carry out his orders faithfully.

"This isn't about Xi Jinping rectifying them [due to corruption]," said Yao, who formerly served in the PLA Naval Command. "Xi Jinping wants them to fight a war, and they didn't want to, so now he's coming for them."

This X post by Yao Cheng reads: It is reported that Li Yuchao, the current commander of the Rocket Army, was taken away from his office the morning before yesterday! The commander and political commissar were transferred from the Central Theater and the Air Force. Since March, there have been three commanders, two deputy commanders, and several cadres at the military division level . The news is being further confirmed. Twitter / @HuPing1

"It's been the Rocket Force people who don't want to go along with Xi Jinping's plan," Yao said. "They don't want a war -- they fear war because they have a very clear idea of what their missile capabilities are."

"They know very well what the outcome would be of any surgical strike by U.S. forces," he said.

Yao said Xi is nonetheless determined to carry out a military invasion of democratic Taiwan, which has never been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party nor formed part of the 73-year-old People's Republic of China.

"He definitely wants to go to war," he said. "Otherwise, he can't realize [the goals of] his third term in office."

Readiness questions

Current affairs commentator Cai Shenkun said Xi's political attack on the Rocket Force raises questions about its readiness for military engagement.

"Xi Jinping's plan to forge a new Rocket Force is a major blow," he said. "There is a question mark over whether or not the Rocket Force is truly ready for war."

Meanwhile, China's internet censors have been deleting reports that Lt. Gen. Wu Guohua, a former deputy Rocket Force commander, died at the beginning of July.

Wu Guohua, the former deputy commander of the Rocket Army, died on July 4. A rumor of his cause of death spread on the Internet including sudden cerebral hemorrhage and suicide at home. Credit: Cantonese group cartography

Party-backed news site The Paper reported on July 27 that it had "learned from [his] relatives and friends that Lt. Gen. Wu Guohua, a former deputy commander in the rocket corps, died in Beijing on July 4, 2023 at the age of 66 due to medical issues."

The link to the story returned an error message when clicked on Monday, and the story had also been deleted from Sina.com's finance channel and Sohu.com, although cached versions of those syndicated stories were still available via Google.

An unconfirmed death notice also remained on the social media platform Sina Weibo on Monday.

"Comrade Wu Guohua, former deputy commander-in-chief of the Rocket Army, died in Beijing on July 4, 2023 due to illness at the age of 66," the notice said, adding that the funeral was scheduled for July 30 at Babaoshan Funeral Home.

However, Taiwan's Central News Agency and the Sing Tao Daily's U.S. edition both reported that Wu's death had been described as suicide by his former boss Zhang Xiaoyang.

Citing a now-deleted social media post by Zhang the reports said Wu had "hanged himself due to heavy work-related pressure and family conflict."

Translated with additional reporting by Luisetta Mudie.
Camera-trap image of a tiger in the wild in Bhutan, Oct. 29, 2021.

India and Bhutan have seen a significant surge in their wild tiger populations, according to newly released data.

India recorded a count of 3,682 tigers, establishing it as the habitat for 75% of the global wild tiger population, while Bhutans wild tiger population has increased to 131, up 27% since the first systematic survey in 2015.

The two governments released the new numbers on Saturday, World Tiger Day.

Tigers are the largest cats in the world. They are found in Asia in different environments, from rainforests to mountains.

Widespread deforestation, habitat loss, and poaching due to the high demand for tiger bones and skin led to the drastic decline in tiger populations since the start of the 20th century, from about 100,000 in the early 1900s to an estimated 4,500 individuals today.

Camera-trap video of a tiger in the wild in Bhutan. Department of Forest and Park Services, Bhutan

According to Panthera, a global wild cat conservation organization, China and Vietnam are the most significant overall drivers of demand, mainly for using body parts in traditional medicine.

In 2015, Bhutan had 103 tigers in the wild. With 131 individuals, the South Asian kingdom now has an overall density of 0.23 tigers per 100 square kilometers, a statement from the royal government of Bhutan said.

It is of immense pride for our country to confirm an increase in the tiger population in our country, Bhutans foreign minister, Tandi Dorji, said Saturday during an event releasing the National Tiger Survey Report, which covered more than 85% of the country.

This conservation success results from increased law enforcement, community-based tiger conservation programs, and habitat improvement, said the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), which is known as the World Wildlife Fund in North America.

The government survey identified significant threats to these big cats in Bhutan, including poaching, habitat loss, and human-wildlife conflict.

WWF said that Bhutan also holds the world record for tiger sightings at the highest elevations, over 4,400 meters (14,435 feet).

Camera-trap image of a tiger in the wild in Bhutan, Dec. 31, 2021. Credit: Department of Forest and Park Services, Bhutan

India doubles tiger numbers

In India, the tiger population grew by 6% to 3,682, doubling the number of tigers in five decades, according to the countrys environment, forest and climate change ministry.

The first all-India tiger census revealed just 1,827 individuals in 1972, down from an estimated 40,000 in the early twentieth century due to rampant poaching and loss of habitat.

Indias exemplary efforts in tiger conservation and the increase in tiger numbers is not just a statistic but a testament to the determination and commitment of the nation, union minister of environment, forest and climate change Bhupender Yadav said.

The tiger is the national animal of India. Their population is concentrated mainly in 53 dedicated reserves spread across 75,796 square kilometers (29,264 sqare miles), 2.3% of the countrys total land area.

Various tiger reserves have shown remarkable growth, while others face challenges. Approximately 35% of the tiger reserves urgently require enhanced protection measures, habitat restoration, ungulate augmentation, and subsequent tiger reintroduction, the ministry said in a statement.

A Bengal tigress with her cub cool off in a pond at their enclosure at the Mumbai Zoo in Mumbai on May 11, 2023. Credit: AFP.

In neighboring Nepal, the population of wild tigers has nearly tripled since 2010 to 355, according to the census last year.

The increase in tiger population is welcome news as the world grapples with the increasing loss of species due to human-induced climate change and deforestation.

However, there are also concerns about more human-wild animal conflict. Between 2019 and 2021, more than 100 people were killed in tiger attacks in India.

While the number of tigers is growing, the increasing number of human-tiger conflicts has been a cause of concern, Nepals Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said in a message on Saturday.

There should be concerted efforts for habitat conservation, including protected areas, as well as the need to ensure the availability of prey species for tigers, Dahal said.

Tigers are an endangered and protected species, as their parts are sold in a U.S.$20 billion illegal wildlife trade globally.

Nepal, Bhutan, and India are among the 13 tiger range countries that pledged in 2010 to double the global tiger population by 2022.

Bangladesh may be major trafficking hub

Bangladesh has about 114 tigers, mainly in the Sundarban Reserve Forest, according to the last census conducted in 2018.

Due to some 30 pirate groups operating in the Sundarbans region, the tiger population plummeted by more than 50%, from 300-500 in 2009 to an estimated 114 in 2018, according to new research released over the weekend, identifying Bangladesh as a previously unrecognized and major hub in the illicit poaching and trafficking of endangered tigers.

The scientific study conducted by Panthera and the Chinese Academy of Sciences said, a growing class of Bangladeshi elite in country and abroad has been found to drive recent demand for tiger parts and deaths, poached from Bangladeshs Sundarbans, Northeast India and northern Myanmar.

India, China and Malaysia lead the pack in demand, followed by developed G20 nations ranging from the United Kingdom and Germany to Australia and Japan, they said in a statement.

This handout photo taken on April 11, 2018 shows a Bengal tiger walking through the forest in Sarankhola, Bagerhat district, Bangladesh. Credit: Bangladesh Forest Department, via AFP.

Four source sites where tigers were poached were identified by scientists.

These sites are the Sundarbans, spanning across India and Bangladesh, Indias Kaziranga-Garampani Parks, Myanmars Northern Forest Complex, and Indias Namdapha-Royal Manas Parks.

Traders involved in the illegal wildlife trade were discovered to frequently possess logistics companies and, in certain instances, hold licenses for legal wildlife trade, which they misuse to hide the illegally sourced tiger parts effectively.

Southeast Asia has been identified as ground zero for tiger poaching, but this study shows that tiger poaching still remains the most significant threat to the species, the studys co-author and Panthera Tiger Program Director, Abishek Harihar, said.

While not on par with tiger trade influence out of China and Vietnam, Bangladesh is a country on which international law enforcement and scientists must stay focused, particularly given its explosive economic and infrastructure growth facilitating illegal tiger trafficking.

Edited by Mike Firn.
Displaced people from Myanmar are seen in Kampat, Sagaing region near the Indian border as they flee escalating fighting, July 24, 2023.

Some 2,000 villagers displaced by two consecutive days of junta airstrikes on a township in Myanmars Sagaing region are in dire need of basic necessities after being refused refuge by authorities across the border in India, according to the villagers and aid workers.

The situation in Khampat, a 2,000-home township located around 8 kilometers (5 miles) southeast of the border with Indias Manipur state, highlights the plight of internally displaced persons in Sagaing.

Fighting between the military and anti-junta forces in the region has forced nearly 800,000 people to flee their homes since the Feb. 1, 2021 coup detat, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

A man who was among more than 1,000 people from Khampat who fled the July 25-26 airstrikes to nearby Kale township told RFA Burmese that the conditions for displaced there are among the worst he had faced in the nearly 30 months since the coup.

Ive faced many difficulties as an internally displaced person, said the man who has had to flee fighting in the region before and who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity citing security concerns.

There are several sick people and others who had to run [from the fighting] with only the clothes on their backs, who are dealing with extreme difficulties, he said. Since we all have to stay together in one shelter, its very crowded and inconvenient.

A person assisting the displaced in Kale said they are sheltering in three or four Christian churches there.

They number more than 1,000, which is almost the entire population of Khampat, he said. They had no choice but to flee here.

In addition to those in Kale, more than 700 from Khampats Kanan and Kamagyi villages have fled across the border into Manipur since July 21, when clashes between military troops and anti-junta Peoples Defense Force, or PDF, paramilitaries intensified in the township.

Hundreds ordered home

Myanmar shares a border of more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) with eastern India. More than 60,000 people have crossed into Indias Manipur and Mizoram states since the coup, according to UNOCHA, but Indian authorities in Manipur have been dealing with violence between the majority Meitei community and the tribal Kuki minority there since early May and say they no longer have the resources to accommodate refugees.

The Manipur state government recently ordered the Indian Border Guard to send the 700 Myanmar nationals  including more than 300 children and 200 women  who have fled since July 21 back across the border. Many of those who have been forced to leave India and others fleeing the fighting in Khampat now have no option other than to shelter in the jungle, with few resources.

Displaced people from Myanmar are seen in Kampat, Sagaing region near the Indian border as they flee escalating fighting, July 24, 2023. Credit: Citizen journalist

Salai Dokhar, the founder of India for Myanmar, an India-based pro-democracy group, told RFA that there are security challenges in seeking refuge for Myanmar nationals, who risk being driven back across the border.

Weve learned that India doesnt let Myanmar refugees enter  due to the Manipur conflict, he said. Some refugees in Manipur who were found out to be Myanmar nationals were even driven back, too.

Dokhar said that more than a few hundred have been returned to Myanmar since the order was given.

He added that authorities in Manipur have cut off the internet in the conflict area and communication is limited.

As telephone services have been irregular, we cant get accurate information every day, he said.

Tensions high

Meanwhile, a member of the PDF in Khampat told RFA that the military situation there remains tense.

Our Peoples Defense Forces have no plans to retreat, he said. The [military] doesn't want to lose control of the town either. So its a tense situation between the two sides.

Reports that the ethnic Kachin Independence Army, or KIA, is also involved in the fighting against junta troops in the area could not be immediately confirmed, as the groups military command is located far away.

Thats not our active area, which is why I havent heard that we have military bases there, said KIA news and information officer Colonel Naw Bu. I cant say that we are involved in the fighting there, nor can I confirm that we are. Its a little far from us [at] the military headquarters.

Attempts by RFA to contact the juntas spokesman for Sagaing region by telephone went unanswered.

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Matthew Reed.
Meanwhile, a decision to freeze the U.N. agencys imports could harm Rohingya relief efforts, analyst warns.

In a move that could disrupt humanitarian aid to Rohingya, Bangladesh has frozen UNHCRs import license and accused it of irregularities after the U.N. refugee agency brought in dozens of vehicles duty-free, according to a letter reviewed by BenarNews.

In the letter dated June 21, the governments customs department stated it would not release imported goods destined for UNHCR until the U.N. agency paid US$7 million for alleged irregularities in the vehicles transfers. The letter was signed by Md. Abdul Hannan, deputy commissioner of the National Board of Revenue, which oversees the customs office.

The board has locked the humanitarian aid organizations business identification number (BIN), which is required for all exports and imports.

The 46 vehicles were imported duty-free for official use, but transfers of those vehicles violate NBR rules, the letter reads, adding UNHCR was notified in a letter demanding that it pay the $7 million, which includes fines and interest.

But it didnt pay any amount, the letter states.

The vehicles, which were imported into Bangladesh in 2018, include a Toyota Land Cruiser, Land Cruise ambulance and trucks. NBR alleged that the vehicles were used by the Bangladesh governments Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief as well as the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner without permission.

It was unclear whether the vehicles that UNHCR shipped into the country duty-free were later sold second-hand or given away or donated.

On Monday, Md. Bodruzzaman Munshi, deputy commissioner of NBRs Customs House in Chittagong, confirmed the freeze.

UNHCR has violated the rules in the case of 46 vehicles  that is why they have been asked to pay customs duty and other taxes, he told BenarNews.

The UNHCR office in Bangladesh did not immediately respond to a BenarNews request for comment.

On Monday, a local UNHCR official asked a BenarNews reporter to send questions that were to be relayed to more senior U.N. representatives, but the official did not pick up subsequent follow-up calls after the questions were emailed to him.

Last week, the U.N. agency did issue a statement to Bangladesh media.

UNHCR has not violated any government regulation on import and export. However, UNHCR is currently in discussion with the Government of Bangladesh to solve this issue, Bangladesh spokesman Mostafa Mohammad Sazzad Hossain told The Financial Express.

Concerns for Rohingya

Meanwhile, the executive director of the Policy Research Institute called the NBR action reckless.

If the organizations imports are disrupted because of this decision, how will UNHCR work for the Rohingya? Since UNHCR is working in the greater national and international interest, it should be resolved in an amicable way, taking consideration of small mistakes, Ahsan H. Mansur told BenarNews.

They [UNHCR] did not sell any vehicle. Maybe another organization is using them, he said, adding UNHCR should not be forced to pay for a small mistake.

They are bringing relief and feeding people and now you want them to pay taxes, he said. Now if they fail to import, then the government will have to feed the Rohingya.

About 1 million Rohingya who have fled Myanmar live in refugee camps in and around Coxs Bazar, a southeastern district near the Burmese border. These include about 740,000 who fled a military offensive in their home state of Rakhine in August 2017.

UNHCR is one of the international organizations assisting the refugees.

A July 2000 NBR order states a diplomatic mission or diplomat or privileged organization or person may sell or transfer such goods without payment of duties and taxes only to another such diplomatic missions or persons with prior permission from the NBR.

They neither complied with the NBR rules nor informed the customs authority, Munshi told BenarNews.

M. Masrur Reaz, an economist with the World Banks office in Bangladesh, called on both sides to reach an agreement.

UNHCR should have followed the rules of the NBR. Customs will take action if there is any irregularity, Reaz told BenarNews, adding such action is normal.

He questioned the BIN lock, calling it a harsh decision.

There is no point in imposing tax on the vehicles if there is no personal use except for refugees or humanitarian work, he said.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news service.
The extension delays planned polls, which must be held within six months of the end of martial law.

Myanmar's junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who ousted the elected government in a coup on Feb. 1, 2021, presides over an army parade on Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, March 27, 2021.

Myanmars military junta extended a state of emergency on Monday on the eve of a deadline, delaying elections it had vowed to hold by the end of the year, according to media reports.

The National Defense and Security Council, Myanmars top decision-making body, ordered the extension at a meeting convened by the junta in the capital Naypyidaw, Bloomberg reported, citing junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun.

The announcement marks four consecutive six-month extensions of emergency rule in Myanmar since the military seized power in a Feb. 1, 2021, coup detat, citing ongoing instability in the country. The latest period was set to expire on July 31.

The military regime had announced plans to hold an election this year, in what analysts say is part of a bid to crush the opposition and legitimize its rule through the polls. Opponents have dismissed the planned election as a sham because it appears rigged to exclude parties ousted by the coup and keep junta officials in power.

The fourth extension of emergency rule would postpone the election, which Myanmars Constitution mandates must be held within six months after a state of emergency is lifted.

The renewed state of emergency announced Monday was not unexpected.

On July 13, junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing hinted at a possible extension of emergency rule during a meeting of the Tatmadaw, or Myanmars Armed Forces, in the capital Naypyidaw, calling for greater security in Sagaing region, as well as Chin and Kayah states. The three regions are centers of resistance to military rule and have seen an uptick in violence in recent months.

Extraordinary situation

According to Myanmars military-drafted constitution, emergency rule can only be extended twice in normal situations.

In announcing the last extension on Jan. 31 this year, junta leaders cited the extraordinary situation created by resistance against the military regime for stymieing efforts to hold a general election.

At the time, Min Aung Hlaing, faulted "terrorist groups formed by deposed lawmakers and officials  the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw and the National Unity Government  as well as the numerous local militias known as Peoples Defense Force, or PDF, that have fought the junta across Myanmar since 2021.

Min Aung Hlaing was the leader of the coup that ousted and jailed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy government about two months after their landslide election victory.

Civilians under threat

After the last extension, the junta declared martial law in 40 townships in Sagaing, Magway, Tanintharyi and Bago regions, as well as in Kayin, Chin and Kayah states. The military embarked on a brutal campaign against the armed resistance, but the resistance grew stronger.

Military clearance operations have claimed the lives of civilians on a near daily basis in Myanmar.

According to Burma News Internationals Myanmar Peace Monitor, which compiles data on military conflict in the country, at least 383 civilians were killed throughout the country during the latest extension of emergency rule, from Feb. 1 to July 15. Most were arrested and killed or died in military shelling and airstrikes.

According to a July 15 statement by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, nearly 2 million people have been displaced by armed conflict across Myanmar since the coup. Of those, nearly 800,000 people have been displaced in Sagaing region alone.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during her visit to the Malacanang Palace, July 31, 2023. Credit: Rolex dela Pena/European Pressphoto Agency/pool

Brussels is ready to boost EU-Philippines cooperation in maritime security amid tensions with China over the territorially contested South China Sea, the visiting European Commission president said Monday.

A 2016 international arbitration courts ruling that invalidated Beijings expansive claims to the waterway is legally binding, said Ursula von der Leyen, who was in Manila for her first official visit as head of the commission.

It provides the basis for peaceful resolving disputes between the parties. We are ready to strengthen the cooperation with the Philippines on maritime security in the region by sharing information, conducting threat assessment and building the capacity of your National Coast Watch Center and your coast guard, Von der Leyen said after she met with Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the presidential palace in Manila.

She and President Marcos also discussed a potential trade agreement between the Philippines and European Union (EU).

The EU is concerned about rising tensions in Asia, Von der Leyen said without naming China.

The Philippine Coast Guard has been on the frontline of the bilateral territorial dispute with China, reporting instances of alleged harassment by the Chinese coast guard in South China Sea waters within Manilas exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The global geopolitical landscape is changing. It is volatile, it is more threatening. Authoritarian leaders show that they are willing to act on their threats, Von der Leyen said, alluding to Russias invasion of Ukraine.

The illegal use of force cannot be tolerated. Not in Ukraine, not in the Indo-Pacific. Security in Europe and security in the Indo-Pacific [are] indivisible. Challenges to the rules-based order in our interconnected world affect all of us, she said.

Marcos said the Philippines and the EU were like-minded partners through our shared values of democracy, sustainable and inclusive prosperity, the rule of law, peace and stability and human rights.

Last week, senators here sponsored a resolution calling on the government to raise Chinas continuous harassment of ships within the Philippine EEZ to the United Nations General Assembly.

We should not yield to Chinas threats and intimidation. Why are we afraid when we now have so many allies with us, said resolution co-sponsor Sen. Risa Hontiveros, citing the support of the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, India and 16 member-states of the EU.

Reducing dependency on China

Von der Leyen and Marcos also discussed the possible reopening of negotiations on a free-trade agreement. The EU is the Philippines fourth largest trading partner while the Philippines, the fifth largest economy in Southeast Asia, is the European blocs seventh most important trading partner in the region.

The EU and the Philippines launched free trade negotiations in 2015 but those have stalled since 2017. At that time, the EU opposed former President Rodrigo Dutertes war on drugs because of alleged human rights violations, while Duterte publicly lashed out at the EU and its officials.

The Philippines is a key partner for us in the Indo-Pacific region, and with the launch of this scoping process, we are paving the way to taking our partnership to the next level, Von der Leyen said.

The resumption proposal came after the EU and Thailand revived trade talks after years of hiatus. The EU already has free trade agreements with Singapore and Vietnam, while it is negotiating with Indonesia and Malaysia.

Basilio Sepe, Jojo Rinoza and Noel Celis in Manila contributed to this report by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news organization.
The export prices of 5% broken rice rose 35% year-on-year in late July tracking a surge in domestic retail prices.

On July 27, the price of Vietnamese rice increased to $558 per ton and of Thai rice to $603. Vietnamese 5% broken rice could rise further to $600 next month, experts predicted.

Nguyen Nhu Cuong, director of the Department of Crop Production, said it could go up to $1,000 in the near future.

China, the Philippines and Indonesia are stepping up imports of Vietnamese rice.

A week after India banned the export of non-basmati white rice, rice prices in Vietnam increased sharply.

In the past two days Hoa, the owner of a rice shop on Le Duc Tho Street in Ho Chi Minh City has changed the prices of many varieties of the grain. "The prices of all have increased by VND1,000-2,000 ($4-8 cents) per kilogram," he said.

Over the past few days in the Mekong Delta, paddy prices have increased by VND400-500 to VND7,000-7,200 per kilogram. In the north and the Central Highlands, paddy prices have jumped to VND9,000.

Traders attributed the rise to businesses stepping of purchases of paddy and rice. The Vietnam Food Association said foreign importers are actively seeking to buy Vietnamese rice, and willing to pay $10-20 more per ton compared to period before India imposed the ban.

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, rice exports topped 4.2 million tons worth $2.26 billion in the first half of this year, up 21% in volume and 32% in value year-on-year.

The average export price in the first half was 10% higher than in the same period last year and the highest in the last 10 years.
Authorities apprehended her on July 22 after she did not stop sounding off following a warning.

A Uyghur woman arrested in July by authorities in northwestern Chinas Xinjiang region for complaining about her sons lengthy jail sentence is in detention, one of her relatives and a local police official said.

State security police in the citys Tengritagh district apprehended Rahile Jalalidin on July 22, according to information from the Norway-based Uyghur Hjelp, also known as the Uyghuryar Foundation, which maintains a list of Uyghurs arrested and detained by authorities in Xinjiang.

Jalalidin, who lived at the Expatriate Hotel Complex in Urumqi, was upset over the sentencing of her son, Zulyar Yasin, a student of Fujian Agricultural and Forestry University in Fuzhou, China. He was arrested and sentenced in May to 15 years in prison for what authorities said was illegal travel to Turkey in 2013.

Jalalidins arrest is another example of authorities jailing Uyghurs for alleged extremist behavior or actions they deem to threaten national security, such as taking previous trips abroad, having contacts abroad, participating in religious activities, or engaging in disruptive behavior.

After hearing about her sons prison sentence, Jalalidin suffered a severe mental shock and repeatedly complained to the relevant legal and administrative authorities, according to Uyghur Hjelp.

A relative of Jalalidin who lives abroad told Radio Free Asia that people in Urumqi with knowledge of the situation informed her about Jalalidins detention. The relative requested anonymity out of fear of getting Jalalidin in more trouble with authorities.

A state security police official in Urumqi contacted by RFA confirmed that Jalalidin is in detention but could not provide further information about her sentence.

I do not know where she is currently being held, and I cannot search for her information using her name, the officer said. We are unable to disclose the location or the specific prison she was taken to.

When RFA inquired about Jalalidins health, the officer abruptly ended the call, saying, If you want to obtain any information you will need to visit the police station here. I cant tell you anything over the phone.

Jalalidin had said she would sue the prosecutors office and the political law committee, arguing that her sons education in Turkey was not illegal and that he had returned and passed his college exams, said Abdulweli Ayup, a Uyghur activist and linguist, originally from Xinjiang, who runs Uyghur Hjelp.

However, her involvement in this matter was seen as a disagreement with the states policies by these authorities, said Ayup, who learned about Jalalidin through information channels in Urumqi. As a consequence, they warned and threatened her, implying that she might face arrest and trouble if she persisted with her efforts.

Miss Rayiles courage to express her dissatisfaction with her sons heavy penalty and her efforts to reach out to relevant authorities despite the situation might have been the reason for her arrest, he added.

Despite the warning, Jalalidin refused to give up and continued to advocate for fair treatment for her son, he said.

Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Matt Reed.
Authorities said the men had been passing out copies of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Three members of Vietnams Khmer Krom minority group who are suspected of distributing books about indigenous peoples rights were arrested on Monday in the Mekong Delta region, authorities told local media.

One of the three men was To Hoang Chuong of Tra Vinh province. Radio Free Asias Vietnamese Service reported last month that he was beaten by local policemen in June while visiting a friend in neighboring Soc Trang province.

On June 25, the U.S.-based Union of Khmers Kampuchea Krom issued a statement condemning the Soc Trang Provincial Police for the brutal and inhuman treatment of Chuong.

The other two men arrested on Monday were Danh Minh Quang of Soc Trang province and Thach Cuong of Tra Vinh province.

Police in both provinces told local media that local residents reported that the men had been passing out copies of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which states that indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and develop their political, economic and social systems or institutions.

The nearly 1.3-million strong Khmer Krom live in a part of Vietnam that was once southeastern Cambodia. They have faced serious restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly and movement.

The three men have been charged with abusing democratic freedoms under Article 331 of the Penal Code, a statute used by Vietnamese authorities to silence those speaking out for human rights.

Homes surrounded

Additionally, Soc Trang provincial authorities arrested two other Khmer Krom activists on Monday and surrounded the home of another two activists, one of the activists told RFAs Khmer Service.

The siege of the two homes was an attempt by plainclothes police to intimidate, Lim Vong told RFA Khmer.

I appeal to the United Nations to help stop Vietnamese authorities from excessively abusing the rights of the Khmer Krom people. I have done nothing wrong in Vietnam, he said.

I only distributed the United Nations textbooks about human rights and the rights to self-determination, he told RFA. I neither demand back the territory of Kampuchea Krom nor demand the separation of the Khmer Krom from Vietnam.

Some activists have also been harassed recently by police for wearing T-shirts that show the Khmer Kampuchea Krom flag, according to Son Chumchoun, secretary general of the Phnom Penh-based Khmer Kampuchea Krom Association for Human Rights and Development.

The Vietnamese government has banned its human rights publications and has tightly controlled the practice of Theravada Buddhism by the group, which sees the religion as a foundation of their distinct culture and ethnic identity.

Last year, seven special U.N. rapporteurs sent a 16-page letter to Vietnams government about the countrys alleged failure to recognize the right to self-determination of the Khmer Krom.

Hanoi denied the allegations in May and said it does not repress the Khmer Krom.

Translated by RFA Vietnamese and Sok Ry Sum of RFA Khmer. Edited by Matt Reed.
When the Taliban seized power in 2021, Afghanistan's Shi'ite Hazara minority feared that the historically persecuted community would once again become the main target of Taliban atrocities.

During its first stint in power from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban terrorized the group, wresting control of Hazara regions in Afghanistan through a campaign of targeted killings.



After regaining power, the Sunni militant group tried to assuage Hazaras' fears of discrimination and persecution. The Taliban visited Shi'a mosques in the Afghan capital and deployed its fighters to protect ceremonies marking the Shi'ite month of Muharram.



But members of the community have accused the Taliban of since backtracking on its promises to protect Shi'a and grant them the right to freely observe their faith.



Last week, the Taliban prevented Shi'a from celebrating an important religious festival. The militants have also restricted the teaching of Shi'a jurisprudence in universities in Afghanistan. In February, the Taliban reportedly banned marriages between Shi'a and Sunnis in northeastern Badakhshan Province.



The Shi'ite community has accused the Taliban of failing to prevent deadly attacks on Hazaras by the rival Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) extremist group. Meanwhile, rights groups have documented the forced evictions of Hazaras by the Taliban, a predominately Pashtun group, in several provinces.



"The Taliban are becoming increasingly intolerant of public expressions and displays of the Shi'ite religious faith," said Niamatullah Ibrahimi, senior lecturer at Australia's La Trobe University. "If it becomes a pattern, it will clearly limit the religious freedom of Shi'a, especially ceremonies that are often public in nature."

Taliban fighters prevented Shi'ite residents in Kabul from publicly celebrating Eid al-Ghadir on July 7. The festival celebrates what Shi'a believe is the day that Prophet Muhammad declared Ali, a cousin and son-in-law, his successor.



But the festival clashes with the Sunni belief that Abu Bakr, the first Muslim caliph, was the rightful successor to Prophet Muhammad. These conflicting beliefs are among the most important differences between the two main Muslim sects.



'They Want To Eliminate Minorities'



In May, the Taliban banned the teaching of the Shi'a Jafari school of jurisprudence at Bamiyan University. It is not clear if the ban has been extended to all universities in Afghanistan. Most residents in the province of Bamiyan, in central Afghanistan, are Shi'a.



Nematullah, an Islamic studies student at Bamiyan University, said they have been forced to study the Sunni Hanafi school of jurisprudence that is followed by the Taliban.



"We were told that if we raise our voice, we will be taken away and tortured," the 20-year-old told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, adding that the Taliban ban was forcing Shi'a to give up their education or leave their homeland.



Mohammad Hassani, another student at the university, accused the Taliban of trying to "eliminate minorities and their religions by force."

Seyyed Mohammad Hossein Rizwani, a prominent scholar at the Shi'a Ulema Council of Afghanistan, told Radio Azadi that the Taliban's ban on teaching Jafari jurisprudence contradicts "the spirit of Islamic brotherhood and national unity."



Although a census has never been conducted, Shi'a are believed to make up around 15 percent of Afghanistan's 40 million people, which is largely Sunni. Hazaras account for the overwhelming majority of Shi'a in the country.



During the 19th century, Afghan monarchs attempted to forcibly convert the Hazara, seize their lands, and bring Hazara regions in the country's central highlands under the control of the central government, campaigns that killed thousands and forced even more to flee their homes, including many to British India. Hazaras who resettled in Kabul and other cities suffered discrimination and were often employed only in low-paying jobs.



In a significant step to address the historical grievances of the Hazaras, Afghanistan's 2004 constitution permitted Shi'a to use Jafari jurisprudence in court cases involving personal matters. The community also gained an unprecedented share in power during the Western-backed political order that emerged after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

Only The Beginning?



Since regaining power in August 2021, the Taliban has mostly maintained the state's administrative structure. But it has scrapped the 2004 constitution and laws that guaranteed freedoms and rights to Afghans, particularly to religious minorities and women.



The Taliban's theocratic government is made up almost entirely of senior Taliban members, with no women and just a few non-Pashtuns.



"There are deep fears within the community that this could be only the beginning of systematic discrimination against the Shi'a and the representation of their understanding of Islam in the country's laws, society, and politics," said Ibrahimi of La Trobe University.

Niala Mohammad, the director of policy and strategy at the nonprofit Muslim Public Affairs Council in Washington, said the Taliban has failed to protect Afghanistan's Shi'ite minority from the IS-K, which has killed scores of Hazaras in attacks on schools and mosques since the Taliban takeover.



"[The Taliban] continue to harass and target those that do not adhere to their distorted view of Islam," said Mohammad, who was previously the South Asia analyst for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. "Particularly Shi'a Hazaras, whom they view as heretics."



She said the Taliban's mounting restrictions on the Shi'ite minority "emboldens Shi'a persecution by other religious extremists across the region and deepens the sectarian divide."
YEREVAN -- The ethnic Armenian leader of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Arayik Harutiunian, has issued an urgent appeal to the international community, asking for immediate action to lift a de facto blockade imposed by Azerbaijan and prevent what he called "the genocide of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh."

Both Armenia and separatist authorities in the enclave have said that Azerbaijan has blockaded Nagorno-Karabakh since December, resulting in shortages of food, medicine, and energy.

Yerevan and international aid groups have warned that a dire humanitarian situation has been unfolding in the breakaway Azerbaijani region with convoys of food and medicine blocked.



"With this urgent address I am signaling that right now the people of the Republic of Artsakh" -- ethnic Armenians' name for Nagorno-Karabakh -- "are being subjected to genocide and face a real threat of destruction and deprivation of their homeland," Harutiunian said in a video address published late on August 8.

WATCH: Armenian police detained more than a dozen protesters outside a government building in Yerevan on August 8 after they demanded authorities take steps to unblock the Lachin Corridor.



He said a humanitarian crisis had been created by what he described as a 240-day blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, charging that "in a situation like this manifestation of inaction or indifference is nothing but acquiescence in the crime of genocide."



Tensions escalated after Azerbaijan last month completely suspended traffic through the checkpoint pending an investigation after it said "various types of contraband" had been discovered in the Red Cross vehicles coming from Armenia. Access was previously blocked amid a series of protests and accusations emerging from Baku.



Azerbaijan says it can only allow supplies to reach Nagorno-Karabakh over a road from Agdam, a town controlled by Azerbaijan in the east of the region.



Ethnic Armenian authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh reject that offer, saying Azerbaijan's blockade is a violation of the Moscow-brokered 2020 cease-fire agreement that placed the 5-kilometer-wide strip of land under the control of Russian peacekeepers.

A delegation led by staff members of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on August 8 visited the site in Armenia's southern Syunik Province where a 19-truck convoy of humanitarian aid has been stranded for two weeks.



"The international community must take effective personal and collective steps in order not to allow Azerbaijan to fill the history of mankind with another page of mass famine and genocide," said Harutiunian, the heavily ethnic Armenian region's de facto president.



He said Stepanakert called on Armenia to "immediately submit to the UN Security Council for discussion the humanitarian disaster that has emerged as a result of Azerbaijan's blockade of the Lachin Corridor and the illegal blockade" of Nagorno-Karabakh, and he urged Yerevan to be careful in its public statements and assessments of the situation.



He urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "to show moral and political responsibility and leadership, involving the entire UN system" on the issue.



Baku routinely brushes aside accusations of ethnic cleansing against Karabakh Armenians.



In 2020, Azerbaijan regained control of territories held by ethnic Armenian forces outside the borders of Nagorno-Karabakh as well as a chunk of the former autonomous oblast itself.



Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly warned the local population to integrate into Azerbaijan or leave.



The United States and the European Union have urged Azerbaijan to allow humanitarian supplies to reach Nagorno-Karabakh via the Lachin Corridor.



A group of UN experts issued a statement on August 7, expressing alarm over the ongoing blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan, which they said had led to a dire humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.



"By lifting the blockade, the [Azerbaijani] authorities can alleviate the suffering of thousands of people in Nagorno-Karabakh and allow for the unimpeded flow of humanitarian assistance to the civilian population," the experts said. "It is essential to ensure the safety, dignity, and well-being of all individuals during this critical time."



They also called on Russian peacekeeping forces deployed in the region to protect the corridor under the terms of the cease-fire agreement.



Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry criticized the UN experts for what it described as their biased statement that it claimed had been influenced by "Armenia's manipulations."
Authorities in Iran are expanding their reach in their efforts to enforce compliance with the country's strict hijab law by pushing popular start-up companies to police their younger, tech-savvy employees.

In recent weeks, the operations of at least three web-based companies -- the DigiKala online retailer, the Azki.com insurance company, and the Taaghche book app -- have been shut down. In each case, the closures came after the emergence of photographs showing female employees without the mandatory head scarf.

The images had reportedly been posted on employees' personal social-media accounts, not by the companies themselves. But that did not prevent the authorities from going after the start-ups that until recently had been touted for their successful, cutting-edge business models.

The pressure on such firms comes after Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili said on July 27 that action would be taken against start-up companies if their employees failed to comply with the Chastity and Hijab Law.

But observers say Tehran is playing a dangerous game that threatens to further alienate the younger generation and potentially make entrepreneurs and foreign investors think twice about bringing modern businesses to the Islamic republic.

The start-ups that have come under scrutiny vary in their organization, with some being private, some semi-private, and some having strong ties to the government either directly or indirectly, Amir Rashidi, the New-York-based director of Internet security and digital rights at the Miaan Group, told RFE/RL.

But they all share common traits and differ from the old way of doing business in Iran, in that they employ young, educated people to deliver services to younger customers using modern technology.

"The kind of culture that exists [at the companies] is usually not the kind of culture that could represent the culture of the Iranian government," Rashidi said. "Because this is the new generation. These are the techie people. These are the most connected population of Iranians, who are connected to the outside world because of the Internet, because of the job that they do, who have more opportunity to be in touch with [people] outside the country."

In the wake of months of street protests that broke out last year against the Islamic dress code and the clerical establishment, hard-liners have sought to strengthen the Chastity and Hijab Law. According to new draft legislation presented by parliament late last month, fines of up to $720 can be levied against women who defy the law, along with prison sentences of up to three years.

The revision of the law was prompted by the protests that began following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested for an alleged hijab violation, and has been described by prominent members of the clerical establishment as necessary to preserve the Islamic republic's fundamental values.

Amid a crackdown on the antiestablishment protests that resulted in at least 500 deaths since September, the authorities have disrupted Internet access multiple times and have gone after individuals who used social media to show support for the demonstrations by posting pictures of themselves without head scarves.

Prominent female celebrities and athletes have been among those targeted, including three film and television actresses who were sentenced last month and diagnosed as having personality disorders after they were photographed without their hijabs.

On July 23, the pressure on start-ups began with the suspension of DigiKala's business. And just a day before parliament published the text of the new Chastity and Hijab bill, and hours after Esmailis warning to start-ups, a legal case was filed on July 27 against the book retailer Taaghche, along with similar actions against Azki.com.

The shutdown of the companies had an immediate effect, with customers expressing dismay at being cut off from purchasing books, products, and services online, and business associations warning that the action would harm efforts to develop the business sector.

Since then, Azki.com and Taaghche have been allowed to resume operations after releasing public commitments that they and their employees would adhere to the Chastity and Hijab Law.

The situation at DigiKala, often described as Iran's Amazon online retailer, remains unclear.

On August 2, a post on the company's website said that the "violation" depicted in a photograph posted on the personal site of one of its employees "was not approved by the company's management." DigiKala, the statement continued, "always considers itself obligated to comply with all national laws" and the company hoped that by being allowed to resume operations it "can play a more substantial role in better serving the people and economy of the Islamic republic."

Then, within hours, the statement was inexplicably removed, and the company's offices remain sealed and its business suspended.

In its effort to exert control over the start-ups, which have been lauded as examples of Iran's ability to successfully launch modern companies on its own despite the hurdle of international sanctions, Tehran is essentially forcing them to police their own employees.

But the approach has been met with warnings by the Association of Emerging Businesses of Iran, which following Azki.com's closure said that such suspensions presented a "big and crisis-causing obstacle" to the development of the private sector.

Rashidi expressed skepticism that "using people against people" would work, both at the societal and business level.

He says that in the absence of digital rights and the recent emphasis on compliance with the Chastity and Hijab Law, the government will be able to catch offenders more easily and to fine and even arrest them. But in the end, he said, "it's going to create more tension and challenges."

And outside investors and partners of Iranian companies are likely to take note as well, Rashidi said.

"Some of these companies have investors from outside Iran," he said. "And this definitely will affect those companies, because they don't want to be seen internationally as a supporter of censorship."
ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Noted Kazakh dissident Ermek Narymbaev (aka Narymbai) has been released from prison two days after he was supposed to be set free.

In an apparent move to avoid rallies in front of the penal colony, prison guards brought Narymbaev to his apartment in the Central Asian nation's largest city, Almaty, early in the morning on July 31.

Narymbaev told supporters who came to visit him at his apartment that he had been on a hunger strike the final 44 hours of his incarceration, demanding his release, which had been scheduled for July 29. It remains unclear why he was held two days longer than his sentence.

"I do not plan to leave the country. I lived abroad for too long. I want to be with you, my people, in the epicenter of events, and be useful for our country," Narymbaev said, adding that he plans to work as a teacher and political and judicial consultant.

Narymbaev also said that according to the court's ruling, he does not have the right to have a bank account, despite the fact that President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev had announced in 2019 that all restrictions imposed on individuals with criminal records related to charges of extremism had been lifted.

On July 13, a court in southern Kazakhstan reduced Narymbaev's sentence by 11 months, ruling that the remainder of the sentence would be replaced by parole-like restrictions. It also ordered Narymbaev to pay a fine and banned him from participating in public events such as rallies and demonstrations.

Narymbaev's lawyer, Zhanar Balghabaeva, said at the time that her client should be released on July 29 -- after 15 days -- if the prosecutor's office did not object to the court's change to the sentence. No objection, if there was one, was made public.

The 53-year-old, who has been included on a list of "political prisoners" created by local human rights defenders, has been jailed several times for his political views and is known as a staunch critic of the tightly controlled former Soviet republic's government.

He fled Kazakhstan in 2016 for Ukraine after receiving death threats from unknown individuals. Narymbaev said at the time that the threats were masterminded by Kazakh authorities in a bid to intimidate him.

He returned to Kazakhstan in February 2022 after unprecedented anti-government rallies shook the Central Asian nation the month before, leaving at least 238 people dead.

He was arrested upon his arrival in Almaty and sent to prison for 30 months to serve the remainder of a previous suspended prison term he was handed in 2015 on a charge of inciting hatred, which he called politically motivated.
ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Where is the water tanker?



In the residents WhatsApp chat for a housing complex in the Medeu district of Almaty, vodavoz -- the Russian word for water tanker -- was everywhere.



Whole swathes of the mostly affluent district of the countrys former capital spent the past week without running water -- a development that Almatys city government attributed to natural factors.



More specifically, city authorities said that strong runoff from glaciers had made the Small and Big Almaty rivers so fast and muddy that the filtering station serving the local water supply could no longer process the dirt.



The situation, they said, would only correct itself once the heat wave -- temperatures were constantly around 35-40 degrees Celsius throughout the second half of July -- had abated.



On day three of the water shutoff, as residents of at least one housing complex staged a small protest, portable toilets arrived at the complexes.



Not everyone was sympathetic.



Back in the WhatsApp chat, some residents expressed contrition at comments under news posts about their situation to the effect of, Let them see how the rest of us live.



According to government data, nearly all of Kazakhstans urban residents (a slight majority of the total population) and just over half of all rural residents have running water taps inside their homes.

Journalist Mikhail Kozachkov, therefore, summed up the situation more accurately when he wrote on his Telegram channel that residents of the upper sections of Almaty are living worse than ordinary Almaty residents on the very outskirts of the city. They have no water, nothing to flush away feces, and nothing to make porridge with.



We did not buy housing here to find out how places without water and other basic conditions live, wrote one woman in the chat. As rude as it sounds, people work themselves into the ground in order to have the opportunity not to come into contact with these inconveniences.



To be sure, this was not the dream they were sold.



Residential complexes in the Medeu region are some of the most expensive in Almaty, with flats typically selling from over $1,500 per square meter to several times that.



For some of the older complexes, these are significant discounts on what the flats originally cost in dollar terms before successive financial crises shook Kazakhstans housing market more than a decade ago.



Invariably, new housing developments in the Medeu district are billed as green and ecologically pure answers to the noise and dirt of the city center.



One of the more upscale, which only recently sprang to life, is literally called La Verde -- Spanish for the green.



Apartments there that are bigger than 200 square meters begin at around $700,000.



But there is nothing green about having no water.



Water Tanker Politics



This year has already brought major water shortages to big Central Asian cities.



Parts of Kazakhstans capital, Astana, and Kyrgyzstans capital of Bishkek endured water shutoffs at the beginning of the summer.



In Bishkek, where the problem was more protracted, authorities acknowledged that the water table had sunk lower than expected due to below-average precipitation in the first half of the year.



They promised to tap new sources of groundwater for a city where more than 1 million people live.



The ultimate source of water for most Central Asian cities is glacier-fed rivers, and most of those glaciers are shrinking.



A warming atmosphere, hot summers, and shortfalls of snow and rain are all factors beyond the control of local governments.



But water can always be managed better, and in Central Asia it often seems to be managed badly, with decaying infrastructure ignored from decade to decade.

Prior to the return of a regular supply of water last weekend, Medeu residents showered complaints on the private management of the housing complexes -- where utility bills are typically higher than in the city center -- and public officials.



Kozachkov, the journalist, wrote in his post that companies dumping construction waste upstream were the real cause of the crisis.



Famous Kazakh rapper Skriptonite, a Medeu resident, was also inclined not to believe the muddy waters explanation -- which Almatys City Hall reinforced with a helicopter press tour for selected journalists -- and shared his pessimism with his 2 million followers on Instagram.



In the fog of anger, the vodavoz driver emerged as both a savior and a villain for Medeu, depending on whether the vodavoz had arrived or not, and on the order in which he made his rounds.



In one of the complexes, there was a debate about where the vodavoz should stand.



Should he park next to the fifth building, which was more elevated than the rest, to ensure nobody had to carry pails of water up a steep hill? Or next to the playground, which was central for all residents?



He eventually stopped at both and helped queuing residents to fill up empty, 6-liter water bottles and buckets.



People think I am hanging around, said Daulet, the vodavoz driver.



They are ringing me asking when Ill be here. They cant understand that I am stuck in traffic on Al-Farabi and literally cannot move, he told RFE/RL as he took a rest in the midday heat.

That is yet another stick with which to beat Almatys mayor, Yerbolat Dosaev.



Medeus water shutoff dovetailed awkwardly with a city transport collapse, after Dosaev green-lighted major renovation works on Al-Farabi and another major road, Abay, at the same time.



That decision has slowed the journey from the suburbs to the city center and funneled more traffic through the byroads, where several of the affected complexes are located.



Separately, government critics point out that authorities habitually use road repairs as an opportunity to launder money.



Dosaev has pleaded for patience, insisting that the roadwork is vital for Al-Farabi and Abay to survive the winter.



Al-Farabi has not seen serious renovation since 2012, he said.



The mayor has so far ignored a petition with tens of thousands of signatures calling for his resignation, maintaining that many of the signatories are probably bots.



Angering The 'Apolitical' Middle Class



The midnight line waiting for the vodavoz was a more relaxed place to be.



The temperatures had cooled and residents shared jokes as they filled up using mobile-phone flashlights, as teenagers broke the curfew to do water runs on their electric scooters.



Thanks to the recent extension of the pedestrianized section along the Big Almaty River, it is now possible to take an electric scooter or a bicycle all the way down from this part of Medeu into central Almaty, encountering few cars in the process.



Back in Soviet times, this part of Medeu hosted a large sovkhoz (state farm) that grew apples and other fruits.

Just a few years ago, residents of older houses in the district could still occasionally be seen grazing their goats in what is now a sprawling recreational zone.



The extension of the pedestrian path has made Medeu an even more attractive place to live, with the La Verde development boasting walk-on access to the river.



If in the past this section of Almaty enjoyed a cooler microclimate than the rest of the city -- and significantly less smog in the winter -- these boundaries are increasingly blurring with the emergence of yet more housing projects.



Normal water service has now been restored in Medeu, and the anti-sanitary funk has dissipated.



But the memories of their week without water -- of nighttime visits to the portable cubicles with mosquitos circling inside and neighborhood dogs barking at the door -- will likely linger with these residents for some time.



And this is significant insofar as the people in these apartment complexes are the type who have done well for themselves in modern Kazakhstan, often while steering clear of politics.



Yet during the water shutoff, an amorphous and apolitical public suddenly felt that they could not do without protesting and mobilized, wrote Marat Asipov, editor in chief of the Ratel.kz website and another Medeu resident.



And if the situation generated ironic comparisons between middle-class Kazakhs and rural poor, it has also reinforced the division between that same middle class and the super wealthy ruling elite, Asipov argued.



[Mayor] Dosaev, with his money, can easily move to any other country. He could, for instance, become a neighbor of another odious mayor of Almaty, Viktor Khrapunov, who now lives in Geneva, Asipov wrote. It is us who will have to live here.
The Departments of State and Treasury are imposing sanctions on nearly 120 individuals and entities to further hold Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine and degrade its capability to support its war efforts.

One of the most common tactics Russian entities have used to continue their importation of foreign-made electronics and technology is the use of third-party intermediaries and transshipment points outside of Russia. Entities based in the Kyrgyz Republic have been frequent exporters of controlled electronics components and other technology to Russia since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Some of these shipments have subsequently supplied sensitive dual-use goods to entities in Russias defense sector.

Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, continues to target Russias munitions factories and high-technology industries that directly support Russias war against Ukraine.

The U.S. has imposed sanctions on five additional Russia-based financial institutions to further limit Russias access to the global financial system.

OFAC also took further action to curtail Russias revenue from its metals industries and to limit Russias future energy capabilities.

Sanctions against these entities represent another step in our efforts to constrain Russias military capabilities, its access to battlefield supplies, and its economic bottom line, said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. As long as Russia continues to wage its unprovoked and brutal war against Ukraine, we will impose sanctions to deprive Russia of the technology it needs and disrupt the Russian arms industrys ability to resupply.

Sanctions are just one part of the U.S. governments efforts to stop Russias procurement of critical goods and technology. The United States is working with partner governments and the private sector to identify and disrupt evasion networks and these latest actions complement such shared efforts.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the United States along with its allies and partners, has taken unprecedented steps to impose costs on Russia and promote accountability for the individuals and entities who support its illegal war. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed the United States commitment to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.
The First Court of Appeals in Moscow has upheld the 25-year prison term handed to outspoken Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza on charges of high treason, involvement in activities of an undesirable group, and discrediting Russia's armed forces that he and his supporters call politically motivated.

The court rejected Kara-Murza's appeal against his imprisonment, saying his verdict and sentence must stay unchanged.

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.

Kara-Murza was initially arrested in April 2022 after returning to Russia from abroad and charged with disobeying a police officer.

He was later charged with discrediting the Russian military, a charge stemming from Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine and a Kremlin push to stamp out criticism of the subject. The treason charges were added later over remarks he made in speeches outside Russia that criticized Kremlin policies.

The former journalist who holds Russian and British passports has spent years as a politician opposing Russian President Vladimir Putin and has lobbied foreign governments and institutions to impose sanctions on Russia and individual Russians for purported human rights violations. He has twice survived being poisoned, according to his own accounts and those of his supporters. Russian authorities deny any involvement in the alleged attacks.

After Kara-Murza's appeal was rejected, Britain announced sanctions against several Russian judges and officials involved in his trial.

"This is desperate and unfounded," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Twitter. "Rejecting @vkaramurzas appeal is unjustifiable. He should be released immediately."

Moscow city court Judges Vitaly Belitsky, Yekaterina Mikhailovna Dorokhina, and Natalia Nikolaevna Dudar were among those added to the U.K.'s sanctions list. Britain has previously imposed sanctions on some of those connected to the case.

Kara-Murza is one of many opposition activists, reporters, and others who have been arrested and prosecuted under tightened legislation amid a growing Kremlin crackdown on civil society.

According to the human rights group OVD-Info, almost 20,000 Russians have been detained for anti-war protests since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Kara-Murza was a key advocate for the U.S. Magnitsky Act, which sets out sanctions for human rights violators in Russia.

In March, the United States designated six people, including three judges, for sanctions due to their role in Kara-Murzas detention.

The judge who oversaw Kara-Murzas trial and who read out his sentence on April 17, Sergei Podoprigorov, was one of the first sanctioned by the United States under the Magnitsky Act 10 years ago.

With reporting by Reuters, TASS, and Interfax
A woman told police in Russia's Urals region of Chelyabinsk that she escaped after 14 years of being held against her will and sexually abused by the man who abducted her.

The Investigative Committee said in a statement on July 31 that a man with psychological issues in the Chelyabinsk region had been charged with the abduction of a person in 2009, adding that the suspect is currently in a medical facility under investigators' control.

In a second statement, the Investigative Committee said that while investigating the abduction, it was revealed that the suspect might have been involved in a killing of a local woman in his house in 2011.

"After killing the woman, the suspect dismembered the victims body which he buried in his basement," the Investigative Committee's statement said, adding that investigators are currently collecting evidence items in the suspect's house.

Media reports only identified the suspect as Vladimir and the woman who managed to escape as Yekaterina.

The reports cited Yekaterina as saying that she was 19 in 2009 when Vladimir lured her into his house in the town of Smolino and held her captive.

Yekaterina says Vladimir installed metal bars on the widows and an additional lock on the door of his house to keep her from leaving.

According to Yekaterina, the man regularly beat and raped her and threatened to kill her with a knife.

Vladimirs mother lived in the house as well and was aware of the situation but did not protest against it, according to Yekaterina.

In recent days, Yekaterina said, Vladimir felt sick after days of alcoholic intoxication and his mother called an ambulance. The situation provided a chance for Yekaterina to run away and find her sister, who had been looking for her since she disappeared.

With reporting by RBK and Ostorozhno, Novosti
The cruise ship Astoria Grande, with some 800 mostly Russian passengers on board, was met with fresh protests as it arrived in the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi early on July 31 on its way back from Istanbul. Protesters held banners with slogans decrying Russia's war in Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin for launching the invasion. Police detained several protesters.
At least 11 Ukrainian civilians, including a child, were killed in Russian shelling and air strikes, regional officials and the military said, as Kyiv's forces reportedly made further territorial gains in the south amid heavy fighting on the entire front line.

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 death toll in a Russian missile strike early on July 31 on a high-rise apartment building in the southern city of Kryviy Rih has increased to six, the Ukrainian emergency service said.

"At the moment, unfortunately, we have six dead, including one child, 10 years old, and 75 wounded," said Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the Kryviy Rih Defense Council.

"Currently, 22 people are in hospitals, including two children, and two people are in a very serious condition. All the necessary help is being provided now," Vilkul said, speaking on RFE/RL's Svoboda Live program.



Russian shells also struck the southern city of Kherson for a second time in less than 24 hours on July 31, killing a 65-year-old man in his car, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Telegram.



Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the eastern region of Donetsk, said on July 31 that two civilians were killed by Russian shelling late on July 30.

Local authorities in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy reported on July 30 that two civilians had been killed and at least 17 injured in a Russian rocket attack.

On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces have been engaged in heavy fighting along the entire front line, repelling Russian assaults in the northeast and making some advances in the south, Ukrainian officials said.

Ukrainian troops fought more than 20 close-combat battles over the previous 24 hours, the General Staff of Ukraine's military said in its morning report on July 31.



Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar, meanwhile, reported advances in the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the southern region of Zaporizhzhya.



"We are gradually but surely moving [ahead] in the Berdyansk and Melitopol directions," Malyar said on Telegram, adding, "Fighting continues in all directions of the counteroffensive."

Malyar said that since the start of their counteroffensive in May, Ukrainian forces had liberated almost 205 square kilometers -- out of which almost 13 square kilometers were recaptured during the past week.

In the northeast, Russian forces continued their attacks on Ukrainian-held Kupyansk and Lyman, "but failed and suffered losses," Malyar said.



Ukrainian and Russian forces continued heavy artillery exchanges in the Bakhmut area of Donetsk, where fierce fighting has been under way for months, with Malyar saying that Moscow is pouring additional troops into the area.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said that Ukraine is to open discussions with Washington in the coming days on "firm" security guarantees for Kyiv that would ensure the country's ability to protect itself until it becomes a member of NATO.



"Ukraine will begin negotiations with the United States on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees next week," Yermak wrote on Telegram late on July 30.



"These guarantees will be valid until Ukraine acquires NATO membership, which is the most reliable guarantee of security. As long as there is a war in our country and we cannot join NATO, our state must secure reliable guarantees for the transition period," he wrote.



Yermak also said a Ukrainian-organized meeting will soon be held in Saudi Arabia to discuss Zelenskiy's peace plan, which is based on the departure of all Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.



Zelenskiy on July 30 warned that it is was "inevitable" that "war" would come to Russia after authorities there were forced to temporarily close a busy Moscow airport following an overnight drone attack on the capital.

"Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia -- to its symbolic centers and military bases. And this is an inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process," Zelenskiy said on July 30 during a visit to the city of Ivano-Frankivsk -- which, although in western Ukraine, has been hit by Russian missile fire in the past.



Russian officials said three Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow early on July 30, injuring a security guard and forcing the temporary suspension of traffic at Vnukovo airport, one of four major facilities serving the capital.

Russia's Defense Ministry called it an "attempted terrorist attack" and claimed that one drone had been shot down and two others jammed, leading them to crash into Moscow's prestigious Moskva-Citi business complex.

With reporting by Reuters and AP
The United States has designated four top Bosnian Serb officials, including the Serb member of the country's presidency, for sanctions for undermining the Dayton accords that ended the Bosnian War in the 1990s.

Zeljka Cvijanovic, the Serbian member of the tripartite Bosnian Presidency, along with Republika Srpska politicians Nenad Stevandic, president of the National Assembly; Radovan Viskovic, prime minister; and Milos Bukejlovic, justice minister were added to the sanctions list over threats to the Dayton agreement and the integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

"These leaders are directly responsible for encouraging the adoption of a law in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska declaring the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina inapplicable in the RS, thus obstructing and jeopardizing the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement," the Treasury Department said in a statement on July 31.

The National Assembly of Republika Srpska last month voted to suspend recognition of any decisions by Bosnia's multiethnic Constitutional Court and decided against publishing the decisions of the internationally appointed high representative of the Balkan nation, Christian Schmidt.

Both laws were suspended by Schmidt, but the authorities in Republika Srpska continued implementing them and reiterated that they would not respect Schmidt's decisions, which deepened the institutional crisis in Bosnia.

This action threatens the stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the hard-won peace underpinned by the Dayton Peace Agreement," said Brian Nelson, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, in the statement.

The Treasury Department said the process by which laws are passed and the Republika Srpska National Assembly's website make clear that the four individuals targeted "bear responsibility for requesting the June 27 special session of the [National Assembly] to hold the vote on this inflammatory legislation."

The assembly credits Viskovic, Stevandic, and Cvijanovic for requesting the special session, and Milos Bukejlovic presented the law to the assembly on behalf of the Republika Srpska government, Treasury said.

"Consequently, these four individuals bear responsibility for encouraging the adoption of this legislation that threatens the implementation of the [Dayton Peace Agreement]," the Treasury Department said.

The statement made clear that the institutions that the four politicians represent are not the target of the actions of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

But Nelson said the behavior "further threatens the countrys future trajectory and successful integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions, and State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a separate statement that the law on Constitutional Court rulings threatens "the countrys prospects for integration into Euro-Atlantic and European institutions at the expense of the people of [Bosnia].

Milorad Dodik, president of Republika Srpska and the main proponent of the law to make decisions of the Constitutional Court inapplicable in Republika Srpska, had been previously designated for sanctions by the United States.

Radovan Kovacevic, a spokesman for Dodik's ruling Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) party, said the U.S. sanctions were "shameless and hypocritical," adding that "no sanctions will prevent us from doing our job."

Stevandic said that he saw the sanctions as an "award for consistency" in the face of "blackmail and threats from those considered powerful."

The sanctions freeze any assets and rights to assets in U.S. jurisdiction held by the sanctioned individuals. They also bar U.S. citizens from any dealings with the people and entities.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP
On July 17, Russia suspended its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement between Ukraine and Russia that allowed ships to export Ukrainian grain through the countrys Black Sea ports.

Quoting a statement by the Kenyan government, USAID Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman said that this action by the part of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin - on pulling out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative - is a stab in the back of global food security.

Odessa and the Black Sea are very critical for food security. You've got two big bread baskets, Russia and Ukraine, which both use the Black Sea and to be able to export vast amounts of wheat and grains and oils through the Black Sea. And Odesa is one of Ukraine's major ports. It has been operating at less than 15 percent capacity since Russia invaded. And that has only been because that 15 percent has been what they've been able to get out with this Black Sea Grain Initiative, which as you mentioned, Russia has now pulled out of so this is a very, very serious situation for world food security, she said.

So many millions of people depend on Ukrainian grain exports around the world and Ukraine tends to have less expensive grains to export and it goes to some of the poorest countries in the world, the Horn of Africa, countries in the Middle East, Yemen, Afghanistan, they've all been dependent on Ukrainian exports.

The United States and European countries are working to develop alternative, export routes by rail through Poland, or down the Danube River through Romania. But there are numerous hurdles to overcome.

We and the Europeans are working together to have alternate routes for Ukraine to be able to export its crops. So overland routes through Poland, Romania, using the Danube out through the Romanian ports, and really trying everything that we can to be able to keep some of the food exports flowing, she said. But it's not easy. It's not a replacement for the Black Sea, which offered, you know, big shipping at a much more expedited way and lower cost than these other routes.

What Russia is doing is intentionally destroying the agricultural capacity of one of the world's most critical bread baskets, said Deputy Administrator Coleman. The repercussions of that are going to be felt for months and years to come.
YORKSHIRE Waters 8 million Boston Park reservoir project is now complete and supplying drinking water to Rotherham.

Work to update two large service containers at Moorgate began in February 2020 but ended up taking three years rather than two because of Covid.

The old reservoirs  dating back to 1908 and 1955  were failing and the new ones were required to supply 20,000 homes and Rotherham Hospital.

Friends of Boston Castle and Parklands had successfully argued that Yorkshire Water should use the same footprint for the new rather than taking over the top field in a land swap with Rotherham Council.

Mott McDonald Bentley carried out the works, which saw the first reservoir  able to hold four million litres of water  completed in summer 2021.

The larger container  with an eight million-litre capacity  was completed in late July and work reinstating the public field was finished last week.

Yorkshire Water project manager Helene Moore said: I am delighted to see that the second reservoir is now in service, bringing high quality water to thousands of properties across Rotherham.

This scheme has been a fantastic investment in the longevity of Rotherhams clean water systems and despite setbacks due to Covid, weve given these reservoirs a new lease of life.

The area that was used to store the red stone and other assets throughout the construction period has been cleared and re-seeded, and were really pleased with the overall success of the project.

To make room for the reservoirs, Rotherham Red sandstone was dug up from the site. Smaller pieces of the rock have been used to separate the field from the access road, while larger pieces have been given to a stone mason, who will create a piece to feature in the park.

Janet Worrall, secretary of the friends group, said: After upwards of four years its great that the playing field in Boston Park has now been handed back to the council.

The field is starting to look green again and pieces of Rotherham Red sandstone which has been discovered during Yorkshire Waters excavation of the area now forms part of the perimeter.

The field should be in public use by the autumn and hopefully some funds can be found for its inclusion in further regeneration of the park.
Drone

Fifth Drone Seizure This Month Marks Significant Win Against Narco-Terrorism in Tarn Taran

TARN TARAN: In a major joint operation, the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel and Punjab Police have once again thwarted an attempt by Pakistani smugglers to sneak contraband into Indian territory. On Monday morning, vigilant jawans successfully seized a drone in the Khemkaran sector of Tarn Taran. To their astonishment, the drone was carrying a staggering 3.5 kilograms of heroin, with an estimated street value of Rs 21 crore. The consignment has been sent for forensic examination to aid in the ongoing investigation.

This significant accomplishment is part of a continued effort to counter narco-terrorism along the border. Acting on intelligence about drone movement in the area, the BSF personnel and Punjab Police promptly cordoned off the region and conducted a thorough search operation. Their vigilance paid off when they discovered a hexacopter drone, along with a yellow packet concealed within. Upon examination, the packet revealed the consignment of heroin.

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Notably, this is the fifth drone seized by BSF jawans in the month of July alone, underscoring the gravity of the ongoing narcotics infiltration attempts. During the same period, jawans have also succeeded in intercepting a consignment of 9.5 kilograms of heroin.


Japan is scheduled to release a raft of data on Monday, highlighting a busy day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. On tap are June figures for industrial production, retail sales, construction orders, housing starts and household confidence.

Industrial production is expected to rise 2.4 percent on month after slipping 2.2 percent in May. Retail sales are expected to rise 5.9 percent on year, up from 5.8 percent in the previous month.

Construction orders are expected to climb 7.6 percent on year after rising 4.2 percent a month earlier. Housing starts are tipped to ease an annual 0.2 percent after gaining 3.5 percent in May. The household confidence index is seen at 36.0, down from 36.2 a month prior.

Australia will provide June figures for private sector credit; in May, credit was up 0.4 percent on month.

New Zealand will see July results for the confidence index from ANZ; in June, the score was -18.0.

China will release July results for its manufacturing, non-manufacturing and composite PMIs from the National Bureau of Statistics; in June, their scores were 49.0, 53.2 and 52.5, respectively.

Hong Kong will provide preliminary Q2 figures for gross domestic product, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.9 percent on quarter and a fall of 4.4 percent on year. That follows gains of 5.3 percent on quarter and 2.7 percent on year in the three months prior.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
Crude oil prices climbed higher on Monday and the oil futures contract posted the biggest monthly gain in over a year, amid signs of tight supply and optimism over increased demand in the U.S. and China.

Rising expectations about an end to U.S. rate hikes, and hopes that Saudi Arabia will continue with its output reduction plan right through the month of September contributed as well to the uptick in oil prices.

Oil was also supported by a note from Goldman Sachs that suggested the demand has not peaked as yet.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $1.22 or about 1.5% at $81.80 a barrel. WTI crude futures gained about 16% in July.

Brent crude futures settled at $85.56 a barrel, gaining $0.57 or about 0.7%.

According to reports, a Reuter survey says the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has pumped 27.34 million barrels per day this month, down 840,000 bpd from June. That's the lowest since September 2021.

"Crude prices are finishing a solid month on a high note as demand prospects remain impressive and no one doubts that OPEC+ will keep this market tight. The oil market is seeing the best month since early 2022 as most of the major central banks appear at the tail end of their tightening cycles," says Edward Moya, Senior Market Analyst at OANDA.

"The crude demand outlook is getting a boost on soft landing hopes for the US and Europe. The ace up the sleeve of oil bulls is that the energy market is still awaiting massive stimulus from China that should boost global growth prospects," adds Moya.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Prince Zolile Burns-Ncamashe, Vice-Chancellor Professor Sizwe Mabizela and School of Languages and Literatures Head of Department Dr Bulelwa Nosilela. Photo cred: Lindokuhle Mnqayi.

Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape has honoured the late SEK Mqhayi, one of the greatest Xhosa writers in history. This comes, as the institution celebrates 200 years of the written isiXhosa language.

The author of the first extant novel in the Xhosa language, Ityala Lamawele has been remembered for his stories, poems and interest in culture.

Celebrating 200 years of the written isiXhosa language. IsiXhosa is a Nguni language and one the official languages of South Africa.

Spoken as a first language by approximately 10 million people and second language by 11 million.

It was first written down and published on the banks of the Tyhume River, at Alice in the Eastern Cape.

SEK Mqhayi was one of the well-known authors who contributed to the growth of the language.

Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Prince Zolile Burns-Ncamashe says, We are really honoured that we could honour Mqhayi in this way, because of his immense contribution to isiXhosa literature. He took so much pride in this language and wanted to make sure that the language is preserved. Universities must take it upon themselves to do everything in their power to ensure that the legacy of Mkhayi lives on.

Mqhayis writing ranged from Xhosa dramas and novels, to biographies and history. Preserving the language in the 20th century. He was also a forerunner to democracy, a visionary who had ideas for his country that only came to fruition 50 years after his death.

Rhodes University Vice-Chancellor Professor Sizwe Mabizela says, Its so important that the institution ensures that the isiXhosa language is given the prestige it deserves by ensuring that our students take pride in their language. We have an excellent language department that is doing all it can through its articles and literature to preserve this language.

The family of the late Mqhayi is honoured by the recognition hes receiving. Ncamashe has also urged the youth to follow suit and embrace vernacular languages.

Original article by SABC news: https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/rhodes-university-honours-renowned-xhosa-writer-late-sek-mqhayi/
Honda Elevate SUV will be powered by a single 1.5 liter petrol engine  Same unit which is also on offer with City

Honda Cars India has announced plans to launch 5 new SUVs in India by 2026. The first of these, the Honda Elevate, is now set for launch. Ahead of that, production has now started at the company plant in Tapukara, Rajasthan. First production unit of the New Honda Elevate rolled off the production line earlier today.

With launch date set for later this year, company dealerships have commenced bookings for the new Elevate at Rs 21,000, even as prices have not yet been announced. The bookings can be done via Honda authorized dealers or via the companys online sales platform Honda from Home. Honda Elevate will be on display at dealerships from August 2023 and India will be the first market where this SUV will be launched followed by it making its way globally.

Honda Elevate India Production Starts

Mr Takuya Tsumura, President & CEO, Honda Cars India Ltd. said Today is a significant milestone in our SUV endeavor as we commence production of our hugely anticipated Honda Elevate at our Tapukara facility in India. Ever since its global unveiling, the Elevate has received an overwhelming response from customers nationwide. We are extremely proud to be the first country to start the mass production of Elevate and are confident that it will quickly become an important pillar of our business, fostering stronger connections with customers and attracting new members to our Honda family. We are excited about the prospects that lie ahead and the impact this model will have on our brand.

The new Honda Elevate enters a highly competitive segment that is currently ruled by the likes of Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos along with the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara. To counter this rivalry, the company promises an array of features and a host of safety equipment among which will also be ADAS technology. It will garner the attention of a younger segment of buyers in the country with its bold stance and increased dimensions, which will relate to increased cabin space and large boot at 458 liters.

Where dimensions are concerned, the Honda Elevate will measure 4,312mm in length, 1,790mm in width and 1,650mm in height. It gets a 2,650mm long wheelbase and high ground clearance while it will ride on two-tone finish diamond cut R17 alloy wheels. The Elevate will be offered single and dual tone colour schemes of Phoenix Orange Pearl (New Colour), Obsidian Blue Pearl, Radiant Red Metallic, Platinum White Pearl, Golden Brown Metallic, Lunar Silver Metallic and Meteoroid Gray Metallic.

The exteriors of Honda Elevate, which has been developed by the Honda R&D Asia Pacific center in Thailand, will be marked by full LED projectors headlamps with LED DRLs and LED turn indicators and LED lights at the rear. It gets a single-pane sunroof.

Based on Hondas principle of Man Maximum Machine Minimum, the cabin of the new Elevate follows the concept of Progressive and Protective. It is spacious offering ample head, leg and knee room with upholstery done in brown leatherette with doors and dashboard sporting soft touch pads. Features include a 17.78 inch TFT cluster, floating 26.03 cm high definition, in-plane switching LCD touchscreen infotainment system with wireless smartphone charger.

Honda Elevate with ADAS

It also gets Honda Connect for an improved connected car experience and comes in with Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) of Honda SENSING. This package includes front collision warning, braking assist, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, lead car departure notification and auto high beam control. Safety is also enhanced via rear parking sensors, multi angle rear view camera, hill start assist and LaneWatch camera along with a total of 6 airbags and ISOFIX rear seats.

Honda Elevate will be offered with a single 1.5 liter naturally aspirated 4 cylinder petrol engine that makes 121 hp power at 6,600 rpm and 145 Nm torque at 4,300 rpm. As of now, the company has no plans to introduce a hybrid variant of the Elevate but an all-electric SUV based on the Elevate is slated to be launched by 2026.
Press Release

July 30, 2023 Tolentino seeks inclusion of pending anti-graft bills in the proposed new procurement law DAVAO CITY - Senator Francis 'TOL' N. Tolentino wants the inclusion of pending anti-graft measures to the proposed new procurement law being asked by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to Congress. During an interview with Super Radyo DZBB, Tolentino said there are existing bills he filed under the 19th Congress which he wants to be part of the provisions of the proposed new Government Procurement Code requested by Malacanang to the legislature during President Marcos' second State of the Nation Address (SONA) last week. "Sa totoo lang, anim na bills na yung na file ko sa procurement. So, ito iko-consolidate na lang kung mayroong bagong version ng Republic Act No. 9184--yung Procurement Act natin--isasama na lang po dito." Tolentino, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, spearheaded a series of inquiry in connection with the alleged anomalous purchase by the government of outdated and overpriced laptops for public school teachers. Following the Senate investigation, Tolentino filed Senate Bill No. 1802, which seeks to abolish the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), the primary government agency involved in various anomalous contracts. "Pinapa-abolish na po natin ang PS-DBM, at ang mamimili na lang po ay ang mga end-users dahil sila naman po ang gagamit nun--yung mga bureaus, mga offices, yung mga state universities, at kabilang na din ang mga LGUs," Tolentino explained. Under Senate Bill No. 1803, the senator also seeks the registration of all future joint ventures (JVs) that will participate in government bidding with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Right after the Blue Ribbon panel's probe on the government purchase of COVID-19 vaccines, Tolentino also filed Senate Bill Nos. 2272 and 2273, which mandate the government full transparency and full disclosure in the future supply agreements and purchase contracts as well as requiring the participation of the Office of the Solicitor General in negotiating with foreign governments. "Dapat wala na po yung non-disclosure agreements. Dapat open na po 'yan." The senator also filed Senate Bill No. 618, which seeks to establish a uniform warehousing and inventory system for all government procuring entities, and Senate Bill No. 619, which mandates all government suppliers, contractors, and consultants to submit necessary requirements to prove their respective financial capacity. Tolentino admitted that the entire Procurement Act under RA 9184 needs a total overhaul and hopes that his proposals will be included in the provisions of the new procurement code.
The United States is an Indo-Pacific nation, and as such, we are committed to building the collective capacity of our allies partners and friends, to sustain a region that is free and open, connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient, said Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Daniel Kritenbrink. Speaking in mid-July during a U.S. House of Representatives Hearing entitled Achieving Peace through Strength in the Indo-Pacific, Mr. Ktritenbrink noted that U.S leadership in the Indo-Pacific, which of course includes the EAP region, is critical because the Indo-Pacific fuels much of the world's economic growth and will be the epicenter of 21st century geopolitics.

We have an Indo-Pacific strategy of which China is a part, and not the other way around. That said, while strategic competition with the PRC remains a global challenge, competition is most pronounced in the Indo-Pacific, she said.

So, the United States approach to the Peoples Republic of China will include a strategy consisting of investment, alignment, and competition.

We are investing in the foundations of our strength at home, aligning with allies and partners on our approach abroad and competing with the PRC to defend our interests, said Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink. Our objective is not to change the PRC but rather to shape the Strategic environment in which it operates, building a balance of influence that is favorable to the United States, our allies and partners, and the interests and values that we share.

Nonetheless, We also remain committed to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, said Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink. Our One China policy, which has remained consistent, has helped to maintain cross-strait peace and stability for the past 40 years. In line with the Taiwan relations act, the United States will continue to assist Taiwan in maintaining a sufficient self-defense capability.

U.S security depends on our collaboration with our allies and partners to address shared challenges, to build resilience to transnational threats, said Assistant Secretary Kritenbrink. The United States role in the region must be more enduring than ever. Our allies and partners are looking to our ability to deliver resources, as a sign of our commitment, building on existing efforts.
The Santa Fe Irrigation District and San Dieguito Water Districts celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the San Dieguito Reservoir and the dedication of the new pump station with a ceremony on May 30.

Santa Fe Irrigation District (SFID) General Manager Michael Bardin said the reservoir is the centerpiece of the joint partnership between the two water districts and the new pump station is a critical piece of their local water supply system that they have continued to improve throughout the years.

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This is important to us to celebrate the accomplishments weve had here and the history weve had going back 100 years, Bardin said. The reservoir and pump station have been important assets from the beginning for ensuring customers of our two districts have high-quality water.

Looking back on the long history of the water districts was a theme for the ceremony. On display on the shores of the reservoir was a piece of the original 25-inch redwood mainline built in 1923 that stretched from the reservoir to Santa Fe Drive.

Joe Mosca, president of the San Dieguito Water District board, told a story about growing up in North County San Diego and being served water in restaurants in amber-colored glasses because of brown hue of the water back then.

Michael Hogan, the president of the SFID board who has lived in Solana Beach since 1954, remembered those same amber glasses. He recalled in the early 1960s when the Larrick Reservoir in Solana Beach was drained and water was discharged down the streetshe and friends waded in water and caught fish as water ran down the street.

It just demonstrates how far weve come in regard to what safe and high-quality water is, Hogan said, noting how the two districts have partnered to improve their joint facilities to be more durable and efficient.

The San Dieguito Dam was constructed in 1918 for just $160,000. The hollow gravity, multiple arch dam created the reservoir which receives water from Lake Hodges. The reservoir has the capacity to store 850-acre feet of water and is used for operational storage of local Lake Hodges water and serves as emergency storage.

Mosca said the reservoir was the turning point for the partnership between the two agencies, purchased from the city of San Diego in 1969.

The pump station at the reservoir was originally built in 1964 to convey raw water to customersHogan said that it was upgraded in 1967 in the same year that the R.E. Badger Filtration Plant was constructed as a joint venture between the two districts. The pump station began pumping low cost, local water from the reservoir to the plant for filtration and delivery to customers.

The original pump station served the district well for over 53 years, it ultimately reached the end of its useful life and was taken out of service in August 2017 when it was demolished to make room for the new one, Hogan said.

Mosca described how several environmentally-friendly processes are used to pre-treat the reservoir water prior to pumping it up to the filtration plant such as solar bees, aqua mats and floating islands.

The solar bee, a floating solar-powered device, draws water up from the lower depths of the lake and spreads it out over the surface.The process improves water quality through aeration which prevents blue-green algae blooms, reduces taste and odor problems. Aqua mats use strips of porous fibers that provide a surface area for beneficial bacteria to grow that consumes organic and ammonia compounds. The floating islands made of recycled materials are home to plants that naturally cleanse water.

Using these products results in less chemical use and less costs in the filtration process, Mosca said.

When reviewed recently, Mosca said the reservoir was found to be in good condition and only at its mid-life use.

Construction of the new pump station began in July 2015 and completed in September 2017 for a total cost $7.5 million. According to Hogan, it is equipped with the latest technology, including two 4.5 million gallons per day pumps and two 6 million gallons per day pumps for a total rated capacity for 15 million gallons per day.

Over 60,000 North County residences and business rely on the water pumped from the reservoir to filtration pump by way of the pump station.

These shared facilities that are operated and maintained by the Santa Fe Irrigation District on behalf of both districts demonstrates that partnerships between government agencies can work successfully together to leverage our mutual assets, provide efficiency and reduce costs to ratepayers, Hogan said
The Ministry of Education has inked 106 MoUs with prestigious organisations and institutions, paving the way for an exciting era of collaboration in education and industry-academia partnerships. These agreements are set to fuel innovation, drive groundbreaking research, and facilitate the exchange of knowledge across diverse domains, promising significant advancements for the future.To commemorate the third anniversary of the launch of the new National Education Policy (NEP), a momentous day was marked with the signing of several memoranda of understanding (MoUs) during the Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Samagam. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) also signed 15 MoUs with various institutes and sector-skill providers. These strategic partnerships aim to provide specialised attention to fostering essential skills and knowledge acquisition among students.The MoUs were signed in association with the Atal Innovation Mission, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Apparel Made-ups and Home Furnishing Sector Skill Council, Automotive Sector Skill Council, Sports, Physical Education, Fitness and Leisure Skills Council, Central Square Foundation (CSC), Educational Initiatives Private Limited, Oxford University Press India, Logistics Sector Skill Council, Furniture and Fittings Sector Skill Council, Life Sciences Sector Skill Council, Textiles Sector Skill Council and Healthcare Sector Skill Council.The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) took significant strides by signing three crucial MoUs. The first MoU was with the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC), aiming to promote Indian sign language and foster collaboration for standardizing and developing top-notch learning resources in this language. The second MoU was with the Common Service Centres, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, with the primary goal of leveraging CSC e-governance services to facilitate admissions of Out of School Children (OoSC) into NIOS, boosting enrolment, and enhancing e-services.Lastly, the third MoU was inked with Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, focusing on academic advancement and mutually beneficial cooperation. An MoU between Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) and IBM was also signed to accelerate the activities conducted for effective implementation of the Vigyan Jyoti programme in the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs), as reported by PTI.Further, in a significant move to strengthen educational initiatives, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) entered into 20 MoUs under the eVidya initiative. These partnerships were established with the departments of school education in various states to collaboratively develop high-quality content accessible through PM eVIDYA DTH TV channels. The initiative aims to cater to diverse stakeholders and promote learning in different languages. The National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) came together to sign fourteen MoUs in collaboration with esteemed organisations.
By stating China is a threat in clear, unambiguous words in its Defense of Japan 2023 document, the Japanese government has set a typical example to the whole world of how a thief cries "catch thief".

In the 32 pages of its digest version, "China" is mentioned 64 times to portray it as "an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge" to Japan. Among the charges that are leveled at China in the paper to support this claim are the country is enhancing its military capabilities, making "unilateral changes" to the "status quo" in the East China Sea and the South China Sea through displays of force and intensifying its military activities in the Taiwan Strait.

However, it is Japan that seeks to take these false charges as a pretext to amend its so-called pacifist Constitution to enhance its military capabilities.

As the defense paper itself states, Japan is planning to spend 43.5 trillion yen ($322.2 billion) on defense in the coming five years, a significant increase from 17.2 trillion yen in the 2019-2023 period. Further, its military spending has already been increasing for more than a decade in a row when the country does not face any imminent security threats.

Despite Tokyo claiming the nation is dedicated to self-defense, its defense spending is already the third-largest in the world, and its average per capita defense spending is much higher than that of China.

Japan has never discarded the ambition of seeking a re-rise to be not only a regional but also global military power. And its de facto military forces can only be described as world-class.

As for its shows of force in the South China Sea, Japan is acting like someone who backs up an intruder who has entered someone's backyard waving a gun, as vessels of the Japanese Self-Defense Force have sailed there many times in moves aimed at emulating the US' repeated "freedom of navigation" provocations.

And it is simply absurd for Japan, which officially recognizes the one-China principle that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, to support the secessionists on the island.

A simple review of history shows that Japan always seeks alliance with the most powerful military force of the world, with the UK in 1902, Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940, and the US in the postwar world. And it abused every alliance to invade or threaten its neighbors. And it is now colluding with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to establish a regional "liaison office" in Tokyo.

It called China "a threat" before invading China's northeastern provinces in 1931 and launching a full attack in 1937. Now, with the encouragement of the US, Japan is openly threatening China once again.

But 2023 is not 1931 or 1937. China loves peace, and it has the capability to defend peace. Under whatever excuse or with whichever ally Japan dares to challenge China, it will only repeat the failure of 1945.

Tokyo should not be beguiled by the tune Washington is piping as it is only leading it astray.
Bees are the most significant pollinators of flowering plants. This partnership began approximately 120 million years ago, but the uncertainty of how and when bees spread across the planet has greatly obscured investigations of this key mutualism. New research led by Universidade de Sao Paulo and Washington State University scientists demonstrates that bees originated in western Gondwana (Africa and South America) in the Early Cretaceous epoch and that the early evolution of any major bee lineage is associated with either the South American or African land masses.

Theres been a longstanding puzzle about the spatial origin of bees, said Washington State Universitys Dr. Silas Bossert, co-senior author of the study.

For the study, Dr. Bossert, co-senior author Dr. Eduardo Almeida from the University of Sao Paulo, and their colleagues sequenced and compared genes from more than 200 bee species.

They compared them with traits from 185 different bee fossils, as well as extinct species, developing an evolutionary history and genealogical models for historical bee distribution.

In what may be the broadest genomic study of bees to date, they analyzed hundreds to thousands of genes at a time to make sure that the relationships they inferred were correct.

This is the first time we have broad genome-scale data for all seven bee families, said co-author Dr. Elizabeth Murray, also from Washington State University.

Previous research established that the first bees likely evolved from wasps, transitioning from predators to collectors of nectar and pollen

The current study shows they arose in arid regions of western Gondwana during the early Cretaceous period.

For the first time, we have statistical evidence that bees originated on Gondwana, Dr. Bossert said.

We now know that bees are originally southern hemisphere insects.

The researchers found evidence that as the new continents formed, bees moved north, diversifying and spreading in a parallel partnership with angiosperms, the flowering plants. Later, they colonized India and Australia.

All major families of bees appeared to split off prior to the dawn of the Tertiary period, 65 million years ago  the era when dinosaurs became extinct.

The tropical regions of the western hemisphere have an exceptionally rich flora, and that diversity may be due to their longtime association with bees.

One quarter of all flowering plants belong to the large and diverse rose family, which make up a significant share of the tropical and temperate host plants for bees.

The authors now plan to continue their efforts, sequencing and studying the genetics and history of more species of bees.

Their findings are a useful first step in revealing how bees and flowering plants evolved together.

Understanding how bees spread and filled their modern ecological niches could also help keep pollinator populations healthy.

People are paying more attention to the conservation of bees and are trying to keep these species alive where they are, Dr. Murray said.

This work opens the way for more studies on the historical and ecological stage.

The results were published in the journal Current Biology.

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Eduardo A.B. Almeida et al. The evolutionary history of bees in time and space. Current Biology, published online July 27, 2023; doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.005
Imagine an iPad that's more than just an iPad -- with a surface that can morph and deform, allowing you to draw 3D designs, create haiku that jump out from the screen and even hold your partner's hand from an ocean away.

That's the vision of a team of engineers from the University of Colorado Boulder. In a new study, they've created a one-of-a-kind shape-shifting display that fits on a card table. The device is made from a 10-by-10 grid of soft robotic "muscles" that can sense outside pressure and pop up to create patterns. It's precise enough to generate scrolling text and fast enough to shake a chemistry beaker filled with fluid.

It may also deliver something even rarer: the sense of touch in a digital age.

"As technology has progressed, we started with sending text over long distances, then audio and now video," said Brian Johnson, one of two lead authors of the new study who earned his doctorate in mechanical engineering at CU Boulder in 2022. "But we're still missing touch."

Johnson and his colleagues described their shape display July 31 in the journal Nature Communications.

The group's innovation builds off a class of soft robots pioneered by a team led by Christoph Keplinger, formerly an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at CU Boulder. They're called Hydraulically Amplified Self-Healing ELectrostatic (HASEL) actuators. The prototype display isn't ready for the market yet. But the researchers envision that, one day, similar technologies could lead to sensory gloves for virtual gaming or a smart conveyer belt that can undulate to sort apples from bananas.

"You could imagine arranging these sensing and actuating cells into any number of different shapes and combinations," said Mantas Naris, co-lead author of the paper and a doctoral student in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering. "There's really no limit to what these technologies could, ultimately, lead to."

Playing the accordion

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The project has its origins in the search for a different kind of technology: synthetic organs.

In 2017, researchers led by Mark Rentschler, professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering, secured funding from the National Science Foundation to develop what they call sTISSUE -- squishy organs that behave and feel like real human body parts but are made entirely out of silicone-like materials. Co-investigators on the grant include Keplinger, now a director at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany; Nikolaus Correll, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at CU Boulder; and Sean Humbert, professor of mechanical engineering.

"You could use these artificial organs to help develop medical devices or surgical robotic tools for much less cost than using real animal tissue," said Rentschler, a co-author of the new study.

In developing that technology, however, the team landed on the idea of a tabletop display. The research is part of the Materials Science and Engineering Program.

The group's design is about the size of a Scrabble game board and, like one of those boards, is composed of small squares arranged in a grid. In this case, each one of the 100 squares is an individual HASEL actuator. The actuators are made of plastic pouches shaped like tiny accordions. If you pass an electric current through them, fluid shifts around inside the pouches, causing the accordion to expand and jump up.

The actuators also include soft, magnetic sensors that can detect when you poke them. That allows for some fun activities, said Johnson, now a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems.

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"Because the sensors are magnet-based, we can use a magnetic wand to draw on the surface of the display," he said.

Hear that?

Other research teams have developed similar smart tablets, but the CU Boulder display is softer, takes up a lot less room and is much faster. Each of its robotic muscles can activate as much as 50 times per second.

The researchers are focusing now on shrinking the actuators to increase the resolution of the display -- almost like adding more pixels to a computer screen.

"Imagine if you could load an article onto your phone, and it renders as Braille on your screen," Naris said.

The group is also working to flip the display inside out. That way, engineers could design a glove that pokes your fingertips, allowing you to "feel" objects in virtual reality.

And, Rentschler said, the display can bring something else: a little peace and quiet.

"Our system is, essentially, silent. The actuators make almost no noise."

Video: https://youtu.be/osM1R1PnR2U
Visitors to the Temple of Literatrue in Hanoi

The country welcomed nearly 1.04 million foreign visitors this month, a figure three times higher compared to the same period from last year.

However, the number still only equals 79% of the number recorded back in July, 2019, before the break out of the pandemic.

In the first seven months of this year, the country received nearly 6.6 million foreign tourists, representing around 83% of its target. In July, there was a significant increase in tourist arrivals from the European market, including Norway, up 250.8%, Belgium, up 154%, and Denmark, up 152%.

Other major markets also saw growth during the reviewed period, including the Republic of Korea, up 6%, China, up 14%, and the United States, up 7%. In contrast, there were signs of a decline in tourist arrivals from Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, down 19%, Malaysia, down 24%, and Cambodia, down 9.8%.

Foreign tourists to Vietnam (Source: VNA)

The number of domestic tourists gained 12.5 million in July and 76.5 million throughout the first seven months of this year.

Total revenue from tourists in the January to July period were at an estimated VND416.6 trillion, achieving 64% of its annual target.

Among the top 10 markets for Vietnamese tourism in the first seven months; four were in Northeast Asia, such as the Republic of Korea, China, Taiwan (China), and Japan; and three in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia. Elsewhere, Australia and India ranked ninth and 10th. The UK, France, and Germany were the three biggest markets for the countrys tourism in Europe.

Vietnamese tourists rank second for visitor numbers to Laos

The number of foreign tourists visiting Laos reached over 1.6 million during the first half of this year, exceeding its annual target of 1.4 million, with Thailand continuing to top the list of tourist arrivals, followed by Vietnam.

Vietnamese tourists rank second for visitor numbers to Laos (Source: vov.vn)

VOV reported the latest report issued by the Laos Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, visitors from Thailand led the list with 668,000, followed by Vietnam with 339,000, China with 317,000, and the Republic of Korea with 73,000.

Most notably, ASEAN member states saw the highest number of tourists keen to travel to Laos at nearly 1.1 million arrivals. Along with visitors from ASEAN, the neighbouring country also welcomed 427,000, 100,000, and 41,000 arrivals from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and the United States, respectively.

This comes amid many famous publications worldwide, including Australian Travel Publication, National Geographic, CNN, Wanderlust, and Fodor's, recently featuring Laos among the list of the top attractive destinations this year, resulting in an increase in the number of international travelers over recent times.

The welcoming of over 1.6 million visitors during the first six months of this year reflects that the Laotian tourism industry is recovering quickly, with Laos Government planning to receive more than two million foreign arrivals by the end of the year.

They have also set the target of drawing four million foreign arrivals next year, with this likely to generate a total of US$712 million in 2024.

Travel firms race to attract foreign tourists with new visa law

The Law on amendments and supplements to a number of articles of the Law on the Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens, as well as the Law on Foreigners Entry into, Exit from, Transit through, and Residence in Vietnam is expected to serve as momentum for the tourism sector towards the target of welcoming 8 million international holidaymakers this year.

Vietnam expects to welcome 8 million international holidaymakers this year. (Photo: VNA)

Phung Quang Thang, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Travel Association, called the adoption of the law, which will take effect from August 2023, a major event to the sector.

The new visa regulations under the law create optimal conditions for many travel firms to attract foreign tourists, he said, noting that e-visa duration is extended from 30 to 90 days, with multiple entries.

Travel companies said the law has enabled them to conduct promotional campaigns right from October 2023 to April 2024, and the loosened visa policy helps them develop suitable products as currently European and Latin American tourists often travel from Vietnam to adjacent countries like Thailand and Cambodia.

The visa policy adjustment not only demonstrates Vietnam's adaptability and flexibility in the race to recover the tourism industry after the COVID-19 pandemic but also serves as a foundation for travel firms to offer various long-term products, such as senior-friendly resorts, medical tourism, and research-oriented tourism.

Apart from the visa extension, Resolution No. 82/MQ-CP, issued by the Government on May 18 on key tasks and solutions to accelerate effective and sustainable tourism recovery and development, has been seen as another crucial step in the implementation of the Politburos Resolution No. 08-NQ/TW on turning tourism into an economic spearhead.

Photo for illustration (Source: https://vneconomy.vn)

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) is working as an advisor to the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism on the issuance of an action plan for the enforcement of the Governments resolution.

Vu The Binh, Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, said his association has encouraged businesses to implement the document, focusing on market adjustment and tourism promotion to lure more foreign arrivals.

VNAT deputy head Ha Van Sieu stressed that international tourism is expected to grow sharply from now till the end of this year, mainly thanks to relaxed visa and immigration policies.

To achieve the yearly target, the entire industry will focus on rolling out a marketing strategy by 2030, and the projects on information-technology application for smart tourism, and community-based tourism development in Vietnam, he said.

Pham Tien Dung, Director of Golden Tour, said businesses had kept a close watch on the drafting of the law, and made preparations in terms of both information and products.

After the law sailed through the legislature, tourism companies have notified their partners so that they can devise suitable plans, he added./.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali in Beijing, capital of China, July 30, 2023. Ali, who is visiting China, attended the opening ceremony of the 31st summer edition of the FISU World University Games. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

BEIJING, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali in Beijing on Sunday, saying that China is willing to work with Guyana to promote relations between China and Caribbean countries, and to jointly safeguard the common interests of developing countries.

Li said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties more than five decades ago, China and Guyana have always treated each other with mutual respect and equality. The political mutual trust between the two sides has become even firmer as time goes by, he said, adding that the practical cooperation has achieved fruitful results, setting an example of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation between countries with different social systems, histories and cultures.

Li expressed China's readiness to continue to make joint efforts with Guyana to develop bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, and promote the building of a China-Guyana community with a shared future.

He pointed out that China firmly supports Guyana in pursuing a development path that is suitable for its own national conditions. Taking the Belt and Road Initiative as an opportunity, China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Guyana in economy, trade, agriculture, energy, green development and other areas.

China stands ready to work with Guyana to promote relations between China and Caribbean countries, meet global challenges together, safeguard the common interests of developing countries, and improve international fairness and justice, Li said.

Noting that China is a strategic partner of Guyana, Ali said that Guyana spoke highly of China's great achievements in advancing modernization, and thanked China for helping Guyana with its economic and social development. He welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Guyana.

Ali said that Guyana appreciates China's important role in international affairs, and is willing to work with China to practice multilateralism and jointly address the global challenges of energy security, food security and climate change.

Ali, who is visiting China, attended the opening ceremony of the 31st summer edition of the FISU World University Games in Chengdu, capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Editor: ZAD
BT Group said on Monday that it has appointed Allison Kirkby as chief executive, succeeding Philip Jansen around the end of January 2024 at the latest.

Kirkby has been president and CEO of Telia Company since early 2020. Telia is a Swedish digital communications and telecommunications provider to 25 million customers across the Nordic and Baltic region.

BT said Kirkby moved into the TMT sector in 2010, initially joining Virgin Media, and was most recently president and CEO of TDC - from 2018 to 2020 - the largest telecommunications company in Denmark, and president and CEO of Tele2 AB, the largest challenger telecommunications company in Sweden and the Baltics.

Kirkby has been a non-executive director at BT since 2019 and is also a non-exec director and member of the Audit Committee of Brookfield Asset Management Limited.

Chairman Adam Crozier said: "The board is delighted to have appointed Allison as our new chief executive. She is a proven leader, with deep sector experience and a history of having transformed businesses. I look forward to supporting her as we drive our long-term strategy to transform BT Group, ensuring it delivers for all our stakeholders."
Rangers patrol the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, July 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Dai Jinrong)

HARBIN, July 30 (Xinhua) -- In an area spanning over 14,000 square km, it only takes a few seconds to trace a wild Siberian tiger, thanks to the more than 20,000 infrared cameras installed in the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park.

Situated in northeast China's Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, the park was on trial in 2017 and officially established in 2021. It is equipped with infrared cameras and an integrated intelligent monitoring system that covers the entire area to collect and record data on wildlife.

While strolling through the area, Zang Peng, a ranger with the Suiyang bureau branch of the park's administration, paused in front of a towering red pine. He then retrieved a green iron box from his backpack and secured it to the trunk.

"This is the infrared camera we use to trace wild animal activities. If a Siberian tiger passes by the camera, its infrared signal will turn the device on and start recording close-up videos," Zang said.

According to him, these cameras form the very basis for tracing and protecting Siberian tigers.

Also known as the Amur tiger, the Siberian tiger is one of the most endangered animals in the world and a flagship species of the forest ecosystem mainly living in Russia's Far East and northeast China. About 500 Siberian tigers are believed to be living in the wild.

In recent years, various technologies have been introduced to support the protection of Siberian tigers in the wildlife park, helping rebuild the kingdom of the mighty felid.

When Zang began his career as a ranger six years ago, one of the most crucial and exhausting tasks was clearing traps and hunting sets. The forest was filled with numerous hunting traps, as some locals used to rely on hunting wild animals for their livelihood.

Now, with the SMART system in place, which integrates various geographical information, trap clearing has become much easier for Zang and his colleagues. "Using the SMART system, we can upload and analyze the locations of animal tracks and hunting traps, and other information after patrolling, leaving no blind spots behind," Zang said.

As the park turns a much safer place for animals, the population of Siberian tigers increased continuously over the years.

As of this year's International Tiger Day, which is celebrated on July 29, there are about 60 wild Siberian tigers in China, rising from about 20 in the 1990s, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

In the jurisdiction of the park's Suiyang bureau branch, infrared cameras have captured images of wild Siberian tigers 415 times, with 10 adult individuals spotted.

In the park's Tianqiaoling area in Jilin Province, researchers were surprised to find a female Siberian tiger with four healthy cubs roaming in the forest.

However, along with the growing number of Siberian tigers also comes the increasing danger to patrolling rangers and local residents. With incremental activities of the wild predators, the park started to establish an early warning system to prevent human-tiger conflicts through the use of technology.

The early warning system is a part of the integrated intelligent monitoring system which collects real-time data on animal activities captured by infrared cameras, and also natural resources such as water, soil and air.

In the monitoring center, diagrams displaying Siberian tigers' activity frequency and active time are projected on the screen in a matter of seconds. The system can also recognize different wild animal species automatically, including the Siberian tiger.

Liang Zhuo, deputy director of the Siberian tiger protection department of the park's Suiyang bureau branch, said that through this system, they can send messages to local residents once tigers are spotted close to the village or farmland.

The intelligent system has resulted in reduced manual work and less human interference in the lives of wild Siberian tigers.

It has also helped build a Siberian tiger database, which can provide basic data for scientific research and protection work.

With the continuous integration of technological advancements into the development of the park, Siberian tigers are experiencing a peak in reproduction and undergoing rapid population growth. Experts believe that at least 50 percent of the tiger cubs can now survive to adulthood in the park. 

This screen image captured on July 26, 2023 at the Suiyang bureau branch of park administration of the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province shows a wild Siberian tiger traced by an infrared camera. (Xinhua/Dai Jinrong)

Ranger Zang Peng (R) checks images taken by infrared cameras at the Suiyang bureau branch of park administration of the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, July 26, 2023. (Xinhua/Dai Jinrong)

Rangers install an infrared camera in the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, July 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Dai Jinrong)

Editor: JYZ
An interesting observation was recently published by DeepTech, a news media organization, on its Telegram channel. The South Asian television industry is undergoing revolutionary transformations with the introduction of AI news anchors on Indian, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani channels, reports DeepTech. These humanoid AI news anchors are revolutionizing news broadcasting in the region by offering round-the-clock content in multiple languages at a significantly lower cost. Designed according to widely accepted Indian standards of beauty and capable of delivering news tirelessly, Sana on Aaj Tak TV and Lisa on Odisha TV have caught the audience's attention. As AI anchors gain momentum, questions arise about their impact on the job market and the traditional role of human reporters.

South Asian television channels have embraced the integration of AI news anchors, signifying a paradigm shift in news broadcasting. Sana, the AI anchor on Aaj Tak TV, was introduced as "bright, brilliant, ageless, tireless" by Kalli Puri, the vice-chairperson of the India Today Group, during its grand launch in March. Following suit, Lisa made her debut on Odisha TV, captivating viewers with her warm "Namaste" and fluent command of the Odia language, tailored for the local audience. The appeal of these AI-based news anchors lies in their universality, multilingualism, and 24-hour availability, qualities that resonate with the diverse 1.4 billion population of South Asia.

Vivek Malhotra, the Head of Marketing for the India Today Group, highlights the importance of Sana's news broadcasting capabilities. According to Malhotra, Sana's proficiency in multiple languages, seamless transitions between topics, and unlimited endurance add a new dimension to news delivery. While Sana complements human anchors, she also plays a crucial role in enhancing the efficiency and creativity of newsroom staff by handling routine and repetitive tasks. As a result, this cutting-edge AI technology becomes a valuable ally for the India Today Group.

Although the advent of AI news anchors marks a significant achievement in media technology, concerns have been raised about their impact on the job market and the future of journalism. The presence of AI anchors like Apardhita on Channel 24 in Bangladesh and Fatma on GNN in Pakistan has sparked discussions about the possible replacement of human reporters.

Raihanul Haque, the Vice President of the Bangladesh Press Club, remarks that AI technology is becoming increasingly prevalent across various industries, including the television sector. Haque emphasizes that while AI anchors tirelessly report the news, concerns remain about their ability to convey the creative essence of news presentations and reports, which typically require human involvement.
Organised by MMI Asia, the regional subsidiary of Messe MuInchen GmbH and Vietnam Building Ceramic Association (VIBCA), together in consultation with Asian Exhibition Services (AES) Ltd., ASEAN Ceramics 2023 is the leading international exhibition of machinery, technology, and materials for manufacturing white-ware, heavy clay, and advanced ceramics. Building upon the remarkable success and expertise of ceramitec, the event promises to bring together the most influential players in the ceramics industry within the ASEAN region.

This year's theme, "Building a Sustainable Future, Green Innovation and Production Efficiency through Digitalization, Automation, Alternative Fuels, Energy Recovery and Losses & Waste Reduction," will emphasize sustainability and technological advancements driving the ceramics industry forward. The exhibition and conference will bring together the worlds leading suppliers and Southeast Asias leading manufacturers to promote trade cooperation, technical exchanges, and continued technology investments to improve ceramic quality standards that meets the sophisticated international requirements.

Michael Wilton, CEO & Managing Director of MMI Asia expressed The ceramic business in Southeast Asia holds great opportunities with the combination of ASEAN governments development and infrastructure programme and the increasing Vietnams ceramic production for export to APAC, US and European markets. We are committed to provide an optimal platform to showcase machineries, technologies, materials, and methodologies in support of the further developments and advancements for the Ceramics Industry.

Mr Dinh Quang Huy, Chairman of VIBCA expressed In recent ten years, the Asean ceramic industry has been developing rapidly, becoming one of the most vibrant regions in the world. In Vietnam, with the current production capacity of over 800 million square meters of ceramic tiles, 24 million pieces of sanitaryware products together with tableware sector, Vietnam has been annually ranked in the top 10 of the world's biggest ceramic producing countries, being the attractive destination for international machinery and raw materials suppliers. Asean Ceramics exhibition has gradually built up its position in the list of important events of the ceramic industry in Southeast Asia and the world with more and more increasing scale both in the list of exhibitors and sectors as well as the number of visitors. This shows the attraction of the Expo and at the same time we can see the effect that the event brings to the exhibitors and visitors.

ASEAN Ceramics 2023 will feature country pavilions from China, Italy, and Vietnam, providing an immersive experience encompassing a wide range of sectors within the ceramics industry. Renowned bronze sponsors such as Izawa Pigments, Heraeus, Granulation Systems and key exhibitors Thach Quang Trading, Rock Team, Vitis Joint Stock Company, Behn Meyer, SACMI and System Ceramics will showcase ceramic industry innovations and technology developments. Hiroyasu Izawa, President of Izawa Pigment Co. Ltd expressed his excitement I am very excited to be back at ASEAN Ceramics after the great success of the Bangkok show last year and we are fortunate to be bringing our partner Heraeus to this event and we look forward to seeing you all in November.

Visitors can expect to witness various solutions, technologies, and state of the art machineries at this years exhibition which include:

Breakthrough solution from Laboratorios Argenol (Spain) - the BactiBlock antimicrobial additives that effectively inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria, providing long-lasting protection in various applications by Behn Meyer

Latest decoration techniques and colours for ceramic tableware, tiles, and glass by Izawa Pigments

Latest precious metal materials for decorating ceramics and glass as well as for technical applications used in many areas such as the automotive, aeronautic, or electronic industries by Heraeus Precious Coatings

Ceramic digital ink, ceramic roller, CMC and Alumina ball and brick in the ceramic market by Rock Team Industry

Customised minerals such as kaolin, zircon opacifier for a variety of specific applications by Vitis Joint Stock Company

In addition to the exhibition, ASEAN Ceramics 2023 will feature a comprehensive program of accompanying activities creating opportunities for knowledge exchange, collaboration, and business growth - ASEAN Ceramics Conference, Buyer-Seller Meetings, Pre-event Factory Tours, Technical Ceramics Pavilion, Ceramics Manufacturing Showcase and Networking opportunities.

ASEAN Ceramics 2023 is set to be a milestone event in the ceramics industry, propelling innovation, collaboration, and growth. Don't miss this opportunity to shape the future of ceramics manufacturing in the ASEAN region. Stay updated on the latest news, exhibitor profiles, and conference schedules by visiting the official ASEAN Ceramics 2023 website at www.aseanceramics.com.
Dr Ajai Chowdhry, Padma Bhushan recipient, Founder of HCL and Author of the recently launched biography, Just Aspire, has announced an initiative to build Indias future talent. Chowdhrys family trust, Swayam Charitable Trust has set up the Aspire Scholarship an initiative that aims to provide essential support to aspiring engineers who face financial obstacles in their pursuit of higher education and help create a brighter future for them in their pursuit of excellence.

With an outlay of INR 100 million spread over the first three years, the Trust has committed to empower up to 84 scholars, offering them comprehensive financial assistance for the entire duration of their programme. The initiative aims to provide a helping hand to the students striving to convert their dreams into a reality. The Scholarship will go beyond covering only tuition fees and will include hostel and mess fees for the selected students throughout the programme.

Dr. Ajai Chowdhry, Founder EPIC Foundation, Co-Founder HCL & Founder Trustee of Swayam Charitable Trust said, Aspire is not just a scholarship but a beacon of hope that ignites the spark of greatness within these aspiring engineers, enabling them to transform the world with their brilliance and astuteness. This scholarship aims to assist aspiring engineers, who are essential to India's future growth and help them participate and contribute to Indias growth story. We have the youngest population in the world today. If we dont make the most of the talent we have, if we dont support bright minds and help them overcome obstacles today, we will be left far behind in this race for technological supremacy. The Aspire Scholarship is an effort to do our bit and give back to the society which has helped individuals like me to think big and achieve my dreams.

The Scholarship will be offered to students from ten engineering institutes of India including the Indian Institute of Technology (across Kharagpur, Hyderabad, Patna, Delhi, Bombay, Goa), Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi, Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee International Institute of Information Technology Naya Raipur, Jabalpur Engineering College and National Institute of Advanced Manufacturing Technology Ranchi. The initiative was launched at a webinar today in presence of representatives of all 10 institutes.

The initiative will commence with the 2023-2024 B.Tech batch, marking the beginning of an extraordinary journey for deserving scholars. For the next three years, Swayams management will meticulously select 28 outstanding scholars annually from first-year B.Tech batches across ten prestigious institutes in India. Through this period, the Scholarship will empower up to 84 scholars, offering them comprehensive financial assistance for the entire duration of their programme.

Mr. Kunal Chowdhry, Trustee, Swayam Charitable Trust, said This scholarship testifies our commitment towards nurturing young talent, fostering innovation, and creating a brighter future for our nation. We believe that regardless of one's background, everyone should have the chance to fulfil their dreams.

The selection process for these exceptional scholars will be rigorous, conducted by Swayam's management or its appointed jury through a fair and transparent selection process that will uphold the highest standards of excellence. The Aspire Scholarship will be managed by Buddy4Study, a leading provider of scholarship management services. Through its state-of-the-art technical interface, it will guarantee the program's seamless management and offer services and assistance for administration.
ATLANTA (AP)  A Georgia prosecutor is expected to seek a grand jury indictment in the coming weeks in her investigation into efforts by Donald Trump and his Republican allies to overturn the then-presidents 2020 election loss.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis began investigating more than two years ago, shortly after a recording was released of a January 2021 phone call Trump made to Georgias secretary of state.

Willis has strongly hinted that any indictment would come between July 31 and Aug. 18. One of two grand juries seated July 11 is expected to hear the case.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, right, talks with a member of her team during proceedings to seat a special purpose grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, on May 2, 2022, to look into the actions of former President Donald Trump and his supporters who tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election. (AP Photo/Ben Gray, File)

If Trump is indicted by a Georgia grand jury, it would add to a growing list of legal troubles as he campaigns for president. Trump is set to go to trial in New York in March to face state charges related to hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign. And he has another trial scheduled for May on federal charges related to his handling of classified documents. He has pleaded not guilty in those cases.

The Justice Department is also investigating Trumps role in trying to halt the certification of 2020 election results in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol. Trump said hes been told hes a target of that investigation, which likely has some overlap with the one in Georgia.

An election worker places a ballot in a counted bin during a hand recount of Presidential votes on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020 in Marietta, Ga. (John Amis/Atlanta Journal & Constitution via AP, File)

Details of the Georgia investigation that have become public have fed speculation that Willis, a Democrat, is building a case under the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which would allow her to charge numerous people in a potentially wide-ranging scheme.

Here are six investigative threads Willis and her team have explored:

THE PHONE CALLS

The Georgia investigation was prompted by the Jan. 2, 2021, phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican. Trump suggested the states top elections official could help find the votes needed to put him ahead of Democrat Joe Biden in the state.

All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, Trump is heard saying on a recording of the call, which was leaked to news outlets. Because we won the state.

Trump has insisted he did nothing wrong and has repeatedly said the call was perfect.

Trump also called other top state officials in his quest to overturn his 2020 election loss, including Gov. Brian Kemp, then-House Speaker David Ralston, Attorney General Chris Carr and the top investigator in the secretary of states office.

Senate Judiciary Oversight Committee Ranking Member Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks during a hearing to examine Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and related surveillance authorities, Tuesday, June 13, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, also called Raffensperger shortly after the November election. Raffensperger said at the time that Graham asked whether he had the power to reject certain absentee ballots, which Raffensperger has said he interpreted as a suggestion to toss out legally cast votes.

Graham has denied wrongdoing, saying he just wanted to learn about the signature verification process.

FAKE ELECTORS

Biden won Georgia by a margin of fewer than 12,000 votes. Just over a month after the election, on Dec. 14, 2020, a group 16 Georgia Democratic electors met in the Senate chamber at the state Capitol to cast the states Electoral College votes for him. They each marked paper ballots that were counted and confirmed by a voice roll call.

That day, in a committee meeting room at the Capitol, 16 prominent Georgia Republicans  a lawmaker, activists and party officials  met to sign a certificate falsely stating that Trump had won and declaring themselves the states duly elected and qualified electors. They sent that certificate to the National Archives and the U.S. Senate.

Georgia was one of seven battleground states that Trump lost where Republican fake electors signed and submitted similar certificates. Trump allies in the U.S. House and Senate used those certificates to argue for delaying or blocking the certification of the election during a joint session of Congress.

This Jan. 7, 2021, image taken from Coffee County, Ga., security video, appears to show Cathy Latham (center, long turquoise top), introducing members of a computer forensic team to local election officials. Latham was the county Republican Party chair at the time. The computer forensics team was at the county elections office in Douglas, Ga., to make copies of voting equipment in an effort that documents show was arranged by attorney Sidney Powell and others allied with then-President Donald Trump. (Coffee County, Georgia via AP)

Prosecutors in Fulton County have said in court filings that they believe Trump associates worked with state Republicans to coordinate and execute the plan.

The multi-state effort was ultimately unsuccessful. Despite public pressure from Trump and his supporters, then-Vice President Mike Pence refused on Jan. 6, 2021, to introduce the unofficial pro-Trump electors. After the attack on the U.S. Capitol put a violent halt to the certification process, lawmakers certified Bidens win in the early hours of Jan. 7, 2021.

At least eight of the fake electors have since reached immunity deals with Willis team. And a judge last summer barred Willis from prosecuting another one, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, because of a conflict of interest.

FALSE CLAIMS OF ELECTION FRAUD

Republican state lawmakers held several hearings at the Georgia Capitol in December 2020 to examine alleged problems with the November election. During those meetings, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and other Trump allies made unproven claims of widespread election fraud.

They alleged that election workers tallying absentee ballots at State Farm Arena in Atlanta had told outside observers to leave and then pulled out suitcases of unlawful ballots and began scanning them. The Trump allies played clips of surveillance video from the arena to support their allegations. State and federal officials investigated and said there was no evidence of election fraud at the site.

Some Trump allies also said thousands of people who were ineligible  including people convicted of felonies, people under the age of 18, people who had voted in another state  had cast votes in Georgia. The secretary of states office has debunked those claims.

ALLEGED ATTEMPTS TO PRESSURE ELECTION WORKER

Two of the election workers seen in the State Farm Arena surveillance video, Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea Shaye Moss, said they faced relentless harassment online and in person as a result of the allegations made by Trump and his allies.

FILE - Rudy Giuliani arrives at the Fulton County Courthouse as a special grand jury looking into possible meddling in the 2020 election in Georgia continues on Aug. 17, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Giuliani last week conceded that statements he made about the two election workers were false.

In a bizarre episode detailed by prosecutors in court filings, a woman traveled from Chicago to Georgia and met with Freeman on Jan. 4, 2021. The woman initially said she wanted to help Freeman but then warned that Freeman could go to prison and tried to pressure her into falsely confessing to committing election fraud, prosecutors wrote in court filings last year.

Workers sort and stack ballots in preparation for scanning as the presidential recount process gets underway Nov. 24, 2020 in the DeKalb County city of Lithonia, Ga. A Georgia prosecutor is expected to seek a grand jury indictment in the coming weeks in her investigation into efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the former presidents 2020 election loss. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis began investigating more than two years ago, shortly after a recording was released of a January 2021 phone call Trump made to Georgias secretary of state. (AP Photo/Ben Gray, File)

ELECTION EQUIPMENT ACCESSED

Trump-allied lawyer Sidney Powell and others hired a computer forensics team to copy data and software on election equipment in Coffee County, some 200 miles (322 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta, according to invoices, emails, security video and deposition testimony produced in response to subpoenas in a long-running lawsuit.

The county Republican Party chair at the time  who also served as a fake elector  greeted them when they arrived at the local elections office on Jan. 7, 2021, and some county elections officials were also on hand during the daylong visit. The secretary of states office has said this amounted to alleged unauthorized access of election equipment and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into it at the secretary of states request.

Two other men who have been active in efforts to question the 2020 election results also visited Coffee County later that month and spent hours inside.

U.S. ATTORNEY RESIGNATION

U.S. Attorney BJay Pak, the top federal prosecutor in Atlanta, abruptly resigned two days after Trump called Raffensperger and a day after a recording of that call was made public. During that conversation, Trump called Pak a never-Trumper, implying that he didnt support the president.

In December 2020, then-U.S. Attorney General William Barr asked Pak to investigate allegations by Giuliani and other Trump allies of widespread election fraud. Pak, who had been appointed by Trump in 2017, reported back that he had found no evidence of such fraud.

In August 2021, Pak told the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, which was investigating Trumps post-election actions, that he resigned on Jan. 4, 2021, after learning from Department of Justice officials that Trump did not believe enough was being done to investigate allegations of election fraud and wanted him gone as U.S. attorney.

RELATED:

Judge rejects Trump bid to upend Georgia probe
Tibetan antelopes are pictured alongside the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in northwest China's Qinghai Province, July 28, 2023. Every year, tens of thousands of pregnant Tibetan antelopes start their migration to Hoh Xil in around May to give birth, leaving with their offspring in late July. Zonag Lake at the heart of Hoh Xil is known as the "delivery room" for the species.

Some Tibetan antelopes among them return to their habitats through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. According to the Hoh Xil management office under the management bureau of Sanjiangyuan National Park, more than 300 Tibetan antelopes have passed through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the homebound migration of Tibetan antelopes has entered its peak period. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

Tibetan antelopes are pictured near the Qinghai-Tibet Highway in northwest China's Qinghai Province, July 28, 2023. Every year, tens of thousands of pregnant Tibetan antelopes start their migration to Hoh Xil in around May to give birth, leaving with their offspring in late July. Zonag Lake at the heart of Hoh Xil is known as the "delivery room" for the species.

Some Tibetan antelopes among them return to their habitats through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. According to the Hoh Xil management office under the management bureau of Sanjiangyuan National Park, more than 300 Tibetan antelopes have passed through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the homebound migration of Tibetan antelopes has entered its peak period. (Xinhua/Han Fangfang)

Tibetan antelopes are about to pass through a bridge of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in northwest China's Qinghai Province, July 28, 2023. Every year, tens of thousands of pregnant Tibetan antelopes start their migration to Hoh Xil in around May to give birth, leaving with their offspring in late July. Zonag Lake at the heart of Hoh Xil is known as the "delivery room" for the species.

Some Tibetan antelopes among them return to their habitats through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. According to the Hoh Xil management office under the management bureau of Sanjiangyuan National Park, more than 300 Tibetan antelopes have passed through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the homebound migration of Tibetan antelopes has entered its peak period. (Xinhua/Han Fangfang)

Tibetan antelopes are pictured in Hoh Xil, a natural reserve in northwest China's Qinghai Province, July 27, 2023. Every year, tens of thousands of pregnant Tibetan antelopes start their migration to Hoh Xil in around May to give birth, leaving with their offspring in late July. Zonag Lake at the heart of Hoh Xil is known as the "delivery room" for the species.

Some Tibetan antelopes among them return to their habitats through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. According to the Hoh Xil management office under the management bureau of Sanjiangyuan National Park, more than 300 Tibetan antelopes have passed through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the homebound migration of Tibetan antelopes has entered its peak period. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

Tibetan antelopes pass through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway to return to their habitat in northwest China's Qinghai Province, July 28, 2023. Every year, tens of thousands of pregnant Tibetan antelopes start their migration to Hoh Xil in around May to give birth, leaving with their offspring in late July. Zonag Lake at the heart of Hoh Xil is known as the "delivery room" for the species.

Some Tibetan antelopes among them return to their habitats through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. According to the Hoh Xil management office under the management bureau of Sanjiangyuan National Park, more than 300 Tibetan antelopes have passed through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the homebound migration of Tibetan antelopes has entered its peak period. (Xinhua/Han Fangfang)

Tibetan antelopes pass through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway to return to their habitat in northwest China's Qinghai Province, July 28, 2023. Every year, tens of thousands of pregnant Tibetan antelopes start their migration to Hoh Xil in around May to give birth, leaving with their offspring in late July. Zonag Lake at the heart of Hoh Xil is known as the "delivery room" for the species.

Some Tibetan antelopes among them return to their habitats through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. According to the Hoh Xil management office under the management bureau of Sanjiangyuan National Park, more than 300 Tibetan antelopes have passed through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the homebound migration of Tibetan antelopes has entered its peak period. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

Tibetan antelopes are about to pass through a bridge of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in northwest China's Qinghai Province, July 28, 2023. Every year, tens of thousands of pregnant Tibetan antelopes start their migration to Hoh Xil in around May to give birth, leaving with their offspring in late July. Zonag Lake at the heart of Hoh Xil is known as the "delivery room" for the species.

Some Tibetan antelopes among them return to their habitats through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. According to the Hoh Xil management office under the management bureau of Sanjiangyuan National Park, more than 300 Tibetan antelopes have passed through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the homebound migration of Tibetan antelopes has entered its peak period. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

Tibetan antelopes are pictured near the Qinghai-Tibet Highway in Hoh Xil, a natural reserve in northwest China's Qinghai Province, July 27, 2023. Every year, tens of thousands of pregnant Tibetan antelopes start their migration to Hoh Xil in around May to give birth, leaving with their offspring in late July. Zonag Lake at the heart of Hoh Xil is known as the "delivery room" for the species.

Some Tibetan antelopes among them return to their habitats through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. According to the Hoh Xil management office under the management bureau of Sanjiangyuan National Park, more than 300 Tibetan antelopes have passed through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the homebound migration of Tibetan antelopes has entered its peak period. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

Tibetan antelopes are pictured in Hoh Xil, a natural reserve in northwest China's Qinghai Province, July 28, 2023. Every year, tens of thousands of pregnant Tibetan antelopes start their migration to Hoh Xil in around May to give birth, leaving with their offspring in late July. Zonag Lake at the heart of Hoh Xil is known as the "delivery room" for the species.

Some Tibetan antelopes among them return to their habitats through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. According to the Hoh Xil management office under the management bureau of Sanjiangyuan National Park, more than 300 Tibetan antelopes have passed through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the homebound migration of Tibetan antelopes has entered its peak period. (Xinhua/Han Fangfang)

Tibetan antelopes are about to pass through a bridge of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in northwest China's Qinghai Province, July 28, 2023. Every year, tens of thousands of pregnant Tibetan antelopes start their migration to Hoh Xil in around May to give birth, leaving with their offspring in late July. Zonag Lake at the heart of Hoh Xil is known as the "delivery room" for the species.

Some Tibetan antelopes among them return to their habitats through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. According to the Hoh Xil management office under the management bureau of Sanjiangyuan National Park, more than 300 Tibetan antelopes have passed through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the homebound migration of Tibetan antelopes has entered its peak period. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

Tibetan antelopes are pictured in Hoh Xil, a natural reserve in northwest China's Qinghai Province, July 27, 2023. Every year, tens of thousands of pregnant Tibetan antelopes start their migration to Hoh Xil in around May to give birth, leaving with their offspring in late July. Zonag Lake at the heart of Hoh Xil is known as the "delivery room" for the species.

Some Tibetan antelopes among them return to their habitats through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. According to the Hoh Xil management office under the management bureau of Sanjiangyuan National Park, more than 300 Tibetan antelopes have passed through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the homebound migration of Tibetan antelopes has entered its peak period. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

Tibetan antelopes pass through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway to return to their habitat in northwest China's Qinghai Province, July 28, 2023. Every year, tens of thousands of pregnant Tibetan antelopes start their migration to Hoh Xil in around May to give birth, leaving with their offspring in late July. Zonag Lake at the heart of Hoh Xil is known as the "delivery room" for the species.

Some Tibetan antelopes among them return to their habitats through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. According to the Hoh Xil management office under the management bureau of Sanjiangyuan National Park, more than 300 Tibetan antelopes have passed through the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, the homebound migration of Tibetan antelopes has entered its peak period. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

Editor: ZAD
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  When the offshore wind industry began making a presence on Staten Island, Philip Hui had his interest piqued.

Hui has been a part of the construction industry for nearly three decades, working around the region from New Jersey to Connecticut. He made his own business based on Staten Island in 2013, HuiCatao Corporation, and has netted city jobs in the process.

So, when the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and TMI Waterfront Services launched OSW NYC Waterfront Pathways, an effort aimed at educating businesses about the citys contracting opportunities in waterfront construction, Hui saw it as a dont-miss opportunity.

This initiative for the offshore wind came up, which is very interesting being the trend is for less reliance on fossil fuels and more into wind energy, Hui told the Advance/SILive.com. So, that sparked my interest, my curiosity.

Owner of Hui Catao Corp. Philip Hui and his brother Will Hui in their offices in Princes Bay. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel) - . Jan Somma-HammelJan Somma-Hammel

A registered minority-owned business, Hui applied and became part of the first cohort of companies to go through the program, which aims to remove obstacles for women, minority-owned and historically-disadvantaged businesses.

The NYCEDC program follows an executive order Mayor Eric Adams issued earlier this year focused on increasing the number of underrepresented groups awarded city contracts.

Hui said the initiative gives small contractors a detailed insight into the inner workings of the burgeoning offshore wind industry, serving as a platform to learn, ask questions and ultimately improve competitiveness when issuing bids for upcoming work  a process Hui called an art.

Anybody starting out a business, theres a lot of unknowns, a lot of questions, in regards to strategic planning, organizational development, even financial management, business planning, said Hui. All these topics, each one of these topics, they brought up, which which was very informative.

Small-to-mid-sized businesses accepted by the program receive expert resources and education courses, both in-person and virtual, and the training helps business owners position themselves for joint ventures and public-private partnerships to help them expand and serve as pieces in an industry rapidly growing throughout the five boroughs.

There is highly-specialized guidance on everything from finance and project management to hiring and networking, along with one-on-one consultations designed to strategize individual businesses into the offshore wind economy, said the NYCEDC.

The program itself offered us a lot of opportunities, he said.

THE COMING OFFSHORE WIND BOOM

Recently, Hui took part in site walkthroughs of Staten Islands Arthur Kill Terminal in Richmond Valley, considered one of the major offshore wind supply chain infrastructure projects nearing its starting construction date.

Staten Islands offshore wind manufacturing sites are featured in multiple proposals for the states third offshore wind solicitation, serving as potential next steps to position the borough as a pivotal piece in the burgeoning industry. The state is expected to announce winners for the third offshore wind solicitation this summer.

Were hoping to put together numbers and put in quotes, at minimum, on this work, to try to be part of this, said Hui, who said his company would specialize in aspects of site drainage, water main installation and sidewalk paving.

Owner of Hui Catao Corp. Philip Hui in his office in Princes bay. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel) - . Jan Somma-HammelJan Somma-Hammel

Now, the NYCEDC said it is accepting applications for a second round of the program to support women, minority-owned and historically-disadvantaged businesses.

Initiatives like the OSW NYC Waterfront Pathways Program are a prime example of how New York City is leading with equity while establishing itself as a primary hub for the offshore wind industry, said NYCEDC President & CEO Andrew Kimball.

The OSW NYC Waterfront Pathways program will receive nearly $1 million from the citys $191 million OSW Vision Plan, officials said, which seeks for 40% of job and investment benefits within the industry to be directed to women, minorities, and environmental justice communities  largely consistent with federal goals.

An additional $500,000 was supplied by Equinor and BP  two major players in the global offshore wind industry. The NYCEDC is collaborating with TMS Waterfront Services, a consortium selected by the city after a request for proposals sought knowledge and expertise in lifting the presence of minority, women-owned and disadvantaged businesses.

Eligibility applications for the next round of the program are due Aug. 24, 2023, before full applications are due on Sept. 8, 2023. The next cohort will begin Sept. 19, 2023, and run for 12 weeks.

We are proud to launch the second installment of this important program that aims to eliminate barriers and level the playing field for traditionally underrepresented communities and create diverse career pathways for this rapidly growing industry, said Kimball.
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Although we hope the publishers editors dont rely on Wikipedia for fact-checking: immediately following the retirement news, an unscrupulous contributor altered Franklins career statistics to claim hed scored 1998379826712831 goals. Surely the truth is impressive enough. PASSING THE BUCKLAND Accounting went from blah to blood-boiling when it emerged that former PwC partner Peter Collins had leaked confidential government tax crackdown plans to his firm, which used that information to drum up business. The two-timing only came to light this year when the Tax Practitioners Board published its reasons for disqualifying Collins registration for two years. CBD has chanced upon another fascinating Tax Practitioners Board matter.

The regulator sought an interim injunction against Anthony Dean Buckland, accusing him and Apat, the Philippines-based company that bought his business in 2017, of preparing and lodging tax returns for about 600 taxpayers while not being registered tax agents. But Buckland, who lost his tax registration in 2017 and now describes himself as an artificial intelligence consultant, has denied providing tax services. He argued these taxpayers may in fact have interacted with somebody purporting to be him  or a bot. The Federal Court last week said the evidence was arguably capable of showing Apat was providing tax services  through people or bots  and restrained Buckland from preparing and lodging income tax returns. Buckland, who recently advertised one-day courses on AI for senior government and private firm executives, senior lawyers, senior accountants and other senior industry managers, did not respond to our request for comment. HAWKESBURY HEAT

A spectacular spat between Hawkesbury Mayor Sarah McMahon and councillor Nathan Zamprogno came to the boil on Friday at a Liberal state executive meeting, which passed a motion brought by McMahon to suspend Zamprogno from the party. This tale of woe commenced in 2021, when Zamprogno failed to secure preselection on the Liberal ticket before the local government election. He was granted permission to run as an independent and remain in the party. Since then, according to a brief of evidence sent to the state executive, his attacks on good locally elected Liberals seems to have no end. And in true Gen X style, Facebook is the chosen battleground. Included in the evidence is a photo Zamprogno posted showing piles of documents building up on McMahons desk (although he didnt name her in the post), which the evidence claims sought to allege she was lazy, didnt read her business papers and therefore was not worth a vote. The authors also took issue with the councillor liking a Photoshop job that cut Sarahs head off and jammed it onto a bulldozer to make a statement about development in the region. In a letter sent to state director Chris Stone last month, McMahon sent recent screenshots of Zamprogno liking Facebook comments that cast the Liberals as incompetent and out of touch and a party of corruption and self-interest.

Loading I am over being embarrassed by this man, reporting it to the party and having nothing done to stop it. Please assist us. We cannot continue to operate like this. For Zamprognos part, the high school teacher maintained in a letter sent to the state executive that McMahons motive was simply to eliminate yet another rival. When I have taken positions at variance to my Liberal colleagues, it has been in support of sound Liberal principles. Ive always backed our Liberal candidates and MPs, manning a booth for all our Liberal candidates, even Sarah, since 1996. (Not our emphasis.) When approached, Zamprogno declined to comment, citing internal party rules, as did McMahon.

BOOTCAMP IN WINE COUNTRY Given the allure of a European summer and cashed-up junkets at this time of year, CBD is cheered to note a group of soul-bettering pollies convened in the Adelaide Hills for ministerial bootcamp last month. Since 2021 the McKinnon Institute for Political Leadership has spirited away a select gaggle of 20 politicians to hone leadership skills, practise active listening and cultivate ministerial longevity during a five-day residential intensive. Last years event was held in the Hunter Valley, leading CBD to believe these learnings can only be achieved while deep in wine country. Bridget Archer headed for the Hills for a five-day political leadership intensive. Credit: James Brickwood The program is backed by the Susan McKinnon Foundation, which aims to improve our governments and democracy (we pray they are thoroughly cashed up). The foundation was set up by Sophie Oh and entrepreneur Grant Rule, who sold his SMS marketing technology company MessageMedia in 2021 for $US1.3 billion.
Iryna Mudra, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine

Work in the legal field is a systematic, lengthy process. And, despite the fact that the victories in it are not so bright, their importance for the future of Ukraine is obvious. Now the focus of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine is on seven key areas of work that make the country stronger both domestically and internationally.

Recovery of assets of sanctioned persons

The recovery of assets into the income of Ukraine concerns the persons against whom, according to the decisions of the National Security and Defense Council, sanctions have been imposed. The recovery is implemented within the framework of national legislation and allows the aggressor's resources to be directed towards restoring the rights of the Ukrainian people and the country as a whole.

With regard to assets that are located abroad, in order to obtain them, it is necessary to develop and implement the terms of an international multilateral agreement. It is expected that this agreement will become the legal basis for the creation and operation of the international compensation mechanism and will establish the basic principles of its activities.

Effective recovery of sovereign and private assets requires:

 improvement of national legislation and creation of the State Register of Sanctions, as well as increased liability for attempts to circumvent sanctions;

 streamlined work of the international Register of Damage, created on the basis of a decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe;

 the implementation of an international multilateral agreement and the creation of a compensation fund for payments.

Effective enforcement of judicial decisions

One of the biggest problems in the Ukrainian legal system is the non-execution or prolonged execution of decisions of national courts. The situation is so complicated that it has already led to an unprecedented decision: the ECHR refused to consider cases of non-compliance with the decisions of national courts and sent a huge block of cases for control to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. This group of cases brings together more than 25 decisions and more than 12,148 applications, which have been under increased supervision since 2004.

The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, together with the Council of Europe, has developed a National Strategy for Addressing the Problem of Non-Execution of Court Decisions. For its full implementation it is necessary:

 creation of a mechanism for recording and verifying court decisions to determine the total amount of debt and its repayment or compensation;

 revision of socially oriented legislation;

 creation of additional mechanisms for the implementation of court decisions on enterprises subject to moratoriums;

 development of a mechanism for improving judicial control and establishing or changing the method of enforcement of court decisions.

Protection of the rights of Ukrainians in international courts

Since the beginning of the aggression of the Russian Federation against our state in 2014, appeals to the ECHR with interstate statements against the government of the Russian Federation have become one of the priority areas for protecting the interests of Ukraine. As of July 2023, there are 4 interstate cases pending in the ECHR:

 Ukraine vs. Russia (about Crimea)

 Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia, concerning the events in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and human rights violations during the full-scale Russian invasion;

 Ukraine v. Russia (VIII) concerning the captured sailors;

 Ukraine v. Russia (IX) regarding the killings of opponents of the Russian Federation.

In addition, the case Ukraine v. Russia (X) is attached by the ECHR to the interstate case Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia, and, therefore, they are considered part of one proceeding.

Thanks to the decisions of the ECHR on the admissibility of the cases Ukraine v. Russia (about Crimea) and Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia, there is a clear confirmation by the international court of the possibility of the seizure and control of the Russian Federation over the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine since 2014.

The decisions of the ECHR will help the citizens of Ukraine and other persons who have submitted individual applications to the ECHR against Russia. In addition, it is extremely important for the consideration of cases of Ukraine against the Russian Federation by other international judicial institutions.

Punishment of war criminals

An important element in restoring justice is bringing to justice and punishing those who have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes in Ukraine both by national courts and by the International Criminal Court. The main tasks that need to be implemented to achieve this goal are the development of cooperation with the International Criminal Court, as well as the corresponding changes in legislation.

Overcoming corruption in the law enforcement system

Tougher criminal liability for committing corruption criminal offenses in the justice sector will prevent their commission in the future, as well as ensure fair punishment of violators.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to amend the legislation: to prepare and adopt the Law of Ukraine on amendments to laws on strengthening liability for corrupt criminal offenses in the justice sector.

Checking the judges

Restoring the level of public confidence in the judiciary is the key to the development of a democratic society. Now the system needs mechanisms to monitor and verify candidates, as well as existing judges. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to update the legislation with amendments to the laws of Ukraine "On the judiciary and the status of judges" and "On the High Council of Justice" on the introduction of additional procedures to strengthen public confidence in the judiciary.

Establishment of a jury

Ensuring the direct participation of the people in the administration of justice by introducing a classic jury trial, which will provide the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time. Legislative changes are needed to achieve results.

Positive dynamics in these seven areas will help achieve justice in Ukrainian society, as well as strengthen democratic institutions and contribute to the overall development of Ukraine. That is why the Ministry of Justice considers these areas of activity a priority.
BIOGRAPHY

King: A Life

Jonathan Eig

Simon & Schuster, $49.99



In 2015, stand-up comic Dick Gregory commented that when his friend Martin Luther King jnr was shot, he was the most hated man on the planet  now hes the most beloved. Memorialisation, Jonathan Eig, author of King: A Life, explains, has defanged King.

It is not as though historians and biographers have ignored King. The nearly 3000 pages of Taylor Branchs magisterial America in the King Years trilogy  Parting the Waters (1988); Pillar of Fire (1998); and At Canaans Edge (2006)  remain a riveting read. The previous biography, David Garrows Bearing the Cross (1986), was also very good. It won the Pulitzer Prize. That was near four decades ago.

Jonathan Eigs new life of Martin Luther King jnr says in hallowing him, he has been hollowed. Credit: AP

But now new sources are available. Eig has ferreted them out assiduously. These include a trove of papers collected by Kings unofficial archivist, tapes of interviews Coretta King recorded soon after her husbands assassination and Eigs interviews with civil rights activists. Above all, in the past few years the Federal Bureau of Investigation has released thousands of pages of secret files, the record of its harassment of the Black activist.

As well, and as Dick Gregory understood, times have changed. Since 1983, the third Monday of each January has been Martin Luther King Jr Day, a federal holiday in the United States. Nearly a thousand cities and towns have named streets in Kings honour. More than 100 public schools bear his name.
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Eating outBrisbanes Heartlands Kingsfood, an iconic Chinese restaurant in Brisbanes south It burns through several woks a week  but such is business when you serve 600 diners a day. Heres what keeps dedicated locals coming back again and again and again. Matt Shea July 31, 2023 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

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Kingsfood owner Robin Yu. Markus Ravik In Brisbane Times new Heartlands series, food and culture editor Matt Shea seeks out the migrant restaurants, cafes and stores that give the Brisbane food scene its rich texture. First up? A much-loved Sunnybank favourite. Seven days. Thats the longest a wok survives in Kingsfoods kitchen. It sounds wild, but then Robin Yu throws some more numbers at you. That wok can bring two litres of water to the boil in less than 30 seconds, such is the power of the burner on which it sits. And its in the service of a 90 to 100-seat restaurant that on an average day will cook for between 500 and 600 people. Well turn over the entire restaurant three or four times at night.

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Well turn over the entire restaurant three or four times at night, Yu says. Then we have maybe two or three turnovers during lunch. So the total daily is around 500 or 600, pretty easily. Kingsfood restaurant in Sunnybank. Markus Ravik I normally have 10 to 20 woks in storage at any one time. Each chef replaces his wok at least once a week. Yu smiles as you take in this info, but perhaps it shouldnt come as a surprise. Sunnybank locals (and diners in the know from elsewhere in the city) are in the midst of a 33-year love affair with Kingsfood. Six days a week they pile in for enormous plates of fried rice, fried green beans, steamed chicken or any one of almost 180 dishes on the restaurants menu, all of which typically land on the table in less than five minutes.

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Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. Brisbanes dining scene: Post-COVID, pre-Olympics, where to from here Yu has owned Kingsfood for 14 years, but his relationship with the restaurant began, like the rest of us, as a diner. Hed just arrived in Brisbane from Beijing to study a masters of business at Griffith University. The restaurant was eight years old at the time. It was the first Chinese restaurant I ate at [in Australia] and I just remember it being amazing. I still remember what I ordered: black pepper beef with rice, he says, laughing. On a typical day, the 90-seat Kingsfood will serve anywhere between 500 and 600 people. Markus Ravik Kingsfood opened in 1990 as a Taiwanese restaurant intended to serve expats attracted to Brisbane by a federal government business incentive program (Brisbane is now home to Australias largest Taiwanese community). Its name in script means Taiwan Xiaodiao, which translates to Taiwanese bistro.

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The English name is totally different. Its an interesting contrast, Yu says. You can come to Kingsfood and eat like a king, but really its just for normal people eating family dishes. Were not offering fine dining or lobster or anything like that. Each chef replaces his wok at least once a week. Yu became a regular at the restaurant in the early 2000s, when he was running a realty business in the same Market Square shopping centre. And in 2009 hed consummate his love for the place by buying it from its original Taiwanese owners. By this time the restaurant was cooking meals inspired by all the regions of China, and Yu continued to push in that direction to end up at its now extensive menu. The standout dishes? Kingsfoods most popular order is fried long beans with pork mince and a belacan (shrimp paste) sauce. Kingsfoods most popular order: fried long beans with pork mince and belacan sauce. Markus Ravik

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Yu flicks through the menu to find some others. Theres the deep-fried prawns in special sauce with pineapple; popcorn chicken; a rich and spicy hot-and-sour soup; crispy shredded beef in sweet chilli sauce; and a classic Mongolian beef. A word-of-mouth hit among Brisbane chefs is the restaurants white chicken in special sauce. Popular in Shanghai and nearby Zhejiang province, the dish brings together tender steamed chicken with a sauce of lemon, chilli, sugar, ginger and spring onion, which leaves a tingling numbness on the palate. It relies 90 per cent on the sauce, Yu says. Its a bit of sweet, a bit of sour and a bit of spice. People love it. Kingsfoods white chicken in special sauce is a word-of-mouth hit among Brisbane chefs. Markus Ravik Yu says Kingsfoods chefs have  perhaps surprisingly  changed regularly. Instead, the restaurants famed consistency tends to be driven by the freshness of its produce and speed of service, with the dishes actually having slowly evolved over the years.

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We, of course, have the recipes, but I could honestly say that perhaps only 80 per cent of the dishes [taste] the same as 10 years ago, Yu says. We do have the occasional customer who says, Its different now, and I say, Unfortunately, Im no chef. I cant guarantee it will be the same as 10 years ago. What hasnt changed is the fitout. Other than a lick of paint, some replacement furniture and a flatscreen television on the wall, the restaurants dining room and its enclosed verandahs have remained much the same since the original owners doubled the venues capacity in the mid-90s. Deep-fried prawns in special sauce with pineapple. Markus Ravik The tightly packed kitchen is the same also, three chefs working five woks and a couple of extra burners along the back wall before handing the meals to a kitchen hand to finish, who then passes them through a window to the front-of-house team. The chefs are working with so much heat in the kitchen, its like a blacksmith in there, Yu says. We have a huge aircon system for the restaurant to keep the kitchen cool.

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Kingsfood restaurant in Sunnybank is almost 33 years old. Markus Ravik The major challenges over the years? Yu ticks off the pandemic, which placed more of a focus on takeaway and eventually kiboshed a CBD Kingsfood that opened shortly before Australias first national lockdown. Also, the redevelopment of Market Square, which was finally completed in 2020 after two long years. That was even worse than Covid, Yu says. Foot traffic dropped a lot. But of course now that its finished, there are many more car parks. More car parks bring more diners, with new generations now passing through the door. The story of this restaurant is generations of families, Yu says. Youll see parents bringing their kids, and then those kids bringing their kids, and then the grandparents bringing their grandkids.

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Last year we did a big birthday to celebrate 32 years, but were going to do it again for 33 years. I think weve earned the right to celebrate. Open Tue-Sun 11.30am-2.30pm, 4.30pm-9pm Shop 25/341 Mains Road, Sunnybank, 07 3344 4620 kingsfood.com.au

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Review Eating outCarlton North Icon review: Melburnians are obsessed with new restaurants, but 25-year-old La Luna shows we should value consistency, too Besha Rodell August 1, 2023 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

1 / 10 Dark walls and light fixtures made from fencing wire create a masculine aesthetic at La Luna. Jason South 2 / 10 La Luna owner Adrian Richardson surrounded by house-made smallgoods. Jason South 3 / 10 La Lunas charcuterie tasting plate. Jason South 4 / 10 Spanner crab tagliatelle with house-made noodles. Jason South 5 / 10 Simply sauteed scallops, from the specials list. Jason South 6 / 10 The go-to dish: Lovingly tended porterhouse steak. Jason South 7 / 10 Prime cuts of meat being aged at La Luna. Jason South 8 / 10 La Luna has occupied the Rathdowne Street corner terrace since 1998. Jason South 9 / 10 The dining room at La Luna in 2003. Gary Medlicott 10 / 10 Chef and restaurateur Adrian Richardson with a porcine companion in 2009. Craig Sillitoe Previous Slide Next Slide 14 / 20 How we score Steakhouse$$$ As much as I adore my home town, and particularly its dining scene, she is a city with a wildly short attention span. Of course, other cities are enamoured of newness  that is not something unique to Melbourne. But I have noticed a certain churlishness around once-fashionable restaurants, a dismissiveness that leads to those restaurants struggling to survive. Other cities Ive lived in have tended to respect and celebrate consistency in a way that Melbourne fails to do. Which is why La Luna, which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary on Rathdowne Street in Carlton North, is an interesting specimen.

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This is neither an old-school favourite, beloved for its history (a la Pellegrinis), nor a trendy newcomer. And while plenty of great restaurants survive for 10 years or more (can you believe that Brae and Tipo 00 are both a decade old this year?), 25-year-old restaurants are something of an anomaly. This is particularly true of a place like La Luna, which was so very of-its-time when it opened, and has not strayed far from that formula in the years since. Remember when all the hot chefs liked to pose with dead pigs heads? That was a major factor in the marketing identity of chef Adrian Richardson, and in the resultant offering at La Luna, which is extremely meat-centric (Richardsons cookbook, released in 2008, is also titled MEAT). The staff speak of Richardson in reverent tones as our celebrity chef. The interior design of the Victorian corner terrace also leans into this aesthetic, with black walls and light fixtures made from twisted wire fencing.

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Its all a bit Saw for my tastes; I was not sad when the macho and gleeful aspects of carnivorism faded into something slightly more respectful. Great care is taken with aging the charcuterie at La Luna. Jason South But in 1998, all the charcuterie and hand-made pasta and lovingly tended-to house-aged steak must have felt revelatory. In hindsight, La Luna was emphatically ahead of its time. Even its location, in Rathdowne Village, foreshadowed what was to come for that neighbourhood, and in some ways, its still the heart of the place for a certain cohort of long-time residents. Walk by on any sunny weekend and find the footpath outside the restaurant spilling with regulars, many of whom have been coming here for decades.

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They come for the smallgoods, best sampled via a tasting plate ($46) that offers a selection of lightly funky tete fromage, bold salami studded with fennel, and feathery prosciutto aged on the premises for two years, along with pickles and olives and crisp crouton crackers. Charcuterie of this quality requires a huge amount of training, labour and skill. La Lunas spanner crab tagliatelle is one of Melbournes most expensive pasta dishes, but its a beauty. Jason South I find the best way to dine here is to graze, on house-smoked salmon ($24), steak tartare ($24), and freshly shucked oysters ($6 each). A special of sauteed scallops ($25) seemed a little expensive for its simplicity and serving size (basically 1.5 scallops sliced to look like three), and the spanner crab tagliatelle ($52) is one of the pricier pasta dishes in town. But its a thing of true beauty, the house-made noodles ethereal in their lightness, the bowl crammed with meaty seafood.

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Aside from grazing, the other reason to come here is for the selection of steaks, which are grass-fed and dry-aged, and treated with the same level of care as the charcuterie. A gorgeous porterhouse ($56) was charred and salted perfectly, its pink interior wonderfully tangy. Accompanied by a side of Jerusalem artichokes with blue cheese, hazelnuts and witlof ($18), it made for a fantastic dinner for two. Grass-fed porterhouse is served with chimichurri or Cafe de Paris butter. Jason South Desserts tend towards the classic, like tiramisu ($16), occasionally with a modern-ish twist, like the salted hazelnut praline ice-cream accompanying a chocolate torte ($20). Or you can skip the sweet stuff and continue grazing with a selection of three cheeses ($32), which includes French and Australian varieties way beyond the standards.

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The staff here is extremely adept, and particularly helpful when it comes to navigating the wine list, which has some lovely and unexpected bottles. They speak of Richardson in reverent tones as our celebrity chef. If Id stumbled into La Luna with no clue of its history, Id never guess that the place predated the turn of the millennium. It isnt modern or chic by todays standards, but aside from certain aspects of its slaughterhouse-chic decor, it isnt dated either. It is what it is: consistent, a quality that is timeless above all else. The low-down Vibe: Dark with hints of slaughterhouse chic in a classic corner shopfront Go-to dish: Porterhouse steak, $56 Drinks: Classic cocktails and a tidy wine list that is calibrated extremely well to the food Cost: About $180 for two, plus drinks Collection Melbourne icon reviews

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In scoping out the existence of the pistol range (C8) at the Sydney Harbour Bridge, a number of readers revealed that they attended another, on top of the Bank of NSW (Westpac) building in Martin Place, as part of their clerical duties. Yes, says Terry Wooldridge of Mona Vale, who was 17 at the time, back in those days, young people were taught how to use a gun. Paul Keir of Strathfield adds: We got to keep our targets to show the girls in the office.

The Australian Navy had a presence on board the USS Missouri (C8) when the surrender was signed in September 1945. Russell Hill from Hobart remembers that his grandfather, Rear Admiral George Moore, was there to witness it: The uniform worn by the RAN personnel was very white and they were the only ones to wear shorts with long socks. Looking at Russells enclosed image, Granny cant help thinking George and his gang look like the most comfortable bevy on board. Its also worth noting that Herald scribe Jack Percival was the only Australian war correspondent on the Missouri that day.

Ive been reading about Amaki sauce (C8). It triggered memories of things I had forgotten for over 70 years, says Gwen Fergus of Barrack Heights. I cant for the life of me remember what the bottle looked like, but I know we had the Amaki on the table every night with dinner. I can still hear my brother saying Wheres the Amaki? back when families still sat together at a properly set table for dinner. Thank you for bringing back a long forgotten part of my life.

Wow, says Malua Bays Terry McGee. Elizabeth Green remembers Gloria in sub-Arctic Canada (C8). I never got past Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Don Bain of Port Macquarie advises sticking to the oranges. Watching Tour de France Femme cyclists religiously hydrating over the several hours of each stage, I wondered whether other readers, in their junior sporting days, were warned against drinking water at half-time, lest they get the dreaded stitch?
Ben Roberts-Smiths key supporters at Seven West Media have been forced to hand over thousands of documents showing their involvement in the former soldiers failed defamation case as the Nine-owned newspapers at the centre of his lawsuit pursue his wealthy backers for legal costs.

Federal Court Justice Anthony Besanko on Monday rejected a bid by Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes, Seven Network commercial director Bruce McWilliam and others to resist handing over documents to Nine showing communications with Roberts-Smiths lawyers during the case against The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Billionaire Kerry Stokes backed Ben Roberts-Smith. Credit: Philip Gostelow / Graham Tidy

Nicholas Owens, SC, for the newspapers, told the Federal Court last week that there was at the very least, we know, 8600 emails [exchanged with] ... someone whos not a party to the litigation, McWilliam, and the lawyers and the party [Roberts-Smith] himself between 2018 and 2023.

Nine is seeking a court order forcing Stokes private company, Australian Capital Equity (ACE), and potentially also Seven, to pay the costs of the litigation. The combined costs are estimated at $25 million.
The former boss of Victorias anti-corruption watchdog has said parliaments key integrity committee acted without integrity and in the political interests of the Andrews government.

In an extraordinary appearance before state parliaments integrity and oversight committee, Robert Redlich, who recently retired as commissioner of the Victorian Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, suggested a lack of political oversight meant the state potentially had a very serious problem on its hands.

Former IBAC commissioner Robert Redlich called for the corruption watchdogs scope to be expanded before facing hostile questions from Labor MPs.

If this committee is stymied at the outset because political considerations override an objective determination of things that are wrong, then its a very sad day if we cant say that the integrity committee of the Victorian parliament is acting with integrity, Redlich told the committee.

Rather than focusing on his concerns, Labor MPs on the committee instead peppered Redlich with unrelated questions, including whether he had ever bullied any of his staff. He was also asked about a termination payment outlined in the IBAC annual report, and about the timing of the release of a preliminary report for comment during the 2021 Christmas period.
Like millions of Australians this time of year, Q+A has itchy feet.

CBD can reveal that ABCs flagship panel show is keen to broadcast from India in coming weeks. An ABC spokeswoman said the show, which goes to air on Monday nights and is hosted by Patricia Karvelas, is exploring the idea of broadcasting from the G20 but nothing is confirmed.

Q+A and host Patricia Karvelas might be heading to India in September. Credit: John Shakespeare

Delhi will host the Group of 20 summit in September.

Q+A is no stranger to overseas broadcasts  in 2013, then-host Tony Jones and Australian cricket great Stuart MacGill appeared in an episode from Gurgaon, near Delhi.
Lawyers for the company of late prospector Don Rhodes have sought to correct the record on the discovery of a lucrative iron ore deposit in Western Australias Pilbara region, telling the court mining magnate Lang Hancock downplayed Rhodes role in the find to exaggerate his own.

But letters exchanged in 1970 indicate Hancock believed there to be no man in Western Australia more deserving of a slice of the royalties now flowing out of the mines set up at Hope Downs.

Mining pioneers Don Rhodes (inset), Peter Wright and Lang Hancock. Credit: WAtoday

The claim came on day six of a Supreme Court civil trial in which the descendants of mining mogul Peter Wright  Hancocks former business partner  are waging a legal battle against Australias richest person and Hancocks daughter, Gina Rinehart, to claim half of the royalties from ore mined at Hope Downs.

Wright Prospecting claims the tenement, discovered by the school friends-turned-business partners and now home to four operational mines, was held jointly under a 1980s partnership deed.
Internal NSW Liberal Party documents have revealed that fundraising struggles and perceived dysfunction could create a significant impediment to contesting the federal election competitively, with senior figures warnings falling membership numbers may force a reduction in staff.

End of financial year documents submitted to the partys state executive in late June came with a caution from the divisions treasurer, Mark Baillie, who said the party was not currently well placed to fund an effective campaign.

Particularly as there is a risk that EAC [Electoral Assistance Committee] targets will not be met and a reduced headcount at the secretariat may result in reduced resources, internal minutes obtained by the Herald state.

He further observed that perceived dysfunction through widespread media coverage is not conducive to fundraising and unless dealt with, they will pose a significant impediment to the divisions ability to contest the federal election competitively.
Ukraine received another $1.25 billion grant from the United States on Monday through the Multi-donor Trust Fund of the World Bank, Ukraine's Finance Ministry has said.

"Non-repayable direct budget support from the United States is an extremely important element in supporting the State Budget of Ukraine as we resist full-scale russian aggression. The grant of $1.25 billion will help the Government of Ukraine to reimburse priority expenditures in the social and humanitarian spheres," Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko is quoted in the press release as saying.

The Ministry of Finance said that Ukraine has already received $8.45 billion in grant funds for direct budget support from the United States in 2023. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the State Budget of Ukraine has already received $20.4 billion in grant funds from the United States.

As the Ministry of Finance previously said, as of July 21 this year, Ukraine's state budget received funding of $23.6 billion from international partners compared to $32.1 billion last year, with a need for this year of about $42 billion.

Since then, the budget has also received EUR 1.5 billion from the sixth tranche of EU macro-financial assistance and $1.5 billion through the World Bank Trust Fund mechanism, guaranteed by the Japanese government.
Warning to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers: This story contains images and references to a deceased person.

The partner of an Aboriginal woman who died in police custody says Victoria needs to change bail laws to prevent another tragedy, after The Age revealed the government was considering waiting another year to launch reforms despite a coroners call for urgent change.

Coroner Simon McGregor labelled bail provisions a complete, unmitigated disaster after the death of Veronica Nelson, a 37-year-old Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta woman. Nelson died alone in a cell in January 2020 after she was arrested for shoplifting and was refused bail.

Veronica Nelsons partner Percy Lovett (second from left) and her mother Donna Nelson (centre) with family and supporters in January. Credit: Joe Armao

Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes is expected to introduce the governments reform bill in state parliament in coming weeks following six months of consultations, sparked by the coroners report into Nelsons death.
London: Almost 100 companies operating on Australian docks and freight terminals are being monitored by authorities, who believe many of them were established as a cover for organised crime gangs to import record amounts of cocaine, other illicit drugs and illegal goods.

As customs officers plan a fresh crackdown on the nations ports, Australian Border Force has revealed the size of the watch list compiled through Operation Jardena  its effort to identify and combat trusted insiders in the supply chain  has ballooned to about 1000 individuals and more than 90 businesses working at the border.

Shipping containers are offloaded in the Port of Antwerp, Belgium. With thousands of containers reaching Antwerp every day, the Belgian port city is one of Europes main ports of entry to Europe for cocaine. Credit: AP

Law enforcement agencies struggling to keep up with a massive uptick in cocaine shipments to Australia in the past year are set to partner with international customs authorities and businesses to gain access to real-time shipment data to increase efforts to disrupt drug smuggling operations throughout a corrupted supply chain of air cargo, baggage handlers, stevedores, freight forwarders and maritime crews.

Australians are prepared to pay among the highest prices in the world for cocaine, making it a lucrative market for powerful drug cartels. This masthead recently revealed that Albanian mafia cells in Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne are among those suspected of importing tonnes of cocaine into Australia.
Cinema audiences have flocked to see Oppenheimer, a blockbuster about the US governments Manhattan Project, which gave birth to nuclear weapons during the 1940s.

The movie, which chronicles the life of American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer  dubbed the father of the atom bomb  has reportedly taken $US400 million ($596 million) worldwide, making it a box office hit. As the Heralds Garry Maddox reported last week, Oppenheimer has attracted bigger audiences to some Sydney cinemas than the feel-good Barbie movie released on the same day last month.

Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy plays the role of J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Now, amid the Hollywood hype, the former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has delivered a repulsive real-world reminder of the modern-day threat of nuclear conflict.

Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russias Security Council, said on Sunday that Moscow would have to use a nuclear weapon if Ukraines ongoing counter-offensive targeting Russian forces within Ukraine was a success. Ukraines military is attempting to retake territory that Russia has unilaterally annexed since invading last year.
Barcelona, Spain: Spanish government researchers said on Sunday they had identified 357 foreign fighters who went missing during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), the conflict that foreshadowed World War II.

Researchers confirmed the names of 212 fighters from Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, according to a statement from the government on Sunday. Some 102 are of German origin, 70 Austrian and 40 Dutch. It gave no information on how many people of other nationalities had been identified.

People put red carnations next to photographs during the 87th Spanish Republic anniversary ceremony to pay tribute to people killed in the Spanish Civil War at the Almudena cemetery in Madrid. Credit: AP

The identified combatants fought within the International Brigades, military units set up by the Communist International to fight against General Francisco Francos fascist forces. Some 40,000 foreign men and women joined up as volunteers, fighting alongside the forces of the democratic Second Spanish Republic and against the rise of fascism in Europe in the late 1930s.

The findings are based on a year of research in records held in documentary archives in Spain and Russia. Researchers combed through the daily lists of casualties and missing soldiers compiled by officers in the International Brigades.
Washington: Security is being beefed up in Washington and Georgia as Donald Trump braces for the possibility of two more criminal indictments within days, over his attempts to stop Joe Biden from becoming president.

In Atlanta, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has confirmed that after a 2-year investigation, she is ready to go with a decision that could result in racketeering and conspiracy charges against Trump and his allies for interfering in the 2020 election results in Georgia  the state that helped secure Bidens victory.

An officer in riot gear stands between supporters of Donald Trump and counter-protesters outside the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta on November 21, 2020. Credit: AP

And in Washington DC, Trump himself predicted on Monday that he would be indicted any day now as part of special counsel Jack Smiths probe into his conduct surrounding the deadly attack on the US Capitol in 2021.

ELECTION INTERFERENCE! PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT! he lamented on his Truth Social website, reinforcing his view that the cases against him are a political witch-hunt.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The Meteorological Department of St. Maarten (MDS) recently expressed its delight in sharing the inspiring journey of Mr. Geranto Eugenio, who MDS says exemplifies the boundless possibilities that come with a commitment to educational advancement.

Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation & Telecommunication, the Honorable Arthur Lambriex who has responsibility for the MDS, praised Eugenio for his recent accomplishment in a press release today, Monday, July 24. "Today, we celebrate Mr. Eugenio's remarkable achievements and unwavering dedication to his chosen field of Meteorology," said Minister Lambriex.

Mr. Geranto Eugenio embarked on his meteorological career in May 2016 when he joined the MDS as a Meteorological Observer/Trainee. He recognized his passion for the field and potential to make a significant impact, so he pursued further certification at the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) in Barbados. Mr. Eugenio's relentless pursuit of knowledge led him to become a certified Observer in August of the same year, marking the beginning of his promising journey.

Over the years, Mr. Eugenio's determination to excel pushed him to reach new heights. In 2020, he was selected for further training at CIMH, undertaking a rigorous program from March to November 2020. During this period, he acquired expertise in Aviation Meteorology and instrument installation and repair, elevating his skills to that of a Mid-Level Meteorological Technician.

Minister Lambriex said the Ministry of TEATT acknowledged Mr. Eugenio's invaluable contributions and the need to bolster local expertise. As such, he was chosen in 2021 to undergo training as a Senior Level Meteorological Technician (SLMT)/Forecaster. Undeterred by challenges, Mr. Eugenio completed the SLMT program with CIMH, demonstrating his unwavering commitment to excellence.

His journey is a testament to the significance of nurturing local talent and building strong foundations within the community," the release stated. Joseph Nathanael Isaac, Department Head of the Meteorological Department in St. Maarten, said Eugenio returned to St. Maarten last week after completing the SLMT/Forecaster course at CIMH. "To achieve full certification, he will undergo three (3) months of on-the-job training at our local office, where he will apply his newfound expertise and further strengthen his practical skills," said Isaac.

Minister Lambriex shares enthusiasm for Mr. Eugenio's achievements and emphasizes the importance of educational advancement for the youth of St. Maarten. "Mr. Geranto Eugenio's remarkable journey in Meteorology showcases the limitless potential in our young minds. I urge all the aspiring youth of St. Maarten to follow in his footsteps, as he has shown that with dedication and passion, there are no bounds to what you can achieve. The Government of St. Maarten is committed to supporting young talents like Mr. Eugenio, who bring pride to our nation and contribute to our local development."

Eugenio also encouraged aspiring meteorologists, "I would like to encourage any young person interested in Meteorology to go for it. There is room for growth, and once you do your part, you will be surprised where you can go in Meteorology. You will experience different cultures and learn from others. At the end of the day, it starts and ends with you."

He extends his heartfelt gratitude to the Department Head of MDS, Mr. Joseph Isaac, and the Government of St. Maarten for allowing him to advance in his field. Additionally, he acknowledges the support and guidance received from the staff of CIMH, whose assistance proved invaluable in his journey towards success.

The MDS stands as a beacon of hope for young talents, reaffirming its commitment to fostering local capacity and providing opportunities for higher-level training. With Mr. Geranto Eugenio as a shining example, the future holds great promise for the region's growth and advancement of meteorological expertise.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Rotary International recognizes July as "Maternal and Child Health" and in an effort to promote such, the club chose to focus on dental hygiene amongst children ages 4-12 years. On Friday, July 28th, the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset donated 300 dental hygiene kits to three summer camps located on both sides of the island.

The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset received a sponsorship donation from Dr. Leonie Bryson of Brydent Dental Clinic to assist with purchasing of items for 300 dental hygiene kits. The hygiene kits included a toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, and floss picks. These kits were distributed to the students at 3 summer camps, namely Skills Summer Camp (Dutch Side), Association Positivisme (Agrement), and Association Laliwondaj a Ti Moun (French Side).

Along with the dental hygiene kits, presentations were made by Dr. Hilda Guevara and Dr. Marlene Fleming who shared tips on healthy dental hygiene tips.

Without prevention or the correct implementation of good oral hygiene, it can lead to infection and damage to a childs first set of teeth. Their underlying adult teeth can also be adversely affected. Instilling healthy oral habits from a young age goes a long way.

The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset led by Service Project Chair Jade Maccow is happy to be able to execute service projects as such in aid to assist the community at large.

The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset meets on the second and fourth Monday of the month at Carl N Sons Unique Inn and Conference Facilities in Cole Bay at 7:30 pm. The club can be contacted via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via the official Facebook page at facebook.com/rotarysxmsunset.
Sierra Madre commences trading on OTCQX best market

Sierra Madre Gold and Silver Ltd (TSX-V: SM; OTCQX: SMDRF) (\Sierra Madre\ or the \Company\  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/sierra-madre-gold-silver/ ) has qualified for trading on the OTCQXA Best Market. This marks an upgrade for Sierra Madre Gold and Silver Ltd, as it was previously traded on the OTCQB, but had to requalify, post-closing of the La Guitarra acquisition.

Trading commenced today, July 28, for Sierra Madre on OTCQX under the symbol \-SMDRF.\- For U.S. investors, comprehensive financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company are now accessible through www.otcmarkets.com.

A aWe are pleased to announce Sierra Madre\-s return to OTCQX,a stated Alex Langer, President & CEO. aThis milestone allows us to offer both existing and new shareholders the opportunity to trade Sierra Madre shares in the U.S.a

Sierra Madre Gold & Silver (TSX.V: SM; OTCQX SMDRF) is a precious metals development and exploration company, focused on evaluating the potential of restarting the La Guitarra Mine in the Temascaltepec mining district, Mexico, and the exploration and development of its Tepic and La Tigra properties in Nayarit, Mexico. The La Guitarra Mine is a permitted, past-producing underground mine which includes a 550 t/d processing facility that operated until mid-2018.

On behalf of the board of directors of Sierra Madre Gold and Silver Ltd.,

aAlexander Langera

Alexander Langer

President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Contact:

investor@sierramadregoldandsilver.com

In Europe:

Swiss Resource Capital AG

Jochen Staiger

info@resource-capital.chA A

www.resource-capital.ch

Cautionary Note

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

This press release contains \forward-looking information\ and \forward-looking statements\ within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. The forward-looking statements herein are made as of the date of this press release only, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as \plans\, \expects\, \is expected\, \budgets\, \scheduled\, \estimates\, \forecasts\, \predicts\, \projects\, \intends\, \targets\, \aims\, \anticipates\ or \believes\ or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions \may\, \could\, \should\, \would\, \might\ or \will\ be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the completion of the Transaction on the terms set out in the definitive agreement (or at all) and the ability of the Company to obtain requisite corporate and regulatory approvals for the Transaction, including but not limited to the approval of the Exchange, Mexican antitrust approval and other governmental approvals as currently anticipated.

In making the forward-looking statements included in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including that the Company will be able to receive all required regulatory approvals by the timelines currently anticipated (or at all); and that the Company will be able to complete the Transaction on the terms of the definitive agreement. Forward-looking statements and information are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the ability of the Company to control or predict, that may cause the CompanyAs actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied thereby, and are developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out herein, including, but not limited to, the risk that the Company is not able to complete Transaction on the terms set out in the definitive agreement (or at all) and the risk that the Company is unable to obtain requisite corporate and regulatory approvals, including but not limited to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Mexican antitrust approval and governmental approval as currently anticipated.

Such forward-looking information represents managementAs best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.

SOURCE: Sierra Madre Gold and Silver
Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba held talks with his Croatian counterpart Gordan Grlic Radman on Monday, Ukraine and Croatia agreed to use Croatian ports for the export of Ukrainian grain.

"The main subject of our talks today, as traditionally with other partners, was weapons. We discussed Croatia's further support, and I also thanked for the assistance that was already provided. For obvious reasons, I will not share details. I can only say that there are specific agreements that will be implemented soon. I can only say that the assistance provided by Croatia is very substantial if we count its share in the total military budget of this country," Kuleba was quoted as saying by the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

Given Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Ukrainian food exports became an important topic of negotiations.

"We agreed on the possibility of using Croatian ports on the Danube and in the Adriatic Sea to transport Ukrainian grain. Now we will work to lay the most efficient routes to these ports and make the most of this opportunity. Every contribution to unlocking exports, every open door is a real, effective contribution to the food security of the world. I thank Croatia for constructive assistance," the Ukrainian minister said.

The ministers also discussed preparations for the International Donor Conference on Mine Action in Ukraine that will be held in Zagreb in October. Kuleba expressed his gratitude to Croatia for taking on the role of one of the global leaders in demining in Ukraine.

In addition, the diplomats devoted a significant part of the negotiations to the implementation of the Peace Formula proposed by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"The Croatian side reaffirmed its readiness to take part in the implementation of a number of points of the Peace Formula: on food security, energy security, restoring respect for the UN Charter and the territorial integrity of Ukraine, achieving justice for Russian crimes and preventing ecocide. We are very grateful. This is precisely the specifics which we expect from other countries, and we continue to work together on the implementation of the Peace Formula and the holding of the corresponding summit," Kuleba said.

He assured that Ukraine is grateful for the Croatian support: military and technical, financial and humanitarian, including energy, for hosting 27,000 Ukrainians, the treatment of Ukrainian defenders, the rehabilitation of children and their families.

Negotiations and a press conference in Kyiv were held in a hybrid format. Kuleba took part online while in self-isolation after testing positive for COVID-19.
Comets are defined as icy bodies of frozen gases, rocks and dust left over from the formation of the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago.

They orbit the sun in highly elliptical orbits that can take hundreds of thousands of years to complete. As a comet approaches the sun, it heats up very quickly causing solid ice to turn directly into gas via a process called sublimation, according to the Lunar and Planetary Institute . The gas contains water vapor, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and other trace substances, and is eventually swept into the distinctive comet tail.

Scientists sometimes call comets dirty snowballs or snowy dirtballs, depending on whether they contain more ice material or rocky debris according to NASA .

Related: How to view and photograph comets

According to NASA, as of January 2023, the current number of known comets is 3,743. Though billions more are thought to be orbiting the sun beyond Neptune in the Kuiper Belt and the distant Oort cloud far beyond Pluto .

Occasionally, a comet streaks through the inner solar system ; some do so regularly, some only once every few centuries. Many people have never seen a comet, but those who have won't easily forget the celestial show.

The most recent comet to be making headlines is that of recently discovered comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) which will make a relatively close approach to Earth on Feb. 1, 2023, passing within 28 million miles (42 million km). This striking green comet was last in our neighborhood 50,000 years ago, making the last people to look up and witness this visitor from the depths of the outer solar system, likely very early Homo sapiens or Neanderthals.

Related: Amazing photos of gorgeously green Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)

Hoping to observe a comet for yourself? Our guides on the best telescopes and best binoculars can help. You can also check out our guide on how to view and photograph comets as well our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography to get started.

What is a comet made of?

A comet primarily consists of a nucleus, coma, hydrogen envelope, dust and plasma tails. Scientists analyze these components to learn about the size and location of these icy bodies, according to ESA.

Nucleus

The nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko imaged by Rosetta's OSIRIS narrow-angle camera from a distance of 177 miles (285 km). (Image credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA)

A comet nucleus is the solid core of a comet consisting of frozen molecules including water, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane and ammonia as well as other inorganic and organic molecules  dust. The nucleus of a comet is usually around 6 miles ( 10 kilometers) across or less .

Coma

As a comet gets closer to the sun, the ice on the surface of the nucleus begins turning into a gas via a process called sublimation, forming a cloud around the comet known as the coma. According to the science website howstuffworks.com the coma is often 1,000 times larger than the nucleus.

Hydrogen envelope

Surrounding the coma is a hydrogen envelope that can be up to 6.2 million miles (10 million kilometers) long and is made from hydrogen atoms according to ESA . As the comet gets closer to the sun, the hydrogen envelope gets bigger .

Tails

Comet C/1995 01 Hale-Bopp captured on March 14, 1997. In this image you can see the dust tail streaking out to the right whist the blue ion tail points away from the sun. (Image credit: ESO/E. Slawik)

There are two main types of comet tails, dust and gas. Comet tails are shaped by sunlight and the solar wind and always point away from the sun .

Comet tails get longer as a comet approaches the sun and can end up millions of miles long . The dust tail is formed when solar wind pushes small particles in the coma into an elongated curved path. Whereas the ion tail is formed from electrically charged molecules of gas.

We can see a number of comets with the naked eye when they pass close to the sun because their comas and tails reflect sunlight or even glow because of the energy they absorb from the sun. However, most comets are too small or too faint to be seen without a telescope.

Comets leave a trail of debris behind them that can lead to meteor showers on Earth. For instance, the Perseid meteor shower occurs every year between August 9 and 13 when Earth passes through the orbit of Comet Swift-Tuttle .

Comet Q&A with an expert

We asked Dr. Samatha Lawler, an astronomer at the University of Regina in the United States who studies objects at the edge of the solar system, some frequently asked questions about comets.

IMAGE CREDIT: CAMPION COLLEGE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF REGINA IMAGE CREDIT: CAMPION COLLEGE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF REGINA Samatha Lawler Dr. Samatha Lawler is an astronomer at the University of Regina in the United States who studies objects at the edge of the solar system.

What are comets made of? Comets are made of a little bit of rock, a few different types of ice (including water, carbon dioxide, ammonia, and methane), and a little bit of complex organic molecules. They are often described as "dirty snowballs," and their shape and composition always remind me of the old, dirty, icy snow you get on the sides of city roads at the very end of winter.

When are comets visible? Comets spend most of their time far away from the sun, in the very cold outer reaches of the solar system, only coming in close to the sun every few thousand or even every few million years. Comets are most easily visible when they get close to the sun, and the many different types of ices on their surfaces start to sublimate (turn from solid into gas). This makes the comet turn from a small, dark rock into a huge, puffy cloud of gas and dust, making it much easier to see with telescopes or sometimes even with just your eyes. As the comet gets warmer, it grows a tail of gas and dust that can be millions of miles long, always pointing away from the sun.

How are comets formed? Comets are little bits of ice left over from the beginning of our solar system. They formed in the same disk of gas and dust that formed the eight planets, but because they formed in the very cold regions far away from the sun, they include a lot more ice. Astronomers are still measuring comet composition and running computer simulations to learn exactly where and how comets formed, but they likely formed in the same region of our solar system where Kuiper Belt Objects like Pluto orbit today, and got scattered out onto huge, elliptical orbits when the giant planets changed positions very early in the history of the solar system.

Where do comets come from? The comets that we occasionally see in the night sky usually come from the really distant reaches of the solar system, where they spend most of our time. This region is called the Oort Cloud, and it extends from the Kuiper Belt basically halfway to the closest star. Comets can travel out to hundreds of thousands of times the distance between the Earth and the sun, and then slowly travel back into the inner solar system on million-year-long orbits. These comets are way too small and faint to be seen until they start to melt close to the sun, and you may be lucky enough to get to see a handful of bright Oort Cloud comets over the course of your lifetime. The most famous comet, Halley's Comet, is on a much closer orbit and is getting rapidly fainter since it melts every 76 years and has lost a lot of its volatile material.

How can amateur astronomers view comets? There are always a few faint comets visible somewhere in the night sky if you have access to decent binoculars or a small telescope. A great database with finder charts is available at in-the-sky.org. The next bright comet could be Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in the fall of 2024, but we won't know how bright it can become until it makes its close approach to the sun and starts sublimating impressively, or not.

Comet orbits

Astronomers classify comets based on the duration of their orbits around the sun. Short-period comets need roughly 200 years or less to complete one orbit, long-period comets take more than 200 years, and single-apparition comets are not bound to the sun, on orbits that take them out of the solar system. Recently, scientists have also discovered comets in the main asteroid belt  these main-belt comets might be a key source of water for the inner terrestrial planets .

Scientists think short-period comets, also known as periodic comets, originate from a disk-shaped band of icy objects known as the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune's orbit, with gravitational interactions with the outer planets dragging these bodies inward, where they become active comets. Long-period comets are thought to come from the nearly spherical Oort Cloud even further out, which get slung inward by the gravitational pull of passing stars. In 2017, scientists found there may be seven times more big long-period comets than previously thought.

Some comets, called sun-grazers, smash right into the sun or get so close that they break up and evaporate. Some researchers are also concerned that comets may pose a threat to Earth as well.

Comet McNaught (Comet C/2006 P1) behind Mount Paranal in the Chilean Atacama desert. This image was captured in January 2007. Comet McNaught was the brightest comet seen since 1965 and, in some places, it was even visible to the naked eye during the day! (Image credit: S. Deiries/ESO)

How do comets get their names?

Comets are generally named after their discoverer. For example, comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 got its name because it was the ninth short-periodic comet discovered by Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker and David Levy. Spacecraft have proven very effective at spotting comets as well, so the names of many comets incorporate the names of missions such as SOHO or WISE.

Related: Amazing photos of Comet NEOWISE from the Earth and space

Comets through history

In antiquity, comets inspired both awe and alarm, "hairy stars" resembling fiery swords that appeared unpredictably in the sky. Often, comets seemed to be omens of doom  the most ancient known mythology, the Babylonian "Epic of Gilgamesh," described fire, brimstone, and flood with the arrival of a comet, and the Roman emperor Nero saved himself from the "curse of the comet" by having all possible successors to his throne executed. This fear was not just limited to the distant past  in 1910, people in Chicago sealed their windows to protect themselves from what they thought was the comet's poisonous tail.

For centuries, scientists thought comets traveled in the Earth's atmosphere, but in 1577, observations made by Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe revealed they actually traveled far beyond the moon . Isaac Newton later discovered that comets move in elliptical, oval-shaped orbits around the sun, and correctly predicted that they could return again and again.

Chinese astronomers kept extensive records on comets for centuries, including observations of Halley's Comet going back to at least 240 B.C., and historic annals that have proven valuable resources for later astronomers.

Missions to comets

Several missions have ventured to comets.

NASA's Deep Impact collided an impactor into Comet Tempel 1 in 2005 and recorded the dramatic explosion that revealed the interior composition and structure of the nucleus. The mission also included a flyby of Comet Hartley 2 and the remote sensing of Comet Garradd during an extended mission.

Comet Tempel 1 67 seconds after NASA's Deep Impact's impactor spacecraft crashed into the comet. The image was captured by a high-resolution camera on the mission's flyby craft. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UMD)

In 2009, NASA announced that samples returned from Comet Wild 2 during the Stardust mission revealed a building block of life  glycine. It was the first time an amino acid was found in a comet .

In 2014, the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft entered orbit around Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The Philae lander touched down on Nov 12, 2014. Among the Rosetta mission's many discoveries was the first detection of organic molecules on the surface of a comet; a strange song from Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko; the possibility that the comet's odd shape may be due to it spinning apart, or resulting from two comets fusing together; and the fact that comets may possess hard, crispy outsides and cold but soft insides, just like fried ice cream. On Sept. 30, 2016, Rosetta intentionally crash-landed on the comet, ending its mission.

June 19, 2019, ESA selected the Comet Interceptor mission as the last "fast" or F-class mission. The new mission will intercept an as-yet-undiscovered comet as it enters the inner solar system. The mission consists of three spacecraft that will capture snapshots of the comet from different angles, creating a 3D profile of the object and characterizing its surface, composition, shape and structure. Comet interceptor is due to launch in 2029 .

Famous comets

Halley's Comet is likely the most famous comet in the world, even depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry that chronicled the Battle of Hastings of 1066. It becomes visible to the naked eye about every 75 years when it nears the sun. When Halley's Comet zoomed near Earth in 1986, five spacecraft flew past it and gathered unprecedented details, coming close enough to study its nucleus, which is normally concealed by the comet's coma.

The roughly potato-shaped, 9-mile-long (15 km) comet contains equal parts ice and dust, with some 80% of the ice made of water and about 15% of it consisting of frozen carbon monoxide. Researchers believe other comets are chemically similar to Halley's Comet. The nucleus of Halley's Comet was unexpectedly extremely dark black  its surface, and perhaps those of most others, is apparently covered with a black crust of dust over most of the ice, and it only releases gas when holes in this crust expose ice to the sun.

The comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided spectacularly with Jupiter in 1994, with the giant planet's gravitational pull ripping the comet apart for at least 21 visible impacts . The largest collision created a fireball that rose about 1,800 miles (3,000 km) above the Jovian cloud tops as well as a giant dark spot more than 7,460 miles (12,000 km) across about the size of the Earth  and was estimated to have exploded with the force of 6,000 gigatons of TNT.

Scattered fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 were captured on May 17, 1994, by the Hubble Space Telescope. The fragments impacted Jupiter in July 1994. (Image credit: NASA/ESA/H. Weaver and E. Smith (STSci))

A highly visible comet was Hale-Bopp, which came within 122 million miles (197 million km) of Earth in 1997. Its unusually large nucleus gave off a great deal of dust and gas  estimated at roughly 18 to 25 miles (30 to 40 km) across  appeared bright to the naked eye.

Comet ISON was expected to give a spectacular show in 2013. However, the sun-grazer did not survive its close encounter with the sun and was destroyed in December of the same year.

In 2021, scientists found what could be the largest comet ever seen . Comet C/2014 UN271 or Bernardinelli-Bernstein after its discoverers, University of Pennsylvania graduate student Pedro Bernardinelli and astronomer Gary Bernstein, was officially designated a comet on June 23. Astronomers estimate this icy body has a diameter of 62 miles to 124 miles (100 km to 200 km), making it about 10 times wider than a typical comet. The comet will make its closest approach to our planet in 2031 but will remain at quite a distance even then.

Additional resources
T he company behind The Scotsman and Yorkshire Post newspapers said it plans to roll out automation in its weekly titles this year.

National World said by automating print publishing it can create more value for customers by providing purely local content.

It said the move will increase value to the consumer and advertiser.

The business added: Innovation involves a change to the operating model that is focused on automation including the immediate exploitation of artificial intelligence in production across both print and digital platforms.

Since acquiring JPIMedia in 2021, National World said it has cut the size of its workforce from 1,500 to 1,100.

Meanwhile, productivity has increased, it added.

The business said revenue dropped from 43.5 million in the first half of last year to 41.8 million in the most recent six-month period.

Five acquisitions in the period and improvements in newly launched online brands are replacing lost revenue from heritage assets and we now expect overall revenues for 2023 to exceed last year

Pre-tax profit more than halved from 3.9 million to 1.7 million in the same period, it added.

Chairman David Montgomery said: The company has successfully commenced the journey to revenue growth in the first half.

Measures to deliver a sustainable multi-platform business continued apace despite the downturn in the advertising market.

Five acquisitions in the period and improvements in newly launched online brands are replacing lost revenue from heritage assets and we now expect overall revenues for 2023 to exceed last year.

Strong growth, particularly in video revenue, as well as the accelerated implementation of an innovative operating model will contribute to the delivery of full year profits in line with expectations.
I m afraid I have what might be shocking news  Ken Clarke is quite right-wing. He may hold heterodox views on Europe (a conviction that cost him the party leadership on multiple occasions), but Clarkes reputation as a Tory wet belies both his record and his admiration for Margaret Thatcher.

That he recently came out in support of the governments Rwanda policy was a surprise only to those who misunderstand the man. Clarke vibes to the centre and votes right, as many skilful politicians do. The lesser-spotted successful left-wing politicians in Britain do it too, only the inverse.

For several years, Rishi Sunak enjoyed, even cultivated a reputation for moderation thanks in large part to his geeky, technocratic persona. That his first introduction to public consciousness was paying people not to work during the pandemic couldnt have hurt.

For a while, this pro-Brexit, Thatcherite leader leaned into the image. But all of a sudden, 20 points behind in the polls and showing no sign of closing the gap, he has decided to change tack. Even as a prime minister, it is difficult to overturn first impressions. But Sunak is giving it the old college try.

On the basis of a solitary and surprise by-election victory in Uxbridge, the prime minister has concluded he must trash the Conservative Partys record on the environment. To that end, Sunak flew by private jet to Scotland and, after taking umbrage at the idea that he could have taken the train, announced that hundreds of new oil and gas licenses will be granted in the North Sea. The whole interview was pretty testy.

In isolation, this would be controversial enough. But it comes after days of briefing that suggest ministers are keen on reversing swathes of green (or green-adjacent) policies including low-traffic neighbourhoods, 20mph zones and of course Ulez expansion. The surprise is that Sunak has reaffirmed the governments commitment to the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.

N.B. There is plenty to say here about the prime minister of a nation with a state as centralised and an economy as sluggish as Britains directing where bollards on side streets should go, but we dont have that kind of time.

The point is, if this latest anti-green policy is an attempt to claw back public support, it is likely to fail. First, because Sunak risks over-interpreting the close result of a by-election held in a seat cryogenically designed and timed to be painful for Labour, coming weeks before the Ulez is set to be extended.

And second, because up to this point, Sunak has enjoyed a polling lead over his own party, based in part on the idea that he is both more moderate and more competent than the Conservatives as a whole. So why is he suddenly sitting in Margaret Thatchers old Rover telling people how much he loves cars? Well, nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it is the only one you have.

But I think it speaks to Sunak himself. The Stanford man, as Joe Biden likes to call him, with the 5.5m penthouse apartment in Santa Monica, gives the impression he would rather be running the California of his dreams, filled with ambitious tech entrepreneurs, acres of space and a lust for free markets. Instead, hes running Britain. Id be grouchy too.

Whatever you thought of the man and his relationship with the truth, Boris Johnson was the most left-wing Conservative leader since John Major. And though he benefited in 2019 from Brexit and Jeremy Corbyn, it is undoubtedly the case that the position he carved out  pro-Brexit but pro-environment  was electorally attractive. Would it be again? Well never know. As for Sunakism, not long to find out.

In the comment pages, Dylan Jones fears Britain is drifting into a slow-motion world where urgency is always an optional extra. Tanya Gold says the Scilly Isles idyll is made possible by people the locals dont like: the rest of us. While Agnes Dauti, 16, sets out how to make vaping less attractive to teenagers.

And finally, meal deals are about more than sad sandwiches and orange juice that never met a tree in its life. Mike Daw rounds up the best lunch deals in the capitals flashiest dining rooms.

This article appears in our newsletter, West End Final  delivered 4pm daily  bringing you the very best of the paper, from culture and comment to features and sport. Sign up here.
R ishi Sunak and the Conservative Party appear to have concluded, on the basis of a solitary and surprise by-election victory, to trash the Governments record on the environment. It is a curious decision  and one that threatens not only Britains ability to combat catastrophic climate change, but also ignores the far more nuanced views of voters up and down the country.

The Prime Minister visited Scotland today to announce that hundreds of new oil and gas licences will be granted. In isolation, this would be controversial enough. But coming after days of briefing that ministers would launch a review of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, 20mph speed limits and, of course, the partys enthusiastic opposition to the Ulez extension, it paints a picture of a leader going all-in on an anti-environmental agenda.

If this is an attempt to claw back public support, it is a gamble that could well fail. Instead, the Tories risk over-interpreting the result of a unique election. A poll for this newspaper today finds that three-quarters of people in Britain say it is becoming a worse place in which to live. The continuation of dirty air and disregard for the climate is unlikely to shift that narrative.

Stop shifting blame

Oversight of policing in London is a joint responsibility between the Mayor and the Home Secretary. All too often, that ensures neither side takes responsibility.

Policing minister Chris Philp hit out at the Metropolitan Polices failure to recruit enough officers, calling it a missed opportunity for the people of London and warns the force could be 2,000 officers short next year. In a letter seen by the Standard, Philp told Sadiq Khan that he has serious concerns about the Mets recruitment and urged the Mayor to do more to address the problems.

From the epidemic of teen knife murders to violence against women and girls, the capital needs more police. Khan is only too aware of this. The Met should have received 4,457 officers as a result of the 20,000 national uplift programme, but was left 1,089 short. Rather than the never-ending blame shifting, ministers and City Hall must work together for the safety of our city.

Broady bows out

He has taken 600 wickets in 167 tests, but Stuart Broads England career can scarcely be summed up in numbers. From bail-switching to declaring unsuccessful series null and void, the bowler has rarely delivered a dull moment in his near 20-year career. Whatever todays result at the Oval, it has been quite the journey.
Press Release

July 31, 2023 More than 200,000 patients benefitted from Malasakit Center at SPMC, Davao City as Bong Go continues to improve access to healthcare for the poor and indigent Senator Christopher "Bong" Go took note of the successful implementation of the medical assistance program overseen by the Malasakit Center located in Davao City's Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), which has successfully served more than 212,000 patients from 2019 to mid-2023. In an ambush interview on July 29, after aiding fire victims in Davao City, Go, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health and considered as the father of the Malasakit Center program, shed light on the extent of the impact of the Malasakit Centers in Davao Region and across the Philippines. "Sa ngayon po, it's raw data pero mahigit 500,000 patients na po ang natulungan sa buong Davao Region ng Malasakit Center," Go said, signifying a strong reach beyond the recorded 212,000 patients assisted in the SPMC in Davao City alone. He also mentioned the utility of these centers, emphasizing that the Malasakit Center at the SPMC serves not only residents of Davao City, but is accessible to the entire Mindanao. "Buong Mindanao pwedeng lumapit dyan sa Malasakit Center sa SPMC," Go explained. Reminding Filipinos of the inclusivity of the Malasakit Centers, Go emphasized, "Basta Pilipino ka, qualified ka sa Malasakit Center." This sentiment echoes his vision, as the principal author and sponsor of Republic Act No. 11463 or the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019, to create a healthcare support system that caters to every Filipino's needs, particularly the poor and indigent. Data from the Health Facility and Patient Support Team of the Department of Health (DOH) shows that SPMC's Malasakit Center has consistently increased its reach over the past few years. In 2021, nearly 75 percent of all patients served in the Davao Region received assistance from SPMC, reflecting a commendable increase from just 0.8 percent in 2019. "This is an extraordinary achievement that illustrates the effectiveness of our collaborative efforts," said Go. "I am particularly impressed by the significant growth in the number of patients served by the SPMC in the past couple of years. This demonstrates our ability to adapt and improve our service delivery in response to the evolving health needs of our citizens," added Go. Malasakit Centers bring together representatives from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, DOH, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. These one-stop shops aim to support impoverished patients in reducing their hospital costs to the least possible amount. To date, 158 operational centers have helped more than seven million Filipinos nationwide, according to DOH. Expressing his continued commitment to health service improvements, the senator said, "I firmly believe in the potential of our healthcare system and will continue to support initiatives like the Malasakit Program that bring quality healthcare services closer to the people who need them the most. Together, we can make a healthier and stronger Philippines." Go's relentless work towards improving the nation's healthcare landscape has not gone unnoticed, as indicated by a June 2023 survey conducted by the University of Mindanao's Institute of Public Opinion. The poll recognized Go as one of the most trusted senators in Davao City.
The Defense Ministry of Ukraine and Turkish company Baykar Makina have signed an agreement on the construction in Ukraine of a service center for the repair and maintenance of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The ministry said on its website on Monday that this was done to develop a framework agreement between the governments of Ukraine and Turkey on cooperation in the field of high technologies, aviation and space industries, which entered into force on January 23.

"Turkey's help for Ukraine during the full-scale war is certainly invaluable. Special thanks to Baykar for its contribution to building up the capacity of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression. Everyone in Ukraine knows what Bayraktar is, knows your company. But we are moving forward, and it is important for us to create our own base in Ukraine for maintenance of drones. This joint project will lay the foundation for our systematic work, create jobs in Ukraine. We have reached an agreement, the center will be created in the near future," State Secretary of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine Kostiantyn Vaschenko said.

He also noted that today the policy of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry is aimed at strengthening its own capabilities for repairing military equipment.

"This applies not only to drones. This also applies to heavy armored vehicles and other means of warfare. We understand that we need to develop our own infrastructure, create our own jobs, train our own personnel so that even after victory we can be as effective as possible and use the available resources to maintain the state's defense capability at the proper level," Vaschenko said.
I t is holiday season in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, which means ice cream, pasties and social anxiety. There are Facebook posts about parking infractions; laughter at cars left on beaches to drown (curiously not everyone seems to understand tides); the annual appearance of a basking shark at Porthcurno, as if it is booked in advance like Morecombe and Wise.

It is tempting to analyse this simply: locals versus incomers; the righteous versus the appalling. The longer I live here, the more self-serving this feels. There are many tribes in Cornwall, and the most defensive  the most passive-aggressive, the most anti-tourist  are wealthy incomers like myself. Its a hunger to identify which segues into entitlement and denial. We are as much to blame for the housing crisis as anyone, but you wouldnt know it from listening to us. Like Daphne du Maurier and Virginia Woolf, we invent a fake Cornish aesthetic (they were from Hampstead and Kensington) and call it real.

The Facebook groups speak of good and bad tourists: its class-based of course. The King is welcome

I learnt this when I was a tourist myself. I went to the Isles of Scilly. They are lovely  140 low-flung islands, 24 miles west of Lands End, of which five are inhabited and the rest are for the birds. They are the richest archaeological sites in Britain: the dead outnumber the living (centuries of ship wrecks line the seabed) and it feels like it. There is something necrotic and claustrophobic about St Marys, the only isle on which you can drive: a village on an island in the ocean. Only travel here if you want to be known.

Perhaps it was the dregs of pandemic, when they had the isles to themselves  the most monied villages in Cornwall adored lockdown and reported playing children to the police  but I found them peevish. Each day the Scillonian ferry docks, bringing a fifth of the year-round population of the islands for the day or more. They spill out onto the off-islands, all of which (insufferable over-monied Tresco, Kensington-on-Sea aside) are wondrous.

Even so, I found the islanders  surely not indigeni, but incomers wedded to a fantasy of rural living, for who else can afford properties which cost double the national average?  unkind. Its quite something to buy a 10 piece of ornamental driftwood and a 5 bar of soap and feel despised. The Facebook groups speak of good and bad tourists: its class-based, of course. The affluent are welcome: the King, who owns most of the isles, is a precious visitor. Any interruption in paradise feels like assault if you are spoiled. I only wish their gratitude for their surroundings extended to wanting to share it. If tourists invade in summer, they pay for it  and not just in ornamental driftwood and soap.

Without the benevolence of the British tax-payer, whose children do not have the benefit of this landscape, the isles would not be an idyll. They would barely be habitable, and wealthy retirees would have to dip into their pensions for their comfort. The taxpayer subsidises transport links: there is a hospital for a population of 2,000. This makes the isles not only the loveliest, but the most fortunate village in Britain.

Yet too often they have a landowners outlook  mine, not thine. I once read that when London schoolchildren were evacuated to Cornwall during the Blitz, the whole of Penzance turned out to greet them. I cant imagine that scene on the isles again.

Estate agent Georgie June / BBC/Plum Pictures/Paul Husband

Selling Sunset  the UK version

In the United States, Netflixs Selling Sunset made female real estate agents and their mindless, grasping aesthetic world famous. They are all over Instagram, selling the very ugly houses the rich adore. They have a complex relationship with feminism. They dress for disempowerment  their shoes are vertiginous, as if they want to be skyscrapers. Now a new BBC2, series called Crazy Rich Agents, seeks to do the same for the UK.

Young agents will compete to join a global firm called Nest Seekers International which sells red-brick monstrosities in Hampstead and, weirdly, a development in Dudley town centre. I never thought the celebrity estate agent would take off here (they are too unpopular to be famous) but these are mad times. It seems the housing crisis is so acute it takes a celebrity to get you a house.

Tanya Gold is a columnist
F or cinephiles in 2023, finding the right film to watch isn't so much a chore as a series of endless possibilities: from Criterion Collection, to Curzon, to Mubi, to BFI Player, there are now so many places to find seriously good old and new films.

BFI Player boasts a back catalogue of classic foreign-language cinema and old favourites, as well as plenty of critically-adored releases.

The sites monthly subscription allows viewers to access a large archive of movies, while a smaller selection of films including recent releases are available to rent on a one-off basis. Here, weve focused on the films available to watch right now through the subscription service model.

From French classics to modern cult favourites, these are our 30 favourite films on the BFI Player right now, listed in no particular order.

The Quiet Girl

This Oscar-nominated Irish language film, which was directed by Colm Bairead, is about a nine-year-old girl from a dysfunctional family who goes to spend a summer on a farm. Its an adaptation of Claire Keegans exquisite novella Foster, which packs an absolute punch, as does the film.

Wild Tales

Damian Szifrons Oscar-nominated Wild Tales contains six stand-alone stories, all of which explore human behaviour in modern society. The Spanish-language films are all hilarious, dark and moving  each somehow more enjoyable than the next.

Hidden

Michael Hanekes 2005 psychological thriller Cache (Hidden) details a nightmare scenario: Parisian couple Anne (Juliette Binoche) and Georges (Daniel Auteuil) Laurent start being sent video tapes of surveillance of their apartment, as well as unpleasant drawings. Georges has suspicions that he knows who is tormenting them, and takes matters into his own hands when the police refuse to step in.

Christiane F.

Uli Edels 1981 film is based on the true story of German actor and musician Christiane Vera Felscherinows life. Christiane grew up in Berlins working-class borough Neukolln in the Seventies, which was years before it became a hipster paradise. By her early teenage years, she was using heroin and working as a prostitute. Christiane F. tells a version of this story, with a soundtrack scored by David Bowie.

La Haine

Handout

This grisly black-and-white French film about three friends living in a deprived Paris neighbourhood won director Mathieu Kassovitz Best Director at Cannes in 1995. Now a cult classic, La Haine, which translates to hate, is still as blistering as ever as it explores society, poverty and race.

The Square

Our favourite of Swedish filmmaker Ruben Ostlunds films, The Square is a riotous takedown of Stockholms elite art crowd. Christian (Claes Bang), the self-absorbed curator of Stockholms X-Royal art museum, is having an existential crisis. He hires an advertising team to help him increase the publicity of his museum, with hilarious results.

Seven Samurai

Often hailed as one of the finest foreign-language films ever made, Akira Kurosawas masterpiece follows the heroic efforts of the warriors attempting to protect a Japanese village from a vicious bandit attack. The classic film famously later became the inspiration for The Magnificent Seven.

Paris, Texas

The late Harry Dean Stanton is at his enigmatic best in this sprawling road movie, playing a mysterious vagrant who emerges from the desert having not been seen for four years. Unforgettable.

Yojimbo

Another epic from Japanese genius Akira Kurosawa, this time focusing on a lone fighter who becomes the architect of a bloody gang war in feudal Japan. Its one full of memorable iconography  you know youre in for a visceral movie when the opening scene sees a dog running along a street carrying a human hand in its mouth.

Winter Sleep

Two classic stories from Russian literature  Chekhovs The Wife and elements of Dostoyevskys The Brothers Karamazov  are transported to modern-day Turkey in this striking film. Its packed with political commentary on the lives of the rich and poor in Turkey, winning the Palme dOr back in 2014.

Little Joe

This curious drama follows the creation of a demonic plant which infects people with happiness. Ben Whishaw is in fantastic form as the scientist who learns of the plants secret, becoming intent on protecting the beguiling creation. Emily Beecham also stars in the critical hit from cult Austrian director Jessica Hausner.

Lynn + Lucy

This inspired debut drama from British director Fyzal Boulifa follows the fraught friendship between Essex pair Lynn (Roxanne Scrimshaw) and Lucy (Nichola Burley). The Standards critic Charlotte OSullivan called it disorientating, stressful and  ultimately  electrifying in her review.

Throne of Blood

Another epic from Akira Kurosawa, this mid-century retelling of Shakespeares Macbeth transports the action from the moors of Scotland to feudal Japan, with a famous warrior killing his sovereign at the behest of his wife. The film won two of Japans prestigious Mainichi Film Awards upon its original release in 1957.

King of New York

Filmmaker Abel Ferrara said it best: It makes Scarface look like Mary Poppins. A bloody underworld thriller, Christopher Walken stars as the ruthless Frank White, a drug lord determined to take over the city. A dud on release, it rightly has earned a reputation as a cult classic, not least for Walkens performance; it was in this film he patented his offbeat eccentricity, which here is extraordinarily unsettling. Dance moves are on point, though.

Dogtooth

A haunting, surreal nightmare, Dogtooth is not an easy watch; still, the 2009 film from Yorgos Lanthimos is remembered as the most important Greek release in decades, and not without reason. As elegantly shot as it is disturbing  and it can be grotesquely disturbing  Dogtooth tells the story of a couple who keep their teenage children hidden from the world, keeping them in line with sadistic acts of violence. Sex is ever present. A film with its own power.

Caravaggio

Its all in the title: this film tells the story of the Baroque painter. Though plenty is made of his intense approach to work, the fun is in watching Caravaggios riotous, drunken and debauched life. Derek Jarmans film also marks the screen debut of both Tilda Swinton and Sean Bean.

Suspiria

This unsettling supernatural thriller is an uncomfortable and at times bizarre watch. Jessica Harper stars as a ballet dancer who transfers from America to Germany to join a well-regarded academy. Things arent right: maggots fall from the ceiling, a dog has its throat ripped out, there are murders. A tense, disturbing film, full of gore.

Under the Skin (1997)

A simple premise, but delivered powerfully and with poignancy. It tells the story of two grown-up sisters in Liverpool processing the sudden death of their mother. Both deal with it differently; Iris (Samantha Morton) finds comfort in casual sex and hedonistic nights out. Elder sister Rose, married and pregnant, does not, and is horrified to watch her sister let loose. A touching study of grief.

Me Without You

Anna Friel and Michelle Williams star as Marina and Holly, in a story of a friendship which seems to poison both as much as it pleases them. We first meet the pair at 12 years old, and follow them intermittently as they grow up. The friendship is intense, confusing, troubled, sometimes bitter and often treacherous. It is, then, very real, and refreshing to watch because of it.

Fitzcarraldo

One of Werner Herzogs most bombastic works, Fitzcarraldo, follows a man who embarks on the outlandish plot to run a steamship over a hill in the Amazon basin to access a new site for a rubber factory. It pits man against nature in a way that all the best Herzog movies do, and opened the directors filmography up to a wider audience in the early Eighties.

The Bad Sleep Well

Kurosawa turned his attention to corporate corruption for his 1960 drama The Bad Sleep Well  an acerbic tale of betrayal, revenge and greed. Protagonist Koichi Nishi manages to infiltrate a powerful company to find those responsible for the death of his father, in a story influenced by Shakespeares Hamlet.

La Notte

One of the masters of mid-century Italian cinema alongside Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni delivered one of his most profound and moving films La Notte, a portrait of a marriage in breakdown. The movie takes place over a single day, with a novelist and his frustrated wife coming to terms with the fragmented state of their relationship, and received the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Listen Up Philip

Wry comedy drama Listen Up Philip focuses on the relationship between two novelists at opposite ends of their career trajectories, who both come to alienate those around them. A funny and intelligent watch, with excellent performances from Jonathan Pryce, Jason Schwartzman and Elisabeth Moss.

The Hidden Fortress

One of the incredible run of Kurosawa films in the Fifties, The Hidden Fortress follows two Japanese peasants who agree to make the journey into enemy territory, but who fail to realise their passengers are a general and a member of the royal family. While its often overlooked in favour of the director's other films like Seven Samurai and Ran, its a beautifully shot gem that is well worth discovering.

Heaven Knows What

Before the Safdie Brothers connected with a worldwide audience with their adrenaline and anxiety-inducing movies Uncut Gems and Good Time, they made this desperately sad drug addiction drama based on a true story. The movie stars Arielle Holmes playing a version of herself as a homeless heroin addict, who director Josh Safdie befriended while living in New York.

The Passion of Joan of Arc

This classic 1928 French silent movie is early Hollywood at its most direct and expressive, telling the story of Joan of Arcs final days and execution in England. Danish film director Carl Theodor Dreyers cinematography is striking even nearly 100 years on, but its Renee Jeanne Falconettis timeless performance that gives the film its impact.

Tokyo Story

Declared by some as one of the greatest films ever made, Tokyo Story is the story of elderly parents in west Japan who travel to the capital to visit their busy, grown children. The parents dont receive the kind of welcome theyd hoped for, and the film becomes a meditation on the notion of family ravished by time and distance. A subtle and heartbreaking piece of work.

Tom of Finland

This biography focuses on the life of the man who helped inspire a generation of gay men to be proud of their identity in Finland following the Second World War. It tells the story of Touko Laaksonen, an artist who returned to Helsinki after the war and challenged traditional society by publishing erotic drawings. Its a sensitively done and moving account of a man who made a real difference in his time.

Night of the Hunted

This unsettling and intriguing psychological French drama is the story of the inhabitants of a mental hospital who have lost their memories in an unexplained environmental accident. Jean Rollins movie is a dark, oppressive look at dystopia and depravity, but its one that will stay with you.

Aniara

Swedish sci-fi, anyone? This movie is set in a world destroyed by climate change, with hi-concepts and ruminations on human behaviour in a crisis. The dystopian drama is set onboard a spaceship hurtling through space on its way to Mars, asking big questions and offering intimate, relationship-driven drama in equal quantity.
F or film fans who have exhausted the big hitters, and are looking for something a little different, summer is the ideal time to experiment and explore.

That classic Korean film youve been meaning to get around to watching for months? Stick it on. That ten-part historical documentary series youve always felt too intimidated to begin? Now that evenings are longer, and holidays need to be used up, theres never been a better time to start.

To help you on your way, here is our pick of some of the underrated gems on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.

Snowpiercer  Lionsgate+ (Amazon Prime Video)

This high-concept thriller helped announce Parasite director Bong Joon-ho to a bigger Western audience. Snowpiercer follows a revolt onboard a train, which is carrying the last humans alive on earth in the aftermath of a second ice age. More from Bong Joon-Ho later (and for true Snowpiercer fans, there is also a Netflix TV series of the same name).

The Big Sick  Amazon Prime Video

This alternate take on the classic rom-com tells the story of Kumail (Kumail Nanjiani) and Emily (Zoe Kazan), who must learn to deal with adversity and cultural contrasts following Emilys shock health diagnosis. Its beautiful, funny, moving and well worth your time.

The Half of It  Netflix

Really good coming-of-age stories are hard to come by, but Alice Wus 2020 comedy is one of them. Ellie Chu is a shy student who ends up helping the school jock Paul Munsky approach his crush, Aster Flores. But things get tricky when Chu starts fancying Flores too.

Argo  Amazon Prime Video

Ben Afflecks nail-biting 2012 drama Argo is based on the true story of the 1979 kidnapping of 66 Americans from the Embassy of the United States of America in Tehran. In the film, a small group of undercover American spies enter Iran posed as filmmakers in order to track down and save a number of Americans who have escaped from the Iranian kidnappers, and who will likely be killed if they are found.

Argo won an Academy Award for Best Picture in 2013, so, sure, it wasnt underrated when it was released. But now more than a decade later, this quality thriller is often forgotten about.

The Raid  Netflix

This 2011 Indonesian film is often heralded as one of the best action movies of the last 20 years by those in the know. Rama (Iko Uwais) and his special ops team are on a mission in an apartment block to take down crime leader Tama (Ray Sahetapy). But the plan goes wrong, and now Rama, who is leading a much smaller second team, must go and save his colleagues before Tama and his criminal gang kill them all.

Catherine Called Birdy  Amazon Prime Video

Lena Dunhams period comedy stars the magnetic Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us) as feisty 14-year-old Lady Catherine, who spends her time scarring off potential suitors to the exasperation of her parents Lady Aislinn (Billie Piper) and Lord Rollo (Andrew Scott). Its medieval England so, really, getting married off is the least Catherine can do to help her mum and dad.

Private Life  Netflix

Private Life is one of the few Hollywood movies of recent times that tackles the subject of middle-aged couples trying to have children. Its sensitive and quietly devastating, featuring the best Paul Giamatti performance in years and a great turn from Kathryn Hahn.

Okja  Netflix

We told you Bong Joon-ho would be back. A genetically-enhanced super pig and a young girl form an unlikely and beautiful friendship in this gem, going head to head with a superfood conglomerate. This Netflix original was dismissed as vegan propaganda by some when it came out in 2017, but its so much more.

Blinded by the Light  Amazon Prime Video

A love letter to the songs of Bruce Springsteen, based on the memoirs of Sarfraz Manzoor and directed by Bend It Like Beckhams Gurinder Chadha, this movie is a coming-of-age tale that will resonate with most viewers  fans of the Boss, or not.

Annihilation  Netflix

This brilliantly weird high-concept sci-fi is one of the best original Netflix movies yet, following cellular biology professor Natalie Portman as she ventures deeper into a mysterious zone called the Shimmer. Think Heart of Darkness with added aliens.

Booksmart  Amazon Prime Video

Olivia Wildes directorial debut Booksmart is an inspired comedy and coming-of-age movie, and one of the funniest films of 2019. Swots Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) head out for a night of partying, realising theyve forgotten how to have fun during their high school studies.

The Two Popes  Netflix

Critics including the Standards Charlotte OSullivan tipped this two-hander drama for success at the Oscars a while back. Its gone under the radar slightly since then, and might not have come out on top, but the performances from Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio respectively are electric.

Under the Skin  Amazon Prime Video

In Scarlett Johanssons impressive, varied and sometimes controversial career, Under the Skin stands out as her strangest movie. Here she plays an alien life form who drives around Scotland in a van seducing men, only for them to meet terrifying, unexpected fates after visiting her apartment.

Atlantics  Netflix

This Cannes prize-winning debut from filmmaker Mati Diop tackles a challenging subject matter  the tragic deaths of migrants at sea  in a surprisingly life-affirming way, following a love story at the very edges of human capabilities.

Dolemite is my Name  Netflix

This Netflix drama is a real return to form for Eddie Murphy. Plenty of people were calling for him to be recognised during awards season for his performance as Rudy Ray Moore, the star of blaxploitation films in the Seventies. A truly brilliant watch.

Whats Eating Gilbert Grape  Amazon Prime Video

This early Nineties cult classic follows Johnny Depps young shop clerk in small-town America, tasked with looking after his obese mother and mentally impaired younger brother. Theres also one of the first movie performances from Leonardo DiCaprio to look out for.

Blindspotting  Netflix

This uniquely styled comedy-drama follows a man with just days left on his sentence, whose future is thrown in doubt after witnessing a police shooting. Its much funnier and quirkier than it sounds.

Cube  Amazon Prime Video

More high-concept sci-fi, this time in the form of an independent Canadian movie from the Nineties, where a group of friends find themselves trapped in a maze of cube-shaped rooms, all booby-trapped and not what they seem. Its bonkers in the best way.

The Wife  Amazon Prime Video

Glenn Close was nominated for an Oscar for her towering performance in this subtle drama, playing a woman who questions everything after her self-obsessed husband receives the Nobel Prize.

The Tale of Princess Kaguya  Netflix

Netflix users are blessed with the Studio Ghibli back catalogue on demand. Theyre all worth checking out, of course, but while the likes of My Neighbour Totoro get all the praise, 2013s The Tale of Princess Kaguya features some of the studios most breathtaking animation and elegant storytelling, and is one of our top picks.
I t goes without saying that one of the best things about Londons vibrant, bustling, varied restaurant scene is its diversity and those responsible for it; the huge number of people from all backgrounds, all over the world, that have made our food scene one of the best on the planet.

And its this diversity which also creates a dynamic, interesting environment to work in, something that TikTok star turned restaurateur Thomas Straker appeared to forget last Friday, when he posted to the Instagram account of his Notting Hill restaurant, Strakers.

Chef team assembled. / Instagram

Two of the three images picture what appear to be an all-male, all-white team standing in a military-like line with their arms crossed, posted with the caption, Chef team assembled. The posts comments section quickly filled with questions and outrage about the lack of diversity in Strakers team.

One particularly eloquent reply came from @tcblu, who said, The main issue is that in the most diverse city in the world, in the poorest part of the richest borough of the country, not only have you managed to hire any female chefs but not a single POC. Golborne Road is historically a black/Moroccan/Spanish/ Portuguese community with an incredible history of culture and rebellion in the face of adversity. It became home to the largest Moroccan population in England and the home of Windrush families. How incredible would it be if you searched that community for young rising stars who may not get a chance to flourish otherwise in hospitality than hiring friends? Provide them with training and a safe place to grow as chefs. In turn, youd be putting something into the very community that youre gentrifying - intentional or not.

One commenters thoughts / Instagram

Another from @e.e_williamz alleged that the restaurant has poor recruitment practices. I legit went for an interview there and on the second round they ghosted me! On the day of the interview they told me to come and I travelled an hour and a half to get there for the second round and then it turns out they were doing an event on the other side of London and didnt even apologise or anything of the sort.

In response to the wave of comments, some of which jumped to Strakers defence, Straker himself commented, Honestly people need to calm down. Firstly there is a shortage of chefs / hospitality workers. Secondly if you feel so passionately please go and gather CVs [sic] of any chefs you think were missing in the team. Solutions not problems. Thank you.

Thomas Strakers response / Instagram

The post has since been deleted, though there has been a slew of critical commentary and memes based on Strakers choice of chefs circulated on social media, from famed self-proclaimed food antagonist Joe Rosenthal, to viral chef accounts such as @allezceline, @blue_roll and @sluttycheff.

Memed by @AllezCeline / Allez Celine

Memed by @Blue_roll / Blue Roll

Founders of female-led supperclub Mam Sham, Maria Georgiou and Rhiannon Butler, created several Instagram stories questioning the lack of diversity in Strakers team, and have since posted a series of direct messages they allegedly received from Straker, in which The Tik Tok star called the women bitter and twisted. The stream of messages sent to the women went on to say, Wow. Shameful. My workforce is 40% women 8 nationalities. Youre so woke you dont even care. Literally no time to do resea [sic]... Research just a keyboard worrier [sic] looking for followers. How diverse is your workforce [sic]. Or do you even have one? I care about my team and their careers. You two are just obsessed with yourself. It seems that way. Anyway good night.

Alleged messages from Thomas Straker to the Mam Sham founders / Mam Sham

Straker has since posted an apology on both his personal and the Strakers Instagram account. On Friday night I put up a post of my chef team and many rightly pointed out the lack of diversity within it. I am very sorry for my initial response, where some queried whether I take this issue seriously. I am absolutely committed to ensuring diversity in my restaurants, unfortunately we arent achieving this in my kitchens currently and this is an area I know I need to improve on, making sure it is seen as a welcoming and approachable environment for all. Tom x

Thomas Strakers public apology / Instagram

A sincere apology? You decide. Watch this space for updates.
A disused stairwell in Twickenham will go up for auction on Tuesday, hoping to fetch a price of 20,000 or more.

The four-storey structure, offered for sale by Barnard Marcus auction house, is said to offer development potential for the right buyer.

Flats in the area can sell for more than 400,000.

Located off King Street, the stairs are attached to an office building and boast proximity to the delights of TW1, including shops, restaurants, and the local Wetherspoons.

Barnard Marcus Auctions

While the stairs are not connected to the block of flats that it used to serve, agents say that owning them comes with the right to lay and maintain utility services over the adjoining rear car park.

Any development of the site is subject to planning permission, however, and potential buyers are obliged to make their own enquiries on that front.

There has been a strong level of interest from a variety of buyers, Barnard Marcus Auctions partner, James Paterson, told Homes & Property.

Prospective purchasers must rely on their own enquires in terms of what it could be used for.

Some of the auctioneers previous quirky property sales have included a classic red telephone kiosk, which was sold for an undisclosed amount in April.

It is the latest example of London property being divvied up in the capitals high-priced market. Last week, an estate agent reported receiving more than 200 enquiries on an astroturfed balcony in Kensington.

Individual parking spaces have also become hot property, offering owners the ability to make an income by renting them out amid growing scarcity of parking spaces.

With around 991 years remaining on the long leasehold, the Twickenham stairwell has what is described as just a "peppercorn" ground rent.

Images and a video tour of the property show that the space is currently used as storage for bicycles, fire extinguishers and various bric-a-brac including plants and furniture.
R etired British miner David Hunter could be freed within weeks after a Cypriot judge sentenced him to two years in prison for the manslaughter of his seriously ill wife.

Hunter, 76, admitted suffocating Janice, his wife of 52 years, at their home on the island, after she begged him to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer.

On Monday, judges at Paphos District Court imposed a two-year jail sentence on Hunter, who having already spent 19 months in custody has already served the majority of his sentence.

Michael Polak, the director of Justice Abroad, which is representing Hunter, said that in Cyprus a defendant will spend 10 months in custody for every year that they are jailed.

Mr Polak said Hunter will be released on August 18 at the latest but could be let out earlier for good behaviour.

Judges previously found him not guilty of the more serious charge of premeditated murder.

Hunters legal team had argued he should be given a suspended sentence, in a case which is a legal first in the country.

In mitigation last week, his defence lawyer, Ritsa Pekri, said his motive was to liberate his wife from all that she was going through due to her health conditions.

The court heard it was Mrs Hunters wish to die and that her husband had only feelings of love for her.

Hunter, from Ashington, Northumberland, told his trial, which lasted for more than a year, that his wife cried and begged him to end her life.

He broke down in tears as he said he would never in a million years have taken Mrs Hunters life unless she had asked him to.

He showed the court how he held his hands over his wifes mouth and nose and said he eventually decided to grant her wish after she became hysterical.

The court heard he then tried to kill himself by taking an overdose, but medics arrived in time to save him.
R etired British miner David Hunter has been released from custody due to time already served after a Cypriot judge sentenced him to two years in prison for the manslaughter of his seriously ill wife.

Hunter, 76, admitted suffocating Janice, his wife of 52 years, at their home on the island, after she begged him to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer.

On Monday, judges at Paphos District Court imposed a two-year jail sentence on Hunter, who has already spent 19 months in custody.

His legal team said he had been released shortly after the sentencing when Cypriot prison authorities had officially calculated his release date.

Asked by reporters outside how he was feeling, a visibly emotional Hunter said: I cant describe it. Im sorry. I wish I could, I wish I could find words to describe it but I cant.

When youre under pressure for two years, not knowing which way its going to go.

His daughter Lesley Cawthorne, who launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for his defence, spoke to him on the phone shortly after the sentencing.

She said: Speaking to my daddy was the most amazing thing. I feel like my heart has been put back together.

Judges previously found Hunter not guilty of the more serious charge of premeditated murder.

His legal team had argued he should be given a suspended sentence, in a case which is a legal first in the country.

In mitigation last week, his defence lawyer, Ritsa Pekri, said his motive was to liberate his wife from all that she was going through due to her health conditions.

The court heard it was Mrs Hunters wish to die and that her husband had only feelings of love for her.

Hunter, from Ashington, Northumberland, told his trial, which lasted for more than a year, that his wife cried and begged him to end her life.

He broke down in tears as he said he would never in a million years have taken Mrs Hunters life unless she had asked him to.

He showed the court how he held his hands over his wifes mouth and nose and said he eventually decided to grant her wish after she became hysterical.

The court heard he then tried to kill himself by taking an overdose, but medics arrived in time to save him.
R etired British miner David Hunter has said he shared a tearful call with his daughter after he was allowed to walk free from prison in Cyprus shortly after his sentence for the manslaughter of his seriously ill wife.

Hunter, 76, was jailed for two years on Monday for the manslaughter of Janice, 74, his spouse of 52 years, who died of asphyxiation at their home near the coastal resort town of Paphos in December 2021.

But he was released from prison almost immediately, having already served 19 months in custody, and, visibly emotional, told reporters outside court that he could not find the words to describe his feelings.

In an interview with the Mail, Hunter spoke of how he and his daughter, Lesley Cawthorne, both cried in an emotional video call made after he was released.

I feel numb, it doesnt feel real, he told the Mail.

When I spoke to Lesley the first thing I said was, I love you.

He added: We were both crying. She couldnt talk. She started crying and she couldnt say a word.

The pensioner also said a police officer embraced him and told him he would be released following his sentence, the Mail reported.

The policeman hugged me and said, Congratulations David, youre free, you got the result you deserve.

I just shook his hand and said: Thanks, mate.

Ms Cawthorne, who launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for Hunters defence, said: Speaking to my daddy was the most amazing thing. I feel like my heart has been put back together.

She continued: I thought Id lost him forever. I cannot believe it. Its amazing.

I dont know what to say. When I see him Im going to hug him and never, ever let him go.

Im going to feed him and make sure hes eating and Im going to just hug him so tightly.

I just didnt think, after the way the case has gone, that this was possible.

Ms Cawthorne previously said she believes her father will initially choose to stay in Cyprus to be near Mrs Hunters grave and say his goodbyes properly.

Judges had found Hunter not guilty of the more serious charge of premeditated murder.

Hunter, from Ashington, Northumberland, told his trial, which lasted for more than a year, that his wife cried and begged him to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer.

He broke down in tears as he said he would never in a million years have taken Mrs Hunters life unless she had asked him to.

He showed the court how he held his hands over his wifes mouth and nose and said he eventually decided to grant her wish after she became hysterical.

The court heard he then tried to kill himself by taking an overdose, but medics arrived in time to save him.

During the sentencing hearing, judge Michalis Droussiotis said: We are not facing a typical case. This is not a case acting out of animosity or differences between two people that led to someone taking anothers life.

Before us is a unique case of taking human life on the basis of feelings of love, with the aim of relieving the person of their suffering that came due to their illness.

Judge Droussiotis said there may never have been a case like this in Cyprus and that the message for any future similar cases had to be that taking away human life, even with the intention of relieving suffering, is a crime.
R etired British miner David Hunter said he couldnt find the words to describe his feelings as he stood outside a Cypriot court as a free man for the first time in 19 months.

Hunter, 76, was released from prison on Monday shortly after being sentenced for the manslaughter of his seriously ill wife Janice.

The pensioner was jailed for two years, but allowed to walk free almost immediately, having already served 19 months in custody.

Hunters daughter Lesley Cawthorne said she felt like my heart has been put back together after speaking to him on a Facetime call shortly after his release, in which he told her he loved her.

Speaking through tears, Ms Cawthorne said: I thought Id lost him forever. I cannot believe it. Its amazing.

I dont know what to say. When I see him Im going to hug him and never, ever let him go.

Im going to feed him and make sure hes eating and Im going to just hug him so tightly.

I just didnt think, after the way the case has gone, that this was possible.

I cant describe it. Im sorry. I wish I could, I wish I could find words to describe it but I cant

Sentencing Hunter, judge Michalis Droussiotis refused the defence teams application to suspend Hunters prison sentence and said an immediate jail term was unavoidable.

But after passing the two-year sentence, he said that Hunter would soon be in a position to leave jail and live his life due to time already served.

He was told he could leave custody minutes later after Cypriot prison authorities officially calculated his release date.

Asked by reporters outside how he was feeling, a visibly emotional Hunter said: I cant describe it. Im sorry. I wish I could, I wish I could find words to describe it but I cant.

When youre under pressure for two years, not knowing which way its going to go, you dont know.

Hunter, from Ashington, Northumberland, told his trial, which lasted for more than a year, that his wife cried and begged him to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer.

He broke down in tears as he said he would never in a million years have taken Mrs Hunters life unless she had asked him to.

He showed the court how he held his hands over his wifes mouth and nose and said he eventually decided to grant her wish after she became hysterical.

The court heard he then tried to kill himself by taking an overdose, but medics arrived in time to save him.

During the sentencing hearing, Judge Droussiotis said: We are not facing a typical case. This is not a case acting out of animosity or differences between two people that led to someone taking anothers life.

Before us is a unique case of taking human life on the basis of feelings of love, with the aim of relieving the person of their suffering that came due to their illness.

Judge Droussiotis said there may never have been a case like this in Cyprus and that the message for any future similar cases had to be that taking away human life, even with the intention of relieving suffering, is a crime.

Outside the Paphos Assize Court, Michael Polak, the director of Justice Abroad, an organisation that has been assisting David Hunters case, said: Were very very pleased with the decision today. This is what weve been fighting for for over 12 months, for him to be released.

Were very pleased with the courts decision. We think it was a fair decision and one in line with the interests of justice.

Its a pity he spent so long in prison but hes really looking forward to getting out and now this allows for him and his family to properly grieve.

Ms Cawthorne previously said she believes her father will initially choose to stay in Cyprus to be near Mrs Hunters grave and say his goodbyes properly.
A man in his 30s has been shot dead on the st

A murder investigation has been launched by Scotland Yaard after the fatal shooting close to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in White Hart Lane at 11.30pm on Sunday.

Police rushed to reports of gunfire along with paramedics from London Ambulance Service (LAS). A man, in his 30s, was found with gunshot wounds.

Despite their efforts, the man died at the scene a short time later.

@999London

A Met spokesman said: Officers believe they know who the deceased is and are working to inform his next of kin.

Formal identification and a post-mortem examination will be held in due course.

Homicide detectives from the Mets Specialist crime team are investigating.

PA

No arrests have been made.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: We were called at 11.27pm yesterday to reports of a shooting on White Hart Lane, Tottenham.

We sent numerous resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an advanced paramedic, an incident response officer, a clinical team manager and members of our tactical response unit.

We also dispatched Londons Air Ambulance, which consisted of a doctor and a paramedic in a car.

Sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, a person was pronounced dead at the scene.

Anyone who has information that could help police should call 101 ref CAD 7377/30 Jul. To remain 100% anonymous contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.
Russian occupiers fired at the central part of Kherson from the Grad MLRS on Monday morning, killing an employee of a utility company, Head of Kherson Regional Military Administration Oleksandr Prokudin said.

"Today, at about 08:20, the occupiers fired at the central part of Kherson from Grad MLRS. An employee of a city utility company was hit by an enemy strike. The man died on the spot from his injuries," he said in his Telegram channel.
The institution, which holds the second largest collection of Judaica in Europe, shut its doors for the last time on Sunday after nearly three decades at its Camden site.

The collection, which includes testimonies of Holocaust survivors, has been put in storage.

Bosses hope the sale of the Camden site will fund new premises.

It hopes to reopen in a new home within five years, and in the meantime the museum will move online.

The museums income took a hit during the Covid-19 pandemic with a significant drop in visitor numbers.

Surging energy bills and dwindling donations made it too costly to maintain the Grade II listed Georgian town house in Albert Street.

Nick Viner, chair of trustees, told the BBC: Its been an incredibly tough decision, but the museum has always found it difficult to be financially sustainable even though its had some huge success with exhibitions.

We are planning to do several temporary displays in London and beyond all whilst we think about how we can engage communities online with our collections.

Mr Viner urged people to provide more financial support for the museum so it can move to a new site.

If the community wants to have a museum, it needs to come forward and support it.

We need them to help us tell our story to the wider world.

The museum closed for 15 months during the pandemic. In May 2020, it received a 1million bailout from the Arts Council.
R ainy weather is forecast to stick around until the end of August, the Met Office has warned, with another wet and windy week set for London.

The UK is unlikely to reach anywhere near the record-breaking heat felt last July, with downpours further expected to put a damper on the British summer of 2023.

In the capital, cool temperatures remain with scattered showers on Tuesday, before a wet and windy Wednesday and brighter weather into Thursday and Friday.

The maximum temperature for the week in London is expected to be just 23C on Tuesday.

But conditions look set to become drier and sunnier by the end of the month.

Met Office spokesperson Stephen Dixon said: There are some signals for later in August of an increased chance of some drier spells.

Theres no strong signals for any kind of prolonged or extended heat that we saw last year but there are some some warmer interludes possible, more likely later in August.

Last year was the first time the mercury rose above the 40C mark in the UK.

Mr Dixon added that Britain is on the northern side of the Jet Stream, bringing low pressure, instead of the southern side, which has developed heat over southern Europe, where wildfires have destroyed homes and scorched forest land for weeks.

He said: Typically we are to the south of that jet stream and what that allows, and what it allowed last summer, is for a high pressure to build over the UK, and allows the UK to kind of draw up warmer air from from the south.

More air was kind of fed in from the equator almost and moved over the UK and so that high pressure, coupled with the time of year it was, allowed that day on day to rise to the UK to that record level of 40.3C that we saw at Coningsby in July.

We just havent been in that weather pattern this summer.

Its down to that jet stream and how it how it develops weather towards the UK.

At the moment, its kind of directed towards the UK, which helps to develop these low pressure systems and gives us a bit of a little autumnal-feel for the weather that weve seen in recent weeks and yeah, not so much for what we saw last year.

Temperatures of 40.3C was recorded in Coningsby, Lincolnshire on July 19 last year. The average night and daytime temperature for August last year was 16.6C.

Mr Dixon said the weather will be mainly cloudy with some sun across the UK, aside from southern Scotland and northern England which will have wet and rainy weather and some isolated rainy showers further south as well.

Rain is forecast to increase overnight as windy weather on Wednesday moves towards the east, particularly hitting the southern coast.

Mr Dixon said: As we head out to the end of the week, that unsettled theme continues, albeit not to the same extent as seen on Wednesday.

Some drizzly rain around on Thursday and cloud continuing.

On Friday, the better weather is more likely further west with more frequent showers in the east on Friday and then in the weekend, it looks likely for another low pressure system to influence things from the west again but another unsettled weekend to come.

Temperatures are forecasted for between 15 and 20C for the coming week across the UK.
L ow-traffic neighbourhood projects should be looked at again because there are "huge" cost-of-living pressures, the energy minister has said.

Andrew Bowie made the comment as the Government appeared to be increasingly siding with motorists at the possible expense of tackling climate change and toxic air.

It comes after the Conservatives kept hold of Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Boris Johnsons former seat, in a by-election earlier this month, in a win attributed by Labour and some Conservatives to anger over London mayor Sadiq Khans Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) scheme.

Rishi Sunak said on Monday morning that the Government was still planning to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, in remarks which were clearer than some of his previous comments on the matter.

Speaking to ITVs Good Morning Britain, Mr Bowie said: "The Prime Minister has been quite clear we are committed to the 2030 target for the phasing out of new petrol or diesel cars, the sale of that.

"That doesnt mean that you wont be able to drive a petrol diesel car post-2030 but the sale of petrol-diesel cars, we are hoping that our aim is that we will see start from 2030.

"We remain committed to that target. We remain committed to ensuring that more people get access to, are able to buy, are able to drive electric and hybrid cars.

He continued: "That is the aim of this Government and we remain committed to that but we also recognise there are huge cost-of-living pressures on the people in Britain right now which is why we must do more to support those people and which is why we think that where they are not working or where there is not local support low-traffic neighbourhood projects should be looked at again."

But a motoring journalist branded Mr Sunak's review of low-traffic neighbourhood schemes as "electioneering".

Former Top Gear presenter Steve Berry told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Monday that the Prime Minister saw the issue as a "vote winner" and was "cosying up" to drivers.

Mr Sunak ordered a review of the rollout of low-traffic neighbourhoods on Sunday.

Mr Berry told the radio programme the zones were "very unpopular" with people who live outside of them and that they made him "massively annoyed".

He added: "It is just electioneering. Low-traffic neighbourhoods are implemented by local councils. Rishi Sunak is saying, 'let's have an investigating into this' (but) it's nothing to do with this.

"It is implemented by local councils - so why is he even chirping up about it?

"It's a vote winner: 'let's cosy up to the motorist'. There are 35 million drivers in the UK. That's a lot of votes."
T he Met could be more than 2,000 officers short by next year because of recruitment failures in a missed opportunity for the people of London, the policing minister has warned Sadiq Khan.

Chris Philp says in a leaked letter to the London Mayor that he has serious concerns about Scotland Yards officer numbers and urges Mr Khan to do more to address the problems.

Mr Philp says the Met  which earlier this year fell 1,089 officers short of the number it was meant to hire in a government-funded uplift programme  is already the only force in the country to fail to hit its target.

But he warns that modelling suggested the shortfall is poised to get even worse to leave the Met 1,800 to 2,000 officers down on the 36,500 it should have by the end of March 2024.

In the letter, obtained by the Standard, Mr Philp asks the Mayor what more he is going to do to support the Met in its recruitment efforts.

I am writing to you about serious concerns I have over the Metropolitan Police plans to maintain officer numbers in 2023-24, Mr Philp tells Mr Khan. I am disappointed to note that, by the end of March 2024, the force could be further from its target level [of 36,500 officers], and at least 1,800 officers short of where it should have been in terms of total headcount.

This shortfall could extend to over 2,000 officers based on... modelling assumptions. I am sure that you will recognise this failure to recruit enough officers as a missed opportunity for the people of London. Funding was made available to all forces to recruit additional officers and maintain numbers.

Mr Philp says the problem has been reached largely through a deficit in the required number of applications for police constable roles over a sustained period of years.

He adds that the Mets efforts to increase applications and support the officer headcount via other schemes have evidently failed to achieve enough success and urges Mr Khan, who oversees the Met, to assist the force to stop numbers deteriorating.

Sophie Linden, City Hall's deputy mayor for policing, insisted that the Mayor was helping the Met recover from previous government funding cuts and was directly funding 1,300 police officers in our town centres and communities as well as supporting the forces wider recruitment efforts.

She added: "The Mayor and I make no apology for ensuring that the Met recruits police officers of the highest quality, rather than focusing on quantity at any cost. There has been a huge mountain to climb given the sheer numbers of officers lost due to government austerity measures.

The Commissioner believes 6,000 more officers are needed yet the Government have only provided funding for 4,557. Thats why we continue to call on the Government to work with us and support the action being taken by the Mayor and Met to reform the police and provide London with the number of officers required to help build a better, safer city for all.
A number of roads near Waterloo Station have been cordoned off by the Metropolitan Police amid rush hour on Monday evening following reports of a suspicious package.

York Road, near County Hall and South Bank tourist hotspots including the London Eye, was sealed off by a police van, video footage of the scene shows.

The Met said said an unattended suitcase was found at Forum Magnum Square at 5.10pm and a controlled explosion was carried out.

Officers were stood down after it was established the suitcase was not suspicious.

People should avoid the area where possible.

Metropolitan Police said road closures would be in place for some time.
P lans to house thousands of migrants in new and cheaper accommodation could face fresh setbacks, after reports that the Bibby Stockholm barge has not received approval from local fire services.

The Home Office had been expecting to send an initial group of people to the UKs first floating barge for asylum seekers on Tuesday.

The facility, known as the Bibby Stockholm barge, is in Portland, Dorset, and will eventually host about 500 men at a time.

The Times on Monday reported serious fire safety concerns about the vessel, with fire service approval pending.

One source told the paper of fears that the barge could become a floating Grenfell, in reference to the west London tower block tragedy in 2017.

It comes after plans to move 2,000 migrants into RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire were reportedly delayed until October, after delays in carrying out surveys on the 14 buildings designated for migrant accommodation.

The Bibby Stockholm is now undergoing final preparations to ensure it complies with all appropriate regulations

The Times also reported that the Home Office will this week move more migrants into accommodation at RAF Wethersfield in Essex.

It comes despite a small number of positive results for tuberculosis being detected at the former RAF site in Braintree.

A spokesman for Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) said it has provided advice and comment to the Home Office and the operators of the Bibby Stockholm and is prepared to exercise our enforcement powers if necessary once the barge is put into use.

Fire safety manager Graham Kewley said: Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service continues to liaise with partner agencies, the Bibby Stockholms operator and the Home Office through the multi-agency forum and relevant subgroups.

Responsibility for planning, implementing and managing the safety of barge residents rests with the responsible person, as defined in fire safety legislation, in conjunction with the Master of the vessel

Responsibility for planning, implementing and managing the safety of barge residents rests with the responsible person, as defined in fire safety legislation, in conjunction with the Master of the vessel.

Where any aspect falls within the scope of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, we will be undertaking appropriate audits to confirm that adequate general fire precautions are in place.

We have provided advice and comment in relation to fire safety arrangements to both the Home Office and the vessels operators during our familiarisation and pre-occupation visits.

The fire risk assessment is the appropriate mechanism for determining the planning, organisation, management and control of fire safety measures, and responsibility rests with CTM (Corporate Travel Management) and Landry & Kling as the vessel operator  under their contract with the Home Office  to produce and keep this document under review.

We do not conduct fire risk assessments or provide an approval process prior to occupation of a premises but will exercise our enforcement powers (either formal or informal) to address any significant areas of non-compliance where necessary.

The Bibby Stockholm is now undergoing final preparations to ensure it complies with all appropriate regulations before the arrival of the first asylum seekers in the coming weeks

It would be inappropriate for DWFRS to provide further detail on the specific systems and emergency plans in place, as these could impact upon the safety of the vessel and/or its occupants. This aligns with our approach to any other commercial or residential premises.

A Home Office spokesman said: Delivering accommodation on surplus military sites and vessels will provide cheaper and more orderly, suitable accommodation for those arriving in small boats.

The Bibby Stockholm is now undergoing final preparations to ensure it complies with all appropriate regulations before the arrival of the first asylum seekers in the coming weeks.

In addition, the Home Office is working with stakeholders on a carefully structured plan to increase the number of asylum seekers at Wethersfield in a phased approach.

Work is ongoing to open to site at Scampton and we want that work to be done as soon as possible

The Prime Ministers press secretary told reporters on Monday: The Bibby Stockholm is currently undergoing final preparations including fire safety checks. Thats happening this week to ensure that it complies with all the appropriate regulations.

Asked about reports of delays to moving people into RAF Scampton, she said: Work is ongoing to open to site at Scampton and we want that work to be done as soon as possible.

I cant get into running commentary on expected timelines but eventually the site will accommodate almost 2,000 people.
A retired British miner who killed his terminally ill wife in Cyprus has walked free despite being given a jail sentence after a court ruled his 19 months in custody was sufficient.

David Hunter, 76, was told on Monday he would have to serve two years behind bars for the manslaughter of his wife Janice.

The 76-year-old had been on trial for killing his spouse of 52 years, Janice, who died of asphyxiation at their home near the coastal resort town of Paphos in December 2021.

The pensioner, from Ashington, Northumberland, was cleared of the more serious charge of premeditated murder after telling the court she cried and begged him to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer.

In May, tearful Hunter told his trial he would never in a million years have taken his wifes life unless she had asked him to.

He said: She wasnt just my wife, she was my best friend.

He showed the court how he held his wifes mouth and nose and said he eventually decided to grant her wish after she became hysterical.

The court heard he then tried to kill himself by taking an overdose, but medics arrived in time to save him.

David Hunter with his defence team (right) and Michael Polak, the director of Justice Abroad, speaking to the media outside Paphos District Court in Cyprus after he was released from custody / PA

On Monday, judges at Paphos District Court imposed a two-year jail sentence on Hunter. He has already served the majority of his sentence having spent 19 months in custody.

Michael Polak, the director of Justice Abroad, which is representing Hunter, said that in Cyprus a defendant will spend 10 months in custody for every year that they are jailed.

Hunters legal team had argued he should be given a suspended sentence as there is no point in keeping him in prison any longer.

In mitigation last week, his defence lawyer, Ritsa Pekri, said his motive was to liberate his wife from all that she was going through due to her health conditions.

Following his release, Hunters daughter Lesley Cawthorne said: Im elated and relieved that my darling dad has been released. The past 19 months have been a living nightmare for our family but today is the start of us being able to rebuild our lives.

Dads release also means we can finally grieve for my mum and I hope everyone can respect our privacy whilst we take the time to come to terns with her loss.

So many people have worked hard and supported our efforts to bring my dad home, too many to mention but you know who you are and you know you have our deepest gratitude.

The kindness and love of friends and strangers has been the thing that has kept us going and we can never thank you all enough.

After speaking to Hunter over the phone, Ms Cawthorne added: Speaking to my daddy was the most amazing thing. I feel like my heart has been put back together.
A ctor Florence Pughs father has hit out at dictators in his local council and called for the scrapping of low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTN) measures.

Restaurateur and designer Clinton Pugh was interviewed by Sky News about the damage to local businesses including his Cafe Tarifa after the East Oxford LTN was trialled by Oxfordshire County Council.

He said people have been staying away from Cowley Road due to the traffic calming measures and cycle lanes installed in the area.

All three of Mr Pughs businesses - Cafe CoCo, Kaz Bar and Cafe Tarifa are located on the Cowley Road in Oxford.

He said: Look obviously Boris was pedalling around on his bicycle during Covid saying oh what a lovely little idea, we will have these lovely, little communities - how sweet.

Well, it is alright for him.

This road has always had a very busy community of thriving, multicultural businesses.

It has become more difficult to get here, people just dont come.

You cant get staff, they cant get home or they have to have taxis. The cost of these things is just astronomical and people dont want to work.

Tradesmen cant come because it takes too long to get here.

His daughter Florence, who is currently starring in Oppenheimer, used to serve customers when growing up in Cafe CoCo.

Mr Pugh added: Unfortunately the losses have been so high that I have lost the site behind me.

Why do it all at once? Its just not thought through properly, its really stupid.

They are acting like they are dictators. This is the problem. Its their idea. Theyve asked us for our opinion and they are not listening.

Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh in Oppenheimer / Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures

Mr Pugh was previously in hot water with both the county council, who are enforcing the LTN scheme, and Oxford City Council, who ordered him to remove a huge billboard branding the LTN an ill thought-out traffic experiment.

It read: The County Council is pretending to listen, but this is shamefully a complete and utter lie.

So much for democracy? Help us fight this arrogance.

Since the Conservatives narrow victory in the Uxbridge and Ruislip by-election earlier this month, which saw the Tory candidate tap into local concerns about the expansion of Londons ultra-low emission zone (Ulez), some Tory MPs have been urging Mr Sunak to engage in a rethink on net zero.

In a bid to pitch the party as pro-motorist, Mr Sunak ordered a review of the rollout of low-traffic neighbourhoods.

The move was confirmed in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, with the Prime Minister asking the Department for Transport to review low-traffic neighbourhood policies.

Under such plans, local councils attempt to limit traffic in town and city centres  with drivers often prevented from using quiet residential roads as through routes.

Transport for London say: LTNs help to make streets around London easier to walk and cycle on by stopping cars, vans and other vehicles from using quiet roads as shortcuts.

They are designed to stop places where families live from being used as a shortcut or rat-run for through traffic by blocking the roads off with bollards or flower beds. It is still possible to ride a bicycle through them and walk along the road. The road the LTN is on can be accessed in a car by residents.
A n American woman and her daughter have been kidnapped in Haiti, according to reports.

Alix Dorsainvil, a nurse for El Roi Haiti, and her child were abducted from the non-profits campus near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince last Thursday.

The US State Department issued a do not travel advisory in the country and ordered non-emergency personnel to leave amid security concerns.

Mrs Dorsainvil, from New Hampshire, served as El Rois school and community nurse. She is the wife of the Christian humanitarian aid organisations director, Sandro Dorsainvil.

Alix is a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family, El Roi president and co-founder Jason Brown said in the statement.

Alix has worked tirelessly as our school and community nurse to bring relief to those who are suffering as she loves and serves the people of Haiti in the name of Jesus.

A US State Department spokesman said it was aware of reports of the kidnapping of two US citizens in Haiti, adding: We are in regular contact with Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them and our US government interagency partners.

In its Haiti travel advisory, the department said that kidnapping is widespread, and victims regularly include US citizens. It also said that kidnappings often involve ransom negotiations and that previous US victims have been physically harmed.

WMUR-TV, the broadcaster, reported that Mrs Dorsainvil is from Middleton, New Hampshire, and went to Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts.

It doesnt surprise me that Alix chose to get involved in this type of service work, said Toni Hays, the president of Regis College. She was amazing. She was passionate, she was compassionate.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted the importance of the fact that "Ukraine's success in international relations gives additional motivation to our soldiers at the front and to our people in general."

"Of course, we all set winning as a top priority. We understand that people objectively feel that they need new internal strength, energy to fight, to make progress," he said, speaking at a meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Ivano-Frankivsk on Sunday, July 20.

"That is why there is a specific task  Ukraine's readiness to start accession negotiations with the European Union. The EU is a motivation. And it will be very necessary and powerful support of our people," the president said.

Addressing Parliament Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk, Zelenskyy said "it will be right if the people's deputies of Ukraine feel that their communities expect very positive foreign policy successes of Ukraine from them. And it is important to do it now."
D enmark is considering banning the burning of holy texts after copies of the Koran were set on fire by far-right provocateurs, outraging Muslims worldwide.

Two far-right activists destroyed a copy of Islams holy book outside Iraqs embassy in Copenhagen last week. It comes after Swedens embassy in Baghdad was stormed and set ablaze by angry protesters following the planned burning of a Koran in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm

The two protesters were from a group that calls itself Danish Patriots, and live-streamed the events on Facebook in a protest allowed under rules protecting free speech.

But Demarks Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said he would find a legal tool to prevent the burnings as demonstrations have raged across Iran and Iraq.

In a statement, he said: The burnings are deeply offensive and reckless acts committed by few individuals. These few individuals do not represent the values the Danish society is built on.

The Danish government will therefore explore the possibility of intervening in special situations where, for instance, other countries, cultures, and religions are being insulted, and where this could have significant negative consequences for Denmark, not least with regard to security.

Denmark and Sweden have found themselves in the international spotlight in recent weeks following anti-Islam protests where the Koran , the Muslim holy book, has been damaged or burned, offending Muslims around the world.

Both countries have said they deplore the burning of the Koran but cannot prevent it under rules protecting free speech.

In his statement, Rasmussen added that whatever measure was taken must of course be done within the framework of the constitutionally protected freedom of expression and in a manner that does not change the fact that freedom of expression in Denmark has very broad scope.

Turkeys Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told his Swedish counterpart Tobias Billstrom that the continuation of such vile actions under the guise of freedom of expression was unacceptable.

Rasmus Paludan has been added to the warnings index / Getty Images

In March, a Danish far-right politician planning to burn a copy of the Koran during a Ramadan visit to Wakefield was barred from the UK.

Tom Tugendhat said Danish-Swedish Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the Stram Kurs party founded in 2017, has been added to the UKs warnings index.
A s Christopher Nolans blockbuster biopic Oppenheimer finally hit cinemas last week, the details of the 1945 US attacks by atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been thrust into the spotlight.

The film tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, an American theoretical physicist known as the father of the atomic bomb, who oversaw its creation during the Second World War.

As many as 226,000 people died in the bombings and their aftermath. The bombs also brought an end to the Second World War, with Japan surrendering on August 15.

Mr. President, I feel I have blood on my hands, Oppenheimer told then-President Truman in the months after the attack, according to American Prometheus, the 2005 Oppenheimer biography from authors Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.

But what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and what were the events that led to the attacks?

Getty Images

US-Japan tensions

Tensions between the US and Japan had been growing for decades before the Second World War. Japan had occupied parts of eastern China, which led to a war between the two countries in 1937.

The US and other Western countries halted exports - including vital fuel oil - to Japan in an attempt to discourage it from further expansion. Japan saw this as an aggressive act.

The countries tried to negotiate for Japan to retreat from China and the US to start exporting fuel again in late 1941, but could not agree on terms.

Getty Images

Pearl Harbor

Japan launched an air attack on the US air base of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, killing 2,403 American service people and wounding a further 1,178.

The attack was later judged a war crime because it took place unannounced and while peace talks were ongoing. US President Franklin Roosevelt called it "a day which will live in infamy".

Both countries declared war on each other shortly after the attack.

The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The US and Japan had been at war for nearly four years, since April 1941. The bloody and fiercely-fought conflict in the Pacific had cost millions of Japanese and Americans their lives already.

The war in Europe had finished nearly two months earlier, in May 1945, after Germany's unconditional surrender. The US was preparing for a land invasion of Japan, which would have been very hard-fought. At least 500,000 Americans alone would have been likely to die, according to US government estimates at the time.

At the same time, the US had been developing to make nuclear bombs since the late 1930s. The bombs were ready by the summer of 1945.

The Allies called for Japan to surrender in late July 1945, threatening "complete and utter destruction" otherwise.

Getty Images

Hiroshima and Nagasaki were chosen as targets for their military and industrial importance, as they supplied the Japanese armed forces with weapons and other military technologies.

A uranium bomb nicknamed Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6. The city was devastated: tens of thousands died almost immediately and as many as 146,000 died in the three months after the attack.

Many more would go on to suffer from cancer and other forms of illness brought on by the radiation from the bomb. Huge numbers of buildings were completely destroyed or damaged.

Japanese authorities were reportedly aware another strike could follow Hiroshima, but decided to endure it rather than surrender.

The next attack, a plutonium bomb nicknamed Fat Man, fell on Nagasaki on August 9. As many as 80,000 people died. In both cities, the vast majority of people who died were civilians.

Getty Images

The aftermath

Japan surrendered on August 15, six days after the attack on Nagasaki. Both cities were rebuilt after the war, although Hiroshima was hit by a typhoon in September 1945 that also caused great destruction.

Around 145,000 people who survived either of the bombings - called hibakusha in Japanese - were still alive in March 2019, according to the Japanese government. Memorials have been put up in both cities for the victims of the bombing.

Debate continues over the ethics of the attack, which remain the only nuclear bombs used in war. Some say they brought an earlier end to the Second World War, which would have led to many more casualties on both sides if the US had invaded Japan.

Others say that the use of nuclear bombs in war is inherently unethical and some labelled the attacks a war crime. Others argued there were more peaceful ways to end the war than either nuclear bombing or an invasion, such as a military blockade on Japan.

The bombs cast a long shadow over the second half of the twentieth century, with the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union dominated by concerns that either country could attack the other with nuclear missiles.
A t least eight police dogs died in the back of a van as they were transported across the United States in the middle of a sweltering heatwave.

The German shepherds are feared to have overheated and died as they were moved from Chicago to a police training centre in Indiana and an air-conditioning unit in the vehicle failed.

According to the New York Times, a local animal rescue organisation suggested 18 dogs were in the vehicle, estimating that at least eight of them had died as a result of the air conditioning failure on July 28.

Police said the driver of the vehicle was on the way to an airport when he was caught in a 2-hour traffic delay and the air conditioner being used to keep the canines cool failed. The temperature rose inside the back of the truck without the drivers knowledge and some of the pups went into heat-related medical distress.

The driver only realised the dogs were in trouble when they started barking.

A man waits with a German shepherd that survived the freak event / AP

He stopped some 60 miles away from the airport and enlisted help to remove the crated canines.

The Lake Station Police Department did not confirm how many dogs were killed in the freak event.

A spokesman for the force said: There was an overwhelming response from both agencies so much so that civilians and so many others stopped to help where they could. The scene was choatic and took an emotional toll on all that were involved in trying to save as many canines as possible.

Any loss of life is tragic and thoughts and prayers are with all those that were affected by this freak event.

Jennifer Webber, executive director of the Humane Society of Hobart, responded to the call at 7:40 p.m. and said the dogs displayed signs of heatstroke: Salivating heavily, wobbling, vomiting and convulsing.

There were already several dogs dead on the scene, and multiple failing fast, Webber said. Their crates inside the truck were completely trashed on the inside and the little water bowls were the size youd give a parrot. And they were empty and torn up as if the dogs were exasperated.

It came as climate change fans hotter and longer heat waves, breaking record temperatures across the US and leaving dozens dead. Research suggests the poorest Americans suffer the hottest days with the fewest defences. Air conditioning, once a luxury, is now a matter of survival.

As Phoenix weathered its 27th consecutive day above 110 degrees (43 celsius) Wednesday, the nine who died indoors didnt have functioning air conditioning, or it was turned off. Last year, all 86 heat-related deaths indoors were in uncooled environments.

To explain it fairly simply: Heat kills, said Kristie Ebi, a University of Washington professor who researches heat and health. Once the heat wave starts, mortality starts in about 24 hours.
R ussia has threatened nuclear retaliation if Ukraine mounts a successful counter-offensive.

Ex-president Dmitry Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russias Security Council, warned of global nuclear fire if Kyiv forces and Nato seized any Russian land.

He hit out after an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow in the early hours of Sunday, with two crashing into offices just close to the Kremlin, shaking the financial district of the city.

The strikes, which temporarily shut down Vnukovo international airport, happened at 3.20am and 4.10am.

No fatalities have been reported but photos from the scene show damaged windows at the corner of the buildings, with debris scattered on the ground below.

Moscow blamed the attack on Ukraine but Kyiv officials have not taken responsibility.

Medvedev said: Imagine if the.. offensive, which is backed by NATO, was a success and they tore off a part of our land then we would be forced to use a nuclear weapon according to the rules of a decree from the president of Russia.

Investigators examine a damaged Moscow skyscraper / AP

There would simply be no other option. So our enemies should pray for our warriors (success). They are making sure that a global nuclear fire is not ignited.

Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday night warned the war is returning to the territory of Russia after the drone attack.

He said: Today is the 522nd day of the so-called Special Military Operation, which the Russian leadership thought would last a couple of weeks. Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia - to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process.

It came after Vladimir Putin said he did not dismiss the idea of peace talks following a meeting with African leaders in St Petersburg.

The Russian leader claimed a joint African and Chinese initiative could serve as a basis for finding peace.

He told reporters: The initiative, in my opinion, can be the basis of some processes aimed at the search for peace, the same as others, such as for example, the Chinese initiative.

Putin said it was hard to implement a ceasefire when the Ukrainian army was on the offensive.

Mr Zelensky has rejected the idea of a ceasefire now, saying it would leave Russia in control of nearly a fifth of his country and give its forces time to regroup after 17 grinding months of war.
R ussian ballistic missiles hit an apartment complex and a university building in President Volodymyr Zelenskys hometown on Monday, killing six people and wounding 75 others.

One of the two missiles that hit the central city of Kryvyi Rih destroyed part of an apartment building between the fourth and ninth floors, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.

Video showed black smoke billowing from corner units and burned out or damaged cars on a tree-lined street.

Oleksandr Vilkul, the citys mayor, said the dead included a 10-year-old girl and her 45-year-old mother.

More than 350 people were involved in the rescue operation, Mr Zelensky said in a Telegram post. The morning attack also destroyed part of a four-story university building.

The strike on Zelenskyys hometown, which has been hit in the past, happened a day after the Ukrainian president seemed to warn of more attacks inside Russia. Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia  to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process, Mr Zelensky said Sunday in his nightly video address.

It was not clear whether the missile strikes were in retaliation for his comments.

Regions of Ukraine are being shelled by the occupiers, who continue to terrorise peaceful cities and people, President Zelensky wrote on Twitter.

Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded. There may be people under the rubble. My condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones because of Russian terror.

A mother pulled her 10-year-old child out from the rubble of a building destroyed by the attack, according to the regional governor.

Serhiy Lysak wrote on Telegram: She does not remember how she pulled out the child. Apparently, mothers love gave her strength. Now they are in hospital.

In total, almost 150 residents got out of the mutilated high-rise building on their own. Another 30 were helped to get outside by rescuers.

Russian forces have attacked more than 100 Ukrainian towns and cities in the last day, according to Ukraines defence ministry.

It said on Telegram: Russian troops shelled the territory of nine regions of Ukraine during the past 24 hours.

130 settlements and 91 infrastructure objects were attacked from various types of weapons - mortars, tanks, barrel artillery, MLRS [rockets], air defence systems, UAVs [drones], tactical aircraft.

There are dead and wounded among civilians, the number of victims is being specified.
T he Government said it was suspending long-term aid to Niger after a military coup last week and backed regional efforts to reinstate the West African countrys deposed president.

The announcement came as Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Monday begins a three-nation tour of West Africa that will take in Nigers southern neighbour Nigeria, which is a leading member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The 15-nation bloc on Sunday said it was suspending relations with Niger and authorised the use of military force if Mohamed Bazoum is not restored as president within a week.

Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell said: The UK wholly supports the immediate political and economic measures announced today by ECOWAS and will suspend long-term development assistance to Niger.

We will however continue to provide critical humanitarian assistance to the people of Niger, he said.

The UK is a committed partner of Nigers democratically elected government and calls for President Bazoum to be immediately reinstated to restore constitutional order.

A group of soldiers appeared on the former French colonys national television last Wednesday to declare they had removed Mr Bazoum from power, and he was being held in the presidential palace.

Tensions have soared following the seventh coup of recent years in the Sahel region, where the governments of Niger and other countries have partnered with the West to tackle Islamist terrorism.

As ECOWAS met to adopt its sanctions, crowds in Nigers capital Niamey burned French flags and stoned Frances embassy, drawing tear gas from police.

Mr Cleverlys four-day tour of Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia is focussed on investment, according to the Foreign Office, but is likely to take in the Niger situation when he meets Nigerian ministers on Tuesday.

With the UK-African Investment Summit to be hosted in London in April next year, we are looking to strengthen our business links and grow our economies together, he said.
A US mother who killed her two youngest children after thinking they were zombies and attempted to kill her husbands ex-wife has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Lori Vallow Daybell was sentenced on Monday for killing 7-year-old Joshua Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husbands previous wife. Vallow Daybell will serve three life sentences one after the other, the judge said.

The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges.

Vallow Daybell also faces two other cases in Arizona  one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her nieces ex-husband.

Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her nieces ex survived an attempt later that year.

At the Fremont County Courthouse in Idaho, Judge Steven Boyce heard from several representatives of the victims, including Vallow Daybells only surviving son, Colby Ryan.Tylee will never have the opportunity to become a mother, wife or have the career she was destined to have.

JJ will never be able to grow and spread his light with the world the way he did, Mr Ryan wrote in a statement read by prosecuting attorney Rob Wood.

My siblings and father deserve so much more than this. I want them to be remembered for who they were, not just a spectacle.

Mr Ryan also wrote about his own grief.

Ive lost the opportunity to share life with the people I love the most. I have lost my sister, father, brother and my mother, he wrote. I pray for healing for everyone involved, including those who took the lives of everyone we loved.

Mr Wood said: A defendant who is willing to murder her own children is willing to murder anyone.

Society can only be protected from this defendant by a sentence of life in prison without parole.

Vallow Daybell was committed multiple times for treatment to make her mentally competent for the court proceedings.

But Mr Wood said there is no evidence that her crimes were impacted by her alleged mental illness  which includes delusional disorder with grandiose features, according to reports referenced in court.

The evidence is overwhelming that she did know right from wrong, Mr Wood said, noting testimony from several people who said she lied to them about the deaths

.In July 2019, Vallow Daybells brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in a suburban Phoenix home. Cox told police he acted in self-defense.

He was never charged and later died of what authorities determined were natural causes.

Vallow Daybell was already in a relationship with Chad Daybell, a self-published writer of doomsday-focused fiction loosely based on Mormon teachings.

She moved to Idaho with her kids and brother to be closer to him.The children were last seen alive in September 2019.

Police discovered they were missing a month later after an extended family member became worried. Their bodies were found buried in Chad Daybells yard the following summer.

During the trial, experts said Tylee appeared to have been stabbed and her body burned before it was buried in a pet cemetery, Mr Wood said.

JJs head was wrapped in tape and plastic, asphyxiating him, Wood said, speculating that his last thoughts must have been filled with fear and betrayal.

Tammy Daybells body was bruised, suggesting she fought back as she was asphyxiated in her bed, Mr Wood said.

Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow married in November 2019, about two weeks after Daybells previous wife, Tammy, was killed.

Tammy Daybell initially was described as having died of natural causes, but an autopsy later showed she had been asphyxiated, authorities said.

Defence lawyer Jim Archibald argued during the trial that there was no evidence tying Vallow Daybell to the killings, but plenty showing she was a loving, protective mother whose life took a sharp turn when she met Chad Daybell and fell for his weird apocalyptic religious claims.

He suggested that Daybell and Vallow Daybells brother, Alex Cox, were responsible for the deaths.

Daybell told her they had been married in several previous lives and she was a sexual goddess who was supposed to help him save the world by gathering 144,000 followers so Jesus could return, Archibald said.

Vallow Daybells former friend Melanie Gibb testified during the trial that Vallow Daybell believed people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits and turned into zombies, including JJ and Tylee.

Additional reporting by AP
S erial restaurateur Samyukta Nair is set to launch a new in conversation with style series of events, hosting and highlighting a range of leading female voices at her Mayfair restaurant Bombay Bustle.

Founder of LSL Capital, a still-burgeoning restaurant empire, Nair is set to launch the events program named Made by Women. It will run from September to October, with four influential guest speakers including Olia Hercules and Skye McAlpine.

The series is set to kick off in September with inaugrual guest Eshita Kabra, founder of sustainable clothing company By Rotation, continuing with food writer and columnist Skye McAlpine and broadcaster and author of three cookbooks, Rosie Birkett.

The talks aim to celebrate the journeys of these successful women, with a specially selected feasting menu created by Bombay Bustle chef Surender Mohan following each event.

Press handout

On the creation of the new series, Samyukta noted, I am so looking forward to launching Made By Women and delving into all things from fashion to food while in conversation with an extraordinary line-up of dreamers and doers.

The inspiration for the series follows from the success of the previous Jamavars Womens Club, noted as being an antithesis to the traditional boys clubs of Mayfair and St James. The events feel particularly timely as gender parity is once again under the spotlight at London restaurants.

The series of talks is set to conclude in October with Olia Hercules, the Ukrainian activist who shot to international recognition as the co-founder of #cookforukraine, a global fundraising initiative which has raised over 2.4 million since its inception.

Samyukta Nair has become one of the most influential voices in London restaurants in recent years having opened Jamavar, Bombay Bustle, MiMi Mei Fair, KOYN and most recently, Socca Bistro in partnership with the Michelin-starred chef Claude Bosi.
A ny multimasking pro worth their salt knows the power of a lip mask.

In the holy trinity of sheet, under eye and lip, you get thrice the hydrating nourishment. But this third element is often overlooked - even for those who abide by the K-Beauty 12-step skincare regime that favours moisturisation above all else.

Yes, a lip balm may play a frequent role in your day with one on every reasonable surface (from your desk, to every handbag you own), but a mask designed specifically for this area provides a quick-fix solution for parched pouts from dryness, chapping and the result of the ever-changing weather. You see, we just can never seem to catch a break. When the heatwave hits, our lips are sensitive to sun damage, yet when its blowing a gale, the wind leaves them flakey and sore. Our poor pouts really do go through it.

The solution? Slather on a lip mask before bed and youll wake up with plumped and conditioned pillowy-soft lips. These formulas provide intensive lip care thanks to nutrient-rich and replenshing ingredients like shea butter, jojoba oil and hyaluronic acid as well as those that will shield against external aggressors. Keep one your bedside table and let these cracked-lip saviour work their magic as you doze.

Lip masks come in two main forms; there are those that apply in much the same way as a lip balm, and others made up of bio-cellulose gel that should be applied for a designated amount of time and then removed. Both work to lock in the lipids for enhanced pout protection so you lips are no longer left high and dry. The former may feature a subtle tint and tend to come in a range of shades that leave a silky finish ready to layer up the colour if needed with a long-lasting lipstick or the likes.

Shop the best lip masks below to hydrate and nourish your pout.
Russian missiles destroy two buildings in Kryvy Rih, there may be people under rubble, one dead is known  Interior Ministry

Russian occupiers fired two missiles at Kryvy Rih, missiles hit an educational institution and a residential building, one person is known to have died, Interior Minister of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko has said.

"One missile hit a four-story building of an educational institution. There are probably people under the rubble. Rescuers and the police are working," Klymenko said on his Telegram channel on Monday.

He said a second enemy missile had destroyed sections from the fourth to ninth floors of an apartment building. The result was a fire. As of 10:15, one person is known to have died, and ten people sought medical help. The necessary services eliminate the fire and sort out the rubble, where there may be more people.
S ummer is in full swing, meaning kids from across the globe have been released from the classroom en masse.

Yet, no matter how hard one may summer, i.e. jetting off on holiday, kicking back at home or actually doing the assigned homework in time for the school year to begin, the dawn of the September always manages to rapidly creep up.

With it, the month brings mixed emotions. Facing looming exams, hitting the textbooks and being legally required to learn maths arent the most appealing of prospects. The upside of a new year? New accessories - in particular, new bags.

What should I look for when choosing a school bag?

Whether shopping for yourself, your litte one or your teenager, there are certain boxes the ideal school bag should tick. Firstly, it has to be spacious enough to house bulky chemistry folders, a full-to-bursting pencil cases and a water bottle. Secondly, it has to be comfortable and durable. Thirdly, and most crucially, it has to look good.

This isnt such an issue for primary schoolers. But it doesnt mean parents cant get creative when it comes to school bag shopping. There are a whole host of adorable, small-sized pieces for youngsters on the market. Affordable options make for a sensible buy, considering a childs school bag is likely to be obliterated with marker pens and excessive wear and tear. But the luxury sphere is also catching on.

Rucksacks and backpacks are the top choice for school bags because theyre so easy to carry and the straps distribute weight evenly across the shoulders. Not all rucksack straps are created equal, though, so check for plenty of padding, and consider a cross-body satchel or book bag as an alternative for young children. Whatever style of school bag you go for, get them to try it on for size if you can.

Preschoolers and primary-age children will need something smaller of course, as its likely theyll want to carry their bag independently and a full-sized rucksack will probably swamp them. Older children bringing a laptop or A4 folders to school, meanwhile, will need a bag with dimensions to match.

Renowned names such as Stella McCartney, Ralph Lauren and Marni have all crafted childrens accessories ranges. This is obviously a more exclusive option, but if youre willing to splash the cash on an impeccably crafted, bonny bag, then its worth a browse. Plus, many brands offer matching sets, so parents and kids can twin - better invest before they turn 13 and think they are too cool to hang out with mum and dad anymore.

To help you prepare you or your child to enter the new year full steam ahead, weve rounded up the best school bags for kids, tweens and teens. Spanning all prices, styles and genders, these items will ensure that youll have all upoming assignments in the bag.
C illian Murphy has defended the use of sex scenes in Christopher Nolans Oppenheimer, insisting they were vital to the story.

The Hollywood blockbuster tells the story of American scientist J Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb during the Second World War.

During the course of the feature film, viewers learn of the nuclear scientists personal life also, notably his affair with psychiatrist and physician Jean Tatlock, played by Florence Pugh, while he was married to Katherine Kitty Puening, played by Emily Blunt.

Responding to chatter around the sex scenes, Murphy told GQ recently that were vital to the features storyline, albeit admitting that filming them are the most awkward possible part of their job.

Murphy defended his characters sex scenes with Jean Tatlock, played by Florence Pugh / Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures

He shared: I think [the sequences] were vital in this movie. I think the relationship that he has with Jean Tatlock is one of the most crucial [and] emotional parts of the film.

I think if theyre key to the story then theyre worthwhile. Listen, no one likes doing them, theyre the most awkward possible part of our job. But sometimes you have to get on with it.

In a previous interview, the films director Christopher Nolan agreed with Murphys take on the intimate scenes.

He told Insider: When you look at Oppenheimers life and you look at his story, that aspect of his life, the aspect of his sexuality, his way with women, the charm that he exuded, its an essential part of his story.

It felt very important to understand their relationship and to really see inside it and understand what made it tick without being coy or allusive about it  but to try to be intimate, to try and be in there with him and fully understand the relationship that was so important to him.

Murphys comments come as the biopic faced a backlash in India for quoting a sacred Hindu text during a sex scene.

In one scene, actor Murphy, who plays Oppenheimer, recites a famous line from the Bhagavad Gita after having sex with Pughs Jean Tatlock.

Now I am become death, destroyer of worlds, he reads out, a phrase the physicist reportedly recalled when the first atomic bomb he invented was detonated on July 16, 1945.

However, the scene has sparked outrage from officials in the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

Uday Mahurkar, a senior official at the governments Central Information Commission, called it a direct assault on religious beliefs of a billion tolerant Hindus.
I f you keep hearing of how AI chatbots will revolutionise the world, but cant figure out what to ask ChatGPT, you may require some guidance with the hottest trend in tech.

To lend a hand, Google is launching a series of training courses designed to show you how to use AI at work. Two sessions are open for registration now, with a further eight modules coming soon.

Together, they are designed to teach individuals and business owners about the inner workings of AI and how it can save you time in the office. News of the training courses comes after a pair of troubling reports claimed that millions of Brits lack vital digital skills, which in turn is costing their employers over 5 billion in earnings.

Google has a vested interest in educating the nation having created its own AI systems to challenge ChatGPT creator OpenAI, Microsoft and Meta. Big tech is currently pouring billions into so-called generative AI tools that can produce text- and image-based responses to questions.

For its part, Google recently began previewing an AI chatbot to the public and will soon offer AI-powered writing features inside its free Workspace software, including Docs (its Microsoft Word rival) and Gmail.

To help you get to grips with the tech, Googles experts will teach you how to boost your productivity with AI in one of the training sessions aimed at individuals.

Over the course of 45 minutes, Google says youll learn how to use AI tools to save time, including how to cut down on administrative tasks, brainstorm new ideas, and write code. It also covers ways to apply different systems to a workplace, when and how to invest in AI, and how to prepare data for a machine learning project.

Both modules will be held live over YouTube from mid-August to early October, during which attendees will get the chance to ask questions. By registering for an event you can also watch it on-demand after it has ended.

Googles training initiative is timely as it comes amid a slowdown in AI chatbot usage. After a meteoric start, global traffic to the ChatGPT website fell by an estimated 10 percent between May and June. It was the first drop in the leading chatbots number of visitors since its launch in December.

Its unclear if the dip was due to the start of the summer holidays or waning interest in AI chat.
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced hundreds of new licences to drill for oil and gas will be granted across the UK, despite the continued warnings about global warming.

The government claims that the plans could support 50,000 jobs, boost our energy security and provide more affordable energy to British homes.

Fraser Stewart from Regen, an independent not-for-profit centre of energy expertise, explains why new renewable energy sources are a better option than new oil and gas sites, for the UK.

Two supermoons are expected in August, leading to a super-rare blue moon event.

The Moon will reach its closest point to Earth on Tuesday 1st August, making it look up to 14% bigger, and 30% brighter compared with when its furthest away.

The second supermoon will come at the end of the month, on the 30th of August, which is known as a blue moon.

The next expected blue moon is due to occur in 2037.

Nasa is preparing to launch its own streaming service showing live space missions.

It will be called Nasa Plus and will be free to access, offering viewers inside footage of future missions, including the Artemis mission to send people to the Moon again, due to launch in 2028.

Theres yet another warning about the promotion of vapes to children following research by Imperial College London.

Researchers found that children are being increasingly exposed to e-cigarettes on display in shops with 66% of children reporting seeing vape sticks in supermarkets in 2022 compared with 57% in 2018.

And the rest

Elon Musk reinstates Kanye West's X account, Scottish island gives scientists head start for examining rocks from Mars, British-built satellite successfully returned to Earth in assisted crash, and could GPS predict earthquakes two hours before they occur?

Listen above, and find us on your Spotify Daily Drive or wherever you stream your podcasts.
The Romanian firefighting module deployed to Greece as part of the UCPM pre-positioning program was replaced on Monday by the French Ground Forest Firefighting GFFF-V module in a ceremony held at the operations base in Nea Makri - Attica region, in the presence of a European Commission delegation.

"Activities related to the handover of the pre-positioning mission to the French team as well as logistics technicalities will take place during the day, to allow the completion of the mission under the best conditions and the return of our colleagues to the country," the Emergency Management Inspectorate General said in a release on Monday.

Apart from the 38 firefighters who completed on Monday the pre-positioning program, another 92 firemen with the specific technical means are still in Rhodes Island.



The Romanian firefighters were deployed to Greece following the request for international assistance launched by the Greek authorities through the European Civil Protection Mechanism.



As part of the pre-positioning program, the 40-strong contingent of firefighters and eight pieces of technical equipment left Romania on June 29.



The rotation of the personnel taking action in the Attica region took place on July 15.



The pre-positioning program is organized by the General Directorate of European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations - DG ECHO, in order to strengthen the resilience of the Greek authorities in managing this type of risk.
Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), occupied by the Russian military since March 4, 2022, has completed the planned transition of its reactor unit 5 to cold shutdown while moving reactor unit 4 to hot shutdown, contrary to the requirements of Ukraine's national nuclear regulator  the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU), Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi has said.

At the same time, as noted referring to Grossi in the IAEA update on Ukraine on its website on Saturday, the agency's experts at the site urged ZNPP have been encouraging the ZNPP to investigate all possible options to install an external boiler instead to generate the steam required, which would enable the site to bring all units into a cold shutdown state. The Ukrainian inspectorate had issued regulatory orders to limit the operation of all six units to a cold shutdown state.

The IAEA explained that The ZNPP conducted this change in reactor status to carry out maintenance activities at unit 5 that are only possible in cold shutdown. Unit 5 was transitioned into cold shutdown yesterday morning, three days after unit 4 shifted to hot shutdown, its steam is now being used to treat wastewater at the ZNPP.

During a walkdown within the site's perimeter on Thursday (July 27), the team confirmed that the mines that they observed on 23 July were still in place.

At the same time, the IAEA is also continuing to request access to the roofs of the ZNPP's reactors and their turbine halls. The team could not go to the cooling pond retention gate to see the progress of the construction of an additional barrier being put in place.

"The team was informed that the construction was completed but access was not authorised," the IAEA said.

The IAEA team reported that the available water supply remains relatively stable, with the water level in the site's large cooling pond decreasing by around 1 centimetre per day due to usage and evaporation. The combination of the water pumping and heavy rain experienced during the week has seen the height of the ZTPP discharge channel increase by around 25 centimetres.

"The site continues to have sufficient water for some months," the IAEA predicts.

They confirmed that the online data transmission to the SNRIU is still not working. As an interim measure, the data from the off-site radiation monitoring stations are manually provided to the IAEA team, which also regularly conducts independent radiation monitoring at the site. The off-site data and the team's measurements are uploaded by the IAEA to the IAEA's International Radiation Monitoring Information System (IRMIS).

However, The IAEA teams at the Chornobyl, Rivne, Khmelnytsky, and Pivdennoukrainska NPPs did not report any issues related to nuclear safety or security over the past week and have observed nothing unusual at the sites. Rotations of IAEA teams were completed this week at the Rivne, Khmelnytsky, and Pivdennoukrainska NPPs.

As reported, Head of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine Oleh Korikov at a press conference on July 28 said that the risks for the ZNPP are significantly increasing, and the possibilities of the inspection, the operating organization, and other institutions of Ukraine to respond to the accident are minimal.
Border traffic doubles at weekend as against last year's figures

More than 1,440,000 Romanian and foreign citizens completed border formalities at the end of last week, which represents an increase of 102% compared to the same period last year, told Agerpres.

On July 30, approximately 510,500 Romanian and foreign citizens and more than 134,100 means of transport, in both directions, passed through the border checkpoints throughout the country (both on the way in and on the way out), the Border Police Inspectorate General (IGPF) informs.

According to a press release sent to AGERPRES on Monday, 270,287 people entered Romania, including 18,272 Ukrainian citizens.

As regards specific activities, in the areas of competence - crossing points and "green border" - border police officers found, on Sunday, 56 illegal acts (21 offences and 35 contraventions) committed by both Romanian and foreign citizens.

The goods seized for confiscation were worth over 75,600 lei.

The amount of the fines imposed amounted to approximately 26,900 lei.

On Sunday, 14 foreign citizens were not allowed to enter the country, as they did not meet the legal requirements, and 20 Romanian citizens were not allowed to leave the country for various legal reasons.

In order to facilitate traffic at the Romanian borders, the representatives of the Romanian Border Police are in permanent contact with the Hungarian and Bulgarian border authorities in order to set up joint measures so that the control formalities can be carried out in an efficient manner.

"As traffic participants mainly use Nadlac II and Petea border crossing points, at the border with Hungary, respectively Giurgiu border crossing point, at the border with Bulgaria, we recommend citizens to transit through the other border points existing at the border, so as to avoid bottlenecks," says the source.

At the border with Hungary there are 12 international border crossing points for persons, cars and trucks, and 11 border crossing points are operational at the border with Bulgaria.
EduMin Deca: Romanian language, culture and civilization classes to be resumed in UK

The Romanian language, culture and civilization classes will be resumed in the UK for the first time after Brexit, according to a post on Facebook of the Romanian Minister of Education, Ligia Deca, told Agerpres.

"As I said before, providing access to these classes to the children and young people in the diaspora was one of my priorities," said Deca.

One's culture and cultural identity need to be protected, she said.

"Culture and one's cultural identity need to be protected, which is why I've made all efforts to complete the legal framework that was necessary for the classes to take place again," said the Minister.
PM Ciolacu to chair National Recovery, Resilience Plan working session

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu this afternoon will chair a working session on the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), told Agerpres.

At a government meeting on July 20, Ciolacu asked the ministers who coordinate reforms undertaken by Romania under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan to focus on "rethinking priorities and readjusting projects" in order to complete PNRR renegotiations by August 31.

"All the ministers who coordinate reforms must make an effort to rethink priorities and readjust projects. I'm very sorry, but this summer we will not take holidays. We are in a race against time to access all the available European money," Ciolacu said back then.
CRIME VICTIM COMPENSATION

Pamela White stared at the silver tree with twin-kling lights while she cleaned out her son's apartment, wondering how in a matter of days she went from celebrating Christmas to having to think about headstones and burial plots.

Her son, Dararius Evans, was an Army reservist and veteran who had survived a deployment in Iraq. A few days after Christmas 2019, the 28-year-old was killed in a shooting outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The shooter was sentenced to life in prison last year.

White and her family, who live outside of New Orleans, turned to Louisiana's victim compensation board for help paying for the unexpected funeral. She was met with administrative hurdles, a denial that blamed her son for his own death, a lengthy appeal  all while paying up front through a personal loan that gathered interest as she waited.

Thousands of crime victims each year are confronted with the difficult financial reality of state compensation programs that are billed as safety nets to offset costs like funerals, medical care, relocation and other needs. Many programs require victims to pay for those expenses first and exhaust all means of payment before they reimburse costs, often at rates that don't fully cover expenses.

The programs also struggle under often unstable funding mechanisms that leave their budgets vulnerable to shortages and the changing priorities of lawmakers. Well-intentioned prison and criminal justice reforms aimed at reducing incarceration have caused shortfalls in some states that rely heavily on court or prison fines and fees for funding.

Advocates say most states' requirement that victims pay upfront can leave out people living on the edge of financial disaster who are often most vulnerable to a crime.

"So many families often can't rely solely on that reimbursement model.  Those funds take months to arrive to families," said Aswad Thomas, vice president of the Alliance for Safety and Justice, a nonprofit working to reform victim compensation and other aspects of the criminal justice system.

Some programs do offer to directly pay funeral homes or medical providers. But for victims in places that don't, the expense can mean not being able to pay rent or having to decline services like counseling because the grocery bill is more pressing.

Programs also require victims to exhaust other payment options first, like insurance, lawsuit awards or even crowdfunding. If a family member or friend starts a GoFundMe drive, it could cause some programs to reduce an award or claw back already granted money.

The wait for help also causes financial strain. While some states report claims are processed within days, others take months or even years. The average processing time in 2022 was three months, according to federal data collected from states.

Andrew LeFevre, the executive director of the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission, which oversees victim compensation and other state programs, said more stable funding sources would mean faster payments and more victims having access to help.

About a dozen states get most or all of their funding from recurring state budget dollars. But many states have put the onus of paying for the programs on people in the criminal justice system  court fines, taking a percentage of prisoner wages or prison commissary fees.

Those funding streams can fluctuate greatly. Temporary court closures early in the pandemic, sentencing reforms and changes to how some prosecutors charge misdemeanor crimes have all meant fewer dollars for many state programs.

LeFevre has been talking to Arizona lawmakers for years about the need for stable funding. Over the last decade, revenue dropped 38% in the state's Criminal Justice Enhancement fund, largely gathered through surcharges on criminal and civil penalties, that pays for compensation and other programs.

Last year, Arizona lawmakers bolstered the program with $10 million in one-time American Rescue Plan money and supplemented its budget with a recurring $2 million in general funds. But even that is considerably less than the about $14 million annually LeFevre estimates the program needs to serve all victims in the state without using criminal justice funds.

"We didn't advertise the program (to victims) ourselves," LeFevre said. "Because the last thing we wanted was to have twice as many victims coming forward and not be able to help them."

Hawaii's program has relied primarily on fines and fees since 1998. But chronic shortfalls nearly forced the program to close in 2022. An influx of general funds from the legislature to pay staff "saved" the program, according to an annual report.

A handful of state legislatures have used one-time general fund infusions to plug budget holes created by the downstream effects of criminal justice reforms.

California's restitution fund fell by about 27% from fiscal year 2021 to 2022. State lawmakers boosted general fund dollars to cover the gap and for the following budget year. But the program still relies partly on the unstable restitution fund, which advocates say makes lawmakers hesitant to expand the program or remove hurdles.

Many states rely heavily on matching dollars they get from the U.S. Justice Department's Office for Victims of Crime. But even its Crime Victims Fund depends on fluctuating criminal fines, penalties, forfeited bail and other special assessments, which has also meant financial uncertainty.

Less money was going to the federal fund after a shift in legal strategy led to more deferred federal prosecutions, usually in white-collar crime cases, which means those cases don't go to court if fines or other conditions are met. Congress addressed that in 2021 by redirecting fines from those pre-prosecution agreements into the fund. Lawmakers also increased the percentage of matching funds states receive annually.

In Louisiana, past funding shortages had left victims approved for compensation waiting sometimes more than a year to receive help. The state started clearing the backlog in 2017 by transferring money saved by lower incarceration costs created through prison reform, which also increased its federal reimbursement.

Lengthy appeal process

White's application filed in 2020 wasn't part of the backlog, but it still took close to two years for her case to be settled. Each Christmas, she put up the silver tree from Dararius' apartment. And she waited.

During her appeal hearing, White pleaded with the board, saying that even if a fight had led to her son's killing, he was still a person who didn't deserve to die.

"I made them think about it. That was a life taken  that wasn't an animal," she said. "It doesn't matter if they were arguing. It doesn't matter if they got in a fistfight.  It doesn't warrant a person losing their life."

The board reversed its decision and gave White $5,000  the most offered for funeral assistance at the time. But the loan White had taken out was for $6,000 and gained interest as she made the monthly payments.

White was able to weather those payments, but she knows many people can't.

Elizabeth Ruebman, a New Jersey-based victims advocate and former adviser on compensation to the state attorney general, said compensation programs currently are not designed for emergency needs.

"It's slow, it's bureaucratic. We're talking about people who have a crisis right now," she said.

Many states do offer emergency awards to help victims through the immediate aftermath of crime, but advocates say those awards are flawed. They often are restrictive, capped as low as $500, and are deducted from any later award. About a dozen states don't offer emergency awards at all.

The AP found the maximum awards programs offer ranged from $10,000 to $190,000 in individual states. Many programs haven't increased those amounts for decades: North Dakota, Montana and Rhode Island last raised their caps in the 1970s.

Programs have lagged less in raising limits on individual expenses like funerals. But many states don't offer enough money to cover the actual cost of burying a loved one. The National Funeral Directors Association estimated the median cost of a funeral with burial vault was more than $9,400 in 2021. Only a dozen states offer enough to cover that median cost.

'They invested in me'

Over the years, some states have increased the amount available for medical bills for people who suffer catastrophic injuries due to a crime. But in some states, even those catastrophic amounts only add up to an extra $10,000, which doesn't cover the lifelong costs of injuries like losing the ability to walk.

New York's program is unique because it doesn't cap reimbursements for medical expenses. That includes lifelong help with replacement prosthetics, extended physical therapy needs or equipment not always covered by medical insurance. Some payouts have reached millions of dollars, administrators said.

Kingsley Joseph was 20 years old and living in New York City when he was shot in the back and paralyzed from the waist down in 2007. His college career was put on hold. He couldn't continue to live with his parents in their walk-up apartment. He couldn't keep his job as a ramp agent at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Joseph's best option was a nursing facility where many of the other patients were decades older than him. A staff member there told Joseph about New York's victim compensation program.

Joseph applied and was approved for lost wages  money that helped him get an accessible apartment. The program has paid for medical equipment like a therapy bike that helps maintain leg muscle.

New York's program also includes sometimes overlooked expenses, like training for a new career after a catastrophic injury. Joseph received an occupational therapy award that helped him get his advanced medical physics degree.

The 36-year-old now works in cancer care. "They invested in me as a person," he said. "And I am incredibly grateful for that."


100-degree temperatures are nothing new for St. Louis in July. Here is a photographic look back at four of the hottest summers in the city.

1936: The heat of July 1936 had been withering and deadly, reaching at least 100 degrees on 18 days. It had killed 332 people by July 30, when cooling breezes soothed raw, sweating faces.

1954: The summer saw temperatures climb to 115 degrees in St. Louis. A week-long heat wave beginning July 14 took 104 lives.

1980: Temperatures on July 8 hit 101 and would break 100 degrees on a withering nine of the next 14 days and reach 107 on July 15, the summer's worst.

2012: On July 8, temperatures drop to only 98 degrees, ending a 10-day run of triple-digit temperatures.
ST. LOUIS  A new federally funded program aims to help those in need of affordable housing cover the cost of a security deposit.

The St. Louis Housing Authority has launched a security deposit assistance program for those applying for or participating in the Housing Choice Voucher program, also known as Section 8.

The security deposit is common in rental housing. It acts as the landlords insurance for expenses and damages. And the amount a renter has to pay can fluctuate on factors like credit score, background checks and location of the rental.

The new program could pay the entire security deposit  state law says security deposits cant exceed two months of rent, according to a release.

The inability to pay a security deposit creates significant barriers to affordable housing for otherwise qualified families, Executive Director Alana C. Green said in a statement. This new program will make it easier for Section 8 families to secure safe, affordable housing across the St. Louis metropolitan area.
ST. LOUIS  Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Monday afternoon denied Johnny Johnsons clemency request as his defense attorneys turned to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop his execution.

Johnson, 45, was convicted of killing 6-year-old Casey Williamson 21 years ago after luring the child out of her house. The child died in an abandoned glass factory along the Meramec River after she fought back against his attempt to sexually assault her. Williamsons family, who had known Johnson most of his life, had let him sleep on their couch the night before.

Johnson is set to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre.

Parson said he received numerous letters seeking justice for Casey.

Johnny Johnsons crime is one of the most horrific murders that has come across my desk, Parson said in a statement. Casey was an innocent young girl who bravely fought Johnson until he took her life. ... Although this wont bring her back, we hope that carrying out Johnsons sentence according to the courts order may provide some closure for Caseys loved ones.

Johnson has been in custody since the day he killed Williamson. A jury in January 2005 took about three hours to find him guilty of first-degree murder, along with armed criminal action, kidnapping and attempted rape. In March of that year, a judge sentenced him to die by lethal injection and told the court it was perhaps the most heinous crime he had ever presided over.

Johnsons lawyers have argued that his execution would violate the U.S. Constitution because he is incompetent and does not understand why he is being killed. Attorneys say Johnson suffers from a schizophrenia spectrum disorder, the likes of which affect only one third of one percent of the population in the United States.

In their request for a stay Monday, attorneys continued to argue he is incompetent for execution and argued the numerous dissents from judges on the Missouri Supreme Court and Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals demonstrate that his claims of incompetency have merit.

In June, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Johnson failed to prove that his claims of constitutional violations related to his sanity should stop his execution. Johnson then sought relief in federal court but was also denied.

But the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week voted 2-1 to halt his execution. The appeal was then reviewed by a panel of 10 of the 11 judges in that same circuit, and on Saturday, seven of those judges filed a judgment denying Johnsons request.

On Saturday, U.S. Reps. Emanuel Cleaver II of Kansas City and Cori Bush of St. Louis called on Parson to halt Johnsons execution.

Parson has denied clemency requests three times this year, approving the deaths of Amber McLaughlin on Jan. 3, Leonard Taylor on Feb. 7 and Michael Tisius on June 6.

Johnsons siblings and then-girlfriend told the Post-Dispatch in 2002 that Johnson had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and began unraveling after his release from a mental hospital in January 2002. Johnson had stopped taking his medication because it made him feel like a zombie.

The 56 people Missouri has executed since 2000
ST. LOUIS  Lt. Col. Michael Sack on Monday sued the city for racial discrimination, alleging the administration did not promote him to chief because he is white.

He is at least the fourth white officer to sue the department for racial discrimination.

The city has a history of racial discrimination against department employees, both African American and Caucasian, the suit said.

The police leader argued he was qualified to be chief but was not offered the position in either of the citys two searches because he is white and Mayor Tishaura O. Jones wanted to hire a Black police chief.

Sack served as the departments interim chief for about six months and was one of four final candidates for the position last year. He was the only internal candidate in the citys second search for a new chief  Jones called off the previous search because the only two finalists (Sack and Lt. Col. Lawrence OToole) were white men already employed by the department.

There were two Black finalists and two white finalists in the second search.

The suit said Jones intended to hire one of the two Black candidates but one withdrew his name for consideration and the other, Larry Boone, declined the offer because the city could not get him the car he wanted, in addition to the compensation package offered.

The administration went on to hire Robert Tracy, a white man who was the police chief in Wilmington, Delaware, at the time.

The suit argues Sack was not chosen after the two Black candidates declined because it would have shown that he was always qualified.

(Sacks) selection also would have highlighted the time and money wasted in reopening the search, the suit said.

Sacks lawsuit noted that Tracy was hired even though he had been criticized by city council members in Wilmington for racial tensions and a lack of diversity in the department.

It also pointed out that Sack would have accepted the citys salary offer of $175,000, instead of the $275,000 Tracy pulls in because the St. Louis Police Foundation is contributing an annual $100,000 to his pay.

The city declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Sacks attorney, Lynette Petruska, said the conduct is outrageous and she looks forward to litigating the matter in court. She noted Sack could not publicly comment on the lawsuit because he is still employed by the department and that would violate the agencys rules.

Sack is part of the St. Louis Police Leadership Organization, which represents the interests of employees in the department with the rank of sergeant or higher.

The St. Louis Police Leadership Organization has an expectation that all of our members will receive fair and equitable treatment and consideration when they participate in a promotional process in the St. Louis police department, said Sgt. Mickey Owens, president of the organization. When they dont, we support a members decision to seek a remedy from the courts.

The lawsuit also pointed out that since becoming mayor, Jones has appointed 12 new people to cabinet-level positions, 10 of whom are Black. Sack had served as the departments interim chief from June 18, 2022, when former Chief John Hayden retired, until January when the Tracy started.

OToole, the white candidate in Jones first search for a chief, was the departments assistant police chief. He retired in May 2022 after he sued the city, claiming he was passed over for the position of chief in 2017 because of his race. He received just under $162,000 from the city for damages and back pay, according to the settlement.
Death toll from missile attack on Kryvy Rih rises to four, incl 10-year-old child

As a result of a Russian missile attack on Kryvy Rih on Monday, July 31, four people were killed, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said.

"As of 12:10, four people were killed and 43 were injured. The State Emergency Service rescued three people, including a child born in 2013, 30 people were evacuated," the service said on the Telegram channel.

In total, 230 people and 57 pieces of equipment were involved in search and rescue operations, of which 85 rescuers and 22 pieces of equipment were from the State Emergency Service.

In turn, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration said that among the dead was a 10-year-old child. "The search operation continues," he said in the Telegram channel.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY  Authorities on Monday identified the Berkeley man who was killed in a possible hit-and-run in Overland on Saturday.

Officers said Leo Anderson, 57, and his dog died just before 2 a.m. in the 2400 block of Ashby Road when police believe a vehicle left the roadway, ran them over and drove off.
ST. LOUIS  Authorities on Sunday charged a St. Louis man who was arrested Saturday after a shooting in the citys Carondelet neighborhood.

Marcus Taylor, 39, was charged with first-degree domestic assault, two counts of first-degree assault, resisting arrest and three counts of armed criminal action.

Officers said they were responding to an unrelated call on Saturday evening in the 3600 block of Bates Street when they heard a loud noise and saw a woman get out of a vehicle and run toward them screaming, He just shot me.

Taylor got out of that vehicle with a gun, police said, and officers police ordered him to drop the weapon. Taylor fired shots toward the officers, who then returned fire, police said.

The man then ran from the scene, police said. Officers found him in a backyard in the 5500 block of Tennessee Avenue and arrested Taylor.

He remained in police custody Monday with no bail.

The 38-year-old woman was treated at a hospital.

Taylor lives in the citys Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood, police said.
JEFFERSON CITY  A top Missouri senator is raising red flags about an Arkansas companys plan to build a gigantic lagoon in north-central Missouri to store waste it collects from meatpacking facilities.

Senate Majority Leader Cindy OLaughlin said Monday that she plans to attend a meeting later this month to learn more about what Denali Water Solutions plans to do with the 4-acre facility near Jacksonville in Randolph County.

I know were an agricultural state, and I realize people like to eat. But I am concerned about it, said OLaughlin, a Republican from Shelbina. No one is sure exactly what it is.

Denali, which collects waste for companies like Tyson Foods, Conagra Brands and Perdue Farms, wants to build a storage site that will hold up to 18 million gallons of dead animal material and similar waste associated with the meat-packing industry.

OLaughlin said residents have reached out to her to complain about the possible degradation of the area due to potentially noxious smells and the potential for leakage into groundwater and nearby streams.

I know none of the residents of Randolph County look at this very positively, she said.

OLaughlin, the No. 2 member of the Senate, said she will assess whether to introduce legislation after she attends the Aug. 21 meeting in Macon being sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

We may need to kind of tighten the rules, she said.

Denali has raised the ire of residents in southwest Missouri over spraying the discarded remains of chickens, turkeys and cattle on farmland. The company also has faced criticism for a large wastewater pond near Fairview in Newton County in southwest Missouri that was drawing complaints about its smell.

State environmental regulators have investigated a number of Denali-related operations, including one in Scott County in southeast Missouri, where a subcontractor applied the material on farm fields during a May 2022 rain event.

The Department of Natural Resources issued a letter of warning to the subcontractor over the incident, said Brian Quinn, a spokesman for DNRs Division of Environmental Quality.

The company also sought to build a storage facility in Livingston County and was issued a construction permit by DNR. An operating permit was drafted but later withdrawn because Livingston County officials would not issue the company a permit.

DNR also has issued letters of warnings for spills and leakages of similar facilities dating to 2009, Quinn said.

In Randolph County, the company says it will transport sludge to the lagoon via sealed tanker trucks, with some possibly coming from out of state. The trucks will pull along the side of the lagoon and the truck driver will attach a flexible hose to the truck valve and to an unloading pipe that discharges into the lagoon, the application notes.

The companys application says that the material is expected to form a grease cap that minimizes the exchange of odorous gases.

It also claims the grease cap wont attract flies.

This cap will act to reduce the attraction and harborage of rodents and flies as it naturally traps odors and most organic decomposition takes place under the cap, the company said.

OLaughlin said shes discussed the issues with DNR and remains skeptical about the project, primarily because of the concerns about odors.

I really havent gotten enough solid answers, OLaughlin said.
The writers of the op-ed piece Personhood abortion bans are rooted in religion, not science (July 23) have managed to obfuscate language to obscure the reality before them. This is similar to the sophistry used when African slaves were standing on the auction platform. Those in favor of slavery argued the Africans were not persons but property. They argued personhood to fit their own agenda. They refused to see standing before them human beings with beating hearts, eyes hoping for compassion, hands and feet longing for a chance to be set free.
David Nicklaus column "Its time to find alternatives to the harmful St. Louis earnings tax" (July 24) was disappointing. I thought a seasoned and experienced journalist would know better than to accept any self-described "independent research funded by the the Show-me Institute about taxes, particularly the citys earnings tax. To me, it would be like reporting on research on the harmful effects of tobacco on health funded by the tobacco industry, or giving credence to oil and gas industry conclusions on global warming.

Yes, I m sure a 1% tax has a minimal impact on the the decline of the citys population, but come on. How does that factor compare to a 911 system that hasnt worked and continues not to work, marauding teenagers with open-carry semi-automatic weapons, significant shortfall in police in our neighborhoods, and decaying roads and infrastructure? Those questions apparently were not asked by the Show-Me research.

As a city resident, I willingly pay the earnings tax. While I'm certainly not excited about paying it, I believe its a progressive user tax, one paid by those of us who work here and use the citys services regardless of where we might live. Compare this tax to most other Missouri taxes, particular sales tax on food and medicine and our basically flat rate income tax, both of which are clearly regressive. Our state leaders even tried to reduce what is considered another user tax, the gas tax, and replace the income tax with generally regressive state revenues.

I do appreciate Nicklaus for challenging the Show-Me Institute and Rex Sinquefield to show us a way to replace the $200 million that the tax brings in. In the unlikely event they respond, what are the chances it will be with a progressive tax?

Tom Rhodenbaugh  St. Louis
In early July police in Azerbaijan foiled a plot to attack the Israeli embassy, and arrested two Afghan men involved in the plot. Ten days later Mossad (Israeli foreign intelligence) uncovered an Iranian plot to murder Israelis working in Cyprus. This was accomplished by identifying and capturing the Iranian assassin. When interrogated by Mossad, the Iranian man revealed that he was part of a network the Iranian IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) Quds Force was seeking to form in Cyprus. Quds is the section of the IRGC that specializes in foreign operations involving espionage and assassinations. Mossad and Quds have confronted each other in several foreign nations over the last few decades. Quds is usually the loser because Quds is usually engaged in schemes to kill Israelis and the local police will act if the foreign killers are pointed out. When Mossad discovered this plot, they sent agents into Iran to capture and extract the Iranian who organized this Quds effort. Israeli interrogators discovered that the Iranian effort in Cyprus was extensive, but now they had names of the people involved and had them arrested by Cypriot authorities.

The Quds operation in neighboring Azerbaijan was about Israel and Azerbaijan establishing formal diplomatic relations and opening embassies in both nations. Azerbaijan has other reasons to prefer dealing with Israel rather than Iran. About a quarter of Iran's population is Azeri (a Turkic people). Persia and its successor Iran controlled almost all Azeri-populated territory until Russia seized part of it in the 19th century. For a while after World War I, and since the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Azeris were independent. While the Iranian Azeris are generally loyal to Iran, they are still Turks and speak a different language than the ethnic Iranians. Seeing Azerbaijan allying itself with Israel, for whatever reason, does not sit well with Iran, but there's not a lot it can do about this. Iran was not able to provide the weapons or other military assistance the Azeris needed to overcome the Armenian threat, so the Israelis were called in, and later Turkey as well. The Azeris have proved to be good allies. They have detected and destroyed Iran sponsored terrorism efforts, like one that was planning to attack Israelis in Azerbaijan. Iran was believed behind this plot, and Azerbaijan did not appreciate it. Azerbaijan has bought several billion dollars worth of Israeli weapons over the last fifteen years.

Iran might try again in Cyprus, because thats what Quds Force does. Quds is often successful if their local efforts do not involve killing Israelis. Even in those cases the Quds operation may be compromised by Mossad, which will tell local police about what Quds is up to. The IRGC is not pleased with all this Mossad interference, especially when it involves Mossad agents operating inside Iran. Quds is also dismayed at their inability to operate inside Israel. The best Quds can do is get some operatives into nations bordering Israel, including the Palestinian West Bank. Quds supporters in the West Bank dont last long because Israeli police and soldiers often stage raids in the West Bank to capture Palestinians planning attacks against Israel. Quds is safer in Lebanon or Syria, but not in Jordan or Egypt. Iran is not on good terms with Egypt or Jordan. Mossad will often warn Jordan or Egypt if there is new Iranian activity in their countries.

Despite all these setbacks, Iran has increased its efforts to carry out attacks inside Israel. The IRGC is taking the lead with its Quds Force, which specializes in attacks against foreign enemies. Shin Bet, the Israeli domestic intelligence service, recently arrested two West Bank Palestinians who had been recruited, via the Internet, by Quds Force as part of an effort to establish a network of Palestinians in the West Bank who had been trained and organized by Quds to carry out attacks against Israelis using rockets launched from the West Bank. This Quds network would also provide Iran with information on the West Bank. Such a network has not yet been established, in large part because Shin Bet detects Quds activities and often monitors them rather than immediately shutting them down. That was the case with the two recently arrested Palestinians, who had been sent to Turkey where Quds could provide training. Shin Bet waited until it had identified other Palestinians working for Quds.

Iran spends about $100 million a year to support its operations among Palestinians. Over the last few years, some of that activity moved from Gaza to the West Bank. The West Bank is run by Fatah, a more corrupt, and less comfortable with Quds, Palestinian government. Fatah is very hostile towards rival Hamas members from Gaza operating in the West Bank. The growing presence of Hamas and Quds in the West Bank caused Fatah to become more cooperative with Israel and its many intelligence and counterintelligence organizations. Quds is spending a lot of money in the West Bank and Fatah insists on getting a share of anyones new spending in their domain. Shin Bet has a network of local informants in the West Bank, as well as in Gaza and Turkey. Israel also has an extensive Internet monitoring operation that searches for, and often detects, new efforts to use the Internet in support of attacks on Israel.

Iran knows that Israel is a formidable opponent, especially in the West Bank and Gaza. Just having a recruiting network in the West Bank is seen as an achievement, even though it has been expensive. For example, a year ago Shin Bet arrested four members of a Hamas terrorist cell (group) that had received training in Syria and Turkey before returning to the West Bank, where they were arrested. Quds was involved with this.

At the same time Israeli media and an Iranian opposition group revealed that Israeli Mossad and Shin Bet personnel had gone to Iran in 2021. There they seized and interrogated Mansour Rasouli, a member of Quds Force Unit 840, which carries out assassinations overseas. Rasouli admitted that he had been assigned to arrange the assassination of an Israeli diplomat in Turkey, an American general officer stationed in Germany and a journalist in France. The IRGC was providing him with $150,000 to plan the killings and another million dollars if all three subjects were killed. Rasouli planned to hire contract killers via his contacts in drug smuggling gangs.

Audio, and later video, of key portions of the interrogation were leaked. Rasouli confessed because his interrogators already knew a lot about the plot. He was released and the Israeli interrogators left Iran. Rasouli and his IRGC superiors called off the assassinations because they knew the interrogation had been recorded, the targets had been alerted, and had received additional security. There was an understanding that, if Iran backed off on these killings, the Israelis would remain silent about the interrogation. Why this evidence was leaked in 2022 may have something to do with the Israeli opposition to the 2022 Biden administrations willingness to not merely revive the 2015 treaty reducing American sanctions on Iran, but also to modify its terms to make it easier for Iran to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles for use on Israel. Billions of dollars in frozen accounts would be returned to Iran and, if the Americans went ahead with taking the Iranian IRGC and its Quds Force off the list of known terrorists, there would be a lot more violence in the Middle East. Iran saw the 2015 treaty suspended by a new American government in 2018 because of Iranian cheating.

Audio, and later video, of key portions of the interrogation were leaked. Rasouli confessed because his interrogators already knew a lot about the plot. He was released and the Israeli interrogators left Iran. Rasouli and his IRGC superiors called off the assassinations because they knew the interrogation had been recorded, the targets had been alerted, and had received additional security. There was an understanding that, if Iran backed off on these killings, the Israelis would remain silent about the interrogation. Why this evidence was leaked in 2022 may have something to do with the Israeli opposition to the 2018 American willingness to not merely revive the 2015 treaty reducing American sanctions on Iran, but also to modify its terms to make it easier for Iran to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles for use on Israel. Billions of dollars in frozen accounts would be returned to Iran and, if the Americans went ahead with taking the Iranian IRGC and its Quds Force off the list of known terrorists, there would be a lot more violence in the Middle East. Iran saw the 2015 treaty suspended by a new American government in 2018 because of Iranian cheating.

Then came the 2020 American presidential elections, which put into power another new president seemingly determined to change American policies towards Iran and ignore Arab oil states complaints about Iranian threats and attacks on them. This has driven many Gulf oil states into an economic alliance with Russia to drive up the price of oil. This policy makes it easier for Iran to smuggle more of its heavily discounted oil. That plan survived the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine and even more economic sanctions. Opposition from the Arabs and American voters is having an impact and revival of the 2015 treaty may not happen. Otherwise, Israel has made it clear it will carry out attacks on Iranian targets key to nuclear and ballistic missile development and production. The Arab oil states will cooperate, and continue refusing to increase production to lower world oil prices.

Meanwhile Hamas complained that Turkey expelled dozens of Hamas members. These expulsions are part of the Turkish effort to repair their relations with Israel.
Streaming Sustainability and Imaginary Bridges in the Cloud

From the far side of the Atlantic, neocon Liz Trusss fleeting tenure as British prime minister last Autumn had a certain dont doomscroll too fast or youll miss it quality. But I was gobsmacked when Truss identified left-leaning historian Rick Perlsteinmaster chronicler of the rise of Americas New Right from 19601980as a favourite author by whom shed read anything.

Apparently, Truss is particularly enamoured of the epigraph of Perlsteins third book, Invisible Bridgea bit of advice Richard Nixon once received from Nikita Khrushchev: If the people believe theres an imaginary river out there, you dont tell them theres no river there. You build an imaginary bridge over the imaginary river.

Perlstein argues that recognising New Right icon Ronald Reagans talent for making voters see imaginary bridges is essential to understanding how the former president sold supply-side fantasies (recently rebranded Trussonomics in the UK) to the American people. Leaving no one more baffled than Perlstein himself, Truss apparently took the quote as a model for winning governance and perhaps imagined she was honouring the historian by crediting him with the idea.

This is roughly equivalent to Amazon Web Services (AWS) crediting Dom Robinson and Tim Siglinwho have consistently called out greenwashing in the streaming industry in their Greening of Streaming articlesas inspiration for the companys deceptive sustainability initiatives. Amazon (like fellow tech giants Apple and Google) was greenwashing well before Streaming Media or Greening of Streaming started talking about it, and its long profited from fashioning imaginary bridges to a sustainable, carbon-neutral future.

AWS continues to trumpet unverifiable claims of its reliance on carbon-footprint-minimising green electricity, allowing the company to underestimate its environmental impact by 90%95%, and mask projected 20% YOY increases in indirect, supply-chain emissions. But help may be on the way in the US, as new climate risk disclosures mandated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for publicly traded companies should dramatically increase accountability, particularly for Scope 3 (indirect) emissions, which pertain specifically to an organizations supply chain. As Kibo121 principal and CEO Barbara Lange said on a sustainability panel at Streaming Media West last November, Thats going to push that sustainability discussion down the chain, because every company is a Scope 3 component to somebody else.

Meanwhile, Draft European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS E1) recently became available as well, with detailed disclosure requirements and assessment criteria for sustainability-related performance, climate-related material impacts, energy consumption and mix, climate-specific targets that companies have adopted, and more. As with the SEC mandate, the ESRS document includes disclosure requirements for Scopes 1, 2, and 3 and total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These reporting standards apply to any organization in the EU engaged in international trade.

Given that very few organizations currently meet the standards outlined in the document, with most falling considerably short, opinions vary on how effectively the EU will succeed in enforcing these standards and whether imposing them too rapidly will only drive non-compliant companies and accomplished greenwashers to greater lengths to avoid or feign compliance. Regarding the streaming industry in particular, Greening of Streaming founder Dom Robinson contends than any concerted efforts to rush the industry into reporting is causing a lot of nonsense data to emerge and thus increasing the risk of (consciously or not) greenwashing entire swaths of significant power demand.

Only time will tell how successful these measures will be in the near-term (or how much of the long-term their failure might costs us). There are certainly ethical and efficient ways to approach sustainability, even for companies beyond the reach of the SEC and ESRS, and some of them are outlined in Tim Siglins upcoming article on sustainability best practices (watch this page). Beyond following Tims recommendations in that piece, heres the best advice I can give you: dont just read anything by Tim Siglin and Dom Robinson on the subjectread everything.

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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / CMC Metals Ltd. (TSX-V:CMB)(Frankfurt:ZM5P)(:OTCQB:CMCXF) ("CMC" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has intersected mineralization in the second hole drilled within the Silverknife prospect, north-central British Columbia. Mineralization has been observed in several intersections of limestones in the Kechika Formation and is characteristic of silver-lead-zinc "CRD style" mineralization. It comprises of manganese alteration, sphalerite, galena, and zincite. Examination of the core with XRF has also indicated the possible presence of manganese, other iron sulfides, zinc, lead, and possibly gold. Core is being prepared for assaying which will include testing for critical minerals such as germanium and gallium. The first hole intersected the contact between the sediments and the granite-granodiorite intrusive which is important as it indicates the possibility that the mineralization is resultant from the intrusion which provides the heat source for the movement of mineralized fluids into the overlying sediments. Approximately 700 meters of the proposed 3,000 meter drill program for the 2023 exploration season has been completed to date.

The Silverknife property is located immediately west of the Silvertip Mine property owned by Coeur Mining ("Coeur"). The Silvertip Mine is one of the highest-grade underground silver-lead-zinc deposits in the world. Mineralization in the area is known to be characteristic of carbonate replacement style deposits and recent modelling of the Silvertip deposit has postulated the possibility of mineralization occurring throughout the significant sedimentary package with thickness of up to 2,500 meters. Of interesting note is that Coeur also postulated on the prospectivity of other sediments deeper in the sedimentary package such as the Kechika Group as possible targets for "CRD" and critical minerals mineralization.

CMC completed a gravity survey over the Silverknife Prospect which identified a significant gravity anomaly coincident with previous geophysical (conductivity/EM) and geochemical anomalies. The Company is awaiting the geophysical report from Intelligent Exploration before providing any further comment. Plans are underway to continue drilling in the area to further define the extent of mineralization in the area of the prospect. The historic Silverknife Prospect which was subjected to drilling in the mid 1980's that identified significant CRD mineralization that was reported to remain open in several directions. 3-D modelling has shown that previous drilling on the Silverknife Prospect was conducted on the edge of the conductors and was in close proximity to the recently identified gravity anomaly.

CMC has also completed two drill holes in close proximity to the gravity/conductivity anomaly just south of the Tootsee River and intersected granite-granodiorite intrusive rocks. No outcrops are observed in this area but immediately north of the intrusive and the Tootsee River, limestone sequences of the McDame Formation have been identified and are coincident with the gravity/conductivity anomaly. The presence of McDame limestones in close proximity to a heat source presents an ideal setting for CRD mineralization. Drilling north of the Tootsee River requires widening of existing trails in the area to permit accessibility by drilling equipment and work has begin on determining the most viable route to reach the exploration target area. This area will likely be targeted in the 2024 season as it is expected to take a couple of months to prepare the access road.

Mr. John Bossio, Chairman noted, "Intersecting CRD style mineralization in the area of the Silverknife Prospect in the early stages of our drilling program for this season is a very exciting development. We are using a combination of data including geophysical, geochemical and geological data to identify additional areas to target with our diamond drilling efforts."

Mr. Kevin Brewer P. Geo, President and CEO noted, "Confirming the presence of mineralization in Kechika limestones in close proximity to the intrusive (heat source") contact is helping our geological team to understand the mineralizing system at Silverknife. Close to the intrusive-sediment contact the units were altered with hornfels and skarn development as one would expect in a CRD system and the presence of mineralization in several different intersections shows the potential to discover chimney and manto style systems within the Kechika Group and possibly overlying sediments that occur in the central and southern part of the Silverknife Property. Our work will continue to focus on understanding the mineralizing system in this area to effectively identify drill targets for the remainder of this season and into 2024."

Qualified Person

Qualified Person Kevin Brewer, a registered professional geoscientist, is the Company's President and CEO, and Qualified Person (as defined by National Instrument 43-101). He has given his approval of the technical information pertaining reported herein. The Company is committed to meeting the highest standards of integrity, transparency and consistency in reporting technical content, including geological reporting, geophysical investigations, environmental and baseline studies, engineering studies, metallurgical testing, assaying and all other technical data.

About CMC Metals Ltd.

CMC Metals Ltd. is a growth stage exploration company focused on opportunities for high grade polymetallic deposits in Yukon, British Columbia and Newfoundland. Our polymetallic silver-lead-zinc CRD prospects in the Rancheria Silver District include the Silverknife project (British Columbia), located in very close proximity to one of the world's highest grade underground silver-lead-zinc mines in the world (owned by Coeur Mining Inc.), the Silver Hart Deposit and Blue Heaven claims (Yukon), Amy claims located 7km west of the Silverknife claims (British Columbia). Our polymetallic projects with potential for copper-silver-gold and other metals include Bridal Veil, Terra Nova (optioned to Highbank Mining Inc.), and Rodney Pond (central Newfoundland) and Logjam (Yukon).

On behalf of the Board:

"John Bossio"

John Bossio, Chairman

CMC Metals Ltd.

For Further Information and Investor Inquiries:

Kevin Brewer, P. Geo., MBA, B.Sc.(Hons), Dip. Mine Eng.

President, CEO and Director

Tel: (709) 327 8013

[email protected]

Suite 1000-409 Granville St.

Vancouver, BC., V6C 1T2

To be added to CMC's news distribution list, please send an email to [email protected] or contact Mr. Kevin Brewer directly.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

"This news release may contain certain statements that constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law, including without limitation, statements that address the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles and exploitation activities and developments. In this release disclosure regarding the potential to undertake future exploration work comprise forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions. While such estimates and assumptions are considered reasonable by the management of the Company, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive and regulatory uncertainties and risks, including the ability of the Company to raise the funds necessary to fund its projects, to carry out the work and, accordingly, may not occur as described herein or at all. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, the timing and receipt of government and regulatory approvals, the impact of the constantly evolving COVID-19 pandemic crisis and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. Readers are referred to the Company's filings with the Canadian securities regulators for information on these and other risk factors, available at www.sedar.com. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and, accordingly are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty of such statements. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable securities legislation."

SOURCE: CMC Metals Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / Hannan Metals Limited ("Hannan" or the "Company") (TSXV:HAN)(OTC PINK:HANNF) announces that Ms. Ciara Talbot, who has served as Director of the Company since October 2017, will be resigning from her position, effective July 31, 2023. Ms. Talbot's decision to step down is a result of recent professional changes.

Michael Hudson, Chairman and CEO states, "We would like to thank Ciara for her extensive contributions during her tenure as Non-Executive Director of the Company over the last 6 years. Her perspective and balance will be greatly missed. We wish her well in her future endeavors."

About Hannan Metals Limited (TSXV:HAN)(OTC PINK:HANNF)

Hannan Metals Limited is a natural resources and exploration company developing sustainable resources of metal needed to meet the transition to a low carbon economy. Over the last decade, the team behind Hannan has forged a long and successful record of discovering, financing, and advancing mineral projects in Europe and Peru. Hannan is a top ten in-country explorer by area in Peru.

On behalf of the Board, "Michael Hudson"

Michael Hudson, Chairman & CEO Further Information

www.hannanmetals.com

1305 - 1090 West Georgia St., Vancouver, BC, V6E 3V7

Mariana Bermudez, Corporate Secretary,

+1 (604) 685 9316, [email protected]

Forward Looking Statements. Certain disclosure contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information or forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. These statements may relate to this news release and other matters identified in the Company's public filings. In making the forward-looking statements the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: the political environment in which the Company operates continuing to support the development and operation of mining projects; the threat associated with outbreaks of viruses and infectious diseases, including the novel COVID-19 virus; risks related to negative publicity with respect to the Company or the mining industry in general; planned work programs; permitting; and community relations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by 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 adequacy or accuracy of this news.

SOURCE: Hannan Metals Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:
SYRACUSE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Community Bank System, Inc. (the Company) (NYSE: CBU) reported second quarter 2023 results that are included in the attached supplement. This earnings release, including supporting financial tables, is also available within the press releases section of the Company's investor relations website at: https://ir.communitybanksystem.com/news-presentations/press-releases/. An archived webcast of the earnings call will be available on this site for one full year.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230731790156/en/

Second Quarter 2023 Performance Highlights Summary

Second Quarter 2023 Net Income of $48.3 million, or $0.89 per fully-diluted share, was up $8.5 million, or $0.16 per fully-diluted share, from the prior years second quarter

Operating Net Income, a non-GAAP measure, of $49.1 million, or $0.91 per fully-diluted share, was up $2.8 million, or $0.06 per fully-diluted share, from the prior years second quarter

Total Loans of $9.17 billion, was up $188.4 million, or 2.1%, from the end of the prior quarter

Total Financial Services (Employee Benefit Services, Insurance Services and Wealth Management Services) Revenues of $48.3 million, was up $1.4 million, or 3.1%, from the prior years second quarter

Annualized Loan Net Charge-Offs of 0.03% was down 0.04 percentage points from the end of the prior quarter

Tier 1 Leverage Ratio of 9.35% was up 0.29 percentage points from the end of the prior quarter

Company management will conduct an investor call at 11:00 a.m. (ET) today, July 31, 2023, to discuss the second quarter 2023 results. The conference call can be accessed at 1-833-630-0464 (1-412-317-1809 if outside the United States and Canada). Investors may also listen live via the Internet at: https://app.webinar.net/4bGKa4M5koZ.

About Community Bank System, Inc.

Community Bank System, Inc. is a diversified financial services company focused on four main business lines  banking, benefits administration, insurance services and wealth management with total assets of $15.1 billion. Its banking subsidiary, Community Bank, N.A., is among the countrys 100 largest banking institutions and operates more than 200 customer facilities across Upstate New York, Northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Western Massachusetts. In addition to a full range of retail, business, and municipal banking services, the Company offers comprehensive financial planning, trust administration and wealth management services through its Community Bank Wealth Management operating unit. The Companys Benefit Plans Administrative Services, Inc. subsidiary is a leading provider of employee benefits administration, trust services, collective investment fund administration, and actuarial consulting services to customers on a national scale. The Companys OneGroup NY, Inc. subsidiary is a top 100 U.S. insurance agency. Community Bank System, Inc. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Companys stock trades under the symbol CBU. For more information about Community Bank visit www.cbna.com or https://ir.communitybanksystem.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230731790156/en/

Joseph E. Sutaris, EVP & Chief Financial Officer

(315) 445-7396

Source: Community Bank System, Inc.
As a result of a Russian missile attack on Kryvy Rih on Monday, July 31, some 53 people were injured, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration Serhiy Lysak has said.

"Four were killed. There are already 53 victims. Five of them are children," Lysak said on the Telegram channel.

He said 150 people were able to get out of the damaged house on their own, another 30 were taken out by rescuers.

As reported, as a result of Russian shelling on Monday morning in Kryvy Rih, two misisles hit an educational institution and a residential building. Earlier it was known about four dead and 44 injured. Among the dead was a ten-year-old child.
Jemperli is the only immuno-oncology treatment approved in the frontline setting for this patient population in combination with chemotherapy

is the only immuno-oncology treatment approved in the frontline setting for this patient population in combination with chemotherapy Patients with this type of endometrial cancer face significant unmet need and typically experience poor long-term outcomes with the current standard of care

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- GSK plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Jemperli (dostarlimab-gxly) in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel, followed by Jemperli as a single agent for the treatment of adult patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer that is mismatch repair deficient (dMMR), as determined by an FDA-approved test, or microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H). The supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) supporting this new indication received Priority Review and was approved ahead of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act action date.

Hesham Abdullah, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Oncology Development, GSK, said: Todays expanded approval of Jemperli redefines the treatment landscape for patients with dMMR/MSI-H primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer. Until now, chemotherapy alone has been the standard of care with many patients experiencing disease progression. In the RUBY trial, Jemperli plus chemotherapy demonstrated a 71% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death versus chemotherapy in this patient population, providing a statistically significant and clinically meaningful benefit. These results and todays approval underscore our belief in the potential for Jemperli to transform cancer treatment as a backbone immuno-oncology therapy.

With this approval, Jemperli is now indicated earlier in treatment in combination with chemotherapy for patients with dMMR/MSI-H primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer. Jemperli is already approved in the US as monotherapy in adult patients with dMMR recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer that has progressed on or following a prior platinum-containing regimen in any setting and are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation.

Matthew Powell, MD, Chief, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, and US principal investigator of the RUBY trial said: As a clinician, I celebrate the practice-changing potential of adding Jemperli to chemotherapy for patients with dMMR/MSI-H primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer who have had limited treatment options. Based on the results from the RUBY clinical trial, I look forward to the addition of Jemperli to chemotherapy becoming a new standard of care for patients.

Wenora Johnson, President, Board of Directors, Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE) said: The endometrial cancer community is thrilled by todays news, which changes the treatment paradigm for a population with long-term unmet needs. FORCE is grateful for the many participants and researchers who contributed to this important study. As an endometrial cancer survivor, I know how much this approval offers hope for patients with primary advanced or recurrent dMMR/MSI-H endometrial cancer.

The FDA approval is supported by interim analysis results from Part 1 of the RUBY/ENGOT-EN6/GOG3031/NSGO phase III trial, which reflect a robust median duration of follow-up of  25 months. The trial met the primary endpoint of investigator-assessed progression-free survival (PFS), demonstrating a statistically significant and clinically meaningful benefit in patients treated with Jemperli plus carboplatin and paclitaxel in the dMMR/MSI-H population. In the dMMR/MSI-H population, a 71% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death was observed. Part 1 of the RUBY trial continues to assess overall survival (OS) in the intent-to-treat (ITT) population, a dual-primary endpoint alongside investigator-assessed PFS.

The safety and tolerability profile for Jemperli plus carboplatin and paclitaxel was generally consistent with the known safety profiles of the individual agents. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events ( 20%) in patients receiving Jemperli plus chemotherapy were rash, diarrhea, hypothyroidism and hypertension.

The RUBY trial data were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Virtual Plenary and Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting on 27 March 2023, and were simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

The sBLA supporting this new indication was reviewed under the FDA Oncology Center of Excellence Project Orbis Framework, which allowed for concurrent submission to and review by US and other international regulatory authorities. As part of Project Orbis, the application remains under review in Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Singapore and the United Kingdom. A marketing authorization application is also under review by the European Medicines Agency.

About endometrial cancer

Endometrial cancer is one of the most common gynecologic cancers in developed countries,[1] and there are about 60,000 new cases of endometrial cancer diagnosed every year in the US. [2] Approximately 15-20% of patients with endometrial cancer will be diagnosed with advanced disease at the time of diagnosis. [3] [4] An estimated 20-29% of all endometrial cancers are dMMR/MSI-H.[5] Chemotherapy used alone has been the current standard of care for primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, and many patients eventually experience disease progression.[6]

About RUBY

RUBY is a two-part global, randomized, double-blind, multicenter phase III trial of patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer. Part 1 is evaluating dostarlimab-gxly plus carboplatin-paclitaxel followed by dostarlimab-gxly versus carboplatin-paclitaxel plus placebo followed by placebo. Part 2 is evaluating dostarlimab-gxly plus carboplatin-paclitaxel followed by dostarlimab-gxly plus niraparib versus placebo plus carboplatin-paclitaxel followed by placebo.

The dual-primary endpoints in Part 1 are investigator-assessed PFS based on the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors v1.1 and OS. The statistical analysis plan included pre-specified analyses of PFS in the dMMR/MSI-H and ITT populations and OS in the overall population. Pre-specified exploratory analyses of PFS in the mismatch repair proficient (MMRp)/microsatellite stable (MSS) population and OS in the dMMR/MSI-H populations were also performed. RUBY Part 1 included a broad population, including histologies often excluded from clinical trials and had approximately 10% of patients with carcinosarcoma and 20% with serous carcinoma. In Part 2, the primary endpoint is investigator-assessed PFS. Secondary endpoints in Part 1 and Part 2 include PFS per blinded independent central review, overall response rate, duration of response, disease control rate, patient-reported outcomes, and safety and tolerability.

About Jemperli (dostarlimab-gxly)

Jemperli is a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1)-blocking antibody that binds to the PD-1 receptor and blocks its interaction with the PD-1 ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2. [7]

Jemperli was discovered by AnaptysBio, Inc. and licensed to TESARO, Inc., under a collaboration and exclusive license agreement signed in March 2014. The collaboration has resulted in three monospecific antibody therapies that have progressed into the clinic. These are: Jemperli (GSK4057190), a PD-1 antagonist; cobolimab, (GSK4069889), a TIM-3 antagonist; and GSK4074386, a LAG-3 antagonist. GSK is responsible for the ongoing research, development, commercialisation, and manufacturing of each of these medicines under the agreement.

Indications and Important Safety Information for JEMPERLI (dostarlimab-gxly)

JEMPERLI, in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel, followed by JEMPERLI as a single agent, is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer (EC) that is mismatch repair deficient (dMMR), as determined by an FDA-approved test, or microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H).

JEMPERLI, as a single agent, is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with dMMR recurrent or advanced: EC, as determined by an FDA-approved test, that has progressed on or following prior treatment with a platinum-containing regimen in any setting and are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation, or solid tumors, as determined by an FDA-approved test, that have progressed on or following prior treatment and who have no satisfactory alternative treatment options. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in a confirmatory trial(s).



Important Safety Information

Severe and Fatal Immune-Mediated Adverse Reactions

Immune-mediated adverse reactions, which can be severe or fatal, can occur in any organ system or tissue and can occur at any time during or after treatment with a PD-1/PD-L1blocking antibody, including JEMPERLI.

Monitor closely for signs and symptoms of immune-mediated adverse reactions. Evaluate liver enzymes, creatinine, and thyroid function tests at baseline and periodically during treatment. For suspected immune-mediated adverse reactions, initiate appropriate workup to exclude alternative etiologies, including infection. Institute medical management promptly, including specialty consultation as appropriate.

Based on the severity of the adverse reaction, withhold or permanently discontinue JEMPERLI. In general, if JEMPERLI requires interruption or discontinuation, administer systemic corticosteroids (1 to 2 mg/kg/day prednisone or equivalent) until improvement to Grade 1. Upon improvement to Grade 1, initiate corticosteroid taper and continue to taper over at least 1 month. Consider administration of other systemic immunosuppressants in patients whose immune-mediated adverse reaction is not controlled with corticosteroids.

Immune-Mediated Pneumonitis

JEMPERLI can cause immune-mediated pneumonitis, which can be fatal. In patients treated with other PD-1/PD-L1blocking antibodies, the incidence of pneumonitis is higher in patients who have received prior thoracic radiation. Pneumonitis occurred in 2.3% (14/605) of patients, including Grade 2 (1.3%), Grade 3 (0.8%), and Grade 4 (0.2%) pneumonitis.

Immune-Mediated Colitis

Colitis occurred in 1.3% (8/605) of patients, including Grade 2 (0.7%) and Grade 3 (0.7%) adverse reactions. Cytomegalovirus infection/reactivation have occurred in patients with corticosteroid-refractory immune-mediated colitis. In such cases, consider repeating infectious workup to exclude alternative etiologies.

Immune-Mediated Hepatitis

JEMPERLI can cause immune-mediated hepatitis, which can be fatal. Grade 3 hepatitis occurred in 0.5% (3/605) of patients.

Immune-Mediated Endocrinopathies

Adrenal Insufficiency Adrenal insufficiency occurred in 1.2% (7/605) of patients, including Grade 2 (0.5%) and Grade 3 (0.7%). For Grade 2 or higher adrenal insufficiency, initiate symptomatic treatment per institutional guidelines, including hormone replacement as clinically indicated. Withhold or permanently discontinue JEMPERLI depending on severity.

Hypophysitis JEMPERLI can cause immune-mediated hypophysitis. Grade 3 hypophysitis occurred in 0.4% (1/241) of patients receiving JEMPERLI in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel. Grade 2 hypophysitis occurred in 0.2% (1/605) of patients receiving JEMPERLI as a single agent. Initiate hormone replacement as clinically indicated. Withhold or permanently discontinue JEMPERLI depending on severity.

Thyroid Disorders Grade 2 thyroiditis occurred in 0.5% (3/605) of patients. Grade 2 hypothyroidism occurred in 12% (28/241) of patients receiving JEMPERLI in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel. Grade 2 hypothyroidism occurred in 8% (46/605) of patients receiving JEMPERLI as a single agent. Hyperthyroidism occurred in 3.3% (8/241) of patients receiving JEMPERLI in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel, including Grade 2 (2.9%) and Grade 3 (0.4%). Hyperthyroidism occurred in 2.3% (14/605) of patients receiving JEMPERLI as a single agent, including Grade 2 (2.1%) and Grade 3 (0.2%). Initiate thyroid hormone replacement or medical management of hyperthyroidism as clinically indicated. Withhold or permanently discontinue JEMPERLI depending on severity.

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus, Which Can Present with Diabetic Ketoacidosis JEMPERLI can cause type 1 diabetes mellitus, which can present with diabetic ketoacidosis. Grade 3 type 1 diabetes mellitus occurred in 0.4% (1/241) of patients receiving JEMPERLI in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel. Grade 3 type 1 diabetes mellitus occurred in 0.2% (1/605) of patients receiving JEMPERLI as a single agent. Monitor patients for hyperglycemia or other signs and symptoms of diabetes. Initiate treatment with insulin as clinically indicated. Withhold or permanently discontinue JEMPERLI depending on severity.



Immune-Mediated Nephritis with Renal Dysfunction

JEMPERLI can cause immune-mediated nephritis, which can be fatal. Grade 2 nephritis, including tubulointerstitial nephritis, occurred in 0.5% (3/605) of patients.

Immune-Mediated Dermatologic Adverse Reactions

JEMPERLI can cause immune-mediated rash or dermatitis. Bullous and exfoliative dermatitis, including Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), and drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), have occurred with PD-1/PD-L1blocking antibodies. Topical emollients and/or topical corticosteroids may be adequate to treat mild to moderate non-bullous/exfoliative rashes. Withhold or permanently discontinue JEMPERLI depending on severity.

Other Immune-Mediated Adverse Reactions

The following clinically significant immune-mediated adverse reactions occurred in

Nervous System: Meningitis, encephalitis, myelitis and demyelination, myasthenic syndrome/myasthenia gravis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, nerve paresis, autoimmune neuropathy

Meningitis, encephalitis, myelitis and demyelination, myasthenic syndrome/myasthenia gravis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, nerve paresis, autoimmune neuropathy Cardiac/Vascular: Myocarditis, pericarditis, vasculitis

Myocarditis, pericarditis, vasculitis Ocular: Uveitis, iritis, other ocular inflammatory toxicities. Some cases can be associated with retinal detachment. Various grades of visual impairment to include blindness can occur

Uveitis, iritis, other ocular inflammatory toxicities. Some cases can be associated with retinal detachment. Various grades of visual impairment to include blindness can occur Gastrointestinal: Pancreatitis, including increases in serum amylase and lipase levels, gastritis, duodenitis

Pancreatitis, including increases in serum amylase and lipase levels, gastritis, duodenitis Musculoskeletal and Connective Tissue: Myositis/polymyositis, rhabdomyolysis and associated sequelae including renal failure, arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica

Myositis/polymyositis, rhabdomyolysis and associated sequelae including renal failure, arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica Endocrine: Hypoparathyroidism

Hypoparathyroidism Other (Hematologic/Immune): Autoimmune hemolytic anemia, aplastic anemia, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, systemic inflammatory response syndrome, histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis (Kikuchi lymphadenitis), sarcoidosis, immune thrombocytopenia, solid organ transplant rejection

Infusion-Related Reactions

Severe or life-threatening infusion-related reactions have been reported with PD-1/PD-L1blocking antibodies. Severe infusion-related reactions (Grade 3) occurred in 0.2% (1/605) of patients receiving JEMPERLI. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of infusion-related reactions. Interrupt or slow the rate of infusion or permanently discontinue JEMPERLI based on severity of reaction.

Complications of Allogeneic HSCT

Fatal and other serious complications can occur in patients who receive allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) before or after treatment with a PD-1/PD-L1blocking antibody, which may occur despite intervening therapy. Monitor patients closely for transplant-related complications and intervene promptly.

Embryo-Fetal Toxicity and Lactation

Based on its mechanism of action, JEMPERLI can cause fetal harm. Advise pregnant women of the potential risk to a fetus. Advise females of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment with JEMPERLI and for 4 months after their last dose. Because of the potential for serious adverse reactions from JEMPERLI in a breastfed child, advise women not to breastfeed during treatment with JEMPERLI and for 4 months after their last dose.

Common Adverse Reactions

The most common adverse reactions (20%) in patients with dMMR/MSI-H EC who received JEMPERLI in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel were rash, diarrhea, hypothyroidism, and hypertension. The most common Grade 3 or 4 laboratory abnormalities (10%) were decreased neutrophils, decreased hemoglobin, decreased white blood cell count, decreased lymphocytes, increased glucose, decreased sodium, and decreased platelets.

The most common adverse reactions (20%) in patients with dMMR EC who received JEMPERLI as a single agent were fatigue/asthenia, anemia, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, and rash. The most common Grade 3 or 4 laboratory abnormalities (>2%) were decreased lymphocytes, decreased sodium, increased alanine aminotransferase, increased creatinine, decreased neutrophils, decreased albumin, and increased alkaline phosphatase.

The most common adverse reactions (20%) in patients with dMMR solid tumors who received JEMPERLI as a single agent were fatigue/asthenia, anemia, diarrhea, and nausea. The most common Grade 3 or 4 laboratory abnormalities (2%) were decreased lymphocytes, decreased sodium, increased alkaline phosphatase, and decreased albumin.

Please see accompanying US Prescribing Information.

GSK in oncology

GSK is committed to maximizing patient survival through transformational medicines, with a current focus on breakthroughs in immuno-oncology and tumor-cell targeting therapies, and development in hematologic malignancies, gynecologic cancers and other solid tumors.

About GSK

GSK is a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together. Find out more at us.gsk.com.

Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements

GSK cautions investors that any forward-looking statements or projections made by GSK, including those made in this announcement, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Such factors include, but are not limited to, those described under Item 3.D 'Risk factors in the company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2022, and Q2 Results for 2023 and any impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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References

__________________________________

1 Faizan U, Muppidi V. Uterine Cancer. [Updated 2022 Sep 5]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK562313/.

2 American Cancer Society. Key Statistics For Endometrial Cancer. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/endometrial-cancer/about/key-statistics.html. Updated February 14, 2022. Accessed March 29, 2023.

3 Cerner Enviza CancerMPact Patient Metrics 2022. CMP:CancerMPact [Patient Metrics], Cerner Enviza. Available from www.cancermpact.com. Accessed 11 May 2023.

4 CancerMPact [Treatment Architecture], Cerner Enviza. Available from www.cancermpact.com. Accessed 11 May 2023.

5 Cerner Enviza CancerMPact [Treatment Architecture]. Available from www.cancermpact.com. Accessed 14 Apr 2023.

6 Halla K. Emerging Treatment Options for Advanced or Recurrent Endometrial Cancer. J Adv Pract Oncol. 2022 Jan;13(1):45-59. doi: 10.6004/jadpro.2022.13.1.4. Epub 2022 Feb 1. PMID: 35173988; PMCID: PMC8805805.

7 Laken H, Kehry M, Mcneeley P, et al. Identification and characterization of TSR-042, a novel anti-human PD-1 therapeutic antibody. European Journal of Cancer. 2016;69,S102. doi:10.1016/s0959-8049(16)32902-1.

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Source: GSK plc
In a contracting building market, Legrand turned in a solid first half and revised its full-year targets upward

-

Very resilient first half

Sales: +4.9%, i.e. +6,0% excluding exchange rates

Adjusted operating margin: 22.2% of sales

Rise in net earnings per share: +19.0%

Free cash flow: 813.8 million, 18.9% of sales

-

2023 full-year targets revised

Sales growth (excluding exchange rates and Russia): +5% to +8%

Adjusted operating margin (before acquisitions and Russia): ~20.5% of sales

LIMOGES, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

Legrand (Paris: LR):

Benoit Coquart, Legrands Chief Executive Officer, commented:

In a generally contracting building market, Legrand reported very solid results in the first six months of the year. Sales rose +4.9% with organic growth a resilient +4.6%, buoyed primarily by faster expanding segments including energy efficiency solutions, connected products and datacenters. Financial indicators remained very strong, with adjusted operating margin a high 22.2% of sales, free cash flow at 813.8 million, net profit equal to 15.2% of sales, and net earnings per share up 19.0%.

Our Group is actively pursuing growth and development initiatives, launching many new products and acquiring three companies since the beginning of the yearEncelium, Clamper, and Teknica in Chile, announced todaywhile continuing to optimize its cost structure.

These strong showings confirm once again the pertinence and resilience of our value-creating business model. Building on these achievements, we have revised our full-year targets upward.

Sustained deployment of our strategic roadmap, combined with underlying trends that include electrification, changing ways of living and working, digitization of uses, or energy-consumption monitoring, are boosting our faster expanding segments. As a result, we are targeting a full-year 2023 performance fully in line with our medium-term model of business growth and value creation.

2023 full-year targets revised upward1

In 2023, the Group is pursuing the profitable and responsible development laid out in its strategic roadmap2.

Taking into account the worlds current macroeconomic outlook and excluding a major economic slowdown, Legrand has now set the following full-year targets for 2023:

- sales growth at constant exchange rates and excluding Russia impacts3 of between +5% and +8% (vs +2% and +6% initially), including a scope of consolidation effect of around +2%;

- an adjusted operating margin before acquisitions (at 2022 scope of consolidation), and excluding Russia and related impacts of around 20.5% of sales (vs around 20% initially);

- at least 100% CSR achievement rate for the second year of its 2022-2024 roadmap.

Financial performance at June 30, 2023

Key figures

Consolidated data

( millions)(1) 1st half 2022 1st half 2023 Change Sales 4,092.4 4,294.8 +4.9% Adjusted operating profit 837.8 954.7 +14.0% As % of sales 20.5% 22.2% 22.7% before acquisitions and Russia(2) Operating profit 789.4 892.3 +13.0% As % of sales 19.3% 20.8% Net profit attributable to the Group 548.1 650.9 +18.8% As % of sales 13.4% 15.2% Normalized free cash flow 688.2 766.9 +11.4% As % of sales 16.8% 17.9% Free cash flow 320.9 813.8 +153.6% As % of sales 7.8% 18.9% Net financial debt at June 30 2,861.8 2,415.5 -15.6% (1) See appendices to this press release for definitions and indicator reconciliation tables. (2) At 2022 scope of consolidation, excluding Russia and related impacts.

Consolidated sales

In the first half of 2023, sales rose a total of +4.9% from the same period of 2022, reaching 4,294.8 million.

Organic growth in sales was +4.6% over the period, including +2.4% in mature countries and +11.2% in new economies. In a contracting building market, these figures point to resilience buoyed by the faster expanding segments, by pricing power, and by the Groups robust commercial performance.

The impact of broader scope of consolidation was +1.3%, including +1.8% linked to acquisitions and -0.5% to the net impact of the Groups planned disengagement from Russia. Based on acquisitions made and their likely dates of consolidation, their overall impact should be close to +2% full year, excluding the impact of disengagement from Russia.

The exchange-rate effect on sales in the first half of 2023 was -1.0%. Based on the average exchange rates in June 2023 alone, the full-year exchange-rate effect on sales should be close to -2.5% in 2023.

Changes in sales by destination at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates broke down as follows by region:

1st half 2023 / 1st half 2022 2nd quarter 2023 / 2nd quarter 2022 Europe +6.8% +3.1% North and Central America +0.4% -2.3% Rest of the world +8.2% +8.4% Total +4.6% +2.0%

These changes are analyzed below by geographical region:

- Europe (42.7% of Group revenue): growth at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates was +6.8% in the first half of 2023, driven by very strong growth in energy efficiency solutions and despite a residential market down in most geographies.

In Europes mature countries (36.4% of Group revenue), sales rose organically by +5.1% in the first half of 2023, including +1.6% in the second quarter alone, with on the first six months strong rises in countries including Italy, Spain and Germany. Sales were resilient in France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, while they edged down in Scandinavia.

Sales in Europes new economies rose +19.0% in the first half. In the second quarter alone, sales grew +13.7%, notably buoyed by strong growth in Turkey.

- North and Central America (38.1% of Group revenue): sales increased +0.4% from the first half of 2022 at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates.

In the United States alone (34.6% of Group revenue), sales showed a decline of -0.3% in the first six months of the year, including -3.0% in the second quarter alone. In the first half of the year, a period that saw building markets lose ground overall, this reflected a double-digit fall in residential building and a slight retreat in offers targeting non-residential applications, trends that were offset in part by double-digit growth in sales to datacenters.

Over the first half, sales rose sharply in Canada and were almost unchanged in Mexico.

- Rest of the world (19.2% of Group revenue): sales marked an organic rise of +8.2% in the first half of 2023.

In Asia-Pacific (12.6% of Group revenue), sales rose +9.3% in the first half of the year and +9.0% in the second quarter alone. This good momentum reflects very sustained growth in India and moderate growth in China.

In Africa and the Middle East (3.6% of Group revenue), sales were up +14.6% in the first six months of the year and +16.5% in the second quarter. Over six months, sales trends were upbeat both in Africa and in the Middle East.

In South America (3.0% of Group revenue), in degraded economic conditions, sales were down -3.0% in the first half, linked in particular to Brazil, with a -3.3% decline in the second quarter alone.

Adjusted operating profit and margin

Adjusted operating profit for the first half of 2023 stood at 954.7 million, up +14.0% from the first half of 2022. This corresponds to an adjusted operating margin equal to 22.2% of sales for the period.

Before acquisitions (at 2022 scope of consolidation) and excluding Russia, adjusted operating margin for the first half of 2023 stood at 22.7% of sales, up +2.2 points from the first half of 2022.

The impacts of acquisitions and of Russia on adjusted operating margin in the first half of 2023 were respectively -0.3 points and -0.2 points.

Over this period, high profitability was driven by gross margin reflecting firm control of expenses and sales prices.

Value creation and solid balance sheet

Net profit attributable to the Group came to 650.9 million, up +18.8% from the first half of 2023 and equal to 15.2% of sales. This rise was due primarily to an increase in operating profit, the positive impact of financial results, and corporate income tax rate of 26.0%.

Net earnings per share stood at 2.45, for a rise of 19.0% from the first half of 2022.

Free cash flow came to 18.9% of sales over the period, to total 813.8 million, in a context of continued strengthened coverage of inventories that is expected to gradually return to normal. Normalized free cash flow was up +11.4% at 17.9% of sales.

The ratio of net debt to EBITDA4 stood at 1.2 on June 30, 2023. Legrand Groups cash position stood at 2.9 billion, and the maturity of gross debt  with over 90% in fixed-rate instruments  was 4.6 years.

Legrand successfully completed5 a second series of sustainability-linked bonds indexed on the Groups CSR targets. This fixed-rate issue totaled 700 million with a 6-year maturity.

Continued initiatives in growth and development

Legrand continued to deploy its strategic roadmap through a range of growth and development initiatives that included:

- Targeted external growth with the announcement of a third acquisition since January: Teknica6 is a Chilean specialist notably in UPS (integrated solutions, equipment, services and maintenance) used in particular in datacenter and infrastructure solutions. Based in Santiago de Chile, Teknica has nearly 400 employees and generates annual sales of almost 45 million.

- The launch of many new products over the six-month period, testifying to the Groups innovative capacity. Examples include:

core infrastructure products ranges with the Allzy range of electrical wiring devices in India and MatixGO in Italy;

in the faster expanding segments, the Linkeo PDU range (datacenters, energy efficiency) and the Netatmo smart Air Conditioning controller (energy efficiency, connected products).

- Continued improvement of operational performance, including, in North and Central America, the consolidation of five distribution centers in the United States and a new plant opened in Monterrey, Mexico.

- Investment in Partech Impact, an impact fund investing in entrepreneurial ventures in areas such as green mobility and assisted living.

The consolidated financial statements for the first half of 2023 were subject to a limited review by the Groups auditors and were adopted by the Board of Directors at its meeting on July 28, 2023. These consolidated financial statements, a presentation of 2023 first-half results, and the related teleconference (live and replay) are available at www.legrandgroup.com.

KEY FINANCIAL DATES:

2023 nine-month results: November 8, 2023

Quiet period7 starts October 9, 2023

Quiet period7 starts October 9, 2023 2023 annual results: February 15, 2024

Quiet period7 starts January 16, 2024

Quiet period7 starts January 16, 2024 General Meeting of Shareholders: May 29, 2024

ABOUT LEGRAND

Legrand is the global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures. Its comprehensive offering of solutions for commercial, industrial and residential markets makes it a benchmark for customers worldwide. The Group harnesses technological and societal trends with lasting impacts on buildings with the purpose of improving life by transforming the spaces where people live, work and meet with electrical, digital infrastructures and connected solutions that are simple, innovative and sustainable. Drawing on an approach that involves all teams and stakeholders, Legrand is pursuing its strategy of profitable and responsible growth driven by acquisitions and innovation, with a steady flow of new offeringsincluding products with enhanced value in use (faster expanding segments: datacenters, connected offerings and energy efficiency programs). Legrand reported sales of 8.3 billion in 2022. The company is listed on Euronext Paris and is notably a component stock of the CAC 40, CAC 40 ESG and CAC SBT 1.5 indexes. (code ISIN FR0010307819).

https://www.legrandgroup.com

Appendices

Glossary

Adjusted operating profit: Adjusted operating profit is defined as operating profit adjusted for amortization and depreciation of revaluation of assets at the time of acquisitions and for other P&L impacts relating to acquisitions and, where applicable, for impairment of goodwill.

Busways: electric power distribution systems based on metal busbars.

Cash flow from operations: Cash flow from operations is defined as net cash from operating activities excluding changes in working capital requirement.

CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility.

EBITDA: EBITDA is defined as operating profit plus depreciation and impairment of tangible and right of use assets, amortization and impairment of intangible assets (including capitalized development costs), reversal of inventory step-up and impairment of goodwill.

ESG: Environmental, Societal and Governance.

Free cash flow: Free cash flow is defined as the sum of net cash from operating activities and net proceeds from sales of fixed and financial assets, less capital expenditure and capitalized development costs.

KVM: Keyboard, Video and Mouse.

Net financial debt: Net financial debt is defined as the sum of short-term borrowings and long-term borrowings, less cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities.

Normalized free cash flow: Normalized free cash flow is defined as the sum of net cash from operating activitiesbased on a normalized working capital requirement representing 10% of the last 12 months sales and whose change at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates is adjusted for the period consideredand net proceeds of sales from fixed and financial assets, less capital expenditure and capitalized development costs.

Organic growth: Organic growth is defined as the change in sales at constant structure (scope of consolidation) and exchange rates.

Payout: Payout is defined as the ratio between the proposed dividend per share for a given year, divided by the net profit attributable to the Group per share of the same year, calculated on the basis of the average number of ordinary shares at December 31 of that year, excluding shares held in treasury.

PDU: Power Distribution Units.

UPS: Uninterruptible Power Supply.

Working capital requirement: Working capital requirement is defined as the sum of trade receivables, inventories, other current assets, income tax receivables and short-term deferred tax assets, less the sum of trade payables, other current liabilities, income tax payables, short-term provisions and short-term deferred tax liabilities.

Calculation of working capital requirement

In  millions H1 2022 H1 2023 Trade receivables 1,058.1 1,074.1 Inventories 1,459.6 1,331.3 Other current assets 270.5 310.3 Income tax receivables 117.8 142.7 Short-term deferred taxes assets/(liabilities) 102.4 103.0 Trade payables (908.6) (944.8) Other current liabilities (782.5) (840.9) Income tax payables (55.0) (68.0) Short-term provisions (128.9) (147.0) Working capital required 1,133.4 960.7

Calculation of net financial debt

In  millions H1 2022 H1 2023 Short-term borrowings 1,075.0 639.0 Long-term borrowings 4,456.7 4,630.9 Cash and cash equivalents (2,669.9) (2,854.4) Net financial debt 2,861.8 2,415.5

Reconciliation of adjusted operating profit with profit for the period

In  millions H1 2022 H1 2023 Profit for the period 548.4 651.0 Share of profits (losses) of equity-accounted entities 0.0 0.0 Income tax expense 202.9 229.2 Exchange (gains) / losses (0.6) 3.2 Financial income (5.1) (31.9) Financial expense 43.8 40.8 Operating profit 789.4 892.3 (i) Amortization & depreciation of revaluation of assets at the time of acquisitions and other P&L impacts relating to acquisitions, (ii) assets impairment in Russia 48.4 62.4 Impairment of goodwill 0.0 0.0 Adjusted operating profit 837.8 954.7

Reconciliation of EBITDA with profit for the period

In  millions H1 2022 H1 2023 Profit for the period 548.4 651.0 Share of profits (losses) of equity-accounted entities 0.0 0.0 Income tax expense 202.9 229.2 Exchange (gains) / losses (0.6) 3.2 Financial income (5.1) (31.9) Financial expense 43.8 40.8 Operating profit 789.4 892.3 Depreciation and impairment of tangible assets (including right-of-use assets) 97.7 98.8 Amortization and impairment of intangible assets (including capitalized development costs) 65.1 75.0 Impairment of goodwill 0.0 0.0 EBITDA 952.2 1,066.1

Reconciliation of cash flow from operations, free cash flow and normalized free cash flow with profit for the period

In  millions H1 2022 H1 2023 Profit for the period 548.4 651.0 Adjustments for non-cash movements in assets and liabilities: Depreciation, amortization and impairment 164.6 175.5 Changes in other non-current assets and liabilities and long-term deferred taxes 68.7 26.2 Unrealized exchange (gains)/losses 5.2 9.4 (Gains)/losses on sales of assets, net 0.0 1.1 Other adjustments 0.0 0.1 Cash flow from operations 786.9 863.3 Decrease (Increase) in working capital requirement (406.5) 29.4 Net cash provided from operating activities 380.4 892.7 Capital expenditure (including capitalized development costs) (61.5) (79.6) Net proceeds from sales of fixed and financial assets 2.0 0.7 Free cash flow 320.9 813.8 Increase (Decrease) in working capital requirement 406.5 (29.4) (Increase) Decrease in normalized working capital requirement (39.2) (17.5) Normalized free cash flow 688.2 766.9

Scope of consolidation

2022 Q1 H1 9M Full-year Full consolidation method Geiger Balance sheet only 6 months 9 months 12 months Emos Balance sheet only Balance sheet only Balance sheet only 9 months Usystems Balance sheet only Balance sheet only 7 months Voltadis Balance sheet only Balance sheet only A. & H. Meyer Balance sheet only Balance sheet only Power Control Balance sheet only Balance sheet only Encelium Balance sheet only

2023 Q1 H1 9M Full-year Full consolidation method Geiger 3 months 6 months 9 months 12 months Emos 3 months 6 months 9 months 12 months Usystems 3 months 6 months 9 months 12 months Voltadis Balance sheet only 6 months 9 months 12 months A. & H. Meyer Balance sheet only 6 months 9 months 12 months Power Control Balance sheet only Balance sheet only To be determined To be determined Encelium Balance sheet only 6 months 9 months 12 months Clamper Balance sheet only Balance sheet only To be determined To be determined Teknica To be determined To be determined

Disclaimer

This press release may contain forward-looking statements which are not historical data. Although Legrand considers these statements to be based on reasonable assumptions at the time of publication of this release, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed or implied herein.

Details on risks are provided in the most recent version of Legrand Universal Registration Document filed with the Autorite des marches financiers (Financial Markets Authority, AMF), which is available on-line on the websites of both AMF (www.amf-france.org) and Legrand (www.legrandgroup.com).

Investors and holders of Legrand securities are reminded that no forward-looking statement contained in this press release is or should be construed as a promise or a guarantee of actual results, which are liable to differ significantly. Therefore, such statements should be used with caution, taking into account their inherent uncertainty.

Subject to applicable regulations, Legrand does not undertake to update these statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of publication of this release.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy Legrand securities in any jurisdiction.

________________________

1 For more information, see Legrand press releases dated February 9 and May 4, 2023.

2 For more information, see Legrand press releases dated September 22, 2021 and March 29, 2022.

3 For more information, see Legrand press release dated January 25, 2023.

4 Based on EBITDA for the past 12 months.

5 For more information, see Legrand press releases dated September 29, 2021 and May 23, 2022.

6 Subject to standard conditions precedent.

7 Period of time when all communication is suspended in the run-up to publication of results.

Readers are invited to verify the authenticity of Legrand press releases with the CertiDox app. Learn more at www.certidox.com

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Investor relations

Legrand

Ronan Marc

Tel: +33 (0)1 49 72 53 53

[email protected]

Press relations

TBWA Corporate

Tiphaine Raffray

Mob: +33 (0)6 58 27 78 98

[email protected]

Source: Legrand
*President and Vice President Aoki sold themselves options worth JPY7.256bn for only JPY52.5mn

*The issuance of these highly dilutive options followed an unusual downward forecast revision, temporarily depressing Kusuri No Aokis share price

*The Companys auditor, KPMG AZSA, resigned shortly after options issued

*Oasis recommends shareholders vote AGAINST the re-election of the Companys president and the vice president, and the election of the Companys newly proposed outside director candidate Mr. Hiromitsu Fujii

*Oasis recommends shareholders vote FOR Oasiss independent Outside Director candidate and its proposed governance best practice measures to improve oversight and protect stakeholder interests from governance abuse

More information available at www. KusuriNoAokiCorpGov.com

HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Oasis Management Company Ltd. (Oasis) is the manager to funds that beneficially own 5.5% of drugstore operator Kusuri No Aoki Holdings Co., Ltd. (3549 JT) (Kusuri No Aoki or Aoki or the Company). Oasis has adopted the Japan FSAs Principles of Responsible Ownership (a/k/a the Japan Stewardship Code) and in line with those principles, Oasis monitors and engages with its investee companies.

Oasis, a long-term shareholder of Aoki, urges fellow shareholders to hold the Aoki family leadership accountable at the upcoming Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) for a tenure of neglect of stakeholder interests. Under their leadership, Aoki has experienced several serious governance breaches, including a suspicious stock option issued to President Hironori Aoki and Vice President Takanori Aoki granting them the right to buy approximately JPY24bn of shares for JPY52.5mn, while the Companys disclosures state the options were worth JPY7.256bn. The stock options were issued shortly after the Company made unusual downward revisions to forecasts, significantly depressing the stock price.

Oasis urges Aoki shareholders to vote AGAINST:

Agenda Item #2 Re-election of Aokis president, Mr. Hironori Aoki, and his brother, the Vice President, Mr. Takanori Aoki Agenda Item #2 Election of the Companys outside director candidate, Mr. Hiromitsu Fujii

Oasis also urges shareholders to vote FOR our proposed independent Outside Director candidate to enhance Aokis oversight and protect the interests of stakeholders against the governance abuses under the Aoki Family control.

Agenda Item #4 Election of a truly independent, highly qualified Outside Director candidate, Mr. Yoshiaki Ikei Agenda Item #5&6 Introduction of a Lead Independent Director position and the establishment of a nomination and compensation committee to enhance oversight of management Agenda Item #7&8 Introduction of a new compensation plan for Outside Directors

Under the leadership of Mr. Hironori Aoki and Mr. Takanori Aoki, Aoki has been plagued by serious corporate governance failures, continued breaches of minority shareholder interests, and underperformance compared to peers. Aokis governance practices and disclosures are currently only working for the benefit of its Founding Family, which can be evidenced by the governance abuses that the Board has overseen over the recent years, which include (but are not limited to):

Highly Dilutive Stock Option Sold to Founding Family Members at a Steep Discount and a Questionable Time: In FY2020, Aokis Board approved the issuance of stock options to President Hironori Aoki and his brother, Vice President Takanori Aoki. The disclosed fair value of the stock options was JPY7.256bn, but the Aoki brothers only paid JPY52.5mn to acquire the options, a 99.28% discount. The Companys auditor, KPMG AZSA, resigned after the issuance of the stock options. The issuance followed a highly questionable downward revision in the Companys earnings forecast which led to a significant drop in its share price. The issuance, which could dilute shareholders an estimated 11.1%, if exercised, was approved by a Board resolution, circumventing the need for shareholder approval. Following the issuance of the stock options, the Companys full year results for the 2020 fiscal year were not only stronger than the revised-down forecast, but also stronger than the initial forecast, resulting in the share price normalizing. However, the Company claims this was neither a favorable issuance nor compensation to the Aoki brothers. We have serious doubts about this explanation, and other family-related transactions raise further concerns. Potential Misuse of Corporate Assets by the Founding Family: Oasis also has serious concerns about the potential misuse of corporate assets by Mr. Keisei Aoki -- the founder and father to the current President and Vice President -- as the Company owns part of a large (1,700 square meter) complex where he is understood to be residing. The concerns surrounding the potential inappropriate use of corporate assets by Founding Family members, at the expense of all stakeholders, require immediate, clear, and factual answers from Aokis Board to its stakeholders.

These instances of governance abuses make it clear that Aokis Board is focused primarily on the interests of the Founding Family as opposed to those of all stakeholders. Oasis is not alone in this assessment, with a number of institutional investors and third-party research firms regularly highlighting the lack of independence on Aokis Board serving as a potential risk to the interests of wider stakeholders. Aoki has not only ignored such concerns, but the Board appears to have actively worked to disregard independent opinion by recommending to shareholders a former employee with a poor performance track-record as an independent Outside Director at the 2023 AGM in a blatant effort to fill its empty board seat and block Oasiss proposal for a truly independent director.

Aoki has also sheltered the Board from any meaningful dialogue with its shareholders. Oasis has repeatedly requested to meet with President Hironori Aoki since November 2022. Despite our frequent requests to engage with the President, Oasis has been consistently ignored. This refusal to engage with Oasis not only falls short of meeting the recommendations of Japans Corporate Governance Code, but also serves to demonstrate the severity of the Aoki Family entrenchment and lack of appropriate counterbalances on the Board. Having engaged with countless Japanese companies, Oasis considers Aokis lack of responsiveness to shareholder concerns and disregard to shareholder interests to be one of the worst in Japan. The Companys Outside Directors have also refused to meet with Oasiss proposed independent Outside Director candidate without providing any reasonable explanations.

It is evident that the Boards current composition, with three out of five Inside Directors from the founding Aoki family, has failed to provide the necessary level of oversight to protect the interests of stakeholders against inherent conflicts of interest that may exist within the Board. As such, Oasis is proposing a truly independent, highly qualified Outside Director to provide a necessary counterbalance to the Aoki familys influence. Oasiss proposed director candidate, Mr. Yoshiaki Ikei, brings a wealth of valuable experience in corporate management that could significantly benefit the Companys corporate governance and long-term corporate value.

Although the Company has nominated its own new Outside Director candidate, Oasis has serious reservations about his suitability given his questionable management capabilities, history of running insolvent businesses, and potential lack of independence due to his past employment with the Company.

Seth Fischer, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Oasis, said:

The Aoki familys excessive influence over the Company has prioritized their interests above all other shareholders. President Hironori Aoki and Vice President Takanori Aoki must be held accountable for these corporate governance failures. Shareholders must unite for accountability and push for reform that will benefit all of the Companys stakeholders, including its customers, employees, suppliers, and shareholders. We demand better corporate governance for a better Kusuri No Aoki.

Oasis urges all shareholders to VOTE FOR Oasiss proposals (Agenda item #4-8) and VOTE AGAINST the re-election of President Hironori Aoki and Vice President Takanori Aoki (Agenda item #2) and Aokis newly proposed director candidate, Mr. Hiromitsu Fujii (Agenda item #2).

For more information, please visit www.KusuriNoAokiCorpGov.com. We welcome all stakeholders to contact Oasis at [email protected] to help improve Kusuri No Aokis corporate governance.

Oasis Management Company Ltd. manages private investment funds focused on opportunities in a wide array of asset classes across countries and sectors. Oasis was founded in 2002 by Seth H. Fischer, who leads the firm as its Chief Investment Officer. More information about Oasis is available at https://oasiscm.com. Oasis has adopted the Japan FSAs Principles of Responsible Institutional Investors (a/k/a Japan Stewardship Code) and in line with those principles, Oasis monitors and engages with our investee companies.

The information contained in this press release (referred to as the Document) is an information resource for shareholders in Kusuri No Aoki offered by Oasis, the investment manager to funds that are shareholders of Kusuri no Aoki (the Oasis Funds). The Document is not intended to solicit or seek shareholders' agreements to jointly exercise any voting rights with Oasis. Shareholders that have an agreement to jointly exercise their voting rights are regarded as Joint Holders under the Japanese large shareholding disclosure rules and they must file notification of their aggregate share ownership with the relevant Japanese authority for public disclosure under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. Oasis does not intend to be subjected to such notification requirement. The Document exclusively represents the opinions, interpretations, and estimates of Oasis.

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Media

For all inquiries, please contact:

Taylor Hall

[email protected]

Source: Oasis Management Company Ltd.
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rio Tinto has committed $150 million to create a Centre for Future Materials led by Imperial College London to find innovative ways to provide the materials the world needs for the energy transition.

The Rio Tinto Centre for Future Materials will fund research programmes to transform the way vital materials are produced, used and recycled, and make them more environmentally, economically and socially sustainable.

Under the partnership, Rio Tinto and Imperial will together define a set of major global challenges that need to be addressed. These will form the basis of the first research programmes the Centre pursues, in partnership with a selection of international academic institutions.

The Centre will be established in the second half of 2023, with the first research programmes funded in 2024. Rio Tinto will contribute $150 million over 10 years to fund the Centre.

Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said For the world to reach net zero, we must find better ways to provide the materials it needs. No single player can do this alone, and research and development plays a vital role. Imperial College London is one of the worlds leading institutions focused on science and engineering  I cannot wait to see the progress we make, as we bring together the best of industry and academia, with shared ambition.

Professor Mary Ryan, Vice Provost (Research and Enterprise) at Imperial, said All aspects of human society rely on materials  from housing to transport, energy, communications and health. We need to create sustainable ways to extract, process, and reuse these resources.

Moving to a truly sustainable society requires a holistic approach to these complex industrial processes. This is inherent to Imperials approach. We will tackle these challenges and design future innovations that are resource and energy efficient, nature positive, humancentric and just. By working hand-in-hand with other leading international institutions, we will create a truly multidisciplinary, global effort to drive the next industrial revolution in harmony with nature.

The $150 million commitment has been made in Rio Tintos 150th anniversary year. It will be delivered in 10 annual instalments and will fund research that empowers diverse, inter-disciplinary teams to deliver innovative, and transformative solutions with environment, society, and governance at their core.

The Centre builds on Rio Tintos long-standing support of research and innovation. It will complement an Innovation Advisory Committee of global experts in their fields that Rio Tinto recently established to accelerate its innovation portfolio and provide external insights and guidance on emerging and disruptive technologies.

The Innovation Advisory Committee includes members with experience in academia, industry and government. More information on the Committee can be found at riotinto.com.

riotinto.com

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Please direct all enquiries to [email protected]

Media Relations,

United Kingdom

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Media Relations,

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Tom Gallop

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Rio Tinto plc

6 St Jamess Square

London SW1Y 4AD

United Kingdom

T +44 20 7781 2000

Registered in England

No. 719885



Rio Tinto Limited

Level 43, 120 Collins Street

Melbourne 3000

Australia

T +61 3 9283 3333

Registered in Australia

ABN 96 004 458 404

Category: General

riotinto.com

Source: Rio Tinto
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: RYAN), a leading international specialty insurance firm, today announced that Francesca Cornelli, Dean of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, has been appointed to its Board of Directors and will serve as a member of its Audit Committee, effective July 31, 2023.

We are excited to welcome Francesca to Ryan Specialtys Board of Directors, said Patrick G. Ryan, Chairman of the Board of Directors. Francescas knowledge and extensive background in international finance, corporate governance and private equity markets will provide a global perspective to our firm. Further, not only is Francesca the Dean of Kellogg, she is a professor of finance, holds the Donald P. Jacobs Chair of Finance at the school, and brings with her highly relevant board experience. We are looking forward to embracing Francescas contributions to our Board and Ryan Specialty as a whole.

I am excited to join the Board of Ryan Specialty, added Dr. Cornelli. The firm is in a high-growth phase with many different opportunities in front of it, and I have always had a special interest in the insurance sector. Im looking forward to working alongside the esteemed Board members, particularly during this very challenging macroeconomic cycle, to guide and advise this dynamic firm.

Dr. Cornelli has been the Dean of Kellogg School of Management since 2019. Previously, she was a professor of finance and deputy dean at London Business School. Dr. Cornelli directed and advanced the highly regarded Private Equity Institute of London Business School, building a bridge between academia and practice by partnering with private equity leaders in London, alumni and top academics in the field. Dr. Cornelli has published several papers in the major finance and economics journals, and she gives regular talks at major conferences and universities. Dr. Cornelli is a research fellow at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, and previously served as a director of the American Finance Association. In January 2016, Dr. Cornelli helped create and became a board member of AFFECT, a committee of the American Finance Association designed to promote the advancement of women academics in the field of finance. She serves on several boards, including Edizione, GSM Grosvenor Inc., GCP, Civic Consulting Alliance and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Specific to insurance, Dr. Cornelli also served on the board of Swiss Re International and Swiss Re Europe from 2013 to 2019.

For more information about Ryan Specialty's corporate governance practices and Board of Directors, please click here.

About Ryan Specialty

Founded in 2010, Ryan Specialty (NYSE: RYAN) is a service provider of specialty products and solutions for insurance brokers, agents and carriers. Ryan Specialty provides distribution, underwriting, product development, administration and risk management services by acting as a wholesale broker and a managing underwriter with delegated authority from insurance carriers. Our mission is to provide industry-leading innovative specialty insurance solutions for insurance brokers, agents and carriers. Learn more at ryanspecialty.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230731915901/en/

Media

Alice Phillips Topping

SVP, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer

Ryan Specialty

[email protected]

(312) 635-5976

Investor Relations

Nicholas Mezick

Director, Investor Relations

Ryan Specialty

[email protected]

(312) 784-6152

Source: Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The 19(a) distribution notices for three Nuveen closed-end funds are now available. This informational notice provides further details on the sources of the funds regular monthly distribution and follows the most recent monthly distribution announcement. The full text of this notice is available below or on the Nuveen website via Distribution Source Estimates.

Important Information Regarding Distributions

July 31, 2023: THIS NOTICE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. NO ACTION IS REQUIRED ON YOUR PART. If you would like to receive this notice and other shareholder information electronically, please visit www.investordelivery.com if you receive distributions and statements from your financial professional or brokerage account. An electronic copy of this notice is also posted under distribution notices at www.nuveen.com/cef.

This notice provides shareholders with information regarding fund distributions, as required by current securities laws. You should not draw any conclusions about the Funds investment performance from the amount of this distribution or from the terms of the Funds Managed Distribution Policy.

The following table provides estimates of the Funds distribution sources, reflecting year-to-date cumulative experience through the month-end prior to the latest distribution. The Funds attribute these estimates equally to each regular distribution throughout the year. Consequently, the estimated information as of the specified month-end shown below is for the current distribution, and also represents an updated estimate for all prior months in the year. For all funds, it is estimated that the funds have distributed more than their income and net realized capital gains; therefore, a portion of the distributions may be (and is shown below as being estimated to be) a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Funds investment performance and should not be confused with yield or income.

The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this 19(a) Notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Funds investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. Each Fund will send a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes. More details about the Funds distributions and the basis for these estimates are available on www.nuveen.com/cef.

Data as of 6/30/2023 Current Month Fiscal YTD Estimated Sources of Distribution Estimated Sources of Distribution Estimated Percentages of Distribution 1 Per Share LT ST Return of Per Share LT ST Return of LT ST Return of Distribution NII Gains Gains Capital Distribution NII Gains Gains Capital NII Gains Gains Capital NDMO (FYE 10/31) .0620 0.0310 0.0000 0.0000 0.0310 0.5540 0.2768 0.0000 0.0000 0.2772 50.0% 0.0% 0.0% 50.0% JRI (FYE 12/31) .0870 0.0560 0.0000 0.0000 0.0310 0.5410 0.3479 0.0000 0.0000 0.1931 64.3% 0.0% 0.0% 35.7% NPCT (FYE 12/31) .0830 0.0308 0.0000 0.0000 0.0522 0.5380 0.1997 0.0000 0.0000 0.3383 37.1% 0.0% 0.0% 62.9% 1 Net investment income (NII) and capital gain amounts are as of the stated month-end date above.

The following table provides information regarding distributions and total return performance over various time periods. This information is intended to help you better understand whether returns for the specified time periods were sufficient to meet distributions.

Data as of 6/30/2023 Annualized Cumulative Inception Date Monthly Distribution Fiscal YTD Distribution NAV 5-Year Return on NAV2 Fiscal YTD Distribution Rate on NAV1 Fiscal YTD Return on NAV Fiscal YTD Distribution Rate on NAV1 NDMO (FYE 10/31) Aug-2020 .0620 .5540 10.95 -4.49% 7.59% 11.24% 5.06% JRI (FYE 12/31) Apr-2012 .0870 .5410 13.49 1.14% 8.02% 3.37% 4.01% NPCT (FYE 12/31) Apr-2021 .0830 .5380 11.85 -15.11% 9.08% 0.89% 4.54% 1As a percentage of 6/30/2023 NAV. 2 NPCT and NDMO 5 year return figure reflects the annualized since inception return on NAV

Nuveen is a leading sponsor of closed-end funds (CEFs) with $53 billion of assets under management across 51 CEFs as of 30 Jun 2023. The funds offer exposure to a broad range of asset classes and are designed for income-focused investors seeking regular distributions. Nuveen has more than 35 years of experience managing CEFs.

For more information, please visit Nuveens CEF homepage www.nuveen.com/closed-end-funds or contact:

Financial Professionals:

800-752-8700

Investors:

800-257-8787

Media:

[email protected]

About Nuveen

Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, offers a comprehensive range of outcome-focused investment solutions designed to secure the long-term financial goals of institutional and individual investors. Nuveen has $1.1 trillion in assets under management as of 30 Jun 2023 and operations in 27 countries. Its investment specialists offer deep expertise across a comprehensive range of traditional and alternative investments through a wide array of vehicles and customized strategies. For more information, please visit www.nuveen.com.

Nuveen Securities, LLC, member FINRA and SIPC.

The information contained on the Nuveen website is not a part of this press release.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements made in this release are forward-looking statements. Actual future results or occurrences may differ significantly from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. These include, but are not limited to:

 market developments;

 legal and regulatory developments; and

 other additional risks and uncertainties.

Nuveen and the closed-end funds managed by Nuveen and its affiliates undertake no responsibility to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statement.

EPS-3029528CR-E0723W

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230731318263/en/

Financial Professionals:

800-752-8700



Investors:

800-257-8787

Media:

[email protected]

Source: Nuveen
Highlights:

-Alipay+s new Premier Partner Program enables retailers to enhance consumer engagement and marketing efficacy through an integrated package of digital marketing and growth solutions;

-Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Store and Shilla Duty Free are among about 30 retailers that have joined the program

SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Alipay+, which provides a suite of global cross-border digital payments and marketing solutions, today announced the launch of Premier Partner Program across the world as a major innovation on destination-focused and mobile-native marketing operations.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230730201981/en/

Designed to improve precision and efficacy of cross-border marketing in an increasingly digitalized world, the Alipay+ Premier Partner Program aims to expand marketing resources for local and global merchants with adaptive digital operational tools. (Photo: Business Wire)

During the launch phase, the program has attracted some 30 top Asian retailers including Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Store and Shilla Duty Free to become the first Alipay+s premier partners.

Designed to improve precision and efficacy of cross-border marketing in an increasingly digitalized world, the Alipay+ Premier Partner Program aims to expand marketing resources for local and global merchants with adaptive digital operational tools. These include D-store, Alipay+ suite of toolkits to digitalize merchants business, operation and marketing, and coordinated online and offline cross-border campaigns with Alipay+s partner e-wallets, most of which are super apps in their home markets.

Introduced by Ant Group, Alipay+ offers unified global mobile payment and marketing solutions that connect merchants with multiple e-wallets and payment methods from different countries and regions. Powered by Alipay+ solutions, over 1 billion consumers can conveniently use their preferred local payment methods and enjoy marketing offers while transacting seamlessly in a different market.

The integrated program will allow brands to reach and engage existing and prospective customers across the world more efficiently. Consumers will be able to enjoy exclusive offers, competitive exchange rates and more flexible payment options as they begin their outbound trips, where they can pay with their most familiar app  the same way they do at home  in a seamless and secured fashion.

The program is supported by an expanding range of Alipay+ partner e-wallets including Alipay, AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR, China), GCash (The Philippines), Kakao Pay (South Korea), TrueMoney (Thailand) and Touch 'n Go eWallet (Malaysia).

This program can pave the way for many possibilities in the future, said Shigeru Nagai, General Manager of Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores. With payment services as a starting point, it opens opportunities for activities that can help attract more consumers, including tourists, as we expect strong growth in inbound travels from China and Southeast Asian countries.

With the integration of Alipay+, the checkout process for Southeast Asian customers is now more convenient, said Jooyoung Lee, director of Travel Global Marketing Group of Shilla Duty Free. Through this partnership, we hope to continue our collaboration with Alipay+ to carry out various promotions and marketing activities.

Through the Alipay+ Premier Partner Program, we hope to redefine the way of marketing campaigns by creating a win-win ecosystem that ride on innovation and digitalization, among our partner retailers, mobile payment and digital services platforms and various industry players, said Cherry Huang, General Manager of Alipay+ Offline Merchant Services, Ant Group. We also hope to bring the best offers and deals to global customers and create a memorable travel and shopping experience for them and boost more dynamic and agile engagement between them and their favorite brands overseas.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230730201981/en/

Media

Sarah Dai

Ant Group

Email: [email protected]

Source: Alipay+
Archer has been partnering with the Department of Defense (DoD) since 2021 on a series of projects through the Air Forces AFWERX program with the goal of helping the AFWERX Agility Prime program assess the transformational potential of the vertical flight market and eVTOL technologies for DoD purposes

This new execution phase of the partnership includes the delivery of up to 6 of Archers Midnight aircraft, which the Air Force is targeting for use in personnel transport and logistics support, rescue operations and more

This expansion of Archers partnership with the DoD represents a significant investment in the future of the country and will help ensure the U.S. maintains its leadership position in aviation

The other military branches have the opportunity to leverage these contracts as a platform for additional projects, which could increase the total value of Archers DoD partnership

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE: ACHR), a leader in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, today announced that it has significantly expanded its partnership with the DoD by signing new contracts with the U.S. Air Force with a total value of up to $142 million. The new contracts signal the U.S. military's recognition of the transformative potential Archers innovative eVTOL aircraft brings to our countrys Armed Forces. This new execution phase of the partnership includes the delivery of up to six of Archers Midnight aircraft to the Air Force, the sharing of additional flight test data and certification related test reports, pilot training, and the development of maintenance and repair operations. As a result of these contracts, Archer will create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230731089461/en/

Archer's Midnight aircraft (Photo: Business Wire)

Archer has been partnering with the DoD since 2021 on a series of projects through the U.S. Air Forces AFWERX program with the goal of helping the AFWERX Agility Prime program assess the transformational potential of the vertical flight market and eVTOL technologies for DoD purposes. Now, with Archer recently completing the manufacturing of its first Midnight aircraft, the DoD recognizes that with its vertical takeoff and landing capabilities, target payload of approximately 1,000lbs, proprietary electric powertrain system, and low noise profile, Archers aircraft represents a potential paradigm shift in military aviation and operations. These aircraft hold the promise of enhancing rapid response, agility, and operational effectiveness across a wide range of mission profiles, from personnel transport and logistics support to rescue operations and more. Archers Midnight aircraft are expected to provide a much safer and quieter alternative to helicopters while being more cost-effective for the U.S. military to transport, operate and maintain in the field.

This historic agreement reflects the steadfast commitment by our Armed Forces to embrace the cutting-edge technology our eVTOL aircraft offer, said Adam Goldstein, Archers Founder and CEO. Its clear that the development and commercialization of eVTOL technology continues to remain a national priority. We look forward to working closely with the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force to integrate Midnight into their operational fleet with a focus on transport, logistics and rescue operations.

It is our mission to ensure the U.S. continues to lead the world in developing and deploying emerging aerospace technology, said Colonel Tom Meagher, the lead for AFWERX Agility Prime programs. eVTOL aircraft represent the cusp of the third revolution in aerospace, and these aircraft and their descendants will drive advances in capabilities and efficiency. Our contracts with Archer Aviation provide the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Air Force the opportunity to play a role in ensuring from the onset, and as the technology evolves, that we unlock the many benefits these aircraft have to offer the U.S. military.

As a retired senior military leader who was responsible for U.S. forces, operations and activities throughout the continent of Africa, Im thrilled with this agreement and its potential impact on the capabilities of our Armed Forces, said Retired 4-Star General and Archer Government Services Advisory Board Member, Steve Townsend. The United States has always been at the forefront of technological innovation, and this partnership demonstrates our nations commitment to maintain that position. I commend the visionary leadership at DoD which led to this contract and Archer's dedication to pushing the boundaries of aviation technology.

This announcement comes on the heels of Archer announcing the formation of the companys Government Services Advisory Board in May. The goal of the advisory board is to allow Archer to more fully engage with U.S. government and public safety agencies to explore opportunities to commercialize its eVTOL aircraft. The members of this advisory board are assisting and facilitating Archers direct engagement with appropriate government agencies and officials to advance both consideration and implementation of Archers eVTOL aircraft and related technologies. The board includes Retired 4-star General Steve Townsend, Retired 3-star Lieutenant General David A. Krumm, Retired 3-star Vice Admiral Ron Boxall, Retired 2-star General Clayton M. Hutmacher, Retired 2-star General Bill Gayler, and Retired Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael J. Durant.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward looking statements regarding Archers future business plans and market opportunities, including statements regarding the performance and development of its aircraft, business opportunities, and potential value of its relationship with the DoD. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors. The risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted are more fully detailed in Archers filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, available at www.sec.gov. In addition, please note that any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that Archer believes to be reasonable as of the date of this press release. Archer undertakes no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events.

About Archer

Archer is designing and developing electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for use in urban air mobility networks. Archers mission is to unlock the skies, freeing everyone to reimagine how they move and spend time. Archer's team is based in Santa Clara, CA.

To learn more, visit www.archer.com.

About Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)

Sole organization leading the planning and execution of U.S. Air Force & U.S. Space Force science & technology programs. Orchestrates a world-wide government, industry & academia coalition in the discovery, development & delivery of a wide range of revolutionary technology. Provides leading-edge warfighting capabilities keeping air, space and cyberspace forces the world's best. Employs 10,800 military, civilian and contractor personnel at 17 research sites executing an annual $4B budget. For more information, visit: www.afresearchlab.com.

About AFWERX

The innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force (DAF) and a directorate within AFRL. Brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. Employs military, civilian and contractor personnel at six hubs and sites executing an annual $1.4B budget. Since 2019, has executed 4,671 contracts worth more than $2B to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit: www.afwerx.com.

Source: Archer

Text: ArcherIR

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230731089461/en/

Archer Media Contact

The Brand Amp - [email protected]

Source: Archer Aviation
GSK plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Jemperli (dostarlimab-gxly) in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel, followed by Jemperli as a single agent for the treatment of adult patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer that is mismatch repair deficient (dMMR), as determined by an FDA-approved test, or microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H). The supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) supporting this new indication received Priority Review and was approved ahead of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act action date.

Hesham Abdullah, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Oncology Development, GSK, said: Todays expanded approval of Jemperli redefines the treatment landscape for patients with dMMR/MSI-H primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer. Until now, chemotherapy alone has been the standard of care with many patients experiencing disease progression. In the RUBY trial, Jemperli plus chemotherapy demonstrated a 71% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death versus chemotherapy in this patient population, providing a statistically significant and clinically meaningful benefit. These results and todays approval underscore our belief in the potential for Jemperli to transform cancer treatment as a backbone immuno-oncology therapy.

With this approval, Jemperli is now indicated earlier in treatment in combination with chemotherapy for patients with dMMR/MSI-H primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer. Jemperli is already approved in the US as monotherapy in adult patients with dMMR recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer that has progressed on or following a prior platinum-containing regimen in any setting and are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation.

Matthew Powell, MD, Chief, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, and US principal investigator of the RUBY trial said: As a clinician, I celebrate the practice-changing potential of adding Jemperli to chemotherapy for patients with dMMR/MSI-H primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer who have had limited treatment options. Based on the results from the RUBY clinical trial, I look forward to the addition of Jemperli to chemotherapy becoming a new standard of care for patients.

Wenora Johnson, President, Board of Directors, Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE) said: The endometrial cancer community is thrilled by todays news, which changes the treatment paradigm for a population with long-term unmet needs. FORCE is grateful for the many participants and researchers who contributed to this important study. As an endometrial cancer survivor, I know how much this approval offers hope for patients with primary advanced or recurrent dMMR/MSI-H endometrial cancer.

The FDA approval is supported by interim analysis results from Part 1 of the RUBY/ENGOT-EN6/GOG3031/NSGO phase III trial, which reflect a robust median duration of follow-up of  25 months. The trial met the primary endpoint of investigator-assessed progression-free survival (PFS), demonstrating a statistically significant and clinically meaningful benefit in patients treated with Jemperli plus carboplatin and paclitaxel in the dMMR/MSI-H population. In the dMMR/MSI-H population, a 71% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death was observed. Part 1 of the RUBY trial continues to assess overall survival (OS) in the intent-to-treat (ITT) population, a dual-primary endpoint alongside investigator-assessed PFS.

The safety and tolerability profile for Jemperli plus carboplatin and paclitaxel was generally consistent with the known safety profiles of the individual agents. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events ( 20%) in patients receiving Jemperli plus chemotherapy were rash, diarrhea, hypothyroidism and hypertension.

The RUBY trial data were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Virtual Plenary and Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting on 27 March 2023, and were simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

The sBLA supporting this new indication was reviewed under the FDA Oncology Center of Excellence Project Orbis Framework, which allowed for concurrent submission to and review by US and other international regulatory authorities. As part of Project Orbis, the application remains under review in Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Singapore and the United Kingdom. A marketing authorization application is also under review by the European Medicines Agency.

About endometrial cancer

Endometrial cancer is one of the most common gynecologic cancers in developed countries,[1] and there are about 60,000 new cases of endometrial cancer diagnosed every year in the US. [2] Approximately 15-20% of patients with endometrial cancer will be diagnosed with advanced disease at the time of diagnosis. [3] [4] An estimated 20-29% of all endometrial cancers are dMMR/MSI-H.[5] Chemotherapy used alone has been the current standard of care for primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, and many patients eventually experience disease progression.[6]

About RUBY

RUBY is a two-part global, randomized, double-blind, multicenter phase III trial of patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer. Part 1 is evaluating dostarlimab-gxly plus carboplatin-paclitaxel followed by dostarlimab-gxly versus carboplatin-paclitaxel plus placebo followed by placebo. Part 2 is evaluating dostarlimab-gxly plus carboplatin-paclitaxel followed by dostarlimab-gxly plus niraparib versus placebo plus carboplatin-paclitaxel followed by placebo.

The dual-primary endpoints in Part 1 are investigator-assessed PFS based on the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors v1.1 and OS. The statistical analysis plan included pre-specified analyses of PFS in the dMMR/MSI-H and ITT populations and OS in the overall population. Pre-specified exploratory analyses of PFS in the mismatch repair proficient (MMRp)/microsatellite stable (MSS) population and OS in the dMMR/MSI-H populations were also performed. RUBY Part 1 included a broad population, including histologies often excluded from clinical trials and had approximately 10% of patients with carcinosarcoma and 20% with serous carcinoma. In Part 2, the primary endpoint is investigator-assessed PFS. Secondary endpoints in Part 1 and Part 2 include PFS per blinded independent central review, overall response rate, duration of response, disease control rate, patient-reported outcomes, and safety and tolerability.
The Board of Directors of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE: TDY) announced today that George C. Bobb III was promoted to the position of Executive Vice President of Teledyne, effective July 25, 2023. George has been a Senior Vice President of Teledyne since October 2021 and remains President of Teledynes Aerospace and Defense Electronics Segment with additional executive leadership responsibility for the Marine Instrumentation group, the Engineered Systems Segment, Teledyne Scientific & Imaging, which includes classified Digital Imaging programs and Teledynes Information Technology function. George joined Teledyne in 2008 and has achieved increasing levels of operational and administrative responsibility, including previously serving as Teledynes Chief Compliance Officer.

Also announced today, Susan L. Main, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will be retiring from her position at Teledyne, effective December 1, 2023. Sue joined Teledyne Technologies in 2004 and was named Chief Financial Officer in 2012. Sue has continuously held financial roles with increasing responsibility at Teledyne Technologies, the former Teledyne, Inc. and related spin-off companies for the past 34 years.

Stephen F. Blackwood, Teledynes current Senior Vice President, Strategic Sourcing, Tax and Treasurer will succeed Sue and become Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer on December 1, 2023. Since joining Teledyne in 2008, Steve has completed over $5 billion in debt financings to support Teledynes growth and acquisition strategy and to diversify funding sources. He also was instrumental in reducing risks associated with Teledynes historic pension plan. Finally, Luis Arrieta, previously Executive Director and Assistant Treasurer at Amgen Inc., has recently joined Teledyne as Executive Director and Associate Treasurer and is expected to assume the position of Vice President and Treasurer on December 1, 2023.

I have worked with Sue for 25 years. I have always admired her leadership and trusted her judgment, said Robert Mehrabian, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. Sue has successfully led our finance organization through Teledynes significant growth and developed an excellent team. I will greatly miss her advice and friendship. Sue and Steve have worked together for 15 years, and I am confident of a very smooth transition. Separately, I want to congratulate George on his well-deserved promotion to Executive Vice President.
Zelenskyy signs bill granting law enforcers right to shoot down UAVs if they violate Ukrainian airspace

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a law granting the National Police and the National Guard the right to attack unmanned aerial vehicles if they violate Ukrainian airspace.

As noted in the card of relevant bill No. 8185, posted on the website of the Verkhovna Rada, the document was returned to the parliament with the signature of the head of state on July 31.

The purpose of the bill is to regulate the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in law enforcement and counteract their illegal use.

According to the document, unmanned aerial vehicles are prohibited from being used over the buildings of police departments, the State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and border service facilities both during the period of martial law and after it ends.

The bill proposes to expand the powers of the National Guard, the National Police, the State Border Guard Service, the State Security Service of Ukraine in terms of their use of special means (devices) to intercept remote control signals of drones, damage or destroy them in case of violation of the airspace of Ukraine during the protection of the state border, critical infrastructure facilities and important state facilities, in special zones with a special regime.

The bill prohibits UAV flights over the border strip, with the exception of cases determined by the Cabinet of Ministers, checkpoints (control) across the state border and entry-exit checkpoints, faciities of the State Border Guard Service.

In addition, to counteract sabotage and crime in certain areas, tools and devices can be used to temporarily restrict Internet access and the use of mobile communications.

As reported, on July 13, the parliament adopted this bill as a whole.
Investing.com -- Retail giant Walmart (NYSE: WMT) has further cemented its interest in Flipkart through a $1.4 billion purchase of shares from a major investor in the Indian e-commerce group, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Walmart bought New York-based hedge fund Tiger Global's remaining shares in Flipkart, the paper reported, citing a letter sent by Tiger to its investors. The transaction valued Flipkart at $35B, down from the almost $38B attached by Tiger to the company in 2021.

Meanwhile, Walmart also bought out private equity firm Accel's remaining 1% stake in Flipkart, the Economic Times newspaper reported, although the size of the purchase was unknown.

The moves boost Walmart's exposure to Flipkart at a time when the Arkansas-based company is looking to expand its presence in global digital commerce. Walmart paid $16B more than five years ago for an initial 77% stake in Flipkart, a wide-ranging business catering to more than 450 million customers.

A Walmart spokesperson told Reuters Monday that shares in Flipkart were bought from Tiger Global and some other investors, but declined to give more details. Tiger and Accel did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, Mont., July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sandfire Resources America Inc. ("Sandfire America" or the "Company") announces the appointment of Lincoln Greenidge, the current Chief Executive Officer of the Company, and Victoria Twiss, to the Board of Directors of the Company (the Board) in replacement of Matt Fitzgerald and Rob Scargill who have resigned as directors of the Company effective July 29, 2023. The Company also announces the appointment of Jason Grace as the Board Chair.



Following the changes to the Board, the Board will be comprised of five members: Lincoln Greenidge, Victoria Twiss, Jason Grace, Alan Joscelyn and Christina Hedrich. Mr. Greenidge will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

Mr. Greenidge joined the Company in January of 2022 and served as the Companys Chief Financial Officer until March 29, 2023, at which time he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

Ms. Twiss is a practicing lawyer with over 18 years experience in the resource sector with experience in the development and operation of mining and infrastructure projects, governance, risk and compliance, mergers and acquisition, land management and contracting and procurement. Ms. Twiss joined Sandfire Resources Ltd. of Australia in 2011 during the construction of their DeGrussa Copper Gold Mine. She oversees the legal, risk, compliance, procurement, and internal audit functions for Sandfire Resources Ltd.

The Company would like to thank both Mr. Fitzgerald and Mr. Scargill for their services and wishes them all the best in their future endeavors.

Contact Information:

Sandfire Resources America Inc.

Nancy Schlepp, VP of Communications

Mobile: 406-224-8180

Office: 406-547-3466

Email: [email protected]

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain disclosures in this document constitute forward looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the advancement of the Black Butte Copper Project and expected outcomes. In making these forward-looking statements, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable, including that the Company will receive required regulatory approvals, that the Company will continue to be able to access sufficient funding to execute its plans, and that the results of exploration and development activities are consistent with managements expectations. However, the forward-looking statements in this document are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors, including factors relating to the Companys operation as a mineral exploration and development company , the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties and the Black Butte Copper Project, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drill results and other exploration data and the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits, that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements, including that results of exploration and development activities will not be consistent with managements expectations, delays in obtaining or inability to obtain required government or other regulatory approvals or financing, currency fluctuations, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, competition and loss of key employees, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, the risk of accidents, labor disputes, inclement or hazardous weather conditions, unusual or unexpected geological conditions, ground control problems, earthquakes, flooding and all of the other risks generally associated with the development of mining facilities. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Alexandria, Va., July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American College of Physicians (ACP) today issued updated guidance for colorectal cancer screening, recommending asymptomatic, average-risk adults should begin screening for colorectal cancer at age 50. The Prevent Cancer Foundation strongly opposes the updated guidance, which goes against the latest evidence-based screening recommendations from the organizations working in the cancer screening space every day. There is a solid and growing body of evidence that shows increased incidence and mortality in young-onset colorectal cancerevidence that supports the need to start screening earlier than age 50.

New guidelines from the ACP go against those of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the American Cancer Society and the American College of Gastroenterology, all of whom recommend that people at average risk* of colorectal cancer start routine screening at age 45. The Prevent Cancer Foundation supports following the guidelines of the USPSTF, the American Cancer Society and American College of Gastroenterology and encourages all adults of average risk to begin colorectal cancer screening at age 45. If you have certain risk factors, you may need to start screening sooner or get screened more often.

Colorectal cancer does not only affect older adultstoday, more adults under 45 are being diagnosed than ever before for reasons that are not yet known. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the rate of colorectal cancer in people younger than 50 has doubled since the 1990s. The NCI estimates that by 2030, approximately 1 in 10 colon cancers and 1 in 4 rectal cancers will be diagnosed in people under 50 years old. This alarming trend illustrates the need to begin routine screening for average-risk people at age 45.

There are several options available for colorectal cancer screening, and all available colorectal cancer screening methods are safe and can save lives. While there are potential harms to cancer screening, including false positives leading to stress and follow-up procedures, as well as serious potential complications such as bleeding or risk of colonic perforation with colonoscopy, there are significant benefits to routine colorectal cancer screening. With routine screening, we can find cancers in earlier stages when they are more treatable, and with colonoscopy can even find and remove precancerous polyps. Early Detection = Better Outcomes, and routine colorectal cancer screening by any available method saves lives.

The new guidance from the ACP does not take barriers to screening into account, but barriers such as transportation, cost and patient fear play a role in the colorectal cancer screening method people useif they get screened at all. Colorectal cancer is one of the few cancer types where routine at-home screening is an option. In the Prevent Cancer Foundations 2023 Early Detection survey, 40% of people who were not up to date (or were not sure if they were up to date) on their routine cancer screenings said they would prioritize it if at-home testing was an option. Its important to take advantage of the benefit of multiple screening options and remember that choosing a screening optionan inherent part of the patient/provider discussionshould be based on patient needs and desires.

The new ACP guidelines go against other evidence-based cancer screening guidelines and will cause confusion among patients and providers, threatening to undo the progress that has been made in young-onset colorectal cancer prevention and early detection. The Prevent Cancer Foundation continues to advocate for people ages 45-75 at average risk to get routine colorectal cancer screenings. Knowing the signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer can help you recognize any changes in your body that could be caused by cancer and may indicate that you need to be screened earlier.

Learn more

Colorectal cancer screening, prevention and early detection

Young-onset colorectal cancer

Too Young For This Sh*t PSA

* Average risk means you do not have:

A personal history of inflammatory bowel disease (such as ulcerative colitis or Crohns disease).

A personal history of colorectal cancer or certain kinds of polyps (flat polyps).

A family history of colorectal cancer.

Hereditary colorectal cancer syndrome (such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) or Lynch syndrome).

###

About the Prevent Cancer Foundation

The Prevent Cancer Foundation is the only U.S.-based nonprofit organization solely dedicated to cancer prevention and early detection. Through research, education, outreach and advocacy, we have helped countless people avoid a cancer diagnosis or detect their cancer early enough to be successfully treated. We are driven by a vision of a world where cancer is preventable, detectable and beatable for all.

The Foundation is rising to meet the challenge of reducing cancer deaths by 40% by 2035. To achieve this, we are committed to investing $20 million for innovative technologies to detect cancer early and advance multi-cancer screening, $10 million to expand cancer screening and vaccination access to medically underserved communities, and $10 million to educate the public about screening and vaccination options.

For more information, please visit www.preventcancer.org.

Lisa Berry Edwards Prevent Cancer Foundation 703-519-2107 [email protected]

Source: Prevent Cancer Foundation
WHITEHORSE, Yukon, July 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Victoria Gold Corp. (TSX-VGCX) (Victoria or the Company) announces that as a result of wildfire activity in the area of the Eagle Gold mine, the operation has been partially evacuated.

Mr. John McConnell, President and CEO commented, The safety of our employees is our highest priority. As a result of wildfire activity proximal to Eagle and in consultation with the Yukon Wildland Fire Management team, we made the precautionary decision to evacuate non-essential employees. A volunteer contingent of employees remains staged nearby the mine site to operate and maintain critical operational assets. We would like to thank the Yukon Wildland Fire Management for their assistance during this time and their continued efforts to manage and respond to wildfire activity in the territory.

On the evening of July 29, a partial evacuation of the Eagle Gold mine commenced and was successfully and safely completed on July 30. Employees who have voluntarily remained on location will continue to run heap leach pumping activities. Mining and stacking operations have been suspended.

The East McQuesten fire is currently approximately 4 kilometers from the Eagle Gold mine and is being actively managed by the Yukon Wildland Fire Management response team. Victoria has provided certain heavy equipment to assist the fire response effort. In accordance with the Companys Emergency Response Plan, measures have been taken to protect infrastructure at Eagle. The Company will provide additional updates in due course.

Qualified PersonThe technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Paul D. Gray, P.Geo., as the Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About the Dublin Gulch PropertyVictoria Gold's 100%-owned Dublin Gulch gold property (the Property) is situated in central Yukon Territory, Canada, approximately 375 kilometers north of the capital city of Whitehorse, and approximately 85 kilometers from the town of Mayo. The Property is accessible by road year round, and is located within Yukon Energy's electrical grid.

The Property covers an area of approximately 555 square kilometers, and is the site of the Company's Eagle and Olive Gold Deposits. The Eagle Gold Mine is Yukon's newest operating gold mine. The Eagle and Olive deposits include Proven and Probable Reserves of 3.3 million ounces of gold from 155 million tonnes of ore with a grade of 0.65 grams of gold per tonne, as outlined in a National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report for the Eagle Gold Mine dated December 3, 2019. The Mineral Resource under National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101) for the Eagle and Olive deposits has been estimated to host 227 million tonnes averaging 0.67 grams of gold per tonne, containing 4.7 million ounces of gold in the "Measured and Indicated" category, inclusive of Proven and Probable Reserves, and a further 28 million tonnes averaging 0.65 grams of gold per tonne, containing 0.6 million ounces of gold in the "Inferred" category.

Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". Except for statements of historical fact relating to Victoria, information contained herein constitutes forward-looking information, including any information related to Victoria's strategy, plans or future financial or operating performance. Forward-looking information is characterized by words such as plan, expect, budget, target, project, intend, believe, anticipate, estimate and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions may, will, could or should occur, and includes any guidance and forecasts set out herein (including, but not limited to, production and operational guidance of the Corporation). In order to give such forward-looking information, the Corporation has made certain assumptions about the its business, operations, the economy and the mineral exploration industry in general, in particular in light of the impact of the novel coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease (COVID-19) on each of the foregoing. In this respect, the Corporation has assumed that production levels will remain consistent with managements expectations, contracted parties provide goods and services on agreed timeframes, equipment works as anticipated, required regulatory approvals are received, no unusual geological or technical problems occur, no material adverse change in the price of gold occurs and no significant events occur outside of the Corporation's normal course of business. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made, and are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other known and unknown factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in, or implied by, the forward-looking information. These factors include the impact of general business and economic conditions, risks related to COVID-19 on the Company, global liquidity and credit availability on the timing of cash flows and the values of assets and liabilities based on projected future conditions, anticipated metal production, fluctuating metal prices, currency exchange rates, estimated ore grades, possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates, changes in accounting policies, changes in Victoria's corporate resources, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, changes in development and production time frames, the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, uncertainty of mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates, higher prices for fuel, steel, power, labour and other consumables contributing to higher costs and general risks of the mining industry, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, final pricing for metal sales, unanticipated results of future studies, seasonality and unanticipated weather changes, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, requirements for additional capital, permitting time lines, government regulation of mining operations, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, title disputes or claims, limitations on insurance coverage and timing and possible outcomes of pending litigation and labour disputes, risks related to remote operations and the availability of adequate infrastructure, fluctuations in price and availability of energy and other inputs necessary for mining operations. Although Victoria has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in, or implied by, the forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained herein is presented for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding Victoria's expected financial and operational performance and Victoria's plans and objectives and may not be appropriate for other purposes. All forward-looking information contained herein is given as of the date hereof, as the case may be, and is based upon the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management of the Corporation as at the date hereof. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking information contained herein and the documents incorporated by reference herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.

For Further Information Contact:John McConnellPresident & CEOVictoria Gold CorpTel: 604-696-6605[email protected]

Source: Victoria Gold Corp
TORONTO, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wallbridge Mining Company Limited (TSX:WM, OTCQX: WLBMF) (Wallbridge or the Company) is pleased to report that it received $12.5 million of cash refunds with respect to its 2022 Quebec Tax Credit Relating to Resources (TCRR) that were claimed on its 2022 Quebec income tax return.

We are pleased with the quick turnaround and payment of the refund by Revenue Quebec, stated Marz Kord, President and CEO of Wallbridge. The receipt of the TCRR Quebec investment tax credits will be used for our 2024 exploration program once approved by our board. We look forward to outlining to our shareholders our 2024 exploration program on the Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend Properties at that time.

About Wallbridge Mining

Wallbridge is focused on creating value through the exploration and sustainable development of gold projects along the Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend while respecting the environment and communities where it operates.

Wallbridges flagship project, Fenelon Gold (Fenelon), is located on the highly prospective Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend Property in Quebecs Northern Abitibi region. An updated mineral resource estimate completed in January 2023 yielded significantly improved grades and additional ounces at the 100%-owned Fenelon and Martiniere projects, incorporating a combined 3.05 million ounces of indicated gold resources and 2.35 million ounces of inferred gold resources. Fenelon and Martiniere are located within an 830 km2 exploration land package controlled by Wallbridge. In addition, Wallbridge believes that the extensive land package is extremely prospective for the discovery of additional gold deposits.

Wallbridge has reported a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on its 100%- owned Fenelon gold Project with an estimated average annual gold production of 212,000 ounces over 12.3 years.

Wallbridge also holds a 19.9% interest in the common shares of Archer Exploration Corp. (Archer) as a result of the sale of the Companys portfolio of nickel assets in Ontario and Quebec in November of 2022.

Wallbridge will continue to focus on its core Detour-Fenelon Gold Trend Property while enabling shareholders to participate in the potential economic upside in Archer.

For further information please visit the Companys website at www.wallbridgemining.com or contact:

Wallbridge Mining Company Limited

Marz Kord, P. Eng., M. Sc., MBAPresident & CEOTel: (705) 6829297 ext. 251Email: [email protected]

Victoria Vargas, B.Sc. (Hon.) Economics, MBACapital Markets AdvisorEmail: [email protected]

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking InformationThis press release may contain forward-looking statements or information (collectively, FLI) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. FLI is based on expectations, estimates, projections, and interpretations as at the date of this press release.

All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are FLI that involve various risks, assumptions, estimates and uncertainties. Generally, FLI can be identified by the use of statements that include words such as seeks, believes, anticipates, plans, continues, budget, scheduled, estimates, expects, forecasts, intends, projects, predicts, proposes, "potential", targets and variations of such words and phrases, or by statements that certain actions, events or results may, will, could, would, should or might, be taken, occur or be achieved.

FLI herein may include, but is not limited to, statements regarding the results of the Fenelon preliminary economic assessment (PEA), statements regarding the potential future performance of Archer common shares; future drill results; the Companys ability to convert inferred resources into measured and indicated resources; environmental matters; stakeholder engagement and relationships; parameters and methods used to estimate mineral resource estimates (the MREs) at the Fenelon Gold and Martiniere properties (collectively the Deposits); the prospects, if any, of the Deposits; future drilling at the Deposits; and the significance of historic exploration activities and results. FLI is not, and cannot be, a guarantee of future results or events.

FLI is designed to help you understand managements current views of its near- and longer-term prospects, and it may not be appropriate for other purposes. FLI by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such FLI. Although FLI is based upon what management believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders and prospective purchasers of securities of the Company that actual results will be consistent with such FLI, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, and neither the Company nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any such FLI. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake, and assumes no obligation, to update or revise any such FLI contained herein to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by law. Unless otherwise noted, this press release has been prepared based on information available as of the date of this press release. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on the FLI or information contained herein.

Assumptions upon which FLI is based, without limitation, include the results of exploration activities, the Companys financial position and general economic conditions; the ability of exploration activities to accurately predict mineralization; the accuracy of geological modelling; the ability of the Company to complete further exploration activities; potential changes in project parameters or economic assessments; the legitimacy of title and property interests; the accuracy of key assumptions, parameters or methods used to estimate the MREs and in the PEA; the ability of the Company to obtain required approvals; geological, mining and exploration technical problems; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the evolution of the global economic climate; metal prices; foreign exchange rates; environmental expectations; community and non-governmental actions; any impacts of COVID-19; and, the Companys ability to secure required funding. Risks and uncertainties about Wallbridge's business are more fully discussed in the disclosure materials filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada, which are available at www.sedar.com. Furthermore, should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in FLI.

Cautionary Note to United States Investors

Wallbridge Mining prepares its disclosure in accordance with the requirements of securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of U.S. securities laws. Terms relating to mineral resources in this press release are defined in accordance with NI 43-101 under the guidelines set out in CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Council on May 19, 2014, as amended ("CIM Standards"). The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") has adopted amendments effective February 25, 2019 (the "SEC Modernization Rules") to its disclosure rules to modernize the mineral property disclosure requirements for issuers whose securities are registered with the SEC under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. As a result of the adoption of the SEC Modernization Rules, the SEC will now recognize estimates of "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources", which are defined in substantially similar terms to the corresponding CIM Standards. In addition, the SEC has amended its definitions of "proven mineral reserves" and "probable mineral reserves" to be substantially similar to the corresponding CIM Standards.

U.S. investors are cautioned that while the foregoing terms are "substantially similar" to corresponding definitions under the CIM Standards, there are differences in the definitions under the SEC Modernization Rules and the CIM Standards. Accordingly, there is no assurance any mineral resources that Wallbridge Mining may report as "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources" under NI 43-101 would be the same had Wallbridge Mining prepared the resource estimates under the standards adopted under the SEC Modernization Rules. In accordance with Canadian securities laws, estimates of "inferred mineral resources" cannot form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies, except in limited circumstances were permitted under NI 43-101.

Source: Wallbridge Mining Company Limited
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - Bell Copper Corporation (TSXV: BCU) (OTCQB: BCUFF) ("Bell Copper" or the "Company") wishes to provide a drilling update, and an update to its news release of June 15, 2023, wherein it had announced plans to conduct a non-brokered private placement ("Financing") for up to 10,416,666 units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.12 per Unit to raise gross proceeds of up to $1,250,000. Conditional acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange to the Financing has been received and the Company is still in the process of collecting subscriptions from various investors. It plans to submit final documentation and announce a closing of the Financing ("Closing") within the next 30 days. Each unit (a "Unit") will consist of one common share and one transferable share purchase warrant ("Warrant"). Each Warrant shall be exercisable into one additional common share at a price of CAD $0.24 per share for a period of two years from the date of Closing.

Crescat Capital LLC ("Crescat"), a >10% insider and significant shareholder of the Company, has committed to participate in the Financing pursuant to its equity participation right to maintain its pro-rata ownership in Bell Copper.

Crescat's participation in the Financing shall constitute a "related party transaction" for the purposes of Multilateral Instrument 61-101, Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company is relying upon exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 in completing the Financing with Crescat, on the basis that the fair market value of Crescat's pro rate participation shall be less than 25% of Bell's current market capitalization.

The private placement shall be subject to final acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange and all securities issued pursuant to the Financing will be subject to a hold period under applicable securities laws, which hold period will expire four months plus one day from the date of Closing. The Company may pay finder's fees incidental to the Financing, as permitted by the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Funds raised from the Financing will be used for the ongoing drilling and exploration program at the Company's 100% owned Big Sandy Porphyry Copper Project and for general working capital. Closing shall be subject to receipt of all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals, including approval of the TSX-V.

Additionally, further to the Company's news release of April 4, 2023 wherein it announced an agreement to settle $60,000 of debt owing to a certain creditor by the issuance of 272,727 common shares in the capital of the Company, it was decided laterally to withdraw the application for regulatory approval and alternate arrangements with the creditor have been made for settlement of the debt.

Drilling Update

Drilling of hole BS-4 on the Big Sandy porphyry copper project in northwest Arizona has encountered visible native, metallic silver in drill core at a depth of 829 meters, hosted by conglomerate. BS-4 is testing the concept of a decapitated top of a large porphyry copper system buried beneath the conglomerate at a depth of around 1200 meters. The native silver in BS-4 was not anticipated as part of the porphyry copper target model.

On June 7, 2022, the Company announced that it had cut in drillhole BS-3 an interval of 200 meters grading 0.42 percent copper (8.4 lbsCu/st) and 2.4 grams of silver per tonne from 1302 meters to 1502 meters, including 54 meters grading 0.67 percent copper (13.4 lbsCu/st) and 3.7 grams of silver per tonne from 1445 meters to 1499 meters. Drillhole BS-3 is located 900 meters south of the ongoing drillhole, BS-4. Native, metallic copper has been observed in the overlying conglomerate in each of holes BS-1 through BS-4, but this is the first time that native silver has been seen in the Big Sandy drill core.

The native silver in drillhole BS-4 is believed to represent exotic silver, that is, silver that originated in underlying bedrock and that was leached out of the bedrock by upwelling groundwater and redeposited in the overlying conglomerate. A centimeter-wide halo of gray, bleached sandy matrix in otherwise light brown matrix surrounds the native silver.

The native silver is not believed to represent a commercially significant quantity of silver. Rather, it is seen as a geochemical indicator of proximity to bedrock formations that are silver-bearing.





Figure 1. BS-4 drill core from 829.3 meters depth showing native silver (metallic white) in a bleached, light gray envelope cutting otherwise light brown, sandy conglomerate matrix. Field of view is two centimeters.

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Drilling progress at BS-4 was stalled for two months when the drill string became blocked by a stuck sample tube. Uninterrupted efforts to remove or bypass the stuck tube finally succeeded when a wedge was used to deflect a smaller diameter drill string through the side of the blocked drill string. The native silver was encountered by subsequent diamond drilling beneath the blockage.

Tim Marsh, Bell's President and CEO, and a Qualified Person as defined by NI43-101, said, "The native silver that we have just drilled at Big Sandy complements the exotic, native copper that we have reported in previous drillholes as an indicator of nearby, copper-silver mineralized bedrock. Our BS-3 intersection nearly one kilometer away demonstrated the existence of an underlying, supergene enriched porphyry copper deposit as a potential source for the exotic, native metals in the conglomerate. This is just the sort of welcome mat that should greet every successful explorer."

Qualified Person

The technical content of this release has been reviewed and approved by Timothy Marsh, PhD, PEng., the Company's CEO and President. No mineral resource has yet been identified on the Big Sandy Project. There is no certainty that the present exploration effort will result in the identification of a mineral resource or that any mineral resource that might be discovered will prove to be economically recoverable.

About Bell Copper

Bell Copper is a mineral exploration company focused on the identification, exploration and discovery of large copper deposits located in Arizona. Bell Copper is exploring its 100% owned Big Sandy Porphyry Copper Project and the Perseverance Porphyry Copper Project which is under a Joint Venture - Earn In.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of

Bell Copper Corporation

"Timothy Marsh"

Timothy Marsh, President, CEO & Director

For further information please contact the Company

Tel: 1 800 418 8250

Email: [email protected]

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release includes "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "potential", "target", "budget" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the expectations of management regarding the proposed Financing, the expectations of management regarding the use of proceeds of the Financing, closing conditions for the Financing, the expiry of hold periods for securities distributed pursuant to the Financing, use of proceeds of the Financing and TSX-V approval of the proposed Financing. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management based on the business and markets in which Bell Copper operates, are inherently subject to significant operational, economic, and competitive uncertainties, risks and contingencies. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results, and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include: that the Company may not complete the Financing on terms favourable to the Company or at all; that the TSX-V may not approve the Financing; that the proceeds of the Financing may not be used as stated in this news release; actual exploration results, interpretation of metallurgical characteristics of the mineralization, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, delays or inability to receive required approvals, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators, including those described in the Company's most recently filed MD&A. The Company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable law.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/175466
Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - Green River Gold Corp. (CSE: CCR) (OTC Pink: CCRRF) (the "Company" or "Green River") is pleased to announce that geological work has commenced on the its Fontaine Gold Property in Quesnel, Central British Columbia.

The Fontaine Gold Property covers an area exceeding 200 square kilometers and straddles a 32-kilometer length of the Barkerville and Quesnel Terranes. To the East, the property borders Osisko Development Corp.'s mineral claim group containing a proposed mine at its Cariboo Gold Project. To the West, it is bounded by Omineca Mining and Metals Ltd.'s mineral claims group which contains its Wingdam underground alluvial gold project.

The main task for this phase of geological work is visiting the old Minfile record, Galleon (093A 153). The Galleon is located south of the confluence of Fontaine and Font creeks in the Little Swift River area, about 53 kilometers east of Quesnel. The Galleon showing is located within the Barkerville Terrane, a few kilometers east of the Eureka Thrust which marks the contact with the Quesnel Terrane. Rocks of the region have been mapped as undifferentiated Upper Proterozoic-Paleozoic Snowshoe Group. The showing is underlain by arkosic phyllite, quartzite and schist which are cut by quartz veins containing pyrite, chalcopyrite and galena.

A grab sample returned assays of 11.4 percent lead, 242.7 grams per tonne silver and 0.96 gram per tonne gold (Assessment Report 13444). Geological mapping and geochemical sampling will be conducted in this area.





Figure 1 Minfile Location Map

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Green River is also pleased to announce that it has purchased a 100% right, title, and interest in and to the Midnight Special Project. The Midnight Special Project was acquired for staking costs totaling $429.

The Midnight Special Project consists of 244.25 hectares of land (the Property) and is located 22 kilometers northwest of Lillooet in British Columbia (see figure 3 - Project location map). The area is located at the contact between a body of granodiorite, presumably related to the Eocene Mission Ridge pluton, and sedimentary rocks, presumably of the Mississippian to Jurassic Bridge River Complex (Group). The prospect consists of pyrite, pyrrhotite and small amounts of chalcopyrite, within the intrusive margin of the granodiorite, and may represent a contact replacement or skarn-type mineralization.

A representative sample assayed 11.66 grams per tonne of gold and 29.48 grams per tonne of silver (Geological Survey of Canada Summary Report 1912, page 207). In 1985, Odessa Explorations Inc conducted a geochemical survey of the adit and 4 surface pits of the showing, the best results were from pit 1 with 9.81 % Pb, 4.43 % Zn, 8.75 oz/t Ag, and 0.014 oz/t Au (Aris 14326).





Figure 2 Midnight Special Tenure Boundary Map

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Figure 3 Project Location Map

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Qualified Person:

Stephen P. Kocsis is the qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and he has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release.

About Green River Gold Corp.

Green River Gold Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on its wholly owned Fontaine Gold Project, Quesnel Nickel/Magnesium/Talc Project, Kymar Silver Project, and Kali Pegmatite Property which are located in renowned mining districts in British Columbia.

The Fontaine Gold and Quesnel Nickel properties cover an area exceeding 200 square kilometers and straddle a 32-kilometer length of the Barkerville and Quesnel Terranes. They are contiguous to Osisko Development Corp.'s mineral claim group containing a proposed mine location at its Cariboo Gold Project.

The Kymar Silver Project is located in southeast BC, approximately 28 kilometers west of the town of Invermere in the Golden Mining Division. The property is made up of two mineral tenures, totaling 1,625 hectares, along the southeast flank of Mount Catherine.

For more information contact:

Green River Gold Corp.

Mr. Perry Little - President and Chief Executive Officer

[email protected]

780-993-2193

Additional information about Green River Gold Corp. can be found by reviewing its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Forward Looking Information: This release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Expressions such as "anticipates", "expects", "believes", "estimates", "could", "intends", "may", "plans", "predicts", "projects", "will", "would" and other similar expressions, or the negative of these terms, are generally indicative of forward-looking information. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information.

In addition, the forward- looking information contained in this release is based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information as it is inherently uncertain, and no assurance can be given that the expectations reflected in such information will prove to be correct. The forward-looking information in this release is made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances.

The securities of the Company have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This release is issued for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of any securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (operated by CNSX Markets Inc.) has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/175421
Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - Grizzly Discoveries Inc. (TSXV: GZD) (FSE: G6H) (OTCQB: GZDIF) ("Grizzly" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that crews have been mobilized to the Rock Creek camp and have commenced work at Midway, Copper Mountain and the Imperial target areas within the Greenwood Precious and Battery Metals Project.

Geological and prospecting crews have commenced prospecting, geological mapping, rock and soil sampling within the Greenwood Project. The intent is to prepare these target areas for drilling later this year. The Company is awaiting land use permits for conducting drilling and trenching at the Midway Mine area as well as drilling at Copper Mountain, Imperial and potentially the Sappho target areas (Figure 1).

Figure 1:Exploration Targets 2023.



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The geological and prospecting crew has made a new discovery of sulphide in a quartz vein zone on an extension to the Mabel Jenny structural zone in the Copper Mountain project area. Figures 2 and 3 outline a new road cut from which a rock grab sample collected in 2022 returned 7.5 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au), 54 g/t silver (Ag), 2.04% zinc (Zn) and 0.067% Cu. The new logging road cut has been dug out and cleaned up with a number of new samples collected (Figure 2). The road cut is approximately 150 m northwest of the Mabel Jenny historical workings (Figure 3). Another 2022 rock grab sample collected about 100 m further northwest yielded 1.01 g/t Au.





Figure 2:New discovery of a quartz vein breccia zone with sulphide about 150 m northwest of Mabel Jenny. Click here for video clip:Quartz vein breccia zone with sulphide

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A single drillhole in the area of the Mabel Jenny workings intersected a propylitic to argillic altered quartz diorite with pervasive pyrite, quartz veining and localized breccia zones. The 178 m hole returned up to 0.21 g/t Au over 42.8 m with a core of 0.4 g/t Au across 18.2 m core length, but more importantly every sample was anomalous with gold, with not a single sample returning less than detection background gold.

The geological crews have collected approximately 1,200 soil samples and 200 rock samples from the Midway and Copper Mountain areas to date. Assays results will be reported as they become available.

Figure 3:Samples and drillholes on backdrop of HLEM and Geology.



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The goal of the current fieldwork is to improve the targeting for the late summer - fall drilling campaigns at a number of precious metal and battery metal targets across the property and continue to develop a pipeline of high priority precious metal and battery metal targets that are all permitted and ready for a long 2023 drilling campaign in order to prioritize these assets into those that can deliver future mineral resources with additional drilling, eventually leading to some form of economic studies and scenarios that might be able to take advantage of local toll treating opportunities that exist in the Greenwood - Republic region.

Brian Testo, President and CEO of Grizzly Discoveries stated, "We are extremely excited with the progress that our prospecting team has made to date. The new discovery of a quartz vein breccia zone near the Mable Jenny target is an excellent start to the 2023 exploration season. Grizzly plans to pursue this and a number of high grade gold - silver showings and historical mines within our current 160,000+ acre land holdings in the Greenwood District. We have numerous prospective zones that could potentially result in additional new discoveries along with the multiple historical mining production showings that Grizzly intends to drill and advance."

2023 Exploration Update for Greenwood

Additional drilling is warranted in 2023 at both the Dayton and Motherlode North target areas in order to follow-up the anomalous results of the 2022 drilling program. In addition, there other targets at Motherlode North in the vicinity of the Motherlode Pit, the Greyhound Pit and the Great Hopes crown grant that have yet be drill tested.

Drilling and trenching permit applications have been submitted for the 2023 season for the Midway, Sappho, Copper Mountain and Imperial target areas.

Additional permit applications for drilling at the Crown Point and the Overlander-Mt Attwood areas are in preparation and will be submitted in the near future.

The Midway area is being targeted for copper-gold skarn and epithermal gold-silver.

At Midway, selective rock grab and composite rock grab samples from outcrop collected from the Midway Mine-Picturestone area, with 4 of 7 rock grab samples from outcropping mineralization

in the Midway Mine historical pit yielded a range of 12.05 g/t (or 0.351 ounces per ton [oz/t]) Au up to 70.8 g/t (2.065 oz/t) Au (See Company news release dated October17, 2022).

Three (3) of the 7 selective rock grab samples from the Midway Mine pits yielded from 1,360 g/t Ag (39.7 oz/t Ag) up to 2,140 g/T Ag (62.4 oz/t Ag) (see the Company news release dated October 17, 2022).

All highly anomalous samples are from outcrop and characterized by the presence of abundant pyrite, arsenopyrite with visible galena and sphalerite in a siliceous chalcedonic host. The mineralization is hosted in polymetallic veins that display the presence of Pb, Zn, Cu, arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) and are likely epithermal in nature.

A selective rock grab sample from outcrop 200 m west of the main Midway Mine yielded 15.85 g/t Au (0.462 oz/t Au) and 1,530 g/T Ag (44.6 oz/t Ag), illustrating that there is potential for additional high-grade mineralization in the area.

The Sappho area is being targeted for copper-gold-PGEs skarn and porphyry type targets associated with an alkalic intrusion and several diorite intrusions south of Greenwood near the US border.

At least five new showings of copper oxide/sulphide mineralization were found during the 2022 program at the Sappho Target.

Previous surface sampling and drilling by Grizzly at the Sappho area has yielded significant anomalous copper, gold, silver along with platinum and palladium.

Numerous rock grab samples have yielded greater than 1% copper, 1 g/t gold, 1 g/t platinum and 1 g/t palladium (see Company news release dated November 3, 2022).

Historical drilling (by the Company) has yielded up to 0.31% Cu, 0.75 g/t Au, 0.34 g/t Pt, 0.39 g/t Pd and 6.57 g/t Ag over 6.5 m core length in skarn at Sappho in 2010.

Quality Assurance and Control

Rock and soil samples were analyzed at ALS Global Laboratories (Geochemistry Division) in Vancouver, Canada (an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited facility). Gold was assayed using a fire assay with atomic emission spectrometry and gravimetric finish when required (+10 g/t Au). Rock grab and rock chip samples from outcrop/bedrock are selective by nature and may not be representative of the mineralization hosted on the project.

The sampling program was undertaken by Company personnel under the direction of Michael B. Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol., P.Geo. A secure chain of custody is maintained in transporting and storing of all samples.

The technical content of this news release and the Company's technical disclosure has been reviewed and approved by Michael B. Dufresne, M. Sc., P. Geol., P.Geo., who is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

ABOUT GRIZZLY DISCOVERIES INC.

Grizzly is a diversified Canadian mineral exploration company with its primary listing on the TSX Venture Exchange focused on developing its approximately 66,000 ha (approximately 165,000 acres) of precious and base metals properties in southeastern British Columbia. Grizzly is run by a highly experienced junior resource sector management team, who have a track record of advancing exploration projects from early exploration stage through to feasibility stage.

On behalf of the Board,

GRIZZLY DISCOVERIES INC.

Brian Testo, CEO, President

Suite 363-9768 170 Street NW

Edmonton, Alberta T5T 5L4

For further information, please visit our website at www.grizzlydiscoveries.com or contact:

Nancy Massicotte

Corporate Development

Tel: 604-507-3377

Email: [email protected]

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Caution concerning forward-looking information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. This information and statements address future activities, events, plans, developments and projections. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information and statements are frequently identified by words such as "may," "will," "should," "anticipate," "plan," "expect," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and similar terminology, and reflect assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by management of Grizzly in light of its experience, current conditions, expectations of future developments and other factors which it believes to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking information and statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause Grizzly's actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information and statements and accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed thereon.

Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary include but are not limited to the availability of financing; fluctuations in commodity prices; changes to and compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including environmental laws and obtaining requisite permits; political, economic and other risks; as well as other risks and uncertainties which are more fully described in our annual and quarterly Management's Discussion and Analysis and in other filings made by us with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available at www.sedar.com. Grizzly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements except as may be required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/175436
Study Demonstrates Base Case 15 Year Mine Life and Significant Potential Synergies with the Shakespeare Project

Sudbury, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - Magna Mining Inc. (TSXV: NICU) (OTCQB: MGMNF) (FSE: 8YD) ("Magna" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the successful completion of its Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") by Stantec on its 100% owned Crean Hill Nickel Project (the "Project") located in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.

The Base Case scenario ("Base Case") for the PEA envisions a combination of open pit and underground mining, with Life of Mine ("LOM") potential mineable resource being sold to a third-party existing mill in Sudbury. Initial underground mining would be accessed from a new ramp developed from surface, prior to rehabilitation of the existing shaft to access and hoist from the lower elevations. Resources are mined, crushed, and sampled onsite, then trucked to the third-party mill for processing. An alternative milling scenario was studied comparing the economics of the Base Case with an Alternative Processing scenario ("Alternative Processing") through a future mill at the Company's Shakespeare Project.

Magna Mining CEO Jason Jessup commented: "This Preliminary Economic Assessment demonstrates why we think the Crean Hill Nickel Project has the potential to be the next nickel producing mine in Canada. The results of the Base Case study show positive economics, a long mine life, modest upfront capital cost, and minimal permitting required before commencing advanced exploration development. The Crean Hill Project contains a large potentially mineable resource, and the current PEA schedule has not yet been fully optimized. The next technical study will look at further optimization of cut-off grade, stope design and scheduling to maximize revenues during the first years of mine life. It will incorporate not only the diamond drilling that Magna has completed on Crean Hill since the acquisition in 2022 but also the economics of a fully integrated mining complex with Magna's Shakespeare Project. The results of the Alternative Processing scenario considered in the PEA demonstrate potential robust economics, which makes a compelling case to proceed with this work. This is consistent with Magna's vision of developing a hub and spoke production model in the world class Sudbury nickel mining camp. "

Financial Analysis

Both the Base Case and Alternative Processing use metal prices of US$ 9.50/lb nickel, US$ 3.50/lb copper, US$ 22.00/lb cobalt, US$ 1000/oz platinum, US$ 1800/oz Palladium, US$ 1700/oz gold, and a 1.3 C$/US$ exchange rate (Table 2).

The Base Case generates a pre- tax NPV (8%) of $290.4 million and an Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 23.9%, after-tax NPV (8%) is $230.4 million, with an IRR of 23.4%.

The Alternative Processing generates a pre- tax NPV (8%) of $668.8 million and an IRR of 39.6%, after-tax NPV (8%) is $516.1 million, with an IRR of 38.4%.

See Table 1 for a summary of PEA results (all results are reported in Canadian Dollars unless otherwise noted).

Table 1: PEA Summary

Base Case Alternative Processing Total Resource Mined (Tonnes) 20,102,605 28,197,495 UG Resource Mined (Tonnes) 16,274,220 21,791,858 OP Resource Mined (Tonnes) 3,828,385 6,405,636 OP Waste Mined (Tonnes) 29,349,432 37,406,582 Strip Ratio 7.7 5.8 Mine Life (Years) 15 19 Ni in Resource Sold (Million lbs) 276.6 351.2 Cu in Resource Sold (Million lbs) 243.5 309.0 Co in Resource Sold (Million lbs) 9.8 12.5 Pt in Resource Sold (Thousands oz) 367.5 464.8 Pd in Resource Sold (Thousands oz) 401.6 496.8 Au in Resource Sold (Thousands oz) 220.2 273.8 Average NSR (C$/Tonne) $179.07 $165.20 Operating Cost (C$/Tonne) $116.57 $88.33 Pre-Tax NPV (8%) (C$ Million) $290.4 $668.8 Pre-Tax IRR 23.9% 39.6% Post Tax NPV (8%) (C$ million) $230.4 $516.1 Post Tax IRR 23.4% 38.4% Advanced Exploration Capital (C$ million) $48.4 $47.9 Initial Project Capital (C$ million) $81.1 $81.3 Sustaining Capital (C$ million) $248.9 $256.7

Table 2: Metal Prices and Exchange Rate

$ US / lb or Oz Nickel $9.50 Copper $3.50 Cobalt $22.00 Platinum $1,000.00 Palladium $1,800.00 Gold $1,700.00 Exchange C$/US$ 1.3

Capital and Operating Costs

The Study was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators). The Base Case capital and operating cost estimates for the Advance Exploration, Project Development and Operation phases of the Project are summarized below in Tables 3-8. Capital costs assume development of a ramp from surface to access initial mining areas and dewatering and rehabilitation of the existing main shaft and selected infrastructure as mining progresses to lower levels.

Operating costs assume contractor surface mining and project period underground development, with owner operated underground development and production during the operating period.

Table 3: Base Case Advanced Exploration Costs

Item Cost (millions) ADEX Direct Capital Costs $20.18 ADEX Indirect Costs $4.04 ADEX Contingency $8.47 ADEX Capitalized Operating Costs $15.68 ADEX Total Capital Costs $48.36

Table 4: Base Case Costs UG and Open Pit (after Advanced Exploration)

Item UG Cost

(millions) OP Cost (millions) Combined Cost

(millions) Project Period Direct Capital Costs $34.63 $15.42 $50.06 Project Period Indirect Costs $6.93 $3.08 $10.01 Project Period Contingency $14.55 $6.48 $21.02 Sustaining Capital Costs $247.16 $1.70 $248.86 Total Capital Costs $303.27 $26.69 $329.96 Operating Costs during Project Period $13.33 $21.57 $34.90 Opex during Operating Period $1,921.02 $371.70 $2,292.73 Total Operating Costs $1,934.35 $393.27 $2,327.62 Closure Costs $5.85 $11.24 $17.09 Royalties $90.42 $14.42 $104.84 Pre Tax NPV8% (includes ADEX) $251.99 $38.44 $290.43 Pre Tax IRR (includes ADEX) 22.43% 37.82% 23.91% Taxes $146.86 $16.69 $163.29 Post Tax NPV8% (includes ADEX) $203.02 $26.12 $230.44 Post Tax IRR (includes ADEX) 22.39% 29.62% 23.37%

Table 5: Base Case Capital Costs UG - Detail

Item Project Period

(millions) Sustaining

(millions) Total

(millions) Development $20.48 $131.71 $152.19 Infrastructure $14.15 $115.46 $129.61 Closure $0.00 $5.85 $5.85 Subtotal $34.63 $253.01 $287.64 Indirects $6.93 $0.00 $6.93 Contingency $14.55 $0.00 $14.55 Total UG Capital Cost $56.11 $253.01 $309.12

Table 6: Base Case Capital Costs Open Pit - Detail

Item Project Period

(millions) Sustaining

(millions) Total

(millions) Site Preparation $1.28 $1.70 $2.98 Existing Waste Rock Pile $14.15 $0.00 $14.15 Closure $0.00 $11.24 $11.24 Subtotal $15.42 $12.94 $28.37 Indirects $3.08 $0.00 $3.08 Contingency $6.48 $0.00 $6.48 Total UG Capital Cost $24.99 $12.94 $37.93

Table 7: Base Case Operating Costs UG - Detail

Item ADEX

(millions) Project Period

(millions) Operating Period

(millions) Total Operating

(millions) Cost per Tonne of Mineralized Resource Mined Mining $0.63 $3.59 $651.05 $655.27 $40.26 Indirects and G & A $13.06 $6.30 $470.28 $489.64 $30.09 Diamond Drilling $1.06 $1.00 $15.88 $17.94 $1.10 Surface Handling and Processing Related $0.93 $2.44 $783.81 $787.17 $48.37 Total Operating Costs $15.68 $13.33 $1,921.02 $1,950.03 $119.82

Table 8: Base Case Operating Costs OP - Detail

Item ADEX

(millions) Project Period

(millions) Operating Period

(millions) Total Operating

(millions) Cost per Tonne of Mineralized Resource Mined Mining - Pit Waste $0.00 $15.90 $168.18 $184.08 $48.08 Mining - Pit Mineralized Resource $0.00 $0.65 $23.36 $24.01 $6.27 Processing Related $0.00 $5.02 $180.16 $185.18 $48.37 Total Operating Costs $0.00 $21.57 $371.70 $393.27 $102.73

Mining and Infrastructure

Previous mining activity at the Crean Hill site makes this project particularly favorable for revitalization. The site is located near the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately 35km from Sudbury with access to a well-established supply and service sector focused on the mining industry. The PEA envisions both surface open pit and underground mining. The open pit surface mining has been constrained to not interfere with the existing main shaft to the south and water control dam north of the mineralized zones. Initially underground mining areas will be accessed from a newly developed ramp from surface, and dewatering and rehabilitation of the existing main shaft and selected infrastructure will be completed as mining progresses to lower levels. Surface mining will consist of conventional truck and shovel mining, and underground mining will utilize a combination of conventional longhole and cut and fill stoping. Power lines capable of supporting mining activities are in close proximity to the project, and heating requirements are to be fueled by propane. Mined resource crushing and sampling activities will occur on site prior to shipment to the processing facility. Water treatment is managed onsite utilizing the existing third-party treatment facility.

Figure 1 illustrates the existing development and historical mining, the base case open pit, underground development and stopes. Figure 2 illustrates the LOM production profile and Table 9 summarizes the Base Case production statistics.

Figure 1: Crean Hill Mine Longitudinal Section Showing Existing Workings, Planned Development and Stoping,Looking North.



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Table 9: Base Case Production Statistics Including Potentially Minable Resources

Item UG Open Pit Combined Tonnes Mined 16,274,220 3,828,385 20,102,605 Average NSR $/tonne $190.36 $131.05 $179.07 Ni (%) 0.65 0.53 0.62 Cu (%) 0.58 0.41 0.55 Co (%) 0.02 0.02 0.02 Pt (grams per tonne) 0.62 0.36 0.57 Pd (grams per tonne) 0.71 0.22 0.62 Au (grams per tonne) 0.38 0.17 0.34

The Potentially Mineable Resource is based on NSR cut-off of $43.28/Tonne for open pit mining, $123.50/Tonne for underground longhole stoping, and $134.50/Tonne for underground mechanized cut and fill.

Figure 2: Life of Mine Production Profile



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Permitting

The Crean Hill project is a brownfield site with existing disturbance and a Closure Plan that has been filed by Vale. Vale retains surface rights to the property and responsibility for the permitting of surface activities. All surface infrastructure for new operations will be captured in an amended closure plan. Other permits that may be required for new future operations would include a new or amended Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) for air and noise related to crushing and transportation, and for drilling and blasting in a future open pit scenario. An additional ECA will be required for domestic sewage along with a regional health authority authorization. As currently designed in the PEA, there are no requirements for a federal or provincial environmental assessment(s) on site. The PEA assumes that all relevant permits for the commencement of advanced exploration at Crean Hill will be received in Q4, 2023.

Mineral Resources

The PEA potentially mineable resources (Table 9) are a subset of the current Crean Hill Mineral Resource Inventory (Table 10). Appropriate mining dilution and recoveries were applied to the design stopes depending on mining method used. Current Mineral Resources at Crean Hill were estimated by SGS Geological Services. Mineral Resources include near surface mineralization with potential for open pit mining, as well as higher grade mineralization amenable to conventional underground mining methods. The full technical report, titled "Mineral Resource Estimate for the Denison Ni-Cu-PGE Sulphide Deposit, Denison Project, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada" with an effective date of August 19th, 2022 and a report date of December 14th, 2022, was prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and is available on SEDAR (www.sedarplus.ca) under the Company's issuer profile.

Table 10: Denison Mineral Resources as of August 19, 2022 (Denison is now referred to as the "Crean Hill Project"). Please see notes on Mineral Resource assumptions, at the end of this release, including metal prices and recoveries used.

(A) Open Pit Resources

Cut-off

Grade Tonnes Ni % Cu % Co % Pt g/t Pd g/t Au g/t NiEq % Indicated 0.3% NiEq 16,760,000 0.53 0.49 0.02 0.48 0.37 0.25 1.08 Inferred 0.3% NiEq 434,000 0.43 0.49 0.02 0.29 0.14 0.07 0.82

(B) Underground Resources

Cut-off

Grade Tonnes Ni % Cu % Co % Pt g/t Pd g/t Au g/t NiEq % Indicated 1.1% NiEq 14,531,000 0.96 0.84 0.03 0.88 1.02 0.54 2.07 Inferred 1.1% NiEq 1,170,000 0.61 0.46 0.02 0.64 1.09 0.21 1.41

Crean Hill Project Economic Sensitivities

The Crean Hill Project is most sensitive to metal price and metal grade, and least sensitive to project capital cost. Project sensitivities are illustrated in Table 11 and Figure 3.

Table 11: Crean Hill Project Sensitivities - Post-Tax NPV (millions)

Variance Metal Price Metal Grade Capex Opex -20% -$85.4 -$94.6 $272.7 $431.4 -10% $78.9 $73.7 $251.6 $331.6 Base $230.4 $230.4 $230.4 $230.4 10% $363.0 $376.6 $209.3 $127.6 20% $492.7 $519.3 $188.2 $22.9

Figure 3: Crean Hill Project Sensitivities - Post-Tax NPV (millions)



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Opportunities/Recommendations

The current Base Case results show positive economics, a long mine life, modest upfront capital cost and provide a basis to advance the Crean Hill project to the next stage of technical study. More detailed engineering and optimization of cut-off grade, underground development, stope design and scheduling are recommended. Additional studies will include waste rock geochemistry, additional metallurgical testing, and ore sorting.

Additionally, drilling by Magna since the commencement of the PEA has advanced the understanding of ore controls and local high-grade mineralization that are not well reflected within the current Crean Hill resources, and which will be incorporated into future Mineral Resource updates (Figure 4). Underground advanced exploration and bulk sampling is recommended to further de-risk the project and provide a better understanding of ore controls, continuity, stope design, dilution, extraction assumptions, and provide material for future test work.

Based on the results of the Alternative Processing portion of the PEA, a Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") is recommended, with a focus on further optimization and the integration of the Crean Hill Project with Magna's Shakespeare Project.

Figure 4: Sectional View of 101 FW Zone Recent Drilling and Current Mineral Resource Model. Resource Blocks and Drillhole Intersections Coloured by NiEq. Section Looking East.



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Figure 4 illustrates an example of recent diamond drilling completed by Magna, that has intersected significant grade mineralization not well represented in the current Mineral Resource model.

Qualified Person

The following Qualified Persons (QPs) oversaw the completion of the work in preparation of the PEA and are responsible for the contents:

Independent QP for Geology and Mineral Resource Estimates

Mr. Allan Armitage, Ph.D., P.Geo., of SGS Geological Services

Mr. Armitage last conducted a personal inspection of the site on May 26, 2022.

Independent QP for Underground Mining and Financial Analysis

Mr. Michael K. Murphy, B.Sc. Engineering (mining), P.Eng. of Stantec Consulting Ltd.

Mr. Murphy last conducted a personal inspection of the site on December 9, 2022.

Independent QP for Open Pit Mining and Financial Analysis

Mr. Christiaan Terblanche, P.Eng, B.Comm, MBA, of Stantec Consulting Ltd.

Mr. Terblanche last conducted a personal inspection of the site on December 9, 2022.

Independent QP for Processing and Recovery

Mr. Gordon Marrs, P.Eng., of XPS, Expert Process Solutions.

Independent QP for Environment

Mr. Sheldon Smith, MES., P.Geo., of Stantec Consulting Ltd.

Mr. Smith last conducted a personal inspection of the site on January 26, 2023.

The QPs have reviewed and approved their relevant section of this press release.

Technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by David King, M.Sc., P.Geo. Mr. King is the Senior Vice President, Technical Services for Magna Mining Inc. and is a qualified person under Canadian National Instrument 43-101.

Notes on Mineral Resource Assumptions:

1The classification of the current Mineral Resource Estimate into Indicated and Inferred is consistent with current 2014 CIM Definition Standards - For Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves.

2All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate and numbers may not add due to rounding.

3All Resources are presented undiluted and in situ, constrained by continuous 3D wireframe models, and are considered to have reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction.

4Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration.

5It is envisioned that parts of the Denison deposit (now referred to as "Crean Hill") may be mined using open pit mining methods. In-pit mineral resources are reported at a cut-off grade of 0.3 % NiEq within a conceptual pit shell.

6The results from the pit optimization are used solely for the purpose of testing the "reasonable prospects for economic extraction" by an open pit and do not represent an attempt to estimate mineral reserves. There are no mineral reserves on the Property. The results are used as a guide to assist in the preparation of a Mineral Resource statement and to select an appropriate resource reporting cut-off grade.

7Underground (below-pit) Mineral Resources are estimated from the bottom of the pit and are reported at a base case cut-off grade of 1.1 % NiEq. The underground Mineral Resource grade blocks were quantified above the base case cut-off grade, below the constraining pit shell and within the constraining mineralized wireframes. At this base case cut-off grade the deposit shows good deposit continuity with limited orphaned blocks. Any orphaned blocks are connected within the models by lower grade blocks.

8Based on the size, shape, location and orientation of the Denison deposit (now referred to as "Crean Hill"), it is envisioned that the deposit may be mined using longhole open stoping (a bulk mining method that has long been utilized in the Sudbury region).

9High grade capping was done on 10 ft (3.05 m) composite data.

10Bulk density values were determined based on physical test work from each deposit model and waste model.

11NiEq cut-off grades are based on metal prices of $8.50/lb Ni, $3.75/lb Cu, $22.00/lb Co, $1000/oz Pt, $2000/oz Pd and $1,750/oz Au and considers metal recoveries of 78% for Ni, 95.5% for copper, 56% for Co, 69.2% for Pt, 68% for Pd and 67.7% for Au.

12The in-pit base case cut-off grade of 0.3% NiEq considers a mining cost of US$2.50/t rock and processing, treatment and refining, transportation and G&A cost of US$38.00/t mineralized material, and an overall pit slope of 55 degrees. The below-pit base case cut-off grade of 1.1 % NiEq considers a mining cost of US$80.00/t rock and processing, treatment and refining, transportation and G&A cost of US$42.50/t mineralized material.

13The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues.

About Magna Mining Inc.

Magna Mining is an exploration and development company focused on nickel, copper and PGM projects in the Sudbury Region of Ontario, Canada. The Company's flagship assets are the past producing Shakespeare and Crean Hill Mines. The Shakespeare Mine is a feasibility stage project which has major permits for the construction of a 4,500 tonne per day open pit mine, processing plant and tailings storage facility and is surrounded by a contiguous 180km2 prospective land package. Crean Hill is a past producing nickel, copper and PGM mine with a technical report dated August 2022. Additional information about the Company is available on SEDAR (www.sedarplus.ca) and on the Company's website (www.magnamining.com).

For further information, please contact:

Jason Jessup

Chief Executive Officer

or

Paul Fowler, CFA

Senior Vice President

Email: [email protected]

Cautionary Statement

This press release contains certain forward-looking information or forward-looking statements as defined in applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts and are subject to several risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's control, including statements regarding the production at the Shakespeare and Crean HIll Mines, the economic and operational potential of the Shakespeare and Crean Hill Mines, potential acquisitions, plans to complete exploration programs, potential mineralization, exploration results and statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions of the Company. Resource exploration and development is highly speculative, characterized by several significant risks, which even a combination of careful evaluation, experience and knowledge may not eliminate. All forward-looking statements herein are qualified by this cautionary statement. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/175380
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - Palladium One Mining Inc. (TSXV: PDM)(OTCQB: NKORF)(FSE: 7N11) (the "Company" or "Palladium One") is pleased to announce the publication of the Company's second annual Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") report ("2022 ESG report") for the year ended December 31, 2022. The report is an overview of the Company's ESG commitments, practices and performance for 2022.

President and CEO Derrick Weyrauch commented, "I am delighted to present the 2022 ESG report for Palladium One Mining, highlighting our zero loss-time-injuries and unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship and social responsibility. With our tremendous nickel and copper discoveries at Tyko in the past two years, the acquisition of the Canalask Project in 2022 and Metalcorp in 2023, we remain committed to integrating ESG into our core business strategies, seizing opportunities for development of critical minerals needed for green transportation, while driving economic growth hand in hand with environmental stewardship. "

Palladium One's 2022 ESG report is available at the Company's website (https://palladiumoneinc.com) and at the following link: https://www.onyen.com/published/POM_2022_Annual_663.html.

About Palladium One

Palladium One Mining Inc. (TSXV: PDM) is focused on discovering environmentally and socially conscious Critical Green Transportation Metals. A Canadian mineral exploration and development company, Palladium One is targeting district scale, nickel - copper sulphide and platinum-group-element (PGE) deposits in Canada and Finland. The Lntinen Koillismaa (LK) Project in north-central Finland, is a PGE-copper-nickel project that has existing NI43-101 Mineral Resources, while both the Tyko and Canalask high-grade nickel-copper projects are located in Ontario and the Yukon, Canada, respectively. Follow Palladium One on LinkedIn, Twitter, and at www.palladiumoneinc.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Derrick Weyrauch"

President & CEO, Director

For further information contact:

Derrick Weyrauch, President & CEO

Email: [email protected]



Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release is not an offer or a solicitation of an offer of securities for sale in the United States of America. The common shares of Palladium One Mining Inc. have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration.

Information set forth in this press release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address a company's expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, risks associated with project development; the need for additional financing; operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing; fluctuations in palladium and other commodity prices; title matters; environmental liability claims and insurance; reliance on key personnel; the absence of dividends; competition; dilution; the volatility of our common share price and volume; and tax consequences to Canadian and U.S. Shareholders. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/175308
The commanders of the Azov Regiment released from Russian captivity are preparing and will carry out combat tasks, this is not prohibited, Commander of the National Guard Oleksandr Pivnenko has said.

When asked, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda, whether the Azov commanders, in particular, Denys Prokopenko (callsign Redis), would take part in hostilities, Pivnenko said: "Denys holds some position. They defended Mariupol, some others had tasks not within a brigade but as part of a battalion tactical group. They are getting ready and will carry out tasks just like the others do."

There is no ban on their participation in hostilities, the National Guard Commander said.

"There is no such prohibition, no one told me that someone should be involved in hostilities and someone other should not. Moreover, I do not make decisions on who should take part in hostilities. We are the Armed Forces, and there is a Supreme Commander, there is a Commander-in-Chief, there are operational and strategic directions. If someone needs help, they send me, roughly speaking a military language, a combat order and I fulfill it, that is all," Pivnenko said.

To a question when Prokopenko would start participating in hostilities, the National Guard Commander said that this might happen within a month.

"It depends on the situation at the front. Maybe, within a month. We will see, life will show," Pivnenko said.

As reported, on July 8, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy returned to Ukraine from Turkey together with the Azovstal defenders who had been previously interned in Turkey after the release from Russian captivity.

On July 16, Commander of the Azov Regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine, Lieutenant Colonel Denys Prokopenko (Redis) met with the staff for the first time since his return from captivity and stay in Turkey.
SAN FRANCISCO , July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Blitz Insurance, a specialty insurance carrier, partners with Ascend to modernize payment experiences for insurance brokers selling in specialty markets. With this partnership, Blitz Insurance will open new customer segments by offering both direct bill and premium financing into their payments workflow.

"When we looked into the market for a solution, Ascend was the right choice. Ascend meets our needs for a better payments experience for our partners while reducing everyone's operational expenses," said Brandon Murphy , Chief Distribution Officer of Blitz Insurance. "We will now have the ability to not only expand to direct bill and a premium finance option but also simplify the movement of money between us and our partners."

With Ascend, Blitz Insurance is now able to provide a direct bill in addition to their existing agency bill workflow - allowing brokers to decide what billing method works best for them. By utilizing Ascend, Blitz Insurance not only grows their footprint of appointed brokers but also gains administrative efficiency by automating what would otherwise have been a large operational undertaking.

Ascend automatically attributes incoming payments to policies in real time, speeding up the reconciliation process. By modernizing the payments experience and speeding up the reconciliation of incoming premiums, Blitz Insurance can offer a best-in-class experience to its brokers and agents.

"We find that across the insurance ecosystem - companies want to provide a seamless payment workflow for their customers and their teams," said Andrew Wynn , co-CEO of Ascend. "Ascend is built so brokers and carriers can offer this experience without shouldering the administrative resources and costs needed to support these operations."

About Ascend

Ascend is the first insurance payments platform that automates financial operations from collections and financing to carrier and commission payables. Founded by two-time insurtech entrepreneurs Andrew Wynn and Praveen Chekuri , Ascend helps insurance brokers, MGAs, and carriers improve their bottom lines by eliminating expensive and labor-intensive payment workflows. To learn more, please visit LinkedIn, Twitter or check out https://www.useascend.com/ .

About Blitz Insurance

Blitz is a tech-driven insurer revolutionizing the $60B specialty market catering to SME segment. By leveraging industry knowledge and cutting-edge technology, we deliver a simpler, smarter, and faster coverage experience.

The company is led by a veteran team of insurance and technology experts and has been funded with $25M from its founder & CEO, a Forbes-listed serial entrepreneur in the real estate and insurance industries.

Contact:

Mike Nguyen

press@useascend.com

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SOURCE Ascend
NEW YORK , July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Debevoise & Plimpton LLP announced today the release of its 2023 Private Equity Midyear Outlook, a helpful summary of the various forces shaping the industry and the strategies market participants are using during this dynamic time.

At the beginning of the year, we noted in our Private Equity Report: 2023 Outlook the considerable macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges facing private equity. As we pass the year's midpoint, those challenges continue to hang over the private equity industry like a stalled weather system, refusing to dissipate, as existing obstacles have solidified and new hurdles have emerged. While the crisis around the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic Bank and Signature Bank was not protracted, it nonetheless compounded an already difficult liquidity environment. Fundraising remains highly competitive. The polarization around ESG in the United States has intensified, resulting in a patchwork of wildly different state legislation. The SEC continues to take aim at private fund practices, while in the EU, new regulations stand to complicate both fundraising and the M&A landscape. In this environment, caution rules the day for both sponsors and investors.

And yet, with creativity and persistence, deals are getting done. Lenders are adjusting their balance sheet exposures. Direct lending and co-investments, as well as innovative deal structures, help to fill the financing gaps caused by the pull-back in syndicated debt financings. Brand-name funds are weathering fundraising headwinds by offering incentives and flexibility with terms, while first-time managers are building track records by raising capital deal-by-deal. And through it all, bright spots have begun to appear. The U.S. IPO market is showing early signs of thawing. In Latin America , proactive monetary policy, the move toward nearshoring and a spate of welcomed governmental reforms give reason for optimism. And while investors continue their caution regarding China , other Asian markets such as Japan , Australia and India are showing healthy levels of activity.

The full report is available here.

About the Debevoise Private Equity Group

Debevoise is a trusted partner and legal advisor to a majority of the world's largest private equity firms, and has been a market leader in the Private Equity industry for over 40 years. The firm's Private Equity Group brings together the diverse skills and capabilities of more than 400 lawyers around the world from a multitude of practice areas, working together to advise our clients across the entire private equity life cycle. The Group's strong track record, leading-edge insights, deep bench and commitment to unified, agile teams are why, year after year, clients quoted in Chambers Global, Chambers USA, The Legal 500 and PEI cite Debevoise for our close-knit partnership, breadth of resources and relentless focus on results.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a premier law firm with market-leading practices, a global perspective and strong New York roots. We deliver effective solutions to our clients' most important legal challenges, applying clear commercial judgment and a distinctively collaborative approach.

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SOURCE Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
BOSTON , July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 25, 2023 , Fosun Health Capital established by Fosun Pharma (stock code:600196.SH), reached a strategic partnership with Medicilon (stock code: 688202.SH). Meanwhile StarMab Biology ( Suzhou ) (jointly invested by the innovation drug research fund of Fosun Group and Yaopharma) and Medicilon entered into a strategic cooperation for innovative drug IND research and application services. This strategic partnership indicates a significant step forward in the cooperation between Fosun Health Capital and Medicilon, with milestone for both parties' development.

Cui Zhiping , Co-CEO and General Manager of Fosun Health Capital, Chen Chunlin , Founder and CEO of Medicilon, along with members from both sides attended the signing ceremony together and witnessed the contract.

According to the strategic cooperation agreement, Medicilon will leverage its international perspective and rich experience in R&D to provide innovative drug enterprises invested by Fosun Health Capital with servicessuch as drug discovery, pharmaceutical research, preclinical research, IND registration declaration, etc., aiming to facilitate cooperation in 10 innovative drug IND projects. Medicilon will also provide professional opinions on the rationality of product development clinical programs, product success probability analysis, product market potential, etc.

Furthermore, Medicilon will facilitate investment cooperation and create an ecosystem linking innovative drug investment and business cooperation. As for StarMab Biology, Medicilon will provide comprehensive and high-quality preclinical research services. Through this strategic cooperation, all parties will integrate respective technology, market and talent advantages, embrace the trends and technological changes in bioengineering and pharmaceutical industry, promote deeper and broader exploration in various fields, and explore the possibilities of new drug development.

About Fosun Health Capital:

As the first VC fund in the field of new drugs initiated by Fosun Pharma, Fosun Health Capital primarily invests biopharmaceutical sector projects in early-stage and expansion-stage, which have technological innovation and rapid growth potential. It is committed to incubating high-quality projects from universities and research institutes and introducing leading overseas biotechnology technologies and products to China through introduction and cooperation models.

About Medicilon:

Medicilon as an integrated CRO provides comprehensive one-stop R&D services for pharmaceutical enterprises and scientific research institutions around the world. Medicilon has built an integrated platform covering key technologies in drug discovery, pharmaceutical research, and preclinical research, to provide comprehensive preclinical R&D services for the global biomedical industry.

CONTACT: marketing@medicilon.com

More information: http://www.medicilon.com

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SOURCE Medicilon Inc.
All financial figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted

CALGARY, AB , July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Gibson Energy Inc. announced today its financial and operating results for the three months ended June 30, 2023 .

"Exiting the first half of 2023, we are pleased to report strong results from both the Infrastructure and Marketing segments, with Marketing segment profit above previously communicated expectations," said Steve Spaulding , President and Chief Executive Officer. "Beyond our financial results, we are very excited to have announced the expansion of our Infrastructure platform with the acquisition of the South Texas Gateway Terminal which is expected to close in the very near term. In addition, during the quarter, we continued to expand our existing Infrastructure business in Edmonton with the sanctioning of two tanks underpinned by a 15 year contract with Cenovus Energy Inc."

Financial Highlights:

Revenue of $2,613 million in the second quarter decreased by $582 million or 18% relative the second quarter of 2022, primarily due to decreased revenues within the Marketing segment driven by lower commodity prices, only partially offset by higher volumes

in the second quarter decreased by or 18% relative the second quarter of 2022, primarily due to decreased revenues within the Marketing segment driven by lower commodity prices, only partially offset by higher volumes Infrastructure Adjusted EBITDA (1) of $94 million in the second quarter, an $18 million or 16% decrease relative to the second quarter of 2022 due to a $17 million environmental remediation provision taken in the quarter; absent the provision, Infrastructure Adjusted EBITDA was relatively flat

of in the second quarter, an or 16% decrease relative to the second quarter of 2022 due to a environmental remediation provision taken in the quarter; absent the provision, Infrastructure Adjusted EBITDA was relatively flat Marketing Adjusted EBITDA (1) of $34 million in the second quarter, a $22 million or 177% increase from the second quarter of 2022, primarily due to an improvement in the availability of location, time, and quality-based opportunities for Crude Marketing as well as higher refined product margins

of in the second quarter, a or 177% increase from the second quarter of 2022, primarily due to an improvement in the availability of location, time, and quality-based opportunities for Crude Marketing as well as higher refined product margins Adjusted EBITDA (1) on a consolidated basis of $116 million in the second quarter, a $2 million or 2% increase over the second quarter of 2022, as result of the factors described above, higher general and administrative expenses as well as the impact of removing the unrealized gains and losses on financial instruments

on a consolidated basis of in the second quarter, a or 2% increase over the second quarter of 2022, as result of the factors described above, higher general and administrative expenses as well as the impact of removing the unrealized gains and losses on financial instruments Net Income of $52 million in the second quarter, a $16 million or 45% increase over the second quarter of 2022, due to the factors described above and lower depreciation and finance costs partially offset by higher income tax expense in the current periods

in the second quarter, a or 45% increase over the second quarter of 2022, due to the factors described above and lower depreciation and finance costs partially offset by higher income tax expense in the current periods Distributable Cash Flow (1) of $82 million in the second quarter, a $9 million or 12% increase from the second quarter of 2022, a result of the factors described above

of in the second quarter, a or 12% increase from the second quarter of 2022, a result of the factors described above Dividend Payout ratio (2) on a trailing twelve-month basis of 55%, below the Company's 70%  80% target range

on a trailing twelve-month basis of 55%, below the Company's 70%  80% target range Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio(2) of 2.5x, below the bottom end of the Company's 3.0x  3.5x target range

Strategic Developments and Highlights:

Announced the acquisition of 100% of the membership interests of South Texas Gateway Terminal LLC for U.S. $1.1 billion , through which Gibson will acquire the South Texas Gateway Terminal ("STGT"), a newly constructed high-quality crude oil export facility in Ingleside, Texas which enhances Gibson's North American terminal footprint by establishing a third liquids hub underpinned by over 95% take-or-pay revenue

for U.S. , through which Gibson will acquire the South Texas Gateway Terminal ("STGT"), a newly constructed high-quality crude oil export facility in which enhances Gibson's North American terminal footprint by establishing a third liquids hub underpinned by over 95% take-or-pay revenue Sanctioned two 435,000 barrel tanks as well as significant supporting infrastructure at Edmonton with an expected in service date in 2024 which will further increase our high-quality, long-term infrastructure revenues

with an expected in service date in 2024 which will further increase our high-quality, long-term infrastructure revenues Closed a $403.2 million bought deal offering of subscription receipts; upon closing of the acquisition of STGT, each receipt will be exchanged for one common share of the Company partially funding the purchase price

bought deal offering of subscription receipts; upon closing of the acquisition of STGT, each receipt will be exchanged for one common share of the Company partially funding the purchase price Subsequent to the quarter, closed debt offerings comprised of $900 million of medium term notes and $200 million of hybrid notes issued to partially fund the remainder of the STGT purchase price

of medium term notes and of hybrid notes issued to partially fund the remainder of the STGT purchase price Repurchased 1 million shares for an aggregate $22 million in the second quarter, and a total of approximately 2 million shares or 1.5% of outstanding shares to date this year; with the acquisition of STGT, the share repurchase program has been suspended for the remainder of 2023 and will be re-assessed as part of the Company's annual budgeting process for 2024

(1) Adjusted EBITDA and Distributable Cash Flow are non-GAAP financial measures. See the "Specified Financial Measures" section of this release. (2) Net debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio and Dividend Payout ratio are non-GAAP financial ratios. See the "Specified Financial Measures" section of this release.



Management's Discussion and Analysis and Financial Statements

The 2023 second quarter Management's Discussion and Analysis and unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements provide a detailed explanation of Gibson's financial and operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 , as compared to the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 . These documents are available at www.gibsonenergy.com and at www.sedar.com.

Earnings Conference Call & Webcast Details

A conference call and webcast will be held to discuss the 2023 second quarter and operating results at 7:00am Mountain Time ( 9:00am Eastern Time ) on Tuesday, August 1, 2023 .

The conference call dial-in numbers are:

416-764-8659 / 1-888-664-6392

This call will also be broadcast live on the Internet and may be accessed directly at the following URL:

The webcast will remain accessible for a 12-month period at the above URL. Additionally, a digital recording will be available for replay two hours after the call's completion until August 15, 2023 , using the following dial-in numbers:

416-764-8677 / 1-888-390-0541

Replay Entry Code: 138840

Supplementary Information

Gibson has also made available certain supplementary information regarding the 2023 second quarter financial and operating results, available at www.gibsonenergy.com.

About Gibson

Gibson Energy Inc. is a leading liquids infrastructure company with its principal businesses consisting of the storage, optimization, processing, and gathering of liquids and refined products. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta , the Company's operations are currently focused around its core terminal assets located at Hardisty and Edmonton, Alberta , and include the Moose Jaw facility in Saskatchewan and an infrastructure position in the U.S.

Gibson shares trade under the symbol GEI and are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. For more information, visit www.gibsonenergy.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information and statements (collectively, forward-looking statements) including, but not limited to, statements concerning Gibson's dividend payment, share repurchase and growth capital targets and sanction of incremental infrastructure projects and continued progress in Gibson's sustainability journey. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. The use of any of the words ''anticipate'', ''plan'', ''contemplate'', ''continue'', ''estimate'', ''expect'', ''intend'', ''propose'', ''might'', ''may'', ''will'', ''shall'', ''project'', ''should'', ''could'', ''would'', ''believe'', ''predict'', ''forecast'', ''pursue'', ''potential'' and ''capable'' and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements. The forward-looking statements reflect Gibson's beliefs and assumptions with respect to, among other things, dividend payment, ability to meet share repurchase and growth capital targets and ability to sanction incremental infrastructure projects. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. No assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this press release should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company does not undertake any obligations to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements except as required by securities law. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of numerous risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the risks and uncertainties described in "Forward-Looking Information" and "Risk Factors" included in the Company's Annual Information Form and Management's Discussion and Analysis, each dated February 21, 2023 , as filed on SEDAR and available on the Gibson website at www.gibsonenergy.com.

For further information, please contact:

Beth Pollock

Vice President, Capital Markets & Risk

Phone: (403) 992-6472

Email: [email protected]

Media Relations

Phone: (403) 476-6374

Email: [email protected]

Specified Financial Measures

This press release refers to certain financial measures that are not determined in accordance with GAAP, including non-GAAP financial measures and non-GAAP financial ratios. Readers are cautioned that non-GAAP financial measures and non-GAAP financial ratios do not have standardized meanings prescribed by GAAP and, therefore, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other entities. Management considers these to be important supplemental measures of the Company's performance and believes these measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in industries with similar capital structures.

For further details on these specified financial measures, including relevant reconciliations, see the "Specified Financial Measures" section of the Company's MD&A for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, which is incorporated by reference herein and is available on Gibson's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com and Gibson's website at www.gibsonenergy.com.

a) Adjusted EBITDA

Noted below is the reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measures of the Company's segmented and consolidated adjusted EBITDA for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 , and 2022:

Three months ended June 30 , Infrastructure Marketing Corporate &

Adjustments Total ($ thousands) 2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 2022

















Segment Profit 92,185 109,817 34,231 6,271   126,416 116,088 Unrealized loss on derivative financial instruments   150 6,124   150 6,124 General and administrative     (12,502) (10,650) (12,502) (10,650) Adjustments to share of profit from equity accounted investees 1,426 2,010     1,426 2,010 Other     218  218  Adjusted EBITDA 93,611 111,827 34,381 12,395 (12,284) (10,650) 115,708 113,572









Six months ended June 30 , Infrastructure Marketing Corporate &

Adjustments Total ($ thousands) 2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 2022

















Segment Profit 198,756 216,794 106,062 36,919 - - 304,818 253,713 Unrealized gain on derivative financial instruments - - (12,931) (3,916) - - (12,931) (3,916) General and administrative - - - - (24,419) (19,586) (24,419) (19,586) Adjustments to share of profit from equity accounted investees 2,861 4,021 - - - - 2,861 4,021 Other - - - - 218 - 218 - Adjusted EBITDA 201,617 220,815 93,131 33,003 (24,201) (19,586) 270,547 234,232



Three months ended June 30 , ($ thousands) 2023 2022





Net Income 52,026 35,919





Income tax expense 16,139 11,055 Depreciation, amortization, and impairment charges 28,091 38,015 Net finance costs 11,716 15,765 Unrealized loss on derivative financial instruments 150 6,124 Stock based compensation 4,743 4,703 Adjustments to share of profit from equity accounted investees 1,426 2,010 Corporate foreign exchange loss (gain) and other 1,417 (19) Adjusted EBITDA 115,708 113,572





Six months ended June 30 , ($ thousands) 2023 2022





Net Income 140,277 87,889





Income tax expense 43,186 27,057 Depreciation, amortization, and impairment charges 56,246 76,454 Net finance costs 30,135 30,686 Unrealized gain on derivative financial instruments (12,931) (3,916) Stock based compensation 8,889 10,858 Adjustments to share of profit from equity accounted investees 2,861 4,021 Corporate foreign exchange loss and other 1,884 1,183 Adjusted EBITDA 270,547 234,232



b) Distributable Cash Flow

The following is a reconciliation of distributable cash flow from operations to its most directly comparable GAAP measure, cash flow from operating activities:



Three months ended June 30 , Six months ended June 30 , ($ thousands) 2023 2022 2023 2022









Cash flow from operating activities 69,712 15,847 229,239 321,583 Adjustments:







Changes in non-cash working capital and taxes paid 51,378 96,932 46,499 (93,721) Replacement capital (7,491) (5,660) (12,826) (7,828) Cash interest expense, including capitalized interest (16,588) (14,137) (33,387) (27,756) Lease payments (8,121) (9,524) (17,693) (20,120) Current income tax (6,399) (9,520) (21,940) (19,101) Distributable cash flow 82,491 73,938 189,892 153,057

Twelve months ended June 30 , ($ thousands) 2023 2022





Cash flow from operating activities 505,968 418,188 Adjustments:



Changes in non-cash working capital and taxes paid 58,644 13,880 Replacement capital (27,239) (23,818) Cash interest expense, including capitalized interest (65,447) (55,539) Lease payments (32,970) (36,308) Current income tax (45,913) (28,435) Distributable cash flow 393,043 287,968



c) Dividend Payout Ratio

Twelve months ended June 30 ,

2023 2022 Distributable cash flow 393,043 287,968 Dividends declared 217,490 211,379 Dividend payout ratio 55 % 73 %



d) Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio



Twelve months ended June 30 ,

2023 2022





Long-term debt 1,642,367 1,576,186 Lease liabilities 63,092 73,917 Less: unsecured hybrid debt (250,000) (250,000) Less: cash and cash equivalents (55,215) (38,753)





Net debt 1,400,244 1,361,350 Adjusted EBITDA 557,294 448,710 Net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio 2.5 3.0

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SOURCE Gibson Energy Inc.
BEIJING, July 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- President Xi Jinping visited the site of a section of an ancient road system known as "Shudao" in Guangyuan on July 25 , which winds its way through rugged mountains and ancient trees. There, Xi learned about efforts surrounding ecological conservation.

This visit marks Xi's attention to China's ecological development, which has achieved remarkable progress over the past 10 years, said experts.

Witnessing the government's recent remarks on ecology, they believed that the country's road of building a Beautiful China has demonstrated the nation's wisdom in balancing the needs of economic development and improving the environment.

Before heading to Sichuan , Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered a speech at a national conference on ecological and environmental protection held from July 17 to 18 .

Xi said that the country's ecological conservation has undergone a historic, transformative and comprehensive changes both in theory and practice, with significant strides made in building a Beautiful China.

Noting that China's economy and society have entered a stage of high-quality development marked by accelerated progress in promoting green and low-carbon growth, Xi called for higher standards, a broader perspective and stronger efforts in planning and advancing ecological and environmental protection on the new journey, as well as writing a new chapter of ecological conservation in the new era.

Xi stressed the need to properly handle the relationships between high-quality development and high-level protection, between tackling major challenges and coordinating governance, between natural recovery and human-assisted restoration, between external constraints and internal driving forces, as well as between "dual carbon" commitments and self-determined actions.

Xi said that the country's ecological conservation has undergone historical, transformative and comprehensive changes both in theory and practice, with significant strides made in building a Beautiful China.

This conference again showed us how importance the central government attaches to ecological protection, an official from environment protection bureau in Wuhai, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region , who requested anonymity, told the Global Times on Friday. He said during the past 10 years, ecological protection has become an increasingly important indictor in evaluating government's performance in his city, which was famous for coal production.

"Although planting trees costs more in Inner Mongolia than in other parts of China due to lack of water and dry weather, we learned in the past 10 years that making our city greener brings more benefits than leaving the mountains bare. The city becomes more beautiful, residents are happy, and more tourists visit; also we saw less sandstorms," the official said.

During a press conference on Thursday, Huang Runqiu , China's minister of ecology and environment, highlighted China's achievement on ecological protection over recent years.

From 2013 to 2022, China's average PM2.5 concentration decreased by 57 percent and the number of heavily polluted days decreased by 93 percent, while the nation's GDP doubled during the same period, Huang said. This made China the country with the fastest improvement in air quality worldwide. Specifically, in Beijing , the average PM2.5 concentration decreased from 89.5 micrograms per cubic meter in 2013 to 30 micrograms per cubic meter in 2022, and the number of heavily polluted days decreased from 58 to only 3, said Huang. The United Nations Environment Agency praised this achievement as the " Beijing Miracle ."

Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times that " China has engaged in a sustained top-down efforts for many years to enhance ecological protection. The central and local governments march together toward the same goal, with continuous environmental policies. Moreover, the country has demonstrated its wisdom in how to balance ecological development and maintain fast economic growth at the same time."

Perfect balance

We should protect nature and preserve the environment like we protect our eyes, and endeavor to foster a new relationship where man and nature can both prosper and live in harmony, President Xi once said.

Xi has given important instructions on the rational utilization and friendly protection of the ecological environment during his numerous visits to the frontlines of ecological protection, such as to the Maanshan forest farm in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region , the Qilian Mountains , the Shandan Horse Ranch in Gansu , an ecological wetland of the Dianchi Lake in Kunming, and many other places.

In June 2022 , Xi visited Yibin, Sichuan Province , where the Jinsha and Minjiang rivers converge into the Yangtze River . He noted that sound ecological conservation along the Yangtze River basin is the precondition for advancing high-quality development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

The Yellow River and the Yangtze River are the mother rivers of the Chinese nation. The protection of the mother rivers is a crucial project concerning the great rejuvenation and sustainable development of the Chinese nation, Xi said at the time.

From June 5 to 6 this year, accompanied by officials from Inner Mongolia , Xi was on a fact-finding mission at a nature reserve, a modern agricultural demonstration park, a forest farm and a water resources department in the city of Bayannur.

On June 6 , Xi presided over a symposium in Bayannur on strengthening the comprehensive prevention and control of desertification and promoting the construction of crucial ecological projects, including the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program.

Xi, who was then the Party Chief of Zhejiang , put forward the famous "two mountains" concept - clear waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets comparable to the gold and silver of legend - in August 2005 during his visit to Anji county.

Nowadays, residents in the county has sought out ways to make a living that they enjoy, with many becoming businessmen, running their own hostels, shops and tourism companies, thanks to the improved natural environment.

Pan Chunlin , a former miner, who now runs a hostel after local mines were shut down, explained the transformation to the Global Times "My annual income is now hundreds of times higher than before. Today, I can earn in a day what I used to make in one year".

Following the development approach referred to as the "two mountains" concept, in the past decade, Anji has modeled itself into a place known for its beautiful ecology and prosperous green industries, which have completely changed the villagers' lives, Jin Peihua, head of the "Two Mountains" Concept Research Institute affiliated with Huzhou University, said.

Global bellwether

Apart from domestic efforts, China is also making efforts in unifying a global effort on ecological preservation.

The 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, known as COP15 , was convened in Kunming, Yunnan Province in 2021.

As the first global conference convened by the United Nations on the topic of ecological civilization, a philosophy proposed by China , it offered a platform for countries to find common ground on "Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth."

During an official trip to Zimbabwe in 2015, Xi visited a local wildlife sanctuary, where he fed an orphaned elephant. He reiterated China's commitment to wildlife protection and pledged to help Zimbabwe do so by donating equipment and exchanging experience with China .

Recalling Xi's explanation of China's initiatives to breed giant pandas and expand protected areas, Roxy Danckwerts , the founder of the sanctuary, said, "I thought that was very significant that he is making such big strides in his own country."

Bradley Blankenship , a Prague -based American journalist, columnist and political commentator, recently spent a week in Beijing . Speaking with the Global Times, he said that "I must admit that based on the antiquated view of China that many Americans have and discuss publicly, I expected the city to be smoggy and congested. To the contrary, it has beautiful blue skies.

" China has been successful in beautifying Beijing, as well as other cities and towns, by transitioning from coal power to gas, establishing emission standards for coal-fired stations, implementing tougher standards for other industries such as steel and cement and seeking high-quality development with a high-quality ecological environment. These achievements have been so successful that Beijing now stands as an example for mega-cities around the globe, particularly those in the Global South," Blankenship said.

During a visit to Guizhou in June, Manasa R. Tagicakibau, Fiji's Ambassador to China , said China is "so advanced" when it comes to ecological civilization. "You look at the development that's been achieved by Guizhou authorities together with the local people, ethnic minorities and the population at large, in terms of developing the area to make this mountainous area a very safe and harmonious and happy place to live in. I'm impressed."

The ambassador said Guizhou shares a lot of similarities to some of the mountainous regions in Fiji , but there is a lot to be done in Fiji in terms of accessibility and this is an area that Fiji can learn from China .

However, some Western countries, so-called pioneering initiatives on environment protection, take a laissez-afire attitude in face of environment disasters. Recently, Chinese scientists used scientific methods to assess it and concluded that, as of Wednesday, the carbon dioxide emissions from Canadian wildfires have reached approximately 1 billion tons, which has already developed into a global environmental event.

It is worth mentioning that the forest area in China is approximately 2.31 million square kilometers, which is roughly two-thirds of that in Canada . However, the average annual emission of carbon dioxide caused by forest fires in China from 2000-21 was approximately 15 million tons, only 0.2 percent of the global forest fire emissions, demonstrating China's responsible role as a major country, experts noted.

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SOURCE Global Times
ST. LOUIS , July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Graybar, a leading distributor of electrical, communications and data networking products and provider of related supply chain management and logistics services, today reported that it set a new quarterly record for net sales in the second quarter of 2023.

Graybar's net sales for the second quarter of this year totaled $2.8 billion , an increase of 4.5% compared to the same period last year. Net income attributable to Graybar for the quarter finished at $124.2 million , a 2.7% decrease from the second quarter of 2022.

For the first half of 2023, the company reported net sales of $5.5 billion , an 8.1% increase compared to the same period last year. Net income attributable to Graybar for the first six months of 2023 increased 8.4% to $249.0 million .

"Thanks to the hard work of our employees, we continue to achieve positive results," said Kathleen M. Mazzarella , chairman, president and chief executive officer of Graybar. "We remain focused on providing exceptional service to our customers every day, while we make strategic investments to transform our business and strengthen our long-term position as an industry leader."

Graybar, a Fortune 500 corporation and one of the largest employee-owned companies in North America , is a leader in the distribution of high quality electrical, communications and data networking products, and specializes in related supply chain management and logistics services. Through its network of more than 325 North American distribution facilities, it stocks and sells products from thousands of manufacturers, helping its customers power, network, automate and secure their facilities with speed, intelligence and efficiency. For more information, visit www.graybar.com or call 1-800-GRAYBAR.

Media Contact:

Tim Sommer

(314) 578-7672

[email protected]

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SOURCE Graybar
MUNICH , July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On June 27-30, 2023 , Mech-Mind Robotics, a leading company in AI and 3D vision, presents a successful appearance at automatica 2023 in Munich . As the world-leading trade fair for smart automation and robotics, automatica attracts around 40,000 visitors from 88 countries and once again proves its leading innovative power.

During the exhibition, Mech-Mind showcased its cutting-edge 3D vision and AI tools, leaving visitors in awe of their impressive performance. Combined with 3D vision and AI technologies, Mech-Mind's high-accuracy and high-resolution 3D cameras and versatile software make it easy for customers and system integrators to automate challenging vision tasks. From assembly and bin picking to depalletizing & palletizing, Mech-Mind is paving the way for the future of automation.

INNOVATIONS & UPGRADED 3D SENSOR PORTFOLIO

In the product showcase, the updated 3D camera portfolio shows stronger ambient light resistance and generates high-quality point clouds at a faster speed. In addition, Mech-Mind unveiled two new products, Mech-Eye LSR S 3D camera, designed for applications under strong ambient light conditions, and Mech-Eye LNX-8000 laser profilers, engineered for inline measurement and inspection.

APPLICATION HIGHLIGHTS

One of the major attractions was an array of practical applications that showcased the versatile use of Mech-Eye 3D cameras in automated industrial processes.

Some of the standout applications on display included:

Bin Picking

The 3D vision system detected items in the deep bin, including those with dark or reflective surfaces under difficult light conditions. The self-developed collision detection and motion planning algorithms ensure the robot to pick and place items without causing any disruption or production line shutdown. 3D Inline Measurement

When measuring holes and the flatness of a cylinder head, the Mech-Eye UHP-140 demonstrated its accuracy of up to 0.03 mm at a 0.3m distance. Its new image fusion algorithm minimizes blind spots so that the camera presents no difficulty in measuring polished and reflective parts. Depalletizing and Palletizing

The Mech-Eye 3D camera put on impressive performance in mixed carton depalletizing and palletizing. The state-of-the-art vision technologies allow accurate recognition of piled cartons with patterns and reflective tapes. Equipped with the collision detection and path planning algorithms, the robot performed a safe and reliable operation. Localization and Path Planning

The Mech-Eye 3D camera accurately detected workpiece position and orientation, and the Mech-Viz robot programming software was used to enable path planning, collision detection, and gripping position planning. Assembly

The Mech-Eye NANO 3D camera showcased remarkable accuracy in assembling components, even those with changing positions. Its compact and lightweight design allows easy attachment to any cobot or industrial robot, making it ideal for precise localization. Pick Anything

The vision-guided robot demonstrated how easily the task of picking unknown objects can be done with 3D vision. Powered by advanced algorithms, the robot can recognize and pick boxes, bottles, deformable parcels, and complex-shaped items.

Mech-Mind provides global system integrators with proven, versatile and easy-to-use industrial 3D cameras and software to tackle vision tasks. It also offers global on-site and remote services to help customers and system integrators handle typical vision tasks at every step. As the company continues to push the automation boundaries, customers and partners can look forward to its next groundbreaking products and solutions.

If you want to better understand and use its products, join Mech-Mind's online community: https://community.mech-mind.com/.

For more information about Mech-Mind and its product offerings, please visit https://www.mech-mind.com/ or reach out to [email protected] .

ABOUT MECH-MIND ROBOTICS

Mech-Mind Robotics is an industry leader of industrial 3D cameras and software suites for robotic applications. The company, founded in 2016, has an extensive global presence with over 700 professionals worldwide.

Mech-Mind's comprehensive product portfolio includes Mech-Eye industrial 3D cameras, Mech-Vision machine vision software, Mech-DLK deep learning software, and Mech-Viz robot programming software. Leveraging 3D vision and AI technologies, Mech-Mind enables integrators to manage demanding automation tasks, including bin picking, depalletizing & palletizing, and assembly. Its AI and 3D vision solutions have been used in over 3,000 applications across industries worldwide, such as logistics, construction machinery, and the automotive industry.

CONTACT: [email protected]

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SOURCE Mech-Mind Robotics
Nicklaus Children's Hospital recognized with award for exceptional and innovative performance

MIAMI , July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nicklaus Children's Hospital's Emergency Department has been selected as a recipient of the Emergency Nurses Association's (ENA) 2023 Lantern Award for demonstrating exceptional innovation in leadership, practice, education, advocacy and research performance.

The award serves as a visible symbol of an organization's commitment to quality, safety and a healthy work environment.

The Lantern Award showcases the Emergency Department's (ED) accomplishments in incorporating evidence-based practice and innovation into emergency care. As part of the application, EDs are encouraged to share stories that highlight a commitment to care of patients, as well as the well-being of nursing staff. The award serves as a visible symbol of an organization's commitment to quality, safety and a healthy work environment.

"The Lantern Award truly shines a light on the excellence of our Emergency Department," said Peter Kevin Cruz , Director of Emergency Services. "It is emblematic of the excellence and commitment of our team to ensuring we offer the best possible pediatric emergency care."

Nicklaus Children's Hospital's Lantern Award will be on display in the Emergency Department. As a recipient, the hospital will be recognized in upcoming ENA publications, on the ENA website and during Emergency Nursing 2023, the association's annual conference in San Diego Sept. 21-23 .

For more information on this year's Lantern Award recipients, visit the Emergency Nurses Association website.

About Nicklaus Children's Hospital

Founded in 1950 by Variety Clubs International, Nicklaus Children's Hospital is South Florida's only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children, with approximately 850 attending physicians, including more than 500 pediatric subspecialists. The 309-bed hospital, known as Miami Children's Hospital from 1983 through 2014, is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine with many specialty programs routinely ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. The hospital is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern United States and since 2003 has been designated an American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession's most prestigious institutional honor. For more information, please visit www.nicklauschildrens.org.

About the Emergency Nurses Association

The Emergency Nurses Association is the premier professional nursing association dedicated to defining the future of emergency nursing through advocacy, education, research, innovation, and leadership. Founded in 1970, ENA has proven to be an indispensable resource to the global emergency nursing community. With 50,000 members worldwide, ENA advocates for patient safety, develops industry-leading practice standards and guidelines and guides emergency health care public policy. ENA members have expertise in triage, patient care, disaster preparedness and all aspects of emergency care. Additional information is available at www.ena.org.

For more information:

Rachel Bixby

305-898-9165

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SOURCE Nicklaus Children's Health System
Introducing the industry's first-ever utility side-by-side with a 1500cc 3-cylinder engine for more power to make tough jobs easier and the industry's only STEELDRIVE transmission for greater durability

MINNEAPOLIS , July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Polaris Off Road , the global leader in powersports and off-road innovation, is once again breaking new ground with the industry's first extreme duty utility side-by-side: the all-new RANGER XD 1500 . With its unprecedented capability, brute strength and unmatched comfort, the new extreme duty class of RANGER side-by-sides are engineered with the first-ever ProStar 1500cc 3-cylinder engine that offers an industry-leading 110 horsepower, the industry-exclusive STEELDRIVE automatic transmission for greater durability and precise control, and over 70 new accessories for enhanced customization, highlighted by Polaris' exclusive Lock & Ride MAX system. The RANGER XD 1500 establishes a new benchmark for utility side-by-sides.

"We spent over five years meeting with farmers, ranchers, large acreage property owners and big game hunters to develop an extreme duty vehicle that was missing from the market. From its ProStar 1500cc engine to the industry's only STEELDRIVE transmission, RANGER XD 1500 is unlike anything else offered today and is yet another example of our relentless commitment to advancing the industry with fresh thinking and innovative solutions that meet the real-world needs of our utility customers," said Steve Menneto , President of Polaris Off Road .

"Polaris RANGER has been the No. 1 selling utility side-by-side brand for more than 15 years and with the introduction of RANGER Extreme Duty, we've taken the industry's hardest-working lineup and expanded it," said Chris Judson , Vice President of Off Road Utility. "A segment of our utility customers said they are facing exceptionally large tasks and they simply need a machine with more power, more torque, more hauling and towing capacity, and more durability. And our team set out to deliver just that, incorporating dozens of new features and the latest engineering to make the RANGER XD 1500 more capable, stronger, and more comfortable than any other utility side-by-side out there."

Unprecedented Capability

Farmers, ranchers, and large landowners routinely haul and tow heavy loads around the property, and they've been asking for a solution when it comes to their heaviest tasks. The RANGER XD 1500 delivers unprecedented capability for hard-working customers to haul more, tow more, and get more done in less time. With the industry's only 1500cc utility engine, the RANGER XD 1500 provides over 30% more power and over 50% more torque than the next closest competitor.

ProStar 1500cc 3-Cylinder Engine  Effortless towing, hauling, and confidence in tough terrain with an industry-leading 110HP and 105 lb-ft torque.

Effortless towing, hauling, and confidence in tough terrain with an industry-leading 110HP and 105 lb-ft torque. 1,500 lb Cargo Box Capacity  Three-quarter ton box capacity providing nearly 50% more box volume than existing models for maximum productivity with fewer trips and bigger loads.

Three-quarter ton box capacity providing nearly 50% more box volume than existing models for maximum productivity with fewer trips and bigger loads. 3,500 lb Towing Capacity  For those routinely towing heavy loads on the property, drive better productivity with nearly 40% more towing than existing models.

For those routinely towing heavy loads on the property, drive better productivity with nearly 40% more towing than existing models. Industry-leading Ground Clearance  All RANGER XD 1500 models get 15" of ground clearance with high-clearance arched A-arms to overcome large obstacles.

Brute Strength

Utility customers asked for a more durable, longer lasting offering to maximize their uptime and drive efficiency. Designed to last longer than any model before it, RANGER XD 1500 is the industry's most durable utility side-by-side and has been engineered from the ground up to be stronger and stand up to the demands of the longest days.

Industry-exclusive STEELDRIVE transmission  Offers a 100 percent steel constructed belt that delivers smooth, precise operation and a fully sealed, liquid-cooled design for unmatched durability.

Offers a 100 percent steel constructed belt that delivers smooth, precise operation and a fully sealed, liquid-cooled design for unmatched durability. Maximum Strength and Durability  Fully sealed and liquid-cooled design allows for maximum durability and longevity with less maintenance than a rubber belt.

Fully sealed and liquid-cooled design allows for maximum durability and longevity with less maintenance than a rubber belt.

Smooth, Precise Control  Smooth, predictable throttle engagement and precise low speed control when backing up to trailers, navigating rough terrain, or spraying a fence line.

Smooth, predictable throttle engagement and precise low speed control when backing up to trailers, navigating rough terrain, or spraying a fence line.

Effortless Shifting, Quiet Operation  Effortless shifting between drive, park, and reverse. The fully sealed design reduces operating noise for enhanced comfort.

Effortless shifting between drive, park, and reverse. The fully sealed design reduces operating noise for enhanced comfort.

Hill Assist  Hill Assist prevents the vehicles from rolling backwards when letting off the accelerator and brakes when heading uphill, and engages the transmission to maintain better control while descending slopes.*

Hill Assist prevents the vehicles from rolling backwards when letting off the accelerator and brakes when heading uphill, and engages the transmission to maintain better control while descending slopes.* High-Strength Steel Heavy Duty Frame  RANGER XD 1500 has a high-strength steel one-piece chassis featuring 160 percent more torsional stiffness for a smoother ride and better cab sealing.

RANGER XD 1500 has a high-strength steel one-piece chassis featuring 160 percent more torsional stiffness for a smoother ride and better cab sealing. Industry-leading Service Intervals  RANGER XD 1500 offers the industry's longest service intervals so customers can maximize their uptime.

Unmatched Comfort

From the farm to remote backcountry, utility customers work from before the sun rises to after it sets, and need something that delivers all-day comfort. Beyond industry-leading capability and durability, the RANGER XD 1500 prioritizes comfort across the entire lineup to keep customers going strong on the longest days.

Most Spacious Interior  Equipped with the most spacious and premium cab available in utility side-by-sides, the XD 1500 offers increased leg and shoulder room, making it easy to enter and exit the vehicle. Adjustable seating and a telescopic steering wheel lets drivers find the perfect fit for height and riding preferences.

Equipped with the most spacious and premium cab available in utility side-by-sides, the XD 1500 offers increased leg and shoulder room, making it easy to enter and exit the vehicle. Adjustable seating and a telescopic steering wheel lets drivers find the perfect fit for height and riding preferences. Premium Seating  Contoured seating with added bolstering provides more rider comfort along with a center seat that flips down into an armrest with additional cup holders.

Contoured seating with added bolstering provides more rider comfort along with a center seat that flips down into an armrest with additional cup holders. Available Heated Seats  For comfort on the coldest days, RANGER XD 1500 NorthStar Ultimate is the first utility side-by-side that comes from the factory with heated seats.

For comfort on the coldest days, RANGER XD 1500 NorthStar Ultimate is the first utility side-by-side that comes from the factory with heated seats. Drive Modes  RANGER XD 1500 comes with an intuitive and easy-to-use rotary drive mode selector that lets customers choose from four different drive modes, including:

RANGER XD 1500 comes with an intuitive and easy-to-use rotary drive mode selector that lets customers choose from four different drive modes, including: Comfort mode limits throttle response and engine braking, reducing operating noise for quieter ride experience.



Standard mode delivers optimal throttle response and moderate engine braking for everyday driving scenarios.



Sport mode maximizes throttle response and eliminates engine braking for an exhilarating ride after the workday is done.



Tow/Haul mode maximizes engine torque and limits speed for heavy payloads.

Heating and Air Conditioning (HVAC)  Riders can stay comfortable in harsh weather conditions in the RANGER XD 1500 NorthStar Edition, featuring an all-new HVAC system and a fully-enclosed, next generation ProShield cab that's been redesigned with improved sealing to prevent dust and water intrusion, while locking in the temperature from the climate-controlled cab.

Riders can stay comfortable in harsh weather conditions in the RANGER XD 1500 NorthStar Edition, featuring an all-new HVAC system and a fully-enclosed, next generation ProShield cab that's been redesigned with improved sealing to prevent dust and water intrusion, while locking in the temperature from the climate-controlled cab. Sun Visors  All-new integrated sun visors provide improved visibility throughout the day for added confidence while driving.

All-new integrated sun visors provide improved visibility throughout the day for added confidence while driving. RIDE COMMAND  Available 7" waterproof touchscreen display powered by RIDE COMMAND technology featuring a back-up camera, GPS navigation regardless of cell service, and AM/FM radio with Bluetooth  streaming capability.

Available 7" waterproof touchscreen display powered by RIDE COMMAND technology featuring a back-up camera, GPS navigation regardless of cell service, and AM/FM radio with Bluetooth streaming capability. RIDE COMMAND+  Customers can keep tabs on their vehicle directly from the Polaris App and access critical vehicle information like vehicle location, maintenance reminders, and issue diagnostics right from the palm of their hand with the industry's only connected-vehicle technology. Available from the factory on NorthStar Ultimate.

Customization

Customers have been asking for increased versatility, durability, and ease of use for the different work applications they face throughout the day. With over 70 new Polaris Engineered Accessory options designed specifically for the RANGER XD 1500, plus options from partners brands including JBL, Rhino Rack , Pro Armor, Kolpin, and HD Parts, customers have more opportunity than ever before to make their vehicle fit their specific needs.

Lock & Ride MAX  Polaris' easiest to use, most versatile, and confident accessory attachment platform ever. With customizable configurations and the ability to reconfigure on the fly with no tools required, this new accessory platform allows users to prepare for their day, their way. Customers can simply choose and place their accessory, lock it in place, and ride confidently knowing their gear is secure.

Polaris' easiest to use, most versatile, and confident accessory attachment platform ever. With customizable configurations and the ability to reconfigure on the fly with no tools required, this new accessory platform allows users to prepare for their day, their way. Customers can simply choose and place their accessory, lock it in place, and ride confidently knowing their gear is secure. New JBL  Audio  Polaris partnered with JBL  to create the highest performing audio system ever included in a RANGER from the factory. For customers wanting to turn it up a notch, the JBL  Trail Pro 4200 audio upgrade adds rear speakers and two subwoofers for an immersive audio experience.

Polaris partnered with JBL to create the highest performing audio system ever included in a RANGER from the factory. For customers wanting to turn it up a notch, the JBL Trail Pro 4200 audio upgrade adds rear speakers and two subwoofers for an immersive audio experience. Glacier Pro HD Plow  New 84" plow designed for faster, more efficient plowing during the winter months. A hydraulic plow lift and angle kit can be paired with an all-new plow controller to manage the largest plow Polaris has ever offered, all without ever leaving the comfort of the cab.

2024 RANGER XD 1500 Premium: Starting at US $29,999 / CAN $36,199

The RANGER XD 1500 Premium commands a large presence thanks to heavy-duty components and the industry's largest bumper, providing complete front-end protection. The vehicle comes equipped with one of the most comprehensive standard packages in a side-by-side to date including 29" tires, tilt steering and seat slider for customizable comfort, four drive modes, high output LED headlights for enhanced visibility, and USB ports with multiple charging capabilities. The vehicle also comes equipped with boosted brakes and heavy-duty suspension to ensure performance across a variety of off-road environments.

2024 RANGER XD 1500 NorthStar Premium: Starting at US $39,999 / CAN $48,799

The next step up is the RANGER XD 1500 NorthStar Premium. This machine features a fully enclosed cab with HVAC temperature and five different mode controls, lockable full doors with power windows and a fixed front glass windshield. Additional features include an electronically controlled power tilt bed to dump heavy loads with ease, an overhead switch panel for easy accessorization, and an overhead rear work light to illuminate the cargo box in low-light conditions. NorthStar Premium comes stock with 30" KendaCrossTrail tires and available 32" tires to overcome large obstacles and tough terrain.

2024 RANGER XD 1500 NorthStar Ultimate: Starting at US $44,999 / CAN $54,499

Rounding out the lineup is the RANGER XD 1500 NorthStar Ultimate, which features everything from the NorthStar Premium trim, plus the 7" infotainment display powered by RIDE COMMAND and heated seats. The NorthStar Ultimate trim also delivers an immersive sound experience, featuring full AM/FM radio with Bluetooth streaming capability and industry-exclusive JBL speakers for precise audio and premium sound. Finally, the vehicle comes standard with RIDE COMMAND+, allowing for vehicle health monitoring and more.

The 2024 RANGER XD 1500 lineup is expected to begin shipping to dealers in late summer. To learn more about the 2024 RANGER family, please visit https://ranger.polaris.com/en-us/ or join the conversation and follow on Facebook sm , Instagram sm, YouTube sm and Twittersm.

About Polaris

As the global leader in powersports, Polaris Inc. (NYSE: PII) pioneers product breakthroughs and enriching experiences and services that have invited people to discover the joy of being outdoors since our founding in 1954. Polaris' high-quality product line-up includes the Polaris RANGER, RZR and Polaris GENERAL side-by-side off-road vehicles; Sportsman all-terrain off-road vehicles; military and commercial off-road vehicles; snowmobiles; Indian Motorcycle mid-size and heavyweight motorcycles; Slingshotmoto-roadsters; Aixam quadricycles; Goupil electric vehicles; and pontoon and deck boats, including industry-leading Bennington pontoons. Polaris enhances the riding experience with a robust portfolio of parts, garments, and accessories. Proudly headquartered in Minnesota , Polaris serves more than 100 countries across the globe. www.polaris.com

Warning: vehicle rollaway can cause serious injury or death. This vehicle can roll whenever the gear selector is not in the park position. Always shift to park when stopping the engine or leaving the vehicle. When leaving the vehicle on an incline is unavoidable, use extra care. If leaving the vehicle unattended, block the rear wheels on the downhill side and keep children, pets, and others away form the gear selector. Notice: Vehicle payload and trailer weight will affect the angle of hill on which the vehicle will hold.

Kenda is a registered trademark of Kenda Rubber Industrial Co, Ltd.

Bluetooth is a registered trademark of Bluetooth Sig, Inc.

JBL is a registered trademark of Harman International Industries, Incorporated

Rhino-Rack is a registered trademark of Rhino Rack Australia Pty Limited

Unless noted, trademarks are the property of Polaris Industries Inc.

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SOURCE Polaris Inc.
WASHINGTON , July 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Teamsters Union was served legal notice today that Yellow Corp. is ceasing operations and filing for bankruptcy.

"Today's news is unfortunate but not surprising. Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government. This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry," said Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien .

The Teamsters are committed to ensuring members are protected and notified with all the latest information. The International is putting infrastructure in place to help affected members get the assistance they need to find good union jobs throughout freight and other industries.

The situation is developing. Additional details are forthcoming.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.2 million hardworking people in the U.S. , Canada , and Puerto Rico . Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:

Daniel Moskowitz, (770) 262-4971

[email protected]

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SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has offered condolences to the families and friends of those killed in Monday morning's missile attack on Kryvy Rih and thanked everyone who is participating in the rescue operation.

"Rescue operation continues in Kryvy Rih on the site of Russian missiles' hits. Preliminary, two ballistic missiles. Floors four through nine of the residential building have been completely destroyed. The work is difficult  parts of the building's structure were falling down. The terrorists also targeted the university building and the administrative building. As of now, five people are reported dead, including a child and her mother. My condolences! Dozens of people are injured and traumatized, all of them are being provided with the necessary assistance," he said on the Telegram channel.

The head of state also said that more than 350 people are involved in the rescue operation.

"I thank everyone who is saving lives and helping people!" Zelenskyy said.

As reported, two missiles hit an educational facility and a multi-apartment building in Kryvy Rih during Russia's missile attack on the city on Monday morning. Five people, including an 10-year-old girl, were killed and 73 people were injured.
BOGOTA, Colombia , July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Considering the information known to public, the Board of Directors of Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC, "Ecopetrol" or the "Company") reiterates the press release issued by the company yesterday, which stated that Ecopetrol, Cenit and Oleoducto de Colombia have actively collaborated with the different authorities for the execution of the "Bunkering Imperio" operation.

In addition, the Board of Directors hereby informs that:

Based on external verifications and information coming from the collaborative efforts between the Ecopetrol Group , the Judicial Investigation Directorate and the Carabineros and Environmental Protection Directorate of the National Police , to date, there is no evidence implicating either the administrations or the officers of the Ecopetrol Group ; Ecopetrol , Cenit and Oleoducto de Colombia have been recognized as victims in the corresponding criminal proceedings; and The company will continue to work with the authorities to sanction and prevent the smuggling and theft of hydrocarbons.

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)

Carolina Tovar Aragon

Email: [email protected]

Head of Corporate Communications

Marcela Ulloa

Email: [email protected]

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SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A.
COLLEGE PARK , Md. , July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business is adding a January 2024 cohort start date for its Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS). The update comes as the school designates focus areas including artificial intelligence, cloud computing and emerging technologies in this STEM-designated, in-person program.

"The additional start date is ideal for candidates who apply after earning a three-year or a four-year undergraduate degree and those seeking more scheduling flexibility," says Smith Associate Dean of MS Programs Emanuel Zur ."

Application deadlines for the added January start date in the 30-credit program are Sept. 1 and 29, Oct. 15 and Dec. 15 . (Go to Smith's Business Master's Admissions website .)

The focus areas, Zur says, "provide students with a more-specialized education within the information systems field, targeting multiple skills relevant to specific job roles."

Artificial intelligence

This focus area provides a comprehensive understanding of Artificial Intelligence tools, methods and algorithms used to create intelligent systems to solve business problems. The curriculum also will work to address AI's ethical impacts on society and is relevant to such job titles as knowledge engineer, knowledge manager and machine learning engineer. The curriculum also emphasizes crafting data strategies, building pipelines, visualizing data, and using predictive analytics in real-life business situations. This area is designed for data scientists, business intelligence developers, data analysts and data engineers.

Cloud computing

The curriculum in this focus area addresses Cloud Computing in designing and managing cloud-based platforms and tech infrastructures. Participants will study the economics of cloud deployments, manage the complexities involved in migration initiatives and experience using cloud-based technology stacks  all applicable to such roles as solution engineer, cloud architect and cloud engineer.

Emerging technologies

The Emerging Technologies focus area addresses the understanding, evaluating and applying key information systems technologies. Students will practice applying Web3, Blockchain, IoT and other technologies to everyday work in roles like solution architect, technology consultant and solutions engineer.

"These focus areas, combined with experiential learning courses, case competitions and industry simulations, ensure that students have the skills and capacity to lead, manage, design and implement solutions to complex business problems using contemporary information technologies," says MSIS Academic Director and Clinical Professor Tej Anand . "The updated curriculum increases the challenge and reward for students to think critically about solutions required for our rapidly changing business and technology environment."

Anand directs the program with decades of industry experience, including in AI and data research and product development for the likes of Philips Research Laboratories, A. C. Nielsen and NCR/Teradata and as a senior business-technology executive in companies such as Golden Books, CA Technologies. Medco Health Solutions and CareCentrix.

Anand "exemplifies the MSIS program's top-tier research- and industry-active faculty, who collaborate with the school's MSIS Advisory Council of industry leaders and experts to bring experiential learning and insight and expand internship and job opportunities for the students," says Smith Dean Prabhudev Konana . "This works to ensure that it's not only about developing trade skills through a stellar curriculum, but it's also about developing independent thinkers with deep skills relevant for immediate needs of business and developing the students for long term success."

Related, online information sessions are scheduled for 8:30-9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 8, 16 and 25. To register for these free sessions and for complete MSIS program information, go to the Master of Science in Information Systems website .

About the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business

The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master's, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia .

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SOURCE University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business
By Lewis Jackson

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia could go to an election more than a year ahead of schedule as opposition parties threaten to block a flagship housing bill for a second time, providing the government with the constitutional trigger for an early election.

The parliamentary deadlock revolves around the centre-left Labor government's A$10 billion ($6.7 billion) housing package, which The Greens party is refusing to pass through the upper house without changes to increase spending and cap rents.

Governments can dissolve both houses of parliament if the upper house twice blocks a bill passed by the lower house. The Greens in June voted with the opposition centre-right Liberal Party to delay the housing bill.

Speaking on Monday as parliament resumed, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he preferred the bill passed the Senate but if it did not, the trigger for a double-dissolution election could focus attention on the policy.

"Well, I'd rather not have it. I'd rather have this policy passed," Albanese said on ABC radio. "What it does is mean that can be a focus, and then you have a joint sitting after a double-dissolution election is held."

An election would normally be due around early 2025.

Labor and the Greens back action to tackle Australia's housing crisis but disagree on the approach. Labor has proposed to create a A$10 billion fund to finance at least A$500 million worth of social and affordable housing each year.

The Greens want A$2.5 billion in annual housing spending and, most controversially, a national freeze on rents.

Australia has only had seven double-dissolution elections since becoming a nation in 1901. Most recently in 2016, the then-ruling Liberal Party triggered one over several jobs and union bills only to return to power with fewer senate seats.

($1 = 1.4981 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Stephen Coates)
FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises from burning cargo ship Fremantle Highway at sea off the Netherlands, July 28, 2023. Dutch Coastguard/Handout via REUTERS

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A burning car carrier off the Dutch coast has been towed to a new location away from shipping lanes as part of an operation to salvage the ship, the Dutch public works and water management ministry and local media said on Monday.

The freighter, which was travelling from Germany to Egypt when the blaze broke out on July 26, was towed to a location north of the Dutch islands Ameland and Schiermonnikoog, the Rijkswaterstaat ministry said in a statement.

The fire on the Panamanian-registered Fremantle Highway, which was carrying new cars, resulted in the death of an Indian crew member and the injury of seven who jumped overboard to escape the flames. Japan's Shoei Kisen, which owns the ship, said the entire crew of 21 was Indian.

A Rijkswaterstaat spokeswoman told the Dutch ANP press agency that at the new temporary location, the ship would be further removed from shipping routes and more sheltered from wind.

The relocation is an intermediate step in the difficult salvage operation, the spokeswoman said.

Ship charter company "K" Line said on Friday there were 3,783 vehicles on board the ship - including 498 battery electric vehicles, significantly more than the 25 initially reported.

The company declined to say anything about the car brands, including whether they included any cars from Japanese manufacturers.

EV lithium-ion batteries burn with twice the energy of a normal fire, and maritime officials and insurers say the industry has not kept up with the risks.

(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout; editing by Robert Birsel and Mark Heinrich)
FILE PHOTO-An employee works on the production line of Nio electric vehicles at a JAC-NIO manufacturing plant in Hefei, Anhui province, China August 28, 2022. China Daily via REUTERS/File Photo

By Joe Cash

BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese authorities released additional policy guidelines on Monday but no concrete measures to boost the sputtering economy and domestic consumption, leaving investors wanting as dull activity data heightened pressure for officials to act.

Manufacturing activity in the world's second-largest economy fell for a fourth straight month in July while the services and construction sectors teetered on the brink of contraction, official surveys showed, threatening growth prospects for the third quarter.

But officials at a news conference called by the state planner gave only vague promises to "study and formulate policies", disappointing hopes that more stimulus was imminent after positive hints from a Politburo meeting this month - and a stock market rally that followed.

"Looking forward, policy support is needed to prevent China's economy from slipping into recession, not least because external headwinds look set to persist for a while longer," Julian Evans-Pritchard, head of China economics at Capital Economics, wrote in a note.

"Unless concrete support is rolled out soon, the recent downturn in demand risks becoming self-reinforcing."

The world's second-largest economy grew at a lumbering pace in the second quarter, as demand weakened at home and abroad, and some analysts now caution that the government's economic growth target around 5% could be at risk for a second year in a row.

Many analysts say policymakers may be reluctant to deliver any aggressive stimulus to boost domestic consumption, however, due to worries about growing debt risks, despite the urgency of the task.

Monday's data showed activity in China's construction sector, a large employer amid a broad unemployment crisis, at its weakest since COVID-19-related workplace disruptions dissipated around February, according to the National Bureau of Statistics' official purchasing managers' index (PMI).

"The sharp fall in construction activity is a worrying sign of a potential death spiral in the property sector," said Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

"Meanwhile, we're seeing improvements in inventory levels, suggesting that with destocking nearing its end, China's manufacturing sector bottomed out in the second quarter," he added.

The manufacturing PMI inched up to 49.3 in July from 49.0 in June, staying below the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction.

The last time that indicator pointed to contraction for more than three consecutive months was between May and October 2019, before the pandemic, suggesting that negative sentiment among factory managers had become especially persistent.

The non-manufacturing PMI, which incorporates sub-indexes for service sector activity and construction, dropped to 51.5 from June's 53.2, while the sub-index for construction fell from a high of 65.6 in March to 51.2 this month.

China's top leaders earlier this month pledged to step up economic policy support, focusing on expanding domestic demand, boosting confidence and tamping down on risks, the Politburo, a top decision-making body of the ruling Communist Party, said.

But foreign investors say policymakers' words will need to be matched with substantive actions, especially around fixing the country's long-ailing and heavily indebted property sector, before confidence recovers.

Foreigners' net stock purchases in China for the year remain around 230 billion yuan ($32.2 billion), having more or less stalled after a net inflow of 186 billion yuan in the first quarter, as the economy lost its post-pandemic bounce.

Multinational companies are also seeking better financial or in-kind incentives and reassurance over an increasingly unpredictable regulatory environment.

Monday's announced support measures from China's State Council, which target domestic consumption in such areas as electric vehicles, housing and tourism, were far short of the specific stimulus investors have called for.

The PMI data reinforced the key role that domestic consumption would need to play in reinvigorating the recovery, with a reading for new export orders showing a stepped-up pace of decline.

The PMI's overall sub-index for new orders also showed a contraction in July, albeit at a slower pace than the previous month, which "suggested further downward pressure for the coming months", said Dan Wang, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank China.

($1 = 7.1521 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Sam Holmes and Edmund Klamann)
FILE PHOTO: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov speaks during the annual end-of-year news conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia December 19, 2019. Picture taken December 19, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS/File Pho

(Reuters) - The Kremlin expressed concern on Monday over the situation in Niger, whose president was ousted last week in a coup that was condemned by many countries but welcomed by the head of Russia's mercenary Wagner group, which has extensive interests in Africa.

In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "what is happening (in Niger) is a matter of serious concern".

"We are in favour of the speedy restoration of the rule of law in the country, we are in favour of restraint on all sides so that this does not lead to human casualties," Peskov said.

Niger coup leaders declared General Abdourahamane Tiani as the new head of state last Friday, days after saying they had ousted President Mohamed Bazoum in the seventh military takeover in West and Central Africa in less than three years.

West African nations have imposed sanctions and threatened force if the coup leaders fail to reinstate Bazoum within a week.

In a voice message published last week on social media channels linked to Russia's mercenary Wagner Group, its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin appeared to endorse the coup, and to offer the services of his fighters to the junta.

WAGNER'S ROLE

Prigozhin did not claim involvement in the coup, but described it as a moment of long overdue liberation from Western colonisers

Prigozhin's relationship with the Kremlin has been unclear since he staged a failed mutiny last month aimed at ousting long-time rivals in the Defence Ministry in Moscow.

However, his Wagner Group remains a key player in Russia's foreign policy in Africa. It has become an influential force in Niger's neighbour Mali since a 2021 coup there, and has a longer-standing presence in Central African Republic and Libya.

Wagner's role in Africa is a source of concern for Western governments. The United States has accused the group of atrocities and imposed sanctions on it. Prigozhin says it works lawfully.

Prigozhin appears to continue to enjoy freedom of movement despite what the Kremlin said last month was a post-mutiny deal that would see him relocate to neighbouring Belarus where some of his men have already started training the army.

(Reporting by Felix Light; Editing by Gareth Jones)
FILE PHOTO: United Parcel Service (UPS) vehicles are seen at a facility in Brooklyn, New York City, U.S., May 9, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

(Reuters) - The Teamsters local unions, which represent 340,000 workers at United Parcel Service, voted 161-1 on Monday to endorse the tentative agreement reached with the delivery giant on July 25.

The agreement, estimated to be at $30 billion by the union, provides historic wage increases, one more paid holiday and air conditioning in the company's ubiquitous brown delivery trucks.

It also eliminates a two-tier pay system and forced overtime for delivery drivers.

"Our tentative agreement is richer, stronger, and more far-reaching than any settlement ever negotiated in the history of American organized labor," said Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien.

Of the 176 local unions with UPS members, 14 affiliates did not show up to a meeting in Washington DC to review the agreement.

The union said the rank and file of UPS Teamsters will have the chance to vote on ratification from August 3 to 22.

(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks ahead of a rally held by former U.S. President Donald Trump, in Robstown, Texas, U.S., October 22, 2022. REUTERS/Go Nakamura

By Brad Brooks

(Reuters) - Lawyers for suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday asked the state Senate to dismiss all but one of the articles of impeachment against him.

In two motions filed before the Texas Senate's court of impeachment, Paxton's attorneys argued that 19 of the 20 articles of impeachment are based on allegations of wrongdoing that took place before he began his third term in office in January.

Paxton's attorneys argue that Senate rules do not allow for the removal of public officials over acts that took place before their current term in office.

All 31 members of the Texas Senate make up the court of impeachment. It was not immediately known when the senators would vote on Paxton's motions. His impeachment trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 5.

Texas' Republican-dominated House in May voted to impeach Paxton, a conservative firebrand backed by former President Donald Trump. The accusations he faces include improperly aiding a wealthy political donor, conducting a sham investigation against whistleblowers in his office whom he fired, and covering up his wrongdoing in a separate federal securities fraud case against him.

The lone article Paxton's lawyers did not ask be dismissed involved accusations that he concealed acts of wrongdoing in connection to his settlement of a whistleblower lawsuit in February.

Paxton, 60, this year asked House lawmakers to approve the state payment of the $3.3 million settlement reached with the whistleblowers, all four of who are former staff members. That budget request is what triggered Paxton's impeachment by the House.

Paxton's legal team wrote in the motions that the articles of impeachment "allege nothing that Texas voters have not heard from the Attorney General's political opponents for years" and yet he still easily won re-election. Removing him from office, they argue, would thwart voters' will.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who will preside over the trial as president of the Senate, has imposed a gag order on Paxton's attorneys and on the House managers who will prosecute the case before the Senate.

Paxton has been temporarily suspended from office pending his impeachment trial.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott this month appointed his longtime aide Angela Colmenero to serve as interim attorney general.

(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
FILE PHOTO: General Abdourahmane Tiani, who was declared as the new head of state of Niger by leaders of a coup, arrives to meet with ministers in Niamey, Niger July 28, 2023. REUTERS/Balima Boureima/File Photo

By Moussa Aksar and Boureima Balima

NIAMEY (Reuters) - In 2011, after two decades climbing the ranks of Niger's army, Abdourahamane Tiani was handed one of the military's most prized appointments: the head of an elite unit set up to protect the president.

Last week, Tiani, a general, used his position and manpower to do the opposite. He imprisoned President Mohamed Bazoum in the presidential palace and appeared on state television on Friday to declare himself head of state, confirming the seventh military coup in West and Central Africa in three years.

Tiani, 59, said that soldiers had seized power because of persistent insecurity driven by a decade-long Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands of soldiers and civilians across the Sahel, echoing justifications by military leaders in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso who have also snatched power since 2020.

"We cannot continue with the same approaches proposed so far, as it risks witnessing the gradual and inevitable disappearance of our nation," he said.

The insecurity was close to home for Tiani, who was born in 1964 in a small village in the Filingue region in southwest Niger which has seen some of the worst fighting, including an attack on an army base in 2021 that killed 89 soldiers.

He attended local schools before joining the army in 1985 where he was posted across the country, including the northern town of Agadez during a Tuareg uprising in the 1990s, according to a biography released by the new ruling military council.

The document says he received training in France, Morocco, Senegal and the United States, where he attended the College of International Security Affairs at Fort McNair in Washington, DC.

He served as a commander and observer abroad for regional and United Nations' forces during conflicts in Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan, and has been decorated with some of the country's highest military honours.

Now, Tiani has become a central player overseeing the fate of a region where Russian influence is on the rise and juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso have kicked out troops from former colonial power France. Regional powers have threatened military intervention if he does not return Bazoum to power within days.

Just last week, Niger, one of the world's poorest countries, was seen as the West's last ally in the region. Aid, investments and training rushed in from the United States and the European Union. French and U.S. forces are stationed there, though their future is now in doubt.

The speed of change in Niger is evident in Tiani's biography. The document, seen by Reuters, was typed apart from one last-minute update scrawled in pen at the bottom of his list of jobs: "President of the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland, Head of State, 28 July 2023."

(Writing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Edward McAllister)
Press Release

July 31, 2023 'Now is the time'

Hontiveros asserts raising WPS issue to the UNGA Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday asserted that 'now is the time' to bring the West Philippine Sea issue to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), given that more nations have expressed solidarity with the Philippines' 2016 Arbitral Award. "More and more nations are recognizing our legitimate rights in the West Philippine Sea, so why not seize this opportunity now? Government cannot do nothing. Araw-araw ang pambabastos ng Tsina sa ating karagatan at sa ating mga mamamayan. Ipakita naman ng gubyerno na kinakampihan natin ang Pilipino, hindi ang Tsina," Hontiveros said. Last week, the senator principally sponsored Proposed Senate Resolution 659, which calls on the government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), to raise China's continuous harassment of Philippine vessels to the UNGA. The resolution was then co-sponsored by Senate President Migz Zubiri, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, and Sen. Raffy Tulfo. However, the Senate did not yet adopt the resolution, as some members of the body requested for a closed-door meeting to further discuss the issue. "As I said on the floor, I am willing to accept amendments. But the resolution should still urge the Executive to exhaust all diplomatic means at our disposal, specifically bringing the issue to a larger international body, including the UNGA. Dapat maliwanag na may gagawing aksyon. We should not yield to China's threats and intimidation. Bakit ngayon pa tayo matatakot lumaban kung napakarami na tayong kakampi?" the senator asked. The United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, 16 member-states of the European Union, and India, among others have expressed and reaffirmed their support for the arbitral ruling. The senator also reiterated that bringing the issue to the UNGA would not be a new course of action. She shared that Nicaragua had similarly sought the opinion of the UNGA after the United States of America failed to comply with an International Court of Justice ruling that ordered the US to end her actions against Nicaragua. The UNGA adopted Nicaragua's resolution. "When a weaker state is pushed into a corner by a stronger state, it is only sensible that the weaker state build and mobilize the widest international consensus possible. Tiwala ako sa DFA na kaya nila itong simulan sa lalong madaling panahon," she said. "A UNGA resolution could complement our beautiful victory at the Hague, which is complete in and of itself. Papalakasin lang niya ang ating nauna nang panalo. We cannot delay pursuing any and all options. Buhay at hanapbuhay ng mga Pilipino ang nakataya dito," Hontiveros concluded.
Lubinets calls on UN Secretary-General to receive from Russia lists of deported Ukrainian children, transfer them to Ukraine

Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets has addressed Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Virginia Gamba de Potgieter with a request to receive lists of deported Ukrainian children from the Russian side and transfer them to Ukraine.

"In the report, the Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights [Maria Lvova-Belova] reports that Russia removed more than 700,000 Ukrainian children from Ukraine in 2022," Lubinets said on the Telegram channel on Monday.

Lubinets said that under the guise of 'good deeds', evacuation or recreation, Russia removes Ukrainian children to its territory or the territory of temporarily occupied Crimea. The Russian ombudsperson's report also contains the number of children removed and adopted by Russian families in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine (Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Kharkiv and Zaporizhia regions)

"I urge the international community to pay attention to the crimes that Russia constantly commits against Ukrainian children and take immediate measures to stop gross violations of international law. I also urge to facilitate the return of all children to the territory of Ukraine," he said.

The Ukrainian ombudsman said that he asked the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflicts to receive the lists of deported Ukrainian children from the Russian side and transfer them to Ukraine.

"We will work until we return every child home, and for Ukrainian children, home is Ukraine," he said.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of a Walmart Superstore in Rosemead, California, U.S., June 11, 2020. Picture taken June 11, 2020. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo

(Reuters) -Walmart has paid $1.4 billion to buy out hedge fund Tiger Global's investment in its Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart and acquired private equity firm Accel's remaining 1% stake in the company as well, media reports said on Monday.

The Wall Street Journal said Walmart bought the shares from Tiger Global recently, valuing the Indian company at about $35 billion. This is down from a near-$38 billion valuation which Flipkart had attained in 2021.

The U.S. retailer bought a 77% stake in Flipkart for about $16 billion in 2018.

Accel's stake sale in Flipkart was reported by the Economic Times newspaper. The report did not say how much Walmart paid for the stake.

A Walmart spokesperson told Reuters on Monday that the company bought additional shares of Flipkart from some investors, including Tiger Global, but did not share any other details.

Accel and Tiger Global did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

(Reporting by Yana Gaur and Urvi Dagar in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam and Rishabh Jaiswal; Editing by Kim Coghill, Chris Reese and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
'X' logo is seen on the top of the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, California, U.S., July 30, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

By Sheila Dang

(Reuters) -X owner Elon Musk and Chief Executive Linda Yaccarino will both oversee the trust and safety team at the company formerly known as Twitter, the social media concern said on Monday.

X's product and engineering team will report to Musk, while Yaccarino will oversee all other divisions, including human resources, legal, finance, sales and operations, X said.

The trust and safety team, which is responsible for content moderation, has been the focus of some criticism of the platform after Musk acquired the company last October. Researchers have accused X of relaxing content guard rails, leading to a spike in harmful posts. The company has said the majority of content views are of "healthy" posts.

In an email to X employees on Monday, which was shared with Reuters, Yaccarino said the company is searching for a new leader for brand safety and suitability.

The previous head of brand safety, A.J. Brown, who worked on efforts to prevent advertisements from appearing next to unsuitable content, left the company last month.

Yaccarino said in the email that three X leaders will oversee different responsibilities within trust and safety, including law enforcement operations and threat disruptions.

The changes to trust and safety come after Ella Irwin resigned as head of the team in June.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas; Editing by Chris Reese and Leslie Adler)
YECHEON COUNTY, South Korea  Engineers of the U.S. and South Korean armies turned out recently to move mud and rubble left behind by crippling monsoon rains in this rural county.

Soldiers on Thursday cleaned up a portion of the damage left by nine days of rain, fatal floods and landslides in central and southern South Korea. They came from the 11th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, the South Korean-U.S. Combined Division and South Koreas 50th Engineer Division.

At least 50 people died, the Yonhap News Agency reported July 17. Another 30 were injured and approximately 10,000 were evacuated from their homes July 9-17 due to heavy rains, according to The Associated Press.

The worst damage occurred in places like Yecheon county, 100 miles south of Seoul in North Gyeongsang province.

Our hearts and our thoughts are with the community that was absolutely suffering a loss, Lt. Col. Brent Kinney, the 11th Engineer commander, said in a 2nd ID statement July 27.

About 20 engineers focused their efforts in a small, hillside community devastated by the monsoons. They labored in mud-covered roads, concrete rubble studded with metal pipes and a demolished apple orchard.

The engineers brought heavy-duty equipment  an excavator, a skid steer and a bulldozer  to cleanup, move debris and manipulate the terrain.

We use our equipment to remove dirt and trash, Sgt. Brian Lamp, of the 643rd Engineer Construction Company, told Stars and Stripes at the scene. We can haul around equipment and stuff like that. So, this is a big event that we could even use for [ourselves] as real-world experience.

Kinney said his soldiers were working with community leaders to begin to restore the lives that Yecheon residents led prior to this year's monsoon season.

I have the fortunate opportunity to be out here with members of the 643rd Engineer Company, along with a combined effort, the Republic of Korea Army Engineer Battalion to do the utmost possible so that we can bring back a semblance to life, back to this community, he said.
BATH, Maine  Marine 1st Lt. Harvey Barney Barnum jumped to the ground when he came under fire during an ambush in Vietnam that killed his radio operator and commander.

Collecting himself, Barnum realized he was now the highest-ranking officer of a rifle company he'd just joined. He called in artillery and, amid gunfire, dragged the commander to safety, where he died in Barnums arms. Then he proceeded to mount a counterattack, oversee evacuation of the wounded and lead the units eventual break out to rejoin the battalion.

The Medal of Honor recipient, now 83, watched Saturday as his wife smashed a bottle of sparkling wine against the bow to christen the future U.S. Navy destroyer that'll bear the name Harvey C. Barnum Jr.

He said he was speechless when he learned that a warship would bear his name. "As anybody that knows Barney Barnum knows, Ive never been speechless, he joked before the event.

The ceremony on Saturday at Navy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works was a tribute to the Vietnam War hero who during his first firefight was foisted into leadership of Marines who didnt yet know his name because hed just joined them a couple of days earlier.

Dignitaries included Maine's governor and senators, as well as Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, who praised Barnum's humility and generosity, in addition to being a war hero who inspired fellow Marines.

Gen. Eric Smith, the acting Marine Corps commandant whose nomination to lead the Marine Corps is being blocked by a Republican senator, called Barnum an icon, a legend, a Marine.

In an interview, Barnum said the combat was harrowing on that day, Dec. 18, 1965, during Operation Harvest Moon. His unit was outnumbered, caught off guard and separated from the larger battalion outside the village of Ky Phu in Quang Tin Province.

The ship's namesake said he was scared like everybody else but he tried not to show it. The other Marines were looking to him, an artillery spotter, after their commander died, he said.

To launch a counterattack, he brandished a .45-caliber handgun and told the others to follow him. They did.

Its a tough business. But when it gets tough, the tough get going and thats what Marines do, he said. We came together as a team. And, you know, theres no fury unleashed that's greater than that of a bunch of Marines that know that their buddies have been shot.

Barnum later became the first Medal of Honor recipient in the Vietnam conflict to return for another tour. He retired from the Marine Corps as a colonel after nearly three decades of service and served the secretary of defense as principal director of drug enforcement policy, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for reserve affairs, and acting assistant secretary of the Navy for manpower and reserve affairs.

Barnum, of Reston, Va., was born in Cheshire, Conn., and studied at Saint Anselm College, a Benedictine college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. The schools abbot, Mark Cooper, delivered the invocation on Saturday.

The event was a family affair for Barnum, who now lives in Virginia.

His wife, Martha Hill, served as the ships sponsor. At the event Saturday, she was in a wheelchair; Barnum has been her care provider since she had a stroke about five years ago. Her daughter; two granddaughters, one of whom sang God Bless America; and an 11-year-old great-granddaughter were also participants at the event Saturday. Other family and friends were present.

Displacing 9,500 tons, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is built to simultaneously wage war against submarines, aircraft and missiles, and other warships. The newest versions are being equipped for ballistic missile defense.

The 510-foot guided-missile destroyer was in dry dock for the ceremony as work continues to prepare the ship for delivery to the Navy.
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea  U.S. and South Korean warships conducted an anti-submarine drill south of the Korean Peninsula over the weekend in response to North Koreas escalating missile tests.

The USS Annapolis, a Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine, joined South Koreas Aegis-equipped Yulgok Yi destroyer and the Yi Sun-sin submarine south of Jeju Island to strengthen their response to the North Korean missiles and underwater threats, the ministry said in a news release Saturday.

The Annapolis arrived at Jeju Naval Base, about 50 miles south of the mainland, on July 24 to replenish its ordnance, South Korean navy spokesman Jang Do-young told reporters that day.

It is one of three U.S. submarines to visit South Korea so far this year, including the Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Kentucky, which arrived in Busan on July 18 as a show of force against the North.

In addition to the recent naval exercise, the two militaries carried out a joint air drill on Friday.

An unspecified number of U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcons and South Korean F-35 Lightning IIs and KF-16s took to the skies near the peninsulas west coast for a demonstration of their rapid and flexible response options, 7th Air Force said in a news release Friday.

The command did not immediately respond to a request for comment by phone Monday.

Pyongyang has fired 17 ballistic missiles in 12 separate days of testing so far this year. The communist regime last fired two short-range ballistic missiles that flew into the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, on July 19.

Pyongyang's nuclear policy may allow the regime to conduct a preemptive nuclear strike due to the Kentuckys port call, North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam said in a statement released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on July 20.

The North on Thursday held its Victory Day parade at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of Korean War hostilities.

The parade was attended by leader Kim Jong Un, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese politburo member Li Hongzhong and included thousands of marching soldiers, several ballistic missiles and drones, according to a KCNA report on Friday.

North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam, in a speech during the parade, described the U.S. and South Korea as warmongers and said their military drills amounted to [playing] dangerous war games, KCNA reported Friday.
The USS Ronald Reagans normally hectic flight deck swapped fighter jets and helicopters Sunday for party hats and a giant, aircraft carrier-shaped cake to celebrate the ships two decades of service.

Still on their annual six-month patrol of the Indo-Pacific, the Ronald Reagan and its crew gathered for a gun salute and a steel beach picnic, ship spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Phillip Chitty told Stars and Stripes by email Monday.

The carrier, two months at sea and cruising through the Indian Ocean, paused while its commander, Capt. Daryle Cardone, spoke to the occasion.

Since the ships commissioning two decades ago, tens of thousands of sailors like us have stood the watch here aboard this warship, Cardone said during the ceremony, according to Chitty. Together, we have kept the peace through our continuous display of combat readiness, agility and grit.

Commissioned July 12, 2003, at Norfolk Naval Station, Va., the Ronald Reagan saw action during its first operational deployment, to the Middle East, in 2006. Its air wing flew in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

The ship that year launched 6,100 sorties totaling more than 19,600 flights hours. Of those, 2,940 were in support of the war in Iraq, according to U.S. Pacific Fleet.

In 2015, the carrier switched homeports to Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, headquarters of the 7th Fleet, after more than 10 years at Naval Base San Diego.

This years Indo-Pacific deployment may be the last from Japan for the Ronald Reagan for some time. It is scheduled to relocate sometime next year to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash., for maintenance.

The USS George Washington, the carrier the Ronald Reagan replaced in 2015, is expected to return to Yokosuka after six years of maintenance and midlife nuclear refueling at Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia.

Our predecessors got the USS Ronald Reagan to 2023; and now, you are the realized vision of President Reagans legacy, Cardone said during the ceremony, according to Chitty. The work you do here ensures this ship and his legacy remain strong for another 30-plus years. Let us all proudly celebrate 20 years of peace through Strength and continue to pave the way for many more ahead.
LOS ANGELES  As extreme summer heat continues to grip the region, young children are at a greater risk for heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

It's important to understand the signs of danger for youngsters as well as the best ways to keep them safe.

Know how to spot the symptoms of overheating and heat stroke

Young children and babies are more vulnerable to the heat than others. Babies, especially those under 6 months old, cannot control their body temperature well, according to Dr. Chandani DeZure, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics and a pediatrician in Palo Alto, Calif. It's important to check up on your young ones frequently because they might not be able to tell you if something is wrong.

Keep an eye on whether your baby or toddler is extra fussy or fatigued, experiencing muscle cramps, vomiting or feeling nauseous, as this could indicate they are overheating. Overheated babies won't want to feed as much as usual.

If you see your child has hot and dry skin, is breathing rapidly, has a rapid heart rate or is not perspiring  or barely perspiring  these could be a sign of heatstroke.

"Fatigue sets in from being in the sun for so long and it can, in severe situations, lead to seizures and strokes," DeZure said. "We don't want it to get to that point."

Monitor your child's play and make sure they take frequent breaks

Young kids are active, but it's important to make sure they don't overextend themselves when temperatures are high. Have them play in the shade or indoors during peak sun hours  typically between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.  and don't plan anything too strenuous to do on hotter days, DeZure said.

Dr. Anu Seshadri, lead physician at UCLA Health in the Century City neighborhood of Los Angeles, especially recommends keeping them indoors if the temperature passes 90 degrees.

Even when youngsters play outside during cooler morning and afternoon hours, DeZure recommends limiting time outside to two hours and include frequent water breaks.

Keep your young ones out of the heat

It's especially important to shield babies from direct sunlight, especially if they are under 6 months old. If you do bring them outdoors in a stroller, make sure not to drape a thick stroller blanket over it because that can actually trap the heat, according to Seshadri. Instead use an umbrella to block the sun and allow for ventilation.

Don't leave your kids in a car either, even if the windows are open. The temperature within a car can rise fairly quickly  nearly 20 degrees within the first 10 minutes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For homes without air conditioning, Seshadri suggests putting a bucket of ice in front of the fan to help circulate chilled air around the room. However, she recommends against using a fan when it's over 90 degrees because it won't do more than move hot air around, she said.

Do not give your child a cold water bath because the temperature of the water can actually affect their core body temperature, especially among babies, Seshadri said. Instead, use lukewarm water and a sponge to cool them off or spray them with mist.

Keep them covered

Clothing should be loose and breathable, but cover the skin. Materials like cotton and linen are best. Light colors help too because they reflect the sun's rays. Use a brimmed hat to keep your child's face out of direct sunlight. Babies, especially, should be covered as much as possible to avoid the sun.

Make sure to reapply sunscreen every two hours. Doctors don't typically recommend putting sunscreen on babies under 6 months old but, DeZure suggests applying just a little bit to the parts of the baby that aren't covered by clothing if they are in direct sunlight  as long as those aren't areas a baby can put in their mouth like their hands. Make sure sunscreen includes protection from both UVA and UVB rays and is mineral based. DeZure also recommends checking out sun protective clothing that has SPF built into it.

At night, keep clothing to a minimum. Dress them in looser, more breathable clothing and tuck toddlers into bed with a sheet rather than a blanket. Leave babies in just a diaper, Seshadri recommends. Babies shouldn't have anything near them when they sleep regardless of weather to minimize risk of suffocation.

Keep them hydrated

Make water as easily accessible as you can, but also have fruit and salad readily available for your children if you can. Those foods are great avenues for hydration as well, according to Seshadri.

Make sure you serve as a role model for your kids. Hydrate often so that they can be encouraged to do so too.

"Like when kids see that mom and dad or their friends are hydrating, then you're going to do the same thing too," Seshadri said. "Instead of just forcing them to drink water, you drink that water too."

Make sure your day care is adapting to the heat

Ask your child's day care provider how they deal with the heat. Check with them about sunscreen application, hydration and playtime routines outside. Ask them what kinds of food they are serving. If they don't have air conditioning, what alternatives do they have to keep kids cool?

Day care facilities should have policies that dictate how much time kids spend in direct sunlight, DeZure said.
NIAMEY, Niger  Neighboring nations are levying economic sanctions over a coup last week that toppled one of the West's last democratic partners against West African extremists, and families in one of the world's poorest nations could pay the price.

In the capital of Niger, many people live in makeshift shelters tied together with slats of wood, sheets and plastic tarps because they can't pay rent. They scramble daily to make enough money to feed their children.

Salou Hassan and his family live in a two-room hut on the side of the road, along with some 140 people. The family sleeps on wooden slats close to the floor, with no electricity or running water, and they bathe in public showers.

"The most difficult part is finding food for my children," Hassan, whose sons are 5 and 6 years old, said Monday.

Hassan, 30, sells water door to door, earning about $6 a day when things go well. His wheelbarrow's been broken and he doesn't have the nearly $70 he needs to fix it. His wife sweeps stalls at the central market, making less than half what Hassan does.

Hassan has hardly been aware that the country's president was overthrown.

"I'm looking for money for food for my family," he said.

Meanwhile, Niger's neighbors are threatening armed intervention against the junta run by the head of the presidential guard, although analysts say there is only a slim chance of the regional body successfully sending troops.

Both the United States and France have sent forces and hundreds of millions of dollars of military and humanitarian aid in recent years to Niger, which was a French colony until 1960. The country was seen as the last major partner standing against extremism in a Francophone region where anti-French sentiment had opened the way for the Russian private military group Wagner.

After neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso ousted the French military, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Niger in March to strengthen ties and announce $150 million in direct assistance, calling the country "a model of democracy."

Since the coup that ousted Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum, however, people have been toting Russian flags and praising that country in pro-junta demonstrations.

The West African regional body known as ECOWAS announced travel and economic sanctions against Niger on Sunday over the coup, and said it would use force if the coup leaders don't reinstate Bazoum within one week.

Since the 1990s, the 15-nation bloc has tried to protect democracies against the threat of coups, with mixed success.

Niger relies heavily on foreign aid and sanctions could further impoverish its more than 25 million people. ECOWAS suspended all commercial and financial transactions between its member states and Niger, as well as freezing Nigerien assets held in regional central banks.

The sanctions could be disastrous and Niger needs to find a solution to avoid them, the country's Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou told French media outlet Radio France Internationale on Sunday.

"When people say there's an embargo, land borders are closed, air borders are closed, it's extremely difficult for people ... Niger is a country that relies heavily on the international community," he said.

Four nations are run by military governments in West and Central Africa, where there have been nine successful or attempted coups since 2020.

In the 1990s, ECOWAS intervened in Liberia during its civil war, one of the bloodiest conflicts in Africa and one that left many wary of intervening in internal conflicts. In 2017, ECOWAS intervened in Gambia to prevent the new president's predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, from disrupting the handover of power. Around 7,000 troops from Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal entered the country, according to the Global Observatory, which provides analysis on peace and security issues. The intervention was largely seen as accomplishing its mission.

If the regional bloc uses force, it could trigger violence not only between Niger and ECOWAS forces but also between civilians supporting the coup and those against it, Niger analysts say.

While unlikely, "the consequences on civilians of such an approach if putschists chose confrontation would be catastrophic," said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank.

Lyammouri does not see a "military intervention happening because of the violence that could trigger," he said.

Blinken on Sunday commended the resolve of the ECOWAS leadership to "defend constitutional order in Niger" after the sanctions announcement, and joined the bloc in calling for the immediate release of Bazoum and his family.

The military junta, which seized power on Wednesday when members of the presidential guard surrounded Bazoum's house and detained him, is already cracking down on the government and civil liberties.

On Sunday evening it arrested four government officials, including the minister of petroleum and son of a former president; the minister of education; the minister of mines; and the president of the ruling party. The arrests were recounted to The Associated Press by a person close to the president, who was not authorized to speak about the situation, and a Nigerien analyst who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal.

Also Sunday, junta spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane banned the use of social media to put out messages he describe as harmful to state security. He also claimed without evidence that Bazoum's government had authorized the French to carry out strikes to free Bazoum.

Observers believe Bazoum is being held at his house in the capital, Niamey. The first photos of him since the coup appeared Sunday evening, sitting on a couch smiling beside Chad's President Mahamat Deby, who had flown in to mediate between the government and the junta.

In anticipation of the ECOWAS decision Sunday, thousands of pro-junta supporters took to the streets in Niamey, denouncing France, waving Russian flags along with signs reading "Down with France" and supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin and telling the international community to stay away. There has been no clear explanation of the Russian symbols, but the country seems to have become a symbol of anti-Western feelings for demonstrators. Protesters also burned down a door and smashed windows of the French Embassy, before the Nigerien army dispersed them.

France said Monday that President Emmanuel Macron is closely monitoring the situation in Niger and has discussed the crisis with regional leaders and European and international partners.
The Croatian government at its Monday meeting donated EUR 1 million to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) to help Ukrainian farmers and food producers reopen in regions most affected by explosive remnants of war.

As reported on the WFP website on Monday, the agreement was signed by Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman and Acting UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine Matthew Hollingworth in the presence of First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko.

"The project aims to survey productive agricultural land for the presence of mines and other explosives, demine it where necessary, and release it safely to restore food production and support the livelihoods of rural communities. The project will also extend support to farmers in rehabilitating soils and re-establishing their agricultural production once the lands are deemed safe," it said.

The work is already underway in Kharkiv region with plans to expand to Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. The project is designed and implemented in close coordination with the Government of Ukraine as well as local authorities to ensure complementarity in action and directly support the Government's demining efforts.

"The Ukrainian government has identified demining as one of the five key priorities for the country's rapid recovery, as it concerns the safety of people, restoration of fully operational agricultural enterprises, and the establishment of food supply chains. We are actively collaborating with our international partners to launch a humanitarian demining market in Ukraine, procure specialized equipment, train deminers, certify private demining operators, and establish local production," Svyrydenko said.

She also said that the funds raised under the joint Memorandum with Croatia and the UN partners will be used for surveying and clearing contaminated lands, which potentially amount to 174,000 square kilometres in Ukraine.

"During our meeting, we emphasized the critical importance of mine action in restarting economic and social activities in Ukraine. Understanding the pressing need to address the challenges posed by mines and explosive remnants of war, we reiterate our dedication to working hand in hand to bring about positive change in the affected regions," the Foreign Minister of Croatia said.

Hollingworth said that Croatia's experience in conducting successful, large scale demining operations "makes it a proven leader in humanitarian demining and an invaluable partner to help release land for Ukraine's farmers, who desperately want to resume work and feed their families and communities."

Croatia will host the International Donor Conference on Humanitarian Demining in Ukraine on October 11-12 in Zagreb. The conference will be a platform to mobilize additional international support and resources for demining initiatives in Ukraine.
In an international showdown that is pitting China against dozens of other nations, one company's quest to strip-mine the seabed for valuable metals has hit a roadblock.

Friday marked the conclusion of three weeks of tense meetings at the International Seabed Authority (ISA), a United Nations-affiliated organization that regulates the nascent deep-sea mining industry. The ISA's 36-nation policymaking body, known as the Council, convened at ISA headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica, to discuss whether the organization will begin accepting mining applications from companies. Its conclusion was "not yet": Most delegations said they wouldn't approve any applications until the ISA puts mining regulations in place. The session ended with an agreement to work "with a view" to adopting such regulations in 2025, but didn't set a binding deadline.

The summit's final days were characterized by a clash between China, which favors seabed mining, and a growing alliance of countries calling for a moratorium or pause due to a lack of scientific knowledge about the deep ocean ecosystems being targeted.

While a legal framework for mining has been in the works since 2016, tensions among the ISA's 168 member nations (and the European Union) started rising in 2021. That's when the Pacific island nation of Nauru kicked off a contentious countdown by triggering a rule requiring regulations be enacted within two years. The ISA missed that deadline on July 9, 2023, one day before the Council meeting. Technically, that means it must start accepting applications.

Nauru is the ISA state sponsor of The Metals Company (TMC), the Canadian-registered firm most immediately impacted by the irresolution at this month's summit.

All mining companies must be sponsored by an ISA member state, which is obligated to ensure their compliance with regulations and can in turn collect royalties and fees. Nauru invoked the two-year provision shortly after TMC executives told potential investors they expected to begin mining in 2024 for minerals used in EV batteries. When TMC went public in 2021, securities filings show it expected to earn $95 billion from one area of its Nauru contract area over 23 years and estimated it would pay 7.6% of those revenues in royalties to Nauru and the ISA.

The 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea established the ISA to regulate the exploitation of the seabed in international waters, and to ensure the effective protection of the marine environment. The treaty declared the seabed to be the "common heritage" of humankind, with royalties and other benefits from deep sea mining shared among member nations. Since then, the ISA has issued 31 exploration licenses to mining contractors, including two to TMC, but none of those companies are allowed to begin mining.

At this month's Council meeting, some members argued that invoking the two-year rule contravenes the ISA's mission, forcing it to prioritize the financial interests of Nauru  a country of 8,000 people  and one private company. Investigations by Bloomberg Green and other news organizations have revealed TMC's influence over Nauru as well as the closeness between the Secretariat, the ISA's administrative arm, and the companies the Authority regulates.

"We must not privilege the economic interests of a few because this is the world future generations will have to live with," Costa Rica delegate Gina Guillen Grillo told the Council.

Nauru and China, meanwhile, pressed for a firm deadline to adopt regulations. During closed-door Council negotiations, eyebrows were raised when Nauru's delegate huddled on the sidelines with a TMC executive as well as ISA Secretary General Michael Lodge, who leads the Secretariat, and Secretariat chief of staff Marie Bourrel-McKinnon. Also present was a former Secretariat legal officer, Chris Brown, who is now an adviser to Nauru and traveled to Kingston as part of the country's delegation. (In June, the head of the Secretariat's compliance unit joined a Norwegian deep sea mining company that holds ISA exploration contracts.)

The question of how to proceed with deep sea mining applications in the absence of environmental safeguards also roiled a gathering of the ISA's Assembly, which is the Authority's "supreme organ." The Assembly includes all 168 member states and met for a week after the conclusion of the two-week Council session.

Although the Assembly is the ISA's final arbitrator, its gatherings tend to rubber-stamp Council decisions. Last week, however, China upended that comity by refusing to allow discussion on a proposal by Chile, France, Palau and Vanuatu to prohibit the approval of any mining licenses until regulations are in place. China holds five mining contracts, the most of any country.

Other pro-mining nations, such as Russia and Japan, seemed to see the proposal as a backdoor way of bringing a mining moratorium up for debate. Because the Assembly's agenda must be adopted by consensus, China prevented it from taking action on the ISA budget and other unrelated items until the prohibition proposal was nixed. "This specific issue is not suitable to be discussed at this session of the Assembly," China's delegate, Wenting Zhao, said on Friday after five days of deadlocked negotiations. In the final minutes of the session, China said the proposal could be included on the provisional agenda for the Assembly's next conference in July 2024.

Pradeep Singh, a fellow at the Research Institute for Sustainability in Germany who studies the ISA and attended this month's meeting, says China could try to play hardball again next year. "But it's quite clear that states are concerned about mining and want to have a discussion of whether protection of the environment can be ensured," he says. "Next year China may not be in such a position to throw its weight around."

After three weeks of open discussion and closed-door negotiations, the ISA is only slightly farther than where it started. TMC and other mining contractors are free to apply for mining licenses, but the Council is highly unlikely to approve them absent regulations. The Council may be working with a view to finishing those regulations in 2025, but in practice member nations remain far apart on critical issues, like establishing a royalty rate for mining and developing a mechanism to share those benefits.

Meanwhile, as the ISA met more member states joined the call for a moratorium or pause, including Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Finland and Portugal. Quack Pirihi, 21, of New Zealand, was among those who traveled to Kingston with Greenpeace International to advocate for a moratorium. "As an indigenous person from Aotearoa I want to shed light on the significant value of my connection to the deep sea," he told the Assembly on Friday. "It is imperative to acknowledge its significance, and why a prohibition on deep sea mining is the only viable solution to safeguard our collective ocean."

In total, 20 nations have joined the call for a moratorium or a pause while France has demanded a ban on deep sea mining. Singh notes that because the Council must adopt regulations by consensus, a single nation could scuttle a deal if it objects to rules it considers insufficient to protect the deep ocean. "Even though some states don't like to place a label on it," he says, "we have already arrived at a pause."
MANILA, Philippines  The leader of the European Union's executive commission cited Russia's invasion of Ukraine to warn against China's increasingly assertive actions in disputed Indo-Pacific waters and against Taiwan and said Monday that the EU would not tolerate aggression in either region.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke at a joint news conference with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. after holding talks in Manila that aimed to bolster trade, economic and security relations.

The leaders announced the 27-nation bloc would resume negotiations with the Philippines on a free trade agreement that stalled in 2017 under Marcos's predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.

Von der Leyen also stressed the need for security cooperation, saying Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine showed how authoritarian leaders "are willing to act on their threats."

"Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine shakes the foundation of the international order. It is in violation of the U.N. charter and the fundamental principles of international law, such as territorial integrity and sovereignty," she said.

"This is why Europe supports Ukraine's brave fight against the aggressor, because the illegal use of force cannot be tolerated, not in Ukraine, not in the Indo-Pacific," von der Leyen said. "Security in Europe and security in the Indo-Pacific is indivisible. Challenges to the rules-based order in our interconnected world affect all of us."

"This is why we are concerned about the rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific," she said, adding that the EU backs a free and open Indo-Pacific "because an Indo-Pacific free of the threats of coercion is key to all our stability to our peace, and to the prosperity of our people."

Without naming China, von der Leyen reaffirmed the EU's recognition of a decision by a U.N.-backed tribunal that invalidated China's territorial claims in virtually the entire South China Sea on historical grounds. China has rejected the arbitration decision as a sham and continues to defy it.

Von der Leyen's visit to the Philippines is a sign of improving ties after a stormy period between the EU and Duterte over human rights. It's the first such top-level visit in nearly six decades of Europe-Philippines relations.

The EU leader later spoke more bluntly against China at a business forum in Manila, where she warned that Beijing's increasingly aggressive actions in Asia "could also have global repercussions."

She criticized China's stance on the war in Ukraine, its increasingly aggressive actions in disputed Asian waters and its provocative moves against Taiwan.

"China's show of military force in the South and East China seas and in the Taiwan Strait directly affects Philippines and other partners in the region," the EU leader said. "But it could also have global repercussions because any weakening of regional stability in Asia...affects global security, the free flow of trade and our own interests in the region."

Beijing has turned seven disputed reefs into missile-protected island bases in the last decade, further alarming Western governments and rival claimants, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

China's fleet of coast guard ships and swarms of militia boats have warned vessels from rival claimant states and the U.S. military and its allies not to stray into its claimed territories in the disputed waters, which straddle one of the world's busiest sea lanes and are believed to be sitting atop undersea deposits of oil and gas.

Von der Leyen urged Asian nations never to rely on a single supplier for energy and raw materials, citing how "Russia tried to blackmail us" by considerably cutting its natural gas supply to European countries after the EU imposed sanctions against Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.

"We could not choose our neighbors, but we can choose who to do business with and on what terms," she said. "We made a mistake with Russia."

The Philippines, she said, exports 90% of its nickel ore to China "instead of processing it inside the country to create more jobs and added value," she said. "But this can change."

There was no immediate reaction from China to von der Leyen's remarks. China has warned the United States and its allies from meddling in what it says is a purely Asian dispute.

The Philippines came under intense EU criticism during Duterte's six-year term, mainly because of the bloody anti-drugs crackdown he oversaw that left more than 6,000 mostly petty suspects dead. Marcos succeeded Duterte in June 2022.

The killings sparked an International Criminal Court investigation as a possible crime against humanity. Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2018, but its prosecutor has proceeded to investigate the widespread deaths that occurred in the years when the country was still part of The Hague-based court.

Duterte often lashed at EU criticism of the brutal anti-drugs crackdown with profanity-laced outbursts.

Marcos and von der Leyen said relations between the EU and the Philippines were entering a new era.

We "are like-minded partners through our shared values of democracy, sustainable and inclusive prosperity, the rule of law, peace and stability, and human rights," Marcos said, comments that reflected a stark departure from Duterte's hostile rhetoric against the EU.
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa  Japanese police say a U.S. Marine was driving under the influence of alcohol when his car crashed into a taxi on Okinawa over the weekend.

Lance Cpl. Cameron Merlet, 21, assigned to Camp Kinser, was arrested at 6:14 a.m. Saturday on Route 58 in Naha city, a spokesman for the Okinawa prefectural police told Stars and Stripes by phone Monday.

No one was injured and Merlet was released from custody the next day, the spokesman said. Some government officials in Japan are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.

Merlet was southbound on Route 58 at 4:43 a.m. when he attempted a U-turn at a traffic light in the Higashimachi district, the spokesman said. His white Toyota Chaser struck a taxi making a righthand turn, according to police.

A breath test measured Merlets blood-alcohol content at slightly over Japans legal driving limit of 0.03%, according to the spokesman. By comparison, all 50 U.S. states have set 0.08% as the legal limit for driving under the influence or driving while impaired.

Police sent the case against Merlet to prosecutors on Sunday, the spokesman said. If convicted of violating Japanese traffic law, he faces a maximum five years in prison or a $7,400 fine.
KYIV, Ukraine  Russian ballistic missiles slammed into an apartment complex and a university building in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown Monday, killing six people and wounding 75 others as the blasts trapped residents beneath rubble, Ukrainian officials said.

One of the two missiles that hit the central city of Kryvyi Rih destroyed part of an apartment building between the fourth and ninth floors, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. Video showed black smoke billowing from corner units and burned out or damaged cars on a tree-lined street.

The dead included a 10-year-old girl and her mother, according to Zelenskyy. More than 350 people were involved in the rescue operation, he said in a Telegram post.

The morning attack also destroyed part of a four-story university building.

The strike on Zelenskyy's hometown, which has been hit in the past, happened a day after the Ukrainian president seemed to warn of more attacks inside Russia.

"Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia  to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process," Zelenskyy said Sunday in his nightly video address.

It was not clear whether the missile strikes were in retaliation for his comments.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian artillery strike on the partially occupied Donetsk province killed two people and wounded six others in the regional capital, according to Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the illegally annexed province.

A bus was also hit as Ukrainian forces shelled the city of Donetsk multiple times Monday, Pushilin said.

Elsewhere, in the Russian-held part of the Zaporizhzhia region, three people were killed and 15 were wounded in Ukrainian shelling that hit a store in the village of Basan, according to the Russia-backed acting regional governor, Yevgeny Balitsky.

Neither side's claims could be independently verified.

The ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive, deploying weaponry supplied by Western allies and aimed at driving Russian forces out of occupied areas, intensified last week. At the same time, Ukraine has sought to take the war deep into Russia, reportedly using drones to hit targets as far away as Moscow.

Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia and Moscow-annexed territory, especially Crimea, have become more frequent. The latest strike, on Sunday, damaged two office buildings a few miles from the Kremlin. Ukrainian officials did not acknowledge the attack.

Russia tightened security in the aftermath of that attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, describing the assault as an "act of desperation."

"The Kyiv regime is in a very, very difficult situation," Peskov said, "as the counteroffensive is not working out as planned."

"It's obvious that the multibillion-dollar resources that have been transferred by NATO countries to the Kyiv regime are actually being spent inefficiently," Peskov said.

"This raises big questions in Western capitals and great discomfort among taxpayers in Western countries."

Analysts say Russian President Vladimir Putin is wagering that Western support for Kyiv will wane as the war drags on and costs mount.

Another Ukrainian drone targeted a district police department early Monday in Russia's Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, but there were no casualties, the local governor said.

Bombarding populated areas with missiles, artillery and drones has been a hallmark of Moscow's military strategy throughout the war, and that approach has continued during the Ukrainian counteroffensive that started in June.

Russian officials insist they take aim only at legitimate military targets, but Ukraine and its supporters say mass civilian deaths during previous attacks are evidence of war crimes.

"In recent days, the enemy has been stubbornly attacking cities, city centers, shelling civilian objects and housing," Zelenskyy said. "But this terror will not frighten us or break us."

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday that his forces have increased the intensity of attacks on Ukrainian military facilities.

It was not immediately clear which military facilities he was referring to, as Russia's recent missile strikes have hit civilian infrastructure.

In the southern city of Odesa, Russian strikes in recent weeks targeted port infrastructure and grain silos, after Moscow broke off an export agreement for Ukrainian grain. The Ukrainian foreign ministry estimated Monday that about 180,000 metric tons of grain have been destroyed by Russia in the past nine days.

Russian shelling Monday also killed four civilians and wounded 17 in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. A 70-year-old woman was killed by shelling in her home in a Kharkiv province village near Izyum, authorities said.

In eastern Ukraine's Donetsk province, one person was reported killed and seven people were wounded after Russia shelled 12 cities and villages, according to Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko.

In other developments Monday, China introduced restrictions on the export of long-range civilian drones. Authorities cited the war in Ukraine and concern that drones could be converted for military purposes.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping's government is friendly with Moscow, but says it's neutral in the war. It has been stung by reports that both sides might be using Chinese-made drones for reconnaissance and possibly attacks.

Meanwhile, Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said Monday that his Wagner Group is not currently recruiting fighters.

In an audio message published on a Telegram channel associated with the Wagner chief, Prigozhin said the company had suspended recruitment as there is currently "no shortage of personnel."

Prigozhin previously agreed with Western estimates that he lost more than 20,000 men in the long battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

Prigozhin last month led a short-lived mutiny against Moscow, demanding a leadership change in the Russian military. In an attempt to control him, Russian authorities insisted that Wagner fighters can only return to Ukraine if they join Russia's regular army.
U.S. sailors and Marines from Task Force 61/2 are in Greece helping fight wildfires there that have destroyed homes and businesses and killed at least five people.

Four UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, Combat Aviation Brigade joined fire suppression efforts near the coastal town of Volos, north of Athens, on Friday, U.S. European Command said in a statement Saturday.

Additionally, three CH-47 Chinook helicopters from the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade along with the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Special Operations Capable also were available to help, U.S. officials said.

The response team, which arrived in Athens on Thursday, is focused on helping with firefighting and lifesaving operations as requested by the Greek government, said Brig. Gen. Andrew Priddy, commander of the immediate response team from Task Force 61/2, which is operated under U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa.

Greece has been battling a series of blazes fanned by scorching heat and high winds. Fires have been raging throughout the country and on some Greek islands over the past two weeks.

Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate, and on Thursday, flames reached an ammunition depot near the town of Nea Aglialos, causing it to explode, news agency Reuters reported the same day.

The fires died down Friday, but firefighters were focused on tamping down flare-ups, according to Reuters.
SIDON, Lebanon  Thousands of mourners gathered in south Lebanon on Monday for the funeral of a Palestinian military general with the Fatah group, whose killing in a refugee camp in Lebanon fueled fierce sectarian street battles that have killed at least nine people.

Three days of clashes between Palestinian factions at the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp have pitted members of President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah party against Islamist groups accused of gunning down the general, Abu Ashraf al Armoushi, on Sunday.

A Lebanese lawmaker announced a cease-fire agreement late Monday, which appeared to calm the situation, but sporadic gunfire continued afterward. Earlier efforts to broker a cease-fire had failed to stop the shooting and shelling through the narrow streets of the Ein el-Hilweh camp in southern Lebanon.

Armoushi's funeral was held in another refugee community, the al-Rashidieh camp where he had lived.

This heinous crime doesnt benefit anyone but the enemy, and that is the Zionists, because they are the primary and only beneficiary of the carnage in Ein el-Hilweh said Jalal Abuchehab, a Fatah official at al-Rashidieh camp, during Armoushis funeral.

The violence began Saturday when an unknown gunman tried to kill Palestinian militant Mahmoud Khalil but instead fatally shot his companion. Full-blown clashes erupted Sunday when Islamic militants shot and killed Armoushi and three escorts as they were walking through a parking lot, according to a Palestinian official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

On Monday afternoon, after a meeting between Lebanese officials and security forces and Palestinian factions, Lebanese lawmaker Osama Saad, who represents the Sidon area where the camp is located, announced a new ceasefire agreement.

Saad earlier told The Associated Press that officials are making extraordinary efforts to find serious, effective, lasting and stable solutions to the situation inside the camp.

On the ground, the intensity of the fighting decreased following the announcement, but sporadic shooting continued.

A Lebanese army spokesperson confirmed Monday that at least nine people were killed at Ein el-Hilweh camp, while some reports gave higher figures. Two soldiers stationed outside the camp were lightly wounded, Col. Fadi Abou Eid said.

The Lebanese army mans a checkpoint outside and typically does not enter the camp, which is under the control of the Palestinian factions. Some Lebanese officials have called for the army to take control of the camps in the wake of the clashes.

Lawmaker Samy Gemayel, head of the Kataeb party, which during the Lebanese civil war allied with Israel against the Palestinian Liberation Organization, met with US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea on Monday and called for the disarmament of the camps and placing them in the custody of the Lebanese army, the state-run National News Agency reported.

On Sunday, Palestinian factions said in a joint statement that they had agreed to a cease-fire during a mediation meeting hosted by the Lebanese Shiite Amal movement and the militant Hezbollah group in the city Sidon. But the cease-fire did not hold.

Some residents in Sidon neighborhoods near the camp have fled their homes after stray bullets hit buildings and shattered windows and storefronts. The public Sidon General Hospital evacuated its staff and patients.

A Fatah statement condemned the killing of its security official, saying the attack was part of a bloody scheme that targets the security and stability of our camps. It vowed to hold the perpetrators accountable.

Rival faction Hamas issued its own statement Monday condemning the fighting and calling for dialogue to spare the blood of our people and to preserve civil peace. It called for formation of an investigative committee to look into who was responsible for the clashes.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Abbas both issued statements Sunday decrying the violence.

There are nearly 500,000 Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, although the actual number in the country is believed to be around 200,000, as many have emigrated but remain on UNRWAs roster.

Palestinians in Lebanon are restricted in their rights to work and own property, and the vast majority of them live in poverty.

Sewell reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Mohammad Zaatari in al-Rashidieh camp contributed to this report.
KHAR, Pakistan  An Afghan branch of the Islamic State group on Monday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Pakistan that killed at least 54 people at a pro-Taliban party's election rally, in one of the region's worst attacks in recent years.

Islamic State in Khorasan Province made the claim in a statement posted on its Amaq website. It said the attacker detonated an explosive vest, and that the bombing Sunday in the northwestern town of Bajur was part of the group's continuing war against forms of democracy it deems to be against Islam.

Hours earlier, hundreds of mourners in Bajur carried caskets draped in colorful cloths to burial sites following the previous day's attack at the election rally for the Jamiat Ulema Islam party. Officials said the bombing killed 54 people, including at least five children, and wounded nearly 200.

The attack appeared to reflect divisions between Islamist groups, which have a strong presence in the district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan. The Jamiat Ulema Islam party has ties to the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban.

At least 1,000 people were crowded into a tent near a market for the rally ahead of fall elections, according to police.

"People were chanting God is Great as the leaders arrived," said Khan Mohammad, a local resident who said he was standing outside the tent, "and that was when I heard the deafening sound of the bomb."

Mohammad said he heard people crying for help, and minutes later ambulances arrived and began taking the wounded away.

Police had suggested in their initial investigation that Islamic State in Khorasan Province was a suspect. The group is based in neighboring Afghanistan's Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida.

Pakistan security analyst Mahmood Shah also previously had said that breakaway factions of the Pakistani Taliban could be possible suspects, though the group distanced itself from the attack.

The Pakistani military spent years fighting the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, in Bajur before declaring the district clear of militants in 2016. But the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, headed by hard-line cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman, has remained a potent political force.

On Monday, police recorded statements from some of the wounded at a hospital in Khar, the district's principal town.

Female relatives and children wailed and beat their chests at family homes Monday as the dead were taken for funerals, following local customs. Hundreds of men followed the caskets to mosques and open areas for special funeral prayers and then into the hills for burial.

As condolences continued to pour in from across the country, dozens of people who had lesser injuries were discharged from hospital, while the critically wounded were taken to the provincial capital of Peshawar by army helicopters. The death toll continued to rise as some critically wounded people died in hospital, physician Gul Naseeb said.

Gul Akbar, the father of an 11-year-old boy who was wounded in the attack, told The Associated Press that his entire family was in a state of shock after hearing about the bombing Sunday. He said he first went to the scene of the attack, and later found his son Taslim Khan being treated in a hospital in Khar.

"What would I have done if he had also been martyred? Five children died in this barbaric attack, and we want to know what our children did wrong," he said.

Rehman's party is preparing to contest elections, which are expected in October or November. Abdul Rasheed, one of the party's senior leaders, said the bombing was aimed at weakening the party but that "such attacks cannot deter our resolve."

Rehman's party is part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's coalition government, which came to power in April 2022 by ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in the legislature.

Sharif called Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished. Khan condemned the bombing Sunday, as did the U.S. and Russian embassies in Islamabad.

The Pakistani Taliban also distanced themselves from the bombing, saying that it was intended to set Islamists against each other. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, wrote in a tweet that "such crimes cannot be justified in any way."

The bombing came hours before Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng arrived in Islamabad, where he signed new agreements to boost trade and economic ties to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a sprawling package under which China has invested $10 billion in Pakistan over 10 years, according to Sharif.

"We will not tolerate any obstacles in the way of friendship with China," Sharif said, as he stood next to He.

But the government canceled a cultural event that had been arranged in honor of He, according to Sharif, while the nation mourns.

Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.

Rehman, who has long supported Afghanistan's Taliban government, survived at least two known bomb attacks in 2011 and 2014, when bombings damaged his car at rallies.

Sunday's bombing was one of the worst in northwestern Pakistan in the last decade. In 2014, 147 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar.

In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar. And in February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.

Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed contributed to this story from Islamabad.
Russian occupation forces are extending the use of civilian infrastructure in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine for military purpose, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has said.

"The Russian occupiers continue to use the civilian infrastructure in the temporarily occupied settlements," it said on Facebook on Monday.

The enemy has deployed around 100 Russian military in the premises of a health improvement facility for coalminers in Nyzhni Naholchyk, Luhansk region, and over 100 occupiers at an educational facility in Semykozivka, Luhansk region.
TAIPEI, Taiwan  China accused the United States of turning Taiwan into an "ammunition depot" after the White House announced a $345 million military aid package for Taipei, and the self-ruled island said Sunday it tracked six Chinese navy ships in waters off its shores.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office issued a statement late Saturday opposing the military aid to Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.

"No matter how much of the ordinary people's taxpayer money the ... Taiwanese separatist forces spend, no matter how many U.S. weapons, it will not shake our resolve to solve the Taiwan problem. Or shake our firm will to realize the reunification of our motherland," said Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office.

"Their actions are turning Taiwan into a powder keg and ammunition depot, aggravating the threat of war in the Taiwan Strait," the statement said.

China's People's Liberation Army has increased its military maneuvers in recent years aimed at Taiwan, sending fighter jets and warships to circle the island.

On Sunday, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said it tracked six Chinese navy ships near the island.

Taiwan's ruling administration, led by the Democratic Progressive Party, has stepped up its weapons purchases from the U.S. as part of a deterrence strategy against a Chinese invasion.

China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949, and Taiwan has never been governed by China's ruling Communist Party.

Unlike previous military purchases, the latest batch of aid is part of a presidential authority approved by the U.S. Congress last year to draw weapons from current U.S. military stockpiles  so Taiwan will not have to wait for military production and sales.

While Taiwan has purchased $19 billion worth of weaponry, much of it has yet to be delivered to Taiwan. Washington will send man-portable air defense systems, intelligence and surveillance capabilities, firearms and missiles to Taiwan.
WASHINGTON  Hunter Biden's former business partner insisted in testimony to Congress Monday that President Joe Biden was never directly involved in their financial dealings, though Hunter would often put his famous father on speakerphone to impress clients and business associates.

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee conducted a more than-five hour interview with Devon Archer as part of its expanding congressional inquiry into the Biden family businesses as the GOP explores a potential impeachment inquiry into the president.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers inside the closed-door interview said Archer testified that over the span of 10 years, Hunter Biden put his father on the phone around 20 times while in the company of associates but "never once spoke about any business dealings."

New York Rep. Dan Goldman, who was representing Democrats inside the room, told reporters after the interview that Archer testified that Hunter sold the "illusion of access" to his father by taking credit for things his father did as vice president that he had no part in.

But Rep. Andy Biggs, a Republican member of the Oversight Committee, came out of the interview saying that testimony implicated the president directly. "I think we should do an impeachment inquiry," the Arizona lawmaker told reporters.

Biggs, reading from his notes, said Archer testified that the Ukrainian gas company "Burisma would have gone out of business sooner if the Biden brand had not been invoked. People would be intimidated to legally mess with Burisma because of the Biden family brand."

Focusing on that idea, Rep. James Comer, the GOP chairman of the Oversight Committee, said in a statement late Monday that "Joe Biden was 'the brand' that his son sold around the world to enrich the Biden family."

"We are aware that all sides are claiming victory following Mr. Archer's voluntary interview today," Archer's attorney, Matthew Schwartz, said in a statement. "But all Devon Archer did was exactly what we said he would: Show up and answer the questions put to him honestly and completely."

He added, "Mr. Archer shared the truth with the committee, and we will leave to them and others to decide what to do with it."

The White House saw the testimony as a falling short of House Republicans promise to deliver "bombshell evidence."

"It appears that the House Republicans' own much-hyped witness today testified that he never heard of President Biden discussing business with his son or his son's associates, or doing anything wrong," Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement.

Archer, who served with Hunter Biden on the board of Burisma, has long been seen by Republicans as a key witness in their search to directly connect the president to his son's various international business transactions.

Comer had issued a subpoena to Archer in June, saying he "played a significant role in the Biden family's business deals abroad, including but not limited to China, Russia, and Ukraine." He said Archer's testimony would be critical to the committee's investigation.

Republicans have focused much attention on an unverified tip to the FBI that alleged a bribery scheme involving Joe Biden when he was vice president. The claim, which first emerged in 2019, was that Biden pressured Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor in order to stop an investigation into Burisma, the oil-and-gas company where Hunter Biden was on the board.

Democrats on the committee, including Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking minority member, have reiterated that the Justice Department investigated the Burisma claim when Donald Trump was president and closed the matter after eight months, finding "insufficient evidence" that it was true. Democrats have also highlighted the transcript of an interview with Mykola Zlochevsky, Burisma's co-founder, in which he denied having any contact with Joe Biden while Hunter Biden worked for the company.

"Mr. Zlochevsky's statements are just one of the many that have debunked the corruption allegations," Raskin said.

On top of his relationship with Hunter Biden, who is currently facing federal tax charges, Archer has his own legal troubles stemming from a 2018 felony conviction for his role in a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe. That conviction was overturned later that year, but the court of appeals in New York reinstated it in 2020. His sentencing in the case has been repeatedly delayed by appeals.

Archer's appearance before lawmakers had been scheduled and canceled several times since June. Republicans suggested it was about to be delayed again after the Justice Department over the weekend asked a judge to schedule a date for Archer to surrender to prison and begin serving out his one-year sentence in the unrelated fraud case.

Republicans  led by Comer  criticized that delay, calling it an effort by the Justice Department to intimidate a witness. But the Justice Department in a follow-up memo to the court noted Archer's surrender was not imminent and asked a judge to ensure that he testified to Congress before reporting to prison.
WASHINGTON  Gilbert Cisneros, a top military personnel official who has been the Pentagons chief diversity and inclusion officer, will retire after two years in the post, the Defense Department said Monday.

President Joe Biden appointed Cisneros to be undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness in early 2021 and he was unanimously confirmed by the Senate four months later. Cisneros has been a top adviser to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on issues such as operational readiness, troop development, quality-of-life issues, and pay for service members, among others.

I am grateful for Mr. Cisneros' dedication to public service, mission readiness and the service members, their families and our [military] civilians who sacrifice for this nation, Austin said. He will step down from his position in early September.

As undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, Cisneros has been the force behind several high-profile, military-wide changes in the past two years. Earlier this year, for example, he signed the Pentagons Brandon Act to give all American service members more access to mental health services. Also this year, Lloyd tasked Cisneros with visiting each service academy and leading on-site evaluations after a military report showed a concerning rise in sexual assaults among students.

Our greatest strength is our people, Cisneros, 52, who served in the Navy in the 1990s, said in May.

In his time at the Pentagon, Cisneros has repeatedly voiced support for providing more mental health services and giving military families more resources to find child care. In February, he also called for making drug addiction and overdoses a high priority in the military.

The California native has been involved in addressing dozens of recommendations made by an independent commission on sexual assault in the military. After the commission report was issued in 2021, Cisneros said the Pentagon would hire 2,000 civilian therapists to help victims. In February, he similarly fielded numerous recommendations from the Independent Review Commission on Suicide Prevention to get a better handle on suicides in the military. The Pentagon is evaluating those suggestions.

In 2022, Cisneros was named the Pentagons chief diversity and inclusion officer  a post created to ensure the defense workforce is representative and inclusive.

Cisneros presence in the role prompted congressional Republicans to call him in March to testify about Kelisa Wing, a teacher and author who at the time was diversity chief at the Department of Defense Education Activity. In the job, she oversaw diversity, equity and inclusion efforts within the Pentagons K-12 federal school system. Cisneros criticized Wing at the House hearing and said a racially charged remark she had posted to social media was not acceptable and not condoned by the Pentagon. She was reassigned to a different position.

Before working at the Pentagon, Cisneros served for two years in the House as a Democratic congressman from California. Biden is expected to nominate Cisneros successor in the coming weeks.
At about summer's halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say.

Killer heat. Deadly floods. Smoke from wildfires that chokes.

And there's no relief in sight.

Expect a hotter than normal August and September, American and European forecast centers predict.

"We are seeing unprecedented changes all over the world," said NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt. "The heat waves that we're seeing in the U.S. and in Europe, in China are demolishing records left, right and center. This is not a surprise."

Imperial College of London climate scientist Friederike Otto said examining what's causing heat waves is "boring" in a way since it keeps happening. Yet she added that it matters "because it shows again just how much climate change plays a role in what we are currently experiencing."

"This story, these impacts, are going to continue," Schmidt said. "We're going to be seeing this pretty much this year and into next year" with a natural El Nino warming of the Pacific adding to the overwhelming influence of human-caused climate change largely from the burning of coal, oil and gas.

Here's a rundown of the summer of Earth's discontent.

RECORD-SHATTERING HEAT

Globally, June this year was the hottest June on record  and scientists say July has been so hot that even before the month was over they could say it was the hottest month on record. But it's individual places where people live that the heat has stuck around and killed.

Phoenix, where the last day of June and each day of July has been at least 110 degrees (43 degrees Celsius), set records for the longest mega-heat streak and longest stretch when the temperatures didn't go below 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius) at night.

El Paso, Texas, had 44 days of 100 degree (37 degree) heat. Schools closed in Nuevo Leon state in northern Mexico a month earlier than usual as temperatures reached 113 degrees (45 Celsius).

Farther east, Miami added humidity to high heat for 46 straight days of feels-like temperatures of 100 or more.

Beijing had its own record streak with at least 27 days of 95 degrees (35 Celsius) in July, after a three-day streak of at least 104 (40 Celsius) in June. And the country set it's all-time highest temperature on July 16 in remote Sanbao township with 126 degrees (52.2 Celsius).

Heat records fell all over southern Europe. Sardinia, Italy, hit 117 (47 Celsius). Palermo in Sicily broke a record that goes back to 1791 by a whopping 3.6 degrees (2 degrees Celsius). Temperatures hit 115 (46 Celsius) in Gytheio, Greece.

Spain reported nearly 1,000 excess deaths from the heat, mostly among the elderly, by mid July.

In Argentina, where it's mid-winter, temperatures were above 89.6 (32 Celsius) four straight days in June in the northern part of the county. One July night in Buenos Aires didn't get below the 70s (low 20s Celsius).

TOO MUCH RAIN

More than 10,000 people had to be evacuated in central Hunan province in China where heavy rainfall caused at least 70 houses to collapse. In Yichang, rain triggered a landslide that buried a construction site and killed at least one person.

Australia's Queensland outback got 13 times its normal monthly July rain in just one day.

Thousands of people were evacuated from Delhi in India as rains caused flash floods and landslides. Elsewhere in the country at least 100 people were killed by the downpours.

In the United States, sudden heavy rain killed people in Vermont, Connecticut and Pennsylvania with tragic stories of children washed away in flooding.

WILDFIRES AND SMOKE

Too little rain in Greece and Spain fed wildfires that proved difficult to fight. In the Canary Islands, a fire caused 4,000 people to evacuate, others to wear face masks and had 400 firefighters battling it.

Hot and dry conditions caused about 160 wildfires to break out in Israel in early June.

But what really brought fires home happened in parts of Canada where few people live. Rare far northern Quebec wildfires triggered nasty smoke that inflicted the world's dirtiest air on cities like New York and Washington, then switched to the Midwest.

As of late July more than 600 wildfires were out of control in Canada. A record 47,490 square miles (123,000 square kilometers) burned, and fire season isn't near done. That's an area larger than the state of Pennsylvania or North Korea.

WATER TEMPERATURES

Water temperatures in the Florida Keys and off the Everglades hit the high 90s (high 30s Celsius) with Manatee Bay breaking 100 degrees twice in what could be an unofficial world record for surface water temperature, although that's in dispute.

The North Atlantic had hot spots that alarmed scientists. The world's oceans as a whole were their hottest ever in June and got even hotter in July. In Antarctica, sea ice smashed record-low levels.

Ocean temperatures take a long time to warm up and cool down, said University of Northern Illinois meteorology professor Victor Gensini. So it doesn't look good for the rest of the summer, he said.

A HOT FORECAST

"We are favoring above normal temperatures for the next three months," said NOAA Climate Prediction Center meteorologist Matt Rosencrans.

The only potential relief he sees, especially in the hot Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, is if a hurricane or tropical storm moves through.

The peak of hurricane season in September hasn't even started.

When going through the litany of this summer's weather extremes so far, University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann had one question: "How on God's Earth are we still burning fossil fuels after witnessing all this?"

Researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report from New York.

Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. SThe AP is solely responsible for all content.
WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service)  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended his country's military spending after Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan criticized the nation for not "pulling its weight."

NATO allies are expected to direct 2% of their GDP to defense, and Canada spent 1.29% in 2022. Sullivan has been a vocal critic of Canada's military budget and called the country out during a Wednesday confirmation hearing for President Joe Biden's nominee to lead the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which Canada and the U.S. share.

Sullivan, a Marine Corps reservist and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, referred to a Wall Street Journal editorial that called Canada's defense commitment "feeble" and suggested Trudeau should have sat at a "junior table" at the NATO summit this month.

"Americans get frustrated when our allies don't pull their weight," Sullivan said. "With regard to NATO, Canada's not even close to pulling its weight."

Trudeau defended Canada's military spending record and outlined its engagement with NORAD and NATO in response to reporters' questions Thursday about Sullivan's comments.

"We've invested massively in NORAD modernization just earlier this year. We're continuing to step up in our NATO commitments," Trudeau said.

"We're going to continue to step up in this time of increased concerns around security everywhere around the world," he said.

This month, the 31 NATO allies pledged to spend "at least" 2% of GDP on the military. Last year, seven member countries directed at least 2% of their GDP to defense spending.

Senior fellow Kathleen McInnis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said it would take "significant" investments from Canada to hit the goal. Though Canada has the sixth-largest defense budget in NATO, the parliamentary budget office estimated the country would have to spend between $13 billion and $18 billion in Canadian dollars per year for five years to reach the target.

"As I understand the Canadian debate, it would require either doing some significant deficit spending, or increasing revenues or cutting expenditures on other programs," McInnis said.

According to a Washington Post report, a leaked secret Pentagon assessment said that Trudeau privately told a NATO official that Canada will not meet the military spending target.

Earlier this month, NATO allies attended an annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. There, Trudeau said, Canada pushed for more support for Ukraine and ensuring Sweden has a direct path to membership.

Sullivan also attended the summit, where he repeatedly called on member nations, Canada in particular, to up their spending. He also led a letter to Biden urging him to press allies to hit the 2% target.

Sullivan has argued that when NATO countries fail to hit their target military spending, it weakens support for the alliance and, by extension, U.S. support for Ukraine.

"This is from a friend of Canada's, some tough love because this has the potential to undermine American support, not only for Ukraine aid but the longer-term endurance of NATO. When we see that countries that are rich  and Canada is a very rich country  they're not pulling their weight," he said in an interview Thursday.

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ATLANTA  A Georgia prosecutor is expected to seek a grand jury indictment in the coming weeks in her investigation into efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the former president's 2020 election loss.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis began investigating more than two years ago, shortly after a recording was released of a January 2021 phone call Trump made to Georgia's secretary of state.

Willis has strongly hinted that any indictment would come between July 31 and August 18. One of two grand juries seated July 11 is expected to hear the case.

If Trump is indicted by a Georgia grand jury, it would add to a growing list of legal troubles as he campaigns for president. Trump is set to go to trial in New York in March to face state charges related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign. And he has another trial scheduled for May on federal charges related to his handling of classified documents. He has pleaded not guilty in those cases.

The Justice Department is also investigating Trump's role in trying to halt the certification of 2020 election results in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol. Trump said he's been told he's a target of that investigation, which likely has some overlap with the one in Georgia.

An attempt by Trump to derail the Georgia case suffered a setback on Monday when a judge rejected his request to bar Willis from prosecuting him and to toss out the final report of an investigative special grand jury that had been seated to aid the investigation. A similar motion to be heard by a different judge is set for a hearing next week.

Details of the Georgia investigation that have become public have fed speculation that Willis, a Democrat, is building a case under the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which would allow her to charge numerous people in a potentially wide-ranging scheme.

Here are six investigative threads Willis and her team have explored:

THE PHONE CALLS

The Georgia investigation was prompted by the Jan. 2, 2021 phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Trump suggested the state's top elections official could help "find" the votes needed to put him ahead of Democrat Joe Biden in the state.

"All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have," Trump is heard saying on a recording of the call, which was leaked to news outlets. "Because we won the state."

Trump has insisted he did nothing wrong and has repeatedly said the call was "perfect."

Trump also called other top state officials in his quest to overturn his 2020 election loss, including Gov. Brian Kemp, then-House Speaker David Ralston, Attorney General Chris Carr and the top investigator in the secretary of state's office.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, also called Raffensperger shortly after the November election. Raffensperger said at the time that Graham asked whether he had the power to reject certain absentee ballots, which Raffensperger has said he interpreted as a suggestion to toss out legally cast votes.

Graham has denied wrongdoing, saying he just wanted to learn about the signature verification process.

FAKE ELECTORS

Biden won Georgia by a margin of fewer than 12,000 votes. Just over a month after the election, on Dec. 14, 2020, a group 16 Georgia Democratic electors met in the Senate chamber at the state Capitol to cast the state's Electoral College votes for him. They each marked paper ballots that were counted and confirmed by a voice roll call.

That same day, in a committee meeting room at the Capitol, 16 prominent Georgia Republicans  a lawmaker, activists and party officials  met to sign a certificate falsely stating that Trump had won and declaring themselves the state's "duly elected and qualified" electors. They sent that certificate to the National Archives and the U.S. Senate.

Georgia was one of seven battleground states that Trump lost where Republican fake electors signed and submitted similar certificates. Trump allies in the U.S. House and Senate used those certificates to argue for delaying or blocking the certification of the election during a joint session of Congress.

Prosecutors in Fulton County have said in court filings that they believe Trump associates worked with state Republicans to coordinate and execute the plan.

The multi-state effort was ultimately unsuccessful. Despite public pressure from Trump and his supporters, then-Vice President Mike Pence refused on Jan. 6, 2021, to introduce the unofficial pro-Trump electors. After the attack on the U.S. Capitol put a violent halt to the certification process, lawmakers certified Biden's win in the early hours of Jan. 7, 2021.

At least eight of the fake electors have since reached immunity deals with Willis' team. And a judge last summer barred Willis from prosecuting another one, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, because of a conflict of interest.

FALSE CLAIMS OF ELECTION FRAUD

Republican state lawmakers held several hearings at the Georgia Capitol in December 2020 to examine alleged problems with the November election. During those meetings, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and other Trump allies made unproven claims of widespread election fraud.

They alleged that election workers tallying absentee ballots at State Farm Arena in Atlanta had told outside observers to leave and then pulled out "suitcases" of unlawful ballots and began scanning them. The Trump allies played clips of surveillance video from the arena to support their allegations. State and federal officials investigated and said there was no evidence of election fraud at the site.

Some Trump allies also said thousands of people who were ineligible  including people convicted of felonies, people under the age of 18, people who had voted in another state  had cast votes in Georgia. The secretary of state's office has debunked those claims.

ALLEGED ATTEMPTS TO PRESSURE ELECTION WORKER

Two of the election workers seen in the State Farm Arena surveillance video, Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea "Shaye" Moss, said they faced relentless harassment online and in person as a result of the allegations made by Trump and his allies.

Giuliani last week conceded that statements he made about the two election workers were false.

In a bizarre episode detailed by prosecutors in court filings, a woman traveled from Chicago to Georgia and met with Freeman on Jan. 4, 2021. The woman initially said she wanted to help Freeman but then warned that Freeman could go to prison and tried to pressure her into falsely confessing to committing election fraud, prosecutors wrote in court filings last year.

ELECTION EQUIPMENT ACCESSED

Trump-allied lawyer Sidney Powell and others hired a computer forensics team to copy data and software on election equipment in Coffee County, some 200 miles southeast of Atlanta, according to invoices, emails, security video and deposition testimony produced in response to subpoenas in a long-running lawsuit.

The county Republican Party chair at the time  who also served as a fake elector  greeted them when they arrived at the local elections office on Jan. 7, 2021, and some county elections officials were also on hand during the daylong visit. The secretary of state's office has said this amounted to "alleged unauthorized access" of election equipment and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into it at the secretary of state's request.

Two other men who have been active in efforts to question the 2020 election results also visited Coffee County later that month and spent hours inside.

U.S. ATTORNEY RESIGNATION

U.S. Attorney BJay Pak, the top federal prosecutor in Atlanta, abruptly resigned two days after Trump called Raffensperger and a day after a recording of that call was made public. During that conversation, Trump called Pak a "never-Trumper," implying that he didn't support the president.

In December 2020, then-U.S. Attorney General William Barr asked Pak to investigate allegations by Giuliani and other Trump allies of widespread election fraud. Pak, who had been appointed by Trump in 2017, reported back that he had found no evidence of such fraud.

In August 2021, Pak told the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, which was investigating Trump's post-election actions, that he resigned on Jan. 4, 2021, after learning from Department of Justice officials that Trump did not believe enough was being done to investigate allegations of election fraud and wanted him gone as U.S. attorney.
The effect of the program of affordable mortgage lending eOselia depends on the amount of its financing and the speed of disbursement of funds by the program manager, says Oleksandr Nasikovsky, founder and managing partner of the DIM group of companies.

"From August 1, Ukrainians who do not own housing will be able to use the state program eselia, any restrictions on the categories of citizens participating are removed. This program has a good chance of truly becoming a driver of the construction industry with an average multiplier of UAH 7.8 of GDP However, with one amendment: it is unlikely to happen this or even next year," Nasikovsky told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

According to him, the expansion of the mortgage program is a reserve for the future, which will give the construction industry time to reformat and restart processes.

According to the expert, quick results should not be expected for a number of reasons, including low effective demand and urgent items of expenditure for the state budget related to the war. At the same time, he noted the low speed of allocation of targeted funds by the program manager to partner banks.

"Currently, loans worth UAH 722 million have been issued. However, for the program to work the way idealists in the real estate market dream of, at least UAH 50 billion is needed annually. Otherwise, affordable mortgages risk remaining in dreams, since today the effectiveness of the program is 4% according to official statistics: about 44,000 applications and hardly 1,700 funded. There are approved applications that have been waiting for money for two to four months," he explained.

In addition, program participants still predominantly choose housing in the secondary market. According to Nasikovsky, in order to increase the chances of the primary market in the struggle for a buyer, high dynamics of construction is required, which guarantees the completion of the facility, and a low down payment of 15%.

The limiting amount of the loan, which should not exceed the average cost of housing in the regions with the corresponding coefficient approved by the government, also acts as a limiter when choosing an apartment in the primary market, he added.
9 Kg of cocaine with a value of 702,702 was found. 2,900 cash was found in Stephen Tormeys (39) pocket

A Dublin man has been sentenced to five years in prison for having over 702,000 worth of cocaine in his possession.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Stephen Tormey (39) of Summerfield Lawn, Clonsilla Road, Dublin 15, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with a value of 702,702 and to cash to the sum of 2,900, in the Carpenterstown area which is believed to be the proceeds of criminal conduct on February 3, 2023.

He has six previous convictions.

Passing sentence last Thursday, Judge Elma Sheahan said the maximum sentence available to the court is life in prison. She said there is a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years for this crime but this minimum can be vacated in exceptional circumstances.

Judge Sheahan said the accused had come forward from the District Court on a signed plea, and this is something that the court will take into consideration.

The judge said she would consider his previous convictions for similar offending as an aggravating factor. She set a headline sentence of eight years. She outlined the mitigating factors as the early guilty plea noting that this saved the gardai significant time, his level of cooperation, and the testimonials handed into the court.

Judge Sheahan said, I am concerned of the impact a lengthy sentence will have on the accused's young family. She said she must consider if it would be appropriate to suspend part of this sentence to help with rehabilitation, and I believe it would.

She sentenced Tormey to five and a half years in prison with the final six months suspended. She backdated this sentence to when he went into custody.

Detective Garda James Doolin told Kate Egan BL, prosecuting, that gardai received confidential information that Tormey would be in the possession of drugs in the Carpenterstown area of Dublin on the date in question. Gardai stopped him, and his car was searched.

Det Gda Doolin said 9 Kg of cocaine with a value of 702,702 was found. 2,900 cash was found in Tormeys pocket. He was arrested, interviewed, and detained. He acknowledged that the drugs were found in his car.

Det Gda Doolin agreed that Tormeys mobile phone was seized, and messages found on his phone showed that he was acting under the direction of others. He said that Tormey had no trappings of wealth. He has been in custody since his arrest.

Det Gda Doolin agreed with Dominic McGinn, SC, defending, that his client was cooperative and came forward on a signed plea. Mr McGinn said his client has had problems in the past with drugs and has tried to address them, but he relapsed, and that is what led to this offending.

Mr McGinn said this is a serious offence due to the quantity of drugs, but while his client has been in prison, he has been engaging in education and is now a qualified cardiac first responder. He said he is using this time in the most productive way possible and is actively seeking to improve his life.

He asked the court not to impose an enormous term with immediate effect.
The man is a distant relative of the victim's grandmother, and was referred to as an uncle by the victim

The 67-year-old man, who can't be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to one count of anal rape on a date in June 2021 when the victim was nine-years-old.

An investigating garda told Seamus Clarke SC, prosecuting, that the man is a distant relative of the victim's grandmother, and was referred to as an uncle by the victim.

The man was offered housing by the girl's grandmother when he was at risk of homelessness in the mid-2010s. He lived in the same house as the victim and her mother until they moved out in 2020, however, they would return to visit.

The girl's mother called gardai on July 16, 2021 after her daughter disclosed what had happened.

The victim was interviewed by specialist gardai and told them that she and the defendant were watching a film in his bedroom. She said the man pulled down her pants and anally raped her.

The local garda confirmed the man was asked to leave the house once the abuse came to light and has had no contact with the victim and her family since then.

The defendant met gardai by arrangement in September 2021, and was arrested. When interviewed, he said the girl was lying but admitted he had been living at the address.

He has two previous convictions, which are not of a sexual nature. He is due before the courts later this year on a separate charge.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt today said the accused had abused not only the child but also the familys hospitality. He said serious and profound harm had been caused to the injured party by a person the family had trusted and invited into their home.

He said the aggravating factors included the age disparity and the significant breach of trust.

Mr Justice Hunt said the main mitigation was the plea of guilty which was an acceptance of his wrongdoing, telling the victim she was in no way at fault. He noted from reports the man had a difficult life and his recent medical position had not been good.

The judge set a headline sentence of 11 years, which he discounted by 25 per cent taking into account mitigation. He imposed a sentence of eight years and three months, with the final year suspended on strict conditions including not contacting the injured party and her mother in perpetuity.

The local gardai agreed with defence counsel that the man grew up in Dublin, but later moved to the United Kingdom. She accepted the man had left the jurisdiction when the allegations came to light, but was in contact with gardai during this period and voluntarily returned.

Defence counsel said a psychological report states that the man has low educational attainment. He has been in custody since March 2022 and has a number of health issues.

A victim impact statement was read to the court by the girl's mother.

She said her daughter has completely changed and is now withdrawn and isolated. She said the girl feels different to her friends and did not want to go to school.

Her daughter suffered angry outbursts and nightmares.

The woman said her daughter is receiving counselling after a two-year wait, but it is one year too late and there was no support for the girl.

She said the man took her daughter's innocence and childhood.

He was family and trusted. He was part of the family. Now, I can't trust anything he said or did for my daughter or me.

She said she finds it hard to trust anyone and has only allowed her daughter to go on one sleepover since this incident occurred. She said she doesn't know how the abuse will affect her daughter in the future.

When asked by Mr Justice Hunt, the woman said her daughter is only coming to realise what has happened. She said her daughter finds it hard to talk to her friends and can't talk to anyone. She said her family member had given the man a home when he had nowhere else to go

Mr Justice Hunt told the woman that the defendant's actions were an abuse of trust and hospitality ant that it is most important that her daughter understands what happened is not her fault.

Defence counsel told the court his client has only recently faced up to his actions and offers himself for punishment.

A psychological report was handed to the court. Defence counsel said the report states his client has low cognitive functioning. An assessment puts his client at an above average risk of re-offending, but he is willing to engage in treatment programmes.

He said his client spent time in a borstal when younger when he experienced sexual assault and violence. His client has no contact with his children and is an isolated figure.
Dr David McMurray was found guilty of professional misconduct over the care of Tracey Campbell Fitzpatrick at St Lukes General Hospital in Kilkenny

Front L-R: Bernard Fitzpatrick (husband) with James and Pauline Campbell, parents of the late Tracey Campbell Fitzpatrick speaking to the media after a previous High Court action. Photo: Collins Courts

The family of a woman who bled to death shortly after giving birth in a maternity unit have expressed dismay at the lenient sanction imposed on the consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist responsible for her care.

Dr David McMurray was found guilty of professional misconduct earlier this year over the care of Tracey Campbell Fitzpatrick at St Lukes General Hospital in Kilkenny seven years ago.

The High Court confirmed on Monday the decision of the Medical Council to censure Dr McMurray in writing with several conditions to be attached to his continued practice.

They include that Dr McMurray undergo a 12-month professional development plan overseen by a nominated professional to improve communications with other medical staff, particularly when called to deal with emergencies and also in the management of haemorrhages.

At a fitness-to-practise inquiry last February, Dr McMurray admitted to a charge of professional misconduct over his delay in returning to St Lukes while on-call to attend Ms Campbell Fitzpatrick (36) who suffered a fatal haemorrhage within three hours of giving birth to her second child, a boy named Max, on March 28, 2016.

Tracey Campbell Fitzpatrick died in the early hours of Easter Monday, March 28, 2016

The inquiry heard it had taken over 40 minutes for Dr McMurray to arrive at St Lukes after he was first alerted of the need to bring the patient to theatre to deal with extensive postpartum bleeding, despite living just a short distance away from the hospital when he knew her clinical condition required his attendance at the hospital.

The consultant also admitted a separate charge of poor professional performance at the same inquiry held by the Medical Council over his failure to attend to Ms Campbell Fitzpatrick in a timely manner.

The inquiry heard Dr McMurray only arrived at St Lukes at 2.20am, despite having first been notified by a midwife at 1.38am about the patients deteriorating health after delivering her baby.

Counsel for the Medical Council, Neasa Bird BL, said the consultant had originally maintained that he was only alerted to the urgent nature of the case during a later call from the hospital.

Ms Campbell Fitzpatricks father, James Campbell, said the sanction of a written censure was deeply disappointing given the consultant had not initially provided the true facts in an attempt to justify his failure to attend the hospital in a timely manner.

Front L-R: Bernard Fitzpatrick (husband) with James and Pauline Campbell, parents of the late Tracey Campbell Fitzpatrick speaking to the media after a previous High Court action. Photo: Collins Courts

It is a slap on the wrist for his professional misconduct and his poor professional performance on the night Tracey died, said Mr Campbell.

This is a licence to other unsafe doctors or medical practitioners to act as they wish without fear of any serious consequences. This is not true accountability, he added.

He observed the truth only emerged for the first time just before the medical inquiry began last February when Dr McMurray decided to plead guilty to the allegations against him.

We, Traceys family, have to live with a life sentence of pain and loss for a death that could and should have been prevented, said Mr Campbell.

He also expressed regret that the Medical Council had not adopted the recommendation of its fitness-to-practise committee to carry out an audit of Dr McMurrays work.

That would have been a very valuable and helpful exercise, he remarked.

Ms Bird also informed the High Court that the inquiry had considered that Dr McMurray had an otherwise blemish-free career but that the Medical Council subsequently found out that there had been previous findings against him by its counterpart in the UK.

She also noted that there had been no allegations to suggest any act or omission by the consultant was responsible for Ms Campbell Fitzpatricks death.

Confirming the sanction and conditions, the president of the High Court, Mr Justice David Barniville, said they were proportionate and would protect public safety.

Dr McMurray, who qualified as a doctor from Queens University in Belfast in 1992 and previously worked in the UK before moving to Ireland in 2013, no longer works at St Lukes.

The consultant became the subject of the fitness-to-practise inquiry following a complaint by the deceaseds husband, Bernard Fitzpatrick.

The inquiry heard Ms Campbell Fitzpatrick, from Nurney, Co Carlow, but originally from Knock, Co Mayo, was a healthy, active woman looking forward to the birth of her second child.

The Medical Council did not proceed at last Februarys inquiry with two other allegations against Dr McMurray over his treatment of the patient on the day before she died.

In 2021, the High Court approved a settlement for Ms Campbell Fitzpatricks family, which included a payment of 700,000 for the care of Max, after the HSE and St Lukes General Hospital admitted liability for her death.

The two parties also issued an unreserved apology for the failings in the care of the young mother in the hospital.

Relatives of Ms Campbell Fitzpatrick have also called for a reopening of the inquest into her death following the finding of professional misconduct against Dr McMurray.

Her family claim the original verdict that she had died as a result of natural causes at an inquest at Kilkenny Coroners Court in 2017 needs to be revisited as a result of the inquiry into her care by the Medical Council.

Ms Campbell has also called for a public inquiry into the operation of St Lukes due to a number of adverse findings against senior consultants who worked in the hospitals maternity unit, including Dr McMurray.
Dundon was transferred to Cork Prison from Portlaoise in early 2021 as part of a move intended to give him access to additional courses and education opportunities

Gardai at the scene where Shane Geoghegan was killed in a case of mistaken identity

John Dundon is said to be bullying inmates on his prison landing in Cork Prison

Prison sources say that caged killer John Dundon is now using insights gained while studying psychology through the Open University to manipulate and bully other inmates in Cork Prison.

Dundons activities on the B Landing of the prison have been a source of concern to authorities for several months and a decision was taken to remove his status as an enhanced prisoner earlier this week.

The 40-year-old, who is one of the key figures in the notorious McCarthy- Dundon crime faction, is serving life in prison for the murder of Shane Geoghegan in 2008.

Dundon was transferred to Cork Prison from Portlaoise in early 2021 as part of a move intended to give him access to additional courses and education opportunities  in preparation for his ultimate release from prison in years to come.

Dundon has studied psychology through the Open University and he has also participated in the Listeners course with the Red Cross  where inmates are trained to listen to other prisoners when they are struggling, a source told the Sunday World.

Cork Prison, Cork city

Since coming to Cork he had largely kept his head down  doing his courses and not causing any trouble for staff.

In the beginning, he was in the Controlled Behaviour Unit (CBU) and had restricted movement inside the prison yard.

But over time, he did his bit and worked himself up to the status of enhanced prisoner and was given all the privileges associated with that.

Hes on B-wing with the other enhanced prisoners. He gets extra gym time, extra phone calls, extra visits.

The goal for him was to get to Castlerea and one of the houses in the Grove.

That was it. That was his path to freedom, the source said.

But concerns arose a few weeks back over his interactions with the other prisoners on the landing.

Gardai at the scene where Shane Geoghegan was killed in a case of mistaken identity

Concerns that he was manipulating and bullying them into handing over portions of their tuck-shop orders.

Concerns that he was reverting to type  that he wanted to be top dog on the landing.

And he has the skills to make it happen without resorting to his fists  fear and intimidation were the tools of his trade and hes added to that arsenal with his studies.

The situation was monitored and after one or two incidents occurred, it confirmed that there was a problem  his status as an enhanced prisoner was revoked.

The source said Dundon remains on the enhanced landing for now but whether he stays there depends hugely on his behaviour going forward.

Whats going on has the potential to set any future release date for him back years, the source said.

And hes aware of that.

Shane Geoghegan

John Dundon is a senior figure in the McCarthy-Dundon criminal gang, which was involved in a murderous feud with the rival Keane-Collopy mob over the control of the drugs trade in Limerick.

It is believed that 20 murders happened after Eddie Ryan was shot dead at the Moose Bar in Limerick in 2010.

The man Dundon is serving life for murdering, Shane Geoghegan, was an innocent rugby player who died after he was shot five times while walking to his girlfriends house in the early hours of November 9, 2008, in an horrific case of mistaken identity.

Dundons infamous brothers, Dessie and Wayne, are also serving life sentences for murder.

Another brother, Ger, was caged for 15 years in the UK for his role in an extortion plot last May.

The senior mobster, who changed his name by deed poll to Darren McClean, was described by the judge in a London court as a committed career criminal who acted in a vicious and cruel manner.

Judge John Dodd described the 38-year-old Ger as a gangland enforcer, who has convictions for drugs, gun, serious and violent crime.

He was jailed after he threatened to shoot two men in the head and put their brains all over the road.
Anthony Byrne (40) used a fictitious name and doctored a contract he had previously received from a letting agency himself to use as a leasing agreement

Anthony Byrne (40) had access to the property through his work with a contractor that was involved with renovating and repairing properties when he placed an advertisement for the property on daft.ie.

He used a fictitious name and doctored a contract he had previously received from a letting agency himself to use as a leasing agreement with the successful tenant.

Byrne of Miltown Meadows, Archerstown, Ashbourne, County Meath, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to four charges of inducing another to pay him 3,000 by deception and use of a false instrument at Applewood Crescent, Swords, Co Dublin on dates between September 13 and 14, 2020. He has no previous convictions.

Ms Justice Melanie Greally today said the offences had been a very considerable breach of trust and involved a significant level of deceit.

She said Byrne had created great hardship for the victims, in addition to significant disappointment associated with thinking they had secured accommodation and then discovering that was not the case. She said he had acted in a premeditated way.

The judge noted the financial loss in each case had been made good and Byrne had not come to adverse attention since.

Ms Justice Greally also took into account in mitigation the early guilty pleas, the full admissions made and the remorse expressed by Byrne. She noted his difficult family and financial circumstances.

She imposed a two-year sentence which she suspended in full for two years.

Detective Garda Conor Tumbleton told John Berry BL, prosecuting, that a woman replied to the advert and arranged to meet Byrne, who was posing as a letting agent called Stephen Cummings, at the property in question.

The womans suspicions were raised when Byrne asked for the rent and deposit to be paid in cash to secure the property. She contacted the letting agency who Byrne claimed to be working for and they confirmed that no Stephen Cummings worked there and advised the woman to contact gardai.

Det Gda Tumbleton said that four other people met with Byrne and handed over the 3,000 he asked for to secure the property.

The first woman forwarded a copy of the rental agreement that Byrne had sent to her to gardai. The letting agents were able to confirm that it was a doctored contract and noted that a particular formula on the contract had only been used once previously by them and that was with a lease agreement between the agency and Byrne.

A warrant was secured to search Byrnes home and the doctored leasing agreement and a number of items linking him to the fake persona were found, Det Gda Tumbleton said.

He said on September 16, 2020, on foot of the first womans complaint, gardai arrived at the property to investigate and found one of the victims there. She said she was waiting for a letting agent to collect the keys for the house having paid 3,000 in rent and a deposit two days previously.

Det Gda Tumbleton said the letting agents had been contacted by other victims looking to gain access to the property.

Byrne later made forthright and immediate admissions. He had paid for the advert using a prepaid Mastercard in the name of Stephen Cummings and had registered a prepaid mobile phone under the same name. He has since resigned from his job.

Byrne told gardai his partner had recently lost her job because of Covid and he was on heavily reduced hours with work. He had asked his partner and their child to go away for a week and during that week he set on the scheme to defraud others.

Det Gda Tumbleton agreed with Cathal McGreal BL, defending, that his client was completely honest about his involvement.

A number of victim impact statements outlined how the various people were affected by the scam.

One woman, who had 3,000 stolen from her, said she had never previously suffered with her mental health, but she now sometimes cries for such a length of time that she struggles to breathe. She said she lost her job due to Covid and her mother had to take out a loan to cover the money that was stolen from her. She said she has never felt heartbreak like this before.

Another person said she is more suspicious of people in general. She lost all her savings when she handed over the 3,000 to Byrne and said it took her a long time to save up the money again.

A third woman, who also had 3,000 stolen from her, stated It is hard to be able to put money aside at the end of the month. I dont think it is fair to steal from others.
Judge Orla Crowe said it was a canny scheme

A man has been sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for stealing money from ATMs across Dublin over a four-day period in January 2020.

Ovidiu Raducanu (38) engaged in what's known as transaction reversal fraud (TRF) to steal over 8,500 from eleven different AIB bank machines.

Raducanu, with an address at Pinebrook Lawn, Huntstown, Dublin 15, pleaded guilty to 32 offences in total, including 15 of theft, seven of attempted theft and 10 of criminal damage, on dates between January 6 and 10, 2020.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Thursday that Raducanu caused 5,800 worth of damage to the ATM machines while carrying out the frauds.

AIB never recovered the monies withdrawn from the machines and remains at a total loss of 14,343, including the thefts and the criminal damage costs, the court heard.

An investigating garda told Fiona Crawford BL, prosecuting, that the process of transaction reversal fraud involves using a genuine bank card in an ATM machine to withdraw a very small amount of money.

A trapping device is then placed in the money slot while the bank card is removed and a gift card or loyalty card is inserted, the court heard.

A second transaction is then made for the highest possible amount that can be withdrawn, and this money comes down into the slot where it is manually removed.

The trapping device triggers a mechanism in the machine that detects an error in the card slot and recredits the bank account with the money that has been withdrawn.

Passing sentence, Judge Orla Crowe said it was a canny scheme as it looks on someone's bank account statement that money has been debited and then re-credited.

Judge Crowe said it was an aggravating factor in the case that Raducanu absconded to the UK after he was arrested, charged and bailed.

She set a headline sentence of three and a half years but reduced this to two years and nine months, backdated to April 12, 2022.

The court heard that gardai began an investigation after AIB reported alleged thefts and criminal damage at eleven of their ATMs across Dublin, including in Sandymount, Firhouse, Killiney and Rathfarnham.

CCTV revealed two men going to ATM machines, and this was matched to GPS records for rented Go-Cars used by the men to travel between the bank machines.

Gardai found various cards left inside the machines, which were traced to bank accounts in Abu Dhabi and to a Revolut account.

A co-accused in the case has already been sentenced, the court heard.

Raducanu has 55 previous convictions, of which 51 relate to offences committed in Ireland, including burglary, assault causing harm, possessing controlled substances and road traffic.

The court heard that after he fled to the UK, Raducanu committed theft offences for which he was sentenced to four years in prison.

Gardai liaised with police in the UK to issue a European Arrest Warrant, and Raducanu was returned to Ireland on the expiry of his jail sentence in the UK.

David Fleming BL, defending, said Raducanu had a chequered work history but has had some employment with manual handling and labouring.

Mr Fleming said that Raducanu was married with three children and that he has had very little relationship with his children because of his own deeds.

The court heard Raducanu missed his mother's funeral when he was in prison in the UK.

Mr Fleming said that although his client has struggled with drug addiction in the past, he claims that he is now clean.

Judge Crowe noted from a letter submitted by Raducanu's wife that life has been very difficult for her raising three children without any support.
A number of people wearing balaclavas were seen using petrol bombs to set fire to the Ballincollig property which was being refurbished to house up to 150 refugees.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin condemned an arson attack on a former Cork gaelscoil last week. Photo: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

Tanaiste Micheal Martin has vowed that the full rigours of the law will be applied to those attacking refugee centres as he paid tribute to the careful intelligence-led approach being adopted by gardai to the sinister work of the far right in Ireland.

Mr Martin strongly condemned an arson attack on a former Cork Gaelscoil last week which had been earmarked for use as a refugee centre.

A number of people wearing balaclavas were seen using petrol bombs to set fire to the Ballincollig property which was being refurbished to house up to 150 refugees.

It followed angry protests led by the far right in other communities to oppose refugee housing.

Gardai attended protests in Ballybrack in Dublin last week after a building linked to refugee accommodation was attacked.

Mr Martin praised the garda handling of the incidents and said many of those involved want notoriety.

Operational matters in terms of policing are for the gardai. I am always loath to wade in and tell the gardai how to do their job, he said.

But actually I understand where the gardai are coming from here. Very often, the people involved here want notoriety. They want profile.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin condemned an arson attack on a former Cork gaelscoil last week. Photo: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

Government officials said the concern was that any tough crackdown by gardai on such groups could prove counterproductive  with many of those involved in the far-right protests working hard to provoke confrontation and arrests.

I think very often policing is about an intelligent approach, a subtle approach and an intelligence-led approach, and I have confidence in the gardai and in their capacity to deal with these issues, Mr Martin said.

The Tanaiste said it was clear that such far-right protests had the support of only a tiny minority of Irish people, many of whom were misled by lies and propaganda.

He vowed that the full rigours of the law would be applied to those responsible for such property attacks.

But he said vastly greater numbers of Irish people were involved in helping and supporting refugees who were fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

There is an element on the far-right who are stoking up unacceptable, racist rhetoric and making very, very false accusations against people, not just in terms of the context of Ukrainians, but also in the context of those seeking asylum in this country  young males in particular.

Accusations get disseminated on social media which are vile, which are untrue, which have no substance.

Mr Martin said it was very challenging.

So I think we should always play to our better spirits in Ireland and be true to our values in our country. There is pressure on accommodation  that is all over the world.

If you look at what is happening in Africa in particular  lots more conflict, the Wagner group [Russian mercenaries] moving into Mali and other places  all of that combined with climate change is driving human migration.

Ultimately, Europe and the European Union and others have to try and stabilise the neighbourhood.

They have to stabilise conflict situations in Africa and work to provide resources and support that would prevent a necessity for such significant migration trails to happen.

Meanwhile, Cork City Library had to temporarily close on Saturday as protests were again mounted by groups including the far-right over the availability of LGBTQ+ material.

Cork City Council took the decision to temporarily close the library from 12.30pm on Saturday because demonstrations were being planned outside the premises.

In a statement, City Hall said it took the decision in the interests of the safety and well-being of the public and library staff.

During a long-running campaign, protesters have targeted library staff with verbal abuse and intimidation and have ripped up books inside the library and filmed staff without their permission.

There is an element on the far-right who are stoking up unacceptable, racist rhetoric and making very, very false accusations against people, not just in terms of the context of Ukrainians, but also in the context of those seeking asylum in this country  young males in particular.

Accusations get disseminated on social media which are vile, which are untrue, which have no substance.

Mr Martin said it was very challenging.

So I think we should always play to our better spirits in Ireland and be true to our values in our country. There is pressure on accommodation  that is all over the world.

If you look at what is happening in Africa in particular  lots more conflict, the Wagner group [Russian mercenaries] moving into Mali and other places  all of that combined with climate change is driving human migration.

Ultimately, Europe and the European Union and others have to try and stabilise the neighbourhood.

They have to stabilise conflict situations in Africa and work to provide resources and support that would prevent a necessity for such significant migration trails to happen.
Adam Keatinge had 10k in 500 notes stashed in his underpants

Adam Keatinge had 10k in 500 notes stashed in his underpants

A showbiz drug dealer and significant player in the Fat Freddie Thompson gang has failed in an appeals court bid to stop his stash of gold bars, a house and 10,000 in cash being seized.

Last year, promoter and DJ Adam Keatinge lost a proceeds of crime case taken by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB)  but then lodged an appeal after firing his legal team.

At the High Court this week Keatinges CAB case was mentioned, where it was heard that his appeal had been refused by the three-judge panel

It was also heard that disgraced DJ has indicated that he now plans to take his case to the Supreme Court.

The convicted drug dealer, who has previously represented himself in court, was not present during the brief hearing.

At a court hearing earlier this year where CAB sought an order to seize the property which had been declared the proceeds of crime, Keatinge said he had lodged an appeal.

He also asked the judge if there was now a stay on his home in Ellistown, Co Kildare, being seized until the Court of Appeal had dealt with his case.

The CAB case has effectively been adjourned until Keatinges appeals have run their course.

Keatinge has denied the allegations in the CAB case despite his previous arrest and conviction after being caught with a kilo of cocaine.

It emerged last year that one of Keatinges roles in the Kinahan cartel-linked gang had been to rent properties which were then used by known criminals.

Keatinge, also known as Marcus Lane and Michael Keating, was caught in Northern Ireland in June 2016 in a van with 60,000 on his way to Belfast airport to fly to Amsterdam.

He also had 10,000 in 500 notes in his underpants when arrested by the PNSI along with three other men.

The arrests in Northern Ireland and evidence found on phones kickstarted the investigation by CAB, which had previously probed the Dubliners financial dealings.

In CABs case against him, a Detective Inspector said Keatinge was a player of significance in the Freddie Thompson gang.

While Keatinge had denied the claim, the officer, in a replying affidavit to the High Court, said Keatinge did not contest the evidence on his connections with the crime gang.

Keatinge, a music events coordinator, had claimed CABs investigation was incomplete and rejected the claims that money used to pay for the properties came from the proceeds of crime.

He claimed that businesses he operated, FNO Promotions Ltd and Ace of Clubs in Belfast, were cash based.

Keatinge previously told the Sunday World the case against him was fabricated.
I hope he dies a horrible death

TWO SISTERS who were sexually abused by their father have said Hell is too good for him  after the remorseless predator was given another seven years in prison for brutally attacking his eldest daughter.

On Thursday, paedophile dad Oliver Berry (66) received a consecutive seven-year sentence on 25 sample counts of abusing Sharon Berry  to follow a 13-year jail term handed down to him three years ago on 103 counts of the sexual abuse and rape of daughter Jennifer.

Breaking her silence for the first time after the court case, Sharon  who was supported by Jennifer throughout the four trials it took to bring Berry to justice  said of her father: He has no empathy, he has no remorse, there is just no good in him.

Hell is too good for him, I hope he dies a horrible, horrible death.

Jennifer and Sharon speaking with Patrick OConnell

Over a two-day sentencing hearing at the Courts of Criminal Justice, former Irish Defence Forces soldier Berry sat impassively in the dock as details of the horrific campaign of abuse he perpetrated on his daughters were detailed.

Prosecutor David Perry told the court that Berry had pleaded not guilty to all 25 sample counts on the indictment but on June 9, following his fourth trial for the offences, the jury returned a unanimous verdict on each counts.

Serial abuser Oliver Berry

The counts were sample counts he said, reflecting sexual assaults on Sharon that occurred as often as three times a week between July 31, 1980, and July 30, 1986  between her seventh and 13th birthdays.

Speaking after the case, Sharon said it had taken four trials to get justice but it has been worth it in the end.

He denied it every step of the way, she said. He played on my mental health on every occasion  claiming I wasnt competent to give evidence.

There is no guilt in that man at all. He is pure evil.

Sharon said that after she and Jennifer came forward several family members, including their own mother, Susan Darby, had turned their backs on them.

She just turned her back on me and that was hard, she said.

Sharon said in the years since the abuse she had tried to take her own life on a number of occasions.

I have regretted that I couldnt protect Jenny. That kills me  because I love her, she said.

The hardest thing for me was that I had to leave Jenny and my brothers, because they were only babies at the time, behind.

I missed growing up with my family.

Sharon grew up living in No.3 Newpark, Kinnegad and lived there until she fled her home aged 15.

Ms Berry said Sharon was often the subject of physical abuse by her father, who would hit her with his fists and sometimes a fishing rod.

Sharon had told the jury, he said, the first occasion on which she was sexually abused occurred when she was just seven years old and that it continued until she was aged 12.

During those years, Sharon estimated that she was sexually abused by her father on up to three occasions per week  at a time when her mother was frequently out of the house working evening and afternoon shifts.

Jennifer and Sharon Berry

The first occasion on which Sharon was abused occurred after Berry called her upstairs to his bedroom, closed the door and locked it before removing his trousers and underwear.

The accused then got his daughter to lie on the bed beside him, rubbing her leg with his hand while he masturbated.

He asked her to touch him but she refused out of fear and after about five minutes he let her go.

The abuse continued on from there in her parents bedroom  escalating to Berry touching his daughters chest and vagina while he masturbated.

On some occasions, he also asked Sharon to take his penis in her mouth but she never did that.

On one occasion, Berry abused Sharon in the bedroom she shared with Jennifer by getting into her bed alongside her and rubbing himself against her rear before later leaving the room.

Sharon had told the jury that at a certain stage Berry had bought a green van and began driving her down to a canal bank near the family home called Darcys Bridge.

After driving down a laneway, he would get Sharon into the back of the van and abuse her at this location.

The court heard Sharon ran away at the age of 12, catching a bus and then a ferry before arriving at Victoria Station in London.

There, she was picked up by the police and returned home to Ireland, after which the sexual abuse ended.

She fled her home at the age of 15 in 1988 and resided in England before reporting the abuse in May 2009 to Detective Garda Andrea Coonan.

The court heard that Sharon came forward to Gardai after learning that her father had a child with a new partner and she was concerned this child would suffer the same abuse she had.

Berry was charged on September 15, 2011. Three subsequent trials collapsed before he was successfully convicted on July 9 of this year.

During this period, Berry was also tried and convicted on 44 counts of the sexual assault and 59 counts of the rape of Sharons younger sister Jennifer.

That trial heard how Berry was 25 years old when he first abused seven-year-old Jennifer and that on occasion he made her wear her mothers underwear as a prelude to rape.

In one particular year when Oliver Berry was out of work, Jennifer was raped most days when she returned home from school for lunch.

The court heard also that Berry continued to rape his daughter while she was pregnant with her first child as he told the victim the damage had now been done.

Berry was sentenced to 10 years in prison after the 2018 trial but, after the DPP appealed the sentence to the Court of Criminal Appeal, it increased his sentence to 13 years in 2020.

In Sharon Berrys victim impact statement, read out in court this week, she recalled leaving Jennifer behind her at Berrys mercy in Newpark as the most difficult thing she has ever had to do.

When I left home for good when I was 15, I left my sister Jenny behind, she said.

I suspected that she had been abused too.

But I was practically a child myself and I had to get out of there.

That has and still does affect me that I couldnt protect her.

Addressing the court on behalf of Berry, Mr. Maurice Coffey defending said his client doesnt recognise the jurys verdict and maintains his innocence.

Sentencing Berry to 7 years in prison, Ms Justice Patricia Ryan said the aggravating factors in the case included the serious nature of the offences which occurred over a considerable period, the injured partys age and the fact Oliver Berry was the victims father.

This meant, she said, that the offences represented an enormous breach of trust.

Ms Justice Ryan said the maximum sentence in respect of the first four counts was two years on each and 10 years on each of the latter 20 counts.

She said the court, taking all matters into account, would impose a global sentence of seven years and, given the gravity of the offences, would order that the sentence be served consecutive to his existing sentence.

It will start, she said, at the lawful termination of the sentence handed down by the Court of Appeal.

Oliver Berry will now remain behind bars until March 17 2035. He will be 77-year-old on his release from prison.
Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine Yaroslav Demchenkov and First State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy of Slovakia Peter Svec have discussed the possibility of expanding the activity of Slovak business in Zakarpattia region, in particular, in the field of expanding the potential of wind generation.

"There is a strong export-import potential between our countries, we are working on expanding energy corridors and creating infrastructure projects of common interest, both in the electric power industry and in the gas sector, including renewable gases," Demchenkov said during the meeting.

According to the ministry, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, more than 200 enterprises from other regions of the country have relocated to Zakarpattia, because of which the level of electricity consumption in the region is growing.

"So, it is necessary to focus on additional capacities, creating balancing systems, strengthening networks, implementing new infrastructure projects, as well as developing the production of equipment necessary to accelerate the green transition," the ministry stressed.

The ministry said public hearings were recently held in one of the communities of Zakarpattia region, where the idea of creating a wind park to cover their own demand and export electricity was positively received.

"The potential of bioenergy is also being studied," the ministry added.
Mr Justice Tony Hunt said that Barry Young (38) could have faced 16 years or more had he not pleaded guilty to the charge of directing a criminal organisation.

A Sligo criminal who was a "scourge" on his community for years with his drugs operation has been jailed for eleven years by a judge at the Special Criminal Court.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt said that Barry Young (38) could have faced 16 years or more had he not pleaded guilty to the charge of directing a criminal organisation.

The judge noted that Young has said he wants to turn his life around but, Mr Justice Hunt said he had to punish Young to act as a deterrent to others and to mark the gravity of the social consequences of organised criminal activity.

Mr Justice Hunt said that Young's gang is "smaller in scope, size and geography" than others that have come before the courts in recent years and, he said, "the violence used did not reach the same level as those other organisations".

There are more serious gangs, the judge said, and Young's gang was itself answerable to more serious gangs. But Mr Justice Hunt said he did not want to "understate the destructiveness" of Young's activities on the people of Sligo.

He described Young as a "scourge on the people of Sligo for a number of years" and he noted evidence that a relatively small community in the west of Ireland is "burdened by four such gangs".

Mr Justice Hunt set the headline sentence at 16 years but due to mitigating factors, including Young's early guilty plea, he reduced that to 12 years.

He suspended the final 12 months for four years after his release on the condition that Young keep the peace and be of good behaviour for that period.

Mr Justice Hunt said the purpose of the suspension is to acknowledge that he is young enough to emerge back into the community and he wants to incentivise Young's promises that he would "turn his life in a different direction".

Barry Young

Father-of-two Young, with a previous address at Geldof Drive, Cranmore, Co Sligo, pleaded guilty at the non-jury court that he, between October 4, 2019 and January 15, 2022, both dates inclusive, directed the activities of a criminal organisation both within and outside the State, contrary to Section 71 A of the Criminal Justice Act, 2006, as inserted by Section 5 of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act, 2009.

Following the sentence, Chief Supt Aidan Glacken told the media outside court that "Barry Young has been involved in the sale and distribution of controlled drugs for the last 20 years.

"He directed and controlled a very large organised crime gang involved in an illegal business in the northwest of the country and this gang had substantial international links.

"In the pursuit of greed and in the pursuit of money, this organised crime gang has caused much harm, much stress, much destruction to society and families through their reckless nature.

"Many of those families have suffered from violence, threats and intimidation which is unacceptable in today's society.

"Over the past number of years in Sligo, we have committed very substantial resources to tackle this crime gang and other gangs involved in the drugs business.

"We will continue in this work to dismantle these gangs, including seizing their assets, their cash, whether it be here or abroad."

At a previous hearing the court heard that drug seizures linked to the gang totalled over 628,000, while Young himself had 40,000 in ready cash despite his only stated income being social welfare payments.

Young also dispatched enforcers that he described as "head-the-balls" and "Dirty Harrys" to collect on drug debts, a sentencing hearing was told.

Young had been arrested by detectives from Sligo at Dublin Airport on January 11 of this year on his way to Spain in a bid to escape his life of crime and drug-debts.

Det Insp Mulderrig told Ms Murphy that gardai seized Young's phone and discovered thousands of messages, images, videos and calls relating to Young's criminal activities in running the Sligo-based gang.

Det Insp Mulderrig said Young had 81 previous convictions at the time of his arrest and had been twice sentenced for drug-dealing, with the last conviction for that offence coming in 2006 when he was sentenced to six years' imprisonment.

Ms Murphy said that gardai examined the phone which was found to contain thousands of "local, national and international" interactions used for directing the criminal gang in relation to the sale and supply of drugs through Young's "known associates".

Youngs lawyer told the court his client came from a decent, working class family in Sligo and that Young developed a "significant drug difficulty" that led to his drug-debt issues.

Young had been under "enormous pressure" to pay his debts and had been looking for "a way out of the life he made for himself", adding that he was preparing to move out of Ireland when arrested.

Det Insp Mulderrig agreed that there had been a legitimate threat to Young's life due to his debts and that his client's mental health had suffered as a result.

Young had become depressed and suffered anxiety over his debts and his situation that led him to go to counselling where he admitted he had sought to "end it all".
He picked up a TV and left the shop without making any payment. He was stopped by staff outside and the TV was recovered, fit for sale.

Jason Maughan was jailed for four months. Stock image

A thief walked out of an electrical store carrying a TV in a crime that wasnt particularly sophisticated, a court heard.

Father-of-five Jason Maughan was jailed for four months after a court heard he had 22 previous theft convictions.

Judge Patricia Cronin said she had to take account of Maughans previous record but made the four months concurrent with another prison term he is already serving.

Maughan, with an address at a B&B on Dublins Gardiner Street, pleaded guilty.

Dublin District Court heard he went into DID Electrical on Mountjoy Square on December 2, 2021.

He picked up a TV and left the shop without making any payment. He was stopped by staff outside and the TV was recovered, fit for sale.

It wasnt a particularly sophisticated crime, his solicitor Matthew De Courcy said. He went into DID, took the TV and walked outside the shop.

The accused was serving a sentence when he appeared in court, he had a release date next year and was doing well in prison, Mr De Courcy said.

He had been through a particularly tragic period and had been injured last year but was now recovering.

Mr De Courcy asked Judge Cronin not to extend his clients time in prison.
The court heard that Donegan legally changed his name to avoid his past being made apparent where he was convicted of assault on three previous partners, the last of whom was left with a brain injury.

A vicious Dublin thug who is facing jail over a reign of terror on a former partner has a history of violence against women.

Scott Donegan (37), originally from Tallaght, pleading guilty at Ennis Circuit Court this week to the false imprisonment of an ex-partner during a four-hour ordeal at his home last year.

But this was not the first time Donegan, who has previous convictions for four attacks on three women, has subjected women to terrifying ordeals.

The Sunday World previously revealed how he left another former partner in a coma following a horrific attack.

Our cover story in 2018

Donegan, who was previously known as Paul McMenamy, but changed his name by deed poll, moved to Clare in 2018 after his release from prison for this attack.

The Sunday World tracked him down to his new home at the time and revealed how he had started a new relationship with a woman who claimed he was not a danger.

He subsequently went on to start a new relationship with another woman in Clare who was unaware of his history of violence against women and broke up with him when she found out about his past.

Donegan then attacked that woman and falsely imprisoned her after meeting her following the end of their relationship.

He pleaded guilty at Ennis Circuit Court this week to false imprisonment of the woman during a four-hour ordeal at his home at Knockmore, Kilmilhil, Co Clare on November 9th last.

Donegan also pleaded guilty to producing a knife at the same address on the same date contrary to Section 11 of the Offensive Weapons and Firearms Act.

McMenamy leaving court in 2009

In her victim impact statement, the Co Clare woman told the court that Scott Donegan is a danger to society and he has scarred and damaged me for life.

The woman said that Donegan imposed a reign of terror on her during the four-hour ordeal on November 9th despite her begging him to stop.

She said: I believed that I would be killed by him and never see my children or family again.

The court heard that Donegan legally changed his name to avoid his past being made apparent where he was convicted of assault on three previous partners, the last of whom was left with a brain injury.

Detective Garda Donal Corkery said that the woman in the new case was unaware of Donegans past and commenced a relationship with him.

However, Det Corkery stated the woman ended the relationship after seeing another side to Donegan and after learning some bits about his past and his criminal history.

Det Corkery said that Donegan couldnt accept the relationship was over and last year continued to bombard the woman with messages from various social media platforms and blackmailed her if she didnt meet with him that he would tell the womans former partner that she had an affair with someone else.

The woman felt she had no choice but to go and meet him.

Det Corkery stated that at Donegans home on November 9th last, Donegan took the mobile phone off her and forced her to sit in a chair where she was frozen out of fear due to the aggressive behaviour of Mr Donegan.

Donegan ran at the woman with a knife and put her in fear before he grabbed her by the throat and squeezed her wind-pipe.

Donegan told her that he had a Glock hand-gun and a shot-gun and when saying this put on latex gloves.

Det Corkery said: In total, the woman was not allowed to leave the house from 7m to 11pm. She was in constant fear that her life was in jeopardy.

The detective said that Donegan returned the phone to the woman and she phoned a friend who came to the home to pick her up.

Donegan changed his name and moved to Clare shortly after release from prison in February 2018 for an attack that left care-worker Nicola Murray in a coma for two weeks after which she had to be taught to walk again.

At the time Donegan had started a relationship with another woman, who was not the victim in the latest attack, who claimed he was no threat to women.

He is not a danger. Lots of people know him. He is great to me and my family. I need the community to know Im safe.

However, in an interview with the Sunday World at the time, Nicola warned that woman to run while you still can.

She needs to get away. I am afraid that she will end up dead.

That woman later split from Donegan and he went on to have a relationship with his latest victim before she became aware of his past including the sustained attack on Nicola Murray.

During their brief relationship, Nicola had no idea that Donegan had previously been convicted of assault causing harm to previous girlfriend Nicola OKeefe.

In November 2009, while drunk in a car at Blessington Road in Tallaght, Donegan bit Ms OKeefes ear and punched her in the face and stomach, leaving the car covered in blood.

It emerged during his trial for that attack that Donegan had left another ex-girlfriend with an eye injury from punching her in the face with a key in his fist.

Judge Francis Comerford said that there was a lot to consider in sentencing Mr Donegan and remanded him in custody to be sentenced on September 25.
Taidhg Burke (23) was one of two men who followed the victim into the convenience store and set upon him as he tried to take refuge behind the counter

A young man took part in an attack in a shop on a man who was punched and had a wine bottle smashed over his head, a court heard.

Taidhg Burke (23) was one of two men who followed the victim into the convenience store and set upon him as he tried to take refuge behind the counter.

The case against him was adjourned for the production of a probation report.

Burke, with an address at Lealand Drive, Clondalkin, Dublin, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to the man on November 4, 2021.

Garda Sergeant Maria Callaghan said the Director of Public Prosecutions consented to the case being dealt with at district-court level subject to the issue of jurisdiction being considered.

Outlining the prosecutions case, she said the victim entered Londis, Bawnogue, Clondalkin, on the day. He was followed in by two men who appeared to be looking for someone in the shop.

The victim noticed them and took refuge behind a counter, she said.

One of the men picked up a wine bottle and smashed it over the victims head, Sgt Callaghan continued.

The other shouted abuse while pointing his finger aggressively at the victim. A punch was thrown that connected with the victim.

Gardai viewed CCTV footage of the incident and identified Burke.

The judge accepted jurisdiction, saying it was appropriate for the district court to deal with the case. It means the case will not be sent to the circuit court, which has tougher potential sentencing powers on conviction.

Defence solicitor William Cadogan said his client was pleading guilty. The case was adjourned to November for victim impact and probation reports before finalisation.

At an earlier adjournment, gardai had been instructed to ask the injured party if he wished to make a victim impact statement.

Sgt Callaghan said the man had been canvassed and he doesnt wish to make one.
Reports were made to police about a man with a microphone making comments on members of the LGBT+ community ahead of the Pride parade.

Organisers of Belfast Pride are to meet senior police officers later this week, and are likely to discuss the issue of an alleged hate crime at Saturdays parade (Oliver McVeigh/PA)

Organisers of Belfast Pride are to meet senior police officers later this week.

It comes as officers investigate an alleged incident of hate crime at the annual event in the Northern Ireland capital on Saturday.

Reports were made to police about a man with a microphone making comments on members of the LGBT+ community ahead of the Pride parade.

It was captured on video, and police said footage has since emerged on social media.

Officers confirmed the matter is being investigated as hate crime.

Co-chairs of Belfast Pride Festival John ODoherty and Cara McCann in 2022 (David Young/PA)

John ODoherty, co-chairman of Belfast Pride, said the language used was entirely unacceptable.

Belfast Pride and the Pride movement more generally are born out of a protest movement, and Belfast Pride itself is a protest so we fully recognise the right of people to protest across our city, its a right that we use annually ourselves, he told the BBC.

That includes those people who choose to protest us and protest what we believe in, and there has been a long history of protest at the Belfast Pride Parade, in advance and during, and broadly without incident.

He said the comments made were indicative of a wider growing problem in the city centre.

Mr ODoherty said the Pride committee will be meeting senior police officers later this week about the wider event, and intend to raise the matter with them.

PSNI Superintendent Christian Bradley said officers attended the scene in Royal Avenue and gathered evidence using their body-worn video.

People taking part in the 2023 Belfast Pride Parade (Oliver McVeigh/PA)

He said: Police are aware of a video circulating on social media showing a male using a public address system in the Royal Avenue area of the city on Saturday July 29 prior to the Belfast Pride Parade.

Officers were present at the scene and gathered evidence on body-worn video.

This footage is being reviewed by investigators. The incident is being treated as a hate crime.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Belfast as the citys largest ever Pride parade took place on Saturday.

More than 250 different groups signed up to take part, an increase of 25% on last year.

The theme for Belfast Pride 2023 was Stand By Your Trans, and the parade was led by trans, non-binary and gender diverse people.
A father and his son were hospitalised with serious injuries after they were attacked outside a bar in Crumlin in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Gardai are hunting for a Dublin crime figure who is suspected of being involved in a violent pub assault over the weekend.

A father and his son were hospitalised with serious injuries after they were attacked outside a bar in Crumlin in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The pair, aged in their 20s and 40s, were set upon by a group outside Eleanoras Bar and Lounge on the Drimnagh Road.

Its understood that the son was initially targeted while in the smoking area of the pub by a group of men.

His father subsequently attempted to intervene but was also attacked.

They were punched and kicked in the laneway beside the pub before emergency services were alerted as the men involved fled the scene.

The men were later brought to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

sundayworld.com has learned that a criminal from the Ballyfermot area of west Dublin has been identified as a suspect in the initial stages of the inquiry.

The man, aged in his late 30s, is well-known to gardai for his involvement in organised and serious crime.

He has also been targeted by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) previously and has also served jail terms related to violent incidents.

The suspect is also a close associate of Ballyfermot criminal Derek Dee Dee ODriscoll.

His crime gang were previously involved in an extortion racket relating to the development of social housing in the Cherry Orchard area.

Their associates are also being investigated over the murder of drug dealer Gary Carey (41) who was shot dead in the underground carpark of the Hilton Hotel last year.

Detectives investigating this weekends assault in Crumlin have not yet made any arrests but have recovered good quality CCTV from the area.

Its understood that, at this stage, the men assaulted have declined to make a statement to gardai.

A source said: This was a violent assault which was covered by CCTV cameras which captured the entire incident.

Gardai believe they know the identities of those involved, including this criminal, and are progressing the investigation with the aim of making arrests.

Investigators based at Crumlin Garda Station are continuing to appeal for any witnesses in relation to the incident to come forward.

A Garda spokesman said: Gardai responded to reports of an alleged assault which occurred on the Drimnagh Road in Dublin 12 during the early hours of Sunday morning, 30 July 2023.

A man in his 20s and a man in his 40s were later taken to St Jamess Hospital for treatment. Their injuries are not thought to be life threatening. Enquiries are ongoing, the spokesman added.
The search was part of an ongoing probe targeting the sale and supply of drugs in the Galway area.

Gardai seized a huge haul of cannabis worth 85,000, 13,000 in cash and arrested a man in Co Galway yesterday.

Officers from the Galway Divisional Drug Unit raided a home in Tuam on Sunday afternoon, July 30, 2023 as part of Operation Tara.

The search was part of an ongoing probe targeting the sale and supply of drugs in the Galway area.

During the course of the search, gardai seized cannabis and cannabis jellies with a combined value of approximately 85,000 as well as 13,000 in cash. The drugs are now subject to analysis by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI).

A man in his 40s was arrested at the scene and is being detained at a garda station in the north western Region under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996.

Speaking today, Chief Superintendent Gerard Roche, Galway Division, said, "These seizures demonstrate our commitment in tackling organised crime and drug dealers around the county.

Investigations are ongoing.
Fisher has never served a day behind bars, despite being at the head of one of the countrys most effective organised crime gangs

Royal Victoria Hospital where Gary Fisher was being treated after collapsing at home

Paranoid terror chief Gary Fisher checked himself out of hospital after threatening staff with the UDA, a source has claimed.

Little more than a week after the Sunday World first revealed the crime boss had suffered a major health scare, he walked out of hospital earlier this week with a bagful of medication.

We can reveal that, according to sources, he left his hospital bed  still seriously ill  when staff said they would call the police after he threatened them with attacks from his South East Antrim (SEA) drug-dealing mob.

Sources say he was thrashing about in his hospital bed as he underwent emergency medical treatment.

In his delirium, he warned staff he would set the SEA hounds on them. So disturbing was his behaviour that staff told him they would have little choice but to call the cops.

Royal Victoria Hospital where Gary Fisher was being treated after collapsing at home

That was the moment earlier this week, he crawled out of bed  against medical advice - and headed back to his home in Greenisland.

Medical staff tried to prevent him but all they could do was issue him with medication which they hope will keep him alive.

Fisher has never served a day behind bars, despite being at the head of one of the countrys most effective organised crime gangs, and he is terrified at the prospect of prison.

Reliable sources have told us increased pressure from the Paramilitary Crime Task Force and an intense media focus on SEA drove him to distraction.

Having been formally stood down as Brigadier because of his health, he is now fearful that without the protection of South East Antrim UDA he is vulnerable to arrest or even attack from elements within his own organisation.

Sources have told the Sunday World that in the weeks leading up to his collapse he was obsessed with the SEAs loss of control in Carrick.

Rathcoole and Larne are under the control of SEA but Carrick has fractured. With an influx of outside dealers, Fisher has lost his grip.

His one-time iron grip of the organisation has been loosened with a three-man committee now in charge of running crime rackets.

His world has shrunk further with the National Crime Agency seizing a holiday chalet on the Ards Peninsula believing it to have been bought with the proceeds of crime.

SEA is already making moves to install a new Brigadier.

Garys days are gone, he needs to find a way to survive, said the source.
His wife Ashley says he will die a broken man as she points an accusing finger at what she describes as powerful figures in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI), alleging they destroyed his life as a minister

Barry Reid, the Presbyterian minister of Caledon and Minterburn churches in the Armagh Presbytery, was accused of having an affair with a female member of his congregation.

Chemotherapy and stem cell surgery have failed to kill off blood and bone marrow cancer.

A few weeks ago Barry was told by doctors he had now reached end of life treatment.

His wife Ashley says he will die a broken man as she points an accusing finger at what she describes as powerful figures in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI), alleging they destroyed his life as a minister in 2017.

It was in June of that year that the Rev Barry Reid, then Presbyterian minister of Caledon and Minterburn churches in the Armagh Presbytery, was accused of having an affair with a member of his congregation.

A phone call summoned him to a meeting at his home with two senior church figures.

Thered been a phone call alleging Barry was having an affair. Barry was not told the name of the caller  so to him this serious accusation began and has remained an anonymous call.

Are you having sex with this woman? Barry says they repeatedly asked as they quizzed him about his whereabouts on specific dates and times.

Barry Reid, Presbyterian minister of Caledon and Minterburn churches in the Armagh Presbytery

It was not immediately obvious at the time, but this meeting was the beginning of the end of Barrys life as a Presbyterian minister. Later it would be viewed by Barry, his wife and family friends as well as fellow clergymen as a baseless unchristian attack on Barry.

Im needing my faith more now, with the situation that my husband is in, Mrs Reid said to the Sunday World last week.

Im thankful for the few people who have come on board and helped us and supported us with our friends. But unfortunately, I cant say the church has ever done that or the Armagh Presbytery. Unfortunately none of them have ever had any interest or shown any care towards us.

Its absolutely cost him and the things that they say about my husband  theres no evidence for anything and I want to just put it out there. I love my husband. He loves me, the family  Peter whos 17 and Hannah whos 14.

Barry Reid, with his wife Ashley, Peter (17), and Hannah (14)

Barry knew the woman he was accused of having the affair with  they were friends. He knew her family and was a frequent visitor to their family home.

Barry said he admitted lunching with the woman as she was involved in helping him with organising church services.

He says the church bosses told him that was so stupid and silly of you. That looks so inappropriate.

Barry was shocked and told them: I wouldnt be sitting in the middle of my village waving at all my parishioners through the window of the cafe if I had something to hide.

Barry said they urged him to go on the sick, but he refused and they left.

That night Barry talked it over with his wife and wondered if he should he consider resigning to protect the woman he was accused of having the affair with. She also denied the affair.

Even though there was no evidence  just an anonymous call  Ashley believes her husband was hoodwinked into resigning over the false allegations.

Barry wrote a letter of resignation to the Armagh Presbytery which they collected from his home.

I was naive, he told me. And looking back, very, very naive. Stupidity or naivety, I dont know. Theres not much of a line between the two, but I just have this idea that the courts of the church are there for our protection and care, not to brutalise us, not to victimise us.

I trusted that this will be worked out. I didnt know what was going on, but it was a very stupid thing to do was to trust these people.

Barry believed he had resigned as minister of Caledon and Minterburn churches but that he would still remain a Presbyterian minister  just one that did not at that moment have a church.

He said: I thought I would still be a minister in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, but I just would be resigning from my work and those two congregations. I just didnt know what was going on as they didnt ever communicate with me. So there was no attempt at trying to sort it out, reconcile, set up a panel... in hindsight, the whole thing could have been fixed in 20 minutes.

But it was nothing like that. And in fact, my wife and I then we got an email to say that they had taken advice from Belfast on the resignation note I had written. It wasnt what they wanted, so he sent the wording that I was to use and in my own stupidity I wrote a second one that I had to deliver.

What followed over the coming months was a continuation of Armagh Presbytery investigations. And even though no evidence of an affair was collected, resulting in no charges against Barry, he says the Armagh Presbytery began to say that Barrys resignation was proof of his guilt.

The Armagh Presbytery even prevented Barry from taking up a new job with the Methodist Church in England by describing Barry as someone not worthy of the position of minister without charge.

That word worthy was also used in a way that Barry says caused him most pain: Its just been a constant struggle. What was also sad was that in a report it was said that Im not a worthy father or a worthy husband.

What I thought was the magisterium of the church to say something like that of me, thats what took the greatest toll, thats what destroyed me as a man. Mrs Reid said her husband was the victim of a malicious anonymous telephone call.

And unfortunately, Im afraid, he must also have annoyed some people who obviously have not been very interested in him continuing his role as minister. I think its a warning to anyone out there. It can also happen to you if the people dont like them. Just be very, very careful.

After leaving Armagh, Barry and his family joined the congregation of Abbots Cross Presbyterian Church in Newtownabbey.

His minister, Michael Rutledge, issued a strong statement of support: Barry and his family are members in good standing of Abbots Cross Presbyterian church, and have been for the last three years. As their minister I feel PCI as a denomination has let them down badly, the Rev Rutledge said.

As Barry puts it: There was never any fairness to it. I had no right of reply, no evidence given, no witnesses.

But they can manipulate anything and have no accountability. How do you say on a piece of paper that a man has an affair with a woman thats not aware hes having an affair with her? You do that because there is absolutely no accountability.

Barry added: Im not some little voice in the wilderness.

Theres a vast pool of people frightened, traumatised, bullied, scared to speak, a vast pool of people in the Presbyterian Church. And I have no doubt in my mind that youll be hearing from many of them after me, once someone has enough courage to speak out for those that are too traumatised or threatened to speak up.

A spokesperson for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland said: The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, being conscious of its obligations under the terms of the Data Protection Act 2018, is unable to reply to your questions.

That being said, while PCI does not comment publicly on matters relating to individuals, it is clear that many of the pre-suppositions behind the questions you have put to us are inaccurate and give a wholly misleading impression.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. If new facts emerge during the investigation, additional charges may be brought against Vagif Khachatryan, a fugitive of genocide in Meshali village of Azerbaijans Khojaly district, Deputy Military Prosecutor of Azerbaijan, Fuad Mammadov, said, Trend reports.

He is currently accused of committing massacres of Azerbaijanis in the village of Meshali.

Mammadov revealed that during the investigation, it came to light that Vagif Khachatryan and other Armenians involved in the armed attack on Meshali had pre-planned the attack, which is substantiated by witness testimonies, victim statements, and expert conclusions. The attack was aimed at forcibly removing people from the village and subsequently causing their death, he told local media.

Khachatryan was detained while trying to go to Armenia for treatment through the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The investigation established that Khachatryan, born in 1955, a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan, born in Badara village of Khojaly district and worked as a driver in Khankendi city automobile transport company, together with other people of Armenian nationality, used various weapons, including firearms and infantry fighting vehicles, to kill all Azerbaijani residents of Meshali village (Khojaly district) as a single national group.

Using various weapons, including firearms and infantry fighting vehicles, they attacked the village, killed 25 and injured 14 people of Azerbaijani nationality, and, contrary to national and international law norms, expelled 358 Azerbaijanis from their domicile.

In addition, Khachatryan continued his criminal actions together with his accomplices, destroying and damaging property belonging to the state and villagers, causing a total of over 5.96 million manat ($3.5 million) of material damage.

Due to the fact that sufficient reasonable suspicions arose regarding the criminal case, it was decided to involve Khachatryan as an accused person under articles 103 (massacre) and 107 (deportation or forced movement of the population) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. However, due to the fact that his whereabouts were unknown to the investigation, on November 12, 2013, an international arrest warrant was issued by the court's decision.
Te Pukes Dog Exercise Area in Lawrence Oliver Park is starting to take shape, with the aim for the project to be finished early-September ready for an opening event.

We cant wait to share more details about the official opening! Keep your eyes peeled for updates, says Western Bay of Plenty District Council reserves and facilities team leader operations Steven White.

According to WBOPDC, the fencing is near complete, with gates to be installed upon completion of path construction.

Trees planted for shade, native planting, and sedge grasses for our furry friends to wee on has been completed by Maketu Ongatoro Wetland Society, with final mulching to be completed.

Water drinking fountains, seating and two dog pipes for play are planned for installation soon.

Te Pukes dog exercise area is the first of four planned for across the WBOP district.

The other three dog exercise areas proposed are in Waihi Beach, Katikati, and Omokoroa.
Winter weather impacts continue to cause sporadic issues across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty state highway network, with rain, wind and snow all making their presence felt in recent weeks.

Some roads have been fully closed, and while this has been disruptive, its ensured the safety of road users and crews and allows the clean-up work to progress faster, says Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Waikato system manager Cara Lauder.

Winter brings with it a different set of driving skills, and it is important to adjust your driving to suit different road conditions, whether its icy or snow, says Cara.

Drive more slowly than normal, it only takes a split second to lose control in slippery conditions. Avoid sudden braking or turning, it could cause you to skid. Accelerate smoothly and brake gently and leave a gap of four seconds to people ahead of you. When travelling in fog, rain or snow, drive with your headlights dipped for increased visibility and turn your lights on if its foggy.

Early in September, Tauranga hosts the Zespri Aims Games where more than 20,000 people will descend on the city, including 11,000 students aged 11-13 from all over New Zealand, who will be competing in 25 different sports.

The event gets underway on Sunday, September 3, at Mercury Arena with the opening ceremonies at 3pm and 7pm.

An influx of people to the region will also bring higher traffic volumes to popular venues and is likely to cause potential delays on the main arterial routes in, through and around the city.

"We recommend road users check the Journey Planner (journeys.nzta.govt.nz) before heading out to ensure they have the latest up-to-date information on road conditions."

Bay of Plenty

Tauranga

 Tauranga Region: The Zespri Aims Games will take place from Saturday 2 to Friday 8 September, with over 11,000 athletes competing. A higher volume of vehicles in the region is expected during this time, with additional delays expected during peak travel periods. More information

 Takitimu North Link Stage One: A range of construction activities will continue between Te Puna, Bethlehem and Tauriko including Cambridge Road, Harrison Road, Wairoa Road, Minden Road, Loop Road and SH2, throughout the month of July there will be occasional stop/go on Cambridge Road for service relocation work. More information.

 SH2 Bay Link: Overnight road and lane closures are scheduled throughout August to allow works to take place and switch traffic at both the Te Maunga and Bayfair ends of the project. Overnight road and lane closures will apply from approximately 7pm to 6am with detours in place. In August, the Bayfair flyover is expected to close to traffic in both directions at night to allow for the installation of handrails on the bridge. While this work is underway, overnight road closures will apply from approximately 7pm to 6am with detours in place along Maunganui Road at ground level in both directions.

Later in August, the final ramp of SH2/SH29A Te Maunga intersection is expected to open to road users. All northbound traffic will use the new ramp and the signalised Te Maunga interchange to access Bayfair roundabout or the Bayfair flyover, and SH2 northbound at ground level will close to allow for the area underneath the interchange to be completed. The opening of the remaining ramp will also provide a left turn for road users travelling from Tauranga Eastern Link to SH29A, enabling the removal of the existing detour route via Truman Lane. To open the ramp to road users, overnight road closures of SH2 northbound between Sandhurst interchange and Te Maunga interchange will apply from approximately 7pm to 6am.

A detour will be available via Sandhurst interchange, Mangatawa Link Road, Truman Lane, the SH29A roundabout and Te Maunga interchange. Changes for road users will continue to be in place on Matapihi Road/Owens Place while the central island is constructed. For the latest information, please visit nzta.govt.nz/baylink-traffic.

 SH29 Takitimu Drive Toll Road (TDTR): A reduced speed limit of 80km/h will be in place while contractor crews are working behind the barriers.

 SH2 Fifteenth Avenue: From 7pm Friday 4 August to 6am Monday 7 August, contractors will be commissioning the new traffic lights at the Fifteenth Avenue/SH2 intersection. Lane closures will be in place as work is done on all four corners of the intersection and the central medians. Traffic will not be able to cross Cameron Road as the centre of the intersection, between the northbound and southbound lanes of Cameron Road, will be fully closed. Traffic heading from Fifteenth Avenue to SH2 will be diverted along Fraser Street and 17th Avenue, to the northbound lane of Cameron Road to SH2. Traffic heading from SH2 to Fifteenth Avenue will be diverted left onto Cameron Road to Thirteenth Avenue, Devonport Road, to Fifteenth Avenue. These detours will also be in place for eastbound (heading to Fifteenth Avenue) and westbound (heading to SH2) traffic. Detours and digital travel information signs will be in place. This work is being carried out by Tauranga City Council and the Cameron Road Joint Venture and is weather dependent. If commissioning does not occur on this weekend, it will occur from 7pm Friday 18 August to 6am Monday 21 August. More information

 SH2 Chapel Street: Maintenance on the Chapel Street viaduct continues, from Sunday 13 August to Thursday 17 August, to minimise disruption to the publish this work will be carried out at night.

 SH2 Tauranga Eastern Link Toll Road (TELTR): For the Tauranga City Council led Papamoa East Interchange construction project, a section of the TELTR, just north of the Kaituna River Bridge, is reduced to three lanes. Whilst earthworks continue on the south side of the road, both eastbound lanes are open and normal speed limits apply. The inner westbound lane is open whilst work continues along the outside lane - the speed limit past the work site is 70km/h. This layout will remain in place until August 2023.

The Quayside Properties Ltd led Rangiuru Business Park Interchange project continues. Overnight closures will take place from Domain Road to the Paengaroa roundabout, 8.00pm to 6.00am on Monday 28 August for 3 nights to enable installation of bridge beams for the Rangiuru interchange. A detour will be available via the Te Puke highway. Temporary barriers have been installed on both sides of the TELTR, and these will be in place until approximately October 2023, with one lane available in each direction. A temporary speed limit of 70km/h will apply through the site. More information.



Western Bay of Plenty

SH2 Waihi to Omokoroa: At the Sharp Rd intersection roundabout construction is underway. Lane shifts and speed reductions in place. There will be intermittent stop/go traffic management in place which may cause longer delays, but typically expect minor delays of one to two minutes. Please follow the temporary signs and directions of the traffic management team. Lockington Road / Matahui Road intersection - roundabout construction is underway with lane shifts and speed reductions in place. There will be intermittent stop/go traffic management in place which may cause longer delays, but typically expect minor delays of one to two minutes. Please follow the temporary signs and directions of the traffic management team.



 SH2 Wairoa Cycleway: The Tauranga City Council cycleway construction continues with work taking place both under the Wairoa bridge and in the on-road shoulder at night. The cycleway is due to be completed in August 2023.

Rotorua

 SH30 Eastern Corridor Stage Two: There are multiple active worksites on SH30/Te Ngae Road between Iles Road and Owhata Road. In places the temporary traffic management includes stop/go, lane shifts and shoulder closures, temporary pedestrian crossings, temporary signalised crossings, footpath closures, and/or reduced speed limits. From Sunday 6 August there will be a full closure of the eastbound lanes on SH30/Te Ngae Road for up to five weeks. All eastbound traffic  including heavy haulage  will be required to turn left at Vaughan Road and follow detours to Owhata roundabout. In conjunction with the eastbound diversion, a full road closure at night is required from Monday 7 August to Friday 11 August for the Basley Road/Te Ngae Road Intersection between the hours of 8pm to 5am. All traffic will detour via Vaughan Road. Moderate traffic delays are expected. Access for local residents and businesses will be maintained at all times. More information

 SH30/SH33 Te Ngae Junction: Construction of the new roundabout continues. Temporary traffic management will be in place as needed including speed restrictions, stop/go, lane shifts and shoulder closures while the final stages of construction are completed. Road sealing is programmed for October. More information.

 SH33 Paengaroa: Slip repair will be undertaken near Maungarangi Road. Work will take place between Monday 31 July and Sunday 30 August from 6.00am to 6.00 pm Monday to Friday each week. One land in both directions will be available during working hours.

 SH33 Te Ngae Junction to Paengaroa: Work on the SH33 safety improvements project continues with work between Allport Road and Mourea. Temporary traffic management will be in place including stop/go, lane shifts and shoulder closures while these works are underway. Minor traffic delays are expected. More information.

 SH30 Te Ngae Junction to Whakatane: From Monday 14 August contractors will be installing new speed limit signs along the state highway. This work is expected to take 2-3 weeks. While this work is underway there may be shoulder closures and a temporary speed limit in place. More information

SH30 Rotoma: There are two slips between Matahi Road and SH34 Kawerau Road. Heavy commercial vehicles may travel eastbound through the site, however westbound must detour via SH34 Military Road, SH2 and SH33 back to SH30. All light vehicles can use SH30 as normal. This detour will add approximately 40 minutes to journey times. Stop/go traffic management is in place at the western slip. Road users are urged to drive with caution. Rotorua Lakes Council have closed Manawahe Road and Pongakawa Valley Road due to rising lake levels.

 SH36 Mangorewa Gorge: Due to a slip on State Highway 36 Mangorewa Gorge (Tauranga Direct Road), approximately 500 metres south of the Mangorewa Track Carpark, caution is advised when driving through this area. A temporary speed limit remains in place while repair options are still being assessed.

Eastern Bay of Plenty

 SH2 Manganuku Bridge, Waioeka Gorge: After planned testing on the Manganuku Bridge, further investigations are required. The reduced speed limit of 30km/h for heavy vehicles will remain in place until results are determined. Heavy vehicles must adhere to the speed limit as those travelling at higher speeds will exert greater loads on the structure, which currently poses a significant risk.

 SH38 Murupara: Due to an underslip north of Murupara township priority give way has been set up whilst geotechnical investigations are carried out.

 SH2 Wainui to Opotiki: Safety improvements between Wainui Road and Woodlands Road near Opotiki continue. This work is expected to be complete in late-2023 (weather dependent). Works consists of shoulder widening and the installation of safety barriers. During this time road users can expect to see shoulder closures and/or stop/go operations in place, as required. Works will take place between 7am and 5pm each weekday. Please allow extra time for your journey as delays up to 10 minutes may be experienced.

Tairawhiti Gisborne/Hawkes Bay

 SH2 Waioeka Gorge: Foam bitumen stabilisation and asphalt programmes have been on hold due to weather. Asphalt resurfacing recommences in August, with road closures taking place from Monday 7 August, between the hours of 7pm and 5am each night, Monday to Thursday. Foam bitumen stabilisation recommences in September.

 SH5 Napier  Taupo: Progress continues at a number of slip sites at the Hawkes Bay end of SH5. Stop/go traffic management is in place at various sites, along with temporary speed limits.

Manawatu-Whanganui

 SH4 Te Oreore slip: Following a slip in 2019, a temporary road is in place at Te Oreore, with a 30km/h temporary speed limit in place. Construction of three new retaining walls north of the main slip area are ongoing.

Waikato

East Waikato

 SH25 Ruamahunga: The road is now open to two-way traffic, with a 50km/h temporary speed limit in place. Contractors will continue to monitor and clear slip material as required.

 SH25 Opoutere: An underslip has caused significant damage to the road structure. The road is now open to two lanes on a temporary surface. Pavement construction will take place when weather allows. More information.

SH25 temporary speed limits: From Friday August 11 temporary speed limits will be put in place for sections of SH25 to manage safety risks due to an increase in traffic, following the closure of SH25A. The new speeds will come into force in each location as signage is installed over a period of six to eight weeks. More information



SH25A Kopu-Hikuai: A section of road near the summit has collapsed, and the road is impassable. Detour via SH26, SH2, SH25 via the Karangahake Gorge, or SH25 via Coromandel Town. Work to construct a bridge over the slip area is underway, and the bridge is expected to be open in March 2024. More information.





Central Waikato

 SH1 Atiamuri: Side and median barriers have been installed on a 4.5km stretch of highway south of Atiamuri. Both north and south-bound lanes are restricted to 70km/h until later this year when finishing works and final surfacing can be completed in warmer weather. More information.

 SH41 Tokaanu: Due to a washout, the road is down to one lane under temporary traffic lights, with a 30km/h temporary speed restriction in place.

West Waikato

 SH1 Waikato Expressway - Ngaruawahia Section: Safety improvements and remedial works require the closure of a single lane in each direction with a 50km/h temporary speed limit, until completion in May 2024. More information.

 SH1C Hillcrest: Work at the SH1C/Cambridge Road roundabout continues with at least one lane available in each direction. A temporary speed limit of 30km/h is in place at all times. Cambridge Road and Johnsview Terrace are operating as left in/left out only. Please use the SH1C/Wairere Drive interchange to access Cambridge Road and the Hillcrest shops. This work sees the intersection changed to traffic light controls, and is expected to be completed by late August 2023. More information.

 SH1 Cambridge to Piarere: The first turnaround bay, which is part of crucial safety improvements underway on State Highway 1 between Cambridge and Piarere, has been completed. The turnaround, at the intersection of SH1 and Hydro Road, was finished ahead of schedule. Now that the turnaround is complete, the intersection returns to its usual operation - with drivers able to turn both left and right, in and out of Hydro Road at SH1. The right turn out of Hydro Road onto SH1 will remain in place until the next turnaround north of Hickey Road is constructed later in the year. At that point, the right turn out of Hydro Road will permanently close (but the right turn in will remain).

 SH30 Te Kuiti: Due to a slip, priority give-way is in place near Mangaokewa Road, motorists are advised to proceed with caution.

 SH30 Kopaki: Due to a drop out between Kopaki Road and Ohirea Road intersection there is stop/go traffic management in place with a temporary speed limit of 30 km/hr. Remedial works have started and are expected to be completed by the end of August. Caution is advised when travelling through this area.

Taranaki

 SH43 Aukopae: Due to a wash out, there is 30km/h speed restriction in place.

 SH3 Awakino Gorge: Remedial works continue at SH3 in the Awakino Gorge to reinstate the road corridor after heavy rainfall caused a culvert to collapse in May, causing a large underslip. Late in June crews will be completing pavement repairs under stop/go traffic controls, followed by sealing of the site in the subsequent weeks (weather permitting). Crews will then return to site, after the new seal has settled to complete asphalt resurfacing of the site to ensure its longevity.

 SH3 Te Ara Tutohu Waitara to Bell Block: Due to safety improvement works, there will be stop/go traffic management with a 30km/h speed limit in place on weekdays between 7am and 5:30pm Delays of up to 10 minutes are expected.

For up to 48 hours following completion of chipseal sites, a 50km/h temporary speed limit will be in place until the road is swept and line marking reinstated.

The above information is accurate at the time of release. Many of the above works are dependent on a number of factors, particularly weather, and may be postponed at short notice. For up-to-date information on road works, traffic, detours and delays, motorists are encouraged to visit the Waka Kotahi Journey Planner website (journeys.nzta.govt.nz).

Waka Kotahi thanks motorists for their patience while we complete this essential work to keep the state highway network safe, accessible and resilient.

Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey. Keep up to date with:

 COVID-19 services update: nzta.govt.nz/COVID19

 Traffic updates: journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic

 Facebook: facebook.com/NZTAWaikatoBoP

 Twitter: twitter.com/WakaKotahiWaiBP

 Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz

 Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)
Hes got a keenness for neuroscience and now Luca Ririnui will get to pick the minds of some of the worlds top scientists at the London International Youth Science Forum during the next two weeks.

The Mount Maunganui College student has won a fully-sponsored Maori scholarship to attend the London International Youth Science Forum from July 26 to August 9.

The 16-year-old is among 500 leading young scientists from 70 countries attending the forum to gain hands-on experience and knowledge across the STEM fields.

Luca says the forum  being held at the Imperial College London  will open up the world of science.

At school we just kind of do biology, chemistry and physics. Its science but its quite confined to the stuff you do in the curriculum  you dont necessarily see how that stuff would shape out in a career or further in university.

Yet at LIYSF, Luca says: Weve got like 20 different lectures from top scientists, theyre quite specific and theyre like: Look, this is a way you can use science and apply it.

Its all quite cutting edge stuff thats happening right now and applying it in the real world.

Luca has had an interest in science since primary school where he was involved in robotics teams. Now, his core of area of interest is neuroscience.

I love everything to do with the brain and how people work but I also love astronomy and chemistry and lots of different stuff.

During the two weeks, Luca has selected brain science focused lectures.

Im going to visit a specialised brain imaging centre in Cardiff University and theyve got one of the top-of-the-line MRI scanners for the brain. Theres only two in the world. Theres one there and theres one at Harvard University, so that will be really cool.

So what lies ahead for Luca in the science world? Im thinking of definitely going into science for universityIm kind of at the phase where Id like to do lots of different things.

Meeting a mix of scientists and people from around the globe, Luca says: Thats connections youll be able to pull from in a few years if you need in terms of careers so itll be really helpful to have that networking with a whole bunch of other science people.
Papamoa artist Tawhai Rickard (Ngaati Uepohatu, Ngaati Porou) has won the prestigious $20,000 National Contemporary Art Award for a nuanced and generous installation titled Scenes from a Victorian Restaurant.

The winning work was selected from an unprecedented 427 entries, by Melanie Oliver, highly respected arts curator and judge for the 2023 National Contemporary Art Award at Hamiltons Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga O Waikato.

Tawhais work is made from reclaimed wood, and enamel and acrylic paint.

Tawhai Rickards winning entry for the $20,000 National Contemporary Art Award. Photo: Supplied.

He says it is a visual ode to the bicultural relationship between Maori and non-Maori.

Scenes from a Victorian Restaurant is an installation that partially examines the cultural nuances of Aotearoa, New Zealand from a social and political perspective.

The setting is a Victorian restaurant with wall hangings that feature scenes pertinent to our countrys cultural landscape. These are presented in an anti-chronological nature promoting historical and contemporary characters and narratives.

The aesthetic integrity of my work aligns with our countrys bicultural foundations through the use of Victorian baroque elements combined with the figurative painting style of my ancestral house Hinetapora circa 1896.

Tawhai Rickard speaking at the 2023 National Contemporary Art Awards ceremony at Hamiltons Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga O Waikato on Friday July 28. Photo: Supplied.

Tawhai says the title of his work transpired during the conceptual process, being influenced by one of progressive rocks musical classics.

The songs storyline and two main characters are decontextualised in accordance with the eventual breakdown of our countrys bicultural foundations and the abiding invitation to return to it.

Tawhais prize was announced at an awards ceremony held on Friday July 28.

Rickards work Scenes of a Victorian Restaurant invites viewers to take a seat at the table, challenging us all to engage in a discussion on the bicultural foundations of Aotearoa, says Melanie.

It is a provocation that is nuanced and generous, prompting us to think about the ongoing impacts of colonisation, and our failings in terms of Te Tiriti. This work clearly speaks to the most pressing issues of our time.

2023 National Contemporary Art Award judge Melanie Oliver. Photo: Supplied.

Through the National Contemporary Art Awards traditional blind-judging process which conceals the artist names from the judge, Scenes from a Victorian Restaurant was chosen from an unprecedented volume of entries, with more than 420 works submitted by New Zealanders based here and overseas.

The 41 finalist works are now on exhibited at Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato until November 12 with free entry.

Melanie Oliver has selected a truly extraordinary work from a selection that reveals the talent, depth, creativity and bravery of our contemporary arts sector says Waikato Museum Director of Museum and Arts Liz Cotton.

My congratulations go to all award winners and finalists, and deep appreciation to our award sponsors, without whom we would not be able to offer this award, and to our wonderful judge.

The National Contemporary Art Award was launched in 2000 by the Waikato Society of Arts and has been facilitated and hosted by Waikato Museum since 2006. Leading New Zealand law firm Tompkins Wake is the principal sponsor and has supported the competition since 2014.

Tania Lewis-Rickard sharing a celebratory moment with husband Tawhai Rickard at the awards ceremony. Photo: Supplied.

The prize winners announced at the awards ceremony are:

2023 National Contemporary Art Award, $20,000 prize sponsored by Tompkins Wake

Tawhai Rickard for Scenes from a Victorian Restaurant (reclaimed wood, enamel/acrylic paint).

2023 Runner Up and winner of the $5,000 Hugo Charitable Trust Award

Sung Hwan Bobby Park for BTM Ancestor Portrait (digital photograph).

2023 Friends of Waikato Museum $1,000 Merit Award winner

Hannah Ireland for Stained Cheery Wine (watercolour, ink and acrylic on found window).

2023 Random Art Group $1,000 Merit Award winner

Sara (Hera) Tautuku Orme for Darling, Tenei Au (photograph).

The Campbell Smith Memorial Peoples Choice Award, worth $250, is sponsored by the Smith family as a tribute to the former Waikato Museum Director, artist, playwright and poet. It will be presented to the winner of the most votes by the visiting public just before the Award exhibition closes in November.



Tawhai Rickards winning work Scenes from a Victorian Restaurant is a visual ode to biculturalism and has won the $20,000 National Contemporary Art Award. Photo: Supplied.

The finalists for the 2023 National Contemporary Art Award are:

Brett a'Court, Northland Te Tai Tokerau

Thomas Kendalls Affair (oil on prepared woollen blanket on canvas support)

Thomas Kendalls Affair (oil on prepared woollen blanket on canvas support) Rachel Hope Allan, Dunedin Ootepoti

Tuesday (photograph)

Tuesday (photograph) Colleen Altagracia, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

A kiss (electric cable, embroidery thread, magnet, crocodile clips, air)

A kiss (electric cable, embroidery thread, magnet, crocodile clips, air) Naomi Azoulay, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

Tehlor II (oil on stretched canvas)

Tehlor II (oil on stretched canvas) Debbie Barber, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

When I rub the rocks on my jeans they polish differently. (clay, denim)

When I rub the rocks on my jeans they polish differently. (clay, denim) Jordan Barnes, New Plymouth Ngaamotu

Adam (after Michelangelo) (graphite on paper)

Adam (after Michelangelo) (graphite on paper) Tori Beeche, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

The Daily Cosmic Order (oil on linen)

The Daily Cosmic Order (oil on linen) Deborah Body, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

The remains of the day. (acrylic and oil on unstretched canvas)

The remains of the day. (acrylic and oil on unstretched canvas) Emily Brown, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

Final Fantasy (toner print on silk)

Final Fantasy (toner print on silk) D Milton Browne, Dunedin Ootepoti

Recycle Day (photograph - archival giclee inkjet print)

Recycle Day (photograph - archival giclee inkjet print) Esther Bunning, Greytown Te Hupenui

The gilded shift (photograph)

The gilded shift (photograph) Cathy Carter, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

Liquid Gold (Fujiflex Crystal Archive C-type silver halide photographic print)

Liquid Gold (Fujiflex Crystal Archive C-type silver halide photographic print) Cathy Carter, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

Plunge, Klein Blue (giclee print on Hahnemuhle Ultra Smooth paper)

Plunge, Klein Blue (giclee print on Hahnemuhle Ultra Smooth paper) Katherine Claypole, Whanganui

Tears of Gabrielle (hand stitched metallic thread on painted stretched canvas)

Tears of Gabrielle (hand stitched metallic thread on painted stretched canvas) Antony Densham, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

C15.2023 (acrylic on canvas)

C15.2023 (acrylic on canvas) Kim Fifield, Tauranga

Alastair Floyd, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

Heavy Industries (acrylic paint, pigment ink, acrylic ink on Fabriano Artistico acid-free cotton rag)

Heavy Industries (acrylic paint, pigment ink, acrylic ink on Fabriano Artistico acid-free cotton rag) Hannah Ireland, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

Stained Cheery Wine (watercolour, ink and acrylic on found window)

Merit Award winner

Stained Cheery Wine (watercolour, ink and acrylic on found window) Merit Award winner Bena Jackson, Wellington Te Whanganui-a-Tara

Flipping skateboards (pale) (mosaic - ceramic tiles, cement board, adhesive, grout, steel)

Flipping skateboards (pale) (mosaic - ceramic tiles, cement board, adhesive, grout, steel) Reece King, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

Sei ou vaai (oil and enamel on canvas)

Sei ou vaai (oil and enamel on canvas) Cecelia Kumeroa, Whanganui

Manu Tioriori (digital media)

Manu Tioriori (digital media) Theo Macdonald, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

Light of the Pacific (digitised 16mm film)

Light of the Pacific (digitised 16mm film) Leanne Morrison, Hastings Heretaunga

11 (acrylic and enamel on canvas, stretcher, wooden sticks)

11 (acrylic and enamel on canvas, stretcher, wooden sticks) Ella Grace Nicol, Hamilton Kirikiriroa

Tears of Ranginui (Dew on the Emerald Dagger Moss) (glass beads, sterling silver, palladium, pewter, nylon thread)

Tears of Ranginui (Dew on the Emerald Dagger Moss) (glass beads, sterling silver, palladium, pewter, nylon thread) Shannon Novak, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

Two Lovers in Fiordland (digital print on paper)

Two Lovers in Fiordland (digital print on paper) Mark O'Donnell & Cameron Rey, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

Cheese and Onion (yellow plastic, black foam, clear adhesives, pins, paint, varnish)

Cheese and Onion (yellow plastic, black foam, clear adhesives, pins, paint, varnish) Sara (Hera) Tautuku Orme, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

Darling, Tenei Au (photograph)

Merit Award winner

Darling, Tenei Au (photograph) Merit Award winner Maria O'Toole, Wellington Te Whanganui-a-Tara

Poems to Oceania: Vanuatu, April 2023 (crayon on Fabriano paper)

Poems to Oceania: Vanuatu, April 2023 (crayon on Fabriano paper) Sung Hwan Bobby Park, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

BTM Ancestor Portrait (digital photograph)

Runner Up - 2023 National Contemporary Art Award

BTM Ancestor Portrait (digital photograph) Runner Up - 2023 National Contemporary Art Award Marilyn Rea-Menzies, Westport Kawatiri

Lichen 2 (handwoven tapestry)

Lichen 2 (handwoven tapestry) Tawhai Rickard, Tauranga

Scenes from a Victorian Restaurant (reclaimed wood, enamel/acrylic paint)

Winner - 2023 National Contemporary Art Award

Scenes from a Victorian Restaurant (reclaimed wood, enamel/acrylic paint) Winner - 2023 National Contemporary Art Award Naomi Roche, Hamilton Kirikiriroa

Cold Comfort for the Contemporary Human (textile)

Cold Comfort for the Contemporary Human (textile) Warisara Thomson, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

I think Im homesick (single channel, moving image)

I think Im homesick (single channel, moving image) Jenny Tomlin, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

All my ghosts (photograph)

All my ghosts (photograph) Hannah Valentine, Tauranga

New Routine (If theres pleasure in action, theres peace in stillness) (cast bronze and cord)

New Routine (If theres pleasure in action, theres peace in stillness) (cast bronze and cord) Anja Vallis, Taupoo

Grannys trippin (wool and acrylic yarn mix, black calico)

Grannys trippin (wool and acrylic yarn mix, black calico) Rihari Warnock, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

Moemoea (ink on Arches cold press, 600gsm paper)

Moemoea (ink on Arches cold press, 600gsm paper) Amanda Watson, Raglan Whaaingaroa

In the sun near the kohekohe (ink, pigment, and glue size on canvas)

In the sun near the kohekohe (ink, pigment, and glue size on canvas) Siniva Williams, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

Nannas wairua (digital photograph, digitally painted on Hahnemuhle German Etching 310gsm Textured Matte paper)

Nannas wairua (digital photograph, digitally painted on Hahnemuhle German Etching 310gsm Textured Matte paper) Benjamin Work, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

I look above to where my help comes from (acrylic on canvas)

I look above to where my help comes from (acrylic on canvas) Cora-Allan, Auckland Taamaki Makaurau

Kai Paraoa (whenua (pukepoto and karangahape blush) on hiapo)

Details of the exhibition, which runs until November 12, are available on the Waikato Museum website waikatomuseum.co.nz/NCAA. All artworks in the exhibition are available for sale and entry is free.
They're constantly changing and becoming increasingly sophisticated  but bank scams still have some aspects in common, and it pays to know what the signs are. Sharon Brettkelly goes behind the scenes with fraud investigators at the BNZ.

When BNZ financial crime investigator Nic Vryenhoek calls a customer to warn them they are being scammed, he's happy when they are suspicious.

"They should be. My key message is to question everything.

"If someone calls you purporting to be from the bank or anywhere else you should be questioning if they are who they say they are."

He never asks a customer for personal information  he already has that. He will never ask someone to install anything on their computer.

And he's fully supportive of a customer who hangs up and calls the bank on a number they recognise and trust.

The trouble is, even when customers are warned they are being scammed, they can ignore the warning and plough on.

Romance scams are some of the worst cases, Vryenhoek tells The Detail.

The experience of being scammed is so stressful, people never forget it.

"What would I be in that situation? I'd be stressed, nervous, I'd be worried."

But Vryenhoek and his colleague Ashley Kai Fong want them to get over the humiliation and embarrassment and talk about it.

Part of the problem is that Kiwis are too trusting, says Kai Fong, head of financial crime in BNZ's fraud protection team.

"Makes us a nice target," he says.

Around $183 million has gone out of New Zealanders' accounts over the last year, a 20 percent rise on the year before.

But only about one-1000th of a percent of the BNZ's transactions are fraud.

"So it's very small," he says, which is a reason to not just stop every suspicious looking transaction in its tracks, leaving customers unable to do their transactions.

The bank's main message to customers is to recognise the signs.

And just because you're young, don't be fooled into thinking you won't be fooled.

"We've got some research that says that 24- to 44-year-olds who think they're digital natives because they've grown up with it, they think they're not susceptible to a scam. They're just as susceptible as anybody else.

"One of the issues is because they're so comfortable with technologies they get a bit complacent sometimes."

And just as there's no typical victim, there's no profile for a scammer either.

"You just don't know, for somebody, what the tipping point is for criminality," says Kai Fong.

"We're in a cost of living crisis at the moment and you just don't know what the tipping point is for somebody to become a money mule or maybe think it's a great idea to go and start scamming people ...

"There could be somebody who's desperate out there who thinks 'this could be a "get rich" scheme for me' ... 'I'm not really hurting anybody', because you can't see your victims. But actually what you're doing is causing a whole lot of harm in the community, and a lot of suffering for people.

"It's their day job ... they're thinking of ways to do it all the time.

"Some of them are quite brazen. They're fighting for their livelihood  which is your money!"

If you get a text scam, you can forward the message to 7726 where the Department of Internal Affairs will log it and text you back asking you to complete a report.

Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.

You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.

-Sharon Brettkelly/RNZ.

NZ.
Police are praising the sterling efforts of dozens of SAR specialists, who have contributed to a massive search and rescue operation to help find a missing woman.

Jan-Marie Burton, who was reported missing last Wednesday from Kinloch, was found in the Kawakawa Bay Reserve on the shore of Lake Taupo, late yesterday afternoon.

Police and LandSAR who have been looking for her for the last five days were elated to find her in the reserve, 7km west of Kinloch.

Search efforts since Wednesday involved up to 70 LandSAR staff and Police from across the Central North Island and from afar afield as Waihi, Whakatane, Hawke's Bay and Whanganui. Searchers have been well supported by Ngati Tuwharetoa, Lake Taupo Volunteer Coastguard and Lake Taupo Harbourmaster. Police also acknowledge the Kinloch community for its support, says Senior Constable Shepherd.

After being found she was checked by an air ambulance paramedic and she was well enough to be transported to Taupo with the searchers on the Coastguard vessel. She had not sustained any physical injuries and was reunited with her family in Taupo, before being taken to Taupo Hospital for assessment. Naturally her family was relieved to see she was safe.

There was a lot of very determined people on this search, and the elation of finding Jan was a little bit emotional,

Her family has been very supportive, and we have built a close relationship over the last five days.

I would like to thank our Search and Rescue partners on a great effort, which showcased the professionalism, tenacity, and persistence of everyone who was involved.
An investigation is underway into a freight ship that lost its rudder as it departed Tauranga Harbour.

Bulk carrier MV Achilles Bulker, was departing Tauranga harbour about 3.30pm on July 24 when it lost its rudder and subsequently suffered a steering failure in the harbours main channel.

Maritime NZ says a detention notice is in place against a log carrying vessel, which is currently anchored off Tauranga.

The Panamanian flagged Achilles Bulker was departing Tauranga bound for China when it encountered the steering problems.

In a statement released on Monday, Maritime NZ says the vessel remains anchored off Mount Maunganui, and the rudder was recovered by divers last week and brought to shore.

The detention notice means the vessel is prohibited from leaving Tauranga until the certain conditions have been satisfied.

Due to the rudder failure, the Achilles Bulker will need to be towed to a dry dock for repairs.

The owners of the vessel are responsible for managing the towage process.

Maritime NZ is working closely with the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and the Port of Tauranga on the arrangements to bring the vessel back into Tauranga to remove the cargo of logs before it can be towed.
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The month of July ends today with a total of five Andalusian provinces at risk of extreme heat. The thermometers will soar again to bid farewell to this sweltering month of July in Cordoba, Jaen, Granada, Malaga and Seville.

The first two provinces will bear the brunt, with an active amber warning and maximum temperatures of 40C according to Spain's state met office (Aemet). In the rest, a yellow warning will be activated from 1pm until 9pm with the mercury hovering around 38-39 degrees throughout the afternoon.

Ampliar Aemet alerts for Monday, 31 July. Aemet

According to Aemet, the Cordoba countryside and the Guadalquivir valley in Jaen will record the worst of the heat, which will also hit the Cuenca del Genil-Granada, Morena and Condado, Cazorla and Segura, the Seville countryside and, in the case of the province of Malaga, the Antequera region where thermometers will reach a maximum of 38C according to the forecast.

Minimum temperatures will also remain high. They will oscillate between the 19C expected in Granada and the 24 degrees expected in Jaen.

In the Andalusian region, Aemet forecasts clear skies in the interior and slightly cloudy skies on the coast, with fog in the Mediterranean area. Winds will be light and variable, becoming westerly on the Atlantic side. Westerly winds are forecast in the Strait of Gibraltar.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. US continues to talk about peace agreement with Azerbaijan and Armenia, US State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said during a briefing on July 31, Trend reports.

"We continue to talk about a peace agreement. We continue to believe that a peace agreement is within reach," he said.

Miller pointed out that the Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been remained engaged in talking to leaders of both Armenia and Azerbaijan to help reach an agreement.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan held bilateral talks on June 27-29 at the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center in Arlington, Virginia.

They met with US Secretary Anthony Blinken and Assistant to the President and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Washington.

The ministers and their teams continued progress on the draft bilateral Agreement on Peace and Establishment of Interstate Relations. They reached an agreement on additional articles and achieved mutual understanding on the draft agreement, meanwhile acknowledging that the positions on some key issues require further work.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Micron Technology has picked up its public pace in Central New York, coming to town for several events this week as it refines plans to build a massive semiconductor plant in the town of Clay.

Micron will hold an open house Tuesday to hear what the public thinks should be included in the plants environmental impact reports. The public is also invited Wednesday to the first meeting of the Micron Community Engagement Committee, which will decide how to spend $500 million on workforce training and community organizations.

On Thursday, an exhibit on semiconductors, sponsored by Micron, opens at The Museum of Science and Technology, in Syracuses Armory Square.

Micron announced in October it has selected White Pine Commerce Park in Clay for a massive computer memory chip plant, the largest in the nation, that will cost up to $100 billion over 20 years and employ up to 9,000 people directly. Another 41,000 workers will be employed at supply chain companies that will locate nearby, the company said.

Heres a schedule of Micron events this week that are open to the public:

-- An open house from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in the auditorium of North Syracuse Junior High School, 5353 Taft Road. Officials from Micron, Onondaga County and the town of Clay on the environmental impact reports the company must submit to state and federal governments. After those presentations, the public can talk with Micron staff at individual booths to discuss environmental issues.

Micron must complete a state environmental review, and a federal one because the company plans to apply for billions of dollars in aid from the U.S. Department of Commerce under the CHIPS and Science Act passed last year.

The company plans to build four fabs in succession, with construction on the first one starting in late 2024, and the fourth and final fab opening in 2043. Each fab will cover 28 acres of what is now forest and farmland. Thats about the footprint of four JMA Wireless Domes.

-- The first meeting of the Micron Community Engagement Committee, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in the cafeteria of the Institute of Technology at Syracuse Central, 258 E. Adams St. The 14-member committees job is to recommend how the $500 million Community Investment Framework fund should be spent.

Micron, state and local partners said they would invest $500 million toward community projects that involve workforce development, education and affordable housing in Central New York. The committee, announced in April, will help guide how the money is spent.

The group is co-chaired by Melanie Littlejohn, a vice president at National Grid, and Tim Penix, vice president of the Syracuse Educational Opportunity Center.

-- The exhibit at the MOST, titled DECONSTRUCTED: Semiconductors and Other Secrets Inside Everyday Technology, opens Thursday. The exhibit explains the science behind semiconductors, essential components in electronics from cell phones to fighter jets. Students from Pine Grove Middle School helped design and build one part of the exhibit.

The museum, at 500 S. Franklin St., is open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Its closed Monday through Wednesday.

MORE ON MICRON

How Micron built to this moment: The maverick high-tech giant stakes its future in Central NY

After 9 quiet months, Micron project in Clay vaults forward in one week

Clay holds first public hearing on Micron megafab
Join NY Cannabis Insider at our next industry networking event on Aug. 15 at Madame Mikettes in NYC. Tickets will sell out.

Hal McCabe is the mayor of Homer, NY, and also the director of government relations for the Cannabis Association of New York (CANY). He answered eight simple questions for NY Cannabis Insiders People to know series.

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What is your position and what do you/your company do in the cannabis space?

Im the director of government relations for CANY (Cannabis Association of New York) and the mayor of the Village of Homer.

How long have you worked in the cannabis space?

Since 2019 when the office I worked for introduced the original CBD hemp bill, which we authored with the help of CANY (who were the NY State Cannabis Growers and Processors Association at the time) and have been working on the issue ever since.

What did you do before you were involved in the cannabis industry?

Ive sort of had a lot of lives. I worked for an internet start-up called AOL, taught scuba diving, taught motorcycle racing, and owned a motorcycle shop. But eventually, I got back into politics, which I love  and hate. Mostly love.

But Ive worked at every level of government, for nonprofits, and for the state and national Democratic Committees.

What led you to the cannabis industry?

Back in 2019, Joe Rossi from Park Strategies reached out to me to ask me to introduce him to Allan Gandelman. The three of us met, and that is where the idea of creating a cannabis association originated. I stayed involved in various ways, mostly through pro-bono consulting in order to try and help get the industry off the ground.

Do you have any advice for someone looking to get into the NY weed industry?

Realize that there is exponentially more to learn about this industry than you probably imagine. It can be overwhelming, especially when you are getting into the weeds (pun intended) on cultivation or processing.

What do you think the NY cannabis ecosystem will look like in five years?

My fear is that in five years, we will have a market that is dominated by Big Cannabis ... and the small businesses will be bankrupt.

I unfortunately base this view on the direction that New York is headed, where we are now about to let the ROs in after one year rather than three, and are not going to charge them the fee they are supposed to pay to enter. That is a chilling turn from social justice and equity straight to selling out to Wall St, and if this is the trend, in five years this market will be dominated by three to four huge players and small operations will be few and far between.

Its an embarrassing abandonment of the key principles of our program here in New York State.

Do you use cannabis? If so, whats your favorite method (flower, dabs, edibles, tinctures, etc.), and why?

I do. I prefer edibles just because its easier to control your portion, but I like all methods.

Who should contact you, and whats the best method?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/halmccabe/
Syracuse, NY  An Onondaga County school district has a deal pending to buy the closed St. Charles-St. Anns parish and St. Anns School on Onondaga Boulevard on the western edge of Syracuse, officials confirm.

The sale of the property at 4461 and 4471 Onondaga Boulevard to the Westhill school district hasnt closed yet. Thats expected to occur this fall, Westhill School Superintendent Stephen Dunham said.

The property consists of 18.2 acres, and includes the former convent, rectory, parish and school. All are closed.

Westhill school district residents authorized the sale by approving a proposition on May 16 to purchase it for $2.75 million.

The purchase is being financed over 30 years. The district plans to use $750,000 from its fund balance, along with bonds and tax revenues.

The Westhill school board plans to create a long-range plan for the space. That may include moving the district office to free up instructional space at Walberta Park School, expanding the UPK Program and building a new transportation center to help meet the electric bus mandate from the New York state, the proposition says.

Like many districts we would benefit from additional space for a laundry list of things, Westhill School Superintendent Stephen Dunham said. Once we close, assuming sometime in early fall, we will start tightening up a series of phases for maximizing the use of the buildings and property.

Danielle Cummings, speaking for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, said this sale has nothing to do with Dioceses 2020 bankruptcy case. Nor is it related to the Dioceses recent settlement to pay sex abuse survivors $100 million, Cummings said.

St. Charles and St. Ann merged and after several years of being merged, it became clear that there was not a need for two church campuses, she said. The parish is selling the campus, not the diocese. They are separately incorporated.

The settlement is the second largest contribution by a Roman Catholic institution and its affiliates in any Roman Catholic bankruptcy case, according to a news release from offices of LaFave, Wein & Frament and Jeff Anderson & Associates. Together the offices represent over 120 sex abuse survivors in the Syracuse diocese.

St. Anns church opened in 1955, merged with St. Charles in 2012 and celebrated its last Mass in February 2023. St. Anns school closed in 2004.

Elizabeth Doran covers education, suburban government and development, breaking news and more. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact her anytime 315-470-3012 or email edoran@syracuse.com
Oswego, N.Y.  An 85-year-old woman died Sunday after a two-vehicle crash in Oswego County that injured four other people and closed a road for hours, deputies said.

Anne Squitieri, of Fulton, was killed in the crash, Lt. Andrew J. Bucher, a spokesperson for the Oswego County Sheriffs Office, said Monday in a news release.

The crash was reported at about 1:13 p.m. on State Route 104 near Crestwood Drive in the town of Oswego.

Joseph Stuhler, 68, of Rochester, was driving west on State Route 104 when his 2022 Toyota RAV4 crossed into the eastbound lane and collided with a 2017 Volkswagen Jetta, Bucher said.

Stuhler and his wife, Maureen Stuhler, 69, were taken to Upstate University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Bucher said.

Fulton resident Nicholas Frontale, 34, was driving the Jetta. His mother, Lorraine Frontale, 61, and his grandmother, Squitieri, were passengers, Bucher said.

Squitieri, who was sitting in the back seat of the Jetta, was taken to Upstate University Hospital where she was pronounced dead, Bucher said. Nicholas and Lorraine were taken to Upstate University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The cause of the crash is still being investigated, Bucher said.

Contact James McClendon anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook
To the Editor:

Regarding Syracuse Catholic churches, schools will have to come up with $50 million for sex abuse scandal (July 28, 2023):

If the dioceses decision on how to fund the abuse settlement wasnt so abhorrent, it would generate tons of laughter. As a Catholic, I find it ludicrous to think that the parishes and schools where these predatory priests committed their heinous crimes should have to pay for deeds that were solely the responsibility of those priests and their superiors who allowed it to continue by shuffling these individuals to different parishes and schools. In many cases, the people who suffered the abuse would be helping to fund their own settlements.

Selling vacant properties is a fine start. The next step should be coming from the Vatican and its vast stores of art and properties. To ask the people who were the victims to open their wallets is akin to asking the victim of any crime, like armed robbery, to do the prison time for the perpetrators.

Douglass Selover

Auburn

Related: Syracuse Catholic Diocese to pay sex abuse survivors $100 million
By Raga Justin | Times Union, Albany

Albany, N.Y.  A multi-million dollar state contract with a company offering an antidote for opioid overdoses will be renewed next week, irking competitors who say New Yorks long-established relationship with one pharmaceutical company is cramping the market for the lifesaving medication  all as the overdose death toll continues to rise across New York.

The state has for years stockpiled Narcan, a brand version of a drug called naloxone, which has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use since 2015. It can reverse potentially fatal overdoses if administered quickly enough.

The state Department of Health has had a longstanding contract with Emergent Devices, Narcans manufacturer, exclusively relying on the company to supply the medication that is then shipped out free of cost to partnering opioid programs across the state.

The partnership has proven lucrative for Maryland-based Emergent Devices  since 2017, the year the first contract was finalized, the health department has shelled out nearly $50 million to the company for its naloxone product.

The states most recent contract with Emergent Devices is set to expire Monday, theoretically opening the door for several other pharmaceutical companies who have manufactured competitive versions of the overdose reversal medication. But according to Cadence Acquaviva, a health department spokeswoman, the state will opt to renew its contract with Emergent Devices for another year.

Narcan is currently the most affordable brand of naloxone that comes in FDA-preferred dosage levels, and it has a longer shelf-life than comparable brands, Acquaviva said, adding that Emergent Devices could manage the fulfillment order for the entire state of New York.

According to a competitor company, however, the state is stifling the naloxone market by exclusively awarding contracts to Emergent Devices. The London-based Hikma Pharmaceuticals has launched lobbying efforts in New York to persuade the state to consider generic versions of naloxone as well as its own branded naloxone product, arguing that unrestricted access to all versions of the medication will better address the ongoing overdose crisis.

Hikma has retained the well-known lobbying group Bolton-St. Johns to further its cause in Albany, according to public records, including arranging meetings with legislators noted for their work with substance-use issues in order to push its higher-dosage version of naloxone called Kloxxado.

Hikma has made the case that because their product contains more naloxone per dose, the price point remains comparable to Narcan.

Narcan, the most commonly known and used brand of naloxone, comes in 4 milligram doses. Other companies manufacture generic versions of the same spray, including one product from Teva Pharmaceuticals, the prices of which are comparable to Narcan.

Hikmas Kloxxado product, on the other hand, offers 8 milligrams per dose. The company contends that the more potent medication serves a purpose in a wildly fluctuating illicit drug market where synthetic opioids can come in stronger strains.

We believe New Yorkers would benefit from the ability to choose from all forms of FDA-approved naloxone, including 8mg intra-nasal Kloxxado, which is a vital part of the lifesaving overdose reversal toolkit, especially when overdoses from widely available illicit forms of fentanyl may require multiple applications of naloxone, said Steven Weiss, a spokesman for Hikma, in a statement.

Yet some advocates and medical professionals dispute the immediate need for more potent versions of the drug. Stronger doses of an overdose-reversal medication can result in more severe withdrawal symptoms, said Christina Conigliaro, a nurse practitioner who works at the Albany-based opioid program Project Safe Point.

Conigliaro said medical custom when dealing with a potential overdose is to start with smaller doses of naloxone  typically 4 milligrams  and build up, administering more of the medication every few minutes.

Too much naloxone will not ultimately hurt a person, Conigliaro said.

But you want to give it responsibly and you want to give it effectively, she said. A higher dose ... might potentially give someone the desire to not use naloxone because that client walks away with the memory of, Hey, that made me feel horrible. Im not doing that again.

Conigliaro said she is waiting to see more medical literature on the need for higher doses when responding to a potential overdose before she starts recommending the product. For now, Project Safe Point is using Narcan, she said.

Public health officials have relied heavily on the distribution of naloxone as a key strategy in fighting against fatal overdoses. Officials have said equipping emergency personnel and bystanders with the drug, which can come in either an injectable or nasal spray form, is one of the most effective ways to save lives.

In New York, there were around 3,500 predicted drug overdose deaths in a 13-month period ending in February, according to the latest provisional numbers from the National Center for Health Statistics. Predicted overdose numbers include those not yet confirmed through toxicology results.

___

(c)2023 the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.)

Visit the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.) at www.timesunion.com
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. All Armenian politicians, experts, journalists, and bloggers, talking about Vagif Khachatryan, use the word 'abduction', an Armenian blogger Ishkhan Verdyan said on Telegram, Trend reports.

Verdyan made the remark commenting on detention of Khachatryan, internationally wanted fugitive of Meshali massacre of December 22, 1991, by the military personnel of the Azerbaijani State Border Service at the Lachin border crossing point of the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border on July 29, 2023.

"Armenia doesn't and can't have laws regarding Azerbaijan. Armenians see the country as separate from the rest of the world, believing the painful death of all Azerbaijanis would be the happiest day for Armenians," the blogger noted.

"Fierce animosity and complete detachment from reality... Why should Azerbaijanis pity such neighbors? Why seek peace with them? Why tolerate them in their own country? What have they done to deserve such consideration?" Verdyan added.

Khachatryan was detained while trying to go to Armenia for treatment through the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The investigation established that Khachatryan, born in 1955, a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan, born in Badara village of Khojaly district and worked as a driver in Khankendi city automobile transport company, together with other people of Armenian nationality, used various weapons, including firearms and infantry fighting vehicles, to kill all Azerbaijani residents of Meshali village (Khojaly district) as a single national group.

Using various weapons, including firearms and infantry fighting vehicles, they attacked the village, killed 25 and injured 14 people of Azerbaijani nationality, and, contrary to national and international law norms, expelled 358 Azerbaijanis from their domicile.

In addition, Khachatryan continued his criminal actions together with his accomplices, destroying and damaging property belonging to the state and villagers, causing a total of over 5.96 million manat ($3.5 million) of material damage.

Due to the fact that sufficient reasonable suspicions arose regarding the criminal case, it was decided to involve Khachatryan as an accused person under articles 103 (massacre) and 107 (deportation or forced movement of the population) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. However, due to the fact that his whereabouts were unknown to the investigation, on November 12, 2013, an international arrest warrant was issued by the court's decision.
By Raga Justin | Times Union, Albany

Albany, N.Y.  The states largest public sector union voted late last week to ratify a new three-year contract that will provide thousands of employees with 3 percent raises annually.

More than half of the Public Employees Federation membership voted on the agreement, with the vast majority in favor, the union said in a statement.

The promised raise will affect over 50,000 professional, scientific and technical state workers across state government, including nurses, social workers, doctors, engineers and parole officers.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and union leaders also touted other benefits in the new contract, including a $3,000 one-time bonus and a $600 higher education differential that will help defray some of the costs associated with advanced college degrees or professional licenses that many PEF members have in order to qualify for their jobs.

The contract also includes up to 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave.

This contract fairly compensates the hard-working members of the Public Employees Federation who provide critical expertise to benefit New Yorkers each day, Hochul said in a statement. Im grateful to (PEF President Wayne Spence) for his partnership to help get this agreement finalized and to ensure that New York workers pay and benefits reflect their important contributions to our state.

Among other initiatives, the contract appears to create a committee to identify emerging impacts artificial intelligence on the workforce and report recommendations on implementing the technology. Many of PEFs workers are in technological roles.

The union reached a tentative agreement with the states Office of Employee Relations and Hochuls administration earlier this summer, after weeks of negotiations. Of the members who voted last week, 95 percent were in favor of the contract, the union said.

Our contract team has worked tirelessly since last year to bring to the table the best possible agreement for our members, Spence said. We are pleased the governor recognized the value of our members and worked with us to achieve these gains.

Hochuls administration has been warning of a looming shortage of state workers, with officials announcing in February that more than 12,500 positions could be open soon. More than 26 percent of the state government workforce is eligible for retirement within the next five years, according to projections from the administration.

A Times Union analysis of turnover among key state agencies found that the workforce is smaller by thousands than it was during the pandemic. Workforce numbers show a drop of 14,375 people from March 2020 to March 2022, according to data with the Division of Budget.

Spence has said that he believes more work remains in rebuilding the state workforce, which has been affected by the pandemic and years of underfunding.

___

(c)2023 the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.)

Visit the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.) at www.timesunion.com
Liverpool will ban tractor-trailers and other large trucks from entering any of its streets under a new local law, escalating a years-long effort to reduce truck traffic in the village.

Liverpool Mayor Stacy Finney said the village board voted unanimously this month to pass the law after a study documented a surge of truck traffic at one of the villages busiest intersections.
The Western Azerbaijan Community welcomes the arrest of Vagif Khachatryan, a fugitive who has been on Azerbaijan's international wanted list for decades for his involvement in crimes against humanity committed against Azerbaijani residents of Meshali village in Khojaly district in 1991, Trend reports.

"This significant success of Azerbaijans law enforcement bodies brings solace to the hearts of the survivors of the Meshali massacre," the community stated.

"We earnestly hope that all remaining individuals indicted for their involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Armenia will be brought to justice soon," they added.

The actions of Armenia are deeply troubling, as it consistently refuses to prosecute individuals within its jurisdiction and control who are involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity. Furthermore, the recent issuance of a statement by the Government of Armenia expressing unequivocal support for the detained fugitive only adds to the evidence that Armenia is patronizing such heinous criminals.

Such behavior by Armenia calls for international condemnation, the community added.

The Western Azerbaijani Community strongly urges the international community to hold Armenia accountable and compel it to fulfill its obligations relating to the prosecution of all those within its jurisdiction and control who were involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the forcible expulsion of nearly one million Azerbaijanis from Armenia and formerly occupied territories of Azerbaijan, the killing of over 20,000 Azerbaijani civilians, the devastation of hundreds of Azerbaijani settlements, and the indiscriminate contamination of Azerbaijani lands with landmines, which claims civilian lives and hinders their safe return to their homeland.

"In this pursuit of justice, the Western Azerbaijani Community remains steadfast in its support for the right of return for Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia." "We are convinced that only justice will bring about long-term peace and reconciliation in the region," the group stated.
Jeroen Distinguished - BHPian

Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Delhi Posts: 7,450 Thanked: 42,441 Times

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Re: India may block BYD's US$ 1 billion EV plan I see a lot of pros and cons being mentioned here. When it comes to China, I believe you need to take a far more long term view (at least 30+ years) and a far more holistic view on what China is aiming for long long term.



The world at large is heavily dependent on China. It happened in literally just a couple of decades without almost anybody worrying about it. Whether it is consumer products, raw materials, finance etc. As it is, many countries owe their soul to China. China has not pursued a world domination policy from a military point of view. (Of course, the India Chinese border issues and people getting killed out there are very real). But they do not have a doctrine on conquering other countries as such.



But they have a doctrine that makes them an economic force to be reckoned with. Their domination is very much economic. China slowly and surely is getting its tentacles into almost all countries economy, through business and financing. And that also means political involvement eventually.



I am going to extremely blunt, but I would not trust any Chinese further than I can throw him or her. They are out there to capture everything and anything. They just work along a timeline and strategy almost none of us can imagine. They are not hampered by elections, democracy and so on.



So it is strategically important for all countries to reduce reliance on China, for everything they do. At least get it back to a level where there is a healthy balance in trade and other interest on a more or less equal footing and fair basis.



The biggest mistake anybody or any nation can make is thinking China investments will help them out. Yes, it might mean you get consumer access to cheaper, good quality products. But in the end you are just making a pact with the devil. I find it is extremely naive from any officials to think positive about China.



All these people in charge need to take a couple of years training about what China is all about, before allowing them to say anything about these deals, let alone, approve such deals. Unfortunately, in democracies competence and long term strategic thinking on behalf of the nation are not required in order to hold any governmental position. Most democracies only require you to have of a minimum age and be a national. Great for democracy in theory. In practice seeing through the Chinese needs skills and competence very few of us possess.



Jeroen Last edited by Jeroen : 31st July 2023 at 00:35 .
CrAzY dRiVeR Team-BHP Support



Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bangalore / TVM Posts: 16,590 Thanked: 68,391 Times

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~750km, ~12 hour, Trivandrum-> Bangalore Ride



An update on my Aerox after a long time, so hoping to start with a good one.



As some of you may have noticed, I had the Aerox up for sale with just around ~2400kms on the odo. The scooter was purchased primarily for wife and to be used in Kerala, but when she also relocated to Bangalore post the Covid WFH scenario - the Aerox got left behind. Initially she was of the opinion that she needed a more conventional scooter for her needs in Bangalore - and hence the Aerox was put up for sale. Takeaway: I got a lesson in the "bro" culture. Thankfully she reconsidered soon enough and decided to try out the Aerox for a few months!



Instead our old workhorse - the Hero Maestro will be put up for sale. It has done ~44000kms in ~14 years of ownership.



Now that the Aerox needed to be shifted to Bangalore. One of my most favourite ride/drive is from Bangalore to my hometown in Trivandrum. ~750kms one way, taking around 12 hours - I have done this route a lot many times in both my cars - at least two dozen times with the Punto and half a dozen times with the Jeep. On two wheels - I have done three round trips with the Versys 650 and one with the Tiger Sport 660. But then - a 68hp/80hp tourer is a whole different ballgame and I never had I attempted this route on anything like an Aerox.



And now the chance presented itself nicely and so I grabbed it. Started by 5:10am from home and reached the house in Bangalore by 5:25pm.



Likes:

+ Good mile munching ability. Can sit at 100 kmph all day long.

+ Excellent stability (for a scooter) at highway speeds

+ Refinement at high rpms. (8000-8500 rpm feels so natural to hold)

+ VVT does make a difference and is enjoyable to push towards higher rpms.

+ The Aerox is still a novelty - lot of questions at petrol bunks and from other motorists.

+ Seats cushioning and ergonomics were good. No fatigue even after a 12 hour day. No pain at all with the seat - surprised as even the Tiger Sport 660 left me with some pain two weeks back.



Dislikes:

- Tank range is undoubtedly the biggest pain point. 100kms of useable range means you will be looking to fuel in almost every major town.

- Fuel Efficiency drops drastically once VVT range. Trying to cruise at a constant 100 km/h - this ride returned 28.1 km/l on the console.

- Rear suspension is still extremely bouncy over anything but good roads - thankfully Tamil Nadu has excellent highways end to end, connectivity Kerala with Karnataka.

- Throttle action caused a lot of pain towards the end of the day. Cruise control may be too much to expect, but will try to get an aftermarket palm grip for the throttle.

- Wind blast is constant as with any naked two-wheeler. Not sure if the accessory sports windscreen makes a difference.

- Runs out of steam quickly above 110 kmph, but then 110+ on a scooter is really pushing luck.

- Braking performance is ok, but the initial bite feel could really improve.



The Aerox is still a rarity that it sparts interesting conversations on the road, especially at fuel stops. I did not run into a single one for the entire ride today - thats sad. Anyways, the most interesting moment was near Krishnagiri where a gentleman on an Avenger 200 kept chasing me and finally stopped outside the fuel bunk where I was. He wanted to know which scooter and why he was unable to keep pace with his 200cc (his words! )! Also had a not-so-pleasant moment where I overtook a gang of Enfield riders and that seemed to have triggered them to overtake me in a closed formation and slow down intentionally!



Suspension change is inevitable - didn't miss it much today because of the smooth roads in TN, but I can't say the same about Bangalore roads. What really impresses though - it the rock solid stability (by scooter standards). Ride the Maestro back to back with the Aerox - and the former feels disconnected, wobbly and unrideable till you get adjusted to it.



What really impressed is the mile munching ability - the Aerox handled the highways like it was meant to be used this way. Except for the frequent fuel stops - I only got off the seat only thrice for these 750kms - once for breakfast, one bio break and one for lunch. Maintaining 100km/h all day long is easy and ergonomics don't cause issues either. I guess I will use it for the occasional breakfast rides, ones where the destination is less than 100kms distance from the startpoint, so others riding with me don't need to wait outside the fuel bunks.





Flew down to Trivandrum on Saturday:







Not much was done by way of preparations. I had to trickle charge the battery since the scooter was unused for a month, tyre pressure checked and the outer panels dusted. That's about it! I also removed the OEM seat cover which was installed. The stock seat looks much nicer -







Difference in material quality between the two seats. Probably will not be reverting to the seat covers.







The garage at hometown - not sure if the Aerox will return there anytime soon:







Few pics from the morning, all shot near Nagercoil:



















And one near Tirunelveli:







Managed to reach Salem for lunch, covering a distance of 540 kms in 8 hours.







Entering Karnataka:







Taking one last breather in North Bangalore:







Total Trip Distance:







Indicated FE of 28.1 km/l. Along with the 5.5L fuel tank, this certainly is the biggest pain point of the Aerox for touring. Pain point, not a deal breaker IMHO. Only 3.5L may be useable if you have range anxiety like I do - And I was looking for options every time the indicator came down from 6 bars to 2.



Ended up stopping for fuel at all the below towns -

1. Nagercoil

2. Tirunelveli

3. Kovilpatti

4. Madurai

5. Karur

6. Salem

7. Krishnagiri

8. Silk Board



Not a deal breaker because even with these fuel stops - it still managed to make the trip in good time. Plus fuel bunks are so common except in some regions - down south I don't think I would have had a problem even if I had decided to stick to just XP95 for the whole trip.



An update on my Aerox after a long time, so hoping to start with a good one.As some of you may have noticed, I had the Aerox up for sale with just around ~2400kms on the odo. The scooter was purchased primarily for wife and to be used in Kerala, but when she also relocated to Bangalore post the Covid WFH scenario - the Aerox got left behind. Initially she was of the opinion that she needed a more conventional scooter for her needs in Bangalore - and hence the Aerox was put up for sale. Takeaway: I got a lesson in the "bro" culture. Thankfully she reconsidered soon enough and decided to try out the Aerox for a few months!Instead our old workhorse - the Hero Maestro will be put up for sale. It has done ~44000kms in ~14 years of ownership.Now that the Aerox needed to be shifted to Bangalore. One of my most favourite ride/drive is from Bangalore to my hometown in Trivandrum. ~750kms one way, taking around 12 hours - I have done this route a lot many times in both my cars - at least two dozen times with the Punto and half a dozen times with the Jeep. On two wheels - I have done three round trips with the Versys 650 and one with the Tiger Sport 660. But then - a 68hp/80hp tourer is a whole different ballgame and I never had I attempted this route on anything like an Aerox.And now the chance presented itself nicely and so I grabbed it. Started by 5:10am from home and reached the house in Bangalore by 5:25pm.+ Good mile munching ability. Can sit at 100 kmph all day long.+ Excellent stability (for a scooter) at highway speeds+ Refinement at high rpms. (8000-8500 rpm feels so natural to hold)+ VVT does make a difference and is enjoyable to push towards higher rpms.+ The Aerox is still a novelty - lot of questions at petrol bunks and from other motorists.+ Seats cushioning and ergonomics were good. No fatigue even after a 12 hour day. No pain at all with the seat - surprised as even the Tiger Sport 660 left me with some pain two weeks back.- Tank range is undoubtedly the biggest pain point. 100kms of useable range means you will be looking to fuel in almost every major town.- Fuel Efficiency drops drastically once VVT range. Trying to cruise at a constant 100 km/h - this ride returned 28.1 km/l on the console.- Rear suspension is still extremely bouncy over anything but good roads - thankfully Tamil Nadu has excellent highways end to end, connectivity Kerala with Karnataka.- Throttle action caused a lot of pain towards the end of the day. Cruise control may be too much to expect, but will try to get an aftermarket palm grip for the throttle.- Wind blast is constant as with any naked two-wheeler. Not sure if the accessory sports windscreen makes a difference.- Runs out of steam quickly above 110 kmph, but then 110+ on a scooter is really pushing luck.- Braking performance is ok, but the initial bite feel could really improve.The Aerox is still a rarity that it sparts interesting conversations on the road, especially at fuel stops. I did not run into a single one for the entire ride today - thats sad. Anyways, the most interesting moment was near Krishnagiri where a gentleman on an Avenger 200 kept chasing me and finally stopped outside the fuel bunk where I was. He wanted to know which scooter and why he was unable to keep pace with his 200cc (his words!)! Also had a not-so-pleasant moment where I overtook a gang of Enfield riders and that seemed to have triggered them to overtake me in a closed formation and slow down intentionally!Suspension change is inevitable - didn't miss it much today because of the smooth roads in TN, but I can't say the same about Bangalore roads. What really impresses though - it the rock solid stability (by scooter standards). Ride the Maestro back to back with the Aerox - and the former feels disconnected, wobbly and unrideable till you get adjusted to it.What really impressed is the mile munching ability - the Aerox handled the highways like it was meant to be used this way. Except for the frequent fuel stops - I only got off the seat only thrice for these 750kms - once for breakfast, one bio break and one for lunch. Maintaining 100km/h all day long is easy and ergonomics don't cause issues either. I guess I will use it for the occasional breakfast rides, ones where the destination is less than 100kms distance from the startpoint, so others riding with me don't need to wait outside the fuel bunks.Flew down to Trivandrum on Saturday:Not much was done by way of preparations. I had to trickle charge the battery since the scooter was unused for a month, tyre pressure checked and the outer panels dusted. That's about it! I also removed the OEM seat cover which was installed. The stock seat looks much nicer -Difference in material quality between the two seats. Probably will not be reverting to the seat covers.The garage at hometown - not sure if the Aerox will return there anytime soon:Few pics from the morning, all shot near Nagercoil:And one near Tirunelveli:Managed to reach Salem for lunch, covering a distance of 540 kms in 8 hours.Entering Karnataka:Taking one last breather in North Bangalore:Total Trip Distance:Indicated FE of 28.1 km/l. Along with the 5.5L fuel tank, this certainly is the biggest pain point of the Aerox for touring. Pain point, not a deal breaker IMHO. Only 3.5L may be useable if you have range anxiety like I do - And I was looking for options every time the indicator came down from 6 bars to 2.Ended up stopping for fuel at all the below towns1. Nagercoil2. Tirunelveli3. Kovilpatti4. Madurai5. Karur6. Salem7. Krishnagiri8. Silk BoardNot a deal breaker because even with these fuel stops - it still managed to make the trip in good time. Plus fuel bunks are so common except in some regions - down south I don't think I would have had a problem even if I had decided to stick to just XP95 for the whole trip. Last edited by CrAzY dRiVeR : 31st July 2023 at 09:48 .
MyLife_MyCar BHPian

Join Date: Nov 2022 Location: New Delhi Posts: 123 Thanked: 439 Times

Re: 2023 Kia Seltos Facelift Review Quote: akash3185 Originally Posted by Dear fellow BHPians,

Checking for some suggestions for him to settle on Petrol v/s Diesel.

Thank You in advance. Quote: SeniorC Originally Posted by Driving a DCT carefully, as it should be, would not cause problems.



Akash3185 - just follow the DCT driving guidelines (though internet has lot of info., sticking to the user manual is best) and your friend need not worry about DCT issues.



I bought the new Verna 1.5 DCT despite my low usage. Still wanted to have an option of a powerful engine with quick acceleration for occasional highway drives. Even in the city, it's a breeze to overtake or reduce the gap with the vehicle ahead.



Drove it about 300km so far, all in Delhi traffic. One just needs to be patient with traffic and wait for enough gap ahead so that car can cover that crawling, without the half-brake application.

Don't bother about the vehicles behind you, no one is going to fly by or save any time by closely tailgating the vehicle ahead in bumper to bumper traffic.

Auto hold is a boon when coming to a standstill, it fully engages the brake to prevent any clutch slip. I do shift to N if I feel that the wait time is going to be over 5 seconds (gives something for left hand to do ).



Quote: true_sedan Originally Posted by On the other hand Turbo Petrol + DCT is the most fun to drive on highways but it exhibits lot of jerkiness in city driving(may not sound like much but the reality will make one loose all driving pleasure). SeniorC - very well said.Akash3185 - just follow the DCT driving guidelines (though internet has lot of info., sticking to the user manual is best) and your friend need not worry about DCT issues.I bought the new Verna 1.5 DCT despite my low usage. Still wanted to have an option of a powerful engine with quick acceleration for occasional highway drives. Even in the city, it's a breeze to overtake or reduce the gap with the vehicle ahead.Drove it about 300km so far, all in Delhi traffic. One just needs to be patient with traffic and wait for enough gap ahead so that car can cover that crawling, without the half-brake application.Don't bother about the vehicles behind you, no one is going to fly by or save any time by closely tailgating the vehicle ahead in bumper to bumper traffic.Auto hold is a boon when coming to a standstill, it fully engages the brake to prevent any clutch slip. I do shift to N if I feel that the wait time is going to be over 5 seconds (gives something for left hand to do).I haven't felt the jerkiness in the Verna yet, and given that it's the same engine in Seltos, there shouldn't be any jerkiness in city driving. When moving from the standstill, I lightly tap the A-pedal to disengage auto hold, let the car crawl forward for 2 seconds, and then press A-pedal again to gain the speed. No jerkiness (or maybe a little bit, but not annoying at all).
Intel reported a surprisingly strong set of Q2 earnings last week. Revenue came in at $12.9 billion, above expectations, and they turned a profit of $0.36 per share, while the Street was expecting them to lose money. The company also guided Q3 EPS above estimates, while their revenue guide was a bit light.

With a guidance like that, most companies would have faced a mixed reaction from the stock market, but Intel is not a normal company in normal times. Consequently, their stock soared in after-hours trading. Despite this positive news, it's important to remember that Intel is not out of the woods yet.

Editor's Note:

Guest author Jonathan Goldberg is the founder of D2D Advisory, a multi-functional consulting firm. Jonathan has developed growth strategies and alliances for companies in the mobile, networking, gaming, and software industries.

Our thesis on Intel holds that the company faces three sequential challenges: rectifying their manufacturing process, reigniting their product portfolio, and subsequently populating their fabs with Intel Foundry Services (IFS).

The Intel team gave a pretty solid update on that first challenge. Their process plan  5 nodes in 4 years  is on track. Their first EUV node is now entering production, and the crucial 20A node seems ready for imminent production. This is significant progress for the company, addressing a key existential issue. Although it's still two years away before we can conclusively say they've achieved these 5 nodes, the management's confident tone on the call was noteworthy, suggestive of a return to Intel's old form. As we've consistently stated, the company undoubtedly has the talent to accomplish its goals, which now seems to be finally manifesting.

Of course, this leaves the two remaining challenges. It is premature to discuss IFS at this stage. While we believe good progress is being made, it will be several years before we can begin to evaluate Intel's performance in providing customer services to other companies. We expect to hear announcements this year about customer signings, but we must view these as early endorsements. None of the major fabless chip companies will commit substantial volume to IFS until their manufacturing processes are fully refined, which likely won't happen until later this decade. Thus, we regard progress on challenge #3 as initial, but it's too early for a final assessment.

This brings us to the company's next challenge  can its products compete? Here, we are left with more questions than answers. Honestly, we heard more concerning than comforting comments during the call. We now return to the traditional analysis of company statements, reading the tea leaves and interpreting subtle hints of their comments.

Intel was eager to assure investors that demand for their products was stabilizing. However, this 'normal' situation includes a myriad of reasons why it appears weak. The surge in China's demand hasn't materialized. Inventory has significantly improved, yet remains high in the channel. Our latest favorite phrase, "demand should recover in the second half of 2023", is one we've heard from many companies lately.

Most worrying for us was their assertion that the demand for AI semiconductors is displacing demand for other chips. We are confident that this is a misconception. There's indeed a short-term issue as customers shift their remaining 2023 budgets to accommodate AI demand, but this is a temporary situation. We have substantial data suggesting that budgets are actually increasing. While Intel's management might be hinting at something similar, their Data Center segment continues to decline and lose money. Intel's latest financials have many moving parts, and it seems that the company's core CPU products are still struggling. Nothing in their outlook provided us much confidence that this situation would soon change.

However, we believe Intel appears to be in a significantly improved position. They still face a mountain of challenges, but they're beginning to demonstrate their capability to overcome them.
In brief: The US government hasn't finished its mission to slow China's tech advancements. According to new reports, President Joe Biden is planning to sign an executive order that will restrict critical investments in the Asian nation by mid-August.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that the order will primarily target areas where the US has previously attempted to restrict China's development: semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.

The publication writes that the order will not affect any existing investments and will only prohibit certain transactions. Other deals will have to be disclosed to the government.

Sources say that the order has been delayed on several previous occasions and there's no guarantee it won't happen again. The limitations won't go into effect until next year, and there will be a rulemaking process with a comment period so stakeholders can opine on the final version.

Shenzhen, China's tech city

China's government said last month that it would retaliate if the Biden administration imposed new limits on technology and capital moving into the country, though it never detailed what actions it might take.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the restrictions wouldn't significantly damage China's ability to attract US investment and were narrowly tailored. She also said the restrictions were not intended to slow China's growth or a retaliatory act for any specific action.

The US has hit China with a slew of sanctions over the years, including restrictions on the export of AI chips as a way to prevent them from being used for military applications, something Nvidia warns could lead to permanent US industry losses. There have also been numerous sanctions related to advanced chip-making-tool exports, and the US has encouraged The Netherlands and Japan to do the same.

China has retaliated to US restrictions in the past. The country banned Micron chips over alleged network security risks in May, alleging that they posed major security risks to China's critical infrastructure supply chain, which includes state-owned banks, transportation, and telecoms.

More recently, China reacted to US proposals to further tighten export restrictions on AI chips by announcing new controls on the export of gallium and germanium, two metals that are vital parts of the semiconductor, telecommunications, and electric vehicle industries.
Why it matters: The semiconductor sector faces a widening skill gap that requires immediate attention. Arm is collaborating with industry leaders to launch a global initiative to discover new technical talents and enhance specialized workers' skills in the semiconductor business.

Arm has recently unveiled the Semiconductor Education Alliance (SEA) initiative, a fresh approach to address the escalating skill gap affecting technology companies worldwide. The SEA aims to unite key stakeholders from industry, academia, and government, enabling companies to access the specialized workers necessary to foster continued growth in semiconductor technology.

The SEA has garnered support from an extensive group of industry partners, including Arduino, Cadence, Cornell University, Semiconductor Research Corporation, STMicroelectronics, Synopsys, Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute, All-India Council for Technical Education, and the University of Southampton. The alliance is hopeful that this list of partners will continue to expand.

Additionally, the alliance actively encourages interested parties to join and participate in the initiative. The SEA aims to consolidate existing partnerships and establish new ones, expediting educational and training opportunities while granting access to industry resources and services.

Arm emphasizes that world economic powers are increasingly recognizing the global strategic significance of the semiconductor industry. The industry is dumping tens of billions of dollars into enhancing the self-sufficient design, fabrication, and deployment of chip-based products. The US and Europe have implemented CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) Acts, while China is also grappling with an anticipated shortage of 200,000 industry workers in 2023 alone.

The Semiconductor Education Alliance represents an evolution of Arm's existing education model, with the company poised to play a "vital" coordination role. Members of the alliance will collaborate and share "resources, capabilities, and expertise" through a federated open model managed across multiple forums. This approach aims to facilitate more accessible access to valuable resources for teachers, researchers, engineering students, and learners.

Regarding resources, Arm has revealed several projects under the SEA umbrella are already underway. These initiatives include the development of new VLSI design educational resources using "state-of-the-art EDA tools and IP," innovative solutions for distance learning in computer engineering and computer science, and the establishment of a "global SoC design platform" for academia based on the latest fabrication technologies from Arm and its partners.
In context: Sci-fi stories often depict robots capable of reliable interactions with humans, and Google is working to bring this futuristic dream a bit closer to reality. Mountain View engineers have developed a new AI model that helps robotics understand and execute human-safe actions.

Google describes Robotics Transformer 2, or RT-2 for short, as a vision-language-action (VLA) model. The new AI model was trained on text and images collected from the web, allowing it to generate "robotic actions." In contrast, generative AI-based chatbots are designed to produce text snippets that develop ideas and concepts.

Google's DeepMind team developed RT-2 to transfer web knowledge to robotic control. Unlike chatbots, robots require real-world grounding to be helpful to humans. Google acknowledges that achieving this has always been a herculean effort, as robots must handle complex, abstract tasks in highly variable and unknown environments.

Training models like RT-2 is a significantly more complex undertaking compared to training large language models (LLM) for chatbots. According to Google, a robot's knowledge must extend beyond simply knowing about an apple. It needs to recognize an apple within a context, differentiate it from a red ball, understand how to pick it up and handle various related tasks.

Historically, training practical "real-life" robots has demanded billions of data points regarding the physical world. However, RT-2 introduces a new, more efficient approach. Leveraging RT-1's capability to generalize information across systems, RT-2 can create a single model capable of "complex reasoning" with only a tiny amount of robot training data. This lighter approach signifies a notable advancement in robot training methods.

Google claims that RT-2 can transfer knowledge from a vast corpus of web data and handle complex situations and human-made requests, such as disposing of a "piece of trash." The AI comprehends the concept of "trash" and knows how to dispose of it, even without explicit programming for that specific action. This ability showcases the model's capacity for learning and performing tasks beyond its initial training.

Google engineers conducted over 6,000 "robotic trials" of the RT-2 model. In tasks based on the data used for training, the models performed on par with the previous generation (RT-1) model. However, RT-2's performance significantly improved in novel, unknown scenarios, doubling from RT-1's 32-percent completion rate to an impressive 62 percent. This enhanced adaptability in unfamiliar situations substantially advances the model's capabilities.

According to Google, RT-2 exemplifies how advancements in generative AI and LLM technology are rapidly influencing robotics, offering great potential for more practical and versatile general-purpose robots. While acknowledging that there is still much work to be done, the DeepMind team is optimistic about the path ahead.
For over 30 years, PCA Technology Group has offered managed IT services to small and medium businesses across New York. The IT solutions company empowers these SMBs to take charge of their IT infrastructure and strengthen it against cyber-attacks and other disastrous scenarios.

PCA employs a client-first approach, aiming to understand their needs first, as they may not have the resources to hire in-house IT support to maintain their IT systems. PCA tailors its IT solutions to meet the unique needs and challenges faced by SMBs. Regardless of the complexity of the problem, even the distance it has to travel, PCA is fully equipped as a managed IT services provider to secure the IT systems of its clients.

What Is an Example of Managed IT Services?

Managed IT services cover a wide range of IT solutions that can address the infrastructure, platform, or software a company uses. One example is the 24/7 desk support, which allows companies to contact a managed IT services provider like PCA for technical assistance or to report problems that must be handled on-site.

Another example is managed security. This managed IT service involves system monitoring and threat detection, enabling a managed IT services provider to track the performance of the IT systems of a company. The goal is to prevent issues from surfacing or address them quickly as soon as they're detected. Even in addressing these issues, PCA can ensure that there would be no disruption in the organization's business functions.

Recognition of PCA

Over the years, PCA has been recognized as the industry's top managed IT services provider. It was only last year when the IT solutions company was recognized as the Most Promising Managed IT Services Provider by CIO Review. PCA also received recognition from Clutch as one of the Top B2B Companies and was awarded by UpCity for its local excellence in Buffalo, New York. This only proves the credibility and qualifications of PCA to deliver an outstanding managed IT service to its clients.

Managed IT Services of PCA

The Managed IT services of PCA offer comprehensive management of IT infrastructure. The IT solutions company utilizes its established framework to provide tools and services, ensuring that an organization's systems function without disrupting its operations to keep its people productive. The framework includes the following:

Dedicated team

PCA assigns a dedicated team to understand the IT systems of the company. This includes network engineers and help desk personnel with years of professional expertise to ensure support for the business.

Site Inventory & Assessment

The IT solutions company performs a comprehensive assessment of the IT environment to provide recommendations and a roadmap tailored to the organization. This includes a detailed inventory of what's lacking, what needs improvement, and other concerns to manage the organization's site fully.

Cybersecurity

PCA implements multiple layers of cybersecurity to protect the organization from malicious or threat actors on a real-time basis. The IT solutions company ensures the organization complies with existing security regulations to maintain its robust IT system.

Cloud and Local Backup

While threats are unavoidable, PCA also ensures a business continuity and disaster recovery solution through cloud and local backup. If ever a network has been compromised, the company's data is still accessible for the organization to regain its footing in the industry and to minimize its downtime.

Managed Network and Status Reporting

PCA takes charge of monitoring and maintaining the network infrastructure to optimize the operations and lower the expenses.

Scheduled Onsite Visits

The scheduled onsite visits serve as a proactive measure from PCA's dedicated team to ensure that everything is running smoothly and securely.

Automation

With automation, PCA increases efficiency and streamlines the organization's processes to improve its business functions and drive ROI.

Period Business Reviews

The period business reviews are presented during recurring meetings to revisit the critical topics, action items, and other IT concerns. This aims to maximize business alignment and strengthen the partnership between the managed IT services provider and the respective organization.

Application of Managed IT Services

Given the scope of its framework, PCA has received 5-star reviews from its clients on the review platform of Clutch. Typically, clients are approached by a Clutch analyst to evaluate the company's performance and maintain the review's objectivity.

One client of PCA, for example, was the executive director of a substance abuse prevention agency. The client chose the IT solutions company as its new managed IT services provider. PCA managed the entire IT system, from the hardware and computers, as well as the WiFi network.

The managed IT services of PCA extended to managing and installing programs specifically designed for the agency. PCA also offered remote services to the agency during the initial project.

The client praised the company for its great customer service, stating that PCA was very responsive and efficient in its work. Since their initial engagement in 2020, the partnership between them remains strong to this day.

Proven Process of PCA

PCA can earn consistent 5-star reviews as a managed IT services provider due to its Proven Process. The IT solutions company developed this approach to ensure the best quality in delivering its services. The Proven Process involves listening to understand the client's needs, discovering the strengths and weaknesses of the existing infrastructure and network, and recommending an IT solution that best supports the company's overall needs.

PCA takes charge of the whole operation, driving the IT ecosystem with its dedicated team and advanced technologies to ensure its clients can focus on their business instead of the complexities of IT systems. Lastly, the managed IT services provider is always available for maintenance and support while providing detailed reports for transparency of its services.

Other services

As an IT solutions company, PCA is not limited to managed IT services. PCA also delivers solutions related to cybersecurity, software development, cloud computing, and business phone systems. Through its partnerships with well-known brands like Microsoft, HP, Logitech, and other tech providers, PCA is supported with the latest technologies to provide IT support for small to medium-sized businesses at a competitive price.

Conclusion

Since 1989, PCA has delivered managed IT services to SMBs in New York. With its genuine and effective Proven Process approach, multiple partnerships, and industry expertise, organizations can trust PCA to address their IT needs as they focus on their business. Guaranteed, PCA can return their investments through its tailored IT solutions. Book PCA now.

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NASA's Artemis Program brings landing, living, and exploring on Earth's moon closer to reality, as the third Space Resources Roundtable at the Colorado School of Mines showed institutions, small and large businesses, and international space agencies' growing interest in lunar activities.

Several expert teams presented their suggestions on how to utilize the Earth's only natural satellite as an economic site. Among the strategies is in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), a practice involving the extraction of oxygen, water, and other resources to make rocket fuel and life-support systems, according to Space.com. This system aims to support future lunar operations and use moon metals, makes lunar housing, landing pads, and other goods possible.

According to Angel Abbud-Madrid, director of the Colorado School of Mines Center for Space Resources, what was once fiction is now a reality. The initiative is driven by international pressure and competition, with NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program delivering science and technology to the moon.

NASA Working with Different Industries

In order to ensure resource dependability, NASA has been developing a long-term ISRU model based on lunar science and technology. The space agency also seeks to collaborate with non-aerospace industries to find aptitude.

He emphasized the value of the private sector in the current space exploration environment by focusing on NASA's collaboration with American organizations through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. With this project, the moon will get science and technology. Abbub-Madrid expressed optimism that the CLPS missions will provide insightful knowledge into overcoming lunar problems, especially concerning the lunar regolith, the moon's dusty top layer of rock and debris.

Simulant materials on Earth have several limits when thoroughly testing equipment for off-world operations, despite their ability to mimic lunar regolith to some degree.

For processes like extraction, building, and collecting, direct engagement and experimentation are crucial due to the moon's unique environment, including electrostatic charges, radiation, dust, and low gravity. Abbud-Madrid underlined the importance of first-hand experience and direct contact with the lunar surface to promote exploration and usage.

The Underway Recovery Test-10 is currently underway.

This is an opportunity for @NASA and @DeptOfDefense teams to practice safely recovering the #Artemis II astronauts and @NASA_Orion after their trip around the Moon. pic.twitter.com/df8ElyvVaC  NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) July 28, 2023

Read Also: India's Ambition to Become Semiconductor Superpower Gains Momentum at SemiconIndia

Gerald Sanders, the director of NASA's In-Space Resource Utilization, delivered ISRU's "Envisioned Future Priorities" during the conference. The lunar south pole region is the first focus, with plans to extend to other locations, specific minerals, refined commodities, and other destinations.

Before deploying mission-critical equipment to the moon, NASA is conducting pilot studies to improve ISRU.

In light of these developments, IM, a lunar services company, is responsible for NASA's CLPS endeavor. IM's Nova-C lander will go to the lunar south pole this year. The business developed the Micro Nova hopper mobility technology for regional exploration in inhospitable lunar areas.

Artemis' Objectives

By 2025, the NASA Artemis mission hopes to send Americans back to the moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972. This initiative will benefit NASA's Mars mission and further lunar exploration in the future.

By 2032, NASA hopes to extract lunar soil. Before mining other minerals like iron, the organization will first construct water and oxygen sources on the deserted surface of the moon, per The Guardian.

A semi-autonomous rover being built by the Australian Space Agency will collect lunar soil samples for NASA by 2026, per Reuters. A vital step toward establishing a sustainable human presence on the moon and helping future Mars missions is the rover's collection of oxide-rich lunar soil.

Related Article: gravityLab Pursues Development of Artificial Gravity for Space Travel

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Kanye West's Twitter account has finally been restored after being suspended for over eight months and moving under the control of Elon Musk's social media platform X.

Following a string of offensive tweets, including one that seemed to show a swastika within a Star of David, along with glorifying Hitler and making antisemitic comments during an interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, the controversial musician, who legally changed his name to Ye, was subject to the Twitter ban in December.

Kanye West was subjected to harsh penalties due to the suspension, which caused him to lose access to his platform account, per Sky News. The music producer was not permitted to monetize his account on X, and no adverts would display next to his postings.

Ye's account was reinstated after X guaranteed that Ye would not abuse the site to post damaging or antisemitic remarks. As of present reporting, his Twitter account only shows his post from December 2, 2022, but several users have welcomed back the controversial artist on the platform.

User zues posted: "My goat is back," while KJ tweeted: "WE MISSED U YE, this app been a bad place since u dipped." Another X user, khi, reacted: "welcome back goat now can we get more explanation of this por favor."

Impact of Kanye West's Twitter Ban

The music producer's issues with Twitter started last year when his unpredictable conduct and harsh words alarmed others. On December 1, 2022, he made one of his previous postings stating his disgust of "cancel culture," per The Guardian.

Ye, who has won two dozen Grammys and rose to fame with his acclaimed first album, The College Dropout, was given a bipolar disorder diagnosis several years ago and has openly discussed his struggles with mental illness.

Read Also: US Senator Calls for Probes Into Microsoft After Hacking Attempt on Government Officials

Kanye West's Twitter ban had a significant impact on his work life as well. Ye deleted his Instagram account earlier this year after being suspended twice in front of the public. For his Yeezy items, the controversy resulted in the termination of collaborations with well-known companies like Adidas and Gap. Eventually, it negatively impacted Kanye West's net worth, and his divorce with his former wife, Kim Kardashian, got finalized, according to Daily Mail.

The content management method on the network changed when Elon Musk bought Twitter in October. Although the new owner had a reputation for taking a more permissive approach, he showed West that his inflammatory statements had gone too far.

Elon Musk Reinstating Controversial Personalities on Twitter

The rapper returned to Twitter in October after his account was restored for the first time by Elon Musk, who describes himself as a free-speech absolutist.

Elon Musk previously restored former US President Donald Trump's account after a poll in which 14.8 million Twitter users participated and 51.8% voted in favor of the restoration.

But Donald Trump had said he would remain with his new platform, Truth Social, and had no interest in returning to Twitter.

Related Article: 'Jen AI': Jennifer Lopez, Virgin Voyages Launch Her Digital Twin to Boost Cruise Bookings

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. FETO [Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organization] is the most extensive, secretive, and internationally connected terrorist organization ever encountered by Turkiye, the Dean of the Turkic World Economics Faculty at UNEC (Azerbaijan State University of Economics), Professor of Turkish Uludag University Mehmet Yuce told Trend.

"This organization, which had long infiltrated the spheres of education and culture in Turkiye, eventually expanded its activities into economy and politics. FETO can cross borders and use violence when needed. Its unique strategy much complicates efforts to expose the organization," Yuce said.

"Let's recall the events of December 17-25, 2013 (the most extensive anti-corruption operation in Turkiye's history) and the attempted coup in the country on July 15, 2016. After the failed coup attempt, FETO sought to overthrow the current government, receiving external support as a final step and forming strong opposition in the presidential elections," he noted.

The professor added that appropriate measures have been taken against its activities both in Turkiye and Azerbaijan. The recent operations are part of an ongoing chain of events, based upon the previous ones, he emphasized.

The political conflict between the AKP-ruled Turkish government and the Gulen movement began in 2013.

With similarities in ideology, the AKP (Justice and Development Party) and the Gulen Movement have long maintained an alliance, with the latter using their judicial influence to limit opposition from Turkiye's secular establishment to the AKP's religious conservatism. Traditionally cosy relations between the AKP government and the Gulen Movement turned sour in late 2013 after Gulen criticized the government's response to the Gezi Park protests and their policy of closing down Gulen's private "prep-schools".

On July 15, 2016, about 9,000 military servicemen were involved in the coup attempt using 35 aircraft, 37 helicopters, 246 armored vehicles, including 74 tanks and about 4,000 light weapons. During the confrontation on the night of July 15-16, over 2,000 people were killed - civilians, policemen, soldiers, 150 of them - in Ankara, 99 - in Istanbul and two - in Mugla.

The failed coup attempt plotted by Gulen and his supporters completely exposed the terrorist organization, which had been linked to state structures for many years, in Turkiye.

In memory of the civilians who died as a result of the coup attempt on July 26, 2016, the Bosphorus Bridge was renamed the 15 July Martyrs' Bridge.

On July 16, 2017, in honor of the first anniversary of the prevention of the July 15 coup attempt, the 15 July Martyrs' Monument was opened in Ankara.

During the prevention of the 2016 coup attempt, Azerbaijan fully supported Turkiye. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev expressed great concern from the first minutes of the event and openly supported the Turkish state and the legitimate government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Recently, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan, on the basis of information received from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Turkiye, has carried out operational measures against persons associated with FETO in Azerbaijan, as a result of which five persons were detained.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has turned out to be a groundbreaking tool in the military sector, altering the nature of international wars while bolstering national defense. But as AI technology develops, ethical questions about its use are becoming more pressing.

AI is transforming the military industry by providing analytical tools and assistance for decision-making in various fields, such as ground combat and cybersecurity.

The Pentagon's sizable $1.8 billion commitment to AI expenditures for its fiscal year 2024 budget highlights AI's role in ensuring national security, with Military AI and machine learning patents increased from 1,000 in 2015 to 4,000 in 2022, according to a report from CNBC.

Main Objectives of Military AI

Since 2014, the US Department of Defense (DOD) has prioritized AI technology development in two areas. While "autonomy in motion" deals with AI-supported systems commanding unmanned vehicles, "autonomy at rest" deals with decision-making support software. Though, Military AI's main objective is to automate dangerous operations while reducing human deaths.

Additionally, the DOD has put in place a number of initiatives to enhance the adoption and integration of AI capabilities, such as the establishment of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) in 2018. In February 2022, the DOD established the Office of the Chief Digital and AI Officer to supervise data, AI, and digital solutions and replace the JAIC, as per the US Government Accountability Office.

The development of AI for defense centers on wise data use. Automated target identification skills, which serve as the "eyes" on the battlefield, are among the key areas of AI applications. A proactive approach to problem prediction and resolution is made possible by AI's assistance in data collection and analysis.

Although AI is intended to support human judgment, the rules governing its use in life-or-death decisions are still up for discussion. The Department of Defense stresses that potential deadly force must ultimately be in people's hands, not robots.

Read Also: US Department of Energy Announces $11.7 Million Investment for Research on Quantum Computing

Over 75 nations, including the US and China, use AI for monitoring in addition to its use in the military. Cyberwarfare has heightened the requirement for AI's rapid response and security against cyberattacks.

Senators Alarmed By AI Risks

Senator Chuck Schumer, the US Senate majority leader, said lawmakers worry about AI's potential for danger.

The lawmakers want to convene hearings later this year to talk about potential legislative protections in response. Schumer highlighted the genuine bipartisan interest in AI legislation that fosters innovation while putting in place protections to avoid liabilities associated with AI.

Watch @SenSchumer and @SenJackReed speak to press following Senate passage of the National Defense Authorization Act: https://t.co/7ldc0MD07p  Senate Democrats (@SenateDems) July 28, 2023

The Senate will host "the first-ever AI Insight Forums" to hear opinions from developers, business leaders, and specialists, per Reuters. The measure comes after senators from both the Democratic and Republican parties voiced concern about the possibility of using AI to develop biological weapons.

Particularly with the introduction of generative AI, which can produce material that resembles that of humans, like ChatGPT, there has been growing worry about AI's risks to economic growth and national security.

Sen. Schumer, a Democrat, said that the US Energy Department, National Science Foundation, and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which laid the foundation for the Internet, briefed senators on AI.

On Thursday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee proposed a council to monitor government AI usage and a top AI officer for each federal department.

Related Article: UK to Spend $12 Billion on Military to Become 'Science and Technology Superpower'

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The Samsung Galaxy S24 is the next flagship smartphone to be released by the South Korean company, and a new leak claimed that it is taking its build to the next level by featuring a titanium frame.

It reportedly takes a page from Apple, with its next iPhone lineup, the iPhone 15 Pro, previously rumored to come with a titanium frame. Titanium remains one of the lightest and most durable metals in the world, adding a different kind of experience to the devices.

Samsung Galaxy S24 to Get a Titanium Frame Like iPhone 15 Pro

Renowned Samsung insider and leaker Ice Universe posted a leak via X, which only said 22, with a photo of the periodic table of elements.

The 22nd element in the periodic table is known to be titanium, but the leaker did not mention any devices or companies that would use this.

However, an X user mentioned the device that Ice Universe was likely pointing out. The user asked if it was related to the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and if it will feature a titanium frame.

The leaker did not answer the user that guessed it but shared a smiling emoji, which seemed to confirm the new material that will be used on the S24's build.

Read Also: Samsung Galaxy S24 Could Switch To 5x Telephoto! Here are Pros and Cons

There Is a Catch to Samsung's Titanium Frame for the S24

Titanium is best known to be one of the strongest and lightest Earth metals existing now. However, according to Phone Arena, there is a catch to this titanium frame upgrade, considering that the Galaxy S series is already known for being pricey.

Its use of a titanium frame would make the S24 more premium than it ever was, primarily because this element's use is known to increase the device's price. The S23 Ultra is known for having a premium price tag of $1,200, but more is expected should it use titanium.

Samsung's Development of the Galaxy S24

Much like the iPhone 15 lineup getting leaks for its upcoming release, the Samsung flagship smartphone coming next year is also seeing massive traction from the many information now.

One of the earliest leaks for the S24 is in its SoC upgrade, featuring the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, said to be faster than any other chip, even the iPhone.

Samsung is planning to expand its capabilities and processing technology, and not only would it focus on its chip. Early leaks of the S24 noted that the device would give users more memory power, starting with 12GB of RAM installed with it.

The titanium frame is certainly one to look forward to, as it will bring a significant difference in its weight and durability. However, speculations said it would come with a hefty price, considering its upgrade on its specifications.

Related Article: Samsung Galaxy S24 Could Be the Fastest Charging Galaxy Phones Using This EV Method

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Electric vehicles have made a revolution in changing the world, but now, it is seeing a change from Toyota with regards to better battery developments, centering on a solid-state EV power cell with improved capabilities. Toyota has tapped Panasonic to co-develop the solid-state batteries and is now looking to improve them to achieve 900 miles of range.

Currently, Toyota is on track for its first solid-state batteries to arrive by 2025, with better capabilities to arrive in the future.

Toyota is On Track to Deliver its Solid-State Battery by 2025

(Photo : BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP via Getty Images)

Toyota president Akio Toyoda gestures at a briefing on EV (electric vehicle) battery strategies at the companys showroom in Tokyo on December 14, 2021.

Toyota announced at a technical briefing earlier this July that it is set to develop solid-state batteries for its future vehicles, with a breakthrough in creating one that brings 745 miles of range. The company previously claimed that it is on track for this to arrive by 2025, first focusing on the limited production of its new power cells.

Solid-state batteries are the future, and this is because what separates its anode and cathode is also its electrolytes that create the current that brings power from the battery. Unlike conventional batteries which still see a separator between its anode and cathode where electrons flow.

This solid-state batteries are regarded to have a more energy-dense battery that can be fitted in smaller sizes.

Read Also: Toyota, Daimler Truck, Other Automakers Team Up to Develop Eco-friendly Technologies

Toyota, Panasonic Working to Achieve 900 Miles of Range

Back in 2021, Toyota announced its work with Panasonic to deliver its solid-state batteries, flaunting its development of this new type of power cell.

In the earlier briefing, Toyota claimed that it is set to bring 745 miles of range from the solid-state batteries, but it is looking at a larger goal of pushing it to 900 miles on a single charge.

Toyota's Development of EV Batteries

One of the most renowned vehicle companies in the world, Toyota, is looking to develop its batteries with Panasonic, and the company wants larger numbers of range on a single charge. Among its initial plans is to create a battery that is capable of outputting 1,000 kilometers or 621 miles on a single charge for its EVs.

Earlier this year, Toyota confirmed that it is starting its US-based EV manufacturing to bring the company's clean energy developments to the western hemisphere. The company sets its sights on Kentucky for the electric car plant that would deliver the EVs, and have a separate battery factory over in North Carolina.

Batteries are a significant component needed in electric vehicles as it powers everything inside these cars, from their electric motors, down to their premium features inside and outside the cabin. Solid-state batteries are the future, says Toyota, and while it extends the range for the EV, it also brings a higher power output, with a limited production arriving by 2025.

Related Article: Next-Gen Toyota EVs Could Have Simulated Manual Transmissions

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The past week brought the world massive discoveries and the latest in the technology world, with Tech Times' Weekly Wrap summing it all up for you to catch up on the most relevant stories. First off, the latest discovery of the Bronze Age meteorite-made arrowhead was found in Switzerland, alongside the arrival of Bing Chat for browsers including Safari and Chrome.

On the other hand, there is a grave warning for all iOS and Android users, especially with an app found to be capable of hacking devices and stealing information.

Rare Bronze Age Arrowhead Made from Meteorite Found

(Photo : Thomas Schupbach/Journal of Archaeological Science)

An IAB iron meteorite called Kaalijarv dramatically impacted Earth between 1870 and 1440 BCE Kaalijarv, which dramatically fell onto the Earth between 1870 and 1440 BCE, scattering its debris for ancient humans to find. However, instead of preserving what they unraveled, ancient warriors of this time decided to use it for creating weapons, including arrowheads.

The researchers published their findings in The Journal of Archaeological Science, detailing this find in an area near Lake Biel in Switzerland. It is important to note that this belonged to the late Bronze Age dwelling called Morigen from around 900-800 BCE.

Its study found that the arrowhead contained the perfect amount of cobalt and nickel commonly found in meteorites. Not only that, but the researchers also found traces of two distinct iron phases called kamacite and taenite, alongside a rare isotope called aluminum-26, further confirming its cosmic origins.

Read Also: Sleep Expert Decodes 4 AM Wakeups, Shares Tips for the Perfect Night's Sleep

Microsoft's Bing Chat is Now available on Safari, Chrome

Microsoft's renowned Bing Chat, powered by OpenAI's GPT-4, is now available on Safari and Chrome, the company announced last week. Previously, this feature was only exclusive to Microsoft Edge but was recently made available to users of other platforms via the Bing website to access it.

(Photo : Windows from Unsplash)

For now, Bing Chat is only widely accessible via Chrome, with Microsoft inviting users to try it on Google's browser with a pop-up message available. On the other hand, Safari is still under limited testing for a select group, but this does not mean that it is not available on Apple's browser, but will soon be widely accessible.

Beware: Delete These 2 Types of iOS, Android Apps

(Photo : Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A security awareness advocate from KnowBe4 (a company co-owned by the late Kevin Mitnick) is now advising users to delete old and unused apps on their iOS and Android devices. This is because these apps have the most vulnerability as hackers may infiltrate them and use them as means to infect their devices with malware or access it to steal information.

Despite not all hackers are looking to steal information, these old apps may also be used to spy on their users, hereby knowing their different activities and actions.

There are various scam apps present outside of Google Play and Apple's App Store, so it is recommended to download from these channels only. Moreover, be wary of the different permissions an app is asking for as these are red flags.

Related Article: US Air Force Awards $950 Million Advanced Battle Management System Contract to ARC

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CryptoWatch contains the top news of the past week and delivers everything you need to know to catch up on the most significant stories in the industry.

Last week, one of the most surprising developments was Sam Bankman-Fried's ongoing case, with the US Department of Justice dropping the campaign funding charges against him.

A new malware was also recently discovered stealing from crypto wallets. There is also the rise of crypto trading bots to automate your trading strategies and amplify profits.

Sam Bankman-Fried Sees Charges Dropped by the DOJ

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO and co-founder of the once-top crypto trading firm FTX, has escaped at least one set of charges as the Justice Department dropped the campaign funding charges against him.

Based on the information provided in a DOJ petition made late Wednesday to New York federal judge Lewis Kaplan, the decision was made following Bahamian extradition statutes.

The campaign finance accusation was dropped from the trial's agenda due to the filing's admission that the Bahamas "did not intend to extradite the defendant on the campaign contribution count."

Bankman-Fried is set to go to court in October as he was accused of seven offenses, including allegations of cheating FTX's clients and lenders.

Bankman-Fried allegedly masterminded a scam, diverting billions of dollars from client deposits to pay for political campaigns, charity giving, and real estate purchases.

Read Also: China Appeals to Japan: Avoid Disrupting Semiconductor Industry Amid Export Limits

Android's 'CherryBlos' Malware Affects Crypto Wallets

A new malware called "CherryBlos is reportedly infecting Android users. The malware uses a unique technique to steal the user's credentials through optical character recognition. It means that the malware can "see" what characters the user is typing in order to get the passwords, logins, and access.

CherryBlos can also encrypt a hacked wallet that would send funds to a destination account that the threat actor owns, thereby completing transactions securely, even for cryptocurrencies.

Reports claim that this malware was found to have been embedded in at least four Android apps that were reportedly available outside of Google Play. The malware was discovered on certain sites that were promoting money-making scams.

Crypto Trading Bots: Is it The Future?

What if users can deploy bots in their ventures with crypto trading? This question has already got its answer, and yes, it is possible to do so with the latest developments in aiding users with their needs.

With the use of an advanced algorithm centering on artificial intelligence, the bots can trade for the users, and it helps get rid of emotional bias or take the time to think if this is a rational or a worthy decision.

Using bots will ensure users that their trade will push through without any problems, ridding the different human factors that prevent or hinder this, like tiredness, distractedness, or simply forgetting to do so.

Traders using crypto trading bots can capitalize on market opportunities without hindrances, doing it efficiently.

Related Article: CryptoWatch: FTX Loses License in the AUS, Bybit's Super Trofeo 2023 Efforts, and Coin Prices Now

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AI, combined with anti-theft technology, is proving to be a potent defense against the escalating menace of organized retail crime. With billions of dollars in losses at stake and the safety of customers and employees in jeopardy, retailers are leveraging AI with caution.

(Photo : ISAAC LAWRENCE/AFP via Getty Images)

A man looks at clothing at a H&M store in the Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong on July 25, 2023. Retail giant Hennes & Mauritz has sued its fast-growing rival Shein in a Hong Kong court for copyright infringement, the Swedish fashion juggernaut said on July 25.

Using AI in Retail

Almost every industry is witnessing a swift integration of artificial intelligence, and its true impact on productivity and theoretical potential will unfold gradually. Interesting Engineering reported that a notable experiment is occurring in the realm of big-box retail, where AI is joining forces with anti-theft technology to combat the escalating menace of organized retail crime.

The surge in large-scale merchandise theft over recent years has inflicted billions of dollars in losses on retailers and posed significant risks to everyone involved, from shoppers in stores to employees working in distribution and the supply chain.

National Federation of Retailers' Vice President of Retail Technology and Cybersecurity Christian Beckner emphasized the importance for retailers to deploy AI with proper safeguards, considering the unpredictable nature of some AI tools' predictive outcomes.

Integrating to Previous Technology

Fagen Technologies reported that major retailers such as Walmart, Target, Lowe's, Kroger, Macy's, CVS, and others are forming strategic alliances with technology firms to revolutionize their security measures.

The next-generation video surveillance systems, facial-recognition cameras, license-plate and vehicle readers, autonomous security robots, radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, smart case locks, and predictive analytic software are all being infused with the cutting-edge capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI).

While some of these security technologies have been in use for years, the integration of AI is now taking them to unprecedented levels of effectiveness and efficiency. Discover how AI is empowering retailers to safeguard their assets and customers like never before.

Applying AI Securely

When using AI to bolster loss-prevention efforts, CNBC reported that it is crucial to involve humans in the decision-making process, ensuring that any choices made do not inadvertently harm customers or employees.

Dr. Read Hayes, the director of the Loss Prevention Research Council emphasizes their priority of early detection and identification to prevent potential victims. Their approach is to discourage offenders by creating an environment where they feel unwelcome and out of place, aiming to dissuade them from engaging in criminal activities.

Also Read: Amazon Reinstates Fired Alabama Union Organizer After Filing Complaint with NLRB

By focusing on proactive measures, they strive to make potential perpetrators reconsider their actions before any harm is done. As of now, retailers are facing challenges in striking a delicate balance between customer satisfaction and merchandise security.

Cheryl Friedman, the Vice President of Lowe's Innovation Labs, highlighted their collaborative efforts with the asset protection team and other groups within Lowe's. Their constant pursuit of innovation and technology utilization aims to outpace potential wrongdoers while ensuring an excellent shopping experience for customers.

Related Article: Levi's Partners with Lalaland.ai to Produce AI-Generated Models for Ads

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Apple's Screen Time feature has a flaw that lets kids surpass the intended time restrictions set by parents. This bug allows children to extend their screen time on social media and games beyond what their parents had intended.

(Photo : ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)

The logo of FaceTime (2nd in the second row from top) is pictured on an Iphone screen in Berlin on January 29, 2019. - A newly discovered FaceTime bug lets people hear and even see those they are reaching out to on iPhones using the video calling software, sparking privacy fears.

Acknowledging the Bug

A growing number of parents became suspicious when they no longer received requests from their children for extended usage time on their devices. Upon investigating, they found that the time restrictions they had set were missing from the Downtime screen. Over a thousand posts on the Apple Community website discuss this issue.

Apple's Screen Time feature, designed to help parents set daily time restrictions on their kids' iPhone usage, has a significant bug. As reported by MacRumors, this flaw allows children to bypass the restrictions, leading to extended screen time on social media and gaming applications.

The issue arises when parents attempt to set time limits, but the changes fail to take effect in Screen Time. According to an Apple spokeswoman, the company acknowledges that some users are facing an unexpected problem with their Screen Time settings being reset. Taking these reports seriously, Apple is actively working on updates to resolve the issue effectively.

Similar to this problem and response from Apple, the company experienced this already. Despite the acknowledgment of the bug as "an issue where Screen Time settings may reset or not sync across all devices," it seems that the problem still persists. The company had claimed to fix the issue with the release of iOS 16.5 in May, but the bug remains unresolved.

Also Read: Apple Q3 2023 Earnings Report: Here's What Analysts Expect

Wall Street Journal reported that the reassuring aspect is that Apple is fully aware of this significant problem, which has raised concerns among many parents fearing their kids' screen addiction. Apple's acknowledgment of the bug marks a positive step, and with their open discussion about it, there is hope that a solution will be implemented in the near future.

Introducing Screen Time

Introduced in 2018 with the launch of iOS 12, Screen Time addressed growing worries about smartphone addiction. Phone Arena reported that this feature enables parents to establish content restrictions, control communication channels, and manage app usage on their children's iPhone devices.

Parents can set limits on whom their kids can communicate with through calls, FaceTime, or messages while also regulating the number of hours they can spend using specific apps each day. With Screen Time, Apple aimed to empower parents in fostering a healthier and safer digital environment for their children.

The issue of Screen Time limits not being retained has garnered significant attention within the Apple community. Over 2,300 users on an Apple discussion page reported facing the same problem, with numerous parents also expressing their frustrations in a popular private parenting and tech Facebook group.

Related Article: Security Expert Warns iPhone, Android Users to Delete these 2 Types of Apps ASAP-Why?

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Foresight Factory CEO and Co-Owner Meabh Quoirin is proud to announce the demo release of their new AI called 'Collision', an analytical and intricate tool with the purpose of helping growing businesses to make the best possible decisions through market trends, general user data, survey results, and more.

Additionally, 'Collision' responds with outputs that appeal to a client's personal preference and how they want to proceed with their ventures.

By having a focus on effectiveness, flexibility, and human-like comprehension, Collision promises to start the next generation of AI systems.

(Photo: JOSEP LAGO/AFP via Getty Images) A visitor watches an AI (Artificial Intelligence) sign on an animated screen at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona.

About Collision

With the use of human inventiveness infused with AI abilities, Foresight Factory's 'Collision' aims to predict trends and comprehend customer behavior. Requiring the relentless labor of a multidisciplinary team of data scientists, machine learning professionals, and domain experts, 'Collision' is the development of an AI system that can handle and analyze enormous volumes of data in real time.

Read Also: Top 5 Best Market Research Service Providers in 2023

Why is it the World's First?

A lot of AI systems such as Open AI attempt to understand what's popular in the marketplace, leaning towards the "supply side", telling users the current trends by looking into what people have talked about and done to date, with a little hint of where it would possibly lead in the future.

It gives us a general idea of what to expect, yet not fully showing the whole picture by the lack of a properly calculated view of what you need to think and act on.

Foresight Factory's 'Collision' AI shows us a bigger view of the aspects that affect a business overall, providing both the entire "supply side" and "demand side." The distinguishing factor of AI is how it tells you every side of the market is progressing. Your contenders, customer demand, and what steps you need to take in order for your business to stand out.

How it Works

Collision not only focuses on what's happening in the present but also acts as a planner for the future by mapping out all areas of the market. Areas such as accurately predicting what consumers will demand in years to come, keeping up with what's trending, and how to get ahead of other business competitors. Offering you decisions that can bring out the best-case scenarios for five years, and possibly up to a decade.

Natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, and big data analytics are all combined in "Collision." It can decipher textual data from unstructured sources, including blogs, news stories, social media, and consumer reviews. Businesses may comprehend customer preferences and viewpoints by using NLP skills to extract context and sentiment. In order to make sure that forecasts are accurate and current, machine learning algorithms are continually improved.

With just the click of a button, users can access all the elaborate data to take in, and possible actions necessary to improve in real-time.

Intended Uses and Audience

At least half of Collision's user base is comprised of senior decision-makers, yet the AI can be used by any individual who is in need of assistance regarding the betterment of their own personal ventures. Because ultimately, Collision's main goal is to bring out the highest potential of every client's business all the while making sure that it doesn't stray from the owner's preferences, keeping it original and authentic.

Future Possibilities

By delivering actionable insights from various data sources, Foresight Factory's "Collision" revolutionizes AI technology and enables businesses to make wise decisions for development and innovation. Businesses will be able to negotiate upcoming complexity with assurance and foresight as "Collision" expands its influence on industries.

Related Article: Foresight Factory Launches World's First Business Decision-Making Platform as "Antidote to the Insights Industry"





 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In a mission update last July 28, NASA wrote that the communications for the Voyager 2 space probe have been temporarily paused.

While it sounds to be an area of concern for the space agency, NASA said that there's nothing to worry about this issue.

NASA's Voyager 2 Temporarily Becomes Incommunicable

As NASA said last week, the Voyager 2 has encountered a handful of communication problems. The interstellar spacecraft reportedly became unable to transmit or receive data after some "unexpected change" in its DSN (Deep Space Network) ground antennas.

NASA says that it shouldn't be a concern given that the issue is just temporary. However, while it's a short-lived problem for the Voyager 2 probe, it will still last for some months.

To maintain its antenna's position, NASA highlights that the spacecraft will still undergo multiple resets every year, as per PC Mag.

While it sounds easy on paper, the team behind the probe will need to wait until Oct. 15 before doing the next orientation resets.

Voyager 2 Probe's Interstellar Trip Won't Be Halted

In another report by The Register, NASA says that the Voyager 2's interstellar exploration for 46 years won't be stopped amid the disconnection issue. As said a while ago, it just needs to be recalibrated.

While losing communications is a big deal for data transmission, the space agency says that the trajectory of the space probe will remain unchanged.

Every second, the Voyager 2 travels 15 km further away from Earth. As of writing, it's already afloat at around 32 billion kilometers from the planet.

Additionally, NASA has clarified that the Voyager 1 won't be affected by the glitch. The said spacecraft is reportedly traveling 17 km/sec away from the planet.

Related Article: Voyager 2 Will Continue: Here's What NASA Did

Voyager 1 Isn't Perfect Either

Just like some tools in the lab, NASA needs to launch several adjustments for its probe. Back in 2022, Voyager faced difficulties in data transmission.

At that time, the space org discovered that there was an incorrect routing of the data and this remained dysfunctional for many years.

To address this problem, the engineers pulled off a "telesurgery" to fix Voyager 1's telemetry issue. Right after the procedure was finished, the probe continued to travel and data sending was put on the right track once again.

If a car needs maintenance, it's also imperative to maintain the condition of the space probes at a higher level. If its parts or its features are already outdated, the engineers should step up to upgrade or fix them as soon as possible.

It's interesting to know that the Voyager probe is capable of enabling communications at 160 bits per second. The fact that it's situated 20 light hours from Earth is impressive given its capability to relay information to the scientists on Earth.

Read Also: Voyager 2's Science Mission Extended to 2026 Thanks to Backup Power Reservoir: NASA

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Amid the heat-seeking tension with the United States when it comes to technology, China is about to curb the export of drones and other related products soon.

Beijing announced that the implementation will be effective by September 2023. The government believes that this move is crucial to protect its "national security and interest" against other countries.

China Implements Drone Export Control

Even before the drone export curb is announced, China and the US have been battling for a long time when it comes to tech supremacy.

Back in June when the US said that it was planning to restrict AI shipments to China, Beijing immediately felt the impact with the declining price of AI stocks.

The immediate decrease in the value of stocks came after the White House stated that China has sinister plans for its AI tech advancements.

Outside the field of artificial intelligence, China wants to give the US a similar treatment it received two months ago.

According to AP News, China's Ministry of Commerce said that export controls will exist so that other countries won't use drones "for non-peaceful purposes," which in this case falls under military purposes.

"The risk of some high specification and high-performance civilian unmanned aerial vehicles being converted to military use is constantly increasing," the Ministry of Commerce said.

Chinese company DJI Technology Co., one of the world-class drone makers, reportedly stopped exporting drones and other drone-related goods to Russia and Ukraine in 2022 amid combat-related fears.

As for the restrictions, the particular models that will be subjected to control are those that can fly for over 30 minutes. Beijing also adds that those drones that can shoot projectiles or other things and whose weight exceeds 7 kg will also be restricted.

If China's relationship with the US is not okay, its agreement with Russia is the opposite. The Ministry of Commerce says that the Biden administration is allegedly spreading "fake" information about its latest drone curb.

Furthermore, Beijing stated that its deal with Moscow counts as "normal economic and trade cooperation. The statement came following a report from US intelligence which says that China is supplying Russia with drones against its war with Ukraine.

Related Article: DJI is Gatekeeping Its Drones to Avoid Weaponization-Stops Delivery to Russia and Ukraine

Is DJI Leaking Ukraine's Data to Russia?

The bond between China and Russia remains a "no-limits" friendship as Xi Jin Ping and Vladimir Putin declared previously.

While the US sees this as a direct threat to the people, the two countries appear to be much closer after the Russia-Ukraine war.

With China having a bountiful drone industry, some American lawmakers questioned DJI's business tactics.

According to Reuters, the drone maker also complies with China's policy and law which include the requirements for export control. However, some retailers accused DJI of data leakage.

Back in 2022, a German retailer alleged that DJI was spying on Ukraine's position in the war, but it denied the allegations.

Read Also: Researchers Develop Remote-Sensing Drones to Identify Landmines, Something that May Help Ukraine

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Press Release

July 31, 2023 Legarda calls for public's participation in disaster resilience Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda urged the public to consistently uphold a more profound sense of involvement in strengthening the nation's disaster resilience amidst the impacts of climate change on the country's environmental and economic agenda. "We need to fight for our survival. However, time is against us. The window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all is closing, as the world's scientists have said. But it can be done," Legarda conveyed, as she reiterated the importance of a whole-of-society approach in the collective action of utilizing and preserving the country's resources despite the environmental perils to develop the blue and green economy. "We are a resilient nation, capable of achieving great feats when united. I implore our government agencies, civil society organizations, private sector partners, and individuals to actively participate in resilience-building efforts," she added. Legarda underscored the significance of enacting laws in the pursuit of sustaining a circular economy and rebuilding communities so people can reduce disaster risks to be resilient in times of crisis. The four-term senator also noted that the Philippines has policies and system reforms to address these matters, including the passage of Republic Act 9729, or the Climate Change Act of 2009, and RA 10121, or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010. "Strengthening environmental laws, enforcing regulations, and holding accountable those who exploit our natural resources unlawfully are essential steps toward creating a sustainable and just society," she asserted, saying that the government should ensure that these policies and pieces of legislation are aligned with the commitments in environmental sustainability. Legarda then stressed the vital role of education and awareness as fundamentals in these endeavors, stating the need to prioritize environmental education and understanding the interconnectivity between the environment, climate change, and the Filipinos' well-being. Likewise, she pushed to foster more innovation and research in sustainable technologies, invest in clean technology startups, provide incentives for green businesses, and create an enabling environment for sustainable entrepreneurship. "Let us rise to this challenge and reaffirm our commitment to a sustainable and resilient future. Dahil buhay, kabuhayan at kinabukasan ng bawat Pilipino and nakataya sa hamon ng nagbabagong klima," Legarda concluded. The month of July is National Disaster Resilience Month. This year's observance focuses on the theme, "BIDAng Pilipino: Building A Stronger Filipino Well-Being towards Disaster Resilience," which aims to promote unity and resilience among Filipinos toward a more prosperous and secured future.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. An expanded meeting with the participation of delegations took place between Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Trend reports.

According to the statement of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on Twitter, the sides discussed issues on the agenda of multilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkiye.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov went on an official visit to Turkiye today. Meetings with high-ranking Turkish officials were planned within the framework of the visit.
Woman found in Forbach: at the heart of the case, a couple in full "social disarray"

Fire in a home for the disabled in Alsace: at least 11 people "would be missing"

Circumnavigation of the moon next year: Crew of the "Artemis 2" visits their spacecraft

The authorities of Kazakhstan have suspended the work of the domain yandex.kz

Nursing assistants trained as nurses in two years? "There is bound to be a skills gap"

Covid-19: risks, characteristics... What you need to know about Eris, the new variant

What is the story of the young Syrian whose incident sparked outrage on social media?

The "poorest of the poor" in Egypt. A disturbing picture drawn by the numbers

Real estate enterprises talk about how to develop in the future: return to rationality and return to products-China News Network video

The West did not understand that it had already lost to Africa

Nadeshiko Japan to face Sweden "We want to win and move on to the next match"

With hope for a revival: Neymar wants to leave PSG, but Barcelona is against his return

Similar episodes continue to be interpreted in different ways: why the work of referees in the RPL requires transparency

U.S. soccer: Da'vian Kimbrough becomes the youngest professional in the world at the age of 13

Stealing the spotlight in the Gamper Cup. Barcelona's plan to keep its young star Amin Jamal

Economic Watch: China's property market has undergone major changes, how will the industry develop in the future?

What are the reasons for the year-on-year decline in CPI in July? What is the future?

Agreement in the cabinet: This is how expensive the climate fund should be

This is how expensive the climate fund should be

"Kommersant": the manufacturer "May" warned of rising prices for coffee and tea in September

The Central Bank of Russia will not buy foreign currency until the end of the year within the framework of the budget rule

Two former 100 billion real estate enterprises delisted, how to view the changes in the real estate industry?

Doctors, suspected of issuing too many sick leaves, in the sights of Social Security

"Growth will continue until the end of the year": the share of non-cash payments in Russia reached 82% for the first time

Putin congratulated the 71st Motorized Rifle Regiment on being given the name "Guards"

CNN: the failed offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be a big political problem for Zelensky in the United States

Director General of the Assembly of Peoples of Russia recalled the importance of the International Day of the Peoples of the World

In the fury of the storm, the kitesurfer broke the Swedish altitude record

United States: The issue of abortion "is a catalyst for votes in favor of the Democrats"

Battles in Khartoum and Omdurman and a UN warning of the consequences of the continuation of the war in Sudan

The authorities of the Kharkiv region admit the possibility of mandatory evacuation of 11 thousand residents

He holds 3 nationalities, one of which is Arab. Noah Darwish is a new jewel in Barcelona

Daniel Sancho admits his sexual link with Edwin Arrieta: what is known about the relationship between the chef and the Colombian doctor

The butcher Daniel Sancho and his victim "were going to set up a business" and saw each other in Spain

Typhoon Kanu continues to move north-west and will have heavy rainfall in Jilin, Heilongjiang and other places

Economic drama two days before the start of LaLiga: most teams have not been able to register all their signings

The cry of the sister of Edwin Arrieta, victim of Daniel Sancho: "I want this nightmare to stop"

A woman who was attacked by a shark on a beach in New York turned out to be an emigrant from Ukraine

"The version of the drone is not confirmed": what is known about the explosion on the territory of the plant in Sergiev Posad

L'Orient-Le Jour: UAE wants to organize a meeting between Putin and Zelensky at the UN conference

The daughter of the general director of "Piro-Ross" received messages from Ukrainian numbers after the state of emergency in Sergiev Posad

 Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. 'UZAZ-2023' computer-assisted tactical command-staff exercises have started in accordance with the Plan of bilateral cooperation for 2023 concluded between the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Trend reports.

According to the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan, the first stage of the joint exercises at the Chirchik training range in the Tashkent region, Azerbaijani and Uzbek military personnel completed the tasks of organizing and planning special combat operations on a computer and on a map.

In general, the main purpose of the exercises is the mutual exchange of experience, the organization of interaction between the military personnel of the two countries, improving the skills of staff officers making decisions on the map, increasing their professionalism and training.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. Armenia doesn't abandon its intention to meddle in Azerbaijan's domestic affairs, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, Trend reports.

"The fact that Armenia hasn't yet withdrawn its armed forces from Azerbaijani territory [contrary to the trilateral statement signed by Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders following the 2020 second Karabakh war], obstructing the opening of the Zangazur corridor, and doesn't abandon its intention to medde in Azerbaijan's domestic affairs under the pretext of "caring" for the rights and security of Armenians residing in Karabakh, menaces peace and stability in the region.

"The policy pursued by Azerbaijan, despite all this, and at the same time, the common view of Azerbaijan and Turkiye on the future of the region and the steps taken will continue to ensure progress and security in the region," Bayramov noted.

Proposed by the Azerbaijani side, the Zangazur corridor aims to establish a transportation link between Azerbaijan's mainland and its exclave, Nakhchivan, passing through Armenian territory. This corridor emerged as part of the above mentioned trilateral statement. One point of the agreement outlined Armenia's commitment to ensuring the security of transport connections to Nakhchivan, facilitating the unrestricted movement of people, vehicles, and goods in both directions.

On July 31, during Bayramov's visit to Turkiye, he met with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.

The meeting followed with a joint press conference between the fraternal countries' ministers.

The visit also schedules Bayramov's meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other Turkish officials.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. The acts of burning the Quran in Denmark and Sweden are unacceptable, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said at a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Trend reports.

"We strongly condemn it. No one has the right to ignore and disrespect Muslims under the guise of free speech and human rights. These states must take significant and effective measures to prevent this. We need to look at the results and make an informed decision," he said.

"Unfortunately, Islamophobia has spread across a number of countries. "Aggression towards religious writings is simply one form of Islamophobia. Such campaigns are taking place in a lot of nations, which is utterly wrong," Bayramov added.

Today, Azerbaijani FM Jeyhun Bayramov met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Following the meeting, a joint press conference of the foreign ministers was held.

Bayramov is also scheduled to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and high-ranking Turkish officials.
Los Angeles: Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian whose character Pee-wee Herman became a cultural phenomenon through films and TV shows, has died. He was 70.

Reubens died on Sunday night, local time, after a six-year struggle with cancer that he did not make public, his publicist said in a statement.

Paul Reubens attends the world premiere of Pee-wees Big Holiday during the South by Southwest Film Festival in 2016. Credit: AP

Please accept my apology for not going public with what Ive been facing the last six years, Reubens said in a statement released on Monday with the announcement of his death. I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.

The character with his too-tight gray suit, white chunky loafers and red bow tie was best known for the film Pee-wees Big Adventure and the television series Pee-wees Playhouse.
Students will be taught about Indigenous Australians experience of European colonisation under a proposed overhaul to the mandatory content included in the year 7 to 10 history syllabus.

In a draft syllabus released by NSW Education Standards Authority, a new unit on the era of colonisation would be introduced to deepen high school students knowledge about Aboriginal culture and past, and to present a a more balanced view of Australian history.

A new unit on the era of colonisation will be introduced to deepen high school students knowledge about Aboriginal culture and past.

Paul Martin, the chief executive of NESA, said new compulsory content on Aboriginal cultures and history gives students a thorough understanding of the Australian experience and heritage, but is not at the expense of European history.

The syllabus changes  released to teachers for consultation on Monday  mean students in year 7 and 8 will learn about colonisation and Aboriginal perspectives as a core study area, in addition to compulsory ancient world and global Middle Ages units.
Some Victorian private schools are already breaching the threshold for the state governments new payroll tax, but they wont pay it until at least 2029 because they are not on the existing list of schools to be taxed.

The Andrews government has confirmed that those left off the initial list of 60 tax-paying schools will not be reassessed, despite confirmation from the sectors peak body that other schools had already exceeded the income threshold of $15,000 per student.

Education Minister Natalie Hutchins. Credit: Darrian Traynor

Schools currently declared exempt from payroll tax remain exempt until the next review of the threshold in 2029, a government spokesperson said on Monday.

But new non-government schools opening between now and 2029 will also be assessed against the threshold, the spokesperson said.
Other places remain at high risk of wildfires, according to real-time fire danger projections by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). A representative at the European Commission Joint Research Centre, which manages EFFIS, said that while the interactive map cant predict where fires will start, as most fires in Europe and globally are caused by people and negligence rather than natural causes, its forecast feature does show the areas that are most at-risk to fires spreading if they are started. Would-be travellers shouldnt use the fire danger forecast to decide where not to travel, the representative said, but they should be aware of the fire danger where they will be travelling. Where fires are a threat also depends on the geography of the area. Antonios Diakakis, general manager of Casa Cook Rhodes in Greece, said that, while at the hotel in the northern town of Kolymbia, he didnt feel the smoke or see the fires that were blazing in the southern part of the island. Dario Vento, a freelance bike tour guide in Agrigento, Sicily, similarly said that tourism wasnt affected where he lives despite the fires raging further north in Palermo and near Mount Etna.

How long are Mediterranean wildfires supposed to last? Theres no foolproof way to determine how long a fire will last. Whether it is even possible to extinguish a fire depends on three factors: temperature, humidity and wind speed. If an area has high temperatures, low humidity and a high wind speed, it has a higher level of fire danger. If fire danger is extreme in a given location, the European Commission representative said, it is impossible to stop or contain a fire in the area. Instead, firefighters have to wait until the fire danger level decreases before intervening. In most places, fires have already been extinguished or otherwise controlled but firefighters remain on high alert. Pierpaolo Nuzzo manages the Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa in Palermo. Nuzzo said the fires on the outskirts of the city caused a lot of smoke and a lot of ashes last week, as well as a temporary shutdown of the Palermo airport, but city transportation and planned events were back to [normal] in just 24 hours once fires were controlled.

Should I cancel my trip? While this summer has been especially hot, fires in the Mediterranean are nothing new. That doesnt mean travellers should approach a summer in southern Europe as they would the same holiday during another time of year, but it does mean travellers should take necessary precautions to prepare for areas that are susceptible to extreme heat. Although I visit Italy every summer, I know it will be hotter than I am used to, so I am taking some extra precautions and advising my clients to do the same, said Ann Castagna Morin, a Massachusetts-based travel agent who will be heading to Italy for three weeks next month. In addition to always carrying an insulated water bottle, Castagna Morin recommended buying travel insurance and said that it is a comfort to know you have coverage for evacuation and medical care should calamity strike. Travellers should specifically look for insurance that covers flight and hotel cancellations, emergency evacuation and repatriation and international medical expenses, among other protections.

Should I make a backup plan? Establishing contingency plans before flying can also help avoid crises when planes get cancelled or delayed. This means researching what other flights going out of the same airport as the scheduled flight will be going to the same or a nearby destination. Knowing your flight options is especially helpful if a flight is delayed and airline customer support lines are overloaded with other customers; if you do call, make sure youre using an official number. Avoid low-cost airlines with limited customer support. Credit: Bloomberg While there is no guarantee that even the priciest accommodation and travel plans will remain unchanged in the face of wildfires and extreme heat, Castagna Morin and Emen both recommend avoiding low-cost airlines where possible, as these often provide less customer support in the case of delays or flight changes. My biggest takeaway for the would-be traveller to Europe right now is definitely to avoid EU budget carriers, Emen said.

Working with a travel agent when possible can also help for the same reason, according to Anna Maria Ulisse, who runs a tour operator in Palermo. She said that while airline customer support can be hard to reach during a crisis like what Emen experienced in Catania, travel agents often have direct contacts at airlines, which means problems often will get handled immediately. Should I prepare for evacuations? While it is important to be prepared in the case of evacuation  which means keeping important items such as passports and medicine readily available  it is not often possible to plan an evacuation before arriving at a travel destination. Situations on the ground can change at a moments notice, which is why its often best to follow guidance from local officials and governments. Many hotels also provide evacuation plans, which travellers can verify by calling ahead of time. Diakakis, of Casa Cook Rhodes, said that though the hotel was unaffected by the fires in the southern part of the island this week, it has an evacuation plan in place in case of an emergency. The hotel would work with local governments to ensure travellers are transported to a safe location and can make their way back home, if necessary. Talking to drivers or guides about the topography and weather patterns of the area can also be helpful preparation. Following local guidance is safer than trying to come up with an alternate plan, especially in an unfamiliar place. I would be very concerned with people trying to drive a car in Sicily who didnt know what they were doing. Its very winding roads, Castagna Morin said. You could drive right into a fire.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. Azerbaijani-Turkish cooperation in the field of energy contributes to the energy security of Europe, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, Trend reports.

Fidan made the remark during a joint press conference with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov in Turkiye.

"TANAP already plays a major role in ensuring Europe's energy security. Most of the gas coming through TANAP goes to Europe. In winter, a gas crisis is possible again in Europe due to the war in Ukraine. Our strategic dialogue with Azerbaijan and preparations for the coming years on these issues continue," he said.

"We are negotiating additional gas supplies," Fidan noted.

In addition, the initial capacity of TANAP is 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year, with the possibility of expanding to 31 billion cubic meters per year in the future. Around six billion cubic meters of gas are delivered to Turkiye, while the rest of the volume is supplied to Europe.

Line fill began in the TANAP pipeline across Turkiye in late January 2018.

A ceremony to launch Phase 0 of TANAP took place on June 12, 2018 in the Turkish city of Eskisehir. The first commercial gas deliveries to Turkiye commenced on June 30, 2018. The opening ceremony of TANAPs connection with Europe took place on November 30, 2019 in Ipsala town (Edirne province, Turkiye).

For expansion, it is necessary to add several additional compressor stations in order to achieve a throughput of 24 billion cubic meters per year. To achieve a capacity of 31 billion cubic meters, a total of seven compressor stations will be required.
Khar, Pakistan: A suicide bomber blew himself up at a political rally in a former stronghold of militants in northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan on Sunday, killing at least 44 people and wounding nearly 200 in an attack that a senior leader said was meant to weaken Pakistani Islamists.

The Bajur district near the Afghan border was a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban  a close ally of Afghanistans Taliban government  before the Pakistani army drove the militants out of the area.

Relatives transport an injured victim of a powerful bomb upon arrival at a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan. Credit: AP

Supporters of hardline Pakistani cleric and political party leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, whose Jamiat Ulema Islam generally supports regional Islamists, were meeting in Bajur in a hall close to a market outside the district capital.

Party officials said Rehman was not at the rally, but organisers added tents because so many supporters showed up, and party volunteers with batons were helping control the crowd.
Dublin: The famed cobblestone streets of Temple Bar have, for years, been a place where tourists flock for their first taste of locally brewed Guinness and singalong to traditional Irish folk tunes. It is, as the locals say, good craic.

But the normally cheerful streets of Dublin have been exposed to an increasingly sinister side in recent times, which business owners and the government fear could now severely damage the citys reputation.

The Temple Bar historic district of Dublin, a city plagued by a rash of violence. Credit: Shutterstock

It is almost two weeks since the brutal assault of an American tourist sent shockwaves through the capital, throwing the spotlight on youth violence in the city. Several other attacks have followed, with three separate incidents alone last Monday further casting a shadow.

A woman in her thirties was hospitalised after an attack in Temple Bar, while later that night one man was assaulted and had to be taken to hospital and another was beaten during a fight with a group of teenagers on Ormond Quay.
London: The ascension of Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos jnr to the presidency of the Philippines has been a game-changer in attracting European investment and pledges to boost security ties, European officials have revealed.

In her first visit to the Philippines, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged to restart negotiations on a trade deal amid concerns about Chinas aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea.

She also pledged to boost the Asian nations ability to process its critical minerals and increase data-sharing through satellites and undersea cables.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos jnr with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the Malacanang Presidential Palace in Manila. Credit: AP

Von der Leyens visit came as Italys Defence Minister Guido Crosetto branded the former Italian governments decision to join Chinas Belt and Road project an improvised and atrocious act in an interview with Corriere della Sera newspaper.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published the issues discussed by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, Tend reports.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan noted on its Twitter page that at the meeting in Ankara, the sides discussed economic cooperation between the countries, increasing the volume of trade turnover to $15 billion, expanding the capabilities of the TANAP project, which is an important part of cooperation in the field of energy.

In addition, the ministers exchanged views on the role of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) against the background of new geopolitical processes, and on recent events in the South Caucasus.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov went on an official visit to Turkiye today. Meetings of the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister with high-ranking Turkish officials were planned within the framework of the visit.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. Everyone saw the consequences of the coup attempt organized by the FETO terrorist organization in Turkiye in 2016, Chairman of the "Support for Youth Initiatives and Development" public association Togrul Allahverdiyev told Trend.

"The main difference between this terrorist organization and others is that in addition to armed struggle, they also inject their ideas into people's minds through education and religion. The fight against the FETO terrorist organization is still underway today," he said.

According to him, the detention of members of the FETO terrorist organization is also an integral part of this struggle.

"We are witnessing the double standards of the West in this matter as well. The West, which has been indifferent to the realities of Azerbaijan for 30 years, is trying to put pressure on our country because of these arrests. No one should forget that it is impossible to put pressure on Azerbaijan," Allahverdiyev said.

Azerbaijan is a state based on the rule of law, where democracy is the basis of power. Therefore, we must wait for the court's decision, after which we can say something concrete. As part of civil society, we support the fight against the FETO terrorist organization. This struggle should be expanded, the toughest measures should be taken against its members," he added.

He pointed out that the Azerbaijani people should be vigilant.

"One of the main goals of the creation of this terrorist organization is to repeat what happened in Turkiye and Azerbaijan. This is a rather dangerous terrorist organization," he said.
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Batavia, NY (14020)

Today

Sunny to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 79F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 65F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. In accordance with the instruction of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the return of former internally displaced persons to the restored city of Lachin continues, the State Committee for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons told Trend.

Another caravan was sent from the Gobu Park 3 residential complex in the Garadagh district of Baku on July 31. At this stage, 12 more families (53 people) moved to the city of Lachin.

As a result of the Victory by the valiant Azerbaijani army under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, opportunities have been created for a voluntary, safe and dignified return to their native lands after 30 years.

Residents of the city of Lachin, which has become even more beautiful and comfortable, thanked the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva for their comprehensive care and expressed gratitude to the valiant Azerbaijani army that liberated the lands from occupation and its heroic soldiers and officers.

Moreover, the families who returned to Lachin will settle in the houses where they lived before the occupation. These houses were restored or rebuilt on the instructions of the head of the country after the liberation of the city of Lachin.

In general, as many as 180 families (700 people) were provided with permanent residence in the city of Lachin.

Moreover, a total of 22 families (79 people) were relocated to the city of Lachin on July 22.
I knew Seb was struggling with his mental health, gravitating to me to help and guide him - I just wish I had known what was (allegedly) going on so I could of helped him.
BJP leaders demand judicial probe into farmer Kanhaiya Sinhas suicide





Staff Reporter

RAIPUR,

The Bharatiya Janata Partys investigation team has demanded a judicial inquiry into the suicide of farmer Kanhaiya Sinha in Chhuiha village, Mahasamund district. The team, led by MP Chunnilal Sahu, along with BJP State Spokesperson Sandeep Sharma, BJP Kisan Morcha State President Pawan Sahu, and Mahasamund District BJP President Roopkumari Chowdhary, addressed a press conference at the BJP office in the capital. After investigating the incident, the team blamed Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel for the farmers suicide, alleging that his wrong policies were responsible for the tragedy. They demanded a compensation of Rs. 50 lakhs for the deceased farmers family and a job for one of the family members. The investigation team, accompanied by various party officials, visited the village to pay their respects to the deceased and console the grieving family.

The deceased farmers family revealed that their financial situation was dire due to crop losses caused by low-voltage issues and crop diseases. They had accumulated significant debt over the past few years, and the farmer had taken a loan of Rs. 7-8 lakhs from banks and moneylenders after the Congress government came to power. The BJP spokesperson criticized the State Governments claims of providing benefits to farmers, stating that the government was covering up the matter and spreading false information. They questioned the governments inability to address the farmers issues of electricity problems, spurious fertilizers, and negligence in crop insurance. The investigation team member highlighted that the farmer had suffered losses due to lowvoltage and crop failure from brown moth, and yet, he did not receive any benefits from crop insurance.

They accused the government of neglecting the farmers and demanded accountability for the increasing number of farmer suicides in the state. The spokesperson also pointed out the lack of employment opportunities and unemployment allowances for the deceased farmers family members despite government promises. They criticized the Chief Minister for providing higher compensation to farmers in other states while neglecting the farmers in Chhattisgarh. BJP MP Chunnilal Sahu accused the state government of mismanaging the implementation of the central governments crop insurance scheme, which deprived farmers of its benefits and contributed to their suffering. The BJP investigation team demanded a thorough inquiry into the farmers suicide, compensation for the family, and better support for the farmers in the state. They held the state government accountable for the distressing situation of farmers and emphasized the need for practical measures to address their grievances.
COD Jabalpur: Fortifying National Security through modernisation and vigilance





By Ashish Rajput

Central Ordnance Depot (COD) Jabalpur stands as a bastion of national security, fulfilling its responsibility to provide critical armament to the armed forces. Through extensive modernisation, adoption of best logistic practices and advanced security measures, the depot ensures a robust and efficient supply chain. The integration of surveillance systems, vigilance against anti-national elements and regular security drills further strengthen its defensive capabilities. Moreover, by prioritising cyber security, COD Jabalpur reinforces its commitment to safeguarding not only physical assets but also valuable digital resources. Together, these efforts make COD Jabalpur an exemplar of dedication and preparedness in protecting the nations interests. Situated in the strategic location of Jabalpur, the depot plays a vital role in ensuring the nations security.

Being an essential military installation, primary responsibility of COD Jabalpur is to supply critical armaments including artillery and small arms to the armed forces. Artillery and small arms are essential for maintaining the defence capabilities of the military. The depot acts as a crucial link in the supply chain, ensuring that the armed forces are well-equipped to safeguard the nation's borders and interests. Recogni-sing the importance of streamlined operations and efficiency, COD Jabalpur has embraced modernisation and automation. The implementation of advanced logistic practices has improved inventory management, reduced turnaround time and enhanced overall productivity. One notable aspect of this modernization is the adoption of vertical shutters in the sheds, enabling better organisation and accessibility to armaments. Under-standing the significance of perimeter security, COD Jabalpur has invested in an integrated surveillance system. This system employs state-of-the-art technology to monitor the depot's boundaries and deter potential threats. With 24/7 surveillance, the personnel at the depot can swiftly respond to any suspicious activities, ensuring the safety of critical assets.

As the city of Jabalpur has developed around the Depot, the region has witnessed a surge in population. This growth also brings the risk of anti-national elements seeking to exploit the situation. COD Jabalpur has taken a proactive approach to address this threat by utilising modern equipment and technology. The deployment of advanced security measures helps counter potential risks and safeguarding both the depot and the surrounding areas. To maintain a high level of alertness and preparedness, COD Jabalpur conducts regular security drills for its Quick Reaction Teams (QRT) and fire-fighting teams. These drills simulate various emergency scenarios, ensuring that the personnel are well-trained to handle any adverse situations effectively. Such preparedness drills help minimise the possibility of security lapses and enable a rapid and coordinated response if an actual threat arises. In the digital age, cyber security has become a critical aspect of overall defence. COD Jabalpur acknowledges this and has taken proactive measures to safeguard its digital infrastructure. Regular lectures and surprise checks on cyber security practices help educate personnel and reinforce the importance of adhering to best cyber security practices, protecting sensitive information from potential cyber threats.
Congress Kisan Karz Maafi promise cannot be fulfilled: Jayant Malaiya





Staff Reporter

Head of BJP Manifesto Committee Jayant Malaiya said that it will not be possible for Congress to fulfill its promise to waive off loans of farmers in the State if the party comes to power. Before 2018 Assembly elections, the Congress promised about loan waiver to farmers and I was then the Finance Minister. The position of the government was not such that farmers loans could be waived off, he added. In a discussion with the media at his residence in Bhopal, on upcoming 2023 elections, Malaiya said, Looking after the track record of the Congress there is no question of Congress giving any tough fight to the ruling BJP in this election. Last time they (Congress) had said that we will waive off loans up to Rs 2 lakh in 10 days but never fulfilled their promise. Hinting at looming economic crisis he said, I was the Finance Minister at that time (before 2018 elections) and knew that the condition of the Government is not such that loan up to Rs two lakh can be waived off. Borrowing capacity of the State Government and the ratio of GSDP cannot take a loan.

In Madhya Pradesh, the situation was very different compared to other states as farmers were already getting interest-free loans and a subsidy of 10% on the principal amount. Talking about farm distress he said there has been administrative delays and in some instances payments reached very late to them. This led to resentment in most cases, he said. The ex-finance minister said, History of the Bharatiya Janata Party has always been to work for the youth, women, farmers, exploited, deprived and oppressed sections in the manifestos. I think that this time all of us will sit and work further in this direction. We will discuss with the people of the party regarding meeting of manifesto committee on how the State and the people of the State can be taken forward. On this statement of Malaiya, President of Congress Media Department K K Mishra said, You talk about borrowing capacity. Chief Minister Chouhan is crossing this limit and pressing the State under the burden of debt through false declarations. How they will repay the loan? As far as loan waiver is concerned, Kamal Nath had waived off Rs 11,000 crore loan of 27 lakh farmers in first installment.
Manipur violence is a national security issue, say INDIA MPs





Oppositions INDIA alliance MPs meet with Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey at Raj Bhawan in Imphal on Sunday. (PTI)

IMPHAL :

THE 21-member parliamentary delegation of the Oppositions Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Sunday termed the Manipur ethnic violence as national security issue, saying the silence of the Prime Minister shows his brazen indifference towards the violence in Manipur. The parliamentary delegation of INDIA is on a two-day visit to Manipur who arrived in the State on Saturday.

They visited relief camps in Churachandpur, Bishnupur and Imphal West districts and interacted with the affected people on the first day. On Sunday, the delegation met Governor Anusuiya Uikey and also submitted a memorandum. Governor welcomed the team and appealed to extend their fullest cooperation to restore peace and tranquility through a peaceful dialogue with the representatives of CSOs of both the communities to maintain status quo ante of aged old tradition of peaceful co-existence, Raj Bhawan said in a tweet. After meeting the Governor, Congress Lok Sabha group leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, the Governor herself expressed pain and grief. During this two-day visit, whatever we witnessed, whatever experience we gained, she agreed to what we said. She also suggested that together we should hold talks with the leaders of all communities and find a solution.

The Governor also suggested that both the Opposition and ruling parties should together send an all-party delegation to Manipur and talk to leaders of all communities which is essential to resolve the sense of distrust among the people, Chowdhury said. He also termed the Manipur crisis as a national security issue. In the memorandum to Governor, the MPs said: We are, indeed, very shocked and sad to hear the stories of anxieties, uncertainties, pains and sorrows of the individuals affected by the unprecedented violence unleashed by both sides since the beginning of the clashes. There is anger and a sense of alienation amongst all communities, which has to be addressed without delay. Saying that the Central and State Governments failed to protect the lives and properties of the people of the two communities, the memorandum pointed out that more than 140 deaths and over 500 people have been injured while more than 5000 houses have been burnt and over 60,000 people of both Meitei and Kuki communities have been displaced. INDIA MPs said that from the reports of incessant firing and arson of houses in the last few days, it is established beyond doubt that the state machineries have completely failed to control the situation for the last almost three months. The memorandum, signed by 21 MPs said that the condition in the relief camps is pathetic to say the least.
MP gears up for elections, politics heats up as top leaders visit State





Bhopal,

political environment in Madhya Pradesh is set to heat up in coming days as the State is gearing up for the Assembly elections to be held later this year and main contenders BJP and Congress are in no mood to leave any stone unturned in their efforts to win the polls. While the BJPs Central leadership has appointed three union ministers as State election in-charges, partys key strategist and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has intensified his visits to the poll-bound state. Shah has visited the State capital Bhopal thrice in last 20 days and held several rounds of high-level meetings at party headquarters. State Home Minister Narottam Mishra, who is the Minister In-charge of Indore, along with National General Secretary and local leader Kailash Vijayvargiya is setting the stage for Shah to charge up the party cadres in Malwa-Nimar region of the State.

Shah was also supposed to visit Bhopal on Sunday, however the programme was later postponed, party sources told IANS. On the other hand, the Congress is also organising several programmes in Indore. On Sunday, former Chief Minister and partys State Unit chief Kamal Nath addressed a Adivasi Yuva Mahapanchayat. Former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union president and Congress in-charge of NSUI Kanhaiya Kumar also shared stage with Kamal Nath. Reacting to Congress Indore event, fire-brand BJP leader Narottam Mishra said, Kamal Nath will be sharing stage with those who supported tukde tukde gang in JNU and shouted slogans to divide the country. Meanwhile, Congress Spokesperson Abbas Hafeez said that he has written a letter to BJP President J P Nadda, and urged him to curtail frequency of Shahs visit to Bhopal as the Union Home Ministers visit leave the city shut for hours and triggers traffic snarls. Several parts of Bhopal city gets shut due to heavy security for the Home Minister, which the security agencies obviously have to do, but the public has to suffer due to this. Other Union Ministers also visit Bhopal regularly but disruption is not that much, he claimed.
MPSBC holds meet to discuss drive against fake lawyers





Staff Reporter

An important meeting of Administrative Committee of Madhya Pradesh State Bar Council (MPSBC) was organised to discuss strategy for giving impetus to on-going drive against fake advocates in various courts of Madhya Pradesh.

During the meeting, senior office-bearers of the Committee including Radhelal Gupta, R K Singh Saini, Jagannath Tripathi, Rajesh Pandey and Jitendra Sharma said the Supreme Court has ordered strict action against fake lawyers and directed the Bar Council of India to take necessary steps in the matter. Accordingly, the MPSBC has also directed for investigation into all the documents of the lawyers. They said as per the information received, Bar Council of India has taken strict action against fake lawyers and those who have not renewed their licenses. Many lawyers who were practicing law were found to be fake after an investigation. The Supreme Court has directed the Bar Council of India to take strict action and has issued guidelines for such cases.

R K Singh Saini, Vice Chairman of the MPSBC and President of District Bar Association said fake lawyers are being caught and after receiving complaints, the educational documents of two lawyers were investigated at Dibrugarh University in Assam and Bhopal. It was found that the documents submitted at the time of registration in the Madhya Pradesh State Bar Council were fake, so notices have been issued to these lawyers to explain why action should not be taken against them. Saini further said that according to the Bar Council of Indias guidelines, the educational documents of all lawyers are being investigated and action will be taken against those found to be fake.
Operation Blue Star, Assassination of Indira Gandhi, Anti-Sikh Riots





By Kartik Lokhande :

The Khalistan Files -- IV

As the Khalistani extremism grew, it left the Government of the day in a fix. It had to take some decision. However, the decision of sending in the Army in the holy precincts of the Golden Temple Complex, inflicted a deep scar on the psyche of the Sikhs. Though the operation resulted in elimination of Khalistani terrorists occupying the holy precincts, it triggered a chain of events that disturbed the peace of the country. There are records mentioning how Rajiv Gandhi and two of his close associates held a number of secret meetings with Akali Dal leaders in New Delhi to convince them to see reason and persuade Khalistani elements to vacate the Golden Temple peacefully. But, the talks failed. Indira Gandhi tried to avoid sending the Indian Army into the Golden Temple Complex, but the situation did not improve. Finally, in June 1984, India witnessed one of the bloodiest chapters in history since independence. The Army launched Operation Blue Star to flush out Khalistani terrorists.





It led to heavy damage to the holy precincts, left Bhindranwale and others dead, many civilians and forces personnel also lost their life, and left Sikh community hurt. The sad chapter fuelled anger among Sikhs and more violence started in Punjab. That was an era of turmoil for Punjab. The unfortunate turn of events led to two of her Sikh security guards assassinating Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. It just worsened the situation and what followed was anti-Sikh riots, deteriorating the situation further. Years later, Dr Manmohan Singh, as Prime Minister, apologised in Parliament on behalf of the nation for the wrong done to the Sikhs during the 1984 riots in Delhi. But, the ghost of its leaders involvement in anti-Sikh riots is still haunting the Congress party. As per some accounts, the day Indira Gandhi was assassinated, some of the Khalistanis in the UK headed by Dr Jagjit Singh Chauhan gathered outside the Indian High Commission in London.

They sang, danced, drank and distributed champagne to the passersby. All this disgusted a large section of the British including Margaret Thatcher, the then British Prime Minister. This resulted in temporary phase of co-operation from the British agencies to the Indian counterparts regarding the activities of Khalistanis. The assassination of Indira Gandhi led to tapering off of the US interest in Khalistan operation. After assassination of Indira Gandhi, her son Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister. After a landslide victory in following elections, he reached out to Akali Dal leaders, who were in a grind due to raw feelings in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star, anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, and rise of Khalistani terrorism. Sant Harchand Singh Longowal of Akali Dal visited Delhi and sought a solution within the framework of the Indian Constitution. After intensive talks, finally the Punjab Accord was signed on July 25, 1985. Various issues were addressed to allay Sikh grievances.

Though this brought some relief, the spate of violence continued till 1993. Sant Longowal was assassinated apart from some Congress leaders and even journalists. General Arun Vaidya, former Army Chief during whose tenure Operation Blue Star was undertaken, too was assassinated. Years later, while reflecting upon Operation Blue Star, former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh told his daughter, I felt sad as a Sikh that the Golden Temple had to witness these events. But I thought that these people had forced the situation. I think no country can turn a blind eye to secessionist activities. (Page-308, Strictly Personal: Manmohan & Gursharan, by author Daman Singh). Pakistan, as expected, continued with its operation and rather came up with a new operation codenamed Operation K-K (Khalistan-Kashmir) under which the ISI advised Khalistanis to float NGOs in West Europe to provoke Sikh diaspora there. Khalistanis were brought into contact with fundamentalist organisations like Jamaat-E-Islami of Pakistan, and were asked to co-operate with separatist elements in Jammu and Kashmir.

In 1988, Benazir Bhutto got elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan. She asked Lt Gen Hamid Gul, the then chief of ISI, to stop using Sikh card and hand over to India all Khalistani leaders living in Pakistan. As per the book of B Raman, Lt Gen Gul had replied to her that keeping Indian Punjab destabilised was equivalent to the Pakistan Army having two extra divisions at no cost. Nawaz Sharif, who later became Prime Minister of Pakistan, also reportedly fomented tensions in India by keeping Khalistan support operations alive. (To be continued)
Suraj Lolge, 3 others booked for assaulting builder





Staff Reporter

Sadar Police have registered a case against four persons, including history-sheeter Suraj Lolge, for their involvement in a case related to land matters and illegal recovery, as well as allegations of threatening and assaulting a builder. According to police, the complaint was filed by Amit Marotisinh Bilgaye (33), a builder and land developer from Shriram Nagar, New Subhedar Layout. The accused, besides Suraj alias Suryakant Lolge, a resident of Pande Lay-out, have been identified as Rupesh Vyas from Ambedkar Chowk, and Janardhan alias Guddu Maurya, along with a waiter from a restaurant 7/12.

According to the police, Amit Bilgaye and his partner had entered into a deal with Rupesh Vyas and Guddu Maurya to purchase 53,000 square feet of land in Mouza Wathoda. As per the agreement, an amount of Rs 47 lakh was handed over to Vyas and Maurya for the land purchase. Additionally, Suraj Lolge was entrusted with the task of completing all the required paperwork for the land clearance within two months, for which he was given Rs 72 lakh. However, despite the passage of one year, Suraj Lolge failed to complete the paperwork. On July 27, Amit Bilgaye met with Suraj at 7/12 restaurant in Buty Compound, Sadar, to discuss the pending work.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, met with Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan, as part of an official visit to Turkiye, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan told Trend.

According to the ministry, after the one-on-one meeting, the meeting between the ministers continued in an expanded format with the participation of delegations from both sides.

The expanded meeting discussed topical issues on the agenda of bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkiye, as well as the current situation in the region.

Moreover, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, noting the dynamics of the development of relations with brotherly Turkiye in various fields, including political, economic, trade, military, defense industry, energy security, investment, humanities, education, culture, stressed that the alliances between the two countries are based on friendship, brotherhood, mutual support and solidarity, play an important role in maintaining stability in the region.

In addition, it was noted that mutual contacts between the leaders of the two countries are important in development of fraternal relations between Azerbaijan and Turkiye, which are based on the motto "one nation, two states" inherited from the great leader of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev.

Stressing that the Shusha Declaration "On allied relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkiye", which has been signed two years ago, marked the beginning of a new stage in the history of the development of relations between the two countries, Jeyhun Bayramov noted that practical steps will be taken to expand ties between the two countries in the future.

The minister spoke in detail about the current situation in the region in the post-conflict period, large-scale reconstruction and construction work carried out in the territories liberated from occupation, activities to sign a peace treaty with Armenia, as well as the delimitation of borders and the opening of regional partnerships, provocations of Armenia that pose a threat to the promotion of the peace agenda.

In addition, the minister noted that despite the destructive position and steps of Armenia, Azerbaijan is determined to promote the peace agenda. In particular, Jeyhun Bayramov, speaking about the importance of the work done to open all communications in the region, expressed confidence that the restoration of communications will further strengthen cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkiye.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan noted that he would spare no effort to further develop the existing relations between the two countries, which have a common history, culture and values. The constant support of the two countries for each other in the most difficult times testifies that this brotherhood has been confirmed not only in words, but also in deeds.

Furthermore, during the meeting, the ministers discussed the large-scale reconstruction and construction work carried out by Azerbaijan in the region, as well as work to promote the peace agenda, which are of great importance for establishing sustainable peace in the region.

Moreover, the ministers also stressed the importance of further expanding joint activities within the framework of trilateral and quadrilateral formats with international organizations, in particular with the Organization of Turkic States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Central Asian countries, as well as other multilateral initiatives.

The sides also exchanged views on other bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest.

Moreover, at a press conference, the ministers made statements following the meeting and answered journalists' questions.

In addition, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov in Turkiye as part of the minister's visit to country.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. Efforts to increase trade between Turkey and Azerbaijan to the target $15 billion should continue, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, Trend reports.

The president made the remark at a meeting in Ankara with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, who is on a visit to Turkey.

Erdogan noted that joint actions in the energy and transport sectors, broad cooperation are in the interests of both countries.

Speaking about the importance of the Trans-Caspian route and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, he stressed the importance of their more efficient use.

At the meeting, during which the process of normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations was also discussed, Erdogan noted the importance in this context of the early opening of the Zangezur corridor and the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement [between Armenia and Azerbaijan].
Press Release

July 31, 2023 Statement on the passing of Dr. James Dy, President of Philippine Chinese Charitable Association, Inc. and the Chinese General Hospital & Medical Center I and my wife Kat Yu-Pimentel are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Dr. James Dy, a prominent doctor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and humanitarian worker. Our family had the privilege of knowing him. To us and to the many lives he had touched and helped, he was a truly great man. He exemplified the essence of a true doctor who valued life above all else. I will forever be grateful to him for the care he provided when my daughter Helena was born during the challenging times of Covid-19, when hospitals were overwhelmed. Dr. Dy made significant contributions to society through his various roles, such as serving as the Philippine Red Cross governor and national treasurer. He was a humanitarian at heart, dedicating countless hours to conduct medical missions in impoverished communities throughout the country. Even in his old age, Dr. Dy did not retire from his humanitarian endeavors. He remained actively involved in various organizations as the president of the Philippine Chinese Charitable Association, Inc. and the Chinese General Hospital & Medical Center. Through these roles, he continued to make a positive impact on the lives of many people in need. Dr. Dy's commitment to ensuring the highest quality of healthcare professionals led him to establish the Chinese General Hospital's renowned College of Nursing and Medicine, leaving behind a lasting legacy. The passing of Dr. James Dy is an immense loss to our nation. His dedication to medicine, his philanthropic efforts, and his selfless humanitarian work have left an indelible mark on countless lives. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones during this difficult time of mourning.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. The total value of Turkiye's exports of auto industry products to Tajikistan increased by 17 percent (up to $6.1 million) from January through June 2023 on annual basis, Trend reports.

According to Turkiye's Ministry of Trade, the country exported auto products worth $1.3 million (up by 9.1 percent) to Tajikistan in June 2023 compared to the same month in 2022.

In June this year, Turkiye exported $3 million worth of auto industry products to foreign markets, up 8.7 percent from June last year.

In general, Turkiye exported auto industry products worth $33.1 billion abroad from June 2022 through June 2023.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. It is planned to invest about 30 million manat ($17.6 million) in the Pirallahi Industrial Park, which is under the management of the Agency for the Development of Economic Zones under the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan, Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Mikayil Jabbarov tweeted, Trend reports.

The minister noted that it is also planned to create more than 250 jobs under existing projects.

The activity of the Pirallahi Industrial Park contributes significantly to the development of the pharmaceutical industry, ensuring the availability of medicines to the population, and fostering employment opportunities. Currently, six business entities have been granted residency in the Industrial Park, with a combined investment volume of over 66 million manat ($38.8 million). Among these, two entities have already commenced production activities, the minister said.

An impressive investment of over 36 million manat ($21.1 million) has been made, resulting in the creation of more than 130 permanent jobs and the production of goods worth 37 million manat ($21.7 million). The next phase of existing projects is set to involve an additional investment of about 30 million manat ($17.6 million), with the aim of generating over 250 new job opportunities, he added.

The Pirallahi Industrial Park was established by the decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on September 14, 2016.
Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW  Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,791 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 206 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLCs holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $9,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ITW. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 9,666 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,070 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,899,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 54.7% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,859 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 2,407 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 70.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 746 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.37% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $235.00 to $240.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $183.00 to $181.00 and set a sell rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. 3M reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of Illinois Tool Works in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Illinois Tool Works from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $234.92.

Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.8 %

ITW traded up $2.09 on Monday, hitting $262.10. 164,491 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,072,483. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $242.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.20. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.27 and a 12 month high of $262.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.65 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $0.10. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 92.13% and a net margin of 19.27%. The business had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.11 EPS. Illinois Tool Workss revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 9.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Illinois Tool Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 30th were given a $1.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 29th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Illinois Tool Workss dividend payout ratio is currently 52.40%.

Insider Transactions at Illinois Tool Works

In other news, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 5,425 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.23, for a total value of $1,297,822.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,121,970.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the companys stock.

Illinois Tool Works Company Profile

(Free Report)

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment worldwide. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products. The Automotive OEM segment offers plastic and metal components, fasteners, and assemblies for automobiles, light trucks, and other industrial uses.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. Azerbaijan has established procedures for banknote reproduction, Trend reports.

This is reflected in the decree "On the application of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated July 6, 2023, on amendments to the Law "On the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan", signed by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev today.

According to the decree, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) is advised to adopt the procedure for banknote reproduction within six months and to notify President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

At the same time, it is proposed that the CBA adopt the procedure for performing payment transactions by payment service providers and settlements between them, as well as payment instrument requirements, within six months and notify the president of this.
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. Iran's non-oil exports to Kyrgyzstan increased by 83.3 percent in value and 21.1 percent in volume, during the first three months of the current Iranian year (March 21 through June 21, 2023), compared to the same period last year, Trend reports.

According to the report of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), Iran exported nearly 11,700 tons of non-oil products worth approximately $13.4 million to Kyrgyzstan in 3 months.

Whereas, Iran's export of non-oil products to Kyrgyzstan stood at 9,630 tons worth $7.28 million in the same period of the last Iranian year.

Iran mainly exported petrochemical products, agricultural and industrial products, etc. to Kyrgyzstan over three months.

In the 3rd month of the current Iranian year alone (May 22 through June 21, 2023), Iran exported about 3,570 tons of non-oil products worth approximately $4.9 million to Kyrgyzstan.

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
Foul weather hampers search for missing surf victim

PHUKET: Rescue teams searching for a Thai man who disappeared amid strong waves at Surin Beach yesterday (July 30) are finding their search efforts hampered by strong wind waves, some reaching over three metres tall.

weatherSafetytourism

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Monday 31 July 2023 02:34 PM

Cherng Talay Police were notified yesterday that a Thai man had disappeared amid large waves at Surin Beach.

The missing man was later identified as Thawat Sriracha, 44, registered as living in Phitsanulok. Mr Thawat had arrived in Phuket on Saturday (July 29). He came to the island to start a new job.

A search for Mr Thawat was launched immediately, with lifeguards, rescue workers and officials from Cherng Talay Tambon Administrative Organisation (OrBorTor) taking part.

Thalang District Chief Bancha Thanu-in arrived to coordinate the search effort.

However, the search for Mr Thawat yesterday proved unsuccessful, despite a search of the waters offshore by jet-ski, which were called off for safety due to strong winds and waves.

Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers were called in, but they too had to suspend their search efforts due to rain and strong winds.

The search, continued today, so far has also proved unsuccessful.

A speedboat has joined the jet-skis in their search for Mr Thawat, but heavy downpours and waves reaching up to three metres tall have forced water-borne efforts to be suspended.

A search of the coastline nearby has also failed to find Mr Thawat.
MFP calm amid rejig buzz

BANGKOK: The Move Forward Party (MFP) has dismissed speculation it will be excluded from a new government led by the Pheu Thai Party, insisting that unity among the eight prospective coalition parties remains intact.

politics

By Bangkok Post

Monday 31 July 2023 10:51 AM

Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, centre, convenes MFP MPs at the parliament on July 18. Photo: Chanat Katanyu

According to sources, the latest possible configuration of a new government has emerged, still comprising the original coalition allies but with the Bhumjaithai and Chartthaipattana parties also invited to join. The Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) and the United Thai Nation Party (UTN) would remain excluded, reports the Bangkok Post.

In this scenario, Srettha Thavisin, a PM candidate of Pheu Thai, would be nominated for the upcoming vote in parliament on Friday (Aug 4).

With the support of 71 MPs from Bhumjaithai and 10 from Chartthaipattana as well as the 312 MPs from the original eight-party bloc, Mr Srettha would get 393 votes which would be more than enough to see him become the next prime minister.

Under the constitution, a PM candidate needs the support of at least half of the 750 members of both the lower and upper chambers of parliament, or 376 votes in total.

However, observers believe that if Bhumjaithai, which is at odds with the MFP, joined the coalition, the MFP would decide to break away from the bloc and become the opposition but would still vote for the PM candidate from Pheu Thai.

The MFP has previously filed complaints against cabinet ministers from Bhumjaithai, accusing them in a no-confidence debate of corruption, while Bhumjaithai has made it clear it will not join a government if the MFP is part of it, citing the MFPs bid to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code, or the lese majeste law.

However, if the MFP pulls out of the coalition, Pheu Thai may again invite the PPRP, as well as the Democrat Party and the UTN to join the coalition, according to observers.

That said, Rangsiman Rome, MFP list MP and spokesman, downplayed a report that Pheu Thai would let Bhumjaithai take charge of forming a government without the MFP but with the UTN and PPRP asked to take part.

Mr Rangsiman said Bhumjaithai did not win the most seats in parliament and lacked the legitimacy to form a government.

If Bhumjathai can form a government, this will deviate from normal circumstances... If we discussed politics on the basis of the peoples wishes, Bhumjaithai would not have a chance [of forming a government], he said.

Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, an MFP list MP, also posted on Facebook that he did not believe a rumour that Pheu Thai would boot the MFP out of the coalition, saying it was meant to undermine the trust and unity among the eight parties.

I dont believe that Pheu Thai would force the MFP into the opposition bloc along with the UTN and the PPRP, and forge an alliance with Bhumjaithai, the Democrats, Prachachart, Chartthaipattana and other parties to form a government with a combined 262 members of parliament just to get support from the senators.

Meanwhile, Pheu Thai secretary-general Prasert Chantararuangthong said yesterday the coalition allies will discuss their stance ahead of the PM vote on Friday.

Wisut Chai-narun, a Pheu Thai MP for Phayao, said Mr Srettha is expected to be nominated for the vote and likely to get enough support to become prime minister.

Parliament president Wan Muhamad Noor Matha previously said parliament would convene on Aug 4, but whether the new vote for a prime minister takes place that day will depend on a decision by the Constitutional Court the day before.

The court will announce if it is to accept a petition regarding the rejected renomination of MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister. If accepted, the vote will not occur until the courts ruling, Mr Wan said.
Room for optimism in Phukets medical tourism industry

PHUKET: Bumrungrad International Hospital (BIH) is spending B4.3 billion on a 150-bed boutique hospital in Mai Khao in anticipation of Phukets much-expected success in its developing medical tourism sector.

tourismeconomics

By The Phuket News

Monday 31 July 2023 10:18 AM

The 16.3-rai site has already been acquired opposite Blue Canyon Country Club in Phuket, and is located just three kilometers from the Phuket International Airport, David Boucher, BIHs Chief Partnerships Officer, told the large gathering of about 80 attendees at the British Chamber of Commerce Thailand (BCCT) Multi-Chamber Phuket Evening on Medical Tourism held at the Courtyard by Marriott Phuket Town earlier this month.

The first phase of the Bumrungrad campus in Phuket will include the 150-bed boutique hospital and an advanced diagnostic and anti-ageing center.

Once complete, services offered at the new Phuket facilities will include VitalLife Wellness and Anti-Aging, Family & Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Orthopedic & Spine Surgery, Cosmetic Surgery, Gender Affirmation and Urology, among others.

Its not a secret Its incredibly bullish. I can feel the optimism just by driving around the island, Mr Boucher said during his presentation, Medical Value Travel.

Bumrungrad has had demand for a clinical presence in Phuket for many years. Phuket is an ideal market to supplement Thailands worldwide leading destination for medical travelers, he later told The Phuket News.

There is an increasing demand worldwide for travelers to seek care abroad. Multiple drivers are fueling this growth, including the search for safe, quality care, excellent service and financial savings, he added.

Phuket offers a compelling healthcare opportunity, with 425,000 permanent residents, 5.4 million visitors in pre-COVID 2019, about 1,800 hotels, excellent restaurants, hundreds of tour guides and countless vistas and adventures to discover, he added.

Regarding the resident population on the island, Mr Boucher notes, This is important because like with Bumrungrad in Bangkok, our first and most immediate focus is with local Thai and expat patients.

Secondly, Phuket received approximately 5.4 million visitors in pre-COVID 2019 and almost half of the worlds population can reach Phuket within a six-hour flight.

Mr Boucher himself was on his sixth visit to Phuket, and expects to move to Phuket within the coming months.

In post-COVID world, a lot more people are crossing borders for elective procedures and for medications, Mr Boucher explained.

Many people were exploring options outside their home countries due to the volume of procedures delayed by the pandemic, causing huge backlogs.

The UK National Health Service (NHS) waiting list is a huge backlog of about 10.4 million procedures. In the US alone the number of procedures for cataracts that are waiting to be performed is about 26 million.

In Ontario, there is a backlog of about 1 million elective surgeries, and thats just that one province in Canada, Mr Boucher said.

There are a number of countries around the world that have been working aggressively over the last seven to 10 years to improve their in-country care, such as Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE Outside of the US, UAE has more Drake-commission accredited hospitals (Drake & Scull International) than any other country on the planet, he noted.

However, Mr Boucher said Phuket was well placed to benefit from the expected surge in the medical tourism industry.

Phuket, with an estimated 1,800 hotels, could accommodate its share of what is globally expected to be a huge volume of medical tourists, he noted.

And there are 39 airlines operating direct flights to Phuket. Do you have any idea how many other destinations would kill for this? That is a huge number, he pointed out.

Mr Boucher explained that the initial construction underway at Mai Khao is for just Phase I of the boutique hospital. We are planning to build another 100 beds in a separate, but connected, building. We are working with architects [on this] now, Mr Boucher said.

In terms of a boutique hospital, the key competitive factor will not just be the range of specialist services provided, but over the top quality of service, he noted

We pride ourselves in quality of service, he said. BIH has been recognised as the best hospital in Thailand for three consecutive years by Newsweek, and is the only Thai hospital on Newsweek list of Worlds Best Hospitals 2023

NUMBERS

The number of visitors coming to Phuket continues to rise, explained Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, Advisor to Phuket Chamber of Commerce, during his Phuket Business Outlook presentation.

This year from Jan 1 to June 30 we had about 1.8 million international visitors arriving by direct flights into the country. But how many [of those] come to Phuket? he posed.

Before COVID it was about 30%, but now about half of the total number [of international tourists] arriving come to Phuket, he said, using figures from the TravelLink tourism data portal, which uses not only government figures but also direct input from tourism businesses.

We expect about 8mn tourists this year, which is pretty much already a very good recovery, Mr Bhummikitti said.

If we look at Russia, compared with the first six months of 2019, we are at 105% already. Other source markets were actually lower [than in 2019 H1], namely from India and China. We expect more Chinese later as problems are resolved, such as with the issuing of e-visas and the Thai consulate in China not working very well. and people needing to renew their passports because they expired during COVID, is still affecting the number [of arrivals from China, he added.

HOLISTIC APPROACH

Among the other speakers at the event was Sukhchaensingh Sam Sethi, Vice Chairman of the

Phuket Chamber of Commerce, who highlighted the launch of the Phuket Privilege Card.

Through the Phuket Privilege Card project, the chamber will provide services to facilitate investment into the province.

The PPC will be launched sometime in August, Mr Sethi said.

Manatase Annawat, President of Thailand Privilege Card, was also present to explain the strategy his organisation is employing in providing services to cardholders through his Long-term Residency, Privileges and Lifestyle presentation.

A key element of Mr Manatases presentation was that Thailand Privilege Card was currently looking for partners to join the scheme to provide medical tourism-related services to members.

Closing the event was David Arell, Chief Operating Officer of Development Management Group (DMG), who explained how true Smart buildings had the potential to greatly improve business operations through much more than just connectivity, but also through design.
During the call with Mike King, Bryce explained that we approached various book companies to help us distribute the book, but we were turned down for a number of reasons. Luckily, this ended up working out in our favour, as it meant more money raised went directly to I Am Hope.
On the concept of Meitei patriotism : A perspective

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Dr Mangsatabam Jitendra Singh

Contd from previous issue

The small wall could not be common to two families. It is of little account to seek the cause which determined several neighbouring tribes to unite. Sometimes it was voluntary; sometimes it was imposed by the superior force of a tribe. What is certain is that the bond of the new association was still a religion. The tribes that united to form a country or state never failed to light a sacred fire in every house and to adopt a common religion.

The country was a confederation. Hence it is obliged till today to respect religious independence of the tribes and families.In our opinion, it is the traditional religion that constituted the Meitei family, consecrated the right of property. The same religion, after having enlarged and extended the family, formed a still larger association in the state or country, and reigned in that as it has reigned in the family. From it came all the institutions of the Meiteis. A result of this, religious rule was that a community of property was never established among the Meiteis.

We know that there are races who have never succeeded in establishing among themselves the right of property in the soil and in forming a country or state of their own while the Meiteis among others have reached this stage only after long and painful experience. The Tartars have an idea of the right of property in a case of flocks or herds, but they cannot understand it when it is a question of land. Among the ancient Germans the earth belonged to no one; every year the tribe assigned to each one of its members a lot to cultivate and the lot was changed the following year. The German was proprietor of the harvest, but not of the land. The case is still the same among, broadly speaking, some of the Tibeto-Burman speaking groups of South-East Asia. On the other hand, the Meiteis, from the earliest antiquity, held to the idea of private property in the soil and, thus, could establish a country or state of their own in the present North-East region of India. It appears that, among the Meiteis, the conception of private property was developed exactly contrary to what appears to be natural order. It was not applied to the harvest first and to the soil afterwards but followed the inverse order.

Let us now pass to another object of worship  the tomb. The tomb held a very important place in the religion of the Meiteis in the olden days; for, on one hand, worship was due to the ancestors, and, on the other, the principal ceremony of this worship  the funeral repast  was to be performed on the very spot where the ancestors rested. The family, therefore, had a common tomb, where its members, one after another, must come to sleep. There is a tradition in Manipur as to the disposal of the dead  burial or cremation  that, when a Meitei is killed in a battle or an accident and his body not found, a piece of a tree locally called pangong, which is just like the unique tree, Dragon Blood Tree found in Sakota Islands, because of red resin oozing out as if it is bleeding when one cuts it (tree), is used as a substitute of the dead in the funeral, if the man is not guilty of any criminal offence.The rule, which strictly prescribed that every man should be buried in the tomb of his family, admitted of an exception in the case when the country or state itself granted a public funeral. In the present day, there is an opinion among the modern Meiteis concerning the abode of the dead after the successful imposition of cremation upon the Meitei subject. They pictured to themselves a region where all souls from bodies live together and where rewards and punishments were distributed according to the lives men have led in this world. But the rites of burial manifestly disagree with this belief  a certain proof that, at the epoch this rite was established, men did not believe in Tartarus and the Elysian fields. The earliest opinion of the ancient generations was that man lived in the tomb, that the soul did not leave the body, and that it remained fixed to that portion of the ground where the bones lay buried. The soul that had no tomb had no dwelling-place. From this came the belief in ghosts. All antiquity was persuaded that, without burial, the soul was miserable, and that, by burial, it became forever happy. In those ancient days, the Meiteis believed so firmly that a man lived there that they never failed to bury with him the objects of which they supposed he had need  clothing, arms, etc.

It is a well-known fact that before the introduction of cremation in the first half of the eighteenth century, the dead were buried. An example of the burial of the dead is the use of coffin in the cremation as it is a symbol of burial so that the earth rests lightly upon the dead body; and another is the digging of a ditch in human size beneath the large pile of wood on which the dead body is placed and burned in the cremation for the burial of the ashes, called leitaiba. All this strongly suggests the burial of the dead prior to the eighteenth century.

The dead are gods, who belong to a particular family, which alone has a right to invoke them. These gods have taken possession of the soil; they lived under this mound and no one except one of the family, can think of meddling with them. The family appropriated to itself this soil by placing its dead here; it was established for all time. the soil where the dead rested was inalienable. This shows that the idea of property in the soil was easily extended from the small mound to the field that surrounded this mound.

It may be noted that, whereas the positive religions  Judaism, Christianity and Islam  arose from the teaching of great religious innovators, who spoke as the organs of divine revelation and deliberately departed from the tradition of the past, the traditional religion, the sacred fire of the hearth and ancestor worship grew up under the action of unconscious forces operating silently from age to age that conferred upon every family its right to a portion of the soil. The religion of fire and ancestor worship that exercised its empire on the minds of the Meiteis was also the one that established the right of property to the soil among them. Without this concept of territory, the land of the Meiteis called Kangleipak, now called Manipur, would not have been known or heard of in the history of Manipur.

It is clearly evident that private property was an institution that the religion of fire and the tomb had need of. This religion required that both dwelling and burial places should be separated from each other; living in common was, therefore, impossible. The same religion required that the hearth, phung-ga, should be fixed to the soil. The tomb should neither be destroyed nor displaced. Suppress the right of property under the sacred fire would be without a fixed place. The families would become confounded, and the dead would be abandoned and without worship. By the stationary hearth and the permanent burial place, the family took possession of the soil; the earth was in some sort imbued and penetrated by the religion of the hearth and of ancestors. Without discussion, without labour, with a shadow of hesitation, the Meiteis arrived, at a single step, and merely by virtue of their belief, at the conception of the right of property, this right from which the Meitei civilization springs. To be contd
TAJP expresses deep concern

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IMPHAL, Jul 31: The Tai Ahom Jatiya Parishad (TAJP), a joint form of all Ahom Organisations and prominent personalities of Ahom community, has expressed deep concern over the violence in Manipur.

In a statement, the council's president Raj Kumar Alok Narayan Singh, executive president Dr Dayanand Bargohai and general secretary Amarjyoti Arandhara noted the age-old good historical relationship between Ahom and Manipuris.

The Ahom community has always been with the people of Manipur in times of need, it said while urging all ethnic groups in Manipur to avoid violence and create an atmosphere of peace.
Parl adjourned amid Opposition protest over Manipur

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New Delhi, Jul 31 New Delhi, Jul 31

Parliament in both Houses were adjourned for the day on Monday, July 31, as Oppo-sition parties continued demanding a statement from the Prime Minister over the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur.In all the melee, the Cinematograph Amendment Bill, 2023, was passed in the Lok Sabha to curb film piracy. The bill was already passed in the Rajya Sabha.Lok Sabha todayEarlier, when the lower House met at 11 am, Spea-ker Om Birla announced that a parliamentary delegation from Malawi is visiting India and they are watching the proceedings of the House.As he completed his speech, the Opposition Members were on their feet displaying placards and raising slogans.The Speaker initially ignored their protests and continued the Question Hour, which was the scheduled business.Two questions related to the education and finance Ministries were taken up for discussion amid sloga-neering and protests.As the protests continued, the Speaker appealed to the Opposition Members to go back to their seats and take part in the proceedings. With the Opposition MPs ignoring his pleas, Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House till 2 pm after about 15 minutes of business.Rajya Sabha todayA similar situation prevailed in Rajya Sabha as Opposition parties insisted a discussion over the Manipur issue. The House was adjourned for the day.In the morning, leader of the House Piyush Goyal told the Rajya Sabha that the Government was ready for a discussion on Manipur and urged the Chair to begin it at 2 pm itself.The Chairman told the House that he has rejected all notices received under Rule 267 from the Opposition members as he has already agreed to a short-duration discussion under Rule 176.When the Opposition members insisted on a discussion under Rule 267, Dhankhar said, I have not admitted notices under Rule 267. They have been declined by me.As the uproar continued, the Chairman first adjourned the House till 2.30 pm and then again till 3.30 pm.Earlier in the day, when the Chair asked the Opposition if it was agreeable to a discussion, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge insisted it should only be under Rule 267.We have demanded a discussion under Rule 267. Our members have visited Manipur. Manipur is burning. We want (a discus- sion) under Rule 267., the Congress leader said.As the shouting continued, the chair adjourned the House till noon.When the House reassembled, Dhankhar allowed Kharge to speak, but the ruling party members were on their feet and did not allow him to speak. Though it is the Question Hour, as an extraordinary case, I am allowing the leader of the Opposition (to speak), the Chairman said.With Kharge on his feet, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members created an uproar and did not allow him to speak, forcing the chair to adjourn the House till 2 pm.Rule 267 of the Rajya Sabha rulebook allows for the suspension of the days business to debate on any issue suggested by a member. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar announced that the leader of the House and Opposition leaders would meet him at his chamber at 2:45 pm to resolve the issue. Dhankhar adjourned the House for the fourth time during the day till 3:30 pm amid the continued din created by the Opposition leaders. However, when the House reassembled at 3:30, Opposition parties rebounded with their demands. Chairman Dhankar later adjourned the House for the day. PTI
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. Turkiye ranks fifth in Europe for the volume of renewable energy sources, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said, Trend reports.

According to him, Turkiye is in talks for a major energy agreement with Saudi Arabia.

"A contract worth $29.7 billion has been signed with Gulf countries. Cooperation in the energy sector can also help resolve conflicts in the region," he added.

Bayraktar also emphasized Turkiye's ongoing investments in renewable and nuclear energy.

Besides, according to the minister, one of Turkiye's main goals for 2023-2053 is to promote the use of renewable energy sources.

"We are conducting oil exploration with our own drilling and seismic vessels. We aim to increase natural gas and electricity in Turkiye. The first stage of oil exploration in Gabar and the Black Sea has been completed. Our target for 2024 is daily oil production of 200,000 barrels," he noted.

Bayraktar also said that electricity from the first unit of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is planned to produced next year.

On May 2 this year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the discovery of new oil reserves in Cudi and Gabar areas, Sirnak province, southeastern Turkiye.


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After vacant plots and abandoned old dilapidated structures, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation is now set to put under-construction buildings under scrutiny as a part of the dengue prevention drive. The information was shared by the MMIC of Drainage Department, Tarak Singh who was on a dengue awareness drive yesterday. While conducting the campaign in ward number 118 in Behala, the MMIC came across an under construction building where he spotted a space with stagnant water. The MMIC asked the on-duty security staff to get it cleared.

He is also said to have informed that if the civic body comes across such instances, it would take action against the authorities of the building. The KMC has decided to break the locks of abandoned and old dilapidated structures that have not been maintained or cleaned by their owners since long but pose a threat of dengue. The civic body, after carrying out the necessary cleaning of the premises, would hand over the keys to the local police station and the charges would be added to the property tax bill of the structure.

Notably, taking a firm stance against violators of the dengue prevention drive, the KMC has filed around 85 cases in the municipal court. As informed by the officials of KMC, around 5,000 notices have also been served by the civic body under section 496 of the KMC Act. If the violators do not take any steps to follow the guidelines, in the next step, a case would be filed against them at the municipal court.

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Tempestuous moments were witnessed in the West Bengal Assembly on Monday afternoon as a special motion moved by the ruling Trinamool Congress over the situation in violence-ridden Manipur led to a heated exchange between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari.

As the ruling party moved the special motion for discussion, Adhikari objected, saying that the issue was related to a different state and hence, cannot be taken up for discussion in the West Bengal Assembly.

He also pointed out that since the matter is pending at the Supreme Court, it cannot be discussed in the Assembly and this motion was being brought by the ruling party with a sheer political motive.

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After the Chief Minister described the Manipur situation as a burning issue for the entire country, Adhikari commented that in West Bengal, similar incidents are happening almost every day.

Banerjee immediately termed the observation by the Leader of the Opposition as rubbish.

He also said that since the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, massive political violence unleashed by the ruling party has continued in the state resulting in killing of several people from the opposition camps.

In her reply, the Chief Minister said that the BJP is deliberately sending several central fact-finding teams to West Bengal with the sole intention to malign the image of the state.

Manipur is a burning national issue. So there will be constructive discussion on the matter today. We sent our delegation to Manipur to send the message of peace. West Bengal is the first state where such a motion on the Manipur issue has been moved in the Assembly. I will request the other opposition-ruled states to do the same, she said.

Banerjee also launched a scathing attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not giving any statement on the Manipur issue in the Parliament.

He should give a statement in the Parliament. He has time for foreign visits but has no time to visit Manipur, the Chief Minister said.

Later, the motion was passed on the floor of the house by voice vote.

The BJP legislators then staged a walkout in protest. We demanded a division. But the Speaker ignored us and instead the motion was passed through voice vote, he said.
For over six years now, the beloved character of Dayaben, portrayed by Disha Vakani, has been absent from the screens of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. Back in 2017, Disha, who played the role of Daya Jethalal Gada in the sitcom created by Asit Kumar Modi, took an indefinite maternity leave, and since then, she hasnt graced the show with her presence. But hold on, TMKOC fans, theres some exciting news on the horizon!

As the show celebrates its impressive 15-year journey of entertaining viewers, producer Asit Modi had a grand announcement to make. He revealed that hes all set to bring back everyones favorite, Disha Vakani, fondly known as Dayaben.

The celebrations were brimming with joy, and Asit Modi warmly congratulated the entire team for their 15-year milestone. Among the artists who have left their mark on the show, one name that remains unforgettable is none other than Daya Bhabhi, the talented Disha Vakani.

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With her amazing performances and hilarious acts, she has undoubtedly won hearts and kept the audience in splits throughout the years. To the delight of her fans, the promise was made that Disha Vakani will soon be making her triumphant return to Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah.

Having successfully run for nearly 15 years now, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah has been a show cherished by many. Over the years, it has witnessed several actors, like Disha Vakani, Bhavya Gandhi, Shailesh Lodha, and Neha Mehta, bid farewell to their characters. Most recently, Raj Anadkat, who portrayed Tappu, also made his exit from the beloved sitcom.

Unfortunately, the past few months have seen multiple actors leave the show. Some have pointed out issues like ill-treatment, harassment, and payment disputes as the reasons behind their decisions. Among these departures was Shailesh Lodha, who bid adieu to the show earlier this year.

However, the much-anticipated return of Disha Vakani has ignited hope and excitement among fans. After all these years since her maternity break, the time has finally come for her to grace the screens of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah once more, and her comeback is eagerly awaited by viewers.
YouTuber Elvish Yadavs behaviour has drawn criticism as it appeared that he offended Bigg Boss OTT 2 host Salman Khan, leading to the superstars criticism of him over the weekend. One of the most deserving contenders for the title of the popular programme is Yadav, according to critics. However, as a result of the YouTubers shenanigans, his prospects of winning appear to be getting slimmer with each new episode.

In addition, Salman threatened him that even his fan army on social media would stop watching him if he continued the act in the house. Elvish was spotted sobbing uncontrollably and apologising to the other housemates as the host slammed him.

However, soon after the show aired, Elvishs admirers organised a backlash against Salman and flooded social media with criticism of the celebrity and support for YouTube.

Salman criticised Elvish for his attitude in the house, especially with women, during the Weekend Ka Vaar episode.

A new screenshot that appears to be of a tweet from Canadian gangster Goldy Brar is currently going popular on the internet amid the heated discussion on social media. In the tweet, Brar appears to threaten Salman with retaliation for criticising Elvish on a public stage. Officials have not yet confirmed the tweets veracity, but the widely circulated screenshot has raised a lot of questions online.

It should be noted that Brar has been identified as one of those responsible for the mobster Lawrence Bishnoi-ordered murder of Punjabi musician Sidhu Moosewala. Salman Khan also received a threatening email from Brar in March of this year, in which the individual claimed that Salman will end up like Sidhu Moosewala.
RSVP Movies, a production company founded by Ronnie Screwvala, has recently unveiled the trailer for the highly anticipated film Punjab 95. This compelling movie features the versatile Diljit Dosanjh in the lead role, portraying the celebrated human rights activist, Jaswant Singh Khalra. With the movie poised to shed light on his life, lets delve into the details of Jaswant Singh Kharlas murder suspects involved in this tragic case.

Jaswant Singh Khalra was taken away and transported to Jhabal Police Station on September 6, 1995, while he was washing his car in front of his residence.

Fast forward to October 16, 2007, when a division bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court, presided by Justices Mehtab Singh Gill and A.N. Jindal, sentenced four accused to life imprisonment. These individuals included former sub-inspectors Satnam Singh, Surinder Pal Singh, and Jasbir Singh, along with former head constable Prithipal Singh.

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In the year 1996, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) gathered evidence that Khalra was held at a police station in Tarn Taran. Based on this evidence, the CBI recommended the prosecution of nine Punjab police officials for their involvement in Khalras murder and kidnapping. Surprisingly, the murder suspects were not charged for a whole decade, although one of them, Senior Superintendent of Police Ajit Singh Sandhu, met a tragic end in 1997. His death was staged as a suicide.

However, justice eventually prevailed on November 18, 2005, when six Punjab police officials were convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment for their role in Khalras abduction and murder.

Human Rights Watch, an independent human rights group, reported that an 11 September 1995 writ of habeas corpus from the Supreme Court was presented to Justice Gill. In response, officials denied any involvement of the police in Khalras detention. Special Police Officer Kuldeep Singhs testimony in 2005 added another layer of complexity, suggesting that Kanwar Pal Singh Gill, a prominent police officer, had visited Khalra a few days before his unfortunate demise in October 1995.

As the premiere of Punjab 95 approaches, audiences await the films powerful portrayal of Jaswant Singh Khalras life and the pursuit of justice amid a troubling chapter in Punjabs history. The movies narrative seeks to shed light on the dedication of human rights activists like Khalra and the challenges they faced in their quest for truth and justice.
Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha on Monday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government for introducing the impeding bill replacing the Centres ordinance on control of services in Delhi and termed it undemocratic.

The AAP leader alleged that the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill that is likely to be tabled in Parliament this week is a plot by BJP to destroy the Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been seeking of opposition against the Ordinance. Members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance earlier said they will oppose the Bill in Parliament even as the government has expressed confidence in getting the bill passed.

The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to replace an ordinance brought by the Centre in May which excluded services from the legislative competence of the Delhi legislative assembly. The ordinance was brought days after the Supreme Court order giving power of transfer and posting to the Delhi government.

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The AAP has issued a three-line whip to all its MPs in Rajya Sabha to be present in the House till August 4 in anticipation of the bill.

The government, meanwhile said that it will not be taking up the bill today. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi told reporters before Parliament convened for the day today, We will inform you when it (Delhi Ordinance Bill) will be introduced. It is not mentioned in the List of Businesses today.

He further stated that a no-confidence motion will be brought within ten working days from the day it was tabled in the Lok Sabha. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal also said Bill will not be introduced in Parliament today.

We have been asking for their (Opposition) demand since the first day, they wanted a discussion on Manipur and when we agreed to it, now they changed their demand and want the Prime Minister to speak on this issue. They are trying to politicise this issue. They have brought the no-confidence motion, we will have discussions on the same whenever Speaker decides, Meghwal said.

Meanwhile, AAPs Chadha said that the delegation of Opposition leaders that had gone to Manipur had returned after wiping the tears of people of Manipur.

The I.N.D.I.A. alliance has come after wiping off the tears of the people of Manipur. Today, the MPs of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc have been called for the meeting and they will explain the situation in Manipur. After the meeting, we inform you about our next move in regard to Manipur, he said.

Chadha was speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting of 21 MPs and the Opposition bloc leaders today held to brief members about the Manipur situation. Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge were also present at the meeting.
Internal differences within the ruling partners of Bihars Mahagathbandhan has surfaced over the recent Katihar firing and lathi charge on Bihar school teacher aspirants and spurt in crimes including rape of a minor girl in Begusarai.

The two main partners  Left and the Congress  were more vocal on these issues, but the government hardly took note of it despite a series of their statements in the media. Neither Chief Minister Nitish Kumar nor the concerned minister responded to their queries. The chief minister also holds the portfolio of home ministry.

The CPI-ML has sought judicial probe into the Katihar firing. Although the Katihar district administration denied that the police firing was the cause of the death of two youngsters earlier this week, the duo died during the police firing at Barsoi in the Katihar district when the locals had gathered outside the office of electricity department on July 26,.

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The villagers were protesting against the high power tariff, erratic supply of power and perpetual low voltage issue.

Currently, dozens of districts in Bihar are now facing drought-like situation due to scant rainfall. Thousands of farmers are facing acute power crisis and are unable to irrigate their agricultural fields due to erratic and low-voltage power supply.

In addition, the recent statement of Bihars Power Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav added fuel to the fire by defending the action of state police. If people misbehave, they will be punished, he said.

The leader of CPI-ML legislature party in the state assembly Mehboob Alam, who is MLA from Katihars Barsoi assembly seat, has already demanded the sacking of sub-divisional magistrate. The magistrate was furthering the BJP agenda in the region in order to create disturbances in the area, Alam MLA alleged.

Another CPIML Leader Sudama Prasad, who recently headed a fact-finding team of the party which visited the place of occurrence at Barsoi has demanded a high-level judicial inquiry into the incident of July 26.

The fact-finding team met the family members of the two deceased youths, one of whom did not take part in the demonstration. He had gone there to fetch his elder brother who is undergoing treatment at Siliguri hospital, in neighbouring West Bengal.

The CPIML team, which has 12 MLAs in Bihar assembly, has demanded that the government should immediately improve the power supply and also take up the issue of high power tariff.

The party also criticised the ministers statement in which he defended the excessive use of police force. Such a statement has made an embarrassing situation for alliance partners.

Lakhs of teacher aspirants are sore over allowing outside aspirants to apply in Bihar. Despite assurances CM has not sought a date for appointment . Another CPI-ML MLA from Paliganj Sandeep Saurav personally met the CM and deputy CM for requesting them to meet a delegation of teachers aspirants.

The discreet silence adopted by the CM on these issues has put the alliance partners in a fix. We are unable to say anything in this situation, said one of the leaders of the alliance partners.

The state Congress president has already requested Nitish Kumar for cabinet expansion. In fact, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had also made a request to the CM during his recent visit to Patna. But till date nothing has happened.

The main Opposition party in Bihar the BJP has already dubbed the CM as General Nitish Dyer over the Katihar firing. LJP (Ram Vilas) MP Chirag Paswan on Sunday called Bihar Maha Jungle Raj under the leadership of CM Nitish Kumar.

Chirag, who is currently in the NDA fold, told reporters that all the sections of the IPC must be scrapped in Bihar since it has become a state of Lathi-goli ki sarkar. It has become a daily affair in the state of Bihar that the police resort to lathicharge on teacher aspirants, political leaders, farmers, students, he alleged.

When CM Nitish Kumar could ask PM Modi to make a statement on Manipur, why cant he make a statement on firing, rape and lathi charge in his state? Why he is not visiting Katihar and Begusarai, his own home districts, he asks.
The Telangana BJP continues to be dogged by intra-party conflict ahead of elections as its Nizamabad MP Arvind Dharmapuri is facing protests from his own party leaders and workers who accuse him of acting arbitrarily.

On Monday, BJP leaders and workers from Armoor, Bodhan and Balkonda laid siege to the BJP office to protest against Arvind Dharmapuri. Holding aloft placards reading Save Nizamabad BJP they raised slogans of Arvind down down voicing their resentment over the unilateral decision of the MP to change the party presidents of 13 mandals under the Nizamabad constituency.

The BJP MP had tweeted about the changes. However, the protesters alleged that he had appointed his own followers for the post of president, removing those who had been loyal to the party for years without citing a valid reason. The protesters said that they were ready to take the protests to New Delhi.

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Arvind Dharmapuri had defeated sitting Nizamabad MP Kalvakuntla Kavitha in the Lok Sabha elections of 2019. His father D Srinivas had been a prominent Congress leader who had switched to the BRS. Arvind had no inclination to join the BJP but had appeared in Nizamabad just months before the elections and turned out to be a giant killer but defeating the chief ministers daughter Kavitha cashing in on the resentment of the turmeric farmers who were demanding a turmeric board in the area.

Kavitha has already indicated that she would be contesting from the same seat this time. The BRS is also highlighting that the MP, despite his assurance on stamp paper, failed to set up the turmeric board in Nizamabad. At this juncture, the dissidence in the party does not augur well for Arvind Dharmapuri.

Moreover, this is not the first time the MP faced flak although he had said that the decision to change mandal presidents were taken by the district leadership. Only last Wednesday, the protesters had held a rally in front of the headquarters of Telangana BJP in Nampally against Arvind Dharmapuri. But the new state president G Kishan Reddy had chided them for resorting to protests and told them to approach the party leadership with their grievances.

Apparently, most of the protesters are loyal to former state BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar who is also MP from the adjacent Karimnagar. Recently, Bandi Sanjay was elevated to the post of national general secretary to end the rift within the party before Assembly elections in the state in December and Lok Sabha elections next year.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR and ACWA Power discussed further steps for joint development of renewable energy sources, Trend reports via SOCAR.

On July 31, Rovshan Najaf, the President of the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), had a productive meeting with Marco Arcelli, the CEO of ACWA Power in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

During the meeting, the successful activities of ACWA Power in Azerbaijan were warmly acknowledged and appreciated. In particular, they highlighted the significant progress made by ACWA Power in launching the construction of the Khizi-Absheron wind farm, boasting an impressive capacity of 240 MW. This endeavor stands as a crucial contribution towards implementing the country's green energy strategy and enhancing energy security. Furthermore, the participants emphasized how ACWA Power's investments in renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan exemplify the favorable investment climate prevalent in the country.

The focal point of discussion revolved around the upcoming activities under the cooperation agreement signed in February of the same year between SOCAR and ACWA Power. This agreement aimed at joint development of renewable energy sources both at sea and on land, along with the implementation of other related projects.

The meeting fostered an extensive exchange of views on various opportunities for cooperation in the realm of energy transition, decarbonization, and other matters of mutual interest.
Congress is all set to hold discussion with the party leaders from the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to discuss the Lok Sabha poll preparedness.

A senior Congress leader said that the party President Mallikarjun Kharge has called a meeting with the leaders of the party from the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka to chalk out a strategy for the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The source said that a meeting with the leaders of Karnataka with the party President, former party president Rahul Gandhi and several other secretaries is scheduled on August 2.

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Similarly, the leaders of Tamil Nadu will have a meeting on August 4 in the national capital at the party headquarters, which will also be chaired by Kharge.

The party leader said that the meeting of Kerala was supposed to take place on Tuesday.

However, due to death of senior party leader V Purushotham earlier in the day, the meeting of Kerala has been postponed a new date will be announced.

Even the Congress had planned a meeting with the Haryana leaders on August 3. However, looking at the clashes in Nuh in the state, the date has been postponed.

The party leader said that new dates for Haryana and Kerala will be decided later.

Earlier, the Congress had held similar meetings with the state unit chief, state incharges and senior party leaders to discuss the assembly elections preparedness in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram.
The Supreme Court on Monday indicated that it may ask the Hyderabad University Prof Dr Kham Khan Suan Hausing to approach the Manipur High Court for seeking the quashing of summons issued against him by Imphal court while protecting him from any coercive action in the meantime.

The Imphal court had issued summons to Prof Hausing on a complaint by Manihar Moirangthem Singh, a member of the Meitei Tribes Union (MTU).

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Head of the Political Science Department, Hyderabad University, Prof Dr Kham Khan Suan Hausing has also sought quashing of an FIR that too has been registered against him. FIR relates to manipulation of electoral rolls to get citizenship.

Indicating that it will pass the same order as it had passed earlier on July 17 in case of a woman lawyer Deeksha Dwivedi, a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra asked the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to look into the matter and posted it for hearing on Tuesday  August 1, 2023.

We will pass the same order, giving him a breathing time, the bench said.

Today senior advocate Anand Grover appearing for Prof Hausing said that on July 28 date before the Imphal court, he did not appear and what order has been passed they will know today evening only. He urged the court to pass the same order that it had passed in Deeksha Dwivedi case, that too related to Manipur violence.

Senior advocate Grover said that the FIR relates to electoral rolls where it has been alleged that where it has been alleged that I (Prof Hausing) have manipulated the electoral roll and became a citizen.

By its July 17 order, the top court had protected a woman lawyer Deeksha Dwivedi from any coercive action for four weeks to enable her to pursue all the rights and remedies available to her under the law.

Deeksha Dwivedi was a part of a fact finding delegation of the National Federation of Indian Women which had visited the violence hit Manipur as a fact finding team. After their Manipur visit, the members of the delegation addressed a press conference.

Subsequent to this press conference, an FIR was registered against them at Imphal police station for the charges including those alleging provocation with intent to cause a riot, waging war against the country, intentional insult, imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration, and promoting enmity between different groups.

The top court by its July 17 order had asked the competent court to allow Deeksha Dwivedi the facility of appearing before it online through video conferencing.

Besides challenging the summon, Prof Hausing has also sought the quashing of the criminal proceedings against him by the Imphal court.

The criminal proceedings were initiated against Prof Hausing by the Imphal East district court in Manipur on a complaint filed against him by Manihar Moirangthem Singh, a member of the Meitei Tribes Union (MTU).

A Kuki professor and the head of the Political Science Department of Hyderabad University had on July 24 approached the Supreme Court, seeking quashing of the summons issued to him by an Imphal court relating to a criminal proceeding initiated against him in the wake of his statement during a Karan Thapar programme.

Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, heading a bench, had posted the matter for hearing on July 28 following a mentioning by senior advocate Anand Grover seeking an early hearing.

The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Imphal East, Manipur, issued summons to Hausing ordering him to appear before it on July 28, 2023, in pursuance of the criminal complaint filed against him.

The Imphal court issued summons taking cognizance of the alleged offences under under Section 153A (which deals with promoting enmity between different groups), 295A (which deals with acts outraging religious feelings), 505 (1) (statements conducting public mischief), 298 (deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any person), 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The criminal complaint is rooted in Prof Dr Kham Khan Suan Hausing statements during Karan Thapars programme of The Wire news portal.

The complainant has alleged that Dr Kham Khan Suan Hausing has made statements defaming Meitei community and fuelling communal enmity in Manipur. Prof Hausing in the course of the programme had sought the creation of a separate administration for the Kuki community.

Prof Housing has said that the summons were issued to him by the Imphal court ignoring the prevailing communal tension and disturbance in Manipur.

Earlier on July 28 a bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia had declined to hear Prof Hausings plea stating that it is listed for hearing on July 31.
Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 12 pm soon after the Upper House convened for the day, amidst a ruckus over a discussion on the ongoing Manipur issue.

Soon after the House assembled for the day and papers were laid on the table, Opposition started raising the issue requesting the chair to consider it.

Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, Piyush Goyal said, The opposition is against a discussion on Manipur. Since nine days, the government kept up with its promise to speak on Manipur but it has not been possible from the oppositions side. If they are ready, we can hold a discussion at 2 pm.

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The Lok Sabha was also adjourned till 2 pm today

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi earlier today said that bill to replace the ordinance on control of services in Delhi is not listed in todays business and the matter will not be taken up in the Parliament.

We will inform you when it (Delhi Ordinance Bill) will be introduced. It is not mentioned in the List of Businesses today, Joshi told reporters before the Parliament convened for the day. He further stated that a no-confidence motion will be brought within ten working days from the day it was tabled in the Lok Sabha. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal also said Bill will not be introduced in Parliament today.

We have been asking for their (Opposition) demand since the first day, they wanted a discussion on Manipur and when we agreed to it, now they changed their demand and want the Prime Minister to speak on this issue. They are trying to politicise this issue. They have brought the no-confidence motion, we will have discussions on the same whenever Speaker decides, Meghwal said.

Earlier today, Aam Admi Party issued a three-line whip for all its Rajya Sabha MPs to be present in the House from July 31 to August 4 to support the partys stand on the bill to replace the ordinance on control of services in Delhi when it is brought up in the House by the government in the monsoon session of Parliament.
Amidst the controversy over the Gyanvapi Mosque complex in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that labelling Gyanvapi as a mosque complex will only lead to controversy and that the Muslim side should accept its historical mistake and offer a solution.

If we call it a mosque, there will be a dispute. We should just call it Gyanvapi. I feel whoever has been blessed with sight by God, that person should see. What is a trishul (trident) doing inside a mosque? We did not put it there. There is security inside, there are Central forces are There is a jyotirlinga, dev pratimas (idols), Yogi Adityanath said in a podcast interview with ANI Editor Smita Prakash aired today. Adityanath, who is also the head priest of Gorakhnath Mutt in Gorakhpur said that physical, scriptural and other archaeological evidence inside the mosque should not be overlooked.

You can twist history but not the historic evidence that the walls (of Gyanvapi) are screaming and saying, the chief minister said.

I feel that a proposal should also come from the Muslim side accepting that there has been a historical mistake and that they should come up with a solution, Yogi Adityanath said.

The Allahabad High Court is expected to give a verdict on a petition against a lower court order for a survey by the Archaeological Survey of India inside the mosque complex, except the wuzukhana (fountain).

A ruling on the petition is likely on August 3.

The matter took centrestage when on May 16, last year, during the court-mandated survey, a structure  claimed to be a Shivling by the Hindu side and a fountain by the Muslim side  was found in the mosque premises.

Meanwhile in the interview with ANI, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said that he will appeal to the Muslims community that today we should be talking about development.

We can all see the plight of Pakistan. Those who sow thorns for others will themselves suffer the pain. Whatever is happening in Pakistan today is the result of what they sowed. Today Pakistan is riddled with hunger and is battling its misdeeds. That is why we should not repeat our previous mistakes, Adityanath said.

Meanwhile, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi has lashed out at Adityanaths remarks on the Gyanvapi issue stating that its a judicial overreach.

The AIMIM chief, a staunch critic of Yogi said that despite knowing that the matter is sub-judice he is making such a controversial statement which is directly a judicial overreach.

Chief minister Yogi knows that the Muslim side has opposed the ASI survey in Allahabad High Court and the judgement will be delivered in a few days, still, he gave such a controversial statement, this is judicial overreach, said Owaisi.

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Congress on Monday attacked the BJP government in Haryana saying the riot scenes in Manesar is worrying and it is the failure of law and order of the state government.

In a video statement, Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said, The news of violence, arson, vandalism and riots coming from Manesar and Gurgaon is extremely worrying as well as heart-wrenching. This is straight failure of law and order.

He said that it is the result of the failure of the Khattar government.

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The BJP-JJP government first pushed the state into the fire of caste riots and now the peace of Haryana is being burnt in the flames of religious riots, he alleged.

For the first time in 75 years of independence, a conspiracy is being hatched to make Haryana a victim of religious riots. This is a black day in the history of peace-loving Haryana, he said.

Surjewala demanded strictest action against the rioters irrespective of their religion or caste.

Chief Minister Khattar himself should go ahead and do the work of establishing law and order and creating peace. The Chief Minister should know that this is not the time to sit idle.

It is the need of the hour that the Chief Minister should come forward, hold talks with all the parties, create peace, take action against the culprits and understand the situation and follow Rajdharma, he added.

His remarks came after massive violence broke out in the Muslim-dominated Nuh area.

Nearly 2,500 people, comprising children, on Monday took shelter at a temple near Haryanas Gurugram as the police, who used teargas and fired shots into the air, have called in reinforcements. Nearly 20 people have been injured.

Massive violence broke out after stones were pelted and vehicles were set on fire during a religious procession.

The violence broke out over reports of cow vigilante and Bhiwani death case accused Monu Manesar visiting Mewat.
On Monday, the Supreme Court considered creating a committee of retired female judges to look into cases of sexual assault against women in Manipur.

Following a request for an investigation by a special investigation team (SIT) from two Kuki-Zomi women from Manipur who were seen being paraded naked by males in a video, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra of the Supreme Court of India made the same statement.

We need objective assistance. One thing we can do is to have a committee of woman judges and domain experts or to have a committee of women and male judges. If we are not satisfied with what has been done so far that will define the extent of our intervention, the Court said.

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However, the Court did not issue any orders. Instead, it requested information about the state authorities actions up to this point, including information about the 6,000 first information reports (FIRs) that were allegedly registered.

The bench said that we can take it up tomorrow after receiving the states responses.

The women pleaded for protection for themselves and a directive from the closest district magistrate to record their statement in accordance with Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The Court refused the request for extra time from the Attorney General R Venkataramani and the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to provide more information.

We are tight on time. All evidence would be gone by then. Look at the Imphal car wash incident. I also read about it. Who will give a statement as to what happened there, the bench asked.

Social media was flooded with the horrifying video of two women being paraded naked and assaulted.

The videotape shows the two women being assaulted as they made their way toward a paddy field while being displayed naked by a group of men.

Conflict and violence broke out in Manipur as a result of several tribes opposition to the main Meitei communitys desire that they be given Scheduled Tribe status.

The Manipur government was required by the Manipur High Courts order dated April 19, 2023, to consider the inclusion of the Meetei/Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list, expeditiously, preferably within a period of four weeks from the orders date. Conflicts between the Meiteis and Kuki tribes resulted from this.
The 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice observed on 27 July should have been an occasion for all involved parties to express a higher commitment to peace.

However, the grim realities of the region were reflected more in increasing tensions than in better prospects for peace. Just a little before this anniversary, a nuclear-powered submarine of the USA reached South Korea and in response North Korea fired ballistic missiles into the sea. This came on top of growing nuclear weapon related escalations of recent times. All this is certainly not what it should be.

The 70th Armistice anniversary should have been a time for taking the peace process forward, not backward. In fact the peace process initiated to end the Korean War of 1950-53, was left half-complete as only an armistice was signed, and not a peace treaty. The follow-up in the form of a comprehensive peace treaty never took place, and instead what one actually saw were several violations of the armistice.

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The situation became more serious after North Korea acquired nuclear weapons and delivery systems. With this the prospects of the Korea region again becoming the flashpoint of a much bigger conflict involving big power rivalry increased. Such a situation becomes most dangerous from the point of view of the peace and safety of the people of Korea, as they have learnt from past experience. After living together as one country for centuries, the Korean people have faced increasing strains for over a century. In 1910 Korea was annexed by an increasingly aggressive Japan.

With World War II ending in the defeat of Japan, the Korean people had expected a return of freedom and peace. Instead as American and Soviet armies entered different parts of the country, the people got divided into South and North Korea. These tensions culminated in the 1950-53 war, which saw the UN army with a huge US component fighting the Chinese army, the two rival big powers having entered the conflict on the sides of South and North Korea respectively. This proved to be one of the most destructive wars ever.

The immense destruction included the havoc created by very large-scale bombings by US planes and several massacres. The toll of civilians was abnormally high. Many cities had vast areas destroyed completely. When finally an armistice was signed in mid-1953, South Korea was still not involved in it. The signing parties included North Korea, the UN Force and China. Hence the process of peace was left half-complete, or perhaps only quarter complete. What is worse, the tensions have continued to increase due to several factors, including the several violations of the armistice, the various stages of the acquisition of nuclear weapon capability by North Korea and the continued presence of significant US army bases in South Korea. An additional reason for rising escalation and concern relates to the increased hostility between the USA and China in recent times. While Taiwan has been more frequently seen as the potential flashpoint of a possible conflict between

China and the USA, the Korean peninsula is also very important as this region is most likely to be heavily influenced by any breakout of hostilities. However, from the perspective of peace and safety for the people of Korea, their welfare is best achieved if either the big powers do not fight in the first place, or else at least keep the Koreans out of their big fights. After the loss of more than 2 million lives and the destruction of vast areas, the Koreans are more familiar than most other people with the high risks of being caught in the conflicts of big powers.

When most of the world was recovering with considerable relief from the ravages of the Second World War, the Korean people, contrary to their hopes of recovering from decades of exploitation and annexation, were thrown into a much more destructive phase of endless air bombings and massacres. What is more, they learnt that even as big rival powers claimed to be helping different segments of the Korean people, in actual effect the Koreans got divided more and more and also suffered the most.

Learning grim lessons taught by the history of the past century, the Korean people should very carefully strive to achieve a future of peace and safety, and one of the best ways of realizing this is to work for the peace of all Korean people while staying away from becoming pawns or proxies in big power rivalries.

There are nearly 52 million people today in South Korea and nearly half this number in North Korea, according to the latest available data. They must decide whether they want to go back to their centuries of living together, or if they want to co-exist peacefully as two separate countries. Any of these choices should be acceptable, as long as there is no conflict, and any differences are settled by negotiations, with the people deciding not to be a part of any conflict between bigger powers.

To make this possible, there should be a strong peace movement in both Koreas which should be helped and not hindered by their respective governments. This movement should work with continuity and commitment to take this message of peace to more and more people. In the course of this continuing dialogue, the opinion of most people will also emerge on whether they want to be united, or whether they want to go on as two distinct countries but with a firm base of maintaining peace between.

(The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Planet in Peril, Protecting Earth for Children, Earth without Borders and A Day in 2071.)
The Knessets passage of legislation on Monday to curtail the authority of Israels Supreme Court marks a new era for the state of Israel. The legal implications of the law are substantial, as will be the economic, diplomatic, and security damage to the country. But, critics assert, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus single-minded determination to get the legislation through parliament ever since he returned to office has ruptured Israeli society itself. The governments so-called administrative review of the apex courts authority to overturn decisions taken by the executive and limiting the ability of the Supreme Court to set aside acts it deems unreasonable has resulted in legislation which marks a watershed moment for not just Israel but democracies across the world where executive-judiciary clashes have vitiated the atmosphere and impacted both justice delivery and governance.

The reasonableness doctrine, as Amichai Cohen and Yuval Shani of the Israel Democracy Institute have written, provided grounds for striking down a decision where the court found a conflict of interest, a procedural impropriety, or an act that exceeded the governments legal authority. The Supreme Court could also rule on substantive grounds, if it found that the government had acted in a discriminatory manner, taken into account irrelevant considerations, or adopted patently unreasonable decisions. That is now apparently history. Leading commentators are aghast at the consequences of the legislation. Natan Sachs writes that the law places Israel on the brink of disaster as a country and what it stands for, asserting that Mr Netanyahus judicial overhaul mistakes majoritarianism for democracy. Mr Netanyahus betrayal of democracy is a betrayal of Israel, says Yossi Klein Halevi. Not only does the new legislation upend decency and reason, he predicts that the countrys friends abroad will be increasingly uncomfortable with backing Tel Aviv as it exhibits clear signs of democratic backsliding. That the Supreme Court can no longer strike down patently unreasonable decisions of the executive which run contrary to human rights or good governance in effect eliminates the legal doctrine of reasonableness. It is a scary situation. But with a parliamentary imprimatur in place, the Netanyahu administration argues the new law represents the will of the sovereign, the citizens of Israel, and is a deathblow to alleged judicial overreach as well as political-ideological bias. Unfortunately, that is an argument gaining traction in democracies the world over as evident in the run-ins between the executive/ legislative branches of the state and the judiciary. While no sensible person can possibly support the concentration of supreme power, as it were, in the hands of the executive without the checks and balances provided by the process of judicial review, those staffing the courts and sitting in judgment also need to introspect. Corruption, favouritism, nepotism, delays in justice-delivery, arbitrariness in selection of matters to be heard, courts delivering verdicts swayed by public opinion rather than depending on evidence, judges making a priori assumptions as opposed to following the letter of the law. These and many other such allegations against the judiciary ~ in Israel and elsewhere ~ need to be addressed by the honourable courts themselves. Urgently. If not, there will be more laws of the Israel kind and that will prove to be the end of justice.

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Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has called on Palestinian leaders to help restore security in the Ain Al-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon after armed clashes broke out there.

We call on Palestinian leaders to hand over those who tamper with security to the Lebanese authorities; this is the natural way to restore security and stability inside and around the camp as in other Palestinian camps in Lebanon, a statement by the Council of Ministers quoted Mikati as saying on Sunday.

The Lebanese Prime Minister also called on Palestinian leaders to respect Lebanese sovereignty, relevant laws and the principles of hospitality, Xinhua news agency reported.

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Armed clashes broke out in the Ain Al-Helweh camp between members of the Fatah Movement and Islamist militants since early Sunday morning, killing at least five people, including Abou Ashraf al-Armoushi, a military officer affiliated with the Fatah Movement, and injuring six others.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, July 31. The value of electrical equipment exported to Kazakhstan from Turkiye reached $53.2 million from January through June 2023, Trend reports.

According to the Turkish Trade Ministry, this figure is 31.2 percent more compared to the same period last year.

In June, Turkiye exported electrical equipment to Kazakhstan worth $9.2 percent, which indicates an 8 percent increase compared to the same month in 2022.

In general, the Turkish export of electrical equipment increased by 8 percent from January through June 2023, reaching $7.9 billion. However, Turkiye exported $1.3 million worth of electrical equipment in June of this year, which is 1.2 percent less than in June last year.

Overall, the trade turnover between Turkiye and Kazakhstan totaled $1.9 billion from January through April 2023. This figure is 4.4 percent less than in the same period of the previous year ($2.06 billion).
BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 19. Dollarization of deposits in Kazakhstan continues to decline, the National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) told Trend.

According to the source at the NBK, by the end of 2022, this indicator decreased to 31.6 percent from its peak of 38.4 percent in February 2022. In April 2023, the share of foreign currency deposits reached its lowest level in over 15 years, standing at 29.3 percent.

The National Bank implemented measures to ensure financial and price stability throughout 2022, including raising the base rate from 9.75 percent in January to 16.75 percent in December. During the first half of 2023, the base rate remained at the same level, aiming to slow down price growth in the medium term.

"The increase in the base rate was accompanied by a set of measures to ensure stability in the financial market. The maximum recommended rates of the Kazakhstan Deposit Guarantee Fund for deposits of individuals were raised, and the maximum deposit guarantee amount for savings deposits in tenge was increased from 15 million tenge ($33,716) to 20 million tenge ($45,000) at the beginning of 2022," the source said.

Additionally, as the bank noted, a Program for the Protection of Tenge Deposits was implemented jointly with the Government, offering a 10-percent compensation (premium) for deposits of individuals in the national currency. These measures stabilized the bank's funding base, and by December 2022, the volume of deposits reached a historical high of 30.9 trillion tenge ($69.5 billion).

"The geopolitical situation and unfavorable conditions in the global financial markets contributed to increased volatility in the national currency. Nevertheless, as a result of the mentioned measures, the exchange rate of the tenge against the US dollar, which reached a record weakening at 512.17 tenge in March, strengthened to 414.79 in May 2022," the source added.

The improvement in the balanced currency market was achieved through further expansion of market principles in currency trading, as well as high energy prices. Overall, the measures taken by the National Bank contributed to macroeconomic stabilization in the country and had a positive impact on the financial sector, the NBK concluded.
The aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) renewed the air operator certificate of Jet Airways, paving way for the airline to revive its services in India.

The resolution applicant of Jet Airways, Jalan-Kalrock Consortium, in an official statement said that they had obtained renewal for the Airport Operator Certificate (AOC) for the airline from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on July 28, 2023.

The renewal of AOC revalidates the confidence of the Indian Aviation Regulator in the revival of Jet Airways, the airline said.

"JKC expresses its heartfelt gratitude to the aviation regulator, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and all other stakeholders, in showcasing their faith in JKC and in the revival of Jet Airways," the Jalan-Kalrock consortium said.

"The Jalan and Kalrock Consortium remains fully dedicated to the revival of Jet Airways and is committed to implementing a comprehensive strategy to ensure the airline's success. JKC will continue to work closely with all relevant authorities, industry partners, and stakeholders in reviving Jet Airways in coming weeks," read the statement.

Jet Airways operations were suspended in April 2019. It was after the resolution plan of the JKC approved by the National Company Law Tribunal, the airline is gearing up for its revival.

It i s under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code under the NCLT that the airline is getting revived.
Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn is all set to invest Rs.1,600 crore for setting up a high-end electronic component manufacturing unit at Kanchipuram near Chennai. Foxconn Group, a subsidiary of Foxconn, on Monday, signed a deal with the Tamil Nadu government to establish a manufacturing facility that will offer jobs to 6,000 people.



The proposed investment was finalised during a meeting between Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Foxconn chairman Young Liu at the state secretariat in Chennai. The Tamil Nadu government and Foxconn signed a letter of intent after the meeting.



Chennai is the biggest site for Foxconn in India. I had to pay a visit here as there are many developments in the production size. We have six or seven units under construction. It is going quite well. We got a lot of support from the state government. This is the largest facility we have in Tamil Nadu. We have 40,000 workers altogether. Definitely, there is a very important base for us to go on. With Tamil Nadus talent pool, we can do, not just production but also plan big in Tamil Nadu, Young Liu told reporters after visiting the IIT research park near Taramani in Chennai.



Foxconns repeated investments and expansion plans in Tamil Nadu are a testament to the state being the top choice for manufacturing in India for major companies across the world. This is a major achievement for the state. Manufacturers who have seen immense success in Tamil Nadu over the past many years know that by investing more in the state they will only gain more, said Industries Minister T.R.B. Raaja.



With this proposed investment, Tamil Nadu is poised to not only remain the top electronics exporter in the country but also will significantly increase its electronics exports in the coming years, Raaja said.



Answering a question from THE WEEK on Foxconns breakup with Vedanta on the semiconductor front, the minister said the Tamil Nadu government and the industries department are in talks with not just Foxconn, but many other players to bring in investments in the semiconductor industries. Foxconn is scouting for locations across India for setting up its semiconductor assembly plant. Young Liu had attended the Union governments semiconductor conference on Sunday.



With its expansion plans to quadruple the workforce at its Tamil Nadu iPhone factory by late 2024, Foxconn has also signed a research and innovation agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and the state government's investment arm, Guidance. The tripartite MoU, facilitated by Guidance Tamil Nadu between Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision Industry) and IIT Madras was signed and exchanged amongst V. Vishnu, MD and CEO, Guidance, Prof V. Kamakoti, director of IIT Madras and Vincent Lee, associate vice president, Foxconn.



The MoU enables Foxconn to support the development of research and development capabilities in partnership with IIT Madras to improve the skills and industry-readiness of the talent pool for the evolving needs of the electronics industry, share knowledge and best practices in higher-order talent and workforce development.



A key supplier of Apple products, Foxconn has its iPhone assembly facility at Sriperumbudur near Chennai, manufacturing high-end iPhone 13 and iPhone 14. In 2021, Foxconns annual revenue reached $175 billion and was ranked 20th in the 2022 Fortune Global 500. It is the worlds largest technology manufacturer and service provider.



Apart from Foxconn, Tamil Nadu, which is leading in electronics exports in India, is home to several electronic giants, including Nokia, Samsung, Flex, Motorola, Dell, Salcomp and HP. Tamil Nadu also has two Special Economic Zones (SEZ) dedicated to electronics and hardware manufacturing units in Sriperumbudur and Oragadam.


The Bengaluru City Police has filed 375 cases against drug peddlers and consumers, while recovering 1,785 kilograms of drugs worth Rs 18 crore in July alone, as part of the special enforcement drive launched as part of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on June 26.

Bengaluru police commissioner B. Dayananda, during the press meet held in the city on Monday said, "Around 47 drug peddlers have been arrested including 13 foreign nationals. Of these, 11 foreigners have been deported. The teams headed by ACP Satish Kumar and ACP Raman Gupta have seized 1,700 kg of cannabis, 55 kg of opium, 40 gm of heroin, 500 gm each of charas and cocaine, three kg of Methylenedioxy-Methylamphetamine (MDMA) ecstasy tablets and a large quantity of hashish oil."

The BCP has launched a student outreach programme to sensitise the youth about the harmful effects of drug abuse. The police department has held drug awareness events in 600 schools and colleges in the city so far. The police has filed 32 cases under Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COPTA) as sale and display of tobacco-based products in the vicinity of educational institutes is prohibited," added the commissioner.

'Golden hour' crucial for recovery in cyber frauds, says police commissioner

Victims of cyber economic offences must report the crime at the earliest preferably within the 'golden hour' (first hour) for quick detection and recovery of the money, said Bengaluru police commissioner B. Dayananda, highlighting the importance of early reporting of cyber crimes especially financial frauds.

Speaking to reporters, the top cop urged the people to promptly report incidents of fraud to the CEN (Cyber Economics & Narcotic Crimes) police stations through the helplines 112 and 1930.

"Cyber crimes are not like other offences as they are borderless, faceless and bloodless crimes and are difficult to detect. Once the stolen (siphoned) money goes out of the victim's account, it is transferred to multiple locations both within and outside the country. This makes it difficult to track and recover the money," explained the commissioner urging the victims to report the cases immediately to enable them to freeze the bank account.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to introduce the controversial bill to replace the Delhi services ordinance in Lok Sabha on Monday. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, while sharing the list of scheduled business for next week, had informed the Lok Sabha that the bill would be taken up this week, though the date wasn't mentioned.

The introduction of the bill, which has become a rallying point for a united Opposition against the BJP-led NDA, is expected to unleash a storm in the Lok Sabha. This also comes as the Opposition questions the legality of passing bills as a no-confidence motion was pending before the House.



Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's AAP, which is a part of the Opposition coalition INDIA, has gathered the support of political parties, including the Congress, to fight the bill.



Meanwhile, the draft bill to replace the ordinance which mandated the creation of an authority for transfers and postings of senior officers in the Delhi government has already been circulated among the MPs before its introduction in Parliament. According to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2023, all transfers and postings of senior officers in the Delhi government will be done by a three-member committee headed by the Delhi chief minister.



The bill underwent major edits, which included dropping Section 3A of the May 19 ordinance, placed in to take "services" out of the purview of the elected government in Delhi.



The Delhi ordinance was promulgated by the central government a week after the Supreme Court handed over the control of services in Delhi excluding police, public order and land to the elected government, headed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.



"With a view to give effect to the intent and purpose behind the provisions of article 239AA of the Constitution, a permanent authority, headed by the Chief Minister of Delhi along with the Chief Secretary, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Principal Secretary, Home, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, is being constituted to make recommendations to the Lieutenant Governor regarding matters concerning transfer postings, vigilance and other matters," according to the statement of objects and reasons of the bill.



Manipur issue

The delegation of INDIA bloc leaders, who have returned after a two-day visit to Manipur, will meet at the Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge's chamber in Parliament on Monday to brief the situation of the northeastern state. The MPs who were part of the delegation will brief floor leaders of the INDIA alliance in the Parliament building at 9:30 am on Monday, reported ANI.


As the government readies to introduce in Parliament the bill to replace the Delhi services ordinance this week, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi has moved a notice opposing its introduction.

Owaisi, in a notice sent to the Lok Sabha General Secretary, said the bill violates the principle of federalism, which is part of the basic structure of the Constitution. "I give notice of my intention to oppose the introduction of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 under Rule 72 of the Rule of Procedure on the following grounds, as it violated Article 123 and the Bill also violates the principle of federalism which is part of the basic structure of the Constitution."



Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, while sharing the list of scheduled business for the week, had informed the Lok Sabha that the bill would be taken up this week, but did not mention the date.



The draft bill to replace the ordinance which mandated the creation of an authority for transfers and postings of senior officers in the Delhi government has already been circulated among the MPs before its introduction in Parliament.



Meanwhile, the AAP has issued a three-line whip asking all its lawmakers in the Rajya Sabha to be present on the floor this week to support the party's stance with regard to the Delhi Ordinance.



"The following very important issues will be taken up in the Rajya Sabha on Monday 31 July, Tuesday 1 August, Wednesday 2 August, Thursday 3 August and Friday 4 August 2023, The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 - Discussion and Passing," the whip notice issued by Chief whip Sushil Kumar Gupta read.



"All members of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Rajya Sabha are requested to kindly remain present in the house from 11 AM onwards until the adjournment of the House from July 31 to August 4, 2023, without fail and support the party stand. This may be treated as Most Important," it added.


The IIT Bombay has issued a set of guidelines, which bans exchanging or forwarding hateful, casteist messages or jokes, after the institute came under the radar for caste-based discrimination on campus.

Interestingly, the guidelines also prohibit students from asking other students about their JEE Advanced rank or GATE score. The move comes two months after the suicide of first-year student Darshan Solanki allegedly over caste discrimination issues.



As per the guideline, the students should not forward or exchange messages, including jokes that are abusive, hateful, casteist or sexist. The same applies to messages that exhibit bigotry based on religion or sexual orientation. These can be construed as harassment or bullying and violation can lead to severe punishment.



Students are also prohibited from posting such messages on social media platforms.



With regard to asking fellow students about JEE Advanced rank or GATE score, the guidelines call them inappropriate. "It is equally inappropriate for students to ask others their JEE ranks/GATE scores While the student asking the question may feel it is innocent and it may be driven by curiosity, asking the question may have an adverse impact on the other student," the guidelines read.



Besides, the notification also encourages introduction, interaction or bonding of friends through commonalities like departments, sports, music, movies, schools, college, villages, city, town, hobbies etc.



Though the institute had verbally hinted against such practices before, including asking ranks, this is probably the first time that it is issuing guidelines against discriminatory practices. Though last year, there were norms against ridiculing and mocking students based on reservations, the norms were not as explicit as this year's. However, the punishments aren't mentioned clearly in the guidelines.



According to a spokesperson from the institute, each hostel and department/centre too came up with posters. "This year, the content from various cells posters/orientations, in the context of anti-discrimination, has been compiled into one poster and is being circulated for both new and existing students," the spokesperson told The Times Of India.


The government on Monday agreed to a discussion on the Manipur issue in the Rajya Sabha at 2 pm but the opposition insisted on a debate only under Rule 267 of the House, forcing the chairman to adjourn proceedings till noon.

Rule 267 of the Rajya Sabha rulebook allows for the suspension of the day's business to debate on any issue suggested by a member.



After the papers were laid, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said he received 65 notices under Rule 267 and also noted that this rule is evoked on the rarest of occasions. The last time it was evoked was in 2018.

Meanwhile, Leader of House Piyush Goyal said the government was ready for a discussion on the Manipur issue at 2 pm but the opposition did not agree.

Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge insisted that the discussion should only be held under Rule 267 of the House.

Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm

The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm following protests by the opposition which has been demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament on the Manipur issue.

When the House met at 11 am, Speaker Om Birla announced that a Parliamentary delegation from Malawi is visiting India and they were watching the proceedings of the House. He welcomed the foreign delegation and wished them a pleasant stay in the country.

As he completed his speech, the opposition members were on their feet demanding a statement from the prime minister on Manipur violence.

Soon they came to the well of the House showing placards and shouting slogans against the government. The speaker initially ignored their protests and continued the Question Hour, which was the scheduled business.

Two questions related to the Ministries of Education and Finance were taken up for discussion amidst sloganeering and protests. As the protests continued, the speaker appealed to the opposition members to go back to their seats and take part in the proceedings.

With the opposition MPs ignoring his pleas, the speaker adjourned the House till 2 pm after about 15 minutes of business.

The Manipur violence rocked proceedings in both Houses of Parliament ever since the Monsoon session began on July 20, with the opposition demanding a statement from Prime Minister Modi and a discussion on the situation in the northeastern state.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that the government was ready for a debate on the Manipur issue.

The speaker had also said the opposition can't decide who would reply to the debate on behalf of the government.

The opposition subsequently moved a no-confidence motion against the Modi government, apparently aiming to force the prime minister to speak on the Manipur violence in Parliament.

The session started a day after a video of two women being paraded naked by a mob on May 4 in a Manipur village went viral, triggering a nationwide outrage.

The Manipur Police have arrested several accused who were seen in the video, officials said.

On July 27, the government decided to hand over the probe into the case of the naked parade of two women to the CBI and filed a petition in the Supreme Court saying the trial of the cases should be conducted outside the state.
After both houses of Parliament witnessed uproarious scenes and adjournment over the Manipur issue, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hit out at the opposition alleging that they are running away from discussion.

Both the houses were adjourned for the day on Monday as the opposition staged protests demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha and a debate on the issue under Rule 267 in Rajya Sabha.

Sitharaman said the opposition has been demanding a discussion on the issue in the upper house, but when Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said the government is ready for a discussion, they refused to be part of the discussion.

"Opposition doesn't want to participate in the discussion on the Manipur issue. Today when this issue was taken up in the Parliament, the opposition ran away from the discussion," she said.

She read out the list of Rajya Sabha MPs who have been demanding a discussion on the issue under Rule 176, which allows for a short discussion, not exceeding two-and-a-half hours.

The finance minister asked the MPs who visited Manipur recently to disclose their findings in the Parliament.

She said she is saddened by the behaviour of the opposition and accused them of "shedding crocodile tears" on the issue.

"If they genuinely cared, then they would have discussed it," she said.

Houses adjourned

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day as the opposition kept insisting on a discussion on the Manipur issue under Rule 267 of the House, while the Lok Sabha was adjourned following protests demanding a statement from the PM on the issue.

RS Chairman Dhankhar said the government had agreed to a short-duration discussion under Rule 176.

When members from the opposition parties insisted on a discussion under Rule 267, he responded, "Notices under Rule 267 have not been admitted by me. They have been declined by me." As the uproar continued, the chairman first adjourned the house till 2.30 pm and then till 3.30 pm.
The Digital India initiative, launched in 2014, has undoubtedly been a game-changer for the nation. Under the proactive and visionary leadership of PM Narendra Modi, the programme has successfully integrated and empowered millions of Indians into the digital landscape.

This initiative has not only modernized the country but also laid the foundation for a technologically advanced and digitally inclusive society. As a result, India now boasts an impressive count of over 750 million active internet users, a testament to the government's commitment to enhancing digital access for all citizens.

Undeniably, the impact of digitization on the lives of Indian citizens has been immensely positive. However, the government is acutely aware of the potential risks that come with it. In a proactive move to safeguard the interests and privacy of its citizens, the government has taken decisive action by introducing the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill (DPDP Bill). This pivotal legislation exemplifies the government's unwavering commitment to strike a harmonious balance between regulatory measures and fostering innovation.

Rooted in seven fundamental principles, the DPDP Bill ensures the ethical handling of data with a focus on lawful, fair, and transparent processing, purpose limitation, data minimization, accuracy of personal information, storage limitations, integrity, and confidentiality, along with fostering a culture of accountability. This well-thought-out and comprehensive approach exemplifies the government's determination to champion the digital rights of its people and cultivate a secure and progressive digital landscape for the nation's growth and prosperity.

The DPDP Bill is a remarkable legislation that upholds and safeguards the rights of citizens while also ensuring that it doesn't impose excessive compliance burdens on the innovation ecosystem. It provides clarity regarding the circumstances in which the government can access personal data, with a clear obligation to protect the data once accessed.

This transformative Bill is set to bring about a significant shift in the behavior of entities handling citizens' data, as it establishes stringent measures for punitive financial penalties in case of any data breaches, whether committed by the government or private companies. This showcases the government's proactive stance in promoting accountability and instilling a culture of data protection across all sectors.

The bill demonstrates a proactive approach to establish a cutting-edge data protection framework in the country. The bill places utmost importance on obtaining consent, making it a fundamental requirement for data fiduciaries to collect user data. Once the bill receives parliamentary approval, individuals, referred to as data principals, will gain the right to request companies to delete their personal data that was collected before the implementation of digital personal data protection regulations. Notably, this extends to protecting the privacy of children, emphasizing the government's commitment to safeguarding the interests of all citizens, including the minors and younger generation.

The government's vision for a progressive data protection regime is exemplified by the proposed DPDP Bill, which includes the establishment of a Data Protection Board tasked with monitoring and penalizing non-compliance. A noteworthy enhancement in the bill is the reduction of criminal provisions related to data breaches seen in previous versions. By empowering the Data Protection Board (DPB) as the primary enforcer, the government reinforces its commitment to accountability and responsibility among organizations. The DPB's authority to take appropriate action is a significant step in maintaining data integrity and security. In the event of data protection violations, the DPB holds the power to levy substantial penalties of up to Rs 250 crore on offending entities, signalling the government's unwavering dedication to protecting citizens' data rights. This comprehensive approach towards regulating the infinite realm of data includes the mandate for some data fiduciaries to appoint Data Protection Officers within India, fostering trust between individual users and digital platforms.

The DPDP Bill represents a crucial stride towards creating a solid foundation for a secure and trustworthy digital ecosystem, showcasing the government's proactive approach to preserving data privacy and strengthening India's position in the digital age.

The author is a Member of the Rajya Sabha
A Pakistani intruder was shot dead by the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, officials said, in the second such incident in a week.

The intruder was gunned down by the alert border guards when he ignored repeated warnings and tried to flee after managing to cross the border fence near Jabowal border outpost in Arnia sector around 1.45 am, they said.

Confirming the incident, a BSF spokesman said, "In the intervening night of July 30-July 31, the vigilant troops observed suspicious movement across the International Border (IB) in the Arnia border area.

"An intruder was observed approaching towards the BSF fence and the troops neutralised him and thwarted the infiltration attempt."

Officials said the body was shifted to Bishnah hospital for post-mortem.

Rs 440 in Pakistani currency, a bag containing over four kilograms of flour, two biscuit packets, a watch and a glass were recovered from the possession of the slain intruder, whose identity could not be ascertained immediately, the officials said.

On July 25, a Pakistani intruder carrying over four kilograms of high-grade heroin was gunned down by the BSF in Ramgarh sector of Samba district.

Pakistan refused the body of the smuggler and later it was buried at a graveyard by police in Ramgarh sector.
Clashes erupted between two communities in Rajasthan allegedly following lack of action on a class 8 student's complaint that her water bottle was filled with urine. The State BJP accused Congress of appeasement politics following the incident.



According to reports, a 13-year-old girl studying in a government school in Bhilwara district had complained to school authorities on Friday that "urine-like odour" was coming from her water bottle and that she found a note with "I love you" written on it. NDTV reported that the incident happened when the girl went home for lunch, leaving her bag and water bottle in class.

NDTV quoted Additional Superintendent of Police Ghanshyam Sharma as saying, The girl, a student of a government senior higher secondary school, had gone to her home for lunch, leaving her bag and bottle behind in her class on Friday. When she got back and drank from the bottle, she detected a foul smell and found out that some boys had mixed urine with water."

According to reports, clashes erupted when members of the girl's community attempted to enter into the house of the boy while police came there for investigation; angered that no action was taken against the accused till then.

The publication reported that the villagers were agitated as no action was taken by the school principal despite the girl's complaint. When the school opened today, they raised the issue with tehsildar, the in-charge of the Luhariya Police Station, and the school principal. However, when no effective action was taken, the villagers entered the locality of the boys and started throwing stones, NDTV reported.

Police said during their visit to the school over the case, some villagers created a ruckus there. The villagers also entered the locality, where a majority of people belong to the community of the accused boys, and pelted stones, a senior police officer said. There was stone-pelting from the other side also, he said.

Sharma said the police visited the school to speak to the principal about the case on Monday. "During this, the villagers created a ruckus. They locked the school door."

"The villagers also started raising slogans and barged into the locality of the particular community and pelted stones. Some stones were also thrown from the other side," the officer said. He said the police used 'mild force' to maintain law and order. "Nine people have been detained in this regard. At present, there is peace in the area," he said.

Mandal SHO Mukesh Verma said that a case has been registered against the accused boys. Stone pelting had occurred in the village but the situation is under control now, he added.

Police have registered a case under IPC sections 354 (outraging modesty of a woman), 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and has started the investigation.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Rajendra Rathore condemned the incident by calling it a shameful incident. "There is no place for such an act in a civilised society. I strongly condemn this incident," Rathore tweeted. Rathore said it revealed the appeasement politics of the Congress government.

He said that angry people clashed with each other as police did not take timely and proper action in the matter. He also said police targeted "selected people" during the lathi charge to contain the stone pelting. "This incident reflects the appeasement politics of the Congress government," he added.

(With PTI inputs.)
In a tragic incident, a Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable shot dead four persons on board in a running Jaipur-Mumbai train 12956 on Monday. According to officials, the incident took place when the train was approaching Borivali railway station in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

The Railway Police had arrested the constable who opened fire, identified as Chetan Kumar Choudhary.

Among those dead include three passengers and one assistant-sub inspector Tika Ram Meena. Reportedly, he was the escort duty incharge in the Express train.

According to officials, the incident took place around 5 am in the morning. "Around 6 am we got to know that an RPF constable, who was on escorting duty opened fire...Four people have been shot dead...Our railway officer reached the spot. The families have been contacted. Ex-gratia will be given," DRM Neeraj Verma told reporters.

After killing his senior, the constable went to another bogie and shot dead three passengers, the official added.

The constable, who initially tried to flee, was caught by police at Mira Road with the help of Government Railway Police and RPF officials. His weapon was also seized by the police.

"An unfortunate incident has been reported in Mumbai-Jaipur Superfast Express today...The accused has been arrested. The reason for the firing is not clear yet, we are investigating it," Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Western Railways Sumit Thakur told ANI.

An ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh was announced for the next of kin of deceased ASI Meena.

According to officials, four RPF personnel, including the accused were escorting the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express from Surat station in Gujarat.

The accused will be produced before Borivali court. A case has been filed against him under IPC Section 302.

The four member team earlier escorted Dadar-Porbandar Saurashtra Express up to Surat station on Sunday. The escorting team was guarding the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express on its return, said a senior official.

The escort parties provide security to trains in their respective railway divisions and takes responsibility of guarding the trains.

Thakur told PTI that the accused constable was attached to the Lower Parel RPF post here, while ASI Tika Ram Meena was attached to the Dadar RPF post.

The Express train departed from Jaipur station at 2.01 pm on Sunday. The train was about 25 minutes late when it was nearing Borivali station in Mumbai.

The accused tried to escape by pulling the chain, said Thakur.

The train was held up at Borivali station for about an hour before reaching its final destination at 8.07 am in Mumbai Central station.
He says the opposition will bring down the BJP in the next elections
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif will be the next premier of the country if the party returns to power in the next general election.



Speaking on the Geo News programme on Sunday, Shehbaz said the three-time former prime minister who has been living in self-imposed exile in London since 2019 will return to the country in the next few weeks.

The premier said his elder brother Nawaz Sharif, 73, would face the law upon his return to Pakistan, adding that he was sent abroad on medical grounds on the basis of a medical report prepared on the directives of former prime minister Imran Khan.

Nawaz Sharif was disqualified in 2017 by the Supreme Court. In 2018, he became ineligible to hold public office for life after a Supreme Court verdict in the Panama Papers case.

Before his departure to London on a four-week bail by the Lahore High Court on medical grounds, Nawaz Sharif was serving a seven-year jail term in the Al-Azizia Mills corruption case.

Shehbaz Sharif said that a notification of the dissolution of the National Assembly will be sent to President Arif Alvi a few days ahead of the completion of the tenure at 12 midnight on August 12.

Shehbaz Sharif, also the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party president maintained that the PML-N would try to make seat adjustments with allied parties in the general elections, adding that the party would field its candidates in the constituencies where they could not reach a consensus.

He said the caretaker set-up would be agreed upon after consultation with allied parties, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, and the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Raja Riaz.
Saudi Arabia will host a Ukrainian-organised peace summit in early August seeking to find a way to start negotiations over Russia's war on the country, officials said Sunday.



The summit will be held in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, said one official, who spoke early Sunday on condition of anonymity as no authorization had been given to publicly discuss the summit. Russia was not invited, the official added.

Hours later, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andriy Yermak, confirmed the talks would be held in Saudi Arabia, without naming Jeddah as the location.

The Ukrainian Peace Formula contains 10 fundamental points, the implementation of which will not only ensure peace for Ukraine, but also create mechanisms to counter future conflicts in the world, Yermak said in a statement. We are deeply convinced that the Ukrainian peace plan should be taken as a basis, because the war is taking place on our land."

Yermak's statement described the 10 points as being discussed individually and in groups with representatives of more than 50 countries on an almost weekly basis.

Previously, Ukraine has described the 10-point peace formula as including the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the aggression and security guarantees for Ukraine.

Other peace plans have been floated amid the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin just finished meetings in St Petersburg with African leaders about their own proposed plan. China and Pope Francis also been working separately on their own. No details of those plans have been released.

Saudi Arabia did not acknowledge the upcoming summit Sunday and did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Those taking part in the summit will include Ukraine, Brazil, India, South Africa and several other countries, the official who spoke to AP said. A high-level official from US President Joe Biden's administration also is expected to attend the event, which is being planned by Kyiv, the official said.

Details remain in flux and the official did not offer dates for the talks, nor did Yermak.

The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the summit citing diplomats involved in the discussion, said the talks would take place Aug. 5 and 6, with some 30 countries attending. News of the summit comes after US national security adviser Jake Sullivan visited the kingdom Thursday.

The official who spoke to AP said the summit would be the next step after talks that took place in Copenhagen in June.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended an Arab League summit in Jeddah in May to press those nations to back Kyiv.

Arab nations largely have remained neutral since Russia launched the war on Ukraine in February 2022, in part over their military and economic ties to Moscow.

Saudi Arabia also has maintained a close relationship with Russia as part of the OPEC+ group. The organization's oil production cuts, even as Moscow's war on Ukraine boosted energy prices, have angered Biden and American lawmakers.

But hosting such talks also help raise the profile of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has sought to reach a detente with Iran and push for a peace in the kingdom's yearslong war in Yemen.

Ties remain strained between Riyadh and the West over the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, which US intelligence agencies say was ordered by Prince Mohammed.
Moscow was attacked by three drones in the early morning of July 30, the Russian Defence Ministry said. One drone was destroyed over the Odintsovsky district of the Moscow region. But, two of the drones hit buildings in Moscow.



"Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia - to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process," Zelensky said on a visit to the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk, AFP reported.

Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine should prepare for a new attack on energy infrastructure in winter while warning that "Ukraine is getting stronger." "Today is the 522nd day of the so-called 'Special Military Operation', which the Russian leadership thought would last a couple of weeks," he added.

It is unusual for Kyiv to admit responsibility for attacks inside Russia. Drone attacks like these are an opportunity for President Zelenskyy to address the Russian population. Former president of Russia Dmitry Medvedev, on Sunday, had said that Moscow would consider using a nuclear weapon if Kyiv's ongoing counter-offensive was a success. Moscow has rarely been targeted since Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Yurii Ihnat, the Ukrainian Air Force's spokesperson, said the drones aimed to affect Russians who felt that the war was distant, Kyiv Independent reported. Moscow, in the meanwhile said that it had managed to thwart Kyiv's attempt to attack Crimea with 25 drones overnight.
Kolkata, Jul 31 (PTI) Alleging that GST frauds are proliferating across the country and MSMEs are facing problems due to a web of regulations, Dr Amit Mitra, principal chief advisor to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Monday urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to convene a GST Council meeting to discuss these issues.

Mitra, a former state finance minister, referred to the central government's admission in the Lok Sabha that Rs 1.15 lakh crore of fraud have been detected from GST invoices between 2018-19 and 2022-23.

"I write this letter with great anguish and deep concern. On one hand, GST frauds are proliferating across the country penetrating each and every State. On the other, the web of regulations is so overpowering for the MSMEs, that they are on the verge of deregistering back to their informal status," Mitra said.

The humongous fraud taking place in the country and the suffering of the MSME in the current GST system require a total rethink by the Centre and the GST Council on the structure and GST, he added.

In the letter, Mitra also stated that out of 69,426 GST Identification Numbers verified during the last two months, 20,893 were found to be non-existent, and the amount of GST evasion detected in that period came to the tune of Rs 19,638 crore.

"May I point out that out of the 1.4 crore businesses registered with GST, only 0.42 per cent of registered taxpayers were verified, which yielded the shocking 30 per cent non-existent and fraudulent registrations," he said.

"Once again, on August 3, 2021, your MOS Finance put the quantum of fraud between 2020-21 and 2021-22 (till July 2021) at Rs 56,805 crore... In other words, since the inception of GST, year after year we have been helplessly watching massive fraud taking place in this porous GST system, Mitra said.

The economist also drew the union finance ministers attention to the complex web of GST that has been thrust upon the MSMEs and said that till date 770 notifications have been issued.

He said, "The rates of more than 400 items of goods and around 100 categories of services have been changed till date. How do you expect that an MSME company would be able to cope with this gargantuan regulatory structure?"

Though the intent of GST was to bring the informal sector entrepreneurs into the formal arena through a simple and transparent GST system, the unfortunate fact is that 90 per cent of the GST is contributed by large taxpayers who can cope with this complex web of regulations, Mitra said.

"I therefore, humbly urge you to convene a GST Council meeting that exclusively focuses on these two big issues, rather than tinkering with the nitty-gritty, to find holistic and sustainable solutions to control frauds & simplify regulations, keeping the MSMEs in mind," Mitra concluded.
Patna, Jul 31 (PTI) State-owned power giant NTPC Ltd on Monday announced that a 660-MW unit of its plant at Barh, on the outskirts of Patna, has started commercial generation, which would result in an additional 396 MW electricity supply to Bihar.

In a statement issued here, the NTPC also said this has resulted in an increase in the total commercial

generation capacity of the plant from 1,980 MW to 2,640 MW.

Bihar's allocation from the facility has thus risen to 1,922 MW from 1,526 MW from Monday, while the total allocation from all NTPC plants in the state has gone up to 7,287 MW from 6,891 MW.

The NTPC also disclosed that the unit, which started commercial generation on Monday, had successfully completed the mandatory 72-hour full-load trial-run operation on June 30.

"The fifth unit of the Barh plant, which would be the last of Stage-I, will be completed next year", the company said.

According to the allocation fixed by the Union Ministry of Power, 396 MW will be supplied "to the home state of Bihar" while the remaining will go to the Jharkhand, Odisha and Sikkim.

Notably, commercial operation of the first unit of Barh Stage-I had begun in November, 2021, when a function organised to mark the occasion was attended by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and R K Singh, the union minister for power, new and renewable energy.

The Barh plant, which is being built at a total estimated cost of more than Rs 21,000 crore, is located in the Barh subdivision of Patna district.

According to NTPC spokesman Vishwanath Chandan, "two units of 660 MW each (Unit IV and V) of Stage II of Barh Super Thermal Power Project have been generating electricity since November 15, 2014, and February 18, 2016, respectively".

"Bihar is getting power from six NTPC plants in the state. Its overall allocation of 7,287 MW includes 300 MW of solar power," he added.

DSGSS Babji, NTPC regional executive director (East-I), said on the occasion at present, the comapny has a commercial generation capacity of 9,730 MW of power in six projects with an investment of over Rs 80,000 crore in Bihar.
In a Facebook post, the third president, Mikheil Saakashvili, announced the establishment of an international program/initiative in collaboration with Sopo Chkhonia to provide medical and humanitarian aid to missing and remaining children in the occupied territories of Ukraine.Saakashvili called upon his supporters in Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia to actively participate in this cause by assisting in information gathering and contributing to the rescue efforts for these children."At least 15,000 Ukrainian children have been abducted from the occupied territories of Ukraine, forcibly adopted into families of the occupying country, and placed in orphanages. This war has already claimed the lives of 535 children, leaving many others orphaned and in search of their relatives and the Ukrainian state's assistance.Even in the conditions of my poor health, I am deeply affected by the tragedy of these children, both as a parent and as a Georgian citizen of Ukraine.Tchkonia has vast experience in humanitarian work. I request all my supporters in Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia to join us in this endeavor, helping us gather information and facilitating the evacuation of the children.We will have our own YouTube channel where we will promptly provide you with the latest information. The initiative will be launched on August 2. Please provide me with complete information at the address: Forhelp114@gmail.com," Saakashvili wrote on the social network.According to the information from the State Security Service, Sergo Gugutishvili and Tamaz Kakhabrishvili, who had been illegally detained by Russian occupation forces in the Gori municipality near the village of Koshka, are now free and currently in the territory controlled by the central government.The State Security Service stated, "Regarding the illegal detention of the mentioned individuals, constant communication was maintained through the hotline. The EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) and the co-chairs of the international discussions in Geneva were directly involved in the process. Additionally, the central government regularly raised the issue of their illegal detention and immediate release during meetings held in the formats of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) and the Geneva International Discussions."According to the State Security Service, the authorities, in collaboration with international partners, continue their efforts to secure the release of all persons in illegal detention, particularly those in the occupied Tskhinvali region and occupied Abkhazia.Sergo Gugutishvili and Tamaz Kakhabrishvili were arrested by representatives of the occupation forces on January 2, 2023. Local media reports indicate that the Tskhinvali de facto court sentenced them to six months of imprisonment in a case related to "illegal crossing of the border." Their sentence expired on July 28, leading to their release.
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, July 31. Kyrgyzstans capital Bishkek is set to receive 16 buses from Turkiye in March 2024, Trend reports.

The corresponding contract has been signed between Anadolu Isuzu, a Turkish automobile and bus manufacturing company licensed by the Japanese firm Isuzu, and the Bishkek Passenger Transport Enterprise, following a meeting between the Mayor of Bishkek, Emilbek Abdykadyrov, and representatives of the Turkish company.

The buses will be purchased as part of technical assistance to combat air pollution, funded by the German Development Bank (KFW) for 5.4 million euro.

The newly acquired buses will be 12 meters long and powered by compressed natural gas (CNG). They will be equipped with air conditioning and ramps.

A capacity of one bus is 85 passengers, including 21 seats and space for a wheelchair. The maintenance of the buses will be covered under a warranty period of two years or 150,000 kilometers.

Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan allocated over six billion soms ($68.6 million) from its budget for road projects across the country in 2023.
MUMBAI, India, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SGS, the world's leading testing, inspection and certification company, has been accredited by the International Organic Accreditation Service (IOAS) to extend its Textile Exchange product certification services to India - (Refer contract No- 143 https://ioas.org/certificationbodies/sgs-international-certification-services-iberica-s-a-u/ for current information).



The scope of the certification scheme, which SGS has delivered across Spain since 2021, includes Content Claim Standard (CCS) and Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) for textile, leather, plastic, paper and metal product categories.

The scope also includes the Organic Content Standard (OCS); Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and RAF (covering Responsible Wool Standard RWS, Responsible Mohair Standard RMS and Responsible Alpaca Standard RAS) to the textile industry for any stage of the supply chain after the farm.



SGS will provide the full spectrum of Textile Exchange certification services to manufacturers, traders, recyclers and brands from its strategically located offices in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Mumbai and Tirupur.



Shailesh Sharma, Director- Connectivity & Products, Softlines at SGS said: "We are delighted to have gained IOAS accreditation to expand our global textile and footwear certification services to give us maximum local presence across India. We are now even better placed to provide organizations across the region with the tools and expertise to achieve their sustainable sourcing goals and demonstrate the precise recycled and organic content of their products."



Textile Exchange is a global non-profit organization that works closely with all sectors of the textile supply chain. It identifies and shares best practices regarding farming, materials, processing, traceability, and product end-of-life to create positive impacts on water, soil, air, animals and the human population created around the world by the textile industry.



IOAS is a non-profit organization dedicated to the integrity of ecolabel claims in the field of organic and sustainable agriculture, environmental management, social justice and fair trade. IOAS works internationally to assess the competence of organizations providing certification to 'sustainability' standards.



To find out more about SGS services for textiles and clothing, footwear, bags and accessories, jewelry, and linens and towels, visit



www.sgs.com/softlines.



For more information, please contact: CRS.India@sgs.com



Nitin Sonawane

Email: nitin.sonawane@sgs.com



Ponnusamy. C

Email: C.ponnusamy@sgs.com



Janossy Orsolya

Email: orsolya.janossy@sgs.com



About SGS



We are SGS  the world's leading testing, inspection and certification company. We are recognized as the global benchmark for sustainability, quality and integrity. Our 98,000 employees operate a network of 2,650 offices and laboratories, working together to enable a better, safer and more interconnected world.



Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/724727/3750542/SGSLogo.jpg



(Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PRNewswire and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR

PWR
New Delhi, Jul 31 (PTI) Unruly passengers should face the law of the land, and no such passenger should go unpunished, aviation security watchdog BCAS chief Zulfiquar Hasan said on Monday.

In recent times, there have been incidents of unruly passenger behaviour onboard flights.

At a briefing here, Hasan said unruly passengers are a serious issue and that FIRs should be filed against them.

"They (unruly passengers) should face the law of the land.... no unruly passenger should go unpunished," he said.

Regulatory actions with respect to unruly passengers are done by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

According to official data, a total of 63 passengers were placed on the 'No Fly List' during the year 2022 for varying periods as recommended by an airline's internal committee.

"In 2023, 37 passengers have been placed on 'No Fly List' up to 15.07.2023. The majority of the passengers placed on 'No Fly List' were for the violation related to not wearing masks or not obeying the instructions of the crew members," Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh told the Lok Sabha on July 20.
Chennai, Jul 31 (PTI) Taiwan's Foxconn signed a letter of intent (LoI) with the Tamil Nadu government on Monday to establish a new mobile component manufacturing facility for Rs 1,600 crore in Kancheepuram with potential to generate 6,000 jobs.

On his Twitter handle, Chief Minister M K Stalin said the LoI was signed, in his presence, between the state government and Foxconn Group represented by its chairman Young Liu.
Mumbai, Jul 31 (PTI) Vipul Amrutlal Shah's "Commando" series will arrive on Disney+ Hotstar on August 11, the makers said Monday.

Fronted by newcomer Prem, the action-thriller show takes Shah's "Commando" movie franchise forward.

"Torn between a nefarious plan and a bio-war, Commando Virat devises an extraction mission to protect his nation and his brother Commando. Will he be able to succeed?" read the series' synopsis shared by the streamer.

Shah, who serves as creator, director and producer on the show, said he hopes the audience will love the upgraded version of the "Commando" film franchise.

"Commandos are the real heroes of our country and it's always been a great honour and pleasure to bring their heroism on screen. Introducing Prem has been an amazing journey. The hunger that he has to do the best keeps us all on our toes. He is not only great in action but also in romance and emotions," the filmmaker said in a statement.

Prem said he is happy to work under Shah's guidance for his debut project.

"It's like a dream turned into reality for me. Since I was just 11 years old, I harboured the passion to become an actor, and 'Commando' has been a monumental milestone in every sense. Earning the trust and confidence of Vipul sir was an achievement in itself... I sincerely hope the audience resonates with my portrayal and embraces me as their new commando," the debutant added.

Adah Sharma, Vaibhav Tatwawadi, Shreya Singh Chaudhry, Amit Sial, Mukesh Chhabra and Ishteyak Khan also round out the cast of "Commando", produced by Sunshine Pictures Pvt Ltd.

Originally headlined by Vidyut Jammwal, the first film in the franchise, "Commando: A One Man Army" was released in 2013. It was followed by two sequels, "Commando 2: The Black Money Trail" and "Commando 3", which hit the screens in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
Mumbai, Jul 31 (PTI) Hollywood veteran Robert De Niro's comedy movie "About My Father" will have its digital premiere on August 25 on Lionsgate Play.

A chaotic blend of cultures, the film is based on the real-life story of American comedian Sebastian Maniscalco and his father. Directed by Laura Teruso, the movie also stars Kim Cattrall, Leslie Bibb, Anders Holm and Brett Dier in titular roles.

"I guess you could say its about a father-son relationship; the father has criticism for the son, the son has criticism for the father. They have a relationship thats not in huge dramatic ways; its a family comedy. Its the kinda classic thing where Salvo, the father, is not crazy about the prospective in-laws.

"They are a bunch of stiffs and theyre not too sure about him either - the prospective son-in-law. But they (in-laws) do pretty well, theyre actually pretty nice about it and Salvo - they tolerate Salvo, I guess. There are a couple of scenes where he says what are you doing in this whole situation which is another classic one. Im sure many families go through that, especially when its a whole cultural clash," De Niro said in a statement.

"About My Father" is produced by Maniscalco, De Niro, Leslie Bibb, Anders Holm, David Rasche, Brett Dier, and Kim Cattrall.

According to the official synopsis, the film centres around Sebastian (Maniscalco) who is encouraged by his fiancee (Leslie Bibb) to bring his immigrant, hairdresser father, Salvo (De Niro), to a weekend get-together with her super-rich and exceedingly eccentric family. The weekend develops into what can only be described as a culture clash, leaving Sebastian and Salvo to discover that the great thing about family is everything about family.

The film is written by Austen Earl and Maniscalco.
Islamabad, Jul 30 (PTI) The US on Sunday extended its deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed and injured in the suicide blast and vowed its support for Pakistan's efforts in combating terrorism.

A powerful blast triggered by a suicide bomber killed at least 40 people and injured nearly 150 others at a rally of hardline Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) workers' convention in Khar, the capital of Bajaur tribal district in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan.

"We strongly condemn this heinous act of violence, which resulted in the loss of innocent lives and caused harm to many others. Such acts of terror have no place in a peaceful and democratic society. We stand in solidarity with the people of Pakistan during this difficult time," the US embassy here said in a statement.

"We reiterate our commitment to supporting Pakistan's efforts in combating terrorism and ensuring the safety and security of its citizens," the statement said.

The blast also killed Maulana Ziaullah Jan, JUI-F's local leader.

Rescue workers said they feared the number of casualties would rise.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the deadly attack, which came after a brief lull in major terror attacks.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the blast at the JUI-F convention. He said terrorists targeted those who advocated the cause of Islam, the Holy Quran and Pakistan.

Terrorists are enemies of Pakistan and they will be eliminated, he said in a statement released by the Prime Ministers Office.

Elements involved in the incident would be meted out with strict punishment, he said.

The JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman demanded Sharif and the province's caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan to investigate the incident.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terrorist attacks following the Afghan Talibans return to power in August 2021 and called upon the interim rulers to take decisive actions against terrorists including the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) responsible for cross-border attacks.

In November last year, the TTP called off an indefinite ceasefire agreed with the federal government and ordered its militants to carry out attacks on Pakistan's security forces.

The TTP was set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007.

The outfit, which is believed to be close to Al-Qaeda, has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan, including an attack on army headquarters in 2009, assaults on military bases, and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.

The TTP has also orchestrated the heinous Army Public School attack in Peshawar in 2014, in which over 130 students were killed.
Saudi Arabia will host a Ukrainian-organised peace summit in early August seeking to find a way to start negotiations over Russia's war on the country, officials said Sunday.

The summit will be held in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, said one official, who spoke early Sunday on condition of anonymity as no authorization had been given to publicly discuss the summit. Russia was not invited, the official added.

Hours later, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andriy Yermak, confirmed the talks would be held in Saudi Arabia, without naming Jeddah as the location.

The Ukrainian Peace Formula contains 10 fundamental points, the implementation of which will not only ensure peace for Ukraine, but also create mechanisms to counter future conflicts in the world, Yermak said in a statement. We are deeply convinced that the Ukrainian peace plan should be taken as a basis, because the war is taking place on our land."

Yermak's statement described the 10 points as being discussed individually and in groups with representatives of more than 50 countries on an almost weekly basis.

Previously, Ukraine has described the 10-point peace formula as including the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the aggression and security guarantees for Ukraine.

Other peace plans have been floated amid the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin just finished meetings in St Petersburg with African leaders about their own proposed plan. China and Pope Francis also been working separately on their own. No details of those plans have been released.

Saudi Arabia did not acknowledge the upcoming summit Sunday and did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Those taking part in the summit will include Ukraine, Brazil, India, South Africa and several other countries, the official who spoke to AP said. A high-level official from US President Joe Biden's administration also is expected to attend the event, which is being planned by Kyiv, the official said.

Details remain in flux and the official did not offer dates for the talks, nor did Yermak.

The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the summit citing diplomats involved in the discussion, said the talks would take place Aug. 5 and 6, with some 30 countries attending. News of the summit comes after US national security adviser Jake Sullivan visited the kingdom Thursday.

The official who spoke to AP said the summit would be the next step after talks that took place in Copenhagen in June.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended an Arab League summit in Jeddah in May to press those nations to back Kyiv.

Arab nations largely have remained neutral since Russia launched the war on Ukraine in February 2022, in part over their military and economic ties to Moscow.

Saudi Arabia also has maintained a close relationship with Russia as part of the OPEC+ group. The organization's oil production cuts, even as Moscow's war on Ukraine boosted energy prices, have angered Biden and American lawmakers.

But hosting such talks also help raise the profile of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has sought to reach a detente with Iran and push for a peace in the kingdom's yearslong war in Yemen.

Ties remain strained between Riyadh and the West over the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, which US intelligence agencies say was ordered by Prince Mohammed. (AP)



NSA

NSA

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Colombo, Jul 31 (PTI) Sri Lanka's main Tamil party TNA has demanded "enhanced and meaningful" devolution of power under the full implementation of the contentious 13th Amendment to the country's Constitution.

The minority Tamil community in Sri Lanka has been demanding the implementation of the 13th Amendment that provides for devolution of power to it.

The 13th Amendment (13A) was brought in after the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement of 1987. It created 9 provinces as devolved units with a temporary merger of the Northern and Eastern provinces.

Our position is that power-sharing must be in a federal structure consistent with the aspirations of the Tamil people expressed at every election since 1956, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) said in a statement.

The TNA urged the government to hold the provincial council elections and demanded enhanced and meaningful" devolution of power under the 13A.

The statement came in response to the last weeks All Party Conference on reconciliation called by President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Wickremesinghe at the all-party meeting told parties that he was for full implementation of the 13A, subject to parliamentary consensus across parties.

However, the opposition parties were adamant about holding the stalled provincial council elections at the talks.

The elections for the nine provinces have been on hold since 2018 following a move to introduce electoral reforms.

It now needs a parliamentary amendment to enable the elections to be held under the existing proportional representation system.

Wickremesinghe convened the all-party meeting immediately after his recent two-day visit to India during which 13A figured prominently in his wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi had reiterated India's wish to see the full implementation of the 13A.

The 13A was India's pioneering move in 1987 to try and bring a settlement to the issue of political autonomy to the Tamils in Sri Lanka. It created nine provinces as devolved units with a temporary merger of the northern and eastern provinces

The all-party meeting called by Wickremesinghe aimed at reconciliation and conferring full powers to Sri Lanka's provincial councils failed to yield any agreements and will be reconvened in a month.

Wickremesinghe has come under fire from the majority Sinhala community parties for bringing forward the issue of devolution at a time when the country is grappling with its worst-ever economic crisis.

They say the presidents action is a political stunt to woo the Tamils ahead of the next presidential election due in the last quarter of 2024.

Sri Lanka has had a long history of failed negotiations to end the Tamil claim of discrimination by allowing some form of political autonomy.

The Tamils put forward their demand for autonomy after gaining independence from Britain in 1948, which from the mid-70s turned into a bloody armed conflict.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ran a military campaign for a separate Tamil homeland in the Northern and Eastern provinces of the island nation for nearly 30 years before its collapse in 2009 after the Sri Lankan Army killed its supreme leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

According to Sri Lankan government figures, over 20,000 people are missing due to various conflicts, including the three-decade brutal war with Lankan Tamils in the north and east, which claimed at least 100,000 lives.
Islamabad, Jul 31 (PTI) Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif will be the next premier of the country if the party returns to power in the next general election.

Speaking on the Geo News programme on Sunday, Shehbaz said the three-time former prime minister who has been living in self-imposed exile in London since 2019 will return to the country in the next few weeks.

The premier said his elder brother Nawaz Sharif, 73, would face the law upon his return to Pakistan, adding that he was sent abroad on medical grounds on the basis of a medical report prepared on the directives of former prime minister Imran Khan.

Nawaz Sharif was disqualified in 2017 by the Supreme Court. In 2018, he became ineligible to hold public office for life after a Supreme Court verdict in the Panama Papers case.

Before his departure to London on a four-week bail by the Lahore High Court on medical grounds, Nawaz Sharif was serving a seven-year jail term in the Al-Azizia Mills corruption case.

Shehbaz Sharif said that a notification of the dissolution of the National Assembly will be sent to President Arif Alvi a few days ahead of the completion of the tenure at 12 midnight on August 12.

Shehbaz Sharif, also the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party president maintained that the PML-N would try to make seat adjustments with allied parties in the general elections, adding that the party would field its candidates in the constituencies where they could not reach a consensus.

He said the caretaker set-up would be agreed upon after consultation with allied parties, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, and the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Raja Riaz.
Nicosia (Cyprus), Jul 31 (AP) Greece's prime minister said Monday that his government wants to take full advantage of a developing positive political climate with neighbouring Turkiye in order to improve bilateral relations despite a string of decades-old disputes.

But Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that doesn't mean Turkiye has substantially changed its stance on key differences between the two countries and needs to decisively abandon its aggressive and unlawful conduct against Greece's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Turkiye and Greece remain at odds over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, a dispute that affects irregular migration into the European Union, mineral rights and the projection of military power.

Mitsotakis said that he agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12 to initiate new lines of communication and to maintain a period of calm.

High-level talks between the the two countries are expected to take place in the Greek city of Thessaloniki later this year.

However, the Greek prime minister said that Erdogan's outreach to the EU can't come at the expense of efforts to heal Cyprus' nearly half-century ethnic division.

Speaking after talks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Mitsotakis said that he told Erdogan that improved European-Turkish ties can't exclude a Cyprus peace accord and that the issue can't be left by the wayside.

Turkiye and the breakaway Turkish Cypriots have insisted on a two-state solution since July 2017 when the most recent round of UN-facilitated peace talks collapsed.

That position overturned a long-standing agreement sanctioned by the UN Security Council in numerous resolutions that any peace deal would aim for a reunified Cyprus as a federation made up of Greek and Turkish speaking zones.

Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkiye invaded following a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkiye recognises a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the island's northern third, where more than 35,000 Turkish troops are stationed.

On Friday, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar repeated that peace talks could resume only if Greek Cypriots recognize the Turkish Cypriots' sovereign equality.

Christodoulides said Monday that any improvement in European-Turkish relations should be based on reciprocal action by Turkiye, adding that the EU prioritises a Cyprus peace deal in line with UN resolutions. (AP)



GRS

GRS
London, Jul 31 (PTI) UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said that British citizenship will be blocked to "serious criminals" regardless of when or where the crime took place under the country's tightened norms effective from Monday.

The Indian-origin minister said she is cracking down on the misuse of Britains nationality system by raising the bar for those applying for citizenship.

The changes override previous rules under which some criminals could be granted British citizenship after a prescribed number of years of around 15 years had passed since the end of their sentence  regardless of the type of crime or where it was committed.

British citizenship is a privilege. Those who commit crimes shouldnt be able to enjoy the breadth of rights citizenship brings, including holding a British passport, voting and accessing free medical care from the NHS (National Health Service), said Braverman.

I am cracking down on abuse of the UKs immigration and nationality system, by introducing a tougher threshold so that serious criminals cannot gain British citizenship. This is the fair and right thing to do for our country, she said.

The British government crackdown involves strengthened rules applying to new applications from anyone who has received at least a 12-month prison sentence.

The UK Home Office said it re-affirms the governments commitment to protecting UK borders and ensuring no one with a criminal record can abuse the British immigration and nationality system.

The updated rules are stricter and more specific on so-called good character requirements, which are a key condition to be granted British citizenship, and look at whether an individual has observed UK law as well as shown respect for the rights and freedoms of British citizens.

The requirements include factors such as criminal convictions, immigration offending and serious behaviour like war crimes, terrorism or genocide.

According to the Home Office, there will be some exceptions to the stricter new rules, which will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, for example, if someone has mitigating circumstances that support an exceptional grant.

Cases like this could include someone who committed a minor offence a long time ago but has made sufficient, positive changes that they are now considered to be of good character, it noted.

Under previous norms, a four-year prison sentence was the threshold at which a British citizenship application was likely to be refused.

The Home Office said its toughened-up good character rules will mean the criminality threshold for British citizenship is in line with the governments wider visa and immigration rules.
Mumbai, Jul 30 (PTI) A man was nabbed on Sunday night shortly after he stabbed and injured his 35-year-old estranged wife over a marital dispute in Mumbai, police said.

The incident occurred after the woman stepped out of the residence of her employer in suburban Khar, an official said.

The woman received injuries in her neck, the official said, adding the attacker was picked up from his home in Dharavi.

The injured woman was rushed to a nearby hospital where she is recuperating and her condition is stated to be stable.

A case of attempt to murder was registered and further investigation is underway, the official added.
Pune, Jul 31 (PTI) Members of opposition parties planning to stage a protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Pune on Tuesday claimed on Monday they have been slapped with notices by the police.

NCP city unit president (Sharad Pawar faction) Prashant Jagtap, who is going to take part in the agitation, said he has been served a notice by the police under Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) section 149 (police to prevent cognizable offences).

Jagtap, citing the notice, said he has been told that agitations and rasta rokos (road blockade) where five or more people may assemble, have been prohibited in public as well as private spaces as per the Maharashtra Police Act.

"We are going to stage a protest against Modi. Since they do not want this agitation or black flags to be waved, we have been served notices," he said.

Jagtap, however, said they want to stand with the people of violence-hit Manipur and hence will go ahead with the protest.

Mohan Joshi, Maharashtra Congress vice-president, said he, too, has received a police notice, but asserted the protest will take place as planned.

The agitation has been organized in the Mandai area on Tuesday morning.

Earlier, members of the opposition bloc INDIA, in a release, said the prime minister has time to go to foreign countries, but not to Manipur, which has been witnessing ethnic classes since early May.
Kolkata, Jul 31 (PTI) Four candidates who won the panchayat elections in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district alleged that they were kidnapped by supporters of the TMC, a charge denied by the state's ruling party.

TMC MLA of Canning Purba Saokat Molla claimed the three BJP candidates and a CPI(M)-backed Independent nominee wanted to join the TMC on their own, influenced by the development initiatives undertaken by the Mamata Banerjee government.

BJP nominees Puja Chhatui, Kamala Mandal and Sushanta Mandal, and Independent candidate Narayan Haldar of Krishnachandrapur panchayat in Mathurapur went missing on Thursday, their families alleged.

In a video, which went viral on social media on Saturday, they claimed that they were safe and staying at a location in Sundarban, and would return home when the panchayat's board is formed in mid-August. However, they returned home on Sunday.

After returning home, they told reporters that they were kidnapped and taken to a house in Sundarban.

"We were forced to sign a blank page, and also make that scripted video," Haldar said, adding that the kidnappers let them leave on Saturday night.

Senior CPIM leader Kanti Ganguly alleged that the TMC kidnapped the four candidates to form the board of the panchayat as it could not manage a majority in the elections, but it gave up sensing trouble.

BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said the turn events exposed TMC's "little faith" in democracy.

"TMC tried to capture the panchayat. But, alarmed by sustained media coverage about the incident, the TMC's leadership asked the district functionaries to release them," he claimed.

TMC MLA Molla, however, claimed these four candidates wanted to join the ruling party but understanding that they would not be inducted, they cooked up the story.

TMC state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, "Why should the TMC be involved in such a practice? It is the hallmark of BJP in government formation in some states."
Kolkata, Jul 31 (PTI) The Cultural Cell of the West Bengal BJP on Monday alleged that two Mumbai-based firms, with the help of some influential lobbies, are illegally collecting money from non-profit private musical events such as weddings in the name of royalty.

However, neither the ruling Trinamool Comngress-run government in the state nor the police is acting against them, state BJP Cultural Cell convenor and actor Rudranil Ghosh told a press conference.

Ghosh claimed these two Mumbai-based private entities that project themselves as firms safeguarding copyright issues do not have the legal authority to do so.

He referred to a recent notice issued by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry about receiving several complaints about the alleged collection of such royalties from festivities associated with events like weddings.

On July 24, the central government's Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade said in a notice that playing Bollywood music at weddings and associated festivities will not lead to copyright infringement action.

The Copyright Act of 1957 had previously determined that music was legally permissible to play at such functions, but copyright firms issued demands for license fees, leading to disputes and financial strain on organisers.

Ghosh said many small-time musicians, who depend on such functions get only Rs 10,000-20,000 per function, but the organisers have to shell out lakhs of rupees to these firms.

"We are asking those behind this game of collecting royalty from non-commercial, non-profiting and non-ticketing" private or small get-togethers to refrain from doing this. Otherwise, we will be forced to take up the issue with the Union government and action will be followed," he said.

The BJP leader asked, "Why should a family organising a marriage party at a hotel have to pay Rs 9-10 lakh which is sheer extortion in the name of the Copyright Act?"

The role of hotels in practice should also come under scanner, he said.

To a question, Ghosh claimed he is not speaking on behalf of any political party but on behalf of everyone who has been affected.
New Delhi, Jul 31 (PTI) The BJP on Monday rejected the opposition's criticism of the government for pushing forth its legislative agenda in Parliament and not taking up the no-confidence motion, saying neither rules nor precedence makes it mandatory for the ruling party to prove its majority first.

Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha and Union Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters that everyone knows the government enjoys a two-third majority in Lok Sabha and the numbers strongly favour it.

Several opposition members have said their no-confidence motion against the government should be taken up in Lok Sabha first and claimed that it is wrong for the treasury benches to push through bills before this.

There are no such rules, Goyal said, adding that precedence also does not support such an argument.

It is the Speaker's prerogative to decide when to take up the no-confidence motion, and the government is ready whenever it is taken up, he said.

Congress MP Manish Tewari has claimed that all bills passed after the no-confidence motion was admitted in the Lok Sabha are "constitutionally suspect" and asserted that any substantive legislative business must succeed the outcome of the motion, not precede it.

The former Union minister also said the 10-day period for scheduling a discussion on the no-confidence motion tabled in the Lok Sabha cannot be used to "steamroll" bills. Some other opposition members have echoed his view.

Goyal also hit back at the opposition bloc INDIA after its delegation of MPs highlighted people's suffering in Manipur after visiting the state and demanded a discussion in Parliament, saying it is these parties which are running away from a debate.

The government has been ready for a debate right from day one of the monsoon session, he said.

The opposition has been demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a statement in Parliament first before any discussion on the Manipur situation. The government has made clear its disagreement with the demand while asserting that Home Minister Amit Shah will reply to the discussion.

It is clear that the opposition is in fear that it will be exposed during the discussion, Goyal said, adding that a debate will highlight the bad state of affairs when the Congress was in power in the state and at the Centre and how things changed after the BJP took over.
Jammu, Jul 31 (PTI) After a protracted legal battle, the Magray family of Ramban district visited the grave of their slain son Amir Magray in north Kashmir's Kupwara and offered special prayers.

Magray was among four people killed in Hyderpora on the outskirts of Srinagar on November 15, 2021. Police had claimed that they were terrorists and buried their bodies in a graveyard in Kupwara.

His father Mohammad Latief said the family feels relieved after offering prayers at the grave of their son.

A compensation of Rs 5 lakh, handed over to the family from the Jammu and Kashmir administration, was termed by Lateif as washing away the "blot of terrorism" on his head.

Latief, his wife and eight other relatives performed 'Fateh Khawani (special prayers)' at the grave in the Wadoora village of the Handwara belt in north Kashmir on Sunday.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police in 2020 decided that it would not hand over the bodies of "terrorists" to family members and instead bury them at different places to avoid a law-and-order situation.

However, after a public outcry about the veracity of the Hyderpora encounter, the Jammu and Kashmir administration buckled and exhumed the bodies of two -- Altaf Ahmad Bhat and Dr Mudasir Gul -- and handed those over to their families.

Latief was, however, refused Magray's body following which he approached Jammu and Kashmir High Court and got relief when a single-bench judge in May 2022 ordered the exhumation of the body and handing it over to the family for last rites, along with a compensation of Rs 5 lakh.

The court, however, said if the body is "highly putrefied and is not in deliverable state or is likely to pose risk to public health and hygiene, the petitioner and his close relatives shall be allowed to perform last rites as per their tradition and religious beliefs in the  graveyard itself".

"In that situation, the state shall pay to the petitioner (Latief) a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for deprivation of his right to have the dead body of his son and give him a decent burial as per the family traditions, religious obligations and faith which the deceased professed when he was alive," the order said.

A division bench of the high court later modified the judgment, restricting the family to performing the rituals and directing the Jammu and Kashmir administration to pay the compensation.

Latief later filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court.

However, the top court upheld the decision of the division bench of the high court, saying, "It will be too much at this stage to disinter the body The dead should not be disturbed and some sanctity should be attached to the grave."

"We visited the grave of our son on Sunday after being facilitated by the police. The compensation amount of Rs 5 lakh was deposited in my account on July 21. This clearly shows my son was innocent and not a terrorist," Latief told PTI on the phone from his residence in Ramban's Sangaldan.

He said they are now satisfied and thankful to the Supreme Court and the high court for upholding justice.

A state bravery award winner for killing a terrorist in his village with stones at the peak of terrorism some two decades ago, Latief said the police had made all arrangements for the 'Fateh Khawani' at the grave for him and his family.

Latief's lawyer Deepika Pushkar Nath took to Twitter to express her happiness over the family finally performing the post-death rituals at the grave of their son.
Noida, Jul 31 (PTI) Two suspected thieves who roamed around in suits listening to music on earphones in posh neighbourhoods of Noida to evade suspicion about their work have been arrested over multiple theft cases, police said on Monday.

The duo is part of a four-member gang which decamped with valuables after breaking into houses whose inhabitants were not at home and are involved in around 50 cases in multiple states, the police said.

On July 6, the gang was involved in the theft of over 100-120 gram of gold and some other valuables from a home in Sector 37 under Sector 39 police station area of the city. Police said to track the culprits they analysed over 1,200 CCTV footage in Noida, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab.

"Those held have been identified as Sirajuddin alias Siraj alias Shiva Bengali (36), a native of Cooch Behar in West Bengal, and Shahzad alias Pahalwan (32), who hails from Kairana area of Shamli district. So far, around 75 gm of the stolen gold estimated worth around Rs 5 lakh has been recovered, Additional DCP (Noida) Shakti Mohan Avasthy said.

"Two more of their partners have been identified, one of them is the wife of an arrestee, and searches are underway to ensure their arrest soon. The other person is the one who sold the stolen valuables in the market for the gang," the officer told reporters.

Avasthy highlighted that the two arrested thieves roamed around in suits and listened to music on earphones when they were in posh neighbourhoods to recce for their next target. They did this to evade suspicion about their work and broke into homes where they found locks hanging on the main door.

The police said they have also seized the tools they used to break into the houses and impounded a scooter which they used during crimes.

An FIR is lodged in connection with the case at the local Sector 39 police station and further legal proceedings are being carried out, they added.
Chandigarh, Jul 31 (PTI) The Punjab Vigilance Bureau Monday said it has arrested an inspector, posted at the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) depot in Bathinda, for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 2 lakh.

Devinder Singh was arrested on the complaint of Hardev Singh, a resident of village Ralla in Mansa district, a spokesperson for the bureau said.

In his complaint, Hardev Singh said he was posted as a driver at the PRTC depot, Bathinda and his services were dismissed on March 16 after he was found guilty in a five litres diesel theft case.

He alleged the accused inspector demanded Rs 2 lakh to get his services reinstated. The complainant has also submitted a purported audio recording of the inspector allegedly demanding a bribe.

After preliminary investigation, the spokesperson said a case was registered on Monday against Inspector Devinder Singh in Bathinda.
Jamshedpur, Jul 31 (PTI) Two persons, allegedly involved in the killing of gangster Amarnath Singh (40) on July 28, were arrested with arms and ammunition, a senior police officer said on Monday.

Superintendent of Police (City) K Vijay Shankar on Monday said the arrests were made near Deoghar village following a tip-off that two criminals wanted in Singh's murder case were fleeing on a Kolkata-bound bus.

A police team headed by Officer-in-Charge of MGM police station Raju launched a vehicle checking drive near Deoghar village on National Highway 33 on Sunday night.

The team intercepted a Kolkata-bound bus and apprehended the two criminals, the SP said, adding that on interrogation they confessed their involvement in the killing of Singh.

Police seized a country-made pistol and two live cartridges from their possession, Vijay Shankar said.

A case has been arrested under relevant sections of Arms act against the two accused identified as Deepak Chaudhary alias Teka and Abhisekh Singh alias Bittu.

Both the arrested persons having criminal antecedents were forwarded to judicial custody.

On July 28th night, unidentified assailants in disguise of Kanwariyas shot dead gangster Amarnath Singh at Basukinath in Dumka district.

Singh, a resident of Mango locality in Jamshedpur, along with family members had gone to famous famous Basukinath temple to offer their obeisance in the holy Hindu month of Shravan when the assailants in disguise of Kanwariyas opened fire from point blank range.
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, July 31. The industrial enterprises of Tajikistan manufactured products worth $16.656 billion somoni ($1.5 billion) from January through May 2023, Trend reports.

The industrial production manufactured by the country's enterprises exceeded the indicators of the same period of 2022 by 1.155 billion somoni ($105.6 million).

According to Firdavs Asmatbekzoda, the Head of Department at Statistics Agency under the President of Tajikistan, the main contribution to the industrial growth of the country during the reporting period was attributed to the increase in mining sector-by 2.8 percent, in processing sector  by 12.8 percent, and in sector of energy and steam supply, and air purification  by 13.1 percent.

Asmatbekzoda mentioned that during the five months of 2023, 3,174 industrial workshops and enterprises functioned in Tajikistan.

Of them, 301 enterprises were engaged in mining, 2,706 enterprises - in processing, 71 enterprises specialized in electricity, gas, steam and air purification, and 96 were occupied with waste processing.

He noted that consistent implementation of measures for the development of the industrial sector in Tajikistan contributed to an increase in the volume of industrial production across the countrys regions.

The value of industrial production in Tajikistan amounted to 43 billion somoni ($4.2 billion) in 2022. The country's main industries include mining, chemicals, cotton, metallurgy, and machine-building. The largest industrial centers in Tajikistan are Dushanbe, the capital, and Khujand.
New Delhi, Jul 31 (PTI) The Delhi High Court has refused to direct the Centre to impose a total prohibition" on slaughter of cows and its progeny, saying the competent legislature has to be approached for any steps in this regard.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, while dealing with a public interest litigation by Brishbhan Verma, noted that there is already a ban in respect of cow slaughter in the national capital pursuant to a law enacted by the city government.

It said for other states, the petitioner was free to take appropriate steps in light of a Supreme Court decision, which held that legislature cannot be compelled to come out with a particular legislation.

"The Supreme Court observed that only a competent legislature can decide such questions arising in relation to prohibition of slaughter of cow and its progeny, and the Supreme Court, in exercise of its writ jurisdiction, cannot compel the legislature to promulgate a particular legislation. The court ultimately left it to the appellants in the case to approach the legislature, said a bench, also comprising Justice Sanjeev Narula, in an order passed last week.

"There is already an Act in force in the State of Delhi as discussed above which provides for ban on slaughter of cattle, and in respect of other states the Petitioner shall certainly be free to take appropriate steps in light of the order passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the court said.

The petitioner prayed for a direction to the Centre for a "total prohibition" on the slaughter of cow and its progeny which includes old-useless bulls, bullocks and old buffaloes and male counterpart, without any further delay.

In light of the top court's order, the high court said the petitioner cannot press for the reliefs sought in this petition.

The Centre, represented by its counsel Monika Arora, submitted that all the states and Union territories have enacted legislation to restrict/ban slaughter of cows and its progeny, except five states and one Union Territory, i.e., Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Lakshadweep.

It further said the legislative competence with respect to the issue in the present case lies with the state governments and in respect of Delhi, the prohibition on slaughter of cows is already in force through the Delhi Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act, 1994.

Delhi government counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi said the provisions of the Delhi Act makes it very clear that there is a complete ban in respect of cow slaughter in the national capital.
Manipur video: SC says incident came to light on May 4, asks why it took police 14 days to register FIR.
New Delhi, Jul 31 (PTI) The Delhi High Court has granted bail to a foreign national found in possession of 50 cocaine capsules, which he had swallowed and concealed in his stomach, noting he has been in custody for the past more than six years.

The high court noted the trial in the drugs case is yet to be concluded and asked the lower court to expeditiously record the evidence of the remaining witnesses and conclude the trial within six months.

While granting bail to Soleto Justniano Fernando Tito, a citizen of Bolivia, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma directed the accused to deposit his passport with the trial court and not to leave the country.

"The trial court shall ensure that the certificate of assurance from the High Commission of Bolivia duly verified is placed on record that the applicant shall not leave the country. The applicant shall not leave NCT of Delhi, except with the prior permission of the trial court," the high court said.

It referred to a judgment passed by the Supreme Court in which the top court had reiterated that bar under Section 37 of NDPS Act would not come in the way of grant of bail to undertrials in cases of prolonged incarceration.

"Therefore, considering the duration of custody of more than 6 years and the fact that trial has not yet been concluded, this Court is inclined to grant regular bail to the present accused/applicant on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties of like amount to the satisfaction of trial court," the high court said.

It noted that the punishment prescribed under the provisions, for which Tito has been accused of, is rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than 10 years but may extend to 20 years.

According to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the accused was apprehended at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here in May 2017, and 50 capsules containing cocaine were recovered from his possession, which he had swallowed and concealed inside his stomach.

It said the contraband which had been seized by the investigating agency was 500 grams of cocaine, which is a commercial quantity.

The capsules were recovered from the man through medical help at Safdarjung Hospital.

The prosecution has claimed the man disclosed that the contraband was given to him by his cousin to deliver in India and that he had initially swallowed 80 capsules but in the middle of the journey, he had vomited 30 capsules at Sao Paulo Airport, Brazil.

Tito sought bail on the ground that he was arrested on May 16, 2017 and has been in judicial custody since then.

He said he was not pressing the bail plea on merits but only on the ground that since he has been in judicial custody for more than six years, he was entitled to bail.

The NCB opposed the bail plea saying it was a case of recovery of commercial quantity of the contraband drug and the chances of absconding cannot be ruled out as the accused is a foreign national.
Hyderabad, July 31 (PTI) The Telangana Cabinet on Monday decided to expand the metro rail network in Hyderabad with about Rs 60,000 crore in the next three-four years and, among other decisions, to provide ex-gratia to the kin of 40 people who died during the recent heavy rains in the state.



In another key decision, the cabinet meeting, presided over by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, decided to recognise the over-43,000 employees of the state-run Road Transport Corporation (RTC) as government staff.





Briefing reporters after the cabinet meeting, State Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao said it has been decided to expand metro rail on a large scale to strengthen public transport in Hyderabad.







Recalling that the CM had already laid the foundation stone for metro rail between Raidurgam to the airport, he said the metro rail expansion would take place on many routes that connect Hyderabad to its outskirts in various directions.







"Altogether, the cabinet approved expansion of metro rail with Rs 60,000 crores in addition to the 101 kms taken up earlier. The CM directed our municipal department to complete this project in the coming three-four years," he said.





He said the CM has asked the metro rail authorities and the municipal department to submit detailed proposals soon.







He said the state government hoped that the Centre would extend help in implementing the project like it did for other cities. But the state government itself will take up the project if the Centre does not help, he added.







"We hope they (NDA government at the Centre) will cooperate with us. If this government does not help us, a coalition government would come anyway after 2024. The role of BRS would be crucial in that. We are confident that we will achieve it there," he said.







Rama Rao, son of Chandrasekhar Rao, said the cabinet decided to urge the Centre to allow civil aviation services from the Hakimpet Air Force station in Hyderabad to meet the growing needs of the state capital.







The state government feels that Hyderabad should have a second airport in view of the city's growth, he said.







Noting that defence airports in cities like Goa and Pune are also used for civil aviation, he said the state government would have no objection if defence authorities control and run the Hakimpet airport after civil aviation services are started.







Alleging that the Airports Authority of India delayed the establishment of Warangal-Mamnoor airport, he said the cabinet decided to allot additional land (about 250 acres) for the purpose as sought.







Rama Rao said the CM directed the finance department to release immediate assistance of Rs 500 crore to carry out immediate repairs to roads, tanks and others damaged due to the recent heavy rains.







Speaking about the more than 40 people who lost their lives in the recent rains, he said the government has decided to extend ex-gratia to their kin after collecting their details.







The Municipal Administration Minister also said the district Collectors have been asked to submit reports on the damage caused by the rains to agricultural fields.







In another decision, the government also decided to pass the bills returned by Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan again in the assembly, he said.







With regard to employees of RTC, the cabinet decided to appoint a sub-committee of officials on the modalities of recognising them as government employees.



In other important decisions, the cabinet decided to prepare an 'orphan policy' which treats orphans as "children of the state" and puts the responsibility of taking care of them on the government, Rama Rao said.



The cabinet also decided to nominate BRS leader Sravan Dasoju, who hails from the backward classes, and former MLA Kurra Satyanarayana who belongs to the minority community of 'Erukala' among the STs as MLC candidates under the Governor quota, he added.
Chittoor (Andhra Pradesh), July 31 (PTI) Amid several cross-border marriages in India, one such event took place in Andhra Pradesh too, when a Sri Lankan woman married a man from Chittoor district recently, police said on Monday.



Vikneshwariy Sivakumara (25), a Sri Lankan national, who arrived in India on July 14 married D Lakasamanudu (24) on July 15, police said. Lakasamanudu belongs to Arimakula Palli village.



According to the police, the couple got in touch through Facebook, fell in love and then went on to marry.



Sivakumara and Lakasamanudu's marriage took place at Sai Baba temple in Venkatagirikota village, a local police official told PTI on Monday. Following the marriage, the couple tried to apply for an Aadhaar card for Sivakumara at a local enrollment centre, prompting officials to become suspicious and alert the police, Chittoor superintendent of police Y Rishant Reddy said.



Reddy noted that Sivakumara arrived in India on a 30-day tourist visa but was planning to live in India. Police therefore issued a notice to her saying she must obtain a one-year visa to stay in India or return when her tourist visa expires.



Reddy said the woman had subsequently applied to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) for a longer visa on the basis of their marriage. The marriage certificate has been submitted for the purpose.



In the event that Sivakumara is denied a one-year visa, Reddy said she would have to return to Sri Lanka when her tourist visa expires on August 15 and then travel back to India again.



Sivakumara, whose passport mentions her profession as housemaid, had told her family members that she was going on a tour and came to Andhra Pradesh to get married.
Westerly, RI (02891)

Today

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 62F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 62F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.




During a bipartisan Congressional delegation to Israel led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this year, McCarthy committed to forming a Parliamentary Friendship Group with the Israeli Knesset. Now, following last weeks Joint Meeting of Congress with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Speaker McCarthy and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are appointing 12 Members of Congress to serve as part of this historic alliance, led by Congressman David Kustoff.

Today, the growing partnership and enduring friendship between Israel and America enters an exciting new chapter, said Speaker McCarthy. For the first time in history, the 435 members of the House and the 120 members of the Knesset have a forum to engage directly with one another, seek solutions that benefit our nations, and faithfully represent our peoples hopes and dreams together. I look forward to working closely with Speaker Ohana in this effort, which I believe will further foster and strengthen the special relationship between Israel and America.

The commitment of the United States Congress to a safe and secure Israel is bipartisan and ironclad, said Leader Jeffries. The special relationship between our two nations is anchored in our shared democratic values and strategic interests. It is this relationship that the members of the House-Knesset Parliamentary Friendship Group will strengthen as they come together with our Israeli counterparts.

The following Members will serve on the House-Knesset Parliamentary Friendship Group:

David Kustoff, Chairman Ann Wagner Nicole Malliotakis Anthony DEsposito John James Mike Lawler Max Miller Dean Phillips, Ranking Member Brad Sherman Kathy Manning Ritchie Torres Nikema Williams

I am honored to be appointed Chairman of the House-Knesset Parliamentary Friendship Group, saidCongressman Kustoff. I applaud Speaker McCarthy for establishing this group tasked with strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship and building a better understanding of our two democracies. Now more than ever, it is imperative we show the rest of the world that the United States stands firmly with our greatest friend and ally in the Middle East, Israel. I look forward to working with my colleagues on this important initiative.




In an ever-expanding pool of hopefuls looking to take over the position of Rep. George Santos, a fresh primary challenger has emerged  Daniel Norber, a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces.

Norber, a small business owner hailing from Bayside, Queens, has entered the race citing the urgent need for better representation in the district. Norber expressed dissatisfaction with Santos, who is currently grappling with federal charges related to fraud and money laundering, and has a history of being untruthful.

I believe he should resign definitely, no doubt about it, remarked Norber, aged 43, in an interview with the New York Post. We deserve someone who will bring respect and dignity to our district.

A key point of contention for Norber was Santos controversial claim of being Jewish, which the challenger found unacceptable. Despite promises from Team Santos, a genetic test to verify the claim never happened, further fueling the skepticism surrounding the incumbents statement.

My 23 And Me said I am Ashkenazi Jewish, Norber said. I am not Jew-ish.

Norbers platform revolves around issues crucial to the district, including enhancing local quality of life, addressing crime concerns, securing the US border, and bolstering the economy.

Meanwhile, Santos has declared his intention to seek re-election, but his fundraising efforts have been lackluster, with most of the collected funds used to settle his personal debts.

Norbers entry into the race marks the third public announcement of a Republican challenge against Santos. The other contenders include Mike Sapraicone, a retired NYPD detective, and Kellen Curry, an Afghanistan war veteran.

While the Republicans battle for the partys nomination, a multitude of Democrats are also positioning themselves to seize the opportunity to challenge whoever becomes the GOPs nominee in the predominantly blue-leaning district.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of longtime resident of Flatbush, Rabbi Eliezer Hakohen Miller ZL, the son of Hagaon HaRav Avigdor Miller ZTL. He was in his high eighties.

Reb Laizer was born in Europe while his father Harav Avigdor Miller was learning in the Slabodka Kollel.

When the winds of war started blowing being that his father was an American they were able to obtain visas to come to America. Even though he was very young when he left, the livisha spirit never left him. He always personified the Slabodka Gadlus HaAdam, as he was always seen wearing a tie and jacket.

After immigrating to the USA , Harav Avigdor became the Rav in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Young Laizer was exempt from going to school being the Rabbis son and always held onto to his card not be arrested by the truant officer. Truant officers would arrest children who were hanging around the street and not going to public school. He had vivid memories of the European Gedolim coming to his parents home, the likes of the Ponevezh Rav and others.

For the first 9 months, after Harav Avigdor took the job in Mesivta Yeshiva Chaim Berlin , the family lived in the dormitory. Reb Laizer always recalled those days with real simcha , to spend his days and nights in the yeshiva.

After he went to work he very quickly established himself as a Baal Chessed. Meshulochim from all over held Reb Laizer as a close yedid. He gave everyone the time of day and listened to their tales of woe.

His advice was sought by so many who considered him a good friend. It was almost impossible for him to go a place and not meet an old friend. His face always radiated with his trademark smile.

Over the last few years when the fame of his father boomed all over the world, every time he had to speak to his family he would instruct them to remember whose name they carry and to act accordingly.

He leaves behind a beautiful Torahdika family who carry their illustrious heritage with such dignity.

Children: Yehuda Miller, Sruly Miller (ZL), Yeruchem Miller, Rochel Blumenkrantz, Rivky Hamada, Yanky Miller, Chaim Miller.

Sisters: Rebbitzen Shaine Brog, Rebbitzen Libby Leshinsky, Rebbitzen Devorah Kanareck.

The levayah will take place on Monday at 11.30 AM in Shomrie Hadas with the Kevurah In Eretz Yisroel.

Boruch Dayan HaEmmes

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




Russian missiles slammed into an apartment complex and a university building in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih Monday, killing four people and wounding scores of others as the blasts trapped residents beneath rubble, Ukraines interior minister said.

One of the two missiles destroyed a section of the apartment building between the fourth and ninth floors, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. Video showed black smoke billowing from corner units and burned out or damaged cars on a tree-lined street.

A 10-year-old girl was among those killed, officials said. Dnipro Gov. Serhii Lysak said 53 people were wounded in the morning attack, which also destroyed part of the four-story university building.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian artillery strike on partially occupied Donetsk province killed two people and wounded six in the regional capital, according to Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the illegally annexed province.

A bus was also hit as Ukrainian forces shelled the city of Donetsk multiple times Monday, Pushilin said.

Neither sides claims could be independently verified.

A recent Ukrainian counteroffensive, deploying weaponry supplied by Kyivs Western allies and aimed at driving Russian forces out of occupied areas, intensified last week. At the same time, Ukraine has sought to take the war deep into Russia, reportedly using drones to hit targets as far away as Moscow.

Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia and Moscow-annexed territory, especially Crimea, have become more frequent. The latest strike, on Sunday, damaged two office buildings a few miles (kilometers) from the Kremlin.

Russia has tightened security in the aftermath of that attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, describing the assault as an act of desperation.

The Kyiv regime is in a very, very difficult situation, Peskov said, as the counteroffensive is not working out as planned.

Its obvious that the multibillion-dollar resources that have been transferred by NATO countries to the Kyiv regime are actually being spent inefficiently, Peskov said.

This raises big questions in Western capitals and great discomfort among taxpayers in Western countries.

Another Ukrainian drone targeted a district police department early Monday in Russias Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, but there were no casualties, the local governor said.

In Kryvyi Rih, which is the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, rescue crews searched Monday for people who were trapped in the wreckage of the two hit buildings. The Kremlins forces have occasionally targeted the city since they invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Bombarding populated areas with missiles, artillery and drones has been a hallmark of Moscows military strategy during the war, an approach that has continued during the Ukrainian counteroffensive that started in June.

Russian officials insist they only take aim at legitimate military targets, but Ukraine and its supporters say mass civilian deaths during previous attacks provide evidence of war crimes.

In recent days, the enemy has been stubbornly attacking cities, city centers, shelling civilian objects and housing, Zelenskyy said in a statement on social media. But this terror will not frighten us or break us.

Russian shelling Monday also killed a 70-year-old woman in her home in a Kharkiv province village near Izyum, as well as a civilian in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, local authorities said.

In eastern Ukraines Donetsk province, one person was reported killed and seven people were injured after Russia shelled 12 cities and villages, according to Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko.

Ukrainian officials didnt acknowledge Sundays drone attacks in the Moscow region. In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said: Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia  to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process.

Meanwhile, Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said Monday his Wagner Group is not currently recruiting fighters.

In an audio message published on a Telegram channel associated with the Wagner chief, Prigozhin said the company had suspended recruitment as there is currently no shortage of personnel.

Prigozhin previously agreed with Western estimates that he lost more than 20,000 men in the long battle for the Ukrainian city Bakhmut.

Prigozhin last month led a short-lived mutiny against Moscow, demanding a leadership change in the Russian military. In an attempt to control him, Russian authorities insisted that Wagner fighters can only return to Ukraine if they join Russias regular army.

(AP)




Ron DeSantis is getting trampled by the Trump Train. The latest New York Times-Siena poll shows former President Donald Trump extending his lead over the Florida governor by a staggering 27 points. In a hypothetical head-to-head race, the poll reveals Trump outpacing DeSantis by a 2 to 1 margin.

According to the report by Shane Goldmacher for the NY Times, DeSantiss key campaign arguments, including claims of greater electability and more effective governance, have so far failed to resonate with voters. Even among Republicans who are motivated by issues that have fueled DeSantiss rise, such as combating radical woke ideology, the majority favored the former president.

The polls top-line figures paint a clear picture, with Trump leading DeSantis with 54 percent to 17 percent support. None of the other listed candidates managed to secure more than 3 percent support in the survey.

Furthermore, the poll reveals ominous signs for DeSantiss candidacy as he performed weakest among some of the Republican Partys core and influential voter bases. Among voters aged 65 and above, DeSantis earned only 9 percent support, and among those without a college degree, he garnered just 13 percent support. Even Republicans identifying as very conservative overwhelmingly favored Trump by an overwhelming 50-point margin, with 65 percent supporting Trump compared to 15 percent for DeSantis.

Other prominent candidates listed in the poll include former Vice President Mike Pence, Senator Tim Scott, former Governor Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, each garnering modest support ranging from 2 to 3 percent.

Additionally, the poll considered a hypothetical one-on-one race between DeSantis and Trump, which also yielded unfavorable results for the Florida governor. In this scenario, DeSantis would still lose by a two-to-one margin, with Trump securing 62 percent support compared to DeSantiss 31 percent. This outcome serves as a stark reminder that, despite concerns among anti-Trump factions of party division reminiscent of 2016, Trump remains positioned to achieve victory even against a unified opposition.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




Devon Archer, a former business associate and close friend of Hunter Biden, delivered stunning testimony on Monday before the House Oversight Committee. The testimony sheds light on an alleged incident that took place in 2015, involving Hunter Biden and top executives of Burisma Holdings, the Ukrainian natural gas firm.

According to Fox News, Archer disclosed that Hunter Biden and Burisma executives made a series of phone calls to Washington D.C. in a bid to seek the Obama administrations assistance in removing the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the firm for corruption. The prosecutor in question was Viktor Shokin, who had Burisma Holdings under investigation at the time.

Archer stated that Hunter Biden frequently had his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, on speakerphone during meetings with business partners on at least 20 occasions. He alleged that Joe Bidens presence during these meetings was to leverage his influence and sell the brand of the Biden family. Archer himself was a board member of Burisma alongside Hunter Biden.

The critical moment in the testimony came when Archer recounted an interaction that occurred in December 2015, involving Burisma CEO Mykola Zlochevsky and an executive at the firm named Vadym Pozharski. Archer asserted that both individuals relentlessly pressured Hunter Biden to seek help from Washington D.C. in ousting Prosecutor Viktor Shokin.

According to the source, in December 2015, Hunter Biden, Zlochevsky, and Pozharski made a call to D.C. to discuss the matter. However, it remains unclear if they directly spoke to Joe Biden during the call.

Adding weight to the revelations, just days after this alleged call to D.C., on December 9, 2015, Joe Biden himself traveled to Ukraine and delivered a speech, where he urged the Ukrainian government to address the issues plaguing the prosecutors office. The timing of the speech has raised eyebrows and sparked further interest in the unfolding investigation.

House Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan described Archers testimony as the most revealing aspect of the investigation so far. This comes in the wake of a report on an FBI-generated FD-1023 form, which contained allegations that Joe Biden and Hunter Biden may have coerced Burisma CEO Zlochevsky into paying them millions in exchange for their role in orchestrating Shokins removal.

While Biden acknowledged pressuring Ukraine to fire Prosecutor Shokin during his tenure as vice president, his allies maintain that it was done in line with the U.S. and international communitys policy to address corruption concerns within the Ukrainian prosecutors office.

The House Oversight Committees investigation has unearthed evidence surrounding the Biden familys purported foreign business dealings, including over 20 companies and more than $10 million in payments from foreign nationals during Joe Bidens vice presidency. Republicans leading the inquiry argue that these transactions might indicate attempts by the Biden family to peddle influence, and there are concerns about the concealment of the source and total amount received from foreign entities.

In response to Archers testimony, the White House released a statement refuting the allegations, stating that there was no evidence linking President Biden to any wrongdoing. The statement further urged House Republicans to focus on pressing national issues instead of engaging in what the White House referred to as an evidence-free wild goose chase.

Devon Archer, who provided the pivotal testimony, has his own legal woes. In February 2022, he was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for defrauding a Native American tribal entity and investment advisory clients through fraudulent bond issuance and subsequent sale.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




Media outlets in India and Israel on Monday reported that an attempted terror attack on the Chabad house in Mumbai was thwarted by Indian intelligence officials in recent days.

According to reports, Indian security officials, in cooperation with Israeli security services, arrested two Islamic suspects of Pakistani origin who were allegedly planning to carry out an imminent attack on the Mumbai Chabad house, the site of the deadly terror attack in 2008 by an Islamist Pakistani terror group in which six Jews were brutally murdered.

The attack was planned as part of a series of bombings by the Islamist Al-Sufa terror group. The suspects, both of Pakistani origin, had photos of the Chabad house in their possession, along with explosives, drone equipment, and terror-related books in Arabic.

The suspects admitted during their interrogations that they were trained to carry out terrorist attacks by elements outside India and learned, among other things, to manufacture bombs and use explosives and drones.

Mumbai police consulted with Israeli security officials and have increased the security in the vicinity of the Chabad house and raised the alert level in all parts of the city.

Chabads Israel-based global security headquarters, Chabad World Assistance (CWA), which was established after the 2008 attack in Mumbai, was informed about the threat and has been in continuous contact with Mumbai Chabad shliach Rav Yisrael Kozlovsky.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Denmarks foreign minister said Sunday the government will seek to make it illegal to desecrate the Quran or other religious holy books in front of foreign embassies in the Nordic country.

Foreign Minister Lars Lkke Rasmussen said in an interview with the Danish public broadcaster DR that the burning of holy scriptures only serves the purpose of creating division in a world that actually needs unity.

That is why we have decided in the government that we will look at how, in very special situations, we can put an end to mockery of other countries, which is in direct conflict with Danish interests and the safety of the Danes, he said.

A recent string of public Quran desecrations by a handful of anti-Islam activists in Denmark and neighboring Sweden have sparked angry demonstrations in Muslim countries.

Lkke Rasmussen said the Cabinet of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is determined to find a legal tool to prohibit such acts without compromising freedom of expression, but he acknowledged that would not be easy.

There must be room for religious criticism, and we have no thoughts of reintroducing a blasphemy clause, he told DR. But when you stand up in front of a foreign embassy and burn a Quran or burn the Torah scroll in front of the Israeli embassy, it serves no other purpose than to mock.

His comments followed a statement issued late Sunday by the Danish government saying freedom of expression is one of the most important values in Danish society.

But, it added, the descreation of the Muslim holy book in Denmark has resulted in the nation being viewed in many places around the world as a country that facilitates insult and denigration of the cultures, religions, and traditions of other countries.

The government repeated its condemnation of such descecrations, say they are deeply offensive and reckless acts committed by few individuals and do not represent the values the Danish society is built on.

In Sweden, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Sunday on Instagram that his government is analyzing the legal situation regarding desecration of the Quran and other holy books, given the animosity such acts are stirring up against Sweden.

We are in the most serious security policy situation since the Second World War, Kristersson said.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has called an emergency remote meeting Monday to discuss the Quran burnings in Sweden and Denmark.

(AP)




Amid ongoing chronic power outages and challenging living conditions, several thousand protesters took to the streets in various locations across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, staging a rare public demonstration expressing discontent with the territorys ruling Hamas government. The marches, organized by the grassroots online movement alvirus alsakher or the mocking virus, were quickly dispersed by Hamas security forces.

Protesters, chanting what a shame, voiced their frustration over the dire electricity and gas situation in Gaza City and the southern town of Khan Younis, among other locations. In one instance, the flags of the Hamas terror group were burned, before police intervened to disperse the gatherings.

As tensions escalated, confrontations erupted between dozens of young supporters and opponents of Hamas in Khan Younis, leading to stone-throwing clashes. Witnesses reported several arrests and said that police even destroyed cellphones of individuals attempting to film the events.

The Gaza Strip has been under Hamas tight grip since the group seized control in 2007 from the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas forces. As a result of this control, most demonstrations are barred, and any public displays of dissent are swiftly quashed by the authorities.

The territory has also been subjected to a blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt following Hamas takeover. The blockade is necessary to prevent the group, which denies Israels right to exist, from strengthening its military capabilities. However, the consequences of the closure have had a devastating impact on Gazas economy, leading to soaring unemployment rates and frequent power outages. During the ongoing heat wave, residents have been restricted to only four to six hours of electricity per day due to the high demand.

In addition to their grievances about power shortages, the protesters also expressed dissatisfaction with Hamas deducting approximately $15 from the monthly $100 stipends provided by the wealthy Gulf state of Qatar to Gazas poorest families.

Despite the significant public display of discontent, Hamas authorities have not yet issued a statement in response to the protests.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Why is Britain cursed with bad bank bosses? Alison Rose's defenestration is a shocker because until her failure of judgment over Nigel Farage, she was one of the good ones.

She delivered the numbers and showed admirable determination to break with NatWest's toxic past. Claims have been made in the Left-wing press that Rose was a victim of sexism and that her offence was relatively minor in the pantheon of sins.

It may look small beer compared with her predecessor Fred Goodwin's reckless arrogance. But any chief executive who breaches customer confidentiality has to go and could not be excused on the grounds of gender. The standard of conduct from the bosses of the UK's top banks has been worryingly low, however, not just before and during the financial crisis but beyond.

The culture of impunity persists. Individuals seem to face insufficient consequences. Andy Hornby, the chief executive at HBOS when it had to be rescued, remains at large and is now boss of The Restaurant Group.

Antonio Horta-Osorio kept his job at Lloyds after being caught in a liaison in a hotel with a mistress. He went on to become chairman of Credit Suisse where he was removed for breaking Covid rules. These things matter, because banking is founded on trust. Expectations of behaviour and judgment are rightly very high.

Concern: The standard of conduct from the bosses of the UK's top banks has been worryingly low

Many customers of Barclays, including me, have been troubled by the friendship between its former CEO Jes Staley and the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Staley has been embroiled in a legal case in the US over Epstein, a former private banking client at his previous employer, JP Morgan. Staley has denied involvement in Epstein's crimes. Barclays' board knew at the outset there were question marks over Staley's relationship with Epstein.

The Barclays board appointed him despite the reputational risk, and stood by him in 2018 when he was fined more than 640,000 for trying to unmask a whistleblower. At the time, the City regulators found 'his behaviour fell below the standard we require' yet he kept his job for three years.

No wonder the board of NatWest thought they could keep Rose. Whilst Staley's troubles have received relatively little coverage here, NatWest has been caught up in Britain's continuing Brexit preoccupation.

Why, though, is the casualty rate among bosses of UK banks so high? One answer: these are difficult jobs, subject to relentless scrutiny, and bankers are only human.

Another is a failure to concentrate on banking basics: providing customers with the services they want and supporting businesses. A third is inadequate boards, stuffed with also-rans and self-serving grandees. They should spend less time trying to defend indefensible executive behaviour and wokery, and more time thinking about what customers really want.

The common thread in banking debacles is losing sight of the real purpose of a lender, which is customer service. One of the problems at Coutts appears to have been misunderstanding the nature of a private bank, whose point is to be exclusive and elitist.

Why were bosses trying to portray it as a half-baked activist organisation?

If I were a rich client, I would want to be greeted by flunkeys with gold frogging on their frock coats, served my statement on a silver platter and pelted with violet petals, not given a lecture on being woke.
Jon Lewis, the 'turnaround king' who helped revive Capita following a series of public scandals, has announced his intention to retire.

The outsourcing giant said Lewis, 61, will stand down as chief executive towards the end of 2023 but remain with the business until July next year.

Lewis initially joined as CEO in December 2017, replacing Andy Parker after he departed amid a succession of profit warnings, debt-laden overexpansion and the group's ousting from the FTSE 100.

Departure: Capita said Jon Lewis (pictured) will stand down as chief executive later this year

Capita's reputation had further suffered from bungled contracts, such as the delayed installation of an IT upgrade for London's congestion charge, missing British Army recruitment targets, and catching too few TV licence fee evaders.

Brought in as a troubleshooter, Lewis had previously spearheaded successful transformations at engineering services businesses Landmark Graphics Corporation, Halliburton and Amec Foster Wheeler.

Following his arrival at Capita, the firm's share price hit a 15-year low when it axed a dividend, declared another profit warning and launched a 700million emergency rights issue.

But the group also began selling off a significant chunk of its operations, slashing staff numbers from 73,000 to approximately 50,000 and becoming more high-tech-focused.

Though the company's turnover has continued to drop steadily, its net debts have plummeted from more than 1.1billion to around 85million at the end of last year.

It has also won some major government contracts, including one worth 925million to provide training services to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.

David Lowden, chairman of Capita, said Lewis 'has shown outstanding leadership and determination in rebuilding Capita from the ground up'.

He added: 'It is now a purpose-led business which Jon has refocused, strengthened and returned to growth, while rebuilding client trust and improving colleague engagement. He should be rightly proud of his achievements.'

Lewis's departure comes a few months after it warned that a cyber-attack, which hit some of its biggest clients, could cost the group 20million in turnover.

The Welshman will be replaced by Adolfo Hernandez, the vice president of global telecommunications for cloud computing platform Amazon Web Services.

Hernandez has had around three decades of experience working in the technology industry, including as chief executive of translation service provider SDL until its acquisition in 2020 by rival RWS Group.

He has also worked for French communications equipment firm Alcatel-Lucent, Sun-Microsystems, and spent much of his early career at IBM.

Hernandez said: 'The group is in strong financial health and well positioned for accelerated revenue growth in both its public service and customer experience markets, with a healthy pipeline of future opportunities.'

Capita shares were up 0.9 per cent, or 0.26p, at 28.2p on Monday morning.

They remain far below their peak of around 800p in mid-2015.
BT has appointed non-executive director Allison Kirkby as its next chief executive, replacing Philip Jansen by the end of January next year 'at the latest'.

Ms Kirkby, 56, has been on BT's board since 2019 and served as chief executive of Swedish telecoms firm Telia Company since early 2020.

She will be paid a basic salary of 1.1million, plus a bonus of up to 200 per cent of salary and other share awards, in line with Jansen's remuneration, the telecoms group said.

New BT boss: Allison Kirkby will take over from Philip Jansen as chief executive by the end of January next year

BT, which confirmed Jansen's departure earlier this month, said Jansen will be available to support the handover until the end of March, when he will retire.

The group will make a further announcement to confirm Ms Kirkby's exact start date.

The change at the helm comes two months after the group revealed plans to cut between 40,000 and 55,000 jobs by the end of the decade as part of wider efforts to slash costs.

Jansen's plans to axe 40 per cent 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.

A key plank of Jansen's strategy has also been the rapid expansion of its fibre internet offering across the UK, with the group now nearing completion of the roll-out.

Ms Kirkby said she was honoured to have been appointed as chief executive of BT, and supported the group's strategy.

She added: 'Having been a member of the BT Group board for the past four years, I'm fully supportive of our strategy and am excited about leading it into its next phase of development as we grow to support customers, shareholders and the UK economy.'

BT chairman Adam Crozier said Allison Kirkby was a 'proven leader, with deep sector experience and a history of having transformed businesses'.

'Given Allison is already on the Board, we are confident we will have an orderly leadership transition and handover of responsibilities,' he added.

BT shares were 0.5 per cent lower at 123.50p in early trade on Monday. They have lost almost a quarter of their value over the last 12 months.

Victoria Scholar at Interactive Investor said: 'Investors will be hoping that Kirkby has steer BT's shares in a more positive direction, having almost halved under Jansen's watch since 2019.

'However the lack of market reaction today from the stock suggests shareholders may need some convincing.'
Pearson sales and profits were boosted by booming demand for English language learning in the first half of 2023.

The FTSE 100 group's sales rose 5 per cent to 1.8billion in the six months to the end of June, while pre-tax profits surged 24 per cent to 236million, with Pearson confirming it is on track to meet full-year targets.

Assessment and qualifications were a bright spot, with sales up 7 per cent, alongside English language learning and tests sales, which were up 44 per cent on the same time last year.

Education publisher Pearson is continuing to benefit from strong demand for English language learning, exams and qualifications

Pearson's new workforce skills division, which offers courseware and services for companies looking to train and retain staff, saw sales rise 9 per cent.

However, virtual learning sales fell by 15 per cent and higher education revenues dipped 2 per cent.

Pearson has benefited from broadening its approach beyond traditional education outlets, selling directly to consumers via its Pearson+ app and to businesses looking to train staff.

It has also been focusing on upskilling and reskilling demand, which have all helped to boost profitability.

The group upped its sales expectations for English language learning from 'high single digit' to around 20 per cent for 2023, following strong growth in the first half, which it expects to normalise in the second half.

However, it said growth expectations at its workforce skills division were 'likely to be more stretching', and growth across assessments and qualifications will be lower than expected in the final quarter.

Pearson shares fell 1.2 per cent to 859.60p in morning trading on Monday.

In May, they fell 15 per cent after its US peer Chegg warned that students were turning to artificial intelligence software such as ChatGPT for help rather than to traditional textbooks.

Pearson chief executive, Andy Bird, told shareholders the group was making progress to leverage its 'long-standing AI capabilities'.

'Our excellent performance in the first half of 2023 means we are confident of achieving our full year expectations,' he said.

'We have continued to execute well operationally and maintained a sharp focus on delivering efficiencies whilst positioning our portfolio for long-term growth.

'The progress we are making to accelerate our digital journey, increase interconnectivity and leverage our long-standing AI capabilities will enable us to serve an ever-greater number of individuals and enterprises with our trusted, proprietary learning content.'

Pearson proposed a dividend of 7p per share, up 6.1 per cent from 6.6p per share the year before.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, July 31. Uzbekistan exported 150 million kWh of electricity to Kyrgyzstan from March through May 2023, Trend reports.

According to the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan, Central Asia's energy system, particularly in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, operates in parallel.

Under the terms of the agreement, Kyrgyzstan exports electricity to Uzbekistan in winter, and in turn, Uzbekistan returns this energy supply in summer. This arrangement helps both countries meet their energy demands efficiently which fosters cooperation in the region's energy sector.

Apart from exchanging electricity, Kyrgyzstan also plays a vital role in helping Uzbekistan with its agricultural demands. In summer, Kyrgyzstan supplies water for agricultural use in Uzbekistan through the Naryn river.

Meanwhile, in the first five months of 2023, Kyrgyzstan's electricity imports have witnessed a decline, as reported by the State Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan. The country imported a total of 1.516 billion kWh of electricity during this period, which is 5 percent less than same period in 2022.
Unum Group (NYSE:UNM  Get Free Report) is scheduled to be releasing its earnings data after the market closes on Tuesday, August 1st. Analysts expect Unum Group to post earnings of $1.86 per share for the quarter. Investors that are interested in registering for the companys conference call can do so using this link.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.22. Unum Group had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 14.67%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Unum Group to post $8 EPS for the current fiscal year and $8 EPS for the next fiscal year.

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Unum Group Trading Up 0.3 %

UNM opened at $48.84 on Monday. Unum Group has a 1-year low of $31.31 and a 1-year high of $49.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $9.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.39.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

Insider Buying and Selling

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 18th. Investors of record on Friday, July 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.365 per share. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 27th. This is a positive change from Unum Groups previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Unum Groups dividend payout ratio is 20.68%.

In related news, COO Michael Q. Simonds sold 18,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.72, for a total transaction of $786,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 222,088 shares in the company, valued at $9,709,687.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.49, for a total transaction of $222,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 102,053 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,540,337.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael Q. Simonds sold 18,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.72, for a total transaction of $786,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 222,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,709,687.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,988 shares of company stock valued at $2,513,529 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNM. Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unum Group in the first quarter worth $100,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Unum Group by 103.4% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,006 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,528 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth about $150,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Unum Group by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,650 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.94% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on UNM shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Unum Group in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a buy rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Unum Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 25th. They set an overweight rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Unum Group from $46.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. Six 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $48.60.

Unum Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block and Corporate segments. The company offers group long-term and short-term disability, group life, and accidental death and dismemberment products; supplemental and voluntary products, such as individual disability, voluntary benefits, and dental and vision products; and accident, sickness, disability, life, and cancer and critical illness products.

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Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG  Free Report) had its price target lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $164.00 to $172.00 in a report released on Friday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Procter & Gamble from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Procter & Gamble from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Sunday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $171.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Procter & Gamble presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $162.13.

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Procter & Gamble Stock Up 2.8 %

PG stock opened at $156.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $368.65 billion, a PE ratio of 26.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.42. Procter & Gamble has a twelve month low of $122.18 and a twelve month high of $158.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business has a 50 day moving average of $148.77 and a 200 day moving average of $147.24.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

Procter & Gamble ( NYSE:PG Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $20.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $20.01 billion. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 17.69%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Procter & Gamble will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.9407 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 20th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Procter & Gambles dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.73%.

Institutional Trading of Procter & Gamble

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 99,734.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 253,081,478 shares of the companys stock worth $38,402,583,000 after acquiring an additional 252,827,976 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 161,843,254 shares of the companys stock valued at $24,064,473,000 after acquiring an additional 2,157,319 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Procter & Gamble by 1.1% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 46,754,131 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,936,343,000 after buying an additional 510,559 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Procter & Gamble by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,320,700 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,717,246,000 after buying an additional 4,959,527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 96,526.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,535,557 shares of the companys stock worth $5,840,449,000 after acquiring an additional 38,495,676 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.65% of the companys stock.

About Procter & Gamble

(Get Free Report)

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.

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Global Medical REIT (NYSE:GMRE  Get Free Report) is set to issue its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Wednesday, August 2nd. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.23 per share for the quarter. Parties that are interested in participating in the companys conference call can do so using this link.

Global Medical REIT Price Performance

Global Medical REIT stock opened at $9.89 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $648.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.18, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.06. The stocks 50 day moving average is $9.28 and its 200-day moving average is $9.57. Global Medical REIT has a 12 month low of $7.01 and a 12 month high of $12.33.

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Global Medical REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 22nd. Global Medical REITs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 494.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GMRE. B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of Global Medical REIT from $12.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Monday, May 8th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Global Medical REIT in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Global Medical REIT from $13.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Global Medical REIT by 0.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,336,216 shares of the companys stock worth $53,984,000 after purchasing an additional 56,735 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Global Medical REIT by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,752,871 shares of the companys stock worth $40,493,000 after purchasing an additional 16,270 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Global Medical REIT by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 2,363,472 shares of the companys stock worth $38,572,000 after acquiring an additional 8,080 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Global Medical REIT by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,933,065 shares of the companys stock valued at $18,010,000 after purchasing an additional 59,720 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Global Medical REIT during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $24,828,000. 56.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Global Medical REIT

(Get Free Report)

Global Medical REIT Inc (GMRE) is a net-lease medical office real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and acquires healthcare facilities and leases those facilities to physician groups and regional and national healthcare systems.

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Donnelley Financial Solutions (NYSE:DFIN  Get Free Report) is scheduled to post its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Wednesday, August 2nd. Analysts expect Donnelley Financial Solutions to post earnings of $1.09 per share for the quarter. Investors interested in participating in the companys conference call can do so using this link.

Donnelley Financial Solutions (NYSE:DFIN  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.07. Donnelley Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 27.53% and a net margin of 11.19%. The firm had revenue of $198.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $186.20 million. On average, analysts expect Donnelley Financial Solutions to post $4 EPS for the current fiscal year and $4 EPS for the next fiscal year.

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Donnelley Financial Solutions Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE DFIN opened at $47.23 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17 and a beta of 1.65. Donnelley Financial Solutions has a 1 year low of $32.95 and a 1 year high of $50.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Insider Activity

A number of brokerages recently commented on DFIN. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Donnelley Financial Solutions in a research report on Friday, June 30th. They issued a buy rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Donnelley Financial Solutions from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, July 13th.

In related news, General Counsel Jennifer B. Reiners sold 1,030 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.78, for a total transaction of $43,033.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 47,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,992,613.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, General Counsel Jennifer B. Reiners sold 1,030 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.78, for a total value of $43,033.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 47,693 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,992,613.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Jacobowitz sold 212,696 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $9,073,611.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,433,793 shares in the company, valued at $146,485,609.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 364,022 shares of company stock worth $15,530,138 over the last 90 days. 16.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Donnelley Financial Solutions

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DFIN. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Donnelley Financial Solutions by 65.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,668 shares of the companys stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Donnelley Financial Solutions by 27.3% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,671 shares of the companys stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Donnelley Financial Solutions by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,051 shares of the companys stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its position in shares of Donnelley Financial Solutions by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 5,252 shares of the companys stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Donnelley Financial Solutions during the 1st quarter worth $204,000. 93.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Donnelley Financial Solutions Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Donnelley Financial Solutions, Inc operates as a risk and compliance solutions company worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Capital Markets Software Solutions (CM-SS), Capital Markets Compliance and Communications Management (CM-CCM), Investment Companies Software Solutions (IC-SS), and Investment Companies Compliance and Communications Management (IC-CCM).

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STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM  Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by research analysts at TD Cowen from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an outperform rating on the semiconductor producers stock. TD Cowens target price indicates a potential upside of 20.73% from the stocks previous close.

STM has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised STMicroelectronics from an underperform rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on STMicroelectronics from 55.00 to 54.00 in a research note on Sunday, May 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut STMicroelectronics from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $55.89.

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STMicroelectronics Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of STM opened at $53.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $48.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.92. STMicroelectronics has a 1 year low of $29.09 and a 1 year high of $55.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.58.

Institutional Trading of STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics ( NYSE:STM Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The semiconductor producer reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $4.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. STMicroelectronics had a return on equity of 33.67% and a net margin of 25.36%. STMicroelectronicss revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that STMicroelectronics will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of STMicroelectronics by 15.1% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,521 shares of the semiconductor producers stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in STMicroelectronics by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 7,147 shares of the semiconductor producers stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its position in STMicroelectronics by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,092 shares of the semiconductor producers stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in STMicroelectronics by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 17,883 shares of the semiconductor producers stock worth $957,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in shares of STMicroelectronics by 5.1% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 5,380 shares of the semiconductor producers stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. 6.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About STMicroelectronics

(Get Free Report)

STMicroelectronics N.V., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through Automotive and Discrete Group; Analog, MEMS and Sensors Group; and Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group segments.

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Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM  Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 235,808 shares of the companys stock after selling 4,102 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLCs holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $18,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ADM. Tilt Investment Management Holdings PBC increased its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 14.8% during the first quarter. Tilt Investment Management Holdings PBC now owns 2,880 shares of the companys stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 5.1% during the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,364,525 shares of the companys stock valued at $108,698,000 after buying an additional 65,676 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 2.9% in the first quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 83,295 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,635,000 after purchasing an additional 2,336 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the first quarter valued at approximately $473,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 58.9% during the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the companys stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 1,293 shares during the period. 78.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Archer-Daniels-Midland news, insider Fruit Molly L. Strader sold 1,455 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.80, for a total transaction of $126,294.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,809 shares of the companys stock, valued at $938,221.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the companys stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Up 0.1 %

Archer-Daniels-Midland stock opened at $86.44 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.63. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a fifty-two week low of $69.92 and a fifty-two week high of $98.28. The company has a market capitalization of $46.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $76.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.63.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $25.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $25.82 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 17.52%. The firms revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.15 EPS. Research analysts expect that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 16th. Archer-Daniels-Midlands payout ratio is 24.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ADM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. StockNews.com raised Archer-Daniels-Midland from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Archer-Daniels-Midland in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. They set an outperform rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $98.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm assumed coverage on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a research note on Thursday, June 22nd. They set a buy rating and a $92.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Archer-Daniels-Midland currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $99.50.

About Archer-Daniels-Midland

(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.

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Emerald Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES  Free Report) by 34.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,662 shares of the oil and gas producers stock after purchasing an additional 1,462 shares during the quarter. Emerald Advisers LLCs holdings in Hess were worth $749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Delta Asset Management LLC TN bought a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in Hess by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 223 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. New Hampshire Trust bought a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in Hess by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 279 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new stake in Hess during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.89% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on HES shares. UBS Group started coverage on Hess in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $184.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Hess from $168.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Hess from $170.00 to $168.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Hess from $172.00 to $166.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Hess from $156.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $167.29.

Hess Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $150.18 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55 and a beta of 1.57. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $98.27 and a fifty-two week high of $160.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $135.74 and a 200 day moving average of $138.13.

Hess (NYSE:HES  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.08. Hess had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 14.60%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.15 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was down 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Hesss dividend payout ratio is currently 33.52%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, Director Corp Hess sold 6,382,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.12, for a total transaction of $166,710,900.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 9.91% of the companys stock.

Hess Company Profile

(Free Report)

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S.

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Edge Capital Group LLC raised its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW  Free Report) by 44.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,563 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 1,708 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLCs holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $291,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SCHW. Beacon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Charles Schwab in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new position in Charles Schwab in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 54.8% during the first quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 704.2% in the first quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC now owns 571 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.77% of the companys stock.

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Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $66.08 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $45.00 and a 12 month high of $86.63. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $57.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.65.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

Charles Schwab ( NYSE:SCHW Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.61 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.15% and a return on equity of 27.81%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 11th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Charles Schwabs dividend payout ratio is currently 29.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SCHW. Redburn Partners lowered Charles Schwab from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $86.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on Charles Schwab from $62.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Monday, June 26th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $46.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $72.09.

Insider Activity

In other Charles Schwab news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 75,760 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total value of $5,045,616.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,672,778 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,974,207,014.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Charles Schwab news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 75,760 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total value of $5,045,616.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 59,672,778 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,974,207,014.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 77,640 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.76, for a total transaction of $4,018,646.40. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 59,771,278 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,093,761,349.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 225,447 shares of company stock valued at $13,866,915. Insiders own 6.60% of the companys stock.

Charles Schwab Company Profile

(Free Report)

The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a savings and loan holding company that provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services.

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Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX  Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Barclays from $56.00 to $59.00 in a report issued on Monday, FlyOnTheWall reports. Barclayss target price would suggest a potential upside of 14.14% from the companys current price.

BSX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $56.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Boston Scientific from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Boston Scientific in a research note on Tuesday, July 18th. They set an outperform rating and a $59.00 price target for the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $60.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $58.35.

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Boston Scientific Stock Down 1.8 %

BSX opened at $51.69 on Monday. Boston Scientific has a one year low of $37.74 and a one year high of $54.74. The company has a market cap of $72.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.15, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.80. The businesss fifty day moving average is $52.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Boston Scientific

Boston Scientific ( NYSE:BSX Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The medical equipment provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 15.31%. The company had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Boston Scientific will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, EVP Eric Francis Yves Thepaut sold 83,401 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.49, for a total value of $4,377,718.49. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,999.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Boston Scientific news, EVP Arthur C. Butcher sold 6,697 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $938,971.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Eric Francis Yves Thepaut sold 83,401 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.49, for a total value of $4,377,718.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,269 shares in the company, valued at $643,999.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 176,779 shares of company stock valued at $9,371,164. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boston Scientific

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in Boston Scientific in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in Boston Scientific in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in Boston Scientific by 109.5% in the 1st quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 551 shares of the medical equipment providers stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in Boston Scientific by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 636 shares of the medical equipment providers stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Boston Scientific in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.20% of the companys stock.

Boston Scientific Company Profile

(Get 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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Emerald Advisers LLC lowered its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX  Free Report) by 13.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,798 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock after selling 2,526 shares during the quarter. Emerald Advisers LLCs holdings in TJX Companies were worth $1,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 42.6% during the first quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 67,182 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock worth $5,264,000 after buying an additional 20,086 shares during the last quarter. Hyman Charles D lifted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Hyman Charles D now owns 8,261 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in TJX Companies by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 625,285 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock worth $48,997,000 after acquiring an additional 110,044 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in TJX Companies by 44.6% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 146,314 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock worth $11,465,000 after purchasing an additional 45,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC raised its position in TJX Companies by 15.7% in the first quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 23,440 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 3,175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.26% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Scott Goldenberg sold 26,271 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.91, for a total value of $2,073,044.61. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,580 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,727,287.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

TJX Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TJX opened at $87.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $99.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.92. The companys 50-day moving average is $81.87 and its 200 day moving average is $79.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.20. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.78 and a fifty-two week high of $87.63.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 17th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $11.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.82 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 62.78% and a net margin of 7.56%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 10th will be issued a $0.3325 dividend. This represents a $1.33 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 9th. TJX Companiess payout ratio is currently 40.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TJX has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com started coverage on TJX Companies in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on TJX Companies from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $90.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, May 18th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. They issued an overweight rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of TJX Companies from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $89.75.

TJX Companies Company Profile

(Free Report)

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, kids, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. Iran's nuclear discussions conducted in several directions (Iran and the US indirectly, Iran and European countries directly) have become conundrum, a former official of Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ghasem Mohebbali said, Trend reports.

According to him, it does not appear that optimal conditions exist to justify holding nuclear talks at this time.

Mohebbali also added that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear program was an 8-year program that is nearing expiration. It has not been observed that any steps have been taken to restore this plan.

"Iran's indirect talks with the US were mostly prisoner exchanges. However, the removal of the US Special Representative for Iran Affairs, Robert Malley, stopped these discussions. If Malley is replaced by someone with a tougher attitude, then indirect talks between Iran and the United States will also come to a standstill," the ex-official stressed.

On January 16, 2016, Iran's nuclear program triggered the creation of the JCPOA between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, UK, France, and Germany). In May 2018, the US announced its withdrawal from the deal and imposed sanctions on Iran in November of the same year. To preserve the agreements reached as part of the JCPOA, the European signatories of the deal started in January 2019 and a financial mechanism for maintaining trade with Iran called INSTEX was formed.

On May 8, 2019, Iran announced ceasing to fulfill its commitments regarding the sale of over 300 kilograms of uranium, as stated in the deal, basing its decision on the other signatories that have not fulfilled their obligations. On July 7, Iran announced that it would not be fulfilling its commitments regarding the enrichment of uranium at 3.67 percent and the reconstruction of the Arak Heavy Water Reactor Facility as stated in the deal.

On September 5 of the same year, Iran announced its commitment to enrich uranium using next-generation centrifuges and not mix it with the enriched uranium residues as part of the third step of reducing commitments in the JCPOA. On November 5, 2019, Iran announced to have taking the fourth step in connection with reducing its commitments to the nuclear agreement. So, uranium gas is being pumped to the centrifuges at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant.

On January 5, 2020, Iran took the last fifth step in reducing the number of its commitments within the JCPOA.

According to the obtained information, the US has 4 prisoners in Iran, and Iran has more than 10 prisoners in the US.

In the discussions, Iran is mainly trying to achieve the abolition of sanctions imposed by the US and Western countries, the removal of its funds frozen in foreign countries, and the abolition of the restriction on the export of crude oil. In return, the US and Western countries want Iran not to acquire an atomic bomb, to keep its nuclear program under control, and to reduce the level of uranium enrichment.

On May 8, 2018, the US announced its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the 5+1 group (Russia, China, the UK, France, the US, and Germany) and imposed new sanctions against Iran as of November 2018.

Over the past period, the sanctions affected Iranian oil exports and more than 700 banks, companies, and individuals. The sanctions have resulted in the freezing of Iranian assets abroad.

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Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON  Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 44,162 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $13,924,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ZRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE increased its holdings in AON by 117.3% during the 4th quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 113 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp increased its holdings in AON by 211.4% during the 1st quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 109 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 85.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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AON Price Performance

NYSE AON opened at $319.82 on Monday. Aon plc has a 52 week low of $266.35 and a 52 week high of $347.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 61.66. The stock has a market cap of $65.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $327.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $320.59.

AON Announces Dividend

AON ( NYSE:AON Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.07). AON had a negative return on equity of 1,312.86% and a net margin of 20.78%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.63 EPS. AONs revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Aon plc will post 14.38 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 1st will be paid a $0.615 dividend. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 31st. AONs dividend payout ratio is currently 19.16%.

Insider Transactions at AON

In other news, President Eric Andersen sold 7,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.55, for a total value of $2,516,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 144,164 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $48,374,230.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.15% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on AON from $365.00 to $380.00 in a report on Sunday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of AON from $320.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of AON in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of AON from $340.00 to $344.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of AON from $325.00 to $322.00 in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AON has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $340.50.

AON Company Profile

(Free Report)

Aon plc, a professional services firm, provides advice and solutions to clients focused on risk, retirement, and health worldwide. It offers commercial risk solutions, including retail brokerage, specialty solutions, global risk consulting and captives management, and affinity programs; and health solutions, such as health and benefits brokerages, and health care exchanges.

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Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $2.60-$2.75 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.68. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Portland General Electric also updated its FY23 guidance to $2.60-2.75 EPS.

Portland General Electric Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:POR traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $47.97. The company had a trading volume of 23,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 800,090. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.56. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $48.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.47. Portland General Electric has a 12-month low of $41.58 and a 12-month high of $56.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

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Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $648.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $571.82 million. Portland General Electric had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 8.03%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Portland General Electric will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Portland General Electric Announces Dividend

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 25th will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 22nd. Portland General Electrics dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.17%.

A number of research firms have recently commented on POR. 58.com reiterated a downgrade rating on shares of Portland General Electric in a research report on Tuesday, June 20th. Bank of America cut their target price on Portland General Electric from $56.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Portland General Electric in a research report on Monday, May 8th. They issued an overweight rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Portland General Electric from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Portland General Electric from $50.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Portland General Electric currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $50.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John Teeruk Kochavatr sold 3,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $153,360.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 15,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $791,797.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.51% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portland General Electric

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of POR. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 359.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,523 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Portland General Electric during the 1st quarter worth $158,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Portland General Electric in the 1st quarter worth $180,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Portland General Electric in the 1st quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Portland General Electric in the 1st quarter worth $213,000.

About Portland General Electric

(Get Free Report)

Portland General Electric Company, an integrated electric utility company, engages in the generation, wholesale purchase, transmission, distribution, and retail sale of electricity in the state of Oregon. It operates six thermal plants, three wind farms, and seven hydroelectric facilities. As of December 31, 2022, the company owned an electric transmission system consisting of 1,255 circuit miles, including 269 circuit miles of 500 kilovolt line, 413 circuit miles of 230 kilovolt line, and 573 miles of 115 kilovolt line; and served 926 thousand retail customers in 51 cities.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. Iran may continue discussions regarding the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), when the opposite party (the US) is ready and committed, Spokesman of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Kanaani said at a press conference in Tehran on July 31, 2023, Trend reports.

The spokesman noted that Iran has consistently behaved responsibly under the JCPOA. However, this was not observed on the opposite side.

Kanaani also added that Iran is seeking the lifting of sanctions against the country and the return of all parties, including the US, to the JCPOA. Iran is negotiating and following diplomacy based on its national interest and the provisions clearly stated in the JCPOA.

On January 2016, Iran's nuclear program triggered the creation of JCPOA between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, UK, France, and Germany). In May 2018, the US announced its withdrawal from the deal and imposed sanctions on Iran in November of the same year. To preserve the agreements reached as part of the JCPOA, the European signatories of the deal started in January 2019 and a financial mechanism for maintaining trade with Iran called INSTEX was formed.

On May 8, 2019, Iran announced ceasing to fulfill its commitments regarding the sale of over 300 kilograms of uranium, as stated in the deal, basing its decision on the other signatories that have not fulfilled their obligations.

On July 7, Iran announced that it will not be fulfilling its commitments regarding the enrichment of uranium at 3.67 percent and the reconstruction of the Arak Heavy Water Reactor Facility as stated in the deal.

On September 5 of the same year, Iran announced its commitment to enrich uranium, using next-generation centrifuges and not to mix it with the enriched uranium residues as part of the third step of reducing commitments in JCPOA.

On November 5, 2019, Iran announced to have taking the fourth step in connection with reducing its commitments to the nuclear agreement. So, uranium gas is being pumped to the centrifuges at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant.

On Jan.2020, Iran took the last fifth step in reducing the number of its commitments within JCPOA.

According to the obtained information, the US has 4 prisoners in Iran, and Iran has more than 10 prisoners in the US.

In the discussions, Iran is mainly trying to achieve the abolition of sanctions imposed by the US and Western countries, the removal of its funds frozen in foreign countries, and the abolition of the restriction on the export of crude oil. In return, the US and Western countries want Iran not to acquire an atomic bomb, to keep its nuclear program under control, and to reduce the level of uranium enrichment.

On May 8, 2018, the US announced its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the 5+1 group (Russia, China, the UK, France, the US, and Germany), and imposed new sanctions against Iran as of November 2018.

Over the past period, the sanctions affected Iranian oil exports, more than 700 banks, companies, and individuals. The sanctions have resulted in the freezing of Iranian assets abroad.

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Follow the author on Twitter:@BaghishovElnur
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. The total value of Turkiye's exports of auto industry products to Georgia increased by 91.5 percent to $87.5 million from January through June 2023 compared to the same period last year, Trend reports.

According to the Turkish Ministry of Trade, the value of Turkiye's exports of auto products to Georgia grew by 43.3 percent to $11.5 million in June this year (on annual basis).

Total exports of Turkish auto products abroad increased by 13.7 percent in the first half of this year compared to the same period of 2022 and amounted to $17.3 billion.

Turkiye exported $3 billion worth of automotive products in June of this year, which is 8.7 percent more than in the same month last year.

Over the past 12 months (from June 2022 through June 2023), Turkiye exported automotive products worth $33.1 billion.
A FESTIVAL not to be missed this summer is Electric Picnic as new acts confirmed for the gig.

Paolo Nutini has just been revealed as the new Saturday night headliner for the sold-out three-day festival weekend!

He joins an impressive roll call of acts set to perform at Irelands largest gathering of arts and music on September 1-3, with previously announced headliners Billie Eilish, The Killers and special guest Niall Horan.

Twenty-four additional names have also just been added across the weekend including Belters Only, Inhaler, Wet Leg, Confidence Man, Overmono and breakout star of the summer Jazzy.

The Electric Picnic team wished Lewis Capaldi well as he has taken a break from touring for the foreseeable future and will no longer appear at the festival.

With just 32 days until Stradbally welcomes you all, the final countdown is officially on.

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for more news and exciting announcements over the coming month!
[July 31, 2023] Epilepsy Foundation Partners with Vector Solutions to Offer Seizure First Aid Trainings to Educators Tweet

Partnership Expands Access to Seizure First Aid Trainings for School Personnel BOWIE, Md., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Epilepsy Foundation today announced a five-year collaboration with Vector Solutions, the leading provider of training and software solutions for K-12 and higher education institutions, to offer the Epilepsy Foundation's Seizure Recognition & First Aid Certification training in the Vector Safety and Compliance Course Library. This agreement will provide an easy and convenient way for educators and school personnel, who are already contracted with Vector, to take the seizure first aid training to better serve their students. Epilepsy Foundation and Vector Solutions partnership expands access to seizure first aid trainings for school personnel. There are 470,000 children living with epilepsy in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the opportunity for academic success is increased when students with chronic health conditions have a safe and supportive learning environment. "Our collaboration with Vector will give school personnel  who are required by state laws to take seizure first aid training  a place to do so easily and effectively through a familiar learning portal," said Brandy Fureman, Ph.D., chief outcomes officer, Epilepsy Foundation. "In addition, it will expand access to our seizure first aid training to school systems around the country using Vector's platform. Our end goal is to have a seizure safe nation where everyone who has a seizure feels safe, no matter where they are. This partnership is a stepstone toward that goal." In 2018, Kentucky led the charge to pass the nation's first-ever law requiring school personnel to complete seizure recognition and first aid training. Since then, the Epilepsy Foundation, family advocates and partner organizations have been working to pass similar Seizure Safe Schools legislation nationwide. The model Seizure Safe Schools legislation has five components, one of which requires all school personnel, includig school nurses and teachers, to complete training so that they can recognize and respond appropriately and efficiently to students experiencing seizures. To date, almost half of the states have passed some form of Seizure Safe Schools legislation.



For years, the Epilepsy Foundation has partnered with the CDC to build nationwide programs to ensure school personnel, first responders, seniors, caregivers, and the public are better trained to recognize seizures and administer first aid. The Epilepsy Foundation's seizure first aid trainings provide information to increase knowledge, skills, and confidence in recognizing seizures and safely administering seizure first aid. "We are excited to collaborate with the Epilepsy Foundation to deliver its trainings through our online learning management system," said, Rob Buelow, General Manager of Education at Vector Solutions. "The safety and well-being of students is paramount and educators must be properly equipped to address the unique needs of all students. Through this partnership, K-12 and higher education staff across the nation will be empowered to serve their students and ensure their health and safety."

For more information about the Epilepsy Foundation's seizure first aid trainings, visit epilepsy.com/firstaid . The trainings will be available in the Vector platform later this summer and school administrators who have a current subscription will receive notification when the trainings are live. About Epilepsy

According to the World Health Organization , epilepsy is the most common serious brain disorder worldwide with no age, racial, social class, national or geographic boundaries. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention estimates that 3.4 million people in the United States are affected by epilepsy. Epilepsy is the underlying tendency of the brain to produce seizures which are sudden abnormal bursts of electrical energy that disrupt brain functions. About the Epilepsy Foundation

With a network of partners throughout the United States, the Epilepsy Foundation is leading the fight to overcome the challenges of living with epilepsy. The Foundation connects people to treatment, support, and resources; leads advocacy efforts; funds innovative research and the training of specialists; and educates the public about epilepsy and seizure first aid. For more than five decades, the Epilepsy Foundation has shone a light on epilepsy to promote awareness and understanding, and to advocate for laws that matter to people with epilepsy, while also funding epilepsy research and supporting epilepsy investigators and specialists in their early careers. In partnership with the CDC, the Epilepsy Foundation has helped to improve access to care for people with epilepsy, expanded its digital reach and online resources in homes across the country, and trained more than 600,000 people in seizure recognition and first aid. The Epilepsy Foundation continues to focus on serving the epilepsy community through advocacy, education, direct services and research for new therapies. To learn more visit epilepsy.com or call 1.800.332.1000. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter . About Vector Solutions for K-12 Education

Vector Solutions for K-12 Education is a leading provider of training, software and professional development solutions committed to creating safer, smarter and better school environments. Trusted by more than 5,000 K-12 districts in the United States, Vector's award-winning suite of products save administrators time, improve compliance, and streamline administrative processes. Vector trainings on imperative topics like safety and compliance; inclusive instruction; mental health and well-being; diversity, equity and inclusion; and cybersecurity enable students and teachers alike to make schools safer, more inclusive, and more effective places to work and learn. For more information about Vector Solutions for K-12 Education, visit www.vectorsolutions.com/k12. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/epilepsy-foundation-partners-with-vector-solutions-to-offer-seizure-first-aid-trainings-to-educators-301888378.html SOURCE Epilepsy Foundation

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[July 31, 2023] Introducing MGL Europe, a Mohawk Global European Venture Tweet

SYRACUSE, N.Y., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mohawk Global, a leading supply chain services provider, is excited to announce their collaboration with worldwide leaders in the freight forwarding industry to start a new sister company, MGL Europe. The first MGL Europe office opened in Stuttgart, Germany in April 2023. This month, the European team expanded by welcoming Master International Logistics to the joint venturewith their rebrand to MGL Europe Italy. Mohawk Global looks to elevate its client's experince through the expansive network MGL Europe provides.



Gar Grannell, Mohawk Global CEO says, "This partnership is the result of trusting relationships built over the last 30 years with people of like values and growth strategy. We are excited about the business we will develop together, while focusing on enriching the lives of our people." MGL Europe has officially begun operations and has become Mohawk Global's exclusive partner for client's cargo in and out of Europe. MGL Europe currently has three German offices located in Stuttgart, Bremen, and Munich, in addition to three Italian offices located in Milan, Genova, and Vincenza.

"Having our own offices in Germany and now Italy, gives us a presence at key port locations for both North Europe and Mediterranean trade," says Chris Lindstrand, Mohawk Global Director of International Transportation. "Through these key gateways, we're strategically positioned to enhance our offerings not just in these countries or throughout continental Europe, but in all regions that utilize these important trade centers." Mohawk Global is excited to elevate its client's experience through the expansive network this growing partnership provides. "Our strategic partnerships in Asia align well with our move into Germany and Italy, allowing Mohawk Global to seamlessly bridge North America, Asia, and Europe with diverse transportation solutions in a rapidly expanding global supply chain," says Anthony Pagnotto, Mohawk Global Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing. Mohawk Global is a team of experts in supply chain solutions and trade compliance. Since its foundation in 1993, Mohawk Global has grown beyond its headquarters in Syracuse, New York to nine offices in six states, with a worldwide reach. We strive to create an environment of growth, and as a family-owned and operated business, everything we do is guided by our core values  Enrich. Care. Deliver. Please contact us for further information. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/introducing-mgl-europe-a-mohawk-global-european-venture-301889261.html SOURCE Mohawk Global

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[July 31, 2023] LICT Corporation Announces Board Approval of Michigan Spin-Off to MachTen Tweet

LICT Corporation (OTC Pink: LICT) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved the previously announced separation of the company's wholly owned Michigan subsidiary through a pro rata distribution into newly formed parent company MachTen, Inc. LICT shareholders will receive a distribution of 150 shares of MachTen common stock for every 1 share of LICT common stock owned as of the record date. MachTen common stock is expected to be distributed at 11:59 p.m. EDT August 14, 2023, to LICT stockholders of record as of 5 p.m. EDT on July 31, 2023, the record date for the distribution. The distribution of shares does not require stockholder approval and no action is required by LICT stockholders to receive the shares of MachTen common stock. An information statement with details of the distribution and MachTen's business following the spinoff will be distributed to LICT stockholders prior to the distribution date. The distribution is expected to be tax free for LICT stockholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Following the separation, LICT and MachTen will be independent, publicly traded companies with distinct business operations, customers and geographic markets. MachTen shares are expected to trade on the OTCQB under the symbol "MACT." MachTen is planning a conference call for investors on August 23 at 4:30pm ET. MachTen Chief Executive Officer, Dan Miller, will review the Michigan operations, financial performance and growth prospects, and answer questions. Dial-in information will be available at www.machteninc.com.



"This is a very exciting time for MachTen stakeholders - our customers, our Michigan based team, and our shareholders," said Dan Miller. "Michigan Broadband is well respected provider of communications services, and is well positioned to benefit from several demographic trends." LICT Corporation is a holding company with subsidiaries in broadband and other telecommunications services that actively seeks acquisitions, principally in its existing business areas. LICT Corporation is listed on the OTC Pink under the symbol LICT. For further information visit our website at http://www.lictcorp.com.

This release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including without limitation anticipated financial results, financing, capital expenditures and corporate transactions. It should be recognized that such information is based upon certain assumptions, projections and forecasts, including without limitation, business conditions and financial markets, regulatory and other approvals, and the cautionary statements set forth in documents filed by LICT on its website, www.lictcorp.com. As a result, there can be no assurance that any possible transactions will be accomplished or be successful, or that financial targets will be met. Such forward-looking information is subject to uncertainties, risks and inaccuracies, which could be material. LICT Corporation is a holding company with subsidiaries in broadband and other telecommunications services that actively seeks acquisitions, principally in its existing business areas. LICT Corporation is listed on the OTC Pink under the symbol LICT. For further information visit our website at http://www.lictcorp.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230731974158/en/

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[July 31, 2023] OneOncology Selects Smirta And Its Innovative OncoSmart Platform to Enhance Operational Efficiencies Tweet

NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Smirta , a New Jersey-based digital health company committed to improving cancer patient care, is pleased to announce that OneOncology has selected Smirta as a preferred vendor to provide Smirta's OncoSmart oncology infusion schedule optimization platform to the OneOncology network of physician practices. OneOncology is a national partnership created by independent community oncologists to strengthen oncology practices by helping them grow and deliver high-value cancer care services. The network includes more than 300 sites of care, empowering oncologists to learn from their peers and leverage their collective experience to address the pressures facing community oncology today and innovate for the future of cancer care delivery. Dr. Jeff Patton says Smirta's OncoSmart platform has been invaluable in establishing a superior scheduling process. OncoSmart is a data-driven digital transformation platform developed by Smirta, in close collaboration with Tennessee Oncology, that optimizes resources, increases capacity, and simplifies the complexities of cancer treatment clinic operations. OncoSmart's clinic management, optimization, nurse assignment, business intelligence, and resource management modules empower infusion centers to better manage critical clinical resources and deliver the best in cancer care. "Understandably, every patient wants to be the first to get their infusion and every doctor wants to start their day early," said Jeff Patton, MD, CEO, OneOncology. "Consequently, we found our clinics contending with a tremendous, daily bottleneck through the afternoon. Smirta's OncoSmart platform has been invaluable in establishing a superior scheduling process to smooth out the day and boost patient care by flattening the utilization curve so that the ratio of clinical staff to patients remains consistent and ramps more evenly throughout the day. We are thrilled to partner with Smirta and sponsor their technology, which will exponentially improve the standard of care and the scheduling metrics of cancer treatment clinics nationwide." Stephen Schleicher M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Tennessee Oncology, a OneOncology partner practice, added: "The Smirta team are amazing to work with. They tailor their software to precisely what we need for our clinics and staff and have been incredibly responsive during the onboarding process. The software itself is very intuitive. Outside of the clinic level where it helps with treatment room capacity and nurse assignments, it also offers a system-wide look across the company, allowing us to see how all of our clinics are doing in terms of overtime, staffing, volume, and so on. Through Smirtaand OncoSmart, we really get to understand which clinics need help through a birds-eye view of how the company's doing from a patient experience and staff experience standpoint."



The A.I.-generated solutions provided by the OncoSmart platform were created to support a diverse group of clinics with varying sizes and volume, as well as to optimize all service types including lab, MA, MD, treatment, and injections. OncoSmart products have: reduced patient appointment delays and wait times

unlocked infusion chair capacity

reduced infusion treatments that extend beyond operating hours

reduced overtime costs

created a radically more balanced nurse load through schedule optimization "Cancer care is inherently complex, with a confluence of problems manifesting most pronouncedly during peak times," said Ram Iyengar, Smirta, CEO. "Through our OncoSmart platform, we can address and neutralize preventable bottlenecks, nursing attrition, and increased operational expenses while significantly improving patient satisfaction and quality of care. We are proud to partner with OneOncology in our combined mission to ensure the best possible treatment for cancer patients through enabling the most supportive, productive setting for all clinic staff."

Smitra has also already worked with another OneOncology partner practice, Piedmont Cancer Institute. The Atlanta-based cancer center's Chief Clinical Officer, Stephanie Braatz said: "The Smirta team has been so responsive and are very easy to work with. Their OncoSmart platform offers tools that streamline our infusion center operations, and their optimization tool has helped us effectively utilize our resources by balancing the patient load across different types of service. "The business intelligence tool has identified bottlenecks, such as provider schedules, and has helped us find solutions to fix them. The nurse assignments tool has tremendously, and positively, affected the reduction of manual effort while showing us a view of the treatment room that we simply weren't able to see before. The entire team and suite of tools have added value," said Braatz. About OneOncology

OneOncology was founded by community oncologists, for community oncologists, with the mission of improving the lives of everyone living with cancer. Its goal is to enable community oncology practices to remain independent and to improve patient access to care in their communities, all at a lower cost than in the hospital setting. OneOncology supports its platform of community oncology practices through group purchasing, operational optimization, practice growth, and clinical innovation. The network's 960 cancer care providers care for approximately 528,000 patients at more than 300 sites of care nationwide. To learn more, visit?oneoncology.com or LinkedIn. About Tennessee Oncology

Tennessee Oncology , PLLC is one of the nation's leading teams of cancer care specialists, nationally recognized for improving patient outcomes and driving quality of life innovation. In 2018 it created a partnership with OneOncology, a technology-powered, data-driven, alliance of America's foremost community oncologists. Its comprehensive range of cancer care services includes specialized oncology nursing care, laboratory services, pharmacy, outpatient chemotherapy, PET/CT services, palliative care, patient and family education, and financial support services. Founded in 1976, the practice's unique vision, introducing patient-driven care with a clinical trial focus, propelled Tennessee Oncology to lead one of the largest, physician-owned, community oncology practices in the country. Currently over 95 physicians in more than 30 locations share the privilege of serving adult cancer patients from South Central Kentucky through Middle Tennessee to Northwest Georgia. For a complete list of Physicians, locations, and services please visit: www.tnoncology.com About Smirta

Smirta is a digital health company providing next-generation technology solutions to the healthcare industry. Its OncoSmart suite of products are at the core of cancer treatment clinical operations optimizing millions of services annually. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/oneoncology-selects-smirta-and-its-innovative-oncosmart-platform-to-enhance-operational-efficiencies-301888767.html SOURCE Smirta; OneOncology

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[July 31, 2023] The White House Announces Partnership with AffordableHousing.com to End Junk Fees Tweet

The Nation's Largest Network for Affordable Housing Protects Consumers from Unfair Fees and Costs BOCA RATON, Fla., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AffordableHousing.com today announced it will join the White House and a compendium of government agencies and other private sector companies in large-scale efforts to end junk fees and ensure that Americans are provided with honest, transparent pricing. More than 100 million property searches per year are performed on AffordableHousing.comthe largest platform for affordable housing in the nation. "For decades, families have relied on us to help them find affordable housing," says Cupelli, AffordableHousing.com CEO "For decades, families have relied on us to help them find affordable housing," says Richard Cupelli, CEO at AffordableHousing.com. "We take pride in advocating for these families, so it was a natural fit for us to join forces with the Administration and other socially responsible companies to help protect consumers in our industry." On July 19, 2023, the White House published a Fact Sheet announcing its crack-down on junk fees in the rental market, highlighting private-sector commitments supporting this initiative made by the three major rental housing platforms: AffordableHousing.com, Zillow, and Apartments.com. Late last year, the President called on federal agencies, Congress, and private companies to take action to address junk fees across the economy. The initiative aims to ensure Americans are provided with honest, transparent pricing. By February 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced proposed rules limiting credit card late ees. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) finalized a rule requiring cable and internet providers to list fees up front. And the Department of Transportation (DOT) proposed a requirement for airlines and booking services show the full price of a plane ticket, including baggage and other fees.



In March, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge released an open letter to housing providers and state and local governments, encouraging them to adopt policies promoting greater fairness and transparency of fees faced by renters. Substantial research shows such fees obstruct comparison shopping, impede competition, and lead to consumers paying more. A long-standing resource for families seeking affordable housing, AffordableHousing.com has policies in place supporting this transparency and protecting its customers from unfair fees.

Renters can search available properties free on AffordableHousing.com, and property owners are required to be upfront about all refundable and non-refundable rental fees and costs. AffordableHousing.com also does not charge rental application fees. "Our socially responsible technology platform has allowed us to establish the largest network of affordable housing in the nation," says Cupelli. "We understand the accountability that comes with our standing in the industry and the trust that our customers place in us." As a hub for housing agencies across the nation, AffordableHousing.com also allows state and local governments to have their own customized website that serves their local community, enforces their specific regulatory requirements, centralizes all affordable housing, and simplifies the application and approval process. "We are working with AffordableHousing.com to implement the Vermont Affordable Housing Hub, which will allow families to easily find and apply to all affordable housing in the state," says Kathleen Berk, Executive Director at Vermont State Housing Authority. "By utilizing AffordableHousing.com's custom housing hub to build our state-specific site, we can streamline compliance with state laws, which have strict application fee guidelines. We can also add safeguards to protect our families by providing the Clear and Fair Lease template for property owners to use. These leases will also comply with affordable housing programs, like Section 8." AffordableHousing.com also rewards reputable property owners. Those with a history of good standing can qualify for a Trusted Owner Badge, which ensures their credibility to prospective renters on the site and increases consumer confidence. Trusted Owners also receive prominent listing status. Earning and maintaining status as a Trusted Owner requires providing various levels of documentation to verify qualifications and authenticity, adhering to all relevant federal, state, and local laws, and complying with the site's reasonable fee guidelines. Together with its research partner, Learning Collider (www.learningcollider.org), AffordableHousing.com is conducting research into the real cost of administrative fees, the impact of fee transparency in rental listings, and the effectiveness of platform features like the common application for rental and government programsan endeavor that the company has been urging agencies to adopt for years. "Our research partnership with AffordableHousing.com has allowed us to analyze the impacts of rental fees on low-income families in real-time," says Peter Bergman, Professor at UT Austin and Director of the Learning Collider research lab. "Together, we are advancing research to identify junk fees and establish transparent fee practices, easing the path to affordable rentals for families across the U.S." The President announced in latest White House Fact Sheet, released on July 27, 2023, further plans to protect renters, naming AffordableHousing.com as an ally in the initiative and endorsing the site's plans to deploy additional consumer protection tools by the end of the year, including "Clear and Fair" digital leases, which will align with the principles outlined in the White House Blueprint for a Renter Bill of Rights. Property owners who use these "Clear and Fair" digital leases will be acknowledged on AffordableHousing.com. About AffordableHousing.com: For more than 20 years, AffordableHousing.com has provided innovative technology and real solutions that help solve some of the most complex challenges impacting the availability of affordable housing in the United States. By simplifying access to available resources, AffordableHousing.com boosts participation in government programs, increasing the much-needed supply of affordable housing nationwide, and providing more homes to more families. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-white-house-announces-partnership-with-affordablehousingcom-to-end-junk-fees-301888902.html SOURCE AffordableHousing.com

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[July 30, 2023] Pioneering the Future of Automotive Solutions: Repairify and Capricorn unveil joint venture to deliver advanced automotive remote diagnostic services to repairers across Australia and New Zealand Tweet

PLANO, Texas and PERTH, Australia, July 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Repairify Australia Holdings Pty Ltd (Repairify) and Capricorn Society Limited (Capricorn) have entered into a joint venture agreement that will deliver leading-edge remote automotive repair solutions to repairers across Australia and New Zealand. Repairify and Capricorn have equal ownership of the joint venture, which will be branded as "Repairify" and distributed across Australia and New Zealand by Capricorn through the Capricorn Preferred Supplier Network. This is an integral part of Capricorn's commitment to provide the highest levels of support to over 25,000 Member businesses, helping them to be best equipped with connected technology to professionally deal with modern vehicle servicing across the vast and ever changing Australian and New Zealand car parc. Repairify provides market-leading remote automotive repair solutions across North and South America, Europe, and greater EMEA with strong, long-term relationships with the majority of global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). The joint venture will provide world-class remote automotive repair solutions to Australian and New Zealand automotive service and repair businesses, enabling them to deliver a superior customer experience through faster turnaround times and increased productivity. Both companies are looking forward to introducing innovative products and services that address the diagnostic and repair requirements of the Australian and New Zealand automotive aftermarket with the aim of ensuring vehicles are repaired and returned to the road safely. While Capricorn Members will gain significant benefits from this new joint venture, it is important to note that all Repairify roducts and services will also be available to all automotive aftermarket shops across Australia and New Zealand, regardless of whether they are a Capricorn Member. This clearly outlines the dedication of both companies to best support the industry as a whole towards a stronger future.



"Repairify is excited to enter this strategic joint venture with Capricorn. We see a huge opportunity to support Australian and New Zealand repairers as global technology evolves. We are keen to introduce our proposition to the market," said Cris Hollingsworth, President  Repairify Global Holdings, Inc. "Capricorn is the ideal choice for this venture due to their unparalleled position in the marketplaces in Australia and New Zealand. We're highly confident that the combination of Repairify products and services and the Capricorn network will rapidly accelerate the distribution of the right technology to ensure that the market can undertake and complete complex vehicle repairs," Mr. Hollingsworth concluded.

"Being able to efficiently and effectively diagnose and calibrate remotely connected vehicles is imperative to the long-term business success of the smallest to the largest automotive workshops across Australia and New Zealand," said Capricorn Group Chief Executive Officer, David Fraser. "We are delighted to have formed this joint venture with Repairify who have built a strong reputation across the world for their patented technology and experience, sharing the same commitment to the success of the automotive aftermarket repair and service industry. Capricorn's core purpose is to support its Members to build stronger businesses and we are confident that this exciting joint venture represents a major leap forward in actioning this commitment by providing unparalleled Member and industry support." About Repairify Repairify, Inc. and its family of brands empower the automotive repair industry to master today's modern, data-intensive vehicles. By providing revolutionary tools and validated OEM Compatible technology, services, and intelligence, Repairify helps automotive professionals run better businesses through improved diagnostics, calibrations, programming, and workflows. Repairify's brands are committed to vehicle and driver safety by providing repairers with excellent service, supported by the highest quality and precision tools, technology, and data. Repairify, Inc. is a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries, LLC. The Repairify family includes asTech, adasThink, AutoMobile Technologies (AMT), Automotive Training Group (ATG), BlueDriver, FleetGenix, Mobile Tech RX, One Guard Inspections, and Repair OnDemand. For more information, please visit Repairify.com About Capricorn Capricorn was established in 1974 by a small group of Western Australian service station owners to increase their buying power and level the playing field. Capricorn is a Member based organisation proudly operating by cooperative principles to support the automotive industry to build stronger businesses. Capricorn now has over 25,000 Members and over 2,000 Preferred Suppliers across Australia and New Zealand. For more information, please visit Capricorn Society View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pioneering-the-future-of-automotive-solutions-repairify-and-capricorn-unveil-joint-venture-to-deliver-advanced-automotive-remote-diagnostic-services-to-repairers-across-australia-and-new-zealand-301888772.html SOURCE Repairify, Inc.

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and some spectacular timepieces to mark the occasion

Things are evolving at Carl F. Bucherer as the Lucerne-based watchmaker recently took a moment to refocus and analyze where they were going and where they wanted to be going. They are calling the exercise Exploring Time and invited the worlds press to an exclusive event in Munich to find out what this means for the brands fans. WorldTempus was there to find out more.

Exploring Time

Carl F. Bucherer spans 135 years of heritage, crosses several generations of the Bucherer family, and is one of the few family-owned independent Swiss watchmakers still in operation today. Not one to rest on its laurels, the company has always been moving forwards, looking for new ways to take the brand into the future. The Bucherer family has always been pioneering and exploring in all its endeavours, shares Head of Consumer Marketing Barbara Sieber, This is why we have a new slogan Exploring Time that makes our watches companions for your journey through time.

Manero Flyback  Carl F. Bucherer

The Different Journeys on Offer

There are different journeys to go on too, depending on which of the three product families you choose. The Manero line is for people who love design, functionality, and the urban lifestyle; the Patravi universe is all about performance and sports; and the Heritage collection is inspired by culture and tradition and is a modern interpretation of the brands heritage. By focusing on these three worlds, the brand is able to cut down on the number of different references from 300 to 120, making it simpler for customers to understand. In addition to the number of references, the brands points of sale will also be streamlined, dropping from 400 to 260, to better focus on exclusivity.

Kicking Off with the Capsule Collection

The new strategy kicked off at the beginning of the year with the Black Capsule Collection with five black timepieces  three of which were made from forged carbon  combining high-tech materials with traditional fine watchmaking complications including a tourbillon, a perpetual calendar, a bi-compax annual calendar, a flyback chronograph, and a big date. The brand has also focused on the black theme for its 5th Only Watch 2023 edition, which was recently unveiled with an all-black tourbillon with a touch of emerald green on the tourbillon bridge.

Manero Double Peripheral Only Watch  Carl F. Bucherer

Colours and Complications

Striking colours are also part of the new strategy as can be seen in the latest Manero Minute Repeater Anniversary Trilogy with three one-of-a-kind pieces in a delightful array of colours  the first in 18-karat yellow gold with a moss-green guilloche dial; the second in 18-karat white gold with a mother-of-pearl dial and 40 ice-blue baguette-cut sapphires; and the third in 18-karat rose gold case with a rainbow setting of multi-coloured baguette-cut gemstones (photographed here). These splendid colours are really only the icing on the cake, however, as these three unique pieces are powered by the brands in-house minute repeater movement with triple peripheral technology. It took over six years to develop this movement, which is composed of over 600 components, and puts Carl F. Bucherer on the list of only a select few manufacturers who have the know-how to make minute repeaters in-house.

Manero Minute Repeater Anniversary  Carl F. Bucherer

During the event, we also got to see and try on a whole range of new timepieces that will be released throughout the year. They all combine great complications with new materials and eye-catching designs and colours that truly delighted the watch press. We are impatient to share them with you too, as soon as we can, so stay tuned over the coming months.
[July 31, 2023] Hong Kong Toycar Salon 2023: 34 AI Racers Making Their Impressive Debut Tweet

HONG KONG, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The largest toycar-themed exhibition and marketplace, "Hong Kong Toycar Salon 2023" ("HKTCS"), will be held at D2 Place ONE in Lai Chi Kok from 22 to 24 September, bringing together original model cars, figures, and diorama from many countries and regions, including Hong Kong, Macao, Mainland China, Japan, the United States, Germany, Thailand, and Indonesia. The third HKTCS has taken artificial intelligence as its annual theme, pioneering the use of AI to generate 34 diverse AI racers to act as event ambassadors, thereby encouraging the industry to intensify its application of AI. These 34 AI racers, designed and generated with the help of ChatGPT, Mid Journey, Stable Diffusion, and Adobe Firefly, each don different attire and no two are identical. This echoes the diverse backgrounds of model car enthusiasts and their knack for creating unique stories through model cars. The AI racers will be tasked with promoting the Hong Kong Toycar Salon both locally and internationally. Mr. Lierence Li, the curator of Hong Kong Toycar Salon 2023 and Managing Director of Market Hubs, said, "After the Metaverse and NFT themes of last year, this year's Toycar Salon will focus on artificial intelligence. Beyond text and images, we hope to offer more application scenarios for exhibitors to try. Using artificial intelligence in design can significantly save time and cost; sometimes a sudden flash of inspiration can be quickly expressed in images, offering designers more creative possibilities." He also estimated that this year's visitor count could exceed last year's 13,000. "The Hong Kong Toycar Salon combines exhibitions and marketplace. Apart from retail, it provides an excellent platform for different copyright holders, car manufacturers, and model car brands from around the world to negotiate cooperation. Buyers and retailers from various countries and regions, including Brazil and Indonesia, have already confirmed their visit in September." Li further pointed out that the shortage of medium and small-sized exhibition venues in Hong Kong could lead the show to move to other cities in the Greater Bay Area, like Macao and Shenzhen, or even to markets in ASEAN countries such as Singapore and Malaysia. Hong Kong Toycar Salon 2023 will feature participation from various global brands including MINI GT, Tarmac Works, INNO64, POP RACE, BM Creations, Schuco, Spark, Ignition Model, Hobby Japan, Tiny HK, Nanoer, Subtle Dreams, and Xcartoys. In addition to the global premieres of model cars, figures, and dioramas, there will also be diorama "check-in" spots, model car competitions, and collectibles, catering to the different needs of families. Hong Kong Toycar Salon 2023







Date: 22-24 September 2023 Opening Hours 1400  2000 (22 September 2023) 1100  2000 (23-24 September 2023) Location: The Space @ 2/F, D2 Place ONE, 9 Cheung Yee Street, Lai Chi Kok, KLN, Hong Kong Charge: Free admission Website www.facebook.com/hktoycarsalon

About the "Hong Kong Toycar Salon" The Hong Kong Toycar Salon ("HKTCS") is an initiative spearheaded by the Hong Kong Model Car Interactive Information Platform, HKTOYCAR, and is orchestrated under the stewardship of Market Hubs. The inaugural exhibition and market event debuted in September 2021, registering an impressive footfall exceeding ten thousand attendees. Currently, the Salon is proudly commemorating its third iteration. The overarching ambition of the Toycar Salon is to foster a conducive milieu for interaction amongst a global consortium of brands, licensors, and buyers, thereby stimulating cross-industry collaboration. Concurrently, it serves to facilitate a platform for car aficionados across the globe to acquaint themselves with a myriad of model car, figurine, and diorama brands. The Salon also proactively offers emerging brands an invaluable opportunity for exposure, with the end-goal of propelling the overall industry's growth trajectory. For more information, please visit www.hktoycar.com Media enquiries: Market Hubs Holdings Limited

Lierence Li

+852 2159-4180

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/hong-kong-toycar-salon-2023-34-ai-racers-making-their-impressive-debut-301888990.html SOURCE HKTOYCAR

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[July 31, 2023] Qn-SOLAR's Performance in H1 2023 Sees Impressive 70% YoY Growth Tweet

SHANGHAI, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Qn-SOLAR, a leading solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturer, has announced outstanding growth with a 70% increase in performance in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year. The company has been expanding its business into various markets beyond China and has seen particularly strong business momentum in the European market, generating over 100MW in orders in H1 from major trade shows. Qn-SOLAR has also applied for multiple international certifications to penetrate different markets and plans to participate in several international trade shows during the second half of this year. "We are thrilled to continue our growth as a leading PV manufacturer and expand our global presence with plans to build manufacturing sites outside of China. Qn-SOLAR is committed to providing excellent customer service and support to our customers. With local logistics, technology and other service teams in Europe and Brazil, we will be better equipped to meet the needs of our local customers and provide them with the best possible experience.", said Stephen Cai, Chairman and Co-founder of Qn-SOLAR. The International Energy Agency's (IEA) Renewables 2022 report predicts that the installed power capacity of solar PVs will exceed that of coal by 2027, making it the world's largest power source. With utility-scale solar PV being the least costly option for new electricity generation in most countries, the solar PV industry is well-positioned to play a significant role in the global transition to cleaner energy sources. Qn-SOLAR's impressive growth and expanding international presence place the company for continued success in the industry.



Qn-SOLAR has recently applied for multiple certifications from different countries to endorse its products and further expand its business landscape. With a growing number of certifications from reputable international organizations, Qn-SOLAR will further strengthen its foothold in the solar PV industry and attract more customers seeking dependable and high-performing solar solutions. Qn-SOLAR will participate in several upcoming trade shows in H2 2023, including Intersolar South America in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in August; ExpoSolar Colombia; Zero Emission Mediterranean; Smart Energy Forum; Solar Solutions Kortrijk in October; PV Expo Osaka in November; and Energata in December. These events will provide an ideal platform for Qn-SOLAR to showcase its high-quality solar PV products and engage with potential customers, partners, and industry experts on a global stage.

About Qn-SOLAR Qn-SOLAR is a professional and fully-integrated photovoltaic manufacturer with over 15 years of experience in EPC project development. Our commitment to providing customers with comprehensive and value-driven solutions is matched by our unwavering dedication to rigorous product quality control and refined management practices that drive cost efficiency. With expanding footprint in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, and South America, the business landscape of Qn-SOLAR has already marked the entire photovoltaic supply chain. By 2023, our production capacity for photovoltaic cells and modules will reach 69 GW and 39 GW, respectively, solidifying our position as a leading player in the industry. Video - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2164692/QnSolar_V3.mp4 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/qn-solars-performance-in-h1-2023-sees-impressive-70-yoy-growth-301888311.html

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[July 31, 2023] Euratek Trading Launches Innovative Wireless GSM Telemetry System for Enhanced Connectivity and Real-Time Data Monitoring Tweet

SINGAPORE, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Euratek Trading, a leading technology company specializing in wireless telemetry systems, proudly presents its latest innovation, the innovative Wireless GSM Telemetry System. This system sets new standards in seamless and reliable communication, empowering businesses with real-time data monitoring and transmission capabilities across diverse industries. The Wireless GSM Telemetry System by Euratek Trading is designed to streamline operations and optimize efficiency by offering advanced features and robust capabilities. With this state-of-the-art technology, businesses gain the ability to remotely monitor, control, and manage critical processes and equipment with unparalleled ease and accuracy. Key Features of Euratek Trading's Innovative Wireless GSM Telemetry System: Real-Time Data Monitoring: Enjoy instant access to vital data with real-time monitoring, enabling prompt decision-making and quicker responses to dynamic business demands. Reliable Communication: The system's GSM connectivity ensures stable and consistent data transmission, eliminating downtime and enhancing the reliability of data delivery. Seamless Data Transfer: Experience the power of wireless connectivity with smooth and uninterrupted data transfer, fostering improved communication within the organization. User-Friendly Interface: Euratek Trading's Innovative Wireless GSM Telemetry System boasts an intuitive and user-friendly interface, ensuring a hassle-free eperience for users at all levels of technical expertise.



Customizable Options: Tailor the system to meet specific business needs, making it an indispensable tool for enhancing productivity and optimizing operations according to individual requirements. As an industry leader in wireless telemetry solutions, Euratek Trading is committed to driving digital transformation and providing innovative technology to its customers. The Wireless GSM Telemetry System represents a significant advancement in the realm of data communication, equipping businesses with the tools they need to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Yami Simon, Marketing Manager of Euratek Trading, shared his enthusiasm about the product launch, stating, "Our Innovative Wireless GSM Telemetry System is a testament to Euratek Trading's dedication to innovation and excellence. With this new technology, we empower businesses to harness the power of seamless data transfer, enabling them to make informed decisions and optimize their processes like never before. We are excited to witness the transformative impact this system will have on businesses across industries." Experience the power of wireless connectivity and seamless data transfer with Euratek Trading's Innovative Wireless GSM Telemetry System. For more information and to explore how this innovative solution can elevate your business, please visit https://www.sune2.com/ . Euratek Trading has selected Verz Design as its trusted partner for digital marketing. Established in 2009, Verz Design offers a range of digital marketing services, including search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, and search engine marketing. With a proven track record of success, Verz Design has achieved top rankings on the first page of Google for keywords such as 'SEO Services '. About Euratek Trading: Euratek Trading is a Singapore-based technology company specializing in innovative wireless telemetry systems. With a passion for innovation and a focus on delivering exceptional solutions, Euratek Trading is committed to driving the digital transformation of businesses across industries. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/euratek-trading-launches-innovative-wireless-gsm-telemetry-system-for-enhanced-connectivity-and-real-time-data-monitoring-301889018.html SOURCE Euratek Trading

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[July 31, 2023] Community Bank System, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2023 Results Tweet

Community Bank System, Inc. (the "Company") (NYSE: CBU) reported second quarter 2023 results that are included in the attached supplement. This earnings release, including supporting financial tables, is also available within the press releases section of the Company's investor relations website at: https://ir.communitybanksystem.com/news-presentations/press-releases/. An archived webcast of the earnings call will be available on this site for one full year. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230731790156/en/ Second Quarter 2023 Performance Highlights Summary Second Quarter 2023 Net Income of $48.3 million, or $0.89 per fully-diluted share, was up $8.5 million, or $0.16 per fully-diluted share, from the prior year's second quarter

Operating Net Income, a non-GAAP measure, of $49.1 million, or $0.91 per fully-diluted share, was up $2.8 million, or $0.06 per fully-diluted share, from the prior year's second quarter

Total Loans of $9.17 billion, was up $188.4 million, or 2.1%, from the end of the prior quarter

Total Fnancial Services (Employee Benefit Services, Insurance Services and Wealth Management Services) Revenues of $48.3 million, was up $1.4 million, or 3.1%, from the prior year's second quarter

Annualized Loan Net Charge-Offs of 0.03% was down 0.04 percentage points from the end of the prior quarter

Tier 1 Leverage Ratio of 9.35% was up 0.29 percentage points from the end of the prior quarter



https://app.webinar.net/4bGKa4M5koZ. About Community Bank System, Inc.

Community Bank System, Inc. is a diversified financial services company focused on four main business lines - banking, benefits administration, insurance services and wealth management with total assets of $15.1 billion. Its banking subsidiary, Community Bank, N.A., is among the country's 100 largest banking institutions and operates more than 200 customer facilities across Upstate New York, Northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Western Massachusetts. In addition to a full range of retail, business, and municipal banking services, the Company offers comprehensive financial planning, trust administration and wealth management services through its Community Bank Wealth Management operating unit. The Company's Benefit Plans Administrative Services, Inc. subsidiary is a leading provider of employee benefits administration, trust services, collective investment fund administration, and actuarial consulting services to customers on a national scale. The Company's OneGroup NY, Inc. subsidiary is a top 100 U.S. insurance agency. Community Bank System, Inc. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Company's stock trades under the symbol CBU. For more information about Community Bank visit www.cbna.com or https://ir.communitybanksystem.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230731790156/en/

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[July 31, 2023] Bioxytran Names Leslie Ajayi as Interim CMO and Head of the Medical Advisory Board Tweet

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BIOXYTRAN, INC. (BIXT), (the Company), a clinical stage biotechnology company developing oral drugs to treat COVID-19 and other viral diseases, announced that it named Leslie Ajayi, MD as its interim Chief Medical Officer and Chief of the Medical Advisory Board. In this role Dr. Ajay will provide leadership and direction to the clinical operations, clinical affairs, clinical sciences, and drug safety. He will report to the CEO Dr David Platt and chair the Medical Advisory Board.

Dr. Ajayi brings over 20 years of clinical development experience in academia and industry. He is a fully trained physician leader with international specialty training in internal medicine, cardiovascular medicine, and clinical pharmacology. He received his undergraduate training in Health Sciences and his MD equivalent graduating Magna Cum Lade from Obafemi Awolowo University [OAU] in Nigeria. A few years later he received his PhD in clinical pharmacology from the University of Glasgow. As an academic clinical pharmacologist in Glasgow, UK, he worked with Big Pharma as an investigator for Phase 1 first in man, proof of concept, pharmacokinetics (PK), Pharmacodynamics (PD), PK-PD, and studies in special populations such as the elderly and in pregnancy. He was also involved in all types of designs of randomized controlled clinical trials (double blind, placebo controlled, double dummy, single blind, cross over, parallel group, Latin squares designs). His industry exposure was relegated to big pharma clinical research monitors and clinical research organizations. He worked on notable projects like perindopril and cilazapril (ACEI), and amlodipine. He evaluated the effects of ACEI on Type-2 Diabetes and insulin resistance in hypertensives. During his tenure at OAU he served in a number of leadership positions. He was the vice dean of Clinical Sciences at OAU. Eventually he became the chairman of medicine at OAU and the chairman of hospital drug formulator committee at OAU. He alsohas held a number of Academic and Research roles. Some of his more notable roles were as an adjunct professor of medicine at Baylor College. He was also a professor of pharmacology for Sava University School of Medicine, St James School of Medicine, and Ross University.



He is highly regarded for his international clinical research and development. He has extensive experience in conducting impactful clinical research that resulted in the creation of a number of technical reports for companies like Merck, Sevier, Squibb, Roche, Pfizer, and GlaxoSmithKline. This new role as the interim CMO of Bioxytran, represents a culmination of my career whereby almost all the facets of my experience come into play. Bioxytran has one of the most ambitious pipeline buildouts I have every seen, said Dr. Leslie Ajayi. Galectin antagonists have universal appeal in so many disease indications because regardless of whether its a virus or a chronic disease the propensity of the literature suggests that galectins are implicated in the disease pathogenesis. My clinical trial philosophy is to have clear end points, which are unequivocal and quantitative. This is why my past clinical trials optimized execution along with resource control, accurate reporting, and data integrity and management. My unique skillset in designing and managing clinical trials should be a great asset to the company. For more than 30 years Ive been designing and managing clinical trials and much of my work was published with over 70 citations to my name. Most recently, some of the results were used to promote the new medication (The population pharmacokinetics of Lisinopril and Enalapril). I also have exposure and experience in adverse drug reactions, safety and pharmacovigilance. I also look forward to building out the medical advisory board.

About Bioxytran, Inc. Bioxytran, Inc. is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel therapies targeting the treatment of significant unmet medical needs in virology, degenerative disease, and hypoxia. The leading drug candidate, Prolectin-M, is a new class of antiviral drug designed to antagonize galectins implicated in inflammatory, fibrotic, and malignant diseases. Bioxytrans other development programs are for pulmonary fibrosis and stroke treatment. More information can be found at www.bioxytraninc.com Investor Relations

Michael Sheikh

509-991-0245

[email protected] Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements as defined under federal law, including those related to the performance of technology described in this press release. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words believe, expect, anticipate, estimate, intend, plan, and similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Such statements are subject to significant risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Known material factors that could cause Bioxytrans actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by such forward-looking statements are described in the forward-looking statements and risk factors in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 and those risk factors set forth from time-to-time in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Bioxytran undertakes no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except to the extent required under federal securities laws.



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[July 31, 2023] RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust and BlackNorth Initiative to Offer New Post-Secondary Bursary for Black Students Tweet

RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust ("RioCan") (TSX:REI.UN) and BlackNorth Initiative have partnered to offer a Canadian Real Estate & Trades Bursary for Black high school students. Launching this July, funding will be dispersed for the upcoming fall 2023 semester. By investing in the Black leaders of tomorrow, RioCan continues to work towards its commitment to the BlackNorth Initiative CEO Pledge. The bursary, amounting to $21,200, will provide financial support for students entering post-secondary programs within the commercial real estate field at accredited schools. The investment will be key to creating a new generation of Black leaders in the real estate sector. "The cost of post-secondary education can be a major barrier, which limits upward mobility in the employment journey. This bursary will help level the playing field for Black youth with less secure financial backgrounds, leading to diverse and inclusive workplaces from interns to leadership," says Dahabo Ahmed-Omer, BlackNorth Initiative's Chief Executive Officer. "We look forward to working with RioCan, a BlackNorth Initiative signatory, to support Black students and foster their future careers in real estate." "Easing the financial burden for Black students interested in commercial real estate starts to tackle some of the systemic barriers that Black students have historically faced in Canada and can contribute to increasing representation in the industry," says Jonathan Gitlin, President and CEOat RioCan. "RioCan is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive industry and workplace. Our commitment to the BlackNorth Initiative is unwavering, and we are proud to support the next generation of Black real estate professionals as they begin their careers."



The bursary goes beyond a financial investment. RioCan will also offer recipients mentorship and internship opportunities, providing the foundation and skillset to build upon throughout their real estate careers. This investment expands RioCan's existing DEI scholarship program, launched in 2021, which supports students identifying as historically disadvantaged at Toronto Metropolitan University and the University of Alberta. About BlackNorth Initiative

The BlackNorth Initiative is on a mission to end anti-Black systemic racism throughout all aspects of our lives by utilizing a business-first mindset. We are committed to the removal of anti-Black systemic barriers negatively affecting the lives of Black Canadians. For more information, visit: https://blacknorth.ca/ and follow us on social media @blacknorthca. About RioCan RioCan is one of Canada's largest real estate investment trusts. RioCan owns, manages and develops retail-focused, increasingly mixed-use properties located in prime, high-density transit-oriented areas where Canadians want to shop, live and work. As at March 31, 2023, our portfolio is comprised of 191 properties with an aggregate net leasable area of approximately 33.5 million square feet (at RioCan's interest) including office, residential rental and 11 development properties. To learn more about us, please visit www.riocan.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230731344448/en/

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[July 31, 2023] Superblock has launched "Over Wallet" for crypto assets, with pre-registrations surpassing 680,000 worldwide Tweet

"Over Wallet," a crypto asset wallet launched by Superblock on the 31st, has attracted over 680,000 users globally during the three-month pre-registration period starting in April. SEOUL, South Korea, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Superblock, led by CEO Ben (Jae-Yun) Kim, released Over Wallet, a mobile wallet designed for Over Protocol. Simultaneously, the company introduced the Over Community Access Program (OCAP), which allows the general public to participate as network validators during the early stages of Over Protocol. Over Wallet is the first service in the Over Protocol ecosystem and has already garnered significant attention, with 686,000 users registering during the three-month pre-registration period that began in April. The name "Over Wallet" is derived from "Over Protocol," the lightweight mainnet that incorporates Superblock's technology. The wallet will offer users the functionality to acquire and manage Over Points upon its launch. The company intends to enhance token asset management and transaction features, providing an optimized service for the use of Over Protocol. Over Wallet can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play. The "OCAP" event, announced alongside Over Wallet, was prepared in anticipaton of the launch of the Over Protocol mainnet, scheduled for the first quarter of the following year. The event, which ends before the mainnet launch, allows users to participate in various quests to earn Over Points within Over Wallet.



Users can utilize their Over Points at the "Over's Pop-up Store," which is a side event of the largest blockchain conference in South Korea, "Korea Blockchain Week (KBW) 2023." The event is in collaboration with "KREAM," the renowned trading platform for limited edition products, and is scheduled to take place in September this year at Seongsu-dong. Users will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in a firsthand experience of the service through this event. Over Protocol is a layer 1 blockchain network aiming to address storage and dependency issues that many blockchains, including Ethereum, face. Its key feature is providing lightweight and user-friendly full nodes, improving accessibility for individuals to operate on their personal computers (PC) at home. This will give Web3 businesses an advantage by reducing infrastructure investment and service operation costs. Superblock plans to introduce a corporate support program to further enhance its support in this area.

Superblock, the primary contributor to Over Protocol, is a blockchain mainnet startup founded in 2021 by Ben. Additionally, Ben is the founder of "Decipher," Seoul National University's blockchain club, established in 2018, which has grown to become the largest blockchain club in Korea. The company has raised $8 million from prominent companies and venture capitalists (VC) in South Korea across two funding rounds. Investors include SK, Netmarble, DSC, E&Investment, Schmidt, SpringCamp, and NaverZ.



Superblock is set to launch a public testnet in the third quarter of this year and has ambitious plans in introducing products that prioritize accessibility and user-friendliness. The products include full nodes for PCs and data analysis and monitoring tools, all aimed at expediting the widespread adoption of blockchain technology. Having gained global recognition for its unique technology, evidenced by publications in SCI papers and participation in international blockchain conferences, Superblock is quickly establishing itself as a leading global blockchain company, expanding its influence far beyond South Korea. Contact: Superblock David Kim, Marketing Director Tel.: +82 10-4330-2540 Email: [email protected] A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5383623f-5c36-4198-bcf4-49bc3c188b09



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[July 31, 2023] Air Liquide awarded The President's Volunteer Service Award for commitment to volunteerism Tweet

Air Liquide in the U.S. received The President's Volunteer Service Award in recognition of its commitment to volunteering, a key tenet of its Citizen at Work program. The company was awarded the Silver 2022 President's Volunteer Service Award based on 327 volunteer hours that the organization donated through employee service to the Houston Food Bank in 2022. The President's Volunteer Service Award was established to recognize the important role of volunteers and their contributions to the United States' strength and national identity. It honors those whose service positively impacts communities in every corner of the nation and inspires those around them to take action. The award is administered by Points of Light and AmeriCorps, and is widely considered among the nation's most revered volunteer award programs. Air Liquide's commitment to the community is underscored by our ADVANCE strategic plan, which directs company and employee efforts to "act for all." This strategic objective is supported by the company's Citizen at Work initiative and volunteering benefits. Through its global Citizen at Work program, Air Liquide encourages and supports employees' involvement in their local communities through volunteering. In addition, 24 hours of paid volunteer service time per year allows employees in the U.S. the flexibility to contribute to society. Michael J. Graff, Chairman & CEO, American Air Liquide Holdings, Inc., said: "At Air Liquide, we take great pride in being a leader in our communities, and that leadership is largely made up of individual acts by employees. I'm very proud that, in recognition of our employees and their dedication to volunteerism, Air Liquide was recently awarded The President's Volunteer Service Award. Thank you to the Houston Food Bank for the honor of this nomination and their continual example of strong community advocacy. Thank you and congratulations to all of the employees who made this honor a reality. This award proves what we already know - that only by acting for all, can we invent a more sustainable future." Brian Greene, President & CEO of the Houston Food Bank, said: "'Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.' Those are the words of Helen Keller, and they could easily be a motto of the Houston Food Bank. We provide access to 150 million nutritious meals in 18 counties through our community partners of food pantries, soup kitchens, social service providers and schools, but it could not be done without the assistance of volunteers. They are the true lifeblood of our organization. Air Liquide and its employees have donated hundreds of hours to Houston Food Bank to help their neighbors in need, not to mention generous financial support as well. Because of their continued, dedicated support for Houston Food Bank, they recently received a nationally recognized silver President's Volunteer Service Award from the Points of Light Foundation. Thank you to Air Liquide and its employees for helping provide food for better lives."







Air Liquide in the United States Air Liquide employs more than 20,000 people in the U.S. in nearly 1,400 locations and plant facilities including a world-class R&D center. The company offers industrial and medical gases, technologies and related services to a wide range of customers in energy, petrochemical, industrial, electronics and healthcare markets. Usa.airliquide.com About Houston Food Bank Serving Houston and southeast Texas since 1982, Houston Food Bank's mission is to provide food for better lives. We provide access to 150 million nutritious meals in 18 counties through our 1,600 community partners of food pantries, soup kitchens, social service providers and schools. Filling gaps on plates, we have a strong focus on healthy foods and fresh produce. In collaboration with our community, we advocate for policy change and racial equity, and promote dialogue on ways to increase access to food and to improve the lives of those in our communities, including services and connections to programs that address the root causes of hunger and are aimed at helping families achieve long-term stability: nutrition education, health management and help with securing state-funded assistance. We are a resource for individuals and families in times of hardship. Houston Food Bank works alongside our partner food banks in Montgomery County, Galveston County, Brazos Valley, and Trinity River area. Houston Food Bank is a certified member of Feeding America, the nation's food bank network, with a four-star rating from Charity Navigator for the 12th consecutive year. houstonfoodbank.org/about-us/milestones/

A world leader in gases, technologies and services for Industry and Health, Air Liquide is present in 73 countries with approximately 67,100 employees and serves more than 3.9 million customers and patients. Oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen are essential small molecules for life, matter and energy. They embody Air Liquide's scientific territory and have been at the core of the company's activities since its creation in 1902. Taking action today while preparing the future is at the heart of Air Liquide's strategy. With ADVANCE, its strategic plan for 2025, Air Liquide is targeting a global performance, combining financial and extra-financial dimensions. Positioned on new markets, the Group benefits from major assets such as its business model combining resilience and strength, its ability to innovate and its technological expertise. The Group develops solutions contributing to climate and the energy transition-particularly with hydrogen-and takes action to progress in areas of healthcare, digital and high technologies. Air Liquide's revenue amounted to more than 29.9 billion euros in 2022. Air Liquide is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange (compartment A) and belongs to the CAC 40, CAC 40 ESG, EURO STOXX 50, FTSE4Good and DJSI Europe indexes.. www.airliquide.com

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[July 31, 2023] Terapines ZCC Toolchain Fully Supports Andes RISC-V Processors Tweet

Wuhan, China, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Terapines Technology, an innovative provider of software/hardware co-design solutions announces the full support for Andes RISC-V processors lineup in the Terapines ZCC toolchain. The ZCC toolchain delivers proven performance gains across multiple end markets, including embedded systems, high- performance computing, and AI. Andes Technology Corporation (TWSE: 6533), a leading supplier of high efficiency, low-power 32/64-bit RISC-V processor cores and Founding Premier member of RISC-V International, has been instrumental in driving RISC-V into the mainstream. Recently, Terapines Technology has joined RISC-V International as a Strategic Member, enabling closer collaboration between these two companies and the overall RISC-V community. The full support of ZCC toolchain for AndeStar V5 Instruction Set Architecture will allow Andes and its silicon partners to achieve higher code density and performance for MCU and SoC products built on the V5 architecture. It opens the door to optimized RISC-V implementations across a wider range of applications. The benchmark results demonstrate the ZCC toolchain's ability to optimize the system performance versus LLVM from AndeSight IDE. Based on AndesCore AX45 CPU, ZCC achieved a 6% boost over the baseline on CoreMark score, as well as an 18.9% performance improvement and 11.8% better code density on Embench-IoT (- O3). With -Os optimization, Embench-IoT attained a 10% code density gain and 9.1% faster performance.





On the industry-standard SPECInt2006 benchmark, ZCC delivered a 30% lower dynamic instruction count compared to open-source LLVM 16.0 on a RV64GCBV RISC-V processor. It also achieved a 13% lower dynamic instruction count on a RV64GCB RISC-V processor. These gains showcase the potential of the ZCC toolchain to help engineers maximize efficiency and real-world speedup across a wide variety of RISC-V implementations.



These exceptional auto-vectorization results mean ZCC can substantially accelerate AI chip design and lower software maintenance costs. By reducing the need for time- consuming manual optimization of computational kernels, ZCC provides a streamlined path to deploying high-throughput AI accelerators

"Full support for AndeStar V5 ISA in the ZCC toolchain is just the starting point of our collaboration with Andes," said Hualin Wu, CTO of Terapines Technology. "We look forward to deepening our partnership to further boost the performance and efficiency of Andes RISC-V processors. Beyond the toolchain, Terapines will provide Andes customers with access to our full suite of co-design tools and virtual prototype simulators. This will enable rapid and cost-effective design flow of competitive RISC-V chips optimized for their target applications." "This collaboration between Terapines and Andes to optimize RISC-V processor performance and code density will greatly benefit our mutual customers," said Dr. Charlie Su, President and CTO of Andes Technology. "As RISC-V continues its rapid growth, expanding the ecosystem with professional tools like ZCC is crucial for ensuring customer product competitiveness. We look forward to broadening our collaboration to equip designers with the best-in-class solutions needed to maximize the potential of RISC-V." About Terapines: Founded in late 2019, Terapines Technology specializes in developing RISC-V software/hardware co-design toolchain. With optimized compilers and simulators as core technologies, Terapines offers products and solutions across four key areas: software/hardware co-design and co-verification, functional safety checker, DSA and embedded development, and ROS operating systems. To learn more about Terapines' innovative RISC-V solutions, follow our WeChat official account or visit https://www.terapines.com. About Andes : Eighteen years in business and a Founding Premier member of RISC-V International, Andes is a publicly-listed company (TWSE: 6533; SIN: US03420C2089; ISIN: US03420C1099) , a leading supplier of high-performance/ low-power 32/64-bit embedded processor IP solutions, and the driving force in taking RISC-V mainstream. Its V5 RISC-V CPU families range from tiny 32- bit cores to advanced 64-bit Out-of-Order processors with DSP, FPU, Vector, Linux, superscalar, with processor integrating vector processor and/or multi/many-core capabilities. By the end of 2022, the cumulative volume of Andes-Embedded SoCs has surpassed 12 billion. For more information, please visit https://www.andestech.com. For more information, please visit https://www.andestech.com. Follow Andes

on LinkedIn , Twitter, Bilibili and YouTube!

Hsiao-Ling Lin Marcom Manager, Andes Technology Corp. [email protected]

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[July 31, 2023] Three New Clinical Studies Presented at the Society of Neurointerventional Surgery Annual Meeting Further Validate Impact of Viz Neuro Suite Tweet

Viz.ai, the leader in AI-powered disease detection and intelligent care coordination, today announced the presentation of three new abstracts that demonstrate the real-world impact of the Viz Neuro Suite at the Society of Neurointerventional Surgery (SNIS) Annual Meeting. These independent studies demonstrate the clinical, health equity, and patient benefits of AI-driven technology, and reiterate Viz.ai's commitment to transforming patient care. A study from HCA Houston Healthcare*, "Viz LVO versus Rapid LVO in Detection of Large Vessel Occlusion on CT Angiography for Acute Stroke," by Delora et al., highlights the superior performance of the Viz LVO solution in detecting suspected large vessel occlusion on computed tomography (CT) angiography for acute stroke. The findings underscore the critical role of Viz.ai's advanced AI algorithms in accurately identifying and triaging patients for prompt intervention, ultimately improving outcomes and saving lives. "Accurate early detection of stroke using the Viz.ai stroke platform significantly improved our team communication and resulted in improved overall stroke metrics," said Dr. Mohamad Ezzeldin, neurointerventional surgeon, director of CNS Neuroendovascular Surgery and Stroke Medical Director for HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood and study investigator. "The Viz.ai platform has become an invaluable tool in our practice, and I rely on it when I'm on call." An abstract from the University of Kentucky, "Rural Versus Metropolitan Stroke Activation Incidence: Using Viz.ai To Determine Disease Penetrance," by Fraser et al., demonstrates the value of data to visualize the level of disparities in care and redistribute resources to increase access to stroke care in rural areas. By leveraging AI technology,Viz.ai enables healthcare providers to bridge geographical gaps, ensuring equitable access to time-critical interventions for stroke patients, regardless of their location.



"Rural areas of Kentucky - particularly in Appalachia - are known to have increased risk factors for major diseases. We are using this technology as a bridge into local communities with high incidences of stroke," said Dr. Justin Fraser, lead investigator. "These findings provide confirmation of the importance of stroke care protocols in rural areas and the value of fast identification and triage for these communities." Data from Valley Health System, in an abstract titled "Radiographic and Clinical Outcome-Based Assessment of Middle Meningeal Artery Embolization for Chronic Subdural Hematoma Patients at a Community Hospital," by Altschul et al., explores the successful implementation of Viz.ai's AI-powered solutions to assess and treat chronic subdural hematoma patients. By enabling precise radiographic analysis and clinical outcome assessment, Viz.ai empowers community hospitals to deliver enhanced care to patients with this complex condition.

"It was remarkable to have the ability to educate patients about their disease at the bedside and show patients their scans with volume measurements," said Dr. Dorothea Altschul, director of Neuroendovascular Surgery at Valley Health System and lead investigator. "We used this tool not only for care coordination but also for care education." "These results further demonstrate the impact of AI-powered care coordination and the unparalleled accuracy and seamless implementation of Viz.ai in hospital systems," said Jayme Strauss, chief clinical officer at Viz.ai. "Through our innovative approach and close collaboration with top experts, we continue to advance neurovascular care, making a profound impact on patient outcomes." For more information on the Viz Neuro Suite, visit https://www.viz.ai/neuro About Viz.ai, Inc. Viz.ai is the pioneer in the use of AI algorithms and machine learning to increase the speed of diagnosis and care, covering more than 220 million lives across 1,400+ hospitals and health systems in the U.S. and Europe. The AI-powered Viz Platform is an intelligent care coordination solution that identifies more patients with a particular disease, informs critical decisions at the point of care, and optimizes care pathways and helps improve outcomes. Backed by real-world clinical evidence, the Viz Platform delivers significant value to patients, providers, and pharmaceutical and medical device companies. For more information visit viz.ai. *HCA Healthcare has a minority equity stake in Viz.ai and also purchases products from the company for use in its facilities. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230731568953/en/

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Without the books and movies about the boy wizard Harry Potter, it is already impossible to imagine the childhood of a modern person. The universe created by the British writer Joanne Rowling has become an integral part of culture, and the characters inhabiting it have become our close friends. Therefore, fans of this universe every year celebrate the birthday of the main character.

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As OBOZREVATEL reminds, Harry Potter's birthday falls on July 31. According to the mythology of Potteriana, he was born in 1980, so today he celebrates his 43rd birthday.

According to the books, a year before Harry was born, the soothsayer Sibylla Trelawney predicted that the appearance of someone who could defeat the Dark Lord and return the world to normality was approaching. She even gave an approximate date. Having learned about it, the Dark Lord Voldemort tried to kill Harry as a baby, but he was closed by his parents, paying for his salvation with their lives. Thus came one of the "titles" of the character - the boy who survived.

Notably, Harry shares a birthday with his creator. Joanne Rowling also celebrates it on July 31. She was born in 1965, and thanks to her super-successful literary series and subsequent movie franchise, she turned from an ordinary writer, barely making ends meet, into one of the richest and most influential British women.

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On the last day of July, it is customary to post on social networks congratulations for Harry and add a special hashtag #HappyBirthdayHarryPotter. Also fans of the universe hold meetings and celebrations, reread favorite books and watch movie versions.

But July 31 is not the only unofficial holiday that unites fans of Potteriana. Thus, on May 2, the World Harry Potter Day is celebrated annually. Such a date was chosen, because according to the mythology of the literary universe on this day in 1998 the battle for Hogwarts took place, in which the young wizard defeated Voldemort.

Interesting facts about Harry Potter

The idea of a series of novels was formed at Joanne Rowling, when she was traveling by train from Manchester to London and saw from the window a boy with glasses. Even then, the writer knew that the books would be only seven.

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On writing the first novel in the series of Rowling took five years. She had to work a lot on the creation of logic and rules of the magical world. But further work went faster.

The birthplace of Harry the author chose a remote area of London Clapham. There she first came to her mind the idea of creating a Potteriana.

Many phenomena of the magical world of Potteriana appeared because of certain events in Rowling's personal life. So the wardens of Azkaban prison dementors she came up with after a severe depression. Quidditch game - after a strong quarrel with her boyfriend. The Night Knight bus driver and conductor Ernie and Stanley are named after the author's grandfathers. And the legendary platform 9, from where the trains depart for Hogwarts, the writer placed at King's Cross station, because her parents met there.

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The motto of Hogwarts School of Magic Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus translates from Latin as "Never tickle a sleeping dragon".

The Harry Potter books, released at the turn of the millennium, were the first children's books to appear on the New York bestseller list since 1952. Back then, E. B. White's Charlotte's Web made the list.

The movies about the little wizard were nominated for an Oscar 12 times, but did not win a single statuette.

Rowling's writings earned her second place in Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2007. She was noted for the "social, moral and political inspiration" that she gave fans of her works.

Earlier OBOZREVATEL showed how the main actors of the Harry Potter films have changed for 22 years since the release of the first picture.

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[July 31, 2023] BANK OF AMERICA INVESTIGATION INITIATED by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Investigates the Officers and Directors of Bank of America Corporation - BAC 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 Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC). On July 11, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that an investigation found that the Company had harmed hundreds of thousands of customers across multiple product lines over a period of several years through a series of illegal practices including double charging insufficient fund fees, withholding reward bonuses and opening accounts without customers' knowledge or permission. As a result, the Company was ordered to pay over $100 million to customers and another $90 million in penalties, as well as a separate $60 million fine ordered by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for violating laws regarding overdraft fees. KSF's investigation is focusing on whether Bank of America's 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 Bank of America 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-bac/ 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/20230731262856/en/

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[July 31, 2023] UMD Smith Now Offers January Start Date for MS in Information Systems Program Tweet

COLLEGE PARK, Md. , July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business is adding a January 2024 cohort start date for its Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS). The update comes as the school designates focus areas including artificial intelligence, cloud computing and emerging technologies in this STEM-designated, in-person program. "The additional start date is ideal for candidates who apply after earning a three-year or a four-year undergraduate degree and those seeking more scheduling flexibility," says Smith Associate Dean of MS Programs Emanuel Zur ." Application deadlines for the added January start date in the 30-credit program are Sept. 1 and 29, Oct. 15 and Dec. 15. (Go to Smith's Business Master's Admissions website .) The focus areas, Zur says, "provide students with a more-specialized education within the information systems field, targeting multiple skills relevant to specific job roles." Artificial intelligence

This focus area provides a comprehensive understanding of Artificial Intelligence tools, methods and algorithms used to create intelligent systems to solve business problems. The curriculum also will work to address AI's ethical impacts on society and is relevant to such job titles as knowledge engineer, knowledge manager and machine learning engineer. The curriculum also emphasizes crafting data strategies, building pipelines, visualizing data, and using predictive analytics in real-life business situations. This areais designed for data scientists, business intelligence developers, data analysts and data engineers.



Cloud computing

The curriculum in this focus area addresses Cloud Computing in designing and managing cloud-based platforms and tech infrastructures. Participants will study the economics of cloud deployments, manage the complexities involved in migration initiatives and experience using cloud-based technology stacks  all applicable to such roles as solution engineer, cloud architect and cloud engineer. Emerging technologies

The Emerging Technologies focus area addresses the understanding, evaluating and applying key information systems technologies. Students will practice applying Web3, Blockchain, IoT and other technologies to everyday work in roles like solution architect, technology consultant and solutions engineer.

"These focus areas, combined with experiential learning courses, case competitions and industry simulations, ensure that students have the skills and capacity to lead, manage, design and implement solutions to complex business problems using contemporary information technologies," says MSIS Academic Director and Clinical Professor Tej Anand . "The updated curriculum increases the challenge and reward for students to think critically about solutions required for our rapidly changing business and technology environment." Anand directs the program with decades of industry experience, including in AI and data research and product development for the likes of Philips Research Laboratories, A. C. Nielsen and NCR/Teradata and as a senior business-technology executive in companies such as Golden Books, CA Technologies. Medco Health Solutions and CareCentrix. Anand "exemplifies the MSIS program's top-tier research- and industry-active faculty, who collaborate with the school's MSIS Advisory Council of industry leaders and experts to bring experiential learning and insight and expand internship and job opportunities for the students," says Smith Dean Prabhudev Konana . "This works to ensure that it's not only about developing trade skills through a stellar curriculum, but it's also about developing independent thinkers with deep skills relevant for immediate needs of business and developing the students for long term success." Related, online information sessions are scheduled for 8:30-9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 8, 16 and 25. To register for these free sessions and for complete MSIS program information, go to the Master of Science in Information Systems website . About the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business

The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master's, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/umd-smith-now-offers-january-start-date-for-ms-in-information-systems-program-301889556.html SOURCE University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business

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[July 31, 2023] WattEV awarded $40.5 million to build truck charging depots in Northern California and Oregon along 'electric highway' Tweet

Funding by California Transportation Commission and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality LONG BEACH, Calif., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of opening the nation's largest public charging depot for electric commercial trucks at the Port of Long Beach, WattEV announced today it has secured $40.5 million in grants to further expand its growing network of electric truck stops into Northern California and Oregon. WattEV, the industry leader in heavy-duty freight electrification, has been awarded two separate grants: one for a solar-powered truck charging depot across Interstate 5 from the airfreight hub adjacent to Sacramento International Airport, and another for a grid-connected charging depot along Interstate 5 in Salem, Ore. WattEV has secured a $34 million federal grant through the California Transportation Commission to build and operate what will become the nation's largest electric charging depot on more than 100 acres of land immediately south of Sacramento International Airport (SMF) on Interstate 5. The SMF project is expected to open in mid- to late-2025 with 15.6 MW of solar power supplemented by 7.2 MW of grid power supplied by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. The SMF depot will have 30 DC fast chargers for passenger vehicles, 90 high-power CCS-1 cords for medium- and heavy-duty commercial electric vehicles, and 18 megawatt cords for pass-through charging of HD trucks using the upcoming Megawatt Charging Standard (MCS). "We're proud to partner with WattEV as they continue to advance transition of U.S. trucking transport to zero emissions," said Cindy Nichol, Director of Sacramento County Department of Airports. "Sacramento International Airport's proxmity to one of largest goods distribution centers in the state makes this an ideal location to serve California's 'electric highway.'"



WattEV was also awarded $6.5 million from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to build a 6-acre EV charging depot. The Salem, Ore., site will be grid-connected in cooperation with Portland General Electric. Planning for the Salem electric truck stop includes 30 CCS 240 KW chargers and six MCS 1200 KW chargers. It's expected to open in 2025 as well.

"These grant awards will allow us to meet our plans to expand our network of electric-truck charging depots from the Mexican border to Portland, Oregon, via Interstate 5, on what government planners and industry stakeholders are calling the 'electric highway,'" explained WattEV co-founder and CEO Salim Youssefzadeh. The grant for the SMF project comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation's "Trade Corridor Enhancement Program," which distributes funding through state transportation agencies. "We're building out the West Coast corridor while also reaching eastward along the I-10 toward Arizona and Texas and, eventually, to the East Coast," Youssefzadeh said. "To expand the WattEV network, we'll match our grants with private capital to fund this massive infrastructure buildout." WattEV selects the locations of its charging depots based on analysis of freight routes, range of electric trucks and energy supply. "We picked our site in Sacramento because of its strategic location next to the Metro Air Park Logistics Center, where more than 10-million square-feet of warehouse space is planned," said Youssefzadeh, "and its close proximity to downtown Sacramento  just 10 minutes away." Sacramento County and surrounding areas contain one of the largest concentrations of California's goods distribution centers, serving many of the largest shippers in the country. The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (Sac Metro Air District) has committed to working closely with WattEV on the project as it will have significant air quality benefits for Sacramento. "Emissions from fossil-fuel powered cars and trucks are the largest source of air pollution in the Sacramento region," said Sac Metro Air District Transportation and Climate Change Program Manager Raef Porter. "Over the past 25 years, the Air District has invested $300 million in clean air projects. We're proud to continue that commitment by partnering with WattEV on this transformative solar-powered, electric charging depot. Building new electric vehicle infrastructure is imperative to the successful transition to clean transportation and ensuring a clean air and low carbon future for all." The SMF depot will initially serve as a charging hub for local and regional distribution centers, and later as a depot serving the north-south freight corridor stretching from WattEV's newly opened charging depot in the Port of Long Beach, connecting to Oregon and Washington state. "We not only have the demand for regional distribution in Sacramento County," Youssefzadeh explained, "but we also have existing shippers asking us to transport freight from their logistic centers in the Los Angeles area to distribution centers of retailers in Sacramento." About WattEV

WattEV's mission is to accelerate the transition of U.S. trucking transport to zero emissions. It relies on a combination of business and technology innovations to create charging infrastructure and data-driven workflow that provide truckers and fleet operators the lowest total cost of ownership. WattEV's goal is to get 12,000 heavy-duty electric trucks on California roads by the end of 2030, exceeding existing forecasts. More information is available online at www.WattEV.com. About the Sac Metro Air District

The Sac Metro Air District is the leading Sacramento region agency responsible for monitoring air quality, reducing air pollution, enforcing air quality regulations, and promoting decarbonization efforts through innovative incentive programs and projects. The Air District also works to ensure clean air and meet National Ambient Air Quality standards. For more information about the Air District, please visit www.AirQuality.org. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wattev-awarded-40-5-million-to-build-truck-charging-depots-in-northern-california-and-oregon-along-electric-highway-301889634.html SOURCE WattEV

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[July 31, 2023] Canada and the Northwest Territories invest in the nation's most northerly fibre optic link Tweet

INUVIK, NT, July 31, 2023 /CNW/ - Today, Michael McLeod, Member of Parliament for Northwest Territories, Diane Archie, N.W.T Minister of Infrastructure, on behalf of Caroline Wawzonek,N.W.T. Minister of Finance, and Duane Smith, Chair and CEO of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, announced a joint investment of more than $19.7 million for the construction of a fibre optic line from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk, bringing highspeed fibre optic communications to Tuktoyaktuk. This investment will support the design and construction of a 137-kilometre fibre-based infrastructure between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk, the Inuvialuit hamlet on the Arctic Ocean, and enable the completion of fibre-based infrastructure between High Level, Alberta and Tuktoyaktuk. This new line will provide backbone infrastructure to support existing internet service in Tuktoyaktuk, which is currently provided through a microwave radio system, with a faster, more reliable fibre-optic link. As part of this key infrastructure project, the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) will be collaborating with the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation as a key land owner in the Region. Fast, affordable and reliable connectivity expands possibilities for northern communities  it improves the delivery of healthcare, education and other essential services; it bolsters sustainable and inclusive local and regional economies; and advances arctic science. It is essential that Northerners and Indigenous Peoples can fully engage with each other, the rest of Canada, and the global economy, no matter where they live. By investing in infrastructure, the Government of Canada is growing our country's economy, building resilient communities, and improving the lives of Canadians. Quotes "Reliable access to high-speed internet is vital to economic development and well-being, particularly in northern and remote communities. Today's announcement marks another milestone for the North as residents and businesses will soon be able to connect faster to essential online services and benefit from additional opportunities made available through high-speed internet." The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities "Reliable broadband infrastructure for northern families and businesses must not be a luxury. It is critically important for economic growth, keeping people connected, and ensuring Northerners have the same access to Internet as the rest of Canada. The expansion of the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk wll contribute to our government's commitment to connect all Canadians to high-speed internet by 2030."



Michael McLeod, Member of Parliament for Northwest Territories "The GNWT is strongly focused on increasing the broadband accessibility and speed through large-scale infrastructure investment in projects like the Inuvik-Tuk Fibre Line that in turn provide opportunities for private Internet providers to deliver the services that NWT residents need in their homes and communities. Access to reliable, high-speed internet is a critical part of any modern society, that helps create economic opportunities for residents and lets governments deliver important programs like education and health care."

Diane Archie, N.W.T Minister of Infrastructure, on behalf of Caroline Wawzonek, N.W.T Minister of Finance "This project will bring benefits to Tuktoyaktuk and support the Inuvialuit Energy Security Project. IRC looks forward to working with the GNWT to ensure construction proceeds in a way the protects Inuvialuit lands, wildlife, and upholds the goals of the IFA." Duane Smith, Chair and CEO of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation Quick Facts The Government of Canada is investing $14,803,500 in this project, while the Government of the Northwest Territories is contributing $4,934,500 .

is investing in this project, while the Government of the is contributing . The Government of Canada's funding comes from the Rural and Northern Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.

funding comes from the Rural and Northern Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Infrastructure Program. This stream supports projects that increase access to more efficient and reliable energy sources, improve community infrastructure, and improve internet connectivity for rural and northern communities.

Including today's announcement, 28 infrastructure projects or project bundles under the Rural and Northern Infrastructure Stream have been announced in the Northwest Territories , with a total federal contribution of more than $82.9 million and a total territorial contribution of more than $10.6 million .

, with a total federal contribution of more than and a total territorial contribution of more than . Under the Investing in Canada Plan, the federal government is investing more than $180 billion over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and Canada's rural and northern communities.

Plan, the federal government is investing more than over 12 years in public transit projects, green infrastructure, social infrastructure, trade and transportation routes, and rural and northern communities. Infrastructure Canada helps address complex challenges that Canadians face every dayranging from the rapid growth of our cities, to climate change, and environmental threats to our water and land. Associated links Investing in Canada: Canada's Long-Term Infrastructure Plan

https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/icp-publication-pic-eng.html Investing in Canada Plan Project Map

http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/gmap-gcarte/index-eng.html Rural and Northern Infrastructure Stream

https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/rnc-crn-eng.html Federal infrastructure investments in the Northwest Territories

https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/prog-proj-nt-eng.html Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn

Web: Infrastructure Canada SOURCE Infrastructure Canada

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[July 31, 2023] University of Phoenix leadership present at Anthology Together, highlighting collaboration between academic and information technology teams Tweet

University of Phoenix is pleased to share that Shannon T. Wilson, vice president of information technology, and Marc Booker, Ph.D., vice provost of Strategy, presented together at the 2023 Anthology Together conference in Orlando, Florida, on July 18, in a session titled, "Creating Value Add Partnerships Between Academics and IT on Campus," as part of the conference theme track in Teaching, Learning & Inclusion. "Demonstrating the power of partnerships between IT and Academics really makes me proud," shares Wilson. "Integrating a product model that facilitates innovation for our students has allowed the University to transform the role of IT from a support function to that of a strategic partner. Proactive collaboration is so important and is embedded in all our activities, from day-to-day business and technology operations, planning, communication, and change management - all with the intent to serve working adult students to the fullest." The conference is an annual global gathering for educators and institutions highlighting education technology thought leadership, insights and innovation. Booker and Wilson's session highlighted how the modern higher education institution requires a strong partnership between academics and technologists on ampus to ensure digital dreams can be transformed into engaging experiences. While this connection can be hard to realize institutionally with competing interests and limited resources, Booker and Wilson discussed how, using a strong product and partnership model at University of Phoenix, these barriers have been broken down with the benefit of year over year student retention gains, and shared the journey and best practices.



"I feel privileged to have been able to share our message at this event because at University of Phoenix collaboration is the engine that feeds our ability to innovate and best serve our working adult learners," Booker states. "In many organizations today, this process can be impeded by silos or sending requirements back-and-forth over a fence, but at our institution we have created an integrated product model that looks to solve our students' problems first, and this could not be done without an equal partnership between our academic and technology teams." Wilson is the Vice President of Information Technology at the University of Phoenix, a role in which he is responsible for application engineering and all technology infrastructure, platforms, client services, network, and data center operations, including a combination of public/private cloud services, hybrid-cloud, and co-location hosting services. He has oversight of more than 15 Agile product teams. With over 25 years of experience managing and hiring for IT teams, his diverse background spans IT leadership, application engineering, hybrid-cloud infrastructure, public-private cloud services, business operations, marketing, project management, finance, financial analysis, budgeting and sales.

Wilson has been an employee with University of Phoenix since 1993. As Vice Provost for Strategy at the University of Phoenix, Booker oversees critical path academic initiatives to improve the student experience such as learning platform implementations, curricular enhancements, and developing empathetic solutions to drive improved student outcomes through data. Booker also serves as dean of the Pacific Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (PACRAO) Leadership Development Institute and was President of PACRAO in 2016. In 2020, Booker received a Hall of Fame recognition from Blackboard for his contributions in providing thought leadership and innovation in education. Booker has been an employee of the University of Phoenix since 2001. About University of Phoenix University of Phoenix is continually innovating to help working adults enhance their careers in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, and Career Services for Life commitment help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit phoenix.edu. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230731468475/en/

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[July 31, 2023] Walker & Dunlop Arranges nearly $400 Million Financing for 10 Active Adult Communities Tweet

Walker & Dunlop, Inc. announced today that one of the company's premier Capital Markets teams, led by Matt Wallach, Stephen West, and Walker Layne, has financed 10 age restricted (55+) multifamily transactions totaling $390 million in the past 12 months and over $1 billion in volume during the past five years. The debt capital was sourced from the GSEs, multiple life companies, banks, and debt funds. These recent transactions illustrate the growing trend and increase in active adult communities across the country and Walker & Dunlop's expertise in providing capital for investors in the senior living sector. According to the U.S. Active Adult Community Market Size, Share & Trends nalysis Report by Gender and Segment Forecasts, 2022-2030, the U.S. active adult community market size is estimated to reach $805 billion by 2030, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 4.01% from 2022 to 2030, when this demographic is likely to account for about a quarter of the population.



"Demand for adult living investment will continue to grow regardless of rents or geographic location," said Matt Wallach, managing director of Multifamily Finance at Walker & Dunlop. "The market is in desperate need of these types of properties, and we are extremely pleased to have financed a significant amount in collaboration with our trusted partners across the country." A testament to the strength and versatility of the team, they have tapped into numerous lending sources, originating both fixed and floating-rate loans for properties at varying levels of occupancy with terms and structures tailored to their client's business plans. Walker & Dunlop's strong industry relationships have allowed the team to navigate the complexities of the market to secure favorable terms even during times of uncertainty. The team remains extremely active in the space and has closed five transactions year to date, with another three deals currently under application.

In 2022, Walker & Dunlop's Capital Markets group sourced capital for transactions totaling nearly $26 billion from non-Agency capital providers. This vast experience has made them a top advisor on all asset classes for many of the industry's top developers, owners, and operators. To learn more about Walker & Dunlop's broad financing options, visit our website. About Walker & Dunlop Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD) is one of the largest commercial real estate finance and advisory services firms in the United States. Our ideas and capital create communities where people live, work, shop, and play. The diversity of our people, breadth of our brand and technological capabilities make us one of the most insightful and client-focused firms in the commercial real estate industry. Upcoming Walker & Dunlop Events Zelman & Associates 2023 Virtual Housing Summit (September 18-21) is universally deemed the premier housing-related conference in the industry. Hear thought-provoking C-Suite panel insights and a comprehensive immersion into all aspects across the housing mosaic. With attendance of 1000+ Institutional Investors and Industry Executives, the Summit will guide you into 2024 and beyond. To learn more or register, please visit the following link. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230731443781/en/

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The latest local murder pushes our homicide count forward again to start the week.

A quick recap . . .

The KCMO homicide count has spiked more than 25% year to date and threatens to surpass 2020 numbers - The most violent year in local recorded history.

Here's the first report . . .



Homicide 3800 Block Of Bales



This morning about 11:15am officers were called to the 3800 block of Bales on a shooting call.



When they arrived officers were directed to an adult male shooting victim who was unresponsive down on the ground in front of a house there.



Officers summoned EMS into the scene who transported the victim to the hospital for treatment. The victim was declared deceased a short time later at the hospital.



Preliminary information is that the calling party heard the sound of gunfire outside, they looked out and saw the victim down on the ground and called police.



Detectives and crime scene investigators processed the scene for evidence and canvassed for witnesses.



Detectives are hopeful someone heard or saw something here this morning.



If anyone was in or around this area at the time and has any information they are asked to contact Homicide detectives directly at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS there is a reward of up to $25,000 for information submitted anonymously to the TIPS hotline.



We are committed to assisting victims of violent crimes through use of Missouris Protection Program for Victims/Witnesses of Violent Crime. Funding for temporary, or even permanent relocation, may be available but is subject to pre-approval by the States administering agency.



We are working with Partners for Peace in all our homicide investigations to monitor risks for retaliation and provide social services to affected residents.

################



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

1 killed in shooting Monday morning One male victim was killed after a shooting Monday morning. KCPD received a call around 11:14 a.m. to the 3800 block of Bales Avenue.

Police respond to homicide Monday afternoon on Bales Avenue Police did not release the extent of people involved or potential suspect information.

Developing . . .
Right now angel Lais inspires our evening look at pop culture, community news and top headlines before the lights go out again.



UPDATE: OF COURSE the lights went out again. We're sharing a couple of links on that as well.

Check TKC news gathering . . .

Local Lightning Crashes

Severe storms leave thousands across KC metro without power Parts of the Kansas City metro are under a severe thunderstorm watch until 9:15 p.m.

Suburban Storm Postscript

Severe thunderstorms and lightning show sweep through the metro area leaving thousands without power Sunday evening brought in severe thunder and lightning storms throughout the area. At 9 p.m. it was shown that more than 60 thousand Evergy customers are without power.

Tax Showdown Tomorrow

Deadline to appeal Jackson County property tax is on Monday For months now, tens of thousands of people from every corner of Jackson County have been fed up.

Tonight's Weather Warnings

Severe thunderstorms with strong winds head south into Kansas City metro The National Weather Service issued several warnings regarding the rapidly forming summer storms

Kansas City Butterflies Are Free

Monarchs on Main "I'm too excited not to share...we have monarchs on Main Street!"

Golden Ghetto Growing Season

Johnson County Parks & Rec displays signs to help preserve wildflowers The park has placed signs that read "Don't Doom the Bloom" near popular wildflower areas.

Royal Trading Game Cont'd

BREAKING: Braves acquire infielder Nicky Lopez from Kansas City Royals The Braves have traded LHP Taylor Hearn to the Royals for a new backup infielder

Cash In On Wasted Youth

Make money off of old toys in Kansas City this week The Toy Scout is making several stops in the Kansas City metro this week. The buyer has stops in Kansas City, Overland Park, and St. Joseph

Angelic Reveal

Model Lais Ribeiro shows off her stunning figure in single-strap bikini BRITAIN may be having a soggy summer, but model Lais Ribeiro is shouldering on in this single-strap bikini. The ex-Victoria's Secret Angel, 32, was showing off the pink swimwear for Italian brand B...

Polling Reveals Harsh Criticism Of Prez

'Biden Is a Bum,' Say Americans | National Review It's now on the Republican electorate to nominate a candidate who can surpass the mark of "Bum."

Former Prez Fundraising



Trump team creating legal defense fund | CNN Politics Former President Donald Trump's team is creating a legal defense fund to help offset some of the enormous bills incurred as his legal troubles mount, two sources familiar with the planning told CNN.

Summer Sci-Fi Distractions

UFO-curious lawmakers brace for a fight over government secrets A bipartisan group of lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee say a high-profile hearing on UFOs is just the start of their push for answers. And they are threatening to use heavier handed tactics if the Pentagon and intelligence agencies stand in their way. Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.)...

Russia Nuke Double Talk

Putin says he's open for peace talks before ally issues dire nuke warning Both Russia and Ukraine have previously said peace talks can't take place without certain conditions being met.

Far East Family Ties

China using families as 'hostages' to quash dissent abroad Refugees and activists tell the BBC intimidation tactics are tearing apart Uyghur communities overseas.

Advice

From the Grave

Sinead O'Connor's open letter to Miley Cyrus goes viral Sinead O'Connor's open letter to Miley Cyrus has gone viral following the shock announcement of the Irish legend's death at 56 yesterday.

Late Season Resurgence?!?

Griggs Shares Forecast

Morning storms will start the work week Temperatures will climb back up into the 90s during the middle of the week

And this is the OPEN THREAD for tonight.
Whats the one perfect, endlessly cool item every man should have in his wardrobe? Ask the Kit

The mens white T-shirt is crisp, versatile and an endless beacon of cool. Finding your own ideal version is all in the details.
Elizabeth Taylor hung out by the pool. So did Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren. This newly restored French hotel is a destination in itself
Cities account for 70% of global carbon emissions and deep decarbonisation of our cities is essential to achieve key climate targets, says a new report.

Ultimately, the battle against climate change will be won  or lost  in cities, says the whitepaper from Danfoss which lays out a new roadmap for decarbonising cities. Implementation of existing technology for buildings, transport, and sector integration can bridge half the gap in the urban GHG emissions reductions needed for a 1.5C pathway, it says.

The paper shows how existing energy efficiency and electrification measures across sectors can immediately reduce emissions and accelerate a green transition in cities.

The whitepaper, Roadmap for decarbonising cities, draws upon a diverse range of verified sources, including the latest data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), to demonstrate why action is needed. The whitepaper also shows how that action can be taken, and highlights how the solutions that will enable this are already available.

Key takeaways:

 Energy efficiency in cities is essential for global decarbonisation. If all urban areas and cities in Europe, the US, and China invested in energy-efficient heating and cooling of buildings, this would contribute 20% to the 1.5C target of the Paris Agreement.

 Electrification of vehicles will play a large role. Electrification of urban transport, both private (light) and public (heavy), is crucial for successful climate targets. 28% of the decarbonisation necessary to stay within the 1.5C target of the Paris Agreement would be achieved if all urban areas in Europe, the US, and China electrified private and public transport.

 Improved efficiency can accelerate the electrification of transport. Both in passenger cars, heavy duty vehicles, and in marine transport, efficiency measures can reduce the size of the batteries needed thus limiting the raw material requirements. Increasing efficiency can also bring down the demand for charging infrastructure and increase the productivity and range of the vehicle.

 Implementation of existing technology for buildings, transport, and sector integration can bridge half the gap in the urban GHG emissions reductions needed for a 1.5C pathway.

Kim Fausing, President and CEO, Danfoss, said: We will not reach the goals of the Paris Agreement without a deep decarbonisation of cities. The good news is that cities offer some of the best possibilities to optimise urban planning and accelerate a green transition, and there are already accessible, cost-efficient technologies out there capable of cutting emissions sufficiently to meet global climate goals. These technologies are already in use every day  for instance in the city of Sonderborg in Southern Denmark (Project Zero), but they must be adopted more widely on a global scale now.

As the worlds population continues its surge towards 10 billion people by 2050, it is now expected that almost 70% of the worlds inhabitants will be city dwellers by this date. In their current form, with energy demand continuing to grow, cities would produce a wholly unsustainable level of emissions that would be completely incompatible with key climate targets, such as the 1.5C target set out by the 2015 Paris Agreement.

"Danfoss' most recent whitepaper serves as a comprehensive guide for decarbonising cities, emphasising the pivotal role that existing technologies can play in bridging a significant portion of the gap in urban greenhouse gas emissions, aligning with a 1.5C trajectory. Through the provision of practical insights and solutions, this whitepaper also paves the way for cities across our region to spearhead the transition towards a sustainable and environmentally friendly future, aligned with their ambitious decarbonization goals," adds Ziad Al-Bawaliz, Regional President at Danfoss Turkey, Middle East and Africa.

The whitepaper analysis provides a concrete roadmap for mayors, local decisionmakers, and urban planners on how to eliminate all major drivers of the carbon footprint of cities. The paper also explores how available technologies can improve the livelihoods of citizens while at the same time making our economies more resilient and creating jobs. Ultimately, it offers a holistic and concrete view of the major opportunities for decarbonising cities, said Danfoss.

The whitepaper is available at: Roadmap for decarbonizing cities -TradeArabia News Service
The controversial Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev is hiding his luxury yacht Universe in Istanbul. It was moved to the Turkish port from the Russian city of Sochi. This may indicate that the Russian authorities no longer consider the port of Sochi to be safe.

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This is stated in an investigation by fugitive Russian journalist Gleb Pyanykh, who is in Turkey. According to him, the ship entered the Turkish port a week before the strikes on the Crimean bridge and Russia's withdrawal from the grain deal.

"Apparently, Medvedev knew something... This yacht was seen in Sochi last year (2022 - Ed.) in autumn. Before the war in Ukraine started, this yacht was in Italy, and as soon as the war started, it was urgently moved first to Istanbul and then to Sochi," Pyanykh said.

According to him, the current urgent move of the ship to Turkey may be evidence of the fear of Russian elites for their property in the Black Sea. At the same time, the journalist noted that Universe in Istanbul is moored in a secluded bay known only to locals. All other yachts in this bay are much smaller and cheaper.

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Formally, the yacht is registered to an offshore company. The real owner of this offshore company is unknown. However, according to media reports, it is the family of former Russian Energy Minister Igor Yusufov. And Yusufov's son was on holiday with Medvedev's son Ilya on this yacht.

The yacht is 74 m long and was built in 2018. Its cost is estimated at $100 million. The vessel can accommodate 12 people in six cabins. It also provides for 19 staff members.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, the other day, after the explosions in Moscow, Medvedev began to threaten Ukraine again. In his traditional manner, the Ukrainophobe started talking about nuclear weapons.

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Only verified information is available in our Obozrevatel Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Dan Pearce is a photojournalist with toronto.com and Torstar. He has worked in a number of Toronto newsrooms since graduating from the photojournalism program at Loyalist College in Belleville in 1992.
Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data.

A beautiful confusion, a dreamy mystery: read the book thats going to get under your skin this summer

Jason Guriels The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles, the followup to the groundbreaking Forgotten Work, leaves you pondering what might come next.
Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data.

If the monthly rent in the ad seems to good to be true, it probably is. Experts chime in on how to avoid being taken by a sublet fraud.
The must-read, hands-down best books of 2023 so far
Mykonos, the jewel of the Aegean Sea, is a destination that captivates visitors with its stunning beaches, vibrant nightlife, and charming Cycladic architecture. If you're planning a trip to this enchanting Greek island, make sure to explore its beauty and cultural heritage with unforgettable Mykonos tours. Whether you're a history buff, an adventure seeker, or a lover of all things luxurious, there's a tour that will cater to your interests and leave you with lasting memories.



(TRAVPR.COM) GREECE - July 31st, 2023 - Mykonos, the jewel of the Aegean Sea, is a destination that captivates visitors with its stunning beaches, vibrant nightlife, and charming Cycladic architecture. If you're planning a trip to this enchanting Greek island, make sure to explore its beauty and cultural heritage with unforgettable Mykonos tours. Whether you're a history buff, an adventure seeker, or a lover of all things luxurious, there's a tour that will cater to your interests and leave you with lasting memories.

Mykonos, the enchanting Greek island renowned for its stunning beaches, picturesque landscapes, and vibrant culture. As you embark on your journey to this Aegean paradise, make sure to indulge in the plethora of captivating Mykonos tours and experiences that await you. From uncovering ancient ruins to immersing yourself in the island's rich history, indulging in culinary delights, and basking in the natural beauty, Mykonos offers a wide array of tours that cater to every traveler's interest. In this comprehensive guide, we will take you through the best Mykonos tours, providing you with an in-depth overview of each experience and helping you curate an unforgettable itinerary. Get ready to uncover the hidden treasures and unique charm of Mykonos through its captivating tours.

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The first vessel managed to break through the Russian blockade of the Black Sea and entered the Ukrainian branch of the Danube on Monday, 31 July, despite Russia's threats. This is the Israeli ship Ams1, which had earlier set sail from the city of Ashdod.

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This was reported by Militarny. It is noted that this is the first ship to break through the Russian "grain blockade" after the occupiers shelled Reni.

Thus, on the night of 30 July, three civilian vessels, including Ams1 (Israel), as well as Sahin 2 (Greece) and Yilmaz Kaptan (Turkey/Georgia), passed through the Turkish Straits. Their destination in AIS Marine Traffic was Ukraine.

Ams1 also openly stated, when departing from Israel, that it was heading for Ukraine and crossed the Black Sea in a direct course.

It is now followed by four more vessels: Sahin 2 and Yilmaz Kaptan, as well as Sealock and Afer. All of them have either already anchored or will anchor on the Danube in the near future.

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How did they do it?

The safety of the ships is ensured by the American anti-ship patrol aircraft Boeing P-8 Poseidon. It is refuelled right in the Romanian sky, and the Forte12 RQ-4 reconnaissance drone provides additional information about the situation at sea.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL:

- The grain deal ceased to function on 18 July. The EU condemned Russia's actions, the UN and Turkey promised to "continue efforts", and Ukraine expects the grain corridor to work without Russia.

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- On 20 July, Russia declared all ships sailing in the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports to be carrying military cargo. Thus, the terrorist state will consider them a "legitimate military target".

- At the same time, the Kremlin is planning to export grain to Africa that was stolen from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The "free" grain that Russian dictator Putin "promised" to African countries after Russia withdrew from the "grain deal" will be stolen from the occupied territories in Zaporizhzhia.

Only verified information is available in our Obozrevatel Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
The Kremlin is planning to export to Africa the grain that was stolen from the temporarily seized territories of Ukraine. The "free" grain that Russian dictator Putin "promised" to African countries after Russia withdrew from the "grain agreement" will be stolen from the seized territories in Zaporizhzhya.

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This was reported on July 30 in the Center of national resistance. They noted that the failed for Putin summit "Russia - Africa" was attended by representatives of the occupation structure "State grain operator".

It is engaged in robbing local farmers in the captured Ukrainian cities.

"The occupants plan to export looted Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied territories of Zaporizhzhya region to African countries", - stated in the message.

It also recalled that in the temporarily occupied territories occupation troops continue to implement a corrupt scheme for the realization of grain of Ukrainian farmers. Thus, all farmers in the occupied regions are supposed to sell wheat grain to the enemy at a fixed price, which is several times lower than the market price.

The mayor of temporarily occupied Melitopol in Zaporizhzhya region Ivan Fedorov on his channel in Telegram noted that at first the occupiers simply stole Ukrainian grain, passed it off as their own and reported on unprecedented harvests in Russia, and then said that they allegedly buy grain in the occupation, although in fact they set grain prices cheaper than the cost price.

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"That is all the same - stealing. Now at the expense of the grain exported from Ukraine will "help" Africa. That is, they stole, sold the stolen goods, and even more publicized as benefactors," - wrote Fedorov.

As is known, the Russian Federation unilaterally terminated the grain agreement on July 18. The EU condemned the Kremlin's actions, the UN and Turkey promised "not to stop the efforts", and Ukraine counts on the work of the "grain corridor" and without Russia.

Putin later decided to bribe Africa and promised to "gift" tens of thousands of tons of grain as aid to African leaders over the next few months, despite the imposition of Western sanctions, which he claimed were creating difficulties for grain and fertilizer exports.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL:

- UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called Putin's "free grain" for several African countries a "handful of donations" that will not fully address the serious consequences of ending the "grain agreement." Such a decision by the Russian Federation will lead to large-scale price increases in many countries.

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- Putin's statement about "free grain" for Africa was also reacted to in the United States. The State Department said that these statements of the Russian dictator will not save the situation.

- And German Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze said that the Russia-Africa summit is nothing but Putin's PR show.

Only verified information at our Telegram channel Obozrevatel, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
The body of a man was found at the Port Mall in Scarborough this morning. The victim was sho
After Qurans were burnt down in recent weeks by far-left extremists in front of foreign embassies from Muslim-majority countries in Copenhagen, Denmark might consider outlawing actions where "religions are being insulted," the foreign ministry announced on Sunday.

Read More: Sharjah Ruler Presents 84 Books on Holy Quran to Holy Quran Academy

The Danish foreign ministry mentioned in a statement that the burnings were "deeply offensive" and "play into the hands of extremists" and that the government will "explore the possibility of intervening in special situations where, for example, other countries, cultures, and religions are being insulted."

The Danish Foreign Ministry said, The Danish government will therefore explore the possibility of intervening in special situations where, for instance, other countries, cultures, and religions are being insulted, and where this could have significant negative consequences for Denmark, not least with regard to security.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Morocco, Qatar, and Yemen have all objected in response to the public burnings in the Scandinavian nations, which have provoked considerable indignation throughout Muslim nations.

The Gulf countries have denounced the occurrences as a provocation of the beliefs of millions of Muslims worldwide.


From February 24, 2022 to July 30, 2023, Ukraines Defense Forces eliminated 245,700 Russian invaders, including 480 in the past day.

Thats according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

Also, as of July 27, Ukrainian defenders destroyed 4,205 (+14) enemy tanks, 8,178 (+11) armored fighting vehicles, 4,795 (+9) artillery systems, 698 (+0) MLR systems, 459 (+1) air defense systems, 315 (+0) warplanes, 311 (+0) helicopters, 4011 (+4) operational-tactical level UAVs, 1347 (+0) cruise missiles, 18 (+0) warships/cutters, 7275 (+28) trucks and tankers, and 711 (+1) units of specialized equipment.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, 36 combat clashes took place on the front lines in the past day.
Russia's dragging out its war against Ukraine works both ways, as destructive processes are currently taking place in Russia and elements of a civil war are visible.

Serhiy Dzherdzh, a serviceman and the head of the NATO-Ukraine Civic League, said this in an interview with Ukrinform.

In his opinion, in a situation where Russia bets on prolonging time and a war of attrition, Ukraine will have a margin of strength, and its partners will have patience and desire to help the country.

"There were relevant statements, and we see that this support  financial and military support - is only growing. After all, the sanctions against Russia are also increasing. Also, this delay works both ways. Destructive processes are also taking place in Russia itself, including for the economy, and elements of a civil war are visible. I think that there is some fatigue from Putin as well. In other words, a critical mass of all this is accumulating," Dzherdzh said.

According to him, Russia can be compared to "Koschei the Deathless" - he seems to be strong, but there is a needle that can be broken - and he will die.

"Of course, Russia has a large army, a lot of equipment, the command system works, the budget allocates some money for the military industry, it produces equipment for war and the murder of our citizens. That is, this is their strong point. How to find their weaknesses in order to destroy Putin's regime is another matter. Life suggests that these methods exist. I think that in this regard, the national liberation movements of the peoples occupied by the Russian Federation can be an ally of Ukraine and a united Europe," the expert said.

He noted that it is difficult, because Russia has been removing the sprouts of this national consciousness for many years, but it is still there.

According to Dzherdzh, the peoples colonized by the Russian Federation are Ukraine's natural allies, and their struggle for independence is the direction to which attention should be paid.
Yesterday, the enemy shelled the settlements of four districts of Kharkiv region. Destructions were reported.

"Over the past day, the enemy fired artillery, mortars, and other weapons at the settlements of Kharkiv, Bohodukhiv, Chuhuiv, and Kupyansk districts. In particular, Udy, Kozacha Lopan, Okhrimivka, Tykhe, Ohirtseve, Vovchansk, Borysivka, Kupyansk, Dvorichna, Zapadne, and other settlements came under fire," Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleh Syniehubov posted on Telegram.

Private houses and outbuildings were damaged. Civilians were not injured.

The prosecutor's office launched an investigation into the shelling of residential sectors in Kharkiv region.

"Under the procedural leadership of the Kupyansk and Derhachi district prosecutor's offices of Kharkiv region, pre-trial investigations were launched into the violations of the laws and customs of war (Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine)," the Prosecutor General's Office wrote on Telegram.

According to the investigation data, on July 29, the enemy shelled the town of Kupyansk, damaging residential buildings. The village of Vilkhuvatka in Velykyi Burluk territorial community also came under Russian attack.

According to preliminary data, the occupiers shelled Kupyansk district with artillery.

In addition, around 20:30 on July 29, the enemy struck the village of Borysivka, Lypetsk community, where a residential building and a barn caught fire.

Photo: Prosecutor Generals Office
The Russians took 250 children from the temporarily occupied territories and supposedly found them new families. Another 1,000 minors are in so-called recreation camps.

"Children are one of the most vulnerable categories of the population in the temporarily occupied territories whom the enemy is trying to influence. The enemy stole 250 children from the temporarily occupied territory and supposedly found them new families in Russia. It will be extremely difficult to return these children after de-occupation," Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov posted on Telegram.

According to him, the enemy took more than 1,000 little Ukrainians to camps, supposedly for recreation. But this "rest" is not about recreation but about propaganda.

"Education" under the occupation is a system of destroying Ukrainian identity and militarizing the youth," the mayor believes.

As reported, the Russian invaders threaten residents of the temporarily occupied territories for finding photos with the state flag of Ukraine or Ukrainian music on their phones.
In the Tavria operational zone in southern Ukraine, Russian troops lost more than two companies worth of soldiers killed and wounded in action, while 20 units of their military hardware were destroyed over the past 24 hours.

Thats according to General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the Commander of the Tavria Operational-Strategic Group of Troops, who delivered the report on Telegram, Ukrinform saw.

"Work is ongoing in the Tavria direction. Our defense forces are advancing," wrote Tarnavskyi.

He noted that "over the last day, the enemy lost more than two companies worth of soldiers as killed and wounded."

According to the commander, 20 units of enemy military equipment were destroyed, including two tanks, six armored combat vehicles, an Orlan-10 UAV, three artillery systems and mortars, a Sobolyatnik small-sized portable radar station, and some vehicles.

The Ukrainian strikes also hit two enemy ammunition depots.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, referring to the General Staff of the Armed Forces, from February 24, 2022 to July 30, 2023, Ukraines Defense Forces eliminated 245,700 Russian invaders.
Over the week, Ukraines Defense Forces eliminated nearly 3,740 Russian military servicemen and destroyed 54 main battle tanks and 137 artillery systems.

Thats according to First Deputy Minister of Defense Oleksandr Pavliuk, who delivered the update on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

"Over the week from July 24 to July 30, Ukraines Defense Forces eliminated about 3,740 enemy personnel," Pavliuk wrote.

According to the official, during this period, Russian military hardware deployed in Ukraine suffered significant losses, which includes 54 tanks, 73 armored fighting vehicles, 137 artillery systems, an anti-aircraft missile system, eight air defense systems, 103 units of motor vehicles, and 15 units of specialized equipment.

In addition, Ukrainian defenders shot down a helicopter and intercepted 49 missiles and 53 unmanned aerial vehicles.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Russias military death toll in Ukraine as of July 30 stands at 245,700, as per the Ukrainian Armys General Staff.
Fighters with Ukraine's Enei special operations unit have encircled and captured five Russian invaders during an assault on enemy positions.

The National Police of Ukraine released a respective video on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

"During the assault on enemy positions, fighters with the Enei special operations unit of the 'Liut' ('Rage') assault brigade encircled and captured five invaders," the post reads.

Earlier reports said that the Liut police assault brigade had undergone combat coordination and was preparing for an offensive as part of Ukraine's defense forces.
The Russian information space had almost no reaction to the Ukrainian strike on the Chongar bridge, which represents a noticeable overreaction in their reporting on the war. The reason could have been the propagandists' fear of ending up behind bars, like the terrorist Igor Girkin, for any assessment of the events on the front and especially criticism of the Russian troops.

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But it could be more evidence that the Kremlin has ordered bloggers to refrain from covering certain topics. This is the conclusion reached by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Back on July 29, the AFU confirmed a successful strike on the Chongar bridge on the M-18 highway (Dzhankoi - Melitopol) between temporarily occupied Crimea and part of the Kherson region.

And so far there has been no recorded discussion by Russian bloggers about the Ukrainian strike or those promoting the claim by Vladimir Saldo, head of the occupation "administration" of Kherson region, that Russian forces "intercepted 12 Ukrainian cruise missiles" Strom Shadow aimed at the bridge.

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The only other Russian source to comment on the occupiers' defeat was a local pro-Russian news Telegram channel, which amplified alleged claims by Russian tourists that the bridge was closed to traffic.

Bloggers from the aggressor country regularly comment on both successful and allegedly unsuccessful Ukrainian strikes on Russian logistics. And last time, on June 22, they reacted to the AFU strike on the Chongar bridge with general outrage and concern.

"The Chongar bridge is a notable bottleneck on a critical Russian land line of communication and it is unlikely that Russian bloggers would voluntarily ignore any - successful or not - Ukrainian strike on it," ISW expressed their belief.

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It previously assessed that some Russian propagandists may be shaping their coverage of the war in Ukraine in a way more favorable to Kremlin narratives, fearing Kremlin punishment following the "removal" from the information space of such critics of the war as terrorist Igor Girkin (Strelkov) and PMC Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.

"However, a general fear of punishment from the Kremlin is unlikely to have led to such an almost universal lack of coverage of a dramatic military event. It is more likely that this lack of news coverage is due to a specific directive from the Kremlin not to cover failures in critical logistical paths of the Russian Armed Forces," ISW concluded.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, according to the Institute for the Study of War, the Kremlin is forcing bloggers to lie more and more about the counter-offensive of the AFU. Analysts pointed out how this could turn out for the authorities of the aggressor country.

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Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel, Threads and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov has said that there is a real boom in the production of drones in Ukraine.

He said this at a meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"There is a real boom in the production of drones in Ukraine. Thanks to our policy, Ukraine is able to provide itself with bulletproof vests, helmets, uniforms, shoes, etc.," Reznikov said.

Read also: Drone production project launched in Donetsk region

He noted that last year, on the initiative of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the government had managed to simplify procedures for developers and manufacturers of weapons and military equipment. Now, the minister said, instead of two years, the procedure for putting products into operation, along with the signing of state contracts, takes a few weeks.

According to Reznikov, the country has recently settled the issue of profits for Ukrainian suppliers of the defense sector and now they have the same rights as foreigners. He called such an approach a priority for the Ministry of Defense and called on local authorities to support small and medium-sized businesses working in this area.

"What is needed is premises, access to communications, assistance with documents and other issues. This is work, taxes and ensuring the resilience of communities. People will stay and, most importantly, they will return," Reznikov said.

According to him, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is today the largest employer and customer in the country, and in this context, there is a direct intersection with the interests of communities and certain expectations.

The minister noted that the ministry's budget for this year had been set at UAH 1.3 trillion, but given the current needs, the Ministry of Defense will initiate its increase, especially after the adoption of the law on additional payments to military personnel. Currently, financial support for Ukrainian soldiers, Reznikov said, reaches about 60% of all ministry expenses.

He also called on the local communities to invest more actively in defense at the expense of military tax revenues. First and foremost, this concerns the strengthening of fortification positions, especially in the border areas, and support for units stationed in the communities.

Ivano-Frankivsk on Sunday hosted a meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine. The participants in the meeting talked about the work of state and local authorities through the prism of spending budgets at different levels.
Twenty combat engagements took place between Ukraine's defense forces and Russian troops on Sunday, July 30.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said this in an evening update published on Facebook.

It said that throughout the day the enemy launched four missile strikes and 34 air strikes. In particular, the enemy used four Shahed-136 attack drones, and all of them were destroyed. Also, Russia launched 37 attacks using multiple rocket launchers at the positions of Ukrainian troops and populated areas. Unfortunately, civilian casualties and damage to residential buildings were recorded.

The probability of the enemy launching missile and air strikes on targets across Ukraine remains high.

On the Volyn and Polissia axis, the operational situation has not changed significantly. There were no signs of the formation of offensive groups. Belarusian armed forces units perform tasks in the areas bordering Ukraine.

Read also: Ukrainian special operations unit shows assault on enemy positions

On the Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna axis, the enemy carried out mortar and artillery attacks on more than 25 settlements, including Buchky and Hremiach in the Chernihiv region, Porokhon and Sytne in the Sumy region, as well as Veterynarne, Kozacha Lopan and Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region.

In the Kupiansk sector, Ukrainian soldiers are on the defensive. They successfully repelled enemy attacks east of Berestove, Kharkiv region. The settlements of Fyholivka, Novomlynsk, Zapadne, Kindrashivka and Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region came under artillery and mortar shelling by the aggressor.

In the Lyman sector, the enemy carried out airstrikes outside Bilohorivka, Luhansk region, and Ivanivka, Serebrianka and Spirne in the Donetsk region. The settlements of Nevske and Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region and Torske, Spirne and Berestove in the Donetsk region were hit by artillery fire.

On the Bakhmut axis, the enemy carried out airstrikes near Klishchiivka, Bila Hora and Kostiantynivka. More than 15 settlements, including Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Bilokuzmynivka, Hryhorivka, Ivanivske, Klishchiivka and Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region were hit by enemy artillery fire.

In the Avdiivka sector, the invaders launched an air strike in the Avdiivka area. More than ten settlements, including Keramik, Avdiivka, Vodiane and Karlivka in the Donetsk region came under artillery fire.

In the Marinka area, Ukraine's defense forces continue to hold back the advance of Russian troops near Marinka and Pobieda, Donetsk region. The aggressor shelled more than ten settlements, including Krasnohorivka, Marinka, Heorhiivka, Hostre and Katerynivka.

On the Shakhtarske axis, the enemy launched an air strike in the Staromaiorske area. The enemy shelled the settlements of Blahodatne, Vugledar and Prechystivka in the Donetsk region.

In the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson sectors, the invaders are concentrating their main efforts on preventing the further advance of Ukrainian troops. An airstrike was carried out near Zmiivka, Kherson region. More than 25 settlements, including Levadne, Huliaipole, Zaliznychne, Bilohiria and Kamianske in the Zaporizhzhia region, Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Beryslav, Vesele, Antonivka, Berehove and Veletenske in the Kherson region came under artillery fire.

At the same time, Ukraine's defense forces continue to conduct an offensive operation in the Melitopol and Berdiansk directions and are entrenching themselves on the achieved lines.

According to the General Staff, amid successful military operations by the Ukrainian defense forces, the number of casualties in the units of the Russian troops, which physically do not have time to remove the dead from local morgues, has increased significantly. In particular, in the city of Svatove, Luhansk region, the territory of the city morgue is overflowing with the bodies of dead Russians. They have not been taken out for almost a week. Because of this, the city has an unbearable dead body smell.

At the same time, in the city of Starobilsk, the invaders forcibly moved part of the civilian medical personnel from local medical facilities to the so-called military hospitals to provide medical care to the wounded. As a result, local elderly residents complain about the lack of an opportunity to receive at least some kind of treatment.

"In the past 24 hours, the aircraft of the Defense Forces carried out seven strikes on the areas of concentration of manpower, weapons and military equipment of the enemy. Our defenders also destroyed four reconnaissance operational-tactical UAVs," the General Staff said.

In addition, on Sunday, units of Ukrainian rocket troops and artillery hit the enemy's anti-aircraft missile system, eight artillery pieces at firing positions, two electronic warfare stations, as well as two areas where the invaders' military personnel were concentrated.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken to the heads of Ukraines Internal Affairs Ministry and Security Service regarding Russian attacks on Kherson and Kryvyi Rih this morning, and expressed condolences to those who have lost their loved ones because of Russian terror.

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Monday morning. Regions of Ukraine are being shelled by the occupiers, who continue to terrorize peaceful cities and people. Kryvyi Rih, Kherson. Residential buildings, a university building, a crossroads were hit. Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded. There may be people under the rubble. My condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones because of Russian terror, the Head of State wrote.

According to Zelensky, rescuers and emergency services are working at the scene.

We are trying to save as many people as possible. I have already spoken to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine. Deputy Head of the Presidential Office for Regional Policy Oleksiy Kuleba and the RSA heads are already dealing with the situation, the President of Ukraine mentioned.

In his words, the enemy has been deliberately attacking cities, especially their central districts, and shelling civilian objects and houses in recent days.

But this terror will not frighten us or break us. We are working and saving our people, the Head of State stressed.

A reminder that, on the morning of July 31, 2023, Russian troops shelled the city of Kherson. One municipal worker was killed, and four of his colleagues were injured.

Additionally, two Russian missiles struck the city of Kryvyi Rih. One of enemy projectiles hit a 4-storey building of the educational institution, and the other smashed a section in the apartment block.
Since the beginning of 2022, Russia has forcibly mobilized 55,000 to 60,000 men in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

That's according to Andrii Cherniak, a representative of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate, Ukrinform reports, citing the agency's press service.

"This is a violent mobilization: the occupiers were catching people on the street, they came to the few enterprises that were still operating and forcibly took people away - they simply changed their clothes and sent them to the front. They promised they would be on the second or third line, but people ended up on the front line," Cherniak said.

According to him, Russia also mobilizes students from the occupied territories.

"A person goes to study in the morning and is already fighting two days later. Strictly speaking, Russia does not consider residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions human beings, so the occupiers do not care, and the laws do not apply. The only real possibility [to survive] is to surrender immediately, at the first opportunity," Cherniak said.
More than 200,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or injured in Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion began.

UK Political Coordinator Fergus Eckersley said this at the UN Security Council meeting on threats to international peace and security, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"It is Russia that is sending thousands of its own young men to their deaths. Estimates suggest that more than 200,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or injured in Ukraine," he said.

Eckersley said that Russia is inflicting terror on the Ukrainian people, and "in parallel, it is inflicting suffering on its own population, and millions across the world."

"In the face of this, Ukraine has had no choice but to exercise its UN Charter right to defend itself. It is fighting a war of national survival, and defending the right of all nations to live without fear of aggression," the British diplomat said.

He added that the only path to a sustainable peace in Ukraine is "for President Putin to end his illegal invasion, withdraw his troops and thereby demonstrate that he is prepared to engage on terms for peace that respect the UN Charter."

"Russia started this war, and Russia must end it before they cause any more suffering," Eckersley said.

Photo: rfe
In Ukraine, the preparations for the heating season reached 60%.

"The state of preparation for the heating season now reaches 60%," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said during the meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine on July 30, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

According to him, the government-created headquarters for preparations for winter has been working in Ukraine since May.

The Head of Government noted that four nuclear power units, nine power units of thermal power plants, and six hydropower units have already been repaired. The Ministry of Energy was given a clear task ahead of the start of the heating season: to return 1.7 GW of capacity to the energy system, he added.

"We are accumulating energy resources. There are 11.7 billion cubic meters of gas in storage facilities, accounting for 80% of the planned volumes. We have 1.5 million tonnes of coal in warehouses out of the planned 1.8 million tonnes," Shmyhal noted.

According to him, since the beginning of the year, 14,500 km of overhead lines have been repaired in Ukraine, more than 60% of damaged thermal power plants, combined heat-and-power plants, and boiler houses have been restored.

The Prime Minister noted that the procurement of utility equipment for 12 regions that need it was underway, amounting to UAH 50 million, and funds from international partners were being raised.

"Unity at all levels is a guarantee of our strength and stability, an opportunity to overcome all problems and challenges," Shmyhal underscored.
Saudi Arabia is set to host peace talks on Ukraine next month.

That's according to The Wall Street Journal, Ukrinform reports.

"Saudi Arabia is set to host peace talks among Western countries, Ukraine and key developing countries, including India and Brazil, early next month," the report reads.

The meeting would bring senior officials from up to 30 countries to Jeddah on August 5 and 6, the report said.
The Core Group is considering the option of creating a so-called internationalized tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as the creation of a tribunal based on a UN General Assembly resolution.

Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin said this in an interview with Ukrinform.

"...We are currently discussing two options - an international tribunal established by a UN General Assembly resolution, and another proposal is an internationalized tribunal, which includes Ukrainian and foreign judges who will act on the basis of Ukrainian law," Kostin said.

The Prosecutor General explained that an internationalized tribunal is what "some of our partners proposed as a hybrid tribunal, and then renamed it an internationalized tribunal."

"Thus, there are two basic positions, working with which, I think, we will find a result," he said.

The Prosecutor General also does not rule out that the special tribunal can convict in absentia.

"Conviction in absentia is possible. This is the difference between the special tribunal and the ICC. The last one cannot judge in absentia. But the tribunal can. The Ukrainian people should not wait long," he said.

As reported, Ukraine, together with its partners, is promoting the creation of a special tribunal to bring the leadership of the Russian Federation to justice for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

The creation of such a tribunal was supported by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the European Parliament, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and individual states.

Read also: Prosecutor General calls talks about Russian spirituality lies following recent attack on Odesa

The International Center for the Prosecution of Crimes of Aggression against Ukraine was launched in The Hague. It is expected to support and coordinate the preparation of cases on crimes of aggression.

This is the first internationally supported initiative to investigate the crime of aggression since World War II.
Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman arrived in Ukraine on Monday, July 31, and started a visit to the Kyiv suburb of Hostomel.

He reported this on Twitter, according to Ukrinform.

"Started my visit to Ukraine in Hostomel. In partnership with UNICEF Croatia, the Croatian government procured 50 generators for schools and hospitals across the country, including the Veselka kindergarten," Grlic Radman said.

Read also: Croatia offers its ports for export of Ukrainian grain

According to him, it is extremely important to ensure the continuity of operation of key institutions and facilities to provide children with basic needs and services. Therefore, together with the charity organization Caritas, the Croatian government also donated equipment for the kindergarten.

Croatia earlier offered its railway network and ports in the Adriatic Sea for the transportation of Ukrainian grain via alternative routes due to Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Radosaw Sikorski, MP of the European Parliament, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, and former Marshal of the Polish Sejm, recently came to Ukraine, bringing assistance to the Ukrainian army divisions. He drove one of the cars that were later transferred to the Ukrainian military in the east of the country.

In an exclusive interview with Ukrinform, a renowned European politician explained why he was bringing assistance for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) personally, described his perspective on Western assistance for Ukraine, and his thoughts on the fatigue of the war in the West. He also offered his predictions regarding Ukraines accession to the EU and NATO and assessed the state of relations between Kyiv and Warsaw following parliamentary elections in Poland.

UKRAINIAN MILITARY COMMAND KNOWS BEST HOW TO WIN THIS WAR

- Mr Marshal, it is the third time that you are coming with assistance for the AFU as part of the group of volunteers. What did you bring this time, and what divisions is it intended for?

- I would like to note that this is an ongoing initiative of Mr Mateusz Wodzinski, who is known under the username Exen on Twitter (X network  ed.). He has already brought over 120 vehicles to Ukraine. This time, I have fundraised the money among my family and friends. So yesterday (on 26 July  ed.), we transferred the Ukrainian military seven pickup trucks and over 20 drones. We went as far as Kramatorsk: one of our groups was just 18 km away from the collision line, while another one visited Chasiv Yar, which is just 5 km from the frontline. We transferred pickup trucks to specific divisions, such as to the 26th separate artillery brigade.

- Why is it so important for you to go to the east of Ukraine personally? After all, you could just buy vehicles and transfer the fundraised money to the volunteers, couldnt you? I know that you have even taken your son along on this trip.

- Last time, we visited Kherson with my wife (famous American writer and journalist Anne Applebaum  ed.).

First, I am an old war correspondent (in 19861989, Sikorski used to be a war correspondent of UK publications in Afghanistan and Angola  ed.). Second, I know how people appreciate direct support. This boosts their morale. I also wanted to avoid some red tape. It will also be easier for me to tell the sponsors that we delivered these pickup trucks to specific military personnel from specific units. Eventually, we were joined by two sponsors  one from Australia and another one from the USA. They will also confirm that the mission has been completed. I hope that this will help raise even more money for the Ukrainian military.

- During the trip, you had the chance to talk to the Ukrainian military; you know their needs and the issues they now face on the frontline. What are your thoughts on your way back to Europe? What messages would you like to communicate to your party colleagues in Poland and the European Parliament?

- I will bring good news to Poland and the rest of Europe. In particular, the Ukrainian military praised Polish Krabhowitzers. We visited one of the divisions using high-precision Excalibur artillery shells. The Ukrainian military is very satisfied with receiving these new, very effective weapons. I am thrilled that the role of Poland is highly appreciated and that Polish military equipment is so effective.

In Sloviansk, we visited the Honorary Consulate of Latvia. Its fantastic that Ukraine is working towards functioning normally and that Ukraines friends are working to support Ukrainian society and the Ukrainian army.

I hope that the West has provided Ukraine with sufficient weapons to resume the counteroffensive. And if did not provide enough weapons, we should not pressure Ukraine to speed up the hostilities. I highly appreciate the Ukrainian military command and consider that they know the situation better and understand the enemy the best, as well as are best fitted to decide on the pace to choose to achieve victory in this war.

UKRAINE MAY JOIN THE EU BY 2030

- In your opinion, is it possible to speed up some processes in the matter of providing Ukraine with military assistance, like training Ukrainian pilots and transferring F-16 fighter jets to the Ukrainian army?

- I have flown the F-16 when I received the first fighter jet for the Polish army in the role of the Minister of Defence (in 2006  ed.). The pilot in the two-seater cockpit handed the control over to me at the time. It seemed to me that controlling this plane was quite simple (laughs). I believe that maintenance of the combat system is more difficult in an aircraft of this type. I'm pretty sure the Ukrainians will master flying the F-16 quite fast, just like they did with all other types of weapons, and theyll also learn how to make the most of its capacities.

I understand that there may be some frustration in Ukraine regarding the level of arms supplies. But then again, this level is higher than I could even imagine before the war. Second, the objective challenge is that the West has been enjoying a peaceful life for 30 years and has stopped not only making weapons and ammunition but has also been shutting down production lines. Third, Ukraine has gradually received large batches of various military equipment. Creating logistics chains for every type of armoured personnel carrier, tank, or launcher is a daunting task. Europe and the United States are only now exhibiting faster response, signing agreements with defence-industrial corporations, which, regrettably, requires a considerable amount of time.

- How would you assess the decision made at the NATO meeting in Vilnius in July regarding Ukraine? Is the glass half full or half empty?

- The societies of Western countries do not want a direct war with Russia, they will not go for it. However, Ukraine is receiving even more weaponry than the Alliance countries are obligated to provide their ally in the event of aggression against them, according to the organisations documents. The Washington Treaty does not require member states to go to war but just respond to it. Therefore, this response is present. This is why, in a certain sense, Ukraine is already perceived as a NATO member. Yet, this will happen officially, one way or another, after the end of the war.

- It may take some time though...

- Unfortunately, colonial wars usually last quite a long time. It is, therefore, important to expect unexpected events, which will undoubtedly happen.

- What do you mean by this?

- Someone should eliminate the initiator of this war or at least remove him from power. Or, the Russian military would like to stop dying without any sense, like they did in 1917 (Bolsheviks coup  ed.).

- It could also be some continuation of the actions of the Wagner PMC.

- This event has demonstrated the poor state of Russian politics, the vulnerability of Russias territory, and deep divisions among Russias security forces.

- In the autumn of this year, Ukraine will be assessed by the European Commission in terms of its progress as an EU candidate. Do you assess the chances of receiving a green light to start negotiations on Ukraines membership in the European Union?

- The changes for this are 50%. It is noteworthy that in this particular case, Ukraine will engage in negotiations pertaining to 35 chapters, which Kyiv will be required to acknowledge. We are all impressed with how brave and determined Ukrainians are. However, it is also widely acknowledged that over the past quarter-century, Ukraine has unfortunately acquired a reputation for being a corrupt nation. Consequently, it is imperative that it demonstrates a greater level of resolve in combating this gangrene.

- Can you forecast how many years it will take for Ukraine to become an EU member?

- I believe, by the end of this century.

THE MATTER OF WESTERN SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE IS ALSO DEPENDENT ON... PUTIN

- One may hear about the fatigue from the war in the public space of many EU countries, including Poland...

- I am really annoyed with these words. The only ones who are entitled to be tired of war are Ukrainians, especially Ukrainian soldiers. We, in the countries where there is peace, are only entitled to feel gratitude towards them, as they risk their lives and sometimes lose them too. And at the most, we can deal with more expensive petrol or electricity.

- However, European countries do have this phenomenon, dont they? In this regard, do you see any threat to continued Western assistance to Ukraine?

- I am also negotiating in Washington. There, the enthusiasm on this matter is waning, especially among Republican party voters. Certainly, there are always political business people exploiting this, unfortunately. However, this is also the task of Ukrainian politicians to persuade them to continue their support. I also rely on Putin, as he always does something as terrible as, for example, the recent missile attacks on Odesa, reminding everyone how important Ukraines victory is in this war.

- Mr Marshal, parliamentary elections are about to take place in Poland. How can the results of these elections influence relations between Poland and Ukraine?

- I am the leader of the international policy group of the largest opposition party  Civic Platform. Thus, I can assure you that the policy of supporting Ukraine will be just as active. There are no differences between the government and the opposition in this regard. On the contrary, in the case of our victory, Poland will stop arguing with European institutions and important allies, such as Germany. Poland will therefore become more influential and effective in its activities, including on Ukrainian issues.

Yurii Banakhevych

Photo: Facebook/Radeksikorski, PAP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has backed Pope Francis' address to the Russian leadership on the morning of 30 July. The pontiff urged Moscow to resume the grain initiative in the Black Sea, and the Ukrainian guarantor is convinced that world leaders - secular and religious - should follow suit.

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The politician wrote about this on his Twitter account. Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine is and will be the guarantor of food security of the world

"The response of the world's spiritual leaders to Russian missile terror and the destruction of Ukrainian agricultural products is essential to safeguard the entire world, and especially the people of Africa and Asia, the most threatened, from the food crisis," the nation's leader wrote.

Recall that after the Sunday service of the Catholic Church, the Pope addressed representatives of the Russian leadership, calling them brothers and sisters. He called for the resumption of the grain corridor, which will prevent a terrible famine on several continents at once, as the inhabitants of the Third World "are already crying to heaven."

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As reported by OBOZREVATEL, on July 17, the Kremlin said that they are terminating the grain agreement from July 18, and the coordination center in Istanbul will be disbanded.

Then Zelensky and the UN explained Russia's withdrawal from the grain agreement. According to the Ukrainian president, Russia, by announcing the termination of the grain agreement, disrupts its agreements, but the Russian Federation had no agreements with Ukraine, so Kyiv planned to negotiate with Turkey and the UN to extend the initiative.

Much later Putin made statements about the grain deal and the war against Ukraine. He indicated that African friends were not asking for any handouts, but also recognized Russia's commercial interest in derailing the grain agreement.

Only verified information we have in our Telegram channel Obozrevatel, Threads and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
It is possible to ensure the victory of justice, when all those guilty of terror are held accountable, by increasing the pressure on the aggressor state every day.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in a video address, Ukrinform reports.

"According to preliminary data from our military, these two missiles were fired at Kryvyi Rih from the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea, from the area of Dzhankoy. And this proves again and again that for the safety of our cities, for the protection of the normal life of Ukrainians and our children, our military must have enough long-range weapons, enough means to defeat terrorists. The world's sanctions pressure against Russia deserves a significant increase," he said.

The head of state said that now there is more and more open information, including investigations by journalists, about how a terrorist state circumvents global sanctions and obtains critical components for weapons production. According to him, Ukraine has repeatedly provided such information to its partners in a classified regime.

"We must act together. Significantly strengthen sanctions for terror. Significantly limit the channels of delivery of critical components for missile production to Russia. And we must respond with determination - determination to supply Ukraine with the necessary modern weapons, including long-range missiles, so that we can remove this terrorist threat that Russia is creating against our people, against our children," Zelensky said.

He noted that despite any Russian terror and attempts to blackmail the world, "our collective strength - of everyone in the world who values life - is enough to overcome evil."

"Not only can we defeat the terrorist state, but we can also ensure that justice prevails. When all those responsible for terror are held accountable. But for this we need to increase our cooperation and pressure on the aggressor every day, every week, every month. And I thank everyone in the world who is doing just that!" he added.

Early on July 31, the Russians struck Kryvyi Rih with two ballistic missiles, targeting a residential high-rise building and an educational institution. Six people, including a ten-year-old girl, were killed in the attack and 75 people, including six children, were injured.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine
On July 31, the head of the Croatian Foreign Ministry Gordan Grlic Radman arrived in Ukraine on a working visit. He visited Hostomel, where in the spring of 2022 there were fierce battles.

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The head of Croatian diplomacy brought with him 50 generators for schools and hospitals in Ukraine; in particular, Croatia will join in ensuring the continuity of the kindergarten "Veselka" in Hostomel. This was announced by Gordan Grlic Radman himself.

"I started my visit to Ukraine from Gostomel. In partnership with the Croatian office of UNICEF, the Croatian government has purchased 50 generators for schools and hospitals across the country, including the kindergarten "Rainbow"," he wrote.

The head of the Croatian Foreign Ministry also added that his state provided assistance to the kindergarten "Veselka" in Hostomel.

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"It is extremely important to ensure the smooth operation of key facilities and establishments to provide children with basic needs and services. Therefore, together with Caritas (International Charitable Foundation. - Ed.) we also donated equipment for the kindergarten," the Croatian foreign Minister wrote, accompanying the message with the hashtag # StandWithUkraine.

He also published photos from Hostomel. In one of the photos, the Croatian foreign minister writes "Glory to Ukraine" in Ukrainian on a school blackboard.

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We shall remind you that at the end of June 2023, Croatia recognized the Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the Croatian Parliament for the decision, which he called historic.
ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 31st Jul, 2023) Aldar Properties reported a net profit of AED 1.3 billion in the second quarter of 2023 (Q2 2023), recording an increase of 52 percent, Driven by record development sales and strong contributions from its recurring income portfolio.

The value of revenues amounted to about AED 3.2 billion, representing an increase of 21 percent on an annual basis.

Aldar recorded AED 2.1 billion of net profits for the first half of 2023, an increase of 38 percent compared to the same period last year. It also achieved revenues of AED 6.3 billion Dirhams, an increase of about 18 percent. Additionally, the value of total profits in the first half of 2023 (H1 2023) amounted to about AED 2.7 billion, of which 1.4 billion amounted to Aldar's total profits in Q2 2023.

Cross-platform growth gathers pace fueled by the execution of development revenue backlog, strong quarterly development sales, and growing contributions from the recurring income portfolio.

Aldar reported a record development sales of AED 11.6 billion with 10 new project launches year-to-date.

Sustained increase in demand from both overseas and resident expat buyers underscores the continued appeal of Aldars offering and Abu Dhabis status as a premier investment and lifestyle destination, the reported stated.

Aldar recorded strong growth in development revenue backlog at AED 24.4 billion, driven by robust market demand providing revenue visibility over the coming 4 years.

The quarterly report outlined a solid organic growth across the recurring income portfolio, driven by stronger operating performance, with increased leasing activity, higher occupancy, and rental income. Moreover, acquisitions made in 2022 served as drivers for accelerated growth, yielding strong returns and positively contributing to the bottom line.

The report also highlighted the ongoing execution of transformational growth strategy with a continued focus on disciplined capital deployment and geographic expansion outside of Abu Dhabi to unlock new opportunities.

Notable transactions during H1 2023 include the acquisitions of Al Fahid Island, as well as the joint venture partnerships with Dubai Holding and Mubadala. Transactions announced in Q3 2023 include an AED 350 million investment to establish Cranleigh Bahrain and acquire two additional schools, Kent College Dubai and Virginia International Private school, as well as Aldar Estates strategic merger with Eltizam Asset Management Group.

In July, Aldar partnered with Abu Dhabi Housing Authority to develop Balghaiylam, an integrated, sustainable residential neighborhood in the North Yas area valued at AED 8 billion. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2026 and will offer 1,743 homes for UAE Nationals. Additionally, AED 500 million investment earmarked to redefine the retail experience at Al Jimi Mall and Al Hamra Mall.

Aldar's quarterly report emphasised healthy liquidity position with AED 4.5 billion of free cash and AED 5.9 billion of committed undrawn facilities, providing the dry powder to pursue attractive growth opportunities.

Aldar reinforced its commitment to sustainability through the issuance of its inaugural US$ 500 million green sukuk, which forms part of a wider US$ 2 billion sukuk programme, the report added.

Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Aldar Properties, expressed his pleasure at Aldar's strong financial performance. Aldar continues to build on its formidable track record, capitalising on significant opportunities to deliver sustainable value to all our stakeholders, he added.

Talal Al Dhiyebi, Group Chief Executive Officer of Aldar Properties, stated, We look forward to launching our development franchise into Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah in the coming months, and deploying further capital to diversify our investment property platform.
Kyiv, Ukraine, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jul, 2023 ) :At least four people were killed including a 10-year-old child after a Russian missile attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rig on Monday, officials said.

"There's already four dead in Kryvyi Rig," Sergiy Lysak, the head of the military administration for the Dnipropetrovsk region, wrote on Telegram.

Among the dead were a 10-year-old girl and her 45-year-old mother, the head of the city's military administration Oleksandr Vilkul said in televised comments.

The other two victims were two men, while another 53 people were injured, Vilkul said.

"(Several) people may still remain under the rubble," he added.

Part of a nine-storey apartment block hit by the strike collapsed while the rubble was being cleared, the emergency ministry said.

Two missiles landed close to the centre of the city just after 9:00 am (0600 GMT), interior minister Igor Klymenko wrote on Telegram.
The network published satellite images that confirm the serious damage to the Chongar railway bridge after the "bavovna" in the morning of July 29. This bridge is an important logistical facility for the occupiers because it connects Crimea with the Kherson region.

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The photos show that one of the spans of the bridge was "tired". The corresponding shots shared on his page on Twitter Japanese researcher Hidenori Watanawe.

The first image was taken by satellite from space on July 24. The second - on July 30, already after the Defense Force strike.

"The area circled in red appears to be damaged. A train can be seen to the north," commented the author of the post.

Apparently, the part of the structure that is over land, not water, has collapsed.

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Recall: on June 22, 2023, the main road Chongar bridge was damaged. It is stated that the strikes were carried out by air-to-ground missiles Storm Shadow. Next to it is an old automobile bridge, which has long been in a state of disrepair. According to some information, it was hit as well. But Russian propagandists, who posted photos and videos of the aftermath of the strikes, recorded the destruction in close-up only on the new bridge.

On July 29, 2023, there was a second strike, but already on the railway bridge, which is located at a distance of about 8 kilometers from the road bridge. The explosions occurred in the early morning. Telegram-channel "Crimean wind" wrote that "Chongar bridge over".

The information was confirmed by Russians, who said in chats that the bridge was blocked because of the attack.

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It's interesting that Russian propagandists at the time fancied as many as 12 Storm Shadow missiles that were supposedly all shot down.

In the evening of the same day, the AFU center for strategic communications confirmed that the Ukrainian military had successfully struck the Chongar railroad bridge.

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As OBOZREVATEL wrote, the terrorist state Russia is trying to accelerate the restoration of the bridge connecting the territory of the Russian Federation with the temporarily occupied Crimean peninsula. Repair work is being actively carried out on the bridge across the Kerch Strait. The invaders have brought there special equipment and dozens of workers.

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Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel and in Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
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Abuja, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jul, 2023 ) :African leaders on Sunday gave the junta in Niger one week to cede power or face the possible use of force and slapped financial sanctions on the putschists after the latest coup in the militants-plagued Sahel region raised alarm on the continent and in the West.

In the third coup in as many years to fell a leader in the Sahel, Niger's elected president and Western ally, Mohamed Bazoum, has been held by the military since Wednesday.

General Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of the powerful presidential guard, has declared himself leader and said the putsch was a response to 'the degradation of the security situation'.

Bazoum is one of a dwindling group of elected presidents and pro-Western leaders in the Sahel, where since 2020 a militant insurgency has also triggered coups in Mali and Burkina Faso.

Former colonial ruler France and the European Union have suspended security cooperation and financial aid to Niger following the coup, while the United States warned that its aid could also be at stake.

At an emergency summit in Nigeria, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc demanded Bazoum be reinstated within a week.

Otherwise, the bloc said it would take "all measures" to restore constitutional order.

"Such measures may include the use of force for this effect," it said in a statement, adding that ECOWAS defence chiefs were to meet on Sunday.

"No more time for us to send a warning signal... It's time for action," said Bola Tinubu, president of Nigeria and ECOWAS chairman.
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The suicide attack that took place in Bajaur on Sunday, which killed around 44 people and left over 200 injured, has drawn strong condemnations from across the Muslim world

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jul, 2023 ):The suicide attack that took place in Bajaur on Sunday, which killed around 44 people and left over 200 injured, has drawn strong condemnations from across the Muslim world.

The leadership of the Muslim nations as well as the heads of the Muslim world bodies condemned the heinous crime and sympathized with the bereaved families.

At least 44 people were killed in a suicide blast at a Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) workers' convention in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's (KP) Bajaur district on Sunday. The explosion occurred when more than 400 JUI-F members and supporters gathered under a tent in the town of Khar, near the border with Afghanistan.

Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha, in a statement, condemned the explosion in the strongest terms.

He offered his sincere condolences to the victims' families and to the government and people of Pakistan wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.

The secretary-general reaffirmed the OIC's solidarity with Pakistan in its efforts to combat extremism and terrorism.

In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry denounced the attack and reaffirmed the Kingdom's rejection of violence and terrorism anywhere in the world, expressing that the Kingdom stood in full solidarity with Pakistan and its people.

The ministry offered condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims, the government, and the people of Pakistan, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Jassim Muhammad Al-Budaiwi, also condemned the bombing and said that the position of the Cooperation Council was firm.

He said the Council rejected all forms of violence, extremism, and terrorism, which aimed to destabilize security and stability and were inconsistent with human values and principles.

Similarly, in a statement, the UAE foreign ministry also strongly condemned the terrorist attack and reiterated its permanent rejection of all forms of violence and terrorism aimed at undermining security and stability in contravention of human values and principles.

The UAE ministry also expressed its sincere condolences and sympathy to the Pakistani government and people.

The State of Qatar also expressed its strong condemnation and denunciation of the explosion.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated Qatar's firm position on rejecting violence and terrorism, regardless of the motives and reasons.

The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kan'ani strongly condemned the attack and offered condolences on behalf of the government and the people of Iran to the government and the people of Pakistan.

Besides Kuwait, the state of Egypt also condemned the bombing and "renewed its firm stance toward its categorical rejection of all forms of violence.

"Egypt, government and people, expressed their sincere condolences and sympathy to the government and people of brotherly Pakistan in this painful affliction, and to the families of the victims, wishing a speedy recovery for all the injured," the Egyptian foreign ministry said.
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ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jul, 2023 ) :Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari paid an official visit to the UAE Sunday to condole over the death of Sheikh Saeed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the brother of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

In Abu Dhabi, the foreign minister met his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and offered heartfelt condolences on the death of Sheikh Saeed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who passed away on July 27, 2023, according to a Foreign Office press release.

 The two Foreign Ministers discussed bilateral relations between Pakistan and the UAE and exchanged views on regional and global developments in the region.

They expressed satisfaction over bilateral multidimensional cooperation including in trade, investment, energy, information technology and infrastructure.

They reaffirmed their joint resolve to strengthen mutually rewarding economic ties.

 Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari thanked the leadership of the UAE for its consistent and unwavering support to Pakistan in difficult times.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan appreciated the valuable contributions made by the Pakistani community in the development of the UAE.

 Earlier, Foreign Minister participated in the unveiling of the wax figure of late Prime Minister of Pakistan Mohtrama Benazir Bhutto at Madame Tussauds in Dubai.

In his remarks on the occasion, he spoke about the legacy of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto as the first female prime minister from the Muslim World who continued to inspire youth, women and democratic movements around the world.
The National Assembly on Monday passed seven government bills including the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2023 which aims to amend the Pakistan Army Act 1952

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jul, 2023 ) :The National Assembly on Monday passed seven government bills including the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2023 which aims to amend the Pakistan Army Act 1952.

Three bills were approved after the passage of a motion to suspend the rules for immediate consideration of these legislative proposals.

The bills include the Pakistan Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill, 2023; the National Commission for Human Development (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Federal urdu University of Arts, Sciences and Technology, Islamabad (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar introduced the Pakistan Sovereign Wealth Fund Bill, 2023 in the National Assembly which was passed by the House along with amendments proposed by him.

While introducing the bill, Minister for Law and Justice said that the establishment of the Pakistan Sovereign Wealth Fund would ensure economic development through the management of funds and assets to achieve their optimal use according to the best international standards.

Minister for Federal education and Professional Training Rana Tanveer Hussain moved the National Commission for Human Development (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences and Technology, Islamabad (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

Both bills were passed by the House.

Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar moved the Defence Housing Authority Islamabad (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2023. The minister highlighted the salient features of legislation as both of these bills have been approved by the Senate.

He also laid the annual report of the National Commission for Human Rights for the period from December 2021 to December 2022, as required by sub-section (2) of section 28 of the National Commission for Human Rights Act, 2012.

State Minister for Law and Justice Shahadat Awan moved the Cantonments (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the board of Investment (Amendment) Bill, 2023 which were passed by the House.

Later, the House was adjourned to meet again on August 1, 2023 (Tuesday) at 11 am.
Iran is ready to continue negotiations to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, based on the country's national interests rather than trust in the United States, foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st July, 2023) Iran is ready to continue negotiations to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, based on the country's national interests rather than trust in the United States, foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Monday.

"We would never hold talks with the US on the basis of trust. The JCPOA was not the result of our trust in the US either ... Iran's red lines are its national interests. We are prepared to pursue and conclude the talks," Kanaani was quoted as saying by the Tasnim news agency.

Tehran is making efforts to have the sanctions lifted and make all the parties, including Washington, return to the nuclear deal, the spokesman added.

"The JCPOA could be continued whenever the other side is prepared, and we make sure of the other party's commitment. As the only party that has behaved responsibly, we are prepared to proceed with the negotiations to fulfill the country's national interests," Kanaani said.

In June, several US media outlets reported that the United States and Iran held indirect talks in Oman in May to discuss Tehran's nuclear program and lifting of sanctions amid a freeze in nuclear deal talks.

In 2015, Iran and China, France, Russia, the UK, the US plus Germany and the EU signed the JCPOA, which envisaged lifting sanctions against Tehran in exchange for restricting the Iranian nuclear program. Under former US President Donald Trump, Washington withdrew from the deal, reimposing sanctions against Iran. The country reacted by reducing its obligations under the deal, including those concerning nuclear research, centrifuges and uranium enrichment levels.

In December 2021, talks on the resumption of the JCPOA were restarted, but a year later the progress on the deal was stalled.
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A missile strike on a residential building in Ukraine killed six and wounded dozens on Monday, as Russia said it stepped up strikes against Ukrainian military facilities in response to attacks on its territory, including Moscow

Kyiv, Ukraine, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st Jul, 2023 ) :A missile strike on a residential building in Ukraine killed six and wounded dozens on Monday, as Russia said it stepped up strikes against Ukrainian military facilities in response to attacks on its territory, including Moscow.

Two missiles landed close to the centre of the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rig just after 9:00 am (0600 GMT), Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko wrote on Telegram.

Among the dead were a 10-year-old girl and her 45-year-old mother, while 75 people were injured, according to local authorities.

One of the strikes hit a large nine-storey residential apartment block, punching a huge hole in the facade that destroyed flats on several floors and sparked a fire.

Firefighters used a cherry-picker crane to direct jets of water at the fire, while the emergency ministry said part of the building had collapsed while the rubble was being cleared.

As the toll of the strike rose, Russia said it had intensified attacks on military infrastructure in Ukraine after increasingly frequent drone assaults blamed on Kyiv.

Russia on Sunday said it had downed Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and annexed Crimea in the latest wave of drone attacks.
A delegation of Taliban (under UN sanctions for terrorism) officials led by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi held a series of meetings in Qatar with US Special Representative Thomas West and an accompanying delegation, covering a wide range of issues at both the social and technical committee levels, Taliban foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said on Monday

KABUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st July, 2023) A delegation of Taliban (under UN sanctions for terrorism) officials led by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi held a series of meetings in Qatar with US Special Representative Thomas West and an accompanying delegation, covering a wide range of issues at both the social and technical committee levels, Taliban foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said on Monday.

"In the meeting, the two sides discussed confidence building, taking practical steps thereof, removing blacklists (and) lifting sanctions, unfreezing DAB (Da Afghanistan Bank) reserves, economic stability of Afghanistan, countering narcotics, and issues on human rights," Balkhi wrote on Twitter.

The talks took place over two consecutive days in the Qatari capital of Doha and brought together officials from Afghanistan's finance ministry, the central bank and the Afghan embassy in Qatar, as well as a 15-stong US delegation "from various departments," the spokesman said.

The Taliban delegation emphasized the importance of confidence-building initiatives, urging for the removal of blacklists and reward lists to create an atmosphere of trust and cooperation. They also stressed the significance of releasing Afghanistan's bank reserves to enable the nation to become self-sufficient, reducing its reliance on external aid.

The meeting also discusses matters related to humanitarian aid, free travel to Afghanistan, and consular services for Afghan citizens living in different parts of the world, the statement added.

Both sides expressed their commitment to continued engagement, mutual understanding, and interaction in the future.

The Taliban came to power in August 2021, toppling the US-backed government as foreign troops were leaving the country. In September, the group formed a new government led by Mohammad Hasan Akhund, who served as foreign minister during the previous period of Taliban rule and has been under UN sanctions since 2001.
WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st August, 2023) Former friend and business associate of Hunter Biden, Devon Archer, confirmed to lawmakers that then-US vice President Joe Biden was involved in his son's foreign business deals via phone calls and dinners, the House Oversight Committee said on Monday.

"Archer's testimony confirms Joe Biden lied to the American people when he said he had no knowledge about his son's business dealings and was not involved," the House Oversight Committee said in a statement.

Then-Vice President Joe Biden joined Hunter Biden's dinners with foreign business associates in person or by speakerphone more than 20 times, the statement said.

Earlier on Monday, Congressman Dan Goldman said that there is no indication Joe Biden was aware of which parties may have been on the other end of the calls and denied any connection between the president and his son's business deals.

Archer's testimony comes amid investigations by lawmakers into potential criminal activity, such as foreign influence peddling, by the Biden family.

The House Oversight Committee has been investigating allegations that the Bidens engaged in a multi-million Dollar foreign bribery scheme involving executives of Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

The executives placed "constant pressure" on Hunter Biden to get help from the US government to resolve corruption investigations into the company by then-Prosecutor General of Ukraine Viktor Shokin, the statement said.

Hunter Biden and two Burisma executives "called (Washington,) DC" to discuss the matter, according to Archer's testimony.

The call raises concerns that Hunter Biden may have violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act, the statement added.

Moreover, then-Vice President Joe Biden and Hunter Biden dined with the wife of the former mayor of Moscow, Elena Baturina, in 2014, the statement said. The Biden administration has "notably" not included Baturina in public sanctions, the statement said.

Joe Biden has previously denied ever discussing foreign business deals with his son.
By Kevin Watler and Daphne Kotschessa Almodovar, University Communications and Marketing

The University of South Florida awarded more than 2,400 degrees during summer commencement on Saturday, Aug. 5. The ceremonies included recipients of 1,610 bachelors, 690 masters, 132 doctoral and five specialist degrees. This marks the first group of students to graduate since USF was invited to join the Association of American Universities in June. The AAU is a prestigious group of the top 3% of all research universities in the U.S.

The group features 19 undergraduate students earning a perfect 4.0 GPA and 85 student veterans, and includes graduates from 36 states, 71 nations and four U.S. territories. Approximately one out of three graduates (785) are recipients of Pell Grants, reflecting USFs impact on social mobility. Pell is a federal financial aid program for students from modest socioeconomic backgrounds.

At 18 years old, the youngest graduate earned a bachelors degree in political science. The oldest graduate, who is 67 years old, received a masters degree in library and information science.

USF President Rhea Law presided over all ceremonies, which were held in the Yuengling Center on the Tampa campus.

Boundless Bulls

Noor Khalil Algoul, Bachelor of Arts in political science

At the age of 18, Noor Khalil Algoul is the summer 2023 youngest graduate. The Palestinian American was born in Florida but grew up in Jordan. When she moved back to Florida in 2015, she didnt know English and had to work extremely hard to continue her education. Algouls efforts paid off and she ended up graduating from King High School in Tampa as valedictorian, while dual enrolled at Hillsborough Community College. She then transferred to USF, completing a political science degree. Algoul now not only speaks Arabic and English fluently, but also Korean and Spanish intermediately. She is currently learning Turkish. Algoul plans to attend law school.

Lauren Flannery, Bachelor of Science in environmental science and policy

Lauren Flannery fell in love with USF when she visited as a recruit for the universitys cross country and track and field teams. But repeated stress fractures required the Pennsylvania native to make the tough decision to prioritize her health and leave the sport that she loved. Though difficult to accept, Flannery accepted the old adage that when one door closes, another opens. Without the commitments that come with being an NCAA Division 1 athlete, she was able to be very active in student organizations, study abroad, volunteer at a local food pantry and even graduate a year early.

Flannery has been an active member of the College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Student Leadership Society, served as a student assistant in the Office of Education Abroad and received the Global Citizens Award. She volunteered at an organic permaculture farm in Costa Rica to implement landscaping, design analog maps and apply sustainable methods that would lead to the farm becoming a certified organic operation. As a member of the Judy Genshaft Honors College, she traveled to Andros Island, Bahamas, for an immersion course on tropical island environments. Flannery recently received the Alana Leigh Thompson Memorial Scholarship at USF, which allowed her to spend this summer at Yellowstone National Park working as a biological technician intern with the National Park Service. There, she helped identify plants, control the spread of invasive plant species to maintain biodiversity and ensure the wellbeing of the ecosystems within the treasured national landmark. Post-graduation, Flannery will spend some time in Sweden seeking opportunities in environmental conservation.

Rey Rosado Borrego, Bachelor of Science in nursing

Culture, academics and the Herd of Thunder Colorguard program brought Rey Rosado Borrego to USF. Known for its top-notch College of Nursing, Borrego knew USF was the place he would find community. He has created long-lasting memories as a member of the colorguard and serving as team captain for the competitive USF Winterguard team. Borrego not only led the team through the pandemic, but also to the gold medal at the WGI World Championships. The first-generation college student is grateful for the resources and opportunities extended to him as he navigated the unfamiliar terrain of higher education far from his native Mexico.

Borrego credits USF faculty for motivating and guiding him while the USF Latino Scholarship Program removed the financial weight of attending college. The support of his mentors and peers empowered him to become student president of the Accelerated Bachelors Degree in Nursing program. Selected by faculty to speak at his upcoming pinning ceremony, Borrego will join Moffitt Cancer Center as a registered nurse.

Andrii Kostyrko, Bachelor of Science in accounting

Andrii Kostyrko arrived in Tampa from Ukraine with his immediate family in 2017 after witnessing the Russian invasion of Crimea. The Kyiv native settled into the bay area, reuniting with extended family members and finding greater stability. Just 15 years old at the time, Kostyrko immersed himself in his education. He took advantage of dual-enrollment classes in high school and graduated early. He earned an associate degree at St. Petersburg College and then transferred to USF St. Petersburg through FUSE, a pathway program that helps students earn their associate degree while guaranteeing admission into USF.

In the midst of completing his bachelors degree in accounting, the war in Ukraine broke out in February 2022. Kostyrkos family and friends have remained in Kyiv throughout the conflict, experiencing the many effects of war, including air raid sirens, food shortages and ongoing power outages. Despite the weight of the world on Kostyrkos shoulders, he stayed on track and excelled at USF. He is graduating summa cum laude and will be attending graduate school for accounting at USF. He plans to pursue his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license in the state of Florida.

Read more about Kostyrko here.

Mariyah Pressley, Doctorate in biomedical engineering

Mariyah Pressley spent her academic career learning how technology and data can be used to effectively deliver solutions in clinical and pharmaceutical environments. Her dissertation, supervised by mentors at the Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, was focused on using mathematical models to better understand tumor growth dynamics to optimize cancer therapy. She authored three academic journal articles  two of which she was lead author  and presented at national and international conferences.

Throughout her time at USF, she held data analytics and modeling internships with Bristol-Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson and helped recruit doctoral students by serving as a graduate student ambassador at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Students. Pressley took full advantage of campus life  participating in a competitive dance team that provided late night dance sessions and local performance opportunities.

When she experienced a necessary leave of absence, the USF community rallied around to provide the support she credits for helping her get through the program. As a USF graduate student, Pressley was supported by grants awarded by the National Science Foundation, National Cancer Institute and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Following commencement, Pressley will join Genentech in the San Francisco Bay area.

Haley Hines-Gaal, Master of social work

Haley Hines-Gaal found the USF Online Master of Social Work program while seeking to balance full-time work with graduate studies. Her journey has been fueled by a deep sense of gratitude for the professionals who helped guide her when she lost her parents and was placed in foster care as a teenager. The social workers met with Hines-Gaal often, encouraging her to pursue higher education. I could see that a career in social work could allow me to make a similar impact on peoples lives and be able to drive positive change, she said.



At USF, Hines-Gaal further connected with her peers and the dedicated faculty who run the flexible, yet rigorous program. As part of her studies, she interned at Metropolitan Ministries in Tampa where she helped homeless clients and at-risk families obtain stable housing. Hines-Gaal said this experience has put her on the fast track to a career that drives opportunity within the community. She is strengthening her skillset by serving as a housing counselor for the City of Tampa Housing and Community Development Division.

Learn more about Hines-Gaals journey here.

Fabrizio Petrozzi Yanez, Bachelor of Science in business management

Fabrizio Petrozzi Yanez was drawn to USF because of his love for St. Petersburg, particularly the Innovation District. He saw the potential of the city and the university, and knew it was the right place to grow both personally and academically. Eventually, Petrozzi, a student in the Judy Genshaft Honors College, became a resident assistant at the Pelican Apartments and Osprey Suites residence halls. That experience allowed him to discover his leadership skills, placing an emphasis on creating a safe and welcoming environment for all.

The greatest challenge Petrozzi faced while at USF was the pandemic. The transition to virtual learning was a significant adjustment, and not being able to return home to Peru was emotionally challenging. Additionally, having most of his friends and connections move away from campus added to the sense of isolation. Overcoming this challenge required resilience and adaptability. He found solace by focusing on his studies and resident assistant duties, which he credits with keeping him grounded. Petrozzi also took the opportunity to explore new hobbies and interests. By making a conscious effort to stay connected virtually with friends and family back home, he felt less alone. He also sought support from the university's mental health resources, which were invaluable during this time.

As a mentor in the UMatter program, which provides young people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to experience higher education and campus life, Petrozzi found immense satisfaction and happiness seeing the change he can make in their lives. In fact, he plans to continue working with the disabled community after graduation.

Petrozzi is an honoree in the Muma College of Business 25 Under 25 Program.

Epiphany Jordan, Masters in social marketing

Epiphany Jordan is a multitalented professional from Nevada who says the Online Master of Public Health program with a concentration in social marketing makes her feel like shes graduating with three degrees. It had been decades since the author, who also serves as caregiver to her mother, had been in school and the first time learning how to think like a scientist. While testing rebranding strategies on nurturing connections, she fell in love with qualitative research and taking deep dives into the way people think. Jordan admits she entered the program not sure of what it entailed and felt a little strange being decades older than her peers, but she succeeded in learning to leverage commercial marketing strategies to influence behaviors for the greater social good.

Jordan soon realized her personal perspective and life experience outside public health were assets that brought welcome insight and empathy to the research she and her colleagues carried out. The support she received throughout the program validated her interest in redefining human touch as an integral part of health and wellness. This new skillset from the only accredited graduate school program in the world in her field has opened the door for Jordan to become a social marketing consultant for health agencies in Reno. The author is working on a second book on nonsexual touch for couples.

Jessica Rice, Bachelor of Science in biology

At the age of 22, Jessica Rice was in nursing school and a single mom to newborn Bentley, who was born with a medical condition, when she made the difficult decision to put her education on hold. She went to work as a nursing assistant at Sarasota Memorial Hospital and two years later decided to transfer from another institution to USF as a biology major when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a public health emergency. Rice spent much of the pandemic in the hospital caring for patients infected by the deadly coronavirus. She busied herself with pre-med coursework, worked long hours and cared for Bentley.

In her second year at USF, Rice received a prestigious invitation to apply to the Omicron Delta Kappa honor society, which recognizes achievement in scholarship and other areas. A Selby Achiever, Rice also received the Brunch on the Bay Scholarship and served as the vice president of Tau Sigma, a national honor society designed exclusively for transfer students at USF.

After graduation, Rice plans to get married and enjoy family life with her fiance, her son and step-daughter. She plans to apply to the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine to continue pursuing her dream of becoming a pediatrician.

Learn more about Jessica here.
Jenna Meeks, a University of Wyoming assistant research scientist, presents research at last years field day at the James C. Hageman Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Center (SAREC). A similar event will take place Wednesday, Aug. 9, at SAREC near Lingle. (UW Photo)

The University of Wyomings Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station will host a field day at the James C. Hageman Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Center (SAREC) near Lingle Wednesday, Aug. 9.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 2753 State Highway 157. It will begin at 4 p.m. and will conclude with a catered dinner at 7 p.m.

The field day will start with tours of field plots, where researchers will present their work on grass and alfalfa forage, cattle and feedlot research, and crop protection management.

We have a lot of botany projects this year, and thats something we havent had in the past, says Steve Paisley, director of SAREC. Its a new opportunity for us.

Field tour speakers include UWs Clint Beiermann, assistant professor of forage crop production and weed management; Donna Harris, assistant professor of plant breeding; and Anowar Islam, professor of forage agroecology.

After the guided tours, attendees can walk through the orchards or peruse student research posters.

We have a demonstration orchard thats looking really good this year, Paisley says. Hopefully, people will take some time to go through the self-guided tour.

SAREC and Eastern Wyoming College recently partnered to develop a joint precision agriculture program, which will be introduced during the field day.

To RSVP for the field day, call Kelly Greenwald at (307) 387-2000 or email kgreenwa@uwyo.edu.
Russian occupation troops attacked Kherson twice on Monday morning, July 31. The terrorists fired from the Grad multiple rocket launcher system.

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As a result, a person was killed. This was reported by the head of the Kherson regional military administration Alexander Prokudin.

He noted that the occupants opened fire at about 8:20 am.

"In the morning the Russian army killed a Kherson man. Today at about 8:20 the occupants shelled the central part of Kherson from MLRS "Grad"," he wrote.

Prokudin specified that an employee of the city utility company fell under the enemy attack. Unfortunately, the man died on the spot from his wounds.

In addition, the army of the Russian Federation hit the Kherson microdistrict Korabel.

A 65-year-old man fell under enemy fire in his own car. An acquaintance tried to take his comrade to the hospital, but the wounds were too severe, the medics were left only to state death.

Also injured was a 38-year-old Khersonian. He was hospitalized with injuries to his leg and arm.

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We will remind, Russian occupation troops struck a residential house in the village of Novodmytrivka in Kherson region on July 30. As a result of the attack, a 33-year-old woman was wounded.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL:

- On the evening of July 29, Russian troops hit an educational institution in Sumy, there are dead and wounded. After the attack, the building turned into ruins.

- In the evening, around 5 pm, explosions were heard in Zaporizhzhya. A man and a woman were killed, two more women were injured.

Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel, Threads and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
UWs John Koprowski has been honored as a Fellow by The Explorers Club, a professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research, scientific exploration and resource conservation. (UW Photo)

A University of Wyoming faculty member has been elected as a Fellow by The Explorers Club.

John Koprowski, dean of the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, a Wyoming Excellence Chair and a professor of zoology and physiology, is honored in recognition of his contributions to scientific knowledge through field expeditions. He is an acclaimed conservation biologist who has taught, led students and conducted research around the world including in Mongolia, China, Ecuador and Italy.

The Explorers Club supports scientific expeditions of all disciplines, provides support for students and early-career scientists, and unites members and Fellows in the spirit of discovery. Fellows of the club must have worked in the field as participants in one or more scientific expeditions evidenced by scientific publication or documented in books, popular media or broadcast media.

Notable members of The Explorers Club include Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmund Hillary, first to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953, and astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Buzz Aldrin, first to walk on the moon in 1969.

Koprowski has a long history of international wildlife conservation, especially emphasizing community-based conservation efforts. He believes collaboration is critical to success in international wildlife conservation efforts and emphasizes community-based research aimed to increase in-country capacity for the conservation and management of biodiversity. His research has not only included many projects within the United States, but it also has extended to China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Nepal, Peru and South Africa.

As a child growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, I watched the Cuyahoga River burn just a few miles from my childhood home due to the pollution on the surface, and we fished in Lake Erie but had to limit the fish that we ate due to accumulations of mercury. I realized at an early age that I wanted to make a difference so that our wild and working lands around the world were more abundant, more sustainable and more accessible, Koprowski says. Exploration and discovery are fundamental to conservation. Election as a Fellow of The Explorers Club is recognition of the success of our approach that elevates the role of partnership and collaboration.

Koprowski has taught international courses and created long-standing partnerships with universities and research institutes across the globe, including the University of Insubria (Italy), Mongolian Academy of Sciences, National University of Mongolia, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (Japan), Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University (China), National Institute of Biological Resources (South Korea), James Cook University (Australia) and Transfrontier Africa (South Africa). He has written more than 200 peer-reviewed scientific articles and books, and he has advised more than 50 graduate students to provide data-informed solutions to worldwide conservation challenges. He co-edited and co-wrote the 2019 book International Wildlife Management.

Koprowskis achievements have been recognized both nationally and internationally. He was named a Fellow of The Wildlife Society in 2014, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2018 and of the Linnean Society of London in 2019. In 2022, he received the Aldo Leopold Memorial Award from The Wildlife Society, the highest award given by the 11,000-member organization of professional wildlife scientists, for his international efforts.

In 2022, the International Wildlife Conservation Chair was established at UW to honor the work and accomplishments of Koprowski. Following his retirement, the chair will be renamed the John L. Koprowski International Wildlife Conservation Chair.

Founded in 1904, The Explorers Club is a multidisciplinary, professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research, scientific exploration and resource conservation. The club is headquartered in New York City just off Central Park. The society is composed of over 30 chapters around the world, including the Rocky Mountain Chapter to which Koprowski will belong.

The magnitude of the election as a Fellow of The Explorers Club is not lost on Koprowski.

Not bad for a kid who grew up landlocked in Cleveland, Ohio, and didnt see the ocean until I was nearly 30 years old, he says.
Daniel McCoy, a UW assistant professor of atmospheric science, received a two-year $998,587 DOE grant to study Earth system models as the foundation of how to predict what the global environment on Earth will look like in future decades. The grant begins Sept. 1 and runs through Aug. 31, 2025. (UW Photo)

Understanding and predicting the global environment are critical to inform decisions across infrastructure, energy and agriculture. To understand and predict the global environment, global models are needed.

To better tackle this issue, Daniel McCoy, a University of Wyoming assistant professor of atmospheric science, is looking at Earth system models (ESMs) as the foundation of how to predict what Earth will look like in future decades.

McCoy received a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant worth $998,587 over two years for his project titled Creating the Framework for the Next-Generation Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) at PROCEED (Perturbed Physics Ensemble Regression Optimization Center for ESM Evaluation and Development). The grant starts Sept. 1 and ends Aug. 31, 2025.

His is one of 14 clean-energy research projects that received $33 million in total funding from DOE in a July 26 announcement. This funding -- provided through DOEs Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program -- is intended to improve geographic distribution of federal research and development funds and strengthen research capabilities in underserved regions of the country. The funded projects will cover a range of topics, including grid integration, renewable solar and wind energy, and advanced manufacturing.

McCoy explains that ESMs solve equations to predict winds, rain, clouds and temperature, among other quantities, in grid boxes all over the world. ESMs have been created by numerous different national and international laboratories, including DOE, with the goal of offering actionable projections of Earth system variability and change. Additionally, he says scientists are constantly developing, improving and challenging ESMs by comparing what they predict to what is seen from the surface, aircraft and satellites to make sure they can provide reliable predictions of the future.

ESMs have a tough job. They need to be able to calculate how storm systems a thousand miles wide will deluge us with rain or batter us with wind. At the same time, droplets in clouds less than a millimeter in size form on little pieces of dust and grit, McCoy says. The way that droplets form in clouds affects the way that these storms develop. ESMs have to tackle both problems at the same time.

McCoy is the principal investigator (PI) on the project and will collaborate with Jennifer Griswold, an associate professor of atmospheric sciences and department chair at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. Gabrielle Allen, director of the UW School of Computing, and Dana Caulton, a UW assistant professor of atmospheric science, will serve as co-PIs on the grant.

The group will work with scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Additionally, the grant will have an external advisory panel, including scientists at the U.K. Meteorological Office, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California-San Diego, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Delft University of Technology.

The National Science Foundation-funded Derecho supercomputer at the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center that the state of Wyoming has significantly invested in is making this kind of computational work possible, McCoy says. One of the main components of this work is using artificial intelligence and machine-learning techniques to make the way that we develop new ESMs more efficient and reliable. At the University of Wyoming, the scientists who are participating in PROCEED are drawn from the Department of Atmospheric Science and the School of Computing.

PROCEED will develop new approaches to improve the way processes on the scale of dust and cloud droplets in ESMs are represented and to better understand how they imprint on our planet, he says.

Americas next big energy breakthrough can come from anywhere in the nation, and thats why federal research and development investments should reach and benefit all parts of the country, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm says. The funding were announcing today will spur innovation and create energy jobs around the nation.
People hold signs as they gather outside the Russian Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, July 29, 2023, to mark one-year anniversary of the attack on a prison building in Olenivka, eastern Ukraine, that killed dozens of Ukrainian military prisoners.
The United Arab Emirates announced plans on Sunday to establish judicial bodies to prosecute money laundering and financial crime following increased monitoring by a global watchdog dedicated to battling illicit cash flows.

The official WAM news agency reported that the UAE has approved a "proposal to establish federal prosecution entities specialized in economic crimes and money laundering."

It said the move "represents a first step towards investigating and cracking down on" shady financial transactions.

The proposal calls for the "creation of prosecution offices specialized in" illicit finance.

It comes more than a year after the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) added the UAE to a "grey list" of nations subject to greater oversight because of concerns over illicit finance.

The FATF listing in March 2022 came as a blow to the UAE's reputation as a major financial and business hub.

The watchdog has since upheld its decision, but a June report noted improved efforts in the UAE to tackle shortcomings.

The step announced on Sunday aims to enhance "the confidence of international investors in the UAE's business environment" and encourage "them to bring their businesses to the UAE," WAM said.

"The project's significance lies in its role in protecting the national economy and reducing the impact of economic and financial crimes," it added.

The resources-rich UAE has become a nexus connecting the Middle East, Europe, Central Asia and Asia. Dubai has the world's busiest airport in terms of international passenger traffic, and also one of the busiest seaports.

While the desert country has successfully diversified its economy rather than relying on oil, experts and international organizations have long criticized a failure to crack down on suspicious financial transactio
The death toll rose to nine Monday in three days of clashes between Palestinian factions at a refugee camp in Lebanon that have pitted members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party against Islamist groups.

A Lebanese lawmaker announced a cease-fire agreement late Monday but some gunfire continued afterward, and earlier efforts to broker a cease-fire had failed to stop the shooting and shelling through the narrow streets of the Ein el-Hilweh camp in southern Lebanon.

The violence began Saturday when an unknown gunman tried to kill Palestinian militant Mahmoud Khalil but instead fatally shot his companion. Full-blown clashes erupted Sunday when Islamic militants shot and killed a Palestinian military general from the Fatah group, Abu Ashraf al Armoushi, and three escorts as they were walking through a parking lot, according to a Palestinian official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media.

On Monday afternoon, after a meeting between Lebanese officials and security forces and Palestinian factions, Lebanese lawmaker Osama Saad, who represents the Sidon area where the camp is located, announced a new ceasefire agreement.

Saad earlier told The Associated Press that officials are "making extraordinary efforts to find serious, effective, lasting and stable solutions to the situation inside the camp."

On the ground, the intensity of the fighting decreased following the announcement, but sporadic shooting continued.

A Lebanese army spokesperson confirmed Monday that at least nine people were killed at Ein el-Hilweh camp. Two soldiers stationed outside the camp were lightly wounded, Col. Fadi Abou Eid said.

The Lebanese army mans a checkpoint outside and typically does not enter the camp, which is under the control of the Palestinian factions. Some Lebanese officials have called for the army to take control of the camps in the wake of the clashes.

Lawmaker Samy Gemayel, head of the Kataeb party, which during the Lebanese civil war allied with Israel against the Palestinian Liberation Organization, met with US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea on Monday and called for "the disarmament of the camps and placing them in the custody of the Lebanese army," the state-run National News Agency reported.

On Sunday, Palestinian factions said in a joint statement that they had agreed to a cease-fire during a mediation meeting hosted by the Lebanese Shiite Amal movement and the militant Hezbollah group in the city Sidon. But the cease-fire did not hold.

Some residents in Sidon neighborhoods near the camp have fled their homes after stray bullets hit buildings and shattered windows and storefronts. The public Sidon General Hospital evacuated its staff and patients.

A Fatah statement condemned the killing of its security official, saying the attack was part of a "bloody scheme that targets the security and stability of our camps." It vowed to hold the "perpetrators accountable."

Rival faction Hamas issued its own statement Monday condemning the fighting and calling for dialogue to "spare the blood of our people and to preserve civil peace." It called for formation of an investigative committee to look into who was responsible for the clashes.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Abbas both issued statements Sunday decrying the violence.

There are nearly 500,000 Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, although the actual number in the country is believed to be around 200,000, as many have emigrated but remain on UNRWA's roster.

Palestinians in Lebanon are restricted in their rights to work and own property, and the vast majority of them live in poverty.
Denmark's foreign minister said Sunday the government will seek to make it illegal to desecrate the Quran or other religious holy books in front of foreign embassies in the Nordic country.

Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in an interview with the Danish public broadcaster DR that the burning of holy scriptures "only serves the purpose of creating division in a world that actually needs unity."

"That is why we have decided in the government that we will look at how, in very special situations, we can put an end to mockery of other countries, which is in direct conflict with Danish interests and the safety of the Danes," he said.

A recent string of public Quran desecrations by a handful of anti-Islam activists in Denmark and neighboring Sweden have sparked angry demonstrations in Muslim countries.

Lokke Rasmussen said the Cabinet of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is determined to find "a legal tool" to prohibit such acts without compromising freedom of expression, but he acknowledged that would not be easy.

"There must be room for religious criticism, and we have no thoughts of reintroducing a blasphemy clause," he told DR. "But when you stand up in front of a foreign embassy and burn a Quran or burn the Torah scroll in front of the Israeli embassy, it serves no other purpose than to mock."

His comments followed a statement issued late Sunday by the Danish government saying freedom of expression is one of the most important values in Danish society.

But, it added, the desecration of the Muslim holy book in Denmark has resulted in the nation being viewed in many places around the world "as a country that facilitates insult and denigration of the cultures, religions, and traditions of other countries."

The government repeated its condemnation of such desecrations, say they are "deeply offensive and reckless acts committed by few individuals" and "do not represent the values the Danish society is built on."

In Sweden, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Sunday on Instagram that his government is analyzing the legal situation regarding desecration of the Quran and other holy books, given the animosity such acts are stirring up against Sweden.

"We are in the most serious security policy situation since the Second World War," Kristersson said.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has called an emergency remote meeting Monday to discuss the Quran burnings in Sweden and Denmark.
Occupation troops of the aggressor country Russia shelled Kostyantynivka in Donetsk region with cluster shells on Sunday evening, July 30, injuring a 13-year-old teenager. Also injured two more civilians.

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This was reported on the official Facebook-page of the Donetsk regional Prosecutor's office. The attack occurred at about 19:23.

The prosecutor's office noted that this time the Russian army hit a private sector, probably with cluster shells from Smerch MLRS.

A 13-year-old boy was grazing cattle in the pasture together with his grandfather when the occupants shelled Kostyantynivka. He received multiple shrapnel wounds.

A 44-year-old man was also wounded by shell fragments near the cemetery, and a 68-year-old local resident received mine-explosive injuries in her own yard. In addition, private residential houses were damaged.

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"Started pre-trial investigation on criminal proceedings on the fact of violation of laws and customs of war (part 1 of article 438 of the Criminal code of Ukraine)", - stated in the message.

Recall that on the evening of July 24, Russian troops also shelled Kostyantynivka. The attack killed two people, including a child, and wounded seven others. Among the wounded four children - girls of 5, 11 and 12 years old and a 12-year-old boy.

On July 29, it became known that a girl born in 2011, who was injured during the enemy attack, died in hospital.

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As reported by OBOZREVATEL, in Sumy in the evening of July 29, Russian missiles hit an educational institution. It is known about two dead and 20 wounded.

Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel, Threads and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Monday that Europe won't tolerate aggression in Ukraine or the Indo-Pacific as she reaffirmed the EUs recognition of a 2016 arbitration decision that invalidated Chinas expansive claims in the disputed South China Sea.

Von der Leyen spoke at a joint news conference with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. after holding talks in Manila that aimed to bolster trade, economic and security relations. The leaders announced the 27-nation bloc would resume negotiations with the Philippines for a free-trade agreement that stalled in 2017 under Marcos's predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.

She stressed the need for security cooperation, citing Russias invasion of Ukraine, which she said shows how authoritarian leaders are willing to act on their threats."

"Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine shakes the foundation of the international order. It is in violation of the U.N. charter and the fundamental principles of international law, such as territorial integrity and sovereignty, she said.

This is why Europe supports Ukraines brave fight against the aggressor because the illegal use of force cannot be tolerated, not in Ukraine, not in the Indo-Pacific, von der Leyen said. Security in Europe and security in the Indo-Pacific is indivisible. Challenges to the rules-based order in our interconnected world affect all of us.

This is why we are concerned about the rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific, she said, adding that the EU backs a free and open Indo-Pacific because an Indo-Pacific free of the threats of coercion is key to all our stability to our peace, and to the prosperity of our people."

Her veiled rhetoric echoed that of U.S. leaders, who have raised alarms over Chinas increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea.

Without naming China, von der Leyen underscored the EUs recognition of a decision by a U.N.-backed tribunal that invalidated Chinas territorial claims in virtually the entire waterway on historical grounds. China has rejected the arbitration decision as a sham and continues to defy it.

The award is legally binding and provides the basis for a peaceful resolution of the disputes, she said.

The European Union is ready to boost cooperation with the Philippines to foster regional maritime security by sharing information, carrying out threat assessments and bolstering the Philippine coast guard, she said.

China has warned the United States and its allies from meddling in what it says is a purely Asian dispute. It has turned seven disputed reefs into missile-protected island bases in the last decade, further alarming Western governments and rival claimants, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Von der Leyens visit to the Philippines is a sign of improving ties after a stormy period between the EU and Duterte over human rights. Its the first such top-level visit in nearly six decades of relations with the Philippines.

The visit came at a time when the EU is assessing whether to extend special trade incentives, including slashed tariffs for a wide variety of products, to the Philippines.

The EU trade incentives under the so-called Generalized Scheme of Preferences for the Philippines and seven other developing countries are anchored on their adherence to more than two dozen international conventions on human and labor rights, environmental protection and good governance.

But the Philippines came under intense EU criticism during Dutertes six-year term, mainly because of the bloody anti-drugs crackdown he oversaw that left more than 6,000 mostly petty suspects dead. Marcos succeeded Duterte in June last year. SEE ALSO: International Probe Into Philippines' 'War on Drugs' Will Resume

The killings sparked an International Criminal Court investigation as a possible crime against humanity. Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2018, but its prosecutor has proceeded to investigate the widespread deaths that occurred in the years when the country was still part of The Hague-based court.

Duterte then often lashed at the EUs criticisms of his brutal anti-drugs crackdown with profanity-laced outbursts.

Marcos and von der Leyen said relations between the EU and the Philippines were entering a new era.
The European Union and the United States have called for the military junta that seized power in Niger last week to halt their coup and return President Mohamed Bazoum to office.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday expressed support for actions by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which Sunday imposed sanctions on the coup leaders and gave them a one-week deadline to cede power or face measures including "the use of force."

Borrell said in a statement that Bazoum must be returned to power without delay. He also said the EU rejects accusations of foreign interference and that it will hold the junta responsible for any attacks on civilians or against diplomatic personnel or facilities.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also welcomed what he called the strong leadership of ECOWAS to "defend constitutional order in Niger" and said the United States joins calls for the immediate release of Bazoum and the restoration of Niger's democratically elected government.

Blinken's spokesperson told reporters Monday that Washington has not yet made an official determination as to whether the military's actions constitute a coup, as the situation is ongoing and fluid.

"It is clear that there has been an attempt to remove President Bazoum from office," Matthew Miller told reporters. "It is not yet clear that attempt will ultimately be successful, so we are watching and monitoring the situation and trying to prevent President Bazoum from being removed from office."

Separately, a senior U.S. official told reporters that initially the mutineers did not appear to have much support from the public or senior members of the military.

"However, in subsequent conversations with some key military leaders, they've told us that they did not object to what was taking place, because they couldn't figure out how to get the presidential guard to stand down without risk to the life of the president and his family, because the presidential guard had surrounded the president's residence," the U.S. official said.

The United Nations envoy for West Africa, Leonardo Santos Simao, attended the ECOWAS summit. A U.N. spokesperson told reporters Monday that he reiterated the U.N.'s condemnation of the seizure of power by force and the undermining of democratic governance, peace and stability in Niger. He said aid deliveries continue. More than 4 million people in the country require humanitarian assistance.

Leaders of the coup have said they acted last week in response to what they described as a worsening security situation and the government's lack of action against jihadists.

In a statement on state television Monday, the military junta accused former colonial ruler, France, of planning to use military action to free Bazoum.

On Sunday, hundreds of coup supporters attacked the French Embassy in Niamey, breaking windows and burning the French flag. French officials disputed accusations from some Nigerien military leaders, saying Monday that "no lethal resources were used by the French security forces" during the embassy attack.

Margaret Besheer at the United Nations and Nike Ching at the State Department contributed to this report. Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
ECOWAS also imposed sanctions, including the suspension of all commercial and financial transactions between Niger and other ECOWAS member states.

That kind of thing makes me cringe because even if its possible, its easy to imagine really bad things happening as a result and its hard to know how that would be a valuable thing, Shurkin said.

Michael Shurkin is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and also the director of global programs at 14 North strategies, an Africa-focused business advisory group. He says he applauds ECOWAS determination but wonders how effective a regional military intervention will be.

The group says all measures including the use of force are on the table to restore constitutional order.

The West African regional bloc ECOWAS has given Nigers coup leaders one week to return the country to normal or face possible military intervention. The deadline comes after Nigers democratically elected president was toppled by members of his presidential guard last week. There are no easy options and the few that are available come with their own regional consequences.

Shurkin says sanctions in this case might not be effective, especially for a country as poor as Niger.

There were ECOWAS sanctions against Mali, which proved to be completely useless. In fact, they were counter-productive, Shurkin said. "The Malian junta was able to use the so-called international campaign against Malian sovereignty to its advantage to try to rally people behind it and it helped a very illegitimate regime create for itself more legitimacy. And if anything, all the sanctions did was just hurt poor people.

Last week, Bazoums supporters protested in the capital, Niamey, calling for his release.

On Sunday, pro-coup residents attacked the French embassy as they held their own demonstration.

Dr. Edgar Githua, an international relations and diplomacy expert teaching at the U.S. International University in Nairobi, told VOA that ECOWAS -- in conjunction with the United States, France and the European Union  has a strategic imperative for restoring Bazoum to power.

For the simple reason that geopolitically speaking, the U.S. doesnt want Russia to come to that region, Githua said. "If Bazoum is kicked out of power, the military junta that takes over will open wide arms. The Wagner group, dont forget, is still in Chad, is still in Libya, // they are around there; they will sweep in so fast. The U.S. knows if theres a power vacuum, Russia will move in to fill that power vacuum.

France, the United States and other countries have troops in Niger and while some of these countries have the ability to do some targeted intervention, Shurkin doesnt think any of these governments would have an appetite in doing so because...

It looks terrible. It seems to re-enforce everything that many people fear and say about the Frenchs role in the Sahel because here is France being a neo-colonial power, picking and choosing leaders and not letting Nigeriens sort things out; same thing if the U.S. did it. Its very problematic, Shurkin said. "

Niger has been a key ally of the West in the fight against militant groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaida in the Sahel region, which has seen a number of coups in the past few years, including in neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali.
Frustration as other foreign nationals were set free. Occasional phone calls, months apart. And the constant fear that the executioner's noose could be tightened any day.

The family of Jamshid Sharmahd have endured three years of torment as each day they await a breakthrough, while always fearing the worst, for the German citizen sentenced to death in Iran.

Sharmahd was abducted three years ago in late July 2020 by the Iranian authorities and sentenced earlier this year to be hanged for "corruption on Earth." Iran's Supreme Court in April confirmed the death penalty.

Activists regard him as one of more than a dozen foreign passport holders held by Iran as hostages in a bid to extract concessions from the West.

His family says that Tehran-born Sharmahd, 68, a software developer who immigrated to Germany in the 1980s but then moved to live in the United States, was kidnapped by Iranian security services in the United Arab Emirates in July 2020, spirited over the border into Oman and then taken to Iran for trial.

Iran has never confirmed how Sharmahd was detained, saying only he was seized in a "complex operation."

Amnesty International has said he was subjected to "enforced disappearance" followed by a "sham trial" and torture in detention. The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has classified his detention as arbitrary and confirmed the family's details on his abduction.

His family, who say he holds only a German passport, are urging stronger action from Germany and other Western governments to earn his release.

Berlin expelled two Iranian diplomats in response to the death sentence, which it called "unacceptable."

Around 20 people gathered outside the foreign ministry in Berlin on Monday to mark three years since Iran announced Sharmahd's capture, an AFP correspondent said.

The demonstrators were holding signs saying "Free Jamshid" and "Stop executions."

'Was this goodbye?'

"There is no pressure. A German citizen was kidnapped and nothing happened," his daughter Gazelle Sharmahd, who lives in the United States, told AFP.

"It's a game  they push and you push. The push for them is to hang my dad," she said.

Earlier in July, Sharmahd was allowed to call his wife, also based in the U.S., for the first time in five months. He was also permitted to speak to Gazelle Sharmahd, the first time she had spoken to her father in two years.

But Gazelle Sharmahd said the one-hour conversation, in which he sounded tired, raised more questions than answers.

"Phone calls are great but also a reason for concern," she said. "They always have a purpose. It could be either a window of opportunity to save his life or a goodbye call.

"Was this to make us shut up before they execute him? Was this a goodbye?"

The Mizan Online news agency of Iran's judiciary reported in February that a Tehran court sentenced Sharmahd "on the charge of corruption on Earth through planning and directing terrorist acts," including a 2008 bombing in Shiraz that killed 14 people.

His family ridicule these accusations, saying a "long series of baseless charges" were laid against him in addition to the mosque bombing.

In Berlin, a German foreign ministry spokesman told AFP that the government was using "all channels" to ensure Sharmahd was not executed, while acknowledging his family was "going through something unimaginable and unbearable."

'How inhuman'

Concern about the risk to Sharmahd's life has intensified since May, when Iran executed the Iranian-Swedish dissident Habib Chaab.

Chaab was also convicted of "corruption on Earth." Mizan said Chaab led the "Harakat al-Nidal terrorist group," which Iran blames for attacks in Khuzestan province.

According to Amnesty, Chaab was abducted in Turkey in October 2020 to face trial in Iran.

Another Iranian Swedish citizen, the academic Ahmadreza Djalali, is also at risk of being hanged after a conviction for "corruption on Earth." He was sentenced to death in 2017 based on accusations of spying for Israel that his relatives have vehemently rejected.

Gazelle Sharmahd said she was thrilled for the family of Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, who was freed by Iran in a deal that saw the release of Asadollah Assadi, an Iranian diplomat convicted on terrorism charges in a plot to bomb an opposition meeting outside Paris.

Two Austrians and a Dane were freed days later by Iran in a related move under a deal Oman helped broker.

But Gazelle Sharmahd said the release of the four men in apparent exchange for Assadi had also left a bitter taste.

"It should have been everybody," she said, denouncing a lack of Europe-wide coordination.

"How inhuman is it to leave people behind who have a death sentence? Belgium played the biggest card that Europe had," she said.
Haiti has welcomed "with great interest" a Kenyan offer to lead a 1,000-strong multinational force to bolster security in the violence-torn Caribbean country.

"Haiti appreciates this expression of African solidarity," a statement from Foreign Minister Jean Victor Geneus said Sunday, "and looks forward to welcoming Kenya's proposed evaluation mission."

Kenya announced Saturday that it was prepared to deploy 1,000 police agents to help train and support their Haitian counterparts in combating the violent gangs that have taken control of much of capital Port-au-Prince.

"Kenya has accepted to positively consider leading a Multi-National Force to Haiti," said the Kenyan statement, posted by Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua.

A Kenyan-led deployment would still require a mandate from the United Nations Security Council, as well as formal agreement by local authorities.

The council has asked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to present by mid-August a report on possible options for Haiti, including a U.N.-led mission.

U.S. diplomats have been actively seeking a country to head a multinational force.

Mutua said Kenya would send an "evaluation mission" to Haiti in coming weeks.

Kenya, seen as a democratic anchor in East Africa, has participated in peacekeeping operations in its own region, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.

Gangs in Haiti control roughly 80% of Port-au-Prince, and violent crimes including kidnappings for ransom, carjackings, rapes and armed thefts are common.

With a weak government and its security forces overwhelmed, the country -- the poorest Western Hemisphere nation -- has seen compounding humanitarian, political and security crises.

Both Prime Minister Ariel Henry and the U.N.'s Guterres have for nearly a year called for an international intervention. Up to now, no country had stepped forward.

A U.N. peacekeeping mission was in operation in Haiti from 2004 to 2017 but fell out of favor after a cholera outbreak traced to infected UN personnel from Nepal claimed 9,500 lives.

This week, the United States ordered nonessential embassy personnel and their families to leave Haiti as soon as possible.

On Thursday, a young American nurse and her infant child were kidnapped in Haiti, according to the Christian aid group for which she works.
The dangers for journalists in Haiti have escalated in recent months, with killings, abductions, and attacks among the most pressing threats.

In the latest incident, the independent broadcaster Radio Antarctique was burned down in an apparent gang attack.

About 50 men armed with assault-style rifles attacked the town of Liancourt, about 110 kilometers from the capital, Port-au-Prince, in the early hours of July 23 and burned down the station along with dozens of houses, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ.

"They smashed everything and then set fire to it. It was reduced to ashes," the broadcaster's founder, Roderson Elias, told CPJ.

Elias founded Radio Antarctique a year ago and ran it with around a dozen staff. None of them was injured in the attack, but four residents from Liancourt were killed and several others abducted, according to reports.

VOA reached out to the station but did not immediately get a response. In media interviews after the attack, however, Elias said he believes that gang members had targeted the station because of its reporting, and that he had received threats earlier in the year.

The station regularly reported on violence and other issues affecting the community.

The CPJ reported that the head of a local gang had accused Elias of turning residents against his group, and the media nonprofit warned that the situation for media in Haiti "remains untenable."

"Local authorities must restore order so that all citizens, including journalists, can live without fear from armed gangs," Cristina Zahar, CPJ's Latin America and the Caribbean program coordinator, said in a statement. "Journalists should not face violent retaliation simply for doing their jobs."

Haiti's embassy in Washington did not immediately reply to a VOA email requesting comment.

The deteriorating state for media parallels broader insecurity since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.

For journalists, one of the biggest risks is kidnapping.

On July 21, unidentified people kidnapped radio host Blondine Tanis near her Port-au-Prince home, demanding a ransom for her return.

On Monday, CPJ reported that Tanis had been released.

"The decline in her health while in gang custody is deeply concerning," CPJ's Zahar said in a statement announcing the reporter's release. "It is unacceptable that gangs have repeatedly kidnapped members of the press and held them for ransom."

Tanis' abduction came a few weeks after radio journalist Marie Lucie Bonhomme of Vision 2000 was kidnapped from her home on July 13.

Bonhomme was released after a few hours, but then her husband, Pierre-Louis Opont, co-owner of independent Tele Pluriel channel 44, was kidnapped a week later. As of late July, he was still missing.

Some journalists estimate that as many as nine reporters have been kidnapped in Haiti since the start of the year.

"Haitian journalists were already risking their lives whenever they went into the field but now they are in danger even when at home," Artur Romeu, director of the Latin America bureau at Reporters Without Borders, said in a statement.

"We call on the Haitian government to redouble its efforts to obtain Pierre-Louis Opont's swift release and to take urgent measures to protect Haitian journalists from gang violence, in order to end the climate of terror in which they are currently immersed and to create the security conditions needed to practice journalism in Haiti," he said.

Deadly violence is another concern.

In April, two radio journalists were killed in Haiti. Dumesky Kersaint was shot in the Mahotiere 83 neighborhood in the municipality of Carrefour in mid-April, and radio host Rico Jean was found dead on April 25 after being kidnapped the night before, according to regional media rights organizations.

In 2022, at least seven journalists were slain in Haiti, according to the CPJ data, which shows that at least five of those killings were in direct connection with the reporters' work.

In response to the killings in April, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay released a statement saying, "All too many Haitian journalists pay the ultimate price for their reporting, restricting the vital flow of information to populations."
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gives a stern warning to Nigers military junta that took over the government. China angered over new U.S. multimillion-dollar military aid package for Taiwan, and the steady decline in what was once a giant broadcasting platform across America.
Iran's oil minister said Sunday Tehran would "pursue its rights" to a disputed gas field also claimed by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait if negotiations fail, the ministry's news agency reported.

The offshore zone of the resource-rich Gulf, known as Arash in Iran and Dorra in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, has long been a focal point of contention between the three countries.

"Iran will pursue its rights and interests regarding exploitation and exploration" of the field "if there is no desire for understanding and cooperation," Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji was quoted as saying by the official Shana news agency.

He said Tehran has sought "the path of negotiation and understanding with our neighbors," according to Shana.

"Iran will not tolerate any violation of its rights," Owji added.

Earlier this month, Kuwait had invited Iran for another round of maritime border talks after Tehran said it was ready to start drilling in the field.

On Thursday, Sky News Arabia quoted Kuwait's Oil Minister Saad Al-Barrak as saying his country would begin "drilling and production" at the gas field without waiting for a demarcation deal with Iran.

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, who share some maritime gas and oil resources, last year signed an agreement to jointly develop the field despite objections from Iran, which branded the deal as "illegal."

The row over the field stretches back to the 1960s, when Iran and Kuwait each awarded an offshore concession, one to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, the forerunner to BP, and one to Royal Dutch Shell.

The two concessions overlapped in the northern part of the field, whose recoverable reserves are estimated at some 220 billion cubic meters (nearly 8 trillion cubic feet).

Iran and Kuwait have held unsuccessful talks for many years over their disputed maritime border area, which is rich in natural gas.

Iranian drilling of the field in 2001 spurred Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to agree on joint offshore projects.

Saudi Arabia and Iran ended in March a seven-year rift with a surprise Chinese-brokered rapprochement deal, raising hopes for reduced tensions between the Middle East heavyweights.
Iraq and Kuwait will work towards reaching a definitive agreement on demarcating their borders, including a contested maritime area of the Gulf, their foreign ministers said on Sunday.

The de facto land and maritime borders between the neighboring states were established by the United Nations in 1993, three years after Iraq under Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.

While Iraqi officials have previously expressed a readiness to recognize Kuwait's land border, the maritime border remains a point of contention.

Baghdad insists that the delineation should provide it unhindered access to Gulf waters, a lifeline for its economy and oil exports.

Because of the long-standing dispute, Kuwaiti coast guards regularly detain Iraqi fishermen and seize their vessels for entering Kuwaiti territorial waters "illegally.

After meeting his Kuwaiti counterpart Salem Abdullah al-Jaber al-Sabah in Baghdad on Sunday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said that during their talks "the emphasis was placed on resolving the border issues.

He told reporters the border talks would "continue through various technical committees.

Baghdad will host a meeting of a legal committee relating to the talks on August 14.

Sabah said there was "complete consensus" between Kuwait and Iraq to "resolve outstanding problems between the two countries, particularly the demarcation of maritime boundaries."

Iraq's government under Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani, who was appointed by pro-Iran parties, is seeking closer ties with Arab Gulf monarchies, aiming to strengthen regional economic cooperation and counter the flow of narcotics.

On Sunday, Sabah also met Sudani and the speaker of Iraq's parliament, Mohammed al-Halbusi.

Kuwait's official KUNA news agency said Sabah and Halbusi discussed demarcating the two countries' maritime border.

In 2021, Baghdad made the final payment of war reparations totaling more than $52 billion to its neighbor.
The Organization for Islamic Cooperation urged its member nations Monday to take action against countries that permit public burning or desecration of the Quran, including the recalling of ambassadors.

The Saudi Arabia-based group made the call in a statement following an emergency online meeting of its foreign ministers to discuss recent incidents in which the Islamic holy book was burned or otherwise defaced at officially permitted protests in Sweden and Denmark.

The organization's 57 member countries should consider taking any necessary decisions and actions that they deem appropriate in their relations" with Sweden, Denmark and other countries that allow such incidents, including recalling their ambassadors, the statement said.

It encouraged civil society organizations in the member states to work with counterparts in countries where the Quran has been burned or desecrated to file local lawsuits before taking their cases to international judicial bodies, where applicable.

It also called for more efforts at outreach to combat Islamophobia, praising Kuwait for commissioning the printing of 100,000 copies of the Quran translated into Swedish for distribution in Sweden.

Many of the points in the final statement echoed recommendations made by Iraqs Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein, who also called on the United Nations to take measures to prevent these incidents.

Ahead of the meeting, two men who had previously burned a copy of the Quran in Sweden did so once again, in front of a crowd of a few dozen onlookers and about 20 counterprotesters.

In both Sweden and Denmark, there is no law against blasphemy, and freedom of expression is generally held in high regard.

But as the recent Quran burnings have sparked angry demonstrations and diplomatic backlash in Muslim countries, officials in the Scandinavian countries have begun to consider whether there should be curbs on public defacement of holy books or other religious symbols.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lkke Rasmussen said Sunday in an interview with Danish public broadcaster DR that the government is seeking a legal tool to prohibit such inflammatory acts without compromising freedom of expression.

In Sweden, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Sunday on Instagram that his government is analyzing the legal situation regarding desecration of the Quran and other holy books, given the animosity such acts are stirring up against Sweden.

Before Mondays meeting, the OIC had already suspended the status of Swedens special envoy over the Quran burnings.

Swedens Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said in a statement that he spoke in recent days with counterparts in OIC countries to explain how Sweden's freedom of expression works and that police make independent decisions on protest applications. He added that the government is very clear in its distance from the Islamophobic acts carried out by individuals at demonstrations in Sweden.

The Danish foreign minister said his government condemned and denounced the insult to the Quran and that it is studying this issue with great interest.
Ukraine has scheduled talks with the United States next week on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees as part of the Joint Declaration of Support for the Ukrainian state. This will provide an opportunity to ensure our country's ability to win now and deter Russian aggression in the future.

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This was announced by the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, which was held in Ivano-Frankivsk. According to him, these guarantees will be valid until Ukraine gains NATO membership.

Yermak emphasized that Ukraine was already working on bilateral agreements with partners.

"And I will make a small announcement: we are starting relevant negotiations with the United States next week. Security guarantees for Ukraine will be concrete and long-term commitments that will ensure Ukraine's ability to win now and deter Russian aggression in the future. These will be clearly described formats and support mechanisms," he said.

We shall remind you that the second day of the NATO summit is taking place in Vilnius on July 12.Zelensky started it with talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

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The head of state emphasized that he had come to the NATO summit for three things: security guarantees, an invitation to the alliance and weapons. Moreover, the last of these three items is now the number one priority for Ukraine.
A judge in the southern U.S. state of Georgia on Monday refused efforts by former President Donald Trump to block a prosecutor from pursuing an indictment against him for trying to illegally overturn his pivotal 2020 election loss in the state to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump had claimed that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in Atlanta had overseen an investigation that was "confusing, flawed and, at times, unconstitutional."

Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled Trump's claims were "either insufficient or else speculative and unrealized."

The judge said, "They are insufficient because, while being the subject [or even target] of a highly publicized criminal investigation is likely an unwelcome and unpleasant experience, no court ever has held that that status alone provides a basis for the courts to interfere with or halt the investigation."

McBurney said the former president could raise legal challenges to the Georgia investigation if he is indicted and when a judge is assigned to the case.

"Guessing at what that picture might look like before the investigative dots are connected may be a popular game for the media and blogosphere," the judge wrote, "but it is not a proper role for the courts and formal legal argumentation."

With a grand jury considering the case, Willis has signaled she could soon indict Trump and a host of aides linked to his efforts to upend the 2020 Georgia election result.

She told an Atlanta television station over the weekend, "The work is accomplished. We've been working for two-and-a-half years. We're ready to go."

As he sought to retain power after losing the 2020 election to Biden, Trump focused his election challenges on several states he narrowly lost to Biden, including Georgia. In the U.S. system of electing presidents, the winner is not determined by the national popular vote, but rather through separate outcomes in each of the 50 states, with the biggest states holding the most sway in the Electoral College vote count that determines the national winner.

In Georgia, Trump in early 2021 called state election officials and asked them to "find" him 11,780 votes, one more than Biden's winning vote margin, so that Trump could win the state popular vote and its 16 votes in the Electoral College.

Trump is already facing criminal indictments in two other cases. The former president has said he also expects to be indicted in Georgia, as well as by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith.

Smith has told Trump the latter is a target of his national investigation of election interference and his role in fomenting the January 6, 2021, riot of Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers met to certify the 2020 election outcome.

Trump has denied all wrongdoing in the several criminal cases and investigations. Despite his mounting legal peril, polls show that Republican voters overwhelmingly favor him for the party's 2024 presidential nomination to run again against Biden.

In one of the other criminal cases, also brought by Smith, Trump is accused of illegally retaining 32 highly classified national security documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida rather than turn them over to the National Archives as he was required to do when he left office.

In a superseding indictment handed up by a federal grand jury last week, Trump was accused of trying to get the property manager at Mar-a-Lago, Carlos De Oliveira, to erase security camera footage of boxes of classified material being moved in and out of a storage room at Mar-a-Lago.

De Oliveira, also accused in the case, made his first court appearance on Monday, but he did not enter a plea. He was freed on $100,000 bond and ordered to not discuss the case with others linked to the investigation.

On his Truth Social site Sunday, Trump assailed the allegation that he tried to delete the security camera video.

"Mar-a-Lago security tapes were not deleted," Trump said. "They were voluntarily handed over to the thugs, headed up by deranged Jack Smith."

"We did not even go to court to stop them from getting these tapes. I never told anybody to delete them," he said. "Prosecutorial fiction & misconduct! Election interference!"
Latest developments:

Croatia allocated $1.1 million for the demining of Ukrainian agricultural lands, Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said Monday.

Britain added new sanctions Monday against Russia, targeting

judges and officials involved in the trial of political activist Vladimir Kara-Murza. A British-Russian citizen, Kara-Murza lost his appeal Monday of his 25-year jail sentence for treason and for spreading "false information" about Russia's war in Ukraine, the RIA state news agency reported. He was arrested two months after the war began just hours after CNN broadcast an interview with him in which he said Russia was run by "a regime of murderers."

judges and officials involved in the trial of political activist Vladimir Kara-Murza. A British-Russian citizen, Kara-Murza lost his appeal Monday of his 25-year jail sentence for treason and for spreading "false information" about Russia's war in Ukraine, the RIA state news agency reported. He was arrested two months after the war began just hours after CNN broadcast an interview with him in which he said Russia was run by "a regime of murderers." Ukraine's birth rate was 28% lower in the first six months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2021, marking the biggest decline since Ukraine's independence in 1991, the Ukrainian data analytics website Opendatabot reports.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry signed an agreement with Turkish company Baykar to build a service center for the repair and maintenance of drones in Ukraine, a ministry official said on Monday.

Russian attacks on Ukrainian towns have left a trail of dead and injured, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stress Ukraine's need for long-range weapons.

At least six people were killed by two Russian missiles that hit the city of Kryvyi Rih in southern Ukraine, Zelenskyy's hometown, Ukrainian officials said Monday.

Regional Governor Serhiy Lysak announced a day of mourning in the city, saying that among the dead were a 10-year-old girl and her mother. Seventy-five others were wounded, including six children ages 4 to 17 years.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the missiles hit an apartment building and a university building.

At the damaged residential building, nearly 150 of the building's residents managed to get out by themselves, and 30 were helped by rescuers, the governor said.

During his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said preliminary data show that the two missiles were fired at Kryvyi Rih from the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea, from the area of Dzhankoy.

"This proves again and again that for the safety of our cities, for the protection of the normal life of Ukrainians and our children, our military must have enough long-range weapons, enough means to defeat terrorists. The world's sanctions pressure against Russia deserves a significant increase," he said.

"This is already a kind of genocidal everyday reality ... Kryvyi Rih," Zelenskyy's adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on X, formerly known as Twitter. "International law will never work if the aggressor does not see a real power behind it. The power begins with closing the Ukrainian skies with missile defense and air defense systems," he added.

Russian strikes in Kherson Oblast killed four people and wounded 17 others on Monday, among them a 16-year-old girl. Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said that one of the people killed, as well as six of those injured, were working at a utility company when it came under fire. Five others injured were volunteers.

Later Monday, Russian forces launched another attack against the city, targeting the Korabel district, while another attack on the city of Beryslav killed another man.

Prokudin said the intense shelling is due to Russia replenishing its forces on the east bank of the Dnipro River.

Ukraine drone attacks

The United States is not encouraging or enabling attacks inside Russia, White House National Security Council coordinator John Kirby told CNN on Monday.

His comments came after several hostile drones hit the heart of Moscow in recent months. There has not been any major damage or deaths in those attacks, but a senior Ukrainian official said last week that there would be more such attacks to follow.

Three Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow on Sunday, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, which called the strikes an "attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime."

This was the fourth such strike on Russia's capital region this month and the third this week, revealing Moscow's vulnerability as Russia's war in Ukraine drags into its 18th month.

Two of the drones struck the capital's financial district. A skyscraper was damaged, and a security guard there was injured, Russia's state news agency Tass reported, citing emergency officials. Russia's Ria-Novosti news agency reported the building's tenants included several government agencies.

There was no extensive damage, but the attack on the Moskva-Citi business district several miles west of the Kremlin has caused nervousness among employers and employees there, who felt the war's reach to Russia's nerve center.

Tech giant Yandex, which has offices around the Russian capital including in Moskva-Citi, asked employees to vacate offices at night when strikes on the Russian capital have tended to occur.

Flights were suspended at Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport while the airspace over Moscow and outlying regions was temporarily closed.

Ukrainian officials did not acknowledge the attacks, but Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, "Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia  to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process."

A Ukrainian air force spokesperson also did not claim responsibility but said the Russian people were reaping the consequences of Russia's war in Ukraine.

Peace summit

U.S. government officials will attend a Ukraine summit in Saudi Arabia, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller announced during a briefing on Monday, saying that he could not provide more details.

The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that Saudi Arabia would invite Western states, Ukraine and major developing countries to the high-level talks.

Saudi Arabia's summit is reportedly scheduled to be held in Jeddah over the weekend to discuss implementation of Zelenskyy's peace plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called for an end to the "irrational" war in Ukraine and urged the upcoming peace talks in the Middle East to include representation from both Ukraine and Russia.

Lopez Obrador said Mexico would only participate in the peace talks if both sides were present.

The Mexican president has tried to keep his country neutral in the war, though his government has backed some major U.N. resolutions against Russia. Mexico has refused to send arms to Ukraine and has not imposed sanctions against Russia.

The Kremlin said Monday it would "follow" the meeting but did not currently see conditions for peace talks with Kyiv.

Andriy Yermak, head of Zelenskyy's presidential office, said Sunday the summit would bring together national security advisers for talks that follow an initial round held in Copenhagen in June. Yermak said Ukraine is "working hard to involve as many partners as possible from the West and the Global South."

He did not confirm a date for the summit, but The Wall Street Journal reported it would take place August 5-6 and involve 30 countries. The Associated Press cited officials saying the United States, Brazil, India and South Africa would participate.

"The Ukrainian Peace Formula contains 10 fundamental points, the implementation of which will not only ensure peace for Ukraine, but also create mechanisms to counter future conflicts in the world," Yermak said in a statement. "We are deeply convinced that the Ukrainian peace plan should be taken as a basis, because the war is taking place on our land."

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
Two conservative groups are asking a federal court to block the Biden administration's plan to cancel $39 billion in student loans for more than 800,000 borrowers.

In a lawsuit filed Friday in Michigan, the groups argue that the administration overstepped its power when it announced the forgiveness in July, just weeks after the Supreme Court struck down a broader cancellation plan pushed by President Joe Biden.

It asks a judge to rule the cancellation illegal and stop the Education Department from carrying it out while the case is decided. The suit was filed by the New Civil Liberties Alliance on behalf of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and the Cato Institute.

The Education Department called the suit "a desperate attempt from right wing special interests to keep hundreds of thousands of borrowers in debt."

"We are not going to back down or give an inch when it comes to defending working families," the department said in a statement.

It's part of a wave of legal challenges Republicans have leveled at the Biden administration's efforts to reduce or eliminate student debt for millions of Americans. Biden has said he will pursue a different cancellation plan after the Supreme Court decision, and his administration is separately unrolling a more generous repayment plan that opponents call a "backdoor attempt" at cancellation.

The Biden administration announced July 14 that it would soon forgive loans for 804,000 borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment plans. The plans have long offered cancellation after borrowers make 20 or 25 years of payments, but "past administrative failures" resulted in inaccurate payments counts that set borrowers back on their progress toward forgiveness, the department said.

The new action was announced as a "one-time adjustment" that would count certain periods of past nonpayment as if borrowers had been making payments during that time. It moved 804,000 borrowers across the 20- or 25-year mark needed for cancellation, and it moved millions of others closer to that threshold.

It's meant to address a practice known as forbearance steering, in which student loan servicers hired by the government wrongly pushed borrowers to go into forbearance  a temporary pause on payments because of hardship  even if they would have been better served by enrolling in one of the income-driven repayment plans.

Under the one-time fix, past periods in forbearance were also counted as progress toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness, a program that offers cancellation after 10 years of payments while working in a government or nonprofit job.

Biden's action was illegal, the lawsuit says, because it wasn't authorized by Congress and didn't go through a federal rulemaking process that invites public feedback.

"No authority allows the Department to count non-payments as payments," the lawsuit says. It adds that the action came in "a press release that neither identified the policy's legal authority nor considered its exorbitant price tag."

The conservative groups say Biden's plan undercuts Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The Mackinac Center and Cato Institute say they employ borrowers who are working toward student loan cancellation through the program. They say Biden's action illegally accelerates progress toward relief, diminishing the benefit for nonprofit employers.

"This unlawful reduction in the PSLF service requirement injures public service employers that rely on PSLF to recruit and retain college-educated employees," the suit alleges.

The Cato Institute previously sued the administration over the cancellation plan that was struck down by the Supreme Court. The Mackinac Center is separately challenging Biden's pause on student loan payments, which is scheduled to end this fall with payments resuming Oct. 1.
Myanmar's military-controlled government has extended the state of emergency it imposed when the army seized power from an elected government over two years ago, state-run media said Monday, forcing a further delay in elections it promised when it took over.

MRTV television said the National Defense and Security Council met Monday in the capital, Naypyitaw, and extended the state of emergency for another six months starting Tuesday because time is needed to prepare for the elections. The NDSC is nominally a constitutional government body, but in practice is controlled by the military.

The announcement amounted to an admission that the army does not exercise enough control to stage the polls and has failed to subdue widespread opposition to military rule, which includes increasingly challenging armed resistance as well as nonviolent protests and civil disobedience, despite the army having a huge advantage in manpower and weapons.

The state of emergency was declared when troops arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and top officials from her government and members of her National League for Democracy party on Feb. 1, 2021. The takeover reversed years of progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule.

The military said it seized power because of fraud in the last general election held in November 2020, in which Suu Kyi's party won a landslide victory while the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development party did poorly. Independent election observers said they did not find any major irregularities.

The army takeover was met with widespread peaceful protests that security forces suppressed with lethal force, triggering armed resistance that U.N. experts have described as a civil war.

As of Monday, 3,857 people have been killed by the security forces since the takeover, according to a tally kept by the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

The army-enacted 2008 constitution allows the military to rule the country under a state of emergency for one year, with two possible six-month extensions if preparations are not yet completed for new polls, meaning that the time limit expired on Jan. 31 this year. SEE ALSO: US Dismisses China's Rejection of UN Accusations of Arms Transfers to Myanmar

However, the NDSC allowed the military government to extend emergency rule for another six months in February, saying the country remained in an abnormal situation. The announcement on Monday is the fourth extension.

The state of emergency allows the military to assume all government functions, giving the head of the ruling military council, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, legislative, judicial and executive powers.

Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson for the National Unity Government, an underground group that calls itself the country's legitimate government and serves as an opposition umbrella group, said the extension of emergency rule was expected because the military government hasn't been able to annihilate the pro-democracy forces.

"The junta extended the state of emergency because the generals have a lust for power and don't want to lose it. As for the revolutionary groups, we will continue to try to speed up our current revolutionary activities," Nay Phone Latt said in a message Monday.

The military government labels the NUG and its armed wing, the People's Defense Forces, as "terrorists."

Monday's report did not specify when the polls might be held, saying only that they would occur after the goals of the state of emergency are accomplished.

According to the constitution, the military must transfer government functions to the president, who heads the NDSC, six months before the polls. That would mean Acting President Myint Swe, a retired general.

The military originally announced that new polls would be held a year after its takeover and later said they would take place in August 2023. But the extension of the emergency in February made that timing impossible.

The MRTV report said Myint Swe told members of the NDSC that the government needs to do more to achieve stability and the rule of law to prepare for the election.

Critics say the polls will be neither free nor fair under the military-controlled government, which has shut independent media and arrested most of the leaders of Suu Kyi's party.

Her party was dissolved along with 39 other parties by the election commission in March for failing to re-apply under a political party registration law enacted by the military government early this year. The law makes it difficult for opposition groups to mount a serious challenge to army-backed candidates.
A group of Sudanese rights and professional bodies has accused both warring parties in Sudan of committing atrocities that could be prosecuted as war crimes and crimes against humanity. In a petition addressed to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the coalition called for an investigation by the International Criminal Court.

More than 30 Sudanese rights groups and professional entities are accusing both the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces of committing human rights violations against civilians in Sudans Darfur region and elsewhere.

In a joint statement issued Saturday, the rights groups demanded an immediate investigation into the alleged violations and for the referral of the matter to the International Criminal Court through the United Nations Security Council.

Speaking to VOA, Nafisa Hajar, deputy head of the Darfur Bar Association, said her group has documented a series of violations and attacks, including mass killings, ethnic cleansing and forceful displacement, which she said would amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

She said, given that the judicial system of Sudan is now paralyzed due to the ongoing war, the international community should take action to bring the perpetrators to a court of law.

Hajar said right now there are continued airstrikes on civilian buildings, civilians are forcefully displaced from their homes, and women are being systematically raped. All these atrocities, she said, should be counted as war crimes.

On July 13, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, announced the opening of a new investigation regarding allegations of war crimes in the context of the war in Sudan, especially in the city of El Geneina in West Darfur state.

Hajar said the motive behind the filed petition is to help the victims and to prevent the continued impunity of the alleged perpetrators.

She said both the army and the RSF deserve to be investigated.

Hajar said at the moment there are serious violations of all treaties and agreements that call for protection of civilians. She said the rights of Sudanese civilians are now being violated by both warring parties.

Sudanese lawyer Abdul Basit Al Haj criticized the Sudan Armed Forces for failing to protect civilians in El Geneina during RSF attacks in the city and elsewhere in Sudan.

Speaking to VOA, Al Haj said the RSF has been attacking hospitals, occupying them, targeting doctors in Khartoum, and committing genocide and ethnic cleansing of non-Arab groups, specifically the Masalit ethnic group in West Darfur state.

They are occupying civilians houses, he said. They occupy hospitals, schools, universities, and destroy all these buildings. ... According to the definition of war crimes, these are war crimes or crimes against humanity.

Sudan Army spokesperson Nabeel Abdallah distanced the military from these atrocities, saying all were committed by the RSF.

They took over the homes of citizens in Khartoum by force and turned them into military barracks," Abdallah told VOA.

VOA reached out to the RSF commander's special adviser for foreign affairs, Ibrahim Mukhayer, for a comment, but received no immediate reply.

War broke out between the army and the Rapid Support Forces on April 15. The conflict has since forced some 3.5 million people to flee their homes, including 844,000 who have gone to neighboring countries in search of safety, according to the United Nations.
Smoking rates are falling, and lives are being saved as more countries implement policies and control measures to curb the global tobacco epidemic, according to a World Health Organization report issued Monday that rates country progress in tobacco control.

New data show that the adoption of the WHOs package of six tobacco control measures 15 years ago has protected millions of people from the harmful effects of tobacco use.

The measures, which were launched in 2008, call on governments to monitor tobacco use and prevention policies, protect people from tobacco smoke, offer help to quit tobacco use, warn people about the dangers of tobacco, enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship, and to raise taxes on tobacco.

Without this decline, there would be an estimated 300 million more smokers in the world today, said Ruediger Krech, WHO director for health promotion.

He said more than 5.6 billion people, that is 71% of the world population, live in countries that have implemented at least one of these lifesaving protective measures.

What an achievement, he said. This policy package has literally changed our lives. It means that families can go out to restaurants without worrying about their children breathing secondhand smoke.

It means that people that want help to quit smoking can get the support that they need. More than that, he said, it means that we are protected from the many deadly diseases caused by secondhand smoke.

However, he noted that 2.3 billion people live in the 44 countries that have not implemented any tobacco control measures leaving them at risk of the health and economic burden of tobacco use.

Until recently, only Turkey and Brazil had succeeded in enacting all six of the so-called MPOWER tobacco control measures. WHO reports Mauritius and the Netherlands now have joined this elite group, becoming the first African country and the first high-income country to achieve this best-practice level.

Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal, Mauritius Minister of Health and Wellness said his country was one of the first signatories of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2004. Since then, he said his government has been continuously implementing the articles contained in the agreement.

He said Mauritius began amending its legislation and tobacco control laws in 2008 to blunt the heavy toll smoking was taking on his countrys aging population.

The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, cancers, stroke, diabetes, hypertension is quite high in Mauritius. We are also experiencing aging of the populationSo, these combined effects of an aging population, significant effect of co-morbidity forced the government to take bold action.

Jagutpal said his government has been using WHO-recommended measures to discourage smoking to good effect. These include banning the advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of tobacco products; prohibiting the sale of cigarettes to minors, helping people to quit tobacco use, creating smoke-free places, and raising taxes on cigarettes.

The minister said these measures are working, with surveys showing that smoking has declined from 30% in 1987 to 18.3% in 2021.

WHOs report on the global tobacco epidemic focuses on protecting the public from secondhand smoke. It finds a growing number of countries are passing laws designating smoke-free indoor public places.

Krech said nearly 40% of countries have achieved this goal. Today, 74 countries protect their populations, making up to 25% of the worlds population with comprehensive smoke-free legislation in public indoor areas like health care, education facilities, as well as hospitality venues like restaurants and cafes.

But he warned the battle against the global tobacco epidemic was far from over.

Tobacco use continues to be one of the biggest public health threats with 8.7 million people dying from tobacco related diseases every year, 1.3 million of these deaths are amongst non-smokers that are subjected to secondhand smoke.

Krech said tobacco remained the leading cause of preventable death in the world, largely due to relentless marketing campaigns by the tobacco industry.

He urged governments to push back against the tobacco and nicotine industries, who lobby against public health measures by using different ploys to hook children on to e-cigarettes and vaping to make them nicotine dependent.

Then, of course, he said they will switch to cigarettes afterward.
Here are some Native American-related news stories and features making headlines this week:

HHS to fund development of tribal produce prescription programs

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has granted $2.2 million to five tribes to support the development of produce prescription programs.

Broadly, these programs provide free or discounted fruit, vegetables and other nutritious foods for patients living with food insecurity or diagnosed with certain health conditions. Healthcare providers write prescriptions that patients can take to be filled in retail food stores.

Awards of $500,000 each will go to the Laguna Healthcare Corporation, which serves the Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico; the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma; the Navajo Health Foundation; the Pascua Yaqui Tribe in Arizona; and the Rocky Boy Health Center, which serves Chippewa Cree on the Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana.

About one in four Native Americans experience food insecurity, compared to one in nine Americans overall, and they also experience high rates of diabetes and obesity.

Read more:

Oklahoma governor sues state lawmakers in over tribal compacts

Last week, VOA reported that Oklahomas majority-Republican Senate overrode Governor Kevin Stitts vetoes of two bills that would extend compacts between the state and tribes that split proceeds from tobacco and vehicle registrations.

Stitts lawyers on Monday filed a lawsuit against Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall and Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, arguing that only the governor has the authority to negotiate tribal contacts.

Oklahoma speaker McCall called the lawsuit frivolous.

For his part, Treat accused the governor of turning his back on all four million Oklahomans, the legislative process and Oklahomas tribal partners.

Read more:

Tesla CEO Elon Musk skirts state laws by operating on tribal land

Electric car manufacturer Tesla will soon open a showroom on the Mohegan Reservation in Connecticut, expanding its presence on tribal lands.

Tesla is so far the only carmaker that sells directly to buyers. All other auto manufacturers sell through independently owned dealerships. Many U.S. states have franchise laws that ban car makers from selling directly to customers without going through independent dealerships. Other states limit the number of stores Tesla can open.

CEO Elon Musk gets around these laws by negotiating with tribes to place showrooms on tribal land, where these laws do not apply.

In September 2021, Tesla opened its first showroom in a former casino on the Nambe Pueblo near Sante Fe, New Mexico, and a second on the Santa Ana Pueblo, near Albuquerque. Another Tesla showroom is planned to open in 2025 on the Oneida Reservation in New York.

Read more:

Tribes seek to find, protect bats in Pacific Northwest

The Native American Fish and Wildlife Society, Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service and Oregon State University are hosting the first-ever Pacific Northcoast Bat Workshop on the Yakama Nation in Washington state.

The two-day workshop will address threats to bats on tribal lands, particularly White Nose Syndrome (WNS), a fungal infection that has killed more than 6 million bats in eastern North America since 2006  decimating whole colonies. It showed up in the Pacific Northwest in 2016.

Bats are often misunderstood and feared but play a vital role in U.S. agriculture. By eating so many insects and rodents, they save U.S. farmers more than $3 billion in crop damage and pesticide costs each year.

Read more:

Federal courts highlight career of Hopi federal judge

As part of its video series Pathways to the Bench, U.S. Federal Courts this week focused on Diane Humetewa, a member of the Hopi Tribe in northwest Arizona, who in 2014 became the first Native American woman to serve as a U.S. federal judge.

Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, she and her family kept close ties to Kykotsmovi Village, on the Hopi Reservations Third Mesa. In this video, she discusses challenges she faced along the way to federal judgeshipand her reluctance to share her cultural identity with non-Natives.

New Mexico honors two prominent Native American artists

Two Native Americans have been named among the winners of the 2023 New Mexico Governors Awards for Excellence in the Arts. They are: experimental composer, performer and installation artist Raven Chacon, Navajo, who in 2022 became the first Native American awarded the Pulitzer Prize in music for his 2021 composition Voiceless Mass, which debuted in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, church (see video below).

Also named is haute couture fashion designer Patricia Michaels, a member of the Water Clan of the Taos Pueblo. A former runner-up on the American fashion competition TV show Project Runway, Michaels has designed and created costumes for opera and theater productions, custom resort uniforms and red-carpet gowns. In 2014, the Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of the American Indian board of directors in New York honored her as the first recipient of its Arts and Design Award.

New Mexicos Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts was established in 1974 to celebrate the significance of the arts to the State of New Mexico.

See the full list of this years winners here:
The United Nations chief on Monday welcomed Kenya's offer to "positively consider" leading a multinational police force to help combat Haiti's gangs and improve security in the violence-wracked Caribbean nation.

Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry urgently appealed last October for "the immediate deployment of a specialized armed force, in sufficient quantity" to stop the gangs. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been appealing unsuccessfully since then for a lead nation to help restore order to Latin America's most impoverished country.

Kenya's Foreign Ministry said Saturday that its offer included a commitment to send 1,000 police to help train and assist the Haitian National Police to "restore normalcy in the country and protect strategic installations." The ministry said it was responding to a request from the Friends of Haiti group of nations.

"Kenya stands with persons of African descent across the world, including those in the Caribbean, and aligns with the African Union's diaspora policy and our own commitment to Pan Africanism, and in this case to reclaiming of the Atlantic crossing,'" the ministry said.

Haiti's gangs have grown in power since the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moise and are now estimated to control up to 80% of the capital. The surge in killings, rapes and kidnappings has led to a violent uprising by civilian vigilante groups.

U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Guterres welcomed "Kenya's positive response to his call" and expressed gratitude to Kenya for its "solidarity."

The secretary-general calls on the U.N. Security Council to support a non-U.N. multinational operation in Haiti "and encourages member states, particularly from the region, to join forces from Kenya" in supporting the country's police, Haq said.

Kenya's Foreign Ministry said its proposed deployment would crystallize once the Security Council adopted a resolution giving a mandate for the force, and once other Kenyan constitutional processes were undertaken.

A Kenyan task force plans to undertake an assessment mission to Haiti within the next few weeks that "will inform and guide the mandate and operational requirements of the mission," it said.

Guterres, who visited Haiti in early July, called afterward for a robust international force to help the Haitian National Police "defeat and dismantle the gangs."

He said the estimate by the U.N. independent expert for Haiti, William O'Neill, that up to 2,000 additional anti-gang police officers were needed was no exaggeration. O'Neill, who concluded a 10-day trip to Haiti in July, is an American lawyer who has been working on Haiti for over 30 years and helped establish the Haitian National Police in 1995.

The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on July 14 asking Guterres to come up with "a full range of options" within 30 days to help combat Haiti's armed gangs, including a non-U.N. multinational force, a possible U.N. peacekeeping force, additional training for the Haitian National Police and support to combat illegal arms trafficking to the country.

Compounding the gang warfare, which has spread outside the capital, is the country's political crisis: Haiti was stripped of all democratically elected institutions when the terms of the country's remaining 10 senators expired in early January.

The Security Council resolution, co-sponsored by the United States and Ecuador, "strongly urges" all countries to prohibit the supply, sale or transfer of weapons to anyone supporting gang violence and criminal activities.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Kenyan President William Ruto on Monday, and their talk touched on Kenya's positive consideration of leading a multinational force in Haiti, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

The United States takes over the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council for August on Tuesday, and Miller said the U.S. and Ecuador, as a first step, were going to introduce a resolution to authorize a non-U.N. multinational mission.

The second step is an assessment mission by Kenya, "which they plan to do in the coming days," and then there will be talks with other countries about what additional assistance is needed, he said.

"We are committed to finding the resources to support this multinational force," Miller said. "We've been a large humanitarian donor to relief efforts in Haiti for some time, and we have worked behind the scenes to find the lead nation to run this multinational force and are pleased that that has been successful."
Fourteen members of the U.S. Congress have written to the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations expressing concerns over reports of an alleged violent crackdown by the Bangladesh government on opposition parties and other dissidents ahead of general elections likely taking place in January.

In their letter to Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the congressmen and women called for the deployment of U.N. peacekeeping forces during the next general election in Bangladesh to ensure free and fair polls.

They also sought the immediate suspension of Bangladeshs membership in the U.N. Human Rights Council until an "impartial and transparent" investigation into the governments alleged crimes against political opponents and others, including journalists, is completed.

"Over the past 6 to 8 months, thousands of peaceful and courageous protesters have demonstrated in support of free and fair elections [in Bangladesh]," the letter stated, referring to the demonstrations by the opposition and pro-democracy activists.

"These demonstrations have often been met by violence, tear gas, and brutal assault by police, other state actors, and supporters of [Prime Minister Sheikh] Hasina."

In the letter, the congress members also raised concerns about the coming elections, which Hasina and her ministers insist will be free and fair.

"Given its history of election fraud, violence, and intimidation; we are highly skeptical that the Hasina government will permit fair and transparent elections," the congress members noted in the letter. Allegations of rigging

The 2014 elections were boycotted by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP  the largest opposition party in the country. And, in 2018, the elections were marred by allegations of massive rigging by Hasinas ruling Awami League [AL] party a charge Hasina repeatedly denied.

France-based exiled Bangladeshi pro-democracy activist and popular YouTuber Pinaki Bhattacharya said that Hasina "appears incapable" of delivering a free and fair election.

"She made similar promises in 2018. But we ended up witnessing one of the most fraudulent elections in global history, with ballot boxes stuffed overnight on the eve of the election. She has structured her administration, the election commission, and the police force in such a way that they either actively engage in vote rigging or turn a blind eye when it occurs," Bhattacharya told VOA.

"Sheikh Hasina has consistently dismissed any legitimate evidence from both national and international sources that indicates rampant election rigging. So, how can she claim to have the capacity or, the willingness to hold a free and fair election?" Demands to 'step aside'

For several months, the BNP and its allies have been staging a series of demonstrations demanding that Hasina step aside making way for a non-partisan caretaker government before the next general elections take place  a demand her government has rejected.

On Saturday (July 29), tens of thousands of BNP leaders and supporters staged sit-in protests on main roads in Dhaka demanding the resignation of Hasina.

As the protesters tried to resist by throwing stones, police at several locations fired rubber bullets, pellets and teargas at them. Visuals in local TV channels and newspapers showed AL supporters  carrying machetes and sticks  attack and chase away the BNP protesters, in the presence of police.

Scores of protesters, including senior BNP leaders such as Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Abdus Salam Azad and Ishraq Hossain, were injured during Saturdays protests. Some police officers were injured too, a police spokesperson said.

The BNP says several of its initially peaceful rallies on political and other issues were violently attacked by the police and AL activists in the past year and 19 of its activists have been killed.

Also in the past year, according to the BNP statistics, more than 25,000 of its leaders and activists have been arrested. The party says police arrested at least 600 BNP protesters in the past week.

A spokesperson of Dhaka Metropolitan Police did not respond to messages from VOA on WhatsApp related to the July 29 clashes with the BNP protesters. The Bangladesh Ministry of Home Affairs, which controls the police, has not responded to requests for comment either. Taking to the streets

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said Hasina, while she was in opposition, took to the streets demanding a neutral caretaker government.

"In 1996, the BNP-led government introduced the election-time caretaker government system to the constitution. In 2009, the Awami League-led government amended the constitution and scrapped the system and kept rigging the elections to stay in power. People have lost interest in such sham elections in the country and are staying away from casting their votes," Alamgir told VOA. "We want people to cast their votes. For this, we have to change the system. There is no alternative but to reintroduce the election-time non-partisan caretaker government system."
U.S. officials are leaving Australia feeling emboldened following a nearly weeklong trip that also featured a visit to Papua New Guinea.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's ninth trip to the Indo-Pacific aimed to improve intensifying ties with Papua New Guinea by strengthening the government's defense capabilities, and secure more ambitious plans for defense cooperation with Australia.

Speaking on the sidelines of multiple meetings with Australian defense officials, U.S. officials said the work, especially discussions in Brisbane for the 33rd annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations, paid off.

"The U.S.-Australia alliance is stronger than it has ever been," a senior U.S. defense official said, previewing Saturday's announcement of new defense initiatives with the Australian government.

Those initiatives include infrastructure improvements to a series of air bases across northern Australia, increased deployments of U.S. forces and capabilities to Australia on a rotational basis, and plans to have Australia start manufacturing precision guided missiles and ammunition, the types of which have been in high demand in Ukraine.

Beyond those plans, however, U.S. and Australian officials have emphasized the closeness of the alliance. U.S. officials have repeatedly referred to it as "unbreakable," while Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong called the U.S. Australia's "vital ally."

The U.S. "is our closest global partner, our closest strategic partner," Wong said following Saturday's AUSMIN consultations, adding the relationship is now "about operationalizing our alliance to ensure peace, stability" in the Indo-Pacific region. Visit to troops

To emphasize the close ties, Austin and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles on Sunday flew on the U.S. Defense Department's jet  a militarized Boeing 747  from Brisbane to Townsville, Australia, to visit troops taking part in Exercise Talisman Sabre.

The bilateral exercise is the largest joint U.S.-Australian exercise, this year involving 30,000 troops, including those from 11 other nations. Some of those other countries, including Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Tonga, are taking part for the first time.

"What becomes manifestly clear  is a sense of team and shared vision between the countries participating," Marles said, addressing a collection of troops from multiple countries.

"Relationships which are being built and created and which will endure when this exercise comes to an end," Marles added, before mixing with the troops. "Countries, participating in Talisman Sabre are building a connectedness with each and [in] the way in which we go about our work which enhances the collective security of the Indo-Pacific region."

Austin was no less effusive.

"I'm proud, I'm really proud that we have 13 countries participating in this year's exercise who share that common vision," Austin said.

"You're bolstering deterrence by building capability," he said. "You're practicing logistics interoperability under realistic conditions so that we can improve combined capabilities, as well as our responses to a range of potential contingencies."

One of those scenarios is a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has publicly ordered his armed forces to be ready to reunite Taiwan with China by force by 2027.

U.S. intelligence officials have said it is not clear whether Xi will order such an invasion  the latest intelligence continues to suggest he would prefer not to use force  but U.S. military and defense officials have said regardless of Beijing's actual plans, the U.S. and its allies must be ready.

There are likewise concerns about China's ever more aggressive military posture, in the air and on sea, across the Indo-Pacific.

Australian military officials said some of the necessary capabilities, such as the ability to effectively communicate across militaries and platforms, and efforts to cut through the fog of mis- and disinformation, have been key aspect of the current exercises. 'Shared regional vision'

Some analysts also say that the developments over the past several days, and the series of new agreements, will bolster the ability of key U.S. partners to push back against China, if necessary.

"Today, Australian leaders lack a way to militarily threaten or retaliate against China if Beijing were to commit acts of aggression against Australia," said Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Hudson Institute.

"For example, China is likely to mount 'gray zone' operations against Australia as Chinese leaders attempt to expand their military's reach and influence across the Western Pacific," he told VOA by email. "If Australia cannot threaten to fight back, China could escalate the scale and intensity of harassment or begin intruding on Australian territory, as China has already done to Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan."

But following this most recent visit, U.S. officials involved in the talks with America's Pacific partners are encouraged by what they see.

"There is a shared regional vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific," a second senior defense official told reporters, briefing on the condition of anonymity.
Developing local technological talent, transforming businesses in the cloud, building resilient supply chains and creating sustainable enterprises were the focus areas at the SAP Discovery Day in Kuwait.

Senior Kuwaiti government officials, business leaders and other strategic thinkers were joined by the German ambassador at the event, where discussions focused on initiatives to support Kuwaits future digital economy.

Among the many developments highlighted at the event was how SAP and Google Cloud are collaborating, with the support of the Kuwaiti government, to facilitate companies digital transformations.

Acceleration programmes

With the launch of Google Clouds local data centre announced this year, Kuwaiti businesses will be able to adopt either of SAPs acceleration programmes  RISE with SAP or GROW with SAP  to facilitate their move to the fast, secure, reliable and clean Google Cloud platform. This approach will enable companies to benefit from the comprehensive range of SAP cloud solutions that include automatically updated programmes with embedded emerging technologies such as AI and automation, as well as sustainability metrics and data analytics.

Dr Khaled Mahdi, Secretary-General of the General-Secretariat of The Supreme Council for Planning and Development, who participated in an emerging technology panel discussion, noted: Emerging technologies will shape Kuwait's future planning and development in the context of public policy. We are actively exploring the benefits and challenges of incorporating AI into decision-making processes at Kuwait's General-Secretariat of The Supreme Council for Planning and Development for the benefit of our citizens.

Dr Ammar Alhusaini, Acting Director General of the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT), highlighted how collaboration between the public and private sectors could accelerate the pace of digital transformation in Kuwait.

Transformative role

The Ministry of Electricity and Water and Renewable Energy was represented by its Director of IT, Saud Al Ajmi, who shed light on technology's transformative role in the energy and water sectors, focusing on sustainability and infrastructure security.

Also sharing their insights from a SAP customer perspective on the panel were CEO of Floward, Abdulaziz Al Loughani; CIO of Al-Sayer Group Holding, Dr Alexious Mulemba; and Magd Donia, General Manager of KASP. SAP was represented by Sundus Bushahri, VP of Business Development and Sales in Kuwait, who highlighted SAPs commitment to developing career opportunities for technology talents through expanding the SAP ecosystem in Kuwait while also building digital capabilities and training individuals in the specific skills that SAPs partners and customers require.

After the session, Dr Al Hussaini commented: Digital transformation is a fundamental pillar of the New Kuwait Vision 2035, and public-private partnerships and foreign investment are key strategic components of economic diversification. Collaborations with global technology companies such as SAP and Google Cloud, which are focused on facilitating digital transformation and developing Kuwaiti talent, will help to create a digital society to benefit all citizens. International collaboration ensures we are implementing global best practices and that Kuwait remains at the forefront of business and technology developments in the region.

Bilateral relations

Guests in attendance also heard the opening address delivered by Hans-Christian von Reibnitz, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Kuwait, in which he emphasised the strong bilateral relations between Kuwait and his country, where SAP has its headquarters.

Ambassador von Reibnitz later commented: I believe SAP is playing a pivotal role in supporting Kuwait's impressive digital transformation agenda. Collaboration on innovation and research between our two countries is highly significant and we believe there are further opportunities to explore. Among these, cooperation between German and Kuwaiti businesses, government agencies and institutions could deliver mutually beneficial results in fields such as green technology, AI, Internet of Things and cloud computing. Moreover, SAP is committed to helping create a technically skilled workforce to support Kuwaits future digital economy by providing specialist training.

Developing a Digital Workforce

During the Discovery Dual event, SAP highlighted its commitment to developing and upskilling Kuwaiti technology talent through the SAP University Alliances, the SAP Dual Study Programme, and the SAP Young Professionals Programme.

SAP University Alliances represents an ongoing initiative to empower young people to create a sustainable future by enabling academia to educate the next generation to lead digital transformation, including socially and environmentally responsible business processes. The programme builds industry partnerships and contributes towards creating a sustainable digitally focused workforce in the region through education in Intelligent Enterprise and the experience economy. Young people graduate with a competitive edge, thanks to their SAP training and engaging at SAP events.

Similarly, the SAP Dual Study Programme is run by the Digital Skills Center of SAP and includes business processes integration and certifications in analytics, implementation processes, and control functions, bridging the gap between university and employment.

Young professionals

The SAP Young Professionals Programme, on the other hand, is a comprehensive training initiative designed by SAP to help create a sustainable future workforce and provide a solid foundation of excellence backed by technological certifications to launch university graduates careers. Participants graduate from the programme as SAP Associate Consultants, enabling immediate employment by SAP customers and partners.

On the sidelines of the event, Badih Hakim, Managing Director, SAP Kuwait, said: The partnership between SAP and educational institutions under the SAP Dual Study Programme, and between local businesses and the SAP Young Professionals Programme, demonstrate how private-public collaborations can support measurable skills development. The programmes train students for a successful future aligned with Kuwaits focus on digital transformation. SAP is committed to expanding these programmes in partnership with Kuwaiti institutions and enterprises to ensure that the future leaders of tomorrow are equipped with the technological skills they will need.

In addition to developing Kuwait talent, Hakim said SAP is committed to providing career opportunities to nationals. He adds that over the past year, SAP Kuwait increased the proportion of nationals in its employ to 30%.

We hope that SAP Discovery Day has demonstrated how Kuwaiti companies can more easily align with the governments digital transformation agenda, while simultaneously benefiting from new automation and data analytics capabilities supported by new technologies to transform their businesses into intelligent sustainable enterprises, concluded Hakim.-- TradeArabia News Service
The head of the Defence Ministry, Oleksiy Reznikov, said that the government of our state had managed to simplify procedures for developers and manufacturers of weapons and equipment. Therefore, Ukraine has started to actively create drones.

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According to the head of the defense Ministry, now there is "a real boom in the production of drones". He said this, speaking at a meeting of the Congress of local and regional authorities on Sunday, July 30, reports Ukrinform.

"There is a real boom in drone production in Ukraine. Thanks to our policy, Ukraine is able to independently provide itself with body armor, helmets, uniforms, shoes and so on," he said.

Reznikov noted that last year the Cabinet of Ministers supported the initiative of the Ministry of Defense to simplify procedures for manufacturers of military equipment. According to the decision, the procedure for putting products into operation reaches a matter of weeks together with the conclusion of state contracts.

Previously, this process could take up to two years.

Recall that last year in Ukraine was created the Army of Drones, in July 2022, the Ministry of Digitization together with the Ministry of Defense, the General Staff of the AFU, the State Spetsvyaz within the fundraising platform UNITED24 announced the first collection for this project. During the year, donors from 100 countries supported the fundraising for drones for Ukraine - thanks to the strong support it was possible to purchase thousands of drones and provide more than 200 units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces with them.

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Also within the framework of this project the mass Ukrainian production of UAVs was launched - 40 models of Ukrainian drones were authorized for operation and are being delivered to the front.

Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov said that within one week drones from the Drone Army hit more than a hundred units of different equipment of the occupation army of the Russian Federation. Ukrainian soldiers with the help of these weapons managed to minus more than 70 occupants, 57 armored vehicles, three air defense systems, warehouses and other support of the enemy.

As reported OBOZREVATEL, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky told about the potential of the Army of drones. He stated that good news on this subject will be more often.

Only verified information we have in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel, Threads and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
The man who was at the center of the Amber Alert over the weekend in Minnesota was found hiding in a shed with the toddler 80 miles away in Crow Wing County. Authorities say 41-year-old Scott Henrikson and a boy believed to be his biological son were found in a shed in Baxter five-and-a-half hours after the reported abduction. (Picture courtesy: Minnesota BCA)
Whys this guy called that thing? Photo: Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images

The Blade Runner franchise operates with a kind of dream logic where questions that might otherwise frustrate a viewer are subsumed by the overall ambience. Why would replicant manufacturers make their humanoid products so hard to identify? Why is the USSR still around as of 2049? How did Priss hair dry off so quickly? But perhaps the biggest incongruity that we take for granted is the title. Why the hell is Blade Runner called Blade Runner?

Though the viewer is told in the opening text of Ridley Scotts 1982 original that special Blade Runner units hunt renegade replicants  and though the term Blade Runner is applied to Harrison Fords Rick Deckard a few times in the film  were never given an explanation of where the proper noun comes from. Blade? Deckard uses a gun, not a knife or sword. Runner? Sure, he runs at times, but not more than the average person might. Blade Runner 2049 has a few scenes that prominently feature scalpels, but theyre not wielded by a Blade Runner. The novel upon which Blade Runner was based, Philip K. Dicks Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, offers no clues: Deckard and his ilk are just cops, never referred to as Blade Runners. The term is impressionistic at best and nonsensical at worst.

Thats to be expected because, as it turns out, the term predates the original movie by eight years and was invented to apply to an entirely separate work of fiction. It was coined by a doctor who moonlit as a sci-fi author, fleshed out by none other than William S. Burroughs, and tossed into the mix of Ridley Scotts seminal epic as something of an afterthought. The tale of how the words blade and runner got mixed up with one another and applied to one of the most acclaimed movies of the 20th century is a truly odd one.

Our story begins with a mysterious writer by the name of Alan E. Nourse. According to the Des Moines Register, he was born in that city in 1928 to Bell Telephone Company engineer Benjamin Nourse and a woman named Grace Ogg. Young Alan moved to Long Island with his family at age 15, attended Rutgers, served for a couple of years in the Navy as a hospital corpsman, and was awarded a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1955 before moving to Washington state to practice medicine.

Whatever Nourses skills as a doctor may have been, they were outweighed in the scales of history by his other passion: writing about the medical profession and fantastical worlds of the future. Before he was even done with medical school, he was publishing sci-fi on the side: first came short pieces in anthology magazines like Astounding Science Fiction and Galaxy Science Fiction, then he started publishing novels with titles like Trouble on Titan (1954), Rocket to Limbo (1957), and Scavengers in Space (1959). In 1963, he retired from medicine to focus on his writing, but wrote about learning the healing arts in a 1965 nonfiction book called Intern, published under the intimidating pseudonym Dr. X. Sci-fi author-editor Robert Silverberg, who knew Nourse, tells me the latter book brought him much repute and fortune, but in general, he just wrote a lot of very good science fiction that no one seemed to notice.

That changed on October 28, 1974. Sort of. On that day, publishing house David McKay released a Nourse novel that combined the authors two areas of expertise into a single magnum opus: The Bladerunner. It follows the adventures of a young man known as Billy Gimp and his partner in crime, Doc, as they navigate a health-care dystopia. Its the near future, and eugenics has become a guiding American philosophy. Universal health care has been enacted, but in order to cull the herd of the weak, the Health Control laws  enforced by the office of a draconian Secretary of Health Control  dictate that anyone who wants medical care must undergo sterilization first. As a result, a system of black-market health care has emerged in which suppliers obtain medical equipment, doctors use it to illegally heal those who dont want to be sterilized, and there are people who covertly transport the equipment to the doctors. Since that equipment often includes scalpels and other instruments of incision, the transporters are known as bladerunners. Et voila, the origin of a term that went on to change sci-fi.

The novel itself is perfectly fine. Billy is a bladerunner, Doc is a doctor who does legal and illegal work, they live in the greater New York metropolitan area (one way in which the novel coincidentally resembles Blade Runner is the setting of a massively overbuilt city where people are often transported via flying car), they run into trouble with the law, they race to stop an epidemic, and their virtue is rewarded by a change in national policy that makes their brand of medical care legal. The prose is relentlessly simple, the medical procedures are described in the detail youd expect from an M.D., and the dialogue is almost comically expository at times (e.g. Doctor, we cant bring ourselves to take them to the Hospital, the woman said, theyre both over five years old, and theyve both been treated more than three times in the Clinic. That means that theyd both have to be sterilized before they could qualify for any legal care at all). Its easy to imagine it disappearing into the mists of time.

But fortune smiled on Nourse, as did one of the finest writers of the past 100 years: the obscene eccentric William S. Burroughs. According to literary scholar Paul Ardoin, Burroughs somehow obtained a copy of the second printing of The Bladerunner around the end of 1976. Burroughs was in a transitional stage in his life, having kicked heroin only a few years before and having moved back to New York after a self-imposed exile in Europe. He was rebooting his career with the help of a new assistant named James Grauerholz, turning in columns for pop-culture mag Crawdaddy and soaking up the nascent downtown punk scene. On December 5, 1976, Grauerholz wrote a letter to Burroughss agent, Peter Matson, saying the scribe had liked the book very much, and in fact has begun to consider a film treatment for it. As far as I can tell, writing a film treatment was something new, or at least quite rare, for Burroughs, but he dove into it with fervent passion. Matson negotiated the rights with Nourse, got the go-ahead, and Burroughs wrote the treatment in less than four months, delivering it to Matson by March 1977. He called it The Blade Runner, adding a fateful space to the titular noun.

Burroughss take on Nourse is, to put it mildly, a wild ride. Indeed, it barely has anything to do with The Bladerunner and is as over-the-top as the original was buttoned-down. Its written not as a screenplay, but rather as a novella-length explanation of the movie to someone named B.J. (Burroughs periodically included this mysterious figure as the recipient of his words in other works, as well.) Like many Burroughs texts, the adaptation is highly inscrutable, which is what makes it so entertaining. He doesnt even get to the main plot of the movie until nearly halfway through, having spent the first portion just setting the scene with the difficult-to-follow backstory of how the world of the film got to be so screwed-up: Overpopulation led to government intrusion into the lives of private citizens, the states attempts to control the population begat multiple Health Acts that were received poorly by the populace and led to a bloody civil war in greater New York in which the white middle class battled the poor and people of color, and from the ashes rose a new America where the unfit have to undergo sterilization in order to receive health care.

That last bit is more or less where any comparisons to Nourses original end. We meet Billy and Doc, but theyre radically changed. Billy is introduced not as a bland cipher, but rather as a passionate queer man who, in his first scene, engages in profoundly explicit sex with his partner (They look at each other and their throbbing phalluses pick up the same rhythm  throb throb throb  heartbeats like drums in the dark room); while Doc is a combative asshole prone to verbal abuse (Shut up, youll give my patient an engram, Doc screams back). Their saga is somewhat incomprehensible, not least because its eventually conveyed in two separate movies, intended to be screened either by alternating scenes from one of the film with scenes from the other, or by projecting them on two screens simultaneously. It concludes with Billy realizing hes not living in 2014, as he once thought, but is actually somehow in 1914. The magic lies not in the story, but in the insane images Burroughs describes: They toast each other with insect claws, Naked leper with a hardon, Rioters release zoo animals. They dump fish from aquariums into the rivers, A flourishing black market in sperm heralds a long-range genetic war. Boy sperm Meester?, Mad scientist: With this culture we can rule the world! and so on.

The Blade Runner was patently unfilmable. Grauerholz reported in July 1977 that nobody they took it to was interested, and an alternative arrangement was made with Nourse, whereby the treatment would be published in book form and all film rights would be forfeited. In order to distinguish it from Nourses book, a title change was necessary, and although the adaptation would never be a movie, Burroughs and Grauerholz confusingly chose to call it Blade Runner: A Movie. It was first published in 1979 by Blue Wind Press and was never considered a major Burroughs work.

However, a copy of Blade Runner: A Movie found its way into the library of a struggling actor and writer named Hampton Fancher. In the early 1980s, he, producer Michael Deely, and director Ridley Scott were working on an adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and stumbled on a question. Ridley, after a few months of us working on a draft, when he first came into the project, asked me a question that was so obvious I hadnt really addressed it before, Fancher tells me. What is it that Deckard is, professionally? Hes a detective, I said. Well, that was obvious, but what kind of detective exactly, what should he be called? I didnt have an answer, but Id better get one fast.

He turned to his collection of tomes. Per Fancher: That night, I was looking through my books and came across a thin little volume by William Burroughs called Blade Runner. Bingo! Everybody liked it, then later, we needed a new title other than the ones wed been considering and Michael Deeley, the producer, said, Its staring us right in the face. According to Scott, they approached Burroughs, he said yes, they bought the title of his book for a nominal fee, and Blade Runner  a work that otherwise had nothing to do with The Bladerunner or Blade Runner: A Movie  was released on June 25, 1982. When I ask Fancher why theres no in-film explanation of the term, he replies, I think explanations are the bug-bears of screenplay writing and I like to stay clear of them. A comic-book adaptation of Blade Runner written by Archie Goodwin attempted to explain the term by having Deckards narration at one point read, Blade runner. Youre always movin on the edge, but anyone searching for the terms meaning within the movie was denied it.

Try as I might, I havent been able to find out what either Nourse or Burroughs thought of the eventual film. Nourse died in 1992 and his ashes were buried on a hill in his rural hometown of Thorp, Washington. Burroughs died in 1997 at his home in Lawrence, Kansas. Both perished due to heart issues. Nourses novel is available in a spottily copy-edited ebook edition, and you can find used copies of Burroughss text, though its never been released by a major press. They have, perhaps unfortunately, been eclipsed by the wholly separate piece of art that plucked their name. However, by including scalpels, Blade Runner 2049 has quietly and inadvertently brought the tale into full circle.
Photo: Hollywood To You/Star Max/GC Images

Welcome to Vultures Strike Recap, or Strike-cap, if you will, a regular rundown of all the biggest news from the WGA and SAG picket lines.

Mike Massa literally stunted on these hoes (studios) on July 24 at a Georgia SAG-AFTRA rally. Massa, a stunt performer for Harrison Ford and other actors, set himself on fire for 18 seconds to make a point, he told the Washington Post. Which is, look at the risk an individual took just to stand onstage and go, Hey, look, were fighting for our rights, and we want you to pay attention to us and believe in us. Massa wasnt the only stunt performer on the frontlines this week, as stunt drivers rallied in front of Warner Bros. in Burbank. Attaching signs to their motorcycles, the performers looked to be about two dozen in number.

When stunt people picket against the AMPTP, they out-picket all of us. (performed by Mike Massa) pic.twitter.com/DLlLXfYbau  Todd Spence (@Todd_Spence) July 25, 2023

@hollywoodreporter stunt drivers take to the streets outside of warner bros. as a part of the sagaftra actorsstrike sagstrike  original sound - amala

The strike has been heating up, literally and figuratively. Confusion still abounds about what does and does not count as crossing the picket line, publicity-wise. SAG-AFTRA and the WGA have different rules about what members are allowed to do while on strike. WGA members can do things like post to Twitter and do interviews, as long as they arent being asked to by the studio. SAG-AFTRA is asking members not to discuss any work from a struck company. This has made some people confused and others frustrated. There has also been spirited debate on what counts as independent production and the problem of soap operas. The few soaps that remain in existence are starting to get nonunion writers to write scripts. Soap actors are in a different part of the union, which is not currently striking. Starting next week, the show will be penned exclusively by scab writers which is heartbreaking, wrote General Hospital writer Shannon Peace in a since-deleted IG post. We hate to see our characters and storylines handed over to writers who cross the picket line. But were also keenly aware that stopping production could spell the demise of soap operas.

More on SAG waivers, pettiness in solidarity, and Jason Momoas water company below.

Viola Davis Waives Her SAG Waiver

Despite receiving a waiver from SAG-AFTRA to complete filming (like A24s Mother Mary did earlier this month), Viola Davis decided to step back from G20. I love this movie, but I do not feel that it would be appropriate for this production to move forward during the strike, Davis told Deadline. The film is being made by non-AMPTP company MRC, but has a distribution deal with Amazon Studios, a struck company.

Viola Davis is stepping back from her film, G20, despite it receiving an approved SAG-AFTRA wavier to continue filming:



I love this movie, but I do not feel that it would be appropriate for this production to move forward during the strike



: https://t.co/rESa7itb3q pic.twitter.com/miFnc7JWAb  Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 29, 2023

5,000 New IATSE Members

Stand With Production successfully unionized with IATSE on July 25. The new union is composed of TV commercial workers, including production assistants. Production assistants often do the grunt work on sets, clocking in long hours because they are the most junior folks on set. While crew positions like production designers/art directors, camera operators, hair and makeup artists, script supervisors, grips, lighting, props, and paint have historically been represented on TV commercial sets by IATSE, workers in the production department historically have not, IATSE said in a statement. IATSE has announced it plans to charter a new national Local Union for these workers.

BREAKING: 5,000 Unionizing TV Commercial Production Workers Have Certified Majority, @StandWithProd WILL WIN VOLUNTARY RECOGNITION WITH IATSE!!!!!



The group set to become the largest contingent of production department workers and entry level Production Assistants within IATSE. pic.twitter.com/p2GsbV9eRG  IATSE // #IASolidarity (@IATSE) July 25, 2023

We did! We won a majority! Commercial Production workers INCLUDING PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS will be voluntarily recognized as a union.#productionassistant #IATSE #setlifehttps://t.co/Trhj3BaqeV  StandWithProduction (@StandWithProd) July 26, 2023

The Boys Are Back in Town

Sorry to the Prime Video series, but when the internet discussed the boys last week, it was talking about Colin Farrell and Shea Whigham. Longtime offscreen pals, the pair have been picketing together with SAG-AFTRA. Watch the video below of Farrell giving his pro-labor statements with his arm around bestie.

Colin Farrell gives an impassioned speech on the SAG-AFTRA picket line.



Greed turns some of the smartest people on this planet into the biggest fools those people making the choices on behalf of the corporation will not feel any personal pinch.



(1/3) pic.twitter.com/5dGOYJKs5m  DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 29, 2023

Radford Heats Up (Then Finally Cools Down)

Radford Studios, reportedly the hottest picket line in Los Angeles (temperature-wise), came under fire for its picketing conditions this week. When Radford was CBS Radford in 2007, strikers picketed on shady Radford Avenue. This time, the studio declared the Radford entrance a neutral gate and made picketers march on Colfax Ave. The sidewalk is narrow, the traffic is intense, and the percentage of shade is zero. Writers brought up their concerns following Universals TreeGate situation and threatened to call the National Labor Relations Board again. Radford Studios quickly bent to the pressure and switched its neutral and studio gates.

Before twitter dies, I have one more #WGAStrike call to action:

Have you been paying attention to #TreeGate at #NBCUniversal? Then let me tell you another story that could use some DIRECT SUNLIGHT shone on it: The ballad of #RadfordStudios #NeutralGate #HotStrikeSummer 1/11  Andra (on-druh) Whipple (@whipsical) July 24, 2023

THREE DEAFENING CHEERS FOR @whipsical and TEAM RADFORD! I am SO EXCITED to picket in the shade with yall! https://t.co/eeVYjYmROS  angelina burnett (@wgangelinab) July 28, 2023

Whered the Emmys Go?

The 2023 Emmys are getting pushed back due to the double strike. Until when? Unclear! The TV Academy is looking at November, while Fox wants to push all the way back to January. Regardless, votes need to be in by August 28. An Emmys without campaigning, in January? Thats going to be a weird one to host.

Who Brought Food?

More importantly, who brought water? Heat has been almost as big an enemy of this strike as the AMPTP (see above), so hats off to Jason Momoa for donating pallets of his water brand. Water from Aquaman, what a concept! And in petty solidarity news, Roccos Neighborhood Pizza in L.A. has reportedly not only been donating food to the strike, but theyve also been refusing orders from the studios.

Jason Momoa has donated a bunch of water to support those on the SAG/WGA picket lines. pic.twitter.com/Kc63qOtNeB  DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 28, 2023

Today we got an extremely generous donation from @roccospizzala. Their owner Angie has been sending food to all the lots and even refusing orders from the studios in solidarity with @WGAWest & @sagaftra



Please patronize this union-friendly small business! https://t.co/spaCkD63Sg  Tyler Ruggeri (@t_ruggeri) July 28, 2023

Reunions and Themed Pickets

A mini School of Rock reunion at Paramount! UCB alums picketed Netflix right down the road from the shuttered husk of the teaching facility! Gritty at Fox! Norman Lears 101st bday at TV City! And were not sure if Zach Braff and Donald Faison count as a Scrubs reunion since it seems like those guys already do everything together, but hey, nice to see ya fellas.

we out here  pic.twitter.com/iqQswgmahY  rivkah reyes is on strike (@rivkahreyes) July 24, 2023

Norman Lear FaceTimed in to TV City, where all of his legendary shows that shaped and changed television were made. @TheJudalina led us all in singing him happy birthday. Chris Keyser is right, this is our home too. And we're fighting for it, with joy. #WGAStrong #SAGAFTRAstrong https://t.co/LnswIld7EU pic.twitter.com/muzMhx2LLp  Bill Wolkoff (@flying_lobster) July 27, 2023

The Strike Main Character Award (Rich)

Stunt performer Mike Massa was definitely the strikes main character in the On Fire category, but Dwayne The Rock Johnson put his Teremana money where his mouth is. The Jungle Cruise actor made a seven-figure donation to the SAG-AFTRA Foundations relief fund, according to SAG-AFTRA Foundation President Courtney B. Vance. Variety reported that Johnsons donation will cover 7,000 to 10,000 members who apply for relief.

Vin Diesel you have the chance to make the funniest / most significant donation to the SAG-AFTRA Relief Fund in history. https://t.co/NLn6siWMkI  Colby Day ON STRIKE (@thecolbyday) July 24, 2023

Do you have a story tip or interesting writers-strike update to share? Drop us a line at tips@vulture.com.
Photo: Disney

Spoilers ahead for Haunted Mansion, in theaters now.

Disneys newly released second attempt at a Haunted Mansion movie is definitely more representative of the theme-park ride its based on than the 2003 film featuring Eddie Murphy. For starters, neither the Disneyland or Walt Disney World ride has any discussion of the subprime-mortgage boom, and thats like half the plot of the 2003 movie. But if that earlier Haunted Mansion took liberties with the source material, 2023s film is almost slavish to the rides lore. The plot hinges on urban legend turned animatronic entity the Hatbox Ghost, as well as the effort to secure the mansions 1,000th ghost. The film references never-realized concept art, the rides original proposed story line, and the names of Imagineers. Like, a lot of Imagineers.

The Disney Parks are designed, manufactured, and decorated by Imagineers, a name that combines imagine with engineer to illustrate how the job is equal parts kooky creativity and practical science. The Imagineers are the namesakes of heroic Haunted Mansion characters like Harriet and Madame Leota. But theyre also the inspiration behind the films antagonist  satanic serial killer Alistair Crump. Thats weird, right? A giant corporation naming a fictional mass murderer after a former employee?

To understand how an Imagineer became the namesake of a Jared Letovoiced skeleton man, you have to understand how long it took for the Haunted Mansion ride to become a reality. Walt Disney had conceived of a haunted-house attraction back in 1951, when the plan was to make a small theme park in Burbank. The haunted house wasnt a part of Disneyland v1.0 in 1955, but space was made for it in 1963. Even then, the ride shell sat empty for nine years. Nobody could agree on what the ride was supposed to be.

Three generations of Imagineers, one Worlds Fair, and one company founders death later, and the Haunted Mansion finally opened in August 1969. (The same weekend as the Tate-LaBianca murders, oddly enough.) Eighteen years of Imagineers worked on the Haunted Mansion, and they signed their work. Most references to them are in the prop graveyard outside the mansion, inscribed in all those gag tombstones. There are other references throughout the ride, however, and some of them trickled into the 2023 movie. Not all are the most thoughtful remembrances. Below are the Imagineer Easter eggs in 2023s Haunted Mansion and the stories behind them.

Master Gracey

Nobody could have foreseen what happened to Yale Gracey, namesake for the Haunted Mansions Master Gracey (played by J.R. Adduci in the 2023 film). Gracey and Rolly Crump were the two Imagineers in charge of Disneylands Haunted Mansion project in the mid-60s. While Crump focused on trippy objets dart that would later get sidelined in a failed Museum of the Weird restaurant, Gracey devoted himself to incorporating the best of 19th-century magician tricks into the ride. He worked tirelessly on the Peppers Ghost effects (an elaborate set of optical illusions that make ghosts appear and disappear before guests eyes), figured out how to use projectors to create Madame Leota (the talking, floating head in a crystal ball) and the singing busts, and theres a tombstone dedicated to him in the graveyard. It reads Master Gracey, Laid to Rest, No Mourning at His Request, FAREWELL. This gag tribute took on a different tenor after Gracey was murdered in 1983, shot in his sleep inside his cabana at the Bel Air Bay Club. His murder remains unsolved to this day. Which is why it feels a little odd for a Master Gracey character to be tricked into suicide not once but twice in Haunted Mansion movies.

Alistair Crump

Perhaps even odder than the legend of Master Gracey is the 2023 Haunted Mansions treatment of Imagineer Rolly Crump. In the film, a man named Alistair Crump (Jared Leto) is behind all the hauntings and mysterious deaths. He killed party guests and servants alike in his own mansion, Crump Manor, until the staff revolted and chopped his head off. Crumps ghost shows up in Master Graceys mansion after Leota accidentally summons him. He convinces Gracey to kill himself and becomes responsible for 66 deaths in Graceys mansion. He couldnt be farther from his namesake, Rolly Crump. Rolly was an Imagineer whose most controversial opinion was that it was important to Keep Disneyland Weird. He helped design the facade of Its a Small World, devised the spooky clock in the Haunted Mansion, and drew sexy dames and pro-marijuana posters in his spare time. He died earlier this year, so presumably someone asked his permission to be remembered in this movie as a malevolent, murderous spirit.

Madame Leota

The Haunted Mansions ghostly fortune teller was named after Imagineer Leota Toombs before the ride was even finished. Toombs first worked in Disneys Ink and Paint department, where she met her husband, Harvey Toombs. After having two children, she began working in Imagineering in 1962, contributing to attractions Disney made for the 1964 Worlds Fair. This was when Yale Gracey and Rolly Crump were the point men on the Haunted Mansion. Gracey asked Leota to pose for the crystal-ball effect because, in her words, my eyes were the right distance apart to fit the test model. To this day, her face is projected on the fortune tellers ball with Cinderella voice actress Eleanor Audley reading the characters lines. Jamie Lee Curtis performs both duties in the 2023 film.

Harriet

Tiffany Haddishs character Harriet shares a first name with Harriet Burns, the girlboss of Imagineering. She was the first woman hired by Walt Disney Imagineering and had to contend with the companys boys-club mentality in the 50s. She made miniatures of rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion as well as Disneylands private club, Club 33. Fun fact: Burns based Pirates of the Caribbeans Dirty Foot Pirate on her milkman, who had weirdly hairy legs. Did she regret that choice when she had to place each leg hair individually on a robots leg? Whos to say.

Bruce Davis

Danny DeVitos character Bruce Davis is likely a nod to Marc Davis, one of the last Imagineers to midwife the Haunted Mansion to completion. Davis butted heads with Claude Coates, who wanted the Mansion to be scary as shit. Marc Davis, on the other hand, wanted the Mansion to play host to his pun-inspired vignettes. The duo compromised with Coates overseeing more of the rides spooky beginning and Davis bringing the wacky to the back half. Davis managed to sneak in ghosts that were puns on Mums the word, Its not over till the fat lady sings, and Great Caesars Ghost. He was a goofy-ass man, and its only right his character is portrayed by goofy-ass DeVito.
Pee-wee at large. Photo: Michael Ochs Archives

Paul Reubens, an actor and comedian best known for creating and playing the character Pee-wee Herman in a variety of media throughout the 80s, died at age 70 from cancer. Reubens battled cancer for six years without going public, according to a statement shared on Instagram. Please accept my apology for not going public with what Ive been facing the last six years, Reubens said in a posthumously released statement. I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.

Born Paul Rubenfeld in Peekskill, New York, and raised in Sarasota, Florida, where his parents had a store that sold lamps, Reubenss career began in the Los Angeles improvisational comedy troupe the Groundlings. It was there that Pee-wee was developed, debuting in 1978, before becoming a full live show in 1980 called The Pee-wee Herman Show. I kind of viewed Pee-wee Herman as partially conceptual and partially performance because nobody knew it wasnt a real character at that time, Reubens told Vanity Fair in a 2014 Groundlings retrospective. In 1985, the feature film Pee-wees Big Adventure came out. Directed by a young Tim Burton, the movie was a hit, earning $40.9 million against a $7 million budget.

Following this, Reubens began Pee-wees Playhouse, a childrens show on CBS that ran from 1986 to 1991. When it began, Pee-wee was the sole live-action character on childrens morning TV. Fortunately for the kids out there and for CBS and anyone else concerned, I take my job very seriously. I have an enormous responsibility being the only live person on Saturday morning, Reubens told Rolling Stone in 1987, also commenting that the most fun we had writing the show was when we would come up with stuff we knew was going to kill the five-year-olds. In 91, Reubens pleaded no contest to indecent exposure at a Sarasota adult movie theater and retreated from the public eye. Following Pee-wees Playhouse, he played a recurring role on Murphy Brown, scoring an Emmy nomination in 1995. In 2010, Reubens brought Pee-wee back for a live show on Broadway that was later broadcast on HBO. My theme on my quote-unquote comeback is feeling the love, Reubens told Vanity Fair about the show in 2010. Its so corny, but its real, its genuine, and its totally flooring me this time around.
The creators of docuseries Last Call use a true-crime frame to uncover the cycle of hate and violence that stalked queer communities in 90s New York. Photo: HBO

Theres a moment in Last Call, the four-part HBO docuseries based on the book of the same name by Elon Green, where a police officer being interviewed in a talking-head format starts to question the framing of the documentary. Its a now-familiar device designed as a display of authenticity, sneaking behind a participants on-camera persona to unearth another kernel of truth. Last Call calls on many of the standard elements and tropes documentaries employee to unleash stories about crime and investigation: drone shots establishing relationships between various locations, a visual timeline sliding forward, re-creations of scenes around where the crime took place playing out through subtle shifts of light and color.

And yet, as Green and director Anthony Caronna explain, Last Call uses those devices for entirely different ends. True crime is the Trojan horse, Caronna says, the frame that lets him tell a story about anti-gay violence in early 90s New York and about the much broader connections between anti-queer political rhetoric and the surge of attacks that follow.

While pursuing that bigger cultural history, though, Last Call still has to tell a gripping story. Caronnas interest in doing both sides of that work, Green says, is what gave him confidence in the adaptation. All I really wanted was that it maintain not just a victim-centric approach, but be fully immersed in the period, the politics, the activism, Green says. For Caronna, it was a process of negotiating between his own early vision and the reality of discovering a story while trying to construct it. Its shifting and changing under your feet the whole time.

What were you looking for when the process of adapting Last Call began? I imagine it must be nerve-racking to watch someone else start telling the story of your work.

Green: Its true in the abstract. Ultimately, you get to decide whether or not you want to do this, and that was nerve-racking. But once I found out who would be involved  I knew what Liz Garbus had done  and Howard Gertler, who became the executive producer, and Anthony, I was pretty much at ease. I understood what HBO had agreed to, their slant on the project, and why they wanted it. I have to say, I was pretty far from nervous. I didnt have any reason to think it was in the wrong hands or it wouldnt carry on the spirit of the book.

What were your initial thoughts on the project, Anthony, as you were deciding how to tackle it?

Caronna: I read the book before it was published, and I was in love with it. I had gone to Townhouse many times before. But I passed on the project  I didnt want to do true crime, and I was worried about revictimizing the queer community. Almost a year later, Howard asked me to go to dinner and said he was thinking about working on this project. There was an opportunity to focus on the queer-violence activism at that time. I was drawn to the idea of using true crime as a Trojan horse to have a deeper conversation about the queer movement and what its like to be queer and face violence constantly. It took us three months to get the pitch deck to the point where we were happy and Elon was happy. Howard and I would go back and forth on it and send it to Elon, and Elon would give thoughts. We brought it to HBO, and they immediately green-lit it.

What was the process of finessing that pitch deck? It sounds like a lot of the conceptual work happened in that development period.

Caronna: Elon was very generous to give us all of his audio recordings, all of his research for the book, so a lot of the investigation work was already there.

Green: The pitch deck was the first time Id seen a visual representation of the book. It was in embryonic form, but that was the first time I saw what it could look like. There were these stills of what a scene in the Town House could look like. It was almost like reading a beat-for-beat graphic novel of the book, and that was exhilarating. I probably had very little feedback on anything having to do with the pitch deck because I was in awe of it.

What were the specific images that convinced you?

Green: There were these images of the guys in the Town House, and I remember there being a lot of bar scenes scattered throughout. That was always on my mind while I was working on the book  one of my top-line goals was not just to tell the stories of the men and the stories of the period, but to really give the reader a sense of what it was like to move through those spaces in almost mind-numbing detail. I felt that itd really never been done before, at least in book form. To actually see it was a kind of emotional thing. Id spent a lot of time in the Town House, but obviously, Id never gotten to be in Five Oaks or some of the places in Philadelphia. That was a lost world, and the possibility that the documentary could recover that was really exciting.

I was going to ask you about the re-creations because theyre a standard of this genre but are often done so terribly. What was your concept for the Last Call re-creations?

Caronna: I was terrified. It was the thing we shot almost last  I knew I wanted them to live in memory, to be atmospheric and play with focal points, and to have all these wide pushbacks and pullbacks to use that Vertigo, Jaws vibe and make all the spaces feel like theyre breathing. A really good friend of mine, Ashley Connor, shes an incredible DP, but shes so busy that she couldnt do the project in the early stages. A week before we were going to shoot the re-creations she had the time, so we locked her in and figured out how to make it not look like everything youre talking about.

Howard and I came to it from the lived experience of being a queer person. Id been to Town House so many times, and I wanted to show the intimacy thats there, the closeness of those spaces. It was so important to me to see not just queer joy, but also the intimacy that happens in these tiny queer bars when no one is watching.

Green: I dont know who I said this to at the outset of the project, but I said, Please dont do any re-creations and dont do any drone shots. I had seen so many documentaries where it was gratuitous, and it was always a sign that they didnt actually have the material to make the film. It was sort of humiliating to watch the finished project and realize, Oooh, this really works. The drone shots serve a purpose to show spatially where everything took place. I was like, Okay, I was wrong!

True crime docuseries also tend to struggle with developing and following a clear timeline. What was your approach to that here?

Caronna: The book was the blueprint. Howard and I led with the Trojan horse idea that we wanted them to get as much queer history as possible, but it also had to be really compelling. Not just a history lesson of anti-queer violence, but keep them sitting through four hours of true crime. That was No. 1. And then, as we did interviews and fleshed out more of the story, Tony Marrero became more a part of the series. We had an incredible co-producer, Meghan Doherty, who found the family and got them comfortable, and then that became a whole episode. It wasnt in the pitch deck.

Green: As with the book, you make assumptions about what you want and then it never works out. What separates a good book from a bad book, or a good documentary from a bad documentary, is that the people working on it are nimble and can react to those changes in what is possible.

Were there other big moments of surprise during the production, things that caused you to reconsider your original plans?

Caronna: There were things at the beginning I knew I wanted. The conversation about how political rhetoric can turn into violence  the whole time, I was like, that is the thing I want to drive home. But we knew less about Marrero when we started. I had known Cayenne, who speaks about knowing Tony in the docuseries, for years and years. I knew shed been a sex worker working out of Port Authority around the same time he had been. I called her and asked if she remembered anyone named Anthony. She said the name was familiar but wasnt sure. I got off the phone and sent her a picture, and she immediately called me back like, Oh my God. So it was a lot of the stuff around Tony, and also Tracey OShea, the daughter of one of the victims.

Green: After the interview was done with Tracy, it was so good that it affected the editing of the rest of the series. I had interviewed her once on the record for the book, just 45 minutes in a downtown Panera. But she sat for hours and was so expansive  it upended things in a good way.

I wanted to ask about one particular moment in the series, when one of the police officers who investigated one of the murders asks you, the director, why the interest in this case is always focused on gay life.

Green: Anthony can vouch that was my favorite moment, even from the rough cut.

Caronna: I remember as soon as that happened, we had a moment outside in the hallway afterward being like, that has to be episode one. I knew pretty quickly it was a moment. I never went into interviews with investigators with any kind of agenda. Everybody knew the angle we were talking about, and wed had many conversations. There was a surprise to be asked that question after so much conversation about why the gay element was so important.

Green: And hed read the book!

Caronna: With all the investigators, there are cultural awareness gaps when you dont know a community, and youre just worried about being a crime solver. They still dont understand the community, and its at the heart of why this investigation went awry.

Green: I interviewed a lot of the investigators for the book, and my feeling was that I was using them to tell a broad outline of the investigation, but also because they remembered sources who were helpful in fleshing out the victims themselves. But I would say that my portrayal of the investigators in the book is basically neutral  I let them be themselves, for better and worse. I appreciate that the documentary is not neutral. Thats the great thing about it not being my project. It has a sensibility that is not mine, even though I share it.

There was so much care put into the process of this docuseries and so much thought about the genre more broadly. What do you hope viewers ask themselves about other true crime projects after watching this?

Caronna: Creators of true crime have a responsibility to the victim and a responsibility to not lean into the most salacious version of a story. We can choose to not create more damage with the content were making. Im hoping true crime can come from a place of sensitivity rather than, Whats the most gripping story?

Green: With the caveat that this project was a perfect storm of quality  not every project can be this good  I hope this shows other artists, filmmakers, people working in this space, that its possible to attempt something beyond the cookie-cutter approach of the genre. Not only that it can be attempted, but that it will be embraced, and the stuff people embrace is the societal aspect, focusing on the victims and families, the very stuff the genre has historically ignored.

This interview has been edited and condensed.
Danny McBride is a blunt comic instrument. Though series like Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals, and The Righteous Gemstones have plenty on their mind about particularly American strains of ambition, greed, narcissism, and toxic masculinity, McBride himself puts very little spin on the ball. You always know how a McBride character feels because he will simply come out and say it without coded language or any suggestion of a more ambiguous inner life. That isnt to say that his characters are incapable of surprise, exactly, but they tend to speak in declarative statements, and they love to hold court. Everyone must understand how they feel at all times.

As McBrides Jesse returns home after a harrowing  or, perhaps more accurately, annoying  ordeal on Peters compound, where he and his siblings were held for ransom, he wants his family to know that hes a changed man. This revelation cannot happen in any kind of normal way. It is an event as big and splashy and stupid as one of the Gemstones Sunday services. The family walks out to a fleet of shiny new four-wheelers, which obliges all of them to pay attention for a minute while Dad unleashes his oratory. Jesse regrets not sharing the stage after taking over the ministry from his father. I was a being a shitty little bitch about the System because its a hit, he tells Amber. I was afraid it was going to take some of your attention away from me, but thats a fucked-up way to think. Then Jesse, with his peacock pride, thanks her for having patience and for making him the man I am today. Its a beautiful thing to see McBride in this moment, looking as if hes scaled the peak of some invisible mountain. Hes a better man now  and he was pretty damn great before.

Certainly better than his own father, whose failure to pay Peters $15 million ransom demands is not sitting well with his children. Pretty bold move not to make that ransom payment, Dr. Elijah Gemstone, says Jesse after the Gemstones brief stay in a hospital emergency room. In his gentle way, Eli tries to explain that he thought Peter was bluffing because the Peter he remembered wouldnt be capable of harming them. But the siblings have a solid counterargument. Peter went to jail for an armed robbery that ended in his shooting and killing a security guard, which may speak more to his incompetence than his malice, but it makes him dangerous regardless. And this is to say nothing of the armed-to-the-teeth Christofascist militia that stands ready to commit violence with or without Peters approval. At the time, the siblings treated their captivity like a joke  they continued to mock and attack Peter and his sons for doing it, even while tied up in a silo  but theyre right to believe that they were in real peril. Eli paying up would have ensured their safety.

So why didnt he pay? The charitable view, suggested by Eli, is that Peter and his sons could never hurt members of their own family. I guess I still remember the old Peter, says Eli in his lilting drawl. But when hes talking about the old Peter, hes talking about Peter before the Y2K buckets drained his savings account, ruined his marriage, led him to kill a security guard in a bank-robbery attempt, and sent him to prison for years. Any reasonable person would suspect the old Peter would have changed, even if he hadnt assembled a militia out of violent ex-cons. Yet it doesnt seem likely that Eli acted out of greed, as Jesse and his siblings  and their representative and intermediary, Baby Billy  seem to believe. When Eli claims that hed have paid up if he thought they were in real danger, he seems to be telling the truth.

The more likely explanation fits with what Eli has been banking on all season: That his kids, having been bumped out of the golden family nest, will learn to work together and handle their problems on their own. The irony is that they could not have united on their own. It was a gift of fate that Peter chose to abduct them when he did because they had floundered badly in Elis absence and needed the Lord to stage an invention. Whether their alignment will actually hold is another question  Jesse is excited they get to play the victim for once, as opposed to the entitled losers who inherited the job  but Eli seems genuinely pleased when they reject his explanations in unison in the end. Youre doing it, he says. Youre working together.

But the trouble isnt over for the Gemstones yet. Peter and Chuck are still out there in a U-Haul filled with dynamite and the ammonium nitrate fertilizer the Montgomerys boosted from the Gemstone compound. Peter had tried to keep the militia together in the wake of his $15 million bag fumbling, but when that failed to stave off a mutiny, he was freer than ever to shift to Plan B. Chucks wavering loyalty to his dad seems like the most obvious hope for curtailing an act of domestic terrorism of Timothy McVeighlike proportions. The old Peter doesnt seem likely to stop the new Peter, whos piping mad every single second of the day now. He doesnt have to worry about indulging his followers wishes to protest statue protestors or poison the water of liberal cities. He has all he needs for his true mission.

Before the walls come literally crumbling down at the Gemstone church, however, lets celebrate the end of the unrequited sexual tension between Kelvin and Keefe. It seemed like the show was going to let that homoeroticism hang in the air forever between these two, with their God Squad workout sessions and vigorous massages. But Kelvins liberation from the militia silo has freed him to take another chance, too, and it would appear that his siblings and everyone else are just as relieved that it finally happened. Surely, this will go over fine in an Evangelical community, right?

Uncut Gemstones

 Eli is on the outs with his kids, but he and May-May are bonding, in part because she knows what its like to have your children turn against you. They also have the ability to survive some low moments together, which is a Gemstone trademark. We just dont blow smoke up each others butts like other people do, says May-May. Thats all. I dont begrudge you for that.

 Hilarious exchange between Peter and the mutinous Marshall over which one is acting like a woman. Steve Zahns tantrum-throwing as Peter has been a delight all season  witness his whipping of a folding chair later in the episode  and here he channels that anger into ever more vigorously ridiculous readings of the word woman.

 Youre the best fucking husband I could have imagined. And believe me, I imagined quite a few. Ryan Phillippe, Savion Glover the tap dancer. But youre better than all of them. Judy and BJ reuniting in the tub.

 BJs line about how the best way to reset is with a really good, deep fucking, is basically a wordier version of Nicole Kidmans last line to Tom Cruise in Stanley Kubricks Eyes Wide Shut. Both couples are getting their marriages back on track.

 The conversation Eli has with Gideon in the car more subtly suggests Elis misreading of the situation. I can see why you want to get away from this family from time to time, he tells Gideon. Without your grandma, its a pretty toxic affair. To which Gideon replies, Its not that I want to get away from the family. I just want to carve my own path.

 There hasnt been enough Baby Billy this season, but Walton Goggins certainly makes every second count. His moonwalking out of the meeting between the Gemstones feels like a weird, inspired improvisational moment that stayed in the cut.
The Russian invaders, having been subjected to a counterattack by the Defense Forces, abandoned their positions and fled the battlefield. Since their commander, Lieutenant Alexei Melnikov, was severely wounded in the head, the invaders decided not to drag their "heavy load" behind them, but instead abandoned him and declared him heroically dead.

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This was reported in the press service of the National Guard. It was our fighters who caught Melnikov bleeding and took him prisoner.

The Russian commander was given all the medical assistance that was required in his situation. After the occupant regains consciousness, he will be interrogated.

At the same time, the propaganda media are churning out stories about how the heroic Lieutenant Melnikov, "while holding back the Bandera guerrillas, covered his own men and was treacherously killed by the fascists". Thus, the notorious saying "Russia does not abandon its own" has been given a new meaning "a woman from the wagon is easier on the mare".

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Earlier OBOZREVATEL reported that one of the invaders was captured by AFU fighters when he literally fell asleep at the position. The situation was ironically commented on by journalist Yuri Butusov, who wrote: "the soldier sleeps, the service goes on".

Only verified information in our Telegram-channel Obozrevatel, Threads and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Russian occupation forces are probably preparing for new attacks on Ukraine. Significant enemy aviation activity is currently being recorded.

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This may mean that the enemy is gathering intelligence and pulling up strike aircraft. Such a statement was made by the head of the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Defense Forces of the south Natalia Gumenyuk on the air of all-Ukrainian telethon.

The activity of tactical enemy aviation in the south-eastern direction was powerful. And this indicates that the enemy is both gathering intelligence and can prepare for powerful attacks in the future, because we observe that the enemy and strategic aviation begins to pull up, and prepare for certain maneuvers," she said.

Also, the missile carriers standing at the basing points are ready for strikes. the occupants can take it out to sea literally within an hour. In addition, the occupiers sometimes launch strikes from bays.

"Although this is very dangerous both for the missile carrier itself and for the ships nearby. But this is the practice they use," the head of the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Defense Forces added.

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We will remind, on the night of July 31, Russian troops hit Kharkiv with missiles from the complex S-300. There was recorded a flight on the warehouse, where there was a strong fire, at least one person was injured.

As reported OBOZREVATEL, on the night of July 30, Russian troops attacked Ukraine with Iranian kamikaze drones. This time the main target for the occupiers were agricultural enterprises.
For the current quarter ending in September, Amkor Technology said it expects revenue in the range of $1.73 billion to $1.83 billion.

The chip packaging and test services provider posted revenue of $1.46 billion in the period.

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Get a curated selection of 10 of our best stories in your inbox every weekend.

The Tempe, Arizona-based company said it had net income of 26 cents per share.

Amkor Technology shares have climbed 21% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Monday, shares hit $29.09, a climb of 44% in the last 12 months.
Over the course of 31 July, the Russian army attempted to storm the positions of the Ukrainian Defence Forces about 30 times. However, our soldiers continue to conduct offensive operations in the Melitopol and Berdiansk directions, consolidate their positions, deliver artillery fire on the identified enemy targets, and carry out counter-battery measures.

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This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which traditionally published a daily report from the front. The likelihood of enemy missile and air strikes across Ukraine remains high.

"Our adversaries launched nine missile and 39 air strikes, fired 35 times from multiple launch rocket systems at the positions of our troops and populated areas. Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded among the civilian population, including children. Residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure were destroyed," the statement said.

At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces aviation carried out seven strikes on the areas of concentration of enemy personnel, weapons and military equipment and 3 on enemy anti-aircraft missile systems.

During the day, missile and artillery units struck two enemy anti-aircraft missile systems, a TOS-1A "Solntsepek" heavy flamethrower multiple rocket launcher system, an artillery vehicle at a firing position and four areas where enemy personnel were concentrated.

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In retaliation, the war criminals are trying to fire at everything that comes into their optical sights. In particular,

in the Kupyansk sector, our troops steadfastly held the defence and successfully repelled enemy attacks east of Berestove in Kharkiv region and near Novoselivske in Luhansk region. The enemy launched an air strike near Druzhelyubivka in Donetsk region. It fired artillery and mortar shells at more than 10 localities, including Odradne, Kolodyazne, Kamyanka, Figolovka, Novomlynsk and Zakhidne in the Kharkiv region;

in the Lyman sector, the enemy conducted air strikes north of Serebryanka and near Spirne in Donetsk region. Nevske and Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region and Torske, Verkhnekamyane and Spirne in the Donetsk region came under artillery fire;

in the Bakhmut sector, more than 10 localities suffered from hostile artillery attacks, including Orikhove-Vasylivka, Hryhorivka, Ivanivske, Predtechine and Bila Hora in the Donetsk region;

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in the Avdiivka sector, the enemy conducted air strikes in the areas of New York and Avdiivka. The enemy continues to shell populated areas, in particular, Berdychi, Avdiivka, Pervomaiske and Karlivka in Donetsk region;

in the Maryinka sector, the enemy conducted an air strike in the area of Krasnohorivka. Ukrainian defence forces continue to hold back the advance of Russian troops in the areas of Maryinka and Peremoha. The enemy shelled a number of localities, including Maryinka, Peremoha, Heorhiivka and Ostro in the Donetsk region;

in the Shakhtarsk sector, the enemy carried out air strikes in the areas of Vuhledar, Blahodatne and Staromayorske. In the area of the latter, it made unsuccessful attempts to regain the lost ground. It continues shelling the settlements of Vodiane, Vuhledar and Blahodatne in Donetsk region;

on the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson directions, the enemy is focusing its main efforts on preventing further advance of our troops. The occupants carried out air strikes near the settlements of Malynivka and Mala Tokmachka in Zaporizhzhia region. More than 35 settlements came under artillery fire, including: Levadne, Gulyaypole, Zaliznychne, Orikhiv, Stepove and Kamianske in Zaporizhzhia region; Dmytrivka and Ochakiv in Mykolaiv region; Mykhailivka, Dudchany, Beryslav, Lviv, Kherson and Dniprovske in Kherson region.

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As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, the Ministry of Defence has fully covered the needs of the Defence Forces for combat drones. The vast majority of the drones were designed and assembled by Ukrainian manufacturers.

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Only verified information is available in our Obozrevatel Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Belarusian law enforcement agencies transport to the border areas with Poland not only illegal migrants from third countries, but also equipment that can be used to overcome the border. They may consider the option of attacking Poles.

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This was reported by the Government Commissioner for the security of the information space of Poland Stanislav Zharin. According to him, these actions may be related to a possible Russian plan to destabilize Europe, including the eastern flank of NATO.

"It is still dangerous on the border with Belarus. Polish patrols are attacked by aggressive foreigners. Every day officers and soldiers are subjected to aggression," Zharin stated.

He claims that the Belarusian authorities transport not only migrants across the border with Poland, but also provide "equipment for crossing the border" (such as ladders and cutting tools) and items that can be used to attack Poles (such as stones, bricks and paving stones).

"The hybrid operation using migrants continues. Poland is under attack, these actions are part of the Russian plan to destabilize Europe, in particular NATO's eastern flank," the government commissioner said.

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In addition, he reported on the data of the Border Guard Service, according to which 91 foreign nationals tried to illegally enter Poland from Belarus on Saturday. The group of migrants included citizens of India, Nepal, Iran, Liberia and Somalia.

As reported OBOZREVATEL, after the failed coup d'etat in Russia, the group "Wagner" went to Belarus. Prepare them there to shelter there personally traveled head Prigozhin.

Monitoring groups report that as of July 24, at least 3,500 mercenaries have already arrived in Belarus.

We haveonly verified information in our Telegram channel Obozrevatel, Threads and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
The summit in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), scheduled for 5-6 August 2023, has been compared online to the summit in Tehran (Iran) on 28 November 1943. They are both dedicated to military issues. The theme of the Tehran meeting, which was attended by the anti-Hitler coalition, was confrontation with Germany. In Jeddah, world leaders are expected to discuss the full-scale war unleashed by Russia and the peace plan proposed by Ukraine.

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The author of the anonymous Telegram channel "Spy Dossier" saw historical parallels in these events. He noted that, based on the format of the summit in Saudi Arabia, the participants plan to consider the future of the Russian Federation without inviting representatives of the Russian Federation itself. By analogy with Tehran 43.

At that time, it was decided to open a second front against Nazi Germany in Western Europe. In particular, the Anglo-American side agreed on the decision to "land in Normandy" (Operation Overlord) in the early summer of 1944. The parties also discussed the shaping of the future of the European continent after the defeat of Germany.

"These are the events that popped into my head after reading the news about the upcoming conference in Saudi Arabia," said The Spy Dossier author.

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He noted that the venue was not chosen by chance. "For Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, holding this event is important not only in terms of personal authority, but also from the perspective of the development of events in the war in Yemen, where the combined forces of Saudi Arabia are confronted by Iran, supported by the Russian Federation," the anonymous person said.

He drew attention to the fact that Moscow had not received an invitation to the summit.

"Time will tell whether Jeddah-23 will become the new Tehran-43. But there are historical parallels. And the participation of 30 participating countries, including Britain and the United States, is further confirmation of this," the Telegram channel author believes.

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As OBOZREVATEL wrote:

- Recently, it became known that Saudi Arabia intends to hold negotiations on its territory, which will be attended by Ukraine, Western countries and key developing countries, including India and Brazil. The purpose of the meeting is to strengthen international support for Ukraine's demands for peace.

- The Czech Republic confirmed that it had also received an invitation to attend the summit. Representatives of the aggressor country of Russia were not invited to the conference.

- The head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, said on 30 July that the meeting would be timed to coincide with the implementation of Ukraine's initiatives to restore sustainable and just peace.

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Only verified information is available in our Obozrevatel Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP)  Greeces prime minister said Monday that his government wants to take full advantage of an improving political climate with neighboring Turkey in order to improve bilateral relations despite a string of decades-old disputes.

But Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that didn't mean Turkey had substantially changed its stance on key differences between the two countries and must decisively abandon its aggressive and unlawful conduct against Greeces sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Turkey and Greece remain at odds over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, a dispute that affects irregular migration into the European Union, mineral rights and the projection of military power.

Mitsotakis said that he agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12 to initiate new lines of communication and to maintain a period of calm.

High-level talks between the the two countries are expected to take place in the Greek city of Thessaloniki later this year.

However, the Greek prime minister said that Erdogans outreach to the EU couldn't come at the expense of efforts to heal nearly half a century of ethnic division in Cyprus, which has been split into separate Greek and Turkish entities since 1974.

Speaking after talks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Mitsotakis said that he told Erdogan that improved European-Turkish ties couldn't exclude a Cyprus peace accord and that the issue couldn't be left by the wayside.

Turkey and the breakaway Turkish Cypriots have insisted on a two-state solution since July 2017 when the most recent round of U.N.-facilitated peace talks collapsed.

That position overturned a long-standing agreement sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in numerous resolutions that any peace deal would aim for a reunified Cyprus as a federation made up of Greek- and Turkish-speaking zones.

Cyprus was divided in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the islands northern third, where more than 35,000 Turkish troops are stationed.

On Friday, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar repeated that peace talks could resume only if Greek Cypriots recognized the Turkish Cypriots sovereign equality.

Christodoulides said Monday that any improvement in European-Turkish relations should be based on reciprocal action by Turkey, adding that the EU prioritizes a Cyprus peace deal in line with U.N. resolutions.
AMITY TOWNSHIP, Pa. - A man is under arrest after police say he stole thousands of dollars from the Amity Township Wawa where he worked.

61-year-old Gamalier Soto is charged with two counts of theft as well as receiving stolen property.

Police were called to the Wawa located at 10 Maplewood Drive in early May after Soto had been fired and would not leave the premises.

Authorities say an employee told them the suspect had been fired for allegedly stealing money from the store's cash registers.

Court documents state that the employee noticed numerous voided sales from Soto's register and surveillance allegedly showed him removing cash from it on multiple occasions.

Investigators, working with a Wawa loss prevention official, uncovered that between March 21 and May 4 of 2023, the total of amount of sales allegedly voided by Soto added up to $18,327.

Police say all of those voided transactions corresponded with Soto removing cash from his register and that each alleged incident was captured on surveillance video.

He's currently free on $10,000 unsecured bail.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The community is invited to an open house to learn about plans for the former Allentown State Hospital site.

City Center Allentown scheduled an open house for Saturday, Aug. 5 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the East Side Youth Center in Allentown.

The developer will discuss concept plans for the site, now called Northridge, and people can ask questions, according to the event description.

Its website describes Northridge as "a new master-planned community in the heart of the Lehigh Valley."

The land is expected to be turned into a mixed-use area with housing options and retail space.

City Center finalized an agreement to buy the site in January. The hospital stood for nearly 100 years before crews demolished it in 2020.
WILSON, Pa. - A Northampton County gas station employee was knocked unconscious while taking trash out Sunday night, police say.

The 42-year-old man told Wilson police he was throwing out garbage at Ary's Express Mart in the 1500 block of Northampton Street around 9:45 p.m. when three males came up to him, police said.

One of the men hit the employee several times in the face with a handgun until he went unconscious. The employee woke up to find money had been stolen from him, police say.

The employee was taken to the hospital with moderate injuries.

The robbers were described as Black males, all wearing hoodies.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 610-258-8542.
A plan for 317 apartments on land straddling the Bethlehem/Allentown border will go back to Bethlehem's Zoning Hearing Board on Aug. 16.



That neighborhood may be getting a bit more crowded. The "Hanover Apartments" development is seven blocks east of the former Allentown State Hospital, where a "master-planned community" has been proposed by City Center Investment Corp. More details on that development, dubbed "Northridge," will be provided at an open meeting Saturday.



Developer Norton Herrick's plan for the border is for four buildings on 8.74 acres at the site of a former auto dealership, where Hanover Avenue in Allentown meets West Broad Street, Bethlehem, a couple blocks south of the Lehigh Shopping Center. Most of the "Hanover Apartments" land is in Bethlehem.



The proposal has raised complaints from people on both sides of the border. Concerns about traffic, noise, and water runoff have been brought up at earlier meetings.



The developer wants variances to put up apartment buildings 290 feet long, where zoning allows nothing longer than 180 feet. A variance is also sought to allow parking at street level along Broad Street, instead of the commercial use required in the Limited Commercial zoning district.



The plan encompasses four parcels of land: 2211 W. Broad St., 2235 W. Broad St. and 2220 Florence St. in Bethlehem, and 2300 Hanover Ave. in Allentown.



Herrick is the developer behind the plan to convert the former Martin Tower site in Bethlehem into more than 1,000 housing units.



The Bethlehem Zoning Hearing Board will meet at 6 p.m. on Aug. 16 at the City Hall Rotunda, 10 E. Church St. The meeting will also be broadcast on the Internet. The agenda and a link are posted on the city website. Agendas are subject to change.
U. MT. BETHEL TWP., Pa. - River Pointe Commerce Park, the industrial development in Upper Mount Bethel Township, says it is in talks with the Norfolk Southern railroad to resolve any problems with an overpass on River Road.

Critics of Lou Pektor's development have pointed to the trestle, owned by Norfolk Southern, as a potential traffic bottleneck. They contend that trucks could get stuck underneath, bringing traffic to a halt.

River Pointe pointed out in a recent statement that trucks already pass beneath the trestle from nearby Ultra-Poly, a company that recycles plastic. Trucks that serve Air Liquide Advanced Materials, an industrial-gas company, and Lamtec Corp., a maker of insulation, also go beneath the trestle.

The trestle is six inches higher than listed on plans: 14 feet, two inches, instead of 13 feet, eight inches, according to the River Pointe statement. Still, the developer is working toward a resolution with all parties.

"We are fully aware of the need to address the structure and throughput of the trestle and have been and will continue to work actively with our consultants, rail provider and regulators to improve access to prevent bottlenecks and backups," Pektor, president of River Pointe, said in the statement.

"Solutions could include expanding or lowering the roadway, a necessary step in providing efficient and safe access to I-80 (in New Jersey) via River Road," Pektor said.

The trestle passes over where Delaware Avenue in the Borough of Portland turns into River Road in Upper Mount Bethel. River Pointe said it is in talks with Norfolk Southern, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and others to find a solution.

Norfolk Southern "has been very receptive" to working with the developer, according to the statement, and the railroad sees a potential increase in freight traffic from River Pointe.

Pektor has promoted River Pointe as a manufacturing, not warehousing, development that will bring in more than 4,000 jobs and generate tax revenue for Upper Mount Bethel, Northampton County and the Bangor Area School District.

Opponents say the huge development along the Delaware River will change their rural way of life, bringing in traffic and noise. Residents of Upper and Lower Mount Bethel, along with Portland and other Slate Belt communities, have spoken against River Pointe at public meetings.

Pektor owns the land, which is zoned for industrial development. His plan is for truck traffic to take the Portland-Columbia Toll Bridge to Route 80 to reach New York City-area markets.

The development is within a day's drive of about a third of U.S. consumers, according to River Pointe.

Norfolk Southern, based in Atlanta, connects with every major container port on the Atlantic Coast, the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes, according to the railroad's website.

Shares in the company are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol NSC. At 10:52 a.m. Monday, the price was $234.25. At the price, Norfolk Southern's market capitalization was $53.8 billion.
EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. - Flames could be seen pouring from an apartment building on North Courtland Street in East Stroudsburg Sunday afternoon. The fire happened across the street from East Stroudsburg High School South.

"It did start in the rear of the structure," said Acme Hose Company No. 1 Chief Nate Black.

Chief Black said five families are displaced. He tells 69 News the building is severely damaged.

"I would guess at this point it's probably a total loss, but it's definitely severe damage," said Chief Black.

According to the Chief, there were people inside the building when the fire happened. He said everyone made it out.

"There were no civilian injuries, no firefighter injuries that I'm aware of at this time," said Chief Black.

Multiple fire departments from Monroe County were brought in.

"We all work very well together throughout the fire services as a whole and in Monroe County we all work very well together to get the job done," said Chief Black.

A State Police Fire Marshal is investigating the fire.

"We'll assist the residents any way as possible. Again, the American Red Cross is taking the lead on that," said Chief Black.

The Chief said the fire department is assisting the State Police Fire Marshal with the investigation. According to the Stroudsburg Fire Department, no neighboring buildings were damaged.
KNOWLTON TWP., N.J. - A busy state highway in Warren County, New Jersey, is back open after a massive landslide two weeks ago.

Five million pounds of debris was removed from a section of Route 46 in Knowlton Township, north of Belvidere, after the flash flooding on July 16.

Crews picked up the debris, stabilized the slope and made repairs and drainage improvements.

The highway reopened to traffic Sunday morning, but only a single lane in one area.

Even though the road is back open, crews are still working to repair damage in the area.

Roads, homes and businesses in Knowlton and other areas of western Warren County experienced heavy damage from the storms two weekends ago.

Gov. Phil Murphy is asking the Biden Administration to approve a Major Disaster Declaration to help those recovering.
A leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany is urging members of the countrys main opposition conservative bloc to break down a firewall meant to isolate his party, which is at record levels in polls. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, gathered on Friday for a convention stretching over the next two weekends at which it plans to choose candidates and set its policy platform for next Junes European Parliament election. Recent polls put support for AfD at 19-22%, behind only the main conservative opposition bloc. Earlier this week, the latters main leader insisted that there would be no cooperation even at the local level between his party and AfD, after his apparent suggestion that they might work together prompted criticism.
TOKYO (AP)  Toshihiro Mutsuda was only 5 years old when he last saw his father, who was drafted by Japan's Imperial Army in 1943 and killed in action. For him, his father was a bespectacled man in an old family photo standing by a signed good-luck flag that he carried to war.

On Saturday, when the flag was returned to him from a U.S. war museum where it had been on display for 29 years, Mutsuda, now 83, said: It's a miracle."

The flag, known as Yosegaki Hinomaru, or Good Luck Flag, carries the soldier's name, Shigeyoshi Mutsuda, and the signatures of his relatives, friends and neighbors wishing him luck. It was given to him before he was drafted by the Army. His family was later told he died in Saipan, but his remains were never returned.

The flag was donated in 1994 and displayed at the museum aboard the USS Lexington, a WWII aircraft carrier, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Its meaning was not known until it was identified by the family earlier this year, said museum director Steve Banta, who brought the flag to Tokyo.

Banta said he learned the story behind the flag earlier this year when he was contacted by the Obon Society, a nonprofit organization that has returned about 500 similar flags as non-biological remains, to the descendants of Japanese servicemembers killed in the war.

The search for the flag's original owner started in April when a museum visitor took a photo and asked an expert about the description that it had belonged to a kamikaze suicide pilot. When Shigeyoshi Mutsuda's grandson saw the photo, he sought help from the Obon Society, group co-founder Keiko Ziak said.

When we learned all of this, and that the family would like to have the flag, we knew immediately that the flag did not belong to us, Banta said at the handover ceremony. We knew that the right thing to do would be to send the flag home, to be in Japan and to the family.

The soldier's eldest son, Toshihiro Mutsuda, was speechless for a few seconds when Banta, wearing white gloves, gently placed the neatly folded flag into his hands. Two of his younger siblings, both in their 80s, stood by and looked on silently. The three children, all wearing cotton gloves so they wouldn't damage the decades-old flag, carefully unfolded it to show to the audience.

After receiving the flag today, I earnestly felt that the war like that should never be fought again and that I do not wish anyone else to go through this sadness (of separation), Toshihiro Mutsuda said.

The soldier's daughter, Misako Matsukuchi, touched the flag with both hands and prayed. After nearly 80 years, the spirit of our father returned to us. I hope he can finally rest in peace," Matsukuchi said later.

Toshihiro Mutsuda said his memory of his father was foggy. However, he clearly remembers his mother, Masae Mutsuda, who died five years ago at age 102, used to make the long-distance bus trip almost every year from the farming town in Gifu, central Japan, to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, where the 2.5 million war dead are enshrined, to pay tribute to her husband's spirit.

The shrine is controversial, as it includes convicted war criminals among those commemorated. Victims of Japanese aggression during the first half of the 20th century, especially China and the Koreas, see Yasukuni as a symbol of Japanese militarism. However, for the Mutsuda family, it's a place to remember the loss of a father and husband.

Its like an old love story across the ages coming together ... It doesnt matter where, Banta said, referring to the Yasukuni controversy. The important thing is this flag goes to the family.

Thats why Toshihiro Mutsuda and his siblings chose to receive the flag at Yasukuni and brought the framed photos of their parents.

My mother missed him and wanted to see him so much and that's why she used to pray here," he said. Today her wish finally came true, and she was able to be reunited.

Keeping the flag on his lap, he said, I feel the weight of the flag."
Two women out for an afternoon walk outside Atlantic City found a body in a ditch and called police, who quickly found three more. That was 17 years before police arrested Rex Heuermann in New York this month. The 59-year-old architect who commuted from Long Island was charged with the murders of three of the four women whose remains were unearthed in suburban Gilgo Beach in 2010. There is no indication whether investigators suspect Heuermann in the killings in New Jersey. Sex workers in America are easy prey for serial killers. There have been clusters of sex workers murdered across the country and the world in recent decades and throughout history.
Africa needs to get Wagner out of Africa

Russia summit is an opportunity for Africa to unite on Ukraine and make its collective voice heard on Russian mercenaries in African conflicts.

Two critical issues must be top of mind for African leaders when they meet President Vladimir Putin at the second Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg this week.

First, they should be concerned that they dont have a common position on the Russian-Ukraine war. The second issue of concern is the presence of Wagner group mercenaries in African conflicts.

As I have previously written on African efforts to bring peace between Russia and Ukraine, African voices are important in using their neutrality in contributing toward a peaceful settlement to the conflict.

I am a scholar of international politics who has written on major power engagements in Africa and on Africas role in the Russia-Ukraine war. In my view, this summit serves as an opportunity for African nations to bury their divisions on the Russia-Ukraine war. These were heightened during the votes in the United Nations General Assembly in 2022.

The June 2023 African Peace Initiative by seven African leaders to Russia and Ukraine was a bold opening effort to find peace in a war that has created a humanitarian and economic crisis. The African mission comprised South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, Egypts Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Congos Denis Sassou Nguesso, Comoros Azali Assoumani, Senegals Macky Sall, Ugandas Yoweri Museveni and Zambias Hakainde Hichilema.

But there have been some misgivings that the African peace initiative was not endorsed by the African Union, and excluded major African players. A formal statement at the summit in support of the peace initiative would remove doubts on its legitimacy.

Despite the widespread scepticism that greeted the African peace initiative, it made a strong case for peace to Russia and Ukraine. It has emboldened and opened doors for further diplomatic attempts by other global players.

The St Petersburg Russia-Africa summit should be an opportunity for Africa to put pressure on Russia to start unlocking some of the key issues raised in the 10-point peace plan tabled by the African leaders.

In recent phone calls with South Africas President Cyril Ramaphosa and Ethiopias Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy showed more enthusiasm for the African peace plan. This is vital because during the June visit to Kyiv, the Ukrainian authorities were less enthusiastic about the African plan.

Russian mercenaries in Africa

Second, African participants at the St Petersburg summit must make their collective voice heard on Wagner Group mercenaries in African conflicts.

The lead-up to the summit coincided with reports that Wagners leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, planned to relocate most of his mercenaries to Africa. This after falling out with Moscow in June when Wagner forces launched a failed mutiny against the Russian government.

Wagner mercenaries have a substantive presence in the Central African Republic, Chad, Libya, Mali and Sudan. They have been accused of gross human rights violations and natural resource exploitation. In March 2022 they, alongside local forces, took part in the massacre of about 500 people as well as rape and torture. More abuses by the Wagner group forces have been reported in the ongoing civil war in Sudan.

At the St Petersburg summit, African leaders should remind President Putin that the Wagner Group is not Russias best export to Africa. Moreover, it is not a friend of Africa. This includes those regimes that invited it into their domestic conflicts. A consistent policy of building bridges in Africa would begin with President Putins condemnation of the mayhem of the Wagner Group in Africa.

A clear statement at the summit on threats from mercenaries would put pressure on African countries to seek peaceful approaches to their domestic conflicts. This would be a major achievement of the summit. It would dovetail with the long-standing African Convention on Mercenaries that African states signed in Libreville in 1977, and came into effect in April 1985.

Towards a new relationship?

Russia needs the summit to help it win more friends in Africa. But it should also be aware of concerns that it is unable to compete with the west and China in Africa because it does not bring any tangible resources to the table. Although at the 2019 Sochi summit Putin claimed that he would seek to engage in competition for cooperation with Africa, none of this has materialised beyond military investements in conflict areas.

The St Petersburg summit is billed as an economic and humanitarian forum. The African leaders need to impress upon President Vladimir Putin that the most immediate humanitarian act he can take would be to allow exports of Ukrainian grain and fertilisers through the Black Sea. This is part of the 10-point African peace initiative.

Perhaps to entice more African states to attend the summit, President Putin has offered to replace Ukraines grain supplies to Africa with Russias grain, food products and fertilisers. But this unilateral promise is unlikely to meet all of Africas needs.

It would also leave out other nations that depend on Ukrainian grain and fertilisers. For this reason, African states need to lean on Putin to renew the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which permitted the exports of grains and fertilisers to the world.

In addition, African states should use the collective weight of the continent to nudge President Putin to commit to a speedy end to the war.

Probably to lower the expectation of African participants at the summit, President Putin has spoken in modest terms about building national human resources capacity and inviting Africans to a global youth festival in Russia next year.

Gilbert M. Khadiagala, Jan Smuts Professor of International Relations and Director of the African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS), University of the Witwatersrand. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Alumni in the spotlight July 2023

Catch up on a wrap of Witsie awards, appointments and newsmakers from the past month.

Awards

The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants recognised 13 of its members at its annual Chairman's Difference Makers Awards at the end of May 2023 for making an indelible socio-economic impact. Four of the winners were Wits alumni. Roy Andersen (CTA 1972), chief executive officer at Roy Pty, was the recipient of the Patriotic Award. Victor Sekese (BCom 1989, BAcc 1990), chief executive at SNG Grant Thornton, was awarded the CEO Award. Makole Mupita (BCom 1998), the founder and executive director of Mahlako a Phala Investments, received an award for Excellence in Economic Development for making a significant impact on the South African economy in the vital domains of infrastructure and energy. David Shapiro (CTA 1971), chief global equity strategist at Sasfin Securities, was awarded the Social Impact Award for consistently working to improve lives and make a positive difference.

Four Wits alumni were among the winners list at the 2023 National Science and Technology Forum-South32 Awards held on 13 July 2023: Dr Philemon Mjwara (PhD 1995), Professor Salome Maswime (MMed 2014, PhD 2017), Professor Nosipho Moloto (PhD 2011) and Dr Reza Mia (MBBCh 2006).

During the July graduation season Wits alumnae Dr Pontsho Twala (BSc Eng 2017, PhD 2023) and Dr Adwoa Issaka (PhD 2023) were awarded their doctorates in mining engineering. Radio personality Azania Mosaka (BA Hons 2023) and former Miss SA 2016 Ntandoyenkosi Kunene (BA 2014, BA Hons 2015, MBA 2023) both crossed the stage of the Great Hall. Professor James Sylvester Gates (Junior), commonly known as Jim Gates, is a renowned physicist and mathematician whose ground-breaking contributions have significantly influenced the fields of supersymmetry, supergravity, and superstring theory, and shaped our understanding of the Universe was awarded an honorary doctorate in science.

The National Association of Biology Teachers awarded the 2023 Distinguished Service Award to paleoanthropologist and explorer Professor Lee Berger (PhD 1994, DSc 2014) for enhancing education through biological research.

Leerin Perumal (BSc 2021, BSc Hons 2022) and Cade Peters (BSc 2021, BSc Hons 2022) were awarded SPIE Optics and Photonics Education scholarships  among 72 international outstanding student members based on their potential contribution to optics.

Drs Anastasia Ugwuanyi (PGDip HSEd 2021) and Stavros Nicolaou (BPharm 1986, DSc honoris causa 2019) made the Health and Wellness edition of the Class of 2023 honorees announced by the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD). MIPAD is a global civil society initiative in support of the International Decade for People of African Descent, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly resolution.

Appointments

Cell C appointed Vodacom veteran Rachael Ayo-Oladejo (MBA 2011, PDipBusAd 2018) as its new chief of staff, strategy, and business transformation. She has more than 17 years of experience in the telecom sector. She started her career in Airtel in Nigeria and moved to Vodacoms consumer business unit.

Sashin Sookroo (MBA 2016) has been appointed CEO of FNB Connect, the mobile virtual network operator of FNB. about He has been at FNB for 14 years.

AB InBev Africa appointed Bridget Ngwakwana Makhura (BSc 2004, BSc Hons 2006, MSc 2011) as vice president of people. She spent eight years in various positions at SAB including as managing director and board member of Eswatini Beverages, regional commercial director and board member at Maluti Mountain Brewery in Lesotho as logistics manager.

Sayuri Moodliar (PhD 2018) was appointed head of environmental, social, and governance at Open Access Data, the data centre company. With more than 25+ years of sustainability and infrastructure project finance experience, Moodliar has collaborated with multinational corporations in Sub-Saharan Africa and worldwide.

Former Telkom group chief executive officer Sipho Maseko (BA 1993) has joined retailer Shoprites board as independent non-executive director. Maseko resigned from the Telkom group as CEO in December 2021 after nine years at the helm. His appointment comes a few weeks after he tried to lead a consortium to buy a controlling stake in the telephony group.

James Mckay (BSc Building Science 1972) has been appointed CEO of the energy council of South Africa.

Newsmakers

Cities are the future for South Africa, but bad governance takes them back to the past, wrote Ann Bernstein (BA 1976, BA Hons 1977). She outlined that few cities are close to realising the enormous promise.

Dr Lee Fairlee (MMed 2014) Wits RHI talked about new treatment for children living with HIV, only half of kids are on treatment. Several sessions at the 11th SA AIDS conference, recently held in Durban, highlighted that key HIV numbers such as treatment coverage are much lower in children than in adults.

Minesh Bhangaloo (BA Hons 2006) chatted about his role as Ford SAs director of communications.

Zakhele Mthembu (BA 2020, LLB 2022), legal researcher at Free Market Foundation, wrote an article in about how the Road Accident Fund should be left to the free market.

Alan Hirsch (BA Hons 1978, BSc 1978), research fellow at the New South Institute and The Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, wrote that South Africas anti-immigrant sentiments are hindering policy reform.

Human rights lawyer, social justice activist and director of the Health Justice Initiative Fatima Hassan (BA 1993, LLB 1995) is pushing for greater transparency around vaccine contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department of Health has signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with several pharmaceutical companies, at the latters request, in effect trading secrecy for vaccine supplies. These manufacturers made huge profits off the back of the public  but away from public scrutiny.

Andy Kuper (BA 1996, BA Hons 1997), the co-founder and chief executive of LeapFrog Investments met King Charles III and President Joe Biden at Windsor Castle, where he announced a $750 million (R13.4 billion) investment plan to combat climate change.

Business Unity South Africas vice president and group CEO of Discovery Adrian Gore (BSc 1985, BSc Hons 1987, DCom honoris causa 2017), said CEOs from over 115 leading corporations operating in South Africa have formally pledged to help the country overcome the problems undermining inclusive economic growth. He said that the pledge was not merely a symbolic gesture, but a concrete commitment to drive change in key sectors that are essential for our economic recovery.
Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $7.35-$7.65 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $7.99. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Bristol-Myers Squibb also updated its FY23 guidance to $7.35-7.65 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Atlantic Securities lowered their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $78.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday. SVB Securities initiated coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Monday, July 10th. They issued a market perform rating and a $66.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $71.14.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE BMY traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $61.41. 11,595,301 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,454,113. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.85. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 1-year low of $60.05 and a 1-year high of $81.43. The firm has a market cap of $129.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.33, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

Bristol-Myers Squibb ( NYSE:BMY Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $11.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.81 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a net margin of 17.62% and a return on equity of 50.56%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 7.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 7th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 6th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. Bristol-Myers Squibbs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.64%.

Insider Transactions at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In related news, EVP Rupert Vessey sold 50,385 shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $3,378,818.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,751 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,202,182.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bristol-Myers Squibb

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the first quarter valued at about $578,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 18,462 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 119,149 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $8,258,000 after buying an additional 6,012 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 25.9% during the 1st quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 911,334 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $63,163,000 after buying an additional 187,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.5% in the first quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 329,691 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $22,837,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592 shares in the last quarter. 74.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Bristol-Myers Squibb

(Get 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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Great Diamond Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT  Free Report) by 9.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,544 shares of the retailers stock after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLCs holdings in Walmart were worth $817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the first quarter worth $801,000. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 31.7% during the first quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,988 shares of the retailers stock worth $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,845 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp boosted its position in Walmart by 3.8% during the first quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 204,814 shares of the retailers stock worth $30,200,000 after purchasing an additional 7,589 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 15.0% in the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 9,917 shares of the retailers stock worth $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marks Group Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at $216,000. 31.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Walmart from $160.00 to $166.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on Walmart from $159.00 to $162.00 in a research report on Sunday, May 21st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. Stephens restated an overweight rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Walmart from $160.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $169.18.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $159.91 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.12 and a 1 year high of $160.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $430.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 18th. The retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.15. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.30% and a net margin of 1.82%. The firm had revenue of $152.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $147.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. Walmarts quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 6.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 600 shares of the firms 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 245,255,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,793,283,517.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.74, for a total value of $626,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,265,681.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.02, for a total value of $90,012.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 245,255,856 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $36,793,283,517.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,218,373 shares of company stock worth $1,422,763,096 in the last 90 days. 46.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Company 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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J. W. Coons Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH  Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,836 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock after selling 152 shares during the quarter. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 1.3% of J. W. Coons Advisors LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. J. W. Coons Advisors LLCs holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $4,648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Investors Research Corp boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 71 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the companys stock.

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UnitedHealth Group Stock Performance

UNH stock traded down $2.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $502.91. 2,930,900 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,414,943. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $482.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $485.30. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $445.68 and a 52 week high of $558.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $468.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.66.

UnitedHealth Group Increases Dividend

UnitedHealth Group ( NYSE:UNH Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 14th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $5.92 by $0.22. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.72% and a net margin of 6.06%. The business had revenue of $92.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.57 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 24.83 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 19th were paid a dividend of $1.88 per share. This is a boost from UnitedHealth Groups previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 15th. UnitedHealth Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on UNH shares. UBS Group raised their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $587.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $564.00 to $555.00 in a research report on Monday, July 17th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $562.00 to $555.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $616.00 to $561.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $579.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Andrew Witty sold 4,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $506.19, for a total transaction of $2,024,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,573 shares of the companys stock, valued at $39,772,866.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.35% of the companys stock.

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

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UNH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH  Free Report).

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Masco (NYSE:MAS  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $3.50-$3.65 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $3.36. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Masco also updated its FY23 guidance to $3.50-3.65 EPS.

Masco Trading Down 1.2 %

MAS traded down $0.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.25. 2,189,933 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,980,960. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $55.82 and a 200 day moving average of $53.05. Masco has a 12-month low of $42.33 and a 12-month high of $63.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 420.86, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.22.

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Masco (NYSE:MAS  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The construction company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Masco had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 403.37%. Mascos quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Masco will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 11th will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Mascos payout ratio is currently 32.20%.

MAS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Masco from $60.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Masco from $56.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, April 27th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Masco from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Masco from $66.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Masco from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $61.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In related news, CFO John G. Sznewajs sold 20,361 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $1,099,494.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 187,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,140,336. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.95, for a total value of $549,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 70,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,857,380.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John G. Sznewajs sold 20,361 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $1,099,494.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 187,784 shares of the companys stock, valued at $10,140,336. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 287,151 shares of company stock valued at $16,606,832 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Masco

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Highlander Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Masco in the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in shares of Masco by 157.1% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 2,193 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of Masco by 559.1% in the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 3,065 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Masco during the first quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Masco during the first quarter worth approximately $203,000. 91.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Masco

(Get Free Report)

Masco Corporation designs, manufactures, and distributes home improvement and building products in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company's Plumbing Products segment offers faucets, showerheads, handheld showers, valves, bath hardware and accessories, bathing units, shower bases and enclosures, sinks, toilets, acrylic tubs, shower trays, spas, exercise pools, and fitness systems; brass, copper, and composite plumbing system components; connected water products; thermoplastic solutions, extruded plastic profiles, specialized fabrications, and PEX tubing products; and other non-decorative plumbing products.

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West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST  Get Free Report) updated its FY23 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $7.65-7.80 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.71. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.970-2.995 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.99 billion. West Pharmaceutical Services also updated its FY 2023 guidance to $7.65-$7.80 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WST. StockNews.com lowered shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Bank of America raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $390.00 to $405.00 in a report on Friday, June 16th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $420.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $350.00.

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West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST stock traded up $10.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $365.46. 499,702 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 321,806. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $363.68 and a 200 day moving average of $335.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.79, a current ratio of 3.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 52-week low of $206.19 and a 52-week high of $389.39. The company has a market cap of $27.13 billion, a PE ratio of 53.27 and a beta of 1.11.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services ( NYSE:WST Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.16. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 18.10% and a return on equity of 22.58%. The business had revenue of $753.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $755.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.05, for a total transaction of $343,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,438.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 1,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $343.05, for a total transaction of $343,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,438.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 13,012 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.81, for a total transaction of $4,759,919.72. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,877 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,442,155.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 67,244 shares of company stock valued at $24,454,553 in the last ninety days. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 384 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 147 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 822 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,276 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,572 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.36% of the companys stock.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

(Get Free Report)

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products.

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Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV  Free Report) had its price target decreased by Barclays from $40.00 to $34.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the airlines stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America downgraded Southwest Airlines from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their target price for the company from $45.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Southwest Airlines from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday. Raymond James lowered Southwest Airlines from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating and cut their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and cut their target price for the company from $64.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a hold rating for the company. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $39.75.

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Southwest Airlines Stock Up 2.0 %

LUV traded up $0.67 on Friday, reaching $34.37. The companys stock had a trading volume of 2,306,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,271,304. The company has a market capitalization of $20.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.19. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $28.40 and a fifty-two week high of $40.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $33.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

Southwest Airlines ( NYSE:LUV Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The airline reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.81% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business had revenue of $7.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. The companys revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 21st were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 20th. Southwest Airliness dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.82%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, EVP Ryan C. Green sold 4,936 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.94, for a total value of $147,783.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,248.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tobam lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 163.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tobam now owns 4,912 shares of the airlines stock worth $178,000 after buying an additional 3,050 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 5.2% in the second quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 68,497 shares of the airlines stock worth $2,480,000 after buying an additional 3,398 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 38.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 43,408 shares of the airlines stock valued at $1,572,000 after purchasing an additional 11,999 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth $258,000. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 18,229 shares of the airlines stock valued at $660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,946 shares during the period. 75.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Southwest Airlines

(Get Free Report)

Southwest Airlines Co operates as a passenger airline company that provide scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2022, the company operated a total fleet of 770 Boeing 737 aircrafts; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as ten near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.

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StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Barnwell Industries (NYSE:BRN  Free Report) in a report released on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock.

Barnwell Industries Trading Up 0.8 %

Barnwell Industries stock opened at $2.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.20 million, a P/E ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 0.37. Barnwell Industries has a 1 year low of $1.89 and a 1 year high of $3.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $2.60 and a 200-day moving average of $2.58.

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Barnwell Industries (NYSE:BRN  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $5.24 million during the quarter. Barnwell Industries had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 11.76%.

Barnwell Industries Dividend Announcement

Insider Buying and Selling

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 25th were given a dividend of $0.015 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 24th. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Barnwell Industriess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.09%.

In other news, major shareholder Ned L. Sherwood bought 105,180 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $2.61 per share, for a total transaction of $274,519.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 2,102,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,488,725.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 16.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stilwell Value LLC purchased a new stake in Barnwell Industries during the 1st quarter valued at $220,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Barnwell Industries by 15.0% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 637,622 shares of the companys stock worth $1,639,000 after acquiring an additional 83,286 shares in the last quarter. EA Series Trust purchased a new position in shares of Barnwell Industries during the second quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Barnwell Industries during the first quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new position in Barnwell Industries in the first quarter worth approximately $78,000. Institutional investors own 9.38% of the companys stock.

About Barnwell Industries

(Get Free Report)

Barnwell Industries, Inc acquires, develops, produces, and sells oil and natural gas in Canada. It operates through three segments: Oil and Natural Gas, Land Investment, and Contract Drilling. The company acquires and develops crude oil and natural gas assets in the province of Alberta; and invests in land interests in Hawaii.

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BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Omega Healthcare Investors (NYSE:OHI  Free Report) in a research note released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a market perform rating and a $34.50 price target on the real estate investment trusts stock.

OHI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Omega Healthcare Investors from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th. Credit Suisse Group reissued an underperform rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Omega Healthcare Investors in a research note on Friday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an equal weight rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of Omega Healthcare Investors in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Omega Healthcare Investors from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Omega Healthcare Investors from $29.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $31.15.

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Omega Healthcare Investors Stock Down 2.1 %

OHI opened at $31.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39 and a beta of 0.99. Omega Healthcare Investors has a one year low of $25.61 and a one year high of $33.71. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $30.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 4.76 and a quick ratio of 4.76.

Omega Healthcare Investors Announces Dividend

Institutional Trading of Omega Healthcare Investors

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 28th. Omega Healthcare Investorss dividend payout ratio is 233.05%.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OHI. Edmp Inc. grew its position in Omega Healthcare Investors by 2,534.9% in the 4th quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 3,800,453 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $135,973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,656,216 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Omega Healthcare Investors by 7,010.8% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,482,964 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $77,369,000 after buying an additional 2,448,046 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Omega Healthcare Investors by 14.8% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,300,467 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $414,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,715,004 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in Omega Healthcare Investors in the second quarter worth approximately $51,212,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Omega Healthcare Investors during the 4th quarter valued at $36,626,000. 66.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Omega Healthcare Investors

(Get 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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Bank of America upgraded shares of Boeing (NYSE:BA  Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $300.00 price target on the aircraft producers stock, up from their prior price target of $225.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on BA. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Boeing from $225.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Northcoast Research downgraded Boeing from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Boeing from $230.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Boeing from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, June 26th. Finally, 888 reissued a maintains rating on shares of Boeing in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Six investment 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, Boeing currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $240.86.

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Boeing Price Performance

Shares of BA stock opened at $238.69 on Thursday. Boeing has a one year low of $120.99 and a one year high of $240.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $212.90 and a 200-day moving average of $209.24. The company has a market cap of $143.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.87 and a beta of 1.41.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boeing

Boeing ( NYSE:BA Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The aircraft producer reported ($0.82) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $19.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.59 billion. Boeings revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.37) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Boeing will post -1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BA. United Bank increased its stake in Boeing by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 5,036 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $964,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Boeing by 1,064.4% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 850 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 777 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Boeing by 68.0% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,111 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 2,879 shares during the period. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in shares of Boeing in the first quarter worth approximately $836,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Boeing by 26.7% in the first quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 2,127 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.22% of the companys stock.

About Boeing

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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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StockNews.com started coverage on shares of China Green Agriculture (NYSE:CGA  Free Report) in a research note published on Thursday. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the basic materials companys stock.

China Green Agriculture Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE CGA opened at $2.71 on Thursday. China Green Agriculture has a one year low of $2.54 and a one year high of $7.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $2.79 and a 200 day moving average of $3.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

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China Green Agriculture (NYSE:CGA  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 15th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $45.26 million during the quarter. China Green Agriculture had a negative return on equity of 12.31% and a negative net margin of 12.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On China Green Agriculture

About China Green Agriculture

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of China Green Agriculture in the first quarter valued at $115,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in China Green Agriculture by 67.8% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 19,051 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 7,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP purchased a new stake in China Green Agriculture during the 1st quarter worth about $175,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 0.62% of the companys stock.

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China Green Agriculture, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, production, and sale of various fertilizers and agricultural products in the People's Republic of China. The company operates through three segments: Jinong (Fertilizer Production); Gufeng (Fertilizer Production); and Yuxing (Agricultural Products Production).

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Dali Foods Group Company Limited (OTCMKTS:DLLFF  Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,953,000 shares, a decline of 15.5% from the June 30th total of 2,311,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 0 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently  days.

Dali Foods Group Stock Performance

Shares of Dali Foods Group stock remained flat at C$0.42 on Friday. The companys fifty day moving average is C$0.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$0.40. Dali Foods Group has a 1-year low of C$0.28 and a 1-year high of C$0.42.

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Dali Foods Group Company Profile

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Dali Foods Group Company Limited, an investment holding company, manufactures and sells food and beverages in Mainland China. The company operates through four segments: Manufacture and Sale of Household Consumption; Manufacture and Sale of Snack Food; Manufacture and Sale of Ready-To-Drink Beverage; and Others.

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Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes (NYSE:GOL  Get Free Report) updated its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $0.20-$0.20 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.68. The company issued revenue guidance of $3.90 billion-$3.90 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $3.97 billion.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a buy rating for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes from $3.50 to $5.50 in a report on Monday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes from a buy rating to a neutral rating and upped their price target for the stock from $4.80 to $5.65 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $5.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, June 15th. Finally, HSBC cut Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, June 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $5.38.

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Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes Trading Down 1.0 %

GOL stock opened at $4.02 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $841.51 million, a P/E ratio of -66.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.37. Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes has a 12-month low of $2.00 and a 12-month high of $5.59. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $4.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.26.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes

Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes Company Profile

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes in the first quarter worth $85,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes by 67.7% in the first quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 141,000 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 56,900 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes by 35.4% in the first quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 41,300 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 10,800 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes by 146.8% in the first quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 42,871 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 25,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes in the first quarter worth $173,000. 0.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA provides scheduled and non-scheduled air transportation services for passengers and cargo; and maintenance services for aircrafts and components in Brazil and internationally. The company offers Smiles, a frequent-flyer programs to approximately 20.5 million members, allowing clients to accumulate and redeem miles.

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Howard Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF (NYSEARCA:BKLN  Free Report) by 23.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 75,468 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 23,083 shares during the period. Invesco Senior Loan ETF makes up approximately 1.3% of Howard Wealth Management LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Howard Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Invesco Senior Loan ETF were worth $1,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Invesco Senior Loan ETF by 186.1% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,156 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the last quarter. Ahrens Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH grew its holdings in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF by 180.1% in the first quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH now owns 1,605 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000.

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Invesco Senior Loan ETF Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of BKLN stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $21.00. The companys stock had a trading volume of 2,679,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,642,961. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $20.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.91. Invesco Senior Loan ETF has a 1-year low of $20.06 and a 1-year high of $21.49.

Invesco Senior Loan ETF Profile

The Invesco Senior Loan ETF (BKLN) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in high yield fixed income. The fund tracks a market-value-weighted index of senior loans issued by banks to corporations. BKLN was launched on Mar 3, 2011 and is managed by Invesco.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BKLN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Invesco Senior Loan ETF (NYSEARCA:BKLN  Free Report).

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StockNews.com started coverage on shares of International Tower Hill Mines (NYSEAMERICAN:THM  Free Report) (TSE:ITH) in a report published on Sunday. The firm issued a sell rating on the mining companys stock.

International Tower Hill Mines Stock Performance

Shares of THM stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $0.43. 51,816 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 103,946. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $0.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.74 and a beta of 0.70. International Tower Hill Mines has a 12-month low of $0.37 and a 12-month high of $0.75.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Tower Hill Mines

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in International Tower Hill Mines stock. Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (NYSEAMERICAN:THM  Free Report) (TSE:ITH) by 314.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 61,808 shares of the mining companys stock after buying an additional 46,910 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLCs holdings in International Tower Hill Mines were worth $26,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. 55.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About International Tower Hill Mines

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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Journey Advisory Group LLC reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT  Free Report) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,137 shares of the retailers stock after selling 2,076 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLCs holdings in Walmart were worth $4,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AMI Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,269 shares of the retailers stock worth $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in Walmart by 36.8% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 4,820 shares of the retailers stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Walmart by 31.7% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,162 shares of the retailers stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC grew its position in Walmart by 123.9% during the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 10,566 shares of the retailers stock worth $1,573,000 after acquiring an additional 5,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Walmart by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 857,839 shares of the retailers stock worth $127,749,000 after acquiring an additional 13,985 shares during the last quarter. 31.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Walmart Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $159.91. The company had a trading volume of 3,673,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,453,533. The company has a market capitalization of $430.61 billion, a PE ratio of 38.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.68 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $125.12 and a one year high of $160.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

Walmart ( NYSE:WMT Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 18th. The retailer reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $152.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $147.91 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.30% and a net margin of 1.82%. Walmarts revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 6.22 EPS for the current year.

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.58, for a total transaction of $1,549,202.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,480,924 shares in the company, valued at $236,325,851.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.58, for a total transaction of $1,549,202.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,480,924 shares in the company, valued at $236,325,851.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 4,375 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.24, for a total transaction of $696,675.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 277,868 shares of the companys stock, valued at $44,247,700.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,218,373 shares of company stock worth $1,422,763,096. Company insiders own 46.51% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Walmart from $155.00 to $157.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Walmart from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Piper Sandler upgraded Walmart from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Walmart from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Walmart from $160.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $169.18.

Walmart Company 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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KBR (NYSE:KBR  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $2.76-$2.96 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $2.91. The company issued revenue guidance of $6.90 billion-$7.10 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $7.07 billion.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on KBR. Citigroup increased their price objective on KBR from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. TheStreet cut KBR from a b+ rating to a c rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut KBR from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on KBR from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $68.71.

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KBR Price Performance

Shares of KBR traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $62.11. 915,752 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,073,266. The company has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -66.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.13. KBR has a fifty-two week low of $41.96 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firms fifty day moving average is $63.03 and its 200 day moving average is $57.38.

KBR Dividend Announcement

KBR ( NYSE:KBR Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The construction company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. KBR had a positive return on equity of 24.94% and a negative net margin of 1.46%. KBRs quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that KBR will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 15th were paid a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 14th. KBRs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -58.06%.

Insider Activity at KBR

In related news, CEO Stuart Bradie sold 119,889 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.21, for a total value of $7,338,405.69. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 669,639 shares of the companys stock, valued at $40,988,603.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other KBR news, EVP Jennifer Myles sold 480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.32, for a total value of $31,353.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,520 shares in the company, valued at $948,446.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stuart Bradie sold 119,889 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.21, for a total value of $7,338,405.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 669,639 shares of the companys stock, valued at $40,988,603.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 123,656 shares of company stock valued at $7,565,090 over the last ninety days. 1.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KBR

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KBR during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of KBR by 35.5% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 871 shares of the construction companys stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of KBR during the second quarter worth about $53,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of KBR during the first quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of KBR by 103.0% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,920 shares of the construction companys stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares during the last quarter.

About KBR

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KBR, Inc provides scientific, technology, and engineering solutions to governments and commercial customers worldwide. The company operates through Government Solutions and Sustainable Technology Solutions segments. The Government Solutions segment offers life-cycle support solutions to defense, intelligence, space, aviation, and other programs and missions for military and other government agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

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Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD  Free Report) had its price target upped by Stephens from $365.00 to $385.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on LAD. Bank of America raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $430.00 in a report on Thursday, July 6th. 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 report on Thursday, April 20th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $245.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $219.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $335.90.

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Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.5 %

LAD opened at $306.63 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $252.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.67, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Lithia Motors has a one year low of $180.00 and a one year high of $329.00.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

Lithia Motors ( NYSE:LAD Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $10.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $9.26 by $1.65. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $12.18 EPS. Lithia Motorss quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Lithia Motors will post 35.12 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 11th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Lithia Motorss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, insider George N. Hines sold 1,490 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.55, for a total value of $327,129.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,142 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,128,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Lithia Motors news, insider George N. Hines sold 1,490 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.55, for a total value of $327,129.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,142 shares in the company, valued at $1,128,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 200 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.23, for a total transaction of $49,646.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,051 shares in the company, valued at $509,119.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 13.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,959 shares of the companys stock worth $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 37,830 shares of the companys stock valued at $11,504,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,720 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,474,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,342 shares of the companys stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 29.8% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,800 shares of the companys stock worth $547,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.24% of the companys stock.

About Lithia Motors

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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.

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Masco (NYSE:MAS  Get Free Report) updated its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $3.50-$3.65 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Masco also updated its FY23 guidance to $3.50-3.65 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Masco from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Masco from $59.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Masco from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 13th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Masco from $57.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, TheStreet raised Masco from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Masco presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $61.75.

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Masco Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of MAS stock traded down $0.76 on Friday, hitting $61.25. 2,189,933 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,980,960. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 420.86, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.72. Masco has a one year low of $42.33 and a one year high of $63.85. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $55.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.22.

Masco Dividend Announcement

Masco ( NYSE:MAS Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The construction company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.23. Masco had a net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 403.37%. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Masco will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Mascos payout ratio is currently 32.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other Masco news, CFO John G. Sznewajs sold 20,361 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $1,099,494.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 187,784 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,140,336. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 188,040 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.77, for a total value of $11,239,150.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 200,305 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $11,972,229.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John G. Sznewajs sold 20,361 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total transaction of $1,099,494.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 187,784 shares of the companys stock, valued at $10,140,336. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 287,151 shares of company stock valued at $16,606,832 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.50% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in Masco by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,369 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Veritable L.P. lifted its position in Masco by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Veritable L.P. now owns 10,144 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Masco by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,899 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Colony Group LLC lifted its position in Masco by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Colony Group LLC now owns 9,608 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Masco by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 18,901 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $956,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. 91.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Masco Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Masco Corporation designs, manufactures, and distributes home improvement and building products in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company's Plumbing Products segment offers faucets, showerheads, handheld showers, valves, bath hardware and accessories, bathing units, shower bases and enclosures, sinks, toilets, acrylic tubs, shower trays, spas, exercise pools, and fitness systems; brass, copper, and composite plumbing system components; connected water products; thermoplastic solutions, extruded plastic profiles, specialized fabrications, and PEX tubing products; and other non-decorative plumbing products.

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Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP  Get Free Report) will be posting its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Tuesday, August 1st. Analysts expect Molson Coors Beverage to post earnings of $1.47 per share for the quarter. Parties interested in listening to the companys conference call can do so using this link.

Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.28. Molson Coors Beverage had a negative net margin of 1.97% and a positive return on equity of 7.16%. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. The businesss revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Molson Coors Beverage to post $5 EPS for the current fiscal year and $5 EPS for the next fiscal year.

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Molson Coors Beverage Stock Performance

NYSE:TAP opened at $70.55 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.65. Molson Coors Beverage has a twelve month low of $46.69 and a twelve month high of $70.90. The company has a market capitalization of $15.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -59.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.85.

Molson Coors Beverage Announces Dividend

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Molson Coors Beverages dividend payout ratio is presently -137.81%.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on TAP. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $53.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Molson Coors Beverage from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, July 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $67.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, June 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Molson Coors Beverage from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, June 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $61.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Geoffrey E. Molson sold 1,840 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $111,540.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 25,904 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,570,300.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Molson Coors Beverage

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Molson Coors Beverage by 25.9% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 23,269 shares of the companys stock worth $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 4,792 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Molson Coors Beverage by 17.1% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,462 shares of the companys stock worth $985,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Molson Coors Beverage by 45.7% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,834 shares of the companys stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Molson Coors Beverage by 4.5% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,654 shares of the companys stock worth $889,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in Molson Coors Beverage by 26.3% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 14,411 shares of the companys stock worth $769,000 after purchasing an additional 3,001 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.73% of the companys stock.

Molson Coors Beverage Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Molson Coors Beverage Company manufactures, markets, and sells beer and other malt beverage products under various brands in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers flavored malt beverages including hard seltzers, craft, and ready to drink beverages. It provides its products under Aspall Cider, Blue Moon, Coors Original, Hop Valley brands, Leinenkugel's, Miller Genuine Draft, Molson Ultra, Sharp's, Staropramen, and Vizzy Hard Seltzer above premier brands; Bergenbier, Borsodi, Carling, Coors Banquet, Coors Light, Jelen, Kamenitza, Miller Lite, Molson Canadian Lager, Molson Dry, Molson Export, and Niksicko, Ozujsko under the premium brands; and Branik, Icehouse, Keystone, Miller High Life, Milwaukee's Best, and Steel Reserve under the economy brands.

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A vast majority (73%) of consumers want to live more sustainable lifestyles, particularly those living in emerging Asian markets (87%), but inconvenience and high costs are cited as main stumbling blocks.

This is according to the latest independent research commissioned by Alibaba Group. The research, titled The Sustainability Trends Report 2023, polled more than 14,000 consumers from 14 markets across Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

It finds that convenience (53%) and affordability (33%) are critical for driving behavioural changes on consumer sustainability and businesses can make it easier for consumers to make sustainably conscious choices.

Building trust

But consumers are cynical (38%) towards the underlying motivation of businesses "sustainable" products, with only 15% saying that they completely trust claims around sustainability of products. Businesses need to work harder to build trust among those consumers, especially among people living in European markets.

As a digital platform company, Alibaba is uniquely positioned and committed to addressing the say-do gap challenge; by reducing the inconvenience obstacle, adding more sustainable choices, and optimising supply chains to keep costs reasonable for consumers.

Sustainable consumption is crucial for the environment, and in the meantime, it provides a great opportunity for businesses, as well as the digital economy as a whole, to have a long-lasting development into a sustainable future for all, said Liu Wei, Alibaba Group ESG Strategy Lead.

ESG report

Alibaba published its latest Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report in late July where for the first time it disclosed its Scope 3+ decarbonisation progress since it pioneered the concept in 2021 for a wider pledge of carbon emission reduction across its ecosystem.

Alibabas carbon ledger platform has seen a total number of 187 million consumers participating in carbon emission reduction activities in the 12 months leading to March 31, 2023 with 1.91 million products from 409 brands offered on Tmall and Taobao through its low-carbon friendly products programme as of March 2023, its latest ESG report revealed.

Consumers globally are embracing more sustainable lifestyles, but there are variations across regions in the level of engagement and how they want to live and shop more sustainably.

The research finds around three in four consumers (76%) would welcome more information about how to be more sustainable. The proportion is highest in the Philippines (93%), Indonesia (91%), and UAE (90%).

General openness

Over half (58%) of consumers say theyve already engaged with sustainable practices and they feel they are already personally doing a great deal. Theres also a general openness towards learning about sustainable online practices, with an average of 73% saying that they would welcome more information about how to make purchases online that are more sustainable.

Respondents from emerging Asian markets (88%) show higher willingness to learn how they can make purchases online that are more sustainable compared with developed Asian markets (66%) and Europe (66%). The sustainable online shopping behaviors also differ across regions, with emerging Asian markets (47%) more inclined to choosing sustainable packaging whereas those in Europe (47%) tend to recycle more.

Lack of information on how products are sustainable (48%) and the prices of sustainable products being too high (45%) are cited as the main barriers for consumers to make more sustainable purchases.

Over half of the consumers (53%) surveyed say they would only make sustainable choices if they were convenient, which is especially the case in Asian markets (61%) compared to European markets (36%). A third (33%) say living sustainably is not affordable, with Thailand (84%) leading the pack, followed by UAE (41%) and Spain (37%).

Amid the shifting consumer sentiments, businesses can play a significant role in making it easier for consumers to make sustainable conscious choices, the report finds.

Making products affordable

Making sustainable products more affordable (61%), making fewer products using single-use plastics and packaging (55%) and a wider selection of sustainable products and services (47%) are the top three ways consumers say businesses can do to promote consumer sustainability.

But businesses need to work harder to build trust among consumers on their sustainability claims, especially among those living in European markets, said the research. 23% of consumers say they do not trust very much the claims around sustainability of products from businesses, with the highest proportion in France (31%), Spain (31%) Germany (30%) and the UK (30%).

Nearly two in five consumers (38%) are cynical towards the underlying motivations of businesses sustainable products, with Thailand (56%), France (48%) and Singapore (47%) as the top three markets where consumers say sustainable products are just a way for companies to sell their products at a higher price.

"We believe companies can better earn trust from consumers by addressing their own say-do gap, such as being more transparent and committed with their sustainability claims, and backing their sustainable practices with data. This will also lead to greater empathy towards consumers along our common journey of sustainability, Wei added.-- TradeArabia News Service
Morguard North American Residential REIT (TSE:MRG.UN  Free Report) had its price target boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from C$23.00 to C$24.00 in a research note released on Thursday, BayStreet.CA reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Separately, TD Securities reduced their price objective on Morguard North American Residential REIT from C$24.00 to C$23.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 5th.

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Morguard North American Residential REIT Price Performance

Shares of TSE:MRG.UN opened at C$16.24 on Thursday. Morguard North American Residential REIT has a 52 week low of C$14.50 and a 52 week high of C$18.97. The company has a market cap of C$632.22 million, a P/E ratio of 7.35 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 100.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$16.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$17.30.

About Morguard North American Residential REIT

The REIT is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust established under and governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario. The Units of the REIT trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MRG.UN. With a strategic focus on the acquisition of high-quality multi-suite residential properties in Canada and the United States, the REIT maximizes long-term Unit value through active asset and property management.

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O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY  Free Report) by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 302,835 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after purchasing an additional 7,768 shares during the quarter. Weyerhaeuser makes up about 4.4% of O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc.s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc.s holdings in Weyerhaeuser were worth $10,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,907 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Montgomery Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Montgomery Investment Management Inc. now owns 30,525 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Sargent Bickham Lagudis LLC raised its stake in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. Sargent Bickham Lagudis LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,261 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.39% of the companys stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Denise M. Merle sold 5,719 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total transaction of $163,220.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 154,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,417,649.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Weyerhaeuser news, SVP Denise M. Merle sold 5,719 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $163,220.26. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 154,788 shares in the company, valued at $4,417,649.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Denise M. Merle sold 1,781 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $53,430.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 160,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,815,210. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Weyerhaeuser Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE WY traded up $0.39 during trading on Monday, hitting $34.06. The stock had a trading volume of 4,678,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,170,926. Weyerhaeuser has a 12 month low of $27.36 and a 12 month high of $37.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $24.94 billion, a PE ratio of 35.79 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $31.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.23.

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Weyerhaeuser had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The companys revenue was down 36.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Weyerhaeuser will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weyerhaeuser Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 2nd were given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 1st. Weyerhaeusers dividend payout ratio is presently 79.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WY. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Weyerhaeuser from $39.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Weyerhaeuser from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Monday. SpectralCast reissued a maintains rating on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research note on Wednesday, June 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Weyerhaeuser from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Monday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $38.29.

Weyerhaeuser Company Profile

(Free Report)

Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world's largest private owners of timberlands, began operations in 1900. We own or control approximately 11 million acres of timberlands in the U.S. and manage additional timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. We manage these timberlands on a sustainable basis in compliance with internationally recognized forestry standards.

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Patron Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO  Free Report) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,289 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 600 shares during the quarter. Patron Partners LLCs holdings in Altria Group were worth $771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 26,693 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,220,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,190 shares of the companys stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,113 shares of the companys stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 21,586 shares of the companys stock valued at $987,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Wealth Network Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 15,875 shares of the companys stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. 58.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.50 to $47.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. They set a buy rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $46.00.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE MO traded down $0.20 on Monday, reaching $45.29. The company had a trading volume of 4,019,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,701,929. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.35 and a 52-week high of $51.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.59. The companys fifty day moving average is $45.00 and its 200 day moving average is $45.61.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. Altria Groups quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.30%. Altria Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 120.90%.

About Altria Group

(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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Precision Wealth Strategies LLC trimmed its position in shares of Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE:RHI  Free Report) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,859 shares of the business services providers stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLCs holdings in Robert Half International were worth $230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of RHI. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in Robert Half International by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 9,604 shares of the business services providers stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Robert Half International by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,008 shares of the business services providers stock worth $2,511,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Robert Half International by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 7,342 shares of the business services providers stock worth $561,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Robert Half International by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 3,927 shares of the business services providers stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Robert Half International by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,429 shares of the business services providers stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. 89.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Robert Half International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RHI traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $73.80. 522,357 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,043,773. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 1.35. Robert Half International Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.65 and a 52 week high of $89.78. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $74.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.91.

Robert Half International Announces Dividend

Robert Half International ( NYSE:RHI Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. Robert Half International had a return on equity of 34.51% and a net margin of 7.84%. Robert Half Internationals revenue for the quarter was down 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. Research analysts predict that Robert Half International Inc. will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 25th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 24th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Robert Half Internationals dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on RHI. Redburn Partners began coverage on shares of Robert Half International in a research note on Tuesday, June 20th. They set a neutral rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Credit Suisse Group reduced their price objective on shares of Robert Half International from $63.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Robert Half International from $88.00 to $82.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Robert Half International from $63.00 to $53.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Robert Half International from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $71.22.

Robert Half International Company Profile

(Free Report)

Robert Half International Inc provides talent solutions and business consulting service in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company operates through three segments: Contract Talent Solutions, Permanent Placement Talent Solutions, and Protiviti. The Contract Talent Solutions segment provides contract engagement professionals in the fields of finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal and administrative, and customer support.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RHI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE:RHI  Free Report).

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DBS Group Holdings Ltd (OTCMKTS:DBSDY  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 24,000 shares, a drop of 13.4% from the June 30th total of 27,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 81,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.3 days.

DBS Group Stock Up 2.1 %

DBSDY traded up $2.14 on Friday, reaching $103.00. 27,070 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 29,564. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $94.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.43. DBS Group has a 52-week low of $88.98 and a 52-week high of $110.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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DBS Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.2113 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 12th. This is an increase from DBS Groups previous dividend of $1.20. This represents a yield of 6.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DBS Group Company Profile

DBSDY has been the topic of several analyst reports. HSBC raised shares of DBS Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of DBS Group in a research report on Tuesday, May 2nd. They issued a sell rating on the stock.

(Get Free Report)

DBS Group Holdings Ltd provides commercial banking and financial services in Singapore, Hong Kong, rest of Greater China, South and Southeast Asia, and internationally. It operates through Consumer Banking/Wealth Management, Institutional Banking, Treasury Markets, and Others segments. The Consumer Banking/Wealth Management segment offers banking and related financial services, including current and savings accounts, fixed deposits, loans and home finance, cards, payments, investment, and insurance products for individual customers.

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El Puerto de Liverpool, S.A.B. de C.V. (OTCMKTS:ELPQF  Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 122,000 shares, a decline of 31.8% from the June 30th total of 178,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1,220.0 days.

El Puerto de Liverpool Stock Performance

OTCMKTS ELPQF remained flat at $6.25 during trading on Friday. El Puerto de Liverpool has a 1 year low of $5.90 and a 1 year high of $6.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.07.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Citigroup downgraded shares of El Puerto de Liverpool from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 17th.

About El Puerto de Liverpool

El Puerto de Liverpool, S. A. B. de C. V., together with its subsidiaries, operates a chain of department stores in Mexico. The company operates through Liverpool Commercial, Suburbia Commercial, Real Estate, and Credit segments. Its stores offer various products, such as clothes and accessories for men, women, and children; household goods; furniture; cosmetics; and other consumer products.

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Jervois Global Limited (OTCMKTS:JRVMF  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,852,100 shares, an increase of 44.1% from the June 30th total of 1,285,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,623,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Jervois Global Price Performance

JRVMF stock remained flat at $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday. 420,175 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 614,082. Jervois Global has a 52-week low of $0.04 and a 52-week high of $0.41. The stocks 50 day moving average is $0.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $0.09.

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Jervois Global Company Profile

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Jervois Global Limited engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties. The company explores for cobalt, nickel, copper, and gold deposits. It holds 100% interest in the Idaho Cobalt Operations project located in the state of Idaho, the United States; the Sao Miguel Paulista nickel cobalt refinery in Sao Paulo, Brazil; and the Nico Young nickel-cobalt deposits in New South Wales, Australia.

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Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,160,000 shares, a growth of 14.7% from the June 30th total of 6,240,000 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Philip Morris International Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE PM traded up $1.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $99.86. 3,889,031 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,248,114. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.70. The companys 50 day moving average price is $95.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.51. Philip Morris International has a 12 month low of $82.85 and a 12 month high of $105.62.

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Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 20th. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.10. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 127.84% and a net margin of 11.63%. The company had revenue of $8.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. Philip Morris Internationals quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Philip Morris International

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 23rd were issued a $1.27 dividend. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 22nd. Philip Morris Internationals dividend payout ratio is 98.26%.

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PM. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 43,512,330 shares of the companys stock worth $4,403,883,000 after purchasing an additional 411,358 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,959,139 shares of the companys stock worth $3,399,777,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106,408 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,296,422 shares of the companys stock worth $3,061,665,000 after purchasing an additional 449,971 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,448,722 shares of the companys stock worth $2,085,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,211,020 shares of the companys stock worth $1,576,522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315,656 shares during the last quarter. 77.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PM has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Citigroup upgraded Philip Morris International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the company from $109.00 to $117.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 20th. 22nd Century Group restated a reiterates rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, April 13th. They set a buy rating and a $114.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $111.40.

About Philip Morris International

(Get 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 primarily under the IQOS and ZYN brands; and consumer accessories, such as lighters and matches.

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Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (OTCMKTS:PIAIF  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,065,600 shares, an increase of 18.6% from the June 30th total of 1,741,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 938.9 days.

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of OTCMKTS PIAIF traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $6.98. 1,212 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,904. Ping An Insurance has a 52-week low of $3.89 and a 52-week high of $8.19. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $6.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.90.

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About Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China

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Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. provides financial products and services for insurance, banking, asset management, and technology businesses in the People's Republic of China. Its Life and Health Insurance segment offers term, whole-life, endowment, annuity, investment-linked, universal life, and health care and medical insurance to individual and corporate customers.

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Zhihu Inc. (NYSE:ZH  Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,000,000 shares, a drop of 20.6% from the June 30th total of 10,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 1.4% of the companys shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zhihu

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Zhihu by 5,480.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,331,239 shares of the companys stock valued at $8,231,000 after acquiring an additional 6,217,795 shares during the period. Matthews International Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Zhihu by 85.2% in the 1st quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 9,133,209 shares of the companys stock valued at $11,599,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200,746 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Zhihu by 239.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,617,102 shares of the companys stock valued at $11,174,000 after acquiring an additional 3,257,204 shares during the period. Carmignac Gestion bought a new stake in Zhihu in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,850,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Zhihu in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,624,000. 12.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Zhihu Trading Up 5.3 %

NYSE ZH traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1.19. The companys stock had a trading volume of 6,002,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,979,374. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $1.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.28. Zhihu has a twelve month low of $0.89 and a twelve month high of $2.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $709.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.41 and a beta of 0.38.

About Zhihu

Zhihu ( NYSE:ZH Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 24th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter. Zhihu had a negative net margin of 29.93% and a negative return on equity of 19.86%. The company had revenue of $144.77 million for the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Zhihu will post -0.23 EPS for the current year.

(Get Free Report)

Zhihu Inc operates an online content community in the People's Republic of China. Its community allows people to seek inspiration, find solutions, make decisions, and have fun. The company also offers technology, business support, and consulting services; information transmission, software, and information technology services; information and marketing services; vocational training; and internet services, as well as holds audio-visual permit.

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Weather Alert

.Multiple rounds of heavy rain are expected this afternoon and tonight, and this will cause areas of flash flooding to develop across parts of southeast Missouri, far southern and southwest Illinois, and the Purchase Region of western Kentucky. ...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall is possible. * WHERE...Portions of southern Illinois, western Kentucky and southeast Missouri, including the following areas, in southern Illinois, Alexander, Johnson, Massac, Pulaski and Union. In western Kentucky, Ballard, Calloway, Carlisle, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Marshall and McCracken. In southeast Missouri, Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Mississippi, New Madrid, Ripley, Scott, Stoddard and Wayne MO. * WHEN...Through this evening. * IMPACTS...Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks. Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas. Low-water crossings may be flooded. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - Widespread rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches can be expected through late tonight, with locally higher amounts possible. Given the very saturated soils from recent rains, it will not take much heavy rain to cause flooding to develop. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... You should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to take action should Flash Flood Warnings be issued. &&
Over the weekend, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump delivered two fascistic speeches. Trump spoke at an Iowa Republican Party dinner on Friday along with a dozen other Republican candidates. On Saturday night, he addressed a half-full arena in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Former President Donald Trump delivered a fascistic diatribe in Erie, Pennsylvania on Saturday, July 29. [AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki]

In the face of 40 felony counts in the expanded classified documents case and pending indictments in Georgia and Washington D.C. related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, the ex-president doubled down on his antisemitic and QAnon-inspired attacks on his political enemies, including Republican rivals, Democratic opponents and Department of Justice prosecutors.



Speaking in Iowa, Trump delivered a truncated version of his standard 90-minute stump speech. With the Brooks & Dunn song Only in America blaringOne could end up going to prison. One just might be presidentTrump took the stage to applause from the audience. As usual, he viciously attacked immigrants and transgender people and claimed the Democrats supported murdering babies after birth.



Appealing to ever more open authoritarian sentiments within the Republican Party and ruling class as a whole, which is terrified by the resurgence of the class struggle in the United States and internationally, Trump presented himself as the only candidate willing to take on the deep-state globalists and defend Judaeo-Christian values.



He attacked fading Florida governor and Guantanamo Bay torturer Ron DeSantis from the right, claiming that DeSanctus was in the pocket of the Chinese Communist Party and globalists, a euphemism for Jewish people.



DeSantis, who continues to plummet in Republican primary polling, did not name Trump in his Iowa speech. Seeking to outflank Trump from the right, he touted his law and order record, including the death penalty for pedophiles and a blank check for police violence.

As he had in Eagle Pass, Texas last month, DeSantis promised to institute a shoot on sight border policy, saying, We will use deadly force against Mexican drug cartels.



Nearly all of the Republican presidential candidates mimicked Trumps far-right anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ and anti-communist rhetoric. Only one of the candidates who spoke in Iowa, former CIA officer and ex-Texas Republican congressman Will Hurd, directly attacked Trump, saying, Donald Trump is not running for president to represent the people that voted for him in 2016 and 2020. Donald Trump is running to stay out of prison. Hurd was greeted with a cascade of boos.



While mainstream media outlets have taken note of Trumps continued dominance in Republican primary polling, none have remarked on the openly fascistic character of his campaign rallies.

In a Saturday night appearance at the Erie Insurance Arena in Pennsylvania, Trump called every investigation and indictment against him a witch-hunt and said special counsel Jack Smith was deranged. He absurdly branded the war-mongering, strike-breaking, budget-cutting Biden administration and Democratic Party the spearhead of a communist and socialist takeover.



The Republican Party must be united against the Marxists, communists, fascists and globalists, Trump grunted. I promise you this: if you put me back in the White House, their reign will be over and America will be a free nation once again.



Ending his speech with piped-in music linked to QAnon, Trump declared, Together we are taking on some of the most menacing forces and vicious opponents our people have ever seen. But no matter how hateful and corrupt the communists and criminals we are fighting against... you must not ever forget this nation does not belong to them. This nation belongs to you.



Alluding to the New York Times 2016 opinion piece dubbing him the Siberian Candidate, i.e., Putins stooge, Trump denounced Joe Biden as the Chinese Communist Partys Manchurian Candidate.

Seeking to exploit anti-war sentiment, he threatened to withhold weapons deliveries to Ukraine until the FBI, DOJ (Department of Justice) and IRS (Internal Revenue Service) hand over every scrap of evidence they have on the Biden crime familys corrupt business dealings.

As media commentators subsequently noted, this was a repetition of then-President Trumps threat to delay US aide to Kiev until Ukrainian President Zelensky agreed to investigate the dealings of Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, which triggered the Democratic-led first impeachment of Trump in December of 2019.

Trump reiterated his claim that he won the 2020 election and threatened to mount another coup should he lose a reelection bid in 2024, saying the only way he could be defeated in next years election was if the Democrats rigged it like they did in 2020.

Trump pledged to stay in the race even if he became a convicted felon prior to Election Day.


The global heatwave continues, with its devastating death toll extending over the affected areas. At least 249 people have lost their lives in Mexico since March due to extreme heat, with the vast majority attributable to heat stroke. The rest died from dehydration. In the last month 12 states reported blackouts.

A Purple Patrol security guard checks the wellbeing of a homeless man in downtown Los Angeles Thursday, July 27, 2023. [AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes]

This came as a result of record temperatures, with some Mexican states topping 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius).

The heatwave is a result of the inability of the ruling elite to address capitalist-caused climate change, with the record-shattering heat signaling a tipping point entailing an acceleration in the number of climate-change-caused disasters. The worst effects of this are being borne by the working class, poor and elderly.

In Arizona, doctors are treating burn victims who suffered their injuries from falling down on the ground. The director of the Arizona Burn Center at Valleywise Health, Dr Kevin Foster, reported that every single one of the 45 beds in the burn center is full, with a third of these patients being people who fell and burned themselves on the ground.

The temperature of asphalt and pavement and concrete and sidewalks in Arizona on a warm sunny day or summer afternoon is 180 degrees sometimes. I mean, its just a little below boiling, so its really something, Foster told CNN.

Asphalt in particular due to its darker color has a lower albedo (or solar reflectance), reflecting less light compared to concrete, thereby heating up faster and reaching higher peak temperatures in similar conditions.

Not having air conditioning in Arizona is deadly, with outdoor temperatures topping 110 F (43 degrees C). Even the military, which is not known for its humane treatment of its personnel, suspends all PT and training activities at a heat index of 90 degrees and above, sometimes even excluding non-training missions.

Arizona has seen residents perish in the scorching heat before, with 72-year-old Stephanie Pullman dying after her electricity was cut off because of a $51 debt in 2018, in an especially egregious case of social murder. The public outcry following Pullmans death forced some minor changes in shut-off rules in the largest regulated utilities in Arizona, but residents continue to die from electricity shutoffs.

This issue extends beyond Arizona, with 180 million people under a heat advisory on Friday across the US, and millions at risk of electricity cut-offs. According to Sanya Carley, a professor of energy policy and city planning at the University of Pennsylvania, one-quarter of US households are uncertain of their ability to pay for their energy bills. Carley noted that three million households suffered cutoffs last year. CBS News reports that only 19 states restrict summer shutoffs of utilities.

In Maricopa County, Arizona, home to Phoenix, the most populous city in the state, 18 heat-associated deaths were confirmed as of July 15, going back to April 11. A further 69 deaths are under investigation. Four of these occurred inside, with three from non-functioning air conditioners and another from electricity that was not turned on. The city has added refrigerated containers to store bodies, anticipating a surge of heat-related deaths. Ten 8-by-20 foot coolers were recently delivered to a lot near the office of the county medical examiners office.



For 2022, according to Marciopa Countys 2022 Heat Deaths Report, 425 heat-associated deaths were recorded. These deaths have been on the rise since 2014, and in recent years have outpaced population growth. Between 2021 and 2022, heat deaths increased 25 percent while population grew by a mere 1.3 percent, meaning that 23.7 percent of that increase is connected to factors other than population growth.

The largest share of those deaths were among the homeless, with 178 deaths reported. Four-fifths of these deaths were men, three-fifths were non-Hispanic white, while two-thirds were among those aged 50 or older. Two-thirds had no post-secondary school education. Eighty-six people died indoors in 2022, with a somewhat greater number of these deaths among men (58 percent). All indoor deaths lacked air-conditioning.

In so many words, the deaths were among the elderly and the poor. It is a class issue, not an issue of race or gender.

Much as with the COVID-19 pandemic, the capitalist elite apply the Nazi concept of lebensunwertes Leben life unworthy of life to the elderly, the sick, and poor workers.

This years heatwave deaths follow a global trend of such events. Last summer, nearly 62,000 died in Europe from then-record-breaking heat according to a recent study published in Nature. Italy led the death toll at 18,000, followed by Spain at 11,000 and Germany at 8,000.

In Texas, Republican governor Gregg Abbott has used the heatwave as an opportunity to deliver a provocative and essentially fascistic order banning local ordinances that require water-breaks for workers. In reponse to this, the Democrats performed their usual hand-wringing, with Democratic Socialists of America member and US House Democrat Greg Cesar holding a performative 9-hour thirst strike.

Texas has seen massive death tolls from heat, with at least 306 people dying of heat-related causes last year, smashing previous records going back 20 years. This death toll was roughly split between residents and migrants.

Amid the heatwave, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has called for the continuation of a moratorium on energy cutoffs in Texas until September 15. The AARP cited the US Census Bureau, which reported that over 44 percent of Texans face energy insecurity reducing payments for necessities such as food, medicine and rent in order to pay their energy bill.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) claimed it extended the moratorium, but used the specious requirements of these moratorium days having to coincide with the National Weather Service issu[ing] a heat advisory for a county, or when an advisory has been issued for the two preceding days, instead of extending it to a specific date.

According to the New York Times, Workers make up a large share of hospital admissions for heat-related illnesses, but in Laredo, where ten people died between June 15 and July 3, the deaths were mostly among the elderly.

Intersecting with the barbarous policy towards immigrants of both the Texas government as well as the Biden Administration, this year 103 migrants died from heat near the US-Mexico border. Desperate to escape the heat, hundreds of migrants who have made the arduous journey to the border have in desperation resorted to alerting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) via CBP-placed beacons, in order to be detained and thus escape the deadly heat. Chief Jason Owens of CBP stated on his Twitter page on July 20 that in the span of just 72 hours 71 migrants were rescued by CBP.

Further endangering migrants, the governor has installed a floating razor wire lined wall along the Rio Grande River, posing the dual risk of extending migrants travels in the desert, increasing the risk of death from heat-stroke or dehydration, or by drowning should they attempt to bypass the floating wall via the river.

This is part of Abbotts attempt to outdo the Biden administration, attacking immigrants as part of his illegal Operation Lone Star border security initiative. An email from a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Trooper revealed that officers working under the initiative have been instructed to push immigrant children back into the Rio Grande and to withhold water from asylum seekers, likely contributing to the death toll along the border.
On Sunday, the leaders of 15 West African states issued an ultimatum to Niger, the former French West African colony where soldiers seized power in a coup on Wednesday, threatening military action unless President Mohamed Bazoum was restored to office within a week.

The leaders of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the eight-member West African Economic and Monetary Union, issued their threat after a crisis summit in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. It followed earlier threats by the United States and France, which both have troops stationed in Niger, that they would cut hundreds of millions of dollars worth of aid and military support unless Bazoum was reinstated.

Nigeria President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, second from left, poses for a group photograph with other West Africa leaders after a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, Sunday, July 30, 2023. At an emergency meeting Sunday in Abuja, the West African bloc known as ECOWAS said that it was suspending relations with Niger, and authorized the use of force if President Mohamed Bazoum is not reinstated within a week. [AP Photo/Chinedu Asadu]

ECOWAS said it would take all measures necessary to restore democratic rule in Niger that may include the use of force and imposition of financial sanctions on those who carried out the coup led by General Abdourahmane Tchiani, the longtime chief of Nigers presidential guard who has declared himself head of a transitional government.

French President Emmanuel Macron declared, This coup detat is perfectly illegitimate and deeply dangerous for Nigeriens, for Niger, and for the entire region. On Saturday, France suspended all development aid and budget support, worth about 120 million ($130 million) in 2022, to the country, home to Frances largest regional base after it was forced to leave Mali in 2021.

The European Union (EU) also cut off all budget support and security aid, worth 503 million ($554 million) over the 2021-24 period, with immediate effect, according to a statement issued by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Saturday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for Bazoums immediate release and offered Washingtons unflagging support. He warned that American security ties with Niger were in jeopardy. US aid to Niger has totalled about $500 million since 2012, including a $100 million air base 5km south east of Agadez, making Niger the largest recipient of US aid in West Africa.

On Friday, the African Union issued a statement demanding that the military return to barracks and restore the president within 15 days.

Bazoum was possibly ousted because he had sought to change the high military command. Although detained along with his family in the presidential palace in the capital, Niamey, he has been in telephone contact with international leaders, including Blinken. His election in 2021 marked the first democratic transition of power in Niger, a country that has seen four military coups since independence from France in 1960.

Speaking on state television Friday, Tchiani said he had taken control of the government to prevent the gradual and inevitable demise of the country and declared he was the president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland. He said that while Bazoum had tried to convince people that all is going well  the harsh reality (is) a pile of dead, displaced, humiliation and frustration. He added, The security approach today has not brought security to the country despite heavy sacrifices, a reference to Nigers reliance on Frances military support.

Colonel Amadou Abdramane, a spokesperson for the putschists, said the military had closed Nigers borders, declared a nationwide curfew and suspended all the institutions of the state. He warned against any foreign intervention, saying, All foreign military intervention of whatever kind poses the risk of disastrous and uncontrollable consequences for our population and the chaos of our country.

The French Presidents office declared, Should anyone attack French nationals, the army, diplomats and French interests, they will see France respond in an immediate and intractable manner The President of the Republic will not tolerate any attack against France and its interests. In response, coup supporters on Sunday tried to set fire to the French Embassy, shouting support for Russian leader Vladimir Putin despite calls from the Kremlin to release Bazoum.

Macron has been visiting Frances former colonial possessions, Vanuatu and New Caledonia, in the Pacific in a bid to reassert Frances interests in the region, not only against Beijing but also Washington.

Behind the threats of the imperialist powers and Nigers former colonial master, who has no compunctions about crushing opposition to his rule in the interests of Frances financial elite, there is considerable apprehension that the coup will endanger their predatory interests in the region.

Landlocked Niger has become an increasingly important ally for the imperialist powers in their efforts to suppress Islamist insurgencies in the resource-rich but impoverished Sahel region, particularly after the military leaders running Mali and Burkina Faso demanded they withdraw their troops after the failed Barkhane and Sabre military operations. This latest coup is the sixth since 2020 in the greater Sahel regionfollowing one in Guinea and two each in Burkina Faso and Mali. Neighboring Mali forced France to remove its soldiers in 2021 in favour of Russias Wagner Group, which has been able to take advantage of Frances and other Western countries worsening relations with the Sahelian states.

Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin supported the coup, saying Thursday that what happened in Niger is the fight of its people against the colonizers.  It effectively means winning independence.

Niger has some of the worlds largest reserves of cobalt, diamonds, platinum, and uranium. It is the main supplier of uranium to the European Union, ahead of Kazakhstan and Russia. Since 1968, Orano (formerly Areva) company, 45 percent owned by the French state, has mined uranium around the northern desert town of Arlit. Just two mines account for around a third of the multi-billion-dollar companys total global production of the uranium used to generate Frances nuclear power that not only provides 70 percent of the countrys electricity but also much of Europes, including Germany.

Oranos mining concession, bought cheaply with tied aid, mostly in the form of loans to the country, has depleted the regions water resourcesfew local people have running waterproduced millions of tonnes of radioactive waste and left Niger at the bottom of the worlds wealth table. More than 10 million of Nigers 24 million population live in extreme poverty, while approximately 17 percent of the countrys population require humanitarian assistance. The Nigerien governments annual budget has typically been a fraction of Oranos yearly revenue.

Following its forced exit from Mali, Frances military support for Niger has involved training the Nigerien army and supplying it with intelligence and air resources under the rubric of the war against Islamic terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda, Islamic State and Boko Haram.

The imperialists war on terror is a fraud. The US, UK, France and NATO used these same groups to wage their proxy wars in Libya and especially in Syria. After fighting in the NATO-led war against Libya in 2011, Al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups took refuge in the countries of the Sahel region. Using these wars as a pretext, imperialist powers like France, America and Germany plundered Africa's richest resources. In October 2021, Malian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga accused the French government of secretly arming Islamist terrorists to maintain the conflict in the country and justify the French military occupation.

The growing bloodshed in the region, which includes many of the worlds poorest countries, is the result of Frances more than 10-year neo-colonial war over the Sahel region. Violence has resurfaced in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso and other countries. The imperialists are using divide and rule policies to maintain control over the region characterized by multiple ethnic and tribal group, instigating ethnic riots and bloody massacres in the region.

The ongoing conflict in Niger, where kidnappings, assassinations, thefts and threats are rife, has displaced nearly 380,000 people as of late March, while the country is also hosting more than 700,000 refugees and asylum seekers, primarily from neighboring Mali and Nigeria. Niger is also a transit route for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa heading north to Europe to escape conflict and poverty.
Australia-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) held in the city of Brisbane on Saturday sketched a further build-up of American military assets and aggressive geo-political activities, all directed against China. The talks provided for an expanded US military presence in Australia, the production and stockpiling of missiles in that country, a secret space warfare pact and the development of a joint intelligence agency.

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Brisbane, 29 July, 2023. [Photo: Twitter]

The Brisbane meeting was the centrepiece of a broader regional visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, which had the character of an anti-China campaign. Both took the unusual step of visiting small countries in the Pacific, which has become a focal point of the US-China tensions, and Blinken travelled to New Zealand, whose commitment to the US war drive has repeatedly come under question.

The AUSMIN statement underscored the far-reaching character of the geopolitical push and accompanying military build-up, as well as the complete commitment to it of the Australian Labor government, represented at the talks by Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles.

The communique is concerned not only with the Indo-Pacific, but with the global strategy of American imperialism.

An entire section of the statement was headlined Shared commitment to global security. It dwelt particularly on the conflict in Ukraine, with bellicose and thoroughly hypocritical condemnations of Russias violations of peace and international law.

The focus on Ukraine comes amid a continuous escalation of US and NATO involvement in what was a planned and provoked proxy war with Russia. Increasingly, the US attempts to inflict a devastating defeat on Russia and its developing confrontation with China are being linked as two fronts in a single global conflict aimed at establishing US hegemony.

That was underscored by the participation of Australia and other Indo-Pacific allies last month at a NATO summit in Lithuania dedicated to the next US escalation in Ukraine. Notably, the AUSMIN statement called on all those with influence on Russia, particularly China, to exert it now to end the war. This is a clear attempt to use the war as a means to ramp up pressure on China.

The greater part of the statement was a detailed outline of US strategy in the Indo-Pacific. As always, the attempt to assert untrammelled US dominance was presented as an exercise in ensuring that the region remained free and open and subject to the international rules-based order, a phrase that means the post-World War II rules dictated by the US itself.

The statement, while calling for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, declared the support of the US and Australia for emphasised Taiwans important role as a leading Indo-Pacific economy and democracy and reiterated their commitment to work together to support Taiwans meaningful participation in international organisations to deepen economic, trade and people-to-people ties and committed to enhance development coordination with Taiwan in the Pacific.

All of that dovetailed with the efforts of the Biden administration to transform the island into a flashpoint for war. Presidents Trump and now Biden have chipped away at the One China policy, which the US accepted in 1979 as the basis for diplomatic relations with China, under which the Beijing was recognised de facto as the legitimate government of all China, including Taiwan.

Washingtons aim is to goad Beijing into a military conflict over Taiwan as it did with Russia in Ukraine.

The US and Australia expressed their strong opposition to destabilising actions in the South China Sea, such as unsafe encounters at sea and in the air, the militarisation of disputed features, the dangerous use of coast guard vessels and maritime militia, etc.

All of this was directed against China. In fact, it is the US that has conducted provocative freedom of navigation operations in and near waters claimed by Beijing, while stoking regional disputes over the South China Sea that had simmered as low-level conflicts for decades.

The document made similar hypocritical statements about the East China Sea. All of this is part of a vast US-led military build-up aimed at nothing less than the encirclement of China.

Reference was made to the importance of South-East Asian states. They have reacted nervously to the US press against China, especially the announcement that Australia will acquire nuclear-powered submarines under the militarist AUKUS pact with the US and Britain. Nations such as Indonesia also have ties with Russia and have avoided taking a clear position on the Ukraine war.

A major focus of the statement was on the Pacific. The small island states there have become the focal point of a US campaign against purported Chinese influence in the region. This reached its high point last year, when revelations of a security pact between China and the Solomon Islands prompted threats by the US of unspecified military action against that oppressed nation.

The intense US and Australian intervention in the region has been underscored by continuous visits of Australian Foreign Minister Wong, as well as the stopovers of Blinken and Austin.

The statement sketched out an aggressive plan for that region. This included involving the Pacific Island states in military exercises with the US and its allies, deepening the US naval presence there and expanding the diplomatic and intelligence presence.

AUSMIN has underscored Australias role as a fulcrum of this broader offensive throughout the region.

The sections dealing with US-Australian military cooperation underscored that the AUKUS submarines are only a centrepiece of a far broader build-up which extends across every area of the armed forces. The decisions made were in line with a previous AUKUS meeting last October, at which the Labor government gave a virtually open-ended commitment to the stationing of US military assets in Australia.

This years statement recalled the Force Posture Agreement, which recognises the mutual benefits to Australia and the United States from access to facilities and areas in Australia by the United States Armed Forces and that such access and use is on a rotational basis

Concretely, it spelt out that the airforce bases in Australias north are being upgraded, including to host US assets. Last year it was revealed that the Labor government had already committed to the rotation of nuclear-capable B-52 bombers through northern Australia. Rotation in this context is a euphemism to avoid the term basing.

The statement said: Through Enhanced Air Cooperation, they announced their intent to rotate U.S. Navy Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft in Australia to enhance regional maritime domain awareness, with an ambition of inviting likeminded partners to participate in the future.

Through enhanced maritime cooperation, US nuclear-powered submarines will begin rotating through the countrys bases, particularly the west coast Stirling naval base, to which Washington has sought greater access for years. Well before Australia acquires a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, it will be a base from which British and US vessels could conduct offensive operations targeting the Chinese coast.

The US and Australian leaders agreed to a deal under which the Biden administration will help develop Australias missile manufacturing capabilities. Australia will provide the missiles to the US, including to facilitate the US-NATO war effort in Ukraine, and will stockpile them in the country.

The broader focus of the statement was on supply chain security. In addition to the missile pact, the US and Australia earlier this year signed an agreement integrating their policies on critical minerals. Increasingly, those industries necessary for war production are being fortified and weaned off from their dependence on China for these vital raw materials in preparation for an actual conflict in the region.

The US and Australian officials declared Enhanced Space Cooperation as a new Force Posture Initiative to enable closer cooperation in this critical operational domain. They also announced their intent to increase space integration and cooperation in existing operations and exercises.

What this concretely means is being hidden from the population. Defence Minister Marles was asked by a journalist if Australia and the US had undertaken to develop space weapons targeting China. He refused to answer, made vague comments about the importance of the program and said it was likely that no Australian government would ever say more on the matter.

Over the past two months, US generals, together with hawkish think-tanks, have increasingly emphasised the importance of space warfare on the pretext of responding to purported threats from Russia and China. The US military has refused to disclose its space weapons systems, but senior figures have declared that America is ready to fight tonight in a space war.

In this context, it seems likely that the US-Australian deal could relate to weapons or systems that would be used to destroy Chinese and Russian satellite systems in the event of war.

That only underscores the fact that what is being prepared is a conflict of unprecedented and catastrophic proportions. The Labor government is completing Australias transformation into a frontline state in such a war.

That is entirely in keeping with the turn by imperialist governments everywhere to militarism to offset their own crisis and to project outwards the immense social tensions that are building up amid a breakdown of capitalism. The fight against war is thus a fight against the Labor government, the capitalist system and its defenders.
Downtown Moscow, Russia, came under attack Sunday, with Ukrainian drones damaging the Moscow International Business Center.

The facades of two office buildings were damaged, and one person was injured. The surrounding area was evacuated, and flights to and from Moscows Vnukovo International Airport were temporarily suspended.

The latest attack illustrates that, following the Vilnius NATO summit which significantly increased the alliances preparations for global war, the conflict in Ukraine continues to escalate.

This was the third drone attack on Moscow in the past month. The first Ukrainian drone strike on Moscow occurred in May, targeting the residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.

While not formally admitting responsibility for this weekends attacks, Ukrainian officials clearly bragged about their ability to strike the Russian capital.

A view of the damaged skyscraper in the "Moscow City" business district after a reported drone attack in Moscow, Russia, early Sunday, July 30, 2023. [AP Photo/Uncredited]

Now the war is affecting those who werent concerned [about it], said Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat. No matter how the Russian authorities would like to turn a blind eye on this by saying they intercepted everything  something does hit.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, clearly referencing the attack on Moscow, said in his Sunday evening address that gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia, including strikes on symbolic centers. This is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process, he added.

Even as the Ukrainian ground offensive makes no meaningful progress, Ukraine is becoming more brazen in attacking Russian targets, which the United Stateswhich funds and directs the warpublicly claims it does not support.

Earlier this month, the Ukrainian military attacked the Kerch Bridge, which links Crimea to the Russian mainland. The attack, executed with two kamikaze drone boats, resulted in two civilian deaths and destroyed one span of the bridge. A young girl was severely injured.

In a separate attack, Russias defense ministry said Ukraine had launched 25 drones at the Crimean Peninsula, all of which Russian authorities claim to have intercepted.

In another attack, Ukrainian missiles struck the Russian port city of Taganrog, about 30 miles from the Russian-controlled border with eastern Ukraine. The attack left nine people hospitalized.

The New York Times commented that the missile strike signifies that Ukraine is stepping up its attacks inside Russia just as its counteroffensive on the battlefield enters a more intense phase.

The strikes come as the US media last week proclaimed a new stage in Ukraines offensive, which began last month. To date, the offensive has been a bloody disaster, with countless thousands of Ukrainian troops sacrificed for negligible territorial gains.

Coverage of the disastrous state of the offensive continues to find its way into the US press. On Sunday, the Times admitted that Ukrainian units are sustaining heavy losses.

The Times recounted one such disastrous attempt to take a Russian trench:

The trenches were mined, said the assault commander, who uses the call sign Voskres, short for Resurrection. Our guys started jumping in the trenches and blowing up, he added. The Russian forces were watching, and they remotely detonated the mines, he said. Those who managed to avoid the mines came under attack from multiple Russian kamikaze drones. It seemed like they had a drone for each person, he said. The amount of equipment the Russians have, had we known, it was like mission impossible.

As the full magnitude of the disaster of the Ukrainian offensive becomes clear, the United States is under increasing pressure to intervene directly.

In an ominous move not reported in any mainstream media outlet, the Pentagon this month approved hazard pay for American troops serving in Ukraine.

Hazard pay is typically approved in active combat zones, such as in the wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The move first became known after a letter announcing it was published online in a Facebook discussion group.

The letter from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense dated July 13 announced that US troops deployed to Ukraine will receive hazard pay backdated to April 24, 2022.

The veracity of the letter was confirmed by a US official who spoke to the Military Times.

In November, US Air Force spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder acknowledged during an official briefing that active-duty military personnel are not only deployed inside of Ukraine but are operating far away from the US embassy in Kiev.

Ryder said, We do have small teams that are comprised of embassy personnel that are conducting some inspections of security assistance delivery at a variety of locations.

In April 2013, a series of internal Pentagon memos quantified the US troop presence in Ukraine. The memos noted that 97 NATO Special Operations troops are currently deployed inside Ukraine and that a total of 100 US personnel are deployed inside Ukraine, including 71 military personnel.

In April, ABC News reported, in addition to providing assistance with the oversight of US equipment and supplies being sent to Ukraine, the team has assisted Ukrainian military planners with operations that have resulted in hundreds, if not thousands, of Russian military casualties.
As the Chinese economy slows with problems in many areasincluding falling consumer demand, lower investment, ongoing problems in the real estate sector, and rising local government debt, to name just somea social time bomb is ticking away.

High school students in China. [AP Photo/Andy Wong]

Tens of millions of young people, many of them with tertiary education qualifications, are unable to find employment or at least the job opportunities they were led to believe higher education would bring.

Tens of millions more, without degrees or qualifications, are either without work, being pushed into very low-paid jobs or trying to make a living in the precarious gig economy.

The most recent data showed that the unemployment rate for urban youth aged 16 to 24 years old was 21.3 percent, a record high, reflecting a continuing upward trend. In reality, the figure could be much higher.

Earlier this month a Peking University professor, Zhang Dandan, wrote an online article in the financial magazine Caixin, stating that if 16 million non-students staying at home and relying on their parents were included then the real youth jobless rate could be as high at 46.5 percent.

This phenomenon is so widespread that a new term lying flat has been coined to describe it. One indication of the sensitivity surrounding this issue is that Zhangs article, published on July 17, was removed after a couple of days. Reuters reported that calls to her work phone went unanswered.

The issue of youth unemployment is being widely discussed on social media with the development of new terms such as chewing on the elderly and professional children being used to describe lying flat.

It is estimated that China has about 96 million youth aged 16 to 24 living in urban areas. Of these, 33 million are looking for jobs. Another 48 million are involved in education, which leaves another 15 million or so unaccounted for. If those who are not in employment, education or training are counted as jobless, then the youth unemployment rate is more than double the official figure.

The government is well aware of the growing problem but has offered no solution.

Characterising more than 20 million idle educated young people as a potential source of social instability, an article on Bloomberg noted: The government has suggested domestic services, such as elderly care and babysitting, as well as rural jobs. [Chinese president Xi Jinping] has repeatedly urged young people to eat bitternessto endure hardship and develop grit. All that has done is lead to young peoples mockery.

Chinese youth unemployment has been the subject of both comment and analysis in the recent period.

In a comment published in the Financial Times earlier this month, George Magnus, a well-known China researcher at the University of Oxfords China Centre, said the lying flat term, expressing disillusionment, had taken root among Chinese youth and a new term let it rot, conveying pessimism, was also gaining popularity.

Citing research by Stanford University professor Scott Rozelle, Magnus pointed to marked change in the occupational structure of jobs. Fifteen years ago, the ratio of informal to formal sector jobs was 40 to 60 but this had now flipped.

As an example of the situation facing educated young people, a report by CNN cited the case of Nancy Chen who is now a full-time daughter in a family located in the eastern Jiangxi province.

The 24-year-old had been teaching at a private tutoring college after she had graduated from college but lost her job in 2021 when authorities banned for-profit tutoring services. She had not obtained a job since then because of furious competition, citing a case in her province when 30,000 people applied for three municipal government jobs.

Economic historian Adam Tooze published some revealing data in a recent post on his Chartbook site, noting that 11.58 million university graduates would enter the jobs market this year.

The numbers, he wrote, were truly ominous for those from second or third tier universities, many of whom are first generation college students whose families have everything riding on their academic success.

Unemployment came as a shock and was a relatively recent phenomenon.

Ten years ago, the majority of young unemployed in cities had no college degrees. By contrast, in 2021 more than 70 percent of jobless Chinese urbanites aged 16 to 24 had a degree from a higher education institution, and over 42 percent had earned a bachelors degree or above.

Toozes analysis went beyond the focus in most of the media coverage on college graduates, saying this obscured a deeper and in many ways more ominous trend at work in Chinas labour market.

Two thirds of the young people entering the labour market in China right now below the age of 24 are not college graduates, but have high school education or less. This reflects the fact that 40 percent of Chinese young people do not make it into tertiary education. Indeed, a substantial minority barely finish high school and they make up the majority of people who enter the labour market early.

In rural areas, schools fail to teach even basic literacy skills and this education failure severely limited the opportunities for tens of millions of young people.

They can no longer find employment in farms and factories because the share of employment in these areas is declining both in relative and absolute terms. Chinas industrial workforce is aging as young workers are shut out and stay away, he wrote.

Young workers at the bottom of the social pyramid are concentrated in labour-intensive flexible or informal sectors. This is not in construction, once regarded as the classic employer of migrant labour coming from the country to the city, as two thirds of employment is in labour-intensive services.

According to official data, the number of so-called flexibly employed has reached 200 million or 27 percent of the working population. Other estimates put the number at 250 million.

Rather than decreasing as China becomes richer, Tooze wrote, the share of informal sector employment is actually increasing.

He cited analysis from Caixin which estimated this year that 5.7 million people in the education, property and construction industries are expected to be joblessa 73 percent surge from 2019. Of these 1.3 million would be young workers, more than double the number four years ago.

There is a scramble for employment in the gig economy especially in the field of taxi driving, with the number or new licences issued to drivers increasing 32.6 percent in 2022. New drivers have been added this year at a rate five times fast than last year. This has led to a situation where some cities have stopped issuing permits.

Social inequality is widening, a fact that is not going unnoticed.

As Tooze put it: While economic growth and wage growth for every part of the Chinese economy is slowing down, those at the top of the corporate hierarchy earn globally competitive salaries running into hundreds of thousands of dollars and their salaries continue to increase above GDP trend. By contrast  those in the informal sector see incomes dragging behind ever-diminishing GDP growth.

The economic data have far-reaching social and political implications. The ruling Chinese Communist Party regime maintained that the turn to capitalism, begun in earnest three decades ago, would create an economy in which education would bring higher living standards while migration from the country to the city would lead to social advancement.

For a period of time this indeed was the case as hundreds of millions were lifted out of absolute poverty. Notwithstanding the claims of bureaucrats, however, the laws of capitalist economy never cease to operate, and this happy scenario is now being shattered by reality.

At present, terms such as lying flat on social media indicate an air of resignation and pessimism. But there are also increasing signs of anger and hostility, marked by ridiculing of official announcements.

A new mood is developing. This portends major social and class conflicts in which the forging of a genuine internationalist socialist perspective, developed against the official capitalist dogma of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the formation of a revolutionary leadership to fight for it will be the all-important issue.
The Birthplace of Route 66 Festival is keeping it classic, celebrating 11 years of honoring the Mother Road this August.

This year's Route 66 Festival is Thursday, Aug. 10 through Saturday, Aug. 12 with live music stages, car and motorcycle shows, and vendors scattered throughout downtown Springfield. The family-friendly festival is free.

New to this year's festival is the addition of the Great Route 66 Talent Competition, which will begin with singers, songwriters and dancers submitting audition videos prior to the three-day festival. Submitted videos will be submitted on the KY3 website for community voting and the top 20 contestants will perform live, in front of a panel of judges, at the festival.

The Kansas City Chiefs Champion Tour and the Lombardi Trophy will also be joining the festival on Friday, Aug. 11 between 4-6 p.m. at the Springfield Expo Center. Fans will have the opportunity to take photos with the trophy and mascot KC Wolf.

More: Listen up Chiefs fans: Lombardi Trophy is coming to Springfield to join Route 66 festival

Concerts kick off on Friday, Aug. 11 in Motorcycle Village, located along Jefferson Avenue between Trafficway Street and McDaniel Street. Friday night's headliners are Machine Gun Symphony and Sixwire. Nathan Bryce and the Loaded Dice, Red Light Runner, Damsel, Dirty Saint and Sixwire will take the stage on Saturday, Aug. 12.

The Birthplace of Route 66 Festival was founded 13 years ago as a grassroots effort to honor the history of Route 66 in Springfield. What started at the intersection of College Street and Grant Avenue in the West Central Neighborhood has grown to encompass all of downtown. The festival is the largest of its kind in the state.

In addition to the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival, the News-Leader compiled a list of 20 activities throughout the Ozarks in the month of August.

Ozark Empire Fair

Free Ride Day at the 83rd Ozark Empire Fair attracted thousands on Wednesday, July 31, 2019.

When: July 27-Aug. 5

Where: Ozark Empire Fairgrounds at 3001 N. Grant Ave.

The 87th annual Ozark Empire Fair concludes this week. Colt Ford with Stoney LaRue headlines the KY3 Grandstand on Tuesday and the Hardee's Bull Riding Nationals will be held Aug. 4-5.

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Fair admission is $15 for attendees 12 and up and $5 for children six through 11, during the fair. Parking passes are available for $5. The fair is open 11 a.m. to close Tuesday-Saturday.

Euphoria Hot Glow

When: Tuesday, Aug. 1 at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Wellness Collective Studios at 401 W. McDaniel St.

Wellness Collective Studio is hosting a Euphoria-themed, black light yoga session. Participants are encouraged to wear neon and glow sticks will be provided. Tickets are available for $10 online at bit.ly/3Yc8ers.

Springfield native Lillian Stone's book tour at Pagination Bookshop

Springfield native and comedy writer Lillian Stone's new book, "Everybody's Favorite: Tales from the World's Worst Perfectionist."

When: Friday, Aug. 4 at 6 p.m.

Where: Pagination Bookshop at 1150 E. Walnut St.

Springfield native Lillian Stone is returning to her hometown to discuss her new book, "Everybody's Favorite: Tales from the World's Worst Perfectionist" at Pagination Bookshop. The comedy book chronicles Stone's experiences growing up in the Ozarks, stepping away from the evangelical church and learning to manage her obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Stone will be discussing her book alongside Springfield author Nicole Chilton, who recently released her own book, "How Dreams Speak: An Interactive Journey into Your Subconscious." The two will discuss creativity, the publication process and answer questions from those in attendance.

More: Lillian Stone puts away her glitter gel pens and talks pursuit of perfection in first book

Springfield Little Theatre's 'Disney's Newsies, Jr.'

When: Aug. 4-5

Where: The Landers Theatre at 311 E. Walnut St.

Springfield Little Theatre's Education Department presents "Disney's Newsies, Jr." this summer. The production tells the story of newsboy Jack Kelly raising a strike against newspaper publishers in New York City. The production's runtime is one hour.

Tickets for Springfield Little Theatre's "Disney's Newsies, Jr." are available online at bit.ly/3QkmKLV. Shows run at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. both days.

Beehive workshops at Finley Farms

When: Aug. 6, 13 and 20

Where: Finley Farms at 802 Finley Farms Lane in Ozark

Finley Farms beekeeper Hannah is hosting multiple beekeeping workshops throughout the month of August. On Aug. 6 and 20, Hannah will be leading beehive checks, introducing participants to the different parts of the hive, how to handle hive frames and the different stages of bee development. Participants are encouraged to wear light-colored clothing. Beekeeper jackets and veils will be provided.

During the All About Bees workshop on Aug. 13, participants will also have the opportunity to look at the farm's active hive but will focus more on learning about the bee life cycle and how honey is made in a classroom setting.

Beehive checks are $35 per participant and the beehive workshop is $20 per participant. Tickets are available online at finleyfarmsmo.com/happenings/.

Free screening of 'Brick' at Moxie Cinema

When: Wednesday, Aug. 9 at 7 p.m.

Where: Moxie Cinema at 305 S. Campbell Ave. Suite 101

In partnership with the Friends of the Library, Moxie Cinema is hosting a free screening of the 2005 film "Brick." Directed by Rian Johnson, "Brick" tells the story of a teenage loner getting into a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend. Following the screening, guests can hang around for a discussion about the film.

History Museum on the Square opens Route 66 exhibit

When: Aug. 9-Nov. 5

Where: History Museum on the Square at 154 Park Central Square

The History Museum on the Square opens "Service With a Smile: Rte. 66 Service Stations, Fueling America's Automotive Culture" on Aug. 9. The exhibition will share the history of service stations along Route 66. Visitors will have the chance to learn about who in Springfield kept cars running and how service stations served as communal hubs. "Service With a Smile" will feature interactive displays, original, archival documents and photographs. The exhibition is the museum's second of five total Route 66 exhibits in preparation for the Mother Road's 100th anniversary in 2026.

The History Museum on the Square is open Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 1-5 p.m. Admission is $16 for adults, $13 for seniors, military and students, $10 for children ages four through 12 and free for children under the age of three.

162nd Battle Anniversary at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield

When: Thursday, Aug. 10 at 10 a.m.

Where: Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Visitors Center at 6424 W. Farm Road 182 in Republic

Wilson's Creek National Battlefield is hosting its 162nd battle anniversary with guests speakers and interactive events for the family to learn about the events of the battle and impact on the soldiers and families. Several tours will be held throughout the park for folks to learn about war from both civilian and soldier perspectives. The anniversary activities are free.

Isabel's House THE Summer Party

When: Saturday, Aug. 12 from 6-10 p.m.

Where: Finley Farms at 802 Finley Farms Lane in Ozark

Isabel's House is hosting its summer party fundraiser this month, featuring living music from The Mixtapes. Tickets are available online at bit.ly/471kRcW. Individual tickets are $150 and couple tickets are $275. All proceeds benefit Isabel's House, a nonprofit dedicated to helping children in crisis.

Back to School event at Rutledge-Wilson Farm Park

When: Sunday, Aug. 13 from 5-8 p.m.

Where: Rutledge-Wilson Farm Park at 3825 W. Farm Road 146

Celebrate back to school at Rutledge-Wilson Farm Park with food trucks, bouncy houses, obstacle courses, hayrides and square dancing. Food trucks Tinga Tacos, The Chop Shop Burger and Tin Lizzie's Tonic Truck will be on site.

Pre-event tickets for $7 are available online at bit.ly/3KdDHUE. Day-of tickets are $8. Children under the age of four are free.

Alice Cooper at Missouri State

Rock and roll musician Alice Cooper is performing at Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023.

When: Tuesday, Aug. 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Juanita K. Hammons Hall for Performing Arts at 525 S. John Q Hammons Parkway

Rock and roll icon Alice Cooper is performing on Missouri State University's campus for his "Too Close to Comfort Tour." Tickets are available online at bit.ly/3ObJmf0. Tickets range between $42 and $727, for VIP tickets.

Free screening of 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie'

This image released by Nintendo and Universal Studios shows Mario, voiced by Chris Pratt, left, and Princess Peach, voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy, in Nintendo's "The Super Mario Bros. Movie." (Nintendo and Universal Studios via AP) ORG XMIT: NYET209

When: Friday, Aug. 18 at 8:30 p.m.

Where: Jordan Valley Park at 635 E. Trafficway St.

The Springfield-Greene County Park Board is hosting a free screening of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" at Jordan Valley Park. Folks are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs and blankets. Concessions will be available for purchase, but no alcohol or tobacco is permitted.

Back 2 School Block Party

When: Saturday, Aug. 19 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: Springfield Dream Center at 829 W. Atlantic St.

The annual Black 2 School Block Party is back with food, games, water inflatables, haircuts, assorted clothing items and more fun activities. The Springfield Fire Department will be on site for photos and fire truck tours.

My. Big. Fat. GREEK NIGHT!

When: Saturday, Aug. 19 from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Where: Greek Belly at 320 E. Walnut St.

Greek Belly is hosting its annual My. Big. Fat. GREEK NIGHT! this month. Three dinner shows will be held throughout the evening with belly dancers and specials. Reservations can be made my emailing Greek Belly at greekbelly@gmail.com, calling the restaurant at 417-597-3382 or messaging Greek Belly on Facebook.

Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Springfield Symphony Orchestra concert

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils and Springfield Symphony Orchestra are hosting a one-night collaborative concert at The Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023.

When: Saturday, Aug. 19 at 7:30 p.m.

Where: The Mansion Theatre for the Performing Arts at 189 Expressway Lane in Branson

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils and Springfield Symphony Orchestra are performing together once again this summer. The two musical groups held their first collaborative concert last fall for Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts' 30th anniversary. Tickets are available online at bit.ly/456nf06.

'RuPaul's Drag Race' winner Sasha Colby at Martha's Vineyard

"RuPaul's Drag Race" season 15 winner Sasha Colby will headline a drag show at The Sanctuary on Neil on Monday.

When: Thursday, Aug. 24 at 5 p.m.

Where: Martha's Vineyard at 219 W. Olive St.

2012 Miss Continental titleholder and "RuPaul's Drag Race" season 15 winner Sasha Colby will be performing at Martha's Vineyard in late August. Colby's performance is a part of the club's annual Back to School bash. Local performers Reggie So-Kold Markstone Carrington, Tania Carrington, 2022 Missouri Bearded Queen Natalia Masters, Miss Marthas Vineyard Pride 2023 Penelope Booze Carrington will take the stage.

Tickets are available online at bit.ly/3QfYvyo. General admission tickets with early entry at $35 and general admission tickets are $25. Miss Continental is an annual drag queen pageantry system that was founded in 1980.

Christopher Titus at Blue Room Comedy Club

Comedian Christopher Titus will perform at Blue Room Comedy Club from Aug. 24-26.

When: Aug. 24-26

Where: Blue Room Comedy Club at 420 W. College St.

American comedian, podcaster and actor Christopher Titus is visiting Springfield in late August. Titus is popularly known for his FOX series, "Titus" that was on air between 2000-2002.

Tickets are available online at blueroomcomedyclub.com/events/75722. Club seating is $35 and reserved seating is $40.

Got Mud? Run

When: Saturday, Aug. 26

Where: Brookline Park at 2696 E. Sawyer Road in Republic

The muddiest event of the year is the Got Mud? Run in Republic. Families, children and adults are welcome to participate in the mud run at Brookline Park. The two-mile course features log jumps, climbing nets, muddy hills, monkey bars, wet trenches, tire towers and more. Registration is available online at bit.ly/3YjCPDB.

The Fab Four at Gillioz Theatre

When: Thursday, Aug. 31 at 8 p.m.

Where: Gillioz Theatre at 325 Park Central East

Emmy-award winning Beatles tribute band The Fab Four is making its way to Springfield in late-August. The band's stage performance includes three costume changes that represent the different eras of the Beatles' career. Tickets are available online at bit.ly/3OytmFj.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: 20 activities to explore in the Ozarks this August
Bob Geldof shared during a recent show that he had been in contact with longtime friend and labelmate Sinead OConnor just weeks before her death, according to Irelands The Independent. The Boomtown Rats frontman dedicated the bands performance at Cavan Calling in Ireland on Saturday (July 29) to the late artist, and shared some details with the crowd about one of his and OConnors final conversations.

Related

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Many, many times Sinead was full of a terrible loneliness and a terrible despair, he told the crowd, according to The Independent. She was a very good friend of mine  We were talking right up to a couple of weeks ago.

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He continued, Some of the texts were laden with desperation and despair and sorrow, and some were ecstatically happy. And she was like that.

According to the publication, Geldof then went on to discuss OConnors infamous performance of Nobody Compares 2 U on Saturday Night Live in 1992, during she condemned the Catholic Church, saying that she was inspired by him doing something similar. She tore up the picture of the Pope because she saw me tearing up a picture of John Travolta on Top Of The Pops. It was a little more extreme than tearing up fking disco  tearing up the Vatican is a whole other thing but more correct actually, I shouldve done it.

OConnor died July 26. Her family confirmed the news in a statement to BBC, which read, It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinead. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.

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Word that Bob Hearts Abishola was scaling back from 13 series regulars to two didnt exactly shock series star Bayo Akinfemi.

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It was a bit surprising, for all of 10 seconds, Akinfemi, who plays Goodwin, tells The New York Times. We are disappointed, but we also understand at the end of the day [that] its a business.

More from TVLine

As previously reported, only Billy Gardell and Folake Olowofoyeku are returning to their titular roles as series regulars for a 13-episode Season 5 on CBS. The remainder of the ensemble  which consists of Akinfemi, Christine Ebersole (as Dottie), Matt Jones (as Douglas), Maribeth Monroe (as Christina), Vernee Watson (as Gloria), Shola Adewusi (as Auntie Olu), Barry Shabaka Henley (as Uncle Tunde), Travis Wolfe Jr. (as Dele), Anthony Okungbowa (as Kofo), Saidah Arrika Ekulona (as Ebunoluwa) and series co-creator Gina Yashere (as Kemi)  will appear on a recurring basis, with each reportedly guaranteed just five episodes next year.

As a result, Warner Bros., which produces the Chuck Lorre sitcom, has waved exclusivity on all 11 actors  though, according to the Times, all 11 have chosen to stay.

The downgrades are part of a larger cost-reduction trend across network television, which has suffered from depressed ratings and decreased advertising revenue.

Akinfemi and Gardell Courtesy of CBS

BA started off as a love story about a middle-aged compression sock businessman (played by Mike & Molly vet Gardell) and his cardiac nurse (Olowofoyeku). The unlikely couple tied the knot at the beginning of Season 3. Over time, the series has blossomed into a true ensemble effort, which was only natural with a robust cast of 13 series regulars.

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Bob Hearts Abishola wrapped Season 4 in May. In the finale, med school hopeful Abishola received her acceptance to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore  more than 700 miles from the marrieds current home in Detroit.

Season 5, like all scripted originals, is currently on hold amid dual Hollywood strikes, and does not have a premiere date. CBS strike-proof fall schedule can be found here.

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Get more from TVLine.com : Follow us on Twitter , Facebook , Newsletter

Click here to read the full article.
Generational gaps impact society at large, but those shortchanging LGBTQ+ communities cut deeper. TransGenerational, a series of interviews with trans elders from around the nation, aims to begin mending this gap through highlighting the power of inter-generational connections. Read more from the project here.

For those of us who transition late in life, the costs accrue silently over decades in ways we may never fully appreciate. So, too, can the wisdom we reap from our wounds. At age 60, Mia Yamamoto says she knew, If I had to die as a man, I would feel like I never lived.

The arc of Mias life, even before she transitioned, is almost mythical. She was born in 1943, behind barbed wire, in the Poston Relocation Center internment camp where families of Japanese descent were imprisoned in World War II-era America. She served in Vietnam from 1966 to 68, receiving the National Defense Service Medal and the Army Commendation Medal. Later, Yamamoto attended UCLAs School of Law, where she co-founded the Asian Pacific Islander Law Student Association. In 1984, the lawyer opened her own criminal defense practice where she has represented thousands of clients over decades. Her notable recognitions include Criminal Defense Attorney of the Year, awarded by both the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the Century City Bar Association.

As an activist, Mias career is characterized by a revolutionary will to build coalitions across marginalized groups. In all the movements I have ever worked with over the last 50 years, its always been this way, she shares. Just doing stuff for your own little community is meaningless. Her experience is a powerful reminder of what can be gained from connecting with those struggling alongside us, as well as those who came before.

Below, we discussed the lessons she has learned during her lifetime of activism and the joy of living openly in her trans identity.

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What surprised you most about coming out as trans late in life?

I was expecting a lot of resistance because I was a male hired [as a criminal defense attorney] by all these clients who were in jail. I expected them to be incredibly hostile because a lot of gang culture is very disapproving of queer people. Its the kind of thing that gives you a death sentence if youre in prison.

I said, Listen, Im gonna be changing my identity. Im going through a sex change. I know you hired a guy, and youre not gonna get that. I know some of the best lawyers in Southern California. I will make sure that youre well taken care of, and I completely understand if you cant continue with me. If thats outside your principles or your values, then fine. Im down with that.

The first thing they all said was, No shit, man, You really gonna do that?

Yeah, Im not bullshitting. I dont kid around with you; Im serious. Im gonna do this thing.

There was no hesitation which was amazing to me. They would say, Oh shit, man. No problem. I didnt hire you for your dick. I hired you for your brain.

That may not have been the experience for every lawyer who transitions, but you have long been lauded for your work. Was your reputation part of what engendered that type of response from your clients?

I think [it was] the fact that I had a track record already and that I was very confident with respect to what I could do as a lawyer. I didnt feel like I had to sell that or be insecure. I had already worked for a lot of these guys before I transitioned.

I had a guy in a death penalty case, and I didnt want to feel like I was responsible for screwing up his defense. But by the time I turned 60, I was going to die in this lie. I was thinking, Jesus, if I had to die as a man, I would feel like I never lived.

Youre bringing up this idea of age and the role of time in our lives. When you think about the word elder, what does it mean to you?

The great thing about being an elder is that I can tell people about being old. I know about being young. I was young once. But they havent been old yet, so I can talk to them from the point of view of ancient history. I can give them an eyewitness account of stuff that was beyond their history books and their individual experience.

Coming out also gives me that I dont give a shit about what you think attitude. I really dont give a fuck what you think about me. As a matter of fact, Ive cultivated that over my life.

I had the same feeling as one of the first Asian Americans practicing trial law in California. It was [an attitude] of, Im gonna show the white boys what we can do because, in 1968, there were very few Asians and there were even fewer women [in my field.]

I have had the time to experience things. Im certainly a lot clearer about my values, my ideals, and my objectives. My voice is still important in the profession, and as a member of the transgender area in the queer community, I have an obligation.

How are you bringing that power to your work now?

Im almost 80. With whatever few years Ive got left, I want to fight back against transphobia and any kind of injustice that bothers me enough to get involved. I want to be able to go to my grave saying what I could about whats happening to transgender kids and their parents, who are being targeted even more. If I didnt stand [up] for them, if I didnt do something with this time, then Im as bad as the rest of them.

I feel like every time youve got some kind of an issue that comes flying into your lap, then it is your duty to stand up and fight back. We have to keep speaking out against bigotry and hatred and all the things that divide us. Its not good for the rest of us. Its not good for society.

I so appreciate how you talk about transphobia as part of a much broader system of oppression and the central role of coalition building.

In all the movements I have ever worked with over the last 50 years, its always been this way. Just doing stuff for your own little community is meaningless. It is like only hiring the people that look like you. It is only incorporating the people that look like you. I always call that white boy stuff. Thats what I grew up with. That was the original affirmative action. The civil rights movement had an offshoot effect on the womens movement, on the gay and lesbian movement, and certainly on Asian American liberation. All of us benefited from that struggle. Ive understood from the very beginning that our struggles are tied up together, even if we dont see it at the time. You got to stand up for the things that you believe in that dont affect you.

Ive been active with Black Lives Matter and a bunch of different things that I think are really important. I always feel like you have to be an ally. If youre gonna ask for people to be an ally, you got to be an ally. If we can just be involved with people that are pushing to make a difference, just be a little additional voice with them, it might be enough to take them over the top.

The shame of being queer and trans is something I had to fight over decades. But it seems that you have always brought a strong sense of self to your work.

I dont think I could be a criminal defense attorney who has represented some of the most notorious and hated people around if I didnt have the kind of attitude I have.

I was born in a fucking concentration camp. I was born behind barbed wire. The great thing about it, even though I thought it was crummy at the time, was that it gave me an awareness of and a sensitivity for the rights of prisoners and people behind bars.

Youve achieved so much since you transitioned, with honors that include the Rainbow Key Award by the City of West Hollywood, the Liberty Award by Lambda Legal, and the Harvey Milk Legacy Award by Christopher Street West/LA Pride. As you verge on 80, what does trans joy look like to you?

I had seen what kind of a world I was growing up in, and I could see how much disrespect people had for queer people, especially for trans people. I viewed it as a curse, as something that was absolutely pulling me outside of the mainstream of humanity and forcing me to live on the margins if I was to come out. So being a phony person, putting out a false front for the benefit of others, I have some understanding of how degrading that can be and what an incredibly different life you lead when youre able to live authentically. A lot of that is absolutely gone now, and it has allowed me to finally live courageously.

I never realized how easy it could be. I have been embraced by my profession and my community to the point where I was moved to tears. I didnt expect any of that, really. Being authentic and true to yourself is incredibly joyful, particularly if you spent a life in stealth, as I did. The relief and the rush of authenticity are absolutely intoxicating and exhilarating. It is all of those things that I never really expected to be that good.

This conversation has been condensed and edited.

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Originally Appeared on them.
Rachel Boston and Lynda Boyd in The More Love Grows. | Allister Foster, Hallmark Media

At the tail end of summer, the Hallmark network is celebrating with Summer Nights. The network is set to release six new movies, including the sequel to Big Sky River.

Enjoy the end of summer with these new, reliably cheesy Hallmark movies.

Here are new six movies coming to the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries in August.

Related

Aloha Heart

Taylor Cole and Kanoa Goo in Aloha Heart. | Karen Neal, Hallmark Media

Stars: Taylor Cole and Kanoa Goo.

Summary: A conservationist (Cole) flies to Hawaii for her best friends wedding. She expected a relaxing getaway but instead finds herself caught up in wedding prep and helping a handsome hotel manager (Goo) update his family hotel.

Premieres: Saturday, July 29 at 6 p.m. MDT.

Making Waves

Corey Cott and Holland Roden in Making Waves. | Craig Minielly, Hallmark Media

Stars: Holland Roden and Corey Cott.

Summary: Music executive Amelia (Roden) travels to the Outer Banks to scout out the competition for a cagey new band. She soon discovers the band is fronted by her childhood sweetheart, Will (Cott). Throughout the week, Amelia finds herself attempting to convince Will that her music company is the right fit for his band  but do her feelings for him present a conflict of interest?

Premieres: Saturday, Aug. 5 at 6 p.m. MDT.

Big Sky River: The Bridal Path

Stars: Emmanuelle Vaugier and Kavan Smith.

Summary: Finally settled in Montana and happily dating Cowboy Boone (Smith), Tara (Vaugier) faces a new challenge  blending two families. Tensions rise as Tara works to bring their two families together, revealing that the blend might be more difficult that she anticipated.

Premieres: Friday, Aug. 11 at 7 p.m. MDT.

A Safari Romance

Andrew Walker and Brittany Bristow in A Safari Romance. | Leif Films, Hallmark Media

Stars: Brittany Bristow and Andrew Walker.

Summary: Research scientist Megan (Bristow) is living her dream in South Africa as a ranger on a nature reserve while pursuing a Ph.D. in Ethology. When Tim (Walker), a theme park designer, arrives from the U.S. to capture footage for an immersive ride, Megan serves as his guide. While exploring the savanna, sparks fly between Megan and Tim. But Tim is set to return home soon, so Megan fears falling for someone who lives on the other side of the world.

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Premieres: Saturday, Aug. 12 at 6 p.m. MDT.

The More Love Grows

Warren Christie and Rachel Boston in The More Love Grows. | Allister Foster, Hallmark Media

Stars: Rachel Boston and Warren Christie.

Summary: When Helens (Boston) husband abruptly asks for a separation after dropping their daughter off at college, she struggles to make sense of her newfound single life. With help from a rambunctious stray dog and a friendly veterinarian (Christie), Helen begins to rediscover herself and build a new life.

Premieres: Friday, Aug. 18 at 7 p.m. MDT.

Never Too Late to Celebrate

Alexa PenaVega, Sherry Miller, Carlos PenaVega amd Carlos Gonzalez-Vio in Never Too Late to Celebrate. | Albert Camicioli, Hallmark Media

Stars: Alexa PenaVega and Carlos PenaVega.

Summary: Due to her busy work schedule, Camila (Alexa PenaVega) is exhausted and has little time for herself. But when she meets Javi (Carlos PenaVega), he convinces her to join the Spanish class he teaches on the side so she can finally learn the first language of her dead father. As romantic feelings between the pair bloom, Javi encourages Camila to celebrate her upcoming 30th birthday with a double quinceanera to connect with her Mexican heritage. After careful consideration, Camila agrees to celebrate.

Premieres: Saturday, Aug. 19 at 6 p.m. MDT.

Napa Ever After

Denise Boutte in Napa Ever After. | Craig Minielly, Hallmark Media

Stars: Denise Boutte and Colin Lawrence.

Summary: When Cassandra (Boutte), a high-power attorney, inherits her late grandmothers winery in Napa Valley, she takes a break from work to renovate the property. With help from a handsome local, Alec (Lawrence), she takes a deep dive into her familys past while opening her heart up to love in a way she never has.

Premieres: Saturday, Aug. 26 at 6 p.m. MDT.
"This behavior does not align with our core values," iHeartMedia said in a statement confirming the host's termination

Scott Taetsch/Getty

The Washington Commanders' new ownership group took immediate action in defending a female reporter from a series of disrespectful comments made by radio hosts who cover the team.

Don Geronimo and Crash Young of local WBIG "BIG 100" were banned from returning to the team's training camp on Friday while the organization internally investigated their "sexually disparaging" comments towards veteran reporter Sharla McBride.

The remarks were made during an on-air broadcast on Thursday, according to local news outlet WUSA9. Geronimo called out McBride while broadcasting, calling her "Barbie" and comparing her appearance to that of a cheerleader.



"Hey look, Barbie's here. Hi, Barbie girl," Geronimo shouted at McBride, who was also on-site to cover training camp activities. "I'm guessing she's a cheerleader."

Related: Magic Johnson and His Family Proudly Show Off Washington Commanders 'Swag' Aboard Yacht in Greece

Geronimo singled out McBride again later in the broadcast on Thursday, according to WUSA9. "Oh hey. There's that chick that you thought .. said tight," said Geronimo.

His co-host, Crash, responded, "Yeah. I screamed tight when she was .." said Crash before being interrupted.

The broadcasters debated why McBride was "familiar" looking before Geronimo said, "I thought she was a cheerleader."

Related: Maine Radio Broadcasters Fired After Being Caught Body Shaming Girls at a High School Basketball Game

McBride, a journalist for 17 years, told her colleagues at WUSA9 that she "was hurt and incredibly offended" by the comments. "She called it inappropriate, unprofessional and embarrassing," according to WUSA9's Adam Longo.

McBride added that remarks "like that discredit her as a professional."

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A spokesperson for the Commanders told the station, "We have worked hard to ensure that everyone feels safe and respected in our workplace, and we took swift action when we learned that an employee of our partner iHeart made sexually disparaging remarks to and about a member of the media while she was broadcasting live from training camp yesterday."

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The station's parent company, iHeartMedia, confirmed the termination of Geronimo's employment.

"After an internal review, Don Geronimo is no longer an employee of WBIG," President of the Washington DC Region for iHeartMedia, Aaron Hyland said. "We take matters of this nature very seriously and this behavior does not align with our core values."



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The federal government on Thursday announced the first three offshore wind energy leases in the Gulf of Mexico. Companies can now bid on the leases, which are located off the Texas and Louisiana coasts. Credit: Pool/ABACA via Reuters Connect

GALVESTON  The federal government on Thursday announced the first-ever chance for companies to lease areas in the Gulf of Mexico to build wind farms, including two parcels roughly 30 miles off the Texas coast near Galveston.

Renewable energy developers will likely compete for the leases with firms that are better known for another kind of offshore construction: Oil and gas giants such as Shell and TotalEnergies qualified to join the bidding.

Leaders of the traditionally fossil fuel-focused companies say their climate goals make investing in offshore wind critical. Both businesses are already involved in developing wind power in the Atlantic, including near New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts.

The auction will take place Aug. 29, and the highest bidders will win the leases. After that, putting together the construction and operation plans will likely take years. Environmental advocates, fishermen and other energy companies all have a stake in what happens.

When theyre built, the wind turbines could feed energy into the Texas power grid. Companies suggest the energy could also be used to produce hydrogen, which in turn could fuel planes or long-haul trucks. The leases are expected to be able to generate some 3.7 gigawatts of power, or enough for almost 1.3 million homes.

Along with the leases near Texas, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management offered a site for wind power to be built off the coast of Louisiana. The Gulf parcels will add to the few dozen active commercial leases federal officials already issued, most recently near California. Theyve approved three commercial-scale projects for construction so far.

By catalyzing the offshore wind energy potential of the Gulf of Mexico, we can tackle the climate crisis, lower energy costs for families and create good-paying jobs, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said in a statement.

Offshore wind turbines can help countries transition to using more clean energy and slow human-caused climate change, which has been spurred by the burning of fossil fuels. But building and operating wind farms in the Gulf comes at an environmental cost.

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The huge turbines will harm wildlife such as the billions of migratory birds that cross the Gulf and might crash into the blades, while the boats involved in the initial construction could strike endangered turtles and whales.

Environmental groups are pushing for developers to lessen the damage as much as possible, perhaps by limiting ships speed during construction and posting lookouts to help prevent collisions with animals. The leases dont stipulate exactly how wildlife will be protected; those decisions will come as companies develop the construction plans, which federal officials will review.

A great blue heron, a species of migratory bird, walks along the water at Bolivar Flats on the Bolivar Peninsula on July 18, 2023. Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune

We dont ever want to hide from the fact that this is still heavy industrial development, said Helen Rose Patterson, who focuses on offshore wind energy for the National Wildlife Federation. But I think we always turn back to  the biggest challenge that all of those species and habitats are facing is climate change.

Federal officials balanced input from fishermen in offering the leases, too, meeting with stakeholders as they whittled down the lease areas from a broad swath of ocean that they initially considered to a pair of sites covering roughly 100,000 acres each.

The process was based on rigorous science to avoid interfering with other industries and the Gulfs natural resources, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Managements regional director for the Gulf of Mexico, Michael Celata, wrote in an internal memo.

Shrimpers asked the government to avoid blocking their most productive fishing areas, which officials largely did. Commercial and recreational fishermen, meanwhile, see a benefit to building turbines in the Gulf because they expect red snapper and other fish will be attracted to the turbine foundations, as they are with oil rigs.

Buddy Guindon, a Galveston-based commercial fisherman and owner of Katies Seafood Market, watches over his employees as they unload about 30,000 pounds of freshly caught red snapper from a five-day fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico on July 17, 2023. Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune

Buddy Guindon, a Galveston-based commercial fisherman who also owns a restaurant, considered this future from his bustling seafood market on a recent morning as men unloaded thousands of pounds of glistening, chilled red snapper caught over a five-day fishing trip.

Guindon said he and other fishermen feel hopeful that new wind turbines could boost their businesses since many of the oil rigs they used to fish around were removed during the West Texas fracking boom.

Scott Hickman, who leads fishing charter trips from Galveston, said building more structures in the Gulf means theres going to be more opportunity to catch fish. And he sees a second reward that wind energy would bring: Sustainable energy will mitigate the impacts of climate change that he already sees affecting fish populations in the Gulf.

Weve got to do something about climate, Hickman said. Were super supportive.

William Atkins, 30, of Dallas, hands off a basket to another fisherman while unloading about 30,000 pounds of red snapper at Katies Seafood Market after a five-day fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico, in Galveston on July 17, 2023. Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune

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Zachery Ty Bryan, former star as the eldest son in the Tim Allen vehicle Home Improvement, has been arrested on domestic-abuse charges for a second time.

Bryan was arrested Friday in Eugene, Oregon, on a charge of felony assault in violation of the Abuse Prevention Act. This happens when the arrested is accused of attacking someone who has previously filed a restraining order against them for domestic violence. According to media reports, police received a call about a physical dispute between a man and a woman. The man fled the scene by the time police arrived on the scene but was later found and booked.

This isnt the first time Bryan has faced charges of this nature. In 2020, the 39-year-old actor was arrested on domestic assault and strangulation charges in Eugene. He was accused of assaulting his then-27-year-old girlfriend. According to reports from the AP, he obstructed her breathing and grabbed her phone to stop her from dialing 911. He was booked to Lane County jail.

The most serious charges against Bryan, including felony strangulation, were later dropped. He pled guilty to menacing and fourth-degree assault and was given three years probation, a court order to attend a violence-intervention program and an order to have no contact with the victim, Johnnie Faye Cartwright.

In addition to these domestic assault charges, Bryan has also been accused of fraud. Several sources said Bryan stole their money through an agriculture-technology startup scheme, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Best known for his work on Home Improvement, Bryan starred on the ABC sitcom from 1991 to 1999. Hes also appeared in the movies True Heart and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. More recently, hes moved into producing, for movies such as Warning, Skin and The Kindergarten Teacher, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Bryan has said he profited from the crypto wave after investing a substantial amount of money in Bitcoin. He also scaled back his work in Hollywood in recent years, becoming a fairly regular commentator on Fox News, Daily Wire and later Newsmax.

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TheWrap has reached out to Eugene police for comment.

TMZ was the first to report this story.

The post Home Improvement Star Zachery Ty Bryan Arrested for Felony Assault appeared first on TheWrap.
[Editors note: The following interview was conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike began on July 14, 2023.]

Jessica Chastain is not easily shaken. She faces her fears and whittles them down to something she can handle. And takes a shot of whiskey if need be. She landed an Oscar for daring to become the mascara-loving title character in The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Actors understood that she had to love the outlandish TV evangelist, who was a joke in many quarters, in order to understand her.

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And the same is true of Tammy Wynette. However, George & Tammy (Showtime) presented another order of high-diving-board difficulty. It was one thing to sing like Tammy Faye. It was another to take on live-performing, opposite musician-actor Michael Shannon as country icon George Jones, as an all-too-familiar country superstar.

That was never the plan. Chastain was first approached back in 2011 at the Golden Globes by Josh Brolin, who was developing the story of Jones and Wynette. I had never been in a room of movie stars before, said Chastain on Zoom. Josh Brolin is a big movie star. Have you ever thought about playing Tammy Wynette? You should. I will!'

Over the years the movie project went through different directors and studios. The music was too expensive, said Chastain. Then it became a mini-series, ten years later. Executive producer Chastain was so impressed with George & Tammy writer/showrunner Abe Silvia that she suggested him to write The Eyes of Tammy Faye. And she was ready to reunite on George & Tammy with Lawless director John Hillcoat, a master of music videos. He had so much experience with music, she said. He knows how to film songs and music and how to tell a story.

Along the long road to production, executive producer Brolin dropped out of playing Jones. Chastains suggestion for his replacement: her Take Shelter costar Michael Shannon. She adored his music: after work on the movie shed drop the CD of his band into the jukebox of the local Grafton, Ohio dive bar and dance. Shes gone to his concerts ever since. He started in music before acting, she said.

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Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain in George & Tammy Dana Hawley / Courtesy of SHOWTIME

In the beginning, Chastain did not imagine singing live. Most often on musical movies, people pre-record the songs and on set they lip-sync to the pre-recording. These days music mixers use a computer to blend several voices so they sound like one voice. The actor says they did the thing, said Chastain, when in reality a computer did the thing, its a computer-geared product. I take issue with that.

Chastain and Shannon, much like Les Miserables and A Star is Born, took the frightening road of pursuing authenticity. Which means abandoning perfection. The reason we sing live on set with an audience in front of us is because of Michael Shannon, the most authentic person I ever met, said Chastain. The moment we lip sync to ourselves, how we play the scenes, it will be phony. Thats how to make it perfect. We need to get away from the perfect idea. I dont think perfect is emotional.

It was a difficult bridge to cross. It was uncomfortable singing with earwigs playing music with hundreds people in front of us, said Chastain. They could hear our voices without music. In reality, I had lot of whiskey and bourbon that helped me through it.

Over the ten years getting the project made, Chastain watched Wynette performances on YouTube, and figured out that the great star wasnt always on pitch live in concerts. Back then it was pure voice, which I prefer, she said. The sound is beautiful to me. if you look at reality, what music has been in the past is not perfect. I tell my daughter nothing is perfect. Beauty doesnt lie in perfection. Tammy Faye belting it out to Jesus, theres not a lot of technique or emotion levels with what she did.

That was not true of Wynette, however. The feat Chastain and Shannon sought to pull off was moving the story emotionally through the songs. The most intimidating Wynette song for Chastain was Stand By Your Man. Its an anthem of what a woman is in the South, she said. Im responsible for singing that song, with political undertones, and how much it means to so many people.

George & Tammy Dana Hawley/Courtesy of SHOWTIME

The most daunting performance of the song comes when Wynette has to perform solo for the first time in Las Vegas  without her rogue, drunk husband. She has to win over the crowd. There were so many people out there, said Chastain. I got to that last note, going up an octave at the end, its tough, that was intimidating. On some takes I didnt hit the note. As Wynette keeps singing the song, in the middle she walks into the audience and starts sitting on mens laps, giving them kisses, ruffling their hair. It becomes more about her experience with the audience and bringing them into the song to try and gain confidence. I was feeling scared doing the song, and was able to put into the performance that she was terrified that day.

George & Tammy Showtime

Much like Chastains intimate 2021 Scenes from a Marriage with Oscar Isaac, George & Tammy is a close-up portrait of the rise and fall of a romantic relationship  as well as coping with the depredations of Jones alcoholism. Based on the true story of these two icons, its the A Star is Born arc, as Jones loses his dominance over time as the surging stardom of his life partner passes him by.

The early romance is divine as you watch the pair fall for each other and let go of their other partners. Chastain felt protective of Shannon, who expresses heart-breaking vulnerability as Jones. Ive known him for a long time, she said. This actor is not who the world thinks he is. He is so vulnerable. He has a softness and sweetness. He led with his heart every time and allowed that fragility to lead the way. In the scene Id see that, and it would make me love him even more. Its such a difficult thing to do: sometimes you feel you have to protect yourself.

Chastains favorite moment is in the final episode when the couple have a fully clothed love scene in the tour bus. No hanky panky, said Chastain. Its achingly romantic. That kind of intimacy  you have to earn it comes from feeling safe with your scene partner. I really love him. Those later scenes are different, theres a sense of I love you and I hate you. I wanted to take care of Mike. Its not the kind of role he normally plays. I dont see him in these romances. I wanted him to feel safe and comfortable and protected and loved.

Chastain doesnt mince words about George & Tammy. Im going to dive off this cliff, she said. I felt this was a sweet collaboration, I couldnt be happier. Its probably my favorite partnership. I love Oscar, but this comes from the material. I felt so loving from day one toward this material and production. Its by far my favorite love story I have ever worked on.

As always, executive producer Chastain was looking out for the female perspective on this story. In one scene Wynette is shocked when Jones has purchased his idea of a dream house with their remaining cash. Thats the idea of the man as the knight in shining armor, swooping in and saving the woman in peril, said Chastain. In reality, women want to be consulted and make decisions about life. They want to fall in love and be in a partnership, but that doesnt mean that one man is making every decision about their life. They need to be consulted, talk to each other, make decisions together. Theyre not talking to each other.

As we talked, Hollywood was on the verge of simultaneous writers and actors strikes. i am definitely pro union, Chastain said. Theres huge innovations in our industry, content has been incredible. Streaming and amazing technology have made huge steps and quickly. The difficult thing is the contracts havent kept up with the innovations that have been made. Theres huge inequality. People are not able to earn a fair wage and support their families. The industry has been so separated in terms of who is able to make a living and who isnt.

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Kenya Moore was on hand for the latest edition of Watch What Happens Live, and had no problem in dishing out some shady comments. Nobody was safe as host Andy Cohen asked her to play Say What You Mean, Girl! While Real Housewives of Atlanta co-star Marlo Hampton, and Vanderpump Rules cheat Tom Sandoval caught a couple of strays, it was former RHOA alum Kim Zolciak who may have been hit with the harshest critique.

What is Kenyas advice for her fellow Bravolebrities?

Marlo will never be that girl, and Sandoval should own the fact that youre a narcissist. Kim, however, should go to rehab. In case the point didnt get across the first time, Kenya repeated it. The shady advice comes in the wake of accusations leveled at Kim, as she was going through a split with husband Kroy Biermann, that she had a gambling addiction. For what its worth, Kim and Kroy are now giving their marriage another go, after a reconciliation that friends dont think will last.

Kicking someone when theyre already down isnt cute. However, Kenya was on the receiving end of some nasty comments made by Kim during her shortlived return to Real Housewives of Atlanta. In a dinner scene with Sheree Whitfield, she attempted to joke of Kenya, Uh, really? That b*tch is still alive? Can you really blame Kenya for wanting to get even?

Meanwhile, the most-recent episode of RHOA saw Kenya dealing with the latest friend of addition to the show, Courtney Rhodes. Courtney decided to call Kenya falling on her ass and being rushed to hospital karma, which in Kenyas eyes, makes her the devil incarnate. Again, can you blame Kenya for being mad that someone seemingly celebrated her mishap? Dont start none, wont be none.

Real Housewives of Atlanta continues  without Kim  Sundays at 8/7c on Bravo.

TELL US  DO YOU THINK KENYA CROSSED THE LINE HERE? OR WAS SHE WELL WITHIN HER RIGHTS TO THROW SHADE BACK AT KIM?

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The post Kenya Moore Thinks Kim Zolciak Should Go to Rehab appeared first on Reality Tea.
Matthew McConaughey might still be entertaining a run for office.

The Texas-born movie star said he was carefully considering if he wanted to step into politics while talking about new measures to address school safety during an appearance on ABCs This Week on Sunday.

Asked if he could see himself running for elected office, he told host Jonathan Karl, Theres a great question that Im still answering.

McConaughey explained why he was more comfortable working outside the system, offering Karl more details about his Greenlights Grant Initiative.

The program, which he and his wife Camila Alves launched earlier this month, aims to connect communities to government grant money to prevent school violence and support students mental health.

As of right now, to be a private citizen with my wife and to come up with an idea like the Greenlights Grant Initiative, he said.

To work with the government publicly to help them, not doing the job for them, helping them pull off what they set out to do in the first place, the conservative-leaning star went on. There is an argument that thats more useful, what Im doing right now, in a small way.

Matthew McConaughey, a native of Uvalde, Texas, talks about the mass shooting in Uvalde as he joins White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre for the daily briefing at the White House in Washington D.C. on June 7, 2022.

Matthew McConaughey, a native of Uvalde, Texas, talks about the mass shooting in Uvalde as he joins White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre for the daily briefing at the White House in Washington D.C. on June 7, 2022.

A native of Uvalde, Texas, McConaughey was compelled to act on gun violence after the community was devastated by a school shooting in May 2022. The shooting at Robb Elementary School left 19 students and two teachers dead.

In June 2022, the actor visited the White House to discuss gun violence prevention with President Joe Biden.

Not long after, congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which approved school funding for mental health support, enhanced background checks and stricter implementation of red flag laws.

In his interview with ABC, McConaughey addressed people who are worried gun control will infringe on their second amendment rights, telling Karl, Id change the word from control to responsibility.

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No one wants to be controlled, he continued. But responsibility is still something that we can all go, Yeah, Ill take responsibility... The Second Amendment defenders could talk responsibility. They could look you in the eye and talk responsibility with someone from the other side of the aisle.

McConaughey first flirted with the idea of running back in 2021 after polls showed him leading in a hypothetical governors race against Republican incumbent Greg Abbott.

Its a humbling and inspiring path to ponder, McConaughey said in a Twitter video in November 2021. It is also a path that Im choosing not to take at this moment.

Abbott would go on to defeat his Democratic opponent Beto ORourke by double digits in November 2022.

Watch McConaugheys full ABC interview here:

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Milton Rubenfeld died at age 84 in 2004  nearly two decades before the actor best known as Pee-wee Herman spent several years privately enduring his own cancer journey

Mike Windle/Getty

Cancer hit close to home for Paul Reubens, who died on Sunday after a private, extended period of illness.

Nearly two decades before Reubens' own death of the disease, the comedian supported his father Milton Rubenfeld up until he succumbed to cancer on Feb. 21, 2004.

In 2007, the Today show reported after the fact that Reubens had taken a two years away from the spotlight and relocated to Florida to care of his terminally ill dad.



"My father didn't like to talk about his many accomplishments," Reubens  who was best known for playing Pee-wee Herman  told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune at the time. "In 1948, he and a small group of Americans helped establish the state of Israel and form the Israeli Air Force. Israel honored him for his heroism and leadership and his plane was preserved and displayed outside the airport in Tel Aviv with a plaque bearing his name."



Related: Celebrity Fans and Friends Remember Paul Reubens for His 'Brilliant and Original' Character Pee-wee Herman

Rubenfeld Family/ U.S. Army Air Force Milton Rubenfeld in 1942.

Rubenfeld was a veteran of Britain's Royal Air Force and the U.S. Army Air Forces, and he also helped form the Israeli Air Force. He was born in Peekskill, New York, and attended New York University and the University of New Mexico before moving to Florida in 1960, according to the newspaper.

As Reubens attended Sarasota High, his father owned a Lincoln-Mercury dealership. Additionally, he operated the Lamplighter Shop and the Statue Place in Sarasota and was a member of American Veterans of Israel.

"We lived in a house on Sarasota Bay that had been built as a test house by the Navy in the 1950s to study monostructure and durable building materials," Reubens recalled in 2004. "The house was very unconventional, in Japanese style, with a swimming pool in the center and overhead garage doors that opened to the outdoors. My dad loved to fish from our dock and wave to the tour boats."



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Related: Paul 'Pee-wee Herman' Reubens Apologized for Not Revealing His Cancer Diagnosis Prior to Death

Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty

On Monday, Reubens' rep confirmed to PEOPLE that the actor had died at age 70.



"Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness," read a statement. "Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit. A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit."

His rep posted the news on Reubens' Instagram page along with a personal statement from the star.

"Please accept my apology for not going public with what I've been facing the last six years," the statement read. "I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you. - Paul Reubens."



Related: Paul Reubens' Life in Photos: The Intriguing Story of the Actor, Beyond Pee-wee

FOX Image Collection via Getty

After graduating from Sarasota High  where he was the President of the Drama Club  Reubens enrolled in Boston Universitys theatre department. After one year, he moved to Los Angeles and attended the acting program at California Institute of the Arts. He'd go on to create his iconic character Pee-wee Herman as a member of the improv group The Groundlings and premiered The Pee-wee Herman Show at The Groundlings Theatre in 1981.



Pee-wee Herman later made his big screen debut in the 1985 comedy Pee-wees Big Adventure, which was Tim Burton's feature film directorial debut. Reubens also created Pee-wees Playhouse, which ran on CBS for five seasons from 1986 to 1990. The series earned him 22 Emmy Awards  including 14 personal nods  two of which he won.



Burton, 64, shared that he was "shocked and saddened" to hear the news of his death on Monday. "Ill never forget how Paul helped me at the beginning of my career. It would not have happened without his support. He was a great artist. Ill miss him," he wrote via Instagram.



Related: Tim Burton on How the Late Paul Reubens 'Helped Me at the Beginning of My Career': 'I'll Never Forget'

Bobby Bank/GC Images

According to Sarasota Magazine, Reubens always had a love for theatre, auditioning for "A Thousand Clowns" at The Players when he was in sixth grade. According to his mother, Judy Rubenfeld, "his father didn't want him to try out."

"He said, If he gets the part, hes really going to have the bug, cause that was a big part for a kid,'" she recalled to the magazine in March 2016. "I said, I think we should let him try out cause he wont get the part. There are far better kids, and it will nip it in the bud. Of course, he got the part.



Reubens would go on to become a household name, also starring in 1988s Big Top Pee-wee. Some of his other credits included Batman Returns, Buffy the Vampire Slayer with friend David Arquette, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Matilda, and TV appearances in 30 Rock, Hercules, Rugrats, Reno 911!, Pushing Daisies, The Blacklist, Gotham and more recently an episode of The Conners in 2019. The comedian also received a star on Hollywoods Walk of Fame in 1988.



Related: 'Uncut Gems' Directors Are 'Considering' Making a Dark Pee-Wee Herman Movie: Report

After a multi-year step back from acting for various reasons (including family matters and a pair of arrests, years apart, for indecent exposure- and pornography-related charges), Reubens returned in 2015s Judd Apatow-produced Netflix film Pee-wee's Big Holiday opposite Joe Manganiello and continued to work until 2021.



Apatow reacted to Reubens' death via Instagram on Monday. "This is devastating news," the director, 55, wrote. "We got to spend many years working with Paul on Pee Wees Big Holiday and got to see his genius and kindness up close. He made the world so happy! Some of the biggest laughs I have every experienced was watching him perform live. He is irreplaceable. "

Reubens' last public appearances were on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2020 and when he was a contestant on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune in 2021. Although he failed to solve the bonus puzzle, Reubens won $52,000 for Feeding America.



"Paul Reubens was like no one else - a brilliant and original comedian who made kids and their parents laugh at the same time," Kimmel, 55, wrote on X Monday. "He never forgot a birthday and shared his genuine delight for silliness with everyone he met. My family and I will miss him."



Douglas Gorenstein/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank

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Reubens' rep confirmed on Monday that the late star wrote the first draft of his memoir, the finishing touches on two more Pee-wee movie scripts and was developing projects for television, including a variety show and a western called Fancypants, before his death.

If anyone would have told me Id be doing this 30 years later, I would have laughed, Reubens told Collider of his career in 2015. But now, I plan on doing it 30 years from now, when Im 140.



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Twitter-ruining billionaire Elon Musk has reportedly blocked access to Starlink on multiple occasions during the Ukraine and Russia war.

Per a recent report from the New York Times, sources state Musk has restricted access to SpaceXs satellite internet system in the region multiple times. In one example, Musk reportedly turned down a request from Ukraines military to enable the server near Crimea. This decision had an impact on battlefield strategy, the report noted. Musk also reportedly refused a request for access in connection with a drone intended for Russia-controlled ships.

NYT reports that Elon Musk personally thwarted a Ukrainian military operation he disapproved of. https://t.co/7hWGMBKo5j pic.twitter.com/Q5jrNZh2vX  David Frum (@davidfrum) July 30, 2023

In January of this year, Musk said the tech was not able to be used for "long-range drone strikes." Days later, Gwynne Shotwellthe president and COO of SpaceXsaid Ukraine had leveraged [Starlink] in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement. According to Shotwell, per a Reuters rundown at the time, the tech was not intended to be used for offensive purposes.

The latest reporting on Starlink and Ukraine arrives amid an ongoing discussion about the impact and potential perils of someone like Musk holding such power across multiple industries.

Musk, undoubtedly, has repeatedly shown himself to be someone who often seeks chaos for what appears to be the sheer hell of it. Take Twitter, for example. Once a social media platform with unparalleled cultural influence, his much-maligned takeover has seen the Twitter name sullied in a shockingly short amount of time. In fact, referring to the site as Twitter throughout this article is technically no longer correct, as its name was recently changed to X. The name change, disturbingly, has since resulted in a dead bird.

Of course, discussing him at all arguably only gives him more of what he thrives on: attention.

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Read the full report from Adam Satariano, Scott Reinhard, Cade Metz, Sheera Frenkel and Malika Khurana here. You can file all of this under "never trust a billionaire."

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Todd Chrisley in an episode of "Chrisley Knows Best" in 2020. USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Todd Chrisley's request to switch from prison to home confinement has been rejected.

His attorney told People: " It's very, very unfortunate, and that matter is now being investigated."

The reality star is serving a 12-year sentence at a Florida prison for bank fraud and tax evasion.

Todd Chrisley's request to be released from his minimum-security prison and placed under house arrest for the remainder of his sentence for bank fraud and tax evasion has been dismissed.

Speaking with People, Jay Surgent, his attorney, said that the former reality star made "an application under the CARES Act to be released" into home confinement. "His application, as well as a number of other applications  but particularly his  was rejected," he added.

"He submitted it, but the person that was administrating it and was in charge of processing it decided that she didn't want to do that. She decided not to do it," Surgent said.

"And then, the time period for the application expired, so he wasn't given due consideration with reference to being admitted to home confinement or taken advantage of some type of a probationary program," he added.

Introduced in 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act allows prisoners to be placed in home confinement at the discretion of the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Chrisley's lawyer said of the rejection: "It's very, very unfortunate, and that matter is now being investigated internally."

Todd, 54, and Julie, 50, Chrisley were convicted of bank fraud and tax evasion last year and began their prison sentences in January. Cythina Hicks/Getty Images

"We feel as though there was no reason why it should have not been processed, even in light of his prison term," Surgent added.

The "Chrisley Knows Best" star began his 12-year sentence in January at the Federal Prison Camp, Pensacola, in Florida after he and his wife, Julie Chrisley, were convicted of defrauding banks out of more than $30 million by providing fake financial statements to make them appear wealthier than they were.

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Surgent's comments came after the couple's eldest children together spoke about the "nightmare" conditions at their parents' minimum-security prisons.

On her podcast, "Unlocked With Savannah Chrisley," Savannah Chrisley and her brother Chase Chrisley said the facilities their parents were incarcerated in were not fit for purpose. The siblings said the prisons had "black mold, asbestos," and, in Julie's case, snakes "slithering on the floor."

Chase added: "They are both in states where it gets to be 100-plus degrees, and there's no air conditioning."

Surgent appeared to back up these claims, telling People that Todd and Julie were "living in squalor in 100-degree temperatures" in their respective facilities.

"Their living conditions, both of them, he in Pensacola, she in Lexington, Kentucky, it's an absolute ridiculous situation," he said.

Julie is incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center, Lexington, which is more than 650 miles  or about a 10-hour drive  from Todd's prison.

A court sketch shows Todd and Julie Chrisley listen in court as their accountant is sentenced on November 21. Lauren Lacy

Because prosecutors said she played a lesser role in the pair's yearslong tax and bank fraud, Julie's sentence is seven years.

"Not that we're saying that they deserve special treatment because they're celebrities. They don't," Surgent said of their conditions. "What we're saying is that they, along with other inmates, deserve better treatment."

He added: "We shouldn't be treating our prisoners the way we're treating our prisoners at this point in time."

The Bureau of Prisons has disputed comments about the conditions at the facilities.

In a statement to Insider, a representative for the federal agency said: "For privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not release information on the conditions of confinement for any inmate or group of inmates."

The person added that all adults in custody "have unlimited access to drinking water and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is monitoring the ventilation at the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Pensacola and the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Lexington, as one of our highest priorities is the safety of BOP employees" and adults in custody.

Read the original article on Insider
Amid the never-ending coverage of the latest offensive or counteroffensive in Ukraine, it is often unappreciated just how much worse the global economic repercussions from the conflict could have been. Russia is the worlds leading exporter of gas and provided around 50% of the EUs demand before the war; Ukraine, meanwhile, is a major exporter of grain, alongside Russia itself. The complete disruption of either of these channels would have resulted in catastrophe.

The fact this didnt happen last year was largely thanks to two crucial agreements secured early in the conflict: the Black Sea Grain Initiative, whereby Russia allowed Ukraine to continue exporting grain via the Black Sea (which is under its control), and a deal that allowed Russian gas to continue flowing to Europe via Ukraine. But the former has just been suspended, and the latter could soon be terminated. The true cost of this war, it seems, is about to greatly increase.

When the grain deal was brokered last July, Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the UN, called it a beacon of hope  and rightly so. Reaching an agreement of this kind was a remarkable achievement and a big, if rare, victory for international diplomacy. It contributed to significantly lowering grain prices and avoided a collapse in Ukrainian exports (which only declined by around 30%)  effectively preventing a potential global humanitarian disaster. Over the past year, more than 1,000 ships (containing nearly 33 million metric tons of grain and other foodstuffs) left Ukraine from three Ukrainian ports: Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi.

On July 17, however, Putin pulled out of the deal. Russias move didnt come out of the blue. As Western sanctions increased, the deal had started coming under growing strain, with the Kremlin claiming that the West wasnt holding up its end of the bargain, which allowed for more Russian agricultural and fertiliser exports. For this to happen, Russia insisted on reconnecting the Russian Agricultural Bank to the Swift international payment system and, among other things, the unblocking of assets and accounts of those Russian companies involved in food and fertiliser exports.

But the most important demand was the resumption of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline, which runs from the Russian city of Togliatti to various Black Sea ports in Ukraine, and which prior to the war exported 2.5 million tonnes of ammonia annually. As part of the negotiations over the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Kyiv and Moscow struck a deal to allow the safe passage of ammonia through the pipeline  but the latter was never reopened by Ukraine. Last September, the UN urged Ukraine to resume its transport, in view of ammonia fertilisers crucial role in supporting global agricultural productions, but to no avail.

Then, last month, Russia once again demanded once the reopening of the pipeline as a condition for renewing the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Just a few days later, a section of it located in Ukrainian territory was blown up  according to Russia, by Ukrainian saboteurs, in a deliberate effort to sabotage the grain deal. The governor of Ukraines Kharkiv Oblast, however, maintains that it was destroyed by Russian shelling. In any case, the fate of the deal was more or less sealed at that point: when Dmitry Peskov, Putins spokesman, announced a month later that the Black Sea agreements are no longer in effect, few were surprised. The decision came just a few hours after Ukraines strike on the bridge connecting mainland Russia to Crimea, though Moscow denied that there was a connection between the two events.

Predictably, the West has chastised Russias decision to pull out of the deal. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his country regrets Russias continued weaponisation of food, while the EUs foreign policy chief Josep Borrell claimed that Putin is using hunger as a weapon. Elsewhere, Polands Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau described it as nothing less than an act of economic aggression against the states of the Global South, which are most dependent on the Ukrainian grain, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated that Russias decision is further proof on who is a friend and who is the enemy of the poorest countries.

Such strong rhetoric masks a more nuanced picture, however. As Oxfam has claimed, based on data from the UNs Joint Coordination Centre, less than 3% of the grain from the deal went to the worlds poorest countries, including Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan and Yemen. By contrast, approximately 80% of the grain has been shipped to richer countries, mainly EU countries and China. Putin himself, in conversation with the President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, claimed that the deals main goal  to supply grain to countries in need, including those on the African continent  has not been implemented.

Yet despite Putins claims of export challenges, Russia enjoyed record levels of wheat shipments over the past year  so clearly this decision has much more to do with the exacerbation of West-Russia relations than it has to do with strictly economic issues. Likewise, it is fair to assume that Putins decision to send free grain to six African countries that have strong ties with Moscow has more to do with strengthening global alliances than actual humanitarian concerns. But with no end to the war in sight, and all sides engaged in increasingly brazen military brinkmanship, is anyone really surprised that a deal that hinged entirely on Russias goodwill has come undone?

And the price will be paid by Western countries, too. Now that the Black Sea Grain Initiative has been paused, even greater quantities of Ukrainian grain will be transported overland across Europe through so-called solidarity routes set up by the EU. Yet problems had already arisen before the initiative collapsed, as cheap Ukrainian grain, much of which was exported by tax-avoiding shell firms, flooded local markets, where they undercut local produce and angered farmers. In response, in April, the governments of Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia introduced unilateral bans on Ukrainian grain until an EU deal was agreed that made it possible to reduce pressure on local markets, while at the same time enabling the transit of Ukrainian goods to traditional markets in non-EU countries. With the suspension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, however, the pressures are likely to increase.

At the moment, the future of the deal remains unclear. Putin left the door open to reviving it, saying that Russia will comply as soon as the Russian part (of the deal) is completed. However, the fact that Russia has launched several attacks on critical grain export infrastructure in the Odesa region suggests that a resumption of the deal appears unlikely anytime soon.

And it appears a similar story of obstruction seems to be playing out with Russian gas exports. Despite the war, Russian gas has continued to flow through Ukraine into Europe  softening the blow of the EUs intention of decoupling from Russian energy while allowing Ukraine to raise much-needed cash in the form of transit fees. In a recent interview with the Financial Times, however, German Galushchenko, Ukraines energy minister, said that Kyiv is unlikely to renew the gas transit deal when Ukraines supply contract with Gazprom expires in 2024.

In practice, this would mean the closure of one of the last arteries still carrying Russian gas to Europe, a move which would severely weaken many energy-dependent EU countries. Recent analysis by Columbia Universitys Center on Global Energy Policy suggests that deliveries to EU countries could drop to between 10 and 16 billion cubic meters (45 to 73% of current levels), according to a June analysis by Columbia Universitys Center on Global Energy Policy, leaving Europe with a shortfall that cannot currently be replaced with greater liquefied natural gas imports from the US and Qatar.

Moreover, the loss of even a small percentage of supply has the potential to raise prices across the continent, given the tightness of global gas markets. In Germany, for instance, the economy minister has hinted that the country will be forced to significantly wind down its industrial activities if the gas agreement isnt extended at the end of the year. For a country  and indeed a continent  already struggling with creeping deindustrialisation, the consequences could be devastating.

This is especially worrying if we consider that, barring the same higher-than-average temperatures as last year, this winter Europe will have a natural gas deficit of at least 60 billion cubic meters. In other words, its not inconceivable that another gas crisis is around the corner  and it might be even worse than last years. As the Ukraine war drags on, even the few safeguards put in place are coming undone. Instead of being diluted by diplomacy, the repercussions of this conflict have merely evolved.
Cardi B. Getty/Axelle/Bauer-Griffin

The woman who Cardi B threw a microphone at while on stage has filed a police report for battery.

Las Vegas police told Insider that "no arrest or citations have been issued."

Social media videos show Cardi B throwing the mic after a drink was thrown on her while on stage.

The concertgoer who Cardi B threw a microphone at while the "WAP" rapper was on stage at a Las Vegas nightclub reported a "battery" to authorities a day after the incident, but no arrests have been made, local police said on Monday.

Videos have circulated on social media showing a woman in the audience tossing a drink at Cardi B while the Grammy-winner was performing outdoors at Drai's Beachclub & Nightclub on Saturday.

Cardi B then chucked her microphone at the person, the videos show.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told Insider in a statement on Monday that the woman went to a local police station on Sunday "to report a battery."

The woman told authorities that she was at a concert on Saturday and was "struck by an item that was thrown from the stage," the police department said.

"The incident has been documented on a police report and no arrest or citations have been issued," said the police department, adding, "No further details will be provided at this time."

Reps for Cardi B didn't immediately respond to multiple requests for comment by Insider on Monday.

In the aftermath of the microphone incident, Cardi B retweeted a video of the ordeal from a Cardi B fan account that shared the video with the caption: "Jealous Ass Bitch!"

Read the original article on Insider
Zachery Ty Bryan, who played the oldest brother on Home Improvement, was arrested on a domestic violence charge on Friday. He's finally been released from jail. (Photo: Joshua Blanchard/Getty Images for P.S. ARTS)

Zachery Ty Bryan has finally been released from jail  and his attorney is calling for people to "withhold judgement until they see what the actual facts are."

The actor, best known for playing the older son on the '90s sitcom Home Improvement, was arrested last Friday in Eugene, Oregon, in a domestic violence case. He faces two felony charges  fourth-degree assault and third-degree robbery charges  as well as a misdemeanor charge of harassment. He is due in court on Sept. 5.

Bryan's criminal defense attorney John Kolego from Kolego & Kraushaar told The Hollywood Reporter after his release on Thursday, "Presumption of innocence is extremely important and people should withhold judgement until they see what the actual facts are."

As previously reported, "At around 6:00 p.m. on July 28, Eugene Police received report of a physical dispute between a male and adult female at a north Eugene residence," a police spokesman told Yahoo Entertainment. "The dispute was reported to have occurred several hours prior and the suspect, identified as Zachery Ty Bryan, age 41, of Laguna Beach, California, had left the location. Eugene Police subsequently contacted Bryan in the area. Bryan was lodged at Lane County Jail on a charge of Assault in the Fourth Degree APA (Abuse Prevention Act)." (The Abuse Prevention Act is when a person previously protected by a Family Abuse Prevention Act restraining order is endangered.)

While he was in jail, the two additional charges were added. According to police, Bryan is reported to have pushed one of the victim's relatives and taken his phone during the dispute.

After Bryan's arrest, his fiancee, Johnnie Faye Cartwright, who shares three children with him, told Us Weekly, "I'll always want what's best for the father of my children. Trauma can bring struggles in many shapes and forms. It's a horrible situation that's going to be spun in so many ways. I've learned firsthand the truth will never align with what's been put out there. I ask everyone to please be respectful of our privacy for the sake of the children and our families so the healing process can begin."

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The case mirrors Bryan's October 2020 arrest involving Cartwright, 30. He faced charges of strangulation and assault after a physical dispute. He ended up avoiding the most serious charges, making a plea deal to menacing and assault in the fourth degree constituting domestic violence and avoiding six other charges in February 2021. Bryan was sentenced to 36 months of probation with multiple conditions, including partaking in a batterer intervention program. He was also to have "no contact with the victim."

Bryan's booking photo from his October 2020 domestic violence arrest. The state no longer publicly releases mug shots. (Photo: Eugene Police Department via AP)

Bryan gave a wild interview to the Hollywood Reporter in late June in which he detailed the 2020 arrest. He claimed the incident "got so blown out of proportion," but said he was having a two-year affair with Cartwright  while married to high school sweetheart Carly Matros  and Cartwright was upset about his double life." He claimed they had "been drinking too much" and got into a nasty argument. "We didn't even really get that physical. We got really loud. We were screaming and because we were in a townhome that had [thin walls], everybody could hear," he said. "Johnnie was, at the time, just really upset about my situation. At the end of the day, [the police] throw a bunch of counts at you because they ultimately want you to plead to something."

Bryan and Matros separated the same month as his 2020 arrest. He infamously plagiarized Armie Hammers and Elizabeth Chambers's divorce announcement when he shared the news with his followers on social media. "I was just in party freaking mode," he said of his marriage. "Making movies, traveling, drinking. I wasn't living the way I was raised, you know what I mean? I was not being a faithful husband, and I was not being the best me. I thought I would be able to go out and do whatever I wanted, have fun, come home and be a family man with my kids. That's not how the real world works."

Bryan  who was previously arrested for DUI in 2004, 2007, and 2017  called the 2020 arrest a wake-up call. "I definitely have an issue with drinking," he told the Hollywood Reporter, but added that he wouldn't characterize himself as an alcoholic. "Dude, I started drinking when I was 14. Back then, I was going to nightclubs and they would just let me in because I was the kid from Home Improvement."

In addition to his growing arrest record, Bryan has been accused of jilting investors in a crypto scheme.

Tim Allen, who played Bryan's TV dad on Home Improvement, commented for the Hollywood Reporter article, saying, "I dont know what's going on with him. Zach is a great kid who has grown into a complex man. All you can do is step aside and let somebody go through their process... I know Zach's heart. He's got to figure out his own way."

At the time of the interview, Bryan said he was still with Cartwright. He described themselves as "good friends" and "partners." They became engaged in November 2021 and have welcomed three children over the last two years. They had twins in May and a daughter in spring 2022.

Bryan is a father of seven children total. He also has four children with Matros, including another set of twins.

For anyone affected by abuse and needing support, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or if you're unable to speak safely, you can log onto thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 22522.

Editor's note: This story was originally published on July 31, 2023, and has been updated with new information

 Taryn Ryder contributed to this report
Chrissy Teigen. Rueven Afanador.

Chrissy Teigen made her SI Swimsuit debut in 2010 when she won Rookie of the Year, photographed by Walter Iooss Jr. in the Maldives. She appeared in the magazine for seven consecutive years, even gracing the 50th-anniversary cover in 14 with Nina Agdal and Lily Aldridge, photographed by James Macari in the Cook Islands.

Beyond modeling, Teigen built an empire with her lifestyle brand, Cravings by Chrissy Teigen, offering recipes, cookware and loungewear. She published three bestselling cookbooks, cohosted Lip Sync Battle and hosted the reality show Chrissys Court on Roku, all while engaging her 53 million followers on Twitter and Instagram.

In 2017, just five months after giving birth to Luna, Teigen fearlessly returned for an SI Swimsuit photoshoot in Indonesia with James Macari. Her comfort in front of the lens showcased her post-pregnancy confidence and beauty.

Reflecting on her experience with SI Swimsuit, Teigen once shared, Its not hard being naked in front of this group of people, because everyone is so, first of all, warm and welcoming about like a curvy body and a beautiful silhouette, so thats different. She appreciated the brands celebration of feminine beauty and diverse body types.

Today, as a lifestyle entrepreneur and a mom of four alongside her husband, John Legend, Teigen remains an iconic figure. Her versatility as a model, businesswoman and mother has left a lasting impression on the world of SI Swimsuit and beyond. Check out seven of her most wanderlust-inspiring photos from her 2016 photoshoot in Zanzibar with Rueven Afanador below.

Rueven Afanador/Getty Images

Rueven Afanador/Getty Images

Rueven Afanador/Getty Images

Rueven Afanador/Getty Images

Rueven Afanador/Getty Images

Rueven Afanador/Getty Images
Chef Michael White just gave us all a delicious reason to book a trip to the Bahamas.

Kovah Duncombe/Courtesy of Atlantis Paradise Island

Atlantis Paradise Island is celebrating its 25th year by bringing guests all-new experiences like renovated suites, a reimagined casino, and now, a delicious new dining venue thats worth building an entire trip around.

In July, the famed resort in the Bahamas welcomed Paranza, the new restaurant by award-winning chef Michael White.

White, known for his popular restaurants in New York City and beyond, opened Paranza, which he calls a love letter to Italy, at The Cove, the resorts all-suite retreat. He's in good company, serving guests alongside Atlantis's other celebrity chef spots that include Nobu from chef Nobu Matsuhisa and Fish by chef Jose Andres.

Paranza at Atlantis Paradise Island is the most important opening in my culinary career since Marea, White told Travel + Leisure. I've been fortunate to have quite a few milestones in my career, but getting back on track and seeing people traveling again and going to restaurants and enjoying it is why it's so special.

Whites menu at Paranza will once again highlight his preferred Italian cuisine, including house-made pasta, seafood, and modern takes on classic dishes including island-ready bites of amberjack with citrus Fresno chilis and basil; red snapper with Ligurian olives and finger lime; and scampi with langoustine, fennel, lemon confit, and Oscietra caviar.

The menu continues with the antipasti course with bites of truffled beef tartare with Parmigiano-Reggiano and bottarga; grilled octopus with pancetta borlotti beans and rosemary vinaigrette; and frittura di Paranza, with crispy calamari, shrimp, zucchini, and lemon tocco.

Theres also the primi course, offering linguine with squid ink, mixed seafood, Calabrian chili paste, and breadcrumbs, and entrees like grilled swordfish with Sicilian caponata, zucchini, and salsa pepe uva.

However, no meal here is complete without dessert, including dark chocolate mousse cake with vanilla gelato and coconut rice pudding topped with tropical fruits.

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As the only resort in the region to have three standalone Michelin chef experiences, Atlantis Paradise Islands incredible food and beverage team continues to be a culinary leader by introducing trailblazing concepts and offerings that cater to a variety of traveler tastes, Audrey Oswell, president and managing director of Atlantis Paradise Island, said in a statement. With Paranza, chef White skillfully captures the essence of Italian coastal cuisine, adding another wonderful dining option for our guests.

Kovah Duncombe/Courtesy of Atlantis Paradise Island

As for the space itself, that came together thanks to Jeffrey Beers International, who pulled in the natural Bahamian landscape colors like vibrant blues and soft, white sand beaches, pairing it with touches of Italian charm with fine leather furnishings and rich, dark woods. Though the best seat in the house is underneath the wooden pergola on the patio, so you can soak in the evening sun.

I am excited to be open and excited to be working with Atlantis, White added. They've been so supportive of the project and getting it off the ground and providing something new for guests. There are so many exciting things going on at the property right now, and I'm fortunate to be among them.

Reservations for Paranza are now open. See more about the restaurant, and the entire resort, at atlantisbahamas.com.

For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
Canadian West Coast port union dockworkers have reached a tentative contract with their maritime employers after the first one recently fell through, but theres no telling yet if this ones really a done deal.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) announced the new labor agreement late Sunday in a joint statement, with both sides recommending their members ratify the collective deal.

More from Sourcing Journal

The union caucus still has to vote on the deal before it gets sent to a vote by the labor groups 7,400 members. A deal would officially end the threat of a work stoppage. Dockworkers at the ports stayed off the job from July 1-13 before returning to work after a first tentative agreement was reached.

Both parties rejected an earlier version of the deal, but reached the new deal Sunday with help from the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB).

The move came after the union members voted down the agreement on Friday, and more than a week after ILWU caucus leadership initially rejected the terms on July 18. Workers briefly went back to the picket lines after the first rejection, but that move was deemed illegal by the CIRB since the union didnt provide notice 72 hours before going on strike. The union issued a new strike notice only to rescind it hours later, saying it would recommend the deal to members in a full vote.

Theres no word on what the new terms involve or when the ILWU caucus and union members will vote on the deal.

In a tweet, Canadas Labor Minister Seamus ORegan said the deal would bring long-term stability to the countrys ports. On Saturday, ORegan directed the CIRB to determine if a negotiated agreement was still possible, saying the board would have to impose final binding arbitration if they couldnt agree on terms.

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Canadian government authorities were under pressure to intervene in hopes of producing a deal. On July 19, after the ILWU issued its second 72-hour strike notice, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the countrys Incident Response Group to prepare the countrys government for all labor options, but did not get involved in the negotiations.

On Saturday before the tentative new agreement was announced, ILWU Canada president Rob Ashton reiterated concerns that contracting out maintenance work to third-party, non-union employees would erode its workforce and expertise.

The issue poses a significant threat to job security and the integrity of the ILWU workforce, Ashton said. While ILWU Canada recognizes the need for a competitive and efficient maritime industry, this should not displace skilled and experienced workers who have dedicated their careers to ensuring the smooth functioning of Canadas West Coast ports.

Outsourcing maintenance work was one of the unions three major points of contention in the current deal, including the need for higher wages and concerns about more automation at the terminals.

Ashton said work stoppages were the last resort, indicating that worker safety and wellbeing were two critical concerns of the labor organization. The ILWU Canada called for more joint efforts and open feedback to reduce accidents and improve worker wellbeing.

The first tentative deal included a four-year package with a compounded 19.2 percent wage increase over four years, which would result in the median ILWU income moving from $136,000 to $162,000 Canadian dollars ($103,000 to $123,000), not including benefits and pension, according to the BCMEA. It disclosed that the proposed deal also provides an 18.5 percent increase in a retirement lump sum payment in addition to increased tool allowances, benefits and pension contributions.

Both the Ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert are currently operational, but the 13-day work stoppage has taken its toll on the shipments out of the ports into the U.S.

According to The Association of American Railroads rail traffic report for the week ending July 22, total rail volume from Canada to the U.S. was down 12 percent to 68,972 intermodal units. This was an improvement from the first full week of the strike, which saw a 46 percent decrease in rail trade from Canada, and the second weeks 36 percent decrease.

The labor strike is impacting the top line of railroad businesses as well. The labor unrest had a negative impact of $80 million on Canadian Pacific Kansas City railroads revenue, chief marketing officer John Brooks told analysts on an earnings call Thursday. On a year-over-year basis, Brooks said revenues from container traffic dropped 10 percent in the second quarter.

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Why parents are looking to celebrity kids for baby name inspiration. (Image: Getty; illustration by Jay Sprogell for Yahoo)

Jackie Bruno got the idea for her firstborn sons name while reading an article titled 10 Celebrity Names You Shouldnt Name Your Child.

Bruno was scouring the internet back in 2015 for ideas but kept coming up empty-handed. But when the article mentioned Bear, the name of Clueless star Alicia Silverstones son, Bruno was sold on it as a middle name. Of course, not everyone was keen on the idea at first.

My mom exclaimed, Over my dead body, Bruno, the owner of Newsmaker Marketing in Boston, recalled. Fast-forward eight years and Jack Bear is a rambunctious, funny and adventurous boy. His name is the perfect fit, says Bruno.

In the world of baby naming, Bruno isn't alone. Celebrities have served as the launch pad for some of the most popular children's names out there, catapulting names like Luna, commonly known as the name of John Legend and Chrissy Teigens 7-year-old daughter, into the baby name popularity stratosphere. And clearly, it has an effect on the rankings: When the Social Security Administration's list of top baby names for 2022 was recently released, Luna landed in the number 10 slot for American baby girls, 8,922 of whom share the name.

Laura Wattenberg, the creator of Namerology.com and author of The Baby Name Wizard, attributes the initial rise of Luna to the Harry Potter series, which features a character named Luna Lovegood. But it wasn't until Teigen and Legend used it for their eldest daughter that it reached the top 10. Wattenberg says the name is an example of a style known as raindrop names.

Its not a nickname, but a tiny little full name that is completely smooth and has no hard sounds in it, says Wattenberg. So Luna, Liam, Emma, Noah. Sure enough, each of those names earned a top 10 slot for 2022.

And then it got an extra boost from a celebrity baby, adds Wattenberg. It fit the moment perfectly.

Sometimes a name that was once considered almost trademarked by a star becomes part of the mainstream. Kate Mistretta, an American currently living in Rome, Italy, named her almost 2-year-old daughter Luna because she and her husband wanted a short name that was easy for Americans and Italians to pronounce. It wasnt until later that they realized how popular it is.

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We thought it was unique until we looked it up! says Mistretta. Its more common in the U.S. than Italy.

Over the years, there are names that have become synonymous with celebrity offspring. Consider names of the early aughts, like Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin's daughter Apple, or Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's six kids with unique names like Zahara and Knox. Kimberly Moralda, a Millis, Mass.-based HR director, snagged the name Pax as a nickname for her son Pasquale after reading online about the second-oldest Jolie-Pitt child.

Buried within one of the [baby naming] sites was the name Pax, with a mention that this name came into popularity after Angelina Jolie changed her adopted son's name from Pham Quang Sang to Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt in 2007, Moralda recalled. Her source of inspiration isn't all that rare: Wattenberg says Jolie's nfluence on baby names has been significant.

Maddox and Shiloh were probably the two biggest, most influential {names], says Wattenberg, citing two of the star's other children.

Of course, one concern of many parents is the potential for a name to be considered too unusual. Colleen Slagen, a Boston area-based nurse practitioner who moonlights as a baby name consultant, says some people like the validation that using a celebrity baby name provides.

They don't necessarily want to be the first person to do something, but they'll happily be the second. When you hear a celebrity use it, it still feels like, Yeah, I've never heard that before. I don't know anyone with that name. I'm going to use it and it's going to be unique. But it also has this lofty stamp of approval, says Slagen.

In other words, parents want to participate in the trend, but not be the original catalyst for it. But you might also catch parents throwing out a disclaimer that their baby's name has nothing to do with the celebrity who actually inspired it.

"The fact that people won't own up to having been inspired by celebrity babies is very much part of our times, says Wattenberg. "You can see statistically that celebrity baby names do have an effect.

The Kardashian effect on baby names is a strong example of that. Think of Stormi Webster, the daughter of Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott, and Saint West, the son of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. Both names have experienced a significant jump in the latest data: In 2022, there were 341 babies born in the U.S. named Stormi, and 907 named Saint. Before 2020, those names didn't even crack the top 1,000.

Blair Gyamfi, co-founder of the podcast, digital platform and motherhood community Moms Actually, was inspired by Kardashians son Saint when naming her own daughter.

I loved the name Kim K. chose for her first son, Saint. Of course, I couldnt pick that name because I didnt want to copy and it starts with an S, says Gyamfi, who was looking for a name that started with an N. So I started thinking of names that represented similar character traits. And thats how we came up with Nobles name.

Gyamfis choice echoes Wattenbergs belief that parents aren't really looking to name their baby after celebrities and their offspring theyre just looking for creative, fresh inspiration wherever they can find it.

Parents are putting a lot of pressure on themselves to be creative and find something unusual that will stand out, says Wattenberg.

Ultimately, the obsession with what parents name their children could be just an indicator that raising children is an inherently chaotic process. You can't determine what type of child you will get, but you can give them a name you think fits.

Looking back, its one of the only things you have full control over, says Bruno.

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A man in South Carolina experienced a scare when he briefly lost the engagement ring hed been carrying with him for the beach proposal he planned at the start of the month.

The man, whose name has yet to be disclosed, arranged a couples photo shoot in Myrtle Beach, which was supposed to end with a surprise marriage proposal on Saturday, July 1, according to a Facebook post shared by the Myrtle Beach Police Department.

The man is originally from Tennessee but had traveled to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for the proposal, the police department wrote in its post.

MAN RESCUES ENGAGEMENT RING, PROPOSES AFTER HOME BURNS DOWN

The man, shortly after realizing the engagement ring was lost, flagged down John Lively, a patrolman first class with the Myrtle Beach Police Department's Beach Patrol team. That's according to the Facebook post that was shared on Wednesday, July 5.

"The gentleman explained that they had been taking photos in different places along the beach and had gotten to the last location and realized the ring had fallen out of his pocket," the police department wrote.

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Lively teamed up with patrol officers Sean Owens and Zachary Stashick, and the trio reportedly canvased the spots the couple had their photos taken.

The officers also recruited patrolman Shon McCluskey and K9 Goggles to assist with the search for the ring  but there was no luck.

As the group scanned the sandy beach, a "local community member" reportedly joined the search and used a metal detector.

AFTER LONG SHOT ATTEMPT TO FIND LOST RING, WOMAN OVERWHELMED BY 'KINDNESS OF STRANGERS'

"Shortly after joining the search, the ring was found by the metal detector," the Myrtle Beach Police Department wrote.

"The ring was quickly returned to the gentleman for him to continue his proposal! For those of you wondering, she said yes," the department continued.

"The Myrtle Beach community pulls together any time, anywhere, for anyone! We wish the engaged couple a happy future!"

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An unnamed man from Tennessee (not pictured) lost the engagement ring he brought to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which he planned to use for a surprise proposal, according to a local police department.

The Facebook post has received over 1,600 reactions and hundreds of shares and comments from people who have viewed the story.

TSA RETURNS LOST DIAMOND TO OWNER AFTER IT FELL OFF WOMANS ENGAGEMENT RING

Fox News Digital reached out to the Myrtle Beach Department for comment.

Commenters congratulated the couple on their engagement and shared their thoughts on the unique proposal story.

"This is such a wonderful story with a happy ending," one Facebook user wrote.

A local resident (not pictured) helped the Myrtle Beach Police Department find the lost engagement ring with a metal detector after a man lost it during a couple's photo shoot.

"Amazing story to be retold for the rest of their lives," another user remarked. "[Great] job to all the kind folks that helped."

COUPLE LOSES 50-YEAR-OLD WEDDING ALBUM AS CAR IS HIJACKED AMID ANNIVERSARY TRIP

"OMG, so beautiful. This is a good sign for them both," another user wrote.

Beaches have become a popular destination for surprise proposals and engagements, but wedding experts are warning couples that they should proceed with caution before they travel with engagement rings.

ENGAGEMENT-RING SHOPPING: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU BUY THAT ROCK

An engagement ring safety article published by Brides, a popular wedding planning magazine, recommends couples insure engagement rings before traveling and consider the destination theyll be going to before they wear or carry these pieces of jewelry.

Engagement rings can be lost or damaged when worn or taken to a beach, especially if the outing requires a lot of activity, said the publication.

Wedding experts say couples should exercise caution when traveling with engagement rings.

Oceans and pools should also be avoided when traveling with an engagement ring, according to the magazine.

"Never wear your ring in the ocean. The cold water will cause your fingers to shrink, which in turn makes it easy for your ring to slip off your finger and sink to the bottom of the ocean," the magazine explained.

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"Even if you're in shallow water, your ring will likely be lost forever as it gets swept up in the current and sand."

The same can happen in a pool, and chlorine water could be damaging to jewelry metals like platinum and gold, the magazine said.
In the late 18th century, the pianists bench used throughout Italian concert halls was the Venetian grotto stool, known for its distinctive shell-like forminspired by the Rococo period, when furniture was more playful, ornate, and curvaceous. Today, Leah Cumming breathes modernity into vintage pieces such as the Venetian grotto stool through her bespoke furniture company Maison Madeleine.

I had this idea of taking such a detail-oriented, well-crafted piece and turning it into a contemporary barstool that is functional but still emulates the original shell design, Cumming tells Robb Report about her Seaside Shell Barstool.

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Founder Leah Cumming; the Seaside Shell Barstool

Maintaining the shell design was important to Cummingwho previously worked as a designer for firms such as Nickey Kehoe and Jenni Kayneas she says shes always felt a sense of peace by the water. She recalls a childhood spent on boats with her father, an avid sailor; her teenage years were spent in Paris, where walks along the Seine River evoked the same calmness she felt near the sea. Later, Cumming attended college in Boston then moved to Hong Kong after graduation, both cities where proximity to the ocean was a major draw. I now live in Los Angeles and find myself feeling at ease being close to the water, she says. Californias rugged coastlines are so imperfectly perfect to me and fill me with inspiration.

Nautical and coastal references, therefore, are prevalent throughout each of the 10 pieces of Maison Madeleines inaugural collection, which includes pieces like the Wave Daybed, Gather Scalloped Dining Table, and Le Salon Scalloped Coffee Table, all handcrafted in LA.

The style is French meets coastal, contemporary chic, with a twist on iconic European designs, says Cumming. Her love and appreciation for an old-meets-new-world aesthetic dates back to her time in Paris, where she first appreciated the narrative of antique furniture at flea markets. I remember being totally enamored by such beautiful pieces and objects with such rich history, she says.

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Cumming found that the best way to recreate the vintage furnishings she fell in love withmany of them in the Art Deco stylewas to integrate these coastal motifs. It felt like a way to make my pieces more playful while remaining elegant, she says. Case in point: the curves on the wave daybed are a subtle way to reflect the oceans undulations. I like the idea of someone spending a long day on the beach or by the coast and coming back after to take a long nap on the daybed in a sundrenched room.



Maison Madeleine

Maison Madeleines collection is crafted with natural woodssolid oak wood, walnut, alder, and burl wood on the coffee and dining tables, and reclaimed wood for the LHabits Reclaimed Wood Dresser. Cumming felt it was important to maintain the neutral hues, offering both dark stains to match the original aesthetic of the sophisticated antiques that inspired the collection, but also light finishes to cater to the needs of modern design and coastal beach house. These pieces should serve as the anchor for any space, she says.

Regardless of where they may appear, Cumming simply hopes for them to be enjoyed. I want these pieces to have life brought to them, she says. You can go into a lot of homes and get a sense of whether theres life in the home  despite the pieces being super beautiful, they should be used. shopmaisonmadeleine.com

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For Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Falchuk, their marriage was almost a surprise. They'd both already been married before and had children reaching their teens. But after a few years together, it was clear that this relationship was for the long haul.

When they first met, it was on the set for the popular series Glee, of which Falchuk is a co-creator. Paltrow was making a guest appearance on the show as a substitute teacher named Holly Holliday. The year was 2010, and Paltrow was still married to Coldplay's Chris Martin. Falchuk was married to producer Suzanne Bukinik.

The couple started dating in 2014, shortly after they each ended their marriages. They didn't go public until 2015 when they attended Robert Downey Jr.'s 50th birthday party together. They were engaged by 2017 and married a year later.

Here's the complete timeline of Paltrow and Falchuk's love story.

2010

All in all, Paltrow appeared on five episodes of Glee as her substitute teacher character Holly Holliday became a recurring role on the show. Falchuk told Harper's Bazaar in 2020 that they first became friends on set when they realized how much they really have in common.

She's stunning and she's charming and she's completely disarming, he said. We had similar enough backgroundsa little bit Jewish, a little bit East Coast, her dad was a TV producerand so we just sort of developed this really lovely friendship.

July 2014

The pair were spotted out and about in August of 2014, going together for dinner in Los Angeles, but People said that they went on a romantic vacation together the month before in Utah.

April 2015

Paltrow's Marvel co-star Robert Downey Jr. held a birthday party in Santa Monica, California for his 50th, and there were lots of celebrities in attendance. Two of them were Paltrow and Falchuk, and they were clearly very much together.

Story continues

May 2015

Paltrow's mother, Blythe Danner, screened her film I'll See You in My Dreams in London, and Falchuk attended the event with his girlfriend of almost a year.

July 2015

The couple were seen driving around in Rome and went on to vacation in the Amalfi Coast and Positano.

Agostino Fabio - Getty Images

September 2015

Paltrow was by Falchuk's side at the Scream Queens premiere that fall, and he seemed to be referencing Paltrow in his tweet about dinner for two later that night.

Finishing the night. Dinner for two. #ScreamQueens thanks for sharing the celebration with me! pic.twitter.com/bdcNHd0vbq  Brad Falchuk (@BFalchuk) September 22, 2015

January 2016

They reportedly spent the new year in Mexico and were joined by Paltrow's children, Apple and Moses. They then headed to Austria and Paris together.

March 2017

For her boyfriend's 46th birthday, Paltrow posted a sweet selfie of them together with the caption, Happy birthday, handsome.

April 2017

Falchuk started sharing more intimate shots of his girlfriend, like this one of Paltrow having coffee early in the morning.

May 2017

It turns out it's one of a series that he jokingly called, My Girl Getting Ready.

June 2017

Falchuk shared another behind-the-scenes snapshot of Paltrow getting ready for some event on his Instagram grid.

September 2017

For her 45th birthday, Paltrow got a tribute from her boyfriend who shared a photo of her enjoying some pizza and wine. He wrte, This is the most beautiful woman of all time and today is her birthday. We are all so lucky that she came into the world (but no one is luckier than me). Happy Birthday, Love.

He added, PS - this is pretty much the most #Gwyneth pic I could find - it has pizza, red wine, her phone and that f-cking perfect smile.

October 2017

They come up with the perfect self-referential Se7en couple's costume.

November 2017

It is reported that the couple is engaged, but there's no confirmation. A source said at the time, They both knew it would happen, but it wasnt a big thing to them because they were both in long marriages before. There wasnt a rush.

January 2018

The couple finally confirmed their engagement and appeared in Goop Magazine's Sex & Love issue, saying in a joint statement, We feel incredibly lucky to have come together at this juncture in our lives when our collective successes and failures can serve as building blocks for a healthy and happy relationship.

Paltrow told People after that she's excited about the wedding planning, saying, I'm excited about everything! I've never had a wedding before... So even though I'm 45, I sort of feel like a 21-year-old.



She added that they hadn't really started making any formal plans.

It's kind of fun to talk about with my girlfriends, Paltrow continued. They send me pictures of dressesthey're as excited about it as I am. It's pretty cute.

April 2018

For her bachelorette party, Paltrow headed to Cabo, Mexico, then returned to Los Angeles for her engagement party, which had quite a guest list including Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, Benji Madden, Julia Roberts, Demi Moore, Reese Witherspoon, Steven Spielberg, Liv Tyler, and Kate Hudson.

September 2018

On September 29, 2018, Paltrow and Falchuk got married in the Hamptons with a group of about 70 guests, including Jerry Seinfeld, Robert Downey Jr., Stella McCartney, Cameron Diaz, and Benji Madden. The actress saved some details of the event for release in GOOP, saying they had perfect weather, a superlative dinner, a dance party for the ages, and a dress that defies adjectives. Hours later, when the last guest went home and the last champagne flute was cleared away, the day ended as it beganwith beauty, love, and two very happy people.

October 2018

In an interview with Marie Claire UK, Paltrow talked about getting married for a second time, saying, For a while, I thought, I don't know if I'd ever do it again. I have my kidswhat's the point? And then I met this incredible man, who made me think, no, this person is worth making this commitment to. I'm very much the marrying kind.

December 2018

Ryan Murphy was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame, and in a speech, Paltrow thanked the producer and Falchuk's frequent collaborator for unwittingly setting the two of them up.

Jean Baptiste Lacroix - Getty Images

January 2019

For their honeymoon, the couple headed to the Maldives, ringing in the new year as well. Paltrow shared a photo of them holding hands as they walked down the boardwalk together during their trip.

Walking into the new year with a lot of gratitude for all of the wonderful moments of 2018, lessons and joys alike, she wrote in the caption. Wishing each and every one of you a truly magnificent, happy 2019.

During an interview on Live with Kelly and Ryan, Paltrow said that the trip included all of their kids and her ex Chris Martin.

My new husband and his children, my children, my ex-husband, our best family friends [all went]. It was a very modern honeymoon, she said. It was great, we had such a good time.

September 2019

In an interview with InStyle, Paltrow says she and Falchuk are moving in together, which was apparently a post-marriage step.

Married life has been really good. We took a year to let everybody [in the family] take it in and let the dust settle. And now we're moving in together this month.

She added, I adore my husband. He's brilliant and deeply kind. I feel like he's a real equal too. And he pushes me in the best ways. I really like being married. It's fun.

At the end of that month, Paltrow celebrated their one-year anniversary, writing, Year one, done.

They also attended the premiere of Netflix's The Politician together.

Variety - Getty Images

January 2020

In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Paltrow shared more about how living together is going, joking, So our sex life is over. I thought it was really interesting how resonant that was for people. One of my best friends was like, That is my dream. Don't ever move in. I think it certainly helps with preserving mystery and also preserving the idea that this person has their own life. So this is something I'm trying to remain aware of now as we merge together.

March 2021

On The GOOP Podcast, Paltrow told guest Gabrielle Union a bit about step-parenting Falchuk's two kids.

I have two beautiful stepchildren, who are the same age as mine, she said. It's funny because when I became a stepmother, when I knew I was going to become a stepmother, I was like, Shit, I have no idea how to do this. There's nothing to read. What do I do? Where do I step in? Where do I not? Like, how do I do this?

She continued, It's been a really interesting challenge for me and I love them... I've learned so much about myself through the process.

October 2021

Paltrow told People that she and Falchuk still feel like newlyweds.

I have a little bit of a blessing that we're still in the honeymoon phase, she said. I am really lucky I married Brad. There is just something about us together. We've been able to build on all the stuff we've gone through in life and create something really amazing. And I'm grateful for our chemistry. That can get you through some tough spots!

She also made an appearance on Jada Pinkett-Smith's Red Table Talk and discussed how she's having amazing sex these days. Paltrow joked, Yes, but I'm a newlywed, so it's like I'm cheating maybe a little bit. You know?

October 2022

Paltrow explained to Vogue how she came up with her Boyfriend Breakfasts, a popular tradition she shares on GOOP and Instagram.

When we were dating, we started this tradition of me cooking him breakfast every Saturday morning, she said. I would come up with all of these really creative breakfasts. It was something I put time into every week planning. I called them boyfriend breakfasts.

She added, I actually think it's a strong feminist statement to cook for the people that you love if you want to.

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Kia has marked three decades of its popular Sportage compact SUV with the launch of a new 30th Anniversary Special Edition in the Korean market and celebration of over seven million units sold across five generations.

Upon its inception in 1993, the Sportage has left an indelible mark on the automotive industry. The Sportage has solidified its position as Kia's best-selling model globally since 2015, captivating drivers with its distinctive design and inspiring performance.

This remarkable achievement underscores Kia's commitment to delivering vehicles that embody innovation, quality, and enduring appeal.

Groundbreaking product

The Kia Sportage was a groundbreaking product from day one, said Tae-Hun (Ted) Lee, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Operations Division. Over the 30 years since it has remained true to its revolutionary origins, bringing cutting-edge safety, performance and design to drivers around the world.

In honour of the models tremendous contribution to Kias success, the 30th Anniversary Special Edition accentuates the unparalleled comfort and luxury now added to that already compelling combination, demonstrating the brands future as well as celebrating its history.

Generational evolution of the Kia Sportage

A pioneering compact SUV, the Sportage holds special significance as Kia's first unique model exported overseas. The first-generation Sportage stood out with its sleek design, spacious interior, and sedan-like driving experience, setting it apart from traditional off-road-focused SUVs.

Technologically advanced, it featured innovations such as a body-on-frame design that enabled a more dynamic stance, electronically controlled on-the-fly 4WD switching, rear coil springs, and the world's first knee airbags. Thanks to its advanced concept and outstanding product appeal, the first-generation Sportage made a significant impact in the US market, establishing Kia as a successful brand in North America.

From the second generation onwards, the Sportage adopted a modern monocoque platform, enhancing ride comfort and capitalising on the growing SUV demand to achieve sales performance exceeding twice that of the first generation. The second generation prioritised quality and safety, ranking first in the J.D. Power Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) in 2005.

Revolution

The third generation, known as the Sportage R (Revolution), showcased its innovative spirit through its design. Its outstanding appeal garnered global recognition and saw the Sportage surpass two million units in sales. The Tiger Nose grille design earned widespread acclaim and prestigious accolades like the iF Design, Good Design, and Red Dot awards. It also achieved impressive safety ratings, including a five-star Euro New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) rating in 2010 and being designated as a Top Safety Pick (TSP) by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in the US in 2011. Additionally, it consistently ranked first in J.D. Power's quality surveys (2013 Initial Quality Study, 2015 Vehicle Dependability Study), solidifying its reputation as a stylish, safe, and high-quality vehicle.

The fourth generation focused on safety enhancements and convenience features, addressing the rigorous small overlap front crash tests conducted by the IIHS and incorporating advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). It expanded its customer base in the compact SUV segment by adopting downsized engines. Since its introduction in 2015, the Sportage has remained Kia's best-selling car for eight consecutive years.

The fifth generation, introduced in 2021, further prioritised safety with a multi-structure body and increased mid-size SUV proportions. Its striking appearance, inspired by Kia's 'Opposites United' design philosophy, along with diverse powertrain options (e.g. LPG, hybrid, PHEV, diesel, and gasoline turbo) earned it widespread recognition and numerous automotive awards on the global stage.

2024 Sportage 30th Anniversary Edition

To mark three decades of outstanding success, Kia has equipped a new special edition of the 2024 Sportage with an enhanced specification, focusing on convenience and safety while further elevating the models considerable luxury and design appeal.

Key among these enhancements is the introduction of acoustic laminated glass in the first and second rows, significantly improving interior quietness. Additionally, Kia has reinforced safety features to align with the SUV's renowned reputation as a family vehicle. This includes the incorporation of eight airbags, including first-in-class rear seat left and right-side airbags.

Iconic Signature Gravity

Building upon the iconic Signature Gravity trim, the cabin of the 30th Anniversary Edition showcases a host of appealing enhancements. Customers can select from exclusive colour packs, available in two captivating options: green and black, while the seats feature a new meticulously crafted suede and graphic perforated pattern that provides a refreshing, high-quality feeling. The driver's and passenger's headrests are enriched with the 30th anniversary logo, adding a unique touch.

Outside, meanwhile, the gloss black application has been further extended to more areas in the exterior for a bold and modern aesthetic.

Beginning with the Korean market, the Sportage 30th Anniversary Special Edition will be gradually released in select markets.-- TradeArabia News Service
Hearst Owned

Hearst Owned

In ELLE.coms monthly series Office Hours, we ask people in powerful positions to take us through their first jobs, worst jobs, and everything in between. This month, we spoke to one of the Hamptons busiest women, Jayma Cardoso, mom to son, John, and owner of The Surf Lodge hotel and restaurant in Montauk, New York and the recently opened Snow Lodge in Aspen, Colorado. I went straight from ski season to summer, she tells ELLE.com ahead of a jam-packed few months out east. I was like, Is it time for a vacation yet? Thats the problem with working where most people come to unwind and let loose. Here, Cardoso gets candid about her career in hospitality, how Montauk has changed over the years, and why theres no guidebook to opening a nightclub.

My first job

When I was in college at Fordham, I asked my friends, what job pays the most? and they said bartending, so I applied to be a bartender at this restaurant called Boom in Soho. During my first shift, the owner came up to me and said I dont know how to bartendwhich was trueso I asked if there was another position available. He said there was a spot in coat check, and I took it. I dont condone lying; I was hustlingI lived in New Jersey at the time and wanted to save up money so I could move to the city.

Hearst Owned

My worst job

Opening my first nightclub. You dont get a paycheck, the bills pile up, you wait for a liquor license, and youre thinking, how am I going to pay my rent? Everybody makes owning a business seem so fabulous, but its really not. We have to take out our own garbage.

How I got into the nightlife industry

I studied human biology in school and my dream was to become a doctor, but I needed to make moneyI wasnt born with parents that could help me. My survival mode went on, like, Im not going back to Brazil! The reality was, with all the school work, I needed to find a job at night; I couldnt have a 9 to 5. So, in a way, nightlife found me. I could do my day-to-day and it didnt affect my school schedule. But I was tired. When you work until two, three in the morning and wake up at six the next day to commute, it adds up.

Story continues

What being Brazilian means to me

It gave me a sense of survival. Like, I came here to do this, and Im going to do whatever it takes with the most honesty and integrity I possibly can. I had an opportunity, and I think my roots definitely come through in the vibrant colors in and around The Surf Lodge.

Why I opened The Surf Lodge

I used to stay at a motel in Montauk right on Ditch Plains Beach, and, to me, it felt like Brazil. There was so much potential. It was always on my mind: why cant I buy one of these little motels and turn it into a hotel? Nobody thought people were going to go to Montauk. I wanted a place where fisherman, incredible musicians, PR girls, and hedge fund guys could coexist and put their hair down. Its so New York, which is the best part about the intermingling of these groups.

Hearst Owned

How Montauk has changed

I knew there would be an evolution. So many great places are still there, and some others, like Liars, have closed. But the overall vibe has remained the same: flip-flops are encouraged. Its casual; its not fancy.

Proudest professional moment

Being part of the group behind GoldBar in Nolita. It was a dream opportunity, like going to the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. The team figured out this winning formula that I wanted to learn and replicate for my own little hotel shack, which at the time was already open. I tried not to pay attention to the stereotype of being cool. I never think of myself as a cool person; I hate that word, because I dont care about being coolI care about doing great things and growing and evolving.

The most challenging part of my job

Theres never a dull moment. Curveballs come and you cant make them up. Its a 24/7 jobif a guest is unhappy at 1 A.M. and somethings wrong with their room and air conditioning, you have to fix it. With seasonal employees, youre always starting the engine again, working with different personalities. It can be a family type of environment, and Im very hands-on.

Why comparison is a trap

Sometimes Ill read articles about working moms who seem to have the perfect life, and I feel guilty because every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday when my son is out of school, I am working. But Ive learned to turn my own judgment into gratitudeIm building a better future for him. Im not perfect, but all I can do is try to be the best version of myself that I can be.

On the future of The Surf Lodge

Im very strategic about where we want to go next. After The Surf Lodge and The Snow Lodge, were heading to California to open The Desert Lodge.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

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Jean Paul Gaultier is joining forces with London-based label KNWLS for an all-new, ready-to-wear line set to land later this year.

Set to include 40 tops, jackets, pants and dresses, the collection aims to merge the shared loves of both labels, drawing from themes of punk and print. Confirmed to launch in September, the fusion line will make its debut following a kick-off party at New York Fashion Week, with KNWLS also set to include several looks from the collection in its September runway show.

Founded in South London in 2017, KNWLS has become known for its futuristic aesthetic and figure-hugging silhouettes. The partnership between the brand and JPG isn't the first time the duo have worked together either, as Jean Paul Gaultier's creative director, Florence Tetier, once created a range of jewelry for a KNWLS showcase.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by @jeanpaulgaultier

"Their world is really connected to the legacy of Jean Paul Gaultier and it made total sense to give birth to this collection inspired by the very specific vision of the women's body both brands have," said Tetier in a statement. "We wanted to find that world in between that feels very KNWLS and very Jean Paul Gaultier at the same time," added Arsenault. "It feels like it could be part of the Jean Paul Gaultier archive already  but also the KNWLS archive."

The collaborative collection is set to drop on September 8 so stay tuned for more details.

In other news, Av Vattev showcased its FW23 campaign.
Kylie Jenner is among many women with breast implant regret. (Getty Images)

Kylie Jenner opened up about getting a breast augmentation at 19 years old. Now, at 25, the reality TV star and mogul said, "I wish I never got them done to begin with."

It was a confession she made during Thursday's season finale of The Kardashians on Hulu. Jenner said she had "beautiful breasts" that were the "perfect size" and would "recommend anyone thinking about it to wait after children." She added that she'd be "heartbroken" if her daughter Stormi wanted to get cosmetic surgery at the same age she did. Although her statements shocked fans and made headlines, many women also feel similarly about their own plastic surgery choices.

Ashley Farmer, a 36-year-old mother of three living in Dallas, knows the feeling well, telling Yahoo Life that she had an experience similar to Jenner's regarding breast implant regret.

"I got implants also when I was 19, which was in 2007," Farmer says, noting that she had saline implants that were 325 cubic centimeters. "I really enjoyed having them for a long time. Aesthetically, I thought they were very pretty in comparison to what they previously looked like. But I never thought about the consequences."

Farmer says she "made zero considerations" before going under the knife, neglected to do proper research and hadn't known anybody who had breast implants when she got them herself. It was a lack of forethought that she didn't think mattered at the time. "When I got pregnant with my daughter in 2014 is when I starting thinking, 'Oh my gosh, can I even breastfeed?'"

Alana, a 29-year-old New York City resident who was only comfortable sharing her first name for this story, also faced a sudden realization that her breast augmentation came with greater responsibility than she had initially considered.

"When I was 21 and I got implants, I wasn't really thinking about the future. I was just thinking I want this, and that's all I cared about," she tells Yahoo Life. "But I've gotten [my breast implants redone] twice in the last seven years because they ruptured."

Story continues

Her first implants were silicone and part of a 2019 recall after being linked to a rare type of lymphoma.

"When you're 21, 22, 23, you're in a different mindset, so I kind of ignored it," she says. It wasn't until she felt the shape of her breasts changing that she went to get an MRI, which showed that both implants had ruptured. Alana underwent a five-hour surgery in December 2022 to have the silicone implants removed and replaced with saline. "It was when I was preparing for that second surgery and I was reading through all the warnings about breastfeeding and the potential health risks that I was just like, 'Why the f*** did I do this in the first place?'"

Experts say these women were too young

"Plastic surgery has a lot more complications than any plastic surgeons will admit to," Dr. Terry Dubrow, the plastic surgeon behind E!'s hit show Botched, tells Yahoo Life. "Particularly when you do procedures that contain foreign bodies like breast augmentation, the complication rate is so high that the ultimate regret rate is so high  that a lot of people as they get older and they start suffering those complications say, you know, I wish I never did this."

Dubrow says that a lot of it has to do with age, as 19, 20, 21 "is far too young to consider a procedure of this magnitude and with this many potential complications down the road."

Of course, "there's this huge spectrum of women and the reasons why they get breast implants," including asymmetric breasts, according to Utah-based plastic surgeon, Dr. Jerry Chidester. "I would say majority of the time what I see is really women just want to feel comfortable in their own body. And they have a body that they don't feel that [in]," he tells Yahoo Life.

This can contribute to people overlooking more serious implications or making impulsive decisions when it comes to breast enhancement, especially at a young age. Dr. Thomas P. Sterry, who practices in New York City, says that "sometimes the breasts aren't finished growing yet."

Pregnancy can play a role in breast implant regret

"If someone tells me that pregnancy is imminent, I do point out that your breast's morphology, meaning the shape of your breasts, might change significantly," Sterry says. "When I'm in that situation, I feel obliged to say to them, 'Listen, you might want to wait.'"

While Farmer was relieved to be able to breastfeed her children with her implants, they contributed to other struggles she had postpartum.

"I woke up basically in a stranger's body because my chest got so large overnight, just because, you know, water weight, and everything that happens, your breast tissue expands when you're pregnant," she says. "It was alarming."

Dubrow says that having kids and breastfeeding with implants causes "so much more stretching and changing of the breast tissue" than would happen to a natural breast without augmentation.

Ultimately, the changes that happened to her breasts with each of Farmer's three children led her to get an explant in November 2022.

"My chest would literally be sore from being so heavy with the implants. Working out was so difficult, normal activities were so difficult, lying on my side or lying on my back was difficult," she says. "Had I never gotten implants, I wouldn't have had to go through, you know, the last 10 years of stress that I've had."

And like Jenner, Farmer hopes that her children never do.

Hindsight is 20/20

While children aren't in Alana's near future, she realizes that her breast implants and the upkeep required will be made more difficult when starting a family  not only when considering the ability to breastfeed but also any future related expenses.

"If I have to pay $20,000 again in five years, I can't. And at that point, I'm going to have things that are even more important, like hopefully a baby," she says. "It's just such a financial commitment that you don't think about when you're young, and you just want what you want."

Even so, she's reluctant to say she regrets her implants "because I love them and I am a proponent of changing things that you don't like," she says. When a friend of hers was considering getting implants herself, however, Alana told her, "I wouldn't do it."

Farmer explains that her children have definitely given her perspective, as she reflects on the reasons  specifically, the outdated beauty standards  that led her to get breast implants in the first place.

"Different body types are so much more accepted now, which I love. But I hope that my daughters never feel like they have to get plastic surgery to fit in with the current [beauty] standard," she says.

Wellness, parenting, body image and more: Get to know the who behind the hoo with Yahoo Life's newsletter. Sign up here.
If your kid has learning disabilities, an IEP can be criticalbut challenging to obtain. Here are tips from a father and school psychologist.

monkeybusinessimages / Getty Images

Medically reviewed by Dr. Ann-Louise T Lockhart, PsyD, ABPP

When my daughter was 6 months old, she underwent open heart surgery to correct two holes in her tiny heart. The cardiologist explained to us some of the likely, but less severe, risks. They included developmental delays, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), mental health issues, and learning disorders. We were actually relieved. As the father of a child with a congenital heart defect, your mind tends to lean into the worst case scenarios, rather than the "less severe."

As a school psychologist, however, my training told me there was a good chance that my daughter was in for a lifetime of academic difficulties and potentially impactful mental health struggles. With background knowledge and training in child development, I would always ask myself, "Is she falling behind?"

Ignorance is bliss, as they say, but as it relates to the world of special education and individualized educational plans (IEPs), ignorance was not an option. The world of special education is filled with technical jargon and legalese that varies from state to state. When the human variable is introduced, it can be extremely overwhelming.

If you think your child may benefit from an IEP, here are some helpful suggestions to make sure they get the help they need.

Related: How To Advocate for School Accommodations for Black Children

Build Relationships With Those Who Can Help

Your child is likely just one in a class of 25 (or more!) with varied learning needs. It is of great importance to signal to your child's teacher, guidance counselor, and administrators that you want to partner with them to help your child succeed.

This should start very early in the school year and informally by attending open houses, parent-teacher conferences, and other school events. More formally, it will be important for you to share what your experiences have been with your child's learning difficulties and ask questions about what the professionals are seeing in school.

Story continues

As a parent of a child with special needs, I am always curious as to how my daughter is doing. I ask the teacher how she is progressing and what roadblocks she might be facing. Ultimately, these pieces of data will be at the heart of important decisions about your child's learning.

When your child is struggling, it is easy to become polarized with an "us vs. them" mentality. I encourage all parents to start from a place of shared motivations and goals with the professionals working with your child. Though sometimes the pathways might diverge and opinions might differ, it has been my experience that the vast majority of educational professionals have your child's best interest at heart.







"Educators may be experts in their fields of study, but parents are the experts on their own children."







Get Educated About the Process

As a parent, entering the world of special education can be intimidating. There are state-specific regulations that dictate every step of the process. No one expects a parent to digest three years of graduate school or a masters degree in education in the 10 days you have prior to the first meeting you have with the IEP team. However, familiarizing yourself with both the letter and the spirit of special education law will help you better understand some of the decisions that are made.

Outside of reading your state specific code, resources like Wrightslaw and the Center for Parent Rights and Information have searchable databases and topical articles that inform parents of their rights and help break things down.

Educators may be experts in their fields of study, but parents are the experts on their own children. Other parents in the community can also be valuable resources. Most schools will have some sort of special education parents group (in New Jersey, for example, this is mandated). Listen to others who have gone through the process and use it as another source of information.

Related: The Cost of Diagnosing Learning Disabilities

Play the Long Game

Time is of the essence when it comes to special education. There is ample data available demonstrating the importance of early intervention for a variety of disabilities. With this in mind, it is easy to let the urgency of day-to-day decision making influence the long-term goals for your child.

It is also easy to get caught up in conflict regarding seemingly minor decisions at the expense of a longer-term perspective. For example, a 12-year-old child may have been making significant progress in their reading and now they are only one grade level behind. The school offers a wonderful multisensory reading program that could be very helpful in finally closing that gap. The catch is, the only time this program fits into your child's schedule is during their advanced orchestra rehearsal or a figure drawing class that your child adores.

In an ideal world, the school would have the resources to make it all work; however, we know that this is not the reality. A parent must consider all of the options with seriousness and a long-term perspective before ultimately making a decision.

We all want to see our children progress and grow into lifelong learners. It is important for parents to understand their multiple paths to achieving these goals. Through collaboration, information, and perspective, this sometimes complicated and frustrating process can ultimately become the light that illuminates this path.



Related: Your Child May Need More Services Than a Free Public School Provides: What Parents Need to Know About the Cost of Alternatives

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Devyn Reiley, the daughter of two-time Super Bowl Champion and former San Francisco 49'er Bruce Collie, has died. She was 30.

Reiley, an aviator, was one of two people killed in a crash during an air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on Saturday. July 29.

The Federal Aviation Administration added in a statement: "A single-engine North American T-6 Texan crashed into Lake Winnebago, around 9 a.m. local time Saturday, July 29, after departing Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Two people were on board."

Reiley and her co-pilot Zach Colliemoreno, 20, were flying a World War II-era T-6 Texan during the AirVenture Oshkosh airshow when the aircraft plunged into Lake Winnebago at around 9 a.m. Saturday, five minutes after takeoff, according to the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA).

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Witnesses told NBC reporters that the plane began spinning uncontrollably before it crashed. "I thought they were doing a trick at first," said Brayden Hiebing, who had been fishing in the lake at the time of the tragic crash.

Hiebing continued, "I heard the plane start coming out of the sky, and it started like spinning and all of a sudden it just made a big splash."

The U.S. Coast Guard began searching the lake shortly after the accident was reported and divers were able to recover the bodies of both pilots.

#FINALUPDATE Dive crews have located 2nd POB. Local authorities will conduct recovery ops, including aircraft & are coordinating NOK notifications. All USCG assets have been released from the case.  USCG Great Lakes (@USCGGreatLakes) July 30, 2023

Later that day, a second crash occurred near the airshow after an ELA 10 Eclipse gyrocopter collided mid-air with a RotorWay162F helicopter. The pilot of the helicopter, Mark Peterson, 69, and passenger Thomas Volz, 72, were both killed.

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Both crashes are reportedly undergoing investigations to determine what led to the fatal accidents.

Related: LeBron James' Son Bronny Makes First Public Appearance Since Cardiac Arrest

After the news broke about Reiley's death, her 21-year-old sister Calyn shared a tearjerking tribute with People.

"I can confidently say she was one of my best friends, a beloved sister and friend to all who knew her," Calyn told the outlet. "Her inspiration, hard work, love for the Lord, joy, drive and love for life made her a beam of light, and she touched the lives of thousands."

"There is a bitter-sweetness that comes with losing her while she did what she loved with all her heart, flying airplanes," she continued. "My heart also is with my brother-in-law, Hunter Reiley. The three of us were inseparable, and I can fully attest that they had one of those marriages anyone would be jealous of."

"They recently celebrated their 3-year anniversary and still acted like newlyweds, they were the best of friends, did anything and together and loved every minute of sharing their passions together," Calyn concluded. "I love you and miss you so much, Devyn. Fly High until we meet again."

Next: Internet Personality Remi Lucidi Dead at 30 After Fall From Skyscraper
Daniel Silva has been called his generations finest writer of international intrigue and one of the greatest American spy novelists ever. At age 63, The New York Times #1 bestselling author has quite an impressive repertoire of work. Silva entered the writing scene in 1997 with his standalone novel, The Unlikely Spy. Since his debut novel, he has published a total of 26 books, including two full series.

Compelling, passionate, haunting and brilliant are just a few words to describe the stories that Silva crafts in his books. His standalone novel and two seriesthe "Michael Osbourne" series and the "Gabriel Allon" seriestransport readers into an immersive world of espionage, political intrigue, history and high-stakes deception. Silva's most popular series is the Gabriel Allon series, which put him on the map. He has released a book every year since the first book for the series, The Kill Artist, and he's currently at work on his next novel.

If you're trying to decide which series to start with, or you'd like to begin reading his standalone novel, we've crafted a list of Daniel Silva's books in publication order. Read on to discover all of Daniel Silva's books in order.

Here at Parade.com, we're all about sharing products we love with our audience. When you make a purchase on an item seen on this page, we may earn a commission, however, all picks are independently chosen unless otherwise mentioned.

Related: 13 New Mystery Books You Won't Stop Thinking About This Summer

Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon Series in Order

The Kill Artist

The Kill Artist is the first book in the Gabriel Allon series. Readers are introduced to Gabriel Allon, a former Israeli intelligent operative and talented art restorer. Pulled back into the world of espionage, Gabriel is tasked with tracking down a Palestinian terrorist. As the operation unfolds, he finds himself in a complex web of political plots and personal vendettas. $7.49 on Amazon

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The Kill Artist

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The English Assassin

Gabriel Allon is drawn into a perilous mission to hunt down a renowned contract killer that is targeting prominent figures in the intelligence community. Allon races against time to stop the ruthless assassin while simultaneously confronting his own demons. $7.49 on Amazon

The English Assassin (Gabriel Allon)

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The Confessor

Allon delves into the dark secrets of the Catholic Church as he is summoned to investigate the murder of the beloved Pope's personal secretary. Unraveling a conspiracy that spans decades, Gabriel discovers a sinister alliance between historical enemies and must navigate the landscape of Vatican politics to expose the truth. $7.48 on Amazon

The Confessor (Gabriel Allon)

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A Death in Vienna

Allon is back and being called to investigate the mysterious death of an old friend and fellow Nazi hunter. Allon delves into the history of post-war Vienna and uncovers a dangerous conspiracy with ties to some of the most powerful figures in Austria. $8.99 on Amazon

A Death in Vienna (Gabriel Allon, Bk 4)

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Prince of Fire

When Allon's friend is murdered in an explosion at the Israeli embassy in Rome, he sets out on a pursuit of the terrorists responsible. The journey through Middle Eastern terrorism leads to a dramatic showdown that tests Allon's resilience and determination. $9.99 on Amazon

Prince of Fire (Gabriel Allon)

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The Messenger

The sixth book in the Gabriel Allon series follows Allon as he becomes involved in the hunt for a mysterious terrorist known only as "Saladin." Racing against time, Allon must decipher a trail of clues across Europe to prevent an attack and confront his deadliest opponent yet. $9.99 on Amazon

The Messenger (Gabriel Allon)

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The Secret Servant

Thrust into the dangerous world of international espionage, Allon investigates the kidnapping of a British intelligence officer. His mission takes him to the dark underbelly of Amsterdam, where he confronts a network of terrorists plotting a devastating act of violence in London. $9.99 on Amazon

The Secret Servant (Gabriel Allon)

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Moscow Rules

Venturing into the heart of Russia, Allon traces the disappearance of a journalist who was investigating the murder of a former Russian oligarch. As our favorite hero navigates the brutal landscape of Moscow, he must put a halt to a dangerous delivery  or the world will see the deadliest terror attacks since 9/11. $7.48 on Amazon

Moscow Rules (Gabriel Allon)

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The Defector

Allon is enjoying his honeymoon with his new wife when shocking news from London reaches them. Former Russian intelligence officer, Grigori Bulganov  who once saved Gabriel's life  has disappeared, and British intelligence believes he was a double agent. Determined to honor his promise, Gabriel and his team embark on a high-stakes mission, facing off against the ruthless Russian oligarch and a dangerous arms dealer. $9.99 on Amazon

The Defector (Gabriel Allon)

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The Rembrandt Affair

Allon is asked to step in to solve a mysterious disappearance of a valuable painting by Rembrandt and the brutal murder of an art restorer in Glastonbury. His search for the artwork leads him all around the world and then to a chilling conspiracy involving stolen art, war criminals and a powerful European family with dark secrets. $9.99 on Amazon

The Rembrandt Affair (Gabriel Allon)

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Portrait of a Spy

Allon and his wife witness a potential suicide bomber in London. Haunted by image, Allon is drawn into a dangerous mission to confront a new face of global terrora gifted deceiver plotting new attacks. To dismantle the network of death, Allon must join forces with a reclusive Saudi heiress who has connections to his old enemies. $9.99 on Amazon

Portrait of a Spy (Gabriel Allon, 11)

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The Fallen Angel

Allon finds refuge within the Vatican while restoring a masterpiece. But, hes drawn into a deadly investigation when a curator's body is discovered, and he finds out a dangerous secret that leads to a global criminal enterprise involved in looting antiquities. Allon finds that an old enemy seeking revenge is planning an act of sabotage that could plunge the world into chaos. $9.55 on Amazon

The Fallen Angel (Gabriel Allon, 12)

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The English Girl

Rising political star Madeline Hart's dark secret is exposed when she is kidnapped by those who have learned of her affair with the British Prime Minister. Allon is enlisted to help rescue Madeline within seven days. Allon's mission takes him on a dangerous journey from Marseilles to the mountains of Provence, the corridors of London and finally to Moscow. $9.99 on Amazon

The English Girl (Gabriel Allon, 13)

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The Heist

Allon takes on an audacious mission to recover a stolen masterpiece. In his pursuit of the art, he encounters dangerous adversaries and unexpected alliances in a high-stakes operation. $9.59 on Amazon

The Heist (Gabriel Allon, 14)

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The English Spy

A beloved British Royal Family member is tragically killed when a bomb explodes aboard her yacht. Allon is tasked by British intelligence to track down her killer with the help of a British commando-turned-assassin. In the meanwhile, Allon is also being hunted by a vengeful cabal. $7.49 on Amazon

The English Spy (Gabriel Allon, 15)

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The Black Widow

ISIS is wreaking havoc and Allon is tasked with eliminating the elusive terrorist mastermind, Saladin. He recruits a brave and brilliant young doctor, to infiltrate the dangerous terrorist group, leading to a journey from Paris to Santorini and eventually to Washington, D.C. in a race against time. $9.99 on Amazon

The Black Widow (Gabriel Allon, 16)

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House of Spies

Four months after a devastating terrorist attack on the American homeland, a brilliant plot unfolds in London's West End, leaving mass destruction. Allon and his team follow a lead to the south of France, where they uncover the involvement of a wealthy businessman and his companion, a former British fashion model with dirty secrets. $12.89 on Amazon

House of Spies: A Novel (Gabriel Allon, 17)

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The Other Woman

A mysterious Frenchwoman in an isolated village begins writing a memoir about a lost love and a child taken from her in a betrayal. Exposing a closely guarded secret, she unveils the existence of a mole at the heart of the West, threatening the postwar global order. Allon is drawn into the hunt for the traitor after a devastating assassination in Vienna. $13.50 on Amazon

The Other Woman: A Novel (Gabriel Allon, 18)

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The New Girl

The daughter of Saudi Arabia's crown prince is kidnapped. Desperate for help, who do you think he turns to? Despite their history, they become unlikely allies in a deadly secret war for control of the Middle East, with the fate of both a child's life and the Saudi Arabian throne hanging in the air. $9.99 on Amazon

The New Girl: A Novel (Gabriel Allon, 19)

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The Order

Allon's family holiday is interrupted when Pope Paul VII dies under suspicious circumstances. Allon begins to uncover a long-suppressed gospel that challenges the New Testament's portrayal of a significant historical event, sparking a desperate search for proof of the Catholic society's conspiracy to seize control of the papacy. $10.88 on Amazon

The Order: A Novel (Gabriel Allon, 20)

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The Cellist

A former Russian oligarch in exile becomes the target of Russia's president when deadly documents are delivered to his heavily protected mansion. Allon's search for the truth takes him from London to Amsterdam to Geneva, where a private intelligence service is plotting an act of violence in America. $9.99 on Amazon

The Cellist: A Novel (Gabriel Allon, 21)

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Portrait of an Unknown Woman

Allon is asked to investigate the rediscovery and sale of a centuries-old painting. In the process, he uncovers a multi-billion dollar fraud involving a fake portrait attributed to Sir Anthony van Dyck. His mission is to find the responsible art forger. $8.24 on Amazon

Portrait of an Unknown Woman: A Novel

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The Collector

Allon is asked to track down the missing painting "The Concert" by Johannes Vermeer, which is part of a billion-dollar conspiracy involving a man with ties to Russian power. The painting's disappearance could have catastrophic consequences. With millions of lives at stake, Allon must carry out a heist to foil the plot and unravel the conspiracy. $15.99 on Amazon

The Collector: A Novel

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Related: Hooked on the ACOTAR Series? Theres Even More to DiscoverHere Are All of Sarah J. Maas Books in Order

Daniel Silva's Michael Osbourne Novels in Order

The Mark of the Assassin

As the first book in the Michael Osbourne series, we are introduced to the man who these novels are named after. Michael Osbourne is an American citizen under the employ of the CIA as one of their most skilled agents. In The Mark of the Assassin, Osbourne finds himself entangled in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a cunning assassin, seeking to prevent a global catastrophe. The Mark of the Assassin, $9.99 on Amazon

The Mark of the Assassin

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The Marching Season

In The Marching Season, Michael Osbourne is now a retired CIA officer, but he finds himself drawn back into the dangerous world of espionage. With his father-in-law's life on the line, Osbourne engages in a deadly game of deception to protect Northern Ireland's peace. Unaware that he is a mere pawn in a larger conspiracy, Osbourne has another chance to face the assassin head-on. The Marching Season, $9.99 on Amazon

The Marching Season

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Daniel Silva Books in Order of Publication

The Unlikely Spy (Standalone novel, 1996)

The Mark of the Assassin (Michael Osbourne series, 1998)

The Marching Season (Michael Osbourne series, 1999)

The Kill Artist (Gabriel Allon series, 2000)

The English Assasin (Gabriel Allon series, 2002)

The Confessor (Gabriel Allon series, 2003)

A Death in Vienna (Gabriel Allon series, 2004)

Prince of Fire (Gabriel Allon series, 2005)

The Messenger (Gabriel Allon series, 2006)

The Secret Servant (Gabriel Allon series, 2007)

Moscow Rules (Gabriel Allon series, 2008)

The Defector (Gabriel Allon series, 2009)

The Rembrandt Affair (Gabriel Allon series, 2010)

Portrait of a Spy (Gabriel Allon series, 2011)

The Fallen Angel (Gabriel Allon series, 2012)

The English Girl (Gabriel Allon series, 2013)

The Heist (Gabriel Allon series, 2014)

The English Spy (Gabriel Allon series, 2015)

The Black Widow (Gabriel Allon series, 2016)

House of Spies (Gabriel Allon series, 2017)

The Other Woman (Gabriel Allon series, 2018)

The New Girl (Gabriel Allon series, 2019)

The Order (Gabriel Allon series, 2020)

The Cellist (Gabriel Allon series, 2021)

Portrait of an Unknown Woman (Gabriel Allon series, 2022)

The Collector (Gabriel Allon series, 2023)

Related: How to Read 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' Author Jenny Han's Books in Order
We're not back to school yet, but we're already tired. Here are tips and tricks from parents on how to beat parental burnout.

EloAsa Ramos / Stocksy

Its been a long day at work, and now the kids are now fighting at home. The laundrys piling up. The house is a mess. Back-to-school shopping looms on the calendar like a demon to vanquish, Buffy-style. Oh, and in an hour, it will be dinnertime, and theres no way in hell this family is getting Happy Meals again.

If this sounds like any late-summer weeknight in your house, youre not alone. And if this scenario gives you as much anxiety as it gives me, you might be experiencing what psychologists refer to as parenting burnout.

Yes, parenting burnout is a thing. Originally identified as a work-related phenomenon, burnout has only recently been studied in the realm of parenting. Research published in 2019 characterizes parenting burnout as feeling overwhelmed, physical and emotional exhaustion, emotional distancing from ones children, and a sense of being an ineffective parent.

Related: 5 Ways the Mental Load Impacts Parents' Health

More than two-thirds of parents felt overwhelmed at some point in 2021, according to results from a 2022 survey of 1,285 parents by researchers at Ohio State University. In other words, burnout happens. And most parents will experience it, sooner or later.

Adrienne Heinz, a clinical research psychologist and mother of two in Northern California, says that parental burnout is not an individual problem, but a public health problem. Specifically, she notes that factors that contribute to parental burnout include: feeling financially, emotionally, and socially under-resourced to do the job at hand; lack of social support and emotional connection; and work-life imbalance where professional demands compete with caregiving versus complementing it.

It's frustrating that our culture places the burden on parents to dig out of burnout when unsupportive systems and policies are constantly working against them, says Heinz. Sometimes that leads them into a situation where a frog doesn't realize that it's in boiling water.

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Heinz says it's important that parents try to take stock of how much caregiver burden they are shouldering. One option: the Caregiver Intensity Index, a free interactive measure that offers a personalized caregiving intensity score and actionable feedback. But here are some tips from real parents on how they're battling burnout themselves.

Related: Parents Can Have Back-to-School Anxiety TooHere's How to Cope

Create 'Me' Time

Jenny Pritchett, who juggles a full-time writing job with parenting a 5-year-old son and a 13-year-old stepdaughter, has worked a few moments of me-time into her regular routine. And those moments add up.

Every week, Pritchett meets up with a friend for a walk on the beach near their San Francisco homes. The women usually meet for coffee first, then stroll. All told, including travel, Pritchett estimates shes gone for about three hours. She says that time to focus on nothing but herself makes a huge difference in her overall vibe. She also credits a supportive partner for facilitating this ritual.

Im always fantasizing about taking an extra week or two off, she says. Since thats not really possible, this usually helps.

If Pritchett has a particularly tough day, she engineers another strategyone she calls quitting for the night. On these nights, she comes home from work, goes into her bedroom, closes the door, takes out her contacts, puts on her headphones, and zones out, leaning on her partner to pick up the slack.

Pritchett, author of You Look Tired: An Excruciatingly Honest Guide to New Parenthood, is quick to acknowledge her own privilege, saying that without subsidized childcare, self-care is a pipe dream.

The idea that its even in our control to not get burned out is part of the problem, she says.

Related: The Burnout Epidemic is Disproportionately Affecting WomenHere's What Moms Can Do

Find Relief in Community

Parents of neurodivergent and disabled children face a particularly difficult challenge. In addition to common day-to-day responsibilities, they also must advocate for their children 24/7.

Larkin OLeary, mother of two childrenincluding a 9-year-old son with Downs Syndrome, says that parents of kids with unique needs are more prone to burnout because necessary services are not easy to access.

The hoops we are forced to jump through are exhausting, she says. I have been fighting for my son's life since the day he was bornwith medical professionals who didn't value my opinion and an educational system that doesn't value my son as a kid who wants to be accepted just as he is.

OLeary founded Common Ground Society to make the situation better. This nonprofit, based in Sonoma County, California, offers support and resources to local families with kids who have disabilities. The group hosts meet-ups, playdates, educational sessions, and more.

In essence, Common Ground cultivates community, which can be a huge comfort to parents who feel ostracized and alienated from society because of burnout. OLeary says that parents who attend these meet-ups feel a great sense of relief, even just temporarily.

Take Breaks

Bernadette Melnyk, PhD, understands how critical that relief can become. Dr. Melnyk is chief wellness officer at Ohio State University and vice president for health promotion at the school. She also was the author on the survey that indicated that 66 percent of parents felt burned out back in 2021.

While that survey dealt with the state of parenthood during the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr. Melnyk is quick to note the situation is not much different today.

Her advice to parents feeling the burn: Take short breaks. Dr. Melnyk says that several 5- to 10-minute breaks over the course of the day can help rejuvenate a parent and manage stress. She refers to these as recovery breaks" and says they can be taken anywhere: the bedroom, the bathroom, even while sitting in an idling car.

Any time youre feeling overwhelmed, if you can take time out to help settle down your system by breathing or closing your eyes, youre going to feel better, she says. The key is to become self-aware when youre experiencing signs of burnout, especially if they begin to interfere with your functioning and concentration or judgment.

Cut Yourself Some Slack

One final piece of advice for parents trying to manage parental burnout: Give yourself some grace. Eileen Kennedy-Moore, a psychologist and mom of four, says that nobody performs perfectly under pressure, and that sometimes its OK for parents to give less than their best.

The author of several parenting books, Kennedy-Moore says the ideal of staying calm in every situation is just that: an ideal.

Parents think they have to have saintlike calmness no matter what their kids are doing, she says. A lot of the messages we see on social media about parents handling their situations with perfect emotional attunement; thats just not viable all the time."



And that's why parents need to give themselves some grace. "The truth is that its not possible to be the perfect parent," Kennedy-Moore says. "Relationships are hard. Were always working and always adjusting. If you dont like how you handled something with your kid, think about how youd handle it next time. Love means trying again.



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The wreck is estimated to have happened between the end of the first and the beginning of the second century AD.

Courtesy of PatrimonioSubacqueo

Beautiful glassware has been around for centuries, as evidenced by a recent discovery made by archaeologists sailing the Mediterranean Sea. The researchers uncovered thousands of perfectly preserved handmade glasses from a 2,000-year-old shipwreck.

The shipa Roman vessel called the Capo Corso 2is located 1,148 feet below sea level between France's Capo Corso peninsula and Italy's Capraia island. The wreck is estimated to be dated between the end of the first and the beginning of the second century AD, according to a statement from Italy's National Superintendency for Underwater Cultural Heritage.

The wreck was initially discovered in 2012 by engineer Guido Gay, Smithsonian Magazine reports. Since then, archeologists have completed two surveys of the site, once in 2013 and again in 2015. During the first week of July 2023, archaeologists from Italy and France, as well as other researchers who specialize in ancient glass, marine ecology, and underwater conservation, returned to the shipwreck.

Related: 2 Jars Purchased for Just $25 at a Thrift Store Are Actually Worth More Than $60,000

Researchers used two remotely operated vehicles (named Arthur and Hilarion) to conduct scans of the site. Eventually, a selection of finds was retrieved thanks to a claw system mounted on Arthur, according to the statement. Two bronze basins, Bronze Age containers called amphorae, and a plethora of glass tableware was retrieved during the mission.

The team plans to conduct an in-depth study of the materials in order to provide more details about the chronology of the shipwreck and the route traveled during the ship's last voyage. During an initial analysis, it's believed the ship came from a port in the Middle East, perhaps from Lebanon or Syria, and was headed for the French Provencal coast.


Courtesy of Crystal

When we say one staff member per guest, youre probably imagining the ratio involved in something like one of Jennifer Lopezs weddings or a coronation . But this royal treatment can be a reality for mere mortals like us on board the newly refurbished Crystal Serenity .



After the cruise company was acquired by the travel company Abercrombie & Kent in July 2022, the owners decided to complete a $150 million design renovation on the ship. On July 31, the spiffed-up ship will set sail on its inaugural voyage, escorting its 740 (at most) guests from Marseille, France to Lisbon, Portugal.

With a goal of creating a space thats lavish, sophisticated, and refined, according to a media release, Abercrombie & Kent CEO Cristina Levis describes the renovated ship as being reinvigorated with fresh colors, unique textures and first-class tangible elements to create an ambiance that evokes timeless moments of leisure and will leave guests with memories that will last a lifetime.

AMANDA JULCA

Levis and team enlisted GEM as the architect and Tillberg Design of Sweden (TDoS) as lead designer. Those companies teamed up to combine classic elements with contemporary materials, and a color scheme thats calm and sea-inspired (think: subtle pastels, gray and beige), with a goal of creating a home away from home that gives a nod to the Mediterranean. (The ship's first sailings are in the Mediterranean, and also include Northern Europe, Canada, New England, Alaska, the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.)

AMANDA JULCA

Crystal Serenity's capacity might seem fairly smallto offer a more intimate experiencebut the accommodations will have you thinking big, says Lorenzo Mortola, managing director of GEM.

Our main goal was to merge smaller-sized guest rooms into larger suites that offer a separate living room and bedroom areas, large bathrooms with a walk-in shower and double faucets and sinks. With more space, guests will have all the functions expected on a high-end cruise, while offering the best comforts of home, Mortola explains.

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AMANDA JULCA

After creating renderings to drive the redesign, project architect and adjunct professor of architecture at Politecnico di Milano Adriana Granato didnt just shop online for the elements to bring her vision to life. Granato actually traveled to a quarry in the Italian Alps to hand select the Fior di Pesco marble slabs (also known as peach flower marble, thanks to the peach-hued veins that run through the stone) that aligned with her vision.

Courtesy of Crystal

Here are a few other noteworthy details that instantly skyrocketed Crystal Serenity, and its also-refurbished sister ship, Crystal Symphony , to vacation bucket list-worthy status in our eyes:

Courtesy of Crystal

Jesurum 1870 Linens. No scratchy or flimsy fabrics here. Each bed is adorned with bespoke, embroidered Italian-made linens.

La Bottega Amenities. Expect soap and fragrances on board from Sicily-based Ortigia . The bath products deliver delicate notes of Sicilian spring wildflowers like narcissus, wild iris and jasmine.

World-Class Dining Options. In addition to the 24-hour in-suite dining services available, guests can dine at the only Nobu restaurant at sea (master chef Nobu Matsuhisa is a legend in the culinary world) for Japanese-Peruvian fare. Or savor tapas, Italian, American, European bistro or ice cream. Vino fans will swoon over a multi-course food and wine pairing feast at the aptly named The Vintage Room.

A Next-Level Spa. Aurora is the Roman goddess of the dawn, and it's also the name of the ships spa where you can awaken your mind, body and soul with a signature facial, massage, medi-spa IV healing or book a full-service salon visit. (Well take a Chariot of Light massage and Supertech Facial, please!)

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The flight seemed too good to be true.

When Martina Jones got the text with the details, she scrutinized them for several minutes.

It was a $279 round-trip flight departing from either Washington D.C. or New York City, flying to Nairobi, Kenya.

Of course, this was a great deal, I wanted to take advantage of it, Martina tells CNN Travel today.

But it was also very weird, I thought it might be a scam.

It was November 2014, the day after Martinas 29th birthday. The flight was scheduled for the following March. After weighing up the options and doing some research, Martina decided to bite the bullet and buy the ticket. Then she sent the deal round her various group chats, encouraging more of her friends to sign up.

Martina fell in love with travel during her stint studying abroad in London. After graduating college, she taught English in South Korea and then backpacked around Southeast Asia.

Im a traveler, through and through, says Martina. It gives me life.

In 2014, several years into her New Jersey-based sales job, Martina was feeling a little disillusioned and bored by work. But she kept herself motivated by counting down the days until her next trip.

Across the Hudson River in New York City, Leslie Johnson, 33, also received a text from a friend with the Nairobi flight details.

Like Martina, Leslie was skeptical  the price seemed too good to be true. And to get the deal, you had to follow a series of random links  it really did seem like a potential con.

But the friend whod forwarded the deal to Leslie was a seasoned flyer. Theyd found the details via a travel group for Black travelers. Leslie  who traveled a bit here and there, but not too crazy, just enough to get one or two passport stamps a year  trusted their judgment, so decided to go for it.

His confirmation email didnt arrive for a couple days. Leslie spent that waiting period still slightly convinced hed been scammed.

Finally, the details came through.

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Then I knew it was good, Leslie recalls.

March rolled around. The first leg of the flight, from the US to Amsterdam, was uneventful. In Amsterdam, Martina attempted to amend her booking so she could sit with her friends  she was traveling with five others and they were all at the back of the plane, while she was sitting on her own at the front.

The gate agent advised Martina to ask her fellow passengers if theyd mind moving. But when Martina asked, no one would budge, so she settled down to her textbooks instead  Martina was studying for the GMAT, a business school admissions test, and figured she could use the long flight time to get in some study.

By chance, Leslie was also separated from his friend on this leg of the flight. And by coincidence, he was seated directly in front of Martina.

He was immediately struck by Martina and intrigued by her. Hed also studied for the GMAT in the past, so once the airplane had taken off from Schiphol Airport, Leslie plucked up the courage to speak to Martina, using the test and the textbook as an entryway.

From there, the conversation never let up.

We talked the entire flight, says Martina. We had a really good conversation.

Throughout the hours-long chat, Martina remained sat in her seat while Leslie knelt backwards on his, looking back at her. There was a seat next to Martina, but Leslie didnt want to overstep any boundaries by inviting himself to sit there.

As the aircraft made its way south, Leslie and Martina spoke about jobs, travel, their interests and their lives, and realized they lived a seven-minute drive from each other, on opposite sides of the Hudson River.

Almost every key topic was covered, but the two danced around the topic of their respective relationship statuses.

In the back of my head, Im thinking,If hes single, were going to date. But I didnt know if he was single, recalls Martina.

Before they landed in Nairobi, Martina asked Leslie for his phone number  but in the context of networking. Leslie had been talking about a friend who worked in TV production and Martina was interested in getting into that world.

And then we went our separate ways, she says.

While nothing obviously romantic had happened, Martina disembarked the plane with that same feeling of certainty: Were going to be together.

There was something in the way they spoke to each other. Something about the way they looked at each other. But most of all, it was the ease Martina felt in his company.

A couple of her friends spotted the connection too.

Oh, hes cute. I saw you, said one of them, nudging Martina as they disembarked the plane.

A restaurant reunion

Martina and Leslie hit it off right away when they met on an airplane. Here they are pictured some time later at La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. - Martina Johnson and Leslie Johnson

Over the next week, Martina and Leslie enjoyed their respective adventures in and around Nairobi. They both thought about one another from time to time, but mostly focused on enjoying their travels.

Then, on the very last day  or his last day, I was staying a day longer  we ended up at the same restaurant, says Martina.

It was a seafood restaurant  Martinas favorite, but far from Leslies first choice. He hates seafood and when his friend suggested it, hed considered vetoing the idea, but then decided he didnt want to be that person.

So he ended up, against the odds, at a restaurant where he couldnt eat almost anything on the menu. And then he spotted Martina and he forgot all about the food.

She saw him too. They didnt meet each others gaze. Instead, they both stole glances when they thought the other wasnt looking.

I was excited to see him, says Martina. But I was also playing it very cool.

Leslie got up several times and walked by Martinas table, hoping she might spot him and speak to him.

I went to the restroom. Didnt think she caught my attention. So I end up going back like two or three more times and still didnt make any kind of eye contact with her, he says.

But, then, coincidentally, Leslie and Martina both ended up leaving the restaurant at the same time.

The restaurant was in a hotel, so the two ended up standing in the lobby together, both with their friends in tow, chatting for a bit. It was, says Martina, a little awkward.

But she still left with that same thought: If hes single, were going to have a moment.

Its weird, because it was just a matter-of-fact feeling, says Martina today. It wasnt necessarily like, Oh, I just met this guy - Im so excited! It was just a very calm, matter-of-fact: We just had a great conversation. He seems like a great person. And if hes single, thats it. Were going to date.

Leslie was single. Just before he flew to Nairobi, hed deleted the dating apps hed been using off and on for the past couple of years.

I live in New York City, he thought. Theres no way I cant meet someone in person.

On past travels, hed daydreamed about meeting someone at the airplane gate, or boarding the airplane and catching someones eye. But hed never thought it would actually happen.

And when it did actually happen, it just felt natural.

Everything just kind of seemed like it was meant to be, or just was happening for a reason, says Leslie.

A few days later, once Martina and Leslie were both home in the US, Martina sent him a text.

Hows jet lag treating you? she wrote.

From there, they messaged back and forth for a day or two, comparing what theyd each got up to in Nairobi. Then Leslie invited Martina to dinner.

He picked out a South African restaurant in Midtown.

Martina lived right on the edge of New Jersey and could usually get into New York City within 10 minutes. But that day, the traffic was terrible.

In stationary traffic, Martina sat behind the wheel, fretting Leslie would think shed stood him up and just leave. She called him to explain and apologize.

Leslie told her not to worry. He wasnt going anywhere. An hour and a half later, Martina arrived.

When she walked up, I remember thinking she was even cuter than I remembered, says Leslie. When we first met I believe her hair was straight. And at that time it was really curly and I was like, Oh this is really cute.

Leslie and Martina's second date took place in New York City. - DeRonn Kidd Photography

Martina and Leslie settled quickly back into the easy conversation theyd enjoyed on the plane.

And then, at the end of the night, they realized they were both flying out of Newark Airport the next day. The Easter weekend was approaching, and they were both traveling to visit their families  Martina was heading back to Ohio and Leslie to Michigan.

So the very next day, we met up at the airport before our flight, says Martina. I always say our second date was at the airport.

Over the next few days, Martina and Leslie texted non-stop. Three dates turned into four and then five and then they quickly lost count.

We were constantly in touch, says Leslie.

It was very easy, says Martina. There were no gray areas. We liked each other, and we hung out, we spent time together.

A month or so later, Leslie went to San Francisco for a work trip and Martina joined him for part of the time. It was their first trip together, and was shortly followed by their second  a weekend away with Martinas friends at a beach house in Delaware.

Martina was also busy planning her next big adventure  a trip to Costa Rica in November to coincide with her 30th birthday. Shed invited her closest friends to join her. Only weeks after meeting Leslie, she invited him too.

The trip was still months away, and the relationship was still new. It was a little intimidating, but Leslie tried not to worry about this. He knew he wanted things to work out, and wanted to be there.

Im an overthinker, he says. And the more I overthink, the more I stop making moves. I told myself not to overthink this.

There were a couple of bumps in the road  by the summer, Martina was getting frustrated at Leslies hesitation to label the relationship. This conversation came to a head in July, three months or so after theyd got together.

But after this  their first proper argument  Martina and Leslie confirmed that, yes, they were in a relationship. And yes, they both wanted to see where it went next. And yes, they couldnt wait.

Traveling together

Leslie and Martina bonded over travel. Here they are cycling in the Maldives. - Martina Johnson and Leslie Johnson

Travel quickly became a cornerstone of Leslie and Martinas relationship.

We really enjoyed each other and we traveled a lot, says Leslie. So that was cool for both of us to have someone to travel with.

Martina was the more adventurous of the two, so she encouraged Leslie to get outside of his comfort zone.

The couple realized they traveled well together, with good synergy, as they put it.

In a lot of different ways, it just all seemed to work, just seemed like the perfect situation. perfect match for us, says Leslie.

Around a year and a half after their airplane meeting, in December 2016, Leslie and Martina traveled to London together. It was a city that meant a lot to both of them  Martina studied there, while Leslie has family in the UK.

Leslie figured London was the perfect location for a proposal. Leslie and Martina had spoken about marriage and both saw it as the next step, so the proposal wouldnt be a surprise, but Leslie wanted to surprise Martina in the moment.

He enlisted the help of his London-based cousins, asking if they could also get a bunch of their friends on board.

Leslie arranged that he and Martina would walk by Tower Bridge, a famous London landmark, just as night fell. Once there, theyd be approached by a series of seemingly random strangers, who were actually friends of his cousins on a mission.

Leslie proposed to Martina in London, by Tower Bridge. - @djstudios_ / Daniel Johnson

Each stranger handed Martina a rose and a piece of paper with a letter printed on it. The first two interactions just seemed random and Martina assumed the strangers were trying to get her to buy the roses.

Then, people started coming thick and fast and soon the letters spelled out a question: Will you marry me?

And once the last person came, I got on my knee and asked her, says Leslie.

Martina was both overwhelmed and delighted.

I was so, so happy. It was an incredible feeling. It was just amazing, she says. And what made it even more special to me is that it was in London.

London is where I got my first passport stamp and really opened up my mind and my heart, and is where I truly fell in love with travel.

So then to go back to the very first place where it started  and now Im getting proposed to by the man that I met on a plane  it was really special.

Martina and Leslie say their wedding day in Columbus, Ohio was really beautiful. The theme was love at first flight, with this slogan emblazoned on the invites and the menus, and the couple gave guests luggage tags as party favors. Martina Jones became Martina Jones Johnson.

Traveling today

Here's Martina and Leslie on their wedding day. The theme was "love at first flight." - Holly Ann Photography

Cut to today and travel remains a big part of Martina and Leslies lives. They chronicle their adventures on their Instagram account That Couple Who Travels, aiming to inspire others to follow in their footsteps.

Im so appreciative of the community that weve built and the opportunities that were able to have from it, says Martina.

Martina and Leslies account includes destination guides, flight reviews and recommendations of Black-owned businesses, as well as photographs of the couple on their incredible adventures across the globe.

I do love being a representation of a healthy Black relationship, says Martina. I think more people need to see that.

This is important to Martina and Leslie not only in the context of Instagram.

Martina recalls a recent group trip where she and Leslie found themselves entirely in the company of older White couples.

These people arent around young Black couples. But we just loved each other, we just had such a good time with each other, sharing our different experiences and bonding over travel, she says.

And thats what its all about. I think thats how the world gets better. Love is what kills hate and its what makes fears go away when you have those relationships with people.

Looking back on the not-actually-a-scam flight, and their fortuitous meeting, leads Leslie to conclude you just never know whats out there.

I met someone who lived not too far away from me, but I met them on a plane  thousands or whatever miles away from home, he says.

As for Martina, she finds herself reflecting on something her best friend said to her long before Leslie came into her life:

Do what you love, and it will lead you to everything else.

For Martina, this turned out to be true.

I love to travel. I traveled and I met the love of my life. So, find that thing that you love and you dont know what breadcrumbs that will lead you to. It might lead you to the love of your life. It might lead you to your purpose  you just dont know, but we all have unique desires and things that we are passionate about, says Martina. Dont ignore it. Dont wait for someone else to go with you. Just do what you love and see what happens.

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Shein, the Chinese fast-fashion e-commerce giant, said the company reached record profit results in the first half of 2023, driven by growth in the U.S. market, according to a memo issued by Sheins executive vice chairman Donald Tang to investors, which was obtained by CNBC.

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We recorded the highest first-half net profit in the companys history, compared to a near break-even during the same period in 2022, Tang wrote in the memo. In particular, our continued momentum in the U.S. reinforces our leading position in the market.

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Shein, known for extremely low-priced apparel goods and TikTok campaigns targeted at Gen Z shoppers, recorded $22.7 billion in sales in 2022, while profits topped $700 million, according to local media reports. It is said the company is targeting $60 billion in revenues by 2025.

Eyeing a potential IPO, Shein has been working to reposition itself as a fashion and lifestyle online platform to better compete with the likes of Amazon and Walmart. In May, the retailer began setting up marketplaces selling goods from local vendors alongside Shein products in the U.S., Brazil and Mexico. It is expanding with a similar approach in Germany, Spain France and Italy.

In the memo, Tang told investors that monthly gross merchandise volume has tripled to almost $100 million in Brazil. Its Brazilian site boosts 6,000 active third-party sellers, which make up more than one-third of Brazils total GMV. In addition, we are continuing to expand the product categories on our marketplace beyond fashion and apparel to other categories, including home appliances and other home products, Tang revealed in the memo.

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The biggest hurdles that Shein faces ahead of the rumored IPO are mounting negative press for its use of forced labor in Xinjiang, ESG problems and import tariff violations.

Last week Tang sent a letter to the American Apparel and Footwear Association calling for a complete makeover of the U.S. trade provisions and called the rule never foundational to Sheins success, which Tang said should be credited to the companys innovative supply chain.

Most recently, Swedish retailer H&M sued Shein for copyright infringement in a case filed against its Hong Kong-based owner. Shein also is locked in a legal battle with Chinese rival Temu, with each suing the other.

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Click here to read the full article.
Brands

Kering announced the appointment of Armelle Poulou as chief financial officer, effective Sept. 1. Poulou joined the luxury group in 2019 and is currently director of corporate finance, treasury and insurance. She will continue reporting to Jean-Marc Duplaix, now deputy CEO, in charge of operations and finance.

Sachin Dhawan has left his position as Stitch Fixs chief technology officer after joining the online personalized shopping company in January following a stint as the senior vice president of infrastructure and operations at Visa.

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Fredericks of Hollywood appointed designer and celebrity stylist Candice Cuoco as its new creative director. Cuoco will oversee the brands creative direction and product design, focusing on modern lingerie.

Cuocos first fully designed collection will debut in Fall 2023.

Retail

ESW, an e-commerce platform provider formerly known as EShopWorld, announced several strategic leadership changes. Tommy Kelly, founder and current CEO, will assume the role of co-chairman alongside Marc Pontent, CEO of Asendia, ESWs owner. Eric Eichmann will join the company as the new CEO.

In his new role as co-chairman, Kelly, who founded ESW in 2010, will focus on strategy and innovation, using his industry knowledge to drive ESWs next phase of growth. Eichmann brings over 20 years of leadership experience in technology and e-commerce to his new role as CEO. Prior to joining ESW, he served as the CEO of Spark Networks, an online dating company.

Trade

The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, a farm-level science-based sustainability program, has named Daren Abney as executive director. A sustainability veteran, Abney brings 15 years of international experience across the apparel and fashion sectors at organizations such as Better Cotton, Textile Exchange and, most recently, Lenzing Group.

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As executive director, Abney will guide the strategic vision and operation of the Trust Protocol. His focus will be on supporting farmers in fighting climate change through evolving agricultural innovation, textile brands and retailers in their drive to deliver more sustainably produced garments as well as NGOs and other sustainability initiatives to determine areas of potential collaboration. He will also oversee activities of the U.S. Climate Smart Cotton Program, a five-year pilot announced as part of the USDAs Climate Smart initiative where the Trust Protocol serves as the lead.

Logistics

Nicola Leske

Nicola Leske has been named the executive vice president, group communications and sustainability, at DHL Group. She will report to CEO Tobias Meyer, starting Aug. 1.

Leske offers more than 20 years of experience in all aspects of communications. Before joining DHL Group, she most recently was a managing partner at the strategic communications consultancy, Gauly Advisors.

Click here to read the full article.
Everything you should know about "The King of Fruit"

Jason Donnelly / Food Styling by Lauren McAnelly / Prop Styling by Lexi Juhl

Durian isn't called "The King of Fruits" for nothing. It's a fruit that makes itself known, with sharp green spikes and a distinct scent reminiscent of garlic and bananas. Although durian is not often seen on menus across the United States (outside of Hawaii), it is prized across Southeast Asia. Durian trees grow tall through Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, and can survive for centuries. They thrive in hot climates and grow after the monsoon season, sprouting flowers during the dry period that follows.

Most people know durian for the smell  something that is often exaggerated, damaging the reputation of a fruit that is so versatile, well-loved, and complex. So here's what you really need to know about durian, and why it's time to try it yourself.

Jason Donnelly / Food Styling by Lauren McAnelly / Prop Styling by Lexi Juhl

Types of durian to know

There are more than 500 types of durian  we asked chefs around the world to share their favorites.

Musang King

This durian is prized for its buttery flesh that has a special combination of sweet and bitter flavors, says pastry chef Michelle Goh of Mia in Bangkok. Although its most commonly grown in Malaysia, Musang King is the worlds most popular variety.

Monthong Durian

Translating to golden pillow, Monthong is the most popular Thai durian. Theyre generally large with an ovular shape and a milder smell compared to other varieties. Its flesh is thick, creamy, and sweet, with notes of caramel.

Kan Yao

This species is exclusively grown in the Nonthaburi region of Thailand, making it one of the most expensive durians in the world. It has a custard-like flesh, which chef Parkorn Kosiyabong of The G.O.A.T in Bangkok uses to thicken cream or coconut bases.

Related: Keep Things Fresh With These Fruit of the Month Clubs

Durian Hokkien

Grown in the jungles of Malaysia, this wild durian is small enough to fit in your palm. Its flesh comes in many different colors, from yellow to orange to bright red, says Goh. The fruit is creamy but slightly drier and milder than that of other species.

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Puyat

Puyat is one of the most accessible varieties of durian grown in the Philippines. [The flesh] is sweet but has a little bit of bitterness, says Jordy Navarra, chef and owner of Toyo Eatery in Manila. Its known for having a large pear shape and thick brown spikes.

Durian Baan

Unlike other types of durian, Thai Durian Baan (also known as Durian Kampung in Malaysia, "Native" in the Philippines, and Sau Hat in Vietnam) is technically an unnamed variety. Durian Baan is planted directly by the seed, making each tree unique. "These fell out of fashion for a while because they are unpredictable," says Lindsay Gasik, founder of the durian-focused blog, travel company, and delivery service, Year of the Durian. "Due to genetic variability, you don't know for sure what you're going to get." Many consider this type of durian to be more natural, especially because many Durian Baan trees have existed for 100 to 150 years. "Older trees mean better quality fruit and a specific taste you can't get from younger trees," Gasik adds.

Jason Donnelly / Food Styling by Lauren McAnelly / Prop Styling by Lexi Juhl

What does durian taste like?

Durian can often be found at local Asian grocery stores or markets, but if you don't have either nearby, here are four other ways to experience the flavor of durian.

Related: The Secret Is Out, the Southeast Asian Market in South Philly Is One of the Best in America

Freeze-packed durian fruit

Explore the dreaminess of durian varieties like pink-fleshed Red Prawn and peanut-buttery Bottle Gourd with Year of the Durian. In addition to vacuum-sealed durian meat, you can get the whole durian fruit (shipped frozen) from Miami Fruit.

To buy: Build Your Own Year of the Durian Box, from $60 at yearofthedurian.com; Miami Fruit Durian Party Box, $477 at miamifruit.org



Durian ice cream

Morgensterns Finest Ice Cream mellows durians strong flavor with banana, resulting in these delicious, well-balanced pints.

To buy: Morgenstern's Durian Banana Ice Cream, $104 for four pints at morgensternsnyc.com



Freeze-dried durian

Freeze-drying durian transforms the texture into a crunchy treat. Dong Ming Bridge sells freeze-dried Monthong, a sweet, yellow-fleshed durian that Gasik recommends dipping in chocolate.

To buy: Dong Ming Bridge Freeze-Dried Durian Monthong, $9 at sayweee.com



Durian mochi

Mochi makes for an easy, sweet treat  look for something made from real durian fruit, not essence, such as Royal Family. $3 at justasianfood.com

To buy: Royal Family Durian Mochi (2-pack), $18 at amazon.com



3 ways to cook with durian

Tarn Susumpow

Ferment it

Gohs family ferments leftover durian to make tempoyak, a funky condiment used to boost the flavor of dips and curries. But usually theyll transform the tempoyak into a spicy dip by stir-frying it with dried shrimp, shallots, chiles, and sugar.

Related: The 14 Best Fermentation Books for Home Cooks

Fry it

At Toyo, Navarra has served durian cheese balls  fried dough filled with a mixture of fresh cheese and durian, topped with more grated cheese.

Ice it

Durianism Cafe in Bangkok is a rest stop for durian lovers. Their version of bingsu, or Korean shaved ice, is durian-flavored and topped with crispy bread, ice cream, coconut sticky rice, and fresh durian.

How to break down a durian

Put on a pair of plastic gloves to protect your hands from the spikes. Check if the durian is ripe by pressing in between the spikes. If the fruit yields to the pressure, its ready. Make a couple of slits along the durians base, following its natural seams. Following the slits, slice the durian into wedges. Pull out the flesh using your hands, separating it from its shell and pits. Eat chilled or at room temperature.

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A wave of ambitious hospitality ventures is cresting on the New England coast between Boston and New Hampshire.

Michael Prince Gloucester, Massachusetts, Americaas oldest seaport, is home to the annual Schooner Festival over Labor Day weekend

Ducking into Nightshade Noodle Bar from an industrial street on a chilly Sunday in Lynn, Massachusetts, I was unexpectedly greeted by a verdant oasis. My table, part banquette, part high-top, shared space with a rubber tree that rose from the ground like a piece of scenery from Jumanji. It was 6 oclock, and the reservations-only restaurant was already full.

Nightshade Noodle Bar serves Vietnamese- and French-inspired tasting menus from chef-owner Rachel Miller. Its not what I would have expected to find in Lynn, a once down-on-its-luck city on the North Shore of Massachusetts, my home state. I moved to Lynn abruptly, out of the blue. Id never been here before, says Miller, who relocated from the nearby city of Medford. And it just seemed like the perfect place to try to start something different.

After 17 years away, I moved back to Massachusetts in the spring of 2022, and over dinner at Nightshade, I experienced Millers take on something different. A parade of flawless dishes  gooseneck barnacles alongside fiery lime-pepper sauce; bone marrow banh mi with green chilecitrus butter; Marblehead sea urchin filled with red curry hollandaise  made a compelling case for the regions transformation.

Luke Wallace Annisquam Harbor Light Station in Gloucester

Massachusetts North Shore is the coastal area that runs from north of Boston to New Hampshire. Tourists find our towns attractive in summer, arriving in droves for Ipswichs beautiful beaches and noteworthy clams. But a recent culinary revival has breathed new life into the towns of Salem, Essex, Newburyport, Gloucester, and Lynn, where travelers can come for pristine New England beaches, historic towns, lush pastureland, and an increasingly vital dining scene.

We try to push the boundaries, says Aaron Chambers, chef-owner of Settler, a restaurant that opened in Salem in February 2020. Chambers, who worked under Daniel Boulud before settling on the North Shore with his wife, Shanna, has transformed a petite space into an intimate dining room. Tucked into a booth one night, I dived into a bowl of poached Marblehead lobster alla chitarra: pasta floating in a lobster-studded sauce americaine, amplified by Calabrian chile, bottarga, fennel, and sourdough breadcrumbs. This was not the pound-cracked crustacean of my youth.

Story continues

Related: These Are America's Best Lobster Rolls

In low-lying Essex, where, as a child, I went antiquing with my mother, I dined at C.K. Pearl, ordering candy-sweet bay scallops the size of nickels. Perched on the Essex River, the restaurant, open since 2014, enjoys unobstructed water views from large picture windows. If you wanted to get oysters, it didnt matter where you were going; you were getting Blue Points, says the restaurants owner, Patrick Shea, of the culinary culture in the area when he first opened. He posed a question to himself: How do we create this really cool oyster program, and how do we do all these things without being pretentious? The answer comes through in his seafood-driven menu, which includes oysters from up and down the Eastern seaboard and beyond.

Pat Piasecki With spacious outdoor dining, firepits, and a seafood-forward menu, Sunset Club on Plum Island is a hopping summer spot at sundown

Up and down the coast, others have followed, embracing the ethos of ingredient-driven cooking. In my hometown of Newburyport, The Paddle Inn, which opened in 2016, serves global, coastal cuisine and has one of the areas most robust bar programs. At the time [that we opened], it was very homogenous on the North Shore, says Beau Sturm, a partner of Starlite Management Company. We thought that we would be scratching an itch. The restaurants gambas al ajillo, plump shrimp cooked in hot oil with garlic and bell pepper, can be enjoyed on an outdoor patio in summer. In 2021, The Paddle Inn opened an outpost, Sunset Club, on Plum Island, a barrier island a few miles from Newburyport. There, summer visitors can sit at picnic tables, feet in the sand, while sipping the Cottage Colada, made with Plantation Stiggins Fancy Pineapple Rum and caramelized Coco Lopez.

Once a blue-collar fishing town, Gloucester also feels on the cusp of emerging as a culinary contender. In 2019, Andover, Massachusetts, restaurateurs Danielle and Carlo Berdahn brought their Mediterranean concept, Yella on the Water, to the community. Theres just something about sitting on the deck, looking out on the water, with the sun setting and the schooners going by, Danielle says. According to Carlo, a flatbread topped with ground lamb cooked with fresh mint, cumin, and allspice is the ideal sundown pairing.

Related: This Chef Is Opening the Perfect Neighborhood Restaurant for His Massachusetts Hometown

The North Shore of my youth has grown up. I think its grown better. It is a place, still, of beauty. Come for the drive down to the Plum Island reservation on a dusty and hot August afternoon, for the handful of blueberries, sun-warmed, from Ipswichs Russell Orchards. Come, too, for the ambition. The population up here, says Dorchester native Alex Caruso, general manager and beverage director of Nightshade Noodle Bar, has been ready and waiting for this change forever.

Where to eat and drink

Alyssa Blumstein Percebes (gooseneck barnacles) at Nightshade Noodle Bar in Lynn

Recently awarded five stars from The Boston Globe, this tasting menuonly restaurant in Lynn offers Vietnamese and French flavors from James Beard Awardnominated chef-owner Rachel Miller.

Chef Aaron Chambers Salem restaurant highlights seasonal and local cuisine in an intimate setting.

In Essex, chef-owner Patrick Shea serves everything from local seafood to housemade charcuterie.

Mediterranean food is chef Carlo Berdahns specialty at this spot with an unparalleled view of Gloucesters coastline.

Located on Plum Island, the barrier island connected to Newburyport via causeway, Sunset Club is the go-to summer hangout for those looking for casual, creative drinks and food.

Pat Piasecki Fish tacos at Sunset Club

In downtown Newburyport, enjoy global fare, along with some of the North Shores most ambitious cocktails.

Executive chef and North Shore native Michael Sherman embraces local seafood, seasonal produce, and a New England ethos at this Andover gastropub.

Where to stay

Michael Prince The rooftop pool at Beauport Hotel Gloucester overlooks the harbor

This 11-room boutique hotel in downtown Salem was once the private home of sea merchant Joshua Ward. Rooms from $321

This inn in Rowley offers guests 30 rooms, a pool, a spa, and a fine-dining venue. Rooms from $265

Facing Gloucester Harbor, this 94-room property has a rooftop pool with sweeping water views. Rooms from $409



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A travel creator is being criticized for accepting a ride from a random German man she met on the plane.

On June 9, Samantha Sanchez (@travelwsammy), a travel content creator who documents her solo travels, revealed that she had befriended a man on her flight to Germany who then offered her a ride from the airport.

POV: you meet a random German man sitting next to you on the plane and he ended up being super cool and offered you a ride from the airport, she writes.

TikTok user Nadeesha (@nadsss97), whose comment on Sanchezs video has more than 22,600 likes, wrote, dont post stuff like this and influence or encourage others to be as dumb as you when traveling.

On June 26, Crawl, who goes by the username @xocrawl, called out Sanchezs decision to not only accept the ride but seemingly romanticize the interaction by making a video about it.

I cant believe I even have to say this. This is not quirky and fun. This is how people die on a daily basis when they travel from country to country. Especially in foreign countries, she says. You can get trafficked, you can get kidnapped and never see your f***ing family or anybody ever again.

Crawl calls out Sanchez for attempting to make this a rom com moment.

Just because theyre nice doesnt mean theyre good people, she asserts. Thats how they drag you in. Out of all the documentaries theyve ever made about people being murdered Youre gonna end up on Dateline.'

Sanchezs video calls into question the ways solo female-identifying travelers should and should not act especially when in a foreign country. Tracking where you are and where youre headed via GPS, for instance, can make all the difference.

Know exactly where you are going each day and learn the general map of where you are, Phyllis Stoller, founder of the Womens Travel Group, told HuffPost. Use the GPS on your phone, even in a taxi, to track where you are being taken.

According to the U.S. Department of Justices National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, there are currently 23,451 open missing-persons cases. The United Nations detected 3,913 trafficking victims in Germany in 2020.

Story continues

Other solo travelers suggest doing as much planning as possible when it comes to organizing safe transportation to and from the airport as well as other locations.

Plan ahead as much as possible. As much as spontaneity can make a trip, there are certain things that are better not left to chance, like airport transfers and other transportation, seasoned solo traveler Julia DeMasi told the New York Times. Most of all, saving money isnt worth putting yourself at risk. I feel that lack of reliable and safe transportation in many countries poses the greatest risk to traveler safety.

she needs to know she just got EXTREMELY lucky

Crawls video has more than 1.7 million views, 205,300 likes. Based on the comments shes received, many creators are in agreement with Crawls criticism of Sanchez.

Never EVER get in a car with a stranger, @cott1902 wrote.

Im not kidding when I say, I rather take 3h more to reach my destination than going with a stranger even if I live in this country, @mangostarway replied.

she needs to know she just got EXTREMELY lucky, @weeyukong commented.

On June 12, however, Sanchez revealed that she and her new friend even went for coffee.

UPDATE: yes I am alive, she writes.

In The Know by Yahoo is now available on Apple News  follow us here!

The post Woman criticizes TikTok travel creator for getting a ride from stranger in Germany: Never EVER get in a car with a stranger appeared first on In The Know.

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NYC renter's cockroach prevention hack goes viral on TikTok: 'I never knew this is how they get in'

Orthodox Jewish woman shops for 'modest clothing' at Target: this must be so exhausting

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While it's incredibly rare, you can theoretically get pregnant while you're pregnant. Here's what to know about superfetation.

Ziga Plahutar / Getty Images

Medically reviewed by Andrea Chisholm, MD FACOG

Have you ever wondered if a person could get pregnant when they're already pregnant? This is theoretically possible, and there's even a technical term called "superfetation." That said, it's so incredibly rare that most people shouldn't worry about it (even if they're not using any form of birth control while expecting).

We reached out to experts to learn why some people can conceive if they're already pregnant, including how common it is and whether you'll notice any symptoms.

Related: Your Pregnancy Symptoms Week by Week

Can You Conceive While Pregnant?

The technical term for getting pregnant while already pregnant is superfetation. And yes, it's something that can happen. But it's so uncommon that most doctors and reproductive specialists have never seen it.

"Superfetation in humans is possible, but it is extremely rare," says Sasha Andrews, MD, board-certified maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Pediatrix Medical Group in Denver, Colorado. "I have never seen it in my practice nor heard of any local cases."

Kelli V. Burroughs, MD, chief of staff and department chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital, also emphasizes how exceptionally rare superfetation is and likewise has never seen it in her practice.

Katie Sagaser, MS, LCGC, a genetic counselor at Juno Diagnostics, characterizes superfetation as "incredibly rare in humans" but possible. She has witnessed one case, but it was only a possible case. "In the past decade, I've only seen one instance in which one of our fertility clinic patients was suspected to have a superfetation diagnosis in her twin pregnancy," she shared.

How Common Are Double Pregnancies?

Superfetation hasn't been widely studied, but a 2021 case report notes that only 10 cases have been recorded in literature. It's actually more common in other animals besides humans, and for some species may be a type of adaptation and means of reducing the reproductive burden in female animals.

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In humans, superfetation is more common when assisted reproduction is used. "The use of assisted reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) can make superfetation a little more likely, but still very rare," says Sagaser. "In theory, if a person has unprotected intercourse and becomes [naturally] pregnant shortly before their embryo transfer, the possibility of superfetation exists."

However, she notes, this is unlikely for several reasons, including the fact that patients are generally cautioned against having unprotected intercourse while on IVF hormones.

Related: 5 Signs You Might Be Pregnant With Twins

How Is Superfetation Possible?

Usually, after you've conceived, your hormonal make-up changes, making it impossible for you to ovulate and conceive again. This is a natural process, says Dr. Burroughs. But in very rare cases, ovulation continues after a person becomes pregnant, which can lead to superfetation.

"Superfetation occurs when after the start of a pregnancy, a second egg (or ovum) is fertilized and implants, resulting in two babies with different gestational ages," says Dr. Andrews. In most cases of superfetation, there are several weeks between conceptions. As Dr. Andrews notes, there was one reported case of superfetation back in 1999 where there was a four-week difference between the two babies.

Again, it's very rare for superfetation to occur naturally or spontaneously. "Superfetation more commonly happens in the setting of assisted reproduction, or fertility treatment, with medications that cause the release of multiple ova," describes Dr. Andrews.

Are There Signs of a Superfetation Pregnancy?

There's no real way to know that you're experiencing superfetation. "There are no unique symptoms of a superfetation pregnancy," says Dr. Burroughs. "Patients may experience no symptoms at all or typical symptoms of pregnancy including nausea, breast tenderness, and weight gain."

Most of the time, superfetation is diagnosed via an ultrasound during pregnancy, says Sagaser. Usually a disparity in sizes between the two fetuses alerts the provider to the fact that superfetation may be at play. "Based on the handful of superfetation case reports, the growth difference with superfetation can be anywhere from two to four weeks; this is probably due to differences in the frequency of ovulation," she says .

It's possible that a diagnosis of superfetation doesn't happen until the second or third trimester of pregnancy, says Sagaser. "For example, if you have a viability ultrasound at six to eight weeks gestation (counting from the date of your last menstrual period) which confirms a viable intrauterine pregnancy in line with those dates, the smaller (younger) twin may not yet be visible by ultrasound," she describes. "If your next ultrasound doesn't take place until the 20-week anatomy sonogram, or perhaps later, there really would be no way to know about superfetation until that time."

Sometimes the diagnosis of a superfetation pregnancy doesn't happen until after the baby is bornsometimes not for years, says Dr. Andrews. "Interestingly, there was a case of superfetation diagnosed by home genealogy testing, after a set of twins in their 50s discovered they had different fathers," says Dr. Andrews.

What's the Difference Between Superfetation and Twins?

Sometimes superfetation pregnancies are referred to as a type of twin pregnancy. But superfetation isn't the same thing as twinseither fraternal or identical. "Twin pregnancies occur either when one ovum is fertilized and splits to form two embryos [identical twins], or when two eggs are fertilized simultaneously by different sperm cells [fraternal twins]," says Dr. Andrew. "Superfetation occurs when an embryo or fetus is already implanted, and a second ovum is fertilized and implants."

Related: What Are the Costs of a Multiple Pregnancy and Birth?

The Bottom Line

Keep in mind that superfetation is super unusual and it's highly unlikely that you would be experiencing it, even if you're having unfamiliar symptoms or you're concerned about when and how your conception took place. If you have further questions about superfetation, or any question about the progression of your pregnancy, don't hesitate to reach out to a doctor or midwife.

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Read the original article on Parents.
Arizona's Water Infrastructure Finance Authority has set an ambitious goal for water savings.

Five years from now, if all goes to plan, Arizona will have conserved 5 million acre-feet of water.

Thats enough to fill about 2.5 million Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Or about 70% of what the state is estimated to use in a year, from all sources.

Or a little less than double Arizonas annual Colorado River allotment (that is, if we were getting our full allocation, which hasnt happened in a while).

Arizona needs ambitious water goals

So, yeah, its an ambitious goal.

But thats exactly what Arizona needs to guide our next steps.

Not just for the water we should be saving, but also for the new sources of water we should be securing with taxpayer investments.

Lawmakers agreed to set aside a billion dollars over three years, mostly to import water from out of state (though they didnt offer the full installment this year, preferring to fund earmarked water projects instead).

They also funneled $200 million in federal pandemic money toward water conservation grants.

The states Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA) oversees both funds and is now setting a strategic framework for how it plans to spend the cash.

Basically, laying out what we should have to show for it after five years.

WIFA wants ongoing water conservation

The water conservation goal is the most detailed so far.

And no, were not talking about simply paying folks to temporarily stop using water, which has been the method of choice to conserve large volumes, quickly, on the Colorado River.

The goal is to achieve 5 million acre-feet in long-term, ongoing water savings.

Grant applications thus far propose to do that in many ways, from removing turf to expanding rebates to lining inefficient irrigation canals.

At least a third of the funding earmarked for conservation would go to projects that can save Colorado River water, and at least a third would go to projects that can conserve unreplenished groundwater across Arizona.

But theres a catch:

WIFA estimates it might need $400 million to achieve such a goal (and, no, because its a separate fund, the agency cant funnel any of the billion dollars earmarked for new water supplies into conservation).

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Thats double what it has now, which means it will need another major investment. WIFA hopes to get it from Arizona lawmakers.

But that might take some work, given anemic state revenue projections and that the current Legislature seems more interested in funding earmarked projects instead of letting others dole out the cash.

Even still, we may need a lot of new water

The agency hasnt set a target yet for how much new water it could secure with the billion(ish) dollars that lawmakers promised.

WIFA is meeting informally with water providers and major users across Arizona to get a better sense of how much water they might need over time.

Expect a sizable amount, even as conservation efforts ramp up.

The state quantified the gap between water supply and demand in 2011  before shortages emerged on the Colorado River, water problems escalated in rural areas and millions of acre-feet in unmet demand for groundwater were revealed in metro Phoenix.

Back then, it was estimated that Arizona could be short 600,000 acre-feet a year on the low end by 2035 and up to 3.3 million acre-feet a year by 2110, with three-quarters or more of the gap between supply and demand occurring in the states urban areas.

Rural Arizona could see more investment

As for the rest of the state?

WIFA has a third goal to OK at least 75 projects from separate funds that award federal cash, primarily to improve water quality and reliability in rural areas.

The agency also is exploring ways to make larger awards from those funds and require less of the cash to be repaid.

Another view: This is no way to manage rural water

Thats a crucial element for small providers.

Many say they cant get loans large enough to make meaningful improvements, and even if they could, they dont have the customer base to repay them.

But that also presumes the federal government will continue to funnel cash to these funds as it has in years past.

A proposed budget in the U.S. House this year heavily cuts that investment and further hamstrings it with earmarks.

The caveat: None of this will be cheap

If you see a theme, its that our ability to reach ambitious goals relies on our commitment to continue investing in them.

Which certainly isnt guaranteed.

That doesnt mean WIFA should scale back its vision.

But its further proof that neither saving nor finding new water supplies will be cheap.

Particularly given how much Arizona needs to do.

Reach Allhands at joanna.allhands@arizonarepublic.com. On Twitter: @joannaallhands.

If you love this content (or love to hate it  hey, I won't judge), why not subscribe to get more?

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona has an ambitious goal to save water. Can we keep it?
Jose R. Gonzalez, a reporter with The Arizona Republic, was interviewed by Stephen Nolan on BBC's The Nolan Show to discuss details surrounding a teenage girl's disappearance from Glendale in 2019 and miraculous reappearance this week.

Alicia Navarro was 14 at the time she went missing. The now 18-year-old walked into a police station in Montana on July 22 and told authorities she had been missing and wanted to clear her status, police said in the statement released Thursday.

Gonzalez called into the news radio show Sunday evening from Phoenix at 4:30 p.m. as night owl listeners in the United Kingdom tuned in at 12:30 a.m.

Jose R. Gonzalez

To listen to Gonzalez's commentary on Navarro's disappearance, you can find aired episodes on the BBC website.

Here is everything we know about the disappearance case.

When was Alicia Navarro reported missing?

Navarro was first reported missing in September 2019 when she was 14 years old after leaving a note in her bedroom saying she was running away and would return home soon.

At the time she was reported missing, she attended Bourgade Catholic High School in Phoenix. Her mother, Jessica Nunez, said school was not an easy concept for Alicia in part due to her diagnosis as "high-functioning" on the autism spectrum, according to earlier reporting from The Republic.

Nunez explained at a press conference on the one-year anniversary of her disappearance that Navarro was warming up to the school and the friends she made in her classes. She also spoke of a day they spent together days before she disappeared where Navarro appeared "really happy that day," according to Nunez.

Navarro was described as an active gamer with Nunez saying she would come home after school and interact with her friends online through text messages and online video game services, such as Minecraft.

On Sept. 15, 2019, Navarro asked her mom what time she was going to bed. At some point between when Nunez went to sleep and woke up the next morning, Alicia left.

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She left a handwritten note in her bedroom saying, "I ran away. I will be back, I swear. I'm sorry. -Alicia." She brought with her a cellphone and a silver Apple MacBook but made no communication attempts with her friends or family over the past few years.

Alicia Navarro left a note in her bedroom on the night of her disappearance.

Alicia's mother, Jessica Nunez has expressed concern over the years that her daughter may have been abducted, likely by someone she became acquainted with through online gaming. There was, however, no evidence of this.

Why did Alicia Navarro reappear?

Almost four years later, and a few months away from her 19th birthday, Navarro walked into a police station in a small Montana town this last week and asked to be taken off a list of missing children.

Officials said she went to them of her own free will and identified herself to police. After a DNA test, police confirmed Navarro's identity.

Authorities said she showed up at the Montana police station alone and did not require medical attention.

In two short videos recorded during a FaceTime call that police released, Navarro told investigators that she had not been hurt in any way.

In the first video, investigators reassure her they just want to ensure she is safe. In response, Navarro, with closed eyes, stutters as she tells officers that she understands. In the second video, investigators thank her for talking to them, and Navarro calmly thanks them for offering her help.

Nunez, who has worked tirelessly for years to find her daughter, said in a video posted on Facebook that she does not know the details of the recovery but could confirm the young woman was alive and well as comments poured in support of the miracle reappearance.

"I, first of all, want to give glory to God for answering your prayers and for this miracle," Nunez said.

Nunez said she had only heard about her daughter being found for about an hour before she posted the video.

What happens now?

Currently, both Navarro and Nunez are asking for privacy as they process this major breakthrough in the case.

At this time, there are no imminent or pending charges against anyone in relation to the case, lead investigator Lt. Scott Waite said.

Police said Navarro is still in Montana as of Thursday and is cooperating with police. They said she was in good spirits and is very apologetic for what she put her mother through over the past few years, according to earlier reporting from The Republic.

The department said in a news release that they would be working with federal authorities to investigate her whereabouts since she was reported missing.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Republic reporter appears on BBC to discuss Navarro case
Editor's note: This story was updated Aug. 2 to clarify information related to the use of the CBP One App.

Three New Mexico State University students recently joined seven other students from around the country to present research findings from their summer National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates program.

Lead by Neil Harvey, NMSU government professor and principal investigator of the program, in collaboration with co-principal investigator Jeremy Slack of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Texas-El Paso, the NSF REU is a 9-week summer program that allows students to conduct hands-on research about border and immigration policy. Partnering with Border-Servant Corps, a humanitarian organization providing temporary shelter for migrants on the U.S./Mexico border, as well as with the Kiki Romero Municipal Shelter for Migrants in Ciudad Juarez, the students conducted personal interviews with migrants from Central and South America.

Were very fortunate to have a partnership with a community-based organization known as Border Servant Corps that has a hospitality center that receives migrants who have been given documentation and a court date to make a claim for asylum, Harvey said.

Fatima Oliveros gives her presentation on the health needs of migrants.

Harveys NSF-funded program for undergraduate research began in 2018 and has seen a growing interest from students across the country. This year, the program received 61 applications, eight were from NMSU.

Were proud that since our program began, Harvey said, weve been able to train 40 students in research methods and applied research on immigration and border issues with another 20 to be recruited over the next two summers.

Students who come out of the program have gone on to do masters degrees in areas like international relations, anthropology and Latin American studies, with one student pursuing a doctorate in anthropology at the State University of New York at Albany and doing her field work in Mexico.

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I feel like this program really taught us that our borders are just really complicated, said Angel Amabsico, NMSU student double-majoring in government and Spanish. Not only is it an international issue, but its also a national issue. There are so many topics, agencies, terms and concepts that we get to understand and delve into. Even after our presentations, were learning new things. Its ongoing and its always changing.

Amabiscos presentation focused on the CBP One App, an application introduced by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in late 2020 that initially allowed migrants to fill out I-94 forms from their phones.

New Mexico State University student researchers Fatima Oliveros, Angel Amabisco and Ashley Infante.

The CBP One app is used as a method for migrants who lack documents for admission to make an appointment at a Port of Entry where they present themselves for processing by CBP. If allowed admission to the U.S., they are given a Notice to Appear at a later date with an immigration judge or USCIS when they can present their claim for asylum in the United States. Amabisco referred to several problems with the app raised by migrants that he interviewed, including long wait times, inequities in gaining good internet access, and extortion by privately-run shelters in Ciudad Juarez while waiting to attain an appointment.

Ashley Infante, an NMSU student double-majoring in Government and Justice, Political Philosophy and Law (JPPL), focused her presentation on the root causes of migration and how political influence has continually impacted the conversation around immigration in America. Raised in California, she often heard negative comments about immigration and the Southern border. Infante has a different outlook after working under this program in Las Cruces and she wants people to understand the complexities of the situation.

For me, it was hard to go into shelters in Juarez and Las Cruces and talk to people who were facing very difficult, real problems, Infante said. As someone going in who was blessed to have been born in the U.S., it was very hard to step into that situation and then have to come back. Its knowing your position of privilege and knowing that you can come in and out of it.

NMSU Nursing major Fatima Oliveros focused on the toll the often-deadly journey to the southern border can take on migrants emotionally, physically and mentally. She explained why it is necessary to properly accommodate migrants with proper care when they arrive.

Harvey also touched on this topic, listing ways U.S. policy has lost sight of the care needed for those seeking asylum.

The national debate around immigration is pretty much on the lines of how best to contain migration rather than how best to learn why people are leaving and what they need, Harvey said.

Oliveros shared her initial struggle with being the only nursing major in the program and why she now thinks more nurses should apply.

I was really intimidated because Im a nursing major and everyone else was in political science, Oliveros said. I thought they might be better prepared and more knowledgeable, but after talking with the students, graduate assistants, and professors I had a better perspective of how a nursing major can be useful in discussing whats happening at the border.

All three students encouraged others to apply for next summers program, which will start taking applications in November. Oliveros noted that NMSUs proximity to the border is a huge advantage to the program at NMSU.

Its one thing to read books or articles or go online and check things out and do research, Harvey said, which is important, and we do it, but its another thing to be physically present and learn directly from migrants about what theyve just gone through and are still going through.

Angel Amabisco gives his presentation on the CBP One App.

Infante says the research experience has urged her to consider one day becoming an immigration lawyer. Each student said the research they learned and the connections they made will leave a long-lasting impression.

I find it hard to kind of process the information I was receiving, Amabisco said. These people are here because they have an appointment to see a judge and we, as students, know the reality of what the results of that might be. You have to try to differentiate between being a researcher and human being so when you approach these people you can connect with them. I ended up exchanging numbers with a migrant to help her, and months later she texted me to let me know she made it to her destination in Chicago, IL.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: NMSU undergraduates present immigration research from summer program
Pakistani officials said that dozens of civilians were killed on Sunday when a bomb went off during a political convention in the northwest region of the country.

Officials said that the incident happened during a political rally for hardline cleric Maulana Fazlur Rehman, one of the leaders of the Jamiat Ulema Islam political party (JUI), in a hall close to a market outside the Bajur districts capital.

Provincial information minister Feroz Jamal told the Associated Press that 44 people were killed in the bombing and 200 others were wounded.

Party officials were announcing the arrival of its leader, Abdul Rasheed, when the bomb went off. Officials said Rehman was not at the rally, but noted that organizers of the event set up tents to accommodate many of his supporters.

Provincial police said in a statement that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who detonated his explosives vest close to the stage where several senior leaders of the party were sitting.

There was dust and smoke around, and I was under some injured people from where I could hardly stand up, only to see chaos and some scattered limbs, Adam Khan, who suffered injuries during the blast, said.

The bomb attack happened near the countrys border with Afghanistan. The border used to be a strong hold for the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), a close ally of the Afghanistan government, but lost their control of the region after being pushed out by the Pakistani army.

In a statement to the newswire, TTP said that the purpose of the bombing was aimed to set Islamists against each other.

Rasheed, who serves as a regional chief for JUI, said that the attack was an attempt to remove his party from the parliamentary elections later in November, saying that these tactics will not work.

Many of our fellows lost their lives and many more wounded in this incident. I will ask the federal and provincial administrations to fully investigate this incident and provide due compensation and medical facilities to the affected ones, Rasheed said.

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The bombing comes as TTP ended their cease-fire agreement with the Pakistani government last November, a year after the Talibans eventual takeover of Afghanistan.

The bombing was also one of the four worst attacks to happen in the Northwest region of the country. Earlier this year, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in the city of Peshawar and next month saw more than 100 people, mostly local policeman, die in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing the citys police headquarters.

Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Arif Alvi both condemned the attack and asked officials to provide assistance to those affected by the incident.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
TALLAHASSEE  Shedding one-third of his campaign staff and needing to reboot his presidential bid only two months in, Gov. Ron DeSantis is struggling in political waters which have proved treacherous for Florida White House wannabes.

Former Florida governors Reubin Askew, Bob Graham and Jeb Bush, along with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, all launched White House bids on the strength of in-state popularity and rising hype on the national stage, only to see their candidacies go under, sometimes well before primary season.

DeSantis at this point remains half-a-year away from the first presidential nominating contest  the Iowa caucus. But amid rising questions about his future, the governors allies are convinced better days are ahead.

Tell me one campaign that didnt reboot; its the way these things go, said Slater Bayliss, a top campaign finance bundler for DeSantis, who attended the recent retreat in Park City, Utah, where the governors redirection was unveiled.

DeSantis plans to focus his campaign on the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, smaller-scale events and making himself available for more mainstream media appearances.

Bayliss, a Tallahassee lobbyist closely involved in Bushs presidential campaign, along with those of his brother, former President George W. Bush, John McCain and Mitt Romney, insisted that DeSantis can still overtake the GOP frontrunner, former President Donald Trump.

The DeSantis campaign has acted more swiftly than any other that Ive been involved with when it comes to recalibrating the (financial) burn rate and focusing on the things that are working, he added.

Soaring campaign comes back to earth

But after blowing through 40% of the $20 million he took in during his first six weeks as a candidate, DeSantis belt-tightening and recalibration is bringing his once-soaring campaign back to earth, with a thud.

Look who's talking to reporters in Iowa. A rebooted Gov. Ron DeSantis intends to focus heavily on Iowa and its first-in-the-nation nominating contest. But questions linger about whether he'll make it that far.

Even with that spending, millions more remain in his allied, Never Back Down PAC. But DeSantis has fallen further behind Trump in most polls. Real Clear Politics polling average has him trailing Trump by more than 30%, nationally and in critical Iowa.

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DeSantis remains, though, Trumps closest Republican rival.

Campaigns can suffer from missed expectations, said Alex Conant, a Republican consultant who advised and served as spokesman for Rubio during his 2016 presidential run. He is unaffiliated in this latest contest.

Everyone expected that DeSantis would be very competitive with Donald Trump in the polls right now. Instead, Trump has been able to widen the gap. That hurts the fund-raising, hurts media coverage and hurts with campaign morale, Conant said. You can recover. But its part of why running for president is so hard.

Odds don't favor governors

In recent decades, only two sitting governors have won the presidency: Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. But the list of failures is long, including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, both seen as powerful, well-funded candidates who flamed out months before the 2016 primaries.

The difference between running for president and running for state office is not just major leagues and minor leagues, its totally different sports, Conant told the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida. Theres nothing in the world like presidential politics and I dont think anything can prepare you for the stress and scrutiny of running for president.

Among Floridians who ran, Rubio ended his White House bid in 2016 after losing to Trump in a landslide in his home state primary, a month after Bush folded following distant finishes in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Reboot needed for floundering campaign: With presidential campaign stalled, DeSantis reboots at luxury resort, lays off staffers

Florida has been DeSantis test kitchen: A presidential prelude playbook: Why DeSantis is driving Florida hard right

Like DeSantis, Bush had launched his presidential run with enormous amounts of money in the bank but, also like the current Florida governor, was relentlessly attacked by Trump.

While Bush never recovered or captured the hearts of a Republican electorate profoundly changed from his earlier years as governor, DeSantis is campaigning largely as a more electable version of Trump.

Culture war campaign may prove costly

But DeSantis culture war politics, amped up during the campaign, not only has alienated Black and LGTBQ voters and those who believe in the science behind COVID-19 vaccinations, the Financial Times reported that two of his wealthiest backers, billionaires Ken Griffin and Nelson Peltz, are rethinking their support because of his far-right positions.

Separately, a pair of recent DeSantis fund-raisers planned for Long Island also were reportedly canceled because of a reported lack of donor interest.

Trump has attacked DeSantis non-stop, contributing to the governors woes. But DeSantis also is confronting a hard lesson learned by other Florida leaders with White House ambitions.

Running nationally is a different ball game, said Robin Gibson, a Lake Wales lawyer and legal advisor to former Florida U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, a two-term governor, who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004.

Former Florida U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, a two-term governor, who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004.

Unable to attract money and support, Grahams campaign lasted only nine months  and he became the first of 10 Democrats in the presidential field that year to quit. He never made it to the primary states.

Bob wanted very much to be himself, Gibson said of the centrist Democrat, well-liked in Florida and respected on Capitol Hill for his national security expertise. We wanted to run things modeled on how he had been so successful in Florida. But the national scene is a blood sport.

Gibson said that dealing with dueling advice from campaign consultants hampered Grahams approach, taking him off his game and, ultimately, hurting his appeal to donors and voters.

Twenty years earlier, Askew, another popular two-term Florida governor, also ran a White House campaign that ended well short of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

1978: Florida Gov. Reubin Askew congratulates House Speaker Donald Tucker.

Askew had just been named one of the nations 10 best governors of the previous century by Harvard Universitys Institute of Politics when he launched his run for the 1984 Democratic nomination.

But Askew, who Graham succeeded, had been out of elected office since 1979. He struggled with a Democratic Party seeking a new route following the defeat of President Jimmy Carter, a fellow, former southern governor.

After a disappointing, last-place finish in the early, New Hampshire primary, Askew ended his bid for the nomination eventually won by Minnesota U.S. Sen. Walter Mondale.

Unlike Jeb, Can DeSantis Fix It?

Until DeSantis reboot, Bush may have had the most memorable overhaul, months into the race he eventually ended by spring of 2016 after running down a robust campaign war chest and performing miserably in early primary states.

Just as many are now tarring DeSantis, Bush ran a wonky campaign focused on his success leading Florida. His reboot, centered in part on the theme, Jeb Can Fix It, emphasizing his experience  again, in contrast with first-time politician Trump.

Bush continued to promote his Florida record during lengthy, sit-down interviews with major TV networks and engage with reporters on his campaign bus about the direction of the race.

But like DeSantis, so far, he never could overcome Trump.

Some analysts, including Romney, now a U.S. senator from Utah, say the crowded field of Republican candidates is playing into Trumps hands. Romney is urging those in the race who face little chance of winning to drop out.

Since kicking-off his campaign, DeSantis has been locked into second place behind Trump in most surveys.

For DeSantis, a winnowed field may help. If he can keep his campaign going until it emerges.

Its like Baskin-Robbins and its 31 flavors; its a lot easier when you just can choose between chocolate and vanilla, said Susan MacManus, a professor emerita in political science at the University of South Florida.

When you spread the field out, it helps the incumbent. And Trump is like the incumbent in the Republican race, she added.

John Kennedy is a reporter in the USA TODAY Networks Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jkennedy2@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @JKennedyReport

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: DeSantis Deja vu? Florida can be treacherous for presidential dreams
On Monday morning, Glendale police provided an update on the Alicia Navarro case to say they do not have any new information to release.

In an emailed statement, police said that no information will be released on the names and identities of the individuals associated with the case as the investigation is ongoing.

Moreover, police said they would not release details on the reunification between Alicia and her family.

As you can imagine, this has been an emotional event for all involved. With that, we will not be releasing specific details surrounding the reunification and will allow Alicia and her family to discuss the circumstances if they choose to do so, the statement read.

Navarro first went missing four years ago when she was 14. Police said that since she is now 18 years old and an adult, she can decide whether to return to Arizona, or remain in Montana or any other place.

Police also said that detectives are no longer in Havre, Montana, and are working to learn what happened in the last four years. They said they are also in contact with Navarro daily to assess her needs and safety.

What we know: 'Miracle' reappearance of Glendale teen Alicia Navarro

What do we know about the disappearance?

The Police Department in Havre, a town in Montana that is a little more than 100 miles away from the Canada border, released a statement on social media describing how Navarro was located.

Navarro on July 23 walked into the station and told authorities she had been missing and wanted to clear her status, police said in the statement released Thursday.

Navarro was reported missing on Sept. 15, 2019, when she was 14 years old, leaving a handwritten note apologizing and saying she would return.

I ran away. I will be back, I swear. I'm sorry. - Alicia," the note read.

Additionally, Navarro, as a child, was diagnosed as "high functioning" on the autism spectrum.

On Tuesday afternoon, Glendale police released two short videos recorded during a FaceTime call where Navarro told investigators she had not been hurt in any way.

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Navarro, with closed eyes, stutters as she tells officers that she understands when they say they want to ensure she is safe. Investigators in the second video thank her for talking to them, and Navarro calmly thanks them for offering help.

Republic reporter Jose R. Gonzalez contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Alicia Navarro case update: Glendale police decline to release details
A hearing to help determine Ethan Crumbley's sentence for murdering four fellow students and injuring seven other people at Oxford High School in November 2021 resumes Tuesday in the Oakland County Courthouse.

The only issue to be decided from the hearing is whether Crumbley is eligible to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole  or whether he will be eligible for release one day.

Oakland County District Judge Kwame Rowe will decide Crumbley's fate after the hearing, which is mandated by a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Miller v. Alabama that juvenile murderers may not be automatically sentenced to life without parole without a hearing. The hearings, such as Crumbley's, are called Miller hearings.

Rowe is expected to issue a written ruling shortly after the hearing and will schedule formal sentencing after that.

Ethan Crumbley talks with attorney Amy Hopp in court on Friday, July 28, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. Prosecutors are making their case that the Michigan teenager should be sentenced to life in prison for killing four students at his high school in 2021. Prosecutors introduced dark journal entries written by Ethan Crumbley, plus chilling video and testimony from a wounded staff member.

Stories of trauma from survivors; Crumbley's disturbing writing

Testimony and evidence offered during the first two days of the hearing, Thursday and Friday, was emotional and often deeply disturbing.

The first public showing of video from Oxford High School as Crumbley killed four fellow students and wounded seven other people.

A video Crumbley made before the shooting in which he explained that he needed to show the school and his classmates a lesson. "Theres no voices in my head," he said in the video. "The voices are me ... thats what people call the demons. There are no demons. I am the demon."

Another video in which he tortured and killed a baby bird and text messages in which he said he wanted to kill another bird and wanted to rape and kill a classmate.

Text messages and journal entries in which Crumbley said he needed help but his parents wouldn't get it for him.

Molly Darnell, the only teacher injured in the rampage, described locking eyes with Crumbley before he shot her in the left shoulder. Wounded, she barricaded herself and texted her husband: I love you. Active shooter.

Student survivors testified Friday, describing helping wounded classmates and, in one case, hiding in a bathroom with another student and witnessing Crumbley shoot to death Justin Shilling, his last victim.

Assistant Principal Kristy Gibson-Marshall, broke down in tears as she talked about how she tried to save Tate Myres life in the hallway. Blood "was all over me, she testified. It took me months to get the taste of blood out of my mouth. She also described her disbelief in seeing that the shooter was Crumbley, whom she has known since he was in elementary school. It couldnt be Ethan. He wouldnt do that, she recalled thinking. He ignored her when she asked him if he was OK.

Psychiatrists testified for the defense Friday that Crumbley is not psychotic and could be rehabilitated if he chose to be.

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Educator Molly Darnell describes where she was shot by Ethan Crumbley during a hearing on Thursday, July 27, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. Oakland County judge Kwame Rowe is hearing evidence starting Thursday to help him decide whether the teen who killed four students and injured six others and a teacher in November 2021 at Oxford High School should be sentenced to prison without the chance of parole.

Crumbley pleaded guilty to all charges against him. His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, are jailed on involuntary manslaughter charges, the first parents in America charged in a school shooting. They bought him the gun used in the shooting on Nov. 21, 2021, as an early Christmas present. Their appeal to have the charges against them struck down is pending before the Michigan Supreme Court.

The students killed in Ethan Crumbley's rampage were Tate Myre, 16; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17.

Oxford High School students Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Tate Myre, 16, at top, and Justin Shilling, 17, and Hana St. Juliana, 14, were killed in a school shooting on Nov. 30.

Support for the community

The Oxford Resiliency Center, a program of Common Ground, has extended its hours through Tuesday to provide support for the community because of the traumatic nature of the hearing. The center has added support staff and has therapy dogs on-site. The center, open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., is at 1370 S. Lapeer Road in Oxford. The phone number is 248-653-5511. More information: www.allforoxford.org

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Hearing on Ethan Crumbley's fate resumes Tuesday in Oxford shooting
The Pennsylvania State Police Bomb Squad Thursday had to dispose of a training hand grenade found in Coleman Memorial Park.

What we know

On July 27, a resident contacted Lebanon City Police informed them of a training hand grenade that had been modified into an improvised explosive device.

"The resident reported that on July 26th, he found the device while walking in Coleman Memorial Park," officials said in a release Friday. "The resident and police returned to the location where the device had been found. Police searched the area and were unable to locate additional devices or any other evidence."

Police officers contacted the state police bomb squad, who took possession of the device for disposal. Police believe because of the device type, condition and where it was located that it was most likely discarded and not placed in a targeted location.

"The Lebanon City Police Department believes this is an isolated incident and there is no danger to the public," police said in the release. "They are informing the public of the incident to educate them on suspicious devices and the proper action to take. Please, do no not touch or disturb any suspicious items or devices they may encounter."

Contact police

Anyone with information about a suspicious item is asked to contact the Lebanon City Police Department at 717-272-6611.

Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on Twitter at @DAMattToth.

Albiery Lugo-Reyes: High-speed chase of stolen Maserati began in York County, ended in Lebanon County crash

Jubilee Ministries: Residents urge N. Lebanon officials to reject Jubilee Ministries' parolee housing plans

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Hand grenade found in Lebanon Pa.'s Coleman Memorial Park
WASHINGTON, D.C.  Here's a look at how area members of Congress voted July 21 through July 27:

House

House Vote 1:SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS: The House has rejected the Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act (H.R. 1338), sponsored by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. The bill would have created a new system at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for licensing commercial satellite communications networks. The vote, on July 25, was 250 yeas to 163 nays, with a two-thirds majority required for approval.YEAS: Jim Jordan R-OH (4th), Bob Latta R-OH (5th)

House Vote 2:CHEMICAL FACILITIES AND TERRORISM: The House has passed the Protecting and Securing Chemical Facilities from Terrorist Attacks Act (H.R. 4470), sponsored by Rep. Laurel M. Lee, R-Fla., to reauthorize, through fiscal 2025, the Homeland Security Department's Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards program. The vote, on July 25, was 409 yeas to 1 nay.YEAS: Jordan R-OH (4th), Latta R-OH (5th)

House Vote 3:REPAIRING WEST POINT DAMAGE: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Patrick Ryan, D-N.Y., to the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 4366), that would shift $103 million of military construction spending to cover repairs following flooding damage earlier this month at the Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. The vote, on July 26, was 394 yeas to 19 nays.YEAS: Jordan R-OH (4th), Latta R-OH (5th)

House Vote 4:FIREARMS BACKGROUND CHECKS: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., to the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 4366). The amendment would bar funding for the Veterans Affairs Department to add a veteran's name to the Justice Department's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) for firearms purchases if the veteran has assistance from a fiduciary. The vote, on July 26, was 228 yeas to 206 nays.YEAS: Jordan R-OH (4th), Latta R-OH (5th)

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Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH) prepares to gavel in the committee before Christopher Wray, Director of the FBI, testifies in front of the House Judiciary Committee in Washington on Wednesday, July 12, 2023

House Vote 5:MASK MANDATES AND THE VA: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont, to the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 4366) that would bar funding for the imposition of mask mandates related to COVID. The vote, on July 26, was 223 yeas to 211 nays.YEAS: Jordan R-OH (4th), Latta R-OH (5th)

House Vote 6:CLEAN ENERGY AND THE MILITARY: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., to the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 4366), that would bar funding for adopting a President Biden executive order for developing clean energy industries. The vote, on July 26, was 222 yeas to 212 nays.YEAS: Jordan R-OH (4th), Latta R-OH (5th)

House Vote 7:SPENDING ON VA, MILITARY CONSTRUCTION: The House has passed the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations (H.R. 4366), sponsored by Rep. John R. Carter, R-Texas. The bill would provide fiscal 2024 funding for the Veterans Affairs Department and related agencies, as well as $17.5 billion for military construction programs. The vote, on July 27, was 219 yeas to 211 nays.YEAS: Jordan R-OH (4th), Latta R-OH (5th)

House Vote 8:LESSER PRAIRIE-CHICKEN RULE: The House has passed a resolution (S.J. Res. 9), sponsored by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., to disapprove of and void a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule putting populations of the lesser prairie-chicken on threatened and endangered species lists, with accompanying environmental regulations for chicken habitat. The vote, on July 27, was 221 yeas to 206 nays.YEAS: Jordan R-OH (4th), Latta R-OH (5th)

House Vote 9:LONG-EARED BAT: The House has passed a resolution (S.J. Res. 24), sponsored by Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to disapprove of and void a Fish and Wildlife Service rule listing the northern long-eared bat as an endangered species. The vote, on July 27, was 220 yeas to 209 nays.YEAS: Jordan R-OH (4th), Latta R-OH (5th)

Senate

Senate Vote 1:NATIONAL SECURITY AND U.S. ADVERSARIES: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2226) that would create a Treasury Department program requiring U.S. companies to notify Treasury of their planned investments in national security technology sectors in China and other countries considered to be "of concern" to the U.S. The vote, on July 25, was 91 yeas to 6 nays.YEAS: Sherrod Brown D-OH, J.D. Vance R-OH

Senate Vote 2:FARMLAND SALES: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., to the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2226), to place the Agriculture Secretary on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and have the Committee bar China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran from purchasing U.S. farm land and agricultural businesses. The vote, on July 25, was 91 yeas to 7 nays.YEAS: Brown D-OH, Vance R-OH

Senate Vote 3:DEBT AND MILITARY MEMBERS: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., to the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2226), to increase protections given to members of the military against harassment by debt collectors. The vote, on July 26, was 95 yeas to 2 nays.YEAS: Brown D-OH, Vance R-OH

Senate Vote 4:AUDITING AID TO UKRAINE: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., to the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2226), that would have established an Office of the Lead Inspector General for Ukraine Assistance. The vote, on July 26, was 51 yeas to 48 nays, with a three-fifths majority required for approval.NAYS: Brown D-OHYEAS: Vance R-OH

U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) speaking at a Lincoln Day dinner in rural Clyde, Ohio.

Senate Vote 5:FLAGS AT GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., to the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2226), that would have put restrictions on the display of any flag other than the U.S. flag, or flags representing other government entities, at government buildings. The vote, on July 27, was 50 yeas to 49 nays, with a three-fifths majority required for approval.NAYS: Brown D-OHYEAS: Vance R-OH

Senate Vote 6:FOREIGN AID CONDITIONS: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., to the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2226), that would have blocked the provision of special drawing rights aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to countries deemed to be perpetrators of genocide or sponsors of terrorism. The vote, on July 27, was 51 yeas to 47 nays, with a three-fifths majority required for approval.NAYS: Brown D-OHYEAS: Vance R-OH

Senate Vote 7:9/11 HEALTH CARE FUNDING: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., to the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2226), that would amend an existing law to increase funding for a program for treating victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The vote, on July 27, was 94 yeas to 4 nays.YEAS: Brown D-OH, Vance R-OH

Senate Vote 8:2024 MILITARY SPENDING: The Senate has passed the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2226), sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. The bill would authorize about $845 billion of fiscal 2024 spending at the Defense Department, military construction programs, and $32 billion of spending on military-related programs at the Energy Department. The vote, on July 27, was 86 yeas to 11 nays.YEAS: Brown D-OHNAYS: Vance R-OH

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Votes cast by area members of Congress July 21-27
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

No one is trying to put Hunter Bidens former business partner behind bars before he can testify in front of a key House committee on Mondaybut that hasnt stopped some Republicans from speculating wildly about the situation following a development in an unrelated court case.

The strange saga began on Saturday when the Department of Justice sent an administrative request to a Manhattan judge asking her to set a date for Devon Archer to report to prison in a case entirely unrelated to his role as Bidens buddy and longtime international business partner. (Last year, Archer was sentenced to serve a year and a day in prison after being convicted on felony charges of defrauding a Native American tribe. Biden was not implicated in the scheme.)

The requestpenned by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New Yorkcame two days before Archer is expected to sit for closed-door testimony with the House Oversight Committee. As Republicans continue to expand their inquiry into Hunter Biden, Archer is expected to provide details related to the presidents sons business dealings in Ukraine, sources told ABC News this week.

The timing of the letter struck some Republicans as odd, in the words of House Oversight Committee James Comer (R-KY). He made the comments during an appearance on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures, accusing the Biden legal team of coordinating with the Justice Department and Democrats to intimidate our witnesses.

This is obstruction of justice, he charged.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) similarly raged against the letter, tweeting that the DOJ is now actively committing the crime of obstructing a congressional investigation.

The comments sparked a round of breathless coverage across conservative media outlets, many of which alleged that the DOJ wanted to jail Archer before his testimony.

However, Archer was never expected to report to prison before the meeting with the House committee, as the court is highly unlikely to make a decision before Monday. Dave Aronberg, the Palm Beach County state attorney, told Newsweek that such letters were common among federal prosecutors.

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As for the timing, I wouldnt buy the conspiracy theories, because theres no chance that Archer would have to report to prison before his meeting with the congressional committee, Aronberg added.

In a statement to Politico on Sunday, Archers own attorney stringently denied any link between the meeting and the timing of the Justice Department letter, and said that his client was still planning to testify before the committee.

We are aware of speculation that the Department of Justices weekend request to have Mr. Archer report to prison is an attempt by the Biden administration to intimidate him in advance of his meeting with the House Oversight Committee, lawyer Matthew Schwartz said.

To be clear, Mr. Archer does not agree with that speculation, he continued. In any case, Mr. Archer will do what he has planned to do all along, which is to show up on Monday and to honestly answer the questions that are put to him by the Congressional investigators.

The timing of the letter appears to more closely correspond with an appeals courts decision last Tuesday to uphold Archers sentence. His attorneys previously argued that it was premature to set a sentencing date for him before the appeals process could fully play out, according to the Justice Departments letter.

The Justice Department, for its part, echoed the sentiments and rejected the idea that it was asking Archer to surrender before his Congressional testimony.

In a Sunday letter to Judge Abrams obtained by The Daily Beast, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams wrote, As the Court knows, to surrender and commence his sentence of imprisonment, the defendant first must be designated to a federal facility by the Bureau of Prisonsa process that can take several weeks or months after the Court sets a surrender date.

Nonetheless, Williams continued, for the avoidance of all doubt, the Government requests that any surrender date, should the Court order one, be scheduled to occur after the defendants Congressional testimony is completed.

Despite the evidence offered by both Archer and the DOJ, Gaetz still appeared poised to use the case as an excuse to continue threatening to haul federal prosecutors before the House Judiciary Committee, of which he is a member.

If Devin Archer isnt in the witness chair Monday, he thundered in a tweet, we better haul every SOB at the DOJ before congress EVERY DAY to make them pay for this.

The Florida Republican even suggested that he may move to end Congresss summer recess early over the matter, adding, Lmk - Ill come back to Washington tomorrow to do this.

Several other Republicans on the Judiciary Committee subsequently chimed in to back Gaetz, including Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), and Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY).

Also quick to volunteer was Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL), whowhile not on the Judiciary Committeesaid, Count me in @mattgaetz. Anything I can do to support.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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MADISON  A Waukesha County judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to halt the counting of absentee military ballots cast in the 2022 midterm elections, but agreed with plaintiffs that the Wisconsin Elections Commission should offer more guidance for military voters.

The lawsuit, filed by state Rep. Janel Brandtjen and Concerned Veterans of Waukesha County in November of last year, came after three military absentee ballots arrived at Brandtjen's home in the names of voters who do not exist. A Milwaukee election official was fired and criminally charged with requesting the ballots using fake names and having them sent to Brandtjen's Menomonee Falls home.

Former Milwaukee Election Commission Deputy Director Kimberly Zapata was charged last fall with misconduct in public office, a felony, and three misdemeanor counts of making a false statement to obtain an absentee ballot.

Brandtjen and the veterans group had sought to block the immediate counting of all military absentee ballots cast in the November election until they could be verified with current lists of military voters, a request Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Maxwell denied at the time. On Friday, Maxwell dismissed the case.

In order to properly file such a lawsuit, Maxwell ruled, the plaintiffs would need to bring a complaint against an "elections official," not the state's elections commission.

"The Plaintiffs should not have brought suit against WEC in order to have a successful  claim, rather they should have brought suit against the clerk or other election official that they believe either acted improperly or failed to act properly," Maxwell wrote. "Had there been 'an elections official' listed as a Defendant, the people of this County and this State might know if the important safeguards of (state law) are being adhered to. That answer will have to wait for another day."

In his ruling, Maxwell said he agreed that WEC should provide more guidance to local election officials on how to use military ballot lists, but the court does not have the authority to issue such a requirement.

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In May, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a slate of election-related proposals designed to address issues raised following the 2020 presidential election. Included in those measures is a bill that would require voters in the U.S. military to provide their federal Department of Defense number on an application to receive an absentee ballot. Local clerks would be required to verify the voters military service with the state Department of Military Affairs.

The voter would also be required to complete a consent for release of information form provided by the clerk and approved by the federal Department of Defense. If the clerk was unable to confirm the DOD number before an election, the ballot would be considered provisional. If the clerk could not confirm the number before 4 p.m. on the Friday following an election, the ballot would not be counted.

A military voter who had not moved also would be required to provide his or her DOD number at least once every six years to keep receiving absentee ballots.

The bill was introduced by Reps. Shae Sortwell, R-Two Rivers, and Sylvia Ortiz-Valez, D-Milwaukee; and Sens. Rachael Cabral-Guevara, R-Appleton, and Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee. It has not advanced beyond a public hearing held last month.

Laura Schulte, Molly Beck and Alison Dirr of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this story.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin judge dismisses lawsuit over military absentee ballots
[Source]

Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh has confirmed her marriage with former Ferrari CEO Jean Todt by sharing wedding photos on Instagram over the weekend.

The wedding post: Yeoh, 60, and her longtime partner Todt, 77, got married on July 27 in Geneva, Switzerland, after a 19-year engagement.

On Instagram, the Malaysian actress shared romantic photos from their special day, including a photo of the pair exchanging rings and another of them cuddling in a bed decorated with white and purple flower petals in the shape of a heart. Yeoh celebrated the occasion and expressed gratitude for their friends and families.

19 years and YES!! We are married!! Thkq to our families who love us for all these years. We love you and heres to many more to come, Yeoh wrote.

More from NextShark: OMEGA X announce lawsuit victory against their label

Yeoh also included a photo of Todts gift: a James Bond-themed movie poster titled Love Never Dies, wherein Todt and Yeohs faces have been edited onto a couple riding a motorcycle.

Along with the 007 logo, the poster listed the apparent film as a Jean Todt and Michelle Yeoh production with a release date of Thursday July 27, 2023, referring to their wedding date.

More from NextShark: Taiwanese singer Angela Chang says her mother stole her $3.4 million in savings

Revealing the marriage: Former Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa was the first to break the news of Yeoh and Todt's wedding on Instagram last week. He shared photos of the couples wedding ceremony, three of which featured Yeohs Oscar statue, which she previously won for her lead role in Everything Everywhere All at Once.

About the couple: Yeoh and Todt reportedly met at a Ferrari event in Shanghai on June 4, 2004. Todt, a former CEO of Ferrari and a former president of the Federation Internationale de lAutomobile, currently serves as the United Nations Secretary Generals special envoy for road safety.

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The couple owns an 18th century mansion in Geneva, where they reside, and properties in Malaysia, Paris and Hong Kong.

In a 2014 interview with the Daily Mail, Todt admitted to learning how to use a computer to woo Yeoh.

I dont use a computer. I dont know how to, Todt said. I wanted to communicate with my wife, in fact. So I spoke to Michael Schumacher. We were together. He said send an SMS. I said I dont know how to send one. So he was the one who taught me.
CLINTON, Iowa  Former Vice President Mike Pence said he would encourage Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to "take another look" at controversial new state guidelines for how to teach about slavery in schools.

Teachers, civil rights leaders and others have criticized DeSantis for the curriculum, which now requires Florida teachers to instruct middle-school students that enslaved people developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.

"Slavery was evil and nothing good ever came from slavery," Pence told reporters in Clinton Sunday evening. "But I have a hard time believing that Florida intended to say anything other than that in their education standards. And Id encourage the governor to take another look at it."

More: 2024 candidates are tiptoeing around Trump indictments. Iowa GOP Lincoln Dinner shows why.

DeSantis, who like Pence is seeking the Republican nomination for president, has received criticism from across the political spectrum over the curriculum.

Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Florida last week to condemn the new educational standards.

And U.S. Sen Tim Scott, who is also seeking the Republican presidential nomination, criticized DeSantis over the standards, saying "there's no silver lining to slavery."

More: Tim Scott touts Iowa school vouchers, says 'there's no silver lining to slavery'

DeSantis told a crowd of Iowa Republicans at the party's annual Lincoln Dinner on Friday that "I'm not budging an inch."

"We have beaten the left's agenda in the state of Florida, so she thinks she can come down and lie about what we're doing," DeSantis said of Harris. "I'm not budging an inch. We are going to fight back against these people, and we are not letting them take over our schools any longer."

DeSantis also said pushed back against his Republican critics, saying "D.C. Republicans all too often accept false narratives  accept lies that are perpetrated by the left."

Story continues

More: 13 GOP presidential candidates make their pitch at Iowa Lincoln Dinner. What they said:

Pence pointed out that the Republican Party is the party of Lincoln.

"We went through a bloody Civil War; 600,000 Americans fell to end the scourge of slavery in this country," Pence said. "We still bear the scars in many ways in this country, but weve made incredible progress toward a more perfect union."

Pence's comments to reporters came after he spoke to a crowd of about 300 at the Clinton County GOP Hog Roast, the final stop on a three-day campaign swing through Iowa.

More: Mike Pence defends call to again ban transgender Americans from military service

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Mike Pence says Ron DeSantis should reconsider Florida slavery teaching
Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum (R) met Chad's Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno (L) at the presidential palace in Niamey

Niger's ousted president has been seen for the first time since the military detained him in a coup last week.

Mohamed Bazoum met Chad's leader, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, in Niger's capital, Niamey.

Mr Deby, who also met the coup leaders, is spearheading mediation efforts after West African leaders gave Niger's military seven days to give up power.

The junta accused the ousted government of authorising France to carry out an attack to try to free Mr Bazoum.

Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani, the head of the presidential guards unit, declared himself Niger's new ruler on Friday.

Mr Deby said his mediation effort was aimed at finding a "peaceful solution to the crisis which is shaking" Niger, which borders Chad.

He did not give details, but his office released a photo of him sitting next to a smiling Mr Bazoum.

Mr Deby was himself put in power by the army after his father was killed fighting rebel forces in 2021.

He was sent to Niger by leaders of the West African regional bloc, Ecowas. On Sunday they gave the junta a week to reinstate the elected president, who has been confined to the presidential palace in Niamey.

The regional bloc would "take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order" if its demands were not met. "Such measures may include the use of force," a statement added.

The junta has not commented on the demands, but it has vowed to defend Niger from any "aggression" by regional or Western powers. It has accused former colonial power France of planning military intervention.

On Monday, Col Amadou Abdramane, one of the coup leaders, said the toppled government had authorised France, Niger's former colonial power, to attack the presidential palace to try to free Mr Bazoum.

France did not confirm or deny the claim. In a statement quoted by Reuters news agency, the French foreign ministry said the only authority it recognised in Niger was President Bazoum's.

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France and the US both have military bases in Niger.

Also on Monday, Mr Bazoum's party said six of its senior figures were among 130 of its members arrested by the junta since Sunday.

The six include four members of the ousted cabinet, a former minister and the party leader, the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS) said.

The coup has prompted concern that Niger, a key Western ally in the fight against jihadist groups in West Africa, could pivot towards Russia.

Neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali have both moved away from France, and towards Russia, after staging their own coups in recent years.

On Sunday, protesters outside the French embassy in Niamey chanted "Long live Russia", "Long live Putin" and "Down with France".

They also set fire to the walls of the embassy compound.

France would not tolerate any attack on its interests in Niger, and would respond in an "immediate and intractable manner", President Emmanuel Macron's office said.

Correction: This article has been amended to remove a reference to the junta stopping uranium exports to France
KITTERY, Maine  An arrest involving the FBI occurred in town last week, though authorities did not immediately identify the suspect or charges against them.

Kristen Setera, spokesperson for the FBIs Boston location, said the agency and its law enforcement partners completed court authorized activity in Kittery but did not detail the investigation and arrest.

There is no threat to public safety, she said.

Kittery Police Chief Robert Richter confirmed a person was arrested Friday, July 28 on a warrant out of Massachusetts. The arrest was conducted by police from Kittery in consultation with an undisclosed police department in Massachusetts, the FBI and Massachusetts State Police.

Authorities says there is no threat to the public after a July 28, 2023 arrest involving the FBI in Kittery, Maine.

Authorities did not disclose the exact location of the arrest, nor address questions about the identity of the charged individual or where in Kittery the apprehension occurred.

More local news: Driver indicted for Portsmouth Thanksgiving crash that took Drew Ceppetelli's life at 21

The case remains under investigation, Richter said.

Massachusetts State Police did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kittery ME police: FBI involved in arrest of Mass. crime suspect
HOPEWELL  Authorities are searching for the man they believe tried to elude Prince George Police and wound up crashing into a car in Hopewell early Saturday morning, killing the driver.

Andre Bassette, 45, of Jacksonville, Florida, died at TriCities Hospital in Hopewell where he was taken after the 12:25 a.m. crash at the intersection of Oaklawn Boulevard and Ashland Street, according to an email from Virginia State Police who are investigating the crash. A pick-up truck fleeing from Prince George Police ran the traffic light at the intersection and slammed into a Toyota Camry.

The impact of the collision caused the Camry to spin out of control and crash into the signal pole.

State police said the driver of the pick-up ran away from the scene and has not yet been found.

Bassette, the driver of the Camry, was wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision.

Prince George Police have confirmed that the chase began after an attempted traffic stop but have yet to release where the pursuit began in the county.

Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the crash or been in the area at that time to come forward with information. That info can be shared by calling (804) 609-5656, hitting #77 on a mobile phone or emailing questions@vsp.virginia.gov.

More: Florida man dies in Hopewell crash following police pursuit in Prince George County

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Pick-up truck running from cops crashes in Hopewell
Criminals broke into mail collection boxes at several local post offices in York County on a recent weekend, according to the United States Postal Inspector.

Postal inspectors, along with local law enforcement partners, are investigating the break-ins at the following post offices: Felton, East York, Shrewsbury and Windsor, said Christiana M. Kasian, postal inspector for the Philadelphia Division.

"The investigation is ongoing, and no arrests have been made," Kasian said.

When the break-ins to mail collection boxes occurred

Authorities say the break-ins at the four post offices happened late on July 23 into the early morning hours of July 24.

Southern Regional Police said someone pried open the outside mailbox at the Shrewsbury post office sometime between noon on July 22 and 6:30 a.m. July 24.

"If you dropped mail in that date and time range, the mail was most likely stolen," police said in the news release.

Anyone with information may contact police at (717) 235-3944.

The mail collection box at the Shrewsbury post office has been removed.

Springettsbury Township Police referred questions to the United States Postal Inspection Service.

The postal inspection service will not know whether mail was stolen until it receives victim complaints or reports, Kasian said.

"It is imperative for victims/witnesses to report mail-related crimes," Kasian said.

New restaurant in York County: I didn't fear the reaper at Dave's Hot Chicken, but it's all heat and not much flavor

U.S. Postal Service installing high-security collection boxes

The U.S. Postal Service is taking steps to reduce a surge in robberies and mail thefts, including replacing antiquated keys and installing thousands of high-security collection boxes, the Associated Press reported in May.

Nationwide, 12,000 hardened blue collection boxes will be placed in high-risk areas, the Postal Service and the Postal Inspection Service said at the time.

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Were doubling down on our efforts to protect our postal employees and the security of the mail. We are hardening targets  both physical and digital  to make them less desirable to thieves and working with our law enforcement partners to bring perpetrators to justice, Postal Inspection Service Chief Gary Barksdale said in a statement.

The postal service reported 38,500 thefts of mail from blue collection boxes in the 2022 fiscal year.

Criminals target the mail, often in an organized fashion, to commit financial crimes, such as altering checks to commit fraud, officials said. They face steep federal penalities if convicted.

Tips to help prevent mail theft, fraud and more

The United States Postal Service offers the following tips to help prevent mail fraud and robberies of mail carriers:

Don't let incoming or outgoing mail sit in your mailbox. Remove your mail daily.

Drop off your mail inside your local post office or at your place of business or hand it directly to your mail carrier.

Sign up for Informed Delivery and receive notifications about your mail and packages that will be arriving soon.

Become engaged in your neighborhood through watches and local social media groups to spread awareness and share information.

Keep an eye out for your letter carrier. If you see something that looks suspicious, or you see someone following your carrier, call 911.

How to report mail-related crimes

Victims or witnesses of mail-related crimes should file a report with local police as well as the United States Postal Inspection Service at uspis.gov or by calling 1-877-876-2455.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Break-ins to mail collection boxes reported at York County post offices
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Fifty-seven asylum seekers  men, women and children from Guatemala, Brazil, India and Guinea  climbed off a bus at the Welcome Center one recent morning. The former school in Phoenix has expanded over the past four years into one of the busiest and most sophisticated migrant shelters along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Since the once-vacant building reopened in 2019 as a migrant shelter, more than 105,000 asylum seekers from 84 countries have passed through the same glass doors students entered.

The staggering number, including some 16,000 so far this year, reflects the record number of migrants arriving at the southern U.S. border in recent years seeking asylum.

Asylum seekers are often released in cities and towns in Arizona and other border states by federal immigration and border authorities. The releases are due to overcrowded Border Patrol facilities, a lack of detention space, legal agreements to protect children and laws that give people fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries the right to seek asylum in the U.S.

But the releases have often generated disorder, as communities strain to provide shelter and humanitarian assistance to a crush of asylum seekers amid a mounting homelessness crisis.

Circumvention of Lawful Pathways: Inside the federal judge's decision to reject Biden's asylum restrictions at the border

The Welcome Center, however, has played a key role in turning Arizona into a model for providing temporary shelter to asylum seekers released by federal authorities in a safe and orderly manner.

Buses arrive several times a day, seven days a week, bringing between 100 and 300 asylum seekers daily. Some come directly from Border Patrol stations or Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities. Others are arriving from shelters in Yuma and Tucson, which send asylum seekers to the Welcome Center in Phoenix to alleviate overcrowding in cities closer to the border. The center is run by the International Rescue Committee, a nonprofit that helps asylum seekers, refugees and other immigrants resettle in the U.S.

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Most asylum seekers are only passing through Arizona after crossing the border and turning themselves over to U.S. authorities. They leave the Welcome Center within a day or two to travel by plane or bus to other states, where they have relatives or sponsors.

Despite all the activity, most people are unaware the Welcome Center exists. Even when arrivals spiked briefly in May during the end of Title 42 border restrictions, the center continued to house asylum seekers without a glitch. That is evidence the center has accomplished its mission: creating a large centralized location to temporarily house asylum seekers and avoid the chaos and strain that used to play out regularly when asylum seekers were released in Phoenix and other cities in Arizona.

The Welcome Center has provided more capacity and coordination for a safer process for migrants while helping to reduce the burden on Arizonas smaller border towns and communities that dont have the resources or services, said Luis Heredia, state director for U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.

Chaos at Phoenix bus depot replaced by coordinated Welcome Center

Before the center opened in July 2019, federal authorities used to release busloads of asylum seekers at the Phoenix bus depot day and night, leaving them to fend for themselves.

Scenes of families sleeping on the floor with children, many sick with colds and respiratory illnesses caught during their long journeys, or wandering on neighboring streets begging for food, became commonplace from 2014 to 2018.

The releases created a political firestorm, drawing the ire of local and state elected officials, while humanitarian groups rushed in to deliver boxes of food, water, diapers and other supplies, turning the bus depot into a scene that resembled a refugee camp.

The disorder and confusion at the bus station mostly ended when a network of working-class Hispanic churches stepped forward in 2018, opening their doors to feed and house asylum seekers released by federal authorities.

But that effort quickly proved unsustainable. Aiding asylum seekers strained the resources of congregations. The congregations also became fearful after armed members of anti-immigrant groups began showing up, hurling accusations that the churches were facilitating illegal immigration.

Then the Welcome Center opened on July 27, 2019  a collaboration between the International Rescue Committee, which provided resources, logistics and organizational skills, and grassroots groups such as the Phoenix Restoration Project, which provided the workforce.

The center's lack of visibility is by design. The International Rescue Committee has intentionally kept a low profile to avoid attracting the same kind of unwanted attention that plagued some local churches targeted by anti-immigrant groups that showed up to harass and intimate asylum seekers and volunteers.

There are no signs that identify the center. The building is hidden from view by a chain link fence with screening and fortified with a surveillance system and heavy locking gates. Buses enter through a rear gate, allowing asylum seekers to get off without being seen from the street. Even so, at least once someone has fired shots at the building, prompting staff to contact police, who can be seen patrolling the area.

"We have had some safety incidents," said Stanford Prescott, the senior communications officer for The International Rescue Committee, noting that no one was hurt. That is why "we are very serious about our safety. It's because there are these real threats out there."

From aid volunteer to running a major operation

Beth Strano used to collect water and prepare sandwiches to pass out to asylum seekers at the bus depot as a Phoenix Restoration Project volunteer. She now co-runs the Welcome Center. She is one of about 10 former volunteers hired by the International Rescue Committee to staff the center.

"Every single day and every single night, families ... were being released on a 24-hour schedule" at the bus station, Strano recalled. "The state of toddlers getting off the busses was horrifying. You know, no shoes, just wearing a diaper and kids hadn't eaten for days. It was very, very rough."

But the community responded, Strano said.

"We started to build systems that worked to help support people. We started to build relationships as grassroots groups with (the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) to coordinate when they had larger releases," she said. "And it built the foundation for us to come in and build something that could support everybody."

The center employs a staff of over 30 people. The bulk of the center's funding comes from federal emergency funding allocations to help communities provide aid to asylum seekers. The rest comes from private donations, Strano said. The center has received nearly $9.9 million in public and private funding in 2023. That includes more than $6.4 million through the Emergency Food and Shelter Program and nearly $2 million through the Shelter and Services Program, both administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. There's also been almost $800,000 in other public funding. The center rents the building, which had been vacant for years, from the Phoenix Elementary School District.

By providing humanitarian assistance to asylum seekers, the Welcome Center reduces costs that used to be incurred by other local aid groups and medical facilities, Strano said. The shelter also prevents asylum seekers from winding up on the streets and adding to the state's population of unhoused people, she said.

Your questions, answered: What does it mean to seek asylum in the US?

"The cost savings alone from folks not ending up in the emergency room and instead going through a medical clinic, not ending up at the Greyhound station and ending up as long-term homeless here, that's a huge savings to the entire community," Strano said.

Massive facility helps asylum seekers get ready for more travel

The center opened with just a few old classrooms converted into dormitories capable of housing about 80 people. The 55,000-square-foot building has since been completely renovated into full-scale migrant shelter, as a recent tour showed.

The facility now has the capacity to house 340 people.

It is equipped with a clinic where medical professionals conduct health screenings, provide vaccines and dispense medication.

The building also has showers and sleeping quarters with cots for families and single adults. There is also a baby playroom and a children's playroom stocked with games and toys.

"When you think about the journeys the families have been on, it can take weeks or months to get to this point," Strano said. "They may not have had a lot of spaces where babies and toddlers have had a safe space to crawl or put things in their mouths.  So we want to give them that time to be able to relax and let their baby play in a safe space."

Beth Strano, asylum seekers and families engagement manager, shows the clothing storage room at the Welcome Center in Phoenix on July 12, 2023. The Welcome Center marks four years of providing shelter, food and other humanitarian assistance to asylum seekers released by federal immigration authorities. Some credit the center for eliminating the street releases of asylum seekers in the past and alleviating the strain placed on local churches that had stepped in to accommodate them.

There is also a prayer room to accommodate asylum seekers from various faith traditions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism.

There are rooms stocked with racks of donated clothing and boxes of shoes sorted by size. Asylum seekers can pick out items to replace the soiled or worn clothing they often arrive wearing. Asylum seekers are also given backpacks and personal hygiene supplies to take with them as they continue their journeys. Volunteers check paperwork, looking for errors and ensuring asylum seekers know when to check in with immigration authorities once they reach their final destinations.

Hot meals prepared in the former school's kitchen are served in a dining hall. The former school cafeteria also doubles as a living space.

On a recent morning, asylum seekers sat together at tables and charged phones. Others waited at a booth where volunteers armed with computers helped book airline tickets, typically paid for by asylum seekers' friends or relatives already in the U.S.

A television monitor looped a video explaining how to navigate the security and boarding process at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. A free shuttle transports asylum seekers there. Staff at the center coordinate with officials at the airport, Strano said.

Welcome Center persists despite ebbs and flows of asylum seekers

The Welcome Center opened in 2019 amid a lull in the number of asylum seekers arriving at the southern border, raising questions about the center's long-term need.

But the center was created for the long-term, said Aaron Rippenkroeger, executive director of the Phoenix office of the International Rescue Committee. The movement of asylum seekers ebbs and flows, depending on conditions that push people to flee their home countries, and factors that draw them to the U.S., he said.

The center received 8,500 asylum seekers in 2019. In 2020, the number fell to 6,000 after the pandemic forced migrants to stay home and the Trump administration implemented Title 42 border restrictions to quickly expel most asylum seekers.

But the number of asylum seekers released at the center soared to nearly 38,000 in 2021 and more than 49,000 in 2022 amid a record-breaking surge of people fleeing political turmoil, violence and poverty exacerbated by climate change and the pandemic.

Since May, the number of asylum seekers crossing the southern border has again plummeted, amid several factors, including the roll-out of an app that regulates the number of asylum seekers who can enter the U.S. at ports of entry, stepped-up enforcement by the Mexican government that blocks asylum seekers from reaching the U.S. and a range of new Biden administration policies aimed at deterring asylum seekers.

"It's a roller coaster. It feels like it's always been and it always will be," Rippenkroeger said. "If this center were to close, we could be thrust right back into the same situation we were in before. And that would be terrible."

Daniel Gonzalez covers race, equity and opportunity. Reach the reporter at daniel.gonzalez@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8312.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: The Welcome Center in Phoenix streamlines movement of asylum seekers
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This map issued Sunday, July 30, 2023, shows the Level 2 (get set) evacuation map for the Newell Road Fire in northern Klickitat County. The area is marked in yellow.
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Today

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 86F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 86F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.

Tomorrow

A mainly sunny sky. High 107F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Grindeanu anunta disponibilizari. 150 de oameni din Ministerul Transporturilor vor fi dati afara

Sorin Grindeanu anunta ca 150 de angajati din Ministerul Transporturilor vor fi dati afara. Eu am in jur de 150 de posturi vacante in minister, din 600  nu vorbesc de companii, () pe care le voi [citeste mai departe]
The opposition Jobbik-Conservatives have called for updating driving regulations in Hungary, and review the necessity of the zero tolerance against alcohol consumption, the party said.

The current regulations date back to the Soviet era and cannot be maintained in the 21s century, parliamentary group leader Laszlo Gyorgy Lukacs told a press conference.



Patrik Schwarcz-Kiefer, the politician responsible for motorists affairs, called for scrapping pointless 30km speed limits and focusing on enforcing more sensible limits.



He said speeding regulations should be modelled on the Austrian system, where the owner of the car is not obliged to reveal the person driving at the time of the misdemeanour but then must pay a higher fine.



As regards drinking and driving, the party proposes introducing the Croatian system, where the consumption of alcohol equivalent to the content of a glass of wine is permitted but prompts an aggregated sentence if the driver causes an accident under the influence, he said.
The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday reversed a Lincoln man's conviction and sentence for stabbing a Lincoln Police officer in a 2018 confrontation in his home that ended with him and another officer being shot by friendly fire.

Christopher Brennauer's case was sent back to Lancaster County District Court for a new trial.

And he is likely to remain, for now, at the Nebraska Reception & Treatment Center, where he has been serving a 57- to 79-year sentence.

It all has to do with the insanity defense and the instructions given to the jury at Brennauer's trial in 2021.

"At trial, Brennauers insanity defense presented a question of law that we have not previously considered: the effect of Nebraska Revised Statute 29-2203(4) on the insanity defense," according to the unanimous court.

The law at issue deals with the insanity defense, and the particular section with temporary insanity caused by voluntarily drinking, taking drugs or other "mentally debilitating substances."

The charges in Brennauers case are related to a single event on Dec. 29, 2018, arising from a 911 call from Brennauers girlfriend in which she said Brennauer was mentally ill and threatening to harm himself with a knife. When police tried to take him into emergency protective custody, he resisted, resulting in an officer receiving a stab wound and Brennauer receiving two gunshot wounds to his back.

Another officer also was shot by friendly fire and since has retired, citing the injury.

At trial, Brennauer's public defenders raised an insanity defense, arguing that officers, rather than deescalating the situation and getting help for a mentally ill man in crisis, rushed in, cornered him and quickly pointed Tasers and a gun at him.

Brennauer had a long history of mental illness that dated back to when he was 12. In 2003, he was found not responsible by reason of insanity for an attempted robbery and hospitalized at the Lincoln Regional Center until 2011. He was re-hospitalized in 2013 for failing to take his medications and for using illicit substances.

By 2018, he was out and using methamphetamine, alcohol and cannabis.

He had been on a waiting list for a residential program on Dec. 29, 2018.

At trial, experts on both sides agreed Brennauer had a history of mental illness but disagreed on the cause of his loss of memory about that night and whether he understood the nature and consequences of his actions or the difference between right and wrong at the time.

They also disagreed about whether Brennauer had been in a meth-induced psychosis.

In the end, the jury found him guilty of possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person, two counts of assault on an officer and use of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony.

The Lancaster County Public Defender's Office argued the state had "complicated the issue" presented to the jury by suggesting in closing arguments that the jury could not find Brennauer was insane if it found that his memory loss of the incident was due to his intoxication, which could not be ruled out completely.

The state contended the evidence undisputedly showed that Brennauers mental condition at the time was a temporary condition caused by his intoxication and, therefore, not a defense.

But the court said, under the states interpretation of the law, a successful insanity defense is precluded when any voluntary use of intoxicating substances led to the defendants lack of capacity.

That overlooks longstanding precedent, according to the opinion.

While temporary insanity caused by voluntary intoxication is not a complete defense to a crime, one may be both intoxicated and insane, the court said.

"To be punishable under such circumstances, the crime must take place and be the immediate result of a fit of intoxication, and not the result of insanity occasioned by previous bad habits," the judges said.

They said two of the instructions could have been confusing to jurors on the issue and sent it back for retrial.
New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that labeling Gyanvapi in Varanasi as a 'mosque complex' will only lead to controversy and that the Muslim side should accept its 'historical mistake', a remark that has invited criticism from All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi. In an interview with the news agency ANI, which was aired on Monday, Adityanath said that physical, scriptural, and other archaeological evidence inside the mosque should not be overlooked.

"If we call it a mosque, there will be a dispute. We should just call it Gyanvapi. I feel whoever has been blessed with sight by God, that person should see. What is a trishul (trident) doing inside a mosque? We did not put it there. There is security inside, there are Central forces, there is a jyotirlinga, and dev pratimas (idols)," Yogi Adityanath, who is also the head priest of Gorakhnath Mutt in Gorakhpur, told ANI Editor Smita Prakash.

The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said that you can 'twist' history but not the historic evidence that the walls of Gyanvapi are screaming and saying.



"I feel that a proposal should also come from the Muslim side accepting that there has been a historical mistake and that they should come up with a solution," he added.

Owaisi hits back at Adityanath's 'historical mistake' remark on Gyanvapi

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi hit back at UP CM Yogi Adityanath over his remarks on the Gyanvapi issue and termed it as a 'judicial overreach'. The Hyderabad MP said that despite knowing that the matter is sub-judice, the senior BJP leader was making such a controversial statement which is directly a judicial overreach.

"Chief Minister Yogi knows that the Muslim side has opposed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey in Allahabad High Court and the judgment will be given by the HC in a few days, still, he gave such a controversial statement, this is judicial overreach," Owaisi was quoted as saying by ANI.

"He should read about what Swami Vivekananda had said about a major temple in Odisha. He is a CM and he should follow the law... He is not willing to follow the law and wants to pressurize Muslims," he added.

This is just a part of BJP's communal politics, Owaisi said.

Gyanvapi row: Allahabad HC reserves verdict on ASI survey of mosque complex

Earlier last week, the Allahabad High Court on Thursday reserved till August 3 its verdict on a plea against a Varanasi district court order directing the Archaeological Survey of India to conduct a survey to determine if the Gyanvapi mosque was built upon a temple.

The court of Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker also ordered that the stay on the ASI survey will continue till August 3. The high court was hearing the plea filed by Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, which manages the mosque.

Appearing for the state of Uttar Pradesh, Advocate General Ajai Mishra said the state government is there to maintain law and order and that it has no concern with the survey.

The counsel for the Hindu side, Vishnu Shankar Jain, submitted that the district court had ordered for the ASI survey to come to a "logical conclusion regarding the existence of deities and nature and age of the structure". He also presented in the court some photographs of the western side of the mosque showing the existence of Hindu idols.

During the hearing, SFA Naqvi, who represented the mosque committee, submitted that the matter regarding the maintainability of a suit is pending before the Supreme Court, and if the apex court later rules that the suit is not maintainable, then the entire exercise will be futile.

Thus, a survey should be done after the top court's decision on the maintainability of the suit, Naqvi argued.

When the hearing started in the case, ASI Additional Director Alok Tripathi assured the court that the ASI is not going to do any digging at the structure.

The high court on Wednesday said that it would take up the matter at 3:30 pm on Thursday, but Chief Justice Diwaker started hearing the case 15 minutes in advance and reserved its order after hearing the arguments.

Earlier, Naqvi said, "Court cannot be used to collect evidence by sending a commission when the plaintiff had no evidence in support of his case."

Replying to this, the Hindu side's lawyer Jain said, "Existence and non-existence of deities is a matter of evidence. To secure evidence, which is there and parties are not in a position to produce themselves, the court can issue a commission to collect such evidence."

Naqvi told the court that the mosque committee has attached photographs of various digging equipment which the ASI team was carrying when it reached the mosque premises. "It shows that they had intentions of digging the spot," he argued.

On this, Chief Justice Diwaker said that though they were carrying equipment, it doesn't show they had intentions to dig.

Later, Tripathi, the ASI official, clarified that as the ASI team visited the mosque site for the first time, it carried some equipment to remove debris.

Jain also showed photographs of the western wall of the structure and said that there are various signs of the Hindu religion, including "Swastik", engraved on the wall.

"There are a number of Hindu artifacts on the wall and inside the mosque. It can be proved by expert opinion which can be given by ASI. Aurangzeb while demolishing the temple raised a superstructure on the remains of the old temple and it will be determined by the ASI survey," Jain said.

Citing various court orders, Jain said that a survey/commission can be ordered at any stage of the trial and a commission can be issued to collect evidence.

Advocate Punit Gupta appearing for UP Sunni Waqf Board argued that the application for an ASI survey was premature as even in the Ram Janmabhoomi case an order for an ASI survey was passed after recording oral evidence of the parties concerned. But, in the present case the oral evidence is not recorded yet, he said.
In Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly, the police carried out lathicharge on errant Kanwariyas who were adamant about taking out a procession via a Muslim majority area where a mosque was also located. According to reports, the Muslims were also opposed to the procession. While the police were trying to diffuse the tension, the Kanwariya group allegedly started playing loud DJ while insisting on continuing the procession. To control them, the police resorted to lathicharge. Following this, Senior Superintendent Of Police IPS Prabhakar Chaudhary has been transferred to 32 Police Commissonate in Lucknow. However, this is not new for IPS Chaudhary who has faced around 30 transfers since he joined the force in 2010.

IPS Prabhakar Chaudhary is known for following old-style policing that goes by the rulebook. He is against the encounter culture prevalent in Uttar Pradesh. IPS Chaudhary often faces the ire of the political leaders for not toeing their line and going by the rule book. He is also known for breaking away from the VIP culture and has often surprised people with his simplicity and unique style of carrying out surprise inspections.

Who Is IPS Prabhakar Chaudhary?



Prabhakar Chaudhary was born on 1 January 1984 in Uttar Pradesh's Ambedkar Nagar. He is a 2010 batch IPS officer. He studied LLB after doing BSc from Allahabad University. Chaudhary was interested in reading since childhood. He used to study for five to six hours daily. He got 76 per cent marks in high school and intermediate, then cleared BSC from Allahabad University with 61 per cent marks. Chaudhary cleared the prestigious civil services exam on his first attempt and became an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer.

Prabhakar Chaudhary has served the police department across the state including Ballia, Bulandshahr, Meerut, Varanasi and Kanpur. He is known for his strict discipline and crackdown on mafia and local gangs.

On the occasion of Independence Day last year, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had awarded IPS officer Prabhakar Chaudhary with the Chief Ministers police medal for his outstanding commitment and selfless public service.
Mumbai: In a momentous gathering, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar has expressed his confidence in the possibility of bringing about positive changes in Maharashtra, should his party, the Congress, and the Shiv Sena (UBT) decide to unite their efforts.

The NCP, Congress, and Shiv Sena (UBT) stand together as vital constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the state, presenting a formidable force for potential transformation.

Speaking at a captivating book launch event, where he was joined on stage by Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat, Pawar recalled the pivotal role previous governments played in preserving ancient art, culture, literature, and history.

However, the current state government's approach has proven to be challenging, making engagement difficult for the MVA partners. Nonetheless, Pawar remained optimistic, emphasizing that the three constituents, if they join forces, have the potential to effect meaningful change.

This momentous gathering marks the first occasion since the NCP's internal strife and split on July 2, triggered by Ajit Pawar's revolt. On that fateful day, Ajit Pawar, along with eight other NCP MLAs, aligned with the Eknath Shinde-BJP government in the state, creating significant political ripples.

With Sharad Pawar's vision and the potential collaboration of Maharashtra's influential political players, the state could be on the brink of a transformative era. The Maha Vikas Aghadi's unity and determination to address the challenges at hand could pave the way for a brighter future for the people of Maharashtra.

As the spotlight shines on this united front, Maharashtra's political landscape holds the promise of change and progress, as the coalition partners embark on a journey of collective decision-making and positive governance. The amalgamation of diverse perspectives and shared aspirations may well steer Maharashtra towards a brighter and more prosperous path.
France's finance minister said Sunday during a visit to Beijing that cutting all economic ties with China was "an illusion," as some Western countries question their reliance on the Asian giant.

"We are totally opposed to the idea of decoupling. Decoupling is an illusion," Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters at the French embassy. "There is no possibility of having any kind of decoupling between the American, European and Chinese economies."

Le Maire nonetheless defended France's ambition to become more economically independent in certain sectors. But, he added, the concept of de-risking, which has become a byword in the West in recent months, "does not mean that China is a risk."

"De-risking means that we want to be more independent... We don't want to realize, as we realized during the COVID crisis, that we have too much dependence on some very specific components," he added, citing microchips as one example.
Remi Lucidi aka Remi Enigma known for performing extreme stunts on highrise buildings and towers, died after falling off from the 68th floor of a residential building in Hong-Kong. 30-year-old French adventurer lost his life in a tragic incident when he was climbing the Tregunter Tower complex.

According to the media reports, officials in Hong Kong said that Lucidi visited the complex around 6 pm to meet a friend on the 40th floor however, the alleged friend said that he was not acquainted with Lucidi.





According to the officials, Lucidi was last seen alive at 7:38 pm and in the footage recovered from the security cameras of the complex Lucidi is seen on the 49th floor and then taking the stairs to the top of the building.

"The source  which has not been identified  said that police believe Lucidi was trapped outside of the penthouse and was banging on the window for help before the unfortunate accident," reported the New York Post.

Lucidi was pronounced dead at the scene and the Police are yet to issue an official cause of death. Lucidis fans took to social media to express their grief.
Cases of acute conjunctivitis has been steadily on the rise across the country. Commonly known as eye flu, many factors can contribute to this condition, including allergies or infections. These cause an inflammation of the conjunctiva. Some of the main reasons behind these allergies and infections are continuous rain, humidity and waterlogging. To curb the spread of conjunctivitis, the government has issued guidelines, and the Delhi Police has also stepped in with a unique advisory related to the condition. The department, known for its humour while raising awareness on social issues, has infused a Bollywood touch to approach people.

Delhi Polices Advisory For Conjunctivitis With Kala Chashma Twist

On Sunday, Delhi Police shared an Instagram post to advise people on wearing glasses to prevent the spread of conjunctivitis. The intriguing post had the mention of the popular Kala Chashma song to spread the message. The graphic shared by the department displayed an animated kala chashma with an intriguing text that read, To all those suffering from conjunctivitis, Tennu kala chashma jachda ae, jachda ae tere mukhde pe.



Sharing the graphic, the Delhi Police wrote, Please wear glasses to prevent the spread of conjunctivitis. Get well soon!

Notably, the song titled Kala chashma is from the film Baar Baar Dekho. It features Sidharth Malhotra and Katrina Kaif

Delhi Polices Post Gets Acknowledged

The fascinating post with a humorous touch has gone viral. It has amassed around 41K views along with hundreds of comments. A user acknowledged the unusual approach and efforts of the Delhi Police and wrote, I loved the creativity.

Another praised, Hatsoff to the creator.

An individual expressed concern saying, Memes apart, everyone please have a good medical eye -check up. Care for your eyes, and keep enjoying memes.

What Is Conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis, commonly known as pink eye, occurs due to inflammation or swelling of the conjunctiva  the white part of the eye responsible for lubrication. The incidence of this condition is not only rising in Delhi but in other states as well.
NEW DELHI: Renowned for his heart-stopping feats, Remi Lucidi, a 30-year-old French daredevil, has made headlines for his audacious endeavours in extreme sports. However, his death has left the world in shock and mourning.

The Tragic Fall: Climbing Tregunter Tower Complex Ends In Fatality





According to reports from the South China Morning Post, tragedy struck when Lucidi was attempting a daring climb at the Tregunter Tower complex in Hong Kong. While scaling the towering 68-story building, he tragically fell to his death. Lucidi was pronounced dead at the scene, marking a devastating end to his adventurous life.

Mysterious Circumstances: CCTV Footage Reveals Last Moments

The events leading to Lucidi's fatal fall remain shrouded in mystery. As per Hong Kong officials, he was spotted at the building around 6 pm, claiming to visit a friend on the 40th floor. However, upon verification, the alleged friend denied any acquaintance with Lucidi. Despite efforts to prevent him from proceeding, he managed to enter an elevator and continue his ascent.

CCTV footage captured Lucidi arriving on the 49th floor and later climbing the stairs towards the rooftop. However, the trail went cold as he seemingly vanished from sight. Astonishingly, at 7.38 pm, he was seen tapping on the window of the penthouse, prompting a concerned maid to alert the police.

Trapped outside the penthouse, Lucidi was desperately seeking help by knocking on the window before the unfortunate accident occurred, causing him to lose his balance and fall.

Police Investigation And Video Evidence

The police discovered Lucidi's camera at the scene, containing videos of his high-rise stunts, shedding light on his daring escapades. However, the official cause of death is yet to be released as the investigation continues.

The loss of Remi Lucidi has sent shockwaves through the world of extreme sports, as his daring spirit and fearlessness will be remembered by many. His legacy serves as a reminder of the risks and challenges that come with pushing the boundaries of human exploration and adventure.
Bhopal: The sensational wedding of Anju, a 34-year-old Indian mother of two children, to her Pakistani Facebook friend Nasrullah in a remote village in Pakistan, has left the nation stunned. Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra has now directed the state's police to probe the potential involvement of an "international conspiracy" in the entire affair.

Anju-Nasrullah Marriage Under Scanner





Anju, formerly from Rajasthan, converted to Islam and adopted the name Fatima after marrying her 29-year-old Pakistani friend Nasrullah on July 25. Nasrullah, who hails from the Upper Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, lives with his family.

Gifts And Land Plot For Anju After Her Conversion To Islam

The wedding took an astonishing turn when Anju received substantial monetary gifts and even a piece of land as tokens of appreciation for embracing the new religion. The couple had initially connected on Facebook back in 2019.

Adding to the intrigue, Mohsin Khan Abbasi, the chief executive officer of a real estate company in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, visited Anju and Nasrullah at their residence. During the visit, he presented Anju with an undisclosed amount of money in the form of a cheque and a land document, further deepening the mystery surrounding the situation.

Anju's father, Gaya Prasad Thomas, who resides in Bouna village near Tekanpur town in MP's Gwalior district, expressed deep distress, claiming that his daughter has become "as good as dead" to the family. The sudden disappearance of Anju, leaving behind her children and husband, has left her family in utter shock.

MP Govt Orders Special Investigation Into The Baffling Episode

MP Home Minister Mishra has directed the state's special branch of police to meticulously examine the case, raising suspicions of a potential international conspiracy. The matter has garnered significant attention, especially since it is linked to the Gwalior district.

While speculations abound, Anju's father vehemently rejected any suggestions of sinister involvement, dismissing the idea that the proximity of his village to a major unit of the Border Security Force (BSF) in Tekanpur town might be related to the incident.

He described his daughter as "mentally disturbed" and "eccentric," leading to further complexity surrounding the perplexing situation. As investigations begin into this mysterious cross-border marriage, the authorities and the public remain captivated by the unfolding enigma surrounding Anju-Nasrullah's wedding.
NEW DELHI: Parliament today continued to face adjournment over the Manipur issue with the Lok Sabha adjourned till 2pm and the Rajya Sabha till 12 noon. Parliament is headed for another stormy session with the Manipur issue taking centre stage again. The Monsoon session, which began on July 20, has been marred by disruptions and walkouts over the violence in the northeastern state. The government today said in the Lok Sabha that it's ready to discuss the Manipur issue today at 2 pm and urged the opposition parties to participate in the discussion.

MPs of the Opposition's I.N.D.I.A bloc had returned to New Delhi on Sunday after a two-day visit to the violence-hit state. The 21-member multi-party delegation of MPs from the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, who concluded their fact-finding visit to the strife-torn state, met at the Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharges chamber in Parliament on Monday and were briefed about the situation of the northeastern state.

The Opposition has mounted their attack on the Centre, inside Parliament, over the issue. The Opposition front had on Wednesday submitted a notice for a no-confidence motion against the government in Lok Sabha. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla later admitted the motion after a headcount of over 50 MPs as required under the rules. Birla said a date and time for discussion on it will be fixed by him after consultation with all parties.

The Bill replacing the Centre's Ordinance on control of services in Delhi is on the government's agenda for this week in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to replace the ordinance brought by the Centre in May which excluded services from the legislative competence of the Delhi legislative assembly. The ordinance was brought days after the Supreme Court judgement on the control of services in Delhi.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur will introduce the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023 in the Rajya Sabha today to provide for press, registration of periodicals and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. He will also move the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Lower House today for its consideration and passage further to amend the Cinematograph Act, 1952.

The Bill was earlier passed by the Rajya Sabha.

As per the List of Business for the day, Union Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal will move the Mediation Bill, 2021 in the Rajya Sabha today for its consideration and passage to promote and facilitate mediation, especially institutional mediation, for the resolution of disputes, commercial or otherwise, enforce mediated settlement agreements, provide for a body for registration of mediators, to encourage community mediation and to make online mediation as acceptable and cost-effective process.

Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav will move the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Rajya Sabha today for its consideration and passage further to amend the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. The Bill was earlier passed by the Lok Sabha. Besides, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to move the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha today for its consideration and passage further to amend the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to move a Motion in the Lok Sabha amending the First Schedule of the Customs Tariff Act in order to increase Import duty on Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), Propane and Butane. Earlier on Friday, the businesses of both Houses were cut short as they were adjourned for the day, to meet again on Monday.

The monsoon session of Parliament has seen disruptions since its beginning on July 20 with opposition members pressing their demand for a detailed discussion on Manipur and a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (With ANI inputs)
Italy made an "improvised and atrocious" decision when it joined China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) four years ago as it did little to boost exports, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said in an interview published Sunday.

Italy signed up to the BRI under a previous government, becoming the only major Western country to have taken such a step. Crosetto is part of an administration that is considering how to break free of the agreement.

The BRI scheme envisions rebuilding the old Silk Road to connect China with Asia, Europe and beyond with large infrastructure spending. Critics see it as a tool for China to spread its geopolitical and economic influence.

"The decision to join the (new) Silk Road was an improvised and atrocious act" that multiplied China's exports to Italy but did not have the same effect on Italian exports to China, Crosetto told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

"The issue today is how to walk back (from the BRI) without damaging relations (with Beijing). Because it is true that China is a competitor, but it is also a partner," the defense minister added.
Amid the ongoing row over Varansi's Gyanvapi mosque, a big statement has come from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Chief Minister Yogi Adityath has said that it would not be right to call Gyanvapi a mosque. CM Yogi asked that if it's a mosque, what is Trishul doing inside Gyanvapi? The chief minister said that there is eternal evidence present in Gyanvapi indicating that it was a Sanatan structure. CM Yogi said there are many proofs on the walls of Gyanvapi.

Sending a message to the Muslim community, CM Yogi Adityanath said that they should come forward with an initiative to rectify the historical mistake that has been committed. CM Yogi made the remarks in the latest podcast by the news agency ANI.

EP-85 with Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath premieres today at 5 PM IST#YogiAdityanath #ANIPodcastwithSmitaPrakash #Podcast



Click the 'Notify me' button to get a notification, when the episode goes on air: https://t.co/HkTmnJcuXC pic.twitter.com/DnQd57EUSr July 31, 2023

CM Yogi also said that the country will run according to the constitution and that every Indian should keep the nation above their religion. He was responding to a Samajwadi Party leader's remark over 'Vande Mataram'. "The country will be run by the constitution. Not by opinion or religion. I am a devotee of God but do not believe in any hypocrisy. Your opinion and your religion will be in your own way. Will be in your house, will be in your mosque, will be in your worship place. Not to perform on the street and you cannot impose it on others in any other way whatsoever. Nation First.. If someone wants to live in the country, then he has to consider the nation as paramount," said CM Adityanath.

In relation to the survey of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the Allahabad High Court is set to deliver its verdict on August 3. Vishnu Shankar Jain, the lawyer representing the Hindu side in the Gyanvapi mosque case, informed reporters that the interim order will remain in effect until August 3. This decision comes after the court asked the ASI not to proceed with the survey until the matter is fully heard.

The court's action was prompted by a plea challenging a district court's directive to conduct the contentious survey. Interestingly, on July 24, the Supreme Court clarified its previous order pertaining to the Gyanvapi mosque case. Inadvertently, it had disposed of an appeal from the committee that questioned the validity of a lawsuit filed by Hindus seeking worship rights inside the mosque. While the Supreme Court granted relief by staying the ASI survey through the interim plea, it concluded the main case on July 24.

On July 24, the top court put on hold till 5 pm July 26 a detailed scientific survey by the ASI to determine if the mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi was built upon a temple. On Monday, the mosque committee moved the top court with its interim plea in the pending petition seeking a stay of ASI work.

On July 21, Varanasi district judge AK Vishvesha ordered the ASI survey of the Gyanvapi complex on an application moved by four Hindu women on May 16, 2023. The order of the district judge, however, excluded the ablution pond area of the complex, which has been sealed on the order of the top court. (With ANI inputs)
In the ever-evolving world of fashion, some pieces transcend the fleeting trends and seasons to become timeless icons of individuality and self-expression. Among these coveted garments, the denim skirt stands as a powerful symbol, embodying the essence of freedom, empowerment, and personal style.

Rooted in the rebellious counterculture of the 1960s, denim skirts have journeyed through the ages, leaving an indelible mark on the realm of fashion. Today, as the world celebrates the beauty of self-expression, denim skirts remain at the forefront, empowering fashion enthusiasts to embrace their unique identities.

Universally ageless and versatile, they appeal to the young and the young-at-heart, celebrating life's diverse stages and offering a seamless blend of nostalgia and contemporary charm.

Also read: Friendship Day 2023: 10 Ways To Surprise Your Best Friend To Make Them Feel Special

Rupanshi Agarwal, co-founder of QUA says, "The beauty of denim skirts lies not only in their ability to bridge generations but also in their remarkable adaptability. From minis to midis, distressed to tailored, and classic blue to an array of washes, denim skirts cater to every taste and preference. They have become a blank canvas, allowing wearers to express their true selves through creative styling, making each denim skirt a personalised work of art.

"The distressed denim trend, an art form in itself, adds a unique touch to denim skirts. With every fray and tear, these skirts become storytellers, symbolizing the wearer's journey through life's battles and victories. Embracing imperfections, they celebrate the beauty of life's individual path, empowering individuals to embrace their true selves. Denim skirts champion inclusivity, embracing diverse body types and celebrating the beauty of individuality. With various cuts and styles, they become a powerful tool for positive self-expression, fostering an environment where all can feel confident and beautiful."

Embodying fluidity and acceptance, denim skirts have played a significant role in breaking gender norms. Evolving into a unisex garment, they provide a stylish and comfortable option for those seeking to express their identity beyond conventional roles.

"Denim skirts have graced the wardrobes of iconic fashion figures, solidifying their status as a timeless fashion staple. From style icons like Jane Birkin, who popularised the denim mini skirt in the 1970s, to modern-day fashion influencers, denim skirts have consistently held a place of reverence in the world of haute couture", adds Rupanshi.

"Their diverse colors and washes further highlight their versatility. From the timeless classic blue to a myriad of washes, denim skirts offer endless possibilities for personal expression, reflecting the wearers' personality and style. Denim skirts, not content with remaining confined to casual wear, have seamlessly integrated into professional settings. When paired with tailored blazers and sophisticated accessories, they become a chic and contemporary choice for the modern workplace, proving that self-expression and professionalism can harmoniously coexist."
Eby did not identify the contract firefighter, but authorities said the victim was at the Donnie Creek wildfire, near Fort St. John, in the northeast of the province.

It marked the third death of a firefighter during this devastating wildfire season. "I am devastated to learn that we have lost another wildfire fighter. My heart goes out to the family, friends and colleagues of this frontline hero," Premier David Eby said in a statement.

A firefighter has died battling one of the massive blazes devastating Canada's forests this year, British Columbia's premier announced Saturday.

Two other firefighters have perished in separate operations this month, and a fourth person, a helicopter pilot, died July 19 when his aircraft crashed in Alberta, in western Canada, while taking part in relief operations.

Canadian wildfires have burned some 12 million hectares this year, scorching an area larger than the size of Cuba or Korea. "This wildfire season has been profoundly awful," Eby said, who hailed firefighters as heroes making "extraordinary sacrifices... to keep us safe."

British Columbia currently has 368 active fires. In total, more than 990 fires are ravaging Canada, 613 of which are considered out of control.

Canada's geographic location means that it is warming faster than the rest of the planet, and in recent years it has been confronted with extreme weather events that have grown more frequent and intense by climate change.
Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company  Masdar, the UAEs clean energy powerhouse, and Citaglobal Berhad, have tied up for the joint development of 2GW renewable energy projects in Malaysia. The developments span solar, battery energy storage system (BESS), wind and other renewable energy technologies.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in Malaysia by Abdulla Zayed, Masdars Head of Development and Investment, and Citaglobals Executive Chairman and President, Tan Sri (Dr) Mohamad Norza Zakaria.

Masdar and Citaglobal will join forces to develop projects across the renewable energy mix in the picturesque Malaysian state of Pahang. This includes exploring solar, battery energy storage system (BESS), wind and other renewable energy technologies. Malaysia is targeting net-zero emissions by 2050.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Malaysia (MITI), Yang Berhormat Mulia Datuk Seri Utama Tengku Zafrul Aziz, and the UAE Ambassador to Malaysia, Khalid Ghanim Mohammed Alghaith.

Expanding in Southeast Asian market

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Masdars Chief Executive Officer, said: Masdar will be expanding its presence in the key Southeast Asian market. We look forward to pioneering energy solutions to reduce emissions in Malaysia and the region. As the UAE looks ahead to hosting the UN climate change conference, COP28, later this year, Masdar is proud to be working with partners to advance clean energy solutions around the world.

Zakaria: By collaborating with a leading energy transition player, we will make faster progress towards our climate targets, besides building our long-term energy requirements in a responsible and cost-efficient manner. The MoU will also facilitate the potential collaboration between Masdar and Citaglobal related to technology solutions and equipment supply outside of Malaysia with a focus on Central Asia.

Southeast Asia is a key investment destination for Masdar. The company has developed the regions largest floating solar facility in Indonesia - the 145MW Cirata Floating Solar PV plant  which will generate enough electricity to power 50,000 homes. In February 2023, the UAEs clean energy powerhouse entered the geothermal energy sector through a strategic investment in Indonesias Pertamina Geothermal Energy. Masdar opened an office in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2021 to further strengthen links with key players within the region.-- TradeArabia News Service
At least a dozen of people died of heatstroke and dehydration in Korea over the weekend as a heat wave advisory was issued across the country.

According to the Ministry of Public Administration and Safety, two people died from heat-related illness in North Gyeongsang Province and another two in South Gyeongsang Province, while North and South Chungcheong provinces and North Jeolla Province reported one fatality each.

Most of the victims were elderly farmers who suffered heatstroke while working in the fields when temperatures soared between 33 to 36 degrees Celsius.
Seoul National University wants all 3,700 freshman to live in dorms on its main campus in southern Seoul within the next few years.

SNU President Ryu Hong-lim told the Chosun Ilbo last week, "Students need to have an opportunity to live independently from their families and mature as human beings. We intend to help new students develop their own identities as independent citizens by living in dorms in their freshman year."

Oxford and Cambridge universities in the U.K. have had the system since their beginning as religious colleges in the Middle Ages. In Korea, private Yonsei University was the first to adopt it in 2014, and freshmen spend their first year in dorms on the Songdo campus. SNU has been mulling the move since 2007.

"Students at universities overseas socialize with their dormmates rather than their classmates," Ryu said. "That process teaches them how to understand and accept students majoring in other subjects. Going beyond simply living together, it's important to create an environment for students to engage in discussion and social activities."

Ryu believes that campus living can resolve the extreme dependence of some students on their parents. "There are many instances where parents continue to dominate the lives of students even after they enter university," he said.
New North Korean drones that resemble U.S. models like the Global Hawk surveillance and Reaper attack drones flew in formation during a military parade in Pyongyang on the anniversary of the Korean War armistice last Thursday. State TV aired a clip of both drones in flight testing, identifying the spy drone as Saetbyol-4 and the combat drone as Saetbyol-9, the same numerals as the U.S. RQ-4 and MQ-9. The RQ-4 Global Hawk is a long-distance surveillance drone while the MQ-9 Reaper is a killer drone that was widely used in U.S. assassinations in Iraq and Afghanistan. During the parade, four Saetbyol-9 drones were also carried on vehicles, so at least five seem to have been made including the one that conducted the flyover. Central TV also aired a clip of a Saetbyol-9 drone firing an air-to-surface missile.

A North Korean spy drone is being showcased during a military parade in Pyongyang last Thursday, in this grab from [North] Korean Central Television the following day.

But some experts said the drones are likely to be inferior to the U.S.', casting doubt on the capabilities of electro-optical cameras, imaging radars and other equipment. North Korean cameras seem to have very poor resolution, as seen in a military spy satellite that the South Korean Navy salvaged after it fell into the West Sea on May 31. Another big handicap is its lack of satellite communications. But others said the North debuted the new drones earlier than expected and that they could have much better capabilities than the small drones that violated South Korean airspace last year. Lee Jeong-seok, who participated in drone development at South Korea's Agency for Defense Development, said, "Even if their drones have less than half of the U.S.' capabilities, it's still a success for the North that they flew at all." "Despite its lack of satellite communications, the North could still fly drones as far as Daejeon in a war or within a radius of 150 to 200 km if they set up a relay station on top of a mountain," he added. "And if the drones shoot images of targets within a radius of 50 km south from the DMZ, they could still spy on areas in northern Gyeonggi Province and even Seoul."

A North Korean combat drone fires an air-to-surface missile in this grab from [North] Korean Central Television last Thursday.

There are also fears that the North Korean drones might be difficult to identify as friend or foe in a war given that they so closely resemble U.S. drones, according to Yang Uk at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies said. But Vann Van Diepen, a former State Department official, told Voice of America, "Now we do know that North Korea does not at least have its own communication satellites." He added the North lacks satellite access and therefore the capability to control the drone in real time and see what it sees. "Now conceivably they could be using other people's satellites to do that. If they don't have a satellite communications capability then that's going to limit how far away these drones can operate from North Korea."
At the beginning of July, the government of El Salvador moved its diplomatic machinery to stop the presentation of a work at the International Book Fair of Guatemala, the largest literary event in Central America. Populist President Nayib Bukeles officials demanded that the collection of stories  Sustancia de higado [Liver Substance], by the Salvadoran writer Michelle Recino  be suspended from the program. The collection denounces the arbitrary arrests conducted by the Salvadoran authorities over the past 16 months, since a state of emergency was imposed by the president. These policies have been deployed to deal with endemic gang violence that has been bleeding the country dry for decades.

This censorship was mostly focused on a story called Barberos en huelga [Barbers on Strike]. This dramatic and terrifying narration describes how a group of young men  street vendors, barbers assistants and public transit drivers  disappear. They are arrested after the authorities link them  sans evidence  with the so-called maras (organized gangs). Its an account of a hellish reality in a country where more than 77,000 people have been detained, citizens rights have been suspended, censorship has been imposed, public safety has been militarized, while torture and disappearances have been denounced.

A mural of President Bukele, in the streets of San Salvador. Salvador Melendez (AP)

President Bukele, who enjoys high levels of popularity that are the envy of other Latin American leaders, imposed the emergency regime in March 2022. His allies in Congress and the courts gave him the green light to restrict constitutional rights, in a country that still hasnt healed from the wounds of a civil war that, in the 1980s, caused more than 70,000 deaths and left painful memories of military abuses. Through the state of emergency  or the state of exception  the Salvadoran authorities have unleashed a manhunt that recalls the abuses of that time. Thousands of people are stopped and searched daily at military checkpoints across the country, while security forces search for heavily-tattooed young men living in gang-controlled areas. There are reports of torture and inhumane conditions in prisons, in addition to at least 100 deaths in custody due to mistreatment by prison authorities. Censorship is already a norm: the persecution of critical voices, journalists and trade unionists has imposed a state of terror on society.

Anyone can be arbitrarily captured, says Abraham Abrego, director of strategic litigation at Cristosal, an organization that ensures respect for human rights in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. In the complaints we have received, [we have learned of] day laborers, trade unionists, fishermen, farmers and others who have questioned the police and have been arrested [as a result]. There are trade unionists jailed for protesting  their salaries havent been paid. More than 3,000 informal vendors have been evicted from San Salvador (the capital) and threatened with arrest under the emergency regime if they protest, the activist explains.

This NGO released a devastating report at the end of May, in which it denounced that at least 153 inmates in El Salvador had died from torture, beatings, strangulation or lack of medical attention during the state of emergency. The agency has documented that 75 corpses presented lacerations and bruises, injuries with sharp objects, or signs of hanging. Massive and systematic rapes are already a state policy, Cristosal warned when the report was released.

To reinforce his security policy, President Bukele ordered the construction of what he has called the largest prison in the Americas  an immense maximum-security complex where thousands of inmates have been transferred. It has been denounced as a torture center. Added to this prison hell is the anguish that the constant presence of the military on the streets has caused some citizens to feel.

Gang members wait to be taken to their cells at the Terrorist Confinement Center in El Salvador. SECRETARIA DE PRENSA DE LA PRESI (via REUTERS)

Soldiers have the green light to stop buses and pull out those who they consider to be suspicious. They can search houses without warrants  based on anonymous tips  or impose curfews in certain areas of the country, where locals lock themselves up for fear of being captured. Of the complaints that weve received  more than 3,400  in 98% of the cases, theres no evidence that the detainees have ties to the gangs. The procedure used for these arrests shows that theres no prior investigation, nor are arrest warrants issued by [judges]. Police operations and arrests are carried out at the discretion [of the security forces]. This level of arbitrariness makes a good part of [the arrests illegitimate], explains Abrego. The president, who controls Congress and the courts, has achieved a reform that allows the justice system to carry out mass trials, with hearings of up to 900 prisoners per sitting. These collective trials limit the [rights] of the defense, because they give lawyers less opportunity to prove that their defendant is innocent, Abrego laments.

What baffles analysts is that despite the hell unleashed by Bukele in his war against gangs, his popularity levels remain high  up to 90% according to some polls. That popularity is due to the fact that many Salvadorans now finally feel safe. Before Bukele, the gangs had imposed their law in large swaths of the country. They used to tax food vendors, charge fees for residents to enter or leave their own neighborhoods, or unleash violent raids that left dozens dead. El Salvador had one of the highest homicide rates on the continent prior to 2022.

There are practices of human rights violations that we havent seen since the armed conflict. The [state of emergency] is being used for repression, to limit freedom of expression. The government has a very strong communication apparatus and a very successful marketing strategy; the idea that security is above human rights permeates. The low crime rate makes people feel relieved, explains Abrego. A relief that, however, keeps Salvadorans in constant tension: no one is safe from being arbitrarily arrested in the hell unleashed by the young president Bukele in his small Central American country.

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This past April, a man had a genetic analysis done in Buenos Aires. His name hasnt been made public, but this past Friday, all of Argentina learned his story. He was the son of Cristina Navajas  a woman who was kidnapped in 1976 by her countrys military dictatorship (1976-1983). She was 27-years-old and just a few weeks pregnant. The baby was born in captivity and handed over to a powerful family. His true identity was denied for decades. On July 28, he became the 133rd grandchild that the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo  a human rights organization with the goal of finding the children stolen and illegally adopted during the regime  have recovered. He is 46-years-old and has just met his real family.

The son or daughter of Olga Cristina Gonzalez and Maurice Jeger. The child was born in September or December 1975. IAbuelas

Since the early-1980s, the Grandmothers have used an infallible method of recovering missing grandchildren. The genetic data of the families they are looking for are stored in a public file  the information is checked against those who knock on the door with doubts about their true identity. But the only way to find a grandchild is for the stolen children, who are now grown up, to decide to get a DNA test. This process is something that the Grandmothers have promoted with public-awareness campaigns that even Lionel Messi has taken part in.

This past week, while the Grandmothers were preparing the announcement of the recovery of a new grandson, an artistic project has become one of the most widespread campaigns of recent times. Santiago Barros, a 46-year-old artist, has recreated how around 50 people born in clandestine detention centers or kidnapped by the military dictatorship in the 1970s would look like today. His work, which he publishes on an Instagram account called IAbuelas, has appeared in practically all national media outlets. He now has more than 10,000 followers.

Artificial intelligence cannot generate portraits with scientific parameters. This isnt a search tool for Grandmother  its just an exercise in memory and an indictment [of the past], warns Barros, in conversation with EL PAIS. Its a reminder of the horror, that these crimes happened and continue to happen. A person with an expropriated identity is a crime that continues to be committed today.

IAbuelas

The process, he describes, is simple: he uses the Midjourney app, which creates the image of the child from the parents portraits. In most cases, Barros relies on the archive of photographs kept by the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo. However, he notes that many families have sent him more photographs to be used in his work. I upload the photos to the app and ask them to [mix the features] of, say, a 45-year-old man and woman. I intervene when I see that these people have a noticeable feature, he explains. I was interested in going beyond a very established idea: when we refer to disappeared grandchildren, the idea is that theyre babies, because they were appropriated at birth [or when they were a few months old]. But now, theyre my age.

With @IAbuelas, Barros has been able to recreate what those stolen children would look like today. In most cases, he publishes portraits of both men and women, with no certainty about dates or gender. In others, he has more data. Barros has been able to imagine what people like Clara Anahi Mariani  who would be 47-years-old on August 12  would look like, thanks to the available portraits of her parents. Clara Anahi was kidnapped when she was just over three-months-old. The daughter of Diana Teruggi Daniel Mariani, she was born on August 12, 1976. She was the only survivor of the attack on her home that killed her mother and four other Montoneros militants, the armed wing of the resistance. The photograph that was taken of her when she was a baby is one of the iconic images of that tragic time.

The son or daughter of Beatriz Haydee Neuhaus and Juan Francisco Martinis, a child born in August 1976. IAbuela

The Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo have stated that they appreciate the the permanent solidarity of this kind of initiative, which supports their search. However, the organization has emphasized in a statement that this initiative isnt scientific, but artistic-playful. The only infallible method to link a grandson or granddaughter with their family of origin is through a genetic match via the National Genetic Data Bank.

We acknowledge that this IG account is impressive because of the faces it throws up. But, nonetheless, it lacks accuracy in its results. If you dont look like any of those faces, you might as well be one of the grandchildren were looking for.

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In flat terrain like that of southern and eastern Ukraine, amid trench warfare where advances are counted by the meter, control of the air has become crucial and Russia now has a key weapon, the Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopter. Previously deployed in the Syrian war, Moscow has modified it to incorporate improvements suggested by its forces fighting in that conflict and has adapted the aircraft for its operations within the territories occupied by Russia in the wake of the invasion launched in February 2022. Among these upgrades is a missile with a range of up to 15,000 meters, which is capable of evading Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses.

The UK Ministry of Defense considers the Ka-52 to be one of the most influential Russian weapons systems to counter the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the south of the country. Kyivs forces have recently stepped up their agonizing advance with Western-trained troops equipped with German-made Leopard tanks and U.S. Bradley armored vehicles. Both the U.S. Defense Department and the Kremlin have acknowledged the increased intensity of Kyivs attacks, which led to Ukrainian troops temporarily breaking through Russian defenses in the town of Robotyne last Friday. Kyivs objective is to open a breach in the corridor linking the occupied east with the south and Crimea in order to reach the shores of the Sea of Azov, which remains under Moscows control.

It is in that scenario that the Ka-52 helicopter may provide the key for Moscow to halt, or at least slow down, the Ukrainian push in Zaporizhzhia. The Ka-52 has been in service with the Russian Air Force since 2010 and its coaxial rotor  made up of two propellers that rotate in different directions  provides it with unique maneuverability to perform combat maneuvers in a small amount of airspace to occupy a favorable attacking position in the shortest possible time, according to its manufacturer. Its maximum speed is 350 kilometers per hour (217 mph) and it has an operational ceiling of 5,500 meters and a range of over 500 kilometers (310 miles).

The Ka-52 is a two-seater armored aircraft in which the pilots sit side by side, and the first operational helicopter in the world to feature an ejection system. It can operate day and night and in all weather conditions thanks to its sensors. In its basic variant, it has a 30-millimeter cannon on its right side and under its wings it can carry various combinations of weapons including anti-tank missiles, air-to-air missiles, unguided rockets, and bombs of differing calibers. In combat missions, it can deploy up to 12 Vikhr air-to-surface missiles with a range of up to eight kilometers to destroy enemy tanks.

These are devices that can fly very low, between 50 and 100 meters, which makes them practically undetectable for the Ukrainians, says analyst Guillermo Pulido of Ejercitos magazine. Given Russias air superiority, Ukraine cannot shoot them down with its aircraft or its low-level anti-aircraft defenses; moreover, [Kyivs] combat helicopters are much more rudimentary, adds the specialist, who adds that some Ka-52 models are equipped with devices to deflect missiles launched against them. The Ka-52 is, in principle, practically immune to any weapon the Ukrainians might employ against it; it can fire rockets from much longer distances than the Stinger anti-aircraft missiles the Ukrainians have, so it is feasible that it would be a good weapon to stop the counteroffensive.

However, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine was launched in February 2022, Moscow has lost about 40 such aircraft. At the same time, these helicopters, according to British intelligence, have wreaked a heavy cost on Ukrainian forces in terms of casualties and material damage. In recent months Moscow has deployed a new model, the Ka-52M, developed after the Syrian war, according to the British Ministry of Defense, which incorporates improvements suggested by the Russian Air Force during that campaign.

These upgrades included incorporating the Izdeliye 305 cruise missile, which was used in combat for the first time in Syria, albeit mounted on another attack helicopter, the Mi-28. For this purpose, the new models were equipped with a specific interface for this type of rocket, a launcher, and a radio link to be able to guide it. Its performance was also enhanced with a 360 vision system, the latest data exchange systems and satellite navigation equipment, according to the TASS news agency.

The Izdeliye 305E has almost double the range of the Vikhr missile, at around 15 kilometers, and a much greater operational and destructive capability. In addition to its range, it carries a 25-kilogram warhead, three times larger than that of the previous rockets deployed on the Ka-52. These can be guided by optical or thermal devices and their trajectory can be modified in mid-flight via satellite, allowing the attack helicopter to immediately separate from the launch site, even without having previously set a target. A Stinger portable anti-aircraft missile such as those provided to Kyiv by the U.S. has a maximum range of about six kilometers.

Given the superiority of the Ka-52, Ukrainian intelligence services must play a central role, according to the experts consulted. The autonomy of these aircraft is very limited and it is possible, with current technological means, to learn in advance which base they will depart from to carry out operations, and the trajectory they will follow until they have their targets within range. Experts also point to the possibility of using electronic warfare devices capable of deflecting the new missiles these helicopters carry.

Ka-52 crews have been quick to seize opportunities to try to launch such devices beyond the range of Ukrainian air defenses, stated a British intelligence report last Thursday. It now remains to be seen whether the weaponry provided by the western allies to Kyiv is enough to keep its army pushing southward despite the theoretical superiority that, according to the UK, the Ka-52 can provide Moscow to slow the counteroffensive.

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People transport a man, who was injured after a blast in Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, at the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, on July 30, 2023.

An Afghan branch of Islamic State on Monday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Pakistan that killed at least 54 people at a pro-Taliban partys election rally, in one of the regions worst attacks in recent years.

Islamic State in Khorasan Province made the claim in a statement posted on its Amaq website. It said the attacker detonated an explosive vest, and that the bombing in the northwestern town of Bajur was part of the groups continuing war against forms of democracy it deems to be against Islam.

Hours earlier, hundreds of mourners in Bajur carried caskets draped in colorful cloths to burial sites following the previous days attack at the election rally for the Jamiat Ulema Islam party. Officials said Sundays bombing killed 54 people, including at least five children, and wounded nearly 200.

The attack appeared to reflect divisions between Islamist groups, which have a strong presence in the district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan. The Jamiat Ulema Islam party has ties to the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban.

At least 1,000 people were crowded into a tent near a market for the rally ahead of fall elections, according to police.

People were chanting God is Great as the leaders arrived, said Khan Mohammad, a local resident who said he was standing outside the tent, and that was when I heard the deafening sound of the bomb.

Mohammad said he heard people crying for help, and minutes later ambulances arrived and began taking the wounded away.

Police had suggested in their initial investigation that Islamic State in Khorasan Province was a suspect. The group is based in neighboring Afghanistans Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida.

Pakistan security analyst Mahmood Shah also previously had said that breakaway factions of the Pakistani Taliban could be possible suspects, though the group distanced itself from the attack.

The Pakistani military spent years fighting the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, in Bajur before declaring the district clear of militants in 2016. But the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, headed by hard-line cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman, has remained a potent political force.

On Monday, police recorded statements from some of the wounded at a hospital in Khar, the districts principal town.

Female relatives and children wailed and beat their chests at family homes Monday as the dead were taken for funerals, following local customs. Hundreds of men followed the caskets to mosques and open areas for special funeral prayers and then into the hills for burial.

As condolences continued to pour in from across the country, dozens of people who had lesser injuries were discharged from hospital, while the critically wounded were taken to the provincial capital of Peshawar by army helicopters. The death toll continued to rise as some critically wounded people died in hospital, physician Gul Naseeb said.

Gul Akbar, the father of an 11-year-old boy who was wounded in the attack, told The Associated Press that his entire family was in a state of shock after hearing about the bombing Sunday. He said he first went to the scene of the attack, and later found his son Taslim Khan being treated in a hospital in Khar.

What would I have done if he had also been martyred? Five children died in this barbaric attack, and we want to know what our children did wrong, he said.

Rehmans party is preparing to contest elections, which are expected in October or November. Abdul Rasheed, one of the partys senior leaders, said the bombing was aimed at weakening the party but that such attacks cannot deter our resolve.

Rehmans party is part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharifs coalition government, which came to power in April 2022 by ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in the legislature.

Sharif called Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished. Khan condemned the bombing Sunday, as did the U.S. and Russian embassies in Islamabad.

The Pakistani Taliban also distanced themselves from the bombing, saying that it was intended to set Islamists against each other. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, wrote in a tweet that such crimes cannot be justified in any way.

The bombing came hours before Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng arrived in Islamabad, where he signed new agreements to boost trade and economic ties to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a sprawling package under which China has invested $10 billion in Pakistan over 10 years, according to Sharif.

We will not tolerate any obstacles in the way of friendship with China, Sharif said, as he stood next to He.

But the government canceled a cultural event that had been arranged in honor of He, according to Sharif, while the nation mourns.

Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.

Rehman, who has long supported Afghanistans Taliban government, survived at least two known bomb attacks in 2011 and 2014, when bombings damaged his car at rallies.

Sundays bombing was one of the worst in northwestern Pakistan in the last decade. In 2014, 147 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar.

In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar. And in February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.

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The South Korean Reverend Seungeum Kim has spent 23 years traveling thousands of kilometers through impassable jungles and rivers, to fulfill the task he has dedicated his life to: rescuing those fleeing North Korea. North Koreans can only find freedom if they manage to complete an arduous route of thousands of kilometers through China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand, the priest explains. Founder of the Christian Caleb Mission church, he coordinates and directs the process of helping defectors flee Kim Jong-uns regime. The total he has managed to save stands at more than 1,000 people.

I have broken bones and have suffered injuries that required surgery, says Kim, who personally participates in many of the dangerous journeys, which in addition to the injuries have left him a string of criminal records in several countries. Once I was even imprisoned in China, he explains during a meeting at the Oslo Freedom Forum, the convention of activists that the Human Rights Foundation organized last month in the Norwegian capital. He gives few details of how he has managed to plan the route over the years, for which he needs the cooperation of a network of collaborators in different countries. But, despite the risks, he is convinced that North Koreans who want to escape could not do so without the help of the Caleb Mission or other NGOs.

The difficulties of this odyssey have recently been portrayed in the documentary Beyond Utopia, released this year by American director Madeleine Gavin. The film reconstructs the flight of several North Korean families with the support of Pastor Kim through real images sometimes taken with a mobile phone and has received the audience award at the Sundance Film Festival. Hes the kind of hero that Hollywood could make a movie about and then cast Mark Wahlberg as the lead, The Hollywood Reporter said of him in its review of the documentary.

South Korean Reverend Seungeum Kim. Oslo Freedom Forum

A love story

The change in Kims life began on January 4, 2000. I went on my first mission [as a priest] to a place on Chinas border with North Korea, and suddenly, walking near the Tumen River [which forms a natural dividing line between the two countries] I saw a group of malnourished North Korean children, the pastor says. Please, sir, help your own people, they pleaded. And at that very moment when he was aware of his own prejudices  I had always been told that North Koreans were very different from us, he recalls  he decided that he was going to give his life for those people. What would have led those children, who were so thin from lack of food, to risk their lives to flee, he asks. And the answer was very clear: the desire to escape misery and repression.

At that time, he still didnt know how he was going to help them. Something was missing  more was needed to find the routes through which thousands of North Koreans who wanted to escape the clutches of the Pyongyang regime would begin to travel. It soon came. A North Korean defector came to the church where I served in China, we fell in love and planned a future together, he says, with a smile. But that woman, who is now his wife and co-founder of the Caleb Mission, was not safe on Chinese soil. Beijing arrests and repatriates the North Koreans it finds, it does not recognize them as refugees, he says. And for women it is even worse: They have become the prey of human traffickers, who force them into prostitution or forced marriages in China.

I have broken bones and suffered injuries that have required surgery. Seungeun Kim, founder of Caleb Mission Christian Church

Pastor Kim began walking through the deserts of Mongolia and the jungles of Southeast Asia and even considered the option of getting his wife out by boat on a river. I had to find a route to bring the love of my life to South Korea from China, he explains. Finally, he did it by plane, although he prefers not to clarify exactly how. That experience helped him put together the escape itineraries that North Koreans fleeing to South Korea have used for the past two decades. From 2001 to June this year, the total stands at 33,304 people, according to Seoul data. Although the actual number of those trying to escape could be much higher. We dont know the numbers of how many try to flee, because many are trapped in China or other countries, he said.

Always very sketchy on the details of how the rescues are prepared, Pastor Kim lets slip that the process begins when the Caleb Mission has evidence of specific people who want to escape, either because they manage to communicate with the organization or because relatives who have already managed to reach South Korea are looking for them. There are currently more than 200 North Koreans who have contacted us to ask to be rescued, and 30 of them are in an emergency situation, he warns.

However, since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, rescue missions have plummeted. We had to stop them as a result of the border closure imposed by Beijing, he laments. According to official South Korean figures, 1,047 North Koreans arrived in the country in 2019, a number that fell to 229 in 2020, when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency due to the coronavirus. In the following years, very few people managed to escape North Korea compared to previous years: 63 in 2021 and 67 in 2022. In the second quarter of this year alone, arrivals have begun to increase  between January 1 and June 30, 99 people touched South Korean soil  according to official data, a situation that Seoul attributes to the relaxation of controls imposed by China.

Despite the slight improvement, the situation remains more challenging than before the pandemic. The cost of the rescue has increased fivefold and costs about $20,000 [18,100] per person, says the priest. But he does not give up: I know that the situation is dismal, but throughout my life I have experienced how the support of some people towards others can change the world.

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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. shall feature, along with the author's name (regardless of their greater or lesser renown), a footer stating their office, academic title, political affiliation (if any) and main occupation, or the occupation related to the topic being assessed

Since the Mexican government began its offensive against arms trafficking, little has been said about the European arms industry. Just as North American companies feed the river of steel that flows to the south, the Old Continent also contributes, albeit in a more moderate but direct way. A new study commissioned by the Office of the Legal Advisor of the Mexican Foreign Ministry and published by the University of Amsterdam concludes that the European arms industry enjoys protections that shield it from judicial claims due to negligence or criminality, to the detriment of potential victims.

This accountability deficit has significant consequences, as Europe is a major starting point for illicit arms flows according to the United Nations. The results of the study are also cause for concern given the size of the sector, since four of the 10 main arms-exporting countries worldwide are member states of the European Union. France ranks third, while Germany, Italy and Spain also export vast quantities. The impact of these products in the region is staggering: in some parts of Latin America, up to 40% of the weapons found at crime scenes are European.

In Mexico, these weapons have victimized civilians, journalists, and members of law enforcement. The Sinaloa Cartel is reportedly equipped with Heckler & Koch arms made in Germany. The same cartel used pistols made by Belgiums state-owned FN Herstal in the 2019 Culiacanazo, during the failed capture of Ovidio Guzman. In this incident, Glock and Beretta weapons, whose manufacturers are based in Austria and Italy, respectively, were also identified.

The presence of European weapons in the hands of the cartels reflects a widespread trend. Between 2010 and 2019, 1,925 Beretta pistols and 1,365 Romanian weapons were found at crime scenes in Mexican territory, some of military caliber. According to official data obtained by independent organizations, many come from the trafficking and diversion of weapons that has fed criminal networks in Mexico for several years now. These illicit patterns are predictable and contribute to the agonizing toll of victims that is increasing every year.

This predictability of arms trafficking motivated the Mexican government to file a negligence lawsuit against gun stores in U.S. courts. The same litigation strategy could be used to stop flows from Europe. But the University of Amsterdam study concludes that the opacity and lack of transparency shields the European arms industry from certain judicial processes. After analyzing the laws and jurisprudence of 11 countries, the report identifies a justice deficit caused by secrecy for licensing and export agreements, impediments for victims trying to file complaints, limited judicial oversight on weapons exports, and a lack of transparency in export orders.

Given this situation, the courts often lack jurisdiction  their hands are tied, in other words  and the victims cannot build a case or else their claims are dismissed. Taken together, these measures inhibit the right of the victims to demand accountability when gun stores or states themselves engage in negligent sales or transactions. The report also points out that the countries under analysis commit human rights violations by denying access to justice to those who have suffered at the hands of products whose trafficking could be prevented with due diligence mechanisms.

This represents an important challenge for Mexico in its fight against this scourge. It would be hardly possible, for instance, to take legal action against Beretta and Romarm for negligent trade in the courts of Italy and Romania, where they are based. However, there are successful precedents such as the German sentence condemning Heckler & Koch for illicit sales of weapons that were tragically used in [the student massacre of] Ayotzinapa.

Furthermore, the new study underscores Europeans lack of awareness about the dire consequences of this lethal business. It is to be hoped that this new document will open up a new discussion front on arms trafficking that is more oriented towards compensation for the victims.

The author is a researcher at the Asser Institute for International and European Law in The Hague and a National Researcher (Level 1) at CONAHCYT in Mexico.
Just as information technologies like paper, the printing press and the Internet changed our world, AI will change our society and the role of many of us within it.

Opinion articles written in the style of their author." These texts are to be based on verified facts and must be respectful towards people, even though their actions may be criticized. shall feature, along with the author's name (regardless of their greater or lesser renown), a footer stating their office, academic title, political affiliation (if any) and main occupation, or the occupation related to the topic being assessed

A few weeks ago I was in Athens participating in the Obama Foundations Leaders program, where I had the privilege of meeting with more than 100 people from all corners of the globe who are driving change in their respective fields in industry, the public sector and civil society. During the program I was also able to discuss the profound impact that artificial intelligence (AI) will have on our society with former president Barack Obama. He considers it a top priority. I, too, am clear that we need to act now and lay the groundwork to maximize the opportunities and minimize the risks of AI.

I have been passionate about this topic for a long time. Almost 20 years ago, I created an AI system based on neural networks that could write poetry in the style of William Blake. As Chief Data Scientist at the UN, before the pandemic hit, we trained an AI capable of writing speeches like those delivered by presidents of member states at the UN General Assembly. We wanted to warn of the impending societal challenges posed by this technology. Many of these challenges are becoming a reality faster than expected.

The conversation with Barack Obama transported me back to 2011, when I was able to watch him live from the hall of the UN General Assembly, where he was delivering a speech making the case that digital technologies empower ordinary people. It was the Arab Spring. Looking back, we were probably too optimistic and inaction during the 2010s from an ethical, policy and regulatory standpoint around social media and data privacy has led to surveillance capitalism, polarization, mental health issues and even promoted human rights violations.

With the recent advances of generative AI, a platform that is phagocytizing our digital planet much faster than the previous technological wave, we need to act quickly, and we cannot overlook the risks: the need for reliable and unbiased technologies, drawing red lines and avoiding the concentration of power that can increase inequality and condemn more people to irrelevance. Not only that, words can become weapons, and todays chatbots could be considered the equivalent of the Kalashnikovs of disinformation, as Marta Peirano puts it. AI is power, and narratives generated with the help of algorithms threaten to further destabilize and unbalance our society.

Barack Obama during the leaders' meeting held in Athens. Fundacion Obama

In any case, beyond mitigating the risks  I am optimistic that we will succeed  there will be a systemic transformation. The AI genie is out of the lamp and is not going back in. Just as information technologies like paper, the printing press and the internet changed our world, AI will change our society and the role of many of us within it. New tools give us unprecedented opportunities, for example, to accelerate and democratize access to personalized and precision medicine, as we do at Spotlab. Not only healthcare, but also education, engineering and design will experience a kind of Cambrian explosion of unprecedented advances and creativity. Tools that can perform cognitive tasks at almost zero cost will enable an increase in productivity that, if well managed, will improve the lives of many people.

Where to start? By trying it. Talking about it is not the same as experiencing it. Companies, public organizations, associations, NGOs, educational institutions... All actors should make an effort to try these tools to understand first-hand why they can be useful for our mission - and what can go wrong. We should not wait for anyone to do it for us, as almost everyone is at square one. In this socio-economic AI tsunami, we are at the point where the water has receded, just before the giant wave arrives, and we must be prepared.

The responsibility for managing this AI transition, where social interactions and the knowledge economy will be mediated by AI, cannot fall solely on technology companies and governments  regulators and policy makers  but must be undertaken in parallel by society as a whole. Red lines and regulatory frameworks will be just the beginning.

AI is a tool that will be used to offer new products and services, to build accessible cities, to fight climate change, to map biodiversity, to revolutionize science, to empower the imagination of artists, to protect and reinvent our democracies in short, to educate our children and future generations. Whatever your role and sector, now is the time to experiment, to participate in the discussion, to sit at the table and shape a more humane AI that will help us fulfill our mission.

Miguel Luengo-Oroz was Chief Data Scientist at the UN until 2022 and is the current CEO of Spotlab

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Unilever, the distributor of "ekaterra" products, has affirmed that all of its "Lipton" products available in the Middle East are completely safe and fit for consumption.

The company assures that any infestation issue, limited to the island of La Reunion, a French department in the Indian Ocean, affecting some products stored in the "Le Port" warehouses, does not have any impact on any other region worldwide, a statement said.

In a comprehensive clarification, the company emphasised its commitment to the highest standards of quality and safety. It highlighted that the safety and quality of its tea products are among its top priorities.

Unilever continues to conduct rigorous inspections and impose strict controls to ensure the safety, ensuring that healthy and sound products reach consumers, it said.

Upon the discovery of some products stored in the Le Port warehouses being affected by the Tobacco beetle, the company immediately informed the relevant authorities. Subsequently, it initiated investigations and took a series of prompt and practical measures to address the issue. These measures included quarantining all affected products stored in the warehouses, halting deliveries to stores, and disposing of contaminated products according to established protocols, the statement said.

The company stated: "Comprehensive examinations of our primary supply chains have shown them to be completely free from any insect infestations. We are working directly and diligently with our logistics service providers to identify the root cause of the incident and implement strict measures to prevent any recurrence in the future." -TradeArabia News Service
Everybody knows how difficult exam season can be. That is why it is common to see libraries full of students eager for any extra boost. In college cafeterias, this comes in the form of energy drinks. Available in various sizes and flavors, they promise to keep you awake, to improve physical performance at the gym, and to extend your nighttime endurance if you mix them with alcohol. And all for around a couple of dollars.

Children, teenagers and young adults (as is usually the case with ultra-processed foods and sugary drinks) are once again the most exposed, vulnerable and unprotected groups. In 2013, a study carried out by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) warned of the problem: 16% of children (three to 10 years old) consumed energy drinks on a regular basis, defined as between four and five times a week (or more), which is equivalent to two liters a month.

Studies have shown that boys are more likely than girls to consume these drinks. There is also a social component involved: a 2022 study conducted in the United Kingdom found that adolescents from more deprived areas and lower income households were more likely to consume energy drinks than those in more affluent areas and households. And in Spain, according to the ESTUDES survey, conducted among the 14-to-18-year-old population, 45% of teens reported having drunk this type of beverage in the last month.

Energy drinks have a high content of caffeine and sugar (its two main ingredients), and other stimulants. They have practically zero nutritional value. A 250 milliliter can of the leading brand contains 80 milligrams of caffeine. Following the EFSA recommendations on the safe intake of caffeine, the maximum amount should not exceed 3 milligrams per kilogram of a persons weight. That is, 150 milligrams for a 50-kg teen. Each 500-milliliter can of Monster already contains 160 milligrams and more.

As for sugar, energy drinks usually provide between 27.5 and 60 grams per 250 milliliters and 500 milliliters, respectively. That is the equivalent of 11-12 teaspoons of sugar, or about 220-240 kilocalories, for each 500-milliliter container. In fact, most brands have already brought out light options that reduce these amounts of sugar and replace them with sweeteners.

Despite its energizing promises, the rest of its components have not been proven to have any benefits. However, what most studies do conclude is that consumption of these drinks (especially in large quantities or mixed with alcohol) has negative effects on physical and mental health. For example, cardiovascular and neurological risks, psychological problems or behavioral and sleep disturbances.

An added problem is that it is common to combine these drinks with alcohol. And by masking the depressant effects of alcohol, which would normally make the consumer feel sleepy and tired, the risk of alcohol poisoning increases.

Studies have shown that most people are unaware of the composition of energy drinks, or what their possible side effects are. For this reason, a growing number of nutrition professionals (including public figures such as the British chef Jamie Oliver) are advocating regulation to restrict the maximum caffeine content. They are also demanding greater control of advertising aimed at children and adolescents, and banning its sale to children under 16 years of age.

In Spain, authorities announced a set of measures in 2021 that ended up becoming a list of 10 recommendations developed in conjunction with the energy drink industry itself. This decalogue warns about the health risks of these drinks, advises against their consumption by adolescents, warns athletes that they are not useful for rehydration, and reminds manufacturers of their obligation to include a label indicating their high content in caffeine, therefore making them unadvisable for children and for pregnant or breastfeeding women.
The Biden administration calls it a student loan safety net. Opponents call it a backdoor attempt to make college free. And it could be the next battleground in the legal fight over student loan relief.

Starting this summer, millions of Americans with student loans will be able to enroll in a new repayment plan that offers some of the most lenient terms ever. Interest wont pile up as long as borrowers make regular payments. Millions of people will have monthly payments reduced to $0. And in as little as 10 years, any remaining debt will be canceled.

Its known as the SAVE Plan, and although it was announced last year, it has mostly been overshadowed by President Joe Bidens proposal for mass student loan cancellation. But now, after the Supreme Court struck down Bidens forgiveness plan, the repayment option is taking center stage.

Since the ruling, Biden has proposed an alternate approach to cancel debt and also shifted attention to the lesser-known initiative, calling it the most affordable repayment plan ever. The typical borrower who enrolls in the plan will save $1,000 a year, he said.

Republicans have fought against the plan, saying it oversteps the presidents authority. Sen. Bill Cassidy, the ranking Republican on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, called it deeply unfair to the 87% of Americans who dont have student loans.

The Congressional Budget Office previously estimated over the next decade, the plan would cost $230 billion, which would be even higher now that the forgiveness plan has been struck down. Estimates from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania put the cost at up to $361 billion.

Emboldened by the Supreme Courts decision on cancellation, some opponents say its a matter of time before the repayment plan also faces a legal challenge.

Heres what to know about the SAVE Plan:

What is an income-driven repayment plan?

The U.S. Education Department offers several plans for repaying federal student loans. Under the standard plan, borrowers are charged a fixed monthly amount that ensures all their debt will be repaid after 10 years. But if borrowers have difficulty paying that amount, they can enroll in one of four plans that offer lower monthly payments based on income and family size. Those are known as income-driven repayment plans.

Income-driven options have been offered for years and generally cap monthly payments at 10% of a borrowers discretionary income. If a borrowers earnings are low enough, their bill is reduced to $0. And after 20 or 25 years, any remaining debt gets erased.

How is Bidens plan different?

As part of his debt relief plan announced last year, Biden said his Education Department would create a new income-driven repayment plan that lowers payments even further. It became known as the SAVE Plan, and its generally intended to replace existing income-driven plans.

Right away, more people will be eligible for $0 payments. The new plan wont require borrowers to make payments if they earn less than 225% of the federal poverty line  $32,800 a year for a single person. The cutoff for current plans, by contrast, is 150% of the poverty line, or $22,000 a year for a single person.

Another immediate change aims to prevent interest from snowballing.

As long as borrowers make their monthly payments, their overall balance wont increase. Once they cover their adjusted monthly payment  even if its $0  any remaining interest will be waived.

Other major changes will take effect in July 2024.

Most notably, payments on undergraduate loans will be capped at 5% of discretionary income, down from 10% now. Those with graduate and undergraduate loans will pay between 5% and 10%, depending on their original loan balance. For millions of Americans, monthly payments could be reduced by half.

Next July will also bring a quicker road to loan forgiveness. Starting then, borrowers with initial balances of $12,000 or less will get the remainder of their loans canceled after 10 years of payments. For each $1,000 borrowed beyond that, the cancellation will come after an additional year of payments.

For example, a borrower with an original balance of $14,000 would get all remaining debt cleared after 12 years. Payments made before 2024 will count toward forgiveness.

How do I apply?

The Education Department recently launched a beta version of the application process, allowing borrowers to request the plan.

Those enrolled in an existing plan known as REPAYE will automatically be moved into the SAVE plan. Borrowers will also be able to sign up by contacting their loan servicers directly.

Its available to all borrowers in the Direct Loan Program who are in good standing on their loans.

What about borrowers who missed out on earlier programs?

The administration announced in June it would make fixes to correct mistakes in tracking payments that qualify toward forgiveness under income-driven repayment plans. As a result, the education department said Friday, it will wipe out $39 billion in debt held by more than 800,000 borrowers

Officials said eligible borrowers will be informed starting Friday that they qualify for forgiveness without further action on their part.

For far too long, borrowers fell through the cracks of a broken system that failed to keep accurate track of their progress towards forgiveness, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said.

What are the pros and cons?

Supporters say Bidens plan will simplify repayment options and offer relief to millions of borrowers. The Biden administration has argued that ballooning student debt puts college out of reach for too many Americans and holds borrowers back financially.

Opponents call it an unfair perk for those who dont need it, saying it passes a heavy cost onto taxpayers who already repaid student loans or didnt go to college. Some worry that it will give colleges incentive to raise tuition prices higher, since they know many students will get their loans canceled later.

Voices across the political spectrum have said it amounts to a form of free college. Biden campaigned on a promise to make community college free, but it failed to gain support from Congress. Critics say the new plan is an attempt to do something similar without Congress approval.

Is it legal?

That depends on who you ask, but the question hasnt been taken up by a federal court.

Instead of creating a new payment plan from scratch, the Biden administration proposed changes to an existing plan. It cemented those changes by going through a negotiated rulemaking process that allows the Education Department to develop federal regulations without Congress.

Its a process thats commonly used by administrations from both political parties. But critics question whether the new plan goes further than the law allows.

More than 60 Republicans lawmakers urged Cardona to withdraw the plan in February, calling it reckless, fiscally irresponsible, and blatantly illegal.

Supporters argue that the Obama administration similarly used its authority to create a repayment plan that was more generous than any others at the time.

The Biden administration formally finalized the rule this month. Conservatives believe its vulnerable to a legal challenge, and some say its just a matter of finding a plaintiff with the legal right  or standing  to sue.

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Until the first Tuesday in November 2024, when he hopes to be re-elected president of the United States, Donald Trump has a calendar with dates marked doubly in red ahead of him. On the one hand, hes facing three civil and two criminal trials, and this figure could rise if a new indictment is confirmed in Washington over election interference in 2020 and 2021, including the assault on the Capitol, together with a likely announcement of charges in Georgia, also for trying to subvert the election results. On the other hand, there are all the main dates for the primaries, where according to the polls he has a wide lead over his Republican rivals, exceeding 50% support in many of them.

The latest twist in a script right out of Hollywood came on Thursday, when a superseding indictment added three new charges in the Mar-a-Lago papers case, for attempting to destroy security camera footage and for obstruction of justice. In addition to Trump and his aide Walt Nauta, who has already pleaded not guilty, the new indictment included a third defendant, Carlos de Oliveira, the property manager at Mar-a-Lago. De Oliveira, who started working as a valet two decades ago and was promoted to manager in 2022, is scheduled to appear in court on Monday in Florida to hear the charges.

If the start dates of the criminal trials remain unchanged March 25 for the Stormy Daniels case, involving the payment of hush money to silence an extramarital affair, and May 20 for the Mar-a-Lago case, Trump could secure the Republican Partys presidential nomination before voters know whether he has been convicted of any of the charges (37 in the first case and 40 in the second, after adding the newest charges). But his criminal ordeal could still become more tangled if Special Counsel Jack Smith indicts him for 2020 election interference that led to the January 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol, and if the Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis, announces charges for tampering with the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state. That potential indictment could take place on September 1 or even earlier.

Trumps first criminal trial, for falsifying business records to conceal the payment of hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence, is scheduled for March 25, 2024, less than three weeks after Super Tuesday, when more than a dozen states will vote in the primaries.

In Florida, Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump and enjoys his sympathies, has set the date for the start of the second criminal trial, for the Mar-a-Lago papers, at May 20, 2024, when most of the primaries will be over and the final stretch of the campaign will be getting underway.

Until election day, Trump will also face three civil trials, the first of which is scheduled for October 2, for alleged civil fraud in a case that is being investigated by the New York Attorney General, Letitia James, and which involves the tycoon, the Trump Organization and his eldest sons.

On January 15, 2024, the same day as the Iowa caucuses the start of the primaries, Trump will be tried in a second defamation trial after the writer E. Jean Carroll sued for greater compensation ($10 million) after being disparaged by Trump again on CNN one day after learning that he had been sentenced to pay her $5 million for sexually abusing her in the 1990s and defaming her in 2019, when he was in the White House.

Two weeks later, on January 29, the Republican will face a fresh trial in a federal class action lawsuit that accuses him and his organization of promoting a pyramid scheme with get-rich-quick promises to lure clients while receiving large secret payments from the companies he was promoting. His Trump Organization has already been sentenced to a $1.6 million fine for tax fraud.

Defense delay tactics

Trumps defense, on which he has spent $43 million so far this year, maintains that he cannot face trials just before the election, and has opted for delay tactics. In the Stormy Daniels case, he unsuccessfully tried to transfer the case from the state court that accused him to a federal court, which he considers more favorable to his interests, but a judge ruled on July 19 against the change of jurisdiction. In Florida, however, he was able to get Judge Cannon to delay the trial until spring, even though prosecutors wanted to start in December. In New York, Trump unsuccessfully sued Carroll for defamation, and tried to torpedo the Letitia James investigation, even filing a complaint against her. The procrastination strategy seems to have no other goal than to buy time for Trump to become president, which would give him the opportunity to install like-minded Justice Department officials or even to try to pardon himself if he is convicted in any of the cases. Neither an indictment nor a conviction would prevent Trump from running or winning the 2024 election.

Oblivious to despair, Trump continues to turn each judicial setback into an asset, underscored by the thunderous capital letters he uses in his messages on his app, Truth Social, where he accuses the Joe Biden Administration of persecuting him for political reasons. But he also has things to say about his Republican challengers in the partys primaries. At a massive rally held on Friday in Des Moines (Iowa), the 12 opponents present, including second-runner Ron DeSantis, avoided criticizing Trump, a gesture that the latter did not reciprocate. On the contrary, he lashed out at them, especially at the governor of Florida, citing polls that suggest he would easily defeat Biden while DeSantis would lose to the Democrat. In just three minutes of speech he tore DeSantis to pieces, calling him an establishment globalist and DeSanctis, short for the nickname DeSanctimonious.

On Saturday, at a rally in Erie (Pennsylvania), one of the states that benefited him in 2016, he again criticized DeSantis and mocked the ridiculous charges against him, warning that prosecutors have opened Pandoras box. They impeach me, they indict me, they rig our elections, Trump said. He urged investigations against Democrats if Republicans dont want to risk losing their seats. The idea of an impeachment against Biden has gained momentum this past week among Republicans in Congress.

The criminal charges have been a boost to Trumps fundraising efforts. Doubts about Bidens age (he is 80, Trump 77) and the existence of Democratic candidates like Robert Kennedy Jr., who is reducing support for the president, also play in his favor.
KYODO NEWS - Jul 31, 2023 - 20:24 | All, Japan

Third-year junior high students in Japan were only able to answer 12.4 percent of questions correctly on average in an English speaking test for national assessments conducted in April, the education ministry said Monday, marking an 18.4 percentage points fall from when they were previously assessed in 2019.

More than 60 percent of the students evaluated could not answer a single speaking question correctly, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology results showed.

Although national assessments are conducted annually, it was the first time in four years that third-year high schoolers' English was evaluated.

The drop comes after changes were introduced to the English teaching curriculum in the 2021 academic year, putting more focus on students' ability to convey their thoughts and understand those of others in the language.

Aside from speaking skills, the junior high school students provided correct answers to an average of 46.1 percent of questions in the reading, listening and writing sections of the test, a fall of 10.4 points from the previous assessment.

Although the results showed a fall in the proportion of correct answers, an official at the ministry said the test had been "difficult" and explained that it "cannot be concluded that students' English ability has fallen."

With a majority of students unable to correctly answer a single speaking question, some experts say the curriculum is too advanced and that the way the questions are formulated is ill-suited to the task of assessing students' language skills.

The English speaking portion of the test comprised five questions, including one in which students watched a video about environmental issues and then provided answers in English, which included expressing their thoughts. Their responses were recorded on digital devices and sent to the ministry.

To avoid the recordings being sent all at once from across the country, which risked causing a communications failure, the ministry sampled about 42,000 students at about 500 schools in the nationwide April assessment.

The ministry says direct comparisons with previous assessments are not appropriate, as the average is calculated from the sample alone.

While the junior high schoolers' average correct answer rate in reading and listening stood at over 50 percent, writing scores were also low, averaging 24.1 percent.

Prefectures in major metropolitan areas such as Tokyo, Kanagawa and Aichi had the highest results in English reading, listening and writing, according to the ministry.
KYODO NEWS - Jul 31, 2023 - 23:00 | All, Japan

A man who attacked passengers on a crowded Tokyo train on Halloween night in 2021 while dressed as the Joker was sentenced to 23 years in prison on Monday for stabbing one of them and lighting a fire.

The Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court found that Kyota Hattori, 26, stabbed an elderly man with a knife in his chest and also attempted to kill 10 other passengers by splashing lighter fluid around and igniting it on a Keio Line train around 8 p.m. on Oct. 31, 2021.

Prosecutors, who demanded 25 years in prison, tried to prove the attempted murder of 12 passengers by arson.

But the court excluded two of the 12. "There remains a reasonable doubt that (the two) were at a place where their lives may have been in danger" when the fire was started, Presiding Judge Yu Takeshita said in handing down the ruling.

Hattori and his defense admitted to the stabbing and arson but disputed the number of passengers threatened by the fire.

Prosecutors argued that he planned to kill indiscriminately with the stated intent to get the death penalty and that "his motive was extremely selfish and deserving of strong condemnation."

The stabbed man was briefly in critical condition, and his injury required around three months of treatment.

During the trial, Hattori said he wanted to go on a killing spree to receive the death penalty as he felt his life was worthless.

The judge said Hattori's suicidal thoughts grew after he broke up with his fiance and she married another man, and that he was also depressed at work after being transferred from a familiar department.

Hattori "was desperate and decided to commit suicide," the judge said, adding he "thought that receiving a death penalty was the only way and prepared (the train attack) carefully."

He said earlier during the trial that he "lost my sense of existence and thought there was no point in living."

Hattori said his actions were inspired by a similar random knife attack in August of the same year on an Odakyu Electric Railway commuter train in which a man stabbed three passengers. That assailant was sentenced to 19 years in prison on July 14.

"It is a rare case where isolation and the experience of loss led to thoughts of murder-suicide and indiscriminate stabbing," Tamami Katada, a psychiatrist, said. But she also said such an experience could happen to anyone.

Katada points to the need for setting anonymous consultation services to deal with personal affairs, including for people who have lost someone close, and enhancing safety nets for those who need economic assistance. "I want people to rely on medical institutions before they overthink."

Related coverage:

Prosecutors seek 25-yr jail term for Tokyo "Joker" train attacker

Tokyo "Joker" train attacker says he was inspired by similar case

Man given 19-yr prison term for 2021 random attack on Tokyo train
KYODO NEWS - Jul 31, 2023 - 23:10 | World, All

Myanmar's ruling military on Monday extended its state of emergency that was due to expire Tuesday for another six months, state media reported, forcing a delay of a promised general election.

With the fourth extension, the election aimed at returning to civilian rule, following a February 2021 coup that ousted the country's civilian government, will not happen until August next year at the earliest.

The junta on Monday held a meeting of the National Defense and Security Council, the country's supreme decision-making body, where they decided to extend the measure, according to the MRTV broadcast.

The decision was announced by Acting President Myint Swe, the chair of the council, after junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing told the meeting the ongoing conflicts and security conditions in the country are hampering the military's efforts to hold elections and return to civilian rule, the report said.

A general election has to be held within six months after a state of emergency is lifted.

The fourth extension came after it allowed Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai to meet Myanmar's detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in early July, in the first confirmed contact between a high-ranking foreign government official and Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi might have been moved from a prison to house arrest in the capital Naypyitaw, BBC's Burmese-language service reported on July 25, citing a source close to the prison.

The country's de facto leader until the Feb. 1, 2021, coup has been tried on 19 charges, including corruption and election fraud, and now faces a total of 33 years in prison, essentially a life sentence for the 78-year-old Nobel Peace laureate.

Citizens' peaceful protests against the junta following the coup, which were met with harsh military crackdowns, have since morphed into armed resistance supported by Myanmar's government-in-exile formed by key members of Suu Kyi's political party who managed to escape arrest.

More than 3,800 people from the anti-coup camp have been killed, with over 24,000 arrested, according to the activist group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, based in neighboring Thailand.

Min Aung Hlaing, spoke at a cabinet meeting on July 13 and highlighted the severity of the ongoing conflict, saying that the junta still needs to make efforts to restore the rule of law and stability in the country.
Tourists have fun at a beach in Sarande city, southern Albania, on July 30, 2023. In the first six months of 2023, 3,396,932 foreign nationals visited Albania, an increase of 33 percent year-on-year, the country's Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) said in a reported published on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

TIRANA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- In the first six months of 2023, 3,396,932 foreign nationals visited Albania, an increase of 33 percent year-on-year, the country's Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) said in a reported published on Wednesday.

In June alone, 1,007,033 foreign citizens arrived in the country, 15 percent more than in the same month of 2022.

Last month, a total of 914,427 foreign citizens exited the territory of Albania, an increase of 19.7 percent compared to the same month in 2022.

In June 2023, 954,389 people arrived in the country from the European region, 30,082 from America and 8,971 from the East Asia and Pacific region.

According to INSTAT, the main reasons of the foreigners visiting Albania in June were business and professional purposes. 

Tourists have fun at a beach in Sarande city, southern Albania, on July 30, 2023. In the first six months of 2023, 3,396,932 foreign nationals visited Albania, an increase of 33 percent year-on-year, the country's Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) said in a reported published on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

Tourists have fun at a beach in Sarande city, southern Albania, on July 30, 2023. In the first six months of 2023, 3,396,932 foreign nationals visited Albania, an increase of 33 percent year-on-year, the country's Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) said in a reported published on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)

Tourists have fun at a beach in Sarande city, southern Albania, on July 30, 2023. In the first six months of 2023, 3,396,932 foreign nationals visited Albania, an increase of 33 percent year-on-year, the country's Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) said in a reported published on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)
People attend a memorial service at the Sagami Lake Community Center in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, on July 30, 2023. The memorial service was held Sunday to mourn laborers from different countries that died in the Sagami dam construction.

Representatives from Japan, China and the Republic of Korea, as well as local residents around the Sagami Reservoir, participated in the memorial event to pay tribute to the laborers who lost their lives during the construction. (Xinhua/Cheng Jing)

TOKYO, July 30 (Xinhua) -- A memorial service was held Sunday at the Sagami Lake Community Center in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture to mourn laborers from different countries that died in the Sagami dam construction.

Representatives from Japan, China and the Republic of Korea, as well as local residents around the Sagami Reservoir, participated in the memorial event to pay tribute to the laborers who lost their lives during the construction.

The suffering of forced laborers is a poignant reflection of the profound disasters inflicted upon the people of Asian countries, including China, by Japanese militarism and aggression, said Guo Xiaohan, a counsellor at the Chinese embassy in Japan, at the memorial service.

"We are gathering here again not to perpetuate hatred, but to face up to history, learn from the lessons, and sound the alarm bell to prevent the tragedy from repeating," said the counsellor.

The Sagami Reservoir is Japan's first multi-purpose artificial lake constructed between 1940 and 1947. To build the reservoir, Japan requisitioned about 3.6 million laborers, including nearly 300 Chinese forcibly taken to Japan by the invading Japanese military.

Due to harsh working conditions and treatment, 83 victims of the laborers were recorded, including 28 Chinese.

Since 1979, many Japanese have been holding annual memorial events to commemorate the deceased laborers. 

Children attend a memorial service at the Sagami Lake Community Center in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, on July 30, 2023. The memorial service was held Sunday to mourn laborers from different countries that died in the Sagami dam construction.

Representatives from Japan, China and the Republic of Korea, as well as local residents around the Sagami Reservoir, participated in the memorial event to pay tribute to the laborers who lost their lives during the construction. (Xinhua/Cheng Jing)

People attend a memorial service at the Sagami Lake Community Center in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, on July 30, 2023. The memorial service was held Sunday to mourn laborers from different countries that died in the Sagami dam construction.

Representatives from Japan, China and the Republic of Korea, as well as local residents around the Sagami Reservoir, participated in the memorial event to pay tribute to the laborers who lost their lives during the construction. (Xinhua/Cheng Jing)
BUJUMBURA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Burundi enjoys its cooperation with China and the African country's mobile connectivity has significantly improved thanks to the help of Chinese communication companies, a minister has said.

"Cooperation is positive if we consider achievements recorded by Chinese companies in the communications sector in Burundi," said Minister of Communication, Information Technologies and Media Leocadie Ndacayisaba said here in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"The Burundian population has now access to the digital television thanks to (Chinese pay television company) Startimes. Besides, the population has access to mobile telephones thanks to the equipment supplied by (Chinese technology company) Huawei," said Ndacayisaba.

The minister said that the Chinese communications companies have greatly contributed to the opening up of Burundian people's lives, even in the country's remote areas.

She particularly mentioned the Chinese satellite TV project for 10,000 African villages, among which 500 are in Burundi.

"Thanks to the satellite TV project, people living in Burundi's remotest areas have been able to get useful information from all over the world. Farmers now have access to information on agriculture, science or health. This has a big positive impact on the population's daily life," she said.

Those television programs have broadened Burundians' horizons and help them fight against poverty, she added.

Huawei is the main company that supplies equipment to communications companies in Burundi.

"With the mobile connectivity throughout the whole country, the population has access to communication, mobile financial services. This allows households to remain connected despite the distance," said Ndacayisaba. 
Rescuers handle a bus breakdown in flood-hit Mentougou District of Beijing, capital of China, July 31, 2023. By 4 p.m. Monday, the Chinese capital had seen 40 hours of continuous rainfall. Data shows that from 8 p.m. Saturday to 3 p.m. Monday, the average rainfall in Beijing was 193.4 mm, with maximum rainfall exceeding 580 mm in a scenic spot in the Mentougou District. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

BEIJING/SHIJIAZHUANG, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Two people have been killed during rainstorms in Beijing as heavy downpours continued to lash the city and its neighboring province of Hebei on Monday.

The two people showed no vital signs when they were found in a river during an emergency patrol in the suburban Mentougou District on Monday morning.

Meteorological authorities in Beijing maintained a red alert for rainstorms on Monday morning due to forecasts of torrential rain between 10 a.m. Monday and 8 a.m. Tuesday, and warned that small- and medium-sized rivers could experience flash floods and landslides.

A red alert for meteorological risk of geological disasters was also issued in the city on Monday. The alert reminded the public that the risk of geological disasters such as collapse and landslide would be very high from Monday noon to Wednesday noon.

By 4 p.m. Monday, the Chinese capital had seen 40 hours of continuous rainfall. Data shows that from 8 p.m. Saturday to 3 p.m. Monday, the average rainfall in Beijing was 193.4 mm, with maximum rainfall exceeding 580 mm in a scenic spot in the Mentougou District.

On Monday afternoon, a bridge over the Yongding River in south Beijing's Fengtai District collapsed as water level surged. No casualties have been reported so far.

Operations on 427 bus lines run by Beijing Public Transport Corporation were affected by 4 p.m. Monday, and several train routes in the suburban areas or departing from Beijing have suspended services.

By 1 p.m. Monday, more than 1,800 passengers and nearly 70 crew members on two trains which temporarily stopped in suburban Beijing due to railway closures had been evacuated. Meanwhile, those stranded in another train, which stopped at a relatively safe location, had been provided with food, water and other necessities by Monday afternoon.

Hebei has also activated the highest level alerts for rainstorms, flood control, and waterlogging prevention in response to the heavy rainfall.

The Hebei provincial meteorological observatory continued to issue a red alert for rainstorms at 8:59 am on Monday. It forecast that stormy weather will persist on Monday in parts of Zhangjiakou, Chengde, Tangshan, Baoding, the Xiong'an New Area, Langfang, and Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital, with accumulative precipitation likely exceeding 250 mm in some areas.

As of Monday noon, more than 54,890 people in the city of Baoding in Hebei had been evacuated, and powerful flood waters had destroyed several bridges in the city's Fuping Township, according to the city's flood control and drought relief headquarters.

The city of Langfang on Monday afternoon ordered residents in several districts near the Yongding River to evacuate due to a forecast of flood on the river. 

Sanitation workers clean up a street in flood-hit Mentougou District of Beijing, capital of China, July 31, 2023. By 4 p.m. Monday, the Chinese capital had seen 40 hours of continuous rainfall. Data shows that from 8 p.m. Saturday to 3 p.m. Monday, the average rainfall in Beijing was 193.4 mm, with maximum rainfall exceeding 580 mm in a scenic spot in the Mentougou District. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

Passengers walk past cars submerged in floodwater in Mentougou District of Beijing, capital of China, July 31, 2023. By 4 p.m. Monday, the Chinese capital had seen 40 hours of continuous rainfall. Data shows that from 8 p.m. Saturday to 3 p.m. Monday, the average rainfall in Beijing was 193.4 mm, with maximum rainfall exceeding 580 mm in a scenic spot in the Mentougou District. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

Passengers walk on a muddy street in flood-hit Mentougou District of Beijing, capital of China, July 31, 2023. By 4 p.m. Monday, the Chinese capital had seen 40 hours of continuous rainfall. Data shows that from 8 p.m. Saturday to 3 p.m. Monday, the average rainfall in Beijing was 193.4 mm, with maximum rainfall exceeding 580 mm in a scenic spot in the Mentougou District. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

A Beijing Waterworks Group emergency water supply vehicle provides water for a sanatorium in Mentougou District of Beijing, capital of China, July 31, 2023. By 4 p.m. Monday, the Chinese capital had seen 40 hours of continuous rainfall. Data shows that from 8 p.m. Saturday to 3 p.m. Monday, the average rainfall in Beijing was 193.4 mm, with maximum rainfall exceeding 580 mm in a scenic spot in the Mentougou District. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

Sanitation workers clean up a street in flood-hit Mentougou District of Beijing, capital of China, July 31, 2023. By 4 p.m. Monday, the Chinese capital had seen 40 hours of continuous rainfall. Data shows that from 8 p.m. Saturday to 3 p.m. Monday, the average rainfall in Beijing was 193.4 mm, with maximum rainfall exceeding 580 mm in a scenic spot in the Mentougou District. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

Sanitation workers clean up a street in flood-hit Mentougou District of Beijing, capital of China, July 31, 2023. By 4 p.m. Monday, the Chinese capital had seen 40 hours of continuous rainfall. Data shows that from 8 p.m. Saturday to 3 p.m. Monday, the average rainfall in Beijing was 193.4 mm, with maximum rainfall exceeding 580 mm in a scenic spot in the Mentougou District. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

Pedestrians walk on a muddy street in flood-hit Mentougou District of Beijing, capital of China, July 31, 2023. By 4 p.m. Monday, the Chinese capital had seen 40 hours of continuous rainfall. Data shows that from 8 p.m. Saturday to 3 p.m. Monday, the average rainfall in Beijing was 193.4 mm, with maximum rainfall exceeding 580 mm in a scenic spot in the Mentougou District. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)
As the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, people in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh are enjoying the benefits of a China-funded sewage plant built under the initiative.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service




MANILA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines and the European Union (EU) on Monday agreed to revitalize trade and relaunch free trade agreements (FTA) talks.

The two parties forged the new cooperation during a meeting between Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Manila.

As the first-ever EU Commission president to visit the Southeast Asian country in nearly six decades, von der Leyen said her visit signals accelerating "a new era of cooperation" between the EU and the Philippines, vowing to bring the bilateral trade relations "to the next level."

For his part, Marcos said in a speech that he discussed with the EU chief "economic relations with particular focus on revitalizing trade" between the two regions.

Marcos welcomed resuming negotiations for Philippine-EU free trade, adding that his administration would work with EU experts to achieve the bilateral FTA, the first round of which took place in 2016 in the Philippines.

Marcos also thanked the EU's long-term support for his country, particularly on the EU's recognition of a seafarer certificate issued by the Philippines that will benefit over 50,000 Filipino seafarers working onboard EU-flagged vessels. 
Students watch an immersive show of an artwork at the Tianjin Digital Art Museum in Tianjin, north China, July 30, 2023. During the summer vacation, the National Maritime Museum of China and the Tianjin Digital Art Museum jointly offered students with a study camp themed on ocean and art. Altogether 22 students from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province learnt knowledge of ocean and nature and got in touch with digital art during the camp. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Students learn to set up a tent in the guidance of a teacher at the Tianjin Digital Art Museum in Tianjin, north China, July 30, 2023. During the summer vacation, the National Maritime Museum of China and the Tianjin Digital Art Museum jointly offered students with a study camp themed on ocean and art. Altogether 22 students from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province learnt knowledge of ocean and nature and got in touch with digital art during the camp. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Students take part in a drawing activity at the National Maritime Museum of China in Tianjin, north China, July 29, 2023. During the summer vacation, the National Maritime Museum of China and the Tianjin Digital Art Museum jointly offered students with a study camp themed on ocean and art. Altogether 22 students from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province learnt knowledge of ocean and nature and got in touch with digital art during the camp. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Students visit the National Maritime Museum of China in Tianjin, north China, July 29, 2023. During the summer vacation, the National Maritime Museum of China and the Tianjin Digital Art Museum jointly offered students with a study camp themed on ocean and art. Altogether 22 students from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province learnt knowledge of ocean and nature and got in touch with digital art during the camp. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Students watch an immersive show of an artwork at the Tianjin Digital Art Museum in Tianjin, north China, July 30, 2023. During the summer vacation, the National Maritime Museum of China and the Tianjin Digital Art Museum jointly offered students with a study camp themed on ocean and art. Altogether 22 students from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province learnt knowledge of ocean and nature and got in touch with digital art during the camp. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Students experience painting on porcelains at the National Maritime Museum of China in Tianjin, north China, July 29, 2023. During the summer vacation, the National Maritime Museum of China and the Tianjin Digital Art Museum jointly offered students with a study camp themed on ocean and art. Altogether 22 students from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province learnt knowledge of ocean and nature and got in touch with digital art during the camp. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Students watch an immersive show of an artwork at the Tianjin Digital Art Museum in Tianjin, north China, July 30, 2023. During the summer vacation, the National Maritime Museum of China and the Tianjin Digital Art Museum jointly offered students with a study camp themed on ocean and art. Altogether 22 students from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province learnt knowledge of ocean and nature and got in touch with digital art during the camp. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)
ABUJA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- At an emergency meeting held here on Sunday, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which groups 15 countries, agreed to impose sanctions on Niger's military leaders involved in a recent coup.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, also chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, denounced the coup, saying the regional bloc "rejects coup and interruption to constitutional order."

"As African leaders, it is our responsibility to foster stability and progress," Tinubu said, noting that ECOWAS advocates collaborative efforts to ward off coups on the African continent.

The regional bloc said in a statement that the military junta in Niger must cede power in a week and immediately release and reinstate the country's elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, or ECOWAS will take all necessary measures, including the use of force, to restore constitutional order in Niger.

Last year, ECOWAS's leaders agreed to create a regional security force to intervene against rebel groups and prevent military coups. Niger is a member of ECOWAS.

ECOWAS's leaders agreed to impose financial and travel sanctions on Niger's military leaders involved in the coup, and also a no-fly zone over the country. They also decided to freeze Niger's assets in the central and commercial banks of the ECOWAS countries.

Niger's Defense and Security Forces said late Wednesday that soldiers in the country had overthrown Bazoum, hours after the president was allegedly held hostage.

Two days later, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, former leader of Niger's presidential guard, was named "president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland" and signed an order to suspend the Constitution and dissolve the government, empowering the council to exercise all legislative and executive authorities.

The United Nations Security Council on Friday strongly condemned the military coup, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the president, and underscoring the need to protect him, his family and members of his government.

The African Union Peace and Security Council on Saturday demanded the Nigerien military restore constitutional authority within 15 days.

The EU on Saturday suspended financial support and security cooperation between the EU and Niger, saying that it does not recognize and will not recognize the authorities resulting from the putsch in Niger.

In Niger's capital Niamey, thousands of protesters gathered outside the French embassy, with some trying to climb the walls of the embassy and others stomping on burning French flags.

Bazoum assumed office in 2021 after winning elections. Since gaining independence from France in 1960, Niger has witnessed four coups. 
ISLAMABAD, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the suicide attack at a political gathering in the Bajaur district of Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday jumped to 54 after more injured succumbed to their injuries, a police official said on Monday.

Additional Inspector General of Police Shaukat Abbas told the media that 10 of the injured lost their lives since Monday morning during their treatment in different hospitals of the province.

"At least 12 of the deceased are below 12 years of age. The medics feared that the death toll might further rise," said the officer, adding that over 80 injured are undergoing medical treatment.

The police officer also said the initial investigation revealed that the Khorasan chapter of the Islamic State was involved in the attack.

Earlier on Sunday, Nasir Mehmood Satti, the Regional Police Office of Malakand division under which Bajaur lies, told the media that the attack took place when a suicide bomber exploded his jacket at the workers' convention of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) at the Munda Khar road of the district.

Inspector General of Police of the province Akhtar Hayat Khan told the media on Monday that the initial investigation revealed that over 10-12 kg of explosives, along with ball bearings, were used in the suicide blast.

Pakistani President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the attack, expressed deep grief over the losses of lives, and extended heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved families.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. 
SHENZHEN, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Seven economic cooperation projects worth 12.1 billion yuan (about 1.7 billion U.S. dollars) between the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and ASEAN countries were signed Sunday in the southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen.

The signing was completed during the 2023 ASEAN-China Greater Bay Economic Cooperation (Qianhai) Forum that ran from July 29 to 30, which covered industrial park construction, digital economy and agricultural cooperation.

The Greater Bay Area-ASEAN International Chamber of Commerce Alliance and the China-ASEAN Think Tank Partnership were established at the forum. The forum also resulted in an initiative concerning a closer Greater Bay Area-ASEAN economic partnership.

The initiative proposes enhanced economic cooperation and strengthened people-to-people connections. Concrete measures include supporting the China-ASEAN Center to set up a representative office in Shenzhen, exploring the establishment of a Greater Bay Area-ASEAN Industrial Development Investment Fund, holding the "Greater Bay Area-ASEAN Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition," and establishing a network for cooperation among universities, think tanks, and research institutions from both sides.

More than 150 foreign guests, including representatives from the governments of all 10 ASEAN countries, diplomatic agencies in China, chambers of commerce, think tanks and enterprises, attended the forum. 
Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with visiting Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, who attended the opening ceremony of the 31st summer edition of the FISU World University Games, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, July 31, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to take the establishment of the China-Georgia strategic partnership as an opportunity to increase strategic communication and cooperation with the country in various areas, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Monday.

Li made the remarks while meeting with visiting Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, who attended the opening ceremony of the 31st summer edition of the FISU World University Games in Chengdu.

Li called on the two sides to focus on the Belt and Road Initiative, make good use of the intergovernmental committee on economic and trade cooperation and other mechanisms, and fully unleash the dividends of the China-Georgia Free Trade Agreement.

Both sides should strengthen cooperation in cross-border e-commerce, infrastructure construction, special economic zones and industrial parks, expand cooperation in emerging areas such as digital economy and green energy, and strengthen cultural, tourism and sub-national people-to-people exchanges, Li said.

China is ready to work with Georgia to implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, and make due contribution to world peace and development, Li said.

Garibashvili said Georgia attaches great importance to its friendship with China and is committed to strengthening cooperation with China, adding that upgrading bilateral relations to a strategic partnership will benefit the two peoples.

Georgia abides by the one-China principle, supports the Belt and Road Initiative and other initiatives, and is willing to cooperate more with China in terms of infrastructure, economy and trade, tourism and other fields, and strengthen the exchange of experience in state governance, Garibashvili said.

After their meeting, Li and Garibashvili witnessed the signing of a number of bilateral cooperation documents.

During Garibashvili's visit, China and Georgia issued a joint statement on establishing a strategic partnership. 
This photo taken on June 19, 2023 with a mobile phone shows traditional barbecue food of China's Daur ethnic group in Hala New Village, Qiqihar City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Yue)

HARBIN, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Kang Yan, a member of China's Daur ethnic group in the northeast Heilongjiang Province, cannot remember when she first tried their traditional barbecue as a child, because in her memory the dish has always been part of the Daur's ethnic culture.

Now a waitress in a cafe at the entrance of her home village named Hala New Village in Qiqihar City, the 43-year-old woman talks about traditional barbecue culture every day to tourists who see barbecue as a calling card for the city.

"Barbecued beef mixed with Artemisia willow buds was once unique to the Daur ethnic group, but was gradually accepted by other ethnic groups and so became a traditional dish here," she said. The campsite and cafe outside the village are both new, but it is an old dish that brings tourists from across China to Qiqihar to enjoy these new facilities.

Born in Hala New Village, Kang moved to another county after marriage, but as her parents grew older, so her desire to return to the village to work and take care of her parents also grew.

An opportunity came last year, when, to develop its tourism industry, the village built a campsite, a cafe, homestays and pubs. Kang managed to land a job in the cafe, which sells barbecue meals along with fried chicken and potato chips.

The cafe, named Great Journey Camp Coffee, was so popular in the tourism season that visitors had to make reservations two weeks to a month in advance. This allowed Kang to earn more than 6,000 yuan (about 840 U.S. dollars) a month.

She is not the only one to benefit from the iconic barbecue culture in Qiqihar. When walking in the streets of the city, one can easily find barbecue restaurants of various styles.

Guo Xu, executive president of Qiqihar's barbecue industry society, told Xinhua that like the cafe in Hala New Village, many restaurants are exploring the possibilities and potentials of combining barbecue with coffee and camping, so as to effectively promote this traditional dish.

In fact, this form of barbecue has spread beyond the province to other parts of China.

According to Zhou Tao, vice head with the commerce bureau of Qiqihar, there are currently about 21,000 Qiqihar barbecue restaurants in China, while e-commerce enterprises based on this form of barbecue have grown to 50. It is estimated that the combined revenue of the Qiqihar barbecue industry this year could reach 30 billion yuan (about 4.2 billion U.S. dollars).

Zhou further noted that Qiqihar barbecue, which originated in about 900 A.D., also helped spread the culture of once nomadic ethnic groups. Qiqihar, which means natural pasture in the Daur language, is home to Mongolian, Daur, Ewenki and Oroqen ethnic groups.

An exhibition at the barbecue museum in the city shows that in ancient times people had used stones for the dish, before later replacing them with iron pans. These days, baking trays especially designed for barbecue have been created and are being improved, with even the curves and grooves meticulously crafted.

After China optimized its COVID-19 response measures, the barbecue culture in Zibo catapulted the old industrial city in east China's Shandong Province to internet stardom and attracted nationwide food lovers to Zibo for the spring break.

Kang Yan hopes that Qiqihar barbecue will achieve similar glory.

"The phenomenon of Qiqihar barbecue becoming increasingly popular showed, to some extent, the inheritance of ethnic culture," said Kang. "I hope that more people will love the dish." 

This photo taken on June 28, 2023 with a mobile phone shows the exterior view of a barbecue restaurant in Hala New Village, Qiqihar City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Yue)

This photo taken on June 19, 2023 with a mobile phone shows a view of the Great Journey Camp Coffee in Hala New Village, Qiqihar City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Yue)
OTTAWA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of people in western Canada have been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire burning across Canada-U.S. border, media reported Sunday.

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen and the town of Osoyoos issued an evacuation order Saturday evening for 732 properties in and around Osoyoos, 400 km east of Vancouver, reports said.

The wildfire, which originated from the northwestern U.S. state of Washington, is burning about 4 km from Osoyoos in British Columbia's southern Interior.

On the Canadian side of the border, it had grown to 885 hectares as of Sunday morning, while On the U.S. side, the fire had burned more than 4,000 hectares, Washington State wildfire officials were quoted as saying.

On Sunday morning, over 2,000 properties in west Osoyoos were placed on evacuation alert. An evacuation alert means residents should prepare to evacuate their homes, while an evacuation order means residents should leave immediately, the reports said.

Osoyoos Mayor Sue McKortoff urged residents and businesses to reduce water consumption and not to water lawns in order to conserve resources for the firefighting effort.

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre said Sunday that there were over 1,000 active wildfires nationwide with over 600 of them out of control.

So far this year, the country has registered over 5,000 wildfires, which have devoured about 126,000 square km of land. 
BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 90 percent of China's expressway service areas had installed charging piles by the end of June, data from the Ministry of Transport showed on Monday.

At present, a total of 18,590 charging piles have been built in 5,931 expressway service areas across the country, covering 29,000 parking spaces for passenger cars, Guo Sheng, an official with the ministry, told a press conference.

Because of the increased charging facilities in service areas, people have spent less time waiting in lines for charging on holidays this year.

Guo said that China will continue to improve its charging infrastructure network along expressways to better meet public demand. 
SYDNEY, July 31 (Xinhua) -- A new registry has been established by the police force of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) to drive targeted prevention, disruption and investigation responses to domestic and family violence in the state.

The Domestic and Family Violence Registry is staffed by officers with expertise in domestic and family violence issues with 24-hour capability to provide advice, guidance, and response to domestic and family violence incidents, said the NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb when announcing its establishment on Sunday.

"Domestic and family violence is one of today's most challenging and complex community issues; it feels like an epidemic. It is time for that to change," said Webb.

The registry is the first specialist policing team targeting such issues set up in Australia, according to a NSW police statement posted on its website.

The NSW Police Force attended 182,121 domestic violence-related matters in 2022 and the number continues to rise, according to a report of Review of NSW Police Force Responses to Domestic and Family Violence Incidents, issued by the NSW Law Enforcement Conduct Commission in June 2023.

The NSW Police Force estimates that domestic and family violence accounts for up to 40 percent of all police work in NSW. 
MACAO, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Macao's total merchandise export amounted to 1.18 billion patacas (146.8 million U.S. dollars) in June, up 23.0 percent year-on-year, the special administrative region's statistical service said on Monday.

The merchandise import went up 14.9 percent year-on-year to 11.97 billion patacas, and the merchandise trade deficit totaled 10.79 billion patacas in June, the latest report from Macao's Statistics and Census Service showed.

The value of re-exports rose 29.2 percent to 1.05 billion patacas, whereas the value of domestic exports decreased 10.4 percent to 135 million patacas, the report said. (1 pataca equals 0.12 U.S. dollars) 
TOKYO, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Japan (BOJ) decided on Monday to buy 300 billion yen (about 2.11 billion U.S. dollars) worth of Japanese government bonds.

The open market operation marked the first such purchase since Feb. 22 as a response to the surge in long-term yields.

The benchmark yield on 10-year bonds reached a nine-year high of 0.605 percent following the BOJ's decision last week to allow it to go beyond the 0.5-percent cap, in a move to modify its ultra-loose monetary policy. 
TRIPOLI, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of illegal African immigrants stranded at the border between Libya and Tunisia are living in dire conditions after being expelled by Tunisian authorities, a Libyan official told Xinhua on Sunday.

"A large number of African illegal immigrants remain in a vast desert area between Tunisia and Libya. They are living under tragic conditions, with a lack of food and drinking water in very hot weather," said Abdullah al-Fak'hal, commander of the desert patrols of the Libyan Illegal Immigration Control Department.

The humanitarian crisis at the Tunisia-Libya border has intensified in recent weeks, with more immigrants' bodies discovered by Libyan Border Control in uninhabited areas. 
TAIYUAN, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Police authorities have detained 28 suspects involved in hiding the deaths of 43 mine workers and 40 safety accidents over nearly two decades in Daixian County, north China's Shanxi Province, the joint investigation team of the province announced on Sunday.

Shanxi Province has launched an investigation into the alleged underreport of mine accident casualties by a mining company named "Jingcheng" in Daixian County, following a media report on the hiding that lasted for years.

Meanwhile, discipline inspection and supervision authorities have placed 16 public officers suspected of serious violations of discipline and law under investigation and detention. 
TEHRAN, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with visiting UN special envoy for Iraq on Sunday in the capital Tehran to discuss Iraq developments.

During the meeting, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert commented on developments in and outside Iraq and highlighted Iran's constructive role regarding the Arab country, according to a statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Amir-Abdollahian, for his part, said Iran and Iraq have seen good, strong and constructive bilateral relations, which contribute to the region's sustainable development, stability and security.

Such relations are based on the friendship between the two peoples and all-out bilateral cooperation between the two governments, he noted.

The Iranian top diplomat emphasized the importance of ensuring security along the Iran-Iraq border, stressing that the border security agreement signed between Tehran and Baghdad in March should be implemented "accurately." 
Smoke rises above the Ain Al-Helweh camp in south Lebanon, July 31, 2023. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua)

BEIRUT, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The armed clashes between members of the Palestinian Fatah Movement and Islamist militants in southern Lebanon intensified on Monday, increasing the death toll to 11 and the total injuries to 37, the Elnashra news website reported.

Several armed clashes broke out in the Ain Al-Helweh camp in Lebanon's southern city of Sidon between Fatah members and Islamist militants since early Sunday morning, leading to the killing of Abou Ashraf al-Armoushi, a Fatah military officer, three of his bodyguards, and several civilians while injuring others.

The armed clashes also forced citizens to move to safe areas, said the report.

Fathi Abu Al-Ardat, secretary of the Palestine Liberation Organization factions in Lebanon, met on Monday with the Palestinian ambassador to Lebanon and the head of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee to discuss the latest developments, it added.

Al-Ardat emphasized the joint efforts of the Palestinian leaders in Lebanon "to overcome this dangerous and difficult stage and establish security and stability in the Palestinian camps."

He added that "the Lebanese government, in cooperation with the Palestinian side, will work firmly to end these anomalous phenomena."

Clashes between rival groups often occur in the Ain Al-Helweh camp, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. 

Smoke rises above the Ain Al-Helweh camp in south Lebanon, July 31, 2023. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua)

Lebanese soldiers are on duty on the border of the Ain Al-Helweh camp in south Lebanon, July 31, 2023. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua)

A Lebanese soldier is on duty on the border of the Ain Al-Helweh camp in south Lebanon, July 31, 2023. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua)
BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Several scientists stressed the significance of talent cultivation in China's basic research and encouraged young people to challenge cutting-edge issues in basic science on the sidelines of the International Congress of Basic Science (ICBS) held in Beijing.

Fields Medal winners Shing-Tung Yau, Caucher Birkar, Maxim Kontsevich, and Turing Award winner Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, shared their views on talent cultivation and the development of basic research in exchange activities with university teachers and students.

"We hope that young people can actively communicate with first-class scholars at home and abroad through this congress so that they can see how far the world's most advanced sciences have gone, and set clear goals for themselves," said mathematician Shing-Tung Yau, chairman of the ICBS and dean of Qiuzhen College at Tsinghua University.

"It is very important for young people to communicate with world-renowned scientists and listen to their speeches," added Yau, who recalled that he solved an important question in 1979 because he listened to the speech of Fields Medal winner David Mumford, which is his lifetime memory.

Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said Chinese young people are very smart, and "in fact, all they need is a little help."

"They can learn new knowledge in college courses, and they can meet some good professors who encourage them to exercise curiosity and the spirit to research. Such kind of talent growth will make a difference."

He added that the new wave of artificial intelligence has come, and it will have a huge and far-reaching impact on academia, industry, and even the whole society in the future. Countries should strive to create a good environment to encourage more scientists to make research and "use curiosity to discover the problems they want to solve," while also strengthening international exchanges and working together to address common challenges.

Caucher Birkar, a professor at Tsinghua University, said that in addition to the unsolved mathematical questions, the biggest challenge of mathematics is the training and education of mathematicians.

The textbook-style teaching, which tells students what to do and what not to do, will make many students feel bored in mathematics, and drift away from it and unable to enjoy the fun of mathematics, he added.

At Tsinghua University, he often encourages students to ask each other questions and communicate in class. He believes that asking questions is conducive to stimulating students' interest and inspiring thinking.

"It is very important for mathematicians to get into the habit of asking questions, which is exploring new possibilities and imagining what you can do next. This habit is best cultivated when you are a student," he said.

Maxim Kontsevich, a professor at the Institute of Advanced Scientific Study in France, believes that it is very important for more teenagers to feel the beauty of mathematics because only love can inspire you to make unremitting efforts to explore.

"Mathematics is a very beautiful subject, which plays an important role in the development and progress of human society, and is worth exploring and learning in our lives," he said.

According to Shing-Tung Yau, countries still need to attach great importance to basic science, invest more resources, attract more talent to participate in basic science research, cultivate public interest in basic science, and promote international cooperation and sharing.

"Basic science is the cornerstone of human knowledge. It is an important way for us to understand the world, reveal principles of nature, explore the universe, and drive scientific and technological progress. And it is a powerful driving force to guide the future of humanity and promote social progress," he said. 
YANGON, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar police have arrested four suspected drug traffickers in the country's central Mandalay Region, according to a statement from the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) on Monday.

Acting on a tipoff, the anti-narcotic police searched a motorcycle and a car in Chanmyathazi township in Mandalay on Sunday and confiscated 29,250 stimulant tablets from the vehicles, the CCDAC said.

The seized narcotics are worth approximately 43.875 million kyats (over 20,893 U.S. dollars), it said.

The suspects were charged under the Southeast Asian country's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law, and further investigations were underway, it said. 
TEHRAN, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Iran said on Monday it would push forward negotiations on the revival of a 2015 nuclear deal for its national interests, not on trust in the United States, the official news agency IRNA reported.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani made the remarks at a weekly press conference in the capital Tehran in response to a leaked secret audiotape of Rob Malley, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, in which Malley said he sought to revive the nuclear deal "only to further pressure Tehran over other issues."

Malley, also lead U.S. negotiator on the deal, said at the audiotape that once returning to the nuclear pact, Iran would be exerted pressure and imposed sanctions for other behaviors, such as "its support for proxy groups and terrorist groups, ballistic missile program, cyberattacks, election interference, and human rights violations."

Kanaani said the U.S. government is responsible for explaining Malley's remarks, stressing that "the U.S. committing to the nuclear deal could provide a basis for Tehran's trust in Washington, but it failed to achieve it."

"We are making efforts to remove the cruel sanctions and prepare the ground for all parties' responsible return to the nuclear deal, including the United States," the spokesman added, noting that the deal can be resumed whenever the other side manages to ensure commitment for Iran.

Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to put some curbs on its nuclear program in return for the removal of the sanctions on the country. The United States, however, pulled out of the deal in May 2018 and reimposed its unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to drop some of its nuclear commitments under the deal.

The talks on the revival of the JCPOA commenced in April 2021 in Austria's capital Vienna. Despite several rounds of talks, no significant breakthrough has been achieved since the end of the last round in August 2022. 
BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The air forces of China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will conduct a joint training exercise in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in August, the Ministry of National Defense announced Monday.

According to the ministry, the exercise, Falcon Shield-2023, will be the first joint training between the two nation's air forces.

It aims to deepen pragmatic exchanges and cooperation between the two militaries and enhance mutual understanding and trust, the ministry added. 
SEOUL, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The leader of South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party sent a letter to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, urging him to suspend the planned discharge of nuclear-contaminated wastewater.

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party chief, delivered the letter via the Japanese embassy in Seoul on July 28, calling for Kishida to hold off on releasing radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the party spokesman told a press briefing on Monday.

In the letter, Lee expressed South Korean people's concern for and opposition to the discharge plan with five proposals, such as launching a standing consultative body for environmental impact assessment, and finding safe alternatives together through cooperation with the international community.

Despite wide criticism from both home and abroad, the Japanese government has been pushing for discharge of the radioactive wastewater this summer from the Fukushima nuclear power plant hit by a massive earthquake and an ensuing tsunami in March 2011. 
BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments in the Ukraine crisis:

Moscow is taking additional measures to protect civilian infrastructure from Ukrainian attacks, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday.

"Taking into account the current situation, additional measures have been taken to increase protection against air and sea attacks," Shoigu said during a meeting with defense ministry officials.

Shoigu added that the Kiev has focused on carrying out "terrorist attacks" on civilian infrastructure in Russian cities and towns against the backdrop of its "unsuccessful counteroffensive."

- - - -

Moscow views Ukrainian attacks on civilian facilities in Russia as "acts of desperation," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

Peskov said that Ukraine is attempting to carry out "terrorist attacks" on Russian territory because Kiev is facing military failures.

- - - -

A police station building in Russia's western Bryansk region was hit by a Ukrainian drone with its windows and roof damaged, Governor Alexander Bogomaz said Monday.

"Ukrainian armed forces attacked the Trubchevsky district at night," he said in a Telegram post.

There were no casualties, he said.

- - - -

Ukraine will this week start negotiations with the United States on providing security guarantees for Kiev, the Focus.ua media outlet reported on Monday, citing Ukrainian President's Office.

"These guarantees will be in place until Ukraine becomes a member of NATO," Andriy Yermak, head of the office, said on Sunday.

- - - -

A drone crashed in the Neklinovsky district of Russia's Rostov region on Sunday, damaging the roof of a private house and a car, Governor Vasily Golubev said.

"An ambulance team went to the scene, but no casualties have yet been recorded," he said on Telegram.

This incident came after at least 15 people were injured in an explosion in Taganrog in the Rostov region on Friday. 
MOSCOW, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Moscow is taking additional measures to protect civilian infrastructure from Ukrainian attacks, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday.

"Taking into account the current situation, additional measures have been taken to increase protection against air and sea attacks," Shoigu said during a meeting with defense ministry officials.

Shoigu added that the Kiev has focused on carrying out "terrorist attacks" on civilian infrastructure in Russian cities and towns against the backdrop of its "unsuccessful counteroffensive." 
BEIJING, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing on Sunday called for all-out efforts to effectively prevent and contain the occurrence of major accidents.

Zhang said at a meeting that the lessons of recent accidents should be learned, risks and hidden dangers should be accurately investigated and rectified, in order to do a solid job on workplace safety.

It is necessary to firmly establish the safe development concept, put an end to the idea of making efforts afterwards, focus on accident-prone industries and high-risk points, and resolutely curb the frequent occurrence of gas accidents, said the vice premier. 
KIGALI, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda has made remarkable development strides in the past three decades with a strong focus on gender equality and women's empowerment, which has stimulated economic growth and boosted private and public sector performance, a senior official has said.

"The key driver behind Rwanda's progress has been the unwavering political will and commitment to championing gender equality and empowering women," said Silas Ngayaboshya, director general of Gender Promotion and Women Empowerment at the Rwandan Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion.

Highlighting the nation's efforts in promoting gender equality, Ngayaboshya told Xinhua in a recent interview that the country's constitution specifically mandates that at least 30 percent of seats in various government institutions be occupied by women, which makes it one of the countries in the world with the highest representation of women in state agencies.

"To ensure the effective implementation of these provisions, Rwanda has enacted laws aligned with the constitution's guidelines and established grassroots structures that facilitate women's participation in national development," he said.

Several institutions in Rwanda have been created to support gender equality efforts, including the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, the National Women's Council, the Gender Monitoring Office and the Rwanda Women Parliamentary Forum. Gender considerations have also been integrated into various policies initiated by different ministries, ensuring that sectors like agriculture, farming and education address gender-specific needs and challenges.

Nevertheless, Rwanda faces challenges in addressing deeply entrenched negative social norms related to gender, which require substantial efforts and investments for transformative change, Ngayaboshya said.

"Women's economic empowerment remains a priority, as it can lead to greater gender equality and overall socioeconomic development," he said.

He stated that gender-based violence (GBV) remains a significant obstacle, and Rwanda has taken a comprehensive approach to address this issue through prevention and response measures.

"Community-based structures and forums are utilized to build a safe and resilient family environment. The country has also established Isange One Stop Centers in hospitals, offering holistic support to GBV survivors," Ngayaboshya said.

According to him, despite the progress made, there is still much to do in creating a more inclusive society regarding gender equality in Rwanda.

He explained that the continuous focus and dedication displayed by Rwanda are essential to sustain and build upon the achievements already made, making gender equality and women's empowerment central to the nation's progress and development.

"Rwanda's awareness-raising efforts have yielded positive results, as both men and women recognize that gender equality benefits the entire society. While proud of the current position, Rwanda remains committed to further accelerating progress and fostering a society that accommodates everyone without perpetuating inequalities," Ngayaboshya said. 
CAIRO, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian government announced on Monday that it would implement power load-shedding in various governorates starting Tuesday noon, official MENA news agency reported.

In a statement, the cabinet said it will soon release the schedules regarding the towns and districts in each governorate that falls in the power-shedding plan.

The plan comes as a result of coordination between the Ministry of Electricity and the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Wealth.

Earlier this month, the cabinet announced that Egypt put in place scheduled, hour-long power outages to reduce the load on the national grid burdened by high electricity demands during sustained heatwave.

Rationing electricity has been seen in several areas in Egypt's capital Cairo over the past week.

Egypt hasn't faced a power shortage for years since it reached natural gas self-sufficiency and expanded the construction of power plants nationwide. 
ULAN BATOR, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia's National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring on Monday issued a warning of intense heatwaves, torrential rains and flash floods.

The agency said air temperatures are now exceeding 30 degrees Celsius in large parts of Mongolia, especially in the eastern steppe and southern Gobi provinces, warning the public to avoid heatstroke.

Starting from Monday night, floods caused by torrential rains are expected to hit some parts of the country, including Govi-Altai and Zavkhan provinces in the west and Khuvsgul in the north, the weather agency said, urging tourists and residents living near rivers and lakes to take precautions.

The extreme weather conditions are expected to continue across the country until the end of the week. 
TOKYO, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Extreme heat continued to grip Japan on Monday, with the mercury already topping 35 degrees Celsius in the morning in many areas of the country's east and north, said Japan's weather agency.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said by 11:00 a.m. local time, the temperature had reached 37.7 degrees in Hatoyama Town in Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, 37.1 degrees in Date City in Fukushima Prefecture, and 35.1 degrees in central Tokyo.

Officials warned that the risk of people developing heatstroke is extremely high, and issued heatstroke alerts for Tokyo, Kyoto, and 17 other prefectures.

The JMA said that atmospheric conditions are expected to become unstable in northern and eastern Japan through Tuesday due to a cold air mass and the temperature rises during the daytime, warning against possible lightning, gusts, hail and torrential rain. 
Participants attend the meeting of Myanmar's National Defense and Security Council (NDSC) in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, July 31, 2023. Myanmar's National Defense and Security Council (NDSC) decided on Monday to extend the state of emergency in the Southeast Asian country for another six months.(Str/Xinhua)

YANGON, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's National Defense and Security Council (NDSC) decided on Monday to extend the state of emergency in the Southeast Asian country for another six months.

According to the council's statement signed by Acting President U Myint Swe, the emergency period was extended in accordance with the Section 425 of the State Constitution for six more months starting from Aug. 1.

The acting president said in the statement that the extension was made based on the discussions and decisions made by all NDSC members attending the council's meeting on Monday.

At the meeting held in the capital Nay Pyi Taw, the NDSC members agreed that it is still required to make extension to undertake the tasks for ensuring security to hold a free and fair election, citing that political parties preparing for election are facing security threats, the council's statement said.

Those who attended the meeting also discussed matters related to conditions of preparation for the election, disturbances to preparation for the election, relief and resettlement being carried out after cyclone Mocha, and conditions for holding the election including security affairs, the statement added.

At the meeting, the acting president declared the extension of the state of emergency, and handed over the state power again to Chairman of the State Administration Council Min Aung Hlaing, who is also Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services, it said.

Myanmar declared the state of emergency in February 2021 for one year before making three six-month extensions until July 31 this year. 
JAKARTA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia is bracing for forest fires due to the El Nino weather phenomenon, which caused long drought, and the peak is expected from August to September, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency on Monday.

The agency's head Suharyanto said that the government has deployed ground forces, trained locals, and readied tools like weather modification technology, monitoring applications, water bombers, and helicopters.

"A total of 31 helicopters have deployed to reach remote locations," Suharyanto added.

Six vulnerable provinces are monitoring priorities, including South Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan.

The dry season has begun in 63 percent of Indonesia's territory and is expected to be more severe than the last three years, according to Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency official Fachri Radjab.

El Nino's effects would not be noticed until December, though the peak is from August to September, Radjab added. 
CAIRO, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Egypt condemned on Monday in the strongest terms the deadly suicide bombing attack that took place on Sunday in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry reaffirmed Egypt's categorical rejection of all forms of violence, stressing its full solidarity with Pakistan in confronting extremism and terrorism.

The government and people of Egypt expressed sincere condolences to the government and people of Pakistan, wishing a speedy recovery for all the injured, the statement said.

On Sunday, a suicide bomber exploded his jacket at a political gathering of supporters of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl political party in the province, killing more than 50 people. 
YANGON, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar earned over 112.41 million U.S. dollars from mineral export in over three months of the 2023-24 fiscal year, which started in April, the Ministry of Commerce figures showed Monday.

The revenue from the export of mineral products between April 1 and July 21 this year was down, compared to 118.72 million dollars earned in the same period a year earlier, the ministry's data showed.

Of the mineral export, goods worth 91.947 million dollars were exported from the private sector, the figures show.

The Southeast Asian country earned 337.80 million dollars from the mineral export during the 2022-23 fiscal year, show the ministry's figures.

Myanmar mainly exports agricultural, animal and marine products, minerals, forest products and manufactured goods to its foreign trade partners, including China, Thailand, Bangladesh and India, according to the commerce ministry. 
DUBAI, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday strongly condemned the "terrorist attack" in the northwest of Pakistan that resulted in the deaths of more than 50 people.

In a statement released by the Foreign Ministry, the UAE expressed its "strong condemnation of the criminal acts and its permanent rejection of all forms of violence and terrorism aimed at undermining security and stability in contravention of human values and principles."

The ministry also expressed its sincere condolences and sympathy to the Pakistani government and people and to the families and relatives of the victims, and wished a speedy recovery for the injured.

On Sunday, a suicide bomber exploded his jacket at a political gathering of supporters of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl political party in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing at least 54. 
KIEV, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine will this week start negotiations with the United States on providing security guarantees for Kiev, the Focus.ua media outlet reported on Monday, citing Ukrainian President's Office.

"These guarantees will be in place until Ukraine becomes a member of NATO," Andriy Yermak, head of the office, said on Sunday.

The security guarantees would include defense aid and financial support, as well as sanctions against Russia, he said, adding that Ukraine would not be accepted into NATO until its conflict with Russia ends.

The upcoming talks are a follow-up on pledges made by the Group of Seven at the NATO summit in Lithuania earlier this month. 
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides (L, Front) welcomes visiting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R, Front) at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, on July 31, 2023. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua)

NICOSIA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus and Greece welcomed the moves by the European Union (EU) and Turkiye to engage in consultations for the promotion of their relations, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during an official visit to Cyprus on Monday.

He was speaking at a joint press conference after talks with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace.

"Cyprus and Greece welcome the rapprochement between the European Union and Turkiye, but the process must be gradual and also reversible," Mitsotakis said.

Christodoulides said that a positive agenda by the EU in relation to Turkiye is important for efforts to promote a Cyprus solution that could end the island's partition brought about by the Turkish military operation against the eastern Mediterranean island in 1974.

He said accepting a positive agenda by the EU in relation to Turkiye was conditional on "positive moves" by Turkiye over Cyprus and particularly on accepting a restart of the Cyprus peace negotiations along the lines described in United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions.

The two leaders also said that Cyprus and Greece were eager to help Turkiye's efforts to promote its relations with the EU in several areas, including a visa concession for Turkish nationals visiting EU countries and an upgrading of an EU-Turkiye customs union.

They also spoke about the close relations of their countries, which will be further advanced at a meeting of a newly formed Supreme Cooperation Council of Greece and Cyprus, with the participation of the two leaders and ministers from the two countries.

Christodoulides announced that as a gesture of friendship and solidarity Cyprus will cover the cost of the reforestation of parts of forest land that was burned down by wildfires last week on the island of Rhodes in Greece. 

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides (R) shakes hands with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, on July 31, 2023. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua)
SAN FRANCISCO, July 30 (Xinhua) -- An all-terrain vehicle (ATV) rolled over and burst into flames Saturday in Washington's Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, killing four young people on board, the Kittitas County Sheriff's office said on Sunday.

Officers received the 911 report of the Polaris RZR side-by-side ATV incident in the forest west of Liberty at around 4 p.m. (0800 GMT) Saturday. Rescue units arrived within minutes to treat survivors and stop the fire from spreading, the sheriff's office said in a news release.

The victims were in their 20s. Two of them died at the scene, and the other two were transported to a hospital but neither survived. No other vehicles were involved and no one outside the ATV was hurt, it said.

The open field where the rollover occurred is a popular recreational spot for campers and ATVs. The cause of the incident and fire is under investigation, according to the sheriff's office.

Polaris has recalled some models of its RZR ATVs after repeated reports of fire hazards, according to media reports and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, reported the Seattle Times. 
ISW explains Russian milibloggers silence on attack on Chonhar bridge, Putins comments on counter-offensive 31 July, 10:13 AM Consequences of the attack on the Chonhar Bridge on June 22 (Photo:Russian-installed leader of the Kherson region Vladimir Saldo via Telegram/Handoutvia Reuters)

The lack of reaction of the Russian milibloggers to Ukraine's July 29 attack on the Chonhar bridge may indicate that the Kremlin has ordered them to keep quiet on certain topics, experts from the U.S. think-tank the Institute for the Study of War or ISW have said in their latest report on Ukraine.

ISW analysts said they had not seen any discussion of the strike among Russian milibloggers, which they said was a "noticeable inflection" compared to the Russian coverage of similar topics.

The milibloggers also failed to pick up on a claim by the Russian-appointed head of the occupied part of Kherson Oblast, Volodymyr Saldo, that Russian forces had shot down 12 Ukrainian Storm Shadowcruise missiles that had targeted the railway bridge at Chonhar.

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ISW cites a local Telegram news channel as the only source that commented on the strikes, which shared statements by Russian tourists about the closure of the bridge.

At the same time, the institute noted that after the first strike on the bridges at Chonhar on June 22, Russias milibloggers were "outraged" and "concerned," and they generally regularly comment on both successful and unsuccessful strikes by Ukraine on Russian logistics. The ISW experts therefore consider it unlikely that they will fully ignored the new attack.

"General fear of Kremlin punishment would not likely result in such near-universal lack of coverage of a dramatic event, however, and it is more likely that a specific Kremlin directive not to cover disruptions to critical GLOCs (Ground Lines of Communications) caused this lack of reporting," ISW experts concluded.

The institute also analyzed the latest statements by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin at the Russia-Africa summit about Ukraines counter-offensive, in particular, the Russian dictators complaints that the Ukrainian military campaign is preventing negotiations to end the war, and that Moscow cannot cease-fire as its forces are being attacked in Ukraine.

ISW experts pointed out that the Russian army were continuously attacking in Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts even before the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, which the Kremlin leader, of course, did not mention.

Russian officials have previously weaponized the mention of negotiations in order to accuse Ukraine of being the party unwilling to enter into negotiations discussions, and Putin is likely using discussions of the Ukrainian counter-offensive to undermine reports of Ukrainian battlefield successes and accuse Ukraine of continued lack of interest in a potential negotiations process, the ISW report said.

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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Kyivs iconic Motherland monument to bear Tryzub instead of Hammer and Sickle 31 July, 03:38 AM Motherland-Mother monument (Photo:Konstantin Brizhnichenko/Wikipedia)

Work is continuing to decommunize Kyivs iconic Motherland Monument, the 102-meter-tall Soviet-era statue looming over the banks of the Dnipro River, which bore the Soviet crest on its shield.

Workers were filmed on July 29 removing part of the Soviet crest on the shield, which is to be replaced by a Ukrainian Tryzub (trident) state symbol. Work on the rebranding of the monument, which has glared at Kyivs east bank since 1981, is to be completed by Ukrainian Independence Day, on Aug. 24.

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The monument will also be renamed Mother Ukraine, however a decision on this has yet to be approved by the Culture Ministry, Yuriy Savchuk, the general director of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II said in an except from an interview with Ukrainian Radio.

The full interview is to be released in full on July 31.

Savchuk said that there are strong reasons for renaming the statue, and said that this was not merely a formality.

We had a meeting of our museums academic board, and important decisions were made then. One of them is the renaming of the Motherland Monument as the Mother Ukraine Monument," he said.

He said he hopes that the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy will approve the academic boards decision before Aug. 24 when Ukraine marks its Independence Day. However, for the renaming to take effect, an appropriate administrative act needs to be issued by the ministry.

"There should be an appropriate administrative act, which is an order of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy... I always emphasize the interrelationship of these processes  changes in the coat of arms on the shield and the installation of the trident, renaming of the monument, renaming of the museum, expanding of its functions, new concepts, new meanings, new public standing," Savchuk said.

The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine reported that workers began dismantling the coat of arms of the USSR from the shield of the Motherland-Mother monument / Photo: Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine/Facebook

The Motherland Monument is a significant Kyiv landmark, and it is thought to be the tallest monumental sculpture in Europe.

The push for renaming gained momentum after a voting process in Diia (a mobile app, a web portal and a brand of e-governance in Ukraine since 2020) on July 21, 2022. Almost all voters wanted to replace the Soviet coat of arms on the Motherland Monument with the Coat of Arms of Ukraine.

On May 3, 2023, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law allowing the dismantling of Soviet and imperial cultural monuments. Subsequently, on July 13, the State Inspection of Architecture and Urban Planning issued a permit to replace the coat of arms on the monument's shield with a Ukrainian trident.

On July 30, 2023, the Culture and Information Policy Ministry posted photos on Facebook to announce the start of dismantling the Soviet coat of arms from the shield of the Motherland Monument.

Work has begun to dismantle the Soviet coat of arms from the Motherland Monument as part of the Trident of the Motherland project. By Independence Day, on Aug. 24, the monument will officially receive a new symbol  the Ukrainian trident, the ministry said.

Photographer Yan Dobronosov also published on his Facebook account the photos of the process of removing the coat of arms of the USSR from the shield.

Also, a video of the start of dismantling works appeared online, where workers remove elements of the coat of arms of the USSR on the monuments shield.

On July 26, the Culture Ministry said that it had begun the process of preparing for the removal of the Soviet coat of arms from the monument. All funds for the work were provided by patrons, and the total cost of the project is estimated at UAH 28 million (over $761,000).

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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Mexico calls for Russia's participation in Ukraine peace summit in Saudi Arabia 31 July, 11:48 PM Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (Photo:REUTERS/Henry Romero/File Photo)

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has suggested that Russian representatives should be invited to the upcoming Ukraine peace summit in Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported on July 31.

Obrador stated that Mexico will participate in the negotiations in Saudi Arabia regarding Ukraine only if Russia is also present.

According to him, the summit will take place Aug. 6-7.

"If there's acceptance from both Ukraine and Russia to look for solutions to achieve peace, we'll participate," said Obrador.

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We don't want the Russia-Ukraine war to continue, it's very irrational.

Read also: Putin tells African leaders Russia ready to enter negotiations to end war

He added that Russia's war against Ukraine has led to massive human suffering, with only the military-industrial complex benefitting from it.

On July 30, The Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia plans to hold talks on the war between Russia and Ukraine, without Moscows participation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly that Kyiv will not sit at a negotiating table with Russia if its occupation forces remain on Ukrainian territory.

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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Russian National Guard trains to suppress unrest in Russia and Belarus, reports NRC 31 July, 04:43 AM Russian National Guard trains to suppress unrest in Russia and Belarus, reports NRC (Photo:/Facebook)

The Russian National Guard (Rosgvardiya) has conducted training aimed at suppressing uprisings within the Russian Federation and Belarus, Ukrainian state civil defense organization the National Resistance Center (NRC) reported on July 30.

The security forces training was carried out in two stages, according to an NRC press release.

During the first stage, the Russian National Guard simulated countering mass civil disobedience among mobilized individuals and their families during the implementation of full-scale population mobilization measures in Russia.

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In the second stage, Rosgvardiya was tasked with conducting an operation on Belarusian territory to restore order after the military forces of Ukraine and Poland launched missile strikes on Russian Wagner mercenary company camps.

The NRC added that the training envisioned a personnel count of 20,000 of the Wagner mercenaries.

Furthermore, on July 29, the NRC revealed that Russian military forces are expanding their intelligence network in certain parts of the temporarily occupied Kherson Oblast and actively recruiting citizens loyal to them.

These recruits are expected to provide information and report on pro-Ukrainian citizens or those assisting the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

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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Ukraine has largely restored all its damaged thermal power plants  minister 31 July, 09:00 PM Minister of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov (Photo:NV/Natalia Kravchuk)

Nearly every Ukrainian thermal power plant that was damaged by Russian missile attacks last winter has been repaired, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said in a Facebook post on July 31.

The focus is on preparing for the heating season, the minister said.

Read also: Ukrainian state energy company warns of challenging winter season

We all understand that it can be even more challenging than the last one, so we have already developed clear action plans in preparation."

According to Kubrakov, out of more than 700 heating facilities damaged by the Russians, over 65% have been restored, while thermal power plants are almost entirely operational. Work is also underway to ensure backup capacity in case of emergencies. Additionally, efforts are being made to strengthen protection against potential future missile and drone strikes.

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He added that 60% of Ukrianes central heating infrastructure is ready for the 2023/24 winter season, which is the norm for late July.

In conclusion, Kubrakov said he is confident that Ukraine will be completely ready for the start of the heating season on Oct. 1.

Previously, authorities warned that Ukrainians should be prepared for any scenarios this winter, including renewed attacks on the country's energy system.

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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Description

 Join us for a blissful night of Bend and Brew Yoga at Barrier Brewing Co.!  Yoga, Beer, Magick, and Community

 Class hosted by Kayleen Freyre, founder of metaphysical art + wellness brand Opal's Magnum Opus. This one-hour yoga class is specially designed for entry yogis, so everyone can participate and enjoy the benefits of the practice. 

This gentle and rejuvenating yoga session will guide you through relaxing poses, stretching your body, and calming your mind. All are welcome. Treat yourself to a refreshing pint from Barrier Brewing Co., included with the price of your ticket. The finest crafted brews, connecting with like-minded individuals and fostering a sense of community. 

Food by Secret Vegan Kitchen!  generously offering 15% percent off for our yoga students!

Opal's Magnum Opus pop up shop to follow. Explore magick with our blind bag crystals, tarot reading, zodiac gift bags, and more!

 Date: Monday July 31st!

 Time: 6:30pm

 Location: Barrier Brewing Co.

3001 New Street Oceanside, New York 11572

Cost: $20

Please visit link below to purchase your ticket

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beer-yoga-tickets-660666861367?aff=oddtdtcreator
Red Bull enjoyed another smashing success at Spa last weekend and - for the second race weekend in a row - another smashed winner's trophy!

After Lando Norris' bottle thump on the podium in Hungary that broke into pieces Max Verstappen's $42,000 Driver's trophy, Red Bull's own clumsiness was responsible for wiping out its Constructors' silverware.

After the customary celebratory team photo in the Spa pitlane, those in the front row, including Verstappen and team boss Christian Horne, ran for cover as the bubbly was sprayed.

But in the commotion, the team's pit board collapsed on the unfortunate trophy which was once again in the wrong place at the wrong time, transforming the symbol of victory into a dismounted piece of scrap silver.

"It's broken again, the trophy is broken again!" cried out a stunned Verstappen, while a smiling Horner looked back at the pile of scraps.

Not again...  pic.twitter.com/qwbjoBkfvZ  Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) July 30, 2023

The trophy had been collected on the podium earlier in the day by Red Bull garage technician Greg Reeson, a man chosen to represent all those who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to help Red Bull achieve its extraordinary wave of success.

"Results like today are the combination of teamwork and that's why you guys have seen Greg, our garage technician that looks after all the tyres in the garage, to go and get the constructors' trophy today," Horner said, quoted by Motorsport.com.

Verstappen conquered in Belgium his 45th career win in F1 and eighth consecutive victory of 2023, the Dutchman is now one win short of Sebastian Vettel's run of nine consecutive wins achieved in 2013.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Vernon Stockton / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Quality of life is defined to a large degree by the difference between income and expenses. While it might be easier to earn a six-digit salary in Manhattan than in Mississippi, for example, your cost of living will be so much higher that you may actually end up with a lower overall quality of life. Of course, quality of life is a subjective measure, but generally speaking, the ratio of your income to your expenses is more important than the absolute dollar amount that youre earning.

See: 5 Places To Live in Europe That Are So Cheap You Could Quit Your Job

Find Out: What To Do If You Owe Back Taxes to the IRS

To find cities that have really low salaries and high costs of living, GOBankingRates sourced data from the U.S. Census: American Consumer Survey, the U.S. Census National Quickfacts, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. Only cities with average household incomes lower than the national median and with 3,000 or more households were considered. Results were ranked by median household salary as compared with average annual expenditures and are presented below in reverse order. While these costs of living might not be considered high compared to other locations, they are high compared to the median income in the area. Read on to check out the list.

10. University, Florida

Household median income: $30,945

Total annual expenditure cost: $22,710

University, Florida, is just northwest of the University of South Florida, leading many locals to dub it University West. The citys high transient population, along with its student residents, likely contribute to the combination of high expenses and low incomes.

9. Hamtramck, Michigan

Household median income: $33,570

Total annual expenditure cost: $23,749

Hamtramck has the highest household median income of any city in the bottom 10, but its still more than 50% below the national average. Meanwhile, average annual expenditures are among the highest of any city surveyed, let alone just the bottom 10.

Story continues

See: 15 Cheapest, Safest Places To Live in the US

8. East Cleveland, Ohio

Household median income: $21,699

Total annual expenditure cost: $19,684

The widest gulf between a citys household median income and the national median income of any city in the study belongs to East Cleveland. The citys $21,699 household income is a whopping 68.56% below the national average, making it hard for the average family to cover total average annual expenses.

7. Minden, Louisiana

Household median income: $25,661

Total annual expenditure cost: $21,229

Minden is one of two Louisiana cities in the bottom 10 when it comes to low salaries and high expenses. The small town with 4,955 households doesnt have the highest cost of living on the list, but its incomes arent very high as well, at 62.82% below the national average.

6. Bastrop, Louisiana

Household median income: $23,955

Total annual expenditure cost: $21,157

Residents of tiny Bastrop, with just 3,488 households, suffer from incomes that are nearly two-thirds below the national average. Yet, annual expenses remain relatively high, stretching household budgets to the limit.

5. Carbondale, Illinois

Household median income: $24,452

Total annual expenditure cost: $21,443

The Carbondale area, which residents refer to as the capital of southern Illinois, is also dubbed Little Egypt. Even its resident university, the Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, uses the Saluki as its nickname, as it was the royal dog of Egypt. Many of its residents likely have a tough time making ends meet, however, thanks to a median household income thats more than 65% below the national average.

4. Brownsville, Florida

Household median income: $30,394

Total annual expenditure cost: $24,533

By the standards of this list, incomes in Brownsville are fairly high as they are above $30,000 annually, only 55.96% below the national average. But expenses arent very low either, making Brownsville a place where residents really have to stretch their dollars.

3. Highland Park, Michigan

Household median income: $25,189

Total annual expenditure cost: $23,434

With incomes 63.51% below the national average, theres only a $1,755 gap between the median income in the city and the average annual expenditure cost. The town is entirely surrounded by the city of Detroit, and its economy has suffered along with that of its large neighbor. Fortune magazine reported in May 2023 that the city was considering bankruptcy.

2. Opa-locka, Florida

Household median income: $27,734

Total annual expenditure cost: $24,387

The interestingly named Opa-locka has an equally fascinating history, as it was designed based on the book 1001 Arabian Tales and boasts the largest collection of Moorish architecture in the Western hemisphere. Unfortunately for residents, incomes are low and expenses are high.

1. Isla Vista, California

Household median income: $22,386

Total annual expenditure cost: $22,517

Isla Vista is the only city in the entire survey where annual expenditures actually exceed the median income. This isnt a survivable situation for long, so its good that Isla Vista is home to a large student population from the University of California, Santa Barbara, which is transient in nature.

More From GOBankingRates

Methodology: To find Cities with Really Low Salaries and High Costs of Living, GOBankingRates found a list of cities in the US along with the cities median household income both sourced from the US Census: American Consumer Survey. This was compared with the national median household income sourced from the US Census National Quickfacts. The cities were filtered to only show cities with households greater than or equal to 3,000. The cities with more median household income than national median household income were removed to only show the cities with low salaries. For the remaining cities the top 100 lowest median household salaries were kept and a number of factors were found for each city including; [1] Grocery Cost of Living, [2] Healthcare Cost of Living, [3] Utilities Cost of Living, [4] Transportation Cost of Living, [5] Miscellaneous Cost of Living all sourced from Sperlings BestPlaces. Each cost of living index was multiplied by its annual average expenditure category cost sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey. The expenditure costs were summed to find the total average annual expenditure cost. The expenditure cost and the difference in median household salary compared to national median household salary were both scored. The results were combined and sorted to show the cities with low salaries and high costs of living. All data is up-to-date as-of July 11, 2023.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 10 Cities With Really Low Salaries and Really High Costs of Living
In this article, we will discuss countries with the highest yield of sugar and their latest sugar production quantity. If you want to skip our analysis of the global sugar market and its impact on the economies of the world's biggest sugar producers, read 8 Countries That Produce The Most Sugar.

Brazil, India, and China lead the countries that produce the most sugar; these nations collectively make up 41% of the global production. If we talk about Brazil, its hold in the sugar industry is powered by expansive sugarcane fields and a favorable climate. However, a substantial portion of Brazil's sugarcane harvest is diverted to ethanol production due to government mandates and global biofuel demand. On the other end of the supply chain, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Cuba, and Malaysia are the Countries With The Highest Sugar Consumption.

The white, refined sugar we see comes from either sugar cane or sugar beet, the two sugar crops whose growth determines a country's ability to produce processed sugar. Sugarcane is native to tropical regions in South Asia and is the world's largest crop in production, with over 1.966 billion tons produced in the previous crop year. Once cut, the cane stalks are crushed to extract the juice, which is then purified and crystallized to produce raw sugar.

Intriguingly, sugar beet is a root crop that many don't presume is a source of sugar, but it very much is. Of the 20 countries that produce the most sugar, four heavily rely on sugar beet, namely the United States, Russia, Ukraine, and France, as the crop primarily grows in the cooler climates of the Northern Hemisphere.

Sugarcane is also the most consumed crop in the world, as its global consumption reached 1.966 billion tons in the crop year 2021/2022. Explore 15 Most Consumed Crops in the World to learn more about the most significant crops.

Global Sugar Market Overview

According to a report by MarketsandMarkets, the global sugar market is $46.4 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $59.1 billion by 2028. The market will grow at a CAGR of 5% between 2023 and 2028, owing to increasing demand for processed food and beverages.

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The food and beverage industry is a significant consumer of raw sugar and affects market trends to a great extent. According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American youth consumes 143 calories from SSBs (sugar-sweetened beverages) daily, while the consumption is 145 calories for older people. If we talk about average sugar consumption (including beverages, refined sugar, etc.), American adults take 17 teaspoons of added sugar every day, which is 2-3 times higher than the recommended amount as per the American Heart Association.

While refined sugar's raw calories are associated with obesity and other health issues, it's imperative for the beverage and processed food industry. For instance, the Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) and PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) are two titans of the beverage industry. The global market presence, along with a massive demand for sugar to produce their flagship carbonated drinks, means the purchasing decisions of Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) and PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) can significantly impact global sugar prices.

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) offers over 500 brands in more than 200 countries and territories. As a major producer of sugar-sweetened beverages, the company's sugar procurement strategy and demand heavily influence global sugar prices and market trends. Likewise, PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) has multiple well-known brands like Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and Gatorade, among many others. So naturally, the company is one of the largest purchasers of sugar in the world.

Apart from the beverage industry, the confectionery industry also heavily relies on raw sugar. Mondelez International Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ), the owner company of brands like Cadbury and Oreo, is a big stakeholder in the market. Mondelez International Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) reported net revenues of $31.496 billion in 2022, 9.6% higher than a year before. It's the well-loved brands like Milka, Trident, and Cadbury that drive Mondelez International Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ) 's high sugar use.

The biofuel industry, specifically ethanol production, is another off-taker of raw sugar. Brazil, the world's largest sugar producer, channels a substantial portion of its sugarcane crop into ethanol production. As a result, companies like Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) are stakeholders in the sugar market. The rising demand for biofuels could stimulate increased sugar production and potentially higher prices.

Let's now list the top countries in sugar industry.

20 Countries That Produce the Most Sugar

20 Countries That Produce the Most Sugar

Our Methodology

We ranked the top 20 sugar producing countries according to their raw sugar yield in the crop year 2020/2021. Our source for this study was the Food and Agriculture Organization Of The United Nations (UN FAO). After shortlisting the nations leading in sugar production, we downloaded their raw sugar output stats from the UN FAO database by selecting the indicators of 'production quantity in 2020', as these are the latest records available.

Based on our findings, here are the 20 countries that produce the most sugar:

20. Ukraine

Annual Raw Sugar Production: 1.17 million metric tons

Ukraine is a top player in the global sugar market, and beet sugar is the main type produced. The country was estimated to produce approximately 1.17 million metric tons of sugar in the 2020/2021 crop year. A large part of Ukraine's agricultural sector is devoted to sugar beet cultivation because of its fertile soil conditions and favorable climate. Major regions for sugar beet cultivation include Poltava, Vinnytsia, and Khmelnytskyi.

19. Iran

Annual Raw Sugar Production: 1.56 million metric tons

Iran's sugar production primarily revolves around two crops: sugar beets and sugarcane. In 2020/21 crop year, the country produced over 1.56 million tonnes of sugar annually. Sugar beets are grown in the country's colder north, while sugarcane thrives in the hot and humid southern region. Sadly, Iran has been grappling with a water shortage that impacts sugar production.

18. Argentina

Annual Raw Sugar Production: 1.80 million metric tons

Argentina is renowned for its fertile Pampas grassland and has a long history of harvesting sugarcane. As a result, it sits amongst countries that produce the most sugar, with annual production exceeding 1.8 million tonnes. The subtropical provinces of Tucuman, Salta, and Jujuy are Argentina's main sugarcane cultivation areas, as they benefit from adequate rainfall and warmth. The Argentine sugar industry is heavily mechanized, focusing on producing bioethanol from sugarcane as an alternative energy source.

17. South Africa

Annual Raw Sugar Production: 2.10 million metric tons

South Africa's sugar industry is predominantly based in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga provinces. The country ranks amongst 20 countries that produce the most sugar, owing to its around 24,000 registered sugarcane growers. South Africa cultivates about 19-20 million tonnes of sugarcane annually, then processed in 14 mills nationwide. Sugar production provides employment opportunities and facilitates infrastructural development.

16. Indonesia

Annual Raw Sugar Production: 2.123 million metric tons

Indonesia is one of the countries that produce the most sugar. It is also the fifth-largest sugar consumer in Asia; the country's sugar industry is centered in Java, where the climate favors sugarcane cultivation. However, regardless of its vast cultivation areas, Indonesia's sugar production is often insufficient to meet its domestic demand as there are inefficiencies in farming and processing.

15. Philippines

Annual Raw Sugar Production: 2.125 million metric tons

In the Philippines, sugar production is a vital industry supporting over five million people directly or indirectly. The country produces an average of 2.12 million metric tons of sugar annually, catering mostly to domestic consumption. The Philippines' sugar industry also significantly contributes to bioethanol production, as the Biofuels Act of 2006 mandates a minimum bioethanol blend in gasoline.

14. Colombia

Annual Raw Sugar Production: 2.21 million metric tons

Colombia produces approximately 2.2 million tons of sugar per year, and sugarcane is a significant cash crop. Much of this output is used for domestic consumption, while a sizable portion is converted into ethanol for biofuel.

13. Guatemala

Annual Raw Sugar Production: 2.65 million metric tons

Guatemala is one of the world's top sugar exporters, producing around 2.65 million tons of sugar annually. It's worth noting that the sector is heavily invested in modern technologies for irrigation, production, and energy co-generation from sugar cane waste.

12. Turkey

Annual Raw Sugar Production: 2.79 million metric tons

Turkey's sugar production is heavily based on sugar beet and has seen a shift due to governmental agricultural policies. Traditionally, state-run sugar factories dominated the industry, but liberalization since 2018 has allowed private enterprises to contribute significantly to the production. Turkey produced around 2.79 million tons of sugar during the last crop year, but its dependence on sugar imports to meet its domestic consumption needs signifies a production-demand gap.

11. Egypt

Annual Raw Sugar Production: 2.9 million metric tons

Egypt is among the top sugar-producing nations in Africa, as its annual production reaches almost 3 million tons. The sugar industry in Egypt has taken strides toward modernization and has invested significantly in upgrading machinery and refining processes. The government has also been working to ensure self-sufficiency and reduce dependence on imported sugar.

10. France

Annual Raw Sugar Production: 3.8 million metric tons

France is one of the biggest sugar producers in Europe, particularly of sugar beets, as they are well-suited to its temperate climate. The country's annual sugar production is 3.8 million tons, owing to its sugar beet yield. France has high-yielding sugar beet varieties, and its efficient, modern sugar refineries make the most of this crop. France's sugar industry also takes a sustainable approach as many producers use beet pulp and molasses, byproducts of sugar production, to make biofuels and animal feed.

9. Australia

Annual Raw Sugar Production: 4.33 million metric tons

Australia's Queensland and New South Wales areas boast a thriving sugar industry centered around sugar cane production. The nation produced over 4.33 million tons of raw sugar in 2020/2021 and became one of the largest sugar producing countries. Most Australian sugar farms are often located in coastal areas and make use of the tropical climate that is necessary for sugar cane growth.

Click to continue reading 8 Countries That Produce the Most Sugar.

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Disclosure: None. 20 Countries That Produce the Most Sugar is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Howard Marks put it nicely when he said that, rather than worrying about share price volatility, 'The possibility of permanent loss is the risk I worry about... and every practical investor I know worries about.' When we think about how risky a company is, we always like to look at its use of debt, since debt overload can lead to ruin. We note that Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) does have debt on its balance sheet. But the real question is whether this debt is making the company risky.

Why Does Debt Bring Risk?

Generally speaking, debt only becomes a real problem when a company can't easily pay it off, either by raising capital or with its own cash flow. In the worst case scenario, a company can go bankrupt if it cannot pay its creditors. However, a more frequent (but still costly) occurrence is where a company must issue shares at bargain-basement prices, permanently diluting shareholders, just to shore up its balance sheet. Of course, plenty of companies use debt to fund growth, without any negative consequences. When we think about a company's use of debt, we first look at cash and debt together.

View our latest analysis for Bristol-Myers Squibb

What Is Bristol-Myers Squibb's Net Debt?

As you can see below, Bristol-Myers Squibb had US$37.7b of debt at June 2023, down from US$42.1b a year prior. However, because it has a cash reserve of US$8.73b, its net debt is less, at about US$29.0b.

How Strong Is Bristol-Myers Squibb's Balance Sheet?

According to the last reported balance sheet, Bristol-Myers Squibb had liabilities of US$20.2b due within 12 months, and liabilities of US$41.3b due beyond 12 months. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$8.73b as well as receivables valued at US$15.1b due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by US$37.7b.

Bristol-Myers Squibb has a very large market capitalization of US$128.3b, so it could very likely raise cash to ameliorate its balance sheet, if the need arose. However, it is still worthwhile taking a close look at its ability to pay off debt.

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We measure a company's debt load relative to its earnings power by looking at its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and by calculating how easily its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) cover its interest expense (interest cover). Thus we consider debt relative to earnings both with and without depreciation and amortization expenses.

We'd say that Bristol-Myers Squibb's moderate net debt to EBITDA ratio ( being 1.5), indicates prudence when it comes to debt. And its strong interest cover of 11.7 times, makes us even more comfortable. On the other hand, Bristol-Myers Squibb's EBIT dived 19%, over the last year. If that rate of decline in earnings continues, the company could find itself in a tight spot. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But ultimately the future profitability of the business will decide if Bristol-Myers Squibb can strengthen its balance sheet over time. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.

Finally, while the tax-man may adore accounting profits, lenders only accept cold hard cash. So it's worth checking how much of that EBIT is backed by free cash flow. Over the last three years, Bristol-Myers Squibb actually produced more free cash flow than EBIT. There's nothing better than incoming cash when it comes to staying in your lenders' good graces.

Our View

Bristol-Myers Squibb's conversion of EBIT to free cash flow was a real positive on this analysis, as was its interest cover. But truth be told its EBIT growth rate had us nibbling our nails. When we consider all the elements mentioned above, it seems to us that Bristol-Myers Squibb is managing its debt quite well. But a word of caution: we think debt levels are high enough to justify ongoing monitoring. There's no doubt that we learn most about debt from the balance sheet. But ultimately, every company can contain risks that exist outside of the balance sheet. For example - Bristol-Myers Squibb has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

If, after all that, you're more interested in a fast growing company with a rock-solid balance sheet, then check out our list of net cash growth stocks without delay.

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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American Pacific Mining Corp.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Pacific Mining Corp (CSE: USGD / OTCQX: USGDF / FWB: 1QC) (American Pacific or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has appointed Director, Joness Lang as President of the Company, with Eric Saderholm transitioning to the role of Managing Director of Exploration. This transition will free up time and allow Mr. Saderholm to focus on project development and advancement as well as generating and evaluating new projects for the Company.



We are delighted to have Mr. Lang take on a leadership role as President of American Pacific as we continue to grow our portfolio of western US precious and base metals exploration and development projects, commented CEO, Warwick Smith. Joness has been an integral member of our Board of Directors for several years, and with his robust experience in the mineral resources sector, we will benefit immensely from his expertise as he takes on a more active leadership role on our team. Current President, Eric Saderholm, who has done a phenomenal job of identifying and advancing the high-quality projects in our portfolio, continues to be a key member of the team.

Joness appointment comes at an exciting time for the Company as partner funded project expenditures are expected to total approximately CAD $30 million for 2023, which includes a 9,000 metre drill program at the Companys Palmer Project, which commenced last month (see June 19, 2023 news release).

About Joness Lang

Mr. Lang is an experienced executive leader with nearly 15 years of corporate growth strategy and capital markets experience within the natural resource sector. Mr. Lang has an established track record of securing and managing joint-venture and strategic partnerships with major mining companies. Most recently, Mr. Lang served as the Executive Vice President of Maple Gold Mines Ltd., where he played an important role in bringing Agnico Eagle in as a strategic partner, increasing institutional ownership and research coverage and leading or co-leading property acquisitions and equity financing transactions for the company. He was previously Vice President, Corporate Development with Riverside Resources Inc. where he served as a key member of the leadership group when the company generated income as a prospect generator exploration company through all of the joint-venture and strategic alliance partnerships that Mr. Lang helped secure. In addition to his Leadership: Inventing the Future (George Mason University) and Canadian Securities Course certificates, Mr. Lang received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Royal Roads University, graduating with distinction. Mr. Lang also graduated with honours from the British Columbia Institute of Technology where he received his Marketing Management Entrepreneurship diploma.

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About Eric Saderholm

Mr. Saderholm is a professional Senior Geologist and former Newmont Exploration Manager for the Western US. He has worked on numerous large mines and projects, including Bingham Canyon, Carlin, Midas, Gold Quarry, Twin Creeks, Lonetree, Mule Canyon, Black Pine, Genesis and Yanacocha. He has over four decades of experience in the minerals industry.

About American Pacific Mining Corp.

American Pacific Mining Corp. is a precious and base metals explorer and developer focused on opportunities in the Western United States. The Company has two flagship assets: the Palmer Project, a Volcanic Massive Sulfide (VMS) project in Alaska, under joint-venture partnership with Dowa Metals & Mining, owner of Japans largest zinc smelter; and the Madison Project, a past-producing copper-gold project in Montana partnered with Kennecott Exploration, a division of the Rio Tinto Group. For the Madison transaction, American Pacific was selected as a finalist in both 2021 and 2022 for Deal of the Year at the S&P Global Platts Global Metals Awards, an annual program that recognizes exemplary accomplishments in 16 performance categories. Also, in American Pacifics asset portfolio are three high-grade, precious metals projects located in key mining districts of Nevada, USA: the Ziggerat Gold project, partnered with Centerra Gold; the Gooseberry Silver-Gold project; and the Tuscarora Gold-Silver project. The Companys mission is to grow by the drill bit and by acquisition.

On behalf of the American Pacific Mining Corp Board of Directors:

Warwick Smith, CEO & Director

Corporate Office: Suite 910  510 Burrard Street

Vancouver, BC, V6C 3A8 Canada

Investor relations contact:

Kristina Pillon, High Tide Consulting Corp.

604.908.1695 / Kristina@americanpacific.ca

Media relations contact:

Adam Bello, Primoris Group Inc.

416.489.0092 / media@primorisgroup.com

Amended NI 43-101 Technical Report Palmer Project Alaska, USA, JDS Energy and Mining Inc. 2019

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.




Melbourne, Australia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - ConsultNote.ai is proud to announce its official launch as an advanced AI-based tool to elevate patient care and transform doctor-patient interactions.

Developed by a team of visionary general practitioners in Melbourne, Australia, ConsultNote.ai aims to empower doctors with cutting-edge technology to provide personalized and efficient healthcare experiences.

By seamlessly integrating with the doctor's workflow during patient consultations, this state-of-the-art software harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of medical assessments.

At the core of ConsultNote.ai is its real-time voice recognition capability, augmenting the consultation process by automatically generating relevant medical notes based on the conversation.

After each consultation, the system generates detailed and easily comprehensible reports, including referral letters, differential diagnoses, recommendations for further investigations, relevant preventative health measures, and much more. This comprehensive suite of features supports physicians in making well-informed decisions and engaging patients in their healthcare journey.

Drawing on validated medical databases, ConsultNote.ai leverages evidence-based decision support to minimize diagnostic errors and oversights. By reducing the chances of medical discrepancies and misdiagnoses, the AI-powered tool not only saves valuable time for medical professionals but also enhances patient safety and outcomes.

Privacy and data security are paramount to ConsultNote.ai's mission. The company fully complies with all Australian health and privacy regulations and does not store patient data within its application.

"We are thrilled to launch ConsultNote.ai on the 21st of July 2023," said Dr. Chris Irwin, co-founder of ConsultNote.ai. "Our vision is to equip doctors with innovative technology that enables them to provide the highest quality of care and personalized attention to patients."

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To learn more about ConsultNote.ai, please visit https://www.consultnote.ai/.

About ConsultNote.ai

ConsultNote.ai is a leading innovator in medical technology, at the forefront of integrating artificial intelligence into healthcare solutions. Committed to enhancing patient care and supporting healthcare professionals, ConsultNote.ai continues to drive advancements that revolutionize the healthcare industry.

Media Contact:

Dr Chirs Irwin

Email: chris@consultnote.ai

Phone: +61 466 376 510

Dr Umair Masood

Email: umair@consultnote.ai

Phone: +61 413 480 300

Website

www.consultnote.ai

Twitter

@ConsultNote

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/175418
Seth Wenig/AP/Shutterstock / Seth Wenig/AP/Shutterstock

The daisy chain of collapses the crypto industry has experienced has instilled a loss of confidence in the space and created many fewer options for crypto investors and businesses.

Im a Self-Made Millionaire: These Are Investments Everyone Should Avoid During an Economic Downturn

Learn: 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000

First came the implosions of several exchanges  notably FTX, Celsius and Voyager. Then came the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank  and the subsequent measures regulators took to avoid more damage. Then followed the closings of crypto-friendly Signature Bank, because of a similar systemic risk and of industry heavyweight and crypto-friendly bank Silvergate, which announced on March 8 that it was winding down operations and liquidating.

At the time, many in the space saw Signature as the last resort for crypto companies to be able to have ties to traditional financial institutions, and people believed then that the bank most likely would take over as the go-to bank for the digital asset industry. The closure of Signature prompted many to question regulators motives in shutting down one of the latest financial bastions of crypto-friendliness.

At the time, Danny Oyekan, founder and CEO of digital investment firm Dan Holdings and digital asset exchange Blockfinex, said this made it clear that there was an attempted regulatory crackdown to stifle the digital asset industry in the United States.

The move against Signature adds to the suspicion that authorities in the United States are using every excuse they can to pressure the digital asset industry,  he said.

This series of events has left few providers in the field  and both crypto investors and digital asset projects have been left struggling to find new banking partners.

Separate Crypto Banking?

For some this has reignited the debate about whether crypto banking should be separated from standard banking, or whether it should be integrated into the existing financial system.

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As Bloomberg reported, one bank has emerged as the new leader in the field: Pennsylvania-based Customers Bancorp, which partners with hundreds of digital-asset firms, including major exchanges, market makers and stablecoin issuers and has attracted new clients after crypto-friendly lenders Silvergate Capital Corp. and Signature Bank collapsed.

Im a Self-Made Millionaire: These Are the 6 Investments Everyone Should Make During an Economic Downturn

While Piper Sandler analyst Frank Schiraldi told Bloomberg that Customers really seems to be the last man standing, the bank is proceeding with caution, downplaying its connections to the crypto industry. It also has limited deposits on its Customers Bank Instant Token real-time payments platform, which caters to crypto clients, to no more than 15% of its total, according to Bloomberg.

Banks are coming under some pressure to block access to digital assets for both retail and institutional investors, said Anthony Georgiades, a general partner at Innovating Capital. We saw this play out in recent months with the so-called Operation Chokepoint 2.0 and what appears to have been a politically motivated attempt to cut crypto off from traditional financial services. I think [it] isnt as intense as it had been, but clearly there are reports of people whove been essentially de-banked because of their transactions with crypto-focused entities, such as exchanges.

The so-called Operation Chokepoint 2.0  a term coined by Nic Carter, partner at Castle Island Ventures  is an attempt by the U.S. government to use the banking sector to organize a sophisticated, widespread crackdown against the crypto industry, Carter said in a blog post.

Crypto Investing Options

While numerous people and ventures involved in crypto have experienced serious issues with banks recently, some experts believe its important to step back.

Whats happening more broadly with crypto  and especially decentralized finance (DeFi)  is the creation of an alternative and better financial system that is gradually pulling more and more value out of the traditional system, said Brent Xu, CEO and co-founder of Umee. As more value starts going from the traditional economy into the crypto economy, of course a number incumbents will seek to stop or at least slow this transition. This is to be expected.

According to Xu, while in the long term the idea is for people to not have to rely on traditional banks to take out loans or to get yield on some sort of crypto-financial products, for the time being there are certainly a few alternatives to engage with crypto if your bank blocks you.

So what are the options left?

Use a Bitcoin ATM

You can withdraw cash from your bank, go to a Bitcoin ATM and put cash in for BTC, said Christopher Alexander, chief analytics officer of Pioneer Development Group.

There are almost 70,000 BTC ATMs in the U.S.. he said. There are fees involved, but if your bank is doing a poor job supporting crypto, it is an option.

Exchanges and Platforms

For now, one option is to use Robinhood as an alternative to your bank, Georgiades said.

Just deposit money and then buy whatever crypto asset you want from that platform, he said. But, of course, the options on Robinhood are relatively limited.

Go Old School

If banks are instructed to block all transactions with the crypto economy, then theres not much that can be done. Even if some banks block such access, it can create major headaches, Georgiades said.

That said, there are still ways to transact with the crypto economy if your bank blocks you, he said. The oldest method  the method used by old-school Bitcoiners  is peer-to-peer transactions using cash, for example. In the old days, Bitcoiners would meet up in parking lots and exchange BTC for cash with each other, directly, with no exchange involved. Thats certainly one workaround, albeit a cumbersome one.

Bitcoin Spot ETFs

This option has a longer time horizon, as no exchange traded funds have been approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission so far. So-called Bitcoin Spot ETFs remain the Holy Grail for many crypto aficionados, and a fresh cohort of firms recently filed applications for such products  notably industry heavyweight BlackRock in June.

Crypto IRAs

The most tax-advantaged way to buy and sell crypto is with your IRA account, said Eric Satz, founder and CEO of Alto.

With some of these products  such as Altos CryptoIRA  investors can trade crypto tax free and tax deferred, place market and limit orders, roll over and transfer funds from existing retirement accounts and invest in up to 200 cryptocurrencies, he said.

Additionally, unlike when you trade crypto in a taxable account, Satz said, doing so within an IRA allows you to avoid the tedious tax reporting process required each year.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Is Your Bank Reluctant To Work With Crypto? 5 Other Ways To Invest
The Insight Partners

The global beach towels market is dominated by supermarkets & hypermarkets segment in 2021. The regular segment held a larger share of the global market in 2021, And the anti-microbial segment projected to register a higher CAGR during the forecast period. Key companies in the beach towels industry include Snappy Towels Inc, Melody Blue LLC, Dock & Bay Ltd, Pendleton Woolen Mills Inc, Oasis Towels, Sandex Corp, Tofino Towel Co, Hatton Textiles International Ltd, Canningvale Australia, and Qihai Textile.

Pune, India, July 31, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to our latest study on  Beach Towels Market Size Report, Forecast to 2028  COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis  by Type, Material Type, Distribution Channel, and Geography, the beach towels market is expected to grow from $ 535.06 million in 2022 to $ 707.15 million by 2028; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.8% from 2022 to 2028. The beach towels market growth is attributed to the increasing adoption of beach towels with growing recreational activities at beaches.





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Durability, strength, cost efficiency, water resistance, sand-free, and reasonably low weight are among the features of a beach towel that help boost its sales in Asia Pacific. Asian countries such as Indonesia, Maldives, Vietnam, and Malaysia have witnessed a boom in the tourism industry. Owing to these factors, Asia Pacific held the largest share of the global beach towels market in 2021.





Increasing Demand for Antimicrobial Beach Towels

Beach sand contains harmful microbes that affect human health. The most common pathogenic bacteria in the seaside environment belong to the genera Staphylococcus and Streptococcus. Beach visitors frequently contract skin and hair infections due to microbial contamination. According to the National Library of Medicine (NLM), bathing in coastal waters polluted with fecal matter is estimated to cause more than 120 million cases of gastrointestinal illness and 50 million cases of respiratory disease worldwide each year. Such rising prevalence of illness caused by microbial contamination is making people conscious about health and hygiene, eventually demanding for antimicrobial beach towels. Beach towels also withstand bleach and peroxide, making them incredibly versatile. These aspects are responsible for catalyzing the demand for antimicrobial towels and driving the beach towels market growth.

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Beach Towels Market: Segmental Overview



Based on type, the beach towels market is segmented into anti-microbial and regular. The regular segment held a larger share of the global market in 2021. Regular beach towels are often made from cotton, terrycot, microfiber, and other materials. Cotton is the best choice of fabric for making absorbent beach towels, with Egyptian and Turkish varieties ranking high among the most porous cotton types. Terrycot is thick and moisture-soaking fabric that provides warmth and comfort, especially while lying on the beach sand. The beach towels made from cotton and terrycot soak more moisture than synthetic fiber, as they have perfect absorbent properties and are easy to dry. Moreover, regular towels are easily available and less expensive than ani-microbial towel.

Based on material type, the beach towels market is segmented into cotton, microfiber, polyester, and others. Microfiber is expected to be the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period. Microfibers are generally man-made fibers, such as polyamide and blend of nylon polymers that are extremely absorbent, quick dry, dirt- & stain resistant, breathable, and lightweight. They are more durable than natural fibers.

Based on distribution channels, the beach towels market is segmented into supermarkets & hypermarkets, specialty stores, online retail, and others. The supermarkets & hypermarkets segment is expected to account for the largest market share during the forecast period. Supermarkets and hypermarkets are large retail establishments offering a wide range of products, such as beach and bath essentials, beach accessories, and other gear. Products from various brands are available at reasonable prices in these stores, allowing shoppers to find the right product quickly.





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Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Beach Towels Market



The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant economic losses across the world due to its temporary effects of the operational efficiencies of various industries due to a huge gap in the supply and demand of raw materials. It also adversely impacted the beach towels market in 2021. The sudden closure of national and international boundaries disrupted the operational efficiencies and value chains. In the early phase of the pandemic, the fear of contracting infection due to social contact devastatingly affected beach tourism, which is dependent on travelling and mobility. The pandemic completely halted beach tourism in the first half of 2020, thereby adversely impacting the beach towels market.





Beach Towels Market: Competition Landscape

Dock & Bay Ltd, Snappy Towels Inc, Tofino Towel Co, Canningvale Australia Pty Ltd, Pendleton Woolen Mills Inc, Oasis Towels, Sandex Corp, Hatton Textiles International Ltd, Qihai Textile Co Ltd, Melody Blue LLC are among the major players operating in the global beach towels market. Companies in this market focus on strategies such as investments in research and development activities and new product launches.





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HOMER, Alaska, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Discovery Channel's Charlotte Kilcher (Alaska: The Last Frontier) will be joining her childhood friend Corky Parker for an upcoming event as Parker returns to Alaska for a book tour of her memoir La Finca: Love, Loss, and Laundry on a Tiny Puerto Rican Island .

Top left: Parkers memoir, LA FINCA, available now. Top right: Parker at KSKA, the Alaskan radio station she helped found. Bottom: Parker (left) and Kilcher (right).

Before moving to Washington state and spending her time between Seattle and the inn she owned on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, Parker spent the 70s in Alaska where she helped to start up the radio station KSKA and the Alaska Bluegrass Festival; worked at her brother's iconic del Mundo cafe; waited tables for future governor Tony Knowles at the Downtown Deli; and spent time as a paralegal for Brian Shortell at the Alaska Public Defender Agency. Somewhere around all that she also starred in Tom Sadowski and Jimmie Froehlich's cult Alaskan postcard collection and film "Trailer Court," and served a short stint as executive director to the Alaska Wilderness Guides Association.

La Finca , winner of this year's Nancy Pearl Award for memoir, is a self-illustrated chronicle of the twenty-plus years Parker ran La Finca Caribe, an off-beat eco-lodge in Vieques, Puerto Rico, beloved by visitors worldwide, including legendary chef Alice Waters. The book covers the challenges and rewards of tropical innkeeping and hurricanes to divorce and bankruptcy. It's about how much we can learn from a place, a culture; learning how to listen to our own spirit.

Parker will be doing her tour through Alaska August 210, and her appearances will include an interview with KSKA about the station's upcoming anniversary as well as events with the Homer Public Library, the Georgia Blue Gallery in Anchorage, and the Writer's Block Bookstore and Cafe in Anchorage. Kilcher will join Parker for the Homer Library event to be in conversation with her about their experiences and memories in Alaska.

Fans are encouraged to join the Aug. 8 Homer Library event with Parker and Kilcher via Zoom. More information here: https://www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/library/author-talk-corky-parker-la-finca-love-loss-and-laundry-tiny-puerto-rican-island.

Story continues

Contact: Jessie Glenn

Jess@mindbuckmedia.com

Mindbuckmedia.com

503-998-8770

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bffs-award-winning-author-corky-parker-and-discovery-channels-charlotte-kilcher-team-up-for-alaskan-book-tour-301888930.html

SOURCE Corky Parker
(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden is planning to sign an executive order to limit critical US technology investments in China by mid-August, according to people familiar with the internal deliberations.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The order focuses on semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. It wont affect any existing investments and will only prohibit certain transactions. Other deals will have to be disclosed to the government.

The timing for the order, slated for the second week of August, has slipped many times before, and there is no guarantee it wont be delayed again. But internal discussions have already shifted from the substance of the measures to rolling out the order and accompanying rule, said the people familiar who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The restrictions wont take effect until next year, and their scope will be laid out in a rulemaking process, involving a comment period so stakeholders can weigh in on the final version.

A spokeswoman for the National Security Council declined to comment.

Read more: US Plans Narrow China Tech Investment Limits, Likely by 2024

The investment controls are part of a broader White House effort to limit Chinas capabilities to develop the next-generation technologies expected to dominate national and economic security. The effort has complicated the Biden administrations already fraught relations with China, which sees the restrictions as an effort to contain and isolate the country.

Chinas envoy in Washington said earlier this month that Beijing would retaliate if the US imposes new limits on technology or capital flows but didnt detail what actions the country could take.

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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has sought to calm Chinese anger over the curbs, saying they wouldnt significantly damage the ability to attract US investment and were narrowly tailored.

These would not be broad controls that would affect US investment broadly in China, or in my opinion, have a fundamental impact on affecting the investment climate for China, Yellen said in an interview with Bloomberg Television earlier in July.

Yellen emphasized the restrictions as well as existing export controls were not in retaliation for any specific actions from China or intended to curtail the countrys growth.

During her visit to China earlier this month, Yellen reiterated that stance in a meeting in Beijing with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.

Earlier: Yellen Says US Investment Curbs Wont Fundamentally Hurt China

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan first publicly discussed the concept in July 2021. China hawks in the US are eager for tougher and faster action. Lawmakers from both parties have also shown interest in legislating on the matte,r although a bill has not yet made it to Bidens desk.

The Senate this week passed an amendment to the national defense policy bill that would require firms to notify the government about certain investments in China and other countries of concern, although they wouldnt be subject to review or possible prohibition.

(Updated with additional details, background from ninth paragraph)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 23% in the last quarter. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last half decade have been stomach churning. In fact, the share price has tumbled down a mountain to land 78% lower after that period. So we don't gain too much confidence from the recent recovery. The real question is whether the business can leave its past behind and improve itself over the years ahead.

Now let's have a look at the company's fundamentals, and see if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

See our latest analysis for Big Lots

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect 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).

Over five years Big Lots' earnings per share dropped significantly, falling to a loss, with the share price also lower. Since the company has fallen to a loss making position, it's hard to compare the change in EPS with the share price change. But we would generally expect a lower price, given the situation.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

It's good to see that there was some significant insider buying in the last three months. That's a positive. That said, we think earnings and revenue growth trends are even more important factors to consider. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Big Lots' earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, Big Lots' TSR for the last 5 years was -73%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

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A Different Perspective

Investors in Big Lots had a tough year, with a total loss of 48% (including dividends), against a market gain of about 12%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 12% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Big Lots better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Big Lots , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

Big Lots is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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(Bloomberg) -- The first thing that greets visitors entering the headquarters of billionaire Harold Hamms Continental Resources Inc. is a 9-foot-long statue of a snarling bull named Boe.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Boe  short for barrels of oil equivalent  is an apt symbol for a veteran wildcatter whos still betting big on more crude production in the US. Hamm is a shale pioneer, the first to figure out how to drill miles-long wells sideways to unleash oil from North Dakotas Bakken shale region. At the time, it was the biggest US oil find since Alaskas Prudhoe Bay in 1968.

Today, Continental, which he and his family control, is the biggest oil producer in North Dakota and Oklahoma. Continental is also drilling wells in Wyoming and in the prolific Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico.

The future is bright, Hamm, 77, said during an interview with Bloomberg News this month in his Oklahoma City office. I look at it as an industry that is exciting, a lot of adventure, has a lot of potential for making great wealth.

Also Read: Oil Tycoon Hamm Cuts Trump Support While Aiding DeSantis, Haley

His optimism belies forecasts for the US shale sector, which is showing signs of reaching middle age. Experts predict output will peak by the end of this decade. The Bakken has already lost its luster, with output trailing pre-Covid levels. Even in the Permian, the worlds busiest shale basin, production is expected to max out by 2030 and gradually trail off from there.

The current shale slowdown, combined with production cuts from the OPEC+ alliance, is expected to tip the worlds oil market into a deficit by the end of the year. And while thats likely to support prices and please producers, it suggests the dynamism and growth in the US industry as espoused by Hamm could become a thing of the past.

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Hamm quibbles with the estimates, saying the Permian may not reach its high-water mark until 2035 and will see another 25% pop in production first.

Weve certainly seen some great days in shale, he said. But have we got a long way to go? Yeah.

He spoke before the release of his new book, Game Changer, which goes on sale Tuesday. In it, Hamm pushes for a change in energy policy in Washington that would help boost oil and gas production. Hamm, the youngest of 13 children born to Oklahoma sharecroppers, also hopes the book will rally enthusiasm for the industry that made him wealthy. Hes the worlds 77th richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Part of the purpose of this book is to encourage the next barefooted country boy to imagine that he could do something equally as good, he said.

Though Continental is a major US oil producer, Hamm still proudly calls himself a wildcatter  something of a rarity in an industry thats largely become averse to risk. Continental is one of the few companies drilling in southern Oklahoma, a region not known for crude-rich shale deposits. Oil prices near $80 a barrel mean that for Hamm, its a bet worth taking.

Its a lot of fun, Hamm said. There is a thrill to it. Like finding ancient wealth.

After runaway production triggered an oil-price crash about a decade ago, shale drillers have been under pressure to limit spending and return cash to shareholders. Hamms solution: Take Continental private. That process was completed late last year.

Still, Hamm says hes proud of US producers newfound discipline. Hes even learned to appreciate OPEC  once a thorn in shales side  for helping to balance the global oil market.

You have a concentrated amount of production, particularly with the Saudis, and for them to act like a throttle, thats pretty good, Hamm said. It prevents waste and oversupply and also saves some supply for increased demand without decimating the market.

Read more: Dont Expect US Shale Drilling to Recover This Year, Citi Says

Continentals production growth this year will be about 5%, Hamm said, in line with large publicly traded drillers. He expects similar growth next year.

As far as acquisitions go, Hamm is primarily looking at deals to expand in basins where Continental is already operating. But a trip with Hamm down to the basement of his 19-story office building suggests hes not ruling out going farther afield.

All over the basement lobby walls are newly installed murals depicting the four US shale basins where Continental operates. Ask if that means he wont be entering any more basins, Hamm looks at a nearby hallway with a blank, white wall and smiles. As far as hes concerned, the heyday of searching for oil in unexplored fields is far from over.

Forty years ago, prior to shale coming about, and horizontal drilling, finding the next hidden producing field was tremendous, he said. But does it still go on? Absolutely.

--With assistance from Robert Tuttle.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Allison Kirkby's appointment comes weeks after BT suffered a shareholder rebellion over concerns she held too many board positions - TT NEWS AGENCY/REUTERS

Allison Kirkby disappointed almost everyone on the day her appointment as BT chief executive was announced.

Not only did shares in her current employer, the Swedish telecoms company Telia, fall 4.5pc, but she was greeted with negativity by BT investors, who sent the stock down 1.8pc.

Though widely tipped as a candidate, Kirkbys ascendance was also met with a similar lack of enthusiasm by some inside BT. Most had expected Marc Allera, the well-liked head of the consumer division, to make the step up after his success in improving a record of poor customer service.

Telecoms experts in the City of London were surprised too, given Kirkbys career brings what some see as a somewhat chequered history of its own.

Now she faces the unenviable task of pushing through tens of thousands of job cuts as two major shareholders tighten their grip on the former monopoly.

Kirkby at least knows the terrain. A non-executive director at BT since 2019, she was previously in the running to become chief executive before being pipped to the post by Philip Jansen.

Seated at a long dining table in BTs boardroom earlier this month, Jansen was in a reflective mood.

I wouldnt say Ill leave with my head held high because I can see the share price flashing red behind me, but I will feel good about what I have done, said the chief executive, who is stepping down from one of the toughest jobs in the FTSE 100 after only five years.

Philip Jansen, who has led BT since early 2019, intends to retire from executive life - Hollie Adams/Bloomberg

Kirkby will know well the many stakeholders a BT boss must satisfy, in a sector that has become deeply unfashionable with investors. Prior to Telia she held senior roles at Denmarks TDC and Swedish mobile firm Tele2, as well as Virgin Media.

Much like her two predecessors, Kirkby honed her marketing nous at consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble, where she was hired by former Sky boss Jeremy Darroch.

After a protracted period in Scandinavia, the 56-year-old Scotswoman is returning to the UK to become the first female chief executive in BTs near 180-year history, and one of only 10 women to lead a FTSE 100 company.

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Adam Crozier, chairman of BT, describes Kirkby as a proven leader, with deep sector experience and a history of having transformed businesses.

Karen Egan, an analyst at Enders Analysis, says she comes across as very sensible, robust and on it.

Yet Kirkbys tenure at Telia has been dogged by investor unease and her departure leaves the company a gaping hole in its leadership after finance chief Per Christian Mrland stepped down in March for personal reasons. Remaining bosses in Sweden are said to have been angered by her early exit.

In an interview earlier this month, she complained of the markets short-term focus and insisted Telias share price would improve once its long-term investment plan started to pay off  a defence that has been frequently used by BT.

But while all telecoms firms have been grappling with tough competition and rising infrastructure costs, analysts have raised concerns about Telias aggressive use of supply chain financing during Kirkbys tenure and the potential fallout from surging interest rates.

In a statement, Telia chairman Lars-Johan Jarnheimer said he regretted Kirkbys decision to step down, adding that she had led the company at an important and challenging time.

The appointment also comes at the expense of Allera, the boss of BTs consumer brands EE and Plusnet who was widely viewed as the frontrunner to succeed Jansen. Having turned around customer service and offloaded the weight of BT Sport with a sale to the US broadcaster Discovery, his stock has been high.

Carl Murdock-Smith, an analyst at Berenberg, describes Allera as the favourite for the role, adding he would not be surprised if he decides to leave.

Egan says Kirkbys appointment feels like a bit of a board coup, pointing out how quickly it followed Jansens recent comments that the race to roll out full-fibre broadband would end in tears for BTs rivals.

She adds: Its a little bit like when somebody suddenly has a new girlfriend within a week of splitting up with their last one.

Crucially, though, BTs choice of chief executive highlights the priorities of the companys board  and its shareholders.

Kirkby is entering BT at a challenging time for the group, which has seen its share price slump almost 50pc in the last five years as it pumps 15bn into its broadband network upgrade.

With a market value of little over 12bn, BT is now worth less than it paid to buy mobile network EE in 2016.

Kirkby will be tasked with overseeing the full-fibre rollout programme, which aims to reach 25m premises by the end of 2026. Her tenure will likely also be defined by the rise of AI, in which BT is likely to play a major role.

Another major feature of the job will be managing relations with the Government, regulators and unions  a stakeholder struggle that often got the better of Jansen. Philippa Childs, deputy general secretary of the Prospect union, wasted no time in stating that the new boss must invest in the workforce and keep working with unions.

But most fundamental will be the need to push through the 55,000 job cuts required under BTs euphemistically-named transformation plan.

French billionaire Patrick Drahi has become one of BT's largest shareholders, and is seen as a potential takeover threat - Christophe Morin/IP3/Getty Images

With its share price in the doldrums, BT is coming under increasing pressure from its two largest shareholders  the French tycoon Patrick Drahi and Deutsche Telekom  who are both seen as potential takeover threats.

As a result, the company has been eager to emphasise its efforts to slim down through sweeping job cuts and by raising its cost-saving target to 3bn. Insiders claim Drahi has pushed Jansen to cut deeper and accelerate change.

Kirkby has said she is fully supportive of BTs strategy  an apparent unity of direction the company has been swift to underline.

Yet it also means that the executive, like many of her predecessors, may find herself powerless to implement meaningful change at the lumbering behemoth.

I think its going to be quite difficult for her to put a particularly new stamp on it, because they are holding it up as the reason this is such a great appointment is shes totally on board with the strategy, says Egan.

So as potential suitors circle, and BT races to cut costs, Kirkbys main obligation will be to revive the share price and maintain calm. While BT is forging an unexpected path with her appointment, the destination may ultimately be the same.

The priority for BT is consistency, carrying through, staying the course on the full-fibre rollout and getting through the investment phase onto the returns phase, adds Egan. A radical change of direction is definitely not whats required.

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Key Insights

Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, IHH Healthcare Berhad fair value estimate is RM5.05

IHH Healthcare Berhad's RM5.89 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate

Our fair value estimate is 29% lower than IHH Healthcare Berhad's analyst price target of RM7.08

Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of IHH Healthcare Berhad (KLSE:IHH) as an investment opportunity 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. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example!

We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.

See our latest analysis for IHH Healthcare Berhad

Is IHH Healthcare Berhad Fairly Valued?

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

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10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM2.59b RM2.87b RM3.02b RM3.17b RM3.31b RM3.44b RM3.58b RM3.72b RM3.86b RM4.00b Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x5 Analyst x3 Est @ 5.28% Est @ 4.77% Est @ 4.41% Est @ 4.16% Est @ 3.98% Est @ 3.86% Est @ 3.77% Est @ 3.71% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 10% RM2.3k RM2.4k RM2.3k RM2.2k RM2.0k RM1.9k RM1.8k RM1.7k RM1.6k RM1.5k

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM20b

After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 3.6%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 10%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = RM4.0b (1 + 3.6%)  (10% 3.6%) = RM64b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM64b ( 1 + 10%)10= RM25b

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is RM45b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of RM5.9, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

dcf

The Assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at IHH Healthcare Berhad as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 10%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.807. 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 IHH Healthcare Berhad

Strength

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Earnings growth over the past year underperformed the Healthcare industry.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Healthcare market.

Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Opportunity

Annual revenue is forecast to grow faster than the Malaysian market.

Threat

Annual earnings are forecast to decline for the next 3 years.

Next Steps:

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. 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. For IHH Healthcare Berhad, we've compiled three pertinent factors you should further examine:

Risks: Take risks, for example - IHH Healthcare Berhad has 2 warning signs (and 1 which shouldn't be ignored) we think you should know about. Future Earnings: How does IHH'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 KLSE 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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(Bloomberg) -- Nuclear energy is gaining significant momentum in Ontario, with new plans to expand an existing plant to become the worlds largest and a pledge to add three small modular reactors to a site where another is already being built.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The news marks a shift for an industry that has been stalled for decades amid fears about safety and cost overruns. Its also seen as a critical step in modernizing an aging power grid that needs to add capacity without boosting already-high electricity costs, or threatening emissions goals.

The 2011 Fukushima Daiichi meltdown  the worst disaster since Chernobyl  slammed the global brakes on nuclear power plans. The Vogtle debacle in the US also provided grist for nuclears opponents, in the form of years-long delays and a price tag $16 billion over budget.

Still, Ontario is charging ahead. The newly announced expansion at the Bruce Power facility marks the first large-scale nuclear build in Canada in over three decades, suggesting nuclear policy may finally be becoming unstuck. The province is home to all but one of the countrys 19 nuclear reactors, most of which were built from the 1960s to 1980s, during which time the Candu reactor became a global favorite.

We are returning to our nuclear roots, and it couldnt happen at a more important time, said John Gorman, president of the Canadian Nuclear Association. As global demand for clean energy soars, Canada is once again poised to be a supplier of nuclear reactors domestically and internationally, he said.

By 2050, Ontario will need to spend about C$400 billion ($303 billion) to double its generating capacity to 88.4 gigawatts, according to the agency that runs the provinces electric grid, as drivers switch to electric vehicles and homes and businesses gradually move away from fossil fuels. Canadas largest province is also seeing rapid population growth due to immigration.

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Thanks to existing nuclear, hydroelectric and wind power, Ontarios grid is already 90% clean. But growing demand could make that final 10% the hardest to reach. Nuclear projects take many years to finish, and with all three of Ontarios nuclear sites due for refurbishment this decade, the province will see a temporary cut to generating capacity. While construction is underway, the province plans to backstop supply with more natural gas.

Dumping Power

Once complete, the nuclear projects will reduce the provinces reliance on natural gas. They will also lessen the need to use wind and solar power to meet base-load demand  the minimum level of power needed from an electrical grid at any time  which contributes to a costly mismatch between supply and demand.

Electricity demand typically ramps up in the morning, peaks late afternoon, and tapers off at night. But supply from intermittent renewables like wind and solar is weather-dependent, and therefore less reliable at meeting the demand of the hour. Sometimes intermittent sources generate less power than is needed, and sometimes more  in which case operators may need to pause generation at certain plants to avoid overloading the system.

At night, wind fights with nuclear and hydroelectric. During the day, wind and solar fight each other for the peak. So something has to be curtailed, said Paul Acchione, a longtime engineer who co-authored a report on electricity price projections for the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers.

Hydroelectric power is usually first to be curtailed because its production carries a water rental tax, Acchione said. If you put too much wind and solar on the Ontario grid, you end up dumping water into Niagara Falls.

While intermittent renewables produce the cheapest electricity of any source, they arent yet reliable enough to replace natural gas, which is why the latter is still the backstop during times of peak demand and grid outages.

Wind and solar are really, really cheap sources of power, but you need to be concerned with addressing their intermittency, said Jason Dion, senior research director of the Canadian Climate Institute. The challenge grows as their share of overall generation grows.

Thats where advancements in energy storage come in, allowing excess power generated in periods of low demand to be saved for peak times.

Storage currently covers only about 0.5% of Ontarios total generating capacity, but the province will grow its battery capacity 24-fold in the next three years, according to a July report by the energy ministry. The government also has future plans to add more pumped storage hydropower, a longer-duration storage option that moves water uphill to be run through a turbine later on.

Containing Costs

Acchiones group modeled eight different scenarios for creating a net zero electricity supply in 2035, the year by which the Canadian government has pledged to have an emissions-free grid.

The simulation found expanding both nuclear capacity and long-term electricity storage is the best way to keep rates as low as possible. In the most optimal scenario, nuclear and hydroelectric power would meet base-load demand, while intermittent sources propped up by pumped storage would kick in during peak hours  resulting in a 10% rise in electricity costs. Thats about the same as residents could expect if the province simply expanded its 2021 energy mix, without the added carbon emissions.

The two new projects at the Bruce and Darlington nuclear generating stations will add 6,000 additional megawatts of capacity to the grid once complete. Ontario can achieve Canadas net zero electricity goal as long as they arrive on schedule, and assuming demand projections are accurate, Acchione said.

The energy planners here in Ontario are starting to appreciate the various moving parts that play into the design of an energy supply mix, he said. Its a good announcement. Its a good start.

--With assistance from Will Wade.

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Capitas new chief executive Adolfo Hernandez joins the business after having led Amazon's telecoms division

Capita has recruited an Amazon executive to steer its recovery after it was hit by a 20m cyberattack earlier this year.

The London-listed company, which collects the BBC TV licence fee, said Adolfo Hernandez, currently boss of Amazons telecoms division, is taking over from chief executive Jon Lewis.

Mr Lewis, who has held the top spot since 2017, is retiring at the end of the year. He will help with the leadership handover until next July.

The move comes two months after Capita suffered a cyber attack that saw some customer, supplier and staff data accessed by Russian hackers.

All of the companys 50,000 staff were locked out of its IT systems in March and the company said it would take a hit of 20m from the attack.

Capita insisted Mr Lewis had been discussing his retirement before the ransomware incident, which saw the Russian Black Basta cybercrime gang threatening to publish stolen information on the dark web.

Shares surged on the news of Mr Lewis departure in mid-morning trading on Monday before settling close to Fridays closing price of 27.9p.

Mr Hernandez previously turned around professional services business SDL plc, culminating in an 854m merger with translation services company RWS Holdings three years ago.

Prior to that he held posts at Alcatel-Lucent and IBM.

Mr Lewis leaves Capita having served as chief executive since late 2017 - Stuart Nicol

During Mr Lewis term of office Capitas share price has dropped 88pc, having been at around 250p when he took post in December 2017.

Capita chairman David Lowden hailed Mr Lewis outstanding leadership and determination and said he should be rightly proud of his achievements.

The company holds billions of pounds of public sector outsourcing and IT contracts, including a 456m deal with the BBC to collect and enforce the TV licence fee.

The hack by Russias Black Basta cybercrime gang cost the London-listed business between 15m and 20m.

It was forced to admit the figure months afterwards as pension funds clamoured to find out whether their customers information was caught up in it.

Story continues

The hack took place after Russian criminals gained access to files backed up from a piece of Capita-made software used by 350 pension funds.

The company insisted that 0.1pc of its servers were accessed by the hackers and said it had taken extensive steps to deal with the data theft.

Mr Lewis claimed in April that Capitas response to the hack will go down as a case history for how to deal with a sophisticated cyberattack.

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Key Insights

Institutions' substantial holdings in Capitol Health implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price

51% of the business is held by the top 9 shareholders

Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

Every investor in Capitol Health Limited (ASX:CAJ) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 50% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Because institutional owners have a huge pool of resources and liquidity, their investing decisions tend to carry a great deal 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 take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Capitol Health.

View our latest analysis for Capitol Health

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Capitol Health?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that Capitol Health does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Capitol Health's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Capitol Health. The company's largest shareholder is Australian Ethical Investment Limited, with ownership of 9.2%. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 8.8% and 7.1%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

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We did some more digging and found that 9 of the top shareholders account for roughly 51% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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 Capitol Health

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Capitol Health Limited. In their own names, insiders own AU$16m worth of stock in the AU$249m company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board, though we generally prefer to see bigger insider holdings. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 38% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Capitol Health. 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.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 4.5% of Capitol Health stock. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Capitol Health , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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This single Tennessee teacher makes $60K/year while working side gigs  but he can't even afford a home in his own community. Here's the expert guru advice he got

There are times when homeownership may not be for everyone  even for those who really want one. Just ask a Knoxville, Tennessee-area school teacher who recently received some tough advice from The Ramsey Show after he called in seeking counsel about how to buy a home on a $60,000 annual income in a real estate market where homes routinely fetch $300,000 or more.

Don't miss

The hosts repeatedly reminded James of the dreary math thats working against him and suggested he consider an inexpensive townhome or push his home search further away from his job to find something cheaper. He could also wait until hed cleared Baby Step 2  the second rung on the Ramsey ladder in which adherents start paying down their debt.

The anchors were sympathetic but blunt: Being a world-class teacher in a great part of the country doesnt change the math of I wanna own a home.

The hard-to-hear truth

The shows skepticism over Jamess readiness rests on Dave Ramseys rule that no more than 25% of ones take-home pay should go toward a mortgage. Anything more than that, Ramsey believes, is an overextension that seriously risks your financial health  especially if you have debt. (Remember, too, another key tenet of Ramseys home-buying philosophy: Put at least 20% down to remove the cost of private mortgage insurance.)

James could also change careers to better afford the home he wants  another demoralizing option. One of the shows hosts had a sharp message for politicians about compensating civil servants like the caller: To all you legislators who are just throwing sand at each other in your sandbox, pay teachers and cops.  Good grief.

Story continues

Regardless of career path, the 25% figure is usually a good rule of thumb, though the lending industry typically recommends no more than 28% as the ceiling. Heres why James and others in his situation might reconsider their goals and timelines.

Financial strain

A primary risk of buying a home with a mortgage above 25% of your take-home pay is the potential for severe financial strain. Your mortgage payment is only one aspect of your overall housing costs, which also include property taxes, insurance and maintenance. Overspending on your mortgage reduces room in your budget to cover these additional costs and meet other financial obligations.

This lack of financial flexibility can restrict your ability to save for emergencies, invest in your future, or enjoy discretionary expenses. Add medical emergencies or job loss into the mix, and things can get out of hand fast.

Read more: A California nurse went viral showing how she paid off her student loans by 27 while making up to $500K a year  here are 5 ways to build wealth without a wild salary

Risk of default

In the event of an unforeseen financial setback, you may find it challenging to keep up with your mortgage payments.

Defaulting on your mortgage can have long-term consequences, including damaged credit, foreclosure, and the loss of your home. And it may only land you in a cycle of debt.

A report by the Federal Reserve found that higher debt-to-income ratios were commonplace in cities that endured the worst of the 2008 recession.

Reduced mobility and flexibility

An overextended mortgage can limit your mobility and flexibility in life. If youre tied to a high mortgage payment, it becomes more challenging to seize new job opportunities or relocate for personal reasons.

This lack of flexibility can hinder career growth and personal development, trapping you in a situation where your mortgage becomes a burden rather than an asset.

What to read next

Millions of Americans are in massive debt in the face of rising rates. Here's how to get your head above water ASAP

Are you ready for your first year of retirement? Here are 4 things you might not expect  but definitely need to prepare for

Americans are paying nearly 40% more on home insurance compared to 12 years ago  here's how to spend less on peace of mind

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Chinese President Xi Jinping. Tingshu Wang/Reuters

On Monday, China released a series of plans to boost household consumption.

But analysts don't think the measures will be enough to turbo-charge its growth.

China has been reversing major policies to boost its flagging economy.

After hinting at stimulus measures last week, China rolled out a series of plans to boost local consumption to charge its flagging economy  but these may not be enough, say analysts.

On Monday, the country released a plan targeting the automobile, real estate, and services sectors that aim to "give full play to the fundamental role of consumption in economic development," according to Insider's translation of an official statement from the country's top planning agency.

The measures to boost demand include improving electric vehicle infrastructure, expanding the supply of affordable rental housing, and getting local governments to cut admission fees at attractions. No further details about the measures were available as of press time.

However, the stimulus measures have failed to live up to expectations, said Citi analyst Wenyu Yao, Australian Financial Review reported Monday.

Another analyst said the lack of direct support for households could keep demand muted.

"It's difficult to stimulate the demand side with policies," Bruce Pang, the head of research and chief economist for Greater China at Jones Lang LaSalle told Bloomberg on Monday."When residents are generally unwilling to spend, and the government is unwilling to handout subsidies to increase the consumption tendency, policymakers can only adjust the supply for consumer goods and services to better meet the demand.

The state planner's strategy followed a meeting of the country's top leaders last week during which they pledged to boost stimulus measures as the economy faces a "tortuous" recovery, according to Insider's translation of the official readout.

The readout excluded a key phrase that cited President Xi Jinping saying: "Houses are for living in, not for speculation," sparking hopes of an easing in property market curbs that have sent the sector into a crisis in 2021.

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The omission of the phrase is an important barometer because it's been a fixture since 2016 when Beijing was seeking to cool the then red-hot real-estate market, per Bloomberg.

Over the weekend, China's largest cities  including Beijing and Shenzhen  said they would implement measures to meet the needs of homebuyers, hoping this would support the property sector, per Reuters.

However, "the steps have been timid, and the roadmap is still not quite clear" so far, Nomura economists wrote in a Monday note seen by Insider. "While the recent moves by Beijing should be encouraged, markets need to curb their enthusiasm regarding the scale and impact of these easing measures."

Analysts have been warning for weeks that China is unlikely to unleash a massive economic stimulus package, but that hasn't stopped investors from hoping, sending Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index up 6% in July. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite gained 3% in the same period.

Beijing's subdued moves to boost China's growth came as recent economic indicators from China have been disappointing.

The purchasing managers index, or PMI, for gauging manufacturing activity, came in at 49.3 in July  marking the fourth straight month the index has fallen below the 50 mark, according to official statistics released Monday. A reading above 50 indicates expansion while one below indicates contraction.

China so desperately wants to revive the economy that Beijing has been reversing major policies it pushed during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a crackdown on the country's tech sector in 2020 that took the market value of its Big Tech firms down by $1.1 trillion.

The Shanghai Composite closed 0.5% higher at 3,291.04 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 0.7% higher at 20,045.15. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks tech stocks listed in Hong Kong, closed 1.1% higher at 6,886.09.

Read the original article on Business Insider
(Bloomberg) -- China is seeking to boost consumption to spur the economys recovery, although the government has stopped short of providing direct fiscal support to consumers and companies to increase spending.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The National Development and Reform Commission, Chinas top economic planning agency, released a wide-ranging policy document Monday focusing on removing government restrictions on consumption, such as car purchase limits, improving infrastructure and holding promotional events like food festivals.

The economys recovery has lost steam in recent weeks, with data on Monday showing a slide in services activity in July and a further contraction in manufacturing. Even so, investors have been encouraged by Beijings recent pledges, expecting policymakers to follow their recent dovish signals with more concrete measures.

Chinese stocks on Monday extended their gains from last week, with the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks the nations stocks listed in Hong Kong, jumping as much as 3.2%.

Officials from the NDRC held a briefing Monday to elaborate on the consumption measures, most of which were previously announced.

Weve noticed that the growth momentum of some consumption categories is still not solid yet, and some residents have relatively weak confidence to spend, NDRC Vice Chairman Li Chunlin told reporters. This requires further policy support.

Like the measures announced Friday  which are focused on boosting manufacturing in the consumer-goods industries  the latest steps are targeted toward improving the supply of goods in the economy, rather than demand. The government has refrained from giving cash subsidies to residents since the pandemic began, focusing its support instead on providing benefits and tax breaks to companies instead.

Story continues

Policies so far have tried to stimulate consumers to spend, but the fiscal policy has not stepped up, said Hao Hong, chief economist at Grow Investment Group. Chinas fiscal deficit is even shrinking despite the mounting downward pressure on the economy.

There arent much new policies in the document, and theres no real money provided to help families, he said.

The NDRCs Li said the agency is studying new measures to optimize broad-based policies to support car consumption. Even so, whether it comes to cars or other consumer goods, the country needs to create demand through supply-side reforms so that appropriate products are created, he said.

On property policies, the NDRC document repeats a pledge to push for the renovation of old buildings and megacities urban villages. Local regions are encouraged to provide subsidies for the purchases of home appliances and home renovation materials in rural regions.

Other key highlights of the consumption measures include:

Regions with car purchase restrictions should optimize those limits

Promote the consumption of electric vehicles in rural areas, improve infrastructure like EV charging stations

Lengthen restaurants hours based on local conditions, support various food festivals and promotional activities

Encourage local regions to slash ticket fees for tourist sites

Accelerate approvals of movies and performances, increase cultural events

Include qualified online medical services into medical insurance coverage

The Communist Partys Politburo last week signaled concern about the economys recovery, with officials pledging more easing of property measures, support for consumption and resolving the debt problems of local governments. On Friday, three government agencies published a raft of measures focused specifically on the so-called light industry, which covers items from home goods, food and paper-making to plastic products, leather and battery.

The latest PMI data shows the recovery remains under pressure. Unemployment sub-gauges for manufacturing and non-manufacturing  a broad category that includes services as well as construction  remained below 50 for the month, the line separating expansion from contraction.

Separate data from China Beige Book showed Chinese consumers cut back on spending on everything but travel and restaurants last month.

Its difficult to stimulate the demand side with policies, said Bruce Pang, head of research and chief economist for Greater China at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. When residents are generally unwilling to spend, and the government is unwilling to handout subsidies to increase the consumption tendency, policymakers can only adjust the supply for consumer goods and services to better meet the demand.

--With assistance from Tom Hancock.

(Updates with official comments, details of policies)

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SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Chinese electric vehicle maker Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology unveiled on Monday a new platform it developed in-house for making vehicles, which its chief executive said it wants to license to other automakers.

The "Four Leaf Clover" architecture features an integrated computing platform capable of controlling all intelligent functions including an EV's autonomous driving and smart cockpit functions, Leapmotor's CEO Zhu Jiangming told reporters in Shanghai.

The company hopes to sell the platform to other automakers via tech licensing agreements, he said.

Leapmotor is in advanced talks with two foreign companies about such partnerships, including a new player in the electric vehicle segment, which could produce Leapmotor-developed models in overseas markets, Zhu said without elaborating.

"We hope Leapmotor will not only be an EV brand but also a licensor of core technologies," Zhu said.

Companies in the automotive sector use the terms platform and architecture to describe the basic engineering and design that determines a vehicles size, weight and key elements of performance.

A senior Leapmotor engineer told the event the firm had achieved cost savings with the architecture by reducing the use of controls and wire harnesses, and Zhu said this would cut the materials cost per car by 500 yuan ($70).

The company is already planning to launch the platform's next generation in 2025, which would include improvements in computing capabilities and smart cockpits, Zhu said.

Zhu, a veteran electronics engineer who co-founded surveillance giant Dahua, launched Leapmotor in 2015 with the backing of investors including state-owned Shanghai Electric Group Corp and Hongshan, formerly known as Sequoia Capital China.

The company and its fellow Chinese EV startups have been struggling with losses and declining sales since U.S. rival Tesla started a price war at the beginning of the year.

Leapmotor, which employs more than 2,000 engineers, sold 44,500 units in the first half, 14% fewer than a year ago.

Story continues

But some young EV manufacturers, thanks to their heavy research and development investment, have been at the forefront of EV technology innovation that appeals to tech-savvy Chinese consumers who like having more intelligent features in cars.

Leapmotor spent 11% of its total revenue on R&D in 2022.

Volkswagen and Xpeng announced last week a partnership to jointly develop EVs on Xpeng's G9 "Edward" platform, in a fillip for the Chinese startup that analysts said could boost its sales and profitability.

($1 = 7.1512 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Robert Birsel and Tomasz Janowski)
(Bloomberg) -- Citadel Securities LLC hired BlackRock Inc.s former China head Tony Tang to drive the companys expansion in the country.

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Tang, 55, will join Ken Griffins firm in September as head of China to work closely with regulators and business partners in the newly created role, the company said in a statement Monday. He will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Peng Zhao.

Citadel Securities is bolstering its business in China while it hires across Asia, expanding at a time when most financial firms are cutting costs in the region. Tangs decades-long experience in Chinas financial industry is expected to help the US company navigate the increasingly complex regulatory landscape.

China remains a critical destination for investors around the world, Zhao said in the statement. Tonys proven track record of building successful businesses in the region, combined with his unique perspective on policy and regulation, will help drive our next phase of global growth.

Citadel Securities has more than doubled its headcount in Asia-Pacific to more than 250 employees in the last three years. It opened new offices in Singapore, Tokyo and Gurugram, India during Covid.

The company also obtained the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor program approval in February, enabling it direct and wider access to Chinas capital markets.

Citadel is one of the few global groups this year committing to an expanded China footprint and Tony certainly has the experience to drive the agenda, said Peter Alexander, managing director of Shanghai-based consultancy Z-Ben Advisors Ltd.

Having a direct reporting line to Peng Zhao will certainly streamline the entire process which is not at all common, he added. I do expect more global groups to eliminate a few levels of management between those running a China business and the CEO.

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Tang left BlackRock around June to explore other opportunities after helping the company build its China asset management business over the past four years. Tang previously served as CEO of the international business of investment bank GF Securities and CEO of China Asset Management Company, one of the countrys largest asset managers.

Tang held a number of senior roles at the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission from 2009 to 2014.

(Updates with consultancy comments in seventh and eighth paragraphs)

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reportedly requested Coinbase to stop trading in all cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin (BTC) before suing Americas largest crypto exchange last month, according to a report by the Financial Times citing CEO Brian Armstrong.

They came back to us, and they said [. . .] we believe every asset other than bitcoin is a security, said Coinbase CEO. And, we said, well how are you coming to that conclusion, because thats not our interpretation of the law. And they said, were not going to explain it to you, you need to delist every asset other than Bitcoin.

A Coinbase spokesperson told Decrypt that the interview "omitted critical context regarding [Coinbase's] conversations with the SEC in the US," adding that "per the SECs own admission, the views shared in the FT article may have represented the views of some staff at the time, but did not represent those of the Commission more broadly."

The SEC didn't immediately respond to Decrypts requests for comment.

In a June lawsuit, the SEC accused Coinbase of operating illegally because it failed to register as an exchange. The regulator also alleged the exchanges staking service offered at least 13 crypto assets that should have been registered as securities, including tokens such as Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Polygon (MATIC), and The Sandbox (SAND).

In a separate move, the SEC also sued Binance in June for offering unregistered securities and allowing U.S. investors to access its global website Binance.com. The Wall Street regulator also alleged that Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and the crypto exchange misused and commingled customers' funds.

According to Armstrong, had Coinbase agreed to the request, it would have set a precedent and may have led to the regulator cracking down on the majority of American crypto businesses operating under similar conditions.

We really didnt have a choice at that point, delisting every asset other than Bitcoin, which by the way is not what the law says, would have essentially meant the end of the crypto industry in the US, said Armstrong. It kind of made it an easy choice [. . .] lets go to court and find out what the court says.

Story continues

The regulator reportedly said its enforcement division did not make formal requests for companies to delist crypto assets.

The Coinbase representative added that the crypto exchange is still in discussions with the SEC and believes "that transparent and fair rulemaking and Congressional action, such as bills that we saw gain bipartisan support in the U.S. House of Representatives last week, represent the best path forward for American crypto users and the companies building the cryptoeconomy in the U.S.

Gensler on Bitcoin

SEC Chair Gary Gensler has previously suggested that all cryptocurrencies aside from Bitcoin are securities.

Hes also often been citing the lack of investor protection as a reason for enforcement actions against crypto companies, comparing the sector to the Wild West.

SEC Chair Gensler Again Says Bitcoin Is Not a Security. What About Ethereum?

In the June lawsuit against Coinbase, the SEC, however, didnt mention Ethereum (ETH), the worlds second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, among those tokens it asserted to be securities.

On June 28, the San Francisco-based company filed a motion to dismiss the SECs lawsuit, arguing that the agency does not have statutory authority over the exchange and that its position regarding its powers is untenable as a matter of law.

Editor's note: This article was updated on July 31, 2023 at 6 am Eastern Standard Time to include comment from Coinbase.
(Bloomberg) -- US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is planning to visit China in late August, according to people familiar with the matter, part of the Biden administrations effort to reduce tensions between the worlds two largest economies.

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Raimondo is aiming to travel to Beijing the week of Aug. 21, although the dates arent finalized and could shift, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss her plans.

Its also still unclear what Raimondo could expect to deliver for US businesses, the people said, and the Commerce chief is hesitant to go without knowing that the trip will yield positive outcomes for American firms.

The Commerce Departments press office declined to comment on trip timing and didnt respond to questions about the topics Raimondo would want to discuss with her counterparts. She said at an event in Washington last week that she plans to go to China later this summer but is still finalizing a date and plans.

Raimondo, whose emails were hacked earlier this month in a breach tied to China, has been at the forefront of White House efforts to curb Beijings access to advanced technology, including export controls announced last year.

Her trip could come at a sensitive time in the bilateral relationship, with Biden set to sign an order curbing critical US technology investments in China by mid-August.

On her first trip to China as commerce secretary, Raimondo would be the fourth high-level member of President Joe Bidens administration to visit since June, following Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and climate envoy John Kerry.

The earlier visits by top administration officials have yet to deliver significant public results beyond agreeing to further dialogue. The White House is looking to smooth ties with Beijing following months of heightened tensions over incidents including an alleged spy balloon, the US export controls on computer chip technology and military encounters in the South China Sea.

Story continues

Read more: Biden to Sign Order Curbing China Tech Investments by Mid-August

Outbound Investment

The planned executive order on outbound investment focuses on deals in the semiconductor, quantum computing and artificial intelligence sectors. It would only prohibit certain transactions and not affect existing investments, but the curbs have sparked anger from Beijing, which views them as an effort to isolate and control China.

One likely deliverable from a Raimondo trip is a working group between her department and Chinas commerce ministry to discuss US export controls aimed at preventing cutting-edge American technology from being used by Chinas military, the people familiar with the planning said.

The Commerce Departments Bureau of Industry and Security uses the controls to limit Beijings access to computer chips that it worries can be used to threaten US national security and American foreign policy interests. China has countered that the controls prevent its companies from competing fairly.

Read more: Chip CEOs Urge US to Study Impact of China Curbs and Take Pause

Raimondo is also in charge of promoting US exports to one of its top trade partners and implementing a $52 billion semiconductor investment plan to make the US less dependent chips from Asia, particularly Taiwan.

At a high level, we need to do business with China wherever we can, Raimondo said at the event last week at the Wilson Center. We need to promote wherever we can. But we need to protect where we must. I have a role to play in both of those.

On the export promotion side, one top issue is Boeing Co.s stalled delivery of its 737 Max planes to Chinese airlines. China barred deliveries following two deadly crashes in 2019. There are signs that could change, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said on an earnings call last week without elaborating.

Were getting a lot of good signs that theyll resume delivery, but Im not going to predict that for you, he said.

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Generally speaking the aim of active stock picking is to find companies that provide returns that are superior to the market average. And while active stock picking involves risks (and requires diversification) it can also provide excess returns. For example, long term Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) shareholders have enjoyed a 67% share price rise over the last half decade, well in excess of the market return of around 54% (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.

See our latest analysis for Service Corporation International

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

Over half a decade, Service Corporation International managed to grow its earnings per share at 6.0% a year. This EPS growth is lower than the 11% average annual increase in the share price. This suggests that market participants hold the company in higher regard, these days. And that's hardly shocking given the track record of growth.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Service Corporation International's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of Service Corporation International, it has a TSR of 82% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

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A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 12% in the last year, Service Corporation International shareholders lost 9.4% (even including dividends). However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 13%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Service Corporation International better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Service Corporation International (including 1 which is a bit concerning) .

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Globally, over 1,000 companies disclosed their progress on managing deforestation through CDP in 2022  an increase of 300% since 2017, but only 35 of these companies were from Southeast Asia.

More than 60% of those companies are disclosing some kind of risk caused by deforestation and on average companies face losses of $330m due to risk exposure, the cost of dealing with this risk is a fraction at $17.4 million [1] .

Around 90% of disclosing companies are not prepared for the transition to a deforestation-free future.

Asian companies outperformed other regions when setting deforestation policies, setting deforestation targets, traceability and focusing on ecosystem restoration.

SINGAPORE, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest Global Forest Report from CDP, the world's largest environmental disclosure platform, shows that a record of 1,043 companies disclosed through CDP's forests questionnaire last year, representing a 300% increase over the past five years, a welcome sign that companies are beginning to recognize and disclose their impact on forests, although only 35 of these companies come from Southeast Asia. Despite an increase in companies recognizing the risks of deforestation there is a lack of action against commitments leading to an increase in forest-related risks. Only about 1 in 10 companies disclosed sufficient action to stop deforestation.

Tom Maddox, Global Director Forest and Land, CDP, presenting findings from the Global Forest Report 2023 during the Beyond Climate & Into Nature event in Singapore (28/7). The report shows that a record of 1,043 companies disclosed through CDPs forests questionnaire last year, representing a 300% increase over the past five years. The report outlines key actions companies must take including disclosing their progress in achieving deforestation-free and conversion-free supply chains.

The report finds that globally, companies are still not acting to mitigate the risks effectively and are risking nearly $80 billion in total as a result. From 10 companies in Southeast Asia alone, the total risk reported is $2.3 billion while the complete cost of responding to all identified risks, reported by 16 companies, was only US$223 million, CDP would argue the financial impact related to risk is vastly underreported.

The Southeast Asian region holds approximately 30% of the world's coral reefs, one-third of the world's mangroves[2], and nearly 15% of the world's tropical forests[3], making the implications of not addressing deforestation huge, and the impact that will be felt in Southeast Asia will be catastrophic.

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The government and policymakers in Southeast Asia have taken steps to show their commitment to net zero, in part by setting targets to reduce emissions coming from the forests and land use sectors, as well as managing deforestations and seeking collaboration from non-state actors including private sectors. Some of the implemented initiatives include the enhancement of Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), development of green taxonomy and disclosure requirement on ESG. The report supports this given Asian companies are considered more compliant with the law compared to companies from other regions.

Despite the progress being made, the challenges faced by companies sourcing commodities from Indonesia and their impact on biodiversity remain a concern. In 2022, there were 28 companies (increased from 21 in 2021) in Southeast Asia that disclosed through the forests questionnaire takes the lead in this region, with 10 companies from Indonesia, while 7 companies are from Malaysia, 6 from Singapore, 4 from Thailand, 1 from the Philippines, and none from Vietnam.

Urgent action is needed to put an end to deforestation. The report outlines key actions companies must take including conducting a comprehensive risk assessments, enhancing deforestation/conversion-free compliance, and disclosing their progress in achieving deforestation-free and conversion-free supply chains. CDP disclosure for corporates and the financial services sector allows for transparent reporting of progress against good practice frameworks and standards.

John Leung, Director of Southeast Asia & Oceania said:

"Southeast Asia is very much a confluence of nature and climate, and it is crucial to act quickly and with purpose as a region. The choices government and companies make in Indonesia and within other SEA countries can help prevent global catastrophic climate change and the irreversible loss of nature and habitats.

This latest development is certainly very promising, and the region is heading to the right direction in their sustainability efforts. However, to achieve the global no-deforestation commitment by 2030, robust actions must be accelerated. Net-zero commitments will not be achieved without halting deforestation and land conversion. The report has shown that in Southeast Asia alone, the total risk reported is ten times the cost at US $2.3 billion versus US $223 million for complete response to all identified risks.

More ambitious environmental action and disclosure is needed so we can get clearer picture on how to move towards a more sustainable future where both nature and people flourish in unison. We look forward for more companies in the region recognising the competitive advantage of taking the lead in environmental actions and strengthening their commitments to nature conservation."

Thomas Maddox, Global Director, Forests and Land Use, said:

"It was a record-breaking year for companies disclosing on their impacts on forests, which is encouraging for transparency. The results show companies are becoming ever more aware of the risks and opportunities addressing deforestation represents, but we continue to see a gap between commitments and tangible actions. Deforestation is not a requirement of commodity production. The eradication of deforestation from commodity supply chains makes economic and environmental sense but requires appropriate financial and policy incentives to prioritise action. Deforestation has no place in the net-zero, nature-positive world science and society are demanding. Achieving it is a matter of 'when', not 'if'. Companies acting now will reap the benefits of the opportunities. Companies acting later will face the highest costs."

Global Forest Report 2023 was released based on data from over 1000 companies, making it the most comprehensive, standardized dataset on corporate deforestation risk exposure and management. To read the full report here: https://www.cdp.net/en/reports/downloads/7182/

[1] Based on 269 companies reporting potential financial impact from forest-related risks and 342 companies reporting cost of responding to identified forest-related risks [2] Loke, M. C. (2014). Sustainable Development of Southeast Asia's Marine Ecosystems  Climate Change Challenges and Management Approaches. Chou2014Int._Conf._ Mar._Sci._Aquac.pdf (nus.edu.sg) [3] Estoque. R., et al. (2019). The future of Southeast Asia's forests. The future of Southeast Asia's forests | Nature Communications

About CDP

CDP is a global non-profit that runs the world's environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions. Founded in 2000 and working with more than 740 financial institutions with over $130 trillion in assets, CDP pioneered using capital markets and corporate procurement to motivate companies to disclose their environmental impacts, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests. Nearly 20,000 organizations around the world disclosed data through CDP in 2022, including more than 18,700 companies worth half of global market capitalization, and over 1,100 cities, states and regions. Fully TCFD aligned, CDP holds the largest environmental database in the world, and CDP scores are widely used to drive investment and procurement decisions towards a zero carbon, sustainable and resilient economy. CDP is a founding member of the Science Based Targets initiative, We Mean Business Coalition, The Investor Agenda and the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. Visit cdp.net or follow us @CDP to find out more.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/deforestation-rates-are-dropping-in-southeast-asia-but-companies-still-need-to-ramp-up-ambition-to-halt-nature-loss-and-irreversible-damage-301889067.html

SOURCE CDP
FILE PHOTO: A worker uses his phone in the shade, in New York City

By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) -A group of Democratic state attorneys general has urged a federal appeals court to lift an order sharply curbing the ability of government officials to push social media companies to moderate content they deem harmful.

The top law enforcement officers of 20 states and the District of Columbia, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, said in a filing on Friday with the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the order hampers efforts by government officials to stop the spread of false information.

The July 4 preliminary order from U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty in Louisiana came in a lawsuit filed in May 2022 by Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri.

They alleged that U.S. government officials, under both Democratic President Joe Biden and his Republican predecessor Donald Trump, effectively coerced social media companies to censor posts over concerns they would fuel vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic or upend elections.

The judge said federal officials violated the right to free speech under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment when they began asking social media companies such as Meta's Facebook and Google's YouTube around 2019 to limit the spread of posts they considered to be misinformation.

The order is temporarily on hold while the Biden administration appeals it.

If the 5th Circuit allows the order to take effect again, it will bar government agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, from talking to social media companies for "the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech" under the First Amendment, with narrow exceptions.

The Democratic attorneys general in Friday's filing called the ruling "erroneous."

"In purporting to protect First Amendment values, the district court significantly restricted the flow of public discourse on vitally important issues," they said in the filing.

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Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey responded in a statement on Monday: "Protecting the First Amendment should be a bipartisan issue," he said. "The fact that it isn't is deeply concerning."

The office of Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The appeal is expected to be heard on Aug. 10 by 5th Circuit Judges Edith Brown Clement, Jennifer Walker Elrod and Don Willett, all appointed by Republican presidents.

(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; editing by Deepa Babington and Leslie Adler)
'They don't care about you': This TikToker issues a blunt reality check for people consumed by their job  warning against working too hard for ungrateful employers. Is she right?

A TikTok user has issued a blunt reality check for people who struggle with work-life balance: They dont care about you.

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In the same post, the TikToker, Taja, goes on: Im only going to say this once  dont let your job consume your entire life.

Tajas video, which has been viewed nearly 260,000 times since June 23, adds to the vocal chorus of workers expressing their displeasure with how theyre treated in the workplace. Some see an imbalance between the level of commitment employees are expected to have and the level of stability employers now provide.

Taja's experience

In her video, Taja dives into her own experience working for various companies, with whom she claims she went the extra mile.

I made a company $600,000 in nine months, she claimed. Another company, I came in August  by December, not only had I shattered [a] record that had never been shattered, but I made him $1.2 million in one day.

Taja described feeling disappointed when she found herself in conflict with a co-worker at one job and unceremoniously fired from the other. These experiences may have played a role in her disillusionment from the corporate hustle. She now encourages everyone to indulge in more self-care and be less consumed by their work.

The reason why Im saying this is because if something were to happen to you tomorrow, the only thing that company is going to do is send a flower arrangement to your funeral, she said. And then theyre going to make a post to get you replaced.

Story continues

Read more: Worried about the economy? Here are the best shock-proof assets for your portfolio. (Theyre all outside of the stock market.)

Is Taja right?

Americans are certainly pushing themselves to the edge for their employers. A study by Deloitte found that 77% of U.S. professionals had experienced burnout at their current job, and 83% said that burnout from work was spilling over into their personal lives and impacting their relationships.

How are the companies responding? Not well, according to the Deloitte survey. Nearly 70% of respondents said their employers were not doing enough to mitigate or deal with the stressful environment they faced every day.

It isnt just entry-level employees and mid-tier managers feeling this way. Even executives are burned out. Deloitte partnered with independent research firm Workplace Intelligence for another survey, which involved C-suite executives from Canada, Australia, the U.S. and the U.K. Almost 70% of these professionals in leadership roles said they were seriously contemplating leaving their positions to seek better work-life balance.

While it can be difficult to quantify claims that corporations dont care about their employees, a look at labor laws in the U.S. shows this country can be a stressful place to work. For example, despite being one of the richest countries in the world, the U.S. is one of few that doesnt offer mandated paid parental leave.

The U.S. also offers one of the lowest numbers of legally required paid vacation days, according to a Resume.io analysis.

What to read next

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
The city of Milwaukee skyline along Interstate 794 (I-794) on Monday, July 10, 2023.

A campaign to replace Milwaukee's Interstate 794 with at-grade streets could see opposition from downtown business interests who are raising questions about the proposal.

They fear removing the freeway between roughly the Hoan Bridge's northern approach and a few blocks west of the Milwaukee River would shift thousands of cars daily to surface streets  clogging traffic and lengthening commutes.

Freeway removal supporters say the streets can handle the change, which would open several blocks for commercial development  and tear down a barrier between downtown, the lakefront and the Historic Third Ward.

"People are generally open to it and like the idea. But they have some reservations," said Taylor Korslin, a representative of Rethink I-794, which supports removing the freeway.

The public gets a chance to opine at open house-style meetings this week. Those run from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Milwaukee Marriott Downtown, 625 N. Milwaukee St., and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. Thomas Moore High School, 2601 E. Morgan Ave., St. Francis.

The meetings will feature conceptual plans from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

They include seven options for repairing I-794 between the Milwaukee River and the Hoan Bridge and two alternatives for removing much of the freeway.

They will be the first of several meetings. WisDOT will eventually identify a "preferred alternative," with a public hearing likely in 2024.

The project's design is to be finalized in 2025 and 2026, with construction to run from 2026 through 2029  pending funding availability.

WisDOT in 2022 proposed spending $300 million to replace different pieces of I-794 on the freeway's eastern portion.

Those sections date to 1974. They weren't touched when part of I-794 was reconstructed from 2013 through 2016  a $239 million project that included rebuilding the Hoan's concrete deck.

In response, environmentalists and urbanists launched a campaign to remove both the older and newer freeway stretches.

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Redevelopment potential estimated at $1.5 billion

With I-794 gone, 32.5 acres beneath the elevated freeway could be developed as apartments, offices and other buildings with estimated values totaling $1.5 billion, according to Rethink I-794.

WisDOT's two conceptual plans for removing I-794 mainly focus east of the Milwaukee River.

One alternative calls for removing the freeway from roughly East St. Paul Avenue to North Third Street. The other would remove I-794 between roughly East Chicago Street and Sixth Street.

Both would make available 15 to 18 acres for development, according to WisDOT. Clybourn Street would be converted to a two-way boulevard to help accommodate traffic.

Some downtown business operators are dubious.

Their concerns include the effects on commutes by suburban residents to downtown office buildings, said Beth Weirick, chief executive officer of Milwaukee Downtown Business Improvement District. The district is funded by downtown commercial property owners.

"If you have a workforce that's coming in from the south or the west, how will we get them there?" Weirick said. She spoke at a recent event on I-794's future organized by Rethink I-794, Marquette University's Center for Real Estate and the Milwaukee Business Journal.

She later declined to elaborate on those concerns.

"Until this entire process plays out with modeling and impacts on the local grid and the entire system along with its functionality, we have taken no formal position," Weirick told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "We are also not certain of how preferred alternatives will play out with our stakeholders, so we have no comments this time."

Some Historic Third Ward business operators are concerned about the effects on North Water Street if Interstate 794 is removed.

The city's plan to shrink part of North Water Street from four lanes to two lanes, and add protected bike lanes and wider sidewalks, would be "much more challenging" with increased street traffic tied to I-794's removal, said Paul Schwartz, executive director of the Historic Third Ward Business Improvement District.

WisDot estimates traffic on Clybourn Street would increase 400%, with St. Paul Avenue traffic counts increasing 150%, if I-794 is removed, Schwartz said, in an interview.

There's skepticism among Third Ward business operators about the proposed removal, Schwartz said. They have "questions that are unanswered at this point," he said.

Concerns arose at recent City Hall meeting

The issue surfaced at a July 25 Common Council hearing on Milwaukee's new downtown comprehensive plan  which features a call for I-794's removal.

Ald. Robert Bauman, a removal supporter whose district includes downtown, said then he's heard such large downtown property owners as Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. and U.S. Bank are opposed to replacing the freeway with surface streets.

"Northwestern Mutual hasnt taken a position on this matter, but I know we plan to stay engaged in the public process as a member of the business community," said Julia Fennelly, senior director of strategic communications and corporate reputation, in a statement.

U.S. Bank representatives didn't respond to requests for comment.

Officials from Mayor Cavalier Johnson's Department of City Development, which drafted the downtown plan in a partnership with the downtown business improvement district, are aware of the concerns, said Sam Leichtling, city planning manager. He said city officials will continue discussions with downtown stakeholders.

"We know we'll have to do some convincing," Leichtling told Bauman and other members of the council's Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee.

Ald. Jonathan Brostoff, a committee member, joined in Bauman in saying the city should push back on opposition to the freeway's removal.

"The question is: are we going to allow some of those small but powerful interests who either stall 'til it falls," Brostoff said, "or, you know, find other ways to take control of this narrative?"

Rethink I-794 group addresses concerns

Meanwhile, Rethink I-794 is addressing concerns from business owners and others, said Korslin, who's also a Milwaukee architect.

Clybourn Street's conversion to a two-way boulevard would disperse traffic more efficiently through cross streets compared to the limited number of exits from I-794, Korslin said.

That's what happened when West McKinley Boulevard replaced the demolished Park East Freeway on downtown's northern edge, he said. Much of the land that was beneath the Park East Freeway has since been developed into such uses as apartments, Fiserv Forum's parking structure and The Trade Hotel.

Commutes from the suburbs to downtown office towers will take longer, perhaps three to five minutes, if I-794 is taken down, Korslin said.

But the trade-off, with more development and safer access for pedestrians and cyclists, is worth it, he said.

Regarding Water Street, WisDOT's data shows average daily traffic counts of around 11,000 vehicles in the Third Ward's four-lane section of that road. Those counts have been declining for years  perhaps due to increased remote work and a shift to walking, biking and transit, according to Rethink I-794.

Meanwhile, other Milwaukee streets have had their lanes reduced in recent years without major congestion issues, according to the group. Those include West Lisbon Avenue, North 27th Street and West Appleton Avenue  all with traffic counts higher than Water Street.

"People will take alternate routes when they know the street is full during peak hours," Korslin said.

The bigger point, he said, is companies such as Northwestern Mutual, Fiserv and Milwaukee Tool are shifting operations downtown to attract and retain talent  not because of an easy commute.

"Cities are the heart of commerce and exchange and social circles," Korslin said. "They're not about getting in and out."

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee business interests raise questions about I-794's removal
(Bloomberg) -- Emirates NBD PJSC appointed Hitesh Asarpota as chief executive officer of its investment banking division, replacing Mohammad Al Bastaki, who will become head of private banking at Dubais largest lender.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Both appointments are effective Aug. 1, according to an internal memo that was seen by Bloomberg News. Asarpota, who is currently the deputy CEO of Emirates NBD Capital, joined in 2008 and has been responsible for the origination and syndication of loans, bonds and equity capital market offerings, the memo said.

He is set to lead ENBD Capital at a time when Dubai is privatizing state entities and encouraging private firms to consider initial public offerings. Dubai Roads & Transport Authoritys taxi and parking businesses are among entities preparing to go public, Bloomberg News has reported.

Al Bastaki joined Emirates NBD in 2019 as head of public sector coverage before becoming the head of Emirates NBD Capital in 2021. Before that, he worked at HSBC Holdings Plc for 12 years, according to the banks website.

The Middle East is emerging as an important area of focus for global wealth managers. Leading players from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Deutsche Bank AG have all earmarked the region, which is home to a growing number of ultra-rich families, royals and entrepreneurs, for future growth.

Emirates NBD last week said its profit jumped 78% to 6.2 billion dirhams ($1.69 billion) in the second quarter driven by higher non-interest revenue and lower cost of risk.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Elon Musk isnt known to be someone that plays by the rules. When you forge several industry-leading companies on your way to amassing the biggest fortune known to man, you have to be willing to take risks others wouldnt.

That same penchant for tempting fate can, however, land him in trouble, with Musk incurring various run-ins with the justice systemwhether it be his questionable bailout of SolarCity with Teslas money, bailing on a contractually agreed acquisition or selling customers a dream their cars will earn them money while they sleep.

Now his hasty rebrand of Twitter has once again landed him in hot water after he denied city building inspectors access to his San Francisco headquarters when they sought to confirm his new X rooftop sign did not pose a safety hazard to pedestrians below.

In what appears to be a response to a formal complaint lodged by the city, Musk sought to appeal to its residents by shifting attention back to local officials, whom he blamed for plunging the city into a doom spiral.

Beautiful San Francisco, the tycoon posted to his 150 million followers on X over the weekend, though others forsake you, we will always be your friend.

Despite Musks professed love for the tech metropolis, he already moved Teslas headquarters from the Bay Area city of Fremont to Texas over a feud related to pandemic lockdowns.

His treatment of Twitter has also earned him more critics among the local population.

In December he was booed out by the crowd attending a Dave Chappelle comedy show, and a month later he claimed he couldnt get a fair trial in San Francisco.

Our HQ in San Francisco tonight pic.twitter.com/VQO2NoX9Tz  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 29, 2023

City officials meanwhile warned that the installation of his oversize X rooftop logo required a planning review and approval that Musk had not secured.

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A building permit is required to make sure the sign is structurally sound and installed safely, a spokesman for the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection said in a statement to the New York Times on Sunday.

In addition, Musk had also sought to remove the familiar Twitter bird logo from the side of the building.

His efforts were stopped by police after construction workers failed to properly cordon off the area to protect passersby from building materials raining down on their heads.

These fresh troubles with city officials wouldnt have happened were it not for Musks divisive rebranding that experts believe wiped billions of dollars off the value of Twitter, a company that is already worth half of the $44 billion that Musk and his investors paid.

Musk has explained his decision by citing concerns consumers associated the bird logo too much with microblogging and may not accept it as a company offering services built primarily around digital payments.

The entrepreneurs wealth is currently estimated by Forbes at $240 billion so he can easily afford a short-term hit in pursuit of his larger goal.

Musks dream is to ultimately turn the company formerly known as Twitter into a western clone of WeChat, Tencents everything app wildly popular in China, one of the few times he has looked to blatantly copy a rivals business idea.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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NYSE American:EU

TSXV:EU

DALLAS, July 31, 2023 /CNW/ - enCore Energy Corp. ("enCore" or the "Company") (NYSE American: EU) (TSXV: EU) announced that on July 27th, 2023 the United States (U.S.) Senate voted overwhelmingly to create a Nuclear Fuel Security Program aimed at bolstering U.S. domestic supplies of uranium, the essential fuel for nuclear energy. The bi-partisan Nuclear Fuel Security Act was introduced in February by Senator Barrasso (R-WY) and co-sponsored by Senators Manchin (D-WV) and Risch (R-ID). The Senate overwhelmingly passed this bipartisan legislation by a vote of 96-3 for inclusion in the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.

enCore Energy Logo (CNW Group/enCore Energy Corp.)

The Nuclear Fuel Security Act of 2023 establishes a Nuclear Fuel Security Program to increase domestic production and ensure the availability of domestically produced, converted and enriched uranium.

Paul Goranson, Chief Executive Officer stated "The U.S. Senate vote to advance the Nuclear Fuel Security Act is recognition that America is committed to clean, reliable nuclear energy and the domestic production of uranium to fuel this low-carbon and safe energy source. This initiative clearly addresses a path forward to reduce reliance on foreign sources, strengthening our domestic economy and enhancing national security. At enCore, America's Clean Energy Company, we seek to be part of the solution by remaining committed and focused on our path to advance into production of uranium at our South Texas processing plants in 2023 and 2024."

About enCore Energy Corp.

enCore Energy Corp., America's Clean Energy Company, is committed to providing clean, reliable, and affordable domestic nuclear energy by becoming the next United States uranium producer in 2023. enCore solely utilizes In-Situ Recovery (ISR) for uranium extraction, a well-known and proven technology co-developed by the leaders at enCore Energy. In-Situ Recovery extracts uranium in a non-invasive process using natural groundwater and oxygen, coupled with a proven ion exchange process, to recover the uranium. Uranium production is planned at enCore's licensed and past-producing South Texas Rosita Processing Plant in 2023, and at its licensed and past-producing South Texas Alta Mesa Processing Plant in 2024.

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Future projects in enCore's production pipeline include the Dewey-Burdock project in South Dakota and the Gas Hills project in Wyoming, along with significant uranium resource endowments in New Mexico providing long term opportunities. The enCore team is led by industry experts with extensive knowledge and experience in all aspects of ISR uranium operations and the nuclear fuel cycle. enCore diligently works to realize value from other owned assets, including our proprietary uranium database that includes technical information from many past producing companies, from our various non-core assets, and by leveraging our ISR expertise in researching opportunities that support the use of this technology as applied to other metals. enCore is also committed to working with local communities and indigenous governments to create positive impact from corporate developments.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements:

Certain information contained in this news release, including: any information relating to the Company being a leading uranium company, and any other statements regarding future expectations, beliefs, goals or prospects; may constitute "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities laws and regulations (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). All statements in this news release that are not statements of historical fact (including statements containing the words "expects", "is expected", "does not expect", "plans", "anticipates", "does not anticipate", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "scheduled", "forecast", "budget" and similar expressions or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken) should be considered forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements are subject to important risk factors and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's ability to control or predict. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; future legislative and regulatory developments; the ability of enCore to implement its business strategies; and other risks. A number of important factors could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated or implied by such forward-looking statements, including without limitation exploration and development risks, changes in commodity prices, access to skilled mining personnel, the results of exploration and development activities; production risks; uninsured risks; regulatory risks; defects in title; the availability of materials and equipment, timeliness of government approvals and unanticipated environmental impacts on operations; risks posed by the economic and political environments in which the Company operates and intends to operate; increased competition; assumptions regarding market trends and the expected demand and desires for the Company's products and proposed products; reliance on industry equipment manufacturers, suppliers and others; the failure to adequately protect intellectual property; the failure to adequately manage future growth; adverse market conditions, the failure to satisfy ongoing regulatory requirements and factors relating to forward looking statements listed above which include risks as disclosed in the Company's annual information form filings. Should one or more of these risks materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. The Company assumes no obligation to update the information in this communication, except as required by law. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in filings by the Company with the various securities commissions which are available online at www.sec.gov and www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about the current expectations, beliefs and plans of management. Such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes and readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, that speak only as of the date hereof, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Cision

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SOURCE enCore Energy Corp.

Cision

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Key Insights

REX American Resources' estimated fair value is US$41.07 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Current share price of US$36.45 suggests REX American Resources is potentially trading close to its fair value

Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of REX American Resources Corporation (NYSE:REX) as an investment opportunity by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back 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.

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.

View our latest analysis for REX American Resources

The Calculation

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Seeing as no analyst estimates of free cash flow are available to us, we have extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the company's last reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF ($, Millions) US$49.9m US$50.6m US$51.4m US$52.3m US$53.3m US$54.4m US$55.4m US$56.6m US$57.7m US$58.9m Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ 1.15% Est @ 1.44% Est @ 1.64% Est @ 1.78% Est @ 1.88% Est @ 1.95% Est @ 2.00% Est @ 2.03% Est @ 2.05% Est @ 2.07% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 9.0% US$45.8 US$42.6 US$39.7 US$37.1 US$34.7 US$32.5 US$30.4 US$28.4 US$26.6 US$25.0

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$343m

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After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 2.1%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 9.0%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = US$59m (1 + 2.1%)  (9.0% 2.1%) = US$877m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$877m ( 1 + 9.0%)10= US$371m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is US$714m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of US$36.5, the company appears about fair value at a 11% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

dcf

Important Assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at REX American Resources as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 9.0%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.155. 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 REX American Resources

Strength

Currently debt free.

Weakness

Earnings declined over the past year.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the American market.

Current share price is below our estimate of fair value.

Threat

No apparent threats visible for REX.

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. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For REX American Resources, there are three essential aspects you should explore:

Risks: Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for REX American Resources you should know about. Management:Have insiders been ramping up their shares to take advantage of the market's sentiment for REX's future outlook? Check out our management and board analysis with insights on CEO compensation and governance factors. 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 American 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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StoryBuilt, one of Austins most active urban developers, said Monday it has agreed to enter a voluntary receivership as it deals with financial turmoil.

StoryBuilt, one of Austins most active urban developers, said Monday it has agreed to enter a voluntary receivership as it addresses deep financial issues.

Earlier this month, the Austin-based firm sent a letter to shareholders announcing a major reorganization, which included the departure of two top leaders and furloughing employees.

In the statement on Monday, StoryBuilt said of the receivership: "The decision, made considering recent market challenges, marks a strategic move towards the company's restructuring.

"In a concerted effort to stabilize operations and navigate through the financial landscape, StoryBuilt carefully considered the alternatives available and under professional advisement determined that a voluntary receivership would maximize the potential recovery to all shareholders," the company said.

StoryBuilt said the receivership will give it time and access to resources needed to continue to deliver projects and services to its partners, customers, and creditors.

What is a receivership?

A receivership is a court-appointed tool that can assist creditors in recovering funds in default and can help troubled companies avoid bankruptcy.

In a receivership, the court appoints an independent "receiver" (or trustee) to manage all aspects of a troubled company's business, according to the financial website Investopedia. For the duration of a receivership, the company's principals remain in place, but they have little authority over the company.

"Having a receivership in place makes it easier for the lender to obtain the funds that are owed to them if a borrower defaults on a loan," Investopedia said.

What happened with StoryBuilt?

In a letter sent to StoryBuilt investors dated July 21, co-founder Anthony Siela said: "As you are aware, StoryBuilt has recently struggled with focused growth, reporting/financial controls and liquidity. This has materially affected our performance as a business and our partners."

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Siela said co-founder Ryan Diepenbrock had resigned from day-to-day management duties and Chad Shepler had resigned from his role as chief operator and director of StoryBuilt's board.

More: Exclusive: Austin urban developer StoryBuilt reorganizes, furloughs staff

Siela said that "in response to current financial realities," StoryBuilt has furloughed much of its staff over the past couple of weeks and expects to have "a vast reduction in headcount with the aim of solely focusing on core development services for our projects and partners."

According to StoryBuilt's website, it previously had a team of more than 250 people. In addition to Austin, the firm has announced projects in Dallas, Seattle and Denver.

StoryBuilt was founded in 2001 as PSW Real Estate. The firm specializes in infill projects, building mixed-use developments with apartments, condos, townhomes and single-family homes as well as shops, restaurants and retail space.

In Austin, StoryBuilt has been a driving force behind the latest wave of development on South First Street along Bouldin Creek in South Austin. The corridor has seen a surge of growth in recent years, with new restaurants, boutiques, food trucks and housing.

StoryBuilt specializes in infill projects, building mixed-use developments with apartments, condos, townhomes and single-family homes as well as shops, restaurants and retail space.

StoryBuilt mixed-use projects include 2001 S. First St., going up across from Polvos Mexican Restaurant; 900 S. First St., across from the Texas School for the Deaf; and 1600 S. First St., the former site of Angel Funeral Home.

In 2021, StoryBuilt said it had begun work on a condo and office project in East Austin at 755 Springdale Road, but large-scale construction on the site appears not to have started.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin urban developer StoryBuilt enters a voluntary receivership
Usually, when one insider buys stock, it might not be a monumental event. But when multiple insiders are buying like they did in the case of TPXimpact Holdings plc (LON:TPX), that sends out a positive message to the company's shareholders.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for TPXimpact Holdings

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At TPXimpact Holdings

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Group Chief Financial Officer Steve Winters bought UK62k worth of shares at a price of UK0.41 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than UK0.39 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. 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.

While TPXimpact Holdings insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. Their average price was about UK0.30. It is certainly positive to see that insiders have invested their own money in the company. However, we do note that they were buying at significantly lower prices than today's share price. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership Of TPXimpact Holdings

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. TPXimpact Holdings insiders own about UK8.6m worth of shares. That equates to 25% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

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So What Does This Data Suggest About TPXimpact Holdings Insiders?

It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded TPXimpact Holdings shares in the last quarter. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders own shares in TPXimpact Holdings and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with TPXimpact Holdings and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

Of course TPXimpact Holdings may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

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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Suzie Roskandich-McDermott looks over a Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck while working on the customer acceptance line at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn on Monday, May 15, 2023. Roskandich-McDermott and her daughter Amanda McDermott are the only mother/daughter team on the assembly line in a plant that's preparing to double its run rate to 150,000 vehicles annually.

As Kentucky continues its rise as the electric vehicle, EV, battery production capital of the U.S., BlueOval SK Battery Park, a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and SK On, has officially started hiring for hourly positions.

According to a release from BlueOval SK, starting wages at the plant in Glendale, Kentucky and Stanton, Tennessee will range from $21 to $29 per hour.

"People are the most important part of BlueOval SK," BlueOval SK Human Resources Director Neva Burke said in a statement. "We want our employees to build their careers with us and make a good salary so they can live comfortably with their families."

Along with this hourly wage, employees will also receive "two pay raises each year plus low-cost medical premiums, 401(k) matching, Ford vehicle discount benefits, vision and dental insurance" and the opportunity to earn bonuses ranging from $2,300 to $2,500 annually depending on performance.

The Glendale battery park is expected to get new hires first.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg visited the BlueOval SK Battery Park, a Ford Motor and SK On joint-venture electric vehicle battery production facility in Glendale, Kentucky on March 3, 2023.

The electric vehicle battery park in Kentucky is expected to create 5,000 new jobs in the Commonwealth. The new workers will be trained on-site at the new Elizabethtown Community and Technical College BlueOval SK Training Center, the lone co-branded learning center within the state community college system.

"Our first hires will work a standard 40-hour work week while they receive training and learn the battery manufacturing process. A formal shift will begin sometime in 2024 once employees are able to partially occupy the plants," the release stated.

The BlueOval SK Battery Park's ongoing construction which broke ground in December is on schedule, according to a release from BlueOval SK.

The battery park, at 1,500 acres, will be the largest in the world and will start production in 2025. It's "the biggest economic development project this state has ever seen," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear previously said.

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The battery production site will consist of two battery production plants across a more than 2.3-square-mile campus. Each production plant on the campus will employ about 2,500 people. While the goal is to hire as many Kentuckians as possible, Beshear noted that BlueOval SK will need to attract some employees from outside the state.

Ford Motor Co. is building a new BlueOvalSK Battery Park in central Kentucky consisting of twin battery plants that will power a new lineup of Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles.

The Detroit Three automakers, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler), have entered negotiations with the United Auto Workers union within the last few weeks. A point of negotiations for Ford is likely to focus on general wages and cost of living adjustments.

Ford sources said the top wage for workers is $32 per hour and a worker typically earns this wage after eight years.

The BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale is not part of UAW and is not unionized. The issue of pay at battery parks like this has fallen under scrutiny from Shawn Fain, president of UAW and others as the Detroit Three continue negotiations.

Ford sources said employees at the BlueOval SK Battery Park will have to decide whether to unionize or not and lead a union drive. If they were to unionize, these workers would have a separate contract from the national agreement currently being negotiated.

More: Ford, SK On bringing 5,000 jobs to Kentucky with massive electric vehicle battery park

For you: Buttigieg visits Ford battery park, praises Kentucky for creating 'workforce of the future'

Contact reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on Twitter at @oliviamevans_

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Ford BlueOval SK Battery Park begins hiring workers at $21 an hour
The logo of Foxconn is pictured on top of a company's building in Taipei

By Munsif Vengattil and Praveen Paramasivam

CHENNAI (Reuters) -Taiwan's Foxconn has signed a deal with Tamil Nadu to invest 16 billion rupees ($194 million) in a new electronic components manufacturing facility that will create 6,000 jobs, the government of the southern Indian state said on Monday.

The Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII) facility will be built in the Kancheepuram district near the state capital of Chennai, a state government source said on condition of anonymity as details are not yet public.

It will be separate from the sprawling campus near Chennai where Foxconn assembles Apple's iPhones, they added.

"This is a major achievement for the state," Tamil Nadu Minister for Industries TRB Rajaa said in a statement, after Foxconn Chairman Young Liu and other representatives met with state officials including its chief minister.

Liu told reporters in Tamil Nadu that Foxconn currently employs about 40,000 workers in its facility near Chennai.

Foxconn has plans to quadruple the workforce at its Tamil Nadu iPhone factory by late 2024 to spread its bets beyond China, Reuters reported last year.

Liu has been in India to attend the federal government's semiconductor conference that ended on Sunday.

Foxconn on Monday also signed a research and innovation agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and the state government's investment arm Guidance.

The partnership aims to bring more high-value tech to the state via Foxconn, the unnamed source said. "Tamil Nadu wants to move up the value chain in electronics," they added.

Reuters reported last week that the Foxconn subsidiary was in talks with Tamil Nadu about the components investment, with the company aiming for the plant's completion in 2024.

FII makes electronic devices, cloud service equipment and industrial robots. It was not immediately clear if the new plant would make components for iPhones or for other firms, or both.

($1 = 82.2825 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru and Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Additional reporting by Yi-Mou Lee; Editing by Aditya Kalra, Jamie Freed, Himani Sarkar and Alexander Smith)
FILE PHOTO: An autonomous vehicle is seen at the BlackBerry QNX headquarters in Ottawa

(Reuters) - BlackBerry on Monday said that Foxconn-led Mobility in Harmony (MIH) consortium has chosen the Canadian technology company to provide software and some services.

The consortium's electric vehicle (EV) platform will use BlackBerry's QNX operating system for vehicles, and automotive artificial intelligence platform IVY to help process and store data collected from sensors in vehicles.

Foxconn's MIH consortium includes a range of suppliers and automakers such as India's Tata Motors and South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution, that will design electric vehicle platforms, according to its website.

One of MIH's EV platform named Project X, geared towards Asian consumers, is set to be unveiled in Japan in late 2023, while it will release six-seater and nine-seater vehicle platforms in the coming years. The platforms are expected to use BlackBerry's software.

Ford, General Motors and Toyota are among a plethora of automakers which use BlackBerry's QNX embedded operating system in about 235 million cars.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
YONDELIS  (trabectedin) now PBS listed for Australian patients

Listing described as "wonderful news" for patients living with rare lipo and leiomyo sarcomas

YONDELISO (trabectedin) demonstrates 45% reduction in risk of disease progression or death versus dacarbazine1

SINGAPORE, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AUSTRALIAN cancer patients who have been diagnosed with rare soft tissue sarcomas will now have affordable access to a global therapy shown to improve survival, following its listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).

The therapy YONDELIS (trabectedin) is a novel anti-tumour agent originally derived from the sea squirt and will be available to eligible patients on the PBS from August 1.

It is used extensively around the world and has been shown to improve progression-free survival for patients with liposarcoma and leiomyosarcoma when used after anthracycline-based therapy.1

Until today, some patients have paid up to $50,000 to access YONDELIS treatment.

News of the PBS listing is being welcomed by oncologists and the Australian sarcoma community, who say it will alleviate cost of treatment pressures for those patients whose disease has progressed.

Medical oncologist and Scientific Advisory Committee member and Lead of the ANZSA National Sarcoma Database Dr Susie Bae, said YONDELIS has been available in Europe since 2007 for patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma, and Australian patients had waited many years for reimbursed access.

"This milestone means patients don't need to worry about not being able to afford or miss out on an active drug that can potentially buy precious time with their loved ones, by providing disease control and keeping symptoms at bay for longer," Dr Bae said.

Melbourne patient advocate and mother of two Karen Lurati  herself diagnosed with liposarcoma six years ago  said this listing provided new hope for other patients.

"A PBS listing for YONDELIS is so exciting for those people who may not have been able to afford the treatment before," she said. "Rare cancers don't often get (Government) funding or attention. To now have this therapy on the PBS is great progress.

Story continues

"Patients often feel that they have to go overseas and spend enormous amounts of money on treatments that may not be available in Australia. This can be frustrating and financially crippling. So, for patients to have access to a global therapy in their own country is wonderful news."

And Rare Cancers Australia (RCA) Chief Executive Richard Vines said he was "delighted with this outcome", describing the listing as "great news" for patients living with an L-sarcoma.

"For too long, sarcoma patients have been unable to access all therapies which may provide benefit," he said. Today's announcement means they can access a PBS funded medicine instead of having to try and find tens of thousands of dollars  if not more  to self-fund a treatment that may give them more time."

YONDELIS is marketed in Australia by independent pharmaceutical company Specialised Therapeutics, under an exclusive license arrangement with international partner PharmaMar.

ST Chief Executive Officer Carlo Montagner said the PBS listing was a significant milestone for the company.

He commented: "We acquired the YONDELIS rights in 2019 following requests from key oncology groups and doctors, who had been importing the product at great cost and with complex logistics for those patients diagnosed with these rare cancers.

"This PBS listing is the culmination of a substantive effort by our team together with the oncology community to achieve full regulatory approval and a PBS listing.

"We look forward to continuing our work with the sarcoma community."

Ends.

About Specialised Therapeutics Asia



Headquartered in Singapore, Specialised Therapeutics (ST) is an international biopharmaceutical company established to commercialise new therapies and technologies to patients in Australia, New Zealand and across South-East Asia. ST and its regional affiliates collaborate with leading global pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies to bring novel, innovative and life-changing healthcare solutions to patients affected by a range of diseases. Our mission is to provide therapies that would otherwise not be available to communities in our regions. The company's broad therapeutic portfolio currently includes novel agents in oncology, haematology, neurology, ophthalmology and supportive care. Additional information can be found at www.stbiopharma.com

About YONDELIS (trabectedin)

YONDELIS (trabectedin) is a novel, multimodal, synthetically produced antitumor agent, originally derived from the sea squirt, Ecteinascidia turbinata. The anti-cancer medicine works by preventing tumor cells from multiplying and is approved in 76 countries in North America, Europe, South America and Asia for the treatment of advanced soft-tissue sarcomas as a single-agent, and in 69 countries for relapsed ovarian in combination with doxorubicin HCl liposome injection.

The approval was based on the results of a pivotal phase 3, randomised, open-label controlled study which evaluated YONDELIS versus dacarbazine in over 500 patients with unresectable or metastatic liposarcoma (LPS) or leiomyosarcoma (LMS) previously treated with an anthracycline and at least one additional chemotherapy regimen. LPS and LMS are subtypes of soft tissue sarcoma (STS) and represent more than 35% of all STS cases.3

The median progression-free survival (PFS) among the YONDELIS treatment group was 4.2 months compared to 1.5 months in the dacarbazine treatment group, representing a 45% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death with YONDELIS (HR=0.55; 95% CI: 0.44 - 0.70; p<0.001).1

Among the 340 patients who received YONDELIS and were included in the safety analysis in the randomised trial, the most common (20%) adverse reactions were nausea (73%), fatigue (67%), vomiting (44%), constipation (36%), decreased appetite (34%), diarrhoea (34%), dyspnoea (25%), peripheral oedema (24%) and headache (23%). The most common (20%) laboratory abnormalities were neutropenia (49%), increased alanine transaminase (ALT) (45%), anaemia (39%), increased aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (35%), thrombocytopaenia (30%) and increased blood alkaline phosphatase (20%).1

About Soft Tissue Sarcoma

Soft tissue sarcoma is a rare type of cancer that forms as a painless lump (tumour) in any one of the soft tissues connecting all the organs and body structures  including fat, muscle, nerves, deep skin tissue, blood vessels and the tissue surrounding joints (synovial tissue). Soft tissue sarcomas commonly develop in the thigh, shoulder and pelvis and may sometimes develop in the abdomen or chest.6

Metastatic or locally advanced STS is generally considered incurable, with the mainstay of treatment being systemic chemotherapy. For some patients with limited disease burden however, long-term remission can be achieved through a multimodality approach involving medical, surgical and radiation therapy.4

About PharmaMar

PharmaMar is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of new oncology treatments, whose mission is to improve the healthcare outcomes of patients afflicted by serious diseases with our innovative medicines. The Company is inspired by the sea, driven by science, and motivated by patients with serious diseases to improve their lives by delivering novel medicines to them. PharmaMar intends to continue to be the world leader in marine medicinal discovery, development and innovation.

PharmaMar has developed and now commercializes Yondelis in Europe by itself, as well as Zepzelca (lurbinectedin), in the US; and Aplidin (plitidepsin), in Australia, with different partners. In addition, it has a pipeline of drug candidates and a robust R&D oncology program. PharmaMar has other clinical-stage programs under development for several types of solid cancers: lurbinectedin, ecubectedin, PM534 and PM54. It also has a preclinical and clinical program in virology. Headquartered in Madrid (Spain), PharmaMar has subsidiaries in Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland and The United States. PharmaMar also wholly owns Sylentis, a company dedicated to researching therapeutic applications of gene silencing (RNAi). To learn more about PharmaMar, please visit us at www.pharmamar.com.

References 1. Demetri G. et al. J Clin Oncol. 2016; 34(8): 786-793 2. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data on file 2022 3. Toro JR, et al. Int J Cancer. 2006; 119:2922-2930 4. Cancer Council Victoria Fact Sheet - Soft tissue sarcoma. Available at https://www.cancervic.org.au/cancer-information/types-of-cancer/soft_tissue_cancers/soft-tissue-cancers-overview.html

Cision

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SOURCE Specialised Therapeutics
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP)  Greeces prime minister said Monday that his government wants to take full advantage of an improving political climate with neighboring Turkey in order to improve bilateral relations despite a string of decades-old disputes.

But Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that didn't mean Turkey had substantially changed its stance on key differences between the two countries and must decisively abandon its aggressive and unlawful conduct against Greeces sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Turkey and Greece remain at odds over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, a dispute that affects irregular migration into the European Union, mineral rights and the projection of military power.

Mitsotakis said that he agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12 to initiate new lines of communication and to maintain a period of calm.

High-level talks between the the two countries are expected to take place in the Greek city of Thessaloniki later this year.

However, the Greek prime minister said that Erdogans outreach to the EU couldn't come at the expense of efforts to heal nearly half a century of ethnic division in Cyprus, which has been split into separate Greek and Turkish entities since 1974.

Speaking after talks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Mitsotakis said that he told Erdogan that improved European-Turkish ties couldn't exclude a Cyprus peace accord and that the issue couldn't be left by the wayside.

Turkey and the breakaway Turkish Cypriots have insisted on a two-state solution since July 2017 when the most recent round of U.N.-facilitated peace talks collapsed.

That position overturned a long-standing agreement sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in numerous resolutions that any peace deal would aim for a reunified Cyprus as a federation made up of Greek- and Turkish-speaking zones.

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Cyprus was divided in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the islands northern third, where more than 35,000 Turkish troops are stationed.

On Friday, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar repeated that peace talks could resume only if Greek Cypriots recognized the Turkish Cypriots sovereign equality.

Christodoulides said Monday that any improvement in European-Turkish relations should be based on reciprocal action by Turkey, adding that the EU prioritizes a Cyprus peace deal in line with U.N. resolutions.
Countries around the world are now taking advantage of the flagship Biofriendly product to help lower C0 2 and improve air quality.

PASADENA, Calif., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Biofriendly, an environmental education and technology company, now boasts more than a dozen countries utilizing Green Plus in their fuel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve outdoor breathing conditions in their cities. Countries include the United States, Canada, Hungary, Romania, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, and Malaysia.

Biofriendly (PRNewsfoto/Biofriendly)

The path to energy transition continues to be a complex process as millions of gas-powered vehicles continue to emit CO 2 , particulate matter, and black smoke daily. Green Plus offers an immediate solution to reducing these harmful by-products in our atmosphere.

"Biofriendly is dedicated to providing Green Plus, our emission-reducing product, as an energy transition fuel for a much bigger problem," says Noel Carroll, CEO of Biofriendly. "In order to create a sustainable source of transportation energy for generations to come, it requires all hands on deck from every sector to find a way to solve these problems today, not only focusing on tomorrow."

Recently, Biofriendly was contacted by a children's school in Malaysia that had an issue with their school buses emitting noxious fumes. The children were complaining of black smoke building up in the bus cabin, making it difficult for them to breathe. The time and expense of repairing or replacing the school buses with an electric version was unattainable, so Biofriendly stepped in to remedy the problem as soon as possible. Since adding Green Plus, Biofriendly is happy to report that the children can now breathe easier and black smoke is no longer accumulating in the cabin.

Carroll continues, "The world needs to pursue every path possible to switch and stop using fossil fuels, but until the millions of people around the world who rely on fuel for schools, hospitals, farming, and even the products we order online every day can make the transition, we will continue to work diligently to make a difference with Green Plus."

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About Biofriendly Corporation

Biofriendly Corporation was founded with the express purpose of solving the world's air quality problems. To that end, the company introduced Green Plus smog reducer to the market. Twenty years later, Green Plus has cleaned over 17.5 billion gallons of fuel, or the equivalent of planting 481.7 million trees to remove CO 2 from the atmosphere. Biofriendly continues its commitment to reducing air pollution worldwide, but has expanded its purpose toward green education, investment, and environmental solutions for the future of the planet.

For more information, visit www.biofriendly.com . For environmental information and green tips, visit Biofriendly's e-magazine at www.biofriendlyplanet.com and listen to the Biofriendly Podcast on YouTube . Follow Biofriendly Planet on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .

Media Contact

Matt Kovacs

mkovacs@blazepr.com

Cision

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SOURCE Biofriendly
The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, so investors in these companies may be taking on more risk than they should.

If this kind of company isn't your style, you like companies that generate revenue, and even earn profits, then you may well be interested in Stamford Tyres (SGX:S29). While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.

See our latest analysis for Stamford Tyres

How Fast Is Stamford Tyres Growing Its Earnings Per Share?

In the last three years Stamford Tyres' earnings per share took off; so much so that it's a bit disingenuous to use these figures to try and deduce long term estimates. As a result, we'll zoom in on growth over the last year, instead. Over the last year, Stamford Tyres increased its EPS from S$0.016 to S$0.017. That amounts to a small improvement of 6.8%.

One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. Our analysis has highlighted that Stamford Tyres' revenue from operations did not account for all of their revenue in the previous 12 months, so our analysis of its margins might not accurately reflect the underlying business. Stamford Tyres reported flat revenue and EBIT margins over the last year. While this doesn't ring alarm bells, it may not meet the expectations of growth-minded investors.

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. For finer detail, click on the image.

Stamford Tyres isn't a huge company, given its market capitalisation of S$46m. That makes it extra important to check on its balance sheet strength.

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Are Stamford Tyres Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Seeing insiders owning a large portion of the shares on issue is often a good sign. Their incentives will be aligned with the investors and there's less of a probability in a sudden sell-off that would impact the share price. So as you can imagine, the fact that Stamford Tyres insiders own a significant number of shares certainly is appealing. Owning 43% of the company, insiders have plenty riding on the performance of the the share price. This should be a welcoming sign for investors because it suggests that the people making the decisions are also impacted by their choices. Valued at only S$46m Stamford Tyres is really small for a listed company. That means insiders only have S$20m worth of shares, despite the large proportional holding. That might not be a huge sum but it should be enough to keep insiders motivated!

Is Stamford Tyres Worth Keeping An Eye On?

One positive for Stamford Tyres is that it is growing EPS. That's nice to see. If that's not enough on its own, there is also the rather notable levels of insider ownership. The combination definitely favoured by investors so consider keeping the company on a watchlist. What about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Stamford Tyres (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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By Selena Li and Kane Wu

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hong Kong stock exchange has removed a China-risk section for mainland-incorporated companies in its listing application rules with effect from Tuesday, which the bourse said was to align disclosure requirements for IPO-aspirants from other countries and the scrutiny level remains the same.

In its latest revision to listing rules, the bourse repealed a whole section focusing on risks from China's policies and its business and legal environment, according to a consultation conclusion paper published on July 21.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEX), however, said there had been "no roll back" in the level of scrutiny the listing rules require, with China-incorporated issuers subject to the same disclosure rules as other issuers.

"All listing applicants, regardless of place of incorporation and operational jurisdictions, must continue to disclose any material matters and specific risk factors that are relevant to their business, operations, industry, jurisdiction of incorporation, etc," it said.

"If there are material risks in doing business in any jurisdiction in which a listing applicant has material operations, they are required to disclose it under the existing rules. This applies to all issuers, from all jurisdictions."

A large number of Chinese companies make their public market debut either in Hong Kong or in the United States, and global investors pay close attention to disclosures made in their IPO prospectuses to weigh risks and prospects.

China's securities watchdog published updated rules for offshore listings in February and Hong Kong followed with its own consultation on proposed changes a week later.

The deletion of the China-specific risk section was part of a move to "align the requirements" for all issuers, while other amendments were made to reflect "recent changes in Mainland China regulatory framework", the Hong Kong exchange said in its conclusion paper on July 21.

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In a summary of rule revisions, the exchange didn't list the removal of China risk disclosures as a major change.

"Legacy rules had split out specific requirements for People's Republic of China-incorporated issuers, but the recent consultation has sought to align requirements for all overseas-incorporated companies," the exchange said.

REGULATORY CHANGES IN CHINA, U.S.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission on July 20 met with local lawyers and asked them to refrain from including negative descriptions of China's policies or its business and legal environment in companies' listing prospectuses, sources said.

The regulator warned failure to do so could cost them a regulatory green light for IPOs.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month directed Chinese companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges to disclose more details about the role of the Chinese government in their operations and the impact of a 2021 law banning the import of goods from China's Uyghur region.

The now-removed China risk section in Hong Kong listing rules required the mainland issuers to offer a summary of risks of "the relevant laws and regulations", "the political structure and economic environment", "foreign exchange controls and exchange rate risk" of China, as well as other specific risks of doing business in China.

The majority of Chinese companies' offshore listing proposals have been filed with the Hong Kong exchange since China's new offshore listing regime came into effect on March 31, but few of them have got Beijing's nod to start raising funds.

(Reporting by Selena Li and Kane Wu in Hong Kong; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee, Christina Fincher and Neil Fullick)
(Bloomberg) -- The creator of crypto token Hex illegally used millions of dollars of investor funds to buy a 555-carat black diamond known as The Enigma, according to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Wall Streets main regulator alleged in federal court on Monday that Richard Schueler, who goes by Richard Heart, raised more than $1 billion by selling unregistered securities, including the Hex coin and other tokens affiliated with his PulseChain blockchain network and PulseX decentralized finance platform. Heart and PulseChain used at least $12.1 million of investor funds for personal luxury purchases, including the diamond, expensive watches and high-end automobiles, the agency said.

The price of the Hex token fell about 25% to a fraction of 1 cent after the lawsuit was announced, according to CoinMarketCap data. PulseChains PLS and PulseXs PLSX tokens also plunged after the lawsuit was announced. Richard Heart didnt immediately return a request for comment.

Even though the Hex coin is among thousands that trade at just a few cents or less, it amassed a significant following among digital-asset enthusiasts. Heart positioned himself at the center of the hype, projecting an over-the-top presence on social media with his designer track suits, expensive jewelry and luxury vehicles.

Heart called on investors to buy crypto asset securities in offerings that he failed to register. He then defrauded those investors by spending some of their crypto assets on exorbitant luxury goods, said Eric Werner, director of the SECs Fort Worth Regional Office.

In one specific allegation, the SEC said Hex investors reasonably expected to derive profits from their holdings through a staking offering that allowed them to lock up their tokens in exchange for additional coins in the future.

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According to the SEC, Heart has repeatedly said that the purpose of the program was to incentivize investors to lock up their Hex tokens  which reduced the number of Hex tokens in circulation  to drive up their price. The SEC alleged that Heart and Hex advertised that investors would receive an average return of 38% for staking tokens.

The lawsuit is the latest in a string of SEC crypto enforcement actions this year. The regulator has also sued Coinbase Global Inc. and Binance Holdings Ltd.  the worlds largest crypto exchange.

--With assistance from Olga Kharif.

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Key Insights

Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, KPJ Healthcare Berhad fair value estimate is RM1.63

KPJ Healthcare Berhad's RM1.13 share price signals that it might be 31% undervalued

The RM1.35 analyst price target for KPJ is 17% 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 KPJ Healthcare Berhad (KLSE:KPJ) as an investment opportunity by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to today's 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 still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for KPJ Healthcare Berhad

The Method

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM448.5m RM481.9m RM625.0m RM653.0m RM678.4m RM704.2m RM730.5m RM757.3m RM785.0m RM813.4m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x5 Analyst x5 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 3.89% Est @ 3.80% Est @ 3.73% Est @ 3.68% Est @ 3.65% Est @ 3.62% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 12% RM402 RM387 RM449 RM421 RM391 RM364 RM338 RM314 RM292 RM271

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM3.6b

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After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (3.6%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 12%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = RM813m (1 + 3.6%)  (12% 3.6%) = RM10b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM10b ( 1 + 12%)10= RM3.5b

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 RM7.1b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of RM1.1, the company appears quite good value at a 31% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

dcf

Important Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at KPJ Healthcare Berhad as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 12%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.006. 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 KPJ Healthcare Berhad

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

Debt is well covered by cash flow.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Interest payments on debt are not well covered.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Healthcare market.

Opportunity

Annual revenue is forecast to grow faster than the Malaysian market.

Trading below our estimate of fair value by more than 20%.

Threat

Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the Malaysian market.

Looking Ahead:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. 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. Why is the intrinsic value higher than the current share price? For KPJ Healthcare Berhad, we've put together three essential items you should look at:

Risks: Take risks, for example - KPJ Healthcare Berhad has 2 warning signs (and 1 which can't be ignored) we think you should know about. Future Earnings: How does KPJ'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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FILE PHOTO: Logo of Google is seen at VivaTech fair in Paris

By Elvira Pollina

MILAN (Reuters) -Italy's AGCM competition watchdog said on Monday it had accepted commitments proposed by Google to end a case over the tech giant's alleged abuse of its dominant position in the user data portability market.

The regulator opened the investigation last year following a complaint from Italian startup Hoda which accused Google of hindering the right of the U.S. company's users to share their personal data with other digital service platforms.

In response to the probe, Google proposed some changes to its data backup service in order to enhance users' ability to extract their personal data from the Alphabet unit's services, the regulator said in a statement.

The company also pledged to make available a test version of a tool it is developing to enable other digital service operators to access personal data that users generate through their activity on Alphabet services, the statement said.

The new tool will be officially released next year.

"All in all, the authority deemed Google's commitments as suitable to remove concerns over competition," the AGCM said.

A Google spokesperson welcomed the AGCM's decision, adding the company was investing in data portability "in a way that improves user experience while protecting user privacy and security".

Last year, the AGCM had said the alleged abuse could "constrain the economic benefits that consumers can derive from their data" as well limiting competition.

Google faced a fine of up to 10% of its annual global sales if found guilty of abusing its position.

(Reporting by Elvira Pollina Editing Jason Neely and Mark Potter)
While it may not be enough for some shareholders, we think it is good to see the James Fisher and Sons plc (LON:FSJ) share price up 15% in a single quarter. But will that repair the damage for the weary investors who have owned this stock as it declined over half a decade? Probably not. Indeed, the share price is down a whopping 78% in that time. So we don't gain too much confidence from the recent recovery. The important question is if the business itself justifies a higher share price in the long term.

Now let's have a look at the company's fundamentals, and see if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

View our latest analysis for James Fisher and Sons

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During five years of share price growth, James Fisher and Sons moved from a loss to profitability. Most would consider that to be a good thing, so it's counter-intuitive to see the share price declining. Other metrics may better explain the share price move.

The revenue decline of 2.9% isn't too bad. But it's quite possible the market had expected better; a closer look at the revenue trends might explain the pessimism.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

We know that James Fisher and Sons has improved its bottom line lately, but what does the future have in store? So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that James Fisher and Sons has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 28% in the last twelve months. There's no doubt those recent returns are much better than the TSR loss of 12% per year over five years. 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. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with James Fisher and Sons .

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We will like James Fisher and Sons better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on British 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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(Bloomberg) -- New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, who has been serving as the acting governor while Phil Murphy is in Italy on a family vacation, has been hospitalized and is unable to perform her duties, Murphys office said in a statement Monday morning.

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Oliver, 71, is currently receiving care at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey, the governors office said.

As of Monday morning, state Senate President Nicholas Scutari is serving as acting governor. A spokesperson for the governors office said she was unable to provide more details about Olivers condition because of privacy concerns. Murphys office will give updates on Olivers condition when and if necessary, she said.

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Just what does the average Florida homeowner pay for property insurance? Good luck figuring that out based on wildly varying estimates quoted across the media.

About the only thing everyone agrees on is that the states insurance rates have been rising sharply. Insurers say they need higher premiums to offset mounting losses from hurricane claims, severe weather events, high rates of litigation, and resulting increases in the cost of reinsurance  insurance that insurers must buy to make sure they can pay all claims after a disaster.

Reforms enacted in 2022 to curtail costs from litigation are expected to eventually stabilize premium costs, but that hasnt happened yet.

Meanwhile, online insurance aggregators publish estimates that are all over the map.

Policygenius says average Florida homeowners pay $2,442 for home insurance.

Bankrate says $1,981  but thats just to insure the dwelling and doesnt include other vital elements like liability coverage, loss of use, or personal property.

Insurify crunched numbers from 10 Florida ZIP codes and estimated average homeowners are paying a whopping $7,788 this year.

For a report comparing insurance costs across the nation, USA Today estimated that Floridians pay an average of $2,389.

And Insurance Information Institute, an industry-funded nonprofit organization, estimated Floridas average home insurance premium was $4,321 last October and $6,000 currently.

Which number is closest to what Florida homeowners are actually paying? Its impossible to say because the estimates are calculated based on proprietary methods, said Mark Friedlander, corporate communications director for the Insurance Information Institute.

Insurance agents in South Florida say their clients are paying on the high side of the estimated range of average premiums.

Yet, recently released data by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation include figures that some might find surprisingly low in comparison to the higher estimates.

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The states most recent data comes from insurers themselves  sent to OIR each quarter under a law enacted in May 2022.

The data sent by insurers was used to create county-by-county estimates of premiums paid to insure single-family homes, Those estimates were included in the offices twice-yearly Property Insurance Stability Report released in early July.

State data shows average rates are lower

The report found that on March 31:

Homeowners in 48 of Floridas 67 counties paid estimated average premiums between $2,000 and $2,999. Averages were below $2,000 in four counties  Sumter, Marion, Baker and Hernando.

Average premiums were in the $3,000s in seven counties: Lee, Okeechobee, Escambia, Okaloosa, Gulf, Pinellas, and Indian River.

Residents of three counties  Walton, Franklin, and Collier  paid average premiums in the $4,000s.

And homeowners in the five southernmost counties  Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe  paid average premiums of more than $5,000.

In fact, average premiums in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade exceeded $5,500 while homeowners in Monroe, which includes the Florida Keys, paid an average $7,584.

Premium amounts calculated by the Office of Insurance Regulation preceded rate hikes tied to higher reinsurance rates that insurers secured as hurricane season began on June 1. Renewal prices charged after companies secured their reinsurance rates will reflect the higher costs. That means the next six-month report will likely reflect significant rate increases.

Missing from the twice-yearly report is a statewide average premium.

The Sun Sentinel tallied data in a separate release by the office of company-level data that includes numbers of policyholders per coverage category and corresponding direct written premium totals. Direct written premiums are the total dollar amount of all premiums paid to the company by its policyholders. Dividing the number of policyholders into the direct written premium data reveals the average premium charged by the company.

Dividing the total number of policyholders into the total direct written premium total for all Florida-regulated insurance companies reveals Floridas average homeowner insurance premium on March 31 was $3,134.

How many homeowners in Floridas five southernmost counties would like to be paying that right now?

Probably all clients of Fort Lauderdale-based insurance agent Phil Portnoy, who works at Donna Carrara Insurance Agency.

The average Ive seen from private insurers is anywhere from $6,000 to $10,000 for, say, $350,000 in coverage, Portnoy said last week. Ive seen renewals down in Pinecrest for as much as $17,000 for a million in coverage and as much as $27,000 for a Palm Beach County intracoastal renewal of $1 million in coverage.

Al Mendez, partner in Mendez & Associates Insurance in Pembroke Pines, says his average policies range from $4,200 to $6,000 to insure homes in the tri-county region with replacement costs of $300,000 to $500,000.

Mendez calls the current state of the insurance market  with rate increases of 25% to 70% over each of the past three years  the worst Ive experienced in 30 years in the industry.

Some of his clients have seen increases of 100% to 200%, he said. Florida is now the most expensive state to live in, he said.

South Florida insurance costs are higher

Mark Friedlander of the Insurance Information Institute said he stands by his organizations estimates that statewide average premiums increased from $4,231 last fall to $6,000 this year as verified as accurate by numerous third parties, including insurers and insurance agents.

As Friedlander is a popular source of insurance information, the $6,000-a-year estimate has shown up in stories by numerous national publications about Floridas insurance crisis.

Two weeks ago, Friedlander said, a Barrons reporter verified our premium data with numerous industry analysts and confirmed its accuracy.

Insurify, Policygenius and USA Today each used insurance data from a single source  Quadrant Information Services  to produce different estimates.

Chase Gardner of Insurify, which calculated an average estimate of $7,788 for Florida, said the company developed its estimates by using average costs in 10 zip codes representative of each states population distribution. Zip codes with larger populations were weighted more heavily in calculating the average, he said, which may explain why his companys estimates were so much higher that Insurifys and Bankrates numbers.

Even though we both collected Florida data from Quadrant Information Services, prices vary a lot depending on where you live in the state, Gardner said. For example, we found that average prices were closer to $2,000 to $3,000 per year or less in northern, inland parts of the state, whereas prices could skyrocket to more than $10,000 per year in southern coastal cities like Miami.

Friedlander said that the Insurance Information Institutes estimates looked only at private sector policies and excluded policies sold by the insurer of last resort, state-owned Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

Citizens insured 719,347 single-family homes for an average premium of $3,254 in the first quarter of 2023, the state data shows.

Thats high from a statewide perspective but low for South Florida.

In March 2022, Citizens produced a chart that showed its average premium in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade, where 52% of its policyholders are located, was $4,196  28% less than the $5,856 combined average of 13 competitors selected for the comparison.

Ultimately, the only home insurance cost estimates that matter are the ones offered to you to cover your home for the upcoming year. And at least for the near future, theyre continuing to increase, agents say.
BEIRUT (AP)  Lebanon's embattled central bank governor stepped down on Monday under a cloud of investigation and blame for his country's economic crisis as several European countries are probing his alleged financial crimes.

Riad Salameh, 73, ended his 30-year tenure as tearful employees took photos and a band played celebratory music with drums and trumpets as he left the building.

His four vice governors, led by incoming interim governor Wassim Mansouri, quickly pivoted to urge fiscal reforms for the cash-strapped country.

We are at a crossroads, Mansouri said at a news conference. There is no choice, if we continue previous policy ... the funds in the Central Bank will eventually dry up.

Salameh kicked off his tenure as governor in 1993, three years after Lebanons 15-year civil war came to an end. It was a time when reconstruction loans and aid was pouring into the country, and Salameh was widely celebrated for his role in Lebanon's recovery.

Now, he leaves his post a wanted man in Europe, accused by many in Lebanon of being responsible for the country's financial downfall since late 2019.

It was a steep fall for a leader whose policies were once hailed for keeping the currency stable. Later, many financial experts saw him as setting up a house of cards that crumbled as the country's supply of dollars dried up on top of decades of rampant and corruption and mismanagement from Lebanon's ruling parties.

The crisis has pulverized the Lebanese pound and wiped out the savings of many Lebanese, as the banks ran dry of hard currency.

With the country's banks crippled and public sector in ruins, Lebanon for years has run on a cash-based economy and relied primarily on tourism and remittances from millions in the diaspora.

Mansouri said previous policies that permitted the central bank to spend large sums on money to prop up the Lebanese state is no longer feasible. He cited years of spending billions of dollars to subsidize fuel, medicine, wheat and more to keep the value of the Lebanese pound stable.

Story continues

He proposed a six-month reform plan that included passing long awaited reforms such as capital controls, a bank restructuring law, and the 2023 state budget.

The country cannot continue without passing these laws, Mansouri explained. We don't have time, and we paid a heavy price that we cannot pay anymore.

The reforms Mansouri mentioned are among those the International Monetary Fund set as conditions on Lebanon in April 2022 for a bailout plan, though he did not mention the IMF. None have been passed.

France, Germany, and Luxembourg are investigating Salameh and his associates over myriad financial crimes, including illicit enrichment and the laundering of $330 million. Paris and Berlin issued Interpol notices to the central bank chief in May, though Lebanon does not hand over its citizens to foreign countries.

Salameh has repeatedly denied the allegations and insisted that his wealth comes from his previous job as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch, inherited properties, and investments. He has criticized the probe and said it was part of a media and political campaign to scapegoat him.

In his final interview as governor, Salameh said on Lebanese television that the responsibility for reforms lies with the government.

Everything I did for the past 30 years was to try to serve Lebanon and the Lebanese, he said. Some  the majority - were grateful, even if they dont want to say so. And there are other people, well, may God forgive them.

Salameh's departure adds another gap in crisis-hit Lebanons withering and paralyzed institutions. The tiny Mediterranean country has been without a president for nine months, while its government has been running in a limited caretaker capacity for a year. Lebanon has also been without a top spy chief to head its General Security Directorate since March.

Lebanese officials in recent months were divided over whether Salameh should stay in his post or whether he should step down immediately in the remaining months of his tenure.

Caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam wanted an immediate stepdown, given that the central bank chief had a legal question mark.

I cannot explain anyone holding on to a person while a nation is failing unless there is something wrong or hidden," Salam told The Associated Press.
By Tom Bateman and Rocky Swift

TOKYO (Reuters) - As Japan enjoys a post-pandemic resurgence in tourism from around the globe, Seibu Railway is testing out an automated translation window to help confused foreigners navigate one of Tokyo's most complex transportation hubs.

The device, developed by printing company Toppan and called VoiceBiz, lets customers speak to a station attendant over microphones while the semi-transparent screen between them spells out their words in Japanese and one of 11 other languages.

More than 2 million visitors arrived in Japan last month, the most since the pandemic kicked off in 2019, and travellers from the United States and Europe exceeded pre-outbreak levels as the weak yen makes the trip the cheapest in decades.

Kevin Khani was among foreign travellers who got turned around in the Seibu-Shinjuku station recently and found the VoiceBiz window helpful.

"The translations were spot on," said the 30-year-old German, who works at Alibaba. "It might sound a bit weird, but you feel safe immediately because you know there's a human on the other side. So you take your time to explain what you need and you will know that they will understand what you need."

Seibu Railway, a unit of the Seibu Holdings conglomerate, installed the translation window this month at its Seibu-Shinjuku station, the terminus of one of its central Tokyo lines, for a three-month trial before considering a wider rollout.

About 135,000 passengers pass through the station daily, including many foreigners shuttling between tourist hot spots, such as Tokyo's new Harry Potter theme park.

"Our goal in introducing this was to improve the smoothness of communication by letting people look at each other's face," said Ayano Yajima, a sales and marketing supervisor at Seibu Railway.

The device was also tested out at Kansai International Airport earlier this year, and Toppan has aims to sell it to businesses and government offices in Japan to contend with both foreign travellers and an ever-growing number of immigrants.

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With its many rail lines - some connected, some not - and gigantic bus station, Shinjuku district is the ultimate testing ground for way-finding tech.

Across the road from the Seibu station is Shinjuku's central Japan Railway (JR) station, which is the busiest in the world, with some 3.6 million people passing through daily. A rabbit warren of tunnels connects the JR station to multiple train and subway lines run by other companies.

Weary from a 1 a.m. flight arrival, French tourists Isabelle and Marc Rigaud used the translation window to try to find their way from the Seibu station to the JR station. They still needed a help from a bystander to get there.

"It's very Japan," Isabelle, 47, said.

(Reporting by Tom Bateman and Rocky Swift in Tokyo; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
Tisch President and Chief Executive of Loews Corporation speaks during The Economist's Buttonwood Gathering in New York

(Reuters) - Loews Corp said on Monday its second-quarter profit more than doubled as a jump in investment income cushioned a hit from higher catastrophe losses in its insurance unit, CNA Financial.

Markets have staged a comeback this year on rising bets that the Federal Reserve was done with the bulk of its tightening cycle that had taken the economy on the edge of a recession.

Loews reported a higher return on investments, helped by a broader market rally.

Investment income for New York-based Loews jumped to $592 million in the second quarter ended June 30 from $366 million a year earlier.

The company earns most of its revenue from CNA, in which it holds about 90% stake. It also operates a natural gas transportation pipeline business and a chain of hotels.

Catastrophe losses in CNA's property and casualty operations rose to $68 million from $37 million.

The U.S. Midwest and South were hit by violent storms in the quarter that knocked over houses and led to loss of life, adding to a series of weather-related events that have hurt insurers' profitability.

CNA's peer Travelers Companies, earlier this month, reported about a 98% rise in catastrophe losses due to extreme weather.

Meanwhile, CNA reported an underlying combined ratio of 91.1%, compared with 90.8% a year earlier. A ratio below 100% means the insurer earned more in premiums than it paid out in claims.

"CNA reported stellar results, despite high industry catastrophe losses," President and CEO James Tisch said in a statement.

The income attributable to Loews for the second quarter was $360 million, or $1.58 per share, compared with $167 million, or 68 cents a year earlier.

(Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
Im not owned by any of these companies': This Senator just blasted colleagues for stock trading, putting their own pocketbook before the American people  he supports a ban now

As the crusade against insider stock trading in Congress steps up a notch, one politician has shared his rather rare take on stock ownership.

I dont own individual stocks  and so, when I make decisions about what we ought to be doing to protect consumers, Im guided by whats best for the people at home, Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock said on CNBCs The Exchange in late July.

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His comments followed the proposal of the Ban Stock Trading for Government Officials Act  which would bar Washington officials from owning or trading stocks, even in blind trusts.

Im not owned by any of these companies  and Im not thinking about how this will impact my own pocketbook, Warnock added.

Conflicts of interest

Warnock is part of a bipartisan cohort fighting against insider trading by members of Congress, their families and their staff.

Public scrutiny of congressional stock trading has intensified in recent years, with politicians being accused of using their connections and insider information to score winning deals.

Its about conflicts of interest. Its about transparency, Warnock told CNBC. Its about making sure that the people who send us here to represent them can be assured that we are representing them, that were thinking about them, that were centering their interests, as we make important decisions about a whole range of issues.

Read more: This janitor in Vermont built an $8M fortune without anyone around him knowing. Here are the 2 simple techniques that made Ronald Read rich  and can do the same for you

Story continues

Persuading Washington

Despite bipartisan support from a small group of politicians, multiple bills proposing to ban congressional stock trading have failed to move the needle in Washington.

Warnock is more likely to see success in his campaign against junk fees and their harmful effect on Americans wallets and the U.S. economy  an issue that has the full attention of the Oval Office.

What to read next

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Toro Loco owner Miguel Perez.

WORCESTER  A new Mexican express restaurant is now open at the DCU Center, the venue announced Monday.

Toro Loco Taqueria now occupies the 1,200-square-foot space located at the corner of Foster and Commercial streets. The spot was previously the home of Glazy Susan Specialty Doughnuts, which announced its closure in January.

The new Mexican eatery is owned by Miguel Perez and his wife, Denise Medina. According to the news release, the menu is based on family recipes that originate from their upbringing in Union de Tula, a town in Jalisco, Mexico.

"We're going to offer the most authentic tacos that we can: Quesadillas, burritos," Perez said. "We want them to experience that flavor and maybe make it one of their spots to have lunch, have dinner."

Perez and Medina moved from Southern California to Spencer about 11 years along with their two daughters.

Perez said he is the second generation in his family to work in the culinary industry. He has operated restaurants for the Mexicali Cantina Grill restaurant company and his family currently operates Mexicali Cantina Grill in Spencer.

Perez said Edgar Luna, the business development manager for the city's executive office of economic development, was key in supporting Perez in finding a spot in Worcester and connecting him with the DCU Center to open the new downtown location.

"We saw the potential here. It's something that we were looking for," Perez said.

Perez said he is happy to have a location downtown that is right next to the DCU Center.

Work to get Toro Loco to open has taken about two months, Perez said.

Toro Loco Taqueria will be open seven days a week: Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The restaurant's menu includes an assortment of casual bites such as tacos, burritos, quesadillas, desserts and tortilla chips and dips. Entree prices range from $14 to $16; single tacos are $3 to $5.

While the new restaurant will begin serving food this week, a grand opening event will take place the week of Sept. 4.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Toro Local Taqueria opens at DCU Center in Worcester
Xi stresses boosting armed forces' modernization in PLA Western Theater Command inspection

Xinhua) 08:11, July 31, 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), delivers an important speech during his inspection of the air force of the Western Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) on July 26, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Gang)

CHENGDU, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed the need to speed up efforts to boost the modernization of the armed forces.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the remarks on Wednesday in southwest China's Sichuan Province while inspecting the air force of the Western Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Xi made the inspection tour ahead of China's Army Day, which falls on Aug. 1.

On behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the CMC, Xi extended sincere greetings to all the officers and soldiers of the air force of the command, as well as festival greetings to service personnel of the PLA and the People's Armed Police Force, civilian personnel posted in the military, and members of militia and reserve forces.

It is imperative to remain committed to accomplishing the various tasks entrusted by the Party and the people, Xi said.

Xi stressed the need to enhance military preparedness and ensure airspace security by thoroughly carrying out regular air defense.

Xi demanded an accelerated pace of pushing new equipment and forces to form combat forces. The new equipment and forces should be integrated into the current combat systems, he added.

Xi also called for continuous efforts to carry out training under real combat conditions.

The Party must maintain leadership over the armed forces in ideological, political, and organizational terms, Xi said.

Xi ordered strict steps to improve Party conduct and enforce Party discipline, and concrete efforts to carry out the education campaign among the armed forces to break new ground for its development.

Senior military official He Weidong took part in the inspection.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
(Bloomberg) -- Miami wants to attract even more out-of-state workers and wealthy newcomers like hedge fund tycoon Ken Griffin. But first, County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava faces a huge environmental problem: overflowing garbage heaps and septic tanks.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Some of greater Miamis massive landfills, known by clever names like Mount Trashmore, will run out of space by 2026, according to a report from Cavas office. More urgent are the septic systems that serve the citys 2.7 million residents. Many of those front-yard sewage tanks overflow when it rains, releasing fecal bacteria and other contaminants that transform patches of tropical paradise into toxic swamps that kill fish and sicken people.

Its very critical, said Cava, who was elected the first woman to lead Miami-Dade County in 2020. We have to address all of that aggressively.

Its all bad news for Miamis status as a magnet for people fleeing aging cities with failing infrastructure, rising crime, higher taxes and cold weather. No other major American city depends so heavily on septic tanks, a system of treating sewage normally reserved for rural areas. Thats the case for properties all over the county  from the wealthy enclaves of Coral Gables to Miami Beach, and 50 miles southwest, to Homestead, near the Everglades.

Its unbelievable, not just to me but to most of the planning and environmental community, that you can have a county as urban as Miami-Dade and not have everybody on water and sewer, said Howard Nelson, who heads the environmental practice at Bilzin Sumberg.

Ditto for trash. Miami, like many US cities, buries much of its garbage in landfills in far corners of the city, away from the rich. They are smelly, man-made hills rising 130 feet or more, swarming with flies, birds, bulldozers and trucks. By law, the county cant issue building permits unless it has at least five years of garbage disposal capacity. Cavas solid waste director, Michael Fernandez, abruptly quit in July, warning that the county wont have enough space for trash if Cava doesnt act fast. At this point, the County will have to issue a moratorium to stop all development, Fernandez wrote in his resignation letter. (Cava disputes that assessment.)

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Cava, a Democrat elected on promises of hardening the city for climate change, says she will come up with a solution soon. Shes proposed piling trash higher atop the landfills and building a $1 billion incinerator and power plant, in part to replace an incinerator used to process 1 million tons of trash a year that burned down over four weeks in February and March.

Keeping the toilets flushing is a more complex and expensive challenge. There are 108,000 homes and businesses with septic tanks in Miami-Dade County. Many bathe the ground with human waste within two feet above drinking water aquifers, falling short of minimum limits to avoid contamination. There are 50,000 more in neighboring Broward County, part of the citys sprawl. Under Cava, the county has spent $1 billion on water and sewer lines, and has allocated another $160 million.

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But ridding the county of septic tanks will cost at least $4 billion, according to government estimates. Residents will likely have to pay higher taxes and fees to fund those efforts, as well as the expansion of landfills and other trash collection costs. They already pay more than $500 a year for garbage collection, and could be charged another $36 in pickup fees per Cavas $10 billion proposed 2023 budget. Homeowners must also cover the cost of connecting their properties to sewer lines  $20,000 on average.

Other cities have their share of problems. In San Francisco and Los Angeles, heavy rains routinely overwhelm sewer systems. Houstons aging water system is so fragile that on some days it springs more than 1,000 new leaks. And New Yorks sewer system frequently overflows when it rains.

Until Miami fixes its woes, infrastructure problems could stymie the development Cava needs to attract more wealthy residents like Griffin, who moved his financial empire, Citadel, to Miami in 2022. We say, Be like Ken Griffin, Cava said.

There are already problems. On Belle Meade Island, a waterfront neighborhood on Biscayne Bay where homes cost $10 million or more, sewage pumps run 16 hours a day to keep up. Thats almost double the allowed maximum operating time, so theres a county moratorium on new construction there. Right now, if we do not have sewerage pumping capacity, it stops development, said Cava.

These are crises decades in the making, exacerbated by the complexities of governing the mishmash of 34 municipalities that make up greater Miami and putting off expensive solutions. As Miami-Dade County Mayor, Cava oversees an annual budget of about $10 billion and nearly 30,000 employees.

For years, Miami failed to address warnings of a sewage calamity, even since the federal government levied massive fines and ordered a fix. Theres a long history of leaky septic tanks sickening people by contaminating groundwater with deadly E. coli bacteria and killing fish when the muck reached the ocean. In 2020, 27,000 fish died in Biscayne Bay due to septic tank runoff, and there have been multiple massive kills since.

In 2018, Miami-Dade County, in one of its many studies over the last decade, warned: Improperly functioning septic systems can pose an immediate public health risk. But Cava, a former sociologist, has struggled to find a way to fix it.

We are not in a crisis, Cava said almost four years later, at a July 17 news conference. Not on my watch.

--With assistance from Nadia Lopez, Laura Nahmias and Joe Carroll.

(Updates with details on Miami-Dade County Mayor's duties on 13th paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- A large, flashing X sign on San Franciscos Market Street marked the end of Twitter and its bird branding. It also represented a struggle by Mayor London Breed to get the social networks owner, Elon Musk, to follow city laws.

Most Read from Bloomberg

San Francisco officials had stopped Musks company last week from taking down the Twitter sign in front of the building, as the crane was obstructing traffic. By the weekend, the old sign was gone and a large X was placed on a rooftop, blinking into nearby residential buildings. An inspector filed a complaint with the city because X did not acquire a permit for the work.

By Monday afternoon, the X was taken down  again without a permit, according to the Department of Building Inspection and City Planning, which said it received 24 complaints about it.

As for Twitter and whats happening there, I think the challenge were running into is no one can be above the rules, Breed told Bloomberg last week. No one minds that you want to do something different and creative with your space, but you cant just do it like changing your sign, obstructing traffic and not even asking anyone for a permit.

The sign is the latest in a string of conflicts between X, formerly Twitter, and the City of San Francisco, which is grappling with a host of other issues, from a deteriorating downtown to an opioid crisis. Earlier this year several former employees sued Musks company for allegedly pushing them to violate Californias building codes and labor laws. X was also sued for not paying rent at the San Francisco headquarters.

Breed said she is trying to pivot citizens focus away from Musks distraction. Twitter, now X, represents one thing in San Francisco, but we have so many other incredible companies and so many other important parts of our city that hardly get any attention, Breeds office said in a statement Monday. The city will continue to stay engaged with the property owner of the building to ensure they follow the citys process for timely notifications, permit requests, and other procedural matters.

Story continues

Outside of Musks public battle over city permitting, San Francisco is struggling to revitalize its downtown core. Musk has been a harsh critic of the city. Many have offered rich incentives for X (fka Twitter) to move its HQ out of San Francisco. Moreover, the city is in a doom spiral with one company after another left or leaving he posted on X on Saturday. We will not.

Musk started sparring with Breed not long after his Twitter takeover, when city inspectors investigated complaints that he was turning several conference rooms at the headquarters into makeshift bedrooms. So city of SF attacks companies providing beds for tired employees instead of making sure kids are safe from fentanyl. Where are your priorities @LondonBreed!? he posted in December.

Part of the challenge, Breed said last week, is the constant conversation around San Franciscos problems. Lets try to talk about solutions, Breed said in last weeks interview. Lets try to get yes rather than using these social media platforms to focus on the negativity and continuing to tear San Francisco down.

The building inspector who issued the complaint over the X wasnt allowed onto the roof on Friday to see whether the sign was safely secured, according to the complaint. A representative for Twitter did explain that the structure is a temporary lighted sign for an event, the inspector said in the report.

The inspector tried again on Saturday, was denied again, and mailed Twitter a notice of violation.

Now that the sign is down, X will still owe fees, the Department of Building Inspection and City Planning said. That will account for the unpermitted installation and removal of the illuminated structure, and the cost of the investigation.

The city doesnt have much leverage; Musk is the richest man in the world, and the fines to his company could amount to thousands of dollars.

(Updates with Breed office comment in the sixth paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Crude oil just finished its biggest monthly gain since January 2022, with the price of West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) and Brent (BZ=F) futures rising more than 15% and 14%, respectively in July.

And according to analysts at Goldman Sachs, this rally has been spurred by traders growing more constructive on their outlook for the global economy.

"The market has abandoned its growth pessimism," Goldman Sachs senior energy economist Daan Struyven and his team wrote in a note to clients.

"Oil prices have rallied by 18% since mid-June on the return to deficits and on the oil market abandoning its negative growth views, which we saw as too pessimistic."

Goldman estimates global oil demand rose to an all-time high in July and revised up its 2023 demand forecast to about 500,000 barrels per day.

Goldman Sachs is maintaining its 12-month-ahead forecast of $93 per barrel for Brent crude and $86 in December 2023. Brent crude settled near $85.50 on Monday.

Expectations the Federal Reserve is near the end of its tightening cycle have also bolstered crude prices amid greater optimism the economy may achieve a "soft landing" that sees inflation come down while a recession is avoided.

In a press conference last week, Fed Chair Jay Powell said he still sees this as a likely outcome for the US economy. Data out Friday showed the Fed's preferred inflation measure in June rose at the slowest pace since September 2021. Meanwhile, second quarter GDP showed the economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter of this year.

Production cuts have also bolstered the oil market with demand turning the corner.

Since October of last year, OPEC+ has announced production cuts which total over 5 million barrels per day into August 2023, notes Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates.

"While [OPEC+] have not taken that much oil off the market, the amount that they are cutting in August is substantial  probably closer to 3.3 million barrels per day. It's a lot," said Lipow.

Story continues

The world's largest oil producers are expected to extend voluntary production cuts into September. Goldman notes the global oil market fell into a supply deficit in July after having been, on average, in a surplus of about 600,000 barrels per day over the prior year.

A view shows an oil pump jack outside Almetyevsk in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. (Alexander Manzyuk/REUTERS)

"I think [the oil rally] is market participants taking a more risk-on attitude and belief that China is actually going to grow its economy in a robust fashion this year," Stewart Glickman, energy equity analyst at CFRA Research, told Yahoo Finance on Monday.

"This has always been the key issue for 2023  how quickly will China's GDP improve. I think the jury is still out."

On Monday, WTI settled at $81.80 per barrel and Brent closed at $85.56 per barrel.

Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre.

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Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. (NYSE:OPY) will pay a dividend of $0.15 on the 25th of August. This payment means the dividend yield will be 1.5%, which is below the average for the industry.

See our latest analysis for Oppenheimer Holdings

Oppenheimer Holdings' Dividend Is Well Covered By Earnings

Even a low dividend yield can be attractive if it is sustained for years on end. Before making this announcement, Oppenheimer Holdings was easily earning enough to cover the dividend. As a result, a large proportion of what it earned was being reinvested back into the business.

EPS is set to fall by 1.8% over the next 12 months if recent trends continue. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio could be 20%, which we consider to be quite comfortable, with most of the company's earnings left over to grow the business in the future.

Dividend Volatility

Although the company has a long dividend history, it has been cut at least once in the last 10 years. The annual payment during the last 10 years was $0.44 in 2013, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $0.60. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 3.2% a year over that time. Modest growth in the dividend is good to see, but we think this is offset by historical cuts to the payments. It is hard to live on a dividend income if the company's earnings are not consistent.

Oppenheimer Holdings May Find It Hard To Grow The Dividend

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. Oppenheimer Holdings hasn't seen much change in its earnings per share over the last five years.

In Summary

Overall, it's nice to see a consistent dividend payment, but we think that longer term, the current level of payment might be unsustainable. In the past, the payments have been unstable, but over the short term the dividend could be reliable, with the company generating enough cash to cover it. Overall, we don't think this company has the makings of a good income stock.

Story continues

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. As an example, we've identified 2 warning signs for Oppenheimer Holdings that you should be aware of before investing. Is Oppenheimer Holdings not quite the opportunity you were looking for? Why not check out our selection of top dividend stocks.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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With just hours to go until UnitedHealthcare and Orlando Healths contract expires, the two groups have not reached an agreement.

Thousands of Central Florida members stand to lose medical coverage if the insurer and the provider cannot come to an agreement by midnight Monday.

Ive just been feeling scared, and anxious and angry that were being put in this situation, said Danielle Rutherford, whose 7-year-old daughter has been a cancer patient for years at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.

The insurance giant has been negotiating a new contract for months with Orlando Health, the regions second-largest health care chain. Both organizations have told members and patients during this time that they were optimistic a contract would be reached, but now time is running out. Though there has been a flurry of activity and new proposals exchanged over the last few days, theres still no agreement.

Orlando Health continues to work with United Healthcare to negotiate a fair agreement. As of today, critical elements remain open, said Michele Napier, senior vice president and chief revenue officer of Orlando Health, in a statement provided over email.

If the contract is not extended, 74,000 Central Florida customers who get care at Orlando Health may be out of network starting Tuesday. This includes people on employer-sponsored and individual plans; Medicare Advantage, including the Group Retiree PPO plan; and Medicaid, including the Dual Special Needs Plan, according to a website United created to keep members updated on the negotiations.

Orlando Health patients may lose UnitedHealthcare coverage amid stalled contract dispute

Both groups have said they will try to ensure patients dont need to pause or delay treatment. People who are undergoing treatment for certain medical conditions, including cancer or pregnancy, can apply to temporarily keep receiving coverage at Orlando Health if the contract expires, Uniteds website states.

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Rutherfords daughter qualifies for continuing coverage, and she has had multiple conversations with United representatives in an attempt to ensure that her daughter can continue her cancer care. She said the process has been confusing and far from straightforward.

Its not as simple as, you know, the headache of finding a new pediatrician. When youre dealing with people who have these chronic or complex medical needs, your care team really does become a part of your family, Rutherford said. The idea of just stripping that away from us, its just so devastating.

The sticking point, United contends, is reimbursement rates. The two groups have agreed to terms for Medicare Advantage and Medicaid contracts as of Monday, but not the other plans. United spokesperson Cole Manbeck said the insurance company has proposed to Orlando Health that they finalize those contracts, allowing those groups, at least, to continue receiving coverage while negotiations continue.

Orlando Health refused and is putting some of its most vulnerable patients in the middle of our negotiation presumably in an attempt to use them as leverage so we give into the double-digit price hike demands theyre seeking for our commercial plan, he said over email. We remain committed to good-faith negotiation and are in active discussions with Orlando Health.

Napier, however, said that statement is misleading and that Orlando Health still has aspects of the Medicaid and Medicare agreement it wishes to change. She says UnitedHealthcare is proposing policies that disadvantage patients, and that those policies apply to the entire contract.

The rates are important. But the policies, UnitedHealthCares policies, are just unfair to patients, to our physicians, Napier said in a previous interview.

Even if a contract is reached before the deadline, the drawn-out negotiation process and finger-pointing have disappointed many United members, including 34-year-old Dr. Phillips resident Alex Morehead, who is being treated at Orlando Health for heart failure.

Even if they  just sign at the end of today and this was just all a negotiation tactic, the damage thats done by scaring people who are already sick into thinking that because of these negotiations, they may not have doctors  is really disappointing, Morehead said Monday.

Ccatherman@orlandosentinel.com; @CECatherman Twitter
When you buy shares in a company, it's worth keeping in mind the possibility that it could fail, and you could lose your money. But on a lighter note, a good company can see its share price rise well over 100%. For instance, the price of Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH) stock is up an impressive 129% over the last five years. On top of that, the share price is up 23% in about a quarter. But this could be related to the strong market, which is up 11% in the last three months.

Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

View our latest analysis for Parker-Hannifin

In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

Over half a decade, Parker-Hannifin managed to grow its earnings per share at 9.3% a year. This EPS growth is slower than the share price growth of 18% per year, over the same period. This suggests that market participants hold the company in higher regard, these days. That's not necessarily surprising considering the five-year track record of earnings growth.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

We're pleased to report that the CEO is remunerated more modestly than most CEOs at similarly capitalized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Parker-Hannifin's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, Parker-Hannifin's TSR for the last 5 years was 150%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

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A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Parker-Hannifin has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 42% in the last twelve months. Of course, that includes the dividend. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 20% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Parker-Hannifin you should know about.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Peter Thiel liked workers to live close to the office, a book says. Marco Bello/Getty Images

Peter Thiel paid staff an extra $1,000 a month if they lived near the office, a former worker said.

The billionaire investor offered it so staff "were more likely to stay late," Michael Gibson wrote.

Gibson made the claim in his book "Paper Belt on Fire: The Fight for Progress in an Age of Ashes."

Peter Thiel offered his staff a monthly bonus of $1,000 if they lived close to the office, according to a former employee of the billionaire investor.

Michael Gibson, a VC investor who worked for Thiel for five years, said in his book "Paper Belt on Fire: The Fight for Progress in an Age of Ashes" that Thiel "lived about 400 yards from the office" in San Francisco and encouraged his employees to live locally too.

Thiel gave workers the bonus so "they were more likely to stay late" and could be around for "a surprise meeting on the weekends," Gibson wrote.

"Employees were granted an extra $1,000 per month in rent if they lived within a half-mile radius of the office," per the title, published by Encounter Books last year.

"It had the added effect that we would all show up to the same watering holes after work to knock off a few drinks and gossip, tell war stories, argue over the jukebox, and have a few laughs. As far as employee benefits go, I always thought this was a wise one."

Gibson co-founded the venture capital fund 1517, which aims to back college dropouts and those who did not study at university.

Similar subsidy schemes were in place at the software company Palantir Technologies, which Thiel co-founded, as well as at Salesforce subsidiary SalesforceIQ, according to reporting by The Guardian.

Thiel is in 217th place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a net worth of $10 billion.

Meta also had deep pockets when it came to offering workers incentives to live near its office. It historically paid "at least $10,000" to Facebook staff if they lived within 10 miles of its headquarters in Menlo Park, Silicon Valley, per The Guardian. It also offered employees with families a one-off payment of at least $15,000 for housing.

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While some companies are bringing back such relocation benefits schemes in a bid to get workers to return to the office after the pandemic, others are taking a different approach .

Law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell told its employees that their bonuses could be cut if they're not in the office three days a week, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Recent data from ZipRecruiter showed there were 3.8 million job listings that refer to relocation assistance, up from 2 million posts that mentioned the term in 2020, the Journal reported in April.

ARC Relocation, a firm that helps companies relocate workers, told Insider's Aaron Mok that it's seen a "significant rise" in business since companies started to enforce return-to-office policies.

Thiel and Meta didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
When close to half the companies in the Electronic industry in Malaysia have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1x, you may consider Omesti Berhad (KLSE:OMESTI) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 1.7x P/S ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/S.

Check out our latest analysis for Omesti Berhad

What Does Omesti Berhad's Recent Performance Look Like?

For instance, Omesti Berhad's receding revenue in recent times would have to be some food for thought. Perhaps the market believes the company can do enough to outperform the rest of the industry in the near future, which is keeping the P/S ratio high. If not, then existing shareholders may be quite nervous about the viability of the share price.

We don't have analyst forecasts, but you can see how recent trends are setting up the company for the future by checking out our free report on Omesti Berhad's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Are Revenue Growth Metrics Telling Us About The High P/S?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should outperform the industry for P/S ratios like Omesti Berhad's to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 13% decrease to the company's top line. As a result, revenue from three years ago have also fallen 55% overall. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 16% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term revenue decline into perspective.

With this information, we find it concerning that Omesti Berhad is trading at a P/S higher than the industry. It seems most investors are ignoring the recent poor growth rate and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. There's a very good chance existing shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with the recent negative growth rates.

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What We Can Learn From Omesti Berhad's P/S?

It's argued the price-to-sales ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

Our examination of Omesti Berhad revealed its shrinking revenue over the medium-term isn't resulting in a P/S as low as we expected, given the industry is set to grow. With a revenue decline on investors' minds, the likelihood of a souring sentiment is quite high which could send the P/S back in line with what we'd expect. Should recent medium-term revenue trends persist, it would pose a significant risk to existing shareholders' investments and prospective investors will have a hard time accepting the current value of the stock.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 2 warning signs for Omesti Berhad you should be aware of.

If you're unsure about the strength of Omesti Berhad's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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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Van full of moving boxes and furniture near house

Despite cost of living challenges, the number of high-earning American households continues to grow. In 2021, 8.68 million tax returns indicated annual earnings exceeding $200,000  up from 8.57 million returns just a year earlier. The migration of these high-earning households can have significant effects on a states tax base and finances.

SmartAsset set out to identify the states where high earners are moving to most. To do this, we examined the inflow and outflow of tax filers making at least $200,000 in each state between 2020 and 2021.

Key Findings

Florida and Texas gain the most high earners, while California and New York lose the most. Florida added a whopping 27,500 high-earning filers even after accounting for outflows, while Texas added the second most at 9,000. Meanwhile, California and New York lost more than 45,000 and 31,000 high-earning filers, respectively  more than any other state. Californias net outflow of high earners accelerated significantly (40%) from the previous years outflow.

These Northeastern states lost high earners year over year. New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania all saw a net outflow of households making $200k or more. Still, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut are the only three states with over 10% of tax filers earning more than $200,000 per year.

$200K tax base is growing fastest in Idaho, Florida and Montana. As a percentage of the overall population in each state, high-earning households grew the most in this trio of states in 2021.

Seven of the top 20 states are in the Southeast. The high-earning population is growing in the Southeast, including in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Arkansas.

High earners are leaving Washington D.C. at a fast pace. The nations capital lost a net total of 2,009 high-earning households between 2020 and 2021. As a percentage of all filers, high earners left D.C. at a faster rate than any state.

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States Gaining High-Earning Households

Just as in last years study, no state saw a larger influx of high-earning households than Florida. The Sunshine State gained 40,134 households earning at least $200,000 per year and only lost 12,567. Florida is one of nine states that doesnt levy an income tax and added a net total of 27,567 high earning taxpayers.

While Texas had the second-largest net inflow of high earners in 2021  9,008  that gain was just a third of Floridas net migration. In total, Texas lost 13,743 households that earn at least $200,000 but gained 22,751.

North Carolina (5,446), Arizona (4,563) and South Carolina (4,510) round out the top five states with the largest net inflows of high-earning taxpayers, followed by Tennessee (3,917), Nevada (2,785) and Idaho (2,315).

Its impossible to overlook the role of state income tax on these trends. Four of the 10 states with the largest net influxes of high earners in 2021 do not levy a state income tax. Meanwhile, New Hampshire, which had the 11th largest net inflow of taxpayers earning $200,000 or more, does not tax earned income but taxes interest and dividends.

States Losing High-Earning Households

Californias outflow of high-earning households accelerated in 2021 when the state recorded a net loss of 27,341 taxpayers earning at least 200,000. That was a 42% increase from 2020 when the Golden State lost a net total of 19,229 high earners.

Californias net loss was also nearly 8,000 more than New York, which posted the nations second-largest net migration of high earners out of the state (19,795).

Illinois, Massachusetts and New Jersey had the third-, fourth- and fifth-largest net outflows of high-earning households in 2021, followed by Virginia, Maryland and Minnesota.

While these states had the largest net outflows of high earners in 2021, they still maintain some of the nations highest percentages of high-earning households. In fact, at least 7.2% of the tax base in each of these states earn $200,000 or more per year.

Data and Methodology

To determine where high-earning households are moving, we considered data from all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia. We defined high-earning households as those with adjusted gross incomes of $200,000 or more. More specifically, we closely examined the following two metrics:

Inflow of tax filers making $200,000 and above. This is the number of filers with adjusted gross incomes of at least $200,000 who moved into a state. Data comes from the IRS and is for 2020-2021.

Outflow of tax filers making $200,000 and above. This is the number of filers with adjusted gross incomes of at least $200,000 who moved out of a state. Data comes from the IRS and is for 2020-2021.

To rank the states, we determined each states net inflow of high-earning households. This is the inflow minus the outflow. We then ranked the states according to net inflow in descending order.

Tips for High-Earning Households

Hire a financial advisor. Finding a financial advisor doesnt have to be hard. SmartAssets free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If youre ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.

Consider alternative investments. If youre a high earner you may qualify as an accredited investor. Youll need a net worth of at least $1 million (excluding their home) and an income of at least $200,000 in each of the last two years ($300,000 for married couples). Accredited investors have access to different types of alternative investments that may produce higher returns, including hedge funds and private equity.

Take advantage of a backdoor Roth IRA. If you make $153,000 and your filing status is single ($228,000 if youre married), youre ineligible to contribute to a Roth IRA. However, you can use a maneuver known as a backdoor Roth IRA by converting a traditional IRA into a Roth version. Youll have to pay taxes on the money, but your funds will grow tax-free from there.

Questions about our study? Contact press@smartasset.com.

Photo credit: iStock/Liudmila Chernetska

The post Where High Earners Are Moving  2023 Study appeared first on SmartReads by SmartAsset.
The board of Rightmove plc (LON:RMV) has announced that it will pay a dividend of 0.036 per share on the 27th of October. This means the dividend yield will be fairly typical at 1.5%.

View our latest analysis for Rightmove

Rightmove's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

We like to see a healthy dividend yield, but that is only helpful to us if the payment can continue. Before making this announcement, Rightmove was easily earning enough to cover the dividend. This means that most of its earnings are being retained to grow the business.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 34.6%. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 30% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward.

Dividend Volatility

While the company has been paying a dividend for a long time, it has cut the dividend at least once in the last 10 years. The dividend has gone from an annual total of 0.018 in 2013 to the most recent total annual payment of 0.085. This means that it has been growing its distributions at 17% per annum over that time. Dividends have grown rapidly over this time, but with cuts in the past we are not certain that this stock will be a reliable source of income in the future.

The Dividend Has Growth Potential

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. We are encouraged to see that Rightmove has grown earnings per share at 7.6% per year over the past five years. Growth in EPS bodes well for the dividend, as does the low payout ratio that the company is currently reporting.

Our Thoughts On Rightmove's Dividend

In summary, we are pleased with the dividend remaining consistent, and we think there is a good chance of this continuing in the future. While the payout ratios are a good sign, we are less enthusiastic about the company's dividend record. The payment isn't stellar, but it could make a decent addition to a dividend portfolio.

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Companies possessing a stable dividend policy will likely enjoy greater investor interest than those suffering from a more inconsistent approach. However, there are other things to consider for investors when analysing stock performance. Now, if you want to look closer, it would be worth checking out our free research on Rightmove management tenure, salary, and performance. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of high yield dividend stocks.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Santhera Pharmaceuticals Holding AG



Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

Chiesi Group acquires entire idebenone business including Raxone in Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON)

Chiesi Group assumes French reimbursement liability of EUR 25.3 million from Santhera

Santhera retains contingent value for LHON in U.S. and/or other indications worldwide

Santhera ceases all Raxone-related activities and intensifies commercial preparation for Duchenne muscular dystrophy candidate vamorolone in Europe

Pratteln, Switzerland, July 31, 2023  Santhera Pharmaceuticals (SIX: SANN) announces the full divestment of its Raxone/idebenone business worldwide and for all indications to Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., an international research focused healthcare group (Chiesi Group). The transaction replaces the existing license agreement between the two companies entered into in 2019.

Under the terms of the agreement, Chiesi Group acquired all assets and certain liabilities related to idebenone in all indications worldwide, including Raxone in LHON, for which Chiesi already held exclusive license rights globally since 2019, except for North America and France. The agreement simplifies the Raxone business significantly for both companies with Chiesi becoming the global brand owner while enabling Santhera to focus on the launch of vamorolone in Europe, subject to approval. The transaction closed on July 28, 2023.

Under the terms of the agreement, Chiesi Group will assume the responsibility for the settlement agreed between Santhera and the French reimbursement authorities relating to Raxone in LHON amounting to EUR 25.3 million, significantly reducing near-term financial obligations and strengthening Santheras balance sheet. Furthermore, the cessation of Raxone-related activities allows Santhera to streamline business processes, thereby reducing operating costs and freeing up resources to be deployed for the European vamorolone launch and strategic projects.

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In addition, Santhera is eligible to participate in a potential marketing approval of Raxone in LHON in the U.S. through single-digit variable payments on net sales or milestone payments of up to USD 10 million. In the event that Chiesi chooses to pursue idebenone in non-ophthalmological indications, Santhera would be eligible for additional milestone payments in a similar order of magnitude and high single-digit variable payments on net sales.

Dario Eklund, CEO of Santhera, commented: Securing this agreement is an important step for the business, as we sharpen our focus on the commercialization of vamorolone in Europe, subject to approval. We look forward to seeing Chiesis progress over the coming months and years for the benefit of patients worldwide.

Giacomo Chiesi, Head of Chiesi Global Rare Diseases, said: We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Santhera, securing the North American and other rights to an exciting therapy for LHON. This agreement allows Chiesi to accelerate the regulatory and clinical development of Raxone at a global level. We look forward to working with the patient and medical communities, the FDA and other agencies around the world to continue the development of this experimental opportunity for the benefit of the patients.

Under the 2019 agreement, Chiesi Group in-licensed Raxone for the treatment of LHON and obtained rights to all other ophthalmological indications worldwide, except France and North America, where Santhera retained rights. Chiesi Group also had the option to fully acquire said business outside North America.

About Santhera

Santhera Pharmaceuticals (SIX: SANN) is a Swiss specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative medicines for rare neuromuscular and pulmonary diseases with high unmet medical need. The Company has an exclusive license for all indications worldwide to vamorolone, a dissociative steroid with novel mode of action, which was investigated in a pivotal study in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) as an alternative to standard corticosteroids. For vamorolone in the treatment of DMD, Santhera has a new drug application (NDA) under review by the U.S. FDA, a marketing authorization application (MAA) under review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and an MAA submitted to the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Santhera has out-licensed rights to vamorolone for North America to Catalyst Pharmaceuticals and for China to Sperogenix Therapeutics. The clinical stage pipeline also includes lonodelestat to treat cystic fibrosis (CF) and other neutrophilic pulmonary diseases. For further information, please visit www.santhera.com.

About Chiesi Group

Chiesi is an international, research-focused biopharmaceuticals group that develops and markets innovative therapeutic solutions in respiratory health, rare diseases, and specialty care. The companys mission is to improve peoples quality of life and act responsibly towards both the community and the environment.

By changing its legal status to a Benefit Corporation in Italy, the US, and France, Chiesis commitment to create shared value for society as a whole is legally binding and central to company-wide decision-making. As a certified B Corp since 2019, were part of a global community of businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental impact. The company aims to reach Net-Zero greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions by 2035.

With over 85 years of experience, Chiesi is headquartered in Parma (Italy), operates in 31 countries, and counts more than 6,500 employees. The Groups research and development centre in Parma works alongside 6 other important R&D hubs in France, the US, Canada, China, the UK, and Sweden.

For further information please contact:

public-relations@santhera.com or

Eva Kalias, Head Investor Relations & Communications

Phone: +41 79 875 27 80

eva.kalias@santhera.com

Disclaimer / Forward-looking statements

This communication does not constitute an offer or invitation to subscribe for or purchase any securities of Santhera Pharmaceuticals Holding AG. This publication may contain certain forward-looking statements concerning the Company and its business. Such statements involve certain risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Readers should therefore not place undue reliance on these statements, particularly not in connection with any contract or investment decision. The Company disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

# # #

Attachment




Leader in CO 2 Compression, Measurement Technology Joins Cohort of Corporations, Nonprofits Leading Energy Transition, Carbon Neutrality Initiatives

HOUSTON, July 31, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SCS Technologies (SCS), a leading provider of CO 2 compression and measurement systems, methane vapor recovery units and petroleum LACT units, today announced the companys new Strategy & Innovation Office at the Ion located in Houstons innovation district.

"Embracing Houston's pivotal role in the energy transition, the Ion has swiftly become the epicenter of innovative collaborations. For SCS Technologies, this marks an exciting opportunity to align our capabilities and technology with a diverse consortium of organizations working toward ambitious carbon-neutral goals," said Cody Johnson, CEO of SCS Technologies. "Looking ahead, we are invigorated by the boundless possibilities at the Ion, envisioning groundbreaking solutions and technologies that will unfold there."

SCS Technologies, a pioneering company in CO 2 capture measurement and methane vapor recovery equipment, is fostering close collaborations with prominent integrated energy and manufacturing companies to combat their GHG and CO 2 e Scope 1 and Scope 3 emissions. Many of these visionary partners and clients operate from the Ion, amplifying collaboration and expediting progress toward carbon-neutral efforts.

The Ion, a key feature of the 16-acre Ion District, stimulates cross-industry collaboration, spanning sectors from energy and education to healthcare technology and venture capital. Housed within a 266,000-square-foot, class-A office building, the Ion provides a shared workspace, resource-rich prototyping and maker spaces, event areas, classrooms, diverse food and beverage options, and inviting indoor/outdoor communal areas furnished with shared amenities.

About SCS Technologies

SCS Technologies designs, fabricates and installs CO 2 compression and measurement systems, methane vapor recovery units, and petroleum LACT units for the energy, industrial and environmental sectors. SCS Technologies has committed to net zero emissions by 2050 as part of the companys strategic initiative to mitigate CO 2 emissions within its operations. SCS is based in Big Spring, Texas, and is partnered with Black Bay Energy Capital, an energy-focused private equity fund based in New Orleans, Louisiana. www.scstechglobal.com; www.blackbayenergy.com

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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230731655365/en/

Contacts

Carrie Ward

carrie.ward@connexionspr.com

832-407-5347
Publicly traded companies would need to disclose cybersecurity breaches in 4 days

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted new rules requiring public companies to disclose within four days material cybersecurity breaches that could affect investors.

In a statement announcing the decision, SEC Chair Gary Gensler acknowledged that many public companies already disclose cybersecurity events to investors.

I think companies and investors alike, however, would benefit if this disclosure were made in a more consistent, comparable and decision-useful way, Gensler said. The rules will benefit investors, companies and the markets connecting them, he added.

Companies must also periodically spell out their efforts to manage, strategize and govern cyber attacks in cyberspace, the SEC said.
It can cost up to $35,000 annually to raise a single child in the most expensive places. Even on average, the first child costs parents more than $20,000 annually during their early years. These costs can get substantially higher for parents who want to have a second or third child.

To measure the baseline costs of expanding a family across the United States, SmartAsset examined the costs for housing, food, childcare, healthcare and other necessities across 381 metro areas when a family with two working adults adds one, two or three children into their budget.

Key Findings

The cost of raising three children averages more than $50k per year during the early years. Roughly 50% of that goes to childcare, 14% to additional housing costs and 14% to food. Medical costs, transportation and other necessities make up the rest. It can cost upwards of $90,000 annually to raise three children in the most expensive places like Ann Arbor, MI and San Francisco.

The third child costs parents about 20% less than the first. On average, the first child costs most, with an annual average of $20,814 nationwide. That number drops down to $17,413 annually for the second child, and the average cost decreases even further for the third child to $16,513.

Michigan and Massachusetts areas have some of the highest childcare costs. Childcare in Ann Arbor, MI costs most at over $22,000 annually per child. The Kalamazoo-Portage metro follows closely behind at nearly $20,000 per year per child. Barnstable Town and Boston, MA, and the Detroit metros also make the top five most expensive places for childcare.

Its cheapest to raise a family in the South. When it comes to the most affordable places to add children to the family, metropolitan areas in South Carolina (Sumter, Florence), Alabama (Gadsden, Dothan, Anniston-Oxford), Tennessee (Morristown, Jackson) and Mississippi (Jackson) and more dominate.

North Carolina has the highest healthcare costs for children. Whether parents have one, two or three children, it'll cost them over $10,500 per year in health insurance and other medical costs in Fayetteville, Rocky Mount, Goldsboro, Greeneville, Winston-Salem, Charlotte, Wilmington, Raleigh and other North Carolina metro areas.

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1. Ann Arbor, MI

Ann Arbor is particularly expensive to raise children due to the exceptionally high childcare costs. It has the largest annual cost per child at $22,154. Food for three children is $14,374, and $9,159 for one child.

Cost of first child: $31,670

Cost of second child: $30,469

Cost of third child: $28,924

2. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA

The San Francisco area has a reputation for being expensive. And this is the single most expensive metro area to raise a single child. But, if a family doesn't need to upgrade their housing between the first and second child, they'll get significant reprieve with the second.

Cost of first child: $35,647

Cost of second child: $24,988

Cost of third child: $29,552

3. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

While many costs are directly in line with San Francisco's due to their proximity, the San Jose area has a slight edge when it comes to childcare costs. Annually, childcare costs about roughly $1,000 less per child in San Jose, which adds up roughly to $15,785.

Cost of first child: $33,228

Cost of second child: $24,455

Cost of third child: $29,147

4. Kalamazoo-Portage, MI

The childcare prices in the Kalamazoo area far outpace the costs of other necessities. Childcare costs $19,853 annually here, second only to Ann Arbor. This is enough for Kalamazoo to rank highly in overall costs, despite a general cost of living 83% below average.

Cost of first child: $30,786

Cost of second child: $28,167

Cost of third child: $27,321

5. Barnstable Town, MA

At almost a two-hour drive from Boston, Barnstable Town is the fourth-most expensive place to raise a single child. The second child is significantly cheaper, but the third costs less than $500 more annually than the second.

Cost of first child: $33,184

Cost of second child: $26,233

Cost of third child: $26,717

6. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

The Boston area is expensive in general  about 48% more expensive than the U.S. average. And the cost of raising children in the area is consistent with that scale, families pay roughly $18,000 annually in childcare for each child.

Cost of first child: $32,307

Cost of second child: $26,020

Cost of third child: $27,589

7. Trenton-Princeton, NJ

Childcare for a family here costs $10,413 per child. And while the Trenton-Princeton metro generally has high prices for housing, food and childcare, healthcare costs are below average.

Cost of first child: $31,314

Cost of second child: $25,566

Cost of third child: $25,305

8. Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA

The Santa Cruz metro is particularly expensive for housing. A family with three children should expect to pay at least $48,000 annually on a small rental. However, childcare is closer to average, at $12,410 annually per child.

Cost of first child: $33,877

Cost of second child: $21,080

Cost of third child: $26,337

9. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

This is the first metro area in the top 10 where it costs less than $30,000 annually to raise a first child. Detroit makes the top 10 thanks to exceptionally high childcare costs  just like the other Michigan contenders. Despite Detroit being only 2% more expensive than the U.S. average, childcare costs fifth-most studywide at $17,754.

Cost of first child: $28,917

Cost of second child: $26,067

Cost of third child: $24,440

10. Boulder, CO

In the Boulder metro, the cost of childcare is $14,914 annually for every child. Meanwhile, a home for two adults and three children will likely cost at least $28,224 per year.

Cost of first child: $29,486

Cost of second child: $23,584

Cost of third child: $25,743

Data and Methodology

SmartAsset used MIT Living Wage Calculator data to compare the most recent living costs of households with two working adults and one child, two children, and three children to that of a childless household with two adults. The costs included in our analysis are food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation and other necessities within each metro area.

Cost of living data comes from C2ER's Cost of Living Index for Q1 2023.

Limitations

Data is a mix of the most recently available subdata, spanning 2021 and 2022

Methodology assume housing needs do not change between one child and two children

Financial Tips for New Parents

Start saving for your child's education. It's never too early to start putting money away for your child's future education. 529 savings plans are tax-advantaged accounts that help investors put money away for future education costs. Money that's saved in a 529 plan grows tax free and can also be withdrawn tax free as long as you use the funds to pay for qualified higher education expenses like tuition, mandatory fees and books required for enrollment.

Don't forget about retirement. You'll have added financial responsibilities as a new parent, but try your best to continue to save for retirement. SmartAsset's retirement calculator can help you track your progress and estimate how much money you'll have at retirement age.

Work with a financial professional. Whether you want to buy a home, invest in the stock market or purchase life insurance to protect your family, a financial advisor can help. Finding a financial advisor doesn't have to be hard. SmartAsset's free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area.

Questions about this study? Contact press@smartasset.com .

Photo credit: iStock/kate_sept2004

The post What a Second or Third Child Costs Parents Across the U.S.  2023 Study appeared first on SmartReads by SmartAsset.
Insider is seeking nominations for angel investors in the creator economy. Courtesy of Position Ventures; MaC Venture Capital; Behind Genius Ventures; Signal Fire; Sydney Bradley/Insider

Insider is compiling our 1st annual list of the top angel investors in the creator economy.

We want to hear from you about who the standout angels and solo investors are in 2023.

Please submit your ideas through this form (or below) by August 10.

From Hollywood celebrities to startup founders to influencers, the creator economy has been bootstrapped by many famous angel investors.

Typically high-net-worth individuals, angel investors provide startups with funding using their own money, unlike venture capital firms.

For instance, Grammy-winning electronic music duo The Chainsmokers have invested in several creator-economy startups, including a recent investment into the digital-goods marketplace Whop. And Jack Conte, CEO and cofounder of Patreon, has also invested in several up-and-coming creator startups, like financial-management company Stir and online courses startup Creator Now.

In July, Insider highlighted 14 top venture capital firms with investors focused on the creator economy. Now, we want to hear from our readers about who the leading angel investors are in the space.

Who are the most sought-after angel investors? What names should every founder in the creator economy know?

Insider is putting together our first annual list of the top angel and solo investors who are backing innovative creator-economy startups in 2023. The list will be determined by Insider based on our reporting and the nominations that we receive. We will take into consideration factors like the success of the startups in their portfolios and their relative focus (and impact) on the creator economy as a whole.

In order to be considered for this list, angel investors must have written checks to at least two startups between January 2022 and August 2023.

We want to hear from you. Please submit your ideas through this form (or below) by August 10:

Read the original article on Business Insider
If you are building a properly diversified stock portfolio, the chances are some of your picks will perform badly. Long term Ballard Power Systems Inc. (TSE:BLDP) shareholders know that all too well, since the share price is down considerably over three years. Unfortunately, they have held through a 68% decline in the share price in that time. And over the last year the share price fell 40%, so we doubt many shareholders are delighted.

Now let's have a look at the company's fundamentals, and see if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

View our latest analysis for Ballard Power Systems

Ballard Power Systems wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

Over the last three years, Ballard Power Systems' revenue dropped 9.2% per year. That is not a good result. The share price decline of 19% compound, over three years, is understandable given the company doesn't have profits to boast of, and revenue is moving in the wrong direction. Having said that, if growth is coming in the future, now may be the low ebb for the company. We don't generally like to own companies that lose money and can't grow revenues. But any company is worth looking at when it makes a maiden profit.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

Ballard Power Systems is well known by investors, and plenty of clever analysts have tried to predict the future profit levels. If you are thinking of buying or selling Ballard Power Systems stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst consensus estimates for future profits.

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A Different Perspective

Ballard Power Systems shareholders are down 40% for the year, but the market itself is up 4.8%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 9%, each year, over five years. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Ballard Power Systems you should know about.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Canadian exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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(Bloomberg) -- Shell Plc has resumed talks to sell its stake in a joint venture that operates onshore and shallow-water oil and gas fields in Nigeria to local firm ND Western Ltd. about a year after the process was put on ice, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The energy giant said in June 2022 that it was pausing the divestment of its 30% interest in the partnership with Eni SpA, TotalEnergies SE and the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Co. Ltd., which is known as SPDC, pending the outcome of a lawsuit at the West African countrys Supreme Court. A lower court had earlier ordered Shell not to sell any assets before the dispute with a community in the crude-rich Niger Delta over alleged pollution is resolved.

Sale talks have resumed with ND Western in recent weeks and significant progress has been made, but theres no certainty a transaction will be agreed or could proceed, the people said. The court order for SPDC to maintain the status quo remains in place and judges at Nigerias top court are currently in their summer vacation.

Shell declined to comment on any talks, but reiterated its intention to reduce involvement in onshore oil production in Nigeria, while retaining in its deep-water and natural gas positions in the country. The company said it respects the judiciary and takes the court order seriously.

ND Western declined to comment.

Shell announced its intention to sell the stake in 2021, saying its long-term energy transition strategy was incompatible with Nigerian operations prone to theft and oil spills. Then-Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden told shareholders that a significant increase in sabotage in recent years had resulted in a state of near-lawlessness that the company couldnt control.

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The stake had attracted interest from local producers including ND Western, Heirs Oil and Gas Ltd., Seplat Energy Plc and Sahara Group Ltd. before Shell paused the sale process, Bloomberg reported last year.

Since then, Nigeria has a new president, Bola Tinubu, who took office in late May. Advisers to the leader prepared a report in the run-up to his inauguration recommending that his administration close out outstanding divestments being sought by international oil producers in order to boost petroleum output.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Starbucks (SBUX) posted mixed fiscal third quarter results on Tuesday after market close. Following the results, shares remained relatively flat.

The Seattle-based coffee giant beat on earnings, but posted a miss on revenue and same-store sales. Adjusted earnings per share came in $1.00, a bit higher than expected, $0.95. Revenue increased 12% to a record $9.2 billion, but that was lower than Bloomberg consensus estimates of $9.3 billion. Same-store sales came in short of analysts' expectations too, up 10%, compared to an estimates of 11.12% increase.

CEO Laxman Narasimhan said he's "confident" Starbucks will continue to pursue a strong growth narrative, despite the mixed results. In the release he said, there are "multiple paths available for the company to drive significant growth and margin improvement, which position us well to create outsized long-term shareholder value."

The company's operating margin increased to 17.5%, up from 15.9% in Q3 of last year, driven by improvements in pricing and productivity.

Shares are up 2% year-to-date.

In North America, sales increased 7%. Estimates for the segment were 8.2%. The average ticket size jumped 6% in the region, in part to higher prices, in addition to customers adding food to their orders and customizing their beverages with alternate milks, syrups, sauces, among others additions. However, they seem to be going less. Transactions are up 1%, lower than expectations of up 3%.

Almost in line with expectations, international same-store sales spiked 24%, compared to estimates of 24.5%. On an international basis, transactions were up 21%, a tick lower than expectations of up 23%, but consumers seem to be spending less overseas too. The average ticket size came in far lower than estimates, up 2% compared to expectations of a 8% increase.

China boosted international growth through last quarter as the impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns move further into the rearview mirror.

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Sales in China were up 46%, higher than estimates of up 41.8%. Foot traffic there was also up an extraordinary 48%, but customers added less to their orders, the average ticket size dropped by 1%.

At the end of this quarter, the US and China made up 61% of the company's portfolio, with 16,144 and 6,480 stores, respectively. Last September, Starbucks announced its 6,000th store opening in China.

This quarter, the company opened 588 new stores, bringing its total store count to 37,222 stores, with 51% company-operated and 49% licensed.

SHANGHAI, CHINA - JULY 15, 2023 - Customers rest in a Starbucks Reserve in Shanghai, China, July 15, 2023. (Photo credit should read CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Starbucks' loyalty app gained momentum yet again, even after the company implemented changes that went into effect February 13. The number of total active members increased by 15% year-over-year to 31.4 million.

For fiscal year 2023, the company now expects earnings growth of 16% to 17%, up from a previous fiscal year guidance range of 15% to 20%.

This is Laxman Narasimhan's second earnings report since he took the helm from Howard Schultz on March 23, following a nearly six-month immersion experience at the company.



Brooke DiPalma is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com.

For the latest earnings reports and analysis, earnings whispers and expectations, and company earnings news, click here

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Long term investing is the way to go, but that doesn't mean you should hold every stock forever. We really hate to see fellow investors lose their hard-earned money. Imagine if you held Synthomer plc (LON:SYNT) for half a decade as the share price tanked 85%. And we doubt long term believers are the only worried holders, since the stock price has declined 66% over the last twelve months. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 30% in the last 90 days. We really hope anyone holding through that price crash has a diversified portfolio. Even when you lose money, you don't have to lose the lesson.

Since shareholders are down over the longer term, lets look at the underlying fundamentals over the that time and see if they've been consistent with returns.

Check out our latest analysis for Synthomer

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

In the last half decade Synthomer saw its share price fall as its EPS declined below zero. This was, in part, due to extraordinary items impacting earnings. Since the company has fallen to a loss making position, it's hard to compare the change in EPS with the share price change. But we would generally expect a lower price, given the situation.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here..

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between Synthomer's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price return. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Dividends have been really beneficial for Synthomer shareholders, and that cash payout explains why its total shareholder loss of 81%, over the last 5 years, isn't as bad as the share price return.

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A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 3.1% in the last year, Synthomer shareholders lost 66%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 13% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. 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. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Synthomer (of which 1 is a bit concerning!) you should know about.

Synthomer is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on British 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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(Bloomberg) -- AT&T Inc.s human resources chief, Angela Santone, will leave the company at the end of September, just as the telecommunications giant is eliminating thousands of jobs as part of a newly expanded $8 billion cost-reduction program.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Chief Executive Officer John Stankey informed employees last week in an email that Santone was leaving. She is one of only three female top executives at AT&T.

Santone was previously head of human resources at Turner, a division of Time Warner Inc., and was brought in to run the department at AT&T in late 2019, shortly before the pandemic. As offices emptied and the workforce scattered to remote locations, she was responsible for trying to keep employees attached and accountable. She is departing amid more upheaval at the company, which is handing out pink slips and shrinking operations.

AT&T is under pressure as wireless subscriber growth is slowing, its debt has increased by $6 billion to $143.3 billion and it faces a potentially costly lead cable cleanup. The company raised rates on its premium mobile plan to help boost revenue and is in the process of restructuring operations by reducing 350 offices across the US to nine core locations with the main hubs in Dallas and Atlanta. As part of that move, AT&T has told 60,000 managers that they need to show up in person to one of these locations, and some will face relocation decisions or be fired.

Santones tenure included a period of massive job cuts. Largely through what AT&T called surplussings, rounds of layoffs have been conducted on a department level on nearly a monthly basis to reduce costs. The company stopped announcing job cuts years ago, and only discloses total employee counts in quarterly reports and filings. Last week, AT&T said it was increasing its $6 billion cost cutting effort by an additional $2 billion-plus over the next three years. Since the beginning of 2021, AT&T has cut 74,130 employees, including through divestitures, or 32% of its total staff through June 30.

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On behalf of AT&Ts leadership, Id like to thank her for her support and commitment to driving these initiatives during a very challenging and important time of transition, Stankey wrote in the email, which was confirmed by Bloomberg. AT&T declined to comment on Santones departure.

During her run, Santone developed an internal culture of connection program. The idea was to echo one of Stankeys themes of connectivity, the new simplified mission for the company as it returned to its telecommunications roots after a $100 billion ill-fated attempt to transform the company into a media rival of Walt Disney Co. and Netflix Inc.

As part of the cultural changes, Santone introduced the concept of making employees see themselves as brand ambassadors, and setting up feedback sessions to measure worker engagement. Santone also created connection prizes, immediate cash awards given out to recognize someone for a job well done.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Image: iStock

Millions of packages are shipped daily across the U.S. in a massively intricate web of supply chain ecosystems.

At the company level, shippers deal with highly complex supply chains of their own. For example, a retailer may send thousands of orders daily across the globe, and all of these orders have variable requirements that must be considered before products can ever leave a warehouse.

A shipper must consider factors like:

When does the shipment need to be delivered?

Is the product fragile?

Is the product perishable?

What packaging does it require?

How will the customer receive it?

What carrier is going to transport it and what will it cost?

While shippers are experts at fulfilling and coordinating order distribution to get products into customers hands as quickly as possible, one of the longest-fought battles theyve faced has been to keep supply chain costs in check while maintaining service quality.

There are countless common errors and missed opportunities that crop up during supply planning, merchandising and transportation coordination. These occurrences drive up costs without a business even knowing and leave money on the table.

For example, how many times have you ordered a small item online only for it to end up in oversized packaging? While this mistake may be inconsequential if it only happens rarely, left unchecked it becomes a drain on resources and eats up valuable space in trucks.

But this is only one aspect of transportation spend. A company could foot the cost due to billing errors, invalid surcharges and accessorial fees that result in overpaying.

Carrier agreements can also drive up costs if critical details are missed, such as when a shipper renews an agreement with a carrier and certain discounts arent carried over, causing lost savings.

Other times, a carrier could breach a service guarantee if it doesnt deliver in the stated time period, and a shipper may never know. Missed delivery windows can seriously dent the image a customer has of the service it ordered from, even if the shipper isnt responsible for the carriers delay. Because shippers work with many carriers, without close oversight of these guarantees, a shipper could lose out on refund opportunities.

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All these common operational inefficiencies can massively impact a shippers bottom line  and many shippers arent sure where to start to tackle these problems.

Transportation spend optimization is a shippers secret weapon to transform its spend management process, improve inefficiencies, and reduce complexities and operational risk.

What is transportation spend optimization?

Transportation spend optimization is a strategy for improving operations while reducing expenses across a business. It is accomplished by using actionable data insights of an organizations cash flow and applying streamlined processes, driving better business outcomes.

This is possible with a central place to access business intelligence across carrier sourcing, planning and execution, freight bill processing, and freight bill payments.

A single system allows companies to better identify inefficiencies across its operations and, most importantly, take steps to solve them.

Korber Supply Chain is on the leading edge of freight audit and payment, but thats only part of the picture. It also provides strategic transportation sourcing and delivery performance services. Its transportation spend optimization services and solutions are a broader answer to the shipping industrys need to strengthen vendor and customer relationships, enhance delivery performance, and simplify the transportation spend management process.

For many years, freight audit and payment services in particular have needed to catch up with the rapidly changing architecture of the supply chain landscape. Transportation Spend Optimization is the first real change in over a decade.

Its combination of transportation consulting, technology solutions and market leadership facilitates a tailored and impactful way for shippers to drive optimization and reduce costs across their business.

To learn more about Korber Supply Chain, click here.

The post What it takes to streamline shipping operations and control costs appeared first on FreightWaves.
By Daniel Leussink

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota will strengthen development of electric vehicle technology in China, the automaker said on Monday, as it looks to catch up with increasingly tough domestic competition in the world's largest auto market.

The move is the latest from the world's top-selling carmaker to show a sharper pivot to electric vehicles. It recently detailed an ambitious new EV strategy that includes an overhaul of its supply chain and the development of long-range batteries.

China was once regarded by foreign automakers as an opportunity for almost boundless growth. Now they worry about diminishing market share thanks to the fast rise of local competitors and cut-throat prices.

Toyota is to accelerate powertrain development with suppliers Denso and Aisin as well as local design and development of "smart cockpits" that meet the needs of the Chinese market, it said in a statement.

It said it would strengthen development of its full suite of electrified cars, not just battery-powered ones. Unlike some other automakers, Toyota is betting that hybrids and plug-in hybrids will continue to see robust demand. It is also investing in the development of hydrogen fuel-cell cars.

It sees this "multi-pathway" approach of different kinds of electrified cars as a better fit for markets that aren't ready for only battery electrics.

The automaker will also have engineers from three joint ventures - with FAW Group, Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) and BYD - work together on a project basis at its biggest research and development facility in China.

It did not say how many engineers that would involve, although a spokesperson said their focus would be on electrification and intelligence.

Toyota, which has seen its China sales including of its luxury Lexus brand slip 2.8% to about 879,000 units in the first half of the year, said it would aim to significantly reduce manufacturing costs, including through developing a local supplier base, to become more competitive.

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Toyota has also slowed production at a joint-venture plant that makes its bZ4X EV and laid off 1,000 contract workers earlier this month.

The move to step up electric technology development comes after some of the leading global automakers recently tweaked the way they are developing cars in China.

German luxury brand BMW earlier this month boosted investment in product development in China with a new R&D hub in Shanghai that will develop EVs to be sold globally.

Volkswagen unveiled a partnership with China's Xpeng Inc to make two new models from 2026 featuring Xpeng's software, and plans to jointly develop Audi models and a new platform with its Chinese partner SAIC.

(Reporting by Daniel Leussink and Maki Shiraki; Editing by David Dolan, Christian Schmollinger and Conor Humphries)
Toyota unveiled six new electric car models late last year - Akio Kon/Bloomberg

Toyota has accelerated its plans for electric vehicles in China amid fierce competition with domestic manufacturers.

The worlds biggest carmaker said it will ramp up efforts by developing new parts for electric models and creating high-tech interiors for Chinese buyers.

This move marks a shift at Toyota after it was one of the slowest adopters of pure electric power for cars, instead preferring its own hybrid and hydrogen technology.

However, it said it will not abandon its other technologies.

Toyota built the worlds most successful hybrid, the Prius, which vastly increased the efficiency of its petrol engine. It also offers the Mirai, one of only two mass-produced hydrogen-powered cars.

Western and Japanese carmakers face being overwhelmed in the electric market by dozens of home-grown Chinese brands both at home and abroad.

Many new Chinese car makers have no combustion engine production and so will not have the cost of winding down production lines or writing off petrol-burning designs.

They also benefit from Chinas dominance in lithium refining and the nations cheaper workforce.

Last week Vauxhall owner Stellantis warned of a coming invasion of cheap Chinese cars.

Chief executive Carlos Tavares said Stellantis faces a brutal scenario where it must compete with Chinese-made cars which are a quarter less expensive while having to invest billions in electrification.

Chinese carmakers are targeting European markets, including the UK, with predominantly electric cars, undercutting companies like Volkswagen and Stellantis.

Earlier this month, Toyota hailed a breakthrough in so-called solid state batteries, which are about half the weight, cost and size of todays liquid EV cells.

Battery weight is a major concern for the efficiency of electric cars, with even modestly sized motors coming in at two tonnes.

The company said it had made a major stride in mass manufacturing the cells, which it hopes to have powering cars by 2025.

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The developments come after several false dawns in Toyotas move towards being a committed EV maker.

In December, Akio Toyoda, the companys president and grandson of its founder Kiichiro Toyoda, said that many concerned senior figures are reluctant to say what they really think about EVs because of the pressure to go green.

A silent majority of car companies is concerned that electric vehicles will not alone be able to end reliance on fossil fuels, he said.

The comments came weeks after Toyota launched six new electric models in a sign which appeared to indicate it had shifted away from a previous bet on hydrogen as the green fuel of the future.

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(Bloomberg) -- Traders are poised to shell out more than $200,000 a day to ship liquefied natural gas in the coming months as tankers grow scarce ahead of winter, when demand for the heating fuel peaks.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Charter rates surged to $284,750 for November and $206,750 for October, more than doubling from current levels, according to data from Spark Commodities. If those prices hold, they risk repeating last years rally, when the global LNG market was rushing to replace Russian supply after the invasion of Ukraine.

Tanker supplies are increasingly tight because traders are using the ships as floating storage in a bet that LNG prices will rise as the weather turns colder. Volatile shipping rates can eat up margin for an LNG trader looking to cash in on higher winter prices, and rising transportation costs ultimately can mean higher prices for buyers in Europe and Asia.

The number of LNG vessels floating on the water for at least 20 days also has risen in late July, with 42 vessels tracked by Bloomberg. Thats 27% higher than the same time a year earlier.

I certainly see ships being held onto, said Richard Pratt, an LNG shipping consultant. The higher incidence of floating storage should continue through August and September barring any supply disruption, he said.

--With assistance from Anna Shiryaevskaya.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
This home on Bottomley Crescent in New Albany sold in April for $3.25 million.

Business development isn't the only thing exploding in New Albany. The city's home prices have become the highest in central Ohio, with prices routinely topping $1 million.

The median price of a New Albany home sold in the first half of this year reached $925,000, up 12% from a year ago, according to Columbus Realtors. The average sales price, which is considered a less reliable measure, already topped $1 million last year and so far this year stands at $983,800.

The community, dominated by traditional brick "Georgian"-style homes, has pulled away from the central Ohio pack when it comes to sale prices.

Business growth in the New Albany area is no doubt fueling prices, although the impact from Intel factories, which won't open until 2025, is so far muted, said Alan Hinson, a long-time real-estate agent with The New Albany Co.

Main Street in New Albany on July 30, 2023. The median price of a New Albany home sold in the first half of this year reached $925,000, up 12% from a year ago, according to Columbus Realtors.

"There have been some Intel-related sales, but not so much," said Hinson, who attributes the booming New Albany housing market to the community's strategic development.

"I think New Albany and its careful planning gives a buyer security in their investment and where they want to live," he said. "New Albany competes well against other communities in central Ohio that also have great schools and great amenities."

More: See inside million-dollar Ohio homes for sale by former NBA standout Kevin Martin

Sales of large homes around the New Albany Country Club, where the median price tops $1.5 million, have pushed up the community's sales prices this year, said Hinson, who is listing a home in the country club for $3.5 million.

The neighborhood's traditional design, while not everyone's tastes, also has a timeless appeal, noted Hinson. "That's why they build them that way," he said.

While Intel is too far away for many employees to be buying homes yet, Intel and other proposed major projects by Amazon and Microsoft are prompting people to buy in the area now instead of waiting, said Amy Conley, a Cutler Real Estate agent.

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"Everybody's buying because they worry they won't be able to in 2025," she said. "They want to be ahead of the wave. There's more interest in getting into New Albany because of what's to come."

New Albany has by far the highest median price of homes that have sold this year, but when it comes to the value of all homes in communities, the story is a little different.

According to Zillow, two communities too small to be tracked by Columbus Realtors have the highest average home value in central Ohio.

In Marble Cliff, the tiny village wedged next to Grandview Heights and Upper Arlington, the average home is worth $736,554, by far the highest in central Ohio. A distant second is the Hoover Reservoir community of Galena, where a typical home is worth $586,947.

Jul 30, 2023; Upper Arlington, Ohio, USA; Downtown Upper Arlington.

Among larger communities, Upper Arlington nudges out New Albany in average home value, $574,637 to $570,349, according to Zillow.

More: Home with ties to Dublin's founding family listed for nearly $3 million

In several other central Ohio communities, the average home value is north of half a million including in Powell, Dublin and Bexley. The Columbus neighborhood of German Village also has average home value above $500,000 - $515,469 to be exact. And the village of Granville, in Licking County, is nearly there, with an average home value of $486,064, according to Zillow.

Here are the five central Ohio communities with the highest median sales prices for the first half of 2023, according to Columbus Realtors data. For context, we also include Zillow's estimate of typical home values in those communities. And, we show how those figures have changed over the past year.

Jul 30, 2023; New Albany, Ohio, USA; Main St. in New Albany.

New Albany

Median sales price 2023, through June: $925,000

Change in sales price from last year: up 12.1%

Average home value, June: $570,349

Change in average home value: up 3.5%

Powell

Median price: $620,000

Change in price: up 3.2%

Average value: $552,115

Change in value: up 2.0%

Upper Arlington

Median price: $607,000

Change in price: up 8.3%

Average value: $574,637

Change in value: up 4.3%

Dublin

Median price: $570,000

Change in price: up 8.6%

Average value: $546,860

Change in value: up 3.0%

Bexley

Median price: $515,000

Change in price: 12.0%

Average value: $530,386

Change in value: up 1.5%

Sources: Columbus Realtors; Zillow

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Central Ohio's priciest housing markets
(Bloomberg) -- UBS Group AG is planning to exit billions of dollars in loans to Credit Suisses clients in the Asia Pacific region, as the Swiss bank works to neutralize risks to its profitability and reputation from the defunct lender.

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The bank intends to either wind-down or sell off the majority of Credit Suisses more complex and higher-risk structured loans in APAC, people familiar with the matter said.

Those riskier assets will be placed in the so-called Non-Core Unit for businesses that UBS doesnt want, the people said, who asked not to be named discussing private details. The bank is likely to keep less complicated loans made against liquid collateral  so-called Lombard loans.

Since closing the takeover in June, UBS has been scrutinizing the approximately 75 billion Swiss franc ($86 billion) book of loans made to rich clients globally. At its peak in 2019, more than 45 billion francs in loans to wealthy customers in its Asia Pacific unit were outstanding. UBS agreed to buy Credit Suisse in March in an emergency deal brokered by the government, after a confidence crisis and a torrent of client outflows sent it hurtling toward bankruptcy.

About a quarter of Credit Suisses lending portfolio in its global wealth businesses is structured in nature, while about half of the book consists of lower-risk plain-vanilla Lombard loans.

The move is part of UBSs broader efforts to make sure that the businesses it acquired from its stricken rival conform with its more conservative approach to risk. UBS has already said it plans to downsize Credit Suisses investment bank and put its bankers through a culture filter to weed out undesirable practices.

Story continues

More details on what will go in the wind-down unit are expected during the combined banks second-quarter earnings on Aug. 31. UBS will wind down non-core assets in a way that also takes key relationships into account, a person familiar with the matter said. The process will also free up capital to use in other parts of the bank, the person added.

UBS declined to comment. UBS shares rose 0.1% to 19.275 Swiss francs in Zurich on Monday, having gained about 13.5% this year.

In scrutinizing the loan book of the fast-growing Asian market, UBS Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti faces a dilemma  how to continue to build on the UBSs presence there while shielding the bank from hidden risks. The lenders strategy still hinges on growth plans in the Asia Pacific region, alongside the US, one of the people said.

The APAC loans marked for exit include those in countries or business lines that UBS doesnt want a presence in, where probability of default is too high, or where the risk thresholds are higher than what it would normally allow, another of the people familiar said. It also includes some defaulted debt, the person added.

Prior to the UBS takeover, Credit Suisse had pursued a decade-long push into South East Asia, where it lent to billionaire business families.

That helped make Credit Suisse the go-to foreign bank for entrepreneurs, a status that could help boost UBSs ambitions. Yet Credit Suisses client list in the region also includes individuals and companies that UBS may not want to do business with.

That set-up differed from Credit Suisses lending business to wealthy people in other parts of the world. In APAC, loans made to individuals and their businesses went hand-in-hand, and were more part of the same relationship with the bank than was common practice in other regions, people familiar said.

It was under former Credit Suisse chief executive Tidjane Thiam in 2015 that a business division was specifically created to more effectively target hungry entrepreneurs. These clients were seen as a potential source of fees not only for the private bankers managing their growing wealth but also investment bankers who could help arrange equity investments or loans to help their businesses grow.

As relationships with millionaires and billionaires in South East Asia deepened, Credit Suisses willingness to roll over and refinance debt rather than send defaulted loans to be worked out or restructured also increased, people familiar said. The bad-loan refinancing happened over many years and Credit Suisse benefited from the fees when rolling the loans over, the people said.

In certain instances, Credit Suisse allowed some Indonesian clients to only repay interest on defaulted debt rather than the total outstanding, and the bank would extend the maturity of the loan, two of the people said.

Credit Suisse began to unwind some of the more complicated and risky loans after the various scandals of the last two years forced the bank to revamp its approach to risk-taking. Some clients used to leniency from Credit Suisse are now likely to face insistence from UBS that loans be paid or collateral handed over as it tries to eliminate inherited risks.

--With assistance from Denise Wee, Cathy Chan, Chanyaporn Chanjaroen and Lucca de Paoli.

(Updates shares in eighth paragraph.)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
FILE PHOTO: FCA logo is seen at their head offices in London

LONDON (Reuters) - The chairman of NatWest Howard Davies should remain in office to ensure stability for the bank, a senior official at Britain's Financial Conduct Authority said on Monday.

Sheldon Mills, executive director at the FCA, said he agreed with financial services minister Andrew Griffith who last week expressed confidence in Davies after the bank's CEO Alison Rose resigned and piled pressure on Davies to follow suit.

"I agree with his view that it's important to have stability at NatWest and that having a chair remain in place will help support that," Mills told reporters.

Rose stepped down last week after admitting to a "seriouserror of judgment" in discussing former Brexit party leader Nigel Farage's relationship with the bank with a BBC journalist. Davies said he intended to stay on at the bank for now - after also facing calls to resign.

"The FCA position is that ultimately it's a decision for the board and its shareholders. We urge those shareholders and board to achieve stability," Mills said.

Davies had already said earlier this year he planned to leave in 2024.

(Reporting by Huw Jones)
The Mineral Resources Department, Government of Republic of Fiji, has renewed Kalo Gold Corp., 100% owned, Special Prospecting License (SPL) 1464 for a term of five years on 4 July 2028.

SPL 1464 is Kalo Gold's cornerstone SPL permit which covers 22,160 hectares and hosts the high priority gold exploration targets of Qiriyaga Hill, Wainikoro and Mouta Caldera complexes.

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 31, 2023 / KALO GOLD CORP. ("Kalo", "Kalo Gold" or the "Company") is pleased report the renewal of the cornerstone Special Prospecting License 1464 ("SPL 1464"), one of two SPLs, that make up the 366.91 square kilometer, 100% owned, Vatu Aurum Gold Project (the "Project") located in the Republic of Fiji. The Company has been granted this extension after a rigorous assessment process that considered not only the geological and economic potential of the Project, but included an environmental review, an assessment of local landowner, and community relationships. The Company has made payment of a performance and environmental bond, as required under Section 16 of the Fiji Mining Act 1965 and associated rental fees. In accordance with Regulation 31 of the Mining Regulation 1966, the Company is required to submit Quarterly and Annual Exploration Reports and provide a copy of any compensation agreements with respective landowning units. The Project consists of two permits, SPL 1464 and SPL 1511, that cover a total of 366.91 square kilometers. SPL 1464 covers 22,160 hectares and hosts the Qiriyaga Hill, Wainikoro and Mouta Caldera complexes. SPL 1511 covers 14,531 hectares, and the Coquelo Caldera complex, and is subject to renewal on the 14 September 2024. President and CEO, Terry L. Tucker, P.Geo commented "Kalo Gold is extremely pleased with the tremendous support of the Mineral Resources Department in achieving this very important milestone. The early license renewal and support provides security and confidence in the Company's ability to continue to explore and develop the exceptional Vatu Aurum Gold Project and that Fiji continues to be open to public markets which can access critical capital to enable mineral exploration in the country for the benefit of shareholders and all stakeholders in Fiji." ABOUT KALO GOLD CORP. Kalo Gold Corp, a gold exploration company, is focused on exploration for low sulphidation epithermal gold deposits of the Vatu Aurum Gold Project on the island of Vanua Levu (North Island) in the Republic of Fiji. Kalo holds a 100% interest in two Special Prospecting Licenses, covering 367 km2 that hosts a minimum of seven volcanic arc related calderas ranging between 1 km to 10 km in diameter in a geological setting that could be analogous to the alkaline related low sulphidation epithermal gold deposits of both the neighbouring Vatukoula Gold Mine and the Lion One Metals' Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project. Historical exploration work concentrated on the Qiriyaga Hill and Vuinubu Ridge Gold Deposits and resulted in the identification of over fourteen priority epithermal gold exploration targets. Both Viti Levu, (South Island), and Vanua Levu are on the prolific Pacific "Ring of Fire", a trend that has produced numerous large deposits, including Porgera, Lihir and Grasberg and on Viti Levu, the exceptional Vatukoula Gold Mine. The Vatukoula Gold Mine has produced more than 7 million ounces of gold since 1937. The island of Viti Levu also hosts the fully permitted Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project, where Lion One Metals is fast tracking a high-grade underground gold mining operation. Qualified Person The technical disclosure in this news release has been approved by Terry L. Tucker, P.Geo. a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators. On behalf of the Board of Directors of Kalo Gold Corp. Terry L. Tucker, P.Geo

President and Chief Executive Officer

and

Kevin Ma, CPA, CA

Executive Vice President, Capital Markets and Director For more information, please write to info@kalogoldcorp.com . Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Forward Looking Statements Disclaimer Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which are statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Forward looking statements in this news release include statements relating to the Company's proposed drilling timeline and the proposed expansion of the exploration program, and the Company's plans for future exploration on the Vatu Aurum Gold Project. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements included in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results, and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, the Company's inability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities, the Company's inability to raise the necessary capital to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's filing statement dated February 9, 2021 and latest interim Management Discussion and Analysis filed with certain securities commissions in Canada. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking statements herein may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect, and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements as expressly required by Canadian securities law. SOURCE: Kalo Gold Corp.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/770917/Vatu-Aurum-Gold-Project-Cornerstone-Permit-Renewed




vivo Unveils V3 chip with 6nm Processes, Powering 4K Cinema Portrait Mode

SHENZHEN, China, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 30, vivo held this year's Special Event of the 2023 vivo Imaging Conference in Xining, China, where it showcased a host of innovations in imaging technology. The company unveiled the V3 chip, a state-of-the-art 6nm customized V3 chip, as well as the latest algorithm technology. In addition, vivo revealed a periscope lens with the new "Vario-Apo-Sonnar" standards developed in partnership with ZEISS. During the event, vivo also announced the winners of the 2023 VISION+ Mobile PhotoAwards, with Indonesia photographer Jiehan Herry Saputro 's "Let Me Fly" crowned the Best Photograph of the Year.

Yu Meng, Vice President of vivo Imaging at the Special Event of the 2023 vivo Imaging Conference (PRNewsfoto/vivo)

Yu Meng, Vice President of vivo Imaging; Li Zhuo, Senior Director of vivo Imaging Products; Sebastian Dontgen, Head of Category Management, Marketing and Sales, ZEISS Consumer Products; Zhang Yan, Product Manager of vivo Imaging Performance; visual artists Gao Yuan and Duan Yueheng; Song Wen, Founder of FIRST International Film Festival; and Bertram Honlinger, ZEISS Expert of Photography, attended the event to share their views on technological innovation and the future of mobile imaging.

"At vivo, we are committed to advancing 'human-centric professional imaging'. To this end, we continuously enhance our expertise across optics, computing, and algorithm foundations to build imaging capabilities comparable to professional photography equipment. We aim to deliver the user experience of recreating what the human eye can see and make professional-grade imaging capabilities more accessible for everyone. In the future, vivo will stay committed to creating the best imaging technology and help users record life's most precious moments," said Mr. Yu Meng.

At a time when everyone can be a creator, vivo has been dedicated to providing exceptional user experience with innovative mobile imaging technology. From industry-outstanding imaging chips and algorithms to expanding technological boundaries in partnership with other industry leaders, vivo continues to make efforts to boost its image technology strengths and improve the user experience in any scenario.

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Unveiling the latest V3 chip and algorithm technology

vivo released its latest V3 chip (PRNewsfoto/vivo)

The brand's latest V3 chip adopts a 6nm process and incorporates a newly designed multi-concurrent AI-ISP architecture and second-generation Frame Info Tunneling (FIT) technology. The technology upgrade delivers a superior user experience by enabling 4K cinema-like bokeh, automatic subject focus detection and switching, cinema-like skin optimization, and cinematic color processing. This makes vivo the first Android phone maker to enable 4K cinema-quality portrait video with post-processing functions.

In addition to the launch of the new V3 chip, vivo has also announced a composite algorithm matrix solution. The company's new vivo Origin Imaging Engine (VOIE) enhances image quality, color, tone, and computing functionality by advancing the underlying algorithmic capabilities for three sub-modules: Color Restoration Engine, Ultra HD Engine, and Accelerated Computing Engine. vivo also developed the Hyper-Sense Portrait System and Vast-Sky Night System based on the common portrait and night scene user scenarios. Additionally, vivo has been continuously upgrading its algorithmic matrix and technological capabilities to ensure the best possible shooting experience in various scenarios.

vivos algorithm matrix solution (PRNewsfoto/vivo)

Building a prosperous image ecosystem with joint innovation

vivo's long-term partnership with optical pioneer ZEISS has led to breakthrough innovations for X series, from generation to generation proving ZEISS technologies and iconic optical designs were adapted for vivo's flagships. ZEISS T* coating for superior optical quality and iconic ZEISS Style Portrait to name just a few.

vivo and ZEISS jointly announced a periscope lens design with the new Vario-Apo-Sonnar standards (PRNewsfoto/vivo)

At the event, vivo and ZEISS jointly announced a periscope lens design with the new "Vario-Apo-Sonnar" standards. APO design is considered to have the level of the industry's top-quality control of chromatic aberration. For the very first time, the APO design will be adapted to a mobile imaging system enhancing a high performance zoom quality.

Further leveraging the floating lens group technology in the periscope lens, aiming to provide ultra-high resolution and enhanced focusing capability, to enable users to achieve excellent macro shooting outcomes. At the same time, it also has a creamy bokeh effect that allows the subject to be further emphasized.

The T* Coating is ZEISS's signature technology for anti-reflective coating on optical surface. The co-engineered rear camera system in the vivo's X series has achieved compliance with ZEISS T* Coating and reduced significantly unwanted lens flares in images under challenging lighting conditions such as nighttime, strong backlighting, and complex light sources.

ZEISS T* Coating will be equipped with Multi-ALD technology (PRNewsfoto/vivo)

For vivo's upcoming X series flagship model, ZEISS T* Coating will be equipped with Multi-ALD technology to enhance further the image clarity, by reducing center reflectivity from 0.2% to 0.1% on the visible light spectrum. Compared with the previous generation of ALC coating, the reflectivity will be reduced by 50%.

In addition to product innovation and joint development, being user-oriented is in vivo's and ZEISS' joint belief. vivo is committed to further diversifying the cooperation with ZEISS, including co-organizing the 2023 VISION+ Mobile PhotoAwards.

Sebastian Dontgen, Head of Category Management, Marketing and Sales, ZEISS Consumer Products said: "At ZEISS, we have photography in our DNA. To invite and enable even more users worldwide to enjoy creativity through cutting-edge smartphone image technology, it was a logical step for us to co-organize the 2023 VISION+ Mobile PhotoAwards with vivo. The impressive results that we were able to experience again this year are a great acknowledgment of our partnership on imaging aspects."

vivo has announced a deep collaboration with MediaTek for its X80 series. Additionally, vivo plans to team up with Sony for further collaboration on technologies such as 2-layer pixel (stack pixel) and HDR in the future. vivo will also actively expand joint innovation research by collaborating with more industry partners, and with educational institutes such as ETH Zurich and other universities, striving for technological breakthroughs and a more diversified and open mobile imaging ecosystem.

Creating professional portraits and the ultimate night scene experiences

vivo has formed a unique portrait style that blends clear texture, natural skin tones, and a balance of real and virtual effects across device iterations. In addition, the brand continues to research and develop 3D portrait technology with 3D facial reconstruction and virtual content.

vivos latest creating Hyper-Sense Portrait System (PRNewsfoto/vivo)

To this end, vivo has relied on its imaging laboratory platform to establish a 3D image laboratory with a proprietary cinema-like optical field system, capable of reconstructing extremely delicate 3D models of human faces and producing highly realistic visual effects in virtual environments. Based on experience gained from past products and real-life business scenarios, the company's 3D models achieve precise facial expressions, body postures and gestures.

These technologies have been developed with three user scenarios in mind: generative portrait style, generative portrait editing, and various portrait special effects. Users will be able to take photos that perfectly balance real and virtual effects, edit photos powered by texture reconstruction and lighting estimation algorithms and freely change the lighting, hair and facial expressions.

vivo has introduced enhancements to its technical capabilities in image quality, tone, and color for landscape shooting. The upgraded Vast-Sky Night System was designed to improve image quality and supply the most advanced quality solution for night scenes at all focal lengths. The upgraded SuperRAW technology offers exclusive parameter adjustment capabilities, meeting any professional imaging requirements for all focal lengths.

Upgraded SuperRAW technology (PRNewsfoto/vivo)

Based on VOIE, vivo has also introduced a True Color Night model powered by AI learning to the Night Sky Imaging System. This enhancement enables adaptive tone and color adjustments for night scenes and for night scenes with high contrast, a comprehensive night HDR solution has been introduced to tackle viewing issues in preview, shooting and display modes. In addition, the new XDR Photo 2.0 adds a highlight color preservation mechanism for light sources with high dynamic range and saturation at night. This improves the overexposure for highlights without affecting the color performance of the light source and preserves the night scene.

In the future, vivo will work together with Adobe, Apple, and Google to improve HDR photo standardization and overcome the inconsistent display of HDR photos on different devicesmaking vivo the only Chinese company involved in the development of the IOS standards for HDR photos.

On top of vivo's original distinctive colors and ZEISS Natural Color, vivo's team has launched a series of rich and personalized colors, drawing inspiration from classic photography techniques, classic films, and masterworks.

2023 vivo VISION+ Mobile PhotoAwards Winners

During this year's Special Event at the Imaging Conference, vivo also announced the winners of this year's VISION+ Mobile PhotoAwards. The top award went to Jiehan Herry Saputro 's "Let Me Fly", which is crowned the Best Photograph of the Year. In addition, the competition included awards in six categories: Portrait, Photo Series, Night, Landscape, Motion, and News. Two special awards were also announced: the X90 Series Best Photograph Award and the ZEISS Professional Imaging Award.

Jiehan Herry Saputro s Let Me Fly, the Best Photograph of the Year (PRNewsfoto/vivo)

Since its inaugural launch in 2020, the VISION+ Mobile PhotoAwards program has received nearly one million submissions from over 40 countries and regions. This year, vivo received submissions from India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, and many other countries and regions.

Note: Please be aware that some of the features and technologies mentioned in this press release may currently only be available in the Chinese Mainland market. The availability of certain capabilities and functions may vary depending on your location.

About vivo

vivo is a technology company that creates great products based on a design-driven value, with smart devices and intelligent services as its core. The company aims to build a bridge between humans and the digital world. Through unique creativity, vivo provides users with an increasingly convenient mobile and digital life. Following the company's core values, which include Benfen*, user-orientation, design-driven value, continuous learning and team spirit, vivo has implemented a sustainable development strategy with the vision of developing into a healthier, more sustainable world-class corporation.

While bringing together and developing the best local talents to deliver excellence, vivo is supported by a network of R&D centers in Shenzhen, Dongguan, Nanjing, Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Xi'an and more cities, focusing on the development of state-of-the-art consumer technologies, including 5G, artificial intelligence, industrial design, imaging system and other up-and-coming technologies. vivo has also set up an intelligent manufacturing network (including those authorized by vivo), with an annual production capacity of nearly 200 million smartphones. As of now, vivo has branched out its sales network across more than 60 countries and regions, and is loved by more than 500 million users worldwide.

*"Benfen" is a term describing the attitude on doing the right things and doing things right  which is the ideal description of vivo's mission to create value for society.

Stay informed of latest vivo news at https://www.vivo.com/en/about-vivo/news

SOURCE vivo
(Bloomberg) -- Walmart Inc. paid $1.4 billion to buy Tiger Global Managements remaining stake in Flipkart, boosting its bet on the Indian retailer and helping the money manager provide distributions to investors at a time when accessing liquidity is tough.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The transaction, which took place in recent days, valued the Indian e-commerce giant at $35 billion, according to a letter sent by Tiger Global to investors that was obtained by Bloomberg News. Thats down from the nearly $38 billion valuation Flipkart commanded in its 2021 funding round. A spokeswoman for the investment firm declined to comment on the deal, which the Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Sunday.

Separately, venture capital firm Accel also sold its 1% stake in Flipkart to Walmart, the Economic Times reported.

The sale allows Tiger Global an opportunity to successfully exit its long-time investment in the Indian startup. The firm had initially put $8.6 million into Flipkarts Series B round in 2009 at a valuation of $42 million, before subsequently adding $1.2 billion between 2010 and 2015, according to the letter. The investments were made via their venture Private Investment Partners funds five through nine, the hedge fund, and their long-only vehicle.

In 2017, Tiger Global sold part of its Flipkart stake to SoftBank Group Corp, and a year later sold more to Walmart. In total, its investment in Flipkart has helped generate $3.5 billion in gains, the money manager said in the letter, adding that it will provide distribution details in the coming weeks.

Read more: Tiger Global Is Said to Reap $3 Billion From Flipkart Investment

Story continues

Walmart, which first paid $16 billion in 2018 for a 77% stake in Flipkart, has been accelerating its push into Indias growing consumer market. Earlier this year, its local payments business launched an online retailing app that will host local stores and smaller merchants.

Read more: Walmart Accelerates India Push as PhonePe Unit Enters Retail

The acquisition of the stakes from Tiger Global and Accel means Walmart will hold about 77% of Flipkart, up from 72% previously, according to Economic Times.

We are grateful for our partnership with the Flipkart team and for the opportunity to invest in the company through early chapters in its growth, Tiger Global said in the letter.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- Walmart Inc. paid $1.4 billion to buy Tiger Globals stake in Flipkart, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a letter by the New York hedge fund to investors.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The transaction, which took place in recent days, valued the Indian e-commerce giant at $35 billion, down from the $38 billion valuation it commanded as recently as 2021, according to the newspaper.

Walmart in 2018 paid $16 billion for a 77% stake in Flipkart and the US retailer has been accelerating its push into online retailing in India in recent months.

Read more: Walmart Accelerates India Push as PhonePe Unit Enters Retail

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(Bloomberg Markets) -- In Morocco trucks from a Connecticut logistics company ferry car parts and clothing across the Strait of Gibraltar. In Japan a new semiconductor plant transforms a once-quiet farm town. In France a battery plants staff learns to supervise new colleagues: robots.

Most Read from Bloomberg

These moments, which might seem unrelated, represent a transformation in world trade. US-China tensions and Russias invasion of Ukraine are leading companies to bring supply chains closer to home. A shift from fossil fuels is spurring demand for materials essential for electrification. Artificial intelligence is forcing employees to learn new skills so they wont be replaced by computers. Long before these trends are reflected in government data, theyre already changing global commerce, which amounts to $32 trillion a year in goods and services, according to the World Trade Organization. Bloomberg Markets dispatched reporters to discover what this upheaval looks like on the ground.

Local Trade Routes Are Stretched Thin

On a good day, Shelby Alamillo crosses the Rio Grande eight times. He drives along the World Trade Bridge, whose eight lanes of dusty roadway connect Mexicos industrial heartland and South Texas.

A trucker for a company called Super Transporte Internacional SA de CV, Alamillo, 39, is haulingor, as he says, movingauto parts to and from the US and Mexico. Its very impressive, all the trailers that cross per day, he says. The first move that I made, wow, I was in shock.

Port Laredo, as its called, includes an airport, one rail and four vehicle bridges. No other US land, sea or air crossing has been handling a higher dollar value of goods each day. Avocados, furniture and cars make their way north from Mexico. Auto parts, corn and gasoline head south from the US.

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For now, Alamillo says, traversing the bridge can take as little as 10 minutes, though about once a week, he runs into backups of three to four hours. The Texas Department of Transportation predicts that by 2050 its average crossing time could reach 8 hours and 47 minutes. This year, South Koreas Kia Corp. and Austin-based Tesla Inc. announced plans for new electric-vehicle production in the Mexican border state of Nuevo Leon, where foreign investment is booming.

Traffic is surging as the US tries to source more supplies from Mexico because of the trade war with China. Maeva Cousin, a Bloomberg economist, calculates that US imports of tariffed goods from China are down about $150 billion from where theyd otherwise be. Mexico is filling much of the gap.

The port of entry is situated in Laredo, a city of Spanish colonial buildings and a quarter million residents. Nearby, developers are building millions of square feet of warehouse and industrial space because of the surge in international trade. Local officials are pushing for federal approval to expand the bridge to 10 lanes, as well as add an eight-lane crossing alongsideat a cost of at least $40 million for both. Were probably a few years behind where we need to be, says Gene Lindgren, chief executive officer of the Laredo Economic Development Corp. But we have a plan to catch up. Laura Curtis

Wanted: Robot Wranglers

Wearing white protective clothing from head to toe, the trainees gaze through windows at boxes moving along an automated production line. Yellow robotic arms are handling a precious payload of parts for EV batteries, which must be assembled in a sealed environment to keep out dust and humidity. In southwestern France, the workers are preparing for a marquee kind of job these days: supervising robots.

After just five weeks of training, Ludovic Josien, who previously spent his career in traditional car factories, has to be ready to intervene when the machines do something wrong. Everything here is really a new world, he says. All the modern protocols have to be learned and taken on board very, very fast.

His employer, three-year-old Automotive Cells Co., or ACC, plays a key role in Europes ambitions to challenge China in building EV batteries. Backers include Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Stellantis NV. Josien is learning his trade at what ACC calls a pilot plant, where it develops products and tests manufacturing methods in the town of Nersac.

Then, hell head 650 kilometers (400 miles) north, to the companys so-called gigafactory in Douvrin. ACC is hiring two or three people a day as it builds the factorys staff of 2,000, while employees continue training to keep pace with the latest technology. We have to do better than the competition while also moving faster, says Gilles Tardivo, the factorys manager. William Horobin

Friends May Also Be Frenemies

Just across the border from Detroit, a field of gravel, sand and grass sits idle in Canada. Winds from nearby Lake St. Clair whistle through the site. On this weekday in May, two warehouse-shaped buildings stand with their pillars exposed as a Canadian flag flutters from a crane.

Consider this Windsor, Ontario, project a monument to the risks of national industrial policy, which can pit one friendly country against anothereven when theyre united in their desire to manufacture closer to home rather than in China. The plant had been slated to produce batteries for millions of EVs across North America. NextStar Energy Inc.a joint venture of Stellantis, which owns the US brands Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep, and South Koreas LG Energy Solutionsaid it would create 2,500 jobs.

But NextStar halted the project in May, saying it could get a better aid package from the US. The Canadian and provincial governments had initially offered subsidies worth C$1 billion ($755 million). Afraid of losing an economic prize, Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus administration in July upped the offer to C$15 billion, and NextStar accepted. In other words, Stellantis and LG extracted an additional C$14 billion from taxpayers. Not bad for two months of no work.

Before the US started offering richer subsidies, the companies and Canada had been fine with a less generous deal, according to Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association in Canada. This negotiating strategy, and the governments response, he says, will become a business case to study. Sam Kim

Innovators Need Incubators

Tucked in the rolling green hills of County Kerry in western Ireland, a startup is conducting an experiment that could shake up global manufacturing. The company, Wazp, makes hand and face mannequins for Ikea that are used in interior design and retail displays.

The Swedish retailer, known for affordable prices, would typically look to low-cost countries such as China for manufacturing. But Wazp can offer Ikea an alternative: 3D printing. A Wazp employee uses the boxy white printer, roughly the size of the office Xeroxes of yore, to make a life-size mesh hand. With a keystroke from a computer, the machine makes one in minutes out of plastic resin, and employees then brush off excess powder as if it were snow from a windshield.

For co-founders Shane Hassett and Mariana Kobal, its the next frontier: manufacturing on demand. Hassett and Kobal spent a year at a local university incubator developing a business plan. The Irish government is helping fund the businessuntil, ideally, the company attracts more private capital. Hassett says profitability is within sight. The company has already expanded into making the outsoles of Vivobarefoot shoes.

Until recently, 3D printing has been used for making prototypes, not for mass production. Hassett says it wont be long before it supplants labor-intensive factories, bringing manufacturers closer to customers and reducing waste and carbon emissions. As companies look to alternatives to Chinese factories, Hassett sees a booming market. 3D printing has really exploded in the United States and in Europe, he says. Brendan Murray

Brexit Offers an Unexpected Boost

In a Namibian village, Tueurora Kaatahi grew up in a homestead made of corrugated iron, held together with cow dung and mud paste. Her grandmother sold sugar, maize meal, salt and tobacco out of her house, and her grandfather raised cattle. In September shell complete an unexpected journey: Shell graduate from SOAS University of London with a masters degree in creative and cultural studies, which prepares students for a career in the arts.

The first in her family to go to college, Kaatahi benefited from the UKs decision to turn away from Europe. After Brexit, UK universities braced for a devastating decline in foreign enrollment because EU students faced more barriers. So the government liberalized visa requirements for the rest of the world, resulting in a flood of students from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Kaatahi plans to work for five years in London before returning to live in Namibia. I didnt want to go to any country other than the UK, says Kaatahi, 29. You feel connected to the whole world when youre in London.

Kaatahi and her non-British classmates are one bright spot for the post-Brexit UK, according to Jonathan Portes, an economics and public policy professor at Kings College London. They contributed 41.9 billion ($51.9 billion) to the UK economy during the 2021-22 school year, up 34% from three years before. We would be in big trouble if we didnt have these international students, Portes says. Bryce Baschuk

War Scrambles Supply Chains

The maritime traffic never stops cutting through the cobalt-blue Mediterranean waters of Brindisi, a port in southern Italy. Cruises, cargo vessels and, increasingly, ships carrying liquefied natural gas negotiate a tangle of concrete piers packed with cables, cranes and containers.

LNG is moving through Brindisi as never before, because the European Union no longer wants to import natural gas from Russia. Before the Ukraine invasion, gas flowed freely from north to south. Now, the direction has reversed. Gas from North Africa and the Middle East is replacing Russias, through pipelines and LNG containers often unloaded on Italys southern coast, in towns such as Brindisi.

The EU is helping pay for an expansion of Brindisis port to let more containers come through the dock. A new pipeline, called EastMed-Poseidon, is wending its way from Israel. Italian gas transport company Snam SpA is planning 2.4 billion ($2.7 billion) in investments for a network of pipelines along Italys east coast.

Environmental groups are opposing EastMed-Poseidon and the widening of the port because of the potential impact on marine life. Longtime Brindisi residents worry the energy-related construction will damage the beauty of an ancient town of cobblestones and Roman columns. But others are reveling in the citys heightened position in global commerce, as well as growing employment in a relatively poor part of Italy. We are proud of our role and working hard to meet the new challenges and opportunities, says Gabriele Menotti Lippolis, who leads the Confindustria Brindisi business association.  Alessandra Migliaccio

A Country Hedges Its Bets

Each day, some 60 trucks from XPO Inc. board ferries heading across the Strait of Gibraltar. Theyre hauling car parts, clothing and other goods from Africa to Europe. The XPO vehicles rumble through a port near Tangier, the ancient Moroccan city of whitewashed houses and winding streets. The Tanger Med port opened only in 2007 and is already the busiest container port in Africa.

At Greenwich, Connecticut-based XPO, annual revenue in Morocco, recently $99 million, has been growing at a 30% a year clip. Its booming business illustrates how the country is ideally positioned to prosper. It doesnt matter whether Europe and the US continue relying on China for manufacturing or instead accelerate a shift of their supply chains closer to home. XPO has long handled freight for US and European companies. Now, two of its largest customers are Chinese auto-component makers.

European and American businesses are filling Moroccos rural north with factories. Thousands of Moroccans already work in Renault SA and other auto-assembly plants, and American aircraft giant Boeing Co. has plans to add as many as 8,700 jobs by 2028. The port is expanding its berth space to handle the EV boom.

The Chinese and Moroccan governments are planning to transform a rugged landscape of rolling hills and sheep farms a half hours drive inland into what theyre calling Tanger Tech City, a home for hundreds of Chinese companies. Morocco is taking the opportunities from several countriesseveral, lets say, powerful countriesthat want to invest, that want to produce, that want to commercialize from Morocco, says Luis Gomez, XPOs European president. Brendan Murray

High-Tech Factories Bring Low-Tech Troubles

In the Japanese farm town of Kikuyo, mornings begin with some of the countrys worst traffic jams. Thousands of engineers, many suffering through 90-minute commutes, inch past fields of daikon and carrots. Its the price they pay for working in what will soon become the countrys most advanced semiconductor hub.

To regain its former leadership in the industry, Japan is planning to offer $14 billion in subsidies for new factories and production lines. The government is paying half the cost of a new Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., or TSMC, factory in Kikuyo and is in talks to help fund a second plant nearby. From a US perspective, it helps that these crucial chips will be made outside Taiwan, which China considers its territory.

Resentment in Kikuyo is building among residents, undermining political support for the countrys silicon ambitions. More drivers now take side roads to avoid the congestion, speeding down narrow lanes that border the towns farms.

TSMC brings nothing but trouble, says Satoru Futa, a longtime member of Kikuyos town council. The 70-year-old blames semiconductor-related traffic for the deaths of three friends. The company says its working with local governments to expand roads and encouraging its employees to take public transportation. Mayumi Negishi

India Is Coming For China

Before they reach the factory floor where they assemble mobile phones, workers at Dixon Technologies (India) Ltd. walk through an air shower that blows away any dust theyre carrying. For each phone, the plant must put together hundreds of parts, as if they were tiny jigsaw puzzles. It takes about 45 minutes to assemble each shiny new Motorola handset.

To reduce Indias reliance on China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is providing financial incentives to promote domestic manufacturers such as Dixon, which operates in Noida, about 40 kilometers from New Delhi. For now, the share of manufacturing in Indias gross domestic product stands at 13%, well below Modis 25% goal.

China outperforms India in making sophisticated technologythe so-called value-add that leads consumers to pay more for items such as electronics. Chinese manufacturers value-add is currently 49%, compared with 20% for Indias, the government says.

Brand-name companies hire Dixon as a contract manufacturer. Along with Motorola, its phone customers include Samsung Electronics, Nokia, Reliance Jio and Xiaomi. Dixons annual revenue, most recently $1.5 billion, is five times as much as it was five years ago. The factory is running at 100% capacity, says Chief Financial Officer Saurabh Gupta, who adds that India will need more semiconductor capacity to compete with China. The change will be painstakingly slow, he says. Ruchi Bhatia

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There's no doubt that money can be made by owning shares of unprofitable businesses. For example, Latin Resources (ASX:LRS) shareholders have done very well over the last year, with the share price soaring by 374%. But while the successes are well known, investors should not ignore the very many unprofitable companies that simply burn through all their cash and collapse.

Given its strong share price performance, we think it's worthwhile for Latin Resources shareholders to consider whether its cash burn is concerning. For the purposes of this article, cash burn is the annual rate at which an unprofitable company spends cash to fund its growth; its negative free cash flow. First, we'll determine its cash runway by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves.

View our latest analysis for Latin Resources

How Long Is Latin Resources' Cash Runway?

You can calculate a company's cash runway by dividing the amount of cash it has by the rate at which it is spending that cash. As at December 2022, Latin Resources had cash of AU$26m and no debt. Looking at the last year, the company burnt through AU$16m. That means it had a cash runway of around 19 months as of December 2022. Notably, analysts forecast that Latin Resources will break even (at a free cash flow level) in about 4 years. Essentially, that means the company will either reduce its cash burn, or else require more cash. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.

How Is Latin Resources' Cash Burn Changing Over Time?

Although Latin Resources reported revenue of AU$186k last year, it didn't actually have any revenue from operations. That means we consider it a pre-revenue business, and we will focus our growth analysis on cash burn, for now. Its cash burn positively exploded in the last year, up 233%. Given that sharp increase in spending, the company's cash runway will shrink rapidly as it depletes its cash reserves. While the past is always worth studying, it is the future that matters most of all. So you might want to take a peek at how much the company is expected to grow in the next few years.

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How Easily Can Latin Resources Raise Cash?

Given its cash burn trajectory, Latin Resources shareholders may wish to consider how easily it could raise more cash, despite its solid cash runway. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. One of the main advantages held by publicly listed companies is that they can sell shares to investors to raise cash and fund growth. By comparing a company's annual cash burn to its total market capitalisation, we can estimate roughly how many shares it would have to issue in order to run the company for another year (at the same burn rate).

Since it has a market capitalisation of AU$970m, Latin Resources' AU$16m in cash burn equates to about 1.7% of its market value. So it could almost certainly just borrow a little to fund another year's growth, or else easily raise the cash by issuing a few shares.

Is Latin Resources' Cash Burn A Worry?

Even though its increasing cash burn makes us a little nervous, we are compelled to mention that we thought Latin Resources' cash burn relative to its market cap was relatively promising. Shareholders can take heart from the fact that analysts are forecasting it will reach breakeven. Cash burning companies are always on the riskier side of things, but after considering all of the factors discussed in this short piece, we're not too worried about its rate of cash burn. On another note, Latin Resources has 4 warning signs (and 1 which shouldn't be ignored) we think you should know about.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies, and this list of stocks growth stocks (according to analyst forecasts)

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

Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, WH Smith's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions

51% of the business is held by the top 12 shareholders

Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

A look at the shareholders of WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 87% to be precise, is institutions. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of WH Smith.

Check out our latest analysis for WH Smith

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About WH Smith?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

WH Smith already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at WH Smith's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Hedge funds don't have many shares in WH Smith. Capital Research and Management Company is currently the largest shareholder, with 7.8% of shares outstanding. With 7.0% and 5.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, Causeway Capital Management LLC and BlackRock, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

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A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 12 shareholders have a combined ownership of 51% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of WH Smith

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of WH Smith PLC. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own UK5.0m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 12% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand WH Smith better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for WH Smith you should know about.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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(Bloomberg) -- The focus of Europes heat is switching to Spain, with a high risk of wildfires in southern parts of the Iberian peninsula.

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Southern Spain is expected to exceed 40C (104F) on Monday, with regions around Cordoba under alert for hot weather and the warnings spreading to the south coast on Tuesday. The wildfire risk in those areas is also at the maximum level, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.

Wildfires have largely been brought under control across the Mediterranean, but only after an area almost the size of Greater London was burnt since July 15, directly affecting over 120,000 people. While Greek firefighters contained a blaze on the island of Chios, another fire has broken out on heavily wooded Thasos in the northern Aegean Sea.

The world is on track for its hottest ever month in July, with fires, flooding and extreme temperatures across the Northern Hemisphere from the US to China. Scientists say that would have been virtually impossible without climate change, but efforts to curb the use of fossil fuels fall well short of whats required to address a rapidly warming planet.

There were more than 100 wildfires in Greece over the weekend, but all of those have been brought under control. Fire risk will drop one level to high on Tuesday, with seven regions impacted, including Athens and the surrounding Attica area.

Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Vasilis Kikilias told newspaper To Vima tis Kyriakis on Sunday that Greece would be strengthening its firefighting capacity.

The climate crisis has dramatically changed the models for the development of a fire under difficult or extreme conditions, the minister said. Our first priority is the recruitment of more than 500 new firefighters.

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Temperatures in Italy and Greece are expected to climb back above 40C by Wednesday.

Thats a sharp contrast with the cooler weather thats dominating northern Europe. Temperatures in the UK, France and Nordic countries will remain below seasonal averages for the coming 10 days.

Stockholm will peak at 18C today, more than 4C below the norm, according to forecaster Maxar Technologies Inc.

(Updates with spreading heat in second paragraph, fire on Thasos in third)

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Yellow Corp., a beleaguered trucking company that was once one of the U.S.' largest transporters of goods, has ceased operations and is planning to file for bankruptcy, the Teamsters Union said in a statement on Monday.

The company operated for nearly 100 years, but its financial challenges snowballed, leading it to accumulate more than $1 billion in debt.

"Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government," said Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien in the statement. "This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry."

The company received a $700 million government loan during the pandemic, as part of the COVID-19 relief program in 2020.

Here's what you need to know about Yellow shutdown:

Why is Yellow shutting down?

The shutdown comes after Yellow failed to reorganize and refinance the roughly $1.5 billion dollars it had, as of March, in outstanding debt, a large portion of which came from the $700 million pandemic-era government loan. At the time of the loan, the company was facing charges of defrauding the government by overbilling on shipments for the U.S. military.

The shutdown also comes amid its ongoing, and costly, conflicts with its employees. Last week, the company declined to contribute to its employees' pension and health insurance plans, nearly prompting a strike.
Halifax, Nova Scotia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - Zephyr Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: ZFR) ("Zephyr" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed the first tranche (the "First Tranche") of its previously announced non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") through the issuance of 3,210,000 (the "Units") at a price of $0.09 per Unit for gross proceeds of $288,900. Each Unit consists of one (1) common share (each, a "Share") and one (1) transferable Share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one (1) additional Share of the Company at a price of $0.13 per Share for a period of twelve (12) months. The expiry date of the Warrants may be accelerated by Zephyr at any time if the volume-weighted average trading price of the common shares is greater than or equal to $0.26 for any twenty (20) consecutive trading days. If this occurs, the Company may accelerate the expiry date of the warrants by issuing a news release announcing the reduced Warrant term whereupon the Warrants will expire on the 30th calendar day after the date of such news release.

Net proceeds from the Private Placement will be used for mineral exploration programs in Zimbabwe (see news release July 26, 2023) and for general corporate purposes.

The president and CEO of the Company subscribed for an aggregate of 200,000 Units for gross proceeds of $18,000 in the Private Placement. Such participation is considered to be a "related party transaction" as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 ("MI 61-101"). The Company is relying on the exemptions from valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as the fair market value of the participation in the Private Placement by insiders does not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the market capitalization of the Company as determined in accordance with MI 61-101.

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Under the First Tranche closing, the Company paid a cash finder's fee $9,198 and issued 102,200 finder's warrants to PI Financial Corp; and a cash finder's fee of $6,300 and issued 70,000 finder's warrants to Leede Jones Gable Inc. Each finder's warrant entitles the holder to acquire one common share of the Company at $0.13 per share at any time on or before July 31, 2024. The expiry date of the finder's warrants are also subject to the same acceleration clause as the Unit warrants.

The Private Placement is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals including the approval and acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued under the Private Placement are subject to a statutory hold period of four (4) months and a day expiring on December 1, 2023.

About Zephyr Minerals Ltd.

Zephyr Minerals Ltd. is conducting ongoing evaluations of gold properties for potential acquisition and/or joint venture throughout Zimbabwe. The Company is concentrating on projects with obvious gold potential as demonstrated through active, shallow, small scale mining operations or previous exploration work and favorable geology. In addition, the property should be of sufficient areal extent to host a target potential of at least one million

ounces of gold. To this extent, the Company has signed multiple property joint venture agreements and has applied for two Exclusive Prospecting Orders covering 124,000 hectares. The Company is also actively reviewing lithium opportunities generated through in house research and property submittals by third parties. Zimbabwe boasts favorable foreign ownership rules for mineral properties as well as prospective, underexplored Archean greenstone belts.

In Colorado Zephyr has been focused on mine permitting activities at its 100% owned Dawson gold property, which is presently in hiatus pending the collection and submission of additional water well data and satisfying certain other environmental related questions. The additional required water wells are still in the planning stage and will be drilled once available funds are in hand. Upon collection of the additional data the Company plans to reapply for a mining permit at Dawson.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Zephyr Minerals Ltd.

David Felderhof, Chief Financial Officer

david@zephyrminerals.com

T: 902 706-0222

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The forward-looking statements contained in this document are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Company. The forward-looking statements contained in this document are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/175517
Some 70 books donated to Smith Station Elementary School in May are still pending review in Spotsylvania County Public Schools, the school division said in an email Monday.

Among the donated books are titles in the Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems, the Dog Man and Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney and the Baby-Sitters Club series by Raina Telgemeier; a Spanish translation of Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin; and six copies of a picture book about instruments by Courtney Woodward, who visited Smith Station last year.

The list of books was on the School Boards agenda for approval at the May 8 regular meeting, but the board voted to table consideration of the books until the June meeting.

At the June 12 meeting, the board approved donations from May but without the list of books. Division spokeswoman Tara Mergener told the Free Lance-Star the following day that the books were under review.

The board held its next regular meeting on July 24 and approved another list of donations, but again the books were not included.

School Board member Dawn Shelley brought up the donated books during her comments at the July 24 meeting, noting that they had been removed from the agenda and theyre still not back.

So those of you who think theyre just banning sexually explicit books, thats a lie; theyre banning all books, Shelley said.

A few days before the meeting, on July 21, Shelley sent an email to superintendent Mark Taylor, School Board Chair Lisa Phelps and Kenneth Forrest, executive director of operations, asking about the books.

Did someone forget to add back the 90+ books that were removed from the May 8th meeting back to the donations list? I was expecting to see them back on the donations list, Shelley wrote.

The books were not discussed at the July 24 meeting by anyone except for Shelley.

Just before 5 p.m. on Saturday, Taylor sent an email to the entire school community addressing Shelleys comments.

I feel the need to address the following comment made at last Mondays school board meeting (7/24). Ms. Shelleys declaration that SPCS is banning all books is not true, Taylor wrote.

He included links showing that books in the Baby-Sitters Club series, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and the Dog Man series  as well as books in the Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Junie B. Jones series  are available in school division libraries.

I want to assure you that these books have been, are, and will remain available, Taylor wrote. Please do not be mistaken. SCPS is not banning all books.

Taylor went on to say that the division is taking steps consistent with local school board policy and Virginia law to ensure parents are aware of instructional materials containing sexually explicit content, and ensuring that parents are given the choice about whether those instructional materials containing sexually explicit content are put into the hands of their children.

Earlier on Saturday, Taylor sent an email with the same message as in the division-wide email to Phelps, Vice Chair April Gillespie, deputy superintendent Kelly Guempel and communications director Tara Mergener, blind-copying Shelley.

According to emails Shelley forwarded to the Free Lance-Star, she responded at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, about half an hour before Taylors division-wide message went out.

I am sorry that I made a misstatement, she wrote. You are correct, you have only banned fourteen books, at this time. Since you are making a point of showing me that our libraries have multiple copies of the books, some that I mentioned and some that I did not, please explain to me why the books that were removed from the donations list were removed on May 8th. Why have they not been brought back? The books that were removed do not have sexual content.

Shelley continued, Had you responded (to my July 21 email), I would not have had to (make) my comment because I would have had my answer.

In a phone call Monday afternoon, Shelley told the Free Lance-Star that she has asked Taylor to retract his message.
All things are not equal and morally relative. This reality should guide school district officials in deciding which books to have in libraries. The issue arises again as District 20 officials grapple with dozens of complaints about obscene books and one about the Bible.

To contemplate the distinction between good and evil, consider religious liberty. Anyone can develop or embrace a religion and the law may never judge those beliefs. Yet, nuns running an AIDS hospice differ substantially from a cult of lawyers in Topeka, Kansas, who profess God hates members of the LGBTQ community.

They are equally protected by the First Amendment, but otherwise quite different.

To further contemplate absolute versus relative, consider directions. Right and left are relative; north and south, absolute.

Given that good is not evil and north is not south, we can discern the difference between the Bible and detailed books about modern sex and violence. The most recent conflict began with about three dozen parents asking in writing for D20 to remove three sexually explicit books from libraries. They include:

 Identical, by Ellen Hopkins, which tells in stark detail the trauma of twin girls sexually and otherwise abused by their father. Children read about easing distress with opioids, alcohol and sex.

 Lucky, by Rachel Vail. A review describes the book as the punishingly detailed account of a man raping a teenager.

 Flamer, Mike Curato, details the coming-of-age of boy who is gay.

 Push, by Sapphire, conveys through obscene dialogue and graphic detail the story of a pregnant teenager who already had a baby by her father when she was 12.

These books have a place, but maybe not among middle schoolers with parents who object. Upon receiving complaints from dozens of parents, then-Superintendent Thomas Gregory asked principals to remove the books.

Under the districts removal policy, parents can appeal any book decision. The process winds its way through the superintendent who can order a book removed or replaced. Thats as it should be, given that superintendents are the executive officers entrusted with the care of children, known legally as "in loco parentis."

After Gregory ordered the books removed, district parent, atheist and First Vice Chair the local Democratic party Rob Rogers  known locally for his Eye Hate God patch  argued all things are relative. His complaint against the Bible should be treated as those against graphic books about sex and rape, otherwise it's "discrimination."

He says the Bible contains sex and violence. Hes correct, though context is king. The New Testament tells us to treat others as we would have them treat us. As a whole, the Bible comprises a lesson in good and bad, right and wrong, fire and brimstone, life and death.

Push introduces children to racist stereotypes and the merits of disrespecting teachers. When a teacher tells a student to leave the classroom, a black girl says:  I ain going nowhere muthf--ker (redaction ours) till the bell ring. I came here to learn maff and you gon teach me. He (the teacher) look like a b-tch (redaction ours) just got a train (gang rape) pult on her. He dont know what to do.

And: He (the teacher) a skinny little white man A peckerwood.

The First Amendment prohibits governments from interfering with the writing, printing, distribution and reading of information. It does not guarantee the right of adults to provide children with media their parents dont like.

Government and private libraries and bookstores censor books, lawfully, each time they decline to buy and carry one. The director of a vegan library has no obligation to carry a trophy hunting book. If schools carry all books, with no discernment, we'll have authors teaching children to make bombs.

Rogers complained to the district and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, of which hes a member. Thats a predatory anti-Christian group that attacks faith with sophomoric knowledge of the First Amendment.

Rogers argues his complaint is just like the others, saying "I basically just copied what they did."

His anti-faith activism knows no bounds. He recently went on Facebook and TikTok to excoriate Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade, a Christian minister and the city's first elected Black mayor, for attending a tent revival and daring to say "Jesus."

A book that contains The Golden Rule, advocates love and says God loves all is not the same as one that conveys racist, hateful and profane dialogue between students and teachers.

Because one parent complained about the Bible, the rape and sex books are back. Under the direction of new Superintendent Jinger Haberer, the district will follow a detailed protocol before removing books.

Indeed, schools should use protocol. That does not make the Bible the same as other books, and it does not make all books appropriate for children.
Asking strangers on the street for money comes with a lot of job qualifications, says Koby Taylor Hartzheim, who is homeless and regularly can be found at an Interstate 25 off-ramp that leads to the heart of Colorado Springs.

He ticked them off on his fingers one sweltering day last week, as he left panhandling for a few moments to talk about his primary method of earning income.

You got to sit out here and be patient with the traffic, you got to wait for it, you got to get through it with the sun or rain, youve got to smile and wave, he says. You dont want things to blow up.

Some passersby or motorists reciprocate the kind gestures, others may not be friendly, but most people arent mean, Hartzheim notes.

A lot of people scream, Get a job! at Wes Cooper, who likes to pace the sidewalk and solicit by a light signal where traffic stops every few minutes.

Some people sit down, but I think thats kind of lazy, he said.

What people who berate him dont realize, Cooper said, is getting a job is not as easy as spouting the words.

When youre homeless, you dont have a steady anything, he said.

Panhandling picks up in summer months, as more migration of homeless people occurs.

But Colorado Springs police rarely ticket panhandlers who violate city code by soliciting for money in restricted areas. It's just not a priority, said Sgt. Olav Chaney, who heads the Homeless Outreach Team for the Colorado Springs Police Department.

We dont write a whole lot (of citations), not because we dont want to address concerns or try to take care of the problem; its having the time to do that, Chaney said.

Our primary focuses are the camps, blight and trash along waterways, he said. We have cited a few folks for unlawful to occupy (in medians) when we have the opportunity and when we see it. But with us (the HOT team) and even patrol officers, its not always easy to stop and go do those.

Many who solicit on the streets  but not all  are homeless.

We find a lot of those signs when we go to campsites to enforce city camping, Chaney said. Thats how a lot of folks try to get their money.

Some people turn public solicitation into work, and the appeals in the signs they hold may not be accurate, agencies that help transients and the indigent population warn. A person may not really be a military veteran or homeless, for example.

The small cardboard sign Cooper holds reads, Homeless and need a little help. Anything helps. God bless.

Its the same message every day, and it seems to be effective.

Panhandling helps Cooper buy or receive for free what he wants, namely food, coffee and cigarettes.

On a good day, Cooper said he can make $30 to $50, but the length of his shift varies.

It could take an hour or all day, said Cooper, who usually sleeps at the Springs Rescue Mission shelter.

No cash? No problem. Im not just looking for money; Id take food, he said.

Cooper said he could have more in his pocket, $90 or so per shift, if he went to a big-box store parking lot. Thats usually where people dig more spare change out of their pockets.

I dont need that much money, he said. I just need enough to get by.

Hartzheim, who for the past three years has mostly camped outside at night, also lives by that motto.

I dont usually try to get more than $20 or $30, he said, adding that he could spend half a day to a day earning that amount.

Hartzheim sometimes buys food; other times marijuana. Since he quit smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol, he no longer purchases those sin-taxed items.

Some panhandlers spend their earnings on illegal drugs, Cooper said.

Thats why agencies that provide services to people in need dont advise the public to give beggars handouts.

Some need money for gas to get to the next spot, but those are few and far between, Chaney said.

The majority use the money for alcohol and drugs, and thats never going to help them, he said. That ends up hurting them in the long run, and it hurts the system in a lot of ways.

If you want to help someone on the corner, its better to give your money to the shelters or organizations that could help those folks that need and want the help.

Supporting panhandlers also has the potential to incentivize them to stay in their current situation rather than seek services that can help move them out of homelessness, poverty and addiction, said Cameron Moix, spokesman for Springs Rescue Mission. The Christian-based organizations 14-acre campus includes the citys largest homeless shelter and related services and programs to employ and rehouse people.

Springs Rescue Mission, the city of Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak Continuum of Care in 2019 launched a Handouts Dont Help campaign, which encouraged people to donate to local homeless services nonprofits rather than giving homeless individuals money directly. The pandemic curtailed the effort, but it had raised a few thousand dollars over the years, officials had said.

Our organizational stance is that supporting Springs Rescue Mission does more good for individuals experiencing homelessness, poverty and addiction, because those donations provide these men and women with wrap-around essential services that are conducive to their recovery, Moix said.

As charitable appeals for funds, panhandling is protected speech under the Constitutions First Amendment. But city ordinances restrict where and how people can engage in the activity.

Signs born out of the Handouts Dont Help initiative prohibit standing on narrow medians  but many people dont heed the message and can be seem panhandling in those areas.

Statistics show their chances of being cited for violating a city laws are low. Police have handed out just seven citations related to panhandling since 2019, according to data.

Police are more likely to cite illegal campers who pitch tents or throw down sleeping bags near waterways, in parks, along trail systems and on other government property.

The number of tickets people have received for illegal camping in city limits has declined from highs of 707 in the pandemic years of 2020 and 706 in 2021 to 511 last year and 219 over the first six months of 2023.

Under the citys traffic code its unlawful to access, use, congregate or assemble about any median with a posted sign. And neither panhandlers nor motorists are allowed to obstruct traffic, Chaney said.

If someone steps into the roadway and someones stopped at a light, and theyre basically holding up traffic, they can get a ticket even if the area doesnt have a sign, he said.

Aggressive solicitation also is banned, in the name of protecting the health, safety and welfare of all citizens.

Aggressive solicitation that is disruptive to residents or businesses, if they obstruct, hinder or slow progress of anybody, impede or get in the way while panhandling  even if theyre standing in a legal place  it will not be tolerated, Chaney said.

Such behavior hasnt been much of a problem among panhandlers, he added.

Every now and then, someone says this guy pounded on my car when he was panhandling, or this guy is threatening me to give him something, thats just not safe, Chaney said.

Municipal fines for traffic impediment and related code violations pertaining to panhandling usually carry a $50 fine with a $25 surcharge.

Panhandling has not been a common issue or call for service for deputies in unincorporated areas of El Paso County, according to Sheriffs Office spokesperson Cassandra Sebastian.

On rare occasions when the office is notified about a problem, such as an aggressive panhandler, deputies determine whether a crime has occurred and take enforcement action as appropriate, she said.

Cooper, a former construction worker, has been panhandling regularly for the past year, the duration hes been homeless.

Its just an extra little bit of money for the day, he said. Youre relying on the goodness of people.
Elected officials and business leaders from El Paso County and Colorado Springs on Monday afternoon hailed the Air Force's decision to keep U.S. Space Command's permanent headquarters in Colorado Springs as "great news" for the state and the nation's security.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference held in downtown Colorado Springs, Mayor Yemi Mobolade said the decision that came more than two years after former President Donald Trump announced the command's headquarters would move to Huntsville, Ala. was "an affirmation of what we already know: Colorado Springs is the home of space."

He recalled how former Mayor John Suthers left him two letters the day Mobolade took office on June 6. One was a welcome letter. The other was a copy of a letter Suthers penned in March to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, laying out his concerns that Trump's decision to relocate Space Command headquarters from Colorado Springs to Huntsville was a political move.

Mobolade said Monday he came into office intending to continue collaborative efforts to keep Space Command local, which elected and business officials in Colorado Springs and El Paso County had taken up alongside lawmakers such as Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, Democratic U.S. Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and others in state government.

"Today marks the beginning of a next chapter for this city's long and proud military history," Mobolade said. "Colorado Springs will continue to rally around and support our service members, veterans and family members. ... It is clear this final decision is in the best interest of our national security and is the most responsible use of taxpayer dollars."

Suthers told reporters he was pleased to hear Monday's news.

"If you would have asked me an hour and a half ago what my biggest disappointment was as mayor ... I would have absolutely said President Trump's decision to move Space Command to Huntsville, Ala.," he said. "Imagine how pleased I am to be here today."

There was speculation as to what Suthers and Sen. Bennet discussed with President Joe Biden May 31 on the tarmac at Peterson Space Force Base, the headquarters of Space Command, when the president arrived in town the evening ahead of his address at the Air Force Academy graduation.

On Monday, Suthers said he was "very relieved" that day to hear Biden was "focused on the right things" when it came to the decision, like Ukraine's dependency on information from Space Command and how uprooting the command would disrupt other U.S. security interests.

In a separate interview with The Gazette on Monday, the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC's Vice President of Defense Development, Jessie Kimber, said the decision will give defense contractors the surety they need to continue growing in a community renowned for its support of veterans, who often go to work contractors when they retire, she said.

Kimber, who worked on defense issues for Suthers when he was mayor, said she celebrated the decision with him Monday afternoon and noted Colorado lawmakers at every level have worked hard on this issue.

"We have been rowing hard on this for a very long time," she said.

El Paso County Commissioner Longinos Gonzalez, an Air Force veteran whose district currently encompasses the Space Command headquarters at Peterson Space Force Base, said in another separate interview with The Gazette on Monday he was "ecstatic" about the decision.

The Pikes Peak region's existing personnel, infrastructure and space-oriented community made it the "right place" for mission readiness, he said.

In a day of rising tensions with China in the air-space realm, Gonzalez said, "having to relocate bases could have negatively affected (readiness) because of the years it would take for Alabama to get fully operational."

"We're already doing that mission and can easily get up to full operational capability," he said.

Gonzalez also noted the decision "in no way takes from the importance that Huntsville and Alabama have for our national security."

Jim Lovewell, chief operating officer of the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC, hailed the bipartisan support leaders across Colorado Springs, El Paso County, the state capitol and in Washington, D.C. showed in keeping Space Command local.

"We rallied around this as something that was so important to national security and it was a beautiful thing to see," Lovewell told reporters downtown. "... This is a big impact to our community and what it means in terms for the national defense supporting companies and to a lot of the other services that are here  this is a big infusion to our community."

Cami Bremer, chairwoman of the Board of El Paso County Commissioners, also highlighted the collaborative efforts to keep Space Command local.

"We've pushed the limits and gone to new frontiers to create a place where businesses thrive, military communities are welcomed and governments work together to serve all," she said.

Here are more thoughts from leaders across Colorado on the decision:

Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade:

"Today's announcement is an affirmation of what we already know. Colorado Springs is the home of space. Our city is now proud to be the permanent home of U.S. Space Command, and we are committed to its long-term success. It is clear this final decision is in the best interest of our national security and is the most responsible use of taxpayer dollars.

"I want to express our thanks to President (Joe) Biden and to our Colorado military delegation  Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, Congressmen Doug Lamborn and Jason Crow, Gov. Jared Polis, our El Paso County commissioners, the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC and our defense industry leadership, along with former Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers  who joined together and advocated to keep this mission in our community.

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"Today marks the beginning of the next chapter of our city's long and proud military history and Colorado Springs will continue to rally around and support our service members, veterans, and their families."

Cami Bremer, Chairwoman, Board of El Paso County Commissioners:

"Our regional community partners and elected officials have a long-standing tradition of being 'team players' with our national defense, and we've carried that forward in our support of the newest branch of the United States Armed Forces. Together we have pushed the limits and gone to new frontiers to create a place where businesses thrive, military communities are welcomed and governments work together to serve all. We are honored to welcome and reaffirm our commitment to those called to serve in the newest branch of the US military. Space Command, welcome home."

Carrie Geitner, Board of El Paso County Commissioners:

"I am pleased with the decision to keep Space Command in Colorado Springs, with its strategic location, infrastructure and highly skilled workforce already in place to support the mission. I believe that maintaining Space Command in Colorado Springs will not only benefit our national security efforts but also contribute to the local economy and strengthen the existing partnerships with the military and aerospace industries."

Holly Williams, Board of El Paso County Commissioners:

"The announcement to retain Space Command in Colorado Springs further validates the idea that El Paso County is a great place for our military families to live and work. This affirmation of the regions ability to serve large infrastructure is key to bringing even greater opportunities to the area. As always, we will continue to work closely with our community partners and elected officials to provide the best future for our residents."

Stan VanderWerf, Board of El Paso County Commissioners:

"I am absolutely thrilled with the decision to keep U.S. Space Command in its home in Colorado Springs. I am also pleased that the decision-makers recognized that keeping U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs is best for our nation's taxpayers and security.

"This success is the result of the hard work of many organizations, elected officials and staff members. I'd like to thank the entire Colorado delegation including Congressman Doug Lamborn and Sens. (Michael) Bennett and (John) Hickenlooper as well as the city of Colorado Springs, El Paso County team and the (Colorado Springs) Chamber & EDC for their hard work and collaboration."

Longinos Gonzalez, Board of El Paso County Commissioners:

"The decision to retain Space Command in Colorado Springs reflects a prioritization of national defense and is a testament to the strong partnerships and collaboration between the local community and the armed forces. We have a long-standing connection with our military family and are proud to support the men and women serving Space Command. While Alabama also has much to offer, Space Command belongs right here in Colorado Springs."

Jessie Kimber, Vice President of Defense Development, Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC:

"As the epicenter of military space, Colorado Springs is thrilled to be named the permanent location of (U.S. Space Command), ending a multi-year selection process and resulting in the best decision for national security as our country faces growing security threats from China, Russia and other nations determined to challenge us in the space domain.

"As the current provisional home to (Space Command), Colorado Springs is the natural choice for its permanent basing with robust infrastructure in place and personnel already living in our community contributing to our region's existing military space operations and rapidly expanding defense, space, aerospace and cybersecurity industries.

"We are grateful for the many partners across Colorado who worked tirelessly in support of the campaign to secure the permanent basing and advocate the importance of keeping (Space Command) in Colorado Springs and we look forward to continuing our role in supporting our country's mission in space. We want to recognize the other regions that were working toward this same goal and acknowledge their devoted efforts in support of the Space Command mission throughout this process. We share the same passion, and the Colorado Springs region will work tirelessly with (Space Command) to protect our skies now and well into the future."

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis:

"This is great news for Colorado and our national security  keeping U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs is an exciting outcome for our state, military families, jobs and businesses. This thoughtful and correct decision guarantees operational success for decades to come and improves our national defense. I personally advocated for Space Command to remain in Colorado with the former president and current administration. I am grateful to the strong, bipartisan coalition of leaders from across Colorado who never wavered in our commitment to keeping Space Command in our state and national defense.

"Colorado's unique aerospace strengths provide the innovation and commitment to service necessary to ensure our national security, especially during such a critical moment.

Colorado Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera, co-chair of the Colorado Space Coalition:

"U.S. Space Command has flawlessly executed its mission in Colorado Springs since day one, and we celebrate the decision to keep U.S. Space Command in its rightful home, where reports show U.S. Space Command can achieve full operational capability faster and at a lower cost than anywhere else."

Congressman Doug Lamborn, chairman of the House Armed Services Strategic Subcommittee:

"Colorado Springs has always been the legitimate home of U.S. Space Commands headquarters, and I am delighted that todays decision validates this fact. I commend the Biden administration for prioritizing national security above political interests and keeping (U.S. Space Command) in its rightful home at Peterson Air Force Base. This decision aligns with the best military advice of countless senior military leaders who all agree that Peterson Space Force Base is the most viable option for (Space Command) to reach full operational capability the fastest and is the best permanent home for its long-term operations.

"We live in dangerous times and we do not have the luxury of starting over with the headquarters in another location. National security is too critical to allow for any delays.

"China and Russia are developing their space capabilities at a rapid pace. It is essential that Space Command be best positioned to deter those threats today and in the near future. It is undeniable that this will be best done where the mission is taking place now and always has been, in Colorado Springs.

"... This is a win for the Pikes Peak region and the state of Colorado that further solidifies our status as the preeminent location for military space operations."

The Gazette's Mary Shinn contributed to this report.
The Air Force has decided that U.S. Space Command's permanent headquarters will remain in Colorado Springs, instead of moving to Huntsville, Ala.

The long-awaited decision caps more than two years of wrangling by officials from both Colorado and Alabama after former President Donald Trump announced in the final days of his administration that the command's headquarters would move to Alabama.

Space Command is a combatant command established in 2019 that employs about 1,200 people from across the military services to provide deterrence in space, and, if necessary, to defend U.S. space assets. It is separate from U.S. Space Force, the newest military branch.

The move had been on hold since early 2021, pending completion of a review of the decision-making process undertaken by the Biden administration.

Members of Colorado's congressional delegation and other top government officials urged the president and Department of Defense to reconsider the move, maintaining the headquarters should stay at its temporary home at Peterson Space Force base in Colorado Springs for national security and fiscal reasons. Local officials and business leaders joined that call, presenting a unified, bipartisan front.

Following a lengthy review, the Biden administration agreed, citing the Air Force's ability to reach full operational capability within a month at the Colorado location.

After consulting with the Secretary of Defense and reviewing the advice of military leaders, President Biden has decided to establish Colorado Springs as the permanent location of U.S. Space Command headquarters. This decision is in the best interest of our national security and reflects the Presidents commitment to ensuring peak readiness in the space domain over the next decade," said National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson in a statement.

A senior White House official said the most significant factor Biden considered was the "impact a move would have to operational readiness to confront space-enabled threats during a critical time in this dynamic security environment. U.S. Space Command headquarters will achieve 'full operational capability' at Colorado Springs later this month. Maintaining the headquarters there maintains operational readiness and ensures no disruption to its mission or to its personnel."

The official added: "A move to Alabama, by contrast, would have forced upon that command a transition process between the mid-2020s and the opening of the new site in the early to mid-2030s. The President found that risk unacceptable, especially given the challenges we may face in the space domain during this critical time period. Locating Headquarters U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs ensures peak readiness in the space domain for our nation during a critical period."

Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon's press secretary, said that the president notified the Department of Defense on Monday that he made the decision after a "thorough and deliberate evaluation process" that included consulting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and senior military leaders.

"From the start, DoD and the Department of the Air Force have worked diligently to ensure the basing decision resulted from an objective and deliberate process informed by data and analysis, in compliance with federal law and DoD policy. Secretary Austin, Secretary of the Air Force (Frank) Kendall, and U.S. Space Command commander Gen. (James) Dickinson all support the Presidents decision," Ryder said in a statement.

A pair of reports issued last year by federal watchdogs found "significant shortfalls" in the base selection process under the Trump administration but stopped short of recommending that it be reversed.

The Department of the Air Force said in January 2021 that an Army base in Huntsville had been chosen as the site of Space Command's permanent headquarters, but months later Trump said on a radio show that the move had been his decision.

Hickenlooper: Decision sends message

U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, a Colorado Democrat who has advocated for keeping the command's headquarters in the Pikes Peak region, applauded the news in a statement.

For two and a half years, weve known any objective analysis of this basing decision would reach the same conclusion we did, that Peterson Space Force Base is the best home for Space Command," Hickenlooper said in a statement.

After two investigations and rigorous review by the Department of Defense, the administration has made the decision thats in our countrys best interest."

He added that the decision "firmly rejects" the notion that political considerations should outweigh national security concerns.

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet said he and fellow members of Colorado's delegation have long argued that Trump's decision to relocate the headquarters was "misguided."

"Todays decision restores integrity to the Pentagons basing process and sends a strong message that national security and the readiness of our Armed Forces drive our military decisions," Bennet said in a statement. "Colorado is the rightful home for U.S. Space Command, and our state will continue to lead America in space for years to come."

U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, the nine-term Republican who represents Colorado Springs, said the Biden administration made the right decision.

"Colorado Springs has always been the legitimate home of U.S. Space Commands headquarters, and I am delighted that todays decision validates this fact, Lamborn said in a statement. I commend the Biden administration for prioritizing national security above political interests and keeping USSPACECOM in its rightful home at Peterson Space Force Base."

The decision, Lamborn said, "aligns with the best military advice of countless senior military leaders who all agree that Peterson Space Force Base is the most viable option for USSPACECOM to reach full operational capability the fastest and is the best permanent home for its long-term operations.

Lamborn added that pressing national security concerns made the decision even more critical.

We live in dangerous times and we do not have the luxury of starting over with the headquarters in another location," he said. "National security is too critical to allow for any delays.

Alabama reacts: 'Shameful'

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Calling the reported decision "shameful" and an "outrage," Alabama lawmakers accused Biden of reversing Trump's move for political reasons, according to AL.com, an online news site based in Alabama.

President Biden has irresponsibly decided to yank a military decision out of the Air Forces hands in the name of partisan politics, said U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, an Alabama Republican.

She maintained that Huntsville had finished ahead of Colorado Springs in the Air Force's own evaluation process and was the "preferred basing location."

The Gazette reported exclusively in January 2021 that the decision to locate Space Command headquarters in Alabama came after then-Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett traveled to the White House to tell Trump the Air Force had chosen Colorado Springs in response to an earlier, presidentially ordered process that discarded an earlier decision to keep the command, its 1,400 airmen and thousands of civilian workers in Colorado.

Trump, officers familiar with the briefing said, instead ordered the command to relocate to Alabama, a state represented by six lawmakers who objected to certifying the presidential election results. Alabama also had recently delivered Trump an additional U.S. Senate seat, with Republican Tommy Tuberville defeating Democratic incumbent Doug Jones  in contrast to Colorado, where Hickenlooper unseated Republican Cory Gardner.

This is just beyond belief, said one officer familiar with the decision who spoke with The Gazette on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisal.

The basing decision has been subject to increasingly contentious political debate in the years since Trump left office and the Biden administration announced it was reexamining the process.

A powerful Alabama Republican in recent months has been using his position as chairman on the House Armed Service Committee to press the the Department of Defense to move the command to Huntsville.

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers has held up hundreds of millions in military funding by blocking approval of a routine DOD funding request. The delay has hampered the Air Force's ability to reassign personnel and bring them back from deployment. Rogers also backed measures to cut the Secretary of the Air Force Office's travel budget 50% and halt any spending on the Space Command offices in Colorado Springs, including minor upgrades.

The Colorado Springs Chamber's point person on military matters told The Gazette that it would have been unprecedented to uproot and move a combatant command in the midst of current geopolitical tensions, including Russia's invasion in Ukraine.

"Our adversaries dont put a pause on warfare to wait for us to move," Jessie Kimber, the chamber's vice president for defense development and a former naval intelligence officer, said.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis celebrated the decision, calling it "great news for Colorado and our national security."

"This thoughtful and correct decision guarantees operational success for decades to come and improves our national defense," Polis said in a statement, noting that he "personally advocated" for keeping the command in Colorado with President Joe Biden and members of the Democrat's administration.

"I am grateful to the strong, bipartisan coalition of leaders from across Colorado who never wavered in our commitment to keeping Space Command in our state and national defense, Polis added. Colorados unique aerospace strengths provide the innovation and commitment to service necessary to ensure our national security, especially during such a critical moment."

Bipartisan battle to keep Space Command in Colorado

Describing the decision as "strategic," Democratic U.S. Rep. Jason Crow of Aurora, the only military veteran in the state's congressional delegation, commended the administration for keeping national security interests ahead of politics.

Politics should never get in the way of national security," Crow said in a statement. "The move to keep U.S. Space Command in Colorado is strategic and in the best interest of military readiness and a strong national defense."

Added Crow: Colorado is home to over a third of all space-related National Guardsmen and their families. Our highly skilled workforce, battle-tested operations, and secure infrastructure is the ideal home for U.S. Space Command and space-related operations."

Colorado's political leaders, who don't always agree on major issues, have approached the fight to keep Space Command in the state as a nonpartisan battle that united Republicans and Democrats alike.

Republican U.S. Rep. Ken Buck of Windsor highlighted the bipartisan push to keep Space Command in Colorado.

"Our entire congressional delegation, both Republicans and Democrats, have worked together for years to achieve this important result," Buck said in a statement. "Colorado already has the pre-existing infrastructure, first-rate work force, private-sector support and communication platforms necessary to provide for our national security mission in space.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse of Lafayette said Colorado has "the ideal ecosystem" for supporting the command headquarters.

"Our state is home to the nations leading scientific laboratories and research institutions  in fact, it has the highest concentration of federal research labs outside of the Washington D.C. area," Neguse said in a statement. "In addition, Colorado also has the second-largest aerospace economy and an aerospace workforce that has grown by 30% over the last five years. Put simply, this decision puts our national security, innovation, and the service members and civilians who serve at Space Command, first."

Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Silt said in a release that Colorado was Space Command's "rightful home," noting that she worked across the aisle with the rest of the delegation to "set politics aside and put Colorado first."

"When Russia and China are developing lasers to destroy U.S. satellites, we should not be wasting time considering moving Space Commands headquarters for political reasons," Boebert said.

 Gazette reporter Mary Shinn contributed

Editor's' note: This developing story has been updated.
Space Command is a combatant command established in 2019 that employs about 1,200 people from across the military services to provide deterrence in space and if necessary to defend U.S. space assets.

It is separate from Space Force, the newest military branch.

The Air Force on Monday decided that U.S. Space Command's permanent headquarters will remain in Colorado Springs instead of moving to Huntsville, Ala.

The long-awaited decision caps more than two years of wrangling by officials from both states after former President Donald Trump announced in the final days of his administration that the command's headquarters would move to Alabama.

Colorado lawmakers and others in state government urged the Biden administration to reconsider the move, maintaining the base should stay at its temporary home at Peterson Space Force base in Colorado Springs for national security and fiscal reasons.

In its lengthy review, the Air Force agreed, citing the the ability to reach full operational capacity faster at the Colorado location.

U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, a Colorado Democrat who has advocated for keeping the headquarters in the Pikes Peak region, applauded the news.

For two and a half years weve known any objective analysis of this basing decision would reach the same conclusion we did, that Peterson Space Force Base is the best home for Space Command," Hickenlooper said in a statement.

After two investigations and rigorous review by the Department of Defense, the administration has made the decision thats in our countrys best interest."

He added that the decision "firmly rejects" the notion that political considerations should outweigh national security concerns. More Space Command history:

Sept. 1, 1982

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Air Force Space Command is formed in Colorado Springs to oversee the service's missions in orbit.

Sept. 23, 1985

U.S. Space Command is formed in Colorado Springs to oversee all military operations in space.

Sept. 26, 1985

Falcon Air Force Base opens on the plains east of Colorado Springs. It is the military's first based dedicated to controlling satellites.

Aug. 2, 1990

Iraqi troops invade Kuwait, kicking off what would become the Persian Gulf War. It's the first war that saw American troops rely on satellites for communication, navigation and reconnaissance, services provided by airmen in Colorado Springs.

Oct. 1, 2002

U.S. Space Command is shuttered as part of post Cold War downsizing at the Pentagon. While oversight of space missions is passed to U.S. Strategic Command in Omaha, Neb., few troops actually leave Colorado Springs, since most of the work stays with Air Force Space Command here.

Aug. 13, 2018

Congress approves a measure reestablishing U.S. Space Command, kicking off a process to determine where it will be housed.
A suspect accused of shooting and killing a man and a dog in Pueblo has been arrested in New Mexico, the Pueblo Police Department reported Monday.

Just before 10 p.m. Saturday, police received a report of a shooting at a home in the 1000 block of Berkley Avenue, just east of the Colorado State Fairgrounds. Officers found a deceased adult male and a "wounded dog" on scene, police said.

The dog was later "humanely put down" due to the severity of its injuries, Gazette news partner KKTV reported.

Around 11:10 a.m. Monday, police announced in a social media post that the homicide suspect has been arrested in Las Vegas, N.M. for an "unrelated" crime. The suspect's identity was not released.

The victim's name will be released by the Pueblo County Coroner when next-of-kin have been notified, police said.
If a firearm is involved in a crime, local law enforcement agencies will ask the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to trace the origins of the gun.

Every day, the ATF gets around 1,800 trace requests from across the country. This week, Im checking in with the ATFs National Tracing Center.

"A firearm trace means essentially that once a firearm is recovered as part of a criminal investigation by law enforcement, they can submit that firearm based on the markings, the serial number, the manufacturer  all the identifying markings of a firearm  to us here at the ATF National Tracing Center, said Neil Troppman, with the National Tracing Center.

"What we do is piece together the chain of distribution of the firearm from when it was either manufactured or imported by a licensed importer, through the wholesaler, and down to the retailer dealer, to try and identify the first non-licensed retail purchaser of the firearm.

"One thing to point out: When we do receive a firearm trace, it depends on whether or not the dealer is still in business. What we're talking about is manufacturers, importers, wholesalers and retail dealers, of which there are about 80,000 of those who are actively in business throughout the United States, he added.

If those dealers that came into contact with the firearm that's being traced are still in business, we contact them directly because they maintain their own records.

"However, there are over 7,000 dealers that have gone out of business. Once that happens, they are required to submit their out-of-business records to us here at the ATF National Tracing Center. We do process those records, and we scan them in a non-searchable format. Essentially, we're looking at digital images of pieces of paper, as opposed to actual hard copy pieces of paper in a filing cabinet."

Troppman explained why the documents are not searchable.

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"That actually is in accordance with the federal law that prohibits us from establishing any sort of database of gun owners, or any sort of national registry. Contrary to what some might think is the case, we do have those out-of-business records here at the ATF out-of-business repository, but not in any sort of searchable format or registry format, said Troppman.

We're still conducting a very manual process of looking through records one at a time, much as you would look through pieces of paper one at a time, to identify the serial number of the firearm that's being traced so we can identify that first purchaser."

The experts explain how a trace is helpful to an investigation involving violent crimes.

"In some cases, the purchaser of the firearm may in fact be the suspect in the investigation. Other times, that is not the case, and the firearm may have changed hands once or multiple times, from the time it was purchased at retail to when it was recovered at the scene of a crime. But at least we're able to give some sort of investigative lead back to law enforcement so they can make that determination, said Troppman.

If it's not the purchaser, at least that will give them some sort of starting point to connect those dots to see how the firearm went from presumably a legal sale from a federal crimes licensee to being used in a violent crime."

ATF is the only law enforcement agency that has congressional authority to trace firearms. If there is a mass shooting, ATF prioritize the investigation.

If you're seeing a mass shooting on TV, you can believe that we're already on the phone with investigators on the scene and we're already working those traces, those firearms that were recovered from that event, said Troppman.

"The turnaround time on a firearms trace request is about seven days currently. We do have what's called an urgent trace request. If it's a high-profile shooting ... our goal to get that done is within 24 hours," said Troppman. "Last year we did receive over 623,000 firearms trace requests, which is more than any time in our history." You can find more information at ATF.gov.

Also, a quick warning from the FBI about scam calls making the rounds. Victims have lost $900 to $13,000. The FBI said the crooks are spoofing the number to make the Caller ID look like the call is coming from the FBI Colorado Springs office main number, but it's not really the FBI.

The caller says your identity or bank accounts were compromised and they claim you need to pay them right away with gift cards or cryptocurrency. That's a red flag. Law enforcement will never call you and ask for gift cards. Hang up and call the FBI using a trusted number. If you are the victim of this scam, report it to the FBI.
(Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had asked Coinbase to stop trading in all cryptocurrencies except bitcoin before suing the cryptocurrency platform in June, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing CEO Brian Armstrong.

"We really didn't have a choice at that point. Delisting every asset other than bitcoin, which by the way is not what the law says, would have essentially meant the end of the crypto industry in the U.S.," Armstrong told the FT.

"It kind of made it an easy choice ... let's go to court and find out what the court says," he added.

The SEC had accused Coinbase of operating illegally because it failed to register as an exchange. It also alleged that Coinbase traded at least 13 crypto assets that are securities that should have been registered, including tokens such as Solana, Cardano and Polygon.

The SEC told the FT that its enforcement division did not make formal requests for "companies to delist crypto assets".

"In the course of an investigation, the staff may share its own view as to what conduct may raise questions for the commission under the securities laws," FT said, citing the SEC.

In response to the FT report, a Coinbase spokesperson said the SEC had never shared a position that all assets other than bitcoin were securities, and that staff don't make formal requests such as the one implied by the article without a vote of the full commission.

"We continue our discussions with the Commission, but believe that transparent and fair rulemaking and Congressional action represent the best path forward for American crypto users and the companies building the cryptoeconomy in the US," the spokesperson added.

The regulator sued Binance in June, with both civil cases part of SEC Chair Gary Gensler's push to assert jurisdiction over the crypto industry.

Gensler has labeled the crypto industry a "Wild West" that has undermined investor trust in the U.S. capital markets. Crypto companies say the SEC rules are unclear, and that the agency is overreaching by trying to regulate them.

The SEC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the report.

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh and Rishabh Jaiswal; Editing by Sonia Cheema, Savio D'Souza and Anil D'Silva)
By Boureima Balima and Abdel-Kader Mazou

NIAMEY (Reuters) -The junta that seized power in Niger last week detained senior politicians on Monday, their party said, defying international calls to restore democratic rule, while fellow military rulers in West Africa expressed their support.

The overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum has sent shockwaves across West Africa, pitting Niger's former Western allies against the likes of Russia and other junta leaders in the region.

The African Union, the U.N., the European Union and other powers have condemned the overthrow of President Mohamed Bazoum - the seventh military takeover in less than three years in West and Central Africa that has undermined democratic progress in one of the world's poorest regions.

Regional bloc ECOWAS has imposed sanctions, including a halt in all financial transactions and a national assets freeze, and said it could authorise force to reinstate Bazoum, who is still locked in his palace.

But the juntas of neighbouring Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea all voiced their support for the coup's leaders on Monday.

"Mali and Burkina Faso warn that any military intervention in Niger will be considered as a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali," said a joint statement read on both countries' national broadcasters.

Niger's junta on Monday arrested the ousted government's mines minister, the head of the ruling party and the oil minister, among others.

Meanwhile, a United States official on Monday said the coup had not been fully successful and that there was still an opportunity to reinstate Bazoum. France and Germany echoed those comments.

RUSSIAN FLAGS

Last Wednesday's coup has raised fears for the security of the Sahel region. Niger is the world's seventh-biggest producer of uranium, the radioactive metal widely used for nuclear energy and treating cancer.

The United States, former colonial power France and other Western states have troops in Niger and had been working with the government to overcome an Islamist insurgency by groups linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda.

But attacks on civilians and soldiers persist, fomenting discontent and straining relations with Western powers.

There have been four takeovers in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso during the last two years, all of which have come amid frustrations about growing insecurity. Both countries have turned increasingly towards Russia as an ally.

The coup leaders, who have named General Abdourahamane Tiani, the former presidential guard chief, as head of state, said they overthrew Bazoum over poor governance and discontent with the way he handled the Islamist threat.

On Sunday, supporters of the junta burned French flags and attacked the French embassy in Niger's capital, Niamey, prompting police to fire volleys of tear gas in response.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, last week welcomed the coup in Niger, and said his forces were available to restore order.

The Kremlin said on Monday that the situation in Niger was "cause for serious concern" and called for a swift return to constitutional order.

ECONOMIC PINCH

ECOWAS appears to have taken a tougher stance towards Niger than its junta-led neighbours, which have been sanctioned but never threatened with force.

Both the EU and France have backed the bloc's response suspended their own financial support, while the U.S. has threatened to do so.

"The EU and Niger share deep ties developed over decades. The unacceptable attack on the democratically elected government puts these ties in jeopardy," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

After days of turmoil, the International Monetary Fund said it was closely monitoring developments in Niger. But the IMF has not yet taken any specific actions in response to the coup.

It has yet to disburse a $131.5 million loan to Niger that was approved on July 5, it added.

The regional central bank has meanwhile cancelled Niger's planned 30 billion CFA ($51 million) bond issuance, scheduled for Monday in the West African regional debt market, following sanctions, sources said.

(Reporting by Boureima Balima and Abdel-Kader Mazou; Additional reporting by Anait Miridzhanian, Bate Felix, Fadimata Kontao, Thiam Ndiaga; Writing by Nellie Peyton and Sofia Christensen; Editing by Alexander Winning, Bernadette Baum, Andrew Heavens, Nick Macfie and Gerry Doyle)
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's national security adviser on Monday said the road to normalising ties with Saudi Arabia was "still long" while members of his hard-right cabinet ruled out concessions to Palestinians as part of any deal.

U.S. officials have sought for months to reach what would be a historic agreement that Netanyahu has said would be a huge step toward ending the Arab-Israeli conflict but that Riyadh has signalled would rest on Palestinian statehood.

U.S. President Joe Biden last week dispatched his national security adviser to Riyadh to discuss a possible deal, and on Friday said a rapprochement was "maybe under way".

"I can identify with what the United States president said in an interview a few days ago, where he said that the road is still long but that he thinks there will be a possibility of progress," national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told public broadcaster Kan, adding that Israel is not involved in the U.S.-Saudi discussions.

"I can say that Israel will not give in to anything that will erode its security," he added.

Asked whether this included Riyadh establishing a civilian nuclear programme on its soil, he said that for that, Israel's consent was not needed.

"Dozens of countries operate projects with civilian nuclear cores, and with nuclear endeavours for energy, this is not something that endangers them nor their neighbours."

PALESTINIAN CONCESSIONS

The idea of Israel and Saudi Arabia formally cementing ties has been under discussion since the Saudis gave their quiet assent to Gulf neighbours United Arab Emirates and Bahrain establishing ties with Israel in 2020.

"Israel is the closest it has ever been to a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia," Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on the Channel 12 evening news broadcast, adding that he expects a deal to be announced by next March before the November 2024 U.S. elections.

But on Monday a member of a party in Netanyahu's hard-right government rejected any concessions toward the Palestinians as part of a pact.

"We certainly won't agree to such a thing," National Missions Minister Orit Strock told Kan.

"We are done with withdrawals. We are done with freezing settlements in Judea and Samaria," Strock said, using the biblical term for the West Bank.

The Palestinians want to establish an independent state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, among territories Israel occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.

Though it was unclear whether Strock was speaking on behalf of her entire party, such a position would pose a political obstacle for Netanyahu, who has cast the normalisation of ties with Saudi Arabia as a major foreign policy goal.

Her remarks were echoed by the head of another government member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir who heads the far-right Jewish Power party. He told Army Radio that he has nothing against diplomatic deals with Arab countries.

"But if this deal includes concessions to the (Palestinian) Authority, handing over territory, arming the Authority or giving ... terrorists power then I surely object."

U.S.-Israel ties have been strained in recent months by the government's expansion of Jewish settlements on land that the Palestinians seek for a state and by contentious judicial changes pursued by Netanyahu's nationalist-religious coalition.

Citing previous deals with Arab neighbours, foreign minister Cohen said the Israeli government's policies on the Palestinians were "not an obstacle to peace".

(Reporting by Maayan Lubell and Ari Rabinovitch; Additional reporting by Henriette Chacar; Editing by Conor Humphries and Grant McCool)
By Mykhailo Moskalenko

KRYVYI RIH, Ukraine (Reuters) -A Russian missile strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Monday killed at least six people, including a 10-year-old girl and her mother, and wounded dozens of others, Ukrainian officials said.

A video posted by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy showed smoke billowing from a gaping hole smashed in the side of a nine-storey residential building, and another four-storey building almost levelled.

"It's already six dead in Kryvyi Rih," regional governor Serhiy Lysak wrote on Telegram, announcing a day of mourning in the city. Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said a 10-year-old girl and her 45-year-old mother were among the dead.

Ievhenia, a city resident, said two missiles flew over her home just before 9 a.m. and she rushed to the scene of the impact after her friend who lives nearby called her.

"What we saw was pure horror, committed by the Russians... They hit a residential building, and her block is just next to it, so everything in their flat was ruined," she said.

Lysak said 75 people had been wounded, including six children aged from four to 17-years-old. Nearly 150 of the building's residents managed to get out by themselves and 30 were helped out by rescuers, he added.

"Think about it, how many people!!! And they launched a missile at them," he said.

Vasyl, a resident whose home was damaged in the strike, said he had moved to Kryvyi Rih from the frontline region of Kherson in the south.

"I don't know how I'll fix the windows. I'm an internally displaced person from Kherson region, and I came here, and the same things are starting to happen."

Zelenskiy, who grew up in the steel-producing city with a pre-war population of more than 600,000, said the strikes had hit a residential building and a university building.

"This terror will not frighten us or break us. We are working and saving our people," he said on Telegram.

More than 350 rescuers were involved in an operation to save people trapped under the rubble, Zelenskiy said.

Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said the attack appeared to have been carried out with ballistic missiles.

"This is already a kind of genocidal everyday reality... Kryvyi Rih," Zelenskiy's adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"International law will never work if the aggressor does not see a real power behind it. The power begins with closing the Ukrainian skies with missile defense and air defense systems," he said.

The West has supplied sophisticated air defence systems that have largely protected places like the capital Kyiv from wave after wave of attacks.

The sheer size of Ukraine makes it hard to ensure the same level of defences across the country, and ballistic missiles are also particularly difficult to shoot down.

Kherson, now a frontline city in southern Ukraine after being liberated from Russian forces in November, was struck at least twice.

An early morning rocket attack killed a 60-year-old utility worker and wounded four others as they were out on the street doing their jobs, the regional military administration said.

A 65-year-old man driving his car was badly wounded in the second strike and died as an acquaintance tried to rush him to hospital, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram.

The regional prosecutor's office said that at least 10 civilians were wounded.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Anna Pruchnicka; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Alex Richardson, Kevin Liffey, Philippa Fletcher)
North Carolina law enforcement officials are asking for the public's help to identify and locate the driver of a black SUV, who, officers believe, intentionally drove into a group of immigrant workers, leaving a number of people hospitalized.

In a statement from the Lincolnton Police Department Sunday, "at approximately 1:17PM, an Assault with a Vehicle occurred at Walmart located at 306 North Generals Blvd, Lincolnton, NC." Lincoln is located about 30 minutes from Charlotte, the biggest city in the state.

HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATION: WHY THE DEVON ARCHER TESTIMONY IS SO IMPORTANT

"Six migrant workers were hit in what appears to be an intentional assault with a vehicle. All six were transported to Atrium Health  Lincoln with various injuries. None of the injuries appear to be life threatening."

The statement also provided a description of the suspect's vehicle described as, "an older model mid-size black Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) with a luggage rack."

Officers also advised the public that the driver of the vehicle is believed to be an older white male.

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CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Lincoln police said their investigation into a potential motive is ongoing.

The department has also provided information for anyone who may have details regarding the incident, urging the public to contact the Lincolnton Police Department at (704)-736-8900 and ask to speak to Detective M. Diallo, who is the lead investigator in this case.

Original Location: North Carolina police search for driver believed to have intentionally driven into 6 immigrant workers at Walmart

Washington Examiner Videos
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who has previously threatened the use of a nuclear attack, said on Sunday that Moscow would have to launch one if Kyiv's counteroffensive is successful.

Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, a body chaired by President Vladimir Putin, suggested on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that Moscow may need to use a nuclear weapon if Ukraine is able to take back territory currently under Russian occupation.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES TEST HOW FAR THEY CAN GO IN CRITICIZING TRUMP

"Just imagine that the NATO-supported ukrobanderovtsy's offensive turned out successful, and they took away a part of our land," Medvedev posted, referring to followers of Stepan Bandera, a nationalist leader who waged a violent campaign for Ukrainian independence in the 1930s and 1940s. "Then we would have to ... use the nuclear weapon. There would simply be no other way out. That's why our enemies must worship our warriors. They are keeping global nuclear fire from flaring up."

Russia's nuclear doctrine is that nuclear weapons can be used in response to aggression against Russia carried out using conventional weapons that threatens the existence of the country.

Medvedev has frequently issued threatening comments over the course of the war, including calling for an "inhumane" response following a Ukrainian attack on the Kerch Bridge in Crimea and the assassination of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

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His remarks on Sunday came after days of a more forceful counterattack from Ukrainian forces, who had been preserving some capabilities and weapons until now. This month, as well, Russia has thwarted a handful of strikes and attacks within Russian territory, which they blame on Ukraine, highlighting a potential new phase of the conflict.

"Ukraine is getting stronger. Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia  to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural, and absolutely fair process," Zelensky said on Sunday night.

Original Location: Russia's Medvedev threatens nuclear attack if Ukrainian counteroffensive successful

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2024 Republican presidential candidate Will Hurd said he "expected" for people to dislike his criticism of former President Donald Trump during a speech he made on Friday, though he also noted that he wasn't expected to receive applause from other audience members.

Hurd, a former Texas Congressman, has been one of the most vocal critics of the former president among his fellow primary candidates. He stated during the recent Lincoln Day Dinner that Trump was only running for president in 2024 "to stay out of prison," eliciting boos from some event-goers.

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES TEST HOW FAR THEY CAN GO IN CRITICIZING TRUMP

"Of course, it was as expected," said Hurd during an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press. "I knew there were going to be people that didn't like it, but what I didn't expect was there were a lot of people that actually clapped, and then there were more people that just sat there politely and probably understand and knew what I was saying was the truth."

Hurd added that the goal of his speech was, "to talk to the people that believe in personal responsibility," and to the people who believe the United States, "has a role in the world."

"Those were the people that I was going to speak to, and also to prove to the rest of the field that we're running for an election, and if you're afraid to talk about Donald Trump or talk about his baggage, then you're not ready to be president of the United States."

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The former Congressman is one of two Republicans in the 2024 presidential race who have been the biggest critics of Trump  the other being former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Earlier this month, Christie call Trump "a liar and a coward" over Trump calling his indictment a "badge of honor."

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

A Monmouth University poll, released Tuesday, showed a combined 69% of Republican voters think Trump is the strongest nominee to compete with President Joe Biden, with the number being divided between 45% who voted "definitely strongest," and 24% who chose "probably strongest."

When pitted head to head with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in the same poll, Trump came out on top at 55% support from GOP voters, while DeSantis got 35%.

Original Location: Will Hurd says he 'expected' to get booed during Lincoln Day Dinner over Trump comments

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A part-time county court judge can also work a second job as a prosecutor outside of his jurisdiction, the Colorado Supreme Court's ethics panel concluded last week.

The Colorado Judicial Ethics Advisory Board, which consists of lawyers, judges and non-attorneys, responded to a question from an unnamed judge who realized the prosecutor appearing in front of them was a part-time county court judge in a neighboring judicial district.

The judge who submitted the question elaborated that county court judges are able to send messages to their counterparts across the entire state to ask for feedback. The judge was concerned the part-time prosecutor, part-time judge would see messages about his current case or his district attorney's office and receive information he was not normally entitled to.

"Defense counsel in the case is concerned about the part-time prosecutors ability to access private or advantageous information relating to the matter as well as the appearance of impropriety given the access to such nonpublic information," the ethics panel summarized in its July 25 opinion.

The panel noted the Code of Judicial Conduct precludes part-time judges from practicing law in the same jurisdiction where they preside. Other states have similar provisions in their judicial codes.

"The prohibition does not extend to other judicial districts  only the judicial district on which the judge serves," the advisory board wrote. "Based on the language of the Code, the part-time judge may serve as a part-time prosecutor in a different judicial district."

The panel explained the prohibition's purpose is to avoid the appearance that a judge is receiving "preferential treatment" when they appear as an attorney in front of their colleagues.

"The concern with preferential treatment given to judges appearing as attorneys in the same judicial district does not exist when a judge serves in one district and appears as an attorney in another," the opinion concluded.

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The panel added that the part-time prosecutor, part-time judge may not use any information for his personal gain that is "unavailable to the public," which he acquired through his status as a judge.

Anne K. Woods, a former La Plata County Court judge, was skeptical of the advisory board's reasoning. She worried about the decreased confidence the public might have in the judiciary if some judges simultaneously took on advocacy roles. Woods pointed out that judges are often held in "special stature," and their status is not erased when a judge steps off the bench.

"The practice also too easily lends itself to actual impropriety and to abuse of the prestige of judicial office. What happens when, during aggressive negotiations in a case, the lawyer blurts out, 'You shouldn't talk to a judge like that?'" Woods wondered. "It doesn't matter that the lawyer is a judge in a different place in the state."

Tom Raynes, executive director of the Colorado District Attorneys Council, told Colorado Politics he was unaware of the advisory opinion, but found it to be "well reasoned and practical."

"It is also clear and appropriate that the analysis would apply to any part-time judge acting as a defense attorney or as a part-time public defender in another jurisdiction," he said.

The Colorado Criminal Defense Bar and the union representing public defenders did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with additional commentary.
A federal judge last month dismissed a woman's latest attempt to challenge her 2014 foreclosure in state court, finding the Colorado Supreme Court could not be sued for issuing the procedural rules that affected her case.

U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney also dismissed Holly MacIntyre's claim against JPMorgan Chase Bank, which the company called a "never-ending string of failed attempts to relitigate" the original foreclosure. To date, MacIntyre has brought her cause before Colorado's federal trial court and appellate court, and Colorado's state trial and appellate courts  to no avail.

MacIntyre owned property in Arvada, but JPMorgan Chase obtained a foreclosure judgment against her in 2014. MacIntyre attempted to halt the proceedings, including by filing a lawsuit against the state Supreme Court, but her property was sold in January 2016.

MacIntyre then mounted procedural challenges to the foreclosure in various venues, including in federal court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit ruled against MacIntyre three times.

Nevertheless, she persisted in filing another lawsuit against the Colorado Supreme Court, alleging it created an unconstitutional procedural rule by requiring losing parties to post monetary bond on appeal to prevent a judgment from taking effect. She also claimed JPMorgan Chase violated her rights because it was so intertwined with Colorado's state court system that it was a government actor itself.

In April, U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews recommended dismissing MacIntyre's lawsuit, reasoning that the Supreme Court's rulemaking power amounted to an act of legislation. Therefore, the court was entitled to the immunity afforded to legislators in their official duties.

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Sweeney, the district judge, agreed.

Crews "correctly observed that the Colorado Supreme Court, by and through the Justices, had exercised its 'legislative' power under the Colorado Constitution" when it issued the procedural rules governing appeals, she wrote on June 28.

As for JPMorgan Chase, Sweeney also agreed that merely pursuing a foreclosure in state courts did not render it a government actor who could be sued for violating MacIntyre's rights.

Two weeks after Sweeney's decision, MacIntyre filed yet another complaint against the Supreme Court and JPMorgan Chase in federal court. It is largely identical to her other unsuccessful lawsuit.

At the same time she rejected MacIntyre's claims, Sweeney also distanced herself from a 1985 ruling by a different federal judge in Colorado. Then-U.S. District Court Judge John C. Porfilio believed he could review the constitutionality of a state Supreme Court rule because asking state judges to evaluate the Supreme Court's procedures would be "an apparent exercise in futility."

"This was error, since the state courts indisputably have jurisdiction to hear challenges to the Colorado Supreme Courts rules," Sweeney wrote.
Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics' roundup of news from the third branch of government.

The newest member of Colorado's U.S. District Court held his swearing-in ceremony last week, and the state Supreme Court interrupted its summer break to announce several cases it will hear.

A Western Slope representative on the bench

 Although Gordon P. Gallagher is not the first Western Slope resident to serve as a district judge on Colorado's federal trial court, he is the first to actually have his duty station be located on the Western Slope. Gallagher, who the U.S. Senate confirmed in March, held his formal swearing-in ceremony on Friday in Denver.

 "We do come to our life and work with the experiences of where we live and what we do and who were around on a daily basis. And that informs how we approach a myriad of issues," said Gallagher, thanking his colleagues for permitting him to stay in his hometown of Grand Junction, where he was a magistrate judge and part-time defense attorney for years.

 To date, President Joe Biden has appointed a majority of the seven-member court under the guidance of U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper. Each of the appointees has been a "first" in some way, but Gallagher was the first geographical first.

 And the turnover isn't finished. In the near term, U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews is awaiting a Senate vote to be confirmed as a district judge. If successful, his seat as a magistrate judge will need filling. Also, Gallagher's own former job as a magistrate judge is open. Finally, U.S. Magistrate Judge Kristen L. Mix is retiring at the end of this week. Her successor, Kathryn Starnella, is on deck to take office next week.

Supreme Court business

 Although the Colorado Supreme Court is on break from hearing appeals and issuing decisions over the summer, the justices did announce in mid-July that they will hear several cases. Those involve 1.) whether a prosecutor's explanation for removing a juror of color must have some evidence to back it up, 2.) whether the "Make My Day" home defense law can be used to justify reckless behavior, 3.) whether a man's right to familial association was violated in light of his sex offender status and 4.) what are the rules for investigating postconviction claims?

Heard on appeal

 The state's Court of Appeals overturned an Eagle County sex assault conviction because the judge allowed a witness to give improper testimony, with some potential prosecutorial misconduct as well.

 Tenants who want to sue their landlords over uninhabitable conditions must follow the requirements of state law exactly, the Court of Appeals ruled by 2-1 in throwing out a renter's lawsuit.

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 Criminal defendants who are not competent to stand trial and are subject to forcible medication proceedings have a right to receive effective assistance of counsel.

 An Adams County judge appeared to lengthen a man's sentence by five years simply because the defendant did not say the words "I'm sorry." By 2-1, the Court of Appeals upheld the decision.

 A Denver judge did not unfairly restrict the evidence jurors could hear in a lawsuit over Planned Parenthood's liability for a 2015 mass shooting at its Colorado Springs clinic.

In federal news

 A trio of Gunnison landlords has not complied with their obligation to take certain nondiscrimination measures in the wake of allegations that they discouraged families with children from renting. Now, a judge has set a hearing for next month to determine whether to fine them or potentially jail them.

 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit agreed the Colorado Supreme Court didn't engage in discriminatory hiring when it chose a younger, White woman for a staff attorney position over an older, Black applicant.

 A federal judge refused to dismiss an excessive force lawsuit against a Pueblo County deputy who shot and killed a man for accidentally getting into the wrong car in a middle school parking lot.

Vacancies and appointments

 Biden has nominated federal public defender Richard E.N. Federico to fill a Kansas-based vacancy on the 10th Circuit. Federico would be the second public defender if confirmed, following Judge Veronica S. Rossman of Colorado, who was Biden's first appointee to the Denver-based circuit court.

Miscellaneous proceedings

 An El Paso County judge has ordered greater transparency for construction contracts and public improvements in a Colorado Springs business improvement district.

 A lawsuit is challenging the practice of Democratic lawmakers in the General Assembly of taking non-public votes when deciding how to dispense with spending proposals.
A Minnesota man was injured Saturday after the motorcycle he was driving collided with a pickup truck.

According to a release from the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff's Office, 58-year-old Jim Royer of Austin was injured while driving eastbound on 265th Street around 4:42 p.m. when a 2010 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Brice Cody, 21, of Mason City, pulled out from a stop sign on Jonquil Avenue and collided with Royer.

Royer was thrown from the motorcycle and transported for his injuries to MercyOne North Iowa by the Clear Lake Fire Department. The release states Royer was wearing a helmet, which is credited with preventing major injuries.

Cody was cited for failure to obey a stop sign and failing to yield the right of way.

Mason City Police also assisted at the scene.

Celebrity Birthdays: July 31 B.J. Novak Bill Berry Dean Cain Dirk Blocker Eve Best Evgeni Malkin Evonne Goolagong Cawley Lil Uzi Vert Mark Cuban Rico Rodriguez Sherry Lansing Wesley Snipes Zac Brown
A newly declared national monument honoring the life and story of Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, is being talked about in the context of current events. Understandable, considering that the spirit that tried to oppress them is still a force in American politics and life. Just look to Floridas governor, Ron DeSantis.

This week DeSantis cut a third of his campaign staff  the second round of layoffs this month  as it seems fundraising has slowed since he launched his bid in late May. Its the latest disappointment for a candidate who has spent the last two years trying to woo Donald Trump voters with extreme legislation like the Dont Say Gay bill and a war on diversity at state colleges. Unfortunately for him, Trump voters still prefer Trump, indictments and all. Not to mention that when it comes to pressing flesh on the trail, DeSantis is about as charismatic as a splinter.

But while he continues to lose ground because people are getting to know him better, I would like to remind the nation that he told us exactly who he was the first time he ran for governor, back in 2018. Less than 24 hours after his Democratic opponent, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, became the first Black nominee for governor, DeSantis went on Fox News to tell voters not to monkey this up. Sounds like the kind of dog whistle Southern politicians were tossing around in 1955, when 14-year-old Emmett was kidnapped, tortured and killed by white supremacists in Mississippi.

A spokesperson would later say DeSantis monkey remark was solely about the states economy and to characterize it as anything else is absurd, a statement that of course is absurd. But then again, so is his latest attempt to rebrand slavery as some sort of trade school. Thanks to his desperation to out-Trump the real Donald Trump, Floridas new curriculum will teach middle school children that slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.

Of course DeSantis, a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School, knows better than to suggest enslavement had its benefits. But in his pursuit of power, he has decided to forget that world-class education and instead execute his favorite parlor trick: gaslighting. When he performed it nearly five years ago, pretending his use of monkey in reference to Gillum had nothing to do with race, we all knew what he was doing then.

And we know what he is doing now.

Its a fresh reminder of the importance of declaring a national monument for three sites associated with Emmett and his mother. Just so were clear, though: President Bidens decision to honor these two Americans shouldnt be seen as a response to DeSantis rhetoric. Their story is far too big to share space with a man so small.

We cant just choose to learn what we want to know, Biden said Tuesday after signing the proclamation. We have to learn what we should know. We should know about our country. We should know everything: the good, the bad, the truth of who we are as a nation. Thats what great nations do, and we are a great nation.

That we are.

And this country has Till-Mobley to thank for that. She chose to have an open casket at Emmetts funeral to show the world how he had been mutilated. The image galvanized the civil rights movement.

During the 1940s, more than 50 lynchings had been recorded, six of them in Mississippi, where her son was murdered. In 1941, the year her son was born, James Oliver Eastland was appointed to the Senate to fill a vacancy. As a senator seven years later, Eastland successfully led a campaign to block a federal anti-lynching bill. In fact for nearly 40 years, voters in Mississippi sent Eastland to Washington to fight against civil rights, and he didnt disappoint. As the nations attitude toward race began changing after Emmetts funeral, Eastland leaked the confidential Army record of Louis Till, ex-husband of Till-Mobley. He had been convicted of rape and hanged in Italy when their son was 3.

Just a spiteful act from a small man who used to go by the name Big Jim on the Hill. Over the course of his career, Eastland served as the acting vice president twice because of vacancy. Thats how influential he was in Washington. Thats the kind of firepower wielded by the folks who tried to shut down Mamie Till-Mobley  and failed. She remains an icon for civil rights, even decades after her death in 2003.

There have always been small men like DeSantis.

But there havent always been giants like Till-Mobley.

Honoring her and her son Emmett should not be spoken about as a response to the current political environment. Instead we should think about it for what it truly is: a long-overdue honor.
Roche Diagnostics India announced the launch of the Elecsys HCV Duo which is Indias first commercially available fully automated immunoassay that allows simultaneous and independent determination of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) antigen and antibody status from a single human plasma or serum sample. This means that the test can be used to detect the early stage of infection, as well as when the patient is recovering from the virus, or even during chronic infection. Viral hepatitis is increasingly being recognized as a public health problem in India.As per the National Viral Hepatitis Control Program (NVHCP), Anti-Hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody prevalence in the general population of India is estimated to be between 0.09-15%. There are about 12-13 million HCV carriers and modeling data predict that the disease burden could soon increase substantially. The paradox is that only 19% of those living with HCV chronic infection know their diagnosis and only 30% of those diagnosed get started on treatment. Those with early onset of the disease are unaware of their medical condition. Hence, there is a major gap in the diagnosis and treatment.Moreover, acute hepatitis C is often asymptomatic and antibodies are often absent in the early infection phase, appearing only after 6-13 weeks. 2-3 Strategies relying on HCV antibody tests as the first line diagnostic test thus, may lead to underdiagnosis in populations with ongoing transmission. Detection of HCV core antigen is thus a means to shorten the diagnostic window period and confirm active infection.By utilizing the dual detection of HCV core antigen and antibodies, the Elecsys HCV Duo assay enables significantly earlier (~3 weeks earlier)diagnosis of active hepatitis C virus infection compared to using antibody-only tests, as core antigen appears early in the course of infection and is a marker of ongoing viral replication. With improved hepatitis screening, India has the opportunity to reduce the burden of the disease through improved prevention, testing and treatment services.I am extremely happy to share that the launch of this innovative dual antigen and antibody diagnostic test underlines Roches commitment in reducing the impact of infectious diseases, where its needed most. The adoption of the Elecsys HCV Duo for patients will result in the reduction of the number of visits needed to take additional tests and can alleviate some of the testing load on the healthcare system, as Elecsys HCV Duo offers single specimen testing and simplifies the diagnostic algorithm which plays a crucial role in preventing patients loss to follow up and enabling linkage to care, says, Dr Sandeep Sewlikar, Head of Scientific and Medical Affair, Roche Diagnostics India. In 2018, European Association for Study of Liver (EASL) also recommended the HCV Core Antigen test as marker of HCV replication to diagnose acute and chronic HCV infection.
Theres something that comes over you when you see a herd of bison running through a sagebrush prairie. It takes you back thousands of years, stripping away centuries of colonialism and exploitation. It feels, simply, right.

Thats the idea behind North Bridger Bison, a ranch in the Shields Valley near Wilsall thats run by Matt and Sarah Skoglund. On their land, between the Bridger Mountains to the west and Crazy Mountains to the east, they raise the animals on a landscape bison have tread on for well over a millennia. Matt harvests all the bison himself, with a rifle shot to the head from 10 yards out.

The purpose, he explained, is twofold: One is to keep the animal from stressing, which negatively impacts the meat. The other is out of reverence to the animal, so it dies an honorable, respectful, instant death.

Skoglund explained this intimate process while there were about 200 people in his yard. They were attendees of a dining event held by Outstanding in the Field, put together on Saturday, July 15. The organization was established by Jim Denevan, a noted land artist whose specialty is creating massive, temporary works in natural settings, and letting them be slowly reclaimed by the earth. The decay is all part of the art.

Hes a fitting founder, because the land is also central to Outstanding in the Field (OITF). Diners are treated to a multi-course meal prepared by a local chef with local ingredients. Theyre served, quite literally, in a field, on a collection of tables that curve like a half moon. Food is dished up family style, one heaping platter for every eight patrons.

Denevan started OITF in 1999. Since then, its taken off. He estimates that theyre up to about 115 events a year. Theyve been to all 50 states and at least 16 other countries.

This was the second OITF event in Montana, after a dinner in Missoula about a decade ago. It sold out second fastest of their summer events, at a not insignificant price of $375 per person.

The founder himself was at the North Bridger Bison event. Denevan goes to about 70% of the OITF dinners, which is enough that hes picked up some tips over the years. He calls them intangibles.

One is that mosquitos cant find you, he contends, if the wind eclipses 11 miles per hour. And his background in land art has taught him that the best way to place the tables is so that it stretches towards the setting sun, while the kitchen should be in the east, away from the fading light.

Theres all kinds of behind the scenes stuff, he explained. You want people to be comfortable, and having an adventure.

An OITF dinner starts with appetizers, usually served a distance away from the tables. The North Bridger Bison meal was the same, beginning in the field that stands in for the Skoglunds front yard. Its gorgeous and unkempt, dogholed and uneven. At one point a prairie dog popped his little head up, as if he were miffed at the guests for taking over his spot. A tiny moment in a loud, expansive evening.

Against the old out-buildings sat a sort of open-faced teepee, filled with cushy chairs and leather couches. Next to an old barn, there was a trailer fitted with portable bathrooms. Inside they were lit up, with flushable toilets and running water. A bundle of sage hung over the john. Behind them a generator whirred, providing power for the porta-potties' air conditioning.

Guests wore a mixture of pleated linen pants and blue jeans, graphic tees and pearl snapped button downs. At the bar they were serving up beer from Bridger Brewing, wine from Mosier, Oregons Analemma Wines, and for the nonalcoholic folks, cold and crushable glasses of a Peruvian drink called chica morada, made from various spices and purple corn, which gives the drink its signature color. The napkins at the bar were held down with seashells, and there was bug repellant and sunscreen where a barkeep might keep maraschino cherries.

The first four of the meals nine courses were served as appetizers, including a boutonniere made of North Bridger Bison bresaola, a sort of air dried, salted meat, a soup made with Montana carp, an empanada of lamb, and, for the gastronomically brave, a tartare of bison heart and loin.

The chef at the North Bridger Bison dinner was Eduardo Garcia. The Bozeman-based chef is the co-founder of Montana Mex, a company that makes Mexican inspired salsas, spices and other sauces. Garcia, who is charming and charismatic, has stepped into the culinary celebrity universe as of late. Hes been a guest on Chopped, and hes the host of the Magnolia Network show Big Sky Kitchen with Eduardo Garcia.

He jumped at the opportunity to prepare the meal, because his company doesnt have a brick and mortar restaurant. His team has been pushing him to cook more.

This is me saying, all right, he said. Lets get out there more.

The planning process took about six months, and Matt Skoglund shared that the first phone call they had with OITF was in December, when it was 45 degrees below zero before wind-chill out on the Shields Valley plains.

But that oversimplifies it. Garcia noted that the meal prep truly began when the bison whose meat was used  dubbed Bison 331  was born. Matt Skoglund harvested the animal the morning of June 9, across the road from where appetizers were served. He field dressed the animal not far from where the dinner tables were set up.

The menu becomes a story of food, Garcia noted. I get to do my theater.

But the food is only half the story at these things. Theres community building as well, as strangers are forced to sit at the same table as people they dont know, sharing food off a communal dish.

After appetizers, the Skoglunds both led awaiting diners on a short walk around their property, explaining the process of biomimicry they employ with their bison, moving the animals around a set of pastures, like they would naturally do in the wild, never depleting the grass, but stamping in seeds and fertilizing as they eat.

The tables were in one of those pastures, which allowed views of the two mountain ranges you can see from the range.

Dee and Renee Cooper had traveled to Wilsall from Oklahoma. Renee described attending an OITF dinner as a bucket list thing, and said she and her husband were drawn by the prospect of visiting a bison ranch. They both grew up on ranches on the plains of Oklahoma, where bison once roamed by the millions.

At one table sat Carly Carmosino and Katie McGrath. Lifelong friends who have known each other since kindergarten, the pair meet up every year to attend an OITF dinner. This was Carmosinos fourth, and McGraths sixth. The former is from St. Louis, and the latter came in from near Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. They use these dinners as a chance to meet up, and as an excuse to travel. Theyd spent over a week in the area, glamping in West Yellowstone and taking in museums, zip lines, horseback rides, all the hits. Their last OITF dinner was in Ghana. That meal revolved around goat.

This one, of course, was all about the bison. The beast ran through most of the courses, which started with a creamy pate made of North Bridger Bison liver. Everything else served with that dish came from a 50-mile-or-so circle around Willsall, complete with oyster mushrooms from SporeAttic (a delightfully named fungal farm out of Bozeman), plum chutney from Feral Farm (Gallatin Gateway) and goat cheese from Amaltheia Dairy (Belgrade).

There was a salad with greens from Bozemans Chance Farm, and a dish of stewed watermelon radish from Whitehalls Sugar Beet Row that was served with North Bridger Bison bone broth and marrow butter.

The main course was a roast made of smoked and braised North Bridger Bison tongue, cheek, hump and chuck, shredded and served alongside potatoes from Bausch Farms in Whitehall.

There was also dessert, what they dubbed a pollinator affogato, with Highland Harmony Farm (Wilsall) honeycomb gelato rolled in Feral Farm dandelion root espresso.

After the meal, people mingled, gathering on a nearby hillside to gaze at the bison. The quiet murmur of conversation  as new friends shared skincare tips and swapped stories  rang in one end of the pasture, as the low rumble of bison rose up from the other.

Chef Garcia went around from table to table as the sun went down, chatting with each group, and always giving a shoutout to the cooks who joined him and made the whole thing possible. He said that he chose to make the main dish out of lesser cuts like chuck, tongue, cheek and hump to challenge himself, and to echo the burden that faces ranchers in this industry. The ribeyes and New York strips will always sell, but they might be stuck with tougher, harder to manage pieces.

The more we understand this, Garcia said, while grabbing a handful of sagebrush, the sweeter our meals will be.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana announced Monday that Akilah Maya Deernose will be its next executive director, beginning Sept. 4.

She will replace Caitlin Borgmann, who stepped down as executive director in February after serving in that capacity since 2015. ACLU of Montana officials said they conducted a nationwide search. The ACLU of Montana is a civil rights and civil liberties organization and is an affiliate of the national ACLU.

Currently the ACLU's senior staff attorney, Deernose will be the first Black woman, and first person who identifies as LGBTQ2S, to lead the organization in its 51-year history.

We couldnt be more thrilled to have a leader with Akilahs passion, vision, intelligence, and commitment to equity for all inside the organization and throughout the state taking the helm of the ACLU of Montana, Paul McKean, president of the ACLU of Montana board of directors, said in a news release.

As senior staff attorney, she has helped fight for the civil rights and liberties of Montanans in state and federal courts since 2021.

Her cases have included Marquez v. State of Montana, where she serves as lead counsel challenging Montanas discriminatory law making it near-impossible for transgender Montanans to amend their birth certificates, and van Garderen v. State of Montana, where she challenged a Montana statute denying medically necessary gender-affirming care to transgender youth.

Prior to joining the ACLU, Deernose was a staff attorney at the Montana Legal Services Association, where she provided legal aid and guidance to survivors of domestic violence.

Deernose was born in the East Bay area of California, and spent the first half of her childhood there, before moving to Tacoma, Washington.
GLENDALE, Ariz.  An Arizona teenager who disappeared days before her 15th birthday nearly four years ago is safe after walking into a small-town police station in Montana this week, authorities announced Wednesday.

Alicia Navarro, now 18, showed up alone Sunday morning in Havre, Montana, a city of 9,200 people about 40 miles from the Canadian border and identified herself to authorities there as the missing teenager from Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix, according to authorities.

Alicia appeared to be fine and in good health, the Havre Police Department said in a statement.

Her disappearance in 2019 sparked a massive search that included the FBI. Glendale police spokesperson Jose Santiago said over the years, police had received thousands of tips.

Her mother, Jessica Nunez, raised concerns that Navarro, who was diagnosed as high-functioning on the autism spectrum, may have been lured away by someone she met online.

She is by all accounts safe, she is by all accounts healthy, and she is by all accounts happy, Santiago said at a news conference.

Investigators were trying to determine what happened to Navarro after her disappearance at age 14 on Sept. 15, 2019. Montana is more than 1,000 miles from Arizona.

Police Lt. Scott Waite said they were investigating all the possible scenarios that could have led to Navarros disappearance, including kidnapping.

As much as wed like to say this is the end, Waite said, we know this is only the beginning of where this investigation will go.

Police said Navarro told them she hadn't been harmed, wasn't being held and could come and go as she pleased. She does not face criminal charges, they added.

In a short video clip that police said was taken shortly after Navarro arrived at the Montana police station this week, she can be heard telling authorities, No one hurt me. In another short video, Navarro thanked the police.

Thank you for offering help to me, she said.

When she disappeared from her home, Navarro left a signed note that read: I ran away. I will be back, I swear. Im sorry.

Waite described Navarro's reunion this week with her mother as emotionally overwhelming" and that Navarro said she was sorry for "what she has put her mother through.

Nunez confirmed that her daughter had been found but said she had no details.

I want to give glory to God for answering prayers and for this miracle, she said in a Facebook post.

For everyone who has missing loved ones, I want you to use this case as an example, she said. Miracles do exist. Never lose hope and always fight.

Different types of alerts and what they mean What exactly is a Silver Alert? What exactly is an AMBER Alert? What exactly is a Blue Alert? What exactly is an Ashanti Alert? What exactly is a Green Alert?
Drought-stricken Flathead and Lincoln counties earned natural disaster declarations from the federal government Monday, after increasingly dry conditions helped fuel wildfire growth over the weekend.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the declarations in a letter to Gov. Greg Gianforte. Requested by the governor last week, the move frees up emergency loans for farmers impacted by the drought.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the majority of Flathead County has been under an extreme drought since early May. That classification is associated with high levels of fire activity and fire danger, poor crop yields and quality and bone-dry soils.

The services last weekly update, released July 27, shows the growing patch of extreme drought stretching into several neighboring Montana counties and northern Idaho.

Water supply has been dwindling in northwest Montana, due to poor winter snowpack that largely vanished during an unusually hot May. The Flathead River is running historically low, and Flathead Lake has fallen to more than 2 feet below its typical summertime water level, according to data published Monday by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Other parts of the state, in particular the southeast and south-central regions, saw plentiful rainfall in June and early July, according to Michael Downey, the drought program coordinator for the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

But little of that precipitation fell in the northwest, he told a legislative panel last week. And the long-term forecast shows the rest of the summer will likely remain hotter and drier than usual.

Were really not anticipating drought development at least through the southern part of the state and into the east, Downey told the Environmental Quality Council during a July 26 presentation. I think that the drought will continue to expand across north-central (Montana) and into the northeast, as well as into the northwest.

Ten other counties on Monday received designations as contiguous to the primary disaster area of Lincoln and Flathead counties. They include Glacier, Lake, Sanders, Powell, Pondera, Teton and Lewis and Clark counties. In Idaho, Bonner and Boundary counties were also on the list.

Farmers in all 12 counties may qualify for emergency loans administered by the Farm Service Agency, though Vilsacks letter notes that each determination is made on an individual basis. Applications for loans must be made within eight months of the disaster designation.
CHARLESTON  The grandstand audience got to see Miss Coles County 2023 Laney Wright be crowned and 2022 Miss Selah Brimner accept her boyfriend's surprise marriage proposal at this year's pageant.

"That is a new one for the records," said pageant co-director and emcee Tanya Getch to the audience after Grant Wilson popped the question to Brimner on Sunday evening. "And yes, he did ask my permission first before he did that."

Little Miss Coles County 2022 Finley Stewart added, "Well ladies and gentlemen, that was a twist we didn't expect."

After the proposal, Brimner quickly returned to the stage for the announcement of the 2023 Miss Coles County court and the crowning of Wright. The other honorees were Sara McEvers, first runner-up; Josie King, second runner-up; and Emily Karvin, Miss Congeniality and people's choice.

"I would like to thank all of my fellow contestants for this, and I think we all had a very good time tonight," Karvin said of the celebratory atmosphere.

Earlier in the evening, Adlee McQueen was crowned as 2023 Junior Miss Coles County and Grace Beurskens was crowned as 2023 Little Miss. They will assist Wright with the responsibilities of handing out ribbons at livestock shows and greeting visitors at this year's fair, which will continue through Sunday, Aug. 6.

"I really hope to see everyone at the fair," Wright, 17, said to the audience at the pageant's conclusion.

Wright also thanked everyone involved with making this year's pageant possible from the "bottom of my heart." The new Miss Coles County said she had been dreaming about serving in this role since she was 11 years old.

The 2023 Mattoon High School graduate, who is the daughter of Jay and Pam Wright, is set to major in marketing and minor in public relations and management this fall at Eastern Illinois University.

Pam Wright said her daughter was 11 when she started entering pageants and she has now been crowned five times in various age groups in different competition. This included being named Junior Miss Coles County in 2019 and retaining that title through 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic led to fairs statewide being cancelled.

"I am so excited," Pam Wright said of her daughter achieving her Miss Coles County dream. Wright's role also will include representing Coles County at other area pageants and parades with Adlee and Grace, as well as competing in the Miss Illinois County Fair Queen pageant.

Brimner said she feels a close connection to the pageant after having served as Miss Coles County 2022 and being named second runner-up and Miss Congeniality in 2021. She also has a lot of memories of the fair from having worked at her family's Country Bumpkins Concessions and Boondocks Cafe food stand there over the years.

Consequently, Brimner said she is happy to have the fair and the pageant become part of her memories of her fiance Grant Wilson's proposal of marriage to her.

"It's just very special to me. Something I will absolutely never forget," Brimner said.

In her farewell speech, Brimner said she gave Wilson a hard time by noting that she could not get engaged while she was Miss Coles County and by wondering if a ring might be in her future.

Brimner said when Wilson subsequently stepped on to the stage, she initially thought that he had arrived too soon for the post-pageant photos. Brimner said she was "completely in shock" when he got on his knee.

Wilson said he could not wait to propose to Brimner, although he was a little nervous about the prospect of doing this in front of a grandstand full of spectators. He said those nerves went away when they locked eyes on stage.

"I ended up zeroing in on her," Wilson said.

Close Sgt. Nicholas Clapp of the Coles County Sheriffs Office and his 3-year-old K-9, Jett, meet children after a demonstration Sunday afternoon at the Coles County Fair. K-9 handlers from CCSO, the Charleston Police Department and the Mattoon Police Department demonstrated the dogs ability to search for drugs, weapons and stolen property, as well as their training to apprehend suspects. Malone's Taffy employee Chris Griggs dumps a container of freshly made taffy into a container to be sold on Saturday at the Coles County Fair. Driver Jamaica Patton and horse Judge Me Not compete Thursday afternoon during the harness racing events at the Coles County Fair. Harness racing will continue at 12:30 p.m. Friday. To view a video of Thursday's harness racing action, go to jg-tc.com. Kevin Rankin, Lincoln Fire Protection District deputy district chief, has been part of the department for more than 30 years and a regular volunteer helping to monitor things at the Coles County Fair grandstand. Thomas Vandeventer, 14, of Camargo and the Angus heifer that he borrowed wait to compete in the Coles County 4-H Fair beef show's senior showmanship competition on Tuesday at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. Coles County 4-H Fair beef show judge Lee Rincker, a Shelbyville native, speaks to Reid Kaufman, 9, of Mattoon during the junior showmanship competition while Colby Metzger, 12, of Charleston is next in line on Tuesday at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. Kelly Easton of Charleston shelters from the rain with her nephew, 15-year-old Blake Moore, and son, 11-year-old Case Easton, under the awning of Ribeye Shack Concessions at lunchtime Tuesday at the Coles County Fair in Charleston. They purchased ribeye sandwiches and cheese fries from this concession stand, which has been open for lunch and dinner during the fair. Pictured, from the left, are Cole Lemmon, Kaylin Nolte, Karly McKinney and Brayden Snider competing in the Coles County 4-H Fair swine show Monday morning at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. Junior Miss Ayla Traub, Little Miss Finley Stewart and Miss Coles County Fair Queen Selah Brimner prepare to hand out ribbons Monday morning at the Coles County 4-H Fair swine show on their first day on the job after being crowned Sunday night. The Battle Creek band is shown playing country music at sunset Sunday on the side stage at the Coles County Fair in Charleston. Other free concerts on the side stage will feature the Charleston Community Jazz Band on Tuesday; Black Vinyl, Celestial Apparitions and Invisible Spiders on Wednesday; Tad and Jackie Freezeland on Thursday; and the Frames Band on Friday, all at 8 p.m.. Coles County 4-H families pitched in Tuesday evening to help get the Junior Sheep Barn and other livestock facilities ready for the 4-H Fair activities that will start Sunday at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. They were taking part in a volunteer work day. Mattoon High School JROTC cadets work as an assembly line Tuesday night at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston to remove folding chairs from a storage building, wash them and place them on the grandstand in preparation for the 4-H fair, which starts Sunday. They were taking part in a volunteer work day. Photos from the 2022 Coles County Fair Community members can take a look back at the 2022 Coles County Fair in preparation for the 2023 fair from July 30-Aug. 6 in Charleston. Sgt. Nicholas Clapp of the Coles County Sheriffs Office and his 3-year-old K-9, Jett, meet children after a demonstration Sunday afternoon at the Coles County Fair. K-9 handlers from CCSO, the Charleston Police Department and the Mattoon Police Department demonstrated the dogs ability to search for drugs, weapons and stolen property, as well as their training to apprehend suspects. Malone's Taffy employee Chris Griggs dumps a container of freshly made taffy into a container to be sold on Saturday at the Coles County Fair. Driver Jamaica Patton and horse Judge Me Not compete Thursday afternoon during the harness racing events at the Coles County Fair. Harness racing will continue at 12:30 p.m. Friday. To view a video of Thursday's harness racing action, go to jg-tc.com. Kevin Rankin, Lincoln Fire Protection District deputy district chief, has been part of the department for more than 30 years and a regular volunteer helping to monitor things at the Coles County Fair grandstand. Thomas Vandeventer, 14, of Camargo and the Angus heifer that he borrowed wait to compete in the Coles County 4-H Fair beef show's senior showmanship competition on Tuesday at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. Coles County 4-H Fair beef show judge Lee Rincker, a Shelbyville native, speaks to Reid Kaufman, 9, of Mattoon during the junior showmanship competition while Colby Metzger, 12, of Charleston is next in line on Tuesday at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. Kelly Easton of Charleston shelters from the rain with her nephew, 15-year-old Blake Moore, and son, 11-year-old Case Easton, under the awning of Ribeye Shack Concessions at lunchtime Tuesday at the Coles County Fair in Charleston. They purchased ribeye sandwiches and cheese fries from this concession stand, which has been open for lunch and dinner during the fair. Pictured, from the left, are Cole Lemmon, Kaylin Nolte, Karly McKinney and Brayden Snider competing in the Coles County 4-H Fair swine show Monday morning at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. Junior Miss Ayla Traub, Little Miss Finley Stewart and Miss Coles County Fair Queen Selah Brimner prepare to hand out ribbons Monday morning at the Coles County 4-H Fair swine show on their first day on the job after being crowned Sunday night. The Battle Creek band is shown playing country music at sunset Sunday on the side stage at the Coles County Fair in Charleston. Other free concerts on the side stage will feature the Charleston Community Jazz Band on Tuesday; Black Vinyl, Celestial Apparitions and Invisible Spiders on Wednesday; Tad and Jackie Freezeland on Thursday; and the Frames Band on Friday, all at 8 p.m.. Coles County 4-H families pitched in Tuesday evening to help get the Junior Sheep Barn and other livestock facilities ready for the 4-H Fair activities that will start Sunday at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. They were taking part in a volunteer work day. Mattoon High School JROTC cadets work as an assembly line Tuesday night at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston to remove folding chairs from a storage building, wash them and place them on the grandstand in preparation for the 4-H fair, which starts Sunday. They were taking part in a volunteer work day.
MARION, Va.  Hungry Mother State Park has welcomed Kevin McDonald as its new park manager.

McDonald succeeds Andrew Philpot, who was promoted to the southern district region manager within the Virginia State Parks system, according to a written statement.

McDonald is from Haslett, Michigan, and graduated from Central Michigan University with a major in outdoor recreation and a minor in leadership. During his time at CMU, McDonald worked at Hungry Mother as an intern.

Since graduating, McDonald has held positions with Virginia State Police and the Smyth County Sheriffs Office. Within the state parks system, McDonald worked as the chief ranger of operations at Hungry Mother and assistant park manager at Shenandoah River before returning to Hungry Mother as the assistant park manager of visitor and event services.

I am beyond excited to continue my park journey at the place that has always felt like home, Hungry Mother State Park, said McDonald. I am grateful to my fellow rangers who helped me get to this point and to my wife and two daughters for being supportive throughout my career.

As park manager, McDonald is responsible for daily operations, managing all staff, budgets, community engagement and directing the parks many programs.

We are delighted to have Kevin in the role of park manager at Hungry Mother. His enthusiasm for state parks and Hungry Mother, in particular, is evident in his work on behalf of the park, said Southwest Region Manager Sharon Buchanan.
In a span of three days, the U.S. Department of Labor announced it had recovered $2.5 million in unpaid wages for over 450 employees involving eight different companies.

As evidenced by the announcements, there is no one industry that continues to violate the Fair Labor Standards Act  a 1938 law that requires non-exempt employees to be paid overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The law also provides for minimum wage and has special rules around tip pooling for tipped workers.

The FLSA permits recovery of not just the back wages owed to the employee and attorneys fees, but the law has a special provision referred to as liquidated damages  which doubles what is owed to the employee as penalties.

Multiple FLSA provisions were center stage in the announcements that employers had violated, among them:

A New York gas station, convenience store and Subway franchise operator will pay $178,000 for eight employees, including about $90,000 in back wages for overtime and minimum wage violations, and an equal amount in liquidated damages, and payment for willful violations.

A supermarket in Utah will pay $502,609 in back wages and liquidated damages for 148 workers to include $251,305 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to the affected employees as well as $22,390 in civil money penalties for the overtime violations. The DOL announced it also penalized the supermarket for attempting to prevent DOL investigators from interviewing employees and instructed them to tell investigators they did not work more than 40 hours per week.

Telling workers to lie to federal regulators is absolutely an unacceptable workplace practice.

The DOL called upon the supermarket industry to comply with labor laws. The DOL announced, Supermarket industry workers are often paid flat daily or weekly rates of pay and are deprived of their earned overtime pay. It said, The department is dedicated to making sure workers are paid as required by federal law. No employee should fear their employers wrath for reporting pay concerns.

A pest control company in Alabama will pay $64,000 in back wages for 41 workers who worked over 40 hours in a workweek and were denied overtime pay.

A food wholesaler in Hawaii will pay $73,000 to 11 warehouse workers to include $36,685 in unpaid overtime wages, $36,685 in damages and $8,877 in penalties for the reckless disregard of the law, according to the announcement.

The DOL said of the violations, Investigators determined the employer illegally gave workers the option to either clock in overtime hours worked or to accept cash payments to avoid paying taxes on those earnings. The employer also violated FLSA recordkeeping requirements by keeping inaccurate time and payroll records.

A San Diego cafe owner will pay $127,000 in back wages and damages to 18 employees, including waiters and cooks, due to unpaid overtime. The DOL found that some employees were required to work up to 67 hours per week without proper compensation. The DOLs recovery includes $63,674 in unpaid wages and an equal amount in damages, in addition to $7,263 in penalties for the reckless disregard of the law.

The DOL announced, Restaurant employers such as Jimmy Carters Mexican Cafe cheat workers and commit wage theft when they refuse to pay employees earned overtime wages, said Wage and Hour District Director Min Park-Chung in San Diego. Cooks and servers often work long hours and, like all workers, must be paid in compliance with federal labor laws. Employers who undercut their workers wages will be held accountable.

The owner of six Connecticut restaurants will pay a whopping $858,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 105 workers. According to the announcement, the judgment included withheld tips from the workers.

A staffing agency in California will pay $373,000 in back wages for 23 caregivers who were denied overtime, some of whom worked 12 to 16 hours a day. The DOL reported that the company paid employees straight-time rates for all hours worked, including what should have been overtime hours.

A Wisconsin restaurant chain will pay $272,000 to more than 100 employees for a variety of labor violations, including denying 110 servers, cooks and other employees earned wages and tips and employing three minors to work later and longer hours than the law permits. The DOL found that the company operated an invalid tip pool by illegally including kitchen staff and cooks, which are not tipped occupations, into the tip pool. The DOL stated, By doing so, the employer lost its ability to claim credit for tips toward its minimum wage and overtime obligations for tipped employees, such as servers.

All of these violations reveal a grim outlook on how employers are operating their businesses and failing to comply with basic labor laws. Employees frequently feel that they have no voice and are uncertain of their rights.

Employers must comply with federal and state wage payment laws, without exception, and the employee and employer cannot agree otherwise.

More information on federal labor laws can be found at www.dol.gov.
" " A group of men get rid of a vampire in a graveyard in Romania in 1893, about the time some New Englanders were exhuming bodies to see if any of their deceased were vampires. Bildagentur-online/uig/Getty Images

It was a scene only Dracula and his blood-spattered ilk could love. In the late 18th and early 19th century, New Englanders were gripped by a vampire panic. In desperation, they began dismembering suspected vampires in hopes of driving off the terror and death that threatened to upend their lives.

But how did vampires come to invade the newly created United States?

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It all began in some unfortunate New England villages, as tuberculosis (then called consumption) ravaged entire families and communities. This bacterial lung disease, which spreads easily among family members, has horrid symptoms, giving feverish sufferers an ashen appearance and sunken eyes. In some cases, blood would drop from their mouths.

It was a slow, wretched death  almost as if the life was gradually being drained out of them. It earned the name "consumption" for the way it caused dramatic weight loss. So severe was the epidemic that it claimed around 2 percent of the region's population from 1786 to 1800 and eventually killed perhaps 25 percent of the East Coast's citizens.

"Imagine a communicable disease a great deal slower to manifest than COVID-19, with symptoms even more ambiguous," says folklorist and author Michael Bell in an email interview. "One that did not explode through a population  leaving in its wake the dead and those who survived through good fortune or natural immunity  and then disappear or become latent. A disease that, instead, once it grasped a person, could go in and out of remission over a period of months, or years or even decades."

No one understood how diseases spread back then. All they knew was that as consumption victims perished, their surviving family members would begin to fall ill, one by one. Neighbors would be afflicted, too.

"Adding to its mystery, consumption seemed capricious in choosing its victims," says Bell. "Some families escaped intact while others were thoroughly decimated."
Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII), a Foxconn unit, signed an agreement in Tamil Nadu state to build a new facility for electronic components which will create 6,000 new jobs, the state government said in a statement. FII plans to invest Rs 1,600 crore ($194.45 million) to construct a campus in the Kancheepuram district near Chennai. The facility will be separate from the current sprawling campus within Chennai, where Foxconn assembles Apple's iPhones and employs more than 35,000 people.The state government, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, said on LinkedIn "big announcement" was expected during the day that would mean Tamil Nadu would retain its "top position as India's Electronics Powerhouse. "last week the Foxconn subsidiary was in talks with Tamil Nadu about the investment, with the company aiming for the plant's completion in 2024. Foxconn's FII makes electronic devices, cloud service equipment, and industrial robots. It was not immediately clear if the new India plant would make components for iPhones or for other companies, or both.Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week said that India is rolling out the red carpet for the semiconductor industry, as he invited global semiconductor majors to invest in India. PM Modi said whosoever comes forward will have a first movers advantage. As India moves forward on the path of reform, new opportunities will be created. India is becoming an excellent conductor for semiconductor investments, PM Modi said, add-respeaking at the inaugural session of SemiconIndia 2023 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.On the first day of the conference, American multinational semiconductor Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced it will invest approximately USD 400 million in India over the next five years. The planned investment includes a new AMD campus in Bengaluru that will serve as the companys largest design and R&D center. It intends to add about 3,000 new engineering roles by the end of 2028 in India. Notably, India recently received various investment proposals in the semiconductor ecosystem. Last month during PM Modis state visit to the US, Micron Technology announced it will invest up to USD 825 million to build a new semiconductor assembly and test facility in India with support from the Indian government.Also, Applied Materials had committed to invest USD 400 million to establish a collaborative engineering center in India. Lam Research had proposed it will train 60,000 Indian engineers through its Semiverse Solution virtual fabrication platform to accelerate India's semiconductor education and workforce development goals.
In June, industrial producer prices were on average 6.4 percent higher than a year earlier. Domestic sales prices increased by 29.8 percent, export sales decreased by 5.0 percent.

According to the KSHs information, the big difference was primarily caused by the fact that the domestic sales prices of the energy industry, which mainly produces for the domestic market and represents a large part of it, were much higher than a year earlier, while export sales prices had already decreased.

The rise in the price of raw materials and production costs, as well as the strengthening of the forint against the euro, also played a role in the development of industrial producer prices.

Compared to the previous month, domestic sales prices decreased by 2.4 percent and export sales by 0.7 percent, so industrial producer prices decreased by 1.3 percent overall.

The price increase in the energy industry is amazing

In June, compared to the previous year, domestic sales prices increased by an average of 29.8 percent, including 5.0 percent in the manufacturing industry, which accounts for 65 percent, and 5.0 percent in the energy industry (electricity, gas, steam supply, air conditioning), which accounts for 30 percent  partly due to official price regulation as a result of its amendments  the price increase was 87.7 percent.

Sales prices in the food industry rose by 19.4 percent.

Among the intended groups of sectors, domestic prices rose by a combined 38.1 percent in energy and further consumption sectors, 5.8 percent in capital goods producers, and 18.7 percent in consumer goods producers. Industrial export sales prices decreased by 5.0 percent, within which prices were lower by 0.3 percent in the processing industry, which represented 90 percent of the market, and by 37.9 percent in the energy industry, which accounted for 9.8 percent.

Considering the whole of this year, domestic sales prices were 45.6 percent higher, and export sales were 7.0 percent higher, so industrial producer prices rose by 19.6 percent overall, compared to the same period of the previous year, concluded the KSH.
The Christian humanitarian organization for which the nurse works reported the kidnapping.

Christian humanitarian aid organization El Roi Haiti reported that Alix Dorsainvil, the wife of El Roi Haiti director Sandro Dorsainvil, and their child were kidnapped Thursday morning.



Out of turn



He left his dog in 45 degree heat without water or food, it did not survive





According to the announcement, the abduction took place when they were on El Rois campus near the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince during their community service. In the statement, the aid organization continued:

Alix is a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the people of Haiti her friends and family. Alix has worked tirelessly as our school and community nurse to bring relief to the suffering as she loves and serves the people of Haiti in the name of Jesus.

Dorsainvil moved to Haiti after her husband invited her to a school in Haiti to help children in need of medical care. CNN also reached out to the US government about the case, and a spokesperson for the State Department shared that the US authorities are aware of the kidnappings and are cooperating with the Haitian authorities and the US governments interagency partners.

The spokesperson added:
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"Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women;

when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it;

no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it."

 Judge Learned Hand (1872-1961)

Late last week, a judge on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court revealed that he had had enough of the FBI and Congress trashing the Constitution. The normally secretive court and the normally secretive judge explained in a rare public opinion the unlawful behavior of FBI agents spying on ordinary Americans in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

The FISA Court judge revealed that the FBI has spied illegally on 278,000 Americans in 2022, including  all unnamed  a U.S. senator, a state senator and a state judge. These revelations should have been shocking, but they were buried on the back pages of weekend newspapers and never made it to a national debate. The story was not even featured prominently on major websites.

The restraints imposed on the government in the Fourth Amendment have been so routinely and consistently disregarded that the public has come to expect them  and their revelations no longer outrage the conscience.

Nevertheless, every encroachment upon personal freedom  here the natural human right to be left alone  when unchecked, forms a small precedent, and becomes another step on the stairway to totalitarianism. It makes the next encroachment easier for the zealots in the government to accomplish and to justify.

If Americans believe that the Bill of Rights means what it says, then all rational persons  except the zealots in the deep state and the quislings in Congress  should be demanding that the Congress and the FBI conform to and abide by the restraints imposed upon them by the Constitution they have sworn to uphold.

Here is the backstory.

The Fourth Amendment, which was written in the aftermath of British soldiers searching colonial homes with general warrants  search where you please and seize what you wish  serves two values. The first is privacy, and the second is restraint upon the government.

Privacy is a natural human right. A right is an indefeasible claim against the whole world. The right to privacy comes from our hearts, along with other natural human rights, such as life, speech, press, association, religion, self-defense, travel, ownership and use of property. We all yearn for privacy. Because privacy is integral to us  like the yearning to think as you wish and say what you think  it is not a gift or privilege from the government.

In protecting privacy in the Fourth Amendment, James Madison, the drafter of the Bill of Rights, was determined to prevent the new American government from doing to Americans what the British had done to the colonists. Thus, the Fourth Amendment serves that purpose  and embraces privacy as a value, a human right superior to the needs of the government  by imposing a warrant requirement on the government.

This warrant requirement protects all people  good, bad, Americans, foreigners, people the government hates and fears  from the violation of their privacy. Surveillance is a search for and seizure of data from or about a person, and all searches and seizures can only lawfully be done via a warrant.

Only judges can issue warrants, and they can only do so after evaluating evidence under oath demonstrating that it is more likely than not that there exists more evidence of crime in the place to be searched or on the person or thing to be seized. The warrant itself must specifically describe the place to be searched or the person or thing to be seized.

The warrant requirement's second purpose is to confine the government and its appetite for surveillance to crimes that have already occurred. This is done by limiting the basis for the warrant to probable cause  the more likely than not standard. Thus, only probable cause of crimes that have already occurred can be presented to a judge in a warrant application.

Sadly, much of this changed from and after 9/11, as President George W. Bush sought to blame anyone and anything he could for his own failures to abide intelligence warnings. Foremost among those blamed was THE CONSTITUTION ITSELF.

Bush persuaded Congress to eliminate the warrant requirement for foreign persons communicating in the U.S. so the government could surveil them and predict their crimes. Thus, Congress enacted section 702 of FISA authorizing the FBI and their federal cousins to spy without warrants on foreign persons and on the Americans with whom the foreign persons communicate. The FISA Court has extended this authority to the sixth level of communication.

Section 702 expires at the end of this year. It is unconstitutional on its face  Congress cannot alter the Fourth Amendment  and it should not be reenacted.

When the FBI spies on a foreign person without a warrant and comes upon communications of an American, those communications are supposed to be put into a database and accessed only by a search warrant. The angry FISA Court judge revealed last week that that database  containing warrantlessly obtained private communications of suspicion-free Americans  was accessed illegally by FBI agents 278,000 times last year.

We don't know who the public officials are who were swept up in this. But we do know that when the state judge complained to the FBI about constitutional violations he observed and which were not redressed by local authorities, the FBI spied on him!

Enough is enough. If we don't fire and prosecute the folks who have sullied the Constitution, if we are no longer outraged at its most obvious violations, if we elect to office those who promise to uphold it and reelect them after they have trashed it, we must recognize that we have lost freedom in our hearts.

And then it is gone.

(COMMENT, PLEASE, BELOW)

Andrew P. Napolitano, a former judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, was the senior judicial analyst at Fox News Channel. Judge Napolitano has written seven books on the U.S. Constitution.
100 years ago,

July 31, 1923

CHARLESTON  Louis Stoner, a Charleston businessman, was fined $50 on a charge of operating and frequenting a disorderly house when he pleaded guilty before Justice L.H. Linn in Charleston this morning. The police claim that Stoner is in the habit of taking young girls to his uptown apartments. His rooms were raided Saturday night and Stoner and a girl were arrested, another girl escaping. Charges against the girl were dismissed...MATTOON  A touring car belonging to Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Janes of this city is in the hospital as the result of the collision with a car driven by Dr. C.W. Kimery of Sullivan on Sunday morning. Mr. and Mrs. Janes and family were driving south on Thirty-third street on their way to Paradise Lake and were close to the intersection with Western Ave. when Dr. Kimery turning from the east to the north struck the Janes machine almost broadside, wrecking its fender, one light and a tire. No one was hurt. The Kimery car was not damaged.

50 years ago, 1973

CHARLESTON  Sarah Keller showed the grand champion barrow during the 4-H competition at the Coles County Fair Monday. Miss Keller of rural Mattoon won the big prize with a crossbred (Chester White-Hampshire). The grand champion pen of barrows was shown by Jeff Grant of Route 2, Charleston. Robby McKinney of rural Charleston made a strong showing during the swine competition...CHARLESTON  The city of Charleston will take over emergency ambulance service at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. The city has leased an emergency vehicle from a St. Louis firm. It arrived in Charleston Monday evening. Emergency service will be taken over from the Coles County Air-Ground Ambulance Service, owned by Bill Mathias, when he ceases his emergency operation at midnight tonight. Mathias stated financial problems as the reason for stopping his emergency service. The ambulance was leased for one month at a cost of $1,000. It will be housed at Fire Station No. 2 and operated by city firemen, if the city council approves, said Charleston Mayor Bob Hickman. Nurses from Charleston Community Hospital will attend ambulance calls when they are needed, according to hospital administrator Mrs. Patricia Jenkins.

25 years ago, 1998

MATTOON  Gov. Jim Edgar says the new $7.7 million East Classroom Building to be constructed at Lake Land College will help Illinois meet the challenges of the 21st Century. The ground-breaking ceremony beneath a tent on a rainy Thursday, was led by Edgar and attended by dignitaries including college officials, state legislators and city officeholders. This was Edgars second visit to campus since February when he announced he would include $5.7 million in the state budget for the college to allow for the construction of state-of-the-art classrooms and labs...CHARLESTON  The woman accused of soliciting the murders of eight county officials once considered organizing a militia from her rural Charleston home, a local woman says. Kennie Lynn Burch, 51, was arrested last week for allegedly soliciting an undercover police officer to commit the murders. Shes not nuts; she definitely knows what shes doing, said Linda Scales of Greenup, the daughter of David McDonald, whom Scales said has lived with Burch for at least 12 years. Burch once held an anti-government meeting in the Greenup municipal building, Sales said, and several people attended. She has this into her head so much that she hates the government, Sales said. At one time, they were going to cover a building with tin foil so radar couldnt detect it. In 1993, Burch and McDonald declared their independence from the United States, saying they would live only by Gods laws.

Close Sgt. Nicholas Clapp of the Coles County Sheriffs Office and his 3-year-old K-9, Jett, meet children after a demonstration Sunday afternoon at the Coles County Fair. K-9 handlers from CCSO, the Charleston Police Department and the Mattoon Police Department demonstrated the dogs ability to search for drugs, weapons and stolen property, as well as their training to apprehend suspects. Malone's Taffy employee Chris Griggs dumps a container of freshly made taffy into a container to be sold on Saturday at the Coles County Fair. Driver Jamaica Patton and horse Judge Me Not compete Thursday afternoon during the harness racing events at the Coles County Fair. Harness racing will continue at 12:30 p.m. Friday. To view a video of Thursday's harness racing action, go to jg-tc.com. Kevin Rankin, Lincoln Fire Protection District deputy district chief, has been part of the department for more than 30 years and a regular volunteer helping to monitor things at the Coles County Fair grandstand. Thomas Vandeventer, 14, of Camargo and the Angus heifer that he borrowed wait to compete in the Coles County 4-H Fair beef show's senior showmanship competition on Tuesday at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. Coles County 4-H Fair beef show judge Lee Rincker, a Shelbyville native, speaks to Reid Kaufman, 9, of Mattoon during the junior showmanship competition while Colby Metzger, 12, of Charleston is next in line on Tuesday at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. Kelly Easton of Charleston shelters from the rain with her nephew, 15-year-old Blake Moore, and son, 11-year-old Case Easton, under the awning of Ribeye Shack Concessions at lunchtime Tuesday at the Coles County Fair in Charleston. They purchased ribeye sandwiches and cheese fries from this concession stand, which has been open for lunch and dinner during the fair. Pictured, from the left, are Cole Lemmon, Kaylin Nolte, Karly McKinney and Brayden Snider competing in the Coles County 4-H Fair swine show Monday morning at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. Junior Miss Ayla Traub, Little Miss Finley Stewart and Miss Coles County Fair Queen Selah Brimner prepare to hand out ribbons Monday morning at the Coles County 4-H Fair swine show on their first day on the job after being crowned Sunday night. The Battle Creek band is shown playing country music at sunset Sunday on the side stage at the Coles County Fair in Charleston. Other free concerts on the side stage will feature the Charleston Community Jazz Band on Tuesday; Black Vinyl, Celestial Apparitions and Invisible Spiders on Wednesday; Tad and Jackie Freezeland on Thursday; and the Frames Band on Friday, all at 8 p.m.. Coles County 4-H families pitched in Tuesday evening to help get the Junior Sheep Barn and other livestock facilities ready for the 4-H Fair activities that will start Sunday at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. They were taking part in a volunteer work day. Mattoon High School JROTC cadets work as an assembly line Tuesday night at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston to remove folding chairs from a storage building, wash them and place them on the grandstand in preparation for the 4-H fair, which starts Sunday. They were taking part in a volunteer work day. Photos from the 2022 Coles County Fair Community members can take a look back at the 2022 Coles County Fair in preparation for the 2023 fair from July 30-Aug. 6 in Charleston. Sgt. Nicholas Clapp of the Coles County Sheriffs Office and his 3-year-old K-9, Jett, meet children after a demonstration Sunday afternoon at the Coles County Fair. K-9 handlers from CCSO, the Charleston Police Department and the Mattoon Police Department demonstrated the dogs ability to search for drugs, weapons and stolen property, as well as their training to apprehend suspects. Malone's Taffy employee Chris Griggs dumps a container of freshly made taffy into a container to be sold on Saturday at the Coles County Fair. Driver Jamaica Patton and horse Judge Me Not compete Thursday afternoon during the harness racing events at the Coles County Fair. Harness racing will continue at 12:30 p.m. Friday. To view a video of Thursday's harness racing action, go to jg-tc.com. Kevin Rankin, Lincoln Fire Protection District deputy district chief, has been part of the department for more than 30 years and a regular volunteer helping to monitor things at the Coles County Fair grandstand. Thomas Vandeventer, 14, of Camargo and the Angus heifer that he borrowed wait to compete in the Coles County 4-H Fair beef show's senior showmanship competition on Tuesday at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. Coles County 4-H Fair beef show judge Lee Rincker, a Shelbyville native, speaks to Reid Kaufman, 9, of Mattoon during the junior showmanship competition while Colby Metzger, 12, of Charleston is next in line on Tuesday at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. Kelly Easton of Charleston shelters from the rain with her nephew, 15-year-old Blake Moore, and son, 11-year-old Case Easton, under the awning of Ribeye Shack Concessions at lunchtime Tuesday at the Coles County Fair in Charleston. They purchased ribeye sandwiches and cheese fries from this concession stand, which has been open for lunch and dinner during the fair. Pictured, from the left, are Cole Lemmon, Kaylin Nolte, Karly McKinney and Brayden Snider competing in the Coles County 4-H Fair swine show Monday morning at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. Junior Miss Ayla Traub, Little Miss Finley Stewart and Miss Coles County Fair Queen Selah Brimner prepare to hand out ribbons Monday morning at the Coles County 4-H Fair swine show on their first day on the job after being crowned Sunday night. The Battle Creek band is shown playing country music at sunset Sunday on the side stage at the Coles County Fair in Charleston. Other free concerts on the side stage will feature the Charleston Community Jazz Band on Tuesday; Black Vinyl, Celestial Apparitions and Invisible Spiders on Wednesday; Tad and Jackie Freezeland on Thursday; and the Frames Band on Friday, all at 8 p.m.. Coles County 4-H families pitched in Tuesday evening to help get the Junior Sheep Barn and other livestock facilities ready for the 4-H Fair activities that will start Sunday at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. They were taking part in a volunteer work day. Mattoon High School JROTC cadets work as an assembly line Tuesday night at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston to remove folding chairs from a storage building, wash them and place them on the grandstand in preparation for the 4-H fair, which starts Sunday. They were taking part in a volunteer work day.
CHARLESTON  Newly crowned Miss Coles County 2023 Laney Wright began her first day handing out prize ribbons at the Coles County Fair on Monday, alongside Junior Miss Adlee McQueen and Little Miss Grace Beurskens.

The Coles County queen position is new to the 17-year-old Mattoon High School graduate, but the responsibilities are familiar to her. Wright presented ribbons to many 4-H youths while serving as Junior Miss Coles County in 2019, a title that she retained through 2020 due to COVID-19 cancellations of fairs that year.

I really just have tried to be mindful of that experience with how much goes into a fair and how much work the fair board (and 4-H) put into making it happen, Wright said.

At the conclusion of the pageant Sunday evening, Wright immediately got to work on her responsibilities as a promoter of the fair. She waved to the audience in the grandstand and said, I really hope to see everyone at the fair.

Wright, who is the daughter of Jay and Pam Wright, also thanked everyone involved with making this years pageant possible from the bottom of my heart. The new Miss Coles County said she had been dreaming about serving in this role since she was 11 years old.

That night, Pam Wright said her daughter was 11 when she started entering pageants and she has now been crowned five times in various age groups in different competition. The happy mom said she is so excited about her daughter achieving her Miss Coles County dream.

Wrights role also will include representing Coles County at other area pageants and parades with Adlee and Grace, as well as competing in the Miss Illinois County Fair Queen pageant on Jan 20-22 in Springfield.

Its extremely exciting and I am really excited about what is yet to come this year and the state pageant, Wright said on Monday. She also is set to major in marketing and minor in public relations and management this fall at Eastern Illinois University.

The other Miss Coles County honorees were Sara McEvers, first runner-up; Josie King, second runner-up; and Emily Karvin, Miss Congeniality and peoples choice.

As the new Junior Miss, Adlee said she looks forward to helping out at more 4-H livestock shows and seeing her friends compete in these events. Adlee said she has grown up around her grandfather Doug McQueens livestock but has already learned a lot about different breeds of farm animals and how they are shown before judges at the fair.

All three members of the pageant court said they also anticipate having fun at the fair while working there. Wright said she enjoys the demolition derby because, I just think its tons of fun. Everybody loves to see cars smash into each other.

Adlee said she plans to enjoy boba infused drinks and eat some fried food, mostly likely French fries and funnel cakes. Grace said she always likes the rides and wants to try some of the scarier ones this year, noting that she already overcame a bit of stage fright at the pageant.

Every time I went on stage, my heart was beating so quickly, Grace said.

Close Sgt. Nicholas Clapp of the Coles County Sheriffs Office and his 3-year-old K-9, Jett, meet children after a demonstration Sunday afternoon at the Coles County Fair. K-9 handlers from CCSO, the Charleston Police Department and the Mattoon Police Department demonstrated the dogs ability to search for drugs, weapons and stolen property, as well as their training to apprehend suspects. Malone's Taffy employee Chris Griggs dumps a container of freshly made taffy into a container to be sold on Saturday at the Coles County Fair. Driver Jamaica Patton and horse Judge Me Not compete Thursday afternoon during the harness racing events at the Coles County Fair. Harness racing will continue at 12:30 p.m. Friday. To view a video of Thursday's harness racing action, go to jg-tc.com. Kevin Rankin, Lincoln Fire Protection District deputy district chief, has been part of the department for more than 30 years and a regular volunteer helping to monitor things at the Coles County Fair grandstand. Thomas Vandeventer, 14, of Camargo and the Angus heifer that he borrowed wait to compete in the Coles County 4-H Fair beef show's senior showmanship competition on Tuesday at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. Coles County 4-H Fair beef show judge Lee Rincker, a Shelbyville native, speaks to Reid Kaufman, 9, of Mattoon during the junior showmanship competition while Colby Metzger, 12, of Charleston is next in line on Tuesday at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. Kelly Easton of Charleston shelters from the rain with her nephew, 15-year-old Blake Moore, and son, 11-year-old Case Easton, under the awning of Ribeye Shack Concessions at lunchtime Tuesday at the Coles County Fair in Charleston. They purchased ribeye sandwiches and cheese fries from this concession stand, which has been open for lunch and dinner during the fair. Pictured, from the left, are Cole Lemmon, Kaylin Nolte, Karly McKinney and Brayden Snider competing in the Coles County 4-H Fair swine show Monday morning at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. Junior Miss Ayla Traub, Little Miss Finley Stewart and Miss Coles County Fair Queen Selah Brimner prepare to hand out ribbons Monday morning at the Coles County 4-H Fair swine show on their first day on the job after being crowned Sunday night. The Battle Creek band is shown playing country music at sunset Sunday on the side stage at the Coles County Fair in Charleston. Other free concerts on the side stage will feature the Charleston Community Jazz Band on Tuesday; Black Vinyl, Celestial Apparitions and Invisible Spiders on Wednesday; Tad and Jackie Freezeland on Thursday; and the Frames Band on Friday, all at 8 p.m.. Coles County 4-H families pitched in Tuesday evening to help get the Junior Sheep Barn and other livestock facilities ready for the 4-H Fair activities that will start Sunday at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. They were taking part in a volunteer work day. Mattoon High School JROTC cadets work as an assembly line Tuesday night at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston to remove folding chairs from a storage building, wash them and place them on the grandstand in preparation for the 4-H fair, which starts Sunday. They were taking part in a volunteer work day. Photos from the 2022 Coles County Fair Community members can take a look back at the 2022 Coles County Fair in preparation for the 2023 fair from July 30-Aug. 6 in Charleston. Sgt. Nicholas Clapp of the Coles County Sheriffs Office and his 3-year-old K-9, Jett, meet children after a demonstration Sunday afternoon at the Coles County Fair. K-9 handlers from CCSO, the Charleston Police Department and the Mattoon Police Department demonstrated the dogs ability to search for drugs, weapons and stolen property, as well as their training to apprehend suspects. Malone's Taffy employee Chris Griggs dumps a container of freshly made taffy into a container to be sold on Saturday at the Coles County Fair. Driver Jamaica Patton and horse Judge Me Not compete Thursday afternoon during the harness racing events at the Coles County Fair. Harness racing will continue at 12:30 p.m. Friday. To view a video of Thursday's harness racing action, go to jg-tc.com. Kevin Rankin, Lincoln Fire Protection District deputy district chief, has been part of the department for more than 30 years and a regular volunteer helping to monitor things at the Coles County Fair grandstand. Thomas Vandeventer, 14, of Camargo and the Angus heifer that he borrowed wait to compete in the Coles County 4-H Fair beef show's senior showmanship competition on Tuesday at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. Coles County 4-H Fair beef show judge Lee Rincker, a Shelbyville native, speaks to Reid Kaufman, 9, of Mattoon during the junior showmanship competition while Colby Metzger, 12, of Charleston is next in line on Tuesday at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. Kelly Easton of Charleston shelters from the rain with her nephew, 15-year-old Blake Moore, and son, 11-year-old Case Easton, under the awning of Ribeye Shack Concessions at lunchtime Tuesday at the Coles County Fair in Charleston. They purchased ribeye sandwiches and cheese fries from this concession stand, which has been open for lunch and dinner during the fair. Pictured, from the left, are Cole Lemmon, Kaylin Nolte, Karly McKinney and Brayden Snider competing in the Coles County 4-H Fair swine show Monday morning at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. Junior Miss Ayla Traub, Little Miss Finley Stewart and Miss Coles County Fair Queen Selah Brimner prepare to hand out ribbons Monday morning at the Coles County 4-H Fair swine show on their first day on the job after being crowned Sunday night. The Battle Creek band is shown playing country music at sunset Sunday on the side stage at the Coles County Fair in Charleston. Other free concerts on the side stage will feature the Charleston Community Jazz Band on Tuesday; Black Vinyl, Celestial Apparitions and Invisible Spiders on Wednesday; Tad and Jackie Freezeland on Thursday; and the Frames Band on Friday, all at 8 p.m.. Coles County 4-H families pitched in Tuesday evening to help get the Junior Sheep Barn and other livestock facilities ready for the 4-H Fair activities that will start Sunday at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston. They were taking part in a volunteer work day. Mattoon High School JROTC cadets work as an assembly line Tuesday night at the Coles County Fairgrounds in Charleston to remove folding chairs from a storage building, wash them and place them on the grandstand in preparation for the 4-H fair, which starts Sunday. They were taking part in a volunteer work day.
The new chief executive of British American Tobacco Plc is pushing back against a prominent shareholders request to move the manufacturers primary stock market to the New York Stock Exchange.

The founder of U.S.-based GQG Partners, the No. 5 investor in BAT according to Financial Times, urged for the move in March from the FTSE market. GQG overall manages $92 billion.

Rajiv Jain told Financial Times it makes no sense for BAT to be an orphan in Europe.

Jain said the core ownership base of BAT has disappeared and its main subsidiary  Reynolds American Inc. of Winston-Salem  is in the U.S. and was a major component of the NYSE when it operated independently.

As of Monday, BATs market capitalization was $75.72 billion, compared with PMIs $154.78 billion.

It makes no sense for them to remain there with FTSE, Jain said.

In March, BAT said in a statement that it does not comment on its engagement with shareholders.

However, BAT CEO Tadeu Marroco, who was promoted to the role on May 15, told the Financial Times last week that Jains request was not a top priority and a very simplistic view.

Marroco said it is very simplistic to attribute the valuation gap to the place where we are listed.

BAT confirmed Monday to the Winston-Salem Journal the accuracy of the Financial Times quotes for Marroco.

I note that there is an overall difference in terms of valuation between S&P 500, for example, and the FTSE 100, Marroco said.

But, it is much more related to the sectors that are present in those indices and the weight of those sectors in the first place.

Marroco also cautioned there is no certainty that you can get into the index in the US, running the risk of being in limbo.

So I would doubt very much that 75% of shareholders would approve (the move). I have so many other things to do, that would not be top of my priorities.

The lure of a deeper pool of U.S. investors has contributed to several U.K.-based publicly traded companies to make the U.S. its primary stock market.

Examples cited by Financial Times include chip designer Arm and CRH, the worlds biggest building materials company.

The exodus from the FTSE to the NYSE began with Brexit, said Bowman Gray IV, a local independent stock broker. There has been not only an increase in costs related to listing on the FTSE vs. NYSE, but further there have been some additional regulatory rules placed by the FTSE that make it less attractive than the NYSE.

Most of the big companies that made the transition are driving the bulk of their revenues from the U.S., so there was a desire to be listed where the revenues were coming from.
The Triads first Champion apparel retail store is set to open in August at Thruway Shopping Center, according to a sign on its storefront.

Champion, one of HanesBrands Inc.s top-two basic apparel brands, is taking the place of BohoBlu, a family owned womens apparel store that exited Thruway Shopping Center in late May.

The store will carry Champion-branded apparel only.

It will be one of three Champion retail stores in North Carolina  the others in Nags Head and Smithfield  and the first not located in an outlet mall.

HanesBrands has 44 Champion-only stores nationwide, compared with 173 One Hanes Place stores that feature most, if not all, of the companys brands.

There are nine One Hanes Place stores in North Carolina, including on the lower level at Thruway near Chick-fil-A and the Tanger Outlet center in Mebane.

Officials with HanesBrands or Saul Centers, which owns and operates Thruway, could not be reached for comment about the Champion store and how it will differ and compete with the existing One Hanes Place.

Tenant churn

Thruway has had considerable tenant churn this year.

The Banners Hallmark franchisee recently opened a second Forsyth County store at Thruway. Store hours will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays.

The franchisee also recently opened a location at Clemmons Market with a Hallmark Gold Crown store. It has four Triad locations counting Burlington and Greensboro.

Banners, based in Gaithersburg, Md., is a family owned and operated card and gift specialty company dating back to the 1970s with locations in Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia.

Vestique, based in Charlotte, recently opened its first Triad store in the 2,400-square-foot space that was vacated in June by Ivy & Leo.

The chain describes itself as a trendy and affordable womens clothing and accessories company. A glimpse of its main website page lists most womens apparel in the $30 to $100 range.

The chain has stores in Cary, Charlotte, Greenville, Raleigh and Wilmington, as well as four in South Carolina and one each in Georgia and Virginia.

The local stores shopping hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.

Meanwhile, Ivy & Leo still has a Triad presence at Greensboros Shops at Friendly Center as well as two locations in Charlotte.

BohoBlu, another womens apparel store, exited its Thruway location in late May also after its lease expired.

BohoBlu, founded in 2012 and owned by the husband-and-wife team of Patrick Golimowski and Jenny Stilley, still has a store in Alamance Crossing shopping center in Burlington, Palladium shopping center in High Point and Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh.

The O2 Fitness Club is expected to open by September in the 30,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by SteinMart department store.

O2 Fitness has opened a temporary fitness studio in the former Plow and Hearth location that closed in May.
EDEN  Gwendolyn Lavonne Riddick, an OB-GYN at UNC Womens Health in Eden, was fatally shot at an Eden park Sunday afternoon, and police have charged the father of her toddler-age son with first-degree murder.

Officers with the Eden Police Department were dispatched to the park with a report of a shooting in progress around 2:45 p.m. They arrived to find John Michael Powell, of Newport News, Va., 35, fleeing the scene in a black Chevy Avalanche and promptly arrested him.

Riddick, 40, had been shot multiple times and lay in the parking lot next to her red Ford Mustang, police said in a news release. Her three-year-old son, Powell's namesake, witnessed the crime but was not physically injured, and the killing likely stemmed from an ongoing custody battle involved the tot, according to officials involved in the case.

EPD officers, who are stationed less than a half-mile from the park and arrived within one minute, rendered first aid to Riddick until EMS staff arrived. She was taken to UNC Rockingham Health Care where she was pronounced dead around 3 p.m.

Powell has been charged with one count of discharging a weapon into occupied property, in addition to the murder charge. He is being held without bond in the Rockingham County Detention Facility and is scheduled to appear in Rockingham County District Court in Wentworth on Aug. 8.

Newport News police have yet to say whether Powell has a criminal record in Virginia.

Officials said they had no knowledge of a restraining order or protective order filed against Powell by Riddick in Rockingham County.

A senseless loss

This is a senseless and tragic loss of life; the family and work family are in our thoughts and prayers, EDP Chief Clint Simpson said in the release. Unfortunately, this incident occurred at Freedom Park in the parking lot. Even more senseless was to commit this act of violence in a location with numerous families and children nearby.

Staff and patients at Riddicks hospital are devastated, they said.

UNC Health Rockingham is a small, community hospital that fosters a close-knit, family environment amongst our teammates, said Erica Vernon, director of public relations for Riddicks hospital.

Dr. Gwendolyn Riddick was a member of our family, and losing a family member to tragic circumstances is incredibly difficult. Today, our UNC Health Rockingham family grieves her loss and extends our deepest sympathies to her loved ones. We have employee assistance and chaplains on-site to support our team members. We will be doing more to honor Dr. Riddick and her legacy of resilience and compassion in the days to come.

Domestic violence strong in Rockingham Co.

Meanwhile, domestic violence is a deep and serious problem across Rockingham County that Riddick's death sharply underscores, said a top administrator at Help, Inc., a full-service agency in Wentworth that links victims of domestic abuse with the justice system, counselors, shelters and other resources.

"In preparation for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, we had just talked to the city of Eden about organizing a special walk at Freedom Park,'' said Help Inc.'s Director of Operations Chrissy Griffin.

"This tragedy is actually gonna make that event hit a little bit harder,'' said Griffin, who has assisted battered women for eight years through her agency and worked as a victim's assistant for the Rockingham County District Attorney's Office prior to that.

Women in peril often file protective orders against their abusers as formal complaints that are designed to block abusers from coming near victims.

Between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023, Rockingham County victims took out 389 Protective Orders through the Help, Inc.'s Justice Center, Griffin said, explaining more were processed through the Circuit Court Clerk's office.

Since 2002, counting Riddick's death, Rockingham County has seen 11 domestic abuse-related homicides or suicides, Griffin said.

The most recent were a three murders in Reidsville in 2018, one homicide in Reidsville in 2019, a murder/suicide in Madison in 2020 and Riddick's killing July 30 in Eden.

The majority of domestic violence takes place behind closed doors and is hidden from the public and a victim's family and friends, Griffin said.

Brazen, targeted abuse

But Sunday's attack on Riddick was an example of brazen "targeted" abuse in broad daylight.

"One of the things that is still bothering me is that this was 2 o'clock on a Sunday in a park,'' Griffin said. "It just shows that sometimes abusers do not care who is around or what is going on."

Griffin had considered taking her child to the park's splash pad that afternoon, in fact, but made other plans that spared her child from being exposed to violence.

"But I worry about children who might have been there who have heard a parent threaten another with a gun in their homes ... the kind of fear this will put in them,'' Griffin said.

"Everyone deserves to be safe, safe at home, and we would hope we would be safe anywhere we go.''

Innocence lost

The most grave trauma comes to children who witness violent crimes against their own family members, Griffin and other experts said.

"It robs them of their innocence, Then they can become afraid of everyone. In this case, the little boy loves his mom and his dad in different ways, but he's lost both of them.''

Riddick's death will likely spark an increase in calls to Help, Inc. from women seeking to flee abusive situations, Griffin said.

"I'm thankful for the coverage this is getting, because it reminds people to reach out and get help,'' Griffin said, explaining Help, Inc., assists women by helping them make a holistic plan to get to safety. Something that means transferring them away from a county shelter to a facility hours away where security is stronger.

"We help women put a plan together so there are safety measures in place,'' Griffin said. "Women have a system set up so people know when you need help.''

Riddick's move to UNC Women's Health

Riddick joined UNC Womens Health in Eden in October 2021. A friend from residency had recommended the medical practice and the small Rockingham County city as ideal for Riddick. She treated around 25 patients daily and delivered around 10 babies per month.

I wanted to be in a place where I could give back to the community, Riddick said in a 2022 interview. I want to be involved with teenagers when it comes to mentoring on a level outside of the office, so that is what attracted me to Eden.

Born in Gates County in the northeastern part of the state, Riddick grew up the middle child of six in a home where money was scarce, but achievement was celebrated and support from her parents was abundant.

I always knew that I wanted to be a doctor, Riddick said in the interview. You know when you ask little kids what they wanna be in life? Thats what I always said because I wanted to help people. I didnt know what kind of doctor. Ive always been inspired to help others. Its just something Ive always had in my heart.

Growing up with two sisters and three brothers, money was tight when it came to the familys own medical care.

My family were financially disadvantaged, so we didnt have a lot of luxuries when it came to having our own doctor, per se, Riddick said in 2022. So a lot of our health care was actually at the health department.

School was a place where Riddick found she could define herself and plan for a life that would lift her family economically, she said.

There were challenges along the way.

Riddick gave birth to a daughter, Aniya, during her high school years. She took only a three-week maternity leave from school. I really was inspired because I really wanted not to become a statistic. I wanted to achieve success academically. That was at the forefront of my mind  and being a mother, too.

She graduated as the Gates County High School with major scholarship offers.

My parents were very supportive of me, Riddick said. They wanted to help me with my daughter so that I could go on and do what I wanted to do in life as far as going to college, Riddick said. They pushed me to stay in school and to do well.

My parents were able to help me raise my daughter while I went to college, said Riddick, who began her studies on a full scholarship at UNC Chapel Hill but transferred to East Carolina University in Greenville so that she could more easily commute home every weekend to be with her little girl. Aniya would ultimately follow in her moms footsteps as a pre-med biology major.

Riddick graduated early from ECU in December 2004, and attended medical school at Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg. She worked at several locations in Virginia, including Newport News, before her move to Eden. She also had a second child, a boy named John Michael, with her partner John Powell, the man now charged in her death.

In Eden, the practitioners welcomed me with open arms, Riddick said. I enjoy working with Dr. (Nigel) Buist and Dr. (Dionne) Galloway, as well. And I enjoy working with the staff here. Theyve been very warm.

Her most critical focus was in fulfilling her personal promise to give patients the comfort of unconditional acceptance and compassion, along with a big dose of patient education.

My patients are very thankful to me that I relay information to them in a manner which they understand, Riddick said. I think thats why Ive always had a large following with patient care because I want for my patients to understand exactly whats going on with their health.

Steven E. Eblin, president and CEO of UNC Rockingham Health Care, said last year that Riddicks commitment to her patients and helping those in the community facing challenges is truly inspiring.

Anyone with information concerning Riddicks death is asked to contact Detective Tyson Scales or Lt. Andrew Kenyi at 336-623-9755 (24hr) or 336-623-9240 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. To leave an anonymous tip, call Rockingham County Crimestoppers at 336-349-9683.
Luis Davila  known to some as Tuikitraka  realizes that people stare at him. Some laugh or point, too.

Wearing bright grease paint on his face and oversized polka-dot shoes in 90-degree heat will do that.

But as eye-popping as the costume is, its another part of his act that really grabs attention: Who could possibly look away from a fire-breathing clown? Near a busy intersection?

I (grew up) in the circus, said Tuikitraka through a translator. A lot of people judge me. But this is what I know.

More than a number

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, some 1.5 million immigrants came to the United States in 2021 adding to the 13.6 percent foreign-born residents of the U.S. total of 331.9 million. About 2.8 million people were turned away at the border in fiscal 2022.

But those are just raw numbers. The power  and the inspiration  lies in individual stories.

And stumbling across a man willing to stand under a blistering sun with grease paint running down his neck and hands blackened by smoke and fire seemed worth stopping for.

Besides, its impossible to look past a fire-breathing street artist. Call it an occupational hazard.

Google translate and high-school Spanglish will only carry a guy so far. So after watching a bumbling attempt to bridge the language barrier, customers (and employees) in a business behind Tuikitrakas impromptu stage volunteered to help.

Hes from Honduras, said Daniel Rivera, a store clerk who had been enjoying the show. He says hes been here for six weeks.

Policymakers at City Hall who require permits for panhandling may disagree, but Tuikitraka shouldnt be considered a beggar.

Hes neither waving a hand-lettered sign proclaiming himself a disabled veteran nor selling a story about running out of gas.

Rather, Tuikitraka is a street performer. Hes trying to survive.

On random days, Tuikitraka works in parking lots in clunky clown shoes. He carries an assortment of bowling pins for juggling, a portable speaker to play Latin American music and, yeah, a fuel can and an array of torches.

He displays no signs and doesnt ask for anything. That said, if someone whos stopped to watch  or snap a photo  offers a few bucks, Tuikitraka isnt going to turn it down.

By the way, thats the mans stage name, and no, I didnt ask about his immigration status. Anyone with enough guts to move to a new country for a shot at something for better should be admired, not scorned or belittled.

Giving 100 percent

Tuikitraka learned the tricks of the trade, Rivera translated, in the circus  the family business. In addition to the fire-breathing and juggling, Tuikitraka proudly said he can perform a trapeze act and make balloon animals.

His act in the middle of the day Wednesday certainly entertained. Several passersby made it a point to stop.

One, a painter named Cornello Antunez, was moved to press a few bills into Tuikitrakas hand. Perhaps it was because he saw something of himself in the younger man.

I came to California in 1984 when I was 16, Antunez said. Im 56 now.

He, too, arrived from Mexico with an artists heart. Antunez said he was always drawn to drawing, painting and creating. Painting houses, cleaning decks and brick sidewalks is a living not a passion.

If I have a piece of wood or metal in my hand, I have to make something out of it, he said. It was hard to get a job when I first came here. I thank God. I thank this country.

So does Tuikitraka.

I have a wife and three kids, he said, opening his phone so he could happily show a stranger some photos of his wife and kids.

His explanation was simple, direct and caused a moment of gratitude for what most of us were gifted at birth.

My father always told (me) to do 100 percent of everything, Tuikitraka said. This country is the best opportunity. I am really blessed.
A cultural shift that started 50 years ago in the Bronx, New York wouldnt be what it is without 1086 East 17th Street in Winston-Salem.

It was at that Cleveland Avenue Homes address where a 7-year-old Patrick Douthit, who was visiting his cousin, heard his first hip-hop song, Planet Rock by Soulsonic Force.

It turned my world upside down, Douthit said.

Forty-one years later, Douthit, now known as the Grammy award-winning producer, 9th Wonder, has returned the favor to hip-hop, helping turn others worlds upside down. Hes turned old classics into new vessels on which artists like Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar and North Carolinas own J. Cole have told their stories.

Last week, 9th Wonder shared some history and his personal relationship with hip-hop, at Reynolds Place Theater, just two miles from where his journey started. In front of a sold-out audience, he presented a master class of the genres origins and evolution and was later joined by panelists to celebrate and discuss 50 years of hip-hop.

The event was held by Triad Cultural Arts and the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.

If you think about rock, jazz, blues, anything else, were the youngest, 9th Wonder said. Even though were the youngest, the worldwide phenomenon of hip-hop has stretched past race, color, creed, gender, languages. Its as universal as math.

The Master Class

For 9th Wonder, who has taught about hip-hop at Wake Forest, Duke, Elizabeth City State and Harvard, this master class was different.

It was the first time he lectured in front of his parents, Elmore and Patricia Douthit. 9th Wonders mother served as a teaching assistant with Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools for 46 years, and his father is a retiree of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.

The presentation was also different because 9th Wonder shared his story in front of those who were a part of it, including his 12th grade teacher Fleming El-Amin. El-Amin, a former Forsyth County commissioner, introduced 9th Wonder to the crowd and presented him with a proclamation from the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners recognizing the 50th anniversary of hip-hop and 9th Wonder's contributions.

Mayor Allen Joines also recognized July 24, 2023 as "9th Wonder" Day.

Its a fulfillment of a dream almost been realized in this life, El-Amin said. When you see a student of yours evolve to the point where hes evolved, its just a blessing.

9th Wonders presentation began well before the release of Sugar Hill Gangs Rappers Delight in 1979, otherwise known as the first hip-hop song.

He traced the genres history back to the West African griots who were truth tellers in tribes prior to 1600. The griots laid the foundation for the tradition of which the African diaspora passed down messages by word of mouth.

During chattel slavery, that tradition turned into spirituals that were often coded messages that only the enslaved could understand. Those spirituals then evolved into the gospel and soulful music 9th Wonders parents listened to.

It seemed like in the 1970s when I was born, my house started to sound like a funeral home a little bit, 9th Wonder joked. His parents often listened to artists like James Cleveland, Mighty Clouds of Joy, The Clark Sisters and Luther Vandross.

At the same time, disco and funk rose in popularity, introducing a different sound and way of life when it came to fashion. DJ Kool Herc, originally from Jamaica, brought soundboards to block parties in the Bronx in 1973, and at those parties, he created the get down, or repeated loops of drum breaks from those funk records.

That new sound was the beginning of hip-hop.

Sylvia Robinson, a Black woman credited as the first CEO of hip-hop with her label, Sugar Hill Records, paid attention to the movement, studying what was happening at Studio 54 in New York City. One of the songs played at Studio 54 was Chics Good Times which Sugar Hill Gang sampled to birth hip-hop records.

Sylvia Robinson saw the duality of what was going on in New York City at the time and was faced with one thing called Reaganomics, 9th Wonder said. Reaganomics was tearing the city apart, and Sugar Hill Gang was when hip-hop was happy and was having a good timeAt the same time we also needed another side of hip-hop.

That brought 9th Wonder to The Message released in 1982 by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. That record became the driving force behind conscious rap.

9th Wonder emphasized how records that came after The Message became a source of knowledge as Black people began to learn more about their history from artists such as Public Enemy and KRS-One.

Schools, for the most part, only taught about Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington. Hip-hop went deeper, teaching about Black inventors, revolutionaries and ideals such as Pan-Africanism.

Yet, it wasnt just the lyrics providing a history lesson. The music behind the words had their own layers and depth through sampling  9th Wonders expertise.

Its also a literary sense, 9th Wonder said. Its all about what you hear, knowing the importance of the history of sound. A lot of us producers and DJs are vinyl archaeologists.

Ariel Smith, host of The Food Truck Scholar podcast and an attendee of 9th Wonders event, said the most interesting part of the lesson was 9th Wonder's in-depth discussion on sampling.

Its DNA, lowkey, Smith said. Its a lineage. When youre listening to one song, youre listening to like eight, and when youre listening to an album, youre not listening to just 12, youre listening to 50. And, when youre listening to those other songs, youve got to figure out what inspired those songs and why were those songs selected to be a part of this song?

9th Wonder said he has to go through thousands of records at the record store before finding music worth sampling for a beat. Whether the song is a hit or not doesnt matter  its about picking the most infectious part of a song.

For Pete Rock, a producer, in 1992, the most infectious part of Tom Scott and The California Dreamers Today was the saxophone melody at the 1:38 mark used to make They Reminisce Over You. That record helped inspire 9th Wonder to become a producer.

Sampling is such a bad term when it comes to hip-hop because they say that were stealing, 9th Wonder said. If youve ever been to school, everything you do or everything youve been taught is a remix of what youve heard beforeReformulate our thoughts, words, ideas to teach the next generation. That is whats important.

The Next Generation

When it comes to contemporary mainstream hip-hop, 9th Wonder probably isnt playing it in his car.

Its not because it doesnt have a place in the culture. The youths version of hip-hop just doesnt speak to 9th Wonder, a 48-year-old man, in the same way it speaks to a 14-year old, and thats ok.

Everybody has a right to tell their story, 9th Wonder said. No matter if you agree with the story or not. Sometimes hip-hop shows the ugly underbelly of this country, or what is done to a kid in this country.

At Mondays event, panelists, including Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough Jr. and District Court Judge Fred Adams, discussed why hip-hop has lasted so long and where the culture is headed.

Kimbrough, who has been dealing with a high number of homicides in Forsyth County this summer, brought up concerns about violent lyrics in contemporary rap and whether those lyrics are influencing Black youth to take each others lives.

9th Wonder said that issue may be bigger than hip-hop.

That comes from somewhere, 9th Wonder said. It comes from kids being forgotten about from second or third grade and put on this side and told that theyre bad because of how they dress or how they look. It comes from impoverished neighborhoods  If a kid is making a song like that, that kid is actually trying to tell somebody something.

Bryon Turman, a hip-hop professor at N.C. A&T State University, who was also a panelist, hopes hip-hop will stick around based on his observations on how Black people have maintained their culture when creative chains are broken.

I think that as Black Folk, weve always found ways outside of the established methods to maintain our culture, Turman said. One of the things that the majority of folks have done to us, particularly within education, is theyve disconnected our creative chains so that somehow spirituals have no connection to Africa. Somehow blues has no connection to spirituals.

Turman said, Hip-hop comes, and it shows connectivity.

Panelists also talked about how computer software and music streaming have made listening and creating hip-hop a more accessible process for anyone in the world interested in the culture. This has also sped up the process of innovation and evolution in the genre.

Kevin Rowsey, a Triangle-based hip-hop artist and educator known as "Rowdy," said he's excited about the new generation's move away from record labels.

Im very excited about how theres been more power to the independent artist, Rowdy said. Not only do we have like more of a variation of different artists in hip-hop, but those artists are staying true to their craft and have the infrastructure and the means to do their thing on the level that they want to do it at without necessarily having to go through major support.

Hip-hop has found its way into new regions, especially North Carolina. Since North Carolina pioneers, including 9th Wonder, hit the scene, the state has been on the rise as a hip-hop center with J. Cole and Morray from Fayetteville, Rapsody from Snow Hill, Toosii from Raleigh, DaBaby and Reuben Vincent from Charlotte and TiaCorine from Winston-Salem.

I just feel like the hip-hop culture in North Carolina  as important as the south is, as important as the mecca of Atlanta is  specifically these triangulated, heavy and growing metropolitan areas, are about to bring a new wave of southern hip-hop, Rowdy said.

That wave is arguably already rolling. When its all said and done, the history made by the many centers of North Carolina hip-hop will be traced back to the African griots just like its predecessors.

But, it had to make a stop at 1086 East 17th Street in Winston-Salem.

GALLERY: 9th Wonder presents 50th anniversary of Hip Hop
A Crete man was treated at a hospital in Crete after he accidentally shot himself with his friend's handgun at a barbecue Saturday evening about 15 miles southwest of Lincoln, according to authorities.

The 29-year-old man picked the Glock 9 mm up off a picnic table, cocked it and pulled the trigger after the gun's owner, a 22-year-old Lancaster County man, had set it down while showing it off to friends at the barbecue, said Capt. Tommy Trotter of the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office.

The shooting happened at a property near the southwestern edge of Lancaster County, 2 miles east of Crete, Trotter said. Crete police called the Sheriff's Office to investigate after determining it happened in Lancaster County.

"The investigation revealed that it was completely accidental," Trotter said.

The man shattered a metatarsal bone in his right foot and was treated and released from Crete Area Medical Center.

Deputies didn't issue any citations stemming from the incident.

Most dangerous cities in Nebraska Dangerous Cities in Nebraska 6. South Sioux City 5. Scottsbluff 4. North Platte 3. Lincoln 2. Grand Island 1. Omaha A note about the numbers
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen is sending more than 60 Nebraska Army National Guard soldiers to the U.S.-Mexico border to aid Texas authorities in their efforts to counter immigration and drug trafficking there.

The soldiers, who will depart Wednesday from Nebraska and will return in early September, are being sent to the border to provide "additional observation and reporting near the border" to assist Texas law enforcement involved in "Operation Lone Star," Pillen's office announced Monday.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott launched the operation in March 2021, deploying resources from the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard to the border in an effort to secure the area. The operation has been ongoing since.

This mission is critical to the security of Nebraska as well as other states, Pillen said in a news release announcing Wednesday's deployment of Nebraskans.

We need to maintain the safety of our citizenry and stem the ongoing influx of illegal drugs, weapons and criminals into our borders.

Pillen's team noted Nebraska's participation in the operation comes at the request of emergency management officials in Texas. Federal funds "directed through the Nebraska National Guard will cover costs associated with this deployment," the governor's office said.

The governor in May sent 10 Nebraska state troopers to assist in drone surveillance for two weeks.

The state was not reimbursed for costs of that deployment, which was paid for through the State Patrol's budget, the governor's office said then.

May's deployment marked the third time a Nebraska governor has sent troopers to the border. The state's tab for such deployments has already pushed north of $600,000, the Nebraska Examiner reported last week.

In Monday's announcement, Pillen's team pointed to President Joe Biden's "ineffective" border policies as the impetus for Nebraska's presence at the border.

Pillen said failing to address the situation at the border "only opens the door to threats that we cant fully recognize yet.

Citing statistics provided by Abbott's office, Pillen's team said authorities working on Operation Lone Star have apprehended nearly 400,000 illegal immigrants, made 31,800 criminal arrests resulting in 29,300 felony charges, and seized 422 million doses of fentanyl.

It's unclear how much fentanyl constitutes a dose.

Photos: Jim Pillen marks 100 days in governor's office
Sen. Deb Fischer secured more than $20 million for water infrastructure projects across Nebraska in a bill that was unanimously advanced Thursday by the Senate Appropriations Committee, Fischer's office announced.

The Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which advanced out of committee on a 28-0 vote Thursday, includes $10 million earmarked for the Cedar Knox Rural Water Project in northeast Nebraska.

Gov. Jim Pillen in May vetoed $7 million in state funds that the Legislature had earmarked for the same project, saying the state already had put significant money into the project.

The project's defunding at the hands of the governor was part of $119 million Pillen vetoed out of the state budget bills. State lawmakers overrode one of the governor's line-item vetoes  restoring $1.1 million to the state auditor's office.

Now, Fischer, the state's senior Republican senator who sits on the body's Appropriations Committee, has secured the sought-after funds for the construction of a water source, treatment plant and distribution system that will serve residents in Knox and Cedar counties  along with funds for a dozen other infrastructure projects.

This funding bill will keep Nebraskans healthy and safe by investing in crucial water infrastructure projects across our state," Fischer said in a news release Monday.

"I fought to secure measures that support the construction of water treatment plants, the replacement of aging water towers, and the continued removal of dangerous lead pipes throughout our state," she added.

The bill, which still needs Senate and House approval, also includes $360,000 to replace lead service lines and water meters in Denton, along with $72,000 to replace water meters in Malcolm.

The bill also includes $1.5 million to upgrade and rehabilitate the existing wastewater treatment plant and collection system in York.

Photos: Last day of the 108th Nebraska Legislature
Grasslands Unlimited is adding pollinator habitat to Omaha, one median and intersection at a time.

Founder Trevor Pellerite said a group of volunteers started with two medians as part of a pilot program this spring and hopes to expand to 15 to 20 more in the next three years.

Were calling it our urban pocket prairie campaign, he said. What were trying to do is partner with the City of Omaha to basically create pollinator habitat in marginal unused spaces around the city.

The group is focusing on roadsides, medians and intersections that are filled sometimes with turf grass but more often are full of weeds that the city must spend tax dollars mowing and spraying.

The goal is to convert those marginal areas into pollinator habitat that benefits birds and butterflies while requiring less maintenance in the future once the new beds are established.

He said the citys response so far has been positive.

They seem pretty excited to have a new group involved in maintaining these spots, Pellerite said.

The group uses plants that stay short enough not to impede traffic, that are drought tolerant and that wont need to be watered, and those that can handle some road salt

Long-headed coneflower, butterfly milkweed, golden Alexander and asters are among the plants theyve used. Seeds come from Prairie Legacy Inc. in Western, Nebraska, and those they harvest themselves. Plants have been sourced from Midwest Natives Nursery in Lincoln.

I could not be more thrilled with how the first one looks, Pellerite said. Almost every plant we planted is alive and thriving in this one median.

Its located at 114th and Davenport Streets. The others is on the frontage road near 114th Street and West Dodge Road.

The small group, which is looking for new members, is interested in supporting pollinators and sustainability. Go to grasslandsunlimited.org for information.

Pellerite also transformed his own property when he moved here from Colorado, where he was attending law school. Hes now earning his masters in biology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where hes studying the impact of road side restoration on small mammal communities.

One of the first things we did is kill our entire front lawn. We have planted the entire thing with native wildflowers and native prairie grasses, he said. Theres nothing more gratifying than watching your neighbors mow and water their grass on 90-degree days and you can just go out and enjoy your wildflowers. This is pretty much no maintenance.

Pellerite said hes hoping that the groups small-scale restoration programs will ultimately persuade the city to change its policies to be even more sustainable and prairie-friendly.

He and other members are trying to make the world a better place using all the tools at their disposal.

I think weve been able to do something really incredible in a few months with a few hundred dollars and a couple of dedicated volunteers, he said. We cant wait to see what this program can grow into.
Global dancers revel in enchanting Xinjiang

08:22, July 31, 2023 By Deng Yushan, Liu Hongxia, Zhao Chenjie ( Xinhua

URUMQI, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Before her departure back home, Russian dancer Sofia Efremenko conveyed her gratitude, describing her week-long stay in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region as "amazing and unforgettable," and expressed a strong desire to visit the region again in the future.

The 17-year-old dancer, with members of her song and dance ensemble "Zorenka," was in Xinjiang to take part in an international dance festival, which will last until Aug. 5.

The 6th China Xinjiang International Dance Festival has attracted over 1,000 artists from countries and regions in Asia, Europe and Africa, and they are expected to stage some 60 well-known performances. Additionally, the festival provides a unique opportunity for the participants to experience the beauty of Xinjiang and explore all that this remarkable region has to offer.

This photo taken on July 20, 2023 shows the opening ceremony of the 6th China Xinjiang International Dance Festival in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

ART TRANSCENDS BORDERS

Some 2,000 years ago, Zhang Qian, an envoy of China's Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD), made his maiden visit to Central Asia via Xinjiang, and initiated a trade route that later became the Silk Road.

The story has been transformed into a dance drama and was performed on the opening night of the dance festival.

"Everything was very readable and insanely beautiful, including the costumes, the setting and the work of the choreographers," Efremenko said.

In a captivating hexagonal pavilion at the Xinjiang Art Theater, the dance troupe members from the Bunditpatanasilpa Institute of Thailand and the Muqam Art Troupe of Xinjiang Art Theater came together to put on a remarkable performance.

Actors perform the dance drama "Zhang Qian" during the 6th China Xinjiang International Dance Festival in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 20, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Amidst the mesmerizing ambiance, Chinese musicians skillfully tapped the tambourine and plucked the strings of the traditional folk musical instrument, Rewap. As the music gradually intensified with a faster tempo, Thai performer Suwannee Choosen matched the rhythm, accelerating the motion of her Saw duang, or Thai fiddle, with graceful bow strokes. The harmonious blend of cultures and musical talents created a captivating symphony that enchanted the audience.

"When I first heard the sound of Rewap, I found it somewhat unique," said Choosen. "When it was accompanied by the sound of Saw duang, the ensemble turned out to be harmonious and enjoyable."

The Thai dance troupe is one of the 11 foreign troupes participating in this festival. In addition to showcasing their own unique dance styles, the performances of some countries artfully incorporated elements from other nations, creating a delightful fusion of cultures on stage.

Dance troupe members from the Bunditpatanasilpa Institute of Thailand and the Muqam Art Troupe of Xinjiang Art Theater dance together in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 24, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Djurabaeva Khosiljanova, a member of the Dance Troupe of Uzbekistan National Grand Theatre "Tumor," said their troupe rehearsed for more than two months and incorporated Chinese dance in the performance, with the melody of the Chinese folk song "Xi Yang Yang," or "Full of Joy."

The dance drama "A Dream of Red Mansions," adapted from the Chinese classic novel that tells the stories about the rise and fall of four noble families, was also performed at the ongoing festival.

"Dance is a language and a way of communication. Swaying, raising hands and other moves express our understanding of the famous work to those who love dance and art," said Li Xing, the director of the drama.

Members from the Dance Troupe of Uzbekistan National Grand Theatre "Tumor" perform during a gala titled "Our Common Home" at the 6th China Xinjiang International Dance Festival in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 24, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)

According to Wang Yongge, a professor at Xinjiang Arts University, the festival serves as a communication platform, fostering dance performances, encouraging theoretical research and promoting collaboration among relevant higher education institutions.

Enthralled by The Sleeping Beauty performance by the Ballet Troupe of the National Grand Theatre of Belarus, He Yihang, a resident of Xinjiang's regional capital Urumqi, could hardly contain her excitement, exclaiming, "It felt like a dream come true! We can enjoy the world's top art performances at home."

During this vibrant dance carnival, theaters have been bustling with the enthusiastic presence of both locals and numerous tourists from various parts of China, all coming together to revel in the joyous aura.

Dancers from the Ballet Troupe of the National Grand Theatre of Belarus perform in the ballet "The Sleeping Beauty" during the 6th China Xinjiang International Dance Festival in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)

A GLIMPSE OF REAL XINJIANG

After a day-long air journey, Nomthandazo Mlungwana, the project manager of the South African dance troupe, along with her fellow members, arrived at the Urumqi Diwopu International Airport to a delightful welcome from their Chinese counterparts. A dancer from Xinjiang Art Theater, donning a doppa with diversified patterns and a pink robe, presented a bouquet of flowers to Mlungwana.

Soon after, the Chinese and South African artists danced in perfect sync, swaying and swishing to the music's rhythm.

"We feel at home here," said Mlungwana, adding that they were "all fascinated by Xinjiang folk dances."

Members from South African dance troupe go sightseeing at the International Grand Bazaar in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Ho Ho-Fei, a senior dancer from the Hong Kong Dance Company, who had previously studied Xinjiang dance and seen people dancing during festivals, said: "Xinjiang dance exudes confidence and joy that runs through Xinjiang people's blood and bones. As the music starts, they move naturally."

Inside the Xinjiang Art Museum, a multimedia screen showcased dancers in action, and Efremenko and her peers eagerly attempted to imitate their moves. The screen showed people of different ethnic groups of Xinjiang singing, dancing and celebrating the harvest.

"Xinjiang is doing a good job in protecting and promoting multi-ethnic cultures, and in a high-tech way; impressive," Efremenko said.

Dancers from State Dance Ensemble of Kazakhstan "Saltanat" perform during the song and dance party "Affluent Hometown" at the Xinjiang People's Theater in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 21, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Yelubay Kenzhaliyev, head of the State Dance Ensemble of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Saltanat," said: "Xinjiang is not like what I had thought. It is modern and fashionable."

As the dance festival progresses, more artists, including those from the Republic of Korea and Georgia, are expected to arrive. Their journey to Xinjiang holds significance beyond mere performance and art, promising enriching cultural exchanges and lasting connections.

The festival's organizing committee received a heartfelt message from Mlungwana on Wednesday. She said the members of the South African troupe were deeply moved by the warm hospitality and enthusiasm shown by the people of Xinjiang.

"We treasure the profound friendship of the Xinjiang people, and will always remember and spread it when we get back home," the message read.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
SALEM LAKES  Authorities are still searching for the man who reportedly set a woman on fire in an attempted homicide before fleeing the scene early Sunday.

The suspect is still on the run and we continue to ask for our community members to be on the watch for him and call with any information, said Kenosha County Sheriffs Department Sgt. Colin Coultrip Monday.

We have been receiving tips on his location which we are working with our area partners to investigate these tips. As for the victim, she is still receiving treatment and in critical condition.

Authorities issued a felony warrant for the arrest of Myron Faith Bowie, who is on the run and believed to be driving a black Cadillac SRX with Illinois license plate DQ46996, according to the sheriffs department. The suspect is considered armed and dangerous. Authorities have recommended charges of attempted first-degree intentional homicide and domestic abuse.

Bowie has been known to stay in the Chicago area at Logan Square and Wicker Park, according to authorities.

The suspect was described as a Black male in his mid-30s, about 6 feet tall and weighing approximately 200 pounds. He was last seen wearing no shirt and pajama pants when he fled the scene.

The incident occurred at 4:47 a.m. and sheriffs deputies, along with Salem Lakes Fire Department responded to a home in the 24500 block of 86th Place where a caller stated that her boyfriend had set her on fire and she needed help, according to authorities.

The victim was transported to an area hospital with severe burns. Bowie and the woman had reportedly had an argument when the suspect told her he would kill her, her children and her entire family before setting her on fire and driving away, fleeing the scene.

The incident remains under investigation and has sparked headlines across the region.

The sheriffs department is seeking the assistance of the public.

Anyone who knows where he is or has seen his vehicle is asked to contact Kenosha County Sheriffs Department Detective Bureau at 262-605-5102 or Kenosha Area Crime Stoppers at 262-656-7333 or 800-807-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards of up to $1,000.
RACINE  The City of Racine and Racine Unified School District are working on a transfer that would result in RUSD owning a park and the city owning three school buildings.

Under the proposed agreement, Racine Unified would own Franklin Park, and the City of Racine would own Janes, Red Apple and Winslow schools.

The City of Racine also would receive a parking lot near Janes Elementary and land near Julian Thomas Elementary. The land would be part of the citys plan to redevelop the Lincoln-King neighborhood.

In addition, the city would have the right of first refusal to purchase Dr. Jones Elementary, which closed earlier this year.

The Racine City Council voted 10-1 July 17 to approve the transfer.

The agreement still needs approval from the RUSD Board, which is expected to vote on it in August or September.

The proposal will be brought to the School Board after city and school district staff meet to finalize details, including when ownership would be transferred.

Transfer details

RUSD plans to transfer ownership of the schools because they would be expensive to maintain.

Theres a great deal of maintenance that will need to be done to modernize the three buildings, said Peter Reynolds, RUSD chief operations officer. It really makes sense, fiscally, for us to partner with the city, because then what the city can do is redevelop them as parcels.

During the July 17 City Council meeting, Mayor Cory Mason said he anticipates the school buildings will be redeveloped to have mixed-use residential capacity if the transfer is approved.

Thats the presumption, but theres no specific plans on any of the buildings just yet, Mason said.

The transfer timeline still needs to be determined, as RUSD students will use Janes Elementary during the upcoming school year and Red Apple Elementary for the next two school years.

The Winslow school building, 1325 Park Ave., closed in 2017.

Janes, 1425 N. Wisconsin St., was closed during the 2022-23 school year but will host Jerstad-Agerholm elementary students in 2023-24 because of renovation work at Jerstad.

Under the proposed transfer, the city would own the Red Apple school at 914 St. Patrick St., which is scheduled to close in June 2025.

Red Apple is scheduled to expand into a K-8 school at a new location at 1012 Center St. The new building is expected to open in August 2025 and focus on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics education.

The school district wanted Franklin Park because it is next to the future Red Apple site.

The park likely will be used for parking space, STEAM learning, recess and physical education, according to Reynolds.

Reynolds also said Franklin Park might be the future site of a district-wide STEAM center.

Franklin Park, 900 11th St., has about 3.8 acres of land, according to a City Council fact sheet.

10 colleges where women graduates earn more than men 10 colleges where women graduates earn more than men #10. Viterbo University #9. Marymount Manhattan College #8. Oklahoma Wesleyan University #7. American International College #6. Talladega College #4. Cumberland University #3. San Francisco Art Institute #2. Hampton University #1. Holy Names University
Parents have a lot to worry about when preparing for a baby: their health, hospital bills, whether or not the delivery goes smoothly  the list goes on and on. But another concern is becoming more prominent.

(Child care) has literally been the biggest stress of my entire pregnancy  not knowing exactly where our baby is going to go, if theyre going to be safe, and just knowing the waitlists are so long and the astronomical prices, said Menashas Hannah Wainio, whos expecting her first child in late July.

Hannah and her husband, Grant, started their child care search as soon as they learned she was pregnant at five weeks. When Hannah spoke to USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin in June, the family still had not found care.

Their story isnt unique. In Outagamie County, there are over 1,200 children younger than 2 on regulated child care waitlists, according to data recently compiled by Child Care Resource & Referral Fox Valley. In Winnebago County, there are nearly 550.

In Family and Child Care Resources of Northeast Wisconsins service area, infant waitlists can span one to two years, said executive director Paula Breese. CCR&R Fox Valleys executive director, Candy Hall, said wait times can be over five years.

Because of this, its increasingly common for parents to get on wait lists even before they conceive. Six months before Ripons Ashley Giese found out she was expecting her fourth child, she told her child care provider she was trying to get pregnant. In New Glarus, Abby Funseth timed the conception of her second child around a child care opening.

People plan all of the things they need and the logistics of waking up at night (to feed their infant), those are things you expect as a new parent. But you dont always expect an 18-month waiting list for daycare, Giese said.

Why is care for infants so difficult to find?

The financial model most child care programs in Wisconsin operate within is flawed, said Kelly Matthews, co-director of Wisconsin Early Childhood Associations shared services network.

Aside from funds from Child Care Counts, the states monthly stabilization payment program, which is set to expire in early 2024, the price parents pay for care is often the only revenue centers see, Matthews said. This has to cover myriad costs, including utilities, rent or mortgage, insurance, personnel costs and more.

Providers often charge parents less than the actual cost of care  all costs of running the child care facility, from bills to livable wages and benefits for the educators  in an attempt to keep prices manageable. And thats with child care workers being notoriously underpaid compared to those with similar credentials in other fields.

Child care businesses are left to survive on thin profit margins  typically 1% to 2%, while most businesses profit margins span 10% to 20%, according to research compiled by the Greater Fox Valley Child Care Alliance.

Licensed child care programs in Wisconsin are also subject to regulations aimed at ensuring infants get age-appropriate care, Matthews said.

In a licensed family child care setting  a child care business based in the providers home  the number of children younger than age 2 present often limits the total number of children it can serve full time, which also limits its revenue.

In group centers, staff-to-child ratios allow for more children per staff member as children get older. For example, one staff member can either supervise four children younger than 2, or six children ages 2 to 2.

Without (funding) based on the true cost of care, it is a better financial decision for child care programs to take children 2 and older than it is for them to take infants, which (leaves) both programs and families struggling, Matthews said. The issue is the (lack) of revenue coming in, not the ratios.

Caring for infants is often more labor-intensive than caring for older children, as infants typically require more one-on-one interaction, according to First 5 Fox Valley Director Barb Tengesdal. Its also harder on providers bodies, with all of the bending and lifting, according to Corrine Hendrickson, a licensed family child care provider in New Glarus.

As a result, theres often high turnover among infant teachers.

What happens when families cant find care?

Even searching for care well before their infant is due doesnt always guarantee families a spot  let alone one they can afford. According to Child Care Aware of America, the average cost of center-based infant care in Wisconsin in 2022 was $13,572, and the average price of infant care for in a family child care was $10,400. Both surpass the cost of a year of in-state tuition at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

As soon as she knew her pregnancy was viable, Allyssa Thomas, a Milwaukee-area teacher, began contacting centers, many of which required nonrefundable waitlist fees. Based on the responses, she doesnt expect a slot will open by the time her maternity leave ends.

While Thomas is confident she can piece together care for a few months if needed, she said if it takes too long, she might need to leave her job.

Id imagine that either myself or my husband would need to choose not to work, at least for a year while our child is still an infant, which would be hard, Thomas said. Child care is expensive, but paying for child care with two incomes is (more feasible) than going down to one income.

Parents may also turn to their own parents when they cannot find an opening. Carolyn Nelsons mother drives five hours each week between her home in Beloit and Nelsons home in Appleton to care for Nelsons 6-month-old daughter, Emma.

This allows Nelson to continue working as a Help Me Grow navigator with ThedaCare, helping connect families with early childhood resources and information  for now. Nelson worries about what will happen if a spot doesnt open before winter, when ice and snow may prevent her mother from traveling.

If theres still no child care, where do I put Emma every day? Nelson asked. Can I work through her nap times and have her home with me? To be quite honest, that sounds like I will be burnt out in two months. Would I be able to (leave work temporarily) and return once I get child care? Would that even be an option?

On one hand, Nelson said she cant help but wish she looked sooner, starting months before Emma was born. At the same time, she knows doing so couldve had unforeseen drawbacks.

I would have been pretty crushed to get a phone call saying that theres a spot opening on a waitlist if I was no longer pregnant (due to medical complications), Nelson said.

When parents cant find an infant opening at a high-quality child care, they may be forced to leave the workforce, turn to lower-quality options or patch care together from a variety of sources.

Tammy Dannhoff, a licensed family child care provider in Oshkosh, said consistency is key for a young childs development, and the early months and years are the prime time for children to develop secure relationships with caregivers.

This led Dannhoff to bend the rules a few summers ago to add a second child younger than 2 to her program. Under licensing regulations, she was supposed to care for only one child younger than 2 if she wanted eight slots, the maximum number a licensed family provider can have.

When I was talking with his mom, I found out he was going to be going to three or four different places every week in the summer because she had to piece together care for him, Dannhoff said. At the time, he was 22 months, and I thought, Its going to be more detrimental for him to go to three or four different places for child care, so Im going to take the risk and just take him.

Dannhoff was able to get an exception so she remained in compliance. Department of Children and Families Communications Director Gina Paige said theres a flow chart of sorts that helps determine when exceptions should be granted, but some family child care providers said they feel these exceptions are granted inconsistently.

What can be done?

The solution to the care shortage for children up to age 2 doesnt lie in doing away with regulations or increasing staff-to-child ratios.

That, I believe, would be the fastest way to close down more of the under-2 rooms, said Brooke Skidmore, co-owner and director of The Growing Tree, a child care center in New Glarus. You will not find teachers that want to have five babies under their care, and it still will not make it profitable.

Matthews thinks the solution to the infant care crisis lies in funding child care businesses based on the true cost of care.

If we had true cost of care for payment amounts  it would still get the bills paid and not be a loss for the program, Matthews said.

Increasing tuition rates often comes with the risk of making child care unattainable for families. Matthews said finding a path forward will require collaboration between communities, employers, families and the government.

Angel Berry, the executive director of the nonprofit A Million Dreamz child care in Sheboygan, said solutions lie in creative funding models. For example, she said, child care businesses could make infant care sustainable by operating under a nonprofit model and seeking funding support from the community.

However, in the meantime, some say slight alterations to state licensing requirements could help.

After Dannhoff investigated ways to change family child care requirements for a college capstone project in 2021, she said she supports employing a weighted system that distinguishes between young infants and children 18 months and older. The younger children would have a higher weight than the older children, essentially making a spot at a family child care available for another child once an infant turns 18-months-old instead of 2 years.

Hendrickson, who also supports this change, explained that by 18 months, children are typically more mobile and better able to verbalize their needs. The Wisconsin Family Child Care Association has long discussed the exact weights each particular age group would be assigned. As of now, however, WFCCA has not brought any formal proposals to DCF.

While Hendrickson said this change could help get families off waitlists and into consistent care more quickly, she said it alone cannot rectify Wisconsins infant care shortage.

Its definitely not a solution, per se, for the crisis because its not going to even come close to fixing the problem, but it would be one potential way to alleviate some of the pressure, Hendrickson said.

Employers have a role to play, too. Providing and extending paid family leave gives parents essential time to bond with their infant as well as more time to search for child care, Tengesdal said. For industries in which flexible scheduling is possible, allowing parents to work from home, bring their child to work when needed, and reduced hours after birth helps both parents and babies adjust, she said.

Many of the potential solutions advocates say could bolster Wisconsins child care sector in general would, by extension, help solve the infant care crisis, Hendrickson said. These range from significant state and federal investments to shifting the way society views child care.

If there is no infant care, the likelihood of a mother returning to work is significantly reduced, Hendrickson said. This impacts her familys financial wellbeing, her career trajectory, her mental health and the growth and development of her child.


(Joaquin Corbalan/Dreamstime.com)

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The Second Amendment guarantees "the right of the people to keep and bear arms," and while last year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled who may constitutionally bear arms in public; next year it may reaffirm what arms they may keep.

Gun rights organizations filed a notice to appeal a federal judge's opinion upholding an Oregon law banning so-called "large-capacity" magazines, those capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

On July 14 U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut held that while the Constitution protects an individual right to self-defense, large capacity magazines "are not commonly used for self-defense, and are therefore not protected by the Second Amendment."

Alan Gottlieb, founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation, one of the groups that filed a notice of appeal, thought her decision was stunning.

"She went out of her way to find an excuse to say that the law does not violate the Second Amendment when it comes to magazines," he told Newsmax.

And Immergu misapplied Supreme Court case law, according to Amy Swearer, Heritage Foundation senior legal fellow specializing in Second Amendment issues.

She told Newsmax that ultimately, "the test would come down to 'do we have a history of limiting magazine capacity?' And I think the answer is very clearly, no!" .....
Yes. Killeen has already committed $100,000; if funding is halted, it will all be for nothing.

Yes. It's important for the city to follow through on its obligation to voters on this issue.

No. The city has already spent too much taxpayer money on this. Cut off the funding.

No. The ordinance is illegal. The city should have repealed it and adjusted city policy instead.

Unsure. It's hard to say. There are some valid points on both sides of the argument.

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WASHINGTON  Pamela Smith's voice soared and quivered like a preacher in midsermon as she recalled her troubled childhood and how it helped prepare her for the challenges she faces as the new police chief in the nation's capital.

"I stand before you as a child who had no hopes, who had no dreams  they were far beyond my reach. But I believe that all things are possible," she said recently at her introductory news conference in Washington, in cadences honed by years as an ordained Baptist minister. "I believe I bring a fresh perspective, a different kind of energy, a different level of passion to what I'm going to do."

Smith takes on the job at a precarious time.

Violent crime is rising sharply, fueled by more homicides and carjackings. The District of Columbia's mayor, Muriel Bowser, and the D.C. Council have, at times, been at odds about crime legislation. On Capitol Hill, the Republican-led House began citing the city's crime statistics while aggressively reviewing local public safety laws.

On July 24, the Mexican Consulate posted a tweet urging its nationals to "take precautions" in the city due to "a significant increase in crime in areas previously considered safe."

Smith, 55, now becomes one of the public faces of this long-term fight even before the Council votes on her nomination as chief. She brings an inspirational story to her new role leading the Metropolitan Police Department. Raised in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, by a single mother who battled substance abuse, Smith and her siblings were at one point removed from their home and spent time in foster care. Smith emerged as a track star and went on to a 24-year career in the U.S. Park Police, where she served as the agency's first Black female chief before retiring in 2022 to take up a senior leadership position at the MPD.

Law enforcement and government officials repeatedly point out that overall crime numbers in Washington have stayed relatively stable. The crimes that increased the most  murders and carjackings  are the ones most likely to damage public confidence.

"The scariest crimes are going up and regardless of what's happening with other crimes, that's what's going to fuel the overall perception," U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves told The Associated Press.

Graves' office prosecutes most felonies in Washington, in a unique arrangement due to the district's status as a nonstate. The city's attorney general's office prosecutes misdemeanors and juvenile crime, which is also on the rise.

This intricate dynamic among two separate sets of prosecutors, the city's police force, Bowser's administration and the Council has been publicly tested as the crime numbers stayed high  all with Congress taking an increasing interest in the district's affairs. Public safety was a primary topic of debate last year when Bowser, 50, successfully ran for a third term in office. She spent this term sparring with both the Council and the House Oversight and Accountability Committee over how best to address crime.

July has been a particularly bloody month, with 22 homicides as of Friday, including murders on the campuses of both Howard and Catholic universities. The victims include an Afghan man who survived years of working as a translator for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan only to be murdered in America while driving for Lyft. Nine people, including two children, were shot at a July Fourth party, when an assailant in an SUV opened fire on the crowd. A 12-year old girl remains hospitalized after being shot in the back Tuesday night by a bullet that penetrated the walls of her home.

Although the murder rate is well below the levels in the 1980s and early 1990s, when Washington regularly led the nation in murders per capita, it climbed steadily in recent years. In 2022, there was a roughly 10% drop in homicides, but now, homicides are up 15% compared with this time a year ago and the city is on pace to surpass 200 for the third year in a row. Police also reported 140 carjacking incidents in the month of June  the highest monthly total in more than five years.

Crime in Washington is now a national headline issue in Congress. In the spring, Bowser and Council members were summoned before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee for a heated session on local crime rates.

Congress voted to completely overturn the Council's comprehensive rewrite of the district's criminal code. Bowser vetoed the overhaul, saying the reduction of maximum penalties for certain violent crimes "sent the wrong message," but was overridden by the Council.

The mayor opposes congressional intervention in local affairs as part of Washington's long push for statehood, but her initial veto was frequently cited by Republican lawmakers as proof that the rewrite was soft on crime. In an embarrassment for the heavily Democratic city, the move to cancel the criminal code revision drew support from dozens of congressional Democrats and was signed into law by President Joe Biden.

The Council recently passed emergency public safety legislation meant to serve as a temporary fix. Plans to make the changes permanent in the fall will face lawmakers' scrutiny.

A dozen cities set youth curfews this year, even though they don't reduce crime A dozen cities set youth curfews this year, even though they don't reduce crime
NEBRASKA CITY  The tidy brick building just off this citys main street looks no different from scores of schools and churches built around the turn of the last century.

But this one was built as a meeting place by, and for, veterans of the bloodiest war in American history. Now that those veterans all belong to the ages, the former Grand Army of the Republic building is dedicated to telling their story, and the story of the conflict they fought in: the U.S. Civil War.

The Civil War is the premier event in the history of the country, said Tim Engel, the museums director. Twenty thousand Civil War veterans are buried in Nebraska.

A local nonprofit opened the Civil War Veterans Museum in the old GAR Hall in 1996, Engel said. It has been completely revamped in recent years.

The museum is one of 70 stops on this years Nebraska Passport tourism program, which encourages visits to attractions around the state including parks, coffee shops, restaurants and stores as well as museums.

Our job as a museum is to bring people to town, Engel said. The Passport program is a very valuable thing.

The Grand Army of the Republic was the name of a 19th-century fraternal organization of Union army veterans. The Nebraska City chapter, chartered in 1883, was the 24th of 372 eventually formed in Nebraska. The chapters hall was closed in 1935 following the death of Nebraska Citys last Civil War veteran.

Most of the 100 GAR halls across the state fell into disuse after the Civil War veterans were gone. Many were torn down.

In Nebraska City, though, a nonprofit was formed to restore the hall and open the small museum.

Nebraskas role in the Civil War is sometimes overlooked because it was still a territory. Statehood didnt come until 1867, after the war. But Engel said Nebraska actually sent the most men per capita into the war of any northern state or territory  3,500 out of a total population of 35,000.

About one-third of those soldiers served in the 1st Nebraska Infantry Regiment, which is memorialized on a display board at the museum. The unit was organized at Omaha in the summer of 1861.

The regiment fought in the battles of Fort Donelson and Shiloh in Tennessee and the siege of Corinth, Mississippi, as well as smaller skirmishes in Missouri and Arkansas.

After the war, tens of thousands of Civil War veterans migrated to Nebraska, many of them taking advantage of the Homestead Act to settle on the Plains. In the late 1800s, they became the founders, political and business leaders of many Nebraska communities. Friends of the museum have created a database of more than 20,000 Nebraska Civil War veterans.

The museum is open Friday through Sunday in the summer months. It had about 1,100 annual visitors before the COVID pandemic forced the museum to shut down in 2020.

Engel used the shutdown to completely remake the museums displays. Previously, Engel said, artifacts had been stored in subject-oriented display cases  of weapons, for example  but with little context.

We used to not have the history of the war, we just had the artifacts, Engel said. It was just a collection of collections. We made it more interpretive, more educational.

Now the museum tells about the Civil War in story form, with display boards and a timeline that follows the wars history. Storyboards cover topics like the wars causes, prisoner-of-war camps, the New York draft riots, and the Civil War amendments to the Constitution that changed the nations history.

Additional displays include a soldiers encampment, a diorama of Picketts doomed Confederate charge at the Battle of Gettysburg, and models of the Union and Confederate ironclads, the Monitor and the Virginia. QR codes offer extra information on many of the displays.

Theres also a kid-friendly scavenger hunt, and uniforms for children to try on.

Engel said he hopes to keep changing the displays and to bring in traveling exhibits.

We want to keep new exhibits flowing so people dont see the same thing every time, he said.
A judge ruled on several motions Thursday ahead of an August hearing to determine if the teen charged in Lily Peters killing will stay in adult court.

The teen is charged with killing Peters, a 10-year-old Chippewa Falls girl.

At Thursdays motion hearing in Chippewa County Court, Judge Steve Gibbs said he would limit materials that could be viewed in open court during the hearing.

Pictures and videos that show Lily Peters body will not be viewed during a reverse waiver hearing scheduled to begin Aug. 7.

Gibbs did not rule on another motion related to limiting the prosecutions arguments, and said he would address issues as they come up at the hearing.

Lily Peters went missing April 24, 2022. The following morning, her body was discovered in the woods close to her Chippewa Falls home.

When interviewed by investigators, a teenage boy, identified in court records as C. P.-B., told police he punched Peters in the stomach, struck her on the head three times with a heavy stick and then said he strangled her to death before having sex with her body.

He later returned to the scene to cover her body with leaves.

The teen is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual assault of a child younger than 13 resulting in great bodily harm.

Judge Gibbs reserved judgment on other evidence the prosecution wants to bring up until he sees it.

C. P.-B. is being held at the Northwest Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Eau Claire.

He appeared via video for Thursdays hearing.

Chippewa County District Attorney Wade Newell charged the boy as an adult. Defense attorney Michael Cohen requested the reverse waiver which, if successful, would move the case to juvenile court.

The judge requested the media not release the teens name or take video footage of him in court because the defendant is a minor.
Wisconsin-based traveling theatre company Summit Players Theatre is returning to live, outdoor performance and will be performing Shakespeares "Macbeth" from June 9 to Aug. 19 in 22 different Wisconsin State Parks. All performances will be free and preceded by a 45-minute educational workshop. The company will offer its workshop and performance at Wildcat Mountain State Park on Friday, Aug. 4. The workshop will be at 5:30 p.m., and the show will be at 7 p.m.

"We're bringing something a little different to the parks for our eighth tour," stated Executive Director A.J. Magoon, a founding member of the organization. "Rest assured  our 'Macbeth' will be spooky, but not scary. Were committed to making all of our plays accessible and enjoyable for everyone in the family  get ready for plenty of action and fun alongside the drama.

Each "Macbeth" show will be 75 minutes long and completely free, in accordance with the companys mission of creating Shakespeare anyone can afford, attend, and understand. Through a collaboration with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Summit Players are also able to introduce audiences around the state to their local parks.

The groups educational workshop, Inside Shakespeare's Story: Macbeth is new this year and offered before every show. The workshop may help kids and parents alleviate concerns about "Macbeths" more serious or tragic aspects. It serves as a way for kids and fun adults to get comfortable with the play, Shakespeares language and the way nature played into his works. Participants take part in Shakespeare games and exercises culminating in performing a short scene.

This year, the Summit Players team boasts two new members  actor Matthew Torkilsen, who will also serve as a teaching artist for the company, as well as tour manager Natasha Goeller.

"The workshop is a great way to learn about the play and how plays like this can still be exciting and interesting, even if theyre more serious," said Caroline Norton, education director and six-year alumna of the company's tours. "Plus, the workshop content changes and the play changes, which means that people who have seen our shows for years will enjoy everything just as much as people who have never seen us before.

Summit Players Theatres 2023 season is supported in part by grants from the Wisconsin Arts Board and Wisconsin Humanities, with funds from the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities.
Vice President Kamala Harris will make stops in eastern Wisconsin this week to tout federal broadband expansion efforts being made in the state.

On Thursday, Harris, along with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, will travel to Pleasant Prairie to highlight the administrations spending on high-speed internet expansion. She will then deliver remarks at two campaign receptions in Milwaukee, according to the White House.

Harris visit comes about one month after White House officials announced the state was in line to receive more than $1 billion in federal funds to expand broadband as part of a sweeping infrastructure bill signed into law in 2021.

Wisconsin is receiving $1.055 billion for broadband  an amount greater than all but 15 states and territories  through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. The program is intended to provide affordable, reliable high-speed internet to all households and businesses through grants to bury cable and build other infrastructure, and subsidies to offset the cost of internet service for low-income households.

The Governors Task Force on Broadband Access third annual report, released in July, proposes providing all homes and businesses in the state with access to minimum download speeds of 100 megabits per second and upload speeds of 20 Mbps by 2028-29.

Updated national broadband maps released in May by the Federal Communications Commission estimate Wisconsin has more than 246,000 unserved locations, meaning they lack access to 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds  the FCCs definition of broadband. More than 217,000 other locations are underserved, meaning they lack 100/20 speeds.

The vice president last visited the state in September, weeks before the 2022 midterms, when she met with college students and Latino leaders in Milwaukee.

Harris trip to the battleground state comes weeks before the Republican presidential pre-primary debate in Milwaukee and more than a year before the 2024 election, in which Wisconsin is once again expected to play a crucial role in the presidential race.

Milwaukee will host next years Republican National Convention.

U.S. states with the fastest internet Intro Nearly every American adult reports using the internet in some capacity The Southeast lags behind other states in computer and internet use There is a loose positive correlation between computer use and internet speed as well as internet use and internet speed 15. New York 14. Illinois 13. Washington 12. Colorado 11. New Hampshire 10. Florida 9. Georgia 8. California 7. Texas 6. Rhode Island 5. Massachusetts 4. Virginia 3. Maryland 2. New Jersey 1. Delaware
President of Eritrea Urges for a New Financial Architecture

July 30, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)In what could be termed a shot heard round the world, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki took the opportunity in his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg to put the truth on the table that there is no Russia-Ukraine war ... this is a war declared by NATO on Russia ... but, not only RussiaNATO is for dominating the whole world!

Afwerki was seated on one side of the table with his entourage of three representatives, and Putin sat directly opposite him, flanked by seven other Russian government officials and ministers.

He continued,

They [NATO and the West] came up with this fantasy after the end of the Cold Warcontaining Russiacontaining any power, big or small, that challenged themeconomically, culturallythey have to contain everybody... Ukraine is a sacrifice ... it is a victim.... NATO will spend billions, even trillions [to keep this war going] ... they have to defeat Russia to dehumanize everything ... it has declared war on Russia [in Europe], but has [also] declared war on the world for hegemony.... To me, were now in the final phase.... NATO will not get out of intensive care, Europe will not get out of intensive care ... these are systems which are crumblingits only a matter of time.

When he pointed out that the current financial system is only printing money, printing money ... for nothing, Putin chuckled and nodded in agreement, as he did several times throughout Afwerkis remarks.

Afwerki then asserted, We need a new financial architecture for the world. He also described how Eritrea had been punished repeatedly by sanctions, sanctions, sanctions, even though its a tiny country without much power, but because NATO must contain and put down any country that wont bow down to them.

No, we need to start again. And I say that Russia must lead this strategy ... facing this declared war, a global war.... Everybody should come and join with Russia. He said that we need a new strategy that will lead to peace and development.

Russia should design a strategy, not that they have to do it alone. We can contribute ideas for industry, agriculture, development.

NATOs drive for hegemony goes historically back to slavery and colonialism, he asserted, and has intended to exterminate populations and grab land.

We are at a crossroads; we are in a transition to a new world order. How do we design such a new order? How do we strategize?... Russia has an historic mission to play, on behalf of everyone in the world.

He emphasized that he wasnt trying to flatter Putin, but that this is a difficult crisis facing the whole world, and that Putin is the leader of the show, hes in charge.

He laid out that Eritrea has the plans and programs for roads, irrigation projects, energy, railroads, etc., but doesnt have the means to build up the country, even by mobilizing every single penny.

Russia must take the lead against this hegemonism by NATO, he concluded.

Putin and his ministers were listening intently throughout, nodding and taking extensive notes on Afwerkis remarks.

As the Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov commented during the April 9, 2022 Schiller Institute conference, the Schiller Institute must play a leading role in the creation of such a new financial architecture.
EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR MONDAY JULY 31, 2023

Russia-Africa Summit Proves the Train Has Left the Station

July 30, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)Lyndon LaRouche used to insist that any competent scientist must know the role that weak forces play in the physical universe. While it may seem to the everyday blockhead that virtually all events are determined by the everyday push-and-pull of the things around you, the reality is that other weak forces play an even more powerful effect on the wholeeven though you may never experience their actions. Such is the case with the exceptional fragility of life, hardly a speck amidst the enormity of the cosmos, yet somehow has become one of natures most powerful forces.

So when you hear the blaring shouts of obnoxious news pundits, or the maddening stupidity and pandering of politicians, remember: Just because something seems to be a certain way, doesnt mean that thats actually whats going on. In fact, the harder these thought police try to convince you that something is one way and not the other, its often because the opposite is true!

This is what was exemplified at the highly-successful, yet highly-slandered Second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg on July 27-28. Take the fact that major Western media spent the recent days gloating over there being fewer African heads of state at this years summit than there were at the previous one in 2019which undoubtedly were due to enormous Western pressure put on African leaders to not attend. Or consider that Bloomberg is now claiming the BRICS summit is destined to fail, because there are tensions growing between their group over whether or not to expand the membership of the bloc.

Now compare this to the actual response from African leaders who attended the summit in Russia. Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki took the opportunity to speak freely during a formal meeting between him and President Putin, along with each others top government ministers. Afwerki got straight to the point: There is no Russia-Ukraine war ... this is a war declared by NATO on Russia ... but, not only RussiaNATO is for dominating the whole world! He continued blasting NATO, saying they demand to contain any power, big or small, that challenged them. Afwerki called instead for a new financial architecture for the world, for which Russia must play a leading role: Russia has an historic mission to play, on behalf of everyone in the world.

While Western media and bureaucrats may try to chock this up to some radical Africans, or puppets of Putin (racism, anyone?), it becomes harder to ignore the reality when the details are considered. During the summit, Russia committed to send tens of thousands of tons of grain free of charge to the poorest African countrieswhereas Western sanctions have prevented the sale or export of these same shipments over the previous year and a half. Russia also announced 30 energy projects for construction within the continent, and has reportedly offered to write off $23 billion of African debt.

In addition, read the words of Roland Lumumba, son of the assassinated Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba at the hands of colonial actors in 1961. Roland Lumumba, in St. Petersburg for the summit, told RT in an interview: With Russia, everything that happened was on an equal footing.... Despite the propaganda that is being carried out in Africa against the Russians, it is noticeable that it does not affect people as it was intended, Lumumba said.

What has been unleashed is that most precious idea which distinguishes between slavery, oppression, and victimization, and that of free mankind. That new idea, that weak force, is currently being unleashed among the Global South and their collaborators in the BRICSsparked by todays global crisisand cannot be stopped by even the most powerful forces in the world. As was said by Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, President of one of the poorest countries in the world: I would never call Africa poor, this is a common delusion. On the contrary, it is a very rich continent. African states should therefore contribute to the development of all humanity, he declared.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche has insisted that this anti-colonial explosion is a reflection of the same process as the drive toward global war todaynamely, the breakdown of the Western neoliberal order. Those insane factions in the West are dead-set on preventing any threat to their rules-based order, including the use of global nuclear war. However, if todays growing peace movement can be united with this new spirit emerging out of the Global South, then something actually capable of putting this world on a different path can be ignited.

This upcoming weekend is the date of the international Humanity For Peace rallies on August 6, and is an excellent opportunity for exactly this. Join the mobilization.
Dealing with more visitors

This spring, the Vatican opened a separate pathway starting outside St. Peters Basilica for those who want to take part in religious services. St. Peters spokesperson Roberta Leone said officials made the change because of long lines for the 55,000 daily visitors.

The Vaticans move is an example of what many churches are doing. They have tourists and religious people go separate ways. Religious services are sometimes held in different places. And sometimes tourists are not permitted at worship times.

With an estimated 330 million people visiting religious places yearly around the world, religious tourism is one of the largest parts of the tourism market.

Worshippers often come because celebrated churches generally have more services than regular churches. They need to be able to enter at no cost. Tourists often pay fees that are important for churches to maintain their buildings.

Daniel Olsen of Brigham Young University in Utah studies religious tourism. Olsen said of the situation, Its just really hard because you also want people to experience your faith.

Different opinions

Some religious people are unhappy with the large numbers of visitors.

After the ceremony of Mass in the burial area of the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, Spain, Joan Albaiges said, The temple needs to be a place for services and not a theme park."

He praised the policy change in recent years to celebrate one Sunday Mass at the main altar.

But there is such demand for the 800 free tickets that several hundred people waiting often do not get in, said Josep Maria Turull. Turull is the rector at Sagrada Familia who also oversees tourism for the local church organization.

Religious leaders say the histories of the sacred buildings should be presented to visitors. These visitors increasingly do not know about faith traditions in churches.

Jose Fernandez Lago is rector of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Filled with beautiful art, Santiagos cathedral draws hundreds of thousands of tourists and religious visitors known as pilgrims.

To remain a special place for religious pilgrims, Lago said, the cathedral does not charge money for entry. The cathedral also does not limit visitor numbers or require people to wear formal clothing.

But visits are not permitted during the four daily Masses celebrated at the main altar. And priests as well as security guards always have to ask visitors to lower their voices so that worshipers can pray in peace.

Some people go to the cathedral, and they dont realize theyre in a church, Lago observed. He added, Its a situation thats developing in nations that were majority Christian, and now faith is cooling off."

Im Ashley Thompson.

Giovanna DellOrto reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

tourist  n. a person who travels to a place for pleasure Mass  n. a Christian ceremony in the Roman Catholic Church temple n. a building for worship theme park n. a place with rides and fun things to do that are all connected by a cultural or artistic idea

altar  n. a platform or table used as a center of worship in Christian ceremonies
Researchers say they have identified earth movement signals that could predict earthquakes up to two hours before they hit.

The signals were recorded, or detected, by GPS collection devices. The devices were positioned in areas where major earthquakes had struck in the past.

Scientists noted, however, that the right equipment does not currently exist to use the data to predict earthquakes. But if the sensitivity of current GPS measuring devices can be improved, the researchers say a new earthquake warning system could be possible.

Earthquakes are caused by movements, or slips, in existing faults under Earths surface, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) explains. A fault is a long break in rock attached to Earths crust. When tension builds up along a fault, energy waves are released and travel through the crust. This causes the ground to shake.

Technology for predicting earthquakes currently remains very limited. But the USGS does have equipment that can pick up seismic data when an earthquake is just starting. The term seismic relates to earthquake activity.

The USGS method makes it possible to warn people in areas where seismic activity is expected. But this method generally can only provide a warning several seconds before an earthquake hits. The USGS system is called ShakeAlert. It has already been deployed along the U.S. West Coast. That is where the majority of earthquakes happen in the country.

But the new detection method could produce warnings up to two hours before the damaging effects of an earthquake are felt. Such a system could save lives by giving people the chance to get out of buildings that might collapse in an earthquake.

Two scientists from Frances National Research Institute for Sustainable Development carried out a study that described the latest results. The findings recently appeared in the publication Science.

For the study, researchers examined GPS data collected before and after past earthquake events around the world. The data was collected on 90 earthquakes measuring larger than 7 on the Richter scale. The study period covered the past 20 years.

The team identified a pattern of fault movements as they examined the data collected from different areas. The movement signals were recorded within two hours of an earthquake striking. The researchers said the study demonstrates that faults generally begin to move about two hours before a large earthquake.

Scientists had identified such signals before single earthquakes in the past. But until now, researchers were not able to link those signals to all seismic events.

While the data identified this pattern, the scientists said the instruments that could capture GPS data in real time do not currently exist.

The National Research Institute for Sustainable Development issued a statement on the development. It said that in order to make predictions, researchers would need to measure signals at least 10 times smaller than what we can presently do.

Another way to possibly build a better earthquake prediction system would be to develop dense measurement networks that sit very close to faults. However, such an effort would require major technological progress, the institute said.

Quentin Bletery is a geophysicist at Cote dAzur University in the city of Nice. Bletery worked together on the study with Jean-Mathieu Nocquet, another researcher at the university.

Bletery told Science that the study found that no observable movement was identified in the first 46 hours leading up to an earthquake. But starting around two hours before an earthquake, the GPS signals recording movement started to increase.

To confirm its findings, the team compared that data to more than 100,000 random time periods recorded when no earthquakes were reported. That experiment found that similar patterns in non-earthquake areas happened just 0.03 percent of the time.

This tells us earthquakes are predictable in nature, Bletery told Science.

The scientists note that more research is needed to support their findings. Much of the information used in the latest study, for example, depended heavily on data from GPS stations near major earthquake sites.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Science and the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development.

Quiz - GPS Data Could Predict Earthquakes Hours Ahead Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

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Words in This Story

GPS  n. a system that follows the movements of something with an electronically-powered piece of equipment

pattern  n. a regular and repeated way in which something happens

resolution  n. a measure of the sharpness of an image or the fineness a device operates at

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New kinds of drinks like smoothies, lattes, beers, and cocktails have become popular in recent years. Now a place in Dubai is serving what it claims to be gourmet water.

Thirty different kinds of it.

The Aqua Water Bar by Luqel gets its water the traditional way  from the pipe that runs water to your house. The government of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates says water from the pipe, called tap water, is safe to drink and meets international standards. But people in the Middle Eastern city still prefer bottled water.

The water at Aqua Water Bar is said to be different. The bar says it injects a very small amount of minerals, called micro-dosing, into the water. The system is designed by the German water filtration company Luqel. And its water is compared to costly water like Alpine or Arctic-sourced.

Roia Jabari is a director at Aqua Water. She said experts have designed its water to fit your needs and mood. And she added, We can give you the perfectly mineralized recipe.

One drink, Runners Heaven, is high in sodium and potassium to help runners after being in the desert heat. Another, Vegans Choice, offers minerals that could be lacking when not eating meat. Buyers can fill up their bottles with any of the mineral combinations for around 50 cents per 500 milliliters or pay more for a nonalcoholic mixed drink.

It is not an entirely new idea.

A water bar serving what it said was heavily filtered New York City tap water opened in the citys East Village area in 2012. It received heavy criticism. Another briefly opened in Washington, DC in 2019. It also did not get the best reviews. Neither appears to have stayed open for very long.

But Dubai, a modern city built on desert sands, could be such a place for the product.

Alcohol is available in bars in the UAE, but the Muslim country's population does not drink alcohol. As a center of international business, it brings in wealthy, health-centered people who support the wellness industry.

Although Aqua Water is often visited by businessmen who work in the surrounding Dubai Media City, Jabari says that the bar is not just for wealthy buyers. She says the water, which sells for 54 cents per 500 milliliters, is not too costly.

To help the environment, buyers can either fill their own bottles or buy a reusable one starting at around $2.50.

Early reviews appear to be good, with the bar having 4.6 stars on Google reviews based on around 12 reviews. (The water) was actually different, said Bilal Rizvi, who stopped in to try it out recently.

Jabari was born in San Diego, California, and is a designer who has lived in the UAE for 24 years. She designed the bar around ideas based on water. Additionally, the bar also serves Persian food as a way to honor her ancestry.

Jabari hopes to expand the business. She sees room for growth in neighboring countries. She said, Saudi Arabia is a huge market for us. I believe that Abu Dhabi is our next step.

Im Gregory Stachel.

Nick El Hajj reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

gourmet  n. a person who enjoys and knows a lot about good food and wine

bar  n. a building or room where alcoholic drinks and sometimes food are served

mood  n. the way someone feels

recipe  n. a set of instructions for making food

filter  v. to pass (something, such as a gas or liquid) through a filter to remove something unwanted

review  n. a report that gives someone's opinion about the quality of a book, performance, product, etc.

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Kristin Harila, age 37, and her guide Tenjen Sherpa, age 35, reached the top of the final mountain, K2, last Thursday.

All the peaks the two reached are above 8,000 meters, said Karrar Haidri, the secretary at the Pakistan Alpine Club.

A big congratulations to Kristin Harila and Tenjen Sherpa on this remarkable achievement," said Haidri, adding, They did it in 92 days.

The former record-holder, Nirmal Purja, a Nepali-born British citizen, climbed the 14 peaks in 189 days in 2019.

Most mountain climbers spend years trying to climb the worlds greatest peaks.

Both climbers topped Shishapangma in the Tibet area of China on April 26. They have since climbed Everest, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, and Annapurna in Nepal before going to Pakistan, where they climbed Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II and the Broad Peak before topping K2.

The company Seven Summit Treks (SST) provided support for the climbers efforts.

Garrett Madison of the U.S.-based Madison Mountaineering company is also on K2 leading a different group. He said the climbers used a window of good weather to go to the top of the mountain.

"They have made a summit a short while ago," Madison told Reuters, adding that the Norwegian woman was "extremely tough mentally and physically.

Harila first attempted to break the record and climb all 14 top peaks in 2022. However, China restricted foreign climbers during the coronavirus pandemic so Harila was unable to attempt two of the 14 peaks.

K2 has one of the deadliest records for mountaineers, with most deaths happening on the return down. Any wrong move can cause an avalanche, or snowslide, and kill. Only a few hundred climbers have successfully reached its summit.

And one more climber made that list and set another record on Thursday, reported SST director Tashi Lakpa Sherpa. Seventeen-year-old Nima Rinjin Sherpa became the youngest person to climb K2, Tashi said.

Im Ashley Thompson.

Gopal Sharma reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English.

__________________________________________________

Words in This Story

peak  n. the top of a hill or mountain ending in a point

summit  n. the highest point of a mountain
More than 100,000 people in the United States have become allergic to red meat since 2010 in reaction to tick bites, the government reports.

Medical researchers say they believe many more people have the allergy and do not know it.

The National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released two reports on the subject recently.

Ticks are very small animals that feed on the blood of other animals.

One report estimated that as many as 450,000 Americans have developed the meat allergy. That would make it the 10th most common food allergy in the U.S., said Dr. Scott Commins. The University of North Carolina researcher co-wrote both reports.

Health officials said they do not know of any confirmed deaths. However, people with the allergy have described it as strange and terrifying.

I never connected it with any food because it was hours after eating, said one patient, Bernadine Heller-Greenman.

The reaction, called alpha-gal syndrome, happens when an infected person eats beef, pork, or other meat of mammals. Taking in other mammal products, such as milk, also causes the reaction.

A sugar called alpha-gal exists in mammal meat and in the saliva of ticks. When the sugar enters the body through the skin, the bodys own defense, or immune, system reacts too strongly.

Scientists saw such reactions in patients taking a cancer drug that was made in mouse cells containing the alpha-gal sugar. But in 2011 researchers first reported that it could spread through tick bites, too.

They tied it to the lone star tick. Scientists say the ticks live mainly in the eastern and southern U.S.

One of the studies released recently examined test results from the main U.S. private laboratory looking for alpha-gal antibodies. Those tests showed the number of people who had the antibodies rose from about 13,000 in 2017 to 19,000 in 2022.

Experts say cases may have increased for several reasons. They say the lone star tick population is expanding. They also suggest more doctors might be learning about the disease and ordering tests for it.

But many doctors are not.

The second study was based on a survey last year of 1,500 U.S. general care doctors and health professionals. It found nearly half of them had never heard of alpha-gal syndrome, and only five percent said they felt very sure they could identify it. Researchers used that information to estimate the number of people with the allergy  450,000.

People with this condition can experience symptoms including hives, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, severe stomach pain, difficulty breathing, and swelling of the lips, throat, tongue or eyes. Unlike some other food allergies, which happen soon after eating, these reactions hit hours later.

Some patients have only stomach symptoms. The American Gastroenterological Association says people with unexplained diarrhea, nausea and stomach pain should be tested for the syndrome.

Doctors advise people with the allergy to stop eating meat and other foods that cause the reaction and to have epinephrine available to them at all times. And, doctors say, avoid tick bites.

The allergy can go away in some people. Commins said he has seen that happen in about 15 to 20 percent of his patients. Staying free of tick bites is extremely important.

The tick bites are central to this. They perpetuate the allergy, he said.

One of his patients is Heller-Greenman, a 78-year-old art historian in New York. She spends summers on Marthas Vineyard, Massachusetts. She said she is used to getting bitten by ticks on the island. She has had Lyme disease, also caused by tick bites, four times.

About five years ago, Heller-Greenman started experiencing terrible, itchy hives on her back, middle and legs in the middle of the night. Her doctors decided it was an allergic reaction but could not identify the cause.

She never ate a lot of meat, but one day in January 2020 she had two beef meals in a row. Six hours after eating the second, she woke up nauseated, then vomited, had diarrhea and a lack of balance, or dizziness. She passed out three times.

Doctors identified alpha-gal syndrome as the cause soon after the incident. Heller-Greenman was told to avoid ticks and to stop eating red meat and milk products. There have been no allergic reactions since.

I have one grandchild that watches me like a hawk, she said, making sure she reads food labels and avoids foods that could cause a reaction.

I feel very lucky, really, that this has worked out for me, she said. Not all doctors are knowledgeable about this.

I'm Andrew Smith.

And Im Caty Weaver.

The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

saliva  n. fluid from the mouth

survey  n. a kind of study in which people are asked question to find something out about a subject

symptom  n. a sign that disease is present

hives  n. (pl.) a condition when the skin becomes red, swollen, and itchy

nausea  n. a feeling of sickness in the stomach

vomiting n. to expel the food in your stomach out of your mouth

pass out v. (phrasal) to lose consciousness

perpetuate v. to cause something (that should be stopped) to continue

label n. a piece of paper on a product that has information about that product for people who want to know more about it
An international team is working to remove oil from a ship anchored in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen.

The oil tanker, called the SOF Safer, has not been used for at least eight years. It contains over 1 million barrels of oil.

Experts say the ship is at risk of breaking up or exploding.

The Associated Press reported in 2020 that seawater entered the ships engine room and caused damage. The water also put the ship in danger of sinking.

For years, the United Nations and governments of nearby countries warned that an explosion or oil leak could disrupt shipping in the Middle East. The ship is close to the Yemeni ports of Hodeida and Ras Issa. Many ships travel from the Persian Gulf, past Yemen and through Egypts Suez Canal to get to the Mediterranean Sea.

The United Nations purchased another oil tanker so crews could move the oil from the Safer.

Antonio Guterres is the UN Secretary General. In a statement, he said the work is a critical next step in avoiding an environmental and humanitarian catastrophe.

The U.N. said the job will be done in less than three weeks.

The Safer was built in the 1970s and sold to the Yemeni government in the 1980s so it could move oil pumped from the fields in Marib.

The U.N. said a leak could have been worse than the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, one of the largest ecological disasters.

When the oil is removed, the work will not be over, however. The Safer will be anchored to an underwater oil pipeline before it is taken away to a scrapyard.

David Gressly is the U.N. humanitarian official for Yemen. He said moving the oil will prevent a worst-case scenario. Guterres said, cleaning up an oil spill in Yemen could have cost tens of billions of dollars.

Im Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press.

__________________________________________________

Words in This Story

anchor v. to connect a boat to something very heavy that rests on the ocean floor so it does not move

disrupt v. to change from the usual order of business in a big way

critical adj. extremely important

catastrophe n. a very bad accident

ecological adj. having to do with the environment and nature

scrapyard n. a place where vehicles and machines are taken apart and the parts are broken down into basic materials

scenario n. a situation that might happen but that has not become reality

___________________________________________________

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Caritas Macau has helped a total of 75 foreigners in Macau so far this year for economic and other reasons, Paul Pun, secretary-general of the charity organization, said yesterday.

Pun also disclosed that 25,000 foreigners in Macau have sought help from a branch of the charity organization. He said that the main reasons behind these help seekers need for support were economic difficulties, financial education and medical needs, mostly because they did not know where to see a doctor in Macau.

In addition, he said that many foreigners in Macau were among the first to experience the impact on the economy from the Covid-19 pandemic. After normalization following disease prevention restrictions, most of them have regained their jobs and could settle their everyday bills.

The food bank of Caritas Macau, which provides short-term food support, has received 2,729 applications in the first 6.5 months of the year. There was more than a 10% increase year-over-year. Pun did not attribute the rise to a deteriorated economy but to more people knowing about the service.

Yesterday also saw the charity organization hosting an artistic event celebrating foreign cultures in Macau. It featured Southeast Asian singing and dancing as well as a showcase of ethnic attire. Caritas hopes to provide a stage for foreigners to showcase their culture in Macau, as well as for local residents to learn about foreign cultures so as to foster cultural understanding and harmony. AL
Casino mogul Steve Wynn has ended a yearslong legal fight with Nevada gambling regulators that started with claims of workplace sexual misconduct, agreeing to pay a $10 million fine and cut ties to the industry he helped shape in Las Vegas.

The Nevada Gaming Commission accepted a settlement last week to end the states look at allegations that led to Wynns resignation from his corporate empire in February 2018. Wynn admitted no wrongdoing. The decision was 4-0. Commission Chairwoman Jennifer Togliatti abstained from voting, citing a conflict arising from her previous work as a state court mediator.

Wynn is now 81 and lives in Florida. He did not attend the hearing held in Carson City and livestreamed on the internet. His attorney, Colby Williams, called the case the final regulatory matter that Wynn faced stemming from the allegations five years ago.

Wynn looks forward to moving on to other phases of his life, Williams told The Associated Press.

The fine is the largest ever imposed by the commission, second only to $20 million paid in February 2019 by Wynns former company, Wynn Resorts Ltd., for failing to investigate the sexual misconduct claims made against Wynn.

Craig Newby, first assistant Nevada attorney general, reminded the commission that a seven-month investigation by the Nevada Gaming Control Board found evidence of sexual conduct by Mr. Wynn involving some subordinate female employees.

This stipulation, Newby said, would bring this sordid affair to conclusion.

Its a huge blemish on the (casino) industry, Commissioner Rosa Solis-Rainey said. While Mr. Wynn made some incredible contributions, the nature of the allegations that were made and the history behind that  warrant at least the amount of fine that was negotiated.

I think its in everybodys best interest to move forward, she said.

Forbes puts Wynns net worth at $3.2 billion, among the top 400 of its ranking of richest Americans.

Wynn signed a seven-page document on July 17 acknowledging he had been accused of failure to exercise discretion and sound judgment to prevent actions that reflected negatively on the reputation of Nevada and its gambling industry.

Violating the agreement could lead to a finding of unsuitability for association with Nevada casinos and an additional fine.

Unsuitability would be extraordinary for a man widely credited with starting a boom that grew Las Vegas Strip properties from gambling halls with all-you-can-eat buffets and showrooms into huge destination resorts featuring celebrity-chef restaurants, massive gambling floors, nightclubs and huge stage productions.

Wynn developed luxury properties including the Golden Nugget, Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio, Wynn and Encore in Las Vegas; Golden Nugget in Atlantic City, New Jersey; Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi; Wynn Macau in the Chinese gambling enclave; and Encore Boston Harbor in Massachusetts.

He resigned after the Wall Street Journal published allegations by several women that he sexually harassed or assaulted them at his hotels. He divested company shares, quit the corporate board and resigned as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Wynn has consistently denied sexual misconduct allegations in multiple courts.

In the Gaming Commission case, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled against him in March 2022, finding that a state judge in Las Vegas acted prematurely in late 2020 when she sided with Wynns lawyers and decided the state lacked authority to punish him.

Wynns attorneys, also including Donald Campbell, argued that the Gaming Control Board and Gaming Commission no longer had legal jurisdiction over Wynn.

State regulators launched their investigation after the allegations against Wynn emerged. The board said Wynns license had been placed on administrative hold and the commission moved in October 2019 to discipline or fine Wynn.

At a December 2019 hearing, which Wynn did not attend, commissioners began considering a fine of up to $500,000 and a declaration that Wynn was unsuitable to renew ties to gambling in Nevada.

Months earlier, the commission fined his former company the record $20 million.

Massachusetts gambling regulators fined Wynn Resorts Ltd. another $35 million and new company chief executive Matthew Maddox $500,000 for failing to disclose while applying for a license for the Boston-area resort that there had been sexual misconduct allegations against Wynn.

Wynn Resorts agreed in November 2019 to accept $20 million in damages from Wynn and $21 million more from insurance carriers on behalf of current and former employees of Wynn Resorts to settle shareholder lawsuits accusing company directors of failing to disclose misconduct allegations.

The agreements included no admission of wrongdoing.

KEN RITTER, LAS VEGAS, MDT/AP
China accused the United States of turning Taiwan into an ammunition depot after the White House announced a $345 million military aid package for Taipei, and the self-ruled island said yesterday it tracked six Chinese navy ships in waters off its shores.

Chinas Taiwan Affairs Office issued a statement late Saturday opposing the military aid to Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.

No matter how much of the ordinary peoples taxpayer money the  Taiwanese separatist forces spend, no matter how many U.S. weapons, it will not shake our resolve to solve the Taiwan problem. Or shake our firm will to realize the reunification of our motherland, said Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office.

Their actions are turning Taiwan into a powder keg and ammunition depot, aggravating the threat of war in the Taiwan Strait, the statement said.

Washington will send man-portable air defense systems, intelligence and surveillance capabilities, firearms and missiles to Taiwan.
The final meeting of climate and environment ministers from the worlds largest economies ended without an agreement or joint statement Friday despite pleas from leading figures for nations to show a united front on climate change as weather records shatter across the globe.

In a gathering in Chennai in India, ministers from the Group of 20 countries  who emit around 80% of the worlds planet-warming gases  failed to agree on four of 68 points of discussion.

A document published by the group shows countries did not agree on aiming to peak emissions by 2025, moving to clean energy and a tax on carbon as a way to reduce emissions.

We couldnt get a consensus but we agreed on a lot, said Canadas climate minister Steven Guilbeault at a virtual press conference after the meeting.

The ministers decisions will now be passed on to country leaders ahead of a summit in New Delhi in September this year. It will be the groups last chance to issue a joint statement on climate this year.

The world has currently warmed around 1.2 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times and effects are already being felt all over the world, with hosts India especially vulnerable. Earlier this year, more than 100 people died during a heat wave in the center of the country and last week at least 27 people died in western India due to landslides triggered by heavy rains. SIBI ARASU, BENGALURU, MDT/AP
Lawmaker Che Sai Wang, affiliated with the Macao Civil Servants Association, is unhappy with the quality of Public Works that are directly related to tourism.

In a written inquiry to the government, to which the Times had access, Che criticized the quality of recently-built public infrastructures such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) Port and the new transport hub of Barra.

According to Che, the building of the HZMB Port has many faults such as cracks, paint deterioration, and water infiltration from the roof, despite only having been constructed four years ago and being subject to relatively low usage, a situation that he finds unacceptable for vast infrastructure costing millions of patacas to build.

Another example is the Barra Transport Hub, where the asphalt did not survive the first days of use and the first instance of rain, which he claims clogged the sewage system. These examples show that there are significant problems with the quality control and supervision over government-owned construction projects that he criticized as being of tofu quality, with defective execution and non-standard materials used, Che claims.

For Che, not only does the bad construction jeopardize public security, it also tarnishes the image of Macau as a tourism and leisure center. He called on the government to enforce a system to control the quality and a sanctioning regime to penalize contractors for badly done work. He suggested the adoption of a point system to ensure that the contractors with a previous history of bad construction are penalized when submitting bids for other public works, to ensure their proposals are less likely to win tenders.
The proportion of foreign visitors to Macau is gradually growing with a trend towards individual travelers, a local tourism official disclosed yesterday.

On the sidelines of an art event yesterday, Deputy Director Cheng Wai Tong of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) gave this report, adding that this summer, the city will still mainly rely on tourists from the Chinese mainland.

However, the recovery of foreign group tours is not being maintained, due to various factors, such as negotiations with the foreign tourism industry, international flight recovery and air ticket pricing, Cheng explained.

In response to the situation, the MGTO will further promote Macau in foreign source markets and consider the possibility of including neighboring islands, such as Guishan Island, in itineraries for foreigner site visits. The use of the 144-hour special visa to Guangdong Province to promote island tours will also be considered.

Although the average length of stay of tourists in the first half of the year decreased by 0.1 nights year-on-year, Cheng saw a longer stay period than the average in 2019. In addition, Covid-19 quarantine periods of tourists were counted as hotel stays, which explains the longer stay last year.

In a statement, the Office of Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong noted that, in the first half of the year, the city saw over 11.6 million arriving visitors, with obviously increased per-head consumption and hotel occupancy rate.

It further highlighted that from January to July 15, the MGTO invited over 800 people from the tourism industries, the media and the social media circle in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea and Portugal to visit in order to promote Macau. Meanwhile, a recent tourism industry expo was also used as a bridge to promote local communities to exhibitors and participants.
* Macau Aesthetic

 Art Macao opens doors as large-scale artworks and installations bring color to city in bid to boost cultural tourism

* University Games | Team Macau secures two medals

* Lawmaker calls for inspections of quality of public works

* The public consultation on electoral laws has come to an end with over 6,000 opinions and suggestions received

* Secretary Ao Ieong reiterates good customs as key to grant seekers

* Steve Wynn fined $10M to end fight over claims of workplace sexual misconduct

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Monday, July 31, 2023  edition no. 4297
The public consultation process regarding the review of electoral laws for both the selection of the Chief Executive (CE) and the selection and election of the legislators that compose the Legislative Assembly (AL), has come to an end with a total of 6,112 opinions and suggestions received, the Office of the Secretary for Administration and Justice noted in a press statement.

According to the same statement, the eight public sessions for specific sectors as well as for the general public, together with the opinions and suggestions collected via online submission, phone, letters, and other methods, have totaled over 6,000, with the majority coming from individual direct submissions (3,673 items).

During the consultation period, which lasted 45 days (June 15 to July 29), the government held eight consultation sessions with over 1,367 participants and 118 speakers.

Some 571 opinions were also said to have been collected from public presentations and spontaneous participation in programs such as the radio.

The Office of Andre Cheong will now proceed with the analysis of the opinions expressed and with the final report on the public consultation that should include aspects to be improved upon or defined, according to such public opinion.

As previously advanced, the Office will prioritize the section of the consultation that is related to the CE, since Ho Iat Sengs term will come to an end in December next year.

Proceeding with the amendments at two different speeds, the final bill regarding the selection of the new CE of Macau should be the first to be presented to the AL for approval in time for the conclusion of his term.

The bill that will amend the laws related to the AL members will come later as the current lawmakers term is due to finish in mid-2025.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was joined by senior Russian and Chinese delegates as he displayed his most powerful nuclear-capable missiles in a military parade marking a major war anniversary with a show of defiance against the United States and deepening ties with Moscow as tensions on the peninsula are at their highest point in years.

Kim attended Thursday nights parade with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese ruling party official Li Hongzhong from a balcony looking over a brightly illuminated Kim Il Sung Square, named after Kims grandfather, the founder of North Korea.

Edited footage from North Korean state TV on Friday showed streets and stands packed with tens of thousands of mobilized spectators, who roared in approval as waves of goose-stepping soldiers, tanks and huge, intercontinental ballistic missiles wheeled out on launcher trucks filled up the main road. People were brought from around the country to the capital, Pyongyang, to fill the crowd, according to state media.

The parade began with warm-up events that featured ceremonial flights of newly developed surveillance and attack drones, which were first unveiled by state media this week as they reported on an arms exhibition attended by Kim and Shoigu.

The main event began with Kim arriving at the square in a limousine escorted by a formation of motorcycles. Kim saluted honor guards and military officials and walked down a red carpet to enter a building where Shoigu and Li greeted him at the balcony, as troops below chanted protect Kim Jong Un with our lives!

Organizers broadcast messages in Russian, Chinese and Korean while introducing Kims guests to the crowd, drawing cheers and applause.

As the parade proceeded, Kim was constantly talking and exchanging smiles with Shoigu and Li, who respectively stood to his right and left at the balconys center. Kim and Shoigu repeatedly raised their hands to salute the parading troops. The broadcast did not show Kim making a speech.

Kims biggest weapons were saved for the end, when his troops rolled out new ICBMs that were flight-tested in recent months and demonstrated ranges that could reach deep into the U.S. mainland, the Hwasong-17 and Hwasong-18. Some analysts say the missiles are based on Russian designs or know-how.

North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam spoke, describing the parade as a historic celebration of the countrys great victory against U.S. imperialist aggression forces and groups of its satellite states.

He condemned the United States for its expanding military exercises with South Korea, which the North portrays as invasion rehearsals, and also holding new rounds of nuclear contingency planning meetings with Seoul. The allies describe their drills as defensive, and say the upgrades in training and planning are necessary to cope with the Norths evolving nuclear threat.

We solemnly declare that if they attempt military confrontation as now, the exercise of our states armed forces will go beyond the scope of the right to defense for the United States of America and (South Korea), Kang said, repeating previous North Korean threats of nuclear conflict.

The U.S. imperialists have no room of choice of survival in case they use nuclear weapons against the DPRK, he said, using the initials of his countrys formal name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

Clouds over Pyongyang in recent days made it difficult for satellites to monitor preparations for the parade, which took place at night.

Satellite images showed what appeared to be a massing of people at the square at 1316 GMT (10:16 p.m. local) Thursday, said Dave Schmerler, a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, which is part of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

North Koreas invitation of Russian and Chinese delegates was a rare diplomatic opening since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts say Kim is trying to break out of diplomatic isolation and boost the visibility of his partnership with authoritarian allies to counter pressure from the United States.

The parade followed meetings between Kim and Shoigu this week that demonstrated North Koreas support for Russias invasion of Ukraine and added to suspicions the North was willing to supply arms to Russia, whose war efforts have been compromised by defense procurement and inventory problems.

North Korean state media also highlighted a message sent by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who thanked Kim for firmly supporting his war efforts in Ukraine. Putin said that interests between Moscow and Pyongyang were aligning as they counter the collective West in its policy to stand in the way of establishing a genuinely multipolar and just world order, according to the Kremlins version of the letter.

Kim also held a luncheon and dinner banquet for Shoigu and his delegation following a second day of talks about expanding the countries strategic and tactical collaboration and cooperation in defense and security, the Norths official Korean Central News Agency said.

Given Russias need for ammunition for its illegal war in Ukraine and Kim Jong Uns willingness to personally give the Russian defense minister a tour of North Koreas arms exhibition, U.N. member states should increase vigilance for observing and penalizing sanctions violations, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.

He added: Chinas representation at North Koreas parading of nuclear-capable missiles raises serious questions about Beijing enabling Pyongyangs threats to global security.

The parade capped off the North Korean festivities for the 70th anniversary of the armistice that stopped fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War. North Korea, which triggered the war with a surprise attack on the South in June 1950, was supported by Chinese troops and the then-Soviet air force. South Korea, the United States and troops from other nations under the aegis of the U.N. fought to push back the invasion.

The July 1953 truce was never replaced with a peace treaty, leaving the Korean Peninsula in a technical state of war, but the North still sees it as a victory in the Grand Fatherland Liberation War.

The anniversary events were more somber in South Korea, where President Yoon Suk Yeol visited a war cemetery in Busan to honor foreign troops who died while fighting for the South.

In the face of growing North Korean threats, Yoon has pushed to expand South Koreas military exercises with Washington and is seeking stronger U.S. reassurances that it would use its nuclear capabilities to defend the South in the event of a nuclear attack.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also marked the anniversary with a statement expressing concern over what he described as a growing nuclear risk on the Korean Peninsula.

I urge the parties to resume regular diplomatic contacts and nurture an environment conducive to dialogue, he said. KIM TONG-HYUNG, SEOUL, MDT/AP
Good customs must not be violated in projects submitted by local creators for grants from the Cultural Development Fund, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong has stated.

Each funded project of the Cultural Development Fund, she stressed, has a charter for the concerned project, specifying the purpose of funding, among other details. There are also common requirements for each project, such as not endangering national security, not affecting public order, and not violating good customs.

If the project violates the relevant requirements and regulations, the government can cancel the grant of funding, she said. Since the establishment of the Cultural Development Fund, up to now, no project has been canceled for funding approval due to the violation of regulations.

On the other hand, she added that it is necessary for funded projects to have a positive impact on society. If the project will [have a] negative impact, the government will definitely not approve it, she said.

According to the senior official, the Cultural Development Fund has a tracking and monitoring mechanism for approved projects, including retaining the last phase of funding for the project. The remaining funds will not be released until the final review process confirms that the relevant project complies with all regulations; if the details stated in the application are not met, the return of the received funding will be ordered.

Meanwhile, the Cultural Development Fund has issued a statement over the weekend to defend itself amid social media allegations of poor management and grants. It emphasized that part of the data that went viral on social media had been altered, contained errors and were untrue. It calls on the public to rely on government sources and data for truthful information.

Echoing Ao Ieongs comments, the fund highlighted that it would keep an eye on the social impact of projects receiving its grants, while inviting members of the public to supervise its work.

The series of incidents commenced when a former manager at the local Manner Culture Enterprises Ltd. committed suicide following accusations of alleged acts of bullying from the companys management.
The Rector of the University of Lisbon (ULisboa) Luis Ferreira has visited the University of Macau (UM), where he exchanged views on deepening cooperation in areas such as scientific research, education, and talent cultivation with the local university. Ferreira expressed hope that UM and ULisboa would continue to strengthen their cooperation and exchange, so as to cultivate top talent for China and Portugal and open a new chapter in higher education cooperation between the two countries. According to UM Rector Yonghua Song, after the signing of the strategic cooperation framework agreement in April this year, the two universities have implemented a series of collaborations in various academic fields.

Related
Japans Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Saturday that Sri Lanka is a key partner in a Tokyo-led initiative aimed at building security and economic cooperation around the Indo-Pacific but also at countering an increasingly assertive China.

Sri Lanka, strategically located in the Indian Ocean, is integral to realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific, Hayashi said. He was speaking after a meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart, Ali Sabry, in the capital, Colombo.

The initiative, announced by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in March includes Japans assistance to emerging economies, support for maritime security, a provision of coast guard patrol boats and equipment and other infrastructure cooperation.

Last year Sri Lanka, which owed $51 billion in foreign debt, became the first Asia-Pacific country since the late 1990s to default, sparking an economic crisis.

While Japan is Sri Lankas largest creditor, about 10% of its debt is held by China, which lent Colombo billions to build sea ports, airports and power plants as part of its Belt and Road Initiative. In March, China agreed to offer Sri Lanka a two-year moratorium on loan repayments.

Hayashi said that he conveyed expectations for further progress in Sri Lankas debt restructuring process. He welcomed Sri Lankas efforts under an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, which includes anti-corruption measures and transparency in the policy-making process.

Sri Lankas Foreign Minister Sabry said that he, along with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, invited Japan to resume investment projects already in the pipeline and to consider fresh investments in sectors such as power generation, ports and highways, and dedicated investment zones, as well as in the green and digital economy.

Over many decades, Japan became one of Sri Lankas key donors, carrying out key projects under concessionary terms. However, relations between the two countries came under strain after Wickremesinghes predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa unilaterally scrapped a Japan-funded light railway project following his election in 2019.

Sri Lankas Cabinet has already approved a proposal to restart the railway project.

Rajapaksa was forced to resign in July 2022 amid angry public protects over the countrys worst economic crisis. KRISHAN FRANCIS, COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, MDT/AP
THE RIVER NETWORK | RAJ SHUKLA

SAUK CITY  Rivers under his watch included the Fox, Menominee, Wolf, Rock and Namekagon.

But now Raj Shukla, the former executive director of the River Alliance of Wisconsin, is no longer just advocating for the health of the 84,000 miles of rivers and streams within the state.

His inventory expanded exponentially in May when he was named president and CEO of the River Network, a nonprofit based in Colorado that advocates for healthy rivers throughout the country.

On one recent day, as Shukla relaxed in a collapsible camping chair on a sandbar of the Wisconsin River, his thoughts turned to the Himalaya Mountains half a world away.

His parents emigrated in the 1960s from India to the U.S. but had lived near a river fed 75% by the mountain range's snowpack.

"All of which will probably be gone in 10 years," Shukla said, referring to the effects of climate change. "Water has permeated this sort of spiritual life of my parents and their actual lives growing up and then when they came here they're surrounded by water. It's just everywhere."

Shukla, 47, who lives on Madison's West Side and swims with his family at Hill Farms Pool a few blocks from his home, refuses to take water for granted.

He has seen the negative impacts of drought, torrential rains, industrial pollution, agricultural runoff and threats from mining on rivers in Wisconsin. His new role with the River Network will bring the focus to some of the most threatened waterways in the country. They include the Pearl in Mississippi, the Lehigh in Pennsylvania, Clarks Fork in Montana and the Colorado, its dwindling waters pulled by farmers, ranchers and communities in five states before what's left dumps into the Sea of Cortez at the Baja Peninsula of Mexico.

Shukla's is anything but a top-down approach, and he's being buoyed by a wave of new and younger activists, and a push for more local, grassroots involvement.

"It's exciting, especially given all of the dangers that we're facing right now, knowing that there's a generation of leadership that we can hopefully galvanize along with people who have been doing this work for a really long time and often against huge headwinds," Shukla said. "That combination of wisdom and energy and hunger for change and the incentive for what we're seeing around us every day is exciting to be a part of."

Nationwide network

The River Network was founded in 1988 and helps guide other organizations in their efforts to support healthy rivers, safe and affordable drinking water, and "climate-resilient communities." The national network includes more than 2,200 individual members who represent more than 750 organizations, including the River Alliance of Wisconsin.

Recent work has included pushing for the equitable distribution of federal funding for projects that address critical water needs and development, litter management, connecting communities with philanthropists, helping protect wild and scenic rivers, and assisting in community-led research.

Shukla began his new position June 20 and is a former River Network board member. He left the River Alliance of Wisconsin after nearly five years in March 2021 to serve as the Midwest director of freshwater policy for the Nature Conservancy, where he worked to advance the organization's freshwater policy goals.

Shukla replaces Nicole Selk, who stepped down from the River Network in May 2022 after a nearly eight-year stint to become the Nature Conservancy's global director for freshwater outcomes.

"We are excited by Raj's infectious passion for the organization and the role of the network, skills in fundraising, expertise in implementing equity, diversity, inclusion, and justice values, and his approach to telling our unique story," said Jumana Vasi, the River Network's board chair.

Wisconsin roots

Mark Cupp, executive director of the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway Board since its inception in 1989, says Wisconsin's diverse array of rivers facing myriad problems has been the ideal place for Shukla to prepare for a national position with the River Network. Cupp met Shukla when he was hired at the River Alliance and was quickly impressed, despite Shukla's lack of paddling experience.

"He quickly took to that," said Cupp, whose board helps protect one of the longest stretches of free-flowing river in the country. "He was a person you could see that had leadership abilities, organizational skills and was a good fit for the River Alliance. People are immediately drawn to him. He's such a likeable person and a smart guy."

Shukla was born in Kansas but grew up in the Milwaukee suburb of New Berlin, just north of Little Muskego Lake and about 16 miles west of Lake Michigan. He earned his political science degree from UW-Madison in 1998 on the shore of Lake Mendota and in 2002 joined a program called Public Allies in Milwaukee, working with 30 team members to build capacity in local nonprofits. He then served as program officer for the Greater Milwaukee Committee and in 2004 married Spring Green native Victoria Frank. The couple moved to Madison a year later so she could pursue a master's degree, and now they have three daughters.

But the move to Madison allowed Shukla to volunteer with the American Red Cross, which sent him in 2005 to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Witnessing the storm's devastation and collapse of government services was disheartening but also motivating for Shukla.

"I was a late comer to environmentalism, generally. I always cared about it but didn't really think about it as a vocation," Shukla said. "I got a firsthand look of what climate change means and what it means for a government to not do anything and the system to fail in the face of this calamity. I felt right then that I just needed to do something about this, so I dove into the topic."

Driving change

Shukla spent two years as the state finance director for Progressive Majority Wisconsin, which trained and promoted candidates for state and local office, but at about the same time joined former U.S. Vice President Al Gore's Climate Reality Project, which trains people to become activists and drive change across the globe.

From 2008 to 2011 Shukla ran his own consulting business before joining Cool Choices, a Madison-based software company that helps people make sustainable choices at home, work and in their communities using a simple online game.

He was named to the city's Sustainable Madison Committee in 2013 and became its chairman for a plan to get city government to 100% renewable energy by 2030 and the community to that goal by 2045. Shukla ran for Madison mayor in 2019, losing in the primary, but in 2022 joined the Friends of Nolen Waterfront, a private effort to raise support for the plan to revitalize Lake Monona's waterfront in Madison.

While still deeply engaged in Madison, Shukla's focus has become broader. He's concerned not only about communities pulling too much water out of rivers like the Colorado, but agricultural use, pressure from industry, and dams that could be removed to improve flow, reduce flooding issues and support fish migration.

"Those are tricky conversations, and in order to make progress on them you need local voices leading the effort because they are the credible voices and they understand the community" Shukla said. "But what I'm most worried about now, though, is that the challenges we're facing are so much bigger in scale. They're so much different and so much less predictable in many ways."
An Illinois man died in a reported drowning in Lake Michigan at Simmons Island Beach Saturday night, authorities reported.

The 58-year-old man was with his 28-year-old son, also from Illinois, when both were reportedly struggling while in the water shortly after 6 p.m., according to Sgt. Jeff Galley of the Kenosha Police Department. Authorities did not immediately release the man's name.

Someone operating a Wave Runner (Jet Ski) tried to get near them to help them out, Galley said Sunday.

While the younger man was able to hold on as he was being rescued, the older man was not and ultimately went under the water, Galley said.

It sounds like he was under the water for 15 minutes before he was pulled out by the Coast Guard, he said.

Kenosha Fire Department rescue personnel transported the older man to Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital and continued to perform life-saving measures enroute to the medical center.

Unfortunately, he was pronounced deceased, Galley said.

The pair had apparently been trying to fight the currents, which led to their exhaustion while in the water, he said.

Neither Coast Guard nor fire department personnel on duty could immediately comment on the incident, which remains under investigation.

Roseann Ventura, who along with another woman helped the younger man to shore, told the Kenosha News that the 28-year-old man apparently could not swim. She said the person on the Jet Ski who had rescued him had a dangerous task, holding onto the younger man while trying to control the device until they got to shore.

Ventura said that the older man went under water, while the rescue effort was underway. The skier had gone back to try to find the older man and located him, she said.

"The skier was searching for the father while I stayed to help with the young man who was in shock," she said. Ventura, 62, of Chicago, said that she was disappointed that others who were on the beach did not assist them with the young man who was exhausted and vomited as he was taken ashore.

She said the older man was under water for more than 15 minutes before Coast Guard officials pulled him out.

IN PHOTOS: Local police K-9 units Pleasant Prairie Officer Mike Algiers and K-9 Chase Local dealership provides wheels for new KPD K9 Local dealership provides wheels for new KPD K9 K9 officer Jaxx sworn in by Twin Lakes Police Department K9 officer Jaxx sworn in by Twin Lakes Police Department K9 officer Jaxx sworn in by Twin Lakes Police Department IRIS - POLICE DOG
PHOENIX  A historic heat wave that gripped the U.S. Southwest throughout July, blasting residents and baking surfaces like brick, is beginning to abate with the late arrival of monsoon rains.

Forecasters expect that by Monday, people in metro Phoenix will begin to see high temperatures fall under 110 degrees Fahrenheit for the first time in a month.

But on Saturday, the high temperature in the desert city with more than 1.6 million residents climbed past 110 F for the 30th straight day, the National Weather Service said. The prior record stretch of 110 F or above was 18 days in 1974.

There are increased chances on Sunday of cooling monsoon thunderstorms. Wet weather also can bring damaging winds, blowing dust and the chance of flash flooding, the weather service warned.

This past week, the overnight low at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport fell under 90 F for the first time in 16 days, giving residents some respite from the heat once the sun goes down.

Temperatures also were expected to ease in Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Death Valley, Calif., where the weather service said the expected high of 122 F on Saturday is forecast to lower to 113 F by Tuesday. Triple-digit heat was still expected in other parts of California.

The downward trend started Wednesday night. Storms gradually increasing in strength were expected over the weekend.

Scientists calculate that July will prove to be the hottest month globally on record and perhaps the warmest human civilization has seen. The extreme heat is now hitting the eastern U.S.

Maricopa County, the most populous in Arizona and home to Phoenix, reported this past week that it confirmed 25 heat-associated deaths this year as of July 21.

At least eight dogs died in an uncooled cargo van in northern Indiana on Thursday, authorities said.
A temperature of nearly 90 degrees and a dew point of about 70 combined to make it feel about 100 degrees in Madison when a heat advisory was issued last Thursday.

But the children gathered at Schenk Elementary School didnt seem to mind as they played on the playground equipment and the inflated house and slide set up on the second-to-last day of a summer program.

The school served as a cooling station.

Sprinkled among the elementary-age children were high school-age employees who might not have been prepared to work in this weather. But some of those Leaders in Training said they learned how to work with children during the nine-week program.

Behavior is quite a big thing with these young kids, said Brandon Solis Cruz, 15. The training has really helped me out.

For almost 20 years, Madison School & Community Recreation has offered a program to train high schoolers to work in camps and summer child care programs. Now called Leaders in Training, its participants take on a summer job, and successful participants receive a part-time job during the school year.

Solis Cruz and other high schoolers were working at the Summer Recreation and Enrichment Center program. Its offered in the afternoon for students who take summer school classes in the morning.

It is so fun, just being active, Carina Caspar, 16, said. I love working with kids. ... Its my passion, I just love being around them.

The Leaders in Training program includes topics such as financial literacy, cultural awareness, professionalism and how to handle workplace conflicts, program planning, behavior management, inclusion and social emotional learning that includes how to be supportive of youths and team members by recognizing challenges people are going through.

The training consists of 90-minute sessions after school for nine weeks in the spring and is open to any high schooler.

From students to staff

When the training program was started by MSCR in 2004, it was called Junior Leaders. While the name was changed to Leaders in Training in 2013, the earlier program was very similar, with application and interview processes and then a multiweek job training to work in MSCR programs.

Back then, the district wasnt hiring many high school students, and when it did, they were considered assistants. Now the youth completing the training are hired as program leaders, which is the same title as general program staff.

It is a youth development program as much as it is an employment program, said Ian Hannah, supervisor of middle and high school programs for MSCR. We are also sort of helping them get other jobs in the future.

This summer, almost 40 youths who took the training last spring are among those who are working in a variety of camps and child care programs. MSCR also has several full-time professional staff who got their start as Leaders in Training.

Agie Fanna Touray said she learned it wouldnt be easy working with kids and those with special needs would present additional challenges.

Its very true, she said, adding Ive been getting along with them fine.

Fanna Touray, 16, said her approach has been to be the fun teacher who lets them do what they want to do  but with limits.

At the same time, they have to keep a minimum voice and ask permission if they want to do something or they want to go out of the classroom, she said.

Solis Cruz said if a fight breaks out, he knows how to stop it.

A real thing now

Behavior is a big thing the employees handle, but those with the training are prepared, said Erick Blue, Community Learning Center site director for MSCR. The leaders in training think the children will automatically do as theyre told, but trust needs to built first, he said. But one thing high schoolers have going for them is that they have interests similar to those of their younger counterparts.

We need this for all of our staff who are coming in the first year, Blue said.

Kariana Garcia, 16, said she signed up for the program because she always wanted to be a teacher, but now that she has worked with kids she is not sure. It has given her better insight into what classroom teachers experience.

Thats a real thing now, Garcia said.

She said the training gave pointers on how to talk to the children.

Its really hard for them to listen, she said. Your voice has to be real serious.

Others signed up for the program because they like working with kids or want to get more experience interacting with them.

After high schooler Caspar raced the younger children on the inflated slide, she walked past the swing set, where a young boy called out to her to push him. After Caspar obliged and started walking to a picnic table, a girl on a teeter-totter asked if she would play tag. Once at the table, another girl asked how she could get her face painted and then stuck around for hugs.

Caspar said one of the trainers talked about how they would work with students who dont have the best relationship with school and that it is important to separate behavior from the children themselves.

Caspar said she has taken this to heart and will try to perk up someone who previously had a bad day by finding something to compliment about them and by cheering them on.

I just pull them aside and say, Lets have a great day today, she said.
A southeastern Wisconsin property owner tired of watching airboats travel across his land during floods has filed a lawsuit seeking to limit the public's right to use flooded rivers, lakes and streams.

Thomas Reiss, of Ixonia, filed the suit in Jefferson County Circuit Court on July 11. Wisconsin Public Radio first reported on the filing.

According to the lawsuit, Reiss' land abuts the Rock River. When the river floods, airboat users take advantage of the higher water levels to trespass across his land, the lawsuit alleges.

At the heart of the issue is the so-called public trust doctrine, which are provisions in the Wisconsin Constitution that guarantee public access to navigable waters generally defined as any waterway with a bank upon which someone can float a canoe or other small watercraft on a regular basis.

State Department of Natural Resources policies state that the doctrine grants access rights to any part of a navigable waterway as long as the person remains in the water. But Reiss argues that stance is unlawful. He maintains that public access ends at the ordinary high water mark, a point on the bank or shoreline where the water regularly stops, and that the DNR's position has left law enforcement confused.

DNR's authority to implement and enforce the public trust doctrine is limited to navigable lakes, streams, sloughs, bayous and marsh outlets, the lawsuit says. Flooded yards do not fit into these categories and are not subject to DNR's public trust jurisdiction.

A Reiss court victory would limit boaters, anglers and swimmers' access rights to the ordinary high water mark. They would not have a right to use the waterway beyond that point.

DNR spokesperson Katie Grant said she was unable to comment on ongoing litigation.

Online court records indicate that the case has been assigned to Jefferson County Circuit Judge Robert Dehring. He has yet to schedule a hearing.
Partisan primaries are one of the main causes of government dysfunction. They disenfranchise voters, promote division and gridlock legislatures.

Recognizing this problem, Alaska, California, Louisiana and Washington have eliminated partisan primaries. While each states system is slightly different, the evidence so far suggests nonpartisan primaries are decreasing polarization and improving governance.

Yet the tide wont fully change until a critical mass of politicians are freed from partisan primaries at the state and national level.

Even politicians in states liberated from partisan primaries are still affected by the behavior of the vast majority of lawmakers who arent. Recent developments in Washington, D.C., on the debt ceiling and in Nebraska on hot-button social issues help demonstrate this dynamic.

On the surface, it appears that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., along with other Republicans from nonpartisan primary states, were equally as guilty as any for bringing the nation to the brink of default and economic calamity.

If nonpartisan primaries are such a force for moderation and good governance, youd think McCarthy and other Republicans from these states would have been less combative in the negotiations.

But Republicans from nonpartisan primary states still have to govern with colleagues elected through a partisan primary, and McCarthy is tasked with leading them. Because he needed to appease the far-right Freedom Caucus  all of whom are from states that use partisan primaries  he was less compromising than he might have otherwise been.

Ultimately, McCarthy and lesser-known Louisiana Republican Rep. Garret Graves marshaled enough GOP support for the deal.

In the final vote, 95% of Republicans from the nonpartisan primary states voted for the bill, in contrast to 65% from partisan primary states. Despite this clear statistical difference, representatives from nonpartisan primaries acted more ideological and partisan than they might have otherwise, in an effort to maintain solidarity (and win over) more partisan colleagues elected under the traditional primary system.

Now consider the rightward lurch of Nebraska Republicans and the resulting dysfunction in the state legislature over hot-button issues. Nebraska instituted nonpartisan primaries in 1934 when it began holding elections for its unicameral state senate without party labels. From 1996-2020, Nebraska was the fourth least polarized state government in the nation. So up until recently, Nebraskas unicameral Senate was held up as a model of civil deliberation and good governance.

But in recent years, the Nebraska Senate has become as partisan as other states. The same measures that show Nebraska was generally less polarized in recent decades also show that Nebraska has nonetheless been the most rapidly polarizing state over the last decade. This rapid polarization crescendoed earlier this year when Democrats filibustered Republican legislation restricting abortion and treatment for transgender young people, grinding the government to a halt for several weeks.

Similar to the congressional debt ceiling example, outside forces were at play in Nebraska. While the state legislature has nonpartisan primaries, the gubernatorial primaries are partisan. In 2014, now-Gov. Pete Ricketts won a very competitive Republican primary for governor with just 26.6% of the vote. He then defeated his Democratic opponent in an uncompetitive general election. Unsurprisingly, Gov. Ricketts behaved like a politician who had to worry much more about being outflanked on the right in a primary than about losing to a Democrat in November.

When moderate Republicans in the state senate opposed his far-right agenda, Gov. Ricketts  who is a multimillionaire  recruited and funded conservative challengers. Despite the Nebraska Legislature's nonpartisan primary system, the wealth and involvement of the states most powerful politician was enough to sweep these conservative insurgents into office. These Rickets-supported Republicans introduced conservative legislation this year, including an abortion ban at six weeks.

On their own, nonpartisan primaries appear to enhance meaningful participation, reduce polarization and improve governance. But in the United States complex tapestry of election systems, nonpartisan primaries do not operate in a vacuum. In the debt ceiling and Nebraska cases, conservative Republicans who took office through a partisan primary created incentives for more moderate Republicans to act more partisan and extreme.

As more states do away with partisan primaries, the benefits of such reforms should become larger and more evident.
First Federal Foundation donates $60k-plus

The First Federal Foundation will donate more than $60,000 to 16 non-profit organizations and charities in the Magic and Treasure valleys through its 2023 summer grant program, the bank announced last week.

The funding during this application period marks a record amount, pushing the Foundations giving since its inception in 2003 to more than $1.3 million, according to a news release.

The Foundations impact on our local communities and, Idaho overall, has been really rewarding to see, First Federal Bank President and CEO Jason A. Meyerhoeffer said in a news release. We are proud of the Foundations work and its role in helping to further the Banks community-centric mindset and approach.

The 2023 summer grant recipients include the Murtaugh and Cassia County school districts, Jerome Little Tigers, Magic Valley Humanitarian Center, Jerome Senior Center, Twin Falls Historical Society, the Buhl High School softball team, Sage Womens Center, Buhl Rotary Club, the Hagerman Bike Trail and Magic Valley Symphony.

U of I reports $57.5M in gifts for FY2023

The University of Idaho reported $57.5 million in gifts during fiscal year 2023, which ended June 30, the school announced in a Monday news release.

All 2023 gifts will count toward the universitys Brave. Bold. Unstoppable campaign, which has now raised more than $394 million of its $500 million goal by Dec. 31, 2025.

We are deeply grateful for the donors and alumni whose support is amplifying our impact throughout Idaho and beyond our borders, President Scott Green said in the release. Every gift makes a difference in our mission to serve the people, industries and communities across our state.

The 2023 donations will be allocated according to the donors wishes: $22.9 million for student scholarships and programs; $27.5 million for faculty, research and programs; and $7.1 million to facilities and other areas to address the specific health, educational, legal and other vital needs of communities throughout Idaho.

Also:

Idaho is ranked No. 10 for best health care, according to a study released Monday by the personal-finance website WalletHub . The 2023 Best & Worst States for Health Care study accounted for 44 measures of cost, accessibility and outcomes. Minnesota was No. 1, followed by Iowa, Rhode Island, North Dakota and Utah. West Virginia was last.

. The 2023 Best & Worst States for Health Care study accounted for 44 measures of cost, accessibility and outcomes. Minnesota was No. 1, followed by Iowa, Rhode Island, North Dakota and Utah. West Virginia was last. Motorcycle deaths have increased by 15% in Idaho since 2020, according to a new study from QuoteWizard, a LendingTree company and one of the countrys major online insurance marketplaces.

Times-News
Dont get Idaho Sen. Jim Risch started on Ukraine.

On second thought, do. That is, if you want to see energy, passion and a dose of common sense. Risch, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, turned a breakout session of the recent Aspen Security Forum into quite a show, and received some generous applause from global leaders in the audience.

Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, who shared the stage with Risch, needled the Idaho senator for displaying low energy and limited passion with Rischs remarks about Ukraine. The animosity between Republicans and Democrats, that we keep hearing about, was not on full display on this day. Risch and Coons have been friends and colleagues for a long time, and they happen to agree that the U.S. should support Ukraines fight against Putin and Russia.

For those who may be scoring at home, Risch made the boldest statement of the session.

The war is over as far as whos lost, he said. Russia has lost. The Ukranians havent won, but Russia has lost. Their objective was to occupy that country. They are never going to occupy that country. (The Ukranians) will fight with sticks and stones in the streets, which Putin has now figured out and the rest of the world has figured out.

Quote Risch avoided public disagreements with Trump during his four years in office  and the Idaho senators stance on Ukraine is clearly at odds with the Republican frontrunner.

Wow! Political leaders in the U.S. know something about lost causes  the withdrawal of troops in Vietnam during the 1970s  leaving Iraq almost 20 years after President George W. Bush proclaimed that the mission was accomplished  and the embarrassing retreat from Afghanistan. Risch, for one, doesnt want to add Ukraine to the Hall of Shame, and he offers a nice reality check to the situation.

There is some bipartisan resistance to continuing support for Ukraine. Even some Republicans in the presidential race, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have raised doubts about continuing support for Ukraine. Trump says he will pull U.S. support for Ukraine if he wins the presidency, which puts Risch in an awkward position.

Risch avoided public disagreements with Trump during his four years in office  and the Idaho senators stance on Ukraine is clearly at odds with the Republican frontrunner.

For the moment, Risch and Coons  as voices of reason  are telling their colleagues that now is not the time to pull away.

We have not only a moral obligation to do this, weve got a legal obligation to do this, Risch said. One of the most important reasons is if you think Xi (Chinas leader) isnt watching every single thing that goes on as far as our commitment to the see this though, youre badly mistaken. He is watching this  and I have reason to believe that for a fact  very, very closely, and watching every utterance that comes out of the United States Congress, out of the administration, and out of the American people as to what kind of a stomach weve got to see this thing through.

Risch says give Ukranians cluster bombs and all the ammunition they need, short of nuclear weapons.

Im tired of hearing about escalation, he said. If you dont escalate, youre going to lose. I want Putin to wake up in the morning worried about what hes going to do thats going to cause us to escalate, instead of us wringing our hands and saying, We cant do that.

As Risch sees it, the U.S. should do everything in its power to stop Putin. When its over, he says, the Russians should pay.

Its easy to say, Oh, this is Putins war. I have no doubt that when Putins gone, Russias going to say that this was his war, it was a terrible mistake, we had nothing to do with it, Risch said. The Ukranians are not going to buy that. Theyre going to insist that the Russian people pay the price for this.

First, Putin will have to admit defeat  which is a tall order. Its safe to say that the Russian dictator wont be reading memos from Risch anytime soon.
You can get a specific read on just how crazed the power struggle within the Idaho Republican Party has gotten by mentioning just one name: Damond Watkins.

The idea that he would be on the losing end of a bitter power struggle in the partys upper reaches  for that matter, that he would have been involved in a party squabble at all  shows how much things have changed in the last few years.

He comes from one of the best-known and most solidly-established of eastern Idaho Republican families. His father, Dane, was a state senator and a Republican nominee for Congress who I covered for years, and one of the most even-tempered politicians I ever saw. (His father was a key Idaho Falls establishment figure for years before.) Damonds brother, Dane Jr., was an elected (Republican) Bonneville County prosecutor for years, and now a judge

Damond worked for years (he has since moved on) at Melaleuca, a top executive close to its leader, Frank Vander Sloot; both Melaleuca and Vander Sloot have been well known regionally for many years as a top institutional private-sector centerpoint for the regions Republican Party.

Damond Watkins also put in many years of work for the regional and state Republican Party, chaired the county organization, and for the last decade he has been the Idaho state committee man  one of two state representatives  to the national committee, and has often paid for the travel out of his own pocket.

When last month Watkins abruptly announced his resignation from the position, the party released a statement that he played a pivotal role in shaping our partys vision and driving positive change  [and deserved] gratitude for his service and contributions over the years.

What the party didnt say then was that the same leadership making that statement had pressured Watkins to quit.

A remarkable story from the Idaho Falls Post Register put together the pieces.

The partys state leadership  its top officials and its governing bodies  have been changing over the last decade or so, moving away from more establishment leaders like Trent Clark and Rom Luna (both former chairs) to people more aligned with the extremist groups centered in party organizations like Kootenai County. Its become a much more hardcore group.

The immediate excuse was that he wasnt spending enough time in Idaho (he also has a house in North Carolina), but that was a pretext only: Hed been attending meetings and doing the work. Behind the scenes several months ago someone tried a challenge to his voting qualifications in Idaho, but the county clerk said he was a properly registered voter. After that, the party brought in an investigative committee, which the newspaper indicated collected whatever it could find as evidence against him, including a recording of him speaking in church.

At the June party meeting in Challis, party chair Dorothy Moon confronted him with the report, saying (he recalled), that Everybody, when they see the truth, whats in this report, theyre going to drop you like flies. That included, she said, his friend Vander Sloot.

Not so. Vander Sloot rebutted: I have the highest regard for him. I think what Dorothy Moon and her team did to Damond was abhorrently wrong, immoral, and dishonest. Its extremely sad to me to see any leader stoop to these levels. Its especially sad to me to see this happening in the Idaho Republican Party. We are better than this.

He wasnt alone in support for Watkins. Clark and Luna (who had been ousted as chair by Moon) also released a statement (including one sent to the national party) saying much the same.

Moon was quoted by the Post Register about all this: Some of this isnt anybodys business. Its a private club. This tells you what the leaders of the party running Idaho thinks of its relationship to the people of the state.

All of this was about one person and one party structural position. Heres your sign of how far the current leadership of the party is willing to go to eliminate opposition.
Photo: Contributed

In recent years, some Canadian employers have recognized the importance of supporting their employees' financial well-being  understanding that financial stress can significantly impact an individual's productivity, engagement, and overall health.

This stress can also lead to reduced job satisfaction, increased absenteeism, and turnover. All things that will make the employers business more challenging to run and less profitable.

By implementing comprehensive financial wellness programs, employers can create a more financially resilient workforce, fostering a positive and productive work environment.

Here are 10 strategies to help you do it the right way:

1. Financial Education and Workshops: Offer financial education programs and workshops to equip employees with essential money management skills. Topics can include budgeting, saving for emergencies, retirement planning, and debt management. Engaging financial experts to conduct workshops can provide valuable insights and encourage employees to make informed financial decisions. You can even build these into staff social days where you start with a helpful workshop and then do something fun to team-build.

2. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs): Include financial counselling as part of your Employee Assistance Programs. Confidential one-on-one counselling sessions can help employees address personal financial challenges, such as debt or budgeting issues, and create actionable plans for improvement.

3. Flexible Compensation Packages: Provide employees with flexible compensation options, such as the ability to allocate a portion of their salary towards retirement savings, health savings accounts, or additional vacation days. This allows employees to tailor their benefits to meet their unique financial needs and goals.

4. Retirement Planning Assistance: Offer retirement planning resources, such as retirement calculators and access to financial advisors, to help employees make informed decisions about their retirement savings and investments.

5. Financial Tools and Apps: Provide access to financial tools and apps that can help employees track their spending, manage budgets, and monitor their savings progress. These tools can be particularly beneficial for younger employees who are tech-savvy and prefer digital solutions.

6. Student Loan Assistance: For younger employees burdened with student loans, consider implementing a student loan assistance program. Employers can offer contributions towards their employees' student loan payments, helping to alleviate the financial strain and accelerate debt repayment.

7. Matching Retirement Contributions: If your company offers a retirement savings plan, consider providing a matching contribution to encourage employees to save for their future. Matching contributions can act as an incentive for employees to participate actively in retirement savings programs.

8. Promote Open Communication: Encourage an open and supportive culture where employees feel comfortable discussing their financial concerns. Create forums or support groups where employees can share financial tips, experiences, and resources.

9. Financial Wellness Challenges: Organize financial wellness challenges or competitions that motivate employees to achieve specific financial goals, such as saving a certain amount or paying off debt. Rewarding participants with incentives or recognition can further drive engagement.

10. Access to Low-Cost Credit and Financial Products: Partner with financial institutions to offer employees access to low-cost credit options or financial products with reduced fees, allowing them to manage their finances more efficiently.

Recognizing the impact of financial stress on employees is the first step. Employers can then take proactive steps to promote financial wellness in the workplace. These efforts not only lead to a more content and engaged workforce but also contribute to the long-term success and growth of the organization. As employers invest in their employees' financial well-being, they foster a culture of support and care that resonates throughout the workplace.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
DO you recall that irresistible, crispy chicken you yearned for while watching the popular drama Crash Landing On You? Well, now you dont have to fly all the way to Seoul just to have a bite of this juicy and crispy chicken.

The well-known South Korean food chain, bb.q Chicken, has opened its second branch in Robinsons Magnolia, Quezon City, where many have already savored the unique flavors developed by Genesis BBQs Chicken University.

Singson aims to make the Philippines the main hub for bb.q Chicken in Southeast Asia

The term bb.q represents Best of the Best Quality, a blend of long-standing Korean culinary tradition and modern research from their Chicken University, established in Seoul in 1995. The chicken is cooked using traditional techniques  hand-brushed, hand-battered, and fried at lower temperatures for a longer duration, resulting in an incredibly crispy texture. Additionally, bb.q offers its signature sauces to elevate the enjoyment of fried chicken like never before.

Former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis Chavit Singson and Quezon City Vice Mayor Gian Sotto lead the opening of South Korean food chain, bb.q Chicken

Former Ilocos Sur governor Luis Chavit Singson, his LCS group, and Genesis BBQ Group joined forces to introduce this crispy chicken delight to Manila, with plans to make the Philippines the main hub for bb.q Chicken in Southeast Asia.

If you want to work at bb.q, you must undergo training at the Chicken University in Seoul. However, were changing that now by bringing the training here. Our staff, chefs, and franchisees wont have to fly to Korea anymore for training. Our vision is to make Manila the central hub for the region. This is just the beginning of other thrilling developments for the brand, Singson shared with the media during the grand opening of the restaurants second branch in Manila on July 16.

Established in Seoul in 1995, bb.q Chicken gains popularity in the country when it is featured in the Korean drama Crash Landing On You

With a global presence of over 3,500 branches, more bb.q Chicken outlets will grace the Philippines in the upcoming months.

On the menu, youll find favorites like the hot spicy, secret chicken, Gangnam-style, and Cheesling chicken. The restaurant also tempts diners with a tteokbokki platter, refreshing salads, and delightful desserts to complement the overall dining experience.

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LANDERS Superstore recently opened its newest outlet located in Nuvali, Sta. Rosa, Laguna, to deliver world-class brands, huge savings, and premium perks to the residents of Laguna and its neighboring provinces in Southern Tagalog, being the only one in the region.

During its opening on July 20, Landers President and CEO Greg Davis stated that Landers is the fastest-growing retailer in the Philippines, having opened three stores in three months, following the opening of its 8th and 9th stores in Pampanga and Taguig City, respectively.

Landers Superstore opens its 10th branch in Nuvali

Landers Nuvali is the brands 10th store, showcasing an expansive retail area, cozy dining spots, high, airy ceilings, and beautiful accent lights, complemented by Instagrammable interiors.

Members can also look forward to a wide array of imported and local goods, hard-to-find items, and exclusive labels during their visit. From everyday essentials to special purchases, Landers members can find all the items they need.

From left: Ayala Land Estates SVP and group head Robert Lao, Sta. Rosa City Mayor Hon. Arlene Arcillas, and Landers president and CEO Greg Davis

Another highlight is the Farmers Market section, where members can avail the freshest fruits and vegetables sourced from community farms in the region and nearby provinces.

But what Landers members should know about Landers Nuvali is that a long list of exclusive perks is waiting for them on their next visit.

Kapamilya actress Alexa Ilacad is filling up her cart with fresh fruits from Landers Nuvali

After filling up their carts, members can grab some snacks at Landers Central, which offers a wide spread of delicious food, while they can have their coffee break at Doppio.

Members can also avail themselves of low-priced medicines from Capital Care Pharmacy, big fuel discounts from Landers-Caltex, free haircuts and blow-dry from Federal Barbers, and exclusive deals on Solane tanks and refills, which can be purchased online at www.landers.ph or via the Landers Superstore app, with delivery available in the area soon.

Real-life couple Marco Gumabao (left) and Christine Reyes (right) pay a visit during the opening of Landers Nuvali

The store will also host promos and events like the Super Crazy Sale, Super Fuel Sale, Piso Sale, Fresh & Produce Sale, and Sampling Festivals that promise big price markdowns and year-round savings.

Actors Matteo Guidicelli (left) and Jericho Rosales (right)

Landers Superstore members can visit Landers Nuvali at Nuvali Blvd Cor. Evoliving Center Drive, Sto. Domingo, Sta. Rosa City, Laguna.

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Consumers are facing price increases of as much as P3.50 per liter for diesel and P4.55 per kilo or P50.05 per 11-kilo tank of cooking gas today (August 1) to reflect the movement of prices of oil and liquefied petroleum gas in the world market.

Oil firms implemented a big-time oil price hike of P3.50 per liter for diesel, P3.25 per liter for kerosene and P2.10 per liter for gasoline effective 6 a.m. today  the highest increase for diesel and kerosene since the start of the year. The highest increase for gasoline was on January 3 at P2.90 per liter.

The price adjustments effectively erased the net decrease for diesel, which now has a net increase of P3.10 per liter, and shaved the net decrease for kerosene to P0.10 per liter. Gasoline, on the other hand, has a net increase of P11 per liter.

TINGI FUEL. A man purchases unleaded gasoline using a small plastic bottle at a gasoline station on Pedro Gil Street in Manila on Monday. Owing to the rising prices of fuel, motorists like this man are forced to buy in small amounts that Filipinos call tingi. Danny Pata

Transport group Pasang Masda appealed to the government to extend aid to drivers in the form of fuel vouchers in lieu of a fare hike as well as to allow a P1 price surge during rush hours.

These hefty price adjustments will result in a P150 daily income loss for drivers, Martin said in a television interview yesterday.

Earlier, the so-called Magnificent 7  composed of the biggest transport groups in the country  said it will meet to submit recommendations to the government amid the oil price hikes.

Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Associations of the Philippines president Melencio Vargas said one option is to provide discount lanes for public utility jeepneys in gasoline stations.

The new oil price hike will be a big burden for us, Vargas said.

This is the fourth consecutive week of increase for diesel and kerosene and the third for gasoline.

Petron will implement the following price increases effective 6 a.m. on Aug 1: P2.10 per liter for gasoline; P3.50 per liter for diesel and P3.25 per liter for kerosene. These reflect movements in the international oil market, Petron Corp. said in its advisory.

Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, PTT Philippines, Seaoil Philippines and Caltex Philippines also announced the latest oil price hike while others are expected to follow suit.

Petron Corp. said it will also implement a P4.55 per kilo (VAT-incl) increase in LPG prices and a P2.54 per liter hike for its autoLPG prices.

These reflect the international contract price of LPG for the month of August, Petron said.

LPG Marketers Association president Arnel Ty said the forecast is due to the higher contract price of LPG in the world market, which went up between $65 to $75 per metric ton.

DOE director for the Oil Industry Management Bureau Rino Abad said Friday domestic pump prices are expected to go up after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries continued to implement its oil output cut of one million barrels per day.

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Johannesburg, South Africa  Five people have been shot dead in South Africas Johannesburg in suspected violence between rival illegal mining gangs, police said Sunday.

The five bodies, believed to be of illegal miners, were found near an abandoned mine shaft clsoe to a slum in the suburb of Riverlea west of Johannesburg.

Preliminary investigation suggests that two rival groups of the illegal miners were shooting at each in the area police said in a statement.

Police have opened an investigation into the killings and have appealed the public with come forward with any information.

With an unemployment rate of more than 32 percent, South Africa counts thousands of illegal miners nicknamed zama zamas (those who try in the Zulu language).

The Johannesburg region is dotted with slag heaps, shafts and deep trenches left by generations of miners, whose arrival in a gold rush in the 1880s led to the birth of the city.

Access to these old mines is controlled by gangs of zama zamas.

In September last year, local media reported that at least seven illegal miners were shot and killed near the same slum.

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Baghdad, Iraq  Iraq and Kuwait will work towards reaching a definitive agreement on demarcating their borders, including a contested maritime area of the Gulf, their foreign ministers said on Sunday.

The de facto land and maritime borders between the neighbouring states were established by the United Nations in 1993, three years after Iraq under Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.

While Iraqi officials have previously expressed a readiness to recognise Kuwaits land border, the maritime border remains a point of contention.

Baghdad insists that the delineation should provide it unhindered access to Gulf waters, a lifeline for its economy and oil exports.

Because of the long-standing dispute, Kuwaiti coastguards regularly detain Iraqi fishermen and seize their vessels for entering Kuwaiti territorial waters illegally.

After meeting his Kuwaiti counterpart Salem Al-Sabah in Baghdad on Sunday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said that during their talks the emphasis was placed on resolving the border issues.

He told reporters the border talks would continue through various technical committees.

Baghdad will host a meeting of a legal committee relating to the talks on August 14.

Sabah said there was complete consensus between Kuwait and Iraq to resolve outstanding problems between the two countries, particularly the demarcation of maritime boundaries.

Iraqs government under Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani, who was appointed by pro-Iran parties, is seeking closer ties with Arab Gulf monarchies, aiming to strengthen regional economic cooperation and counter the flow of narcotics.

On Sunday, Sabah also met Sudani and the speaker of Iraqs parliament, Mohammed al-Halbusi.

Kuwaits official KUNA news agency said Sabah and Halbusi discussed demarcating the two countries maritime border.

In 2021, Baghdad made the final payment of war reparations totalling more than $52 billion to its neighbour.

Saddams forces entered oil-rich Kuwait in August 1990 and annexed it before being driven out seven months later by an international coalition led by the United States.

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Bangkok, Thailand  A bomb blast in southeastern Myanmar killed one person and wounded 12 others on Monday, an official said.

Violent clashes have ramped up since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyis civilian government in February 2021, unleashing a bloody crackdown on dissent that has left thousands dead.

The junta has been battling anti-coup Peoples Defence Force (PDF) militias, as well as long-established ethnic rebel armies that control large areas of territory close to the countrys borders.

The blast from a vehicle detonated near Thanlwin bridge checkpoint at around 6:50 am local time (0020 GMT), a government official from the Karen State administration council told AFP.

About 13 people including passengers and security members there were injured, they said, requesting anonymity.

One died from those injuries when they arrived at hospital.

They did not give any further details, but the checkpoint is known for its strict security.

No group has claimed resposibility for the attack.

The junta is fighting scores of ethnic rebel outfits.

More than 3,800 people have been killed since the coup, according to a local monitoring group.

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The leader of a new Philippines would have acknowledged the political prisoners in the SONA

This past month, I have taken the time to write about this years SONA, the idea of a new Philippines, and the things we need to do if we want good and impactful change in the Philippines.

One of the important issues I discussed was the release of all political prisoners. With red-tagging and trumped-up charges, the opposition are arrested despite fighting for freedom and justice.

When people become political prisoners, they are further oppressed.

Some are denied bail despite acquittal, some are denied their right to care for their newly-born baby, some suffer from worsening ailments and / or old age.

Most detainees, not just political prisoners, suffer from the terrible conditions of the Philippine prison system.

They are overcrowded, and lack healthy meals as well as properly sanitized bathrooms.

There are many political prisoners who have become sick, even sicker, or have passed away because of incarceration.

In fact, according to the CHR, these conditions are short of meeting the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners as well as the [Bureau of Jail and Management Penologys] Manual on Habitat, Water, Sanitation and Kitchen in Jails.

Additionally, there have been reports of torture and abuse of detainees despite the Anti-Torture Law.

These conditions as well as the clear repression done through this practice of jailing activists has led Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) to launch their campaign Breaking chains, Reclaiming freedom from Marcos Sr. to Marcos Jr.

However, despite the hopes the president will at least acknowledge the existence of political prisoners or the problems within the prisons, we got nothing from SONA 2023. Despite the 778 political prisoners as of June 2023, the president chose to ignore them.

In anticipation of this continued ignorance and to protest both their conditions and the current state of the Philippines, political prisoners from the Negros island did a 24-hour fast last July 24, 2023.

Of all the political prisoners in the country now, 139 or 20 percent of the total are in Negros island.

More than 100 political prisoners in Negros island participated.

Political prisoners from Cebu City and at the Metro Manila District Jail Annex 4, Camp Bagong Diwa also did a protest fast in solidarity with the political prisoners from Negros island.

They called Marcos Jr. to stop the extrajudicial killings of activists by state forces in its counter-insurgency drive in Negros In a statement, the Negros island political prisoners said that the EJKs, especially in the rural areas of Negros, increased during the first year of the Marcos Jr.

Around 30 percent of 60 victims of massacres since July 2022 were Negrense farmers according to Karapatan data.

They also demanded for the release of nine sick and elderly political prisons namely 66-year old Epifanio Romano, 65-year old Diosdado Caballero, 63-year olds Sidwin Gordoncillo and Azucena Garubat, 61-year old Corazon Javier, and 60-year olds Nilda Bertolano, Andres Pasyonela and Abraham Villanueva, as well as Lindy Perocho.

This shows the political prisoners dedication to their fight for freedom and justice. Despite mistreatment, they still find a way to stand in solidarity with the oppressed and marginalized.

Unfortunately, the mistreatment of political prisoners, together with common criminals, has been common even before Marcos Jr.s administration. In the early days of COVID-19, there was a call for the release of all political prisoners because of the virus outbreaks in congested prisons. Given that the Philippine jails are overcrowded, according to ICHRP chairperson Peter Murphy, 609 political prisoners are already facing their death sentence.

During the rare times that political prisoners are allowed to temporarily leave detention for health concerns, they are still dehumanized.

Frank Fernandez who suffered bouts of unconsciousness was brought to the hospital but was constantly handcuffed to his bed. Bernabe Ocasla also suffered multiple heart attacks and died handcuffed to the hospital bed.

His daughter asked that they be removed but the guards refused.

In 2019, Leila De Lima also wrote a statement to condemn the visitation ban for political prisoners families during the Christmas season.

Apparently, loved ones of political prisoners at the time were barred from visiting.

One of them was the wife of Vic Ladlad, Fides Lim who protested because she was not allowed to bring her husband food and medicines.

All of these compounding dehumanizing circumstances experienced by the political prisoners and their loved ones prove that we are extremely far from a new Philippines.

The new Philippines will not have political prisoners at all because people who fight for freedom and justice will be honored instead of jailed. The leader of a new Philippines would have acknowledged the political prisoners in the SONA.

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Open letter to David Gebhart

Re. West Kelowna man's Parkinson's medication being discontinued (Castanet, July 29)

It is an atrocity after (after) the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmaceutical companies can still wield so much power over the medical industry in the name of the almighty dollar.

Discontinuing a vital medication because the demand is only for a small demographic is tantamount to extortion.

David Gebhart, please bring your fight to the attention of beloved Canadian and indomitable Parkinsons advocate Michael J. Fox. I suggest direct messaging him via X (formerly Twitter). His handle is @realmikefox or make a public post where you tag him to generate even more attention to your plight.

If (Canadian actor) Ryan Reynolds can gift Deadpool merchandise to a sick kid, I bet dollars to doughnuts Fox and/or his foundation would join in your crusade.

This is an extremely important issue and the pharmaceutical corporations have very deep pockets to protect. The more negative publicity you can shine upon this mercenary campaign should shame them into behaving with some integrity.

Best of luck to you in this endeavour and with your health.

Tamara Stenback
LANDBANK has assisted the MHD Water Bottling Station to expand its operations and improve the supply of clean drinking water in the Province of Isabela. The home-grown business now produces around 5,000 bottles of alkaline water per day which are sold and delivered to sari-sari stores, schools, and offices, among other establishments.

(Photos courtesy of MHD Water Bottling Station)

QUIRINO, Isabela  While many far-flung areas in the country still lack access to clean drinking water, a local water refilling and bottling station is helping close this gap by supplying potable water in Isabela.

LANDBANK has assisted the MHD Water Bottling Station to expand its operations and improve the supply of clean drinking water in the Province of Isabela. The home-grown business now produces around 5,000 bottles of alkaline water per day which are sold and delivered to sari-sari stores, schools, and offices, among other establishments.

(Photos courtesy of MHD Water Bottling Station)

MHD Water Bottling Station was established in 2008 when Spouses Eddie and Marites Dalit discovered a deep well on their 3-hectare agricultural property. Water sourced from the well passed the regulatory standards for alkaline drinking water safe for human consumption.

Spouses Dalit saw this as a business opportunity to supplement their income, but more importantly, to expand access to clean and safe drinking water in their town.

Bukod sa dagdag na income para sa aming pamilya, gusto rin naming ibahagi ang blessing na ito sa aming kapwa, said Marites.

In 2009, Eddie and Marites expanded their business by operating their own alkaline water refilling station, bringing potable water closer to the residents of the 4th class municipality of Quirino and nearby towns. Following its success, they decided to further expand into water bottling to accommodate more customers in the region.

Through a P4.5-million loan from LANDBANK, Eddie and Marites were able to purchase the necessary equipment to expand their business into an alkaline water bottling station. The equipment includes an automatic bottle rinsing, filling, capping, and labelling machine which can produce about 5,000 bottles of alkaline water per day.

To finance their business expansion, Spouses Dalit sought the assistance of the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK), which has been providing credit assistance to support their palay and corn trading business for over 20 years.

Matagal na kaming LANDBANK client at masasabi ko na talagang maaasahan ang kanilang serbisyo, said Marites.

LANDBANK approved a P4.5-million loan to partially finance the acquisition of alkaline water production and processing equipment, including the purchase of an automatic bottle rinsing, filling, capping, and labelling machine.

Through a P4.5-million loan from LANDBANK, Eddie and Marites were able to purchase the necessary equipment to expand their business into an alkaline water bottling station. The equipment includes an automatic bottle rinsing, filling, capping, and labelling machine which can produce about 5,000 bottles of alkaline water per day.

With their business expansion, Eddie and Marites made their alkaline water more accessible to remote communities, since bottled water is easier to transport and distribute around the Province.

The MHD Water Bottling Station is able to produce around 5,000 bottles of alkaline water per day, which are delivered to 10 schools in Isabela, as well as government and private offices, and sold to walk-in customers in their station in Brgy. Santo Domingo.

Through their distributors, they are also able to supply drinking water to nine other towns and cities in Isabela and Cagayan, including Gamu, Delfin Albano, Tumauini, and Naguilian, among others.

Napakalaki ng naitulong ng LANDBANK sa amin. Salamat sa kanila at napalago namin ang aming negosyo, said Marites.

LANDBANK continues to provide accessible credit support to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as part of its commitment to assist key economic sectors towards building stronger and more inclusive local communities.

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Kenya announced on Saturday July 29 that it was ready to take the lead of a multinational force in Haiti and deploy 1,000 police officers to the conflict-torn Caribbean country, once its offer had been accepted.

Kenya has agreed to positively consider taking the lead of a multinational force in Haiti. Kenya is committed to deploying a contingent of 1,000 police officers to help train and assist the Haitian police in restoring normality in the country and protecting strategic installations, announced the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement. Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry is eager to welcome this multinational force, the PM office says this Monday, July 31.

Gangs control about 80% of the Haitian capital, and violent crimes such as kidnappings for ransom, armed robbery and carjackings are common. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry have for nearly a year sought international intervention to help support the police, but no country has stepped forward.

Kenya has accepted to positively consider leading a Multi-National Force to Haiti, Kenyas Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua said in a statement late Saturday.

Its proposed deployment still required a mandate from the U.N. Security Council and approval from domestic authorities, he said. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone Friday July 28 night to Kenyan President William Ruto, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

Kenya is seen as a democratic anchor in East Africa and has participated in peacekeeping operations in its immediate region including in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.
Cabo Verde registered 99 cases of hepatitis in 2022, in a downward trend in recent years, said the national director of Health.

Speaking to journalists in Praia, on the sidelines of a seminar on viral hepatitis, Angela Gomes said that the average incidence of hepatitis has fluctuated over the years in Cape Verde, which has made some progress, noting that vaccination coverage is very high. This incidence rate sometimes also fluctuates according to the percentage of the population screened, but last year we had 99 cases, against 250 cases in 2018. This rate has tended to decrease over the years, she emphasized.

Angela Gomes also informed that the country starts vaccinating children from the first 24 hours, with a hepatitis vaccination rate above 99%, and that women are urged to be tested during pregnancy.

Diagnosis is indicated in suspected clinical cases and all patients who have infections or any impairment of the immune system, namely people living with HIV-AIDS, who are also compulsorily screened for hepatitis B and C, she said.

The director called on people to reduce complications, to act on prevention, to invest in vaccination, health literacy and to reduce risk behaviors. World Viral Hepatitis Day is celebrated annually on 28 July, with the aim of raising awareness and understanding of viral hepatitis and the associated risks, as well as improving other key interventions such as access to appropriate diagnosis and treatment.
The Sao Tomean Minister of Foreign Affairs resigned on Sunday July 30 after controversial statements in which he considered that Portugal and Angola have not provided sufficient aid for the teaching of Portuguese in Equatorial Guinea.

Being aware of the seriousness of the situation and assuming my responsibilities, I have decided to send a letter to His Excellency, the Prime Minister and Head of Government, making my position available, said Alberto Pereira, in a press release.

In this sense, I hope to safeguard my image, the image of the Government and above all the image of our country. It will be up to His Excellency the Prime Minister and Head of Government to make the final decision, added the head of Sao Tomean diplomacy.

Alberto Pereira said on Tuesday that countries such as Portugal and Angola have not provided enough help to teach Portuguese in Equatorial Guinea, the most recent country in the Lusophone community, and, on the contrary, only criticize.

The Sao Tomean Minister of Foreign Affairs was speaking at the reception of about 30 staff from Equatorial Guinea who will learn Portuguese and carry out internships in various areas in Sao Tome and help in the organization of the 14th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Community of Portuguese Speaking States, which will be held in the Sao Tomean capital on August 27.

This is the first resignation in the Government led by Sao Tomean Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada, who has been in office since November last year. The resignation of the head of Sao Tomean diplomacy comes a month before the 14th summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), when Sao Tome and Principe will assume the presidency of the organization on 27 August in the Sao Tomean capital.
The Medical Association of Mozambique (AMM) decided to extend the strike of those professionals for another 21 days, as they continue to identify problems in the framework of doctors in the new Single Salary Table (TSU).

The medical profession unanimously decided to extend the strike for another 21 days, meaning the strike will continue until 21 August, Milton Tatia, president of AMM, told the media after a meeting of the association. The third phase of the doctors strike in Mozambique began on 10 July, with a 21-day stoppage, which can be extended.

Doctors are protesting against salary cuts and lack of payment of overtime, among other demands, which has increased the waiting time of patients in the different health units of the country.

According to the Medical Association of Mozambique, some professionals continue to have salary reductions and their framework in the new salary table continues to be made without taking into account the length of service.

The Mozambican Ministry of Health (Misau) said in a statement that it had delivered a letter to AMM headquarters on the resolution of at least four points out of a total of five claims, with resolution expected by the end of this month. In the document, the ministry claims to have solved the problems of reduction and non-payment of salaries, framing without observing the length of service and framing lower than agreed, the latter two points that are still included in the complaints presented today by the doctors.
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The American College of Physicians (ACP) issued updated guidance for colorectal cancer screening for asymptomatic, average-risk adults that suggests starting screening at age 50. The guidance is based on a critical review of existing clinical guidelines and evidence reviews and modeling studies used to develop those guidelines. The guideline is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the fourth highest in incidence and second in mortality among cancers in the U.S. The goal of this ACP guidance statement is to help guide physicians on when to start and stop screening, and on the selection of type and frequency of screening tests in asymptomatic, average-risk adults. ACP's guidance is for adults at average risk for CRC who do not have symptoms. It does not apply to adults with a family history of colorectal cancer, a long-standing history of inflammatory bowel disease, genetic syndromes such as familial cancerous polyps, a personal history of previous colorectal cancer or benign polyps, or other risk factors. Physicians should perform an individualized risk assessment for CRC in all adults.

In this updated guidance, ACP suggests that clinicians:

Start screening for colorectal cancer in asymptomatic average-risk adults at age 50 years.

Consider not screening asymptomatic average-risk adults between the ages of 45 to 49. Clinicians should discuss the uncertainty around benefits and harms of screening in this population.

Stop screening for colorectal cancer in asymptomatic average-risk adults older than 75 years or in asymptomatic average-risk adults with a life expectancy of 10 years or less.

Select a screening test for colorectal cancer in consultation with their patient based on a discussion of benefits, harms, costs, availability, frequency, and patient values and preferences.

Select among screening tests for colorectal cancer: a fecal immunochemical or high-sensitivity guaiac fecal occult blood test every 2 years, colonoscopy every 10 years, or flexible sigmoidoscopy every 10 years plus a fecal immunochemical test every 2 years.

Should not use stool DNA, computed tomography colonography, capsule endoscopy, urine, or serum screening tests for colorectal cancer.

The net benefit of colorectal cancer screening is much less favorable in average-risk adults between ages 45 to 49 years than 50 to 75 years. Although there has been a small increase in CRC incidence among individuals aged 45 to 49 years, the incidence is much lower than in individuals aged 50 to 64 years and 65 to 74 years. Harms associated with CRC screening include cardiovascular and gastrointestinal events (e.g., serious bleeding, perforation, myocardial infarction, angina), unnecessary follow-ups, and costs for findings deemed clinically unimportant.
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Even in adults without hypertension, blood pressure readings may climb more steeply over the years as the number of daily alcoholic drinks rise, according to an analysis of seven international research studies published today in Hypertension journal.

With the statistical power of seven international research studies, this analysis confirms for the first time there was a continuous increase in blood pressure measures in both participants with low and high alcohol intake. Even low levels of alcohol consumption were associated with detectable increases in blood pressure levels that may lead to a higher risk of cardiovascular events.

"We found no beneficial effects in adults who drank a low level of alcohol compared to those who did not drink alcohol," said senior study author Marco Vinceti, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of epidemiology and public health in the Medical School of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia University in Italy and an adjunct professor in the department of epidemiology at Boston University's School of Public Health. "We were somewhat surprised to see that consuming an already-low level of alcohol was also linked to higher blood pressure changes over time compared to no consumptionalthough far less than the blood pressure increase seen in heavy drinkers."

"Our analysis was based on grams of alcohol consumed and not just on the number of drinks to avoid the bias that might arise from the different amount of alcohol contained in 'standard drinks' across countries and/or types of beverages," said study co-author Tommaso Filippini, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of epidemiology and public health in the Medical School of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy, and affiliate researcher at the University of California Berkeley School of Public Health.

Researchers reviewed the health data for all participants across the seven studies for more than five years. They compared adults who drank alcohol regularly with non-drinkers and found:



Systolic (top number) blood pressure rose 1.25 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) in people who consumed an average of 12 grams of alcohol per day, rising to 4.9 mm Hg in people consuming an average of 48 grams of alcohol per day. (In the U.S., 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine or a 1.5 ounce shot of distilled spirits contains about 14 grams of alcohol. Usual alcohol content differs in alcohol available in other countries.)

Diastolic (bottom number) blood pressure rose 1.14 mm Hg in people consuming an average of 12 grams of alcohol per day, rising to 3.1 mm Hg in people consuming an average of 48 grams of alcohol per day. These associations were seen in males but not in females. Diastolic blood pressure measures the force against artery walls between heartbeats and is not as strong a predictor of heart disease risk in comparison to systolic.

"Alcohol is certainly not the sole driver of increases in blood pressure; however, our findings confirm it contributes in a meaningful way. Limiting alcohol intake is advised, and avoiding it is even better," Vinceti said.

Although none of the participants had high blood pressure when they enrolled in the studies, their blood pressure measurements at the beginning did have an impact on the alcohol findings.

"We found participants with higher starting blood pressure readings, had a stronger link between alcohol intake and blood pressure changes over time. This suggests that people with a trend towards increased (although still not "high") blood pressure may benefit the most from low to no alcohol consumption," said study co-author Paul K. Whelton, M.D., M.Sc., the Show Chwan Chair in Global Public Health in the department of epidemiology at Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans and president of the World Hypertension League. Whelton is also the chair of the American Heart Association's 2017 Hypertension Practice Guidelines and a member of the writing committee for the Association's 2021 Scientific Statement on Management of Stage 1 Hypertension in Adults.

According to American Heart Association recommendations, if you don't drink already, don't start. If you do drink, talk with your doctor about the benefits and risks of consuming alcohol in moderation. The Association also does not recommend drinking any form of alcohol to gain potential health benefits. Instead, follow the Association's lifestyle and health metrics for optimal cardiovascular health called Life's Essential 8: eat healthy food, be physically active, don't smoke, get enough sleep, maintain a healthy weight, and control cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure levels.

Study details and background:



Researchers analyzed data from seven, large, observational studies involving 19,548 adults (65% men), ranging in age from 20 to their early 70s at the start of the studies.

The studies were conducted in the United States, Korea and Japan, and published between 1997 and 2021. None of the participants had previously been diagnosed with high blood pressure or other cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, liver disease, alcoholism or binge drinking.

Usual alcoholic beverage intake was recorded at the beginning of each study and the researchers translated this information into a usual number of grams of alcohol consumed daily. The researchers used a new statistical technique that allowed them to combine results from several studies and plot a curve showing the impact of any amount of alcohol typically consumed on changes in blood pressure over time.

Systolic blood pressure, the top number in a blood pressure reading, measures the force against the artery walls when the heart contracts. It rises steadily with age and is a strong predictor of cardiovascular disease risk. Effective blood pressure management is vital to reduce, prevent or delay the development of high blood pressure.

More information: Alcohol Intake and Blood Pressure Levels: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Nonexperimental Cohort Studies, Hypertension (2023). DOI: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.123.21224 Journal information: Hypertension

Citation: Routinely drinking alcohol may raise blood pressure even in adults without hypertension (2023, July 31) retrieved 9 August 2023 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-07-routinely-alcohol-blood-pressure-adults.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Other co-authors and authors' disclosures are listed in the manuscript.
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:

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As extreme summer heat continues to grip the region, young children are at a greater risk for heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

It's important to understand the signs of danger for youngsters as well as the best ways to keep them safe.

Know how to spot the symptoms of overheating and heat stroke.

Young children and babies are more vulnerable to the heat than others. Babies, especially those under 6 months old, cannot control their body temperature well, according to Dr. Chandani DeZure, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics and a pediatrician in Palo Alto. It's important to check up on your young ones frequently because they might not be able to tell you if something is wrong.

Keep an eye on whether your baby or toddler is extra fussy or fatigued, experiencing muscle cramps, vomiting or feeling nauseous, as this could indicate they are overheating. Overheated babies won't want to feed as much as usual.

If you see your child has hot and dry skin, is breathing rapidly, has a rapid heart rate or is no perspiringor barely perspiringthese could be a sign of heatstroke.

"Fatigue sets in from being in the sun for so long and it can, in severe situations, lead to seizures and strokes," DeZure said. "We don't want it to get to that point."

Monitor your child's play and make sure they take frequent breaks.

Young kids are active, but it's important to make sure they don't overextend themselves when temperatures are high. Have them play in the shade or indoors during peak sun hourstypically between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.and don't plan anything too strenuous to do on hotter days, DeZure said.

Dr. Anu Seshadri, lead physician at UCLA Health in Century City, especially recommends keeping them indoors if the temperature passes 90 degrees.

Even when youngsters play outside during cooler morning and afternoon hours, DeZure recommends limiting time outside to two hours and include frequent water breaks.

Keep your young ones out of the heat.

It's especially important to shield babies from direct sunlight, especially if they are under 6 months old. If you do bring them outdoors in a stroller, make sure not to drape a thick stroller blanket over it because that can actually trap the heat, according to Seshadri. Instead use an umbrella to block the sun and allow for ventilation.

Don't leave your kids in a car either, even if the windows are open. The temperature within a car can rise fairly quicklynearly 20 degrees within the first 10 minutes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For homes without air conditioning, Seshadri suggests putting a bucket of ice in front of the fan to help circulate chilled air around the room. However, she recommends against using a fan when it's over 90 degrees because it won't do more than move hot air around, she said.

Do not give your child a cold water bath because the temperature of the water can actually affect their core body temperature, especially among babies, Seshadri said. Instead, use lukewarm water and a sponge to cool them off or spray them with mist.

Keep them covered.

Clothing should be loose and breathable, but cover the skin. Materials like cotton and linen are best. Light colors help too because they reflect the sun's rays. Use a brimmed hat to keep your child's face out of direct sunlight. Babies, especially, should be covered as much as possible to avoid the sun.

Make sure to reapply sunscreen every two hours. Doctors don't typically recommend putting sunscreen on babies under 6 months old but, DeZure suggests applying just a little bit to the parts of the baby that aren't covered by clothing if they are in direct sunlightas long as those aren't areas a baby can put in their mouth like their hands. Make sure sunscreen includes protection from both UVA and UVB rays and is mineral based. DeZure also recommends checking out sun protective clothing that has SPF built into it.

At night, keep clothing to a minimum. Dress them in looser, more breathable clothing and tuck toddlers into bed with a sheet rather than a blanket. Leave babies in just a diaper, Seshadri recommends. Babies shouldn't have anything near them when they sleep regardless of weather to minimize risk of suffocation.

Keep them hydrated.

Make water as easily accessible as you can, but also have fruit and salad readily available for your children if you can. Those foods are great avenues for hydration as well, according to Seshadri.

Make sure you serve as a role model for your kids. Hydrate often so that they can be encouraged to do so too.

"Like when kids see that mom and dad or their friends are hydrating, then you're going to do the same thing too," Seshadri said. "Instead of just forcing them to drink water, you drink that water too."

Make sure your daycare is adapting to the heat.

Ask your child's day-care provider how they deal with the heat. Check with them about sunscreen application, hydration and playtime routines outside. Ask them what kinds of food they are serving. If they don't have air conditioning, what alternatives do they have to keep kids cool?

Day care facilities should have policies that dictate how much time kids spend in direct sunlight, DeZure said.

2023 Los Angeles Times.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Missoula officials arrested a California man over the weekend who is accused of traveling to Missoula to meet a minor for sex.

Scott D. Rice, 42, is charged with two counts of sexual abuse of children involving a victim under 16 years old and one count of attempted sex abuse involving a victim under 16.

Both charges are felonies. If convicted of the most serious offense, Rice faces a maximum life sentence in prison.

As part of a continuous undercover operation, a Missoula County sheriffs detective started communicating with Rice in August 2022 online. Rice indicated on multiple occasions that he was interested in sex with a minor, according to charging documents.

Charging documents accuse Rice of following a fictitious minors social media account and sending sexually explicit images of himself to the minor and requesting similar photos in return.

In May of this year, Rice contacted the fake account and confirmed a planned trip to Montana, scheduled for the last week of July.

Rice was arrested Friday at the Missoula airport by the FBI and sheriffs office. According to prosecutors, he is a Palm Springs resident. After he was apprehended, Rice reportedly told authorities he traveled to Montana to have sexual contact with a child and had an interest in incest, the affidavit reads.

Rice was seen in Missoula County Justice Court on Monday. Justice of the Peace Alex Beal ordered his bail set at $500,000 and his arraignment date is scheduled for Aug. 14, when Rice will enter a plea.

Beal noted Rice doesnt have a prior criminal history, but the judge cited concerns about the length of time Rice allegedly was pursuing sexual contact with a minor, as well as the travel from Southern California.
Earlier this month, an angler seeking trout in the lower Bitterroot River near where it joins the Clark Fork reeled in a fish that should not have been there: a smallmouth bass.

The angler reported the catch to Montana's Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks, which verified video of the specimen and deemed it the first confirmed smallmouth bass in the river. Smallmouth bass aren't native to the cold-water fishery of the Bitterroot. The agency warned in an announcement Wednesday that an established bass population in the waterway would degrade the fishery by competing with species already found there, which are already suffering from warm temperatures.

Bass prefer warmer water than the cold-water species normally found in the Bitterroot, such as native westslope cutthroat trout and non-native rainbow trout. The bass thrive in water from the mid-60s to mid-70s degrees Fahrenheit. The trout, meanwhile prefer water from the low-40s up to low- or mid-60s. Outside of the fish caught July 5 in the lower Bitterroot, according to FWP, the nearest confirmed reports of smallmouth bass were about 80 miles west on the Clark Fork, below St. Regis, and 70 miles north in the Clearwater River.

The lower Bitterroot near Missoula hit 76.1 degrees at 6 p.m. on July 22, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Geological Survey  the warmest water temperature of the month so far at that site. It cooled to 66 degrees that night. As of 1:45 p.m. Friday, the river was at 67 degrees, warming rapidly from an overnight low of 62.9 degrees. And, as of Friday, the river hadn't dropped below 60 degrees in July. It was warmer than 70 degrees almost every afternoon for the second half of the month.

A recent FWP survey of the lower Bitterroot didn't find any more smallmouth bass, and the agency doesn't know how the fish caught July 5 ended up there. But in an effort to deprive bass a foothold in the Bitterroot, FWP has proposed a new emergency regulation that would require anglers who catch a smallmouth bass in the lower Bitterroot to kill the fish and turn it in to FWP. The regulation would apply to the lower Bitterroot River from the Florence Bridge to the confluence of the Bitterroot and Clark Fork near Missoula. Anglers who catch a smallmouth bass would be required to report the catch to FWP within 24 hours by calling 406-542-5500 and must turn the whole fish over to the agency within 10 days. Fish can be turned in frozen.

The rule is up for discussion and possible approval at the Aug. 17 Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting in Helena.

"Smallmouth bass are a predatory and adaptable species, and an established population would be expected to adversely impact the native and non-native cold-water sport fishery in the Bitterroot River," FWP staff wrote in a memo to the commission that explained the proposed rule. "Since the smallmouth bass population abundance is still low, relying on angler harvest and mandatory reporting is a cost-effective tool to determine distribution, abundance, and preferred habitats for smallmouth bass in the lower Bitterroot River."

If fish are turned in to the agency, the memo stated, analysis of tissue and otoliths  calcium carbonate buildups behind the brains of bony fish, sometimes called earstones  can help biologists understand fish age, growth pattern and origin. Rings of dark and light material in otoliths can indicate fish age similar to rings in a tree trunk.

The agency also noted that angler harvest and mandatory reporting was a factor in determining management actions for northern pike in Lake Mary Ronan, brown trout in the Kootenai River and smallmouth bass in the upper Yellowstone River.

On Feb. 19, 2022, a Bozeman angler caught a smallmouth bass in the Yellowstone River near the confluence of the Gardiner River. That incident led to a similar catch, kill and report rule for the Yellowstone and Shield rivers, approved in April 2022.
Photo: Brendan Kergin/V.I.A.. One person is dead and seven are injured following a three-vehicle collision in Mount Pleasant Monday, July 31, 2023.

Vancouver Fire Rescue Service's (VFRS) Information Officer Mattew Trudeau called the fatal collision early Monday morning, a "chaotic scene."

Two VFRS crews responded to the call but were last to arrive. Trudeau says they assisted with medical response and extrication for three vehicles that had been involved in the crash that occurred at around 1:55 a.m. on July 31.

They were unable to open the doors to get people out quickly and easily and had to start removing parts of the vehicles to free the people inside.

Vancouver police are investigating the crash that left one person dead and sent seven others to the hospital.

The VPD says in a recent press release that they believe the fatal collision occurred "when a red Cadillac struck a taxi, then broad-sided a ride-share vehicle at the intersection of Main Street and East 12 Avenue, in Mount Pleasant."

The force of the collision killed the 26-year-old Uber driver, who was alone in his vehicle, and left the taxi driver, who was travelling with two passengers, with non-life-threatening injuries.

The Cadillac was being driven by a 17-year-old with three teenage passengers. All four teens survived the crash but have been taken to hospital with "various injuries" which include broken bones.

The investigation remains ongoing and the intersection between Main and 12th Ave. was closed for much of Monday morning.

Police believe the Cadillac was driving east on 12th, between Oak and Main streets, prior to the collision but would like to hear from anyone who may have witnessed either the vehicle driving in the area prior to the collision or with dash cam or home security cameras along that stretch of 12th Ave.

The accident marks Vancouver's third traffic fatality in 48 hours.

Anyone with information is asked to contact VPDs Collision Investigation Unit at 604-717-3012.
At least a dozen new wildfires started over the weekend across western Montana as impending August weather prepares to drive temperatures and winds to dangerous levels.

On the Flathead Indian Reservation, the Middle Ridge fire had blackened about 7,000 acres in its first day as it ran between Ronan and Hot Springs. South of Elmo, the Niarada and Mill Pocket fires were initially reported at less than 5 acres each. Then Niarada exploded to 5,000 acres by Sunday evening, crossing Highway 28 and forcing road closures. North of Dixon, the Communication Butte fire had burned 400 acres as of Sunday. All were receiving extensive aerial retardant and water drops as well as ground-crew attention.

On the east side of the reservation, the Big Knife fire remained uncontained at 3,000 acres near the mouth of the Jocko Canyon, tripling in size over the weekend. A complex incident management team is expected to take command on Tuesday. The Montana Red Cross has opened an evacuation shelter for those displaced by the Big Knife wildfire burning east of Arlee in Lake County.

The Red Cross shelter is located at the Arlee Community Center, 34086 Pow Wow Road, and will provide a safe place to stay, meals, information and access to other community resources. Everyone is welcome at a Red Cross shelter, and all services are free. No reservations are required.

Across the Mission Mountains to the east, the Colt fire in the Seeley-Swan Valley measured 6,177 acres on Monday. The area experienced red-flag conditions Sunday afternoon and evening. A night shift of engines and ground crews is scheduled to keep patrol for new starts and fire-line breaks.

Over the weekend, that area also reported new starts Kah Mountain, Elam, Logan Creek, Bruce, Porcupine Creek and Woodward Point in the Mission and Swan mountains. As of Sunday, all were reported under 1 acre except for Kah Mountain, which measured 15 acres.

Smokejumpers got deployed to two new starts along Hungry Horse Reservoir, known as the Ridge and Emery incidents. Although both were initially listed as 5 acres or less, their potential for growth was considered high enough to send airborne firefighters.

Northwest of Whitefish, the North Lake fire was concentrated in a 2-acre spot north of Whitefish Lake, but flying embers had started numerous smaller burns inside a 17-acre perimeter. It started on Saturday in a dry hayfield and quickly spread into nearby timber. A squad of helicopters backed up by ground crews is developing a containment strategy. It was declared 80% contained Monday morning.

West of Olney, the East Fork fire had burned 4 acres after its weekend start. The Tub Gulch fire northeast of Libby had burned 2 acres.

In the Bitterroot Valley, the Bowles Creek fire remained uncontained at 1,714 acres on Sunday. Crews braced for increased winds and humidity falling below 20% on Monday. It was joined Sunday by the Warm Springs fire in the Flint Creek Mountains northeast of Anaconda. That blaze measured 30 acres Sunday afternoon.

In Idaho, the Elkhorn fire is burning on both sides of the Salmon River between the Middle and South forks, and has affected 20,000 acres as of Sunday. Officials there have closed upstream river travel as of July 31.

The Little Bear fire near Jerry Johnson Hot Springs had burned 771 acres as of Sunday. And the Hayden fire east of Challis and south of Salmon is now measured at 18,085 acres.

An evacuation order was lifted after a wildland fire torched land on the edge of Lolo late Sunday night.

Named the Triple L fire by officials, the blaze was active between Triple L Lane and Austin Drive, between Mormon Creek Drive and Highway 12. At least two structures were burned in the incident.

An evacuation order for area residents was issued shortly after the fire started, but was canceled around 10 p.m. A local closure remained for Jade Lane west of Agate Drive, according to a Facebook post from Missoula County 911.

Montana Red Cross now has four shelters open for those displaced by wildfires burning in western Montana:

Missoula: Cold Springs School, 625 Briggs St.

Kalispell: Canvas Church, 255 Summit Ridge Drive

Ronan: Ronan High School, 130 3rd Ave. N.W.

Arlee: Arlee Community Center, 34806 Pow Wow Road
Sheriff Ricky Buchanan of McDowell County has been elected second vice president of the North Carolina Sheriffs Association.

Buchanan recently attended the N.C Sheriffs Associations 101st annual business conference held in Myrtle Beach, S.C. with other sheriffs and law enforcement professionals from across the state. For the upcoming 2023-24 year, Buchanan was elected by his fellow sheriffs as second vice president of the North Carolina Sheriffs Association, according to a news release.

Our annual business conference allows North Carolinas sheriffs to discuss their experiences and learn from each other, as well as bring ourselves up to date on important law enforcement developments, said Buchanan. North Carolina sheriffs have a complex role as constitutional officers leading law enforcement within their respective counties. Our duties often require that we be available to personnel and to the public continuously. My staff and I will use this conference training to further serve and protect McDowell Countys citizens.

Sheriffs in every county of North Carolina are facing tremendous challenges in carrying out their responsibilities for law enforcement and the safety of our citizens; maintenance and operation of local jails; recruiting, training and maintaining talented personnel; working with domestic situations, child abuse cases, serving civil papers, tracking sex offenders in the state, issuing weapons permits, providing court security, and in many other areas, he added.

State and federal officials scheduled to attend included: U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop, U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee, Commissioner of Insurance Mike Causey, Commissioner of Labor Josh Dobson, Chief Judge Donna Stroud with North Carolina Court of Appeals, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Director Bob Schurmeier and Col. Freddy L. Johnson Jr. of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.

At the NCSA annual business conference, sheriffs discussed issues of interest to the office of sheriff, including updates on new changes to law and procedures, as well as an update on the state budget and other actions by the 2023 General Assembly.

The training at the conference included:

The sheriffs role in school safetypanel discussion with Sheriff James McVicker of Bladen County, Sheriff Ray Campbell of Gates County, Sheriff Darren Campbell of Iredell County and Sheriff Jason Wilborn of Person County.

Active shooter response with Chief Jeffrey Baker of the UNC Charlotte Police Department

Line of duty deaths panel discussion with Sheriff Clee Atkinson of Edgecombe County, Sheriff Lowell Griffin of Henderson County, Sheriff Len Hagaman of Watauga County, Sheriff Larry Pierce of Wayne County

Sheriff Brian Chism of Brunswick County and his staff were hosts for the 2023 Annual Business Conference. The associations headquarters is located in Raleigh. Edmond W. Caldwell Jr. serves as executive vice president and general counsel, according to the news release.
WAKE COUNTY  A playbook has been published aiming to help address broadband access in unserved and under-served communities across North Carolina.

The Broadband Playbook, published by the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners Connecting Counties Task Force, has distilled the information, complexities and best practices from the nations foremost broadband leaders for counties to use as a comprehensive resource.

Burke County and County Commissioner Johnnie Carswell joined the association in unveiling the playbook. Carswell, a member of the task force, is the president-elect of the association.

In North Carolina, we have roughly 88% of our state that is fully served by broadband, said Tracey Johnson, NCACC president and a commissioner from Washington County. There are so many areas that are without reliable access to the internet. The NCACC is excited to empower counties to tackle broadband expansion and close the gap in North Carolina. We are grateful for our partnerships with the NC Department of Information Technology (NC DIT), state and federal partners to produce and promote the Broadband Playbook for counties in our state.

Johnson launched the task force in August 2022 as part of her presidential initiative with the association.

Trying to tackle the issue of Broadband has been monumental across this state, but NCACC President Tracy Johnson put together a strong task force that developed a plan for counties to follow that will certainly assist them when approaching internet providers, Carswell said. I was honored to be a part of the project representing Burke County.

The Connecting Counties Playbook is designed to equip county leaders and staff with information, resources and strategies needed to explore opportunities for broadband expansion and to better serve county residents. The playbook is divided into four sections:

Foundational resources

Technical resources

Provider partnership resources

Public awareness resources

We are excited to partner with the NCACC to help close the high-speed internet access gap in North Carolina, said N.C. Department of Information Technology Deputy Secretary for Broadband and Digital Equity Nate Denny. Thanks to unprecedented levels of federal funding and the resources available in the Broadband Playbook, counties have never been better positioned to expand broadband connectivity for their residents.

The association will continue its work advocating for expanding broadband access in North Carolina to the unserved and under-served areas and residents of the state. Visit https://tinyurl.com/2syubwe7 for more information on the initiative and to see the playbook.
By Shawn Touney | Jul 31, 2023

Murray State University named Dr. Brian Parr dean of the Hutson School of Agriculture at the Universitys Board of Regents meeting on June 2, 2023

MURRAY, Ky.  Murray State University named Dr. Brian Parr dean of the Hutson School of Agriculture at the Universitys Board of Regents meeting on June 2, 2023. Parr had served as the interim dean of the school since January 1, 2023.

In his role, Parr will continue to oversee academic programs within the Hutson School of Agriculture that serve over 1,200 students while coordinating research and education efforts on Murray States five school farms. Academically, the school offers programs ranging from the Racer Academy dual-credit program for high school students to various bachelor and master degree programs, including online programs for students throughout the world to earn a degree from Murray State.

Parr received his Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University and his masters and bachelors degrees from the University of Tennessee. He joined the Murray State faculty in 2015 as Professor and Head of the Department of Agricultural Science. He served as Assistant Dean from July 1, 2017 to December 31, 2022.

In 2022, Parr was recognized by the Oklahoma State University Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Leadership as a recipient of its Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Parrs research has been featured in multiple scholarly journals, publications and presentations. He has been a member of the Kentucky Agriculture Council since 2015 and holds memberships in multiple professional organizations, including the American Association of Agricultural Educators and the Kentucky Association for Career and Technical Education.

It is my pleasure to be allowed to continue to serve the students in the Hutson School of Agriculture! Our school has a rich history in student-centered education with a focus on our regional agricultural community as well as the international agricultural industry, said Parr. I am committed to honoring our rich heritage while moving forward with the advancements of our industry for the benefit of our students and faculty. I am excited about the direction that the Hutson School of Agriculture is headed!

Parr is married to Murray State faculty member Dr. Kemaly Parr and they have five children, Blaine, Kelly, Kendrick, Wade and Alena.
For two Muscatine High School (MHS) seniors, their summer job has been both an educational opportunity for them and a chance to take a big step towards the future careers that they want.

This summer, senior students Dakota Howland and Cory Shank have been part of the MHS Work-Based Learning Program. Through this program, they have worked with Ken Morrison Construction in West Liberty, allowing them a chance to earn money and elective credit while gaining experience in the construction field.

MHS school counselor Brandon Welsch said that because Howland and Shank both showed an interest in the constriction field, they felt that Ken Morrison Construction was a great match for the students.

Weve heard great things from Ken Morrison about their work ethic and it helps them to find local work and possibly create a pipeline for future work as well, he said.

As part of the program guidelines, evaluations are held throughout a students time in the program, with students also being given time for reflection and self-evaluations. Additionally, both Howland and Shank will have the opportunity to continue with their construction work during the school year.

Our hope is that students will gain experience in the field of their interest and that the experience will give them a real world glimpse into what the profession is really like, Welsch said. This should help them to plan accordingly for their future. If thats the field they continue to work in, they have some built-in experience over others when they start in their career, and if they decide they want to explore another field after their experience they still have time to alter their educational plans to meet another career interest.

Shank encouraged other students to try the program.

Ive learned how to do tin-roofs, vinyl siding and tin siding. Ive enjoyed my co-workers and being able to work with my hands the most. Other students should try the program because it gets you the experience and connections to go further, he said.

It can help you learn a lot of real world skills that will help you when you get out of school, Howland added. Not only are you learning, but you are making money while doing so.

It can also lead to a full-time job, he said, since some jobs, such as the one he has at Ken Morrison, will continue to allow students to work for them after graduation.

Beyond the construction field, MHS also offers many other types of individualized career experiences, including job shadows, paid internships and apprenticeships, in various other fields to any students who are interested. Welsch added that over the last two years, MHS has been able to increase its career exploration opportunities for its students greatly, partnering with local businesses, iJAG, Iowa employers and Muscatine Community College.

We feel that more than ever, MHS is able connect students with individualized career experiences that are able to help them plan for their future, Welsch said.

We want to encourage students to pursue their interests and passions when it comes to their post-secondary decisions and the training and education needed is going to look different for every student but they are all going to need something, Karey Hawkins, college/career counselor at MHS, added.

For those students who wish to learn more about the MHS Work-Based Learning Program or who want to be part of it, they can reach out to Welsch through email at brandon.welsch@mcsdonline.org.

Quad Cities Botanical Center celebrates its 25th anniversary
MIAMI  The property manager of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate made his first court appearance Monday on charges in the classified documents case against the former president but did not enter a plea because he has not found a Florida-based attorney to represent him.

Carlos De Oliveira is accused of scheming with Trump to try to delete security footage sought by investigators probing the former president's hoarding of classified documents at his Palm Beach club.

De Oliveira was added last week to the indictment with Trump and the ex-president's valet, Walt Nauta, and faces charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to investigators.

De Oliveira answered questions from a magistrate judge during a brief hearing in Miami federal court. He was ordered to turn over his passport and sign an agreement to pay $100,000 if he doesn't return to court.

He was represented by Washington, D.C.-based attorney John Irving, but under court rules he needs local counsel to proceed with his arraignment, which was scheduled for Aug. 10 in Fort Pierce.

Irving told reporters after the hearing that he looks forward to seeing what potential evidence the Justice Department has. He declined to comment about whether De Oliveira was asked to testify against Trump.

De Oliveira's court appearance comes as Trump braces for possible charges stemming from investigations into his efforts to cling to power after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

Trump, the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, was informed he's a target of special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and Trump's lawyers met with Smith's team last week.

A Georgia prosecutor is also expected to seek a grand jury indictment in the coming weeks in her investigation into efforts by Trump and his allies to subvert his election loss there.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney on Monday rejected Trumps attempt to keep a Georgia district attorney from prosecuting him and from using certain evidence gathered in her investigation into potential illegal meddling in the 2020 election in the state. McBurney didn't mince words in his nine-page ruling, which said Trump lacked the legal grounds to bring the challenge before any indictment has been filed in the case.

Trump, who pleaded not guilty in June, denies wrongdoing. He posted on his Truth Social platform last week that the Mar-a-Lago security tapes were voluntarily handed over to investigators and that he was told the tapes were not "deleted in any way, shape or form."

Prosecutors have not alleged that security footage was actually deleted or kept from investigators.

Nauta also pleaded not guilty. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon previously scheduled the trial of Trump and Nauta to begin in May, though it's unclear whether the addition of De Oliveira to the case may impact the case's timeline.

The latest indictment, unsealed Thursday, alleges that Trump tried to have security footage deleted after investigators visited in June 2022 to collect classified documents the former president took with him after he left the White House.

Trump already faced dozens of felony counts  including willful retention of national defense information  stemming from allegations that he mishandled government secrets that as commander-in-chief he was entrusted to protect. Experts say the new allegations bolster the special counsel's case and deepen the former president's legal jeopardy.

Video from Mar-a-Lago would ultimately become vital to the government's case because, prosecutors said, it shows Nauta moving boxes in and out of a storage room  an act alleged to have been done at Trump's direction and in effort to hide records not only only from investigators but also from Trump's own lawyers.

Days after the Justice Department sent a subpoena for video footage at Mar-a-Lago to the Trump Organization in June 2022, prosecutors say, De Oliveira asked an information technology staffer how long the server retained footage and told the employee "the boss" wanted it deleted.

When the employee said he didn't believe he was able to do that, De Oliveira insisted the "boss" wanted it done, asking, "What are we going to do?"

Shortly after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago and found classified records in the storage room and Trump's office, prosecutors say, Nauta called a Trump employee and said words to the effect of "someone just wants to make sure Carlos is good."

The indictment says the employee responded that De Oliveira was loyal and wouldn't do anything to affect his relationship with Trump. That day, the indictment alleges, Trump called De Oliveira directly to say that he would get De Oliveira an attorney.

Prosecutors allege that De Oliveira later lied in interviews with investigators, falsely claiming that he hadn't seen boxes moved into Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House.

Photos: Trump indictment shows documents stacked in bathroom, bedroom, ballroom
PHOENIX  By the time Aaliyah Ibarra started second grade, her family had moved five times in four years in search of stable housing. As she was about to start a new school, her mother, Bridget Ibarra, saw how much it was affecting her education.

At 8 years old, her daughter did not know the alphabet.

She was in second grade and couldnt tell me any of the letters. I would point them out and she didnt know, Bridget Ibarra said. "She would sing the song in order, but as soon as I mixed them up, she had no idea.

I just didnt know what letters were which, says Aaliyah, now 9. I know them now.

The family's struggles coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic that forced Aaliyah to begin her school experience online. Unfamiliar with a computer, Aaliyah was regularly kicked out of the virtual classroom, her mother said.

Zoom school was especially difficult for Aaliyah because she was homeless  and like thousands of students nationally, her school didn't know.

Homeless students often fell through the cracks during the tumult of the pandemic, when many schools struggled to keep track of families with unstable housing. Not being identified as homeless meant students lost out on eligibility for crucial support such as transportation, free uniforms, laundry services and other help.

Years later, the effects have cascaded. As students nationwide have struggled to make up for missed learning, educators have lost critical time identifying who needs the most help. Schools are offering tutoring and counseling but now have limited time to spend federal pandemic relief money for homeless students, said Barbara Duffield, executive director of SchoolHouse Connection, a national homelessness organization.

There is urgency because of the losses that have occurred over the pandemic  loss in learning, the gaps in attendance and the health crisis," she said. Many education leaders, Duffield said, don't even know about federal money earmarked for homeless students  and the programs expire next year.

The number of children identified as homeless by schools nationwide dropped by 21% from the 2018-2019 school year to the 2020-2021 school year, according to federal data. But the decrease, representing more than 288,000 students, likely includes many kids whose homelessness was unknown to schools. Federal counts of homeless people living on the street or in shelters also appeared to decrease in 2021 due to pandemic disruptions, but by 2022, those numbers shot up to the highest in a decade.

In Bridget Ibarra's case, she chose not to tell the school her kids were homeless  and she says teachers, disconnected from students by a screen, never asked. She was worried if officials knew the family was staying in a shelter, and the school was obliged by law to provide transportation, the family would face pressure to enroll in a different school that was closer.

The stigma and fear associated with homelessness also can lead families not to tell anyone they lack secure housing, Duffield said.

If we dont identify children proactively, we cant ensure that they have everything they need to be successful in school and even go to school," she said.

Before the pandemic, Ibarra and her two children moved in with her brother in Phoenix because she was having trouble making ends meet. Then her brother died unexpectedly. At the time, Ibarra was pregnant with her third child and couldnt afford the rent with what she earned working at a fast-food restaurant.

The family spent the next six months at Maggies Place, a shelter in North Phoenix that caters to pregnant women. The four of them, including Aaliyahs infant brother, moved next to Homeward Bound, an apartmentlike shelter for families, where they were living when the pandemic hit a few months before Aaliyah started kindergarten.

Aaliyah's school, David Crockett Elementary, stuck with online learning her entire kindergarten year. Aaliyah and her older brother, joined by several other children, spent most of their school days on computers in a mixed-grade makeshift classroom at the shelter.

It was like she wasnt even in school, Ibarra said.

While the shelter helped the family meet their basic needs, Ibarra said she asked the school repeatedly for extra academic help for her daughter. She blamed the struggles partly on online learning, but she also felt the school was giving all their attention to Aaliyahs older brother because he already was designated as a special-education student with an individualized education program, or IEP.

Many students aren't identified as homeless when their parents or guardians enroll them. At school, teachers, cafeteria staff, aides or bus drivers often notice other students whose well-being may need looking into. Students may have unwashed clothes, or many late arrivals or absences.

But with children learning online, teachers and staff often didn't see those things.

Overall, the drop in the student homelessness count began before the pandemic, but it was much steeper in the first full school year after COVID-19 hit. The percentage of enrolled students identified as homeless in the U.S. dropped from 2.7% in 2018-2019 to 2.2% in 2020-2021.

Eventually, Bridget Ibarra had to enroll Aaliyah in a different school.

After getting kicked out of low-income housing last year when their property owner sold the building, the family lived with Ibarras mother before finding another low-income unit in Chandler, more than 20 miles east of Phoenix.

Ibarra said she tried to shield as much discomfort about their living situation from her kids as possible. It worked. Aaliyah doesnt remember much about the places theyve stayed except the people that surrounded her family.

Aaliyah has gained ground academically at her new school, Frye Elementary Principal Alexis Cruz Freeman said. She still has trouble pronouncing and recognizing some words. But by the end of the school year, she was able to read a text and write four sentences based on its meaning. She is also performing at grade level in math.

The principal considers her a success story in part because of her mother's support.

She was an advocate for her children, which is all that we can ever ask for, Cruz Freeman said.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has announced that the government plans to reinstate the security detail of Azimio La Umoja Coalition leaders and their allies after a period of three months.

During a service at Alliance High School on Sunday, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua issued an apology for the governments decision to withdraw security detail from opposition leaders.

He explained that the government needed the officers to quell anti-government protests.

Im sorry your security was taken away. Your officers were taken to deal with demonstrators, Gachagua said.

The DP however set one condition for Azimio to have their security reinstated in three months.

We did not have sufficient officers to deal with demos for three days. Your officers will be returned to you after three months when we are sure there are no demos, he stated.

Gachagua also welcomed dialogue with Azimio to resolve the impasse, saying it was only through dialogue that the country can move forward.

If there is change of heart by Azimio leaders, we are ready but I was to say on behalf of President William Ruto, that never again in this country shall we allow people to kill others and to destroy peoples property. It will not happen again, said Gachagua.

The DP at the same time commended the police for their management of the Azimio protests and criticized human rights groups for condemning security agents for allegedly using excessive force on Kenyans during the demonstrations.

Gachagua said police officers are human beings as well, and he assured them of government protection while they carry out their duties.

The policemen never went to anybodys home, you came with stones and rocks to stone them.That police officer is sombodays husband or son or even sister.I have heard human rights bodies condemning police. Our policemen were injured, others are in hospital, not a single leader or organization has stood to say it is wrong to injure police officers, he said.
Former NTV anchor Mark Masai has smoothly transitioned to a new and thrilling chapter in his life. After an impressive 14-year career as a prime-time news anchor, he has now ventured into the world of acting and finds himself excelling in this new endeavor.

The former journalist spoke about his transition to acting, his role as a detective in the popular Showmax series Faithless, and his childhood ambition of joining law enforcement.

What pushed you to transition to theatre and acting from the media?

I would not say I have transitioned as such. It is just an added branch to my brand tree. I had already dabbled in the world of acting before I started as a TV/Radio journalist and news presenter.

How did you land the role in Faithless, was it a recommendation or an audition?

Someone from the production team reached out to check if I would be interested in this role and coincidentally, it came at a time I was considering the world of acting. I then had to do an audition like everyone else.

How are you finding acting in your role as a detective? What were the highs and lows during the shoot?

I love the role of Detective Henry. As a kid, I always wanted to be a police or army guy with the gun to get the bad guys. So somehow, I am living my childhood dream. The shooting experience has been a high. I am honored to be part of a production that has so many gurus and loving the learning experience.

Acting is quite different from the news media. How has it been transitioning from news to film?

I do not see it as that different. In both scenarios, there is a message, a script, a director, a producer, an audience, lights, camera and action. There is still a dramatic aspect in the news as well. The transition from me has been seamless. It will be the audience that will be getting used to seeing me in a different light.

Is this (acting) a one-time thing or will we see more of this in the future?

I am betting on more, plus I do see life as an act in many ways. It presents different platforms/stages and we have to act accordingly.

Are there acting projects you are working on your own?

Not at the moment.

Any struggles to fit in the role, or have you ever acted before in school etc?

I have had the opportunity to perform as a child way back in the 90s as part of the African Childrens Choir. We performed for thousands in the USA and that prepared me to reach thousands more in my current/future roles in life.

Whats the reaction of close fans and families to your acting debut?

My family has been supportive and happy about this new TV character. Many friends did not see it coming or expect that I had the acting bone.

Are you looking forward to more acting roles, or its a one-time thing?

Definitely looking forward.

Any high school or campus incident which you can recall pushed you into acting?

Primary school when I joined the African Childrens Choir. Check them out online. Superstars!

Any additional information you wish to share, i.e a word to your fans

Live the life you have always dreamt of. You have got one to live. Keep watching Faithless; we are just getting started!
Nairobi governor Johnson Sakajas administration is on the spot over suspected money laundering following revelations that several million shillings of taxpayers money might have been disbursed to nine companies that provided no supplies.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations says it has opened a probe into the suspected fraud and requested that the Nairobi county government furnish it with relevant documents to support investigations.

The DCI in a letter to the Nairobi City County Acting Secretary, Patrick Analo, requested City Hall to provide supporting documentation for the services purportedly rendered by the listed companies, along with the corresponding budget approvals from the relevant departments.

This office is investigating a case of suspected money laundering whereby the county government is suspected to have made fraudulent payments to the companies yet there were no services rendered. We ask your office to furnish us with the relevant budget approvals and requisitions by the departments relating to the above payments, read part of the DCI letter dated July 21, 2023.

The DCI has also demanded the submission of tender documents and award letters pertaining to the contracts awarded for the service supply.

Also avail all records of LPOs issued to the companies as well as all payment vouchers with all attachments in respect to the companies, DCI said.

Moreover, the DCI has summoned several chief officers and accountants responsible for making the contentious payments to appear at the DCI headquarters in Kiambu Road to provide statements regarding the matter.

In addition to provision of the above quoted documents, we further request you to assign officers who have knowledge of the various processes listed above to assist us with information on their roles and also record statements to that effect, DCI stated.
Google surprised many last year when it agreed to buy the James R. Thompson Center in the heart of the Loop. The tech giant hasnt revealed its plans for the Helmut Jahn-designed building, where it plans to open an office by 2026, but that hasnt stopped speculation that the project may give downtown Chicago a much-needed jolt.

[ Helmut Jahns Chicago legacy: Photos of his buildings that changed the city and beyond ]

There will likely be a Google effect, said Elise OConnor Goodman of commercial real estate firm Transwestern. Companies tend to go where Google goes.

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Google has been credited with sparking the redevelopment of whole neighborhoods when it opens an office. Well-paid workers flock to such areas, including New Yorks Meatpacking District, where Google opened more than a decade ago. Google has attracted other tech firms eager to catch the New York neighborhoods new vibe, sparking new business for nearby restaurants and retail.

The Google effect has already worked its magic in Chicago. The Fulton Market neighborhood just west of downtown was largely occupied by food wholesalers and distributors in 2015 when the tech giant planted its Midwest headquarters at 1000 W. Fulton St., a mammoth former cold storage building renovated by developer Sterling Bay. The neighborhood is now one of the nations hottest office markets, with new skyscrapers and streets crowded with shoppers and diners.

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Some hope Googles future downtown office will also rejuvenate the Loop, where many older office buildings have high vacancy rates and shaky finances. But its uncertain whether Google alone can revive the citys urban core.

Google will help, but the problem is bigger than any one organization can solve, said Joe Learner, chairman of North American brokerage for Savills, a commercial real estate firm.

Google is still formulating how it will use the 1.3 million-square-foot property. The company has a build-to-suit agreement with a venture led by Chicago developers Michael Reschke and Quintin Primo, which bought the Thompson Center last summer from the state of Illinois for $105 million and will launch a floor-by-floor gut renovation.

We remain committed to our long-term presence in Chicago and the development of the James R. Thompson Center, Google spokesperson Alex Joseph said.

The Thompson Center in Chicagos Loop on July 19, 2023. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

But before Google even arrives, financial distress may overwhelm the Loop. Three years into a work-from-home trend that seems permanent, office tenants are shrinking their footprints, driving up vacancy rates. In some cases, theyre negotiating to pay less in rent, or moving to new buildings in Fulton Market.

Thats making it difficult for the owners of older, obsolete Loop buildings to keep up with mortgage payments or launch needed renovations, and many will face hard choices: convince banks to restructure their loans, take steep losses by letting lenders take back properties or sell out to new owners.

This is not a problem that is going to solve itself in a short period of time, Learner said. Were going to be having these conversations next year and the year after that.

Downtown looks almost normal on some days, especially the middle of the week when many workers leave their home offices and commute, but empty spaces keep popping up. More than 27% of downtowns nearly 150 million square feet is now available to rent, up from 24.5% one year ago, according to a Savills report.

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And with offices still empty on Mondays and Fridays, big users have decided to right-size their offices, including insurance firm Aon, which just renewed its lease in the East Loops Aon Tower, but is taking just 300,000 square feet, 25% less than it previously used, said Robert Sevim, president of Savills Chicago region.

Other companies such as Molson Coors and Antares Capital decided to leave older buildings and occupy about 80,000 square feet each in the West Loops new BMO Tower at 320 S. Canal St.

There are going to be some clear winners and some clear losers, Sevim said of downtown buildings. The haves and have-nots will see a wider gap.

Many of Chicagos best-known office buildings are teetering on the edge, carrying large debts and at risk of missing loan payments. Aon Center, the 1,136-foot tower at 200 E. Randolph St., was placed on a loan servicers watchlist after its owner, 601W Cos., missed a mortgage payment this year and then secured an extension on its loan, according to Trepp, which tracks financially troubled real estate.

Even relatively new buildings could be headed for trouble: 300 N. LaSalle St., a 1.3 million-square-foot tower completed in 2009, also hit the watchlist after law firm Kirkland & Ellis announced in 2021 it was leaving its more-than-600,000-square-foot office in 2023 and moving to Salesforce Tower, a new riverfront skyscraper developed by Hines in River North. Another tenant, Boston Consulting Group, will also soon depart for a new Class A Fulton Market office.

As soon as these vacancies take place, the financial picture will look dramatically different, said Manus Clancy, senior managing director at Trepp. That could happen to any building as leases come up for renewal.

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Google has rebuilt entire neighborhoods, and not just in Chicago. New Yorks Meatpacking District became one of the citys tech centers, filled with restaurants and retail, after Google first began taking space in the industrial area near the Hudson River more than 10 years ago, said Jeffrey LeFrancois, executive director of the Meatpacking District Management Association.

Twitter and other tech firms opened offices near Googles main building at Eighth Avenue close to the river, and Google established other hubs including a new office campus on Pier 57, the historic riverfront tourist attraction.

New York did not have a lot of tech tenants before Google, he said. Now they are the big fish in a big sea.

Clancy isnt sure Google can cure Chicago of its post-COVID hangover. Big Tech firms such as Meta and Amazon are giving up space, not taking it, and the sector doesnt have the same vibe.

Its rare one firm can change a citys trajectory with one lease, he said. And right now, office is in the same place shopping malls were five years ago. This is going to be a very painful stretch.

Downtown could see lenders take control of financially troubled properties in the next few years, he added. Brookfield Asset Management fell behind on loan payments and faced a foreclosure lawsuit for 175 W. Jackson Blvd., a 22-story tower completed in 1912, which had a $280 million loan and a rising vacancy rate. A court-appointed receiver will now attempt to sell it.

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It was death by a thousand cuts, Clancy said.

Other buildings more than 90 days delinquent on their loans include the old Field Building at 135 S. LaSalle St., which lost its anchor tenant, Bank of America; the Civic Opera Building at 20 N. Wacker Drive; and 216 W. Jackson Blvd., according to Trepp.

Savills Learner said many buildings, especially older central Loop properties, will need to be financially restructured so the owners have much more manageable mortgage payments and can afford to add modern amenities, or sold off at a loss.

Chicago may need an entirely different kind of owner to take charge, he added. Instead of big institutional players, which typically look for big returns, family offices or wealthy individuals such as hair care mogul John Paul DeJoria, who bought the former McDonalds campus in Oak Brook, may find they can pick up big office buildings at cheap prices and turn them around.

Unlike New York, historically speaking families havent been big players in Chicago, he said. There is the opportunity now for smart, patient capital to take advantage of the shift in the marketplace.

But families are likely to stay away from functionally obsolete buildings, he added. Like Jose Cuervos Beckmann family, whose Agave Holdings purchased 225 W. Washington St., a 28-story tower, in 2022 for nearly $83 million and plans to buy 300 S. Wacker Drive, theyll probably stick to well-located buildings that just need some extra care.

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Even if Google comes in and is wildly successful, the city may have to offer more tax abatements or other financial tools to make it worthwhile to take over some failing buildings. Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot launched in 2022 one such initiative, LaSalle Street Reimagined, which aims to transform financial district office space into about 1,000 apartments, including hundreds of affordable units.

But such strategies wont work everywhere, said Rafael Hernandez, principal of The Blackwood Group, part of a team chosen to rehab the 41-story Clark Adams Building at 105 W. Adams St., a 96-year-old building, into hundreds of apartments. It can be converted because it has terraces and setbacks on all sides, giving most of the interior access to natural light and ventilation, a must for renters.

Some of the office buildings downtown have interior layouts that are more of a square, he said.

Tearing down buildings is prohibitively expensive, Learner said, so the Loop may simply end up with a collection of empty, zombielike buildings, no longer able to compete with riverfront or Fulton Market buildings, but not suitable as apartments and too obsolete for offices.

Some are not well suited for any of the above, he said.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula has dissuaded President Wiliam Ruto from holding talks with Opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Wetangula believes that the proposed dialogue between the president and the Azimio leader will not result in a reduction in the cost of living.

During a church service in Kwale on Sunday, Wetangula advised Ruto that the most effective approach to reducing the cost of living is through implementing sound economic policies, rather than relying on political dialogues or engagements with strange people.

I want to tell you, Mr. President, if you want to lower the cost of living, is not by going to strange places to talk with strange people. It is by having sound economic policies, increasing production and helping the Kenyan farmer to provide enough food, Wetangula opined.

Weta recounted past instances when the Kenya Kwanza coalition had raised concerns about the soaring cost of living in the country, only to have their grievances dismissed by President Uhurus regime.

The speaker also cautioned against resorting to anti-government protests, emphasizing that such actions would not lead to an improvement in the countrys economic situation.

It is how we handle our tourists that we attract them to come here, not because we have anything unique, it is hospitality. And that will happen not by putting sufurias on the head and casting stones and throwing insults, but by having peace and tranquillity in our country.

Because you cannot pretend that you can learn from people you have nothing to learn from, you cannot. People who have a history of destruction, deceit, dishonesty, betrayal, and above all people for who God is Just but a name, Wetangula added.
Cafe Gira Flohr brightly beckons customers and curious worker bees alike with its bright colors, sunflower decals and the aromatic allure of freshly brewing coffee. Business owner and barista Sophia Flohr recently opened up her awning and parked the lunchbox-like coffee trailer at 1490 Soscol Ave. and is very proud to be sharing her love for coffee and hospitality with an equally excited and welcoming community.

Ive always liked being a barista, she said. Its kind of that immediate satisfaction of making something, the progress of it, and someone gets to enjoy it immediately.

Warmth from coffee and from kindness are the themes of her business and start literally with the name. Girasol means sunflower in Spanish, and those bright blossoms decorate the trailer and the apron she wears. The rejuvenating effect of sun to sunflower can be likened to the effect of coffee on tired workers, and she is thinking of one day installing solar panels to her trailer. Her last name, Flohr, is a homophone with the Spanish word for flower, flor, and completes the pun.

I wanted it to be personal and a little proprietary, but I didnt want to slap my whole name on it she said, adding she likes the linguistic compromise they settled on.

Flohr has worked in hospitality, primarily as a barista and cafe manager, for 10 years, but said two years ago she decided it was time she took her talents in an independent direction. For her, opening the cafe trailer and starting her own business is really an extension of her time working for others as a barista: her and her fiance, Saulo Guerrero, often say that if they can work as hard as we do for someone else than doing the same for yourself is not a huge leap.

It may not have been a huge leap to realize this but it was certainly a long one to get the cafe actually going, though Flohr stresses that the two years it took to open the business have really been divine timing. The unexpected delays were due to construction hold ups, the city bureaucracy she needed to sift through to get her permits and the normal delays inherent in opening a business. So while the time investment was tremendous, she feels like her cafe is ready to be received now in a way it wasnt when she initially planned to be open.

The waiting time really prepares a person to be ready for their business You have to really want it and just keep going and Flohr believes that the added time before opening allowed her to refine her menu, coffee and be more mentally prepared to run the operation.

That mental fortitude is essential, because it really is just her at Cafe Gira Flohr. Its me in there making the coffees, I prepared the menu, I did the layout, Im doing the marketing, Flohr said, making it clear that this isnt some halfway passion project. But even though Im wearing all those hats I feel the support, from her fiance Guerrero of course, but also from friends and family supporting her in a multitude of ways, and from other members of the food truck/trailer community helping her put the word out and coming by for a coffee.

Flohr said that she has never felt more like Im in Napa (in the three years Ive lived here) than being a part of this community, in reference to the fellow food trucks and trailers on Soscol. Shes been so pleased by the reception she got from them and the steady stream of customers shes had since opening.

Being on Soscol itself is important to her, since she identifies it as a road locals commonly take to and from work, and it's the working Napans she wants to caffeinate most. While her truck is positioned in front of two large hotels  and she certainly isnt complaining about the summer tourist revenue  she sees her clientele as more people who are working and less people on vacation.

By definition of being a wine town Napa is also an agricultural town, said Flohr, and so she wants to service those early morning workers with her cafe de la olla or cappuccinos in her motorcycle emblazoned to-go cups. She sees lots of intellectual and agricultural similarities between wine and coffee  such as varietals, roasts, toasting, origin, the drinks themselves and the cultivation and process of making but that in terms of your average consumer its kind of the antithesis to wine.

Much of current coffee culture is focused on the artisanal and academic qualities of the beans or the specialty drinks of chains like Starbucks, and while Flohr acknowledged those coffee nerds have their place, she wants to keep it more friendly and warm, I dont need to test you about it or make it too serious. She wants to emphasize the traditional qualities of her coffees so they are repeatable, comfortable and uncomplicated in the best way.

She takes many of the traditional Italian drinks  the latte, cappuccino and espresso  and combines them with Mexican and Latin American flavors, themes and techniques. Its this blending that she said makes her stand out from the already established coffee houses of Napa, though importantly she hopes not to be competition but merely to grow the consumer base of coffee lovers by adding a style that wasnt present before.

I wanted it not just to be another coffee menu: I wanted it to have more Latin influence, Flohr explained, and many of her menu items highlight this. Flohr most commonly uses a specialty blend, aptly named Cafe Gira Flohr, from Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Company. Its a medium roast of Columbian, Guatemalan and Mexican beans that combine to create the perfect warm, earthy and slightly sweet cup she was looking for.

The top line menu item is the cafe de la olla, a traditional Mexican method of brewing the coffee in a single pot (olla means pot in Spanish) and mixing in piloncillo (a Mexican sweetener traditionally made from raw condensed brown sugar) and cinnamon. For her, it's a near perfect beverage: its really warm, its very simple, very homey, nostalgic anyone can like that drink.

She also features a latte de horchata and a latte la abuelita, which incorporates a popular Mexican hot chocolate mix to create essentially a mocha.

Her fiance Guerrero is from Michoacan, Mexico, but while Flohr herself is bilingual she is not Mexican and this is something she is constantly thinking about when profiling and incorporating Mexican flavors.

Ive become really conscious of how important it is to me that Im not offering something thats not right: because its not my culture, she said. So the response, especially from Latinos approving of the latte de horchata and the cafe de la olla is really important to me and I didnt realize how important until I started getting feedback.

Guerrero has helped her with the tasting, workshopping and menu items but he is only one person so getting those messages of support and endorsement has been a weight off her shoulders. She said she already has regulars who strictly order the cafe de la olla, and she is so glad to be able to offer that taste of home to some of Napas Mexican population or share the culture with some gringos in need of more satisfying coffee.

Flohr plans to expand the menu to include some rotating specials and some tasty bites to accompany your coffee, such as Mexican pan dulce. She also has vegan alternatives, like oat milk, available on request; some items, like the latte de horchata, are entirely vegan and use oat milk and condensed coconut milk in place of dairy products.

Its looking really good, Flohr said, I really have my sights set forward, and that future is certainly full of brimming coffee cups and happy customers.

Cafe Gira Flohr can be found at 1490 Soscol Ave., with an up-to-date schedule posted on her Instagram, @cafegiraflohr.
Dozens of students protested in front of the entrance to the Yerevan office of the International Committee of the Red Cross, demanding a meeting with its head over the arrest by Azerbaijan of a patient transported by ICRC from Nagorno Karabakh to Yerevan for a surgery.

The students gathered from different Armenian universities chanted "Freedom to Vagif Khachatryan" who was arrested by Azerbaijans State Border Service on Saturday and taken to an undisclosed location.

"We demand a meeting with the head of the ICRC, we also demand that a press conference be held in Geneva to inform everyone that a person was kidnapped from their direct control, otherwise it will look like they agree with what happened on Saturday," said a participant of the protest.

The protesters called on the ICRC employees not to be indifferent, to raise the alarm about everything that happens in Nagorno Karabakh.

After Vagif Khachatryan, 68, was held by Azerbaijani State Border Service on Saturday, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan announced that he was arrested. According to the accusation, Vagif Khachatryan allegedly created a criminal group in 1991 and participated in the crimes against the residents of Meshali village of Khojaly region.
Azerbaijan presents false facts and I don't know how to prove otherwise, Vera Khachatryan, the daughter of 68-year-old Vagif Khachatryan from Nagorno Karabakh, arrested by Azerbaijan while transported by the ICRC to Armenia for surgery, told reporters in front of the UN office in Yerevan.

"Recently they said that he was Samvel Babayan's driver. Dear friends, it is fake news. My father was not Samvel Babayan's driver ... Everything presented by the leadership of Azerbaijan is false. And the pictures that were spread on the Internet, where it is allegedly my father in his youth, have nothing to do with my father, it is not my father, I don't know whose picture they are posting, she said during a protest in front of the UN Yerevan office.

Further, she said that the ICRC called them on the first day of his fathers arrest and informed that they visited him at one of the hospitals in Baku. Now, she added, her father has become an Azerbaijani prisoner.

I appeal to everyone, even the Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan. Check all the stuff you post, it has nothing to do with the truth. My father did not commit such crimes, he is not that kind of person in general," said Vera Khachatryan.

After Vagif Khachatryan, 68, was held by Azerbaijani State Border Service on Saturday, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan announced that he was arrested. According to the accusation, Vagif Khachatryan allegedly created a criminal group in 1991 and participated in the crimes against the residents of Meshali village of Khojaly region.
About two dozen young people who have started a sit-in near the ICRC Yerevan office for two days now, are dissatisfied with the results of the meeting with the head of the ICRC delegation in Armenia over the arrest of a patient from Nagorno Karabakh by Azerbaijan at the Lachin corridor.



The protesters who have not been able to return to the Republic of Artsakh after the Lachin corridor was closed demand that the ICRC immediately make all efforts to return Vagif Khachatryan arrested by Azerbaijans State Border Service while transported by an ICRC car to Yerevan for surgery via the Lachin corridor.

"We are dissatisfied with the results of the meeting. We are told that if they make public announcements, it will further complicate the situation. They told us that their employee also went with Vagif, but they kicked him out," said Amalya Zakaryan, a resident of Nagorno Karabakh, participating in the sit-in.

"We will continue our pressure, because if we stop it, we will not bring any benefit to the situation. Today they kidnap Vagif, tomorrow they can kidnap us, our relatives," she added.

Vagif Khachatryan, 68, was arrested by Azerbaijani State Border Service on Saturday as he was being transported by an ICRC car to Yerevan where he was expected to undergo a heart surgery. Later the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan announced that he was arrested and is accused of creating a criminal group in 1991 and participating in the crimes against the residents of Meshali village of Khojaly region.
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Luis Moreno Ocampo: Azerbaijan blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh is genocide

Los Angeles Armenians block street, march to Congressman Adam Schiff residence

Crusaders detachment reaches area where humanitarian aid trucks sent from Armenia to Karabakh are waiting

ARF does not find it proper to nominate its own proportional representation list for Yerevan elections

Armenia premier congratulates Singapore counterpart on National Day

Sputnik Armenia: Where, under what conditions father and son Smbatyan are detained?

Newspaper: When Armenia ruling party election headquarters will start working?

Armenia MFA spox: Abducting of patient under Red Cross care must be condemned

Erdogan confirms Turkey participation in 2020 war against Karabakh

Russia MoD records ceasefire violation in Nagorno-Karabakh

President sends urgent appeal to international community to take immediate action to prevent genocide of NKR people

Turkey army General Staff head of intelligence visits Azerbaijan

Poland new envoy expresses readiness to assist reforms within Armenia internal affairs ministry (PHOTOS)

Estonia ambassador to Armenia joins EU civilian monitoring mission patrol

Congressman Adam Schiff: We must recognize Artsakh Republic independence if we truly stand for democracy, human rights

Robert Khachatryan, Andrea Wiktorin discuss EU-assisted high-tech projects in Armenia

Who are included in ex-mayor Hayk Marutyan's political team for Yerevan Council of Elders election?

Armenia PM congratulates newly appointed Tunis colleague

Armenia wins 1 gold, 4 silver medals at International Mathematics Competition for University Students

US State Department spox.: Turkey can play productive role in Armenia-Azerbaijan relations normalization

Crusaders detachment members reopen avenue nearby Armenia government building

Armenia national opera and ballet theater has new director

Karabakh war-participating detachment members block avenue near Armenia government building

Delegation visiting Armenia on US Senator Robert Menendezs instruction is in Syunik Province (PHOTOS)

Protesters give Armenia government time until 6pm to have Lachin corridor reopened

Red Cross transports 11 medical patients from Karabakh to Armenia after 11 days of complete blockade by Azerbaijan

Karabakh war-participating detachment members protest outside Armenia government building

Red Cross representatives visit 2 Azerbaijani soldiers who illegally entered Armenia

With which party ex-mayor Hayk Marutyan will run in Yerevan municipal elections?

Armenia responds to Azerbaijan letter regarding plant under construction in Yeraskh village

Tasnim: Iran, Armenia security councils heads discuss regional situation

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Iran diplomat on humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh

Tesla CFO unexpectedly resigns

Ex-mayor Hayk Marutyan to run in Yerevan election

Health ministry: Comprehensive siege of Karabakh leads to considerable increase in mortality, morbidity rates

Azerbaijan ombudsperson representatives visit detained Karabakh resident Rashid Beglaryan

UN experts call on Azerbaijan to immediately restore free movement through Lachin corridor

Karabakh state minister: Even in these conditions there are still people who are engaged in idle talk

Worlds largest Nissan to go out of production

Aram I, Vatican bishop discuss current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh

Andranik Tevanyan: Mother Armenia movement will run in Yerevan municipal elections

Newspaper: Armenia parliament new session to be heated, ruling force already has decision

Azerbaijan slams UN experts for their objective assessments of situation in Karabakh

US State Department: Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement remains within reach

Vardan Sargsyan: Humanitarian crisis in Karabakh is deepening, with widespread malnutrition

Turkey ministers council discusses Armenia-Azerbaijan relations

Armenia internal affairs minister, China ambassador confer on bilateral cooperation

About 256,000 tourists visit Armenia in July

Armenian Tourism Federation president: Whoever happens should not represent our country

Karabakh legislature new head: We will continue fight for preservation, strengthening of Artsakh statehood at any cost

Armenia Security Council chief has telephone conversation with newly appointed Iran counterpart

UNICEF urges to place Karabakh childrens safety, survival above all other considerations

Red Cross visits Karabakh resident Vagif Khachatryan, abducted by Azerbaijan

Yerevan murder circumstances being ascertained, criminal proceedings launched (PHOTOS)

Newly appointed UAE envoy ready to assist in Armenia justice sector reforms (PHOTOS)

Hurriyet: Putin-Erdogan talks will discuss Turkey relations with Azerbaijan, Armenia

What are most popular names given to Armenia newborns in first 6 months of 2023?

European Parliament member considers Lachin corridor blocking a war crime

Artur Osipyan: Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh turned down petition to escort motorcade to Hakari bridge

Hakan Fidan: Turkey-Armenia, Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process should proceed in parallel

Karabakh residents protest in front of Armenia MFA

American Armenians start sit-in, in support of Karabakh, outside Congressman Adam Schiffs office

shamshyan.com: Shootings in Yerevan, man with gunshot wound in the head dies in hospital

Person, 35, found dead in Armenias Lake Sevan

Armenia MFA spox: Clear steps needed to implement all international calls, decisions regarding Karabakh

Malta Armenians hold peaceful demonstration in support of Karabakh

Karabakh has a cash problem

World Council of Churches, Conference of European Churches call on Borrell to have Karabakh blockade lifted

Karabakh National Assembly has new speaker

Armenia-Azerbaijan relations to be discussed at Turkey government Cabinet session

Karabakh legislature ruling faction nominates opposition ARF MP Davit Ishkhanyan for post of parliament speaker

Military junta closes Niger airspace

Azerbaijan fires at Armenia positions, also uses mortars

President of Karabakh: Its as result of government activities that we have chance not to starve yet

Arayik Harutyunyan: The West made effort to organize a Baku-Stepanakert meeting in 3rd country

President of Karabakh: There seems to be tacit agreement to leave us all alone with Azerbaijan

Arayik Harutyunyan: Azerbaijan wants to abandon tripartite statement, to continue the war

Karabakh President: Humanitarian disaster border is crossed, now we are witnessing Azerbaijans genocidal policy

Artur Abraham calls on the UN and the civilized world to intervene in the situation around the Lachin corridor
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, after meeting with his counterpart in Baku, raised the issue of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations.

According to Anadolu, Fidan once again reminded that the process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations is coordinated with Azerbaijan, stressing that they also support the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

We also support international efforts to normalize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But at the same time, we call on the international community not to be biased, to maintain peace and not become an obstacle. The opening of the Zangezur communication is of great importance and for the benefit of the countries of the region, he said.

The Turkish Foreign Minister also justified the blocking of the [Berdzor] Lachin Corridor, noting that this is the land of Azerbaijan, and Baku can use this territory at its discretion.
For the sixth day already, 360 tons of humanitarian aid sent from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh has been in the border zone of Kornidzor. The Armenian side is waiting for the transfer of goods to the Russian peacekeeping troops, and they, in turn, must deliver them to Nagorno-Karabakh. But at this point there is no response, Lurer reports.

As Vardan Sargsyan, representative of the working group under the Armenian Government on managing the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, said that there is no response from the Russian peacekeepers either. Despite the calls of various states, the wide international reaction, statements by political and public figures, as well as the relevant decisions taken by the International Court of Justice, Azerbaijan actually continues to illegally keep the [Berdzor] Lachin Corridor closed and impede the transportation of goods.

There is a growing interest from international news agencies in the current situation. In particular, yesterday a journalist from Agence France-Presse was here, who had the opportunity to testify to what is happening on the spot, and the corresponding publication has already been distributed by the agency, Sargsyan said.

He noted that other representatives of the international press are also interested in the situation. In particular, media representatives from the US, Russia, China, and Argentina also visited the border region of Kornidzor.

Naturally, we are open and try to present the humanitarian nature of this event as much as possible. We are confident that the relevant media, being here, will be convinced of this and there will be relevant publications, Sargsyan concluded.
Over six dozen senators, MPs and representatives of territorial bodies representing the political left of France, including Patrick Kanner, Chairman of the Socialist Group in the Senate, Eliane Assassi, Chairman of the Communist, Republican, Citizen and Ecologist Group, Guillaume Gontard, Chairman of the Ecologist Group, Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces Marie-Arlette Carlotti, Head of the France-Armenia Interparliamentary Friendship Group Gilbert-Luc Devinaz and others appealed to the French government to provide practical support to [Artsakh] Nagorno-Karabakh, "Armenpress" reports.

In this turbulent time, when unrests intensify in the world, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is still striving not only to survive, but also to embody in the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia) the democratic values that we understand as our own. However, we do not take a step forward, we do not help it in the face of the attempts of ethnic cleansing that it is subjected to by Azerbaijan. With every outburst of world news, the most recent example of which is the Prigogine case, Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev is taking advantage of our other distractions, as well as our guilty indifference, to further increase his lethal hold on this Armenian territory.

Since June 15, having finally abandoned the fable of free movement along the [Berdzor] Lachin Corridor connecting Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, and strengthening the blockade that has been in place since December 12, 2022, Ilham Aliyev has installed concrete barriers that forever block all communications.

In today's expanded Europe, this is a "New Berlin Wall" that promises starvation to one hundred and twenty thousand inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh. Do we, like our republican colleagues, have to repeat that Baku's actions contradict the most basic principles of international law? Do we still need to remind that Azerbaijan violates its own commitments and the terms of the November 2020 ceasefire every day?

Do we need to remind again that this rogue state is putting itself under international ban by mocking the ICJ ruling of February 22, 2023, which orders it to immediately restore free movement between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh? Finally, should we point out that the executive government has a clear mandate to act in accordance with the resolutions adopted by the Senate on November 15, 2022, and the National Assembly on November 30, 2022, which gives it freedom to initiate economic sanctions and policies against the Baku regime and provide decisive operational support to the Armenians?

Current events show that France knows how to punish whoever it wants, when it wants, even in the case of powerful Russia. Current developments show that we also know how to deploy our forces on the border with Moldova. Not listening to our repeated calls in favor of Nagorno-Karabakh, not consolidating our decisive measures in its favor, means being an accomplice of Azerbaijan.

President Emmanuel Macron has announced that Armenian resistance fighter Missak Manouchian will enter the French pantheon on February 21, 2024, eighty years after his execution. We can only welcome this decision, which in the person of Manouchian also marks the commitment of hundreds of people without citizenship and rejected by any country: Armenians, Jews, Spanish republicans, Italian anti-fascists and many others, to serve for the benefit of the values of freedom, humanity and brotherhood, which are the values of the French Republic. But this righteous gratitude should not turn into a farce that serves as a barrier that allows Armenians to remain alone in order to rebuke the current authoritarian and autocratic Azerbaijani regime.

Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh is on the verge of destruction. Nagorno-Karabakh, which in the South Caucasus represents what we claim to embody, deserves more than a careless glance. It simply deserves respect for its citizens' right to self-determination. It justifies the role and activities of France in the region, confirms the legitimacy of the actions of our country, and the occupation established by force cannot under any circumstances cast doubt on its existence.

In his famous farewell letter to his wife Melina, Missak Manouchian wrote: At the time of my death, I declare that I have no hatred for either the German people or anyone else. Everyone will get what they deserve, in the form of punishment or reward. The German people and all other peoples will live after the war in peace and brotherhood, which will not last long.

We ask Emmanuel Macron to impose sanctions against Ilham Aliyev and his criminal group, without harboring hatred towards the people, so that Armenians and Azerbaijanis can finally coexist in peace and brotherhood in this South Caucasus, where they live side by side," says the letter of the French legislators.
Belt and Road a springboard, premier says

08:37, July 31, 2023 By XU WEI ( Chinadaily.com.cn

Premier Li Qiang meets with Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani in Beijing. [Photo by Wang Zhuangfei/chinadaily.com.cn]

China and Mauritania should use the signing of the bilateral plan for the joint construction of the Belt and Road as a springboard for expanding cooperation over sectors including agriculture, fisheries and energy, Premier Li Qiang said on Sunday.

In talks with visiting Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani in Beijing, Li called upon both nations to strengthen cooperation over health, education and people-to-people exchanges and bring the bilateral friendship and cooperation to a new level.

Beijing will continue to do its best to support Mauritania in its efforts to seek growth and rejuvenation, he said.

Ghazouani met with President Xi Jinping and attended the opening ceremony of the 31st summer edition of the FISU World University Games in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, on Friday.

He expressed "wholehearted endorsement" of the China-proposed Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative and said his country firmly adheres to the one-China principle.

Mauritania looks forward to deepening cooperation with China over various sectors and promoting the further development of bilateral ties, he said.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, China is Mauritania's largest trading partner. Trade between the two countries reached $2.13 billion in 2022.

Premier Li Qiang meets with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali in Beijing. [Photo by Wang Zhuangfei/chinadaily.com.cn]

Guyana relations

Meanwhile, Premier Li Qiang underlined on Sunday Beijing's readiness to work with Guyana to use the joint building of the Belt and Road as an opportunity to scale up cooperation on economy, trade, agriculture, energy and green development.

While meeting with Guyanese President Irfaan Ali in Beijing, Li stressed the need for the two nations to jointly respond to global challenges and promote the building of a China-Guyana community with a shared future.

President Ali also met with President Xi and attended the opening ceremony of the World University Games in Chengdu on Friday.

He lauded China as Guyana's strategic partner and expressed appreciation to Li for the nation's aid in the Caribbean nation's economic and social development.

Guyana is willing to further strengthen cooperation with China in areas such as agriculture and energy, enhance people-to-people exchanges, and achieve common development and progress, he said.

Guyana commends China's significant role in international affairs and is willing to work with China to address global challenges such as climate change, Ali added.

Trade between China and Guyana expanded by 164.9 percent to $1.88 billion last year, according to China's Foreign Ministry.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Relatives and mourners carry the casket of a victim who was killed in Sunday's suicide bomber attack in the Bajur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Monday, July 31, 2023. (Mohammad Sajjad/AP)

KHAR, Pakistan  An Afghan branch of the Islamic State group on Monday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Pakistan that killed at least 54 people at a pro-Taliban partys election rally, in one of the regions worst attacks in recent years.

Islamic State in Khorasan Province made the claim in a statement posted on its Amaq website. It said the attacker detonated an explosive vest, and that the bombing Sunday in the northwestern town of Bajur was part of the groups continuing war against forms of democracy it deems to be against Islam.

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Hours earlier, hundreds of mourners in Bajur carried caskets draped in colorful cloths to burial sites following the previous days attack at the election rally for the Jamiat Ulema Islam party. Officials said the bombing killed 54 people, including at least five children, and wounded nearly 200.

The attack appeared to reflect divisions between Islamist groups, which have a strong presence in the district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan. The Jamiat Ulema Islam party has ties to the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban.

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At least 1,000 people were crowded into a tent near a market for the rally ahead of fall elections, according to police.

People were chanting God is Great as the leaders arrived, said Khan Mohammad, a local resident who said he was standing outside the tent, and that was when I heard the deafening sound of the bomb.

Mohammad said he heard people crying for help, and minutes later ambulances arrived and began taking the wounded away.

Police had suggested in their initial investigation that Islamic State in Khorasan Province was a suspect. The group is based in neighboring Afghanistans Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida.

Pakistan security analyst Mahmood Shah also previously had said that breakaway factions of the Pakistani Taliban could be possible suspects, though the group distanced itself from the attack.

The Pakistani military spent years fighting the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, in Bajur before declaring the district clear of militants in 2016. But the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, headed by hard-line cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman, has remained a potent political force.

On Monday, police recorded statements from some of the wounded at a hospital in Khar, the districts principal town.

Female relatives and children wailed and beat their chests at family homes Monday as the dead were taken for funerals, following local customs. Hundreds of men followed the caskets to mosques and open areas for special funeral prayers and then into the hills for burial.

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As condolences continued to pour in from across the country, dozens of people who had lesser injuries were discharged from hospital, while the critically wounded were taken to the provincial capital of Peshawar by army helicopters. The death toll continued to rise as some critically wounded people died in hospital, physician Gul Naseeb said.

Gul Akbar, the father of an 11-year-old boy who was wounded in the attack, told The Associated Press that his entire family was in a state of shock after hearing about the bombing Sunday. He said he first went to the scene of the attack, and later found his son Taslim Khan being treated in a hospital in Khar.

What would I have done if he had also been martyred? Five children died in this barbaric attack, and we want to know what our children did wrong, he said.

Rehmans party is preparing to contest elections, which are expected in October or November. Abdul Rasheed, one of the partys senior leaders, said the bombing was aimed at weakening the party but that such attacks cannot deter our resolve.

Rehmans party is part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharifs coalition government, which came to power in April 2022 by ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in the legislature.

Sharif called Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished. Khan condemned the bombing Sunday, as did the U.S. and Russian embassies in Islamabad.

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The Pakistani Taliban also distanced themselves from the bombing, saying that it was intended to set Islamists against each other. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, wrote in a tweet that such crimes cannot be justified in any way.

The bombing came hours before Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng arrived in Islamabad, where he signed new agreements to boost trade and economic ties to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a sprawling package under which China has invested $10 billion in Pakistan over 10 years, according to Sharif.

We will not tolerate any obstacles in the way of friendship with China, Sharif said, as he stood next to He.

But the government canceled a cultural event that had been arranged in honor of He, according to Sharif, while the nation mourns.

Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.

Rehman, who has long supported Afghanistans Taliban government, survived at least two known bomb attacks in 2011 and 2014, when bombings damaged his car at rallies.

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Sundays bombing was one of the worst in northwestern Pakistan in the last decade. In 2014, 147 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar.

In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar. And in February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.

Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed contributed to this story from Islamabad.
Sydney [Australia], July 31: As a recognised leader in sustainability research, teaching and operations, and a university committed to becoming carbon neutral and climate positive by 2029, the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is proud to be hosting the inauguralDecarbonising Australia Business Summit: Partnering with Japan on the Transition to Net Zerothis week.

Attendees to the Summit, organised by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), include 90 Japanese business leaders and hundreds of Australian industry, government and research representatives.

Among the keynote speakers are Minister for Climate Change and Energy, the Hon. Chris Bowen and Assistant Minister for Trade and Assistant Minister for Manufacturing, Senator the Hon. Tim Ayres.

Summit sessions featuring UTS experts include:

- Panel session on UTS - Science + Industry Partnership in Action; hosted by Melissa Edwards, Research Director of the Centre for Business and Sustainable Development, UTS, and with panellists Distinguished Professor Peter Ralph, Director Deep Green Biotech Hub, UTS and Richard Adamson, Founder, Owner, Chief Brewer, Young Henrys Brewery

- Networking session - UTS engineering expert in collaboration with industry partner addressing climate change; with Julie Jupp, UTS Professor of Digital Engineering in dialogue with Digital Tech Company- Case study: UTS and NTT on how to establish impactful industry/university

Relationships; Moderator Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, Institute for Public Policy Governance, UTS, panellists Herve Harvard, Director, RAPIDO, Engineering, UTS, and Akifumi Nagatani, General Manager, Australian Global Business, NTT.

UTS Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andrew Parfitt, said that as an institution with a proven track record in partnering with government and industry, both in Australia and overseas, in areas such as green energy and carbon emissions reduction, UTS was pleased to be selected as host of the inaugural summit.

"We signed an Australian-first Power Purchase Agreement with a solar farm in 2015, signed an Australian-first precinct cooling agreement in 2016, and opened an Australian-first plastic-free food court in 2019," he said.

"Now, in hosting this important international conversation between Japan and Australia on decarbonisation, we are once again able to contribute toward a more sustainable planet."

The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is among the top 100 universities in the world. As Australia's leading technology university, UTS drives positive impact through a range of global research and industry partnerships. Learn more atuts.edu.au.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2163779/UTS_Toby_Burrows_2020_2025.jpg

(Disclaimer: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
SRV Media New Delhi [India], July 31: The government of India has been constantly focusing on encouraging entrepreneurship among the youth. To promote innovation, the government has even launched many schemes and programmes like Mudra Yojna, Skill India, and Startup India. And the youth are also not behind. The young generation is coming forward with all sorts of ideas and entrepreneurial skills and helping the country realize the dream of a New India. In this direction, Our Mitti Foundation, an NGO working for the welfare of the people, organized an event called the Entrepreneurs Excellence Awards 2023 in the national capital last week. The guests who shared their views and ideas on different kinds of business and innovation at the event include Sonal Goel, IAS, Resident Commissioner, Tripura Bhawan; DK Bakshi, Chief Mentor and CEO, Global Talent Company; Shrikant Namdeo, Director, Department of Financial Services, Govt. of India; Monish Bhalla, Tax Guru and GST Expert; Virendra Kumar, Managing Director of Pragati Electrocom; Prem Chowdhary, Director, Fintech Bulls and HimValley Foods; and Dr Kailash Bihari Singh, Management Expert, among others. At the Awards ceremony, entrepreneurs were invited to meet and discuss the challenges they face with the government officials and industry experts mentioned above. 30 entrepreneurs who have been able to mark their presence in the market in their respective areas of expertise were later awarded for their work. NARENDRA KUMAR, Founder and CEO of PROFIT BY PPC; Prashant Bharti and Manish Kumar, founders of Skills Tech; Dr. Naveen Kumar, Founder and CEO of Alobha Technologies; Amit Kumar, founder of Onwid; and Dilkhush Kumar, Founder of Rodbez; Dr Rajan Jaiswal, Founder & CEO of Codon Pharma; Capt. Navrang Singh, Founder, of Airborne Aviation Academy, Dr. Niraj Jha, Founder & CEO of Hanumaan; Vivek Pathak, Founder of Tinkerly, among others, were awarded for their entrepreneurial skills. Today, when we talk about innovation and entrepreneurship, it always has some links to technology, digital education, or digital platforms in one way or another. In this modern age, most businesses survive and succeed because of their immense and active digital presence. One of the awardees at the event, Narendra Kumar has succeeded in running a Digital Marketing Company, Profit By PPC. The agency has been in business for over three years now and has completed over 250 projects successfully. They claim to be using modern digital marketing practices to attain the business goals set by their clients. Profit By PPC has many big clients under its kitty including Max Life Insurance, Info Edge, Binocs, Spectra, Stanza Living, Royal Matrimonial, Bid Assist, Investment Simplified, Upsurge, Elevate HQ, Rupeek, and Whiz Consulting among others. Profit By PPC claims to be delivering beyond clients expectations. Their expertise lies in providing Branding, Performance Marketing, and lead generation services that include SEO, Google Ads, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing and more. Their team is persistently working to help companies achieve their digital marketing goals with Paid Advertising on Google, Facebook & Instagram, following SEO best practices, and Guest Posting Services. Numbers never lie! Profit By PPC is the best digital marketing company for a reason; over 250 thousand keywords ranked so far, completed over 250 projects successfully, generated over 3.5 million organic traffic, and we definitely cant miss their 225 plus happy customers. The founder and CEO, Narendra Kumar, believes A digital presence is important for all businesses and brands, but mere presence won't help them survive in a competitive environment. Businesses need to use digital media effectively to create an impact on people, and Profit By PPC helps their clients do that." Before starting his own marketing agency, Narendra worked as a Digital Marketing Head at different organizations for several years. After realizing the need for such a business to grow, he started his own company, Profit By PPC, to help other organizations mark their presence digitally and sustain it as well. This 34-year-old young entrepreneur also understands the scope of digital marketing as a career. Alongside the agency, he also runs a training institute called The Digital Education for people who seek a successful career in this booming industry. Narendra Kumar truly believes that Digital education is a skill that would mitigate the rising issue of unemployment and also help India achieve its UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2047, when the country celebrates its 100 years of independence. (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)
Taking to Twitter, Joshi shared a post and wrote, The literary brilliance of Munshi Premchand continues to inspire people. Heartfelt tribute to the great writer on his birth anniversary.

https://twitter.com/JoshiPralhad/status/1685834743655620609

The post reads, Birth Anniversary. Munshi Premchand. A person whose actions go against his principles is hardly an idealist.

Premchand, a legendary writer, is known for his contributions in the Hindi language literature. Some of his best known literary works include 'Eidgah,' 'Kafan,' 'Namak Ka Daroga,' and 'Karmabhoomi.'

Born Dhanpat Rai, in a small village in northern India, the renowned author penned more than a dozen novels, 250 short stories and a number of essays. (ANI)
The Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, and New and Renewable Energy, Bhagwanth Khuba on Sunday emphasized the government's unwavering dedication to providing energy and food security to all citizens. He said this first at the anniversary of the National Portal for Rooftop Solar and the Foundation Day of the All India Renewable Energy Associations (AIREA). The event was celebrated as the Renewable Energy Festival of India, highlighting the nation's commitment to achieving energy security and sustainability. Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant and Minister of Power Sudin Dhavalikar were also present on this occasion. Addressing the gathering, he noted that India's visionary target of achieving 175 GW of renewable energy (fossil fuel) by 2022, as declared at the COP 2015 conference, was accomplished even before the set deadline and that this remarkable achievement was recognized by the global community. Union MoS Bhagwanth Khuba said, "Building on this success, at the COP 26 conference, the Prime Minister unveiled India's ambitious new target of reaching 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, with the ultimate aim of achieving net zero emissions by 2070. India stands proudly as the only country to have realized the goal set at COP-15, but there is still much work ahead to attain the net zero target." The Minister also highlighted the recent successful visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to America and France, showcasing India's unwavering commitment to realizing its ambitious goals and dreams across all sectors. He explained that one of the significant steps taken by the Government of India is the launch of Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for renewable energy, aimed at promoting self-sufficiency and indigenous production in the energy sector. "Under this scheme, a PLI of Rs. 1500 crore has been initiated, enabling the installation of 65 GW capacity through an investment of Rs. 19500 crore. By 2030, India aims to achieve a total of 500 GW, with 280 GW of it coming from solar energy," he said. "In line with India's dedication to harnessing clean energy sources, the government is also implementing a PLI scheme of Rs. 17500 crore for the National Hydrogen Mission. Regulations are currently being formulated to support the hydrogen scheme, further propelling India's rapid advancement in the energy sector," he added. Chief Minister of Goa Dr Pramod Sawant highlighted initiatives by the State government in the field of green and clean energy. "Goa will contribute positively to achieving the Net Zero target," said Chief Minister. National Portal for Rooftop Solar was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 30 July. (ANI)
World's highest rail bridge and Asias longest state-of-the-art road tunnel located in Udhampur constituency are amongst some of the national-level landmark projects, which have come up in this constituency during the last 9 years after Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister. This was stated by Union Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh during a two-hour luncheon meeting hosted by him for PRI representatives, Panches, Sarpanches, BJP office bears and other activists from his constituency on Sunday. The meeting was part of a cycle of such regular feedback sessions that Singh has been holding with the representatives from different parts of his constituency on a regular basis. The areas, which were represented in the meeting, included Doda, Basholi, Billawar, Kathua and Ramban. Dr Jitendra Singh said, "Unprecedented developmental works have taken place in Udhampur-Doda-Kathua Lok Sabha Constituency in the last 9 years but the need is to spread greater awareness about the same in each corner of the constituency." He said, "It is a matter of pride for all of us that even two days back while inaugurating Bharat Mandapam, worlds largest Convention Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned the highest railway bridge in Reasi, while the longest road tunnel Chenani to Nashri named after Syama Prasad Mukherjee was also inaugurated by him. At the same time Prime Minister Modi also described the successful Aroma Mission and Lavender Cultivation at Bhaderwah in his Man Ki Baat broadcast." The delegation submitted a peoples survey report to the Union Minister, which said that the Udhampur-Doda-Kathua Parliamentary Constituency was possibly among the most developed constituencies in India of all the Parliamentary Constituencies. Dr Jitendra Singh said that credit for this went to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who after taking charge in May 2014 gave special focus on Jammu and Kashmir and in the North-Eastern region. Dr Jitendra Singh said, "Udhampur-Doda-Kathua Parliamentary Constituency is the only Constituency in India to get three centrally funded medical Colleges in the last five years." He further said, "This constituency has earned its name in India and in the world as the birthplace of Purple Revolution which has given birth to Agri-tech Start-Ups not only in J-K but across the country. This Parliamentary Constituency has all the potential to contribute in the Start-Up movement promoted by PM Narendra Modi." "North India's first Industrial Biotech Park near Kathua, the first National Institute of High Altitude Medicine at Bhaderwah, first Seed Processing Plant in Kathua, a Radio Station at Udhampur and two Passport offices also came up in this constituency during the last 9 years," he added. Dr Jitendra Singh told the delegation to make people aware about many first infrastructural developments that have taken place in the last nine years like the highest railway bridge in the world, highest than the Eiffel Tower, Dr Shyama Prasad Mookherjee tunnel, the longest road tunnel in the world, which is described as an infrastructural marvel in the country. In terms of road and highway development in this constituency, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, "The Vande- Bharat Express from Katra to Delhi, North Indias first-ever Cable-Stayed Bridge Atal Setu, J&Ks first interState bridge at Keerian-Gandyal, North Indias first Express Road Corridor from Delhi to Katra via Kathua, the new National Highway from Lakhanpur-Bani-Basohli-Doda via Chattargala Tunnel has made this constituency best ever connected leading to its tremendous development compared to the other Constituencies in the country." Udhampur district located in this constituency has stood number one in the country in terms of construction of roads under PMGSY, Dr Jitendra Singh added. The Union Minister said, "With the establishment of an InterModal Station (IMS) at Katra, a world-class state-of-the-art project in this constituency will not only improve the travelling experience of the pilgrims visiting Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine but will open numerous opportunities in terms of employment, trade etc. for the people of this constituency." Rajat Sapolia, Darshan Singh, Bittu Choudhary, Gian Batadia, Sohan Lal Gupta, Madan Lal, Sher Singh, Rajinder Singh, Sarla Devi, Chain Singh, Joginder Sharma, Kuldip Kumar, Bhusan Kumar from Basohli, Vijay Thakur, Sandeep Singh, Deshraj Parihar, Chander Sharma, Vaishan Parihar, Ramesh Katoch from Doda, Chota Khajuria, Rattan Chand, Tirth Ram, Tikka Sharma, Vinod, Danesh, Charan Das, Raju from Billawar. Shiv Dev Singh from Kathua and Rajeshwar Kumar from Ramban were part of the delegation. (ANI)
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Amarendra Dhari Singh on Monday gave a suspension of business notice in Rajya Sabha to discuss the situation in Manipur. The RJD MP in his notice emphasised that House should discuss the ongoing situation in Manipur claiming that its impact is spreading to other states of the Northeast. "I hereby give notice under rule 267 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States of my intention to move the following motion for suspension of Business listed on Monday, July 31, 2023," the notice read. "That in pursuance of Rule 267 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Rajya Sabha, this House do suspend the Business of the House to take up the discussion on the situation arising out of the uninterrupted ethnic violence in the State of Manipur which is spreading in other States of the North East," it added. The 21-member multi-party delegation of MPs of the Oppositions Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) that returned to the national capital after assessing the situation in the strife-torn state, will meet at the Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharges chamber in Parliament on Monday to brief the situation of the northeastern state. On the first day of their two-day whirlwind tour, the opposition MPs visited several relief camps in Imphal, Moirang in Bishnupur district and Churachandpur and met victims of ethnic clashes.On Sunday, leaders met Manipur GovernorAnusuiya Uikeyat Raj Bhawan and handed over a memorandum to her and requested her to restore peace and harmony by taking all effective measures, "where justice should be the cornerstone". "In order to bring peace and harmony, rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected persons is most urgent. You are also requested to apprise the Union Government of the complete breakdown of law and order in Manipur for the last 89 days so as to enable them to intervene in the precarious situation in Manipur to restore peace and normalcy," the memorandum reads. The leaders returned to the national capital on Sunday vowing to take the matter further in the Parliament from Monday. Most MPs who were part of the delegation had a similar complaint the pathetic condition of the relief camps where those hit by the violence across the states are living currently. The ruckus and war of words between the Treasury and Opposition benches over the prevailing situation in violence-hit Manipur may stall proceedings in both Houses of the Parliament, as they reconvene for the eighth day of the ongoing Monsoon Session on Monday. Members of the grand Opposition alliance, I.N.D.I.A, have been adamant on the demand that all listed businesses in both Houses be set aside for a discussion on the Manipur situation. The Opposition parties have been pressing for their demand since the beginning of the monsoon session of Parliament on July 20. The government has said that it is ready for debate on the issue but the opposition has insisted on a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in both the Houses of the Parliament. (ANI)
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha on Monday gave suspension of business notice in Parliament to discuss the breakdown of law and order situation in Manipur. In his notice, Chadha wrote, That this House do suspend Zero Hour and relevant rules relating to Question Hour and other business of the day to discuss the violence in Manipur which has resulted in loss of precious lives in Manipur due to failure and incompetence of Central and state governments. A delegation of 21 MPs from 16 parties of the Opposition bloc - the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) amid their demand for a detailed discussion in Parliament on the situation in the state on Sunday returned after a two-day visit to the state.. The Opposition leaders have criticised the Central and state governments on their failure to stop the violence and restore peace in the state. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha, who was part of the delegation has urged the two ethnic communities to cooperate in restoring peace and harmony in the state saying that there is "no alternative to peace anywhere". "We want peace to be restored in Manipur. Peace with justice. Our only demand is that both communities should live in harmony. The situation in Manipur is dangerous. Be it Madhya Pradesh or Manipur, there is no alternative to peace anywhere, Jha said while talking to mediapersons. Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said that the union ministers including Prime Minister Narendra Modi should also visit the state. We are disheartened by what happened to the people there. In the meeting with the Governor, we suggested that under the leadership of the Prime Minister, an all-India all-party delegation come here. This is what we have been suggesting since the first day. But the PM is missing. His ministers are giving statements while sitting in Delhi. They should visit Manipur to see the ground reality there..." Gogoi said. Janata Dal (United) MP Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh said that the people of the Kuki and Meitei communities in Manipur are facing a sense of insecurity and have a lack of confidence in the state government. "There is a sense of insecurity and lack of confidence in the two communities. They expressed their lack of confidence in the State Government. Incidents happened since 3rd May but the State Government took no steps to control it, Lalan Singh said while talking to ANI. He further said that Governor Anusuiya Uikey whom the delegation of Opposition I.N.D.I.A alliance met at Raj Bhawan and said that she is doing everything in her power to restore normalcy.Governor said that she is doing everything in her power to restore normalcy. But we know that the Governor has limited powers and the power to run the state lies in the hands of the State Government," the JD(U) MP added. (ANI)
"...The situation in Manipur is very serious...BJP and the parties of the ruling alliance should also visit Manipur, they should also go there. Everyone needs to analyse the situation in Manipur," the Congress leader said.

Opposition MPs, who were part of the delegation to Manipur, briefed floor leaders including Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge in Parliament on Monday. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi was also present.

The 21-member delegation of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance that visited Manipur had MPs from both Houses.

The MPs met Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey at Raj Bhawan in Imphal on Monday and handed over a memorandum to her.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, who was also the part of visiting delegation, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should also visit the northeastern state.

Since the beginning of the monsoon session of Parliament on July 20, opposition MPs of the I.N.D.I.A. alliance have been seeking a detailed discussion on Manipur violence and a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue. The government has said it is ready to hold a discussion. (ANI)
The Amrit Sarovar project, aligned with the guidelines of the Government of India, focuses on rainwater harvesting and community empowerment.

With the objective of conserving rainwater, the project will play a role in ensuring water security for the region.

The inauguration ceremony took place in the presence of the General Officer Commanding of Gajraj Corps local formation based at Rupa, and the District Commissioner (DC) of West Kameng district.

They unveiled the multi-purpose facility, which stands as a symbol of seamless civil-military fusion dedicated to the overall development of the area.

Constructed with the support of the local administration, the Amrit Sarovar showcases the collaborative efforts of the Indian Army and the District Administration. (ANI)
Emergency services work at a scene after a missile hit an apartment building in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, Monday, July 31, 2023. (Libkos/AP)

KYIV, Ukraine  Russian ballistic missiles slammed into an apartment complex and a university building in President Volodymyr Zelenskyys hometown Monday, killing six people and wounding 75 others as the blasts trapped residents beneath rubble, Ukrainian officials said.

One of the two missiles that hit the central city of Kryvyi Rih destroyed part of an apartment building between the fourth and ninth floors, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. Video showed black smoke billowing from corner units and burned out or damaged cars on a tree-lined street.

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The dead included a 10-year-old girl and her mother, according to Zelenskyy. More than 350 people were involved in the rescue operation, he said in a Telegram post.

The morning attack also destroyed part of a four-story university building.

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The strike on Zelenskyys hometown, which has been hit in the past, happened a day after the Ukrainian president seemed to warn of more attacks inside Russia.

Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia  to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process, Zelenskyy said Sunday in his nightly video address.

It was not clear whether the missile strikes were in retaliation for his comments.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian artillery strike on the partially occupied Donetsk province killed two people and wounded six others in the regional capital, according to Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the illegally annexed province.

A bus was also hit as Ukrainian forces shelled the city of Donetsk multiple times Monday, Pushilin said.

Elsewhere, in the Russian-held part of the Zaporizhzhia region, three people were killed and 15 wounded in Ukrainian shelling that hit a store in the village of Basan, according to the Russia-backed acting regional governor Yevgeny Balitsky.

Neither sides claims could be independently verified.

A recent Ukrainian counteroffensive, deploying weaponry supplied by Kyivs Western allies and aimed at driving Russian forces out of occupied areas, intensified last week. At the same time, Ukraine has sought to take the war deep into Russia, reportedly using drones to hit targets as far away as Moscow.

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Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia and Moscow-annexed territory, especially Crimea, have become more frequent. The latest strike, on Sunday, damaged two office buildings a few miles (kilometers) from the Kremlin. Ukrainian officials did not acknowledge the attack.

Russia tightened security in the aftermath of that attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, describing the assault as an act of desperation.

The Kyiv regime is in a very, very difficult situation, Peskov said, as the counteroffensive is not working out as planned.

Its obvious that the multibillion-dollar resources that have been transferred by NATO countries to the Kyiv regime are actually being spent inefficiently, Peskov said.

This raises big questions in Western capitals and great discomfort among taxpayers in Western countries.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, analysts say, is wagering that Western support for Kyiv will wane as the war drags on and costs mount.

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Another Ukrainian drone targeted a district police department early Monday in Russias Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, but there were no casualties, the local governor said.

Bombarding populated areas with missiles, artillery and drones has been a hallmark of Moscows military strategy throughout the war, and that approach has continued during the Ukrainian counteroffensive that started in June.

Russian officials insist they take aim only at legitimate military targets, but Ukraine and its supporters say mass civilian deaths during previous attacks are evidence of war crimes.

In recent days, the enemy has been stubbornly attacking cities, city centers, shelling civilian objects and housing, Zelenskyy said. But this terror will not frighten us or break us.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday that his forces have increased the intensity of attacks on Ukrainian military facilities.

It was not immediately clear which military facilities he was referring to, as Russias recent missile strikes have hit civilian infrastructure.

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In the southern city of Odesa, Russian strikes in recent weeks targeted port infrastructure and grain silos, after Moscow broke off an export agreement for Ukrainian grain. The Ukrainian foreign ministry estimated Monday that about 180,000 metric tons of grain have been destroyed by Russia in the past nine days.

Russian shelling Monday also killed four civilians and wounded 17 in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. A 70-year-old woman was killed by shelling in her home in a Kharkiv province village near Izyum, authorities said.

In eastern Ukraines Donetsk province, one person was reported killed and seven people were injured after Russia shelled 12 cities and villages, according to Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko.

In other developments Monday, China introduced restrictions on the export of long-range civilian drones. Authorities cited the war in Ukraine and concern that drones could be converted for military purposes.

Chinese leader Xi Jinpings government is friendly with Moscow, but says its neutral in the war. It has been stung by reports that both sides might be using Chinese-made drones for reconnaissance and possibly attacks.

Meanwhile, Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said Monday that his Wagner Group is not currently recruiting fighters.

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In an audio message published on a Telegram channel associated with the Wagner chief, Prigozhin said the company had suspended recruitment as there is currently no shortage of personnel.

Prigozhin previously agreed with Western estimates that he lost more than 20,000 men in the long battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

Prigozhin last month led a short-lived mutiny against Moscow, demanding a leadership change in the Russian military. In an attempt to control him, Russian authorities insisted that Wagner fighters can only return to Ukraine if they join Russias regular army.
Goyal made the remarks amid protests by opposition members over their demand for discussion under Rule 267 which also entails voting.

He said the government has already indicated its willingness to take up discussion under Rule 176.

"We want discussions on Manipur to take place in Parliament today at 2 pm. They (Opposition) are trying to misuse the liberty given to the members. The government is ready to discuss Manipur, he said.

Goyal accused the opposition of running away from debate and said they had been causing disruptions for the past nine days.

Opposition members have been seeking discussion under Rule 267 in the Rajya Sabha since the beginning of the monsoon session of Parliament on July 20. (ANI)
Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha on Monday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government for introducing the impeding bill replacing the Centres ordinance on control of services in Delhi and termed it undemocratic. The AAP leader alleged that the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill that is likely to be tabled in Parliament this week is a plot by BJP to destroy the Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been seeking of opposition against the Ordinance. Members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance earlier said they will oppose the Bill in Parliament even as the government has expressed confidence in getting the bill passed. The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, seeks to replace an ordinance brought by the Centre in May which excluded services from the legislative competence of the Delhi legislative assembly. The ordinance was brought days after the Supreme Court order giving power of transfer and posting to the Delhi government. The AAP has issued a three-line whip to all its MPs in Rajya Sabha to be present in the House till August 4 in anticipation of the bill. The government, meanwhile said that it will not be taking up the bill today. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi told reporters before Parliament convened for the day today, "We will inform you when it (Delhi Ordinance Bill) will be introduced. It is not mentioned in the List of Businesses today." He further stated that a no-confidence motion will be brought within ten working days from the day it was tabled in the Lok Sabha. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal also said Bill will not be introduced in Parliament today. We have been asking for their (Opposition) demand since the first day, they wanted a discussion on Manipur and when we agreed to it, now they changed their demand and want the Prime Minister to speak on this issue. They are trying to politicise this issue. They have brought the no-confidence motion, we will have discussions on the same whenever Speaker decides," Meghwal said. Meanwhile, AAP's Chadha said that the delegation of Opposition leaders that had gone to Manipur had returned after "wiping the tears of people of Manipur." "The I.N.D.I.A. alliance has come after wiping off the tears of the people of Manipur. Today, the MPs of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc have been called for the meeting and they will explain the situation in Manipur. After the meeting, we inform you about our next move in regard to Manipur, he said. Chadha was speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting of 21 MPs and the Opposition bloc leaders today held to brief members about the Manipur situation. Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge were also present at the meeting. (ANI)
A team of the National Commission for Women with chairperson Rekha Sharma is heading to Howrah to investigate a horrific case of brutality against a woman, said the NCW on Monday. NCW said in a Tweet that they then go to Malda where in a similar incident, two tribal women were allegedly stripped naked, tortured and beaten mercilessly a few days ago. The NCW team is in Kolkata with The Chairperson @sharmarekha and heading to Howrah to investigate the horrific case of a woman brutally assaulted, molested, and paraded naked by political goons, read the tweet from NCW. Thereafter they will be headed to Malda. The team from NCW shall take into account its findings after interaction with all the concerned authorities; recommend remedial measures for preventing recurrence of such incidences in future, read the tweet further. On July 21, a BJP worker from Howrah's South Panchala claimed that during the recent panchayat polls in the state, she was dragged outside the polling booth and her clothes were ripped off. The woman said that she has filed an FIR in the incident. While on the other hand, Bharatiya Janata Party on July 22 has accused chief minister Mamata Banerjee for failing to provide security to women in the State. The ruling Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress in its response said that the BJP was needlessly politicising the issue and the women were caught stealing, which prompted outrage by the locals. BJPs IT department head Amit Malviya took to Twitter to post a purported video, that has surfaced on social media, of the incident, which he claimed took place on July 19 in Pakua Hat, a weekly market, of Bamangola Police Station in Malda. Women and Child Development Minister of West Bengal Shashi Panja said, "There is absolutely no need to politicise the Malda incident. It was a case of theft, where the two ladies tried to steal something from the market. A group of women tried to take law and order into their hands and started beating them. However, the police reached the spot. A case has been registered and police are investigating the matter." It has nothing to do with politics though we have taken suo motu of the incident, Panja said. (ANI)
The Lok Sabha on Monday passed a Bill to curb the menace of film piracy, revamp age-based certification given by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) as well as uniformity in the categorisation of films and content across platforms. The Cinematograph (Amendment ) Bill 2023 was passed in the Lok Sabha with a voice vote despite protests by the members of the Opposition parties over the ongoing Manipur ethnic violence. The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on July 27. Speaking on the Bill, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said "We (the government) will do the work of stopping piracy through this Bill." "Piracy is like cancer and we are trying to uproot it through this Bill," Thakur said in support of the Bill, which has provisions to curb transmission of pirated film content on the internet as well as to classify films on the basis of age group, instead of the current practice of 'U', 'A', and 'UA'. "U" is for unrestricted public exhibition and "A" is restricted to adult audiences, while "UA" is for unrestricted public exhibition subject to parental guidance for children below the age of 12 and "S" for special category audiences such as doctors and scientists. The Bill seeks amendment to the Cinematograph Act, 1952. The amendments will address the issue of unauthorised recording and exhibition of films. The draft Act constitutes the Board of Film Certification for certifying films for exhibition. Such certifications may be subject to modifications and deletions. The Board may also refuse the exhibition of films. The Bill adds certain additional certificate categories based on age. Under the Act, the film may be certified for exhibition without restriction (U); without restriction, but subject to guidance of parents or guardians for children below 12 years of age (UA); only to adults (A); or only to members of any profession or class of persons (S). The Bill substitutes the UA category with the following three categories to also indicate age-appropriateness UA 7+, UA 13+, or UA 16+. The age endorsement within the UA category by the Board will inform guidance of parents or guardians, and will not be enforceable by any other persons other than parents or guardians.Films with an A or S certificate will require a separate certificate for exhibition on television, or any other media prescribed by the central government. The Board may direct the applicant to carry appropriate deletions or modifications for the separate certificate. The Bill prohibits carrying out or abetting the unauthorised recording and unauthorised exhibition of films. Attempting an unauthorised recording will also be an offence. An unauthorised recording means making or transmitting an infringing copy of a film at a licensed place for film exhibition without the owners authorisation. An unauthorised exhibition means the public exhibition of an infringing copy of the film for profit at a location not licensed to exhibit films or in a manner that infringes upon the copyright law. Certain exemptions under the Copyright Act, 1957 will also apply to the above offences. The 1957 Act allows limited use of copyrighted content without owners authorisation in specified cases such as private or personal use, reporting of current affairs, or review or critique of that work. The offences will be punishable with imprisonment between three months and three years, and a fine between three lakh rupees and 5 per cent of the audited gross production cost. Under the Act, the certificate issued by the Board is valid for 10 years. The Bill provides that the certificates will be perpetually valid. The Act empowers the central government to examine and make orders in relation to films that have been certified or are pending certification. The Board is required to dispose matters in conformance to the order. (ANI)
Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha and Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said that the Opposition MPs are scared of something which is why they are running away from discussions in Parliament over the Manipur issue. We have clearly said to the Rajya Sabha Chairman Speaker that whenever he wants, we are ready to have discussions on Manipur. We are requesting the Opposition to have discussions for 10 days. The Opposition is scared of something; they are running away from discussions. I said inside Parliament that we should have discussions today at 2 pm, Piyush Goyal said while addressing a press conference here. The union minister on Monday urged Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to take up a discussion on the Manipur situation at 2 pm today. Goyal made the remarks amid protests by opposition members over their demand for discussion under Rule 267 which also entails voting. Opposition members have been seeking discussion under Rule 267 in the Rajya Sabha since the beginning of the monsoon session of Parliament on July 20. While Rajya Sabha chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar permitted a discussion for a "short duration" to be taken up on the situation in Manipur, the Opposition objected to it and demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence in Parliament. Parliament has not been able to function since the start of the Session on July 20, with the Opposition also demanding a statement by Prime Minister Modi in the House on the crisis. The Opposition even brought a no-trust motion last week, in a bid to compel Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak on the Manipur issue within the Parliament. However, both Houses adjourned for the day amid sloganeering by Opposition MPs over the unrest in Manipur. (ANI)
Vice-President and Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Jagdeep Dhankhar interacted with the Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha) Mallikarjun Kharge in his chamber in Parliament on Monday. During the interaction, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines, Pralhad Joshi; Minister of State for Law and Justice, Parliamentary Affairs and Culture, Arjun Ram Meghwal; Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan; and Member Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Syed Nasir Hussain were also present. Earlier in the day, Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2:30 PM shortly after Opposition MPs objected to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar's short-duration discussion on issues connected with Manipur. Soon after the House assembled for the day and papers were laid on the table, the Opposition started raising the issue requesting the chair to consider it. Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, Piyush Goyal said, The opposition is against a discussion on Manipur. The Monsoon session, which began on July 20, has been marred by disruptions and walkouts over the violence in the northeastern state. Meanwhile, the MPs of the Opposition alliance I.N.D.I.A returned to New Delhi on Sunday after a two-day visit to the violence-hit state. The Lok Sabha was also adjourned till 2 pm today Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi earlier today said that bill to replace the ordinance on control of services in Delhi is not listed in today's business and the matter will not be taken up in the Parliament. "We will inform you when it (Delhi Services Bill) will be introduced. It is not mentioned in the List of Businesses today," Joshi told reporters before the Parliament convened for the day. He further stated that a no-confidence motion will be brought within ten working days from the day it was tabled in the Lok Sabha. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal also said Bill will not be introduced in Parliament today. The Opposition front had on Wednesday submitted a notice for a no-confidence motion against the government in Lok Sabha. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state President G Kishan Reddy on Monday led a rally in Mahbubnagar over the double-bedroom housing scheme on Monday. The BJP has accused the Telangana government of cheating the poor by not building the double-bedroom houses that were promised. Earlier on July 24, Telangana High Court allowed BJP to stage a dharna in Hyderabad over a double-bedroom housing scheme after the police denied permission for the same. Rachana Reddy, BJP spokesperson said that recently appointed BJP state president Kishan Reddy wanted to conduct a field inspection at Batasingaram where several double-bedroom houses are in the stage of construction. Kishan Reddy was detained, and several BJP leaders were under House arrest. "To conduct a peaceful dharna against the lackadaisical attitude of the state government in allotting double-bedroom houses, permission was sought much earlier on July 14. Again another application was given on July 20, however, no clarification was given", she added. Significantly, Union Minister and Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy was on Thursday stopped by State police from proceeding to inspect a housing project site of the Bharat Rashtriya Samiti (BRS) government. Police at Shamshabad stopped the minister who was on his way to Batasingaram village near Hyderabad to inspect the construction of double-bedroom houses for the poor under a state government scheme. Reddy sat on protest on Thursday after being stopped by the police. He said, "It has been nine years of the BRS government, and still, Telangana Government has not allocated 9,000 homes to the poor. On the other hand, Andhra Pradesh Government has allocated around 20 lakhs homes, so far. Under the leadership of PM Modi, a total of 4 crore houses have been built all across the country but, in Telangana, despite allotment of money by the central government the construction of houses is not completed yet." (ANI)
The police are waiting for a time to be confirmed by the Aluva magistrate.

Aluva (Rural) Superintendant of Police (SP), Vivek Kumar told ANI that the police have completed a background check on the accused Asafaq Alam, who hails from Bihar.

The accused is a migrant worker from Sikati Police Station in Bihars Arariya District and police said he does not have any criminal record.

The approach of the Police is to collect maximum eye-witness statements to strengthen the case. They will identify the accused through Test Identification Parade.

According to police, they will try maximum to file the charge sheet within 20 days but delays are expected from chemical labs and post-mortem reports.

A Special Investigation Team of the Kerala Police will go to Bihar within three to four days, the Aluva SP said.

The body of a 5-year-old girl the daughter of migrant workers from Bihar, was found murdered and sexually abused with several gruesome injuries at a dumping area at the Aluva market along the Periyar River on Saturday.

The girl was kidnapped from near their house at Choornikkara in Aluva in broad daylight on July 28.

The accused who has been arrested, has been identified as Asafaq Alam (29) from Bihar.

"An FIR was lodged around 7 pm. Aluva Police arrested him in an inebriated state. He was misleading the interrogation by giving false statements and he denied his knowledge of this girl as well. But the interrogation based on CCTV visuals led him to confess to crime on Saturday early morning," Aluva Rural SP Vivek Kumar said. (ANI)
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday lashed out at remarks by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on the Gyanvapi issue terming it as a judicial overreach". In an interview with ANI aired today, Adityanth said that terming Gyanvapi as a mosque complex will lead to controversy and the Muslim side should accept its historical mistake and come up with a solution. Responding to this, the AIMIM chief, a staunch critic of Yogi said that despite knowing that the matter is sub-judice the latter was making such a controversial statement which is directly a judicial overreach. Chief Minister Yogi knows that the Muslim side has opposed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey in Allahabad High Court and the judgement will be given by the HC in a few days, still, he gave such a controversial statement, this is judicial overreach," said Owaisi. He should read about what Swami Vivekananda had said about a major temple if Odisha, he is a CM, he should follow law, he is not willing to follow law and want to pressurise Muslims. In Mathura, the Muslim community has an agreement with Hindus around 50-60 years ago and it was submitted in court but still, a litigation was initiated in it, Owaisi said. Further, the Hyderabad MP said, This is just a part of their (BJP) communal politics and a judicial overreach. The Allahabad High Court is expected to give a verdict on a petition against a lower court order for a survey by the Archaeological Survey of India inside the mosque complex, except the wuzukhana (fountain). A ruling on the petition is likely on August 3. The matter took centrestage when on May 16, last year, during the court-mandated survey, a structure claimed to be a Shivling by the Hindu side and a fountain by the Muslim side was found in the mosque premises. (ANI)
Gogona village in the Phobjikha Valley of Bhutan has become renowned for its exquisite production of fine-hardened Swiss cheese and other dairy products, The Bhutan Live reported. The tale dates back to the early 1980s when an endeavour started with the Swiss government's support. The heart of this story is the Gogona Gonor Yargay Chethuen Detshen, a farmers cooperative, driven by the aspiration to increase their income amid the challenges posed by the village's high-altitude and harsh climatic conditions that resulted in limited agricultural practices. In order to have sustainable livelihoods, the farmers established a milk-processing plant, according to The Bhutan Live report. The daily cooperative started with modest beginnings. However, their determination and the Swiss government's support gradually bore fruit. Presently, the farmers boast a sizeable herd of high-breed milking heifers and bulls. Furthermore, the Bhutanese government also provided them with subsidized machinery and individual pasturelands, further helping them in their endeavours. Each day, the farmers collect an average of 300 litres of fresh milk, laying the foundation for the delectable dairy products that Gogona is known for, The Bhutan Live reported. Ranging from 300 to 400 kilograms per month, cheese production has earned the village a well-deserved reputation for its exceptional craftsmanship. Although the diary plant produces conventional butter and cheese. However, what sets them apart is their venture into making western hard cheeses like Gouda, Emmental Cheese and some delightful yoghurts. These treats are sent to the local markets where they are bought by the community and savored by tourists exploring Bhutan. The reputation of cheese has even extended beyond Bhutan's borders, with a small portion being exported to other countries, according to The Bhutan Live reported. The cheese processing at Gogona's milk plant follows strict guidelines for clean milk production, ensuring that each product showcases the purity of the Himalayan landscape. The commitment to maintaining high standards and conserving the authenticity of the work has been the cornerstone of their success, The Bhutan Live reported. In the present time, the Gogona milk processing plant stands tall as a model farmer's dairy cooperation. The spirit of ingenuity and resilience showcased by the cooperative has inspired similar endeavours in other parts of Bhutan, the report said. When tourists visit Phobjikha Valley, they not only see the breathtaking views of the Himalayas but also enjoy the tantalizing aromas of Swiss cheese. With its dairy products production, Gogona village has etched its mark on Bhutans culinary map. In a world where traditional practices often disappear in the face of modernity, the story of Gogona stands as a reminder that the roots of culture and heritage run deep. The people ofGogona continue to craft their fine Swiss cheese as they uphold their identity and celebrate the essence of Bhutans rural spirit. (ANI)
MIAMI  The property manager of Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate made his first court appearance on Monday on charges in the classified documents case against the former president but did not enter a plea because he has not found a Florida-based attorney to represent him.

Carlos De Oliveira is accused of scheming with Trump to try to delete security footage sought by investigators probing the former presidents hoarding of classified documents at his Palm Beach, Florida, club.

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De Oliveira was added last week to the indictment with Trump and the ex-presidents valet, Walt Nauta, and faces charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to investigators.

A magistrate judge in Miamis federal court read De Oliveira the charges against him and ordered him to turn over his passport and sign an agreement to pay $100,000 if he doesnt appear in court. The judge scheduled his arraignment for Aug. 10 in Fort Pierce.

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The developments in the classified documents case come as Trump braces for possible charges in another federal investigation into his efforts to cling to power after he lost the 2020 election. Trump, the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, has received a letter from special counsel Jack Smith indicating that he is a target of that investigation, and Trumps lawyers met with Smiths team last week.

Trump, who pleaded not guilty in June, Trump has denied any wrongdoing. He post on his Truth Social platform last week that the Mar-a-Lago security tapes were voluntarily handed over to investigators and that he was told the tapes were not deleted in any way, shape or form.

Prosecutors have not alleged that security footage was actually deleted or kept from investigators.

Nauta has also pleaded not guilty. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon had previously scheduled the trial of Trump and Nauta to begin in May, and its unclear whether the addition of De Oliveira to the case may impact the cases timeline.

The latest indictment, unsealed on Thursday, alleges that Trump tried to have security footage deleted after investigators visited in June 2022 to collect classified documents Trump took with him after he left the White House.

Trump was already facing dozens of felony counts  including willful retention of national defense information  stemming from allegations that he mishandled government secrets that as commander-in-chief he was entrusted to protect. Experts have said the new allegations bolster the special counsels case and deepen the former presidents legal jeopardy.

Video from Mar-a-Lago would ultimately become vital to the governments case because, prosecutors said, it shows Nauta moving boxes in and out of a storage room  an act alleged to have been done at Trumps direction and in effort to hide records not only only from investigators but also from Trumps own lawyers.

Days after the Justice Department sent a subpoena for video footage at Mar-a-Lago to the Trump Organization in June 2022, prosecutors say, De Oliveira asked an information technology staffer how long the server retained footage and told the employee the boss wanted it deleted. When the employee said he didnt believe he was able to do that, De Oliveira insisted the boss wanted it done, asking, What are we going to do?

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Shortly after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago and found classified records in the storage room and Trumps office, prosecutors say, Nauta called a Trump employee and said words to the effect of someone just wants to make sure Carlos is good. The indictment says the employee responded that De Oliveira was loyal and wouldnt do anything to affect his relationship with Trump. That day, the indictment alleges, Trump called De Oliveira directly to say that he would get De Oliveira an attorney.

Prosecutors allege that De Oliveira later lied in interviews with investigators, falsely claiming that he hadnt even seen boxes moved into Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House.
The Special Task Force (STF) of Assam police has apprehended 8 people including two Bangladeshi nationals from Tripura for helping illegal Rohingya immigrants enter India by using fake documents, officials said. According to the officials, the apprehended people have been identified as Uttam, Kajal Sarkar, Sagar Sarkar, Pervez Hussain alias Abdul Hussain, Md. Shaahadat alias Sahadat SK (Bangladeshi national), Shib Sankar Ghosh alias Boto, Kartik Nama, and Bijoy Barua. Partha Sarathi Mahanta, DIG (STF) of Assam police said, "Based on the direction of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the STF of Assam police conducted a massive operation to crackdown the modus operandi of Rohingya infiltration and apprehended eight touts including two Bangladeshi nationals from Tripura who helped illegal Rohingya immigrants to enter into India by using fake documents." An all-out operation was conducted by the STF, Assam as per the direction of the CM and under the supervision of Partha Sarathi Mahanta, DIG (STF), against the linkman/touts of Rohingya Muslims by deputing five numbers of police teams, headed by Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) level officers to various bordering districts of Tripura. DIG Mahanta noted that during the operation in the bordering districts of Tripura in the hideout places, linkman/touts are found involved in illegal business for crossing Rohingya Muslims into Indian territory by using fake IDs and other travelling documents for showing the illegal Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshi nationals as an Indian citizen, which is a major threat to national security. "The modus operandi of the touts, involved in the business of bringing such Rohingya Muslims into India from Bangladesh is for ulterior motives, having the propensity to cause internal disturbance, thereby threatening unity, integrity and sovereignty," Mahanta said. DIG (STF) Mahanta, told ANI that, any illegal immigrant is a threat to the country and illegal Rohingya immigrant is a serious threat to national security. "In the last few months, it came to our notice that Rohingyas are trying to infiltrate into our country using Assam as a corridor. Therefore CM Sarma has instructed Assam police to go all out against these illegal Rohingya immigrants. Two months back we arrested four touts and we decided to go after the touts. Based on revelation during interrogation, we have planned to conduct an operation and we have found that most of these touts are operating from Tripura and their base is near the India-Bangladesh border." "They make fake documents and they facilitate these illegal immigrants to travel to various parts of the country. They have made fake documents, fake Aadhaar cards, birth certificates and using these fake documents the illegal immigrants travel to various places," he added. The touts also facilitate the illegal Rohingya immigrants to board Delhi-bound trains from Kumarghat Railway Station (Tripura). These Touts escorted Rohingyas to board Kolkata/Delhi/ Hyderabad/ Bangalore bound trains from Dharmanagar, Kumarghat (Tripura) and Badarpur (Assam) by using fake IDs as well as processing fake documents. "Five days ago, we formed five teams under five ASP of Assam police and sent them to Tripura on July 28 and for the last three days, they were camping in Tripura. They were able to apprehend eight touts and also seized many incriminating documents including fake Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, birth certificates, number of mobile phones. Now we have brought them to STF. They will be arrested in our STF case and we will take up follow-up action and we will go to different parts of the country. We will send our teams to different parts of the country where the illegal immigrants have already arrived," Mahanta said. Further investigation to crack down on the illegal network of touts involved in anti-India activities is underway. (ANI)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets over worth Rs 6 crore of many people linked to former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Yadav's family in the land for job scam, the agency official said on Monday. ED has attached six immovable assets having a book value of Rs 6.02 crore belonging to Rabri Devi, Misha Bharti (daughter of Lalu Yadav), Vineet Yadav (husband of Hema Yadav who is the daughter of Lalu Yadav), Shiv Kumar Yadav (father-in-law of Hema Yadav), the federal agency said in a statement. The agency further said that it has also seized the assets of AB Exports Pvt Ltd and AK Infosystem Pvt Ltd., both companies owned and controlled by family members of Lalu Prasad Yadav under the provisions of PMLA, 2002 in the railway job for land scam. The ED started an investigation under PMLA, 2002 based on FIR registered by the CBI against the Ex-Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi and others. In this case, seven land parcels were acquired by family members of Lalu Yadav (the then Minister for Railways during the period 2004-09) from the candidates irregularly appointed (as Substitutes) and their family members, as a quid pro quo for Group D jobs in Indian Railways, the ED said. The investigation by ED revealed that the family members of candidates gifted/sold land (at cheap rates/lesser than the circle rate) to family members of Lalu Yadav and associated companies in lieu of a job which was given in a malafide manner with undue haste and in violation of extant law and procedure. This criminal conspiracy to abuse his official position for the sake of seeking bribes led to the accretion of the land parcels by his family members at Mahuabagh (Danapur) and Bihta, Patna, in such a manner so as to consolidate the land holdings already in their possession. Earlier in this case, searches were also conducted at 24 locations by ED at various places in Delhi NCR, Patna, Mumbai and Ranchi including residences of Hema Yadav, Ragini Lalu, Chanda Yadav and residential and commercial premises of Amit Katyal, Navdeep Sardana, Abu Dojana and Suman Nayak. Searches resulted in the recovery of unaccounted cash of Rs 1 crore, foreign currency including USD 1900, 540 gms gold bullion and more than 1.5 kg of gold jewellery (worth Rs 1.25 Crore approximately) and several other incriminating documents indicating illegal accretion of huge land bank. Investigation under PMLA revealed that Rabri Devi and Hema Yadav sold four land parcels illegally acquired from appointees in railway to Meridian Construction India Ltd., a company related to Syed Abu Dojana, Ex-MLA of RJD and the proceeds of crime so obtained by Rabri Devi and Hema Yadav were further transferred through a maze of transactions to AB Exports Pvt Ltd and Bhagirathi Tubes respectively. Rabri Devi and Hema Yadav sold these land parcels in Rs 3.5 Crore against the acquisition cost of Rs 7.5 lakhs, thus deriving huge gains, the agency said. EDs investigation has revealed that AB Exports Pvt Ltd is a shell company owned by Tejashwi Yadav and Chanda Yadav, the daughter of Lalu Yadav and has its registered address at D-1088, New Friends Colony, Delhi. Bhagirathi Tubes is a partnership firm under the control of the father-in-law and husband of Hema Yadav, with its principal place of business at Ghaziabad (UP). A total of 6 immovable properties situated at New Delhi, Ghaziabad and Patna being proceeds of crime, have been provisionally attached under PMLA, 2002. The properties attached include the residential premise situated at D-1088, New Friends Colony, New Delhi owned by AB Exports Pvt Ltd. Two land parcels situated at Mahuabagh (Danapur), Patna of which one each is owned by Rabri Devi and AK Infosystems Pvt Ltd have also been attached. Further, one land parcel owned by Misa Bharti has been attached at Bihta, Patna, the agency said in a statement issued on Monday. Apart from this, a portion of two industrial plots, one plot each registered in the names of Vineet Yadav, husband of Hema Yadav and her father-in-law, situated in Ghaziabad have also been provisionally attached. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Monday questioned the Manipur government about the delay in filing FIR in the viral video case, in which two women were paraded naked and subjected to sexual violence by a mob. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud asked the government why the police took 14 days to register the zero FIR. Why was the FIR registered on May 18 when the incident happened on May 4? What were the police doing from May 4 to 18? The incident came to light that women are being paraded naked and at least two were raped. What was the police doing? asked the bench. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the government said that government has nothing to hide. "This court can monitor the situation. Something coming from here or there will be hazardous," he added. CJI asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that of the 6,000 FIRs, how many of them involve crimes against women? "How many involve offences like murder, arson etc? What is the bifurcation between these 6000 FIRs? How many of these were zero FIRs? How many such zero FIRs were registered, when were these zero FIRs transferred to jurisdictional police stations, what was the action taken, and to what extent has been legal aid provided?" CJI further asked. The other thing, is this the only standalone incident of violence on women? Or how many such FIRs are there? asked CJI Chandrachud. The top court called for evolving a broad mechanism to deal with violence against women in Manipur and asked the government about how many FIRs have been registered in such incidents in the state since May. The bench also comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra said the violence in Manipur is of an "unprecedented magnitude", happening in the middle of "communal and sectarian strife". The apex court was hearing issues relating to the video from Manipur where two women were paraded naked and a batch of petitions relating to the ethnic violence which has been going on in the State since May. The bench, during the hearing, contemplated the formation of a committee of retired women and male judges to probe incidents of sexual violence against women in Manipur. The top court did not pass any order and posted the matter for hearing tomorrow at 2 pm. However, it sought details of action taken by the State authorities up till now including the details about the 6,000 FIRs claimed to have been registered. The apex court asked Manipur government about the bifurcation of 6,000 FIR (how many FIRs fall under various crimes), how many zero FIR, how many arrests made so far, how many are in judicial custody, what action taken, how many involving sexual violence, the position of legal aid to the victims, how many statements are recorded under section 164 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) by the nearest area magistrate. The women victims have also filed pleas in the top court against the CBI probe into their case and sought security for them and also prayed for a direction to record their statement under Section 164 of CrPC by the nearest area magistrate. They also sought a probe into their case by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the monitoring of the top court. To this, the bench sought the opinion of the Centre and State governments on the composition of the SIT in case it is constituted. "Ultimately if we do accept the request of SIT, please give us your names also and your opinion on the names given by the petitioners (on the formation of SIT) as well. We have to do our own background checks. Tell us if the names are good ones. Give us your names also, AG," said CJI. The idea is ultimately that we restore the faith of the community, in constitutional process and that is the message we need to send, the bench said. At the request of the State, the Centre has already ordered a CBI probe into the May 4 incident and asked the court to transfer the trial outside Manipur with a mandate to complete the trial in six months. A counsel appearing for the Meitei community told the bench that there is not only one video which went viral; there are many such videos where people were executed in public view. CJI Chandrachud said that violence perpetuated against any community will be dealt with even-handedly. Rest assured that it is our duty to attend to these violent acts irrespective of caste etc. I know seniors have appeared from Kukis etcbut be assured we will look at this irrespective of any caste or community, CJI told an advocate appearing for Meitei side. CJI acknowledged that there will be victims who are Meiteis also. Obviously there will be violence on both sides. It's an issue of communal strife, the bench said. Attorney General for India R Venkataramani told the Supreme Court, All of us are engaged in a very complex engagement. We have to see what is triggering it. If someone sees why it's happening, there is a landmine of issues. The range of circumstances in the case is wide. Every case has a special feature, AG said. Advocate Bansuri Swaraj told the court that similar to Manipur, incidents happened in West Bengal and Rajasthan. A video came of a Panchayat candidate who was stripped and paraded naked in West Bengal, she said requesting the apex court to take cognisance of the crimes against women in West Bengal also. Along with the case, there have been horrific cases of rape in Bengal and other states. Daughters pan India need to be protected, Swaraj said. She added that in West Bengal, a mob of 40 had paraded a female poll candidate naked and this happened in Chhattisgarh also. Not convinced by the prayers in the plea, CJI said, We are dealing with an unprecedented magnitude of violence against women in communal and sectarian strife. We cant justify what happened in Manipur by saying that this and this happened elsewhere. Are you saying protect all women or dont protect anyone? (ANI)
A Delhi Police officer on Monday said that four accused, who learnt the art of making extortion calls by watching online videos, were arrested for trying to extort Rs 40 lakh from a businessman in Dwarka. The arrested accused have been identified as Ajay Kumar, Ashish, Lucky, and Vishal. DCP Dwarka M Harsha Vardhan said that on July 18, an incident regarding a demand of Rs 40 lakhs was reported at Bindapur police station wherein the complainant stated that he received a WhatsPpp call on his number from a mobile number.During the call, the extortionist threatened to kill the complainant if he did not pay Rs 40 lakhs. The DCP said that a case was registered under section 387 of the Indian Penal Code at Bindapur police station on the basis of the complainant's statement and an investigation was launched. During investigation, with the help of technical surveillance, the Customer Acquisition Form (CAF) of the mobile number was obtained. It was found that the mobile phone was owned by Vishal, resident of Vijay Enclave in Delhi's Dabri. On the basis of the technical analysis, on July 21, a raid was conducted at Vishal's residence and he was arrested in the case. During interrogation, Vishal disclosed that he had given two new SIM cards to his friend, Lucky. Both Vishal and Lucky then went to a place near Sakhuntla Hospital in Sagarpur and met a person namely Ashish, who was Lucky's friend. Lucky gave four SIM cards to Ashish. Both accused Lucky and Ashish were arrested at the instance of accused Vishal. During sustained interrogation, Ashish disclosed that he had given four SIM cards to his friend, Ajay Kumar who met him near Nawada Metro station in New Delhi. It was known that Ashish was the mastermind of the crime. The police raided different places in Uttam Nagar and several other places but to no avail. Secret informers were also roped in, at Uttam Nagar and Bindapur to locate Ajay. On 27 July, the police received information that Ajay Kumar would arrive at Dust Land at Sector 3 in Dwarka. Subsequently, a police team reached the place and a trap was laid at his expected place of arrival. At 1:00 PM, a person was seen coming on foot from the side of Mansha Ram Park to Matiyala. He was seen carrying a bag. The person was apprehended and on interrogation, it came to light that he was Ajay Kumar. During frisking, eight mobile phones along with eight SIM cards were recovered from Ajay's possession. It is found that the accused used the SIM cards in two more Android mobile phones recovered from him, before making the extortion call. Ajay Kumar was arrested under section 387 of the Indian Penal Code at Bindapur police station. During interrogation, accused Ajay disclosed that he threw the phone and SIM card near Sagarpur after making the second threat call on 22 July. (ANI)
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and expressed his gratitude for his guidance and cooperation in the development of Uttarakhand. During the meeting, the Chief Minister presented a shawl made of local hemp fiber Bedu and a replica of Nanda Devi Rajjat's traditional musical instruments as tokens of appreciation. Among the key projects discussed, the Chief Minister emphasized the proposed Dehradun Metro Neo project, aimed at alleviating transport pressure on roads and providing safe transit options. The project's detailed technical study, with two corridors totaling 22.424 km and a cost of Rs 1852.74 crore, has been sent for approval to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. Expressing gratitude for the Allweather Road Chardham road project, the Chief Minister said that for the works of the Central Road Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) for the year 2023, a total of 155 works received from the public representatives of the state were requested to approve the proposals worth Rs 2550.15 crore. it was done. The ministry has given consent for works worth Rs 250.00 crore. The Chief Minister requested the Prime Minister to get approval for the remaining works. The Chief Minister said that due to the huge increase in the number of tourists in the state over the years, the traffic pressure on the state roads has increased. It is absolutely necessary to upgrade the state roads. In this regard, in-principle consent has been given by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India to upgrade 06 routes as National Highways in the year 2016 itself. Apart from this, it is requested to notify the 189 km Kathgodam-Bhimtal Dhyanachuli-Moranola-Khetikhan Lohaghat-Pancheshwar motor road as a national highway in view of its usefulness for tourism/military traffic and the general public. The Chief Minister said that the construction of a two-lane road from Tanakpur to Pithoragarh on the Indo-Nepal border is under the Chardham project. The border road from Pithoragarh to Lipulekh has been developed by BRO. The section from Gunji village to Jolingkang situated on the Pithoragarh-Lipulekh road has also been developed by BRO. The work of the 02-lane National Highway from Rishikesh to Karnaprayag, Joshimath, Lapthal- Barahoti is also almost complete. At present, there is no such route in the India-China border which directly connects Jolingkang ITBP post in district Pithoragarh to ITBP post-Lapthal in district Chamoli. Therefore, with the construction of strategically important tunnel routes, the distance between the above two border posts will be reduced by 404 km and will also be useful from the point of view of tourism and border management. The Chief Minister said that keeping in view the increasing number of devotees in the mythological temples located in Manaskhand, the work of the overall development of 16 temples is being done in the first phase. In this regard, the process of converting the already constructed 1-lane roads into 02 lanes is in progress. The proceedings of land acquisition, transfer of forest land etc. are being done by the State Government from its own resources. About Rs 1000 crore will be required for the construction work in the first phase. The said funds are requested to be made available to the State Government from any Ministry of the Government of India (Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Culture, Government of India). The Chief Minister also discussed with the Prime Minister about various development plans of the state and in relation to roads and transport and informed that works worth Rs 250 crore from CRIF (Central road and infrastructure fund) have been approved by the Ministry of Road Transport. given. Apart from this, the Chief Minister also informed the Prime Minister about the disaster situation and approval of 2000 crores for the construction and repair of roads and bridges in the state and for the movement of tourists in the state, 6 highways have been notified as national state roads. the requested. The Prime Minister was also informed about the situation of the monsoon and the situation of disaster. The Chief Minister also requested the Prime Minister to approve the construction of Song Dam and said that this would solve the drinking water problem of Dehradun city by 2050. The Prime Minister assured that necessary funds would be sanctioned for the Song Dam. The Chief Minister also urged the Prime Minister to participate in the Global Investment Conference proposed in the state in December this year. (ANI)
Shraddha Walkar's father Vikas Madan Walkar on Monday broke down while deposing before a Delhi Court. He also identified the accused in the court. He also said that in Mehrauli police station, accused Aftab Amin Poonawala had revealed that he had strangulated the victim with his own hand. Shraddha Walkar was allegedly murdered by her live-in Partner Aftab Amin Poonawala on May 18, 2022. After the killing, the accused cut off the body in 35 pieces and threw them in the jungle to destroy the evidence. Some of the parts were recovered later on. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Manisha Khurana Kakkar recorded the statement of seven witnesses in Shraddha's murder case. Vikas Walkar could not complete it on Monday as he got emotional while deposing. His statement has been deferred till August 5. On Monday a refrigerator was also brought to the court. The refrigerator was allegedly used by the accused to stuff the dead body of the victim. While deposing before the court, Vikas Walkar also testified the statement of the accused that after killing Sharadha, he purchase two saws, then he cut off the wrist of the victim and put them in a trash bag. In his statement, Vikas Walkar said that he was called by the police and that he had gone to the Mehrauli police station on November 11, 2022, where he identified Aftab Amin Poonawala as he had come to his house. He had also informed the police that he recognised the accused as he had visited his house and was living with his daughter for the last three years. He used to quarrel and beat his daughter, Walkar deposed. On inquiry, Aftab told him that his daughter is no more, Shraddha's father told the court. Vikas Walkar was shocked after hearing this and started feeling dizzy. When he recovered, the accused told him that he had a fight with Shraddha on May 18, 2022, at their residence in Delhi's Chattarpur and he strangulated her. He also told the court that Aftab visited his house in Mumbai along with Shradhha in January 2020 after the death of his wife. He also deposed before the court that his family opposed the decision of Shraddha's decision to stay in live in relation with Aftab in 2019. She did not pay any heed and said the his father can assume she ceased to be his daughter anymore. (ANI)
New Delhi's Patiala House Court on Monday took cognizance of chargesheet filed against Sanjay Prakash Rai 'Sherpuriya' in an around Rs 14.5 crores alleged money laundering case. Special judge Shailender Malik took cognizance of ED's chargesheet against Sanjay Rai Sherpuriya. "Having considered the contents of the complaint and the documents, I find that prima facie there is sufficient evidence available on the record for taking the cognizance," the special judge said. Accordingly, I take cognizance of offence u/s 3/4 of the PML Act, he said in the order on July 31. The court noted that in the complaint (chargesheet) ED had given the details of proceeds of crime generated and allegedly laundered by the accused to be Rs. 14, 51, 50,000. As such complaint has been filed u/s 3 read with 4 of the PML Act. ED registered the present ECIR on April 28, 2023. During the investigation, it revealed that the accused Sanjay Prakash Rai was indulged in numerous fraudulent activities of extortion, and cheating. It is alleged that the accused duped Gaurav Dalmia for Rs 12 crores, by putting him in fear of arrest in ED case out of which Rs 6 crores were deposited to Youth Rural Entrepreneur Foundation (YREF) and Rs 6 crores was taken in cash. Similarly, the accused also allegedly cheated one Mohit Singh, MD of Shipra Estate Limited, for Rs 1 crore by projecting him to be very close to big politicians. It is alleged that said Rs. one crore was taken by the accused from Mohit Singh on the ground of getting him a good deal in the sale of land in Lucknow and for settling his financial litigation of loan of Rs 866 crores in Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited. In a similar manner, the accused allegedly cheated one Naveen Kumar Malhotra, Sunil Chand Goyal etc. as per the complaint, the court noted. It is alleged that the accused used to portray himself to be close to the Prime Minister and Senior Ministers of the Government of India and cheated several persons by such false claims and earned proceeds of crime which he deposited in bank account of his sons and thereafter such proceeds of crime were further utilized by way of investment in different companies. ED also said that searches were conducted at different places, during the investigation. Details of different properties and documents have also been given in the complaint. The court noted that Police Station Vibhuti Khand, Lucknow registered an FIR on April 25 against accused Sanjay Prakash Rai for offence u/s 420, 467, 468, 469 IPC as well as u/s 66D of I.T. Act. The FIR alleged that for the last several years accused Sanjay Prakash Rai through different names, and different companies has been fraudulently extorting money from different persons by adopting different modes of cheating. It is alleged that the earlier accused was the Director of several companies including Kandla Energy and Chemical Limited. It is alleged in that case that the accused has made many IDs with different names and incorporated different companies wherein he made his trusted persons as directors/dummy directors. Accused of posting his photograph with the Prime Minister of India, and other Central Ministers, on social media like Facebook/Twitter fraudulently deceiving many persons by misleading propaganda of being very close to the Prime Minister and other ministers of the Central Government and by giving false assurance of getting their work done. allegedly cheated many people and collected huge amounts of money by harming the reputation of the Government, the court noted in the order. It is alleged that accused also registered one private company in the name of the Youth Rural Entrepreneur Foundation. He had not held any position in this company but has been collecting money by promoting himself to be associated with that company on social media and representing himself as a social worker and very close to the Government of India, Ministers etc. It is alleged that in the investigation of said FIR, the accused was arrested by the UP STF near Kanpur Railway Station. At the time of his arrest, his mobile phones were seized, which allegedly contained various photographs on social media, Twitter, Instagram etc. with certain celebrities, as well as the RSS Chief, Hon'ble Prime Minister and other Ministers of the Government of India to propagate to be influential in Government. It is also alleged in that case that WhatsApp chat was also found with one Afaq of Ghazipur wherein accused Sanjay Prakash Rai allegedly giving cooperation in a mining contract and investment of Rs 2.5 crores. Besides this, there was also a chat with one Gaurav Dalmia. The matter has been listed on August 19 for further hearing.Advocate Naveen Kumar Matta Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) represented ED. On June 16, he was remanded to judicial custody in Lucknow jail after ED remand. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate from Lucknow Jail. (ANI)
Tel Aviv [Israel], July 30 (ANI/TPS): Israel exposed an Iranian phishing campaign aimed gathering information about Israeli policies and citizens, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) announced on Sunday. The Shin Bet said the Iranian campaign primarily targeted Israeli civil servants and researchers at various research institutes and had been going on for several months. References to citizens were made using fake profiles impersonating known Israeli citizens who would-be victims had been in contact with for professional or personal reasons. The Iranians would make initial contact through a phony LinkedIn profile, then later shift the conversation to email. Eventually, the Israelis would receive an attached file in the guise of an invitation to a conference or an article or study of interest. By opening the file, malicious software would give the Iranian contact access privileges to the rest of the Israelis computer. The appeal of the Iranian entity was based on information collected about the Israeli citizens from social networks and the Internet, the contents of the correspondence and the connection were appropriate to their occupation and interests. The awareness and vigilance of the citizens they turned to, along with additional actions by the Shin Bet and the Israeli security system, prevented the Iranian attempts to achieve their goal, the Shin Bet said. The statement did not indicate how many Israelis were contacted or had downloaded the malware. Israel and Iran have been engaged in years of clandestine cyberwarfare. Iranian hackers are believed responsible for trying to poison Israels water system in 2020, encrypting data at the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera and demanding a ransom, and triggering false rocket sirens in 2022. A major port in the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas was paralyzed for days when computers coordinating the arrival and departure of ships, trains and trucks crashed in 2020. The attack took place shortly after the attack on Israels water system and has been widely attributed to Israel. (ANI/TPS)
Vice Premier of China, He Lifeng, arrived in Pakistan on Sunday for a three-day visit, where he will take part in a ceremony to commemorate the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project's tenth anniversary, Dawn reported. The celebration will take place for the disputed CPEC project despite the looming economic crisis that has gripped Pakistan due to increasing Chinese loans in the country. During his Pakistan visit, Lifeng would also hold meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Dr Arif Alvi during the visit. Notably, CPEC is a flagship project of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Beijing's international infrastructure investment programme, known as the BRI, a term established by China's Xi Jinping in 2013, was created to rebuild China's Silk Road, which linked Asia with Africa and Europe in order to boost trade and economic development, as per CNN. Each year, the effort has seen billions of dollars poured into infrastructure projects, including the construction of ports from Sri Lanka to West Africa, the paving of motorways from Papua New Guinea to Kenya, and the provision of power and telecoms infrastructure for people in Latin America and Southeast Asia. In 2019, Italy became the only major Western country and the only country from the G7 group of advanced economies to join the BRI. Quoting the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan, Dawn reported that Lifeng has played a prominent role in Chinas international economic relations and implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative. He was "instrumental in the planning and execution of multiple CPEC projects in Pakistan" while serving as chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission from 2017 to 2023, the Foreign Office had stated. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multi-billion dollar project was introduced in 2013 and quickly dubbed the flagship extension of the Belt and Road Initiative. Pakistanis hoped that this new development program will bring change and turn the country into a regional hub. However, the investment has only had debilitating impact on the South-Asian country. Balochistan, an impoverished province with significant mineral potential, continued to bear the brunt of the CPEC projects being built on its territory with no expectation of financial gain. This sense of exclusion has fuelled a mass rebellion in Balochistan against the CPEC. Pakistan's economic troubles have deepened in recent years, with some critics blaming CPEC investments as a main contributing factor. (ANI)
Imposing economic and travel sanctions on the Niger military coup leaders on Sunday, the West African nations have threatened to use force if country's President Mohamed Bazoum is not reinstated within a week, reported Al Jazeera. The military has been holding Niger's elected president, Bazoum, since Wednesday in the third attempt to depose a Sahelian leader in as many years. The formidable presidential guard's commander, General Abdourahmane Tiani, has declared himself the leader. The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc asked on Sunday that Bazoum be reinstated within a week at an emergency conference held in Nigeria. If not, the bloc threatened to use "all measures" to reestablish the rule of law. In a statement, it warned that "Such measures may include the use of force for this effect," and that the ECOWAS defence chiefs would convene later on Sunday Along with imposing financial penalties, the bloc also banned "all commercial and financial transactions" between its members and Niger, one of the world's poorest countries that frequently comes in last on the UN's Human Development Index, according to Al Jazeera. Bazoum is one of the few remaining elected presidents and pro-Western figures in the Sahel, where armed uprisings that began in 2020 have since led to coups in Mali and Burkina Faso. Following the coup, former colonial powers France and the European Union withdrew their financial and security assistance to Niger, while the United States issued a warning that its own assistance would be at risk. Thousands of people who supported a military coupvoiced anger overFrances influence in its former colony,Niger, resulting in tense and violent scenes in front of theFrench Embassy, CNN reported on Sunday. The pro-coup protestors were seen chanting the names of Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite requests from the Kremlin to release the nation's democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum. A plaque designating the Embassy was destroyed by some protesters, who later replaced it with Russian andNigerian flags. In the masses, there were slogans of "down withFrance," "long live Putin," and "long live Russia." In an effort to disperse the demonstrators, police officers inNiger used tear gas shells. (ANI)
Authorities have opened a criminal investigation into fraud allegations made against a former Cook County judge who has been accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from an elderly man and using the funds to buy cryptocurrency, Cook County prosecutors said Monday during a court hearing.

Prosecutors also filed a petition for criminal contempt against Patricia Martin, who stepped down as presiding judge in the child protection division in 2020, a proceeding that could come with criminal penalties for the former judge. Martin was served with the petition Monday morning during a hearing at the Daley Center in a pending civil suit against her.

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The contempt petition and the criminal investigation are the latest legal troubles faced by Martin, who already been disbarred and has been ordered by a judge to pay a default judgment of more than $1.1 million in the civil case.

Martin was the subject of a fraud complaint filed in May the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, which handles allegations of lawyer misconduct. It alleged that she stole from Oscar Wilkerson, an elderly man she was tasked with assisting financially and using the funds for her own purposes, including buying cryptocurrency.

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Lawyers for Wilkerson also filed a lawsuit against Martin last year, which remains pending, though Cook County Judge Anna Demacopoulos in May ordered the default judgment due to Martins continued unresponsiveness to court orders after Martin failed to appear in court after being warned that noncompliance with the case could result in sanctions, including a default judgment.

Martin, though, has appeared in court for two recent hearings, and her attorneys are challenging the default judgment. Earlier this month, Martin filed a motion to dismiss the judgment, arguing, among other issues, that Wilkersons death in February left the case without a proper plaintiff.

Attorneys for Wilkerson, a former Tuskegee Airman, in May filed a petition seeking to hold Martin in criminal contempt of court orders that mandated that she participate in the case filed against her and not move any more of Wilkersons funds.

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In the petition, prosecutors alleged that Martin moved Wilkersons money after she was ordered not to by the judge.

Martin willfully, knowingly, and contumaciously violated the courts ... order, the petition alleges.

Cook County prosecutors filed the petition Friday, but asked Demacopoulos to pause its implementation, citing the ongoing investigation. In response, the judge continued the case and refrained from holding a bond hearing.

Based on the representation by the Cook County states attorneys office that there is an ongoing criminal investigation concerning the entire matter ... based on that, I will grant the stay of the petition will not set bond and will not arraign or advise Ms. Martin of her rights under this particular case, Demacopoulos said.

She urged the prosecutors to keep an open line of communication with Wilkersons attorneys, adding that the plaintiffs attorneys may decide not to proceed with the civil case, including the contempt charge, if criminal charges are filed. The judge told the parties they dont need to duplicate litigation where its not necessary.

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Martin is scheduled to appear in court again in October.

mabuckley@chicagotribune.com
The conference discussed the future of scouting worldwide and ways to develop it and encourage girls to join it.

The conference sessions discussed the best practices from the various participating member organisations to discover the tools and resources needed to expand the Girl Guide and Girl Scout movement.

Maryam Muhammad Al Rumaithi, Vice President of the UAEGGA, said that the association's participation in this important international event stems from its keenness to take part in international forums that are concerned with girl scouts and guides and to learn about the experiences and expertise of the participating countries, which help develop scouting in the country. (ANI/WAM)
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reiterated that the National Assembly will be dissolved before August 12 with the consultation of the allied parties, ARY News reported on Monday. In an interview at a Geo News programme, he said the tenure of the National Assembly will end on August 12 and before that, the assembly will be dissolved. While the Election Commission will announce a date for the next elections, he added. Sharif further said the decision about the caretaker PM will be taken in consultation with the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and before that he would consult all the allied parties and Pakistan Muslim League(N) Quaid Nawaz Sharif, ARY News reported. Earlier in the day, Shehbaz Sharif had lashed out at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan calling him the mastermind behind the events that took place on May 9 which aimed to topple military leadership, reported The News International. Shehbaz Sharif also said that along with PTI workers, a group of politicians, some military men and their families were also involved in May 9 violence. Moreover, the military labelled it as a 'Black Day' in the history of Pakistan. Shehbaz Sharif during an interview on Geo News's programme said, "Those involved in the May 9 incidents wanted to overthrow the military leadership." He further mentioned that the planners wanted "anarchy" and "war" in the country, according to The News International. As many as 2138 suspects have been arrested in five major cities of Pakistan's Punjab province in connection with the May 9 case, ARY News reported. Whereas the PTI opposes that its members were not involved in the attacks, however, the government and military reject their claims and say they have 'irrefutable evidence' of their involvement, reported The News International. On May 9, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan was arrested at the Islamabad High Court in the Al Qadir Trust case. After his arrest, protests erupted in Pakistan and military installations including the Lahore corps commander's residence and state properties were attacked in Pakistan. (ANI)
An 8-year-old child suffered minor injuries after being attacked by a cougar (wild cat) in Washingtons Olympic National Park on Saturday evening, park officials said, CNN reported. The cougarattacked the child while he was camping with his mother at Lake Angeles, in the Heart O the Hills area south of Port Angeles, according to a news release from the National Park Service. The feline predator casually abandoned its attack after being yelled and screamed at by the childs mother, the park service said, as per CNN. The release said that park personnel were notified about the attack at 6:30 pm and quickly responded. The child experienced minor injuries and was taken to the hospital for further evaluation. Park staff escorted the family back to the trailhead, according to the release. Following the attack, all campers in the Lake Angeles area were evacuated by the staff which closed the Lake Angeles and Heather Park areas until further notice. Olympic National Park wildlife biologist Tom Kay in the news release said: Due to the extreme nature of this incident, we are closing the Lake Angeles area and several trails in the vicinity. Out of an abundance of caution, the Lake Angeles Trail, Heather Park Trail, Switchback Trail, and the entire Klahhane Ridge Trail are closed until further notice. On Saturday at 5:00 am, park law enforcement and wildlife personnel specializing in cougar tracking were sent to the animals last known location, the release added. If they locate the cougar, they will euthanize it and perform a necropsy, according to the release, as per CNN. This may provide clues as to why the animal attacked since cougars are rarely seen and attacks on humans are extraordinarily rare, the park service said. Washington is home to around 1,900 to 2,100 adult cougars, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. The department notes that the animals also called panthers, pumas, and mountain lions are elusive and rarely interact with humans. (ANI)
Authorities are now looking for the driver involved, the police said.

The incident happened after 1 pm outside the store in the city of Lincolnton, about 38 miles northwest of Charlotte, according to the Lincolnton Police Department.

All six injured were taken to a local hospital with various injuries, the police said, adding that none of the injuries appeared life-threatening, as per CNN.

The driver involved in the incident was described by the police as an older white male who was driving an older model mid-size black SUV with a luggage rack.

The department didnt provide details on the circumstances of the collision, or what led police to believe it may have been intentional.

The motives of the suspect are still under investigation, Lincolnton Police said on Facebook, as per CNN.

Police released surveillance images of a black SUV and asked for the publics assistance in identifying the vehicle and its driver. (ANI)
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ruled out the appointment of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar as the caretaker PM, Dawn reported. He made these remarks on a Geo News programme on Sunday, amid widespread speculations of Dar being appointed as the interim PM. Sharif stressed that a neutral person would be selected to lead the interim set-up to make upcoming general elections transparent. A neutral person should be appointed to this position so that no one could question the elections results, Dawn quoted PM Sharif as saying. He added that the caretaker set-up would be agreed upon, after consultation with allied parties, PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, and the leader of opposition in the National Assembly Raja Riaz. I assure you there will be a very efficient interim government at the Centre, PM Sharif added. Notably, a bill to empower the caretaker set-up to take policy decisions was recently passed by the parliament, Dawn reported. Shehbaz Sharif further said that he will dissolve the National Assembly a few days before the expiry of his governments term on Aug 12, which would allow the ECP to conduct polls within 90 days. PM Sharif said he had no intention to delay elections not even on the issue of the new census. If notification regarding the new census is issued and even if the new census is notified, it would be up to the Election Commission of Pakistan to handle the issue, Dawn quoted Sharif as saying. He said his party will make adjustments with any other political party, including PPP and JUI-F, for polls, adding that the ruling PML-N will field its own candidates where there will be no need for seat adjustment. (ANI)
Amdjarass [Chad], July 31 (ANI/WAM): An Emirati humanitarian delegation, led by the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), the Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation (Zayed CHF) and the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation (KF), continued to distributing food parcels to Sudanese refugees and the local community in the city of Amdjarass, Chad, in coordination with the UAEs Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ahmed Obaid Al Dhaheri, Head of the ERC Delegation in Chad, said the UAE humanitarian actors would scale up their efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese refugees due to the current situation in the country. The Emirati humanitarian team currently in Amdjarass is assessing the needs of Sudanese refugees and the local community, through field visits and closely observing their living conditions, to provide for their essential requirements, he added. Al Dhaheri said that the humanitarian team will coordinate with the local relief agencies in order to deliver food parcels to the largest number of beneficiaries. (ANI/WAM)
A Ukrainian drone has attacked a local police station in the Trubchevsky District of Russia's Bryansk Region, country's regional Governor Alexander Bogomaz said on his Telegram channel, TASS reported. TASS is a Russian state-owned news agency. Alexander Bogomaz wrote: At night, Ukrainian troops attacked the Trubchevsky District. A UAV performed a drop on a local police precinct. There are no casualties. [The buildings] roof and windows have been damaged. According to him, emergency services are currently working on site, TASS reported. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday warned that the war is "gradually returning" to Russia, adding that it is an "inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process." He stressed that Ukraine is "getting stronger." Zelenskyy's remarks come after Russia brought down three Ukrainian drones. According to the statement released by theUkrainePresident's office, Zelenskyy said, "Russian aggression has gone bankrupt on the battlefield. Today is the 522nd day of the so-called "special military operation," which the Russian leadership expected to last for a week or two.Ukraineis getting stronger." "Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia - to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process," he added. He spoke about his visit to Prykarpattia's Ivano-Frankivsk, according to the statement released by Ukraine's President's office. Zelenskyy stated that he held a meeting of the Congress of local and regional authorities of Ukraine in Ivano-Frankivsk. He warned that Russia can still attack Ukraine's energy sector and critical facilities during winter. "But we must be aware that, just as last year, Russian terrorists can still attack our energy sector and critical facilities this winter. Today we discussed with the communities the current state of preparation for all possible scenarios," Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy noted that during his visit to Ivano-Frankivsk, they discussed budgetary issues and the issue of urgent reconstruction, including the energy sector and various systems of ensuring life in the communities. On Sunday, Russia said it had brought down three Ukrainian drones that were attempting to attack Moscow. It is the second reported attack in Moscow in a week, CNN reported. (ANI)
India on Monday handed over humanitarian aid comprising sleeping bags, blankets and tents to crisis-hit Ukraine. The aid was handed over by Indian Ambassador to Ukraine Harsh Jain. Ambassador Harsh Jain handed over humanitarian aid comprising sleeping bags, blankets & tents to Shyroke Village Council & Zaporizhzhia Geriatric Boarding House in the presence of Yuriy Malashko, Head of Zaporizhzhia state administration, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine tweeted today. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today said that regions of Ukraine are being shelled by occupiers who continue to terrorize peaceful cities and people. Monday morning. Regions of Ukraine are being shelled by the occupiers, who continue to terrorize peaceful cities and people. Kryvyi Rih, Kherson. Residential buildings, a university building, a crossroads were hit. Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded. There may be people under the rubble. My condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones because of Russian terror, Zelenskyy tweeted today. The Ukrainian President further said that rescuers and all necessary services are on the ground and working. We are trying to save as many people as possible. I have already spoken to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine. Deputy Head of the Presidential Office for Regional Policy Oleksiy Kuleba and the RSA heads are already dealing with the situation. In recent days, the enemy has been stubbornly attacking cities, city centres, shelling civilian objects and housing. But this terror will not frighten us or break us. We are working and saving our people, he wrote. Recently, India and Ukraine held the ninth round of the India-Ukraine Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) in Kyiv and exchanged perspectives on the ongoing Moscow and Kyiv conflict and peace efforts. Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (West) Sanjay Verma co-chaired the 9th Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) with Ukraine's First Deputy Minister of Foreign Ministry Emine Dzhaparova, according to the statement released by MEA. "The two sides reviewed bilateral ties in their entirety and also exchanged perspectives on the ongoing conflict and peace efforts. Global and multilateral issues of mutual interest were also on the agenda," the statement read. (ANI)
Martin van den Berg, the Ambassador of the Netherlands to India, on Monday bid farewell to New Delhi and all his memories attached to the place, as his tenure as the envoy ended. In his post Farewell but not farewell, the former envoy elaborated upon his experience ever since he was appointed as the Ambassador to India, Nepal and Bhutan. https://twitter.com/BergMarten/status/1685888595087806464?s=20 He noted the growing India-Netherlands ties in the direction of technology, innovation and working on societal challenges. For 5 years we could observe the potential of India with its young workforce, the paradoxes that continue to define and shape India, and the challenges in a country with 1.4 billion people. An increasing confident India. An increasingly engaging India with Europe and the Netherlands. Stronger ties between India and the Netherlands. A relationship more and more based on technology, innovation and working on societal challenges in water, health, agriculture and climate. An India finding its own way to grow and to develop in a struggling world, Berg stated in his post. He also mentioned the Indian diversity ranging from Ladakh to Kerala, from Rajasthan to West Bengal, and other elements like food, temples and Bollywood movies. We experienced the colours, the diversity, the food. We have read astonishing and wonderful Indian novels and watched amazing Bollywood movies with moving portraits of women, homeless people, farmers, heroes, informal workers and Indian families. We travelled with our children to beautiful places, from Ladakh to Kerala, from Rajasthan to West Bengal. We have seen glaciers, canyons, beaches, forests. We have seen elephants, rhinoceros, colourful birds. We have seen incredible temples, houses, forts, he added. The former envoy further remembered the friends and colleagues with whom he spent his time during his tenure in India. Above all, we made wonderful friends, worked together with great colleagues and re-connected with our family. Experiencing the warmth and the love of so many Indian people. They taught us how to navigate India. Even after 5 years, we only partially succeeded. 5 Years ago I never expected to leave India alone, my wife passed away a few months ago. But I leave India with beautiful memories. Thank you, India for treating us very well, he further stated. I will leave India but India will never leave me, Martin van der Berg concluded his post. (ANI)
Activist Corniki Bornds stands outside a crime victim assistance event on July 31, 2023, in response to a weekend mass shooting in the North Lawndale neighborhood that left one woman dead and another 8 injured. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

At a corner in North Lawndale, the familiar tune of an ice cream truck rang out as it drove past crowds of community leaders and advocates who wanted to create a welcoming atmosphere for those in the neighborhood affected by gun violence looking for resources.

The gathering at Deliverance Temple Church of the Apostolic Faith was just a few blocks away from where a 21-year-old woman was fatally shot Sunday morning. The mass shooting, which occurred at a birthday party in the 1500 block of South Keeler Avenue, left another eight people, seven of them women, wounded by gunfire.

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So after an event like this, you need to go back to the event space where that tragedy happened and go back to the block, go to the park and make it an atmosphere where the local people on the block can feel like this is a place of safety and comfort, said Corniki Bornds, founder of Help Understanding Grief.

The North Lawndale resident lost her teen son to gun violence six years ago and started her organization to provide support for other mothers who have lost loved ones. She said the aftermath of gun violence is just as important to address as the initial trauma.

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Organizers from groups such as UCAN, the Helen and Joe Foundation and the Lawndale Christian Legal Center were available to residents in the neighborhood, with tables set up in the church for those looking for help.

People greeted each other with hugs and pats on the back on the sidewalk outside the church.

Organizers also knocked on doors on the block to provide support, stopping to chat with people sitting on their porch or walking dogs.

Because somebody is in their house right now that needs the help and the resources that are here, but theyre scared to come to this type of setting, Bornds said.

Its about meeting people where theyre at, she said.

Mark Atkins, 50, lives a few blocks from where Sundays shooting took place. He said the recent violence isnt surprising at all.

I wish I could say it was something new, but its not new. Its pretty common, Atkins said.

Atkins heard about the support event because he attends Deliverance Temple Church, but he thinks its something more people in the neighborhood need to know about.

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The sad part is that theres more of the programs here than the actual neighborhood, he said. Events like the one at the church are really good for the community and should be better publicized, he said.

Ald. Monique Scott, whose 24th Ward includes North Lawndale, said tragedies such as this are a reminder that the violence needs to end.

I mean, I dont know what its going to take. I dont know what kind of help we can get but it is a call on parents. Its a call on aunts, grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles, cousins, friends, Scott said. We got to love on each other a little bit more.

Scott hasnt been in direct contact with the victims families but said most didnt live in the community. Nonetheless, she said its an issue that affects everyone in the neighborhood.

The identity of the woman killed was not released as of Monday afternoon.

Aileen Robinson, Chicago police director of crime victim services, describes the response to a weekend mass shooting in the North Lawndale neighborhood at police headquarters, July 31, 2023, as Interim police Superintendent Fred Waller looks on. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Aileen Robinson, director of CPDs crime victim services, said her office picks up the baton after officers finish their initial work in a traumatic incident. Relationship- and trust-building is paramount, she said.

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By bringing in immediate crisis services afterward, were just kind of picking up where things left off and building the relationship, Robinson said Monday. The hope is that those relationships and attending to what that victim needs first, that they will also be willing to work with us if we have questions and things that might be of evidentiary value to a case. Its not necessary and we make that clear. Our sole focus is starting where that victims at, making sure we help them on the path from that trauma, and then, if we can work together moving forward  whether thats tomorrow, a week or a year  thats our goal.

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When acts of violence occur, its more than just the direct victims and their families who are affected, interim CPD Superintendent Fred Waller said during a news conference Monday. This violence creates a ripple effect that can touch an entire community.

My experience is that when we extend our hand and show that were trying to support these victims, it gives us a lot of equity in the community, and thats what were trying to do, Waller added. We want to show these people that we care about them just as much as if they lived on the Gold Coast.

Women are far less likely to be victims of gun violence than men, city data show. Over the last decade, women have accounted for 11% of the citys homicide victims and 13% of all nonfatal shooting victims.

The shooting occurred in the Ogden District, which covers the North Lawndale and Little Village neighborhoods. City records show that 34 people have been killed and another 144 wounded by gunfire within the boundaries of Beat 1012  where Sundays shooting occurred  over the last decade.

The Ogden District has long been one of the most violent in the city, a byproduct of racist policies such as redlining and contract home sales that further solidified racial segregation among the citys neighborhoods during and after the Great Migration.

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The meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) scheduled for Monday at 1 pm (local time) was adjourned as the main opposition CPN-UML planned to protest over the one quintal gold smuggling case. The Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) remained firm in their demand for the formation of a high-level committee to investigate the case. House Speaker Devraj Ghimire issued a notice announcing the adjournment of the meeting. The next meeting has been rescheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday) at 1 pm, Shekhar Adhikari, press advisor to the house speaker confirmed to ANI over a phone call. The ongoing standoff has arisen due to CPN-UMLs persistent call for the establishment of a high-level investigation committee to probe the smuggling of gold. Amidst the tension, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' and CPN-UML Chairman KP Oli held a discussion at Baluwatar on Monday morning in an effort to break the impasse in Parliament. Nepals Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) on July 19 seized about 100 kilograms of gold hidden inside the brake shoe- a spare part of a motorcycle and scooter, from the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Kathmandu. The DRI got the hold of gold after it passed through the customs office at the Tribhuvan International Airport. When the gold was brought to Nepal from Hong Kong, it was mentioned as lead without battery in the manifest and brake shoe in other documents. The investigating authority has asked Hong Kong Customs about the security lapses that occurred on their side. While the authorities await the reply from Hong Kong Customs from where it was couriered to Nepal, the DRI also has suspected that earlier packages that landed in Nepal were imported by Ready Trade Pvt. Ltd also contained gold. As per the record from the Customs Department of Nepal, the company previously also imported a similar consignment multiple times before it was seized on July 19, 2023. As per the data, consignments weighing at least 1,997 kilograms were imported from Hong Kong on different dates prior to July 19. During a raid on July 26 at the Ready Trades warehouse in the capital Kathmandu, the DRI seized 66 boxes of the same items. Upon examination the officials didnt find the gold in any of the brake shoes but they suspect tampering of the boxes. The investigating body- the Department of Revenue Investigation till July 30 has arrested 18 people connected to the gold smuggling but the beneficiary owner of the gold still remains at large. DRI has arrested the owner of Ready Trade named as Dilip Bhujel (21) who is reported to be just a daily wage worker hailing from an impoverished region of Dolakha. The DRI on July 19 managed to confiscate the gold concealed in motorcycle/scooter brake shoes from the gate of Customs of Tribhuvan International Airport as it was being taken out in a taxi. The gross weight of the smuggled gold was ascertained to be 155 kilograms, which also included electric shavers, according to officials at the mint division of the Nepal Rastra Bank, which has been entrusted with examining the metal. The DRI is yet to ask the central bank to melt the mix to determine the exact weight of the gold component. The DRI also is making a formal request to the government to live-telecast the gold melting procedure through a state television channel in the coming days. (ANI)
Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar is on a three-day visit to Oman with the aim of consolidating existing bilateral defence relations and high-level discussions with military leadership of Oman. During his visit, the Chief of Naval Staff will call on Gen Sultan bin Mohammed Al-Nuamani, Minister of Royal Office. He will hold bilateral discussions with his Oman counterpart Rear Admiral Saif bin Nasser bin Mohsen Al-Rahbi, Commander of the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) and with Major General Matar bin Salim bin Rashid Al Balushi, Commander of the Royal Army of Oman, Ministry of Defence said in the press release. He will also be visiting key defence and training installations in Oman. "Indian Navy and Royal Navy of Oman engage with each other under numerous Foreign Cooperation avenues, which include operations, training and exchange of Subject Matter Experts in various fields," the Ministry of Defence said in the press release. The Naval Chief had arrived in Muscat on Sunday and was welcomed by Rear Admiral Saif bin Nassir bin Mohsin Al-Rahbi, Commander, Royal Navy of Oman and India's Ambassador to Oman Amit Narang. Coinciding with a visit to the Chief of Naval Staff, the indigenous guided missile destroyer INS Vishakhapatnam arrived at Port Sultan Qaboos in Muscat. Various naval cooperation events with Oman Royal Navy are planned with Maritime Partnership Exercise culminating on August 3. Indian Navy spokesperson tweeted, "Adm R Hari Kumar #CNS, is on a 3-day official visit to Oman On arrival in Muscat on #30Jul 23, he was welcomed at the airport by RAdm Saif bin Nassir bin Mohsin Al-Rahbi, Commander Royal Navy of Oman & H.E. @Amit_Narang, Ambassador of India to the Sultanate of Oman @Indemb_Muscat." In another tweet, it said, "During the visit, the CNS is scheduled to meet the military leadership & interact with institutions of higher defence studies. He would also review bilateral defence cooperation matters with his counterparts in Oman." The indigenously built destroyer INS Visakhapatnam entered Oman on Sunday to enhance the maritime partnership between Indian Navy and Royal Oman Navy, informed Indian Navy officials. The Indian Navy and Royal Oman Navy are working together to address security challenges in the region and the warship is part of the Western Naval Command Fleet, the officials added. Earlier in June, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who paid an official visit to Oman called on Oman's Sultan and Prime Minister Sultan Haitham bin Tarik. NSA Doval also delivered a personal message of greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. NSA Doval also held discussions with General Sultan bin Mohammed Al Nomani, Minister of the Royal Office and Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi. "The discussions enabled a high level review of the multifaceted bilateral relations between India and the Sultanate of Oman with focus on strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation in key areas for economic & technological development, mutual security and regional stability," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. NSA Doval's visit to Oman demonstrates the strong bilateral relationship between the two nations and the importance of Oman as a key partner for India in the Gulf. NSA Doval's visit highlights India's commitment to strengthening its strategic partnership with Oman. The 13th edition of the bilateral naval exercise Naseem Al Bahr was conducted in Oman in 2022 and the next edition is scheduled in 2024, according to a statement. The navies of India and Oman also engage extensively under the aegis of various multilateral constructs such as Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS). The ties between Indian Navy and Royal Navy of Oman is in consonance with the Government of India's vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR). (ANI)
An Indian-origin man, who has been living in Canada's Ontario, pleaded guilty in an American court in a human smuggling case in 2020 and 2021, Canada-based CTV news reported. In June 2022, Simranjit Singh, 40, had been arrested and extradited from Canada to the US in March. He was smuggling people from India into the US. In pleading guilty, Singh admitted that from at least March 2020 through March 2021, he facilitated the smuggling of numerous Indian nationals from Canada into the United States, via Cornwall Island and the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation in the St. Lawrence River region, for profit, the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Northern District of New York stated in a press release Friday. Currently, Singh is facing five years in prison, but could also extend up to 15 years, a fine of up to USD 250,000, and three years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to alien smuggling and conspiracy to commit alien smuggling, according to the press release. He will also be facing deportation from the US after his sentence is served, based on the decision of an immigration judge, reported CTV news. Regarding the case, the US authorities said that Singh had facilitated the smuggling of several Indian nationals through the Cornwall Island and Akwesasne Mohawk Territory. In April, a document was released which stated that the migrants, who say their entry into the US was facilitated by Singh, had told American law enforcement that he charged them between USD 5,000 and USD 35,000, These documents detailed conversations between Singh and contacts, including one referred to as CW-1 who, on one occasion, dropped off three Indian citizens at a motel in New York and then travelled to Cornwall to meet Singh and collect USD 4,000 in pay. CW-1 then became nervous that the motel room was in her name, according to the documents, and returned to the motel to pick up the three people. U.S. Border Patrol agents chased her car after all four left the hotel and arrested them, as per CTV news. (ANI)
UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Monday said that she is introducing a "tougher threshold" to stop "serious criminals" from gaining British citizenship. Taking to Twitter, the Indian-origin minister said, "British citizenship is a privilege - those who commit a crime or do not show respect for our freedoms and rights should not be entitled to receive it. From today I am introducing a tougher threshold so that serious criminals cannot claim citizenship here." This new law will change the previous rules where some criminals could be granted British citizenship even after a custodial sentence of at least 12 months but less than 4 years unless a period of 15 years has passed since the end of the sentence, regardless of the type of crime or where it was committed. This UK government said it re-affirms the governments commitment to protecting UK borders and ensuring no one with a criminal record can abuse the British immigration and nationality system. The updated rules are stricter and more specific on so-called good character requirements, which are a key condition to be granted British citizenship, and look at whether an individual has observed UK law as well as shown respect for the rights and freedoms of British citizens. The requirements include factors such as criminal convictions, immigration offending and serious behaviour like war crimes, terrorism or genocide, according to the statement released by the UK government. The changes remove the previous rules where some criminals could be granted British citizenship after a prescribed number of years had passed since the end of their sentence regardless of the type of crime or where it was committed. There will be some exceptions to the new rules, which will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, for example, if someone has mitigating circumstances that support an exceptional grant. Cases like this could include someone who committed a minor offence a long time ago but has made sufficient, positive changes that they are now considered to be of good character, the statement read. (ANI)
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday asked Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan to immediately de-notify ministers, advisers and special assistants "involved in politics," Pakistan-based Geo News reported. The ECP issued the directions in a letter sent by Secretary Omar Hamid Khan on behalf of the election organising authority to the interim chief minister. In the letter, the ECP informed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker CM regarding Article 218(3) and the role the caretaker setup plays in holding elections. In the letter, Omar Hamid Khan noted, "The caretaker government including cabinet members, advisers, special assistants and other relevant functionaries can only provide an objective environment if they do not involve themselves in politics and election campaigns in violation of provisions of Section 230 (1)(d) and 2(g) of the Elections Act, 2017," according to Geo News reported. The electoral watchdog said that it had found that somecabinet members were appointed on the basis of political affiliations." It also gave the example of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's former interim transport minister Shahid Khattak, who resigned after he was found involved in "political activities," Geo News reported. The ECP noted, "In view of the foregoing, the Election Commission has desired to request you while keeping the interim cabinet members at a minimum, to review the above said appointments (in light of the criteria as laid down in the above-said provisions of the Election Laws) and to de-notify such Ministers, Advisers and Special Assistants which are involved in politics immediately, so that free, fair and transparent elections are ensured for future," Geo News reported. Several parties have complained about the caretaker setup in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Most of the caretaker cabinet members are either affiliated with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) or their appointees, Geo News reported citing The News. Last week, Shahid Khan Khattak submitted his resignation after he faced criticism when he addressed a public meeting in Nowshera. The electoral watchdog asked Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's CM Khattak from his post. (ANI)
A man died after being hit by a train in Salisbury, according to Rowan County EMS.

The incident happened on Sunday evening on Depot Street near East Innes Street.

ALSO READ: Understanding train derailments, how they happen, next steps in prevention

Rowan County EMS told Channel 9 that the situation is currently being investigated by the Salisbury Police Department.

Officials have not released the mans identity, but said he was between 40 and 50 years old.

Channel 9 has reached out to the Salisbury Police Department for more details.

(WATCH BELOW: Fatal crash reported after vehicle found overturned on train tracks under I-485, officials say)
A 1-year-old girl trying to climb her grandparents dresser died after it tipped over, South Carolina officials said.

Family members found the child trapped under a dresser drawer. She was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead Sunday, July 30, according to the Anderson County coroners office.

The girl was identified in a news release as Jalaya Bryant. She was from Calhoun Falls, roughly 60 miles southwest of Greenville and near the Georgia state line.

Jalaya died after she visited her grandparents home in Williamston, about 20 miles south of Greenville. She was trying to get onto a dresser when it tumbled over and trapped her, officials said.

As of July 30, multiple agencies were investigating the girls death.

The investigation indicates the child died due to asphyxiation and there appears to be no indication of foul play, the coroners office wrote.

2-year-old drowns in country club pool on Fathers Day, South Carolina coroner says

Man dies after jumping into lake to help struggling child, South Carolina cops say
A 17-year-old is dead after a shooting in Mount Oliver Sunday night.

Andrew Lavaughn Smith of Pittsburgh was pronounced dead at UPMC Mercy Hospital after being found shot, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiners Office.

Just before 9:15 p.m., police responded to a ShotSpotter alert for four rounds fired at 425 Brownsville Road.

Smith was later located on the Pittsburgh side of the border of Brownsville Road with gunshot wounds to the head and neck, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety.

Pittsburgh police are investigating.

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2 people hurt when vehicle crashes into Idlewild ticket booth 2 people injured in crash on Route 28 Giant Eagle issues ground beef recall due to potential plastic fragments in product VIDEO:RAW: 2 people injured in crash on Route 28; all lanes closed DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts
The number of people injured in Russian strikes against Kherson on July 31 has risen to 10, as reported by the regional prosecutors office.

Among them are four volunteers and an underage boy, according to the prosecutors.

Earlier the same day, two people were reported killed in Russian attacks on the city.

One of them, a 65-year-old man, was driving a car when Russian troops hit Khersons residential neighborhood, the prosecutors wrote. Another killed person was a utility company worker.

The data on casualties is being clarified as Russia continues to shell the city, the Kherson Oblast Prosecutors Office added.

Kherson and other regional settlements on the Kyiv-controlled west bank have been continuously subjected to Russian shelling since Ukrainian forces liberated them in November 2022.

Russian forces were pushed to the river's east bank, from where they have since been firing at the liberated territories, regularly resulting in civilian deaths and injuries.

Read also: Russian attacks kill 2, injure 19 over past day

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Officers detain several people as police attempt to disperse a young crowd gathered near South Canal Street and West Roosevelt Road on July 30, 2023. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago police officers arrested 40 people in the South Loop late Sunday after hundreds took part in the latest teen trend gathering in the citys downtown area.

The large group gathered near West Roosevelt Road and South Canal Street and mobbed a nearby convenience store as a series of fights broke out, officials said. Officers started to make arrests around 8 p.m., police said, after those in the group refused orders to leave the area.

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Police records show that CPD Deputy Chief Jon Hein declared a mass arrest situation at 9:22 p.m.

Large youth gatherings downtown have remained a vexing problem for police for the last decade. Organized over social media, typically during the warm summer months, the crowds of teens have sometimes turned violent.

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Our posture has been tolerance, and usually when we say that its curfew and we ask them to disperse, they do. Yesterday, they, so to speak, crossed a line, CPD Superintendent Fred Waller said at a Monday news conference.

Johnathon Puckett, 40, cleans an aisle after a group of young people stole items from a 7-Eleven earlier in the evening on July 30, 2023. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

From right, Charles McKenzie, of Englewood First Responders, Joseph Williams, of Mr. Dads Fathers Club, and Tyrone Muhammad of Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change, talk with a young person while trying to help officers disperse a large group of young people gathered near the intersection of South Canal Street and West Roosevelt Road. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

It should send a message to the families and to the parents, Waller added. We know everyone doesnt have a predictable home life, but were trying to deal with the youth in a certain way, to try to offer other things for them to do and other avenues (aside from) arrests  But this group got so out of hand that we had no choice. We had street intervention people out there also who helped us, but it just got so out of hand that we had to effect some arrests.

Of those arrested, 30 were juveniles between 12 to 17 years old, according to CPD. Those arrestees were each charged with reckless conduct, a misdemeanor.

Seven other teens, boys and girls ranging in age from 14 to 17, were arrested and face charges including unlawful use of a weapon, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, obstructing identification and resisting arrest, according to CPD.

Officers recovered several illegally possessed guns as well, according to police.

Officers detain a person as police attempt to disperse a large group of young people gathered near the intersection of South Canal Street and West Roosevelt Road on July 30, 2023. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Sundays gathering came about three months after another such gathering downtown led to a disturbance and fights breaking out near Millennium Park, during which three teens were wounded in two separate shootings.

As the search for the next permanent CPD superintendent continued earlier this year, leaders of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability said that strategies to quell youth gatherings downtown were a topic during the candidate interview phase of the search.
An 11-year-old dirt bike rider died after he was hit by another rider on a Florida motocross track, news outlets report.

On July 30, the child was riding an 85cc dirt bike at the Dade City Motocross, police told outlets. Multiple riders were on the track practicing, Spectrum News 13 reported.

The 11-year-old went over a jump but crashed when he landed, Pasco News reported.

It is unclear how badly the child was injured in the fall, but he was able to get up and started to pick his bike off the ground, according to the outlet.

As he started to walk off, another rider came over the top of the same jump and hit the 11-year-old on the upper part of his body, Spectrum News 13 reported.

Medics at the motocross immediately began helping the child, but due to injuries to the boys shoulder, they decided to call Pasco County Fire Rescue, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

The child was flown by helicopter to a Tampa-area hospital, the outlet reported.

McClatchy News reached out to Dade City Motocross about the accident but did not immediately receive a response.

Dade City Police told Pasco News they were notified by the Hillsborough County Medical Examiners Office later that afternoon that the boy had died from the injuries.

My heart is breaking! This is every Moto parents (worst) fear! a parent who said their child also races at the facility said on Facebook.

McClatchy News reached out to police for details about the accident and was awaiting a response.

A police spokesperson told the Tampa Bay Times the name of the boy will not be released because of his age, and the investigation into the crash was ongoing.

Dade City is about 40 miles north of Tampa.

Child shot with rifle while playing with Nerf guns dies, Alaska troopers say

Man electrocuted, another drowns, another missing at Lake Lanier, Georgia officials say

1-year-old climbing grandparents dresser dies after it tips over, SC coroner says

17-year-olds body found hours after he vanished from overturned canoe, Oregon cops say
Two teens are facing charges after allegedly trying to smuggle contraband into a state prison.

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It happened in the early morning hours on Friday at the Washington State Prison in Davisboro, Georgia.

Washington County deputies along with the Department of Corrections worked side-by-side to detain two teenagers accused of smuggling contraband into the prison.

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Police charged LYondo Ware,17, of Hephzibah, Georgia and a 15-year-old of Augusta with trading with inmates without the consent of the warden, criminal trespass, and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

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JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel's Supreme Court on Monday said all 15 judges in a historic first would take part in a hearing on arguments against a law that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition passed as part of an overhaul of the judiciary.

The Supreme Court agreed to discuss on Sept. 12 petitions to strike down the bill ratified last week that limits its powers to void some decisions made by government and ministers, setting the scene for a constitutional showdown.

A court spokesperson said the hearing would mark the first time in the country's history an extended bench would preside.

The judicial changes pursued by Netanyahu and his government have sparked an unprecedented crisis in Israel, opening deep divides in society, bruising the economy and drawing concern from Western allies.

The divide has spread to the military, with volunteer reservists saying they will not report for duty and former top brass warning that Israel's war-readiness could be at risk.

On Monday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee that the military remained combat-ready in the face of mounting protests, but there may be damage in the long term.

Netanyahu's coalition says the judicial changes are needed to curb what it describes as overreach by a Supreme Court that it says has become too politically interventionist.

"Israel's governments have always made sure to respect the law and the court's rulings, and the court has always made sure to respect the Basic Laws," Netanyahu's Likud party said in a statement, referring to laws that function as Israel's formal constitution. "These two elements form the basis of rule of law in Israel and of the balance between the authorities in any democracy."

Critics say the changes would remove effective checks on the executive's authority and could lead to abuses of power.

Story continues

Israel's democratic foundations are relatively fragile and the Supreme Court is seen as crucial for protecting civil rights and the rule of law. The country has no constitution, the government holds a 64-56 majority in the one-chamber Knesset and the president's office is largely ceremonial.

Among the petitioners are the Israel Bar Association and a political watchdog group that said the July 25 amendment "fundamentally changes the structure of Israeli parliamentary democracy and the character of government".

(Reporting by Henriette Chacar; Editing by Ari Rabinovitch, Barbara Lewis, Bill Berkrot and Leslie Adler)
Hall County officials said crews are continuing efforts to find a 27-year-old man who went in the water and never resurfaced Saturday.

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According to the investigation, Leonardo Martinez, a boat mechanic, was swimming at Van Pugh Park when he disappeared.

Channel 2s Matt Johnson was at the lake Monday, where Martinezs family was hoping for a miracle. Johnson spoke to his cousin, Angelo Jaciofano, who was watching the search from the shoreline.

Our heart is broken, you know, Jaciofano said. We think hes swimming to a coast, but its huge. Its massive land, you know.

Martinezs family said that while they appreciate the rescue efforts so far, they dont want the search to end without more help.

We need more. We need people coming with boats, Jaciofano said. If someone can help us with that, we would really appreciate that.

This was not the only incident on Lake Lanier over the past week. Two other people drowned over the weekend.

On Thursday, Georgia Department of Natural Resources officials told Channel 2 Action News that they received word of a man who was shocked near Lanier Beach South Road in Forsyth County.

According to the investigation, a 24-year-old man, later identified as Thomas Milner, jumped off a dock into the lake and was shocked by electricity in the water.

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The Forsyth County Sheriffs Office said a family friend tried to get him out of the water using a ladder but was unsuccessful.

According to deputies, neighbors took over a boat to Thomas and another person jumped in the water to help him. That person described to officials a burning sensation he recognized as an electric shock.

He reportedly swam ashore, turned off the power box, and returned to the water, ultimately pulling Milner onto the dock.

Story continues

Milners uncle tried performing life-saving measures until medical responders arrived. Milner was taken to Northside Forsyth Hospital, where he later died.

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Also on Saturday, authorities told Channel 2 Action News that 61-year-old Tracey Stewart was swimming near East Bank Park and never resurfaced.

Crews confirmed Stewarts body was recovered in 46 feet of water with the help of sonar technology.

Authorities have not released the identity of the 27-year-old man who remains missing.

Crews confirmed the three incidents are unrelated. The investigation remains ongoing.

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2 Sisters And Their Cousin-In-Law Give Birth Within 24 Hours Of Each Other In New Jersey | StockSnap / Pixabay

Two sisters and their cousin gave birth within 24 hours of each other at the same hospital in New Jersey last week. To make the miracle even more spectacular, all three babies were delivered by the same doctor.

According to WPVI-TV, the births occurred at a hospital in Perth Amboy, Middlesex County. Baby No. 1, a boy, was born at 10:32 a.m. on July 26 to Pagliery Cabrera Nin. Baby No. 2, another boy, was born at 1:47 p.m. that same day, to cousin Jankelly Abreu and the newborns mother, Anais Garcia Perez. And last but not least, baby No. 3, a girl, was born to Keydy Cepeda, Pagliery Cabrera Nins sister, at 6:37 a.m. on July 27.

Cepeda recalled her labor starting shortly after learning her sister and cousin had given birth.

They all gave birth, and then hours later, after I heard that they were giving birth, the pain started, she told WPVI-TV.

The three didnt know theyd give birth so close together. Cabrera Nin told the outlet that when they each found out about their pregnancies, they tried to keep it a secret.

In November, she called me to tell me, Oh I have news for you, Im pregnant and dont tell anyone,' she explained, WPVI-TV reported. And I said Im pregnant too, so it was in December that all the families were together, and then she said Im pregnant too.'

The familys rapid expansion must be a whirlwind for everyone, especially the infants grandmother. Garcia Perez, who birthed baby No. 2, told WPVI-TV that the children are three of many new babies in the family.

His sister had a baby, his brother had a baby, we had a baby, she had a baby, and then his cousin had a baby, so there are six new grandkids for their grandma, she said, according to WPVI-TV.

Cepeda, Nin and Garcia Perez were all set to return home from the hospital on Saturday.
Corrections & Clarifications: The story has been updated to correct David Trone's time of service as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The 2024 presidential campaign is already well underway, but ballots across the country are long, and commander in chief isn't the only position in play.

There are 33 United States senators up for re-election in 2024. Ten are Republicans, three are Independents, and 20 are Democrats.

The upper chamber, which is now controlled narrowly by Democrats, could flip red if the GOP performs well next November. The map is considered to favor Republicans slightly this election cycle, though electoral predictions will continue to evolve, and surprises on the campaign trail are always possible.

Come decision day 2024, these are the states that will see contests for senator, and who currently represents them.

Which senators are up for reelection in 2024?

Arizona

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., questions the witnesses during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing examining the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, Tuesday, May 16, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Kyrsten Sinema

Party: Independent

Sinema, once a Democrat, is known for her eccentric fashion choices and her centrist views, which have regularly held up the Democratic policy agenda. Sinema, who left the Democratic Party in December 2022, citing concerns over "rigid partisanship," will be challenged from the left by current Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.

California

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., returns to the Senate Judiciary Committee following a more than two-month absence at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, May 11, 2023.

Dianne Feinstein

Party: Democratic

Feinstein is a veteran of the Senate whose age has come into play as a prominent political concern. Earlier this year she was absent from the chamber for over two months, recovering from a case of shingles. Her absence brought important committee votes to a standstill and led some to call for her resignation.

She will not seek another term, and the race for her seat is expected to be highly competitive with heavy hitters from the Democratic Party, such as Democratic Reps. Barbara Lee, Adam Schiff and Katie Porter vying for her spot.

Connecticut

In this file photo taken on April 04, 2019 US Senator Chris Murphy (2nd L), Democrat from Connecticut, speaks alongside US Senator Bernie Sanders (L), an Independent from Vermont, US Representative Ro Khanna (2nd R), Democrat of California, and US Representative Jim McGovern (R), Democrat of Massachusetts, during a press conference following a vote in the US House on ending US military involvement in the war in Yemen, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Chris Murphy

Party: Democratic

Murphy has served as the senator from Connecticut since 2013 and is expected to cruise to re-election in 2024 in predominantly blue Connecticut. During his time in the chamber, he has made gun control a major issue, often referencing the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting in his home state.

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Delaware

Senator Tom Carper, D-Delaware, right, speaks with John F. Kelly, nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security, before confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Tom Carper

Party: Democratic

Carper, who originally won his seat in 2000, will not seek another term. In his retirement announcement, Carper endorsed Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester to be his successor. Blunt Rochester formally announced her candidacy in June.

Florida

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) speaks on border security and Title 42 during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on May 11, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Rick Scott

Party: Republican

Scott has been a senator since 2019, and he served as state governor before his time in the upper chamber. Scott is a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump and was tasked as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee with securing a victory for the party in the midterms.

Hawaii

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, questions Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 22, 2022.

Mazie Hirono

Party: Democratic

Hirono was the first Asian American woman to be elected a U.S. senator. She first won her seat in 2012 and has spent much of her tenure in the chamber working on legislation addressing immigration, the environment and veterans affairs.

Indiana

Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) speaks to guests at the 2023 NRA-ILA Leadership Forum on April 14, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Mike Braun

Party: Republican

Braun, who won his Senate seat in 2018, is opting to run for governor in his state rather than seek a second term. Braun is not the only Republican seeking the governorship. Among others, he will have to run against Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch. The race to replace Braun is expected to become crowded, with plenty of rising GOP stars hoping to toss their hat in the ring.

Maine

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, walks to the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020.

Angus King

Party: Independent

King has not yet announced his 2024 reelection bid but appears to be gearing up for another run. One of just three independents in the Senate, he has held the seat since 2013.

Maryland

Vice President Joe Biden, left, gets a tour of a MARC train station with Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., before Biden spoke about transportation, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009, in Laurel, Md.

Ben Cardin

Party: Democratic

Cardin, who has been in office since 2007, announced in May he would not seek re-election. Since the announcement, a slew of candidates have indicated they plan to run in the Democratic primary in Maryland, including Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, U.S. Rep. David Trone and Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando.

Massachusetts

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on June 13, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Elizabeth Warren

Party: Democratic

One-time presidential hopeful and Senate veteran Elizabeth Warren is running to keep her seat in 2024. She has served as senator for ten years and is unlikely to face a strong primary challenger.

Michigan

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., center, speaks to reporters after a news conference Wednesday, May 31, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Debbie Stabenow

Party: Democratic

Stabenow, who has been in the Senate since 2001, announced plans to retire in early January, opening up a seat in a critical battleground state. In the Democratic primary to replace her, Rep. Elissa Slotkin is widely considered the frontrunner, though former state Rep. Leslie Love and businessman Nasser Beydoun have also declared candidacies. On the Republican side, businessman Michael Hoover and State Board of Education member Nikki Snyder have announced plans to run.

Minnesota

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., speaks as Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., right, listens during a news conference after a policy luncheon Wednesday, May 31, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Amy Klobuchar

Party: Democratic

Klobuchar, who rose to national fame during her 2020 bid for the presidency, has been a Minnesota senator since 2007 and is the first woman to be elected by the state to the Senate.

Mississippi

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) speaks on border security and Title 42 during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on May 11, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Roger Wicker

Party: Republican

Wicker has been the state's senator since 2007 and will run again in 2024. He serves as the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Missouri

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., walks at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 16, 2022.

Josh Hawley

Party: Republican

Famous in part for holding up a fist in support of rioters outside the capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Hawley forms part of a growing conservative flank of the GOP. He will run for re-election in 2024 and be challenged on the left by both St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell and Maine Corps veteran Lucas Kunce.

Montana

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, speaks with reporters before meeting with the Senate Democratic Caucus, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 13, 2023.

Jon Tester

Party: Democratic

A Democrat in a deeply red state, Tester has held his Senate seat since 2007. He is expected to face a tough challenge from the right in 2024 as Republicans battle to regain a majority in the U.S. Senate. Among the names being floated as potential challengers are U.S. Rep. Matthew M. Rosendale, who lost to Tester in 2018, and Tim Sheehy, a businessman and veteran.

Nebraska

Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., speaks during an unveiling ceremony for the Congressional statue of Willa Cather, in Statuary Hall on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 7, 2023.

Deb Fischer

Party: Republican

Fischer has represented Nebraska in the Senate since the 2012 midterms and has already announced her plans to seek reelection. The move makes it less likely for another Republican to throw their hat in the ring, though some speculated Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts was weighing a run.

Nevada

U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) walks off the Senate subway at the U.S. Capitol on May 02, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Jacky Rosen

Party: Democratic

Rosen, who has already announced her reelection bid for 2024, has held her seat since 2019. Nevada is a fiercely divided state and forms part of a challenging electoral map for Democrats. Though no Republicans have yet announced their candidacy, Rosen is expected to have to defend her seat from a strong challenger.

New Jersey

Robert Menendez

Party: Democratic

Menendez has held his Senate seat since 2006 and intends to run again but is facing, along with his wife, a broad federal investigation centered in part on undisclosed gifts the senator received, the Washington Post reported.

New Mexico

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) sits in a Monarch MK-V Electric Tractor during an event showcasing various electric trucks near Capitol Hill on June 7, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Martin Heinrich

Party: Democratic

Heinrich, who has held his seat since 2013, will run again in 2024. He launched his campaign for a third term with a video touching on gun safety and the importance of a transition to clean energy. Republicans have not yet announced a challenger.

New York

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., asks a question during a Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing, Thursday, May 18, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Kirsten Gillibrand

Party: Democratic

Gillibrand has become a mainstay of New York politics, holding her Senate seat since 2009. This primary season she will face a challenge from Army veteran William Schweitzer, who once worked in Sen. Chuck Schumers Rochester district office and served as deputy press secretary during ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomos 2018 reelection campaign. Though speculation swirled over whether Gillibrand would face more challenges from up-and-coming New York lawmakers, no other candidates have yet been announced.

North Dakota

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021, on the fifth day of the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.

Kevin Cramer

Party: Republican

Cramer, who won his seat in 2018, has not yet announced plans to seek reelection. Cramer was a close ally of Trump during the former president's term in office, but has since voiced support for a possible replacement on the 2024 GOP ticket.

Ohio

US Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing on the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on May 16, 2023.

Sherrod Brown

Party: Democratic

Brown is a prominent target for Republicans in 2024. He occupies a swing state seat they see as a possible pick-up in their quest to regain control of the chamber. An ad blitz has already begun in the state as GOP challengers attempt to oust Brown, who first won the election in 2006. Republican state Sen. Matt Dolan has already announced a run along with businessman Bernie Moreno, and GOP Secretary of State Frank LaRose is also rumored to be considering a run.

Pennsylvania

Sen. Robert Casey Jr., D-Pa., speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008.

Bob Casey

Party: Democratic

Casey was first elected in 2006. Though he represents a swing state identified by Republicans as an ideal win in 2024, he is considered a tough candidate to beat. The son of former Gov. Robert Casey, Sr. he is widely popular in the state, especially with swaths of voters other Democrats have begun to struggle with attracting. The GOP is expected to run former business executive David McCormick, though he has not yet announced.

Rhode Island

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., questions Martha Williams, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as she testifies before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2024 for her agency, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

Sheldon Whitehouse

Party: Democratic

Whitehouse, who has been in the Senate for a little under a decade, is running for a fourth term. He will face a challenge on the right from Raymond McKay, a veteran and former president of the Rhode Island Republican Assembly.

Tennessee

Marsha Blackburn

Party: Republican

Elected in 2018, Blackburn has become a prominent voice among conservatives, particularly on culture war issues. She is expected to seek reelection but has not yet announced.

On the left, State Rep. Gloria Johnson, who entered the national spotlight when she was nearly expelled from the state legislature for holding a protest on the House floor against gun violence, is considering a run. Two of her colleagues, Democratic Reps. Justin Jones of Nashville and Justin Pearson of Memphis were briefly expelled for the same action. Nashville attorney Joanne Sowell, another Democrat, has already filed her candidacy with the FEC.

Texas

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, defends former President Donald Trump while telling reporters President Joe Biden should be indicted, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 13, 2023.

Ted Cruz

Party: Republican

Cruz, a political firebrand for his party and a two-time presidential candidate, successfully battled off a challenge from Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke in 2018. For 2024, he may have to do the same. Democratic Rep. Colin Allred, and state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, are both running for the with hopes of unseating Cruz.

Utah

U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) leaves a Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on May 31, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Mitt Romney

Party: Republican

One-time presidential nominee for the GOP, Romney has come to occupy a minority in recent years, treading a more centrist, anti-Trump line. He has held his Senate seat since 2019, serving before that as Governor of Massachusetts.

Vermont

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, listens during a hearing on Capitol Hill on June 8, 2023.

Bernie Sanders

Party: Independent

Sanders, a famously outspoken member of the Senate's left flank, has been in office since 2007. He is one of the chamber's few independents but often votes on a party line with Democrats. Sanders, who famously energized a grass-roots movement during his 2016 and 2020 presidential runs, has ruled out a 2024 bid, saying instead he would endorse Biden.

Virginia

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.. speaks during the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on Why Are So Many American Youth in a Mental Health Crisis? Exploring Causes and Solutions, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 8, 2023.

Tim Kaine

Party: Democratic

Kaine, who was the vice presidential candidate on Hillary Clinton's ticket in 2016, has represented Virginia in the Senate since 2013. For Democrats who face a tough electoral map in 2024, his race is a must-win. Though Kaine is a veteran of Virginia politics, and the state tends to lean blue, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin's win in 2021 proved a red tilt is not far off.

Eddie Garcia, a military veteran, has already announced he will seek the GOP nomination in the Senate race.

Washington

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., speaks at a roundtable discussion hosted by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. where members of Congress and JPMorgan Chase representatives discuss boosting small business growth and job creation on Tuesday, July 22, 2014 in Washington, DC.

Maria Cantwell

Party: Democratic

Cantwell has been in the Senate for over two decades, first winning election in 2000. Cantwell has yet to announce plans to seek re-election but is expected to. No GOP candidates have thrown their hats in the ring so far.

West Virginia

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, speaks to a colleague just outside the chamber, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 13, 2023.

Joe Manchin

Party: Democratic

Manchin, a notoriously centrist vote on the Democratic side, has not yet announced a 2024 re-election bid. Rumors have swirled that the West Virginia political titan is weighing a possible third-party run for president. Potential presidential bid aside, Manchin is one of his party's most vulnerable incumbents.

The GOP primary in West Virginia is already shaping up with Gov. Jim Justice, a former Democrat who swapped parties in 2017, jumping in the race on the establishment side, and Rep. Alex Mooney, who belongs to the hyper-conservative House Freedom Caucus running, to his right.

Wisconsin

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions confirmation hearing for Julie Su to be the Labor Secretary, on Capitol Hill, Thursday, April 20, 2023, in Washington.

Tammy Baldwin

Party: Democratic

Baldwin, who announced plans for re-election in April, is a prime target for the GOP this election cycle. Though no Republican has yet formally announced their candidacy, behind the scenes plenty of names are being floated.

"I dont think anybodys fairly concerned about the timing yet," Mark Jefferson, executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY network "And we have some strong candidates looking at it.

Wyoming

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., speaks during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing to examine the federal response to escalating wildfires and to evaluate reforms to land management and wildland firefighter recruitment, Thursday, June 8, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

John Barrasso

Party: Republican

Barrasso has represented Wyoming in the Senate since 2007. In one of the reddest states in the country, he has not yet formally announced his candidacy but is unlikely to face a strong Democratic challenger.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What senators are up for re-election in 2024? State races to watch
Russians strike at midnight at Kharkiv and the region with S-300 missiles

At least one person was injured in a Russian missile attack on Kharkiv on July 31, according to the spokesman of the regional prosecutors office, Dmytro Chubenko.

At around midnight, Russia launched S-300 missiles against Kharkiv and Kharkiv Oblast. The attack originated from Russia's Belgorod Oblast, Chubenko said.

Read also: Ukrainian woman suspected of guiding Russian strikes on Kharkiv freed on bail

One of the missiles hit a warehouse belonging to a commercial enterprise in Kharkiv's Novobavarskyi District.

A man who happened to be near the center of the explosion was injured and subsequently provided with medical care.

Read also: Police publish harrowing video of first minutes after Russian missile attack on Sumy

Another missile hit a house in the village of Velykyi Burluk, Kharkiv Oblast. Fortunately, no one was injured.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Presidential Office head Andrii Yermak reported on Telegram that Russian strikes on July 31 against Kherson have killed four people and wounded 17 others, among them a 16-year-old girl.

Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said that one of the people killed, as well as six of those injured, are employees of a utility company, who came under fire while working. Five other injured were volunteers.

At around 8:20 a.m. local time, Russian forces targeted a utility company building in the city center with a Grad multiple-launch rocket system.

At around 1 p.m. that Russian forces launched another attack against the city, targeting the Korabel district.

Another man was injured as a result of an attack on Beryslav, a city upriver from Kherson.

Prokudin said that the intense shelling is due to Russia replenishing its forces on the east bank of the Dnipro river.

Kherson and other regional settlements on the Kyiv-controlled west bank have been continuously subjected to Russian shelling since Ukrainian forces liberated them in November 2022.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Drones hit Moscow, Zelensky says war gradually returning to Russia

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
A group of senators affiliated with the progressive and climate-hawk wings of the Democratic party are calling on Attorney General Merrick Garland to sue fossil fuel companies for misleading the public on climate change.

In the letter, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) called on the Justice Department to take civil action over what they call a concerted effort to misinform about the relationship between fossil fuels and planetary warming.

The senators cite communications as early as 1959 between physicist Edward Teller and the American Petroleum Institute (API) in which he warned of planetary warming from burning fossil fuels. In the 1970s, Shell and Exxon commissioned and conducted research that found a relationship between carbon emissions into the atmosphere and rising temperatures.

Since then, the senators wrote, the industry has embarked on a campaign to minimize the threat of climate change through the API, with an ultimate goal of making recognition of the uncertainties  part of the conventional wisdom, according to a 1998 API memo.

The actions of ExxonMobil, Shell, and potentially other fossil fuel companies represent a clear violation of federal racketeering laws, truth in advertising laws, consumer protection laws, and potentially other laws, and the Department must act swiftly to hold them accountable for their unlawful actions, the senators wrote. The fossil fuel industry has had scientific evidence about the dangers of climate change and the role that burning fossil fuels play in increasing global temperatures for more than 50 years.

As precedent, the senators cite both the 1990s lawsuits against the tobacco industry and the dozens of states and municipalities that have already filed similar lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry. They also point to the role of climate change in extreme weather and heat in recent years and 2023 in particular, as well as a Deloitte estimate that unchecked climate change could cost the country over $14.5 trillion by the end of the century.

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The record of the past two decades demonstrates that the industry is achieving its goal of providing affordable, reliable American energy to U.S. consumers while substantially reducing emissions and our environmental footprint, an API spokesperson told The Hill in a statement.

The Hill has reached out to ExxonMobil, Shell and the Justice Department for comment.

 Updated at 3:24 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Six people were taken to the hospital after being hit by a car in Lincolnton on Sunday afternoon, according to the Lincolnton Police Department.

Police say around 1:17 p.m., an assault with a vehicle happened at Walmart on North Generals Boulevard in Lincolnton.

Law enforcement says six migrant workers were hit in what they believe was an intentional vehicle assault. All of the workers were taken to the hospital with different injuries, but none appeared to be life-threatening.

ALSO READ: 84-year-old man struck, killed while changing tire on York County highway

Officers say the car is an older model, a mid-size black SUV with a luggage rack, and the driver was described as an older white male.

The department is asking for the publics help to identify the vehicle and the driver.

Police say the motive for the assault is still under investigation.

Editor Note: CMPD initially said this was intentional, but the driver later said it was an accident.

This is a developing story; check back at wsoctv.com for updates.

(WATCH BELOW: Pedestrian struck, shot in northwest Charlotte, MEDIC says)








Mayor Brandon Johnson and Interim Superintendent of Police Fred Waller attend the Graduation and Promotion Ceremony for Chicago Police Departments new police recruits and Officers at the Aon Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier, June 5, 2023. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Mayor Brandon Johnson is on the clock.

He faces an Aug. 12 deadline to select the next leader of the Chicago Police Department from a list of three finalists handed to him earlier this month. If he decides none of the candidates fit the bill  a long shot, but not impossible  he could order the vetting process begin anew.

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But until the next permanent superintendent is chosen and approved by the City Council, the CPD remains under the direction of Fred Waller, the recently retired chief of patrol whom Johnson asked to lead the department through the citys historically violent summer months.

Waller is once again on the clock, too.

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A Tribune analysis found that Waller, who retired in 2020 after 34 years with the department, will be paid more than $82,000 for helming the CPD in the early months of the Johnson administration. That figure is a combination of Wallers prorated city salary  $260,004, the same as former Superintendent David Browns  and his monthly pension payments of more than $12,000 that kicked in upon his original exit from CPD.

Waller, Johnsons office and the Chicago police all declined to provide comment for this story.

Pension payments are 75% of the average salary during the officers final four years before retirement. Waller, 61, was paid $185,364 per year when he retired in August 2020, according to records from the citys Department of Human Resources.

The salary-pension double dip is perfectly legal in Chicago, an income booster other top public officials have enjoyed when theyve taken on new roles after retirement.

But it has come under increased scrutiny in recent years as Chicago and Illinois have struggled with massive unpaid pension liabilities and residents have watched their property tax bills and rents go up to cover the shortfalls.

The state General Assembly in 2019 voted to prohibit elected officials who draw pensions through the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund from also collecting salaries for serving in the same positions.

Then-Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2017 signed a law preventing retired police officers from accruing credit toward a second pension if they return to the force in a new position while already collecting their first pension.

Waller is enjoying his months of simultaneous salary and pension after employing a common bit of Police Department bureaucratic jujitsu upon his retirement.

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Just before he left CPD, Waller voluntarily returned to the rank of lieutenant, clearing the way for him to rejoin the union that represents CPD lieutenants. The self-demotion  often undertaken by retiring members of the command staff  allowed Waller to sell back unused vacation days and qualify for more retiree health care benefits.

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Even on an interim basis, Wallers mid-May hiring was seen by many in CPD as a shrewd maneuver by the freshmen mayor. In selecting Waller, a CPD lifer who remained popular among rank-and-file cops as well as supervisors after his 2020 retirement, Johnson extended an olive branch to the citys police officers after an election in which his previous statements in support of defunding the police were put front and center.

At the same time, Waller has provided Johnson a shield from criticism during the hottest months of the year when violent crime spikes. From May 15, the day Johnson was sworn in, through July 25, Chicago recorded 147 killings while another 633 people suffered nonfatal gunshot wounds, according to city data. Those totals are down slightly from the same time period in 2022, when 156 people were killed citywide with another 715 shot and wounded. Violence totals have fallen each year since 2020, though they still far outpace pre-pandemic levels.

Interim Chicago police Superintendent Fred Waller visits with well-wishers at Robert A. Black Magnet School, June 7, 2023, during a birthday celebration for slain Chicago police Officer Areanah Preston. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Shortly after retiring, Waller started working at Monterrey Security, the politically connected private security firm that often hires CPD brass after they leave the department. After he returned to the department, he told reporters that he did not apply to become the next permanent superintendent.

The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, a new police oversight body born out of a 2021 city ordinance, presented Johnson earlier this month with the three finalists to become the next head of the CPD. Johnson has until Aug. 12 to make his selection. The three finalists are CPDs chief of counterterrorism, Larry Snelling; CPDs chief of constitutional policing and reform, Angel Novalez; and Madison, Wisconsin, police Chief Shon Barnes.

Snelling has emerged as the most likely candidate to be chosen by Johnson, favored by a mix of conservative white officials and Black South Siders who campaigned heavily on his behalf.

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It is unlikely Johnson would select Barnes, the Madison chief. Novalez is considered a potential candidate, as he is well respected by many who know his story of having been shot in the line of duty. But Snelling is the favorite of many within and outside City Hall.

Chicago Tribunes Gregory Royal Pratt contributed.
The personal information of 612,000 Medicare beneficiaries were accessed in a sweeping data breach that affected what could be hundreds of organizations, including the government contractor, Maximus Federal Services.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced in a press release Friday that it is notifying people affected by the data breach, which could have affected information including beneficiaries, names, Social Security numbers, medical histories, diagnoses and other personal details.

No CMS or Health and Human Services systems have been affected, according to the CMS.

CMS and Maximus, a CMS contractor that assists in the Medicare appeals process, are sending letters to those potentially affected and are offering recipients two years of free credit monitoring services.

The letter also provides information on steps to take to receive a new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier number, for the people for whom that is relevant.

The data breach targeted a security vulnerability in the MOVEit software, a third-party application Maximus uses to facilitate the transfer of files during the appeals process.

Maximus determined that at least 8 million to 11 million people were affected by the data breach, including the 612,000 Medicare beneficiaries notified.

The attack took place approximately from May 27-31, according to the most up-to-date information in the CMS ongoing investigation. During that time, the unauthorized party obtained access to files saved on the MOVEit application.

On May 30, Maximus detected unusual activity in the MOVEit software, prompting Maximus to investigate and then stop use of the application. Maximus notified CMS of the incident June 2.

Reports indicate that the data breach could have affected more than 400 organizations, affecting approximately 23 million peoples information.

Russian ransomware group Clop reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The York fire burns in an area of the Mojave National Preserve on Saturday. (R. Almendinger / InciWeb / National Park Service)

The 70,000-acre wildfire that started in California's Mojave National Preserve before sweeping across the border into Nevada remained 0% contained Sunday night as firefighters faced dangerous "fire whirls"  a product of intense heat and turbulent winds, officials said.

Firefighters struggled Sunday to slow the blaze, which was rampaging across a Mojave Desert landscape that is a vast, delicate and vital ecosystem rich in wildlife  tortoises, foxes, badgers, bobcats, bighorn sheep  and Joshua trees, and the animals and plants are vulnerable to wildfires.

Earlier this year, heavy rains triggered explosive growth of grasses throughout Southern California's desert regions. Feeding off nitrogen-laden smog wafting in from the Los Angeles area, the grasses left Joshua tree forests vulnerable to large-scale brush fires.

A tanker drops fire retardant Saturday over the York fire. (R. Almendinger / InciWeb / National Park Service)

Miles upon miles of invasive grasses are like flash paper in the understory of the Mojave Desert, Frazier Haney, executive director of the Wildlands Conservancy, told The Times on Sunday.

A wildfire like this one can, in a matter of minutes, wipe out a remarkable diversity of species created by nature over tens of thousands of years, Haney said.

In 2020, the Dome fire killed as many as 1.3 million plants across more than 40,000 acres of California desert, including a large portion of Mojave National Preserve.

For the York fire, gusting, erratic winds have complicated the firefight.

The wildfire was creating spinning vortexes of flame and smoke, known as fire whirls or fire tornadoes, federal officials said: "They have the potential to spread embers over long distances and can start new fires ahead of the main fire front. Additional fire whirls can change direction suddenly, making them unpredictable and difficult to anticipate."

Showers and thunderstorms in the area of the fire were also causing "sudden, erratic winds," according to Ashley Nickerson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Las Vegas. "That makes it really hard to contain a fire."

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Nickerson said the difficult conditions were not expected to let up over the next couple of days as the winds continued with gusts of 20 to 30 mph and moisture increased, bringing the possibility of more thunderstorms.

Despite the size of the fire and lack of containment, officials said there were no plans as of about 7 p.m. Sunday to issue evacuation orders for residential areas, including Nipton and Searchlight. "The fire ... remains some distance from these areas," Clark County officials tweeted, "and [Clark County Fire Department] continues to coordinate response and resources with partner agencies."

The blaze started in federal lands in Mojave National Preserve and was first observed Friday burning near Caruthers Canyon, said Stephanie Bishop, a National Park Service public information officer and spokesperson for the York fire. The cause of the blaze has not yet been determined, Bishop said.

An update From #ClarkCounty and the @ClarkCountyFD regarding the York Fire burning in the @MojaveNPS and has now moved into Nevada.



See statement attached. pic.twitter.com/Wer45GJejo  Clark County Nevada (@ClarkCountyNV) July 31, 2023

Clark County advised the public to avoid State Route 164.

The National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, San Bernardino County Fire Protection District and Clark County Fire Department were providing resources to support suppression efforts, which included air and ground crews. Officials said there were more than 200 personnel fighting the blaze.

In Riverside County, the Bonny fire was at 2,206 acres and 10% containment as of Sunday night. Multiple homes were threatened by the fire, which ignited Thursday afternoon near the community of Aguanga, southeast of Temecula.

Evacuation orders were in effect for north of the San Diego County border; east of Bonny Lane; south of Bowers, Bailey and Ramsey roads; and west of Anza Borrego State Park.

Times staff writer Ian James contributed to this report.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A group that supports people who need out-of-state abortions in the Deep South sued Alabamas Republican attorney general Monday, following his threats to prosecute anyone who assists residents who want to travel out of state for an abortion.

The Yellowhammer Fund argued Attorney General Steve Marshalls threats create an illegal chilling effect on the groups freedom of expression and have forced the group to stop operating its abortion fund due to fear of prosecution.

Alabama banned nearly all abortions after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, even in cases of rape or incest. Lawmakers in the state are also considering legislation that would allow people who get abortions to be prosecuted for murder and assault in certain situations.

Earlier this year, Marshall threatened to prosecute anyone who aids and abets in an abortion. The confusion surrounding that statement resulted in an increased sense of fear and uncertainty for Plaintiff and pregnant people alike, the group said in its complaint.

The Attorney Generals threats violate Yellowhammer Funds constitutional rights to free expression, association, travel, and due process and intrude on the sovereignty of states where abortion is legal, the group wrote.

In a related lawsuit, a group of health providers sued Marshall because he explicitly threatened providers with felony charges for assisting Alabamians seeking to travel out of state to obtain an abortion.

The providers, represented by the ACLU of Alabama, said they are afraid to even share information about obtaining an abortion in places where its still legal for fear of prosecution.

The clinics suing do not provide abortion care, but they said they are scared to even provide abortion-adjacent care like counseling or directing women to websites where they could order abortion pills if its earlier enough in the pregnancy.

As a result of the Attorney Generals threat, my staff cannot provide vital information and recommendations regarding legal medical care in other states, despite their expertise and professional knowledge as to which out-of-state providers are best suited to each patients specific medical circumstances, because they know that to do so is to open themselves up to potential arrest and prosecution, said Robin Marty, operations director for the West Alabama Womens Center, in a statement.

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In a statement to The Hill, Marshalls office said the attorney general will continue to vigorously enforce Alabama laws protecting unborn life which include the Human Life Protection Act. That includes abortion providers conspiring to violate the Act.

Updated at 1:25 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Families in Richmond County who have lost loved ones are spending years waiting for those cases to play out in its court system.

As a result, civil rights leaders in Charlotte are traveling to Richmond County where they believe that wait is problematic.

The wait for a trial can be agonizing for victims families.

READ MORE: Rally in Rockingham hopes to spark answers in double homicide at car wash

He was ready to graduate and wanted to start his own business, said Melinda Crank. (He was) funny, always wanted to make someone laugh.

Tanikka Hough and Cranks sons, DaMarion Davis and Malik Ellerbe, were high school seniors with big dreams.

He was supposed to be graduating, said Hough He was already accepted in college. He wanted to make a difference.

Those dreams were shattered in 2021 when the young men were shot and killed at a Rockingham car wash on U.S. Highway 74.

There still has not been a trial set after two years, which has now been continued to at least 2024.

Im tired all day long, Hough said. We sit here and wait and dont hear anything.

The families spend long and emotional days in court to be their sons advocates when their accused killer comes in.

He will see my face every time, said Hough. The only way we can get closure is if justice is served.

Charlotte civil rights activist John Barnett is vocal about this case and held a justice rally last year.

Barnett believes the slower court process is a civil rights issue for Richmond County.

Certain cities in certain states get certain money, Barnett said.

He said that where you die in North Carolina matters when getting justice.

I think they need to ask Raleigh for an extra check and bring more clerk of courts in here to establish these court hearings so that these individuals can get justice, Barnett said. Its a matter of money and resources.

Hough understands the ache of waiting for justice.

The pain is there every day, Hough said. We think about our child all day, 24 hours a day. I dreamed about him last night.

She waited five years for her sons killer to be tried in Richmond County.

However, the district attorneys office made a plea deal in June. Her sons killer will serve 30 years in prison.
Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said artificial intelligence (AI) could take over tasks from doctors sooner rather than later.

The inevitable question isnt so much if but when these artificial intelligence devices can step into the shoes of doctors. For some tasks, this medical future is sooner than we think, Gottlieb wrote in an opinion piece published with CNBC.

Gottlieb said AI tools in health care are split into two categories: machine learning, which utilizes algorithms to allow systems to learn patterns from data and make predictions; and natural language processing, which understands and creates human language.

In a few cases, Gottlieb said large language models are analyzing a patients medical records and providing diagnoses and treatments directly to the patient without a physician involved.

The biggest hurdle may well be establishing a suitable regulatory path, Gottlieb wrote. Regulators are hesitant, fearing that the models are prone to errors and that the clinical data sets on which theyre trained contain wrong decisions, leading to AI models to replicate these medical mistakes.

Gottlieb said overcoming these hurdles holds significant promise, to improve patient outcomes and tackle financial challenges that incur when more non-physician providers are hired to lower the costs of provider labor.

Gottlieb said large language models are also being used for administrative tasks like processing medical claims, analyzing medical records or for clinical decision support software, which takes patients specific data and recommends diagnoses and treatments. Gottlieb said if the doctor is involved, the FDA may not regulate the tool.

According to Gottlieb, machine learning technology is used to analyze clinical data, images and scans, and the software of which is often categorized as medical devices by the FDA. Gottlieb noted the tools are trained with closed data sets where the findings have been verified, which gives the FDA increased confidence when assessing these devices integrity.

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Even if the current stage of development isnt quite ready to completely remove doctors from the decision-making loop, these tools will increasingly enhance the productivity of providers and, in many cases, begin to substitute for them, Gottlieb said.

Gottlieb also pointed to how OpenAIs ChatGPT, a large language model, passed the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam, while 10 percent of medical students who take it do not pass every year.

Gottliebs argument comes as more studies reveal AI could take jobs from people in the future.

Last week, a report from McKinsey Global Institute showed that nearly 30 percent of hours currently worked across the U.S. could be automated by 2030.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
An Alabama couple led police on a chase through Jackson Monday morning after, police say, they stole items from a garage sale in a Madison neighborhood, according to the Madison Police Department.

Officials said the incident occurred around 9:12 a.m. when Madison police responded to calls and reports of a couple who were believed to have stolen multiple items, including gas cans, from a garage sale in the Windsor Hills neighborhood.

Steven Garner, 44. and Dana Morales, 51, were traveling in a vehicle reported stolen from Walker County, Alabama, officials said.

Capt. Kevin Newman, administrative and support services commander of the Madison Police Department, said officers encountered the 2003 Toyota Tundra truck on Mississippi 463 near Interstate 55, and upon attempting to stop the vehicle, it fled southbound on Interstate 55 with officers in pursuit.

"The vehicle pursuit continued southbound on Interstate 55, at which time the vehicle exited west onto Beasley Road and then southbound on State Street," Newman said. "The vehicle continued south on State Street, at which time the Capitol Police Department assisted with the pursuit. The fleeing vehicle continued south on State Street, turning west onto Highway 80 and north onto Interstate 220. The vehicle exited Interstate 220 east on West Capitol Street. The vehicle continued on Capitol Street turning north on Congress Street. Upon turning on Congress Street, the vehicle stopped when the driver and occupant surrendered to officers."

A flashing blue light of a police car.

Newman said both suspects were charged in the incident.

Steven Garner of Jasper, Alabama, was faces charges of receiving stolen property (felony), felony fleeing and petit larceny. Garner is also wanted for receiving stolen property and attempting to elude in Cullman County, Alabama.

Dana Morales of Cullman County, Alabama, was charged with receiving stolen property (felony) and conspiracy to commit a crime. Morales is also wanted for receiving stolen property in Cullman County, Alabama.

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Both subjects are at the Madison County Detention Center, with no bond set, officials said late Monday afternoon.

While responding to assist with the pursuit, a Capitol Police Department vehicle was involved in an accident with a third-party car on State Street near East Rankin Street.

Officials said no injuries were reported as a result of the accident.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: A couple from Alabama steals a gas can from a garage sale in Fondren
Alicia Navarros mother has pleaded for the public to move on after the missing teenager mysteriously showed up at a Montana police station four years after disappearing from her Arizona home.

Jessica Nunez posted an emotional video message to her Finding Alicia Facebook page on Sunday and said she and her family had been harassed and attacked online, and the search for answers about her 18-year-old daughters disappearance has taken a turn for the dangerous.

Lets focus that my daughter is alive. This is a miracle, Ms Nunez said.

Ms Nunezs voice faltered as she thanked supporters who had helped to keep attention on the missing person investigation.

I cant even put into words the amount of gratitude I have for you all, Ms Nunez said.

But now that we know Alicia is alive, I have to ask one more favour of you. I know you want answers and I do, too. But the publics search for answers has taken a turn for the dangerous, she added.

I have been harassed, my family has been attacked all over the internet  the public has gone from trying to help Alicia to doing things like trying to show up to her house and putting her safety in jeopardy, Ms Nunez said.

So I beg you, please no more TikToks, no more reaching out to Alicia or to me with your speculation or questions or assumptions. This is not a movie, this is our life, this is my daughter, she added.

I love her more than anything in the world, and I think I have shown you that. Theres an ongoing investigation and Im begging you to move on.

Alicia Navarro, left, before she went missing, and right, after her reappearance (Navarro Family/Glendale Police)

Ms Navarro disappeared from her Glendale home in September 2019 days before her 15th birthday, sparking a vast search operation involving police, the FBI and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

On 23 July, she showed up alone at a police station in Havre, Montana, about 40 miles from the Canadian border.

Police have remained tight-lipped about where they believe Ms Navarro has been for the past four years, and if they have identified any suspects.

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A man living a few blocks from the Havre police station was arrested last week by officers executing a search warrant, a Glendale police spokesperson told the Associated Press. He has since been released without charge.

Ms Navarro told detectives in Glendale that no one had hurt her, but its unclear if she has shed further light on where shes been, or if she will return to her family home.

Ms Nunez has previously said that her daughter was on the autism spectrum, which made her shy in social situations.

Last week, a private investigator hired by the family told the New York Post Ms Navarro had only spoken briefly to her mother.

Trent Steel told the Post the family was thrilled she had been found safe, but that the teenager had not made her intentions clear.
Law enforcement officers met a passenger at the gate at Kansas City International Airport after the person allegedly became disruptive aboard a Southwest Airlines flight from Raleigh-Durham International Airport, a spokesperson for the airline said Sunday.

Southwest Airlines Flight 2066 had been delayed about an hour from departing Saturday evening from the airport in North Carolina and arrived in Kansas City about 8:40 p.m., according to FlightAware, a flight tracking company.

Our reports indicate that a customer traveling on flight 2066, with scheduled service from Raleigh-Durham to Kansas City, was met by law enforcement at the gate in Kansas City due to exhibiting disruptive behavior onboard, said Laura Swift, a spokesperson for the airline said.

Swift referred further questions to local authorities. A KCI spokesman said the matter fell under the FBIs jurisdiction.

Dixon Land, a public affairs specialist with the FBI in Kansas City, confirmed that the FBI responded and did not take anyone into custody Saturday evening. The FBI did not comment further.

Incidents of bad behavior among airline passengers are rising as air travel continues its post-pandemic recovery, according to a new study released in June by the International Air Transport Association.

The analysis found that incidents of unruly passenger increased significantly in 2022 compared to 2021, with one unruly incident reported for every 568 flights in 2022, up from one per 835 flights in 2021, according to the association.

Although physical abuse incidents often draw the most media attention, they remain rare  about one in every 17,200 flights last year. But that was an increase of 67% over the previous year.

The most common incidents in 2022 were non-compliance, verbal abuse and intoxication. Non-compliance incidents initially fell after mask mandates were removed on most flights, but the frequency began to rise, with 2022 ending the year up 37% over 2021, the association said.

Non-compliance issues include smoking of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vapes and puff devices in the cabin or lavatories, failure to fasten seat belts when instructed, exceeding carry-on baggage allowances or failing to store baggage when required, and consumption of alcohol that passengers brought on board.
The alleged safety threats to a Delta Airlines flight that was diverted to Logan International Airport on Sunday came from a hoax call made to authorities in another state, state police said Monday.

Delta Airlines Boston to Newark Flight 5770 was diverted back to Boston, shortly after takeoff, when authorities learned that police in New Jersey received a report that a male passenger on board had made threats concerning the safety of the plane.

Back on the ground at Logan, the passenger was removed from the plane, a bomb-sniffing K9 examined his carry-on baggage. The passenger did not have any checked luggage. The search turned up no sign of any hazardous material, and ultimately the plane took off for New Jersey.

The passenger, who cooperated with State Police investigators, was not charged.

An investigation by State Police detectives found that the male passenger posed no threat to the safety of the flight or the public, state police said.

The man left the barracks after cooperating with investigators, state police said in a statement Monday. The investigation into the source of the hoax call, which was made to authorities in another state, is being conducted by another law enforcement jurisdiction. The Massachusetts State Police have no further involvement in this case.

Boston 25s Bob Ward spoke to Security Analyst Dan Linskey, a former Boston Police Chief, over Zoom about this unusual case.

Linskey said once Flight 57-70 took off, when the threat was received, authorities had to take action.

Wed rather have them be safe than sorry. And make sure that our planes are no longer utilized for potential attacks against our communities, Linskey said.

Mass State Police said the initial warning was made to police in another state, and that information was sent to Boston.

Dan Linskey said its important now to find the source of the hoax call, which on its surface, resembles a SWATTING call, like the hoax calls made to so many area schools in recent months.

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We cant be pulling planes out of the sky because someone calls 911 and says Dan Linskey made a threat, Bob Ward made a threat. Thats not an appropriate response. Thats going to cause all kinds of concerns by our flying public and our safety, our ability to produce commerce, and travel throughout our country, Linskey added.

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Alpha Phi Alpha Moves Convention From Florida Over Harmful, Racist And Insensitive Policies | Mike Brown

Gov. Ron DeSantis recent policies on African American Studies and the Dont Say Gay Bill in Florida have led the Black fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha to move its 2025 conference from the sunny state, calling it hostile to the Black community. The 99th General Convention and 119th Anniversary Convention will move from Orlando due to Gov. Ron DeSantis harmful, racist, and insensitive policies against the Black community.

The event was estimated to generate $4.6 million and host between 4,000-6,000 guests, according to Alpha Phi Alpha, NBC reported. Another Black organization that joined the movement is Kappa Alpha Psi. The organization announced they were subscribing to a broad coalition of organizations in solidarity against insensitive, discriminatory, and racist policies being promoted in the State of Florida by Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies.

Alpha Phi Alph joins other national Black groups in canceling conventions in Florida or condemning the DeSantis administrations policies, especially the recent ratification of the states Black American history standards.

Although we are moving our convention from Florida, Alpha Phi Alpha will continue to support the strong advocacy of Alpha Brothers and other advocates fighting against the continued assault on our communities in Florida by Gov. Ron DeSantis, General President Dr. Willis L. Lonzer, III said. Our work for justice is perpetual. These actions compel us to work harder to protect the legacy of those who struggled and died to make a More Perfect Union,' he said.

Because of Floridas political atmosphere, at least nine additional groups or associations have canceled conventions in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, two of the states most populous convention locations.
What will it take to bring back the CTA?

The indispensable public transportation system has been in crisis since the COVID-19 pandemic descended on our city.

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I ride the CTA daily, sometimes several times a day. Ridership has been up in recent months, and there have been some improvements, but the service remains substandard. The bus tracker is frequently inaccurate. Safety issues persist as the system is plagued by crime. One morning predawn last week, I had to duck as a group of unruly young women threatened a CTA employee, then jumped the turnstiles at a Red Line subway stop.

What are agency leaders doing about it? They could start by getting on their buses and trains. When it comes to using the system, many of the agencys top executives are missing in action.

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Eight members of the CTAs top brass, among the agencys highest paid officials, used their unlimited work cards to swipe onto the system on less than 50 days each in all of 2021 and 2022, Block Club Chicago reported on July 14. One executive never used her pass in a two-year period, according to a Block Club analysis of CTA records.

CTA President Dorval Carter Jr. speaks at a City Council Transportation Committee on Nov. 10, 2022. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

In May, the news site revealed that the agencys boss, President Dorval R. Carter Jr., used his work card on 12 days in all of 2021 and 2022, with only one swipe recorded in 2021.

If you want to run a railroad, you should be on it. These fat-cat elites are far removed from the real life of public transportation. The biggies are too busy, their matters too important, to bother with the CTA. They have no clue about what its like to search for safety on a train car as the thieves and miscreants prey on riders. They dont face the fear of standing in a bus shelter, alone at night, waiting for the ghost bus that never comes.

Many CTA muckety-mucks earn six-figure salaries. Many CTA passengers are working-class, essential workers who must rely on the broken system to get to their jobs.

Back in May, CTA spokesperson Brian Steele told Block Club that the agencys log of swipes from Carters card is not a full reflection of his use of the system.

Like a lot of CTA employees, from field personnel to executives, President Carter often does not use his card to gain entry to rail stations or board buses, Steele said in a statement. Some of the time, CTA employees do not tap their ID cards on the card readers, as field personnel recognize them and open gates on their behalf or let them on a bus. Or, staff enter facilities through work entrances.

Yeah, right.

Carter has led the agency since 2015. In late 2021, as Chicago was emerging from the pandemic, the board unanimously voted to give Carter a 33% pay raise to reward him for his leadership, boosting Carters salary to $350,000.

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At that time, CTA board Chairman Lester Barclay touted Carters work before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Running a transit agency during normal times is a herculean task, he was quoted as saying. Doing so during a global pandemic was nothing short of remarkable.

Now, transit advocates and elected officials are fed up. Commuters Take Action, an advocacy group led by transit riders, has repeatedly called on Carter to resign.

[ Commuter advocates: Chicago needs a CTA board that cares about holding agency leadership accountable ]

Last year, aldermen blasted Carter for failing to appear at Chicago City Council meetings. (Maybe he missed his bus.)

If youre running the CTA, you should be riding it, Ald. Andre Vasquez, 40th, said in response to the Block Club report. You got to understand the experience of Chicagoans who must use it every day to get to their jobs and around the city.  Setting that expectation starts at the top with the president.

Mayor Brandon Johnson could have a lot to say in the matter. During the 2023 mayoral runoff campaign, I interviewed Johnson at an event hosted by Block Club. I asked Johnson if he would change leadership at the top of the CTA if elected.

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There is a leadership problem there, Johnson said in March. Under my leadership, heres what I expect: People to be compassionate, collaborative and competent. And if you cant demonstrate those very basic fundamental traits of a leader, then we will have to look elsewhere to find that.

Carter is still in charge.

Johnson likes to tout the fact that he rides the CTA, often from his home in the Austin community.

Great ride on the Green Line this morning, Johnson tweeted on July 21. One of the many lines and routes serving people, so that people can better serve and enjoy our city. Im committed to our commuters and transit workers, and to making public transit safe, efficient and reliable to keep Chicago moving.

The tweet includes photos of a smiling Johnson walking through a station turnstile, flanked by several police officers.

Laura Washington is a political commentator and longtime Chicago journalist. Her columns appear in the Tribune each Monday. Write to her at LauraLauraWashington@gmail.com.

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New York native, Amber Corbett, has officially made history. She will be the first Black woman to represent the United States in the annual Miss Intercontinental pageant since its 1971 inception.

Making History

According to The Villager, Corbett was crowned by Katherine McQuade, the United States of Americas Miss 2023. The crowning event happened during a meet and greet at The Ready Rooftop in the East Village.

Winning Miss Intercontinental USA felt like I was breaking a glass ceiling in itself because, in 51 years, theres never been a Black Miss Intercontinental USA, the Brooklyn native said.

This years competition was conducted much differently than it has in the past. Participants had to submit a virtual package in order to compete for the crown, instead of an in-person competition and on-stage crowning. She said that with her new title, she plans to use her platform to continue promoting diversity and representation in the media.

Im planning [on] doing a safe space and hav[ing] Zoom calls for women of color to do networking. Because as a woman of color in media, its such a small industry, said Corbett.

Her support resource, Shes Represented, is a space for women of color in corporate America to network and unwind.

All About Amber Corbett

The new queen graduated cum laude from Pace University last May. She received a bachelors degree in business administration in advertising and integrated marketing communication. Corbett extended her studies with a minor in digital marketing. She now works as a marketing coordinator in ad sales at NBCUniversal Peacock and Scripted Development Division.

Although Corbett did share with the outlet that she grew up shy, she is no stranger to pageantry. She entered her first competition at 11 after her mother gained insight into pageants and the ways they can boost confidence. Since then, she has been crowned Miss Galaxy NY 2021, Miss Galaxy NY Teen 2015, Miss Earth NY Teen 2015, Miss United States NY Jr Teen 2015, and IJM Junior Teen 2015.

The Miss Intercontinental beauty pageant kicks off this October. The winner of the competition will be named Miss POWER OF BEAUTY.

The post Amber Corbett Becomes First Black Woman to Represent The US in Miss Intercontinental Pageant appeared first on 21Ninety.
An American nurse and her child were kidnapped near Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince on Thursday, according to the nonprofit organization where the woman works and where her husband serves as director. News of the kidnapping comes at a time when gruesome crimes and gang violence are rising in the city.

El Roi Haiti, a Christian humanitarian organization, has identified the woman as Alix Dorsainvil. Her husband and the child's father, Sandro Dorsainvil, is the organization's founder and director of operations in Haiti. Originally from New Hampshire, Alix Dorsainvil lived and worked in Port-au-Prince as a nurse at the school run by El Roi Haiti, which aims to expand access to affordable education and teaches a faith-based curriculum, according to the nonprofit. She and the child were kidnapped from the organization's campus near Port-au-Prince on Thursday morning "while serving in our community ministry," the organization said.

"Our team at El Roi Haiti is grateful for the outpouring of prayers, care, and support for our colleague. We continue to work with our partners and trusted relationships to secure their safe return," said Jason Brown, the president and co-founder of El Roi Haiti Outreach International, in a statement shared to the organization's website, which was last updated on Saturday.

Brown described Alix Dorsainvil as "a deeply compassionate and loving person who considers Haiti her home and the Haitian people her friends and family."

"Alix has worked tirelessly as our school and community nurse to bring relief to those who are suffering as she loves and serves the people of Haiti in the name of Jesus," the statement continued. "Thank you for your support and compassion during this on-going situation. We would request that no attempts be made to contact the family for comment at this time."

Brown asked the public to "refrain from speculating on social media about this situation in order to protect Alix and her child during this time" and noted that additional updates will be shared to the El Roi Haiti website.

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Federal officials in the United States confirmed they are aware of the kidnapping report and in contact with Haitian authorities.

Security awaits the arrival of an unidentified Haitian diplomatic delegation at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince July 11, 2021, three days after the assassination of Haitian leader Jovenel Moise. / Credit: Valerie Baeriswyl/AFP via Getty Images

"The U.S. Department of State and our embassies and consulates abroad have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas. We are aware of reports of the kidnapping of two U.S. citizens in Haiti," a spokesperson for the State Department said in a statement to CBS News on Friday night. "We are in regular contact with Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them and our U.S. government interagency partners. We have nothing further to share at this time."

The State Department advises Americans not to travel to Haiti. The agency last updated its travel advisory for the country at the end of July, maintaining its Level 4 risk assessment  meaning "do not travel"  while noting that kidnapping in Haiti "is widespread, and victims regularly include U.S. citizens."

"Kidnapping cases often involve ransom negotiations and U.S. citizen victims have been physically harmed during kidnappings. Victim's families have paid thousands of dollars to rescue their family members," the State Department wrote in a news release. The department ordered all family members of U.S. government employees and non-emergency U.S. government employees in Haiti to leave the country as soon as possible "in light of the current security situation and infrastructure challenges."

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Cherokee4 | Dreamstime.com

Despite the successes of private space companies, many Americans cling to a notion of NASA as representing the country beyond the atmosphere. In fact, though, NASA relies on capabilities developed and owned by others. The Space Launch System [SLS] is supposed to restore the agency's role, but it's antiquated and clunky when compared to private competitors. Public opinion has yet to catch up with an innovation boom that has moved beyond misty memories of NASA in its moon-landing heyday.

Fond Memories of a Space Pioneer

"Most Americans continue to believe that the U.S. space agency NASA has a critical role to play, even as private space companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are increasingly involved in space," Pew Research reported earlier this month. "Overall, 65% of U.S. adults say it is essential that NASA continue to be involved in space exploration, the survey finds. A smaller share (32%) believe that private companies will ensure enough progress is made in space exploration, even without NASA's involvement."

The Biden administration is happy to play to such sentiments with its National Cislunar Science & Technology Strategy which heavily emphasizes "the NASA Artemis program, with its near-term mission to return humans to the Moon." But the publication of that strategy last November was no accident, coinciding as it did with the successful test of the long-delayed Space Launch System and Orion crew capsule. Without the SLS, plans for NASA's return to the moon are pipe dreams, since it has largely relied on others for reaching space since the 2011 retirement of the space shuttle program.

"Without SpaceX, the only U.S. company currently capable of carrying cargo to the ISS would currently be Northrop Grumman, and NASA would still be reliant on the Russian Soyuz for crew transportation," The Planetary Society noted in 2020.

But the SLS is less of a great leap forward than an impressive exercise in digging through the spare parts bin and seeing what you can cobble together.

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Repackaged Space Shuttle Technology

"To reduce cost and development time, NASA is upgrading proven hardware from the space shuttle and other exploration programs while making use of cutting-edge tooling and manufacturing technology," NASA cheerfully boasts. What that means, according to Space.com, is that "components that previously flew on 83 out of the 135 space shuttle missions have been assembled into new vehicles: the Space Launch System [SLS] and its Orion spacecraft."

Despite a lot of off-the-shelf parts, the SLS arrived years late and billions of dollars over-budget. It didn't even have a defined mission until the return to the moon was first announced during the Trump administration.

"Ultimately, jobsand not actual progress in spaceseem to be the driving force of the program," space analyst and consultant Rand Simberg (who has written for Reason) charged in 2011. "Even if it never actually flies, SLS may still meet its primary mission requirement: delivering federal funding to the states and districts of those in Congress with a particular interest in NASA's budget."

Former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver is also no fan of the SLS.

"It's all about flight rate," she told Ars Technica last year. "It will become inevitably embarrassing if [SpaceX's] Starship is launching dozens of times a year like Falcon 9 is, and SLS once every two years." She doesn't have high hopes that NASA's new baby is up to the challenge because "they took finicky, expensive programs that couldn't fly very often, stacked them together differently, and said now, all of a sudden, it's going to be cheap and easy. The shuttle was supposed to fly 40 or 50 times a year. And at its max it never got close. Typically, it was four or five."

That's not to say that Garver is pessimistic about space exploration. On the contrary, she's excited about recent developments and what the future holds.

"I'm really positive about the future of space. The last decade has exceeded my expectations largely because of SpaceX. I just want to be clear about that. I couldn't have imagined, as I said in the book [Escaping Gravity, published in 2022], that we would have something like a Starship as far along in the testing as it is today."

Unlike the expendable SLS, which has a super-heavy-lift capacity of more than 200,000 pounds to low-earth orbit, the reusable Starship, with comparable (or greater) payload has yet to enjoy a successful test. The same could be said of Blue Origin's reusable New Glenn. But Space X's Falcon Heavy has had multiple missions and is based on the smaller, crew-rated Falcon 9 with over 200 missions to orbit. Northrop Grumman's Antares series has also had multiple successful launches.

Old Tech and High Prices

Payload isn't everything; the price of getting into space is also important, and private alternatives are much more cost-effective than what NASA is expected to deliver with its new-ish space capabilities.

"At an estimated cost of over $2 billion per launch for the SLS once development is complete, the use of a commercial launch vehicle would provide over $1.5 billion in cost savings," the Office of Management and Budget observed about requirements that the SLS be used for the upcoming Europa mission.

"Congress will force the agency to pay $2 billion per launch on the SLS while New Space companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin  companies that NASA helped foster  offer the same capabilities for a tenth of the cost or less," Eli Dourado of the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University warned. "It's an enormous waste of taxpayer funds."

Private Firms Take the Lead

But if NASA isn't competitive with private firms, entrepreneurs aren't waiting for permission to go out on their own. Not only is cargo reaching orbit on privately developed and operated launch systems, but Blue Origin, SpaceX, and Virgin Galactic have also embarked on space tourism.

"This is the new look of human space exploration as government's long-held monopoly on space travel continues to erode, redefining not only who owns the vehicles that carry people to space, but also the very nature of what an astronaut is and who gets to be one," The Washington Post observed in 2021.

So, American opinion hasn't yet caught up with the reality in space. But if you dig deeper, people's ideas for NASA's priorities strongly emphasize the government's traditional role in national defense.

"When asked what NASA's priorities should be, Americans rank monitoring asteroids that could hit the Earth and monitoring the Earth's climate system at the top of the list," reports Pew. Sending astronauts back to the moon was named a top priority by just 12 percent.

"The only area where Americans specifically want the federal government to remain in control is when it comes to the launching of military satellites," found a similar YouGov poll in 2021.

Americans obviously have fond memories about a past when NASA sent astronauts to the moon. But their vision for the agency's future is focused on a protective role in space while private enterprise innovates and handles the (literal) heavy lifting.

The post Americans Love NASA, But Private Firms Do the Real Work in Space appeared first on Reason.com.
By Yew Lun Tian

BEIJING (Reuters) - Hours after China's top legislature convened a special meeting last week to remove foreign minister Qin Gang, photos and mentions of the 57-year-old started disappearing from his former ministry's website.

While some of this information reappeared days later, Qin does not feature on the website's list of "former ministers", and for several more days a search for his name had been turning up: "Sorry, Qin Gang is not found".

In fact, he has not been seen in public for more than a month.

The foreign ministry's brief explanation weeks ago that this was due to health reasons, a remark later excised from official transcripts, has failed to stem a swirl of speculation not just about his fate but on how the whole saga reflects on the man that supported his meteoric rise, President Xi Jinping.

China named veteran diplomat Wang Yi to replace Qin, but gave few further clues on the reason for the change.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Thursday said Beijing will release information in a timely matter regarding Qin and opposes "malicious hype".

She was responding to a reporter who asked about transparency around Qin's removal, one of more than 25 questions mentioning Qin at press briefings in recent days that the ministry has ducked.

SPECULATION SWIRLS

China's Foreign Ministry and the State Council Information Office, which handles media queries on behalf of the party and government, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on this story.

Qin's unusually long and unexplained absence, his abruptly cut-short tenure, as well as other strange happenings like the ministry's website, mean speculation will continue to swirl.

"The truth will eventually come out - it usually does in China, although it sometimes takes months or years - but the way he was dismissed makes it unlikely that it was for health reasons," said Ian Johnson, senior fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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Beijing-based political analyst Wu Qiang said he could "almost certainly rule out health as the real reason". If that was the case, the state could have assigned a deputy to fill in for him rather than officially removing him, Wu said.

Qin lasted barely half a year in the role after becoming one of the country's youngest foreign ministers in December 2022, a position with a five-year tenure.

There are precedents for officials disappearing and being scrubbed from the collective memory in China.

Industry minister Xiao Yaqing vanished for nearly a month last year before it was revealed he was being investigated for corruption.

The foreign ministry removed all online traces to its former chief protocol officer Zhang Kunsheng who was found guilty of corruption and using his position of power to obtain sex in 2016.

Such erasures go back decades in China.

A state-commissioned painting depicting the historic moment when Mao Zedong stood on top of Tiananmen Gate to announce the founding of the people's republic was altered three times between 1955 and 1972 to erase officials that subsequently fell foul of Mao.

'ONE-MAN POLITICS'

But other observers say, in Qin's case, it is far from clear cut.

The National People's Congress Standing Committee that convened on Tuesday did not remove Qin's other title of State Councillor, a cabinet member who ranks higher than a minister, despite having the power to do so, experts say.

And despite the omissions from the foreign ministry's website, a portrait of the former U.S. envoy remained hanging prominently on the wall of the Chinese embassy in Washington on Thursday, according to a Reuters witness.

Analysts also point out that Qin would have gone through a rigorous vetting process to take the role just months ago.

Communist Party regulations say leaders are vetted based on their ideologies, work performance and adherence to party discipline, while they also have to declare details about their family, including whether they have lived overseas and what assets they have.

Since coming to power in 2012, Xi has put in place a slew of regulations to combat corruption and enforce party discipline in a bid to address corruption in ways that analysts say have consolidated members' loyalty towards him.

But this also raises the stakes for Xi if Qin's removal is about something more than just health, especially given his meteoric ascent through the ranks has been partly attributed to his closeness to the president.

Qin came to Xi's attention when he served as chief protocol officer during Xi's first term, a job that would give him direct access to Xi whenever the latter meets with foreign leaders.

He then made a triple jump from director of protocol to U.S. ambassador and then to foreign minister and state councillor in five years, bullet-train speed by China standards.

The final leadership lineup for Xi's precedent-breaking third term in office revealed earlier this year consisted mostly of officials he worked with before and trusts, analysts say.

Xi ditched a traditional process of allowing current and retired top leaders to vote on potential candidates before finalising a list for a wider group of party delegates to formally endorse.

Instead, the names were decided under Xi's "direct leadership" after he personally met with potential candidates and consulted with others, according to state media Xinhua.

"This Qin saga exposes the vulnerability of Xi's one-man politics," said Alfred Wu, associate professor at the Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.

(This story has been corrected to say that 'not found' search result continued for several days, not that it was still occurring, in paragraph 2)

(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian in Beijing; Editing by John Geddie and Lincoln Feast)
Verifying the provenance of antiquities has always been a tricky business.

The New York Met discovered this when, in 2019, it announced it was returning an Egyptian coffin purchased from an art dealer after learning it had been looted from Egypt during the unrest of 2011.

Now, some are suggesting blockchain could spare the blushes of those trading in ancient treasures and artifacts.

A real time artifact ledger

In a promising advance for the fight to prevent the looting of relics, researchers at the University of Abu Dhabi and University College London (UCL) have developed a blockchain tool called Salsal (also known as Agur).

Blockchain, the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, is essentially a decentralized, immutable, publicly accessible digital ledger. Data is recorded across many computers to form a database of linked blocks.

Once information is recorded on the blockchain, it cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all blocks in the chain and the consensus of the network.

Salsal allows a museum or collector to submit details about their collection using the web platform. Multiple experts then assess whether the collection was legally and ethically obtained while also ruling on its authenticity.

Adel Khelifi, professor of computer science at the University of Abu Dhabi, and Mark Altaweel, professor at UCLs institute of archaeology, led the project and say it provides a secure, transparent, and reliable way to track authenticity and ownership.

If youre a collector, like a museum, you can upload images and descriptions about those objects, then it goes to the verifiers who check the objects are valid, explains Altaweel.

We use the Museums Association certification process where you rate objects on a one to five scale (based on) how secure or how valid a collection is.

The idea was that this also becomes a way to pressure those collectors  including museums  to really make sure that the items they are displaying to the public are legal, adds Altaweel. If they have an object there illegally or obtained in an unethical manner, then they should do something about it.

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If a collection is verified, the owner can convert it into an NFT that serves as a certificate of authentication, as well as allowing the secure transfer of ownership and enabling tracking of a collections movement over time.

This feature establishes a transparent history, thereby deterring potential looters and encouraging the return of stolen artifacts to their countries of origin.

It also makes artifacts of cultural importance accessible through the database to those who cant view the collection in person.

I see it as a way for cultural institutions to begin to share information about (their collections) to the public - so the public can also be involved in protecting them effectively or sharing knowledge about them, says Altaweel.

The golden coffin of Nedjemankh is photographed at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo, following its repatriation from the US. - Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images

Cultural justice

As a refugee I have chosen the language of cultural heritage to fight for justice bringing looted art back home, says Tasoula Hadjitofi, author of The Icon Hunter, who was forced to flee her home in Famagusta, Cyprus, in 1974 after the Turkish invasion.

Hadjitofi is also CEO of Walk of Truth  a non-profit based in the Netherlands that is dedicated to protecting important artifacts and combating the looting of antiquities.

My inability to work out my inner conflicts as a child of war, led me to channel it in another way and that was to hunt and track down looted artifacts from Cyprus and bring them back home to my people to give them back something of what they lost, she explains.

Hadjitofi has lobbied British and Dutch MPs to change laws and ratify The Hague Treaty of 1954 to protect cultural heritage in case of war and armed conflict.

This journey has been difficult, dangerous and led me through the corridors of political and religious powers, underworlds of gangsters and thugs, whilst working next to the best of the law enforcement and legal brains in the world, she says.

Hadjitofi believes that tools like Salsal could help to bring awareness of the role of dealers, museums, and collectors and highlight the ethics around individuals privately owning artifacts and relics.

Hadjitofi says that in the field of provenance research, the history of objects is often opaque and this can be exploited by criminals who illegally move artifacts around. She is hopeful Salsal will put pressure on organizations and individuals who hold antiquities to register their journey, from original place to the museum, auction house or collectors home.

According to Hadjitofi, objects with questionable provenance often become legitimized thanks to weak legislation, allowing them to be traded among private collectors who experience no public pressure to return these antiquities to their rightful owners.

Technology can help activists, volunteers, and researchers shed light and combat art trafficking, says Hadjitofi. She also hopes Salsal will create armies of students to hunt for illegally acquired antiquities and appeal to the conscience of collectors to share information about their collections and return any items that are found to have been stolen.

People power

Another blockchain based tool, called Kapu, was developed in Italy in 2017, but the tool has since gone offline.

Despite the significant progress made with blockchain technology, challenges remain. Altaweel and Khelifi say the key to Salsals success will be convincing people to use it. Were now in the phase of trying to get (Salsal) into peoples hands, says Altaweel.

There is a small cost for collectors to use Salsal, but no more than a couple of dollars per collection. This associated cost should not be prohibitive. Both him and Khelifi hope that the tool will be used widely enough that in time collections that are not verified will come under suspicion.

Eventually, Altaweel hopes it will reach the point that If you dont have verification status of your items, people begin to question why.

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A recent University of Georgia study has found that the mental burdens that go hand-in-hand with student loan debt may be driving mental health issues among Americans.

Analyzing close to 90,000 Reddit and Twitter posts related to student loans from 2009 to 2020, the study found high levels of posts expressing mental illness.

The core sentiment of users was mostly negative. Anger, sadness, and fear were dominant emotions among social media users when discussing their student loans, said Gaurav Sinha, lead author of the study and UGA School of Social Work assistant professor.

Assistant Professor at the University of Georgias School of Social Work Dr. Gaurav Sinha

In addition, the mental burden of student loans was also linked to failing academic performance.

Our study showed both academic and non-academic consequences of having student loan debt. Student loans sometimes tend to create significant performance pressure and that creates academic hardship and college affordability. And this is not a new finding. Many other studies have also shown similar findings, said Sinha.

Such findings could have profound impacts for Georgia residents. According to March 2023 data from the U.S. Department of Education, Georgia has the fifth largest federal student loan balance at $71 billion, only coming behind California, Texas, Florida, and New York. Much of this heavy burden rests on Georgias young professionals, with 48.3% of the states borrowers under the age of 35.

UGA home: University system plans to sell UGA's President's House, cites rising maintenance costs

Lake Blackshear: UGA sells Lake Blackshear property to benefit School of Forestry and Natural Resources

While some students may fully understand what it means to take on student loans, many dont and are unprepared for the mental consequences. Borrowers are presented with minimal information when accepting or denying student loans and lack proper knowledge on repayment and management. Although a new financial literacy requirement for Georgia high school students will go into effect in 2024, this is only a first step.

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The solution to this issue primarily lies with policymakers and practitioners, according to Sinha. Outlining several areas of critical intervention including improved financial education, targeted approaches for mental health screenings, and lowered costs for high education, Sinha urges for support from lawmakers and educators as these changes begin with them.

With lack of higher education affordability for low- and middle-income students, loans become unavoidable, no matter the mental price. Sinhas advice for them: proactively gather as much financial knowledge about your loans as you can, be wary of taking on too many lines of credit, and build up your emergency savings.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Student loan debt hurts mental health, UGA study finds
ANCHORAGE  Russian President Vladimir Putin has been particularly angry lately, and the Ukrainian port city of Odesa has been suffering the consequences. In the Kremlins neo-imperial view, Odesa has long been a symbol of the Russian character of Ukraines south, because its initial development was led by Catherine the Great. Last year, Putin himself described it as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, with wonderful traditions and history. But for Putins criminal regime, nothing is sacred.

His fury became apparent on July 17, when he terminated the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a United Nations-backed agreement, signed in July 2022, that enabled Ukraine to export wheat, barley, and other foods from the Port of Odesa, as well as the ports of Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi. The notion that Putin has any say over Ukraines ability to export goods that it produces, on its own ships, from its own ports is absurd. But he gets away with it by threatening to behave even more criminally than he already has: the northwestern Black Sea, Russias foreign ministry has declared, is dangerous again.

Read also: Tkachenko dismissal: Why was Ukraines culture minister controversial?

That same day, Putin began to rain bombs on Odesa. The missile and drone attacks initially targeted grain terminals and other port facilities, resulting in major economic losses, including the destruction of 60,000 tons of grain. Russian strikes have also been directed at several buildings on Pereulok Nakhimova, a lovely lane located at the end of a fabulous six-mile-long (ten kilometers) tree-lined promenade, often enjoyed by local cyclists like me. From here, Kanatna street  where the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin often visited his friend Ivan Blaramberg  leads to the heart of the city.

The assault shattered the glass of Chinas consulate on that lane and damaged the nearby archeological and literature museums. Soon after, Russia destroyed the House of Scientists  formerly the Palace of Count Tolstoy  and 24 other architectural monuments.

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The destruction caused to the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa, Ukraine, by the Russian missile attack on July 23, 2023. (Photo by OLEKSANDR GIMANOV/AFP via Getty Images)

On the night of July 22, Russian missiles severely damaged the Transfiguration Cathedral on Soborna Square. It is a place I know intimately: Soborka, as locals call the square, is my address when I am in town. But Putin, too, has a kind of connection to it. The cathedral, which was destroyed by Stalin in 1936 and later reconstructed on Odesites dime, was consecrated in 2010 by Putins (and the KGBs) collaborator Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, a Russian Orthodox bishop and Ukrainian-killing enthusiast. Unlike most Ukrainian churches, the Transfiguration Cathedral remained tied to the Moscow branch of the Orthodox church.

None of this  not Odesas historical and cultural significance, nor Russias deep links to the city  means much to Putin. As Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made clear, all that matters is getting revenge for Ukraines drone attack against the Kerch Strait bridge, which links illegally annexed Crimea to Russia. This should enrage all of us  not least the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.

The destruction caused to the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa, Ukraine, by the Russian missile attack on July 23, 2023. (Photo by OLEKSANDR GIMANOV/AFP via Getty Images)

As of January, UNESCOs World Heritage List includes the historic center of Odesa, which contains Pereulok Nakhimova, the charming lane that Russia just attacked. One can find Pereulok Nakhimova on Google Maps, and even take a virtual stroll down it, as it was before the Kremlins recent assault. I found it on my old map from 1914, when it was called Baryatinsky. More importantly, it is on the map of the historic center of the port city of Odesa. Shouldnt UNESCO be furious that Russia, a member of the organization since 1954, has bombed it?

Article 6 of the UNs Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage commits the parties not to take any deliberate measures that might damage directly or indirectly the cultural and natural heritage in other parties territory. Surely, no damage can be more deliberate than that caused by targeted missile strikes.

Read also: In Lukashenkos Belarus, Belarusian culture is not welcome

UNESCO has condemned the Russian attacks on Odesa, noting that they took place just two weeks after the strike that destroyed a historic building in Lviv. But it should go further, expelling Russia for as long as the Kremlin continues its criminal behavior. (And that behavior extends well beyond destroying Ukrainian cultural and heritage sites: Lest we forget, Putin has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes).

There is no legal provision for such a move in UNESCOs charter. When UNESCO was created, nobody imagined that a distinguished member would invade a neighboring country, murder its people, deport its children, destroy its cities (including those protected by the Convention), and become an international pariah. But this does not mean that a mechanism for ousting criminal states cannot be created. The UN has improvised before.

A woman prays at the Transfiguration Cathedral after Russian missile strike in Odesa, Ukraine, on July 23, 2023. (Photo by Andre Alves/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Ukraine has been part of UNESCO  and the entire UN system  from the very beginning, initially joining alongside the USSR. Russia became a member only after the Soviet Unions dissolution, and there was never any legal provision for Russia to fill the UN Security Council seat that the Soviet Union had previously occupied. Moreover, unlike Russia, Ukraine has respected all of the agreements associated with its membership in the UN system. There is, in short, a wealth of legal arguments to justify Russias expulsion from UNESCO. With Russia attacking Odesa daily, it is time to invoke them.

Editors Note: Copyright, Project Syndicate. The following article was published by Project Syndicate on July 31, 2023, and has been republished by the Kyiv Independent with permission. The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent.

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The death toll in Kryvyi Rih has risen to five; rescue workers have pulled three more bodies from under the rubble, including a child.

Source: Pershyi Miskyi ["The first in the city"], Kryvyi Rih media outlet, from the scene; State Emergency Service of Ukraine on Facebook, head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration Serhii Lysak in a comment to local media

Update at 13:45: Vilkul said that four people were killed in the Russian missile attack as of noon, in particular, two men and a family  a 45-year-old mother and a 10-year-old girl.

Another 53 people were injured, including three children. Three victims are in severe condition, and one more is in critical condition.

First, the body of a girl was pulled out of the rubble

PHOTO: PERSHYI MISKYI KRYVYI RIH TELEGRAM CHANNEL

Updated: A few minutes later, the media outlet reported two more deaths in Kryvyi Rih, bringing the total number of people killed in the morning attack to five.

Two more bodies of locals were pulled out

PHOTO: PERSHYI MISKYI KRYVYI RIH TELEGRAM CHANNEL

As of 12:30, the State Emergency Service reported that four people had been killed and 43 injured.

Units of the State Emergency Service rescued three people, including a child born in 2013, and evacuated 30 people. The removal of the debris is ongoing.

Serhii Lysak, the Head of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration, said the rescue workers recently pulled out from under the rubble the bodies of a man, a woman and a child of about 10 years old.

Pershyi Miskyi ["The first in the city"], Kryvyi Rih media outlet, reports that a 10-year-old girl had been killed. She lived with her mother on the eighth floor of the building hit by a Russian missile in the morning. They both were killed.

Photo from Serhii Lysak's Telegram

Earlier, Ihor Klymenko, the Minister of Internal Affairs, reported that five to seven people are still being searched for under the rubble; according to Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the city's Defence Council, at least eight people are being searched for.

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Photo from Serhii Lysak's Telegram

Background:

On the morning of 31 July, explosions rang out in Kryvyi Rih; the Russians launched a missile attack on the city, targeting a high-rise residential building.

Russian forces attacked Kryvyi Rih using two ballistic missiles: one hit a residential high-rise building, and the other hit an educational institution. At first, it was reported that two residents had been killed and 34 had been injured. The rubble is being cleared and there may be people under it.

In addition, on the morning of 31 July, Russian troops bombarded the centre of Kherson using Grad multiple-launch rocket systems, killing one civilian and injuring four others. The killed and injured are employees of the utility company of the Kherson City Council.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
Apple's Vision Pro headset is due for launch in 2024. Apple

Apple chose a Chinese firm to assemble its Vision Pro thanks to its openness to "crazy ideas."

Shenzhen's Luxshare is the sole assembler of the mixed reality headset, per the Financial Times.

Apple is betting big on the device as it hopes to take virtual and augmented reality mainstream.

A Chinese firm responsible for assembling Apple's Vision Pro had a vote of confidence from the tech giant thanks to its willingness to test "crazy" ideas, a new report says.

Luxshare, a contract manufacturer, has built close ties with Apple as the latter prepares to launch its mixed-reality headset. The Shenzhen-based firm has won "favor and increasing business" from the iPhone maker as it assembles the new hardware, the Financial Times reported.

The report doesn't detail what crazy ideas Luxshare has been willing to test, but notes that the manufacturer has been winning more complex projects from Apple over the years thanks to its ingenuity.

The Vision Pro is Apple's biggest hardware launch since the release of the iPhone in 2007 and set to be its riskiest in recent years. Consumers have yet to show mass enthusiasm for virtual-reality and mixed-reality headsets, and the device comes in an at eye-watering $3,500. The company unveiled the headset at its annual developer conference in June, and the device is set to launch in early 2024.

Apple is solely relying on China's Luxshare to assemble the headset, putting heavy responsibility on the company's shoulders. Luxshare, which became publicly listed in 2010, has had a supplier relationship with Apple since 2011.

Analysts told the Financial Times that Luxshare had come a long way to now be responsible for assembling "the most complex consumer device anyone has ever made."

The complexity of the device, which has been seven years in the making, has proven to be a serious challenge.

A report emerged earlier this month suggesting Apple would struggle to hit its target of 1 million shipments in 2024 as challenges emerged in the development of the headset's micro-OLED screens, forcing the firm to revise down production forecasts to fewer than 400,000 units next year.

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Developers wanting to build apps for the headset received a lengthy list of terms and conditions in an agreement they must sign before receiving a unit ahead of wider release.

One term asks that developers "never" leave their pre-release unit unattended, and demands that they store the unit in a "locked Pelican case" when it is not in use.

Apple and Luxshare did not immediately respond to Insider' request for comment outside regular working hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Swastika flag and Wisconsin State Patrol officers

Swastika flag-bearing neo-Nazis, some of them armed, descended upon a Wisconsin LGBTQ+ Pride celebration on Saturday.

Members of Blood Tribe, a neo-Nazi extremist group, joined other right-wing hate groups, like Gays Against Groomers and anti-LGBTQ+ extremist religious organizations, in protesting the presence of drag queens as part of a Pride in the Park event in Watertown.

Gays Against Groomers, an anti-trans group, had been promoting disruptions at the event for days, highlighting it online and urging its extremist followers to join in protest at Riverside Park, the location of the festivities.

The Pride event organizers, Unity Project of Watertown, brought in food trucks, artisans and vendors, a drag performance, and a drag queen story hour event for kids.

Neo Nazis

A group arrived with guns and swastika flags in hand. Their faces were covered with balaclavas and sunglasses, and they wore khaki pants and black shirts. They started call-and-response-style chants. Us or the pedophiles, they chanted. There will be blood, blood, blood!

They also chanted, Pedophiles get the rope!

Throughout their chants, the neo-Nazis would frequently make the infamous one-armed salute.

In a video by independent videographer Ford Fisher, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, a member of the LGBTQ+ community is seen pleading with a police officer to get the angry mob of extremists to leave.

"Tell them to leave," a person says to an officer. "We don't want them here!"

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A Watertown police officer replies, "I get that, but we can't." He suggests that the extremists will go away if the supporter's side disperses its crowd standing between the celebrants and the hate groups.

If you call your people back, theyll most likely go, the officer says, seemingly helpless as the screaming of vitriol continues.

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Julie Janowak, a board member for the Unity Project of Watertown, the group that organized the Pride in the Park event, tells The Advocate that around 9 a.m., about 50 people from far-right religious groups arrived, followed by about a dozen members of Gays Against Groomers. She says that the neo-Nazis arrived around 10:45 a.m. and remained until after 11:30 a.m.

They were there for about 40 to 45 minutes, and in that time, even the people from GAG and the religious zealots got scared and left, Janowak says.

Neo-Nazis

Through tears, she explains the importance of Pride in the Park.

Our event was meant to be a day where LGBTQ+ folks and their allies from Watertown, a town of about 22 or 24,000 people halfway between Milwaukee and Madison  and its very rural out here  could celebrate, she says.

We just felt like we needed to have a place where the community could come out and see that other people like them are in this community.

She says that in a time when political rhetoric has gotten extreme, its essential to show big and small communities that folks with different backgrounds live everywhere and want to exist.

Jaimee Michell, the lesbian who leads the DeSantis-connected hate group Gays Against Groomers and lives in the Milwaukee area, where the group is registered as a nonprofit organization, spoke at the protest.

She tweeted afterward that the highlight of her day was finding common ground with the other side. She claimed to have convinced some of the people she spoke to who opposed her point of view initially found themselves convinced to support the group's transphobic stances.

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The hate group tried to push the conspiracy theory that federal agents were conspiring to pose as neo-Nazis. Far-right zealots and those who are terminally online believe that FBI agents generate false flag or staged events and dress like members of extremist groups to get negative attention.



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Out of all the protests that happen around the country, ours that we have been promoting for weeks in a little Wisconsin town was swarmed with these people. Its pretty transparent what is going on. We are incredibly effective and the opposition is doing everything they can to smear and discredit us. Groomer Inc. and their cohorts will do whatever they can to silence us. It isnt going to work, the group wrote.

Wisconsins Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, condemned the protest and the display of neo-Nazi symbols.

This is a disgusting and direct attack on our states LGBTQ community, communities of color, and Jewish Wisconsinites, Evers said in a statement to The Advocate. Nazis, swastikas, and any other anti-LGBTQ, white supremacist, or anti-Semitic messages, symbols, or groups are unacceptable and unwelcome in Wisconsin. Period.

He said he was particularly concerned by the public display of hatred, which disrupted, intimidated, and harassed kids and families just trying to honor the LGBTQ+ community.

This is dangerous, hateful behavior, and it should be condemned in all of its forms and by every elected official at every level, and that includes all those who continue to push radical rhetoric, divisive legislation and litigation, and falsehoods and disinformation about the LGBTQ communitythose words, those actions, and those policies have real and harmful consequences, Evers said.



LGBTQ Wisconsinites deserve to be treated with dignity, decency, kindness, and respect just like every other Wisconsinite, and they deserve to be safe being who they are without fear or threat of shame, harassment, intimidation, or violence. I will continue to support and protect them, he concluded.

Michell and Gays Against Groomers engage in stochastic terrorism tactics, according to experts. Like the far-right extremist Chaya Raichik, who runs the Libs of TikTok account and who has turned her anti-LGBTQ+ hatred into a lucrative business that is currently hiring content creators, GAG and Michell motivate their followers to become enraged. That rage sometimes leads to disruptive or violent acts.

Neo-Nazis

The fact that neo-Nazis would join GAG to terrify innocent members of the LGBTQ+ community is unsurprising. Last year, a group of far-right extremists from Patriot Front attempted to attack a Pride in the Park event in Coeur dAlene, Idaho. They were thwarted and arrested before they could make it to the celebration.



In May, members of Blood Tribe menaced a drag story hour event in Ohio.

Several weeks before that, the same group targeted another Ohio event for the LGBTQ+ community.

The Advocate contacted Watertown Police Chief Robert Kaminski but did not immediately hear back. Likewise, the Wisconsin State Patrol, whose officers were present at the ruckus, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

After armed neo-Nazis stormed the event, and after GAG at first sent out a statement disavowing them before claiming they were federal agents, Michell posted a photo celebrating the disruption of the event.





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At 3:22 p.m., the main GAG account tweeted out a statement attempting to distance itself from the neo-Nazis, the presence for which it was responsible.

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We are disheartened and outraged by the unwanted intrusion of extremist ideologies at an event intended to protect and advocate for the well-being of children, particularly by a group historically known for experimenting on children much like our modern-day enemies, the statement read. Unfortunately, we cannot always control who we are seen with in public. We are focused on safeguarding the rights of parents and welfare of children, which is a non-partisan issue. We categorically denounce all forms of extremism, including the abhorrent ideologies represented by those identifying as Nazis.

The organization negated its statement eight minutes later, pushing the FBI agents as far-right extremists conspiracy theory.

TL;DR: Feds gonna fed, Gays Against Groomers wrote.

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Leading up to the event, the group called for all who oppose this to join in protesting Saturday's festival.



 (@)

We can only make change if we show up! The time is now! Pride is not for kids, the group tweeted. As recently as Friday, the group was directing anybody like-minded to direct their anger at those who dared come to enjoy a beautiful summer day of joy.



If youre joining us tomorrow for the pride in the park protest, this is where we will be stationed. Weve made it easy for you to find, the group wrote alongside a map that three labeled areas: Parking, GAG, and Groomers.

 (@)

Organizers tell The Advocate that the event was a success ultimately after the neo-Nazis left. They credit the local police department as being responsive and planning ahead to keep everybody safe.

An estimated 400-500 people attended the Pride in the Park event in the town of a little over 20,000 residents.

Editors note: This story was updated to include a statement from Gov. Tony Evers.


FORT LIBERTY, North Carolina  The U.S. Army four-star command tasked with modernizing the force is preparing to release this fall a warfighting concept for operations in 2040, according to the AFC commander.

The concept would closely follow last years release of the Armys Multidomain Operations doctrine.

We are working really hard on the next Army operating concept based on the big evolutions, unprecedented disruption in terms of technology, Gen. James Rainey told Defense News during a July 27 interview on his way to the Association of the U.S. Armys Warfighter Summit at Fort Liberty, North Carolina.

This fall, the Army will roll out its 1.0 version of the concept, Rainey said, on how the Army is going to fight as part of a joint force in the [20]30 to 40 timeframe. In time, this concept will become doctrine.

The AFC commander previously helped shape the MDO concept as the commander of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Commands Combined Arms Center from 2019 to 2021. That doctrine, the Armys first new one in 40 years, laid out how the Army operates not just on land but also across air, sea, space and cyberspace.

With MDO complete and a host of new weapons systems expected to come online from now into the early 2030s, Rainey is now thinking about what kinds of formations and capability the Army will need in the 2040 timeframe as well as the associated doctrine.

I personally believe theres some big changes to warfare and figuring out that starts with whats the future operating environment, not just our enemies, but demographics, climate, the economy, urbanization. Whats the future battlefield going to look like, Rainey said. How do we need to operate in that to stay the best army in the world, to be able to dominate the land domain as part of the joint force?

The new concept could be an evolution of multidomain operations, Rainey said, or it could be something new. I wont tell you the answers yet.

The concept will cover the competencies the Army will need to operate, he said. Itll include a theory of victory. Itll introduce new imperatives, things we need to be able to do that we cant do now.  Itll introduce fundamental changes in the way we organize, train and flight, and really how we man.

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The concept will then drive experimentation in science and technology and research and development, which the Army will need to incorporate into its budget in just a few years to shape the force of 2040, Rainey said.

He said he wants this concept to be a little broader than those of the past. At this phase, Rainey said, Im not looking for a 40-page glossy with all the answers. Im looking for a working document that could part of a professional dialogue.

In addition to the concept work, Rainey said AFC is still focused on delivering the Armys priority weapons systems to soldiers by 2030 while also looking at how formations should be designed to take on the new capability.

And he is also prioritizing what the Army can deliver more rapidly, in some cases within two years. The amount of disruption and the character of warfare right now is unprecedented, Rainey said.

We need to do a better job of seeing something thats happening on the battlefield, in technology, out in the Pacific, and turn that into no-kidding capability in a formation, he added.

Some of the types of capability the Army would like to move more quickly to buy would be loitering munitions, smaller more agile, attritable unmanned aircraft with configurable payloads, ground-based rockets, ground-based missiles and counter-drone systems.
[Source]

Asian Americans are among the groups most vulnerable to displacement by artificial intelligence (AI) in the U.S., a new study by Pew Research Center has revealed.

About the study: The study, released on Wednesday, looked into the exposure of American workers to AI technologies and their potential risk of being replaced or assisted by AI systems.

Technical writers, budget analysts, web developers and data key operators are among those with high exposure to AI displacement, while workers such as firefighters, barbers and janitors have low exposure due to the nature of their work.

Impact on racial disparities: Overall, the study found that approximately 19% of American workers held jobs that are the most exposed to AI technologies.

More from NextShark: Study: Most Asian Americans agree with affirmative action, but not for college admissions

Asian workers face the highest risk of displacement at 24% compared to their white, Black and Hispanic counterparts. According to the findings, about 20% of white workers were found to be exposed, while 15% of Black workers and 13% of Hispanic workers faced similar risks.

Other findings: Women faced a slightly higher risk with 21% of female workers being exposed to AI in their jobs, compared to 19% of male workers. This discrepancy is attributed to the different types of jobs typically held by individuals of different genders.

The study also revealed a correlation between education levels and susceptibility to AI displacement or assistance. Workers with a bachelors degree or higher accounted for 27% of the workforce and were more than twice as likely to be exposed to AI technologies in their jobs than those with only a high school diploma, of which 12% faced similar risks.

More from NextShark: Japanese scientists grow living, self-healing human skin that can be put on robots

The study also shed light on income disparities among workers with varying levels of AI exposure. Those in jobs with the highest exposure to AI technologies earned an average hourly wage of $33, while those in positions with the least exposure earned an average of $20 per hour.

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Studys implications: The findings, which provide crucial insights into the impact of AI on the American workforce, hold significant implications for policymakers and employers.

By identifying the groups most vulnerable to AI displacement, the studys authors aim to provide policymakers with the ability to devise targeted strategies to support affected individuals and create measures to minimize potential workforce disruptions.

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Global disruption: A previous study published by the University of Oxford in 2013 predicted that 47% of U.S. jobs could be eliminated by AI over the next two decades.

Meanwhile, a more recent study by Goldman Sachs suggested that generative AI tools could potentially disrupt around 300 million full-time jobs worldwide, signifying a significant disruption in the global job market.

More from NextShark: Students who see their math teachers as fair do better at math, new study suggests
[Source]

As the investigation into the infamous Gilgo Four serial killing continues, a true crime documentarian has produced a theory that would connect the suspected murderer to additional cold cases.

What happened: The mysterious murder of an Asian male John Doe has reentered the spotlight following the recent arrest of architect Rex Heuermann outside his New York City office on the night of July 13 on suspicion of having committed the Ocean Parkway murders.

About the accusations: Heuermann, a father of two, was charged with the murders of three of the four women whose bodies were found near Gilgo Beach in Ocean Parkway, Long Island, New York, in December 2010.

Those victims were later named the Gilgo Four and identified years later as Melissa Barthelemy, 24; Megan Waterman, 22; Amber Lynn Costello, 27. and Melissa Barthelemy, 24.

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The discovery: Their bodies were discovered while authorities were searching for Shannan Gilbert, 24. Her remains were found a year later on Dec. 13, 2011, in a shallow water marsh near Ocean Parkway.

Other bodies found: Besides the Gilgo Four, authorities also listed other related cases in the area in which remains were found, including those of a Fire Island Jane Doe, a female toddler Jane Doe and her mother  only referred to by investigators as Peaches due to a peach tattoo found on her breast  Valerie Mack, Jessica Taylor and the Asian male John Doe.

The only male remains found: Found about a half-mile from the "Gilgo Four's" location on April 4, 2011, the John Doe was the only male remains found in the area. He was reportedly found wearing womens clothing and believed to be between 17 and 23 years old and approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall with poor dental health.

More from NextShark: Elderly Chinese Man Assaulted in SF IDENTIFIED: 5 Facts You Need to Know

Authorities told PIX11 that the Asian mans head was crushed, with some theorizing that the murder was done out of rage. Other reports suggested that the man had been dead for at least five to 10 years.

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A link to the Gilgo Four: Josh Zeman, director and producer of the true crime docuseries The Killing Season, which has looked into the Ocean Parkway murders, initially believed another serial killer may have been responsible for the other killings, but after learning of Heuermanns Google searches, he immediately changed his view.

It said Asian twink. And I didnt know what that was, but I found out it was a perversion for liking porn about effeminate Asian men, Zeman told PIX11, adding that he now believes only one killer was behind all the murders on Ocean Parkway.

More from NextShark: Kentucky Man Gets 21 Years in Prison for Molesting Young Girls in Cambodia

About the murder: Zeman speculated that the killer might have been tricked, adding that they might have picked up someone whom they thought was an Asian woman only to discover later that it was an Asian man.

Then rage sets in, and he beats this individual to death, Zeman told PIX11.

More from NextShark: LA Non-Profit Launches Bystander Intervention Initiative, PSA Narrated by Ken Jeong
Many residents of the Sacramento region seem worried about its future. But for the most part, they seem willing to stick it out.

Nearly 300 readers of The Sacramento Bee responded to a Bee survey seeking input on the biggest issues facing our region and what should be done to address those challenges. The survey was part of The Bees Tipping Point series exploring the toughest problems in the region, including our housing affordability crisis and climate change.

The Bees coverage of those issues and its reader survey are happening as the Sacramento Area Council of Governments develops its next regional blueprint, which will serve as a guide for how local governments establish their transportation and development priorities over the next 25 years.

Roughly 20% of those who responded to The Bees survey said they were not optimistic that their children or other young people would be able to afford to live in the Sacramento region 25 years from now. Less than 7% expressed high levels of optimism in the regions future affordability.

My two adult kids have moved elsewhere already, one survey respondent wrote. Others said they were worried about the regions future challenges with climate change and public safety.

Still, nearly half of those who responded to the survey said they had not considered leaving the region in the last five years. A little more than 10% said they had taken significant steps to relocate.

About 39% of survey takers said homelessness is the most severe challenge facing the region, the largest share of any issue. Another 30% said housing affordability was the biggest challenge, while climate change, suburban sprawl and traffic congestion also received significant responses.

Survey respondents listed several amenities the region needs to focus on developing in the years to come, with expanding public transit receiving the most support. Others said more should be done to make housing more affordable and parks cleaner. One survey respondent simply replied, Kindness.

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In terms of housing, about 38% said their ideal neighborhood and home would be a single-family residence with a small yard in Sacramento, Elk Grove or Roseville. Another 26% said they preferred a single-family home with a large lot in a suburban neighborhood, while 21% would favor living in an apartment or condo in a densely populated neighborhood.

Those who responded to the survey expressed overwhelming support for investing public dollars into addressing the regions challenges.

More than 80% said they would support a large public investment in funding climate resiliency infrastructure such as levees, groundwater retention and wildfire prevention. Nearly 75% said they would support significant public dollars being spent on funding affordable housing, and 72% said they want a large public investment in expanding the regions public transportation network.

Readers have plenty of things they like about living in the Sacramento region.

About 38% said living close to their family is the biggest positive for being here. Access to the outdoors, the weather and big city amenities also ranked high. The city of Sacramento ranked as the best place in the region to live, according to our readers, followed by Davis, Folsom and Roseville.
The number of victims of the massive Russian attack on the city of Kherson on 31 July in the afternoon has risen to 10 people, including one minor.

Source: press service of Kherson Oblast Prosecutors Office

Quote: "As of 15:30, at least 10 civilians have been injured as a result of the attack on the city of Kherson."

Details: Reportedly, there are four volunteers and a minor boy among the injured. The information is being specified.

The Kherson Oblast Prosecutors Office clarified that in the morning, the Russians launched an attack on downtown Kherson, killing a public service worker and injuring four more.

At about 11:00, the Russians launched attacks on Kherson's residential district again. A 65-year old man, who was driving his car during the attack, received multiple fatal injuries.

Background: Earlier, Oleksandr Prokudin, Head of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration, said that the Russian army attacked the Korabel district of Kherson, and one person had been killed there.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
Russian troops attacked Sumy Oblast 32 times during the past day, and 169 explosions were recorded. One person was wounded and damage caused.

Source: Sumy Oblast Military Administration

Details: Russian forces attacked 22 settlements in 7 hromadas, including Krasnopillia, Bilopillia, Yunakivka, Esman, Znob-Novhorodske, Seredyna-Buda and Velyka Pysarivka [a hromada is an administrative unit designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories  ed.].

Krasnopillia hromada was fired on from mortars (30 explosions), self-propelled guns (27 explosions) and artillery (5 explosions).

A civilian was wounded. Three private houses and a vehicle repair station with a tractor and a transformer were damaged.

Bilopillia hromada came under mortar fire (15 explosions).

Artillery fire from self-propelled guns (8 explosions) were recorded in the Yunakivka hromada.

There was mortar fire (40 explosions) in Esman hromada. Russian forces also dropped two VOG grenades from a drone.

Russian forces fired on Znob-Novhorodske hromada with mortars, causing 5 explosions.

The Russian occupiers fired on Seredyna-Buda hromada with tubed artillery (8 explosions) and mortars (10 explosions). They also dropped one VOG grenade from a drone.

A water tower was damaged.

There was artillery shelling (2 explosions) in Velyka Pysarivka hromada. Russian forces fired from tubed artillery (2 explosions), mortars (12 explosions), and dropped one VOG grenade from a drone.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
The attorney for Chrisley Knows Best reality star Todd Chrisley says the home confinement case for his client is now being internally investigated after his initial application was rejected, People Magazine reports.

Attorney Jay Surgent told the magazine that he was making an application under the CARES Act (for Chrisley) to be released to home confinement, but it was rejected.

He submitted it, but the person that was administrating it and was in charge of processing it, decided that she didnt want to do that. She decided not to do it, Surgent told People.

This comes after Chrisleys children said their parents are living in prisons with no air conditioning, and vile conditions.

Surgent took it even further and told People that Chrisley and his wife Julie are living in squalor in 100-degree temperatures in prison.

Their living conditions, both of them, he in Pensacola, she in Lexington, Kentucky, its an absolute ridiculous situation, Surgent said.

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Not that were saying that they deserve special treatment because theyre celebrities. They dont, Surgent said. What were saying is that they, along with other inmates, deserve better treatment.

We shouldnt be treating our prisoners the way were treating our prisoners at this point in time, Surgent told People.

The Chrisleys were found guilty last year of conspiring to defraud banks and the IRS out of millions of dollars.

In November, Todd Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years in prison plus 36 months of supervised release. Julie Chrisley was sentenced to seven years in prison, plus 36 months of supervised release.

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Both were ordered to report to separate Florida prisons on Jan. 17. However, Julie Chrisley was instead taken to a prison in Kentucky.

The Chrisleys have maintained their innocence since being brought up on charges in 2019 and are in the process of appealing the case.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals can reverse the district court, or they could remand the case back for hearings that should have been held that were not held during the course of this trial, Surgent said. We argued very vigorously that their constitutional rights have been violated, and that they basically were not given a fair hearing. Its all in black and white actually.

RELATED NEWS:
Authorities have opened a criminal investigation into fraud allegations made against a former Cook County judge who has been accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from an elderly man and using the funds to buy cryptocurrency, Cook County prosecutors said Monday during a court hearing.

Prosecutors also filed a petition for criminal contempt against Patricia Martin, who stepped down as presiding judge in the child protection division in 2020, a proceeding that could come with criminal penalties for the former judge. Martin was served with the petition Monday morning during a hearing at the Daley Center in a pending civil suit against her.

The contempt petition and the criminal investigation are the latest legal troubles faced by Martin, who already been disbarred and has been ordered by a judge to pay a default judgment of more than $1.1 million in the civil case.

Martin was the subject of a fraud complaint filed in May the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, which handles allegations of lawyer misconduct. It alleged that she stole from Oscar Wilkerson, an elderly man she was tasked with assisting financially and using the funds for her own purposes, including buying cryptocurrency.

Lawyers for Wilkerson also filed a lawsuit against Martin last year, which remains pending, though Cook County Judge Anna Demacopoulos in May ordered the default judgment due to Martins continued unresponsiveness to court orders after Martin failed to appear in court after being warned that noncompliance with the case could result in sanctions, including a default judgment.

Martin, though, has appeared in court for two recent hearings, and her attorneys are challenging the default judgment. Earlier this month, Martin filed a motion to dismiss the judgment, arguing, among other issues, that Wilkersons death in February left the case without a proper plaintiff.

Attorneys for Wilkerson, a former Tuskegee Airman, in May filed a petition seeking to hold Martin in criminal contempt of court orders that mandated that she participate in the case filed against her and not move any more of Wilkersons funds.

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In the petition, prosecutors alleged that Martin moved Wilkersons money after she was ordered not to by the judge.

Martin willfully, knowingly, and contumaciously violated the courts ... order, the petition alleges.

Cook County prosecutors filed the petition Friday, but asked Demacopoulos to pause its implementation, citing the ongoing investigation. In response, the judge continued the case and refrained from holding a bond hearing.

Based on the representation by the Cook County states attorneys office that there is an ongoing criminal investigation concerning the entire matter ... based on that, I will grant the stay of the petition will not set bond and will not arraign or advise Ms. Martin of her rights under this particular case, Demacopoulos said.

She urged the prosecutors to keep an open line of communication with Wilkersons attorneys, adding that the plaintiffs attorneys may decide not to proceed with the civil case, including the contempt charge, if criminal charges are filed. The judge told the parties they dont need to duplicate litigation where its not necessary.

Martin is scheduled to appear in court again in October.

mabuckley@chicagotribune.com
Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast

The late George Shultz, former secretary of state for Ronald Reagan and a Cold Warrior, once advised against proliferating nuclear weapons. He quipped that proliferation begets proliferation, which the arms control lobby has used for decades to prevent the U.S. government from developing nukes.

But Shultzs quip is easily falsifiable. A decade of Russian, Chinese, North Korean, and soon Iranian proliferation has not begotten proliferation by the United States.

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with Russia went into effect in 2011. It reduced the high-yield (and misguidedly called strategic) nuclear weapons each side has and puts a cap on their totals.

Russia Mutiny Is More Proof the World Needs to Get Rid of Nuclear Weapons

Until a few months ago, when Russia suspended its participation, both sides were abiding by it. But, unlike the United States, Russia treated it as a green light to develop low-yield, short- and intermediate-range nuclear weaponsbest described as theater nukes. The U.S. government believes that Russia has ten times as many such weapons as the United States.

Chinas not falling behind. Two years ago, the Middlebury Institute, using satellite imagery, found hundreds of new Chinese missile silos. While the communist regimes total number of warheads is believed to be one-tenth of Americas (and estimates vary), the consensus is that the number of Chinese nukes doubled from 2020 to 2022, from 200 to 400.

As the rivalry accelerates, Chinese proliferation will also pick up more steam, and the United States could find itself in parity, even behind, the Chinese in this decade.

Meanwhile, Iran and North Korea are not falling behind. The Islamist regime has reached nuclear breakout, and it could weaponize a warhead within monthsor even weeks. The Hermit Kingdom has been developing warheads since its first test in 2006.

Nukes are attractive weapons not just because they are destructive but also because they are cheap and do not require advanced technology. For some millions of dollars, a theater nuclear weapon could annihilate an entire battalion on a battlefield. They also provide some guarantee against invasion or airstrikes, especially if a nations intercontinental ballistic missiles can reach major American citiesor Israeli cities, if you are the Islamic Republic of Iran.

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The United States has responded to these trends by upgrading its delivery systems. To convince the Republicans to ratify New START, the administration of President Barack Obama agreed to develop new delivery systemsand state-of-the-art sea, land, and air delivery systems are under development and production, soon to be delivered. This is necessary, but insufficient.

How Stalins Funeral Exposed the Crazed Cult of Soviet Communism

As Josef Stalin once said, quantity is a quality of its own.

One mustnt take moral advice from the great tyrant, but it is indisputable that he understood power better than most. And he understood that quantity gave one power. He used it for evil, as will Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea with the power of their nukes. To stop the triumph of evil, the United States must respond in kind.

This was not a point lost on Shultz and the president he served, either.

Despite the caricature, Ronald Reagan despised nuclear weapons. Often portrayed as a warmonger, his dream was abolishing nuclear weapons altogether.

All nuclear treaties before his presidency limited nuclear proliferation at their current levels, but Reagan and Shultz managed to enact the first-ever treaty that reduced the number of nukes between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and abolished an entire class of nuclear weapons.

They did it by, first, building more. And not just that, the development of a space-based defensive system, the Strategic Defense Initiative, convinced the Soviets that their much-beloved nukes could become obsoletewhich was the purpose of Reagans program.

Iran and Russia Won Syrias Civil War (and the U.S. Lost It)

Shultz also devised a dual-track strategy. The first track was deploying advanced nuclear-armed missiles to West Germany to convince the Soviets to engage in diplomacy. The second track was arms-control diplomacy. In plain terms, Reagan succeeded in nuclear arms reduction only by putting the fear of U.S. nuclear weapons in the hearts of the Soviets.

Arms control and reduction are noble goals, but only if they are not unilateral. Then you are leaving the fate of the world at the mercy of evil. It is regrettable, yet true, that our enemies are forcing us to return to nuclear armament.

Americans must not lose sight of arms control and reduction, but they should understand that it is possible to convince enemies to stop proliferating only if the United States increases the threat and cost of their proliferation by outpacing them and developing defensive systems that would make enemy nuclear-armed missiles obsolete.

Shultz was one of the greatest and most accomplished statesmen in American history, but his insight was wrong. Harold Brown, who served President Jimmy Carter as his secretary of defense, had a more useful insight on nuclear arms proliferation: When we build, they build. When we stop, they build.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Iran supports Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine

This is not the first time I hear about a new "axis of evil." This statement is already at the level of political stereotypes. Therefore, I decided to speak on this topic in a broader format.

Despite its declared neutrality, there has been information that China is providing Russia with military and dual-use technologies for use in the war against Ukraine. There is also reliable information that Russia is actively courting North Korea (DPRK) in search of weapons and ammunition. Of course, do not forget about Iranian drones and the fact that the Kremlin is trying to draw African and Latin American countries into a new axis of evil. In this regard, the question is: what can the democratic world do to counter this growing alliance of authoritarian regimes?

Read also:

This is not my first time hearing about a new "axis of evil." This statement is already at the level of political stereotypes. Therefore, I decided to speak on this topic in a broader format.

First, I would like to warn against journalistic exaggerations and inadequate assessments of Russia's interaction with other states. We should not frighten ourselves with invented and exaggerated horror stories.

Read also: France and India seek new negotiating solution to end war in Ukraine  media

At the moment, there is no global and systemic confrontation between the democratic world and a coalition of authoritarian regimes, something like the Cold War that took place in the 1950s and 1980s between the Western world and the Soviet bloc. Theoretically, something like this is possible in the future under certain circumstances. But there is no such situation now. For example, Turkey and India, countries with formally democratic political systems and closely connected to the global West, interact with Russia. These countries are dominated by selfish economic interests, and partly by geopolitical attitudes in their relations with Russia. Many countries simultaneously interact with both Russia and Ukraine, and even more so with the West. The most striking example is Turkey, but most countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America maintain a moderately neutral position in their relations with Russia and Ukraine.

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Read also: Preparing for a war of attrition

The critical point is that economic and political cooperation between individual countries and Russia does not mean they support Russia's war against Ukraine and are part of the "axis of evil." The vast majority of countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America do not support Russia's war against Ukraine. Still, at the same time, they do not condemn Russia's actions, maintaining a conditionally neutral position and limiting themselves to calls for peace. Even China and Iran, which some commentators have labeled a new "axis of evil," do not officially support Russia's war against Ukraine or recognize the annexation of Crimea and other occupied Ukrainian territories. Their support for Russia is driven by economic interests and the fact that they perceive this war as a confrontation between Russia on one side and the United States and NATO on the other. Their interest is that Russia does not lose this war, which would mean strengthening the United States and the West. But they will not get involved in this war on Russia's side.

Only a few countries directly support Russia's aggressive actions against Ukraine: Belarus, North Korea, Syria, Nicaragua, and Eritrea. A few more countries can be added to this list, but in total, there will be a maximum of a dozen. This can be easily verified by voting at the UN General Assembly.

There is no need to invent horror stories about a "growing alliance of authoritarian regimes."

There is no such alliance. There is tactical and situational interaction between such regimes. In some cases, there may be contradictions between them, such as between Iran and Russia, over the territorial affiliation of some islands in the Persian Gulf. There is an apparent increase in China's international influence. And there are spikes in Russia's foreign policy activity. But even the Russia-Africa summit showed a decline in African states' representation level in cooperation with Russia.

As for the supply of weapons and dual-use products  yes, this is happening. More often unofficially, concerning dual-use products  sometimes even from Western countries, bypassing sanctions. Some countries can do this concerning both Russia and Ukraine. Very few countries directly sell weapons to Russia, or rather, ammunition and dual-use resources. China, for example, does not officially do so. China sells dual-use resources, as well as helmets, body armor, etc. As for non-combat drones, we also buy them from China.

There is only one way to counteract the supply of weapons and dual-use goods to Russia  by strengthening sanctions, especially secondary sanctions, against companies that help circumvent the current sanctions regime.

Another pressing question from journalists is: Why does the West not give Ukraine everything it needs to crush Russia on the battlefield, as this would accelerate the collapse of the Putin regime and significantly weaken the axis of evil?

The West, or rather, the United States in particular, is not giving us everything we need for one simple reason: they fear an excessive escalation of the war between Russia and Ukraine, and NATO's involvement in this war, as well as the risks of Russia using nuclear weapons. Their conditional strategy is first to prevent Ukraine's defeat in the war against Russia and then, through limited support for Ukraine, to force Russia to end the war and liberate most of the occupied territories.

Read also: US not planning to escort Ukrainian grain cargo ships, says White House

As the likelihood of a prolonged war between Russia and Ukraine grows, the debate in the West is once again heating up over the future strategy for Russia's war against Ukraine. There are two competitive positions: 1) it is necessary to increase the supply of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine to change the balance of power in favor of Ukraine and force Russia to end the war; 2) it is necessary to start negotiations on the cessation of hostilities to prevent the war from being dragged out indefinitely.

The actual policy of the United States, and the West in general, regarding the war between Russia and Ukraine will fluctuate between these two positions. However, the closer we get to the start of the US presidential election campaign, the more insistently the topic of peace talks will be raised.

In four to five months, six months at the most, our partners will begin to convince us in a substantive way of the need for peace talks. This does not mean negotiating peace on Russia's terms. The negotiations will only be about ending hostilities, including mutual shelling of the territory of Russia and Ukraine, and about restoring navigation in the Black Sea. But even the mere fact that such negotiations have begun will not mean that agreements will be reached quickly. Our partners and we must prepare for the possibility that Putin may try to drag out the war (in a limited intensity mode) until the US presidential election.

Read also: Putin is unable to invade Ukrainian ports, we will simply sink his fleet  Zelenskyy

As for the collapse of the Putin regime, the West either does not believe in it or, on the contrary, fears that an uncontrolled collapse of the Putin regime will lead to chaos in Russia and the risk of losing control of nuclear weapons. This also explains the White House's cautious actions. However, it is not in the interests of the United States and the EU to end the current war on Russia's terms. And it is certainly not in our interests.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Screenshot: Sunrise/Crunchyroll

Witch From Mercury broke ground for the Gundam franchise withand sales records spurred in part byits depiction of the burgeoning romantic relationship between its main characters Suletta Mercury and Miorine Rembran. But while the series itself came about as close to text as it could on their bond, Bandai itself is more hesitant.



This past week the latest issue of Gundam Ace magazine featured an interview with voice actress Kana Ichinose, who played Suletta Mercury, in the wake of the conclusion of the show. The final scenes of the series, set in a flash-forward to three years after the events of the main show, depicted Suletta and Miorine embracing and wearing matching silver bands on their ring fingers.

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After three years, they seem much closer, and to see them married like that really touched my heart, Ichinoses comment reads in part, the first explicit confirmation of the characters marriage outside of the show itself. News of the confirmation saw #, or Sulemio Marriage, trend on social media, as the characters regularly did throughout Witch From Mercurys broadcast run.

However, digital copies of the issue of Gundam Ace had Ichinoses statement edited to remove the mention of marriageleading to concerns of censorship that eventually saw Sunrise (nee Bandai Namco Filmworks) parent company Bandai Namco officially respond yesterday. Not to apologize for the removal, however: to apologize that the reference had made it into the print run in the first place.

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The statement, shared on both the official Witch From Mercury and Gundam Ace magazine accounts on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, apologized for causing confusion between the digital and print editions of Gundam Aces September 2023 issue.

In the article, there was a sentence based on the speculation of the Gundam Ace editor, and despite requesting corrections at the time of proofreading, the correction of the relevant part was not reflected, and it was released on July 26th, a machine-translated version of the same statement reads on Bandais Witch From Mercury website in part.

We would like you to enjoy the work by leaving it up to each and every one of you who have seen the main story [of Witch From Mercury], Bandais statement concludes, so after consulting with the Gundam Ace editorial department, we will make an electronic version that can be modified. The description has been revised as originally requested and is now being distributed.

Screenshot: Sunrise/Crunchyroll

Removing commentary about Suletta and Miorine being married to each other and instead saying that its up to people whove watched the show to make their minds up is absurd, especially since the text of the show itself goes about as far out of its way as it can to show viewers that the duo have gotten married by the time of the series concluding flash-forward. Early on in the sequence, Sulettas clone-sister Eri refers to herself in conversation with Miorine as the latters sister-in-law, while scenes featuring the older Suletta and Miorine meeting each other specifically highlights matching silver bands on their ring fingersto the point of adding a gleaming light effect to them to draw the audiences attention.



While homophobic Gundam viewers could somehow, in spite of this, deny the obvious interpretation of the material, theyve now been bolstered by Bandais own acquiescence in trying to sit on the fence instead of standing with the material they themselves released. Its a disappointing note to what had been a major step forward for the Gundam franchise, one that had helped in part not just usher in huge sales boosts for the series across the worldin model kits and merchandise of Suletta and Miorinebut brought Gundam to new audiences in ways it hadnt seen for years, which is what Bandai wanted out of Witch From Mercury from the very moment it was announced.

Those same audiences are, at the very least, letting Bandai Namco know how they feel about their capitulation. That same Sulemio marriage hashtag that originally trended upon the release of Gundam Ace is now filled with art and commentary from both Japanese and Western Gundam fans alike proudly and happily showing Suletta and Miorine as a married couple, or highlighting more formal ways audiences can complain to Bandai about their statement. They, at least, have found the way theyre willing to interpret the work Bandai gave them, even if the company itself hasnt.





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Baykar UAV repair service center to open in Ukraine

Ukraines Defense Ministry has signed a contract with Turkish company Baykar Makina for the construction of a service center for the repair and maintenance of Baykar drones in Ukraine, the ministry said on July 31.

According to the message, the deal extends the framework agreement between Ukraine and Turkey in the field of high technology, aviation, and space, which came into effect on January 23, 2023.

Read also: Zelenskyys Office head visits Turkish Baykar company, discusses production of UAVs in Ukraine

Deputy Defense Minister Kostiantyn Vashchenko stated that the center will be created "in near future."

This joint project will lay the foundation for our systematic work, said Vashchenko.

A special thanks to Baykar for their contribution to increasing the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression.

Read also: Drones in Moscow, Wanger towards Suwalki Gap, improved economic forecast

Previously, Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar announced that the plant in Ukraine will produce the entire range of the company's drones: TB2, Aknc, and Kzlelma. At the end of June, he said that Baykar had obtained licensing permits from Turkey for full-scale production of Bayraktar TB2 and Akinci UAV in Ukraine.

Read also: Turkish Baykar plans to complete plant in Ukraine in two years  media reports

In April, during a visit by Ukrainian Minister of Strategic Industry Oleksandr Kamyshyn to Turkey, Ukrainian defense enterprises signed three contracts with Baykar to ensure "export revenue and next-gen weapon production."

In July, Kamyshyn announced that construction of the Baykar drone production plant in Ukraine had already begun.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A road sign warning drivers to lookout for bears in California. Pam Susemiehl/Getty Images

A bear was filmed lounging in a homeowner's backyard jacuzzi in Southern California.

The Burbank Police Department shared the footage on its Facebook page on Friday.

California and other parts of the globe are experiencing extreme heat waves this summer.

A bear decided to beat the sweltering summer heat by lounging in a homeowner's jacuzzi in Southern California.

A rep for the Burbank Police Department told Insider officers arrived at a local hillside neighborhood around 3:30 p.m. Friday after someone reported a bear sighting. Officers located the bear in a homeowner's backyard, where they spotted it lazing in the jacuzzi, according to the police department.

"After a short dip, the bear made his way over the wall and is now in a tree to the rear of the residence," a rep for the department said in a statement.

The statement added that the bear was last seen around 6 p.m. that evening, "peacefully sleeping" in a tree. The department shared footage of the bear lazing around the jacuzzi on its Facebook page.

"This #bear is beating the heat in Burbank!" the caption read.

A woman stands in Death Valley National Park, California, on July 16, 2023. RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images

People across the world are experiencing heat waves as temperatures reach blistering heights. In the United States, some people living in Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada, had to be hospitalized for burns after touching the pavement. The heat became so unbearable in California that an Amazon delivery driver jumped in a customer's pool fully clothed.

Insider's Andrea Michelson reported that Americans are experiencing a "wet bulb" heat when heat and humidity are too high for sweat to evaporate  a combination that can be fatal. According to a 2020 Scientific Advances study, the climate crisis makes wet bulb conditions more common.

Read the original article on Insider
Seminole County firefighters said they put out the flames after a bed caught fire inside a Winter Springs mobile home.

Firefighters said they responded to the home on Helen Street around 11 a.m. and put the fire out within 10 minutes of getting the 911 call.

No one was injured in the fire.

Firefighters said the Red Cross is assisting the family displaced by the fire.

Read: She is fake dude: Seminole County deputy accused of texting suspects trying to meet minor for sex

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.
JetBlues commitment to preserving all jobs at Spirits new Dania Beach corporate campus, and their dedication to keeping and enhancing operations at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for JetBlue Travel Products, are substantial reasons why the City of Dania Beach supports the merger between Spirit and JetBlue.

This merger presents an extraordinary opportunity for fostering job growth, developing and training successful employees, and supporting a thriving workforce in South Florida. Notably, the combined airline will employ about 6,000 residents in the Fort Lauderdale area, which will make it one of Broward Countys largest employers. Most important, it has committed to bringing at least 1,000 new, high-tech and high-paying jobs to South Florida.

I wholeheartedly support this merger, which Im sure will help pave the way for a prosperous future for the talented workforce of our beloved city and surrounding region.

Ana M. Garcia,

city manager,

Dania Beach

Kids are strong

I was born in Germany before the end of World War II. When I was about 10 years old, we were shown at school the documentaries made by the Allied Forces when they liberated the concentration camps.

We were not spared anything, not the heaps of corpses, shoes, hair or the emaciated survivors. It was very difficult for us, especially because we were told that it was our parents generation who did this.

But we accepted our countrys guilt and eventually overcame the shame.

Why does Gov. DeSantis assume that Floridas children are less resilient and cannot accept the truth about slavery?

Birgit Ladet,

Miami Shores

Fashionable again?

With an unprecedented heat wave affecting not only the United States but also other countries, we must find ways to reduce the impact of climate change. I grew up in South Florida, and our Westchester house had a bright white-pebble roof that reflected the suns rays and reduced the heat impact.

A recent New York Times article, White roofs catch on as energy cost cutters, pointed to studies that showed white roofs reduced air-conditioning costs by at least 20% in hot and sunny climates.

Story continues

Recently, a Key West resident asked the city for permission to paint her historic homes roof white. She sued when the city refused. Floridas Third District Court of Appeal upheld a prior decision solidifying that white roofs are indeed considered an energy-saving device. Florida law prohibits any municipality from banning energy-saving devices, so the white roof was given the green light.

I guess we had it right more than 60 years ago, when Old Florida built homes with white roofs.

Who knew we were ahead of the times?

Jacqueline Gutstein,

Miami

Reeducation unit

Floridas Republican Party can spin history however it wants, but if teaching that slavery was some kind of job-training program, the party had better also say that the program included kidnapping, family separation, human trafficking, rape, whippings, lynchings and torture.

Republicans  all of them  should be ashamed of themselves.

Meg Livergood Gerrish,

Palmetto Bay

Woke beer

Much has been said about Gov. Ron DeSantis war with The Walt Disney Company. Recently, he has thrown InBev (maker of Bud Light beer, among many others) into the mix, calling for an investigation of the firm for pursuing woke ideology that affected its stock price and therefore, its fiduciary duty to shareholders. Floridas state pension holds shares of InBev and this decline, in DeSantis words, absolutely hurts the $180 billion fund.

At $50 million, this represents about a third of 1% of the fund, so once again, knowing that his base takes everything he says at face value, DeSantis only seeks political points with them. His sputtering campaign will collapse under the weight of his nonsense.

If anything is harmed, it will be Floridas taxpayers, who will have to pay the army of lawyers he has in place to fight all the inevitable challenges to his threats and legislation. DeSantis clearly doesnt care because its a win-win in his eyes.

He continues to chip away at culture wars red meat, and when he is challenged, his base will likely think he did his part and the liberals are at fault for creating these challenges.

DeSantis also does not care about the quantifiable damage he is doing to Floridas economy.

Alex Jimenez,

Winter Park

No benefits

The premise that anybody but slave owners benefited from slavery is ridiculous. Yet, that is exactly what the Florida Department of Educations newly adopted African-American Studies Standard contains in its Social Studies for 2023 benchmark.

Fact-checking the few examples provided by the creators of the standard is counter-intuitive and unnecessary; it may even seem to lend some legitimacy to the claim.

Depriving people of having any kind of autonomy over their own lives and subjecting them to being owned and traded like property cannot, under any circumstances, be beneficial.

Clara Vertes, Miami
Smoke rises as an engine for an Epsilon S rocket exploded during a test at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agencys testing site in northeastern Japan, July 14, 2023

It was another bustling month for spaceflight, the dog days of summer are blazing with the added heat from botched engine tests and a trove of fiery rocket launches. As always, the past month of spaceflight presented a plethora of captivating visuals.

July has come to a close, so its time for us to review our favorite space-themed images from the past several weeks.

Read more

Ariane 5 blasts off for the final time

Photo: ESA

After 27 years of dutiful service, Arianespaces Ariane 5 rocket flew for the last time, departing Europes Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on July 5. The legendary rocket took part in some historic missions, including the Rosetta comet probe, the BepiColombo mission to Mercury, and the Webb Space Telescope. With the French-built rocket now retired, Europe finds itself starved for launch providers, as the successor rocket, Ariane 6, likely wont fly until next year.



Saturn illuminates

Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, Matthew Tiscareno (SETI Institute), Matthew Hedman (University of Idaho), Maryame El Moutamid (Cornell University), Mark Showalter (SETI Institute), Leigh Fletcher (University of Leicester), Heidi Hammel (AURA) Image Processing Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

NASAs Webb Space Telescope pierced the cosmic darkness with its inaugural near-infrared survey of the ringed spectacle that is Saturn. The planet, enveloped in light-absorbing methane gas, presented a stark silhouette against its radiant icy rings, as captured by Webbs infrared gaze.



SpaceX makes a splash

Photo: SpaceX

On July 28, SpaceX performed a full-pressure test of its Starship flame deflectorbasically, an oversized upside-down shower head. Once operational, the system will work to suppress Starships power, which produces nearly 17 million pounds of thrust at launch. The megarocket performed its inaugural launch in April without the benefit of a deluge system, resulting in tremendous damage to the pad and the spewing of rocks and dust into the surrounding areas.

Preparing for the big day

Photo: NASA/Keegan Barber

This photo shows a military rep investigating a mock capsule meant to emulate the one thats soon to be released by OSIRIS-RExa NASA probe that retrieved an asteroid sample from Bennu in October 2020 and, since May 2021, has been making its journey back to Earth. The rep was researching for any undetonated explosives, and hell be the first one on the scene when the actual capsule touches down at the Utah Test and Training Range operated by the Department of Defense on September 24th. This photo was captured during a rehearsal conducted by the OSIRIS-REx team in Utah on July 18, part of a series of drills that ran from July 18 to 20.

Story continues

Fly, Falcon 9, fly

Photo: C&J Images

The exhaust plume of a SpaceX Falcon 9 dazzles during launch on July 28. The medium-lift rocket took off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, successfully delivering a batch of Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit.

Neutrons new look

Illustration: Rocket Lab

Rocket Labs forthcoming Neutron heavy-lift launch vehicle has undergone a design tweak, with the fairing now consisting of two halves, rather than the original four quarters (as shown in the inset image at the top right). The new conceptual images, released in late July, suggest a number of other changes as well, but the reusable rockets basic functions and specifications remain unaltered.

DART spawns space boulders

Image: NASA, ESA, David Jewitt (UCLA)

The Hubble Space Telescope captured an image of asteroid Dimorphos on December 19, 2022, revealing a batch of boulders dislodged by NASAs DART mission impact four months earlier (this image was finally made public in July). These faint objects, ranging from three to 22 feet in size, are among the faintest objects Hubble has ever photographed within our solar system and are slowly drifting from the asteroid at just over half a mile per hour. This unexpected discovery provides critical insights into the reaction of a small asteroid when struck with the intention to modify its trajectory.

Space Barbies at the Smithsonian

Photo: Mattel

A pair of Barbies that spent a few months aboard the International Space Station are now on display at the Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum.



Falcon Heavy sets new launch record

Photo: C&J Images

SpaceXs Falcon Heavy set a new record on July 29 by hoisting the 9.2-metric-ton EchoStar 24 (Jupiter 3) communications satellite to geostationary transfer orbit. Itll be the heaviest comm satellite to work in geostationary orbit.

Suspected rocket part washes ashore in Australia

Photo: Australian Space Agency

On July 16, a suspected rocket part washed ashore near Jurien Bay in Western Australia. The 8-foot-wide object was badly damaged and it exhibited signs of having been in the water for a prolonged period. On July 30, the Australian Space Agency said it was most likely debris from an expended Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), a medium-lift rocket that the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launches on a frequent basis.



Happy birthday, Webb

Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (STScI)

The James Webb Space Telescopes first-anniversary image presented a unique, detailed view of star birth. It shows the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, our closest star-forming area. Despite its small size and calmness, Webbs image shows it full of action. Jets from young stars cross the image, making nearby gas glow red. Some stars even show shadows hinting at new planetary systems being formed.

Sleek new vans arrive at NASA Kennedy

Photo: NASA/Isaac Watson

On July 11, 2023, against the backdrop of the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building, three custom-made, fully electric, eco-friendly crew transport vehicles were showcased at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. These zero-emission vehicles, the work of Canoo Technologies Inc. from Torrance, California, are set to transport astronauts to Launch Complex 39B for the forthcoming Artemis missions.



Big badda boom in Japan

Photo: Kyodo (AP)

A second-stage engine belonging to Japan Aerospace Exploration Agencys Epsilon S rocket exploded during a test on July 14 in Noshiro, Japan, spewing fire and smoke and badly damaging the test facility. The incident marked another frustrating blow to Japans struggling space program.

Blast off to the Moon

Photo: Aijaz Rahi (AP)

ISRO successfully launched its Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3) on July 14, sending its Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft to the Moon. Chandrayaan-3 represents Indias third lunar expedition and the nations second attempt to make a landing on the Moons surface.



The first methane rocket to reach orbit

Photo: LandSpace

On July 12, LandSpace, a private company based in China, sent its Zhuque-2 rocket into Earths orbit. This marked the first time a methane-powered launch vehicle achieved such a feat.

Orbital life

Photo: NASA

This stunning view, taken from the International Space Station at an altitude of 270 miles (434 kilometers), was taken on July 2. It shows clouds over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Argentina and the labs solar arrays (at top left).

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Former Gov. Scott Walker should be living the dream.

The group he leads, Young America's Foundation, will be front and center as one of the sponsors of the upcoming Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee on Aug. 23.

"This is a great time to introduce more young Americans to the value of freedom and opportunity for all," Walker tweeted in April.

What's more, the Wisconsin Republican made nearly $800,000 in 2021, the most recent year for which figures are available, as president of the $39 million nonprofit aimed at convincing young voters to adopt conservative views. Walker  who ran for office in a 1998 Saturn with a brown bag lunch  now owns a $700,000 house in Lake Country and a condo in Reston, Virginia.

But Walker sounds extremely frustrated.

Young voters, the target of his group's efforts, came out in droves for liberal candidates in the midterm elections, helping Democrats keep control of the U.S. Senate and returning Democratic Gov. Tony Evers for a second term. Then, in April, college students showed up to the polls again in big numbers to back liberal Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz, who eased past conservative candidate Dan Kelly.

In short order, Republicans began clamoring to raise the minimum age for voting from 18 to 21. GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has even proposed raising the voting age to 25 unless someone served in the military or had passed a test.

Amid all this, Walker tweeted in January: "The voting age should be the same as the drinking age," which is currently 21.

Many took Walker's post to mean he wanted to raise the voting age to 21, something that would require a constitutional amendment and would bump millions of people off the voter rolls.

U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat, responded: "You should be able to vote for the Commander in Chief who can send you to war."

"Scott Walker advocates for flagrant suppression of young voters," wrote Crooks and Liars, a liberal news blog. "Can you tell that Republicans aren't polling well with young voters?"

Story continues

In response, Walker tweeted: "18, 19 or 21. Whatever it is, the age should be consistent for both. Certainly not younger."

Still not sure what he meant, I asked him via Direct Message on Twitter to clarify. He said his tweet was actually more about changing the drinking age.

"Everything should be the same once you're an adult. If you can go to war and vote, you should be able to drink, too," Walker responded. "18 for all of it."

Gotcha.

Of course, in 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal government's power to withhold 10% of highway construction funds from states that refuse to raise their minimum drinking age to 21. Beyond that, it looks like Wisconsin GOP lawmakers still proposed lowering it to 18 in 1995 and 19 in 2017, and Walker didn't sign on.

The former two-term governor acknowledged that.

"Just thought of it over the past few years," he wrote. "Higher age at 21 hasn't stopped binge drinking on campus  some might argue it pushed it."

OK, but some aren't buying it.

Joe Oslund, spokesman for the state Democratic Party, said it is clear what Walker meant with his original tweet, "regardless of whatever cleanup he may be trying to do after the fact."

"We made a decision in this country that if you were old enough to fight, you were old enough to vote  thats why the voting age is 18," Oslund said. "Its a shame Scott Walker doesnt seem to respect that."

After Protesiewicz's victory in April, Walker made it clear he is primarily concerned about the youth vote.

Indeed, Walker blamed young voters for the election result, suggesting they can't think for themselves because they are so "indoctrinated." He made the point on Fox News and then again on Twitter.

"Younger voters are the issue," he tweeted on April 6. "It comes from years of radical indoctrination  on campus, in school, with social media, & throughout culture. We have to counter it or conservatives will never win battleground states again."

Dozens of Democratic politicians and others rejected Walker's analysis.

They suggested that Republicans were not offering policy proposals that appealed to young voters on gun control, abortion rights, climate change, environmental issues and protecting democracy.

"It can't be that they hate your policies. No, it has to be indoctrination," tweeted Washington, D.C., attorney Bradley P. Moss sarcastically.

Brianna Koerth, former program director for the liberal advocacy group Project 72 Wisconsin, said conservative groups aren't reconsidering their policy positions but are instead blaming universities and taking action to make it harder for students to vote, something that drives even more of them to the polls. Her group promoted liberal issues on college campuses in the Protasiewicz race.

In addition, conservatives are pouring millions of dollars into organizations like YAF and paying Walker, 55, big bucks in hopes they can turn the youth vote around, said Koerth, who is 25.

Which is all fine with her: Let the Gen X ex-governor figure out how to win over the youngsters from Gen Z.

"As far as Im concerned, they should keep paying Scott Walker all that money," Koerth said. "We seem to be doing better with young people with him leading the charge for conservatives on youth. We just keep winning."

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 313-6684 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Scott Walker makes $800,000 a year as liberal student voting surges
President Joe Biden is getting into the habit of counting Hunter Bidens 4-year-old daughter, Navy Joan Roberts, among his grandchildren.

In a conversation for a podcast episode released Monday, Biden said that he has seven grandchildren  not six. Though the reference to Navy was only implicit, it marks the first time Biden has cited that figure when talking about his family during an interview.

I have seven grandkids, five of 'em old enough to talk on the phone, you know, every day I either text or call them, Biden said during the episode of On purpose with Jay Shetty.

Biden first acknowledged that he is the grandfather of Navy, Hunters daughter from his affair with Lunden Roberts, in a statement on Friday.



The shift follows the conclusion of a messy court proceeding that settled in Arkansas last month. Roberts filed the suit against Hunter in 2019, which ultimately proved that he was the father through DNA testing. Court filings did not state the amount of child support Navy received  a contentious issue that flared up amid the paternity dispute. She will also receive some of Hunter's paintings.

Biden had previously referred to his and first lady Jill Bidens six grandchildren.
The Department of Labor is heightening enforcement of child labor laws through new partnerships and tactics.

The department reported a 44% increase in children employed illegally between October 2022 and July 2023.

This comes as states introduce new legislation that would make employing children easier and cheaper.

The Biden administration is ramping up its efforts to stop companies using child labor in dangerous and exploitative ways.

On Thursday, the Department of Labor announced it would take more measures to crack down on illegal child labor nationally, including heightening enforcement of child labor laws through new tactics and partnering with other agencies and foreign governments. This comes after recent investigations into major companies caught employing children for more hours than the legal limit, making minors perform illegal tasks, or hiring children under the legal age minimum.

"Child labor is an issue that gets to the heart of who we are as a country and who we want to be," acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su said in a statement. "Like the President, we believe that any child working in a dangerous or hazardous environment is one child too many."

According to the department's Wage and Hour Division, escalated enforcement of child labor laws resulted in a 44% increase in children found employed in violation of federal law between October 1, 2022, and July 20, 2023. This was coupled with an 87% rise in penalties such as fines over the same period.

During these 10 months, 4,474 children were found employed in violation of federal law, resulting in $6.6 million in penalties. The department said the agency is pursuing over 700 open child labor cases.

The announcement includes cross-training programs designed to increase reporting rates of child labor exploitation across various departments. In July and August, trainings are being broadened across the Department of Health and Human Services, including within the Office of Refugee Resettlement, as well as child welfare agencies and homeless and runaway youth programs. The Department of Labor has also engaged with other departments including Housing and Urban Development and Transportation, as well as the US Small Business Administration and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Story continues

The Labor and State Departments have also worked with leadership from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico to help combat exploitative child labor particularly for migrant children.

Other crackdown tactics including adding more resources to the Wage and Hour Division's website, creating "Know Your Rights" videos, and working with the Department of Education to further inform young people of their rights.

This comes after the department's February 2023 announcement of the Interagency Task Force to Combat Child Labor Exploitation, created in response to a 69% increase in illegal child labor findings from 2018 to 2022.

With worker shortages across many sectors of the economy, some employers have been looking to younger demographics to fill jobs, which may be partially contributing to an uptick in child labor.

In the news release, the department outlined recent investigations into child labor at companies including McDonald's, Sonic, and Minnesota-based Monogram Meat Snacks LLC. These included children being employed under the legal minimum age of 14, children under 16 working long hours, and minors under 18 working in hazardous conditions.

According to a Labor Department announcement in May, 62 McDonald's franchise locations across Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, and Ohio were found to have employed 305 children above legally permitted hours, as well as allowed them to perform tasks prohibited for young workers. Sixteen more McDonald's franchise locations in Louisiana and Texas were found in violation of child labor laws last week, impacting 83 minors.

Nearly 700 children were found working illegally in hazardous jobs in 2022, according to the Wage and Hour Division, the highest annual number since 2011.

The Department of Labor's new methods for reducing child labor and holding companies accountable come at a time when states have introduced legislation that would weaken child labor laws, including in Missouri, Ohio, and South Dakota. Some states have pushed for paying youth employees less than minimum wage, while others have advocated for widening the jobs 14- and 15-year-olds could work.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The head of the federal agency tasked with recommending AI regulations to the Biden administration has deep and longstanding ties to Google, raising questions about big techs power to shape critical safeguards around the rapidly emerging technology.

Alan Davidson currently leads the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA, the agency now crafting recommendations on how federal regulators can hold AI companies accountable. But for years, he worked as Googles chief lobbyist in Washington, fighting regulatory battles that helped establish Google as the behemoth it is today, before moving on to organizations with close financial ties to the company.

The NTIA has said it is investigating what kinds of data would be necessary to audit tech companies AI products to make sure they work as claimed, how regulators can foster trust in AI systems, and what different approaches might be needed when AI is used in health care and employment  sectors that can involve life-or-death decisions and where AI has the potential to amplify patterns of discrimination.

Although it does not have the authority to make regulations, NTIAs recommendations will help form the basis of the Biden administrations response to AI and machine learning.

People are warning that there are really serious downsides possible to AI, and I would want a hard-headed regulator to run down those concerns, said Jeff Hauser, the executive director of the Revolving Door Project, a watchdog focused on conflicts of interest in government. Davidson is not likely, based on his CV, to be detached  If the government comes out and says this is all copacetic, I would feel more confident in that judgment if there were more distance between the regulators and the regulated.

Google has already launched an AI chatbot, Bard, and is racing to launch new AI products alongside giants like Amazon, Meta and Microsoft, and upstart companies such as Anthropic, Inflection and OpenAI. The intensifying competition has put immense pressure on Google to maintain its dominance in the tech industry.

Story continues

People are warning that there are really serious downsides possible to AI, and I would want a hard-headed regulator to run down those concerns. Davidson is not likely, based on his CV, to be detached.Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project

Davidson joined Google in 2005 to help launch its in-house lobbying shop and served as its chief lobbyist in Washington until 2012. Early in his tenure, he convinced regulators to approve Googles acquisition of the online ad platform DoubleClick, which the Justice Department now says Google used to illegally monopolize digital advertising. Google has called those claims unfounded.

After leaving Google, Davidson remained in its orbit, bouncing from various executive and senior roles at the New America think tank and Mozilla. New America has received more than $23 million from Google, longtime former Google CEO and Chairman Eric Schmidt, and affiliated nonprofits. Its main conference room was named the Eric Schmidt Ideas Lab. In 2017, New America ousted one of its scholars for applauding a $2.7 billion fine against Google by European antitrust regulators. New America did not respond to a request for comment.

Mozilla derives the majority of its revenue from a deal that makes Google the default search engine for its browser, Firefox. A spokesperson for Mozilla declined to comment.

The rapid advances in AI present a potential turning point for Silicon Valleys dominant tech firms. Notably, the first company to capture national attention with the launch of a new AI product was not a household name, like Google or Microsoft, but the independent research lab OpenAI, with its splashy launch of ChatGPT in November.

Google reportedly sees the AI products it has in the pipeline as so pivotal to the companys future that Sergey Brin, the Google co-founder lately absorbed with outside projects, has returned to company headquarters to work directly with the team building its flagship AI system.

This is an existential moment for them, said a Democratic former Hill aide involved in antitrust policy who asked for anonymity to speak candidly. This could be a moment where emerging tech disrupts the current monopolies.

Its obvious that Google is the biggest player who cares about this issue, the former aide continued. I cannot imagine Google doesnt view Alan Davidson as an asset to them.

Google did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for the agency Davidson now runs, NTIA, emphasized that the agency is only crafting recommendations for regulating AI, not making formal rules. NTIA would not say whether or how frequently Davidson had met or spoken with Google representatives over the agencys AI recommendations.

As part of this work, NTIA has been engaging with all stakeholders at all levels on this topic, the spokesperson said. NTIA received more than 1,400 comments from a variety of stakeholders.

One such comment came from TechNet, a lobbying group that represents giants such as Google, Meta and Amazon. In a five-page letter, the group urged the NTIA to avoid imposing tough requirements on AI and largely allow the industry to police itself, writing, TechNet believes NTIA should promote industry-led processes, standards, and codes of conduct.

It is still not clear whether and how federal regulators will ultimately respond to rapid advances in artificial intelligence, although it is more likely to happen through administrative state or executive action. Congress, nearly 20 years after the founding of Facebook, has yet to even enact meaningful regulation of social media.

This month, the White House announced that seven major AI companies had agreed to voluntary guardrails. Experts have noted, however, that some of the voluntary commitments simply mirror AI companies existing practices, and none of them are enforceable by government regulators.